Yeah. It's really just a question of if we run into Shouji and Izumi, or Trinitro, first.
If Marina's fixing or breaking the elevators as she goes, we might get to the top before they do.
Why are these guys so much weaker than the ones at Roppongi?
Perhaps they missed an evolutionary memo.
------------------------
We've torn through Kokubunji, so we're through 100/255! It's kind of funny having the Tokyo Skytower right there with that big honking 46 for the entire game—I mean, the counter's higher in this one, but we've gotten through a lot of Dragons, all told. Anyway,
Got you that and then some, pal.
Hey, gang! You've been really ripping it up out there, huh?
It never feels as though we have enough materials.
We've gotten upgrades so many times in the past few weeks! It makes a girl's heart flutter~
Mm. Thanks again.
Got you this, Richter.
My goodness!! Lithomith!!
Alright, break it to me real quick here. Who doesn't need anything from me?
Can I see what you've got for Saingreed?
Is that a revolver chamber?!
Yeah, me and Koron are good, but everyone else could use some.
We get weapons for Chisa, Satsuki, Richter, and Youka. Reimi's got various Ring 2s now, as well as Burn and Stone Guards, and Waji's got Heal Aero 3s.
You look so serious, Satsuki!
Oh do I? I guess I forgot to put on my funny face.
But I understand, I do! When a maiden's hurt burns with a need to rescue those she cares about, nothing can stand in her way! It's just like when a salesman tried to steal Grenadine from me~ Oh, I got real mad, Satsuki!
Why would anyone try to do that?! Don't they know how powerful you are?
Teehee! I'm mighty and adorable, the deadliest combination~
-----------------------
Anyway, now we're back to take care of the other Dragon that circles this platform.
The upgrade to Chisa's offense means I can knock this dude out with a cherry-tap.
...This appears to be a dead end.
What's with all these goddamn dead ends? I hate this place. Ugh.
Are you doing alright? You seem pretty tired.
What? I'm fine. I'm just grousing.
Aww, are you worried about me?
A little.
Well, this shit is tiring. And I'm really hot and I'm sick of being really hot. I hate this place. But I'm living, and that's all I really can do.
Honestly, on the whole I'd say I feel better today than I did for a while. But I could use a day off.
I believe we all could.
No kidding. This'll be our third Imperial Dragon in four days.
Hey, if you ask me, it's pretty cool we've managed to keep going this long! We're a lot sturdier than those jerks give us credit for.
Perhaps we could persuade Emille to allow us to take a day to plan once we've got Marina back.
You think she'd listen?
Most likely. She is rather stubborn, but she will listen to a good argument.
It's a Dragonfly. This one is statistically upgraded from its previous ilk, but it's a Dragonfly. It's not sturdy.
Die!
You are right, though, Mio. For how much we've been battling, it is impressive we have yet to actually drop.
Split it wide open!
I never could've kept going this long last year.
Human bodies are really very impressive, I think.
Kyahahahahahahahaha!
Please understand I'm not exaggerating when I say I've never felt better.
we know, honey
Not that I couldn't use a day off, of course. I am tired.
Shit, it isn't dead yet.
No worries!
You can use Speed Beat once you hit Fever 1, and it's guaranteed to activate Fever 2. Speed Beat gives the entire party action priority for the round. It's more situational than Attack or Defense Beat, but it's a lovely piece of kit.
Whoa. I didn't know my legs could move that fast.
Not even a bit of loot on this floor. Just a huge pile of dragons.
Volcanic Turtles are back. Sturdy defensively and they've got an all-target Fire attack. Owie!
If they wanted to set up an ambush, this would be the place to do it. On your guard, everyone!
...
WAIT. THIS LADDER. I KNOW WHERE IT MUST GO.
YES!!!! LOOT!!!!
Oh, I guess it was his secret stash.
put them in my mouthhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh
Anyway,
You girls ready?
Chisa!
Fall to hell!
Attack Beat + Motionless makes really normal numbers happen.
Anyway, we head back up here.
There they are. No ambush, they're just... waiting there.
Will. Fred, and... it's Tony, yes, under the helmet? It's nice to see you again.
