The Maelstrom of Stardew
Year 1 (Summer)
Chapter 38: Bayside Ballads
Tuesday, the 9th of Summer, 2017
[Quest Announcement] - Gamer Ability/Notification
[LOAD GAME]
…
[LOADING UPDATES]
[Massive updates detected! Glitches found. GAME PAUSED. LOAD VOID. RUN ]
"Glitches, again?" Taeko said with his eyes opening up.
"Minor stuff." Kyu said. "Look I just brought you here to discuss the updates for the base game. Most of them post-game stuff aside from the new festivals."
"I thought you said I'd only get to see those next year." Taeko said.
"Originally, but there's more. They're more like mini-festivals. The Trout Derby isn't until 20th and 21th of Summer, meaning it can be implemented for you to play it. As well as the other event, SquidFest which is in winter. Also there were some quality of life shit…and some major changes."
"New crops?" Taeko asked.
"Yes and more. You can now use some of the forage to make vegetable juice with…now that you ever would all consider. There's also the dehydrator that lets you sell dried products and the fish smoker that lets you smoke fish. A crap ton of quests for you to do…but most of them won't come until next year. As for overall updates, things were balanced. Ironically, one of the updates in the base game was the ability to own multiple pets. Go figure."
"So I saw massive updates…so do I get a changelog?" Taeko asked, concerned.
"Yeah, beamed into your head covering the base game and everything else. Have fun." Kyu said before leaving.
The void glowed slightly as Taeko began falling.
[Updates complete, MoSV is now updated. Glitches fixed. RETURNING TO GAME…]
[GAME LOADED. WELCOME BACK!]
Taeko woke up in the apartment a bit groggy from the rest of new information about the updates. It was all new stuff to look into, and from the notes…he wasn't going to be able to get back to the valley, at least for the morning.
On the bright side, knowing he can summon the captures he had on maid duty was a pleasant surprise. He summoned her as she appeared right in the room, surprised to be there.
"Chi-Chi, be a dear and ready some breakfast." Taeko said.
"Of course, dear." Chi-Chi said without question.
As she got to cooking, he turned to his phone. A few texts from Maru, Abigail, and Penny all staying things are going to clear up by noon. To his relief, Velma got his pets and was keeping them at the office. He noticed his map showed he had missions. A marker for the Northwest was right outside the apartment building, and a marker for Vernal at the usual place. He even sent a text from Erelune telling her to call her as soon as she got up.
He went out to the balcony to call her.
"If it isn't my little brother." Erelune said kindly. "I got to say, Rosaria's been keeping me updated. Damn, you've been putting in the work. Now, about your plan…I'm down with it and I even got the materials you'll need for it. The cops uniforms, the armored cars, the police bikes, and the explosives. What I'll need you to do is plant a little bug in the system for the island's hydroelectric plant that'll knock out the power in Staunton long enough for us to disappear into the night. Rosaria's waiting in Pike Creek…you should get it done while it's still early."
[Shoreside Saga - The Damned Job]
The mission was auto-accepted so he simply told her it'd be handled before hanging up. Taeko went straight into the bathroom to shower and prepare himself. He settled to wear a plain black t-shirt under a [Utility Buckle Tab Jacket], a pair of [Utility Pants (Boys)], a pair of [Basic Military Boots], black leather gloves, and a blue bandana around his neck. He opted to carry the [Battle Ready Armor] set in his Inventory just in case along his Raze disguise. It had been a while since he wore FusionFall clothing.
"Breakfast is ready." Chi-Chi said. "Thankfully, the groceries I got carried over. Here's some jian bang."
Taeko heartily ate before readying himself for the day. He did send Chi-Chi back to the hidden apartment in Staunton before leaving. Taking a [Stallion] from the parking lot, he drove up to the meeting spot in Pike Creek where Rosaria was waiting for him on the side of the road under a tree next to a [Mafia Sentinel].
He pulled up and lowered the window.
