Part 124: Mission 34 (Rand - Ships Route) - The Wrathful Railroad King
Mission 34 (Guard the Ships Route) – The Wrathful Railroad King
The falling object is the Agate Crystal, demonstrating its “Agate Gravity” attack which we just barely managed to avoid. Adette quickly recognizes the Siberian Rail’s mobile fortress, proof that the Railroad King has come out in person.
Elchi orders everyone to pull back but Kids isn’t about to let us avoid our punishment, deploying a huge mess of troops. Timp’s leading the charge and tells us to prepare to meet our maker now that we pissed off the boss man and Kashmir echoes the sentiment, promising divine retribution for our hand in the Yapan Exodus.
The Three Stooges (Kejinan, Enge and Jaboli, as Rand dubbed them) are also present, bursting with joy at their overwhelming numbers while ours are less than half what we had in Siberia – simple math puts victory on their side!
This is why Matthew hates bumping heads with rich folk but now’s too late to complain: Holland and Elchi order everyone to deploy.
Kids sees King Gainer coming out and calls for the mystery Overman we fought back in Yapan: the Dominator. Sara’s getting worried about what we’re supposed to do now but Cynthia (Why is her face still hidden?!) is eager to play a whole lot with Gainer.
Gauli thinks we might have to prepare ourselves for the worst but Roybea tells him to quit jinxing us – however, the situation demands that kind of resolve, Duke explains.
Jamil sends the Glomar off to pick up Garrod and friends while he and the others hold the fort here. Captain protests that we cannot win without the Glomar’s power (
) but Talho puts her foot down and tells them to get going NOW.Shaia agrees to do so and Kejinan asks the FORMER Chief of Operations what to do – “Dropping that “FORMER” would be a good start!”. Timp figures they can let them go to focus on hunting the prey in front.
: You’re in for a rude awakening if you think you can kill us easily!
: We’re not wanted men for nothing – this sorta thing ain’t scaring us!
: Hmhmhm… we’ll see for how long that confidence holds.: The legacy of the Black History – the power of the Devil – will awaken shortly.
: “Power of the Devil”?!
: Fire away, folks. And make sure you put on a good show for the boss!
Mission Objective: Shoot down the Dominator
Mission Failure: Any friendly battleship OR Gainer shot down
Skill Point: Within 5 turns, shoot down everything (Dominator last)
Oh, boy…this skill point. First off, the good news: there are no surprises incoming, so you just need to worry about these guys. Bad news is that there are a fuckton of mooks, some landships, Kashmir, Cynthia and Timp in his Emperor Custom spread all over a large battlefield and you gotta kill them in 5 turns (you get more time in normal or easy mode, FYI).
Rushing is a dangerous game with Kashmir in the field, as he can still tear your reals a new one, and the map’s design means you gotta split your team – still, you have do it.
Send your heavier hitters East-ward and have Rand and Aquarion make a beeline for Timp: he will only start moving at turn 3 and with his pathetic movement range, you NEED to take the fight to him or you won’t make it in time (try to reach him by turn four to have some leeway).
With Apollo’s double attacks and Mel knowing Valor, the two of them should be able to take him down (if you’ve no valor, it might be good to keep Grendizer nearby).
Use Gainer to bait Kashmir in, kill him ASAP and then just have him damage Cynthia until everything else is gone.
Most common mooks are in Wide formation, so we’ll open with that.
Urgh, these guys are way too bulky.
Löwen gets to work on a nearby Galapagos group. Meanwhile, Jamil fails to finish off Baldios’ target.
Holland’s probably not killing this.
Yeah but at least they’re all very weak.
Gainer finishes what Jamil couldn’t, setting himself as Overman bait (gotta get his OverSkill going ASAP).
Meanwhile, Rand starts his trek towards Timp.
Time for your first battle with us, Duke!
Not bad, not bad.
By the way, Gauli didn’t attack in this despite his shiny new Mexbrute. Why? I notice this later in the mission but its PLA attack requires OverSense L2 from the pilot…and Gauli’s still stuck at fucking L1!
Can always count on Hayato and Tekkouki to do ridiculous mook damage and the Freeden moves in to steal kill one of the weakened Galapagos.
Enemy Phase!
As stuff starts closing in, the first one who gets in attack range is Enge who goes for Holland.
: Mr. Kids! My name’s Enge Gam!: I’ve been a dedicated soldier of the Siberian Rail for many years now! So, please, do keep me in mind when handing out officer promotions! 
Not a whole lot of damage but he’ll be gone soon enough.
