Click to see the mission!
Welcome to the Pursue Himika route, where Daiya’s really breathing down Ichitaka’s neck. The kid got a massive kill streak going in the Minerva path, but I’ll very likely be keeping this one, so he’ll have a tough race ahead. Iczer-1’s closing in on them, too, but the AI is less keen on going after her.
All the money I had went to excellent use: Alto got a pip in weapons, our Supers got a few boosts here and there, and I upped Gaiking’s stats as high as they’ll currently go.
Unfortunately, much to my disappointment, L doesn’t subscribe to the more recent games’ philosophy of counting weapons and stat upgrades separately. If you want the boosted Squad Bonus, you need to upgrade EVERYTHING to 50%, weapons included.
Iczer-1 and the Macross folk are auto-deploying, so we adapt accordingly:
Jack/Yagyuu (he needs someone to boost his space rating, or he’ll be going nowhere fast)
Daiya/Yanma
Kouichi/Yamashita
Ichitaka/Miu
Dick/Puria
Domyoji/Klan
Voltes/Shizuna
We’ve a much bigger mission here than on the other path, so let’s get to it.
Sheryl is STILL at Island 1’s hospital, with no indication of being discharged. She’s been getting plenty of “get well soon” gifts, but no one’s actually come to see her. She was pretty happy to get that video message from Ranka, Alto and everyone else, though. Speaking of Ranka, she’s up on TV right now – her career’s really taken off recently.
As the girl thanks all the fans who’ve come to her concert, Sheryl spots someone behind her: Grace.
Cut to the Cthulhu Fortress, Big Gold’s spawn is already up and about. She’s called Neos Gold, and has summoned forth her Four Generals: Golem (blue hair), Insect (blue skin), Bigro (red skin) and Fiber.
Big Gold, mother dearest, has fallen asleep after giving birth to Neos Gold, and plenty of time has passed since. Yet, she has yet to awaken once more. Neos Gold doesn’t know what the reason is, but isn’t about to sit on her hands: the five of them have a mission to look for a new partner for Iczer-2, destroying Iczer-1 along the way if possible.
As luck would have it, Neos Gold already has an idea of where they’ll find such a partner and commands Fiber and Insect to go after.
Back to the Quarter, Kenji asks if we managed to figure out where Himika went, but Ozma says not yet. She’s very likely using some unknown tech to camouflage herself and her group, and Emi figures they’re headed to where that ship, Langoon, is tucked away. Kenji fumes that that doesn’t really help us chase after, as we don’t know where the thing is either.
Shizuna tells him to calm down, remembering that the JUDA folk had to do plenty of waiting around when they were trying to capture the Linebarrel. Maybe all we can do now is also sit around until the Langoon pops out of hiding.
But, Ichitaka argues, that may be counterproductive, as Himika has the Bronze Bells and the huge power they have – if we take too long, it may be too late to stop them. True, true, there’s that…
Kenji also remembers what Kyo said about his and Tsubaki’s combined powers bringing forth a miracle – that’s got to be a clue for a way to beat Himika. Whatever the case, the fact remains that leaving the Bronze Bells in the Jama Kingdom’s hands means Hiroshi and Kenji are grounded, so our first priority should be getting them back.
While Kenji wrings his fists at Himika, Jeffrey calls in and says the Quarter and Daiku Maryu are going to head towards the Frontier. What for?! They’re going to be picking up some Reactive Weapons to use in their battle against the Jama Kingdom.
Michel’s very surprised to hear that the President’s Office has given them the go-ahead so quickly, but it IS just a matter of granting permission. Mishima himself, face the current crisis, moved to get things rolling ASAP – Ozma smells fish with how helpful Mushroom Head’s being.
Whatever the case, we’ll also be getting some help from Prof. Kentarou to figure out where Himika’s at; while the Valkyries are getting equipped with their new weapons, the pilots will get some time off in shifts.
Kenji isn’t too keen on taking it easy right now, though he knows we don’t have anything better to do. Hiroshi points out that being well-rested is also part of being a pilot, and the kid knows, figuring he’ll just look at it like he’s resting the day before a Grand Prix.
Out in Island 1, Nagisa’s very surprised to see a replica Japanese city inside a spaceship, but, as Luca explains, they wanted to recreate the Earth landscapes they’d left behind. Speaking of, Kouichi wonders if the sight of his helped Emi remember anything about what kind of town she lived in, but, no, unfortunately.
Yamashita suggests he just leave it at that, as we didn’t come here in hopes to restore her memories in the first place. Regardless, Nagisa thanks Alto for accompanying them, and it was no problem – he had to come this way to get to the SMS HQ anyway. The company’s owner called him over, and this’ll actually be Alto’s first time seeing the guy.
Maybe he wants to give him a raise for all his hard work, Nagisa wonders. That’d be fine with Alto, though he doesn’t see why he’d need to specifically summon him for that. Either way, it’s starting to rain, so Luca points out a restaurant for the group to chill out at.
Kouichi’s blown away that the Island even has artificial rain, but Yamashita tells him to quit gawking and get moving. Conventional Japanese wisdom says idiots don’t catch colds, but it’s best not to tempt fate, so he drags Kouichi away.
And at the SMS building, Alto is brought before Richard Birler: Zentran, huge train-set owner and his boss.
Birler congratulates him on his recently promotion, but what he is really interested in talking about is this: does Alto have a dream?
Alto’s convo with the guy took quite a long time: apparently the Vajra produce this ore, Fold Quartz, and with it one could establish a comm network unbound by Fold faults. While it’s obviously true that the Vajra can traverse between parallel worlds, this still sounds like a very farfetched dream… but, whatever the case, Alto’ll just keep on fighting as he has.
