Part 150: For Revenge
SILENCE 
Perhaps you'd care to watch it with me? I saved the best seat in the house for you.
...I'll stand. You know what I've come to do. Now, now. Let's not rush things. I invited you for a reason.
Music: Pure Evil 
If you had died...the play would have ended.
I would have been satisfied with either outcome, of course. There are any number of ways to end a tale.
Such a delightful show. Let's not lower the curtain yet, hm? ......... Must you look at me with such a face? Are you, too, not an artist of sorts? Surely you can appreciate the beauty in this. All the suffering, the pain that humans are capable of feeling, condensed into a few brief yet sumptuous hours...
Which leads to the stage being set, of sorts.
Surely you can see this, yes?
How many times in your life have you felt blessed to be here? When has life ever seemed a gift?
...Constant, inescapable darkness. ......... I will tell you the only joy I have found in life.
The sweet fantasies that people imagine their existences to be inevitably crack, then shatter to pieces. And I savor the tragedy of each and every downfall, because, oh, it is delicious.
...Do you understand now, Primrose? Your love for your father, and his for you, it was a beautiful, fleeting thing...
I thank you, Primrose, for inspiring me so... ......... You have lived all this time for the sake of your revenge. You clipped the left of my wings. ...And then the right. And now you stand before me, your true foe. But do you not find yourself wondering...
.........At this point, the voice acting kicks in as the music fades.
Video: Fade to Black SILENCE 
To throw away all your hopes and dreams for the sake of revenge?
I don't think he'd be happy at all. I think he'd say this...
.........
Music: Sorrow 
Will you dance for me once more? I wish to burn the sight of you into my memories, that it shall never fade...
Yes, Father.
For the future of our house will one day rest upon her shoulders.
And so we flash back through Primrose's memories, old and new.
Now two remain...
We will raise her to be a fine lady--strong, kind, and just.
This man should not live a moment longer.
And you know what they say about birds of a feather...
Ahahahahahahaha!
...a cause that will bring you happiness.
She's grappling with Simeon's question, one she's probably pushed to the back of her mind many times...
What...what has this all been for?And it seems to weigh heavily on her this time...
Music: Determination 
And this...this will be the end of it.
It will all be over. I will finish this.
The depths of emotion that burn in those eyes...!
A woman truly worthy of my genius. Now come to me, Primrose...
Video: Miniboss - Simeon + Marionettes 
This is not the proper final boss battle. In fact, Determination continues playing for this fight.
The two Marionettes have standard moves, albeit the spellings are a bit different here. The Father Marionette uses physicals, while the Dancer Marionette favors buffs and dark magic, which sounds familiar for some reason...
OH COME ON
They're weak to Fire, which is wonderful when paired with Sorcerer.
Simeon's whole thing is trying to build up the tragedy of Primrose's life, trying to push her in every way he can to maximize the real-life drama. It's incredibly twisted and cruel, and something that didn't really click in my head until writing this update.
Otherwise, it's best to focus on the Marionettes, albeit not too quickly.
They both are the rare enemies that have valuable loot to steal. The Father Marionette has a Physical Belt, while the Dancer Marionette has a Mental Belt. Each one gives 65 Attack and 50 Defense in their respective sides. The Physical Belt boosts attack more than the Mighty Belt, while the Mental Belt is weaker than the Elemental Augmentor but gains more benefit from the ElemDef, especially for healers. Both are great accessories, and the only way to get them otherwise is grinding certain NPC Challenges for rare drops.
Simeon will actually attack, utilizing Dark magic.
Once we loot 'em, it's time to break and boost.
Simeon can send a marionette into boost mode, which unlocks more powerful attacks.
The Dancer Marionette is taken care of. Oddly, the Father Marionette does not get turn initiative when recovering from break. Might have to do to the boost effect...?
I take care of the Father Marionette, and break Simeon for good measure.
He gains two shields upon recovering from break.
