Part 10: Catching up with Chloe (Plus Vote Results)

~Bonding Focus (Catching up with Chloe/Vote Results)~ - No lyrical titles for these. I don't want to use up any good ones that I might want for later.

Voting is finished, and the thread has declared that Fuuko and Serina will be taking the bench. For those of you that wanted to see more of their stories, don't worry, I will be going over every route during my character analysis at the end of the LP. You'll get to find out what happens.

1.
This actually surprised me a bit considering the reaction to her combat suit. The thread apparently doesn't hold that against her though, as she took the top spot.

Since Chloe took 1st, she is going to sit out this dungeon and join Wake for the Chapter 3 dungeon instead. This might seem a little bit backwards, but dungeons get longer each chapter, so it seemed more appropriate for Chloe to get the bigger one.


2.
Speaking of being surprised, I didn't think Narika would win a spot either, let alone take 2nd place. Well, that's a lie. I did kind of expect it I suppose. I was giving her 50/50 odds with Fuuko. I definitely didn't think she'd come in second though. Nevertheless, the thread has decided that they want to keep giving her a chance to build up some confidence in herself. Alternatively, people could just be interested in that whole 'Strategy Conference' deal.

Narika took 2nd, but she won't be joining Wake for this dungeon either. She already got to go with him during a story dungeon, so instead she'll be going with Wake on a special little expedition to Blue Garden, which is a sub-labyrinth. More on that later.


3.
Ellie is the one I had complete faith in the thread choosing, although it is a major surprise to see her sitting 3rd. I thought for sure she would take the top spot, easily. She kind of has an unfair advantage over the other girls since she starts building curiosity and mystery before you're even able to start her route. Either way, the thread wants answers to the lingering questions surrounding her connection to Wake, as well as her work for the Church.

Although Ellie came in 3rd, she will be Wake's partner for the Gluttony Labyrinth (the one we are about to enter), since Narika already had a turn in a story dungeon.


So here you have the heroines that the thread voted to keep in the spotlight. A few notes on these results for anyone who is curious:

-As stated above, you'll still get to find out what goes on in Fuuko and Serina's routes, one way or another. Chapter 7 is the cut-off point for bonding, so if the thread is somehow not digging two or three of the focus heroines, then I may give these two a chance to come back. If not, then their routes will still be getting a summary when I do a character analysis at the end of the LP.

-Chloe, Narika, and Ellie will be getting bonding updates all the way to the start of Chapter 4.

-Torri (who we have already met) will join the group in Chapter 3. I'll give her the typical Meet-and-Greet/Classmating/Intro Event treatment. Our final party member joins in Chapter 4, and she'll get all the usual pomp and circumstance as well.

-Chapter 4 will be the point where I hold a new vote. The thread can vote for Torri/Final Member, and you might be able to vote for Serina and Fuuko again. I still need to work out the details. The general idea will be that the thread will get a chance to swap in Torri/Final Member if they feel that those two are more interesting than Chloe/Narika/Ellie.


With all of that out of the way, we have some catching up to do. We have only seen the first event for each of the heroines so far, which only gives us a peek at where their routes are going. The next three updates will focus on the individual heroines up to their second Bond Gauge bar. The bonding bar (and by extension, new events) are gated by the story, so we can only advance up to that point until we make it to Chapter 3.


-2nd-Year Classroom-

Let's get the ball rolling on Chloe, since she was voted top of the class.



Can you go see my sister right now?

That's an odd request coming from the Gatekeeper. What's your game, Chlotz?

Can you ask her to put in a request for comics at the school store? I know she's got a lot of connections... Maybe she'd be able to make it happen.

That doesn't sound like something you need to send a messenger for. Why not just ask her yourself? It seems pretty harmless.

No way. Not gonna happen. She'd never listen to me. But I'm sure she'd listen to you.

So whenever I'm within 100 feet of your sister then it's all "Hands off of her!", but when you're trying to leverage me to your benefit then it's totally fine?

Sorry, I don't like being used. That's been happening constantly since I got here. Plus, you want me to go and talk to her. It's no fun when you aren't getting indignant about it.



Fine, fine! Just stop whining about it. You're sucking all the fun out of a situation that I should honestly be trying to wring for all it's worth. I'll ask her. Just don't go getting your hopes up.

Man, you are my own personal hero. I owe you big time!

