Part 17: The Chrysler Building

CHAPTER 14: The Chrysler Building







rrrrrrRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

...










Vrrrrrrrrrrrmmmmmmmmmm

...







SCREEEEEECH








Su-Zaku has deemed you shall not p—








I am done screwing around with you assholes!




Once you beat WarMech, the gloves come off—as evidenced by Su-Zaku slaughtering an entire town. She's also kidnapped Sayaka, which is kind of like giving you a noogie after stabbing you in the liver. At any rate, you don't have to deal with her following you around the map anymore, which is good! However, random encounters have rushed in to take her place, which is not good. Your first stop should be northeast to Ameyoko to resupply and rest up, then northwest to the skyscraper for this world's last dungeon.

The Skyscraper is probably the most complex area in the entire game. The first floor is straightforward enough, but the rest get steadily more and more goofy as you go along. There's only three chests, but one is an absolute can't-miss. The enemies are more or less comparable to what's wandering around outside, so you won't get anything you haven't seen before. Still, it's a long road, and it's not like our party needs a ton of gold to keep going. It's probably better to run from fights and preserve resources where sensible.




AAAAAAAAAAAAAH FLEE FLEEEEEEEEEEEE

I DO NOT GET PAID ENOUGH FOR THIS

And I will strike thee down, with great vengeance and fuuuuuurious anger

Uh... Should we stop her, or...?

I am not going anywhere near her until she's out of ammo.




...well, some resources, anyway.










Neat. What's this button do?





*ding* Second floor. Innovative Defense Corporation. Research Labs.

Why thank you, mysterious voice from the ceiling!







Trog is not seeing exit. Perhaps path end here?

No. We are going to find Su-Zaku if I have to personally kick in every piece of drywall.

That may not be necessary. Look here.





It's a bit cramped, but I believe we can all fit.

Trog has eaten much of friend Dente's cooking. Will need exhale, hold breath.










I must say, it's becoming more and more difficult to know where we are. That we've passed through two labs already isn't helping.

Ugh, seriously. Who did this ductwork? I can't see more than five feet in front of me and it's laid out like a damn maze.

No kidding. Just look at it!









I don't know how anyone puts up with this!

Trog is finding way down! Though is bit high.

Ehn, I'm sure it'll be fine. Hop on down there.

Is doinAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...

Remember to tuck and roll!







Research and Development

Helloooooooooo. This looks promising.





Looks like the place's been picked over.

Honestly, I'm not surprised. These offices were clearly abandoned years ago.





Well, at least there's something left! Let's see what we got...








Come to mama.







Well, so far so g—


Blergh





No!







Rez! Oh, God... Rez...

...Oof. Is this the kind of stuff you have to deal with when we're fighting?

You're... You're alive?

Yup! Though I really need my Cure book right now.

Friend Rezen grows tough in journey!





Well, tough-ish. Hooray for Atlantiian evolution!




Holy crap you guys Rezen finally gained HP

I think I may have figured out what's been up with her. No one around the internet seems to know/care how mutants gain HP, so I assumed it was random. I now believe that it's directly tied to their use of abilities. (As is gaining new abilities, because of course you don't want the ones you're constantly using no shut up you don't.) I suspect this because the one thing I have not been doing with Rezen is using abilities; quite frankly, it's been far more useful to cast instadeath and/or psi knife everything. I used ESP in a few fights to conserve weapon uses, and suddenly I've got 50 uses of ESP, Armor and Barrier are gone, and Rez gains 20 HP. I've cracked the code!

Anyway, I'm going to do a little grinding after this update, and we'll see if I can get things moving for Rez again. I'd love for her to suddenly jump up to a crapload of HP, equip some high level equipment, and take over as party leader once more. We'll see!







*ding* Third floor. Innovative Defense Corporation. Small offices.





Wow, no kidding. Hope you guys like doors.

Ehn.

I'm not a fan.

Is ambivalent, ask later.

You don't usually get one answer to a rhetorical question, let alone three.




This floor's not as bad as it looks. Most of the doors are fake, but you don't have to check each and every one. In fact, the correct door is stunningly obvious, as you can see the corridor right behind it. If you somehow don't catch this, you can check for real doors by moving over a fake door and then just cruising to the right. If you hit a real door, it'll trigger and let you into the room. There's nothing interesting in any of them, though, so just head over to the far right and pop inside.










Hmm. "Yulani Subway Co." Looks like it's down this corridor.





This must be a bridge to the second tower. What's that plaque say?

