Part 36: Confrontation

Last time, we slogged through one of the worst dungeons in the game and fought one of the most difficult bosses we've faced yet. Now them, time to dial back the fighting and get some plot dumps out of the way.



: “There's a man here named Spinoza who has been researching replicas with Van.”

: “Van...”

: “Let's pay a little visit to Spinoza at Fon Machine Lab 1.”

: Master... you tricked me... you're making replicas. What are you thinking...?



We're back in Belkend, though this is actually the first time either Luke or Tear have been here. Either way, we have business to attend to.

Skit: What are Nobles?

: “Belkend is part of your father's land, right?”

: “So I've heard.”

: “With the marsh separating this area from Baticul, the king must have wanted a relative in charge here...”

: “Indeed, far better than an ordinary noble who might start getting ideas of his own.”

: “Nobles... hmm...”

: “Is something wrong, Luke?”

: “What are nobles, anyway?”

: “The people in charge of the country's lands, of course.”

: “Yeah, I know, but... oh, never mind.”

: “You're being silly.”

: “That's actually a very interesting question to consider.”

: “Yeah, maybe so... but first I've got to think about what I am...”

: “Nasty as always, I see. Luke's got enough on his mind without having to worry about social classes.”

: “Not at all. It's always beneficial to think about things from different points of view. In this case, I think it would help him resolve some questions about himself as well.”

: “...Different points of view... I could stand to learn that lesson.”

: “So could just about everybody else. It's much easier to assume that your own thoughts and beliefs are absolutely correct.”

: “However stupid it may make you look... though, of course, that in itself is just another narrow point of view.”

: “Hah hah hah. Yeah, really.”

I think Jade just trolled us, but I can't be sure. I'll leave a here just in case.





Now that we have Mieu we can hit this switch and get a chest containing a cool 6000 gald. Not to shabby.

Confrontation: Van



Immediately upon approach of the Fon Machine Lab, we're surrounded. Time to bust out and-!



: “...Commander of Special Operations?”

: “Commandant Grands wants to see you! Now, Commander Asch!”



Thank god all the Oracle Knights are deaf.







: “...This is quite the mix-up. Shall I send them away?”

: “No, it's all right.”



: “This wasn't written in Yulia's Score!”

: “Yulia's Score... don't make me laugh. If people continue to rely on that garbage, mankind will go extinct.”



: “This is the only way to free the world from Yulia's Score.”

: “I suppose the Score won't matter if everyone's dead.”

: “No. All that will die is that ghost of Yulia known as the Score and its support, Lorelei.”

: “Lorelei... the aggregate sentience of the Seventh Fonon? But its existence hasn't been proven...”

: “It exists. It's the source of man's power to read the Score, and the force driving this world into madness. If Lorelei is not destroyed, this world will continue to be shackled by the Score.”

: “So many people will die if the Outer Lands fall. The Score will be the least of anyone's worries.”



: “You're going to recreate the entire world? Everything?! That's ridiculous!”

: “Then what about this, Gailardia Galan Gardios?”



Now that's a name.

: “Mankind knew – through the Score – of Hod's destruction, and still did nothing!”

: “But...”

: “My feelings have not changed. If you will aid me, I would gladly welcome you. My promise still stands.”

: “What promise...? What's he talking about, Guy?”

: “Well...”



: “When we reunited under Duke Fabre, we swore revenge for the destruction of Hod.”

A crashing sound is heard.



: “He's here.”





: “It's about time, Asch. With your hyperresonance, together we will create a new world order.”



: “That inferior product? He can't even control a complete hyperresonnace on his own.”



Hey, fuck you buddy! That side quest hasn't even finished yet!

: “He was merely a pawn to make the Order think history was following the Score.”

: “Take that back!”

: “Tear, open your eyes. With the Sephiroth out of control, your efforts with this refuse are meaningless.”



: “It's all right, Legretta. They pose no threat.”



