Part 54: Mission 18 (Galia Route) - Farewell, My Friend
One thing to note before we keep going:
Secret Alert!- King Gainer’s Secret – 2nd Point: by the end of this mission, the combined kill count of all King Gainer pilots (Gainer, Gain, Sara, Gauli, Bello, Adette) must be, at least, 100.
I’m pretty sure it doesn’t need to be limited to kills on THIS playthrough (i.e. kills carried via NG+ count) but, regardless, this isn’t difficult – especially on Rand’s side.
Getting the reinforcements now is a wee bit more dangerous for Kappei but his prevail should keep him safe (if he gets too low, play it safe and defend).
The better part is that the enemies move from the get-go, making it easier for a lot of people to get in range.
See? No problem. Only two enemy squads can get in range to attack him.
Player Phase!
First things first, Kappei has no SP to cast Guts so Heizaemon and Mel heal him up.
People start moving ahead and Gainer gets in range to TRI a Vega squad.
Both UFOs get downed but the Golgol hangs on.
Kei finishes off a Domilar and Gain TRI attacks another squad.
Enemy Phase!
Kappei is still a priority target to nearby mooks but, with the added morale, he can pull his weight.
Gain’s low HP also draws the AI’s attention.
Good, good.
A total of four different squads go after him and he weakens them all; meanwhile, a Golgol jumps the Glomar and Shaia hurts it as bad as it did her (no kills, though).
Player Phase!
This here Megaboost squad is rather far away, so it’s easier to send Jiron to TRI it.
Gotta play aggressively here.
Kouji’s cheap TRI is also a good call against this farther Kumoganira squad; Kei finishes off the squaddies, too.
I get distracted and waste Roger’s move, so it falls on Loran to get cracking on this wide formation of Domilars.
At least it’s one kill.
Kappei’s sniping from afar, where he’s safe, and the Iron Gear follows it up with some artillery fire.
In goes Rand, with Wide Formation, to take out the Kumoanira and leave the Domilars set for killing.
Good man.
Heizaemon and Shaia clean up on some weakened mooks.
Also, considering my screw-up with Roger’s movement, Gain needs to move on ahead and blast this other full-HP squad.
Enemy Phase!
This Domilar chooses his target poorly but, at least, it gives me the chance to show off Kei’s regular Missile attack.
The animation is surprisingly detailed for such a basic attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1oV9rU8RAWM
“In this world, even stuff like aliens doesn’t surprise me!”
Gain gets attacked by a billion squads and scores six kills; Jiron gets jumped by a couple other squads, taking two kills for himself.
Kouji, meanwhile, will handle what I think is the last full-HP squad.
Yeah, fine.
Player Phase!
Kappei’s still doing his thing.
Kouji’s group gave Roger an opportunity for a Missile Party!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cfwZztCdxA
“Here’s a present from me! Go on, take it!”
You’re such a giver, Roger.
Elchi and Shaia take down a Kumoganira.
Our people start hearing that familiar Hypnosound and, quickly, Fallen Angels show up.
Roger seems shocked a something and Rand asks if he’s having trouble with the Big O – he says it’s nothing. “What was that…? For a moment, information regarding those monsters showed up on Big O’s monitors… It seems there’s some sort of residual memory about these Fallen Angels inside it,” Roger thinks.
Gainer tells everyone to pay attention as these monsters are after humans and Adette realizes they’re here for the people in Yapan’s Ceiling. We don’t have a choice but to impede their advance lest they reach the residential units, so Heizaemon marks the NW edge of the map as the limit.
If any Fallen Angel crosses that line, we won’t be able to stop them and Kouji’s very annoyed that we need to fight both them and the aliens at the same time. Jiron reminds him of how many people are taking refuge in Yapan’s Ceiling – we HAVE to hold them at bay.
Kappei knows what his defeat here will mean for Aki, Michi and Kozuki…
Yup, we’ve a batch of Fallen Angels to contend with and they’re all bulkier than they were before – most aliens are weakened, so we should shift our focus to them.
Gainer has enough skill to double attack Xibalbas and, all Fallen Angels being in single unit squads, we’ll be switching to Center Formation for some added damage.
*Photon Mat noise.*
: There it is again…! Whenever King Gainer fights Fallen Angels, our movements get sharper!
: It feels like something wakes up inside me!
: (What’s going on…? Gainer’s moves…it’s like he’s possessed…!): Fallen Angels…! Behold King Gainer’s power!!
Aye, that’s good.
Kei and the twins cut a Cherubim down to size while Gain snipes Gainer’s target into oblivion.
*Insert Hypnosound noise here.*
: There’s that voice again!
: More enemies?! Gimme a break!
: Some big guys came over this time!
: Well, guys like those are always slow! Bombard and pin them down!
: No! It didn’t work!
