Click to see the mission!
Behold! Unlimited power! As per the vote held, Kurou, Shouko, Fei and Heroman have all been maxed out, which makes them the first of our units to break into the highest tier of Squad Bonus (as if Kurou needed an even stronger barrier – 1500!).
Following the Fafner kids all taking some time off last mission, we’ve our whole crew back today, so here’s how we’re going:
Fei-Yen/Lockon
Kouichi/Kiki
Dancouga/Canaria
Sun Quan/Eida
Kazuki/Allelujah
Mazinkaiser/Hebi
Heroman/Shouko
Liu Bei/Rennie
Shinn/Luna
Zhang Fei/Sun Shangxiang
Demonbane/Deceive
Setsuna/Luca
Shou/Marvel
Arnie/Saya
Alto/Klan
Aesap/Painkiller
Cao Cao/Moritsugu
Michel/Kenji
Mamoru/Sakura
Tactician: Romina ( bring in Romina if you’re still gunning for the other Tobikage secret )
Now off we go.
We open up aboard the G-Excellent, where Annex is being informed of that unit Grathan had been working on: a certain machine that’s been passed down generations back at Planet The Boom, and, after much effort, it’s finally been restored! Charme is confused, as said machine was supposedly lacking some core data that made restoring it impossible.
That’s correct, but they simply used data on Tobikage, provided by Ylbora, to fill in that gap. Annex enjoys the irony of the machine made to return Tobikage to the void being given life by it – thus, he decides to christen it the Zerokage. Charme praises Grathan on his accomplishment and tells him to deploy said Zerokage and bring the Elshank to heel ASAP.
… Well, there’s a bit of a problem with that. See, while the machine itself IS complete, they can’t actually activate it yet. What is the damned point of finishing a mech that can’t even move, then?!
Ylbora intervenes, saying they’re working diligently to determine the cause of Zerokage’s slumber – he’s confident they’ll figure out how to make it work in the near future. Annex’ll trust them to do that, but warns that they’d best not take too long.
What does he mean? Well, Annex had much faith in Grathan and, thus, elected to let him handle the Elshank… but that hasn’t happened, has it? If his string of failures continues, the Emperor might just finally run out of patience. Grathan gulps and stammers an assurance that they WILL succeed next time! Look forward to the good news!
As the call ends, Charme asks if Annex is sure about doing that. While the thing is still inert, Grathan did succeed in restoring that legendary machine – wouldn’t it be a bit of a waste to put him down? Maybe, but they must make haste. Romina has awakened all three Ladorian machines, and if it turns out that she’s already managed to find the ninja…
Charme understands: Annex is worried the Ladorians may find a way to bring out the humongous power told of in the Ninja Legend. And that cannot happen – at least not for the Ladorians. On the flip side, if they can tap into that power with the Zerokage, that’d be great.
On to other matters, though: has Charme managed to reestablish contact with Planet The Boom? Not yet, and it seems the warp to get here has resulted in some misalignments in their star charts, which makes it difficult to home in on the homeworld. Annex suspects it’s related to whatever caused them to spend way more of their kylhasium stocks to go through the warp than they should have.
But, in any case, Annex wants the problem solved right away, but, inwardly, he’s pensive: “What unease is this? I feel like an animal that’s fallen into a trap…”
Over by JUDA, Damian is trying, and failing, to get the Kurojishi to work for him. He’s been doing this nonstop lately – Ennea’s seen him – and despite it all, the bot hasn’t budged once. Still, Mike tells him not to give up yet, as it also took them a while to get the Ladorian machines moving flawlessly. Before he gives it another go, though, Joey and Kurou suggest Damian get some rest – doesn’t he also have his intelligence work to do? He’s going to burn himself out.
Damian appreciates their concern, but isn’t about to take it: even Karen left The Boom Army to fight alongside us, while he’s always stuck on the ship. But not anymore! He wants to also be capable of protecting what’s dear to him when push comes to shove (or, if she’s dead, to make sure the life she sacrificed herself to save isn’t wasted). Karen thanks him for that vow, and is certain that his heart’ll get through to the Kurojishi just as it did to her.
Denton detects, for a split second, a response coming from the Kurojishi – did something happen or was he imagining things?
Door opens.
: Hey, stoking your inner fire’s all fine and good, but you don’t wanna push yourself too hard and screw up when it actually counts, right?
: Lockon? Are you done training Maya for the day?
: We just finished, yeah. Of course, this being my first actual training session, a whole lot went waaay over my head.
: No way, girl. If you ask me, for someone who had to rush through pilot training, you’re a dang good shot.
