Part 53: Mission 21 (Minerva Route) - The Dannar Base, Hanging By a Thread
Back again in the WATER! Route, goddamn, look at that lead Ichitaka has. The Alliance mooks really liked going after him in the previous mission, and he liked just as much punching them into oblivion.
Upgrade tally: Shinji took a bunch if Gunfights, and random upgrades went to everyone. Special care was given to the Godannar units since they’re all deploying today. Jun also got a boost in HP and Armor in hopes of preventing another death.
Quick shuffle around, and this is how we’re going:
Shinji/Rey (their weapon spread and range is pretty dang similar and, better yet, Shinji gives him an A on land.)
Athrun/Luna
Combattler/Rei
Ichitaka
Kouji/Quatre
Tetsuya/Jun
Dancouga/Boss
Zechs/Noin
Shinn/Heine
Forward!
We open up at the Dannar Base, where Goh’s test results have just come in. Kiriko relates that his condition is extremely delicate, and if he triggers the Rabid Syndrome now, there’s a good chance he’ll never recover.
This is certainly not how Aoi expected things to turn out for him, but Misato tells her and Anna not to give up hope yet. The PLANTs and JUDA are making progress, so Chizuru is certain they’ll have a cure soon, and then Goh’ll be fine.
Shibakusa then walks in, saying he’s finished getting “that” ready to roll. As for why he’s here and not at JUDA, he explains to Kouji that he had to come over for a rather important job. Yotsuya helped him out with it, and they should be ready for a trial run.
So, they turn to Tetsuya Kouji and ask him to come with to the underground hangar – there’s a surprise waiting for him. As he and Shibakusa leave, Yotsuya tells Hyouma that they’ve put together something of a secret weapon. With Shizuru in a coma and Goh still out, they had to do SOMETHING to make up for our lost firepower.
At the hangar, Shinn pulls Rey over for some real talk: how much progress has the PLANTs actually made in finding a cure for Goh? Rey doesn’t know, but it’s not like we’ve any other options other than trusting in Durandal and the scientists. “And if a cure isn’t found… then I suppose it was just his destiny,” Rey sighs.
“Destiny…? I don’t really like the idea of something like that deciding how people live and die,” Shinn ponders, Rey staring in silence. At length, he tells Shinn that there’s only one thing they can do: fight for as long as their hearts are beating. Shinn agrees, more than ready to fight for the PLANTs and Earth: “even if it’s our destiny to be beaten, I’ll find a way to cut a path through it.”
Yo, what’s with all this depressing talk, Heine steps in. “You two think you’re gonna come down with something, too?” Rey slowly say no, so then they should lighten up some. There’re already too many dark clouds hanging over the Dannar Base.
… And just as Shinn agrees, the alarm starts blaring. Guess there’s just no lightening up around here. To the command room!
Konami reports bad news throughout the world: Mimetic Beasts are going berserk, and a huge posse of them is headed towards Japan… more specifically, here! Momoko puts it up on screen, and our folks see a SWARM of the things. But why are all of those converging here, Juzo asks.
Because we’ve killed tons of them all this time, so the answer is clear to Kiriko: they’ve tagged us as their greatest threat. They shouldn’t be smart enough to make that sort of correlation, Kagemaru objects, but a heightened instinct isn’t all that different from intellect. And in some cases, instincts are even superior to intellect. By the looks of it, they’ve looked over their kind’s past experiences and decided we’re the ones to beat.
Goh runs on over, having heard of the incoming mob of Mimetic Beasts. Him getting excited in any way is very ill advised, so Kagemaru orders him back to the infirmary right now. But if the Dannar Base gets wrecked they’ll lose everything!
Not on Anna’s watch, it won’t, and she’ll fight for the two of them! Yotsuya’s with her, saying Goh should be focusing on getting better – leave this battle to us. Then can they at least let him stay here until the team deploys?
Kiriko allows it, but he’ll have to get to the infirmary once the battle starts. As Goh thanks her, the radar pings the Mimetic Beast swarm. They’ll be breaking into our airspace soon, so Misato orders everyone out to intercept.
