Part 34: Noel: Story 01

I desperately try to call out.

"Where am I?"
"Why am I here?"
"Who...am I...?"
"Please...tell me..."

But they never hear me.
They never, ever do...
Listen. I hate to break it to you, but we've gone through almost all the characters that aren't completely insufferable. This is going to be a long ride until we hit Jin and Hakumen. I'm sorry.



Mmm... Huh?

BEEP BEEP BEEP



Ah! What? A message! Y-Yes! Excuse me! This is Lieutenant Noel Vermillion speaking!

[ Superior ]: You sound very surprised... Did something happen?

N-No...I-It's nothing.
(There's no way I can tell him I was taking a nap...)

[ Superior ]: Hm...welll that's beside the point. Debrief me on the status of your mission.

I am currently investigating the whereabouts of Major Jin Kisaragi, who is headed toward Kagutsuchi. If possible, I am to detain the subject and bring him back to headquarters, sir.

[ Superior ] Remember, only detain the subject if you think it's possible. Also, the intelligence department will be joining the investigation.

The intelligence department, sir?
Not only would they never give Noel a job there, they don't even tell her it exists.

[ Superior ] His name is Hazama. According to the intelligence, he should be in town already.

Hazama...

[ Superior ] Also, regarding Ragna the Bloodedge...

Commander, I'm losing you. Could you repeat that one more time, please?

[ Superior ] If you see Ragna the Bloodedge, do not engage the subject. You are to observe his movements. I repeat, DO NOT engage the subject.

It got...cut off... It won't connect... What should I do?

[ Crew member ] Lieutenant Vermillion! We will be arriving at Kagutsuchi Port #5 momentarily! Please, prepare for landing!

Oh, no! I need to hurry!



Beautiful... This is... the 13th Hierarchical City, Kagutsuchi...
So...where should I go?


annie are you ok

Pardon me. Might you be Lieutenant Noel Vermillion?
Y-Yes, that would be me...
Ah, excellent. I keep getting static on the radio in this city... I came to speak to you directly. Otherwise, we'd have no way to communicate.
are you okay, annie
Th-Thank you...
I'm Hazama from the intelligence department. The commander has instructed me to deliver my report to you.
are you okay
Ah, understood... Nice to meet you...
First, regarding your mission--the Kisaragi case--the military is treating the matter with utmost care and secrecy.
A cover-up, right?
That's right. Frankly, if word spread that the "Hero of Ikaruga" disobeyed direct orders, chaos would ensue. In addition, the NOL has raised the alert level to "D" here in Kagutsuchi... But in spite of that, several groups have snuck into the city. One of those groups is "Sector Seven". I'm sure I don't need to explain our relationship with them. As of now, we don't know what they're doing here, but I think it's fairly obvious that their presence isn't good news for us...so please be careful.
Threat level D probably stands for 'Don't give a single fuck' considering the great job they're doing.
...Are you saying Major Kisaragi's disappearance has something to do with Sector Seven?
Correct... there was the incident at Ikaruga. And one more thing: it seems many vigilantes have also snuck into town.
...An information leak...
I'm afraid so. Now that everyone knows "Grim Reaper" Ragna's made an appearance in Kagutsuchi, bounty hunters are coming in from everywhere like a gold rush... Naturally, the vigilantes are after the Grim Reaper's head, but depending on the circumstances, they can be a hindrance to us... so watch out for them.
Understood.
And also... Hm..? Hm...is he a friend of yours?
..."He"? Who are you referring to?
That boy's looking at us...right over there.
Right over... Where?


This is Carl Clover, the only character we haven't run into so far. He has a terrible secret.

...
He looks..sort of familiar...
Long time no see, Noel.
A-Aren't you...Carl? What are you doing here? I heard you left the academy...but why?
Well, all kinds of reasons... But more importantly, I was hoping you could tell me a few things...
I'll see if I can help. What did you need?



I need information on Ragna the Bloodedge.
Eh...?
I'm a vigilante now, and I want to capture him. Since you're from the NOL, you must know something about him, right?
I-I'm sorry, Carl... That's a secret, so I can't tell you...
I...see...
Ah, but! If there's anything else I can help you with...