Tony: Yeah, it's me. What's good? We owe you one for last time, but you mind doing me a favor?
Perhaps once we've finished here.
Tony: Yeah. You'll be back in one piece, so tell her then.
Oh? Not just taking us down, but taking us down alive? Someone's confident.
Tony: Confidence is about my only good trait!
You know you're going to lose, right?
Fred: Yeah. But Will wouldn't stop talking about how there's something he's gotta do.
Will: Us three, we're soldiers of SECT11! If I don't fight you now, I'll never really know what that means! Whether I win or I lose, I've gotta know what it's like!
Tony: We're with you all the way, buddy!
We won't lose to you!
This is pretty similar to our last fight against Will. Neither Fred nor Tony are anything much special, and Will has the same moveset as before, but you shouldn't underestimate them.
Hope you guys can aim well~
Take this!
Will: Ah, dang!
Tony: Why'd you have to aim for me first?!
Simple logic.
Tony has pretty high MDF, whereas Fred has pretty high PDF.
Oh beans I can't see.
Problem solved.
Go down!
Tony: One more of those and I'm toast, guys!
Will: What's with all the fog?!
Fred: Maybe shoot someone who isn't covered in fog?
Launch!
Begone!
Tony: Aw hell
Fred: Man, I'm glad I splurged for the heavy stuff.
Tch.
Will: Fred, I'm gonna start busting out the big stuff.
Will: Wha—quit dodging!
Nah!
Since dodging attacks now not only raises Fever, but also gives extra turns, Mio's ability to stay alive and dodge attacks turns into a serious buff to her action economy.
Fred: Okay, that still hurts.
Fred: Okay that really still hurts!
Will: Fall back if you need to!
Sorry, boys, but you should go back to the shooting range.
It also cures the Burn! Soothing Song is really good!!
Will: Direct hit! Finally!
Fred: Ugh... sorry, Will. I'm done.
Will: I'm not gonna go down that easy!
To your credit, you are quite sturdy.
Ow! Fuck!
Why do they always target you with the bazookas?
Is this how Richter feels?! This is awful!
...Do your best, Koron.
Let's keep pushing, gang!
OW OW OW OW
Will: No offense, but I'm most scared of you!
A fair decision, but one that you will come to regret.
Hey can we have some money after this?
Will: Huh? Oh, sure.
Die!
Will: Not... yet!
Will: I won't... go down just yet!
Give it up, boy.
Will: I can't... go on.
Thank you for your service, soldiers.
Now quit firing those fucking things at me! That hurts!
I think that's the point.
Will: But that's... no surprise. It was the only way this was gonna go. I guess that makes us lousy soldiers, huh...
Tony: Ahh, I barely got to do anything. She's some kinda monster!
Fred: Isn't she supposed to be a Dragon or something? 'Sides, I'm more scared of the red one.
...I guess after all this time, I don't quite understand it—what it means to be a 'soldier'.
Will: Honestly, I'm not sure I do, either. But I knew if we didn't at least try, it wouldn't mean anything at all. You guys... you've given me a lot to think about. Stuff none of us have ever had reason to think about. Even if nobody else in SECT11 ever understands it, I'm glad I had the chance to stand on this battlefield with you guys.
Possessing a will to fight, and not just fighting out of instinct, is what defines humans. It's something I'm a bit jealous of. So...
I'm glad for you.
Will: You guys... you're gonna go and fight Shouji, yeah?
We'll settle things with Shouji, and put this all to rest. And then—
Even if your organization feels humiliated, any of you who want to be our allies after all this are welcome to it.
Will: ...Right.
Tony: Hey, remember, talk to that nurse for me, okay? I'm counting on you!
Which one did he mean? They're both pretty cute.
I wanna say Nami?
Don't worry! Unit 13 is almost to the top of the factory!
We'll catch up to her and take care of this.
Excellent! The elevator is still working.
Marina and the Imperial are ahead... and two more signals!
Tch. We don't have time for them!
So this is the last staircase?
Yeah but it's a real doozy
Okay. No. No worries. I got this.
Yup.
Zealous Researcher: I was just pacing, thinking to myself, and then... boom! Here I am!
