Ghosts Always Come Back

AUTHOR'S CLIFF NOTES

Keris: “The kris or keris is a distinctive, asymmetrical dagger indigenous to Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei and the southern Philippines. Both a weapon and spiritual object, krisses are often considered to have an essence or presence, with some blades possessing good luck and others possessing bad.”

I wanted to name Tessa’s newest creation in conjunction to something that would partner up with the Arbalest (which is a Medieval crossbow). Being that the ARM Slaves under Mithril’s domain tend to favor names directly relating to ancient weaponry, I figured a “knife with spiritual powers” and symbolism would be best for its title. The Keris is similar in design style to Elhaym Von Houten’s gear, Vierge, but obviously not pink, and less flouncy looking. It’s intended to act like a stealth offensive slave unit where it goes in and completely neutralizes enemy, rendering them inoperable through extreme interference. Its speed is designed to bring the enemy down and make it so that Mithril can capture the target in tact instead of destroying it completely. Since it is piloted only by a Whispered, the Keris’ capabilities are greater than the intent of its design; but Tessa’s always been in favor of making sure that her creations are able to handle just about any situation in regards to war. In this fic it was not utilized the way it was designed for two reasons: 1.) Gauron needed to die, 2.) Kaname is not a trained soldier and therefore did whatever she could to help Sousuke. Untrained people who are given weapons of great power always tend to go overboard when they’re pissed off. =)

Who’s the boy (Keris / Majid)? I don’t know, you tell me. =) I’d like to hear your take on who you think he really is since I won’t be disclosing that information…ever. (sorry!)

Is Gauron finally dead? In this fic, yes. I figured the full-body spontaneous combustion was proof enough that Gauron got the glorified death that he always wanted. People say that he died in that slave explosion when Sousuke fought him on the Danaan with Kaname in the last episode of the first series. But considering he’s come back from the dead in worse situations, that last episode didn’t convince me that he was truly gone. I’m always of the mindset that he’s one of those villains that simply never die no matter how many times you blow him up with external sources (ie. Bombs, bullets, ARM Slave self-detonation devices, etc.). Consider this my own method of closure since I didn’t exactly believe the real ending from the original author.

Didn’t the Codarl blow up in the first series? Um, yes. I fudged this factoid a bit, so just assume he had it rebuilt. (Yay to Hollywood plot holes!)

Tessa: I actually like Tessa a lot as a captain. Sure she’s got that whole “younger than reality would dictate” stereotype going on; but when she’s at the helm she’s a very good supervisor. But the whole thing with her perusing Sousuke as a love interest doesn’t thrill me in the slightest. Unfortunately, I would never be able to fulfill the request of a few of my previous reviewers since I cannot convince myself that the two are a good match for one another. Both Tessa and Sousuke are very much alike in mental maturity when it comes to the outside world. When they’re together I never see them grow as people. They agree with each other’s perspectives too much because they hail from the same military background. With Kaname in the mix, she acts as his anchor to bring him down to earth from a social-norm perspective. Her actions always force Sousuke to think outside the box of what he was originally trained to do. This makes not only a good plotline, but great personal growth for both characters.

Kaname’s relationship with Tessa is the same way because the two girls are polar opposites, but share a special connection and are dealing with that gift in different ways. Currently I have not found any particular character “good enough” for Tessa that I believe would ship well from a heterosexual POV. Sure I could ship her with any number of guys from Jindai High School (because you’re probably prattling off several to me in your heads right about now), but Tessa’s situation is extremely different. Being that she’s a superior officer, commander, and ultimately the head engineer of Mithril (despite all the background with her brother), she thinks on a completely different level than Kaname because she always sacrifices herself for the betterment of everyone else. In my mind, she needs to be partnered up with an older man (early 30’s) who can think at her level, but still make her realize that she’s still got the rest of her life ahead of her. My ultimate vote is for a younger version of Kalinin (Mardukas tends to have bouts of idiocy that make me believe he thinks of Tessa like a daughter than a commander). But again, these are my opinions. Feel free to disagree with me at any time.

In short, Tessa has a lot of emotional growing up to do before she can handle being in a relationship with anyone, let alone with Sousuke. Same goes for him as well.

Whoa! Freaky Ending! Yanking straight facts from the whole telepathy explanation Tessa gave Kaname using the milk and tea analogy. That’s all I have to say on the matter. Now the question remains who really is Keris? And does this make Keris more than just an ARM Slave operating system? *Cue dramatic music*