: Ooh…they’re coated in a thick armor.
: This isn’t the time to be impressed!
: Wait! There is something coming from the East!
: Aquarion! Is it Apollo and the others?
: Hey there, Jiron! Leave those Fallen Angels to us!
: “L-leave it to us”, Apollo?! W-we can’t handle this!
: H-he’s right! We couldn’t even do the combination in the simulator!
: Quit complainin'! Didn’t you get some training from Fudou?!: Ya learn by doing it! Now get ready!
: B-but…
: Let’s go! Stop whining and come with me!*Apollo and Jun move ahead but Tsugumi stays back.*
: Tsugumi, what’s wrong?!: N-no! I can’t do this…!: If this keeps going, my heart rate will…!
: What is she talking about…?
: Never mind that, we need to stop these round Fallen Angels!
: Not good! One of them’s making a run for it!!*One of the armored angels gets close to the boundary and Kappei intercepts.*
: Bastard, stop! Stop right there!
: Kappei!: If you get through there, will put Aki, Michi and everyone else in Yapan’s Ceiling in danger!
: No way you're getting past me!
: Stop, Kappei! Your unit isn’t strong enough!: I know that, okay?!
: What then, Kappei? What will you do about it?!
: Sunbro! (I had no idea he would call him that but I love it.): Tell me, Kappei! What will you do to protect what you want? What can you do?!: I…I’ll…!: Don’t hold back! If you let these things run off, they’ll kidnap everyone!: Just like Baron…like my friend!: Friends… Aki, Michi, Kozuki…!: Gimme a hand, Uchuuta, Keiko! Please! We gotta fight together!!: Kappei!!
: Both of you - launch!
: Yes!
: We’ll cover you, Kappei! Hurry up and combine!
: Aim for that fat angel, guys! Hold him at bay just for a bit!!
: Everyone’s helping…
: Of course! You’re not doing this alone!: That’s right! Everyone’s fighting and they all want the same thing as you, Kappei!: The same…!: Let’s do this, Uchuuta, Keiko! ZAMBOT COMBINATION!
: Woof (One)!: Two!: Three!
: Go, Zambot 3! Full Power!!
: How’s that?! I’ll push ya back no matter how many times you try to get to Aki and the others!: Hey, the brat ain't half bad!: Amazing…! What incredible spirit!
: Indeed! People can bring forth such strength because they’ve something they wish to protect!: Commander Fudou!
: Yo, pops! What're you doing here?!
: Tsugumi, let’s combine! I’ve thought of a way to beat them!: B-but…: Then, be forever afraid and unable to protect what you wish.: …: Tsugumi! Even they managed to combine! We can do it!: B-but…if my heart-rate goes any higher, I’ll…I’ll…!: Just use that power! Come on, Tsugumi!: “That power”-- !
: I noticed… Whenever you get excited and your heart-rate rises, you cause an explosion.: But that's exactly what we need right now!: Jun…!
: Whatever you’re gonna do, do it fast! My friends are in Yapan’s Ceiling!: Come on, Tsugumi!: Y-yes! I…I’ll do it!!
: Formation 49: The First Shape! Spiritual…!: Combination!
: GO! AQUARION!
: UUOOOOOOOOH!
: Ah…AAAH…!
: Amazing…this is too amazing!
: A-AQUARION LUNAAA!*Tsugumi’s heart-rate rises.*
: N-no! It’s happening…! Aaaah...AAAH!: Tsugumi! I’ll guide you with my psychography! Send your power inside him!: Aah! I can’t!!: Like hell you can’t! GOOOOOOOO!!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWBlJUVJRM0
: Yeah! We did it, Tsugumi!
: Haa…Haaaa…I’m so happy…: A combination is…: AN EXPLOSION!!
: W-what was that…?!
: Aquarion is as unbelievable as ever…
: Alright, we’re turning this around! Let’s go, Uchuuta, Keiko!
: Heh…looks like you finally understood teamwork.: With those three in the Aquarion and the three of us over here, there’s no way we’re gonna lose!
: Yes! Let’s give this our best!
: Now, all units attack! Destroy the Aliens and the Fallen Angels! Before anything else, let’s take a quick look at our new enemy:
Graave Cherubim (Mythological Beast)
Features:
- 10% HP Regen
- Pilot-Affecting Debuff Immunity
A direct upgrade over the regular Cherubim Soldiers, you’ll find these to be better at everything (except dodging, of course): they’re bulky as hell, have high attack power (for mooks) and they still have a morale-reducing attack.
Attack from afar whenever possible and deal with them as you would any other Fallen Angel.
Moving on, Rand wrecks the weakened Cherubim and is nearly maxed out on Prevail!
I’d like to show off Jun’s strongest attack but the Skill Point takes priority.
