Part 39: Mission 16 (Japan Route) - A Compromising Soul - Part 1
Back again in the Japan route, where Joe and Kouichi are deploying as event units. We got a new influx of units with the Fafner kids, though, so that evens out:
Yamashita/Mike
Sun Quan/Saya
Arnie/Deceive
Kenji/Sun Shangxiang
Shinn/Moritsugu
Sakura/Eida
Kazuki/Luna (this was completely unintentional)
Tactician: Ylbora
Off we go.
We open up at Shangri-la, where Masaki’s reporting that the UX has joined up with the Arcadian Project: we’ve picked up several Fafners and are currently headed towards a certain village of Akoro in the Tohoku region, apparently searching for the new Machina that was detected around there.
Katou tells him to let Yulianne handle that and, more importantly, wants to know what Christopher Rubens has been up to. Well, according to intel sent by “The Advancers”, he’s got several projects cooking in the shadows – should they do something about him? No, Katou says to leave him be, as that makes it easier for them to work.
Does that mean it’s almost time…? Yes, they’ll wait for Yulianne to report and then execute THAT plan. Inwardly, Katou ponders: “The Linebarrel… if it is the real deal, then…”
Aboard the Elshank, our folks are discussing this village we’re heading to: legends say the place is home to an undying ninja and a great demon, which Mike presumes to be the Machina we’re to look for. From what Eida’s heard, though, that legend about the demon has been around for hundreds of years – since the Sengoku era! She’s not sure if she buys Machina existing back in those times.
Still, Domyoji says many legends are based on fact; it could be that the Machina just lay sealed away for all those centuries. That’s great, but what Shizuna wants to know is what the hell he’s even doing here. What, didn’t she hear? After that whole kidnapping incident, he’s joined JUDA’s Special Forces. Clearly Ishigami saw all his potential… Shizuna figures he’s got way better eyes than her, ‘cause all she sees is a huge dumdum.
What the Elshank crew is really interested in, of course, is not the demon but that “ninja” bit. If true and they find him, that’d mean the end of their journey, a prospect that bums Mike out. Joe isn’t sure what he’d do then… and Rennie hopes aloud that he’s not about to say he’d accompany Romina back to Planet Ladorio. She quickly handwaves it away when Joe does a double-take, though.
By the bridge, Shaff is rooting that they’ll find a real ninja today, but Romina doesn’t look too excited. Is something the matter? No, she’s just pondering all the troubles they put Joe and his friends through over the course of this quest.
Way Ylbora sees it, they’re the ones who’ve been troubled by that selfish lot and he, for one, can’t wait to see them gone. Romina's silence says she doesn’t share his opinion. Either way, Gameran reports that we’ll be at the village outskirts soon.
From the intel given to Moritsugu, Akoro has kept itself almost completely cutoff from the world at large. He’d rather not antagonize the locals, so he thinks it best that, once we’re a bit closer, we set down and approach the place on foot.
Richard had the same idea, so he’s already put together a team to send over. We still don’t know where to look, so Damian was sent in ahead of us to try to find some leads… problem is, we’ve yet to hear anything from him.
That’s odd. As Zhou Yu remembers, Damian’s quite adept at infiltration and intelligence gathering, so we should’ve heard something from him by now. Here’s hoping nothing happened…
And something happened, as Damian wakes up inside a house in Akoro. A man’s keeping watch over him, and he apologizes for the rough treatment. You see, he has a mission to protect the village and its secrets.
Damian fumes at the dirty trick they used to catch him and wants to know: what’s the man planning to do? That question goes both ways, as his captor wants to know what Damian’s after. Yeah, like he’s just going to tell him anything!
“Hm, I see… Then I suppose I’ll just have to ask your soon-to-arrive friends,” he says.
Outskirts of the village of Akoro – Mountains
: Yuki no shingun, kori o funde… ♪
: What song is that, Saya?: The Major taught it to me. He said that singing it helps ease your spirits when you’re lost in the mountains…
: How about we not talk about getting lost in the mountains, thanks.: God, that old man just can’t stop teaching you crap…
: Um, Maya? If you don’t mind me asking, why’d they decide to send you along with us? I can understand Saya being here, but…: I volunteered, actually. I figured I needed to at least make myself somewhat useful to the team…: It’s the least I can do for Kasugai after he saved my life…
: Maya…
: …: And Arnie… I know it can’t be easy for you right now, but… Well, I…
: Thanks, but don’t worry. Yeah, it’s hard, but I won’t let myself fall into a slump – I’m an ex-soldier, remember?: You mean that?: Well, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t feeling anything, but… you need to keep moving onwards, or you’ll never get anywhere, yeah?
