Part 6: STOP FUCKING TALKING

Chapter 6: STOP FUCKING TALKING


Confirm it for me, Ezekiel... they also, truly, defeated Gronk?
Apparently so... Rufus said as much.



Oh Gronk. It's the gift that keeps on giving.

Interesting... Maybe, just maybe... Very well! I shall meet with them!









Let's get to business! To defeat! The Huns!

Sorry, not sure what came over me.

...?! You're Beast King Zethos?! Finally... we've made it! You'd better put my poor Jian back to normal right away, or I swear I'll...!
Jian...? My apologies, girl, but I have no idea who you mean. What exactly do you want me to do?



Uh... is Zethos having a stroke?

Just tell me, why? Why did you do it? First at the Coliseum, and now this! Do you really want to repress humans that badly?! Come on, then! I'm waiting for an answer, Zethos!
...No, impossible! Can it be? That youth from the tournament?
Yes, it can! It is! My Jian, whom you saw fit to plague with the Curse of Lost Equilibrium!
...
I see... Well, I think I under what is going on here. And so? What do you want from me, young human girl?




Ha ha, what?

...this is fantastic.

Lord Zethos...!



The best part is that Jian's just standing there and hasn't said or done anything since Lucia went all blood vengeance.

Oh, I do not intend to, human. But do you really believe that a cursed knight and his sweet little princess have the strength to defeat me?
Just you wait and see!
Well, ladies first. Come on then, have at me!



Oh come on. Lucia has one cool, if incredibly goofy and out of character, moment, and you tell her to get back in the kitchen? Boo.

Human boy... you'll find me quite different from that Vile Tribe, I think!
I'd expect no less! Now shut up and fight!



We have yet another solo Jian fight, and we don't even get to heal beforehand. Why couldn't this have been a solo Lucia fight? I mean, that would have been awful, but at least it'd be funny. _{Yes, before someone corrects me, she probably intended them both to fight Zethos, but my version is funnier so screw you.}

Say, our hero having a solo fight with a barrel-chested beastman ruler. Sounds familiar...



Hm.





Totally original.

This fight isn't a challenge, though. He won't do anything in the first round, and he doesn't do much damage. Sometimes he'll hit you twice, but that's it.



A couple of rounds in, he does... this. It doesn't seem to do-



HOLY FUCK I GOT MY THREE HIT COMBO BACK!



I missed you, three hit combo.


Thank you, Lucia. I alway seem to make you worry, don't I? And you, Gabi... It's thanks to you that I got this far. Thanks for everything.
Hey, knock that off! No need to thank me, after all we've been through together!
Well, that hurt! My ears are still ringing! I must've let my guard down...
Hey! Is that any way for a king to behave? How about you cut out the excuses and just recognize how strong Jian is?

Bitch, if he acted like a real king, you'd both had been executed the second you started running your mouths.

No, Lucia... you don't get it. Beast King Zethos didn't fight at full strength.
He didn't?!
Now, I want my answer! Just what has this all been about?
...Very well...
Hold on, I still don't get it! What do you mean, he held back?
Jian, is it... Your fight at the Coliseum was impressive, I admit. As impressive as your deeds at Cathedral of Althena! You have done well to battle against such odds and make it here safely. I can see where your initial interest in these two must have come from, Gabryel.
...Gabi...?!
Now I'm even more confused! Gabi, what's he talking about?
...


Does this mean... You've been deceiving us...? That you had some... ulterior motive in becoming our friend?

It's almost as though a random stranger coming out of nowhere offering help when you most needed it and having the exact information you need was too good to be true.

Lucia, please...
Come on then, let's hear it! Gabi! If that's even your real name?!


Gabi!
Please, forgive my daughter... She did not mean to hurt you.


Hold on... daughter?!
I'm afraid she's been working for me, traveling the world and searching for powerful fighters. She has suffered more than I thought, it seems.
I'm sorry... I still don't really understand?
You know of the Vile Tribe?
Yes... We fought them at Cathedral of Althena. They were pretty strong, too.
Well, that's only the start of it. Our world stands poised on the brink of a crisis like none we have faced before. Why? Because the Goddess Althena has fallen into the hands of the Vile Tribe.
Are you... sure?! If that's true, then the magic in the world..!





Good god will you all shut up already!

But our hopes remain unfulfilled, for not a single one... Not a single warrior has returned alive from the Frontier. Not... one.
...
Each time, I have watched my daughter fall into a deeper depression at the loss of those she has helped gather. And yet, we cannot allow the evil of the Vile Tribe to find any greater purchase among us! No matter how many times we are defeated, we must rise up and fight back again!
But...
I know, I know. We are reaching our limits. Anyway, I would like to make things up to you. Please, take a little time and get some rest.
Thank you...

Yay, they stopped talking! Freedom!

Then again, to continue with the game we have to talk to Zethos again.





Let's stall a bit by... talking. At least we're talking about something else.


The Phoenix Knights are not allowed human members, so... No hard feelings, right?
...Yeah...



Yup. Only the best of the best.



Weren't you in a Disney movie?

