S4E37: Burial

'''Earth-M745. A world on the tipping point. The Supervisor has sprung his trap, keeping the Rebellion locked in orbit, like flies in a web. Now the Sayan Squad must launch a desperate attack to save their comrades, before The General's elite Alpha Fleet wipes them out. Time is of the essence, and the final confrontation awaits. Will the Sayan Squad be able to finally put this world's tragic past to rest?'''

Plot Summary
Alpha Fleet had begun its assault on the trapped Rebel forces in orbit. From within the Bureau, amidst the panic, the Sayan Squad attempted to get updates on the current situation. The resistance soldier who took down the Warp Nets the first time managed to trace the Supervisor's transmission. As it turns out, the Supervisor was located within Blackstar itself, located on the other side of the world in the former Chernobyl Exclusion Zone. It was reasoned that the Warp Nets were also controlled from there, as well. With little other option, the Sayan Squad and their resistance compatriots boarded the Condor to mount an assault. Otherwise, as Nostrad informed them, High Command would have to call for reinforcements, which would greatly impact their available combat-ready vessels for when the time came to take on the Head.

The Condor flew through the ravaged world, observing fully-armed and fresh Pacifiers and soldiers utterly decimating the resistance. The Supervisor had kept all his forces in reserve until his trap had been sprung. He was also getting support from above. As the Condor flew eastward across the Atlantic, three pure white ships bearing the Alpha Fleet insignia descended and promptly spread out. The Condor had a brief encounter with them as they entered into the atmosphere, and not only could they not scratch them, they barely survived themselves. Their only saving grace was that the Alpha ships had no interest in pursuing such a tiny carrier.

After arriving in Pripyat, Turm had the Condor set down outside the city limits, far from Blackstar itself. He explained that after their encounter with Alpha Fleet and the Bureau, he did not want to risk taking his ship any further. As such, the Squad had to stealth their way through the city to reach a backdoor the resistance technician had found earlier. This proved to be surprisingly easy, as despite the new installations scattered about the city, for the most part there were very few guards or patrols, most of them seemingly dealing with quelling the uprisings. There were still some, however, and when one of Terminos' spiderlings spotted a pack of Huntsmen escorting a Harvester, the rebels took to hiding in a nearby building.

The interior was dark but filled with strange noises. Investigating, the group began to ascend the stairs. A shadow with an irregular number of eyes suddenly appeared before them at the top, blocking their progress. On a whim, Kazoku pulled out a box of dog treats, offering it to the shadow. It began to approach, but Oneiros took it as a threat and erased it from existence. A mournful wail emitted from its friends, appearing saddened by the loss of whatever that was. Jack yet again called Oneiros out, but was himself called out by Wicker for inciting an argument. Jack, however, found this claim absolutely ludicrous, as they had just witnessed the summary execution of something for no justified reason. Oneiros himself tried to fabricate a justification, at first saying the mutant was in "a better place" despite being consumed by Nihility, and then he backed on himself and tried to deny any semblance of sapience being emanated.

Wicker continued to berate Jack for slowing them down, but again Jack refused to back down. He refused to simply remain quiet in the presence of what he perceived as a random murderer. He made it very clear that this wasn't just Jack taking jabs at his team because he didn't like them. He was explicitly calling out the extreme disproportionate retribution on display from the Anathemites, from melting the face off of Wicker's own comrade to killing a creature whose only crime was wanting a box of dog treats. Kanako likewise sided with Jack, shooting down Oneiros' defense of him not being aware of the creature's intent by asking if his first instinct against the unknown is to kill it. Killing, as opposed to blocking or throwing it off somehow. Jack compared the Anathemites to being less than dust mites, saying that even if everyone were animals, at least the lowly mites don't vaporize things when they get "spooked", though the spider retorted that they would if only they had the capability to. At this, Wicker began to reconsider where Jack was coming from.

At the top of the building, the group got a good look at Blackstar itself. They saw that four Pacifiers were circling the weapon, and that about covered most of the defenses, and again they noted how odd that was. They also received a transmission from Captain Turm while they were up there, and he stated that The General's Head had entered the battle. Reinforcements had been called in. The rebels made their way back to the ground floor and continued towards Blackstar. Once they found the maintenance hatch, they pried off the door and entered the narrow crawlspace.

