Part 9: Now Returning To Your Scheduled Plot

Brother Band Updates


The true ninja walks over water.
I'm actually a pirate!

dereku has replaced Lynkericious as my primary Ninja brother,


I'm good at video games!
I'm actually terrible at them.

and even though I said I wouldn't, I decided to replace myself with Minus Green. He also wanted to be a ninja, and while that normally means shunting dereku aside after one update I don't want to do that after this drought of submissions.


So I just cheated and replaced Sillyman with myself. Sorry Sillyman.


Set the world on fire!
Don't do that I like the world

Finally, Magnus Ragnar has replaced Senerio as my Saurian brother. Sadly there is only one thing in the game that is both sharp and on fire.

------

It's the day after Luna got kidnapped,



and Geo has reset back to default. Aside from a line about how yesterday sucked, the game basically pretends the last update never happened.

We have to figure out what we're gonna do.

Hell, this update has Geo doing the same thing he did in the last one. Only sans the drama.

But before I advance the plot, I've got some stuff to do in the menu.



Now that Geo's mastered the power of the OOPArt, he can equip it as an Ability. It costs 30 LP, which is conveniently the exact amount Luna's BB went up.

I don't need to equip it yet though.



Because the next battle I get into is another tutorial. Now that I've officially unlocked Fire Saurian, I can access the game's six Double Tribes.



All I have to do is select a Brother card from a different tribe,



and voila.

Cosmetically, Double Tribe is just MegaMan changing his colors and his arms to match the new tribe. Mechanically, however, it's somewhat complicated.

To elaborate, MegaMan's status looks like this as Fire Saurian:
and as Wood Ninja it's:



But as Saurian Ninja, it's

As you can see, MegaMan gains the new tribe's element, charge shot, and passive abilities. Where things get confusing, though, is what happens when he tries to charge cards. Just looking at that above quote probably makes you think he just keeps his old tribe's, but actually no. For some odd reason, only the base Ninja tribe can use the Auto lock-on. Every fusion involving it will just use the other tribe's card charge instead.



Here's Enma Gale. It's pretty ; the only difference is that the second wave of stars is Fire element.



No. I got nothing. You?

Nope, nada.

Luna's undaunted by this poor start, and assures Geo they'll find Bud, Zack, and Sonia. Some sort of clue would be nice though, so Mega suggests looking for Solo.

Find him, put some pressure on him, and find out what you need!

But how are we gonna find Solo?

...I did the hard part. You guys figure the rest out.

Luna takes Geo's muttering into his Star Carrier as a sign that he's got an idea.



So Geo thinks fast.

That's not a bad idea. There may be a chance that a news program will show us something.

Luna praises Geo for actually doing some smart thinking for once, and Geo decides to just take the compliment.



The first show the duo see is entirely in Netopian, so they can't understand it. Luna sheepishly explains her dad likes international programs.

We have a really strong satellite dish on the roof of our house.

Geo's amazed, but Luna doesn't care that much about it because she clearly has never had to deal with online streaming.



Also, a reminder that this is the future.



The show's called World Mysteries, which catches Geo's interest. This week it's investigating "Messie", the "ancient dragon of the Loch Mess".

What're you doing? This show is boring. We should be watching the news.

(The show has only been on for maybe 20 seconds at this point.)

Don't change it!

What!? You really wanna watch this show? I guess boys like this kind of stuff...

Geo's selfishness overruling his responsibility doesn't turn out to be an issue,



because guess who shows up. Zack claims to have seen a giant shadow swimming around, and is certain that it's Messie.

Z-Zack!? It is Zack, isn't it!?

Yeah, that's definitely him! He seems alright. That's a relief!

But... what's he doing on this TV show? And why hasn't he tried to contact us?

Dunno.

Because he's an asshole. I'm not joking, Zack is actually kind of a terrible person.



Luna is pissed off and decides to immediately fly to Loch Mess. And of course Geo will come with her, right?

Sure! ...Wait, what?

*snip*

You know there's no reasoning with her when she's like this.

Yeah, I'm used to it now.



Geo's fine with the idea, but there's one problem: neither Geo nor Luna actually know where Loch Mess is.

There's gotta be someone who knows where Loch Mess is...



Luna says it's worth a shot.



As soon as Geo leaves the house, the game focuses on this satellite just to remind me that it will be important.



Instead of giving a straight answer, Ken segues into a long story about his past.



And while it was a cool story, it wasn't very helpful. Luna suggests splitting up to research.



And immediately after that, some weirdo sends Geo an order to come to Grizzly Peak. This sounds ominous!

