Part 28: Chapter XXVIII: An Endless Parade Of Groin Punching

The game cuts away to Sonne after Deis's outburst.



: "Not jus' anyone can pacify th' god o' th' mountain! Who are ya!? What're ya doin' here!? Mami says yer her cousin been a guard in Kyoin, but I bet that ain't true, now is it?"

: "Now, now, don't be worrying yer head o'er little things like that. We should just be glad that th' mountain's quieted down, right? Ryong, ye mus' be tired...go back home an' rest a spell now, eh?"

Mami brings up the point that the thread did as well: the volcano god isn't going to kill us, so stop arguing. Fou-Lu returns to her house.



: "That we persist in this...relationship."



: "Don' let what th' landlord said bother ye. All the folks in the village're thankful for what ye did...an' so am I..."

Fade to black, bells jingle. If you believe the two have sex, this is another spot where they probably do what with Mami saying how grateful she is and the fade to black. It also makes what's about to happen even more of a dick move.



Fou-Lu awakens alone once more, but there's something different this time.



The village is empty. No old man fishing, no dog beside him, no woman counting beans. It's kinda eerie. Wonder where they all-





Oh HELL no.



: "Nay...mayhap I can still escape unnoticed by yon soldiers...what is this? What matter is this village to me? Why dost I hesitate? My path be clear - defeat yon troops and make mine way Chedo...and yet..."

Fou-Lu hesitantly retreats back into Mami's house.





: "We didn' know 'e was wanted! I...I told all th' folks in the village t' get anything tha' could be used as a weapon...we'll 'elp you capture 'im, all right? Heh heh..."



Oh no.





It's at about this point where Sonne's music changes tone from the perfect song for an idyllic village to practically heartbreaking. Seriously, listen to it as you read this, and realize how different it feels with this scene as the context. It's been said several times in the thread but the music in this game is criminally unrecognized.



: "Thou wouldst protect me, hinder their attempts to encage me? Thou art taking a great risk. What whilst thy fellows think of thee?"



: "I knew...I knew as soon as I saw ye that there was sumthin' about ye."

The Landlord and the soldiers start trying to break down the door.



: "Ye might be able t'live a normal life...with me..."



: "But I wished so hard it would! Forgive me...I ne'er shoulda made ye stay here...!"

: "Mami! What ye be doin'!? Open the door!!"

: "...The oven wall be broken...ye can crawl through it t'get outside. Hurry! When ye get outside, go t' th' shrine in th' woods. Be careful they don' see ye. There be a road behind th' shrine ye can use! Go...go, while ye still can!"

There's gotta be some way to stop this. I can just go out there and kill all the soldiers, right? If I just talk to Mami she'll let me through...

Right?



: "Who'da thunk that th' cracked wall'd come in handy like this, eh?"



I'll be entirely honest. This whole scene gets me choked up every single time I play. I rarely cry at movies or games, but this fucking scene, man. This fucking scene. I guess it's because I played it as a kid and it hit me right square in the idealistic balls.





The soldiers throw Mami out roughly, and she collapses onto the ground. It appears Yohm's still personally overseeing Operation: Competent As Hell.



: "You were hiding Fou-Lu, weren't you? Did you...live with him?"



: "We may be able to use her in the Carronade."



Just gonna let that sink in while I recap here. Mami, a normal peasant woman, falls in love with Fou-Lu and wants to live her life with him despite her knowing that would likely never happen. This is because Fou-Lu's stream is crazy powerful and it drew her into his life, which he was fully aware of and he tried to avoid by telling her to leave him. It was to spare her from his own wake.

And now Yohm is going to use her as ammo for the Carronade. The weapon that runs off of horrifically torturing someone close to the target and prolonging their suffering as long as humanly possible.

Yohm's comment and apprehension about Mami "living" with Fou-Lu is what makes me think they got more intimate than it appears. The Carronade works best when fueled with someone very, very intimately related to the target(s), and someone who had sex with a divine being may very well get pregnant with a divine child. Which is something the Empire would freak the fuck out about. Two birds, one horrifically monstrous and coldly efficient stone.

There's being evil, then there's being evil.



Meanwhile, in a place that's less likely to induce suicide...



: "Once we hath served our purpose, once our time as gods hath passed, we become as you see us now - dragons."

: "And thus do we watch over the world. 'Tis our fate...and thine."

That's our last major point about dragons. They all start as gods for the people of the world, and once their tenure as a god is done, they turn into their dragon selves as they are now, using their avatar humanoid forms to communicate. This is why Deis, Fou-Lu, and Ryu all look human. They're not TECHNICALLY dragons yet. My personal theory is if Ryu/Fou-Lu had come successfully, served their time, and become a dragon, their avatar form would have resembled their hybrid form.

