Thoth: Burh hurh hurh hurh... well, haven't seen y'all in a while. Back for more a' my stories, are ya? I think I'll tell y'all a bit more about my favorite subject - Sinclair Drake. Ya see, turns out I was right about that little fleshbag - he really was one of them guys that the whole future was entrusted to. I've met a few of 'em in my travels throughout the multiverse - some of 'em have nice hats, some of 'em have blue hair, one of 'em, after his adventure was over, started datin' what was technically his mom! Bluegh! Anyway, what weird about 'em is that they sorta... break fate, for lack of a better term. Unlike most people there's many paths their lives can take, and even better, the world just sorta follows 'em. you saw the Sinclair Drake I lived and fought with, but there's other ways his life coulda turned out, and I got 'em all right here in this little ol' book a' mine. Now let's see. I could tell ya 'bout the one who shirked on his Schwartzwelt duty ta join a Mariachi band, but that 'un's much less interesting than it sounds. Naw, this Sinclair Drake still went ta the Schwartzwelt, but that's about all he had in common with mine. Let's see, the point a' divergence was...
That was just a really long introduction to my Law playthrough of Strange Journey! This is my first time playing Law, so this is truly a liveblog as I experience it along with you. For brevity's sake, this will largely only cover Horologium, after the Alignment Lock, but there are a few places making a Lawful alignment choice does affect the plot beforehand, there's two, to be specific. The first is after defeating Captain Jack...
(Scene: Aboard the LIGHTNING. CAPTAIN JACK, wounded and disarmed, lies at the feet of the transfigured JIMENEZ. DRAKE and his DEMONS look on)
Pixie: Mister Drake, are you gonna let Mister Jimenez kill that guy? He was evil, sure, but he's helpless now!
Ghoul: Screw that... justice for my... friends... braaaaaainnnssss...
Dominion: Humanity is the Lord's Chosen race; it saddens Him to see them do harm to one another. Azazel, Samyaza... you dastards...
Morax: BWOOOOOOOOH! Who cares about that religious BS! I WANT REPRISAL!
I had Drake watch Jimenez kill Jack in my Neutral playthrough (which is only Neutral points, believe it or not; says a lot about Jack if I do say so myself), but you can try to spare him, for Law points, if you so desire. Keyword being "try."
Drake: Wait a minute, Jimenez. Stop and think about this. You're a member of the Crew first and foremost; I know you care for demonkind, but think like a human here! Why kill Jack? W-we could... strip him of all his weapons, or force him to develop stuff for us! Then once we're done with him we'll hand him over to the courts when we get home!
Halphas: Quite the idealist, Drake; you really have faith in human justice with the state your world is presently in?
Drake: Crewman Jimenez... let's just... stand back. I'm gonna take Jack's gun, oka-
(DRAKE reaches for JIMENEZ, but the latter backhands him across the room! As before, JIMENEZ rips JACK's heart from his chest!)
Alice: Eeeeeee, squishy squishy!
Drake: Ugh, all my attempt at mercy gets me is bruises. I thought if I could change Jimenez's actions this time I could save him, but he's proving... stubborn... Is this really justice?
Yeah, not all that much of a plot-change. The second situation, however...
(Scene: Immediately after GRENDEL's ultimatum to the Team - kill Ryan, or don't proceed)
Remember this scene, where you're asked to make a decision in the fate of Ryan and/or Grendel in exchange for passage to Maya? There's a Law, Neutral, and Chaos choice to be made here, which offers, I think, the biggest points toward each alignment of any decision other than the Lock. On the way back to the Red Sprite, Drake is approached by both the Demonic Jimenez and the Angelic Zelenin, who present their cases - Jimenez is in favor of wiping out Jack's Squad to placate Grendel (and you may remember said Squad has since gotten their minds wiped by Zelenin's Song), while Zelenin requests being allowed to use her song on the demons. If you refuse both options you'll fight Grendel one-on-one for Neutral points. Let's see how the Law option here plays out...
Jueyuan: If you ask me, I'd go with your Strike Team buddy back there. Z's nice to look at and all, but she gives me the jibblies...
