Part 22: Don... what's happened to you...?

Welcome back. Last time, after listening in on Kyle and Josette talking with a mysterious black-clad group of soldiers, we snuck aboard their airship, getting a free ride back to their hideout. Now it's time to take the place by storm





So Falcom does a lot of good things. I've even talked about a lot of them.

Level design though: Not always the greatest.



The Sky Bandit Lair isn't particularly bad, it's just kinda dull. There's one main path that gradually spirals downwards, with a bunch of small detours leading to either dead-ends or treasure off to the sides. Pictured here is an empty room. Fun.



This is a different empty room.





Anyway, let's talk about enemies. At first, we have Gold Rats, which are weak to fire, do decent but not exceptional damage, and not much else. They can use a craft called Rat Spring, which doesn't do much damage, but has a pretty decent range. On top of that, they can poison with their basic attacks, which is actually the biggest threat they pose.



Now that Olivier's in our party for longer than a second (I don�ft think there�fs any expensive wine for him to steal here), I can start showing him off. His only craft, Quick Draw, attacks a distant medium sized AoE. The Poison effect was because of a Quartz he had equipped, not the Craft itself. Olivier has been setup with a bunch of Earth Quartz, since we had a bunch lying around from Guild Rewards.



So earlier, Joshua learned Flicker, and I talked about how it's easily one of the best crafts in the game. Note the enemy about to move after Joshua in the turn order.



Now look at where he is in the turn order. Flicker attacks in a line (targeting an enemy, not a space), and inflicts Attack Delay on anybody it hits, delaying their next turn. If you set things up cleverly, Joshua can basically dominate the battlefield which Flicker, simultaneously dealing damage and shutting down enemy turns, giving your party an action advantage.



It also ignores Defense. Yup.



The Scorpion is a better whip for Schera, if you're into that kind of thing.

The chest is already empty, you double-dipper!

But I wanted more



The chest is empty...
How tragic...

The Jeweled Ring boosts defense by 2, but that doesn't matter. It's actual use is in completing a sidequest.

Eventually, (pretty quickly actually), we find a door built into the wall:



It sounds like some of the grunts... Shall we rush the room?





Aaron: Oh, you guys new around here?

I see the Capua's have recruited the best of the best.

Like in your freaking dreams! Are these guys for real?

Rosco: Um, but...if you're not new here, then who are you? ...
Aaron: What...? Are you supposed to be intruders?

Bingo!
We're with the Bracer Guild. I think it would be best if you surrendered.

Rosco: F-forget that!
Aaron: We won't give up without a fight!



We have to fight 6 of the Sky Bandits at once, which is a much more interesting fight.



They aren't mind bogglingly strong, but there's a hell of a lot of them, and 100+ damage adds up quick.



If you're lucky, they'll split their attacks, instead of ganging up on them.



AoE healing really helps in this case. If they split their attacks between everyone, they'll only do enough to each unit that a 200 HP restore will keep your heads way above water.



Since the Sky Bandits don't have any ranged attack options, they're forced to bunch up to attack you. This leaves them massively vulnerable to AoE spells.



Stone Impact is a new AoE Earth Spell. It doesn't add any status effects or anything, though. Neat!



All right! Now where are the hostages? If you don't start talking, there are going to be some serious consequences involving a whip!

Aaron: D-do what you want with us. We're not going to talk...

Oh? Is that so? Let me handle this, Estelle!
Uh, sure. Can't say I didn't warn you guys...



Hmm? Honestly, I'm being quite gentle with you. Don't think for a second that you're allowed to pass out yet. But if you start talking, maybe I'll be kind enough to let you...

Schera's starting to remind me of a female Jack Bauer.

I'm okay with that.

Aaron: Y-yikes... They're down below! Some of our crew are guarding them!

Very good. Now where are your leaders? Kyle and Josette, right?

Aaron: F-forget it, lady! Do your worst! No one'll tell you where they are!
Hmm, so the hostages are one thing, but you're not going to sell out your bosses, huh?
I guess there's only one thing left to do.





Holy Stregas... Schera's as unforgiving as ever.

Stregas are, mind you, a brand of sneakers.

This? No, I've been FAR more unforgiving...
Any masochist would be thrilled to make your acquaintance, Schera.
And my whip would be thrilled to make yours.
Maybe some other time.
It looks like the hostages are being held down below. Let's hurry.



