Exit Fate Part #51 - Going Out On Top

Part 51: Going Out On Top

Welcome back. Last time on Exit Fate, we explored the area of Almenga that we had conquered and rounded out our party with the final characters of the game. Now that we've done that, as well as a bit of grinding for our secondary parties (and by "grinding" I mean "a single battle in the Shadow Clan village for each character") there's nothing left to do but take on Trevor and Sick. So let's get to it.

Before we head out, I stop in at Nikolai's and get our physical attackers' weapons' accuracy up to level 14. Trevor and Sick are highly evasive, and no amount of power is going to help us if we can't land a hit.

I also pick up several copies of Fireball and Eclipse, mainly for use by our secondary parties. They're not likely to survive, but the more spells they have the chance to cast, the better.

Music: Darkness 2 - Final Fantasy Tactics, "Cardinal's Anger"

Now then, let's head in. As soon as we advance, Yan Angwa and Deus will appear, even if they're not in the party.

Yes.

Good. As we've already discussed, Deus and I will go first, and you will follow after that. I'll leave the details up to you.

Oh? Can't handle it alone?

I'm gone.

At your service.

Of course.

Sure thing, mate!

Watch and learn, boy.

I will try.

I'll prove my superiority!

That's the way to go.

Oh! Very good, my boy.

Don't underestimate this old man.

Yeah, I'm coming.

Yeah! Let's get 'em!

If that's your decision.

I won't let anyone get in our way.

I'll honor you with my presence.

Uhh, are you sure about this?

Fade to black...

Finally.

We've been waiting long enough.

We shall bid him welcome.

Amusing. A trick.

A rather desperate act.

Is he this way?

Or that way?

It means nothing to us.

He will die regardless.

He cannot stand up to either of us.

Fade to black...

And here we have the most evil save location in the game. It's understandable that SCF put one here, so that the player wouldn't have to reconstruct their parties every time they attempted this battle, but if you don't know what to expect from this sequence it's entirely possible to save yourself into an unwinnable situation. And if you're only using one save slot... well, let's just say there are quite a few people whose runs ended here.

It's child's play for me to draw your attention away. The one you're looking for is on the other side. Now, if you would excuse me.

What are you doing, irritating insect?

A mere exorcism spell. I am severing the link between your human body and demonic spirit.

Ho ho ho... You think we are so easily destroyed?

Hmph, I suppose you really do know nothing.

Wait, what? I don't remember anything like that.

Mere words. You cannot touch our supreme power.

So you can't even feel it? You don't even realize that your strength is leaving you? It's only a matter of time before you vanish completely.

Enough!

BOSS FIGHT: Demon Trevor

Music: Demon Battle - Wild Arms 3, "Black As Sin, Red As Blood"

Here we go.

Gilbert and Rorschach are fast enough to get a turn before Trevor can move. Remember that 126 damage for later.

Just like we saw in our first encounter with him, Trevor has access to a general, stacking debuff called Desperation. This, along with Sick's Inspiration, is the main reason that our secondary parties aren't going to win their fights. Trevor will be using this a lot, and by the end of this fight there won't really be anything we can do except succumb to his attacks.

He's also still got Tachyon Beam, but our level 70 party is much better equipped to handle it than our party was the first time we saw him.

But he's got some new moves, too. Annihilation Ray is Trevor's main fuck-you move, dealing a flat 5000 damage, no ifs ands or buts. A Shield isn't enough to survive it, and I'm not sure if Blink works against it. Trevor is scripted to use this attack every few turns, and whoever he targets with it is going down.

And finally, he has Dark Astral Blade, a physical attack that does moderate damage.

There's two things you want to keep in mind for this battle. The first is to try to keep everyone alive as long as possible. More people alive means more turns, and more turns means more damage. The second and more important thing is to remember that you don't have to survive, so there's no reason to hold back. Cast all of your spells. Hell, have your frontliners start casting some third-tier spells if they've got the MP for it. Any amount of damage will be helpful in the final fight.

Oh, and if you've got a thief in the party, don't forget to grab his steal. The Gold Badge grants +16 STR.