"Ok, you're going to need a bit of a disguise. You'll carry this thumbdrive." Rosaria said, giving it to her. "You'll be going to the Cochrane Dam's hydro-electric plant to stick that drive into its server room. It's all automatic, just stick it in, give it thirty seconds, and get out because it'll trigger the alarm. Don't worry about the control system, it'll look like a false positive. There's a hidden entrance on the roadway of the dam and I'll drop you there."
"Good thing, this car was jacked." Taeko said parking it off the road before getting in Rosaria's car.
Where he was dropped off was quite familiar, the place of the epic battle between Claude and Catalina. He got out now in his [Battle Ready Armor] outfit with the [Holo Helmet] (or really a mask) from the Raze suit.
"What about security?" Taeko asked.
"I leave that up to you." Rosaria said as Taeko nodded before she drove away.
Entering the place was easy. The System would have been instructed to pick up the floating knife, but it vanished when it realized Taeko actually had one. He crept about wanting to avoid security as much as he could. Following the map and keeping to dark corners, he made it to the control room where a lone guy was there. Taeko knocked him out the butt of his sword before plugging in the drive. The moment it was done, the alarm went out. Taeko now had a timer to get out with the drive and was instructed to use the vent above. So he opened it up and went in before closing in behind him with telekinesis. He crawled a bit following the coronas until he got an exit that led him right back to the secret entrance. He got out of place changing back to his clothes from before and hid behind shipping containers to dodge coming cops. Once he made it out to the road…the mission was complete.
[Mission Complete! +Respect]
He rolled his eyes at that before having to catch a cab to get back to Wichita Gardens. He went straight to the mission marker.
[Shoreside Saga - Last Plays from Northwest]
His phone rang as he answered it to hear Preston on the line.
"Preston?" Taeko asked.
"Despite my attempts at making decoys, the port authorities seized the plane and were stripping it down until I intervened at great personal expense. You're already in Shoreside Vale, so go to Francis International Airport. My property will be waiting for you at the customs hangar in the aircraft's fuselage." Preston said.
"Shoreside? I thought it was Burnside?"
"It got changed back." Preston said simply.
"Good…it'll be handled. Once I get it, you want to bring it to you or…"
"Yes, you can bring it to me. Mr. E is already over at the building." Preston said. "The officials were paid off and they shouldn't even notice you."
"Got it." Taeko said before hanging up.
Hailing another cab, he gets them to take him to the airport. Erelune would call as he was riding.
"Good work planting the bug. We got everything ready for tonight…and we'll be going over final planning at eight tonight. Be there because if it's all a-go, we can do this tonight." Erelune said.
"Good looking, sis. Where are we meeting to do the planning?" Taeko asked. "Pike Creek?"
"Actually, Odalia raised a good idea to plan the heist at the Lemoncarb's place. They want in…they hate the bitch too. They got a room setup and everything." Erelune said. "I'll have to attend via video calling because people would get suspicious if I was there with you."
"You know how it is. I'll catch you later." Taeko said before hanging up.
What Taeko arrived at was a shitshow, a gunfight between Kaneko's goons and scraps of the other gangs Taeko had fought before. Taeko simply got out of the car and walked around that to get into the hangar from the back. He found the package but donned the [Raze Suit] before taking it.
"Someone's got the package…"
"Fuck!"
Raze ran from the hail of bullets as cops were descending on the runway. He hopped the fence and took advantage of the trees to change back. Taeko walked onto the street to see Dijonay pull her.
"Do I even want to ask?" Dijonay asked as he got in.
"No. You don't. Just take me to Belleville Park and hurry." Taeko said as Dijonay nodded.
She dropped him off as he walked over to the building, delivering the package.
"Excellent. And it's still sealed. Thank you, Taeko." Preston remarked.
"It's a shitshow at the airport…nearly every gang was trying to kill each other for it. And the cops are descending on that place." Taeko said.
"Then it is as good a time as ever. Me and Mr. E are going to get this authenticated. We would have to go to PA to get checked, but the expert is coming here. So be ready in an hour for your final task." Preston said as Taeko nodded.
