Oy vey. This took much longer than it should have, mostly because I had to tear out and
re-write the Luccia scene several times in order to get it anything even approaching
right. I mean, I knew what I
wanted to do with it, but it kept getting too long-winded
and bogged down in unnecessary details. I just hope the current version isn't too much of a
cliche.
Anyway, Radius and Sprigg
did make it in this time, although their conversation did
not end up going quite as I had envisioned (damned characters always have minds of their
own).
5. Tea for Two, AKA the Old Bats' Convention
[This could happen at any time after recruiting Karsh/ZOAH (whichever the player decides
to get first). The only other requirement is spending the night at the inn in Termina[Home]
with both Radius and Sprigg in the party. If those conditions are fulfilled, and this
scene hasn't happened yet, after everyone dozes off, the player is taken to...]
======================================================
The Dragon's Tail (Home)
======================================================
[Radius is sitting at a table when Sprigg walks in.]
Sprigg:
Heh, I see ya couldn't
sleep either.
Radius:
My old bones don't find the beds
at the inn as soft as they used
to, so I thought I would slip
out so as not to disturb the
youngsters.
Sprigg:
Young 'umanz really do
need a ridiculous amount
of rest.
Radius:
Pardon me, I seem to be
forgetting my manners. Would
you care to join me?
Sprigg:
Thought you'd never ask.
[She sits down across from him.]
Sprigg:
Ya did promise you'd tell
me what Karsh did to those
chickenz.
Radius:
Just one chicken, actually.
It happened sort of like this...
[Fadeout, because I still don't know what Karsh did
to that chicken, except, well, er... Anyway, when the scene
fades back in, Sprigg and Radius are both shaking with laughter.]
Radius:
And so...when we finally managed
to get Karsh out of the boat...
the hen was nesting in his hair.
The look on his face when the
egg rolled off his nose...
Never seen anything like...
Ho, ho, ho!
Sprigg:
Heheheh, soundz like somethin'
me youngest might 'ave done when
'e woz that age.
Radius:
You have children?
Sprigg:
Four by me first 'usband and
two by the second. By the time
I married the third, I woz too
old for any of that nonsense,
thankfully, and by the time 'e
passed away, I figured I didn't
need the 'usband, either.
[Radius shakes his head.]
Radius:
I can't pretend to understand,
since I never married. Glenn
and Dario are my only children.
I...have often wondered what
I missed by deciding to
concentrate on my swordsmanship
rather than starting a family.
Sprigg:
Less than ya think, maybe.
Do ya know why I left Medina?
Radius:
You haven't spoken of it, as
far as I know.
Sprigg:
I didn't figure it woz
important, but now, maybe...
I left becauze they were tryin'
to grandmother me to death.
Radius:
I...don't understand.
Sprigg:
Think about it. Grandmotherz...
are supposed to sit in the sun
an' babysit their grandkidz...
an' not embarass their children.
I don't mind babysittin' a bit,
but sittin' in the sun doin'
nothin' izn't me thing.
Radius:
It can be difficult to move from
an active life to one of
advising others. I never
expected I would find my quiet
life in Arni fulfilling, but
...I have.
Sprigg:
Then wot are ya doin' 'ere?
Seemz to me that ya gave up
the "quiet life" the first
chance ya got.
[Radius shakes his head]
Radius:
Perhaps you are right, but...
I didn't leave entirely for my
own sake.
Sprigg:
Ya wanted to 'elp your family.
Knowin' that young Glenn woz
alive in the other world, ya
couldn't 'ave done anythin'
other than try to 'elp.
Radius:
That, and I wanted to help
Serge. He never deserved to
get involved in this mess.
Sprigg:
'E seems to be holdin' up well
enough, for all of that. Though
'e is a bit impulsive now and
then.
Radius:
I don't know. He behaves more
sensibly than I did at that age,
although that isn't saying much.
Sprigg:
Heh. Bit of a 'ellraiser,
were ya?
Radius:
Well...
Sprigg:
Heheheh, bet ya were.
Shame there's no one left
that can tell me about it.
