Part 27: Between Friends

Welcome back. Last time on Exit Fate, Angel found her way back to us and joined the Elysium Army. She also dumped a whole bunch of information on us. Most importantly, we found out that Brunhild is our sister, but we also got a glimpse into what may be causing Daniel's memory problems and what happens during the periods he can't remember. If that weren't enough, we also found out that Jovian was planning a surprise attack on the city of Matrech in just five days. What will we do with this information? Whose side will we take? It's time to find out.



Music: Elysium - Chrono Trigger, "Frog's Theme (Orchestral Version)"

We begin this update the morning after the events of the previous one. Hey Carson, what's up?





I like how Daniel's reaction here is likely a perfect mirror of the player's. Show of hands: how many of you actually remembered that Erin told us to go check out an excavation site last update?

Hmmm... I haven't made my decision yet, and I can't really neglect my duties, so I'd better take care of that first.
Will you be heading there straight away?
Yeah. Shouldn't let those people wait.
I'll go with you, Daniel. I promised I'd help you, didn't I?
All right. Who else will you be taking?




As you might expect, Angel is required for this next segment. We load up our usual party (plus Royston ) and head out.



Once we've spoken with Angel, a new building just kind of pops into existence on the world map northwest of Matrech. Let's see what we've got here.

Music: None



The only thing we find outside are a couple of archeologists.




Well, I dunno. I think I'd be happy if I had built something that still existed hundreds of years later.



And in we go.

Music: Fading Dream - Chrono Cross, "Frozen Flame"



Fading Dream is another fairly linear dungeon.





Most of the enemies here are very strong, but have low HP. These Lurkers are a common encounter and this formation of two made up about 60% of the battles I got into here.




Daniel is the one who's usually in the most danger from them, because if the Lurkers get lucky on their damage rolls they're going to two-shot him. Fortunately it's pretty rare for them to both attack the same target.




They're also quite fond of whipping a column with their tentacles. This is very worrying for Midian and Myst.



But as mentioned previously, their HP is very low, so we can usually take them down in two rounds or so.



There's quite a bit of good loot in this dungeon, and this Flame Ball, which casts Fireball, is the first example.



It's also around this time that I realize I never put the Circlet of Insanity we won from the Mad King on anyone. I end up actually giving it to Shiro because it turns out he wasn't wearing a helmet to begin with. The +12 boost to PDF is great for him, despite the MAG penalty.



A little further in we run into these Light Stalkers.




Light Stalkers have only two attacks: a physical attack and Lightray. Both of these are pretty weak and do 40-70 damage depending on the target. Like the Lurkers, Light Stalkers have pretty low HP and go down quickly.



That said, they're quite notable because you can steal copies of Mend-All from them. The chance is pretty damn low, but I manage to grab two during our stay in this dungeon.





We spend most of this dungeon traveling between long series of staircases, but occasionally there will be small paths off to the side.



They contain treasure.




The Heavy Vest and Long Boots are the next tier of light armor and light footwear, respectively. The Heavy Vest grants 12 PDF for 6 weight, while the Long Boots grant 4 PDF for 1 weight.



Then I run into a cat who is also a wizard.





Unlike most of the enemies in this dungeon, Catheads are nasty. They only ever show up alone, but their HP total is immense, their PDF is high, and they can cast any one of the second-tier attack spells on a whim. They also have a physical attack that does ~100 damage. During a fight with one of them, I ended up burning through all of my seven copies of Shadowcast without killing it.



They have an interesting steal, at least. Fur Sandals grant +2 PDF as well as +2 MAG for 1 weight. Not much of a boost, but it's not like mages have better footwear to wear anyway.



Eventually I kill the evil abomination.



A little further in, we run into a door with two switches nearby. Pressing only one of them has no effect, but after we try stepping on each one individually...



... a short scene starts.

Hmmm... I wonder if we have to press them both at the same time?
Only one way to find out.

Fade to black...





I guess it's inevitable. Since the very beginning, most of us were outsiders, mercenaries and volunteers. I wouldn't have been able to keep them together if I had enforced a strict hierarchy. I think this way encourages real loyalty. We're strong as a whole because we're strong as individuals.
That's nice, but you can't have an army without structure. No matter how strong they are, a group of people who can't work together as a team won't accomplish anything. And yet... when I look at Elysium, it seems like this structure is present implicitly. Maybe it works because everyone has accepted you as their leader, even General Keyser.
It's hard for me to say. I don't have a real aim or plan. I just do what I think will work best.




And we continue on.





We find a save point, and then hit an encounter with this dungeon's final enemy type: Brain Leeches.



If the name didn't give it away, Brain Leeches specialize in attacks that cause Amnesia or Mindblow. They're quite annoying, but their actual attack power is pathetic and their HP and defense even more so. They go down quickly.




