Click to see the mission!
Excuse the brighter-than-usual pictures in this update. My work notebook died over the week, so I had to scramble for a new one, which resulted in the pictures coming out like this.
Kurou’s a forced deployment today, but you can still set him up in a team. As I mentioned previously, this mission is the best spot to farm for secret kills, so if you’re planning on doing that with anyone, it’ll make things easier if you dumped the cash you got from the previous mission on them. And, as a reminder, this is the cut-off point for the 1st Fafner secret: Kazuki needs to have over 100 kills by the end.
Here’s how we’re going:
Fei-Yen/Lockon
Zhang Fei/Mike
Sun Quan/Sun Shangxiang
Dancouga/Canaria
Mazinkaiser/Talisman
Michel/Kenji
Ozma/Tieria
Mamoru/Sakura
Cao Cao/Moritsugu
Liu Bei/Rennie
Yamashita/Lunamaria
Joe/Saya
Setsuna/Guan Yu
Shou/Marvel
Aesap/Canon
Kurou/Deceive
Heroman
Alto/Luca
Shinn/Klan
Kouichi/Michio
Kazuki/Allelujah
Arnie/Eida
Tactician: Sima Yi (hitting hard in the enemy turn’ll make grinding kills faster)
Off we go.
We open up by an altar inside a cave, where three hidden people have a problem: “the Tyrant” has escaped. Said Tyrant is essential to their plans, meaning they must move to capture it immediately. One of the men says intel suggests it’s still lurking in nearby, so they must hurry. The boy (?) of the group isn’t too keen on working with said man, but fine.
With that settled, the apparent leader agrees to let them see to the Tyrant’s capture – he’s got plenty of other work to do as well. The boy tells him not screw up his end and the guy nods: “I’m well aware. The Black Lodge’s grand cause depends on it.”
And now for a change of scenery: time for a beach episode at scenic Innsmouth! Jeffrey likes the look of the waves, so maybe he’ll get some good surfing in today (it’s been a long while). The water’s great, too, and Joey wants Kurou to thank Ruri for making this happen. Mind you, as he reminds the kid, we were hired to run an investigation, not to play around. “You’d best not let yourself get too caught up on the sea!”
But Kurou’s attention is diverted as the team’s ladies strut out in their swimsuits – the Quarter’s bridge bunnies are especially elated, as this is pretty much their first chance to relax since the Fleet came to this world. Feldt, on the flip side, is being all shy in contrast. “A-And the swimsuits too. You’d breast— best not let yourself get caught up on those either… Eheheheh…” Kurou giggles, and it falls on Al to set him straight with a magic missile to the gut. “If there is anyone getting ‘caught up’ on those, ‘tis you, you gigantic fool” Oow.
A nearby voice has a giggle at Kurou’s naughty attitude and, surprise, it’s Leica. She’s not alone, though: Psy and Denton are also here, having heard much of Joey and co.’s heroics since last they saw each other. Ruri also brought Lina along, and providing this happy reunion already made everything worth the princess’ while.
Kurou’s glad to see them… but does this mean Ruri’s told Leica everything about him, the UX and whatnot? Actually, as Psy notes it, it seems Leica figured everything out herself. Joey’s confused as to how she did, but Leica has an explanation: “I only ever needed a quick look at Kurou’s face to figure out whatever’s going on inside his head”.
Well, dang. Kurou apologizes for keeping quiet, but she isn’t angry. In fact, he’s risen in her esteem when she realized he’s been fighting evil in secret. Kurou’s gets very bashful, but before Al can get him to pipe down again, Denton suggests we not concern ourselves with trivialities. This is our first chance to visit the beach in a long while, so we should enjoy it as best we can!
Later, Joey approaches Psy and says he’s feeling a chill running down his spine. “Oh, boy, you noticed, eh…?” Psy notes awkwardly. The person Joey’s sensing would be Holly, his older sister, who’s busy poking the toy-like Heroman – it really gets so tiny when it’s not go-time! “Hey there, fellas! Much appreciated you lookin’ after Joey!” she says, and Mamoru can’t help but be in awe over the different attitudes between the siblings.
Joey groans a “why” at Psy, and apparently they ran into her in Arkham City, one thing lead to another, and Holly came here with them. And they told her the whole story, so now she’s got a question for Joey: he’s got himself mixed up in a big ol’ mess lately, eh?! N-No, he says he’s just doing what he can for the people of Earth, and Lux backs him up, saying Joey’s a fine warrior, who’s been through many battles with Heroman.
Holly isn’t too sure, but knows the way to fix that: she’s tagging along with us to see if baby bro’s the real deal! Seems the UX have gotten a new helper, and while Luca has a laugh at her larger-than-life persona, Joey can only suffer quietly.
Arnie’s elsewhere, pondering, but his attention’s diverted when Saya approaches and asks if he’s feeling better… U-Um, what is she wearing? The standard blue school swimsuit – can’t he tell? He can, yes, and asks if Richard’s behind this again.
“I know, I know. His wardrobe is filled to the brim with odd clothes… but I’ve been going along with it for so long that I can’t bring myself to say ‘no’ to him…” Saya pouts, and Eida doesn’t envy her situation. Shizuna wonders what kinda creep the old man is to pull stuff like this with a girl Saya’s age, but Arnie’s sure Richard isn’t the type of person to do this just for kicks.
How so? “I’m sure all these costumes are meant as training for your career as a classical actress!” he proclaims, and Eida can’t believe he’s STILL buying into that. Shizuna figures he’s even more clueless than Soushi. Whatever the case, it does get a laugh out of Saya and she invites Arnie to join her at the beach – how about the two of them put together an impromptu act? Arnie doesn’t know how that works, but he’ll follow her lead.
