The one where Kyo posts his Let's Play of Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World, Chapter 2-1!
Ladies and Gentlemen! It's the time you've all been waiting for! Finally, after weeks of saying I would do it and then not do it, I finally did it! I present to you now... Part One of Chapter 2 of Let's Play Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World! Yes, that's right! Part One! I decided to break up each chapter into two parts from here on to save time and post them more frequently!
When we last left our young group of intrepid adventurers, Emil, Marta, and Tenebrae were leaving Luin on a quest to track down Lloyd and obtain the Centurions' Cores! To that end, we now find them heading towards Asgard.
Begin Chapter 2!
It seems Asgard has become Chicago over the past two years! No, I don't mean it's the center of organized crime. It's windy! Emil complains that it's "some wind", prompting Marta to insult his manhood. Tenebrae tells Emil that Marta's depending on him, so he should at least try to act like a man in front of her. Ouch, dood.
Marta deduces that wherever Lloyd is, the Centurions' Cores are, too. BRILLIANT DEDUCTION THERE, MARTA. So off they go to the Mayor's House. As they go on, Emil notes that Asgard is pretty desolate, and Marta remarks it wasn't like that last time she came, with her daddy. Now, one thing RPGs have taught me is that if the parent is alive, AND mentioned in the game, they MUST be important. Emil turns around to continue walking aaaaand--...bumps into a blue-haired man. He certainly looks familiar, with his long blue ponytail, but his butler outfit and behavior have me completely baffled. I was thinking he was Yuan, but there's no way, with how forthcoming this guy is with information. We'll call this man ???, because that's all the game gives. The camera pans towards the invisible Tenebrae for a moment, and then ??? remarks about how they have an interesting creature. ??? must be referring to Marta. She is rather animal-like at times. THEN he says something about how Asgard's changed. He's from Asgard, except it wasn't called Asgard then. Weird... So ???'s hometown is Asgard, and it brings back memories of his friends from then. IF ONLY WE KNEW WHO ??? WAS.
??? walks away, and Emil tells Marta that ??? had noticed Tenebrae. Suuuuuure, Emil. They begin to wonder why that is. Afterwards, they go to the Mayor's house! Knock, knock, knockin' on the do--AWW DAMMIT IT'S LOCKED. HOW DARE IT BE LOCKED. Disappointed, they walk away, and suddenly, a massive wind picks up and lifts Marta off the ground to take her off to Oz! But Emil decides to interfere and drag her back down. They head for safety in the Mural Cavern, which apparently exists in Asgard! I don't recall those things having names, personally. But apparently, it's the one between the two shops.
Inside the cave, the two are holding hands, like a couple in TWU WUV. Emil gets really embarrassed at this. AWW, IS SOMEONE AWKWARD AROUND GIRLS? ISN'T THAT CUTE. They begin to theorize that the strong winds are related to Ventus, and Emil then decides that it is emo time! No main protagonist is complete without a moment of feeling completely and utterly weak and useless! But it's okay! Emil has Marta there to tell him that he's THE shit, not just shit. Because, in our culture, there's apparently a difference!
The wind seems to have died down, so they head outside. They suddenly spot Alice, though, She's pretty dangerous, but I don't see how! She's so cuuuuuu--...oh god is she whipping Hawk? IS SHE MAKING HAWK HER BITCH? OH GOD SHE IS SCARY. The party hides and watches Alice's group from the shadows. They seem to be looking for Colette. Colette's the Chosen of Regeneration, so we can't let that happen! Therefore, it is clearly a good idea to look for Colette ourselves, because looking for Colette will definitely not lead to trouble!
Off to houses we go! We stop at a house where, inside, we find Colette speaking with a blue-haired woman. This woman apologizes to Colette that she hasn't seen Lloyd around, but Colette tells her not to worry. The party immediately realizes she is the Chosen. Marta then begins to grill Colette about what happened in Palmacosta with the Giant Tree, and about how it destroyed the city. To spare you the details and some tl;dr, Marta's mother died in Palmacosta and Marta hates Colette with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. All Colette can do is apologize, because she knows that's correct. Marta then runs off. By the way, that woman was Alicia. Not that you'd recognize her, since she CHANGED HER OUTFIT, unlike SOME characters. Emil goes outside after her, and Tenebrae decides it'd be a great time to explain what happened to Marta after her mother died. Geez, Tenebrae. Couldn't this wait until after I've caught up to her? She'd kind of getting away, you know. Basically, Marta and her father wandered everywhere forever. DA END.