We also come across another treasure chamber.




It contains two very helpful spells. Clearmind, if you've forgotten, heals Berserk, and Restore is this game's revival spell.




Next up is this room. Stepping on the switch opens the door...



... but it closes when we step off.




The solution is to push this random pillar onto the switch. Puzzles!




Perhaps I spoke too soon. The following room contains an actual puzzle, in that there's a bunch of switches and each one removes or puts back several walls.



Getting to the exit isn't difficult, but getting the treasure chest you see here is tricky. The only switch that opens a way to it is the one next to the exit, but stepping on that switch also puts back all of the walls around the door. I spent a good long while trying to puzzle this one out.




Then it turned out that these two walls were fake.



Guess we didn't need to get an A-rank on the last war battle anyway.



There's a save point in the next room, along with a switch that starts a scene when we step on it.



Back then, we were always fantasizing about finding old ruins like these. Compared to this, the places we went to were never that special, but I still have fond memories of those times.
Yeah... We always imagined we'd find hidden treasures or horrible monsters. Like when Jovian first found that cave outside St. Reinard. He was so excited about it, but all we found were bats and shiny rocks.
Jovian was always dragging the rest of us along with him, and you would always be the first to tell him nothing special could be found there.



I wanted us all to be good friends and get along... Maybe I tried to take it too far, you can't be friends all the time, but...




You're not the only one who has suffered.
I'm sorry, Angel...





We head through the right door after the scene ends and pick up some more treasure, though it's nothing we haven't seen before.




Then we head through the passageway behind the left door...



... and run into another scene.



Sssh... something's here...




BOSS FIGHT: Wyvern

Music: Boss Battle - Wild Arms 2, "Battle vs. Solid"



Yoink!



The Wyvern is our first example of a multi-target boss. The Left and Right Wings are separate entities and get their own turns. They also have their own steals, but I was only able to nab the Diamond Dust from the main body.




Though weaker than the main body, the Wings will support the Wyvern with their own attacks and magic. The Right Wing kicks things off by casting High Turbulence, which, despite having a different name, is actually the fire-aligned buff spell, Haste. Haste greatly increases the target's SPD and causes it to get many more turns than normal.




As if to demonstrate the effect, the main body immediately jumps ahead of the other wing in the turn order and bites Bast. You'll also notice that the main body is suddenly appearing a lot more at the bottom of the screen.




The Left Wing follows up with Protective Scales, another renamed buff spell. In this case it's the ice-aligned buff, Barrier, which halves all incoming physical damage. The main body is now a bit of a wall.




Aside from biting our characters' heads off, the Wyvern also has a number of other powerful attacks. Photon Beam we've seen before...





... but the Wyvern can also use Full Wing Beat to hit everyone for decent damage. I'm going to guess that he can only do this when his wings are both alive, though.



Anyway, you've probably already guessed the strategy, which is to take out the Wings first. They have much lower HP than the main body and won't buff themselves, so it doesn't take too long to take them out. The Right Wing goes down first.




Followed soon by the Left Wing, and suddenly the Wyvern is looking a whole lot sillier. You'll also notice that its Haste has expired. Without it, we have the entire turn order to ourselves.






Once the Wings are gone and the buffs have expired (Barrier expires the turn after), the Wyvern is a pushover. It's slow as hell and its attacks are easily undone with a single Mend, so we quickly beat the shit out of it.




The Wyvern makes one last-ditch attempt and uses its other move, Cerebral Claw, to inflict Amnesia on Daniel.




Midian counters by calling down the thunder, and we're done.

Music: Battle Won - Final Fantasy Tactics, "Battle's End"
(Yeah, it plays the regular battle victory theme when you win here. Hey SCF, found another bug for you! )



More utterly absurd healing items! If this is going to become a theme, I like it.

Music: Fading Dream - Chrono Cross, "Frozen Flame"




Should we head back then?



Who? You mean... Brunhild? She was... a normal girl, I guess.




Maybe it was because you were the only family she had left, but it was very striking.
What could have possibly happened since then...?
I don't know. I don't understand it at all.
Hmmm...



Fade to black...

Music: None



Hmm... So we'll still have to wait before we can venture inside again. Oh well, at least there's no danger to the surrounding area anymore. We'll come back here another time. Thanks for the help.




One quick walk back to Elysium's meeting hall later...




Daniel...
I know, I know.



Don't worry, I will... I just need a little more time to think about it...



Fade to black...

Music: Destiny - Xenogears, "Bonds of Sea and Fire"



If I help Jovian win, I'll betray the State Union and everything I've done since I first came here. But if I pass this information to the State Army, it means betraying my best friend, the only one who continued to believe in me up till now. And even if I did that, there's no guarantee the war would end. Even if Jovian loses the battle, he could still retreat and regroup.




