Part 2: Chapter 2: Maiden

Chapter 2: Maiden

Loading excerpt- Personal Logs, C. Bartel.
Left for Rakshek Resort with Cocona. Met up with the rest of the second team at the resort. Sure enough there seemed to be something seriously wrong.



Leader: This mission is an I.P.D. outbreak purification.
However, I suggest you all pull yourselves together for this task.
I'm sure I don't have to tell you what's at stake.
Our star of hope, the most precious life in this world...
The Goddess Maiden, Lady Cloche, is currently resting in this mansion!
Each and every one of you is responsible for keeping Lady Cloche safe!
That's it! Now, get to your positions as planned.
Best of luck to you all!

Every time the fact that I don't have a Reyvateil partner comes up, the conversation ends up awkward. It's really annoying.



Yeah...
Knight: But you sure are tough, even without a Reyvateil partner.
...There's no need.
......
Knight: I mean, I know you're strong. Just don't push yourself too hard.
Plus, if you end up lovers like us, their Song Magic gets stronger, you know.
Reyvateil: H-hey, shhh... You're embarrassing me...
Knight: Sorry, honey... It just slipped out.
I probably can't beat you in straight combat, but I'm confident with her Song Magic.
Heh heh, I just love the rush from Song Magic!
......
Knight: Well, see you later. Good luck!



Hey Cro, it woulda been better if I was a Reyvateil, huh?
Don't you ever think that.
But if I was a Reyvateil, we'd be so much stronger than that stupid couple!
Cuz we're so closely related...
...If you're gonna say embarrassing stuff like that, just get going.
You don't know how to have any fun.
Croix's C stands for cool...

We were interrupted by an explosion from the palace nearby.



What!?
Lady Cloche!? Let's hurry!

We rushed over to the palace. What we discovered there was worse than we could have expected.

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Oh no!
If this is an I.P.D. infection, there must be quite a few affected.
I have a bad feeling about this...

I hate it when I'm right. The I.P.D. outbreak was just a distraction. The real enemy was the Sacred Army!





Sacred Army: A Grand Bell Knight, eh!? I don't have to answer to you! En garde!
Grrr... Looks like they're not gonna talk to us.
Oh well. Cocona, let's do it!
Okay!

Feinne's Fourth Wall Lectures:

Now that we've got Cocona, we are controlling two characters simultaneously. The two characters act and ready for their actions independent of each other. If you're wondering, Cocona's weapon is the two things she's wearing on her hair connected by a pole.



This battle also introduces us to the battle menu. Right now all we can do is look at our combat skills and order characters to use items. Once we've met a certain condition we can also use this to set our front line characters' target priorities.

If the Sacred Army's here, this is much worse than we'd thought...



Hey, Cro... Do you really think this is an I.P.D. outbreak?
Not anymore. Something else is behind this.
But either way, I'm more worried about Lady Cloche and Capt. Leglius.

I just hope we're not too late.

Loading excerpt- The Melody of Metafalica, C. Pastalia, L. Trulyworth.
I'll never forget the day I met Croix. Of course nearly dying tends to make something stick in memory. Leglius was trying his best to protect me, but the enemy had him gravely outnumbered when Croix arrived.

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Leglius! Can't you do anything about this!?
Captain!
Are you alright!?
...Croix! You got here just in time.
Captain... is this really an I.P.D. outbreak!?
My gut tells me, "No." Pop quiz, hot shot! Who is behind all of this?
A mastermind!?
Good answer. Now, come on. We gotta get rid of this!
Yes, sir!

Leglius and Croix were able to defeat the enemy, somehow.



Looks like I've used up a lot of energy.
Croix, listen carefully.
This incident is not an I.P.D. outbreak. It's...
A coup d'etat.
A coup!?
Our enemy is the Sacred Army. They're an anti-government agency.
Chancellor Alfman decommissioned them after the last regime.
The Sacred Army...
They're after Lady Cloche's life.
Cro! Another Reyvateil!
Grr... They just keep coming. Croix, I have an assignment for you!
Yes, sir!
I will attempt to stop the I.P.D. outbreak at our current location.



But, Captain...!
Those are your orders. Obey them or you'll be court martialed.
......
Hurry, Leglius! Do something, quick!
Lady Cloche, I will see to this battle...
But, you must make your escape with Croix here!
Lady Cloche, please come with me!
Wait a minute! Leglius?
Are you entrusting my safety to this untested rookie?
What!? Untested!? Cro is-
Pardon us! But, you can trust in his skills. I guarantee it.
......
Upon successful extraction, hide out until the next full moon.
Meet me at the Coal Lodge in the Mikry Forest on that night. Good luck!
...Yes, sir!
Now! Hurry!
...I understand.



And that's how I first met Croix Bartel. A rookie knight and a young girl. It wasn't the rescue I had been hoping for, but it would have to do.



...Croix, ma'am.
Are you sure you're strong enough to defend me?
I won't know until we actually fight.
Can't you at least assure me that everything will be alright?
I'll never lie to you. Now, let's hurry.
......