Okay, despite Tenebrae's distraction, Marta doesn't make it far, as she's busy sulking down at the bottom of the steps. What an interesting creature. It's like she wanted Emil to catch up to her. Marta apologizes for her behavior, and asks how Emil can't not hate Colette, since he's from Palmacosta, too. Emil claims he wasn't in the city then, so he didn't see the incident. Marta joined the Vanguard, blaming Colette for the destruction of the city. But she also claims that she understands it must have been hard for Colette to do the things she did. Share with me your secrets deep insiii~iiide. ....Suddenly, Vanguard soldiers approach Marta! Their Colette senses must have been tingling, because they claim to have heard Marta mention the Chosen. Marta basically tells the Vanguard to fuck off, though, by claiming that Colette already left Asgard. Geez, Marta. Aren't you supposed to be a member of the Vanguard? Marta basically decides to settle for the lesser of two evils. She doesn't like Colette, but she finds the Vanguard even more repulsive now. So apparently, according for Marta, the Vanguard is different and Commander Brute has changed. Tenebrae then proposes they get out of town, because Vanguard hanging around is never good. Marta suggests they got to Palmacosta.
You know, I expected things to get pretty ugly in Asgard, but it seems pretty sa--...Oh dammit what the hell do you want, you little brat. He gets all pissy at Emil and Marta because they were mean to Colette. He even saw Marta shove Colette in Aisha's house! I... dunno how he saw that, though. Little creeper, watching the windows like that. The kid gets pissier and pissier with them, shouting at Marta to apologize and telling Emil to keep out of it. Geez, you little brat. Learn your place. Even Emil could crush you. ...Maybe. ...Okay, probably not. But still! You know what, I'm not even gonna save you, you little brat, since you've just been swept away by the wind! Maybe if you were less talk and more substance, that wouldn't have happened. Gonna just wander around a bit, let that kid learn a lesson.
...Okay, I guess I'll save him, since it'll advance plot.
Emil and Marta go back to the entrance of the village to find Nameless Boy hanging from that stone bridge to nowhere. Marta crawls along it to reach him, and the boy just says, "Did you come here to laugh at me?" Why yes, Nameless Boy. Yes, I did. But unfortunately, I don't have control over what Emil and Marta do, so they're saving you. So to make it clear, I came to laugh, Emil and Marta came to save, savvy? So we're getting ready to save Nameless Ki--OH DAMMIT ALICE WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? She calls upon Hawk to knock down Emil and threatens to kill Marta right there, because she is a cruel sadistic bitch. Hawk tells her NO, but Alice is "It's not my fault that Martmart falls to her death~ ♥" But then Colette appears and saves the day. Yaaaay Colette. Alice gets pissed, then, and sics her monsters (and Hawk) on the trio.
Following one boss battle, the villains are gone, and Colette asks if everyone is okay. The Nameless Boy thanks Colette for saving him. Little brat. Should've let you die. Even if he's kind of right about how they shouldn't blame Colette for all that happened when she tried her best to do what she could. Then he runs off. Marta decides she'd like to go see Colette one last time, to thank her. So they finally get to go into the Mayor's House.
Inside, Marta thanks Colette for saving her, and so does Emil. Colette's all "OMG YOU CAME TO TELL ME THAT? YAAAAAY" Then they introduce themselves to each other, which, according to Colette, makes them friends, much to Marta's dismay. Your harsh words depress Colette, Marta. The Mayor then interrupts, and Colette mentions about the stone dais. You know, the dais, with that thing, at that time? Good times, goooood times. Colette and the Mayor reveal about what happened with the Windmaster two years ago, and about how it might be related to the gusts now. Colette remarks about how she wants to do all she can to help, officially turning Emil into her fanboy. Marta says she can't be Colette's friend, but she can help her, because she owes Colette now. And so Colette joins the party, to go to the Stone Dais!
