Endless Frontier: Super Robot Wars OG Saga Walkthrough by Mark Neidengard,
mneideng at ugcs dot caltech dot edu Version 1.0, 9/2/08
0. Prologue
...How long has it been since the Combination of the world began?
Some say thousands, tens of thousands of years.
Some say, it has ever been thus.
...Yet none know the truth.
Only one thing is certain:
It is the Portal, known as the "Crossgate", that binds the many worlds, so
close and yet unimaginably far, together.
It was a chance meeting between dwellers of these worlds that begat great
upheaval, and in time, war.
This too drew to a close, leaving in its wake a peace balanced on the edge of a
knife...
But some twenty-three years ago... what was believed to be the wreckage of a
flying battleship crashed to the Earth from parts unknown.
This event would alter the course of world history...
...The history of the Pathfinder Stone.
...How long has it been since that name fell upon this world?
So many Worlds, so many People, so many Times -- mingled so closely together.
...This is the Endless Frontier.
1. Red Automata
Haken and Aschen head into the ship, having finally received permission to see
what's inside the ship fully 23 years after it first crashed.  The main door is
protected by some serious encryption, so Aschen has to use one of her special
powers and deliberately overheat.  While this makes her stronger, it also
changes her near-monotone personality into a silly adolescent.  Complete with
wardrobe change!  Hey, at least it opened the door.
Inside, the team gets to throw down with what seem to be the ship's defenses,
still very much active and defending this huge steel grave.  The next major
door needs a key, and although it's unlikely to be lying around nearby, the
team might as well check anyway.
In one of the side rooms they find a "big" girl asleep in bed, mumbling about
how she can't eat any more.  Aschen, knowing her somewhat lecherous captain
well, says that that's "big" as in around a 40" bust.  This belongs to a
dweller of one of the neighboring worlds, Kagura-Amahara, who apparently
wandered right in before things were locked.  It was her fiddling with the door
that set off the security system, and Haken grandly offers to guard the lady.
He introduces himself as the stingy bounty hunter Haken Browning, with the OH
SO UTTERLY FAITHFUL [her sarcasm] Aschen Bladel at his side.  Their new
companion is Nanbu Kaguya, princess from a landed noble family Kagura-Amahara.
Haken smells a chance to rack up the dough, and they insist on being Kaguya's
bodyguards.
As everyone proceeds, hostile androids strike!  They go down without too much
of a fight, but Haken finds them strangely troubling.  Anyway, the party
returns to the ship.  Haken jokingly refers to Kaguya as a "souvenir", and his
first officer almost has to be restrained from eating her [joking, we hope].
The ship's science officer Sumii Marion recognizes Kaguya, being from the same
world.  She's actually half-Kaguran, half-Elfetiel, and is probably quite old,
though she doesn't like Aschen to point that out.  The first officer, Li Lee,
apologizes and says he'd never eat someone without a price on their head.
Comforting?
Anyway, Marion has actually deigned to leave her lab and take an interest in
their next bounty, code-named "Phantom".  This is a black metallic Personal
Trooper, similar to what the Kagurans call "battle automata".  These are a type
of medium-sized robot first spotted three years ago, at the end of the Ten Year
War that gripped Elfetiel.  It's not impossible that war might break out again,
especially since the Phantoms spotted were of the same type as the Nacht and
Arbent.  Kaguya says that these automata have been spotted in her country too,
and already tallied several casualties under their nickname "Specters".  For
her family's customary pilgrimage, she's come in search of clues about where
the Specters are from.
Haken is a bit reluctant to take the job, but when the crew needle him about
not measuring up to his boss Dirty John, he has little choice but to accept.
Marion for her part is itching to get her hands all over that sexy alien
technology...
2. Dirty John
Wander around a bit and encounter the Crossgate, ever unstable.  It's still a
mystery how the gates do what they do, but Haken doesn't much care.  The crew
are on the way to see John, a former bounty hunter who's now the mayor of the
only city in this world, Treidel Schteit.  John is interested in Haken's
investigation of the space ship, known as the Mighty Error, and tells him to
take the time to do it thoroughly.  That is, after he finds a certain missing
person-  Oh wait, she found him instead.
Actually, there are two parts to the job.  The second is investigating the
Miltkeil, which is involved somehow in the rash of "alien" high-energy
particles being detected throughout the many worlds.  One more mysterious
substance doesn't faze Haken much, given he's been raised in a whole world of
them, but John wants him to check it out.
The third thing has to do with this fugitive Phantom.  The war they were in
forced Kagura-Amahara to close its doors to outsiders for the past ten years,
and even destabilized the Crossgate as far as this backwater realm.  The order
is to see the Phantom destroyed, and Haken will do his best.  As he leaves,
John thinks that it's been fully 23 years since he first met Haken at the
Mighty Error.  Is it time for the young bird to leave the nest for good?
3. Schlaffen Celeste
As the team proceeds north, they see the wreckage of a "ship" once called the
Schlaffen Celeste, a millennia-old vessel whose powerplant is still alive and
still emitting alien particles.  Kaguya wants to take a look, and with Aschen
warning Haken not to cause an international incident the team goes inside.
There are plenty of ice-like Miltkeil crystals, known to the Kagurans as
"wedge-stones".  They weren't here the last time Haken visited this ship, and
what started out as a fun little side trip is showing signs of turning nasty...
