Part 162: Mission 39 (Rand) - Start It Up - Part 2
Gotta post this now before the thread flips to a new page!
Quick look at the Antibodies: these things are glass cannons, every single one of them.
No special tricks outside of a 10% HP regen and a basic attack – said attacks, however, come packing a +25 accuracy modifier which makes them, by FAR, the most accurate mooks in the game. Be very careful with your reals because they can easily be brought down (even with focus, if you let the evasion decay pile on).
That was the cannon part, now for the glass: every single Coralian has minuscule armor (a baseline Methuss has more), so you can easily shoot them down. The bigger issue is simply the large amount they like to spawn in, so MAP weapons are especially recommended to thin them out.
Even the Big Antibody’s 2L size won’t make up for its piddly defenses.
With all that in mind, I’m tagging a Renton kill-zone on the NE corner and pretty much everything in there will get MAP’d on the next turn. Hap’s casting Confuse for extra safety.
Meanwhile, our remaining troops will work on whatever further to the NW.
: Dimensional quakes and the Coralians… so these guys really DO have something to do with the collapse?: Wait…does that mean we can stop it if we take them out?!
Good, good. They’re in Wide formation but that won’t help much with that armor.
Let’s see if Gain can’t take out the leader.
: I’ve barely got time to aim with how these things charge in like mad!: Do they not care about their own lives…?!
Urgh, just 36 HP short…fine, the Freeden takes it out from afar.
And at least Dyke takes Prevail L6 out of the deal.
Let’s try the smaller ones.
: We have to fight back if their natural instinct is to attack!
: They can’t get through! Let’s go, Hayato, Benkei! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDvyX_MQUkA
Eeew…
Deal with this, Apollo.
: Eureka’s one of our friends…but if you’re here to hurt people, I ain’t cutting ya any slack!
: I dunno jack about antibodies or whatever but I’m still gonna kick your asses!
I like how the Coralians all fade to dust when they’re killed.
I also like this.
Take this time both to weaken these Medium Antibodies and show off their Laser attack.
: To be honest, I’ve no interest, in one way or another, in whatever it is that you are.: However, so long as you decide to attack, you’ll remain a foe to me…
: And so long as you’re not open to communication, you force me to resolve matters via brute strength!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtBCf4u-e1c
And, finally, Renton will just attack whatever to pass time.
: Renton…
: I don’t know what we should do either…
: But, there’s no choice right now! We gotta fight!: Yes…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KOY9nUMnvvk
Duuuuuuuuuude, look at that damage.
Enemy Phase!
Renton’s swarmed by a bunch of stuff and simply dodges; elsewhere, Gain and Ryouma are dealing with these problems in their own manner (two kills each)
Ah, perfect.
And that was a 10k damage overkill.
Nearby, Roger TRIs a batch of Small Coralians and kills the leader. Soon after, he gives me a chance to show off the Big Coralian’s only attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwdAqg_vvKk
Player Phase!
Better late than never, I guess.
Mwahahahahaha!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxrs7ny2GGQ
That’s 17 kills for those not counting.
Roger weakens some Medium Coralians and Holland steps up to the plate.
: I won’t accept it…! These ones were forced out here and are attacking by instinct – nothing more!: It’s all his fault…! This isn’t because of what we’ve done! No way! 
There’s one down.
Also, Holland vs. Coralians #1: “We gotta hurry…there’s only so much time left…!”
Jamil will be more than capable of cleaning up the remaining two.
: What’s this…? I feel some kind of will behind those Coralians…: Are my powers sensing something…?
Boom!
Apollo takes care of one of the Big Coralians and Kei blasts a fresh group of Mediums.
Said group is just in Marin’s range.
: Space-time around that cloud was all distorted and these antibodies emerged due to an oscillation bomb… 
: Can it be that the Coralians are…
Triple kill!
As Ryouma keeps himself busy bringing down another Small, Jiron takes aim at this group that’s still full.
: There are good people and there are bad ones!
: Same thing for the Coralians! Just as there’s one who fell in love with a human, there are those who attack us! 
Bah, the squaddies barely survived.
What can you do about this, Gainer?
