Melide: I'll operate Hisaki. MC, you take the others!
MC: Okay! Andrew, defend! Gaius, aim for the back ranks!
The party is working together to pressure the villains and keep them from attacking!
Melide: Hisaki! Get your drone ready! Enemy in the back is charging!
Hisaki: Got it! Stick close to stay in the shield, guys! Now charge, drones!
Green: O-oh no! Is he gonna blow them up!?
Hisaki: No way, assholes! These drones defend me!
Hisaki's drones barrier charge at the enemy!
Green: Wha--AAAA
Hisaki: How do you like that!? Now's our chance, guys! I'll buff you! *(deploys drones near Gaius and Andrew)*
Gaius: Whoa! I'm feeling charged up!
Andrew: Amazing!
Gaius and Andrew look to MC.
MC: Ready? Let's go!
Gaius and Andrew nod.
Gaius: Say your prayers yet?
Blue: Pshaw. What's one extra drone gonna do?
Andrew: We may be of different races, but I believe we mechs and organics have a bond!
Gaius: I'll never lose to hostage takers! (draws bow and charges an arrow)
Gaius: For the lake! For Cetus! And most of all, my friends! Space Sagitta Magica, Convegentia Aquans!
Gaius fires a rain of water arrows!
Gaius: ...these ruins are my home. Get out!
Blue: ...urgh, get the barrier out! It should hold up!
The salvagers get ready to kick out a barrier unit.
MC: Andrew, now!
Andrew: Right! The drones and I are thinking the same thing! All mechkind lives by mutually supporting organics, and we will make you regret treating us so badly!
Andrew charges his fist with whirling energy!
Andrew: Robo Vanguard Fist!
Andrew cracks the villains' barrier, and Gaius's arrow rain breaks through it!
Blue: NOOO
Gaius: Nice, Andrew! That should be most of them!
Andrew: Organic-Robot bond! Friendship!
Gaius: R-right, I did call you my friends...right, never change Andrew.
Andrew: I don't understand?
MC: Great combo guys! / Tee-hee, shy Gaius / I'll tell you later, Andrew
---
(B) Gaius: N-no I'm not! Andrew's just too earnest.
Andrew: Thank you! I think you're an honest guy too!
(C) Andrew: Thank you, MC! I want to learn for human reasons, but I also want to increase my social link with Gaius!
Gaius: ...you're enjoying this, aren't you MC?
---
Gaius: ... (sigh) never mind me. Save it for later, we're still in battle. Though Hisaki looks like he's done.
The KOed villains default out of their transformations, and this half of the party regroups with Hisaki and Melide after making sure of that.
Gaius: Hisaki, Melide! You two okay?
Melide: Yes, and it looks like you guys are done too. Hisaki beat up everyone else.
Hisaki: Welp, it's just you left. Feel like surrendering yet?
Green: ...dammit, where are the others--the radar ping is going away? Dammit, they're ditching me! I need another exit--
Hisaki: Fail trumpet sounds! We can escort you to the exit if you want?
Green clicks his tongue and runs further in.
Gaius: Stop being a stubborn bitch! After him!
Later
There's a huge door blocking the villain's attempted escape.
Green: Oh no! It's too big! I can't move it...!
Andrew: Stop, evildoer! It's time you learned to regret your misdeeds.
Green: Stay back, or I'll use this! (pulls out a familiar cube)
Hisaki: An Ether Catcher!? You had another one!?
Gaius: ...are you seriously thinking of taking Cetus and the bots hostage again? (looks at the nearby floating bots)
Green: ...heh, you don't know how Ether Catchers are really meant to be used.
Hisaki: A bluff.
Green: (smirks) Ether Catchers can absorb and separate nearby ether bodies. So what if I compressed and fired that ether?
Hisaki: !! You're gonna use it to make a bomb!?
Green: Yeah, and it oughta be a big bomb with all these bots around right...?