...fine, let's just get this over with.


But I understand so much more now... That's why she was also so bossy in battle! Every other second she would be shouting 'Don't let you guard down. Be ready for anything...' If I started cutting corners or playing around while fighting, she'd get so angry!

Those sound like interesting character moments. I wish I had seen them.

She couldn't bear the thought of losing you, Lucia. I guess she knows all too well what it takes to fight in the Frontier... because she has seen how those she herself has selected, fail and fall. That's why she believes in putting your all into even the smallest of skirmishes, and fears letting your guard down more than anything... Because she knows what may happen if you don't.
Oh, poor Gabi...!
But this time, she appears to have made a terrible mistake. As I fear, I have too.
A... mistake? What do you mean?
I admit it, you are strong. But you are still only human. All our strike forces until now have been made up of the strongest beastmen we could find. I don't think a human ever dared to even set foot inside the Frontier.

You mean ever? Yeah, I agree, except when the Dragon Caves are in the Frontier and the human Dragonmasters have to go to them and I just realized the game hasn't explained anything about the Frontier and the Vile Tribe. The Vile Tribe and the Frontier are part of Lunar canon, they're important terms, and the game hasn't really told you what they are.

Well, let's just get through this dialogue and then I'll explain it.

We watched you fight in the Coliseum and I admit, we were both very impressed with what you did. But ultimately, humans are not made for combat.
...Is that your answer, then? I have to admit, I did what wonder what the high-and-mighty Beast King, who still shows no remorse over the terrible curse he himself placed on me, would have to say!
Jian, calm down...
No, Lucia, let me finish! I'm not about to forgive anyone who puts humans down so easily, even if he is a king!



...

What? What do you mean?
The new strike force will set out tomorrow, led by a beast mercenary called Rufus. I guessed that Gabryel would set her sights on you, and end up bringing you to me. But including a human in the strike force would stir up unwanted animosity across the world. This, I decided that a temporary hindrance to your powers was required. Then, she would surely just give up on you.

...you couldn't have thought up a better way to keep Gabryel from these two humans? Very publicly cursing the human winner of your coliseum fights, which can't have done much to improve human/beast relations, is the best you could think of? That would be like if Hitler kneecapped Jesse Owens as he stood on the podium.

But she did not... Because, from the moment she declared that she would allow no more casualties, she went looking for truly strong warriors. And she found one and came back... with you.
...Gabi...
Even under the burden of my curse, you battled on and overcame fearsome trials. Indeed, here you are, standing before me... I cannot hide my surprise at this turn of events.
...I don't give up easily.
Indeed, you do not! But, so what? You are still human! Do you truly believe that a human can save us from this peril? Indeed, save the world? That you can fight and win against the Vile Tribe?
I won't know that until I try, will I!
...!?
I've lived my life so far without ever once thinking that humans are beastmen are different.

Which is why you have such a big chip on your shoulder about it?

But I've found a big difference, haven't I! Unlike humans, beastmen don't seem to be able to believe in themselves, do they? You're really making me glad that I wasn't born a beastmen!



Wait wait wait. I'm sorry, I really have to interject here. We're just... crossing a bridge into the Frontier? Okay, you see, if you've actually played Lunar, that doesn't make sense.

From this point onward, this game starts having a lot more Lunar-related plot points... and it gets it wrong. Surprise of surprises. I have to throw up a warning now: I'm going to have to discuss the plot Lunar 1, specifically the remake, Silver Star Story Complete, to describe why such and such plot point is stupid or makes no sense. Later on I'll have to go into spoilers. I'll mention plot points of the second game if I need to, but I'll make it a point not to spoil it (mainly because it's not as relevant, but also because there's an LP of Lunar 2 going on right now.)

So let's talk about the Vile Tribe. The Vile Tribe were a collection of... creatures and other assorted humanoids that once upon a time went "man, fuck Althena" and started wrecking havoc and being evil and shit. Althena didn't like this, so she banished them to the Frontier. The Frontier is a desolate wasteland where "the light from Goddess Althena does not shine." In both versions of Lunar 1, a decent chunk of the game is devoted to finding a way to get into the Frontier. In the original Lunar 1, you have to find a way to reactivate a long out of use magical fountain, and in the remake you have to get a cranky inventor to build you a balloon. Either way, getting into the Frontier is a tall task. One does not simply walk into the Frontier!

Before anyone mentions it; yes, geography in Lunar is... inconsistent. The world map between Lunar 1 and 2 is completely different. (and the Frontier isn't even in Lunar 2. Er, well, you can argue a certain area could be the Fro- look, it's not in Lunar 2 as far as one can tell) But one would think the Frontier being really hard to get to, since that's kind of the point of banishing something there, would be constant.

You have made the right decision! I'll prove to you how well these 'humans' you dislike so much can fight! Come on, Lucia!
Hey, Jian! Hold on a moment! Stop tugging! Jian!

They don't actually move when she says that.

Lord Zethos... Are you sure about this? Permitting ones like them to...?
Yes, I am sure... Well, my daughter, I expected no less from you! Finding humans of this caliber... impressive! What do you think, Ezekiel? Are you not in the least bit interested to see what will happen?

