Part 88: The Incarnation of Hatred

Since it's the Godmars finale, let's throw money at Takeru.



Godmars (Takeru Myojin)
Skills
A-Class Psychic
Prevail L4+5
Spirit Block
EN Save
Guard
Spirits
Vigor - 20
Sense - 20
Spirit - 30
Fury - 20
Love - 60
Traits
Antiproton Bomb
Weapons
Hit (8 EN, 100 Will)
God Fire (16 EN, 110 Will)
Mars Flash (24 EN, 120 Will)
Final Godmars (64 EN, 135 Will)
Ace Bonus: The Psychic Skill is replaced by A-Class Psychic.
Full Upgrade Bonus: Movement +1.
Custom Bonus: Can use Six Gods Combination with no Will requirement.

Takeru will get the Zeal Spirit we got a preview of on the Space route back soon enough. Godmars is a robot whose boss-crushing attack has a range of 1, so increasing range doesn't help quite as much as it does other robots; meanwhile, in Gaia mode, the Six Gods Attack's middling range of 4 has generally been enough. On the other hand, Godmars' movement is average and Takeru can only access Accel by using Love, which is not exactly efficient.

Godmars' custom bonus isn't stellar; Takeru casts Spirit at the beginning of every map to take advantage of his SP Regen, so he's not exactly short on Will, and I still prefer using up Gaia's energy before converting it into Godmars. I've always found burning through Six Gods better than using God Fire for shredding the first wave of enemies anyway. Still, Godmars is good enough that it didn't really need another broken passive on top of that.

Anyway, going on with the theme of Godmars, I'll also upgrade the remaining super robots added by ZEXIS whose plots are, at least for now, complete.




Dai-Guard (Shunsuke Akagi, Ibuki Momoi, Keiichiro Aoyama)
Skills
Salaryman (all)
Prevail L6+3
Morale
Supply
Ammo Save
Dash
Spirits
(Akagi)
Gain - 15
Guts - 30
Invincible - 15
Spirit - 30
Soul - 40
(Ibuki)
Vigor - 20
Strike - 20
Guard - 25
Spirit - 35
Rouse - 50
(Aoyama)
Vigor - 20
Accel - 25
Focus - 15
Mercy - 10
Spirit - 35
Faith - 45
Traits
Resupply
Weapons
Slam (10 EN)
Punch (15 EN)
Finger Net Arm (6 EN, mobility)
Drill Arm (40 EN, 110 Will, barrier)
Knot Buster (7 ammo, 120 Will, barrier, size)
Knot Punisher (4 ammo, 130 Will, barrier, size)
Great Knot Punisher (3 ammo, 140 Will, barrier, size)
Ace Bonus: The Spirit command Valor becomes Soul.
Full Upgrade Bonus: Weapon Range +1.
Custom Bonus: +1 ammo to counter-Fractal Knot weaponry.

Dai-Guard, on the other hand, will love additional range. It doesn't apply to the Drill Arm (remember when that was Dai-Guard's best shot?), but when the basic Knot Buster has seven strikes in it, who cares? Oh, and the Great Knot Punisher came with a single use per chapter, but when you combine the ultimate Dai-Guard with Ammo Save, it shoots up to three. Dai-Guard can probably fight effectively now using counter-Knot attacks alone.



Final Dancouga (Shinobu Fujiwara, Sara Yuuki, Ryo Shiba, Masato Shikibu, Alan Igor)
Skills
Go Wild
Prevail L5
Morale
Spirits
(Shinobu)
Guts - 30
Accel - 15
Invincible - 15
Spirit - 30
Valor - 35
(Sara)
Focus - 15
Snipe - 20
Spirit - 30
(Masato)
Gain - 20
Trust - 30
Spirit - 30
Luck - 40
(Ryo)
Alert - 15
Strike - 20
Spirit - 30
Fury - 30
(Alan)
Scan - 1
Analyze - 30
Guard - 25
Drive - 50
Weapons
Pulse Laser (10 ammo)
Iron Fist (8 EN)
Daigun (6 ammo)
Severance Cannon Formation (24 EN, 110 Will)
Severance Sword (40 EN)
Final Severance Cannon (64N, 130 Will)
Ace Bonus: When "Go Wild" is active, +30% critical rate.
Full Upgrade Bonus: Weapon Crit +10.
Custom Bonus: +100 EN.

