Episode 12: "The Final Sprint Toward Freedom"

Kazuki Aoyama
"Well, well, well. Nice of you to finally join us."

The two found Kazuki and the others standing around an open area.
24 City enforcers and security drone fragments laid scattered around them.

Yo Kuronaka
"So this is what you meant by cleaning up, huh."

Sui Yakumo
"Not much else to do when you're just waitin' around.
So we decided to get a bit of exercise."

Yo carefully looked around the room.
It was a bit different from the passage way they had come from; devices were scattered around everywhere with their wires exposed.
A faint layer of dust could be seen in the air.
It was clearly a place people wouldn't come and go out of frequently.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Take it you noticed just how different it looks from earlier.
We're in the lower levels of 24 City."

Kazuki noticed Yo's eyes wandering around and started to talk.

Yo Kuronaka
"It's like you know everything..."

Kazuki Aoyama
"Well, it's pretty dangerous around here so I made sure to study up."

Yo Kuronaka
"Why did you even come here in the first place?
You mentioned saving me was only because Tsuki and Sui tagged along."

Kazuki Aoyama
"Saving you was just a bit of a bonus.
In reality, we actually came to take care of something else."

Roku Saigo
"We came to destroy the satellite's master controls."

Roku picked up where Kazuki left off, his deep voice booming.

Roku Saigo
"Zero, you know, the leader of 24 City, launched it a while back."

The satellite's master controls...
Kazuki and the others mentioned something about that before.
But why would they want to destroy that?
As Yo's thoughts began racing, they were abruptly interrupted.

Tsuruko Semba
"Hehe... Judging by that look on your face, you wanna know what's really going on!"

Tsuruko ran right up to Yo and leaned in close to him without hesitation.

Yo Kuronaka
"Huh? I mean, yeah, I wouldn't mind..."

Yo was utterly just plainly confused and could barely muster out the words.

Tsuruko Semba
"Tsuruko Semba, reporting in! I'll explain it all to you in a jiffy!"

Tsuruko's face lit up as she straightened her posture with pride, her school uniform flapping around.

Tsuki Iroha
"Oh, wow! You're suddenly bursting with energy, Tsuruko."

Tsuruko Semba
"You know what they say, knowledge is power, and I'm a pro at explaining things!"

She cleared her throat, and stuck her left index finger toward the sky.

Tsuruko Semba
"First up, the satellite we've put the kibosh on wasn't just used for spying.
It's also secretly a dangerous weapon that monitors the citizens of Neo Tokyo and murders them!"

Yo Kuronaka
"Wait, what?! It's also a weapon?"

Yo suddenly found himself at a loss for words.

Tsuruko Semba
"They're calling it Space Envoy 3."

The satellite had a name: Space Envoy 3.
Of course, up until now, Yo had no idea.

Tsuruko Semba
"The satellite is composed of three large main units with about three-hundred sub units. Each of them monitors the surface, with the capacity of being able to fire laser beams at will.
We don't really get it but it seems to have pretty much limitless energy, and many are killed by its lasers each day."

Yo Kuronaka
"They're killing people every single day...?"

(It's almost like we're at war.)
(No, not almost. That's exactly what it is.)
(And the one pulling the strings of it all is that masked man, Zero.)

As soon as Yo recalled him, a chill ran down his spine.

Tsuruko Semba
"If we didn't put a stop to it, more and more people were going to die.
So that's why we're here. We came and dismantled its only master controls.
Though we couldn't destroy the satellite itself, it should be rendered useless for now!"

She finished explaining with a proud look on her face.

Tsuruko Semba
"Was that easy enough to understand?"

Yo Kuronaka
"I'm... not sure. The scale of what's going on is so big, it's hard to keep up."

It was evident that was Yo's genuine reaction to the information.

Sui Yakumo
"...You're STILL struggling? C'mon! Pull yourself together already!"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"We've already destroyed the master controls, so it's fine to forget all about the satellite."

Hyakuichitaro had a triumphant look on his face.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Besides, it was super easy. Doesn't seem like that Zero was all he was hyped up to be."

Koishi Kohinata
"But didn't this all feel a bit too easy?"

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"Nah, you're just a big worrywart. Nothing wrong with everything going to plan!"

Hyakuichitaro let out a confident chuckle.
In contrast to his optimism, Koishi seemed a bit more cautious.

Hyakuichitaro Senju
"We just need to get back to the surface. We'll leave you behind if you can't keep up!"

Kazuki Aoyama
"For now, Hyakuichitaro is right. Stay alert, everyone.
Our destination should be straight ahead."

After speaking, Kazuki began running, leading the way.
Everyone else followed behind him.

The path they followed was even quieter than the previous areas.
There was no indication if they were being pursued as they were surrounded on all sides by an eerie silence.
All that echoed out were the sound of their footsteps.

After running for some time, they arrived at a large open area.
It looked like a huge maintenance facility.
One where big machines could be serviced and repaired, but there wasn't anything of the sort there now.

Tsuki Iroha
"Over there! There's a path!"

Tsuki pointed toward a path on the other side of the facility.
It was a large opening without any door.
And just like she said, it was indeed a path.

Tsuki Iroha
"This has to be the way!"

Before anyone could stop her, Tsuki began running toward it.
And when she got to the opening...

Tsuki Iroha
"Let's go, everyone!"

She waved at everyone to follow her.

Kazuki Aoyama
"..."

As everyone began following Tsuki, Kazuki stood in place with a suspicious look on his face.
He just stared dead at the large opening.
Q began speaking to him.

Q
"I take it Kohinata's words are getting to you?
Things went too well."

Kazuki Aoyama
"Yeah, a little bit too well. An open place like this feels like it'd be perfect for an ambush.
If this were a video game, this is where the boss would appear to confront the party."

Q
"But this isn't one of those video games."

Q flatly responded.

Kazuki Aoyama
"Yeah, you're right."

Kazuki chuckled.

Kazuki Aoyama
"All we can do is move forward, one foot in front of the other. Even if it means we're walking into a trap."

Q
"Exactly."

And so, Kazuki and Q began running toward the path.
Even if they were sprinting headstrong into a trap, their only choice was to keep moving forward.

The path leading from the maintenance facility was even dimmer and covered in more dust than the previous ones.
They all continued moving in silence.

There might be something waiting for them on the other side...
But all of them hoped there wouldn't be anything in their way...

As if they were running through a haunted house, everyone looked slightly nervous.
They continued down the dim and dusty path, and soon enough, a light appeared ahead of them.
It was far too bright to make out anything beyond it.

They braced themselves and dashed into the light.
And to their surprise...

Absolutely nothing happened.

They've finally arrived at their destination.