: Pops is watching too, so don’t go chicken on me, Jun, Tsugumi!: Got it, Apollo! I’ll do it for my instructors, Sirius and Pierre!: And I’ll do my best for Reika!: Sh-she's pretty excited, huh...: I don't get it either but let’s get to it! Time to send these Fallen Angels flying!
Tsugumi’s Skill isn’t boosted like Silvia’s, so there’ll be no double-attacking shenanigans for Apollo today.
Loran wraps up one of the remaining Domilars (learning Mercy) while Jiron gets an amazing critical hit against the weakened Graave.
We can let it kill itself against us so let’s have Kappei start working on this Xibalba.
: Do it, Kappei! We can’t let them get near Yapan’s Ceiling!: I don't need a reminder! : I’m counting on you guys. The Zambot won’t fight with all he’s got if we don't work together.: Sounds like you learned a bit of teamwork.: Aw, shaddup! Let’s do this, Uchuuta, Keiko!
Alright, alright.
Enemy Phase!
This Megaboost still goes after Kappei but he’s all good now; meanwhile, Gain takes another kill when a weak Domilar guns for him.
Those kills finally trigger Gainer’s OverSkill.
The last group of Gaizock goes for Loran.
Only one Domilar left.
Rand easily wipes the rest of this Vega squad while Gainer slaps a Cherubim away.
This one decides to tangle with Kei.
Not the best of choices but it’s not like he can’t afford the HP loss…
Oh, this is actually a worse choice.
: (Why…? Why did Big O have a memory of Fallen Angels inside it?): (Is there some unknown connection between them…?)
There’s that barrier reduction!
Gain gets sniped by an offscreen Xibalba and responds in kind; Rand, meanwhile, trades blows with the other Graave.
Finally, I overestimate Gainer’s chances to get a critical hit and the weak Graave barely survives…
Player Phase!
Fine, let Heizaemon take this thing out.
Good man.
Next, Apollo goes for this clever Cherubim that’s inching towards our border and Roger scores a MASSIVE overkill.
Sara and Dyke level up, with her learning Invincible.
Give him what for, Elchi!
Alright.
Kei falls short of being able to double attack a Xibalba, leaving it barely alive (I might boost his Skil stat a bit…).
Jiron’s squad weakens another Xibalba and, hopefully, it’ll stay here it is so I can kill it with Jun.
Jiron gains Support Attack L2 from his level up.
Take him down, Loran!
: (There’s some data related to the Fallen Angels inside the White Doll...): (Does that mean there were Fallen Angels in our old world even before the “Break the World’s” effects manifested…?)
That’ll do.
Miashey levels up and learns Focus.
Gain weakens a distant Cherubim while Gainer leaves his baaaaarely alive after a double attack.
Might as well kill this Graave, so Keiko Analyzes it and Kappei takes a big chunk of its HP with a Moon Attack.
Time to finish the job, Rand.
Boosh!
Finally, Shaia finishes Gainer’s target.
Enemy Phase!
Gainer easily kills the last Domilar and Shaia misses a 76% shot…
Frig…there goes Jun’s target running after Kei.
I suppose I can reload after we’re finished…
The last Xibalba gets blasted by Gain.
Player Phase!
Gain and Gainer team up to take down the last Cherubim.
Jun’s out of range, so Apollo will do his thing.
Always good.
And the last mook falls to Roger!
Before we close up, Jun did have stuff in battle (plus, here’s the attack I didn’t get a chance to show) :
: Alright! I’m the head now!: Do your best, Jun!: A real fight ain’t like those games of yours! Don’t screw this up!
: What, he’s also into games?
: And he wears glasses, too, just like Gainer…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2NIWsX2zKo
We’ve made it but today’s fight shows that the Siberian Rail and Saint Reagan aren’t the only enemies the Exodus will need to contend with.
Gain thanks Apollo for his help today but he says he doesn't need that as Fallen Angel-hunting is their job. Speaking of, Jiron asks where the three of them came from and, much to the Exodizers’ surprise, it’s from Japan.
Apollo remembers that we’re trying to get there and gives us a warning: Japan is Hell. Kouji asks what he means and Apollo tells us to go see with our own eyes before leaving.
Kappei is looking around for “sunbro” but it seems he’s not here anymore. Either way, Keiko is glad he helped the kid during battle and, inwardly, Kappei thanks him for opening his eyes.
More worrisome to Gwen is the fact that we have aliens and Fallen Angels running amuck in Siberia now and Diana knows this isn’t the time for men to be fighting against each other.
Inwardly, she knows she can’t postpone it anymore: she needs to switch places with Kihel and put thinks back in order.
Location: Lunar Surface – Skull Moon Base – Bandock, Bridge
Geezar presents his findings on the so-called Fallen Angels to Butcher: they've been popping up all over the Earth and kidnapping humans.
