Part 74: Mission 31 - Final Count - Part 1
We’re back, and what you don’t see is me having to record this long-ass mission twice because the first one didn’t have sound! And, then, I forgot to take pass by the squad-deployment screen before setting off… blah.But what we have here today is ALL THE EVENT DEPLOYMENTS with Saya, Arnie, Mazinkaiser/Tsubasa, Shou and Fei-Yen on deck (the first two are flying solo). Oh, and Kurou is too bummed out to fight. With that in mind here’s how we’re going:
Dancouga/Deceive
Mamoru/Sakura
Maya/Tieria
Kazuki/Allelujah
Kouichi/Kiki
Shinn/Luna
Ozma/Lux
Setsuna/Luca
Michel/Kenji
Damian/Hebi
Alto/Klan
Zhang Fei/Sun Shangxiang
Aesap/Painkiller
Joe/Canon
Heroman/Shouko
Cao Cao/Moritsugu
Liu Bei/Rennie
Sun Quan/Eida
Tactician (Cheerleader): Cham
Secret AlertDunbine secret – third step: did you take the US route (or NG+ it) on mission 13 and have 100+ kills with Shou and Marvel by the end of the last mission? Then tag Cham in for this one. Just a +5% evasion bonus means we might as well have no tactician running, but whatever.
Now grab some popcorn, folks, because we’ve a lot of stuff to get through today. Off we go.
: Lord Garan, our scouts report that those men have returned to the Machine Island.
: It seems they call themselves Ultimate Cross now.
: The group we met in the outside world, hm? I can hazard a guess as to why they are here… the Gravity Generator.: Likely due to the fact that the generator has been growing further and further out of control ever since that devil’s mysterious activation…: The other devil, the counterpart to the one with the skull…: An uncontrollable weapon is no better than a blunt stick. That said, I do not mind it serving as a lure for them.: Burn, how fare our preparations for combat?
: The new weapons are already in order. We are prepared to depart on your command.
: Hmhmhm… it has been a while since my heart has throbbed so. How much stronger have you become since our last bout, Ultimate Cross…?: And, Burn, it seems the time for your fated clash is almost at hand. : …: My lord, I am forever grateful for you. You took me in when I arrived, lost and confused, in this world and lead me until today. : However, your cause notwithstanding, my one true goal has always been Shou Zama!: I understand. The moment any man rises and faces his fate is the climax of his life…: That applies to all of us.: Lord Garan…: …: Let us march! We’ll snap the chains of fate ourselves!: Yes, my lord!
: Hmph, yeah, you go and tear each other apart! While you’re doing that, I’ll help myself to that little devil of yours…!: Heheheh… I’m gonna show you all that power’s meant to be used!
*RUUUUUUMBLE!*
: Wh-WhaaAaAat?!: Tsk… It’s been ages since we’ve been to the Octagon but it really don’t look like we can chill right now, huh…
: Unfortunately, yes… the Gravity Generator already looks to be in critical condition.
: The frequent gravity discharges coming from it have triggered volcanic eruptions and tore crevices across the whole island.
: The Octagon’s keeping together thanks to our barrier, but even that’s just delaying the inevitable…
: But the Generator should have been pacified after we silenced the production plant at Kiba’s fortress, no?
: Why is it running out of control again?
: We wouldn’t be in this situation if we knew that, don’t you think?
: But, whatever the case, the point is that Earth’s magnetic field’ll be torn apart by the gravitational collapse if something isn’t done soon. 
: And if that happens, there won’t be any life left on the surface…
: Considering the situation, I presume the only way to solve this is to shut down the Gravity Generator itself, yes?
: Cmdr. Kojindani did say that we had free rein to deal with this in any way we deemed fit, but…
: Lady Aila, I presume the Octagon and island won’t go unaffected if we do shut down the Gravity Generator?: The Generator is the heart of Machine Island… without it, the island itself will die as well.: All production plants will stop functioning, and no one’ll be able to live here anymore.
