Part 38: Return to the Ruins of Memories

I'm something of a cheater. The question I posed at the end of the last update was a little bit of a trick question - not because there's no right answer but because there's two right ones.
I just wanted to see which answers people would choose. Today we'll find out the secrets of the Ruins of Memories.


Update 38: Chrono Trigger already did it

Before we head over to the Ruins of Memory, I'm going to catch up on a pair of side-quests.

Remember Laxisland, the town with the dragon hunters? There's someone we need to check up on.


Absurdity! You have conquered the dragon!? You? If your narrative is true, then what am I to do now? I have no dragon to slay!

No not you, and stay away from Lombardia! She's a nice bad-tempered-robo-jet-lizard, and I'd hate for your armour to become a roasting tray.

Upstairs...



It looks like Martina has found her missing mother.


No... Mom, don't leave me. Please, wake up. Ian found a letter from Auntie that will get us back the store. So please, come back home.


Ian is the drifter in Little Twister who wanted to the the next Janus Cascade. The game seems to skip over this, but he appears to have a soft spot for kids. Or is a raging


Martina... Where are you?
I can't believe there's no doctor here with my mom so sick. What should I do? I don't know what to do! I don't want my mom to die!

Silly girl! Are you forgetting you lived with a doctor for a few weeks?




What!? Martina's mother is sick? And there's no doctor there? Thank you for letting me know. I will head to Laxisland right away.



Martina... I will see you again, right?
I wanted to talk about all the people I met on my journey once I found you, Mom. But I can't stop crying. And I don't know what to say...
Martina, help cheer your mom up. I'm sure she'll hear your voice. Believe in her, child.

We'll leave them be for now, and head on down to the Ruins of Mem... huh? What do you want?


Ventura, Ventura... Just now, I received a <<vital message>> from an associate in the sea of stars.
<<Vital message>>
The forces of chaos have already invaded our planet's surface, and have taken the first step to world domination! We must stand up to them! We must join the ranks of <<galactic agents>>!
<<Galactic agents>>
My new associate, first you must destroy the Telepath Tower located southwest of here!

What?
OK... why not. That sounds important if true.

It's to the southwest, but you may not be able to find the Telepath Tower. There are two possible reasons.

1) You need to read a book in the Ark of Destiny library first. There's a second level of the library that can only be accessed with the grappling hook, and I'm sure that's a nuisance for the librarian.

Mu & Lemuria Monthly posted:

Are we under attack by UFOs!?

There have been many reported sightings of UFOs this year! This issue will give you a first hand account of an alien encounter!

Six young boys witnessed a red shining object falling down from the sky. They called the local sheriff to investigate the scene with them. As they got closer and closer to the scene, an irritating odor began to emanate. When they finally reached the scene, what they saw was unbelievable--a silver, flat object, about eight yards in diameter was emitting a red light.

All of a sudden... An alien, about ten feet tall with beady eyes appeared before them!! This alien was the source of that terrible smell, and it began to float in the air, moving about in a sliding motion. Frightened out of their mind, the six boys and the sheriff ran for the nearest town.

Half an hour later, when others came to investigate the scene, all that was left was that terrible stench, with nothing else in sight. What did the alien want? Why did he visit this planet? These are questions we would like to discuss in next month's issue...

2) The quest is flat-out buggy.
Roswell has been able to tell us about the Telepath Tower ever since we got Lombardia, but it won't show up when you search until you finish Dissection Facility. Maybe.
It might not show up until later, and if you finish chapter 3 without starting the quest it might never ever show up at all.
There's a lot of contradictory information, but the best advice is just "keep talking to Roswell, and keep checking." If it doesn't show up, do another dungeon and then come back and check.
In my case I took a look now, but it didn't show up. However, it DID appear at the right spot after I finished the Ruins of Memory, so I'll cover it at the end of the update.



At least I found a Migrant Seal lying around on the overworld while I was looking for the Tower. Not a complete waste of time.



MUSIC: Scars of Leftover Memories

Well, on with our mission.



You might remember the Ruins of Memory from a more innocent time, when Pearl was willing to trust obvious villains for no good reason. However, it held a mystery we never solved back then.



Here it is. The plaque on the wall reads...

The sparkle of the Teardrop shines ever so high. Many have tried to reach for the top, only to wipe a teardrop from their own eye.



An enigma that's easily solved with a grappling hook. A passageway leads away from this balcony.



Puzzles up here are pretty easy. 5 statues, the second and fourth ones have lit torches. Activating a statue toggles its torch and the torches adjecent to it on/off.