Butcher laughs away, saying that he has a lot of free time with the Eldar and Aldebaron focusing on the Pacific Ocean and Geezar’s info just made him have a fun little idea to pass that time.
Geezar asks if he’s planning on allying them with the Fallen Angels but, no, he doesn’t care about what they’re doing. However, Butcher says the Gaizock are very practical and always find amusing ways to put things to use.
He won’t say what he has in mind, though, only ordering Geezar to gather as many humans as he can…
Location: Siberia
Some time later, we find Tiptree thanking us for the lift and, from where they are, her caravan can easily reach the Domepolis.
Still, Roger did promise to negotiate their entry into the Domepolis so he thinks they should go there together – Tiptree decides to trust him, then. Nearby, Toppo is now fawning over Kappei, saying he’s completely changed his opinion of him, and he’s done a little something as a way to thank Kappei for risking his life to protect everyone.
Toppo called Aki and Michi over, who wanted to say her farewells before leaving for the Domepolis.
Aki says they tried to call Kozuki and Hamamoto over but…yeah. Kappei says it’s fine as he knows how they feel.
Still, both girls know how much he’s giving his all in this fight and, with a wish for him to stay safe and to meet again someday, they leave to rejoin the caravan. As they do, Kappei thanks the “pair of pigs” and Toppo is surprised, thinking they haven’t made-up.
Kappei says they’re fine, though, and thanks Toppo for bringing them over – he does notice that the boy doesn’t seem to be going to the Domepolis. Indeed, Toppo is headed elsewhere in search of his dreams but he hopes to see Kappei again.
Observing from a distance, Maria wonders if Kappei will be okay now and while Kouji doesn’t know, he thinks he’ll, eventually, heal the wounds in his heart. Loran hopes that Kappei and the kids can be happy together again someday (that’s probably what Kappei is fighting for, he thinks).
Sochie asks if Loran’s also fighting to repair the relationship between the Earth and Moon Race. He is but Loran understands Sochie’s uneasiness with the whole thing – still, he believes both sides can overcome what happened and find peace.
With this, Diana asks Loran to pass by her room later – she has something to ask of him.
Over there, Diana reveals to him who she actually is and Loran isn’t very surprised - he had felt there was something strange about her – but still he asks why she wanted to come here.
She says it was all a joke of hers gone awry and Loran admits to be a bit disappointed at his inability to distinct between the two women despite the respect he has for both. Regardless, Diana says Kihel is in a difficult position right now and her life is likely at risk.
Loran understands that, having changed places with her, Kihel would be aboard the Soreil and Diana says that they cannot allow the current Galian situation (the aliens, Fallen Angels, DC looters and the wretched conditions the refugees live in) to continue unabated.
For the good of both the Earth and Moon, she asks Loran for his cooperation and, of course, he accepts.
Did you complete the requirement and have a total kill count of all King Gainer units above 100? Then, it’s time to check the Bazaar again.
Gainer heads to Yapan's Ceiling's bazaar, noting how the residential unit has changed while he's been gone, and Adette says it’s thanks to how crazy the world got: they’ve been getting a lot of different things here.
Kona runs over looking for her and wants to show her something interesting that she saw with the caravan folk. Adette figures it must be something machine-related if it interests the girl.
Indeed, it seems to be the frame of an Overman though it is VERY broken. Adette says we can’t really make much use of it if it’s so broken but Gainer argues it could still be interesting to take a look.
He moves to call Cotsett over and Kona will go on ahead and buy the thing.
Secret Alert! - King Gainer’s Secret – 3rd Point: Purchase the Scrap (OM) (スクラップ(OM))
We find Cotsett thinking and Gain asks what he’s up to with that pile of junk.
Cotsett confirms that it is the wreckage of an Overman, due to the presence of a Muscle Engine, but the thing is too broken to be of any use – just desserts for buying cheap stuff, Leeg thinks. Kona was hoping that they could use it as spare parts from King Gainer but, since we still spent the cash to buy it, Cotsett figures we could try restoring it.
Kona wants to do so if the alternative is just throwing it away but Cotsett does say that we won’t be able to do anything if we don’t know what this Overman was in the first place.
As they start examining the wreck, Adette seems to have something on her mind – she tells Gainer that she thinks she’s seen this scrap somewhere before but can’t quite place it.
Sara scoffs that Adette’s age is catching up to her and that quip makes Adette completely lose her mental image.
Either way, Kona asks her to let her know if she remembers anything. She agrees, on the promise that, if the restoration is a success, she’ll have dibs on piloting the thing. With that, she calls Gainer so they can go home.
Of course, Sara asks about that and Gainer’s excuse is that their homes are very close to each other – Sara buys his story, only thinking that he’s weird.