Part 62: Chapter #20: The Journey Begins, Ending

I will definitely update the challenge leaderboard soon, despite the fact that it's essentially a two man race between Feinne and Simply Simon.

As to Glazius' question, who knows. Although, for what it's worth, it never really seems like there are that many people living on the Continent anyway.

Chapter 20: The Journey Begins

Briefing



: (You killed my father, Faulkner. And now you will die!)

Interview

Uh....we left them all behind, so, all I can do is show you Bastion's final stats.



Power and Agility all the way.

Mission



: You don't frighten me, Faulkner, and neither does your unholy Zulwarn! I will have my revenge, Faulkner. Not just for Father, but for all the lives you have destroyed!
: You're not afraid of me, Bastion? Well, then, I shall have to put the fear of God into you!
: Come, Faulkner! Come and feel the cold embrace of death!



That's a lot of HP...



And he immediately attacks.
: In your zeal to destroy me, Bastion, have you forgotten about the battles which your friends are waging? Are you not troubled by thoughts of their imminent slaughter by the Sharking hordes?
: My friends will win, Faulkner, just as I will! Your defeat will be absolute!
And then the attack will go through. Defend against it, or else things could get...messy.



: Indeed it is.
: What are your orders?
: Cecilia!
: Kill him!
Okay, who didn't see this twist coming? Be honest...
: What?!
: ... ... ...
: No...oh, no! Not Faulkner!
: Yes.
: All this time, you were spying on us, and reporting him!
: And a very fine job she did, Bastion. I was always aware of your actions, and you never thought to ask why.
: We were constantly being ambushed by Imperial ATACs on our journeys...And I always wondered how you located us so quickly after I entered the temple of the Ultragunner. Now I know.
: Oh, Bastion, you sound on the verge of tears. Do you need a tissue?
: Why, Cecilia, WHY?!
: Because I paid her very well, Bastion! She is a mercenary! A killer for hire! And you shall be her next victim!
: ... ... ...
: Cecilia.
: ... ... ...
: This isn't you, Cecilia. This isn't the life you want, or the life you deserve.
: ... ... ...
: I know who you really are, Cecilia, and I love you.
: ... ... ...
: Oh, Bastion...watching you beg for your miserable life leaves me both amused and disgusted.
: Come to me, Cecilia, and be with me. Together, we will make the life that you have always wanted.
: ... ... ...
: Yes, Bastion!
: What?!
I'd save your outrage for later, Faulkner, it's...going to get worse...much worse.
: I've been longing for those words with all my heart! And now, to hear you speak them!
: What is this madness, Cecilia?! You are my employee, and you shall obey my commands! KILL HIM!!
: You should have paid attention to the fine print in my contract, Faulkner. Paragraph 63 clearly states that my task in complete when Ultragunner is delivered to the capital. The Ultragunner stands before you, and the contract has been fulfilled. Now I'm working for Bastion.
Quickly, Faulkner, appeal on the grounds that Cecilia's actions constitute promissory estoppel as you were in a state of reasonably reliance that you wouldn't be dicked around by the power of love!
: Do you know what you are, Cecilia? You're not a mercenary. You're just a filthy SLUT!
: I don't care what you say about me, Faulkner! I only care about helping Bastion destroy you!
: If you won't listen to me, Cecilia, then I shall have to persuade you with the power of Zulwarn!
: No!
: Leave her ALONE!



Can Faulkner stop this shit right here and now!



No, he can't! Bastion's love for his super-traitorous and possibly psychotic girlfriend overcomes Faulkner's power, halving its HP and crippling its stats!

: What?! You smothered my spell! How did you DO that?!
: (I can feel my mind growing clearer...and stronger! I can feel the power of Ultragunner inside of me!) Darkness always succumbs to light, Faulkner, and good always triumphs over evil!
Well, if this game is any indication, that's 60% true...
: For the sake of our future!



Okay, here's the deal, it's Bastion and Cecilia versus a greatly weakened Faulkner. It's a walkover. The game caps all of the stats at 32, so low that your characters are apt to hit that cap in some stats by the end of the game. That means that even at its strongest, the Zulwarn is only going to be marginally faster than your fastest troops. Bastion's love wave knocked the Zulwarn back a bit, and now it's the slowest ATAC on the field. That's a problem. It gets the first turn, but this is the only attack it's going to get off, and it's not even going to hit...