...How did you even get here? Or, rather, how are you still here? There were US Special Forces coming through here.
Zealous Researcher: Oh, what? I must not have noticed them.
Oh please tell me we're almost there
This is the last flight.
Oh thank you
!!!
Well, I guess everyone's here!
I do so hate being late to the party.
Atop the Kokubunji Searsand, all forces converged.
The Trinitro was a bit more presentable than the Sleepy Hollow had been, presumably because of its ability to melt the metal to reforge itself. Marina was pinned between a rock and a hard place.
Well yeah, I know that! But how are we gonna get her out of there?!
You seriously let her get pinned between you and an Imperial Dragon?! Oh my god, you two.
You're here?! Huh. Good timing.
Oh, yeah, because that definitely matters right now. Shut the hell up.
What the hell'd you say to me?!
Listen, you idiot, this isn't about some stupid abstract concept like 'glory'! This is about saving someone's life!
Sure enough. We've both got the same objective here—keeping her safe.
...Understood. Whatever you say, Shouji.
Youka, Sumie. Make sure they don't do anything funny.
Oh, if they did, I would be very mad.
You got it!
Koron, Mio! Let's shut this factory down for good!
Yeesh. What the heck even is this thing?
Hot. Please watch out for the fire.
I'm gonna be real with you, this fight is barely different. Exactly one of Trinitro's skills has been changed at all and it's the regen skill. Statistically, Trinitro has gained an Aerial weakness and has lower HP, but higher base stats.
Watch out for the fire, got it.
Have a bento.
I opt to pop Koron's Exhaust off to pull a charged Flag Bento. I also have Chisa pull out a Fried Bento to buff Koron's attack. I like buff.
Well, it can aim alright!
Ow.
Huh. It's softer than last time.
Here, Trinitro uses Flame Bane, its old standby 'a bunch of hits to random characters' move.
Haha! Can't catch me!
Chisa is hit once, Koron is hit twice, and Mio is hit once and dodges three times. Thanks, Mio.
Freeze!
Trinitro here has 6580 HP, which ain't nothing by any metric.
Ku hu hu hu hu. Dare you to search within my darkness?
Mio is getting better than me at this. For some reason, I feel oddly sad.
you like healing people, duh
Do I?
Tail Blade can't miss. It's not that strong, but it can't miss.
Tch. Ow.
Alright, you all seem ready to keep fighting. Good work!
I'm feeling the fever, baby! Chisa!
Hit it!
The dark countess, Mio Akaneno, is here! Quiver in your boots, or whatever it is you have, Trinitro!
I thiiiink that Order Action skills roll their chance for Star Sanctuary to activate after every individual action, which is how Mio went from 2 to 4 in a single action.
Hwah! Can't touch this!
Trinitro actually doesn't target Mio at all here! Good thinking, pal.
Gig Guarantee is a skill that's specially buffed by Superstar status, so I'll be gaining, I wanna say 3.75x Az from this?
FEVEEEER!
Four hits. Nearly 600 damage. Thanks, Mio.
You look like shit. Here you go.
Thanks.
Oops, not hard enough.
I wasted this action just to mention that Overexposed can only roll positive effects when you're in Superstar. ...The fact that it rolled this one in particular is really funny.
We need to deal as much damage as we can before it flares up internally!
I got you!
Please, proceed.
Oh no, it remembered how to aim!
Dry Ice had run out, so.
Please be cautious! I don't believe it's happy.
Previously, Turboregeneration healed 2%, or 180, of Trinitro's HP. Now it heals a flat 70. That's it.
It's about to breathe a focused jet of fire at us.
Don't think I like the sound of that!
Hopefully this helps.
I THINK IT DID BUT OW
Heat Breath can't miss.
...This was true in the first game, mind you, but it's a meaningful consideration here because attacks that can miss make Mio go sicko mode. Incidentally, Koron and Chisa were guarding.
It's heating up!
As a refresher, Internal Flare buffs Trinitro's damage by 25% and its defense by 10%.
Here, for the burning.
You've got it on the ropes, everyone!
Tch! Damn it!
Lemme just vanish into the background again.
