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Video of this chapter
Last time, the Mycenae and Campbellians were dealt with seemingly for good.
[???, ???]
And it’s done. Our new pawns are good to go.
Mass produced Great Mazingers and fake Combatter Vs…
I don’t think we need to call them mass produced or fake, but there’s something to be said about respecting the original.
…
What’s wrong? I thought you were going to visit Haman.
What should I do…
Did something happen?
Yes… The Undefeated of the East is gone.
That old fart?
Yeah. I think he ran away.
Oh crud. We need to find him right away.
But how did he escape? Did you really let that old fart have a sense of self?
That man is built different… He’s slowly been regaining his consciousness since the start.
The Undefeated of the East, Master Asia…
[GEAR HQ, Command Room]
What!? Master’s been taken into custody!?
Yes, in Neo Hong Kong. And the one who did it was Rain Mikamura.
Rain did that?
Right now, The Undefeated of the East is hospitalized in Neo Hong Kong, but Rain required that he be put under the Shuffle Alliance’s care.
I’m going and you can’t stop me.
Wait. It'd be dangerous for you to go alone.
Don’t forget that he’s the Devil Gundam’s pilot.
Is this a trap to lure us out?
Trap or no, we’ll kick their butts.
If this is a trap, there’s only one person who could set it up…
…Despinis…
Perfect. We’ll pretend to fall for the trap and find out just who they are!
We’re not ones to avoid entering the tiger’s den.
Then it’s settled. Let’s go to Neo Hong Kong.
[Neo Hong Kong, Hospital]
Domon!
(Rain Mikamura)
Rain, I heard your message. Where’s Master?
He’s asleep right now. He’s very weak, and…
And?
…You’ll realize it once you see him. Who’re they?
We’re from THE BOYS. We’re indebted to the Shuffle Alliance.
Thank you very much. I’m Rain Mikamura. I mainly work as the Shuffle Alliance’s mechanic.
Sorry, but let’s save the greetings for later.
Right. Please come with me.
…
Master… Master!
…
I’m glad you’re alive. If you really are still alive.
Domon, it’s too early to celebrate. Can you be happy after seeing this?
!
T-that’s!
…Ridiculous.
You’re joking.
…DG Cells…
Master Asia’s body is already 70% contaminated with DG Cells.
That’s ridiculous! Even though he was fighting with the Devil Gundam in our last battle, he was never infected with those cells. He’d never do this to himself!
Calm down. Just listen to what she has to say.
…She’s right. To some extent, I’ve been expecting this.
What do you mean?
Ever since Allenby said that Master Asia has risen from the grave, I haven’t been able to get a certain man out of my head.
Who?
Gentle Chapman… You might not have heard of him. He was once an excellent Gundam Fighter, just like us.
I’ve heard of him. But he’s dead, right?
Yes. But he came back to life once with the power of DG Cells.
I remember him now… He piloted the Grand Gundam.
He did. Just like him, I figured Master Asia was also brought back to life with DG Cells…
That’s why I can’t perform any surgery. If I did, removing the DG Cells would probably kill him.
But Master is…
It’s possible that someone implanted him with DG Cells.
The target was dead at the time. He couldn’t resist if he wanted to. It would’ve been too easy to infect him.
If it was implanted in him, it had to have been Despinis.
If so, she’s worse than the Devil!
…Uuuuu…
He’s awake!?
Master!
…D…Domon…
…You’re right. They implanted DG cells in me to revive me as the Devil Gundam’s pilot.
Who’re they?
You’ve met them a few times already, haven’t you? Lalia, Despinis, Tis… Those three creations…
Creations?
Yes. Those three aren’t human. They’re artificial lifeforms… Another word to call them is homunculi.
Are you sure!? There’s no technology in the Earth Sphere right now that would let anyone make such things.
Could they be from outer space?
More aliens?
Are they invaders too?
I don’t know… I regained my consciousness a while ago, but I still can’t disobey their orders…
It can’t be helped. After Chapman was revived with DG Cells, he became a fighting machine.
It’s a miracle that you still have your self-awareness.
But you said you don’t know if they’re invaders?
I don’t sense any desire from them to invade Earth or dominate humanity.
Are they opposed to humanity, hoping to regenerate the Earth like you were in the past?
That’s not it either… Honestly, I don’t know what their goals are…
Master, what kind of person created them?
