Part 23: We have become masters of science!

So, last time we stumbled upon a mysterious abandoned house, got the Giant's Ocarina, and then beat up Boomerang so we could harness the power of the Guardian Lords...but all we got out of it were some little statues. Something tells me it's going to take a bit more to bring the Guardian Lords back into the world.



Uhh...normally I try to have my Next Time image be something a bit further into the next update, but I didn't have nearly as much of a buffer as I thought I did. Anyway, I mentioned you can find items on the world map by Searching (when you have the Item Scope). The same applies at sea, although they appear as bottles. This particular one was worth 5000 Gella, making it worth it.


Finally the Tool Shop is fixed, and I give Tom the model of the Bar, so we can finally have an Inn here again. It's about time!


Cecilia forgets 1000 Degrees, and I pick up Aether and Frostbite. I'll need both of those for the upcoming battles, and Frostbite works wonders on those weird Water-Electric monsters I'm sometimes encountering in the Outer Sea. Note that the screenshots are now brighter again, I think I know what's causing it. I started using F.lux on my computer to help me sleep, and it seems to be affecting my recordings by making it brighter when F.lux makes things darker. I actually like the brighter screenshots, so expect to see this more often, although still somewhat randomly. For the most part though, you shouldn't get random jumps between the two in the middle of an update (maybe one or two odd screenshots at the beginning or end).


The first task is to return to Arctica to master Blade Pulse. This is starting to move pretty quickly, and against some of them now that I can even survive more than one round, so Cecilia uses Rinse and Repeat to sneak a few extra uses in. Those damn Flurities are still fucking me up though, since they use Freezing Zone.


Later Jack meets a Mega Apple, and introduces him to Hanpan...


Whom in turn introduces the entire party to a couple new levels.


Doing some poking around on the high seas. This is Puzzle 18, a 3-star puzzle. You can tell there is a huge increase in difficulty now. The main thing to remember is that you can both Push and Pull, so even this tiny 2x4 space is a huge area to move around in. Prize is 20,000 Gella, not bad at all...


Force Carrots still coming along slowly but surely. I think it's at about...50% chance of harvest? That's pretty good, because those last few percent fill up fast.


Upgraded Rudy's ARMs some more, adding another bullet. I was wrong about Alter Parts before, now you'll just randomly find them after battle, without a chest. This gave me some to increase Gatling Raid's bullets by one. Then I took a good look at how much the next Bullet upgrade was, so I sold my 3 LVL Apples (had two earlier from the Rat Monkeys, never used them) and a few extra PS to get another bullet in, up to eleven. I can cram 3 more bullets into the ARM before I'll have to reduce the ATK bonus.


...nothing happens.
I returned to Baskar to see if we could summon Zephyr now that we have the Dragon Idol, but no such luck. So I'll just loot the altar by activating the Teardrop door hidden on the north end of the altar, that you can't see right now because of the camera, but all that was inside was a SOS FP Up. Laaame.


Spoooky.. Anyway, back at Perpetual Engine to get some extra loot. Not much, but a PS Angel Quill 2, Clear Chime 2, Memoirs Pen 2, Moon Stone 2, Fire Break 2, and 3000 Gella. Mostly a lot of crappy PS I'll never use because status effects aren't used enough (with high enough success rates) to warrant using them.


Puzzle 14, another 3 star puzzle. This one's tricky because of the camera and you have to work around the giant cluster in the center while not accidently making pairs where you shouldn't. Reward is PS Olive Branch 3.


Not sure why this happened, but I came across an unusually powerful enemy, the Sea Bishop. Nothing my party couldn't handle, but unusual that I find it. I may have accidentally gotten too close to an area with more challenging random encounters.


Last stop is Surf Village, in which I reach an inaccessible area thanks to a Hook Shot pole off to the side. There's a chest here with a Crest Graph, as well as this chicken, who tells you with the Magic Staff that it wants to fly. Hit it with the Wind Staff, and talk to it again to receive Ex. File Key #4.
Post-LP Note: Thanks DarkHamsterLord for this, it's one of Amengard's quotes from Wild ARMs 4; she always told "scary" stories in that game.
: In the country village of Surf, there once was a chicken that dreamed of flying in the sky. After much great effort, the chicken succeeded in fulfilling her dream of flying, but... The village elders, who hated anything that defied normalcy, declared that she was evil and made her into fried chicken. That is why Surf Village was destroyed by a vengeful chicken's curse.


With the Bar complete, Tom beings work on the Hospital. Cecilia also picks up Darkness Tenebrae, which is Latin for Darkness. I wanted a nice Latin-y name to compliment Gorun Nova for the light-elemental. Also, I wanted the Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World reference in there. Tenebrae was awesome.


Right, so with all of that poking around the world done, let's hit Demon's Lab and blow it up.


Oh, cutscene first?
: Who is this man? Have I seen him before? He is so familiar... My sword technique... My battle tactics... Just fragments of memories... ... ... ... ... ... Why?! Why can't I remember more than that?


