Elf (エルフ Erufu?) and Zwölf (ツヴェルフ Tsuvu~erufu?) (German for "eleven" and "twelve", respectively) are two of the surviving TUNED AR Series 2 androids. Originally known as AR-11 and AR-12, respectively, they were the only ones to escape Sechs' killing spree on the surface against his fellow replicas following the collapse of the Ground Investigation Bureau (GIB) by managing to defeat him.
The pair were subsequently recruited by Nova II to serve as his bodyguards. They later fell in with Alita and Sechs after Nova II was captured by Aga Mbadi, eventually forming the Space Angels. Following the fall of Ladder, they provided the muscle behind Deckman 100's seizure of Robo-Asyl until they were defeated by Sechs.
Appearance[]
Like all members of the TUNED AR Series 2 Elf and Zwölf are identical in appearance to Alita with the exception of their respective numbers, 11 and 12, on their foreheads. In a similar manner as Sechs, each has a TR-55 artificial life form that houses their brain bio-chips and can usually be found perched on their shoulders. Elf's is Kimpi, while Zwölf's i Kimpo.
The pair tend to dress in a much more feminine manner than Alita. When they first appeared they wore dark matching dresses which emphasized their figures, what they likely wore when they worked as singers in Barjack City. For the Tenth Zenith of Things Tournament (ZOTT) they wore bunny suits with the exception of the Round 2 match against the Starship Cult, when they dressed identically to Alita to cover for her while she infiltrated Melchizedek; after getting hypnotized to shoot herself in the head, Elf would get a new head constructed, adding a pair of sunglasses to her look with both reverting back to their bunny suits. An illustration by Yukito Kishiro for the 2003 Ultra Jump calendar depicts them both as having light skin with grey hands, wearing bright red dresses.[1]
Gallery[]
Personality[]
Both Elf and Zwölf are inseparable from the other and generally act like twins together, although they call each other best friends. Unlike Sechs, they seem perfectly happy with who they are and what they have become, and go along happily and carefree. In contrast to the rest of the AR Series and in particular Sechs, their personalities have greatly mellowed, becoming much less aggressive. They actually prefer not to fight unless they believe that they are guaranteed to win, but have no qualms with using violence when they need to. While Elf and Zwölf have been recruited by and served in subordinate roles with Nova II, Alita, and Deckman 100, they have not always followed their leaders' wishes. It could be argued that both Elf and Zwölf suffer from vanity issues; when Elf was damaged during the Tenth Zenith of Things Tournament and repaired by Derossi, both were horrified they did not look alike anymore and effectively withdrew from competition by refusing to participate any further.
A major disadvantage that the pair faces in combat is that they lack the initiative and drive to come up with new strategies if their initial plans fail. Thus they tend to lose heart during a difficult or prolonged fight. Unlike Alita, Elf and Zwölf are much more feminine and much less serious, providing an element of comic relief.
Relationships[]
Nova II[]
Having been found by Nova II and recruited as his escorts, both Elf and Zwölf showed intense loyalty and followed Nova II everywhere.
Sechs[]
As their older 'brother', Elf and Zwölf would act like younger siblings and tease Sechs while the latter would be fighting in battles. However, Sechs would also show some degree of concern and worry for them during the early stages of the Tenth Zenith of Things Tournament; after the completion of the ZOTT, their relationship would turn hostile when the pair allied with Deckman 100 to take over Robo-Asyl and tried destroying Sechs when the latter refused to join them.
Alita[]
Elf and Zwölf got along with Alita relatively well, although they barely interacted with her and would alternate between cheering and mock her during fights.
Abilities[]
- Main article: Wire Work
Elf and Zwölf use Wire Work against an enemy
As members of the TUNED AR Series 2, Elf and Zwölf have an understanding of Panzer Kunst reflecting what Alita had recalled up through her time as a TUNED agent. However after becoming autonomous they have largely abandoned Panzer Kunst as a fighting style. They instead use a paired method of fighting termed Wire Work that uses coordinated attacks based around mono-molecular wire.
History[]
During their brief career as TUNED agents, AR-11 and AR-12 were assigned to anti-Barjack operations by GIB chief Bigott Eizenburg. Following the collapse of the GIB, at some point they met and decided to cooperate, becoming singers at Barjack City. They survived their run in with Sechs and succeeded in dismembering his right arm with a mono-molecular wire trap. Sechs would subsequently abandoned his goal of trying to kill them.
