#phalanx nine

[the-punforgiven]

Y'know since we already know who the upcoming Guilty Gear characters are I must admit I'm still kinda sad this random knight guy isn't gonna be playable 😔

[gear-project]

Vialattea and other Assorted Notes

Just some brief notes on the "Kingdom" of Vialattea that Dizzy (and Ky have recently established):

---It's a Kingdom in "name only" and functions as a small Republic.

---Apparently mostly Gears live there, but humans travel in and out of the place (and apparently because of Gear Innovations in the region due to Dr. Paradigm and others, the Property values in neighboring regions have skyrocketed).

---It is technically not yet Officially Fully recognized as a nation, but Dizzy and Ky are still acknowledged as its leaders (though the "Federation" of Illyria appears to acknowledge it regardless).

Regarding the Federation of Illyria, they are what is left of the United Kingdoms of Illyria after Ky officially abdicated as High King (most likely Leo and Daryl still purview their own respective regions, which is still most of Europe, Russia, and parts of the Middle East and Northern Africa).

Connected with this, apparently the Phalanx Nine of the Conclave were completely restructured (with exception to one unnamed individual who has sworn absolute loyalty to Ariels despite her status as a Criminal), the current members of Phalanx currently take up residence within Ramlethal's Mobile Brigade, though assuming that a new Pope Maximus takes leadership within the Sanctus Populi, the Phalanx may return to working under that organization at a later time.) It's not said how Sin's connection to the Phalanx will fare at this time, but Dual Rulers may shed some light on that in the future.

With the most recent info, it's confirmed that Ariels' personality has reverted back in to a Kind-hearted individual who wishes to support Humanity's future (though it's vague how the Federation of Illyria will treat her moving forwards).

Goldlewis Dickinson was apparently "assigned" to protect Queen Dizzy as part of her security detail (despite having more prominent connections to America), also apparently Goldlewis thinks of Dizzy less as a Gear and more an individual who "controls UMAs" (though that in and of itself may be a misunderstanding on his part).

Needless to say, but Bedman (Romeo) is still technically "M.I.A." (assumed dead, but may not actually be), and Happy Chaos (the former Original Sage) is still on the loose.

We also do not know Nagoriyuki's current whereabouts, though he appears more closely affiliated with Slayer, who has global connections and may have gone in to hiding.

We also have yet to learn more about Unika's involvement in the future as well...

[valentinecult]

That Phalanx Nine soldier in the new story mode...he’s good boi and became one of my new favorite characters.

[gear-project]

Guilty Gear Strive: Another Story

The Backyard….

A space of dense information alien to our own, and yet still a part of what defines it.

Those influenced by that place are almost guaranteed to no longer be human by traditional definition.

…And the Cradle.

An Information Flare incident that began on October 2187 which completely destroyed the entire population of Babylon.

And a little girl, burdened with Power.

History, if one does not learn from it, is doomed to repeat itself. Over and over.

The first tragedy… the first "girl" was Justice.

The second was I-No.

The third was Valentine.

The fourth was Ramlethal… but she was saved.

The fifth was Elphelt… but she was also saved. Only just barely.

The sixth… or perhaps the unluckiest of all… was Delilah.

Whether by fate or by misfortune, she and her brother Bedman were burdened by the weight of the Backyard itself.

Who or what caused it wasn't the problem.

It wasn't even her fault she became "born" like this.

All she could think about was her one and only beloved brother.

But even he was "stolen" from her.

Lonliness, Sleepless Hatred, Vengeance… these feelings swelled in the girl… almost to a point she could not contain.

With nowhere to turn, and no one to trust, the girl wandered until by sheer chance she happened upon a man who "knew" about her brother's killer.

How she knew who he was, or even the information she had gathered, it was a simple matter with her powers to obtain.

But the man (Anji Mito), simply told her to meet another person: Baiken.

To Baiken, who was all but obsessed with Revenge, this seemed like a cruel prank… if not for the curious comment Anji Mito made:

"It's not easy making a mirror."

