I'm Free - Free Falling

"I'm Free - Free Falling" mission completion screen

Story arc

3rd Street Saints (prologue)

Homies

Shaundi

Marked Enemies

22

Min. Kills

1^[1]

Previous	Next
When Good Heists Go Bad	We're Going to Need Guns (auto-starts)

Objectives

Kill the guards
Escape with Shaundi
Find a parachute
Catch Shaundi
Kill the enemy pursuers
Catch Shaundi
Shoot the windshield
Kill the enemy pursuers
Catch Shaundi

Rewards

500 Respect
Shaundi (Homie)
"The Welcome Wagon" Achievement

"I'm Free - Free Falling" is the second mission in Saints Row: The Third.

Playa: "Listen, you French fuck--"
Phillipe Loren: "Please! I am Belgian!"
Johnny Gat: "So make yourself a fuckin' waffle. We're done here."

— Playa, Phillipe Loren, and Johnny Gat, before hostilities commence.

Overview[]

After failing to rob the Stilwater 1st National Bank, Playa, Shaundi, and Johnny Gat find themselves incarcerated. Gat reflects on Josh Birk's words and laments what the 3rd Street Saints have become. Two women and some Morningstar gang members then show up and escort the three to Phillipe Loren's Gawalek A36 in the skies above Steelport.

Loren introduces himself and then his Lieutenants as Viola and Kiki DeWynter. He reveals the bank belonged to The Syndicate and gives the Saints a chance to "leverage [their] assets against [their] lives", allowing the gang to continue their operations in Stilwater by giving The Syndicate 66% of their monthly gross revenue. Johnny Gat instantly refuses the offer and escapes his bindings by using his weight to force himself and his chair into his executioner. Gat and Loren get into a minor fight in which Gat is stabbed and Loren's face is smashed into a window, decompressing the plane and forcing Loren to withdraw with the DeWynter sisters.

Gat helps Playa and Shaundi out of their bindings and the three split up, with Gat planning to take control of the plane and bring it back to Stilwater while Playa and Shaundi fight their way to the back of the plane and steal parachutes. However, once the pair accomplish this, they lose contact with Gat over the intercom, who is cut off over the sound of gunshots and killed. Escaping the plane, Playa and Shaundi are left alone in the skies above Steelport, helplessly parachuting down towards the city below.

In a meeting with other leading members of The Syndicate, Phillipe Loren has Matt Miller hack into the Saints' account and steal all their money; Playa then unsuccessfully attempts to withdraw $1,000,000 in cash from an ATM.^[2]

Gameplay[]

I'm Free - Free Falling - Kill the Enemy Pursuers

This mission automatically starts upon completing Player Customization after When Good Heists Go Bad. It is not possible to exit this mission, only to restart it.

Kill the guards

Head through the plane and dispatch of the immediate enemies with either light or heavy melee attacks. Using heavy attacks triggers a quick time event in which players can input button prompts, but this only increases the Respect awarded after killing the enemy.

In the first room, there are 3 marked enemies, followed by 2 more who enter through the door. Once these 5 unarmed enemies are killed, a single Morningstar member armed with a 45 Shepherd enters. Once killed, this single 45 Shepherd arms both Playa and Shaundi. Shaundi can kill all 6 of these marked enemies.

Escape with Shaundi

Once in the cargo hold, there are many enemies with guns, but none of them are marked.

Find a parachute

It is not necessary to kill any enemies inside the plane, all that is necessary is to reach the marker.

Checkpoint
Catch Shaundi

Once Gat is killed off-screen, the 45 Shepherd is replaced by a TEK Z-10 SMG with infinite ammo.

While diving towards Shaundi, a Morningstar member grabs Playa from behind, and there is a prompt for a quick time event, which is not required and cannot be failed.

Kill the enemy pursuers

During the skydiving portion, there are 16 marked enemies in total. It is possible to kill all of these enemies indirectly by shooting at the falling cars, causing them to explode.

Catch Shaundi

Catch Shaundi and dialogue plays explaining Playa's plan to shoot the windshield of the plane and jump through.

Shoot the windshield

Shoot the windshield of the plane, and a short cutscene shows Playa falling through the plane and obtaining a parachute.

Checkpoint
Kill the enemy pursuers

Kill 2 final waves of enemies.

