Part 55: Chapter #14: Rotten Radcot

Chapter 14: Rotten Radcot

Briefing



: But who are the ambushers? Has the Kingdom Army followed us here? Or are these Muspel soldiers?

Interview

: Don't listen to a word Claire says about me, Bastion. They're all lies!
: These ATACs appeared too quickly, Bastion. This was a trap! They knew we were coming!
: Much competition for your affection, there is. Make a choice, you must!
: Bastion, I'm really worried about using Andrew's ATAC. Will he get angry if I damage it in battle?
: Like, both our fathers taught us how to fight, Bastion! Isn't that way cool?
Too bad they both did shitty jobs...

Mission

:

: Which means we have encountered the person you were hoping NOT to encounter, Princess.
: Exactly.



Oh, good, Sadira is rushing out to meet him alone. Thanks, game!

: Eh heh heh heh! Imperial Princess Sadira! What an unexpected delight to meet you here!
Let's see, Radcot got killed by Bastion once, got killed by Imperial agents once...I suppose it is fitting that he's about to be murdered by Bastion acting in his capacity as an Imperial agent.
: I am merely conducting a diagnostic test on my ATAC. What brings YOU to my country, then?
: I'm here because--



: Sadira's been surrounded!
: Princess!
: What kind of stunt is this, Radcot?! You would not dare to lay a hand on the daughter of the Empire you have allied yourself with!
: But the Empire was never my ally, Sadira, and now I will be stronger than the Empire ever was!
: What are you talking about?
: I'm referring to Prince Bastion and the Ultragunner, of course. To wield such power will be delicious!
: You're insane, Radcot! Bastion will never join with you, nor follow any of your demented orders!
: He doesn't care about me, Sadira. He wants Gratia!
: Precisely, Prince Bastion! Until now, it has been in the possession of the accursed Marquis Dionne...And I have never had the strength to steal Gratia from him. But now Gratia rests in Bastion's hands, and I intend to release it from his feeble grasp!
: Release the Princess, Duke Radcot!
: Only if you give me the stone, Bastion. And I'm not going to ask twice!
: I always knew you were a disgusting pig, Radcot, but you have managed to reach a new level of filth. I want to slap your face until every one of your chins is bright red!
But she'll settle for beating him to death with her giant robot.
: Eh heh heh heh! I'm honored to receive such praise, Princess Sadira!
: Bastion, don't let Radcot have Gratia! We can simply humiliate him and his pathetic army instead!
: But, Sadira, you're surrounded!
: I would rather die a thousand deaths than give this sadist the power of the Ultragunner!
: So, like, let's charge forward and rescue Sadira, then smash through the rest of these fools! Unless you want to give up instead?
: Not at all, Claire! I want to fight! We have to be as brave as Sadira, and stand up to this evil man! Attack!

Finally. Okay, two things right off the bat. One, Cecilia gets the first move, but then every single Muspel soldier will get to move before anyone on your side gets a turn. That's...irritating. So, Sadira is going to be surrounded whether you like it our not, but the enemy, because of poor AI, will leave her front exposed, meaning that she'll be able to get out of it once she gets a turn, and assuming that she doesn't get hit with Quicksand, which prevents movement, in the interim.



Now, you're in the desert, so moving anywhere is going to cost a ton of AP for everyone except Sadira. As discussed pages and pages ago, and only marginally helpful until now, Sadira has a dormant skill called Hoverjets which means that moving over any terrain only costs 10 AP a square. That's helpful. You'll want to bring all of your troops together, but let Sadira do the lion's share of the movement, as she can afford it.



Beautiful. The second tricky thing is that every ATAC except Radcot will come at you from the beginning, meaning that you aren't going to have the advantage in numbers that you usually do. That's irritating. On balance, I still think that wind stones are better than fire stones, and, in a few missions, it'll become clear why, but, in this mission, I'd be lying if I said I didn't wish I had Flare Bomb or Fireball.



The Muspel ATACs, of course, aren't particularly tough. Their only advantage is being able to move quickly on desert terrain, but once you moved your troops into a more defensible position, that doesn't make as much of a difference. That's when the beating begins in earnest.



And here comes Radcot...



: Eh heh heh heh! Oh, Princess! Your words are like sweet nothings whispered into my ear!
: The only thing I'm going to put into your ear is my sword, you grotesque sack of pockmarked flesh!

Radcot is not particularly threatening. He does have Terra Shock, which does give him good reach, but doesn't have the power necessary to use it successfully. Still, he does have a ton of HP.



I make him watch as I butcher his men.

:

: Gwahh!



Radcot dies for the third and final time of this Let's Play.

