Part 98: Mission #33: Anticlimax

Keldulas, Marcus is already taken. So, do you want to change the pilot, or what?

Mission #33: Anticlimax

Email! Two for Kazuki!


I'm sure if I don't mention this, one of you would, but Karen was the name of the girlfriend of the protagonist in the first Front Mission. Her fate...not pleasant. Front Mission games in general aren't particularly cheery.

: Kazuki got mail from Ling!
: Shut up. It's not like that.
: She could be the one, Kazuki!
: Whatever...
I'm pretty sure love interests in Front Mission have like a 10% survival rate.  Less if you don't count being turned into a computer as surviving. 


We've already been down this road, but, for the sake of completeness...


Kazuki implictly accuses his father of treason again. Anyway, there are a few bonus email addresses in the game, let's see what happens if Ryogo emails Luo (the female rebel leader)...


Awesome, an email that makes it sound like Ryogo is phishing and stalking her at the same time.


: That's so harsh!

Actually, considering the email that Ryogo sent, it's relatively nice. Anyway, back to the matter at hand, we just saved Li, and now he's going to tell us the details of how he came to fight against the very military he once served. It makes a bit more sense if you realize that half of the people who play this game are about to get him as a playable pilot. We already have Jose, so...



: Yes. The enemy is gone.
: Who are they?
: The Hua Lian Rebels. They saved me.
: I see. The place is a mess, but please make yourselves at home.
: Jose surprised me.
I mean, Marcus had never seen a man eat that many hearts of his enemies before.
: Yeah. What was that all about?
: It was nothing... I remembered myself in his situation.
: Hey, Li. Doesn't your wanzer belong to the Rapid Reaction Force?
: ...I was a member of the Rapid Reaction Force.
: You were one of them!?
: There's more to this story, isn't there?
: I'm no longer a member.
: Are they coming after you?
: Yes. The military wants me dead to maintain secrecy.
: Was that the squad they sent to kill you?
: I think it's a new elite unit.
: You mean they don't know?
: They were a secret even to us.
: Is it a mercenary force?
: I don't know, but their skills are amazing. Very hard to kill...
Eh, not really.
: Why did you quit the Rapid Reaction Force?
: I joined the Rapid Reaction Force for my country. Also for my family.
: Uh-huh.
Even Ryogo's bored.
: They incorporated me into the Hua Lian Rebel hunting missions. We assaulted suspect villages without question. I didn't know whether I was doing the right thing. I kept telling myself that it was for the good of the nation.
: Huh.
: But then I lost the most important people in my life. I killed my wife and son during a mission.
: !
: ...You too, huh? You carry the same burden as I do.
Nah, Li managed to take Jose's depressing backstory and take it to hyperbolic extremes. After all, Jose only killed his wife, Li managed to off his wife and his son.
: ...Jose.
: I often thought of killing myself. But that won't change anything. The military will keep killing the innocent. I must protect the villages. But now...
Here's the thing about Li, he's kind of sociopath if you think about it. I mean, Jose killed his wife because his orders were fucked up by command, so it was a mistake all around. Meanwhile, Li killed his family because he was too busy obliterating innocent villagers without hesitation to check to see where he family was. And his response, "Bummer, well, I guess I might as well fight someone else for a while."
: But...?
: They attacked this village because of me. I can't stay here any longer.
And here's where he'd join us...except our sad-sack position is already filled.
: You're going to abandon the village and run?
: What?
: You're going to run, like I did? Do you think the village will be saved if you run away?
Well, I mean, Li is stuck in a bad position because in order to avenge his wife and son, he'd have to hunt down their killer, and how could ever manage to find the elusive and inscrutable Li?
: ...
: Is that going to lift the burden off your shoulders?
: Then what do I have to do!?
: I killed my wife with my own hands, just like you. I couldn't beat the guilt, and I ran. I'm still running.
: ...
: You did lose something precious. But haven't you gained something else you must protect? Isn't that a way to pay for your mistake?
: Something to protect...You're right. I must stay behind and do what I can.
: That's right.
: Kazuki, wanna get going?
: Yes. Li, be careful out there. Good luck.
: Thanks. Jose, I hope you find a way to pay for your mistake. Maybe we'll meet again.
: I hope so.
In order to prevent the formation of any sort of suicide pact, I think it's best they stay as far away from each other as possible.
: Kazuki, what now?
: Let's go back to Guilin.



But, before we move on with the story, isn't everyone curious about Lukav and Alisa are up to? No? Come on, not even a little? Huh. Well, too bad.



: Where am I? Where are all the other scientists!?
Well, it says 'Ravnui Embassy Guest Room,' and all of the other scientists were killed outside of Taipei. So, mystery solved.
: That's none of your business. You stay here and wait for your sister's arrival.
: My sister? What do you mean!?
: You didn't realize? The USN scientist you met at Taal base is Emir Klamsky. Your sister.
My God, then- Wait, I already knew that, too!
: Emir!? That woman was my sister? I... I never knew she was still alive...
: Surprised? I bet it wasn't such a good way to meet again. Emma was the one who designed MIDAS.
: I can't believe she made MIDAS... Why...? Why would she do such a thing?
: Emma will be here to rescue you. Wait for her arrival.