At the stone dais, Emil remarks that nothing seems out of the ordinary. Riiiiiiight, because ominous storm clouds in the sky is totally ordinary in Asgard. Colette remarks they should ask their summon spirit. She's clearly referring to their "doggie", Tenebrae. Tenebrae, of course, takes offense to this remark. He is not a doggie or a summon spirit, Colette! How DARE you imply that! He is clearly a Centurion, despite there being no way for you to have known that. He informs her that his name is Tenebrae. Unfortunately for Tenebrae, he is already set as doggie in her mind. Thus, he is warranted a nickname! So for the rest of the game, he is now branded as Tenebie, because Colette demands it be so. She asks him whether he notices anything strange, to which he says no. Colette begins to walk away, questioning whether it has anything to do with the dais. She then reveals her endearing character trait and trips, falling on top of Marta and knocking her down. With any other person, this would be a problem. But this is Colette we're talking about. Her falls are magical. With sparkles and rainbows and unicorns and other crazy shit. This saves Marta's life from a DIVE BOMBING GARUDA OH NOES! The Garuda comes back for a second strike, and the party engages in an impossible-to-win battle. Seriously, this thing has >9000 HP. I had my epic-as-all-hell Fenia nuke the shit out of that thing and dealt like 36,000 damage, and its bar didn't even budge.
Alright, after that battle, they're back in town, wondering what the heck that thing was. They seem to think it was that fake summon spirit of wind, but Colette corrects them, informing them that IT'S DEAD. They deduce that the creature is the cause of the winds, but there is nothing they can do, for all their attacks bounce right off. Tenebrae proposes they find a winged dragon, because winged dragons can destroy barriers, or some crazy shit. But where would we find winged dragons? It's not like there's some guy who sells the-- ...Oh. Right. Him. Anyway, Colette says to go to Hima, because she knows a guy there. In other news, Marta stops being a bitch and thanks Colette for saving her from the Garuda.
In Hima, they--HOLY SWEET JESUS FREEWHEELING CHRIST ON A ICE RINK WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE. Hima's been overrun by monsters! Anyway, they ascend to the highest peak, beating up the monsters. Up there, there is no dragon tamer. Just one bigass Imp. ...One weak bigass Imp. Afterwards, they wonder what happened to the dragons, fearing they were eaten. ...Seriously, eaten? They're fucking dragons, for crying out loud! In Soviet Russia, DRAGON EAT YOU. But s'all good, Colette hears a dragon flying towards them. Tenebrae claims the baby dragon is thanking them for avenging its father. The dragon tamer got away, and... the baby dragon's father was eaten by monsters. Either that dragon was pitifully weak or pitifully small, because the monsters in Hima are a joke. The baby dragon agrees to join them, and they have now acquired Baby Dragon! ...Which apparently goes in their item bag. Somehow. There is a key item labeled Baby Dragon.
When they get back to Asgard, Tenebrae proposes that, since the dragon is too weak on its own, they use a decoy to distract the garuda and then have the dragon strike from behind. That leaves the question of WHO. Both girls volunteer themselves, leading them to argue with each other over who should do it, until Emil grows a spine for three seconds and volunteers himself. The girls have no problem with this. It's almost like they intended it. Hmm.... Girls are a tricky lot.
At the Stone Dais, the Garuda's just chilling, with his shiny membrane barrier thingy. It's time for Emil to send the signal! ...And by that, I mean play a minigame. ALL THINGS CAN BE SOLVED THROUGH MINIGAMES. THE MARIO PARTY SERIES HAS TAUGHT ME THAT. Okay, after that annoying minigame, Emil commands Tenebrae to call the winged dragon. Somehow, in the item pack, that dragon multiplied, because about eight of them attacked the Garuda. With the shiny membrane barrier thingy down, it's time to attack the Garuda! Following its defeat, they celebrate, because that damned thing is de--OH YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME. WHEN I DEFEAT A NON-FINAL BOSS, I EXPECT IT TO STAY DEAD. The thing sweeps them away from the stone dais again. Then the dragon says that she feels the stone dais is calling her. There's something up with the stone dais, and there's only one man for the job; Linar! Yes, Linar! You know, that OTHER Ruin Maniac? Yes, that Linar.
Inside Aisha's House, we see her, Linar, and Harley, all of whom have changed their clohtes. OH COME ON, IMPORTANT NPCS FROM THE FIRST GAME CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES, BUT THE MAIN CHARACTERS CAN'T? Colette and Linar exchange some pleasantries, and explain what happened two years involving that fake Summon Spirit of Wind we keep hearing so much about. Colette then asks about the stone dais, and Linar reveals that they may indeed be something underneath the stone dais. Aisha mentions that she should the Maiden Ritual, and Marta volunteers to do it for her. Aisha agrees to the demand and tells Emil and Colette to go to the inn. obb. Outside, Colette asks Emil if he's a "maniac", because he becomes a totally different person in battle, and then mentions her friend the "Ruin Maniac". Emil explains about how it's because of Ratatosk's power, and agrees to explain at the inn.