: Dr. Bear said these Coralians are “antibodies”… we’re a contagion in their eyes, then?: If so, does this mean there’s just no way for us to coexist?
Barely short of three kills, again…
Bello’s now a better suited Overman pilot than Gauli…let that sink in for a bit.
Let’s have Duke clean up after Jiron.
: Regardless of what these Coralians are, our duty is to look after each and every person!: You will not pass! If you still want to try, then have at you!
Nice and easy.
Took you long enough!
Next!
: …
: Something wrong, Mel? You hurt?!: I don’t know… I’m feeling something strange inside…like pain and sadness…
: (The hell? Is that ball of light that got into her reacting to these things?!)
Hmm, do Coralians bleed? That looks like it could’ve left a big mess of gunk over the Gunleon.
Nearby, the Freeden takes another easy kill and we’re done.
Enemy Phase!
They didn’t appreciate that and attack Sara back. Thankfully, I had the foresight to leave her with Alert.
As Apollo and Holland each take a counterkill, this Small Coralian decides to get clever and go after Elchi.
Dodging isn’t their forte, though, and she can get easy numbers against them (I have an A-Adaptor on the Iron Gear, so it’s no longer penalized against flying targets).
The remaining two Big Coralians trade blows with Roger and Marin.
Player Phase!
Alright, let’s wrap this up.
: Jeez, I’m totally lost here!
: Would somebody just explain to me what the hell these Coralians are?!
In due time, Garrod.
The remaining Coralians fall shortly and, just to try and give Adette one last level, I let her take the remaining one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JchGNWkT57A
Been a very long time since someone used this attack, huh?
And there we go, another pilot who can trigger OverSkills!
More Coralians enter the area almost immediately, seemingly endless, and we certainly can’t keep this up indefinitely. Letting them through here would mean another slaughter like in the Federation’s video, though.
Eureka, however, senses something and the Coralians start shaking – they soon explode and crumble away. It wasn’t something of a self-destruct, though, as Rena says they simply ran out of energy.
Hilda does remember in Dewey’s video that they never showed the Federation actually dealing with the Coralians who attacked that town. It seems that these Antibodies are on a time limit after they appear in our world.
Eureka, shivering badly, asks Renton to hold her hand...
After the battle, Holland calls for an all-hands meeting and Elchi wonders what he’s got in mind. Cramping everyone inside the Gekko isn’t the best but Hap says this is something Holland wanted to tell everyone.
Holland reiterates that Eureka is a humanoid Coralian, a fact he learned while in the military.
He was also told by his mentor, Adroc Thurston, that the Coralians are intelligent and created the Gekkostate for one purpose: carrying on Adroc's will and protecting Eureka, the one and only means of accessing the Coralians.
Jiron and Marin wonder if that’s really possible as the ones we found today didn’t seem the slightest bit interested - or capable - of talking as they attacked us.
Holland explains that today’s battle was Dewey’s handiwork and, while he doesn’t know why he did it, says the guy used a so-called “Orange” to force the Antibodies to spawn. Ryouma asks if Dewey’s trying to get the Coralians to wipe humanity out but, no, Hap’s certain that the guy’s doing it all in the interest of protecting both humanity and our world.
Raita sees that they seem to know much about Dewey and Hap sighs that there’s a bit of a history between the Gekkostate and him.
Regardless, Holland tells the team that Dewey and his Ageha Squad see the intelligent Coralians as a threat to mankind and are trying to exterminate them. Dewey’s been after that since before the Break and certainly hasn’t changed.
The Gekkostate had been trying to halt the military's plans and make contact with the Coralians on more positive terms, but now that they’ve been revealed to the world in such a negative light, they have to be very careful or they'll turn all of society against them.
Apollo asks, then, for Holland’s opinion - sure, Eureka’s our friend but does he really think it’s possible to get along with all the Coralians? Indeed, Sirius says if coexistence isn’t actually possible, like with the Fallen Angels and Demons, then fighting them seems like the only option.
: …Honestly, I don’t know. But, I believe - or it might be better to say that I want to believe...: So long as Eureka’s here, I believe it can be done. 
: That’s quite the crazy dream…: You can think that if ya want… and that’s why I wanna hear what y'all think.: If you think this story’s just a pipe dream, then I… the Gekkostate, will go its own way.
