The wind flows away...
...across the faded landscape
Gently reviving my memories
As I proceed down these familiar paths,
There's no going back
The first lies, the final words
The promise we made that day...
...has crumbled and scattered away
An intense but short-lived fragment of memory
And even if I awaken from the dream...
...we once both shared
I'll never forget this feeling, not ever
Those remembered days will shine on, even now
I'm sorry.
Why are you apologizing?
It's just... I feel as though...
I've somehow forced you all to make a very painful decision.
I don't understand what you're trying to say.
But, Norb...
If you intend to search for him, you must have known that,
one way or another, you'd have to go there eventually.
Didn't you?
You see through everything, don't you?
Well, Del Cielo is a very important place to you people.
It's just coincidence.
Coincidence.
That's not so.
Of course, to us Vodarac, that place is the land of purification
from which we go to the Great Wall.
However, at the same time, it can become Destiny's Gate...
to anyone who goes there.
Destiny's Gate...
True enough.
EPISODE 9 PAPER MOON SHINE
All systems have completed shift to standby mode.
Good job. What's the status of the Compac Interferencer?
Point systems are go.
"Airport runway beyond this point. Unauthorized personnel forbidden."
Of course, out in the open like this, it doesn't really matter much.
The main engine is still up. We can launch at any time.
Roger that.
In any case, it's not likely we'll be staying here...
for very long, anyway. After all, this is--
Probably not.
Since somebody just wants to run away with his tail between his legs.
I'm sure we'll be on our way as soon as we drop that lady off.
"LINE CLOSED"
You haven't forgotten anything, have you?
Make sure to check.
Thank you for everything.
And also, it's not much in the way of thanks, but...
We don't need you to give us something like that.
Oh, come now, just take it with you.
After all, you may find you need it someday.
And if you do, it will be difficult not having this, right?
Aw, for Pete's sake...
All right.
I'll pray that we never need to use something like this.
I pray that a wonderful light is waiting for all of you.
Brother!
Brother Doggie!
I keep telling you, I'm not your brother.
Brother, take a look at this! See?
I'm finally done with it! My new board! Isn't it awesome?!
Geez, that's what you were doing instead of helping out?
We're taking off after we're done with this.
What for?
Because Holland said so. We can't do anything about it.
Holland did? But why?
How should I know?
There are some really amazing waves coming, aren't there?
Yeah.
Holland said he'd go anywhere as long as he knew...
there were good waves there, right?
Yeah.
I guess Holland is just kind of temperamental, isn't he?
Beats me. I don't know.
So, that lady's getting off the ship here?
Well that was the deal, to bring her here.
Brother, where you headed?
I'm gonna go and get out my board, too.
We can lift here while we wait for the water to fill up, right?
Hey, wait up! I'm going with you!
Status report?
No changes.
Currently, we're replenishing our drinking water supply.
We'll take off as soon as that's done.
That's what you wanted, right?
Yeah. Those are some great waves out there, though...
That's unusual, isn't it?
Coming from you, the guy who supposedly lives for the waves.
Okay, well then what about you?
What's that mean? You have a problem?
Now, listen...!
Hey, cut it out...
What are you doing, Holland?
What do you mean, what am I doing?
Well, I mean, aren't you gonna go out and ride the waves?
The waves?
Yeah.
After all, those two are going out ahead of you.
God dammit...!
Hold on, Holland!
The waves here really are the total ultimate!
Yeah.
I can't believe there's no one else at a great spot like this! Too cool...
What are you guys doing?
I-I'm sorry, we're still waiting for the water to fill--
I'm asking you, what are you doing?!
I-It's just, the waves here are really great.
I've never seen waves like this before.
And these ruined buildings make really good waves.
I don't know why there aren't any people around here,
but I'm just grateful that such an amazing spot was even created!
So, ya see, we were just--
Ouch...
What was that for?!
Shut up.
You didn't have to punch me all of a sudden!
I want you to tell me why you did that!
I said, shut up!
What is this...?! Why did you punch me again? What was that for?!
Oh, I get it...
I get it! I get it!! I GET IT!!!
Mama looks upset about something.
It's because sis did something to make Mama mad.
No, it is not. It's because you peed in your pants, Linck!
I did NOT pee in my pants!
Renton...?
What happened, Renton?!
It's charred through...
Then, these aren't just ruined buildings?
It's brand new...
Which means, there was a bombing here recently?
Who's there?!
Hey, wait!
Ow...
Goodness! It's you!
