Part 17: Episode 16: She Said She’d Always Been a Dancer

I guess we safely slept in the hippies house last night. Dart is still hearing colors but other wise its fine.

Dart: "There are no signs of Lloyd after all."

Shana: "I cannot imagine that Emperor Doel told us a lie."

Albert: "In his last moment, my uncle was himself again. I think we can trust
the information that Lloyd headed for Tiberoa. So we should assume that
we crossed paths with Lloyd."

Dart: "So, where in the world?"


I dunno. I like how only Rose has the common sense to sit down and relax while everyone else stresses out.

Rose: "In any case, the king is getting along with a motley crew like us."

Haschel: "I was concerned at first. I even imagined that we were going to be
pushed around by the King's ego."

Albert: "Please, stop teasting me, both of you! What I would like you to do is
just treat me as an equal, as a friend traveling together!"

Shana: "Dart is not good at speaking with courtesy. He gets cramps in his
tongue when he tries for a long time."

Dart: "I appreciate your solicitude, Your Majesty."


Not that it has stopped us in the past. And it is CERTAINLY not going to stop us in the future. Basically let’s forget this line ever happened.

Albert: "Anyway, the priority is to pursue Lloyd. This is not the
only town in Tiboeria. If my memory is correct, there should be a town
called Donau along the north sea shore."

Shana: "Let's go there now!"

Dart: "Okay! Let's leave as soon as possible!"

So we finally have somewhere new to go besides Fletz! It’s very exciting. Very brown. Also filled up to your asshole in bandits apparently


RIght on the first screen we pick up a Warrior Dress for Haschel. Poor bastard largely has armor unique to him.


By shear dumb luck I only run into these guys in random encounters this run through. Some sort of centaur archer...thing. We can also run into angry lizards, huge dudes, and scorpions.


Next screen up we run into a trio of bandits hanging out on a rock overhang.

Dart: "!!"

Mappi: "Hee Hee Hee!! Are you dating those girls in a place like this!?"

Dart: "Who, are you?"

Mappi: "Hee hee hee! Did you hear that? They are asking us 'who we are'!!"

Gehrich Gang A: "I guess they think we're a bunch of doctors!!"


No wonder they had to turn to banditry. These guys are too stupid to do much else in life other than farm turnips or something.

Mappi: "Surprise, surprise!! We are the one and only Gehrich Gang!! We're so
bad we scare ghosts back to hell!!"

Dart: "They have no class."

Gehrich Gang A: "Hey what did you say?!! Yo Mappi!! How should I cook these
dumbheads!?"

Mappi: "Well, hmmm. I know what!! Let's get our reward of money and the
bimbos!"


Albert, you should leave the threats up to Rose. You stick to the spergin’ and stabbin.

Mappi: "Stop yapping like that! Just leave your valuables. It's that simple!"

Dart: "Get out of our way. We don't have time to play with you."

Rose: "This is your last chance. Get out of our way or you'll need a real
doctor."


And here I do one of the sloppiest boss fights I get into. I basically had one fight between the entrance and here. Dart has yet to actually hit anyone so he has 0 SP cause he ended disc 1 without any. Also I grossly underestimated how fast these zippy bastards could stack damage up. So I’m not actually sandbagging, I’m just being a dumb ass at the start.


Mappi comes teamed up with two Crafty Thieves. All of them are Dark Affinity. So Rose is going to kind of suck a nut here.


The crafty thieves hit fairly hard. For comparison a standard Kongol attack was about 100, but he was FAR slower and there was only one of them.


Dart get’s some stabbin’ on so he charge his Dragoon level back up.


Jesus christ, Rose. Stop getting shivved in the face.


Alright. Fuck this noise, time to drop the hammer. Rose tosses out a Light attack item.


EAT A DICK. These guys have right around 300 so if I had button mashed just a touch faster he’d be have been one shotted.


Dart finally gets up enough SP to transform. And lays the god damn hammer down. Things pretty much are over right here. Both crafty thieves are down. Mappi only has 700 HP so he’s going to get pounded 3 on 1. Rose drops another Light attack, everyone else a few additions and we are done.




Mappi: "H, hold. Wow.”


Mappi: "I won't to it again. Please forgive me."




Fuuuuuuuuck.






Rose has had enough of working with amateurs moves in to clean this shit up herself.


Mappi soils his drawers.


...Which apparently does not hinder him from dodging like a motherfucker vs. her strikes. For reference I didn’t miss one attack in the fight against him




Rose watches as Mappi floors it straight up the cliff into parts unknown. Here is where I wonder why none of the four other dragoons transformed and laid the smack down. I’m pretty positive even a bandit can’t outrun lightning. So uh, I hope you really didn’t feel like using Dart as dragoon for the next two hours.


At least he has the good graces to look disgusted with himself. I think. It’s hard to tell in four foot cube faces.