"Giant's Causeway. Brought to you by Innovative Defense Corporation. Building a better today for tomorrow."

Why is called "Giant's Causeway?"

Perhaps it's named after a landmark of some sort.





Oh. Well, Occam's Razor and all that.




Giants aren't as bad here as most games. They have Punch, Kick, and three elemental attacks. We're immune to elementals thanks to our armor, Punch is a so-so attack, and they don't Kick very often. This is one of those fights that's nearly always worthwhile. Rez can just leave a bunch of stone statues in her wake without much resistance, and we get a pretty hefty chunk of gold for our troubles.







Yulani Subway Company. Caution: Under Renovation


Perhaps we should heed the warning. These buildings are dilapidated enough as is.

Meh, how bad could it be?





Oh wow. Somebody really needs to report some safety violations.

Who is to report to?

I'unno. Su-Zaku?

I have a sneaking suspicion she'd be less than sympathetic.




This floor has spikes and a lot of ground to cover. You can grab an X-Potion to the lower right room, but it'll heal just enough to not really matter. Suck it up and head directly for the center door.







*ding* Second floor. Yulani Subway Company. Caution, a power outage is currently affecting this area.





Magic Ceiling Voice Lady wasn't kidding.

Gah. It's like being in the ducts all over again!

Ha! Trog discover way to beat maze!

Oh, right! You put your hand on the right wall and then follow it.

No! Trog headbutt every wall until all are known!

Mmmmmaybe we should just go with my version.

HYAH! *bonk* HYAH! *bonk*

Or not.















The observant FFL vets will note I skipped a floor here. I did so because it's boring. You didn't miss anything except for a fake wall and another elixir.




*ding* First Floor. Innovative Defense Corporation and Yulani Subway Company. Joint Projects.

Why are a defense contractor and a subway company working together?

Well, they do share a tower complex. They might as well pool resources.





Oh what the hell.

Trog is stepping on stairs but staying above! Can Trog fly? Has become like friend Rezen?

They're fake. It's just really well painted.

"Yulani Subway Company Stairwell Obfuscation System. Brought to you by Innovative Defense Corporation. Building a better today for tomorrow."

Those guys have their hands in everything!













Woooooooooooooosh

For the last time, you can't fly! It's just painted!

Here come Trog to save the daaaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ...

...

...that one was real, wasn't it.

Yup.

We should probably make sure he isn't hurt.

_{Is OK! Trog land on head.}










Looks like we finally found the things that are supposed to go on those tunnel tracks.

These cars are pretty rusty. They probably haven't moved in a long time.

I still think it prudent to search them. Su-Zaku has undoubtedly led us into a trap. Given her ego, she will want to kill us herself. As we've not found her in the tower proper, she must be here. Somewhere.

Friend Dente can predict future! Is witch?

Hardly. The criminal mind is not so difficult to understand, Trog. They are a cowardly, superstitious lot.
















Whew. Some hike.

This train was likely one of the largest sources of transportation in the city. I'm sure it was majestic at one point. Pity it's vandalized and decrepit now.

Why is person here? Is prisoner?





AAH! Stay back!

Hello. Is not shaking hand?

You can't fool me! I know your kind! You wear our skins and walk among us!

Woah. Dude's seriously off his rocker.

Whatever. I don't have time for this, I got a phoenix to kill.

Wait. Do you mean Su-Zaku?

Yes! Sue has done many bad things. Killed friend Elly. Killed entire town. Cannot let happen again.

You don't understand. You can't kill Su-Zaku. It's impossible!

We get that a lot.

We tried. God knows we tried. This whole stupid, sordid mess... We just couldn't clean up after ourselves.

Woah woah woah. Back up. What do you mean, "Clean up after ourselves?"

...it's our fault.

Is not following.

It's our fault! Innovative Defense Corporation! We unleashed Su-Zaku!

What.

Put down the chaingun, Elly. Let him explain himself.

He better talk quick.

You have to understand, it wasn't intentional. We were trying to protect our soldiers abroad. We invented a new type of armor—invisible, sonic, able to disperse any form of energy. But, we couldn't find a power source small enough to make it portable. It was too expensive. Too demanding.

What changed?

One day, a contractor picked up a strange signal coming from the tower. He reported it to the VP of engineering, and we started investigating. The signal was like Tesla's resonant inductive coupling, but on a massive scale... We could power our prototype. We could power the whole damn city! We set up a receiver in our labs, and everything worked on the first try. It was amazing.

Is good, yes?