Ma'am...
So, where's the little shrimp?
Holland! Renton was--
Sorry.
I see, I see. Well, that was unfortunate, wasn't it?
Does it bother you?
It may look like a trailer house, but it's a monastery on the inside.
A monastery?
Um...
What is it?
Are the Vodarac really an anti-government organization?
Why do you think that?
I mean, at school, the teachers, and all the other kids...
They said you guys are scary people that nobody could understand.
Things you don't know or understand are scary. It's the same for everyone.
Yeah, but, you don't look that kind of person at all, ma'am.
That's true. You can't judge people from their appearances.
The land is just as you see it, never changing.
But, if everyone understood that,
I'm sure this place wouldn't have ended up this way.
This angry land doesn't just belong to human beings you know.
And yet we keep pounding endless numbers of stakes into the shifting scubs,
and pretend we have control over them.
But the textbooks say that if we didn't have the pike bunkers,
we'd have tectonic disturbances.
Then, why do the tectonic disturbances disappear if we have the pile bunkers?
I don't know.
You only know what you've learned...
from reading something that someone else has written.
Correct?
You still can't find him?
Come back before it gets dark.
Besides, going out in the Nirvash is dangerous. You know that, right?
Why do you go to so much trouble...
to come gather in a deserted place like this?
We come here because this is Destiny's Gate.
Destiny's Gate?
Ciudades Del Cielo.
Capital of the sky.
The land of the Vodarac, once known for its beauty.
No matter how much they destroy it, that fact will never change.
To follow the path that leads to the Great Wall,
or to continue staying here in this land...
Everyone who comes to this city has to make a choice.
Even so, it's all torn up.
Yes. One day, several years ago, this town was attacked by the military.
They destroyed the city, tower and all, and then...
the military slaughtered people who were here,
just because of their faith in Vodarac.
Madam Tiptory!
It's terrible! That thing is here again!
The White Demon!
The White Demon...?
Renton! I know that you're here somewhere!
Everyone is worried about you!
So please hurry and come out!
Eureka! She came to find me?
Eureka!
Renton!
Eureka!
Stop it! What did this girl ever do to you?!
She's a murderer!
What did we ever do to her?
Military dog!
What are you saying? Eureka is--
It's all right.
Why?!
Because I really was a dog for the military once.
What's that...?
Ma'am!
You both have to get out of here quickly!
The scheduled bombing is starting soon!
Scheduled bombing?
A military airborne battleship?!
Enemy airborne battleship approaching fast!
Currently, it's bombing the southern area of Del Cielo!
The circuit rotation isn't improving! It's impossible to fire the main cannon!
The flywheel is stable!
I've managed to get all systems in alignment.
Where's Holland?
He went out in the 909!
He said he's going to go pick up the Nirvash!
We'll pull out ahead of him.
Tell him not to be late!
Why did they all do this to you?
They all seem like really nice people.
It can't be helped.
It can't helped.
It's my own fault that they're doing this to me.
But, I can't believe they'd do something like this to a girl...
It can't be helped!
Because of what I did here...
Because I killed so many people here!
Annihilate all the people living in this city...
That was the mission given to us, the SOF.
SOF? Wasn't that..?
The squadron that we used to be in.
A military special operations force.
Then... Are you saying that Gekkostate was originally...?
That's right. We would do anything we were ordered to.
We were just a squad of murderers...
No... Then the rumors were actually true...?
There was no reason. We would just follow orders.
It was proof that I could exist as I was.
Besides... Back then, I couldn't believe in anything...
or anyone other than the Nirvash and Holland.
And that's why, if Holland told me to fight, I would fight.
But then...
Are you saying the children you found then are...?!
Maeter, Maurice, and Linck.
No way...
Then, does that mean that the commander of that operation was...?!
The leader of our team, the SOF's leader, was Holland.
But, but, you guys really couldn't help it, right?
I mean, there was a war going on back then, right?
And, you were a soldier--
You don't understand!
We're still fighting a war.
What we're doing isn't a game or a sport.
When I fight, people get hurt. And die...
You might not have realized it yet but, Renton...
you're now a part of this, too.
Part of this war...
Will she come back? Will Mama come back?
It's all right. Holland is going to pick her up right now.
Really? Then Mama is coming back?
Don't worry about it. Holland has never lied to you, right?
Right.
Dammit, of all times for this to happen!
We intend to atone for the sins we've committed in any way we can.
But, more importantly, we have to stay alive no matter what.
