Vessel 3: The Traveling Novelist

Vessel 3: Courage Within The Fear is the third episode of Utsuwa Sentai Seitenger. This episode marks the first appearance of Helen Tennouji.

Synopsis
Someone from Yokohama is going to stay at the Mizuhashi mansion, as Hideoki announced to the Vessels. But the Vessels regard this as a problem. Now it will be hard for the Seitengers to keep their identity a secret. Or so they thought. What surprise them is the fact that the said person turns out to be someone connected to Erika. But for some reason, it seems that this particular guest somehow hides certain secrets that both Hideoki and Nanami realizes could help the Vessels in more ways than one with their battles. They come to that conclusion when that guest mentions something that could further help the Seitengers in enhancing their Hasureiki even though they just started training and fighting the Tareans.

Plot
In a mansion somewhere in Yokohama, a girl around the same age as Erika was seen sitting on a carpeted floor in the middle of the library. She said that she’d be leaving tomorrow in order to finish her mission. While doing that, she took out a cylindrical item similar to that of the Seitengers’ Hyakureider that had the figure of six wings on one end. In the process, she admitted to herself that setting out to finally do her mission was scaring her but she wanted to think that everything would be fine. At least, she wanted to think of it that way because it was the right thing for her to do.

Around the same time, at the Mizuhashi mansion, Hideoki was staring at the moon with an unread letter on his hand. It was a letter he received last week but only chose to read it on that particular night as it was the night of the full moon. It was part of the request from the sender. When he finally read it, he learned that Atsuko’s daughter would be coming over to the mansion. And that particular person has a significant role to the Seitengers. On one passage that he read there, he also learned that the soul had finally chosen its next incarnation. The sender of the letter wanted Hideoki to protect Atsuko’s daughter and the current incarnation at all cost. The only question was--who was the current incarnation?

Meanwhile, Itsuki was having a weird dream again. This time, it was set on the forest near the hotel where his parents were killed. He was trying to find his way out for quite some time but to no avail. In that dream, a woman’s voice was heard, pleading to him not to let someone die. He woke up at that part of the part, that was why he was frustrated since he couldn’t figure out its meaning at all. Soon after, Erika knocked and told him to wake up since it was breakfast time. Even when he was doing his morning routine, several thoughts ran in his head with regards to that dream. When he went down to the dining room, he saw a usual scenario of his friends arguing and creating quite a ruckus as they prepared breakfast. He noticed that Nanami and Hideoki weren’t there. It was Eichirou who answered his question, and the issue about the mysterious letters meant for Hideoki arriving last week was brought up. Of course, it only made all of them quite curious as to what those letters were actually for.

In the Tareus Dimension, the Great Shadow Defenders were currently trying to find a way on how to defeat the Seitengers now that the team activated SeitenOh and also to destroy the other Tarean Seals so that they could finally be released from their prison for several millenia. None was able to approach the emperor at the moment since he was still enraged by the fact that they were defeated once again. Nemia suggested of a way to destroy the Seitengers with one of her Triske Monsters.

The same day, Helen arrived at Tsukikage town and was greeted by her mentor and older sister figure Asakura Minako. The two hadn’t seen each other in two months because of the death of Helen’s grand-uncle. Helen learned that Makoto, another of her mentor, gave a text message to Minako to become her escort in finding Mizuhashi Hideoki. She also learned that Hideoki had already retired from being a historian and was now the owner of a family restaurant. In the middle of it, they noticed several people frantically running. Along with that, the six-winged cylindrical item in her pocket vibrated, signaling that something bad was happening and she didn’t like the idea at all.

As the breakfast went on for the Vessels at the Mizuhashi mansion, it was weird that only Nanami joined them to eat. Nanami said that Hideoki was fixing some problem at the restaurant. But for some reason, that story seemed to have something else. While it was going on, their Shifters beeped, meaning that another Tarean attack was happening. They were able to locate it and it was near the bus station in town. But before they head on, Itsuki remembered his dream and started questioning himself about something with regards to the person--particularly a female individual--that he was not supposed to allow to die no matter what.