Drake: You're calling her "Z" now? Whatever. In any case I had hoped I could end this without any bloodshed. Jack Squad is harmless now, and I doubt I could get the key from that Grendel guy without killing him, so... Zelenin's song, it is. We'll use it on Grendel.
Asura: YOU LITTLE PANSY-ASS! YOU'RE A SOLDIER WHO'S AFRAID OF A LITTLE KILLIN'? THOSE JACK TYPES SCREWED US ALL, AND YOU WANNA LET 'EM LIVE!?
Drake: For your information, Asura, in all my career as a Marine I never killed anyone who couldn't defend themselves.
Kama: Fufufufu... how interesting! I didn't think this was how it was supposed to go! I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of that girl... I LOVE IT! FUFUFUFUFUFUUUUUUU!
Mitra: The Hell's your deal, huh? This could easily be curtains for us, and you're egging him on? I just don't get you.
Kama: What's to get? I'd approve of any choice of Sir Drake's in this situation. The best part of any story, my man... IS THE ENDING!
Once you select Zelenin's option at the Red Sprite, head back to Grendel's Sanctum. Zelenin will unexpectedly decide to real ease her song in the main area, where the demons live!
Drake: Wait... we were just going to use it on the big one! I swear, First Lieutenant, if you kill anyone...
Zelenin lets loose her song, which echoes throughout the Sanctum, and turns any demon it comes into contact with into an Unknown, not just Grendel but everyone in the Sanctum! The DEMONICA can no longer detect or understand them (the one thing it can't do, I guess), and more importantly for the mission, their power over the passage leading to Maya weakens, allowing Drake to proceed.
Horkos: B-BUONO... THAT SOUND WAS... AMONG THE MOST UN-BUONO THINGS I HAD EVER HEARD... HAD WE NOT BEEN IN YOUR DEMONICA... I SHUDDER TO THINK WHAT WOULD HAVE BECOME OF US... N-NOT BUONO...
Drake: Are they... dead?
Thoth: Not completely... they've been returned to raw power... They're alive, but... not really much of a "life." Kinda disappointed in you, kid...
Drake: But... that means we got through this mission without a single casualty, right? They praise you for that on the battlefield! This means I-I'm the good guy... right?
And what do you know, Jimenez shows up! He's not happy, and seems convinced Zelenin will ultimately betray the mission, citing history as evidence that fanatical followers of "God" will eventually kill those who are not useful to or disagree with them. He kinda has a point...
Drake: Trust me, Jimenez, I've seen combat in religious wars. You too, I'll bet. But one thing I've learned about being a soldier? The best war is the one you don't have to fight. Surely you can sympathize... Jimenez...?
Norn: Sir Thoth... tell me, is this going to end badly?
Thoth: Can't tell for sure just yet. You know destiny and all that crap get foggy when we're near that kid...
Norn: You wouldn't happen to have an exit strategy in that book of yours, just in case?
Thoth: Well, there's this one spell... the only thing that can cancel a Demonic contract without the consent of both parties... Too many variables, though. It might mess with time even more, it takes damn long to set up, so if things do go south we may have to stall... Besides, I like this Drake kid. Between you and me... I hope we never have to use it...
To be continued...
Comments
- First off, this playthrough will be more a character study than a walkthrough, due to the fact that, apart from a few bosses, i've already done the walkthrough. So that's what this will be, an insight into the minds of a Law Hero and a Law-aligned Protagonist. For Law!Drake, I wrote him as a utilitarian, which is easy as I'm something of one myself. He believes that if he can achieve the greatest good for the greatest number, and minimize the bad, particularly casualties, the mission will be a success. That's why I think you can see him sensibly side with Law here.
- Kama is still based on Donquixote Doflamingo.
- There's both a mythology reference and a Homestar Runner reference in here. See if you can spot them!
- If you can't tell, as this is an "alternate history," the "Groundhog Day" Loop is still active, and another motive in Drake choosing Law this time is an attempt to change it. Though this story is an Alternate Universe; Neutral is still the canon run, to the extent a Let's Play can have "canon," anyway.