Also, damn, this rain isn’t letting up – he should’ve paid more attention to the weather forecast. He has it better than Sheryl, though, who stumbles out into his alleyway. What’s she doing here?!
She slowly grunts at him not to get any ideas – she didn’t come here to see him – and Alto figures she skipped out the hospital before she was fully healed. He wants to bring her back, but Sheryl begs him not to: “Don’t take me to the hospital, or to the hotel… I can’t stand being locked up like that anymore…”
The girl’s passing out, so, in that case, there’s only one option left…
Sheryl wakes up in Alto’s room, and immediately freaks out at him. What did he do to her?! Stop yelling and calm down, already – does she have any idea the pain it was to bring her here after she fainted?! Oh, dear, is that what happened? And here was Alto, all worried…
Sheryl’s slightly surprised to hear that he was worried for her, but how could he not?! Looking at her, Alto notices something: the earring she’s got looks just like the ore Birler showed him earlier. Is it Fold Quartz too?
Before Sheryl can question what he’s staring at, the door slides open: “You know, we might have some time off, but that doesn’t mean you’re free to bring chicks over to your room,” Michel enters and has a laugh. Alto stammers a denial – a woman like her?!
Sheryl doesn’t appreciate it: “‘a woman like her’, what, exactly?!” See? This is exactly what Alto meant. The levity is cut short by the alarm blaring: Vajra have been spotted close to the Frontier, so Cathy tells everyone to scramble. So much for resting.
Oh, and by the way, we’ll be escorting Ranka out there – they’ll be briefed in a bit. What the hell? Apparently, says Cathy, the Frontier Government wants to use this as an opportunity to test using her song as a new weapon against the buggers.
Well, Alto and Michel need to get going, but the former begs Sheryl to stay in – if folks find out she’s here, it’ll be a huge mess. “… Fine. Get to it, then. You call yourself a professional, right?” Sheryl huffs, Alto sighing at her sass and suggesting she get some rest.
As they leave, however, Sheryl sneaks right after – she’s worried about Ranka.
Ranka’s already arrived at the Quarter’s hangar (she hopes Ai-kun’s doing okay), and Grace asks if she’s not too keen on using her childhood memento song as a weapon against the Vajra. No, she says it’s fine – this is important work, right? Then Grace should go and get things ready; she’s sure everything’ll work just fine.
As the woman takes off, Brera asks why Ranka’s ill at ease. She’s surprised by this, but Brera says it’s his job as her bodyguard to pay attention to how she’s feeling. Sure, but what she wants to know is how he could tell she was ill at ease.
“I can tell after all the times I’ve listened to you sing. Your song makes me feel the universe around me,” Brera explains. “Usually I’m ripping through it, but when you sing, I feel cradled in the currents of the galaxy… and… Sorry, I can’t quite put it into words”.
But Ranka appreciates his insight nonetheless, and is inspired to go for it – this is what she can do to help everyone.
As you might expect, Ozma is not happy with this. Where’d they come up with this insane idea that Ranka’s song’ll work on the Vajra?! Mishima says it’s just a theory, which is why they’re going to put it to the test. Besides, his sister has already agreed to it, so his fuming won’t change anything.
Ozma sees that the only reason Mishima rushed our request to equip Reactive Weapons was to use us as part of this experiment, but the guy says more and more Vajra have been coming to this world. We’d do well to see them as a real threat, as while their numbers were initially few enough that the NUNS and ZAFT could deal with, the frequency of their spawns has been increasing daily. We cannot remain passive anymore.
Wishing us good luck escorting Ranka, Mishima signs off. The idea of driving off the Vajra through song sounds pretty crazy to Hiyoshi, and while Michel’s aware that many of the brass fancy the “Minmay Attack” strategy, he has to wonder if it’ll actually fly with these opponents.
Against the old Zentran and the Protodeviln, sure, but Klan isn’t even certain we’re dealing with intelligent life-forms here. Iczer-1 asks if this strategy worked in their old world, and Michel says it was less “driving off” and more like using song to bridge the gap between enemies.
There are plenty of videos about those battles, Ozma says, though events have obviously been dramatized some to make them more appealing to the general public. Daiya likes the idea of reconciliation through song – maybe this is proof that all people can reach an understanding with one another.
As for the Vajra, Luca figures, as living creatures, it stands to reason that they have SOME way of communicating. And if this experiment succeeds, it’ll make our battle against them much easier, too, so it’s well worth the effort. We’ll see, as Lulu tells everyone to deploy – we’re about to reach the Vajra flock.
Mission 20 (Himika Route) – Contact With the Unknown
The Vajra are right up ahead and Jeffrey’s surprised they had a warp point around here. Cathy says he shouldn’t, as the Vajra’s Folds aren’t limited by Fold Faults and gravitational fields like ours are.
It’s likely these are calling their friends from the other universe by way of some hitherto unknown means. When Bobby asks, Cathy says she knows that thanks to the newest research report handed by the President’s Office.
Now, Iczer-1 insisted on deploying by herself, and explains to Nagisa that she’s got a bad feeling (Daiya tells her not to say that or she’ll jinx us). Regardless, Monica pings the same Fold signal we saw at Diokia, and a bunch of Vajra warp right in – just like Cathy said.
Seems to Jeffrey that the Frontier’s research is on to something, so maybe it actually will be worth our while to give this experiment a chance. Ranka’s aboard Canaria’s Koenig Monster, and she’ll try her best to fly as gently as possible.