Catch Shaundi

While diving towards Shaundi, a Morningstar member grabs Playa from behind, and there is a prompt for a quick time event, which is not required and cannot be failed. Even if no button is pushed, Playa kills this gang member and it is counted as a gang kill, which is the first mandatory recorded kill in the game.

Catch Shaundi to end the mission.

Failure

The mission can be failed during the "Shoot the Windshield" objective, although there is no custom failure message, or otherwise getting Smoked, which may occur during the Skydiving section when there are many enemies firing at once. Playa takes small amounts damage when hitting debris or vehicles and should be avoided if low on health.

It is not possible for Shaundi to be killed during this mission.

Rewards[]

Cash: None
Respect: 500
Achievement: The Welcome Wagon (15 / )
Mission: We're Going to Need Guns
Homie: Shaundi

Newscast[]

Like some hellish children's book, the sky has fallen in Steelport. Ten people are dead after several cars came raining out of the sky, crushing an apartment building in a fiery blaze. Dozens of bodies, along with a number of crates and mangled vehicles filled the streets nearby. Looters raided the scene before the police arrived, salvaging car stereos and sex dolls from the debris. The city morgue has not released the names of the victims killed in what seems to be a mid-air accident, and no plane wreckage has been found. This is Jane Valderamma with your Steelport Disaster Report.

— Jane Valderamma

Trivia[]

The mission was first revealed in the Freefalling Trailer, which debuted during SDCC 2011.^[3]
The name of this mission is a reference to the song Free Fallin' by Tom Petty, which contains the lyrics "And I'm free, free fallin'".
The plane resembles an Antonov An-225.
The name Gawalek A36 appears on the left side of the plane, just below the cockpit windows.
Several vehicles are inside the plane, including Decker Kayaks, Luchadore Criminals and Morningstar Infuegos. Collectibles such as sex dolls are in the cargo bay.
The song that Johnny Gat plays when he gets control of the plane is We're Leaving Today by Paul Louis Reeves.^[4]
The phrase Loren speaks over the intercom in French is "Ah, putain de merde! Ouvrez-moi cette porte! Je veux sa tête!", which translates to "Oh, holy shit! Open this door for me! I want his head!"
Although Playa falls through the cockpit, neither Phillipe Loren, Johnny Gat, or any other pilot are there.
The first skydiving section does not take place above Steelport itself, but above a static image of the city in which the perspective of the buildings does not change. After falling through the plane, the next skydiving section takes place above the city itself.
If the player doesn't shoot out the windshield of the plane, both Playa and the plane fall awkwardly out of the sky before the mission fails.
This mission is almost identical to a mission in the game No One Lives Forever, that features Playa free falling after escaping a plane while fighting off criminals in mid-air and attempting to grab a parachute by one of them.
It is possible to jump out of the plane without triggering the next scene, by using cheats to obtain the Sonic Boom and opening the door to the cargo bay. After doing this, the rear hatch does not immediately open, but opens after firing the Sonic Boom at the already-open door several times. After jumping out of the plane, it soon vanishes and Playa falls south-west of Yearwood, near the location of the second skydiving section. The player must steer in any direction, or Playa gets caught in an infinite fall in the section used for the second skydiving section. Once out of the area used in the mission, Steelport becomes visible, and it is possible to explore the city; there are no pedestrians or traffic, although parked cars and Gang Operations remain. After obtaining an aircraft, it is possible to observe the falling boxes and vehicles used in the mission.
Even if the 45 Shepherd is deliberately avoided, it is automatically added to the inventory upon completion of the mission.^{[Reference needed]}
This mission is revisited in Saints Row IV during the missions "De Plane Boss" and "Welcome Back".
Kiki and Viola mention this mission during the Rally The Twins quest in Saints Row: Gat out of Hell.
After Player Customization, before the mission begins, there is a split second where Playa is standing in New Baranec.^[5]
Destroying vehicles during the sky-diving portion of the mission does count towards the "Vehicles Destroyed" Statistic, despite the fact that the vehicles explode with one shot.
If the game is saved during the parachute sequence, loading it results in Playa wearing a parachute during the opening cutscene and in gameplay.

