Part 187: Mission 47 (Rand) - Our Path - Part 2
Player Phase!
It’s all clean-up now and we can still take all the time we want. I did take the liberty of giving Rand the S-Adaptor just for kicks.
Boom.
Asakim easily finishes off the Gells-ghe now that he can get closer and, nearby, Löwen weakens a Mon-soono.
Enemy Phase!
Löwen’s attacked by both Hizacks but leaves the hanging in the red.
Asakim claims a Mon-soono.
Player Phase!
Off with your head!
Rand and Löwen finish off another two mooks and, while we could end this on their turn, you NEED to destroy the last of them on your turn if you’re to stand a chance at getting the skill point.
So, fast forward to the next phase and off goes Löwen to down the last Hizack.
Nice and easy.
: Done and dusted! Y’all better stay outta here, ya hoodlums!
: Nothing’s done, THE HEAT. In fact, now it truly begins.
: Asakim…*Rand moves closer to Asakim.*
: Asakim…come clean with us. Why do we have to fight?
: …: You were so kind when you took care of me… was it all a lie?: Explain what’s up with you…and with us, Asakim. 
: Rand…
: DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!
: Löwen!
Oh, SHIT!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hl1kJYVeW08
Captions are available
: WHAT?!: Took the bait, eh, Löwen? You finally showed your true colors!!: He…he pretended to drop his guard to goad me into attacking?!: You’ve failed, Löwen General.*Asakim and Löwen move all the way back to the SE corner of the map.*
: …Pfeh, and he’s even working with Asakim.
: What do you mean, Darling?! Why did Löwen attack us…?!: It’s exactly what it looks like: he’s our enemy.: Rand… you saw through me?!: I dunno who you really are or what you’re after…: But one time or another you slipped and showed a bit of malice… and I couldn’t get that outta my head.: That’s it?! That’s the reason why you kept on your toes?!: I never wanted things to actually turn out like this… that’s why I didn’t tell anyone else about it.: …: Löwen, I don’t give a damn about what your game is… Just get outta here. I’ll even think of some excuse to tell the others.: Shut your mouth, The Crusher! Why would I ever need to turn tail and run?!
: What a shoddy performance, Löwen. And even after Asakim went through the trouble of setting up the stage for you.: This battle is far from over! I’ll end that punk myself!: I swear it on my pride as the Chimera’s lion!
: You’re ever so passionate, hm?: That’s right! I dedicate my life, my battles and all that I am to BrigGen. Edel!
: …: Welp, that’s that. It’s not just Löwen but that Schlan fella was also in on everything…!: Then, that means that BrigGen. Edel is also--!: Do not speak her name so casually, you insolent brat!!: !: How dare a disgusting PIG like you utter the name of the magnificent, beautiful BrigGen. Edel! That is beyond atrocious!!: Pay for your crime with yours and your stifling man's life!: Cpt. Löwen…: Wow, look at how fast that straight-laced boy turns into a rabid psycho…Ain’t that something.: Anything for BrigGen. Edel! Even smiling at worms like you is nothing to me! : For BrigGen. Edel is the only woman who commands my loyalty – the only one fit to rule!: ...Löwen. I get that you’re crazy and all but you talk way too much.: What?!
: ZEUTH has arrived.
: Huh...I know we’re late for the party and all but what the hell is going on here?!
: Why is Cpt. Löwen with Asakim’s group?!
: Löwen, Schlan. This seems like a good place to formally declare war on them, don’t you think? 
: “Declare war”?!: That’s correct. Disposing of you is also part of our mission.
: It’s a bunch of those crow mechs and Fed units!
: And Cpt. Löwen is working with Asakim...I don’t understand!: STILL?! How can anyone be so stupid?!
: Open your ears and listen up, ZEUTH!: We are the direct subordinates of Brigadier General Edel Bernal of the New Earth Federation Army – the Chimera Special Forces.