Things deep inside the ship are a real mess, apparently in the wake of
"Esmeralda" passing through.  This is a group of pirates from Elfetiel, every
bit as curious about this ship as Kaguya is.  And led by someone almost as
busty as she is too.
As the team makes its way further inside, they run into a black-[scantily-]
clad android that immediately strikes Kaguya as dangerous.  It's as though it
was missing something spiritually, and that scared her greatly even though
Aschen and Haken didn't notice anything wrong.  The good guys lose sight of
her, but she seems to have repaired the ancient teleportation apparatus before
she left.
After the battle, the team manages to salvage enough data to know where the
black-clad robot went: Dulseus' Graveyard.  This is located in western
Elfetiel, near the city Dune Polis in the desert-reclaimed west.  This massive
structure houses the Crossgate used to invade Elfetiel from the world of the
demons, Formido Heim.
4. Taketori Castle
The castle is _huge_ but picturesque, and Haken knows it well from all the
business dealings he's had here.  Kaguya doesn't really want to go home yet,
but Aschen says that Haken's death-grip on money wouldn't let him even think of
leaving her on the loose - regardless of what charms she might try on him.
Haken grimaces and tells Aschen not to worsen his rep without cause, leading
the three of them inside.
Before returning to the castle, they make a side trip to see Haken's friend,
the shopkeeper Shirou.  Kaguya manages to make the mistake of referring to a
certain feline shopkeeper as Shirou's daughter, which would have gotten her
eviscerated on the spot if not for her royal blood.  Getting a hold of himself,
Shirou explains that this cat is a merchant named "Koma" operating in the heart
of Dragon Pavilion Island.  In Shirou's estimation, this kitty is the most
untrustworthy, inhospitable merchant known, and Haken promises to take care.
The team then goes to meet the lord of the land, Nanbu Sanuki.  He thanks Haken
for taking the trouble to return his daughter who is... conspicuously absent.
The king figures she's gone off to see the Immortal Sakura, which is the tree
encircling this entire city.  He sighs that what Kaguya really needs is a
mother, and Haken says that he'll fetch Kaguya right away.  But first... he
notes that Kaguya claimed she was in the middle of a journey, and wonders why
her father would go to the extent of putting up a financial guarantee just to
have her brought back.
Sanuki likes Haken's instincts, worthy of the successor to the legendary
"Wandering Bounty Hunter" John.  Besides the wedge-stones, this country is also
being plagued by the Shiki-Oni of Megi Castle to the East, and by the sudden
onslaught of the Specters.  Shuten hasn't taken care of that these past ten
years, and even Princess Suzuka hasn't been seen since heading there some time
back.  It sounds like too big a problem for a lone bounty hunter, and Haken
heads out to bring Kaguya to her father.
When the team catches up with Kaguya, she's deep in prayer.  She explains that
she forgot to ask her mother for protection.  Mother, as in the tree?  Might as
well be, and Haken apologizes for interrupting her.  Kaguya smiles and thanks
him for being so kind, musing that she ought to introduce him to Suzuka, her
friend and guardian since childhood.
Turns out Suzuka is a princess of the Shiki-Oni, though what she's doing
looking after another princess seems a bit hard to explain.  Kaguya's mirth
turns to shock when she hears that Suzuka hasn't been heard from since heading
East: she's been away from the castle longer than Kaguya herself has.  Kaguya
offers Haken some dough to leave her on the loose a bit longer while she goes
and sees what's wrong, and after some thought Haken figures that now's as good
a time as any to hunt down those Phantoms.  Kaguya is so natural in her
gratitude that Aschen thinks it must have been a deliberate ploy to get Haken's
help, which would make Kaguya a true force to be reckoned with.
5. Megi Castle
The castle of the demons has quite the ambiance.  Kaguya is shocked to see
wedge-stones everywhere, totally different from the last time Suzuka brought
her.  These stones aren't giving off energy like the previous ones were, but
that doesn't necessarily mean they're fake.  Maybe they're out of batteries?
It's almost as though their power is being used to do something elsewhere in
the castle...
The crew eventually find Suzuka imploring a silent Shuten to answer.  He
finally asks her to share his dreams once more, having some scheme in progress
to use the wedge stones to restore their tribe's lost power.  Suzuka is more
than a little surprised to see Kaguya, demanding to know where the heck she's
been wandering around.  Her bared midriff and minimal breasts seem to appeal to
both Kaguya and Haken, though Aschen doesn't seem to be as much of a fan.
Shuten isn't pleased to see intruders, especially ones who have gotten past his
newly installed guards, and tells Suzuka he'll be waiting for her.  She demands
he wait, but suddenly his voice changes, and he begins murmuring about
correcting the world into a purified, peaceful form.
Of course Suzuka will follow, but first introductions need to be made with the
Lost Herencian bounty hunters.  Suzuka is unimpressed with what she calls the
glib man and the vulgar automaton Kaguya has picked up, and wonders if Kaguya's
indefatigable optimism is simply the sign that nothing's going on upstairs.
Still, she figures there must be some sort of fate behind all this, especially
given how Lost Herencia  seems to be having the same problems with
wedge-stones.  She grandly directs everyone to follow her to the Great Gate in
the North, beyond which Shuten awaits...
As the party proceeds, they find the way to the Gate blocked, and the
aforementioned Koma on the scene.  She's apparently been paid by Shuten not to
let anyone through, and is enough of a pro to give it at least as good a shot
as the money she received.
