Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian Part #14 - In Case You Thought Sonia Wasn't A Jerk

Part 14: In Case You Thought Sonia Wasn't A Jerk

Hey guys, guess what?

This scenario shines the spotlight on Solo! I can just feel how excited you are.

You're pathetic...

I don't care what happens to me! I won't let the people I care about get hurt.

Pathetic!

The screen flashes, and Solo's revealed to be standing in the Un-dimension. Losing to Geo (and by proxy Link Power) has pissed him off, and he's basically throwing a tantrum.

Hollow warps in.

What do you want, Hollow?

I have a message from Lady Vega... You should use the Indie Proof...

Leave me alone! I'm not your friend nor your servant. And I certainly don't need your help!

If it is Link Power that you truly despise, then you need the Indie Proof...

And just like that,

Solo does a 180.

You must prepare yourself to use it. If you do use it, you will obtain power undreamed of...

!!

Well that's an interesting reaction from someone who constantly bitches about LP.

Give up all your Link Power for the chance to defeat MegaMan... When you defeat him, it will prove how useless Link Power is... Don't you agree...?

......

If you're not ready to give up your Link Power, I will not force you...

Solo paces for a bit, then makes his decision.

I've always been alone! I don't have any Link Power to give up!

Sure.

Very well... You may have the Indie Proof...

I'm starting to wonder if Hollow broke. That many ellipses can not be healthy.

Solo's screams of pain are accompanied by the Un-dimension flashing and trembling.

It will take time before you fully bond with it...

Hollow warps away, leaving Solo solo.

Cut to Geo's ominous dream of the scenario.

Come on! Let's go home!

Sonia fades away, to Geo's shock. He scans the area for her in vain.

Sonia!?

The screen flashes white,

And this random laugh that will never be explained pops up.

Mega kindly waits for Geo to get dressed before asking if it was another nightmare.

You kept saying Sonia's name in your sleep.

It's been a full week since we found Bud, but we still have no idea where Sonia is... I'm worried.

If you're wondering, no, none of the NPCs seem to care that a nationally famous pop star has been gone for so long.

But she's got Lyra with her and she can Wave Change. I'm pretty sure she can handle herself.

But she's just a young girl, all alone...

And... And she's the first person I ever became Brothers with!

This is all Geo should have said.

Geo gets a call from Bud, who's excitedly exclaims that he has a lead on Sonia. He calls Geo to his house so they can all discuss it.

Since Bud and Zack got flung overseas, they decided the best way to find Sonia would be to watch some international channels. And what do you know, it worked.

I don't know why they didn't just use the internet either.

*Yawn* We haven't even been sleeping properly...

I've even skipped a few meals for this!

Thanks, you guys! I had no idea you two were doing this!

But A for effort I suppose.

Heh-heh! Why wouldn't we be doing this? After all...

We're Sonia Strumm's biggest fans!

Luna: still Luna.

Anyway, we should watch the news show I recorded.

The show explains that lately, planes passing through a certain altitude/location have suddenly broken down. This has forced numerous emergency landings.

This is it! This is the part!

Um... So...

This guy is the pilot of the latest affected plane.

Just before the controls went out... Um... I saw her...

Mega complains about the pilot's nervous streak, but Geo tells him to shush; there's something much more important to talk about.

What's important is the girl wearing pink clothes.

That's gotta be Sonia! At least I think it is!

It does sound like it's her...

She was wearing pink, and the pilot said she was pretty... Those two things sound like Sonia to me, too!

My memories of SF1's endgame are fuzzy, but I'm pretty sure the Echo Ridge group have never seen Harp Note. Bud and Zack are calling the entire group over because they heard about a girl in pink.

I mean they're right since no other girl in the world wears pink, but still.

Yesterday's emergency landing took place at Loch Mess.

Then if we hurry, we can find out from the pilot what happened.

OK. I'll go find out.

Thank God Geo has a brain.

Here's the last Double Tribe: Ninja Saurian.

quote:

Element: Fire
Charge Shot: Dino Cannon
Card Charge: Auto Lock-On
Passive Abilities: Wood +20, Anti-Damage, Fire +30, Super Armor
Link Force Big Bang: Enma Gale

I'd take Saurian Ninja over this. Boosting attack is much better than an auto-target.

After Geo gets to Loch Mess, another cutscene plays.

Yes, our new assistant is investigating that information now.

Did he just speak without an ellipse?

