End of Time
-Talking to characters here gives me tips about my next steps.
Guessing that Ayla is talking about the Moon Stone.
-Marle expresses sadness about her father, hinting at the trial.
-Lucca mentions something about solar power and the screen flashes to a cave on an island (the Sun Keep?) in 2,300. So maybe this hints at getting the Moon Stone and having to take it out of the cave in 2,300 after putting into the Sun Keep in 65,000,000.
-Talked to Robo, and he has thought about the origin of machines and whether he has a birthplace. The screen flashes to a different island in 2,300 AD.
-So. We got some traveling ahead of us.
-lol Spekkio is now super-powered.
He’s taken on the form of the combined Masamune. Forget Ayla and Marle and company. Just send Spekkio against Lavos and we’ll be fine.
-Quickly checked Guardia Castle in 600 AD in case they already built a treasury for the Rainbow Shell, but no luck.
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65,000,000 BC
-Let’s start at the beginning.
-Kino’s still doing okay.
-A dude in a hut found a strange rock, but it felt icky so he threw it away. Hm.
-Aha! I think I see the special thing.
New stock.
Interesting. Time to farm.
-The Nu is no longer in the same spot…. Nm, found him.
-The armor I bought is Ruby Armor. Decent armor, but its main draw is that it cuts fire damage by 80%. Sounds pretty useful against the likes of Lavos. Farmed up three. No reason not to. I don’t know what I’ll need for the final fight, so maybe I’ll have to pick a few different teams and have everyone fight.
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1,000 AD
-Let’s help out Marle.
-The trial is still going on and I’m locked out. Maybe there will be news in the town of Truce to help me.
-Still no Fritz for poor Elaine. Come on, Fritz!
-Nothing in town. Let me explore the castle once more.
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Castle Guardia
-YES! Took Marle to the top floor, and she wouldn’t be denied.
-The trial is going on. The Chancellor found a will saying that the Rainbow Shell was to be unveiled at the Millenial Fair.
-Fucking Chancellor. He must’ve stolen the Rainbow Shell and is now trying to frame the King. We have to find the shell and present it as proof that the king didn’t sell it for cash.
-The exit is blocked, so we can’t head back to 600 AD. Looks like we’ll have to fight through the Treasury against the Chancellor’s guards to get it.
-oh god this music is SO GOOOD RIGHT NOW
-I’m pretty sure I was right, that Chancellor is really Yakra’s descendant carrying out a blood feud.
HAHAHA FUCK YES!!!! We just killed a couple of snake guards after overhearing them talk about “the boss’s plan.” Marle now knows for sure her dad is being framed, and she just got the most badass, take no prisoners, taking care of business look on her face.
DO. NOT. FUCK. WITH. MARLE.
-We flash between the team fighting in the Treasury and the trial, where a merchant bears false witness against the king, lying that he bought the shell.
-The monsters down here are exactly the same ones that we fought in the cathedral. Not upgraded versions of them, but the very same ones. They were sort of tough when I first arrived in 600 AD. Now? I sneeze on them and they die. (I’ll bet New!Yakra will be nasty though.)
-Got the shell! Still there in the treasury.
-And a note? “Dearest Marle, I know things are tough between you and your father…”
Oh god. This is from her mom, isn’t it?
“But nothing can break your bond of blood. Neither words of anger nor great distances.”
The note continues. This is beautiful. And Ayla’s support here only adds to my joy.
She goes on this whole thing about how Marle may be ready to “leave the nest” without that departure necessarily meaning she’s broken from her father. It’s all part of a necessary cycle. The natural evolution of the relationship. And that's okay.
Bless this game.
-They take a piece of the shell and leave.
-We race back as the trial nears its conclusion, the verdict guilty. The guards won’t let Marle in, so she says she knows another way. Hm.
YESSSSS I’M CRYING WITH JOY AND AWESOMENESS AND I CAN’T CONTAIN IT
SHE WENT OUTSIDE THE WINDOW, RIGHT BEHIND THE STAINED GLASS IMAGE OF HER FATHER, AND BURST THROUGH IT JOYFULLY
This old, fragile barrier of her father. An image; not real. And she busts through to freedom – not just her freedom, but his as well. The symbolism of this is one of the best things ever.
SHE EXONERATES HIM!!!
-And then the Chancellor gets ready to transform. Here we go.
-I just recently picked up the triple tech of “Final Kick.” Let’s try it out.
-It’s awesome. So awesome.
-lol Yakra starts talking about the various techniques he learned that were passed down the Yakra line for generations.
-AND YAKRA GOES DOWN! (again)
-The king and Marle make apologies, understanding each other a little better, and make up.
-The King DID hear Queen Aliza’s last words. He WAS by her deathbed. Yakra was lying to Marle to manipulate her.
-The last words also had something to do with Crono being her beloved, but I am glad that romance in that way is getting side-lined. Marle’s relationship with her father and the way Ayla supports her in her growth is a thousand times more interesting, and deserves the spotlight it’s getting.
HOW IS THIS SO GOOD
-Later in the throne room, the king says he allows her to leave and hopes she takes care. Growth.
-MELCHIOR?? Yes!! He comes in and offers to make stuff out of the Rainbow Shell. He walks out. I don’t follow yet because I want to explore the rest of the castle.
-There’ll be a parade tonight.
-Good point. Where is the Chancellor?
-Went back to the courtroom. Yakra dropped a tab when he died that I don’t want to forget.
-Yakra Key? For the locked chest probably.
-LOLOL – History repeats. He stuffed the real chancellor into this chest. Poor guy.
-Swapped Crono out and Lucca in for this. I think she might appreciate Melchior’s craftsmanship more.
-Hm. I don’t see Melchior anywhere. Didn’t find him in his home, or in the castle.
OH! Of course. The Rainbow Shell is too heavy to move. He’s probably in the treasury.
-Yup. He gives us the choice for one very effective Prism Dress, or three less effective Prism Helms. I go with the Dress, since I can use the Fiona’s Shrine helms.
-Totally worth it. Huge defense bonus, and reduces magic damage by 1/3.
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Next time: 2,300 AD. The origin of machines and the Moon Stone.
