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Chapter 14 When we last left our heroes they just got done with a two hour slog fest through repetitive dungeons.  So lets fix that by coming back to a place we've already been with nothing new to explore.  "Ilene, meet the leader of the pirates."  "All of you have done well. I don't know how to thank you."  "It's no big deal..." "Ilene, we have to use one of your rooms." "That's fine, but what for?" Well crazy things happen out in international waters and now Leon's got a new husband. Let's give them some privacy. "I'm interrogating this scum. I need him to give us some information. I'll go ahead to Ilene's house. Don't waste your time sightseeing! Come straight to her house!" "Okay, okay..."  "Hey, walk straight!"  "Okay, all right!"   "Let's go." "Sure."  I was hoping the game would give me a chance to stock up on items after the pirate ship but nope, the moment you leave the harbor you're teleported to Ilene's mansion. All the backtracking they make you do but this one time they just teleport you. This is gonna suck. "We'll find out soon enough if you really don't know a thing. Mary, come here."  "What is it, Leon?"  "Are you taking this pretty tiara off of me, Leon?"  "Hey, why are you taking Mary's off?! Take mine off too!" "One is enough. Besides, I don't trust you enough to behave on your own." "What? I've been a good girl! I haven't done anything bad!" "You're interfering with my interrogation. Go sightseeing or something!" "Why you little snot-nosed brat!"  "drat it, shut up!"  "The same thing that stupid woman has." "What's his problem?! I can't take this any more!" Just be patient, Rutee. I'm sure he'll get voted out of the party soon enough.  "I'll be sleeping in my room! Wake me up if Batista says anything! Hey, Mary, you come too!" "Okay." I could have sworn I screen capped it but Mary and Rutee end up eavesdropping right outside the door. "What are you going to do, Stahn?" "Well, I don't know..." "I did always want to find out what some one else's burnt flesh smelled like." "Are you free, Stahn?" "What? Well, now that you mentioned it..sort of..." "Although there was that one time I was forced to work when I stowedaway. But other than that I've been a free man." "Would you like to go out on a date with me?" "On a...d, d, d...date with you?! Errrrr..." "Ha, ha. Look at you, you're blushing. You're so cute. I was just kidding." "Wh, what?" "I was kidding about the date part, but I'll give you a tour of the town. Or you don't want to go out with an older woman?" "Oh, oh, that's not it. Yeah, sure, I'll take you up on your offer!" "Okay, then, let's go." "Do you want to come with us, Philia?" "Might as well knock out two fantasies at once." "No...I'll stay here. I'm worried about something and I can't get it out of my mind right now." "All right then. Try to get some rest, and don't worry about things that are beyond your control." "Thank you for your advice. I'll be fine." "Okay, Philia, I'll see you later." "Yes, enjoy yourselves."    "Going out with that older woman... I can't stand it! (Grumble, grumble...) Hey, Mary, we're gonna follow them!" I always felt the love interest between Stahn and Rutee was a little forced. "Rutee, aren't you gonna sleep?" "No! Just shut up and follow me!" "Okay, Rutee. Don't get so upset."   "I'm from a village called Lienea in Fitzgald..." "So you're from here. I thought you were from another country since you were with Leon." "But Lienea is a country village and I've never been to a city like this..." "Oh. Is this your first visit to Neuestadt?" "Yes, it is." "If you don't count the time when I alienated the rich, refused to look at the poor, and made a little kid cry when I beat him at racing." "Oh, good. I can show you around then. Shall we go?"  This scene is actually kind of funny. Ilene takes Stahn around the town while Rutee and Mary stalk him.   It's mainly funny because they pick such poor hiding spots. "Those cherry trees were also in full blossom when I first came here..."  Mary eventually get's bored of the stalking and starts doing her own thing here. I'm not sure what it is but I think she's trying to eat the tree. "No. I used to live in Seinegald with my father. Are you disappointed?" "No, I didn't mean that..." "I love this town now but I really hated it when I first came here. When I felt bad, I came to this park and spent a lot of time looking at these cherry blossoms. Cherry blossoms are the same in Seinegald or in Neuestadt or anywhere else. And that's when I realized that I was letting silly things bother me. I realized that living in another country didn't really matter that's when I knew I could face anything." "I see..." Yeah, I kind of zoned out on that too. "Shall we walk by the ocean?"   The creepy part is that Rutee was here before Stahn got there. How did she know?  "You can see the islands in the distance on a clear day. The waves are a little high today though." "It looks like you could swim here if it was a little warmer..." "Sigh..." "Is something wrong?" "I can't swim..." "You can't swim?" "No...but it's okay because I don't like to get my hair wet. Besides, I've been so busy dealing with other things in my life that I never get around to learning how." "Oh, that's too bad. It really feels great to swim in a pond or a pool. Oh, yeah! I can teach you how to swim if you want." Smooth, Stahn, but I think Ilene's a bit too smart to be tricked into a bathing suit like that. "Okay I'll think about your offer. Shall we go?"    However, Seinegald kingdom's public works initiative to exploit natural resources in this area brought the prosperity that you see before you today."  Sure she's hidden from us but if either Stahn or Ilene bother to even look a bit over there she's busted. "Fitzgald was certainly reborn as a prosperous country. But this country lost something important along the way. I wonder if you can place a price on what was lost." "What?" "I'm sorry I guess I'm tired from too much work." "Are you all right?" "Stahn, you're so sweet." "I, I'm just...worried about you." Ugh, twenty minutes into your first date and you're already getting clingy and creepy. "Thank you. I'm fine. Don't worry. Oh yeah, Stahn, shall we go get some Softy Kreems?" "Softie Crea...wha?" "You don't like them?" "That's not what I mean... I've never had one." "Okay. Then, let's get some. New experiences are important."   Mary's actually making the most of her time off instead of obsessing over a country boy who hasn't shown a hint of interest in her. "Sounds fantastic." "You know it's so refreshing to be with someone who's so good and honest like you, Stahn." "Good and honest? Aw, come on, that's a joke right?"  "One might even say you're a 'nice guy.'  Can you spot the Rutee?  "Sure. It'll be 100 Gald. Here you go." A hundred Gald for two ice creams? It better be made from the queen's own breast milk to be worth that much! "Thanks." "Hey, I'll pay half." "No, don't worry. I'm the one who asked you to go out on a date with me..." "Oh, but..." "Stahn..." "Ye, yes?" "There are times when you should let a woman take care of you. Okay?" Ah, the simple joys of dating an older woman. "Ye...yes." Quite the charmer aren't you? I'm reminded of that one line from the movie Airheads where Steve Buscemi's character comments that some women just go for the dopey retards. "I'm glad you understand. Here, try it." "Thanks." "If your Softy Kreem has some letters on the stick, you can win..." "Like this?" "Oh, Stahn, you won!" "Really? Cool!!" "Take it to the Softy Kreeme vendor and they'll give you another one." "But I don't want one right now..." "There's no expiration date, so you can get one anytime you like." I don't think there's an actual way to redeem those things. "Let's see...shall we go to the arena?"     "That's the champion, Bruiser Khang. He's a monster, who doesn't know the word 'lose'. He hasn't lost in years." "He sure looks tough..." "I'll show you the waiting room. Follow me."  "The arena field is right outside if you go through that exit. Shall we take a look?"    "The next challenger is a woman?"  "It looks like the challenger is Ms. Ilene of the Rembrandt family!" "Unfortunately, I'll pass." "Hey babe, come on now." "We're just visiting today." "Hey, you with the pointy head in the back. Do you want to fight?" "Po, pointy head?" "I see, the real challenger is Ms. Ilene's friend!" "I'm just gonna list off random people until some one fights!" "Stahn, don't listen to them." "What's the matter with you, little boy? Hiding behind a woman's back how can you call yourself a real man?!" "Wh, what did you just say?!" "Stahn!" "You know he's right anyways. I got you wrapped around my finger." "First of all, I don't like the fact that a woman entered our holy arena." "What did you say, you pig?!" "What's going on? It looks like they're arguing..." "Ooooooooh, I'm sooooooooo scared. Hysterical women don't turn me on. Anyway, anyone who's not willing to fight is trash! Trash should be thrown out of here in the dumpster!!! Good bye, pointy head! You're a sissy!" "How dare you say those things to our faces?!" "I don't know if you're some kinda politician or what, but you're really beginning to get on my nerves!!! If you calm down a bit more, I'd let you be my girlfriend. Buwahahaha..."  "Stahn! Don't! You'll get hurt!" "He said things he shouldn't have... I can't tolerate trash-talking scumbags like this!" "Hey! What did you call me Scumbag? Who's the scumbag?" "Well now, let's take a look around. Now, I see one right here, and he's this baldy standing in front of me." "B, baldy?!" "I'm not gonna let this bozo beat me! Watch me teach him a lesson!" Baldy, bozo, oh man we got a real tough guy over here. "I'll beat you to a bloody pulp! It'll only take 3 seconds!" "Well, it looks like things are settled. Now, we're going to have a special match! Our champion, Khang, versus Mr. Pointy Head!" "Who's the pointy head?!" "Let's get readeee to rummmmmmmmmmmble!"  