Expense for the Future

Expense for the Future is the twelfth and the final episode of BlazBlue: Alter Memory.

Long Summary
After their conversation between both Ragna and Rachel which Ragna realizes that both are going to watch Hakumen to kill Noel who is now in her true form as Mu -No.12-. Kokonoe also tells him to face the facts that Noel is no longer be bringing her back to her old self and everything within her are rewritten over. Ragna becomes desperate in saving Noel which Rachel tells him that it was a limit of her powers which he angers at both of them. He now asks what if she goes to the Cauldron as Rachel tells him that she will ended the world and that is her purpose as Ragna walks away.

Meanwhile, Mu -No.12- manages to defeat Jin who is desperate to kill her only to be caught by Ragna who finally arrives to join the fray. Hakumen still recognizes Ragna as the Dark One which Jin was impressed to see his older brother again as both brothers are ready to face Mu which Ragna angrily yells that Terumi had poisoned her mind as both brothers charge towards Mu. Their fight turns into a handicap as Mu uses her drive Steins Gunner to shoot laser towards both Ragna and Jin. When Jin attempts to make strike towards her. He was hit from behind with two lasers and he was knocked down. Ragna knows Mu is still Noel which makes the latter calculating her emotions unknown as Ragna solely charges towards her while deflecting most of her lasers from her drive as both clashed with each other. Mu uses her laser to deflect her Steins Gunner to hit Ragna which she slashes his left cheek from her laser as Jin makes a strike from behind, he was still hit. Ragna manages to destroy her Steins Gunner in explosion with one strike as both Rachel and Hakumen watches the fight. In Ragna's flashback where he has a conversation between himself and Rachel about Noel and her existence in destroying the world.

Ragna shoots her with his Death Spike as Mu retaliates using the Arrow of Heaven as both of their projectiles collided in explosion. Jin hits her with his drive Frost Bite as Mu still retaliates using the Wisdom of Divine to deflect his attack as she summons several arrows which causes Ragna to save him by tackling him to safety. He scolds his brother not to fight when he's injured until Mu uses her Astral Heat to deal at both of them. Ragna manages to stand up after being hit which Mu detects his survival as she uses her drive to deal with him. Despite being injured by her, Ragna simply acts as an idiot and he knows Noel for being kind, gullible and honest as well as meeting with her for the last couple of days to know more for himself. Mu tells him that she was a doll, a doll created to destroy the world that she hates the most. Ragna tries to snap her out of it as both clashes with their weapons. Ragna was aided by Lambda's spirit as he grabs Mu's face with his left arm while activating the Idea Engine to reverse output. Ragna does not given up as his left arm is glowing in yellow to save Noel which the latter shows her flashbacks between her family, her friends as well as she previously saves him from being taken by Nu into the Cauldron as Ragna's left arm finally dissipates in a yellow light which Ragna tells her that she calls him after she was smelted into the Cauldron by Terumi. As the Azure on Mu's helmet is finally broken into pieces as she reverts back into Noel while she collapses with him.

Meanwhile, The Takamagahara System notices the turn of the events where Ragna manages to defeat Mu who is the successor of the Azure. Despite their failures for destroying the Master Unit they can still have the Azure in their hands. However, Terumi in his ghost form reappears and along with him is Phantom who manages to corrupt the Takamagahara System with her virus. After the fight, Noel's eyes changes from blue to green who is finally regained her consciousness and to see Ragna who finally lost his left arm. Noel becomes emotional after what she had done which Ragna encourages her that she is forgiven. Rachel also became impressed to him that he was a gallant one to save her. Jin finally gets up and Noel realizes that both Ragna and Jin are brothers which Jin scolds her for it. Noel also notices Ragna's left arm after he sacrificed to save her which Ragna becomes calmed by this causing Noel to be annoyed in his condition and cries while calling him a dummy several times. Hakumen decides to leave the premises knowing that he cannot fight a weaken foe.

