Part 38: Leftovers

As we've seen, FFVIA has some new features...



...one of which being a post-game save function.



Loading that save starts us off here, on the deck of the Falcon with just Gambit in the party.

It's not post-game content as such - this save puts us back at "Kefka not dead yet" status, so we don't have to deal with any bullshit like being unable to cast spells at things, which would fuck up my strategy big time, let me tell you.



After saving the world, I think Robin has proven herself to have enough mental fortitude to handle the encounter with her zombie grandfather. Let's bring her along and see what happens.



She... deals with it in the usual way.



It's uncannily effective!

Robin! Robin, is it really you, dear? You're alive!?







This game is pretty limited in what it can show, but here, it does a pretty good job conveying emotion in just three frames.

Grandpa, you idiot! What were you thinking?

Oh, Robin... I was sure you were...

Did you really think I was gonna check out before you, you old geezebag!? Ha-ha-ha...

"Geezebag" is an awesome word and I need to find more excuses to use it.



Oh, you're as foul-mouthed as ever, bless your heart!

Come on, Grandpa. You're coming along with the rest of us!


All right... Guess I can't be leaving everything up to you whippersnappers!

And there we go - the bat-family is all re-united!

(Until Batman kills himself again.)



Also, I found something Meryl seems to have missed in her rush to get beaten up by Humbaba.



It's Tzen! A bit battered, but still standing-



...I just had to go and open my big mouth, didn't I.



Nnnngh.

But wait, those pants look familiar...



Note to self: should probably have put Meryl in the lead here.

Oh...! Meryl!

Let me help you!

Wait!
If I move, the whole house'll collapse. First... save the kid who's inside!
I don't think I can hold this up much longer... You've gotta hurry! ...Urgh!

So. Yes. Matt not only suplexes trains, he can hold up collapsing buildings as well! Matt is pretty badass.



Uh, lady, you should probably not have let your kid into a house that has goddamn scorpions in it, even if the house wasn't collapsing!

Also pictured: Bahamut summon, because I can.



Well, diversion over and done with, moogle charm re-equipped, dungeon cleaned out. There are some treasures in here, but nothing really worth mentioning at this point.



Kid rescued, all we have to do is...

...

Wait, fuck, I'm out of tea. I can't LP without tea. Be right back.

...



All right, it's finished-



Well.

Shit.

Oh, and Matt's brother was inside the house when it fell. Someone didn't think this script through all the way.



Anyway, with the charm (or even without it - as this dungeon is designed for Meryl to be able to clear out all by her lonesome) it's not exactly a chore to go in, grab everything that isn't nailed down and get out before the timer runs out.



Matt jumps down...



...and the house immediately collapses.

Holy shit, Matt.



Of course I am!
Did you think a little thing like the end of the world was gonna do me in?

I...

No, you got me. I didn't believe that for a second.

I'd given up hope... I thought everyone else had died... But... I was wrong!
I'm sure we're not the only ones! We need to find everyone! And then...

...smash Kefka, and deliver peace unto the world! All right, count me in!

See that, Aeris? This is how a decent person reacts to an old friend walking up and asking them to help save the world.



I think we just found out what it looks like.




But speaking of Aeris.

She's gone, too.

Swear to $deity, if she ran off with another group of adventurers trying to save the world...



Oh dear. Domestic violence! In a SNES RPG!



The dog here shows us that there's an opening behind the bookshelf by disappearing into it. And Duane...



...obviously regrets making his girlfriend teen pregnant. Fuck's sake, man, show her some support! Don't you think she's stressed out enough as is with all the demonic hellbeasts running around the place without you adding to it?


Katarin's going to be having a baby.

Katarin: I'm so happy that I'm going to have a child...
But when I told that to Duane, he turned cold all of a sudden...


I acted like an idiot. But everything's okay now! So please... come back home with me.



Aeris and Robin are just about to throw up from all the sappy crap going on.

Either that, or they just heard a loud thump coming from outside.



...oh, I suppose it was a loud thump.



Aeris is still useless.



Puppy!

...what, Humbaba? Eh, he'll keep.







But this, too, is a scripted battle and once Humbaba takes a few thousand points of damage, he uses a move that blows two people away. In this case, he got Alfred and Galuf, which is probably the best I can ask for.