: You’ve been very useful pawns until now…! : Fighting the aliens, hunting the Sage Council Remnants…such fierce dedication!: But no more! BrigGen. Edel has deemed that you’ll be a problem sooner or later! 
: Cpt. Löwen…you were always our enemy?!
: Showing us the appropriate UN info and molding our doubts into certainty… someone on the inside was needed to pit both sides of ZEUTH against each other. That was your job, wasn’t it?!: That’s right! And you went on to stir up trouble across the world, just as BrigGen. Edel wanted!: We were able to do away with those inconvenient Logos worms, thanks to that!
: So, BrigGen. Edel didn’t actually go missing during the Federation coup...
: She was the mastermind of the whole thing! 
: It makes sense… we’re talking about the person behind the UN’s construction. Using it to manipulate information would be easy for her.
: So, she was just playing us under the guise of being our ally?!: You had outlived your usefulness once the coup was complete. The plan was for you to destroy one another…: But not only did you survive, you also reunified. 
: Aw, boo-hoo…! You think everything’s gonna follow your plan? Get real!: Perhaps but these divergences need only be corrected.: And that’s what brings us here today: to deal with you people.
: Weren’t you Asakim’s little helper, girl?: I am first and foremost a member of Chimera. Asakim is cooperating with us and I was assigned as his liaison.: …: Asakim…I have to return to the Chimeras now that the recall order has been sent. 
: But my heart will always be with you. I’ll do anything to set you free...: Indeed, Ziene. And, then, you’ll also be free…from the despair you tasted during the “Break the World”…from the pain and sorrow of losing everything. : If you truly can make me forget the anguish of having my people taken from me, then…: I should thank you for help thus far. How about I let you hear THE HEAT’s scream?
: Asakim!: I had fun, THE HEAT. : But now I’ll have you cry out in pain and fully awaken the Scarred Lion.: So we really need to fight, Asakim?!: Mel Beater… your very nature is changing as you’re bound to the Sphere. : If my Shurouga consumes your soul, perhaps I’ll finally get what I’ve been seeking. 
: “Sphere”…that’s what that ball of light that got into her is…?!: Farewell, THE HEAT. I might see you again sometime but you will not be able to see me. : Back off, Asakim Dowin! That stifling man is MY prey!: Zip it, ya two-bit minion! : WHAT?!: Asakim…! If you’re gonna try to kill me and Mel, then I know what I gotta do!: I’ll kick your ass in order to survive!
: Heh…you refuse to go anywhere, hm? You are, indeed, the only person in this world who can amuse me. : You dare ignore me, you grease monkey?!: Bring it on, then, Löwen! I’ll tear a new one in all of ya!
: We can’t let these liars get away with this, guys!
: All units, focus on Asakim and the Chimeras!: Hmhm…the moment has finally come.: I’m warning you: I wasn’t fighting for real during our travels!
: Such a shame. You made for some fine toys as the UN led you by the nose. 
: Alright, then... it’s high time I acted as one of the leaders of the three units, yes?: Of course, crushing you has always been my goal!
: Let’s do this, Asakim and Chimeras!: I don’t hold back against anyone who tries to block my path! That’s how I roll!! So, remember when Löwen sent Rand after Asakim in a Dagger Walker Machine? Pretty sure he was trying to get him killed for flirting with Edel.
Mission Objective: Shoot down either Asakim, Löwen, Schlan OR Ziene
Mission Failure: Any allied ship shot down
Skill Point: Fulfill the victory condition within 3 turns of the Chimera’s appearance (this turn counts)
This skill point is some bullshit, I tell ya: three turns is baaaaaaaarely enough to get your faster units up to the SW corner of the map where all bosses are sitting at.
There’s a near certain chance Ziene will be the only one you’ll reach in time and that’s fine as she’s the flimsiest by far. The Chimeras only start moving on the second turn, and the terrain will slow Löwen and Schlan.
Rush, rush, rush up there with constant Boost and Accelerate casts and she’ll fall easily enough against your supers.
