S4E20: The Road to Hell

'''A world drained dead. Its populace enslaved under a tyrannical regime. At the center of the conflict: mysterious crystals. And a fallen savior who sits above it all. What happened on Earth-M745?'''

Plot Summary
Picking up right where the previous episode left off, Patchouli explained that The General maintained a presence on this Earth for special gems known as "Force Crystals." She did not know what they were used for, only that The General wanted them badly. She also noted that their local Supervisor had been pushing them very hard for even more over the past few months and would force them to deliver the crystals to The General's Head whenever it appeared. It was inquired if the crystals were being used for the Sayan project, but Patchouli never heard of Sayans before. However, she noted that it was possible, as no one outside of the Supervisor's personnel were allowed into the research labs.

Patchouli then led the Sayan Squad into a small shack where she showed them a monitor with a recorded message from earlier that day. This message came from M745's Supervisor, of whom turned out to be this world's own Arachnos. It was a propaganda piece, meant to try and keep the Gensokians in line. Patchouli elaborated on the history of the world, saying that fifteen years prior The General invaded for the sake of getting his hands on the crystals. He even made a personal appearance, but he was appealed to by Arachnos. Arachnos, through his connection to the Earth, could sense the location of the Force Crystal deposits, and offered his services to The General in exchange for allowing the youkai of Gensokyo to not be exterminated and to keep their consciousness. The General agreed, and Arachnos was installed as the Supervisor for all of Earth M745. With him in power and the vast resources of The General at his disposal, Arachnos also invented his own machines. Patchouli revealed that the spider-like robots they'd fought prior to their arrival were known as Huntsmen and Harvesters.

This world's SDM, now nothing but half a brick, also weighed in on the conversation, cursing all the Arachni present. He talked about the "perfect order" the Brood always wanted and said that this was the ultimate result. He condemned them for being Arachni, despite their attempts to explain their separation from the Brood, and it was revealed that after Arachnos took over, SDM was taken out almost right away. To ensure that SDM could never be used to overthrow him, Arachnos reduced the mansion to pure ash, with that fragment of brick all that remained of SDM.

Ketsueki began to wonder why Earth M745 never saw any help from RAG, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the Sayan Squad. Patchouli said no one had ever seen a Rebel before, but that she figured one had to exist. Jack nonchalantly claimed that RAG simply didn't care when push came to shove, and described them as "showboaters." Ketsueki denied that, saying that even if he disliked Amadeus, he believed that Amadeus had a reason for letting the world get to this point.

The Sayan Squad offered their assistance in taking out the mines, but Patchouli was hesitant at first. She argued that even with the support of Mimics, they'd have a difficult time in setting the charges since Pacifiers would be roaming the skies. Then she thought of seizing the Watchtower, a control tower at the edge of Gensokyo that controlled the Hakurei Border to let his forces in and out. If Patchouli's Resistance could take it, it would cut off communications to the outside and make it much more difficult for support to arrive. It would effectively isolate the forces already there, and make it extremely difficult to coordinate reinforcements.

Jack and SDM both argued that even if that was the case, Arachnos' forces in Gensokyo still severely outnumbered them. Even if they could take the control room, they wouldn't be able to hold it as the Supervisor's army could just keep coming until they were dead. Acknowledging their point, Patchouli instead opted to destroy the Watchtower. She noted that the Watchtower only controlled the Border, not sustained it, meaning that if the Watchtower was destroyed, the Border would remain stuck in the configuration it was in last. Thus, if they held the control room until G Squadron destroyed the tower, their enemy would not be able to restore the tower in time before the Resistance assaulted the mine.

Patchouli began to prepare her own forces, telling G Squadron to fly to the Watchtower and draw attention. Meanwhile, the Anathemites and Arachnos would teleport them to the Tower's grounds to wait. She surveyed the tower's defenses while they waited for G Squadron to arrive. Jack told Saiyo to sit the battle out, and was met with opposition. Jack tried to justify his request, claiming that in a battle this risky, Jack couldn't afford to just hang on to Saiyo. Likewise, he didn't trust her berserk state when her own augments activate. Saiyo pleaded to stay, but was silenced when Jack referenced her outburst back after their father returned. Arachnos tried to offer to carry her, but Patchouli reluctantly agreed with Jack, saying that non-combatants would be considered "excess baggage" and they couldn't afford that. In tears, Saiyo returned to the Resistance base.

