Tales of Graces f Part #69 - CH65: Many Skits, Handle It!

Part 69: CH65: Many Skits, Handle It! - Part 1

CH65: Many Skits, Handle It!

: They arrived at the shaft and began.

: It must have been quite a sight back in the day.

: It's been totally corroded by all the eleth.

: It's possible that the path to the core has fallen into similar disrepair. Reaching our goal may be even more difficult than we first imagined.

: Not to mention the constant threat of attack from swarms of Little Queens.

: We still have to go.
I know how those girls feel.
They fight because they want to protect something that's very important to them.
But if we can just talk to them, they might realize we aren't their enemy.
Even though there were so many of them, their faces all looked lonely.
I want to know why... So we have to go.

: ...

: Sophie's right.

: Now let's go.

Skit: The Emperor's Old Clothes

: So Fodra's core is just this world's version of Ephinea's Lastalia?

: Yep! You could call it the original Lastalia.

: I thought they moved the Lastalia from Fodra to Ephinea?

: It's... more complicated than that. I was not created to deal with that sort of thing, so I don't know. Sophie wouldn't know for a similar reason.

: I see.

: That was where I...fought all of you. I cannot apologize enough for my actions.

: That's over now. You can stop apologizing for it.

: Yes, I concur. However...there is one thing I would like you to clarify that's been bothering me for quite some time.

: Yes?

: Your appearance back then... Did Lambda choose that style?

: Yes. Is there a problem with it? To be honest, I thought it looked rather fetching...

: I absolutely cannot believe His Majesty has such abysmal taste!

: Sorry, but who cares?

: I care! Even now, when I look at you, I can't help but recall back to that scandalous get-up!

: You love obsessing over little things, don't you.

: Huh?

Dungeon Video, very long.

OK so this whole area is "Base 1" despite having like 10 different levels or something.

Skit: Inner Workings

: What are you doing now, Pascal? Get off of there and let's get going.

: But if I can't fix this, how will we get back up?

: It worked enough to get us down here...

: Yeah, but the parts are worn out. It won't be able to take anything too heavy back up.

: Too heavy... Do you mean ME?!

: What's wrong, Cheria?

: It's because of that sweet potato I ate after dinner last night! I heard sweets don't count if they come from plants, but... Oh, I'm such a fool!

: Uhh... Cheria?

: Ah! Forgive me! This is all my fault!

: Um, okay? What the hell was that?

: Consider it a lesson in how a woman's mind works.

: So you actually understood it?

: Not one bit.

: Ughh. Anyway, I'm sure there's something around here that'll help us get back up.

Specifically these teleporters! And yes the lifts are one-way.

We start picking up a new set of cameo weapons.

Also we can leave at any time since most of the side paths end up back at the entrance, which is convenient for things like this.

Skit: Beat the Clock

: Crystallized forms of eleth!

: Hey, I was gonna say that!

: That kind of knowledge seems a bit above your pay grade.

: Oh, Lambda told me all about it.

: LUCKY! Oh, hey! Like, ask Lambda what the crystallized eleth is for.

: He says... "Figure it out for yourself."

: Fine! I will! Hmm...
In the skit there's a tick-tock sound here, followed by a ding.

: I got it! They're-

: The remains of crystals excavated from the lower strata for the purpose of collecting eleth sampling data!

: Again, I was gonna say that!

: Lambda is kind of a jerk.

Skit: Believing in Lambda

: And if Lambda absorbs this power, the situation will be resolved.

: Mmm...

: What is it, Little Bro?

: It's just... I've never trusted Lambda.

: Me neither. When Asbel said he was going to ask Lambda for help, I was against it.

: A perfectly reasonable reaction.

: I totally trusted him!

: Did you actually trust him, or was it merely your usual blind faith that everything will work out?

: Hee hee! Yeah, pretty much that!

: Though in hindsight, Pascal's blind faith has proven itself quite accurate.

: Yes, I suppose you could say that. Now even I trust in Lambda.

: Me too.

: I as well.

: Me too, me too!

: Heh.

