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10 - Run, Running, Run
A little bit of explaining & Kaname's wrath is averted for another day - although she's having an understandably hard time believing a 16-year-old can be captain of a submarine... No rest for anyone, however, as A21 are hunting down their missing member - with the help of a micro-transmitter embedded in his arm. A moment's drop of the guard & Teletha and Kaname are captured by A21, leaving Sousuke with a hostage situation he'd rather not deal with...

11 - Behemoth Awakening
With Sousuke's rescue plan undone by Kaname & Teletha's stubborness, it's up to him to come up with a Plan B. Just as well reinforcements have arrived in the form of Kurz & Melissa. A21 have an ace up their sleeve, however, in the form of the Behemoth - an Arm Slave of mammoth proportions, just waiting to be unleashed on Tokyo...

12 - One Night Stand
With the JSDF unable to offer much resistance, it's Mithril -vs- Behemoth, but with Teletha aware that she would have been able to avoid the havoc wreaked by Behemoth if she had taken her chance to kill its pilot when she had the chance previously, she's having a crisis of confidence in herself. The delivery of the Arbalest to Sousuke gives the forces of good a fighting chance, at least...

Remember, kids, don't try microwaving your arm at home. It's really not good for you, embedded micro-transmitters or not. And that's it for Public Safety Announcements on this page...

This disc is pretty much one self-contained story arc in a nice bite-sized chunk. Unlike the previous 'hijack' arc, this 'Behemoth' arc manages to mix serious drama & comedy fairly well - while it's not as much fun as the 'high-school life' stories, it manages to make all the serious military stuff more fun to watch than the previous foray into Mithril territory did. The big difference that makes it work? The presence of Tessa & the way her and Kaname play against each other, which is a real joy to watch. Much as Kana may not want to admit she has feelings for Sousuke, the presence of a rival doesn't half fire her up...

Another big difference is that, unlike stories involving Gauron, the members of A21 are much easier to feel some sort of sympathy for - their leader in particular, with her apparent connection to Kalinin & the tale she tells of A21's formation. For all that these are one-trick guest appearances, they manage to be more fleshed out & believable characters than Gauron has managed to be - and he's the big series badguy. Go figure.

Overall, then, this is a fairly impressive disc that manages to bring together a large chunk of FMP!'s disparate cast for a sidestory that manages to work a lot better than the main arc sometimes manages. Recommended.