S3E04: Long Shadows

'''Olyn is finally located. With Executor's own powers growing daily, the Factory and company must get her to Manifest as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, an ancient evil places his own stakes in the conflict...'''

Plot Summary
Kanako reported back to the Factory with news of success: Olyn had been found. Olyn was located in the small town of Appaloosa, which had drawn the Factory's attention when a rogue Clan member had reportedly been sighted there. An Inspector was sent, but never returned. Kanako decided to investigate this, and found Olyn all alone in an abandoned town.

Upon his return, a strategy meeting was held. EXE had been rebuilt and was ready for the next part of their operation. Orachnos and Tarachnos were prepared to assist any way they could, as well. The Factory still heavily disapproved of Kanako outright confessing to Olyn to try and make her fall hurt more, but was forced to concede when Kanako brought up the possibility of approaching the topic slowly.

Building from that, Kanako would seemingly be killed by Executor, who would then proceed to mock her. It was also suggested that Orachnos and Tarachnos appear beside Executor, pretending to have sided with him. This would strike Olyn even harder, and would even help with the physical aspect as the fight would be three-on-one. The Arathemites even decided to take on different names to enhance the illusion further.

Once the plan was finalized, Kanako left for Appaloosa, under orders to lead her roughly a mile out of the town where EXE and the Arathemites would initiate their ambush. When Kanako arrived at the town, he found Olyn sobbing alone. When she saw him, she wanted to hear nothing from him, but Kanako managed to cool her down and console her. He said that he was not there to hurt her or even bring her to the Factory; he only wanted to talk. He offered a brief stroll, and he continued to talk as they left town.

Exactly as planned however, when Kanako was about to confess his "love," he was struck down with a rainbow blast, as planned. The shot was non-lethal, though it took him by surprise that it still hurt. Regardless, Kanako slipped into his role as the corpse, leaving Olyn horrified. EXE was the first to descend, landing on the ground before her, red eye glaring at her. Olyn tried to flee, only to be halted by a series of volleys from above. Her new assailants kept her from escaping, and then landed beside Executor, wearing hoods.

When Olyn inquired who they were, they replied by exposing their faces. Olyn was shocked to see her other friends beside Executor, and to drive the point further the Arathemites announced that they had given up their old names. Orachnos had taken on the name Oneiros, meaning "dream", and Tarachnos would be known as Terminos, meaning "end". Olyn bought into the facade fully, and the overall experience left her unable to retaliate at full strength.

Though, even were she mentally sound enough to give it her all, the combined forces of "Oneiros," "Terminos," and "Executor" would still have proved too much. Olyn was eventually brought down, and impaled. In that same instant, she released a dark blast identical to the one the spiders did, and was given the same speech as the same black tendril filled her with strength.

Once Olyn had Manifested, Orachnos and Tarachnos revealed the illusion to her, and explained that it was all an act to get her to unlock her full power. Kanako also stood up, showing he was alive and well. Olyn was not warm to the deception, finding the anxiety and pain she felt to be very real. Nevertheless she agreed to return to the Factory. She then left with Orachnos and Tarachnos in tow. EXE, left intact this time, followed after, which would plant the seeds of an idea in Arachnos' mind.

Back at the Factory, they found a humanoid waiting for them. The Factory introduced him as Brandon Persus, another of his agents. He had been sent on recon to try and ascertain the location of the Nihilius Clan base, though he had come back empty-handed. Orachnos and Tarachnos introduced themselves using their fake names. When questioned, they both said that they took a liking to the new names, and seeing as they were only copies, they saw no problems with taking on new names to go with it.

The group began to disperse, returning to their daily duties. Kanako remained with Olyn, however, as did Oneiros and Arachnos. Brandon hung around as well, curious about the Anathemites. Just then, the Factory went silent. The five of them found themselves surrounded by the sounds of pure nothing. The Factory was unresponsive, and no matter where they went, they could find no trace of anybody.

Coincidentally, they entered a room nearly identical to the room where the Anathemites entered Escherland for the second time. The lights suddenly cut out and through the darkness, they could see The Factory rust around them. Footsteps familiar to Oneiros and Olyn were heard, growing louder. Out of the darkness came the hideous form of N-Reimu, staring at them with her empty eyes. Reimu's face seemed to break apart, going blank as her features seemed to leave her head. Her body hit the ground and began to rapidly decompose, while three distinct words were heard, a faint hiss in the back of their minds: "I found you."

The Factory returned to normal around them, leaving them confused. The Factory was also confused, as according to him, one minute they were in a hall and then suddenly they were near one of the basic assembly lines. Brandon immediately tried explaining what happened, catching the attention of Terminos. Terminos requested clarification, which Oneiros and Olyn provided. The three of them then recounted their story from the warped realms, covering in detail their mysterious stalker. As its words implied, it had found them.

Further confirming this was the Factory's own sensors, which had begun to detect a presence lurking at the borders of the realm. It was decided that there was little they could do about their mysterious pursuer, now dubbed "Negative," at least not until their powers were more developed. Though the Anathemites had Manifested successfully, the Factory was at a loss for what the next stage was. They had unlocked their powers; now they had to use them. Nobody under the Factory knew anything about using such powers, which left the question of what to do next up in the air.

Soundtrack

 * 1) "Executor" Appears - The Incomplete Stone -Acapella- (NieR)
 * 2) Footsteps - Unknown

Trivia

 * Oneiros' and Terminos' name changes are permanent, remaining in effect throughout the entire season and into season 4.
 * N-Reimu's face leaving her was foreshadowing; representative of Nihilius abandoning her as a host and needing a new one.