: Isn't this great, Lambda? See, people can change. Everyone believes in you now.

: Next level, there was a surprise waiting.

: Do you feel that breeze?

: It feels nice.

: This place looks really...different.

: It doesn't look like someplace people would build.

: I bet most of it is natural, and they just built around the rest.

: Guys, heads up!

: Listen well, invaders of Fodra. You will never reach Fodra's core!

: I should point out that that's a different one than me.

So this fight isn't too bad. It's got one main problem.

This is a slightly different "model" of Little Queen than the one we fought last time.

Good fucking luck interrupting all that shit.

Mostly I'm trying to keep the Little Queen on lockdown, but I think it's actually mostly casting point-blank-range spells .

This is probably the best choice for a Mystic Arte, since it has a radius of "the entire field".

Go Sophie, get rid of that dude!

I'm spending most of my time dodging everything they can throw at me.

We're down to two adds and I try to drop another Arcane Bottle to finish it.

Unfortunately I get preempted by the Eleth Break

The bar stays stuck there for a bit...

...then vanishes. Note Sophie finishing off both adds.

Goodbye.

Note that she's using a chakram there, instead of her feet like the previous Little Queen type.

Same Mystic Arte too.

This is kind of weird, her chakram expands along the floor and then envelops you.

: We must...destroy the humans...

: She's gone...

: Are you okay?!

: Yeah, I'm fine. I just... thought I saw something...

: If you continue, Fodra's consciousness may force its way into your mind.

: Fodra's consciousness?

: If you are forced to experience her billions of years' worth of memories, your mind will collapse entirely.
I would prepare myself if I were you.

Skit: Three of a Kind

: Are you worried about Asbel?

: Oh, sorry. I don't mean to worry you, Sophie. It'll be okay. Asbel made a promise, after all.

: I think it'll be okay, too. Asbel always keeps his promises.

: Now make a promise to me!

: To you? What kind of promise?

: To continue our poker game when we return to Ephinea!

: Poker?

: Pascal taught me poker when we were at the Amarcian enclave. It was fun. We played 150 games and I won 149.

: Sophie's poker face is legendary.

: Sophie's really good! A little too good. I only won the first game.

: Wait, hold on, what? That's what you were doing after being summoned by Richard?!

: Yeah, we'd totally deal you in if you want.
Sooooo...
Let's shut down Fodra's core and get back to Ephinea already!

: Hee hee! All right, it's a promise.

: A pinky promise.

: Sweet! I may lose to Sophie, but I'll run the table with you, sister!

: ...Or maybe not.

Dungeon VideoWelcome to the gimick of this area. Can you guess what it is? That's right, we go into every battle with burn constantly on us!

Or not.

Skit: Five-Star Special

: Eeek! What?!

: The eleth over there is pretty dense. If you had stumbled into it, you might have experienced an eleth high.

: Th-Thank you, Asbel.

: There seem to be lots of those thick eleth patches around.

: Although, the monsters don't seem to mind.

: They must possess an antibody that resists it or whatever. ...Hey, I bet we can build the same immunity if we eat some of these monsters!

: ...Eat them?!

: We could marinate the meat with a spice rub and serve it with red wine.

: Too much trouble! Just cram a spit up their butts and roast 'em whole!

: What?! UN-BELIEVABLE!

: Look... Let's just beat the monsters here and see if we learn anything. Okay?

OK so what the skit is trying to tell us is that there's a monster here we need to beat to fix this.

Now do it four more times!

Oh and destroying crystals moves platforms and yadda yadda.

Skit: Ephinea on Line Two

: It's probably a communication device built to send data to the observation base.

: Huh, interesting.

: If we use this, do you think we could speak to Ephinea?

: I'm pretty sure that's out of the question.

: Wrong! I bet it'll totally work!

: But this one probably hasn't worked in years...

: Lemme just try this here... Boop beep boop...

: It moved!

: Hello! Anyone home? Pascal, here! Send over three Apple Gels, pronto!

: Well, I have to say, that woman is in a league of her own.

: Oh, no! I screwed it up!

: Wh-What is it?

