Part 19: Resolve Yourself

Music: Seeking the Blue Sky (ver. YAKISOBA)



The food here is really good! I know you'll enjoy it!



Woo-hoo! Fried noodles, at last!
...? Aren't you-
I'm Lucille. I'm sorry about before - I didn't mean to cause a scene like that.
Yum! This is the greatest!
... Dean!!
Hm? What? Oh- You're that girl we saw crying...
I said, I wasn't crying! I just got some dust in my eye, that's all!
...Well, if you say so, sure.
Wow, Dean! Acting like an adult? I'm impressed.
Thanks! Now, can I get some more fried noodles over here?
Wha-? You're already finished?!
Sure. how about an extra-large helping this time?
YESSSSS! Thanks! And throw in some extra garlic, too!
Hehe, you got it. One extra-large fried noodles with extra garlic, please!
Cafe Owner: Comin' right up! Ready, Lucille? Catch!



The Cafe Owner tosses the noodles in the air, and Lucille catches them with a plate.



Hehe, thanks. Oh, before I forget... The owner asked me to give you this.
Obtained Call Whistle!
What is it?
It's a Call Whistle. Blow it out in the field, and you can ride the monowheel.
The monowheel... You mean that thing out by the entrance?!
Right. You brought back the spark plug, along with the missing food, didn't you?
Woo-hoo! I can't wait to try it out!
Calm down, Dean! You're going to upset the other customers!

We are the only customers. Hell, they don't even have any other tables.

Hehe, it's okay. It's best to enjoy yourself while you can, after all. I may not have that chance myself anymore...
Huh...? What do you mean?
This is great! Extra garlic rules!
Dean! Did you not hear what she just said?
You mean about the extra garlic?
That was YOU, you idiot!

The screen fades out to show the passing of time...



You certainly ate a lot...
Yes, he did... I think he had about ten extra helpings.
Yeah, well, that's Dean for you.



Cafe Owner: I'll miss havin' ya around, darlin'. Take care of yourself over there.
I don't know how things will go...but I'll do what I can. You take care of yourself, too. So long.
Okay, we'd better get going, too!

The party stands up from their table, and Rebecca walks over to the Cafe Owner.

Music: I Still Have Something to Tell You

Um, I was wondering... It sounded like that girl was quitting her work here?
Cafe Owner: Lucille, you mean? Yeah, she's been sold to the Veruni.
S-sold...?
Cafe Owner: You noticed there's no young folks here, right? The Veruni take 'em all. The males to work in the mines, and the females to serve in their houses.
Wh-what?! That's crazy!
Cafe Owner: What can we do? It's not like we're capable of standin' up to the Veruni. But at least the females don't lose their lives, even if they lose their freedom. The males, on the other hand... They call it work, but all's it really is is forced labor.
Dean: Forced labor...again? It was bad enough hearing about it in Mithysmere...
Cafe Owner: Supposedly they're diggin' up metals for use in golems. Sounds harmless enough... But not one of 'em has returned, so no one knows what they're really doin'. I hear they're forced to work from dawn to dusk, every single day - no days off. Heck, they can't even go out at night. If you get close, you can hear the sounds of the drills going chug, chug, chug all day long. They never stop. Because of that, everyone here calls the place Mt. Chug-Chug.
Doesn't get much worse than that. Takin' advantage of humans just 'cause they can't fight back...
...
Cafe Owner: Things weren't always this bad, y'know. It was about five years ago they all of a sudden started actin' like this. But even Lucille's gone now... I wonder what Chuck would say if he were here...
Chuck? You mean the Golem Hunter, Chuck?!
Cafe Owner: What, you know him? Him and Lucille used to be pretty close. But he left a while back. Said he didn't wanna see any more people close to him die. So he's a Golem Hunter now, is he?

It would be great if she was talking about a completely different Chuck, but we all know she's not.

...He did say something like that, didn't he? "Everyone I care for disappears..."
Cafe Owner: Granted, his parents and friends and all died pretty unusually...but it just ain't right for Chuck to be blamin' himself for it. The Veruni are the ones to blame. Our whole village is under their shadow, after all.
...
Dean... You're thinking about trying to help the people of this village, aren't you?
Not bad, Avril. Yeah, that's exactly the face he's making.
Of course I am! I can't just sit around after hearing all that!
But do these people desire your help?
Cafe Owner: To be honest, we don't really want anythin' more than we've already got. That way, at least we won't have to lose what little we do have...
But...but that's-!
Calm down, Dean. This isn't our problem. As far as this village goes, we're no more than outsiders - Drifters. And Drifters shouldn't hang around any longer than they need to. Get a meal in your stomach, find what you need, and be on your way - that's out place. And it looks like we've learned all we can here about Johnny Appleseed, so...
...!
Dean...



