Part 53: And History Repeats

Welcome back. Last time on Exit Fate, we escaped from the Spiritual Plane with the help of the spirit within us, the so-called Hand of Fate. Following that, we returned to Elysium to prepare for the final assault on Almenga, but there we learned that Siegfried had invited Daniel to come to Vanaheim, alone, and that he had offered to answer all of Daniel's questions if he came. Despite his friends' insistence that accepting the invitation would be suicidal, Daniel has come up with a plan that will allow him to accept the invitation while still helping the Elysium Army with the war. What is that plan, and will it work? It's time to find out.



There's nothing left for us to do. Talking to Eander will get things started.

Are you ready?
Yes.
Then I say goodbye to you, General Vinyard. From here on, you will be on your own.



Fade to black...




Music: Reflection - Chrono Trigger, "At the Bottom of the Night"




Daniel...
How did you know I was here...? Did Eander tell you?
Don't blame him. We didn't give him a choice. Daniel, why did you leave without telling any of us?




You're... letting me go?
Ljusalf helped me understand. This is something you have to do. Daniel, you've been fighting for so long, and you've brought us all this far... You don't owe us anything. We're all behind you.
Thank you... What about Jovian? What did he say?




Angel...



It was not just a present, it was a symbol. It meant that, despite being born an outsider, I had been fully accepted as one of you. It's always been at my side throughout these years, and it's never failed me. Your father called it a masterpiece, and I can do nothing but agree.



It seems that everything that happened in my life happened for a reason, maybe even happened because someone decided it should. This, too, was planned. But despite all that, it's still my own decision. I am going because I want to.







Fade to black...

Music: None







Fade to black...

Music: Brunhild - Final Fantasy VIII, "Find Your Way"





You must be Emperor Siegfried, then. I came just like you told me to, so go ahead. Explain to me who I really am.
You're impatient, just like your sister. But if this is what you want, I will get straight to the point.



Fuck that, we've dealt with an entire game's worth of people giving us nebulous shit like this. And it's not just us: Daniel has had enough of it.



Every action has a reaction, and every action in itself is a reaction to something else. These chains of reactions are what makes up our history and our future, they are the chains that bind us and rule us. He who can tell what reactions his actions will cause is therefore able to predict the future. However, this ability is limited. The variables in this equation are too numerous for any man to comprehend. This reality is a tangled web created by the actions of millions of individual beings. No, the only way to accurately predict the future is by shaping it oneself, by manipulating the chains, causing new reactions in a predictable pattern. The way to shape a man's future is to limit his choice.
Whose choice? Mine?



... I don't understand.
That is not true. I know you understand what I mean. You're merely not sure how far its influence has gone. The truth is that you are here because that was my will, and you came this far because that was my will.



Everything happened for a reason. When things were not going the right way, we influenced your choices to guide you. Take the Kelsinger incident, for example.




And the execution of the Kirgard Royal family? Although it was meant to create chaos, this chaos served a purpose. It created a choice. They were obstacles in your way to true leadership, and as such they had to be removed to the very last of them. We took your leaders away, in order to force them to choose a new one. You.
If that's true, then why are you losing the war!? If I'm only doing what you wanted me to do, then how come I've spoiled your plans over and over again?
You misunderstand my wishes. A good strategist doesn't rely on a single plan. The plan had to be adapted due to the inevitable element of chaos in the chains of reaction. This turn of events was not our first choice, but it was still our choice, our conscious decision. You are still under my control, even now.



Music: None





Those who wish to achieve anything require power of some kind, whether it be physical strength, charisma, or simply good fortune. The terrible irony of my life... For one who wishes the ultimate power, to be born as the eldest son of an emperor is the greatest blessing imaginable. But my father was a mere sixteen years old when I was born. Despite accepting me as his heir, I was never meant to become emperor. Unless my father died young, I would've been an old man by the time he would've abdicated. It was implicitly assumed that the real heir would be my own child. And if that wasn't enough, I have always been of ill health. I am too weak to wield a sword, let alone lead my men into battle. Even as I sit here on this throne, my body aches. It's but a miracle that I've survived this long.




