The Strongest Force Alive, Part 1.2

Page 4

Panel 1: Cut to a shot of the two of them with luggage in hand at the ceiling of their apartment building a short time later, looking skyward as a wide circle of light illuminates the pair of them.

Caption

(Cont., Fran)

"And he's got the necessary aircraft for the job."

REINA

(whispers, to Fran; translated from German) Doesn't exactly look spacious, dearest. You sure it can carry our combined weight?

Panel 2: We move to a shot of the aforementioned KRISTOF at the wheel of his airship (slightly larger than Grem's Emerald Isle), sporting goggles that render his dark curly hair into a flower shape and a leather jacket.

KRISTOF

(to Reina, translated from German) This bird can carry a proper family of elephants without missing a beat...you'll be fine!

Panel 3: Action shot of the two of them beginning to make their way to a makeshift ladder that descended moments after the previous panel from Kristof's airship.

Caption

(Narrator)

"Things indeed were fine as the two of them boarded the ship and planned their would-be escape from the burgeoning fascist homeland."

Panel 4: Cut to the two of them in the backseat moments later as the airship takes off for the city limits; Reina snuggling her lover who looks down at the city worriedly.

Caption

(Cont., Narrator)

"Not counting the weight of a dark, uneasy future which dug ever deeper to the cores of our heroines."

Caption

(Cont., Narrator)

"As they passed the edge of Berlin's city limits, moving toward the border with Belgium, Reina felt the urge to provide solace to her beloved."

Panel 5: Reina takes Fran's head to her hand, and exchanges a loving and hopeful look designed to settle her soul at that moment.

REINA

We'll get through this together...you have my word!

Panel 6: Kristof glances down at his radar screen, tensing up slightly as a result of what's on it.

KRISTOF

Oh. This could prove troublesome.

REINA

(Off-Panel) What?

Page 5

Panel 1: A few miles from their position, at the border to the city, we see a collection of former Imperial dirigibles manned by Nazi officers.

KRISTOF

(Off-Panel, translated from German) They've put up a few Himmelstor at the border.

Panel 2: Fran leans over toward the driver's side of the vehicle; her gaze split between Kristof and the ships coming by.

FRAN

(curious, to Kristof; translated from German) Himmelstor?

KRISTOF

Heavily armored, heavily armed mega transport from the Great War. There were rumors in the campaign they were trying to restart things, but I didn't think it would be this soon.

FRAN

(Bubble 2)

Isn't there another way around them?

KRISTOF

(Bubble 2) Only one way that doesn't involve either a prison cell, or a scrap yard. Now, activate your respective sleep modes while I get deep into it.

Panel 3: Action shot of the human male reaching over to his opened glove compartment, revealing an assortment of fake licenses and passports contained within.

KRISTOF

(Cont., Off-Panel) Hopefully my experiences in the Wanderbühne growing up won't fail me now.

Panel 4: We move to a shot of his ship a short time later, slowly coming to a full stop alongside one of the dirigibles in preparation for the examination.

Panel 5: A connecting bridge appears from the dirigible moments later, connecting to the driver's side door of Kristof's airship. You can see him starting to unbuckle in preparation to join him; the back of the ship unmoving at this point.

Panel 6: Action shot of the young man a few beats later, walking along the bridge area carefully carrying a pair of card-sized documents in his left hand.

Caption

(Narrator)

"Scientists in the burgeoning field of humech physiology agree on one general theorem: Time in the mechanical mind moves in a different way than their human compatriots."

Page 6

Panel 1: Cut to a close-up of Fran's frozen face, looking at the reader emotionless as this goes on.

Caption

(Cont., Narrator)

"What to a human mind was 15 minutes of uneasy silence was, in the case of Fran's mind, a sea of ones and zeroes."

Panel 2: We move to a shot of the binary sea mentioned earlier. In the center of the shot is a snapshot of Fran and Reina following their first date years ago.

Caption

(Cont., Narrator)

"Hidden within that ever expanding sea was the snapshot of the greatest day in her short life: her first date with Reina."

Panel 3: We move to a shot of them walking down a partially lit street near the end of the date.

Caption

(Cont., Narrator)

"It was a welcome counterbalance to the ever increasing anxiety permeating her every step since the National Socialists began their slow ascent to power."

Panel 4: Same setting/layout as the previous panel. Fran suddenly turns her head up to the top corner of the panel upon hearing a mysterious sound shoot downward.

Caption

(Cont., Narrator)

"At least till what we view as the normal flow of reality makes its presence known, like the jerk that it is."

REINA

(Off-Panel, translated from German) Hon...wake up, Hon!

FRAN

(woozy, to Reina; translated from German) What--What is it? Are we out of danger?

REINA

(Off-Panel, Bubble 2) That's a big no. If anything...

Panel 5: Cut to a shot of Reina back in reality, taken from Fran's perspective, trying to wake her partner up seemingly. The background around her is zooming at a far faster speed than earlier, with more noises emanating as well.

REINA

(Cont., to Fran) Things have gone considerably off the rails.

Panel 6: Close-up on Kristof's face, glancing over in the mecha woman's direction to chime in; his hands gripped tightly on the wheel, and foot pressing the gas.

KRISTOF

(grateful, to Reina and Fran; translated from German) Thanks for not diving into the salty language. But...yeah, as Reina said, we are in a great deal of trouble.