I’ve never seen their face. All I know is their name.
What’s their name?
Their name is… Duminas.
!
!!
…What’s wrong?
Do you recognize the name Duminas?
N-no… It’s nothing…
(...Duminas… Right, it wouldn’t be strange for it to be here at this time period…)
quote:
(Duminas… The one who caused our time slip…)
…
The reason why I escaped from them was to let you know of their existence…
Master, let’s fight together against them!
Don’t ask for the impossible, Domon. I can barely walk on my own. I’m nothing but a hindrance…
[Explosion]
The heck!?
There’s a bunch of Death Army out there!
They’ve come to get Master Asia back!
I won’t let that happen! Rain, move Master to the Nadesico or Nahel Argama!
…I’m sorry… Please give him back to us.
Who’re you!?
Be careful. That’s Despinis!
…That I am. It’s nice to meet you…
Yo! We meet again. Vega, right?
Tis!?
You’re the one who kidnapped my mom!
And here’s Lalia.
Nice to meet you. I’m Lalia. Thanks for everything in the battle with the Mycenae and Campbellians.
Are these guys really our enemies? Are they really just kids?
Well excuse me for being young.
Don’t let your guard down! They’re no ordinary kids!
Alrighty, let’s show them just how strong we are. Lalia, Despinis, let’s go!
Ehhh… Are we really going to fight? Fighting hurts you know.
I just want Master Asia back, so try not to be too rough…
Aaaaaaaaaah you guys!
B-but…
You have to be more positive. Well, I know the allure of wanting to be depressed though.
Now Domon! Defeat them!
What!? But Master!
Even if they’re homunculi, they’re still just children!
Don’t you fools realize it yet? That’s just a trick!
Whatever man. Let’s tussle!
[Fighting sounds]
Grrr!
Argo! Are you alright?
Yeah. Be careful. These guys’ strength is inhuman!
That’s right! Take this!
[More combat sounds]
[Neo Hong Kong, City]
Sorry!
[Fighting sounds]
They’re not playing around. If you get punched like that, you’d die in one hit.
Let’s leave this to the Shuffle guys!
Agreed. Let’s take Master and run away.
That’d be a problem! Lord Duminas will get pissed!
[More fighting sounds]
This brat!
I’m sorry I’m sorry I’m sorry.
Guh…
I’m sorry!
[Even more fighting sounds]
Gaaaah!
Chibodee!
Let’s go!
…Umm… I know we’re doing something that deserves to get us killed…
Ugh…
Ah. Aim for the body, aim for the body!
[All the fighting sounds]
Gaaah!
Are you alright?
Yes, somehow…
This is the first time we’ve faced such troublesome opponents.
Don’t you idiots realize what they’re trying to do?
Master…
The appearance and personalities of these homunculi are chosen by their creator for a reason. The fact they look and act like children is to make you hesitate! It’s all psychological warfare!
So they want us to feel guilty about attacking children?
Yes. What you see, what they look like, what you think. Thinking “maybe they’re just being manipulated” or “isn’t there something we can do to help them”. All of that is so that you won’t fight them seriously.
No… That’s not it… We’re…
You’re what? Tell me!
…
You can’t argue, can you? You only appear and act like that to make us feel guilty!
Lalia, Despinis, like I keep saying, the only way for us to exist is to fight these guys on behalf of Lord Duminas.
Shut your trap! Even your words and actions are meant to invite sympathy and exploit the human heart. It’s all fake!
Yea, we’re as fake as can be. How could anyone understand how we feel! Uyraaaaaa!
[Yet more fighting sounds]
Dammit… If only I could move my body properly. I wouldn’t be beaten by a mere artificial doll like this…
…Tis, you’re right… We can’t let them… Come, Devil Gundam!!
Oh no!
Gaaaaaaaaaah!
Master!
Chapter 25: The Undefeated of the East Dies Twice
They’re here!
Grrrrrr…
Master! They’re forcing Master to pilot the Devil Gundam again!
Head back to the Nadesico and Nahel Argama immediately!
Let’s do this! Thugater!
Hypokrisis!
Eleos!
Now they’ve brought out their mechs!
Ugh…
Master! COME! GUNDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAM!!