Radius:
I would wager that you
STILL raise hell, now
and again.
Sprigg:
Ya might be right, at that.
Traveling with all these young
folk makes me feel young meself.
Better than a life inside some
brat'z scribble-drawin', that's
for sure. Never should've gone
down that alley...
Radius:
Alley?
Sprigg:
I ended up where Serge found me
after gettin' 'it over the 'ead
in an alley in Porre. Still
don't know why, unless someone
didn't like me charmin'
personality. It'z funny, though,
that that Lynx and 'iz pet knew
where that weird place I got
stashed woz. Very funny indeed.
[Sprigg picks a glass up off the table, looks into it, and flips it upside down.]
Sprigg:
All dry from talkin' and nothin'
to fix it with--that'll never
do. Bartender! 'Ey! Bring me
the best in the 'ouse!
Radius:
Are you sure you can afford it?
Wine imported from the continent
can be quite expensive here.
Sprigg:
It izn't like I can take the
money when the time comez, and
my kidz don't need it, so why
not live it up a little? The
problem with you, Radius, iz
that you're too responsible.
Ya need to learn to relax, or
you'll be dead before you're
a 'undred, and you 'umanz don't
live nearly long enough to
begin with. Come on now, 'ave
a drink.
[The bartender brings a bottle, and the scene fades out as Sprigg starts trying to
get Radius to take his hand off his glass so that she can fill it.]
----------------------------------------------------------------
6. The Making of a Cyborg
[To get this scene, Riddel must have been rescued, Luccia must have been recruited
during the early part of the game, Serge must still be Lynx and must have
spoken to Luccia while Lynx, and the two Norrises must have met at some point.
If these conditions are met, then the next time the party rests, we are whisked to a
scene in the nighttime version of Viper Manor's rooftop sitting area/garden/pond thing.
Luccia is standing by the edge of the pond, staring into it as though she expects the
secrets of the universe to rise out of it, when Norris walks in.]
Norris:
When I failed to find you in
your lab, I wondered where you
were hiding. I suppose I should
have checked the most unlikely
spot first.
Luccia: [without turning]
Go avay.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[If the scenelet with Luccia finding the "dishwasher" caught
in her cage trap occurred...]
Norris:
I wanted to thank you for not
turning me in to the Dragoons
when I got caught in that cage
trap. I should have known that
you would be able to tell I
wasn't just another dishwasher.
Luccia:
Dat vas you?
Norris:
You mean you didn't recognize
me? Well, it has been years.
I suppose it isn't surprising.
[Luccia shakes her head]
Luccia:
I did not know you at all. I
merely t'ought de new dishwasher
vas an idiot.
Norris:
Well, I WAS trying to make him
look like one--idiots can get
away with poking into all kinds
of interesting places.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Norris:
Are you trying to hide
from Grobyc? I met him in
your lab.
Luccia:
Nyet! I am not hiding.
Norris:
I suppose that proves that you
are a stronger person than I am,
because I AM hiding from him.
Luccia:
You...? Vhy? He did not seem
to disturb you in de old days.
I remember vhen Aleiki first
showed him to you--you never
even blinked.
Norris:
I suppose that meeting the
Norris from the other world has
affected my thinking a bit.
After all, I could have been
him if history had played out
slightly differently. I had
begun to allow myself to forget
about some things.
Luccia:
I vish I could forget. If only
Aleiki had not... Dere vere
odder bodies available. He could
have chosen someone else.
Norris:
There were far too many
bodies available that
night, as I recall.
[Luccia finally turns around.]
Luccia:
I did not need to be reminded
of dat. Go AVAY, Norris.
Norris:
Very well. Perhaps I will see
you in the morning.
[Norris leaves. Luccia waits until he's gone, then walks past the pond to the railing at
the edge of the roof, and leans her elbows on it.]
Luccia:
De day I failed to save Zelbess,
de night dat Aleiki died, and...
dat night. I am beginning to
vish dere vas such a t'ing as a
drug dat vould erase my
memory...but den I vould forget
him too, and Norris and I are
de only ones left now dat
remember.