A custom bonus that's simple and sweet. I think Shinobu's Ace Bonus is well worth trying to stack extra with the critical custom bonus, and Final's range is fine.


Dancouga Nova Max God
Full Upgrade Bonus: Weapon Range +1.
Custom Bonus: Weapon accuracy/crit +10.

Don't take the lack of stats personally; I like Nova as a unit (and, honestly, Team D as a cast), but it hasn't changed since the robot was formed just a few chapters ago. Anyway, the custom bonus is all right, I guess. I'm not convinced Aoi has the Skill to make it worth my while trying to raise her crit rates, and I usually default to range.

Anyway, one more upgrade, honest.



Gurren-Lagann (Simon, Rossiu)
Skills
(Simon)
Spiral Power L4
Prevail L6+3
Break Will Limit
EN Save
Chain Actions
(Rossiu)
Spiral Power L1
Prevail L4
Defensive Support L3
Spirit Block
SP Up L9
Spirits
(Simon)
Gain - 20
Guts - 30
Strike - 20
Spirit - 35
Valor - 40
Courage - 60
(Rossiu)
Vigor - 20
Trust - 25
Alert - 10
Analyze - 25
Spirit - 40
Valor - 40
Weapons
Toroidal Burst (56 EN, 140 Will, size, MAP)
Kick (8 EN)
Gurren Boomerang (12 EN)
Glassun Cutter (16 EN)
Skull Break (24 EN, 110 Will)
Full Drillize (40 EN, 120 Will, barrier)
Giga Drill Break (60 EN, 130 Will, barrier)
Ace Bonus (Simon): Deploys at +30 Will.
Ace Bonus (Rossiu): At 130 Will, casts Invincible at the beginning of each phase.
Full Upgrade Bonus: Weapon Range +1.
Custom Bonus: Once, when its HP would be reduced to 0 by an attack, survive with 10 HP instead.

Gurren-Lagann is one of those robots where I don't really know what it needs. Its custom bonus, likewise, is not when I see ever coming into play with Spiral Power and Prevail and its just plain tremendous strength. Like Takeru, Simon doesn't have easy access to Accel, but he gets two turns almost all the time it's relevant. Also like Takeru, Giga Drill Break's range is 1. Where range helps, though, is using the basic Cutter attack and countering with the Gurren Boomerang.

And that's still a preposterous amount of potential Valor.

We're up to eleven fully-upgraded robots, and that should be enough for now.



Ranka finally wakes up on the Quarter, where Eida and Ozma give her the same bad news Sheryl got: she's coming with them to the battle with the Gishin. Ranka has utter faith that her brother, and the S. M. S., and all of GOONZ, will be able to keep her safe.



Alto's been quit, still thinking about Ranka's strange reaction in the hive. If she did get her memories back, Canaria says it was only temporary.



Cathy's sent Johnny to get Ozma. That probably means the briefing for the battle is - actually, that wasn't true at all. Johnny just wanted to get Ozma out of Alto's way, and now he and Eida are leaving too. Leaving Alto alone with Ranka, that is. Eida whispers to Ranka so Alto can't hear - "good luck!"



Unfortunately, Ranka's thinking about how Sheryl showed her up by singing her heart out even in the middle of pitched battle. In what I can only assume is an attempt to cheer her up, Alto tells her what Sheryl said to him once: "Birds live to fly... and she sings like birds fly. That goes for you too, doesn't it? It wasn't quite like hers, because she's got no shame... but you sang too."

It does cheer Ranka up, which is good, because Alto won't be able to fight out there if he's worried about her. He makes the same promise as Ozma, to defend her with his life, and another one - "I'll come back alive."



