They went on as they come across another puzzle. The sign reads:
* (From the bottom, the order of our rooms in Card Castle.)
* (Of course, if you haven't been there, you won't know it.)
So, they skipped the impossible puzzle. As they continued, there was another one. It was a checker puzzle that sorta looked easier than the last one.
* (When you step into the light, you'll return to where you were before.)
It was difficult at first, but they got the hang of it. There was Lancer with his back facing them.
Lancer: * Ha ha ha...
* So you've begun to cross the GREAT BOARD...
* The halfway point to our castle.
* Hmm... impressive.
* So, it's a shame...
He turns around to face them.
Lancer: * You won't make it a step further!!!
* 'Cause my GUYS are about to smash you into blood!
* Lots of blood!
* Splooshing blood!
* Very gross and bad!
He laughs as he takes out a bucket and puts it in front of him.
Lancer: * Hey, purple girl, was that scarier?
Susie: * Why are you asking ME!?
Lancer: * Because you're really cool at being terrifying!
* I wanna be as scary as you!
Susie turned around a bit and walked to Lancer.
Susie: * You...
* Want to be like ME?
Lancer: * Yeah!!!
Susie: * Well, that's stupid.
* ...
* But, umm, the new laugh isn't as awful.
* And saying you'd turn us into blood is, uh, cool.
* ... what the hell is up with the bucket, though?
Lancer: * It's to put the blood in.
Susie: * Oh.
Lancer: * Yeah, I'm not, uh, supposed to make a mess.
* Anyway, thanks for your feedback! I'm really feeling scary!
Susie: * ... umm, no problem, I guess.
* Haha.
...
* ... so are your guys gonna attack us, or...
Lancer: * ... Oh!
* Yeah!
* ... I was so excited I forgot to bring any guys.
* But NEXT TIME, it'll be the END for—
* Hey, I've just been calling you guys CLOWNs...
* Does your team have an OFFICIAL NAME or something?
Ralsei: * Oh, Kris, we should come up with a name!
Susie: * No, we shouldn't.
Lancer: * Then it's decided!
* Everyone puts a name in the bucket!
(After that...)
Lancer: * Alright, everyone's put in their entries!
* Blue person, you can choose.
* Since you look like you don't care.
Kris has a choice of picking between a crumpled piece of paper, a neat piece of paper, and a LANCER labeled paper. They decided on the crumpled paper.
* (You take the crumpled up piece of paper.)
* (You open it up.)
Lancer: * OK!!
* And your name is... !
* ... Hmm.
* I don't think I'm allowed to say this one.
Susie: * It's PRONOUNCED, "The $!$? Squad."
(Wha- SUSIE!!!)
Lancer: * Woah, I'm not allowed to say Tier-TWO swear words!
* Wow. You three's collective dad must be very cool.
Ralsei: * Er, could we PERHAPS consider a DIFFERENT name?
Susie: * Ralsei, you don't HAVE to be in our Squad.
Lancer: * Yeah! How about I be in the Squad and YOU be the bad guy?
* Here.
* Call up my dad.
* Tell him he has a new son.
* One that has to take a shower every time he reads a swear word.
Ralsei: * OK, fine!
* We can keep the name!
* I just won't say it.
Lancer: * Haha, me too!
* See ya, losers!
* It's shower time!
He leaves as he laughs. And there's another save point in the middle of two pillars.
* The power of the $!? Squad shines within you.
(Oh dear god...)
(File saved; Field - Great Board)
And so, they continue on with the puzzle. After finishing, they found Lancer again at end of the puzzle.
Lancer: * Hohoho...
* Well STEP on my BOOTS.
* If it isn't the (name I'm not allowed to say).
* You boys or girls had better turn back while you can.
Ralsei: * Lancer!!!
* What is it this time!?
Lancer: * Hohoho...
* I'm simply warning you...!
He turns around and takes a step forward.
* Something EXTREMELY dangerous is lying ahead!
He takes another step.
* Hohoho! It's actually really inconvenient!
And another step.
* Ha! I can't go home at all because I'm so scared!
Susie: * Wh... What is it!?
