Part 49: Evolution

They were surprised to find Richa at Moocheriel.



Richa, what's wrong?
The more I think about it, the more I see Moocherial has become an Antibody hive. I'll support you.
While you're absorbing Ar Ru, we'll fend off the Antibodies. Just focus on the song.
…Thanks.
Richa...
I'll go on ahead and pull the Antibodies' attention. Later!
That's nice of her and all, but wasn't she acting a bit strange?
She looked quite serious...
...Richa.

Back at VR21, Katene and Mute were hard at work.



Well, I just feel so motivated. I never realized having a family made such a big difference!
Oh, goodness gracious. You're embarrassing me!

Unfortunately, they were quite rudely interrupted.



...Raphael!
Damn, they've discovered us!?
Don't worry about VR21. I won't stop you from using it. I'm thankful you'll be working on it.
Thankful? What do you mean? You were my father's rival.
Sure, I was an officer of the Neo Atlas Faction, that opposed your father's dear Ancient Faction.
We fought for years, but now is the time to set aside such a petty conflict. Let us establish a new system.
A... new system?
What're you sayin', you jerk!?
To be quite frank, I need VR21 now.
Unfortunately, and shamefully, I must admit no one but you all are skilled enough to operate the machine.
Since there are no remnants left of the Ancient Faction, the only person I can rely on is you, the inventor's son.
Did you forget who annihilated the Ancient Faction? That's a pretty convenient memory you've got there.
I understand. I am ashamed, but could you support me?
How selfish are you!? Darlin' will never support you! I'd sooner beat the living snot outta ya...

Katene was willing to hear him out at least.



Darlin'...?
Go back. I understand your reasoning, Chairman Raphael, but as Mute said, I've no reason to help you.
Then, can we not strike a deal...?
...?
Here. This necklace was your father's keepsake.
...I knew you had it, but this isn't much of a negotiation. I don't even want his keepsake.
I knew of your hatred towards him, but as we examined this necklace, we discovered something very important.

It turned out he did have something they wanted.



What? That's impossible... I thought my father disposed of it...!
I thought the same thing. However, this is the truth. He kept it on his person at all times.
...That can't be...
Katene, if you support me, I'll give you this boot key and the position of project leader at the Think Tank.
...What's your objective? How're you planning to use VR21?
You're aiding Tyria, correct? I want you to scan her Cosmography with VR21 and hand that data over to us.
Darlin', no way! Don't listen to him!
And if I refuse?
You probably cannot, since... this will happen.
Was yea ra cenjue art jouee gyusya yor.

After the reeking top of Archia’s trash pile said that, Mute fell to the ground, wracked with pain.



Honey!
We had acquired a skill that transforms Reyvateils' physical attributes a long time ago.
And who invented this? Dr. Laude.
Dr. Laude...?
Ask your beloved how great his research results were.
Uwaaaah!
Honey! What're you doing to her!?
She's at my mercy. I could turn her into a hideous beast, should I choose.
Of course, I'd dislike resorting to such cruelty.
Tch...
No! Darlin'! Crystal...!
Gwaaaah!
Silence! Unless you're so eager to become a grotesque abomination in front of your beloved.

In the end Katene had to agree to Raphael’s demands.



I accept your proposal.
Keh... Darlin'...!
You're Kiraha's son, indeed. Very wise.

This was getting to be far too much for a certain pair, though.



...High time.
Chairman Raphael! We forgot to tell you, but our contract expires today!
So, if you'll excuse us.
Hmm? What's this, all of a sudden?
Let's go.
Sure!
...Wh-What!?
After them! They may be plotting something. Capture them and bring them back to me!
Archian Soldier: Yes, sir!

Meanwhile, they hurried through Moocheriel to Ar Ru.

Video Record- “Moocheriel Again”

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Saki was getting a bit creeped out by traveling through Moocheriel so often.



It didn’t feel like Moocheriel had become a different place even though it became the enemy’s nest.
You thought so, too? That place was always gloomy and creepy.
Even if there weren’t any Antibodies, it would still be creepy and dangerous looking.
Especially, that place that’s full of water.
It’s murky and dark…I feel like a monster will come out at any moment.
The Core is kind of bright and not as creepy, but the other places are pretty bad.
I don’t want to ever go there again if we can avoid it.

Richa was waiting for them at the Core of Moocheriel.

Video Record- “EXEC_COSMOFLIPS”

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Are you okay?
Yes. The situation has improved. Now you can interact with Ar Ru.
Thank you, Richa!
...You didn't get injured, did you?
...No, I'm fine.
I see...that's good. Thank you, Richa.
…!
...Let's go.