: "Fate! You keep using that word! Is that all you can talk about!? Look, are you going to help us or not!? In case you've forgotten, unlike you, neither I nor Ryu are complete! I for one have no intention of turning into some ugly dragon and spending the rest of my days watching over this stupid planet!"

: "Verily, thou art imperfect."

: "It be both in our power and nature to succor thee. However..."

: "The Yorae Dragon...Ryu will meet with his other half Fou-Lu. That destiny cannot be avoided!"

: "Before that destiny be fulfilled, seek thee our true selves that thee might gain our power."

: "Um...Where can we find you all?"

: "Once before we met, in the barren sands. I regret any harm I may have caused thee then."

Yes, Sa Ryong remembers us. The manga jokes that he did it because he was hungry, but it was more likely that he was agitated by Ryu's arrival.



: "Seek us out that thee might have our strength."

: "When Ryu joins with his other half, mayhap our strength will be of use."

: "Just tell me one thing...when you were all brought here, didn't any of you think about trying to get back home?"

: "One cannot swim agains the river of fate, Deis. Come what may, with Ryu, we shalt watch o'er the fate of this world."

Note that was an evasion of the actual question. The dragons aren't exactly pleased with their position, they're simply resigned to the fact that it's the way it is. Serve as God for a bunch of people in another world, become a big dragon once you've lost your uses, have your existence fuel their planet for eternity or until you fade away. Would YOU be enthusiastic about that job?



The screen darkens and P'ung Ryong's avatar disappears into a flare of light.



There's this really cool shimmering outline effect here but it's kind of hard to put in a .gif without wrecking the quality, so just imagine those lights moving around an invisible P'ung Ryong to give it form.









And we have our first Dragon ability, Rainstorm! I'll be showing this off soon.



: "Um, Deis? Why do you want to return to where you came from so strongly? Is it because you don't like it here? What about you, Ryu?"

: "Of course I want to get out of here! Think about it, little birdie. What would you do if you were suddenly pulled into some world you'd never even heard of, and asked to become their god?"

: "I think...I think I'd do my best to help the people of that world."

: "Oh, brother..."

Deis puts it another way. What would you feel like, reader, if you were plucked from your friends, family, life, and all you'd ever known to go somewhere else and act as their deity?

Though considering the kind of people on SomethingAwful, I assume the answer most of you have is "Go mad with power."

The screen fades to black, and there's a knocking sound.





: "Ershin is no longer inside me."

: "Thank goodness you're awake! The Imperial Army is here!"

Outside...



: "They told me this was the village where the secret of summoning the dragons was kept. I come all the way out here to see for myself..."



: "Our sources told us the Yorae Dragon would be here..."

It's Captain Poof, with a stunning display of simultaneous competency AND incompetency!



: "I wouldn't be surprised if they're after who was with him as well - including you. I had the village evacuated a while ago, they're safe. Come on, we should get out of here before they find us."

The Abbess heads outside, and Ershin doubles over laughing.

: "Ha ha ha ha ha! It would appear we have a problem."

Let's just head outside, then.



: "Don't worry about me! You've got to get away! Run!"

Ershin looks to a soldier.

: "If someone told you to escape, leaving them behind, what would you do?"

: "What would I do? Huh? What're you talking about? Who the heck are you, anyway!?"

: "Hmmmm...since Ershin is no longer here, I find myself at a loss. I am unsure of what I should do."

: "Huh?...Who cares! Get him!"



Poor confused Ershin. At least this fight is dead simple. Crossbow guy criticals a lot, spear guy shanks you. Punch them in the face with rocket propelled drill fists to win.







Admit it, everybody here would want to pilot Ershin.



: "Isn't that the same person who was with the dragon? I knew he was here! All of you - after that armor!"



Oh no an ambush by expendable mooks whatever shall I do



I haven't really shown any combat items off. Here's one that mimics the highest level of water magic.





Flawless victory.



: "You certainly did a lot of damage to my troops, didn't you?"



I don't know if this is scripted or if Ershin's idle animation fired at the exact right time, but either way it's incredibly funny.

: "However, I'd be willing to forgive and forget...if you tell me where I might find your friend, the dragon."

: "It would be prudent not to tell you that information. That is what Ershin says."

: "It doesn't really matter. Your friends can't have gotten too far - they're probably hiding around here somewhere. I could take you hostage, and use you to draw them out..."

: "But I don't like the way you look...like a trash can. You wouldn't make a very good hostage."



COMPETENCY OUT OF NOWHERE



Ershin? Get up, Ershin.



: "We won't be needing you anymore, now will we? Ta-ta."

.....Ershin?.....