Fafner Ep. 6: Sacrifice (Soaring Sky)

As the new Festum continues to attack the island, Fumihiko asks for the status of the Mark Elf and Soushi says they can’t return yet. Kazuki fires missiles at the other Festum, but they are ineffective. The island defenses are useless on the new Festum and it breaks through to Alvis’s armored walls and soon destroys them. It continues to break through, and Fumihiko realizes its target is the girl in the tube. As Shouko watches on, she remembers her promise and walks off. She puts on a synergetic suit and goes to the Fafner hanger. Youkou sees her and tries to stop her from going but Shouko says she has to fight and protect the island. Youkou says there’s no need for her to risk her life for the island and Shouko replies that it’s not for the island, it’s for Kazuki. Kazuki continues to fight the other Festum and the Lundwurm is damaged. Youkou insists that Shouko can’t fight because her body is weak and Shouko asks if they were chosen to fight at birth. She says she wants to fight and Youkou should let her because she isn’t her real daughter. Youkou is hurt and remembers when she first received Shouko. Shouko says she made a promise and that she wants to keep it. Youkou lets her go and she boards the Mark Sechs. Shouko screams as she’s connected and realizes that Kazuki feels the same pain. Youkou begs Soushi to stop Shouko, but he says that protecting the island is their duty and that Shouko is needed. Youkou doesn’t want to accept that and Shouko thanks Soushi. The Mark Sechs launches and Yukie asks who the pilot is. Kouyou can’t believe it and Maya asks if it’s really Shouko. One of the Mark Sechs’s flight boosters malfunction and the mechanics want to call it back, but Soushi says it’s not necessary and they should be quiet and they tell Soushi he shouldn’t order around adults. The New Festum continues attacking and doing serious damage to Alvis until the Mark Sechs flies into it. It asks if she’s there, and she charges at it in rage.

The Lundwurm flies near the water and then flies above the Festum. It fires its rear beam cannon but it misses and hits the ocean, causing a pillar of water to rise up. The Festum looks down as the Mark Elf flies out of the water and rams a giant sword into the Festum. The sword splits open and shoots an energy blast into the Festum, destroying it. The Mark Elf reattaches to the Lundwurm and flies back to the island, as Esther looks on, shocked at Fafner’s power. Shouko pulls out a knife and stabs the Festum in a frenzy until the knife breaks. She extends the knife again and keeps stabbing, telling the Festum to get off Kazuki’s island. The knife breaks again, and Soushi tells her the knife is useless. She doesn’t listen and goes to stab again but the Festum forms a blade and stabs it through the Mark Sechs’s chest. It tosses the Mark Sechs aside and Kiyomi reports a disturbance in her brain waves while Fumihiko wonders if it’s no use. The Festum goes to continue attacking Alvis, but Shouko shoots it in the back. She goes into a shooting frenzy, but it doesn’t do anything. Soushi tries to tell her it’s useless, but she doesn’t listen. The Festum turns its arm into a whip and knocks the gun away. She charges at the Festum and latches onto it. She wraps it and herself up in wires and Soushi asks what she’s doing and she says she’s taking it off the island. The Mark Sechs’s jets fire up and it takes off into the sky with the Festum. Soushi tells her to let go so the island defenses can attack, but she says she can’t, as the Festum has started assimilating her. As they fly higher, Shouko says that she’s going to use the self-destruct system, Fenrir. It activates and a voice states that the removal code could not be accessed. Kazuki returns to the island and is shocked to learn that Shouko is piloting. Kazuki flies after her and asks Soushi what’s going on. He tells Shouko not to do something stupid and they continue ascending. Youkou makes her way to the surface and begs Soushi to give her Shouko back. Kouyou runs out of the room and Yukie tells the others to stay on standby. They don’t listen and run after Kouyou as Maya also runs out of the command center. They all make it to the surface and look up into the sky. Youkou remembers Shouko’s first works and when she asked why her name was Shouko. Youkou tells her it’s because she wants her to soar to the sky. Shouko says that some day she will. Shouko apologizes for saying that she wasn’t really Youkou’s child and she’s glad she kept her promise to Kazuki. Fenrir’s timer goes to zero and both the Mark Sechs and the Festum disappear. The others look on stunned and Sakura wonders what’s going on. Youkou breaks down crying and Maya doesn’t want to believe it. Yukie tells the other pilots that the enemy is gone, but so is the ‘precious’ Mark Sechs. Soushi looks down sadly and Kazuki screams.