Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian Part #23 - Well That Was Entirely Pointless

Part 23: Well That Was Entirely Pointless

This week's update delayed by Salty Bet and my shitty new ISP. Let me tell you, nothing more fun than waiting an hour for your images to upload because your net keeps crashing every other minute.

Le Mu blows up.

Except not really, it's kind of just broken.

He's a god...!

Wait Le Mu's a he? All that time correcting my pronouns was for nothing.

I... I did it! Aghh!

MegaMan falls to his knees in exhaustion. Probably shouldn't have taken the Tribe King video second, this doesn't make much sense when the battle was a minute long.

I have no choice now!

Le Mu! I ask you to use the last of your power to smash Mu into the Earth below!

Wouldn't that happen anyways?

You can't!

Anyways,

I'm sure you've all been on the edge of your seats waiting to hear about Rogue.

Hah!

Since this time Rogue is on the top-left of the screen, he can't do his "zoom forward and change to after slash pose". To get around this the programmers just had the screen flash white,

and have Rogue and Hollow switch places. Which is lazy, but somewhat understandable.

What's not so understandable is when they do it again. Come on guys, this is the end of the game! Would it kill you to throw in some effort?

Fighting you has grown tiresome. Time to finish this!

Oh.

I... will defeat you...

Hollow suddenly gasps. Presumably he felt something through his BB?

Lady Vega...!

What?

Hollow doesn't even bother to answer and warps away. So much for an endless battle in the void.

......What's going on outside?

Vega asks if Le Mu is ready to end everything.

Seems he is!

What are you doing!?

After Mu smashes into the Earth below, I'll use the remaining energy to blow it up! This continent is nothing more than a giant bomb now!

How the hell does that even begin to work? Are EM waves explosive?

...Actually, enemies do blow up on defeat. Never thought that would be plot-critical but SF2 is full of surprises.

If I cannot realize my goal... then the least I can do is rid the world of all its foolish people! It doesn't matter that it will cost my life!

I hate to break it to you Vega, but Mu is not particularly big. It's like about the size of an island? It blowing up isn't going to destroy all of society, especially not one with Star Force's ridiculous super science.

*Nod!*

Also this is a terrible way to translate "slumping over".

Don't give up, kid!

Mega points out that all they have to do is destroy Le Mu for good before impact.

MegaMan prepares to take the shot, but then Hollow joins the fray.

And the first thing he does is the devastating "push the other guy over" technique.

I apologize for being delayed.

Ahh! Hollow! You've come just in time! Destroy this whelp!

Grr...!

Geo rises to his feet while Mega grumbles that they don't have any time to waste on Hollow.

Yi-aaargh!

So Geo unleashes his ultimate attack:

The deadly body slam.

...!!

Somehow this replicates the exact damage Rogue's sword did to Hollow's costume.

......

It's a person...

I don't think so... it's an EM wave! This guy's a Matter Wave!

What gave it away, the fact that he's flashing blue? Come on Geo.

You figured it out... I'll let you in on a little secret. Hollow...

Hold up! Then everything Zack was saying is true!

Out of context, I love how it sounds like Geo doesn't trust Zack's word at all.

Geo recalls that Zack claimed Vega made the first Matter Wave, but he's surprised to hear it was a person.

...Yes. That person was the precious thing that was taken from me. Everything was set into motion the moment I lost him.

Oh great, more backstory. The game just ended, why are the writers picking now to try to make me give a shit about the main villain?

His name was Altair...

By the way, did you look up Tanabata like I said to last update?

Everyone said that he was gifted. I wanted to be just like Altair...

Because if not you should do it right now.

...I loved him... And he loved me... We were very happy together, until...

See, the Tanabata Festival celebrates what is pretty much Japan's Romeo and Juliet.

It was because some fools started a war that he was forced to fight!

The result of this story is that two star-crossed lovers, Orihime and Hirohito, are only allowed to meet once per year.

