Part 34: Mission 17 (America Route) - Separation ~ Friends
Mission 16 (Europe) and 17 (America) are their respective versions of the Separation battle. As I said before, a good chunk of events here are the same, so I’ll just go over everything that changes in both missions in relation to how things played out in the Japan route.
First scene, the US version is identical to the Japan route, with Sumeragi and Sima Yi replacing Moritsugu and Zhou Yu respectively.
Same for the EU version, only there’s a quick insert at the start where Makabe finally gets to thank Richard properly for the UX’s help during the previous Festum attack (no problem, since it was work). Zhuge Liang and Scarlet lead the talks on this side.
Introduction of the other Fafner kids is the same, as is the moms’ convo by ALVIS’ CDC.
Next up we have the Fafner kids’ meetup after the sim ends:
In the US route, the only major difference is that, instead of Koyo complaining about them having to fight other people, is that we got absolutely no recognition despite risking our lives fighting. Seems to Kazuki and the others that the world doesn’t think too well of the UX, and Koyo figures the adults and Soushi have a screw loose for buddying up with a group like that. From there, the rest is the same.
On the EU route, however, things change a bit since the Fafner kids haven’t had the chance to leave the island yet. Kazuki and Maya are there to praise the newbie trio on their growth as Fafner pilots, but Sakura doesn’t wanna be coddled – they still lost pretty handily. Fast forward a bit and Shinn and Luna arrive to meet them. Yeah, they’re back but on a mission, and things are expected to go down now that we’re here.
Will the newbies get a chance to deploy? Unlikely, as Kenji figures they’re just spares – Kazuki and Koyo are the main boys. Luna’s heard that Koyo was also nominated as a full Fafner pilot, a choice he himself made. After all, he clearly couldn’t trust Kazuki and Soushi to handle things. He sure as hell doesn’t accept Soushi’s willingness to sacrifice others for the mission.
The following scene with Arnie and Saya is absolutely the same, barring the different hangar they’re in.
By the Devil’s Ray, we’ve other folks accompanying Mizoguchi and Maya:
In the US route, Mizoguchi’s just as hyped to have the legendary Sima Yi tagging along. Lux is also there, but she’s not sure how useful she could actually be – having a beautiful princess nearby is always a major boost to morale, Mizoguchi explains! “Mr. Mizoguchi, could you please take this seriously…?” Maya sighs.
In the EU route, Mizoguchi’s hype is, of course, directed at the legendary Zhuge Liang. Mizoguchi’s quip about this being a simply fishing trip perks the Gundam’s ears(?), and he asks that we let him handle everything. See, he was quite the famous fisherman before meeting Liu Bei… though that’s not really what we’re doing here, of course. Scarlet is also on hand, THE best person to have for when shit hits the fan, and Mizoguchi figures her battle-hardened marine self being here means he can take it nice and easy. Maya sighs again.
Back at ALVIS, this scene’s the same.
Mission 16 (Europe Route) / Mission 17 (America Route) – Separation ~ Friends
Ditto for the scene before the battle, only, in the US route, it’s Aesap worrying about the investigation team (especially Lux, of course). Zhang Fei does the worrying in the EU route.
When Jin shows up, everything plays out pretty much the same, but there’s this extra bit at the end, after Richard warns us about the Riot A’s generator:
: But aren’t there people aboard those things?! Are you telling us to attack other humans?!
: If you don’t, then it’ll be you who’ll get attacked by them.: …?!
: Pull back, Kazuki! If you can’t do it, then, I’ll…!: Koyo…
: (Jin… I swear, I’ll just immobilize your unit…!)
Kariya’s suggestion that we engage the island’s Fenrir and Mizoguchi doing so are mostly the same.
In the US route, while the investigation team is getting ambushed, Lux actually cuts down a few Festum with her sword. She truly is the daughter of a Holy Warrior, Sima Yi sees (King Sakomizu taught her how to fight, though she didn’t expect to need it today). Sima Yi’s memorized the map of the island and it’s now up to him to get everyone out – as Mizoguchi’s read in the Thirty-Six Stratagems, “escape is not defeat”!
In the EU route, Scarlet’s easily gunning down the incoming Grendels (Zhuge Liang praises her skill, though does not understand her cussing – he prefers it that way). Kongming’s also got the map memorized, so Mizoguchi asks him to show the quickest way out: “Ain't no sandstorm here and dummies won't fly with a bomb, so we just gotta book it!”
Here are the unique convos people have against Jin across both versions:
: That white robot from Center City… so you were with the UX!
: I am now, but… what we’re doing today is no different from what we did back then, and that’s keep people from getting hurt!--
: Hey, isn’t Arnie your friend?! Why can’t you just hear him out for one damn second?!: So now you’re trying to rope me in too?! I’d never let worms like you trick me, though!: Yeesh… Guess it’s gonna take roughing this guy up some to get him to listen!--
: You’re also in with the UX?! If your gang just didn’t exist, we…!
: This isn’t good… Unless he’s stopped, that hate-filled aura will keep on growing and…!
: And he’ll go Hyper?!--
: That’s one of the bug mechs that attacked Yokosuka! You’re gonna pay for all our brothers-in-arms your people killed!