Super Robot Wars R - FLYING IN THE SKY
…Mobile Trace System, setup. Brainwaves, blood pressure, heart rate, breathing, body temperature, metabolic functions, all green…
UUUOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
Devil Gundam, confirmed.
All units, launch!
Select 12 units to take down Master Asia and Duminas’ homunculi. Domon is a forced deploy of course.
…Here they come.
Shall we show you our toys?
Mass produced Greats!
Fake Combattler Vs!
Oh no, it’s those things!
They’ve got mass produced Greats!
And a lot of fake Combattlers!
They must have gotten the blueprints from the Mycenae and Campbellians.
They’re coming… I’m scared…
Why’re you scared? This isn’t your first time in actual combat.
No matter how many times I fight, I’ll never get used to it.
…You’re just being selfish. Look at you. It’s clear you’re raring to fight… Guh…
Master, I’ll save you.
There’s no need for that. Just bury me along with the Devil Gundam.
Master…
I’m not in control of anything right now. I’m just a tank of life energy for the Devil Gundam…
That’s more the reason to save you!
Did you forget? My body is infested with DG Cells. Even if you save me now, eventually I’ll…
That’s right. Now’s the best time to kill him while he’s still cognizant.
Don’t make me humiliate myself any more. I died back on Lantau Island…
Master…
Just do it!
…I understand. Master, prepare yourself!!
(That’s right. This is fine…)
HERE WE GO! GUNDAM FIGHT!
READYYYYYYYY!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!
Stick together near the start. Let the Death Army come to you. Plus it’ll help when reinforcements arrive in a few turns.
Here’s Despinis’ mech, the Eleos.
At the start of turn 2…
Domon!
Rain… God Gundam! Is it ready?
Sorry for the delay. Let’s switch now!
Leave the Shining Gundam to me.
Are you sure?
Don’t underestimate me. I’ve fought with the Shining Gundam before!
That’s right. I’ll leave it to you.
Neigh!
(Fuunsaiki)
Fuunsaiki, you’re here too!?
Is that a goddamn horse piloting a robot?
Let’s go!
Oh boy, I’ve been waiting for this. Let’s go over them separately.
[GF13-017NJII God Gundam]
Better than the Shining in every way possible. It’s decent at low will, but the moment it hits 120, that’s when God’s judgement happens. It gains a stat boost, a bunshin, and multiple new attacks. Its finishers, God Finger and Sekiha Tenkyoken, are still 1 range, but they’re among the best non-combo finishers.
[Fuunsaiki]
Not a great combatant, but Fuunsaiki has great support spirits and it’s main use is for the following entry.
[GF13-017NJII God Gundam & Fuunsaiki]
Take God Gundam’s insane power and give it more mobility, more movement, new attacks, a support-orientated second spirit pool, an A terrain rank in air, and a second health bar. Deploying Fuunsaiki does use up a deployment slot, but it’s a straight upgrade to God Gundam’s brand of asskicking. As a note, to combine them, you move one unit over the other.
Rain is also in the Shining Gundam now. She’s not as good of a fighter as Domon, but she does have the Sekiha Love-Love Tenkyoken combo attack with him, one of the highest base combo attacks in the game that uses two people. Rain herself is another great support pilot, but even though she’s locked to a combat mech, she can deal some good damage. Use that information what you will.
Domon also has the Shuffle Alliance Fist combo attack with the rest of the Shuffle Alliance, but not only does that take five people who are all at 130+ will, it drains EN like it’s no one’s business. Not really worth using for the insane power it has, so don’t expect to see it here.
One last note. When you get God Gundam, it inherits all of the upgrades Shining has at that point. And Shining is cheaper to upgrade than God, so you could upgrade it in the intermission before this stage for some cheaper upgrades.
At the start of turn 5…
..What’s this?
What’s up, Ruriruri?
I’ve detected an increase in Boson Particles. Something is Boson Jumping here.
What?
What’re those? Aestivalises?
Something’s wrong with them.
Ain’t those Jovian drones clinging to those Aestivalises?
…Those Aestivalises have been taken over by Jovian drones.
They’re Devil Aestivalises!
Are you calling them that because of the other Devil over there?
Ewww they’re gross!
I’m just gonna assume they’re hostile.
They’re moving!
The ambushers have now become the ambushed. Take them out and then resume focusing on the Death Army.
