Part 32: Rematch

Alternative: Our Last Backhoe



Alright Boreal, spill. You're the next flag, so hurry up.


: Um, is there any way we can transmit something from here up to the space station?
: Hmm... Honestly, I think it would be very hard... It could be anywhere in space. Looking for it is like trying to catch that one special fish in the endless sea of the void.
: Oh...

Space is big, everyone. It makes sense that just picking a direction and aiming wouldn't work.


: What is it?
: I think there might be a way.
: Really!?
: I think you know, but after that incident, a section of Kelvin's station fell to Earth.
: ...*gulp*

How convenient. I'm glad that it happened, and that this was foreshadowed.

Yeah, they could have easily mentioned this way earlier. Hell, in the intro.


: ...we might be able to contact the space station.
: Where is that section right now!?
: I'm sorry, but... the person who would know no longer works at NAZA.
: What...?
: There was only one person who knew... He was our boss at the time, and was the person ultimately responsible for creating a BrotherBand between Earth and Planet FM.

So, I guess it went poorly. My guess is that he had to quit because of, well, it didn't exactly go well.


: ...search, but one day, he suddenly left NAZA, taking everything he knew about it with him. No one has heard from him again. But I heard a rumor that he has been spotted in the vicinity.


: ...trouble. I'm sure NAZA knows something too. They must have caught the signal from the space station as well, and they have some very powerful EM weapons... Oops, don't tell anyone I told you that.
: E-EM weapons!? Andromeda'd just eat them up!

Yes, let's launch the EM weapons at the FM-ians. I'm sure this is a good plan and they have no way to counter a weapon like that.

Omega-Xis just said this out loud. Omega-Xis what the hell, man?


: ...about your old boss!
: What are you going to do?
: I... I want to do something to help...
: Ha ha ha, OK. I haven't seen him in a while, but he was a refined old man.
: An old man, huh? Thanks, Mr. Boreal!

And that's our next goal. Do we get any more information? Ha ha ha. No.

Once again, Battle Network to the core. Rub A on everything to find the old man.


: ...because of what's happening, but let's not worry your mom too much, OK?
: ...I understand.



Where would the old man be?



How about instead, we say screw that old man and clean up some more FM-ian ghosts? It's more fun than what we would be doing.

Agreed. FIGHT.



These two are here. Their EX form is faster and hits harder, so be careful.




The EX version really isn't that bad. Plus, the card is incredible - it's a breaking punch down your column, then the other Gemini jumps to the nearest enemy and does a paralyzing slice. If they hit both, it's 140 damage.

Incredible card it is. Not to mention you can apply Bubble Status to some cards, meaning double damage. For those of you who don't remember the Busting Level system and are confused that Yeti got an S-rank despite being over 30 seconds, keep in mind that Counters give you +1 point for every successful application up to a +3. So, Yeti gains 9 points on time, +1 for winning without taking damage and at least +1 for a counter, putting him at 11 points (S).




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZF8d-q3TeE

Next up, CancerBubble SP. Now that we have Gemini's card, it's a little bit easier.

CancerBubble SP's counter frames are actually pretty bad. At the start of the match you'll want to use something like StickyRain to hit that first counter frame -- it's too quick otherwise.




Not the best time in the world, but it's good enough for the S rank. Getting the 10-second times will be in a later update.

Good. I demand 10 seconds.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VFY1naNK02Y

WolfWoods EX is our next stop. Nothing much has changed, because BreakTimeBomb still exists.




An appreciable upgrade, and something I'll definitely appreciate for the next set of fights.



Since I'm going up against the SP version of Gemini Spark now. These bastards move so fast that you REALLY have to be careful, or you're taking three or four hits.



Notice how I'm at 1 HP. These guys do not mess around.

Yeti pls. You're just too slow. Bring more VulcanSeeds.



Also a nice boost of 20 damage for their EX card.



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igAbjD0vOHU

Acceptable. You were doing great for a bit.

And, more officially, the SP fight for their SP card. The delete time is actually pretty low, because these guys move so fast and will overwhelm you that it's really a race to kill them before they kill you.



Yeah, getting them that close to the 10-second limit is a huge power boost. This thing just does 300 damage and paralyzes, no big deal.




And, since we've beat up GeminiSpark, I'll just take a second copy of the card.



