By Godom’s Gurdolin plows through the EFF lines and destroys several Clanches and Shaldoll Customs. Jonathan wonders how they can fight an enemy like that, but Seric asks him to calm down. He notes that the beam drill is probably its only weapon and that it also has poor maneuverability. Seric, Jonathan and Obright attack the Gurdolin, while two Shaldoll Rogues and a G-Exes Jackedge attack several Gafrans and Danazines. Asemu’s AGE-2 Dark Hound destroys a Gafran and Baqto, but he then comes under attack from an X-Rounder unit using Jilsbains. Dean thinks about Lu and his promise to take her to the Earth that she wanted to see. On the Amadeus, Algreus is informed that the Vagan ships are forming a defensive circle around La Gramis and launching flanking attacks. Flit gets a call from Algreus and gives commands for the Diva to fire its photon blaster and cut a path through to La Gramis. Seric orders Jonathan and Obright to make defending the Diva their priority. On the Fa Zard, Zeheart calls Zanald and demands an explanation for what happened, but Zanald shrugs it off as a misunderstanding. Zeheart states that Zanald is defying his deployment orders, but Zanald responds that he doesn’t acknowledge Zeheart as Ezelcant’s successor and will act as he wishes. Obright’s Genoace O-Custom comes under attack from a Jilsbain, but Kio arrives with the AGE-FX and deploys his C-Funnels as assistance. A Jilsbain attacks Kio, and he nearly kills the pilot before hesitating and instead cuts off an arm. Seric calls Kio and asks him again not to fight like that, reminding him of the earlier devastating attack from La Gramis. The Gurdolin rams into the AGE-FX while Seric’s Clanche Custom takes enemy fire. Godom vows to get revenge for his fallen comrades, but he’s forced to break away when Seric attacks him. Seric orders Kio to fall back and defend the Diva while he takes on Godom. Godom is furious with Seric for interfering, and Seric comments that he feels like a matador. Kio thinks about Shanalua and his time at Second Moon with Dean and Lu. Seric lands several shots on the Gurdolin and notes that since he knows its simple attack pattern, it’s no threat to him. Godom declares that he can’t lose to a machine that’s not even a Gundam and attacks with his drill, which Seric dodges. Seric destroys the drill, but Godom grabs onto the Clanche Custom with his arms. Seric fires his rifle and vulcans, which destroy the Gurdolin. The force of the explosion knocks the Clanche Custom into a Vagan battleship, where it breaks in half at the lower torso and drifts away. The Diva prepares to fire its photon blaster and picks up Seric’s IFF code above a Vagan battleship.
Algreus asks why the Diva hasn’t fired and is informed that Seric is stuck on a Vagan ship. Natora calls Seric and asks him to evacuate, but the Clanche Custom won’t move out of the grove it’s stuck in. She then asks him to eject from the cockpit, but he says that the crash has twisted the frame. He tells Natora to fire anyway because she knows the importance of the shot. Flit orders any nearby units to rescue Seric, but he’s informed that all friendlies have withdrawn from the area. Seric tells Natora how important it is for them to win and defend Earth, so she starts to cry. Natora pauses for a moment and thanks Seric for everything before ordering the photon blaster to fire. As the Diva fires, Seric says to himself that Natora has become a fine captain. Flit and the rest of the bridge crew stand up and salute Seric. Natora orders the ship to advance at full combat speed for La Gramis. Kio moves through a debris field and comes under attack from Dean’s Jilsbain. He senses Dean’s presence and asks him what he’s doing in a mobile suit. Dean answers that he made a promise to Lu to take her to Earth, which he’ll do even if it means fighting Kio. Kio tells Dean that if they understand each other they won’t have to fight, and Dean asks if that’s going to happen today, tomorrow, in a year or in one hundred years. Kio uses his C-Funnels to cut off both of the Jilsbain’s arms and tells Dean he doesn’t want anyone to die. He says it’s ok if Dean hates him, but he wants him to live anyway. Dean comments that he wants to make a grave for Lu on Earth in a spot with a beautiful view overlooking a lake. He asks Kio if he’ll visit Lu sometimes, and Kio says he will. Dean’s Jilsbain is then destroyed from behind from an attack by Zanald’s Xamdrag. Kio asks Zanald why he killed an ally, and Zanald answers that a mobile suit that can’t fight is just junk, so he disposed of it. Filled with rage, Kio activates the FX Burst mode and absorbs one of Zanald’s attacks. He then moves at high speed and slices off the Xamdrag’s arms and legs. He vows that he’ll never forgive Zanald and rips through the Xamdrag’s chest before tossing it into debris. He rushes in to make the killing blow and pulls away at the last second. The Xamdrag then explodes, but the head manages to detach and escape. Kio thinks about his anger and wonders what he just did. Fram’s Fawn Farsia and Leil’s Ghirarga Custom fight on the frontline, and Zeheart is informed that Zanald’s fleet has suffered heavy damage. He vows that he won’t let anyone stop him from reaching Eden.
The final battle continues, so naturally the death count increases. First up is Godom, who went into battle with an ugly space lemon that has arms. I do like that Sunrise has been experimental with the Vagan suit designs, but the Gurdolin is just unreasonably stupid looking, to the point that it makes the Zakrello and Juaggu look halfway decent. I like how Seric methodically fought and defeated Godom, but the situation that leads to his death is pretty contrived. He did die heroically, though, and Natora didn’t back down from making a hard decision. I was surprised to see Flit attempt to have Seric rescued and didn’t demand immediately that Natora fire the photon blaster. Despite their early disputes, I think Flit recognized Seric’s abilities and the Woolf-like mentor role he played. Dean and Kio have a brief confrontation that finally leads to Kio reaching an understanding with a Vagan…whom he was already friends with. Unfortunately, I found that Dean’s reappearance and death carried no dramatic impact. It’s not like he and Kio had much screen time to begin with, but on top of that they haven’t talked to each other in nearly 10 episodes. If Kio and Dean had fought each other earlier and reached an understanding now, it would’ve made that outcome and Dean’s death more effective. After making such a big deal last episode about not using it, Kio succumbs to rage and uses the FX Burst mode, which somewhat resembles Layzner’s V-MAX mode. The scene was very similar to the beating that Flit unleashed on Desil near the end of the first generation. I know Kio goes on about how he doesn’t want anyone to die, but what is there to be gained from letting someone as horrible as Zanald live? I’m also scratching my head at Zanald hedging on being a traitor villain. He sends in some lackeys to kill Zeheart, and when they fail, he unconvincingly dismisses it as a misunderstanding, yet still declares his intention to defy Zeheart. I suppose it doesn’t matter since he probably isn’t going to last beyond the next episode.
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