It was suggested to me by a reviewer that the chapters get so long and involved and :cough: so much time elapses between updates :cough, cough: that perhaps I should include a little summary at the beginning to refresh people's memories of the previous chapters. I thought that this was a great idea, so I'm going to give a sum-up of the previous 7 chapters here and then you guys can go on to chapter 8 at your leisure and so on.
Chapter 1a-beginning
The story opens with the last battle of the series between Kazuma and Ryuho. Mimori and Kanami race their car to the mountains in search of the two Legendary Alter Users, who are locked in combat in the skies overhead. As they near the site, both men come crashing down to the earth. The fight progresses until they both knock each other out. Fearing they are dead, Kanami and Mimori check both men, and find them bruised and bloodied, but alive.
Back at Tachibana's house, Kanami reprimands Kazuma for his recklessness- she's angry at him for taking it so far and getting so banged up. Before Kazuma has a chance to tell her, Kanami says she knows that he is planning on leaving again in order to keep her safe. She insists that he needs her and that she is stronger when she is with him. Too tired to argue, Kazuma acquiesces for the moment and the issue dies in favor of much-needed rest.
After briefly checking in on Kazuma, Tachibana reflects on his strength compared to the others and the presence of the Legendary Alter Users in his house. Cammy senses her boyfriend's unease and does the only thing she knows will comfort him- wraps him in a loving embrace.
Chapter 1b-dreaming
In a guest room of Tachibana's house Ryuho has a convoluted nightmare. In it he races through the transformed halls of HOLY in search of someone. He enters a room with a blinding light in the center, and soon the light begins to fade, revealing Cherise at its center. He races to her as her life fades with the dying light until she collapses into his arms. She kisses him, giving him her remaining life before vanishing in his grasp, leaving behind only her empty clothes.
He cries in despair before a whisper alerts him to a presence behind him. He turns around to find Kazuma holding Mimori hostage, taunting the girl over her feelings for Ryuho. As he chokes her his body morphs into that of Kyoji Mujo, who drops Mimori on the floor and then leers over her as he goads Ryuho. He disappears before Ryuho can grab him. Turning back to Mimori, he sinks to his knees beside her and gathers her into his arms, crying over her body. She morphs into his dead mother. With fresh tears he cries for her, too, blaming himself for her death. A gunshot rings out and Ryuho sees the image of his father after shooting himself. Mujo's laughter echoes in the background throughout. Commander Zigmarl's voice is heard commending Ryuho for his naïve loyalty and blind faith in HOLY. Just when he thinks he can take no more, Ryuho senses a familiar and comforting presence invade his dream. He wakes drenched in sweat in a room he doesn't recognize. While trying to figure out what he will do next he soon drifts back to sleep.
As she watches Cammy and Tachibana together, Mimori reflects on her own feelings and reminisces about her childhood and her friendship with Ryuho, wondering what could have changed him so much since then. She thinks back to her return to the Lost Ground and her strained relationship with Ryuho since then. Remembering his response to her declaration of love, she resolves to avoid further rejection by giving Ryuho his space. Her thoughts are interrupted by the hasty arrival of Elian, who tells her that he thinks that Straight Cougar is dying.
Chapter 2a-reclaiming
Chapter 2 begins with a flashback to Urizane's truck as it drives to Tachibana's house. A nearly dead Cougar is lying unconscious in the bed and Elian keeps glancing back nervously. Urizane worries about Elian's reaction to the condition of their friend and asks the boy what he's thinking. Elian says he hopes that Mimori can fix him and Urizane reassures him that Cougar will be fine. When they reach the house, he sends Elian in ahead while he picks up Cougar from the back of the truck and heads for the door.
Inside the house, Mimori and Tachibana watch as Urizane brings Cougar inside. Just as Elian reported, he looks horrible. Mimori jumps into clinical mode and begins lifesaving efforts on the man. She gives everyone tasks as she performs CPR on her 'patient'. Tachibana fetches some medical supplies, Cammy gives rescue breaths and Urizane tells her how they found Cougar. Kanami emerges from Kazuma's room in the midst of the rescue and Elian steers her outside while the others continue to work. He does his best to answer her questions about who Straight Cougar is and how he knows him.
Meanwhile, back inside Mimori shocks Cougar with a defibrillator. She finally gets a heartbeat and they find that he can breathe on his own; Cougar seems to be out of the woods. As Cougar stabilizes Mimori thinks back to their time together and how kind he had always been to her. She vows to keep him alive.
