Part 30: Descent
Last time we managed to evacuate Engeve, however the war continues to rage on as Mohs drops the bomb that Natalia might not be of royal blood.Shit? Meet fan.
Skit: Natalia's Secret
: “I wonder if Natalia really is a princess after all...”
: “Whether she is or not, she's still one of us.”
: “The problem, however, is what she herself thinks.”
: “Yes... I'm worried.”
: “Yeah. When I found out I wasn't the real Luke, I got really depressed.”Putting it mildly.
: “That Mohs... true or not, he'll pay for this!”
: “Luke...”
: “She'll have to find her own answer to that question. As cold as it may seem, we need to focus on stopping the war right now.”: “Yeah, I guess you're right...”
We need to cross the border, but Astor's mansion and the normal route are sealed off.
This looks promising.
: “If you want to go through here, tell me the password.”Swordfish?
: “What? What's your problem?”: “Problem, shmoblem. If you don't know the password, you don't pass.”Return of the Darkwings
: “Heh heh heh. Want to buy the password?”
Oh christ.
: “Oh, my. If it isn't you kids again.”
: “I don't believe you guys! First you kidnap Ion, and now you're conning people here?! What's wrong with you?!”: “Heh heh heh heh. What can I say? We love money!”
: “So do I, but still-”
: “There's six of you, so...”
: “Don't forget me!”: “There's seven of you, so it'll be seven thousand gald.”
: “You idiot! Your big mouth just cost us another thousand gald!”
: “Mieuuuuu....”
: “Well? Are you going to pay or not?”
8000 gald is chump change at this point, but on the other hand I really don't fucking like these guys! So I'm not paying jack.
: “That's too expensive.”
: “Yeah. And I don't think there's any reason to go along with this little scam.”
: “We're still in Malkuth, right? Colonel, just arrest them!”
: “...You heard her. Though if you let us through, I suppose I could let you go this time.”: “Yes well, you see... we only set up shop because people like you up and started a war that's hurting people like us. Innocent civilians, that is.”
: “That's true... let's pay them.”
I'll say! You were bitch slapping generals in to line an update ago. Looks like what Mohs said is hitting her hard.
: “War or no, the decision to commit a crime comes from one's own lack of morals.”
: “Well... yes, but...”
: “Then I'll call the military police.”
: “...We'll let you through. But not a word to anyone else. There are always folks who get stuck on the wrong side of the border.”
: “Thanks.”Waste of god damn time...
Skit: The Dark Wings
: “Those Dark Wings are at it again...”: “I dislike letting criminal activity go, but we have more important things to do.”: “Ruffians feeding off the horrors of war! I can't forgive them!”
: “Absolutely not!”
: “Dammit! Stupid noble thieves! Get outta my face!”
: “...I that supposed to be me?”: “Idiots are idiots, so they can't help being idiotic.”: “Ansie, you're letting your own feelings show.”: “Oops!”: “In any case, people like them will do anything to make a living. It's just one more casualty of war. What a pity.”: “...We need to stop this war.”Er... was the translator asleep at the wheel for this skit or something? It just didn't seem to flow correctly. Whatever.
Well, while we're here...
Yep...
He also gips us again, but whatever.
: “What?! We'll seal the exit!”
: “We can't get through here now... let's go see Astor.”
: “Yeah.”Our path is blocked by plot, so we'll have to get Astor to remove it.
Haha, oh wow. Nice pipe in the background there, Astor. How did they get that one past the censors?
Briefing Astor
: “There were rumors, all kinds of rumors, that you'd both been killed. I'm so happy to see you again. Hee hee hee hee.”: “We have a favor to ask you.”: “Relax. Fon Master Ion has already requested we take in the people of Engeve.”: “Oh, good...”: “We're in your debt. Thank you.”: “Don't mention it. Hee hee hee.”: “By the way, did something happen in the Zao Desert?”: “News certainly travels fast. We have a bit of a problem. Earthquakes have split the Zao Desert and the Ispanian Peninsula, and this area has begun to sink.”: “That sounds like...!”: “Chesedonia is falling!”
: *Sigh* “So, the people of Engeve were fated to be in danger no matter what... is that how it is?”: “I wonder if Noelle made it in time...”
: “I believe I heard you say that Chesedonia is going to fall?”
: “The same thing that happened to Akzeriuth and St. Binah is happening here!”: “Citizens of both nations live here. There's nowhere for them to run in the middle of this war.”
: “Does that mean there's a passage ring in this area that Van shut down?”: “That would be the Zao Ruins, where Ion was taken...”: “Damn it, what do we do? Maybe if we revive the Sephiroth Tree right away...”: “No, Teodoro said that was impossible, however...”
