Fortress of Solitude

Saga: Suzaku arc

Prerequisites: Completion of previous missions in arc

Summary: Some time later, Lynness finally recovers from her wounds, and her, Sooku and Psi combined decide to march on Suzaku and take him down before any more serious damage and harm is caused. After following his previous escape route up an icy mountain, it turns out that Suzaku has a fort built up there that even Lynness didn't know about. After fighting through hordes of Suzaku's minions and searching the castle high and low for him, the trio finally find Suzaku himself in a hidden basement below the castle's foundations. After watching his minions literally fall at his feet, Suzaku engages in a quick boss fight before ending it prematurely with his ability copy, trying to drain Psi dry - he is interrupted by Lynness, who is then knocked aside as Suzaku once again retreats, this time to the high points in the castle.

Script:

[Psi finally catches up to Lynness and Sooku partway up Mt. Frostbite. Sooku is visibly exhausted and catching his breath.]

Psi: There you are! You at least could've told me where you two were going!

Sooku: You think you have it bad? I've been sprinting all the way here from the city just trying to keep up!

Synn: Alright, alright. I was under the impression that time was of the essence though. Why have we stopped?

Lynness: Because there is an obstacle. You, little one --

Psi: Don't call me little!

Lynness: You're telekinetic, right?

Synn: Is this really relevant? I see nothing here besides snow.

Lynness: Exactly. I need it moved out of the way. Suzaku is through here.

[A large clump of snow nearest to Lynness can be picked up with Psi's telekinesis. When moved out of the way, a secret entrance is revealed behind it. However, once the player drops the snow elsewhere, it causes snow from higher up to start falling from the slopes. If the player takes too long, Sooku gets fed up and simply destroys the obstacle with a charge shot, inadvertently causing the snowfall on his own.]

Sooku: Avalanche!

[The falling snow causes the screen to white out. When it comes back, the ground level is somewhat higher, and elegant carved stone can be seen surrounding the passage that Psi had just revealed. Psi unburies himself and Sooku by telekinetically blasting away the snow partially blocking the entrance, whilst Lynness simply teleports back from wherever she had hidden to avoid it. As the group recuperates, they each turn to face the uncovered structure, and the camera zooms out to encompass the full scope of Castle Suzaku. The camera zooms back to the trio as Psi speaks again.]

Psi:... how long has THAT been there!?

Sooku: Gotta hand it to 'em, pretty clever to hide a joint this big under the snow. Kinda defeats the point of makin' it so elaborate if there ain't no one to see it, though.

Lynness: He only hides it for as long as he needs to. Once his plans are ready, he won't have a problem displaying the castle to the world like some gem of pride. Come, we have to keep moving.

[Lynness and Sooku move inside. Psi lingers for a moment]

Psi: ...why won't anyone tell me what this "plan" is!?

Synn: Because it's less important that preventing it. Now shut up and do what you came here for.

[Psi follows Sooku and Lynness, grumbling to himself. Progression through the castle is fairly standard for the area - the player ascends gradually up one side of the castle, then descends from the other until it hits an underground chamber, fighting off Nightmare Legion troops along the way. At the apex of the castle, the Lesser Demon appears again, blocking the path to the next section.]

Sooku: Dang it, didn't we already kill this thing?

Lynness: You can't exactly "kill" a demon. Not on this realm, anyway. The best you can do is temporarily banish it.

Synn: Then we'll just have to do that again.

Psi: Right! Sooku, get on the other side of it so we can--

Lynness: Save your breath. I can handle this.

[As per the previous encounter, the Lesser Demon only flinches when hit from behind. The player is given control of Lynness and forced to fight alone, however, negating the previous flanking advantage from the last fight. The game takes the opportunity to introduce Lynness's teleporting mechanic as a means to easily get behind it - as Lynness can teleport faster than the demon can turn or attack, this makes the fight a pushover once the player establishes the proper timing. Once the demon is taken care of, the player is given the ability to switch characters again, this time with the option to switch to Lynness. Once the player descends the other half of the castle through imps and traps, the group reaches the hidden throne room, in which Suzaku resides.]

Suzaku: So you found me. Isn't this a surprise.

Sooku: You ain't exactly hard to find. All we really had to do is follow the dead body trail.

Psi: And now we have you right where we want you! There's nowhere left to run!

Suzaku: Dohoohohoho... have I ever mentioned that I like your spirit, little one? It would be admirable if it weren't so misguided?

Psi: Huh? What do you mean?

[The doorway that the trio just entered from closes and locks shut, trapping them in the room.]

Suzaku: You're cornered too.

[A boss fight with Suzaku initiates. Suzaku largely plays defensively at first, attempting to abuse his ability to parry and cancel incoming attacks when the player closes in for a hit. Once the player wises up and starts causing damage, though, he will start mixing up his tactics as normal, ocassionally trying to grab the player to initiate his copy ability. The fight ends instantly if Suzaku grabs Psi - even if the player manages to bring his health down to near zero, the game will automatically switch Psi in if he isn't already in play, after which he will be grabbed unavoidably.]

Suzaku: You're quite stubborn for your size, I will certaintly give you that. In the end, however, you're all simply mortal.

Psi: Go... to hell...

[Purple energy starts to flow from Psi into Suzaku as the draining process starts. After a few moments, though, Suzaku starts looking puzzled.]

Suzaku: Hmm? That's odd. You should be long dead by now. Where are you getting all that--

[Suzaku is cut off by Lynness, who teleports behind him and knocks the two back with a shadow pulse, freeing Psi. Suzaku, in turn, retaliates by knocking Lynness to the ground with the back of his hand as he turns to face her.]

Suzaku: Ungrateful bitch! No matter. I have everything I need now. This was all part of the plan, and you were all played for fools. Expect a slow, painful death quite soon! Hahahaha!

[The exit unlocks, and Suzaku flies through it to escape. Sooku fires a few shots in his direction as he leaves, but misses.]

Sooku: Damn it! C'mon, we gotta get after 'im!

[Sooku and Lynness start running for the exit. However, they stop in their tracks when Psi interrupts them.]

Psi: No.

Lynness: ...what?

Psi: I said no!

Sooku: What the hell has gotten into you!? We don't have time for this!

Psi: You've both been keeping me in the dark ever since I met you, ferried between your errands under the justification of time constraints! How do I know this isn't some cheap ploy to keep me distracted from the bigger picture? Why won't anyone tell me what's going on!?

[Sooku and Lynness exchange a brief glance. Lynness lets off a loud sigh.]

Lynness: Fine. Suzaku is saving up the energy for a complex incantation that will allow his powers to extend over a very large area. He has the power to siphon from others and acquire their abilities. When he puts those two together, everyone on the continent will simultaneously die, and their powers will become his. Happy now?

Sooku: Wait a minute. How'd you survive that, anyway? I've never seen anyone with enough energy to last them through even seconds of that. Hell, you don't even look weakened.

Psi: I dunno... it felt like something was getting sucked out of me, but something else kept replenishing it... hmm...

[Psi pulls out his Gem of Chaos.]

Psi: I think this thing must've saved me. No other reason I can think of.

Lynness: That's... where did you find that?

Psi: You're right, we don't have a lot of time. Let's keep moving.

[Psi flashes a wry smile as he retreats out the exit, ending the chapter and tweening directly into the next one. Scores and ranks are displayed with no fadeout and no interruption of gameplay.]