Holland also gets takes out one of those very weakened Daggers.
And Gainer starts drawing stuff in.
Urgh, just 50 HP short of a kill...
Still, he takes one enemy down when a weakened Caprico attacks and weakens another Doran.
Then there’s Duke, who’s attacked by this other group of Dorans. Gonna have to use his combined ALL attack to soften them up quickly.
Yeah, sure.
Duke also finishes off the last mook in Hayato’s group.
Finally, Marin trades blows with a nearby Landship.
Timp and Kashmir are standing still while Cynthia’s already charging after Gainer.
Player Phase!
Talho cleans up Gainer’s near-kill and Elchi follows up, leaving the remaining Breakers in the red.
Since Enge’s right there, might as well have someone TRI the guy.
Boom! And he nearly killed them all!
Just to rub it in, I finish him off with the Freeden.
Enge realizes far too late that he might’ve underestimated us because of their vast numerical superiority.
Still, he figures he'd done enough for now and pulls back.
As Gainer moves ahead a wee bit, taking an easy kill, Marin takes aim to deprive Kejinan of his squaddies.[/i]
: Alright! We’re the clear favorites for a change!: Like they say: if you’re gonna serve someone, serve the powerful! Please watch, Mr. Kids! Kejinan Datto’s gonna get the job done!
You’re not off to a very good start after losing both your mooks…
We won’t be able to take him out this turn, though, but we can focus on Jaboli with Roybea.
: Lord Asuham…you’re in pursuit of the Black Southern Cross right now, yes? : I’ve a hunch we’ll have an easy win here, so I’m praying for your safety!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fqh-Y5bbfsk
Praying in the battlefield will get you sniped.
And Jamil takes her out, learning Spirit in the process.
Victory wouldn’t have much of a point if she’s injured in the process, so Jaboli pulls back before anything happens.
Apollo and Rand are still breaking through enemy lines: the former throws a punch at the nearby Landship while Rand’s group guns for a batch of Dogozzos.
That’s just what I like to see.
What I DON’T like to see is Ryouma failing to deliver the goods against weak aerial Walker Machines…
Fine, we’ll kill those later. Duke contributes damage to the Landship and gets Dizer Full Power running.
(This was the moment where I realized Gauli’s OverSense deficiency stopping him from attacking…I spent around 15 seconds just staring and thinking “fuck you, Gauli”.)
Enemy Phase!
Bunch of nearby mooks take this moment to go after Gainer.
That’s four easy kills for him. Meanwhile, Duke also gets jumped and kills two other attackers.
All these kills get Gainer’s OverSkill going.
Kejinan trades blows with Baldios, being left in the yellow.
And here comes Kashmir, using his first move to snipe at Rand.
: I’ll eradicate these worms and blossom anew as the Chief of Operations! : Please wait just a bit longer, my train schedule! I’ll make you beautiful and perfect again very soon!
Bleh.
Kashmir’s second move is to charge right for Gainer – at least he’s close enough for us to deal with soon.
: Dreadlocked Overman! My life’s been turned upside-down ever since you showed up!
: You’ve no right to say anything, you twisted creep! Not when you read other people’s thoughts to torment them!: I value order above all else! There’s NOTHING “twisted” about me!!
Best to have Gainer defend just in case.
Rand quickly dispatches a nearby Doran who attacks and this Landship thinks it can snipe at him – NOT ANYMORE!
Good, good.
The other ship trades shots with Roybea.
And here comes Cynthia after Gainer. Thankfully, he’s still very capable of dodging her attacks.
: My Dominator’ll crush anyone who tries to butt into my match with Gainer!
: Or do you think you can entertain me? Let’s play together, then!This line plays against whomever she attacks first – even if it’s Gainer, as you see.
No problem at all. Attacking Cynthia triggers the plot, though.
Cynthia’s having a blast in this fight and, with her voice transmitted over the comm, Gainer finally realizes who it is in the Dominator.
As Jun tells Pierre about her, Cynthia calls Gainer out for a “match” – he’s quick to tell her to stop playing around as this is no game. Sara tries asking Gainer to run off and Cynthia doesn’t get why she’s trying to mess up their match.
: Wait, Cynthia! I don’t want to fight you!
: Hey, why are you saying that?
: Why? Because I’m your friend! We spoke so many times over the UN and even went out together, didn’t we?: Yeah, we’re friends! And friends play together!: War isn’t a game! There are plenty of other ways to have fun besides that!
