Part 136: Dispatch Mission: Blade Of Destiny
Somehow, despite his newfound appreciation for stunt flying, Sam gets us all back to HQ in one piece. No sooner have we set foot off the jet than the rewards roll in: we get Buddy's horn and a replica of the Nightmare Crown for the trophy case, as well as four brand-new junior agents: Lyndsay, King Mike, Sir Vincent Skullfinder, and Magellan the lemur! Eee lemur!
Sadly, we do not get Esma or Brandi. Or Yuki. And Morcubus is... otherwise occupied.
First things first.
And since we're up in the hangar, let's stop by and check out our trophy case. With the addition of the horn, the Crown, and the Magellan trophy, it's getting close to full. We're still missing four trophies, though, because we still have some dispatch missions to complete! (And if we do all the dispatch missions and the trophy case is still not complete, then so help me a Wiimote is getting thrown at the TV.)
Back down to the lobby to check in with our teammates.
: Hey Buddy.
: Hey pal, do you think the Nightmare World is filled with pudding mummies?: Um... pudding mummies?: Like a pudding golem in bandages! Oh... do you think they're in bandages because there was a giant pudding war, like Pudding War 1?: Pudding War 1?!Buddy slumps.
: I'm allergic to pudding, pal.You know, just as a side note, since all the game's text is in comics caps, I've just been deciding for myself what ought to be capitalized in the transcription. It's worked okay. Some people on the internet favor 'MorcuCorp', though, and I probably would have gone with that if I'd thought of it.
Uh, anyway. What about Roxie?
: Hey Roxie, any new information on the Nightmare World?
: All of my investigations have apparently led to a single conclusion.: What's that, Roxie?: It is entirely dust free.Gasp!
: That's interesting... I guess.: No, Sam! It is not interesting...
These throwaway conversations are actually a hint of what's to come--but I'm getting ahead of myself. If you remember, a while back we completed a dispatch mission for Goth Boy. Let's check in with Jenny and see what we've won.
: I need a mission debriefing. What was the result?
: Eeek, writer's block, how scary! I'm glad the team was able to help Goth Boy. Maybe they can help me some day.Goth Boy sends along some kind of neo-futuristic Victorian outfit and a seance circle of our very own! What, no goth clubwear?
Next, Sam collects our fashion-forward team up in the corporate gym and dispatches them to a secret ninja village. Exciting!*
* may not actually be exciting.
Now that they're on their way, we can check out our new recruits.
: Welcome to the team!
Sam's response to this is to jump for joy in the most ludicrous fashion and then applaud.
: Welcome to the team!
I like to imagine that he's actually saying the word 'chitter'.
He's no longer King Mike. That's kind of sad.
: Welcome to the team!
But Reynaldo and Eloise are still along for the ride!
His name is Sir Vincent Skullfinder and I will broach no shortening thereof.
: Welcome to the team!
Also, Sam fires another agent (for ninja-related reasons) and then puts Wolfah and Magellan in the garden together. Seems appropriate.
... man, Sam's been in these grubby archaeologist clothes for ages. Time to change!
This is presumably the outfit that Goth Boy gave us! Cool sideburns. This is also the outfit that Uncle Cyrus was wearing in the painting in the mansion's library. Sadly, we did not get his most excellent chin-beard.
Or maybe Goth Boy gave us this one! Or both of them! Whee!
Can't forget the spacesuit!
Also, that's... put that back in the closet, Sam.
Better! Let's get back to work.
And by 'work' I mean 'entertaining vague threats'.
Sam goes up to the gym and displays some of our new goodies. The sarcophagus, the seance circle, an alien statue--and the carnivorous plant, which he can feed if he wishes to live dangerously.
Oh, hey, right, a dispatch mission.
I am trying to picture this, and... I just can't. Gonk, okay, maybe, but Hopper? Ms. Nicole?!
Here are our planetoids, by the way, and also our Egyptian mask.
And our tribal masks.
Shown: Magellan's usual behavior.
: Hey there, big guy!
Woo! Let's head back upstairs.
: I need a mission debriefing. What was the result?: The team actually stole back the legendary Blade Of Destiny from a ninja village for Star? Wow, that gives me a great idea for a Starcruiser X story...Jenny writes exciting fanfic. Star is now available for missions, and she brought us some kind of sporty ninja sofa!
It's a soccer-ball sofa, to go with our soccer-ball set. Meanwhile Gonk and Hopper have some kind of contretemps.
Thanks, Ms. Nicole. You're okay. ... Hopper, you're disturbing me.
Let's go check on our new agent.
MAD JUTSUS
: Welcome to the team!
Goddamn, that is some sweet pink hair.
We might very well find a way to help Evelyn on a dispatch mission, so dispatch missions we shall do! It's
VOTING TIME We're going to spread ourselves a little thin today! Sam would like you to choose agents to send on this mission:
: ... find him!Liberty needs Smart agents to look up where venomous snakes might hide, and Nature agents to go dig Mr. Venom out of said hiding spot. Better them than Sam, right?
Please put together a team of three (3) agents from this--damn, that's a list: Travis, Leaf, Roger, Rosalyn, Vic, Nova, Beebee, Preston, Wolfah, Renee, Elmira, Pinky, Annie, Petal, Hopper, Makoto, Zombie Carl, Gordon, Trevor, Violet, Ms. Nicole, Madame Zoe, Wendalyn, Gonk, Spencer, Marlon, Lyndsay, Mike, Sir Vincent Skullfinder, Magellan, Star. You can always check their stats in the second post in this thread, just underneath the OP.
Meanwhile, Sam will be forming a similar team to help Chancellor Ikara:
: ... Battle 9000 without truffles? They are our most pretentious ingredient!(Phylloxera are a strain of tiny aphid-like pests who attack the roots of plants!)
Suggestions for the second team are always welcome! Technically you have about twenty-four hours to vote, but since it's just after Christmas and people are probably distracted, I may let it run a bit longer.