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Chapter 5: Megumi Yakushiji 1
Music: Taking It Easy (Kazuki Higashihara)
It is *so* gross today. Muddy as heck. My shoes are soaked.
……
It’s nothing…
Thinking about how no one talks to you again? Is that what’s got you down? It’s just cause you’re so quiet, Megumi. People take that as you thinking you’re better than them. Or that you’re cold and distant. Not sure which is worse.
Ouch. Maybe, uh… stop trying to cheer her up? Lotta friendly fire going out here, just saying.
They just need to get to know the real Megumi. The one who’s a hopeless romantic… And a cool, laid back girl, just like everyone else. Maybe then they’d have an easier time talking to you.
It could really help you come out of your shell.
I think I’ll pass.
*giggle*
You watched my Inaba Rabbit video?
Mhm. I never knew you were so talented.
Hehehe… Well, you’re in luck. I’m posting a new one when I get home!
Did you see that? There was a light… I saw it in the water.
Music: The Sector Theorem) (Kazuki Higashihara)
…Fall from the sky?
Ah, geez…
And my umbrella got blown away. What a drag…
We could have totally died just now. What even is that thing?
No, that’s not it… But what then?
I gotta document this. Oh no, where’d my phone go?
And it’s moving?
This seems dangerous… What if it, like, blows up?
We gotta report this to the police.
R-Right…
Suddenly, the machine shifts in place, and the light goes out…
Are you all right?
…… Where… am I?
Music: IMMINENT (Yoshimi Kudo)
No… When am I…?
This game is relishing its one free use of that cliché.
When…? Well, today is October—
No, the year… What year is it right now?
2024… I must have been forcefully shifted here. The frontline’s been broken. It’s over. It’s all over…
Should I call an ambulance?
Who are you?
Oh, um, I’m just from the school nearby…
No… Then that means… This place is next…
…And I’ve come from the future.
They’re coming…
Dire tidings indeed…
Now that that scene is over, we resume—huh?
FUCK OFF
Ooh, it looks so fluffy…
This cat does not want pets? This will not do! We must give chase!
Unfortunately, the cat decides to escape into the school building, and we cannot follow because that’s not where the plot is.
You look a little lost.
In 1985, the west building doesn’t even exist yet…
Music: Impending Doom (Mitsuhiro Kaneda)
One last time?
They’re coming. And No. 13 is the only one that can still fight. I have to go.
N-No, you can’t. I won’t let you! Taking back that robot, trying to fight by yourself… It’s not a good plan, Juro. You couldn’t defeat them even *with* all your friends.
It’s true, I don’t know if I’ll be able to protect you all… But I can’t do nothing.
Megumi. I really am grateful to you.
So this is goodbye?
I hope that it’s not, but…
…… Juro Izumi. They’re here, just like you said they would be. And now monsters are flooding the port in droves.
Right. Megumi, Tomi… I’ve told a woman named Morimura about you. When the time comes… You must listen to what she says.
Ms. Morimura… How is Juro doing?
…… You must forget about Juro Izumi. The Juro you knew no longer exists. There was nothing else we could do.
*sharp intake of breath*
From now on, you cannot go near him.
But—
It’s for his own good.
Megumi is displeased and Morimura has nothing more to say. We make to leave.
Music: Self Sacrifice (Yoshimi Kudo)
It is…?
How about we head back to the nurse’s office now? It’s important to take your medicine, you know.
You have to stay away. He’s Juro Kurabe now. Not Juro Izumi.
I don’t understand…
He is not the same person. Giving him a new identity was the only way to save him.
That can’t be possible…
It was the only way. I’m sure he would agree. It had to be done. So for now, you need to stay away. At this point, he is still very unstable. Trust me. You’re doing this for him.
Music: A Clause With Claws (Rikako Watanabe)
A+ on that track name.
All right, settle down. No need to make a scene. People are gonna start to think you’re crazy.
Did that cat just… talk to me?
Use Talking Cat on Fluffy
That’s stupid. Cats can’t talk. You might want to try thinking before you speak.
How do you know my name?
You’re the one who called me, after all.
I… did?
Yes. And now I’m here to grant you your wish. Your wish to save Juro Izumi!
Looks like I hit a nerve. So yeah, I can do it. I can get his memories back.
It does sound too good to be true, doesn’t it? Well, I don’t go around granting wishes for free. In exchange… I need you to do something for me. After you agree to a binding contract, that is.
Come on, it’ll be easy. No experience necessary. And you’ll save Juro. Seems like your best option.
Use The Contract on Fluffy
Assuming this isn’t a dream… Or a hallucination… *Or* some kind of cruel joke… What exactly would I need to do for you?
I come from another world. One that was destroyed. Destroyed by a relic of an ancient civilization.
……
It spreads like a nasty curse… And has begun to infect this world too. I must find all the codes and set things right again. That is my mission. And the no-big-deal job that you get to do!
You’re not serious, are you? In case you haven’t noticed, I am a cat. You really wanna leave the fate of the world to a cat? I don’t even have thumbs. If I screw up, you’re dead too. You’re only damning yourself if you refuse.
Are you going to turn me into a magical girl or something? Well, I am curious to see what this is all really about. And more importantly, who’s behind it. I can come play with you for a bit after school, okay? Just cause you’re so cute.
Sure, make fun. Just the fate of the world that’s at stake.
*frustrated sigh* All right. I’ll give you some time to think about it. I suppose it’s a good thing you’re skeptical. Instead of some idiot who believes everything she hears.
You will accept my contract.
And there *is* a way to bring back Juro…
Before we move on to the next battle stage, let’s see what happens if we choose to decline Fluffy’s contract.
I’m sorry, but this all just seems so impossible.
