Part 51: Episode XLVI: A Tale of the Two Norris
"Uhh...yeah, dad... Last I checked..."
"Thank the heavens... Go show yer face to mother as well. She's been awaiting yir return." "I err...visited her this morning... I mean... It's not like it is very far..." "It's been ages, laddie." "I don't know what's going on, but once this is settled, I'll do that." "Aye, dinnae forget!"And that is pretty much the last the Karsh/Zappa dialogue there is in the game.
Heading out and toward the entrance to town...
"Yes, sir!"The soldiers run off to follow bizarro Norris' orders... Said alternate world Norris notices the party soon afterward...
"We heard that you headed to Fort Dragonia with the general. Exactly what happened back there? There have been many strange occurrences since then."
"Long story, chief. Long... and stupid..." "Perhaps you know a boy named Serge?" "You could say that..." "!!!"
"Sir Lynx, you were in the middle of taking him into custody, sir?" "Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh... The thing is..... Hey! Check it out! Your clone! Wiggy! Norris...?" "...???"
PC: "Let's just say I am another you and leave it at that. Pardon me for saying this, but it appears that both of us need to look at the big picture. We will only have a limited understanding by staying in the same place." NPC: "S-Silence!" "Heeeeeeeeey... I remember you now! Yeah! You were that dishwasher caught in that trap in that crazy monocle wearing chick's lab. Man, Norris. I knew you looked familiar!" PC: "Beg your pardon...?" "No... No, not you... The other one... This was ages ago... Oh! Never mind..."
A redshirt interrupts the conversation and relays a message informing Norris that a "Grobyc" has arrived at Viper Manor and he's needed back there right away. Norris excuses himself from the awkward conversation with the cat man and his entourage of a doppelganger and an enemy of the state.
The party is now free to travel to Viper Manor to go bust out Riddel from captivity. There is some other nonsense to be done back in Termina. But, that can wait for another time. We've a damsel in distress to rescue!
You'll recall that Lynx was originally hailing from Porre and is friendly with them. So, he's let right in with no fuss.
Meanwhile inside the mansion...
"I'm going to ask you one more time. What happened at Fort Dragonia!? Where is General Viper!? And where is the Frozen Flame!?"
"I do not know. And even if I did, I would never tell you!" "Damn this goody-two-shoes... Listen up, missy, do you know what kind of predicament you're in?! This whole 'I wasn't even there, how should I know' business is fooling no one. No one!"
"She is a prisoner of the Porre military. This is a legitimate interrogation!" "I do not believe that, sir. There has to be a better way to go about this! Just give it a little more time and..." "We don't have the time, Norris! I have no time to listen to your idealistic theories. I have a mythical relic that may or may not exist to find! And dammit, this pampered noble girl left behind with a skeleton crew of soldiers HAS to be the answer!"
"Norris here seems to be doubting my cartoonish villainy in wasting everyone's time asking frivolous questions to someone who clearly knows nothing noteworthy at all. But he is not the one in charge here!" "No!!! Wait, sir!!!" "Norris!!! I've had enough of you for today. I want you to stay out of this! You two! Take her away!" "Yes sir!"Riddel is taken away to the basement's torture chamber...
"I want at LEAST five puppies kicked before you even THINK of showing your face in front of me again." "......" "I can't hear you!"
The extremely idiotic looking fellow that had been leaning up against the wall decides to depart as well. Norris pleads with him to stop what he is doing and asks if he can live with it.
"He has no interest other than fighting." "This cannot be... Is he the one from the lab...?" "That's right. This is the Killing Machine Grobyc!" "Grobyc...? I-I... thought that was some manner of code... They...really named it Grobyc...? Truly?" "Do you have issue with that, soldier? Grobyc is the finest in cutting edge hardware. The next generation in Porre military superiority..." "It's just... I mean... It is just...Grobyc... It's just 'cyborg' spelled backwards... I mean...honestly, sir..."
For-fuck-sake.
"Dismissed!"Another Norris follows orders like a good little soldier boy...
"The 'hell' one of course..." "Yes, sir!" "Heheheheh... Hahahaha... MWAHAHAHAHA!" "Hahaha!" "..." "Cackling is reserved for those far above your rank, private. I do not recall authorizing the use of laughter at this time. Dismissed!"Music: Snake Bone Room
Welp, we're back in Viper Manor once more. There really isn't much anyone home at the moment other than some Porre grunts lazily wandering about. Just down the hall from the main corridor we can find our other world pal Norris farting about.
"Squalid conditions...? Dude, I could fit my whole house in this room!" "Sir... This has been bothering me since we met up in Termina. You seem different from what I last remember... You just seem... different..." "Way less monologues with flowery language that really didn't say anything meaningful or really particularly coherent...?" "Well, I did not want to be rude, sir."
"What?"
"HE MAY LOOK LIKE LYNX ON THE OUTSIDE, BUT HIS SPIRIT IS THAT OF SERGE." "What...?" "I SAID..." "Ugh...no... No, Zoah... Just let his ears stop ringing... Didn't we talk about the indoor voice thing on the way over here?" "I AM SORRY. I DID NOT MEAN IT. IT WILL NOT HAPPEN AGAIN."
"Right..." "Is it true? Sir Lynx... What has happened?"A fade to black and a right mindfuck for Another Norris...
"So the Serge commanding the insurgent troops is the real Lynx... Everything is starting to make sense." "Now you're just being a smart-aleck." "We were wrong all along. We never should have joined forces with Lynx..." "Yeah... I mean, I've got nothing against cat guys...especially after having been one for a couple of weeks. But... I mean... It's not like I've changed outfits. I don't think I could get more evil looking if I tried." "And what brings you here?"
Norris tells us he'd like to help and informs the party Riddel is being held in the basement. Apparently, there are a couple of hatches in the hall in the lower level, as well as the kitchen, that will lead down to the sub-level of the manor.
He even hooks us up with the key to get down there. There is just one itty-bitty catch...
A sewer level stands in the way... Aka: the dreaded worst, most tedious, overly long dungeon of
Meanwhile...
"CHA!? WhatCHA talkin' about?" "You know... This..."
The sinister...tiny handheld bell...leads to a diabolical change within our prologue culinary companion... The old Orcha we knew for all of ten minutes is gone... In his place is...
"Your guest is waiting in the basement."
"ACHA!!!"
Orcha Official Art - There are so many health code violations going on in this picture that I do not even know where to begin...