: Same goes for the Octagon?: Yep, that’d be about game over for this place.
: Oh…!: But I don’t think that would be a bad thing. Quite the contrary. : The old scientists who once lived on this island… they sought to tamper with the taboo and twist Man’s very fate…: I say that forbidden research is best buried beneath the waves forever…
: Lady Aila…
: (A forbidden research…?)
: M-Maj. Richard only has six months left to live?!
: He’s pushed his body too far over the years. His cardiac functions, in particular, are severely debilitated.: Th-There must be something you can do, right?!
: I’m so sorry, but there isn’t… this isn’t something current medicine can solve…: N-No…!: Saya, if I may ask… you already suspected something was wrong with him, right?
: …: I pretty much always knew about it. : Ms. Saya…?!: What?! Do you think knowing meant I could’ve stopped him from doing what he wanted?!: And this’ll happen to you too… you were aware of that from the start, weren’t you?!: …: But…!*Door opens.*
: Hey, you know it’s rude to talk about people behind their back.: Major…! Shouldn’t you be resting right now?!: Resting won’t fix what’s wrong with me, will it? I figured I might as well do my part, then.: Hah… even standing up must be tough for you, yet here you are. What a stubborn man.: I’d rather you called it being “dutiful”, thanks.: Now, before it’s time for my trip to the great beyond, I’ve got something I need to tell everyone…: …: Lady Aila, we were told that it was two hundred years ago that this island first started conducting its research.: The research institute built here was tasked with finding a new energy source during the fossil fuel shortage that followed WWII. And it was them that first discovered Gravity Energy…: That’s correct.
: But, then, said institute was suddenly shut down… Do you know why?: That’s…
: Rumor also has it that many unethical experiments were being made in there.: Please, tell us what that “taboo” you mentioned was! What were the island’s scientists doing?!: …*Door opens.*
: If you don’t mind, I’ll answer that.
: Maj. Richard!
: Are you feeling well, sir?: The “Hell’s Executioner” can’t just bite it like that, right? I’d be the laughing stock of the merc world.
: Hah, when you’re right, you’re right.: …: The taboo of the Machine Island… it all started two hundred years ago, right when Odyssite was first discovered here. 
: Odyssite? What’s that?
: A unique mineral found only on this island. The Gravity Generator works by using it as a catalyst. 
: And if I remember right, we’re also using those as fuel for the Elshank, no?
: Right. We’d normally use the kylhasium found on Planet Ladorio, but…
: We’d spent most of our stock as we warped to Earth, so we had no choice but to use that Odyssite as a replacement fuel.
: You say “had no choice”, like it’s a bad thing. You oughta be grateful we were lucky stuff like that’s around!: In truth, Odyssite is said to be a mineral capable of “magnifying Man’s Willpower”. 
: Man’s Willpower?: Yes. And considering the Odyssite reacted with the Elshank, it could be that it has some kind of system that channels that power.
: Huh… Princess, do you know about that?
: N-No, I don’t...: But if the Elshank and our three machines are equipped with such a system…
: It’d explain why Tobikage always showed up exactly when we were in trouble.: He was reacting to our wills, huh…?: (No, Joe… not our wills, but your – the Legendary Ninja’s – will…) : Now, the eggheads on this island figured they’d put that Odyssite to use and develop a bunch of strong weapons with it.: Put it simply, they put together a system that magnified Man’s Willpower and converted it into energy.
: It converts human will into energy…?
: That’s a lot like an Aura Machine…: Problem is, the Odyssite didn’t just magnify that power.: The scientists later found out that said magnified Willpower was also traveling through time and space.
: Say what?!
: People’s thoughts were travelling across time and space… Is that even possible?!
: Why are you so surprised? We are already familiar with a handful of items that work in similar ways, no?
: Similar…?: For one, the earring belonging to Sheryl that’s in Alto’s possession.
: …?!: Sheryl’s earring… that jewel that transmits thoughts…!: And, also, the Wings of Rean shoes.