It's exactly as you said: the fate of the war now lies in your hands. That's an incredible burden to bear when you're not sure which outcome is best. But I am just a mere scholar. I couldn't possibly tell you what to do.
What about me, then? Am I really qualified to make that decision? I can't even ask anyone for advice. I'm not one hundred percent sure they'd be quiet about it, and the last thing I'd want is for it to leak out. Angel said she knew I'd make the right choice, but what is she expecting from me? I just don't know.



Well... there's been many things on our journey so far that we'd rather not have happened. But they have, and there's not much we can do about that. Wishing you'd known nothing is not going to bring you any closer to the answer, unless you want to do nothing and feign ignorance?
Doing nothing? You mean just letting it happen?



Hmm... it's difficult indeed. But Daniel... You've only been talking about two options. Helping one side or helping the other.



Another solution...? Is there really a third option? If I'm not leading either side to victory, then what...



Hmmm... it'll need work, but... Ljusalf, I need to go see Angel.
Have you found the solution?



I don't know if it'll work, but I have to try it. Thank you, Ljusalf. Having the opportunity to talk to someone about it helped a lot.



Music: Elysium - Chrono Trigger, "Frog's Theme (Orchestral Version)"

Welp, despite not having any idea what Daniel's plan is, control has been returned to us. Angel's waiting in the meeting hall, so let's go see her.




Sure! We still don't know what it is we're attempting to do, but let's do it! Whatever it is.




The following morning...

Music: None




Huh?




No, sir! He was dead serious!
Tell him I'll be right there. And he'd better have a damn good reason for this.

Fade to black...




Right on time, Bast. We're about to move out. We have to intercept an enemy force heading towards Matrech.
An attack!? Where are they coming from?
The Kirgard third legion is coming from the southeast and will reach the city by dawn. Don't worry, I have everything under control.
What do you mean everything under control? What are you going to do?




Fade to black...

Music: War Battle - Final Fantasy IX, "Consecutive Battles"





We've received no warnings from any of the border guards. How could they have gotten here undetected?
We'll save that for later! First we need to do something about them! By the looks of it, they've mobilized an entire legion. The Matrech Guard alone can't handle this... Quick! Send out messengers to Mayfall, Elysium and all minor defense posts! This is an emergency of the highest degree! All we can do is hold out until reinforcements arrive.
It looks like we've caught them off guard. The city defences are in a state of confusion. March on, everyone! We have to gain the upper hand while we still have the element of surprise!
We don't have enough time! Against a force this large... Is there nothing we can do?





They're here!? But... that's impossible! How could they've made it here so quickly!?



W-What!? Are you saying you knew this attack was going to happen? Why didn't I hear about this!?
Yes, informing you was one of my options, but not what I ultimately chose to do.
Daniel...
With the information I had, I could've led either side to victory in this battle. However...






There's nothing more for you to gain here. Just give up.



I can't let him fight a lost battle, and I can't let him be captured or die here. We've shown Kirgard that the State Union is capable of defending itself. Now it's time to end this conflict.





Angel... I never thought you'd forsake our country for the sake of us two. I guess I've underestimated you. And you too, Daniel. What you've accomplished here in such short time is just amazing. I don't think I could've done it myself.
General Knight! What are we supposed to do?
I know Daniel. He's serious about this. If we advance, the Elysium Army will hit us in the flank. We might win, but it will be a bloodbath. I can't go that far.



Goodbye. I hope we can meet again under better conditions sometime soon.






This is a direct order! We can't trust them to end it here! We have to strike first to maintain our advantage! First you withold vital information from me, and now you refuse to obey my order!? Your actions will bring ruin upon us all!



Fade to black...

Music: None



They're probably not going after Kirgard by themselves.
I'm glad that's over... I had no idea how they were going to react...
You did great, sir!
But it wasn't easy... far from it.



I never forced any of you to fight for me, and I will not force you to stay. The decision is up to you.



Think about what you're fighting for. Is it to defend your own homes, or to destroy the enemy's? This battle has ended without a single casualty. None of you had to risk your lives or die. Isn't that how it should always be? Maybe you think I'm naive and idealistic, but I've experienced life on both sides, and there is really no difference.



Jasper decides to drop in.



Your actions are beyond my comprehension. You must have had your reasons, but I don't understand them, and I never will. I am here on behalf of Captain Erin of the Matrech Guard. You've left us no choice.

Music: Suspicion - Suikoden V, "Suspicion"



What!?
I understand. I'll come with you.
Don't do it, sir! If you go with them, you'll be--




This is also something I have to do. Lead the way. I'm yours.





Next time: ...