Anji Mito was the only man who understood Baiken's pain… or so it seemed.

But then he made another curious comment: "I'm not the only one."

Baiken was swift to dispense the girl off to the nearest transport station, thinking she'd be fine on her own.

But the girl disappeared. At first.

Much to Baiken's annoyance, the girl was now attached to her… their feelings of revenge were the same, after all.

Delilah wished to know HOW to get Revenge. After all, to her, Baiken was an adult. It would be a simple matter for an adult.

Baiken's harsh emotions and frustration grew, but then, for the first time she saw… "something".

Something she didn't want to see… a glimmer of her reflection.

But, Baiken underestimated the resourcefulness of the 12-year-old girl.

If she could not get her help from Baiken, she would get her revenge by herself! No matter what.

But even if Baiken knew the dangerous path Delilah was treading, she had no words to stop the girl.

And by then, it was too late…

The girl, blinded by her desire for revenge, lost control of her powers.

As with the Nightmare Theater which her Brother once created, she was in the process of creating an "isolated space" that was neither the Backyard nor this World.

Her own version of an "Absolute World" in her domain. Her "method" of getting transported to her end goal.

But it was too large a space. It even swallowed up the small village below her, and the massively dense information was compressing and beginning to transfer itself.

It was simply too big, too frightening to control.

Baiken, in desperation to track down Delilah, hopped a transport train, and by sheer coincidence ran in to a being she once HATED.

A Gear, named Ramlethal Valentine.

But, at the behest of officials in Illyria, Ramlethal was now appointed Commander of the Special Deployment Brigade.

Baiken was quick to send barbs of mistrust Ramlethal's way, out of caution. She had no time for authorities.

But Ramlethal stated calmly that Baiken was on her list of "consultants", which surprised Baiken.

Rather, the conversation quickly turned to the escalating situation.

If left unchecked, Delilah's sphere of compressed information would crush everyone inside it, possibly even herself!

One of Ramlethal's Phalanx Soldiers accidentally let slip that they might need to attack the girl to get her Magic to stop.

This, however, summoned animosity from both Delilah and "what remained" of her Brother.

All present were forced to fight the "Nightmare" that was once Bedman.

Growing frustrated with both his stuffy Phalanx Armor and the nowhere situation, Sin tore off his armor and called out to Bedman!

Sin Kiske, one of the many people involved in the previous incidents… and also a Half-Gear.

Somehow Sin's intuition of the situation was impeccable, as he manged to "speak" to the being formerly known as "Bedman".

Perhaps it was coincidence, but Bedman recognized the boy "Sin" from his previous encounter with Ramlethal.

Using what remained of the 8th Generation High Density Bedframe's power… Bedman formed three dense barriers around his Sister, keeping the outer space information from completing itself.

Bedman bought them invaluable time, at the cost of the Bedframe itself.

With no time for introductions, Ramlethal invited Baiken aboard the Mayship via Dr. Faust's "Doorway".

The Special Deployment Brigade: or so it was called.

Ramlethal had called several key members together as the "talent" she needed in times of crises.

Two of the members were Sin Kiske himself, now enlisted as a Phalanx of the Sanctus Populi, and another unnamed Phalanx who was specialized in Information Management.

Then of course, May and April, while still members of the Jellyfish Pirate Crew, were now established important members of the Special Deployment Brigade.

A surprising figure among the Brigade was Dr. Faust.

Ramlethal had called for him specifically. Not simply for his skill as a Doctor, but for his expertise in Applied Magic Theory.

It was surprising to Baiken to find familiar faces… but then the subject turned back to Delilah and her situation, as well as Baiken's involvment.

Connecting the dots, Ramlethal realized that Bedman's sister was Delilah, and that her "target" was currently connected with former Pope Ariels.

After surmising that this incident was not entirely unconnected with the recent ongoing White House attack, the group determined they would have to work together to resolve this situation on their own, asking for Baiken's assistance.

