Part 183: Mission 50 (Plant Route) - The Spiral of Hatred and Fate - Part 2

This battle is made of nothing we haven’t seen before, so just make sure you kill the Dominion in five turns (though you have more than enough time to kill everything).














All mooks are either Serpents or Strike Daggers and while they’re a bit beefier than before, that won’t do much against us.



Kouji doesn’t give any fucks about boosted HPs and takes a Serpent down in one go.



This gets the Zero System running.



As Elijah moves closer, I have Re-Home repair the damage that Canard did.



I also made the mistake of using Kira’s Hit & Away to send him (and Lowe, Gai, Kazuma, Heero…) on the opposite direction of where the Federation started…Athrun will be by himself for a while.












It’s fine, though.



Enemy Phase!



A pack of four Strike Daggers goes after Hayato – they are left in either critical or low-ish HP, depending on their chosen range.



It is Kouji that proves himself as a mook-magnet, though.














Along with this Strike Dagger, two more of those and a Serpent go after him – none survive.



Athrun gets his SEED going with all those kills.



Right on time to kill a mook of his own.





This one kill gets Kira and Tetsuya to activate their buffs.



Player Phase!



Like I said above, Valzacard is VERY far away and would take a long while to get closer to the Feds.
With that in mind, we cast Zeal and Accelerate and zoom right over!



Using Assail, we can take a shot at this here Dagger.












Aw, should’ve used the sword.



Lowe sprints ahead and slices a Serpent in half.



While Golion needs to use Snipe to reach something to attack.














That’s good.






Wufei takes down another Dagger and injures a Serpent with a chain-attack; Prayer tries to follow up but lets it barely hanging.



Cagalli can deal with it, though.












Damn it, Girl!



Elijah downs this stubborn Serpent!



Enemy Phase!



Trying to snipe, eh?














Nope.




The Archangel is attacked twice by weakened Daggers and does not disappoint.



Two kills later, Murrue takes a level and learns Prevail L5.



This is as ridiculous as that Dagger in J standing up to Zeorymer.


















Git outta here.



Uh, oh. Here come the druggies!

: Hahahahahaha! You came out here just so I could smash you?
: Then I'll make sure not to leave a speck! I'll obliterate you! I'll annihilate you! I'll mutilate you!








That works well enough.



One more time.

: Hahahahaha! It's curtains for your whole dumb army!
: You ready? I'll blast you until there's nothing left to blast!






Crazy whippersnappers.

Mind you, Shani simply moves in closer.



Player Phase!



Heeey, it’s our old friend Ed! Maybe he’s had time to think since our last battle in Orb? Let’s find out!

: Ed the Ripper! I didn't know you were still a soldier!
: Say what you want. I have my reasons.
: Reasons? I'd love to hear what reason you've come up with to justify all this!
: You're going to be part of something you'll regret!
: ...
: You're right. I've gotta draw a line somewhere, even if it means deserting under fire.
: Come in, Federation! I hereby resign from the army!
: Ed, you've come to your senses!
: I always knew you were the coolest!
: Yep. I'm all yours, Neo-Wärter.
: Roger. I'm looking forward to a demonstration of Ed the Ripper's skills.

Yeah, we get an extra helper! I’ll put him to use in a bit.




These kiddies had the decency of lining themselves up for a MAP which Prayer is happy to oblige.

Hm, that didn’t do much but do you know what will?



I’m also casting Zeal because why not?






















Boosh!

Now, I could bombard them again and kill all three druggies but we should share the experience around.



Shani is the only one that’s still healthy-ish, so we’ll have Ryouma deal with that.



: Hahahaha! I hate you all!
: I hate you! So, so much!














Good man.



I TRY to have Duo take kill Orga but he misses, so screw him.



Golion it is.
















That’s how you do it.

: Gaah! I'll blast you all away...
*boom!*
: Another one... his mind was made for battle and nothing else...
: Damn it, humans aren't supposed to be weapons!






Moving ahead, Wufei weakens Clotho a bit more and Kira cuts the healthier Agamemnon down to size.



If I was in a bigger rush, Athrun is in position to MAP every single enemy left.
Since I’m not, though, I’ll just have him kill Clotho.














Didn’t even need to use Valor.

: Guaargh! I... I'll...!
*Boom!*
: He was being given some sort of performance-enhancing chemicals.
: And we could have ended up in the same place...





Elijah and Tetsuya take one of the ships down…



And Ed will handle this one.


















I’m guessing that he takes upgrades after someone (probably the Red Frame) but I don’t know for sure.



You’re the only druggie left, kid.














And that’s that.


: ...ha..te...
*boom!*
: His whole self was consumed by battle... this war is ridiculous!
: This is the lengths to which Blue Cosmos will go for their own selfish ends...



Before we deal with the Dominion, Re-Home repairs the Archangel a bit.



Enemy Phase!



Yeah, I expected as much.











Nothing major, though.



Player Phase!




As usual, we open up with Golion grabbing and assist from Kouji to wreck the ship’s armor.



It probably wouldn’t feel right if we didn’t allow Murrue to take a shot at them.



r: Lt. Badjiruel...
: Captain Ramius. You're aware that this is my mission.
: That's right. Just follow your orders like a good soldier.
















Not bad.



Give ‘em what for, Lowe.














Almost there.



Might as well let Ed stick it to his old boss.














Alright, that should be good.



I’ll let Kira grab this kill.



: Lt. Natarle, I...
: Kira Yamato. You never change...
: Now is not the time for sympathy. We need to get to Plant, and they're in our way.