Mission 21 – The Dannar Base, Hanging By a Thread
: There are a ton of them… Even more than when that transmission was taken, I think…!
: It really does look like Mimetic Beasts from across the whole world are gathering here.
: An all-out assault by them, huh?
: Meaning we just need to win this one and that’ll be game over for the Mimetic Beasts! Psyche yourselves up, people!
: The Mimetic Beasts are likely planning to destroy both LOTUS and the Dannar Base! Do whatever it takes to keep all of them away! 
: Aye, aye! Let’s go and make ‘em regret trying to pull this stunt! Come here, beasties!
Destroy everything without losing the Minerva or the Neo Okusaer, or letting any enemy enter the marked area. This one isn’t TOO hard, provided you follow a few guidelines:
- Stay, landed, within the Dannar Base terrain (the walkways count) as much as can be done because they provide excellent terrain bonuses, including HP and EN regen. The movements a bit impaired, but the boosts are tremendously helpful.
- Let the enemy come to you. They’ll move in waves, and you’re much better served dealing with them as such. The little mooks’ EN drain won’t hurt much if you’re regenning it.
- When you’re dealing with the bulkier groups, ALWAYS prioritize killing the flying Mimetic Beasts first. The water’ll slow the enemy considerably, but those fliers will readily blow way past your group – let enough of them airborne, and you’ll be in trouble. If possible,
- There’ll be more coming to the west, way across the water, so have at least one flying (preferably with Accel) unit ready to run over to slow down and thin their numbers. This is another reason why you don’t want to send your guys too far forward – you’ll want them to be ready to intercept those when they get close.
Because of the defensive strat, this mission will proceed a bit slowly. I don’t do anything different from what’s written above, so let’s fast forward a bit.
: I have to fight… for myself and for Goh! That’s my mission, both as a pilot and as a wife!
: It’s time…! We win this, we put a legit end to the battle with the Mimetic Beasts!
: Are the Mimetic Beasts more sluggish than usual…? I mean, that’s good for us, but what’s going on with them…?!
: We must be a pretty big deal if even Mimetic Beasts are singling us out…!: Bring it on, then! Booking a private tango with us comes with a hefty price tag, ya know…!
: Even if humans managed to stop fighting each other, we’d never be able to throw away our weapons while the Mimetic Beasts are around…: And this battle will be a major step towards changing that!
: We gotta work extra-hard to cover for Daiya and Kenichi taking off. Keep the generator running smooth, Johnny.
: Everything’s A-OK on my end. We’ll give even the biggest of them a run for their money in raw strength!: Well, look at you being all reliable…! How about we get this mission started, then!
: Mimetic Beasts or not, if we cut the head of the snake, then the body will follow… We’re putting an end to this today!
: Our friends up in space are also fighting the Jama Kingdom right now…! So we all have to do everything we can!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_2r_e04pUQ
And here’s Rey’s second-best weapon, which actually gets a DK!
Kill enough things, and…
: I-It’s…! More Mimetic Beasts surfaced from the sea by Dannar base! They’re right by us!
: Hrm…! They approached from underwater while we were distracted by their first wave?! Ms. Katsuragi, we’ve an ambush! Have some troops divert to engage them ASAP!
: I’m detecting a powerful energy reading from that Mimetic Beast in front of the Base!: Stop!
: Urgh…!
: MIRA!
: Damage report!: The Neo Okusaer blocked the brunt of the attack, but it seems the medical block still took damage!: The medical block?! What about Goh and Shizuru?!
: *cough, cough*…! What the hell was that blast…?!: That’s…?! The Neo Okusaer?! Mira shielded the Base…?!: Shizuru… Is Shizuru alright?! *Beep!*
: Goh, are you there?!: Yes, and I’m fine! But Shizuru’s life-support system was!: What?!: Shizuru! SHIZURU! Damn it, what do I do…?!*The Okusaer’s cockpit opens.*
: Sh-Shizuru…?: Mira…! 
