Back in town, Marche overhears three of the adventurers discussing what happened. Apparently, Remedi was not happy with Cid's decision, and Mewt was even less so.
The scene shifts to the palace, with Babus still trying to talk Cid out of leaving, Mewt sullenly accepting Cid's decision while saying he doesn't need him, and Remedi disapproving, but not trying to talk Cid out of it.
Remedi introduces a boy to Mewt, saying that his power has grown, and that he will essentially be Cid's replacement. His name is Llednar Twem, and he will be Mewt's servant from now on.
There is one immediate effect of the judges' split from the palace. There are now three laws per engagement, up from two, which does seem a little odd, given that the previous increase in the strictness of the law was because of the palace's influence..
You might be wondering where Marche will go next, and, as always, the mission at the top of the list is the key, even if it seems like a relatively generic mission. All three of the missions here seem somewhat irrelevant to the plot, even if they lead Marche to events.
The generic battle music is already playing when Marche gets to the mission site in the Uladon Bog, and two of the enemies are discussing when Marche will arrive, as their informant had told them. When Marche gets there, it's revealed that the bounty on Marche is still in effect, and they're looking to collect.
The six enemies aren't very diverse, with pairs of Thieves, Bishops and Fighters, and go down somewhat easily, lacking strong magic attacks or healing.
Marche finds it somewhat suspicious that they knew he was coming, and then notices that someone's watching him, which is an ominous hint that someone has it in for him.
The next story mission is yet another one in which the posted description has little bearing on what you're actually doing. As soon as Marche gets there, he sees Doned walking and calls out to him, undoubtedly having many questions for his brother. But then, without a word, Doned runs off and tells a group of armed adventurers that their quarry has arrived.
Once again, you're outnumbered seven to five, so a Totema summon can help you get the edge early on.
After the battle, Marche interrogates one of the Defenders, who says that Doned revealed little about himself and sold the info surprisingly cheaply. Marche lets the bangaa go, with a lot on his mind.
Heading into the Delia Dunes to investigate yet another odd occurrence, Marche encounters Llednar, whom he suspects is with the palace. After some threatening remarks, Llednar prepares to attack him, but suddenly notices that a seam is opening, without any visual cues that the player can see.
The two are transported to the temple, but it seems to be an antechamber this time, with no crystal in sight. Llednar prepares to attack Marche, but Cid arrives just in time, prevents him from using his Omega ability, and insists that Marche try to escape, but Marche refuses. Annoyed but not completely deterred, Llednar decides to fight Marche with his minions; I wonder if they're with the palace or if they're some independent faction associated with Llednar.
A battle ensues, and you may notice that it's impossible to injure Llednar. Marche gets increasingly disturbed by being in Llednar's presence, possibly beyond what might be expected from being in the presence of an invincible enemy who repeatedly expresses his desire to kill you and seems more than able to do so.
The battle ends before long, though, and you likely won't deal all that much damage even if you focus on Llednar's minions (two Templars and two Titanias; I have to wonder where they're coming from). Marche begins to despair, and Llednar temporarily forgetting the law, decides to finish Marche off with Omega, but Cid hits him with a red card and sends him to prison. It's quite cathartic to see enemies facing the consequences of breaking the law, rather than just getting off with a yellow card as a result of being immune.
Cid asks Marche what he'll do next, and Marche says he'll proceed to the crystal. Marche reaches the crystal, and is confronted by the final Totema, Mateus, who decides to ask why he's destroying the crystals. Mateus then turns into Ritz (which, for a moment, seems to lead Marche into thinking that Ritz is the totema; I thought so as well the first time), and tells him that he'll merely be normal in the real world. Mateus turns into Doned next, who tells him of all they can do in this world. Mateus turns into Mewt next and asks Marche whether things will improve once he returns home, since his parents did not have a good marriage, and both were more focused on Doned. Mateus-as-Mewt brings up how Mewt and Marche are Not So Different. Marche admits that he does like it there, but it's wrong to stay.
Mateus then turns into Marche himself, dressed in his winter clothing rather than the Soldier outfit he wears, and the music changes from the standard sad theme to a more ominous one. Mateus-as-Marche suggests that Marche doesn't need the world, but Marche doesn't want to hear what he's saying. Mateus resumes his true form, and the four illusions separate from him, turning into vampires.
Mateus was quite difficult when I first played through, as his Thundaga ability hits quite hard (although on this playthrough, Montblanc and my nu mou Alchemist were able to turn it against him with Return Magic), and his Star Cross ability enables him to hit everyone.
Another challenging part of the fight is Mateus' vampire minions. The Undead in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are weak against Holy, meaning that they can't be healed or revived by traditional means (although they also absorb Dark magic, and typically possess Life Drain abilities). However, when they're killed, they revive on their third turn after their "death", meaning that killing them and whittling down the boss's health is less practical. And with abilities like Level ? S Flare, the vampires are difficult to ignore.
Between Mateus's abilities and those of his minions, he's the most difficult Totema. However, I was able to defeat Mateus this time, and took down three of the four minions before doing so.
After the battle, Mateus disappears, and the crystal shatters, but nothing seems to happen. Remedi appears, and tells Marche that the world is still wanted- and not just by Mewt, but Marche himself, as well.
Marche and Cid return to the desert, and Cid asks Marche what he will do next. Marche realizes that the solution is to reach out to Mewt and convince him to come home. Cid tells Marche that Mewt doesn't leave the palace, and that he can't help him in this matter, but Marche is undeterred.
Naturally, you should have seen this coming. Among other indications, there are many open spots on the world map (although Jagds Ahli and Helje, as well as Ozmonfield, are completely optional areas)), there are some unresolved plot threads (Marche's friends and brother), and Mateus, while difficult, doesn't come off as a proper final boss.
So it's time to visit some of those other areas, settle things with Marche's friends, and work your way toward the confrontation with the true final boss.
Next Installment: With his plan of destroying the crystals a failure, Marche appeals to Mewt directly.