As Taeko left the building, he was stopped by Priscilla.
"Wait." She said before taking him aside. "There's something else you need to know…about Kaneko. She's been working with someone from the outside. That former goon of hers came forward to me with more information once she was out of the country. All she could tell me is this partner of hers wants to just lead an attack on you to kill you directly but Kaneko's insisting that you're not worth the time. She doesn't realize you've been a threat to her. All I got is a name…the Mandrill. The only other detail is his emitting some kind of scent that messes with their heads."
"Is that it?" Taeko asked.
"Yes, I'm sorry that's all I could get out of her." Priscilla said with actual concern in her tone.
While she had her plans, she didn't like this information one bit. Taeko would leave puzzled but a sinking feeling came to him.
"The Mandrill…no…it can't be." Taeko said to himself before going to his hidden apartment.
He went in the elevator and up to the apartment. He didn't even acknowledge her as he went straight for his room and locked the door. He got on his computer…he knew that characters from other media had shown up in this Game of his. However, he needed to make sure of something and looked right into the artwork of a certain artist, only to get the confirmation he needed.
"Fuck." Taeko hissed. "Why him?"
The Mandrill, aka Jerome Beechman, was some chump who gained an ape-like visage with pheromone powers. For one, Kaneko was either able to resist or manipulate him considering the kind of degenerate he was. An idiot with a god complex who's mutant power was the only thing going for him. Taeko was not going to dismiss him as any less of a threat if Mandrill fancied that he could take him. If anything, that was telling Taeko that he did not need to hold back at all. However, what he needed was more intel and he remembered Artseian
"Later." Taeko said before going to his bed for a nap.
His phone would wake him up an hour later as he got on his shoes. He checked his phone to find a text from Preston and he called him.
"A lesson in business, my friend. If you have a unique commodity, the world and his wife will try to wrestle it from your grasp... even if they have little understanding as to its true value. SWAT teams have cordoned off the area around where they think the associate and the package are. Get over there, pick up the van and act as a decoy. Keep them busy and he should make good his escape. The van is in a parking lot in Bedford Point. You know what to do…and there's a note for you inside it." Preston said before hanging up.
Taeko would make his leave. He noticed the increased police presence and used some cover to get the [Raze Suit] on. He'd sneak into the lot and find the [Securicar] before gaining a six star wanted level, a three minute timer, and a damage meter. Raze would chuckle, it was time for some fun.
Not too far away, Chief Makima was nothing short of pissed off. It was bad enough that the illegal alien managed to get it but apparently he had something with that incident at the airport. She had already chewed out Kaneko for her interference and had the city on high alert. Then she got the call that the van was on the move having smashed through a police barricade.
"Motherfucker." Makima said, starting her [FIB Buffalo] up and driving off.
[2:50]
He knew full well that the sooner he got out of Staunton the better and the game was 'keep away'. He smashed into one police van to get it to spin out before a sharp turn. He'd go towards the tunnels. Makima was on her way to try to cut him off, expecting to hide near the stadium. However, she'd miss him going into the tunnels.
"This is Chief Makima, give me a status update!" Makima said into her radio.
"We lost the van."
"Lost the van? It's a damn Securicar…and you lost it. Well you better find it…or-"
Another officer interrupted saying that the van was spotted in Portland.
[2:20]
Raze figured he'd at least run over some stragglers from other gangs to make it look like a rampage. The cops had fired on the van adding to the damage meter. Given it was an armored van, it was not much given it was pistol fire at best. Taeko was bopping to the radio as he hit the gas. He figured it would have been easy…then the military showed up.
[1:00]
The damage meter was steadily climbing as they used heavier weapons on it when they could. He knew he needed to just hang on a bit longer. That's when he decided to read the note…and it gave him an idea.
[0:00]
Makima was in a panic when he heard the van that went near where Taeko lived in Portland. She arrived at the place and knocked on the door. Taeko would answer in a bathrobe, looking disheveled.