Meanwhile, Faust thought of a solution that might "help" alleviate the situation, but would firstly need more manpower.

Asking Sin to field a request to Dr. Paradigm, Faust then proceeded to deliver a possible solution for the Absolute Space.

The Dense Information would need a "container", at least Temporarily.

But it would all rely upon Ramlethal Valentine's ability to absorb that Magic Information.

Ramlethal: some would say that Valentines might very well be copies of Justice herself.

A Gear of unfathomable power and near-infinite Magic potential.

Of course, the truth was that Ramlethal was only a "fragment" of Justice at best… but still, even compared to that, Ramlethal was still far above humans in strength and "Magic Capacity".

And this GEAR was now tasked with taking something "like" the Backyard in to her information density.

Of course, Ramlethal had no intention of being someone's "tool" for Atonement or Salvation.

This would NOT be a repeat of history, not if she had any say in the issue.

But, May wondered… could they even "turn back Baiken's Time" and reset the past?

Could Delilah and Baiken even be "saved" from their emotions?

As the crew worked on their "Solution", Ramlethal quietly reminded Faust of the "reason" she asked for everyone's help.

While some might call her a "Good Commander", she is surrounded by people who would not hesitate to throw aside their own lives if it meant saving just one person.

But the people she had chosen (Faust included) were not "tools to be disposed of"…. but people to "help" her in her goals. And to that end, they ALL had to survive.

It seemed that Dr. Faust had to prepare himself to "start from square one".

At first, using Faust's Teleportation Magic was successful in "peeling off" the first layer of dense information, but it was taking too long… and if they were to be successful, they would need to disperse all the layers of information.

May realized that they would need to move faster if they were going to clear this hurdle, and so she had no choice but to manually support Faust's efforts.

Baiken did not hesitate to assist May in her efforts to reinforce the winch.

It took Baiken, Faust, May, the Phalanx, as well as the timely efforts of Sin and a fleet of Gear Dragons to pull open the largest layer of the Teleportation Sphere.

This successfully dispersed the Magic that had surrounded the Village, but time was running out to save Delilah from her own Teleportation… or even where it would send her.

Faust and Sin had already figured out that the key to this Magic all lay upon Delilah's emotional state… she could easily undo the spell if she would simply calm down.

But getting a fearful little girl to calm down is not so easy.

Knowing that the first hurdle was clear, it was now Ramlethal's task to clear the second.

Even if they could calm Delilah down, there was still far too much remaining Magic Information.

With no hesitation, Ramlethal calmly stepped in to the Absolute Sphere and explained the situation to Delilah.

Delilah was still fearful as she saw Ramlethal's face grimmace and contort as she tried to absorb the massive information in to her Gear-like Body.

Baiken witnessed Ramlethal, placing her "faith" in others…

Between Ramlethal and Sin, Gears born under so much weight, for them to be so selfless was beyond words.

But, as Sin said, only one person could truly "save" Delilah now.

As if stepping in to a "new world" Baiken fearlessly crossed the boundary in to Delilah's "Absolute World".

Kindness calmed Delilah's heart, "Breaking the Spell" of suffering she had endured.

And now, for the first time, Baiken could see the Reflection in the Mirror that Anji was talking about: It was Delilah. The mirror of Baiken's lonely, Time-lost world.

Would it matter if they were Gears or Humans?

Delilah was no longer alone, and they would be together.

Together, they could sheathe Baiken's sword of "Revenge" for good.

Perhaps the Backyard is still an unknown place… but there is still a "place" for Humans and Gears.

And it begins here: With Faith and Forgiveness.

[gear-project]

So does Ramlethal have the entire Phalanx Nine unit under her command and is it possible for them to gain sentience at all, assuming the Second Guard is an original character and a Gear? Also, their armor is wearable now?

First, you have to understand that the Phalanx Nine are based off of the original Pontifical Swiss Guard.

