Here there be dragons. Let's Play Bahamut Lagoon!

Impressive.

Fantastic.

Magnificent.

Stupendous!

Glorious!!

Sendak: The Princess's dream... Her dream about Leviathan... I hear Leviathan is in an underground lake near this village. An underground lake nobody has ever entered... I am... scared. I am running a fever as well... We are going to meet Matelite, Taicho and the others there. It seems Taicho is really busy with Mahal's revival. Matelite went into business selling his autographed armor... The princess is with him too...

Might as well head down to the lake, then. Take care of yourself, Sendak.



It's time for another monster mash, I guess. At least it's a boss battle this time, except...



We're going to have to fight our way through everything else to get there first. D'oh.



At least Brandon's having a bit of fun.

Right, anyway it's pretty much the same as before, what with the attacking and the spellcasting and the oy.



I can't help but find it amusing when a dragon undoes an effect on purpose, though.



Truffle's turned into a powerhouse, right here - his attacks are dealing more than the others'. Oh, and the Priest Patrol's powers are pretty potent too.

Figured I'd snap a shot of these guys while I'm here, even if it doesn't portray Vic in a positive light.



Hahaha! No one can stand up to Brandon's glorious might!



By the way, the enemy units can put you to sleep with a seductive smile, but that's not a big deal because hey, it's sleep.



And the killing continues, of course...

Now we're facing off against some fighting octopi.



This guy, right here, manages to surive something like six-straight ranged attacks...



...And even manages to drop Frenze as well. Ouch.



We still win, of course.

We're pretty much already there - past these two and one more colossus, we can march straight to the boss.



*whiff*



I'm running a little low on Magic Gins, apparently.

And so they fall.



Just one more to go - let's do this.

That should be the last of the colossi, meaning it's time to...



SWARM!!!

Yep.



HOLY SHIT TALKING OCTOPUS

BRIEFS: Oh!

Sendak: Are you all right, Princess?

BRIEFS: There is... a Holy Dragon... Ahead, on the other side of the door...

Matelite: Okay! Now it's our turn! Let's go, Taicho!

Taicho: Affirmative!

[Matelite and Taicho charge the door; it doesn't open.]

Taicho: It is too hard! We cannot even scratch it!

Matelite: Hmmm... If this gets out, the title of Royal Guard will become obsolete.

Sendak: It is no use with brute strength alone... If indeed this is a doorway to a Holy Dragon, there is no way we can pry our way inside! Only the one with the power of a Dragnar can open it... Okay, Princess...

BRIEFS: Okay. Let me try.



Taicho: Is there truly a Holy Dragon inside?

BRIEFS: The Holy Dragon is... calling me...

Sendak: Ahead is the Holy Dragon's sanctum... I am not sure we can enter...

Matelite: We can't put BRIEFS in danger! PANTS!! You go ahead and check it out!



It's hard to tell with the screenshots here, but PANTS and Matelite were thrown rather forcefully out of the room.

Oh, and BRIEFS collapsed again.

Sendak: Princess!

Matelite: BRIEFS!!



BRIEFS: M-me? Heal your wounds?

Leviathan: ((Our sadness... Our anger... Come... Listen closely to our call...

BRIEFS: Please, wait!

[There's a brilliant flash a light.]



BRIEFS: PANTS... Leviathan... Anger...? Sadness...? The Holy Dragons... They seem to be angry... And sad...

Sendak: Anger...? Sadness...? Just what does it mean...? I do not understand... I am sad...

Matelite: Well how about that?! The Holy Dragons are just like us! Our hearts are always full of anger and sadness!! When I think about the day Kahna was destroyed, I... Everybody in the Resistance must have wounds in their hearts... Secret thoughts they can tell no one... Wounds in their hearts... Our thoughts are with the Holy Dragons! We fight together! Let's hurry and get out of here!

And with that...



Join us next time as the Resistance pulls their first Spy Operation.

You.... you fished up Ultros.

(Well, ok, the things you fight later look more like Octomamm, but whatever.)

Oops. Oh well, he should at least make for some delicious seafood soup. :9

Picking up from where we left off last time, we had fought through the monsters guarding the Holy Dragon, Leviathan, and enlisted his help in our search for the others. Now with two Holy Dragons on our side, we're off to find the continent where the next dragon resides. However, back in the Granbelos Empire...



Sauzer: ((Reading the Holy Dragonsi minds... Doing so means I will no longer be myself. When I change, Palpaleos... Take charge of the Granbelos Empire...))



