Part 10: Spare Parts

Edge returns to camp for the night after the illuminating ( ) conversation at Juba's, ready to return to Zoah in the morning and confront the man Paet about his picture of the Tower. He finds him sequestered in a remote corner of the Liberal District, surrounded by machinery and working on an ancient airship, which is almost fully restored.

After a moment, Paet notices he is being watched.

If you don't, scat, you punk kid.

Edge: This picture...I heard it once belonged to you. And I need you to tell me about the Tower.

Paet: A picture? Idiot! This isn't some cheap drawing. It's called a geoscan-photograph.

Didn't you ever study!? Stinking inbred outsiders...

A charming gentleman, this man.

Edge: Hey!? I've heard about it. It's a recording device from the Ancient Age, right?

Are you a hunter? Or a seeker?

Edge: Well, maybe a little of both.

Paet: And you were asking something about the Tower, right?

It's a myth, forget about it.

This conversation is going positively swimmingly. Edge begins to grow desperate.

Edge: I need to find its location. If you know anything about it, please tell me.

Paet: You're crazy, asking about the Tower. Even if I did find it,

"Yo, Edge, you best check yaself before you wreck yaself."

Paet: Its treasure could all be mine.

Suddenly, Paet seems to have a change of heart, deciding to stop being a selfish asshat...

tell you something. You said you're a hunter? Do you know about Georgius, north of the Forbidden Zone?

Edge: No...

Paet: Not that well informed, are we? Well, there are some machines from the Ancient Age there.

As you can see, I fix things. But I'm short on parts. There should be some parts that'll fit my airship there. If you'll be a good boy and bring them back for me, I'll consider telling you the location of the Tower.

Well, good luck. And hurry, willya?

...in order to be an entirely different *kind* of selfish asshat.

Well, it's off to Georgius now, but not before stopping off at Jared's for one more shopping trip and conversation (which I actually forgot to do when I played through the other day, so thank a text dump for this one).

Jared: You saw Paet, right? Did he send you on a quest?

Edge: Well, sort of...he told me to go to Georgius.

Jared: Good old Paet...sending someone to the dragon's battlefield.

Edge: Dragon's...battlefield?

Jared: Well, yeah, it was many years ago. One nation excavated an airship from the Ancient Age, and two dragons fought over it.

Edge: And that was at Georgius?

Jared: That's right. In the end, the side that was protecting the airship lost...and the other sealed the ship. The tornado over there was made by that ship. It's trying to break the dragon's seal.

Man, that's a hell of a story. What could it be referring to?

When Edge and Roderick arrive at Georgius, they are confronted with the swirling tornado that Jared mentioned and a host of enemies who attack them at every turn...

including a new foe, the Lazara Hunting Group. A strong lock-on volley from the rear takes care of the creatures being dragged behind the Lazara, but that only causes their evasion system to activate like before. However, swinging around to the front and destroying the carrier Lazara causes all the creatures to plummet to their deaths.

Once Edge and Roderick reach the tornado, they fly straight into the swirling mass of wind...

reappearing in Georgius proper.

The howling winds, swirling tornado, and flashing lights disorient Edge greatly, but luckily Roderick is not so easily distracted, pointing Edge's attention to the strange devices floating around the tornado. As soon as one of them is targeted and destroyed,

Priority: Guard the REPAIR-BIT

Uh-oh...looks like it woke up. With the guardians activated, large stones start orbiting around the central tornado, and while trying to target the rest of the REPAIR-BITs, Edge and Roderick are struck - and attacked!

The creatures are called Hellions, and use the stone behind them both for cover and for attacking, sending slivers of the stone darting down at Roderick like javelins. With Roderick's combination of quickness and power, Edge is able to chase the Hellions around the stone and take them out with a few strong lock-on volleys.

Soon, the REPAIR-BITs are all destroyed, and once they are, the mighty tornado begins to dissipate. The water calms, the swirling cylinder of air floats away...

and a positively massive ship is revealed. Edge thinks to himself, "Maybe I can get some parts...", and begins to explore the area anew.

The ship itself is strong, requiring a level 3 laser to destroy.

Likewise the pyramids scattered around the outlying areas.

What's this? An entrance in the back of the ship?

Intriguing...but we'll have to come back here later - the lock-ons still aren't strong enough. Leaving the interior of the ship, Edge turns back to look, and sees something directly underneath it.

Is this what Paet wanted?)

There's only one way to find out, so Edge and Roderick turn around and head back to Zoah.

Once there, Edge confidently strides up to Paet, hands him his prize, and sits back to wait for his information when suddenly,

Paet: You probably found it in one of the ruins nearby. You can't fool me. There's gotta be something more spectacular at Georgius. Find something that will impress me, or I won't tell you about the Tower.

Ohhhhh, fuck you, man. Fuck. You. You want something that'll impress you, Paet? How about my GUN, bitch? That *impressive* enough for ya? HUH?

...*ahem*

With a displeased Paet rejecting Edge's offering, he is forced to return to Georgius to find something more appealing to the mechanic. Edge doesn't really see the point of the trip as he had already explored the entire area and found nothing...

but quickly changes his mind, as upon his return he beholds a giant hole blasted into the side of the airship.

(It looks like someone might have already entered...Time to investigate...)

Cutscene time!

An Imperial squadron!? What are they doing here? What could they possibly want inside this old ship?

Edge is so transfixed by the grotesque monster the Imperials have found that he forgets to conceal himself, and is soon discovered.

Soldier: There's a spy!

Despite Edge's derring-do, he is soon caught, and as he blacks out...

