Once the Ignauts, Shun and the others arrive at Babylon, the question quickly becomes how do they get in? There are four towers, but only one connects to Babel. Eljuia is able to use his abilities to discern that it’s the south tower, so off they go.
It’s almost too easy to find the key to get into the tower, but once they descend down the stairs into the darkness they hit their first obstacle: a huge, massive wall that they have to climb, with no ropes or anything! I’m scared of heights personally, so this would freak me right the hell out. o_O Everyone starts climbing, with Shun bringing up the rear. Suddenly Emilio, who is directly above Shun, slips and falls! Shun reaches out and grabs Emilio, flinging him back onto the wall. Emilio is reluctantly grateful, and the smile the two share is the first solid sign of a cautiously burgeoning friendship. Finally!
Everyone clears the wall and they see their next obstacle: a maze. It seems like all of this climbing will never end, but they split into small groups and each group lowers a rope down the wall of the maze.
However before they descend, Emilio and Demetrio have some strong words to exchange with each other. It’s more of the usual: Demetrio wants to overthrow King Delzaine via a bloodless revolution of the masses, while Emilio wants a physical revenge for the death of his birth father. Demetrio insists that he won’t help Emilio kill the king, and that killing Delzaine won’t solve any of the kingdom’s problems. Emilio doesn’t appear to be heeding Demetrio’s words, so Demetrio gives Emilio a final warning: do not attack the king until he’s had a chance to talk to him first. Time will tell whether Emilio will listen or not.
Their group makes it through the labyrinth, and as the little group progresses, things are happening on the outside as well. The Zoozians are coming to aid the Ignauts, while elsewhere one of members of the resistance is helping to recruite more supporters. Will it be enough?
Back inside Babylon, the group continues to move through labyrinth. They finally break through to the other side, where Emilio runs again, but is suddenly stopped by an attack by one of the members of the Truculent (Delzaine’s henchmen). Ibelda the lion-creature launches an attack at Emilio, but is stopped by Eljuia’s protective carpet. The Truculent pair off against the Ignauts: Mischa against the metallic bug, Felix against the lizard-creature with claws, Shun and Emilio against Ibelda, and Demetrio against the aquatic-looking man Guidoro.
Slowly the Ignauts start to gain the upper hand over the Truculent. Mischa’s explosives fill the air with purple smoke, and then Felix impales the lizard-creature on his blade. Guidoro makes himself vanish into thin air to hide from Demetrio. Ibelda is about to strike a finishing blow at Emilio, until the prince’s Warp Device levels up and he blocks an attack from the lion-creature. Eljuia’s carpet protects Emilio and Shun from Ibelda’s next attack, and then Emilio runs away towards the portal which will take him to Babel. Shun and Alicia get concerned and run after him, with Eljuia remaining behind vowing to slow Ibelda down.
That is at least until Louise steps in and destroys Eljuia’s Warp Device, revealing herself to be the traitor. Louise says it’s because of her Zoozian blood and reveals some of her backstory, namely that her parents were forced to do difficult labor because they were a Zoozian (her father) and someone who married a Zoozian (her mother). She joined the Ignauts for the money – by spying on the Ignauts, the Truculent (and Delzaine by proxy?) were paying her very well. Having money will protect her family from tragedy, Louise thinks.
Demetrio takes that moment to step in, saying that Louise should fight him instead of Eljuia. Demetrio tells Louise that he knew she was the traitor all along, but chose not to say anything. Louise gets angry and starts to fight Demetrio.
Meanwhile inside a soft glowing place, Shun and Alicia are begging Emilio to reconsider his plan for revenge. Emilio gets angry and when Shun tries to restrain Emilio, he gets shoved to the ground. A portal out of their glowing surroundings opens up, and Emilio runs out alone.
Elsewhere in Babylon, King Delzaine is briefed by one of his scientists. Babel is very close to being up and running, but the gate will only be able to stay open for a brief period of time. This makes Delzaine happy, as he can finally fulfill his wish of many years, which is of course to see the surface. But is there more to this desire?
Then out of the blue, Emilio shows up! Is this a final showdown?
~*~
My thoughts:
- It’s cute how Felix and Mischa bicker over their devotion to Demetrio. x3 They both have similar backstories (coming from a life of hardship, Demetrio saving them, and so on), so I guess it makes sense. They’re just so protective of their rescuer.
- I’m still curious about what King Delzaine’s reason(s) for wanting to go to the surface are, and I hope we find them out in the next episode.
- I wonder if Demetrio is going to kill Louise, or just defeat her and let her have the option of leaving with her life.
Next week’s the halfway point! I’m curious how many of my questions will be answered.