: And I can’t believe how well you keep your cool under pressure thanks to that “altered consciousness” business…
: I have to say, little Maya here might just be able to snipe with the best.
: Really? You think I can follow in your and Lockon’s steps?
: Take care around Michel, Maya.
: Next thing you know, he’ll find you when you least expect and go: “our eyesight’s the same as our lives to us snipers, so how about we enjoy some stargazing together?” Don’t buy it.
: H-Huh…?!
: Hmhmm, so that’s the kind of man Michel is? I’ll better take care not to fall for his sweet talk, then.
: Dang it, no! Alto! You’re giving them totally the wrong idea!
: Is he, now? It doesn’t take a stellar memory to remember that, yes, that’s exactly what you usually do.
: Psh, I swear… between Michel, Hayase and others, we got way too many folks ‘round here who’ve no idea how a lady’s heart works.
: Speaking of, I haven’t seen Hayase for a while now. Did he go somewhere?
: He did, yeah. I saw him leaving with Moritsugu, Kongming and some others.
: With them…?
Location: Tokyo – Old Warehouse
: What’s Moritsugu up to, bringing us to a place like this?
: Arnie, you hear anything about it?
: Nope, none of us have. I’m just here as a stand-in for the Major since he’s busy with something else and couldn’t come.
: And what something is that?
: Don’t ask me. I just know he couldn’t come.
: …
Door opens.
: Sorry for the wait.
: Where’d you run off to, Moritsugu? Don’t you think it’s about time you told us why you brought us here?
: …
: Do you remember me mentioning a question that’d bothered me for a while?
: Whether or not we could trust your Machinas and Mr. Ishigami, right?
: Right. The reason I brought you all here is for us to get answers.
: There’s someone I’d like us to meet.
: And it seems they have just arrived.
Door opens.
#1: Oh, my, now isn’t this a big group that’s come to meet us.
#2: Hmhmm, I’ve half a mind to bow and thank you for honoring us with this.
: You’re…?!
: I hope the day finds you well, my UX friends.
: Hisataka Katou?!
: So, Maya’s just about ready to start flying a Fafner legit?
: Though I’d rather she didn’t have to. The battles are only going to get worse from here on out…
: Being a pilot means setting your life on a very difficult path. There’ll be plenty of moments that’ll put your soul to the test.
: Honestly, this isn’t something we should be asking children your age to do but…
: … I know. But I still want to do this.
: I’m tired of staying cooped up inside, safe, while Kazuki and the others are out there fighting.
: Maya…
: Hey, can I ask why do you guys fight?
: “Why”?
: I mean, fighting brings you so much anger, pain, sadness and whatnot, right?
: So why do you guys do it?
: Well… I, for one, would just feel like garbage if I could do something to help and didn’t.
: The Festum are constantly attacking us. It’s to be expected that humanity fights for its survival, no?
: Yeah, and I also really don’t feel like letting bad folks call the shots with my life or with the world.
: I might not have come into this willingly at first but… now I’ve been given all this power, and I’d like to make good use of it and put a stop to those who’ve gone in the wrong direction.
: I guess what it all comes down to is that we’re a bunch of suckers who don’t know how ignore stuff when we see it go down.
: …
: And if what if all that’s for naught…?
: Huh…?
: What if you could see the future, and knew that no matter how much you fought, you couldn’t save anyone – that there’s no hope for them…?
: If you knew that all this is pointless, what would you do?
: Could you still bring yourselves to fight?
: You…
: That’s not the question, though – not really. The question is: pointless or not, could I just throw my hands in the air and do nothing? Could I live with myself doing nothing…?
: Heh, I really don’t think I could.
: Kurou…
: Same here. Even if you say our destiny’s already set, that doesn’t mean we’re just going to take it.
: But your destiny is never set in stone. Rather, it’s something you carve out yourself.
: …
: (And there she was, asking me if I wouldn’t make a choice…)
: (You make it sound so easy…)
: When you said we were meeting someone here, that’s about the last people I figured would be coming through that door…
: Oh, don’t be a stranger, honey. What’s a little secret get-together between enemies?
: Yulianne and I established a comm channel with each other during the Kiriyama incident, so I reached out and set up this meeting. I’ve questions I’d like to ask you.
: Is that so…? Go right ahead, though, please, keep it short.
: I’ll get straight to it, then. What, exactly, are the Machinas?
: You know that, no? They are giant humanoid weapons, pure and simple.
: That doesn’t explain what happened with the Painkiller, the Machina we found at Shimane the other day…
: Any way you look at it, the circumstances around it choosing Miu Kujo as its Factor are odd to say the least.