Here's a description of the battle. Cecilia goes, Turbulences Faulkner, he goes up to 30 FP. Bastion uses Lightning Strike twice, forcing Faulkner up to 90 FP. Cecilia then goes next, because she's that much faster than Faulkner. He gets dizzied, and then it's Bastion's turn, and Faulkner is done to around 100 HP....



Auf Wiedersehen, Faulkner. I wish I could say that this is your poorest showing, but, well....

: So this...is my...inglorious end? Death at the...hands of...an impetuous waif? How amazing...and yet...how pathetic. The world...could have been...mine to control. Instead...I enter...the abyss. I pray for solace...in the next world...



Only one last thing to do...



I'll need the DEF to make it through the ending...

: It's done. Faulkner is dead, the Continent is liberated, and Father is avenged.



Yep, it's the same bluff from the beginning of the game. We've come full circle, which is, of course, a nice way of saying that we've made no progress whatsoever.
: Isn't it a glorious view from up here, Cecilia? I never got to enjoy it when Father and I were training.
: It's beautiful.
: Someday, perhaps, the Kingdom will build a monument here in his honor. His life should inspire others.
Which part? The time when, as the head of the King's Bodyguard, he watched the King get murdered for no good reason? Or maybe how, as the guardian of the last hope of the Kingdom, his parenting style was so shitty that said last hope joined the Imperial Army?
: Bastion, are you angry at me?
: About what, Cecilia?
: About my placing you and the others in danger. About keeping the truth from you.
: I'm not angry, Cecilia. I consider it my fault for not sharing my feelings with you sooner.
: I had to fulfill the contract, Bastion. To betray someone, even Faulkner, would be to live without honor.
If I recall correctly, you got out of that contract due to legal technicality...that's uh...not the most honorable thing in the world.
: No one else would understand my actions. They would condemn then...and me.
: That is why we were destined to be together. We understand each other in ways that no one else can.
: I have never been in love before, Bastion. It feels so strange, and yet so wonderful. Will our love last forever, Bastion? Or will it fade away with time?
: You say that as if you expect it to fade away, Cecilia.
; I'm sorry, Bastion. It's just hard for me to have faith in anything.
: I have faith in you, Cecilia, and I know you have faith in me.
: Yes, Bastion, I do. Are you glad that you told your friends of our relationship?
: I am, although I certainly wish they had been more enthusiastic. Princess Sadira seemed almost despondent.
Well, you probably didn't have to tell her the same day she took her brother off of the ventilator.
: Of course, explaining that I was sealing Ultragunner away again didn't thrill them, either.
: True.
: I would destroy Ultragunner if I knew how. Its power is too great, and invariably corrupting.
Well, Bassy, either you don't know the meaning of the word 'invariably' or you're saying that you yourself are corrupted. Either way, it's probably a good thing you weren't able to destroy the only weapon that was capable of saving the world.
: Also true. We saw how it affected Faulkner, how it twisted his mind and his soul.
: I'm ready for a journey, Cecilia. Not as the Prince of the Kingdom, but as a young man with his true love at his side. Will you come with me?
: Of course, Bastion. I love you with all my heart. I want to be with you, now and forever.



: Have you any idea where you would like to go first?
: I've always wanted to walk along the beaches of the Empire and feel the sand between my toes.
: By the way...may I ask you something?
: What is it?
: I don't quite know how to say this.
: It's alright, Bastion. Just say it.
: How long are you going to keep wearing that maid's uniform?
: Oh, this? I don't know yet. I didn't like it at first, but I've learned to enjoy it! It makes me feel a bit naughty! What's wrong? Don't you like it?
: It's just not what I would call an especially practical outfit for the travels ahead of us.
: Oh, but it is, Bastion! It's a very light material, and there are at least six large pockets--
: But you're not a maid, Cecilia!
: Bastion, I consider this the most comfortable outfit I've ever worn! You don't like it, do you?!
: Your voice is taking on an unusually high pitch.
: But--
: No, Cecilia.
: Are you sure?
: Yes.
: Please?
: No!
: Pretty please?
: Let's be reasonable about this...

The End!

Next Time: Let's try this again...