At the inn, Emil and Tenebrae explain the whole shindig about the whole tree dying, and the new tree being born, and Ratatosk, and the Vanguard wanting his power, yadda yadda yadda. Marta appears at some point and tells them the ritual is ready. They head to the dais again, and fight the Garuda again. Marta then performs the ritual. The dais starts glowing and doing all kinds of crazying shiny shit. It didn't do THAT last time. Apparently, the dais reacted to Ratatosk's Core. So now the glyph on the dais is a teleporter. Awesome.
Inside the dais, Tenebrae remarks that he senses Ventus' Core, which is a good thing, because it means Lloyd doesn't have it. Colette doesn't understand, so Emil and Marta explain to her what Lloyd's doing. Colette has a tough time swallowing this, though. She believes in Lloyd, after all. Colette also believes Emil and Marta, though, because they're her friends (despite Marta's objections). Further in, they reach a maze, and Marta remarks how they're deep within the dais. Colette then remarks how it's similar to the Balacruf Mausoleum. Marta says maybe they should have a look at them, but Tenebrae says to focus on what they're doing now. The party calls him a bore, and he takes offense at being called a "stick in the mud." Even further in, after the maze, Emil starts complaining about the monsters. Come on, dude, grow a spine. Marta tells him she's counting on him, which gives him a bit of confidence. Maybe. I dunno he's always pretty wimpy. They talk about how they need to secure the core so that they can get rid of the monsters. Emil says he'll try to do his best, then says his little mantra. You know, "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality?"
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Get it? Got it? Good. Don't forget it.
Finally, they reach the altar, where they see Ventus' Core. They go towards i--OH COME ON. THE GARUDA NEVER DYING WAS BAD ENOUGH. I AT LEAST EXPECT BOSSES FROM THE FIRST GAME TO STAY DEAD, ALRIGHT? IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?! Yep, Windmaster's back. Dammit all. He was such a bitch to fight in the first game, too. Seems like Ventus' power revived and possessed it, or something. After beating that bitch, s'all good. Colette runs over to grab Ventus' Core, and Marta freaks out. Apparently, when Centurions are in a core state, they can drive humans mad when in their possession. A crazy Colette would be... well, I'll leave that to your imaginations. So, yeah, they awaken Ventus, and all is good. Emil gets new power, TENEBRAE DEMANDS CONTRACTS WITH MONSTERS BE FORMED, blah blah blah. They leave, then.
Outside the dais, back in Asgard... YAY ALL IS GOOD. The skies are clear and the wind is a gentle roar. Oh, and the Garuda is gone, too. Colette looks down, though, because of Lloyd. If Lloyd's collecting the cores, that should be dangerous to him, then. After all, they said the cores can possess people. Can you imagine Crazy Lloyd? ....Shit, I can. Emil and Marta say they'll keep following Lloyd, though, because wherever Lloyd goes, the cores are sure to be there. They try to tell Colette she should come with them so she can warn Lloyd herself, but she says she'll go on her own from here. You know, Colette, I could probably use your miracle klutz powers. Marta reveals her opinion of Colette has changed. She proclaims she's never met anyone as kind and caring as Colette, and calls her a friend. AWWW. Marta's monster heart grew three sizes that day. Colette agrees to go with them to the mayor, though, before she leaves. At the mayor's house, they explain that they've stopped the wind problems, and the mayor tells them the Vanguard is gone, but their ideals are influencing the people, causing them to turn their backs on the chosen. The mayor, however, still appreciates all that the Chosen has done.
Outside, Colette says goodbye to them. She's concerned about Lloyd, after all. She looks forward to meeting them again. She then flies off. She looks like she's flying at the windmill, to be honest. Somehow I can see her crashing into that. Marta then says they should get going, too, so she suggests they go to Lloyd's hometown, Iselia. Therefore, it's off to Palmacosta to catch a boat, because taking the land route past Hima totally isn't feasible, somehow.