: What are you doing, Gainer?! This isn’t the time to chit-chat!: But—
: That girl’s Gainer’s friend! He can’t fight her!
: This ain’t a playground! You gotta kill anyone who stands against you, even friends!: I won’t…!: Brat…!
: Gainer! If you’re that certain, then YOU must do something about this!: Marin…: You need to think of a way to deal with her if you don’t want to feel the same regret I did!
: So, make the first move and we’ll back you up!: Rrrr…! How stupid can these guys be?! Don’t they get what kind of mess we’re in?!
: Are you joking, Holland? You’re the most reckless guy around here, so shush...!
: Throw caution to the wind, Gainer! Just get in there and give it 110% – that’s what being a kid’s all about!
: And you help him out, Sara!
: Rand, Bello…everyone…!: Let’s go, Gainer! Cynthia doesn’t understand what battle’s really like!: So we’ll just have to teach it her!: Are you playing for keeps now, Gainer? Let’s have some fun together, then!: Come on, Cynthia! I’ll show you that battles aren’t games at all!Player Phase!
Ryouma sets out to clean up these Dorans.
Nice and easy. The kills also teach Michiru Support Attack L3.
Time to deal with Kashmir and, since his OverSkill grants him Alert, Gainer attacks first to get rid of it.
Do your thing, Marin.
Hrm…surprisingly low damage but at least his squaddies are gone.
…Kashmir’s probably gonna survive this turn since I don’t have Rand or Apollo to go after him. So, best to have the Freeden heal Gainer.
So we’ll just worry about Kejinan. Jamil weakens him so more and Talho’s in range after casting Snipe.
There we go.
Like Enge, Kejinan realizes that he might’ve been too overconfident in this. Still, he retreats, believing what he’s done will have been enough to satisfy the president.
Löwen nabs another kill and Holland positions to deal with this pair of Dorans.
There goes one.
Apollo and Rand are now in range to deal with Timp next turn.
Might as well have Duke do something against Kashmir.
Very good and, as a prize, Hikaru takes both Prevail L4 and Rouse!
Enemy Phase!
Ryouma, Gainer and Duke each grab some easy kills from suicidal Dogozzos and that gets the Element System running right on time.
Playing a bit loose here but, in order to get rid of Kashmir’s Alert and speed up his death, Gainer takes one hit on the chin and defends the other attack (he survives with 400 HP).
Of course, there’s also Cynthia but she can’t touch Gainer.
: Let’s make this a good one, Gainer! Time for an actual Overman Battle!: This is for real…! She acts like it’s a game but she’s shooting to kill!: Can’t she tell the difference between the sim and an actual fight?! Is that why she can murder others so easily?!
Yup.
Timp’s started moving closer but we didn’t even need that.
Player Phase!
Enough of your shenanigans. Löwen pops a TRI attack to weaken and Ryouma moves in for the kill.
Everyone profits a couple of levels and Tekkouki takes Prevail L5.
Kashmir is not happy to squander the chance Kids gave him – his return to his former position has just been postponed.
Time to deal with the landships: Holland and co. weaken the eastern one and stand pat for a counter-kill while a few hits from the Gekko and Marin’s group takes the northern one down to a sliver to HP.
Easy pickings for Jamil.
Like so.
Finally got to you, asshole!
: Too bad for ya’ll, folks. There are some folk in this here world that you really shouldn’t piss off.: That goes double for the rich. They’re a vindictive bunch and got power and time to make good on it.: That’s how it is, ya know? I better keep that in mind after I get my fresh start, too! 
There goes about 10k of his HP.
And I was right to give a one turn leeway. We’ve got this Skill Point in the bag, though.
Aaaah…just slap Cynthia around some, Duke.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DijsGoeCFU
That attack never ceases to unnerve me.
Enemy Phase!
The last Dogozzo and landship all play ball and get killed by Duke and Holland, respectively.
Cynthia’s beating her head against the Gainer wall and, for whatever reason, Timp’s decided to ignore the enemies in front and keep moving towards our main group.
Player Phase!
Bye, Timp!
Couple more Infinity Punches and he’s gone…I’m kinda curious as to how many enemies I’ve killed with this move (seems like at least one per mission).
Timp’s come to the realization that he just can’t seem to get in the mood to fight for real if Jiron’s not around.
Either way, victory should be good as theirs, so he decides to back off and just watch the show.
OK, let’s end this: a quick bombardment from Ryouma, Elchi and Löwen chews away what was left of Cynthia’s HP. While this happened, Bello gained OverSense 2…he’s now a better fit for that Mexbrute than boss-man Gauli.