: Meaning?
: The Painkiller deemed her life was at risk and, thus, made her into a Factor.
: Now this is purely conjecture, but…
: Do the Machinas turn people into Factors on purpose?
: Heh, yes, they do.
: What for?!
: You should already have an idea why.
: Huh…?!
: Machinas are built in a way that they prioritize human life above all else.
: As such, they are incapable of doing harm to humans by themselves. In which case…
: …
: A Factor, essentially, is the component a Machina needs to enable itself to kill humans. Is that correct?
: …?!
: Very much so.
: What does that mean?! Why would the Machinas need to kill people?!
: There are plenty of reasons, but if I had to pick one that’d be easy for you to understand, I’d tell you this…
: They do it to oppose the Linebarrel.
: “Oppose the Linebarrel”?!
: … I see. On to the next question, then.
: Wait, hold on! I wanna hear the rest—
: Kunio Ishigami… what is he truly after?
: To bring a Factor for all existing Machina, I’d say.
: Put it differently, his goal is to give all Machinas the Factor they need to kill…?
: However, doing that won’t be easy in the slightest. For you see…
: The last Machina is squarely within my grasp.
: And, of course, you have no intention of providing it with a Factor.
: You didn’t need to ask that, did you? Of course, knowing Ishigami, he likely already has a plan.
: After all, it’s a certain Machina of his that’s been advising him on what to do all along…
: Ishigami’s… Machina?!
: …
: Oh? You didn’t accompany Moritsugu and the others?
: Heh, you ask, like you don’t already know everything. What an awful sonovagun we got here.
: Hey, now, I’d like to consider myself a good soul. I am respecting your wishes and keeping quiet to the team, no?
: Fair enough…
: And I guess you don’t have it easy, either. The ability to see into the future can be a nasty thing every now and then, right?
: All that said, I’d like you to come clean with them and soon. If you don’t, it might just mean trouble for the upcoming plan.
: I know. I’ll tell them everything… before the time comes to leave this world.
: …
: So Mr. Ishigami was a Factor all along…?
: I have just one more question… What is the Linebarrel?
: Ah?
: Hmhmhm, by the look on your face, I’d say asking that’s the main reason you called for this meeting.
: The Linebarrel is the Counter Machina, one meant to destroy all others of its kind.
: And, at the same time, it’s also a man and where it all began.
: …?!
: The Linebarrel’s a man…?!
Ring, ring!
: Urgh, what is it now…?!
Bloop.
: We need your group to come back and rejoin the squad immediately! The Boom Army is closing in on JUDA!
: Copy that! We’re heading over right away!
: I suppose our chat has come to an end. We’ll take our leave, then.
: Next time we meet, we’ll be back to being enemies, honey.
: Hold on, this talk’s not over yet! Tell me what you meant by all that!
: Heh, I’ll leave you with one last morsel of information, then.
: Humanity will go extinct 32 years from now.
: Wh-What?!
: Is that supposed to be funny?! Do you seriously think any of us would believe that?!
: Whether you believe it or not is entirely up to you. But the end will come, I assure you.
: What if you could see the future, and knew that no matter how much you fought, you couldn’t save anyone? If you knew that all this is pointless…
: Could you still bring yourselves to fight?
: …
: It’s almost time for the attack. The Zerokage won’t be available, I see…
: Why?! The machine has been restored to perfection, so why isn’t it activating?!
: A machine that none can activate… just like the three machines kept in Planet Ladorio across the ages…
: What?! Then you mean the Zerokage also needs that “power of a ninja” garbage?!
: The power of a ninja, hm…
: Rrgh… I’d never have used Tobikage’s data if I knew this is what I’d end up with!
: But the fact is that you wouldn’t have completed the Zerokage at all without that data.
: Maybe, but…
: …
: (Why am I so much on edge?)
: (Planet The Boom and Planet Ladorio, two different worlds with legendary machines of their own…)
: (And at the center of it all is Tobikage and that “legendary ninja”… What does any of this mean?)
Mission 30 – Grand Quickening
: E-Sensor’s got a read! The enemy units are entering our airspace!
: Come and face me, UX!
: Cmdr. Ylbora, you’ll pit yourself against us once more?
: Indeed, but there won’t be another time! Today is when I’ll end your lives and take Princess Romina!
: Shut your noise-hole, Ylbora! What’s gonna happen today is that I’m bringing an end to your bull!
: All units, deploy and support—… Urgh!
: Major…?!
: I-I’m fine. Troops, scramble ASAP!
: Why am I the only one on standby, Minashiro?
