Part 44: Legion

We must get you to safety. At this rate ...
Coward. We will deal with the Sunrider. Personally.
My leader?
Prepare our ryders! Soon, our plan shall come to fruition!



The Sunrider is no longer combat capable! It’s up to you all, now ...
New enemy ryder incoming!



ARCADIUS! You're here!
Welcome, captain! To our festival!
All ryders! Take out Arcadius! We can end this war here and now!
End this war? Oh no captain. If we fall, another will pick up the mask and carry on! We shall …



Even in this era, they don’t know when to stop talking.
Confirm! Did we get him?
We ... WE GOT HIM! Arcadius is no more!
HAHAHAHA!!!
W-what!?
Fools.




Now do you see, captain? How will you defeat an enemy whose numbers are infinite?
What. Is. Happening.
For every one of us you defeat, more replace us! Our minds are one! But our bodies are many!



I know I'm not as reliable as the commander ... And I'm not as smart as Chigara … But I'm the one who'll defeat you! You monster of evil!
Pfffff. You?



For this is where the line will be drawn.
You are but a pathetic girl playing hero.
I'm more than a girl! I'm more than a hero! I'm …



What!?
And you will pay for what you did to my father!



The Battle of the Paradox Core has arrived. Three Alliance battleships and one cruiser are backing us up. Noticeably absent: the critically damaged Sunrider.



One more trick up our sleeve: Asaga’s new awaken ability. Her stats are boosted at the cost of HP damage every turn. The game doesn’t tell you but it actually triggers this ability for you next turn, which both times I’ve played through has led to confusion as to why Asaga has suddenly less than a quarter HP when she hasn’t been taking many hits.



Opposing us: the new “Arcadius” ryder. Fast, with high hitpoints, that sword isn’t for show. Just one getting in among your ryders is bad news.




Not pictured: any shields.



All right, well, that was a bit anticlimactic, but …



Hahaha! We are infinite!

Ah, well then. Just need to mop up the reinforcements and ...

My fleets! Crush these fools!



Hmm. Okay, a few more battleships. That’s fine, there aren’t enough to be a really serious threat.



Just drop some shields and take them out, then next turn ...

Give up yet?



Okaaaaaay ...

Now, behold providence!



Oh come on!



Okay, it’s the PACT turn and Arcadius hasn’t said anything, so I think he’s run out of ships and ryders to throw at us.



And now we should be able to wrap this up quickly.

Hahahaha! You thought it was over?



Fuckin’ trolled by Arcadius.

Okay anyway we wipe them out in a few turns. The cruiser took a bit of a beating and a few missile barrages got through to hit Asaga and Sola but even without the Sunrider we weren’t too much at risk.



It's over!
Over!? This was but a show. Now, prepare for the true reason you were called before us! Detonate the Paradox Core!
What!?
In one instant, four Alliance fleets shall disappear into the great void! Along with the great Sunrider and the last vestiges of Diode's legacy! But we shall all wake up in our new bodies, ready to conquer the galaxy once more!
Arcadius ... You're ... inhuman!
Haha!! Precisely!



W-what!?
That creature you see before you is not the great Arcadius. It is over, Prototype. I have already disarmed the Paradox Core.
WHAT!? FONTANA! YOU TRAITOR!
A traitor? It is I who must carry the crimson banner. For you have already spat on all it stood for! Arcadius only made a single mistake: allowing a monstrosity like you into our ranks! From this moment until the end of time, it will be I, the Veniczar Fontana, who carries forth the ideals of the great Arcadius! Hear this, you twisted monster of science. You are no longer fit to call yourself by that name! Guards, bring it in.



Behold, the truth that lies beyond the mask of Arcadius!



!!!
Sweet mother of god ...
This is the true secret of Diode. A race of genetically engineered humans, manufactured to surpass us. Until the creation became smarter than the creators. That was the day of the Diode Catastrophe. They walk among us, pretending to be human. But their goal is clear: the enslavement of the human race.



We've embedded ourselves throughout the galaxy, manipulating ideologies, nations … leaders. We’re everywhere. We already own everything.
No.

*BANG*



You do not own PACT.




End of Season One