We have to stay alive, and make sure we complete our mission.
And in order to do that, I'm willing to do anything.
Then, Eureka... You mean you brought me with you in order to fight?!
That's right.
Because the Nirvash won't work properly without you.
And without the Nirvash, we won't be able to complete our mission.
What's that supposed to mean?!
I don't know anything about your mission or whatever it is,
but if that's the case, then why...
Why did you rescue Maeter and the others when you were here?!
It's not that I believe everything is exactly as you said.
But, the fact is you left the military because you didn't want...
to kill innocent people just because you were ordered to, right?
You're sitting there talking about missions and stuff,
but that's really no different from the orders the military gave you!
Eureka, you're lying to yourself!
You don't want to see innocent people continue to be killed, right?!
You're going to atone for your sins in any way you can, right?!
But, if we go out right now, we'll cause trouble Holland and the others...
Oh, is that so?!
Renton! What are you doing?!
I'm going to make the military stop bombing with the Nirvash!
It's too dangerous!
I can't just sit and watch Miss Tiptory and the others here get killed!
I feel the same way you do about that!
Then, let's go together, Eureka!
Ow...
I didn't do anything, and it just...
Eureka...
Let's go, Renton.
The Nirvash is telling me I should do what you say, Renton.
That was...!
The Nirvash?!
I can't navigate because of the fall we just took,
but I patched up the hole, and the data can be seen...
on the main monitor, so it shouldn't be a problem.
But, what should we do?
If we go around the towers, we might not get there in time.
It'll be fine! Look in front of you!
We can slip through the space between the two towers and get ahead of them!
Time's up. Mission complete.
Withdraw from the area immediately.
Captain! An unknown ship has appeared at two o'clock!
What?!
An unidentified LFO is closing rapidly!
An LFO?! You're sure it's not an RPG?!
What?!
Anti-aircraft guns!
It's okay!
I see, so that is what you two have decided.
From now on, even if a road of hardships await you,
may there be light shining down on your destination.
Breaking the reflectors to reduce their reflectivity...
That isn't Eureka's fighting style.
Can it be...?!
Eureka...
Eureka!
Look to the right.
Hey, did you know?
They say that this is a place that makes everyone choose something.
So that means that you must have chosen something here too, Eureka.
Besides, like Miss Tiptory told me,
no matter how much the appearance of this place changes,
it doesn't change the fact that this place is what it is.
I think what you chose to do here a long time ago is really something amazing,
and even now the fact that it's amazing doesn't change.
In the same way that this place doesn't change.
You know, it really doesn't matter what choices you made in the past,
because I still believe in you. And besides,
I also believe that you actually haven't changed one bit...
from the person you were back then.
I have changed.
I think that maybe I have changed...
Ever since you came and joined us, I think maybe I have changed.
I don't know. I don't know what it was, but at that moment,
all I wanted from the bottom of my heart was to help this girl.
That was what I had chosen for myself, Sis. That's why...
All of the responsibility lies with me!
This is something I did all on my own! So, don't blame Eureka!
So, what'd you do with your board?
You made a new one, right?
Well, in all the confusion, I kinda lost it.
I see. Well then, you can put this on your next board.
Okay...
Th-This is...?!
I heard all about it from Eureka.
As long as you possess that wheel, you're an official member of Gekkostate.
Which means no more going off on your own.
U-Um, does that mean...?
Little shrimp!
Y-Yes?
You better keep it clean.
What's this dirty little room?
What are you talking about? This is your room.
Now, this is your first job as an official crew member.
Clean up this room!
Sure!
I haven't changed. I really haven't changed, have I?
Isn't that right? That's right, isn't it? Right, Nirvash?
TO BE CONTINUED
To be continued!
Back when I was very small, when I'd look up
The sky above really seemed so vast
I honestly thought that I could
Protect the one I loved with my own hands
Why wasn't I big enough, I wondered
That irritated me so much
No matter how I'd stretch out my hand
I knew that it would never reach
That sky, so very, very large
Even so, I had no doubts at all
Because I believed in a beautiful future
There were times I was irritated
And times I couldn't take it all
And I shed such very, very big tears
Still, I think my eyes never shone so bright...
...as they did when I was young
To escape from the truth that is the past,
the Gekko heads towards the place where everything started.
At the same time, a certain plan...
starts to make its move along with a young girl.
NEXT EPISODE HIGHER THAN THE SUN Next episode: Higher than the Sun
NEXT EPISODE HIGHER THAN THE SUN