Transcript[]

Cutscene #1[]

Playa: "The fuck is this, we paid up this month."
Cop: "Someone paid more."
Gat: "What happened?"
Shaundi: "We got arrested."
Gat: "No, to us. Birk's right--we traded our dicks in for pussies. Seriously... Movie deals? Commercials? The Saints name used to mean more than body spray and some ass-tasting energy drink."
Playa: "Our brand's worth a shitload of money.."
Gat: "Is that what it's all about?"
Viola: "It is always about the money, Mr. Gat."
Viola: "Which is precisely why our employer wishes to speak with you."
Kiki: "If you will indulge us...?"

Later, aboard a Gawalek A36, Playa, Shaundi and Gat are sitting side-by-side, with their hands tied behind their backs.

Phillipe: "Take them off."
Playa: "You have any idea who you're fucking with here?"
Phillipe: "Of course."
Phillipe: "A remarkable likeness. These visions are Viola and Kiki. And I am Phillipe Loren, chairman of a multi-national organization called the Syndicate."
Shaundi: "Never heard of it."
Phillipe: "Evidently not, or you wouldn't have robbed our bank. Perhaps you wonder why you're still breathing at this point."
Gat: "Actually, I wonder why my foot's not up your ass at this point."
Phillipe: "Like it or not, Mr. Gat, our organization is expanding into Stilwater. I am offering you the chance to leverage your assets against your lives. Ladies?"
Viola: "You may continue to operate the Saints/Ultor media group as you see fit, in exchange for 66 percent of your monthly gross revenue."
Kiki: "That is before taxes, of course."
Playa: "Listen, you French fuck--"
Phillipe: "Please. I am Belgian!"
Gat: "So make yourself a fuckin' waffle. We're done here."
Phillipe: "And I had so hoped to come to a rational business arrangement."
Pilot: "What the hell's goi-"
Gat: "Boss--you gotta bail!"
Playa: "Not without you."
Gat: "There's like, half a dozen guys? I can take 'em."
Shaundi: "What about the plane?"
Gat: "I'll fly it back to Stilwater."
Shaundi: "Johnny, you can't even drive stick--how you gonna fly a plane?"
Gat: "Details, details--just cover the boss! Go--I got this!"

— "cutscene In"

Gameplay[]

Shaundi: "We can't leave Johnny!"

Playa - Female 1: "Gat's fine. We have other problems."
Playa - Female 2: "Gat will manage. We have our own problems, yes?"
Playa - Female 3: "He's a big boy...he'll figure out what to do."
Playa - Male 1: "Gat can take care of himself, we gotta deal with these guys..."
Playa - Male 2: "Don't worry about Gat, girl. Worry about these assholes."
Playa - Male 3: "Gat's handled worse!"
Playa - Zombie: "Gargles"

— "Mission start"

Gat: "Attention passengers this is your new captain speaking... our updated flight plan has us landing in Stilwater."
Phillipe: "*Speaks French*"
Gat: "I'd like to remind all passengers to remain seated and enjoy the flight."

Playa - Female 1: "And now Gat has a mic. Nice."
Playa - Female 2: "I think we're in for some turbulence."
Playa - Female 3: "See, Johnny's already making friends..."
Playa - Male 1: "Great, who gave Gat a mic?"
Playa - Male 2: "See, Johnny's enjoyin' himself."
Playa - Male 3: "See, he's fine."
Playa - Zombie: "Groans"

— "Johnny Message 1"

Phillipe: "GET THIS DOOR OPEN!"
Gat: "I can see some of our passengers are getting restless. Here's some relaxing music for your enjoyment."

— "Speaker Message 1"

Gat: "My apologies, your captain is having troubles finding the clutch..."
Shaundi: "Oh my god...we're gonna die."

— "Turbulence"

Gat: "I'm opening the cargo bay doors, find some chutes and jump out the back, it should be clear."
Shaundi: "Johnny and I have different definitions on "clear"..."

Playa - Female 1: "You can tell him that later. Right now, we have to go."
Playa - Female 2: "20 to 2? Seems the odds are in our favor."
Playa - Female 3: "Kill now, argue later..."
Playa - Male 1: "We can bitch about word choice later, let's get outta here."
Playa - Male 2: "Cut our pilot some slack."
Playa - Male 3: "Less talky, more shooty."
Playa - Zombie: "Groans"

— "Cargo Doors"

Gat: "Alright motherfuckers"
Interrogation: "The door is op-!"
Phillipe: "KILL HIM!"
Gat: "*Grunts*"
Interrogation: "*Screams*"
Gat: "You're gonna need more help than that Frenchy"
Phillipe: "I am Belgian!"
Gat: "Same thing."
Phillipe: "I'm going to cut that disrespectful tongue from your mouth..."
Gat: "Oh yeah? You and how many of your-oh. That many..."

