Part 33

Chapter 29




Two down, two to go! Then we can get to the real fun.






Tsukinowa's Mission takes place in Mysidia.

Take a wild guess which one Tsukinowa is.




See you all tomorrow. Remember to eat a good meal and get a good night's sleep, okay?
Yes, Professor!

So after the professor pretends he's their mother, the kids all run off in different directions.

You'll never see any of these kids again. The one loitering in the bottom right corner, though, he's sticking around.



Y-yeah?



S-sure I was! Really!
You've been living in Mysidia for a very long time now. Are you honestly sure you're interested in studying the art of magic here?
Of course I am!
I have a hard time believing that.

Uh oh! Tsukinowa's about to be found out! What to do...



Ah yes, the xenophobe card.






What is it?
It's a child!
He's alive! He's still breathing!




Well, that certainly was a flashback, alright. A pretty pointless one, no less.



The xenophobe card always works.



How many times do I need to tell you, Professor?



Christ, now Porom's doing it too.

Though it is kind of neat to see both twins hate titles. You know, if hating a title weren't so damn cliche at this point.

But...
Anyways, the Elder's waiting for you in the Hall of Prayer.
The Elder!?
Yes. He wants everyone there, on the double.
Understood, ma'am! Right away, ma'am!

So Professor Nukem from the University of Blowing Shit Up goes off. But Porom's not done yet.



Oh! Uh, yeah!
You're hiding something, aren't you?
So you noticed?



I don't like where this is going.



Well, actually...



I hope that's it...
That's all! I mean it!
...
What? What!? I didn't do anything!



Huh?
Nothing. Make sure you give back those vegetables, okay?
Okay!



This is the only conversation Porom and Tsukinowa ever have in this game. In it, Porom is reminded of her brother when talking to Lapin before admonishing him for stealing vegetables.

Tsukinowa doesn't have a chance here.



For now, Tsukinowa is cautious of the one playable character in the area. Which is a good idea.



Tsukinowa is pretty much the closest to Edge we get. He gets Steal, he can use weapons in both hands, his equipment set is pretty much the same as Edge's, and finally, he can't quite seal the deal with women, just like Edge.

He's also a kid. A ninja kid. His element is Wind, and he has access to one of the few Wind attacks in the game.



Our goal is to infiltrate the Hall of Prayers and eavesdrop on this meeting.




Wait a minute. They're training Lapin to become the next town greeter?

Poor kid.



I'm an idiot and didn't realize that the two katanas I stripped from Zangetsu and Gekkou were stronger than these boomerangs, so I bought two.

I'd still strongly recommend buying one, though. It doesn't matter which hand it's in, but as long as you have one long-ranged weapon equipped, you'll do full damage in the back row no matter what the other weapon is.

Considering Tsukinowa's rather fragile and the moon boosts Attack, this isn't a bad idea.



Between this and the mention of airship wreckage, the timing of this Tale takes place right after Ceodore and Hooded Man passed through.



Poison is just fine, though.




Of course, this kid's a rebel and Toads us anyway.

Now that we're a toad, maybe the guy guarding the Hall of Prayers will now let us in for some arbitrary reason!





Hey, wouldn't ya know!



Tsukifroggy ducks behind a corner to gather some intel.



There is no need to panic. I am merely suggesting one possible scenario.
But if it turns out to be true, then we need to act as quickly as possible!
(!)



The tragedies of the past are about to unfold once more.



He is on his way to Troia at the moment to honor a request.
The greatest black mage of Mysidia, absent from his post! If we were attacked right now, it really would be a repeat of the past, wouldn't it?



Speak for yourself. Problems are easier to handle when they're a smoking pile of ash.



B-but... How else should we respond to the moon's return?



...
I will travel to Mount Ordeals at once.
(Mount Ordeals...)
But...
Don't worry. I won't do anything brash.
Be careful out there. Whatever you do, remember to stay out of harm's way.
Yes, Elder!

Wow, some Elder you are. Porom pretty much ran the entire thing and then came up with the solution herself, all while you contibuted nothing.



Meanwhile, Tsukinowa suddenly develops an interest in Porom and follows her out.



This may wind up being absolutely nothing at all.
Yes, Elder.

This wouldn't be much of a game if it turned out nothing was actually happening. At the very least, Porom's Tale would be very short and very dull!

Wait a minute.



So we're off to Mount Ordeals! After we get changed back first, of course.

We can actually visit the Western Cape where Tsukinowa "washed up," so let's take a brief stop there for a few extra lines of dialogue.







(I've been here for quite some time now. There's a lot about Mysidia's magic that fascinates me, but I already have all the ninjutsu I need!)

No, you don't. Plus Ninjutsu sucks compared to magic. Sorry, kid.



Anyway, the interesting part is the ninjas spending an extended period of time investigating their respective areas. We don't get an exact number, but it's probably around a month or so.



The overworld doesn't have any encounters, or at least I didn't get any, so the walk to Mount Ordeals should be a breeze.





(Well...time to climb the mountain.)



Tsukinowa then changes out of the Lupin costume so he can kick ass better.





Considering he's just a L5 punk, this ain't half bad. Granted, he has the power of the moon behind him.



One particularly lovely gimmick is that for some reason, almost every single chest is a monster-in-a-box.



This is a Navy Moth. I think they're new in this game. I'm not sure what they do, because I killed them before they did anything.



Ninjutsu finally has a healing technique! It's kinda lame, but then what Ninjutsu spell isn't lame?



(!)

Tsukinowa catches up to Porom, and decides to get some quality stalking time going on.




So far, so good.



Moving on.



Now there's a sweet upgrade to our current Boomerang.




Time for more stalking fun!



Seriously, Tsukinowa. Your stalking shouldn't be making your intended love interest not think of her brother every time you're near.

...




Granted, with all the shit starting to go down, and her brother all the way on the other side of the world, Porom does have a good reason to be concerned.




Is Porom chilling with KluYa or something?





(I hope nothing's happened to you, Porom!)



(I'll be back as soon as I can, Master!)



You know, right after he takes a nap.



Anyway, the trip down the mountain and back to the Western Cape is uneventful, so let's fast foward to the end.





(Farewell, Professor...and farewell to you, Porom! I hope we have a chance to meet again someday.)

Porom will never speak to Tsukinowa ever again. They have a Bond move, but that's pretty much the only interaction the two of them will have for the rest of the game. In fact, Porom will never acknowledge or even notice Tsukinowa's existance for the rest of the game.

Not that this will stop Tsukinowa from becoming obsessed with her, of course.





At least the dude is badass enough to walk on water. Still, I don't know if I'd walk over a freaking ocean when if I stopped even for a second I could fuck myself over. Seems like too long a journey to do on foot, but whatever.



They can hardly wait.

Next time, we do the last character. To her credit, she's not as bad as Tsukinowa.