The villain holds a finger up to the Ether Catcher's on button. Cetus sees this and reactivates its Space Nessie form, rushing up to stop him.
Gaius: NO!
Green: ...ugh, you're in the way! Fine, I'll just trap you again! (click)
Cetus gets trapped again! The other bots are getting sucked in too!
Green: Ha! Know your place, you junk scraps! I--wait, what's that shaking?
The Ether Catcher keeps sucking things in. Cracking sounds resound as the ruins shake.
Gaius: ...an earthquake, now!? And it feels big!
Hisaki: It shouldn't be, the ruins are floating in the water...which means it's something else...
Andrew: Look! The door the villain is standing in front of!
Blue light from the door gets sucked into the villain's Ether Catcher, which causes the door to weaken and open.
Green: Yes! Luck is on my side! I was gonna bomb the door with this, but this works too! Catch, people!
The villain attaches the Ether Catcher to his spear gun and points it at the party. It's glowing white hot.
Andrew: High energy readings detected! It's giving off high temperatures!
Hisaki: OH NO
Green: Have fun in your next life!
MC: Hisaki, deploy your shield! Full force!
MC sends all remaining VP to Hisaki.
Hisaki: Okay, feast your eyes on my tech and get behind me! Overload Barrier Charge!
The villain's attack bears down!
Hisaki: Hold! Hold, dammit!
Melide: Hisaki, no! You'll hurt yourself if you put that much strength into it!
Gaius: Melide, get behind me! Andrew, we're helping Hisaki!
Andrew: Right!
Melide: ...I'll expand their Paths! Observer Cheer!
Gaius and Andrew's connections are strengthened!
Gaius: We got it! Hisaki, we're helping out together!
Andrew: Hisaki, it'll be okay! We won't lose!
The entire party's power is charged to Hisaki's Parallel Weapon.
Heroes: AAAAAA
MC: GOOOO! / ...win!
Green: W-what!? AAAAGH
The Ether Catcher blows up into tiny pieces!
Andrew: ...it stopped? Hisaki, are you okay!?
Hisaki: Y-yeah...I can still move. Where's the villain?
Gaius: I'll go look. You guys stay here.
Hisaki's shield goes down and Gaius approaches carefully.
Gaius: ...he's out cold. I think he's just KOed, and his transformation should cancel soon.
Andrew: Those fragments on the floor must be the Ether Catcher.
Hisaki: ...okay, things are good for now then. So the energy powering the door shut must have been ether. The villain must've leeched energy from being so close to it and sucked so much it made the Ether Catcher blow up. (sighs and looks around)
Hisaki: ...I still can't believe he'd do all that in these ruins! Or his abuse of cutting edge tech with the Ether Catcher!
Gaius: Yeah, we need to tie him up and make him tell us where his friends are when he wakes up.
Hisaki: We should call the research team and get their help. They should be here soo--
Melide: !? Be careful! I sense something strong and evil...!
MC: Something's coming!
???: SCREEEEE
A roar comes from the giant door...
Title Card: The Bonds In the Middle of Nowhere
A giant Monster breaks through the big door and screams!
Gaius: Oh god what it's huge!
Andrew: We must get away and head to the door! Oh right, the villain--
Whoops he just got ate.
Hisaki: Give him back, dammit! He can't pay back his dues if he's retgone!
Melide: ...Hisaki, we should focus on our own safety for now. It's too dangerous.
The party starts to run, but then...
Gaius: Wait a minute, there's still Cetus and the bots!
The party looks back to see the Monster approaching the Cetus bots.
Gaius: Cetus! Wake up and get away from there!
The Cetus bots recollect the leaking ether from the Ether Catcher and start reactivating.
Hisaki: N-no, wait! If they reactivate, they'll attack the Monster! They can't win!
The Cetus bots float up and beep boop upon detecting a Monster, then turn towards it.
Melide: ...Hisaki, I'm not getting a good feeling about this. Doesn't Cetus the bots run on ether...?
Hisaki: Y-yeah, they have to if the Ether Catcher shorted them out. Why?