Plot[]
Tiphares Arc[]
Roughly a year later, Nova II located them and recruited them to be his bodyguards, taking them along with Sechs and Deckman 100 to Tiphares. They would initially refrain from fighting Alita and watched Sechs do battle with her from the top of the abandoned Tiphares theater along with Nova II and Deckman 100.[2] Eventually, they decided to join in when Sechs began to dominate Alita; however, they quickly abandoned the fight when Alita used a Hertza Haeon strike to destroy Sechs' body.[3] Taking Sech's damaged head and torso, Elf and Zwölf would accompany Nova II to the M.I.B. Core and were amazed to see the being known as Sachumodo rampaging throughout the core. They tried to slow it down by trapping it with their mono-molecular wire but it dissipated the wire trapping and escaped. Both Elf and Zwölf remained close to Nova and would save him from falling debris caused by the fight between Alita and the colossus.
Ketheres Arc[]
The group travels up the space elevator from Tiphares and arrive at the city of Ketheres. Elf and Zwölf marvel at the Earth above them and Alita reprimands them for losing focus of their objective; both begin mocking her for ordering them around, but stay with Nova II within the elevator while Alita and Sechs scout the area for any possible hazards. Elf and Zwölf begin laughing when Aga Mbadi arrives and condescendingly pats Alita on her head, anticipating her to immediately fight him. They overhear that Nova is the fourth individual from Tiphares who has managed to reach the city and are surprised by the announcement; before they can react, Mbadi hacks them remotely and both grab Nova II by the arms and throw him forwards. After Nova II is encased in a polymer cube, both Elf and Zwölf are sealed in ones followed by Deckman 100, Sechs and finally Alita; powerless to do anything, all of them save for Nova II are ejected out the airlock and begin drifting towards Earth's atmosphere.[4]
Fortunately, they were rescued by Ping Wu but not released from the polymers until after arriving on Leviathan I (much to their irritation).
Leviathan I Arc[]
After arriving on the Leviathan, both are freed from their imprisonment and spend much of their time aboard the ship in the company of Martin Tsang; they often relaxed and played in his jacuzzi while ignoring Alita and the others. The two decided to partner with Alita and Sechs in forming the Space Angels to compete in the Tenth Zenith of Things Tournament (ZOTT). To help get noticed (and to take attention away from Alita), both Elf and Zwölf decided to dress up in bunny outfits for the tournament. The pair performed well during the Preliminaries, after which they sang at the Metageitnion Restaurant to the patrons present.
Guntroll Arc[]
Elf and Zwölf try to bind Qu Tsang
In Round 1 their attempt to attack Getz from behind was foiled by Koen and were on the verge of giving up, but Sechs refused to surrender. Using a combination attack, they were able to trap Koen, who Sechs used to bypass Getz's electromagnetic barrier with his Titan Blade to take both down. When Qu Tsang appeared Elf was able to knit a scarf out of mono-molecular wire using emei piercers. They tried to use the scarf to trap Tsang, but she was able to turn it against them by quickly disabling them simultaneously.[5]
Starship Cult Arc[]
During Round 2, Elf and Zwölf disguised themselves as "Dark Alita" (Zwölf) and "White Alita" (Elf) to cover up for the original Alita's mission to infiltrate Melchizedek. They fell to Darbhanga's hypnotism but he was killed by a wire trap they had laid. After Springfoot Jack appeared he swiftly hypnotized them both and tricked Elf into blowing her head off with a .500 Magnum in a rigged game of Russian roulette. Zwölf attempted to flee, but was hypnotized and took the form of a human boomerang which was used against Sechs before being knocked into the arena floor.
Following the match Elf was repaired, but both stopped participating in the ZOTT, forcing Sechs to fight alone in the Quarterfinal, although he had no problems with the Wild Guns. Afterwards Elf and Zwölf wiped out the three High Order troops who attacked Ping inside the Space Angels' base.
The night before the Finals they were confronted by Rakan, who savagely tore them to pieces to relieve his anxiety and took their mono-molecular wire, but left both Kimpi and Kimpo intact. At the beginning of the Finals Zazie confronted Rakan about this, which he confirmed by describing how nervous he was, which led him to release his pre-match anxiety on the two. However Kimpi and Kimpo both survived the attack and the near destruction of the arena during the Finals.
Months later Elf and Zwölf were repaired by Yani and helped Deckman 100 seize power in Robo-Asyl by dismembering Landa Nam Nam.
References[]
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