Albert: "He's gone."

Dart: "It's my fault for not being careful enough!"

Rose: "A Dragoon Spirit being stolen is the last thing I wanted to have happen.

Albert: "Anyway, let's move on to Donau. We might find out something about the
Gehrich Gang when we get there.”

We COULD go left here and head to the Valley of Corrupted Gravity. However a guard is out there and tells us to fuck off unless we get the king’s ok. So right we go.


On the last screen we can pick up a Recovery Ball and 50g. Recovery ball is the healing equivalent of attack ball. Who knows what will fly out! And after that we are onto Flower City Donau.


I guess this makes up for all the brown.

Shana: "Thank you."

Girl: "Thank god! You don't look like bandits! Your clothes are so filthy
that at first I thought you might be!"

Albert: "We really are covered in dust. It's natural the girl would be
mistaken."

Shana: "Don't stare at me like that!"

Dart: "It's not that bad."

Rose: "We don't have time for fooling around like that."


Rose: "I am just concerned about the Dragoon Spirit."

Meanwhile in flashback land:




Bandit 1: "We are deciding now! Hee Hee Hee.... As I expected. You are one of
the Sacred Sisters of Mille Seseau aren't ya!? You have such a pretty
face, don't you!?"

Bandit 2: "Great! Selling her will make us rich!"

Bandit 3: "Don't make a noise and we won't harm you!!"

????: "Some, somebody help!!!"


Oh hey, Lloyd. What’s up. How’s life treating you since you murdered Lavitz.

Bandit 1: "Just go away! Or you'll be sorry!"

Bandit 2: "Are you gonna get in our way!?"

Lloyd: "Please continue,"

Bandit 1: "What!?"


That’s our good ol Llo--Wait WHAT.

Bandit 1: "YOU are the one to die!! Argh!!"


Lloyd does not tolerate this kind of disrespect from scrubs and launches him into the wall without moving. Apparently Lloyd has force powers now? Sure. Why not.

Bandit 2: "Wh, What did you do!?"

Lloyd: "Shall I continue?"


The bandits decide to get the fuck out of dodge. Lloyd disappoints me and doesn’t cut all their heads off.

????: "P, Please wait!! I don't know who you are, but thank you very much for
helping me!"

Lloyd: "It's nothing."

????: "Oh, please, let me at least have your name!!"

Lloyd: "It's Lloyd."


File her away in the corner of your mind somewhere. Although this will not matter until disc 3.

Alright, back to real time.


All over town are random bandits we can’t do a damn thing about. They all strut and act so important. I don’t know why we can’t just murder them. Or at least beat information out of them. I”m sure Rose would enjoy it.


And since we have control now I pick up the first of 2 stardust in town. Then we head in the door to our right to advance PLOT.


Kate: "It's impossible to have a talk with the Gehrichs. Who...who are you!?"

Dart: "Don't worry. We are not bandits."

Please ignore the blood and dust covering us. It’s bandit and demi-human blood I quite assure you.

Kate: "Really?"

Shana: "There is something wrong isn't there?"

Albert: "We might be able to be of some help. Tell us."


Kate: "Okay. It all started this morning. When I finished my errands and came
home, Lynn was gone. In his letter.... It says he is going to persuade
the gang to pull themselves out of Donau. I'm supposed to wait for him at
home."

Dart: "He left a letter?"

Kate: "I have an idea!! If I show this letter to the Mayor, he might do
something to help! The Mayor is Lynn's father!"

Dart: "I see. Let's bring this to the Mayor. You have to wait for Lynn here."

Kate: "Oh, thank you!"


Up the stairs just above Kate’s house takes us to the item and weapon shop. Also a guard of the Sacred Sister looking for Lloyd. The weapon shop sucks, but I top off on healing since I had to use some in the boss fight.


We can also go harass some people in the Inn’s bar off the first screen. Some drunkard is talking about dead pirates and dragons and shit. What a loon? Who would ever believe that load of crock.


There’s also a dock in town to check out. Not much to do here yet. If we ask around more people talking about sea dragons and ghost ships. Must be something in the water.


I guess we should get around to talking to the Mayor about his son or something. He’s probably already dead so I’m not really in a rush. Really, it’s probably in Kate’s best interest for him to keel over. Boy obviously ain’t right.

Butler: "You cannot meet the Mayor because he is busy. I'm sorry, but please
come back some other time."

Dart: "Can you take a look at this letter?"

Butler: "Th, this is.... P, Please come in!!"


Mayor of Donau: "!! What kind of man would venture to face the Gehrich Gang
himself?"

Butler: "I didn't know Mr. Lynn was that consumed with...."

Dart: Idiocy?

Rose: Suicidal tendencies?

Haschel: Fear of getting married like the weakling he is? I could show Kate a real man *flexes*

Mayor of Donau: "It was my fault for not realizing it!!"