No! The signal... We didn't know what was on the other end. Didn't know who was listening. Su-Zaku could feel us tapping into her resonant energy. God help us, we handed her our world's location and a reason to attack. We never knew. Not until it was too late.

But how did you end up here?

She assaulted our tower—smashed right through the main windows. Called us thieves. Murdered most of my coworkers, then took the shield for herself. Said it was payback for all her hard work powering it. I did the only thing I could—I ran. Slipped, fell. Broke my arm.

And you got away?

No. She stood over me and laughed. Said I amused her. She keeps me in this car and calls me her pet. I live on whatever scraps she throws me. As long as I stay in here, I get to stay alive.

Is no way to live. Trog would take own life first. Die with honor.

I can't die. I won't. I won't give her the satisfaction.

Your company is responsible for Su-Zaku. They're responsible for her invincibility. Accident or not, you've done this world one hell of a disservice.

But she's not invincible! Not really. We just need an EMP pulse to neutralize the shield. But there's no parts left! She's stripped all the city's technology for her nest!

If I could get you the parts, could you put one together?

Well... Well, yeah, but...

Then here. You broke the world, now you get to fix it.

Where did you get these?!

It's a long story. But, we have it on good authority this should be everything you need.

Wait, is this plutonium?

Is almost safe and contained!

...




Time passes.







There, it's complete. The wiring's a rush job and the chassis isn't grounded, so don't shuffle your feet on any carpeting before you use it.

So, that's it? Walk up, push button, open fire?

It's never that simple. She's still powerful, even without her shield. God, when she finds out what I've done, she'll crush me. All of us! You've never seen her angry. No one's ever fought her and lived!

I have. And I did.

In a roundabout way.

Don't get me wrong, I pray for your success. I really do. But you'll excuse me if I spend the last few minutes of my life huddled in a corner and making my peace with God.







Hey, another one! And she's an esper!

Probably another one of Su-Zaku's "pets."

Trog has... feeling. Is not good one.

I'm sure it'll be fine. Hey, whassup! We're here to beat Su-Zaku!







Helloooooooo? *wave* Anybody home?

_hahahahahaha

Rez! Get back!

Hahahah HAHAHAHAHAHA





Woah.




After giving you the first living face you've seen since you beat WarMech, the game immediately turns around and hands you an imposter. More than likely, you will blunder up to this girl and then get jumped by a miniboss. Evil Eyes aren't hard for us, but to someone not familiar with the game, this could conceivably be a retread of a pretty tough fight. It's a real dick move.












...welp, bye.

Later.




And, of course, she doesn't disappear from the map after she dies. If you really want to, you can grind against Evil Eyes here. Hooray?










Sayaka!

띠ㅣㅛ! 껴ㅜ!

You let her go, or I swear to God...

What the—She's got a chaingun?! Screw this, I'm handing the hostage back to the bird and getting the hell out of here!

Heeeeeeeeeelp!

They're getting away!





After them! Make haste!









Hmm hmm hmm hmm. You got my invitation.

Elly, you shouldn't have come! Her force field is still active!

No, you shouldn't have come, Elly! My word, this world is such an enjoyable perch.

Enough. We know about everything. How you found this world. Why you're invincible.

Do you, now? How resourceful. You know so many things! Just like those infuriating laboratory rats.

What's your deal with them, anyway? So they borrowed a little bit of your power on accident. You've got plenty to spare. Why does it matter?

Because it's mine, you impetuous little speck! Mine to command! Mine to do what I please with! The nerve of those vermin, taking it for themselves. I gave them what they deserved!

You would raze an entire world simply for plucking one of your many feathers. Unbelievable.

But Trog does not understand. What is reason? Why do such thing?!

Why? Why? Because it pleases me to do so, mouse! And who's to say otherwise?

...

So. After all this time, I finally understand what you are.

...?

When we first came here... I was awed by you. Wondered if we were in over our heads. Wondered if we had finally hit a wall we couldn't get past.

So, the mouse has survival instincts. Hmm hmm hmm. What did it feel like when I killed you, Elly? Was it painful? Were you scared?

The more time I spent here, the more I learned about you. Because of your shield, you don't have to deal with the consequences of your actions... The fear of reprisal... The possibility someone might pay you back, hurt for hurt. You do whatever to want, to whoever you want, because no one can do anything about it.

I won't lie, it's an enjoyable perk. Now, is there a point to this intolerable monologue, or shall I begin killing all of you now?

You're not invincible. You're not even powerful. You're just an flaming, pompous, craven, loud-mouthed bully.