Drag his body inside the ship. We'll see what he knows.

Edge comes to during the delightful interlude that is standard prisoner interrogation.

Edge: Are you deaf or stupid? I told you we were attacked by Craymen too!

Soldier: Don't play games with me, you worthless hunter!

Commander: Craymen must be paying you a lot, eh?

Edge, my boy, you've got Craymen all wrong. He's a lunatic with a plan to destroy the world with the destructive force of the Tower.

Edge: ...the Tower...

Commander: The legends say that it burned three continents in one night... That is a power most safely controlled by the Empire. Don't you agree, Edge?

Too bad for you.

As the commander turns away he nods to his subordinate, who then tortures Edge with ruthless efficiency. The young man's screams echo in the small chamber as the commander dispassionately watches from a chair at the other end of the room. After a few moments Edge is allowed to slump to the floor - still tied to the chair - and as his vision blurs, he hears the end of the discussion between the two Imperials.

Soldier: A lesser man would have talked...shall we send him to the flagship?

Commander: Wait...look at this.

Commander: It's Craymen...it appears that he has gathered more information than we thought.

Soldier: Then, he is already at the Tower?

Commander: No matter, we can still use 'it'. Craymen will be dealt with. Prepare the report for his highness.

The next thing Edge sees is the inside of a cell, and he begins to despair. He has no gun, no dragon, no parts, no way out, and no way of knowing what the Empire plans on doing with that or or or whatever the hell it was up there. To make matters worse, he suddenly hears a loud clanking noise coming from the ceiling of his cell. What's going to happen now?

HOLY FUCKING SHIT IT'S GASH

Well, you'll know why soon enough.

is gearing up to finish this war. I heard they dug up some horror from the past, so I came to check it out. Never thought you'd be here...can you stand?

Let's go!

Edge: Where...are we going?

Gash: We'll get out through the deck. An old friend is waiting there. Hurry!

The old friend Gash was referring to, of course, is Roderick, and Edge feels much refreshed once he returns to the dragon's back.

He feels even *more* refreshed when he prepares to turn his guns on the Imperials who imprisoned him...but there's one more thing to worry about.

Gash: The reason why the Empire came here. They unearthed a great evil slain by a dragon long ago. Send this monster back to its grave!

Edge needs no further encouragement, and begins unloading on the gunship without reservation. The battle is simple - Roderick's power combined with Edge's anger makes short work of the Imperials, and as they are about to perish...

How? I thought it was dead.

Gash: It sounds crazy, but the ancient texts mention beasts that cannot die until they fulfill their purpose. Perhaps your dragon's presence awakened it.

Greaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat.

(For those of you still wondering what Jared's story - the one Edge heard right before he left Zoah - was referring to...Shellcoof, the giant airship at Georgius, was the ship that destroyed Lundi's hometown in the opening cinematic of Panzer Zwei, and the Guardian Dragon was the final boss.)

Enough history, let's kill this damned thing!

The Guardian Dragon is much like Atolm was, in that its tail is its weak point (it took a minute for the Guardian to expose it, but once those long wings flared out, it was left wide open), and Roderick exploits it just like before.

This one proves a little tougher, however, and unleashes a fearsome Berserk attack of its own on our heroes.

Regardless, the fearsome Guardian Dragon finally perishes at the hands of Edge (and the lasers of Roderick), and as the ancient creature breaks apart, Edge and Gash discuss the deeper meaning behind the battle they've just fought.

Edge: That thing was horrible!

Gash: Indeed...if the Empire truly believes it can control such power, we're all doomed.

We should head back to camp.

Before they can leave, however...

Cool!

Sweet!

Awwwww yeah...

Here it comes...

With the awesomeness out of the way, Edge, Roderick and Gash return to camp, where all three are able to get some much needed rest.

Gash: Heh heh...now we're even, eh? By the way, Edge...are you all right?

Edge: Yeah, I'm fine. Nothing to worry about.

Gash: Even if you said no, I'd still say you're a pretty tough kid. Did the dragon heal you?

Edge: Well, I'm not quite sure...

Unsure of how to continue that portion of the conversation, Edge changes the subject.

Edge: Craymen is looking for the Tower.

Gash: Tower?

Edge: The commander of the Imperial forces told me that the Tower was responsible for the fall of the Ancient Age. Craymen wants the most devastating weapon this world has ever seen.

Gash: No wonder they're so ruthless. The Empire wants the dragon too.

Edge: I wonder why?

Gash: To battle against the Black Fleet. They've started digging for another dragon too, you know.

Edge: Yeah, I've fought against them once. That girl was riding the dragon.

Gash: You mean the girl that you saw at the excavation site? I wonder who she is.

With nothing left to talk about, Edge and Gash go to sleep. In the morning, Edge walks over to Roderick to pet him in thanks for saving his life, marveling at the changes time and experience have wrought in the dragon.

As Edge turns to leave the camp, he suddenly realizes something terrible, and gasps in shock.

Edge: I didn't find Paet's ship parts. Damn, what am I going to tell him?

Gash: I don't know who this Paet is, but if you need relics, I have my sources. It's the least I can do to help.

Gash: Take it. You've earned it.

Edge: What? But...

Gash: Nah, don't worry. You and your friend can just owe me a favor, deal?

With a smile, Edge gratefully accepts the relics from Gash and agrees that simply owing Gash a favor is fine. With the new parts in hand, Edge has a pretty good idea that he'll get his information the next time he goes to Zoah. But first, there was that mysterious door inside Shellcoof that needed a bit more exploring...