I can't put it off forever, though. There are only three old man NPCs in the game, so it's pretty simple to check them all. I'll save everyone the trouble though, since the others (old guy in the Dream Island park, and old guy on top of Macy's) don't know what's going on.


: It's like that day all over again... Maybe I'll write about it in my Transer...

Thanks for letting us know.



Let's snoop in an old man's diary.

Rude.


: ...Jes[sic] like that day, the day of the incident... I've got this strange feeling in my chest. It's just like the feeling I had that day 3 years ago. On a day like this, it's better that I just have my favorite tropical tea and lie down. But it is a little hard to come by...
: I believe the owner of Big Wave had some. But I don't wanna just walk up to his shop and start shouting, "Gimme some tropical tea!" That's the trouble...

Could you NOT write a novel, old man?

Tell that to the other fucks on social media who insist on letting the world know they have problems. I aggressively tell them that I don't care.




Anyway, he wants some tropical tea from this guy, so let's see if we can get it for him. Maybe he'll talk to us if we get him some.


: Huh? "Tropical Tea"? Oh! You want that!? A single sip whisks you away to a tropical paradise. It's happiness in liquid form, sparkling like the sun on the ocean waves. That's the tea you're looking for, right?



Why would he? This is a card store.

: Well, I'm all out today, but I've some of my own. Huh? You want me to give you my stash? Aw, come on, dude! I was gonna save it for tonight.


: Oh, alright. I'll cut you a deal, man. 3000 Zennys. How about it?



Hey, remember last update, how I mentioned I used the last of my funds to get the extra HPMem? Sigh.

This is why you farm green datas always. ALWAYS.

A quick grinding session later...




: Enjoy that tea! ...And how did you get back here anyway...? Heh, whatever...


: Um... I sort of have something I want to ask...
: Sorry, sonny, but I don't want to talk right now.
: .........


: Th-That's... That's Tropical Tea, isn't it!? Oh, please let me have it! It's my favorite!
: Um, well, can you answer my question first?
: If it's just a question, then sure!
: Well, you see...

Bribery works so well.

If I give you tea, will you spill your guts.


: ...Yes, I was the one in charge of that tragic space station mission... I have wronged him in the worst way possible... And no matter how much I want to apologize, I don't expect I'll ever be forgiven.
: But you can make up for what you did, sir. There was a piece of the station that fell back to Earth after the incident, right?


: ...communicate with the station's main section?
: ...Yes. If I don't, the whole world will be in danger!
: That look in your eyes... You remind me so much of your father... Alright. I'll tell you where I hid that piece of the space station.

Well that was pretty easy, all things considered.

What's the catch?


: Yeah...
: So where is it?
: Where is it...? Hmm... Where did I hide it...?
: What!?


: ...telling someone where I'd hidden it by accident, I used an ancient secret technique to wipe that knowledge from my mind. But ever since I did that, my memory's just gotten worse and worse. Ha ha.
: Th-Then, you have no idea where it is...?

SIGH.

I'm sorry, what? Can I learn this ancient secret technique?


: ...someone would ask me someday, so I hid the location in a piece of data somewhere. I'm pretty sure it's in the research facility of one of my past subordinates. I hid it with a program in something that has to do with the space station.
: Subordinate...? Are you talking about Mr. Boreal?
: Oh! Yes, that's the fellow!


: If it's with a program... Sounds like we should check out some Comp Spaces. And something related to the space station... OK, let's try to find this thing! Thanks a lot, Mr. Gatte!

Huh...? He wiped the memory so in case he was ever asked, he could never tell them. This implies that it was a really bad message that no one could hear. But he remembers the general location anyway! If he mentioned at least this much, someone would have found it.



Always remember to pay the bribe.


: ......... I heard a piece of the message that the station was broadcasting at the time of the incident. When I heard that the FM-ians were coming to Earth, I was scared out of my wits. And then, a piece of the station fell to Earth.


: ...communication equipment was still onboard. It was broken, but from that, we could get an idea of where the space station was.


: ...find out where Earth was. So in order to prevent that, I tried to isolate the piece in a place where no one would ever find it. I'm really sorry for cutting the crew of the space station off like that, and I did fix the transmitter in case we ever needed to use it to make contact, but as the one who was responsible for the mission, I had to do what I did to protect the Earth from the invaders...

He really needs to stop talking.

Well, I guess. Tactical casualties and all that.


