By Hiroto tells Hinata at school that the Build Divers plan to visit Masaki at the hospital to see how he’s doing. Hinata thanks Hiroto for coming back safely, and he in turn thanks her for supporting Mizuki. Hinata asks Hiroto if he’s returning to Eldora and if his parents know, but he hasn’t told them so they don’t worry. Hiroto says that if he can complete this mission, he thinks he’ll be the person she once said he was – someone who does their best for others. The Build Divers meet up at The Gundam Base, and May tells everyone about meeting Masaki at the hospital and him being quiet. Hiroto isn’t surprised and thinks Masaki needs time to recover. Masaki then pulls up on his motorcycle, which surprises everyone since they were planning to go to him at the hospital. Masaki says he’s come to apologize and thank them, then collapses. After sitting down and drinking some water, he explains that you’re supposed to visit people when you owe them something, and he figured this was where they’d meet. Kazami thinks it was reckless for Masaki to ride his motorcycle, and Masaki responds that hibernating bears don’t experience muscle atrophy. He asks if they’re going back to Eldora, and Kazami notes that they’re running out of time before Alus fires the satellite cannon again. Masaki tells them they have more time than they think because they damaged the cannon and it will take Alus time to repair it. Masaki mentions that he did things in Eldora he can never take back, but he’s interrupted when Mizuki shows up and demands to know why he left the hospital. Mizuki apologizes to everyone and thanks them for saving Masaki, but she asks them not to involve him in things anymore. Before Masaki and Mizuki leave, Hiroto tells him that despite what happened, he still saved lots of people on Eldora. Later, the Build Divers spawn in Eldora at the Milaag temple and tell Muran about Masaki’s recovery and his feelings of guilt. Kazami and Parviz wonder what it would be like if Masaki returned to Eldora to help them, but Hiroto answers that they’ll have to make do on their own and defeat Alus. Parviz asks how the evacuation is going, and Muran reports that Stola and the others are working hard. Kazami wonders how they’ll get to space, and Freddie asks if they’re just going to use the Silver Tower again, but Parviz thinks it’ll be heavily guarded this time. Kazami asks if there’s any other way to get to space, and Cuadorn answers that the secrets of the Ancients were lost long ago. He says he can take one suit up to space himself, but that’s not enough. Hiroto comments that he has an unfinished armor that might work, but he doesn’t think he can handle it on his own and would need help. Everyone answers that they’ll help, and Kazami comes up with an idea. May interrupts and asks if there’s any option other than destroying Alus.
Muran is angered by the suggestion given all the suffering Alus has caused, and he says they have to destroy Alus to save Eldora. May counters that they’ll stop Alus no matter what, but she notes that their goal is to restore peace to Eldora, not destroy Alus. She explains that Alus was originally created to protect Eldora from invasion and tend to the planet. May states that Alus doesn’t have evil intentions and is just carrying out what he thinks is his mission, and Muran counters by noting all the terrible things Alus has done and says he can’t understand or forgive that. Hiroto steps in and says that if they can’t try to forgive or understand Alus, they’re the same as he is. May asks if it’s possible to reset Alus, or better yet, let him be reborn. Cuadorn comments that if people like the Build Divers were around when Alus woke up, he wouldn’t have made the mistake he did. In space, Alus watches a video of the last battle against the Build Divers. On Earth, Masaki sits in his bed at the hospital and cries as he looks through pictures of Eldora on his phone. The Build Divers meet up at The Gundam Base to help Hiroto put the Neptune Armor together, but Kazami has trouble. May autographs a tile for Ken, and he’s excited to display it because she’s the first EL-Diver to visit the cafe. Hiroto reveals that he feels uneasy about heading into a real battle like this, and Patrick comments that this will be harder than any previous mission. He says that a practice battle against the CPU won’t cut it, and Kazami mentions that they need to practice against strong opponents. Hiroto suggests fighting stronger opponents, and May has an idea about that. Hinata practices archery but is unable to hit the bullseye. She tops when Mizuki visits and mentions that her practice isn’t going well. Hinata recalls being amazed when Mizuki hit the bullseye with one try, and she wonders if she’s qualified to perform the bow ritual. Mizuki believes that Hinata can do it, but she then changes the subject to Masaki and says she had no idea what he was doing in GBN. She then cries over knowing that Masaki wants to go back to GBN and the fear that she might lose him. Mizuki asks Hinata if she’s worried about Hiroto, and Hinata answers that even though she is, she can only cheer him on while he does his best for others. Hinata vows to do her best for the bow ritual and comments that Mizuki looked like she was carrying everyone’s wishes when she performed the bow ritual. Kazami and Parviz are shocked to learn that May’s guardian is the famous Diver Magee. He mentions their desire for a rehearsal match and offers to help since everyone wants to fight them. The team doesn’t understand, and Magee explains that he shared Kazami’s videos on his Gunstagram account. Kazami hasn’t checked his G-Tube channel in some time, so he’s shocked to find his latest video has over 10 million views. Magee mentions that no one knows the events are real, but they’re very interested and are commenting with Gunpla tips and battle strategies. Magee says that their actions and their desire to protect Eldora must have connected people, or they’re just Gunpla fanatics. Kazami then posts the latest videos from Eldora to his channel. Magee pulls up the list of Forces that have signed up to battle against them, including Avalon, the 7th Panzer Division, Hyakki, Simurgh, Toraburyu, Adam’s Apple and the original Build Divers. Mizuki goes to the hospital and is worried when she sees that Masaki and the Gundam Tertium Gunpla are gone. She runs up to the rooftop and finds Masaki there with his Gunpla, looking out at the city.
Given the importance of what happened in the last episode, it’s not surprising that the pace slows down here considerably, and it has the feeling of being the calm before the storm. Mizuki has learned the truth about Eldora and what happened to Masaki, and it’s rather surprising that she completely accepts it. Perhaps she’s just happy to have her brother back and isn’t too concerned about the particulars. However, she is concerned that Masaki wants to return to Eldora, and that concern isn’t misplaced. I think it’s incredibly likely he’ll show up in the final episode at a dramatic moment to support the Build Divers in battle. Some other threads come together, as the rest of the team finally learns that Magee is May’s guardian, and that’s he’s given their efforts a massive boost on social media. This leads to Magee creating a rehearsal battle that features all the famous Forces from the first series, including the original Build Divers. It’s always seemed likely that Hiroto would eventually cross paths with Riku, and I wonder if they’ll feel a shared connection over their mutual experiences with GBN’s first two EL-Divers.
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