Episode 40

**A Robot in Love** is the 40th episode of the *Edens Zero* anime, and the 15th episode of the second season.

As the crew wait, they hear Nadia's story of the past and her love. Witch returns with Laguna, who aids them in reaching the end of the chamber.

## Summary

The crew react to Nadia's arrival in various ways; with Shiki initially thinking of her as a "sea person", Homura recognizing that she is an android and Weisz simply commenting that she is a "total babe". Rebecca thinks back to the message she found scrawled in the cockpit of the crashed ship which mentioned Nadia. Happy and Pino introduce themselves to Nadia who acknowledges that they are new machine models whereas she is an older model. Nadia states that they must be here for only one thing and confirms that there is a clue to Mother within the temple. While the other members of the crew are excited at the news, Weisz remains suspicious and he questions Nadia on who exactly she is. Nadia repeats that she is the guardian of the temple and was built two hundred years ago to protect the Mother Beacon, however she reveals that the treasure she was supposed to protect was lost long ago, calling herself a guide moreso than a guardian. She elaborates that the treasure and the Mother Beacon are two separate things but are related. Nadia attempts to lead the group further into the temple but she is caught by her own power cable and falls on her face. She explians that she cannot function without the cord due to being an older model but that what they seek lies through the doors just ahead of them. She gives them an ominous warning that she won't guarantee that they will survive to return but Shiki is undaunted. She gives them a final recommendation that if they feel their lives are in danger that they should retreat quickly back to this chamber.

The crew enter through the door and find themselves in a large cave filled with vegetation. They immediately notice how hot the interior of the cave is, and when Rebecca checks up on Homura she finds that Homura is sweating ridiculously and having a hard time coping with the temperature. Homura tries to press on to hurry through the hot cave as quickly as possible but she stops as she singes her foot. To the crew's shock, the cave's heat increases and flames begin to burst out of the floor, ceiling and walls. Rebecca remarks that this must be where the planet Red Cave gets its name before noticing that her swimsuit is starting to melt from the heat. Homura promptly collapses to the floor, passing out from the heat and both Happy and Pino begin melting as well. Shiki tells the others to go back while he tries exploring further ahead by flying through the air and avoiding touching the floor. The fire catches up to him however and the walls of the cave begin erupting into magma so Shiki retreats with everyone else and they return to the main chamber of the temple. Nadia welcomes the group back, and everyone there comes to the conclusion that none of them can pass through the cave and survive. Weisz suggests the Four Shining Stars, prompting Homura to call him a fiend until he clarifies that he meant the androids and not her, but Sister and Hermit confirm that none of them can make it through, and even Arsenal would not be able to survive the high temperatures. Weisz asks about Witch since she can use Water Ether, and though Sister remarks that Witch cannot do it either, she says that Witch has a plan. They mention that Witch has travelled to Blue Garden. At Blue Garden, in the Scheherazade Theatre, Witch attends a performance with Kleene Rutherford and Jinn. When the performance is over, she goes backstage and confronts the lead singer, showing knowledge that he is disgusing his face with a hologram. The man disables the hologram showing his true self as Laguna Husert, the Spirit of Water. Witch requests his assistance.

At the Temple of the Mother Beacon beneath the sea, the crew await for Witch's return. Shiki questions Nadia on what the nature of the clue is but Nadia simply states that it is something they will have to discover for themselves and that she cannot tell them because it is a secret. Rebecca thinks about the robot corpses that they found outside and asks Nadia about them since they appeared to have been there for some time. Nadia reveals that the temple housed a treasure long ago which contained a beacon that would guide travelers to Mother. Pino asks what happened to the treasure. Nadia explains that the treasure was stolen 200 years ago, and that without the Ether radiating from it, the machines of the planet had no source of power and shut down, including herself, until a human engineer named Andrew repaired her by connecting her to the large cable which sustains her life. Her emotional state as she describes Andrew leads Homura to ask Nadia if she loved him and Nadia essentially confirms it while still trying to avoid saying it outright due to her embarassment. Weisz is skeptical of humans and androids being in love which he attributes to his origins from 50 years ago, ignoring that Nadia is even older than him. Rebecca ponders more on the crashed spaceship they found bearing Nadia's name and asks what happened to Andrew. Nadia states that he left 200 years ago to reclaim the treasure and that she is awaiting his return. Rebecca quickly stops Shiki from accidentally revealing that humans cannot live that long since she does not want to shatter Nadia's faith in their promise together. Nadia finishes off by saying that though the treasure is stolen, the beacon still remains which is how Ziggy was able to get the clue to find Mother long ago.

