Following promotions for Astral (Sorcerer to Warlock) and Goldie (Surprise Box to Mimic), the team upgrades its equipment and is ready to move on.
Stage 5-2: Seedle's Grave
"Seedle's Grave?" says Ryuunosuke. "He doesn't look that dead to me. There isn't a single headstone to be found in this wasteland."
Instead, the team find a few similarly-dressed, but probably-not-from-the-same-lab professors, and a mechanic of unknown origin. They aren't particularly well-armed, and Zetta's forces are able to beat them down without much resistance. Lucca uses this as the perfect opportunity to test out Ark Fire, a weapon system Bob had secretly installed into Gear Metal LEX after their last battle* .
"If there weren't any graves before," says Meredith, "Seedle's gonna need to dig some fresh ones after this."
Steve and Kashiwa try their hardest not to chuckle.
Meanwhile, Trenia is all alone, giggling playfully as she tends to a garden of corn (IN...SPAAAAACE?) Foreshadowing, or Big-Lipped Alligator Moment in the making? You be the judge!
Stage 5-3: Seedle the Ghoulish
The team arrives on site at a lone factory precariously perched on top of a tall stone pillar, with seemingly no way to get up or down from it. The factory is guarded by a lone Gourmet Ogre, who appears to be slobbering all over his morningstar."Gross!" says Steve. "I hope this is the only thing we have to do here. That guy's really freaking me out."
He rushes toward the creature's front, while Meredith sneaks up on it from behind and they both attack in turn.
"You said it. Now, let's get on out of here," says Meredith. "I'm starving!"
From behind the pillar, the group hears one loud SLAM! after another, and three vehicles come barreling into view...a Driller-G, another Gear Metal LEX, and an experimental Sound Blaster. The three Gourmet Ogres driving them grin menacingly as they get within range.
"FEEDING TIME!" they all shout. A drill attack, followed by a missile salvo and a blast of sound leave the group shaken.
"Where the hell did that come from?" asks Meredith. "How in the world were they able to get down from all the way up there without exploding?"
"Let's not worry about the small details," says Kashiwa as she injects Meredith with a healing serum from the syringe the group had found earlier. "It appears that these vehicles are our targets. Once we destroy them, the enemy will be defenseless."
Zetta brings in backup, dropping the hut on a corner of the map as far away from the vehicles as possible. Woody and Morrigan join Steve and the others in attacking the enemy's Driller-G, and then eliminating the driver of the vehicle itself.
"What an eyesore!" says Morrigan. "It doesn't even look as cool as our—"
She is unable to finish her sentence as she is gunned down by the enemy's Ark Fire. Zetta sends the Warehouse in to take care of this menace.
"Oh, boy! More targets!" says Lucca. She rolls her Gear Metal LEX into range, as the enemy's LEX and Sound Blaster are clustered together to allow her and Steve to smash them to pieces with coordinated group attacks. The ogres don't seem fazed by having just seen their vehicles destroyed, as they brandish weapons and charge toward the group.
"'Destroy the vehicles and the enemy will be defenseless', huh?" says Meredith. "This is why we don't let you call the shots."
"They are demoralized, though," Kashiwa responds, "and that is all that matters. In the end, my tactics were successful."
She picks up her syringe and runs as quickly as she can toward the portal back to Zetta's castle. "Let's get out of here!"