This took too weird a turn for Shizuna and Eida, and they slowly back away to go eat watermelons ELSEWHERE.
And we’ve got even more visitors, as Ranka and Sheryl arrive – and they very much like ambiance at the fancy Innsmouth Resort. When Alto asks, Ranka explains that both of them took some time off work to have a little vacation. And what about that stuff about Sheryl being sick? She says the rumor mill blew things way out of proportion: it was just a small case of anemia. Still, it happened because she was overworked, so Grace suggested she take a few days to relax.
Alto’s glad to hear that, though Rennie can’t help but be surprised at us running into each other like this – quite the coincidence, no? Hardly, Brera steps up and says Sheryl had them find out where we were and insisted they come here.
She tries to stammer a denial, but Alto’s more focused on Brera, who he recognizes as the pilot from the Valkyrie we saw before. As Ranka tells, the guy’s her and Sheryl’s bodyguard (Bodyguard AND Valkyrie pilot? Color Michel impressed).
Brera’s also heard plenty about Alto and, now that they’ve met, he turns to the singers and suggests they cut ties with the pilot. Say what now? As Brera sees, Alto may be skilled, but his resolve – his everything else, really – is middling.
Before Alto can get in his face, however, the situation’s diffused by Sumeragi and Aoi walking over and asking them to chill – it’s not often they get a chance to have fun, so why are they bickering? That’s quite the sexy swimsuits the two ladies are rocking and Michel very much approves. Sumeragi’s exuding that full-grown woman charm and Aoi, ever the top model, has a body to match her fame – Joe and Shou can’t look away.
They better, though, because their significant others are seething. “Do you girls feel that too? That boiling anger rising from your very soul?” Klan asks. “Yuuup. And I think men who step all over ladies’ feelings…” Rennie adds, and Marvel completes it, “need a lesson in pain to try and change their ways.”
Elsewhere, Damian hears a howl of pain coming from across the beach. The hell? Not their problem, figures Domyoji, as they’ve got more important things to check out: like Shaff and Romina’s swimsuits. Shaff isn’t sure if they two of them also needed to dress like this, but Romina sees no problem. It’s part of Earth’s culture.
The Princess’ pure, angelic beauty is a sight to Kouichi, but Mike’s got his eyes set on Shaff – how did he never notice how pretty she is? Lockon can see in his face that the guy’s 100% hooked.
All that said, Sakuya does notice another cute girl hiding behind them. Whoever it is, that girl’s mighty embarrassed – Kouichi does agree that she looks very sexy in her getup, though.
Oh, it’s actually Yamashita in a bikini. As Kenji lies stunned, Shizuna has a huge laugh: “Wahahahaha! It took a whole lotta work to get him to wear that, but even I didn’t think it’d look that good on him!” Izuna can’t believe she’d pull a prank like that, and asks if Yamashita isn’t embarrassed to be dressed like that. His answer comes in the form of a loud “SHUT UP!”
Kouichi’s less than amused by Shizuna’s joke, but she asks if he should be talking like that with the nosebleed he’s got going. Ah, crap. “Hm… I didn’t know you were into that sort of thing, Hayase,” Kizaki ponders. “N-Noooo, I’m not! This is a huge misunderstanding!” Kouichi panics.
From afar, Kazuki and Maya note that everyone seems to be having a good time; we needed a chance to unwind after all the nonstop battles we’ve been having. But should we be unwinding, Canon wonders. This is supposed to be a mission, no? Moritsugu agrees, as while this is also serving the purpose of a vacation, our primary concern here should be to investigate recent disappearances in the area.
Kurara and Izuna understand that Moritsugu’s being professional about this but… isn’t he steaming right now, wearing that suit under the sun? “Of course I am! Can’t you see this waterfall of sweat dripping off my brow?!”
Everyone’s got “beach” portraits where they don’t have their coats, but most are so similar, you can barely tell the difference and I’m not about to make new portraits for everyone just for one mission. Call me lazy, I don’t care!
: Then why don’t you switch to just your inner frame mode like us? (The basic structure of a Gundam Plamo, without all the armor bits.)
: Oh, yes, it’s so very refreshing!
: Er… what? Doesn’t that pretty much mean they’re naked?
: I don’t know… Nothing about them makes any sense to me!
: That does sound nice. I wanna switch to my inner frame mode too!
: Gi-gi.
: Hmm, is that Humanoid speak for ‘Oh, yeah!’ or just him being embarrassed?
: …?! H-hey! Look over there!
: I-It’s…!
: That girl… is she going to jump off that cliff?!
: …
: No… no one cares about me. No one needs me, so what’s the point in living? There’s none…
: Still, even someone like me can at least change my own world…
Swoosh!
: She jumped!
: Damn it…! Linebarrel! Quick!
Twoop! Grab!
: ?! A-A robot…!
: …
: Thank god, I caught her right on time…
: She’s passed out, but it doesn’t look like she’s hurt.
: This girl is…!
: Do you know her?
: Yes, she’s Miu Kujo – a member of the Smash Dolls idol group.
: She’s a singer?!
: But why did she…?
: Hm… Wh-Where…
: Huh?! Y-You’re…!
: Um, hey there – my name’s Kouichi Hayase. We saw you jump off that cliff, so I kinda went and saved you…?
: A cliff? Hmm, I see… and then you saved me…
: But why did I…?
: What, you jumped and don’t know why?
: I… everything’s a blank. I’ve been trying to remember what happened since I came to, but nothing’s coming…
: Hmm, maybe the shock of it all has left your memories temporarily out of sorts?
