Part 62: Episode L: Gearadia

Music: Thug Life



Let us dispose of the creature with our own hands.
No... It seems that will no longer be necessary.
Huh? Whadd’ya...
Holy heck! President Wooly’s got one raging stiffy...
W-wha?!
Wowie...
! Kir, close your eyes!
......



Aww geez... What’s it doin’...?
I think it’s trying to uhh... Well, you know...
Wowie-wow!
*sweats* Kir, don’t watch this!
......
Intriguing...
*unimpressed stare*
I can’t believe we’re watching this rather than fighting Dark Samsara. What has my life become...?



Oh holy hell... Are we in the blast zone for this!?
RUN!
*disbelief and angry head shake*
Wowie-wowow!
BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!



BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!





His time had come...
Hah! That’s not bad, Dingus...
......
You know... cuz he... Ah. I’ll explain it later.
And we didn’t even fight... I’m not sure if I’m relieved or what...
Well, it was a pretty sorry end, but the guy got his just deserts. Anyway, we’ve done what we came here for... sorta...
I mean... this ain’t the most glamorous job I’ve been on. But heck if THAT whole thing just now won’t make for a good drinking story...
Endir... Would you mind if we went and saw that old man one last time?
I can’t be bothered.
It seems Aeterna has an idea, Endir...
And I have the keys to the airship. Your point?
Let’s just go and see him one last time before we leave, all right?
All right, let’s go and see him...
It’s like I’m not even talking...



President Stouter Sheep has come to an untimely end without a fight (this is one of two side quests that has absolutely no battles.) So let’s head back to that imposing village chief for a debriefing...



I am very grateful... Let me thank you on behalf of the village.
*shakes head* We didn’t defeat it ourselves... but I guess this was fate.
Oh...?
You don’t need details... Trust me...
Anyway, more importantly... There are several things I want to ask of you.
You saved our village... I shall do my utmost to grant your requests.
I hope you’re going to stick to your word...
*sweats* O-of course...
First of all, I want you to destroy all the results of the research. All the documents, everything. Burn them all.
Combat data, old journal entries, vials of samples, any underground labs. The works. Gone. It’s done!
Secondly, I want you to stop all the human experiments right now.
I-I have no idea what you’re...
Me neither...
I feel like we skipped a few steps in shaking down this old guy...


Music: Feeling of Unease



I-is this true...?
Hah! Called it!
Or to be precise... He’s one of the presidents.
Wh-whadd’ya mean?
I heard this a long time ago...
Well, not TECHNICALLY a long time ago. Just... from my perspective it was a while back...
Apparently, the “president” of the Magic Consortium isn’t a single person... It’s a title held by multiple people.
What like... different branches or...?
The consortium is run by a council, in order to ensure that no one person holds too much power.
That’s not a president then... that’s an executive board. Why is everyone in the Land of Snow so awful with names? That’s why I never took that job however many time loops. I always heard this place was ass-backwards and YEP! The rumors were true...
So y’mean there are other presidents, too?
Well, most of them are probably dead by now... Actually, I figure that whoever turned into that monster was probably the last one...
So why do you say that I am one of the presidents?
Well... First of all, you called my core, the Time Judge, by her real name, Eutess.
......
...Lucky guess?
Secondly, you didn’t bat an eyelid when I said the world was on the brink of destruction... That means you’re someone who’s in the know.
......
Well... that’s just the way of things, right...?
Lastly, that book in front of you says “Magic Consortium President Ledger” along the top margin...
I... Well... that is to say...



Aeterna... Just now, you mentioned human experiments...
That’s right. They’re indispensable to spritnite research.
Remember those girls from Kir’s village.
Already trying to forget.
*frown*
I’d bet good money they were victims of the Magic Consortium’s experiments.
That’s why the president of the Magic Consortium took an interest in this village... This place is full of people who no one will ever miss if they “disappear.”
*folds arms* Damn... So that’s what’s been goin’ on...
Aww c’mon... We were about to make it out of a town for once without directly having to get involved with its problems of the week...
They probably had their eye on several people... In order to choose someone suitable for their experiments.
*shakes head* How awful...
This is all in order to take this world back from the monsters... to stop humans from living in fear...
And if the Consortium made a tidy profit... that’s just a fun bonus.
*pissed stomp* Don’t waste your breath trying to rationalize it to me. I won’t let you play with human life any further, no matter what your goals are.
Augh...
Guy, we had no proof of this. You really should have just kept your mouth shut instead of admitting things... But now...
Finish things right now.
Let’s ice this geezer. We can bring his head back to the client as proof of services rendered.



