Part 11: And at last, comprehension dawns.

-Leiston Fortress-



Grimsel Fortress: where elite operatives of the Bracer Guild train for counter-terror actions against insurgent beetles and seditious rabbits.











Dare you dare this fiendish riddle?







Pulling levers to open doors? Kurt's training never covered anything like this!
Hmm...Don't you find this sort of stuff in military bases, as a security thingy? Y'know, a moveable wall? I guess this place really is used for, like, infiltration or escape training.
A military-themed course? Aw, great. It's like I'm trapped in Leiston Fortress all over again.
But anyway...I suppose if this thing is active, the jaegers are in the building?
Yeah, I'd say it's a good bet.
Good news is, our enemies probably don't know this place any better than we do. If we proceed carefully and deliberately, we should be cool.
Oh...
Hm? What's wrong, Estelle? Did I say something bad?
'Carefully and deliberately'...I remember Schera always telling me the same thing.
Haha! Whoops, my dark, horrible past is exposed!
Yeah, that's something Schera used to tell me a lot. She was my mentor for a while when I was still a newbie, you see...And, well, I was kind of a super-scatterbrain. I heard that line so much, though, it eventually got burned into my skull.
Ha ha...Haaaa...Yeeeah, I've got a pretty good idea of what you mean. Joshua was just as fond of that saying as Schera was...
But...neither of them are here now, huh? It's just us.
Yeah...It's all on us.
Let's go, Anelace. Carefully and deliberately, right?
Maybe even deliberately and carefully!

The next gate requires that two levers be pulled.



such conundra



Okay, it looks like this should work.





The denizens of Grimsel Fortress are adept at hurling...various items.





Eventually you'll find a storeroom that's pitch-dark.



There's just enough light to blunder over to the corner.





There are a few monsters lurking in this container maze, and whoever isn't wearing the Night Goggles will be blinded in combat against them.





What's this?
Hmmm, seems like some kinda device. Also looks kinda like an orbment switch...
'Some kinda device.' Case closed.
Well, probably good to take it with us, right? This place is a training facility, so it might be used to open trap areas or something.
Yeah, good point.
Even just getting here there's been a lot of gates, pitch black rooms and stuff, so...
Welp, they're always saying to 'be prepared,' right? Anyway, let's get going.
Yeah.





Whoa!



Ahaha...It really opened.
Heehee, justice prevails!
Alright, let's keep our eyes peeled and hurry on!
Yeah!

This would be a good time to save.



And bake.





-Creeping Crisis-

You!
So you finally show your face!



Jaeger: Didja have FUN with all those great traps we left for ya?!
Yeah. Barrel of laughs. Thanks for that.
More to the point, I'm guessing you're keeping Kurt and Phyllis behind that door, right?!
How about you let them go before I pry off that mask and paint your face with my sword?
Jaeger: Ha HAAA! Chirp all you want, little chicks. You've come so far not even realizing this would be your grave. How sad! How very like a BRACER!
Isn't that our line? I have NO idea what you guys are trying to accomplish here, but you really backed yourselves into a corner.
Jaeger: The heck do you...?
Uh...Yeah! Guild reinforcements are gonna be here soon! Once they get here, you're out of luck!
Jaeger: Try again, girlies! We smashed your phone. Just how did you make contact with any 'reinforcements' without that?
Er, well...(Oh, crap, I need to pull out a really good bluff...)



Actually, I oughtta thank you for breaking the phone as bad as you did. Great job! The fact that Le Locle has gone totally silent for a whole day will mean the guild will already know something's wrong!
Jaeger: Wh-What...?
Hey, that's...true! They probably figured it out ages ago.
Heck, I bet our reinforcements are already in the air! They'll be here any MINUTE now!
Jaeger: Tch. Guess we took that bracer pig-headedness a little too lightly. Either way, you brats are an eyesore! The best use for your skins will be as CLEANING RAGS for our new base! DIE!
All right! Bring it on, you monster!
We won't lose! FOR THE GUILD!