When Ozma asks, Ranka confirms that she wants to do this. Brera’s deployed for this as well, still acting as Ranka’s bodyguard, and going by his usual Antares 1 callsign. First order of business is to close the distance with the Vajra flock – initiate “Ranka Attack”!
Destroy everything, don’t lose Alto, Canaria, Iczer-1 or any ship. This one’s so much easier than the other path, I don’t even know what to say. While we don’t have Jeeg, we make up by having Brera on our side (who’s actually really dang strong) and, better still, there’s this:
The Valkyries have all received their special packs back now that we’re in space! Ozma, who’s pro, has his Armored Pack while everyone else has Super Packs. That’s a small stat boost, but, more importantly, they’ve all gained access to their Reactive Munitions: two shots (3 with B-Save) and it’ll hurt anything it touches.
Considering all the Valkyries have them, that’s another reason why they’re such great squaddies even if you don’t wanna lead with anyone.
Everyone moves forward.
: … Truth be told, I didn’t wanna let you come here. But if this is what you want…
: Ranka… I’ll protect both you and your dreams!!
Ozma’s the only one that gets in range, mind.
Enemy Phase!
I’m not sure if Brera’ll auto-heal if he dies, but he is very willing to charge head-first into the enemy. On the flip side, he auto-casts Focus and Accelerate.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P-ehQnadDM8
Why does he get after-images, but not us?!
The Vajra don’t appreciate Brera getting in their face, though, and a bunch swarm him (no kills).
Ozma and Iczer-1 also get attacked, to no avail:
: If these creatures have something akin to intelligence, then…
: Iczer-1, focus! The Vajras are dead ahead!
: !! How could I let my mind wander while on the battlefield…! Here I go!
That’s one kill for her.
Player Phase!
: Who goes there?! Don’t you know it’s strictly forbidden to enter the bridge when it’s in Condition 1?
: …
: Sheryl Nome…! Why are you here?! And what is security doing?!
: I don’t recall giving you permission to come aboard, Ms. Sheryl. Care for an explanation?
: I heard about this secret test you’re doing – what it entails, and what you’re after.
: Are you going to blackmail us with that knowledge?
: No, I won’t. Please, Mr. Wilder, I need to see all this with my own two eyes.
: Your curiosity at work, is it?
: My pride, rather…!
: Hah… Get her a seat, people.
: Thank you.
: Time to begin, Ranka.
: Alright…!
: Aimo, Aimo…♪
: (Emotional index +4.33, Fold Wave level at 3.2. Very good…)
: The Vajras’ movement has grown irregular! They’ve stopped attacking…!
: …
: Yak Deculture…!
: It’s true…!
: They’re listening to her song…?
: Well, I’ll be damned…
: This is Antares 1, the test is a confirmed success. Proceeding to eliminate.
: A-All units, engage the Vajra!
: (Ranka, you’re…)
And there we have it. Ranka’s song has rendered the Vajra passive and they’ll simply move around, never attacking or counterattacking. Do note that moving Canaria in any way will end the effect, so let her sit still wherever she’s at.
Let’s spread out and clear the flock.
: Ranka…! I’ll destroy any and all Vajra that’ve come to this world…!
: That’s how we, humanity, will survive!
: (She’s managed to hinder the Vajra’s movement so much… Now if we can get the mass-production of the new warhead underway, then…!)
: Things are looking up already…! With this trick on our side, the NUNS and ZAFT alone could deal with the Vajras even if a whole bunch of them turn up!
: You’re awesome, Ranka!
: Her song really made them all docile… guess this is another one of those mysteries of space, huh?
: Either way, it shouldn’t take long to wrap up this battle now! Here I come, Vajra!
: Ranka Lee’s song… It’s even made me feel at peace.
: Maybe this is what our people felt when their hearts were taken with Lynn Minmay’s song during the First Space War…
: But we can’t just sit here and take in the tunes. Our job in all this is to exterminate any Vajra that came to this world!
: I can kinda understand how Ozma’s feeling… No big bro would like seeing his baby sister stepping out into a battle zone.
: Maybe it’s impossible to take out every single Vajra, but I’m still gonna at least try to end this fight quick-like!
: Don’t get tunnel vision with the enemy. Our main mission here is to defend Ranka.
: I’m keeping a close eye on everything. And you, Kenichi, don’t get so hung up on the Koenig that you let the Vajra run off!
: Yeah, I got it!
: The Cthulhu?! What are they doing here…!
: Hohohohoh… My name is Neos Gold, and I have been looking forward for the chance to do battle with you all.
: That evil presence… Are you Big Gold’s—?!
: Ah, Iczer-1, the beautiful warrior that repelled Iczer-2… Though I believe your face would look even more beautiful devoid of life.
: What is she, Iczer-1?!
: Big Gold’s spawn, I think… Meaning we must defeat her!
: We cannot interrupt the “Ranka Attack”. Troops, repel the Cthulhu on the double!
: Hohohohoh… You shouldn’t assume it’ll all be so simple…
Well, darn. The Cthulhu are still plenty far away, though, so we’ll keep focusing on the Vajra – once the buggers are gone, we’ll worry about the rest. Just pull whatever units are hanging back closer to keep them from getting mobbed (though you still cannot move Canaria).
: I’ve no idea what’s going on through your heads, but if you’re trying to have your way with our world, then I’m not cutting you any slack!
Kill enough of the Vajra, and…
: … I see. One of them is sapping the bugs’ fighting spirit.
: And, in that case…!
: Go, Dilos! Put a stop to these odd dimensional waves!
The Dilos charges after the Koenig Monster!
: Ranka?!
: Hrk…!
: A-Aah…!