: ...didn't really abandon my dad...
: But in essence, we did... I'm really sorry for what I've done...
: ...No, I think my dad would understand. Thank you very much.

It says a lot about Geo that he doesn't lose it when Iver reveals he could have rescued his dad. He actually does grow a lot, which is why I'm so upset that they ruin things in the writing by having the admins spit it out.



We're going to take a detour here for a bit to swing by the 1-A comp space. We have the card this guy wanted, way back during the third scenario.


: Oh, thank the stars!! Now the teachers won't get mad at me. We Navis must also take responsibility for our mistakes. This is for your kindness.



Thanks, thanks.



I mean, I still won't use it, but it's a decent weapon. A bit late for this late in the game, though. I guess the fast charge makes up for it, since you'll get to use charge shots more frequently.



Well, we need something in Boreal's lab, and the museum is really the only place to look.


"In just a few years, the Space Colony will be a reality. People will live and work in space."



Oh? This wasn't here the last time we looked at this.

Yep, welcome to late-game computers in early-game areas. I'm a fan.





Huh. That's convenient, isn't it? More importantly, there are finally new viruses!



Less interestingly, it's the third tier of the Zap family. Harder, faster, more health. You know the drill.

The Eyez virus is new, however. It will spin around (literally); the only part of it that's vulnerable to non-breaking damage is the eye, but if it 'sees' MegaMan in the same column as it, it will shock MegaMan's square three times. The shocks will paralyze MegaMan if it hits. The counter timing is right before it starts shocking.




These were honestly pretty quick to grab. I think only three or four fights?




Voltic Eye isn't bad but I haven't really used it in my card decks before. Maybe I'll give it a shot. ThunderBall3, on the other hand, is slow and reliable paralyze effect so it's fine.

Haven't USED IT!?!??!?! YETI! It's Magnum from Battle Network but ON CRACK. Invis pierce, multi-hit, electric element Magnum! FILL YOUR DECK WITH VOLCTIC EYE!


: IT'S ONLY A MATTER OF TIME BEFORE HUMANS BEGIN LIVING IN SPACE. SOON I TOO WILL BE MAKING MY SPACE DEBUT. ...WAIT, THERE'S NO AIR IN SPACE. BUT WAVES DON'T NEED AIR TO LIVE, DO THEY? WAIT... ARE WAVES ALIVE? ...WAIT! WHAT ARE WAVES ANYWAY? I'D BETTER NOT THINK ABOUT IT TOO MUCH... MAYBE I SHOULD JUST STAY HERE ON EARTH!

Be careful, Mr. Hertz. Space is dangerous.



As you might have gathered by the endgame viruses, this is where we need to go to find the guy's data.


: ...talking about? The data about where that piece of the space station is hidden?
: Hmm, it's got a strong EM wave around it... Looks like we've gotta get rid of the EM wave before we can read the data inside. It's probably a virus that's making it...
: I know... but I have to deal with it or else!
: Yeah!
: Wave Battle! Ride On!!



Not a rough fight. These are the viruses here in the comp space, only the weaker two are buffed up. I break through them pretty quickly.



: Let's take a good look at that "NAZAData".

We actually do have to look at it in our inventory.


The entrance to it is hidden under rubbish, but remove the trash and you can get to it.

Remove trash, got it. The only way we can remove trash is with a backhoe, so...


: ...Alright!!

The only backhoe left.

Our last backhoe.


: Shooooovel!


: Shoooooooovel!



: Thanks, ShovelMan!
: Shooooovel!


: What are you waiting for!? Let's go!
: Y-Yeah!!



Huh. Neat.

How the fuck did no one ever find this



We are deep underground. Which I guess makes sense. If I pull down the Visualizer, there aren't any Wave roads at all.



And here's the space component. He wasn't kidding when he said it was messed up.


: You think it'll work?
: It doesn't look too bad, so I think the main system is probably still intact. But I may not know enough to fix it...
: ...Geo? I'm really surprised to find you here.
: Who's there!?

Honestly I'd really hope Geo can't fix a space station. There's a limit to the amount of Capcom Science I'll accept.



: I got a call from Iver after you left. He said you had asked him for his help.
: Mr. Gatte...
: I never knew it was hidden in a place like this. Well, let's fix this up, shall we? And then we've gotta contact NAZA...
: Wait! Please! Don't tell NAZA, Mr. Boreal!


