AEHU/Plot/Plot Sketch Chapter 36
"Race Against Time"
- Raqh returns with Dream Schala and a Time Egg from Chronopolis. Now he has two of the three keys needed to open a DBT gate: the ability to open a time gate and knowledge of where an Angelus Errare is. Still keeping Dream Schala with him as insurance, Raqh goes to check in on how Dalton's attempt to acquire Levantine went. Magus follows to ensure Dream Schala's safety.
- Wittel & co. track Raqh and witness his meeting with Dalton and Ozzie, whereupon he discovers that they failed to acquire Levantine. Raqh says that they'll still go forward with the plan, and Wittel & co. learn that Raqh plans to resurrect Pengalaan to provide the serious roadblock he needs to set up in front of Giant's Claw to buy his remaining cult members the time to walk into the DBT. Raqh learned during his time in Zeal that the Magic Guild members house the spirits of those who sealed Pengalaan during the Schala chapters, and he may have to kill the Magic Guild members, release their spirits, and absorb their spirits to acquire their knowledge of how to work the seals on the Pengalaan chambers in each elemental ruin.
- Wittel & co. follow Raqh's party to Choras where Raqh seeks out Norstein Bekkler. Bekkler would provide the knowledge necessary for opening all the seals potentially, including the Light seal on Pengalaan's main body, but Raqh finds that Dream Creature Bekkler contains only Bekkler's desires to help others achieve their dreams, and none of Bekkler's memories. Raqh & co. are exasperated, but Raqh receives some info from Gladus that he doesn't reveal just yet and decides to collect Pengalaan's other pieces for now. Raqh, who realizes that Wittel & crew are actually watching, leaks the information that Dream Schala holds the key to unlocking the Shadow seal on one of Pengalaan's pieces. Raqh says that any Magic Guild member can certainly cooperate of his or her own accord and avoid death, so he doesn't have to kill Dream Schala either as long as she cooperates. Dream Schala says she knows nothing about the Shadow seal, but Raqh assures her that she'll just have to remember, and Magus provides him a gate to one of the elemental ruins, but Wittel & co. don't know which ruin.
- Realizing that the Magic Guild members are in great danger, Wittel & co. split up into teams like so:
- Flea and a partner (either Toma or Robo) head to the Flaming ruins to rescue Banta. Antihero Lucca is a major adversary.
- Slash and Wittel head to the Ice ruins to rescue Sensei. Antihero Marle is a major adversary.
- Glenn and a partner (either Toma or Robo) head to the Water ruins to rescue Fiona. Antihero Frog is an adversary.
- Artemis steals Levantine before everyone splits up and waits in the Shadow ruins for Raqh to appear; her purpose is to destroy Dream Schala when they arrive and deny Raqh the Shadow piece of Pengalaan. Antihero Ayla is an adversary (lacking Antihero Magus since the Black Omen had no Magus clone, Raqh's cult sent Antihero Ayla to the Shadow ruins).
- Flea and a partner (either Toma or Robo) head to the Flaming ruins to rescue Banta. Antihero Lucca is a major adversary.
- Each dungeon has a good result and a bad result; we follow the exploits of the characters in the order in which Raqh will appear in the dungeons and try to force the corresponding Magic Guild member to open the seal on that dungeon's Pengalaan piece. If the infiltrating party members can reach the Pengalaan chamber in time (probably being blocked by the elementally appropriate Antihero of Time), they save the Magic Guild member and dispose of the ruin's Pengalaan piece. If not, the Magic Guild member perishes and Raqh acquires the dungeon's Pengalaan piece.
- After the Flaming, Ice, and Aquatic ruins are cleared in the order in which Raqh visits them, and Artemis defeats Antihero Ayla in the Shadow ruins, the entire party heads for the Shadow ruins.