Monsters: ((The suitable human we will entrust with the doorway to the new era... The one who will bring peace... To our confused minds... With his power...



Sauzer: No, guardians of the Holy Dragons... Firest, allow me to express my gratitude for your choosing me... However, let me ask you one thing. Why... did you choose me?

Grand Moth: ((Emperor Sauzer of the Granbelos Empire.... Great Conquerer of the Human World... But you know of the emptiness of those titles.))

[Great Moth teleports beside Holy Dragon.]

Scylla: ((And you know the pain of fighting...))

[Scylla teleports beside Holy Dragon.]

Gryphon: ((The doorway to the new era cannot be opened by a weak-minded human. Nor by we monsters...))

Soul Cage: ((Read the minds of the Holy Dragons, and open the doorway for us...))

[Gryphon teleports beside Holy Dragon.]



Sauzer: Monsters... Let it begin.



Sauzer: ...... The minds of the Holy Dragons... So these are their thoughts... Unnngh!!

[Sauzer collapses.]

That... wasn't good. In any case, it's about time now that we join the Resistance when they begin...





Taicho: Agreed! I want as much information as possible!

Matelite: Right! Let's send a spy into the Empire! Hold on a moment! I'll bring back some good spies who won't mind dying!

[A few moments later...]

Matelite: I brought some!



So our spy candidates are Donfan, a nameless crew member, and Sendak? ...I'm not sure I like these choices.

Matelite: This will be a perilous and possibly fatal mission! So you get to choose, PANTS! Ladies and gentleman, you're our spy candidantes!! If you're going to feel bitter, do so to PANTS!

...Yeah, thanks for that, Matelite.

Note that, if you select Matelite, he'll just send Taicho instead. The jerk.

Though you're given quite a selection to choose from here, there's only really two choices worth making. Sendak's and crew member's are virtually identical to Taicho's save for the lack of an extra scene at the end of the chapter, so choosing them in lieu of the latter isn't optimal considering you can see what they get just by viewing Taicho's alone. Donfan's is the only one that's completely different - most of the scenes present in his are entirely different from what the others get...



...As we'll soon see.

Donfan: [I]I, Donfan, shall steal the hearts of 100 girls of the Empire. Such is the way of the world... I shall return.



And there he goes. Good luck, o pure-hearted and serious warrior!

This is the way!



Matelite: Report!

Donfan: The Empire's female soldiers were quite strong. But when a female soldier is separated, she becomes a single girl... I used my kind words to bring you this information. Of course... not just information. Yes... Short-lived loevs with this fabulous spy... Such was my mission... My first girl was...



Flashback time. Note that, throughout Palpaleos's entire speech, Donfan and the female soldier are playing a bit of back-and-forth in the corner...

Palpaleos: ((Emperor Sauzer has risked his life to challenge the legend of the Holy Dragons. In doing so, he has collapsed from exhaustion. However, there is no need to worry... Emperor Sauzer has spoken with a Holy Dragon... The Emperor's wish for a new era... We, the Granbelos Empire, shall become the supreme ruler of the new era...)))



Donfan: Then I infiltrated Granbelos Castle. Heh, a spy's dangerous activities must go smoothly... they must go delicately... Like how one must treat a girl. It was a simple task for a fellow such as myself...

I can't tell whether Donfan's the worst spy ever for revealing himself at the sight of a lady, or the greatest for managing to make it out of the Empire alive regardless.

Donfan: You shouldn't fight all the time. I can't stand to see your beautiful smiles on the battlefield... I'll show you what a true battle is! The wounds of passion, the pains of love... Just this once, with me...

[The soldiers ignore him, walking off.]



But how many successes were there?

Donfan: How about escaping from this gloomy castle and taking a trip with me into the sky? There I will show you my dream to make you a princess.



Too bad, Donfan, she's already got a boyfriend!

Oh, and Persona makes an appearance here. Say hi, Persona!



Lord almighty, do you even know who that is, Donfan?

Donfan: Even though I may not look like it, I'm actually the captain of a large ship! It's called Papillon, but if you'd like, I can name it after you! Let's start with your name. What is it? [beat] General Babarela?! What a coincidence... I was once called the General of Love long ago! Any hobbies? [beat] Whips... uh... um... I see... So you like whips... What type of man do you like? [beat] Men who are silent and train hard in swordsmanship... ...... People say I'm a poor speaker.

[Babarela leaves, with Donfan following her.]



Speaking of men who are silent and train hard in swordsmanship...

