Part 12: Endorph

Chapter 7- Endorph

Tuesday

Late Afternoon

Busy day today. I guess they've all been recently. That's the sort of thing that happens when you decide to take on unstoppable death machines. True. Anyway, we headed for Raide to see what was going on. I never would have guessed what was going on. There was someone else besides us crazy enough to attack the World Eater!

VIDEO




Heh. Nothing to say for yourself, huh?
World Eater, was it? Not interested in a real fight?!
Wha-hey! Who the hell is that?
He's taking on the World Eater!



Can't you tell us how to beat it? What's its weakness?
Oh, geez, well... let me think! It can fly at like 5 million miles an hour.
It has heat vision, it can breathe super-freezing air, and it can shoot freaking lasers from its eyes.
Oh, but it can't see through lead, and it's totally weak to a certain element from its home world.
R-really?
No. He just stole that from somewhere.
Oh, that's right. You saw my dream.



No problem. We'll skip out when it's time.
...Hm? Who are they...?
Hey, what are you doing here?
Are you with them?!
Nope, not us.
Yo, you guys!
Take care of them, would you?
We're a little busy here with the Grand Cordon!



Damnable rogues! You'll get what's coming to you!
Oh, uh, hey! This is all just one big misunderstanding!

I really have to give respect for that move, honestly. Classic play. He set us up to have to help him. Exactly. It's the only smart move in his position. I guess so. He didn't really need our help honestly. Whoever he was, he was powerful. I've really never seen anything like it. Neither have I, and I've seen a lot of weird shit.



No matter how many Knights we defeated, though, it seemed there were more to take their place. It was pretty clear we were going to have to retreat. The Grand Cordon himself had showed up. Yeah, and he seemed way tougher than that Galahad loser.

VIDEO




Yo, how's it goin'?
We did what we came here to do. So we're gonna get goin' now.
So long.
Hey, you sonuva-!
Dammit, they just took off and left us holding the bacon!
We can't take much more of this!
Yeah, these guys are really annoying.
Each one alone is less than nothing, but when they gang up like this...
Let's go after that strange guy.

We charged off in the same direction the man had run in. The Knights seemed to expect us to stand and fight, so we were able to break through with little difficulty.

Feinne on Soul Nomad:

It may seem like this is a good map to farm experience on, but avoid the temptation. Thorndyke is a cut above any enemy you've faced, with a whopping two clerics in his room in the back row and enough health to survive even a Demon Blast. It's just not worth fighting him. Just use Last Act and book your way to the east border.

That was when the cow twins decided to do something retarded.



No way will they get away from me!
Holy hell they're fast...

I love Danette to death. I really do. But sometimes... Go ahead and say it. She's dumb as a box of rocks. I know you wanna. She definitely runs faster than she thinks. I'll grant you that. The two of them quickly left us behind, and we were soon horribly lost in the woods.

VIDEO




Could we summon them back?
Even if we did, it would only be temporary.
It won't actually keep them here for good. Not that I'd want to.
But listen, kid...
You're in terrible shape. You really need to start exercising. Just ten minutes a day can really work wonders.
Maybe...



For real, man. You're like a ghost. You should say something before you just pop in like that!
Look out.
Not now, you fool!
No, I mean... look out. There's a monster.

And sure enough there were monsters. Giant man-eating plants came from all around us. They weren't a huge threat, though. Mostly just annoying. Anyway, Vitali and I are still wandering the woods. We're taking a quick breather, and I'm writing while he's cooking... something. I'm not sure what it is, but it smells good. He says he thinks he sees signs of a trail nearby, we're going to follow it and see if we can find that man from before. At least we got stuck with the not entirely useless guy.

Evening

This day just kept getting better and better. Seriously. We did manage to find a camp after a long search, and it seemed the trail Vitali found was a much more direct route than whatever way Danette and Levin had been going.




I think they lost us...
*huff huff* Damn!
So, uhh... where are we? What are all these tents doing here?



Oh... hey, Vitali.
How'd you get here before us?
A better question would be, why the hell did you just run off without us?
Oh no! That's right! I was supposed to stay close to you.
Why?
Why?
It's because you're unreliable, that's why!



Where, exactly, are we?
Aww, what cute kids.
This is a super-secret camp that just loves new travelers!
You guys have wandered into the happiest place on the planet!
Hey, boys! We've got some guests. You treat 'em nice now, ya hear?



It's a bandit camp!
Hold it!
Endorph! Why'd you stop the party?
If you really wanna test your luck, be my guest. But these kids've got some bite.
These are real guests. Treat them like one of our own.
Yes, sir.
*sigh*
Come with me.
Sorry about that. She just gets a little carried away sometimes.



The camp was a pretty odd place. It seemed like there was a power struggle between that woman from before, Shauna, and Endorph. Seems Endorph wanted to use their resources to help those in need, while Shauna was more into just sort of rampaging around. Yeah, I think she's way cooler too. I didn't say that. Anyway, we met with Endorph.

VIDEO




Haha. Looks like your lady friend's already digging in.
Mm mm mmm!
Ohh man, these hotpods are so good!
I guess I'll have some.
These are perfect! So ripe, so savory... The texture, the smell, the flavor, all perfect!
Hey, kid! More, more! Keep eating!
*gasp* That voice!
You're the one with that unusual power, aren't you?