Flower-Tending Girl: The person with the blue hair and bandana helped us with the field work for a little bit, too, when the food shortage was at its worst... And then the person by the lake with the silver hair gave us some fish he caught... He said there were too many small bones for him to eat them. A lot of you Drifters... You're so nice to people...

I guess now we know what Jet was busy doing while we delivered the Humpty Dumpty.

Anyway, there are no other interesting people here, so let's leave.



But-
But what?! Why are you giving up without even trying?! That's just stupid!
Dean... I really do like that phrase of yours. "You can do anything as long as you don't give up..." But this problem is not one that affects only us. The people of this village are also involved - and they don't desire change.
But that's just because they're afraid of the Veruni! If we free them from Veruni control, I know they'll be happy!
But are you certain that you can, in fact, free them from Veruni control? If so, why haven't you done so in the other towns and villages we have passed through?
W-well, I...
If you truly want to do something, Dean, you must resolve yourself to seeing it through.
Resolve myself...?
You coward!



Lucille turns and leaves.

Chuck!
Hey, it's good to see you again. How've you been?
Forget about us, what about you?! How can you let her just leave like that?!
Oh, so you know about the village? That saves a lot of trouble, then. Look what happened the moment I came back. There's no way I can stop her... After all, everybody I care about-
Don't start with that again! They're not gonna disappear! That's just your imagination!
My imagination, huh... So that's what they told you. None of them understand how I feel...

Nobody understands me!

My father used to work in Mt. Chug-Chug. But he almost never came back home, so one time, I snuck into Mt. Chug-Chug to see him. And right before my very eyes, he was crushed by a falling boulder, and...he died.
...! It's just a coincidence! That's all!
...With my father dead, things got tough for us. My mother had to work hard to support me, and then one day she suddenly started coughing up blood, and then she died, too... I had a friend, too, who caught Nightburn's eye and went to Laila Belle... I haven't heard from him since. And now Lucille...
They're all coincidences! They're not your fault!
Even you almost lost your lives trying to help me in Mirapulse, didn't you?
That's nothing! We've been through much worse than that!
Heh... Well, I guess you have to experience this pain to really understand it. Besides, it doesn't really matter now. I've finally become a full-fledged Golem Hunter. Now I can travel the world, so I don't have to cause trouble for anyone by staying in one place. This is the best way, believe me. So long, then.



Run away...?
Yeah! That's all you're doing! You don't have the courage to bring Lucille back, so you're just making excuses about people disappearing to try and justify it! But I'm not buyin' it!
-!
Are you really just gonna stand there and let her call you a coward?! At least try and do something before you give up! Or are you really just a coward after all?!
... Heh... People can't change so easily, you know.
So then you're just gonna keep on running for the rest of your life? Is that what you want, Chuck?!
Sure, why not? That's my fate, after all.
Don't blame it on fate! Try harder! DO something about it! Who cares how stupid you look?! Just resolve yourself to doing something! That's all it takes!
...It's still too much for me. You don't understand me... This is how I am, how I've always been. I can't be strong like you. People can't change that easily...
You don't have to change! Just this one time - make up your mind, resolve yourself, and that's it! That's all you have to do - just this once! Even you can do that! If she really is important to you, then bring her back! Resolve yourself, Chuck!
Resolve myself...?
Yeah! You can do it! If she's that important, then get her back!
...
..... Dammit...!

Chuck runs for the city gate.

Lucille!!
All right! That's the spirit, Chuck! C'mon, guys - to the station!

Dean runs after Chuck.

Dean, wait up!



Fuck yes.



The Monowheel is much faster than walking, and it disables random encounters. (I think it would have been pretty rad to have Monowheel battles though, like the horseback battles in Wild Arms 3.)

The Search System still works when you're on the Monowheel, but the main menu is disabled, as the Triangle button is remapped to dismounting.

Once we're done riding in circles on our awesome new Monowheel, we head for Meisis.

Music: A Pursuing Crisis



Stop!



