Part 112: Mission 45 - Judas - Part 1
And we’re back, having wrapped up the Heroman plot and convinced Will to hang around. There’s a lot to go through today, with Arnie, Saya and Aesap deploying as event units. Depending on previously unlocked secrets, your slots can range from 18 to 15 – since I got everything, we’ll be going like this:
Joe/Aesap
Liu Bei/Rennie
Kurou/Deceive
Shou/Tsubasa
Mazinkaiser/Soubi
Alto/Luca
Fei-Yen/Lockon
Maya/Akira
Heroman/Shouko
Kouichi/Kiki
Cao Cao/Moritsugu
Kira/Graham
Setsuna/Yulianne
Shinn/Lunamaria
Kazuki/Miu
Sun Quan/Domyoji
Tactician: Fei-Yen (I figured I’d give Kongming a rest, and, among the names given to me, Fei won the coin toss.)
Off we go.
: …
: Y-You want me to become the Stray Machina’s Factor?!
: I do. This Machina appears to be special, you see.: Our analysis shows that this unit was a rather central figure among the future Machinas…: Put it simply, we’ve determined that it’d serve as the Machinas’ ‘brain’. : Wow… that is quite the special mech we found, then.: And the information that Machina possesses will be extremely valuable to our plan of destroying them. : I can see why. If that thing used to be the brain of the Machinas in the future world, then it should have the whole truth in its data banks.: Precisely. You understand why I’m asking this, then, yes…?: Hm. You want me to become its Factor in order to extract all that information it has.: …: I truly regret imposing this heavy a burden onto you. By rights, I should’ve been the only one to have to endure it.: But I need someone I trust to do this… and I have no one else other than you, Ishigami.: …: We’ve known each other since before the war broke out. I was just a stammering junior officer back at Nagasaki, but you took me under your wing.: Honestly, I’ve been expecting this to happen ever since. : Ishigami…: Do you remember the story about that 3rd A-Bomb? The one that was supposed to have been dropped at Kokura?: Of course. I heard it was stopped by a young pilot of the kamikaze unit. : I wonder what that pilot would think if he saw the current Japan – a nation that’s long since lost its imagination…: Granted, our country’s leaders never had much imagination to begin with. I doubt that war would’ve broken out if they did…: Hah, you have a point there…: Japan… Rather, mankind has to change. : And if becoming a Factor will help bring that about, then it’s something I, Kunio Ishigami, will gladly accept.: Thank you, Ishigami. I’m counting on you.: Sit back and wait for me. I won’t be long.: Oh, but before I go, can I ask just one question?: What is it?: This Stray Machina…: Was it one of the ‘human’ ones?: I believe so, yes…: It introduced itself when we tried to make contact with it.: J-U-D-A-H... it said. : “Judah”…?!: Right… the Hebrew spelling of the name Judas, the apostle who betrayed Jesus Christ.: Mind you, we don’t know whether that implies it’s a traitor to its fellow Machinas or to mankind. : But, regardless, I’d wager there’s a significant reason for it to name itself that way.: …: A traitor Machina…: …: (Ishigami… what did you discover when you entered Judah’s cockpit? What did you see…?)
Location: Army of Mankind Base
: Katou’s losing his footing…?
: Hmhmm. The Advancers are being weakened daily due to Christopher Rubens growing political influence.: I doubt the Katou Organization has the capacity to even carry out the schedule anymore…
: But Katou should still have one last ace up his sleeve, no?: The last existing Machina…?: While that’s true, I’m afraid Katou cannot use it.
