Echo, Part 1

Echo, Part 1
First Page Release Date	2023-09-18
Last Page Release Date	2023-10-16
Volume	2
Storyline	Echo (Storyline)
Previous	Unbecoming
Next	Echo, Part 2

Echo, Part 1 is the ninth chapter in Pandora's Tale and the second chapter in Volume Two.

Characters Appearing in This Chapter

• Echo(First appearance)(First named)
• Pandora
• Van Tilburg(First appearance)(First named)
• Beck(First appearance)(First named)
• Isabelle Monday
• Tallulah Zaragoza
• Zufolene
• Con Yung
• Zero Angiers
• Natalya Ustrashkina
• Hemmel
• Veronica Fortuna
• Belgian Vicky(First appearance)(First named)
• Lyra Lujic
• Resistance member with an eyepatch
• Resistance member with a half undercut

History

Xan revealed the first preview art on August 22 2022, followed by additional previews on on November 6 2022, January 2 2023, March 2 2023, April 4 2023, June 26 2023, July 1 2023, and September 16 2023.

Synopsis

In Pluto City, Sector 48, Van Tilburg and Beck discuss a recent murder they committed. A Helper named Echo leaves the room and talks in an earpiece to a pair of cops. Echo informs the cops that Beck is also a cop. The other cops get nervous, but Echo scolds them and tells them to arrest both Beck and Van Tilburg. Echo tells Van Tilburg's Helper to duck, and the cops enter and arrest Van Tilburg and Beck, with Van Tilburg blaming Beck for setting him up. Echo confidently announces she had the room bugged, and tells the other Helper she is safe.

In O, Fortuna, some time after the events of the previous chapter, Tallulah Zaragoza presents her colleagues Isabelle Monday and Zufolene with her ambitious plans for a dance called The Greatest Temptation. Tallulah explains to a confused Zufolene that Zufolene will play a character representing all of humanity, while Isabelle is excited about costumes.

Pandora arrives at the club, along with Con Yung, Zero Angiers, Natalya Ustrashkina, and Hemmel. Pandora is eager to tell Isabelle about her antics with the resistance, but Miss Fortuna tells the others that she has a visitor who doesn't know about the resistance. Hemmel and Natalya leave. Miss Fortuna introduces Echo as a new security guard at the club. Echo introduces herself to Con, as Pandora and Isabelle are awed by Echo's confidence. A cavefish continues to be an asshole as Con introduces herself to Echo. Con asks where Echo got her name, which makes everyone uncomfortable due to how Helpers are named, and Echo says she doesn't talk about her past. Pandora introduces Isabelle as her mistress, which makes both Echo and Isabelle uncomfortable.

Tallulah alerts Isabelle that her favorite client, Belgian Vicky, has entered the club. Echo realizes that Isabelle is a sex worker, and points out that sex work is against the law. Isabelle jokingly asks whether Echo is a cop, and Echo is visibly uncomfortable until Isabelle says it was a joke. Lyra Lujic and Isabelle greet Belgian Vicky, who explains to Echo that she isn't actually Belgian: others just call her Belgian Vicky because she ate waffles once.

As Zufolene dances, Echo comments that the club is different from what she was expecting, and Pandora says Echo is different from other Helpers she knows. Echo gives Pandora a talk about not waiting to do what you want to do, which Lyra appreciates. Echo then tells Pandora she wants to join the Resistance before walking off, leaving Pandora spooked and Lyra confused.

In another room, Hemmel thanks Pandora over video chat for the information about Echo. Zero is suspicious, and Miss Fortuna says she knows very little about Echo. Hemmel asks Zero to run a background check on Echo, while Pandora expresses confidence that Echo is trustworthy.

Some time later, a pair of resistance members blindfold Echo and take her to the resistance base. Echo tells Hemmel that she can offer her combat skills to the resistance, but refuses to say anything about where she got those skills. Meanwhile, Zero finds a photograph of the Pluto City Police Division 3, showing Echo posing alongside a bunch of human police officers. Zero sends the picture to her colleagues, shocking Con and upsetting Pandora. Hemmel confronts Echo about her connection to the Pluto City police, but Echo again refuses to talk about her past. The chapter closes with Hemmel asking if Echo is a cop.

Trivia

• The gap in time between the releases of Chapters Eight and Nine was the longest such gap between two consecutive chapters to date.
• This is the first chapter in which Pandora does not appear on the first page.
  • Not counting the cover page, Pandora's first appearance in this chapter is on page 8.
  • Chapter 9 is also set a record for the highest page number of Pandora's first line, as Pandora doesn't speak until page 8. The previous record was in Chapter 8, where Pandora's first line is on page 3.
• Echo, Part 1 is the first chapter since Chapter 1 to give no indication as to how much time has passed since the previous chapter.
• Echo's discussion about not waiting to get what you want in life echo's Adrastea's words in Chapter 7 about hoping she will still have enough time left to live her life after she escapes.
• The line "This is Echo" is spoken by two different characters: first by Echo herself, and later by Miss Fortuna.
  • Likewise, the question "Are you a cop?" is asked of Echo three times: first by Van Tilberg's unnamed Helper, then sarcastically by Isabelle, and finally non-sarcastically by Hemmel.

Chapters

Volumes, Storylines, and Chapters

Volume	Storyline	Chapter Number	Title	First Page	Last Page	Start Date	End Date
Broken	Broken	1	Broken, Part 1	1:0	1:21	2019-03-20	2019-04-10
		2	Broken, Part 2	2:0	2:21	2019-07-10	2019-07-31
	Sisters in Arms	3	Sisters in Arms, Part 1	3:0	3:21	2019-11-06	2019-11-27
		4	Sisters in Arms, Part 2	4:0	4:21	2020-02-26	2020-3-18
	Good Luck Charm	5	Good Luck Charm	5:0	5:21	2020-07-15	2020-08-05
	Live Fast	6	Live Fast, Part 1	6:0	6:21	2021-05-12	2021-06-02
		7	Live Fast, Part 2	7:0	7:21	2021-10-20	2021-11-09
Volume 2	Unbecoming	8	Unbecoming	8:0	8:21	2022-05-25	2022-06-22
	Echo	9	Echo, Part 1	9:0	9:21	2023-09-18	2023-10-16
		10	Echo, Part 2	10:0	TBA	2024-06-11	TBA