: “Tear, put away your weapon. The odds are against us here.”

: “Yeah, we wouldn't escape this one unharmed. We can't die here, even if he dies with us. We still have to lower the Outer Lands.”

: “Van. We'll both withdraw.”

: “Is that all right, Commandant?”

: “Improving Asch's mood could be beneficial.”



Well that was heated. Good thing Van let us withdraw: we aren't nearly high enough level to go toe to toe with him, let alone with Legretta at his side.



: “Yeah, we're only here because of you.”

: “Don't get me wrong. I only saved you because the Fon Master told me to.”

: “Ion told you to?!”

: “I have something for you. Come to the inn.”

Skit: Van's Plan

: “Master Van's trying to free the world from the Score...?”

: “There's not much point in that if the world's destroyed in the process!”

: “Certainly not. He's oversimplifying things. He's treating the Score as the source of all the world's problems.”

: “Though it is true that people died for the sake of the Score.”

: “But that's no reason to sacrifice more lives!”

: “Of course not!”

: “In any case, he's a danger to all of Auldrant. We have to stop him.”

: “Master Van said he needed Asch for his plans, not me... heh heh. Rejected again. I'm useless...”

: “Luke...”



: “...Don't worry, Tear. It's not like I didn't already know. Let's go see what Asch has to say. I don't like him, but for now, we need his help.”

: “Yes, let us head for the inn.”

Let us.

...Okay, one more skit. I swear it's the last.

Skit: Friends?!

: “I can't figure out whether Asch is on our side or not...”

: “But he helped you so much!”

: “Well, yeah... but he keeps so many secrets.”

: “He is a mystery...”



: “I wonder if he's going to come with us.”

: “Do you want him to?”

: “No way! ...Is what I'd like to say, but... given what we're trying to do, I guess it might be better to have him along.”

: “So why don't you ask him to be friends?”

: “No way! And I mean it on that one!”



: “Huh? Ah, that...”

: “The reason you attacked me because of the curse slot was...”

: “...Yeah, what Van said was true. I used to be on his side. But... not any more. Our objectives are no longer the same.”

: “And you want us to believe that?”

: “You know we're a suspicious lot.”

: “Yeah!”

: “Stop that! When we had all given up on Luke, Guy alone went back for him. Will you try to deny even that?”

: “It could just be part of his plan.”

: “...I won't demand you trust me. If you think I'm Van's spy, then I'll leave. That's all there is to it.”



: “Are you sure?”

: “Well, I mean, I want you to trust me. To believe that I can change. I want you to watch me.”

: “...I see.”

: “Despite being form a nation that views mine as an enemy, Guy did his best to encourage me and cheer me up. I cannot believe that was an act to deceive us!”

: “I don't distrust Guy. If my brother intended to use Guy as a spy, he'd have hidden it more skillfully.”

: “I agree. I merely expressed distrust as a matter of formality.”



: “...If you're that soft and naïve, one of these days you're going to seriously regret it. Oh well, don't say I didn't warn you.”

Who put the stick up your ass today, Anise? Fuck off.

: “Hah hah! Well, whatever works for you guys, I'm glad to be part of the team.”

: “And I'm happy you're with us. Guy... I trust you, okay?”

: “...Yeah, I know.”



So there's Asch right there...



But just to annoy him, let's sleep at the inn first and completely ignore him.



: “What's up?”

: “I'll be back soon.”

: Now that I think about it, Master Van has been using this city as a base... I trust Guy, but...



A true friend wouldn't pry, but on the other hand being a true friend means we miss a fairly important scene, so we're following.




: “...Yeah.”

: “We once swore to help each other. Why do you hesitate now?”

: “I can't go along with what you're doing. That's all.”

: “What I'm doing will revive Hod.”

: “...No, Hod is gone. Can you say otherwise?”

: “...This is unfortunate. I pledged my sword to you. I wanted you to join me.”