It wasn't just Alto and Ranka Johnny was trying to get together. He also wanted to push Ozma and Cathy together as well. He's quick to explain that he's not trying to support any particular side of the love triangle (which one?), but he can see that if someone doesn't do something, it's not going to get resolved either way. Aoyama and Ibuki think Sheryl's stability would complement Alto's flightiness, but Pierre and Sirius argue that a "little sister" type would fit with Alto's intensity.



Love is in the air, but Takeru's mind is on a different kind of love: love that drives them to fight for all humanity, and everyone in the whole galaxy. Rose sadly says that Zuul is the opposite of that kind of love - an incarnation of hatred. Meaning, the universe won't have peace until he's destroyed.

What does he want, though? At first, he wanted to destroy the Earth because it was too dangerous to exist, but now he wants to possess it. Unfortunately, he never spoke of his thoughts to any of his soldiers, even his innermost circle; to him, they're merely machines to wage war at his command, like Rose herself and Zagul. All she knows is that the Earth is central to his plot to rule the galaxy. He's formed an alliance with Dr. Hell, he's been digging on the Dark Continent... but all the answers lie with the Emperor himself.



Zuul knows that we Earthlings have escaped destruction at the hands of the Spiral Warrior, WILL, and now the galactic travelers as well. Now they're coming for him. But he was the one who informed us secretly about the hive, and it's fine with him that we dealt with the "pests" for him. Though the Vajra he once knew and fought are a different swarm from the ones that were in this solar system...

Anyway, Zuul orders Wahl to meet GOONZ, and stop them at all costs - including his own life. Wahl has no intention of dying here, but if he has any hope, it's arranging a showdown between Mars and Zuul...


Chapter 46: The Incarnation of Hatred



Remember, if Mars dies, the antiproton bomb goes off. Emperor Zuul will certainly be caught in the blast. So if Mars and Zuul fight each other, it will destroy them both and leave Wahl, the victor - or at least alive to say so.



Not knowing any of this, Takeru and the Crushers just see Wahl as a foe they must defeat on the way to Zuul.



SR point: take out all the other Gishin before destroying Wahl's warship, and do it in three turns.



Yawn.



Jets? Out in a turn.



Shinn learns Soul.



Wahl's ships don't move, though, which may be the only annoying part of this rush.



There are a couple of jets left, but eh.



I wish there was a way to show enemy status on the map. It would make summarizing these things much easier.

Anyway, all it'll really take is tagging the stronger Vaccuums, Ganymedes, and rushing into the ships.



Oh, supports. Good.





The ships aren't even that strong, though.



Aoi learns Valor.




End of turn 2? The psychics are having serious headaches, apart from Wahl (the third warship) and this one dumb jet.



Oh m- Sara Yuuki learns Love. You know how stupid it is to have Courage or Love on a multipilot machine? Final is going to start wrecking. She may only have one per fight, but it's still way more than a machine like Nova or Sol Gravion has.

Well, yet.




Anyway, the point of all that was that we're already down to just Wahl.

(Heh heh heh. What fortune. I can make these fools hand me Zuul's seat as ruler of Gishin.)
(I must not die before then...)




Outranged, though.



But that's quite all right.









Because, just like with Lordgenome and Moon WILL, this battle hasn't even started yet.




Though Takeru does officially gain Zeal.



Wahl pleads for mercy and offers to turn to our side. No one's buying it, but Takeru asks the GOONZ to at least hear him out. If we kill him now, we're no better than Zuul.

It's a low blow, but it works. Takeru asks Wahl why he would turn coat now. Wahl snivels that he's been moved by the sight of us laying down our lives for our world. He now believes that Zuul is leading Gishin to ruin, and he wants peace and prosperity for his own planet.

Rose knows Wahl too well to swallow that, but Takeru says that Wahl has given up the fight, whether he's got something up his sleeve or not. He won't shoot down a foe who's surrendered... just as Wahl was hoping for. Now all Wahl has to do is engineer a battle between GOONZ and the Emperor.



Zuul, of course, saw through his cowardly little game long ago.



With his cosmic psychic power, he destroys Wahl's warship and gloats that Rose will meet the same end. He waves his hand again, and everyone hears a high-pitched noise...




