Sought After Ancient Manuscripts

E-Excuse me, you there!

Oh? What can we do for you, Ma'am?

A gang of Synth Humans has appeared nearby!

Synth Humans? Right here in the city?!

Will they stop at nothing?

My grandpa's been attacked! Please, save him!

Leave it to us!

Aaaaaargh!

That must be him. Let's go, Aldo!

Right! The scream came from over there.

Hey oldster, are you all right?

I-I'm fine. No broken bones here.

You were lucky to make it through a scrape like that unharmed.

What a crazy day. I was just trying to move my collection, when those Synths showed up out of nowhere!

I thought I was done for, but they just snatched the stuff and disappeared.

Your...collection?

My books. I have the finest rare and antique volumes you'll find this side of the Laula Dome.

What could they have wanted with them?

Maybe there were books that talked about the Synth Humans' weaknesses?

No, no, there was nothing like that in there.

Who cares about their reasons? We just have to get them back and bring the evildoers to justice!

Thank you so much, boys. I'll be eternally grateful if you can recover my books.

Sure thing. I just wish we had some clue as to where they went.

Criminals always have some stronghold where they keep their ill-gotten gain. How about the Industrial Ruins? That place is crawling with Synths, right?

Industrial Ruins, huh? It's as good a place to start as any.

Keh heh heh. So you have come, foolish humans.

Are you the one who stole that old man's books?

Give 'em back right now! And no funny stuff, okay? My fists are itching for a beatdown!

Heh...I don't care about those books, now that I have you!

You were trying to lure Rufus here? What's all this about?

Don't believe a word he says, Aldo. He's just trying to confuse us.

Your mind games won't work on me. It's time for the iron hammer of justice to fall on you!

Hmph. Strut and swagger while you still can. Let's see you survive this!

Attack Mode Online. Target Confirmed. Engaging Elimination Protocol.

How'd you like them apples? Now tell us where the goods are!

Urgh...so it wasn't enough. But I knew this was a possibility. The books are in the back. Go, take them if you wish.

I knew it! C'mon, Aldo. Let's do this.

Wait. Why are you telling us this? And why did you want Rufus here anyway?

What good will it do for you to know that? Go on, take your books.

Do you really expect us to walk into a trap as obvious as this?

The choice is yours.

If it's a trap, it's a trap. We'll just find a way out of it and blast our way through.

Our fighting spirit can overcome any obstacle!

You're right. Let's go!

Keh heh heh... Such fools. That fighting spirit will be your downfall. You'll never leave this place alive.

Sounds like a challenge to me! I'm getting really fired up!

You ready, Aldo?

Ready when you are!

Ah, the Hero, defender of the people. Here you are at last.

Again with the hero stuff? Why do you Synth Humans insist on calling Rufus that?

But I am a hero. What else are they gonna call me?

I'm not arguing with that, but it's like they've got a personal grudge or something.

Your stance and your techniques correspond 100% with the data we recovered from the ruins. Knowing who you are, we must eliminate you! You have no place in the future we are building.

Wow, you're just like a classic villain. This is gonna be so awesome!

I'm finally starting to feel like a true hero. Prepare to be vanquished!

Disappear into oblivion, Hero!

Grargh...I can't believe I failed. Was the data from the ruins not enough?

Ruins? Data? What are you talking about?

Keh heh heh... I admit defeat. It seems I cannot escape my destiny of failure.

...? Wait, what ARE you talking about?

Keh heh heh... So this is a hero. I was a fool for underestimating you.

Hey! What's all this about? What were you trying to do?

Urgh, he's shut down.

It sounded like he failed in whatever he was planning, anyway.

I guess. I hate not knowing the whole story, though.

There's nothing more we can learn here today. His scheme didn't work, that's good enough for me.

All right! That's all the books.

We've got what we came for, let's get this stuff back to their rightful owner.

Right. I'm still a little bothered by what that Synth Human said, but there's nothing we can do about that for now.

Oh my, oh my! Splendid, you got them back!

You bet we did. That Snyth gave us some trouble, but he was no match for us!

What a relief. There's not a single mark on any of the books. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart!

I gotta say, I'm still in the dark about why they wanted these things.

Maybe they're interested in history? This tells of a country on the surface many hundreds of years ago.

One especially interesting story recounts a single man saving his village from a beast attack. His name and origins have been lost.

No one knows for sure if he ever really existed, though.

Huh? I feel like I've heard that story before somewhere.

Fists wreathed in flame?

Hey, has that story been adapted into books and cartoons and stuff like that?

Indeed it has. One of the most popular iterations is called "The Blazing Defender," I believe.

I knew it! That's the book that changed my life! That's where the story came from, huh?

Lots of entertainment has historical origins, if you look close enough.

Wow, that's so cool!

Just wait! I'm gonna go down in history the same way for my fight against the Synth Humans!