…That’s what I could do, but I won’t be going for the Skill Point for this reason:
Ending Point Alert! - Rand must have a battle with Asakim
The problem is that Asakim will not move at all until his third turn, so you need to bring Rand up to him on your third turn and, after the battle, immediately down a Chimera boss. Mind, any mook blocking Rand’s passage could easily screw you over.
I think I skipped this in my first playthrough and I can see why; mind, it wouldn’t be anywhere near as difficult if Asakim would simply get off his ass along with the other bosses but nope.
Since I forgot to set those Megaboosters, I’ll follow my previous decision and prioritize the ending point (this will, at the very least, allow me to also have everyone fight Löwen as they all have stuff to say to him).
Now that my rant is done, let’s take a look at our three “friends”:
Chaos Leo (Löwen General)
Pilot Skills:
- Counter L6
- Prevail L8
- Resolve
- Battle Spirit
- Predict
- 10% EN Regen
- Pilot Debuff Immunity
- Barrier Field
Löwen’s Voice Actor: Isshin Chiba (other known works: Dio in Jojo’s Bizzare Adventure: Heritage for the Future, Jin Kazama in all Tekken stuff, Tenrow and Silver Knight in .hack stuff and several others).
Löwen’s the strongest and bulkier of the three Chimeras, sporting both a very high Prevail and Barrier Field. His stats, as you’d expect from an original boss, are massive and he’s even got a new post-movement MAPW in the form of Tornado Saber (thankfully, it has the very short range of 1-2).
Other than that, he’s got no other tricks: just a wall of HP that will succumb to concentrated valored attacks and he’s very easy to snipe due to the Chaos Leo’s short range.
Chaos Anguis (Schlan Opel)
Pilot Skills:
- Support Attack L4
- Counter L9
- E-Save
- Predict
- Focused Attack
- Spiritual Fortitude
- Jamming Function
- 10% EN Regen
- Pilot Debuff Immunity (he’s double immune!)
Schlan’s Voice Actor: Yoshiaki Matsumoto (other known works: Corkus in Berserk, Taisuke Sawanaga in School Days and a few others)
Schlan’s a sniper through and through, especially with that Linear Seat equipped. His strongest attack is a post-movement TRI but, since he can’t use that, he’ll spam his Giga Viper Absorb ALL attack which packs a 2-8 range and a respectable +20 accuracy modifier.
Using Confuse is recommended not only because Focused Attack will make that hurt but will also mitigate the threat that is his Nano Poison Break MAPW which has the Stun debuff.
Approaching him from a diagonal angle is safer but, once you’re in, the lack of Prevail means he’ll dropped quickly.
Chaos Caper (Ziene Espio)
Despite what she said, Ziene is pretty much the same as before but with boosted HP and stats and adding a Hyper Jammer to further the need to use Strike on her.
She’s still the weakest of the three and the absence of any defensive skills whatsoever means she’ll easily die to a handful of Supers. Just keep an eye on her MAPW on approach and you’re golden.
That Hyper Jammer is, arguably, the better item available so that’s another incentive to go after her if you don’t care for the ending point.
By the by, if anyone was still unsure about how we ran Ziene’s name, here’s why: the Chimeras’ names are all plays on German words – Löwen > Löwe/Lion, Schlan > Schlange/Snake and Ziene > Ziege/Goat.
Finally, Asakim’s flipped his endgame boss switch on and got a major boost to everything.
He blows all other Chimeras out of the water (his MAP alone is almost as strong as their best weapons) and is much more powerful than our last encounter.
Writing this it occurred to me that, since I wasn’t on the Skill Point timer, I could’ve worked towards weakening all four bosses and nuking them with a Seven Swell for the items and cash…ah, well.
Euclids should always be your first priority so, while Amuro outright destroys one with a double attack, Duke, Banjou and Quattro wreck another group.
Oh, by the by: Mel learned SP Regen with these events (she needs to be over level 50 for it to show up, mind).