"Lord Maelstrom, are you okay?" Makima said. "We had an incident with a potential terrorist."
"Potential terrorist? I wake up to find a van crashed into my wall…I go to check it and it's rigged to drive remotely. Some yahoo put some shit in it to drive the van remotely." Taeko said. "I noticed some explosives in it, so I triggered to…"
BOOM!
The van exploded.
"Ensure whoever controlled it wasn't going to blow anyone up." Taeko said plainly as Makima was shocked. "Now please clean up that clean in my front yard please."
He went inside, closing the door on her. He hid the snicker he had given the look on her face.
[Mission Complete!]
He noticed there was no reward…but he noticed a blip on his map at the business. He got dressed in the same clothes from before using [Fast Travel] to get to his Staunton condo. He'd driven over there in his [Banshee 900R] to find a faded mission marker which he got to.
[Shoreside Saga - None Due Northwest]
He arrived up to the floor to find it empty. The furnishings were there but personal items were clearly gone. No maids around so he looked around…before coming to the home office. There was a pair of letters on the desk…addressed to him. One was right on the desk, and the other was partially hidden. So he opened the one on the other first.
'Taeko, sorry that we took our leave abruptly but you must understand it was needed. You served your purpose to us well, but it's time Priscilla and I cut our losses. We liquidated most of our assets, bar a few things…namely, the KBDDF Radio Headquarters and the Bitchin' Dog Food Factory which we leave to you. There's also the North West Towers that hosts MSX FM radio…which is now yours. Don't count as a reward but my wife and I washing our hands of Yelenhelm. Your cash payment is in the penthouse suite in the North West Towers along with your bonus. You can get in via the golden key. And with that…our business relationship has concluded. I wish you well…and dispose of this letter. - Preston'
With that, Taeko used a flash of ki and incinerated the letter before getting to the other. The other one clearly looked like it was written in a rush.
'Taeko, thank you for your help. I only ask that you look after all that we left for you. I left you both halves of one of my offsite savings accounts. Your half is in the liquor cabinet. Best of luck, Priscilla.'
He burned that letter too.
[Mission Complete! + (KBDDF Radio Headquarters, Bitchin' Dog Food Factory, North West Towers) - Assets]
[Go to North West Towers to use that golden key]
He also gained the keys to the penthouse here and the suite at the North West Towers. He walked over the liquor cabinet finding a bag of cash finding a cool three and half million dollars. However, he called Odalia to come right away to the radio headquarters. Thankfully with the cops trying to deal with the matter of looking into their potential terrorist, no one was looking out for Odalia.
She entered the penthouse to find Taeko sitting on the couch.
"Where's the Northwests?" Odalia asked.
"Done. They skipped town with whatever the package was…their mysterious friend…and most of their money. All they left me was this radio transmitter, a dog food factory, and the apartment tower in Shoreside." Taeko said. "You mentioned that your company got harvested out of it's assets…well I want to give them back to you."
Odalia was floored.
"No cost?" Odalia asked.
"Nope. Considering Priscilla left me half of an offshore account with five million in it, I'm pretty sure. I want you to be able to restart your business in some form. So I want you to take the radio headquarters and the dog food factory. The only reason Kaneko can sic-"
He was interrupted by the elevator door opening as Chief Makima entered with Dijonay and Mirage behind her. She was surprised to see Taeko there.
"Pardon us, but we're here to take Miss Delite into custody." Makima said.
"On what charges?" Taeko asked. "Actually you can turn right around and not worry about it, because I grant her a pardon."
"Well, guess we can go home." Dijonay said as Mirage glared at her. "You want to go against a noble?"
"I was not aware you were friendly with Lord Maelstrom, Miss Delite." Makima said.
"If I may ask, Miss Delite doesn't seem to have a criminal record nor warrants for her arrest. So why are you here to take her into custody?" Taeko asked innocently. "Is there something going on?"
Odalia realized he was playing dumb and saw the near panicked look on Makima's face.