Past that little Sky Bandits den, we start seeing some new enemies.

Here's a tree. It tries to kill us.

What hellish nightmare have these Sky Bandits made their lair in?



These insane murderous trees are also vampires.

Still, 69 damage is kinda pathetic, especially since Joshua is kinda frail. You can kill it with fire with next to no problems.



It's way too big for these bandits to have built, and it seems pretty ancient.
It almost feels like a stronghold of some sort and I agree, this place is pretty old. I wonder if people used hidden forts like this one as hideouts back then.
As far as I've heard, the turmoil following the Great Collapse continued on for several hundred years. So it doesn't seem that strange to me that something like this is still around.
The Great Collapse?
The collapse of the ancient Zemuria civilization which existed more than 1200 years ago. It's said that a huge natural catastrophe wiped them out.
Oh, you mean like Professor Alba said before?
I tell you what though, for being a place this hard to find, someone's got some seriously bad taste in hideouts. Not to mention there are all sorts of monsters lurking around in here, too... I wonder if this is how all men like to live?



Um, Schera...
Just what kind of men are you hanging out with...?

Putting Schera's... interesting taste in men aside, we've got a lair to infiltrate. So let's infiltrate.



And loot. Can't forget about the looting.



The chest has nothing left to offer you.

Speak of the Stregas, and they shall appear.

Anyway, Estelle only worships the best of sneakers, and so the Strega-Rs are the best. They offer more defense than any other pair of boots we've got.

Estelle equips them, because she's earned it.



So this room? Seems like a dead end, right? Sure there's a tiny chest, but that's pretty obviously part of the background, openable chests are bigger. So there's nothing to do but turn around, and pick a different direction at the junction, right?



Wrong. And it's not the chest we're examining:

I'm guessing it's an orbal vacuum. It looks like the newest model, so it's probably stolen.
Hmm, interesting...
...Huh? What's this? There's something stuffed inside...

Found Black Notebook

A notebook...?
Yep, that's what it looks like to me. But what's something like this doing inside a vacuum?
It's probably something important. Let's hold onto it just in case.
Yeah, good idea.

The Black Notebook is needed for a hidden sidequest, and is super hard to find if you don't have a walkthrough. Also, even if you get the Black Notebook, there's next to no chance you'll find the sidequest anyway. But let's save that for later.

Falcommmm!



The chest is empty... because you emptied it. Funny how that works, no?

I wish chests didn't become empty when you emptied then. What a wonderful world that would be.

Moving on, the Bear Assault is a new weapon for Olivier. More guns means more funs, so it's a worthwhile piece of loot.

Eventually, we come to yet another door:



I can hear somebody talking again... Shall we rush the room?

If I've learned anything from doing improv, it's to say Yes, and...



Let's kick some heads in.

Dino: Bracers?!

Dino has a worse name than Aaron, but a better brain.

Dino: H-how'd you get in here?

It looks like the hostages are being held in the room just beyond here. I think it's time you surrendered quietly or else...

Lonnie: Don't kid yourself!

---



This fight is exactly the same as the last, which means the same strategy as last time works great.



---



Captain Grandt: Hmm, it seems a bit loud for just an internal squabble...

Is everyone all right?!



We're with the Bracer Guild and we've come to rescue you.

Trino: S-seriously...? W-we're saved?!

We've taken care of the guards, so you don't need to worry about anything for the moment.

Parker: R-really...?!
Lenore: W-we've been saved?!
Captain Grandt: I'm Grandt, captain of the airliner, Linde. I don't know how to express my gratitude for what you've done for us here today...

You can thank us after we've gotten you out of here. By the way...



It doesn't look like he's here...

No Cassius, don't do this to me. Come back

We need more cool JRPG dads.

Captain Grandt: Who...?

Uh... Are these all the hostages?

Captain Grandt: Yes, that's correct. This is everybody who was on the Linde, including crew and passengers.

That can't be right...
Wasn't there a man by the name of Cassius Bright on this flight? He's a member of the Bracer Guild...

Captain Grandt: Cassius Bright...? Hmm... I do seem to remember hearing that name somewhere...
Crew Mem. Clare: Um, Captain...isn't he that passenger...? You know, the one who got off right before we left?
Captain Grandt: Right! Now that you mention it, there was one passenger who did get off.



