Thanks to SanZaiTen
Hermit is back in her old body again. She, Witch,and Sister are as happy as ever to see each other, but they're still sad that Valkyrie is dead, even though they expected it.
Hermit reveals that Müller isn't in this world (or so it seems), so she completed her Ether accelerator research peacefully and the planet Hook wasn't blown up. With nothing else to do, she spent the rest of her time playing games in Digitalis.
Jinn (who's back in his ponytail) says he didn't
meet Müller in this world, either. He became an O Tech willingly because people on his planet use implants to adapt to their atmosphere, though Kleene was too scared to undergo the process.
Then he and Kleene left home to study abroad, but took a wrong turn to Guilst and wound up working for Drakken.
At the Dress Factory, the crew changes Homura into her trademark kimono, but she still can't remember anything. Weisz thinks making her wear a see-through bunny outfit will make her remember. Homura is upset to know that Valkyrie died in the last world.
Oedo (Homura's planet) is seen from afar for the first time. It has a volcano like Mount Fuji, bamboo stalks, and a Shinto gate: stereotypical Japanese imagery.
Homura's UO backstory is revealed: Kurenai left Oedo for work and never came back, and Valkyrie became her guardian and EG teacher. She competed in a sword match for the planet's shogun, but wound up seriously hurting his son, Seiji (Creed), which is punishable by decapitation on Oedo. Although Seiji was kind and defended Homura, the shogun felt he was setting a bad example and sentenced Homura to death.
Valkyrie saved Homura by taking responsibility
and being executed in her place. Since then,
Homura has never been able to use her EG again.
Everyone feels awful that Homura had it so bad in UO when things were so happy for themselves.
The crew decides that the only way to bring
Homura's memories back is through "shock
therapy": by going to Sun Jewel and finding
Kurenai, who she was looking for to begin with before getting caught by Drakken.
The streets of Sun Jewel are empty, and there are "emergency" signs everywhere. Shiki and the rest try telling Homura about Kurenai, but Homura instantly figures out she was a real piece of work and is ready for her. The crew isn't sure if finding her will restore Homura's memories, or if she even is "Madame Kurenai".
A man runs out and warns the crew that Stones are invading the upper levels from the blockade zone (UO's version of the labor district). He tries taking them to a shelter while leaving the monsters to the Punishers, the "guardian deities" of Sun Jewel (in the old world, the Punishers were the name of Kurenai's robot soldiers).
The Punishers arrive on the scene. It's made up of the three rebel guys on Sun Jewel from the last world; the Zaiten Three (Nino, Garrot, and Baku); and their leader: Kurenai herself. Shiki and Homura go cold when they see her.