"No. It's probably a misunderstanding. But given you have pardoned her, we can just clear it out of the system." Makima said, calming down before bowing. "We apologize for barging in…but where are the Northwests?"
"They left town…Odalia's actually taking over their pivotal business in the radio headquarters. Something that I am facilitating." Taeko said as Makima and Mirage looked surprised. "To help with the community. Odalia came to me about her case about her missing ex-husband and children…and I wanted to do my duty and help. It's clear she didn't murder them, so I wanted to aid in the investigation."
"Oh…that's really nice of you." Mirage said.
"Care to stay for a drink? I could use some company to discuss who's been calling for her arrest." Taeko asked.
"No! We can't…we're very busy with another investigation and we must go." Makima said, dragging Mirage and Dijonay into the elevator. "Good day to both of you."
The elevator door closed as Taeko broke out into laughter.
"She bought it." Taeko said.
"What a dumbass." Odalia snickered. "But in all seriousness, I want you to have a stake in this. The least I can do."
As the elevator was going down, Makima had a pensive look on her face. Dijonay knew full well she made the right call to stab Makima in the back.
"This is bad…" Mirage said.
"For Kaneko. Because of that bitch, I really got in trouble with the noble...I don't know how Odalia managed to get associated with him, but this makes things complicated." Makima said.
"I thought he wasn't a threat." Dijonay said, hiding her snark.
"He isn't. It's his title that's the issue. And I can't just ignore his call for Odalia's pardon…not with him being the Queen's golden boy!" Makima said.
"So we're really going to do it?" Mirage asked.
"Yes. I rather not have him look into this further. He needs to stay ignorant to what's going on." Makima said.
"Oh Makima, if you only knew." Dijonay thought.
With the three leaving the radio headquarters, Taeko handed over the papers to give her control of the dog food factory and radio headquarters.
"Now you got someplace to live in Staunton…and I got the cops off your back." Taeko said as Odalia looked, relieved. "Now we just wait for the PI. Speaking of the PI, he gave me evidence that Kaneko was trying to get intel on me…and proof she sent a hitwoman to try to kill them when they refused. Frankly, if I didn't want to kill her myself, I'd just have the evidence over."
"Why not do so after you rob the casino?" Odalia asked.
Taeko would explain about Kaneko's partner and Odalia would glower.
"Wait, she teamed up with a guy with pheromone powers on an island filled with mostly women? Is she fucking stupid?!" Odalia snapped. "That's a disaster waiting to happen…and how has he not backstabbed her yet?"
"I don't know, and it's not important. What is importanting is making sure that fucker is in the ground." Taeko said. "He mentioned-"
He was cut off by his phone ringing and he answered to hear it was Dijonay.
"Just wanted to say it was priceless the way you put Makima in her place. Also to send you this recording…of the call between Makima and Kaneko just now. Figured you want the heads up." Dijonay said before hanging up.
He played it and while most of the conversation was already enough for him to hate Kaneko, it was the tail end of it that got him.
"I want his address." - Kaneko
"Kaneko, I'm not sending any cops to his doorstep." - Makima
"Who said it was a cop I'll send to the door?" - Kaneko
"Kaneko, you can't be serious." - Makima
"All I need is an address and your cops aways from the area for an hour. I didn't want to have to let him go gung-ho to kill the noble but there's no choice left." - Kaneko
Taeko knew she was talking about the Mandrill.
"Kaneko. I'm warning you…whoever you send…if they fuck this up, it'll be on your ass if this person talks." - Makina
"He'll be fine. He's more than capable of killing some pampered human snot." - Kaneko
"Fine. But I have two conditions. One, a million dollars. I'm not going to give you this for anything less. Two, once I do this…you and I's business relationship is done. Lose my number and don't ever call me again. So if you really want this, it'll cost you any help I could give you in the future." - Makima
"Help? Lately, you've been fucking useless. If a million gets me some actual results, then I'll send you the money. Now the address." - Kaneko
The recording ended with her giving the address for the Portland mansion.