Veruni Escort: Who are you?
Let Lucille go!
Veruni Escort: What? You realize what you're saying, kid?
You bet I do. I've resolved myself. Made up my mind.
Veruni Escort: Hah hah hah! Resolved yourself, huh? Well then, if you insist, I suppose I'll have to grant you your wish.
Huh?! So you'll give Lucille back?
Veruni Escort: What are you, dense? Hey! This kid here wants to fight. Says he's resolved himself to death.



H-hey! I never said that!
Veruni Escort: Next time you better watch what you say, kid. Not that there's gonna be a next time!
-! Dammit...!
Not so fast!

Sorry Chuck. I would have been here sooner, but I was too busy enjoying my sick new ride.

Music: A Boy meets a Girl and ARMS



Veruni Escort: Who the hell are you?!



We pose as a team, because shit just got real.



We're up against four Veruni Soldiers. They're not too tough individually, but four of them can be a bit of a problem.



They have pretty good physical attacks, and they can also use Crush and Blast. If all four of them focus on one of your characters, they're screwed, so it's a bad idea to keep everyone on one HEX.



All right - thanks, Dean! Let's go, Lucille!
Wh...what? B-but, I... What are you-

Music: Fereydoon RYGS_5013 (: Appearance)



...!
Veruni Escort: Sir! This human scum was trying to take Lucille from us...
What?! You're the ones who took her in the first place!
Veruni Escort: Why, you-
Enough. This is no place for a brawl. Humans, choose a representative. Let's decide this with a duel. That should settle this argument equitably.

Chuck steps forward.

Don't! This is Fereydoon - one of the Veruni's Four Sentinels! There's no way you can beat him! Please!
Even if not, I have to at least try. I've resolved myself.



Very well. Prepare yourself!

Music: Fereydoon RYGS_5013 (: Battle)



0 EXP and gella. Where have I seen that before?



For the first time ever, we're put in control of Chuck.

Of all the unwinnable battles, this is the only one that might not be possible to win in a New Game Plus. Since Chuck is never put into your party before this point, you can't feed him a ton of LVL Apples, so he's stuck in the low 30's. I believe stat boosts from things like ATK Apples transfer over into New Game Pluses, so you could theoretically pump him full of stat apples before beating the game, but I'm not completely sure if that would work.



Chuck can only attack adjacent HEXes, like Dean and Avril. He's currently equipped with the Moon Medium, which provides support abilities. I'll go into more detail on Chuck and the Moon Medium when we get full access to them.





Urgh...! Dammit...
I'm sorry. I merely follow my orders.



-Farewell.
Master Fereydoon, please don't!

Music: You're So Close Yet So Far Away

This man says he has come here resolved. It is only proper to finish this duel here.
Yeah, exactly. Go ahead, kill me!

Lucille stands between Chuck and Fereydoon.

Lucille...
Master Fereydoon, please accept my humble apologies. This incident is entirely my fault. You may do with me as you please once we arrive at your masion. But please... I realize how presumptuous a request I am making, but I beg you, please... Spare his life, for my sake...
Hmm... Very well, if you so desire. I've become rather fond of you. As you wish, I'll forget this incident ever happened. Let us go, Lucille.

Fereydoon and Lucille head for the station, but before they enter, Lucille turns around to look at Chuck.



And then she goes.

Chuck...
... I...I couldn't do anything... Dammit, Dean! I hate myself!
...
Just when I'd finally become a Golem Hunter... And I was all set to tell everyone in the village about it...



See? Lucille got taken away because of me... I really do cause trouble wherever I go. I don't need that license anymore... I really do cause trouble wherever I go. I don't need that license anymore...

At this point, the party returns to Honeysday.

Music: Nothing is Better than the Usual Time



If only we'd been stronger...

What's this "we" business? Chuck's the one who screwed everything up.

But I guess it can't be helped... Not when the veruni higher-ups are involved...
...
...I've got something I need to say to you all. And...it may mean the end of our trip together.
Dean...? What's wrong, all of a sudden?
There's nothing sudden about it. It's something that's been bothering me ever since we set out. Back when we left Capo Bronco, I was really excited about seeing the outside world. But ever since Mirapulse, things have just gotten more and more confusing. Back when we first met Chuck, and he was about to be hanged for something he didn't do... That's where things first felt wrong... with the Veruni for mistreating humans like that, with humans for accepting that mistreatment. Then we met Greg on the way to Laila Belle, and I found out just how much he'd suffered.
...
After that, we reached Laila Belle and Mithysmere... I was startled at the difference between the Veruni living easily in Laila Belle...and the children in Mithysmere who didn't even have medicine. And here, all the young people are being taken away - and the villagers just let them go. Nobody likes it that way, but everybody just lets it go because they don't want to cause trouble.