Butler: "I bet Miss Kate is very stressed."

Mayor of Donau: "You must go. As the Mayor, I don't want you to be involved in
this."

Dart: "We are already involved. The gang took something very important away
from me. Where do they come from?"


Mayor of Donau: "but we don't know anything about them other than that."

Butler: "That place is very dangerous. They say nobody can come back once they
enter the valley."

Rose: “So, the bandits just materialize”

Butler: “No one. Comes. Back.”

Mayor of Donau: "Butler!! Don't say that!! Lynn...Lynn went there!!"

Butler: "Now, we have to gather the people of Donau to form a rescue team."

Mayor of Donau: "And then what will happen to the city? The gang might take
over the city."

Dart: "Let us do it."

Shana: "You were planning to go anyawy, weren't you?"


Mayor of Donau: "Now, I can face those punks in our city with courage!!

Dollars to donuts mayor fatty lumpkin will be right where we left him when we get back.


As payment for possibly rescuing his son and/or recovering his son’s corpse we pull some stardust out of his sink.

????'s theme


Weird things. Butt things

Bandit: "Don't be silly! Why would I touch the butt of a kid like you?"

????: "What did you say!? I could forgive you if you'd admit
that I am too sexy to ignore and apologize!"

Bandit 2: "Huh? Is this kid dreaming or what?"

????: "I can't stand it anymore!!


I think it might be the bandits getting sexually harassed actually. Either way the scrawny chick with far too little clothes drops two guys with one punch.


Bandit: "Ouch...! You!! You don't know who we are!?"

????: "I know."

Bandit: "You think you can get away with it!?"

????: "Let me see.... I think so!"


And #3 gets an all expense paid trip onto his ass.


This chick fucking loves fist pumping and spinning.

Bandit: "Darn! You'll pay for this!!"


????: "I won't be paying you!!"

The bandits flee for the hills while the brat spews terrible response back. I think she went to school with Leon Kennedy.

Dart: "Doesn't she have a better way to say goodbye?"


I don’t want to know where she kept that hidden at. Not at all.

Haschel: "Platinum hair.... The same as Lloyd. The rest is different."

????: "Are you maybe one of my groupies? Hmm, don't seem like it though. You
guys...are some strange group of people. What's your name?"

Dart: "It's Dart."


Rose: "We don't have time for playing with a kid."

Albert: "I agree. We can't waste any time if we are going to help Lynn."

Shana: "Sorry. But we gotta get going."

Meru: "You said Lynn!? Then you guys are going to rescue Lynn!!"

Dart: "How did you find out about that?"

Meru: "'Cuz I heard it from Kate. But people in this city are all chickens,
right? So I was gonna make a raid on their hideout! Then those bastards
gave me a hard time! I guess they didn't tak eme seriously 'cuz I'm
alone. You know what!! I'm gonna go with you guys!!"


Rose: "Just leave her alone. Let's go."

Meru: "Hold on!! Do you guys know where the hideout is?"

Dart: "It's somewhere in the Valley of Corrupted Gravity, isn't it?"

Meru: "Wow, how naive!! You make it sound easy, but you cannot go through such
a mell of a hess kind a place without a person like me whose totally
knowledgeable and totally pretty!"


Pff. Show’s what you know Meru. We are all over knowing about stupid permission slips. Also we have a god damn king in our party. Getting in can’t be that hard.

Shana: "What are we going to do Dart? This girl is serious."

Dart: "We cannot take you."

Meru: "Why is that!?"

Dart: "It's too dangerous for you."


Meru: "It's not fair! I wanna go with
you guys!! I wanna rescue Lynn!!"

Meru precedes to stomp her feet up and down, pouting like a 6 year old.

Dart: "Oh well, you can come."

Dart has an iron will when it comes to some things. This...is not one of them.


Dart: "We can trust her intentions to rescue Lynn. Besides we don't
know the place. We might need a guide."

Meru: "Right!! He's completely right!! Now, let's go! Beautiful dancer Meru,
and friends, form a posse for dealing with the Gehrich Gang!!"


You know what every RPG party needs? That’s right. Jailbait. Well at least we have a, uh, enthusiastic guide.


Meru is actually a really damn good character despite looking ridiculous. She takes a bit to get rolling, but boy howdy when she gets there. She’s the fastest character in the party, and second only to Shana in magic. Right now her attack is pretty much pitiful. Her final addition though has a wopping 600% damage, the highest in the game(tempered by her low attack stat). That plus her speed which you can crank to over 100 makes her a god damn power house. Unfortunately she doesn’t get her dragon spirit for a while which hurts her for now. But she’ll pick up a nice mix of healing, single target, and group target spells.

Bonus! Meru Concept Art. Linked for not a whole lot of clothes. http://i.imgur.com/6cpml.jpg