: Something bad?!

: Yeah, crap. I totally forgot to give 'em our address!

: Yep. A league of her own...

Here's another weapon.

Well, I could go on to the next layer, but fuck that, I know what you're really here for.

Skit: Premature Grandmotherhood

: Yeah, that's right.

: Hubert, will you come visit us?

: When I can get away from work.

: I'll call you Dad, and you Uncle Hubert.

: ...Dad. Man, that feels weird.

: Hey, I'm an uncle.

: Grandma can live with us too!

: Huh?!

: By "Grandma," I don't suppose you're referring to our mother?

: Yes. The mother of your father is your grandmother. The Captain taught me that.

: Wow, haha... Mom is a grandma!

: I suspect the first time you call her that will also be the last...

: Aren't noblewomen usually happy to have a line of succession like that?

: Hubert remembers Strahta's socioeconomic and cultural context better than Lhant's.

GET READY EVERYONE

Skit: The Mask of Barona

: What's wrong, Asbel?

: I just remembered I left 500 gald hidden behind a ceiling panel in my room at the Knight Academy!
I'm sure they assigned the room to another student by now, so I can't just bust in there and grab it. Man...

: Then there is but one recourse. As Asbel's true friend, I must recover it!
But I would attract too much attention dressed like this...

: This will do nicely.

: Now that I think about it, 500 gald isn't all that much money. I'll just give it up.

: It's too soon to give up!

: Huh?
...Who are you?!

: ...Damn. I forgot to get the money. Oh well.
I am the man your friend Richard entreated to recover your gald. They call me... The Mask of Barona!
Unfortunately, I was unable to retrieve your money. But I did manage to recover...THIS!

: Huh? It's a...book?

: I bid you good day!

: ......

: Oh my gosh, Asbel! Where did you get that...that garbage?!

: This? No! It's not mine!

: Garbage?

: Ahh... It feels good to help people.

Skit: Fruit of the Bloom

: Sophie, what are you looking at?

: Look, Asbel! It's a sopheria sprout!

: Huh? Oh, hey, look at that - you're right! You have a good eye, Sophie.

: I'm surprised to see a sopheria in a place like this. There aren't many flowers around here.

: ...!

: I wonder... Could the blossomgale we saw together be the source of this sprout?

: Yeah, I think you're right. It has to be!

: So sprouts just like this one could be coming up in many different places now...
And one day, the whole world might be full of sopherias! That would be wonderful!

; I guess so.

: Maybe they'd even start sprouting out of people's heads!

: Sophie? This is getting a little-

: And then one day they'll all start talking! How fun!

: Actually, that would be terrifying.

Skit: Sleep Deprivation

: What's wrong, Richard? Are you okay? Your face is so pale!

: And your legs are shaking.

: Are they? Well, I haven't been getting much sleep lately. Dalen's been sending mountains of paperwork, and I can barely keep up.

: Wait, he's been sending it to all the places we've been traveling to?

: Most of which are on a different planet.

: Pascal had a device that allowed them to receive documents via eleth waves. It required a view of Ephinea to function though.

: It's to be expected. I have a responsibility to properly perform my kingly duties.

: Forget that! You have to sleep! If you don't get enough sleep, you could die!

: I don't want you to die.

: Then, will you sing me a sweet lullaby until I fall asleep, Cheria?

: Well, okay. Go to sleep...

: Hey, he fell asleep already?

: Wow. That didn't take long at all.

: Sleep well. Good night, Richard.

: Mmmmpph... The soup is too hot... I can't swim in this...

: ...! What the?!

Skit: The Mask of Barona Returns

: Hmm... Half a year ago, we often found cards in out-of-the-way places where no one would've expected them.
Perhaps someone is now dropping a new set of cards?

: A whole new set?! Wow, I don't know how we'd ever manage to collect them all.

: In times of trouble, turn to me!

: Hey, look! It's...
The Masked Barona!

: Ha ha, a city cannot wear a mask! I am the Mask OF Barona!

: ...Why are you doing this, Your Majesty?

: I repeat! I am the Mask of Barona!