: Nay, I sense evil energies at play here. And they appear to originate from that cave over there…
: Cave… you mean the one at the base of the cliff?
: Then, you think the reason Ms. Kujo jumped was…
: Aye, ‘tis likely she held many a negative emotions within her heart. When the evil energies came into contact, all of those burst forth.
: Put it simply, she was under a spell?
: And the disappearances Ms. Hadou asked us to look into…
: Yeah, there might just be some relation between those and those evil energies that mess with peoples’ minds.
: Alright, then! I believe it’s time to get this investigation underway!
: Domyoji, you and the others head back and find the Major. Best to have everyone ready to deploy in case things go south!
: You got it!
: …
: Sorry, Ms. Kujo. We gotta take off to look into that cave there… But can I ask you to promise me just one thing?
: A promise…?
: Yeah. Please don’t think about killing yourself again.
: …?!
: O-Okay… I promise…
: I’ll see you later, then!
: …
: (Kouichi… Hayase…)
#1: The denizens of this island – the God-worshipping Deep Ones – have all been sacrificed…
#2: Cthuuuulhuuuuuuu wgah’nagl fhtagn… (Cthulhu waits dreaming.)
#1: Soon… Very soon, we’ll see the results of my experiment.
: How is there this wide, open space inside a cave…?
: And there are plenty of signs that people have been through here. Veeery suspicious…
: Then why are you two still coming along with us?!
: I am a Factor, you know. While I can’t do much in conventional battles, I can handle something like this just fine.
: And I want to help too, Joey! In for a penny, in for a pound!
: I-I appreciate the thought, but you shouldn’t put yourself at risk for me…
: And, Kurou, you said something about disappearances? Who was it that went missing?
: What, you don’t know about it? Over twenty of the local islanders vanished in just one night.
: O-Over twenty people…?!
: Innsmouth has quite the dark past before the Hadou Financial Group turned it into a resort. From what I’ve heard, this whole area was under control of a dark cult…
: So maybe Ms. Hadou thinks the old cult and the disappearances are connected?
: Hmm, indeed. There are myriad spells etched across the walls… This is a heathen temple dedicated to an ancient sea god.
: A heathen temple?!
: It certainly doesn’t look anything like your average cave… Hgh?!
: Ensign…?!
Tsssssst.
: Wh-What’s this smoke?!
: Cough, cough
: Y-You don’t think it’s… poison gas?!
: Nay, the smoke is…!
Mission 26 – The Shadow Over Innsmouth
: You guys okay?!
: Ooh, I’m so dizzy… Why… Why’s my chest feeling so hot…?
: I-It’s like… there’s someone else inside my mind…!
Purple smoke covers Joey and Lina’s portraits!
: Joey… I have always…
: Me too, Lina… I…
: H-Hey, what’s up with you two?! Pull yourselves together!
: Blast it all… The smoke is fruit of sorcery! Breathe it and you shall lose your mind!
(purple!): Ms. Saya… I…
: E-Ensign…?!
: I haven’t been able to sleep ever since I saw your acting! It haunts my thoughts!
: This is not the time for you to be talking nonsense!
(purple!!): Al…
: Egads, Kurou! Even you fell— Hrmph?!
: Mmwah!
: M-Mr. Daijuuji, just what are you doing?!
: Y-You GIGANTIC FOOL!
Magic missile!
: W-Waaaaaaaaah!
: Th-The gall! H-How dare you kiss me…!
: Hmhmhm… Now this is a surprise. Four whole people managed to keep their minds inside my smoke?
: Who are you?!
: You may call me Vespasianus, priest of the Black Lodge and one of the Anticross. Charmed.
: Anticross… those’re the Black Lodge’s bigwigs, right?!
: What business has Master Therion’s right-hand man here?!
: Why, I thought I’d show quite the spectacle to you people: the moment a god is beckoned into this world!
: A god?!
: Indeed. Now is the moment that a Great Old One, by the power of this grimoire, will bless this land!
: R’llllllyeeeeeh! Ia! Ia! God!
: This powerful divine aura of water… ‘Tis the grimoire R’lyeh Text?!
: Very insightful, but I’d expect no less from Al Azif herself. The R’lyeh Text is another of the mightier grimoires!
: So that girl’s a grimoire spirit like Al?!
: And we can easily beckon a god or two with her pages and magic added to our knowledge!
: You… You are going to restore that evil god?!
: Ia, Ia, God…! Dagon! Dagon! Dagon!
: Kishaaaaaaa!
: Th-That’s…!
: Behold! Dagon has fed on the lives of the Deep Ones and now it’s reborn onto our world!
: “Fed on the lives”?! Then those missing people…!
: Th-They… they were eaten by that monster?!
: “What is a man, if his chief good and market of his time be but to sleep and feed? A beast, no more. Sure he that—"
: That’s great, Ensign, but we’re busy with that beast right now! Pull yourself together already!
: Oh, don’t worry yourselves. I’ll put you out of your miseries in short order.
: Take them, Dagon!
: Kishaaaaaaaa!
: U-Uwaaaaaaaaah!
: …?!
: W-What?!
: (I feel the presence of…!)
: …
: (I can’t be…! Did the Tyrant help them?!)
[url=LPix.org UX - Rebellion Against Fate.mp3]SRW UX - Rebellion Against Fate[/url]
: Is everyone alright?!
: Major…!
: U-Urgh… What happened to us…?
: I remember getting caught up in that smoke and…
: Oh, thank goodness! Are you all back to normal?!
: Well, whatever happened there, come grab your units and set out to deal with the Black Lodge!
: Y-Yes, sir!