: (Duke Radcot hungered for the power of the Ultragunner so badly that he was willing to kill us all for it. It amazes me how easily a man's soul can be corrupted by dreams of power over other men. Perhaps that is why Ultragunner was hidden to begin with...)



: Hello, Bastion.
: Oh, hello, Cecilia. You caught me in the middle of some deep thinking.
: I was hoping to speak with you, but I will come back if you prefer.
: It's fine, Cecilia. Stay and talk.
: Have you decided what you're going to do with Ultragunner after you end the war?
: That's rather ironic, Cecilia, as my thoughts were focused on how I will answer that very question. And I still haven't decided. Perhaps I won't know until I have Ultragunner in my possession.
: Are you...afraid, Bastion?
: I am, Cecilia. Am I making a mistake by activating Ultragunner? Will its power eventually corrupt me?
: I don't think so, Bastion. Your soul is too kind to be corrupted.
: Your words are kind, Cecilia, but I cannot draw comfort from them.
: (Don't lose hope, Bastion. I need you to be strong.)
: Now I have a question for you. You were unusually quiet around Andrew. Is he a friend of yours?
Bastion failed a perception check.
: Uh...
: I don't like to talk about the past, but I have sworn to be honest with you, Bastion.
: So you ARE friends with him.
Okay, so in Bastion's mind, being unusually quiet + making ominous comments about a past relationship = friendship!
: More than that, Bastion. He was my teacher in the ninja arts.
: Oh.
: And we were....involved at one point.
: I see.
: Don't be jealous, Bastion. It happened a long time ago, and I regret it to this day. Trust me.
Wait a minute, Bastion's about sixteen...how old is Cecilia, anyway?



And once again Sadira catches Bastion and Cecilia in a private conversation.
: Oh...



: (How long has Sadira been standing there, I wonder?)
: Nothing, Claire, nothing at all.
: We're, like, having a meeting in the council chambers, Bastion, and we can't start without you!
: I'll see you there, Claire.



: Sadira?
: Yes, Claire?
: If we're going to make a move, we'd better do it soon.
That's right, in a twist, Claire is actually just an imaginary construct of Sadira's warped mind! Well, not really, but that would've made this conversation much more interesting.
: I agree. If we don't go and collect the Ultragunner right away, who knows what might happen to it?
: I was talking about Bastion.
: What?! Are you inferring that we are in some sort of competition for Bastion's attention?
: Uh, hello?! Of course we are, Sadira! But it looks like your hired assassin is totally winning.
: Cecilia and Bastion?! You have to be joking, Claire! Bastion is royalty, and Cecilia is...is...
: A commoner?
: Yes! A commoner!
: Is that what you're going to tell Bastion the next time you see him?
: Sigh. (Claire is right. I'm jealous of Cecilia. I want all of Bastion's attention, and I'm upset that I'm not getting it. But I need her to help us. I can't risk losing her services. I have to conceal my feeling somehow...)
I will grant you, tipping off a highly trained assassin that you're in the same love triangle is probably not the best idea.



: Certainly, Princess. I will lead our party, if that is suitable to you.
Three seconds later...
: We have arrived. A short journey, no?
: The Merania Temple. The tomb of the Ultragunner...



: You're all going to laugh at me, but I feel very nervous right now.
: Ha-ha! Don't be silly, Bastion! This is when all our hard work pays off! Now hurry up and get in there!
: I'd feel better if someone came with me. What about you, Cecilia? Would you escort me inside? Or, as you say, am I being silly?
: Ha-ha! Sorry, Bastion, but you're the only one who can enter the temple!
: Really?
: Yes, Princess! That's what Thomson told me!
: Alright. We'll wait for you, Bastion. Don't be afraid to come back outside if anything strange happens!
: I'm sure I'll be fine, Sadira. When I see you all next, it will be inside the Ultragunner!



: (This must be it. This is Ultragunner! But this is not an ATAC, it's a statue carved out of stone. A solmen tribute to an eternal legend. Wait! The stone is glowing! And the more I think about Ultragunner, the brighter Gratia becomes!)



Once more, it's time to use the Ultragunner to run roughshod over the back half of this game! Lightning Strikes for all! And, in case you're wondering, I already have second attack!

: (That is no statue! The layer of stone was merely an illusion which Gratia stripped away! This is the ATAC which I was born to control! This is the ATAC which can bring peace to the world! I wonder if the controls are similar to the Alba's, or if I have to learn an entirely new system.)
Leave it Bastion to look at the mightiest mech in the world and wonder if he'll have to learn how to drive a stick-shift.
: (I suppose the only way to find out is to get inside and see for myself!)

Next Time: Treason Season!