: “...If you still think of me as your lord, then I'd appreciate it if you obey my orders. Vandesdelca, please stop this foolish behavior at once. If you cannot obey that order, then I shall return your sword.”

: “...I cannot obey, Master Gailardia.”



: “...Farewell. The next time we encounter each other, I will forget you were my master and show you no mercy.”







: “zzzz....”

: “...Luke, I've put my past behind me. I won't be lured by Van's words anymore. Thanks for trusting me.”

: Man, I feel bad now...



: “By the way, I knew you were eavesdropping. If you're pretending to sleep, you can stop now.”



: “Hah ha. It's okay. Sorry for worrying you.”

Wow, that was a really emotional scene that served establish Guy's past, motives, and allegiances, as well as really flesh out Van's character as well! Good thing the devs hid it behind the requirement of sleeping before talking to Asch – who's standing right there – so that 99% of players would never see it! The design decisions in this game are baffling.

But seriously, let's talk to Asch now.

The Forbidden Text



: “Yes, Asch rescued me.”

: “Asch...?”

: “Thank goodness!”

: “But the Albiore's ability to fly was sealed at Daath.”

: “What? If you can't fly, how did you get here?”

: “It could still travel over water, so I managed that.”

: “They probably removed the flightstone – the fonstone that controls the hover drive.”

: “So we can't fly until we get that back?”

: “Yeah. The Albiore's just a ship for the moment.”

Arbitrary!







: “Forbidden texts are those the Order designated as harmful and gathered up, right?”

: “Correct. And this is a very old one at that.”

: “Ion said you'd find it helpful in lowering the Outer Lands.”

Man, Ion has got our back! Glad to see he's actually starting to take advantage of his position and mobilize some of his forces on our behalf.

: “It will take time to read it. Can we save the talk for tomorrow?”

: “Sure. You're probably the only one of us who could make sense of it, anyway.”

: “We're counting on you, Jade.”

: “Then I'll see you tomorrow morning.”



So we went to bed, got a book, and then all went back to bed while Jade read. All while Van's just chilling in the same city like ten feet away. Okay.

Anyway, next day...



: “You didn't wake up, Master, so they left.”

: “They could have woken me up...”



: “...And sooner or later, your face is going to freeze into that sneer.”





You can talk to everybody else too, except for Jade who advances the plot. Nobody else really has anything interesting to say, apart from Guy.

: “Van watched over and protected me. Van's father and Pere were the sword and shield of the House of Gardios. It was kind of like how you and I are.”

Again, it's subtle but there's a great effort here to flesh out how difficult Guy's choice is and how much he's grown. From his perspective, this is like Luke finding out Guy is the main villain and he has to resolve to kill him. That's a bitter pill to swallow.

Genisis of the World



: “Yes, it seems the cause of the Qliphoth's liquefaction lies in the core.”

: “The center of the planet, where memory particles gather?”

: “Yes. It should be at rest, but it's vibrating violently. That's likely the cause of the liquefaction.”

: “Then why didn't the people of Yulia City do something about the core shaking?”

: “Maybe because it's not written in the Score.”

: “Partly. The primary reason was that the shaking is caused by the Planet Storm.”

: “The Planet Storm... that's that artificial planetary fuel distribution system, right?”

Graces fans may take note at the progenitor to the Lastalia/Valkinas Cryas system.

: “That's right, you remembered. The memory particles from the core pour out of the first Sephiroth – the Radiation Gate. Then they return to the core through the second Sephiroth – the Absorption Gate. That's the Planet Storm that forms the planet's fuel.”

: “Dr. Southern-Cross proposed the Planet Storm during the Dawn Age.”

: “They likely didn't have any idea that the Planet Storm would cause the core to vibrate. In fact, it probably didn't, originally. But over a long period of time, distortions developed, and the core began to vibrate.

Oh yeah, that happens all the time in computers when you leave them on for months or years at a time: it's called Electromigration. All we have to do is reseat the planet's video card.