: Because it’s too soon to send you into actual combat. Stay in the hangar and wait – if worst comes to worst, we’ll bring you in.
: Roger.
: He’s attacking us with that few troops…? What are you up to, Ylbora…?
: The enemy must have some sort of plan in mind! Keep a close eye on their movements, everyone!
Kill the Boom Army, don’t lose any ship or Joe. Nothing we haven’t done plenty of times before.
Secret Alert!
Tobikage Secret #1 – 5th step: set Romina as your tactician and have Joe shoot down Ylbora.
Ditto.
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend
Damn, son.
: Ylbora… I’ve nothing more to say to you.
: You’ve betrayed us for The Boom Army and now work to wound so many… I’ll put a stop to you myself!
: I’m simply following my beliefs, Your Highness. They command me to see something done, and, for that, I’ll…!
Gameran attacking: “Curses… It’s Joe’s fault that Sir Ylbora’s on their side…!”
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend
: What happened to all your pride and your feelings for the Princess?! I want an answer, Ylbora!
: I’m under no obligation to tell you anything! I’ve found another course to follow – and I’ll follow it alone!
Shangxiang attacking: “Are you seriously fine with what you’re doing?!”
: I’ll spare no quarter to any foe who seeks to do us harm, even if said foe used to be an ally!
: As do I – I’ll do as I must, whoever the enemy is. Now let’s see whose resolve emerges victorious!
SRW UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit
: There’s nothing more to be said… we both have our own reasons for doing this, our own beliefs leading us into battle!
: What a fine attitude from the old deserter…
: Then, come! Can your beliefs overpower mine, or will mine crush yours? Let’s find out!
SRW UX - Shadows that Rend Darkness
: You’ve really fit in with the invaders, haven’t you? Is fighting with The Boom Army enough for you, Cmdr. Ylbora?!
: Hmph… a woman who questions her very being wouldn’t understand even if I said anything!
: ?! I-I’m…!
: Ylbora, you…!
: So, the self-proclaimed Champion of Justice wants to try and convince his enemy?
: But this is no piece of fiction! Words will avail you not! If you wish to stop me, take sword in hand and come!
: Then that’s exactly what I’ll do…! I’ll fight your plans with everything I’ve got!
: What pushed you to join the enemy, to try and hurt those who meant so much to you?! What’re you struggling with?!
: Only with you people, and nothing more!
: And if you’ll stand in my way, then I’ll cut you down!
: You never learn, do ya? Don’t you get that you’re the reason Romina’s so sad?!
: Silence! I’m using The Boom Army as a means to seize the future!
: And that’s why I’ve to surpass you, Joe… I’ll surpass you in strength and as a man – I’ll rise above all that you are…!
: Hrgh! N-No, I’m not done yet…!
: He’s going to keep fighting even after all the hits he took?
: I-I cannot die here… My life… my very soul belongs to…
: Such tenacity… What is it that impels him so?
: S-Sir Ylbora…
: I must carry on… and for that, I… I!
: Rrm?! What just happened to him?!
: Where’d that unit come from?!
: UUUOOOOOAAAARRGH!
I’m including this scene in the video below!
: Y-Ylbora was taken into that machine?!
: Th-The hell is that thing?!
: Mwahahaha! You’ve done it, Ylbora!
: I can’t believe you’d be the one to activate the Zerokage! Color me surprised!
: Z-Zerokage?!
: That’s right! It’s The Boom Army’s ultimate weapon, made whole from Tobikage’s own data… the Zerokage!
: …
: Tobikage?!
: What’s going on?! We hadn’t met the conditions for him to show up yet!
Tobikage flies towards Ylbora.
: Why’re you doing this, Tobikage…?!
: Hmhmhm… Tobikage senses it, I see.
: He knows the Zerokage’s his fated nemesis…!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5D9XZmDYjjA
: TOBIKAGE!!
: N-No way… that invincible ninja bot was…!
: Wonderful… is this the might of the Zerokage? I feel power coursing through my entire body!
: Not even Tobikage can give me pause anymore! I’ll put the lot of you six feet under!
: Don’t let him finish Tobikage off! Build a perimeter around him, troops!
: Hmhmhm, is that the best you can do…?
: Wha—?! The Zerokage’s vanished!
: Where exactly are you looking at?
Everyone loses 10% HP!
: Hrk… that unit is…!
: I-It disappeared again!
: Bwahahaha! You’ll never be able to see through the Zerokage’s camouflage attack!
: It’s using some optic camo?! Then we’re all sitting ducks here!
: We’re working on a countermeasure! Just hang in there and buy us some time!