: “Colonel! Do you have an idea?!”: “Well, even if we can't revive the Tree, the Sephiroth flow should still be rising. If we use that power, I wonder if we could lower the land slowly, like an elevator.”
: “Can we make the passage ring do that?”: “That, I don't know.”: “Let's go take a look. As it stands, we're just waiting for it to fall!”: “I'm afraid I don't quite follow...”: “There may be a way to prevent Chesedonia's destruction.”: “What is it?”: “Well...”A bit of fade to black exposition later....
: “Still, we have little choice but to trust in you all at this point. Allow me to take care of informing the residents. Please save Chesedonia.”: “Right, let's get going for the Zao Ruins!”I like Astor, he's quick on the uptake.
: “What? O-oh, right. We're going now?”: “Hey... cheer up, okay? We still don't even know if what Mohs said is true.”: “Right... I know that. I'm fine....”As you can tell, Natalia takes great pride in her royal status. Being told it's all all a lie is pretty much the ultimate armor piercing statement for her. It's bound up in something else too, but we'll get to that.
Right, let's-
Asch's Message
: Hey, replica! Can you hear me?
: “...Oww!”: Come to the Oasis in the desert. We need to talk.: “...The...oasis?”
: Yes! Hurry up!
: “...Yeah. I'm his replica.”: “Asch! What did he say?”: “What? Um... he said to go to the oasis, and that he had something to talk about.”
: “I wonder if Van is behind it.”: “I don't think so. It's unlikely he's on Van's side at this point.”: “Let's go to the oasis. We should still have time to operate the Sephiroth even after hearing Asch out.”My my, now here's a face we haven't seen in some time? Asch pretty much dropped off the map once we regained control of Luke. Wonder what he wants?
Skit: Asch's Message
: “Asch... there might be something behind that message... we'd better be careful.”Remember that Tear is the only party member who didn't travel with Asch, if you include Luke traveling inside his head. As a result, she didn't get the memo that he's a good guy.
: “But he isn't our enemy!”
: “I wouldn't exactly call him an ally, either. Last time, he didn't even tel us what he was up to.”: “Really?”: “Yes... only that he had something he wanted to investigate.”: “I see... in any case, until we know exactly what his relationship is with Van, I think we should remain cautious.”: “Very well...”
There's the grumpy man himself.
: “What do you want?”: “Has anything strange happened? Like your mind being mixed with someone else's?”
: “Huh? What are you talking about? Nothing weird happens other than when you connect with me.”
: “...I see.”: “Asch, has something happened? Are you ill?”
: “Is that all you had to say?”: “...Engeve has begun to fall. The battlefield will likely fall soon after.”: “No!”: “At this rate, everyone on the battlefield will die!”
: “Damn it! You will, too, if you stay here, you idiot!”
: “I'm well aware of that. But we intend to use the Sephiroth stream to safely lower Chesedonia.”: “...Can you do that?”
: “...I can never tell what's going on in that head of yours.”: “If what Natalia just said is true, then can't you lower the battlefield as well?”: “We may not make it to Shurrey Hill in time...”: “You will. The Sephiroth are connected inside the planet. Naturally, the passage rings are connected as well. Once the rings are activated, you can remotely control one ring from another.”All this work and we could just telnet in. Remote Desktop Connection is a lifesaver when you're an IT Technician.
: “So if we activate the Zao Ruins passage ring, we'll be able to control the Shurrey Hill ring as well?”: “...That's what Van said.”
It's hard to capture in screenshot, but Asch walks right on through Luke, bumping his shoulder and pushing him to the side.
: “To find out what Van's up to. We need to know what area he plans to drop next... well, if you fail, I'll just die here along with everyone else.”: “I promise we'll lower it safely! I'll swear to it!”: “What, you want to pinky swear? Don't be absurd!”
: “There are no guarantees in this world. That's why, before, I...: “...I'm going now. You all should too.”Cryptic as usual.
Skit: What Was That All About?
: “What did Asch want, anyway? He just said his thing and left.”: “And just when we had finally met again...”: “Mysterious as usual.”:”His purpose may be unclear, but he has provided us with some valuable information on the state of the continent and the nature of the passage rings.”: “So he's trying to help us...?”: “It's still too early to say.”: “Yeah... but it doesn't look like he's working for Master Van.”: “Of course, that may just make things more complicated.”: “We can worry about him later. Right now, we need to hurry to the Zao Ruins.”Mmm, let's get going.
So, who likes repeat dungeons?!
: “There's not an ounce of concern in her body.”
: “Hah hah, she's fine. I'm more worried about whether we can really trust what Asch told us.”: “Are you saying you don't?”: “No, just that I'm concerned it may be a trap.”: “Yes... that's certainly a possibility we can't dismiss.”: “Given the nature of the passage rings, I'd suspect that the information is genuine. Though it's just as certain that Asch gave us that information to further his own ends.”
