Part 16: Getting Owned to Unlock My Powers

We're almost to the interesting part of the scenario. But first, another 500 images of talking.



Thankfully there's a wave hole here, or we'd have to wait a whole screen to be able to go kill a man.



: ...*grin*

Hm. On one hand, don't chase people into obvious traps. On the other, he will eventually kill you if you don't chase him. Damn. Got us on the defensive.



Get back here, I haven't killed you yet!


: Well, he'll get his fight! He's probably heading for the Foyer EM-Rd.
: Yeah... But I wonder what his story is...?

Who cares, time for murder.



Mega yells at us if we try to exit the gym. Have to go through the wave road.



Mainly because the cutscene trigger is right here, and if the player pulsed in from above, they might not find it. That being said, honestly? I would have just put two different cutscene triggers, or make the entire box a trigger.



It's not like Megaman doesn't move around once you enter the cutscene. It's a small thing, and nobody should care about it; the only reason I bring it up is as an example of how the game is a little bit more restrictive with your pulse in points.


: Right here.



Dude just casually strolled in from the Gym entrance. How did Geo miss him?

: Hey, ugly! You've got a lot of nerve picking a fight with us.
: You're MegaMan, right?
: Looks like we got famous all of a sudden. ...Heh heh.
: This isn't funny!!
: You're worse off than I figured you'd be; bummin[sic] around inside a cheap body like that.
: What!?
: Come! Show me the power you used to beat all those other FM-ians down.



Looks like someone ate their Wheaties this morning.

Motherfucker, he went giant like the Namekians in Dragonball.

: Huh!?
: What's going on? I-It's like he suddenly changed into someone completely different!
: ...*grin*
: H-Here he comes!



It's really not that big a deal. It's just a large Jammer with extra health.



...Ah. Well. Shit.

If you can't tell, that's my sword hitting the Jammer. It's not the first time I've hit him. But, the HP is still at 800. Yeah, this is another one of those 'unwinnable fights' the series likes doing. Except this time, there's no secret cutscene if you can somehow beat him through precisely timing the moment a barrier drops.

If I did this LP, I would have found a way. I promise you that. I always do.



You also don't have to lose, you just have to last three rounds.

: He's really, really strong!!
: Ha ha ha ha!!


: H-He's really strong!
: Now have a taste of my power!





Yeah, he just jumped over to us and then got the grapple. This is why you make sure to tech the grabs, Geo. Or at least stay out of range when they use their jump in options, you were at least five frames plus on that approach.

More than that. Dude is slower than Zangief and even gave a textbox quote. Geo, PLS.

: ...Mmmgh!!
: Too... powerful... I can't... hold out...
: Here, have some more!!


: Nngwaaaaaaaah!!



Somewhere in the whiteout, Geo pulses out.




"Why are you just laying on the ground, you weirdo?"

: ...Get a hold of yourself.
: ...Nnngh...


: I'm still alright...?
: Right at the last second, you changed out of wave form. Talk about a close call.
: Hey, wait!! What happened to that guy!? The really tall one!?


: He's gone...

Actually he never existed, ooooooh

Run. Hide. Your shadow is here.


: It sounded like he knew who we were... Or was that just my imagination?
???: Hey...
: Yes?




You weren't there a second ago! Are you the ghost?

He can't! That's a custom sprite, and the dude that beat us was a mook!

: Days like these really warm a person's heart. I wish everyday could be like today...


: Huh? Well...

I can't put my finger on it, but those lines feel almost threatening.


: You know me?
: Of course. I'm one of your classmates. I've seen your picture in the yearbooks. So I knew who you were right away. So, how do you do? I'm Patrick Sprigs.

New character! He seems pretty chill so far. At the very least, he's more interested in talking about the weather than "GEO COME TO SCHOOL" so he's better than every other non-Sonia character.

But is he better than Zack, though?


: Just call me Pat.
: But isn't that kind of rude?
: Look, what you call someone is important. You can be better or worse friends based on what you call that person. So...



This exchange probably works a lot better in the original Japanese, where they're a lot more particular about addressing each other. My guess is, without looking at the original script, Geo tried to call Pat by his last name and Pat corrected him to be less formal.


: You wanna hear something funny? Every morning when attendance is taken, Mr. Shepar always calls out your name, even though he knows you're not there. But of course, no one answers back. And then I'd wonder to myself, "Just what kind of kid is Geo?"