Fade to black...

Music: Hand - Xenogears, "The One Who Is Torn Apart"



And here we have proof that the "Young Man" from the opening scene was, in fact, a young Siegfried. This is another thing that we could have easily inferred by now, but it's still nice to see.

I read about history, about warfare, about medicine, psychology, philosophy... anything I found, I read. And finally... the books that had been recovered from the Hall of Memories. The books about the demon summoning. I was fascinated by it, the thought that humans could possess such incredible power. From that moment on, I could not stop thinking about the possibilities. The question would not leave my mind. What about me? Could the summoning give me superhuman power as well? Could I finally have the strength to achieve my goals?





A form appears before the young Siegfried, fading in and out.



He introduced himself as... the Hand of Fate. Whether he was actually a higher kind of spirit or merely a pretender is something I never found out... but it didn't matter to me.



Your wish?



Having witnessed the madness of my father, and the remarkable loyalty of his people as they were led to their deaths... I realized that as long as such people were in power, there would continue to be wars because of greed, hatred, or insanity. A strong ruler was necessary to bring peace. My wish was for the appearance of such a ruler, who could unite the world under his command. My wish was for me to be that ruler.



The demon summoning binds a powerful spirit to a mortal body. If the body is unable to bear the strain of this incredible power, it will collapse quickly. My dreams were shattered. Once again, I came close to unimaginable power, only to see it slip through my fingers. I was too weak to wield that strength, and I could not entrust this to anyone else. I knew that the Summoning would eventually lead them to madness.





Fade to black...

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



Was it to test my dedication? To get rid of the one person who held me back? I don't know... but I accepted. I sacrificed the one woman I loved so that she could give birth to a child, one with the power to unite this world, the power I had always longed for myself.
I was... created, for that? What... What is this?



Are you telling me I was born only to fulfill your own desires? Only for this... wish?



I wished for unity, at any cost. Isn't that what you desire as well?



I'm not willing to slaughter innocent people to reach my goals! If we achieve peace that way, it's meaningless!
What hypocrisy! How many "innocent" people do you think lost their lives because of you? Those people did not have to die! You could've let Kirgard conquer Zelmony, you could've let St. Reinard stay in our hands, but you chose not to! Peace comes at a price! People were too afraid to pay that price and instead took comfort in a fragile balance.



How many people have died fighting over Helman Island throughout the years? Meaningless! Endless! Caused by idiots who value temporary gain over long-time prosperity. There is no such thing as innocent people! The sheep who sit by and do nothing while the wolves slaughter each other are just as guilty! They are acceptable sacrifices! Eight years ago, we were involved in a meaningless war ourselves. Our people were dying for nothing because of my father's madness.



At least I don't think of people as tools! I don't sit there up high on my throne manipulating others into doing my bidding! You talk about war and sacrifice as if you have any real experience with it. Do you have any idea what it's like, out on the battlefield!? How can a peace be lasting if hundreds of thousands must die for it? How can it last as long as people are seen as nothing more than "acceptable sacrifices"?



Enough. There is no sense in having this argument. Our fate has already been decided.
No. Nothing is decided. My fate is no longer yours. I didn't let this demon take control of me, and I won't let you or anyone else either! I'll put an end to your plans. You'll see.



Music: None







Fade to black...






We'll wait. That's all for now.
Wait until when? Until General Vinyard returns?
Possibly.
What's that supposed to mean?



Fade to black...






And time slows down. Everything you're about to see is shown in slow motion.

Music: Choir - Xenogears, "The Wounded Shall Advance Into The Light"

































This is... the best way for me... to go... I am... also... an acceptable sacrifice. My father... was a terrible father... My greatest regret... is that I couldn't be a better one... to you and your sister... This is... a fitting punishment... for me... Thank you... Daniel... The war... will now... come to an end... My purpose... has been... fulfilled...



