Chapter 12 Episode 1: Separation and Revolution 1

 We begin with a clipped recap of what happened back at the end of Chapter 11.
Mahakala:
Shiva: I will help you two. Chakra power activate!
Kengo: wait what!?
Shiva: HINDU BEEEAAAMU
Moon: (explodes)
---
Mononobe: We're inside Mahakala now. Robo kid Bertro had a part of my memories which you now have in your hands. He says he did it as his last thanks.
---
Bertro: space is pretty
Duo:
Bertro: oh lol it's you. Hi. Dying.
Duo: what'd you do with your memory flash drive?
Bertro: I gave it to someone because I felt like it
Duo: Bertro, I mean Robert
Bertro: lmaooo it's Bertro thank you. It's your turn now
Duo: no. Hey boy come here
Breke: How did you notice me here?
Duo: I didn't. I just know it's your role to go where dead bodies are.
Breke: you don't know me, I make my own fate
Duo: yeah sure whatever, come with me
Breke: wat
Duo: I'll tell you what I know if you help. Now go pick Bertro up
Breke: but he's dying
Duo: then it sure is convenient a genius like me put a secret base together! Pick him up, chop chop!

 

After the recap ends, Bertro wakes up in the life preserver pod thing Duo has, and Duo greets him and asks how it is in there. Bertro was a lot more hurt than Duo was expecting, but he should live a while longer now thanks to this. He doesn't know how much longer Bertro gets like this though. Narration notes that this is lab area hidden in the basement of a business front somewhere in Bunkyo Ward. Bertro coughs a bit, then asks where he is. Duo explains that it's his safehouse, which hardly anyone else knows about.

 

Bertro asks in surprise if Duo really carried him out of the battlefield all on his own, so Duo says he didn't and that Bertro should know Duo's an egghead too. Duo just asked (his ie Bertro's) Breke to bring him here, along with the other wolf. Duo had sent him out on another job, so now it's just him and Bertro down there at the moment. He really suggests that Bertro focus on recovering for now.

 

Bertro asks in disbelief if Duo really did run off and take him along. He never knew he could think things out that far and asks how he managed to get past all his enemies in Tokyo. Duo doesn't answer the question, so Bertro says that even if people overlooked his half-broken body, there's no way the other factions would leave his memories alone. Those would be the memories of everything he's seen from the Warmongers' side over all the loops to this point, and the others are likely to track him down and find this place before long to collect them.

 

Narration talks about how the side that controls information controls everything, and this is a big fundamental part of present day wars. The memories of the previous loops are a treasure trove of information of what one side of the war has done so far, and the power balance between the big three guilds comes from each side controlling the flow of information in equal amounts. Bertro's memories would be a huge advantage if either of the other two camps managed to get a hold of them, and Bertro doesn't say that having his memories taken would result in his death. He, Duo, and the others were created to gather these memories, so if that role was taken from them, they'd be terminated. They are the ones who make use of the original meanings of roles and rules.

 

Duo admits that the others will find this secret lab sooner or later, but it should be possible to buy some time. There's plenty of problems that are just as important as getting Bertro's memories happening at the same time right now. Like for example...Shiva from the Warmongers could withdraw from the game. That would make the fourth World Representative to bow out after Azathoth, Surtr, then Tezcatlipoca. Duo figures Curren should be heading out to get a closer look at the situation, and she'll probably figure out what went on at the battlefield.

 

Scene shifts over to the Warmongers base area where Breke has obtained Shiva's artifact. Karen Curren notes that she's found traces of Shiva's data and his artifact being collected, but she observes that this is the only loop where four World Representatives have dropped out by this point and sighs. In her view, the Reps dropping out one after another isn't a huge deal in itself since she and the other guildmasters of the big three guilds never cared about their side winning to begin with. Their viewpoint is closer to the Game Masters who want the game to not come crashing down, and they all prioritize recording the game's contents from their positions with each camp. So if the Warmongers's power has been drastically decreased she doesn't care too much. If Reps leave, it'll be fine if they have a replacement ready.