: You got that right. And, on that subject, how about we pick up the pace and move onwards ourselves?: This cold’s too much… my whole body’s going number and number and number…: That’s what you get for wearing so few clothes when you knew we were headed north!: But this is taking a while. We didn’t stray from the path and we should be going in the right direction… do you think our GPS is malfunctioning because of the cold?: Y-Yo… D-Do you mean we’re actually lost in the mountains…?
: That's it, man… Game over, man. Game over!(The original line was 天は我々を見放した (Heaven has turned its back on us!) which, apparently, is a famous quote from 1977 movie Mount Hakkoda. I didn't know any equivalent western mountain movies with equally famous quotes, so I chose to go with something else. I could have just translated it verbatim and forgotten about it... but where's the fun in that?)
: If we are, you cracking jokes ain’t helping us!: W-Wait… did you guys hear that?: Hear… what?: I don’t know… it sounded like footsteps, and voices…*Woooooooooooosh!*
: Wh-What…?!: I-Is… is it a g-ghost?!: No, it’s…!
: Uwaaaaaaaaah…!
: M-Moritsugu! The investigation team’s signal just vanished…!
: What…?!
: First Damian and now them…? There’s no way this is a coincidence!
: What now? Do we send in troops…?
: No, if we don’t think this through, whoever we send’ll likely go the way of the investigation team. We must first figure out what the situation is…
: But what if we do that and are too late to save them?! We’ll lose them just like we did Shouko and Koyo…!
: I’m with Kazuki here! We might not have a lotta time, so we’re getting out there with or without you…!
: You will not, Joe! I won’t allow it!: What was that…?!: Say you all deploy, what will happen to the Elshank if it comes under attack?!: Your irresponsible, one-sided, actions may put Princess Romina at risk and that is something I absolutely won’t tolerate!
: Then, what, do you not care what happens to them or anyone else?!: I did not say that. I’m truly grateful for all the assistance the people of Earth have given us.: That being said, I still have a duty to see through! One I could never forsake!
: Ylbora…
: Hey, you guys alright?! Pull yourselves together!: Ow…. W-Where are…?: Phew, you’re awake…: Damian?! How’d you get here…?!: Same way you did. I got jumped by a bunch of weirdoes and knocked out. When I came to, was locked up in here…: Damian’s a trained member of the Martian Guerrilla… How did they manage to beat him into submission? What kind of village is this…?: Looks like the stories about this being home to ninjas were legit…: Whatever the case, we need to escape and quick. There’s something seriously off with this place – who knows what’ll happen to us if we hang around…!
: Please, you don’t need to worry. We’re not cannibals or anything.: Y-You’re…?!: My name’s Soubi Nakajima…: And I’m the Factor of the Machina you’re looking for.: Th-The Factor…?!: My Machina, Talisman, has told me about you. He said that another Machina would eventually arrive and that it’d destroy us…!: “Destroy”…?! That’s nuts!: We’re not here to do anything of the sort! We’d just like to ask you to come and help JUDA…!: I’m afraid I’ve absolutely no interest in doing that. Granted, I’m not about to let myself be destroyed without a fight, either.: Because I, as a Factor… 
: Rather…! I, as the demon who’s worshiped here, have a duty to protect this village!: Demon…?!: That’s…! Guys, we’re pinging Machinas at Akoro!: One’s the Linebarrel… but the other’s unknown! They’re fighting, it looks like!: Things didn’t go as nicely as we’d hoped…: There, we’re busted! That’s good enough for you, yeah?!: Now send the Elshank up there! We gotta help Kouichi’s team!: …: Hold on, we’re detecting other stuff – a bunch of them, actually… These are the Katous’ Armas?!
: The Katou Organization?! Of all the…!: Ylbora, we should set out at once…!: I must disagree, Your Highness. If we do so now, we risk our ship being completely surrounded and overwhelmed by the Katou Organization’s forces.: Ylbora, you’re still—?!: Silence! This is not a conversation for laymen!: Wh-What…?!: Master Zhou Yu, what would you do at a situation like this…?
