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[Sakura]
... it looks like they found me. Honestly... and we finally had a chance to be alone.
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[Ogami]
FINALLY? We were trapped in a locker room together, in case you hadn't--
[Sakura]
Shush, that didn't count.
[Ogami]
And we're surrounded by the personnel who're actually piloting the blim--
[Sakura]
SHUSH.
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[Kohran]
Pay up, you saps.
[Assorted Betters]
DAMMIT.
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[Ogami]
A dream...?
Alright, so it's a dream that could very well reveal a lot about the historical events leading up to the game's current plot. It could give us some sorely-needed background information about Sakura, expose the enemy's weakness, or show us a way out of the currently problematic situation.
Buuuuut Ogami's having none of that.
[Ogami]
More importantly... weren't you cold, sleeping naked like that?
Priorities? Mo' like priorititties!
... I sincerely apologize for making that pun. 
And yet, Sakura's trust level goes up. It very clearly, very audibly goes up.
... I really don't know what to say here, folks.
Thankfully, Ayame, sensing that Something Is Not Right, proceeds to throw fuel onto the fire!
[Sakura]
O-Ogami-san!?
[Ogami]
E-er no that's not... Ayame-san, I'll get in a lot of trouble if you make fun of me like that.
For instance, he'll get into trouble with the five, possibly eight other women who want Ogami to ogle them naked.
Whether he'll ogle them so hard that they become naked or ogle them AFTER they consent to such oglation is a moot point, and doesn't do anything for the fact that this is fucking creepy.
[Ayame]
Hmhm... my apologies.
I'm horribly frightened by I love how everyone else just isn't saying anything.
... either they're used to these sorts of antics or they ALSO think that we need a subject change as quickly as possible. 
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[Ogami]
... what the hell kind of backdrop IS this for a dream to have?
[Sakura]
Don't everyone's dreams look like this?
[Ogami]
Not unless I eat so many mushrooms that I start seeing fire-breathing turtles and mushroom princesses, no. And please don't tell me that this is your default state of being.
[Sakura]
Well, I--
[Ogami]
Back to the story? Please?
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[Sakura]
Gasp! ... aaah...
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Damn exhibitionist.
[Time Paradox Sakura]
A loving heart... will be able to overcome any difficulty.
To go through with your love... is to put your life on the line and fight!
... good god, what a bloodthirsty little conscience-angel. 
IF YOU REALLY LOVE THEM, YOU WILL KILL ALL WHO STAND IN YOUR WAY
[Time Paradox Sakura]
The enemy is atop the gate that sealed away demons...
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[Sumire]
And was that the entirety of your dream?
[Sakura]
No... that was when I was suddenly on-stage and naked in front of a live studio audience.
[Sumire]
... might your subconscious have been trying to tell you something, Sakura-san?
[Ogami]
Like "stop being naked"?
[Sakura]
I-I couldn't help it! I didn't have any choice, I was in a coma!
[Ayame]
Actually, in her written will, Sakura specifically stated that we would display her naked if she was ever to fall into a coma.
[Sakura]
Ijglkajabhhgargh.
[Ogami]
... how about we just change the subject for the fifth time today.
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[Yoneda]
Going back eight years ago... there was a battle that's been called the "Demon Wars"...
[Ogami]
Demon... Wars...
...
Oh, Grandpa Yoneda. Never change.
[Yoneda]
There was a special squad called the Imperial Army's Anti-Demon Brigade, tasked with fighting terrifying apparations from ancient times...
Along with my colleague, Kazuma Shinguji, we were part of a corps established from the army's elite...
[Yoneda]
Besides the two of us, there was the designer of the Koubu and the Shogeimaru, Shinnosuke Yamazaki...
[Ayame]
........
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[Ogami]
I WONDER WHO THIS DAPPER AND DISTINCTLY NON-EVIL GENTLEMAN IS.
[Kanna]
YUP, I SURE WONDER WHO THIS CHEERY PERSON WHO TOTALLY DOES NOT RESEMBLE SATAN AT ALL MIGHT BE.
