Part 39: Chapter #4: Faulkner's Trap, Part 1

Chapter #4: Faulkner's Trap

Briefing



Mission



: Hmmm? A familiar insult, but an unfamiliar voice.
Yes, Bastion, the day Faulkner murdered your father was the most important day of your life, but, for Faulkner, it was Tuesday...
: Your sarcasm will ring hollow once I've run you through, bastard! I will have revenge for my father! Right here and right now!
: ... ... ...This is wonderful! How kind of you to spare me the trouble of continuing to search for you! While your threats are amusing, I sincerely hope you are not so unwise as to attack me. Unless, of course, you wish to suffer a more painful and dishonorable death than your dear 'father.'
: Silence! SILENCE! I will slay you were you stand!



: Seize him!

Yeah, apparently Faulkner had six spare ATACs that he didn't feel like using last mission, and somehow had time to set a trap in case Bastion chose to follow him. I call shenanigans on this set-up!



Well, it's six-on-one, and there are no reinforcements to bail Bastion out. As you might guess, you aren't supposed to win this fight. But, this thread being what it is, I'll catch hell if I don't kill every single one of these fuckers. So, for the sake of peace in this LP, they all must die!



That's one.



There's two, and I don't like the position Bastion is in, so it's time for a break-out.



That's three and four, but I still want a more defensible position where only one enemy can get at me at a time. There happens to be such a spot on the bottom-left corner of the map.



Bastion levels up three times over the course of this mission. I pump his AGI stat, which makes the fight progressively easier.



That's five.



And that's six. It took me an hour to get this fight done right. I truly hate you all, although I'll hate you even more in a couple of missions when I have to do this again.



: The old man taught you well. If I hadn't made a corpse out of him, I'm certain he would be beaming. You wish to engage me, do you, boy? Rise, then! Show me your skills!



Faulkner is level 12, which isn't particularly scary, since Bastion's now at level 11. Let's do this thing!

: Don't bother begging for mercy. I have no mercy to share with a parasite such as yourself.
: Your words fail to intimidate me, boy, nor does your decrepit ATAC. Allow me to demonstrate.



Ah, but the game really would prefer that you didn't kill the main villain this early in the game, so it simply will not let it happen, after Faulkner's first attack, whether successful or not, this will happen...

: (What? Oh, no! My ATAC is running our of power! Primary systems are shutting down! Secondary systems are failing!)
: Mmmmmmmm. What a pity. I was looking forward to giving you the beating of a lifetime. You are fortunate, boy. I will spare your life until such time as I am able to make use of you.



Oh, good. The Fun Police are here...

: (That blue ATAC looks familiar. Wait! It's the boy who helped me to defeat those bandits, and yelled at me when he learned who I was.)
: You! The Imperial Princess!
: What's this, Sadira? Have you taken to sullying the Empire with Kingdom entanglements?
: He's not a member of the Kingdom, nor is he an Imperial ally. He and his family are nomads, not soldiers!
: (She knows a great deal more about this boy than I expected. Perhaps they have a relationship I can exploit...)

Next Time: Even more improbable plot developments! Crushing Disappointment! The unlikeliest ninja that ever was!