Part 43: Episode 20 - Never Eat Chicken Wings Again

Episode 20 - Never Eat Chicken Wings Again



Welcome back, and to the final chapter. We've successfully averted the breakdown of society and civil war, but there's still a lot of rebuilding to do. Meanwhile, Nooj and Gippal are in the Farplane chasing Shuyin and Vegnagun. We've been content to leave things in their hands up to now, but it was kind of inevitable that we'd get involved eventually (this being a video game and all). But now, at least, we have information they don't have, and a good reason to interfere.

However, before we tackle Shuyin, the game is going to give us a very heavy-handed hint that there are sidequests to conclude.


Look at Spira. It's a total mess.
Shall we go check things out?
I don't know if we have time.
Well... let's play it by ear.



One fade-out later, we join the rest of the Gullwings on the bridge.


Yeah, but which one?
There's one in Besaid, one in Kilika, and one in Djose Temple.
Don't forget the Calm Lands. The cave at the bottom of the gorge.
And the hole that Vegnagun opened up in the Bevelle Underground.
So which one do we jump into?
Who cares! We just pick a hole and dive!




Indeed, talking to Brother lets us select from a list of possible locations and takes us to whichever hole we select. This chapter is interesting in that we have five ways into the final dungeon, and all of them are viable options of varying length, difficulty, and reward. We'll do them all eventually. But talking to Brother bypasses the usual World Map and won't let us finish off all our sidequests. So let's talk to Buddy first.


Looks like Lulu finally had her baby.
Really?
Let's go see them!
There's a message from Kilika, too. Apparently things are getting a little messy.
More bickering?
Sort of. Now it looks like they're bickering over the fact that all the bickering's stopped.
Figures.



This is the sight that awaits us once Buddy's done talking if we've done everything in the last four chapters correctly. Yes, every location is a Hotspot!. The animation for all of them to appear takes about half a minute. Some of these final missions have no optional prerequisites, and will always appear, but many require us to have done some exploring, or some CommSphereing, prior to this chapter.

Completion percentage begins at home, though, so our first stop is to tie up loose ends on the Celsius.



We got this sphere last chapter, but didn't have the chance to watch it until now.



It's a scene from the Crimson Squad's final mission. We see two candidates shooting each other, and Paine's team looking on from a distance.



What's happened to everyone?
"Extremely dangerous" indeed.

Nooj is the first to suggest that whatever they're here to investigate is behind the Squad's behavior.

That's what's causing it? Get out!
No one passes until we make sure.
Count me out. I want no part of a group whose members kill each other!

Nooj kneels by one of the fallen Squad members and takes his weapon.



Wait!





Nooj watches another stand-off, but this time pyreflies erupt from one of the bodies and swarm at him.

Nooj!



He folds up in pain at first, then straightens and points a gun at Baralai.




All three quickly get possessed, pointing their guns at each other in reverse order from what we saw in Bevelle.

Stop it!


Paine runs through the center of the group, and they seem to shake off the possession, lowering their weapons and turning to look at the camera. The record then fades.

Video: Crimson Record 5

With that out of the way, there's a couple of things left to do.



We head down to the engine room for our usual looting, but this time Buddy interrupts us as we're leaving. As secret scenes go, this one is completely forgivable, since it leaves bait out for us to help ensure we walk into it.



It's like you're talking to a person!
Of course! After all, this ship is one of the Gullwings too, y'know.
She's been around longer than me, huh?


I'd caught word that an old airship was at the bottom of the sea way up in the north. Me and Brother made our way through a sea of ice. A fog moved in, so thick we couldn't tell west from east. On top of that we were freezing our blitzballs off. Yep, I thought we were done for. Then it appeared above us: a single gull, flying along out of nowhere. As if it had come to save us, right? We didn't have a lot of options, so me and Brother chased after that gull with everything we had left. And by some stroke of luck, we found this ship nestled within the ice.


Oh! So that's why we're the Gullwings!

Normally, the scene might end there. But since we're at over 75% completion, this story has an epilogue.

And that's not all.
Yeah?
Actually, never mind.
Buddy! Please?

We were lucky to find the airship, but we were still on thin ice, so to speak.

Then, it appeared above us, out of nowhere: a single gull. As if it had come to save us, right? With the very last of our strength, we bagged that bird, and then we, uh...

Buddy?
What?
Thanks, I think I've heard enough.


This scene even gets reaction dialogue from the party members on the bridge.

Now that you mention it, I remember Brother mumbling, "Forgive me, winged rescuer" during his beauty sleep...
What's wrong? You don't look so good.

Last thing to do is rest for the final time in the cabin.



If we've done this once in all five chapters, three things happen.



The first is that we get to eavesdrop on a conversation between Brother and Barkeep, in which the game tries to defend his attraction to Yuna as not being creepy. This makes it seem even more creepy, especially since it lets me post completely out-of-context screenshots like that one.



The second is that Barkeep gets a wife named Darling. Don't ask me which is which in this shot, please.




The final is that Barkeep and Darling now give us the option to rename the pets of the Trainer dressphere.




Yes, how hilarious. This also changes the names of the associated skills, though, so you're limited to six characters.

Looks like everything's under control here. Next time; a g-g-g-g-dead guy!