: A nice person? I don't think so myself, but...
: Ha ha ha. You're humble too. But it's not like I hate that quality.

Geo, guy, we gotta work on your self-esteem.

His character arc has just begun. It's a good thing this won't fully be resolved until Starforce 3.


: It's just a premonition, but I get the feeling things would be a lot more interesting at school if you were to come. I think we would make great friends.
: Friends, huh...
: Ha ha ha. Oops, look at the time. I've gotta go. Well, this may be good bye, but I hope I'll see you again.



: And that teacher was nice too. *sigh* School, huh?

Geo! No! Going to school will take away your time for S-Ranking EM ghosts.

Yes! Listen to Yeti! He's correct!


: I totally forgot! I'm supposed to be looking at the set! They're probably all wondering where I went...



They can wait a little longer. It's fine, I'm sure.



While the game is letting us explore for a bit, we still can't go to AMAKEN. That'd probably jump ahead of an event flag.




Instead, let's check out this random path for no okay you already know where this is going.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJCaIzzi5Ls

HarpNoteEX is more of the same, just faster, more health, and more health.




HarpNote is a weird card. If you use it, and an enemy is in front of Geo, HarpNote does her Strings attack for 100 damage and paralysis. If there's no enemy, she summons her amps and strums for 60 damage.

I put the chip in because hey, I still have some Mega chip slots, and it's 100 damage. Now let's get back to the Trio.

Yeti's gameplay is starting to mirror mine. Hooray. I'm proud of you, Yeti.



Hi Luna I hope you don't mind, I went and beat up a ghost first.

: S-Sorry... I, uh... I kinda got lost looking for the bathroom...
: *sigh* You're so hopeless. And now it's close to dinnertime. I guess we should all go home for today. Now listen up, Geo. Come to school tomorrow, OK!? If you don't come, we'll be short 1 actor. And this set will be all for naught!!


: (Phew, thank goodness. Now I can finally go to Mr. Boreal's.)

Talking to Luna is the trigger we need to get to AMAKEN.


: You're not worthy of making the Prez wait!

I mean, this is Geo's first time in the remodeled school, and nobody told him where the bathrooms were. How would he know?



Anyway, let's get going to AMAKEN.



This jackass is now here.


: ...Transer. Stay a while.


: There's nothing money can't buy!

Yup, still a jackass.



So here's Boreal. Tell me about my pendant, science man.


: Did something happen, today?
: Actually...


: The pendant started glowing?
: I thought maybe you'd know something about it.
: Well, I know your dad used to wear it, but I don't know much else...
: You don't know either, huh...?
: Hmm, but it's odd that it lit up on its own.


: ...Um, OK.


: I got it, Geo!


: ...this pendant is something like a transmitter.
: A transmitter!? Then this really isn't a regular pendant...
: But this transmitter won't work unless something activates it first. And the thing that activates it is...

Three guess, everyone. The first two don't count. And, the entire time, I'm sitting here chanting 'Don't be BrotherBands, don't be BrotherBands, that's too stupid'.



Uh huh.

What kind of bumfuck stupid person would make a transmitter not send information unless someone had a Facebook friend?


: If this pendant is very close to where a BrotherBand is being formed, it will pick up on that and the transmitter will turn on. And that's what causes it to glow.
: Why would dad not tell anyone about it...?
: I don't know, but it's possible that your pendant is connected to someone somewhere.
: But who could it be connected to?



Pictured: Geo realizing exactly how stupid this entire MegaMan-brand 'science' is.

: You don't think it could be my dad, do you!? If it is, then I can contact him! Mr. Boreal! How do I use this!?
: The transmitter is very old and beat up, so I don't think you can send a signal at all. Maybe if you went to a place with good reception, then maybe you can send something.


: Yeah. If you go to the roof of this building, you might be able to get something. If you take your pendant there and wait, someone just might contact you.


: Thank you, Mr. Boreal!

I mean, I do make fun of this plot point a whole lot (BrotherBands? Really? The power of friendship is literally waves now) but it's a great thing for Geo. This is another solid clue that his dad is alive. Kid's finally getting excited about something that isn't space.



Let's check out the roof. (Fair warning, most of the rest of this update is a whole lot of . Like... The first 200 images I took counted for the entire update to this point. I took a total of 540 screenshots for this. About 10 to 15 of them are gameplay.)

NOOOOOOOOO. Have fun with the transcription, Yeti!