Eventually, however, Trevor's repeated Desperations take their toll. Remember how I said to remember the 126 damage Gilbert was doing at the start of the fight? This is what we're reduced to by the end. And that's not even taking into account the fact that most of our physical attacks are missing.

Music: Darkness 2 - Final Fantasy Tactics, "Cardinal's Anger"

Heeheeheehahahahahaha! Do you see now how insignificant you are?

Hmph. Everything is going according to plan. Rather than waste your time on me, don't you have a more important goal? The one you seek is on the other side.

Yes... I have wasted enough time on a pest like you. You are fortunate that your life means nothing to me. Stay there, worm, and wallow in despair as I kill your master.

Fade to black...

It should be more than enough to stop you.

Get out of my way. I care nothing about you. I can feel it. Daniel Vinyard is behind you.

Our powers are eternal. Mere mortals like you could never affect us. Now, move aside! My target is not you!

I can't. I haven't drained enough of your power yet.

BOSS FIGHT: Demon Sick

Music: Demon Battle - Wild Arms 3, "Black As Sin, Red As Blood"

Let's see what you've got.

Unsurprisingly, Sick kicks things off with Inspiration, and this fight is going to end similarly to the one with Trevor.

However, we're in a much better position with this party than we were in the previous fight. Myst and Midian are rocking Sick with repeated Eclipses, and all four of the mages in the party have the MDF to take a lot of his attacks even with their low HP. We may lose, but a good chunk of Sick's HP will be gone by the time the final fight rolls around.

Case in point. Orlando in particular laughs off basically anything Sick can throw at him.

Where Trevor had Annihilation Ray, Sick's signature move is All Creation, hitting the entire party for decent damage. But again, this isn't much of a worry to the current party.

But in case you were getting complacent with his magic, Sick also has a powerful physical attack in Holy Avenger. Tong Wu's supreme DEX saves the day for him though.

The strategy for this fight is basically the same as the one with Trevor. Try to keep everyone alive as long as possible, but go all out once it's clear that's no longer doable. With a party setup like this you should be able to knock off several thousand HP before the battle ends.

Music: Darkness 2 - Final Fantasy Tactics, "Cardinal's Anger"

It was all I was supposed to give.

He will not escape us another time. Nothing can stop us now.

Fade to black...

At last.

There is no escape now.

This time, you shall die.

Are you trembling, Daniel Vinyard?

Amusing.

Your friends were of little help to you.

Quite the contrary. They've successfully completed their goal.

Vanish? We cannot vanish!

We are forever!

Don't you realize you were being used as tools by Brunhild? If you were as powerful as you think, would she have taken the risk to create you?

She is a fool.

She knows nothing about us.

Music: None

Music: Demon Battle - Wild Arms 3, "Black As Sin, Red As Blood"

Immortality was never our goal to begin with! If we cannot survive, so be it! But if we are to vanish...

BOSS FIGHT: Demon Trevor & Demon Sick

(no music change; Demon Battle continues playing)

So. This is around the time that I should probably come clean. I've been building up this fight for quite a while as an incredible challenge. And the fact is, the average player probably is coming here with a main party whose levels are in the high 60s, and secondary parties that are incredibly unprepared and get destroyed before they can do anything of importance. To them, this is easily the hardest fight in the game.

Thanks to our adventures in Nocturn Keep and the Shadow Clan village, however, we're coming into this fight with a main party at level 77, secondary parties at level 70, way more spells than we could ever need, and with several thousand HP already knocked off of both of the bosses' totals. We are horribly overprepared for this fight, and that means it's going to end the same way that our last real fight with the duo did.

Sick kicks things off with Proton Beam and Trevor follows up with Tachyon Beam, but this is nothing.

Then Sick gets off a Holy Avenger...

... and Trevor follows up with not a goddamned thing, because I kick the shit out of him so hard that he dies before he gets a second turn.

Overprepared or no, Trevor should always be your primary target in this fight, because no amount of preparation will allow you to survive an Annihilation Ray. If you're fighting these two at the level the game expects, Trevor's defeat is where the battle really turns around.

