Queen's Gate Novels Summary (I): The Gate Opener

A special featurette of sorts, to change the pace a little! Here's a little insight on this oft-ignored series.

Unfortunately, the rest of the QG characters don't appear in these, it's only Alice, but still, I always wanted to know what was going on in these. Obviously, there's no way in lol that I can even begin to translate a 300+ page novel in japanese, but skimming through the kana, I think I can at least provide enough context for this not to be just a gallery of pretty Nitro+ pics (NSFW warning for some, though).

So for what it's worth, enjoy!

First off, the index page, that prominently displays... the chapters' titles.

A nice spread with the main characters:

And the translated spread that introduces the relevant chars:

And now, on with the story:

Prologue: Treasure at the Submarine Temple

The story starts at a pyramid in Egypt. Someone in a "diver suit" was proceeding through the depths of the pyramid, using the latest technology so as to not get caught in any traps. According to the radar, there were no threats nearby, so she kept advancing.

She was the famous Treasure Hunter, Alice. The voice from the speaker in her headset told her that the route was clear, and she followed her map further. She was getting close. According to the screen, only a hole separated her from the OOPArt, the miniature she was searching for... but something caught her eye. It looked like someone had forced her way through, as there were traces of a laser being used.

It was then that Alice met the two of them, Lumberjack and Dorothy. Dorothy mocked her, as she usually did when she beat her to the treasures.

That blonde girl was Dorothy Loreena Baum, a.k.a "The Trap Avoider", a Treasure Hunter like Alice, and her rival. She made a guts pose, and in synchro, her armored subordinate Lumberjack made a guts pose as well.

Alice wasn't amused. She reached for the whip in her belt, and when the two of them flinched, she took the chance to claim the treasure for herself. The voice from the speakers congratulated her, and preparing her wire gun, Alice told the person in the other side to execute "Code D". Dorothy reacted to her words in horror: it was a maneuver that would activate all the traps so far, maybe even blocking the exit . Alice winked at her, and left before the countdown ended.

Unfortunately, when she arrived at her headquarter's computer room, the treasure turned out to be a copy.

Chapter 1: Irukinuf's Songstress

Alice fastened her seatbelt. Driving the vehicle was one of her subordinates, the homunculus with the codename "March Hare", that looked like a woman in a "bunny girl" costume. Though March Hare argued that "she wasn't a hocumuluns, pyon", she really was a being made from lost technology by the Dodgson Foundation.

Dorothy was expecting her, and she even knew what Alice had grabbed before was a copy. Though they were rivals, Alice went from time to time to the Baum Foundation to share info if the OOPArts (Out of Place Artifacts) were hard to locate.

As they were discussing, Scarecrow, Dorothy's counselor and part of the Baum Foundation's staff, announced they had a visitor: their teacher, a woman in a wine red dress called Faye Wright.

According to her, something had come up involving the Aztec Calendar, and the date December 12th, 2012, and they went to investigate.

When they arrived in Moscow, Dorothy wore her BDU (Battle Dress Uniform), a body armor with a shield and a submachinegun, that made her look like a terrorist. After opening a password-protected door in their way, they went up against a suspicious congregation of 30 people. Alice activated her Boost mode, and with her weapons, the black Angra Mainyu and the silver Aeshma, she brought them down with ease... but then they saw a smiling girl in a flair skirt.

She introduced herself as Rin, the "Songstress", and assured them that they wouldn't beat her master, "Irukinuf-sama", to the OOPArt they were looking for there. Even though they had to struggle to fight Rin's power to manipulate people, Alice managed to grab the object they had come to find, and both Alice and Dorothy celebrated... only for Rin to mock them: that was another copy, what Irukinuf was really after was a certain "Gate".

Chapter 2: Reliable Friend?

Alice was checking on her super computer with "Hatter", another homunculus made from lost technology like March Hare, and the one who was helping her back in the pyramid. Using both her and the Baum's resources, she was combing their data to find any clue about that "Gate". Hatter seemed to remember Alice's mother had mentioned that Gate once, to Alice's surprise, and took her to examine an object her mother had left before she disappeared.

As she inspected the statue, Alice heard the voice of Lewis, her mother. A pre-recorded message told her that she had narrowed her search for the gate to a stone circle, and that a man called Swodar Nyarmain from Scotland was looking for it too. The Gate was one of the treasures her mother hadn't been able to claim, and Alice set out.

On her way, she dropped by the Baum Organization to talk to Dorothy, but was greeted instead by Scarecrow, who told her the heiress wasn't there.

When Dorothy read her mail, she caught up to her, and they discussed with Faye their latest findings: apparently, there was someone called "Irukinuf Arukinuf" pulling the strings, maybe the one responsible for making the "replica items" they had encountered.