They walked forward to see that same red checker piece they battled earlier.
Ralsei: * Oh, hey, little guy...
Susie: * THAT??? THAT'S what you're afraid of???
Lancer: * W... Wow, purple girl!
* You aren't scared!?
Susie: * Heh, why would I be? What's it gonna do?
Lancer: * Hmm, well, normally...
The little checker piece walked to the end of the board. The floor flashed. Then a crown started falling from above, landing on its head. It went from small to big and it even grew masculine legs. That is very disturbing...
Lancer: * It crushes people to death, I think.
K. Round Battle:
Susie: * We... We did it!?
Lancer: * Wow!! You clowns really ARE heroes!!
* You saved the next twenty minutes of my life!!
Susie: * Yeah, yeah, I am pretty great, huh...?
Ralsei: * Ummm, Susie... ?
* Not to downplay your contributions, but...
* You... didn't actually help at all.
* You only made everything WORSE by attacking it.
(Yeah, like, why are you trying to take credit for yourself from something Kris AND Ralsei did? They gave mercy while you just attacked, thinking it will solve every situation. No hate for Susie, guys. She's a great character.)
* If you has just acted nice to it in the first place...
* We could have avoided that entire battle.
Susie: * Huh?
* Are you FOR REAL?
(No, he was just overreacting. OF COURSE HE'S FOR REAL!!)
* That thing was BLOODTHIRSTY!!!
* The only thing keeping it at bay was MY AX!
...
Ralsei: * And, earlier, you terrorized those troops...
Susie: * Those guys were ENEMIES. They're FOR terrorizing.
Lancer: * Yeah! She's right!!
Ralsei: * And before that, you ate an innocent person's cake...
...
Susie: * Cakes... are also my enemy.
Ralsei: * ...
* Susie... Whether you like it or not...
* You're a hero.
* One with the power to bring peace to the future.
* Could you please start... acting like one?
...
Susie: * Yeah, when you lay it out like that...
* I've been a pretty bad hero, haven't I?
(Was it not obvious before?)
* ...
* Alright, Ralsei.
* You got it.
* I'll change my ways.
* From now on, I won't be such a rotten hero anymore.
Susie went to the other side of the board where Lancer was.
Susie: * I'll just be one of the BAD GUYS instead!
Ralsei's jaw dropped. He couldn't believe it. Oh, how you could see the look on his face when he witnessed instant betrayal as Susie switch sides on him and Kris just because she didn't want to act like a proper hero and spare any upcoming enemies.
Lancer: * R... Really!?
* You're going to be on MY team?
Susie: * Yeah, sounds way easier, honestly.
(Yeah, no. Being a bad guy is actually not easier than being a hero.)
Ralsei: * Susie, you can't just —
Lancer: * Quiet, Toothpaste Boy! Susie is MY comrade now!
Susie: * Hahaha, yeah, Toothpaste Boy!
Lancer: * We're going to have monogrammed track jackets!
Susie: * Yeah!
Lancer: * And sleepovers! Where we tell each other secrets!
Susie: * Umm, yeah?
* Anyway, uhh, see you guys never.
Lancer: * Haha!! If you can even last that long!
He laughs as they leave. Ralsei walks up to Kris.
Ralsei: * Kris...
* Perhaps I shouldn't have been so hard on her.
* ...
* But, I just worry that if Susie is too eager to fight...
* Then...
* Well, let's just be kind to her, OK, Kris?
* I'm sure Susie will come around soon!
(Sure she will...)
As they continued forward, they heard the sound of leaves rustling. They can spot a familiar face from a few inches.
Ralsei: * Umm... Sora?
Sora immediately stood up, covered in leaves.
Sora: * Dammit! How did you see me?
Ralsei: * You, erm, had your face peaking out from the bush.
Sora: * Oh.
* Not the smartest hiding spot, huh?
Ralsei: * Erm.. I guess... ?
* But, why were you hiding there? Weren't you supposed to be at your shop?
Sora: * Yeah.
* It turns out I didn't really had much people waiting there, so I figured I'd take a 1 - 2 hour break.
Ralsei: * Oh.
Sora: * So, how'd it go with Susie?