Melide: Monsters eat Recognition Value, but I've heard that's because it draws in ether. If the bots absorb the ether in here, they'll draw the Monster's attention more.
MC: What? That sounds like time with the Christmas tree.
Gaius: Cetus, get away from there dammit!
The Monster gets close enough to attack the bots and swings at one!
Gaius: NO! Augh...! Y-you okay!?
Gaius bodyblocked the attack and gets sent rolling on the floor!
Cetus: ...
Cetus stares at the Monster like it's thinking of something, then sends some sort of signal out.
Andrew: ...no, Gaius! The Monster is going to attack!
The Monster pulls its arm back to swing at Gaius!
Andrew: N-no, I won't make it in time!
Gaius: DAMMIT!
Cetus: (Space Nessie noises)
Cetus bots cover for Gaius!
Gaius: Cetus!? W-what are you doing!?
Hisaki: T-they protected him!
A bunch of bots have been smashed into scrap, but more bots come in to keep the wall up.
Gaius: NO!
The Monster swallows the bots!
Gaius: CETUS!
The Monster plays Polymerization! Monster + Cetus = Blue Eyes White Space Whale Dragon!!
Hisaki: WHAT
Andrew: Is that...a Monster? I see the guardian god in the center!
Melide: ...the Monster is possessing the Cetus robots! ...you've seen something like this before, haven't you MC?
MC: ...like with Mt. Fuji?
Melide: (nods) Right. Monsters eat recognition and make people forget things, but sometimes they take in what they eat to be a part of themselves.
MC: That's a thing!? / ...just like at Wehrmalt and the tree.
Melide: ...I think they believed it would be more convenient to use all the ether here to control the Cetus bots.
Gaius: No! Cetus, wake up!
Monster: REEEEE
Hisaki: ...no, get away from there Gaius!
Hisaki sends his fish drone to save Gaius from being pancaked.
Gaius: Whoa! Sorry, and thanks Hisaki! But Cetus...can't we save him?
MC: ...get up, Gaius! It's our turn to save him now! We should still make it if we defeat the Monster!
Gaius: (snaps out of it) ...right. I don't know why Cetus saved me, but I can't just sit on my ass here.
Andrew is picking up a signal.
Andrew: I'm getting nearby waves...it's a radio signal--no wait, an alert from the guardian god! It's telling us to leave!
Gaius: No way...no, we're all getting out together. Hang on Cetus...we'll save you.
Gaius gets up and grips his Parallel Weapon.
Gaius: ...I care about Cetus and the time I spent with him. He's why I never gave up on diving in the lake and the reason I learned about my past...I may be some clone...but that doesn't matter. I want to protect Cetus, and that's all the reason I need to kick Monster ass!
MC: Gaius! (nods)
Hisaki: Gaius, MC...right, we gotta save Cetus quick before it's too late. Hey, drone? We'll do whatever we can if there's something we can do!
Hisaki pumps his fist. The fish drone swims around him in response.
Hisaki: Let's go do what only we can do to shine on someone's future!
Andrew: ...this is a bond, isn't it? Yes, the bond I wanted to see and protect!
Andrew looks at Gaius and Hisaki and sees the future they hold.
Andrew: What is this feeling called? I still don't understand, but I promise to protect your connection because that is my dream!
Hisaki: Sure, I'll show you my bond! Melide, MC!
Melide: ...you're going to fight. I understand. Good luck!
MC: No objections. Let's save Cetus and get that villain back!
MC and Melide tap on their phones to begin operation.
Andrew: ...everyone, I just lost the guardian god's signal! We need to hurry!
Hisaki: Counting on you to operate, MC! We'll take back every life trapped inside!
Melide: I'll do my best too! Let's fight with everyone!
Gaius: Cetus, I'm paying you back for the time you saved me from a Monster. I'll get you back even if I have to bet everything I have!
MC: Careful guys! Wave battle, ride on!
BATTLE START
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