I was all alone for the longest time.
Still being a little kid, I didn't know how to cope with the cruel world.
Everyone said it.
"You're the Devil's spawn and you draw the Earless to you."
"There's nowhere in this world that you belong."
I thought I was going to be alone forever, until I died.
That was, until I met him.
"Teen Spirit"
Hup!
So, this is...
Yup! This is the school that's produced numerous famous Players
who've gone down in the history books.
The prestigious Freak Scene Academy!
Oh, it's amazing! Amazing! This is amazing, Mu!
This looks more like a prison than a school, though...
Wait...
Echo!
Keith Rolling and Pete Badfinger went here, too.
It's crazy! The vibe here is crazy!
--Go, go, Freak. Go, go.
--Hold on a second! --Go, go, Freak. Go, go.
It's true. Like you said, this place has a crazy sketchy vibe, but...
Ow!
--You better not have forgotten our purpose in coming here! --Hey, that hurts!
Of course, not.
The Core Part you have
is the same as the one the legendary Player, Jimi Stonefree, had,
and we're here to find out more about him.
Even though he's not in the Players almanac,
Jimi is a legendary Player.
This place just might have some record of him, right?
Plus, we might be able to uncover the true nature of this power.
You are Echo Rec.
And you are Mu?
I-I'm saved!
Uh, um, uh, what?
Oh, um, I'm so sorry. I am Kim.
I serve as the director of this academy.
I say that, but I have no real power as the director.
The students won't listen to anything I say,
and they use such foul language, calling me "*itch" and "**oker."
There, there, calm down.
But I can breathe easy now!
I heard from darling Bilin. You two are Players, right?
And quite skilled ones, at that.
What?
She contacted me yesterday
that a Player girl named Mu might be coming to visit.
To find out more about the legendary Player Jimi Stonefree!
Is that...?!
Oh, no, I'm sorry.
I can't show outsiders our students' records so easily.
But...
This is... Teen Spirit?
If you can pin down the source of those spray cans for me,
I'll give this file to you as a present!
All right, everybody, please take your seats.
But you know,
was it really a good idea to take on the case without thinking it through?
If we solve this, we get Jimi's records, right?
Then, we have no choice but to do it!
But I mean...
Besides, this is my first time going to school! I'm totally excited!
All right, you two, please come in.
Uh, um...
M-My name is Echo Rec. I'm an aspiring amp builder...
Me! Me! I'm Mu!
I'm looking forward to studying with everyone starting today!
Nice to meet you!
Hey, hey, where are you from?
--What are your three sizes? --Don't tell me. Is that your boyfriend?
My three sizes are a secret.
--As for a boyfriend, I'm currently looking!
--Crushed! --As for a boyfriend, I'm currently looking!
Everybody, quiet down. Please, be quiet.
Got any plans after this?
Since we're all here, want us to show you around the academy?
Forget that. How about we all go to a diner?
Great idea.
Boys, you are bothering this young lady.
No, I'm not bothered, though...
A lot of our students have no manners to speak of.
My most profound apologies.
I am Hole, the student council president of this academy.
We can't have a proper conversation here.
Now, make way!
Let us go!
--What the...? --Man, so much for that.
There's no way we're a match for the student council president.
What the heck was that about?
We call it the student council room, but...
I apologize that it's like a storage closet.
So, then.
The academy's director asked you to handle this, right?
What? Oh, uh...
Now, now, no need to panic like that.
This is Teen Spirit.
If you breathe in the sprayed vapor,
it gives you a psychological boost and alleviates stress.
I hear it was originally used in battle against the Earless, though.
Since Players face extraordinary pressures on the front line.
Still, what kind of fool
would bring this onto the hallowed grounds of our school?
I've been tearing my hair out over this, too.
Are you saying you'll help us investigate?
Of course.
I'm definitely being followed.
Could they possibly know that we're investigating the Teen Spirit thing,
and they're tailing me?
In that case...
Oh... What the...?
What?
Gotcha!
S-S-S-Sorry! I'm sorry!
Wh-Wh-What? Aren't you...
I-I'm Nir. I'm in your class.
I was following you because I wanted to become friends with you.
Huh?
What's this place?
The school clubs building.