...To be honest, I've been thinking the same things. But we just weren't strong enough to do anything about it...

Music: A Small Step Towards a Big Dream

No, Rebecca. It's not that we couldn't - it's that we didn't! If we'd tried, we might've been able to change something. But we didn't have the resolve we needed. Right, Avril?
Yes. What you are considering will require a great commitment. If you let it fail halfway through, things will become worse than they already are. So you must resolve yourself to seeing it through to its completion.
Yeah...and I have! I'm gonna overcome the wall between Veruni and humans and do something about this warped society!
D-Dean?! But what about Johnny Appleseed?! The whole reason we left Capo Bronco was to help Avril find Johnny Appleseed, wasn't it?!
It's all right, Rebecca. In fact, I may have been waiting for this moment.
Huh...? What do you mean?
Perhaps it's due to my lost memories - but I feel that Dean's resolution here is the shortest path to finding Johnny Appleseed.
...Thanks, Avril. I knew you'd understand!
W-well, if Avril's okay with it, I sure don't mind! Okay, Dean, you can count me in! I don't want to see any more kids wind up like in Mithysmere!
Thanks, Rebecca. I know you'd see things the same way I did!
Hey, I got nothin' better to do. I can't say I like the way thing are, either. ...Though if you consider how much I've already upset the Veruni, it's not like this is much of a jump for me.
Great! We'll be counting on you!
I, um... I still have to search for the Professor, so...
Yeah... Then I guess it's goodbye, Carol.
Um, I-
So long! We'll let the Professor know about you if we run into him.
Take care, Carol. Let's meet again sometime, okay?
But... I...
Take care of yourself, Carol. I hope that you can find the Professor.
Don't push yourself too hard, kid. See ya.
...



Hmm? What is it, Carol?
D-don't leave me alone...
Carol?!
Don't leave me alone... Don't be mean to me...
What's wrong, Carol?! We're not being-
Everything's all right, Carol. Nobody will be mean to you. You're not alone. Everyone here thinks of you as a close friend.
*Sob* Waaaaaaah!



So please don't leave me alone! Waaaaaaah!
Carol... Nobody here will ever think badly of you. Even if we go our separate ways now, you know we'd never really be apart, right? So cheer up!
Thank you, Dean... *Sniff*...*sob*...
It's all right, Carol. You can stop crying now. We can stick together, all right? I can't stand seeing people cry...
But...but I can't help it... *sob*
Well, it would seem we'll be remaining together. Shall we go?
Well, now that we've decided we're gonna pick a fight with the Veruni... What first?
The first thing I want to do is take a look at Mt. Chug-Chug.
That's where all the young guys from the village are taken, right? If you're plannin' to release 'em, think again. The people here don't want that, remember.
I'll decide whether to release them or not once I've seen how things are. And if we're gonna release them, we can't afford to fail. So I want to get a good look at the situation first.
Heh... So you're not gonna just barge in there? You really have grown, Dean.
(Ted...would you have grown up to be as just as him?)



Ted: you can't threaten people or hurt people just because you're stronger than they are!



Ted: -you're supposed to use your strength to protect people, not to harm them!



All right, let's go see what this Mt. Chug-Chug is all about. I'll leave the decision makin' to you - I've got your back to the end!
Great. Then let's go!

And they go. But little do our heroes know, someone is watching from the shadows...



Oh, it's just Chuck. Nothing to worry about.



Now it's time to head for Mt. Chug-Chug, which is at the northern-most point of the snowy area. Along the way, I run into an odd thing.



*A strong jolt may burst it open entirely...

We can't do anything with this at the moment, and even if we could, the monster inside would tear us apart in seconds. We'll be back for it much later.



Music: deep-seated grudge



What's wrong?! Are you okay?!
Worker: Nightburn...threw me to...the monsters... Urgh...
Wh-what?! Did you say Nightburn?!
Worker: Watch out... He's a...puppet of the Veruni... When we can't work anymore...we're just thrown out here...for the monsters... Urgh!
What...? I don't get it... Thrown out here for the monsters...? Alive?!
...I always thought he was screwed up, but I never imagined he was *this* bad.
No! There's got to be some sort of misunderstanding! I mean, yeah, he was a little different than I expected, but he's not THAT inhuman!
Dean...
I wish I could agree... ...but not with that thing around!