: So, are you here to collect the remaining cards for us?

: I certainly COULD find them all for you!

: That'd be-

: But! If you don't collect them yourselves, there would be nothing left to challenge you!
Now you can't complain that there's nothing to find! So work hard and away you go. And now, I bid you...good day!

: Hey, hang on a second. Is it my imagination, or did he just tell us off?

: That is the most absurd costume I ever... What can he be thinking?

Skit: Know Your Rockgagong

: Yeah, that Rockgagong thing sure was huge.

: I'm bothered by the apparent lack of parents or siblings. Even a one-of-a-kind creature such as that must reproduce.

: Pop quiz, hotshots! Which statement is true?
Statement 1: "The Rockgagong is the first of its kind, but will divide into multiple creatures next year!"

: No way!

: Statement 2: "Its father and mother are small, but the Rockgagong we know swelled up when it got rained on!"

: Oh, that could be true!

: I don't think so.

: Statement 3: "The Rockgagong is selfish!" So which one's true? Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock!

: I don't even understand the third one.

: But you understood the first two?

: Statement 1.

: Bzzzzzt! Wrong! The correct answer was Statement 4: "Let's all go search for the answers!"

: Go find them yourself!

: Huh?

Start of the second skit video!

Skit: Malik's Lament

: Are you afraid of meeting the president by any chance?

: Gyah! Brother! ...E-Everything is fine. Please go about your business.

: It's okay, Hubert. I understand how you feel. When I get home, Mom will go right back to pestering me about marriage too.

: I understand why she is impatient. You're the lord of Lhant! Marriage makes far more sense for you than for me.

: But...I thought you of all people would have my back on this...

: She always complains in her letters. "Asbel... will he never step up to his responsibilities?"

: But that's why-

: Yes, I know. It's the same old story. It's because of Cheria. You need to tell her instead of chickening out all the time.

: Like you're any better!

: You two are blessed! Marry now, while people are still urging you to do it!

: Captain?

: Because when you reach my age, nobody will talk about it at all...

: I see.

Skit: General Specifics

: Don't rush yourself, Asbel. Stay calm. Remember what I taught you at the Knight Academy.

: Yes, sir. First lesson: "Never be ashamed to lose!"

: Second lesson: "Know your strategy before the fight and visualize yourself winning!"

: Third lesson: "Don't overestimate your strength, but fear not your opponent's!"

: All right! Let's do this!

: Hahh! Kiyah! Hiyah!

: Are those sorts of vague platitudes popular in Windor?

: Your sarcasm is understandable. But those proved more valuable with Asbel than the kitchen-sink approach.

: What does that mean?

: Asbel! Lift your elbows! Bend your knees! Tuck your lower body! You're leading too much!

: ...Huh? ...Wha? ...Gya?

: Yaaaaaaaah!

: When I give him specific advice, he gets confused and trips all over himself.

: Interesting. I should have expected no less from my brother.

Skit: The Legend of Peachtaro

: What's this, all of a sudden?

: Sophie said she wanted to act in a play, so I wrote a script for her.

: Really? YOU wrote it...?

: Have no fear, Grandpa and Grandma! I shall slay the evil monster that is destroying our village!

: On his journey, Peachtaro met some monster-fighting companions.

: Peachtaro, will you give meow one of the Peach Gels on your back meow?!

: Sure, I'll give you one of the Peach Gels if you help me slay the monster.

: Mr. Chicken became Peachtaro's first companion.

: Wait. He just said "meow" twice. He's supposed to be a cat, right?

: Just shut up and watch.

: Peachtaro! Like, give-ion me a Peach Gel! If you do, I'll be your friend-ion!

: And so, Miss Onion became his next companion.

: Huh? Miss Onion?!

: What?

: Now I'm going to cook up a delicious egg-and-beef bowl for Grandpa and Grandma!

: And so, Peachtaro went back to his grandparents.
However, the chicken turned out to be a rooster, so there weren't any eggs, and in the end... he just made an ordinary beef bowl.
The end.

: ...The end? What happened to the monster that was attacking the village?