Once inside, the technician explained that Blackstar was laid out like an orange, and that they were currently within one of the "wedges." Their destination, a large structure known as the Sarcophagus, was located in the very center. Reaching it would prove a long and slow journey. As such, everyone elected to bail out of the crawlspace early. The rebels emerged in a narrow corridor adjacent to one of the large halls leading to the Sarcophagus. It was packed with guards and soldiers, making stealth no longer an option. Across the way, however, a hatch on the ceiling was found. The technician explained that it would take them to the surface of the weapon dish, which would absolutely expose them. But, even with the Pacifiers up above, they would be safe as the Pacifiers would not ever be ordered to fire on the weapon they're supposed to protect. They would then just need a distraction to make it to the hatch. The Anathemites offered themselves up for this, and planned to regroup later. Thus, the Anathemites charged into the hall of guards, keeping them occupied while the rest of the group hurriedly rushed over and climbed to the surface.

Up top, the rebels made a beeline for the Sarcophagus, but were interrupted by the voice of none other than the Supervisor himself. He directly addressed the rebels, blaming them for the destruction of Gensokyo, and turned the Sarcophagus' own defenses against the group. This, however, damaged Blackstar, but the Supervisor seemed to ignore this. Huntsmen were also thrown against the group, as well as a new machine known as the Wanderer.

Despite the onslaught, however, the rebels were able to breach the Sarcophagus. For their troubles, they were immediately rewarded with yet another line of defense: half-human half-machine units called the Recluse Guard. And unlike most other monstrosities under The General or the Supervisor, these guards were fully sentient, even claiming to be Elites (never conscripted). This dumbfounded the entire group, and though the Guards attempted to fight, with the return of the Anathemites, the Guards eventually surrendered. They allowed themselves to be taken prisoner, as they did not want to die trying to protect the one responsible for their present forms. They even pointed the group towards where the Supervisor could be found, but warned them that he was not what he used to be.

Beyond the indicated door, it was found to contain a series of chambers all designed around locations from the now-gone Gensokyo, with holographic projections of its inhabitants performing looping actions for eternity. Locations included Eientei, Alice's House, and of course the Scarlet Devil Mansion. And then, finally, they arrived at the Supervisor's chamber, a massive room filled with monitors and a mechanical pedestal with a coffin-like container, hiding the Supervisor. The machine he was attached to turned out to be a giant life support machine, and indeed, most of his body was now mechanical as well. The General had literally "salvaged" his body and reinstated him as Supervisor to see the completion of Project Blackstar.

Yet again, the Supervisor blamed the Resistance and the Rebellion for the destruction of Gensokyo, despite him being the one to pull the metaphorical trigger. He refuted this, saying that he did what he had to do, which the rebels disagreed with. They said that he could have fought, he could have re-conquered, but instead he chose to erase his mistake and blame others for it, for the sake of his delusional "order." The same "order" that apparently led him to modify his own willing forces as "punishment" for siding with The General. At first he seemed aware of the hypocrisy, but it was quickly pushed aside by the Supervisor's own ego. He believed he was a "special" case, doing it for "everyone else's" sake, in spite of the abominations he'd made of the populace, and claiming that his service to The General is its own punishment.

This utterly enraged the rebels, who had by this point grown tired of his self-serving and self-centrist morality. They began to dismantle his arguments, and pointed to the state of his own world. So blinded by his desire for vengeance, he failed to maintain the order he so vehemently claimed he was the embodiment of. His regime was utterly falling apart, and Jack went even so far as to suggest that Arachnos' reinstatement was at best temporary. He reasoned that why else would Alpha Fleet itself be sent if not to also make some changes, starting with the incompetent Supervisor that let everything get to this point in the first place?

This finally got the Supervisor into action, who began to pelt the rebels with the weaponry built in to his machine. The weak point was the "coffin" the Supervisor was housed in, and with every attack it cracked a little more. When it finally shattered, the machine retreated into the floor, and the Supervisor re-emerged with a new device. This one housed him in a spider-shaped battle-body, which rolled around on a large glowing orb for locomotion. During the battle, Saiyo had engaged her Red Mode and had begun dragging Ketsueki around through the air. Uncharacteristically irritated with him, she began throwing him into dangerous situations, expecting him to be able to do something useful from rather compromising positions, such as the back of this second machine. Instead, he wound up hanging on for dear life as the machine span and tilted, until he was finally rescued by Druid.