Fade to black...

Music: None



All right. It's time for the final war battle. And that means it's time for one final reshuffling of our units.




Keyser replaces Mandala (35 men, +0/+0) and Johnny (30 men, +0/+0) with Luther (30 men, +0/+0, Regenerate) and Gilbert (15 men, +2/+0).




Nashal removes Venkal (30 men, +0/+0), and adds Ice (30 men, +0/+0, Forcefield).




Shiro replaces Derek (40 men, +0/+0) with Frore (45 men, +1/+0).




And finally, I'm not sure why I didn't do this earlier, but Erin replaces Darwin (30 men, +0/+0, Analyze) with Myst (10 men, +2/-2).






Oh hey, Regin is still around? Who knew?

What will we do? How dare you even ask that question! We will fight! Do we need Brunhild to make a stand? No! We are the pride of the Almenga imperial army! We bow down to no one!



I'm telling you, it's true! I heard that someone saw it happen!
You heard it too!? But if it's true, that means...
Was the emperor really assassinated?





What about the general!?
Our first priority is to win this battle, then we'll look for him. Those were his own orders.
Wait... What's that?




What are you fighting for now? Your emperor is gone, and your supreme commander has abandoned you! The empire's days are counted! You must have realized by now that it's useless to fight any longer! Surrender at once and your lives will be spared!
Daniel!
Quick! Send his men over to protect him!



Music: Last Battle - Final Fantasy IX, "Assault Of The Silver Dragons"






Let's do this shit.



Appropriately, the imperial army defending Vanaheim is the toughest all-around army we've faced thus far. Their numbers are high, they've got a great balance of unit types, they're attacking from multiple directions, and they have several powerful unit leaders. Gudrun is the enemy commander this time around, with a powerful cavalry unit that has no real weaknesses and no need to deal with difficult terrain.



Also hanging around is Regin, leading the advance guard with a solid infantry unit. Alone he wouldn't be a problem, but with the main force of the imperial army right behind him, he's going to be a pain in the ass. We should be able to deal with him, though.



And in the east, Leonius has shown his face for the first time since his defection, with a small contingent of scouts and infantry under his command. His personal unit is more of a nuisance than anything, but we'll still need to keep an eye on him.



Our first order of business is to get everyone grouped together to prepare for the simultaneous attack from Regin and Leonius's battalions. Our main force moves up while Daniel moves back to meet up with them.




The forward enemy units advance, but none of the units in the capital make a move just yet.




As usual, we're going to be baiting over as many individual units as we can before the battle turns into a giant clusterfuck. Jovian sets up as the only unit in range of the southernmost cavalry, while our eastern units stay just outside the range of Leonius's.




Leonius's units advance into our range.



And Jovian laughs as the enemy cavalry takes the bait.



Meanwhile, the units in the capital decide to get moving.






Our first move on turn 3 is obvious. Ljusalf and Paris team up to take out the cavalry we enticed over.



Then it's time for more baiting. Jovian once again sets up in range of the remaining cavalry, while we put a couple of units in the east in range of the southernmost scout, but away from the rest of Leonius's units.





Nashal takes a hit from Leonius's scout.







The rest of the advance units start crowding around us. Looks like things are about to get hairy.



And Gudrun's units advance a little bit, but they're not quite in range just yet.






Ljusalf and Paris reprise their roles from the previous turn and take out the cavalry we baited over.




Then it's time to start taking care of Leonius's units. Outsider kicks things off by going after one of the infantry.




The main threat from Leonius's battalion is obviously going to be Leonius himself, so Marian softens him up a bit.




And Bast does what he does best to the scout next to him.




Daniel takes out the weakened infantry.




I wanted to hit Leonius more from afar before sending in my melee units, but unfortunately none of our other sorcery units are in range. So Griever moves in to deal the strongest attack possible. She takes out a good chunk of his men, but gets hit hard in return.