Next time on the LP because I've been taking too long to do this and because I should break it up! Hakonesia Peak and the rest of Chapter 2! Wait for it!
Poll Chapter 2-1 Poll!
When we last left our young group of intrepid adventurers, Emil, Marta, and Tenebrae were leaving Luin on a quest to track down Lloyd and obtain the Centurions' Cores! To that end, we now find them heading towards Asgard.
Begin Chapter 2!
It seems Asgard has become Chicago over the past two years! No, I don't mean it's the center of organized crime. It's windy! Emil complains that it's "some wind", prompting Marta to insult his manhood. Tenebrae tells Emil that Marta's depending on him, so he should at least try to act like a man in front of her. Ouch, dood.
Marta deduces that wherever Lloyd is, the Centurions' Cores are, too. BRILLIANT DEDUCTION THERE, MARTA. So off they go to the Mayor's House. As they go on, Emil notes that Asgard is pretty desolate, and Marta remarks it wasn't like that last time she came, with her daddy. Now, one thing RPGs have taught me is that if the parent is alive, AND mentioned in the game, they MUST be important. Emil turns around to continue walking aaaaand--...bumps into a blue-haired man. He certainly looks familiar, with his long blue ponytail, but his butler outfit and behavior have me completely baffled. I was thinking he was Yuan, but there's no way, with how forthcoming this guy is with information. We'll call this man ???, because that's all the game gives. The camera pans towards the invisible Tenebrae for a moment, and then ??? remarks about how they have an interesting creature. ??? must be referring to Marta. She is rather animal-like at times. THEN he says something about how Asgard's changed. He's from Asgard, except it wasn't called Asgard then. Weird... So ???'s hometown is Asgard, and it brings back memories of his friends from then. IF ONLY WE KNEW WHO ??? WAS.
??? walks away, and Emil tells Marta that ??? had noticed Tenebrae. Suuuuuure, Emil. They begin to wonder why that is. Afterwards, they go to the Mayor's house! Knock, knock, knockin' on the do--AWW DAMMIT IT'S LOCKED. HOW DARE IT BE LOCKED. Disappointed, they walk away, and suddenly, a massive wind picks up and lifts Marta off the ground to take her off to Oz! But Emil decides to interfere and drag her back down. They head for safety in the Mural Cavern, which apparently exists in Asgard! I don't recall those things having names, personally. But apparently, it's the one between the two shops.
Inside the cave, the two are holding hands, like a couple in TWU WUV. Emil gets really embarrassed at this. AWW, IS SOMEONE AWKWARD AROUND GIRLS? ISN'T THAT CUTE. They begin to theorize that the strong winds are related to Ventus, and Emil then decides that it is emo time! No main protagonist is complete without a moment of feeling completely and utterly weak and useless! But it's okay! Emil has Marta there to tell him that he's THE shit, not just shit. Because, in our culture, there's apparently a difference!
The wind seems to have died down, so they head outside. They suddenly spot Alice, though, She's pretty dangerous, but I don't see how! She's so cuuuuuu--...oh god is she whipping Hawk? IS SHE MAKING HAWK HER BITCH? OH GOD SHE IS SCARY. The party hides and watches Alice's group from the shadows. They seem to be looking for Colette. Colette's the Chosen of Regeneration, so we can't let that happen! Therefore, it is clearly a good idea to look for Colette ourselves, because looking for Colette will definitely not lead to trouble!
Off to houses we go! We stop at a house where, inside, we find Colette speaking with a blue-haired woman. This woman apologizes to Colette that she hasn't seen Lloyd around, but Colette tells her not to worry. The party immediately realizes she is the Chosen. Marta then begins to grill Colette about what happened in Palmacosta with the Giant Tree, and about how it destroyed the city. To spare you the details and some tl;dr, Marta's mother died in Palmacosta and Marta hates Colette with the fiery passion of a thousand suns. All Colette can do is apologize, because she knows that's correct. Marta then runs off. By the way, that woman was Alicia. Not that you'd recognize her, since she CHANGED HER OUTFIT, unlike SOME characters. Emil goes outside after her, and Tenebrae decides it'd be a great time to explain what happened to Marta after her mother died. Geez, Tenebrae. Couldn't this wait until after I've caught up to her? She'd kind of getting away, you know. Basically, Marta and her father wandered everywhere forever. DA END.