Introducing the Devil Aestivalis. They’re not that strong but they have Distortion Fields.
Surprisingly, there’s no boss dialogs with the homunculi or with Master Asia. No one retreats at low HP, but the homunculi will retreat if Master Asia’s Devil Gundam is defeated. Make sure to kill them first.
Yes… Very good…
[Master Asia dies a second time]
Master… Rest in peace…
quote:
This is bad. The Undefeated of the East is…
Ah beans, Duminas is gonna be pissed…
…We need to retreat.
The map ends when all enemies are defeated.
Master…
Domon…
DUMINAS! I’ll never forgive you! I will find you and end you myself!!
(...Duminas…)
[GEAR HQ, Command Room]
I’ll introduce her to everyone. This is Rain Mikamura.
Nice to meet you.
She’s the daughter of Dr. Mikamura, the man who created the Shining and God Gundams. From now on, she’ll be joining THE BOYS as our mechanic.
Domon, I’ll also be a pilot. We’ve got the Shining Gundam after all.
Neigh.
Whoa! What’s a horse doing here!?
Oh right. This guy’s Fuunsaiki. He’s a mobile horse pilot.
You mean an actual horse was controlling that horse robot?
Neigh.
He’ll get mad if you keep being rude.
They say a good war horse can do the work of a hundred soldiers.
He’s similar to Red Hare from Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Neigh.
Howdy there, Fuunsaiki. What a nice steed.
Reminds me a lot of Eiffel.
(TL note: Eiffel is the name of Ippei’s horse in the Voltes anime)
Moving on, we’ve uncovered a new enemy.
Duminas, huh…
I don’t like the fact we don’t know their goals.
Master said he couldn’t find anything out.
They can’t be good guys. Anyway, we’ll just blow them up if they show their faces again.
It won’t be that easy. Between the three of them and the Devil Gundam, they’re really strong.
But are those three really enemies?
Master Asia said so. Their trick is to make you doubt yourself.
Artificial life forms designed to behave in a way that creates sympathy in others. I don’t like it.
Maybe so, but…
I wonder if the Devil Aestivalises that appeared were also one of Duminas’ weapons.
Dunno. We can’t deny the possibility that it might have been a Jovian attack using a Boson Jump.
In any case, we can’t let our guard down just because the Mycenaeans and Campbellians are defeated. Let’s ask Dr. Sakonji to hurry up with Voltes’ upgrade.
Hey bro, is that thing ready yet?
What thing?
Texas Mack’s ace in the hole.
What’s that supposed to mean?
He means their secret weapon.
[Jovian Battleship Kagurazuki, A Room]
What was that about!? Why was an unmanned weapon attacking Earth!?
We’re currently investigating.
We’re trying to come to a peace agreement with them… This will only make things harder for us.
The flow of this world is not like a river. Sometimes it flows in reverse.
That just won’t do!
Tsukumo, why do you trust those Earthlings that much? Those evil, despicable Earthlings!
They’re not evil. They’re just as human as us.
Tsukumo, how far have you fallen…
Major Shiratori, we’re investigating this case. Don’t concern yourself with anything else besides a peace plan with Earth.
…Yes…
Excuse me…
…
…
…Did you get the data?
Yes. I was able to control Nergal’s mobile weapons without anyone noticing.
What about mobile suits? Can you control them in the same way? Devil mobile suits or something.
So far, all attempts have been unsuccessful. Maybe their basic structure is different…
Hurry. We can’t have peace with them. Justice cannot join hands with evil.
[GEAR HQ, Hangar]
Sorry for making you both come here this late at night. This is just between us.
Is it about the time warp?
Yes, that’s what I want to talk about. As I suspected, it doesn’t seem that difficult to pull off.
If it’s that easy, why haven’t we done it yet?
quote:
Is time warping really that easy?
Sorry, let me reiterate. When I said it wasn’t difficult, I wasn’t talking about the time warp itself. I was talking about returning to our own time.
Explain further.
Look at this. This will make it easier to understand.
What is it?
I call it the “Time Flow Sonar”. It detects the flow of time. It shows the current time period, but it has a range of plus or minus ten years.
Ten years?
I would have preferred it to cover a wider area, but ten years is the limit at the moment. Look at this part here.