Space folds around Zuul and GOONZ, and they find themselves in a strange pocket of space between the dimensions.



Along with many monsters we know well - mechabeasts, Gol and Burai, Heterodynes and Vajra, moon warriors, Damons, and even two Zuuls!

The Zuuls, in unison, declare that this is just a fraction of his power. Takeru can tell that both Zuuls are copies, just like the one we fought long ago, but the real one is watching somewhere. But if we destroy the copies, we might be able to draw the real one out!



So yeah, no rush, just destroy both Zuuls.



Surrounded by an "all-star cast" of our enemies (Lockon's words)...



The two Zuuls are hefty, but not exactly boss-class at that. They do have all his moves, including the MAP attack.



Ibuki learns Hope, but using it will drain almost all of her SP.



Dayakka learns Valor. This is actually useful; the Great Gurren is nothing if not a gunboat and it's worth throwing it at bosses to enable the Giga Drill Break Great Gurren Gang Special. (Unfortunately, the move itself can only be started by Simon, so there aren't any double-Valor shenanigans here.)



It takes about the rest of the turn to focus one of the Zuuls down without burning any Valor (gotta save it).

Mwahahaha! You will never succeed!



Even a Zuul copy is highly valuable though.



It should take just another turn to finish off the second one, and, cliche as it's getting, that's when the real challenge begins. Still, there's no time pressure or anything, so I'm free to wait and recoup.



Zuul's actually brought some heavy firepower. It's probably not worth worrying about them too much. (The Regulus and Rhinodamons are the weakest among them, by far.)



Unless, I suppose, you've got a lot of time on your hands waiting for Zuul to plod along over, and you've brought along a really weak unit for conversation purposes that needs some levels fast.



Really fast.



Rose gets Hope, and it's not even her last Spirit. I hope it's good. (I'm probably not going to use the Cosmo Crusher again, more's the pity, so I'll just tell you right now: it's Awaken, which is, indeed, stupidly good. It will also take all of her SP, though, and subpilots can't buy SP Up - the same issue Sara will have.)



Zuul 2 moves into range - directly at Takeru, it seems - but is just a little too far to do anything about it.



Then he's destroyed, saying the same thing again...



And at last, the real one comes out.

Mars. Earthlings. In recognition of your performance, I will grant you the honor of fighting me personally.
Zuul!
Mars. You have let your time on Earth corrupt you.
That was my one mistake. Sending you to this world!
Because you did, my family and the Earth's future are in ruins!
Irrelevant! One man's life, one little world are insignificant compared to my conquest of the Galaxy!
Then what's so important about the Earth to you?
You teamed up with Dr. Hell to take over the Earth?
Humans have no need to know.
That's the attitude you're going with when we have a problem with you attacking our planet?
Bearer of a fragment. You yourself are among the reasons I must have this planet.
What?!
He's after the Sphere too?
...it was shattered into twelve souls and countless revelations and fell across the cosmos.
Twelve! So he is talking about the Spheres!
This world is a singularity in all the universe. The fragments gather there, and those who have glimpsed the Black Revelations are led there.
And so the Dimension Master was brought there, and now begins to awaken.
Dimension Master?
And that world's inhabitants are awakening to the power of life.
!
(He's... looking at me...)
They bathe in the light of evolution. Tracing a spiral, they pierce the heavens.
Evolution...
Spiral...
He who controls the Earth, the singularity of the Galaxy, controls the power of Creation!
The power of Creation... the Origin Law.... dimensional energy...
That's just what The Edel Bernar said!
Earthlings, hand your world to me! I am the rightful ruler of the Galaxy!
That's enough, Zuul!



Do you know how many lives have been sacrificed for your ambition?
My Gishin mother and father, my Earth father, all the people on all the worlds you rule... and Marg!
Don't you feel one single ounce of regret?
Feel? Irrelevant!
Such feelings are the greatest danger of all! That which most I must destroy!
Love, courage, compassion... if you refuse those, you are my enemy!
Ours as well!
Not just ours! All of humanity's!
Not even that! The enemy of all life!
Even now you would fight me? Then you will die here!
Get us if you can!
We'll fight anyone who refuses to see the preciousness of life!
Zuul! You're the one who isn't getting out of here in one piece!
Come at us, Zuul! We'll lay down our lives to defeat you!