...what is that in your hand?

!!

And I do believe I've just grown tired of you.





BWOOBWOOBWOOBWOOBWOO

SCREEEEEEEEEEEEE! That noise! What is that horrible noise?!

It's the sound of your past deeds catching up to you.







You will suffer for that, mouse. After I'm done with the rest of your mischief, I'll take great pleasure in killing you again. And again. And when you're out of lives, I will slaughter the remaining town, take all of their Hearts, and give them to you—just so I can continue to kill you.

...

Do you hear me? You will die, mouse. Over and over. Your life will become an endless waking nightmare.

Oh, and one more thing...

BweeeeeeeeEEEEEEEEE

Master Gunny Akana sends his regards.

Wh—

















Laugh that one off.








The Hyper cannon is the single most ridiculous weapon in the entire game. It is a literal "win" button. I don't think there's anyone in the game that can resist it. You only find one of them for free (I think?), but you can buy more—for a whopping 100,000 gold apiece. Each Hyper gets three uses, so from a resource standpoint, it's not a bad idea to invest in another one. Give them both to your highest agility character, and you never have to worry about bosses for the rest of the game.

We're not going to do that, though. I mean, I could really make the game suffer if I wanted to. Between Rezen's instadeath spells, Elly's Hyper cannon and 99 agility, and the gigantic pile of gold we have, we can cut a pretty wide swath through endgame. "And then we slaughtered everyone in our path with Hyper cannons!" makes for bad storytelling, though.







I'm sorry for your loss, Sayaka. If it's any consolation, your brother died well.

Indeed. Without his help, we could not have assembled the device and beaten Su-Zaku. Your brother is a hero.

Many legends will be told of this day. Generations will look upon brother and see greatness.

...

Thank you, everyone. Not just for your words, but for your actions.

I'll be frank. It will be difficult for the survivors. The monsters who served Su-Zaku are disorganized, but they'll soon grow desperate for resources and begin their raids.

True, but without Su-Zaku constantly hounding us, we can search for survivors. We can band together. We'll only get stronger from here.

Fighting spirit of Sayaka never end. Is admirable. Trog impressed.

Oh, Trog. You have no idea how much that means to me...

Here. Socho wanted you to have this.

His headband? I don't think so, sergeant. He'd want you to have it. Wear it proudly.

Are you sure?

Positive. He would also want you to have this...





Wow. Where'd you find this thing?

I stole it from Su-Zaku's nest while she was away. I recognized its value instantly.

Thank you.

No, thank you. Because of you and your friends, we're finally free from that demiurge.

...!

...What did you just say?

Oh, I'm sorry. Did it not translate well?

No, we know the word. We just don't know what it means.

Hmm. How to say it... When one without right to rule takes control, simply because they are the most powerful, simply because no one can stop them... That, in our world, is demiurge.

Fascinating.

Anyway, I hope it's of some use to you on your journey. Safe travels. You'll always be remembered here.

Take care of yourself, Sayaka.

I will.







...

Oh? Aren't you joining your friends?

Drop the act.

W-What are you—

I'm an esper, Sayaka. I read minds.

...

You knew. You and Socho both. You knew what would happen if we took the plutonium.

...yes.

An entire city, Sayaka! I saw it with my own eyes! Piles of corpses, thrown away like they were nothing!

And what would you have me do? The choice was the city or the world. We had to make the tough call. Besides, I held hope. Hope that they could evacuate. Hope that you would get there in time...

Don't. Don't throw this in our laps. This is all on you and your brother.

And I will live with that knowledge every remaining day of my life. But, I also know the sacrifice wasn't in vain.

I don't care how you justify it, it's still disgusting. Oh well, good luck digging your world out of its hole. Try not to nuke your city again. That didn't go so well last time.

Rezen. Please.

What?

Don't tell Elly. She can't know what she was a part of. It would destroy her.

Well, maybe your brother should've thought of that before he promoted her to squad leader.

...







Argh. Where'd Rez go?

The last I saw her, she was speaking with Sayaka. She... did not look happy.

Is odd. Friend Rezen is cheerful. Why angry?

Hey.

There you are! Mind telling us what that was all about?

What all was about the what now?

We noticed your conversation with Sayaka was fairly heated. What was it she said to you?

...

...Rez?

It's nothing. Just a dumb little spat at the worst possible time. Don't worry about it.

If is saying so.

Anyway, let's get out of here. I've had enough technology to last me a lifetime.





Next Time: Bonus Feature A1—Bloopers and Outtakes