The terrible secret is his shorts. Look at those fucking shorts.

No, it's OK. I guess there's no helping it, then...
...I'm sorry.
I guess there really is nothing else I can do. If you can't tell me about the Reaper...


ANNIE-

Lieutenant! Watch out!
Eh!? !?



Oh, she dodged it... I didn't expect anyone to interfere, Sis.
Carl, what...happened to you...?
Nothing... If you don't want to talk, I just have to "persuade" you a little more. You do the same thing in the NOL, don't you?
Th-That's not...
Ahh, this won't do... I'm sorry, but combat is not my expertise. I must take my leave here.
I didn't wish for things to turn out this way...but I guess there's not much choice. I'm coming for you, Noel.


You should play Noef if:
- You like to get in your opponents face
- You want to deal pretty good damage
- You can mash dash

As for Noel vs. Carl, there's a lot of doll hopping in that match. Optic Barrel is actually kind of useful in that you can shoot both Carl and Nirvana from a distance, and dealing damage to the doll can put it out of comission. Since Noel can do pretty good damage and Carl has such poor health, getting rid of his main form of attack is pretty handy.



You are far stronger than I expected... I'm afraid I must take my leave here.
Carl, wait!


A SMOOTH CRIMINAL

There's no need to chase him. You're on duty after all.
B-But...
Let it go. Now is not the time. He has most likely been consumed already.
Consumed...?
The marionette that was with him...is most likely a Nox Nyctores. Much like your own weapons.
I think this is also the first time the term 'Nox Nyctores' has been used. The Nox are 13 very powerful weapons that certain people are in posession of. More on that later.
...
That particular Nox works well at dampening the wielder's sense of fear, but it places a great strain on their mind at the same time...
But one should expect that much from a weapon created during the Dark War. That marionette is probably suppressing the child's emotions, except his hunger for battle.
A-All the more reason to stop him!
I've already told you. You have a mission to complete. Besides...it's not easy to free someone from that Nox's shackles.
How do you know so much about the Nox Nyctores? I thought that information was classifed...
Uhh, well, we are the intelligence department of the Librarium. More importantly, please head to the NOL branch in the meantime.
Headquarters? Why?
That's because this mission is that important and that confidential... We can't discuss it here. I'll catch up to you in due time.
What I mean to say is: GO DO YOUR FUCKING JOB.
Understood...





Um...s-sir...?
...What is it?
Where should I put these documents...?
Just toss them over there or something. Or, do you need to be told how to do that, too?
I-I'm sorry...



Hey, Jin, go easy on her. She's just trying to be helpful.


Though Tsubaki and Makoto play pretty small roles in this game, they'll be important characters in the next. Well, Tsubaki at least.

Jin's always on Noel's case, isn't he?
Oh, it's OK...I was at fault. DOn't worry about it, Tsubaki.
Excuse me...



Yes?
U-Umm... I'm Carl Clover, an underclassmen here. The professor said to check with the student council and see if they needed help with anything...
I'm Tsubaki Yayoi. It's nice to meet you, Carl. I've heard about you from your professor. You're at the top of your class, aren't you?
You...give me too much credit...
Ooooh! Is this the "legendary" Carl? He's adorable! Can I pat him on his head? Can I? Can I?
U-Um, I-I...



Ahahaha! He turned red! How cuuute!
Hehe... Makoto, stop that. Carl might get angry.
A-Ahem. Guys, this isn't a playground.
Yes! We're sorry!
Hehehe...
...What's so funny?
N-Nothing... It just seemed like you two were having so much fun...
...Is that so? You're a strange one.
Oh Jin, you emotionally stunted robot.


It's the same thing.



Oh, hey, Noel doesn't have any choices in her story either. Just a really stupid game mechanic that I'll talk about later. Also Noel's CP costume is the worst because it really needs to be said.

BONUS

Noel doesn't have any real cool concept art in any of the material collections:



This is pretty cool though.



KATAMARI