: “Even Dr. Southern-Cross didn't predict the core's vibration..?”

: “The only way to stop the shaking is to stop the Planet Storm. But stopping the Planet Storm would drastically weaken both fontech and fonic artes. The passage rings supporting the Outer Lands would also stop conmpletely.”

Heaven forbid we weaken fonons...

: “Then there's nothing we can do...”

: “Actually, we just need to stop the core's vibration while maintaining the Planet Storm.”

: “Can we do that?”



: “But it was sealed away because it contradicts Yulia's Score?”

: “Correct. All we can do is fix the liquefaction and lower the Outer Lands. Granted, we will need to reconstruct the fon machine from the text. We'll need the help of the researchers in this city.”

: “But all the people in this city are all connected with Father and Van...”

: “...F...Father?!”

: “...What? What's so funny?!”

: “What do you know? Asch really is a young noble!”



: “...For a walk! Fill me in later. For now, go figure out what you're going to do!”

: “Uh oh, made him mad. Heh heh. Whoops.”

: “My my, he has some soft spots after all.”

: “Honestly! Stop teasing him!”

: “If what Asch says is true, then won't it be difficult to gain the researchers' help...?”



: “What do we do when we find him?”

: “You'll see.”

Skit: A light at the End of the Tunnel

: “If we can stop the core's vibration like Jade said, then everybody will be all right!”

: “Looks like we're finally making some progress.”

: “Yes. If we can solve the miasma issue and the collapse of the Outer Lands, all that will be left are the disputes between Kimlasca and Malkuth.”

: “Though it may be difficult too... are you up to it, Natalia?”

: “To be honest... I don't know...”

: “Well, at least they aren't at war anymore. The rest, we can save for later.”

: “Yeah. Right now, let's go look for that researcher Hencken.”

...Yeah, I have another skit.

Skit: Tear's Secret

: “Hmm? What's that, Tear?”

: “Ah!”

: “Hey, did you just hide something?”

: “D-don't look!”

: “Oh, come on. What is it? ...Oh, it's a rappig doll...”

: “N-no! I just... I found it at a shop. It's not like I thought it was cute or anything!”

: “It's just...I...you know...it's...um...well...Anise, please don't tell anyone.”

: “Don't worry, I'm great at keeping secrets! You know what, I'd just love to have some chiffon cake...”

: “...I'll buy you some the next time I see it.”

: “I love you Tear!”

And now she's blackmailing, too. New low.

So, Henken.

Class I



: “God-General Dist is in charge here. If he found out, there's no telling what would happen...”



: “What?! Iemon?!”

: “That Tamara and her cronies aren't going to take another Dawn Age fon machine from us!”

: “...O-okay. If that's how it is, we'll take on your job.”

: “Huh? What? Why are you so opposed to the guys in Sheridan?”

: “We've been rivals in fon machinery since our days at the Royal Acadamy.”

: “We of Belkend's “Class I” are at 99 wins, 99 losses against Sheridan's “Class M”. I won't lose any more!”

: “Guy, you knew about this?”



I like how Guy's hobbies aren't just throwaway dialogue, but actually give him knowledge that helps us in our travels.

: “We should get the governor on our side, or information might leak to Dist.”

: “But the governor is currently our enemy...”

: “Don't worry, leave that to us.”

: “All right, let's go Cathy!”



: *sigh* “I suppose we'll explain our plan in front of the governor.”

Mmkay.

To Save the World



: “Relax. The governor is going to help us.”

: “I've been ordered to search for Master Luke and Princess Natalia. I just can't seem to find them. That's all. Understand?”

I like this guy.

: “Oh please. You're as excited as anyone about that forbidden text.”



: “Me?! Oh, all right...”





: “What are you talking about? Runica's already gone!”

: “We'll first need to measure the frequency of the core's vibration.”

: “How do we do that?”

