"…And that's the story," Axel concluded.
Back at Ecuador base, Axel, Kirono, and Echidna were summoned to Vindel's office to recount the rebellion's details. Kirono did most of the talking, with Vindel occasionally interjecting questions.
"I see…" Vindel's voice was strained, as if suppressing something. "Sorry, I need a moment alone. We'll discuss further later."
His tone left no room for argument. Axel, Kirono, and Echidna nodded and left.
"Axel, come back with Lemon at 1700 hours," Vindel added.
"Got it," Axel replied, giving a small nod before exiting.
"Lieutenant, what do I do now?" Kirono asked.
"Go check on your squad in the infirmary," Axel said. "Echidna, take him there."
"Understood, Captain," Echidna said.
As Echidna led Kirono away, a loud thud echoed from Vindel's office, followed by several more. Axel sighed. With his knowledge of the original timeline, he could guess Vindel's turmoil. It had been a year since Gilliam's transfer, and the timing felt right for what was coming.
"Might as well see Lemon," Axel muttered, an inexplicable urge to see her driving him to her lab.
"Lemon, you here?" he called, knocking and entering. The lab was empty.
"Well, almost empty," he corrected, his gaze falling on a cylinder containing a woman with greenish-silver hair. W17—Lamia Loveless, Lemon's masterpiece, destined to be the first W-Number with full emotions, independent from her creator.
"Axel?" Lemon's voice came from the entrance.
He turned to see her standing there. "Just wanted to see you," he said.
"Yet you were staring pretty hard at W17," she teased, a hint of mock jealousy in her tone.
Axel hoped it was just his imagination. "I was just wondering about the latest W-Number batch," he said. "By the way, Vindel wants us both in his office at 1700."
"About the mission?" Lemon asked.
"Probably. How's the captured mechs? The Ladybirds are back, right?"
"The four El Eins are repairable in a few days," Lemon said. "Those cuts were from the Adaman Halberd, weren't they?"
"Yeah. It's perfect for close combat, where the Growsaver's weaker at range."
"The Phantom-damaged ones are fixable too," Lemon said. "The Gespenst Mk-IIs are rough—half are too damaged, so we'll use them for parts. They're our mainline units anyway."
"And the Garlions?"
"Two you hit with the Halberd are repairable. Of the other three, one's fixable, two are for parts."
"So, ten mechs total: four El Eins, three Gespenst Mk-IIs, three Garlions," Axel said. The El Eins haul was a coup—likely for Martin or Barison. Al, Bobby, and Furusuto might get left out, with Furusuto's recon role taking a hit.
"Now, Axel," Lemon said, her smile not reaching her eyes. "What's with wrecking twelve Phantoms?"
Axel winced. "I know supplies are tight," she continued. "Luckily, we scavenged enough from that base to rebuild them, but be careful next time."
"Wait, they had Phantom materials?" Axel asked. Phantoms, formally T-Link-Compatible Sword Breakers, required T-Link system components.
"Yeah, they had telekinetic gear," Lemon said. "Apparently, they were experimenting with artificial telekinetics, based on Special Brain Research Institute nonsense."
"The Institute couldn't pull that off," Axel said. "Some non-expert thought they could?"
"Seems so. There were reports of failed human experiments."
"Not on soldiers, I bet," Axel said.
"Nope," Lemon confirmed. "I checked—tons of missing persons around that base, but no police action despite filed reports."
"Cover-up," Axel muttered. Carl, the base commander, was a walking scandal—nothing but dirt when you dug.
They chatted until 1700, then headed to Vindel's office. "Vindel, it's me," Axel called. "Lemon's here. Can we come in?"
"Come in," Vindel said.
Inside, Vindel's face was set with resolve. It's happening, Axel thought.
"Sit," Vindel said. "Where to start… Axel, did you tell Lemon the rebellion's details?"
"Just the basics," Axel replied.
"Then, Lemon, read this," Vindel said, handing her a centimeter-thick stack of papers. "It's a report summarizing what we learned from the prisoners."
Lemon skimmed the report, her brow furrowing occasionally. Axel and Vindel waited in silence. Ten minutes later, she finished.
"The Federation's in its death throes," she said with a bitter sigh.
"I agree," Vindel said. "But why has corruption—no, rot—spread so far in the military and government?"
"Not during the Inspector War, right?" Lemon said.
"No," Vindel said. "When Earth's fate was at stake, no one was foolish enough for that."
"So the rot spread after the war, in peacetime," Lemon said.
"Exactly," Vindel said, pausing to gauge Axel and Lemon. "Peace corrupts politics. That rot is highly contagious, infecting those with power—military brass, corporate elites."
He said it, Axel thought.
"In wartime, leaders are less likely to act on greed," Vindel continued. "Not never, but less than in peace."
"Statistically, yeah," Axel agreed. Vindel's view was extreme but not entirely wrong—for soldiers, not civilians.
"And war drives explosive technological progress," Vindel added.
Lemon nodded. "War brings destruction… and new creation."
"Right," Vindel said. "Tesla Drives, Inspector tech, EOT. And I hear the Far East's telekinetic unit uses Tronium, a power source beyond standard EOT."
"Can't argue with that," Axel said. War had undeniably fueled countless advancements.
"Thus, humanity reaches the cusp of evolution through war," Vindel said, pausing for effect. His charisma pulled them in, despite Axel's foreknowledge.
"An eternal struggle, a world of constant conflict—that's the ideal we should aim for, isn't it?"
Lemon glanced at Axel, her eyes silently asking if they should let this unfold as in the original timeline. Axel nodded subtly and faced Vindel.
"I get what you're saying, and it's not baseless," Axel said. "But why tell us this?"
"This incident sealed it," Vindel said. "The Federation's rotten to the core. We must cut out the rot and pursue the ideal of eternal struggle. I plan to launch a rebellion with Shadow-Mirror at its heart. Axel, Lemon—will you join me?"
The moment had come. Faces flashed through Axel's mind: classmates from cadet and officer school, instructors, Dr. Fell, Dr. Montague, Yuria, Raul, Fiona, Mizuho, Raj, his long-unseen parents… and Kyousuke. Since reincarnating, Axel had fought to survive, and this was the result.
"…Alright," Axel said. "We go way back from officer school. I'm in."
"If Axel's in, I can't sit it out," Lemon said.
And so, Shadow-Mirror's rebellion began.