Part 10: Framed and Foiled

That lying Shaman is headed for the ocean. A Man at the Inn says he saw him. But now the village is safe! And it's all thanks to you!!

We begin this update by heading north of the Village after talking to the Elder.



But first we have to talk to this guy, who saw Mint walking off with someone.



As well as this guy, who says the Shaman fled to the Inlet.





We deftly ignore Mint because you don't actually have to talk to her and get Change. Nagisa tells us to head back to Rococo immediately.



If we had talked to Mint first, she tells us that Dr. Einst escaped.



Change gives us the power to turn into a mouse at will, which is great.



For some reason, a policeman is in our house.

Policeman: No matter what, blood is thicker than water! There were 3 Jewels stolen, and the Mayor says you did it! You are under arrest!



Oh boy, the “framed” jRPG plot. I hope it's better than the volcano one. Anywho, the policeman takes the Tetron stones.



A small clue on the back wall is enough to tell us that we need to Change to a mouse to escape. But first, blow the Surprise Horn so the policeman comes back.



Just walk right out the door once this happens.



uhhh... what



If you talk to the blue-haired boy in front of the Mayor's office, he... he follows you.



We return to our house and learn how to make the resurrect item, which is awesome.



Carl: She said the Mayor took something from you. Are you angry? Go get it! I know a secret way into the Mayor's office, it's a room south of the Police station, it leads there.



Despite the fact that we should be in jail, seemingly no one besides the policeman at the station knows that we belong there. It's a bit of a programmer's oversight, I think.









Basically, push against Carl and the two of them will shove the door open.



Now we're in the Rococo Sewers, because every jRPG has a sewer dungeon. New enemies include shell crabs, that... carry their home on their back like a literal house and it's a bad nature pun.



They can also hide in their shells and take much less damage, and also have a tendency to run.





The mouse junk shop is pretty great – we can buy Scraps 1, 4, 5 and 7 here.



Anglers attack with electricity and as such are strong against Sword 4, and the Laser Commanders are just regular Hackers with laser weapons.



Luckstars appear from the ground like Gels do, and have a chance of dropping capsules upon defeat in-battle. However, if they appear on their own you can't actually get the item they drop. They also have huge Sword 4 and RUN resistance.



Urchins are nothing special, but they are cute.



The sewers are more or less linear. As you might expect, the hole above is mouse-only.



The final new enemy here are Octopi, and they are huge and ugly. They can darken the battlefield, but a RUN of three Sword 4 swipes will kill them.



they look a bit silly in battle, balancing a pot on their heads.



Just past the Octopi to the right is a path that leads to a key, so let's go back to that room and head through a previously-locked door.



In here, the path to the right is blocked by falling rocks. Use the Drill to knock it down.



Another key, for another locked door somewhere.



drilling down the hole nearby, we reach another mouse hole. It leads to an Empty Pack, which we can use to transform into other Packs without much issue.



We find the other locked door, use the last Key, and continue onward. I'm not giving much in the way of directions as the sewers are straightforward. We did pick up another Axe 3, but it's useless now that we already have one.



The sewer leads to a hidden area of the Mayor's office.



It seems the Mayor has no actual hand in what happened.



Mint's in the lobby, pacing about as usual.

Mint: I know, you're kind of goofy, you would never steal. It's a plot against you. The Mayor's acting strange. Have you heard the rumors? I'm sure there's something to them.



What a shock, the Hackers are in cahoots with the Mayor.



Thank goodness for convenient mouse holes.



This is the default response most people have when you're a mouse, by the way.



I really don't think you have a chance.



Another mouse hole...



The Mayor teleported from his general office to... here, apparently.



Oh, well that makes a bit more sense. The real Mayor tells us that his assistant, Rose, stole the three stones and locked the Mayor in here.



Considering we found the last three, it seems like “you'll never find this” is not particularly correct.



Afterward, we return to the front office to talk to Mint.





She literally walks in, then walks right out. She must investigate at the speed of light. I wonder how we find out the truth... oh, I know.



Bring the dog. Remember, the real Mayor hates dogs.







Mint: Before, if you were even close to a dog, you would shriek! So what's going on now?

Mayor: Well, I, um... see... I guess I might as well come clean. I'm not really the Mayor. I'm actually Hacker Vice-Commander and Rose's biggest fan! Since you know who I am, I can't let you go. I'll take your life, in the name of Rose!



Papamecha is a bit more dangerous than Big Eye was. He has a couple attacks, one of which is pretty nasty. First thing to do is make sure you aren't using a Robot with Sword 4, Papamecha is strong against it, even the three-hit RUN command. Let's bring out Megaman.



Papamecha's nastiest attack is the machine gun, because it criticals often. His other attack is shooting gloves at you, but it's not as deadly.



Thankfully, Papamecha doesn't move often, so we can get in back attacks with ease. He goes down quick afterward.









Well, at least we can retrieve the shit that got stolen.



With the power of his stringy little boy arms!



That's... uh, one of them.



Rose: This Tetron will be used for something important. Thanks, kid.



And I was just thinking Dexter was cool.



Mint: This is not the time. What? Looking for Rose? She's on the roof, I think... what's happened?



Rose: Thanks to you, my plan will succeed. Well, kid. Maybe we'll meet again.



On our way out, this guy tells us of a hidden 2,000G in the dresser near the fireplace we searched. Sweet.



Next time: Hittin' the Hackers where it hurts.