Okay, despite Tenebrae's distraction, Marta doesn't make it far, as she's busy sulking down at the bottom of the steps. What an interesting creature. It's like she wanted Emil to catch up to her. Marta apologizes for her behavior, and asks how Emil can't not hate Colette, since he's from Palmacosta, too. Emil claims he wasn't in the city then, so he didn't see the incident. Marta joined the Vanguard, blaming Colette for the destruction of the city. But she also claims that she understands it must have been hard for Colette to do the things she did. Share with me your secrets deep insiii~iiide. ....Suddenly, Vanguard soldiers approach Marta! Their Colette senses must have been tingling, because they claim to have heard Marta mention the Chosen. Marta basically tells the Vanguard to fuck off, though, by claiming that Colette already left Asgard. Geez, Marta. Aren't you supposed to be a member of the Vanguard? Marta basically decides to settle for the lesser of two evils. She doesn't like Colette, but she finds the Vanguard even more repulsive now. So apparently, according for Marta, the Vanguard is different and Commander Brute has changed. Tenebrae then proposes they get out of town, because Vanguard hanging around is never good. Marta suggests they got to Palmacosta.
You know, I expected things to get pretty ugly in Asgard, but it seems pretty sa--...Oh dammit what the hell do you want, you little brat. He gets all pissy at Emil and Marta because they were mean to Colette. He even saw Marta shove Colette in Aisha's house! I... dunno how he saw that, though. Little creeper, watching the windows like that. The kid gets pissier and pissier with them, shouting at Marta to apologize and telling Emil to keep out of it. Geez, you little brat. Learn your place. Even Emil could crush you. ...Maybe. ...Okay, probably not. But still! You know what, I'm not even gonna save you, you little brat, since you've just been swept away by the wind! Maybe if you were less talk and more substance, that wouldn't have happened. Gonna just wander around a bit, let that kid learn a lesson.
...Okay, I guess I'll save him, since it'll advance plot.
Emil and Marta go back to the entrance of the village to find Nameless Boy hanging from that stone bridge to nowhere. Marta crawls along it to reach him, and the boy just says, "Did you come here to laugh at me?" Why yes, Nameless Boy. Yes, I did. But unfortunately, I don't have control over what Emil and Marta do, so they're saving you. So to make it clear, I came to laugh, Emil and Marta came to save, savvy? So we're getting ready to save Nameless Ki--OH DAMMIT ALICE WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT? She calls upon Hawk to knock down Emil and threatens to kill Marta right there, because she is a cruel sadistic bitch. Hawk tells her NO, but Alice is "It's not my fault that Martmart falls to her death~ ♥" But then Colette appears and saves the day. Yaaaay Colette. Alice gets pissed, then, and sics her monsters (and Hawk) on the trio.
Following one boss battle, the villains are gone, and Colette asks if everyone is okay. The Nameless Boy thanks Colette for saving him. Little brat. Should've let you die. Even if he's kind of right about how they shouldn't blame Colette for all that happened when she tried her best to do what she could. Then he runs off. Marta decides she'd like to go see Colette one last time, to thank her. So they finally get to go into the Mayor's House.
Inside, Marta thanks Colette for saving her, and so does Emil. Colette's all "OMG YOU CAME TO TELL ME THAT? YAAAAAY" Then they introduce themselves to each other, which, according to Colette, makes them friends, much to Marta's dismay. Your harsh words depress Colette, Marta. The Mayor then interrupts, and Colette mentions about the stone dais. You know, the dais, with that thing, at that time? Good times, goooood times. Colette and the Mayor reveal about what happened with the Windmaster two years ago, and about how it might be related to the gusts now. Colette remarks about how she wants to do all she can to help, officially turning Emil into her fanboy. Marta says she can't be Colette's friend, but she can help her, because she owes Colette now. And so Colette joins the party, to go to the Stone Dais!