I was filled with a sadness that wouldn't abate. Then I hit upon the notion that there might be a way to bring Altair back...

Bring him back...?

This meeting is represented by the two stars Vega and Altair.

Bringing him back required artificial means. And that's when I decided to pursue a career in science. After some time, I finally succeeded! I could reproduce Altair as an EM Wave.

So for all intents and purposes the main villains are named Romeo and Juliet.

Another scientist used my research, and that's how Matter Waves were invented.

And once you realize that, Vega and Hollow become utterly impossible to take seriously. Because come the fuck on.

OK... So what you're saying is you created Matter Waves to make people.

Vega confirms, but sighs that things didn't go as well as she hoped. Hollow was an exact physical copy of Altair,

Hence the name.

All I created is a loyal servant, a Matter Wave that will do whatever I say...

Vega laughs that that was when she gave up... or at least that was when she tried to.

"It's a failure." I knew that I would tell myself that... But I couldn't let him go... I knew he was just a Matter Wave, but he looked like Altair.

I thought he would talk to me like Altair did... And I never gave up hoping that, dreaming it.

Altair was truly gone... And then something inside me changed.

It takes its sweet time doing it, but Vega's backstory does ultimately tie her to the game's theme.

I was no longer filled with sadness, but a different emotion. I was filled with hatred for those who took Altair away from me... And... for this world...

It wasn't her anger at stupidity that drives her, it's the loss of a loved one. She's probably supposed to be how Geo could have ended up if he didn't have all his friends.

The world that robbed me of happiness with him... I would make everyone pay. I would change the world!

I mean the whole thing's still silly as hell because of course the one person who wants to destroy everything just happens to come across the tools to do that.

This was my chance to change the world. To accomplish that, I would need someone I could trust... If I wanted a confidant, it could only be one person... the Matter Wave version of Altair.

I wanted Altair to see me dispel my sadness of losing him. And I wanted to be at Altair's side no matter what happened.

...

I would have never lost Altair to war. If... If I were a god, then I would have been able to bring him back!

...! But you can't think...!

Enough of your words! I don't expect you to understand my regrets and frustrations. Hollow! Finish him!

......

This time it's Geo who groans that he doesn't have time for this drama.

And just like that, Le Mu suffers a bad case of explosions. Vega tries to calm him down, but Mega yells that the EM God is in critical condition.

It's dangerous here, Lady Vega! Please leave! You can no longer control Le Mu!

The explosions grow more intense, but Vega keeps on trying to stop them.

The screen goes white,

and Geo finds himself knocked all the way back to the entrance. He's okay enough to stand up, and the first thing he does is check on Le Mu.

Well, he's not going crazy, but he's still alive. He's one tough...

Hollow!

Geo turns around to find that Vega and Hollow were knocked even farther than him. And while that should've killed Vega,

I saw what happened. He protected her with his own body.

Hollow made sure it didn't.

...! It's OK. Don't talk, Hollow!

My... apologies...

What are you saying? You just saved my life.

My... apologies... I... still... couldn't...

This would be touching if this massive aspect of Hollow's character was touched on at all previous to this scenario.

As is the writers have compressed what should have been a game-long mystery into what, two scenes? Three?

...!! You're still concerned with that?

I couldn't make... your dream... come true...

......

I just... wanted to tell you... one thing... that Altair knew... So I could thank you... for giving me... a chance... at life...

Man, what's Vega so worried about? Considering his previous abuse of ellipses, all of these dots must mean that Hollow's fine.

You don't have to thank me...!

But... Having you still brought me joy. I was happy to have you by my side!

...Gyah-gu!!

Hollow!

Geo must be feeling so awkward right now.

Huff... huff... If... If there really is a... higher power... Please... let me do this one thing... for the one who gave me life...

...!! No...

......

Hollow...!! Don't leave me!

Welp. Now Vega has to go into her Star Carrier, select the Hollow Matter Wave, and rematerialize him all over again.

Noooooo!