: And we’ll also need to run defense for Tobikage while we’re at it…!
: Can we even manage something like that?!
: This isn’t a matter of “can or can’t”! We have to make it happen!
: Shou…!
: The moment you lose in your mind is when you lose for real! Have faith in yourselves!
: We need to have faith in ourselves and make it happen…!
: What he said! Let’s get to it, guys!
Tobikage’s immobile and losing him’s a game over, but his stats are still massive and, really, he’s far enough away that no enemy should be anywhere near him. Fighting Grathan’s still the same as before, but you should keep in mind that Ylbora’s still prowling about…
: We’ve lost his signal again! No sensors are picking him up!
: Oh, come on! You mean we’re gonna have to eyeball this?!
And there’s the gimmick of this stage. Every couple of twin enemy units you destroy, Ylbora’ll pop out and shave off another 10% max HP from your guys. He’ll also do this at the start of every player phase, so you can see how the damage can pile up real quick. Your Prevail’d units should be fine, but keep close watch on those without, as even the Shamans and Banks will only need one clean hit to down a weakened Real.
Spread your heals around and hang in there – the plot kicks in when you’ve brought the enemy twin units under 7 or after 4 turns have passed.
: We’re going to be in big trouble if we keep taking hits like that!
: But we can’t even get a fix on the enemy…!
SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens
SRW UX - Love 14 ver. HD (Vocal)
: Y-Your Highness…
: Do not give in! Have faith in Joe and all our allies…!
SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend
: We’re not making any headway here! Isn’t there anything we can try?!
: He emerges for a split second when moving to attack us, so if we could just get a good hit in at that moment…
: Only he’s also taking care to stay well out of our shooting range.
: He knows our forces inside and out. We’re going to need to try something different to deal with him…
: We already have that “something”, I say. Our team has a sharpshooter not found in any previously collected data.
: …! You’re right - Maya!
: Hm, she might just be able to take him by surprise…
: But the situation’s too dangerous to deploy her! And trusting a critical mission to a pilot with no combat experience is just…
: I’ll do it.
: Toumi…?!
: Shouko and the others always carried out their missions despite all the pain they had to go through.
: And I’m here to do the same.
: But…!
: Alright, then I’ll play bait and bring him into the open!
: Joe?!
: That way Maya won’t need to worry about keeping tabs on where he might pop out! Sounds better to you, Soushi?!
: But if you do that you might…
: No time for nagging, dude! You ready, Maya?!
: I am.
Joe runs up north.
: What’s the matter, Ylbora?! I thought we were gonna settle things today! You ain’t killing me with bug bites, ya know!
: If you’ve that much of a death wish, I can just as well kill you first!
: Hrrrgh…!
: N-NOW!
: Hm…!
: They managed to counter the Zerokage’s camouflage attack?!
: Alright! The bot’s stopped zipping around!
: Hrm… Joe, you worm!
: Heheh, sucks to be you… Ylbora…
: But that won’t stop me from claiming your head! Prepare to meet your end, Joe!
Flash!
: Tobikage?!
: Impossible! It shouldn’t have any strength left to do anything!
: …
: Tobikage… I get it. You’ve always been there too…
: …
: You’ve always been protecting the Elshank alongside us…
: Come on, TOBIKAGE!
: Now Joe’s inside Tobikage…!
: They’ve merged just as I did with Zerokage?!
: It’s like I’m moving my own body… Alright, I got this!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_BNqHLBCH0
: Kch…! You’ve pushed your strength to new heights by combining with Tobikage, eh?
: That’s what makes you a fitting prey for the Zerokage! Face me, Joe!
: Bring it on, Ylbora! I’m pulling the plug on your party!
And, bam, Joe’s earned his upgrade and is now in control of Tobikage… which, in turn, actually makes the bot weaker since Joe doesn’t have AI Tobikage’s massively inflated stats! But, hey, that’s a good power boost for the guy – especially with his new Ninja Awakening skill, which grants a 10% damage boost over 130 morale.
Same goes for Ylbora and the Zerokage: the bot’s got better baseline stats than Tobikage, but can’t hit as hard. Ylbora hulking out has also given him Ninja Awakening, so keep that in mind when engaging. And, of course, he also has an All Canceller and Bunshin no Jutsu, so you really should come packing strike, especially as Ylbora’s HP dips.
Secret Alert!
Tobikage Secret #1 – 5th step: And there’s also this. Joe has to shoot down Ylbora again.