[The camera pans up toward the night sky and the scene fades out. When it fades back in again,
we are in the laboratory from Luccia's Zelbess-related flashback, but there are bodies all
over the floor--some in Porrean uniforms, some probably recycled pirates from the S.S. Zelbess
again. A pool of some flammable liquid is burning in the background, and there is
blood spattered all over the place. The only two living people in the room are Luccia, and
a man in a Porrean uniform. The man has a distinctive hairstyle, like a cone sticking out from
behind his head. He has his hand on Luccia's arm, and appears to be trying to drag her
somewhere.]
???:
Luccia, be reasonable. The
entire complex has been overrun
by the Guardian Resistance.
We can't afford to wait any
longer--every second reduces
our chances of getting out
alive.
Luccia:
But Aleiki... I
cannot leave my
brodder, Milo!
Milo:
I'm sure Aleiki's fine. If he
was cut off from the labs, he
probably had the sense to leave
the building, and trust me to
get you out.
Luccia:
But...
Milo:
No more buts, Luccia!
[Milo suddenly lunges forward, grabs Luccia by the shoulders, and kisses her.]
Milo:
You know, the ring in my back
pocket cost me almost a month's
salary, and if you die here,
it's going to be wasted.
[Luccia blushes.]
Luccia:
All right, all right, ve
vill go. But if Aleiki is
not safe...
Milo:
Then I'll come back in and look
for him, but YOUR safety is what
I'm most interested in right
now. Come on!
[This time, Luccia lets him pull her toward the door. They're almost there when another
pirate/Guardian Resistance member suddenly appears in the doorway. Milo shoves Luccia behind
him as the other guy's gun comes up. The Porrean is shot twice in the chest, and we see
something small and sparkly fly from his back pocket, bounce, and then roll into a corner.
Luccia narrowly escapes being pinned under Milo as he falls, and ends up crouching beside him.]
Luccia:
Milo!
[No response. Luccia rises to her feet and turns to face the doorway.]
Luccia:
How dare you hurt him,
you...!
[It would actually be nice to insert a Russian obscenity in there, but I don't know any, and
anyway, I don't think the CC dialogue font has Cyrillic characters in it... In any case,
Luccia fires off some Bronze Shot at the doorway.]
[Resistance member]
Argh!
[He collapses onto the floor. Meanwhile, Luccia has gone back to Milo. She starts patting at her
pockets.]
Luccia:
I must have somet'ing!
A capsule, even a tablet...!
???:
Luccia, are you alright?
[A man enters the room, stepping over the corpse. He looks very much like Luccia--same hair
colour (but in a shortish, shaggy, kind of retro cut), glasses (although his are square),
and wearing a lab coat. Norris enters behind him.]
Luccia:
Aleiki... I am fine, but
Milo is...
[Aleiki kneels down beside her, takes Milo's arm, and checks the pulse.]
Aleiki:
I am sorry, Luccia.
He is dead.
Luccia:
Dat cannot be! I vill not
allow it! Brodder, your
research suggests dat--
Aleiki:
Ve have not even begun animal
testing on dat--and now is not
de time to discuss it.
Norris:
I agree. We must get out of
here before the fire spreads.
Luccia:
I vill not leave Milo!
Aleiki:
Den I vill carry him--he vas
my friend too, and he deserves
better dan to share a pyre wit'
his killers. Norris, help me get
him up.
[As the two men bend over Milo's body, Luccia goes to the corner and picks up the sparkly
thing that fell from Milo's pocket, earlier. She clasps it to her chest and bows her head.]
Luccia:
Milo...
[The scene fades out, and then we're in a different lab--one with a lot of glassware, counters,
etc. In the middle of the room is something roughly the size and shape of a coffin. Aleiki is
bending over it.]
Aleiki:
Vital signs are...steady. De
last infusion seems to have
vorked. If dere are no changes
overnight, perhaps I vill take
him off life support tomorrow.
[Luccia enters the room.]
Luccia:
Brodder? You had somet'ing
you vanted me to see?
Aleiki:
Da--the first successful
result of my research.
