Part 44: Update XL - Differing person

Update XL - Differing person

Music: Breach


Use a Command Seal to rescue Rin.

We've seen what happens when we rescue Rani, but what about Rin?



Music: Battle - Fourth Chimeric Lunar Sea


The name swap here is the only difference on this early part. If we hit something we've seen in the Rani route, I'll just summarize it and skip past.



Rani knows why I'm intruding on her fight, and blatant hostility is poured upon me—

The routes diverge once Rani spots us here.



Use another Command Seal, Master! If we can defend against them, the SE.RA.PH should intervene!



Berserker attacking us is a fair bit more justified now.



Fun fact, surviving without using a Command Seal is actually very simple.



Berserker is set to always use five random moves and finish with a Skill.



So five Curses followed by a Cave makes it completely impossible for him to kill Caster.



See? Easy.

Music: Stops
Sound: Heartbeats


The barrier goes up.



But this time we're on Rin's side.

In response to a third party's intervention, the SE.RA.PH drops a wall between the enemy Servants. That's it— This is my chance to rescue Rin!



Oohhh, come on, hurry up Moon Cell! Hurry, please hurry! Force withdrawal on us, or at least my dear Master!





Gee, if only there was someone who has to die for the route to make sense!



Oh wait, there is!





Hey. Little girls like you shouldn't play with big girl toys! I've accepted my own fate, but I can't be at peace with it if you threaten those I want to protect!



...Caught in the lance as it falls to the ground is a heart and lung system constructed of opal.

Rani gets impaled again.



-Everything happens at once. The heart explodes behind me, creating a massive shockwave of data corruption. The world is crumbling, but I am holding Rin's hand.





Cut cleanly down the right half of his body, the blue-clad Servant sits alone before the wave of data. ...It is hopeless for him. He has no time to get help, and eventually...with that wound—



At least...I'm grateful my Master was able to survive.



Another Unlimited Blade Works nod, where Cu gets killed saving Rin.



Sound: Explosions






You... Why...?

Those words are all she can manage. She blacks out. The intense battle, followed by the rapid acceleration of teleportation, must have completely drained her. The film projector has gone still, and the screen is dark.

Despite being significantly less impaled and exploded than Rani, Rin passes out just the same.



Come to think of it, I haven't heard a peep out of my Servant in a while. They must be angry...

We get Caster's worries that we're falling for another girl.



Music: School IV


Rin's a lot more spirited than Rani was, at least.



Best line in the game, right here.

You're a participant in the Holy Grail War, too! Why would you do something moronic like save me?! ...And don't give me nonsense about me being about to die. My victory was right around the corner! Rani's self-destruct was bad news, but Lancer was capable of stopping her and her Servant. ...Hey, let me see your Command Seals. Huh, so you did use one. I figured as much. Don't you regret using it, seeing as how you're handicapped for your future fights now?

While Rani's complaints were more about how we crippled her reason to exist, Rin's are a lot more pragmatic in nature.

...I already know she's prideful, and her Servant warned me. Still, I didn't think she'd be so damn angry at me for helping.

...What are you staying quiet for? Do you regret what you've done? Or not?



I have some regret.

As you should. If you didn't feel the gravity of the situation, it wouldn't feel right to thank you.

~

I have no regret.

...You still don't get it, do you? That this War is unforgiving. Augh, there's no cure for idiocy. And I'd be an idiot to say thanks to an idiot like you...

She grumbles irritably, thanking me in her own way... I think?

The choices converge here.



...Hmph. All right, that's enough of that. Onto the main issue! I left the Arena before my win or loss was determined, so my Command Seals are intact. By the same token, without a win, I've effectively dropped out of the tournament. Get it? I'm an anomaly in the system now, disconnected from the logic of the Holy Grail War.

Rin displays her hand. The Command Seals are still there—but they have turned gray in color.



This way, I still have a chance. I may no longer be able to attain the Grail, but I can defeat Leo. Although I would have preferred to fight to the end with Lancer... No, I can't think like that.

Anyway, what you did may have been a stroke of genius! Don't get me wrong! No way am I praising you for being reckless.

Either she's embarrassed or still kinda mad, because her expression morphs into a pout. It was worth saving her just to see this expression. But if I told her that, she'd probably yell at me again, though.



Okay, onto the next issue.

Was everything up until now not important to Miss Rin Tohsaka? To be honest, I've had enough.

What are you saying? I wanted to thank you, and I thanked you. I'd just like to discuss a crucial topic, if that's okay with you? How'd you disrupt our battle? The Elimination Battle's firewall should have been impervious even to a Command Seal. Trying to break through the firewall would have caused the system to fry your brain.

Music: Stops


We get a repeat of Rin's query about how we survived, albeit under friendlier circumstances.

Music: School IV


She then asks us about Twice.







We get the same pre-chapter speech from last week, but the chapter title has changed.







Hakuno has the same monologue about all the people she's killed, but when we reach the bulletin board...

Music: Duel of Fate




Gatou is nowhere to be seen.

This is my next opponent...? Before I can further ponder the strange name, a nasty case of the chills runs up my spine. Someone definitely has me in their sights, but I don't think they mean to kill me at the moment.