And you, Sepp. Why're you standing there with your mouth open?
If you're not gonna close it, at least put one of those hotpods in there.
How can you expect me to eat your food?! You probably poisoned it all!
You just wanna steal all our stuff!
Bleh! P-poison? This is poisoned?!
You can't fool me. I know who you are. You're that guy that screwed us over!
So what if I am?
Who are you, anyway?



I saw what you were doing, and figured I'd try the same thing.
But honestly, I can't figure out why. What good can possibly come from pissing them off?
It's our sworn mission. We've pledged to destroy those World... Thingies.
...
Huh. A sword mission? Pledged to destroy?
Is this a joke?
We're dead serious.
Hmph...

It was then that another earthquake hit. It seemed I wasn't the only one alarmed by the frequency of them.



You think so? So what, you guys are a bunch of world-loving hero types or something?
God no, that's friggin' stupid. Hell, that's practically an insult. I should kill you for that.
So, have you given any thought to rounding up some more like-minded freedom fighters to help you out?
...What do you mean?
Well, it sounds like your goals are exactly the same as the Nereids'.
And you're both pretty damn powerful. Wouldn't your 'sworn mission' be that much easier with a little help?



Hey, someone go get Juno.
Hey, so you don't need me to stick around, right?
I'm gonna go get some sleep. It's been a long, depressing day.
Don't you dare wake me up before breakfast is ready.
Hey, maybe you guys owe someone a favor or something, but it's a waste of time to chase after some abstract ideal.
You called for me, Endorph?
?!
It's you!
Oh, Juno. There you are.



You think you guys could work together on that?
What!?
There's no way I can trust them.
They attacked us for no good reason. They injured many of my people.
Haha! Oh yeah, I remember that. Good times.
That was you guys?
Heh.
That never would have happened if you weren't so damn lame.
Why you...!



We won't always be here, you know.
We won't be able to bail you out whenever you get in trouble. You'll have to take help wherever you can find it.
It sounds like you learned first-hand just how strong these guys are, yeah?
If you're trying to end up at the same place, why take different paths?
Whaddya say?
I apologize for what we did before.
...So?



But first you have to prove that you aren't some imperial spy.
If you can infiltrate Raide and collect some useful information, we might be able to trust you.
We Nereids can't just sneak in ourselves, of course. So we have to trust you to help us.
What should we do?
Even if we don't work with them, we're going to have to gather more information anyway.
Marching right up to the World Eater without preparing ourselves is pure folly, as we've already seen.
Hey, it's a miracle! One of you isn't a complete waste of space!



Okay, it's settled!
Just give me a few minutes to scrounge up some counterfeit Raide passports for you all...
...Hey, who are you?
Maybe you'll find out someday.
Your beds have been prepared. You can rest here for tonight.
It might not be a five-star spread, but you should be able to sleep easy.
Oh, but maybe you should still sleep with one eye open.
This place is just packed with depraved cutthroats.
Hell, I remember one time... Nah, forget it. I need to get some sleep, myself.

I couldn't get to sleep, though, so I decided to take a walk out under the stars. I ran into Endorph out in the camp.



Just walking around...
Gotcha. You know, you've got a pretty tough road ahead of you.
I dunno if you're brave or just stupid to take on all this trouble.
What exactly do you do, anyway?
Meh. Doesn't matter.
Did you ever notice the night sky looks the same no matter where you are?
Speaking of which, look at that star. It kinda reminds me of you.



I don't see it.
That's because it's not there. Hey, are you on something? I think you're hallucinating.
Heh. It's fine if you can't see it.
Hey, I wanted to ask you something... How does it feel to always have someone watching over you? Isn't it awful?
I mean, you both see everything, right?
...
We've been doing this for a while, now. We're pretty much used to it. Just doesn't bug us anymore.
But who gives a crap about us?
Endorph, right? Who the hell are you?



Feinne on Soul Nomad:

Those who've played Phantom Brave have probably already guessed that Endorph is actually a character from that game, Walnut. His signature attack, Burgundy, is a dead giveaway even if his bio on http://www.nisamerica.com/games/soulnomad/ didn't explicitly state that he's Walnut. His field Tactics include Chrome Heart and Last Oxide, which are also obvious if you've played Phantom Brave. Oh, and nobody but Walnut would have the balls to face down a World Eater with a pair of revolvers.

I'll explain more about Walnut as it becomes relevant.

I would kindly ask that nobody discuss Walnut's actions in Phantom Brave, as I really don't want to spoil the game in the thread. The game will explain how he gets here later on, so don't ask.

Well, that's all for today. Seems like there's only questions in my life recently. What's one more?

Wednesday

Morning

Gig had another dream again. Dammit, you're not even supposed to be watching those, let alone talking about them. It was interesting, though.



Next, we must seek to restore order in the other world. That is our only goal.
In my world of Drazil, Gamma and Joules have been faithfully pursuing their task.
Now you must go down into the world of Haephnes.
Yeah, yeah. We gotta rip it apart and then build it all back up again, right?
I'm no good at the rebuilding, but I'd be happy to destroy the shit out of that place.
To you I shall give three of my greatest World Eaters.
I've used only the most powerful souls in their construction.
They are equal to none other. Bring them under your dominion to devour the world. Then we shall rebuild.



Uselessness and wastefulness are grave sins. I expect you to faithfully pursue the task I have given you.



Who was that?
Doesn't matter.
...

Gig still won't say who that was in his dream. Oh well. No time now. We're about to head to Raide to try and find some information helpful to Juno.