Meanwhile, Irukinuf's cult had congregated to perform a ceremony that Rin was enduring: according to Swodar Nyarmain, it would grant her the gift to contact the spirits of Leonidas and Rasputin, through the will of Irukinuf.

When the ceremony ended, Rin knew that her target was the one called "The Gate Opener".

Chapter 3: Fierce Fighting at the Academy

Rin could converse with Leonidas and Rasputin, and rather than Lewis, "The Gate Toucher", she was told she had to find her daughter Alice, "The Gate Opener".

Alice and Dorothy found her, and Alice prepared a "stun ball", a non-lethal weapon. Rin insinuated that her master Swodar Nyarmain may have been involved with the disappearance of Alice's mother, Lewis. Then, before they could react, she pulled a switch, and strange water from hidden sprinklers showered both otf them. As Alice and Dorothy laid there defenseless, Trump Soldiers and Touch Ninjas leaped on them.

Alice barely had a nano-second to activate a switch in her bracelet.

That bracelet had been a present from the Baum, that activated a "system" that allowed her to get out of harm's way. As Lumberjack and Löwe, the strongest of Dorothy's subordinates, appeared, Alice left the battle to them so as to follow Rin.

But it wouldn't be that easy, as a transformed Hikita Bungorou, originally a swordsman from the Sengoku Period, was expecting her. Alice regretted not being able to use her Needle Flechette technique, but grabbed her pistol-daggers Angra Mainyu and Aeshma, and entered her Boost state.

Using the two pistols, Alice managed to defeat her foe.

Dorothy's and Rin's voices woke her up. Using her melodic voice, Rin had managed to control both the cyborg Lumberjack and the girl with lion genes, Löwe, and they were about to attack them. Alice's bracelet wouldn't work again, and she knew she probably wouldn't be able to defeat them normally, so she went into her rarely used Overboost state, and using a faint, left Dorothy to look for help.

Chapter 4: Bird of the Touch of God

Rin was in the middle of the jungle, looking for Alice, heeding Leonidas' advice.

Alice was a professional, and though Dorothy was a rival Treasure Hunter and she had to find both the "Queen's Gate" and her mother, she decided to use a certain "attack device" to save her...

Meanwhile, Dorothy couldn't escape from her controlled subordinates, not even after using stealth and free-diving in a parachute was she free from Lumberjack's and Löwe's attacks.

Fortunately, Scarecrow managed to disconnect Lumberjack remotely...

Alice readied herself, and calling March Hare for support, she reached the control room. A weak Scarecrow was waiting for her, and using the Hyperbolia Crystal, another piece of lost technology, Alice sent March Hare to save Dorothy.

Later on, Alice managed to track Sworda, the enemy of the Dodgson Organization, down. When she found him, he was eating chocolate donuts, and calmly appreciating their taste, he offered some to Alice. She actually ate one and found it delicious, but turned serious when he mocked the "Gate Opener", and mentioned her mother.

It was then that she heard Dorothy's voice, was it telepathy? She had been captured and needed to be saved as soon as possible, so Alice went to her.

Even though March Hare was there, she couldn't quite figure out how to free Dorothy, and complaining about her subordinate's dumbness, Alice helped Dorothy herself.

Alice told March Hare to help Dorothy's subordinates, and she wielded her pistols to go look for her mother... but couldn't go too far before Dorothy stopped her: Rin had managed to control her as well.

Dorothy brought Alice to Irukinuf, but Alice wouldn't give up and tried to fight her way out of it: still, her opponents now were March Hare, Scarecrow, Löwe, and eve Lumberjack, who March Hare had seemingly restored, and not even her Boost mode would help her. As Irukinuf said, it was checkmate for the "Gate Opener". So, when Alice was defeated by them, it wrapped its tentacles around Alice.

There was nothing Alice could do...

Chapter 5: Journey to a Different World

When Alice came to, Dorothy and March Hare were beside her, no longer being controlled. There was no trace of Irukinuf, and they had finally found the Gate. After she prepared her pistols, Alice shouted to Irukinuf that Dorothy and her would stop him, pressed the trigger on her pistol Aeshma and jumped into the Gate.

As they traveled through the gate, Irukinuf and Rin ambushed them and captured Dorothy! While Alice fought them, she didn't know her teacher Faye was in Egypt, fighting Rasputin on her own. When Alice defeated Irukinuf, she and Dorothy reached the end of the gate, but where was Rin?

But that wasn't all: a young Sworda greeted them, and offered to take them to where "The Gate Toucher" was...

-To be Continued-

Now, a series of extra sketches, starting with Alice in her schoolgirl uniform and diver suit:

Dorothy in her schoolgirl and pilot suits:

The "Songstress" Rin:

Their respective subordinates:

And the enemies and minor characters:

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Whew, that was one novel down, two to go. Hope that made at least some sense, that was the best I could do. If you liked this one, look forward to the next novel, with a couple more of pretty moms... sometime next month?