: “By inserting a measuring device through a passage ring into a Sephiroth Tree. So we'll need a Spehiroth that we haven't lowered yet.”

: “Surrey Hill and the Zao Ruins are both in the Qliphoth now.”

: “Shall we ask Grandfather in Yulia City?”

: “We need the Albiore to fly if we're going back to the Qliphoth.”

: “Oh, yeah. It can't fly right now. We could take the Yulia Road.”

: “Then let's go to Daath. Ion might know where the Sephiroth are, too.”

: “The Sephiroth will be closed with a Daathic Seal. We'll need to take Ion.”



: “Thanks. We're counting on you. We'll head to Daath in the meantime.”

Well, that was a lot of plot! I guess we can wrap u-





: “..Wh-what was that about?”



: “Spinoza? What was he doing?”

: “...I'd say he was eavesdropping and is now going to report what he heard.”

: “Spinoza's not that kind of man!”

: “You can't judge a book by its cover.”

: “...Were you talking bout something you wouldn't want overheard?”

: “They're going to secretly rebuild the fon machine from the forbidden text.”

: “We're going to bring Ion here in the meantime.”



: “...At any rate, we just need to catch Spinoza, right? I'll find him.”

: “Asch! You're helping us!”

: “Then let's look for him together!”

: “D-don't get me wrong! I want to ask Spinoza something myself. I'm just helping you on the side. I do not intend to get friendly with you people and that replica!”

: “Don't be stupid! We don't know where he went. And you'll need a vehicle!”

: “Enough! Just go get Ion!”



: “Don't talk about him like that. He reminds me of a young Iemon. He's probably shy and lonely.”

: “Humph. That makes him all the worse. Listen Luke. Spinoza will try to leave the country by ship. You find him before that Asch does!”

: “Of course!”

: “Just so you don't forget, bringing Ion here is what's important.”

: “I-I know that! We can still take a quick look around the cities along the way, right?”

: *sigh* “You pick strange things to be stubborn about.”



Next Time: We go back to Daath. As usual, nothing bad happens.

Synopsis:

When we got to Belkend, Jade told me that when he was here with Asch, he'd
heard Spinoza talking about working with Van. Well, yeah, I saw that too.
Anyway, as long as we're here we might as well see if he has anything to tell
us.


At the laboratory, Oracle Knights mistook me for Asch and took me to
Master Van. It's the first time I've seen him since Akzeriuth.

It seems like Master Van really does hate the Score. He said that Lorelei,
the collective consciousness of the Seventh Fonon, is what's creating the
Score, so he's going to destroy Lorelei and free the world from the Score.
And his plan for doing that is to drop the Outer Lands into the Qliphoth. I
can't understand how the collapse of the Outer Lands could free the world
from the Score, but Master Van doesn't seem to care that doing so will
destroy all of humanity. He says that since everybody living now is
controlled by the Score, with no free will of their own, he'll just replace
them with replicas. ...So Master Van's plan is to create a replica world?

The meeting ended with Asch coming in to intervene. Master Van called me
an inferior product, and asked Asch, my original, to help him. So I was just
a replacement for Asch from the beginning... And it looks like Guy used to be
on Master Van's side--though I'm sure he isn't now. But it looks like I've
really been alone from the beginning...

As we left Master Van, Asch said he had something to give us. He'll be
waiting for us at the inn...

No, stop it! Getting all depressed over the obvious won't solve anything!
Yeah, it's tough to hear about Guy and Master Van, but it's the truth.
Besides, how can I not trust Guy? Okay, let's settle myself down and head for
the inn.

When we reached the inn, Noelle was there--apparently Asch saved her as
well. Dammit, how come he gets all the glory?

Noelle told us that she had come here on the Albiore, but the Albiore's
flightstone had been taken away, so it can only travel on the water now. But
at least it gives us a way to get around.