Cammy goes outside to tell Elian and Kanami the good news about Cougar. Tachibana eavesdrops on the conversation and surprises Cammy when she goes back in the house; the two kids giggle at them from outside.
Chapter 2b-waking
After Kazuma chases Mimori out of his sick room she is met by the inquisitive Elian and Kanami. Being empaths, they both sense her fatigue and frustration and offer her encouraging words, particularly concerning Ryuho. Under the guise of checking on Ryuho she decides to go talk with him. When she gets to his room, however, he is asleep. She sits next to him and soon accidentally falls asleep, too.
Cougar wakes up somewhat surprised that he's not dead. He looks around the room and finally sees Urizane lounging in a chair. They have a jovial sort of banter about how Cougar is feeling, how they had found him, and why he is missing his clothes. When Cougar finds out that Mimori saved his life he switches into hyper mode. Hearing the ruckus, Elian checks on them, finds Cougar awake, and goes to find Mimori to give her the news. Cougar nearly flips out from excitement. :)
Ryuho wakes up to find Mimori asleep at the edge of his bed. He reminisces back to their childhood together and how she had managed to entrench herself so deeply in his life and his heart. He resolves to protect her; to him that means keeping her away from him and his dangerous life. As she begins to wake up he steels himself for a serious discussion.
Chapter 3a-seething
Kanami admonishes Kazuma for running Mimori out of his room earlier. He apologizes but tells her that hospitals and doctors make him uncomfortable. Kazuma asks Kanami where she disappeared to and she tells him about Urizane and Elian bringing in a half-dead Cougar. Kazuma wants to get up and see him, but Kanami tells him she'll check on his friend for him. Kazuma acquiesces but says he wants to see the man when he wakes.
Mimori wakes up at the edge of Ryuho's bed to find him looking down on her. She tries to say her piece to him but he insists that they have nothing to discuss. Sidestepping his avoidance, she tells him that it's her fault that he is suffering now because she set everything in motion by insisting on returning to the Lost Ground to see him. Ryuho in turn tells her that his problems and the problems of the Lost Ground have nothing to do with her and tells her once again to return to the Mainland. His cool dismissal of her angers Mimori and she gets emotional in her defense. Ryuho's present weakness and confinement to the bed anger him and he lashes out as well.
Their argument escalates until the room fills with fury. Elian enters just in time, telling Mimori that Cougar is conscious. The fight stops abruptly at her exit but doesn't seem to end. In reality Elian had heard the fight from outside and had barged in before any irreparable damage could be inflicted by either of them.
Chapter 3b-revealing
While working in the other room, Tachibana can hear the escalating fight between Mimori and Ryuho and boils with anger, knowing the fight must be Ryuho's fault. He reflects on the kind of person Mimori is and how much he and Cammy have grown to like her. Still, he is surprised at how protective of her he is becoming and how surprised he is at her strength. When she emerges from the room unscathed he silently congratulates her and condemns Ryuho for his insensitivity.
Mimori immediately goes to see Straight Cougar, dismissing all signs of her fight just moments ago. Cougar flirts with her shamelessly and she's happy to see him, a welcome change from the prickly Ryuho she just left. She examines him and he plays the perfect patient. He praises her and thanks her for saving his life.
Kanami comes in and asks permission for Kazuma to come visit. Mimori agrees and Kanami leaves to get him. As they wait for the girl to return, Mimori asks Cougar if his near-death had to do with his refining on the Mainland. He tells her that he knew he would die soon and had even readied himself for death, but that he's grateful that she saved him.
Kazuma appears and Mimori leaves to give them some privacy. Kazuma soon sends Kanami out too after Cougar tries to get friendly. When they are alone he confronts Cougar about leaving him to join HOLY. Cougar tells him that he knew that Kazuma would become something special. They bicker like old times, sliding back seamlessly into their old role as brothers.
Meanwhile, over on the Mainland an eclectic group of influential people meet in secret, working on a plan to manipulate the vulnerability of the Lost Ground for their own devices. Who could this mysterious group be and what are their plans?
Chapter 4a-stoking
After a week, Cougar has sped through his recovery and has stuck around to help Mimori any way he can. Kazuma has also pushed himself to heal out of shear boredom; his new favorite hobby is watching TV with Kanami and the Puuri. Kanami has been keeping a close eye on Kazuma and has been trying to check on Ryuho as well, who seems to want to recover in isolation. He has mostly kept to his room and the yard behind the house. Mimori still checks on his progress, but Tachibana doesn't seem to want to leave the two alone together after their explosive fight last time. Mimori has been trying to keep up with all of her 'patients' but is getting run down, neglecting her work with AIM. She's afraid to work on that project with so many people around the house.