Ralsei: * Not too great.
* I practically lectured her because she didn't listen and kept attacking enemies.
* She didn't take it too well and switched sides on us with Lancer.
Sora: * That's horrible!
Ralsei: * It's all my fault.
* If I haven't been hard on her —
Sora stopped him. She put her hand on his head.
Sora: * No. Don't blame yourself.
* You did the right thing.
...
Ralsei: * I... I did?
Sora: * Yes!
* ...
* Hey...
Ralsei: * ... ?
Sora: * I know I declined the offer of being a part of your team. Then, I thought for a moment...
* ...
* I... guess I'm in your team now?
Ralsei: * Really!?
Sora shaked her head in approval.
Ralsei: * Yay!
* Sora finally joins the team!
(Fanfare plays in the background):
* Sora joined the party!
Sora: * Awww, thank you!
Ralsei: * No problem!
Oooo, a save point!
* Sora, the long lost princess, is now your ally.
* The power of mysterious ones shines within you.
(I couldn't think of a better one, okay? But, it's also supposed to suit her because she mysteriously disappeared out of sight.)
(File saved; Field - Entrance)
Moving forward, the three spotted Susie and Lancer at the end.
Ralsei: * Susie... ! Lancer... !
Susie: * Heheheh...
Lancer: * Well if it isn't the so-called Heroes... !
Susie: * Are you finally ready to see what happens...
Lancer: * When you try to act soft...
Susie: * Against a team that crushes ANYONE in their way?
Lancer: * Dark Jack Lancer!
Susie: * Violent Ax Susie!
* Together we are...
Lancer: * The DARK $!? Squad!
...
Sora: * Cute names.
Susie: * Eh...
* Cute!?
* They're not cute, they're BADASS!!
Sora: * And... ?
* It's the same thing.
Susie: * They are two completely different things!
* Who the HELL do YOU think you ARE?!
Sora: * Someone who's about to give you a full on life lesson on how you should show respect to others and needing to be grateful for everything you have in life, like a roof over your head.
Susie: * ...
Ralsei: * Uh...
* Susie, this is Sora.
* You know, the princess in the legend.
Susie: * Huh.
* I expected she would look royal, but all I see is a grown ass woman wearing a cloak trying to hide herself because she's hideous.
Sora: * ...
* And I took that personally.
...
Ralsei: * Um... So what's your, um, evil plan?
Susie: * Huh?
* Dude, we JUST formed our team.
* We haven't done anything past our intro yet.
Lancer: * Have a little patience, please...
Ralsei: * Oh, um, sorry...
* We're, um, looking forward to the rest!
Susie: * Heh, well, you won't have to look forward for long.
Lancer: * Starting now... We're going to work CEASELESSLY...
Susie: * Unstoppably...
Lancer: * To make an evil plan to THRASH you clowns.
Susie: * Watch your backs.
Lancer: * And your fronts!
And so they left once again.
Sora: * She had some nerve to talk to me like that.
Ralsei: * Don't worry.
* I'm pretty sure it's just her way of communicating.
* She might open up to us soon.
Sora: * She better because I'm about to kick her ass back to last year!
(Woah!)
It's weird how we see Susie and Lancer again only a few seconds later. I thought they'd be farther away.
Ralsei: * How's the evil scheming going?
Susie: * Huh? Oh, that?
* We, uh, got bored.
* So we're having a snack.
Ralsei: * ... I see.
Susie: * C'mon! All I ate for breakfast was chalk!
Lancer: * And I didn't eat anything!
Ralsei: * Sorry. What are you two having, exactly... ?
Lancer: * Just a daily treasure I hid in this stump's orifice.
Ralsei: * And that is... ?
Lancer: * Feast for yourself, my main man.
Ralsei: * Kris, do you want to, um, try it?
(Make Ralsei try it/Make Sora try it/Decline it/Try it) (Try it.)
* (There was a honeypot of salsa inside the stump.)
* (You ate some salsa.)
* (It recovered... something.)
* (Not HP.)
* (Just... something.)
Susie: * Mmm...
* Hey, what's in this?
Lancer: * I don't know!
