VOTOMS Ep. 12: Bonds

Borough can’t believe that the Prototype would’ve lost to Chirico, and Iskui says she isn’t a fully functional Perfect Soldier. Chirico asks the Phantom Lady why she didn’t kill him, and she says she doesn’t know. He asks her what was being done on Lido, and she says she doesn’t know anything about that or even what her real name is. She tells him that her consciousness began the moment she was born, and the very first thing she saw was Chirico. Several cops come around the corner, but the Phantom Lady shoots at them and forces them to retreat. The cops report to Iskui that Chirico is in the Command and Control center and that the Prototype is apparently helping him. Iskui is furious and wants to kill her, but Borough has another idea. He says that they should have ATs fight ATs, and he thinks Iskui could get the Battling pilots to fight for him by granting them special legal status. Chirico tells the Phantom Lady that he came to see her and she can’t die until he has the answers to this questions. The Phantom Lady begins broadcasting because Chirico’s radio is broken, and Gotho overhears them. Iskui and Borough meet with the Battling pilots and offer them special legal status to operate in the city in exchange for hunting Chirico. The only requirement is that they not harm the Prototype. A helicopter fires missiles at the upper level to flush out Chirico and the Phantom Lady. She mentions that if they can get underground they’ll reach a hidden subway. Coconna wants to meet them at the subway, but Gotho and Vanilla refuse. They say they’ve risked their lives enough for Chirico, but Coconna grabs Vanilla’s gun and forces them to comply. Several cops attack Chirico with bazookas, but the Phantom Lady tells him to ignore them. They enter another room where cops attack them with bazookas and machine guns. Chirico and the Phantom Lady split up and kill all the cops. Afterwards, they reach the elevator and begin their descent. The Phantom Lady monitors the police transmissions and discovers that Iskui has recruited the Battling pilots. Killy calls Iskui and demands to know why he’s having so much trouble handling one man. He tells Iskui and Borough that they need to abandon Woodo and take the Prototype and jijirium with them. At the bottom of the elevator shaft, the Battling pilots wait to ambush Chirico and the Phantom Lady.

The Battling pilots fire when the elevator doors open, but a bomb explodes and kills several of them. Chirico and the Phantom Lady climb to another level and try to avoid the Battling pilots. They walk through a storage room and are attacked by Battling pilots. A Scopedog corners Chirico and knocks him down, but the Phantom Lady destroys it. An officer reports to Rochina and informs him that Chirico has been cornered in an underground service bay and is being hunted by Battling pilots. Battentain calls Rochina and tells him that Iskui was a Melkian intelligence officer during the war, and he believes that Iskui is part of the Secret Society that attacked Lido. He asks Rochina to capture Iskui alive for interrogation. He also says that an airborne AT unit is en route and running a few minutes behind schedule. Coconna apologizes for pulling a gun on Vanilla, and he tells her it’s all right because the safety was still on. The three find the hidden subway and activate the railcar. Several cops attack with bazookas and severely damage the Brutishdog. The Phantom Lady is ejected just before it explodes, and Chirico calls out to her and names her Fyana. He catches her in his Scopedog’s hands and heads for the subway. She asks him if Fyana is the name he’s chosen for her, and he tells her they can discuss that later. Fyana points Chirico to a hole in the wall that leads to the subway. As Chirico heads for the hole, several cops attack with bazookas and blow off the Scopedog’s left leg and arm. Fyana is tossed aside, and the Scopedog falls into the subway just as the railcar passes. The cops grab Fyana and shoot at Chirico, forcing him to escape with the others in the railcar. On the surface, a group of Melkian transport planes begin airdropping Scopedogs over Woodo.