Then Reod snags a Gold Ring from Sick, which grants +16 MAG. Like their HP, Trevor and Sick's steals also carry over from battle to battle, so you can't steal twice from them.

And on his next turn, Reod busts out Dark Matter to finish Sick off in style.

Music: Boss Battle Won - Chrono Cross, "Victory (A Cry In Summer)"

And that's how it's done. We don't even get a level up out of the deal; Reod's window is only showing one because of that weird visual glitch that makes it look like you're getting infinite experience.

Music: None

He... He was right, Trev. I'm feeling much weaker already. I... don't think I can keep up anymore.

Damn this... We were... I can't let it end like this... I can't...

Music: Darkness - Chrono Cross, "Dragon's Prayer"

What!? They're still not done for? This is bad...

Music: None

Music: Tears - Xenogears, "Tears of the Stars, Hearts of the People"

I guess... it's really over this time. We'll never get to fulfill our dreams.

It's not as bad as I thought it'd be...

Maybe it's because... we don't have to run anymore. We don't have to fight anymore. Nothing... seems to matter anymore.

I'm... glad it ended like this...

Fade to black...

Music: None

You noticed it too?

Yeah... I've lost them. I don't sense their presence anymore.

What does that mean? Have they left the area?

... Is that what happened? But... what did they think they could accomplish that way?

So... it's over?

So basically what Yan Angwa's saying is that we defeated Trevor and Sick by bluffing the demon powers out of them. And this is an instance of the game mechanics reflecting the story--if we had brought some characters with Scan, we could have seen that Trevor and Sick's stats are actually lower in the final fight than in the individual battles. The drop isn't huge, but it's enough to make a difference.

Well, I guess we owe you now. I don't know if we could've done this without your help.

We don't owe each other anything. I helped you because it benefited me as well.

Still, we've destroyed a great evil. That's what's important.

Yeah, that's right. Those demons were a major obstacle, and we don't have to fear them any longer.

Fade to black...

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

Right then, now that we've taken care of Trevor and Sick, it's time to continue moving on Almenga. As was pointed out when SCF posted his map of the Exit Fate world, Almenga is actually quite small, and there's little left for us to conquer aside from the area surrounding Vanaheim, the capital. So it's time for us to figure out how we're going to take care of that.

As we head downstairs, however, we run into Jovian and Tarlia.

You were looking for me, Jovian? Has the meeting started already?

Not exactly. We've postponed it a bit.

Oh, why?

Negotiations? Hmm... Is it safe?

It's on our side of the border, so it's fine. Both Bast and Keyser think there's no danger.

All right. In that case, I'll go meet them. I wonder, though... What do they want to talk to me about? I can't imagine they'll suddenly want to surrender. Tarlia, do you have any idea?

I'm afraid I don't know myself, but you're right in saying that surrender is unlikely. They might have some ulterior motive. As I told you before, I know little about the emperor's true plans. Please allow me to accompany you. I might be of some use if the envoy is someone I know.

I understand. It may be useful to have you as a mediator between both sides.

Fade to black...

All right, let's meet with this envoy. The meeting point is just north of Niflheim.

Music: None

Tarlia? You're here too? That means... you must be General Vinyard.

Yes, I am General Vinyard, and I presume you are General Gudrun, the former supreme commander of the imperial army? I wasn't expecting to meet someone of your rank. What is your purpose here?

General, I am here because I want to know the truth. I want to know why we are fighting this war. The emperor and Brunhild are scheming something behind our backs, and I can no longer understand their motives. I need to know why they are so interested in you.

Gudrun... why do you continue to fight for them, even when you know you're being used?

I want to hear the full story first, then I will decide. So, General... are you willing to tell me?

I understand how you feel, but... that doesn't mean we can trust you so easily. Tarlia, how do you feel about this?

We have nothing to lose, General. What could we tell her that the emperor doesn't already know?

Yes, you're right. It's not our side that's keeping secrets. Very well. I will tell you my story, General Gudrun, in the hope that'll change your mind about serving the empire... but it'll be a long one.