(Ooookay...?)
And so the three went through another route just to find Susie and Lancer again. This time they had some sort of blueprint. There was also a puzzle.
* (Enter the password!)
* (Note: Due to everyone forgetting the password, it's written at the top.)
I wonder if Susie and Lancer are getting somewhere with their plan. Let's see.
Susie: * Then add a mustache over there...
Lancer: * Hee hee, like this?
Susie: * Haha! Yeah! That's perfect!!!
Ralsei: * How's the scheming coming along, you two?
Susie: * Hey, don't LOOK!
* Spoilers, dude!
Sora: (quietly) * It sounds to me that they're just goofing around instead of actually doing a plan.
...
Lancer: * Well well well... Look who it is.
* The Sweet Little Peas We Love To See.
Susie: (smiling) * Hey! Watch your language!
Lancer: * Oh, sorry...
* Susie's trying to get me to swear more.
Okay, NOW let's solve the puzzle. It's pretty simple. Just enter spade, diamond, spade, then flip to get the one shown above (club, heart, club). The spikes then disappeared. Oh, how you could see the looks on Susie and Lancer's faces after they solved it. They must've felt like idiots.
Susie: * ...
* Heh, thanks for doing the puzzle for us, losers!
Lancer: * Hahaha! Thank you so much, losers! We were having trouble!
They left once again. Then they came back seconds later to get their blueprint.
Susie: * We, uh, need this.
And now they left for real. Sora facepalms her face with frustration. She turned Ralsei to face her and got down to his height, putting her hand on his shoulder.
Ralsei: * What's wrong?
Sora: * Listen.
* I know your just doing this out of kindness, but they need to learn how to do it themselves without help.
* So, when they're stuck on another puzzle, let them do it on their own.
Ralsei: * ...
* Helping people is what I do.
* I can't let anything bad happen to them.
Sora: * You saw how Susie deals with enemies.
* She's not gonna let anything or anyone get between her.
Ralsei: * ...
* Okay.
(Sora's not trying to be rude. She's just looking out for her little nephew.)
Sora gets up and turns to Kris.
Sora: * Kris.
* Thank you for not leaving my nephew's side and always being there for him.
* I know your nothing like Susie. You are so much better than her.
* And for that, I got you a little gift.
She gave Kris a little box. They opened it.
* (You got the Eerie Dagger.)
* (Eerie Dagger was added to your WEAPONs.)
There's another item in there? Let's see what they got.
* (You got the Platinum Horns.)
* (Platinum Horns was added to your ARMORs.)
Going forward, the three continue on.
Apologies for the delay. It's been a rough day for me. I'm actually gonna stop it here. Trust me, I really want to continue but I don't want to stress myself out more. Just one more chapter and then moving on to Chapter 2! Here's some info on the items that were received from Sora.
—————————————————————————
Eerie Dagger:
Short Name - Eerie Dagger
Type - Weapon
Equippable By - Kris
Effects - +4AT, Eeriness
Source - Sora
Weapon ID - 22
Flavor Text:
Check - • A small black (mainly) and purple dagger with black hues surrounding it. It has a very sinister texture and look. Don't let the size trick you, it's pretty darn heavy.
Eerie Dagger is an item that is received to Kris by Sora. No price whatsoever. It's just gifted.
Flavor Text:
• Love the design, hate the size. [When attempting to equip it to Susie]
• Oh no, this is too heavy for me. [When attempting to equip it to Ralsei]
The Eerie Dagger can only be equipped by Kris and gives +4AT and Eeriness.
—————————————————————————
Platinum Horns:
Short Name - Platinum Horns
Type - Armor
Equippable By - Kris
Effects - +5DF, TPGain
Source - Sora
Armor ID - 16
Flavor Text:
Check - A normal helmet with giant horns made out of platinum.
The Platinum Horns is an armor item that is received to Kris from Sora, along with the Eerie Dagger.
—————————————————————————
That's pretty much it for them, despite their descriptions being so damn short. And if you ask if Sora has a consumable in her shop, then the answer is yes. It is called Mysterious Candy which will be discussed at the next chapter. Thank you for understanding.