"So are you going to need hel-"
"No. Like I said, this guy's powers are pheromone based. I need to fight him alone." Taeko said. "Just make sure you're secure. I think I'll have to pay Makima a visit but I'll need some heavy weapons."
He immediately left to go to Tyler's.
"I'm calling in a favor." Taeko said to him. "I need some explosives. Grenades, Molotovs, flashbangs too…"
"Whoa, what's wrong?" Tyler said.
"Long story short, I just found out someone's planning a trap for me and even bribed the cops not to intervene. I don't even to run, I intend to get this fucker by surprise." Taeko said as Tyle opened a crate. "Oh!"
"Yeah, some grenades, molotovs, and flashbangs. A small sampling from my private stash. Free of charge considering the situation." Tyler said as Taeko took them up. "Best of luck."
Taeko drove to Portland, first going to his Red Light safehouse.
"Tera, I need you and Poppy to get out of Portland. Shit's going down and I rather both of you not be here." Taeko said firmly.
Tera nodded and grabbed her mother's hand as they got out to get to the garage. Taeko went to his closet to get his [Advanced Sniper], [Flamethrower], and a [Warp Totem: Beach] before getting on his equipped clothes. It was a slow drive to Portland Beach and he noticed the lack of cops. He could sense a presence in his home.
"This guy left the front door open…is he stupid?" Taeko thought before going around through the hidden door. "Note to self, thank Poppy."
Creeping inside, he'd find the Mandrill, who looked just as ugly as he did in the comics he spawned from. He smugly sat in a recliner with his back turned, talking to himself about what line to use when Taeko came through the front door. Moving within the darkness, Taeko slipped a pair of flashbangs under the recliner along with a [Bomb] before slipping away from him.
Using telekinesis, he slammed the door shut causing the Mandrill to turn around.
"Welcome ho-"
BOOM! The explosion sent the hulking mutant into the wall along with bits of charred recliner. He fell to the ground, groaning in pain as he rubbed his eyes.
"What the fu-"
Taeko did not give him time to breathe as he fired off his [Flamethrower] to light Mandrill on fire. Mandrill screamed as he swung his arms, slashing the fuel line for it…starting a fire. Taeko had to drop the damaged item as he jumped back. Mandrill's vision returned as he looked at the clearly angry Taeko.
"You! But how?!" Mandrill asked.
Taeko whipped out the [AR-50] and opened fire on them without speaking as Mandrill ended up getting some bullets in him. The monkey man was still trying to get the flames off him as the fire was spreading.
"I've known you've been lurking, Jerome." Taeko said, putting the gun away.
Mandrill looked into Taeko's eyes…realizing that Taeko did not fear him at all. The Mandrill would realize that he needed to get away and that a direct fight was not an option. The world would go gray for Taeko as he was shown a choice and Taeko made it. He was killing this bastard here and now, damn the benefits or consequences. Mandrill went for his wrist trying to activate something only for Taeko to shoot it with his [V-Charger Elite].
"No, you're not calling for backup on this. It's just you and me." Taeko said, cracking his knuckles.
"I'm not afraid, I've fought Amazons, Avengers-"
Mandrill was cut off by an energy disc severing his head from his body. The head would fall on the floor as the body slumped over. Taeko did not even enjoy doing it given the beastman's body stank up the place. He did take his wallet and keys before getting out the totem. He warped away before blowing him and the living room up with an energy blast and fifty [Grenades].
~TWG~
"It's good to be home…" Taeko said as he returned to the farmhouse.
Stripping off his clothes the moment he got in the bathroom, he took a long hot bath. He was glad that his equipped clothes cleaned themselves.
"Hey cowboy." Kyu said, sitting on the counter.
"Kyu, I have to ask about the Mandrill…" Taeko said.
"He was unexpected and on my shit list. Let's just say you did me and the universes he fucked up a huge favor in getting rid of him. Though, you made it look easy." Kyu said.
