Ariel (Robotech) - Third Robotech War

Third Robotech War

Ariel is the first of the Invid that had transmutated into humanoid form in April 2043. She was a simulagent sent to spy on Scott Bernard's group of freedom fighters, but she appeared to suffer amnesia when she was recovered by Scott's resistance group. In fact, Ariel was akin to a newly born human being due to the transmutation into human form and so her past life as an invid has been irrelevant, but now she has free will to live independently from the hive in this form, and this initially frightens her. The group took her in their company and Scott named her Marlene, after his fiance who was killed by the Invid. During their quest to the Reflex Point, Marlene becomes an integral part of the group as they fight the Invid. Initially, Marlene believes herself to be a human suffering from amnesia that can sense when the Invid are near. During the journey to Reflex Point she develops feelings towards Scott. They both fall in love with each other until an encounter with the Invid on the outskirts of Reflex Point when the two young lovers discover that she is in fact an Invid. Scott questions his feelings for her throughout the final two episodes of the series until he realizes (thanks to Rand and Rook), in the end, that he is in love with Marlene/Ariel.

In 2044, when the Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF) launches a full scale offensive against the Invid on Earth, the battle slowly turns against the REF, who decide they have no option but to use the Neutron-S missiles, which will destroy the Invid but also wipe out most if not all of life on Earth (although their true power is not yet known). As the missiles are launched and travel towards Earth, Marlene confronts the Invid Regis, who is her queen and mother, and tried to convince her that what the Invid were doing was as wrong as what the Robotech Masters did to them. Together with Sera, she convinced the Regis to leave Earth. The Regis converts her entire race into energy and flies off into space to find a new planet on which to continue their evolution. The Regis grants Ariel's request to stay behind and, as a parting gift, she destroys the Neutron-S missiles.

Marlene stayed on Earth, along with another Invid named Sera because she felt more human than Invid. Although she professed her love to Scott, he left her behind and as he went in search of the SDF-3 under the command of Admiral Rick Hunter. Ariel stayed with Jim "Lunk" Austin and Annie "Mint" LaBelle.