Phase 12

Phase 12
Volume:	2
Chapter	12
Japanese title	夢の罪の重さを
Romanized title	Yume no Tsumi no Omosa o
English title	How Grave a Sin It Is to Dream
Total pages	39
Released	2002
Story Arc	Tiphares Arc
Chapter Navigation
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How Grave a Sin It Is to Dream is the twelfth chapter of Battle Angel Alita: Last Order.

Cover

Koyomi standing in front of a poster that says "We Want Hope", which is crossed through with black paint.

Summary

On a rainy day in the Scrapyard 14 year old Koyomi is making her way through the Southern District when she sees a hit and run accident caused by a taxi, which runs into a pedestrian and a man trying to beg from him, sending them flying. Several cyberphysicians instantly appear to treat the two victims. When they pull the cape off the beggar, he is revealed to be Kaos, who has a pillory connecting his left arm to his neck. Koyomi recognizes him, but refuses to admit it when asked by the cyberphysicians. The sight of the pillory puts them off from treating Kaos as they realize that the symbol on it reveals he belongs to Vector, and they leave him in the street while attending to the other man. Koyomi leaves, but finds Kaos still in the same spot when she returns. She flips a chip to decide what to do, which leads her to take Kaos to where she and her father Master are currently staying, an antiques store named Wabi-Sabi Antiques that is a Vector franchise.

Here the shopkeeper recognizes Kaos and reveals that a year before, he happened to be in Vector's building shortly after the end of the Barjack War. Kaos arrived to meet with Vector and talked to him enthusiastically about the Tower of Tiphares, showing him a blueprint. After listening, Vector had his men beat Kaos up before revealing how he had survived and thrived after arriving in the Scrapyard 40 years before as a boy of 9. He could instantly tell whether anyone, human or cyborg, was lying by their eyes. He knew that Kaos genuinely believed in his dream, but he himself did not believe in words. He had Kaos put into a pillory and told him to come back in a year to see if he could still talk about his dream, which would decide his fate. The year would soon be up in a few days.

After Koyomi gives Kaos some soup, he recognizes her when Master tries to ask her for more alcohol. She reveals that she was to have been sold to pay for her father's surgery, but Vector intervened. She also gives Kaos the blueprints for the Tower of Tiphares and his katana, which had made their way to Wabi-Sabi. Overcome by his situation, Kaos breaks down in self pity, driving Koyomi to leave him alone. In her room she questions the sanity of Kaos' scheme but also realizes that her own life lacks meaning following the end of the Barjack.

A few days later on the appointed day Vector's schedule has kept open in anticipation of Kaos' return, but he has the master swordsman Pizmo called just in case. At Barter Street, near Station Gate 2222, Kaos is about to board a caravan traveling to one of the Factory Farms courtesy of some country people who were saved by Koyomi from the Barjack. However at the last minute he changes his mind and walks away. When Koyomi learns about this she realizes that Kaos is going to confront Vector, so she grabs her camera and heads off.

Kaos arrives at Vector's in a stupor, completely crushed by the realization of his folly for dreaming. Pizmo, standing next to Vector, senses that the broken man before them is already dead. Unable to respond to Vector's demand to speak for himself, Kaos is quickly surrounded by three of Vector's men, Geppa, Tankua, and a third cyborg, just as Koyomi arrives at the gate and begins to record what happens. At that moment the paper airplane thrown by Alita from Tiphares lands on Kaos' hand and he instantly learns about all that has happened on Tiphares through his psychometry. Geppa and Tankua try to take the paper airplane so they can throw it themselves, but in a sudden burst of fury, Kaos cuts through the power lines and neural circuits of the three cyborgs surrounding him, rendering immobile and causing them to fall on each other in a heap. Pizmo then advances to confront Kaos, but realizes that he is now a completely different man and has left no openings. When they clash Pizmo's Neo-Kanesada is shattered. Kaos then tells Vector that without a dream people die and that without action, a dream grows stagnant. The only way to atone for his sin, his dream, is to make it a reality. Vector responds that he does not believe in words or dreams, but that he can invest in sin, handing Kaos the key to the pillory. Kaos then silently thanks Alita for her message.

Debut appearances

Characters Geppa (not named) Pizmo Tankua (not named) Wabi-Sabi Antiques shopkeeper Locations Barter Street Wabi-Sabi Antiques Martial arts Supersonic Blade Draw Weapons Neo-Kanesada

Trivia

• Geppa and Tankua are not named but were pointed out as being based on reader-submitted designs at the end of the Japanese tankōbon.