And the scene proceeds the same from there. I think the “Decline” version flows a little better because Megumi actually says the word “impossible,” but the line “Are you going to turn me into a magical girl or something?” meant I just had to use the “Accept” version.
All right, let’s get back to it.
Music: (PHENYLALANINE) (Mitsuhiro Kaneda) (Listen to this)
Damn! Megumi’s in a tight spot!
It’s like that thing has a wall protecting it… How am I supposed to damage it?
Tomi… Why are you…?
What are you so surprised about? This is my Sentinel, isn’t it? Seriously, Megumi. I wish you’d just told me.
I have to apologize… If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t be—
Look, there’s only one thing I want an apology for. I got that switch ‘cause you shot me, right?
What!?
‘Cause like… did you *have* to put it on my back? I’m gonna give myself a cramp swiping that thing. But you gotta fall back, Megumi. Your Sentinel’s at its limit. I’ll handle this.
No, Tomi… We’ll fight together.
Come on, dork. What’s the point of fighting together if it gets you killed? You gonna be dumb, or you gonna listen to your best friend?
…Yeah, you’re right…
Megumi takes her Sentinel to a remote area and sends it away for repairs.
Over on another corner of the map, Nenji Ogata arrives.
You charged out first all thumping your chest, and it took you this long to get here?
The train stopped. I got kinda lost in the crowd. But I got this now, Kisaragi. You can hang back where it’s safer, okay?
I just got here, you moron. I’m not going anywhere.
Fine, whatever. Just tell me which of these bozos I gotta trash.
Tomi’s Sentinel won’t be much good against it. But your 1st-generation Sentinel’s perfect for close combat.
As Megumi sent her Sentinel for repairs, she is currently without one and is forced to navigate the terrain on foot if she needs to move. We’ll keep her here for now.
Megumi was right about Tomi’s Sentinel not having the firepower to take down this Hi-Quad. Despite being a 3rd-generation model, she lacks even the railguns Natsuno and Miura had in the last stage. She’s still best at long-range like them and has some options for swarms of small enemies, but unfortunately she’s missing the tools to defeat something big like this.
That’s where Nenji comes in. He’s in a 1st-generation model like Hijiyama’s, but where Hijiyama has Tackle, Nenji gets DEMOLISHER BLADE, which hits a crazy 36 times with 80 power each. It also pierces armor, which is good because those Hi-Quads are armored and attacks like Tomi’s rapid cannons will bounce right off. Demolisher Blade is Nenji’s bread and butter.
Because it’s a melee attack, we can move into position as part of the action, and we’re even hitting its back for an extra 50% damage. Let’s do this.
There’s gonna be 37 hits: Me hitting you 36 times, and you hitting the floor.
So yeah, Demolisher Blade is pretty okay.
Fine by me. I was just thinkin’ I was running out of asses to kick.
Ahahaha, this idiot rules
My Sentinel’s fixed. I can get back on the field. Please, Tomi. Let me fight with you.
Sentinel No. 23: Transmitted
Two girls and their robots against the world. You know, we could record this and be set for life.
So, Megumi’s Sentinel is ready for battle again. If we ever need to repair our Sentinels, we just send them away for a time and they’ll come back with full HP. However, as we saw, this leaves the pilot defenseless against explosions, so it’s best that they do this far away from the enemy, especially because the death of any pilot is an automatic failure. The pilots are also generally going to be much slower to move than a Sentinel, so we need to be careful about that as well.
Now, you may have noticed the first time Megumi moved before she repaired that her Sentinel wasn’t following the blue lines marking the roads. This is because her Sentinel is a 4th-generation model, designated as flight support. Flight support, meaning they can fly. Yeah, sure, why not? 4th-generations aren’t quite as speedy as 1st-generations to my recollection, but not having to follow the roads means they can be just as mobile if not moreso on more complicated maps. They’re good for zipping around the arena and giving a hand where it’s needed, basically.
Tomi’s three equipped actions are some standard rapid cannons and long-range missiles, plus an EMP Stunner that we won’t go into yet because it’s not terribly useful right now against the current enemy lineup. Much like Tomi herself. Heyo!
Well, that’s not exactly fair, because Megumi doesn’t have much to go on right now either. Tomi at least can help clean up some of the swarms with her long-range missiles, but Megumi is not set up to do much at the moment. She can place a Shield Matrix to nullify attacks on allies near it, but that’s not that necessary this early in the game. Her Arm-Mounted Pulse Lasers are armor-piercing and do decent damage, but still aren’t going to do much against the Hi-Quads. She’s also got Flare Torpedo, which kind of seems… bad?
So, Flare Torpedo’s description claims: “Deploys a mine at target area. Upon detecting kaiju, it explodes, overheating them.” What it actually seems to do is put this big red circle on the ground that does piss for damage to any kaiju that are inside it for the ten seconds it stays active. Like, I’m looking at my footage and I’m seeing… 50-80 damage? Hitting like… once a second? That’s nothing. That’s baby shit. It might wipe up some small fries but even a G-Moler was having like, a tenth of its health taken by a hit from that, maybe. And they can just move out of it, too!
Thankfully, Nenji’s still here to take out anything big enough to care about.
After a frontal Demolisher Blade doesn’t do quite enough to take down one of the Hi-Quads, I decide to maneuver Nenji around to their backs to get that sweet, sweet bonus damage. From there, they go down in two actions.
Hey, he’s that 2nd-year…
Renya Gouto. He’s from the future… Further into the future than me.
I know a great little place near school.
…Yeah. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.
Megumi Yakushiji is voiced by Cristina Valenzuela (who until recently used the stage name Cristina Vee, in case you’re more familiar with her work under that name). She’s voiced Velvet in Tales of Berseria, Sakura from the Fate franchise, and Sailor Mars in Sailor Moon, speaking of magical girls.