Part 27: The Geofront

Update 27: The Geofront

Welcome back. Last time we ascended the Geovator and fought Elyon, leader of the Regents. With his defeat the path to the surface seems wide open.



We begin on the Geovator, with Elyon lying defeated in front of us. We can talk to him for some more information.



:…if people were worthy of touching the sky once again…

His dialogue changes if Ryu isn’t the lead character.



:…their own hands. Mortal hands. You, however…you may be…



Once that’s over with we can leave the Geovator via a walkway and staircase to the right.







There’s only one door to go through. So…let’s go.





The camera slowly pans down a long shaft. The air is audibly heavy, with a droning ambience that’s hard to put into words.



Ryu walks down a darkened corridor.





After a few paces he breaks into a run.









: We really did make it!





: And beyond it…is…





We’ve come a long way since leaving Ranger HQ, but now we stand at the final door. All we have to do is break the seal and force the lock, which should be child’s play for someone with the power of a dragon.



But suddenly, Ryu pauses. Footsteps echo from the corridor behind them…





It’s not over. Not yet.





There’s still one more loose end to tie up before we can leave this place.





Music: Time of Reunion



It’s Bosch.



: The stairway…to the sky.





Bosch seems…different now. Calmer. More philosophical. Fewer creepy twitchy monster limbs.









Blue flames gather around Bosch, while red ones flicker over Ryu. Our old rival seems to have acquired a dragon of his own.



For several long seconds, neither moves. But then-









Music: Maddening Heart



After all our trials and tribulations, it’s rather fitting that Bosch, our first partner, our equal and opposite, should be our final obstacle.





The first phase of the battle isn’t too serious. Bosch can attack three times per turn and has access to all his classic skills; Snakebite, Twin Wake, Lion Smash and Kirin Flight.



He also has Hundredgears, but it’s only really a problem if the stun procs.





That’s not to say he isn’t dangerous. If he focuses all his attacks on one character chances are he’ll kill them regardless of how healthy they are.



The real fun begins when you drop his HP below half, since this gives him access to a number of powerful new skills.





Primus is probably the least nasty of these. It’s annoying, but since its damage is based off percentages it can’t actually kill characters outright.





Blizzard is far more dangerous. He has enough AP to cast it twice in a row, which can easily lead to a wipe.







The last skill Bosch gains is Tri Wake, essentially a combination of Snakebite, Lion Smash and Kirin Flight that lowers defence, inflicts Virus and deals heavy knockback. Nasty, but preferable to Blizzard spam.



Despite all the above this battle really isn’t so bad. Bosch has traded in his ridiculous regeneration for a far more manageable 100 points of Absolute Defence, and his total HP is a fairly anaemic 2,400.





He does have pretty high regular defence, to the point where ‘Shatter!’ doesn’t really phase him.





Our shiny new Terabreak is a bit more successful.







If you beat the Regents without D-Dive you really shouldn’t have trouble with Bosch.











Ryu simply closes his eyes…until suddenly Nina screams!





Of course this isn’t the end. Bosch is bonded with a dragon now.

Music: Losing Sight of Tomorrow





He has the ability to D-Dive too.











: Or should I say…Odjn?





So, here we are. Bosch has thrown down the dragonized gauntlet and is now attacking us with everything he’s got. We’ve seen firsthand what Odjn’s power is capable of. Does Chetyre grant Bosch the same strength?



Yes she does. Like Dragon Ryu, Hybrid Bosch is totally immune to all regular damage and status effects.











He also has all the same moves Dragon Ryu does, although his Vortex and Twister are kicks rather than punches. All are absolutely devastating and he gets the chance to use them four times per turn, letting him shred your party without any effort at all.



For this battle, using D-Dive isn’t just an option to trivialise the fight. It’s mandatory, and if you got this far with your D-Ratio up in the high 90s, well…you might have rendered your playthrough unwinnable.



This is because in order to actually hurt Hybrid Bosch you first need to sock him with one of Dragon Ryu’s attacks. Doing this will lower his defences to normal levels, letting the rest of the party damage him normally for the remainder of the turn.



Hybrid Bosch has a fairly weighty 5,000 HP, but no Absolute Defence, so when he does become vulnerable his health drops fairly quickly.









A good strategy is to feed Lin all the 7th Senses and Full APs you has left and go to town with ‘Shatter!’, since Hybrid Bosch doesn’t resist it anymore.







After you drop Hybrid Bosch’s health below half he’ll pull the usual trick and gain a few new attacks. The first of these is a totally unmodified Quake which is painful for Nina and Lin but won’t even scratch Dragon Ryu.







The second, Malefactor, inflicts every negative status in the game on the whole party. Dragon Ryu is immune, but unless they’re wearing status-proof armours it will turn Nina and Lin into comatose cripples.













Depending on what happens this can actually be a pretty intense battle. Hybrid Bosch is capable of damaging and even killing Dragon Ryu, and since Dragon Ryu can’t use items this can actually happen if Nina and Lin get unlucky with Malefactor.





This is one battle where D-Charging and unleashing hell may actually be genuinely necessary.





Bosch falls, and we get another huge experience payout.

Music: Kind Friends



: Ha…hah…Ryu…



: Hey…I-





Bosch begins to stumble backwards.





His body flickers and spasms. It’s clear he’s pushed himself way beyond his limits.







Ryu steps forward.





There’s only one way to help Bosch now.





Bosch seems to realise what’s about to happen. He stops moving and accepts his fate.





Ryu charges in. The screen blacks out, and a wet slicing noise echoes through the shaft.





Bosch twitches once, then goes limp.





The screen fades to white. For Bosch at least, the journey is over.





…Or is it?



Sensing danger, Ryu jumps back. But Bosch’s corpse does not fall.









Reptilian claws and wings rip their way out of Bosch’s body in a shower of purplish-black blood.















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Bonus Art: Dragon Hybrid Bosch (These were part of Bosch's other character sheets. I cut them out of the ones I posted since they're pretty huge spoilers.)


Bonus Art: Dragon Quarter Banner