Oh, and before I leave the e-mail screen...



have I mentioned Brothers can send e-mail to each other? Because they can.



And more importantly they can attach cards as presents. If I had wanted, I could have just sent myself an endgame folder in the second update.



But back to the anonymous message. It's from my Auto-Brother!



If you don't remember who that is, he's a mechanic I skipped over in the first update.



It's simple enough; input a name and choose a generic NPC type.

I made a special trip all the way from the world where I live to come here and see you.

The thing with Auto-Brothers is that they come from the other game on the cartridge. So if I Brother with him, he'll count as a Zerker Brother and allow me to activate Double Tribe.

If there's anything you need help with, feel free to ask!

In case you thought this was just going to be a silly throwaway scene, nope! The Auto-Brother is the one who explains where Loch Mess is. Inter-dimensional travel is canon in SF2 I guess?



Our destination is Netopia, a mashup of various western countries.



I get an option to form a BB with Auto, but I reject since he's terrible. Auto-Brothers increase their LP boost as the game goes by, but can never reach +150 so there's no point to befriending them.



Now that she knows where to go, Luna's raring to start.

Yeah... Wait! What do you mean by things? It's my first time going to another country.

Luna groans and asks if Geo has a passport. He doesn't.

We've already hit a snag before even leaving!

Geo offers to just go get one, but Luna shoots that plan down; even in the future, getting a passport takes forever.



Mega cuts in with another plan, only this one is actually good. He reminds Geo about the antenna on Luna's house, and how it can receive EM waves from overseas.



All Geo has to do is transform into MegaMan and follow the waves.

Prez! You go to Loch Mess without me!

Huh!? What are you mumbling about now? Oh, no. You're not going to go, are you!?

No, I am going! I think I've found a way for me to get there. Just trust me. I'll see you there!

OK, OK... I'll trust you. I'll be waiting there for you to show up.

Luna leaves to pack her bags.

I said trust me... But what if this doesn't work out?

Then she'll probably knock you into next week, kid.

You don't seem too worried about that!

You know she's all talk anyways.

With that, Geo's clear to go to sleep.



But Cancer Bubble's hit EX form, so I might as well go over him now.


If you were curious, yes it's possible to do x4 damage.

------



Cancer Bubble looks incredibly ridiculous. What is that grill on his chest supposed to do?

(50)

His main attack is firing bubbles. These things are as frail as you don't expect, but they move fast. If I don't shoot them/throw up my shield immediately, I'll probably get hit.

(50, the bubble the crab hides in is Breaking)

Adding to the complexity is this crab bomb he usually hides in one of the bubbles. The crab is destructible too, but it's much more durable than the bubbles.



The last thing of note about these bubbles is that they are magic and somehow cause my shuriken to impale themselves in thin air.

(50, Breaking)

After two waves of bubbles, Cancer will either fires his claws like so,

(90)

Or form a tidal wave. The claws are by far the deadlier attack, as they're unblockable and will eventually start moving like greased lightning.

------



Now for tonight's (brief) ominous cutscene. Hyde whines that he can't show his face to Vega after such a humiliating failure, and resolves to succeed at something else to make up for it.



Cut to next morning, with Geo and Mega getting ready to head to Netopia.



Waves that go to foreign countries... I can't even imagine what it would be like.

You're not having second thoughts are you!?

N-No I'm not having second thoughts. But, this is totally new, you know? We should be a little cautious...

Umm, that's called having second thoughts.

Music: Sky Wave



Eventually Geo takes the leap.

This is high up! And everything's so... big!

Mega muses that they're basically standing on an EM highway.



I can almost touch it...

(I can really see how the whole world is connected now. Also... I feel like I'm closer to Dad.)

Hey, stop spacing out on me, kid!

S-Sorry!



This door is blocking a shortcut to the end of the Sky Wave. Because obviously the structure that connects the world should force EM waves to take a longer route.



This Sky Hertz helpfully tells Geo to just follow the road. It also gives some background information about Loch Mess: it was practically a ghost town before news of Messie came out.



The Sky Wave features two new viruses.



Flits move around rapidly two times, then shoot a needle at MegaMan. They drop Needle Attack cards, which I have never used.



Puffs drop some... things on a random panel in front of MegaMan. These guys aren't very dangerous by themselves, they're meant to assist other viruses by blocking off the player's movement.



To aid in this, they have a piss-off ability where they'll split apart after being hit once. Like this, they're invincible until they reform. You need to kill these things in one hit (helpfully, Wind attribute cards instantly kill Puffs), or paralyze them. Puffs drop Puff Blast cards, which emulates the virus' attack.