: Hmph, this changes nothing. Your pathetic UX is hardly a match for Dagon now that it’s been reborn!
: Kill them all!
: Deploy all forces!
: Michio, Canon, are you ready?
: Just say the word! Megatherion, standing by and good to go!
: I’m always ready to fight. And if you ask me, that’s much more fun than playing around at the beach!
: Y’all had a lot of fun messing with my head, eh?! You’re gonna pay for that a hundred times over!
: Do not lower your guard! Your foe is Dagon, the sea god! ‘Tis a monstrous divinity, brought back to life by the Black Lodge!
: Every person is entitled to their beliefs… That being said, I cannot help but be disgusted by this god.
: Men, do everything in your power to halt its rampage before it damages the surrounding area!
Kill Dagon, don’t lose Kurou or any ship.
Welcome to the farmlands, people – the simplest place to get a ton of kills and give yourself a lot of leeway in all those secret counts. As I’ve often mentioned in the thread, if you earn kills and then game over a mission, those kills will not be reflect in a character’s stat screen, but they WILL count towards his secret tally.
This mission is the easiest way to grind because there are a ton of weak mooks – MP Destroyer Robos – and Dagon (and the bosses that show up after) are beefy enough to make quick work of a ship, so you can quickly trigger a game over. Once you’ve lost, you’ll be back in the intermission menu, then you can start again and do it as many times as needed.
Like I said before, I only really want to get some kills on Joey since the Fafner trio’s already pretty close to making the cut. Just send your guy up top alone, having him sweep all mooks (use the Elshank to resupply its EN if need be), kill Dagon, which’ll trigger another wave of mooks, kill those, and have a ship get killed, rinse and repeat (make sure you note those invisible kills in your spreadsheet!).
I recommend using the Ptolemaios as your sacrifice, as the Quarter’s bulkier and the Elshank’ll trigger Tobikage. You can also use the Macross Cannon to speed up the process. There are 36 Destroyer Robos in the first wave, plus another 12 in the second, so you can grab 48 kills per pass if you let a single guy take everything. Don’t worry about clearing the secret requirement now – just do it enough times that you feel comfortable you can get the rest normally.
So insert here, twice, Heroman going to town on the Black Lodge goons before the Ptolemaios was tragically blasted by Bobby going a bit too wild with his Macross Cannon.
After that, we do it properly.
[url=LPix.org UX - Roulette.mp3]SRW UX - Roulette[/url]
: Alright, you’re up Joey! I wanna make sure you’re not being a headache to these other folks!
: Psh, talk about bossy…
: But, whatever, I have to show her that I’ve got what it takes! Come on, Heroman!
: Hmm…!
[url=LPix.org UX - LOVE 14 ver. HD.mp3]SRW UX - LOVE 14 ver. HD[/url]
: Aw, and we were finally getting a chance to relax…
: Tough luck, guys, but this is going to hurt!
[url=LPix.org UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit.mp3]SRW UX - Future-Bound Fighting Spirit[/url]
: My hair’s going to be so damaged if I don’t wash off this seawater, and soon…
: B-But this isn’t the time or place to think about that!
[url=LPix.org UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens.mp3]SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens[/url]
: Yumiko, I always wanna have my head held high when I make my way back to you…
: So I’ll make sure that I’m fighting the right enemies this time…!
[url=LPix.org UX - Shadows that Rend Darkness.mp3]SRW UX - Shadows that Rend Darkness[/url]
: That illusion gas we breathed back there… did it not affect me because…?
[url=LPix.org UX - Obelisk.mp3]SRW UX - Obelisk[/url]
: These guys have absolutely no manners. We were taking a vacation, you hear?! How about you take a hint?!
: Get your head into gear, Nene! Only way you’ll get to enjoy the rest of that vacation is if you don’t get dropped here!
[url=LPix.org UX - My Fate.mp3]SRW UX - My Fate[/url]
: Wah! How about some personal space, Aesap?! I’m in my swimsuit here, you know!
: You’re the one who got into the Nanajin dressed like that…! And, look at this, you got the cockpit soaking wet!
[url=LPix.org UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens.mp3]SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens[/url]
: I’ve been assigned to the UX, so fighting alongside them is now my mission – pure and simple.
: But, at the same time, part of me feels disappointed that we’re not on that beach anymore… Why is that?
[url=LPix.org UX - Dunbine Flies.mp3]SRW UX - Dunbine Flies[/url]
: How long it’s been since I went to the beach… but it’s really not looking like I’ll get a chance to enjoy it!
[url=LPix.org UX - Envoy from Jupiter.mp3]SRW UX - Envoy from Jupiter[/url]
: What is it, Marie? You’ve been quiet for a bit now… is something wrong?
: N-No, not at all, Allelujah… It’s just that I’ve got seawater all over me…
: Think for a damn sec before you open your mouth, Allelujah! Her ass is all damp from the water and it’s bugging her big time!
[url=LPix.org UX - Deus Machina.mp3]SRW UX - Deus Machina[/url]
: Keep your wits about you, lest its divinity overwhelm your mind. Though this is but a spawn of a Great Old One, ‘tis still a being worthy of the title of god!
: Aye, aye!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bi3tjvq1zk
[url=LPix.org UX - Obelisk.mp3]SRW UX - Obelisk[/url]
: Tsk… It’s often said you’re supposed to let your body rest after going for a swim, but that’s really not going to happen today…!
[url=LPix.org UX - Shangri-La.mp3]SRW UX - Shangri-La[/url]
: Something feels… odd. Is it because you put on your Synergetic Suit before drying yourself?
: Yeah, I didn’t really have the time to pick up a change of clothes. Sorry, but you’re just gonna have to put up with it for now!