And I’ll give this one to Jamil to help him catch up on levels.
Cynthia cheerfully accepts defeat – and follows it up by calling for round 2 and fully healing.
Her resilience is impressive and Cynthia tells Kids to watch as she promises to win this time. Adette now remembers who this is: Kids Munt’s famous “treasure child” and, realizing that she’s fighting on his orders, Gainer and Sara decide to charge inside the crystal to deal with him.
Destroying the fortress from inside’s a rather foolhardy plan, says Sirius, and Cynthia runs in after him, refusing to allow anyone to lay a finger on Kids. Considering we're already in deep, everyone agrees to stand pat and keep anyone else from pursuing Gainer inside.
Matthew’s already tired as hell but Apollo’s eager to keep going…which is the cue for that Hypnosound to start playing.
A bunch of Fallen Angels appear, with possibly the worst timing in the world and Ryouma wonders if they want to take advantage of our situation to wipe us out.
“No, that’s not it…I sense that the Fallen Angels are after a different enemy…” says Rena. “The Frigid Devil’s…awakening…” Tifa mumbles.
Having entered the Agate Crystal, Gainer and Sara are greeted with a very strange area: we’re nowhere near Siberia and, yet, this place is frozen as if it was – a completely different world from the area outside.
Their pondering’s interrupted when a loud roar echoes through the area and it’s certainly NOT the hypnosound this time. It’s a different voice, one that feels like it could freeze your heart just by listening to it.
Sara, then, notices something happening with the nearby block of ice…
An old woman, Martina, comes out of the block of ice while hearing the “song of ice” – she asks who’s foolish enough to stir the OverDevil once again.
Gainer and Sara have no idea what’s going on but they’re soon discovered by Cynthia. She invites him to come back outside and continue their game and Gainer, once again, tries to explain to her how battles and games are two different things.
She doesn’t see it, considering battling with Overmen is fun for her whether it’s a game or reality – nothing quite gets her blood pumping like a good match. Her late mother, and her other mother, were both great Overman pilots, which she says explains why she has so much fun piloting too.
The roar comes again, and Gainer tells Sara that they'd better flee fast. Cynthia's glad to see that Gainer's getting serious, since it isn't fun playing with him unless he is.
Back outside…
: Gainer, are you two OK?!: Everyone, run! It's dangerous to stay here!
: Easy for you to say, kid! There’s a bunch of Angels in the way!*ROAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!*
: What…what’s that voice?!: It came from the Agate Crystal!
: Found you, Gainer!
: What was that light…?!: Is something happening between that Overman and King Gainer?!
: Ooh…I was right! That dreadlocked Overman is the OverDevil’s kin!: The Dominator’s OverSkill got a power-up too! That’s gonna make for an even better match!
: E…nough! I’m sick of getting pushed around by some power I don’t even understand!: Think fast, Gainer!!
: Uwah! My body's...frozen...!*King Gainer falls to the ground.*
: Gainer!!: AHA! I win! I beat the Champ!: You see that, Sara? I’m the best in battles with real Overmen!*Cynthia approaches King Gainer.*
: But you were really good too, Gainer. With a bit more practice, you—: Urgh…aah…: Gainer! You’re hurt!: Huh…!: Aar…gh…: And you’re bleeding so much! We need to stop it right now or…!
: Aah…aaah…: Cynthia! You did this! You hurt Gainer!: I-it’s…my fault…my…?: Yeah, it is your fault!: I didn’t think this would happen! I swear!: I was just happy that I could fight Gainer with real Overmen…it was just for fun…
: Stop acting like a kid!: Ah…: Think about it for a second! Unlike your games, there are real people piloting these real Overmen!: Sara, grab the King Gainer and bring it over! We gotta get out of here!!
: All units, retreat! Break through the enemy’s lines!*ROOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!!*
: That voice’s getting louder!
: Something’s happening inside the fortress!
: It’s coming…
: What is THAT?! Another Overman?!
: The Frigid Devil…
: A devil Overman… An OverDevil?!*Hypnosound and the Angels charge the OverDevil!*
: The Fallen Angels are going after it…!: Animosity… they fear that creature’s awakening…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQuzafPvXb0
: It destroyed the Cherubims in one blow…?! It’s even more monstrous that it appears!: Magnificent…! It wiped out its ancient nemeses with such ease!: If I can control this power, the whole world will bow to my will!: That’s…the OverDevil… King Gainer’s…
: (There you are, Roger…)
: That monster… It’s an ancient Early Overman?!