Oh wait she can't do that because reasons.

Vega falls to her knees in despair.

And Geo finally enters the scene.

Hollow... You always thought of me, and tried to make me happy. I never really knew...

Vega groans that even though Hollow wasn't Altair, she treasured the time she spent with him. In fact, Hollow had filled in the hole Altair's death had left in her heart!

You were a part of me....

Again, this would all be much more meaningful if it wasn't all introduced at the ass end of the plot.

......

Not again... I've lost something precious to me again...

So are just ignoring that you caused Hollow to die, or?

Yi-argh... Yi-aaarrgggh!

I guess that's a yes.

Anyways!

...?

??: ...se don't...

What the...!?

Who's up for some divine intervention?

??: ...ease... don't...

Am I hearing things?

No... I can hear it, too...

Because clearly, the best way to resolve the villain's main motivation being a dead lover is to

have that lover's ghost come back from the dead!

Where's that coming from?

??: Please... don't cry... Ve... ga...

I can hear it in my head... Who are you?

For someone who built an exact duplicate of her lost love all in hopes of hearing his voice again,

??: Please, don't cry, Vegalita...

Vega is surprisingly bad at recognizing Altair's voice.

...! It can't be... Only one person called me that... No!

??: It's me, Vegalita.

Is that really you!?

Altair explains that Hollow's prayer called him here.

??: It was a really strong prayer. It passed through dimensions.

Altair apologizes for having left Vega behind, claiming he never wanted to make her sad. Which is kind of silly since he died and all.

You don't know...! You don't know how much I wanted to hear your voice again! *Sniffle*

Are we in some kind of dream!?

No... It's a miracle...

Our heroes are still just standing there.

Altair... Please come back to me...

??: I can't do that... But I promise that I will always watch over you. Always...

Altair...

??: I want you to promise me something, Vegalita.

Why not? I'm doing it for you!

??: I want you to remember what we once shared... We shared loved and happiness together... Right...?

So in the end,

Yes, but...! ...But that's because you changed me... Now with you gone...!

Geo doesn't really do anything.

??: I understand, believe me. All those tears blurred your view of the world... But now, it's time to wipe those tears away.

Sure he stopped Le Mu, but it's Altair who "redeems" Vega. And just like everything else in this scenario, he suddenly popped in out of nowhere with no prior foreshadowing.

......

??: It's time for me to go now...

Altair!! Don't leave me! Let me go with you!

??: You shouldn't say things like that. The voice that called me here... He gave up his life so he could save yours, didn't he?

...!! Hollow...

Vega is a no-show in SF3, so it's actually safe to assume she dies during SF2's ending.

...Altair... I only have one more favor to ask... Call me by... Call my... name...

??: ...Vegalita... I love you. Now and forever...

Altair...

??: Farewell, Vegalita. Live a long and happy life.

Altair!! Altair! Altaaaair!

The yellow sparkles stop. Vega is silent for a bit, then wonders if she imagined the whole thing.

I heard it as well. You didn't imagine it.

......

This is what happens... This is what a bond is!

A bond...

Yes, your bonds! The one between you and Altair... And the one between you and Hollow! Those bonds are your power!

Was this a conversation between MegaMan and Rogue that got cut and repurposed? Because this makes no sense at all.

Even if they're far away from you... your connection to them surpasses time and space!

What Geo should be doing right now is talking about his dad, which would call back to Vega's earlier claim that Geo couldn't possibly understand her life.

Instead he shatters the (hypothetical) pathos of the scene to basically say "see, my definition of Link Power was right!"

Altair... Hollow...

Stay here, go back. Do whatever you want. Just leave me...!

......Fine. But I want to say something first.

Well it's a bit late, but I guess now Geo will tell his sto-

"Live a long and happy life."

What?

It's what Altair said. By some miracle he came to tell you that. Don't let that miracle be in vain.

......

Le Mu is sick of being left out.

Crikey! This guy just doesn't give up!