Dean! There's no time for that now! Here it comes!

Boss: Kobold
Music: Defense Action Squad Heroes!



The Kobold has the attribute "Hard", which means he's completely immune to physical attacks.



When the game put my party back together after Chuck's battle with Fereydoon, it re-ordered my party to default, putting Rebecca onto the front line. I didn't notice this, of course.

The Kobold starts on an earth ley point, and if Greg were to have been in my party, he would have started next to the wind ley point, which means I could have done some ridiculous damage with Hi-Blast, but the Kobold moved out of the earth ley point before I could get Greg into battle.

I mean really, it wouldn't have been hard to remember my party position and set them up the way I had them.



Once I manage to get to the wind ley point (I made a stupid mistake and let him occupy it for a bit.) the battle becomes easy. The Kobold's attacks aren't terribly dangerous, he just takes awhile to kill.

Avril, if you're here, maybe I can do that skill the Professor mentioned...
All right, I'd like to try it.



Carol and Avril's combination attack is Mysteltainn Zero, a magic attack which hits all HEXes in a straight line. Combining this with Hi-Blast makes short work of the Kobold.



Wait, who mentioned a key?

Obtained Chug-Chug Key!

Well, that takes care of the monster. But things sure look bretty bleak in here. Well, Dean?
...What do you think? There's people suffering here! Of course I'm gonna free them!
Y-yes, we can't let them feed people to monsters like that!
But it seems that a human is the cause...
...Nightburn, yeah. I can't believe he'd do something like that. But if he is-
-! Dean! Look out!



Oh no! You'd better watch out, Dean! He might deal 600 damage to you!



But suddenly, a person runs by in a flash, and destroys the Kobold.

Music: A Boy meets a Girl and ARMS



Chuck?! Chuck, are you okay?!
Heh, compared to the pain of losing Lucille, this is nothing. How about yourself, Dean? Are you okay?
Yeah, thanks to you. That was a close one.
So that's it... That's how I should have protected those close to me...
Yeah. If you've got someone to protect, you protect them, no matter what. Or you'll spend the rest of your life regrettin' it.
...But I failed to protect Lucille. I was too weak...
But she's still alive, isn't she? You can still protect her!
I can still protect her...?
Yeah! You can do anything as long as you don't give up! Lucille's still alive - so don't give up yet!
There goes Dean with that line again... But you know, Chuck, it's those words that brought us together.
... I overheard you back at Honeysday, talking about coming here. What with everything that's happened and those big plans of yours, I'm still not quite sure of myself, but... You can do anything as long as you don't give up, huh? I can believe in that, right Dean?
Of course! I'm gonna change the world - and I'm not gonna give up until I do!
Change the world...? You really think we can do something like that?
We can. You are one of the chosen ones, after all.
Chuck...do you happen to have a medium?
Yeah, why?
Then...
Yes, I believe it is an original medium.
Greg, Carol, Chuck... All three of you have original mediums, and all three of you joined us...
Hey, now that you mention it...
I can't tell the difference between originals and copies myself, but that's right, isn't it, Avril?
Yes. The mediums each of them hold are all originals... As are those we recieved from Tony and the Baskars.



Wow, that's an amazing coincidence!
A coincidence...? Do you really think it's a coincidence? Chuck, where did you get that medium?
Huh? Hmm, where was it...
Greg? Carol?
I dunno. Somewhere. I forget where.
I received mine from the Professor...
...
You're thinking too hard about it, Rebecca. We've got these handy tools, so why not make use of them?
And you're not thinking hard enough!
But if I really am a chosen one, capable of changing the world... If I do change the world, Lucille will be free again. That counts as protecting Lucille, doesn't it?
Then-!
Yeah. I don't know what I can do for you, but if you'll have me along, I'll go with you.
Then you've resolved yourself as well, Chuck?
Yeah. I'm going to get over that wall between Veruni and humans too. Right, Dean?
Yeah! Let's go, Chuck!
Chuck joined the party!
Heh... Maybe it's not worth worrying over after all.



The Art of Wild Arms



This is the only group shot of the entire party in the whole artbook. Get a load of Dean's ridiculous midriff shirt.