: …: Indeed, I agree with your decision, Cmdr. Ylbora…
: M-Master…?!: One must discuss strategy not with the heart, but with the mind – as he is doing…: There are times when a commander is forced to suggest the more difficult route if it gets his men through a storm. 
: What should we do, then?! If we don’t hurry, Maya and the others will…! : We’ll first send in a suicide corps to shed light on the enemy’s formation and the actual size of their forces. Once we’ve a firm grasp on that, our troops will move in and engage.
: “S-Suicide corps”?!: That’s right… Moreover, said team will be comprised of only one unit as a way to minimize our potential losses.
: Are you kidding me?! You’re pretty much telling someone to die for us!: No, not exactly…: Bro…?!: He said “minimize our potential losses”… And if we’re talking ‘potential’, that means we could walk away taking no losses at all. Ain’t that right, Ylbora?: Hmph. Though that’s presuming you’re capable of such a feat, of course.: Heh, now them’s fighting words! Alright, I’ll play along with your strat!: J-Joe?! Y-You’re not thinking of…!: Yeah, I am. I’ll handle his suicide mission!
Mission 16 (Japan Route) – A Compromising Soul
: Hrrgh…!
: …?! His is quite the powerful regeneration… That said…!
: Uwaaaaah!: Hayase!: Damn it…! His attacks ain’t that bad by themselves, but taking a whole bunch of them is too much for my regen…!: I’ve burned down just your Machina’s artificial muscles. It’ll take a while for you to recover from that.: Why…? We told him we didn’t want to fight!: The people of this village have lived in seclusion for god knows how long. We’re not getting through to them the easy way – not unless we free them from their curse…: “Curse”?: The object of their worship, yeah…: Meaning our only option here is to beat their “demon”!: Tsk… so we’ve no choice in this matter?!: Argh… I-I can’t move…!: What’ll it be? Just say you’ll leave without a fuss and I won’t hurt you anymore…: Come on, guy… I didn’t come all the way to the frigging Iwate prefecture to just go “Yeah, okay!” and take off!: I see. That’s truly a shame, then.: I’d rather not do this, but you force my hand…!
: ?! What…?!
: Been a while, hasn’t it, honey? I do hope you haven’t forgotten about me.: Y-You’re… You’re with the Katou Organization!: Very good… Yulianne Faithful, captain of the 7th Unit.: And I’m here to make good on my previous promise to turn your Machina into a pile of slag!
: Gaaaaah…!
: Ha-Hayase…?! What’re the Katous even doing here…?!: What’s the meaning of this…?! You called for your allies to help…?!: Hahah, heavens, no. What we’re after is one thing only: to destroy every single Machina that exists… And that means you two!
: Urgh…!: Soubi…?!: Shouldn’t you be more concerned about yourself, honey?: After all, you can’t even move… and I’m not known for my merciful nature!: G-Goddamn it…!
: Hm…?!
SRW MX - The Emissary from the Heavens: That’s… the Kurojishi?!
: So you like toying with folks who can’t even move, eh? : Groups like yours are what people call villains!: Now that’s quite the entrance. Care to give me your name?: Oi, I just called you villains! How’dya figure you deserve to know my name, huh?! : Touché. Then I guess I’ll have some fun with you first, Mr. Nameless!
: (Alright, this is it… Either I pull out all the stops and save Kouichi’s crew or I’ll die here!): (You better be watching, Ylbora!)
Kill everything, don’t lose anyone (including Soubi). Not too bad, but the game might take you by surprise as Soubi isn’t the hardiest unit around – his regen is nowhere as strong as Kouichi’s, either. Sending Joe up top isn’t recommended, as there are plenty of Armas and they’ll quickly build up evasion decay even with Joe’s S rank.
Now, Kouichi can’t move but he can still attack, so what you’ll want to do is set Joe within a N-NE forest and have him split the incoming enemy forces. Oh, and if you’re counting on Tobikage bailing him out if his HP gets low enough:
: Hrgh…!: Joe…?!: (Not yet, Tobikage…! Don’t come out yet!): (I gotta show Ylbora… what kind of a man I am!)Yeah, Joe won’t let Tobikage do that and will, instead, get wrecked.