It's also where the worthless miscreants tend to gather.
Go on.
By golly, aren't you that transfer student who arrived today?!
You're the talk of the academy.
--That a downright beauty of a Player transferred to school.
--R-Really? --That a downright beauty of a Player transferred to school.
Come, come, get yourself inside.
So, just what's a looker like you want with us?
Um, it's about this.
That's Teen Spirit!
What? You know?
'Course, I do!
Anyone at this academy who doesn't know is a faker.
--Yeah! --Whoa...
If you know where I can get this, I'd appreciate it if you'd tell me.
You're a pretty bad one for all that you look so quiet.
But unfortunately...
We are the Mathematics Fan Club!
No mathematics, no life!
The Riemann hypothesis!
Fibonacchi primes!
We don't need Teen Spirit.
We can get high on numerical formulas whenever we want!
Right?!
If you wanted to be friends, I wish you'd just come talk to me.
But it's embarrassing...
Are you ready for this?
Wow!
Right? Amazing, isn't it?
Yeah. I never even imagined there could be a place like this.
This is a secret place that only I know about.
I only tell people I really like about this place.
Oh, thank you!
Also, one more thing.
Ta-dah!
Is that...
A legendary Player who isn't even in the Players almanac. Jimi.
This is an uber-rare picture of him.
It's something I really treasure.
You see, I was all alone for the longest time.
My parents passed away quite a while ago,
and I didn't have any relatives who could look after me.
I used to think that this world could go to hell.
That I was probably going to live out my life all alone.
That was when I heard about him.
He tried to change the world. I thought that was amazing.
It made me want to be a Player like him.
Are you listening?
What?!
Thank you!
I was born in a place called Liverchester, but...
Liverchester?
It's a nothing town surrounded by mountains of junk parts.
I thought I was going to live out my life there, digging through junk.
But I saw this man when I was little, and I could never forget him.
Nir, we can become that!
Become what?
Friends!
Friends?!
I'm beat.
Tough gig, my fair lady? How goes the investigation?
Talk about coming up empty. It was emptier than empty!
And where the heck were you?!
In search of a flower to give to the fair lady.
There are still tons of places we need to check out.
Bye!
Teen Spirit?
Yeah, it comes in a can like this.
I don't know the source of those cans, but...
See? I knew it. It's no use asking a guy like him.
Let's go somewhere else.
If it's a book that tells you how to make it, I know where to find it.
How to make it?!
To begin with, Teen Spirit is a substance that's still widely used.
--Ack! --I-It is?
For example, in Londinium,
it's a must-have for Players headed to the front line.
The manufacturing process isn't a secret or anything.
Also, many of the students here
are orphans who lost their families to the Earless.
We have a lot of students who picked up the bad habit on the battlefield.
Because, above all else,
Teen Spirit is a miracle drug that fills the void in your heart.
But there's a ban on using it, isn't there?
Of course.
If you keep using it, you become psychologically damaged.
But no matter how dangerous it might be, there are people who need it.
Ah.
Here, this is how you make it.
Not that I've ever tried it.
Are you really sure it's okay?
Of course.
We're friends, after all.
This is the very first amp I've ever built.
Hard to believe I built it out of junk parts, right?
Wow, it's so cool!
So, this works like this, and... What about this cord-looking thing?
You pull it out and plug that end into the Player.
Wow, you mean...
Kind of like this?
So, your parents also passed away in the fight against the Earless, huh?
What to hear about it?
But we can talk about that later.
Right now, this.
Someone probably used this to start manufacturing it here.
But what for?
Who knows?
To begin with, making Teen Spirit isn't easy.
You even need a place to cool it after heating it to a high temperature.
Whoa...
What is this?!
What?!
Crap. It really is hard to get things to work right the first time around.
I'm happy right now.
Because I made a friend today.
Nir! Nir!
You have to get off!
I'm lonely.
But that's fine.
You... That's...
It's the precious amp that's belonged to the student council for generations.
Oh!
What are you doing, Echo?!
Nir took my amp and...
I should just lop this damned head off and be done with it.
Then the sadness and everything will disappear!
Huh?
What the heck? It's over already?
Nir!
I thought that your amp might make me feel a little bit better...