: You got it all wrong! Aesap didn’t—
: Don’t even try it, Erebos. This guy’s already covered from head to toe in an Aura Power of pure hatred!--
: Hah… So even in a different world, self-righteous loyalists set themselves against me!: Don’t you dare mock me! What’s more self-righteous than a bunch of terrorists like you?!--
: Isn’t Arnie your friend?! Why can’t you just hear him out for one damn second?!: So now you’re trying to rope me in too?! I’d never let worms like you trick me, though!--
: You’re also in with the UX?! If your gang just didn’t exist, we…!
: Looks like he’s so blinded by anger and hate that he can’t even see what’s around him!
: Well, an ass-kicking is just what the doctor ordered for folks like that!--
: A government’s army is tasked with defending the people, no?! Then there’s no reason for us to battle one another! : Are you joking?! You’ve got a lotta nerve saying that to me after your gang’s wholesale terrorism…!--
: You terrorist worm! It’s because trash like you are prowling about that everything’s so messed up…!
: “Terrorist”…?: Well, e x c u s e you! I t h i n k “a d o r a b l e girl” is w h a t y o u meant to s a y!When you kill Jin’s mooks, however, our less-than-experienced fighting humans Fafner kids in the EU route pitch in:
: U-Uwaaaaaaah!
: Jackson…?!: Forgive me, Captain…! I couldn’t do anything…!
: …?!: Jackson! You bastards… you killed my man!
: N-No… he died… because of us…!: Calm down, Kazuki. Your brain waves are in disarray. : “Calm down”?! I just saw someone die right in front of me! How the hell can I calm down?!: …--
Kill the second one…
: Argh…!: Cameron, eject!: I-I can’t… it’s not working! No…! Aaaaaaaaah!
: Cameron! Rrgh… You’ll pay for this, UX!
: What the hell, Soushi?! I thought the pilots could still bail out even after getting shot down! : There’s always a chance that things go wrong due to equipment malfunction! You need to focus on the battle right now!: Kch, focus on this battle…?! How am I supposed to focus on killing people?!: …And the third one…
: Gwaaargh! My… my eyes!: Barkley!: C-Captain… where’s the enemy?! I-I’ll try to ram them—!: My… my Unit…! They were the very first subordinates I ever had…!: Unknown Xtrikers…! YOU SONS OF BITCHES!!
: People dying one after another… this is how war is like…?: …: (That’s strange… Those were the Federation’s most state-of-the-art mechs, yet every single one had a malfunction in their ejection equipment…?): (Was it just a coincidence? If not, then…)And, boom, we’ve successfully amplified the Fafner kids’ trauma several times more than the US and JP routes ever did.
SRW UX - Shangri-La
Have a bonus, Kaz.
And the rest of the mission plays out pretty much unchanged: Jin goes down, Koyo gets mind-crushed saving Maya’s team and we need to leave as the Fenrir goes off.
Of note, in the US Route, as Maya slaps Soushi for being insensitive to what happened to Koyo, Cao Cao intervenes: “That is enough. Hurling insults at one another will not restore this man. There is only one thing that can be done to honor the fallen… and that is victory!” Shinn concedes that he has a point, but that hardly makes things easier on Maya and the others.
The scenes with Mizoguchi and Makabe, Richard and Saya are both the same, but Arnie, of course, has different company depending on the route:
In the US route, Marvel tells him that things hardly go the way anyone wants in battle. She understands that that’s not any consolation, but it’s the truth. Shou, however, tells her to just leave Arnie be: there’s no point in talking to someone who’s keeping a wall around himself. Cham chides him, saying they need to be gentle at moments like this, but he disagrees: is gentleness all it takes for one to pull himself back together? He doesn’t think so, remembering that he was just as grief-stricken after he killed Todd. Regardless, we all did everything we could to find Jin, but there was just not enough time.
In the EU route, it’s Zhang Fei and Guan Yu. Fei says Arnie’s not the only one who’s suffered loss, pointing out that furface lost the love of his life in battle as well. Guan Yu tells him to lay off, but Zhang Fei wants to say this: everyone goes through a lot of bad crap, but they all pull themselves together and find the strength to carry on with their lives. Yes, it hurts like hell, but you can’t just break down; he can’t stand the sight of Arnie being this crestfallen. Guan Yu very much sympathizes with Arnie’s loss but, despite everyone’s best efforts, time simply ran out.
At the end of the America version, we get a couple of extra scenes:
: I see… so that’s what happened at Tatsumiya…: Things took quite the turn for the worse for Ensign Berge and the Fafner kids, hm…
(on the phone): But we’ll still need them to find the strength to carry on through it…: And how are things going on your end?: Honestly… we’re smelling fish around here – more so nowadays. If possible, I’d like to ask that your group returns ASAP.: Roger that. I’ll let the others know.*Bloop.*
: I suppose this building is about to get quite lively again with their return.: That, it will… But, first and foremost, we must see to our local issue…: You mean the so-called Anti-Machina weapons that Kiriyama Heavy Industries developed, yes?: I wonder… They’ve no Machinas of their own to research on, so how were they able to create such a thing…?: If I had to guess… I’d say our company’s classified data is being leaked…: Th-Then… there’s a spy in our midst, sir…?!: …
Location: Kiriyama Heavy Industries – Office
: We only managed to complete those as quickly as we did thanks to the data you provided. 
(also on the phone): …: And now our plan can finally be set in motion…: I trust you’ll be here for the reveal…: Won’t you, Moritsugu?
: I intend to, yes…