Curren notes that the balance that forms the basis of the game is liable to collapse. The power balance between the big three guilds is largely dependent on the number of World Reps placed on each side, and it is also why the game has kept repeating as it has. If one side gets ahead, the other two can conspire to cut them back down. Curren says that if the Warmongers lose any more members, then the balance may become destabilized. The Rule Makers are unlikely to take advantage of this situation, but Curren notes that the Invaders like drama so much that they won't let this chance pass them by. Their guildmaster is liable to agree with them on that point too. She sighs again and says she could come up with a counterplan at least if she could take a look inside over there.

Curren pulls out her phone and attempts to call the secret agent the Game Masters slipped into the Invaders. Sanat Kumara however does not answer even after repeated attempts, so she wonders whether he managed to handle things from within, or if he's already been captured. She thinks about the revolutionary genius and the guildmaster trying to induce evolution through assimilation, but he isn't the only problem that's going on.  She's noticed that Duo has been acting strangely when he's supposed to be the substitute for Bertro when he falls apart. It was why he was allowed to live when he made his jailbreak out of the lab he was created in, but an unconfirmed report told her he was seen contacting Bertro and absconding off with him.

Curren talks about how each genius was meant to verify each of their assigned evolutionary method plans originally, so friendship was never necessary to them. If he's going to disregard the principles of keeping the game going, then she as a Game Master will have to go see him and dispose of him if it comes to that. She stops thinking about that though, saying there's something else she needs to prioritize, something only a genius can do.

Narration says that the thing Karen Curren has to do is talk to the manager collect the memory of the observer who was assigned to you specifically. He is like Bertro in that he could not bear to keep enduring the endless resets, so a replacement was planned to be put into his place. Until this new watcher is put into place, the big three guildmasters are to hold onto the old watcher's divided memories, but Curren has heard that Bertro has given his part of the memories to the trophy directly. Curren says hardly anyone knows of that person or their significance, even among the Game Masters. Since she does know, it falls to her to deal with it over everything else, so Duo and the Invaders will have to wait until she has more time on her plate. She heads outside and calls her giant robot, saying she will now head out to make contact with you as she proceeds to fly south.

Back to Duo and Bertro, Duo says he's going to call Bertro by his preferred name as requested, then asks him why he gave That Thing away. Bertro doesn't answer but looks surprised, and Duo clarifies just in case that he's talking about the memory bank he gave to you. Duo says it's a clue for reaching the All Knowing All Powerful one, which means you could also call it a key for ending the game. Bertro was one of the three guildmasters given those memories under the idea that he wouldn't upset the board's balance, so why did he do it? Duo also adds that Curren and the third guildmaster were expecting Bertro to hand it off to Duo too, so he's curious.

Bertro still won't answer but looks sad, so Duo brings up that Bertro said he gave it away as thanks for being shown what he wanted to see. Duo is sure that Bertro had another reason for doing so that he couldn't say to him however, and he suggests it's because Bertro didn't want to saddle him with his burdens. Entrusting that to another genius would mean following them in death, or so he thinks. Duo asks if Bertro didn't want him to end up like he did, and he comments Bertro was always that sort of person since their days at the lab.

Bertro starts to speak up, but Duo cuts him off by sighing, saying he worries too much and that Duo won't fall into the same rut he did. It might have given him the time to bring him to this base and nurse him back to health though. Anyways, Duo says that if he's right Curren will prioritize controlling the flow of information and go make contact with you, which should give him the time to deal with something else. That'd be dealing with the other genius among them. Bertro is surprised and is about to ask Duo what his plan is, and Duo says if it's the revolutionary genius they know, he's going to be busy with the present situation and trying to flip it on its head. Soon, the condition and structure of the Tokyo game will change greatly, and the ones conducting this change will be the rulers of the south. Smoky God is apparently one of them. But the game of the World Representatives of the 23 worlds connected to Tokyo will be shaken deeply, and on that note the episode ends. Welcome to Chapter 12 Invaders Prelude: Revolutionary Game of Perfect Intelligence