Nothing else is in range, so the rest of our folks just move forward.
Enemy Phase!
Banjou gets attacked thrice by these Gadeels, an Euclid and Gells-ghe, greatly weakening the all.
Everyone else, other than the bosses, starts closing in.
Player Phase!
: Eyes open, everyone! There’s something else coming!
: More enemies NOW?!
: Oi, that’s a Silhouette Machine! 
: Why’d the Siberian Rail come here?!
: Here we go! There’s ZEUTH!
: Commander Yassaba! What are you doing here?!: Oh, is that you Adette? I heard rumors but you really seem to be doing alright!
: The former Siberian Rail commander, Yassaba Jin…: Damn, the guy really was still alive!
: That man…he’s the one who helped us back in the Garnahan Valley! 
: But, if he’s here…that means his Exodus was a success, too!
: Heh…shows how easygoing Gainer’s become if he’s no more problems with Yassaba. : There it is, Kejinan, Enge! I got us to ZEUTH, just as promised.
: What promise?! You just found us while we were travelling around and dragged us over!
: Did you say something?!
: N-no, sir!: I told you to drop the formalities, didn’t I? I’m not working for the Siberian Rail anymore.: Adette, these two here have business with ZEUTH! So we’re lending you a hand dealing with these pests!
: Roger that, commander. It’s been too long since I’ve seen your strength at work.
: …
: (Ooh, Adette’s old flame steps back into the spotlight… things got veeeery interesting around here…!)
: (Cpt. Gauli’s looking a bit miffed.)
Yassaba and co. aren’t actually gonna be doing anything because, come on, that’s a frickin’ Dogozzo. Getting him shot down also means a Game Over!
Still, Kejinan gives us a free Confuse cast so that’s helpful.
Amuro drops this Gells-ghe group into the red and Shinn steps up to the plate.
Easy money.
Roger kills one of the nearby Gadeels, too.
Kei walks on over and slap the other Gells group for a sizeable chunk of HP.
Another Euclid, this one worn down by Marin, is in Kouji’s sights.
Aaah, you little…at least the Gadeels are gone. Apollo moves right beside Kouji and finishes the job.
Last Euclid group, this one was weakened when they decided to cross swords with Banjou and Renton hammers the last nail in that coffin.
Clean this up, Garrod!
Good, good.
Gainer tenderizes a flock of birds and Toshiya minces the leader while Duke and Hikaru gethe rest.
On our other wing, Gain’s done the same for Banjou.
Yummy! The remaining two birds are easy prey for Ryouma and Michiru.
Tekkouki’s the one who profits the most, though.
Camille’s squad focus-fires a Cornicus down and Sara cleans up that near-death Gadeel.
Enemy Phase!
Oh, you’re gonna get it now!
Triple kill (mind you, Kei also traded blows with a Cornicus who scored a 10% hit)!
Nearby, Gainer gets pestered by the northernmost Gells-Ghe and Zamza-zah, slapping them away with some Overfreeze bullets.
Banjou does not care for birds. A second one also attacks and barely survives a Daitarn Cannon.
Three of the little buzzards gank Duke who has to contend with low-accuracy hits. This one, however, has overplayed his hand.
And that’s a hole in one.
The Chimeras are starting to come over.
This is where I realized that Asakim wouldn’t move and spent the next minute staring at him in impotent rage.
Player Phase!
Mizuki gets another Confuse going just to be safe.
Hey, when was the last time I gave you some time in the spotlight?
There we go.
Ooh, what do I see here?
Follow it up!
Not enough to sink the leaders but the squaddies aren’t that tough.
Kei’s battered state doesn’t deter his bird-hunting hobby.
Tetsuya needs morale.
Boom. The other Cornicus falls to Garrod.
One of Gainer’s previous attackers gets punished by Apollo and Touga steps up to drill another.
Yes, I love it!
Camille’s gang easily drops the remaining Cornicus.