Enduring yet another nightmare, Ryuho ponders what his dreams might mean. Just as in all the others, at the end of the nightmare, just when he's about to give up hope, he can feel some sort of presence trying to comfort him and urging him to open up. Ryuho thinks about how empty he feels and remembers how unforgivably harsh he'd been with Mimori when they had fought. He notes Tachibana's dislike for him ever since that day and is not surprised when the teen is less than cooperative when he goes in the kitchen to finally say his thank-yous and goodbyes.
Tachibana tries to make him feel guilty even as Ryuho informs him that he is leaving. Ryuho simply has some unfinished business with Mimori and wants to locate her. Warily, Tachibana tells him where she is but doesn't let him leave until he's sure that Ryuho will be civil to the girl.
Atop the cliffs overlooking the house, Mimori has fallen asleep perched on a rock. Ryuho wakes her and she immediately goes on her guard. He apologizes for his role in the fight and thanks her for her care. He tells her that he recognizes how unfair it was for him to ask her to respect his wishes without in turn respecting hers. Mimori softens at his apology and playfully punches him, accidentally hitting one of his wounds. Feeling ever the klutz, she fusses over her mistake and begins checking all of his bandages.
As she works, Ryuho finds himself mesmerized by her touch. Mimori puts a little seduction in her examination, unaware of how well it is working on him. Ryuho kisses her gently and accidentally, but soon both of them are swept up in the romance of the moment. Ryuho pushes a bit too far, biting her lip. Horrified with himself, he leaves Mimori on the cliffs and walks off into the horizon.
Emotional and confused, Mimori makes her way back down to the house in search of someone to chase after Ryuho. Instead Kazuma and Tachibana fret over her condition and try to figure out what happened. Embarrassed at her slight overreaction, Mimori lies about heat exhaustion and tries to pull herself back together.
Chapter 4b-storming
A tactical vessel full of high-tech equipment is disguised as a fishing boat and moored just offshore. A Commander and his subordinate trace the progress of something on a radar Doppler screen. They discuss a mysterious operation targeting something in the center of the City in the Lost Ground. The Commander ensures himself that the Lost Ground will soon be under his control.
The following day the weather of the Lost Ground changes from sunny and cloudless to a highly destructive typhoon. The chapter follows the progress of several characters as the storm builds around them.
Ryuho is walking towards the mountains in the rain, trying to distance himself from Tachibana's house and the people there. He thinks about Mimori and his evolving feelings for her and also considers how his own behavior and emotions have been changing. In a shocking realization he figures out that Cherise's Eternal Devote had somehow changed him when she sacrificed her life to save his. She has somehow survived within his mind. Cherise is so pleased with his discovery that she makes him giggle, something the stoic teen had never really done. He finds that though he is thankful for her survival he is nevertheless apprehensive about her presence in his head.
As Mimori drives in the rain towards the City she, too, reflects on what had happened between her and Ryuho and how her friends had reacted to her troubled appearance. Relieved to have a distraction from it all, she turns her attentions back to AIMED- her current project and destination. She had started it about two and a half months ago with Tachibana in an effort to prepare the Lost Ground for its eventual independence. This section covers a fairly in-depth explanation of the split of the Lost Ground from the Mainland and the development of HOLD and then HOLY. Also provides a bit of AIMED history.
By the time Mimori arrives at AIMED headquarters, a converted French restaurant, the storm has severely worsened. Mr. Hideki, another AIMED member, greets her and fills her in on organization business she's missed. He informs her that important paperwork has been forwarded to Tachibana at their house, but that without her there, the office has become a mess of papers. Mimori sets right to work straightening things out, asking Hideki for help.
Straight Cougar has walked to Urizane and Elian's house and shows up making puddles on their doorstep. He has a favor to ask of Elian- he wants him to scan the storm and search for anything unusual- the onset and severity seem too strange to be natural.
At Tachibana's house, Kazuma stares at the storm through the window, wondering about Kanami. Tachibana assures him that Cammy is with her and that the girls will be fine. However, he secretly worries about them and about Mimori, too. He knows she went to AIMED headquarters in the city instead of to the market like she'd told everyone. He thinks back to her contributions to the organization but worries about her maintaining a low profile. In order to distract himself he looks for the radio to listen to the local weather reports.
