Here on the basement third floor, there is a simple layout, which Gershwin lampshades.
"A generator and a prison cell! I think Agaton's here!"
Jurina pipes down, "Shh... calm down. There are guards here."
So, we're going into stealth mode, huh? Fair enough.
[Note]
Prevent a 5-unit gauntlet of fighting by acting stealthily. Each guard has a set pattern that you must get through.
The guards will move in their own set patterns, then pause for 4 seconds.
For each guard evaded until the end of the segment, all allies will gain 250 EXP each.
Meanwhile, the total EXP acquired by engaging in the 5-unit gauntlet is 800.
I admit I've never played a stealth action game before, simply because those games don't interest me much, but I need to bite the bullet if we all want to progress through this.
Using my rudimentary stealth skills, we all sneak through the guards, who are all female and are wearing skimpy armor.
By the way, this "skimpy armor" thing is one of my personal character design bugbears.
Sure, some character appeal must be made to market a game better, but one must draw the line at showing too much skin, especially if it doesn't help the cause of actually providing protection and maneuverability.
And before one asks, I'm no prude.
We successfully get through all five guards, and we then come across the aforementioned prison cell.
I remark as I unknowingly hold a key from one of the guards, "A key, eh? Then it'll unlock the door of the cell."
The prisoner makes his words of appeal clear.
"Please... save me..."
CJ wants to answer the call, in the midst of her coughs.
"I must... save Agaton!"
Of course, her retainer dissuades her.
"No! You are, unfortunately, too weak to do that."
Juniper suggests, "Don't worry, I'll unlock the door for you."
Bearwin tries to defuse the tension, "Can you do that, Mr. Master of Unlocking? I can even give you a lock pick."
"I don't need that damn thing!"
Gershwin cuts in, "Just get it over with and fast!"
After Juniper willingly unlocks the door, Agaton is finally set free.
"Whoever you are, travelers, I thank you from the bottom of my heart."
CJ, even with her wheezes, responds, "Don't... mention it."
I inquire, "Well, Mr. Muller, why were you imprisoned in the first place?"
"It's a long story."
Gershwin acknowledges, "We never mind if it's long. We're patient, you know."
After clearing his throat, Agaton begins his story.
***
Before I was sent into this hellish dungeon, Carmealla and I had a very fruitful relationship. We raised our kids in a proper way; and in some instances they fared beyond our expectations, especially in school.
Until one day.
A man named Ralston Alomani came to Carmealla and said he'd organize a political party consisting of some well-known celebrities.
Well, she followed him, and never returned since then.
I suspected that she was tricked into a disappearing act.
I reported her disappearance to the police, but they didn't do anything...
...until the moment that they suddenly captured me!
I was so shocked that they, who were supposed to enforce the laws of Daig'digaia, were really the goons of that wretched Mr. Alomani.
Later, he showed up along with Carmealla.
I tried to talk some sense into her, but all she said was "All who oppose us must be liquidated" or something like that.
He then declared in the vilest way possible, "Hee hee hee. Your loving and caring wife is now a part of the glorious Movement. If you want to join her, submit yourself to me. If not, you shall rot in her dungeon!"
I wanted to punch and kick that guy to oblivion, but he has unknown powers far greater than I expected.
He then performed some magic trick that made me unconscious.
Before I went lights out... I thought to myself...
How are me and my wife's kids faring right now?
I'd bet a million double pesos that they're suffering the most due to our circumstances.
And now, I'm a goner in this dungeon.
All of the guards here are female.
Regardless of their gender, they are instant killing machines.
***
Jurina reacts as Agaton wraps up his story...
"That... that is so cruel! I never thought feminist domination had ever been this extreme!"
Christian cuts in, "But wait. We've picked up a note containing the ingredients of the..."
Agaton acquiesces, "I know. Those spores. They contain addictive drugs, genetically modified organisms, and..."
I concur, "Yeah, yeah, It's all in the note. Unfortunately, it's torn off. What's the missing link?"
"It's..."
Before Agaton can fill in the gaps, an alarm is sounded.
"ALERT! ALERT! Intruders infiltrated the dungeon and released the lone prisoner! Report to the security department at once!"
Nolan interjects, "Disgraces!"
Bearwin asks, "What should we do now?"
Agaton answers, "Go to the next room! We don't have much time!"
We all hurriedly make our way to the next floor, the basement fourth floor, until we can ensure ourselves that the alarms no longer blare our ears.
Here on this floor, we can spot eight unusual-looking switches.
"Unusual", meaning they all look like odd-looking eggs sitting on top of vases.
As an RPG veteran, I've seen it all.
Gershwin comments, "Eight switches? They're chicken feed for me!"