Otherwise, I wear on him until he goes down. He can boost himself to unleash a powerful dark magic attack, but I don't have time for that.
Video: Dramatic Tension SILENCE 
This isn't enough...not yet!
Show me more, Primrose... Show me the darkest shadow in your heart. You hate this, don't you? You are full of regrets! .........
Foolish girl! You think your father would be proud to see you like this!? Bloodying your precious family heirloom for petty revenge? .........
...No. First, I must do what must be done. When I can look him in the eye and tell him he is avenged--then, and only then will I go. My poor little Primrose. How you lie to yourself so.
You can't bear to face your father--to show him your bloodstained hands. .........
But you couldn't accept that. So you twisted your memories of your father beyond recognition, until you convinced yourself that he would want this. ......... It's true, isn't it?
How did it feel when you killed my men? Did that fill the hole in your heart even a tiny little bit?
You can admit it, Primrose. You don't need to be strong anymore... Stop it! Just...stop...
Father...
The truth is...
I hated my life without you. I hated the loneliness... I hated not having you by my side...
Please, Father...
Abandon this madness, my dear girl. You don't need to lie to yourself any longer. That hard look on your face doesn't suit you. You know you were made for softer things. Music: For Revenge 
And I swear on my ancestors' name... And on my father's blade...
Video: Boss - Simeon, the Puppet Master Music: Battle at Journey’s End 
Simeon's a bit of a tricky fight, basically being as big a nuisance as possible. True to his character.
I immediately find his one vulnerable weakness and exploit it.
One of Simeon's big gimmicks is inflicting Silence to stop you from using skills. It doesn't last long for H'aanit, so I opt to simply let it wear off on her.
Alfyn's a BP battery while the others go on the offensive.
Of course, I use Draefendi's Rage and Aeber's Reckoning, but why not let Primrose get in on the fun?
Breaking him ups his shields but exposes more weaknesses.
Simeon can also inflict Silence party-wide. Luckily, I brought Alfyn and built him for speed, so instead of a nightmare this is a minor speed bump instead.
In fact, I crush him so hard I'm bypassing a lot of his other moves, like his dark magic attacks, his buffs and debuffs, him getting a third turn, and even being able to completely obscure the Next Turn tracker so you have no idea who's acting when.
He never got to use any of that stuff, and I rip through his HP so fast that he ends up toast. That said, I don't really feel bad about trivializing Simeon like that.
The Vendetta Coat has average defenses but also gives a huge chunk of Max HP, around 600 or so. It's not too bad!
Video: All's Well that Ends Well SILENCE 
I have seen the full depths of your heart... It was more beautiful...than I could have ever imagined...
Come, Primrose...and plunge your precious dagger into my breast... .........
"And when the moon waxes full and bright in dark heaven, and stars glitter worlds away from earthly sorrow... Would that Sleep hold you in her soft embrace... Then shall my eyes close, lips open in prayer, for it is only in dreams that we may meet again."
I am so happy, my love... My heart is free of doubts. Let us never be apart again. Music: Jubilation 
And so happy music plays as the audience claps at the fairy tale ending to this tragic tale.
-----
Video: Epilogue SILENCE 
At long last, I can face you again. I did as you always taught me, Father.
Since the day that you were taken from me, I swore I would avenge you.
...even now that my long journey has ended...
...why...
...still ache with this hollow pain?
What cause will carry me on from here? Music: Primrose, the Dancer 
...and until I do...
Primrose achieving her revenge hasn't fully given her the peace she sought, but it's what gave her a reason to live for this long. With her mission accomplished, she can finally begin to move on and find a new cause to believe in.
...and maybe find new beginnings.
I'm pretty sure that's Revello's son. You know, the one his wife was trying to hook Primrose up with. Yeah, they probably could've set that up a bit better...
Music: Primrose Motif 
(Click here for larger version)
At any rate, we've finished a whopping 150 updates and half the character stories! Now to pick our next character!
Next time, we explore Everhold and do a few side stories.