: Why?: Because the one thing Katou absolutely does not want happening is for all existing Machinas to have a Factor.: That’s why he and his Organization went to such lengths to try and destroy every single one that wasn’t under their control.: But now all of them have Factors of their own. All except the last one…: Meaning he’s now caught between a rock and a hard place. He can’t give the final Machina a Factor, but he also can’t destroy it…: Ah, I understand. Destroying the final Machina would leave the other Machinas as the only ones left. That would mean that all existing Machinas have Factors of their own – exactly what he’s trying to stop from happening…: Precisely.: That said, I don’t see the Katou Organization turning things around with their current forces.: I don’t either, which is why I believe Katou’ll make one final play to clarify whether it’s he or Judah who is correct. : He’s going for one last showdown with the UX…?: Yes, and I want you to stop that from happening.: You want us to finish off the Katou Organization?: The opposite, actually: I want you to save Hisataka Katou. : Save him…?: Katou absolutely cannot be allowed to die here. If he does, all possibilities die with him.: Which would, in turn, signify the destruction of mankind.: …: Understood. We’ll set out right away.*Jin and Ayul leave.*
: …: Are you certain of this?: Of what…?: Their units have seen quite the significant increase in power now that I’ve added my Aura Converter technology into them.: However, that essentially means that their machines are consuming their Aura Power… that is, it’s consuming their vital energy.: Synchro-Overdrive on its own is already hazardous to the pilot’s life. What do you think will happen if they do that with these machines…?: …: I suppose the only way I see that ending… is with their deaths…: And you’re still going to send them into battle?: …: That is the path they chose to trail…
SRW UX - Prologue
: …
: Something on your mind…?: No, I… I’m just wondering if Ishigami’ll actually tell us the truth…
: I hear ya. The guy’s been giving us the run-around since forever…
: And there’s also the fact that the old man used to roll with the Katou Organization…
: He was the captain of their 1st Unit, Katou’s right-hand man…: …: And, yet, he decided to become Katou’s greatest enemy. Why is that?
: Who can say? I can’t really imagine what happened between the two of them, but…: If anything, I know what a sad affair it is when people who once trusted each other like that are forced to fight…
: Athrun…: You go your separate ways, and the next time you run into each other, you’re on opposite sides…: And regardless of how close you were before, now you each have different people to protect. And that means you need to kill one another…: But I suppose I don’t need to tell you that, right, Arnie?: …: Once this battle’s over and peace has returned…
: What then…?: I wonder if Jin and I’ll be able to greet each other with a smile… as we did so long ago.: Ensign…: We may never know what the right thing to do in these situations is… but giving up is the last thing we should do.: …: Because we can always choose what path to follow – and, so, we can start over…: Yeah…: (A battle between people who once trusted each other…): (Is that how both Ishigami and Katou look at this…?)
: Okay, looks like everyone’s here…: Now, where should I begin?
: We do have a ton of things we’d like to ask you about…: I suppose we’ll start with this: why did you cut ties with Hisataka Katou?: Oh, that’s easy. We each have different visions of the future. End of story.
: That doesn’t answer anything-robo!
: Let’s approach this from another angle, then.: You say you have ‘different visions of the future’. Now, we know for a fact that Katou has personally lived in the future of mankind’s extinction.: However, such is not the case with you. You merely learned of the possibilities given to you by Judah and the expected outcome from those. : Thus, my question is this: is your vision of the future truly correct?
: Are you suggesting Judah’s lying to him?
: Either that, or… : It could be that the information within Judah is already misaligned with reality. 
: Huh…?!
: …
: Wh-What do you mean by that?: You see, there is a matter that has perplexed me for quite a while. Namely, the fact that these Machina are even here. : Consider: humanity was extinct in the future society, so who sent those into our time, and how? 
: Oh…: Setting aside the Linebarrel, which had been united with Prof. Kizaki, and Katou’s Shangri-La, none of the other Machinas had Factors of their own. : It’s inconceivable that they would have traveled through time by themselves.
: Then, who…?
: As we were told, the Machinas of the future began fighting one another in a bid to cognize the notion of death and acquiring imagination.: However, I do not believe that was done solely to enable them to become ‘human’.
: At the end of the day, Machinas are still pieces of machinery. And machines only exist because they’ve masters who’d put them to use. 
: But the Machinas would-be masters, humanity, had died out…: So, they went on to try and make themselves a new master.
: A portion of the Machinas came to acquire imagination, and, so, became human…: And from those, their new master was born.: And that master’s the one who sent the Machinas to our time…?!
: But why?: To observe mankind.
: Observe…?: The Machinas sent from the future all have a bit of a trap set within. : When all existing Machinas have a Factor, that trap’ll be triggered and cause… a certain something to occur.
: What something?: That’s—*Alarm!*
(TV): Guys, we’ve multiple heat signatures on approach!: We’ve ID’d them as the Katou Organization!: Here he comes.*Beep.*
(TV): Do you hear me, Ishigami…?