When the orb broke, a flood of formeldehyde and near-dead Gensokians, including Guts, spilled onto the floor. The Supervisor lamented the loss of what he called the last remnants of Gensokyo, despite literally in the next sentence stating that their life force had been drained to power that machine. Still blind to his own hypocrisy, the Supervisor continued to battle the rebels. A new machine crawled out of the wreckage, revealing itself to be a darker and larger version of Arachnos' old Suppressor device - a battle robot with six arms carrying different long and close-range weapons. The Supervisor claimed that the device used a Mimic-like core that enhanced his magical power in addition to its own weaponry.

The Suppressor was more mobile than the previous two forms (using the Supervisor's ability to teleport) and, while the machine itself was relatively lacking in firepower, the spider's magic made up for it, heavily damaging the entire building with an earthquake and damaging the fabric of reality itself. Despite that, the Supervisor found himself constantly besieged, constantly tanking attacks. And all the while, the rebels shot down his long-standing claims one by one. Powerlessness is not an excuse for becoming the devil. The twisted and unnatural continued existence he called "life" was more like an actual cancer than what he believes everyone else to be. Having the ability to say you "can" does not mean you "should". Under the constant assault, the Suppressor completely fell apart.

And with it fell the Net Generators. The Supervisor had put all of his eggs in one basket, and tied the controls to his machine. With them severed, the Warp Net entrapping the RAG fleet dropped, allowing the ships to flee. Still unwilling to admit defeat, the Supervisor started throwing his own capsule at the rebels in a blind fury. Ketsueki eventually stepped up to the plate, revealing the flash drive with the clone footage on it. He taunted the Supervisor with it, and lying that he had already transmitted it to The General. Now completely unable to face The General or remain earthbound any longer, the Supervisor retreated, promising they would all meet again.

Now alone in the empty chamber, Captain Turm contacted the Squad, explaining to them the fall of the Warp Net. But there were no time for congratulations, as the Head immediately began moving in towards Blackstar the moment they went down. The Sayan Squad had to rush back before the Head arrived. Returning briefly to collect their prisoners, the rebels rushed alongside the dish again, retracing their steps. Up above, the Pacifiers had ceased circling Blackstar, and ignored the incoming rebel ships.

It soon became apparent why. Every single RAG vessel was shot down in a single blast as the Head pulled into view. It hovered above the group in silence for several long minutes. It took no immediate action, and Captain Hood never so much as spoke a word to them. Instead, Cyem was sent down to deal with them lest they destroy their own weapon. Cyem himself was acting unusual, maintaining a much colder attitude than normal. He warned them that they should have stayed dead, because now the Captain wasn't alone. He had brought a certain person with him, a person who was not very happy. And that now, because of them, more lives than their own were at risk. He pleaded with them, that for the sake of Cyem's people, they all die quickly.

Cyem leapt into battle, but at that precise moment, several more Rebel ships began attacking the Head, distracting the Cimorian. Several attacked him, catching him off balance and blowing him away from the fight. The Head immediately retaliated against the Rebel fleet, creating enough of a distraction for Captain Turm to slip the Condor in. The Sayan Squad rushed to board the craft, and hurried their resistance friends and prisoners aboard before leaving Blackstar behind.

They watched as more rebel ships sacrificed themselves to the Head, willingly sacrificing themselves to buy time for other ships to try and bombard Blackstar. The tactics of the Head were also uncharacteristic. None of Hood's powers were used a single time, and most of the Head's heaviest firepower was brought out as opposed to the basic cannons the Captain was fond of using. And any time some of Hood's usual tactics became recognizable, they were overridden with more flawless execution.

The final ship to be destroyed managed to crash into the heavily-damaged Sarcophagus, taking out Blackstar in a massive cyan plume of smoke and flame. A resounding cheer of victory came over the Condor, as the last remaining parts of the attack fleet left. However, just as Ketsueki promised to party when they got back to base, he was sucker-punched by Saiyo, who left in a huff. Ketsueki and most of the Sayan Squad were left confused over her action. Nevertheless, the Condor left with the last of the rebel fleet, now with the road to their ultimate target clear...