: Are you alright, Ranka?
: That’s… Captain, the Vajra have turned hostile again!
: Hrm…!
: Damn, I knew it was too good to be true!
: (Her emotional index has… She needs more training, just as I thought.)
No more passive Vajra, but there shouldn’t be many of them left for that to be a big issue. Just remember the Knight-Class’ frontal MAPW and clear out the rest while the Cthulhu are still moving in. And, of course, you can move Canaria again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jR8p47Dt9gg
And here’s Brera’s best attack.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ft-Ze3U8rE
And here are our shiny new Reactive Munitions. Anyone Macross savvy can clarify if these are straight-up nukes or something different?
: There were more hanging around?!
: Just one, though. Let’s wrap this up and make it snappy!
: (The battle’s still going… I… I have to sing…)
: Aimo, Aimo…♪
: …
The Vajra blasts off towards her!
: Ranka…! I’ll get it!
: Move, Skull 4!
: Brera…!
: Brera, you…!
: I said it before: you don’t deserve her. I’ll keep Ranka safe…!
: Yo, what’s your problem?! Why’d you cut Alto off like that?!
: This really ain’t the time for a pissing match, ya know!
: …
So now we gotta go aaaall the way to the other side of the map. Considering a handful of our guys don’t have accelerate or are just too far, I’ve to load them onto our ships to cut travel time.
That’s not the case with Brera, whose auto-Accelerate allows him to immediately intercept the Cthulhu and start shaving off about 60-70% of their HP. So, you’ve about two turns before he starts killing stuff and, by three, he’ll likely have killed at least over half the Dilos due to their counterattacks.
Hurry on over, or there’ll go a bunch of your cash for this mission!
Thankfully, with his Valkyrie’s low HP, we just need to start bringing folks close enough and the AI’ll switch focus to us.
The Dilos are the same as ever and Neos Gold is hanging back (for now), so on the next turn, when the rest of our group arrives, they’ll fall in droves.
Neos Gold
Pilot Skills:
Ignore Size Difference
Commander L3
Prevail L3
Support Attack L2
Attack Combo L2
Neos Gold is exactly what you’d expect from an Iczer boss: she’s got a ton of stats where it matters and dodges like a motherfucker due to that S size. Her attacks’ accuracy modifiers ain’t all that, so she won’t get TOO big %s against you, but they sure pack a good punch and have very good range. That Command aura’ll give the Dilos quite the hefty bonus, so that’s another reason to kill them all sooner rather than later.
No MAPW attacks to worry about, thankfully, but do note that her strongest attack is also the one she can chain-attack with. Watch it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZcstaI37js
Rare footage of the Daiku Maryu with its head on since Daiya’s currently hitching a ride towards his newest stomping grounds!
Kill enough of the Dilos and eventually the plot will pick up again.
: I’ll concede that your strength exceeds my expectations, foolish Earthlings.
: I won’t allow you to leave here alive, Neos Gold!
: However, it is precisely because you struggled so that you will experience even greater pain.
: What…?
: Just about now, my Four Generals should be in pursuit of Iczer-2’s new partner, cutting a swathe of destruction as they do.
Beep, beep!
: Captain, we’ve an emergency transmission from Island 1! Mihoshi Academy is under attack by some unknown bugs!
: What?!
: And at this hour… Nanase and the others are there!
: A-Aah…!
: Please, give Kawai back!
: That’s just not going to work, I’m afraid. You, alone, are the person we’re here for, Nagisa Kasumi.
: Meaning everyone else are simply pawns for me to toy with until they’re broken… and I’ll very much enjoy slowly tearing them apart.
: If… If only Alto and the others were around, you…
: It’d make absolutely no difference. Whoever may be here, they’d all end the same way: food for by adorable bug servants.
: And, so, I believe this girl can go first. Why don’t I start with this pretty face of hers…? Hmhmhm, hahahahah!
: STOP! Stay away from her!
Nagisa’s struck by Insect’s bugs!
: Urk… let Kawai… go…
: You can’t fight those monsters, Nagisa! It’s impossible!
: Heh… Look at you, risking your life to save your dear friends.
: You’re a funny girl… And, you know what, I’ve changed my mind. I’ll make her scream a bit before handing her over to Lady Neos!
: !!
: (God, please… save her…!)
: Argh?!
: Hee, hee…
: Huh… Wh-Who are you…?
: Heey Yo! I’m Iczer-3!
: Iczer-3…? I heard of Iczer-1, but…
: Oh, you know my big sis? What about granny there with the bugs?
: “Granny”…? You dare address the mightiest of Lady Neos’ warriors so? I’ll make you rue your impudence.
: And if she’s Iczer-1’s sister, then we must kill her…!
: Ah! You two wanna play?!
: Indeed. You should be honored to get the chance to fight me!
: Let’s go, then, grannies!
*Bzzt! Swoosh! Whiplash! Beam!
: Wow… that girl’s unbelievable…
: (Iczer… What’s going on…? I feel like I know her… Actually, didn’t I see this in a dream…?)
*Bzzt! Swoosh! Whiplash! Beam!
: Ooh, you grannies are strong! I like it!
: … Buut, I think you’re a bit too weak to play with my big sis.
: What did you say?!
: Iczer… BOOOOMB!
Craaaaaaash!
: Woo-hoo! I win!
: She’s… too strong…!
: Inconceivable… How could such a tiny girl hurt my beautiful body…?
: Insect…! We must report this… to Lady Neos…
: Hm, we’ve no choice…!
Warp!
: Aaw, they ran! Jerks!
: Iczer-3… who are you?