The voice is Alhazad's...although since he's really the only one that does it, I don't think I needed to explain this.
: Remember... Your name... The evidence of your existence!
: ...This body... It doesn't feel like MINE... What is this...place? What happened to me...


He warps in now.
: ...Alhazad... ...What do you know...
: It is stress on your spirit and flesh. You must take care. You're just working too hard. You are so beautiful... Every time I see you, I feel ashamed... But, also glorious pleasure... I must hide my ugly figure under my robe. Your body is like crystal... In fact... You are like the black crystal itself... beautiful and breakable...


You tell that creeper, Harken!
: Was it something I said? I'm just saying what was on my mind. Nothing more. Hehehehe...
: ... ... ... ...What do you want?
: There are trespassers, here in my research center...
: The Medium and her warriors?
: That is correct. To better protect the Darkness Tear from them, I thought you should know. That's why I came to see you...
: I don't need any warnings! I will just slice them to pieces when they arrive.
: I see. I am quite busy... I will just leave it up to you.
He warps out, but still keeps talking anyway.
: One final thing, I must stress this... Do not damage the Darkness Tear... Hehehehehe...


They know everything but their truth.

Alright, welcome to Demon's Lab. As you can see, there are two entrances ahead. This dungeon is quite like a maze in that it loops around quite a bit, so it's easy to get lost; kinda like the Fallen Sanctuary. There is a proper path through the place, though it is by no means the only path.


The Wind Staff triggers these gyroscope-thingies and makes them rotate, eventually activating the orb in the center so you can get through.


However, it leads to a place we can't do anything with yet.


More of these Diglett type enemies here, constantly crying. Still really easy though for some reason it likes using elemental magic for the four main elements, but it seems to prefer Pressure for some reason, which is odd when most of the enemies here are Thunder based.


Compare to the Hecarde which can use Voltage Spark and Electrigger, but it seems to almost only use it's physical attacks.


To get through, stand in the middle area, use Hanpan to trigger the switch to move the barriers. The switch naturally turns off after a short while...seems like a pointless "airlock" type security to me. Anyway, chest contains a Small Flower.


These guys love to use Thunder Zone with Hecardes are around, but the Hecardes don't like to use their Thunder Magic, so it doesn't work at all. However, they can also use Great Booster, which is probably this game's single most important downloadable skill that I want really bad when I get Emma back in the party. It basically doubles all of your stats except HP and MP. It's fucking incredible.


I like to call these Oracle puzzles, because I came across them a lot in the two Oracle games for the Zelda series. Basically you have to step on every tile to turn it red, but you can't step on a tile you've already stepped on, so you have to find a path that won't cross itself.


Further in, we find a research station being led by a Demon.


The boss music plays, but it's really just three Amplifiers, which Cecilia crushes singlehandedly.
After the battle, we can read the monitor.
Uhh...Duh. That's what Zeik said. Anyway, we also have to turn off the computer to disable one of the four locks for the center of the Lab.


Hound Mine is, in my opinion, a rather weak Cartridge. It has a Tech Constant of 2 (the same as a normal Shot) and only adds 50 to the Accuracy. However, it hits an entire group, so it's basically a more awesome version of Solid Storm which frankly sucks quite a bit because it has lower accuracy and a TC of 1.5. However, it requires two Alter Parts to get another use out of, so I'll stick to not using Solid Storm and let Jack and Cecilia take care of the groups.
The two side chests had 3 Lucky Cards and 5 Thunder Gems, while a room just before it had an Alter Part and 2 Potion Berries.


Fortunately, these Oracle puzzles have stairs on both sides, so you can jump off and "cheat" without penalty. In fact, you have to do this to get through.


Yawn. This time it's two Amplifiers, although they aren't in a group.
Diablo...if I remember correctly, that was the plasma one, not the one that used the New Moon to destroy everything. Phew. Well, if it's wrecked, hopefully we won't have to fight it. Meanwhile, a room nearby contains PS HP Up 2 and 3 Gella Cards. Yay, more HP Ups! Now Cecilia can catch up...slightly...


These two Amplifiers don't last a single round.
I applaud your deductive skills, Detective Jack. Nearby loot contains 3 Gimel Coins, 2 Potion Berries and 3 Revive Fruits. Huh...normally I get one Gimel Coin, Lucky Card and Gella Card per dungeon, but they are handing out three now?


If you did allow it, we might spare your lives. Yet another encounter with two Amplifiers.
Fuck Up Count: 19. They've already had clearly established methods for computers, using the two >> before every line, but for some reason this monitor completely ignored that. Stick to what you're using...
Nearby loot gave us 5000 Gella and a Crest Graph


This one is a bit of a dick move, because you can almost get the last one, but you can't, so you have to jump off to get it.


These four crystals are shining because we turned off the four monitors, so we can just waltz right on through.


When Cecilia sees the Dark Crystal, she pulls out the Teardrop to compare the two.
: Just like before... It emits a different sort of light that cancels out the light of the Teardrop...