Koma won't risk her life for this job, deciding instead to leave and let the
wedge-stones block the team's path.  Haken is more worried about the bony
critters by her side, and Aschen's analysis isn't reassuring.  The team has
never fought anything like them before, and their alienness is akin to the
wedge-stones.
If the team is going to get any more information, they'll need the head of the
Nanbu clan's "Ura-Genbu" personal ninja squad: Otone.  He's at the Dragon
Pavilion Island in the northwest.
6. Dragon Pavilion Island
Things seem almost too quiet here, the result, as Suzuka sniffs, of the
Ura-Genbu keeping the riffraff out.  Aschen scoffs at this, but Haken stops her
before she badmouths Suzuka's appearance too much.  The island's odd shape is
the result of its hasty construction by the sea, made to guard the Dragon Gate
during the Ten Year War.  Though the war has been over some three years, it's
still well-guarded against incursions by mutants from Elfe Tale.  Tensions
between the humans and shiki-oni aren't entirely dispelled, which reminds Haken
to ask why Suzuka somehow got stuck looking out for Kaguya.  She stays quiet
for a long moment, then blushes and chides Haken for prying into a girl's
secrets.
The crew go to meet Otone, who for a kunoichi looks surprisingly normal
relative to Kaguya.  She explains that all contact has been lost with Elfe
Tale, and that anyone who's gone there to investigate has not come back.  This
may or may not have something to do with the Phantoms that forced their way
into the Gate two days ago, exacting heavy losses on the Ura-Genbu in the
process.  This is where Haken and crew come in, and they leave Kaguya with
Otone to return to her castle.  Suzuka thinks better of that, and Otone has no
objections to her continuing as Kaguya's chaperone.  Which would include
keeping certain deadbeats' hands off the goods, though Suzuka doesn't actually
need to worry about that from Haken.  After the team people head off, Otone
tells one of her men not to intervene, and to maintain surveillance.
7. Elfe Tale
The first thing everyone sees through the gate is the enormous, millennia-old
Kiyuanoa Tree.  This is a part of Elfe Tale that Haken has never been to, for
fear of having to tangle with the "Dorothy" pirate clan and their Elfen
fairy-clan leader.  The destination is to the south: the castle of Duke Hausen.
When everyone arrives, the place is overrun with wedge-stones and seemingly
deserted.  The surrounding town seems to be without life as well, and after
some snide remarks about her companions Aschen says the place seems to have
been this way for possibly two years.  The sad fact is that there's so little
commerce with this part of Elfe Tale, especially after the Kaguran war, that
nobody noticed until now.  If this is what Megi Castle is going to turn out
like, the team has to head back fast.  Suzuka wishes she knew what the heck
Shuten was up to...
Just then, everyone gets treated to a display of some new wedge-stones coming
into being.  It's now clear beyond all doubt that they come from here in Elfe
Tale, and that the team is totally cut off.  Help(?) comes from an unexpected
source: Koma, who somehow managed to follow them here on Shuten's orders.  He
may be buying time until he finishes whatever he has in mind for the wedge
stones, and Suzuka really REALLY wishes he'd regain his senses.
The only chance is to head for Mirabilis Castle and try to use its rear gate to
get back towards Megi Castle, all the while fighting off the forces of the
Schlaffen Celeste.
The team reaches Mirabilis Castle with little difficulty, and on first glance
Kaguya thinks it looks far more merry than its fearsome past war records
indicate.  Not so fast.  The castle is run by Harm Darm, someone believed to be
half fairy, half-Formido.  Behind his broad smile is believed to lie
considerable malice, and in fact he was a spy during the previous war.  But his
spying came to an end just before the war itself when the Formido "Orchestra
Army" surrounded him.  There's no record of why they would turn on their own
spy, especially one instrumental in helping them enter Elfe Tale, but that
certainly wasn't the only oddity about that war.  The conflict both started and
ended with unilateral declarations from the Formido side, after which they
closed all Gates to their world from their side.  Could this point to some sort
of coup d'etat?  Anyway, the castle is said to still hold active booby traps -
and, everyone hopes, an active teleporter.
Break enough statues and there will come a little girl clad in red, who is very
grateful to be set free.  Once Aschen is prevented from squishing her, the girl
lets slip that her name is "Kyuon Feulion", and that she's on a secret mission.
Even though Aschen isn't really psychic, the team figure out quickly that she's
a Formidoan and that she's been stuck here since the Gates closed.  When she
fesses up, she says that she's a cannoneer from the Orchestral Army... and now
that she's told the team, she won't let them escape alive...
Kyuon is lucky to be alive after tangling with the team, but instead of
gratitude she leaves more badmouthing before fleeing.  Her presence here can't
be a coincidence after everything else that's happened, and it puts everyone in
mind of the Phantoms, including the mysterious PT's.  This castle seems pivotal
to the whole mess, and at this rate the team might even run into the Phantom
boss himself.  Anyway, the only way to proceed is through a crack in the floor
where the team's small assailant came from.
8. Underground
Go into the depths and encounter a snappily-attired were-fox named Saya, who
says the Quakes have somehow sent her here.  These "Quakes" are entrances to
other worlds, what everyone likely knows as Crossgates, and she mumbles
something about they're involved with their work before trying to change the
subject and claim she was simply writing a poem when she was sent here.  Suzuka
isn't buying that from the fox spirit, and the spirit creatures quickly
recognize each other from their obvious features.  All except Kaguya, who Saya
mistakes for a cow demon O_o
After the team explain what the deal is with Endless Frontier, Saya explains
that she's not from Kagura-Amahara, but rather somewhere called the Material
World.  This is nowhere anyone has heard of before, but at least the odds are
good that she can get sent home again.  If not, she says, for a group of people
in color-coordinated red and black outfits who seem to be after her.  The team
assume she means the Orchestra Army, and she quickly decides to exploit the
confusion.  The people after her are Arisu Reiji and Xiaomu, and Saya promises
to be very "grateful" to the cool, nihilistic Haken.  For now, the team send
her off to see Koma and on their say-so get access to the Crossgate.