: Huh…?!: And there is also the Yùxǐ, a sacred relic from our land of Mirisha…
: Th-The Yùxǐ…?!
: I know it can summon amazing stuff like the Celestial Armors, but…: You mean the way the Wings open passageways through space-time is also through Willpower…?
: Then, perhaps the Wings of Rean proper and the Celestial Armors could be deemed as manifestations of the will of man… or, better put, the will of the heavens…
: …: Furthermore, another example would be… SRW UX - Prologue: The Linebarrel’s Override and the Orphes’ warp abilities.: …?!
: Th-The Linebarrel too…?
: Hey, hold the phone! It’s true that the Linebarrel can teleport when Kizaki and I want it to, but…
: My Painkiller can also teleport, yes…
: Not exactly. A Machina teleporting to answer its Factor’s call, and the Linebarrel teleporting with its Factor aboard are two very different things…
: …!: Ah…: What we call Override – the act of executing chain-teleports with the Factor aboard – is a form of teleportation made possible by the Linebarrel perceiving the Factor’s future location. : It’s pretty much a type of time travel.: …: I get it now… Back when I did that last warp to go after the nuke…: I warped to where the missile was projected to be when I got there…: …: When I did, I was also travelling through time… I was crossing space and time …: Exactly. The Orphes’ engine, the Lepton Vectrer… its prototype was an Accelerated Particle Engine developed on this island. : …
: …: Ennea… why…
: Kurou, we were the ones who didn’t keep an eye on her… You can’t blame yourself for what happened.: But it doesn’t change the fact that I couldn’t keep her safe.
: Kurou…
: Are you going to mope for the rest of your life? : …: Because Ennea will not return even should you do that.: I say you cannot allow the past to consume you! Remember that we still have a duty to fight for the future!: I know that…: I know, but… it’s not that easy…: Hrm…!: …: Let’s go, everyone.
: What, you’re just gonna leave him like that?: Kurou needs time to put his heart in order.: (Al does, too, I think…): …: (More and more Kurou suffers, and I simply cannot get through to him …): (Because, ultimately… ‘tis a false warmth that lies within me…): That Accelerated Particle Engine used Odyssite as a catalyst and, so, magnified the Willpower of its pilot.: But human hands just couldn’t control an infinitely accelerating energy. : And the end result… was that the Accelerated Particle Energy ran amok halfway through the experiment and vanished across time and space.
: It triggered a particle annihilation, then?: No, a better way of putting it is that the Engine going out of control wound up calling out to a new Willpower.
: A new Willpower…?: In other words, the magnified human will and the Accelerated Particle Engine warped through space-time…: And another will switched places with them, coming in from a different world.
: W-Wait a second… that sounds like!: Like when the Fenrir explosion and the Wings of Rean caused Shouko and the UX to switch places…
: …
: And who was it that was switched in?: That would be Fei-Yen.: …?!
: So, Fei’s not a robot they built on this island…?: (But, then… just what is all that music deep down in my memories…?): I figure you know what happened after, yes, Ms. Aila?: …: After the failed experiment, the scientists redoubled their efforts in order to try and find a way to control the Accelerated Particle Engine.: And in doing so, they reached out and touched that which Man should never have touched – that which was taboo…
: And that taboo is…?: …: Erbsünde…
: …?!: “Erbsünde”... that’s German for “original sin”…: Correct. It took Willpower to keep a human will accelerating into infinity under control…: And with that in mind, the island’s scientists decided to infuse a will into the Odyssite itself, creating new “life”…: Put it simply, they created artificial humans that would serve as control keys for the Accelerated Particle Engines.
: A-Artificial humans…?!
: New life, created by human hands…
: An act of defiance against God, indeed…
: Thus, “original sin”…: …: And the beings they created were our fathers…
: Then, you’re…!: Yep. “Those born branded by the stigma of the sin”, that’s us…: We’re all descendants of the original Erbsünde…: And it’s not just us, but Kiba and Garan too…
: Well, damn… so those crazies also had that kinda fate thrust on them…?
