Part 22: Tempting the Lizard God

^^^ I actually have robot minions do the transcription for me. It speeds things up a lot.

22: Tempting the Lizard God



Captain: Prepare for docking.




These don't look like Connor's quarters.



I'm not about to complain, though. Why?









She knocks on the door and the guards look through the grille, see her in full battle dress and carrying a rifle, and open the door.

There is not enough in the world for these guys.



Natural selection takes its course, and Maya is free in the halls of Connor's fortress.



This area houses the cells. Some of the others are occupied, but we can't talk to any of the prisoners or open any of the doors. One of the cells is already open and contains a Core Relic and a Potion, though.





Leaving the cells brings us outside, where Connor has apparently decorated for Halloween. This area is just a straight run from one corner to the other, for now.



As we approach the exit, however, the bridge behind us withdraws into the ground. A few more rise to form new paths - we can still get back, but we'll need to zigzag across the entire map, now.





For now, though, we're more interested in finding a place to summon Lobo from. The northwest exit is behind a locked door, but the southeast can be accessed by simply pulling a lever, so that's where we go.



Hey, this looks convenient.






Lobo and Runner have arrived; TEAM ROBO_CARNAGE is go!



We already have a decent sense of Lobo's personality, but how does he handle in battle? By looking at his stats we can get a good sense: he's a straight up gunner, a better shot than Maya but not very good at magic.

Equipment-wise, he uses robot armour and boots and a Core Engine, same as Runner. Also like Runner, he has three slots for gun upgrade modules, although the specific ones he can equip are different. His other three abilities - which are really just three different power levels of the same ability, all of them awesome - are learned by leveling up, but he doesn't even have the first one yet.



I'll spare you most of the dungeon crawl. As we come back from the ledge, more gates rise and fall, so a bit of running around to adjust them is needed. Our ultimate goal is the Blue Isle Key.



It's guarded, but we have Runner.



Next step is to run back to the second area, cross the new bridges, descend to the lower level, grab an Armour Rune (an accessory that boosts Armour) from a barrel in passing, and finally open this door:




Behind it is an Aegis (accessory, partial resistance to Stun) and the Red
Isle Key.



Now we need to run back to the third area and unlock this door with the red key.



A few more throwaway fights later, we arrive at the entrance to Connor's throne room.

Boss Fight - Connor (Viddler)



Lobo! It's about time. Are you finally ready to join us?
I see you brought some friends to replace your father. ...aren't you one of my slaves?

I'll never forgive you for the death of my father!
Lobo, Lobo...a robot has no family...
I did.
Not anymore!



And it's on. Those turrets flanking the throne aren't just decoration; they're Connor's main means of attack.



Lobo and Maya both miss, so first blood goes to Runner...to absolutely no effect.




Apart from making Connor angry.



Fortunately, he's a terrible shot (that attack normally does around 50-70 damage). This is the general gimmick of the fight: Connor can't be harmed directly. Instead, you have to attack the turrets.



Hit one of them three times and it'll spin around to face Connor...



...and direct its next attack (but only its next attack) at him.



Meanwhile, Connor sits there, occasionally throwing energy balls at you or casting Bless on himself. The battle basically consists of hitting the turrets over and over again with tier 1 attacks while occasionally healing.



And sooner or later, this will happen.



Just let him go, we still have to save your crew.

Connor must have dropped something as he fled, because Maya bends down and picks something up.

It's a ring of keys.

Now that we have the cell keys, it's time to run all the way back to the cells and spring everyone.



There are more guards now, but TEAM ROBO_CARNAGE does not give a shit.



You're free to go, go on!



Come on, we haven't much time, head to the ship, tell them we're right behind you!
Let's get out of here.

So we do.




Everyone hops aboard, and the ship blasts away from Connor's Isle at top speed.



Lobo's ship is a bit old, but in perfect condition. Grubb, of course, goes straight for a close look at Lobo's crew.



I'm looking at the Jinam Restraining Chips in here. You never figured out how to get rid of 'em, huh?
My father destroyed mine, but never showed me how...
No problem, here we go...

Grubb reaches into the guy's head and fiddles with it briefly.

Lobo? I'm free!
Amazing!

The writers can't seem to decide whether Lobo (and Jinam robotroopers in general) are true robots, or human brains transplanted into cyborg bodies. Lobo's conversation when you first meet him implies the latter, but the conversation with Connor implies the former, and scenes like this can go either way.

Your ship is amazing...We could certainly use someone like you.
My ship and I are both at your disposal...
See, I told you he was an honorable sort.
Wait a minute, these things killed my people! They're monsters!
They aren't anymore Led, they're free now...
I won't work with it. And don't come crying to me when it goes berserk and kills us all...

Led stops short of actually storming off the ship in midair, thankfully.

Maya, we must go to the upper layer and seek out Gunnar and the Emperor.
You believe Gunnar escaped the Battle of the Lenses?
She's just interested in finding her beloved Doskias!
The Emperor is the only one who can help us...
Wind City needs our help. We should go to Shell 3 and help free my people.
Right, um-hmm, you just want to return to your sweet Layla...
...
Please, quiet! Without the Chosen to stand against Doskias, we'll never liberate Wind City...
We will follow where you lead, Maya.

And following that fantastic from Selina, we have the helm.



So. where should we go?
 Of course there's only one right choice, but I'll be showing off some stuff and tidying up some loose ends before we get on with the plot.