[url=LPix.org UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend.mp3]SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend[/url]
: Baah! We’re all dripping with seawater and our time at the beach is ruined!
: You’d best make your peace, because I’ll make you pay dearly for spoiling our fun vacation!
[url=LPix.org UX - Linebarrel.mp3]SRW UX - Linebarrel[/url]
: Izunaaa! You’re dripping water all over my back!
: I-I can’t stop it, sis! They didn’t even give me time to dry myself!
[url=LPix.org UX - Envoy from Jupiter.mp3]SRW UX - Envoy from Jupiter[/url]
: Aah! Ms. Noriega, why do you have beer with you?!
: Whoopsie. I was drinking this at the beach and I guess just forgot to leave it behind.
: Then how about we wrap this up quick and go toast to our victory!
[url=LPix.org UX - Love Survivor.mp3]SRW UX - Love Survivor[/url]
: Y-Your Highness, your dress is wet! We can see through it!
: Fret not, Shaff! I’m still wearing my swimsuit underneath it, so there’s nothing to be ashamed of!
[url=LPix.org UX - Obelisk.mp3]SRW UX - Obelisk[/url]
: And there I was, counting the seconds to see Ozma in swim trunks… Why, oh, why did the enemy have to attack?!
: Sailors must remember that the sea’s always brimming with danger! And we’ll rise to the occasion, come what may!
: Show me some spirit, crew! The creatures of these depths are ripe for a harpooning!
[url=https://lpix.org/3158619/SRW UX - Life Goes On.mp3]SRW UX - Life Goes On[/url]
: Fighting while drenched in seawater is just the worst. I know the situation didn’t give us any wiggle room, but I don’t ever want to feel this sticky again!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAKJmR-ffzg
And here’s its best trick.
[url=LPix.org UX - Love Survivor.mp3]SRW UX - Love Survivor[/url]
: Hrrmm… I had to just slap my pilot suit atop my bikini, and now look how drenched it is! Damn it, let’s end this in a hurry – I need to dry it up!
[url=LPix.org UX - A Bird’s Song.mp3]SRW UX - A Bird’s Song[/url]
: This sure was an abrupt deployment, huh…
: No one likes to fight while soaking wet, but we can’t really tell the goons to come back later!
: And complaining about it won’t get us anywhere. Best we can do is wrap this up quick.
: I’m with her on that. Our inner fire’ll both burn these guys to cinders and help dry us up!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PVEvAWBe2AA
It just hit me that I never showed off the Dancouga’s best attack, so here it is. Eat the Old God and make its strength your own!
Our prize is a Smash Dolls’ Disk (+10 to Skill and Defense, +5 to Evasion).
: What, that’s it?! That was pretty dang easy for a big, bad “sea god”!
: Don’t ya think it’s a bit too soon to party?
: …?! What an evil Aura Power… who is it?!
: Well, well, this must be our lucky day. We come here looking for the Tyrant, and who do we find but Kurou Daijuuji and Al Azif!
: Ｄｏｎ‘ｔ ｃｏｕｎｔ ｙｏｕｒ ｃｈｉｃｋｅｎｓ ｂｅｆｏｒｅ ｔｈｅｙ ｈａｔｃｈ．
: I feel their magic all the way here…! Watch out, people – they’re sorcerers!
: Bam! And bingo was his name!
: Plus, here’s my grimoire, The Celaeno Fragments! Rise, Lord Byakhee!
: The name’s Claudius, an Anticross of the Black Lodge!
: That child is an Anticross?! Then, that large man must be…!
: Ｃａｌｉｇｕｌａ． Ｃａｌｉｇｕｌａ ｏｆ ｔｈｅ Ａｎｔｉｃｒｏｓｓ．
: Ｍｙ ｇｒｉｍｏｉｒｅ，Ｃｔｈäａｔ Ａｑｕａｄｉｎｇｅｎ．Ｍｙ Ｄｅｕｓ Ｍａｃｈｉｎａ， Ｋｒａｋｅｎ！ Ｄｅｓｔｒｏｙ！ Ｄｅｓｔｒｏｙ！ Ｄｅｓｔｒｏｙｄｅｓｔｒｏｙｄｅｓｔｒｏｏｏｏｙ！
: Two Deus Machinas?! Fighting just one of these was already a pain in the neck…!
: Hrm, the hell is this supposed to be, huh? An evil fire sale?!
: Sure, that works for me. Only it’ll be your crew that’ll get burned!
: Ｗｅ ｃａｎ ｔａｋｅ ｏｕｒ ｔｉｍｅ ｆｉｎｄｉｎｇ ｔｈｅ Ｔｙｒａｎｔ ａｆｔｅｒ ｃｒｕｓｈｉｎｇ ｙｏｕ ｔｏ ｂｉｔｓ！
: Be wary! Their powers are at the very least on par with Dagon’s!
: Aye, aye!
And now we need to drop either Claudius or Caligula to end the mission. Both have goodies, so, if you want everything, you’ll need to line up a MAPW.
Kraken (Caligula)
Pilot Skills:
Sorcerer L4
Grimoire L4
Prevail L4
Support Attack L2
All Attack L1
Mech Features:
Magic Barrier – negates all damage below 2000
Caligula’s voice actor: Kenta Miyake
Lord Byakhee (Claudius)
Pilot Skills:
Sorcerer L4
Grimoire L4
Prevail L4
Support Attack L2
All Attack L1
Claudius’ voice actress: Yuka Imai (other roles: Rutee in Tales of Destiny, Leviathan in Megaman Zero, Electone in Knights of Ramune and several more).
