Part 26: Jailbreak

With Ramirez and a squadron of Valua's newest warships on the horizon, clearly the best place to be right now is absolutely anywhere that isn't Nasr.



Nope, sorry. You will go to ground zero and you will like it!




Click for video!

Haha... If we all work together, perhaps you will still be able to buy one, Aika.

... Huh?







Surprise!

It's the Armada!!!

How'd they get here?



The Royal Palace!

Looks like they're trying to make an example out of Nasr. Vyse, if we just stand around here, we're all dead. Head for the docks!



Our ship! It's on fire!!!

Fina... So, you are here.





Why are you in the city that your own ships are bombarding?



Ramirez...

Fina, you know him?!

......

Did you lead this attack?!

Yes. From this day on, Nasr belongs to the Valuan Empire.



Surrender or you all die.



Fina?!

Please... you won't be able to defeat him! Not yet! Do as he says...



This is a pretty easy choice, and you get a Swashbuckler bonus for surrendering. But you know, the white-haired prettyboy doesn't look so tough to me. What's the worst that could happen?

I would have spared you, but you leave me no choice.


Click for video!

Where there is light...



...there is darkness.



Sword of the Dark Moon!



Oh . Yeah, this is one of those unbeatable boss fights. On the bright side, Silver Eclipse is pretty cool, so at least we get to go out in style. The story actually continues as normal form here, but as well as a painful defeat this way also loses you the Swashbuckler bonus.

Grr... Alright... we surrender.

A wise choice. Capture the Air Pirates. Take them back to the Grand Fortress.

Ramirez... Why are you doing this?

......



Welp, so much for the world. I like how passive the system message is about it, though. “To lose one Moon Crystal may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness.”





Soon, the whole world will bow before the might of Valua... And they will see me as their ruler.

Yes, Your Highness...

It is my understanding that the Silvite girl and those Air Pirates had the Moon Crystals in their possession when they were captured. Bring the girl and the Crystals to me. As for those Air Pirates...



I will personally see to it that everything goes as you...

Wait!



Remember: Empresses are evil, Princes and Kings are good.

How could you... Why did you have to murder so many innocent people?! I know that we are acquiring more lands, but if we use these brutal tactics, the people will rise up and rebel against us. Please, we've made our point... Pull our troops out of Nasr.



It is Valua's destiny to span across the world and bask in the glory of the six Moons! How do you expect us to conquer the world without a little bloodshed?

But, Mother...

How can you expect to inherit the throne of the empire I worked so hard to build. You're too much of a coward! Remove yourself from my sight.

... Very well...



<sub>ok not really




Remind me to record a better version of this sometime</sub>

It's always so dark and gloomy here.

Yeah, especially when you're locked up in a jail cell. Valuans have no sense of hospitality... Hey guards, can we get some food in here?! How about a drink or something?



Aika is in a different cell to Vyse and Gilder, directly above them on the floor above.

I wonder where Vyse and Fina are being held...

Is this where the Air Pirate girl is being held?



Hoo boy. Who wants to see the most uncomfortable scene in the game!

Hey, don't worry about it. Now run along and go make yourself useful somewhere else. Well, what do we have here?







Who are you?! And are you always this crude?

I am Vigoro, the toughest man in the Armada. I'm surprised you haven't heard of me. The women I've been with love to brag.

I've never heard of you before in my life!! Where are Vyse and Fina being held?!





We were meant to be together. I'm sure you'll grow to like me. Just give me a chance.





...Yeah. Apparently the scene was actually worse in the Japanese version. As well as Vigoro being a little more descriptive of Aika's figure (slender body, sexy hips, but a horse face!), he's more explicit in his intentions. If anyone knows more details then please, please refrain from telling me or posting it in the thread.



Oh yeah, that too. No, that's not a mesh shirt. That's his chest hair in the shape of a mesh shirt. So, uh, yeah. Let's go see what's happening with Vyse and Gilder, as quickly as possible.