: Katou…!: …: Ishigami, what are you after?: What I’m after? Why, that hasn’t changed since this whole shindig started.: I want to save humanity.: Are you joking?! How would you save humanity by pushing it to destruction?!
: D-Destruction?!: Hah…: That’s a great speech coming from someone who’s killed God knows how many people to bring about his ‘dream world’.: Hrm…!: Let me ask you just one thing, then…: Why didn’t you ever try fighting the Machinas that’d become human?: …!: I’m sure you could’ve done it, especially since you have that final Machina…: I did try to fight them! : But I could never reach them! They… The Human Machinas are all deep inside the moon!
: I-Inside the moon?!
: Huh? There are Machinas all the way up there?
: But that’s not possible. How would those Human Machinas even exist in this era?!: No, he’s right. The master of the Human Machinas has always been camping out inside the moon, observing our civilization. 
: W-Wait, that sounds just like…!
: Like Moon WILL!: Ah, yes… The inorganic being that was based at the moon until the Dancouga destroyed him…: We still do not know what connection there was between Moon WILL and the Human Machinas, but the fact is that they’ve all been on the moon since before our civilization even began.: We can’t even begin to imagine how much they’ve evolved, what kind of technology they’ve developed, since arriving.: And, so, you’ve chosen to just capitulate to them?!: I don’t really care what you call it.
: …?!: Ishigami, what the hell are you…?!: Tsk… I knew it, Ishigami. Judah was a traitor to mankind!: Only I was wrong who it was. It’s you… you are the real Judas! : …
Mission 45 – Judas
: I’m putting a stop to your plan, Ishigami!: The final Machina is still squarely within my grasp, and so long as it’s there, your insanity’ll go nowhere! : Oh, yes, you’re quite right…: Which is precisely why I’ve a plan to take it from you.: What…?!
: Wh-What’s going on…?!
: Heheheh…
: The Idaten…: Sawatari, what the devil are you doing?!
: Sorry, Hisataka, but that final Machina’s mine.: What did you say…?!
: Sawatari! The final Machina’s at the bottom of the Shangri-La’s third shaft!
: Yulianne…!
: Yulianne, you traitor!: Rrgh… Fire! FIRE! Destroy him, Shangri-La!
: Urrgh…! Heheh… Yeah, that’s the ticket!: I’m gonna have to die if I wanna be a Factor anyway! Shoot me up all you like!
: D-Damn it, he made it inside!: Hmhmhm… Looks like victory is mine, Katou!: Y-You son of a bitch!*Beep.*
: No, this battle isn’t over yet!: …?! SRW UX - The Proud Challengers: Jin…?!: We’ll take care of things here, Cmdr. Katou!: Pull back and deal with the situation at the Shangri-La!: The Special Mobile Troop of the Army of Mankind… Why are you helping us?!: Prof. Novel’s orders! Now hurry!: Novel Dylan?! Very well!
: (Why is Prof. Dylan helping the Katou Organization…?!): (Hmhmhm, I see how it is. One final trial before the True Override can happen, hm?): Okey-dokey, my UX friends!: I’ve a new request for you: get rid of these guys, if you would!: I-Ishigami…!
: You actually expect us to fight like this?!
: Any way you slice it, you’re the most suspicious guy here by a mile, Ishigami!: You’re free to think whatever you want of me…: But I don’t think the enemy up ahead’ll care much for your doubts, hm?: …!: Ayul, Knack, Colbie, are you guys ready?
: Neutrino Generators are all green!
(Knack): Ready to engage on your command, captain! (Colbie): We’ll pay you back in full for that last defeat, UX!: Jin, you…!: … I don’t really get all this stuff that’s going on…: But, whatever, we need to do something about the enemy first!
Take out Jin or Ayul, don’t lose a ship, Arnie, Saya or Aesap.
Downing either of them’ll trigger the plot and any enemies you haven’t killed’ll leave, so make sure you grab everything. Send your guys up north, but try and keep the slower units angling a bit due west – we’ll need to head that way later.
But this is still the same battle we’ve had before. Watch for Jin and Ayul’s MAPWs, draw them in and swarm.
SRW UX - Linebarrel
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend
SRW UX - The Proud Challengers: The world Katou imagined… If there’s a chance that it’ll bring about a possibility, then I know what I’ve to do…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noWcPCiTEeQ
Heey, I finally got him to use another of his smaller weapons.
