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Two Celestial Maidens Descended From The Heavens: In a barren, snowy countryside, a city of steel and steam decorates the wasteland. At the center of this city, a dark fortress thrusts its way upwards into the air and downwards into the bowels of the earth, looming over all. At the gateway to the city, two grim, armored sentinels are surprised when a great flash of light appears above them. When the light clears, an individual has been deposited upon the stones: Makoto. Makoto, naturally, is confused at his sudden change of location and is dismayed to find an axe-wielding guard glaring threateningly down upon him. The reason for the guard's ire is obvious: Crumpled at Makoto's feet is another, unconscious guard, who had evidently been knocked out by Makoto's arrival. Makoto tries to set the guard at ease with a show of empty hands and some reassuring words, but the guard merely levels his axe at him, apparently threatening something dire. Whatever dire threat the guard had in mind, it was foiled by the sudden arrival of Nanami in her own flash of light. As with the first guard, the second is knocked to the ground by her drop from the sky. Ura, as it happens, had accompanied Nanami for the ride. By now, the first guard has come to and he is not happy. With no further warnings, he swings his axe against Makoto and is shocked when the weapon snaps against Ura, who had quickly wrapped herself around the boy. The two teenagers take advantage of the guards' confusion to counterattack. They almost seem to be winning... and that's when reinforcements arrive, including one heavily armored guard, several regular armored guards, and a guard in red who appears to be their leader. The leader asks them to identify themselves and Nanami is indignant. She sees no reason to identify themselves when it is the guards who are wearing masks. She demands they remove their helmets. The leader, apparently willing to humor her, complies, revealing herself to be a woman! She introduces herself as Gilda, Captain of the Creteria Kingdom Armored Division. She asks where the two came from and they reluctantly admit that they are from another world. One of the guards confirms that they did, indeed, fall from the sky. Gilda considers this and orders the two to be placed into an armored cage. The prisoners are startled when the cage is hoisted onto a skyway and begins to carry the two through the air. The two are given a grand view of the city and Makoto notices that the entire thing seems to be one, huge industrial complex. The air becomes very cold and Makoto gives Nanami his jacket at the expense of his own warmth. Nanami is concerned, but touched and solves the problem by asking Ura to wrap herself around Makoto. Suddenly, Nanami notices another cage... with a rotting corpse inside! There are several other such cages as well and the two wonder if that is to be their fate. Fortunately, they are not so unlucky. Their cage reaches the top and they are greeted by a garishly dressed man of regal bearing. Immediately after the cage opens, an irate Nanami stomps forth and challenges the man for treating them so harshly. Not seeming to hear her words, he merely gazes upon her, entranced by her beauty. He seems to regain command of himself when Makoto follows Nanami out of the cage and the man frowns at the newcomer. Makoto tries to explain their presence, but the man seems to be as little interested in listening to him as he had been Nanami, ignoring his words and sternly declaring that he has no interest in men. The guards move in and Nanami demands that they keep their hands off of Makoto. The garishly dressed man notices her again and asks her name. Nanami notes that he hasn't introduced himself yet, and he happily does so: He is Dall Narcis, Emperor of Creteria. Nanami is taken aback. Dall Narcis takes the two to his dining hall, where he declares a celebration for the magnificent event: Not one, but two celestial maidens have graced his presence that day! The two are lavishly fed, but Makoto is confused. The emperor mentioned two maidens... Before the two have much of a chance to discuss the matter, Dall asks Nanami about her world. After consulting with Makoto about whether to talk about Earth or El-Hazard, she talks a bit about Shinonome, on Earth. Dall seems intrigued and is annoyed when Makoto stands to speak. Makoto asks him what he meant by two celestial maidens and Dall asks if they'd like to see the other one. Dall takes them to an elegant bedroom - and there on the bed is none other than Qawool Towles! Dall waxes eloquent about her beauty and her divine arrival. Meanwhile, Nanami and Makoto are concerned for her health. Makoto leans in to check and confirms that she's still breathing. Dall becomes irate at Makoto's closeness to Qawool and demands that he step back. Makoto explains who Qawool is and tells him that it was at her inauguration that... whatever happened to send them there happened. Dall is intrigued and asks Gilda her opinion on the matter. Gilda is terse and to the point in answering that she thinks the whole story is a farce and that all three of them are spies sent by Volcania or Coctura. Nanami and Makoto indignantly reply that they're not, but Dall doesn't seem to care. What he does care about, is that all three of them appear to have unusual abilities and he would like them to use those abilities to help him with a little problem. In exchange, he will help them find a way back to their world. Dall, accompanied by Gilda and a contingent of guards, leads Nanami and Makoto into the deepest bowels of the castle. There, Makoto is shocked to recognize a working fusion reactor. Gilda explains that the reactor is Creteria's Spring of Life. It is the source of Creteria's prosperity. As