Across the Sky Wave are purple dash panels. When MegaMan steps on one, he'll zoom off in a straight line.



I like these. It's a cool way to emphasize that this is the Sky Wave, not some random EM road that happens to be high up.



Also around is my first Purple Mystery Wave. I need an Unlocker to open any of these, and at 4000 Z a pop that can get expensive fast.



They usually give great rewards in exchange though.



And of course, I can get a free Unlocker from Cipher Mail.



Not coincidentally, a couple steps away from the PMW is this Sky Hertz. If your LP is high enough (I'm pretty sure it'll always be), he'll give you the Unlocker code.



At the end of Echo Ridge's Sky Wave is this teleporter.



Entering it sends MegaMan streaking across the world,



and onto Mess Village's Sky Wave.



And Mess Village itself.

Music: Loch Mess



Geo's excited to be in a new country at first, but after pulsing out he starts to freak out. Mega tells him to calm down.

You made it here, so you should be relieved!

Yes, b-b-but this is my first time... It's my first time in another country! I don't know what to do!

Kid! Get a grip!



In the future, planes are really fucking fast.

Luna strolls over, and seeing a familiar face calms Geo down.

I'm glad you found me here!

I'm not sure how glad I am to find you! Geo! Even if we're in some backwater place overseas, it doesn't mean you get to act like a freak! Have some dignity!

Yes, ma'am!

And so Geo would never have trouble going to new places ever again.



Anyways, priorities.

Yeah, about that... I can't understand what anyone's saying.

Luna sighs that she can't communicate with anyone. Such a shame she's not carrying some sort of handheld device that she could use to call her father, who knows how to speak Netopian.

Geo recommends looking around for somebody else from Electopia.



But first, a display of the beautiful Netopian language.



Geo's man is standing around in the middle of town.

......

Can you understand me?

......

It doesn't look like it.

(He looks like he'd fit in around Electopia...)

Yeah, just look at that custom sprite.

Geo apologizes for bothering the man.



This gets a reaction.

I was just about to have a brilliant idea, and you ruined it with jibber-jabbering. I'm surrounded by amateurs! Learn to see when somebody's busy. *Grumble, grumble*

The man asks what Geo and Luna want. When he hears their plight, he explains that he knows Electopian because his mother was born there.

Then does that mean you'll...

Nope!

But we haven't even asked yet!

You're going to ask me to help you, right? You want the great Gerry Romero's help? Do you think I've got the time to babysit?

Wh... Why you...!!

yes luna

get angry at someone for refusing to act as a translator for two complete strangers



Grrrrr!

What was that you were just saying about acting dignified?



A lightbulb's gone off in Gerry's head. He offers to help the duo out after all.



Because it'd be great PR.



Geo has no idea what's going on.

What's this? You poor children need help?

Uh.... (Why the heck is he being nice all of a sudden?)

Like I said, we don't speak the language...

I see! You don't speak the local language and need some help. You poor things, you! I feel for you!



After a couple more lines, Gerry hands over a translator.

Umm, thanks...

Oh no, no, no! It was my pleasure to help. When I see children who need my help... I know that it's my duty to help them.

Gerry declares that he must go now and, with a parting "Be strong!!", strolls away.



Then comes rushing back.

That was great, great, greaaaaat!! The viewers are going to just eat this up! Kya-ha-ha!

Now that's he's done with them, Gerry shoos the heroes away.



Luna's disgusted with Gerry and the impromptu recording. Geo agrees it was uncomfortable, but they got what they needed so they shouldn't complain.

I'm just so angry right now! Yaargh!!

(Yikes.)

Geo tries to pacify Luna, and reminds her they need to look for Zack.



This means talking to everyone. Mess Village is running the recent wave of attention right into the ground.



Also around is good old Bob. Geo assumes he's here to investigate Messie, and Bob confirms.

Messie could be classified as an UMA. Makes you wonder if Messie is connected to the other monsters.



I am totally going to be stealing that thing later.



Luna bets Zack is just wandering around. She suggests going to some place they haven't looked yet.



And somehow misses the unexplored third of Mess Village to her left.



In any case, it's not as simple as crossing the bridge. Luna swears she hears humming from the bridge, and decides it isn't stable. Geo thinks she's worrying too much.

It looks stable to me. Besides, everyone else is crossing it fine.

I'm a delicate flower! What happens if I fall into the loch?

I guess all that hair would make her fall like a rock.