When the five of them arrived at the area near the bus station where the attack was detected, they were surprised at the sight of the damage already done in the area. It didn’t take long for them to see the perpetrators, which was a Tarean Monster that seemed to be a water-type basing it from its features. As the Seitengers were ready to fight, SeitenEarth noticed something about the Tarean Monster leading the group so he let the others take care of the Gargonemas attacking. He used his Hasureiki over earth to determine something with regards to the Triske Monster. Though he managed to know what was wrong with their enemy, he was suddenly attacked from out of nowhere, sending him flying. The other Seitengers noticed that and soon after, they were also attacked by an unseen enemy. Only SeitenLight’s transformation was disabled because of the impact of the attack. SeitenEarth approached her and revealed that the monster they saw standing there was just a double. He decided to use his powers once more and this time, with the aim to counterattack now that he knew the monster’s trick and its way of attacking them without being seen. He succeeded in bringing out the monster from its hiding place, with the help of someone suddenly firing four beams from the western direction. But before SeitenEarth could even do something to attack again, the Triske Monster retreated. Itsuki lost consciousness after that.

The person responsible for firing those four beams turned out to be Helen who was watching the whole event from the rooftop of a building near the sight of the attack. She was able to see even from there that one of the currently chosen Vessels to become Seitengers was Erika. She also noted the fact that the successor of the previous SeitenEarth was a male. Helen eyed the two cylindrical items on her possession---one was able to detect the Tarean attack earlier and the other larger version was the one she used to fire the beams to help Itsuki. When Minako found her there, the older woman mentioned about the start of the attacks in town since the earthquake at Mt. Kumamoto. Helen remembered something about that location. In particular, she knew that it was the location of the Tarean Seal created from the power of the first SeitenEarth. She then began secretly questioning the reason why the Tareans were attacking Tsukikage Town in the first place.

Misae was just done healing Itsuki and she noted something with regards to Eichirou’s comment about Itsuki’s powers over earth. She also remembered the fact that she was able to heal her comrade even though she herself was exhausted from that last fight. She mentioned to the others about her observation that the wind surrounding the area of the Mizuhashi mansion was helping her with her healing ability, which was a wonder since they didn’t know how could that happen. Before leaving Itsuki, she recalled his battle and the way he fought a while back, also realizing that something was wrong with the green warrior. Misae noticed Hideoki by the veranda looking at the moon. She approached the old man and they talked for a while. She was finally able to discover the reason why she could use a stronger version of her healing powers around the area of the mansion. Hideoki explained that it wasn’t just her who was experiencing the same thing. Even the other Vessels’ abilities were enhanced while they were around the area of the mansion. And he said that it was because of Mariko’s barriers that she cast before she died 12 years ago. Hideoki said that Mariko doesn’t only have precognition, but also the ability of barrier creation. Mariko cast those barriers in three locations---the mansion, the family restaurant, and even the bookstore. It was the Hasureiki maintained inside the barrier that enhanced the Vessels’ abilities. Hideoki also said that as long as the Vessels were alive, the barriers would keep doing its job of protecting the Vessels and enhancing their powers.

Itsuki finally woke up and recovered his lost energy, thanks to Misae’s healing powers. Erika and Hideoki entered his room carrying a food tray. But he soon noticed that Hideoki was sporting a grave expression which made him a bit nervous. Even when he asked the man about it, Hideoki only shook his head. Soon after, the man asked the siblings on how they were going to deal with Diwall, which was revealed to be a Triske Monster under one of the seven Great Shadow Defenders Nemia. Hideoki explained that the seven Great Shadow Defenders were Emperor Darshao’s retainers. However, Itsuki was more concerned about the source of the four beams fired towards Diwall before he could even cast his attack on it.