I remember being shocked at how unprepared Croix was to defend me. We were attacked on the way out, and he actually asked me to sing! I reluctantly agreed, since the situation was so dire.

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Cro!
Lady Cloche...
What is it?
Can you use Song Magic?
...Are you trying to insult me!?
I may be young, but I have been baptized as Goddess Frelia's Holy Maiden...
So, is that a yes?
...Of course! Stop trying to undermine my authority!
Then, please help us out!
...What!?
Wait! You!? Who do you think I am!?
You're only somebody as long as you stay alive!



If you don't help out, that might not be very long!
When we return to the Grand Bell Hall, you will have to answer for this!
Cro! Here it comes!

Feinne's Fourth Wall Lectures:

In this fight we are introduced to combat with a Reyvateil on our side. For this battle, Croix is partnered with Lady Cloche. Having a Reyvateil gives us access to Song Magic in combat. Let's look at the Song Magic selection screen.



Song Magic comes in two flavors, Red and Blue Magic. Attack magic is Red, and healing and support magic is Blue. Cloche's Red Magic song, Holy Burst, strikes the enemy with fire. Her Blue Magic song, Cure Melody, is a healing song. Once we've selected a Song, your Reyvateil will start storing up power. During your attack phase, the power % will steadily increase and your MP will steadily decrease. At any time during your attack phase you can release a Red Magic song to attack. You can also convert a channeled Blue Magic song into a Red Magic song. Be careful not to let your Reyvateil run out of MP before you release the song, or you'll lose the song, though Red Magic will release.

Now that we have a Reyvateil, it's time to discuss in more detail the attacks of the front line and how they relate to our Reyvateil support. Characters in the front line have four potential actions: The Harmonics attack, Burstec attack, Psyche attack, and Care. Let's look again at the combat screen.



Cloche is pointing out the emotion indicator to us here. If you notice, it's got four points labeled Harmonics, Burstec, Psyche, and Care. You might also notice a dark purple area in the middle surrounded by blue. The blue region indicates what sort of attacks your Reyvateils would like you to use, and the purple region let's you see how close you are to reaching that target. Reaching these targets gives you benefits in battle. Your Harmonics level increases the rate at which Song Magic power is stored. Burstec increases the power of your Song Magic. Psyche reduces the disruption caused if an enemy attack gets through to your Reyvateil. The Care action is special, it restores MP to the Reyvateil partner. I have no idea what raising Care levels gets us, possibly it increases the amount of MP restored.

Speaking of enemy attacks, let's look at how the Defense Phase looks now.



In the Defense Phase, enemies will target your Reyvateils with their attacks. Green lines will move down the bar that appears. You need to tap the square or x button when the bar reaches the three red lines. The closer you get to the light red line at the end, the better the guard. There are four possible results. A Good or Great block damages your guarding character but spares your Reyvateil the blow. A Perfect block totally negates the damage that line of the attack would do. If you miss the attack, you get a Terrible and the attack gets through to your Reyvateil. A Good, Great, or Perfect block will increase the power of whatever song you're singing, while a Terrible will decrease it. How well you do guarding also improves your rewards after combat, so try your best to avoid misses and get Perfect blocks.

This all might seem pretty complicated, but in practice the system is pretty intuitive and leads to much more dynamic combat action than the original had. You're always pressing buttons to either attack or defend, and watching what sort of attacks you need to use.

With my help we managed to defeat the Sacred Army. I'd never been in a real battle before, and it was much more exhausting than I ever would have thought.



You're a knight! Have your Reyvateil partner sing for...
I don't have a Reyvateil partner.
I'm just a weak little girl... Hehe.
In that case, you should be ready to die for...
If I die now, who's gonna protect you ten minutes from now, Lady Cloche?
Well...
......
Fine, but this doesn't make us partners. This is only until we escape...
Because you are weak, and against my will, I shall use my Song Magic!
You better be grateful!
Thank you very much.
......

I'd never run so far in my life, though I'd never have admitted that.



... Are you alright?
Lady Cloche! Are you not feeling well?
I'm alright, however...
As a guard, you should pay more attention to my needs!
It would be nice if we could take a break after such a long distance.
But... we barely made it off the resort estate.
C-Cocona...!
I'm sorry we weren't considerate enough. We'll take a break around here.
Just keep in mind we're still being chased, so we can't stay too long.

Feinne's Fourth Wall Lectures:

We've sure had a lot of these this time, haven't we? Anyway, this one is on Reyvateil Talk. Sometimes when we rest, we'll have the opportunity to talk with one of the Reyvateils in the party. These scenes are often amusing, can provide some interesting character development, and have a game mechanical use that I'll go into next update. They can be made available by in-game events, simple progress in the story, and going to certain places in the world. It's impossible to trigger all of them in a single playthrough, because many are mutually exclusive. Getting 100% completion of talk topics on a file's game save data pretty much requires at least three full runs of the game. I'm going to show these off a lot more than I did in the first game because they're in general much more amusing.