: ...something, but let's be realistic. How do you plan to fight against Planet FM? We don't have any way to fight them.
: I... Well...

Boreal finally has a point.

We fight them with S-ranks. And that Voltic Eye you haven't used.



...Okay I know this looks like a normal image but pretend it's shaking violently.


: That's...



That's probably not good.

: It was able to make it down here!?



Ah. Is that good?


: Get back, Geo!
: Sorry, but I'm not going to let you interfere.


: Aaaaaaaaaah!!
: Gnaaaaaawh!!

That sounds painful.


: The wave ball has changed this area into a wave space, so you should be able to, right? Heh, but if you want to offer me a free shot, I might just hit you with another electric shock.
: Nngh...
: R... Run... Geo...
: (If I transform, it would leave me wide open. My only option is to somehow slow him down. Even just a little...)

Oh look, we use Anime Transformation Sequence against the heroes! Oh no!


: We wouldn't want something to interrupt us again because I was having too much fun.
: *gasp!*




Oh, hey Pat.

Pat Ex Machina, literally.


: Aaaaah!! Don't... worry about... me... Geo... Transform... Now...
: Gotcha! EM Wave Change! Geo Stelar, On The Air!!



I guess that was enough time.

: Gemini! I'm your opponent!
: Geo... You... What...?
: Tsk, never fails. Someone always gets in the way.


: Now that you're MegaMan, I'm through playing around. Hah!



Hey, hang on, that seems like you're breaking a few rules here.

This is an excuse to throw in a boss fight; what do you expect?


: I recreated this shape from data in my memory. I don't need Pat or his body anymore! Prepare yourself, MegaMan!
: Mega, he's attacking!
: Don't get sloppy now!



I just like how bored he seems here.

: Ugh, I just killed you three times this update already, leave me alone.



They aren't even the upgraded version of Gemini Spark. After going up against the SP version, these two go down like chumps.

The game bitched out. Just let us fight an 1800 HP boss. Do it!



VulcanSeed directly to the face, plus a BreakTimeBomb, plus Heavy Cannon meant that Gemini was down to about 300 HP after the first turn.


: Andromeda...! Avenge us...!



Get outta here. For good this time, please.


: Pat!
: Ooogh... Geo... I don't think this makes up for what I did to you, but I... I still hope... I can be... your Brother... *thud*
: Pat!!

This doesn't make you a good character, but good job, Pat.


: But we should take him to AMAKEN just to be safe. Are you OK?
: I'm OK. But Pat... We should hurry.
: Alright.


...contacted and Pat was rushed to AMAKEN. Afterwards...


: ...you becoming friends with an FM-ian named Mega and changing into "MegaMan"... Well, it means that you have the power to fuse with an FM-ian... And if I can fix that transmitter and send you into space, then maybe you can stop the FM-ians' plan...


: If we don't, it might be too late for us!
: Sorry, but I have to think about it...
: What!?
: Just because you have the power to fight the FM-ians, that doesn't mean I can just send you off into outer space!!
: But!!
: What if something happened to you?


: ...the only link she has left to your father? How would I be able to face her then!? I'm the one who sent your father into space! ME!

Honestly, this here is the turning point for Boreal's character in my opinion. He's making an actual Good Point here, about how he'd be entirely responsible for sending a kid to his death.

Yeah, I can't argue with Boreal's hesitation. Geo is still just a kid, and adults will always see it that way.


: "...as there is hope, then we can't give up." My dad used to say that... I'm not who I was before. I'm not afraid of losing people anymore. And I fight so I can protect those I love.
: Aaron, I'm going to put everything on this tiny sliver of hope and try.
: ...Kelvin.
: Mr. Boreal...


: ...this up and running by tomorrow.
: Really!?
: Yeah. But you have to promise me something.
: A promise? OK...

I mean, of course he's going to fix it. We need Geo to go to space for plot.


: You can promise me that, right!?
: I will! Promise!
: OK. You go home and get a good night's sleep.
: *nod*




Well, honestly speaking? This is probably incredibly reckless. But, plot-wise, yes. It's correct.



Like Boreal said, Geo should go home and get a good night's rest. We'll go to space in the morning.

Then we'll go to war. No reason we can't send multiple helper security EM Wave Programs, yeah? Why not?