: And that it reacts to BrotherBands... Dad, what is this thing...? Hm?



Just a twinkle in his hand.

: I-It's glowing again!
: So is someone trying to contact us?
: D-Dad...?



It actually does get brighter. Screenshot problems, sorry.


: Did you just feel something?

The screen is now rumbling a little.

: Hey, Geo. Sorry to cut you off, but there's a really strong EM wave coming right at us! At a very high speed too!
: Wh-What!?



The screen is now rumbling a lot. (Also good job Blinky)

: This is not good!
: What's going on!?
: Geo! Hurry and break that pendant!
: What!? Why!?
: That thing is calling down who knows what! Hurry up and smash it before it's too late!
: N-No!!


: I-It's... It's all I have left from my dad!! Oof!!


: These guys!!



: What are they doing here!?
: You seem surprised, Geo.
: Is this just another dream?
: You are not dreaming. This is reality.

It's kind of important to realize that Geo's not wearing his Visualizer right now. Just thought I'd mention that.

Godly EM beings clearly don't give a fuck.


: You mean you have things to tell me? But... Who are you guys?
: We are shadows of the 3 Satellites' admins:




: We cannot leave our Satellites, so we have taken these forms to speak with you.

So, uh, aliens run the satellites. Conspiracy therorists were right all along! I haven't brought it up for a reason, but Pegasus Magic is the one who's been answering the Cipher mails.


: These guys have EM bodies, just like me. Why would they protect a bunch of Earth Satellites?
: The Satellites' admins... Here...?
: The time to fight draws near. We came to prepare you...
: Prepare us for a fight?
: A bond which you must protect has been born. Is that not correct?



Basically, these guys listened for this pendant to send out the signal, because it told them that Geo made a friend? What if someone right next to him became Brothers?! Wouldn't that activate it? Or what if he didn't ever make a BrotherBand?

This plan is dumb, in other words.

Coded genes in the transmitter? Fuck if I know.


: Are you talking about the BrotherBand?
: Correct. Your pendant informed us that you have made a Brother. We have waited for you to form a BrotherBand.
: Whaa!?
: Humans gain true power only when they have something they must protect. How we have waited for this day, when you would obtain that power.

Now I'm just thinking about these three just sitting on the satellites. "Has he made a friend yet?" "No." "C'mon, kid, you can't stare at the stars ALL YEAR!"

:Fucking loser. Can't even make a single friend. Ahahahahaha.

:What a pathetic child. He'd be better off in the womb.

:Womb? Better off not even being conceived.


: If it were to descend onto Earth, you would lose all those you hold dear. Your newborn bond would be severed.
: A grave danger??

The game does start to slip into repetition of dialogue here a little bit. It's not too noticeable, but Geo, at this point, has repeated what someone just said in the form of a question about three times in the last two cutscenes.

: Yes. And you must stand and face that danger.
: Why us?
: It was written into the fate of this planet. From the moment the child of the man who owned that pendant was born unto planet Earth, the fate of the world was sealed as it were.


: You mean my dad!? You know my dad!?
: We cooperated with your father to give birth to the BrotherBand.
: You... You made the BrotherBand with my dad...
: He was a kind man who treasured relationships above all else.
: The Visualizer and pendant you possess now were used by your father to communicate with us.

Also, aliens made future Facebook too. Great.

Aliens made current Facebook. Look at Zuckerberg.


: With your father, Kelvin Stelar, at the center, we are bound by the threads of fate,[sic] Geo... and you as well, Omega-Xis. Only the two of you can stand up to the calamity. The fate of this planet lies with you.

This conversation has been going on for 100 screenshots so far, sheesh... And we just now got to the whole 'You're the savior of the universe!' trope that we all kinda expected.


: Hey, isn't that a bit drastic!?
: Hardly. It would be fine if we could fight, however, we can not stand up to this. The only thing that can is the power you and Omega-Xis hold when you fuse. In other words, the power of MegaMan.
: In preparation for the fated day's coming, we felt that we needed to confer upon you a certain special power...



Okay I'll stop whining about the length of the cutscene, gimme gimme gimme!


: ...you must know the value of your Brothers and must possess a strong heart that is willing to protect all that is dear to it.

Oh come on! Just give me the powerup already! I can kick whatever ass needs it, who gives a shit about Brothers!

Yeti and Giver have blurred lines. Who is really who, anymore?