Easy to solve...

code:

.*.*.     *=ON   .=OFF   v=Used

  v
..*..

 v
**...

   v
*****

The next room has a huge painting.

A large painting, entitled "Flame" hangs on the wall.

I'm not an art lover, and burn it down.



Which reveals a hidden passage. I love it when my philistine nature and need to explore work together.



The final challenge: a locked door. It seems to require a card key, but we don't have one.
But in the inventory, we find that Pearl kept Maya's Paperback, which she found on the floor in Dissection Facility.

As you flip through the pages of the paperback, you realize that the bookmark is actually a card key!

Excellent. The door is opened, and inside there's...



MUSIC: That's Just a Rumor...!

I have heard that in ancient times, the desert seas used to be filled with blue, sparkling water...
Just like the surrounding area of Yggdrasil?
Yes... But probably of a much larger scale...
An ocean spreading far beyond the horizon, huh... Wow... I can't imagine that... It must've been beautiful. Kinda like the gentle blue of the Teardrop - almost as if caressing you.



But the fact of the matter is, they're tryin' to destroy Filgaia with this thing.
That's right... But I'm not gonna let that happen! No way!

We got the Teardrop!
Now we can backtrack out. But once we reach the central chamber, someone just has to show up and spoil the party.



MUSIC: If Tails, Despair if Heads, Hope

hooray its the prophets


Now... Hand over the Teardrop...
You bring us Maya first!

Maya is teleported in. She's still unconcious, but she lies just a foot or two from Pearl.


She'll be all right. She'll regain consciousness soon.

Now you must fulfill your end of the bargain. Hand over the Teardrop.
(Stay sharp... Who knows what they're up to...)
(Got it, thanks...)

Pearl, I hope you have an ace up your sleeve. You can't let these morons get the Teardrop...



ohforfuckssake.
Pearl, I like your character but you gotta stop this.



You probably should have checked it was the real Maya too.

Huh!?
The Maxwell girl is more foolish than I thought... You have willingly handed over the future of this planet.

Choosing the Ruins of Memories for the swap was a good idea. Something about the place just makes the girl even dumber than usual.

Fortunately someone else is ready to undo Pearl's error.



MUSIC: Gun-Equipped Cavalry

There is a series of explosions and Leehalt drops the Teardrop directly inbetween the drifters, the prophets, and the newly arrived Schrodingers.

Sorry it took us so long! But it looks like we're here just in time!
You wily, little fox...!
Look who's talking!

BOSS BATTLE: DEMON PROPHETS



MUSIC: Black as Sin, Red as Blood

Our first battle with the new and improved Demon Prophets. Only they're not so improved.
They carry over their gimmicks from previous battles, but this is the first time they've combined them in one battle. The last time we fought all three of them, they would only use Eliminate Scanner. Now...
Malik needs to be Decelerated before we can shoot him, and confuses us.
Melody poisons us.
Leehalt reflects all our damage back.

But with prior experience of all these attacks, its not too hard to Ward/Status Lock against Confusion and Poison, take out Melody and Malik, and carefully wear down Leehalt exactly like before. No fresh tricks.



While the prophets are fighting us, Shady make a dive for Leehalt.



While he's distacted, the camera zooms in as Todd and Pearl run for the Teardrop...



... and keeps going past them, to focus on the statue at the back of the room.
Hey... doesn't that look like...



A huge explosion knocks Pearl and Todd off their feet.

What was that!?



As... gard...!?

MUSIC: Crossfire Sequence

That's impossible! We kicked that thing's behind to the outer limits of space-time with the help of Dan Diaram!
Face the music! It's here, ain't it!? Standing right in front of us!

I shall act as a shield for my master, and carry out his command through hell and high water! Master, I have <<returned>>.
<<Returned>>
Returned...!? Then, that means...
To fulfill my master's command... And... to exchange fire with you again. By the way, master... Did something happen to you?

"You look ridiculous."

I shall explain later! There is much I want to ask of you, too!
Let us be on our way, then...
Wreak some havoc...
As you wish. Activating barrier at full power!



Asgard's barrier takes up the entire room, which starts to shake violently. After a moment, everything blacks out.



MUSIC: Night of the Legends

Pearl awakens to find her father standing over her. He's holding the roof up somehow.

Daddy...?
If they're using a barrier, I'll counter it with mine...
(Barrier...? What is Daddy saying...?)