Both Suzuka and Kaguya are more than a little suspicious of the sexy foxlady,
though Haken says that it's far better to get info from her than to just start
shooting blindly.  He reminds Kaguya about his admonition to her to improve her
judgement of others, and Suzuka sniffs, not unkindly, that any male capacity to
judge goes out the window as soon as a little sex appeal is involved.  Haken
doesn't dispute this, merely allowing that whether the fox is friend or foe, at
least the team avoided unnecessary combat.
It doesn't take long to run into Reiji and Xiaomu, "another" were-fox.  Xiaomu
recognizes Suzuka as a high-ranking Shiki-Oni and proudly proclaims that she's
over seven hundred years old.  Talks quickly break down, and as Saya planned
the two sides set to fighting.  Suzuka can't shake the feeling that these two
sure don't *look* like the Orchestral Army, and while Aschen agrees, she
figures it'll be safer to deal with these two after shooting them some.
After a smacking, Reiji is amazed by how strong the team is, and Xiaomu says
that they are far more righteous than their sexy getups would indicate.  She
and he have no way to prove that they're not the bad guys, but then again Haken
has no way to prove that they're _not_ not the bad guys either.  Xiaomu figures
they needn't tarry with this team when the surest way to Saya is to look for
some tengu and scythe-weasels.  These are none other than the mysterious forces
that have been plaguing Kagura-Amahara of late, and as Reiji says they all
report to Saya, leader of the so-called "Ouma".
The Shinra agents got delayed, the team got duped, and it's clear that a
thorough meeting of the minds is needed.  After some deliberation, it comes out
that Saya was supposedly defeated once already by Shinra.  Reiji agrees to lead
Haken and the crew to their destination: the Crossgate at the deepest level of
the castle, in the interest of assuring the way home is still open.  Call it
"felicity".  As for Xiaomu and Reiji, they fear they're in this for the long
haul.
Head to the Gate and something unexpected is waiting: something, or someone.
It's Kardia Basilia, aka W06.  This somehow stirs something in Aschen's memory,
and W06 growls that that Corruption had better not have damaged her memory.
Does the "Corruption" refer to the Mighty Error, the battleship near whose
crash site both Aschen and Haken were found some twenty years ago?  There seem
to be no salacious details about how Kaguya came to be sleeping there, but
there must be *something* connecting Kaldia to Aschen - Aschen distantly
remembers something about being given the production code W07.  W06 has a
mission to carry out, and while she isn't permitted to tell the team what it
is, it seems to involve kicking their asses...
Kaldia simply isn't willing to disclose the mission she's waited 23 years to
carry out, and runs off.  Aschen has been acting even stranger than usual,
which is saying quite a bit given her occasional bursts of odd speech.  A
bigger problem is the teleporter, which seems to be totally nonfunctional.  If
Reiji and Xiaomu are to get home, it won't be through this route.
Suzuka says that there's worse things than being stuck in this world, and
Xiaomu wouldn't mind settling down and having up to two kids, but Haken assures
the agents that there's plenty of other ways out of this world.  Saya in fact
has probably gone in search of one, and Reiji and Xiaomu agree to tag along
with the team until they can find a way home.  If Reiji is "Alice" in
Wonderland, that makes Haken one heck of a weird rabbit.
As everyone is about to leave, Aschen finds the Level 2 card for the Mighty
Error, probably dropped on purpose by Kaldia...
Head back to Koma, who is quick with snide comments about the new party
additions.  She's much more complimentary towards her new "big sister" Saya,
who bought a whole load of stuff before departing.  Looks like Koma has
unwittingly(?) powered up the enemy, who has headed off towards Siegel.  This
may be the best chance to catch her.  There's a suspension bridge to southern
Elfe Tale south of this castle, which has been out of service since the war.
The team is relishing the opportunity to repay Saya for her misdeeds, so much
so that Reiji and Xiaomu resign themselves to temporarily joining the "Dark
Side" -- something which Haken has constantly been trying not to come across
as.
Koma tells Aschen that she hasn't seen any other androids like her come this
way, but Haken is sure that she'll meet her sister again at some point.
9. South Oratoria
A tower blocks the road to the south, apparently fallen during the previous
war.  There's a problem though: the door to the tower has been thoroughly
wrecked by what looks like an energy weapon -- wielded by Saya?  Unless someone
sold her a beam sword, the first possibility seems to be Kaldia...
As the team makes its way inside, Kaguya looks forward to doing a bit of spring
cleaning in this filthy place.  There are more pressing concerns though, in the
form of multiple heat sources heading inbounds.  Reiji's wound doesn't ache, so
he doubts it's the Ouma.  By the way: should avoid the poisonous red stuff on
the floor.  This strange building was assumed to be of Formido Heim origin, but
at this rate it may be more related to the Miltkeil Stones.
Proceed for a while and the team will run into a provocatively-dressed resident
of Varna Kanai.  Even Kaguya can't believe someone would dress like that, and
Suzuka struggles to figure out how to compete with such formidable breasts.