So they prepared to sing Cosmoflips again.



...Alright, Tyria, please start now.
Okay. He'll get to Ar Ru this time...
My Song...shall resonate...





...I'm going now.
...Ar Ru, I don't know if you can understand what I'm saying, but please listen.
I won't attack you. I'm just here to deliver my feelings to you.
I'll throw you the feelings of your counterpart Wills of the Planet. If you can feel from them, please help us...!
...Alright, we've done what we can!

And once again they were forced to fight Ar Ru.



Boss Battle: Ar Ru and Doll Model x 3
This is probably my favorite battle in the whole series. Ar Ru does basically the same stuff she did last time, and hits about as hard (meaning that she pretty much kills anyone in two hits). The Doll Models aren’t as bad as the Furia Carriers from last time, but they also hit pretty damn hard. The difference this time is that we can actually hurt her. It’s pretty much a race to kill her before we ourselves get wiped out. An Ultra Supermove will actually easily bring Ar Ru herself down, but it’ll take a Flipsphere to finish the job on the whole group.

But this time, the outcome was very different.

Video Record- “Enemies and Friends”

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A bright light engulfed the Core of Moocheriel…



Feinne on Qoga: Ar Ru
Yes, you saw that right. We can now use Ar Ru’s body in combat. She’s by FAR the strongest Reyvateil in the game, she adds a massive pile of attack to Tyria’s already high stats.

When the light faded, only Tyria remained.



...A light? What was that...?
It was a really strong flash.
Tyria!
Are you okay!?
...Uh...I understand.
Huh?
I know the language of the planet. Because we fused with Ar Ru...I can sense messages from the planet.
Huh…?
Aoto, Ar Ru wants to talk to you, okay?
Y-yeah...of course!

Tyria had already been uncomfortably close, which made things even worse when she turned into Ar Ru. Anyway, Aoto may be a total moron but at least he gets the essential truth of things, that anyone talking about sacrificing people is not even worth listening to.



Don't be scared. I won't do you any harm. There's just one thing I want to ask you about.
...What is that?
Why did you thwart the vaccination Song?
...Is that all? Well...I did it in order to save Saki and Finnel.
...Even at the expense of destroying the world?
To be honest with you, I wasn't even thinking about the future of the world.
If the price we hafta pay to save the world are those two girls' lives, I'd rather sacrifice the world to save them.
...What an interesting human.
…?
...Humans think that Ar Ciel is a bowl or something that they have created. But the planet isn't an object.
I know why you say you want to save Saki and Finnel, even at the cost of the world...because I feel the same way.
You don't hate the people of this world, do you?
But, if Saki and Finnel were being hurt by them, you would fight back against them, wouldn't you?
...Was that a good enough answer?

Ar Ru at least decided it could be entertaining to stick around for a bit, which I can relate to.



If that's so...then you should watch the whole thing from inside Tyria.
I will. But, if you aren't what I expected, I'll take over this body, and I will handle the situation.
I merely act in the name of Ar Ciel. Tyria has enabled herself to communicate with the empyreal Will of the Planet.
If I get to the core, I should be able to discuss this with the Consensus. Good luck.
Yeah. Thanks!
Za Zact Xeee Taa!

Meanwhile, elsewhere in the world their successes were already paying dividends. In more areas than one, in fact.



The Great Fang Militia will head to the Think Tank facilities! We'll eliminate all of the Antibodies in town!
Soldiers: Yeah!
Archian Soldier: Gengai, the Antibodies are retreating in all directions! Most of the ones in town and the Tower of Origin have fled!
What the hell is going on!? Okay, Great Fang Militia, stand by in front of the gate! We must reconsider our tactics!
Soldiers: Hah!
Outrageous... What is the head of Archia doing at this urgent time?
That was impressive, Sir Gengai.
You wench!
Hold on. I have no intention of fighting you. I'm here to cooperate with you today.
What...!?
Sir Aoto's uncompromising willpower and belief that humans and Reyvateils can coexist has really struck my heart.
Therefore, I shall offer you reinforcements.
Hmm...yeah, that sounds like him... Alright, I'll be counting on ya. So you are...
The Supreme Commander of the Clustanian Army, General Akane, is at your service.
Akane. It's a pleasure to have you as an ally!

Tyria meanwhile returned to her body, still way too close to Aoto for his comfort.