: Ah, Nagisa! I’m your partner!
: My partner…?
: Yep, that’s what Sister Gray said. So, Nagisa, lemme borrow a bit of your strength, okay? We’ll give those guys a whooping together!
Warp!
: Hm… ooh… Nanase? What happened…?
: Nagisa… vanished…!
: Ah…! What is the meaning of this, Fiber, Insect?
: A-A thousand apologies… We were attacked by this girl. She called herself Iczer-3 and said she was Iczer-1’s sister…
: Our attacks had no effect on her…
: I accept your apology… but I also have no use for incompetent warriors.
: LADY NEOS!!
: GWAAAAARGH!!
: Did she just destroy her own allies?!
: What’s the situation at the Frontier Fleet?!
: If you mean that big ol’ space ship, it’s all good! Both the bugs and the grannies got kicked out!
: What’s going on…? I’m floating in space…?!
: H-Hey, isn’t that the Nyan-Nyan Nagisa?!
: What’s she doing there…?
: Iczer-1, is that girl the one you escaped the Cthulhu with?
: No, she’s not… who in the world…
: Good to meet you, sis! I’m here to help you just like Sister Gray told me to!
: “Gray”? Then, you’ve the Iczelio…
: Yup, and I can also pilot the Iczer Robo. Take a look, too, Nagisa! This is my friend!
: Iczer… Robo!
: She’s…?
: What happened, Iczer-1?
: The Iczer Robo was called elsewhere.
: What…? …Wait, this sensation… I know this…
: Here we go, Nagisa!
: …
: What are you doing, Lulu? We still have a battle to deal with.
: Ah— I-I’m sorry. I was just a bit taken aback…
: Your targets haven’t changed, troops! Destroy the Cthulhu while carrying on with the Ranka Attack experiment!
Iczer Robo (Iczer-3, Nagisa Kasumi)
Pilot Skills:
Sword Cut
Shoot Down
Prevail L4
Support Attack L1
Support Defense L1
Attack Combo L2
Spirit Commands – Iczer-3:
Daunt
Focus
Spirit
Spirit Commands – Nagisa:
Trust
Attune
Iron Wall
Bless
Squad Bonus: exp earned +10%, mobility +5
Iczer-1, bulky edition. Iczer-3 has SLIGHTLY worse stats than her sisters, but she does have them beat in defenses and her attacks have lower EN costs.
On the other hand, on offense, Iczer-3 is straight-up worse than 1: in both forms, her weapons are varying degrees of weaker (from just 100 points less on the melee and beam attacks, to a full 500 less between 3’s strongest and Iczer-1/Robo Full Power).
And that’s an issue because, as you saw, there’s only ONE Iczer Robo to go around – you need to choose who uses it at a given time. Mind, you could make the point that, since Iczer-1’s stronger by herself, 3 needs the Robo more.
And, in case you’re wondering, Nagisa Kasumi is an exact mirror image of Nagisa Kanou down to the spirit command list, so don’t let that stop you from choosing one or the other.
Now, we’ve only a handful of Dilos left alive, so we’ll make quick work of those and converge upon Neos Gold.
While that’s going on, Iczer-3 has a chance to pull a nice chain attack with her melee attack:
: Game on! Let’s see which is stronger: you or the Iczer Robo!
: Wh-What am I supposed to do here…? Gimme some sort of explanation, Iczer-3!
: Here goes!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lim-xQnmrhU
Oh, and Neos Gold decided to start moving when she saw an opportunity of her own to chain attack.
: Damn that Big Gold! So she had another trick up her sleeve other than those monsters and giant robots?!
: My mother is all-powerful… she far exceeds your feeble imagination. And, of course, so do I!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-KR6q_IpN7M
And now we go deal with her properly!
: You may be young, but you are also an Iczer… Fine, I’ll deal with you in person.
: You’ve got a lotta nerve sending people after Nagisa, Neos Gold!
: Haah… Haah… Iczer-3… wait up…! I’m feeling… kind of…
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_byhzX-N6w
: You had your goons attack Mihoshi Academy while it was completely defenseless?! There’s sordid and then there’s that, Neos Gold!
: Hohohoho… I care not to comply with the standards of humans, foolish Earthling.
: Well, you better! Because the Voltes is going to pay back the horror you put our friends through twice over!
: D’you really want to kill us and Iczer-1 so bad that you’d pull crap like that?!
: Ohoho… No different from you and your unwillingness to coexist with the Vajra.
: …! Then that’s what we are in your eyes, huh…? Then, I’ll…!
: Neos Gold… You’re 100% evil, no question about it! And our justice’s gonna put you down!
: Your “justice”… I see. Then I believe I’ll kill you first.
: You Cthulhu are really running short on people by the looks of it.
: Your insolent tongue won’t be wagging for long. Observe how weak you truly are.
: Disappear, Neos Gold! And take your evil power with you!
: I’ll bring your head as a gift to my mother. Here is where you die, Iczer-1!
: Urgh…! Not bad, though this is hardly enough to best me.
: Her energy signal’s growing fainter! She’s going to…!
: Ooh, no! This spawn’s mom messed with my sis and her friends so much, so she’s going down right here, right now!
: Stop! Don’t rush—
Iczer-3 rushes Neos Gold down.
: Yaah!
“See how you like my Iczelio Bomber!”
“Urgh… I… can’t…”
“Take this!”
“Rrrgh! Curse you… Iczer-3!!”
: Jeez, she’s tough!
Power doooown.
: Eh?! Wh-What’s with the Iczer Robo?!
: Think it’s same thing that happened to our Nagisa?!