Luccia:
Den you have...?
Aleiki:
Vell, I am not certain yet dat
it vas a complete success--dat
vill have to vait until ve can
test de cognitive functions.
But this one is definitely
alive, or at least de organic
parts are.
Luccia:
And so you have
brought life
to de dead.
Aleiki:
Da. I hope de High Command
do not begin to mistake me
for a god as de result!
Luccia:
Ohohoho! If dey vant a god,
dey could do vorse dan to
choose you. Now, let me look.
[Luccia steps up beside Aleiki and looks down into the coffin...then raises her hand to her
mouth and backs away a couple of steps.]
Luccia:
B-but dat is...!
...
I vas at the funeral, and his
coffin vas not empty. Did you
dig up de body? His family vill
not be pleased.
Aleiki:
Dey do not need to know. Chances
are dat he vill not remember dem
anyvay. Tests show dat some
neurons have not survived dese
past t'ree years, despite the
cryonics.
Luccia:
Den...he is not likely to
remember me eidder, is he?
Aleiki:
I do not know. But you vere
togedder vhen he died, so I
vould say he is more likely to
remember you dan anyvone alse.
[Suddenly, a blue hand appears over the edge of the coffin-like device, and both scientists
back away in apparent surprise.]
Aleiki:
He may have more natural brain
function dan I expected. He vas
not suppose to vake on his own.
[A blue-skinned figure sits up from within the coffin. Obviously, it's Grobyc, but naked. In
particular, the bottom part of his face is not covered...so it's pretty obvious that he looks
exactly like Milo, except for the minor matter of being blue. He looks around the lab.]
[Grobyc]
What-is-this-place?
Aleiki:
Dis is a military research
installation of the nation of
Porre.
Luccia:
Do you remember your name?
[Grobyc]
This-unit's-codename-is-Grobyc.
Aleiki:
Apparently some of our
programming vorked--that is
indeed the codename ve gave
de project.
Luccia:
But it appears dat dat is
all he retains.
[She turns away from Grobyc and the coffin, facing in the general direction of the camera, and
Grobyc turns his head to stare at her back.]
Grobyc:
Grobyc-is-confused.
Something-is-not-right.
Aleiki:
Do not concern yourself, Grobyc.
Luccia...
Luccia:
I am fine. I understand dat you
vanted to help, but...dis vill
not, CANNOT vork. Dis...is only
de shell of de man I remember.
...I t'ink I vill ask for a
transfer to de robotics
division, if dat vill not
distress you.
Aleiki:
I understand, and I am
sorry dat dis vas not
more successful.
Luccia:
...
[Luccia clasps her hands to her chest, and something sparkles from between her fingers as the
scene fades out.]
Luccia:
No matter vhat Lucca said in
her letters, I do not t'ink dere
is any vay to reclaim de past.
I am being a fool for even
t'inking about it. But I still
miss him. More dan I miss
Aleiki, even.
...A distraction vould do me
good, I t'ink. Perhaps in de
morning, I vill find Serge and
rejoin his party. It vill keep
me from having to share space
vith...Grobyc, at least.
[She looks down at her hands, and something sparkles briefly on the right one as the scene
fades out and we get the normal party-change screen that pops up on recruitment.]
----------------------------------------------------------------
7. Of Bunny-girls and Carrots
===========================================================
Grand Slam
===========================================================
[In order to participate in the Grand Slam, the party must go over and talk to the guy
guarding the entrance to the caged-in area.]
[Gate guard]
The ultimate event of events,
the "Grand Slam!!!"
Monsters from all over the world
are here to battle it out.
You guys wanna participate?
Serge:
Um... We don't have any
monsters.
[Gate guard]
Not to worry! The arena is
equipped with the latest imaging
system from Melchior-Ashtear
Technologies! Just think of a
monster you know, and the system
will create it for you.
Serge:
Hmmm, in that case...
~Sure, let's do it! | ~Not just yet...
|
Serge: | Serge:
(I mean, why not? Seems like | We're kind of busy right now.
an interesting way to kill |
some time.) | [Gate guard]
| Not a problem! Come back when
| you can.
|
| [Scene ends for this branch]
[The gate guard moves aside, and the party walks over to the
gap in the bars on the right side of the arena.]
