Xenogears: In which there are far fewer dungeons.
Hour 42: The second disc opens with a scene of first Fei, then Elly, having a flashback, reliving past lives, but particularly the one where they were Lacan and Sophia. We get to see a bit of their relationship, and for the first time really have their repeated love stories laid out for us. It's kind of weird, but I actually like this scene anyway: it's presented almost like poetry, with Fei and Elly saying many of the same things, sometimes slightly different, as reflections of each other.
Following this, they wake up and we learn that they've been healed from near-death by Taura Melchior, one of the Sages and the master of molecular engineering technology previously mentioned. Apart from saving their lives, he has also modified Fei so no more Id. And modified Weltall so it can use Id's powers at will, along with the help of Balthazar, who makes his first appearance in about 40 hours.
Shevat learns that Fei is safe now and tries to recruit him back into the war effort with Solaris. Apparently pretty much the entire Solaris military survived the fall, which makes sense given how much of it was stationed on battleships and on the surface, and of course the rest probably were able to evacuate. They've already levelled Aveh and are heading for Nisan. Taura doesn't think Fei should give a shit about Shevat, which was trying to string him up not too long ago; he clearly has some contempt for his own home country. While I kinda get this, it's still kind of dumb to leave non-Solarian civilisation hanging. Elly certainly agrees, and encourages Fei to go assist them, with his new powers.
Elly doesn't join him because Taura has another task he wants done: he has, over the years, come up with a nanomachine which, once released, should multiply and remove the Limiters present in all humans, which would be quite a coup for the good guys. But he needs to get them into the upper atmosphere so they can spread across the world. Fortunately he knows of a location with an ancient "mass driver" which should be able to launch a payload into the atmosphere; he just needs someone to go do it. Elly volunteers for this task. Emeralda and Citan also show up, and Emeralda volunteers to help.
Before leaving for her mission, Elly talks with Citan. She thinks she loves Fei, but isn't sure how much of it is anguish over losing her parents and then those strange dreams, and how much of it is real, so she wants to do something separately from Fei to give her some time to sort out her feelings. After everyone leaves, there's a scene where Grahf shows up, and we learn that it was he who saved Fei and Elly and brought them to Taura, showing once again his strange sympathy for his "other self" and reincarnated love interest.
There's totally this dungeon where Elly and Emeralda go and save the day, with Citan joining them in the middle of the mission (why he didn't accompany them is left ambiguous, probably to give Emeralda some time to connect with her "mother" and develop as a character). This could have been kind of cool; certainly sounds more interesting than the Anima Relic dungeons we did get. It isn't actually in the game though.
Fei, meanwhile, gets to beat up Ramsus with his newfound power, and then goes to help stave off Solarian invasion (though again, we don't actually play this) while Bart turns the Kislev palace into a really big gear and beats up another really big gear from Solaris. This gets a "sure, whatever Xenogears"/10. Some things stood out to me as incredibly goofy when I played this game as a teenager and this is definitely one. I guess it's an homage to some mecha anime or something else I don't care about. Regardless, Nisan is saved!
Unfortunately, bad shit starts to happen. Humans everywhere begin transforming into Wels. We learn shortly that it's because Krelian had designed nanomachines which would cause this change and they were released upon Solaris' destruction. It's pretty awful, as huge segments of the population mutate into monsters. The Gazel Ministry are confused as to why it is happening but aren't going to complain since it turns out that these Wels are "the true form of humans" and part of their plan... to be pieces of the god they are trying to resurrect. Meanwhile, there's a scene with Krelian and Miang, highlighting some of the tension between Krelian and the Gazel, as while both seem to be in the business of resurrecting god, both want to be "in control" of the resulting creature at the end. Miang frankly declares to Krelian that she doesn't really care which of the two "wins" as that both are working towards her goals she will support the winner. Nevertheless, she certainly seems to allign more closely with Krelian based on recent scenes, suggesting that the scientist has the inside track on the crazy dead dudes residing in a computer.
The scene shifts to Soylent System. It was previously mentioned that while some of the facilities had been moved to Solaris, the bulk were on the surface. We learn that Solaris had been "recruiting" all the transformed humans to come to Soylent where they would receive treatment, but it was, of course, a terrible trap. The humans there have turned against each other, the infected attacking the uninfencted, the more infected attacking the less infected. All humanity seems lost. Elly is moved by their suffering, however. She sheds some of her own blood to placate a few of them, but for the rest she makes a heartfelt appeal for them to recover their humanity. It's not a bad speech, although it still stretches credibility that she'd actually be able to get through to all these borderline zombies. Nevertheless, she does.
It doesn't help that the party, with Taura's help, does in fact have a cure. Taura's nanomachines can ease the suffering and in some case even reverse the transformations of the people. Combined with Elly's appeal to the hearts and an actual cure, the party is available to free the Wels from the grips of Soylent, going from facility to facility to break Solarian influence over its new god-parts. Elly, meanwhile, starts to appear more and more like her previous incarnation, Sophia, who had become a similar symbol of hope for the people.