Mu... It's starting to fall out of the sky...

Well it sure took its time then.

What!?

He's still following the order I gave him. In a few minutes, Mu will crash into the Earth.

I take this bit as the writers admitting the Vega cutscenes took way too damn long, so they threw this in to jog the player's memories.

What should we do!?

We have to destroy Le Mu before we crash... The Earth should be safe if we do that.

The justification for this is that Le Mu is holding all of Mu together. By destroying him, Mu will break up into tiny fragments that will spread damage on a much, much wider scale.

I don't think this plan was very well thought out.

Gotcha! You get out of her. It's gonna get dangerous.

But fuck it, why not.

Vega asks what MegaMan will do.

But!

Just hurry up and go! And remember Altair's words!

...!!

Geo reassures Vega that he'll be fine, and eventually she agrees to his plan. But he has to do something for her too.

So you'd better make sure you'd come back!

I'm not sure why she suddenly cares about Geo so much when he wasn't even the one to convince her.

I will!

Cut to black since Vega doesn't have walking sprites.

Now it's just you and me, kid. I'll tell you right now. I don't plan on going down with this rock.

I'm with you on that! We've got everyone waiting for us! So we've got no choice but to stop Le Mu!

Now I need to walk back to Le Mu.

He's on his last legs. We can take him!

Yeah!

Geo fires a charge shot,

and apparently severely damages Le Mu? They could have at least made a damaged form of the sprite.

Geo releases another charge shot,

but for some arbitary reason this one doesn't do anything.

I guess that's why he's the god of EM waves!

Le Mu roars, and the screen fades to white while Geo screams.

I guess he got attacked?

??: ...Me... Ma...

...?

??: ...ga... Ma...

That voice!!

......

Geo shakily gets up and wonders if he blacked out. Meanwhile Mega asks if he has a plan to take down Le Mu.

Dunno... But we're not gonna give up!

Geo tries to get another shot ready, but finds himself too drained to do it.

Then the mysterious voice comes back.

I must be losing it. I keep hearing things in my head... I guess... this is the end...

??: ...Mega...

Hold on! I hear it, too! ...!!

Confused, Geo takes out his Star Carrier...

and inadvertently picks up the phone.

Prez!!

In what is perhaps the world's biggest dick move,

Luna has gathered up all of Echo Ridge to watch her talk to Geo. _{Except for Hope.}

I'm sure nobody will wonder why Luna has MegaMan's number.

We could hear your voice, and your bravery! It was coming through the Star Carrier!

But that's not the worst part.

The whole world's been listening to it

This shit is streaming worldwide.

I asked someone at the TV station to help!

And it's all because of this fuckup.

Geo is powered by friendship, not popularity. What the fuck are you clowns doing?

I guess nobody cares about Wilshire Hills.

No one is scared anymore! No one is thinking of saving only themselves!

Well that's awfully convenient.

You showed everyone how to be brave... It's because you risked your life for everyone!

Geo's Star Carrier wasn't even on until now. Was the sound alone enough?

We're all here waiting for you! You have to come back! Everyone in the world is waiting for you!

...You're always there... You're always giving me encouragement... It's always been you!

Geo rises to his feet.

Haaa... haa... You guys...

That's why...

You can count on it!

You did it, kid! You hear me? You did it!

Gasping for breath, Geo admits that now he's completely spent. Again. Mega's about to tell him to get his ass in gear anyways, but a huge tremor cuts him off.

What in the...? It looks like the whole place is falling apart! It's got no power source anymore! Kid, you gotta get us outta here pronto!!

I know... But...

Kid...?

Is this still on camera?

You don't wanna go down with this hunk of rock! Everyone's waiting for you, remember? Kid! Geo!

I think... I'm gonna... black out...

I'm not going to make it back... I broke my promise to all of you... I'm so sorry...

I wanted... to be a little more like you...

I fought the best I could... That's what you would've done...

...isn't it... Dad?

