"Oppressive heart and dampness. Jungle disease and deadly insects. It may have been painted in tones of green, but this was definitely another province of hell. But to me, after dodging death and my pursuers for the three months since I left Uoodo, the war-torn Kingdom of Kummen seemed like heaven."

Rochina and Battentain continue to monitor Chirico via the homing beacon implanted in him. They watch with interest as he enters Kummen and the civil war that is raging between the mercenary forces and the Holy Kingdom. Chirico signs on at the mercenary base Assemble EX-10, and is reunited with Gotho, who has been waiting for him since the fall of Uoodo. Chirico is then approached by Kan Yu, and interrogated about the beacon they have discovered in his x-rays.

Queestioned by Gon Nu about his purpose here, Chirico answers that he has seen the Perfect Soldier, and is searching for it in Kummen. Gon Nu knows of the PS and lets Chirico off the hook, but Kan Yu remains suspicious of his motives. That night, Gotho drives Chirico into Niitan, a nearby town, where he has bought a nightclub called "The Fantom Club." Vanilla and Coconna are overjoyed to see Chirico again. Kan Yu enters the club and begins to taunt Chirico, but they are interrupted by explosions outside - the last artillery attack by the fearsome Veela Guerrillas!

Chirico joins other mercenaries as they scramble for their ATs and pluge into the jungle. The Guerrillas have deployed Turtle-series ATs against the mercenaries, and the two forces seen evenly matched except for one wild card: a deadly blue Turtle nicknamed the "Blue AT." Chirico faces off against it in his Marshydog, and is positive he knows who the enemy pilot is.

"In that instant, I knew for certain. Its reaction time was too fast to be a normal human. The one I was fighting had to be her. The woman I'd lost at Uoodo. My Fyana."

At a Melkian army base, Gon Nu prepares to return to EX-10. With him is Rochina, who is looking forward to seeing Chirico again.

Meanwhile, Chirico and his companions rush into Nitan and launch their counterattack on the invading Turtles. Chirico looks around for Ypsilon, but the PS is not participating in this fight. He is insted watching from the palace as reports roll in. He protects when Kanjelman orders a retreat, but is overruled. Ypsilon complains to Fyana, who admits that she has become afraid to fight in any further battles.

At Niitan, Chirico's group takes out a few more enemies, and Kan Yu finally appears with the rest of the mercenaries to drive the invaders back into the jungle. The next morning, Niitan lies in ruins. Vanilla broods over the loss of the Fantom Club, depressed over losing his purpose in life. Gotho approaches to announce winds of change.

Chirico reports to Gon Nu on the events of the previous evening and receives a full pardon, even though he defied Kan Yu. Bitter and humiliated, kan Yu leaves...and Chirico is introduced to Rochina. He has come to discuss the Perfect Soldier situation. Back at Kanjelman's palace, Fyana has undergone an examination to determine why she has developed a fear of fighting. To Ypsilon's outrage, Borough declares that the interference of Chirico is what has poisoned her mind.

Rochina describes how Proto-One was created, but is shocked to learn that a second PS is in action. Since Chirico has more experience than anyone,he will be sent into darkest Kummen to recover Proto-One. A short time later, a special task force under Kan Yu prepares to depart into the jungle. Once again, it includes Potaria, Kiderra, and Shako. Chirico is along as a specialist. having decided to sign up with the army, Vanilla desperately wants to join them...but arrives too late to leave with Chirico.

Coconna sits sadly on the dock as Chirico's boat disappears into the distance, and she sings her love song one last time...

"It's okay baby. I guess I'm just used to it now. you never used to say much, but we have time 'til dawn. You never really treated me that well, but I could see a little bit of the real you inside. So long, baby. I loved you once upon a time."

"So many villagers killed. caught in the midst of the war. The stench I smelled seemed full of the anguish of the dead."

Travelling by boat toward the inner reaches of Kummen, Chirico and the others try to keep a low profile; no easy task with the hot-tempered Kan Yu in charge. Against Chirico's batter judgment, Kan Yu stops another boat that passes by, insisting it must be searched for Veela weapons. The search turns up nothing...but when kan Yu fires a cannon at the boat, explosives hidden within it rip across the water. Kan Yu gloats that Veela Guerrillas cannot be underestimated.

Later, the boat reaches Ramoh Temple, a religious colony that is supposed to be neutral. Again, Kan Yu insists that the platoon march in with their ATs to look for enemies. Exasperated, Chirico agrees, and reluctantly follows the others into the huge compound. Nothing turns up until Kan Yu spots a boat similar to the one he blew up earlier. he repeats his action, and gets the same result - it also carries Veela weaponry.

Their cover blown, Veela Guerrillas burst out of hiding and open fire on Kan Yu's task force. The battle is joined and quickly ends...but now the secrecy of the mission has been compromised, and they must ask for new orders from EX-10. Those orders are delivered a short time later by a helicopter pilot new to the EX-10 ranks: Vanilla! Chirico wanders the wreckage of the temple, pondering this turn of events.

"What is it that leads men to the battlefield? For some, they pull the trigger to earn their daily bread. For others, the chance to fight for their ideals. For me, I can't live without the scent of gunpowder and death. This was no longer a house of God. It was now merely a pile of rubble."

No longer able to travel the river route to Kanjelman's palace, Kan Yu's task force is airlifted to nearby Crescent Moon lake, from which they will travel by land. A Veela spy watches the airlift and reports to Kanjelman. The news quickly passes to Borough, who informs Ypsilon that Chirico is on his way...and he plans to take advantage of their next battle in a way that will end the confusion in Proto-One's mind.

The airlift of Kan Yu's task force is interrupted by Veela artillery. Vanilla plays the unwilling bait in his helicopter while the ATs drop into the jungle and eliminate their attackers. Word of this also reaches Kanjelman's palace, confirming the whereabouts of the task force. Borough and Ypsilon contact Albert Killy to propose their plan: Proto-One will be made to watch as Ypsilon kills Chirico in an ambush, thus ending her distraction.

Some time later, Kan Yu's men cross Crescent Moon lake with a gunboat escort. Abruptly, one of the gunboats is struck from beneath; Ypsilon and a platoon f Turtles launches an ambush from their hiding place under the water! Chirico and the others engage the Turtles in their own ATs, and Ypsilon singles out Chirico immediately. As they face off, a helicopter flies overhead. Inside is Borough, who forces Fyana to watch the scene below.

She tries in vain to avert her eyes as Chirico's Marshydog takes heavy damage...and when it is finally too much for her, she lunges for the helicopter's flight stick, spinning it out of control! The careening helicopter knocks Ypsilon aside and crashes headlong into the shoreline. Chirico watches the crash from his slowly sinking AT.

"In Ypsilon, I had seen an almost bottomless hatred for me. And yet, I saw something else, she'd risked her life for me. Fyana. An indescribable warmth filled my body..."