Fafner Mark Sieben (Maya Toumi)
Pilot Skills:
Synergetic Code L3
Support Attack L2
Support defense L1
All Attack L1
Gunfight L3
Spirit Commands:
Strike
Focus
Alert
Mech Features:
Gun
Norn System
Siegfried System
Squad Bonus: Ranged Weapons’ attack +100, Accuracy +5 (Ranged weapons +200, Accuracy +20, Range +2, S in Air)
Maya’s voice actress: Marika Matsumoto (other roles: Rikku in FFX, plus a bunch of TV dramas).
One of the best snipers in the game (won’t say she’s the best since it’s a very close race), Maya stacking the highest natural Gunfight across all our guys plus a Synergetic Code that, like Kazuki’s, goes all the way to L9 means she’s getting a ton of boosts to an already top tier stat pool (+2 from her Squad Bonus, Snipe and Gunfight means she can hit from miles away, too).
She doesn’t have Hit & Away now, which is irksome, but she’ll actually learn it later in the game – if you’d rather save the Skill Part, pair her up with someone that has it. Lockon, Michel, Yamashita and Miku would be naturally good fits, especially with the latter two’s lack of flight.
As for the bot, the Mark Sieben’s the polar opposite of the Mark Fünf, in that it’s all about keeping distance with MASSIVE reach in all weapons except the Mine Blade. Her two Dragon’s Tooth shots go up to, respectively, 1-6 and 3-10 range (without Snipe)! It follows the B pattern in its weapon upgrades, so it can easily stay relevant for the entire game – especially with more stuff it’ll pick up – meaning Maya ought to be a priority pick for any team.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DnHmVpvZh0A
Of course, the bot isn’t really upgraded and the mooks all have about a 30+ morale lead on her… blah.
Regardless, we’ll deal with Ylbora first since he’s closer and then wipe the floor with Grathan.
SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ByFODJ0MQI
We get a Rainbow Carrot from him (Evasion and Defense +10, Skill +5).
: Try as you might, you’re still no match for the Zerokage and I!
: U-Uurrgh!
: W-We can’t be beaten… not by someone as empty as him…!
: Tobikage, are you still good to go…? Rrgh…!
: What’s the matter, Joe?!
: …! Don’t tell me that attack you took before…!
: That’s the end of this battle, Joe. And now to hammer the final nail in your coffin!
: Yl…bora…!
: Joe, everyone…
: Grr…!
Runs off.
: Damian, where’re you going…?!
: Damian, don’t! We’ve just recovered the Kurojish!
: Right, we haven’t even started repairing and resupplying it!
: Besides, you couldn’t get the thing to move before, right?
: This isn’t a matter of “can or can’t”! I have to make it happen!
: Damian…
: …
: Everyone’s out there risking their lives in battle. I can’t take just watching them go anymore!
: I wanna lay my life on the line like they’re doing – for Karen and my friends!
: B-But…
: Kurojishi, please! Give me the power I need to do that!
: O-Ooorgh!
: Joe…!
: You might’ve merged with Tobikage but that didn’t do anything to change the outcome of this battle!
: Farewell, Joe…!
: Hrk… Who?!
: …
: The Kurojishi?! It can’t be – Joe’s over there…!
: Well, Joe’s not the only one who can control the Kurojishi!
: Damian… it answered to your heart?!
: Let’s combine, Joe! We’ll take him out in one swing!
: Your timing couldn’t be better! Here we go!
: Hmph, and how do you think combining into the Juuma is going to help you beat the Zerokage?!
: Damian’s spirit managed to get the Kurojishi moving! Like hell we’d get dropped by garbage like you!
: Th-That’s…?!
: Haaaaaah!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_tUSAQ08D8
: Gwaaaaargh!
: Th-They beat the Zerokage in a single attack…! Was the Juuma always this strong…?
: (Th-That was… I see it now…!)
: (That attack’s shed light on everything! The Zerokage and the Tobikage are…!)
: (Then what I must do is…!)
: You’ve lost, Ylbora! Put down your weapons and accept it!
: …
: My struggles aren’t over yet…! Should you set yourself before the Zerokage again, I’ll make sure none of you live past that encounter!
: And that applies to you, too, Your Highness!
: …?!
: Farewell!
: How could he say such a thing to the woman he once served? He has degenerated wholly into a Shura…!
: (He’d never treated Romina as an enemy before, even during all those past battles…)
: (Ylbora… what the hell are you thinking…?)
Kurojishi (Damian)
Pilot Skills:
Ninja L6
Ninja Awakening*
Support Attack L2
Support Defense L2
Break Morale Limit*
Predict*
Dash*
All Attack L2
Infight L4*
Spirit Commands:
Gain
Invincible
Strike
Spirit
Damian’s voice actor: Masamichi Sato (other roles: Portos in the anime version of the Three Musketeers, and a handful of small roles here and there).
