Part 59: Chapter #18: Zulwarn's Breath, Part 1

Hey, I never promised a fair vote. Or a good thread. I'm not on trial here!


It turns her from the weakest character in the Branch to the 2nd strongest.

Chapter #18: Zulwarn's Breath

Briefing



: Before recent events, there would have been eight ATACs stationed inside. Now, of course...
: You have, like, no idea whatsoever. What if there are more than eight? What if they're Sharkings? Maybe I SHOULD have let Daddy come!
I....but you're the....Oh, your reckoning is coming, Claire! I'll see you dead yet!
: Thank you for the pep talk, Claire...

Interview



: This used to be my country, Bastion. The Empire was my home...
: It saddens me to see the pain reflected in Princess Sadira's face.
: Very sad, Sadira is. Lift her spirits, you must.
: It's always fun to speak with you, Bastion! You're very amusing...and very cute! Ha-ha!
: Not that it's, like, my business, but Sadira has totally noticed how you talk to Cecilia more than her...

Mission



: The rebels are here!
: Rebels...
Well, we are rebelling against the Imperial government.
: Only two more ATACs?! I refuse to believe Faulkner would make such a tactical error!
: It might be hard to believe, Bastion, but Faulkner is human. Perhaps he forgot to send more ATACs here.
: I suppose so, Cecilia.
: Like, I think you're right, Bastion. Faulkner's not dumb. There must be more ATACs hidden somewhere!
: Let's fight with caution!
That may be the worst battle-cry in human history.



Cowards, my massacre had barely even gotten started!

: What's going on?
: Why are they retreating?



Oh, good, Duke Zzzzeira.
: What?! The Kingdom Army?!
: And the man who leads them into battle is Duke Zeira...the leader of Avalon!
: What's going on here?!
: Like, I have NO idea!

Things Claire has contributed to the plot:

1. Leading us into an unwanted battle with the Hibernian Army.
2. Screwing us out of the Crimson.
3. Slowly eroding my sanity.
4. Never knowing anything of value, ever.

: I am Duke Zeira, from the Avalon Principality. I believe I am addressing Prince Bastion and Princess Sadira.
: You are, Duke Zeira. Please give us a chance to explain why we are here.
: If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you a few questions, first. Is that alright, Prince Bastion?
: Of course. I can hardly blame you for wanting to understand our motives.
: Princess Sadira, have you allied youself with Prince Bastion?
: Actually, I consider us allied with each other--but yes, I suppose so.
: Prince Bastion, this is the most important question of all.
Invisibility or flight?
: I ask that you answer honestly.
Has that qualifier ever inspired anyone to be more truthful?
: I shall be, Duke Zeira.
: What will you do with the Ultragunner now?
: ... ... ...My first goal is the very reason we have come here. I am going to defeat Faulkner and end the war. Until that madman is stopped, the Continent will never be safe.
: And after you crush him?
: I don't know. I certainly don't intend to wage another war, or to abuse the Ultragunner's power.
I mean, those things will definitely happen, but by total accident!
: ... ... ...Bastion strikes me as an honest man, Ganlon. I feel that he speaks the truth.
: But, uh, sir, of course he's lying! He doesn't, ah, want us to destroy him!
: What do you think, Ione? Reyna?
: I did not travel with him for long, Duke Zeira, but he impressed me as an honest and kind young man. My impression has not changed.
: I agree with Ione. Bastion might slip into occasional sexism, but is there a male who doesn't?
See, lads, now that is an excellent use of irony.
: If anything, Zeira, the only person whose behavior has been suspicious is Ganlon's!
: What?! How, uh, rude!