The group are later confronted by Hazama and Phantom which he makes a news that they manage to corrupt the Takamagahara System. When Hazama taunts Ragna for his actions, Ragna angrily faces him despite he lost his left arm as well as both Jin and Hakumen. Hazama was later stopped by Relius Clover and tells him that the Imperator is in his presence which she tells Terumi to stop it. The Imperator appears before the group was none other than Jin and Ragna's younger sister, Saya who is currently brainwashed by the death incarnate Hades Izanami who made her body as a vessel in which Ragna becomes barely emotional to see her as Noel hurts her body in pain as she collapses due to her appearance. Hakumen quickly attempts to strike at Izanami only to be retaliate by Litchi as she controls her Mantenbo in a spinning fashion as well as Tsubaki attacks him. Noel also notices Tsubaki is now working with Imperator whom she is loyal with as her group leaves the scene after having a brief feud between her and Rachel. Ragna now realizes that Saya is the Imperator of NOL. After the incident, Iron Tager is now under Kokonoe's repairs, while Noel is on the room resting in the bed as she wakes up only to be visited by Makoto in bandages. During Rachel and Hakumen's narration, Kokonoe is shown to get Lambda's helmet as she looked into the sky it zooms into Jin who is watching the sky as he was reunited with Jubei as Jubei go straight ahead as he jumps while Jin follows him. Later, Kokonoe gave Ragna a mechanical arm which is made from Lambda's regeneration tank and Kokonoe tells him to take care of it. It zooms back into Jin and Jubei who are continued on their journey while the next scene shows where Ragna decides to depart to Ikaruga and knowingly that he goes to hunt his sister Saya who is the Imperator of NOL. The next scene shows that both Relius and Hazama are observing the cauldron at Sheol Gate realizing that Nu is still alive and Hazama was impressed to make the Sword of Izanami. The scene changes where Ragna takes a journey through Ikaruga as Taokaka arrives to go with him which Jubei tells her to go with him. By the time of their travels, Rachel observes them as she finally finishes to narrate the events as it zooms into a blue sky with petals of a red rose.

Locations

 * 13th Hierarchical City of Kagutsuchi
 * Cathedral
 * The Gate
 * Altar
 * Kagutsuchi Port

Weapons

 * Blood-Scythe
 * Mucro Algesco: Yukianesa
 * Interfectum Malus: Ōkami
 * Lux Sanctus: Murakumo
 * Arcus Diabolus: Bolverk (flashback)
 * Mantenbō
 * Sealed Weapon Izayoi
 * Mucro Somnio: Musashi

Fights

 * Ragna the Bloodedge and Jin Kisaragi versus Mu -No.12-

Trivia

 * During the battle, Mu -No.12- uses all of her special moves, except Origins and Sword of Decimation
 * During the credits scene, Hakumen's VA is listed as ?????
 * The scene where Kokonoe builds an artificial arm for Ragna is speechless due to the dialogue between Rachel and Hakumen, however, this scene's dialogue can be heard in the game.
 * In the English Dub of the anime, the title of the chapter has changed to "The Price for the Future" instead of "Expense for the Future".
 * Differences from BlazBlue: Continuum Shift:
 * In the game, Ragna had only asked Rachel for advice in order to save Noel. But in the episode, Kokonoe also takes part in the conversation.
 * In the game, only Ragna had fought against Mu -No.12-, however in the episode, both Ragna and Jin fight against Mu -No.12-.
 * In the game, Lambda did not make an appearance as a spirit during the battle between Ragna and Mu -No.12-, when Ragna uses his Idea Engine against Mu -No.12-.
 * In the game, only Terumi's ghost form had appeared when he infiltrated into the Takamagahara System, but in the episode, when Phantom's virus is used against it, Phantom herself actually appears to use the virus.
 * In the game, Ragna inverted the Idea Engine connection towards μ-No.12 as it glows in a blue light causing his left arm to sacrifice in a crack fashion. In the anime, his Idea Engine glows in pale blue instead of blue in the game while he inverted his connection towards μ-No.12 while the latter tries to remember Noel of her past as his left arm quickly dissipates in a yellow light.
 * In the game, Noel cries remorsefully towards Ragna after the latter sacrifices his left arm to save her and calls him an idiot several times while he was on the ground. In the episode however, Ragna appears to smile calmly while his left arm is sacrificed to save Noel as the latter saw this and annoyingly cries towards him while pounding him on the chest and calls him an idiot. In the English Dub of the anime, she calls Ragna a dummy instead of an idiot.
 * In the game, Noel did not sense any pain after seeing the Imperator. However in the episode, after she sees the Imperator, she feels some sort of pain.
 * In the game, Ragna becomes more emotional after he finds out that Saya is the Imperator, however in the episode, he is barely emotional about this fact.
 * In the game, Jin tells Ragna who had given him the Yukianesa. However none of this is mentioned in the episode.
 * In the game, Noel had given her farewell towards Jubei and had left with Makoto and Iron Tager. However in the episode, she wakes up in a room on a bed, where Makoto who is bandaged comes in to greet her.