G Squadron began their assault, drawing the majority of the Watchtower's defense system's fire, as well as the two patrolling Harvesters. The rest of the Sayan Squad and Patchouli's Resistance took this as their opening and charged forward. They were attacked by Hunters and guards, but they managed to make it into the tower. The elevator's control was shut down, meaning they would have to fight up the stairs, through the legions of guards descending down it. They were also re-introduced to the cameras from the mines, known as kiters, where they unveiled their combat abilities.

After making it a fair distance up the tower's shaft, soldiers began to file in. The soldiers were better equipped than the guards and were better trained. They also used grenades, which killed several of the Resistance members. The Sayan Squad and the Resistance could barely scratch the soldiers, and were forced to rush through the guards to the control room. Once they made it, various magics and divine powers were used to temporarily seal the busted-down door. The operators and guards within the control room itself were quickly dealt with, save one who managed to press an emergency button before his death.

While the Resistance managed to bring the barrier back up, a capsule labeled "Project Gemini" descended into the room. Project Gemini was a fusion of both Reimu and Sanae, unofficially called "Reinae." The disfigurement of their fusion sickened and disgusted most, and the absolute lengths Supervisor Arachnos was willing to go through sparked a righteous fury to see to it that he was dethroned. Patchouli also made a personal request to "put it out of its misery."

Reinae proved a very powerful opponent, managing to do severe harm to the Resistance and the Sayan Squad until she was brought down. Reinae even managed to avoid an overcharge from Jack, nearly killing him as the strain damaged his augments and left him vulnerable. However, an elemental blast from Kanako and Patchouli managed to unbind the two girls from the mortal coil just as G Squadron finished off the Watchtower. The Resistance and the Sayan Squad was teleported outside to watch the Watchtower collapse on itself. This got the attention of Amadeus and the Vulture, which returned momentarily. However, without needing to worry about the Watchtower being damaged, the Pacifiers that were until recently trying to hinder G Squadron now had free reign to attack with their full power. The Vulture managed to escape however, now with the Resistance on board (as well as Saiyo, who was taken from the Resistance base at the last minute).

Patchouli introduced herself to Amadeus, and this prompted his questioning. Ketsueki asked why Amadeus let M745 become this state, to which Amadeus first said it wasn't his jurisdiction, and secondly it was a matter of numbers. Essentially, they'd lose more RAG soldiers than they would help rescue refugees. Ketsueki did not take the news well, and accused Amadeus of being a coward for not being able to think of a better solution. Patchouli and the Resistance understood, however, even if they weren't fond of it.

The Sayan Squad recounted their story on what happened since the Vulture went into hiding. Amadeus elaborated further on the nature of Force Crystals, claiming that they're the reason his and The General's homeworld was the way it was. He said that Force Crystals got their name from a global tournament held on their world called the Force Games. He briefly mentioned that enough crystals when brought together and/or condensed, they contain the power to subvert, break, or even rewrite the laws of reality. He also said they were extremely rare and a Multiversal singularity, which explained why only Earth M745 was being mined for them. He also mentioned a "source" that The General destroyed, but since he began his campaign of annihilation, now seeks out what remains of them.

The Sayan Squad continued their story on why they assaulted the Watchtower and what they planned to do to the mines. Oneiros claimed that they may be very well related to the Sayan Project, possibly even what mutated them. Amadeus agreed to help the Resistance assault the mines, and the episode ended with Amadeus and Patchouli going to discuss the plans. He told the Sayan Squad to get what rest they could, as they would need to strike fast before the Supervisor had a chance to formulate a defense...