Anyway, that ends the battle as if we had actually been defeated. Which is pretty laughable at this point, I have to say.



But if that's what it takes to cure Aeris of her emo bullshit, then fine, I suppose.



She powers up and joins the party in perma-Trance.

She already knows Bio, which is Humbaba's weakness, so with three of those and a Suplex each round, the less-than-jolly green giant goes down pretty quickly.



"Hey, look, they're all covered in blood!"

"That's awesome!"

Kids vv



Also, more drama fuel.








"Mama!"
"Aeris!"

I... I'll fight!

That... really could be misinterpreted.

I think... I finally understand. The feeling that's been growing inside me...
It must be...
..."Love"!



I have to fight... to protect the people I love, and to make the world a safe place for new lives!


Children, Mama has to go away for a while to make the world a safer place for you to live!
But I promise I'll be back as soon as I can!
"Mama... I'm not gonna cry!"
"Me either!"
"I'll be good, so come back soon!"
"Don't forget, you promised!"

Thank you... You all helped me understand what it means... to love.
I'll fight! I'll make this world a place where life can flourish, and children can grow up in peace!

...more like you're going to rot on the airship while those of us who do not suck deal with the important stuff, but feel free to tell yourself whatever makes you happy.



Anyway, in more interesting news, there's a cave up on Mt Zozo that i seem to have, uh, missed last time! Maybe it's where the dragon was sending all those letters from.


I have only now realized the error of my ways, and taken up this quill in hopes of correcting a great wrong.
Your boyfriend, who you believed to be in Mobliz, passed away some time ago. I have been writing to you in his stead.
We humans have a tendency to become trapped in the past and refuse to move on. I implore you not to let this happen.
Now is a time for you to look forward, and rediscover love and all of the other joys of life...
MrThou

Gasp!



And out on the other side...







SHOCK!

!!!
Thou art... alive!?

It's what, the third time we hear that line this update?

"MrThou..."

I shall go with thee! We must not abandon the world to Kefka!
But... however did thou find me? T-Tell me thou did not read my letters...!



SHOCK!

And then he runs off.



Given there's only one way we could have reached him, it's kind of too late to hide anything now. But that doesn't stop MrThou!



These are... They're... um... sort of a... minor diversion of mine...



There are some places where generic dialogue is more or less suited to the person shown on screen. In this case, a little kid being all "Flowers! " may not be anything special, but it still works pretty well.

Putting Gandhi in the lead here might have been pretty funny. He's a sensitive artistic guy at heart, you know.

Oh...! Must thou embarrass me so!?





I wondered what had become of that poor girl, always waiting for word of her beloved.
I decided to pay a visit to Maranda.
I learned that she had long since stopped receiving replies, but still sent a letter each day.
I could not bear to stand by and do nothing...

I... have no idea how he reads her letters, though. I mean. She's sending them via pigeon. You'd think the pigeons would not deliver the mail to a godforsaken pit like Zozo of all places.

But maybe I'm expecting too much of that "common sense" thing again.

As I wrote to that girl, I began to realize that I was no different from her...
I was refusing to move on. I could not let go...
I will no longer live in the past. We must all look to the future now.

I encountered Sir Bruce in Maranda. He said he "get strong, smash Kefka!"
I believe that means he intends to hone his skills in order to challenge the lord of the tower.
Knowing Sir Bruce, he was probably headed for the Veldt.

And then he re-joins the group. The scene is a bit angsty in places, but at least it doesn't make me want to throw up.

(But it's still far behind "Sure, I'll punch the evil clown as soon as I'm done holding up this collapsing house".)



We're not quite done here yet, though. There's a gleaming thing outside the cave, and examining it...



...lets us open this chest, which was previously locked.




MrThou... what the hell were you writing to that girl?! And I don't think Robin should be handling these things at her age.

And now there is just one more loose end to tie up in this episode.


I didn't want to accept what that meant... I was lying to myself... But it's all right now.
I don't know who wrote those letters, but reading them helped to ease the pain in my heart.
I'm sure whoever wrote them must have suffered the same kind of pain...
I wish I could meet him...



Alfred, you dick.



MrThou shuts that down before the old man causes an incident.

Look to the future. No matter how dark it may be, there will always come another dawn. And after it, another day...



And that's that for now.