A kick in the stomach courtesy of novel-verse.

[oneill]

This is a h00j spoiler for something that DID NOT happen in the anime and should be handled with care. Concerns Eirotte and Cernes.

Long story short, Eirotte dies. Steyr attacks her with a relay point, but she doesn't have it consume Eirotte right away. First she tortures her and, for extra creep value, muses aloud about what sort of scream Eirotte might make if her uterus were to be ripped out. Uh, yeah.

Cernes shows up with murder in her eyes and says, "Wait! If I carried out what you said . . . if I carry it out, will you really let Eirotte go?" Of course, what Steyr said was "bring me the Scrapped Princess's head." Cernes then tries to trick Steyr using a fake head.

Later, Cernes is sitting in Eirotte's quarters, watching Eirotte's face as she rests on her bed.

Eirotte: I put you to . . . so much trouble, Princess. There's really no excuse for it. All of our plans . . . At the very least, so long as the Scrapped Princess lives, we can get back up on our feet, right?
Cernes: It can't be helped. We've lost. Our trump card, the Scrapped Princess, is dead.
Eirotte: . . . really? *smirks* That's our princess. That head was really a fake you'd prepared, wasn't it?
Cernes: . . . hey, Eirotte. Since when have you ever called me "Princess"?
Eirotte: I'm sorry?
Cernes: You should know how I hate being called "Princess." There's no way you wouldn't know. There's not a single person in Scarlet who calls me "Princess," and there's no way you, who's been with me for ten years, wouldn't know that. Up to now, there's never been a time when you've called me "Princess."
Eirotte: . . .
Cernes: Well, I figured this would happen. Since I asked Natalie just what these "relay points" really were. Even so, I couldn't help thinking "Just maybe," so . . . I guess I'm still too naive, huh?

And "Eirotte" morphs back into a relay point. Later, Pacifica expresses her amazement at how calm Cernes was in the face of Eirotte's death. If Shannon or Raquel had been the one to die, well . . .

Raquel tells her that's what it means to be royalty, someone who stands upon the backs of others. Still, she can't help wondering if Cernes is really as calm as she seems.

Meanwhile, Shannon and Cernes are standing alone on the deck of the Skid. Cernes is still trying her best to be strong, so Shannon tells her, "I'm not one of your subordinates, and I'm not one of your retainers. I'm not an enemy, either. I'm just someone who happens to be passing by. There's no one here but me, so . . . Just for now, it's okay if you don't play the role of someone who just 'stands on other people's backs.' "

After fighting with her emotions a little longer, Cernes falls apart and says, "I killed them. I killed them. I went and killed them . . . and tried to say that they just died. Eirotte . . . and all the other people who followed me . . . all the people who were willing to come along with me . . . all the people who saved me countless times . . . I wasn't able to save them. I . . . I wasn't able to do anything. Even though Eirotte . . . she really, since we were kids . . . all along . . . she supported me . . . she chose me, and came along with me . . . even though she was the most important person to me, I couldn't even save her . . ."

GEE THANKS SAKAKI-SENSEI. Because Fulle's death just wasn't traumatizing enough.

To make up for this, I offer some scans:

• Eirotte and Cernes when they were younger.
• Shannon vs. Cernes, and mind you don't fall in the gutter, children.
• Cernes telling Pacifica not to rely on her siblings so much.
• Cernes bringing Pacifica's "head" to Steyr.
• Cernes clinging to Shannon.

Comments

[elevenses.livejournal.com]

GUH. *wails* What the heck is up with that?! Eirotte can't die! *kicks something* ARGH!

...I have to say, though, that does make me love Shannon even more. Could he get any cooler?? :P

[feliciter.livejournal.com]

Depressing, that is, and v disturbing. Probably that's why it didn't make it into the anime.

But they did retain the scene of Cernes with Pacifica at swordpoint, which is exactly what I think Cernes would be forced to do at some point (that's the person she is).