: Maybe that’s why they did what they did – to rebel against it…: …*Alarm!*
: Wh-What is that racket…?!: Lady Aila, Garan’s Forces are heading this way! Our scouts are sending a feed!*Beep.*
: Th-There’re so many of them…!: Shou, look! That black Aura Battler!
: It’s the Zwarth…!
: The Ace Killer we fought back at Normandy?!
: This is going from bad to worse… if we lose too much time here, the Gravity Generator’ll start breaking down…!
: What do we do, Maj. Richard?!: Troops, hustle to your mechs and launch! We’ll bust through Garan’s bunch and pull the plug on the Gravity Generator!: Y-Yes, sir…!*Everyone leaves.*
: …: Haah, haah… Rrgh!: Major…!: Maj. Richard… you really are…
: Heh, yeah, I am…: This is what’s left of the man who’s crossed space-time and seen the Hell on the other side…: Major…: Saya, if things go south… You understand what I’m getting at?: …: Yes, sir…
: Garan and Kiba… two men who could only oppose their fate through battle…: Ryo, dude… don’t tell me you’re letting that sob story get to ya?
: Hah… Do I look like that sort of person to you?: Oho, look at this badass over here. And we ain’t pulling our punches against whatever we find out there, right?!: Of course not. You find us in the battlefield, you’ll soon find yourself splattered over the Kaiser’s knuckles.
: Damn straight! And that’s ‘cause we… are HELL!
Mission 31 – Final Count
: Hey, what gives?! Why isn’t the Demonbane out here?!
: (Kurou… you still haven’t recovered…)
: Oh, wow, and that’s just the first wave? Pretty major party they’re sending our way.: (That man, Garan, always talked like he knew a lot about me…): (He’s not here yet, but I’m sure he’ll turn up!)
: The Aura Battler!
: Why do you seek battle so doggedly, Black Knight?!: It’s one of those warriors from another world…: That should be obvious, I think! What I desire is a showdown with my nemesis!
: I knew it… Burn Bunnings!: At long last we meet again, Shou Zama! How have I looked forward to this moment!
: Welp, looks like we are gonna have to fight our way out of this…
: Then you won’t mind if we lend you a hand, right?
: Y-You’re…!: All of us are warriors of the Octagon!: And we’re not the kind of women to just sit back and be protected!: Fine, then the Psycogear Squad will follow the commands of Lt. Yuki!: Can you handle it, Lt.?: Y-Yes, ma’am! It’s an honor to fight with all of you!: The honor’s all ours, girl!
: We’ve got almost no time before the Gravity Generator breaks!: Hurry, hurry, guys! Get rid of them quick and then go shut that thing down!
Destroy everything, don’t lose a ship or any of the event deployments. Most of them should be fine, but be especially mindful of Tsubasa if you haven’t been using her. Of note, however, is that she’s unlocked her new attack with the Octagon girls, so that’s a decent power boost.
As for the battle, this is pretty much a repeat of the fight we had with Burn back in the Europe Route. The SKL mooks have decent firepower, but their accuracy still suffers, so Burn is the only real threat here unless you decide to let Evasion Decay pile up.
And speaking of Burn…
Secret Alert!Dunbine secret – fourth step: have Shou attack Burn, and both must survive. Afterwards, reduce Burn’s HP under 10% with anyone.
Simple, but remember that Burn hits hard, is surprisingly survivable and will pop that Off-Shoot like no one’s business, so come packing Strike.
SRW UX - Shangri-La
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_SuRoLXWkw
And here’s Tsubasa’s Maximum Honey Combination.
SRW UX - LOVE 14 ver. HD
SRW UX - Dunbine Flies: Why are you doing this, Burn Bunnings?! What’s the point in us fighting when the country you served doesn’t exist anymore?!: There is no “point” and I’m well aware of it! But I must still end things with you or I’ll never be able to move on!