Donfan's name echoed throughout the Empire...

Sometimes, I wonder if whether this is embellishment or not on Donfan's part.



Donfan: What are they thinking about right now? Are they thinking about Donfan, the dreamy spy? Oh... I didn't even tell you my name. But I stole excellent information from you... If you must know why, it is because love is top secret! Such is the way of the world...!! I must be going now!

Gotta love Donfan.

Of course, we'll be wanting that extra scene at the end, yes? Now let's see if we chose Matelite as our spy...



Matelite: ((What?!)) Bwahaha!! I can't go, I'm too famous! Taicho, you can be the spy!



Poor Taicho, always acting as Matelite's whipping boy...

Matelite: Report!

Taicho: Here is a present! It should be useful for work on your autographed armor!!

[Taicho hands Matelite armor, which Matelite snatches.]

Matelite: Report!



Taicho: ......

There, there, Taicho. We know how you feel.

Taicho: The Empire was in complete disarray! I slipped in to hear the speech and no one noticed! The citizens of the Empire were worried about Emperor Sauzer's illness and gathered there! However... there was one among the Grabelos generals who was delighted that Sauzer was sick! The general on the right named Gudolf was very strange! Gudolf is Lestat's superior officer...



Hey, fancy that. Gudolf's laughing away up there.

The text is the same as last time, so I won't bother retranscribing it...



Taicho: It was like this...

"Sauzer": I can become the man of legend without borrowing the princess's power!

Taicho: Sauzer somehow found a way to read the minds of the Holy Dragons! Something is going on... That is all I know!! Afterwards, I continued my spying! I snuck into Granbelos Castle and searched for Lestat!

From left to right: Zomberd, Gudolf, Lestat and Radia (who we'll meet next chapter).

Gudolf: The only one who rightfully suits the podium is I, Gudolf! A new era... in other words, my era!! Sauzer has been defeated! I will show the people of the Empire what it means to be a truly strong man! The emperor of Granbelos... The ruler of the world... All the status! All the power! All will be mine!

[Gudolf laughs.]



Taicho: It was difficult... No weapons, four generals... All I could do was hide. I will get even on the battlefield! I want to get back at them, together with you, Matelite! That is all! That is the end of my report!! ......



Sendak: There is still something I do not understand... Emperor Sauzer read the Holy Dragon's mind... But, how? How could he do that? Afterwards, Emperor Sauzer became ill and unable to move... But, once he becomes better, he will definitely seek out the Holy Dragons! We must search for the Holy Dragons quickly!! The battles from now on will be much more difficult than anything so far. The Empire is in chaos. But if you look at it the other way, we too are suffering. But we have made it this far! We must not give up now!

Matelite: Yes! In one word... please!

Taicho: Sauzer somehow found a way to read the minds of the Holy Dragons! Something is going on... That is all I know!!

Matelite: We're going to find the Holy Dragons before Sauzer and revive Kahna!

Then Matelite falls out the window...

Hornet: It looks like Truggle has arrived... Granbelos Empire's secret weapon... There's a sky monster here! PANTS!! Jump down! It's not that far. From that distance you could probably even feed the dragons...



Jumping out of the window on the bridge leads us out to where the dragons are. You can get back inside talking to the dragonkeeper, thankfully.

Dragonkeeper: The Empire's secret weapon is amazing! You can only get inside using a dragon to attack. Do you want to go back inside?

Yes. Yes I do.



Crew member: I promised Truffle I would, but will the day when it comes true ever come...?

If we had chosen crew member here as his spy, he would be dead right now - Truffle would've returned alone with his spy notes - and his dream of becoming a dragon wouldn't have had a chance to come true.

Not that it will anyway, but still.



Oh, and a letter from the Battlefield Salesman! How nice...

Letter: (Abbreviated...) To PANTS, It's all very sudden, but we got married. From now on we will work very hard together. ~Wife of the battlefield salesman

Awwwwww.

Might as well stock up on a few items while I'm here.



Oh, and keep in mind you'll have to chat with VicViper's mystery rider in order to head off into the battle.

But first: Dragon Feeding!

It's been a while since we've seen any major form changes (Brandon aside), so I figure it's time to mix things up a bit by feeding them the other elements for the time being. It should look somewhat familiar to any FFVI fans out there...

Next up, Brandon gets his Ice and Thunder maxed out, giving him a huge boost in power as a result, This is probably going to be the last time we feed Brandon for a little while, to be honest, but otherwise he's turned out great.