Back in the mountains, Ryuho becomes less and less sure of his direction away from Mimori. He can feel Cherise's lingering presence telling him to turn around. He insists that he's still in charge, but realizes that he won't be able to disappear into the Wasteland like he did last time. He finally halts and summons his Alter in order to speed him back to Tachibana's house.
Offshore in a disguised ship mysterious men track the progress of the typhoon, referring to it as 'phase 1'. Pleased with its success, they prepare to launch 'phase 2'. A mysterious commander inspects 2 long glass tubes as technicians work on the instruments attached to them. One tube is already empty. He affirms a prediction that the Lost Ground will soon be devastated.
Chapter 5-assaulting
The mysterious vessel is now 55 kilometers offshore from the Lost Ground and closing. The team inside buzzes in preparation for phase 2 as the Commander looks on, appraising their work. He reflects on the careful months of planning it took him to put his team together. He is told by that in another 20 kilometers they will be ready to deploy the next phase of his operation. Soon he will claim the Lost Ground as his.
The power in the AIMED office has gone out from the storm, leaving Mimori to work in darkness. Hideki emerges from the kitchen to tell her of the flooding basement and the donations that have thus been destroyed. Mimori worries about the water rising to the main level and decides to take one of the computers home with her. Hideki then points out that the water outside has flooded the streets as well, making a trip to her car more difficult than she'd hoped. She crosses to the window and is soon engrossed in the turmoil outside; it reminds her of the swirl of emotions she had experienced earlier that day with Ryuho's uncharacteristic kiss and then retreat. She presses herself against the glass and allows her feelings to catch up with her. Hideki wisely retreats, having no idea how to handle an emotional teenage genius.
Back at Urizane's house Elian scans the typhoon with his Alter Power, just as Cougar had requested. He finds that the storm's origin is natural, but that some power akin to an Alter is boosting it somehow. He also discovers that another similar power is building but is unsure what will come of it. He tells Cougar and Urizane that things will likely get much worse in the near future. Urizane protests but Cougar seems to have some ideas. However, the three debate on their next course of action, ultimately deciding on returning to Tachibana's house. They take a moment to gather together some supplies before Urizane will teleport them there.
Over at the dairy farm Cammy and Kanami sit in the barn's hay loft. Below them the water rises as the cows, horses and other animals make noise in protest. Cammy wonders about the sudden onset of the storm and hopes that their house will be fine when they return home. Kanami tries to reassure her that Kazuma will come and get them. Cammy hopes the girl is wrong, wondering if Kazuma would do something as foolish as to drag her boyfriend out into the horrible weather in search of them. She decides that Mimori, if not Asuka, would have to good sense to keep Kazuma put and turns her attention back to the noises of the storm, wondering how much longer it will last.
As Mimori leans against the window of the office the glass bows in with the shifting winds and she opens her eyes just in time to see a large tree limb heading straight for her. She spins out of the way into a bookcase as the limb crashes through the window into her desk. She falls and hits her head on the floor, losing consciousness as the bookcase falls down on top of her.
Now 25 kilometers offshore, the mysterious commander and his team are within striking distance of the Mainland. He laughs at the Mainland's misplaced panic over the legendary Alter users. We discover that Kyoji Mujo was his brainchild and that he intended on pitting the legendary Alter users against the Mainland in order to distract both from his ultimate design. The only glitch in his plan was AIMED, which had quickly garnered the attention of the Mainland and foreign countries to their plights of neglect and need for independence. The organization was tiny enough to elude his researchers but large enough to gain widespread political attention. Knowing only that they were headquartered in the City, the commander planned to eliminate them and decimate the City with his secret plans, phase 1 of which was the storm currently ravaging the Lost Ground. He receives word that phase 2 will be ready within minutes of his command and he gives the go ahead to engage, knowing that soon his last obstacle will cease to exist.
Ryuho lands back at Tachibana's house, tired from not being entirely healed from his battle with Kazuma. The typhoon rages around him and he makes his way into the house, where he finds Kazuma and Tachibana huddled over a radio listening to the weather report. Noticing the two teens are alone, Ryuho asks where everyone is, hoping to locate Mimori. Knowing his intent, Tachibana gives his a rundown of everyone except Mimori, leaving Kazuma to tell Ryuho that Mimori had gone to the market. Ryuho steams at the news, wondering why they let her go alone. Tachibana and Kazuma are quick to defend themselves, pointing out that she left before the rain started. Tachibana further pries by bringing up Mimori's disheveled state shortly after Ryuho had departed. Ignoring him, Ryuho declares he is going to the market. Tachibana halts him but Kazuma shushes them before he can respond. The latest news flash states that the storm is inexplicably hovering over the City, decimating everything in its path.