: Huh…
: Whoa, hold on! Why are you bringing this up now…?!: I've been using things throughout my whole life, all for my goals...: That's why I founded the Gekkostate, why I took up Lifting and counterculture… Same goes for ZEUTH. : And I didn’t realize that, by doing so, I was hurting all those things that I should’ve valued…
: …: Not just that…I also hurt a lot of people, saying it was all to protect something important…: Especially you two, Renton and Eureka… I can’t even begin to apologize but I hope you can forgive me.
: Holland…
: (Whoa, he apologized to Renton…!)
: (He's really pouring out his heart…I guess it’d be a faux pas to tease him now, huh?): I won’t demand anything else…ain’t got the right to do that. I just wanna make it up for using you guys. 
: Don’t sweat it, bud!
: Repairman…: Ya know…the truth is that I’ve been using you folks too.
: I figured sticking with someone famous would be my ticket to “nice and easy” street.
: But we make barely enough to afford food!
: Yeaaah…I was way off target on that subject. 
: Well, if we’re talking about something like that, then we’re just as guilty. After all, we used everyone here as decoys to bring Kei over to Emaan.: And we figured working with the Emaanians would be really profitable, so I guess it’s the same for us, huh?
: We joined ZEUTH in order to protect Newtypes, so we cannot be excused, either.
: Ditto, what with me trying to get revenge on the Aldebaron.
: And we, who joined to investigate what the Fallen Angels and Demons were doing. 
: And you with that “personal Exodus” story, Gainer! Talk about unreasonable!: I-I guess so.: You…
: That’s the way it is, Holland. We’re all guilty here, so no one has any intention of criticizing you.: Furthermore, I also support your dream.: Jamil…: It’s not like we haven’t already been pariahs for a long time and I think I also have faith on Eureka and Renton. Is that alright with you, Tifa?
: Yes…
: Same here, of course! I’ve been watching their backs since day one!
: Garrod…thanks!
: If those two are OK with it, does that mean we’re automatically in?
: Hey, you’re free to run off if you don’t like it.
: Just kidding! Even I have a rather strong attachment to the Freeden.: Right, Acting Captain?
: Ah…?
: This journey itself is our goal. And seeing the world from its underside seems a whole lot more interesting than staying on a surface that’s filled with lies.
: OK, Shaia. And you don’t get to say “no”, Olson!
: I wouldn’t be here if I wanted to work for the powerful.
: Yup! You gotta be honest with yourself!
: And I can’t really stand the Feds lying to folks to help out their game. So, I’m in your team, Holland. 
: Yes, the Iron Gear will stay with the Gekkostate.
: Considering that we’re the Iron Gear's tenants, we’ll have to go with you too.
: And those who bail on their “bros” aren’t men at all, Gainer. 
: Got it, Ms. Adette!
: My bro’s coming too…!
: We’ll help you anyway we can, Renton! Fight, fight!: I owe ya one for teaching me about the UN, too. It’s a tough spot we're in but I wanna see what kind of man you'll become. : I started this just to be with Eureka, so I’ll pull it off, Rand!
: Then, I’ll be coming along as well...?: ‘Course, Löwen! You gotta stick with us until you figure out if your heavenly boss is OK!
: Just don’t expect to make any cash outta this, repairman.: Nah…before anything, ya gotta make it up for us for that “Runaway Renton” episode.
: He’s right. We’re gonna stick to you like glue until you buy everyone a round.: That just makes me never want to buy y'all a drink.: What will you do, Roger? The client here looks kinda broke.: Despite my appearance, I’m a free spirit. 
: Even if there’ll be no payment, once I’ve taken an interest in something, I’ll persevere with it until I’ve seen the end result.
: That’s how it always goes. : I’ll be counting on you, Negotiator...more on your strength than anything else, of course.: I’d rather not but there might be no other way.
: Apollo…
: Ya don’t need to start yacking on me, Ryou. I already said I wanted to help them.: I really like that sense of duty you have.: Heh...It don’t feel right to hear that from ya. You guys ain’t got a problem with this, right?
: And why do you get to make this call?!
: ...Not that I disagree, of course.
