Part 139: WHY did the residents abandon such a nice city?

-Aiming for the Future-



Sewer level.








-The Fate of the Fairies-











Don't take Estelle's blood! She might need that!



Underleveled? Kloe doesn't give a damn.



-Aiming for the Future-





















The Time Gem might be sinking Olivier's damage, but it can't stop deathblows.









-The Fate of the Fairies-







Still just a little too slow.







-Aiming for the Future-











-Liber Ark-



This...









I would guess this is where the ancients actually dwelled.
Yes, it does seem like more of a residential area than our crash site is.
Yeah, it's kind of nice and...homey, here, I guess.
But, you know. This just bothers me even more. WHY did the residents abandon such a nice city?
This seems like a good place to find an answer to that question.









Whoa! It wrote it into the Recipe Book!
I wonder what the principle behind that is...
You got me, but that's some crazy technology.
Behold, the ultimate power of the Aureole: computers that can print on paper.
















You need to have a Zemurian Ore in your inventory for this to work.

Th-This is a data crystal, right? Seems like it was sent from somewhere...
Seems like it responded to something in our possessions. We might be able to view the contents if we hand it over to Professor Russell.

Or we could just take it back to the first house, which had a crystal reader right inside.



Th-This is the same ore as we already have, right?
Seems like that crystal from a bit ago got sent from somewhere...
Crystal? What crystal? I certainly don't recall receiving somebody else's packages in error. Now let's get out of here, quick.
I don't get how it all works, but it seems like this crystal is the key.















-Silence-



I see it. Why the heck is--
Tch!

-Pinch!!-







I won't let you hurt the Bobcat anymore!





Joshua...
Girl's Voice: Looks like someone's in over their head!



Airhead girl?! And...
I can always poke a nice big air hole in YOUR head with my staff, you grimy tomboy.
Talk later! We have a fight on our hands first!
Y-Yeah!
Oh, brother...

-Fight With Assailant-





Josette's already badly hurt, and you can't let her drop.







I call this, 'Requiem for a Doomed Heart.'



Heh. You feeling...lucky?



Take that! And this napalm!

















O Aidios, Great Septian Overseer...Shine down Thy radiance, and smite those who oppose us!



Divine light! Grant me the strength to punish the wicked!



SANCTUS NOVA!



...Yeah, I'm sticking with Lichtkreis.



-Liber Ark-



Nearly bent my staff on that big one.
That was one of the society's heavy-weight archaism weapons, the Leor Gun-EZ.
It's meant to be used for location defense, though, not assault...
We can wonder about that later. I'm glad you're safe, Josette. But what are the Capuas doing here?
Yeah, um...
After you left, we hid out near the border. But then this weird thing appeared in the sky, and when we tried checking it out the Bobcat's power cut out.
Aaaand so you guys cratered.
Though, hang on...
Shouldn't your brothers be here?
You guys are usually all together. Did they head out to scout or something?
My...br...
*sniffle* Myyyyy...
Whoa, whoa, hey! What's wrong?
Josette, please, calm down.
We're here, don't worry. Take your time and tell us what happened.
*sob*...
Joshua...Joshuaaaaaaa!



Oh, my!
Well, then.
Wha, er, hey!
Those creeps took my family! Kyle and Don baited them so I could get away...
Joshuaaaaaa...what do I do?!