At this news Tachibana blanches noticeably and after much prodding admits that Mimori drove his car into the City instead of to the market. A fight between Tachibana and Ryuho nearly flares but Kazuma calms things down (though not before the coffee table is sacrificed). In a marginally calmer environment Tachibana explains that he and Mimori founded AIMED and that she went to the headquarters in the City to take care of some business. He lauds the work she's done but Ryuho is furious at this news, claiming she'll become an even greater target than before (don't you hate it when he's right?). He says he's going after her, but Kazuma says he's going to the dairy farm to get Kanami and suggests Tachibana comes along. However, before they can make a move the house begins quaking violently. Ryuho shouts for them to get cover- an earthquake is now shaking the Lost Ground.
Chapter 6-quaking
In the barn loft of the dairy farm Kanami sits in Cammy's lap as all the workers wait out the typhoon; the sounds of the storm and even the animals are slowly lulling her to sleep. Suddenly, the earth begins to shake and Kanami is barraged by the panic of all of the workers around her. Kanami feels Cammy scoop her up and run with her, but soon they are both falling, and Kanami is torn from Cammy's grasp. Kanami screams in her head, unwittingly projecting a message with her powers just before everything goes black.
At the AIMED office, Mimori wakes up pinned under a bookcase and surrounded by fire. She manages to wiggle out and calls for Hideki, but gets no response. Then the earthquake hits and the building threatens to come down on top of her. After shouting for Hideki a few more times she manages to rolls outside through the broken window just before the building collapses. From the middle of the street she watches the building fold in on itself. Behind her tears she almost misses Tachibana's car heading right for her.
At Urizane's house, Elian feels the approaching earthquake and barely warns Cougar and Urizane before it hits. All three guys shelter themselves in doorframes as the quake shakes the house. After it concludes they barely have time to recover before Elian freezes in panic- he is receiving Kanami's message and all of the emotions she felt when she sent it. He tells the others what he can but is unable to reach back to her. He isn't even sure if she's at the farm. Urizane has him lay on the sofa to recover and then explains to Cougar why the boy is so wiped out. They confer on what might have happened and who else might have gotten the message. Neither is sure of what their next move should be.
They soon decide that Urizane will teleport to the dairy farm and Cougar will remain behind to watch over Elian as he recovers. When the boy wakes up Cougar will take him to Tachibana's where everyone will meet up. Cougar reluctantly agrees and Urizane disappears in his watermelon orb.
Kazuma, Ryuho and Tachibana run for cover from the earthquake. After the shaking has subsided, they puzzle over what just happened; Ryuho and Kazuma bicker as usual. Tachibana asks if everyone is alright when Kazuma shushes them, hearing Kanami's voice in his head. After a Moment, the others hear it, too, and Ryuho relays the message aloud. Kazuma jumps into action, ready to head to the farm in search of the girl. Tachibana expresses concern for Cammy, who is supposed to be with the girl. Ryuho reminds them that Mimori is still unaccounted for. Kazuma baits him into agreeing to go after her. Tachibana hesitates on whom to accompany, but his heart sends him after Cammy. Before leaving he asks Ryuho to find Mimori and bring her home, giving him a bag of stuff for just in case. Everyone heads outside and takes off to their intended destinations.
At the farm, Cammy finds herself in a pile of wet hay following the earthquake and looks around for Kanami, finally spying her against a wall. She rushes to the girl's side and confirms she's alive but can't wake her up. She tucks the girl in her own hoodie, then checks on the other people injured in the barn.
Mimori dodges Tachibana's drifting car, but not before it bounces painfully off her hip and collides with another car down the block. She crawls to a phone pole on the opposite curb and sits against it, giving her injuries a mental once-over. Sure that she won't die, she drifts unconscious.
Mimori has a very strange dream where Kazuma is chasing her down the halls of HOLY wrapped in bandages like a mummy and cursing at her. He chases her to her door, but when she turns around the arms that grab her are Ryuho's. He smiles at her, picks her up and then carries her into her bedroom. He kisses her deeply but then drops her on her bed. She falls through the bed frame farther and farther until her hand is grabbed by a floating, grinning Straight Cougar. His smile turns sad and he soon fades away, unable to hold her aloft anymore, and Mimori begins falling again. Below her she can see fire burning and she accelerates, finally falling into it.