: That is the legacy of the Black History…? Angel said the truth lay with it but…
: We’ll cover you, guys! Get outta there!!: Retreat, quickly!
: Hmhmhm… Yes, flee. Now that the OverDevil’s been revived, there are none who can stand in my way.: I think they now realize just how terrifying the Siberian Rail and I truly are.: Sorry…I’m so sorry, Gainer…: I never wanted to hurt you… but…but…: I’m sorry…Gainer…Sara…
Back in the Freeden, Garrod relates his decision to leave Renton alone until he's found his own answers, which relieves Tex greatly. He was worried Renton's only motivation for leaving was the animosity with Holland, but Renton's got more going on in his head than that.
Tifa is looking forward to both Renton and Eureka changing for the better – neither of them can remain children forever.
Rand does notice that Garrod brought a new girl along in place of Renton and Pala introduces herself to the team and explaining her situation, as per the other path. Tonya’s also glad to see Enil joining, having finally tired of clinging to her pride and determined to live honestly to herself from now on.
Rand and Roybea would never turn away another two girls but they sure chose an awful time to arrive: indeed, Jamil’s forced to admit that the OverDevil’s power is WAY beyond what we usually deal with.
His easy defeat of all those Fallen Angels is ample proof of that but it begs the question as to why they were fighting each other in the first place. Maybe these monsters simply don’t care for each other, Rand wonders?
Witz is all for letting their wreck each other.
As for Gainer, Tex relates that while he did lose a lot of blood, his life isn’t in danger and Sara's keeping watch on him now.
Holland steps over and Garrod quickly assumes he’s here to gloat about Renton not coming back, just as he wanted. Mind, Gain had already told him so that’s not why he’s here.
What he wants is to ask about the merc couple Garrod’s group met: they were called Ray and Charles, yes? Garrod totally wasn't expecting that question, and answers in the affirmative: a husband-wife combo that struck him like a raccoon and a fox.
That's what Holland feared and he tells Jamil that the Gekkostate are going their own way: not to leave the rest of the team behind as bait as Witz assumes, but to settle a growing set of scores in their own fashion.
If Garrod really met the Charles and Ray he knows, they'll be coming sooner or later anyway, as his and Eureka's enemies.
Jamil can tell from Holland’s eyes that he’s gained some measure of introspection. Holland wonders if those are Jamil’s powers talking but, anyway, he’s seen both the alien and gamer put their lives on the line what they believe in, utterly unconcerned with failure.
Holland isn’t going to run away either and Jamil isn't the sort to press him for details. He tells Holland to go handle his business and not worry about the team here, and Rand says he better whoop some serious ass now that he’s finally got his game-face on.
Holland finally gets something of a smile on his face, and tells the repairman that this is the sort of time when he never misses. He assures Rand that when he gets back he'll buy him a drink and, in exchange, asks that Rand put up with listening to him yammer on.
Gainer soon recovers enough to see a few guests, and Jiron tells him not to worry about the Siberian Rail business and focus on recovering. Mel also tells Sara to call us if there’s anything they need but she figures everything’ll be fine since Medic taught her how to tend to the bandages.
Adette shoos everyone out to leave Gainer be but Ryouma worries to his teammates that Gainer's heart has far greater wounds that his body. Benkei's not surprised, given Gainer was hurt by a friend who, to be sure, seems to have received quite a shock herself.
Sara asks Gainer if he wants to eat something before taking a nap, but Gainer's thoughts are far away, on the month before the Exodus... the month when his parents were killed and he never left his room.
It was then that Cynthia befriended him and he's decided that it's his turn - as her friend - to help her in the same way. He wants to show her what's right and what's wrong, and Sara soberly says that Cynthia must be very much like Gainer used to be.
Sara guesses that Cynthia must be terribly lonely and she knows how that feels like quite well. As such, she wants to be with Gainer when they go meet her again, and Gainer couldn't be more grateful.
For that to work out, though, she tells Gainer to concentrate on healing himself, bidding him good night.
As she leaves, Gainer ponders his and Cynthia's Overman's response to the OverDevil.
He knows he'll have to get much stronger to helper her: stronger than she is, stronger than Gain, stronger than the OverDevil and even stronger than King Gainer itself.
Well, crap. Looks like we found the “Devil” everyone’s been going on about and he’s pissed.
At least we have our whole team back (mind, this is still part of the route split), so next time we’ll have to figure out a way to deal with that thing...my face right now:
P.S. A new page before the next update would be great as this one's already quite big.