Part 81: Dorothy, I Don't Think We're In Yokohama Anymore

So, we can go visit the cemetery now. What fun.


As soon as we get in the gates, Karin brings everyone to a halt. It's just like old times again!

Something's different, somehow...
But we've gotta keep going, right?


Before going any further, there's a Sp-Defend Down 3 by this grave for the taking. I think this might even be our first level 3 ring item.

I'm not sure what Karin was so worried about; this seems like a perfectly ordinary graveyard to me.


Yep, just a perfectly...uh...


...ordinary...


...Well, this is new and unsettling.


I see we're dealing with someone with waaaay too much time on his hands.


They enter the seal.



This sure is one ugly place.
I wouldn't want my tomb to be in a place like this.

But...his tomb is in a dank, creepy dungeon, complete with chained, rotting corpse. I guess Keith could have redecorated since then, but I get the feeling Keith's idea of redecorating would be to swath everything in purple velvet and then cover every single horizontal surface with rose petals. Either way, I don't see how this is worse.



Hey! Look!


Oh, yeah, this isn't suspicious at all.


Anastasia still runs right to him, though.

Kurando!



Princess! Stay back!
Awroo!
Huh?


Kurando stands up on his own. He's moving very oddly.

Ah!


There's a flash of light...


...and then Kurando grows boobs.

Whoa, this guy can Fuse, too?!


It's always sad when your friends turn into monsters and then you have to beat the sense back into them, isn't it?




So, we're up against Kurando in the form of Tsukiyomi. I guess the gender switch isn't that weird; Yuri's wind form in the first game had breasts, and his light form in this game is androgynous.


Anyway, I turn Yuri into Fides for that extra bit of smacking power.


Tsukiyomi is Light-based and her spells hit like a ton of bricks. I also just now noticed that she has high-heels. I think I've just realized that her character design was based around the "Vegas showgirl" aesthetic.


Of course, Anastasia's spells can hit like a ton of bricks, too, especially when she gets off a Combo Magic.


And Blanca once again gets in the last shot.


We get a new crest (Barrier, Bright Banish). Where the hell was Kurando hiding this?!




With the beating over, Kurando goes back to normal.

Kurando, wake up!
Oh, Lady Anastasia.
You okay? What happened anyway?
Well, you see, I came to the graveyard, then suddenly I felt dizzy and everything went black. ...! Master! Princess! Where are they?!



Get a hold of yourself. We're inside some kind of boundary. One false move could get us killed.
A boundary?



That's right. We've all been sealed inside this strange otherworld.

Someone must have been feeling left out.



Kurando, they used you as bait to finish us off!
How do we get out of here?



I say we find the one who sent us here and do a little friendly persuading.




So, in other words, he's a Harmonixer just like Yuri, only they've given it a fancy Eastern name, like how Zhuzhen said Alice's psychic ability would be called "Demon Eyes" in China.


He's not as powerful as Yuri, though. He can only handle one Fusion at the moment. Even among Harmonixers, Yuri is special for being able to carry Fusion monsters for all the elements, not just his own.


Tsukiyomi starts out at level 1. I charge her up, getting Star's Shadow (a healing spell) at level 4 and Moon's Rainbow (an attack spell) at level 7.


Kurando's profile has updated itself and we finally learn his last name.

A little ways further in from where we fought Kurando...

...You know, I'm not even going to question this shit anymore.



...Oh, how did we end up wandering into this mess when we were headed for the city?! Oh, well, not to worry. Wherever there are customers... Now, then, what will it be?


Gerard doesn't really have anything new, except for a weapon upgrade for Kurando, the Awataguchi. The save point here can be used to heal up before braving the maze ahead. The only question is, what will we find on the other side?


_{Ten-to-one odds it's a floating midget with a screechy voice and a bad attitude.}