: We are all free... Giving of ourselves for what we believe in is perfectly fine – even if the world goes against it.
: And there’s that princely attitude we know and love!
: But it’s good...this is all good.
: Yeah! We’re all used to this outcast lifestyle by now!
: Oliver, Raita, Jamie…
: Honestly, I don’t really understand those Coralians...
: But we should think twice before falling for the Feds’ propaganda and attacking them - best to make an informed decision.
: Yeah. There are even trustworthy aliens around, so…: But you better not go telling Eureka one of your awful jokes, Raita.
: Marin…: It’s as it seems, Daisuke. Looks like your efforts weren’t for nothing.: Yes...and I’ll have faith in Eureka and Renton just as I did with you three. 
: And I’d like to apologize to Kouji and his friends…to, once again, stand side-by-side with them.: The other ZEUTH, huh…: It’s true that we’ve both been fooled… but we don’t know whether they’ll understand everything.
: There ARE a handful of thickheaded folks in their group…: Ain’t nothing gonna happen if we don’t at least try talking to them, though…: Right...! Things are just gonna end up as before if we don’t clear the air!: And that’s why we need to meet with them one more time.: We’ll all do this as ZEUTH. Is that fine, Holland? 
: Pfeh…A gathering of folks who don’t know what’s good for them…or, maybe, everyone just has no idea of what they’re getting themselves into? : You’re the same, mister. “Birds of a feather flock together”, right? : Fine. But, at least, lemme say this...: Thanks.: Whoa, whoa! Did I just hear Holland saying “thanks”?!
: So he does know words like that!
: That’s what it looks like! It’s my first time hearing it!
: Not that surprising. I’ve been here since the third year and I’ve never heard him say it before.: Sh-shut up!
Dr. Bear comes in right then, noticing the merriment going around, and Mischa asks if he’s finished with his research.
No, it’s still far from finished as he still needs more data BUT, by observing us and Eureka, he’s been able to confirm something: the Scub Coral itself is intelligent and the Coralians are actually just assemblages of it sent forth to perform some sort of task. It's not surprising that everyone mistakes the Scub Coral for some random soil, since its biological processes are so different from every other known form of life.
That means that Eureka too was sent for some purpose, though even she has no idea what that purpose might be. That fact itself is her purpose, Greg thinks: she was deliberately sent as a blank book, as a message from the Scub Coral that it knows nothing about mankind.
And in fact, Eureka is also mankind's message to the Scub Coral, says the suddenly appearing Fudou.
When Tsugumi asks, he says he just arrived and decided to join us in this interesting conversation – the way the guy always shows up outta nowhere is making Apollo think he’s flying in through subspace just like Baldios. Regardless, Greg confirms what Fudou said.
Eureka was sent as a blank book so that we may imprint in her anything we wish, be it love, or hatred, or whatever.
So, if humanity wants to be friends with the Scub Coral, they need to have Eureka with them on all sorts of different tasks. Matthew wonders if, in case we can’t understand each other, we’ll have more of those Antibodies showing up to attack.
However, Stoner and Ken-goh add that, unlike their original world, the Scub Coral is only present in a handful of regions in this world and, furthermore, it can only spawn a limited number of Antibodies which only last for a limited time. All those point to an inevitable human victory if it comes to war.
Greg disagrees, saying that, while we may not see it, there’s plenty of Coral existing in the shadows of this world: as Marin noticed, enormous amounts of it exist in a dimension VERY close to ours. It, essentially, surrounds our world completely.
That’s why the Kute Coralians appear where space-time’s distorted and why the Antibodies can be drawn over by dimensional quakes.
Daisuke asks if Greg’s suggesting that an unlimited number of Antibodies could spawn sometime but the doctor says that’s not the problem here.
The Coral has transcended the concept of numbers and, should all of them wake up, the sum total of life would pass the theoretical limit of information that the world can sustain. If that happens, the resulting dimensional quake will be immensely more powerful than the Break.
In fact, we’re already feeling the effects of the Coral’s steady awakening as our dimensional walls are getting more and more unstable – indeed, this is the cause behind the incoming collapse. This is a big reveal but that’s all Greg can say for now without more data, since he's only had a chance to study Eureka directly.