: Stop being so fixated on Shou, Burn Bunnings!: I’m sure you could look for something else to do with your life, no?!: Humans are nowhere as free as you think! They are bound by fate, and by their own hearts! Thus, what I’ll do with my life is seek closure!
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend: I’d wished to repay you for Normandy for a while. It may seem trivial to you, but I am a knight and I will wipe away that dishonor with your blood!: I have heard that knights are warriors meant to protect the people! : And if you will turn the other cheek to this catastrophe in the making, then you have no right to call yourself as such!
SRW UX - My Fate: All that matters to me is Shou Zama! If you’ll impede me, then your heads shall roll!
: What a powerful spirit…! He may be misguided, but his Aura Power has been honed to the Nth degree!
: This is how powerful the guy who fought Shou – who fought a Holy Warrior – is…?!
Aesap attacking: “No hesitation at all…?! So that’s how Burn Bunnings is like…!”
SRW UX - Lion
: This mech… It’s the Ace Killer we fought in Europe…!: And he’s as crazy strong as he was before, I see. But if you think that’ll let you do your thing, you’re in for a surprise!: Your yelling does not impress me. All the bravado in the world will not save you if you lack the ironclad resolve to support it! Such is the battlefield!
SRW UX - My Fate
: These are Aura Battlers from the other Byston Well…? However, with the exception of Shou, all are exactly the same to me: unimportant!: A black Aura Battler?! And the way it moves… this guy’s good!: He may not be a Holy Warrior, but his sword-arm has clearly been tempered in the fires of battle. A very strong fellow…!: If the old man’s saying that, then we better stay on our toes!
There.
: I will not give in! My arrival in this world would be utterly meaningless if I let this be the end!
: He’s going Hyper?! No, his Aura Power is…!: Have at you, Shou Zama! Face me if you dare!: Shou, don’t! You can’t fight him like that!
: No… Shou, that man is haunted by his fixation with you. And so long as that stays, he’ll never be able to right his life…: Draw your sword and cut out that cancer in his soul!: I could say that I don’t resent how my life was led astray due to your actions, but that would be a lie. : Nevertheless, the smattering that remains of my pride as a knight demands only one thing at this moment…: And that is one final duel with you, Shou Zama! Let’s end this…!: …: Then I accept your challenge… SRW UX - Dunbine Flies: Burn Bunnings!: To arms, Shou Zama!
Burn attacking: “What I seek is only to settle accounts with you…! Face me, Shou Zama!”
Shou attacking: “If this is the will of Byston Well at work, then I’ll accept it!”
This scene only plays if you did the secret. The common version’ll be at the end of the update.
: Hrgh…! Hah-Hahah… Defeated, once again…: But I have no regrets… because this is the path I – and no one else – chose…: Burn!: Are you really satisfied with letting things end like this?! Don’t just throw your life away!: Y-You…!: I know our Byston Well was purified by Lady Ciela, so don’t you want to know for what purpose we wound up here?! Your hatred is gone, so why not?!: Purpose…?: There are forces at work in this world, like the Wings of Rean, that’ve transcended the limits of the human will…: And I’m sure it’s not too late for us to find an answer…: …: I-I…
: Garan…!: Took you long enough, boss-man!: Lord Garan…!: I pity you, Burn… ever at the mercy of fate, even after transmigrating into this world…: (“Transmigrating”…?!): But, Burn… It’s clear that this is not where your struggle with fate comes to an end.: Follow your heart, and seek out whatever battlefield it guides you to…: …: My lord… I shall never forget the kindness you have shown me!
: Farewell, Black Knight…: However, here is where I end my dispute with fate. Here and nowhere else!Common ground:
: Riots…!
: He’s really managed to mass-produce the things with the data he got at Normandy…!: The time is come for me to claim your lives and sever the chains of fate that bind my life!