: “Right now, let's focus on lowering the Outer Lands safely. Besdies, I can't imagine Asch is trying to destroy the Outer Lands.”: “True, things will only get worse the longer we wait.”
: “Hah hah... Anise might have the right idea.”
90% of this is just running through all the same crap we've seen before. This isn't even worth it: see you in ten minutes.
Okay, back to the boss area.
The cavern begins to rumble.
: “The bridge is shaking?!”: “Not just the bridge. This entire underground city is shaking.”: “It's faint but... I can feel fonic artes being used.”: “I don't feel anything...”: “Is it a trap? Or...”: “An enemy?”: “Even if it is, we don't have a choice. We have to keep going. Let's be careful.”: “My, I never wouldn't expected you to say something like that.”: “Shut up!”
: “I sure hope this bridge is still here when we come back.”: “Don't say things like that!”So we just retreaded through a filler dungeon. What could possibly complete the experience?
A filler boss, of course!
Boss Battle + Guy's Mystic Arte
Everything about this boss screams lazy. His design is shit. His name is stupid. He's not even remotely a challenge. I understand the reasoning behind his existence: the devs figured that they'd get lynched if they forced the player to retread one of the worst dungeons in the game and not even throw in a boss to fight. Still, this is such a pathetic showing.
Of course if that wasn't lazy enough, they just stole Abaddon's gimmick of it being a giant insect that loses its 'coating' after taking enough damage. Same tricks too: faster and stronger but easier to stagger.
Well at least I get to show off something cool!
Razing Phoenix is a pretty great mystic arte, since it has a good area of effect. Anything caught in that little circle of fire around Guy before the big uppercut finish gets hit, so if he lets loose in a group of enemies he'll do great damage.
Right, that's enough.
I remind you that I'm on hard mode. If you can't last two minutes on hard mode, you are not boss material.
Filler. Moving on.
The next part is much shorter, but at least it's more visually appealing.
Welcome to the Zao Ruins passage ring.
: “Wow, this place is huge!”: …: “What is it, Luke?”
I feel ya. My acrophobia is kicking in just looking at this screenshot.
: “But it's true. People can't see anything that's not right in front of them.”: “...But curiosity can at times reveal things that were better left unknown.”: “Just like with the Outer Lands.”: “Nevertheless, we cannot run now that we have seen the truth.”: “...Let's go. The collapse won't wait for us.”
Lowering Chesedonia
There it is again...
: “...Oh, good, this one responded to me, too.”
: “Did the Commandant seal this one too?”: “So it appears. But... the Sephiroth are out of control...?”: “I need to get rid of the red part, right?”
: “What next?”: “Oh, right. Inscribe an upward-facing arrow immediately above the light.”: “Shall I take over?”
: “We have to forcibly carve it in using Luke's hyperresonance... next, we'll enter the commands, but... you don't know Ancient Ispanian, do you?”: “Of course not!”: “All right. Do it using the Fonic language we use now. The grammar is almost the same. It should work.”: “What do I write?”: “Tree ascent. Triple speed. Hold.”
: “Looks like it worked.”: “But there's still Engeve...”: “Next, trace a line from the fourth Sephiroth to the third.”
: “Then, write the same commands on the third Sephiroth.”: “The third Sephiroth is Shurrey Hill, right? I'll give it a try.”
: “Let's wait beside the passage ring until it finishes, just in case.”
: “Whew. Heh, it's almost boring that it all went so smoothly.”: “I wouldn't get too cocky about it if I were you.”: “...Yeah, you're probably right.”: “Wow, you didn't even act insulted.”: “I'm scared I might get overconfident and let something happen that I can't undo...”
: “Tear, you don't have to look at me like that. I'm not going to have any more outbursts.”: “No, that's not what it is...”: “She's probably just tired. We spent more than a day on this.”
: “I'm sorry. I'm fine.”
: “I can't even take care of my own health. What a poor soldier.”: “Worry about yourself more than your reputation as a soldier. Are you sure you're all right?”
: “Then let's go outside. We should check to see if we've arrived in the Qliphoth.”
: “...When you think you're witnessing a problem, it's best to look for the cause.”
: “What? Oh... yeah.”Guy was standing right next to Tear and saw that she was going to collapse in his direction, but couldn't catch her before she hit the ground because of his phobia.
Hidden back here is a wing bottle, which I immediately use because FUCK walking all the way back to the entrance of this ruin.
: “But how do we get back to the Outer Lands?”: “That's right. The Albiore isn't back yet.”: “Our rendezvous point is Chesedonia. I think Noelle is good enough to land even with the ground descending.”: “Let's head to Chesedonia.”Nothing else but to do so.