Captain Grandt: Well, there was this one passenger who disembarked the airliner right before we took off. A man who had been on-board since the Royal City, and he did seem to have such a name if I remember correctly.

Wh-what?! B-but his name was on the passenger list...

Captain Grandt: Well, since he got off right before we departed, there wasn't any time to document the changes. This would have been handled had we arrived in Rolent, but we were attacked by the Sky Bandits en route and things were left as they were.

...
So that's what happened, huh? I thought it would have been awfully strange if Dad had been captured by the Sky Bandits...
Well...it looks like our question has finally been answered.
Ha ha ha. How ironic.

It's just like having a thousand spoons when all you need is the actual definition of irony.

Now wait a minute! Th-then...just what is Dad doing? With something this big going on, why hasn't he contacted us?!
Calm down, Estelle. I know you're as curious to know as I am, but thinking about it now isn't going to get us anywhere. Our focus needs to be on securing the safety of the hostages.
Okay... You're right... I guess I'll just have to forget about it for now.
Listen up, everyone! We are now going to go after the Sky Bandit leaders and arrest them. I know how you all must feel, but I need you to sit tight a little longer.

Captain Grandt: We'll be waiting here...good luck.
Trino: If that's the case, we'll prepare for the worst. Our lives are in your hands. In other words, don't let us down!

No pressure.

Leave everything to us!



Is this a dead end?
No...it looks like there's something here. Shall we try pushing on it?

Of course!



That's quite a neat little trick there. I wouldn't expect anything less from a secret fort.
This looks like it's a corner of the Nebel Valley. Schera, should we help the hostages escape first?
No...we need to take out the Sky Bandit boss first.
Oh, that's true...
Well, then how about we get back in there and have a face to face chat with the gentleman running this fine operation?

---



The treasure chest is offended that you have returned. Was the first time not good enough for you?

Sorry treasure chest, but a Reviving Balm is kinda crappy.



Is this...?
Yep...it looks like the Sky Bandit boss' room.







Now, we can finally say goodbye to this meager living.
Don't get careless, Bro. We haven't got the money in hand yet.
Yeah, and we'll need to decide on a plan on how to let the hostages go.
Let the hostages go? Now hold on a minute. Why do we have to bother with that?

Is not being a giant ass a good reason? I think it's a good reason.

If not, staff in the face makes an equally compelling argument.

Eh? But...
Once we get our mira we'll just kill them all and be done with it. We've no need to leave them alive.
D-Don...?
Y-you're joking, right?
They know exactly what we look like, remember? Even if we left Liberl for good, we could still be tracked, right?
B-but there are old people and kids among them! Do you really intend to kill them all?
I swear, no matter how old you get, you never grow up. This isn't play time, get it?
B-but...I...
I'm sorry to say this, Bro, but I'm against killing the hostages too. Aidios will never forgive us if we do that.
And...I don't want to get our home back with mira stained in the blood of innocent people.

You're alright, Kyle.

...
Kyle...since when did you become the boss around here?
Huh...?
I think it's about time you learned your place!



Kyle?!
Bwa ha ha, who cares about our old home?! With this kind of mira coming in, what could you possibly want with our old, worthless land? Ha! We're gonna go blow all this cash somewhere near the southern resort and enjoy the good life for a while!
What...did you say?
And once we run out of mira, we'll just hijack another airship. This is going to be the future of the Capua Sky Bandits!



Don...what's happened to you...?
What in Aidios' name has happened to you?!

I don't know what happened to him, but I think I know what's going to happen to him.

And I'm guessing it involves an ass-kicking.



Estelle: But could you have your little family feud later?

Survery says: 100!



Bracers?! Wh-why are you here...?
How can you say something so heartless...? Especially after you gave us a lift here in your own airship.
I-impossible...what are you talking about...? ...It can't be.
You had your airship sitting in front of the Amberl Tower, right? We just slipped in when you weren't looking and hid in the cargo hull.
In other words, we stole a ride from a bandit! Ha! Take that!
For a dimwit, you've really outdone yourself this time!



Y-you two-faced tomboy!