— "Johnny Message 2"

Cutscene #2[]

Shaundi: "Johnny, we're about to jump!"
Gat: "Right on, I'll see you in Stil-"

The sound of gunshots comes through the intercom

Shaundi: "Johnny..."

— "cutscene Zscene01"

Gameplay[]

Playa - Female 1: "The hell you doing here?"
Playa - Female 2: "You're getting under my skin."
Playa - Female 3: "What the hell?"
Playa - Male 1: "The fuck did you come from?"
Playa - Male 2: "Who the fuck...?"
Playa - Male 3: "Where the hell--!"
Playa - Zombie: "Mumbles"

— "Air Fight"

Playa - Female 1: "Are you serious?!"
Playa - Female 2: "Oh good, I get to kill more of them."
Playa - Female 3: "What's wrong with you people!"
Playa - Male 1: "Really?!"
Playa - Male 2: "Oh shit!"
Playa - Male 3: "For fuck's sake!"
Playa - Zombie: "Babbles"

— "Falling"

Playa: "I got you Shaundi!"
Playa - Zombie: "Moans"

Shaundi: "I'm not gonna lie, for a minute I didn't think you'd make it in time."

Playa - Female 1: "See, nothing to worry about. I got yo... um, what's that?"
Playa - Female 2: "My plans are always working! Now we are... Wait, what is that?"
Playa - Female 3: "Come on, who's your girl Shaun...what the hell is that?"
Playa - Male 1: "Are you kidding me? I'd never let my girl fa... Wait, what is that..."
Playa - Male 2: "Girl, you gotta have a little more faith in... wait, what's that thing..."
Playa - Male 3: "That makes two of us. You think I--what the hell is that?"
Playa - Zombie: "Gargles"

Shaundi: "What is what?"

— "Pull Chute"

Playa - Female 1: "I think... yeah, I'm pretty sure that plane is gonna hit us. Just stay calm and don't freak out."
Playa - Female 2: "Don't freak out, Shaundi. They are going to ram us with the airplane, that's all."
Playa - Female 3: "Uh... hey Shaundi... don't freak out or anything, but we're about to be run over by a plane..."
Playa - Male 1: "That plane it's...ok, don't freak out or anything, but I think that plane is gonna try to ram us..."
Playa - Male 2: "OK, it's nothin' to freak out over, but that plane looks like it's gonna try to ram us."
Playa - Male 3: "I think that plane is heading straight for us. So... uh... don't freak out."
Playa - Zombie: "Snarls"

Shaundi: "Whaddya mean don't freak out, do you have a plan?"

Playa - Female 1: "Yeah, I shoot through the windshield, dive into the plane, and kill that asshole Phillipe."
Playa - Female 2: "Of course! I will shoot out the windows, drop into the plane, kill Phillipe, and jump out again. Simple."
Playa - Female 3: "Sure...I shoot out the window, land in the plane, kill Phillipe, and then I bounce."
Playa - Male 1: "Yeah: I shoot out the window, land in the plane, kill Phillipe, then jump out the back again..."
Playa - Male 2: "If I shoot out the window I can land inside it, cap Phillipe, then jump out the back."
Playa - Male 3: "If I time it right, I can shoot out the window, land in the plane, kill Phillippe, and fly out the back."
Playa - Zombie: "Garbled"

Shaundi: "You mean, "we" right?"

Playa - Female 1: "Promise you won't hold this against me later, sweetie."
Playa - Female 2: "Do not worry! I will be seeing you shortly."
Playa - Female 3: "Nope."
Playa - Male 1: "Look, just remember how happy you were when I caught you..."
Playa - Male 2: "I'll be back in a minute."
Playa - Male 3: "Back in a pinch, love."
Playa - Zombie: "Mumbles"

— "Plane"

Wait, wh- ASSHOLE!