: The possibilities of this world won’t be extinguished… we won’t let them…!
SRW UX - Deus Machina (Knack): (Mom... I've finally got her parents' blessing!) (Knack): (We're going to get married next month... I have to get through this no matter what...!)
Knack, what the frick is you doing?!
(Knack): Uwaaaaaah!: Knack…!
(Knack): A-Aah…! My unit’s on fire! (Knack): N-No...! I can’t die yet…! (Knack): My fiancée’s waiting…!
: KNACK!: C-Captain…!: Rrgh…! Damn you, UX! You’ll pay for this! SRW UX - JOEY AND HEROMAN (Colbie): (Heheh… I just have to put in some good work with this unit and I’ll be on the fast track to a squad of my own!) (Colbie): (Take a look… I’m making it all the way to the top!)
(Colbie): Gch… Th-The Proton Generator’s been hit?!*Power uuuuup!*
: Particle Acceleration readings are spiking rapidly!: At the rate it’s going, the anti-particles’ll run wild…!: Colbie!
(Colbie): Uwaaaaaah! C-Captain… I can’t control it! (Colbie): H-Help me, Captain!: …: Colbie… luck was just not on your side… (Area 88 reference)
(Colbie): A-Argh…!: …?!: C-Captain…!: Forgive me, Colbie…
: Jin… How could you…!: … SRW UX - The Proud Challengers: I’ve chosen to embrace any fate, no matter how dire, if it’ll help us create possibilities for our future…!
: There’s something flowing from his machine… It shouldn’t be possible, but…!
: A machine that houses the light of life… That power will lead us to the Beginning of Life.
: The Nanajin’s shaking… No, it’s… reacting to something? 
SRW UX - Roaring Deathblow: Arnie…! Our paths may be similar, but they really aren’t the same…: Come on. We’ll have to determine a winner and a loser eventually, so we might as well do it now!: I don’t know what is the sorrow Tsubaki mentioned you were familiar with, Jin…: But I still have answers to find with Saya. And if that means having to bury my past for good, then so be it!
Jin drops another Alex’ Sunglasses.
: Hrm…!: Cpt. Spencer!: D-Don’t worry about me! This is nothing…!: Now, come over here, Ayul! Give me synchro-overdrive on the Neutrino Generators!: R-Roger…!Had you dropped Ayul:
: Rgh…!: Ayul!: I-I’m okay… I’m still good to go!: Come over here, then! Give me synchro-overdrive on the Neutrino Generators!: R-Roger…!*Ayul tags in with Jin’s team.*
: Neutrino Generators, emergency acceleration!: Synchronization coefficient 97, 98… Pressure set, safety lock released!
: What… That light is…!
: It’s just like Aura Power’s…!: I don’t think so, Jin! This ends now!If the Orphes is still separate:
: Saya, we’re combining!: Roger!
: Haaaaaaaaaaah!: Here I come, Jin!
: Haah, haah…: That’s far enough, Sawatari! I don’t know what nonsense Ishigami filled your head with, but surrender now and—: Heh… Heheheh, you’re too late, grandpa!: Wh-What…?!
Linebarrel OST – The Other Linebarrel
: Gwaah!
: Aah! C-Captain Sanada!*Beep.*
: What is it, Sanada?! Did something happen?!: Urgh… Th-That blasted Machina… It’s already accepted Sawatari as its Factor!: What…?!: Hmph, and I might as well kill you since I’m in the area, grandpa. : …?!: S-Sawatari, stop... SAWATARIII!!
: Rrgh…!: Haah, haah…
: Shou, was that light just now…?: …: (If I’m right and their units are running Aura Battler tech, then…): (Shot, did you…?): H-Hrrgh…!: Cpt. Spencer…?!: Gch… Gwaaaaaaaaaaaargh!: A-Aah…! This is… It’s my fault…! I just can’t control the engine properly…!: Jin…!: Kch… I-I’ll…!
: The Katou Organization…?!: Y-You idiot…! Why did you come back?!: …
: The Shangri-La’s…?!: Sanada, do you copy?! Please answer…! Sanada!*Beep.*
: Hahahah...
: Sawatari... You did not!