The mermaid cautions that she's not even at "full power" yet, but her servant
says that Kaguya's "full power" version might prove dangerous at this rate.
Haken recognizes the leader and second-in-command of the Sirena pirates, two
people with major prices on their heads.  The pirates in turn figure out that
this team don't seem to be in league with "them".  Does "Them" refer to a
certain pink android, or perhaps... someone else?  Is it they who wrecked the
door?  Anyway, the "merry" captain considers just blowing everyone all away,
something she tends to do when irritated.
However, once defeated, she readily tells the team that the pink android has
gone in pursuit of the Phantoms.  If worse comes to worse, that might mean that
Kaldia was mixed up with the previous war -- and in fact, that Haken and Aschen
were too.  Apparently there's yet more players at work here, but the captain
would prefer not to recount them... unless the team would like another round of
smackage.  Kaguya declines, and everyone go their separate ways in peace.
The crew don't have to go far before running into Phantom itself.  After a
brief skirmish which ends in a draw, it flees.  Everyone heads off in pursuit,
but not before Haken warns that the residents of southern Elfe Tale -- the next
port of call -- are pretty rough.  In fact, they're a bunch of pirates, and the
"bomber girl" appellation applied in jest to people like Kaguya may be more
literally true there.  In any case, it's the only place that has a Cross Gate
to Lost Herencia.  Most worrisome to Aschen are the androids Phantom had with
him - the team has seen them before, and they bode no good.
10. Abrieita Castle
The entire premises are decorated with a wolf motif, legacy of the lord's
achievements during the war.  Said lord is Ruball Kukurus, and he's who the
team would have to talk to about using the Gate.  However, as anyone can see
the Gate is out of commission for now, not so uncommon given that they seem to
have a mind of their own.  But by the looks of things, this Gate is going to be
down for quite some time, almost as though something very powerful had just
passed through.
The crew needs to talk to the king, which might not be so hard with two
princesses in tow, and given that Haken's first officer Lee is an old friend of
his.  But more immediate help arrives in the form of a passerby named Catsy.
Catsy is queer in more ways than one, and intimates that (s)he is quite
"intimate" with the king indeed.  Kaguya gasps, and asks Suzuka if things like
that actually "work" between two men.  Suzuka, somewhat flustered herself,
tells Kaguya not to ask her that stuff.  Xiaomu adds that it's been known to
occur every so often, and Reiji has to tell them all to shut up.
Haken hopes Catsy is a local and would therefore know when the Gate's likely to
open again, but unfortunately Catsy actually hails from Dune Polis and hence
isn't an expert.  He headed here to ask Ruball about the rumors of upheaval in
the area, and to find out about some fishy research Dorothy's been up to.  Word
is, it's something that can break Miltkeil crystals.  This is only a rumor, but
given that the Orchestral Army seems interested in the Dorothy stronghold, it's
a pretty trustworthy one.  There's even some indications that the Crossgate
instability has something to do with some kind of super "treasure" that the
pirates brought back from Lost Herencia.
Catsy has been most helpful, though when Koma shows up it seems they both have
their own agenda, be it money or angling to sleep with the team's male
contingent.  Suzuka wonders if all the Dunepolians are like Catsy, but no one
is going to find out for now.  Instead, the Dorothy clan's Esmeralda Castle
beckons.
11. Esmeralda Castle
The Dorothy have very strange sense in decorating, which Haken knows well after
over ten years of tangling with them on treasure digs.  Known for
indiscriminately tossing bombs around, the Dorothy may seem childish... but if
the rumors are true, their pyrotechnic ways may be useful in getting rid of
those pesky crystals after all.  What's more, an aching in Reiji's old head
wound indicates that Saya is somewhere nearby.  Reiji (unconvincingly) assures
the rest of the team that the pain will recede shortly, and grumbles to himself
that after ten years, he'd really like to put this accursed scar behind him.
Wander around some and encounter a woman dressed in red.  Perhaps less "woman"
and more "angel of death" given the black wings and all.  She's received a very
thorough report about the appearance and personalities of the party from a
fellow Formido soldier (guess who), though at that time Reiji and Xiaomu
weren't included.  Before the fragdown, the woman names herself as Henne
Valkyuria.
She won't answer the slew of questions about her interest in the Dorthy clan's
research into breaking the Miltkeil crystals, or the Personal Troopers' part in
the last war.  All she'll offer is a stern warning to the team go back home and
educate themselves on what's really going on.  She then warps away, leaving
everyone scratching their heads.
Awaiting up ahead is Saya.  Which is interesting, since the last time she and
Reiji saw each other Reiji finished by shooting her in the head.  Saya seems
somehow sad that everyone hates her, and Reiji shouts that it's her misuse of
the Quakes which threatens to upend Shinra Banshou, the Firmament.  The Shinra
agents are doing their damndest to keep that from happening, but Xiaomu would
prefer not to mix other worlds up in the crossfire.  To the suggestion that
they take this throwdown back to their own world, Saya says that she's got a
bit of business to transact here first - and lucrative business at that.  Haken
correctly guesses that she's made a deal with Dorothy, though they haven't
given her what she really wants yet, which is the gadget that breaks blue
crystals.
Things quickly turn into a fight, and Saya seems fairly impressed that the team
isn't just a bunch of cosplayers trying to distract the enemy (Kaguya protests
that these are the team's normal outfits anyway).  She's already told
everything she knows: which is that the Dorothy have the apparatus in question.