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening Theme - Main Theme (Sonic: Time Attacked)
 * 2) The Resistance - Electric Guitar Ambiance/Escape Array (Half-Life/Half-Life 2)
 * 3) The Supervisor - Dr. Neo Cortex (Crash Bandicoot)
 * 4) The General's Theme - Babel Tower (Rockman ZX Tunes)
 * 5) Final Strategies - Briefing (Duke Nukem Total Meltdown)
 * 6) Watchtower Assault - Aparoid City (Star Fox Assault)
 * 7) Soldiers! - Holding Your Own (Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance)
 * 8) Desperate Dash - Homeworld Core (Star Fox Assault)
 * 9) Into The Control Room - H.N. Elly Stage (Grief Syndrome)
 * 10) Project GEMINI - The White Temple (NES Godzilla Creepypasta OST)
 * 11) That Which Should Not Be: Vs. Reinae - Colorful Path (KOUICHI)
 * 12) Air Control Achieved - Main Theme (Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike)
 * 13) Ending Theme - Dream a Dream (Pop It Don't Drop It edit)

Trivia

 * The episode's title references the idiom "The road to hell is paved with good intentions", referencing the Supervisor's rule over Gensokyo. The title also refers to the fact that the Watchtower's destruction is the first step for the Sayan Squad to start toppling Arachnos' rule.
 * This episode, along with the previous was co-written and co-GMed by both SDM and Arachnos.
 * The character of Supervisor Arachnos is heavily inspired by Doctor Wallace Breen, the primary antagonist of Half-Life 2 and willing collaborator with an alien invading force. This is reflected in his "Evolution" speech, which is heavily modeled after "Breencasts", propaganda speeches heard throughout Half-Life 2, especially his speech regarding instinct.
 * The catchphrase used by Supervisor Arachnos at the end of each speech - "Fear is freedom. Subjugation is liberation. Contradiction is truth" - is borrowed from Kill La Kill character Satsuki Kiryuin and is meant to represent the fact that he is trying to protect Gensokyo by dominating it. Satsuki's slogan is itself a reference to the Party's slogans in Orwell's 1984: "War is Peace", "Freedom is Slavery", and "Ignorance is Strength".
 * On a similar note, the concept of isolating enemy forces from their main groups mirrors the effects of the Citadel's destruction seen in Episode One. However, here, it is done with clear intent rather than what possibly may have been an unintended side-effect, nor is it as "total" as the isolation the Combine's forces faced.
 * The Watchtower originates from Red Earth, the third entry in The Hellgate Gaiden. The assault on the Watchtower was faintly modeled on it, however instead of descending downwards to destroy the power core, the protagonists went up to the top in order to take control.
 * The concept of "Reinae" was created by Arachnos in order to, right off the bat, maximize the emotional involvement in the story of both Kanako (who counts Reimu Hakurei among his favorite Touhou Project characters) and ShadowAurion (who does the same with Sanae Kochiya). However, Reinae's actual design was mostly created by SDM.
 * Reinae's Teleport Yin-Yang Orb attack was an homage to Half-Life 's Nihilanth, who used a similar attack in his battle.
 * During the planning phase of the episode, at one point the objective of the Tower raid was slated to destroy the Tower's Core. In that case, the fight against Reinae would have taken place in the basement of the Tower. However, due to an overabundance of such cores in the miniarc, this was replaced with the final version and Reinae moved to the top of the Tower, in the control room. A phase of the fight in which the group would have had to destroy Force Crystals planted around the room to stop Reinae from drawing power from them, also inspired by the Nihilanth, was scrapped as a consequence.
 * The use of "The White Temple" as Reinae's introductory theme was a spur-of-the-moment choice by Arachnos.
 * As was the usage of both "Babel Tower" and "Briefing" by SDM.
 * Because all of Aurion's currently active Xat RP characters are in G Squadron, which did not participate in the infiltration of the Watchtower, there was a separate boss planned for him. If Aurion had been present for the episode, his characters would have been fighting the Watchtower's external array of defenses. This battle would have been conducted by SDM at the same time Arachnos controlled Reinae.
 * Normally Aurion's lack of presence would mean that G Squadron simply was not present. However, due to the fact that this episode was directly continued from the previous where they were present, and because such an operation would require extra support, it was decided that G Squadron would still officially partake in the battle, just "off-screen."