Damian’s stats as a pilot are about on par with Joe, just a little bit lower, but you might’ve noticed something with that pilot skill list: Joe, when combined to a Ladorian machine, passes ALL his skills on to the main pilot (the ones tagged with a *), making them waaaay stronger than before. And you can trigger that combination at will – no need to fiddle with HP %s anymore – so long as Joe and the receiver’s morale are over 120.
This, in turn, actually makes it a worthwhile proposition to have Joe tag in with any of them when it’s time to tango with a boss because, in terms of raw firepower, the Kuuma matches Tobikage (and has a MAPW) and the Juuma and Kaima are outright stronger (the latter being the strongest). After all this time, we can finally have fun with those units!
But that’s for later – Grathan has got to go now.
: The Kurojishi answered my will to help the others…
: So now it’s my turn to answer the Kurojishi in kind! We’re doing this, bud…!
–
: I’ll admit I underestimated you, Damian! I’m amazed someone other than Joe and his cronies can get those machines working!
: The Kurojishi heard my call and decided to help – help me put a stop to your evil and keep my friends safe!
: You’ve got no pattern recognition skills, do ya? Don’t you get tired of getting trounced after your new plan goes south?
: I’m all out of second chances…! I have to destroy you now or my future’ll go up in smoke! Die, UX!
SRW UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit
: My mind isn’t set on not losing today… No, it’s screaming that I HAVE to win…!
: This hasn’t anything to do with my status as a commander! I’ll wipe you from the face of the universe as a proud warrior of The Boom Army!
: We’ve a duty to see done just as much as you do! And we’ll make damn sure ours doesn’t bend before yours!
: Not content with Planet Ladorio, you set yourselves to invade our second home… And in that case…!
: That’s rich, but it won’t be long before that spirit of yours comes crashing down!
: Just as it did when we laid waste to Ladorio…!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9QKRBcPMcSI
Putting this video here so you can hear Houchu Otsuka go nuts. We also get a pair of Alex’ Sunglasses from this (Melee and Accuracy +10, Evasion +5).
: Madness! This backwater planet can’t be where it ends for me…!
: That’s what you get! All this happened because you went and put that fake Tobikage together!
: And we managed to grow even stronger thanks to that!
: Blast you all… Are you telling me the Zerokage caused something to awaken within the Tobikage?!
: (…! N-No, that’s not what happened…! Can it be that…?!)
: (If I’m right, then the Tobikage is… the Ninja Legend is…!)
: This is the end of the line for you and your evil, Grathan!
: No, no! I cannot let you people leave here alive…!
Grathan blasts forward!
: The enemy battleship has shifted its vector towards the Elshank!
: He’s going to ram them?!
: Gameran, evasive maneuvers!
: You’re coming with me to Hell, ROMINAAAAAaaaaaa!
Dodge!
: Gwaaaaaargh!
: Grathan’s ship is careening towards the earth… It’s over…
: …! No, wait! There’s someone there!
: E-Ennea?!
: What’s she doing in a place like that?!
: Ennea, watch out! RUN!
: …
: Kurou, I…
b BOOOOOOOM[/b]
: ENNEAAAAAAAA!
: E-Ennea… why…
: We were… We were all talking, and playing together just a couple of hours ago… sob
: What the hell happened…?! Why was she there in the first place?!
: We’re not sure. One moment she was aboard the ship with us, and the next thing we knew, she was gone…
: Then why didn’t you keep an eye on her?! She was just a little girl!
: Are you suggesting Lu Xun’s at fault here?! None of us thought she’d leave the ship with a battle going on!
: That’s not the goddamn point…!
: Enough, Kurou!
: …?!
: Say someone is to blame, what then? It will not bring Ennea back!
: What you are doing now is simply lashing out at our comrades.
: …
: We managed to turn that fight around, but this doesn’t feel like a win at all…
: …
: Could you still bring yourselves to fight if you knew that all this is pointless…?
: (That’s… that’s what Katou said!)
: Is this what you meant…? Ennea…
: Kurou…
Door opens.
: E-Everyone, we’ve a situation! Come up to bridge!
: Wh-What’s gotten you in that much of a hurry, Shaff?!
: We… we just got a transmission…
: A transmission from Emperor The Boom!
: Wh-Whaaat!?
: I am Annex, Emperor of The Boom Empire and ruler of the galaxy.
: So he’s the emperor…
: And I saw that you bested Grathan. However, that was hardly the full might of The Boom Army.