Oh, and don't even mention my name. She'll get pissed at me if she finds out.

Yeah, yeah.

(Dammit, Chlotz. I should have been savoring every second of that conversation, but you had to go and get all pathetic with that "I'm begging you" crap. Can't even let me have this.)


-Faculty Office-



Is something wrong?

Not really. Listen, stupid question, but are you busy right now?

Yeah, a little bit. Though you did come here to talk to me, right? Go on.

Here's the thing, could you ask the school store to please start carrying comics?

What kind of comics?

Ah, that's right. I never asked about that. Crap.



What? No, there was no discussion about--

Ahah! I get it. I didn't take you for the type.

You're not listening to--

But that's a no-can-do. Listen, I understand you have some intense feelings for these comic book girls. But there's a time and a place for it, and the Academy is neither the time nor place. You understand that, right?

Okay, first of all, I do not have "intense feelings" for any comic book girls. I read those purely for transformation related research purposes.

Second, that's not the kind I was asking for. There's been a misunderstanding.

Oh, thank goodness. I must have jumped the gun on the "growing up" speech.

Although, maybe it would still be a good idea to--

I do not need the "growing up speech", Chloe. Trust me, I know plenty about how--

...ignore that. It's not important. Back on topic.

So can we get some comics in the school store or not?

Comics... Hmmmmm... AHHHHHH. I get it now.

This isn't coming from you, is it? Chlotz asked you to talk to me, didn't he?



(As funny as pinning this on Narika would be, I like her, and that's really mean spirited and kind of works against my whole 'make her not terrified' plan. Fuuko would probably just get huffy, or be weirdly into it? Hard to tell with her. I'd rather not intentionally provoke interactions with Serina.)

(Besides, Chlotz almost made me look like some weird pervert, asking a teacher to get porn stocked in the school store. Code of silence, violated.)

Yeah, it's Chlotz.

Just as I thought. I knew you'd never ask me to get you dirty comic books.

If I wanted those, I'm pretty sure I know a money-grubbing little merchant that could get me them.

What was that?

Nothing. So, Chlotz, am I right?

*sigh* He's kind of a troublemaker, isn't he? Maybe I'm just too soft on him. What do you think?

Oh, I couldn't agree more.

Oh, dear. Now look where we are. I'm asking you for help. Some teacher I am.

Chloe, you're a great teacher, and you go several steps beyond. You need someone to talk to about your problems, as much as those Disciples do.

I guess you're right. Thank you, I feel a little better now.

Is it alright if we can talk like this again?

Hey, I told you that I'm a listening kind of guy, didn't I? Of course we can.

That's the attitude I like to hear! Oh, I'm just over the moon with joy!

And do me a favor: tell Chlotz to come to me himself if he wants comic books. I'm his sister for goodness sake. You'd think he'd be brave enough to talk to me.

You got it, teach.

By the way, out of morbid curiosity, what would you do if he did come to you asking for dirty comic books?



You better watch out or you might end up catching it too.

Messaged received. I'll pass that along.

Almost seems like Chlotz was intentionally trying to make Wake look bad in front of his sister in order to ruin his chances with her. However, that would require a level of sinister brilliance that I don't believe Chlotz possesses. We'd be giving him way too much credit.

Before we continue, we need to bring Chloe in for another round of Classmating. You sometimes need to trigger these before you can advance the route.


-Ritual Hall-

You ready, Chloe?

......

Something wrong?



Classmating...

You seem kind of out of it. We can take five and try again some other time if you want.

N-No, I'm fine. I was just remembering the first time we did this. And then I began to feel a little fuzzy inside. My heart was racing and I still feel a little lingering anxiety.

Might want to get that checked out. Anyway, let me have your hand.

Was it like this last time, too?



Chloe doesn't necessarily have the stats to get us this class, but I wanted to introduce new ones that I have been picking up.

The Witch class is a female-only Star Child that is a little bit of an upgrade over the Magician. You can see that it has all the same stats, but the difference is in skills. Witches learn higher tiered Element Spells (Witches can learn Triad skills, as opposed to Dual skills that Magicians learn). A lot of the 'upgraded' classes work like this. They have the same stats as the lower variant, but their skills are better or different in some way.



The other difference is that the Witch class is one that requires a special item in order to make. In this case, you need a Magical Girl Heart, which I guess you can get by tracking down Ichigo Momomiya and just Mortal Kombat-ing her. These are consumable, so the one I have right now will only let me make one Witch.