Are you okay, Chisa?
I'm still standing.
And he's still missing!
That's it! Go to hell!
Split him wide open, babe!
Let's endeavor to not die in the process.
Wrong move, bucko!
Almost—!
Die!
Once again, the Trinitro's body receded into the core of the reactor, wailing and broken.
...So is that supposed to happen?
It might mean we have a problem.
Either way, excellent work, everyone!
What? Oh, yeah. Good job, guys. Knew you could do it.
Quit giving me the stinkeye! I didn't do anything!
...They really did it. I mean, they took that thing down like it was nothing. Is that their true strength?
Was a damn good fight. I'm just a little sad I didn't fight it myself.
...
What are you pouting about over there? C'mon. By now, we both know we were wrong as hell about these guys.
Yeah, but... I mean, I don't like admitting I'm wrong.
Wow. You don't say.
Sorry, what was that? You want to say it a bit louder so the people in the back can hear you?
I'm sorry! Geez—
Then came the expected rumbling.
Oh, right. Shit.
What do you mean, 'oh right?'
Okay. So how do we want to handle this this time?
I could attempt to disperse the temperatures—
...?
Oh, right. So, you two, basically after you kill this one, it goes into the core and then blows up.
Blows up?!
The explosion is imminent! Get Marina out of there!
Hey Marina, sorry about the rush, we kinda gotta go right now.
Grab on to someone!
Hey, hold on!
Tch... we've gotta get out of here, too!
And then—
—Marina began to walk forward.
Wha—wait!
It's... 'metal'.
...Uhhh...
Wait... yeah, that might actually work!
Go get 'em, Marina!
Marina raised her hand to the reactor, and a glow emanated from her body...
...as well as the reactor.
The reactor sputtered to a halt, and the flames died down.
Wow.
...It doesn't look all that dissimilar to my hacking routines. Interesting...
Wooo! Nice job!
Marina beat a hasty retreat behind us.
You did great, Marina! Nice job!
What the... Where the hell did that come from?!
-------------------------
-------------------------
Unbelievable. What's going on? What kind of person are you, really?
So this is the power of an 'anti-Dragon weapon'...
...Right?
You're darn skippy you're not.
Can you two hear me? If you saw it, there's no reason to hide it. That's the power this girl possesses—to hear the voice of metal, and control it.
Mr. President!
I didn't expect you to have so much trouble bringing one girl here alone. I confess, I'm a tad bit disappointed.
Huh. You sure know a lot about the situation for somebody safe behind a monitor.
Hand over Marina? Really? You're telling me to entrust our sole hope to someone who has no idea how to use it?
If this thing is our only hope, it's all the more pressing that it be in our hands. If the need arises, Ms. Emille... you and Murakumo could be relocated to the United States as well.
Oh, come on. You're still on about that?
Exercise of power requires qualifications. Don't you think the US is most qualified to wield a power that could save the world?
You're being willfully obtuse!
That was the wish of President Muller, and I'm here to carry on his will! You desert him, desert America, then condescend to me about supposed qualifications that I lack? Balderdash!
You call this Muller's will? I—no, he—
You're right. I was just thinking the same thing.
Lemme say it so you can understand. Strong guys need strong weapons so they can beat strong foes. That's all.
Then lemme say it so you can understand. This girl isn't a weapon. Her name is Marina, and she's a living being. People aren't weapons! And if you think that it's okay to treat people like weapons, then I can't accept that!
If you're satisfied to just be thugs, then we'll be happy to break you down.
No, I wouldn't say that. If he was satisfied, he would've run.
Right. If we could use words on these idiots, we could've done so a long time ago.
Same punks, different day, huh?
As soon as we got here, I was sick of being part of this tedious turf war. So hurry up and come at me, Unit 13!
The game gives you control again here.
Hi. Marina, right? My name's Chisa. We're going to bring you home.
..."Home"?
It's a place with people who care about you. With us.
"Home"... okay.
And just for the record, I'm Mio.
Koron.
Name's Youka.
And I'm Richter.
The six of us are gonna bring you home. I promise.
...Okay!
Next time, we finally settle matters for good with SECT11.