Sorry I lost it...Guess you guys didn't expect that, huh?
I...think I'm a little calmer now.
Eyes on you, Capua. Eyes. On.
*ahem* So, Josette...
Can you tell us what exactly happened?
I think so...Yeah.
So, we managed to crash about as gracefully as we could, right? And, hey, our orbments work NOW, so we got to work fixing the Bobcat. The engine wasn't really damaged, but the rest of the ship was a mess. We were nosing around looking for material to use for repairs.
Hmm. So we share in the same fate.
It was...um, three days ago now. We'd gotten the materials we needed and were just about to start the real repair work when this...octopus-like machine appeared.
After I shot it, a red airship showed up. Jaegers came flooding out of it as soon as it landed...
Ah, of course. You shot down a Vogel.
They use those for scouting and patrols. It alerted the enemy to your location the instant it was destroyed.
I knew it...
What...What do I do? It's all my fault Kyle and Don were taken!
Josette...
Rrrrrgh, for the--knock it off with the mopey face!
If they got caught, let's go rescue them!
Wh...
Even if they are criminals themselves, if they're being held illegally, then they deserve bracer protection. Besides, we have some biscuits to grind with the society anyway! We'll save your brothers while we're at it.
Estelle...
H-Hold on a sec!
What makes you think we want to be saved by the likes of bracers?!
Hrmmm. The 'likes of bracers,' huh?
So you can save them all by yourself?
Mrgh.
Besides, you helped us when we were escaping the Glorious. It's way past time we returned the favor!
Mrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh...!
Josette, Estelle's right.
If you run in on your own, you'll just get caught, and you won't help anyone just staying here. You know that, right?
Mmm...
Why don't you head to the Arseille for the moment?
I suspect Kyle and the others are being kept on the Glorious. There's a good chance it's docked to the island somewhere. If we continue to investigate, I suspect we'll find it.
We'll tell you when we locate it. I promise.
...
All right. If you say so, Joshua.
I'm not gonna just sit around and twiddle my thumbs, though! I'm gonna help too! You want me to tag along, you just say so! I'll even help fix your ship!
Yeah, yeah, okay. You can TRY to impress all you want, but it's still too late, Miss Tomboy.
Pssh! At least I AM impressive. In more ways than one compared to YOU!
WHAT was that?!
Come on now, really...
I don't know what it is with you two, but can't you TRY to get along?



...Uh. Joshua.
...Did he just say that? He just said that.
Hm?
(You've stepped on a landmine, my friend.)
(You utter dunce.)
Hey. Capua. Truce for the moment, okay?
Agreed. We have bigger fish to fry than each other right now.
Er. Wait. I'm glad you two are calling a 'truce'...but what 'bigger fish' are you talking about? Did I...?
Oh, no, it's nothing.
Now why would you think a thing like that, hmmmmm?
O...kay. (Why do their smiles fill me with such terror?)



Girlfriends! Assemble! No, not you, Olivier.



So, Josette. Do you know of any other exits to other parts of the city around here?
No...I'm afraid I don't.
In a way, it's kinda weird. All the bridges to the other city sections have collapsed, but I don't think the society did it...
Mmm...Well, that's kind of an issue for us, either way.
It may be worth our time to search this district again. We may be able to find a clue of some sort.
...
...
And, um, on another note...
...Please forgive me.
Forgive you? Whatever for?
Joshua, if you're not sure something's wrong, just act normal, y'knoooow?
(At this point, I do feel a little sorry for him...)



Josette is a marksman, using the same handguns as Olivier. Estelle can take a little solace in the fact that she's better than Josette at just about everything. She doesn't even get an S-Craft!

Josette's crafts:
Stampede: Melee jump attack with DEF debuff and knockback.
Anchor Flail: Ranged attack with Faint.















The Bobcat has seen better days, but at least the rest point in her hold is still working.





















Wait, what? Uh oh.
Looks like it won't be nearly so easy this time.
An authentic Gospel...I wonder if we can get one somehow.







I think so. Let's get on and try.







For as fast as it went, there was barely any vibration or unpleasantness, either.
To be honest, this technology is a bit mind-blowing.
No kidding. Still...
As nice as it is to go fast, the view was amazing, too. I kinda wish it went a bit slower so you could enjoy it.
It'd be a tourist attraction in that case, not a train system. Duh.
It IS kinda a waste of a good view, though.
And in addition to the view, this also allows us to travel across the Ark incredibly quickly.
I think it would be a good idea to find the other stations as soon as we enter new areas.

For now, let's head back to base camp. I don't want to forget Olivier's stuff.