Surprisingly standard fare considering Tiberius myriad debuffs and Master Therion’s phenomenal magic powers. Caligula’s by far the strongest one, packing a meaner punch, better range and much stronger defenses (though Claudius is a sliiiightly better shot). Honestly, these two aren’t all that impressive and we’ve fought WAY worse – if you wanna wrap this up quick, go for Claudius.
[url=LPix.org UX - Linebarrel.mp3]SRW UX - Linebarrel[/url]
: Did you guys enjoy your little vacation?
: That’s good. ‘Cause you can look back on those nice memories as my Lord Byakhee’s filleting you!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1iclvCxI9U
[url=LPix.org UX - Deus Machina.mp3]SRW UX - Deus Machina[/url]
: Ｇｒｏｏｏａａａｒｇｈ！ Ｍｙ Ｋｒａｋｅｎ‘ｌｌ ｔｅａｒ ｙｏｕｒ ｂｏｎｅｓ ａｐａｒｔ ａｎｄ ｓｅｎｄ ｙｏｕ ｔｏ ａ ｗａｔｅｒｙ ｇｒａｖｅ！
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THDjOsBeoyg
Here’s the guy’s best trick.
[url=LPix.org UX - Lion.mp3]SRW UX - Lion[/url]
[url=LPix.org UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend.mp3]SRW UX - Tales of Mirisha ~ The Brave Legend[/url]
Cao Cao against Black Lodge: “Ye wielder of mystical arts… Lead the people astray no longer!”
[url=LPix.org UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens.mp3]SRW UX - The Gate of Neidhöhle Opens[/url]
[url=LPix.org UX - Deus Machina.mp3]SRW UX - Deus Machina[/url]
: Ｙｏｕ‘ｒｅ Ｋｕｒｏｕ Ｄａｉｊｕｕｊｉ， ｈｍ．．．？ Ｙｏｕ ｗｏｎ‘ｔ ｅｖｅｒ ｂｅ ａｂｌｅ ｔｏ ｏｐｐｏｓｅ ｕｓ ａｇａｉｎ ａｆｔｅｒ Ｉ‘ｍ ｔｈｒｏｕｇｈ ｗｉｔｈ ｙｏｕ！
: Two can play that game! I’ll have you beaten so bad, you’ll be too broken to do evil crap again!
: ‘Tis you who the depths beckon, Deus Machina Kraken!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RHdvefwr1Q8
Making this video both to show off the weaker version of Caligula’s punch and, mostly, to show him flipping out after losing.
Our prize is Holly’s Favorite Guitar, which adds +10 Skill, +5 to Melee and Ranged. And if you’re curious, Claudius drops a SEKIGAHARA Game, which is +10 Skill, +5 Ranged and Defense.
: Ｙｏｕ．．．ｈｏｗ ｄａｒｅ ｙｏｕ ｈｕｒｔ ｍｅ ｌｉｋｅ ｔｈｉｓ！ Ｉ‘ｌｌ ｂｅａｔ ｙｏｕ ｉｎｔｏ ａ ｂｌｏｏｄｙ ｐａｓｔｅ！
: Hrk… Those Deus Machina don’t have the best teamwork, but that doesn’t make them any easier to fight!
: Oh, what’s the matter, UX? You’re looking a bit caught between the devil and the deep blue sea! Hyahahahaha!
: The Deus Machinas really are as strong as advertised. We need some ideas right now or…!
: Fine… then we’ll use the power of Cthugha!
: Cthugha?
: The divine manifestation of the flame that dwells in the star Fomalhault. ‘Tis one of my fragments, which we recovered from the Anticross in a previous battle.
: That zombie guy, yeah?
: However, Kurou, as I am sure you are well aware, Cthugha has tremendous power! I am not sure if you are yet strong enough to control it…!
: Still, it’s not like we’ve got any other way outta this!
: But…!
: We still got too much to do to let ourselves be beaten here! If this can help us pull through, I’m going for it…!
Magic power up!
: That’s right. You mustn’t die yet, Kurou. Rather, you can’t die… So what I’ll do is give you a little hand with that.
: …?!
: Oh, White King… if you are to resist the tides of fate…
: Then we shall shine as a tyrannical light, the antithesis of chaotic darkness!
: You’re…?!
[url=LPix.org UX - Sublimation of a Destroyer.mp3]SRW UX - Sublimation of a Destroyer[/url]
: Wh-What was that light…?
: Those are the pages depicting Ithaqua… They are more of my fragments!
: Ithaqua?! How’d they get their hands on that?!
: (I get it now… those two were the manifestation of the magic in the Cthugha and Ithaqua fragments!)
: Look! Something’s materializing in the Demonbane’s hands!
: Wait, are those… guns?!
: Mayhap you could actually control it now…
: I’m unleashing the powers of Cthugha and Ithaqua! Remain steadfast, Kurou, for the energies shall not be easy to wield!
: Not even time for practice, eh? Fine by me! Come on!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OmNSugyuUc
: Ｕｇｈｗａａａａａａ！ Ｍ－Ｍｙ ａｒｍ！ Ｍｙ ａａａａｒｍ！
: Wh-What the hell just happened?! Why are the Tyrant’s guns with the Demonbane?!
: (“The Tyrant’s guns”…?)
: My word. That was very well done, Kurou Daijuuji and UX.
: It’s that man…!
: Vespasianus! You wanna take a swing at us too?!
: Oh, no, no; that’s for another time. I’ve already accomplished what I came here for, you see.
: Did you? What are you people up to?
: That would be telling, no? You’ll understand in due time. Do look forward to it.
: You might’ve won today, but next time we meet, I won’t stop ‘til I’ve made mincemeat outta all of you!