Merrick and Nashal follow up, taking advantage of Leonius's weakened state. Unfortunately that's all we can do to him this turn.



The rest of our units set up as defensively as they can. Of note is Keyser in the northwest, who is once again taking advantage of the AI quirk that forces commanders to move last. Regin isn't the enemy commander, but he's still considered a battalion leader and will move after all of his units, meaning that the infantry in front of him is virtually guaranteed to take up the spot Regin could use to attack Keyser.





On the enemy turn, Nashal continues taking hits from enemy scouts.




Leonius's infantry goes after Outsider, leaving both of them in bad shape.




Leonius himself also decides to attack Nashal, but she should be okay.





As predicted, Regin's generic infantry attacks Keyser, but Regenerate keeps him in fighting shape.



Gudrun's group largely stays put to end the turn.





Ljusalf starts turn 5 by striking down the infantry that attacked Keyser.




Next up is Outsider, attacking Leonius's infantry from a safe distance.




After that, it's time to start getting to work on Regin. Shiro strikes the first blow.




Marian is unfortunately out of range, so she attacks Leonius's generic scout, crippling it.




And Griever rides in to take down Leonius himself.




Bast scores himself another kill. In truth I was kind of hoping to not have to send Bast in here, since it'll take him a long while to get to the front lines in the north now. But unfortunately he was the only unit in range of this scout.




Meanwhile, Daniel kills the infantry in our midst.








Then Paris, Outsider, Eander, and Keyser all attack Regin, Keyser bringing back a few of his men in the process, but Regin clings to life.



The rest of our units move up a bit, and that's turn 5.




On the enemy side, Regin declines to attack, while Gudrun's battalion makes a cautious advance.





Hey Regin!



Now that the advance units are gone, it's baiting time once again. I really don't want to pull Gudrun over yet, but Jovian sets up in range of the generic cavalry next to her. Can he land himself an Evasion three-peat?





Not this time, it seems. But he's still doing all right, while the cavalry that attacked him is done for.



There's not much movement from the enemies otherwise, though. One of the scouts moves up, but the rest of the units largely stay put.





Ljusalf continues his streak of taking out the enemies Jovian pulls over.



Apart from that, though, not much happens. Once again we set up to bait over a single enemy unit, this time the forward scout. If this keeps up it's going to tank our speed score, but the enemies can't hold back forever.





The scout moves up and attacks Keyser, but his Regenerate skill mitigates the damage quite a bit.



The rest of the enemies remain passive. That said, Gudrun is now moving off to the side, which should allow us to advance a little bit more without putting our units in her range.






Ljusalf does his thing again, and Jovian follows up to take out the forward scout.



We move up a little more. Keyser is now in range of the cavalry next to Gudrun, but other than that we're safe.





To no one's surprise, the cavalry takes the bait, but Keyser is still arguably doing okay. Regenerate is giving his unit an awful lot of mileage.



And we finally see a bit of an advance from the rest of the enemies. But where the hell is Gudrun going?







This time it's Paris and Keyser who team up to take out the baited enemy, keeping the party going by giving Keyser even more of his men back.



It's about time we stopped fucking around. Jovian and Erin set up in front, ready to take the enemy's full force.





The enemy's remaining generic cavalry strikes first, attacking Erin in an inconclusive fight.




One of the infantry goes after Jovian next, with much the same result.




Then it's finally time for the enemy sorcery units to join the fray. One of them hits Erin hard.



But thanks to their positioning, those are the only attacks the enemies can make this turn. Gudrun also apparently remembers that there's a battle going on and returns to the center of her battalion.



Welp, we all know what a position like this means.





Shiro and Paris take the first shots this time, killing the infantry up front.





Next up, Marian and Outsider team up to take out the adjacent cavalry.






Followed by Ljusalf and Keyser killing another infantry.