…It kinda looks like a marbled pattern. Like if you drop ink into a water tank and stir it lightly…
That’s the flow of time. It takes a little skill to see, but… you see it’s a bit distorted right here. Do you know what that is? It’s about five years from now, when we first time travelled.
Really?
Yes. When we time travelled, that part of the flow became distorted.
So that’s the point when we should return…
By the way, do you remember the other day when I said that everything tries to become its most stable form?
Of course.
Time is no exception. The next time we try to travel through time, time itself will guide us back to this point in time, the time we traveled from, to eliminate the unstable distortion.
So once we start the time warp, unless we have an incredible amount of power, time will automatically bring us home?
quote:
So once we enter hyperspace, time will bring us home?
Exactly. When you helped Tenkawa try to make a Boson Jump in Yokosuka, you said you felt like you were being pulled into the future, right?
So that’s what that was.
quote:
Ah, so that was the force that was trying to stabilize time…
Yes. That’s the force that will return the Excellence to five years in the future.
So we can finally go home and escape this war.
I don’t think we’ll escape that when we go back… but it’ll be a relief not having to hide this from everyone.
So when can we go back?
We need to improve the Time Flow Engine’s control system. Shouldn’t be that hard. The problem is the energy that triggers the time warp.
Trigger?
Have you forgotten? The Time Turbine’s rampage wasn’t the only reason we time warped.
That’s right. It was the Ra Cailum’s engines exploding…
quote:
That’s right. It was the Phase Transition Engine exploding…
Yup. We’ll have to use an explosion comparable to that one. As long as we fight with THE BOYS, that opportunity will come naturally.
…We probably won’t have time to say goodbye.
Yes. On paper, we’ll be caught up in the explosion and die.
So you’re saying I should be prepared.
quote:
So you’re saying I should be prepared whenever the time comes.
Yes. And so, I have a request for you, Mizuho.
What is it?
We’ll return to the time immediately after the time slip, so it’ll be in the middle of a battlefield… Of course I won’t deny the possibility that things may change due to Dekim’s failed coup, but we can’t be that optimistic. I don’t want us to get killed by enemy attacks the moment we return.
I don’t want that either.
So I want you to complete a pure combat Frame by the time we return to our original time.
!?
If you consider the battlefield, the enemy will probably be…
Duminas?
Yes. I want you to make a frame to be used to fight against Duminas.
…A battle Frame for use against Duminas…
You should’ve realized that with our current Frames, we can’t beat it. Remember, it destroyed everything in one hit.
…
(...It’s worse than I thought.)
(Master Banjo, how long are you going to keep eavesdropping?)
(Until they’re done…)
The following scene is Raul only.
…So we can’t win as we are now? I know Duminas is strong, but the Excellence…
I know. Just it showing up was intimidating enough… There’s no way I could ever forget that…
I know you want to use the Excellence for rescues, but…
…I’ll do it.
Eh?
I’ll make it! Excellence’s strongest Frame ever. The ultimate Frame that won’t be inferior to any of THE BOYS’ robots! The last combat Frame I’ll ever make…
Mizuho… I’m sorry…
Why are you apologizing? Don’t worry about me, Raul.
The following scene is Fiona only.
Mizuho, are you sure about this anti-Duminas Frame? I remember the overwhelming feeling when it first appeared…
It’s fine. Let’s trust the mechanic we chose.
Raji, I was thinking…
No, we can’t defeat Duminas before we go home.
Why not!? We have friends here. And if we beat it now, it’ll be gone when we go home.
I know it’s not your intention, but I’m against anything that would change history!
History’s already changed. Dekim’s coup failed! If you eat poison, you should swallow the plate.
(TL note: That’s a Japanese proverb meaning if you’re going to do something you shouldn’t, you should go all in. Or something like that.)
I want to change as little as possible. I don’t want to take a gamble with such low odds!
But the time warp theory about the Engine that you’ve denied has been proven!
And that’s exactly why I’m against this!
…
Sorry. I’m going to cool my head for a bit.
…I’m sorry…
[???, ???]
…Ugh…
You’re awake.
Bastards…
Such a shame you didn’t stay dead.
It’s tough having to inject you with more DG cells.
Undefeated of the East, you won’t be allowed to rest… No matter how many times you die, we’ll bring you back to life every single time.
Just give up. You’ll live as the Devil Gundam’s pilot forever.
D-damn yoooooooouuuuuu…