Didn't quite know what to make of this at first. My initial thought was 
that you were
deliberating delaying any advance in the plot, possibly in order to put 
the onus of figuring
out where last chapter's cliffhanger goes back on your co-author. But 
then, as I got further
into this chapter, I began to really enjoy the reappearance of every 
minor character we've
seen in this series, and the girding up of hopeless fighters for all-out 
battle. And, in the end,
the plot IS advanced, and in directions (if I'm not mistaken) indicated 
lo these many moons
ago on your co-author's web site: Ep 23, The Zodiac Strikes at Naru; Ep 
24, Enter... Dark
Tokyo; etc. So, despite what seems, at first glance, like a really 
haphazard chapter here,
it apparently fits closely into a plot planned years ago.

I was disappointed at the length, however. Much shorter than I've come 
to expect
from you. ;)

John Biles wrote:

	Sayuri, Leo Istarii (for she was now Leo's heir), stopped.  "You
think she murdered Libra?"

Sayuri, for instance, has had just one single appearance since Ep 13.

	They both stood uncomfortably in the silence.  "Perhaps if we can
get the Star Princess and take her power, since it rightfully belongs to
us..."

	"We need the Star Orb.  Which remains lost.  So long as it remains
lost, even if we take her, all we can do is stare at her.  The Orb is the
key to unlock that door.  And all our divinations for thousands of years
have been unable to..."

This plot point, although necessary to this chapter, unfortunately 
doesn't sync well with
most of the previous plot. Why have the Zodiac been after Naru since ep 
1 if they
couldn't take her power without the Orb, which they have no reason to 
believe they'll
ever find? Perhaps they've just discovered they need the Orb?

	"No, ma'am.  His girlfriend..."

	"I'm his girlfriend!" Polly snapped.

	"Sorry, ma'am.  His mistress isn't in class either."

Heh. Seen a bit too much of Airbats lately, have we? Oh well, it's still 
a good joke.

And Polly is another we've not seen much of since much earlier in the 
series.

	"Maybe it means you will all fuse together to form Voltron," Umino
said.

LOL!

	"We're going to argue for an hour, then decide on pepperoni and
anchovy pizza," Ryo said.

(clip)

	"You thought I had a vision about what kind of pizza we would
order?" Ryo asked, laughing.

Heh. Good one. Ryo does have a lot of power to impose his wishes
on others, doesn't he?

	"Gather a group of our Star Guard and get Taurus and Pisces to
help you.  I want to see the Trans-Dimensional Defense Club eliminated.

My first reaction here was... you've GOT to be kidding. But I did
enjoy the way this played out; it's kind of nice to see SOMEONE take
the Legion of Substitute Dimensional Defenders seriously.

	"We should get my brother," Polly said.  "He needs to hear this."

	"Are you sure we can trust him?" Leo asked.  "I do not like the
look in his eyes."

This struck me as odd. I don't remember Chester being suborned or out of 
it or anything.
If it did happen, and I just forgot (was it in #22?), perhaps a brief 
reminder would not
be out of place.

both of our main targets there.  Aquarius, you are our strongest fighter
right now.  You will have to keep an eye out for their Idol Angel and
neutralize her before she can start singing.  

And I loved seeing Manami return; we REALLY haven't seen enough of her.

	Anthracite moved to engage Leo, while Hematite took cover and
began to snipe at Sagittarius with bursts of black lightning.

I had this theory for a while that Yuki was a disguise for Hematite.
I guess not, though, given they're putting in simultaneous appearances
at two different places.

	"Sometimes," Augur said, "Sacrifices have to be made in the short
term for a long term good.  Some may suffer for the good of the greater
number."  His voice was somewhat sad.

Heh. Talking about himself, here? I wonder if he saw more in the
astrological forecasts at the beginning of this chapter than he let on?

	And then there was a flash of light, and forty elves in armor
appeared with the Younger Pluto.  One of the elves, a blue-haired woman
stepped in front of the white haired female leader of the elves as she was
about to speak.  "You are not taking them ANYWHERE," she said vehemently.
"You are not taking anyone!  I'm the last surviving member of the Solar
Patrol, and I'm putting you ALL UNDER ARREST!"  She flashed a badge.

And here's a plot twist I wasn't expecting. Nice to seen Gwen again, too.

we will need to find wherever Derith is hiding.  He will want to be part
of this."

Yes, definitely. We need another appearance by Derith and Bob! Too bad 
they weren't
in this one.

Once again, a nice chapter.





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