: ...change into wave form and has a Brother, then there's also Harp Note. If you give them the Star Force, wouldn't that be enough for you guys?
: Unfortunately, only you can receive our powers. The frequency of the FM-ian known as Lyra is too different from our own. However, even as an FM-ian, Omega-Xis, your wave frequency is surprisingly similar to ours.

Hah, they explained this. Good. I was about to ask.


: You say that like... Wait a sec, here... You can't possibly be... survivors of Planet AM!?
: ...Indeed. We are survivors of Planet AM.
: Um, what? Planet AM??

Who cares about the backstory, give me the power already.


: The AM-ians, who had EM bodies just like FM-ians, lived on that planet. The twin planets lived in peace a long time ago, but when the current FM King ascended, a war broke out all of a sudden.


: It was one attack from Planet FM on Planet AM, and at the end of the attack, Planet FM brought it out... Their ultimate weapon... Andromeda.

Oh. Like that thing Mega has. Hmm. This won't have any repercussions down the line, no sir!


: ...the people of Planet AM were wiped out. I didn't think anyone survived. So why would you AM-ians want to give me, your enemy, any power at all?
: Omega-Xis, allow me to pose a question to you.

: Why are you such a punk-ass bitch?

: Why would an FM-ian such as yourself, turn traitor on your own planet?
: (That's true... Why would Mega do that?)
: Tsk! That's my business!
: Then do not question what is our business.
: Hmph! Fine then. Do what you want!

I do like this exchange though! Mega is usually short and brusque with everyone else, and the Admins are the first to really tell him to shut up.

It just took someone stronger. That's all.


: ...you, we must state one thing very clearly. You are weak.

You shut the fuck up, I will end your shitty shadow existence right here and now, just try me.


: We have seen how easily you were crushed by that colossal Jammer.
: That's because he got the drop on us, literally! Right, Geo!?
: That's...
: Do not avoid the point, Omega-Xis.

I think it's really a good point, though? The only reason that 'loss' happened was because the game stopped the Jammer from losing health.

And? So did Bass. Look what happened.


: ...receive our powers.
: To obtain the Star Force, you must first undergo the Star Trials. At your current level, we are not 100% certain you can pass. However, if you cannot pass even these trials, then the future of this planet is grave indeed...



It's a lot of weight to put on a kid's shoulders.

: Stop your cowering, Geo! ...And you guys! Don't underestimate us! We'll pass your silly tests! You'll see!
: M-Mega! Calm down! You don't need to get so worked up!!


: Survey the area with your Visualizer.




Aaah! He's gold now! I love him??!

It's gold-painted. Don't fall for it.

: What are those things?
: Those are the Star Guardians. They are scattered throughout this area.
: There are 5 in total. Defeat them all with the power you possess.




Damn, couldn't catch them warping away. It's not like Geo pulsing out, they just kinda form into a weird orb and then vanish.


: Come on, Geo!
: ......
: Hey, what's wrong, Geo?
: I'm just thinking... This trial is like a connection with my dad. So if I can pass this, I'm 1 step closer to him. ...That's how I see it.


: Then let's not waste any more time! Pulse in!!
: Roger!

Mega right now is basically: "Whatever makes you ready to fight". Though again, we can see Geo is slowly coming out of his shell. He's at least willing to fight, if not for the reasons Mega would probably like. I might be making fun of this cutscene a LOT (seriously, 200 images of text) but the writing is still good.

You're just being an old man about the length. Because you have to transcribe.



So, these little guys.


: Do you wish to take my Star Trial?




You didn't think a Battle Network game would let you get away without having a virus rush for progress, did you?

Not even a rush. You can take breaks between them.

That being said, Cygnus.



0:00:00? Frame perfect presses? Or hacks? Or Giver did this. Make your pick.

They don't expect you to have SP cards this early in the game.






: ...to obtain the Star Force, power of the stars.



TaurusSP.


: ...you must first pass the Star Trials.



On the rare occasion where I don't draw one of my SP cards on the first turn, these fights might almost approach being dangerous, if you're paying zero attention (like me).

Hope you're paying zero attention cuz of the easy difficulty.




LuPavarot is a new virus. I have no idea what it actually does, because I killed it too fast. We'll see it again, though, don't worry.




It's really just the numbers here. Plus, my folder is still a little bit oriented towards slaughtering non-elemental viruses, so RadarMissile will only hit the MonoSword. It's a good card still, just not as broken as it was in the early game.



Now that we've gotten all five Starlights, I'm sure we can just get the Star Force and be done with it.