: Ｋｕｒｏｕ Ｄａｉｊｕｕｊｉ！ Ｎｅｘｔ ｔｉｍｅ．．． Ｎｅｘｔ ｔｉｍｅ Ｉ‘ｌｌ ｋｉｌｌ ｙｏｕ！
: All enemy signals have vanished from radar.
: Deus Machina… I’d heard tell of these, but their strength really does match the name…
: Yeah. If the Demonbane hadn’t busted out those guns, we might’ve been in some serious trouble.
: Still, we never equipped it with such magical arms to begin with…
: That guy said these guns belonged to “The Tyrant”, so…
: Hm? That’s…
: What is it?
Kurou moves closer to the altar.
: …
: A girl…?
: Um… I’m Kurou Daijuuji. And you are…?
: En…nea…
: Ennea, huh? Were you here throughout that whole mess?
: I… I don’t know why I’m here… or what I was doing until now…
: She has amnesia…?
: Maybe she’s one of the missing people. Bring her aboard and we’ll take care of her.
: It’s all right now, Ennea. You’re safe.
: Thank you… Kurou…
: Very well done, Vespasianus. With your acquisition of the R’lyeh Text, we now have one of the keys for the C Project.
: But the problem is the other key, the Tyrant. It helped Kurou Daijuuji… much to my surprise.
: And the blame lies squarely on you, Claudius and Caligula. Had you acted faster, the Tyrant wouldn’t have come in touch with them.
: As I see it, losing your arm is no more than your just desserts for not paying the enemy and the Tyrant their due diligence.
: Ｈｒｍ．．．
: You watch the attitude, you son of a bitch…! We’ll see you talk smack after I’ve gutted you!
: Enough. I grow bored of all your grumbling…
: But Grand Master, the Tyrant is the centerpiece of the entire C Project.
: We’ve yet to claim the grimoire Al Azif; if we let the Tyrant slip away as well—
: We’ll carry out Project C without the Tyrant or Al Azif.
: You wish to implement it without either of them, Grand Master?
: But doesn’t the Project need both the Tyrant and a core unit of tremendous magical powers to be carried out?!
: We’ll simply use me and the Liber Legis in place of both. That should take care of that problem.
: Or are you implying this is beyond my powers?
: No, I would never…
: (Grand Master… you’re…)
Cut back to the good part of Innsmouth, Ruri’s treating everyone to a banquet as thanks for solving the disappearances. Winfield and the maids are at the ready to provide anything we might need. Sheryl and Ranka are also getting the VIP treatment, but wonder if they deserve it as well – they didn’t do anything today.
Still, Ruri’s giving them the green light, so Joe figures it’s A-OK for everyone to dig in. Gameran huffs at his devil-may-care attitude and wonders if that’s how he plans on tackling the next mission. What next mission? As Richard tells, Ishigami just called and asked us to look for a new Machina over by the Shimane Prefecture.
Another investigation? Yeah, so a part of our team will head over to Shimane first thing in the morning. Mike and Kenji could go for another trip to a beach paradise, and, as Sheryl remembers, Ranka is actually slated to take part in a music festival set to happen there over the weekend.
Eida’s excited and hopes to be in the audience cheering for her… only, not quite. Johnny points out she’ll also be taking part in that festival – he got her booked for it as soon as he heard we were going for Shimane. Eida’s been off the stages for a while now, so she needs to work to keep her name in the people’s collective consciousness.
As she gives a strained nod, Fei-Yen likes the sound of a music festival and wants to sing in it too. And since everyone’s signing up for it, Holly figures one more won’t break the bank – she wants in but Psy begs her not to.
: …
: …
: Something seems a bit off with those two, don’t you think?
: Yeah, now that you mention it, they’ve been quiet for a while now…
: Joey, you guys went into that cave too, right? Did something happen in there?
: Eerr, n-no, nothing at all… Hahahah… I-Isn’t that right, Lina?
: Huh? O-Oh, yeah… that’s right.
: …
: You guys are acting a bit weird, too…
: They’re still reeling from what happened with the illusion guess, I see.
: Y-Yeah… That’s probably it…
: And if you ask me, that applies to you too.
: Don’t let it get to you. If anything, I’m glad to hear how you really feel.
: Give me just a bit of time to set things up, and I’ll show you some classical plays since you’re so interested.
: Um, no… that’s…
: …?
: (Come to think of it, Hayase and Kizaki are both Factors, and Al’s a grimoire…)
: (But how come Saya wasn’t affected by that the smoke? She was standing right next to us.)
: Erm, Al…
: … Pay it no mind.
: Huh?
: Our time together thus far has been quite pleasant.
: What happened then was simply an embarrassing misstep. There is no need to concern yourself with it.
: Al…
: (Wh-What is going on here…?)
: Al, I…
Door opens.
: Heeey, Kurou, why do you look so serious? Come eat something with me!
: Y-You’re Ennea, right? You’re looking a lot chipper…
: She’s been like this for a bit now.
: Maybe it’s a consequence of her time in captivity, but we have no way of knowing.
: Yup! Still got no memories, so what’re you gonna do, huh?
: Here, Kurou. Why don’t you take a bite of this? Open wiiiiide!
: B-But could you get off me first? Al, help…
: Y-You GIGANTIC FOOL!
Cast magic missile!
: Whyyyyyyyyy?!
: Hick…! And that’s how my invention helped us save Center City!
: They know, professor, you’ve told everyone that story a dozen times already. Maybe that’s enough sake for you…
: Pssshaaaaw! How can I fight aliens and let a bit of booze intimidate me?! Aaactually, you boys know what?! I’m signing up to help the UX!