Destroy Zuul!



Emperor Zuul
Skills
Prevail L9
Perfection
Morale
Counter L7
Guard
Double Action
Spirits
Sense - 20
Mercy - 10
Guard - 30
Panic - 40
Soul - 60
Zeal - 60
Traits
HP Regen (S)
EN Regen (M)
Full Block
Items
Sign of a Hero (+25 Mobility, +25 Accuracy, +25 Critical, +200 Armor)
Weapons
Spread Beam (40 EN, 120 Will, Will down, size)
Shock (5 EN)
Energy Wave (10 EN, stats halved, barrier)
Ace Bonus: Casts Panic once when reduced below 20% HP.

Prevail L9. Perfection. Two turns. Guard. An S in space. A Sign of a Hero (another one). Some of the worst statuses out there. Oh, and Panic.

This'll be fun.

I'm kidding myself, though, this'll take like one round.

(I hope.)



He will, of course, go straight for Takeru. I'm putting a Defensive Supporter by him, just in case.



Now we wait.



Shit.



Evading doesn't help!

Get out of my way, little insect. You cannot raise a hand against me.
I'm staying right here! I promised those girls on the Quarter I'd protect them!
A promise? Humans certainly are petty, I see.
Maybe it seems petty to you, but I swore on my life that I'd keep them safe!
So I will protect them... and I'll go back alive!







Ow.

Mars, this is your final warning. Join me and take the place of Wahl and Zagul.
Never! And I'm not the only one that sees you're evil!
We'll destroy you for all your subjects you've sacrificed and free all the planest suffering under your rule!
Ridiculous. I am the ruler of all the universe, and I will decide its laws.
You are merely a stone on my path. I will destroy you and show the universe what becomes of those who defy me.
Then I'll destroy you and show the universe the light of hope!
That's what I swore with Marg! To fight to bring peace to the universe!




Time to counterattack.

Rose. You would dare compound your treachery by raising your own hand against me?
I'm not one of your soldiers anymore! I fight for what I believe in: peace and liberty!
Prepare yourself, Zuul! I will fight along with Mars to carry on Marg's will!







We can't fight any longer! All hands, eject!

Well, it was a good try.

Man of the spiral. Your continued existence is a threat to the whole universe.
That's exactly what the Spiral King said!
He, too, knew. That is why he sealed humanity underground.
But because of that, you were born to rise up against him.
What do you mean? Please explain, Zuul!
Don't beg to this guy, Rossiu! A real man's head is always held high and looking forward, even with a boot pressing down on it!
That itself is the power of the Spiral...
I have no idea what you're takling about, but we don't let anyone take our planet by force and tell us what to do!
I'm Simon the Digger! My drill is for drilling right through people like you who try to hold us down!








Uh oh.



Followers of delusion, led astray by the promise of evolution...
Evolution?
Zuul... you know what Getter Radiation is, don't you?
It is power beyond your station. It will bring ruin to all the galaxy.
That's not going to work on us!
Get ready, boss man! Whatever this ruin is you say's coming someday, you're our problem right here and now!
And we'll deal with you with what old man Saotome left us - Omega Getter!








Oh, there we go.

...am I going to have to just let him live to get all this in?

This only confirms that this world is a singularity in the Galaxy.
Otherwise I would never have found one like you here.
...
I see you do not yet know what you are.
Interesting. I have a chance to destroy one who can warp causality!
This will be the true proof of my power!
You're another pathetic dead man obsessed with a pointless delusion.





Photon power? So you are the wielder of the power of the traitor god.
The power of Mazinger Z is the power I was left by my grandpa!
The power I use to destroy bad guys just like you!
Ignorance is your sin. To raise your power against me, unknowing of its true purpose...
Then I will destroy you before Dr. Hell gets the chance and take your photonic power for myself.