Magical Girl Heart can be picked up in Sealed Tomb, which is one of the Sub-Labyrinths you get access to in chapter 2. You can steal them on the second and third floors of the dungeon from Bootes and Booteles (those goofy looking standard enemies that swing swords). Stealing them with the Thief class is your best bet. They CAN drop them, but it is incredibly rare.

We'll talk more about stealing and the Sealed Tomb in Narika's bonding update, since that is where I'm going to point out Sub-Labyrinths. For now, I just wanted to highlight that we have another class to choose from. I haven't decided yet when the next Team Vote will be, so I'll just introduce new classes as they become available.

.....

Chloe? Chloe! Snap out of it.

Huh? It's already done? I'm sorry. I should be the one guiding you along. I am your teacher after all.

Don't worry about it. This went a lot better than last time. I didn't see any charts this time.

Really? That's such a relief.

Next time I will do even better. Maybe I'll even teach you a thing or two. See you later!

*Chloe leaves*

I like the sound of that.

With Classmating out of the way, we're back to our regularly scheduled program.


-Faculty Office-

Hey Chloe, you in?



B-But...


[Female Disciple A]: Chloe, we'd give you the shirts off our backs. Wouldn't you do the same for us?


This is all happening too quickly. I don't know if I can handle it.


[Female Disciple A]: But we have to hurry. We don't have any time left. We can't wait much longer, but we'll give you a little while to think it over.


[Female Disciple C]: We have to go get ready. We're counting on you!


W-Wait! They're already gone... Oh, dear. What am I going to do?

You just got Narika'd, didn't you? They were talking you into something.

Hm? Oh, hello. I didn't see you come in.



Honestly, I'm wondering what I should do.

I guess you could say that it's flattering that they rely on you so much. They obviously think highly of you.

That's true, but still...

What exactly did they ask you to do, anyway?

Those Disciples were from the Choir Club. They perform concerts for the benefit of all those who were injured in battle.

I feel the Choir Club provides a special service. They inspire us with music. In fact, one of their concerts is scheduled for after school today.

Unfortunately, their lead vocalist was hospitalized after a fierce battle.

That's why they came to me. They wanted me to be their lead vocalist for the concert.

Today? That's not really giving you much notice. Why did they rush to you?



Apparently a few of them thought very highly of my singing.

Everyone seems so excited about the concert. Maybe I should... What do you think?

Well, I do think you shouldn't be letting them walk all over you. On the other hand, I think I'd really like hearing you sing. I'm sure everyone else would like it too.

I don't want to let all those Disciples down. Maybe I should give it a try. The show must go on, right?

It's your call in the end. If you want to do it though, then you'll have me in the crowd to cheer you on.


-School Rooftop-


[Male Disciple B]: We apologize for the delay, everyone. Thank you all for waiting! The Choir Club concert is about to begin! And... As a special treat... Ms. Chloe shall be providing the lead vocals!


Once again, there is technically a panty shot here, but the text box obscures it pretty well. Should be fine.



WHOOOOO! You go, Sis! Hey, come on man, if I can't hear you, how can she?

Oh, sure. Let me just scream in your ear then. *clears throat*

BRING THE ACADEMY DOWN, MS. CHLOE!

Oww! Turn it down like one notch, man!

*grin* Thanks. Alright. Heya everybody! I'm gonna sing my heart out, so you'd better be ready!


[Female Disciple A]: One, two... One, two, three!


Yaaaaaay!


[Female Disciple B]: *shriek* Chloe, you're the BEST!


Well isn't she just nailing it.

She's always been like that. If she puts her mind to it, she can do it.

*One completely sick concert later. It was awesome, too bad you guys missed it*


[Male Disciple A]: Ms. Chloe's concert was way too awesome.


[Male Disciple C]: I never thought I'd say this, but I actually feel better after that concert.


[Male Disciple B]: Me too, I don't feel as tired now. I hope she sings at another concert.


[Male Disciple C]: Man, next concert I'm gonna sit in front. Hey, does the Choir Club have groupies?


Wow, they're really pumped up... I guess my sister has that effect on people.



That includes you.

Still pissed about the comics thing, huh?

You know damn well I am.

Hey... Be honest, how did I do?

I thought it was great. Really brought a tear to my eye.