She is startled awake by a man wiping her face. She accidentally smacks him reflexively, but then apologizes when she realizes he's trying to help her. He gives her a bottle of water which she gulps down and asks her what happened. The memories of her ordeal flood back to her and she tells him some of the details. She learns that Hideki didn't make it out of the building, but the stranger offers her shelter and a phone at his place after she tells him that she doesn't live close by and points out her wrecked vehicle down the street. She agrees to his offer and he helps her stand and hobble down the street. Mimori mentally wonders if trusting this man is a good idea but feels so week and woozy that she decides she's thankful that he found her in the first place. They head for his place at a slow, steady pace in the storm.
Ryuho flies over the flooded City and notes the utter devastation of the area inside the wall, his former home. He is tired from flying in the storm and knows that he still has some recovering to do. As he nears his destination fatigue overcomes him and he decides to touch down on the street just over from the restaurant and walk the rest of the way. Tired but full of purpose, he trudges through the wet streets to find Mimori.
Chapter 7-searching
Kazuma and Tachibana go to the dairy farm in search of Kanami and Cammy after receiving Kanami's frantic projection to her friends. When Tachibana opens the doors to the barn he is greeted by a distraught Cammy who brings them over to an unconscious Kanami. She tells them that she can't figure out what is wrong with Kanami and doesn't know why the girl won't wake up. She also tried to help the other farm workers as best she could and sent someone out to summon the doctor down the road. Cammy asks where Mimori is but the two Alter Users dodge her question, not wanting to alarm her with the woman's true location.
Urizane teleports to the dairy farm in search of Kanami and finds Kazuma, Cammy, and Tachibana in the barn. Tachibana fills him in on the plan to move the workers into the main house and return to his house once the doctor looks over Kanami. Urizane tells them that Cougar and Elian will join them at the house as soon as Elian recovers. Urizane and Tachibana set off to inspect the house in preparation to relocate everyone in the barn.
In the City, a stranger named Hiro is taking Mimori back to his place, where he promises she can rest and recover from her harrowing ordeal. As they walk, Mimori reflects on her good fortune and wonders about her would-be rescuer. As they walk, she notices that she's feeling very strange and soon must rely on Hiro to carry her the rest of the way. His place turns out to be an old theater; as he kicks the door to gain entrance Mimori notices a shocking transformation in her rescuer. When a shifty little man opens the door and leers at her, Mimori realizes that she's in real trouble.
Meanwhile, Ryuho heads to AIMED headquarters in search of Mimori, only to find that the restaurant has burned down and collapsed in the storm/earthquake. He finds Tachibana's car crashed down the block and fears that Mimori was trapped inside the building when it fell. He digs frantically in the rubble before Cherise's voice tells him that he's wasting his time. She tells him to assume that she's alive and search the City for her. After a bit of arguing he finally agrees, heading towards the higher, drier buildings.
At Urizane's house, Cougar paces and ponders Elian's revelation about the source of the storm and earthquake. He also thinks about Mimori and how she had reacted to Ryuho leaving. He's itching to get out and do something, but knows he can't abandon Elian. When Elian finally wakes up he finds Urizane has already left to find Kanami, leaving Cougar behind to keep an eye on him. Assuring Cougar that he is alright, Elian intercepts an encoded message being transmitted to the middle of the ocean, specifically to the source of the power altering the typhoon and the earthquake.
The message, which is being received by the Commander of the mysterious 'Faceless', contains secret video of a meeting between AIMED members and several foreign ambassadors. The Commander recognizes Mimori and orders his men to information on her and the other member on the video (Tachibana). They are to give the information to a man named 'Zondo,' who will neutralize the threat of AIMED and its members. When the Commander is told about rumors regarding the storm and earthquake circulating around the Mainland media, he dictates a press release blaming the disasters on the Legendary Alter Users Kazuma and Ryuho.
After Elian intercepts the message, he and Cougar agree that their friends need to see the transmission. They remark on Mimori and Tachibana's involvement with AIMED and the danger they are now in, and speculate on the plans the mysterious Commander might have for the Lost Ground. They prepare to find their friends, knowing that every second counts.
A/N: There ya go- all caught up. I'll put a little summary of the last chapter at the beginning of the new one each time I update from now on. Feel free to skip them- they're just meant to be little quick and dirties- hardly a substitute for the thrilling excitement and the harrowing suspense of the real chapters! Reply to this summary if it was at all helpful. Enjoy the next chapter. :Mira ushers in brand spankin' new chapter 8 like Vanna White, complete with cheesy muzak:
Hope U likey!
Mira