Don't move just yet. They probably think we're buried alive under the rubble... We have to take full advantage of this situation!
Daddy... I was so happy to see you again, Daddy. I really was... I had completely given up on you until I saw you... I was so shocked and bewildered... That's why I said those hurtful and hateful things to you... I wanted to apologize right there and then, but I couldn't conjur up the courage to put it into words... I'm sorry, Daddy...
You're not the only one who can't express their feelings in words... I, too, have had someting I wanted to say locked away inside my heart... I...



You don't have to tell me now... I know you'll tell me, someday...
I'll be waiting... Waiting to hear what you have to say... But, don't leave me again, Daddy... Please...

She slips into unconciousness again. When she wakes up, he's gone.



Dude this is the second time. Stop staring at Pearl while she sleeps.



We were all this close to getting buried alive.
Daddy must have saved us... I saw my father in a dream...
Hey! What happened to the Teardrop!?

I can't believe you're asking that question after handing it to the enemy.

MUSIC: Preparations for the Valley of Bygone Days and Tomorrows

Unfortunately, it's in enemy's hands. But don't worry. I mixed in special <<metallic flakes>> in that bomb I used to startle them.
<<Metallic flakes>>
Metallic flakes? How's that gonna help us?
These special flakes that I developed transmit a signal that pinpoints the exact location of their whereabouts. They're tiny, silver particles that attach firmly to the target's skin or clothes. It's even designed to withstand one or two washes in laundry.
You're smarter than you look.
And this is the radar that picks up the signal. It took me a while to get all this ready - that's why we were late.
See...? This flashing dot here indicates their current location and... Oh, no!
What's wrong!?



I've lost sight of the target and its current location... Point X:14470, Y:17570... The signal seems to have gotten jammed west of Laxisland...

You should probably write that down.

All is not lost. We still have the last coordinates. X:14470, Y:17570, was it? We can very well assume something is there at the jamming point.

Seriously, write it down.

Yeah, like even their hideout.
No sense crying over spilt milk. Let's split up and head out there!
If that really is their hideout, then Maya's probably...

IT WAS YOU WHO SPILT THE MILK YOU DUMB...



Welp, as promised we'll check out those towers first. After going back and seeing Roswell AGAIN, I finally get one to show up, southwest of Laxisland.



Telepath Tower #1 is at battle readiness Level One. Will you help protect Filgaia by blocking communication with outer space?

Yes
No



A telepath tower is actually a set of three towers. Go figure.
Each set of towers has a weak magical attack and a status it can inflict.



Tower 1 is incredibly easy, on account of doing next to no damage and inflicting one of the most useless status effects going - Amnesia. (no XP after battle) They'll get harder, but the tower's main threat (the status changes) can be easily negated with either good preparation (getting wards) or Status Lock + Permanence.
I blow it up - summoning Zephyr works well - and return to Roswell.

Ventura, ventura... So, I hear you destroyed the first Telepath Tower. But this is just a beginning... The towers are the eyes of chaos. All total, there are fifteen of them! The forces of chaos silently watch us through towers all over the world. They are biding their time until they can release the <<king of beasts>> from the cage of darkness.
<<King of beasts>>
The king of beasts sleeps in the deepest darkness underground. He was born from chaos in an age long gone. They seek to unleash his plague on Filgaia and the entire galaxy... Then they will rule us all!

So the telepath tower quest initially requires us to hunt down and destroy these towers. I'll do another two for this update, and leave it for a while. Now that we've actually started the quest, we have all the time we need to finish it.



Tower #2, just south of Yggdrasil. Hands out Disease, which is the other most useless status in the game. (prevents healing) Since they don't do much damage you don't need to heal, so so what?



Tower #3, right up the nose of the snake head on the map. Uses Poison, making it the first threatening Tower, but thanks to Moonstones I'm well protected against poison. As soon as it is defeated though...

Seconds before its collapse, the Telepath Tower releases a sound to the sky like a scream... almost as if to inform someone of what is happening.

Hm, I don't like the sounds of this. Maybe I'll leave them alone for a while. For now, it's full speed ahead with the plot until the end of the chapter.

Next Time: We visit those coordinates.


One last thing... the first time through Ruins of Memories, there was a book ("This Might Interest You") I couldn't read because I was out of Duplicators. I opened it up while I was here.


... not worth the duplicator.


Hey!


A Day A Day

Today is March 21, Spring Equinox. My mother told me that the length of day and night become the same today. Why that makes the day any better than other days, I have no idea. Nor do I know why we have to go to school, nor do I know why... (grumble, grumble)

Today is March 22, Matchet Day. There's a matchet festival today, but some people last year thought it was racket day. Boy, did it turn out to be a racket!

I had to go look up what a matchet is. I do not think a racket would be able to stand up against it.