Meanwhile, Helen and Minako finally reached Taiyou Family Restaurant which was the restaurant that Mizuhashi Hideoki owned. It was Makoto who told Minako to head there since he said that Hideoki was there at the moment. She noticed as soon as she arrived, though, that the place seemed to be surrounded with a considerable amount of Hasureiki. Which was weird and a first time for her, in her perception. Soon after, Hideoki appeared and she requested to talk to him. Minako left Helen in Hideoki’s care. When the man asked her who was Minako to her, she said that the woman was her editor and at the same time, one of her mentors, as well. Upon mentioning that Helen was continuing her mother’s legacy as a fantasy-adventure novelist, Hideoki mentioned that he had always admired Atsuko’s wits and imagination even before realizing that Helen’s mother was actually the famous novelist Hanasaki Kaoru. He even advised her not to pressure herself in continuing Atsuko’s legacy. But Helen reasoned that it was something she chose to do as a way to be closer to her mother. In one of their discussions, she mentioned that she knew Erika was chosen to become Seitenger for the reason that she was at the site of the earlier Tarean attack.

Though Diwall didn’t commence his attack which made the Vessels glad, that day didn’t turn out to be a normal one for them. Besides the fact that they were worried of the quietness of the situation, they were surprised to see a girl talking to Akira and Nanami when they reached the porch that morning. Almost immediately, Erika recognized the girl to be her childhood friend Tennouji Helen. It was a great reunion for the two childhood friends but it also raised several questions to the other Vessels who were surprised to see that kind of spectacle, especially Itsuki since he had no idea that Erika had a childhood friend. Eichirou decided to do the introductions later when they were done having their breakfast. Helen pointed out not long after that Eichirou looked a lot more like his mother Mariko whom Helen met a few times in several ikebana exhibits before. The photographer said that not many people noticed that fact, though. Erika asked about Helen’s grand-uncle. But the latter revealed to her childhood friend that the said person died two months ago.

While it was all happening, Hideoki and Nanami could only observe the situation between Helen and the five Vessels. However, Hideoki was still thinking about the letter’s contents and his conversation with Helen, especially about her mission that she needed to finish. He could tell that something was wrong with all this. He remembered Tennouji Atsuko once again and the fact that the said woman died earlier than expected, he was sure that Atsuko’s legacy would live on through her daughter Helen. When he asked Nanami about what she thought with regards to Helen, she said that she was worried for the Vessels now that Helen had arrived. But Hideoki pointed out that the Vessels would be needing Helen’s help, whether they admit it or not. Nanami asked him if Helen mentioned anything about the current incarnation, but the girl said to Hideoki that she didn’t know. On the other hand, Helen also stated something that might contradict her statement. “Not all truths are meant to be revealed at the start,” were Helen’s words to Hideoki the day before.

As all of it was going on, the next expected attack of the Triske Monster Diwall was already underway. This time, the area of the attack was the nearby town west of Tsukikage, which was something new. It already made several buildings and vehicles explode and had hurt many people. Some of the residents already left the town in order to seek refuge on the other nearby towns besides Tsukikage.

It didn’t take long before the Vessels’ Celestial Shifters began reacting to that attack, signaling the Vessels about it. To the Vessels’ surprise and confusion when they checked the situation, though, was that Diwall wasn’t attacking Tsukikage this time, but the town of Morizumi. What surprised them even more was when Helen asked if it was a Tarean attack, which was right. Erika asked her childhood friend if she knew about the Tareans and Helen nodded. In fact, Helen said that the Tareans were after her when she and Erika first met 11 years ago, when both of them were still eight years old. The Vessels reached the place in no time with the help of Nanami’s teleportation ability. But the damage that Diwall caused was already done. Many people were huddled on several places, crying and pleading for help. Of course, this didn’t sit too well for the Vessels, especially Itsuki who seemed to be in a bad mood for some reason. Shuichi asked the composer if he could sense Diwall’s movement. Itsuki said that the one above ground was already the real one. But it would be a trouble if Diwall would decide to fight them while swimming underground again as it would be a bit hard for Itsuki to track the Tarean Monster down. Eichirou suggested that he and Erika could do something about that problem.