How do you like them apples, jerk?



The Dominion is worth an EN Gigachip, a BP+1 and a Support Request+1.

As expected, Muu also had a line against Natarle:

: Sorry, XO! But I’m gonna have to stop that Dominion!
: Lt. Flaga…Even if it’s you, I cannot show any mercy…！
: Hmm…how suspicious. Seems like there were some mixed feelings there.






Azrael asks what the fuck is Natarle doing and she is sounding the retreat: further combat is impossible and they’ll just have to let us deal with Zaft.
Azrael is sick of her questioning his orders, and grabs a gun he's had hidden to underscore his point.
Natarle asks if he plans to take over her ship with that little piece of contraband weaponry and Azrael responds that this is no takeover - it was her job to follow his orders from day one, and she's the one who resisted at every turn.
He proclaims that they can still turn this around when Corbett’s ships arrive with the missiles.
The Fermion Missiles will still bring them victory against both Neo-Wärter and the Coordinators but Natarle yells at him to stop, to which he yells at her to shut up.

Inside the Dominion…

*Bang!
: Damn you! This is your fault for getting in my way!!
: Now, do it! My orders are to destroy both Neo-Wärter and the Coordinators!
: You’re the one who should be destroyed…

*A gunshot grazes Azrael.*

: A gunshot...! Who the hell are you, bastard?!
: Blue Cosmos’ Chairman, Muruta Azrael…Scum like you doesn’t deserve to know my name.



: I am a mercenary...I received a job to remove a person who disturbs the peace of the world.
: A job?! Who did that?!
: …You, personally, are not the target, nor do I bear any grudge towards you.
: However, if you stay alive, more tragic soldiers like Canard, Prayer and the Socius will be born.
: And THAT is something I won’t allow.
: Wh-what are you saying…?!
: When you see what’s behind my sunglasses, you’ll remember who I am.
: A control code in the retina…you’re…a Combat Co—
: Shut up.
*Bang!*
: A-ack!!
: A man like you isn’t worth pulling the trigger on.
: …Tell the entire crew: this ship will be sunk very soon. If they don’t want to die, they’d better evacuate.
: Y-yes…!
: Y-You bastards! Are you thinking of running off on me!?
: FIGHT! The Dominion can still fight!!
: …Can you stand?
: Y-yes…It’s just a flesh wound…
: Come with me, then. We’re leaving.
: Understood. You have my thanks for helping my crew escape…
: WAIT! FIGHT! ARE YOU NOT SOLDIERS?!
: Soldiers are people, too. They’re not weapons.
: Muruta Azrael…You’ll share the same fate as the Dominion…
: Wait! WAAAIT! I…those monsters…COORDINATORS!!
: You can do the rest by yourself.
: Damn…DAMN IT! DON’T LEAVE MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!

Back outside…

: Gai! What did you do in the Dominion?!
: Just carrying out my mission.
: Lt. Cmdr. Ramius…I’m…
: Natarle! Is that really you?!



: You’re here, Corbett! Fire the Fermion Missiles on them!!
: But that’s…!
: Just do it, already! Or are you thinking of questioning me?!
: R-Roger that!
: The Federation’s going to use the Fermion Missiles!
: Murrue! Fire at the Dominion!
: Lt. Cmdr. Ramius! Do it!
: Understood!
*The Archangel moves up to the Dominion*
: DAAAAAAAMN IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!!
: Aim Lohengrin…FIRE!!









: The ship’s controls!!
: The Dominion is coming towards us! AVOID IT!!
: All personnel, brace for impact! Hurry!!
: Not good! The Fermion Missiles are going to hit it!
: UUWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!








Inside the Archangel, Natarle asks her old captain if she had been wrong the whole time.
Murrue considers carefully, and tells her that she's not sure.
What Murrue is sure of is that Natarle was a fine soldier, and Natarle's next duty will be reporting all of this to the military - laying bare the selfish motives of Azrael and Corbett that allowed such an insane mission to be authorized in the first place.
Without those two, however, Blue Cosmos should lose power and the Army should recede back to UN control in short order.



What remains is taking out Genesis, and Ed offers to ferry Natarle from the battlezone to make that report.
Lowe will trust Ed with not only that but he’s sure that his testimony will also be invaluable in bringing the entire truth to light.
Murrue sees Natarle off, saying that she hopes Natarle will open the eyes of others to their own humanity and Natarle hopes that her testimony will help the Federation rebuild – she does look forward to meeting us again in better circumstances.



When Kazuma asks, Gai says that this was all the tip of the Iceberg - his mission is not yet finished until.
The person pulling the strings - his main target - is yet to be uncovered, and the way Gai sees it our people are still the most expedient way to find whoever that is; besides, Gai isn't so single-minded a merc that he lacks a personal interest in seeing the fruits of our team's quest to restore peace.
Kazuma agrees with that and, when this is over, he says he just might teach Gai about being a Trailer.



Patrick receives the news that our actions have halted the Fed army and the soldier asks if he should stop the Genesis charge.
No, because Patrick thinks this is precisely the chance he's wanted to wipe out the Naturals in one go; he orders the Genesis' firing sequence to continue, with Creuset dispatched to keep our people from reaching Jachin Due.



Creuset's main target is to be National Criminal Lacus Klein.
Patrick fumes to himself about how the Naturals are trying to coddle him like they did Siegel Klein - HIM, one of the Coordinators who are the rightful successors to the universe!
Creuset sees that the final battle is quickly approaching and he is more than eager to fight Neo-Wärter to decide the fate of it all.