You can make all the long-winded speeches you want, but you'll always be the bad guy!
I am the villain? Then are you setting yourselves up as the heroes?
I haven't even thought that far! I'm just fighting everyone who makes me mad!
And you're here treating people like insignificant bugs! You're the worst guy around!
Warriors who fight like wild beasts... then come! See that your life energy means nothing before my might!





It may be Earth WILL's power, it may have defeated Moon WILL, but it will be useless against me!
We won't know until we see, will we?
I have glimpsed the Black Revelations. Humanity's only potential is ruin.
You must be destroyed here!
I was waiting for you to come out and say it! Now we can really go wild!
Come on, Emperor Zuul! It's time for your serving of humanity's potential!





I see his Prevail is kicking in.



And I seem to have let his Will get high.



Let's fix that.




Much nicer.

It is the Gran Knights' duty to fight villains like you!
Duty? There is a limit to the power one can wield when bound by the chains of duty.
Such as the ones who took on the title "guardians of the universe", the WILLs.
Whatever! At least they were guardians of something, but you're calling yourself the ruler of the galaxy!
We Gran Knights take pride in our duty! That's the heart of Sol Gravion, and it will not be defeated!
Come, Emperor Zuul! The fires of our indignation will incinerate you!






There goes the Panic. I was going to use Strike on everything anyway, though.

I admire your pluck. You hate me, don't you?
You're right. I hate anyone who tries to spread war and violence.
But I'm not just fighting out of hatred. I'm fighting to stop you and bring peace back to this world!
Peace? From the perspective of the whole universe, peace is but an illusion.
Because you're in control of all those other planets!
I'll fight you and anyone else who wants war!






Okay, so... we're done?

Those particles your machine emits... are they...?
He's talking about the GN particles?
I don't know what they are, but they're having a dangerous effect. And humans play with it not knowing what it will lead to?
I don't know what you're talking about, but I will fight anyone who spreads the flames of war.
Exia, eliminating the target.

You dare stand against me? Know your place.
Your destruction is my mission. I will eliminate you.
Locked on. Target: Emperor Zuul...

I can feel the power of evolution blossoming within you.
Does he mean that I'm a Newtype?
There is no place for that power in the universe. It will only bring ruin.
I'm not here to debate with you whether Newtypes are the future of humanity or not.
But you refuse to see that people can understand each other. You're the only one here bringing ruin!

If you can't feel the weight of a life, we won't let you have our planet!
I see the marks of evolution are within your body as well.
Truly, this world is a singularity of great power.
I'm sick of listening to you! If you keep trying to take our world, we'll resist with all our strength!

Why does a human sit in command of the black Megadeus?
So he knows about Big O.
Don't concern yourself with him, Dorothy. A Negotiator is in no position to listen to villains.
Foolish. You have forgotten your purpose and become a vagrant.
I cannot suffer anyone to deny another freedom. I refuse to exchange words with you.
Emperor Zuul! This is not how I prefer to do things, but I'll engage you on your own terms and settle this with force!

The Machine Angel! Even this found its way to this planet?
What... what do you know about Aquarion?
Heh heh heh. The Dark Angels... caged in their endless prison.
I have no idea what you're takling about, but I'm really sick of your know-it-all attitude!
Keep up your little god complex act, treating humans like pests, and I'll crush you!

A mere human dares raise his hand against me?
We're not just any humans! We're salarymen!
What are you talking about?
You know that doesn't mean anything, Akagi?
It means that keeping the peace is our livelihood! If we let him beat us, our lives as we know them are over!
It's up to us as workers to take him down!

You're the shadow cast over all the people of all the worlds of the galaxy! Daitarn 3 and I will oppose you!
Arrogant vermin! You believe you can cast aside my darkness?
I can try! The light of the sun will part any shadow of evil!
And shine its light on the future of this universe!

Looks like the whole universe knows about the Spheres, huh?
Their power is too much for human hands. It is not for you vermin to possess.
I just bumped into the Brasta one day. And thanks to that Sphere, I've got all kinds of bastards after my head.
But now that I've come this far, I'm kind of curious about this Sphere thing! So I'm holding onto it!
Foolish! If that power cannot be mine, I will send it to another universe!
Sorry, not happening! I'm going to need my life and my Brasta to pay back my debt!