: P-Professor, what’re you talking about?!
: Nnnnoope, the professhor’s 100% right! hick
: Um… Ms. Hadou, are you drunk?
: I wouldn’t deserve to be prez of the Hadou Finant… Fintial… Finalan… I wouldn’t desherve to be Queen Hadou if I jusht shent others to fight and never went into battle myshelf! Sho…
: Now I’ll be out there with you! I’m gunna join the UX as another commander!
: Wh-Whuh?!
: Oh, that sounds like fun! Sign me up!
: Well, I can’t let another Ferario outshine me! I’m in too!
: And me! I’ll sing until I drop if that’ll help keep everyone happy!
: Thatsh the spirit. And whattabout you, Lina? You’ll be leading our heroesh too, right?
: Wh-What, me?!
: What’re ya worried about? You’re a cheerleader, right? So get out there and cheer our guys on!
: N-Now wait just a dang minute! Cheering our guys and commanding an army ain’t even close to being the same thing!
: Hey, now, lady, did you forget we got summa the best tacticians in the world to help us? Sima Yi! Zhou Yu! Zhuge Kongming! Sumeragi! Richie! Bam!
: Whatever happens, I’m sure they’ll help us find a way around! Am I right or am I right, Lord Cao Cao?!
: Hahahah! You rascal, you!
: E-Everyone’s drunk off their feet!
: Sumeragi, please, say something…
: Zzzzz…
: She’s already blacked out…
: Then, to clarify, mistress Ruri Hadou, plus ladies Cham, Erebos, Fei, Lina and Eida shall now be taking up duties as tacticians and morale officers for the UX.
: It will be our pleasure to assist you all.
: W-Wait, when did I sign up for that…?
: This is absurd… Who has ever heard of civilians taking up the role of military tacticians?
: What is happening to our team…
: Whaaat?! My sis and Michio?!
: Yep. We saw them sneaking off into a room together…
: They were looking all around to make sure no one was within an earshot, so I think it’s safe to tag this as “scandalous”!
: “Within an earshot”… Oh.
: Sis, don’t tell me…
: Ah! N-Now that I think about, I don’t see Hayase around either! Where is that guy?
: We saw him leaving the hotel not long ago.
: Yeah, he was with that cute girl with the long brown hair.
: …?!
: S-Stop talking, you two!
: …
: Hayase…
: K-Kizaki! Your eyes!
: You want me to come to your show…?
: I just want to thank you for saving me today… What do you say?
: Next week, huh… I’d love to be there, but I don’t know if I’ll be in Tokyo then.
: Hmhmm… A Champion of Justice has a pretty busy schedule, huh?
: And then some, yes… We get deployed pretty much all over the world on missions.
: Just this weekend, for example, we’ve a mission at Shimane…
: Really…?! I’m headed for Shimane too! There’s going to be a festival there, and my group was invited!
: A festival? Is it the one Eida and the other girls’ll be singing at?
: I’m pretty sure it is, yes! That’s the only live event scheduled for that day!
: So not only did we run into each other today, we’re also headed to the same place. What are the odds of that?
: Honestly, I was pretty depressed over going to Shimane, but just knowing you’ll be there…
: Ms. Kujo…?
: N-Never mind. Just thinking out loud.
: Here’s a ticket for the Shimane show. Come see if you can, yes?
: I promise I’ll be there, Ms. Kujo!
: And, Hayase… could I ask you not to be so formal with me?
: But… Well, aren’t you a bit older than me?
: Consider it an order from your senior, then. Stop being so formal.
: If you say so, Ms… Erm. Okay, Kujo.
: Heehee… That’s better.
: (Kouichi Hayase, the pilot of a giant robot…)
: (Someone as special as him wants me to live. If I have him by my side, then…)
Flash!
#1: Everything’s ready to go. Heheh, I can already picture the look on Kurou’s face.
#2: Oh, dear, you seem to be rather taken with my Kurou… aren’t you, Tyrant?
#1: What do you want, Nya? I don’t really have the time to deal with you right now.
: Hmhmhm, I’m just rather impressed at how brave you are, that’s all.
: You know very well that there’s only despair down this road, but look at you go.
#1: …
: But, please, do as you’d like. I’m just a watcher – now and always.
Disappear!
#1: I know what you mean… But, still, I…
: Hmm… It’s morning already? Guess everyone wound up falling asleep around here.
: Hm, and it appears that the Shimane team has already departed.
: I can’t believe they got up so early after partying as hard as we did. Impressive.
: Guys, this is bad!
: What is it, Cham? What’s bad?
: Everything, that’s what! Take a look outside!
: Outside…?
Opens door.
: ?! Wh-Whaaaat the heeeeeeeeell?!
And, as told, we’ve got a bunch of new tacticians:
- Cham: evasion rate +5%
- Erebos: accuracy rate +5%
- ]Ruri: +10% attack power when counterattacking
- Eida: +10% boost to all support effects
- Fei-Yen: pilot-affecting debuff immunity
- Lina: evasion rate +5%
Nothing too impressive now, but we’ll see once they unlock their second bonuses.
Finally, here are the few convos we missed today:
: “The Unspeakable”… “The traveler of the cosmos”… Hastur, the Great Old One that rules over the wind…
: And he wields its power… do not underestimate him!
: Ya getting scared, Kurou? Keep your eyes open, or you’re gonna find yourself six feet under!
: You got a really big mouth, brat! I’ll make sure to bash it shut as I’m wrecking your Deus Machina!
–
: I don’t remember training ever covering how to fight in a swimsuit…
: But that’s exactly when I need to believe in my own strength and press on! That’s how you stay alive in a battlefield!