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Luck Be a Lady (continued)
-We arrive at the bridge where Nabaat and the Primarch await.
-Nabaat jumps down. Boss fight time.
-The white owl watches nearby, off to the side. Still possible it’s not beholden to the Primarch.
-Nabaat’s ready to fight. Urges the Primarch to escape.
PRIMARCH: “Why don’t you leave, Jihl? Or rather, take your leave. Humans have no business here.”
OH SHIT HE ZAPS HER WITH SOME WHITE MAGICAL LIGHT, IS HE A L’CIE?
-Snow runs up to punch him but predictably gets knocked back by some magical shield.
PRIMARCH: “Cocoon is a factory, built by fal’Cie. A factory for the mass production of human thralls.” I figured it was something like this. I’m just not certain what value those thralls have to the fal’Cie.
-…He’s not a l’Cie. He’s a fal’Cie.
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A Focus Revealed
-The Primarch raises his staff. The white owl flies towards him and they fuse.
-His real name is Barthandelus. “Voice of the Sanctum, and Lord Sovereign of the Cocoon fal’Cie.”
-He specifically says lord of the Cocoon fal’Cie. Maybe we have to go team up with the Pulse fal’Cie who likely disapproved of what he did.
Though even as I say that, the Pulse fal’Cie used humans also, presumably without their consent.
-I love Barthandelus’ design! A giant mechanical face with smaller human faces worked into his body.
-Took out his four armor pieces and onto the big guy himself. Nothing too special about the armor – just glad I libra’d them, since each absorbs a different type of magic.
This part of the fight showcases both the upside and downside of the game’s auto-selected ability system. It’s nice because it’s relaxing to not have to worry which ability type I pick since the game will optimize damage. It’s unfortunate because it makes me more disengaged from the combat.
-Some really sweet ability names. Thanatosian Smile and Baptism in Ruins.
-He also changes his posture. Rears up and flexes his neck out, occasionally removing his facial plates to blast us with giant lasers.
Got him!
-In defeat, he’s got kind of a liquid metal thing going.
-Oh lol, just beat that phase. Of course it wouldn’t be that easy. He’s back in human form.
PRIMARCH: “You have not fought to win. You should know already the sure way of dispatching our kind. Ragnarok.”
-lolol - the camera pans across all of us with dawning dread on our faces… and then gets to Fang. “What’s Ragnarok?”
-Her arm starts to burn. Crap, her Focus must’ve related to Ragnarok.
-According to Barthandelus, one of us must BECOME Ragnarok to destroy Cocoon.
“One among you will become that monstrosity, defeat Orphan, and destroy Cocoon.” Orphan?
-Orphan is the font of Eden’s power. It fuels Eden with strength, and Eden sustains humanity. If we destroy Orphan, we’ll destroy Cocoon and release a huge force.
That’s our Focus.
I have two theories about why the fal’Cie might want humans around.
1) As cannon fodder in any potential war amongst fal’Cie.
2) Maybe our belief in the fal’Cie gives them energy.
-But then Snow brings up a great point. Serah told us to save Cocoon, and THAT fulfilled her Focus.
-Btw, Barthandelus’ VA is killing it. He sounds vaguely familiar to me.
-He contradicts Snow. Serah’s Focus wasn’t about saving Cocoon – it was bringing us together to “assemble the tools for Cocoon’s destruction.”
-Barthandelus summons the owl… which transforms into a giant airship lol. Quite an owl.
“Run, l’Cie. See how stark your reality is.”
-We hop aboard the OwlShip. Why is he helping us escape?
-The Palamecia is exploding. The owl ship that Barthandelus (for some reason?) summoned for us isn’t really working.
-And it gets worse when Rosch attacks in his ship. Dog fight time.
-Sazh’s ship is fighting on auto-pilot. Thanks, Barthandelus!
-I love the crystalline green and white aesthetic of our new ship.
-And our ship can penetrate the shields of wherever we are now (Eden perhaps), while Rosch’s can’t.
-Holy smokes that was a roller-coaster ride of a session, from entering the bridge through now.
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What Fal’Cie Want
-We recover from the crash in… a piece of Pulse maybe? Like the Bodhum Vestige, but right inside Eden.
-Why does the Primarch want us to see this? Why is he helping us in ANY way? Like, if he’s telling the truth, wouldn’t he want us to fight our Focus and preserve Cocoon?
-The party picks up on this seeming contradiction too.
HOPE: “It’s almost like Dysley wants it to come true.”
SAZH: “He sure didn’t mind explaining it. ‘Here’s your Focus on a silver platter.’”
-Snow’s been unusually quiet during this discussion.
Perhaps still processing his understanding of Serah’s role being overturned.
-I wonder how our relationships to Nabaat and Rosch may change. Maybe we’ll become frenemies or allies of convenience. At least with Rosch – he has Cocoon’s best interests at heart. That seems less likely with Nabaat.
-The datalog fills in a gap for me. The craft guided us “towards the ‘reality’ hidden beneat the capital of Cocoon.” We’re beneath the city.
-The map calls this place the Fifth Ark.
-New stuff in the store. I might try it out the new components. Idk.
-This place looks like a subway tunnel.
-Before we press on, Snow apologizes to me for misunderstanding the thing with Serah.
-Aw! Lightning is great here.
LIGHTNING: “Your faith in Serah was strong. That strength is what got us here.”
SNOW: “But it was all wrong.”
LIGHTNING: “Yeah… but still, it saved me.”
I really like how even with her character development, she hasn’t become a totally different person. She’s become more supportive, more tied with others, while still having that acerbic Lightning quality.
-Vanille boarded the Pulse Purge train voluntarily. It was a trip home. Her attempt to flee the whole situation on Cocoon, even if it meant abandoning Fang.
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Next time: into the Ark.