she speaks, Makoto realizes something. It's not a fusion reactor, but a dimensional reactor! Gilda continues explaining and tells him that it was not created by them but found by them, instead. Nanami asks what all the hubbub is about and Makoto explains that he believes that, somehow, the world that they were on was ravaged sometime in the past by the Eye of God. Finally, Gilda and Dall get to the point. The Spring of Life is failing, and they want Makoto to fix it... Back in her room, Qawool finally awakens from her deep sleep. The first thing she sees is the Lamp of Water on her finger and she rejoices at the fact that she has finally become the Great Priestess of Water. Afterwards, however, she wonders just where, exactly, she is. Intending to find out, Qawool walks out of the room to explore her surroundings. A balcony shows her the grim, smoggy city, and the desolate wasteland beyond, and she realizes that she has no idea where she could possibly be. In a study, Nanami and Ura find Makoto deep in thought. So deep, in fact, that he doesn't even pay attention when Nanami speaks to him. Eventually, they manage to get him to respond and he apologizes, explaining that he was thinking about their situation and how it resembles the situation they were in when they first arrived on El-Hazard. He's worried that they may never return. Nanami will have none of that negative thinking. After all, she has a restaurant to run back home, and has no intention of leaving it forever. Makoto's mind is elsewhere, once again, though. This time, he's wondering what could possibly have set off the device that sent them there as it couldn't have happened on its own. In Dall Narcis's chambers, the foppish emperor obsesses over his own dashing good looks and prepares to try to woo the heart of Qawool Towles. He enters her chambers only to find her missing! Elsewhere in the palace, Qawool is wandering aimlessly and pondering her predicament. She doesn't seem to be in Roshtaria anymore and the occasional guards she hides from are making her seriously nervous. Back at Makoto's study, Ura provides a distraction while Makoto and Nanami slip past the guard guarding them. On top of Qawool's disappearance, the news of Makoto and Nanami's escape makes him livid with rage. He orders his guards and palace staff to find them all, threatening them with the hanging cages if they fail him. Makoto and Nanami narrowly avoid a pack of guards and run right into Qawool. The frightened Priestess is elated to have found Makoto and runs into his arms, much to Nanami's disgruntlement. Makoto offers her gentle words of encouragement... and then notices how the scene probably looks to Nanami. Unfortunately, Qawool just won't let go. At the same moment, in a tower overlooking them, Dall Narcis throws a fit at the scene of Qawool in the arms of another man. Gilda, for her part, watches Dall with an expression of bored disgust. Out on the frozen wastelands, two pairs of footprints track across the snow, one human, one not. The footprints lead to Katsuhiko Jinnai, and his faithful Bugrom follower, Groucho / Katsuo. As they walk through a raging blizzard, Jinnai complains bitterly about their unfair predicament to a patiently listening Groucho / Katsuo. The latter finally interrupts, though, pointing into the snow ahead of them. There, lying on the ground is none other than Shayla-Shayla! The Sweet, White Trap Closes In: Jinnai and Groucho / Katsuo look over the helpless Fire Priestess lying before them. Jinnai wonders why the Priestess of Violence would be there. After a passing gale nearly freezes them all solid, Jinnai paces back and forth, wondering what should be done with Shayla. While walking, he comes across a chasm leading deep into the earth. Meanwhile, Shayla begins to stir... Jinnai mentally shelves the chasm for a moment and goes back to pondering his predicament. He gradually comes to the conclusion that the device from Makoto's room with the image of the old man must have sent them there and that the device must still be around, waiting to be found! While the two hunt around for the device, Shayla finally awakens. She is initially confused, cold, and sore. An explanation is provided for the last of the three when she discovers that she's been lying on the strange device she had activated in Makoto's room. Jinnai, is so caught up in digging in the snow and imagining the unstoppable power Makoto's device will give him, that he doesn't notice Shayla standing behind him until she thumps him on the head. He and Groucho / Katsuo scramble back in terror but Shayla seems unusually calm. She asks them where they are and Jinnai suddenly realizes that Shayla is in the same boat that they are. With that weakness in mind, Jinnai begins to scheme. His goal is to keep Shayla's attention off of the dimensional transporter, which Jinnai has now seen in the snow where Shayla was lying. Jinnai begins to spin a tragic tale explaining that the three of them, innocent victims all, were the subjects of a terrible accident. It's mostly true , but Shayla doesn't believe him and expresses her displeasure in a rather physical manner. Jinnai, trying hard to hold onto his temper, grants that he was, perhaps, coloring the details a bit. Shayla, however, has lost interest. She orders Jinnai to tell her how to get home. After a moment of thought, Jinnai points in a random direction. Shayla thanks him and starts walking off, much to Jinnai's joy. The megalomaniac immediately starts toward the device in the snow only to have Shayla beat him to it, remembering that it was important to Makoto. Jinnai is just about to curse his fate, when Shayla reveals that the device is too heavy to lift out of the snow. Once more ready to celebrate, Jinnai's hopes are again dashed when Groucho / Katsuo helpfully lends a hand and helps Shayla take the device. As the Fire Priestess walks off again, Jinnai berates the Bugrom for his foolish act. He would have been better off running for his life. Shayla walks only a few steps before realizing that the only thing in the direction Jinnai had pointed was more snow. Furious, she returns to the two, grabbing Jinnai by the collar, demanding to know where she is and why they brought her there. Groucho / Katsuo tries to help his master and Shayla ends up throwing them into a snowbank. She suddenly remembers seeing them in Makoto's house and accuses them of wrongdoing. Eager to avoid any further damage, Jinnai prompts Shayla to remember the rest. Shayla remembers the old man in the dimensional transporter... and immediately deduces that Jinnai must have been behind it all! She winds up to unleash a little pyromaniacal justice upon the wannabe dictator and Jinnai and his bug companion are soon scorched. Jinnai begs for mercy, asking that she just sit down and let them talk about it in a civilized manner. Jinnai explains that they are no longer on El-Hazard that they've been transported to an alternate dimension! Shayla once again refuses to believe him and beats on him some more. Shayla demands that he return her at once and Jinnai tries to work out a bargain with her. Once again, Shayla is offended and opens up on Jinnai with still more fiery justice. Somewhere nearby, Alielle, Parnasse, and Fatora are all huddled under a blanket, trying to stay warm. They wonder what has happened to them and what the strange noises they're hearing are. They catch sight of the Fire Priestess' blasts, and are overjoyed to recognize Shayla-Shayla's signature carnage. Shayla pulls herself out of a pile of snow and finds that in her zealous tirade, she somehow knocked herself into a chasm. Fortunately, she brought a lot of snow with her and landed on that. Unfortunately, the dimensional transporter is no longer in her possession and Jinnai and Groucho / Katsuo move swiftly to ensure that it ends up in theirs! A chase ensues with Jinnai riding on Groucho / Katsuo and Shayla doing her best to keep up. The chase ends when Jinnai and Groucho / Katsuo, to their horror, reach a dead end. Shayla moves in for the kill... Before she has a chance to act, she is distracted, as holes in the walls light up with dozens of pairs of glowing eyes... The creatures emerge, revealing themselves to be insect-like creatures. Shayla asks if they're friends of his, but Jinnai has no idea what they are. Neither does Groucho / Katsuo, but he, at least, is able to talk to them. This fact thrills Jinnai and he immediately introduces himself to the creatures, proclaiming himself the soon-to-be ruler of all and asking to see their leader. Groucho / Katsuo translates and the creatures move forward to attack! Jinnai is delighted, until he realizes that they're attacking him as well. He begs Groucho / Katsuo to convince them that he is their ally, but Groucho / Katsuo is suddenly unable to understand their speech. Shayla, meanwhile, has just had a chunk ripped out of her favorite outfit, and is not a happy camper. She unloads some more of that fiery goodness, which works at first. Then, the bugs retaliate by spitting some kind of goo all around her. Soon, the Fire Priestess is sealed within a sphere of the gunk and it seems to be fireproof! Shayla, Jinnai, and Groucho / Katsuo are brought to what appears to be a massive throne room and Jinnai is placed at the base of the throne. He is given food and drink and Jinnai decides that they've finally recognized his importance and are treating him with the adoration and respect he deserves! He laughs at the plight of Shayla-Shayla, who is still sealed within her sphere. Then, Jinnai suddenly realizes to his dismay why he's sitting at the base of the throne. It's because Groucho / Katsuo is the one sitting in it! Jinnai is annoyed, but before he can do anything about it, he's distracted again by Shayla, who has started taunting him. He laughs again, recognizing Shayla's petty attempts to provoke him. Jinnai continues to chow down and the Bugrom-like creatures continue to offer him more food. Shayla, hungry herself, can only enviously look on while Jinnai stuffs his face. Finally, Jinnai finishes but the creatures continue to try to force food on him. Groucho / Katsuo talks to him and reveals that the creatures apparently plan on feeding them until they're fattened up and then eat them themselves! Jinnai refuses to believe it, insisting that Groucho / Katsuo must be joking. Now it is Shayla's turn to laugh, this time at Jinnai's blindness in not recognizing that he is as much a prisoner as she. The Bugrom-things choose that moment to begin rolling Shayla towards a deep, dark pit in the floor. Jinnai mocks her, certain by this that he was the one who was right and the Shayla will be the only victim of the creatures' hunger. He laughs as Shayla tips over the edge and plummets towards certain doom! Shayla's sphere lands in a pool of liquid at the bottom. She's hurt by the fall, but not badly. Getting her bearings, she notices that there are a lot of other objects in the liquid along with her sphere... egg-shaped objects. Somewhere above ground, Mr. Fujisawa crests a mountain and cries out to the world of his glorious accomplishment! Miz is with him and is amused by his boyish enthusiasm. She is also concerned, however, as neither of them have any idea where they are! Mr. Fujisawa believes that Qawool has somehow transported them both to Mt. Lilicoco as a gift, but Miz is not as certain. Miz's doubts are shown to be very valid, as the fog lifts and the two are treated to a view of a cluster of enormous floating islands, of which the mountain upon which they stand appears to be a member! |