: If the partner’s unable to synchronize herself, the Iczer Robo grows weak…!
: Did something happen to her partner, then…?!
: …
: Nagisa?! What is it, Nagisa?! Talk to me, please!
: Fool… In your bid to claim victory, you’ve left yourself exposed.
: Huh?! Why’d the Iczer Robo leave?!
: I’ve taken the liberty of seizing the Iczelio, source of you Iczers’ power. Rest assured that I’ll put it to very good use…
: All that remains now is to capture Nagisa Kasumi…
: Not on my watch!
: Worry not, Iczer-3. I’ll also take the time to give you your just deserts.
: (But if I fight here, Nagisa’ll be in danger… What do I do…?!)
: Die!
: Watch out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ejJD4fTDNrg
: You OK, Iczer-1?!
: Yes… as are the two of them… Urk…!
: Very impressive, Iczer-1… I now see why Iczer-2’s been wounded so by your hand.
: But, unfortunately, I, like you, no longer have any strength with which to fight. Much as I am loath to leave without Nagisa Kasumi, the Iczelio is a fine prize in itself. Once I’ve recovered my power, we shall meet again…!
: Stop… Neos Gold…
Faint.
: Oh, no! Someone bring Iczer-1 and Nagisa to the Macross!
: I’ll do it! I have to get them to that ship there, right?
That’s all the Vajra and Cthulhu taken care of, and Bobby’s very impressed with the amazing show Ranka put today. She was like the legendary Minmay herself, Mina thinks, but the singer’s too passé for Bobby. Basara’s a much better comparison… though he’s also old news in Lam’s eye.
Alto also praises her for the good work, but Ranka’s more worried about Nagisa and Iczer-1. We don’t know how they’re doing, but will check now; Ranka can’t come with, though, as she has exams to undergo…
Inwardly, though, she wonders to Alto and Ozma: “Is… Is this right?”
Couple of convos we missed today:
: (It’s true that, if this works, we’ll see a major dip in KIA cases. We’ll also have a way of regaining our footing and dealing with the Vajra… This is quite the conundrum for Ozma, hm?)
–
: Oh, different bugs! Nagisa, can I play with them for just a bit? I bet they’re strong!
: Th-Those are the Vajra, aren’t they?! No! Stay away from them!
: Naah, don’t worry about it! I’m pretty strong too, you know!
Iczer-3 hurries to the Quarter’s infirmary in search of Nagisa and Iczer-1, and Alice has to tell her to keep her voice down – Nagisa’s still very weak. She’s not at risk, Canaria points out, and will recover with some rest.
Miu points out that the same happened with Nagisa Kanou during her first battle, where she exhausted herself due to controlling the Iczer Robo. Iczer-1 starts getting off her gurney, and Iczer-3 immediately apologizes for putting her here.
Alice protests that she’s still hurt and shouldn’t move around, but Iczer-1 says, regardless, she’ll soon be unable to move. Before that, though, she has something to do and looks at the asleep Nagisa Kasumi.
Canaria tells who she is, and since this Nagisa from another world is Iczer-3’s partner, she has a favor to ask.
: You’re leaving, Iczer-1…?
: Yes. I must return to my ally’s side in order to heal my wounds.
: Nagisa… I’m entrusting your protection, as well as that of the other Nagisa, to Iczer-3.
: …
: Are we gonna see each other again?
: My battles will continue until Neos Gold… and Big Gold are destroyed, and Earth is saved. So I promise to you all that I’ll return.
: We’ll be looking forward to the day where we’ll fight side-by-side again, Iczer-1.
: As will I. Take care of them, Iczer-3. And, Nagisa… farewell for now.
: Bye, Iczer-1… and please come back to us.
: Absolutely…!
Warp!
: Iczer-3. I’m sure Iczer-1 and Canaria already said this to you, but…
: If you’re going to be fighting with us, then you’ll need to listen to what we say and not act as rashly as you did.
: I just screwed up when controlling the Iczer Robo, that’s it! I’ll do it right next time…!
Off she goes.
: Oof, she’s quite the handful. What do we do? Just give her free rein?
: Is she the kind of kid that’d listen to us, even?
: Nagisa Kasumi… we might just have to depend on her for this.
And BOTH Alto and Michel had to run a ton of laps around the hangar as punishment for bringing Sheryl over, and the latter is not happy that he wound up getting caught in that. Alto’s already apologized for it, damn it! Well, now that that’s done, Michel has to take off: this is their first time back in the Frontier in who knows how long, so he has a date!
As he leaves, Alto gets a call from Ranka: she wants to thank him for today, and apologizing for taking this long. She had to wait for Brera and the others to leave the room. Alto doesn’t blame her, since the guy has been assigned to her.
Either way, Ranka wants his opinion on the experiment. Well, everyone’s stoked over what happened, saying how this’ll make our fight with the Vajra way simpler, how it could be key to uncovering so much more, etc… And what does Alto, himself, think?
Well, wanting to expand and gain prosperity is a fundamental desire for any living beings, and when two groups have that same desire, that’s when conflict is born. This is what we have on our hands, and it seems survival comes down to either us or them… or maybe some other group, even.
Alto thinks we might be at a major crossroads here, and, in that case, he’s ready to do whatever’s necessary. Is it really okay, then? That’s what Alto thinks, at least, and that’s all the validation Ranka needs: if her song can help us even a little, then she’ll sing her heart out for Alto, his friends and Nagisa!
