Fafner Ep. 9: Separation (Assimilation)

Idun looks on happily as Kazuki destroys a Festum. The smaller Festums latch onto the destroyed one’s body and revives it to Kazuki’s surprise. Maya and Kyouhei go further underground and Kyouhei says they should be fine. Kouyou continues his decent and Kyouhei releases a red liquid into the water to show their location. As they’re waiting, Kyouhei offers Maya a drink. She’s says she can’t because she’s underage, but he orders her to drink it. She does and finds out its just water. Kouyou sees the signal and goes over to it and a Festum materializes behind him. He attaches the submarines to the air lock and Maya and Kyouhei get it. Kouyou starts ascending but the Festum grabs him from behind. It starts to assimilate him and Yukie orders the plane to take off. Kazuki continues to destroy Festums and Soushi tells him to retreat. Kazuki asks about Kouyou but Soushi tells him to worry about himself. He hops onto the plane as it takes off and the Mark Vier’s surfaces, holding out the submarine. Kazuki grabs it and notices that the Festum has him. Kouyou says he was able to save them and the Festum cuts the Mark Vier’s arm off, sending them both into the sea. Yukie’s timer goes to zero, but she is shocked to see that the island didn’t self-destruct. Sakura arrives and flies in while Kouyou continues to descend. He asks Soushi who he saved and Soushi replies Maya and Kyouhei, but Kouyou doesn’t remember who they are. Kouyou wonders if he’s being assimilated and that he doesn’t feel anything. Sakura dives in and cuts the cockpit out of the Mark Vier. She escapes and the island’s Fenrir system activates, destroying it and all the Festum. Back at Alvis, Chizuru is relieved to hear that Maya is safe and Fumihiko orders the wounded to be tended to. Maya tells Yumiko that she wasn’t able to do anything and also asks how Kouyou is. Yumiko tells her to leave it to their mother and that he’ll be fine. Chizuru looks at Kouyou’s status and sees that he is completely assimilated. 

The next day Maya visits Youkou and Chizuru talks to Kouyou’s parents. Chizuru says she doesn’t know what to do and Kouyou’s father degrades him about winding up like that. Kyouhei runs into Yukie in town and says that he found the treasure. He goes to Fumihiko’s house and gives him the disk. Fumihiko says Yukie was probably going to hand it over to the Neo UN. Kyouhei says that if Kouzou was in charge, he’d have eliminated them already and Fumihiko comments that he doesn’t want to fight humans. Sakura, Kenji and Mamoru are alone in the school and Kenji comments that they should just close it down since no one is showing up. Sakura asks if they’ve heard anything about Kouyou and Kenji says he’s probably just sleeping. Sakura then takes their papers and asks them to do something for her. Maya runs into her under classmate Rina Nishino and Rina asks if she’s going underground today. Maya says she’s going home and Rina says that she’ll ask Maya something next time and runs off. Maya is confused and Kenji and Mamoru find her. Sakura asks Maya if she could get her mother to let them visit Kouyou. Maya says she’ll try and goes to see her sister. Yumiko is talking with Yukie and Maya asks if they can see Kouyou. Yukie says it’s fine and it will be a good learning experience. Maya finds Kazuki playing basketball by himself and invites him to go with them. He refuses but Maya drags him along. In the elevator, Mamoru is freaked out by Chocolat, which Maya brought along. Sakura asks what the dog is doing there and Maya says it’s because it’s cute. Everyone is shocked to see the state Kouyou’s in and they can’t believe it. Yumiko explains that he was assimilated and Sakura blames herself for not saving him in time. Maya also blames herself but Kazuki says it’s no one’s fault. Soushi enters and says it was Kouyou’s decision. He says thanks to him they lost another Fafner and it’s no time to be sentimental. Maya gets up and slaps him, asking how he could feel nothing since he was the one who last spoke to him. Kouyou’s parents ask when they can get a new foster child, and they are told they can’t have one because Kouyou technically isn’t dead yet. At night, they sneak into Kouyou’s room and are about to turn off his life support system when Chizuru catches them. They beg Fumihiko to give them another child because they don’t want to be the parents of a failure. Fumihiko throws reports at them and says he knows that they have been giving info to the Neo UN. He thanks them for raising a great pilot and tells them to get off the island. Maya rides by the Kasugai’s old restaurant and sees Kyouhei tending to it. He says he’s been promoted from customer to master. Chizuru shops and overhears people saying that the Kasugai’s shouldn’t have left the island. Yukie throws something into the water and over hears Kazuki talking with Soushi. Kazuki wants to know what’s more important, Fafner or the pilots and Soushi gives his answer. Maya reports for a shift changed and is shocked to see Rina in Shouko’s old position. Kazuki is shocked the hear Soushi’s answer.