"It was easy. He can't fight…" Taeko said coming up to towel off. "He relies on that ability to get women to bend, plus he ends up in worlds where things operate by porn logic. If he didn't, he would have been shot dead."
"Fair enough. It's likely Mandrill had a hideout with his ship. So I'll be taking his wallet and keys from you." Kyu said. "And you'll be rewarded. With him dead, I can send a team to deal with his stuff."
She left as Taeko went to get dressed, opting to wear a plain black t-shirt under a [Basic Upgrade Varsity Jacket], a pair of [Basic Mechomorph Denims], and a pair of [Omnitrix Kicks]. He put both the [Raze Suit] and the [BRA Suit] back in the closet. He went to get the basket of crops that were already picked up and looked at the list.
6 [Sunflowers]
15 [Sunflower Seeds]
36 [Hot Peppers]
10 [Blueberries]
10 [Pineapples]
30 [Hops]
12 [Peaches]
15 [Grapes]
15 [Cranberries]
10 [Strawberries]
15 [Ancient Fruit]
13 [Oranges]
25 [Large Brown Eggs]
15 [Large Milk]
12 [Goat Milk]
3 [Truffles]
55 [Sunflower Honey]
21 [Poppy Honey]
6 [Star Spangle Honey]
7 [Cheese] (Iridium Quality)
7 [Goat Cheese] (Iridium Quality)
120 [Maple Syrup]
120 [Oak Resin]
120 [Pine Tar]
"Damn." Taeko said. "May as well put most of them to use.
He'd fill the [Preserve Jars] with [Hot Peppers] to pickle them for sale. All of the [Hops] were put in the kegs to make more [Dagger Beer] along the [Pineapples]. The [Truffles] were put in the [Oil Makers]. The [Blueberries] and [Strawberries] were put in the [Ice Cream Makers]. He'd store away the remaining milk, eggs, and fruits while putting everything else in the selling bin. He kept the [Sunflower Seeds], however.
"Taeko…you're back." Elly Mae said before hanging him.
"Hey, I'm sorry, but I do have to jet back. But I did handle the crops being sorted." Taeko said. "Where's Abigail?"
"Doing an inventory run for her folks." Elly Mae said. "Did you load up the kegs and stuff? Because I have to go to Harvey's for a doctor's appointment."
"I did. But you can get them after your appointment." Taeko said before leaving. "Either way, I have to jet. Business to handle." Taeko said before leaving.
He immediately called Erelune to update her on everything.
"That bitch…so what are you going to do about her?" Erelune asked.
"I wanted to keep her around, but I realize that's simply not an option. Besides I got two friends on the force that'll be a good replacement for her. But right now, we will go through the plan with the casino tonight. For now, I'm going to stay out of the Yelenhelm for a time…tell the public I'm recovering from injuries but tell our people what's really going on." Taeko said.
"I'm glad you're ok, brother." Erelune said before hanging up.
Taeko went to go see Abigail, who was at her store leaning on the counter.
"What the hell happened? I heard there was an explosion in Yelenhelm." Abigail said.
"Let's just say, reports of my injuries were exaggerated. Wanna go on a mine crawl?" Taeko asked.
"Yeah, just let me go change. I actually got some training from Uncle Myth." Abigail said.
"You call him uncle?" Taeko said, raising an eyebrow.
"He basically is, and I'm making sure he makes it up to me and my parents." Abigail affirmed. "I'll meet you at the entrance."
Taeko went back home to get ready.
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….
[GAME QUICKSAVED! Hurry back.]
(A/N: And that's the end of both the Northwests and the Mandrill. Initially I had planned a major boss battle for the Mandrill but after doing more research…the guy's a total pushover who only gets as far as he does due to plot (keeping the male heroes from coming to kill him) and his powers. And given that Mandrill and Kaneko thought he was an easy target, yeah, I realized it wouldn't be much of a fight. As for the Northwests, yes it was in the plan for them to abruptly leave, but unlike Donald Love, there was notice. You'll get the explanation about the state of the assets.)