Originally, the Swiss Guard had to be Catholic, Single Males of Swiss Citizenship who completed Basic Training with the Swiss Armed Forces and obtained certificates of Good Conduct, along with a reasonable education.

Most who accepted to serve do so for a minimum of two years, and at maximum four years, most primarily as bodyguards of the Pope.

They were most commonly known to wield a halberd spear or partisan polearm, depending on their rank, though in modern times they use pepper spray, small pistols, rifles, and a submachine gun, if circumstances require.

This was all before the Catholic Church was disassembled due to the chaos that was the Dawn of Revival of 1999.

Compared to them, the Phalanx Nine are an even smaller squad of "Swiss" (implied) elite soldiers (though we do not know their total size, even if the name implies there are "nine" of them) that serve the Pope Maximus or whomever the Sanctus Populi assign them to for various tasks.

So far, we've only seen them wield what appears to be a magic sword, but given that Sin summoned his other weapon upon shedding the armor, they probably have other weapons as needed.

Based on implications, the Phalanx might also be GEARS, or at least derived from O.P.U.S. Gear technology, since they were easily manipulated by Former-Pope Ariels to fight against any and all her enemies (though it is possible that Happy Chaos had a hand in their manipulation, even as humans).

Of course, that was before Sol defeated Ariels, so since then, most likely Ky put together a completely new group of Phalanx, who are likely former members of the Illyrian Military, if not trusted men selected from Ky, Leo, or Daryl's men.

Since Sin was selected as a member, he probably had to earn his stripes a bit before being accepted. Ky probably assigned him the role so that he would obtain more worldly experience, not simply acting as a bounty hunter like he did with Sol.

It is also likely that the two Phalanx are meant to assist Ramlethal's Rapid Deployment Brigade in terms of rank and authority, so she doesn't always have to "pull rank" in emergencies. This is because the Sanctus Populi is an International Organization.

While Ramlethal has command of the two Phalanx, I don't think they are all Phalanx members, for varying reasons, nor do I think Ramlethal has as much authority over them (depending on how far away she travels from Illyria, depending on her missions).

In all probability Ramlethal still answers to the High King, First and Second Kings of Illyria, as well as the newly-established Conclave, and acts as their representative.

The public still classifies Ramlethal as a GEAR, even though she's closer to a Human (a Valentine)... at least that seems to be the case for the time being (though this was before Gears could obtain citizenship...).

This is all the limited info we have so far.

[gear-project]

Are Phanlax Nine soldiers that strong? Shouldn't Ramlethal be able to handle them easily since a Valentine is stronger than a regular Gear? That is assuming they are Gears in a way and if the child didn't serve as a distraction to Ramlethal in the first place. I just find it hard to believe Ramlethal would go down so easily against one or more of these things.

You’re forgetting that Ramlethal couldn’t fight in earnest because there was a child present, as if she did so it’s possible the girl would have gotten hurt during the fight.

And Ramlethal was on a time limit besides because of the Antimatter Gears... they were going to explode within that time-frame, effectively trapping Ramlethal in the blast.

It’s fortunate that Ramlethal had Raven as a backup to pull her out of that situation, as most likely she might not have made it out so easily.

Ramlethal is also not the strongest Valentine compared to either the original Valentine or Jack-O’.  She may be athletic and have abilities that exceed that of a normal human, but she can still get hurt and it’s not known to what extent she can even regenerate from her wounds like Jack-O’ even could.

Also, regarding the Phalanx Nine Swiss Guard... they were “tampered with” by Ariels (most likely she converted them in to Gears), as they even gave Zato=ONE and MIllia Rage trouble later on when they were defending Illyria.

The Phalanx Nine only stopped attacking as soon as Justice was converted in to a Human form... suggesting that she had indirect control over the Phalanx during that time, much like the Opus Gears.

[gear-project]

A.B.A., Phalanx Nine, and Ariels

Source: https://twitter.com/sena_ZEA

[valentinecult]

“You’ll never stop at one. I’LL TAKE YOU ALL ON!”

Oh wait, wrong fiction lol