At the stone dais, Emil remarks that nothing seems out of the ordinary. Riiiiiiight, because ominous storm clouds in the sky is totally ordinary in Asgard. Colette remarks they should ask their summon spirit. She's clearly referring to their "doggie", Tenebrae. Tenebrae, of course, takes offense to this remark. He is not a doggie or a summon spirit, Colette! How DARE you imply that! He is clearly a Centurion, despite there being no way for you to have known that. He informs her that his name is Tenebrae. Unfortunately for Tenebrae, he is already set as doggie in her mind. Thus, he is warranted a nickname! So for the rest of the game, he is now branded as Tenebie, because Colette demands it be so. She asks him whether he notices anything strange, to which he says no. Colette begins to walk away, questioning whether it has anything to do with the dais. She then reveals her endearing character trait and trips, falling on top of Marta and knocking her down. With any other person, this would be a problem. But this is Colette we're talking about. Her falls are magical. With sparkles and rainbows and unicorns and other crazy shit. This saves Marta's life from a DIVE BOMBING GARUDA OH NOES! The Garuda comes back for a second strike, and the party engages in an impossible-to-win battle. Seriously, this thing has >9000 HP. I had my epic-as-all-hell Fenia nuke the shit out of that thing and dealt like 36,000 damage, and its bar didn't even budge.
Alright, after that battle, they're back in town, wondering what the heck that thing was. They seem to think it was that fake summon spirit of wind, but Colette corrects them, informing them that IT'S DEAD. They deduce that the creature is the cause of the winds, but there is nothing they can do, for all their attacks bounce right off. Tenebrae proposes they find a winged dragon, because winged dragons can destroy barriers, or some crazy shit. But where would we find winged dragons? It's not like there's some guy who sells the-- ...Oh. Right. Him. Anyway, Colette says to go to Hima, because she knows a guy there. In other news, Marta stops being a bitch and thanks Colette for saving her from the Garuda.
In Hima, they--HOLY SWEET JESUS FREEWHEELING CHRIST ON A ICE RINK WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED HERE. Hima's been overrun by monsters! Anyway, they ascend to the highest peak, beating up the monsters. Up there, there is no dragon tamer. Just one bigass Imp. ...One weak bigass Imp. Afterwards, they wonder what happened to the dragons, fearing they were eaten. ...Seriously, eaten? They're fucking dragons, for crying out loud! In Soviet Russia, DRAGON EAT YOU. But s'all good, Colette hears a dragon flying towards them. Tenebrae claims the baby dragon is thanking them for avenging its father. The dragon tamer got away, and... the baby dragon's father was eaten by monsters. Either that dragon was pitifully weak or pitifully small, because the monsters in Hima are a joke. The baby dragon agrees to join them, and they have now acquired Baby Dragon! ...Which apparently goes in their item bag. Somehow. There is a key item labeled Baby Dragon.
When they get back to Asgard, Tenebrae proposes that, since the dragon is too weak on its own, they use a decoy to distract the garuda and then have the dragon strike from behind. That leaves the question of WHO. Both girls volunteer themselves, leading them to argue with each other over who should do it, until Emil grows a spine for three seconds and volunteers himself. The girls have no problem with this. It's almost like they intended it. Hmm.... Girls are a tricky lot.
At the Stone Dais, the Garuda's just chilling, with his shiny membrane barrier thingy. It's time for Emil to send the signal! ...And by that, I mean play a minigame. ALL THINGS CAN BE SOLVED THROUGH MINIGAMES. THE MARIO PARTY SERIES HAS TAUGHT ME THAT. Okay, after that annoying minigame, Emil commands Tenebrae to call the winged dragon. Somehow, in the item pack, that dragon multiplied, because about eight of them attacked the Garuda. With the shiny membrane barrier thingy down, it's time to attack the Garuda! Following its defeat, they celebrate, because that damned thing is de--OH YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING ME. WHEN I DEFEAT A NON-FINAL BOSS, I EXPECT IT TO STAY DEAD. The thing sweeps them away from the stone dais again. Then the dragon says that she feels the stone dais is calling her. There's something up with the stone dais, and there's only one man for the job; Linar! Yes, Linar! You know, that OTHER Ruin Maniac? Yes, that Linar.
Inside Aisha's House, we see her, Linar, and Harley, all of whom have changed their clohtes. OH COME ON, IMPORTANT NPCS FROM THE FIRST GAME CHANGE THEIR CLOTHES, BUT THE MAIN CHARACTERS CAN'T? Colette and Linar exchange some pleasantries, and explain what happened two years involving that fake Summon Spirit of Wind we keep hearing so much about. Colette then asks about the stone dais, and Linar reveals that they may indeed be something underneath the stone dais. Aisha mentions that she should the Maiden Ritual, and Marta volunteers to do it for her. Aisha agrees to the demand and tells Emil and Colette to go to the inn. obb. Outside, Colette asks Emil if he's a "maniac", because he becomes a totally different person in battle, and then mentions her friend the "Ruin Maniac". Emil explains about how it's because of Ratatosk's power, and agrees to explain at the inn.