Nir!
I'm sick of this.
Huh? I guess I dropped it somewhere.
Aw, what the heck?
I knew I'd find you here!
Nir!
It hit me when I saw this.
Cooling undiluted Teen Spirit that was heated to a high temperature...
This pool is certainly the perfect place for it.
And it's off-limits, so other students won't notice, either.
I never thought you'd get this far.
You!
Nir, were you the one making the Teen Spirit?
Teen Spirit doesn't just heal emotional scars.
Yes, it makes you a god.
Become a god and shatter the world to pieces.
This world is unkind towards us.
Once we graduate from the academy,
we'll be sent onto the battlefield as Players.
And we'll die alone, without ever finding someone we can connect with.
You don't want that, do you?
Then you just have to destroy everything.
Just like Jimi, the legendary Player.
You're a genius.
Since Jimi disappeared,
there's been no other Player who can pilot Equipment as perfectly as you.
You have the power.
And I have this.
Now, with the two of us together...
Let's destroy the world.
Until it's smashed to smithereens.
Stop this, Nir! Why would you do something like this?!
Why?
To destroy this world, of course.
Just as Jimi once tried to do long ago!
We're doing this!
--I don't wanna! --Huh?!
Oh, honestly!
Mu!
Get back a little.
We're going to load up the guns and bring our friends!
It's really fun to lose and to pretend!
What the heck is your problem?!
With the lights out, there's no danger anymore.
Here we are now.
Amuse us.
Entertain Us!
No. I have to stop those two!
If I leap onto the AC30 from up there...
I-It's so high...
Jump off from there.
Heaven will be waiting for you.
Aren't you Nir's friend?
The normal thing would be to stop this!
Friend?
As if.
That one is my trump card.
My trump card to escape from this shithole.
Trump card?
What do you think is waiting for us after we graduate from here?
That's right.
Fighting the Earless, getting injured, and dying. That's all.
But that one is different.
If I sell that one's powers to the army, the sky's the limit for me.
For that matter, I could even become the general of the Londinium army.
I've even already cultivated the contacts to make it happen.
Since high-grade Teen Spirit is something
that all Equipment pilots desperately want to get their hands on.
But that's...
Only an idiot wouldn't play their most powerful trump card, right?!
That's wrong!
Talking about what cards you'll play or won't play... It's totally wrong!
Be gone!
Hey, stop that!
Nir is my friend!
Nir!
--Owowowow...
--Mu, are you okay? --Owowowow...
Okay? Like there's any way I would be!
Sorry.
But Nir is my friend.
Fighting a friend isn't something I can do.
Echo, you don't play fair.
Nir.
Echo, just who is she to you?
And to you, is Echo a friend? A partner? Or is he...
...your lover?
Huh?!
I abandoned Hole.
No, that's not it.
We were both using each other.
And we believed that we had a connection because of it.
Nir...
You must know what it's like.
How good it feels to wield power.
That thrill.
But what if the power swallows you up?
I will not be swallowed up!
Really?
I won't be able to stay here anymore.
Nir...
Here's a warning for you two.
Sooner or later, Players always lose their minds.
Always.
So long.
Nir!
When I've gone insane,
will you still call me your friend?
Thank you! Thank you! I'm so grateful!
But I never even imagined that Hole was the mastermind behind it.
So, here's the file I promised you.
--Though, it might not be of much use to you...
--What?! --Though, it might not be of much use to you...
This is...
Mm, that's the ruler of the Purple Kingdom, the Scion of Chills,
aka Denka.
Denka?
After Jimi left the academy, I hear he headed off to see Denka.
If you meet with him, he might be able to tell you all about Jimi.
That settles where we're going next.
Yeah.
By the way, I've been mystified by this for a while now, but...
What is it?
It can't be...
...that you haven't realized that Nir is a girl, right?
A girl?!
A street corner drenched in purple rain.
I'll reveal my secret, so let's begin our own private revolution.
That time has come.
Everyone reaches their hand out.
Let us wing our way towards something new.
That prayer will change our world.
Let me guide you to the purple rain.
I feel love in your radiance.
"In the Embrace of the Beat" "In the Embrace of the Beat."
Now, dance. If you are a Player.