The thing Asch had for us was a book sent by Ion--Jade called it a
forbidden text, and said it was a history book about the Dawn Age. Jade's the
only one among us who could understand it, so we left it to him, and decided
to spend the night at the inn.

We learned some important information from the forbidden text. Let's see
if I can summarize it.

Our current problem is that the Sephiroth are out of control, and the
Outer Lands are facing the threat of collapse. We don't even know the reason
for the behavior of the Sephiroth. At this rate, all of humanity could die.

In order to avoid that, one thing we could do is lower the entire Outer
Lands into the Qliphoth, like we did with Chesedonia. There's still the
problem of the miasma, but in any case, the Outer Lands used to be in the
Qliphoth, so we'd just be returning Auldrant to its original form.

But even if we do that, the out-of-control Sephiroth won't be able to keep
the land afloat forever, and it'll eventually sink into the liquefied crust
of the Qliphoth. So we'll have to solidify the crust first.

Basically, we have to find a way to solidify the crust and then lower the
Outer Lands.

So why did the crust of the Qliphoth turn liquid in the first place? The
forbidden text had an answer for that.

It says that the cause of the liquefaction is the Planet Storm, an
important facility that carries energy throughout the world. The Planet Storm
is causing the core to vibrate, and those vibrations are resonating
throughout the planet. But if we stopped the Planet Storm, fonic artes and
fontech would be drastically weakened, and we'd lose a lot of resources, so
that's not an option. As an alternative, the book described research that had
been done on stopping the core's vibration while leaving the Planet Storm
active. But since it wasn't written in the Score, nobody until now has paid
attention to either the core's vibration or the possibility of Planet Storm
stopping.

The Score may have been an absolute before, but now there's a good chance
it's not even functioning anymore. I think we should go ahead and stop the
core's vibration to solidify the crust, then lower the Outer Lands.

In order to stop the core's vibration, we'll need to recreate a fon
machine based on the forbidden text, so we'll need help from researchers. The
researchers here are all under the eye of Master Van or Father...it'll be too
dangerous to ask them. But then Guy said he had a thought, and suggested
looking for someone named Hencken at the fon machine laboratory. Let's go see
if we can find him.

We found Hencken in the laboratory. At first he refused to help us, but
the instant we mentioned the name of Iemon, from Sheridan, his mood changed
completely. He even volunteered to talk the governor into helping keep the
research secret from Master Van. Apparently there's some sort of rivalry
between Iemon and Hencken. Guy knew about it and used it to convince Hencken
to help. He and his partner Cathy ran off to the governor's mansion even
before we were able to explain what we wanted. Oh well, let's go follow them.

The governor of Belkend is subordinate to Father. I was worried that he'd
report us, but Hencken and Cathy handled the situation well, so that the
problem was taken care of. But before they can construct the actual device,
they said they need to know the core's vibration frequency. In order to
measure that, we'll have to find a Sephiroth Tree that's still supporting the
Outer Lands, but the only Sephiroth we know are the ones we already lowered
into the Qliphoth. (Actually, it seems that the locations of the Sephiroth
themselves are known, but not the locations of the passage rings.)

So it's time to ask Ion again. He should have the Daathic seal protecting
them.

We left the construction of the measuring device to Hencken and Cathy, and
left for Daath to pick up Ion.

When we left the governor's mansion, we saw Spinoza outside--he'd been
listening in on us. He got away, undoubtedly to tell Master Van of what we're
planning.
Our plans would probably cause problems for Master Van, and more than
anything, he's got the laboratory under his control, so Hencken and Cathy
could be in danger. We were about to chase after Spinoza, but then Asch said
he'd take care of Spinoza, so we should go and get Ion. Something about the
way he said it made me really mad, and I started arguing with him.

Eventually it was decided that Asch would go after Spinoza and we'd see to
Ion...but to be honest, I want to find Spinoza myself. Before Asch does. I
can't stand losing to him.

I will head for Daath...but you guys don't mind a little side trip, right?