Are you going to save me? Well!? Are you!?

As usual, Mega cuts into the conversation. He says that Luna's kind of right, and orders Geo to Wave Change and examine the bridge.



Geo can't just flip on his Visualizer and check because reasons.



Hell, Luna's fine with Geo running to the other side of the village to pulse in.



The problem is this morbidly obese Hertz. Geo explains the situation, and the Hertz apologizes. Turns out the bloat is the result of a HP+100 ability it equipped, and even though the Hertz unequipped it it's still too heavy to move.

That's a dilly of a pickle.

The Hertz recommends getting a FloatShoes ability.



This guy in the center of the lake has one. Unlike that merchant from earlier, he instantly believes Geo and hands over the ability.



And that is that.



Zack isn't here either, but I still need to talk to everyone



in order to get a cutscene telling me Zack isn't here. Luna spews a ton of ellipses then orders Geo to go back to the town.



Doing so brings me to another scene on Gerry's show. Geo idly wonders if this is the show they saw Zack on, and he gets his answer when Zack walks up.

It's Zack!

Why? What's he doing here? Like he doesn't even care about us... *Sniff*

Prez...



The two wait for the show to finish shooting before confronting Zack.

Geo!? Prez!? What are you doing...!?

We're the ones asking the questions here! What are YOU doing here!? If you were OK, you should have found a way to tell us!!

Zack has a Star Carrier. He could have easily called up Luna, Geo, or I dunno his parents.

D-Do you know how much we were worried about you? Do you know...!?

Seriously, Zack is a dick. This was true in SF1 (where he was directly responsible for sending Sonia off the deep end), and it's true here.

P-Prez...

We were worried about you, Zack! It was just sheer luck that we saw you on TV... That's why we're here!

You... came for me?

That's not necessarily a bad thing though.

Of course we did! Since you didn't come back, it was our job to come and get you! We're going home now!



A legitimate jerk is certainly a lot more interesting than a boring yes-man.

I'm not ready to leave just yet!

Huh? What did you say!?

I said... I'm not leaving! And I'll tell you why! I have an important job to do here!

An important job?

Messie!

Huh?

Zack explains that after he got sucked in by that black hole, he got dropped off at Loch Mess.



...

...

That's when I saw Messie right in front of me! She disappeared in an instant, however. But I couldn't stop shaking... And it wasn't because I was scared either.



I knew! I just knew I had seen the real Messie!

Zack wanted to spread the word, and Gerry's show just happened to be nearby. You can connect the dots from there.

When they interviewed me, that's when I realized something. I realized that this was my calling...

Aside from being an exposition machine, Zack's main character trait is his inferiority complex. He's a two-faced smartass who only gets around because he's friends with better people, and he knows it.

As the first person to see Messie, it was my duty to tell people about it!

He's desperate to accomplish something by himself.

Are you nuts!? Is this what's more important than us? I don't think so!

And naturally, he's making an ass of himself in the process. Are you picking up the moral here?

Come here now, Zack! You're coming back with us! Got it!? Good, because that's an order!

Luna: still Luna.



Mr. Romero said something to me! He said that my name will go down in history... as the first person to ever spot Messie!

*snip*

Z-Z-Z... Zaaaack!

Zack backs away a bit, but still refuses to leave.

Please, just... Just leave me alone!



Prez, he's...

Just leave him! I'm not his friend anymore! We're through!



Uh... (I'm too scared of her to move... I've never seen her so angry before...!)

(So maybe you should stay away from her, eh? You don't want her taking thigns out on you, kid.)

(I can't just leave her! I have to do something, for both of them!)

Poor Geo. He really deserves having better friends than these chumps.

This is a good point to stop, so even though i haven't reached the usual 100 image benchmark I'll cut the update off here. Before I post the usual artbook stuff, though, I'd like to note something: in SF1, Zack was the only person Geo did not form a BB with over the course of the story. He could do it as a sidequest (and SF1's ending even assumes you did that quest), but the fact is that Geo and Zack have a pretty weak bond. This is something you can pick up even in SF2; by the time the party is split up, Zack is the only one to not form a BB with Geo.

This scenario is Geo's first real opportunity to connect with Zack, for their friendship to become something more than "friend of a friend". As you've probably come to expect, SF2 drops the ball.

------


Concept art of Mess Village. Seems they hadn't quite nailed down Messy's name yet. _{Also why is there a purple genie.}


Early designs of Ken Suther. Seems he was originally supposed to be really nerdy, like his predecessors.


Early designs of Bob Copper. Man, look at that hair.