: …: Mira…! Your body’s glowing…: Shizuru… You can’t… die…
: What am I doing here? …Oh, right… I covered Anna and ate that attack… : Goh, Mira… Thank you for the tears you shed for me…: Shizuru…: Mira…?: You cannot die yet… Goh, Anna, myself… all of LOTUS is in need of your strength.: My…: This energy I was given – the energy of life… I now pass it on to you…!: So, please… open your eyes again, Shizuru!: Mira…!
: Hm...: ?!: Goh...: Mira?! You...!Back outside...
: The Mimetic Beast closing in on Dannar Base! Our defense system can’t stop it!*The Mimetic Beasts gets right next to the base.*
: No, the Dannar Base’s—!
: Energy reading from the Mimetic Beast is spiking rapidly!: Is it going to self-destruct?!: All hands, take shelter!: There’s no time!
: I-Is this the end?!
*The Mimetic Beast takes 5k damage and is blasted far away.*
: What?!
: It’s too soon to give up, Kiriko!: Th-That voice…!: There’s someone up on the roof!
: Stars for heaven, flowers for earth, love for humans… No person is capable of living by himself. That is what makes humans willing to fight for those they love, and why humans are more beautiful than any flower or any star! (Tatsuya): Th-That’s… It can’t be!: Shizuru, Tetsuya! Rise now and crush the Mimetic Beasts!
: Sorry to keep you in suspense! The G-Zero Gunner finally makes its grand debut!: And I'm just itching to go crazy and make up for all the time I spent asleep!: Shizuru?!: I-Is that really you, Shizuru?!: Who do you think I am, huh? I’ve come back from the depths of hell to hunt and kill these monsters again!
: Shizuru… thank god, you’re alright…!: You ready to rock, Shizuru? Let’s go and tear through whatever beasts are still standing!: Aye, aye! Here we go, Tetsuya!
Any extra help is good on this mission, especially Tetsuya. The G-Zero Gunner is a direct upgrade to everything the regular G-Gunner had and, better yet, it works just fine in water!
Keep Tetsuya and Shizuru parked where they are, taking the terrain bonus, and snipe down whatever gets close.
The new group is made of jacked MSs (only two Zamza-Zah groups, thankfully, and they’re the last to get moving), and they’ll also make a beeline for the Dannar Base. Letting them come in close is dangerous since they’re flying and can move plenty, so this is when you should send one or two flying groups out there. I’ll be going with the Combattler and Rei since they both know Iron Wall, and Hyouma hits like a truck.
In the meantime, the southern group of Mimetic Beasts is dwindling, but their bigger forces are still back there. So, I’ll keep our more hard-hitting folks there to deal with them (don’t be afraid to bust out some Fighting Spirits) while already having our speedier troops retreat to where Shizuru and Tetsuya are standing.
By the time the western enemies get in range, the plan is for Hyouma to have oneshotted a bunch of guys in counterattacks and the southern group to be mostly cleared out. A nice wall of units along the western side of the Dannar Base should buy you an extra turn.
Finally, the Trojan Horse Mimetic Beast will always attack if there’s stuff in range, so ignore it until the end. The thing is always underwater, has 50k HP and regens, so you’ll want to focus fire.
: This here’s our ace in the hole! Come take a look at the G-Zero Gunner’s full power!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CplLM-guHkQ
: I’m trying my best not to be a negative Nancy today, Hyouma. So step on the gas and throw everything we got at ‘em!: That’s the plan – we’re bringing our A-game right from the start! Gotta kick some ass for Goh too, right?https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQr0g8n9eS4
: OK, let’s see if I can’t find someone to help me get back up to speed.: I may have just gotten better, but underestimate me and you’ll be sorry!
: Bring in however big a swarm you want, “retreat” isn’t part of our dictionary today! We swear it by our name as LOTUS!
: We can end this without any more bloodshed if we just clear out the Mimetic Beasts right here. Whatever happens, we’re closing the book on them today…!: That’s how we’ll make up for letting Djibril escape!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOdH1J1mATQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8HejZwyJLvw
Here’s the Trojan Horse’s best attack. Look at that little guy!
: D-Did we do it…?: All nearby Mimetic Beast signals are gone!: Hell, yeah! That’ll learn ya!: Looks like the battle’s over Well done, folks!: It was an honor to see you fight, LOTUS. The rumors didn’t do justice to your strength!: Prof. Aoi, is he…: … Tatsuya Aoi.: “Aoi”… You don’t mean…: Yes. He’s my husband.: H-He’s my dad?!: Whaaaaaa?!