— Shaundi, as Playa releases her

Playa - Female 1: "Shoot out a window and jump back inside... Not my best plan..."
Playa - Female 2: "This sounded better in my head..."
Playa - Female 3: "This should be easy..."
Playa - Male 1: "Shoot the window and land in the plane...the fuck was I thinking..."
Playa - Male 2: "Shoot out the window, the fuck was I thinking..."
Playa - Male 3: "Steady... steady now..."
Playa - Zombie: "Groans"

— "Shoot Plane"

Gameplay[]

Playa - Female 1: "That coulda gone better."
Playa - Female 2: "Well... that could have gone worse."
Playa - Female 3: "Well, that kinda worked..."
Playa - Male 1: "Well, 2 out of 4 ain't bad..."
Playa - Male 2: "So that just happened...."
Playa - Male 3: "That could have gone worse."
Playa - Zombie: "Roars"

— "Flew Through The"

Playa - Female 1: "Let go!"
Playa - Female 2: "Give up, you idiot!"
Playa - Female 3: "Get off me!"
Playa - Male 1: "Get off me!"
Playa - Male 2: "Let go!"
Playa - Male 3: "Piss off!"
Playa - Zombie: "Gargles"

— "Air Fight"

Playa - Female 1: "Were there other planes dumping cargo? Jesus!"
Playa - Female 2: "Where did this COME from?!"
Playa - Female 3: "How was that plane carrying all that shit..."
Playa - Male 1: "How much shit was in that plane?"
Playa - Male 2: "These assholes pack enough shit in that plane?"
Playa - Male 3: "How much shit was in that plane?"
Playa - Zombie: "Roars"

— "Falling"

Playa - Female 1: "I'm here!"
Playa - Female 2: "You see? I return!"
Playa - Female 3: "Got ya!"
Playa - Male 1: "Got ya!"
Playa - Male 2: "Got ya, girl!"
Playa - Male 3: "Miss me?"
Playa - Zombie: "Sneers"

Shaundi: "You're a fucking asshole..."

Playa - Female 1: "True!"
Playa - Female 2: "But I wasn't wrong!"
Playa - Female 3: "Yes...but I'm YOUR asshole."
Playa - Male 1: "OK, I deserve that..."
Playa - Male 2: "I have my moments..."
Playa - Male 3: "Right. Well. Can't disagree there."
Playa - Zombie: "Gargles"

— "Pull Chute"

Cutscene #3[]

Phillipe: "Gentlemen, negotiations were... less than successful."

As Loren speaks, the scene cuts to Playa and Shaundi walking through the streets of Steelport.

Phillipe: "...Viola and Kiki will spread the word: Steelport belongs to the Syndicate, and the Saints are not welcome."
Phillipe: "Mr. Killbane, gather your Luchadores and bring me their leader's head. Mr. Miller, hack into the Saints' accounts, and leave them nothing."

Playa attempts to withdraw $1,000,000 from an ATM, and punches the ATM screen in anger.

— End cutscene

Unsorted[]

Playa - Female 1: "I'll catch ya, Shaundi!"
Playa - Female 2: "No fear Shaundi! I am coming for you!"
Playa - Female 3: "This could be going better..."
Playa - Male 1: "Hang on Shaundi, I'm comin!"
Playa - Male 2: "I'm comin' for ya, Shaundi!"
Playa - Male 3: "Hold on, Shaundi!"
Playa - Zombie: "Grunts"

— "Fall"

Oh God, we're going to die.

— Shaundi, "Gat Find"

I hope you guys are moving fast, this door isn't gonna hold much longer...

— Gat, "Gat"

Shaundi: "Get moving!"
Shaundi: "What're you waiting for? Let's go."
Shaundi: "We're leaving, remember?"
Shaundi: "You're the one who said to move, so move!"

— "Get Moving"

Morningstar: "Get 'em!"
Morningstar: "Kill them!"
Morningstar: "You feelin' lucky today, you scumbag Saint?"
Morningstar: "Die you Saints piece of shit!"
Morningstar: "You don't know who you're messing with, Saints!"

— "Goon Banter"

Shaundi: "Johnny... He's... they..."

Playa: "I know."
Playa - Zombie: "Grumbles"

Shaundi: "They're gonna pay for what they did."

Playa: "You're goddamn right they are..."
Playa - Zombie: "Moans"

— "Pull Chute"

Playa - Female 1: "Not good, not good!"
Playa - Female 2: "Not good! Not good!"
Playa - Female 3: "Or not!"
Playa - Male 1: "Bad plan, bad plan..."
Playa - Male 2: "Shit, shit, SHIT!"
Playa - Male 3: "Bad plan! Bad plan!"
Playa - Zombie: "Mumbles"

— "Window"