Witch arrives to the temple, accompanied by Laguna which shocks Rebecca. Laguna agreed to help Witch in exchange for a condition which Witch agreed to, assuring him that she will not forget to fulfill that condition. The others are untrusting, due to their past encounter with him under Drakken's orders. Laguna defends himself, saying he did not know he was so old and that the Dark Alchemist needed Ether masters of each element to balance his own. He adds that they cut the elements from him and destroyed his life support device, saying that is how they beat him and that Drakken was not at full strength. Rebecca defends Laguna from the others, saying that he was the only one decent to her in the previous world. Laguna recognizes her and realizes she jumped in time, he brushes his defeat before and states he is here to help under a contract with Witch. Before entering the chamber, Witch asks Nadia if Ziggy was accompanied by anyone before, to which she answer that he was alone. In the chamber, the flames start up again. Witch lays out the plan, first needing to turn Shiki into water, then coating him in her Ether to maintain his shape, and then he uses his gravity powers to go through the cave. Laguna notes how the fire is so hot that any water would evaporate, though he reluctantly activates his Ether Gear, saying that they need Shiki to cry. Witch scares Shiki by making him think there is a bug, which she then coats his water form with Ether. With this, Shiki uses his powers to go through the flames. Laguna wonders why he cannot just push the flames down, which Witch assumes that the Ether of the place prevents him from doing so. Shiki manages to get through the flames of the cave, and finds a chamber filled with Ether. A voice says that a part of them was once in the chamber, despit its loss, the Ether remains. The voice continues and says to follow this Ether, to show the path to them. The Ether forms together into a figure, where the voice states that they are the matriarch of the cosmos, Mother.

In the temple, Shiki shows to the others his Aquatic Adaptation Lacrima, now shining in the colors of the rainbow. Nadia explains that the Mother Ether found a vessel and went inside on its own, where the treasure kept here was a part of Mother. She continues to explain that it is said that there are many pieces of Mother across the cosmos, called Relics, where the Mother Ether acts as a compass to find more relics, finding enough and absorbing their Ether might eventually lead them to Mother. Weisz complains, thinking they can just absorb more of the temple's Mother Ether, but Laguna corrects him that it is not possible from the number of people who came before, which Nadia agrees. Now having something to lead them to Mother, they thank Nadia, where Pino hopes that she can see Andrew again. Hearing this, Witch informs Nadia that Andrew is dead, but that he kept his promise. She tells her that a small ship crash landed not long ago, with the body of Andrew. Showing them the memory chip that she found on the ship, Nadia request to show it. Pino inserts the chip into her arm, where a screen projects from her. The recording starts with Andrew asking how Nadia is doing, making the android blush. Andrew explains that he managed to get back the relic from a small time crook with the help of a friend in the government and this should restore the bots of Red Cave back to normal. He notes that he is close to Red Cave, saying that he misses the sky they always watched together. He apologizes that it took a whole year and says that he loves her. Suddenly a warning signal starts and the video cuts in static. Witch explains that he was struck by a meteoroid and from their calculations, he was likely rendered unconscious and unable to steer, knocking him off course until 200 years where he crash-landed.

In shock, Nadia runs off to find him, breaking off the cable attached to her. The others follow afer her, where she finds the ship and Andrew's body, crying in disbelief. Witch tells Nadia that a human's life is short compared to theirs. Nadia sees this now and questions if it is wrong for a machine to love a human. Witch denies this, saying that they can all love whomever they choose. Nadia wonders what good would it do to live in a world without Andrew, which Witch says she misundertands. She adds that the souls of those they have lost exist within their hearts. Nadia states that androids do not have hearts, but Witch counters that the fact she feels love for someone is proof that she does. Suddenly the relic breaks out of the the ship, causing a large flash of light, reactivating the robots and the water levels start receding, restoring the planet to its rightful state. With the night ending and the sky turning red, Nadia states that the candelabra illuminates their world and states that Andrew helped her see the world they once saw together again and everyone watches the sunrise. Before they leave, the robots of Red Cave and the octopus monster wave them goodbye. While Weisz and Shiki are surprised that the monster was the temple's guardian, Homura asks what ails Rebecca, which she states that she wishes a Chronophage could come and eat Red Cave's time, 200 years of it.

## Characters In Order of Appearance

1. Nadia
2. Shiki Granbell
3. Homura Kōgetsu
4. Weisz Steiner (X442)
5. Rebecca Bluegarden
6. E.M. Pino
7. Happy
8. Mother *(Mentioned)*
9. Sister Ivry
10. Hermit Mio
11. Mosco Versa-0
12. Ziggy *(Mentioned)*
13. Witch Regret
14. Laguna Husert
15. Jinn
16. Kleene Rutherford
17. Daichi *(Flashback)*
18. Fie *(Flashback)*
19. Drakken Joe *(Flashback)*
20. Andrew

## Appearances

	+ Red Cave
		- Temple of the Mother Beacon
	+ Edens Zero
* Sakura Cosmos
	+ Blue Garden
		- Scheherazade Theatre *(Debut)*

**Powers and Abilities*** Ether Gear
	+ Satan Gravity
	+ Tears Lover

**Items*** Aquatic Adaptation Lacrima
* Edens Zero
* Relic *(Debut)***Creatures**
* Chronophage *(Mentioned)*