: Faulkner?!
: You!
: What kinda ATAC is that?!
: The Shadow ATAC, it is!
: I vaguely recall Father speaking of a Shadow ATAC, but I never imagined anything like that!
: Allow me to introduce you all to the instrument of your destruction. It exists in perfect disharmony with the Ultragunner. The darkness which devours the light. This is Zulwarn!
: I've heard legends about Zulwarn, but all of them end with Ultragunner destroying it! So how does it stand before us?
: The legends were wrong. Zulwarn merely changed its form and went into a long sleep, I suppose. Now the sleeper has awakened.
: Bastion, there's another legend about Zulwarn. A legend that it needs more than a power stone to run. I heard that it needs...blood!
: What?!
: No--!
: Bleaugh!
: It was not an easy task, Zeira, but I was able to round up a few hundred useless people for the sacrifice. I do regret the fact that I now have fewer subjects to rule over, but I will manage to go on.
: What have you done?!
: Why, I have acquired the power of a god, dear Sadira. Why don't I give all of you a demonstration?



: Hmmmm? What's he trying to do?
He's trying to dazzle you all with the horror of Zulwarn's state-of-the-art laser rock show capabilities. The Zulwarn is so powerful that when it plays Stairway to Heaven, the title becomes all too real!
: I don't know, Bastion!



: Aarrgh!
: Urgghh!
: What is this?!
: Faulkner, what are you doing?!
He's making you all real Veterans of the Psychic Wars!
: I am awakening the evil within you, Ganlon. I am placing you under the control of Zulwarn!
: ... ... ...
: ... ... ...
: ... ... ...
: ... ... ...
: ... ... ...
: Now then, my amusing little pets. Kill those who would stop me!
: (What has he done?) Duke Zeira! What's wrong?! Can you hear me?! Zeira! Say something!!
: You can scream yourself hoarse, boy, but you will receive no response. Zeira and the others are under my thrall. They hear only my voice now.
: You pathetic COWARD!
: I prefer to think of myself as a man who carefully chooses my battles. Consider this a test. Defeat your friends here, and I shall kill you myself in the Imperial capital.
: Wait!



: Should we, like, run away?
Well, there's one road off this map, and it leads directly through Zeira's army...so, probably not.
: We can't, Claire! They would only hunt us down and give Faulkner time to build more Sharkings. If we retreat now, we have already lost the war.
: Then we must destroy the ATACs without harming our friends inside.
: As difficult as it will be, Bastion, it is also our only choice.
Not that this actually has any impact on the gameplay during this mission.



Okay, this can be a very hard battle if you don't know what you're doing. The fact of the matter is, we have ready access to an excellent defensive position that will create a bottleneck for Zeira's forces. Let's use it.



Now, the exact shape of your formation can vary. If your Franco or Claire has less AGI or DEF than you'd like, you can probably just have them stand three abreast and trust in Bastion to absorb a few more attacks. I decide to keep Cecilia out because of her high AGI, figuring that the chances of her getting tagged with a high-damage attack are minimal. I didn't get a screenshot of it, but Galvas ends up killing her with a Flare Bomb that had a 19% chance of hitting. Fuck.



The Kingdom units will all hit your line at once, which can be a bit daunting. Just relax and have faith that your troops will be able to evade most of the attacks.



Damn you to hell, Kaidul! Using my own tactics against me? Has the CPU no honor? Although, it should be noted that the AI can't use Turbulence as well as a human player, because, unlike the computer, I can save 10 FP by choosing to avoid it, rather than defending against it.



As you might guess, Zeira is the biggest threat, if only because he hits hard, and he can hit from range. Therefore, he should be a priority. Galvas and Ganlon have fire stones and durable ATACs, so they need to go next.



After that, Reyna is a pest because she has Reyna's Trick. It's not that strong, but it'll be the most dangerous attack that the Kingdom troops have left.



Beyond the importance of setting yourself up in the fort, though, this battle is really just one where you have to keep a cool head and be patient. Hold your position and have faith that you'll outlast the Kingdom forces.

: Just when I think Faulkner couldn't become any more evil, he does this! Turning our friends against us, and sacrificing his own people! Now it's HIS life that shall be ended!

Next Time: Inconsequential conversations! Feel the excitement!