-Fight With Assailant-

Today, we down the jaegermeister.























-Leiston Fortress-



Hooh...Haaaah...W-We...We won...
But the way he fights...
Y-Yeah...You noticed too, Estelle? It's like...
Woman's Voice: Heehee! You guys sure are good at being tricked.
Man's Voice: Ha-ha-ha! Man, you guys were great! What a beatdown!

-Silence-



MORE enemies?
Female Jaeger: Haha! No, no, no! C'mon, I'm not even changing my voice anymore! Don't tell me you can't figure it out?
That voice...Girly yet tough...
No...No WAY!
CARNA?!
Female Jaeger: Biiiin-gooooo!

-Dancing With The Wind-



Uh, a while, yeah...but what are you doing in a JAEGER SUIT?! Wait, that'd mean that the guy over there is...
Grant?!
Jaeger: Hole in one!



Great work? Wait...Do you mean this was all...?
Jaeger: And at last, comprehension dawns.



F-Final training...?
S-So...Everything since last night's attack has been a...performance?!
Hmhm! This is a long-standing Le Locle tradition. The idea is to put trainees in a life-threatening situation in order to see how well they utilize their newly-learned skills.
Are you frickin' KIDDING me...?
When Kurt told us your finals were comin' up, we rode our butts out here from Liberl to help out!
Heheh! It was a lot of fun.
FUN?! Ooooooh...!
You guys are all THE WORST!
Seriously! We really thought it was hitting the fan! We were out of our minds with worry...
It WAS hitting the fan. Remember those bunnies?
Well, that was part of the point, in fact.
And just so you're aware...real jaegers would not have been half as gentle.
Er...
Well...
I know it's hard for you two to imagine since the jaegers are barred from operating in Liberl, but...Across the rest of the continent, bracers and jaegers are at each other's throats almost constantly.
So most bracers have to be prepared to fight in life-threatening situations at any moment.
We want to make sure Liberlian newbies get a chance to experience that. I know it seems rough, but we're not being mean just for cruelty's sake.
*sigh* That's no fair.
How am I supposed to go on a good complaining jag after hearing something like that?
Yeah, no fair!
Woman's Voice: Well, looks like you're finally done beating the stuffing out of one another.



Phyllis was in on the conspiracy, too? Awwwwwww...Can't trust any of you...
Phyllis: Now, now, 'conspiracy' is a bit much! They said they needed me for your test, so I worked hard to remember my lines! Hmhm! I made a perfect 'tragic lodge keeper heroine,' if you ask me!
Yeah, yeah, we were totally fooled last night...
Man's Voice: Hahaha! Excellent work, you two!



You were ALL in on it?
So I'm guessing the telephone...
Robert: Yeah, that was an old piece of junk I had lying around. I kept the real phone somewhere safe. I've already re-mounted it, so no worries. Actually, I was supposed to be a hostage myself and not show up today, but, well...I really wanted to see you use the new orbments!
Man, you guys seriously covered every angle.
I guess it's our fault for getting tricked, huh?
As much as I hate to admit it, yeah...
If you think about it rationally, a lot of stuff didn't make any sense. It just shows how far we have to go, I guess.
Hmhm! Don't be too hard on yourselves.
As Carna and Grant said, the point of this exercise was to give you a life-threatening experience to work through with your skills. In that sense, the exercise has been a runaway success.
Now then. Anelace Elfead.
Uh, yes!
Estelle Bright.
Yes, sir!
As of this moment, you have completed the Le Locle Training Program. You have learned a great deal over the past month.
So, then...
Tomorrow we're...?
Two tickets on the next flight to Liberl have already been arranged for you. Nothing more will happen tonight...I promise. So rest easy.
Phyllis: Terrific! Well, then! Tonight we congratulate our new graduates, and stuff them PROPERLY at a nice, big farewell party!