Soundtrack

 * 1) Opening Theme - Main Theme (Sonic: Time Attacked)
 * 2) Iron Grip - Exiled One -Omega- (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos)
 * 3) Grasping Claws - Curse of Vile (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos)
 * 4) Enemy on the Horizon - World Depression (Code Geass R2)
 * 5) Alpha Fleet - LastFight/Ugh-Zan III (Serious Sam: The First Encounter)
 * 6) In The Shadow Of The Blackest Star ~ Pripyat - Sneaky Snake (Duke Nukem 3D)
 * 7) Mournful Whispers - Plasma (Duke Nukem 3D)
 * 8) Unresting Place ~ The Sarcophagus - Dr. Neo Cortex (Crash Bandicoot)
 * 9) To And Through - Sneaky Snake (Duke Nukem 3D) (Mark McWane version)
 * 10) Blaring Alarm - Iron Fist (Command And Conquer)
 * 11) Crypt Lord - Deathborn (F-Zero GX)
 * 12) Into His Grave - Kinpaku Suru Sentou (Seikon No Qwaser)
 * 13) Recluse One - Jaws (Earthworm Jim HD)
 * 14) Reluctant Defenders ~ Recluse Guard - Last Legs (Half-Life 2: Episode Two)
 * 15) Morgue - At the Heart of it All (Nine Inch Nails)
 * 16) Unlife - Dr. Neo Cortex (Crash Bandicoot) [Genocide remix]
 * 17) Throne of Madness ~ Vs. Life Support System - Douda! Ore no Trumpet wa Sugoi Darou!! [Anti-Spiral theme] (Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann)
 * 18) At Any Cost ~ Vs. Matricial Engine - Dr. Neo-Cortex Pre-Console (Crash Bandicoot: Warped)
 * 19) Screaming Wrath - Death Knight (Overlord)
 * 20) Organ Harvester ~ Vs. The Suppressor - Malicious Fingers (Project Chaos)
 * 21) The Supervisor's Desperation ~ Black Shadow (F-Zero GX)
 * 22) Uncertain Future - Darkness Over World (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos)
 * 23) Uneasy Escape - Curse of Vile (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos)
 * 24) The Doom - Apocalypse Now (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos)
 * 25) Standoff - Forbidden Ark (Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos)
 * 26) Rescue - Rogue Squadron Main (Star Wars: Rogue Squadron)
 * 27) Victory - Rebel Strike Main (Star Wars: Rogue Squadron III: Rebel Strike)
 * 28) Ending Theme - Dream A Dream (Pop It Don't Drop It edit)

Trivia

 * This episode was an interrupted broadcast, with a very long hiatus between runs.
 * This episode continues the theme of "unnatural life" established in the previous episode.
 * The Chernobyl Exclusion Zone was chosen to be the location of Blackstar because it fit the theme of slow death and decay.
 * The Sarcophagus is named so after the Chernobyl Power Plant sarcophagus, a structure built around the damaged power plant to keep the radiation from leaking out.
 * The Sarcophagus' design is heavily inspired by Necron Monoliths in Warhammer 40 000.
 * Arachnos originally planned to have the mutants in Pripyat hostile, but changed his mind after SDM pointed out this would not be very subtle.
 * Arachnos was initially hoping to bait Lynna into shooting one of the mutants, but since that didn't happen he resorted to having Oneiros do it.
 * The design of the Supervisor's life support system was inspired by Mother Brain from the Metroid series.
 * The design of the Matricial Engine was created as a compromise between something spider-related and something death-related (namely, a dead spider).
 * Originally, Arachnos hesitated to make the orb the Engine's primary means of locomotion, as he thought having it roll around like that may be perceived as too goofy, but he warmed up to the idea in the end.
 * The usage of living beings as fuel sources is partially inspired by LordGenome's Lazengann in Gurren Lagann.
 * Back before it was revealed that the group would be piloting robots that can perfectly replicate their powers in Hellgate 2 Part III, Arachnos (writer) wanted the character Arachnos to have a mecha armed with nanobots. The nanobot bombs of the Matricial Engine are a callback to that idea.
 * The Suppressor is a machine often associated with Arachni (dating all the way back to Doujinstyle 's Mental Shift). In addition to its usual weaponry, this particular iteration of the Suppressor also has elements of a Mimic (namely, the magic-amplification core that allows the Supervisor to use his own powers to a massively amplified extent while in the Suppressor). "Malicious Fingers" is a theme frequently associated with the machine.
 * The music used for the Supervisor's battles went through many changes over the planning of the episode. In Arachnos' original plans, the Crash Bandicoot 3 Cortex theme would have been used in the first phase. The final phase theme was intended to be Kiryuin Satsuki's battle theme from Kill La Kill until this, like the usage of Satsuki's theme altogether, was scrapped. "All Of You, Get Fired Up!" from Gurren Lagann was a candidate for the second phase theme, to make a connection between the Supervisor and LordGenome. "Find You", from Anarchy Reigns, was also a potential candidate.