I have something to tell you.
You!
Yes, Lady Cloche.
Are you really a knight?
Even though it was necessary in that situation, you made me join the fight.
Yeah, but that was...
Besides!
Don't you have a sense of chivalry? You can't treat women like that!
Really? Nobody has ever complained about it before...
I'm complaining right now!
Or are you saying that I'm a burden for you?
No! I'm not, of course!
...But I understand. I'll change my attitude from now on.
...Okay, whatever.
Anyway, don't let it happen again, okay?
If the same thing happens again, I'll lecture you like I just did. Be ready for that.



...You, define your duty.
Well... to protect you, Lady Cloche.
Okay, you seem to know it.
Of course I know. That's my job.
Yes, that's your job.
Then I'd like to inquire as to how the enemy got to directly attack me despite your defense in the last few battles?
That is...
...Well, this time I forgive you since it was an urgent situation.
However, if it happens again, you may not be pardoned. Keep that in mind.

Loading Tower Record- Operational Logs, S.
Reporting on operation at Rakshek Resort. Encountered Maiden of Disaster in region. Given the location, rightly concerned as to presence there. I engaged on my own discretion.

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That was cinchier than I thought!
*sigh * What a terrible thing to happen while I was on a nice vacation.
???: Sadly, it's not that "cinchy"... Taboo Maiden and friends.
Who's there!



Wh-what!?
Found you, Maiden of Disaster. Never thought you'd be out here.
......
Ah... Lady Cloche!
How dare you speak of me as taboo and disaster!?
How rude can you be!?
Haha... Just as I've heard, you're a difficult lady to be with.
That spirit may be useful in front of the common people, but...



Lady Cloche! Watch out!

Boss Battle: ???

So here's our first boss battle. The enemy is a mysterious wolf-like entity who attacked us from nowhere. Unlike the Sacred Army knights we fought earlier, this boss sometimes attacks us twice on turn. Also unlike the Sacred Army, he's got an attack that will send multiple lines down the defense bar to be blocked. Still, there's not much to this really. Just keep attacking and blocking until your Holy Burst is charged up to around 5-7k %, which should be enough damage to finish off the rest of his health.



Let's take a quick look at the status screen after we defeat the boss, because there's a few important points to make. The first thing to note is that we got an odd item with an enigmatic name followed by a Hymnos symbol. This is a dualithnode crystal, which we don't currently have a use for. You might also notice that only Croix and Cocona have experience bars. Reyvateils don't gain levels from combat in Ar Tonelico II. We'll see how they level and what the dualithnode crystals are for in a few updates.

I determined that my concerns as to her reasons for being at this location were unfounded after a short conflict, and broke off attacks. I'll continue observation for now. If they persist in their present foolishness, though, I will be forced to act again. In the name of Frelia. Signing off.



...Who the hell are you!?
Sorry, I can't tell you yet. Gotta go home for now.
Just do your best to protect your difficult maiden until then.
H-hey! Wait!
...He's gone.
Okay, what just happened and who was that?
......
Lady Cloche, are you alright?
...What?
Oh, I-I'm fine. I wasn't hurt.
Alright. That's good.
That fight was pretty tough...
I guess my skills could use improvement. I'll do my best to train harder.
......



You! Croix... was it?
Yes.
You were rather... good. With more training, you could be even better.
Thanks for the encouragement.
......
I thought we were in a hurry. So, where are we going?
The town of Rakshek.
That way, we might be able to meet with Luca.
...Luca?
Oh... excuse me. She's my childhood friend, and...
She's Cro's girlfriend!
...Girl...friend?
That's not why I wanna see her. She should be able to help us hide.
Aww, you're blushing.
......
I thought we were in a hurry! Let's get going!

Nearby...


Loading excerpt- Personal Logs, C. Bartel
We've finally reached Rakshek. The immediate danger had died down, but we were still far from the safety of the Grand Bell.



...Hey Cro, doesn't it seem kinda strange?
Well, now that you mention it... there's a weird air about this place.
Excuse me, but if we've reached town, please take me somewhere to rest.
Are you alright? If you're not feeling well...
There's no need to worry. I just need a little rest.
Let's just go to the inn. I'm worried about Lady Cloche.
Yeah, I remember there being an inn near the courtyard. Let's go.

Lady Cloche doesn't seem to be feeling well. At the inn she asked me an odd sort of question.



Why don't you have a partner?
Huh?
Why don't you work with a Reyvateil?
...Is it because you have some kind of perversion and they're all avoiding you?
I don't know what you think of me as, but that's not the case.
Then why? Are you immune to girls?
Or, can you only function in the presence of a young girl, like Cocona?
...Before we talk about a partner, why don't we talk about this misunderstanding you have about me?

Conversations with Lady Cloche always seem to turn out... awkward like that. Lady Cloche is feeling a bit better, so we're going to try and take the train to Luca's house. Hopefully we'll find her.



Slightly better than yesterday, I think.
That's good to hear.
I still think you should get more rest. Don't you agree, Cro?
Yeah, which is all the more reason we need to go to Luca's place.
How do we get there, anyway?
We need to ride the Souffle Axis railway.
The train station is at the Axis Courtyard. Let's go there first.

Next on Ar Tonelico 2: Luca