That's probably not a good sign.



This would be much more shocking if Reksons weren't notoriously fragile. Hell, those thing burst into flame if a pigeon lands on them.



Oh, this guy.
: Entertain me! Otherwise, you're all gonna die!
: Take it easy, or we'll all get punished by high command.
: Punishment!? Who cares!?
: We've already completed our mission.
: That has...nothing to do with ME!
: What's up with that psycho?
: Kazuki!
: What!?
: He's the OCU scientist we picked up back in Australia!
The moral, of course, being that if you live and let live, bad things happen, so, when in doubt, kill if you can.
: ! Damn! All right, we have to do something about him. You've done enough!
: Huh? Who're you?
: What's the OCU doing here?
: Hmph, don't mistake me for trash like them.
: What do you mean!?
: They doubted my talents and scrapped my experiments. But this country, that man is different. He knows my power.
: What!? Your powers!? Who do you think you are, killing the innocent!?
: Insignificant.
: What a jerk, man... Enough talk! Let's spank his panties!
: Oh, you want some, too...? Everyone wants a piece of me... Are you saying that I'm a failure too!?
: Failure? ...What are you talking about!?
: I'm not a failure! I'll show you!
: Whatever! You're going have it your way!
: You will kneel to the power of my wanzer. Hmph, especially that woman there...
: !
: Heheh... This wanzer was created just for me. It's unstoppable... the ultimate weapon. Heheh... Come on... Try me...



Ryogo, Dennis, Yun and Marcus will be fighting today. The boss is the same Genie Arm as we fought back in Alisa's branch. It was pretty tough then, but that's because it took place earlier in that branch, and also the wanzers back then were...awful.



It's still the biggest threat on the map, though.



You can give him Double Shot, you can give him Arm Smash, when the time comes, you can even give him Body Smash, but, at the end of the day, Dennis still has a rifle wanzer, and that means that he's going to miss - a lot.



I'm just waiting for one of Yun's combos to go off.



For whatever reason, most of the grunt Yongsais get caught up in fighting trees.



Getting there...



And that much damage will trigger a little cutscene.



: Gah, why won't it move...Why!? I can't control it! My...My head...Aaaaah!
And he starts attacking his allies.
: W-What're you doing!?
: What the!? Something's going on.
: That pilot's all crazy, man.
And Serov gets 600 HP back into his body unit.



Still, 600 HP really isn't enough.



But Serov still gets off one missile...of course, he fires at his own troops.



About fucking time.



Except the combo abruptly stalls. Damn it.



Better. Ah, I suppose it's time to clean up the remaining Yongsais.



Marcus double-taps an enemy into oblivion.



Let's hope for a better result than last time.



And Yun kills the Yongsai dead. Excellent. For the most part, if you've got a long enough combo queued up, it's just a matter of waiting for it to trigger. What makes the system kind of broken is that the most effective skills to put in combos are things like RoF I, since they have the highest chance of triggering, and take up the least space on the computer, thus allowing for longer combos. Honestly, the wanzers you get at the beginning of the game are better than 90% of the parts out there. The Zenislev is a great blend of high HP and decent power. The Kyojun has one of the best assortment of skills in the game, the Drake has good skills for a missile wanzer, and the Rekson has the accuracy that almost makes a rifle wanzer worth using.



Dennis fires the penultimate shot, Yun, if you wouldn't mind accepting this soldier's surrender.



That's not exactly what I had in mind. The ICJ is not going to be happy about this.



Here's the thing, I didn't take that many shots from the Yongsais, since I killed them rather quickly. I did, however, take a bunch of machine gun bursts from the Genie Arm, which does considerably more damage, so the average damage taken is rather high. Marcus gets MVP, although there wasn't a real standout performance in this mission.



: I am the ultimate im...y...r... I...am...not a...fai...lure...
: What's he talking about?
: He's still trying to say something... What!?
: Hmph... You...were an...im...too...
: Huh? What!?
I wish I could tell you that each branch in this game had its own unique plot, but, well, not so much.



And then Serov's wanzer explodes.
: That wanzer's...



: Hey, it's that wanzer!
: Hmph, this isn't worth disturbing Lukav.
: Lukav!?
Apparently this guy was talking over an open channel. It makes absolutely no sense that he'd do so, but it's kind of necessary for the plot, so...
: I will not fight today. We'll meet again...
: W-Wait! Who are you!?
: Hey, he said something about Lukav, didn't he?
: Yeah, they got us. Our last lead was destroyed right in front of us...
: Yes... (What was that scientist trying to tell me?)
: Let's head back for now. I'm worried about Yue and Zhuwen.

Next Time: Words. Lots and lots of words.

Keep Submitting! Just, not, you know, for wanzers already taken!