Unfortunately, there's not much else in range unless we want to start getting suicidal. But in the case of the southernmost sorcery unit, I decide to do just that. Eander rides in and, as is usual for him, one-shots the fucker. We're probably going to lose him now, but at this point losing at least one unit is a virtual guarantee with Gudrun in range. Might as well take what we can get before she starts attacking.



Everyone else moves up.





It's not too much of a surprise that the enemy scout attacks Eander, but he chooses a really weird place to do it from. Oh well, free kills for us.




One of the enemy infantry attacks him next, bringing him to critical health.




And the sorcery unit brings him down.




The other sorcery unit takes a potshot at Paris, but he should be all right.




Finally, Gudrun decides to ride forth and obliterate Griever. Man, these enemy commanders just cannot resist planting themselves in range of all of our long-range units, can they?










Welp, we know what that means! Every single one of our long-range units takes a shot at Gudrun, taking off more than half her health.




Then it's time to get up close and personal. Bast finally catches up with the rest of the front line and takes a swing at Gudrun, hitting her hard.




Next up, Daniel cripples the oddly-placed enemy scout, taking no damage in return with Regenerate's help.




And Keyser just cannot be stopped! He slams one of the enemy sorcery units and continues to regenerate his men.



That's all we can do this turn. Let's see how Gudrun responds.





The crippled scout spies a sweet, sweet sorcery unit target and proves unable to resist. Ljusalf brushes off the hit.




Keyser takes another hit from the infantry to his east, but at this rate it's still going to take awhile to bring him down.




One of the sorcery units makes a correct assessment of who is the biggest threat on our side and takes a shot at Bast. He'll be okay though.




The other sorcery unit attacks Paris, but doesn't have the men to do major damage.




Finally, in a bit of an odd move, Gudrun attacks Merrick.



All right, we got this one. Now it's just a matter of taking out as many of the remaining enemies as possible.





First up, Shiro and Jovian take out the western infantry.





Keyser continues doing his thing, killing the western sorcery unit.





Outsider and Bast take out the other one.




Ljusalf takes out the remaining infantry...




... and Nashal kills the scout.




Then Marian takes one last shot at Gudrun...




... and Daniel strikes her down.

Music: War Battle Won - Suikoden V, "Cry Victory!"





And that's how it's done.

The A-rank lands us the second of only three Topaz Amulets in the game, so this isn't a battle you want to half-ass. The B-rank reward is a Crystal Plate, an armor which grants +48 PDF for 25 weight, and the C-rank reward is a Diamond Dust.

Music: None



But it's not quite over yet, right?
That's right.






All right, we've reached the final dungeon. And that means it's time for the final voting time! We need one last party to finish up the game. Here's how things are going to work this time:

1) Please vote for six characters to take on the final dungeon. At long last, Daniel is no longer required! You can still vote for him like any other character, though. I'd kind of like to take him along seeing as how he's sort of plot-centric in the final dungeon and all, but I've been promising to lift his required status for long enough. Vote for whichever six characters you want. As always, my recommendation is for a party that includes at least two warriors, two mages, and a thief.

2) If you don't want to vote for six characters, you may leave some votes to me, and I will use them to balance the party if it ends up being too lopsided in terms of strength or magic. I'll try not to defy the will of the goons too much, but it's hard to say what I'll want to use the votes for without seeing the results first.

3) There's been some talk in the thread about how having a certain character in the party during the final dungeon will unlock an extra scene. Rest assured that regardless of how many votes said character gets, they will be coming along, in the entourage if not the main party. This also means that if both said character and Daniel don't make it into the party, the entourage will be full.

Please bold your votes. I'm going to leave the voting open for 48 hours.

However, we're not going to be taking on the final dungeon in the next update. Instead, we're going to be leaving Vanaheim for now and exploring the remaining optional content, including the post-game stuff. I'm going to be choosing my own party for this, as it contains easily the hardest battles in the game, and I don't want to leave the party makeup to chance. The party that gets voted in here will be used when we come back to the final dungeon.

Next time: We step out of the world of what is, and get a glimpse of the world of what might have been.