: Did you reach out to us just to act as a sore loser? You must not have much to do with your time.
: Hmph, I appreciate your attitude. This wouldn’t anywhere as amusing without it.
: No, what I reached out for is to ask that you decide, right now, what you’ll do: will you continue with this exercise in futility or will you surrender?
: Surrender?
: Your comic timing could really use some work, ya blueberry!
: Hmhmhm… will you be saying that after seeing this?
Beep.
: Th-That’s… the main The Boom fleet?!
: There’ll be no victory for you against my all-mighty fleet and the Zerokage. Don’t you think, face the alternative, that it’s in your best interest to capitulate?
: Planet Ladorio fell to that fleet in the blink of an eye. If it comes here, the same might just happen to Earth…
: O-Oh, no…
: What will it be, Ultimate Cross?
: …
SRW UX - Rebellion Against Fate
: Did you honestly expect these childish threats to sap our will to fight?
: Excuse me…?
: Time and again my comrades and I have stared death in the eye and found a way to prevail.
: There isn’t a soul within the UX that would waver when faced with a powerful foe – not after everything we have been through!
: Your Highness…
: Plus, a buncha enemies means we get to wreck even more stuff! And ain’t that just dandy?
: So, if you were looking to get us shaking in our boots, your plan just backfired big time, boss!
: Oho…
: Plus, I’m not so sure that your video of that huge fleet’s legit.
: Indeed, assembling a large mass of troops in order to intimidate your enemy into surrendering is quite the bog-standard tactic.
: But even if you do have all those forces, we’d still never bow down to invaders!
: We’re going to fight you to the bitter end, The Boom!
: As you will… I’ll enjoy watching you batter yourselves against my fleet. I look forward to us meeting in person.
Bloop.
: We’ll never yield either Earth or Planet Ladorio to you…!
: They dare spurn the Emperor’s benevolence? They won’t live to regret this day!
: But the confidence they displayed there… Indeed, they must have found the ninja.
: …
: The Ninja Legend… the story of how, in ancient times, The Boom Army had invaded Planet Ladorio, only to be wiped out in mere moments by one such being…
: And that power is within their grasp…?
: However, now we have the Zerokage at our disposal. And we’ll put you to excellent use, Ylbora.
: Your Majesty, words cannot express how honored I am that you would not only grant me the Zerokage, but a flagship and the title of commander.
: I trust you will not disappoint. Don’t forget that Romina’s life depends solely on your actions.
: Yes, Your Majesty!
: (I’m certain what I felt when I crossed blades with Tobikage was…)
: (I have to make sure… I have to know whether it’s Zerokage or Tobikage that are meant to save Her Highness!)
: Emperor Annex The Boom… the big bad finally steps into the limelight.
: We cannot allow the tragedy of Planet Ladorio to befall another world.
: And, so, I ask that you lend us your strength, Joe… or, better put, the Legendary Ninja.
: Wait, Joe’s…?!
: Yes, there’s no more questioning it. Joe merged with Tobikage…
: This proves that he’s the legendary ninja we sought!
: …
: (That sensation I got when I was fighting with Ylbora…)
: (If I’m really the ninja, then what the hell did I feel…?)
Alarm!
: Wh-What’s going on?!
: We’re picking up an urgent transmission from Mr. Kojindani of the WSO! I’m putting him through!
: UX, you must head towards the Machine Island on the double!
: Did something happen, sir?!
: The Gravity Generator was supposed to have been stabilized, but we just picked up its Final Alarm once again being broadcast!
: If it’s not stopped, it’ll break down and the gravitational collapse will eradicate all life on Earth!
: C-Collapse…?!
: Copy that… set a course… for Machine Island…
: Maj. Richard…?
: Haah, haah… I-I’m fine…
: I’m just a bit woozy…
Heatbeat.
: …?! Graargh…!
Faint.
: M-Major!
: …
: Major! Stay with us! MAJOR!
After this battle, the Fafner trio has added up 159 kills and 8 Triple Dog uses, so tag that secret requirement done way ahead of time. And here are the convos we didn’t get today:
: Not only did the Zerokage merge with someone, the Tobikage did too?! Is this also part of the Ninja Legend…?!
: But it doesn’t matter – there’s no turning back for me! I’ll snuff out all your lives even if I have to die for it!
: Come on, then, Grathan! My and the Tobikage’s combined power’ll put a definitive end to this annoying little relationship of ours!
–
: Whatever is going on inside your head, I’ll treat you as I would any other enemy if you present yourself as one.
: That’s good, because I’ll do exactly the same! Now draw, Reiji Moritsugu!