Agaton begs to differ, "It's not as easy as you thought! I remembered a riddle mumbled by the guards."
Nolan inquires, "What?"
"Here is how the riddle goes...
'The access to glory is found here!
'If you'll only know the moves.
'Since it takes a certain number to tango,
'any number greater than that will lead to trouble.
'We will follow only the lucky number of the Orient.
'Dispose of that wretched number of God's perfection.
'If you want to survive,
'give us, your masters, a high five!
'Praise us! Praise us!
'All who live on the four winds,
'all of the continents in Daig'digaia!
'And ye shall be as one.'"
Uh-oh. We can hear faint footsteps, which means there are more guards coming our way!
I alert appropriately, "Faster! The guards are after us!"
Nolan adds, "I can sense that we have only two minutes before they see us!"
Knowing our desperation, Agaton instructs us, "Listen to me very closely! Each of you will stand on the switches! Now!"
We all stand on the switches as instructed.
"Ready?"
"Ready!"
[1] [2] [3] [4]
---------------
[8] [7] [6] [5]
The switch numbers indicated above correspond to the character recruitment order.
Who will be the first to flip the switch?
1. Benoit
2. Gershwin
3. Jurina
4. Nolan
5. Juniper
6. Bearwin
7. Christian
8. CJ
WARNING! If the entered sequence is wrong or if the timer runs out; more guards will come in, and the upcoming boss will be much harder to defeat.
Agaton's riddle mentions a certain numerical sequence, therefore the answer is, in order:
Gershwin, Jurina, CJ, Christian, Juniper, Nolan, Bearwin, Benoit.
It corresponds to the numerical sequence 2 3 8 7 5 4 6 1.
"Is this it?" Agaton asks.
We all nod in agreement.
As we hope for the best, the alarms go haywire for 5 seconds, then deactivate.
I sigh with relief, "Whew! I thought we would be doomed."
Jurina notices, "Hey! I heard something! It's probably a working elevator!"
Agaton points us in the right direction.
"The elevator's over there! Let's go!"
We nine inspect the elevator, which can fit at most ten persons and even some cargo.
Juniper can feel some frustration after tinkering with the elevator's controls.
"This blows! The buttons don't work!"
Christian suggests, "I guess my fists will do the job."
After readying himself, he punches the console containing the buttons, but...
"Ouch!"
CJ can only comment, "Don't rely... *cough* too much... on your brawn, my retainer."
A computerized voice fortunately tells us what's wrong with the elevator.
"The elevator has no power supplied to it. To activate it, key in an appropriate sequence at the generator located at the previous room."
Agaton's light bulb pops up.
"I know! I peeked at the guards and saw what they did to activate the elevator."
I shrug my shoulders as I declare, "Guess we have no choice but to follow him."
And thus, we're back to the basement third floor.
Gershwin imparts good news.
"Good. No guards here."
Agaton comments, "I remembered that to activate the elevator, we must have an ID card and enter the correct PIN."
Nolan inquires, "ID card? I saw no ID card."
"It's with me, silly! I sneaked upon a guard and snatched it."
He then swipes the card to the generator console, which leads to a voice prompt.
"To restore the power, enter the exact and correct four-digit PIN."
I ask the important question, "So, what's the PIN?"
Agaton facetiously answers, "It's... four asterisks."
Juniper blurts out, "What the?!"
Bearwin follows, "How cheap of you! We could even spot that corny joke from a mile away!"
Agaton still keeps his cool.
"Just joking. I intended this to cool our heads down. The truth is... I dunno the PIN."
This makes our collective forehead veins pop.
"DON'T MAKE US WAIT ANY LONGER!"
"Hehehehe... OK, let's see... 3952..."
The computerized voice answers, "Access denied. Two tries left."
"7528."
"Access denied. One try left."
"Arrrgh... Hey, could you please help me!?"
"If you don't want Usher to kick your butt..."
Gershwin's light bulb pops up at an opportune time.
"Usher? I know! One of his albums is named 8701! That should be it!"
Agaton enters the code appropriately, "8701!"
We all finally hear the sound we want.
"...Access engaged. Elevator activated."
Nolan triumphs, "Oh, thank God!"
I add, "I'm glad we have a pop music expert at our side! Even pop music from when we're not born yet, he memorizes them all! Atta boy!"
Agaton echoes our sentiment, "With that, you eight will put my Carmealla out of her misery!"
Christian concludes, "No time for idle banter. Forward!"
With that, we make our way back into the elevator, ripping and tearing through enemies that get in our way.
We then all breathe deeply as we finally ride the elevator after using a Tent...
...towards our first major battle against the so-called "The Movement".