At the inn, Emil and Tenebrae explain the whole shindig about the whole tree dying, and the new tree being born, and Ratatosk, and the Vanguard wanting his power, yadda yadda yadda. Marta appears at some point and tells them the ritual is ready. They head to the dais again, and fight the Garuda again. Marta then performs the ritual. The dais starts glowing and doing all kinds of crazying shiny shit. It didn't do THAT last time. Apparently, the dais reacted to Ratatosk's Core. So now the glyph on the dais is a teleporter. Awesome.
Inside the dais, Tenebrae remarks that he senses Ventus' Core, which is a good thing, because it means Lloyd doesn't have it. Colette doesn't understand, so Emil and Marta explain to her what Lloyd's doing. Colette has a tough time swallowing this, though. She believes in Lloyd, after all. Colette also believes Emil and Marta, though, because they're her friends (despite Marta's objections). Further in, they reach a maze, and Marta remarks how they're deep within the dais. Colette then remarks how it's similar to the Balacruf Mausoleum. Marta says maybe they should have a look at them, but Tenebrae says to focus on what they're doing now. The party calls him a bore, and he takes offense at being called a "stick in the mud." Even further in, after the maze, Emil starts complaining about the monsters. Come on, dude, grow a spine. Marta tells him she's counting on him, which gives him a bit of confidence. Maybe. I dunno he's always pretty wimpy. They talk about how they need to secure the core so that they can get rid of the monsters. Emil says he'll try to do his best, then says his little mantra. You know, "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality?"
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.
Get it? Got it? Good. Don't forget it.
Finally, they reach the altar, where they see Ventus' Core. They go towards i--OH COME ON. THE GARUDA NEVER DYING WAS BAD ENOUGH. I AT LEAST EXPECT BOSSES FROM THE FIRST GAME TO STAY DEAD, ALRIGHT? IS THAT SO MUCH TO ASK?! Yep, Windmaster's back. Dammit all. He was such a bitch to fight in the first game, too. Seems like Ventus' power revived and possessed it, or something. After beating that bitch, s'all good. Colette runs over to grab Ventus' Core, and Marta freaks out. Apparently, when Centurions are in a core state, they can drive humans mad when in their possession. A crazy Colette would be... well, I'll leave that to your imaginations. So, yeah, they awaken Ventus, and all is good. Emil gets new power, TENEBRAE DEMANDS CONTRACTS WITH MONSTERS BE FORMED, blah blah blah. They leave, then.
Outside the dais, back in Asgard... YAY ALL IS GOOD. The skies are clear and the wind is a gentle roar. Oh, and the Garuda is gone, too. Colette looks down, though, because of Lloyd. If Lloyd's collecting the cores, that should be dangerous to him, then. After all, they said the cores can possess people. Can you imagine Crazy Lloyd? ....Shit, I can. Emil and Marta say they'll keep following Lloyd, though, because wherever Lloyd goes, the cores are sure to be there. They try to tell Colette she should come with them so she can warn Lloyd herself, but she says she'll go on her own from here. You know, Colette, I could probably use your miracle klutz powers. Marta reveals her opinion of Colette has changed. She proclaims she's never met anyone as kind and caring as Colette, and calls her a friend. AWWW. Marta's monster heart grew three sizes that day. Colette agrees to go with them to the mayor, though, before she leaves. At the mayor's house, they explain that they've stopped the wind problems, and the mayor tells them the Vanguard is gone, but their ideals are influencing the people, causing them to turn their backs on the chosen. The mayor, however, still appreciates all that the Chosen has done.
Outside, Colette says goodbye to them. She's concerned about Lloyd, after all. She looks forward to meeting them again. She then flies off. She looks like she's flying at the windmill, to be honest. Somehow I can see her crashing into that. Marta then says they should get going, too, so she suggests they go to Lloyd's hometown, Iselia. Therefore, it's off to Palmacosta to catch a boat, because taking the land route past Hima totally isn't feasible, somehow.
Next time on the LP because I've been taking too long to do this and because I should break it up! Hakonesia Peak and the rest of Chapter 2! Wait for it!
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