You bimbo! Airhead brute!
J-just try and say that again!
All right, all right. Enough of the bickering between you two.
We've liberated the hostages and defeated the other members of your group... So it looks like all that's left is you three.
In accordance with the laws of the Bracer Guild, you are hereby placed under arrest. It would be best not to resist.
Man...
Cr-crap...
Kyle, Josette... What is the meaning of this?!
I'm sorry, Don...
S-sorry, Bro...
Bwa ha ha! That's okay. I'll forgive you just this once. Once I kill them, that'll be that.
Whaaat?!
Bwa ha ha! What a bunch of fools you are! To think with that pitiful number of people that you could ever capture Don Capua!





Look at how effortlessly he handles that orbal cannon...!
Kyle, Josette! It's time to hunt some game! And I like my sport BLOODY.



---



Let's do this. It's time for the final boss of the chapter - The Capua Family. This fight can be pretty tough if you're not overlevelled, so let's see what we've got.

First, you need to take out Josette. She can heal the rest of the team, and so you're basically trying to fill a bucket with a hole in it if you try and kill the rest before her. Furthermore, she hasn't really changed since we first fought her, so she's gone from tough to the frailest of the bunch.



Kyle does exactly what he did before - he throws bombs, and occasionally shivs you with this sword. He's priority number 2, he's got much less HP then Don, so once Josette is down it's best to put him down to get to a 1 vs. 4 fight as soon as possible. He's also weak to most magic, so he isn't that hard to take out.



Don is by far the biggest threat. He hits hard, has much more HP then pretty much anything we've seen so far, and doesn't have any weaknesses.



I haven't been using Morale, but the fastest we put down Josette and Kyle, the better we are. Once Don is on his own, he's basically done, since you can overwhelm him through sheer action advantage. The Strength boost doesn't last long, but it should be long enough to get the job done.



Everyone gangs up on Josette, and Olivier finally gets to show off his S-Break.



It's enough to finish her off. The main appeal of Olivier's S-Break is it's massive area of effect. While the Capua's are far enough spread out it only hits Josette, it actually hits a pretty massive area.



Flicker is pretty useful here (like it is everywhere).



Kyle goes down just like we'd hoped. Nothing left but to wail on Don.



And then something fun happens. Olivier uses Petrify Breath:, a mid tier, single target, Earth Spell. And Petrify sticks.





---





So this is the strength of a bracer, huh...?
Cr-crap... How can I lose to this girl?
Hmm-hmm-hmm. Have you learned your lesson yet?
Now that this has been settled, I'm going to ask that you surrender nicely.
Any more trouble out of you...and, well, you know what'll happen, right?

Scherazard stroked her whip and smiled at Josette.

Yikes...n-no, anything but that!
Why me...? Why do I have to go down like this?

Don: ...Um...

Ow... What's going on? I hurt all over...
And when did I get an orbal cannon...? What the heck...?
Don?
Oh, Josette! Are you back from Rolent already? If you're back this quickly then I guess things didn't work out, huh?
Eh...?
Ha ha ha! Don't try and cover it up! If you've had enough, then how about leaving the bread-winning to us men? We probably won't be able to earn a whole lot, but be patient.

Man, what's with this family? Stop trying to kick the coolest one of you out.

D-Don, what are you talking about?
Did you hit your head, Bro? Josette came back from Rolent like forever ago. I went to pick her up right after we attacked the airliner.
What? Attacked an airliner? What's all this crazy talk? We'd never do something like that.
...
...
(What is this guy talking about?)
(I don't think he's trying to cover his butt... I think he really doesn't know!)
Come to think of it...who are these strangers? Don't tell me they're new recruits...
Sorry to burst your bubble, but we're not. We're with the Bracer Guild.



What are a bunch of bracers doing up here?!
This guy's completely lost his marbles...
Ha ha ha. What an interesting turn of events.
Whether you've forgotten or not, you're still under arrest. You're charged with hijacking an airliner, hostage-taking, demanding a ransom, and other such offenses.



Kyle! Josette! T-tell me that this is some kind of joke!
Don...
I think that's my line...
But thanks to you, Bro...we've got a chance to escape!



Oh hell no, not again

Ah!
Oh hell! Not again...

I honestly don't do this deliberately, Schera just happened to say basically the exact same thing I did.

H-hey...!
Kyle?!
We'll talk about this later! Let's just focus on getting out of here!
*cough cough* I'm...*cough*...never going to *cough* *cough* get the smell of this out of my *cough* hair...!
Let's hurry and get out of this room!



They went up... They're going to try and escape in their airship!
Ah...!
After tracking them this far, we can't let them get away! We've got to catch them!
Right!
Understood!