Are we done? Oh thank fuck. Finally, no more long, drawn-out dialogue!

Until we find Gabryel back and talk with her. At least can walk around and "explore."





Gentlemen, we can't relax in here! This is the peace hall!



This guy is a bit unique. He's not in a shop, but he sells stuff.



And what he sells is accessories, the first (and possibly only) place in the game where we can buy them. Honestly, he doesn't sell anything that exceptional, mostly stat-boosting rings and status protection stuff, and it's expensive as fuck. I almost never buy accessories in RPGs anyway, and I sure as hell didn't here.

He's also the only shop in town.



And this is the other part of town. Looks... cozy, I guess.







NPCs continue to be as engaging as always.


Girl nowadays need to be able to perform a spell or two, right? You agree with me, don't you?

What does that have to do with getting ma- oh, I don't care.



Need I remind you again how that really shouldn't be possible?



Oh hey a thing that might happen in the future.


Gabi...
I'm sorry... I mean, I...
Hey, we're not bothered about that anymore. If anything, I owe you an apology! I didn't wait to hear what you had to say... It was cruel to say those things. I'm sorry.
Oh, Lucia...
So come on, smile, OK? This isn't like you, is it! Cheer up! And fight back next time, OK?
Thank you... I thought you wouldn't want to know me, now...
What was that? Did you hear something, Jian?

I didn't realize this until I got to the end of the conversation here, but Gab was supposed to have mumbled that last sentence (the text is the same as regular text and there's no animation, so there's nothing indicating that she's mumbling). At first, I just thought Lucia was being a bitch.

Anyway, forget that. So, what next?
I'm not sure... I've been thinking hard about it, though! Jian, what do you think?
..... I'm not sure what you want me to say... But I do think... well, you should just be yourself, Gabi. That's all.


Then what are we hanging around here for? We're crossing the Sungrid Bridge, right? So let's get a move on!
Even quicker than I expected! Gabi! Yes, that's more like it!
One thing, though... You'd better let the Beast King know, right?
No, let's just go... It's better this way. I'm not going to do my father's bidding any longer. It's time I decided my future for myself!
Yes! That's it! That's the spirit!





Hey, Jian? Did you just say something?
Ah, no... Nothing, nothing.
Right! Then stop your mumbling! Let's get going!

Have we stopped talking? We've stop talking! Now we can... go do a dungeon. Yay.



...there's only one shop in town.

Anyway, I didn't go straight to the bridge. A FAQ informed me that maybe I might want to make some money right now. So... more Gad's. Yay.



When we first went to the Cathedral of Althena, I was a little confused as to why this screen was here, but it's here because you have to pass through here to get back to port Olbeage. Then again, I don't know why the world map just can't let you go directly there, since "passing through" the Cathedral just means going through this screen.



Speaking of the Cathedral, it no longer has monsters in it. There was no blue chest or unique monsters, so who cares.







A random thought: why is this church smack dab in the middle of beastmen country filled with humans?



So the Chamber of Rebirth is in the Cathedral, and not in the tower. That's odd. Is Althena's Tower even in the game?



By the way, that's Althena's Tower, that's where she's supposed to live. And also where the Chamber of Rebirth is, and not in the Cathedral (it's called a shrine in the WD translations.)

Oh, and you may be wondering about that giant floating island. That's Vane.



Vane is the oldest city on Lunar. It apparently arose when the Goddess Althena flooded the earth with her tears. Vane floats around the Goddess Tower, and in the remake, explicitly protects the tower. The city is also home to a world-renown magic guild, where students come from all over to learn magic. Out of all the locations in Lunar, Vane is probably one of the most interesting and memorable. It's one of the two cities, along with Meribia, that appears in both Lunar 1 and 2. The creators clearly liked Vane, as the magic school in Walking School/Magic School is based on Vane, and a lot of the tie-in manga and novels heavily feature Vane.

Vane will not be appearing in this game. Neither will Meribia, for that matter.



Near as I can tell, Althena reincarnating does not do this. Also, since this game is a prequel, we know for a fact Althena cannot be permanently gone.



Uh, okay.

Speaking of which, Gad's.



Actually, I ended up hitting a good string of luck with Gad's. The mission pictured above required two items that can be purchased, and the item that can't be bought I have plenty of. Five Dorsal Fins is 80 silver, and four screws is 56. The net profit is 1208, more than worth it. And this mission just kept popping up. Sometimes it'd require going to Perit or Healriz, but since now over half of the available towns don't require going through the Thieves' Woods, I can just ignore jobs that require it. Ha ha! See you hell Thieves' Woods! Nah, we're totally going back.

Oh, and note the name given for the recipient for the package.



And this is who receives the package. Notice anything wrong?

Names being inconsistent happens a lot in this game.

While I get amass some money, I didn't spent it at this venture. Hell, I ended up with a respectable 9000 silver, and I still couldn't afford Lucia's best armor. Eh, everyone will be fine, actually.

Next time, a bridge. Woo.