She does leave the team with one more piece of info: activate the big-ass
elevator if they want to see the boss.  Reiji lets Saya run off, mainly on the
theory that the more people looking for a way home to the Material World, the
better.
The party quickly runs into Dokumezu, another one of the Ouma goons, who is
almost as worried about the "payload" as he is about what the crew has done to
Saya.  After a brief fracas, he scurries off to wherever Saya went.
The storerooms of this castle are expansive, and brimming with items stolen
during the Ten Year War.  Among them is an elegant white coffin, from which a
high-energy signature emanates.  As the party make to force it open, it opens
by itself, and out steps... KOS-MOS!  The superbly-crafted android is as glad
to the Shinra agents as they are her, though her appearance has changed quite a
bit since their last meeting.  KOS-MOS explains that her previous chassis was
destroyed and that Shion and the others made her a new one.  Things must be
*really* rough in KOS-MOS's world if someone as strong as she could get
destroyed.  Suzuka greatly admires KOS-MOS' fealty to her creator.  KOS-MOS has
no idea how she got here, knowing only that some sort of abnormality triggered
her capsule's auto-maintenance mode and revived her.  For Haken's benefit,
Reiji explains that KOS-MOS too is from the Material World... just a different
time in it.  This sounds far-fetched, but that's what makes these Quakes so
dangerous.  In any event, KOS-MOS will come with the party and help find the
way back home.  And back to Shion.
Where there's one of the Ouma goons, there's the other: Dokukozu.  He's got
orders to keep the party away from the armory, and once he's killed them he'll
go rejoin Saya.  He thinks.  Actually, when Kaguya tells him that the crew will
meet his challenge head-on, Dokukozu (lit. Poison Cow-Head) asks her to marry
him.  Despite the obvious species gap and the fact he's out to kill everyone,
Kaguya can't help but be a bit flattered, which Suzuka drily says is something
they need to work on.
Before the team can see the boss of the Dorothy, they have a couple riddles to
solve These involve properly positioning the statues next to the viewscreens.
Get them correct and onward ho.  Answer two more and meet Dorothy Mistral
herself.  Haken wants to know what she's been up to all shut away in her room
like this, though he quickly quashes the thought that he's asking about
something sexual - at least for now.  It's the Miltkeil breaker he's after,
having heard about it from Saya.  Dorothy is actually very grateful to Saya,
whose otherworldly technology let her finish the gadget, which she's christened
Algulos.  The prototype isn't really finished yet, and mass-production is still
a ways off, but she's about to rent it to Haken when she spies KOS-MOS.  She's
furious that Haken would steal what she's already stolen at great effort from
the Schlaffen Celeste.
A little fighting cools tempers just enough that Dorothy is willing to consider
the rental, especially when Haken offers to overlook how much of a mess she
made of the Schlaffen Celeste.  Dorothy attaches two conditions to the rental.
First, she wants the most blood-red Miltkeil crystal the team can find: that
color indicates the highest purity, which she needs for her research.  For now,
the weapon she'll give will only cleave blue crystals.  She also wants the team
to buy some stuff from her, and won't take no for an answer.
Even she doesn't know how to hasten the Gate's opening. so the team decides to
head to the so-called Great Gate after consulting Catsy the "Catguy".  Dorothy
is troubled that a resident of Dune Polis would be here, since the great Gate
was never able to reliably link to that world.
12. The Great Gate
The Great Gate is, well, huge.  Huger than a certain member of the party, even.
The massive gate was supposedly built in only a few months, right after the war
ended.  Through the gate is western Elfe Tale, better known as Dune Polis.  The
whole area has become desertified thanks to that war, and part of the function
of the gate is to keep the desert from expanding any further.  Its architect is
the leader of Dune Polis' one real city, Giant Marcus.  The Gate is so solid
that not even a kitten could squeeze through, raising the question of how Catsy
got here, but as everyone ponders this, the Crossgate suddenly stabilizes,
clearing the way to go use the Level 2 card at the Mighty Error.
Kagura-Amahara also needs help.  As the squabbling between the team resumes,
they head back towards where they started.
13. Back Home
Swing by the ship where a very worried Lee is glad to see everyone safe.  The
ship is actually still pretty new, only a decade or two old, and seems to be
having a little engine trouble.  Marion doesn't like being reminded of that,
but loves the look of KOS-MOS.  She wants to take her apart right away, ever
the mad scientist, but first she delivers some bad news to Haken.  The royal
expeditionary forces have sighted Phantom at the Mighty Error.  The party
already know the Phantom forces are a tough nut to crack, but no one has even
been able to confront them directly.  The reason: a new enemy blocking the
path: the PT Arbent.  It, along with the other Formido PT Nacht, had been
missing since the war, and the fact it's here now begins to lend clarity to the
whole picture.  Saya must be mixed up in this somehow too, as must be Kaldia
given how she left the key card.  Kaguya has a really bad feeling about this,
and urges everyone to hurry to the Mighty Error as fast as possible.  Suzuka
had been hoping to get back and start breaking crystals, but she well
understands where priorities should lie.
14. Mighty Error
Indeed, Arbent is waiting at the Level 2 door.  The Mighty Error's onboard
systems are far more active than last time, impressive given the degree to
which the ship is damaged.  There's no choice but to fight, and Marion isn't
going to be happy when the Arbent escapes.  If this is what guards the door,
what horrors lie inside?  Despite all misgivings, it's time to find out,
keeping a few of the Arbent's shards for Marion to check out.