Meanwhile, Helen was still standing by the porch where she saw the Vessels off. Her hand was still in her pocket holding something other than the cylindrical item that she would usually carry. Nanami approached her and told her not to worry. But Helen said that she believed in the Seitengers, that they could change the history and defy the legend. Unable to remain calm there, she decided to head to the location where Diwall and the Seitengers were.

The Vessels were able to locate Diwall who was busy destroying a gasoline station and the fire the explosion caused was spreading quite fast. Thankfully, Shuichi did his best to dissipate the rage of the fire using his powers while Eichirou and Misae used their powers to put it out. The siblings evacuated the other people trapped in the buildings and several areas that the Gargonemas blocked. Diwall finally noticed the Vessels and ordered the Gargonemas to attack. The team transformed and fought the grunt soldiers trying to defeat them. As it was happening, SeitenEarth was busy trying to locate Diwall. The said monster was still above the ground. But the green warrior was able to detect his next movement quite easily this time. He signaled SeitenWater and SeitenLight to do their part of the mission. Using the combined power of ice and light barrier, the two warriors obstructed the ground seconds before Diwall could even swim in it. SeitenFire and SeitenWind attacked the monster simultaneously using their HyakuReiDers. SeitenEarth used his powers over earth once more by controlling the nearby plants to bind Diwall with it. The Seitengers activated their HyakuReiDers altogether and did the Five Heaven Slash attack, thereby finishing the Triske Monster’s life. But it didn’t take long before the Triske Seed was exploded, allowing Diwall to revive and achieve his giant size. The Seitengers summoned their Grand Vessel Spirit and soon had it combined to become SeitenOh. They fought the enlarged Diwall using it. But the monster gave them a hard time since it could still swim on solid ground even on that form. Diwall would always beat SeitenWater and SeitenLight before they could even use their powers to seal the ground. Diwall was supposed to come up with another attack to strike down the SeitenOh. But to their surprise, another beam of light was fired towards the monster. This time, the beam came from the sky. Though this had truly confused them, especially SeitenEarth, they concentrated on their battle in front of them for now. SeitenOh delivered its finishing attack using the SeitenKen and performed “Celestial Drive” towards Diwall who seemed to have been weakened by that beam of light fired to it earlier.

In one part of the town of Morizumi where the battle between two giants could be seen, Helen heaved a sigh of relief as she brought down the second cylindrical item in her possession before collapsing to her knees. She eyed the SeitenOh for a while before bracing herself to get up and walk away from that place. But she was smiling sadly as she did so. Before leaving the place where she watched the battle, she silently called out to her mother and said that her mission would finally begin there.

The Vessels tried to leave the town as inconspicuously as they could while the authorities did their job to do some repairs and bring immediate attention to those who were hurt during the commotion that Diwall caused. They were surprised, though, to find Helen among those civilians helping the injured people. It was then that Itsuki began having suspicions about Helen and her exact purpose of going there, especially since the issue about the beams wasn’t even solved yet. Though Misae and Shuichi were also having suspicions about the said girl, they didn’t want to think about it for now. Helen was making Erika happy with just her presence. That reunion was something they should pay attention at the moment. Helen greeted them with a smile when she saw the team coming to her direction.

Characters

 * Shuichi Hiwara
 * Eichirou Mizuhashi
 * Itsuki Hoshiyama
 * Misae Fuumiya
 * Erika Hoshiyama
 * Hideoki Mizuhashi
 * Nanami Kinmura
 * Akira Kinmura
 * Helen Tennouji
 * Emperor Darshao
 * Alvre
 * Karkino
 * Orcus
 * Nemia
 * Siriso
 * Diwall

Guest Characters

 * Amuro Raisaki
 * Minako Asakura

Mecha

 * Vessel Combination SeitenOh
 * Fire Lion Firion
 * Water Shark Sereo
 * Earth Tiger Terraiger
 * Wind Falcon Skylon
 * Light Dove Dovight