Lady Harken warps in.
: However, it is more powerful than the Teardrop. It's optimized to send out negative light.
: Harken! I was waiting to see you again!! Who are you? Your technique... It's familiar...
: I could ask you the same question, but I won't... Words are not necessary between warriors! In battle, your skill is all that matters!!


Lady Harken seems easier this time, perhaps that's because I can just use Shining Star to use Hamedo on the entire party without problem.


With 11 bullets, Gatling Raid has gotten really powerful now.


Compare to Jack's Quick Step Accelerated Axel Smash, he's doing less damage when doubled with Rinse & Repeat. Still, Harken goes down in the third round. Maybe I was just underleveled after all.


She drops 11000 EXP and 6500 Gella.



As she falls, she transforms into...Elmina?


Jack runs up, but the Darkness Tear reacts and won't let them close.


Next thing we see, Alhazad hovering over Elmina.
: I still need her, you can't have her yet.
Alhazad then warps her away.
: Noooo!! ALHAZAAAD!!!
: Sorry, bub. Hehehehehe...
Holy crap, I think the translation quality is getting worse as the game goes on. Then he warps away. Jack starts punching the ground in anger.
: What just happened?
: My revenge... what was I doing?! Who am I avenging... Her technique... Why didn't I realize?! Why...I'm so stupid!
WHAT AM I FIGHTING FOOOOOOOR?
Ahem, sorry. Couldn't resist. This part reminded me way too much of that scene.


: ...Hanpan...
: I will keep my big nose out of it, because we are friends.
: Sorry... I'm cool. Thanks.
: Jack...
: I haven't told you anything about me... I am such an idiot. I am so ashamed...
: Don't say that... Anyway, let's get moving. We might catch up with him.

: You're right. Forgive me, guys!
Cecilia and Rudy start to leave, but Jack stays back for a moment.


: And I will listen, Partner.



For some reason, the game doesn't warp us out of the dungeon, instead it just takes us to the entrance, so we can walk out ourselves. This is probably to let us use a Gimel Coin, because...



It's cutscene time! We're walking in a desert...which makes no sense when Demon's Lab was surrounded by rocky wasteland.


Oh yeah, I forgot they had that.


The explosion isn't close to the party, but sends all of them flying.


It even knocks Hanpan off of Jack's shoulder, although he lands just fine.


: Just like before, the sky is being ripped open?!


Zeik warps and appears before the hole in the sky.
: Don't move. You'll only make this harder on you... I'd like to ensure your certain and speedy death.
Wait, so these lasers are being powered by the Darkness Tear? But...they had these before?
: Wait...


But then Zeikfried vanishes so he can throw more lasers at the party. None of them hit...


Although one gets close to Cecilia, knocking her down.
: Dammit! We can't accurately hit little targets?! We can't just keep doing this!
: Princess!!!


Another laser starts flying straight for Cecilia; Rudy dives to protect her...



Aww....The light here though, didn't actually destroy anything. (Note: I also darkened this and the next two screenshots because it was way too bright. Still really hard to see though.)


It's really hard to see, but there's Jack sitting on a floating chunk of earth.


: That's it, through the gate and to your deaths! It's the perfect set-up... I will let you finish yourselves off.
That's right, it also somehow can function as a tractor beam, this is how they got the Golems afterall.


As the rocks enter the crack in the sky, it fades to black.

End of update status:
: Level 32 → 36
--ATK Bonus: 46 (Lv. 4)
--Bullets: 9 (Lv. 6) → 11 (Lv. 8)
: Level 32 → 37
--Mastered Blade Pulse
: Level 32 → 36
--Forgot 1000 Degrees
--Learned Aether and Frostbite
Gella: 20453
Migrant Seals: 9
Ex. File Keys: 4/25
Fuck-Ups: 19

Version Differences:
Demon Lab got a make-over, so it's not as linear.
The Lady Harken and Alhazad scenes get creepier and creepier when you can't tell Alhazad's gender.

Ex. File Keys:
My fourth Ex. File Key is, ironically, the 4th key: Illustration Gallery 02. More art.






Mostly Cecilia, with a bit of Rudy and Jack.

A Saying A Day
: (August 3rd) Today's saying is, 'get rid of old things to make room for new things.' This was hung in our bathroom. My mom has a strange sense of humor.
: (August 4th) Today's saying is that if you spend less, you may get a cheaper product. Arcerate brand ice cream is good. But, nowadays, Alhazad brand ice cream is kind of popular. Alhazad brand is cheaper, so mom started to buy it. I think Arcerate is much tastier.
Hear that Alhazad? You're cheap.
: (August 5th) Today's saying is that everything falls down. Everything falls down on Filgaia, but Filgaia falls down towards something even bigger. But what sound does Filgaia make when it falls down? I would like it to be a cool sound, not a wimpy sound.

Next Time:

Oh shit, Zed's gone Super Saiyan. No power in the 'verse can stop him now..