Thank you. That means a lot coming from you. The Choir Club loved my performance. They asked if I'd sing again in the future. I must have still been giddy from the concert, because I said "yes" right away.

Well, as long as you're happy.


[Female Disciple B]: Come on, Chloe! Everyone's waiting.


Well, if you'll excuse me. I have a wrap party to attend.

So now Chloe is on her way to becoming an Idol, on top of her mountain of teacher work and pre-existing swarm of rabid Disciple fans. Good call Ms. Chloe.


-Faculty Office-

Hey Chloe, are you in?

Huh, guess not. That's kind of weird.



I'm here to see Chloe. What of it?

The Academy is a place for studying as a Disciple. Not for fanboying. Being the God's Gift doesn't mean you get special treatment. Besides, she's not here.

I'm gettin' real sick of you assholes saying that. Your survival is in my hands, so you had best watch your damn mouth.

Are you looking to get expelled, Mr. Archus?

Are you looking to get bisected? Because I can make that happen with a flick of my wrist. Now, I suggest this conversation stop here.

.....Agreed.



Hm?


[PA System]: You Disciples fight on the front lines, so let's ease things up on the home front! Chloe Genus coming to you live, a special DJ to bring you peace of mind!


Is that Chloe? What's she doing acting as a DJ?

This is disgraceful. When they asked her to be a DJ, she should have refused.

Before going over to the battle report, let's hype you up with a bouncy beat! This one's called "Starlight Serenade." Hit it!

Ugh, I hate Top 40 stuff. When it's Top 40 anyway. Give it like a decade and a half and then it becomes awesome.



I don't care if she is a genius, she is expected to comport herself as such. I must remind her of the dignity and integrity inherent in her position.

You're dangerously close to reminding me of a person I hate. I'm gonna go. You have fun reciting the dictionary.


-Hallway-



Thank you for listening.

Oh, hey. Were you listening to my first broadcast too?

Of course I was.

(It was being broadcast over the PA System. How could I not?)

Thanks! I was hoping you'd hear it. I was a bit nervous, but I don't think I made any mistakes.

I didn't notice anything. You sounded great.

Really? That means a lot coming from you.

Hm? Hey, do you hear something? Sounds like a stampede.




[Female Disciple B]: Can I have your autograph? My little brother is a huge fan!


[Male Disciple C]: Can I shake your hand? Your voice makes me feel so much better!


*shriek* Everyone! Please, one at a time!

Alright, everyone back off a bit. Stay out of my personal space.

*Crowd proceeds to mosh pit Wake and Chloe, squeezing them together*

Ahhhhh!

Dammit! Can't...get...free...

I can't breathe...



That was my bad! I don't really have control over anything at the moment!

Wah, no, no, no. Just keep your hands away!

I don't really have any choice in the matter!



And that means you too, Wake!

I can't believe I'm saying this, but you saved me Chlotz.

*phew* I thought I was a goner.

Ms. Chloe.

Oh, Mr. Watts.

How dare you cause such a racket in these hallways which are supposed to remain QUIET. And what, as a teacher of Disciples, do you make of this sort of rabble-rousing?

I apologize for the disturbance. I'll make sure it doesn't happen again.



Understood...

Man... What a dick.

Right? What is with everyone in this city going on insane power trips?

No, he's right. I was being careless.

Don't start with that. It wasn't your fault. Don't go beating yourself up.

You're right... Thank you.

And with that, we have caught up with Chloe's bonding events. Her bonding gauge is now maxed out until we hit Chapter 3. So her story arc is on pause for the time being.

You can still do generic bonding events with her though, which is handy for getting BP. You can easily just max one or two heroines, skip the generic event, rest, then repeat to get a bunch of BP without missing any unique events. Then you can go and make all sorts of Star Children.

It's also a good chance to give accessory gifts. You won't get the extra BP from them, but you can open up a bunch of equip options.



Like so. What do you think? Festive? I'll show off all the accessories I can as we go go through the game (we'll have a special one to display by the end of the Narika's update). You guys can let me know if you think one of them might look good on a certain heroine.

Next time, we catch up with Narika. She'll get roped into a Strategy Conference and be introduced to her very own 'rival', just like Chloe! Except Narika's rival doesn't so much lecture her as she does shit all over our poor Saint Brave, for no good reason. It's gonna be fun!