[Kohran]
GEE WHIZ, I WONDER IF THIS PERSON WHO DESIGNED TH' KOUBU MIGHT ACTUALLY BE AN EVIL DEMO--
[Kohran]
-- holy SHIT, th' guy who designed th' Koubu's a WHAT now!?
[Ogami]
Okay, I'll admit that I didn't see that one coming.
[Yoneda]
Knock it off with the speculation already!
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[Yoneda]
... and Ayame Fujieda here. It was a special brigade made up of just four people.
Demon!
[Yoneda]
Eight years ago, there was a battle against a huge outbreak of demons... that was the Demon Wars.
We, the Anti-Demon Brigade, using a sorcerous curse passed down from ancient times, sealed the demons deep underground, beneath the Imperial Capital...
[Yoneda]
We paid for it by making many sacrifices which we would never be able to recover, though...
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Yeah, let's start with a ridiculous name-drop that they'd pulled on us without really noticing.
[Ogami]
"Kazuma Shinguji"? ... do you mean...
[Ayame]
Yes... he was Sakura's father.
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[Ogami]
Is that so...
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[Ogami]
Oh... man, I'm really sorry to hear that. First your childhood friend, and then your father...
[Sakura]
What?
[Ogami]
The kid who got his navel stolen hit by lightning?
[Sakura]
Oh, no, what're you talking about? Takeshi's alive.
[Ogami]
Wha--
[Sakura]
He's a doctor!
[Ogami]
You're telling me that all of your childhood angst wasn't actually based around some kid DYING, but just--
[Ogami]
Jeez lou-EEZ. You know what? Forget it. We're too close to the end of all things for me to even BOTHER caring.
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Aaaawkwaaard
[Ogami]
The Imperial Army's Anti-Demon Brigade... exactly what kind of brigade was it?
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[Ayame]
... we killed demons.
[Ogami]
Thank you for your well thought-out and intelligent answer. BESIDES that.
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[Ayame]
Our organization was the predecessor to the Imperial Assault Force.
... and that's it. Well, on to the last question!
[Ogami]
What in the world was the "sorcerous curse passed down from ancient times"?
[Yoneda]
It was also a terrifying curse that sacrifices the life of whoever casts it...
[Ogami]
Sakura-kun's father once fought demonic apparations. And now, Sakura-kun is, as well...
What can I say... destiny is sure mysterious, isn't it.
[Ogami]
The bloodline of those who destroy evil...?
[Yoneda]
... now, in Japan, there are very few that remain.
[Ogami]
So when we were trapped underground, that light that Sakura-kun released might have been due to that power.
Fuck, it makes as much sense as anything I could've come up with, so what the hell. 
[Ayame]
That is... definitely the place where, five years ago, the demons were sealed into the earth.
And, in addition... it is the center of the Hive of Darkness's sorcerous incantation... Nihonbashi!!
[Ogami]
Nihonbashi!
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[Ogami]
Wait. Wait wait wait. So there's this place where a shitload of malevolent soul-eating demons were sealed? And Tenkai's been sitting right on top of it for half a fucking year?
[Ayame]
Yes.
[Ogami]
And in looking for Tenkai's base, you guys didn't think to make it the first place to look!?
[Yoneda]
Well, we didn't think that demons would start pouring out of a place where we sealed a shitload of demons--
[Yoneda]
... y'know, that sounds strangely implausible when I say it out loud.
[Ogami]
YOU THINK!?
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[Kanna]
... what? Really? No more fighting? Eh, fuck this, then.
[Ogami]
K-Kannaaaa!!
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[Ogami]
Everyone, this is the final, decisive battle. However, don't be reckless with your lives. We will return without fail!
Man, when'd he turn into such a hot-blooded inspirational commander?
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[Ogami]
Just you wait, Hive of Darkness! Just you wait, Tenkai!!
We will not back down one step! Kicking about evil and upholding justice... that is the Imperial Assault Force!!
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[Maria]
... did you think of that yourself, Captain?
[Ogami]
Yes.
[Ogami]
Well, okay, I had help from Iris.
[Iris]
Iris came up with everything but the "kicking about evil" line.
[Maria]
... that DOES explain a lot.
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NEXT TIME: Stumbling one step closer the climax! Also, audience participation.
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