Speaking of, the doctors expect the girl to be awake tomorrow – he’ll let Ranka know if it happens, so he tells her to keep up the good work. With much gratitude, she hangs up, and while Alto’s glad that there wasn’t anything major wrong with Nagisa, he does have to wonder what might be up with Sheryl after they took her back to the hospital…
Cut to the President’s Office, Cathy’s investigation has born some fruit: she thinks Brera’s getting his orders from people connected to the Macross Galaxy, still believed to be in their original world, while the approval for today’s operation has Mishima’s fingerprints all over it. See, while Howard was very happy with the experiment’s results, he apparently wasn’t too keen on having it take place.
Ozma wonders if Cathy’s really fine with leading this investigation, what with her fiancée being involved, and she sighs that Mishima’s a very ambitious man. She used to think that was a good point of his… unlike someone else’s lack of ambition?
Cathy falls silent, so Ozma apologizes for crossing the line.
Speak of the devil, Luca’s been brought to Mishima’s office, and asks the man if both today’s experiment and the covert recovery of Fold Quartz from the Vajra corpses are being done in accordance to Birler’s wishes. What makes him think that? Well, the guy has an obvious reason to want the mineral: to create with it a network spanning even parallel worlds. A monopoly like that would essentially give the man dominion over the world.
Mishima praises the insight of L.A.I.’s heir, but he’s not quite right: Mishima’s no longer acting in accordance to Birler’s agenda. G, stepping out of the shadows, says they’re setting their sights way higher than Luca’s hypothesis.
But Mishima says they still need L.A.I. to continue its excellent work. They all want to get back to their original world, you see, meaning they need to stay alive until that can happen. Thus, he wants them to make good on the development of the new warhead.
That’s fine with Luca, but he does ask them to quite using their prototypes for unscheduled experiments. With that, he leaves, and G is very impressed with the kid. Well, he didn’t earn his position of technical advisor in L.A.I. by being charming – he’s a prodigy through and through.
But more important than him, Mishima wants to know how things’ll proceed with the Ranka Lee Experiment.
“Training requires both carrot and stick, you know,” G says… and takes away his disguise, revealing himself to be Grace! “So how about we give the ‘carrot’ some priority for now?” she says. Scary, scary woman.
Turns out Michel’s date was with Klan. Did she wait long? N-No, who would waste their time waiting for HIM? She’s clearly just got here! And, whoops, Alice is also around, apologizing for running late – not that Michel’ll complain, since he was late himself after running with Alto. “I thought this’d be my big chance and you brought someone else along…” Klan fumes silently.
Either way, Michel’s sorry for calling them over while they were off-duty, but he asks if they’ve found out anything about that mysterious medicine Sheryl was taking. Klan hasn’t anything yet, but she did call in a favor from a college friend to analyze it. Once the results are in, they’ll be sent over with an encryption only she can unlock.
Great, though Michel apologizes to her for all the work-talk during their first break in ages. Well, if that’s what he thinks, then maybe— “OK, now that that’s done, let’s go have some nice tea, Alice!,” Michel quips.
Whuh? B-But she’s an android, so drinking tea wouldn’t really do anything for her. Oh, don’t worry about that – the whole thing is about enjoying the ambiance, having fun and what not. As she drags her away, Klan’s disappointed in him: “You’re still running away, Michel…?”
: Hmhmhm… Thanks to the Cthulhu and those insects drawing the humans’ attention, I’ve managed to complete my preparations without any intrusions.
: Oh, Bronze Bells, reveal the path that leads to the Iwato.
: Oooh…?!
: Space-time is… splitting apart!
: The Iwato is appearing before us!
: Hmhmhm… HAHAHAHA! At long last! The time has come to bring our ancient desire to fruition!
: They did, yes. And we’re about to set out after them.
: That’s ridiculous! Anyone can see that the Archangel isn’t an enemy!
: … Then at least let us accompany you.
: Seriously. Humans 
: To say nothing of how much of a boost it’d be for us if we managed to add the Archangel’s forces to our team.
: Speak of the devil… That broad’s got the worst sense of timing in the world!
: Captain, why are we going to attack the Archangel?! These orders are insane!
: … They’re also from the Supreme Council. We have to comply.
: But why so suddenly? What’s the Chairman thinking?
: The Federation’s violence is pushing the radicals in the Supreme Council to become progressively louder. I’m sure the Chairman is trying to contain them, but there’s only so much he can do.
: Then 
: (I have to fight the guy who helped me save Stella…? Can I actually do that…?)
: This is Murrue Ramius, captain of the Archangel, speaking. What is the meaning of all this, Cpt. Gladys?
: I wouldn’t be so sure. I’ve the sinking feeling that your orders to shoot us down have more to do with killing two of our crew members.
: Would likely be me…
: Whuh?! Why is Ms. Lacus with them? I thought she was at the PLANTs!
: And you should know that, when we were at Orb, Coordinator assassins came after us… We have reason to suspect that someone, manipulating the PLANTs from the shadows, tried to kill Lacus.
: Captain, we’ve a group of unknown units inbound! They appeared out of nowhere!
: It’s been too long, dear sister! But what say you we put a definitive end to this today?
: She’s insanely fast…! Can I even keep up with her?!
: I’ll make you pay for all the pain you put Nagisa through!
: Ouch. Still, I guess it’s true that we lost to the R-Daigun because our teamwork wasn’t up to snuff…
: None of us wanted to be part of a quartet to begin with, really.
: But that’s not who we are anymore… we’ve started to learn what teamwork is about, bit by bit.
: That’s how you see it, eh…? Then this calls for Team D to show you what it’s capable of!
: That’s not true! I’ve grown strong only because I have Iczer-1 with me! And we’ll protect humanity and Earth together!
: Weren’t you listening, Rey?! They aren’t the PLANTs enemies!