Inside is control room, lit by loads of pretty glowing screens.  It appears
everything is in good working order -- and that someone turned on the power.
KOS-MOS says that while there are some blocks without available data, most of
what's visible is data on all the combat androids deployed throughout the ship.
Those androids are referred to as the "W Series", which seems to prove beyond
doubt that Aschen did not originally come from this world.  Perhaps that's what
Kaldia was trying to force Aschen to face?  In any case, she's been part of
Haken's family for twenty years, and no one is going to ostracize her now.
KOS-MOS can also read the combat specs of the Arbent, Nacht and Phantom.  Does
that mean that they're from another world too?  But there's one problem: the
data in the computer indicates that these PTs are 30m-class manned
monstrosities.  What the crew just faced were 4m tall at the outside, which
Xiaomu attributes to the global trend in downsizing.  More likely is that
someone who saw their data used Kagura-Amahara's battle robot techniques to
replicate them.
...Or if not Kaguran technique, Formido technique, which in terms of technology
is at least at parity.  That also explains the cannons and beam sabers the
Formido adversaries have used.  The problem is, how the heck could they have
gotten the requisite data back, especially if they were in the middle of
battle?  Nobody knows, but somebody'd better do something quick unless the
human-sized folk want to get mixed up in full scale war between super robots.
15. Level 2
At length, the crew find the storage area for the W Numbers, including a pod
labeled W07.  This must have been where Aschen once slept, but she doesn't
remember how she came to have left this place, or how she found Haken.  Also
present is the W06 pod, empty.  Kaldia seems to be the one who switched all the
systems on, but she herself is nowhere to be found.
The team is about to return to the ship and file a report when a dimensional
abnormality ensues in the central hangar area.  Xiaomu says that everyone had
better gather up some spare change fast to pay the ferryman, cause at this rate
the fare looks to be a real bitch.
Confront Kaldia, who explains that the Phantom was constructed here in Endless
Frontier.  The odd part is where that data came from: despite appearances, it
wasn't from this ship.  Phantom has been wandering around in search of its
"true" memory... as has Kaldia herself.  All this is due to the damage the
ship's main computer, Tink Erbell, sustained in the crash.  A crucial part of
the Zero Numbers' mission has been lost: eliminating W00 if it hasn't fulfilled
a certain condition.  What that condition is, is what's gone missing.
Suzuka hopes Kaldia isn't talking about Aschen, and Kaldia reminds her that
Aschen is W07, the only Zero Number capable of using Code DTD.  Aschen doesn't
even remember who or what W00 is, and an irate Kaldia reminds her that it's
their leader.  While the original Phantom isn't W00 itself, it was constructed
for W00's use.  This Phantom is a replica of that original, which has been
given an AI and made independent.
What Kaldia wants is to hunt down whoever made that replica, and kill them off
to maintain the W Numbers' secrets.  "Made in Formido Heim" is how Haken sees
it, but that still doesn't help figure out where W00 is.  Kaldia has been
*hoping* to jog Aschen's memory all along, but that seems to have been a rather
colossal waste of time so far.  The crew thought the Arbent was part of
Kaldia's plan, but given she's never heard of it there seems to be yet another
player at work here.
After some serious throwdown, Kaldia and Phantom are too damaged to continue.
They try to retreat for now, with Kaldia warning Aschen that she's been marked
for death.  However, Phantom is having a little problem: its AI circuitry has
overheated, apparently under Phantom's own volition.  It's as though it doesn't
want to run away, and Kaldia is forced to flee on her own.  Phantom seems to be
well and truly down for the count, and no amount of "antics" from Kaguya or
Xiaomu or scanning by Aschen makes any difference.  Since Phantom was made for
a leader, and the party's leader is Haken, it falls to him to lug the thing
home.
At least Marion is thrilled, and Haken wryly tells her not to fall too deeply
in love with him.  With a smirk, she replies that she's not interested in
little boys, and elbows him out of the way to get to work.  Her plan is to have
the mech reborn as a servant in short order.  The rest of the crew have to
think about cleaning up Kagura-Amahara, as well as tracking down how the
Phantom's data got out in the first place.  There's also the question of what
Kaldia and Saya are up to, and what Aschen's mission really is.
The team will have one more ally (of sorts) along.  The Phantom's proper name
turns out to be the Gespenst, and Marion has rewritten its control programming
so that it'll obey the team's commands.  It must have been made in Formido
Heim, but interestingly it's different in structure from the pieces of the
Arbent brought back previously.  The latter almost seems organic in nature,
though no one's sure precisely what that forebodes.  In any case, Haken is off
to Megi Castle to clean up the Miltkeil mess, every bit as industrious as Dirty
John in his heyday.
16. Through the Doorway
Waiting for the team through the ice-bound Megi Castle's inner gates is the
Nacht.  It utters not a word, but seems to be somehow resonating with the
Gespenst despite not having a soul as such.  Haken would love to take some or
all of this thing home to Marion, but the "Iron Lone Wolf" of Ten Year War fame
doesn't retreat without a fight.
Upon seeing these mecha rampaging through the tranquil castle, Xiaomu says that
strange things seem afoot in Cyber City Oedo 808.  While no one can say that
the Nacht and the Gespenst are unconnected, at the very least the organizations
deploying them seem to differ.  For instance, the Nacht was supported by
androids of the same lineage as Aschen, which would be odd if the Orchestral
Army were its primary backers.  Unless they started using androids after all.