More lessons in sharing: Marin and Amuro each take out one of this group’s birds.
Next!
More meat into the grinder.
Renton moves ahead slightly and takes one last bird to go.
Could’ve easily downed Ziene by his point but nope… Rand’s now set himself within Asakim’s range to draw his lazy ass over.
Enemy Phase!
Ziene chips Duke’s paintjob slightly and Schlan decides to do the same thing. At least it lets me show his best attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xr9U4_oaxtI
More captions are available.
Löwen trudges along and sets his sight on Rand.
: Please, Cpt. Löwen! We’ve been through so much together!: You got a little girl's brain to go with that body?!: Hey! I am petite!: THAT's your problem with what he said?!: Come on, The Crusher! I'll make you scream in Asakim’s place!: You know, Löwen, I figured you had a good reason for your backstabbin’, so I wasn't going to say anything...: But you just went and said the wrong thing! Now it's a different story!
Löwen attacking Rand #1: “Stifling freak…just the sight of you makes me sick!”
Rand attacking Löwen #1: Mel: “Cpt. Löwen, you huge liar! I hate you!”
Oh, and I had to cast Courage to get Rand into position!
Thank you for coming to see me, your majesty!
: Hmhmhm... I can see the fire within you flickering. I wonder how long it’ll last. : You gimme all that sweet talk but you're still gonna try to take me down, eh?!: Well, you're a free man and I ain’t gonna argue with that!: But you're going to fight me anyway, right? That's just how you are.: You know it, ex-bro!: I’ve made up my mind, Asakim! As a repairman, it's my job to set you straight!: This ain’t about anger or hatred anymore! This is for your own good!
Asakim attacking Rand: “Hmhmhm…how much pain can your body and soul endure?”
No point in attacking since I’m going for Löwen.
Total Ending Points: 11
Talho finishes off Elchi’s weakned Euclid and Zamza-zah.
Player Phase!
After Talho softens it a bit, Elchi moves over and stomps on one of the two remaining Cornicus.
Her prize is learning Valor.
Everyone follows her example and get their game faces on.
OK, why don’t you guys help out with this?
: Even that Corin guy's remembered what he has to do... I might as well get back into it!
: Commander, does that mean you’re returning to the Siberian Rail…?!: I've got enough shame to know that's not an option!: Besides, a real man doesn't just follow tracks! He cuts his own path!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hsuct9bV4Cw
That was with Valor…these Dogozzos, I tell ya…
Fine, the Freeden clips its wings.
You’ve got some payback coming your way, pretty-boy!
: Doing all that right under our noses... not bad, Cpt. Löwen.: You're all just gullible fools! It was pathetically easy for me!: Maybe, just maybe you're right...
: But I much prefer fools to rats! Brace yourself!
: Edel Bernal was the mastermind behind the coup...!: Those old men weren't worthy of controlling the Federation! Only BrigGen. Edel deserves to rule!: So, she just wanted their seat for herself...!: Edel Bernal...she’s just a slave to her own avarice!
: I shoulda been able to sniff you out... now I’m gonna make up for it!: Shut up, mutt! You can't chase me down that easily!: I will bring about BrigGen. Edel's dream! I don't have time to play with you!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0cUTbtblEc
“The mech’s reaction time is sluggish! Damn it, Theeh, you botched the tuning!”
Also, Löwen being unable to counter: “Aaaargh! I’ll repay this stress twice over!
: Ah, the Civilian who shattered the rule of the Innocents! BrigGen. Edel's world has no place for you!
: I don't need anyone's permission to live! All I need is wanting to!
: So tell your pretty general that there's no place in OUR world for anyone that tries to trick people out of their lives!
: And here I thought you were a fine soldier, not a coward!: I am whatever BrigGen. Edel asks of me!: Being friendly with the likes of you is nothing if it’ll bring her wishes to reality!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1IGTYC7sRY
“BURN TO DEATH IN HELLFIIIIIIREEEEEEEEEE”... “
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