[Announcer]
Our slogan...
Fight with might and believe the hype!!!
It's time to GET IT ON!
Alright, we have a new
challenger!
Let's see what our new
contestant can do!
Serge:
(I'm starting to wonder what
I've gotten myself into...)
Janice:
Whoo-hoo...!
Don't take me too lightly!
Serge:
(She's their champion monster-
handler? I didn't expect a
demi-human, but whatever.)
[First battle.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[If the player loses]
Janice:
CHIC-KEN!!!
Serge:
(If Leena had said that to me
in that tone, I'd be doing
something that would get me in
trouble afterwards for hitting
a girl. But in this case, I
don't think I care enough to
fight my way across a monster-
infested pit just to deck her.)
[At this point, the player has the option of either restarting the
first battle or leaving the area.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[If the player wins]
[System]
[Member] received
Stamina Belt!
Serge:
(Nice! They didn't say
anything about prizes.)
Janice:
Hey, not bad!
But how about
some of this!!!
[Second battle.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[If the player loses]
Janice:
Whoo-hoo!
Good guys always win!
Serge:
Um...Excuse me? Who's the "good
guy" here?
(...I don't think she's
listening.)
[The player can now either start the second battle over, or leave.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[If the player wins]
[System]
[Member] received
Resistance Belt!
Janice:
Eeeeyaow!!!
Don't make me mad!
This is it!
And I'm gonna win!!!
Serge:
(She's taking this way too
seriously. I mean, it's only
a game!)
[Third battle.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[If the party loses]
Janice:
I have to say, you put
up a good fight! But you're
still not ready for me!
Serge:
(I'm starting to get a bit
tired of her.)
[Again, the player can either fight again, or leave.]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[If the party wins]
[Member] received
Dream's Scarf!
Janice:
I can't believe I lost...
NO WAY...!!!
Serge:
(She really is way too
into this.)
[As the party attempts to depart, Janice jumps the pit railing and darts around in
front of them.]
Janice:
Hey, hey!!!
Don't go!
I wanna ask you
guys somethin'!
Where did you find such
super-duper monsters!?
[Serge shrugs.]
Serge:
Around. I think we've covered
most of El Nido, what with
everything that's been going on.
Janice:
Oh. I thought maybe you might
have been...THERE!
Serge:
There?
Janice:
They say there's this hidden
island where you can fight any
kind of monster in the entire
archipelago, plus some special
ones that you can't find
anywhere else! I wanna go there
so baaaad...but I've been
sailin' around on this stupid
boat forever without findin'
it! I'm startin' to think that
maybe it isn't real, y'know?
Sprigg: | Serge:
Heheheh... Maybe you're lookin' | Well, if it's hidden, it
in the wrong placez, kiddo. | stands to reason that it
That island ain't that eazy | would be difficult to find,
to find. | right?
Janice:
Hmmm, maybe this boat is too
big, then... I know! I'll steal
the lifeboat! Thanks, people,
you made my day!
[Serge facepalms as Janice scurries off]
Serge:
(Why do I think that talking
to her maybe wasn't such a
good idea?)
In case it wasn't sufficiently clear, yes, Janice is talking about the Bend of Time. (And as for
"Melchior-Ashtear Technologies"... It can be warped around to conform to reality if you assume that
Melchior and Lucca developed some kind of (possibly magic-augmented) holographic technology, tried
to market it, and then lost control of the company before they made any money off it, but it was
primarily meant to be a joke.)
The expected order of the next few posts is:
1. Chapter 22 (may have to be split into two parts)
2. Side-stuff: various Karsh/Dario/Riddel-related material
3. Chapter 23 (don't know if I'll need to split this)
4. Side-stuff: the Save Marbule quest
5. Side-stuff: Nikki's re-recruitment, Orlha's recruitment (still waffling on this), misc. fragments
That's subject to change without notice, of course. We're getting surprisingly close to the end...