The Gazel are furious. Their plans have been thwarted! Fortunately, they have a plan. They will activate the "Gaetia Key", which will greatly increase the rate of Wels transformation. Before they can, though, they EAT ELECTRICITY. Emperor Cain makes his appearance, overruling the Gazel, refusing to let them use the key. They try to appeal to him... they need this to become God, they need this so they can rule as is their purpose, don't you see?!?
Cain savagely mocks them. "Your purpose...? You were fated to it from your birth. Why haven't you realized that it does not arise from your own free will?" Their god, he claims, is playing them like a fiddle. Humanity deserves a chance to go on living, not be consumed by the Ministry's petty greed. Fuck yeah, Cain rules. Good lord is he refreshing compared to all the other centuries-old douchebags in this game.
Hour 43: With things taken care of regarding the future of humanity, at least for now, the party decides to hunt down the remaining Anima Relics. Shevat holds one, Bart reclaimed one, and Citan himself has another, presumably given to him by Cain (although this isn't made explicit). It's time to hunt down some more since keeping such powerful toys out of the hands of Solaris is a good thing.
There's a dungeon where the party goes to reclaim one. No real story here until the end. The anima relic is found and upgrades Billy's gear to an omnigear! (Gameplaywise there's rather little difference.) As they leave, though, the party runs into the Elements. Elly will appear here even if not in the party, as Dominia is essentially her rival, and recent events have only further highlighted the difference between them, Elly the protector and Dominia, who believes that it is right that the weak perish. She has rationalised Solaris' actions, even destroying her own homeland, as natural, and her survival and rise to the top of Solarian ranks proves her own strength. Mild-mannered Kelvena also agrees with Dominia, positing that the sheltering of weak humans will ultimately be the race's downfall, and that only the strong will survive while the weak are weeded out. Two boss battles later shows the Elements who has the real "strength". Yet another RPG where we show those "might makes right" types by... having more might?
The elements are defeated, but Elly specifically spares them. She still has faith in her old friends. As they leave, Kelvena comments admiringly about Elly's way of doing things, showing that her words have had some effect. Dominia isn't so convinced.
Hour 44: The scene cuts back to the Gazel Ministry, now hatching a plot with Miang. They need Cain dead. As long as he lives they are powerless to use the Gaetia Key, and without that their plans are doomed. Miang, fortunately for them, has plans. She has manipulated Ramsus and he will serve their purpose.
Dominia, standing outside the room, overhears this, though! Horrified at what she perceives to be Miang's treachery, she goes to tell Ramsus. However, the Ramsus she runs into is filled with his usual manic fury. Miang has told him where Fei is! He will hunt Fei down! ONLY RAMSUS, WHO TRANSCENDS ALL HUMANS, CAN DEFEAT FEI!
Unfortunately, he has been directed to Nisan, where Fei actually isn't at the moment. Elly is there, watching over the city while Fei and the others search for another Anima Relic. Ramsus is far too deep into the crazy sauce to believe Elly when she says Fei isn't there, however, and with his Omnigear he's able to overpower Nisan's defences easily, screaming at Fei to have him show up. Elly appeals to him, trying to get him to stop. His response is to grab her (with his gear) and threaten to crush her unless Fei appears to rescue her. When Fei doesn't (for obvious reasons), he attempts to carry out his threat, but Elly's ether power overwhelms him and she breaks free. Ramsus is crushed. Not only could he not beat Fei, he is powerless before mere Lieutenant Van Houten as well?
Elly asks him why he is so concerned with Fei, and Ramsus finally volunteers the information. It is not simply that Fei/Id defeated him at Elru, as we had long been told to assume. He reveals that he is a clone of Emperor Cain, created to be the ideal human, but that once Fei was born, who could serve the nebulous purposes of the Solarian elite better, he was rejected, cast aside as useless trash. While it's not yet clear what purpose Solaris had in mind for Ramsus which they felt Fei could fulfill, it's clear that Ramsus has been driven mad by his superiors for this. He proudly trumpets that by his own ability he was nevertheless able to take command of Gebler, but that when Fei reappeared he took away everything from Ramsus. Elly dresses him down, saying that he doesn't understand that love and acceptance aren't things that you take from others, and that Fei's existence does not take them from Ramsus. Ramsus, however, is in no state to hear this. With images of him being grown as a fetus in a vat as Krelian and a mysterious dark-haired woman look on flashing before the player's eyes, he takes off, full of fury.
The Gazel Ministry berates Ramsus for failing yet again. As they dismiss him, Miang appears, telling him comfortingly that she believes in him. And she has a suggestion. She believes that the existence of Cain is limiting Ramsus' potential, that he can not truly ascend to the status of a perfect human, loved and accepted by all, as long as the original exists. But for every problem, there is a solution, isn't there, Kahr...? (Miang is the worst.)
Meanwhile, the party has located another Anima Relic, so it's time for another dungeon! Once again, not much happens here until the end... but that can wait until next time.