Tatsuya thanks Yotsuya for all the help he provided during his lengthy absence, but it was no bother. Working to help Earth is what he does. Kiriko formally introduces Tatsuya as the creator of the Dannar Base, and someone who also worked tirelessly to help LOTUS come to be.
He wanted to meet up with us sooner, but had been busily travelling around in search of ways to fight the Mimetic Beasts. He got here just as Shizuru was deploying, so he decided to take it upon himself to spruce up her comeback… though she told him she didn’t like making grand entrances. Maybe, but Tetsuya laughs she still had no problem with playing along.
Whatever the case, Alice and Ichitaka are so very glad that she’s recovered, but the question remains: how? Shizuru had told Goh that Mira gave her life anew, or at least that’s what she heard – she couldn’t see Mira when it all happened, but the voice was unmistakably hers.
Kiriko has an hypothesis that, in the five years Mira spent absorbed into a Mimetic Beast, she took in some sort of unique vital energy. Kosuke remembers that the Beasts survive by absorbing other people and feeding off their vital energy, so maybe what Mira developed the ability to do something similar? She likely used that ability to restore life to Shizuru, but it’s all conjecture until test results come in.
As for Mira herself, she’s alive but exhausted and is currently resting.
Kiriko has a question for Tatsuya, though: he’s been gone for so long, so what made him come back to the Dannar Base so suddenly? Was it because he heard of what was going on, Kurara wonders? Not quite, and Tatsuya has a video to show us. It’s a gigantic Mimetic Beast!
See, the beasts, having once faced extinction, had found a way to survive: the weak ones fuse together, sharing strength with one another. Throughout this process, one of them stood above the rest by absorbing more and more beasts, eventually growing to be the strongest of them all – the leader of their pack, the Super Mimetic Beast!
The thing seems to be done growing in hiding, however, and is currently headed straight for Japan, absorbing any other surviving Mimetic Beasts along the way. Looks like our battle with the things is still ongoing, and the big one we just beat was no more than an antenna for the leader’s signal – shows how strong that one must be.
Still, Rey sees a silver-lining in this: we’ve plenty of data on the Mimetic Beasts, so he doubts, even with all their evolution, they’ll bring anything to the table that we can’t manage. Plus, thinks Tetsuya, if all the Mimetic Beasts across the world are no fusing into a single being, then it’s also the perfect opportunity for us to truly eradicate them in one go.
Tatsuya agrees somewhat. While we can’t say FOR SURE that they’ll be gone forever, as there’s still plenty we don’t know about the Mimetic Beasts, destroying this leader’ll mean that it’d take years – decades, even – for humanity to be threatened by them again.
Sounds like a great deal to Juzo and Boss, who tells Kouji he better not chicken out on this one. Hell, no, he’s been through too many battles to flinch over something like this. Shinji’s ready too, though not as confident as the others. Still, he’s made a decision to keep fighting.
Aoi and Sakuya are also pumped to tangle with this big enemy, so Tatsuya tells everyone to get ready for the Super Mimetic Beast’s arrival – it’ll be here soon. As Misato orders all units serviced, Ichitaka’s a wee bit doubtful of whether he could win this when he couldn’t even beat Yuu… but, no, this is about “can or cannot”. We HAVE to win this one.
Anna and Tatsuya finally meet face-to-face. He’s been gone since she was a little girl, so none of this feels quite real yet for her. “Anna, I was never there to actually be a father to you. I’d like to beg your forgiveness for that,” Tatsuya says.
Anna isn’t mad, though, as she remembers hearing his voice before – a voice that was always so encouraging to her. Tatsuya’s also heard of Goh and can’t imagine how difficult it all must be for Anna. Not as difficult as what Goh’s going through, of course.
Regardless, he tells her to never lose faith in the man she’s chosen as her husband.
: Godannar… I really can never pilot you again…? : Shizuru’s just come out of a coma, and even she’s out there fighting, while I…!