: Look! The Minerva’s readying its main gun!
: The previous operation has left a bad taste in your mouth, hasn’t it?
: So this is where you were, Yamashita… Alice and Misato are looking for you.
: And Hisataka was right on the money. They’re coming to retake the place in a hurry.
: Then we have but to nip their ambitions in the bud. This’ll be payback for Riku, too.
: Welcome home, LOTUS…!
: There you are, LOTUS… Reiji said you’d try something like this. So how about I take the time to show you reactionary hounds on whose side true justice lies?
: Yes, sir.
: (I can’t stand this man…)
: Off we go, then! Begin Operation JUDA Reclamation!
: They’ve started… How are the locks, Prof. Sakon?
: Just a little bit longer. Emi, could you help parse these codes?
: Lemme see… Ah, this bit here’s a bit rusty… Hup!
: Let’s get to work then! We need to get JUDA back in order hands before Kouichi’s group gets in any trouble!
: What door is this? An elevator?
: …
: YOU HUGE IDIOOOOoooooo…
: Your people have been taken hostage, but you’ll carry on fighting…? Still, true justice knows no defeat…It’s pointless to oppose it…!
: A synchro-game set up as an old-school party game by the looks of it… (
: Jinrais?!
: Do you think something happened to the infiltration team…?!
: You’ve no need to worry about any of that…!
: Hippo?!
: If you cannot rise above a situation like this, then your dreams of saving mankind will be just that: dreams… Show me how strong you are!
: Right. I was, much to my regret, separated from the group halfway through, but I’d wager he had even craftier traps in place…
: And what’s going on with Yamashita and the others?
: LtCol. Katsuragi, how are things on your end?
: We’re not equipped to hand a war of attrition against them…!
: Eiji Kiriyama has finally come out…!
: (He isn’t playing the hostage card until the very last second, just as we figured he would.)
: …
: He wanted to protect them.
: Sucks to be you, guy!
: So ya better get ready for what’s headed your way, Eiji Kiriyama!
: I presume you are the commander of LOTUS?
: … (
: All SDF Armas have been disintegrated!
: Target’s moving across Lake Ashi.
: This is bad… Misato, what are you doing…?
: We can’t! That blast melted the catapult – it’s not working!
: Belay that.
: The lot of you should stand down and observe. I’ll dispatch this bunch…!
: Stay out of his way…!
: Ignore them, Anna.
: Hey, it’s Suzuhara. Ikari… actually, I’m gonna just call ya Shinji. We’re all countin’ on ya, Shinji!
: I’m relieving the 
: Ikari…!
: …
: Say what? The things didn’t get all scared ‘cause of Shinji’s rifle, right?
: We know far too little for me to give you a conclusive answer. Still, it’s possible that the Mimetic Beasts saw the Angel as a threat on an instinctual level?
: Why do you let nothing but that thirst for revenge lead you, Lou…?
: You were also going to check up on Rei at the infirmary, right? Let’s get to it, then – the other MVP is waiting.
: I understand. That child has awakened, and we’ve entered the summation phase, hm? (
: That’s correct. The Dead Sea Scrolls Apocrypha has been fulfilled up to the Book of Law. The time of the covenant is close at hand.
: Roger that!
: Been a long time since we were back here. Now we clean house!
: O-OK!
: Grrrr…! Grrowr!
: Kitty’s still a real tough cookie!
: …
: … I guess that really is all you amount to.
: Yuu, stealing the Rushbird is stage one of our plan. We cannot waste much time on this.
: It… worked…
: …
: …!
: …
: What’s going on?!
: That’s enough!
: I apologize for keeping you all in the dark. This is my real form.
: That’s… Captain! Our controls have been restored!
: Oh, no, you don’t!
: Are you all safe, my friends?
: …
: …
: You’re safe now. Your vision might be blurry at the moment, but don’t worry. You’ll be seeing just fine soon.
: I’ve waited for so long… to finally see you again…
: Hm… hmm…?
: Hello there, Captain. I’m so sorry to impose on you so suddenly – and on the verge of battle, no less.
: Excuse me, Chairman, but we’ve an emergency!
: GWAAAAAARGH!!
: Hmhmhmm, did you seriously expect to conquer Heaven’s Base with a force like 
: …
: Heero… you’re here!
: I-It’s the Wing Zero…! What’s that Gundam doing here…?!
: (He got my info, it seems… but I still have my own mission to carry out. Sorry, but I can’t afford to hold back.)
: Hrgh! GODDAMN IIIIT! I swear I’m killing all of you next time!
: The winged Gundam… Earth’s enemy… Die…!
: Radar is clear of enemy troops!
: It really does look like Mimetic Beasts from across the whole world are gathering here.
: Are the Mimetic Beasts more sluggish than usual…? I mean, that’s good for us, but what’s going on with them…?!
: I-It’s…! More Mimetic Beasts surfaced from the sea by Dannar base! They’re right by us!
: Hrm…! They approached from underwater while we were distracted by their first wave?! Ms. Katsuragi, we’ve an ambush! Have some troops divert to engage them ASAP!
: Damage report!
: Goh, are you there?!
: Sh-Shizuru…?
: …
: What am I doing here? …Oh, right… I covered Anna and ate that attack…
: Hm…
: Energy reading from the Mimetic Beast is spiking rapidly!
: It’s too soon to give up, Kiriko!
: Stars for heaven, flowers for earth, love for humans… No person is capable of living by himself. That is what makes humans willing to fight for those they love, and why humans are more beautiful than any flower or any star! (
: Shizuru… thank god, you’re alright…!