: Ishigami… I did good on my mission!: The Lostbarrel’s all mine!
: L-Lostbarrel…?!
: Then, that’s…
: The final Machina…?!*RUUUUMBLE!*
: Is that…?!
: A De-Fold?! No, I’m reading a far bigger space-time distortion…!
: Wh-What is going on?!: …: At the moment all existing Machinas have a Factor…: The True Override will occur…
: Override…?!
: That’s like the Linebarrel’s chain teleport ability, then…: No… The Override is a warp through time and space…: And at the other side of the spatial anomaly… is the moon.: Better put, it’s the world of the Human Machinas!
: W-W-Whaaat?!
: Then, what Ishigami was after…!
: Was to link the world of the Human Machinas to Earth…?!: …: It’s over… Everything is over…: Not at all! This is where it begins, Cmdr. Katou… A battle for mankind to, once again, walk with its own two feet! SRW UX - Rebellion Against Fate: What…?!
: Space-time anomaly detected within the moon! We’ve a lock on the source!
(TV): This is the ZAFT Lunar Fleet! Relay Colonies Fauré and subsequent have begun to reposition! 30 seconds until it’s complete!
: It’s time…
: …: Does your heart ache at the thought of firing that hateful weapon yourself, Chairwoman? : I…
: REQUIEM, the gigantic tactical beam cannon built by the Earth Alliance during their war with the PLANTs…: Just a single shot of it took the lives of millions of Coordinators…: …
: Lady Aila, is your mind showing you anything right now?
: …*Tzeeeeep.*
: Fragments of hope reflected in their eyes… will transcend time… and depict our bonds into the future… (Proud lyrics.): Yes… This shot will embody both our hope that mankind shall yet earn its future…!: As well as our requiem for their false god!: …: If this is the fate we are meant to choose…: Then, let us play this accursed requiem! And may it bear joyful undertones! (TV): Repositioning complete! Angle of fire is set!: Here it is, Ishigami… We are now even!: REQUIEM, fire!
*Flash! And distant rumble!*
: We’re reading a REQUIEM blast! It struck the moon!
: “REQUIEM”?!
: (Lacus… You’re also taking a stand against fate in the name of mankind’s future…!): Wh-What happened…?! They fired at the moon…?!: It can’t be…!: Yes, this is what I was after from day one.: As you yourself said, we simply could not reach the Human Machina’s hideaway inside the moon. : So, I figured our only option was to have them unlock the door for us. : You used the warp field from their Override against them?!: Yup; all we needed was a way to determine the location of their base. Once we had that, humanity was more than well-equipped to blast a hole right into moon…!: Oh, boy, I’m so glad that worked! They’re pretty much defenseless now!: …: Then, you had never capitulated to the Machina…?!: I did tell you way back when to “sit back and wait for me,” didn’t I?: Ishigami… you—!: Alright, we better save the rest of this chat for later.: The Human Machinas aren’t so weak that a single REQUIEM shot would do them in, see…: …?! They’re coming…!
: Wh-What the hell…?!
: …: Those’re the Human Machinas?!
: T-They’re all ginormous babies!: aaaaa…
*All of Jin’s troops get blasted. Were they alive, Colbie and Knack would get killed here.*
: Uurgh! H-How’re they so strong…?!
: W-We’re supposed to fight against such monstrosities?!
: Fight?! Giant or not, they’re just babies!
: Do not hesitate!
: You are allowing their appearance to bewilder you! That is precisely what they want!: Reznor?! Jack?!: Ishigami’s told us everything. Our enemies are one and the same!: The same…?!*Beep.*
: Masaki…: I’m really sorry for leaving you alone all this time. No excuse could ever make up for it.: Mr. Ishigami…: And I suppose I should also apologize in advance, but I’m going to have to take back the position I gave you.: The position you gave me…?
SRW UX - Proud
: That’s…!
: I am the captain of the Katou Organization’s 1st Unit… Kunio Ishigami!
: To battle…!And I’m ending this part here because there’s still plenty to do.
We did miss one convo by going for Jin:
: Our lives might’ve been built with the same purpose in mind, Ayul, but…: But now we have to fight! The future you two envision is completely different from ours!: Then, I won’t think twice about this… The Major and the Ensign both put their trust in my life, and, together, we’ll earn our future!