...aaaaaaaaaaand I already miss Gatou.

Curly red hair. Clown make-up and costume. Awkward, gangly figure... Why does this ring a bell?! Yeah, it reminds me of a smiling mascot I saw in a newspaper ad for a hamburger joint.

McDonalds jab out of nowhere!





Oh, and all her lines use this scattershot capitalization, for bonus points.



Can I please swap out for Gatou? A deranged zealot would be vastly preferable to a cannibalistic nightmare clown!

My opponent mutters to herself, swaying to and fro in a bizarre dance as she leaves.





What? That's human, too? You mean that's...make-up? ...Is it supposed to intimidate us, Master? If I keel over, it's gonna be from laughter!



Music: School I


Hakuno spends more time moping.



Ronnie's Matrix opens up.



And a quick shot of our Command Seal count.

Again, this will have absolutely no impact on the game, Hakuno's Command Seals are only relevant when saving Rani or Rin.



I saw her earlier and, wow, what a creepshow!

Only a small handful of NPCs get new lines between routes, so I'll skip anyone with lines we've already seen.



...It looked like an anorexic party clown, but she looked at me like I was...prey... Is that...thing...a Master?

Music: School III




Maybe you wanted to laugh at the broken mess I've become?

And now for the mandatory few days of being angry at us before Rin agrees to team up.

Rin Tohsaka's sharp tongue lashes out at me upon sight. It was no casual dig, but a barbed stab, meant to injure.



Argh, how arrogant... Thanks to your intervention, all my plans have come to nothing. I even lost my Servant... I hope that makes you happy.



With my intervention, I managed to waltz in and cripple that reason. When I fall into silent pondering, Rin Tohsaka glares at me and asks—



C'mon, think about it. Masters would form allegiances and do two on one if they could. But they can't. And still, somehow you did. If you're not using magic stronger than any I know... ...then it's hard to imagine... ...but your body must...

—What am I? My memories have yet to return, and fighting isn't bringing me any closer to finding my reason. Her question is only natural. I'd like to know the answer, too.



But, since you defeated me, you better be prepared to win your way through the tournament.

After that, Rin Tohsaka clams up and doesn't attempt to talk again. Our mutual silence is interrupted by my computer terminal's beeping.



I think it would be good to follow the prompt from my terminal, and leave this place.

Music: School I




Then, at the 1F stairs...

Music: Duel of Fate




Rani's alive!

...?! Wait, that can't be Rani in front of me. I saw her get stabbed through the heart. The image of Lancer thrusting his weapon through Rani's heart comes unbidden to my mind. As much as I want to forget that scene, it'll haunt me forever... But how...



With zero explanation.

Her voice, her appearance...it's the same as it ever was. It's as if nothing had happened to her.



Not even a token, 'oh the Moon Cell did it,' she just gets back up after getting impaled and being at ground zero of her own suicide bomb.

Not having a heart is just crazy! But I don't care if she doesn't have one or if she has two, either way, there's no doubt that she's some sort of superhuman cyborg. Be careful, Master!

Rani's presence in front of me just rams home Caster's thoughts on her inhuman nature. Rani VIII. I heard she was Atlas's alchemist, but I'll learn more about that when the time comes to fight her. Seemingly oblivious to my bewilderment, she looks directly at me and says...



...The sudden question catches me off-guard. Even more disturbing is the fact that Tohsaka asked me the same exact question... If I knew the answer, I wouldn't be so worried about it. To find out what exactly I am. Several people have asked me the same thing, and their curiosity is tinged with suspicion and unease. Am I really so different from the other Masters...?



But I cannot find any record of any attempt to do so... Are you really a Spiritron Hacker?

Even with her speculation about my identity in the open, I still have no answer to give her. I was just playing along with Julius in onder to spring his trap, but to ask me who I am...

Let me guess... What you truly want is to find out who, or what, you really are. Am I correct?

Yes. That's it, exactly. I want to know. I want to know about myself...



A butterfly's delicate color... A snake eating its own tail... Acceptance is understanding.



Take that with you into the Arena and locate the anomalies that can be found there.

As Rin is our future partner in this timeline, Rani gets to be the one to try and murder us.

Anomaly...? What could that possibly...?



They are cracks in the world made by the system. They are a source of normally privileged data. Lapses in system protocols, unprocessed spiritrons, are referred to as distortions. Like cyber ghosts, etc.



It's something I made after hearing so much about you, but it's by no means permanent. Distortions usually contain useful information. You may learn something to ease your concerns. But you must act. Take the pendant and find a distortion. It will then activate on its own. If my hypothesis is correct, you should find information in regards to your identity.

A clue about my identity... The opportunity to learn about myself would be worth any cost. I gratefully accept her gift, ignoring the potential for danger. If I can find any clue about myself, the reward will outweigh the risks. In any case, I will give my thanks.



Now then, may the stars guide your path true.



...So I just need to take this with me into the Arena and find those shining areas. To charge this item and find clues about myself, I'll hunt down the Arena's magic hotspots.



I wonder if the Rin route has any difference in gameplay?



Ahahahahaha you fucking wish.

Next time: The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.