: Geo.



I'm going to destroy you all if you don't give me the goodie.

: You have passed the first trial.
: However, this is where the real trial begins.
: We will now hold the second trial. Bring the StarLights you have gathered, and come here before us.


: OK!



Save here, by the way. You shouldn't need it, but just in case, right?


: Now what?
: Patience... Next...


: I will be your opponent. If you can defeat me, then the power of the stars is yours.
: We're no weaklings. We'll win. And then you'll see what we're really made of.
: Do not assume me to be the same as the Star Guardians.


: Roger!

Geo's getting better at this whole 'get ready to fight' thing. Good on him.

Omega-Xis is using Lan's dialogue, and Geo is using MegaMan.exe's dialogue. Did I blow your mind, yet?






PegasusShadow. Really not a problem at all. Even with our folder's relative lack of electric-type cards (DragonShadow is the easiest fight for that reason, TaurusFire is fire-element) we can still put out enough damage to chew through the 900 HP quickly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK-0HKMushQ

PegasusShadow is pretty simple. The boss hops around a few times and creates Frost Missiles that shoot down the columns PegasusShadow isn't on. After two or three jumps, PegasusShadow hops to straddle two columns; they flash, and then PegasusShadow charges down them. The attack is called Star Road, because of course. Be aware that PegasusShadow has Super Armor and is immune to status effects like Bubble, Paralyze, or Freeze.

The proper term for status immunity is Status Guard. Also, I didn't know this was Mario Kart.



Pictured: Frost Missiles. They can't be destroyed with most attacks, but something powerful enough (like a Mega Card) can blow them up. If Geo gets hit, he takes 20 damage, but they can be dodged easily (which you should be doing anyway because the safe column is in front of PegasusShadow). Since this is incidental to the moving, there's no counter timing.

20 damage is so pitiful. Christ. Make it 50. This is the big boi admin.



Pictured: Star Road. PegasusShadow's hitbox sits on the left-most column, despite the appearance of straddling both columns. The attack can't be blocked, but just move left or right. A move that makes the boss flinch will also stop the attack like usual. If it connects, Geo takes 40 damage. The counter timing on this attack is the same as TaurusFire's charge, so any time while the boss is rushing towards us.



Not that hard, really.

: W-We did it...
: ......
: Very good. You are stronger than I expected.


: Why did you go easy on us!?
: He was going "easy" on us??
: Yeah, I can tell. That wasn't his full power.
: It is not our goal to fight you. That bout was merely to assess your potential.

Really, I just hear "I'm scared of losing at full power to this kid so I'm going in weak so I have an excuse when I get whipped".

If Pegasus was at full power, Yeti would cry bullshit. These super in-game enemies can't win.


: ...within you to protect those of this planet. Receive this, Geo! My Star Force!!



Geo glows for a bit...

: Aah! My body's glowing!!



....!



Laaaaame.

: Nothing feels different...
: Where the heck is this "Star Force"!? Were you just playing with us!?
: The Star Force is within you. However, whether you can call upon that power, is up to you.


: I never stated that the trial was over. The Star Force is a power of protection. I can only be called upon when the will to protect someone is very strong. You have not found that will as of yet.



Geo can't believe this shit. Seriously! Battle Network 2 you got to steal your powerup from another country. BN3 you got to beat up viruses until you unlocked your next form. BN5 and 6 you beat up other Navis to steal their power. This game? "I'm gonna test youuuuuu!"

I can't wait to kill you for real, PegasusMagic.

Bahahaha. If they tried to measure Geo's will in-game by some means, this might actually have merit. Right now it's just an excuse to call your power in dramatic fashion to whoop that guy who gave you a hard time.

: The next step is up to you. We will continue to watch you... and your growth.


: You will make the Star Force your own.



Good riddance. Losers.

: ...Oh, dang. I remembered something. Pegasus Magic, Leo Kingdom, Dragon Sky... Those guys were known as the 3 Sages of AM. They had a ton of wisdom and strength, and were very influencial AM-ians on Planet AM. I had heard that they left Planet AM before it was destroyed, but who would've thought they'd end up here on Earth?


: The Satellite admins are aliens, and they worked with my dad... and getting the Star Force...
: Well, we don't know that yet! I'll believe it when I see it in action!


: Yeah. So much happened, all in one day. Come on, let's go home.




Stupid horse.

Stupid unwinnable fights.