How did your strategy conference go?
Ar Ru told me she would quietly observe from within you for now. She also said she would help us.
Is that so? Then she's now our ally, too, right? We should give her a nickname. What about Arru?
...That's basically the same name.
Really? You can call me Ria, then.
I won't call you that.

With Ar Ru calmed down, they had the opportunity to finally reclaim the Heart of Gaea.



Oh…sure.
Was yea ra cranidale yor…
I’ve got it.

Now all that was left was for Tyria to fulfill her earlier promise and shut down Moocheriel.



saash manaf, slepir der mea: SHD>>tyrievalis_x01
Moocheriel: geeow anw slep MU=SEL=EL.
Now Moocheriel's functions have stopped completely. No more Antibodies will be created.
Whew, thank the Goddess...
The situation has gotten a little better.
But there are still a whole lot of problems for us to fix.
Tyria's right. We can't just sit here.
Yeah.

Unfortunately, they were not entirely at Moocheriel with friends.



Eternus Shaft? I thought we were going back to Archia.
The latest model Reyvateil analysis device is in the depths of Eternus Shaft.
So, we'll examine the status of Ar Ru inside Tyria's soul. Chairman Raphael is already heading there, as we speak.
Are you talking about VR21...?
Hold on, Richa.
!?
I know VR21 isn't just another Dive Machine. Is your objective really just to quell Ar Ru's outbursts?
What...? That's so out of the blue.
You're hiding something from us... It wouldn't be related to the Human Evolution Project by any chance...
N-no, I'm not hiding anything!
…
…Richa?
...Don't worry. It's nothing harmful for you guys.
Okay...I believe you.

Aoto was willing to trust her again, but not everyone was.



Deep down inside me, I wish I could believe you.
…
Is it greedy of me to ask you one more time to tell me the truth?
...I'm...sorry.
...Then, we can't stay with you.
Doctor...

They hadn’t even made it out of Moocheriel before they learned why they might not want to trust her.



What're you guys doing here?
Who cares? More importantly, did you guys absorb Ar Ru?
Why is that any of your business?
Don't be so cold, man. Don't you trust us?
Of course not. You've been nothing but trouble.
Well, I guess that is true...
Unfortunately for you guys, we've got a stake in this. I gotta talk to Tyria, who has trapped Ar Ru within herself.
Also, if you're thinking of goin' to Eternus Shaft, we'd advise against it.
Huh? Why?
Ask that sexy military chick.
...Richa! She's been pulling the strings...?
Wait a sec! Why're you two giving us this information?
A couple reasons. First, because Archia's looking more and more shady after our investigation.
I don't think the world's heading toward an eternity of sunshine and rainbows.
Right. Based on our accounts, there's a back story to the Human Evolution Project.
It doesn't seem to be meant to resolve all of these issues peacefully.
What…!?
It's annoying to have to trust them, but they're good at gathering info... We'd better escape with Tyria.
Yeah.

Their escape, unfortunately, was not to be.



Richa blasted them with a flash of Song Magic.



Whoa!
Don't panic. It's just a distraction!

A successful distraction, in fact, as it allowed her to grab Tyria and deploy her reinforcements.



Tyria!
Don't come any closer, or I'll order the Archian soldiers and guardians to begin their assault!
…Richa…
Richa, stop this!
Doctor, I'm sorry, but I have no choice. I wanted you to like me, but it's...too late now.
Once you know everything about me, you'll never want to see my face again!
Richa…!

Richa and the Archians pulled out.



Aoto, Tyria is...!
Let's chase them!
Hell yeah!
We'll head to the Archia Think Tank. We've got a few tricks to keep Raphael from carrying out his plan!
Please wait. You said you investigated the Human Evolution Project, right?
Please, tell us what Archia is trying to achieve!

I didn’t even believe this the first time I heard it. I had to get them to prove that someone would try to do something this ridiculous.



Mixing humans and Antibodies? Is that even possible?
How inhumane. That must never be allowed to happen!
It sounds disgusting, but the real horror is that their plan is about 90% ready to go.
They're already able to manipulate Reyvateilic qualities and transform humans into anything...even monsters.
According to their records, to make the technology, illicit experiments were performed. Many were juvenile victims.
Are you serious? Then, my sister's symptoms were...!
The final 10% that they're missing is knowledge of the Antibody's spiritual structure. That would be Ar Ru.
!
You'd better hurry! You gotta stop them before Tyria gets transformed in VR21!
Okay, we're heading off. Good luck, folks!
We should go, too.

They rushed to Eternus Shaft, hoping to arrive in time to make a difference. What happened next is a tale for another day, though.