This paragraph deserves its own screenshot because it's literally the closest Vyse gets to actually whining about anything. Don't worry, it won't last long – you don't stay in the pirate business as long as Gilder has without knowing how to stage a jailbreak.

Vyse, you're only making things worse. Take it easy.

...Huh?





Oh, Willy. How're you doing?



Haha, is that so? Well, you had to fly all the way over here. I'm not surprised.





Heh... This isn't the first time my men have had to break me out of a prison... They know the routine. Well, the Claudia may not be able to destroy the Grand Fortress by herself, but she'll cause quite a bit of a commotion.

That's when we can make our escape!

Exactly.

But, there's still one problem... We need to get out of this cell.



Leave that to me. There was a wire around Willie's leg for a reason. I'll have this door open in no time.

...Of course! Heh... is there anything you can't do? ... What's this?

What's wrong?

There's some writing on the back of this letter.

Oh... Well, what does it say?





Gilder's little start here is fantastic. You don't even need to see his face to imagine his expression. It only lasts a fraction of a second, but I swear you can see his brain lurch into overdrive thinking of a way out.

“Your soul mate... Clara”... and there's lipstick marks at the bottom.

Clara?! She's here, too?!

Well, according to this letter... yeah...

Hey, Vyse... We don't really need to break out of here, do we?

What are you talking about?! We'll be hanged.





Wow! I'm impressed...

Willy, tell the men to wait for me with a barrel of loqua! I think I'm gonna need it.

Aye! Aye!

Well then... I'll grab our weapons. Let's go!

Heh... Let's not forget about Aika and Fina. I'm not leaving without them.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaack!

... Hey! That sounded like Aika!!

Fortunately, the elevators are right outside the cells, so getting to Aika's cell is a simple matter of going up one floor. Of course, there are guards hanging around, but by this point they're not even interesting enough to warrant a screenshot. Besides, it's rude to keep a lady waiting.


Click for video!









Who said we were having fun?!



No woman in Valua can resist me. I believe that the worth of a man can be measured by his popularity with the women.



Have I mentioned lately that Gilder is awesome? Because he is.

Where's Fina?! Give us back the Crystals and bring Fina here!

Fina? Oh, the Silvite... Ramirez escorted her to the Imperial Palace.

Is that so? Well, after we beat the snot out of you, we'll be rescuing her.



Lemme give your friends a lesson in brute force.





So, Vigoro! This is actually a really fun fight. As well as it being an extremely well-deserved beatdown, Vigoro has a lot of great battle animations, namely his dodge animation and spinning backhand critical. Unless you make a habit of charging into impossible boss fights, this is also the first time you get to hear the fantastic Armada battle music.



Sadly, Vigoro decided not to use his one special attack during my fight, so you don't get to see him blowing kisses or hear his “Heeeey, baby!”. Vigoro's Charm inflicts confusion on a character, and by “character” I mean Aika, because he'll only ever use it on her.



How can this be?

Just keep up the punishment and the big guy goes down like a tree. He's not really tough, I'm pretty sure the fight exists purely for therapeutic reasons.



And Aika is none the worse for wear. Thought I'm pretty sure she could use a shower. Blech.



No, that's not just an unfortunate polygon collision. That's his codpiece.



His codpiece which, for some reason, has a lock on it.

And... and... I didn't have my cannon or... my... armour.

On Pirate Isle where I was raised, we have a saying. “A true man never makes excuses for his shortcomings.”



Heh... you've got an attitude... I like that. You'll be seeing me again... you can count on it.

He's not kidding. The developers just loved Vigoro. But anyway, let's blow this popsicle stand.



Conveniently, Vigoro dropped the cannon room key, so we can get out of the cell block and start causing some chaos.

Next time, then, is the day Valua will always remember as the day they almost caught Captain Vyse Inglebard. See you then!

Video List
The Slammer (Grand Fortress 1)
Vigoro
Silver Eclipse