Oh, what a tragedy this has become! My delicate nasal cavity...
Hey, Olivier! You'd better hurry or we're going to leave you behind!
Ah! W-wait for me!

Although we all feel bad for Olivier's nasal canal, there's no time to console him. We need to start heading back as fast as we can.





Dino: You're not getting past us!

Y-you guys are back for more after taking a righteous beating like that?
Now that's what I call tough.
Hmph. If you don't want to move, then we're just going to force our way through!



We're only up against four of the Sky Bandits, which is quite a lot easier than 6. This is only tough if you've burnt through all your resources.

We haven't, so we tear through them.

We keep making our way back through the fort, until



Rico: Take the hostages and go!

So you're back for more, huh...? When will you learn?
What are you trying to do... buy time for your leaders to escape?

Rosco: Heh! They've done a lot for us over the years.
Aaron: Now it's time to return the favor!



I do rather like this sequence. Chasing down the Capua's while tearing through the occasional way of Sky Bandits makes for a fairly fun chase sequence. It's nice to be the one's chasing, not vice versa. It helps that the lair is pretty quick to run through.

Anyway, there's still only 4, so they all die.



Ryan: Don't think you're going to walk out of here the same way you came in! All we need to do is buy some time for Don, Kyle, and Josette to escape!

Trying to shield your masters to the bitter end, huh...? Though it's a ridiculous thing to do, your spirit is admirable.
Then I wonder if beating them into the ground might be a way to honor their sacrifice...
Let's take them down!



With the last of the Capua goons taken care of, we can finally make it back to the entrance.





Oh hell no. We were supposed to catch them

Damn military is only smart at the worst possible moment.

Huh...?
What's this...?



That liar! Things weren't supposed to go down like this!
Hey! Get your dirty mitts off of me!
H-hey! What's going on here?!



I'm surprised there's such a young woman, too.
How about you shut your yap and start taking some good pictures?! What are the chances of getting another scoop like this?!



Y-you bet it is! I'm really grateful that you took us along!
Oh, and would you mind if we took a picture of you while we're at it?
Hmm...what do you think, General Morgan?
Do as you like. This plan was successful thanks to your genius.

I think we might have helped.

In all honesty, this is truly something to boast about.
No, this was just the result of the accuracy of the Intelligence Division's analysis.
And thanks to the cooperation of those of you standing over there.
What...?



What's...going on, exactly?
I-it's you kids again...
Hey look! It's Estelle and Joshua!
B-bracers?! Why are you here?!
Just for the record, I'll tell you. We infiltrated this place one step ahead of you...again. And the entire hideout has been subdued.
We chased the fleeing Sky Bandit leaders up this way...
...but I never would have guessed that the Royal Army's patrol ships would be waiting.
Grrr... Once again you've overstepped your bounds.
With all due respect, General. It was because of them that our military strike saw this level of success.
Therefore, shouldn't we in turn recognize their achievements?
Do as you wish. I'll leave the rest up to your discretion. I'll return to the ship and see what information I can get out of these Sky Bandits.
Very well, General.

Morgan leaves.

That old man's as stubborn as ever.
He's not a bad person. He just lacks a little flexibility.
That aside, where are the other Sky Bandits and the hostages?
The other lackeys should be just lying all over the place unconscious. And as for the hostages, we have them waiting in the same room they were imprisoned in.
I see... You have done this nation a great service. Please leave the transportation of the hostages and cargo to us. Let's move, Captain Amalthea!





I'd really like to interview you kids, but this time the Colonel is top-priority. But if we have another opportunity, I'd appreciate doing one with you, too.
See you later, Estelle, Joshua!



My, my, my. You had your whole shining moment uprooted and stolen just like that.

Don't we know it.

You got that right...
Don't let it bother you, Estelle. The bracer's role has always been that of the unsung hero. So there's no real reason for us to stand out.
That sounds about right, yeah. Dad always made a point of staying in the background, too.
Really? I never noticed. ...



Hmm...I guess that's the one problem we've still got to figure out.
Where is Dad now? What is he doing? And why hasn't he tried to contact us?
Um...
It looks like there's nothing else left for us to do here. In the meantime, let's get back to Bose and report what happened with the incident.
We'll try and figure out what to do about your dad after that.

Next time: Mysterious items! International Conspiracies! The end of Chapter 1!