Everyone might just have to go to Formido Heim and find out in person, but for
now there's more work to do cleaning up this world.  As everyone is about to
move out, Reiji's wound starts aching...
Waiting ahead is Shuten, whose muscular frame isn't Xiaomu's idea of an
attractive guy.  Attractive or not, there's something wrong with him - he's
babbling about errors and about correcting the comingled worlds.  KOS-MOS
thinks he may be undergoing mind control from some third party.  Whoever that
party is, it's not Saya, who's merely here to find the purest red stone that
the team has also been dispatched for.  She's happy to hear about the crystal
breaker, figuring she can simply take it away.
Shuten unsteadily tells Suzuka that he's got to restore the Shiki-Oni to their
former glory.  All relations with the humans and other species are to be cut
off, as an unnecessary pain in the ass for those with might.  Saya says that it
seems to be the Miltkeil itself that's controlling him: it's as though it's
somehow "alive".  Is it mere coincidence that the Arbent's structure also
appeared organic?  The purer the Miltkeil, the stronger the effect, and even
Saya has begun to feel it after spending enough time here.
The restoring Shuten to sanity part isn't working out so well after all.  Saya
says that her main objective isn't the power controlling the poor guy, it's
simply a way to get back home and back to work.  She's actually more than a
little irritated that these aliens are being such busybodies and obstructing
her attempts to get a little "souvenir" before returning home.  She reminds
everyone that no one on the team should exist in this world, but Haken has the
answer to that: this is Endless Frontier, where mingled worlds and people is a
matter of everyday life.  Saya can do nothing but sigh and defer to the locals,
pointing out in passing that Nacht has just made off with that crystal
everyone's after.  Saya sets off in hot pursuit just as Shuten wakes up.
Turns out he's been busy over the last decade trying to perfect the crystals,
and doesn't like the fact that the crew let the master crystal escape.  Suzuka
tells him to get his head straight and quit relying on some weird-ass powers to
restore the glory of the Shiki-Oni, and without making a satisfactory answer he
runs off too.
It's hard to say that Shuten is entirely in the wrong here, though Xiaomu's
attempt to sympathize by reminiscing about her "strike" against Shinra is
positively trivial by contrast.  Haken asks why Suzuka isn't following Shuten
to pound some more sense into him, and Suzuka says that he's at least two
centuries too young to give her romantic advice.  She's sure Shuten is strong
enough to pull through.  In any case, it's clear that what the team needs lies
in Formido Heim, since the Orchestral Army must have been the ones who sent
Nacht to get the Miltkeil crystal.  Though all the Gates are closed, Haken says
that there are other ways, once the team returns to the ship...
However, on the way out the team runs into Otone, who demands that Kaguya
return to her father.  Things are bad enough that the king is considering
sealing the whole realm off again, and she's been ordered to bring Kaguya back
by force in case Kaguya has other ideas.
After mounting decent resistance, Otone can see that Kaguya has become strong,
including in her choice of comrades.  After Xiaomu makes a tasteless joke,
Otone says that she'll withdraw and simply report to the king that she didn't
find Kaguya.  She leaves Kaguya to Haken, double-checking that Suzuka is still
on the job as Kaguya's chaperone.  As she leaves, Otone thinks to herself that
if the king is really serious, Kaguya might end up using "that".  And "that"
must not be allowed to happen, lest the same thing befall Kaguya as befell
"him"...  Suzuka is impressed with Kaguya's level-headedness, and advises
Xiaomu (who's been spanked for her tasteless joke by Reiji) to take notes.
17. The Desert Gate
Lee wonders if Haken is joking about going to Formido Heim, given that he's
about 6/7th implausible under the best of circumstances.  Marion gives the
engine a mostly clean bill of health, and with some misgivings Lee gets the
ship ready to travel.  The Tseit Crocodile shudders but complies as they fly
through the fickle Gate and reach southern Elfe Tale.  This is Lee's home,
where he first became a bounty hunter - at least in name.  It was Haken's
"father" who elevated him from a mountain bandit, only after which his comrade
Ruball became a king too.
Lee hasn't heard of Catsy, whose aid Haken is hoping to enlist to get into
Dulseus' Graveyard.  This is a reckless plan, but Marion is used to captains of
this ship taking chances.  She isn't sure why John made Haken his successor,
but is sure it wasn't mere happenstance.  John is aware of this mission, and
didn't pass judgement one way or the other.
Haken actually warns whoever is tending the Great Gate that he means to pass by
hook or by crook, and when there's no answer he simply rams through.  The
Graveyard is still some ways off, but it looks like the team has now reached
the spot that the black KOS-MOS-like robot teleported to.  KOS-MOS is shocked
to hear mention of T-elos, the android who once destroyed her.  T-elos is
actually more powerful than she is: at once the most human and most *inhuman*
of her kin.  This formidable foe is yet another being that doesn't belong in
this world, and since the Crocodile is a bit worse for wear the team is going
to have to walk to reach her.  Kaguya at least is enthused about seeing new
worlds - at least someone is...
It's slow going through the arid country, and everyone starts getting hot,
tired, and thirsty.  Even Aschen, who has her heat-dissipation mode, is still
overheated.  It suddenly occurs to the team to wonder why it's so hot next to
the coast.  Anne Dorothy shows up to explain that it's thanks to the war and
all the magical weapons employed during it.  Turns out this is her hideout,