I will say though, the desert is much creepier in the Qliphoth.
: “It's good to see you're safe, too! When did you arrive in Chesedonia?”
: “Just before this area started to descend.”: “How are the people from Engeve?”: “I finished transporting them all here.”: “I'm sorry to ask this right after you've just arrived, but can you take us back up?”: “Of course. I'll be standing by on the Albiore. Come aboard when you're ready.”
: “Something's bothering me. I'd like to fly through the Qliphoth a little.”: “What's wrong?”: “...I'd rather not say until I'm certain.”: “Whenever you say things like that, something bad happens...”Amen.
: “Okay, let's get airborne.”Next Time: Abyss somehow finds a way to take a step up in sidequest bullshit.
Synopsis:
We met with Astor, and apparently Ion had already asked him to take in the
people of Engeve, so he agreed readily. Whew...they would have been in a
tough situation if they'd been turned out.
The news about the desert that had been brought to Astor was serious: the
entire area around Chesedonia and the Zao Desert was sinking.
That's the same as St. Binah... Master Van must have removed the Sephiroth
Tree under this area too. And with this war going on, there's no way we can
evacuate everybody like we did with St. Binah and Engeve. What can we do...?
Jade had an interesting answer to that question.
Once a Sephiroth Tree has disappeared, it won't be able to support the
Outer Lands above it again even if it's restored. But if we use it the same
way we did to keep St. Binah afloat, we might be able to lower the falling
land gently, like an elevator. If we can manage that, then we won't have to
worry about people dying from the impact with the Qliphoth on the surface,
even if we can't evacuate them. There's still the problem of the miasma in
the Qliphoth, but at least we can keep everything from being destroyed at
once. It's better than doing nothing, at least.
The passage ring that controlled the Sephiroth Tree in this area is in the
Zao Ruins. Ion's already opened the Daathic seal there, so we should be able
to reach the passage ring by ourselves. Let's head for the Zao Ruins.
But I have to admit I'm worried about Natalia. She's pushing herself to
help us do what we need to, but the shock of being called an imposter is
really telling on her. She probably likes Asch, so maybe he could comfort
her... After all, he's...the real me.
As we were about to leave for the Zao Ruins, Asch contacted me through
that channel again, and told us to go to the oasis. Tear was worried that
Master Van might be behind it, but at this point I don't think Asch is
connected to either him or Mohs. Anyway, let's head for the desert oasis and
see what he has to say.
Asch and I met for the first time in a while, and I was sure he was going
to start in on me again, but he just asked if anything strange was happening
to me. What's with him? When I told him no, he tried to leave again, and just
when he'd dragged us all out here.
What's his problem, anyway?
When I pressed him, he finally told us that the area around Engeve had
started to fall, and the battlefield's going to go with it.
Even if we're able to let the area around Chesedonia down safely, we
wouldn't be able to save the people on the battlefield... But when Asch heard
what we were planning to do, he suggested a way to save the battlefield as
well.
He said that we could operate the passage ring at Shurrey Hill remotely,
lowering the battlefield area slowly along with Chesedonia. Apparently the
Sephiroth are all connected to each other, so one passage ring can be used to
control another if they're both already activated--at least in theory. All we
can do now is try it and hope for the best...
Asch left then, saying he was going to see what Master Van was up to, and
we started for the Zao Ruins.
We were able to reach the place where the Daathic seal had been with no
trouble. A monster that had been living in the ruins got in our way, but we
were able to defeat it, so we shouldn't have anything else to worry about.
The area beyond here is probably another relic structure from the days of the
Fonic War, just like at Shurrey Hill. Let's go find that passage ring.
We succeeded in operating the passage ring in the same way we did at
Shurrey Hill. Jade gave me instructions to carve away this, connect that, and
I followed them. I still don't quite understand how it all works, but in the
end it looks like we managed to control the passage ring at Shurrey Hill as
well, just like Asch said.
We waited for a while, until it seemed like the area had reached the
Qliphoth safely. Okay, let's head outside and see if it really has.
I'm a bit worried about Tear, though...she got dizzy when we were
operating the passage ring, and she doesn't look too good. Guy was thinking
about something, too--I wonder what...
When we got outside, we saw that we really were in the Qliphoth. But to
return to the Outer Lands from here, we'll need the Albiore. Noelle was
supposed to meet us in Chesedonia... I'm sure she'll have made it even if she
had to land while it was descending. Let's go to Chesedonia and see if we can
find her.
Noelle was waiting for us in Chesedonia. I knew she'd make it. She really
is amazing.
As soon as we found her, Jade asked her to fly around the Qliphoth so that
he could check something. He didn't say what, but when he gets like that
there's always something up. I just hope it's nothing bad... Well, anyway,
let's go fly around the Qliphoth a bit.