Stoner guesses that the only other data repository would be with the military, but Holland has another idea: find Norb, of the Vodarac.
Location: Galia - Zaft’s Gibraltar Base
: …So, you’re saying that Dewey Novak is using small Space-Time Oscillation Bombs?
: He calls them “Oranges”, I believe.: Those don’t deserve to be called “Space-Time Oscillation Bombs”, really, but they can do enough to tease the Coralians beyond the dimensional walls.: Nevertheless, I didn’t expect the Federation to have such advanced dimensional technology…: Oh, it’s not that surprising…especially considering that it was I who gave it to them. : And that, too, is part of your grand plan?: …You could say that. : Still, I’m well aware that you're not actually very willing to leave me to my own devices…: …: And I also know that you’re advancing your own plan in the shadows of my mischief. : …I thank you for informing me of the parallel worlds and the distortion in the dimensional walls.: Please, you needn’t do that. I’ve already been very nicely rewarded. : Plant technology is wonderful, isn’t it? It’s amazing that your lessons from the Bloody Valentine War would lead you to create such a thing.: The Neutron Stampeder…a device that forcibly triggers nuclear fission to self-destruct any nearby nuclear weapon...my, my. : …: This'll make for an amusing card to play. I’ll put it to good use.: It’s almost time for me to get to work. I will show you technology far more advanced than Col. Dewey’s little Oranges.: You mean those were unpolished...?: You must fail before you succeed. Otherwise, the world would be quite boring.: Failure before success… sacrifices to achieve an objective… I suppose, ultimately, a ruler has no choice but to accept such things as necessary… : Oh, don’t be so gloomy. Just wait a bit longer and everything’ll be fine. : The world will be saved...and humanity will have its future. : I’d like to believe those words…: …By the way, what should I call you?: Hm? Why do you care about such trivialities now?: I did not think we’d be working together for this long when we first met.: I will not ask who you are but you cannot remain nameless forever, yes?: "Warrior of Salvation"… "Traveler to the Taiji"… "Defender of the Law"… "Guardian of Causality"… "Accursed Wanderer"…any of them is appropriate... : Hmm...why don’t you call me “Black Charisma”?: Quite the theatrical name...very well. : And, with that, I bid you good day. I’ve a feeling the world will, once again, be in flux when next we meet. : I can’t wait to see just how much it’ll change…
: ZEROOOOOOOOOOOO! 
One more thing before we end. Head over to the bazaar because it’s time we collected a prize. DO NOT SKIP THIS because I think you’ll lose out if you don’t grab it now:
Jiron and co. had done their best to ration their BIG lizard jerky but they only have a bit left. That said, Burume’s heard that lizard is quite rare around here, so we should be able to sell this for quite the profit.
Apollo likes it and suggests they use the cash to buy MORE food. He doesn’t have to look very far as Dr. Bear shows up and seems rather taken with the “delicacy”.
When Silvia asks, he says he came to the bazaar to stock up on his candy as he gets cravings for sweets whenever he’s doing research (Tsugumi thinks that he’s always eating sweets, research or not).
Either way, he gives Chil some of his candy and, in exchange, wants our remaining lizard jerky - Rag and Apollo aren’t amused with this uneven trade, though, and tell Chil to give the candy back.
Too bad, though, she’s already eaten which means the trade stands! Rag isn’t budging as, trade notwithstanding, this is way too much of a one-sided deal and Jiron agrees, saying we can’t give him the stuff unless Greg covers the difference.
Fine, then he agrees to give us this trinket made by the Tresor folk – it’s an excellent unit part, so he’s sure we’ll be satisfied.
I am VERY satisfied as we finally get the first of Rand’s secret parts: the Hero’s Mark!
This baby adds +25 to Mobility and Accuracy, + 25 to crit ratio and +200 to armor – perfect for dodgy Supers like Getter or, really, any Real (they won’t benefit much from the armor but, still…).
Here’s a reminder of the steps we took to get here:
- Mission 8 – Jiron and Apollo both kill an enemy and, after the battle, your purchase a Lizard Jerky from the bazaar
- Mission 23 – purchase the Natto from the bazaar
- Mission 28 – purchase the Big Lizard Jerky
- Mission 39 – Visit the bazaar