Is that it? I think so.





That's a lot of money and some insane levels for Takeru.

But Zuul, with his last breath, gloats that we will be trapped in this space for the rest of eternity.



As he tries to escape, Takeru goes after him. Suddenly, a message plays within Godmars, from...

Can you hear me, Mars? I am your father, Idea.
Father?
I always knew the time would come.
When I was forced to send you to Earth, I hid this video away.
You are now in a desperate place, but Mars... you are thinking only of living.
!
But to live is to know the meaning of death and risk losing your own life.
Mars. Fight for peace across the whole universe, without exception. Zuul's defeat is the first step.
Put your life on the line, and a miracle will occur.
I... know what to do, Father.
Mars! Wander this space between dimensions with your friends forever!
Zuul! We're going to die together!
What?!
Everyone! I'm going to trigger Godmars' antiproton bomb!
But that's...
You'll die for sure!
It's the only way to defeat Zuul!
Idiot! Don't you dare throw your life away!
We can't win by sacrificing one of our own!
The antiproton bomb's energy will also break this space open!
You can go back to normal space!
And you're willing to die for that?
Hold on! We'll come and help!
Don't come any closer! I already started the countdown!
Mars!
...dumbass.
All units, retreat.
But...!
That's an order! Don't let his sacrifice go to waste!
Risking his life for his mission...
...
All units, retreat.
Hurry. We're running out of time.
Takeru...
I'm sorry... I...
Don't cry, you two. You have to take care of the Earth.
Takeru...
We'll never forget your courage...
It's in your hands now.
Let go of me, Mars!
Marg... I'll see you again soon...



Mars! I can't die! I won't!
My cells are all over the universe! Somewhere out there, I will be reborn!
What?
Bwahahahaha! Emperor Zuul of Gishin is only a shell occupied by one of my cells!
Zuul!



Good... mission?



We're back in our universe, right where we were swallowed into Zuul's pocket universe. All of our robots are safely recovered... except for Godmars.

But Eureka and Tifa feel something...



But how? Takeru explains that the antiproton bomb ripped a hole in space when it exploded and blasted Zuul's body through it. The bomb itself must have gone through the warp as well; it's certainly no longer within Godmars. Takeru can't explain it, but his father did say that when he put his own life on the line, a miracle would occur. It seems that one really did.

That spells the effective end of the war against the Gishin; with both them and the Vajra out of the way, only the Imperium remains. Once they're gone, the Earth will finally be at peace. Our next stop is back home - back to Earth.

(Marg... Father, Mother... now that Zuul is gone, maybe planet Gishin can change.)
(I'll keep fighting. Until the Earth, and the rest of the universe, have peace.)
(With the power you left me... Godmars.)



Dr. Hell has heard the news of Zuul's defeat. Ashura again has a feeling in him/her s/he can't explain, as if s/he knew Zuul once long, long ago. Why would a once citizen of Mycene know of the alien? Dr. Hell orders his servants back to work. The investigation into the depths of Bardos Island is key to his plan... and the future of the world itself. They are about to open the forbidden door.



Now that we've handled the Vajra and Gishin, it's time for Alejandro to make his move using the UNF. "Operation Daybreak, to bring a new dawn to this planet."



Alejandro thinks Operation Daybreak is the end, but Treize and Schneizel know that's a sign of his shortsightedness; it's only just the beginning.



Their special guest today is Elgan Roddick; Schneizel wonders what he's thinking keeping Alejandro's movements a secret. "Do you mean as Chairman of the World Peacekeeping Council?" says Elgan. "Or as a supporter of Celestial Being?" Whichever they mean (and they mean both), the answer is the same. If GOONZ cannot respond to this, they were never of any use to begin with. That's why he's helping them, it seems. And he agrees with them: Alejandro intends to end things with Operation Daybreak, but it is only the beginning of mankind's fight.

"The fight that lasts," he thinks to himself, "from the birth of the universe to the end of days."



Next up is the worst chapter in the game.