[oneill]

Wish I could help, but I have no clue re: Tokyopop's translation. Though it's probably not a good sign if they've taken it off the site. :/

[oneill]

This is one cut I have NO complaints about, believe me. XD

And yeah, considering how she's been beaten down by her brother and sister at every turn, it's inevitable that Pacifica's reliance upon Shannon and Raquel would drive Cernes batshit.

[elevenses.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm getting worried about that. They're still releasing the manga though, so hopefully they'll get around to the novels eventually. :\

I really just need to learn how to read Japanese. :P How long did it take you? There was a class I was going to take, but my schedule is so packed that I didn't have time. T_T I'm dying to start now, fangirl Japanese only gets you so far...

[oneill]

Haha, well, I studied for a couple of years during university, and my comprehension improved once I discovered anime/manga/etc. that I actually liked. A big part of it is just developing an ear for the language and practicing what you read and hear.

Of course, you need to bear in mind that 1) I'm that annoying bastard who never showed up for classes yet somehow managed the highest grade in the class, and 2) my Japanese still needs major improvement.

[elevenses.livejournal.com]

Well, languages are definitely my strong point and I've picked up Japanese pretty well through anime/manga (since I'm one of those obsessive people who will listen to the subs over and over and over again to catch words/phrases I know) - of course, it's still maybe only a little bit more than you're basic fangirl Japanese - so hopefully I'd be able to catch on fairly quickly once I'm in a class. At least, with the speaking part. I have noooo experience whatsoever with the written part, which I have heard is, like, three times as complicated as the spoken. :P

Still, I definitely want to learn the written Japanese, especially - if only to feed my manga obsession even further help out some of my favorite (and neglected) fandoms that are totally without translators.

[evey_w]

Gah, I guess I had expected something horrible like that, but WHY????!!! *stomp stomp* T__T (On the other hand, that Shannon vs. Cernes pic is like the lollipop you get after getting a flu shot.)


...Come to think of it, what exactly IS a relay point?

[oneill]

Near as I can tell, relay point = huge, twitchy mass of melted hyooman + crystallized core. The mass seems to retain a certain cellular memory of the people it's consumed and can therefore mimic those people's forms at the will of the Peacemaker that created it. (The relay point on the Skid kept crying out in the voices of Cernes's soldiers for her to join them and become one with them.) Meanwhile, the core imprisons the victims' conscious minds, which means they continue to suffer until the relay point is obliterated.

During the fight with the relay point in Taurus, Shannon hesitated after Raquel destroyed the mass. He could see a child's face in the surface of the core. The little boy's expression seems to say, "Help me . . . It hurts . . ."

It's up to Chris to clasp Shannon's shoulder and tell the child, "We can't save you. No one can, not anymore." Then he turns to Shannon. "There's no way to save that child. Hesitating is not what you should be doing now. The best thing to do is kill them." When Shannon still holds back, he yells, "Shannon Casull! You swore to protect her, didn't you? No matter what you do, you've sworn to protect your little sister, haven't you? In that case, don't hesitate! I'm begging you, don't hesitate . . ."

(Did I already write this somewhere, by the way? I get the feeling I have, but I can't find it.)

[evey_w]

I see. @_@ I guess they cut that out in the anime too, and watered down the Chris telling Shannon that he has to kill to protect Pacifica bit.

>(Did I already write this somewhere, by the way? I get the feeling I have, but I can't find it.)

Eh, I don't think you have, but then my memory was never that great. Thanks for writing it again if you did post it before. *sheepish grin*

[yukinoomoni.livejournal.com]

I just read this now. And I am demented now.

WTF. I knew that the novels were MUCH harsher than the anime...but WOW. That's...very dark. And could be why they decided not to continue.

[oneill]

Yeah, sensei is kind of a dick to his characters, isn't he? As I mention above, I am not at all annoyed that they changed this in the anime version. XD; My apologies for any brain damage incurred. (And also for, y'know, taking forever to respond--have been pretty well buried by life these days.)