Chapter 40 opens with a flashback to the battle between the three angels and the starship cult. It's now 1941, and the three have lost. They've lost to the stars, but they've also lost to a tadpole. The tadpole is still alive, but he's not the same as the other two. He's still "a heger krieger" , and that's just the way it is. Alita and the other girls are playing around, and they're just having a good time. They decide to take a break from the battle and have a little game. The rules of the game are a snap, so they just have to pretend to play the part of a robot. This is the last time they'll do this, and if they don't do it right now, it's going to be a disaster.