If you do that, we’ll be just as bad as they are! We’re different! We understand how precious life is!
*slowly pivots towards Setsuna and makes direct eye contact* You helped commit a triple homicide on pre-teens just a couple days ago...
B-but... that was different. They atta—
NOOOOOPE! That was murder. You helped murder those girls. I don’t wanna hear it out of you...
Setsuna is right...
Really? You’re gonna get all angry indignant and just trust this guy’s word? Is this just some reverse psychology so I’ll get frustrated and we’ll go fight Dark Samsara just so I can ditch this crew to go get a real job again? Is that it?
You damn well better keep your promise to Aeterna, though!
*pulls out wand* If you want, I could just burn up all the research results right now...
Let’s do it! Let’s do the WHOLE village...
I’m sure many people in the Magic Consortium work hard to try and help people. As president, you should act in a way that does not bring shame to them.
BOY you’re sheltered in more ways than one, huh?
V-very well... I shall keep it in mind, I promise you.
Good grief... Now we gotta go explain all this to that aide in Tenderville...
You know, though... This man is ONE of the presidents, right? How about we take him back to Tenderville?
*shakes head* No, we’ve already gone to enough trouble as it is. We’ll explain what happened and leave it at that.
*nods* Yes, I agree.
I still say we should gank this guy. But fine... Whatever. Let’s just half-ass another job...





That’s it for the Nameless Village. We have no reason to ever return there. So let’s return to Tenderville before that too joins the areas that have served their gameplay purpose.


Music: Shrouded Fate



So? What happened?
*shakes head* Well, the thing is... the president had already passed away...
*sweats* Just take our word on this... Y-you don’t want details...
I see... That is a shame...
Just as planned, though, right?
? ...? And what might that mean?
It means that the reason you asked us to go there in the first place was to take care of that monster.
What? I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about...
When did you turn into deep dive investigator into conspiracies?
There was one time loop where these fools got way bolder with their experiments. When Kir was captured early on, he was turned into this eight foot tall writhing tentacle mass that bled flaming blood. It was this whole thing...
*sweats* W-wha?
...You didn’t make it to the end of that loop, needless to say.
*heavy frown* Please stop telling me these things.
W-what does that have to do with me...?
Ugh... Lemme guess...
You’re one of the presidents, too.
! What? He is!? Really!?
Well, well... Very clever, Endir. That wasn’t just a wild guess, was it?
Literally where else would this line of questioning go? C’mon. I know context clues.
Then is this man really one of the presidents?
*nods* Yup, no doubt about it. The “president” of the Magic Consortium isn’t a single person, but several people... Isn’t that so?
Yeah... we established that, ain’t we...?
...I’m calling him out. Not reiterating previous information. Keep up, Nidr.
*frown*
No, no... I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about...
You can play dumb if you want... But if I find out you’re using the people here in Tenderville in experiments...

Aeterna pulls out her dagger.



*sweats* What? Of course not! I am merely the administrator here, and I enjoy my job very much... I won’t lay a finger on the people here. There is no need for you to look at me like that...
All right. I believe you... for now. *puts away dagger*
I hear otherwise, I’m coming back here and slicing off your penis. I don’t want there to be any ambiguity on my intention. I will cut off your penis and toss it in the woods. Full stop.
O-okay. Got it! GOT IT!



*holds out hand with shiny bit*
This stone... is this the result of the consortium’s research?
Who knows... I can, however, vouch for its power.
Especially when used against living things. VERY potent. Err... or so I’ve been told...
Of course, if you have your doubts, you are free to discard it.
Take it.
You always get paid at the end of a job. If you have issue with said employer, you take a job for someone directly opposed against ‘em and get paid to dick ‘em over in the future. Lil’ tip for ya all from Endir. On the house.
Fine... I might be able to use it somehow.





Our reward for this quest is Aeterna’s ultimate Spritnite tech: the Gearadia. This spritnite’s gimmick is it gets buffed the more actions that have taken place in a battle. So it’s best to use it late in a fight, not immediately.





It just kind of makes Aeterna Self-Destruction. Just without of the hilarious self-own of Kimahri doing it. It’s a big ehh...whatever, really. But at least it doesn’t potentially wipe the entire party on use. So it’s still better than Kir’s Tech.



*shrugs* Then I shall accompany you until the end of your journey, as a giant monster.
......
I’d be into it.



And that concludes Aeterna’s side quest. Which... really didn’t have anything to do with Aeterna, besides pissing her off the most. Really... we didn't do anything of note besides yell at a couple of old executives that will forget we exist by the end of the week... The Magic Consortium seemed like they were meant to have a larger role being evil pricks, what with the spritnite vendor being the shadiest looking motherfucker on the planet (he actually was a given a proper name they never used again, Lutius, remember?) as well as the stuff with the rare-bloods probably being hunted by them. And that whole part where the Consortium provided shady back alley medicine that ended up failing at a bad time for Julienne.

But, I suppose this is all that is left of that. It does feel really weird they didn’t have a proper boss fight with that black palette swap of the Stout Sheep. Like straight up, that thing only existed in cutscenes. Not even a Snow Chronicle entry to prove it existed. Not that I’m complaining. That boss sucked real hard the first time around! Just odd that it keels over with no battle. Whatever... Aeterna’s quest is done! Up next is Julienne’s side quest, as we mop up the last few bits of cobbled together aborted storylines and truncated narratives in I Am Setsuna’s end game.






Video: Gearadia Tech Demo