In my defense, it took five seconds, not three.  "The winner is Bruiser Khang! Pointy Head has lost!" "I expected more from Mr. Big Mouth here. Come back if you dare!!"  where am I?" "You regained consciousness." "Oh, yeah...I was at the arena..." "Getting my rear end handed to me..." "The champion wants to say something to you. Can you get up?" "Yes, I'm all right..."  "What?" "You're a promising young man. I'm certain there will come a time when we will fight again. But when that time comes, I'll beat you to a bloody pulp! Mark my words!!"  "What was that about?" "I guess it's his peculiar way of expressing his friendship to you. Shall we get going?" No we shall not. I got a score to settle with that rear end in a top hat.  This fight was the main reason I was upset that I had to rely on items on the pirate ship. I needed to conserve for this fight. Khang hits like a tank and has techs that'll hit you two to three times in a row. Many times you'll use a healing item only to have to use another right away.  There's a special item called Hourglass that freezes most enemies. A lot of bosses are immune to it and you won't really need them in normal fights. I had two of them and spammed them during this fight. I used the brief moments to cast Fire Wall on Khang. Each Hourglass only gives you enough time to cast once and so I only got off two in a row.  It barely made a dent in his health.  You're on your own during this fight so if he knocks you out cold you're pretty much screwed cause he'll just finish you off before you can wake up.  Spamming Tiger Blade and healing items you'll slowly be able to wear him down. You don't want to use kick attack as the kick portions of the move will only be doing one point of damage. Tiger Blade only hits with the sword and so will be doing more damage. If you're lucky you'll break the 40's with your damage.  Khang is probably the hardest fight in the game but unlike Leon you don't have to cheat to win it. You can do it with some patience, luck, and a lot of healing items.  "Oh, my ...this is incredible..." "Watch what you say! You asked for it! Well, how do you feel now?!" "(Gasp!)...Khang lost the match! This is tremendous, incredible! The impossible has occurred! Oh, the humanity!!" "Hey kid...you're not bad..." "I didn't win! You did this yourself! Well, we have nothing better to do here. Let's go."  "This match was an accident, a fluke. Therefore it will be treated as a non-title match. That means the champion remains the same. Khang retains the title!"  Win or lose, this scene still happens. "Well, err...not really..." "You made me very happy." "I just couldn't forgive the things he said..." "I like people who have strong convictions. Shall we go?"  "What?" How many times are you going to respond like this? I don't mean just to Ilene, but this whole game in general. "Come on, let's go home."  "Philia, how's it going? Do we have information yet?" Oh that's right, we were committing war crimes and torturing some one. Forgot all about it. "...No, nothing yet..."  "Do you feel like talking now? We want information." "Tell us the nuclear launch codes! "I, I don't know...Ughhhhh..." "Oh, spare us your heroics. All we want is information. By hook or by crook, we'll get it!" "Where's the money hidden?" "How am I supposed to tell you things that I don't know about...aghhhhh..." "Information. We want information. You'll die soon if you don't tell me." "Where does your mother keep her jewelry?" "I don't know a thing... aghhhhaaaaaa!"   "Don't mind the mess. He just passed out." Probably soiled himself too but that's what poor people are for, call in the maid! "He still has some value to me, so I'm not about to kill him quite yet." "But, this is..." "Enhanced Interrogation" "This is it for today, at least. But I don't think he'll give us any information even if I continue the interrogation."  "Let's go, Philia." "............" "Philia?" "What? Oh, yes..."   FLASHBACK! "Philia? What are you doing here at this late hour?" "Oh, Batista...I needed to research something." "Like research something for the Archbishop?" "Yes, sort of..." "Sort of...? All this secret cloak and dagger nonsense is the reason why you get stressed out and get sick." "But this has to be done by tomorrow. I really have no choice." "All right. You're hopeless by yourself, so I'll help you." "Batista...you're so kind."   Despite the odd colors this is not a flashback, it's just night.  One thing I never mentioned was that this game has some pretty decent reflections off of mirrors and water. "I'll take this drat thing off my head!"  "Heh, how cute. I get an electric shock if I try to take the drat thing off. That low-life!!"   Is it too late to join your side, Batista? "Ha, ha, ha, ha...idiots!"
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| ← # ? Apr 17, 2013 06:03 |
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