: Are you done talking…?: What…? SRW UX - The Eternal Soldiers: You can only prove your existence through battle. That makes you little more than garbage.: Hah… Hahahahah. Oh, yes, I remember you – that other Erbsünde…: Say what?! Magami’s an artificial human too…?!: I won’t deny that our lives were fabricated. But what does any of that matter?!: Our will is our own! Our lives may be artificial, but I’ll live the rest of my days according to my own will!
: Magami, you…!
: Live the rest of your days, eh?: …: You amuse me! I say this calls for a duel!: Will it be my pride or your will that emerges victorious? Steel yourselves and come, my nemeses!: Ya didn’t even need to ask! Bring it on, Garan!
Garan’s the same as back in the Europe Route, only with a boost to all his stats. Comparatively, our guys are now way stronger, so this shouldn’t be an issue. Just don’t let him get a clean hit in and attack from beyond point-blank to neuter his strongest weapon.
SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens
The few mooks he’s brought in are of no consequence when our morale’s this high.
This next convo plays for either Shouko or Karen, whoever goes first:
SRW UX - Dunbine Flies: Now what is this? Someone who’s broken free from the wheel of fate…?: If Man is capable of living outside the flow of karma, then I demand you prove it to me through your strength…!
SRW UX - Life Goes On
: Your life is man-made – so what?! That doesn’t justify what you’re doing to prove you’re in control…!: But you must take control of your life, or you’ll never be your own man in this harsh world! : You have been given a proper life, so I doubt you could understand what I feel.: Maybe not, but I’m still putting a stop to you! Whatever your issues may be, involving the rest of the world in them is just plain wrong!
SRW UX - Shangri-La: I am simply an empty vessel made for combat. But I’ll fill that vessel, and through battles of my choosing!
: Even someone whose life was made for combat can still decide what that life’ll amount to!: Why do you feel like this is the way you have to use all the power you were born with…?!
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend: Begone, knave! Every frontier my sword has cut into is my domain! None can oppose me!
: War itself is what you desire… and, indeed, it shows in the astonishing might you display. : However, if your gaze is not set beyond your war – if you have not the ideal to establish a grand nation through it – then you cannot be deemed a true conqueror!
SRW UX - A Bird’s Song: If it’s my fate to do war, then I need only emerge as the supreme victor and tear those chains asunder! 
: Listen, I can kinda sympathize with the bad hand you were dealt, but…: People’s lives aren’t set in stone after they’re born! The way you’re born into the world doesn’t change the fact that you get to choose what to make with your life!
SRW UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit: Lt. Magami, Maj. Richard, the Octagon ladies… everyone’s been living their lives defying the fate they’d been given!: Garan… whatever past you might have, I won’t hesitate to put you down…!: Hmhmhm… Such a killer resolve. I have long wished to crush a man like you.: I challenge you, warrior of the UX! Now we duel!
SRW UX - Shadows that Rend Darkness: I will not be beaten… but not because of my fate, or my origin, but because of the man who’s showed me the way!: I cannot perish, either. Not just for myself, but for all the subordinates who’ve laid down their lives for my cause!: To battle, girl! Muster your life and your beliefs and pit them against mine!
SRW UX - LOVE 14 ver. HD: So the once-sealed away Sleeping Beauty now presents herself as an enemy of my conquest…: Curious, indeed…! If this is fate at work, then I’ll soon uproot it!: My appearance here is part of the reason why this man is like this…: But I still want to know why I’m here! So, I won’t – I can’t – let this world be destroyed!
SRW UX - The Eternal Soldiers: It’s you… Hmhmhm, I’ll be sure to savor every moment of this fight to the death with a fellow Erbsünde. : Hah, the big man’s really getting into this. What say you, Magami?: A fight to the death is exactly what I want…!: It’s not my origin or fate that dictates my life. Everything I do is because of my will, and I’ll make him painfully aware of how strong it is!
And we get another Kaido’s Hand-to-Hand Teachings from him.
Aaay, we’re starting to learn Valor too!