Enter Cherry Jack, a pirate, his ship nearing the New Continent (to the distress of his crew, since Here There Be Monsters). Cherry knows Ray Jean's expedition is there. He has a special interest in the professor due to a story his father had told him about Ralph Heinz Seiberheigen, who had suddenly appeared with a son one day after spending time missing. Cherry knows there's some big secret surrounding Seiberheigen.

Meanwhile, the professor introduces Albireo to Murakami. Albireo reveals an ability to speak their language. Seiberheigen says he feels something is about to happen. He can sense great anger as well as something else he can't identify. Albireo tells him he sounds like a Deiva. He explains that a Deiva is the shaman who carries a staff, while a Vaas is a warrior adorned with feathers. There are only a few Deiva, and it's said they can communicate with each other through "words of air," so they can sense when they're near one another.

The New Race war party closes in on the base and begins attacking. Murakami rushes to take care of the situation (the professor practically glowing with pride at how awesome he is, though Albireo's not impressed). Murakami reports that the gas mask was effective and orders one of the small size. For the moment, Murakami chooses to view the Destiny Stone's effects as a type of allergy. Albireo doesn't know why the base is being attacked--his tribe doesn't have a Deiva, so communications are slower--but he speculates it might be related to Zene.

Seiberheigen decides his best bet is to ask directly. Albireo warns him that it could be dangerous. If any males are present, they get extremely aggressive and won't listen to talk. Seiberheigen figures he won't know unless he tries. He broadcasts to the warriors outside, asking if someone will speak with him, but no one answers. Anxious to end the confrontation before tension levels rise, he tries appealing to them to explain what's upsetting them.

He thinks about a time he tried to have a conversation with his father, but Heinz only grumbled that Ray Jean's mother considered him a failure because he was a boy and abandoned him--abandoned them both. It hurt to know his mother hated him, but he wanted at least to be able to talk with his father. Heinz just called him a monster and yelled at him to shut up. Makiwo, new to the base, asks the other medical personnel if the natives are truly so scary. One doctor admits that, if the natives are seriously in a mood to fight, he's not sure what'll become of the base. (She scoots off for a bathroom break, bemoaning the fact that she hasn't hunted down any gay couples yet.)

Since the natives aren't responding, Seiberheigen heads outside to meet them in person. He reassures the staff, "As long as my goddess...as long as Murakami is with me, I'll be invincible." Overhearing, Murakami goes out to meet him in the hallway. (Murakami-"Who's a 'goddess'?" Seiberheigen-"I thought it would be better than 'wife'...") The professor borrows Murakami's jacket so that he'll be surrounded by the scent, reveling in how it makes him feel. Murakami doesn't know how to express himself, so he just says to be careful. (Makiwo, eavesdropping, bursts into tears of joy.)

Seiberheigen goes out and announces he's unarmed, he only wants to talk. The gathered warriors react with shock, then rage, at his appearance. They begin a killing chant, working themselves into a berserker frenzy, which tells Albireo they have a Deiva with them to lend them power. Exasperated, the professor shouts that he's trying to tell them he's not an enemy, if they would please listen. His words break them out of their trance. One of the warriors speaks up and says, not only must Seiberheigen be a member of the New Race, he has the powers of a Deiva. He's probably related to Zene.

The professor explains that's impossible. He doesn't know any Zene, plus he's been male ever since he was little. Their Deiva shows up, bleeding from the backlash of Seiberheigen breaking his spell. The professor insists that he knows his father is definitely of the Old Race...then he pauses, realizing he hasn't got a clue who his mother was. He goes over his memories, wondering if his mother abandoned him not because she had wanted a girl--which he had assumed--but because he had a single sex at birth. He apologizes to the natives and asks what kind of person Zene is.

They explain that Zene intends to rule them all. Anyone who opposes him is killed, regardless of how good they are at fighting, even males with their enhanced strength. That's why the few warriors left are all young--the rest have been killed off. Those who swore obedience to Zene were whisked off somewhere, and they demand to know if the missing warriors are in the base. One, Kyuutos, begs for his First (oldest sibling) back, saying they were raised together and ought to be together still. The professor maintains that there are no New Race warriors in the base, only good people with loved ones in a far away country.

Just as Seiberheigen offers to wager the truth of his words on a race (as he happily sniffs the jacket), Zene attacks from his observation spot. While the professor tries to stop Kyuutos' bleeding, Murakami sends a robot to protect him. Then Zene swoops in riding a giant, fire-emitting moth and begins making strafing runs. Seiberheigen binds up Kyuutos' wounds and sends him off with the robot, then faces Zene for the first time. Zene is tickled pink--he's incredibly vain and loves the idea of someone else with his face. He thinks, "There's no mistake. Mordre, you lying witch! He's alive...! My Third is alive! The Genjuu Bunsho Deiva!"

Makiwo and other medical staff begin evacuating the burning base, bringing the unconscious Kyuutos. The guards fire at the moth with freezing grenades, but it's still moving. Seiberheigen points out to the natives that Zene is attacking the base, so obviously they're not allies. He asks them for volunteers with the same blood type as Kyuutos to come with him to donate blood. Three siblings step forward saying they're Kyuutos' closest relatives--their father is Kyuutos' mother, and their mother is Kyuutos' father's Second. (They're always born in sets of three.) Two of the siblings come along, plus another dark-haired native whose blood might match even if they're not related.

Zene approaches the base and is mistaken for Seiberheigen by the staff, who think he dressed up to speak to the natives. They tell him to hurry and join everyone. Makiwo goes out to check on Seiberheigen's progress and encounters Zene in the hallway. (His eyes go straight to her chest--she's obviously female, a rare sight.) From the way her instincts react to him, she knows he's not the professor despite what the others say. When she challenges him, he smirks and beheads one of the doctors as a warning.

He knows they're protecting something in the infirmary, he can smell the blood. Hearing the scream, Seiberheigen shows up and orders Zene to keep his hands off Makiwo. Zene allows the professor to ask three questions, and he'll answer them truthfully. His only question for them is "Obedience or death?" Murakami, still coordinating the battle against the moth, hears that there's been a murder in the medical area.

End Volume 2