Fafner Ep. 3: Truth (Labyrinth)

A surveillance aircraft from the Neo United Nations is monitored by Alvis as it flies over their air space. Yumiko says its nerve racking, wondering if they’ll be found out. Fumihiko says they might have caught onto something during the last battle and Yumiko says she feels uneasy about hiding from humanity. At school Kouyou heads home while Sakura grabs Kenji and Mamoru for martial arts practice. As Maya leaves, she sees her mother arrive. Fumihiko holds an emergency staff meeting at the school to discuss the Neo UN planes. He proposes moving the island to the North West. Everyone questions him, but Fumihiko says they cannot allow the Neo UN to learn of their location. Everyone leaves, but Fumihiko tells Chizuru he wants to talk to her in Alvis’s medical room. Once in Alvis, Fumihiko wants Chizuru to give him the names of all the pilot candidates. Kouyou fishes with Chocolat while Sakura beats Kenji and Mamoru in a sparing match. Maya looks at pictures with Shouko and she says she wants to get better so she can take pictures with everyone too. Chizuru gives Fumihiko the list of candidates. He looks it over and reads the names of Kouyou, Sakura, Mamoru and Shouko. He asks Chizuru if she has any problems adding Maya to the list, and she replies that Maya and Shouko are at physical disadvantages so she’s putting them under Yumiko’s supervision. Fumihiko decides to inform the parents and Chizuru says she’ll go with him. Sakura’s mother starts crying when she’s given the news, Kenji’s mother demands to know why her son was picked, and Fumihiko says that that’s what the children are there for. Shouko’s mother also can’t believe it, and Chizuru apologizes, saying Shouko’s health has nothing to do with her synergetic code. Fumihiko tells Chizuru he could have done it on his own, but Chizuru considers it her duty as a doctor. When Kouyou’s parents are informed, they rejoice that their son was chosen. Mamoru hides the comic he was reading under his homework as his father comes in. His father doesn’t fall for it and grabs the comic. He asks if it’s interesting and Mamoru says yes. His father smiles and puts it on his head and walks away. Mamoru’s father looks at his son’s data and his wife comes in, asking him if he told Mamoru. He tells her to leave him alone because he has a deadline tomorrow. He turns to his computer and works on the latest issue of the comic Mamoru was reading. At home, Chizuru drinks a beer, saying she didn’t know Maya had a physical disability. Yumiko tells her it’s a good thing because she won’t be in danger of dying. Chizuru admits she was happy when she found out and downs the rest of her beer. Maya looks around in her closet as Yumiko walks into the room. She asks Maya what she’s looking for, and she pulls out their father’s old camera. The next day, the kids are taken down into Alvis. Mamoru is excited about going into a secret base and Shouko asks Yumiko why is was hidden from them. Yukie replies that children should focus on studying and Kenji asks Mamoru why she’s acting so differently. Sakura wonders if that was where her father used to work. They pass Kenji’s mother in the hall, but she ignores them. Kenji wonders what’s with her, and Shouko says it’s probably because she’s working. Maya comments that her mother has also been distant lately and Mamoru says his parents have been too. Kenji jokes that they gave up on him a long time ago. They arrive at the commander center and Shouko is happy to see Kazuki there and Kouyou notices that Soushi is there too. Kazuki and Soushi look at them, and Maya asks her sister something. The group hangs around giant fish tanks and Maya calls them all together for a picture. Yukie tells them to hurry up and Maya takes the picture. 

Chizuru takes Kouyou, Mamoru, Kenji and Sakura to train with Fafner. Kenji and Kouyou wonder what a Fafner is and Mamoru says that it’s the robot. Chizuru asks who wants to go in the simulation first, and Sakura steps forward. Yumiko shows Shouko how to work a command console while Yukie asks Chizuru how the pilots are doing. Chizuru says they’re doing fine considering it’s their first time, but they’re actually having a very hard time. In the Fafner hanger, the Mark Elf’s repairs are nearly completed, but Mamoru’s father, the head mechanic, says it will still be able to function. He also says the adjustments on the Mark Sechs will be finished by the next day. Fumihiko orders him to prepare the Lundwurm, the Fafner support aircraft, because the Mark Elf is more effective than the Mark Sechs. Soushi, Yukie and Chizuru review the pilots’ tests results. Yukie comments on how poorly they did and Soushi tells her she can’t expect them all to pilot like Kazuki. Kazuki is helping Youko with repairs on the Mark Elf when he sees the image of a naked, glowing red girl floating in the air. Youko asks what’s wrong and Kazuki looks again, but the girl has vanished. Fumihiko learns that the island’s moment is behind schedule. Kenji’s mother says that the Brunnhilde system is in cold stand by and won’t start up and she doesn’t know why. Fumihiko tells her to hurry up and comments on how things have wound up just because they lost Kouzou and that the future doesn’t look too bright. Kazuki continues working on the Mark Elf but he sees the girl again. The Lundwurm starts up and shuts down again. Mamoru’s father says they’ll have to replace everything so it’ll work. Kazuki follows the girl’s image through the halls of Alvis. He follows her deep underground and comes to a huge door. It opens up and he enters a large room and sees the girl he was chasing suspended in a tank of red liquid attached to wires. She opens her eyes and smiles at Kazuki. In the command room, Kenji’s mom is told that phase 35 to 46 of the island moment preparations have been cleared. She wonders why it suddenly sped up. The reactors are powered up and the citizens of the island are told that it will begin to move and Kouyou’s parents are outraged at this. A warning suddenly comes up in the command room and Kenji’s mom identifies it as a Solomon’s prophecy. An object is detected and Yumiko tells Maya and Shouko to leave. Maya asks what’s going on and Fumihiko says it’s a battle. A Festum approaches the island and is identified as a Sphinx type. Alarms go off and Sakura wonders what’s going on. Mamoru asks if it’s a part of the training but Kenji doesn’t think so. Kazuki pulls himself away from the girl and runs to get read for battle. Yumiko tells Fumihiko that a Neo UN craft is detected and he curses their timing. Yumiko asks if they can move the island, but is told it’s not time yet. Soushi enters and says that he has a plan. After explaining, Fumihiko says that the plan has enough merit to be carried out and orders the Mark Elf ready for launch. Fumihiko tells Youko to have the Mark Elf go out with the Lundwurm, and she says she won’t be held responsible for that happens. Fumihiko tells Yumiko to tell the UN craft where they are, and she says that will put it in danger from the Festum. Fumihiko says that that’s the idea and that the Neo UN’s plane will be bait. Kazuki boards the Fafner and it’s docked with the Lundwurm. Kazuki tells Soushi he’s never flown before and Soushi tells him not to worry because together, they can fly. The Lundwurm takes off and Soushi thinks about how people have become afraid to fly because the sky no longer belonged to them.