I keep calling him, but I can't get through on his Star Carrier! MegaMan! Are you there?

Ahh! Everyone, look! It's the continent of Mu...! It's falling apart...!

Geo's still up there!

Well there goes the secret identity.

MegaMan!! MegaMaaaan!!

Despite the fact it was a plot point that Mu had moved to Electopia, now it's over the Bermuda Triangle again.

As the "continent" blows up, an eerie light can be seen...

plunging into the ocean.

The newscaster announces that thanks to the efforts of MegaMan, Mu has broken up into pieces. The world has been saved.

And indeed, by SF3 MegaMan is an international celebrity. It's pretty cool, especially considering the series' prior track record with world fame.

Music: Engraved Memories

Not so cool are the credits, which are an unskippable six-minute slideshow

of wall paintings depicting the events of the game. I guess the people of Mu predicted everything?

If you want to see all of them, just go to the table of contents in the first post.

At the end the OOPArt sinks to the bottom of the ocean, irrelevant even in its final moments.

Cue a quick progress report on my Library completion,

and then the epilogue.

......Am I... Am I dead?

??: Geo...

...?

??: Geo... Can you hear me...?

Dad? Is that you!?

You did a great job, son... You made your father very proud.

SF3 establishes that Kelvin's lightyears away in space, so this is Geo hallucinating.

Dad... I tried... I tried my best... I wanted to be like you, Dad...

I know, Geo...

You have to keep the promise you made.

......

I know there are others that you care about... And I know they care about you, too. If you don't go back, you're going to make a lot of people very sad.

If you really care about them... you'll go back and make them happy. Won't you?

...Yeah...

Kelvin wishes Geo luck, and promises to always be with him.

Dad...

And then Geo wakes up in the exact spot he began the game in.

Huh? I thought I was on... I was on Mu... Then... What happened?

Now you wake up! You're pathetic...

In the game's continuing efforts to sabotage all of its themes and characters, Geo's friends aren't the ones to save him.

Solo! ...!!

Nope, it's Solo. You know, the guy who's supposed to despise sentimental stuff like this.

I wouldn't say that.

I see.

So Geo's unconscious body, in the throne room at the very center of Mu, was blocking your way out.

That makes perfect sense.

So I just picked you up and brought you here.

This would make sense if Geo had convinced Solo that he was wrong about life, but that didn't happen so this is just Solo's character veering off course again.

I see...

...

Solo... Your land, it's...

Considering that's what your character is about? Yeah.

Do I look weak to you?

But no, Solo has to be ~edgy and cool~, he can't show weak human emotions.
_{Except anger, cause that's totally not an emotion.}

Mu is gone, and I don't feel anything for it.

......

He's totally bullshitting.

Solo...

Hmph...

Solo starts to walk away, but Geo calls for him to wait.

You're hurt. We should get you some help...!

Whatever... We should never have crossed paths.

Finally something I can agree with.

We don't get each other.

Oh I get you. I get that you're a terrible character.

......

This is where you belong... Being here makes me sick to my stomach. I'm outta here.

Solo leaves for good.

I belong here...

The crew rush at Geo and fall over themselves welcoming him. Luna in particular is in tears.

Prez couldn't stop crying until she knew you were back. Her eyes are still all red and puffy...

Zack: still a jerk.

Yeah, and you were crying like a wild coyote!

Luna: still prone to mood swings.

Well... I started to think that Geo wasn't going to come back... Ooooh...! Now I'm crying again!

Geo, you really did an awesome job! I'm gonna get you all the ginger beef you can eat!

No, scratch that. I'm getting you a filet mignon! I'll feed you filet mignon till you burst! Yah-ha-ha-ha!

Bud: still really likes food.

Geo...

You really are a hero! I'm really glad you came back to us! *Sniffle*

Sonia: still the only tolerable friend Geo has.

Man, it's like nothing's changed.

Geo, there's something I want to say.

Hm? What's that?