SRW UX - Love Survivor
Next turn…
: What is Joe thinking, coming here by himself?!: And he even went and taunted the enemy…! That’s only made things worse for him!: Actually, I think that’s just what he wants. He’s drawing the enemy’s attention away, in hopes of saving Hayase…!: Joe, you…! SRW UX - Linebarrel
Another turn later…
: Damn it, I still can’t move?! You gotta heal up faster, Linebarrel! SRW UX - Linebarrel: Hmhmhm… Come here, honey. I’ll take really good care of you.: Go to hell! Linebarrel, please, move! Hurry!
Yulianne taking decent damage: “The boy’s Linebarrel really is a cut above the others…!”
: Sorry, my friend, but I’m gonna have to trash your Machina too.: And you think I’d just let you?: It’s my duty to keep this village safe. And there isn’t much I won’t do to accomplish that…!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBiyB53V9B0
I’d be worried about all that damage and the Armor Debuff, but we’ve killed all other mooks. The plot carries on when our next turn arrives…
: Haah, haah…: That’s quite the fight you’re putting, Mr. Nameless. But I’m afraid this is where it stops…!
: Gch-Rrgh…!
Dynasty Warriors 6 - Theme of Lu Bu -DW Prime Mix-
: Hmhmhmhm…: Th-Those are…!: What an ominous look he has… Almost like…!
: Behold the Lu Bu Unit, we Shura born from the fires of Hell!: L-Lu Bu… as in, the Lu Fengxian?!: You know that guy?: The world remembers him as Lu Bu, the Flying General… said to be one of the strongest men to have ever lived, a warrior worth a thousand…! : C-Crap… Just that intro's enough to make you wanna run for the hills…!
: Come, peon! Entertain me! I demand that you rouse my soul!
: Gwaaaargh…!: Joe…! Kch, if I can just get the Linebarrel to move…!
This attack is meant to strike right inbetween Kouichi and Joe’s position… only I had parked Joe right next to the Linebarrel, so it looks like he got blasted again!
: …?!
: That is Fengxian’s battle… you will not interfere! (I’d completely overlooked this the last time we saw them, but Diaochan’s actually uses Lu Bu's courtesy name - a "privilege" that, so far, had only been reserved to Zhuge Liang. I’ve edited our previous battle.): Y-You…!: Now take this! SENPUU BAKURETSUSHOU! 
: Hrgh…!: Joe, hang in there!: Hmhmhm… Tough luck, Mr. Nameless. I make it a point to always have an ace up my sleeve.: H-Heheh… And that’s your “ace”, huh? I was waiting to hear that…!: …? What are you getting at?: I promised them… that I’d get you to show what cards you had…!: And you did. Congratulations, now you can die with the satisfaction of a job well done!
: Hrm…?!: Th-That’s…!
SRW UX - Tobikage Appears!
: …: Tobikage…!
X5!
: Ooorgh…!: Heh… look at that huge meddler…!: But your timing couldn’t be better! Come on, Tobikage!: …!
: They combined…?!: And now it’s my turn! Come’ere!
: Fengxian…?! : Hah, hahahah… You made me lose my footing! Impressive!: Tsk, so you had a surprise of your own, huh? But it won’t save you…!
: She still had this many troops on standby…?!: What’ll you do now? I think even you’ll have a hard time against all these…: Sorry, babe, but no. Here’s some advice for you…: You gotta have aces up your sleeve and know just when to play ‘em!
: …! The alien battleship?!: Hm, color me surprised… That was actually well done, Joe.: Heheh! Yeah, you better admit you were wrong, moron!
: We’ve recovered all members of the investigation team. All hands, battle stations!
: Ms. Kaname, Mr. Koudate and Mr. Kondo, are you ready to go?
: We’re fully fledged pilots too, right? Just give the order and we’ll get it done!
: Aye, aye! Goubine, standing by!
: Aaiieee…! No, this is too scary! Mommyyyy!
: Here we go! I’m all healed up!: You… Who are you people?!: Isn’t it obvious? We’re CHAMPIONS OF JUSTICE!: Champions of Justice…?!: Your orders are to eliminate all of the Katou Organization troops! Do not engage the Akoro Machina!: Open fire!