: How should I know?

: But you said they had to fight a monster!

: Um... Much later, the monster became a chef and opened a wildly successful restaurant. But that...is another story.

: Huh?!

Skit: War Stories

: About me? Oh, I don't really have any interesting stories.

: I want to hear one too! You grew up here in Zavhert, right?

: Hmm... An old story, huh... Well, there's one I remember when I see falling snow. It's about the day I met Kurt.
I had taken my father's gun outside with me. We lived in world of kill or be killed, where one could be attacked before he even spoke.
Everyone had to protect and fend for themselves.

: Oh my goodness. The city sounds really dangerous...

: Anyway, I went to my favorite store, and that's when I saw him.

: You mean...Kurt?

: Right. The instant I laid eyes on him, I knew he was different-and a bitter sense of rivalry began to burn deep within me.
I knew that if I didn't take him down, he'd just take me down instead someday. We stared for an instant, and then I drew my gun.

: But the trigger was stuck fast, and I wasn't able to pull it.
"A narrow escape for the both of us," was all he said.
If we had kept at it like that, who knows what would have happened?

: Wow.

: And that was the story of Malik Caesar's third winter.

: You were three?!

: You must have been at least 20.

: Who said anything about 20?

: That was great...

: There's plenty more where that came from! Like the time when I was five...

: *Sigh*

: I can't take this anymore...

Skit: The Mask of Barona Rises

: Did Lambda say something?

: Well, he said he didn't want to come back.

: And yet, we forced him to return.

: Yeah. But he said being back did help him remember some fun and happy times. It sounds like it wasn't all bad.

: That's good.

: Except, he also said it feels isolated, since no one else is around.

: I could see that.

: In times of sorrow, turn to me!

: There's a strange man here.

: Oh, hey, it's you! The... Uh...

: What do you think you're-

: I am the Mask of Barona! When someone is lonely, all should dance and sing! Now come, Lambda! Dance with me!

: He has Richard's voice.

: Richard? Huh... Where is Richard, anyway?

: Can Asbel and Sophie possibly be this clueless?

: I bid you...good day!

: H-Hey! Where are you going? Why'd you even come here?!

: Hello there!

: Richard, there you are! Where have you been?

: You wouldn't believe it! I was trapped under a pile of rubble! I extricated myself, but then all this dust started-

: Why is he making such elaborate excuses?

Skit: Of Cats and Katz

: Yes, it does, doesn't it? Even I envy them sometimes.

: Then why don't you guys try turning into cats with this Felineator 4000!

: Felin-what?

: Here we go!

: Wait!

: What?! Are we...Katz?!

: I often find myself wondering about that. Are Katz cats? Or are Katz people?

: If they were real cats, they wouldn't need to spell the name all funny.

: Katz aren't cats or people. They're their own kind of creature. That's what the Katz say.

: Stay focused on us, guys.

: Captain? Asbel? You're cute.

: Heh. They do make fine Katz! Particularly Malik.

: You honor me, sire.

Skit: A Long Awaited Bath

: Ahhh, what a great bath...

: *Glug glug!* Fwaaaah!

: Sophie, that's kind of crude.

: But it feels good to pound a cold one right when you get out of the bath.

: What have I told you about speaking with Captain Malik?!

: Wow! You guys smell awesome!

: We just got out of the bath. ...Ugh! Pascal, you smell really foul!

: I agree. You should really take a bath.

: Ah ha ha! Even Sophie's saying it now!

: It's no joke! The water temperature is perfect, so just get in.

: Yeah, but I'm in the middle of important research and stuff right now.

: You can finish your research later.

: I can also take a bath later!

: Argh!

: Pascal sure works hard at running away, doesn't she? She's gone again.

: oday is the day we make a stand. She WILL get into this bath!

: Hold it right there!

Maybe I just suck at playing Cheria, but this fight was really hard.

Pascal seemed to gain giant chunks of health semi-randomly. Some of it is periodic regen (there seems to be a very frequent 2-digit regen and a less frequent 4-digit one) but some of it is for well-timed dodges of my attacks.