By new assistant you mean that girl you brought back? I thought she wouldn't work out, but she's come around to our ways.

Vega wonders how Hollow managed to convince ~~Sonia~~ the girl.

It was easier than leading a horse to water... She is a kind, cheerful, and honest girl who puts friends first... I just exploited that...

Oh, there we go.

A girl with a pure white heart that was easy to convert to our cause... Put your mind at ease... She will do whatever she is told...

Meanwhile,

Geo's arrived. And you know what?

Screw Sonia, I've got some business underwater.

Yeah, uh, you do that.

My son Patch nagged me into finally getting him a PET. I was planning to wait until he was a little older, but my wife Mayl said he was ready for it, so I bought him one.

He named the NetNavi he installed, "MegaMan Junior". Its programming is taken from the best parts of my Navi, MegaMan and Mayl's Navi, Roll.

Patch was ecstatic. He's determined to be "the greatest NetBattler in the world". I wonder what he'll grow up to be...? That's the greatest thing I have to look forward to as a father.

There's only one of these left.

Another dead Hertz, another Indie Frag.

Also, this guy.

That... guy...

Damn it I forgot to unequip Zenny Finder, let me do that again.

There we go. Now, see how the card has "EX" in its name?

That's because each Mega card has three forms. The base one, the stronger EX version, and the final SP form. Which one you get depends on the level of the boss you beat. And in most other games in the series, that means you get the base from the EX boss and the other two from the SP. And that's usually a pretty annoying process since even encountering SP bosses can be time consuming!

So being able to get the EX card from the EX boss if you do well enough is another thing SF2 gets right. Though it kind of leads to a weird thing where you fight the SP boss just to get the regular card,

since I can get almost all of the SP cards just from Cipher Mail.

Back to the plot. Geo questions the pilot about the girl he saw, and is told that the plane's black box caught her all on film. Unfortunately, it's at the bottom of the loch so nobody can get it.

Nobody except Geo of course.

But first, Bob!

Hmmm? Oh, it's you, Geo.

He's not even surprised anymore.

I take it you're here because of all the plane crashes?

Yes, that's right. THERE'S SOMETHING strange about them.

Bob's really curious about how they all happened at the exact same place.

You know all about the UMAs and other strange phenomena. I don't believe they're isolated incidents. Something is fishy about all of them. The force thinks there's more to them than meets the eye. Someone's planning something, but what?

Bob apologizes for wasting Geo's time with his thoughts, and finishes with a hope his superiors are wrong.

Back underwater, this is magically here now.

Now everyone will know I wasn't just making all that up!

Oh no!!

What's wrong?

Oh, no, no, no... We need a "Projectr" to play the data... Where can we get a "Projectr"...?

From this guy.

His description says his name's ProjectoSnoot,

but he introduces himself as Projectr. The curse of Plesio lives on.

The video starts with a bunch of static, since all of the instruments (including the camera) were screwing up.

but the end clearly shows Harp Note.

Hey! What was that!?

S-Son...

The sun?

Never mind! It was nothing!

This scene implies Sonia's name is pronounced "Sun-ya". It fits, considering Geo and Luna's names.

(Mega, was that...)

(Yup. That was Sonia after she Wave Changes into Harp Note.

While Geo and Mega have their private talk, Tayle is disappointed.

...Yes it would?

Tayle starts to leave, but Geo cuts him off to ask a question.

Where were these images recorded?

Hmm... Let's see...

The Bermuda Maze...

It's east of Whazzap. When a plane passes through there, its instruments go nuts.

Geo resolves to go there through the Sky Wave.

Also the game won't let me return this.

Bermuda's right past Whazzap, so I'll take a pit stop there.

There are tourists all over Whazzap.

But I came for this, a piece of ammonite I can pulse into.

Inside is another Blank Card, an HP Memory 10, and the last piece of old data.

At the SciLab meeting I put forth my "Link Hypothesis" that I've been pondering for some time now.

MegaMan and I used to fight together, risking our lives. Each time, there was this almost miraculous power between us that helped pull us through.

I started thinking about that power, and that's what started me on my hypothesis. I believe that despite their invisibility, bonds contain an incredible power. I think that by researching this hypothesis, the results will somehow benefit the world. Maybe not in my lifetime, but...

I'd like to think that future generations will be able to use it as a springboard to create a brighter future for all!

That's right: Link Power is Cutscene Power. Turns out Solo's a giant hypocrite!