Scenario:Baal - Power Play

Power Play

Having snapped all of her guitar strings while practicing, Medusa asks Baal for a replacement, but he has none to spare. When Medusa borrows his guitar and ends up breaking one of his too, the Primal Pals set out to procure the materials needed for Baal's specially made strings.

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One day, on the deck of the Grandcypher...

Baal: ...
Heh.

Baal: The sound of rushing wind as the ship soars through the skies...

Baal: Combined with the tones produced by my guitar into a magnificent fusion...

Baal: I can't say I mind this resonance.

Medusa: Oh, there he is! I found Baal!

Baal: Sigh.

Satyr: Yay! Looks like your guess was right on the mark, Nez!

Nezha: Medusa, you had better slow down before you fall.

Baal: What a racket. Do you need something from me?

Medusa: My poor guitar... It's in really bad shape!

Baal: Don't tell me you broke it.

Medusa: No, that's not it. But look!

Baal: Hmm... Oh, a string snapped.

Baal: You should still have some spares. All you need to do is restring it.

Medusa: If I could, I would've done it already!

Nezha: The string that broke was the last remaining spare.

Baal: Huh? How did you possibly break so many?

Baal: You must have used too much force and pushed the strings past their limit.

Satyr: Actually, it's because of all the practice time Meddy's been putting in lately!

Baal: Why are you practicing so much in the first place?

Medusa: Well... for the band, obviously.

Baal: The band? You mean the group we all formed together, Primal-★-Slap?

Baal: That was a one night only thing. I don't recall scheduling any other concerts.

Medusa: Well, yeah... But that's not the point!

Baal: What?

Nezha: Putting that aside, let us return to the matter at hand.

Satyr: Yeah. Since Meddy used up all her guitar strings...

Satyr: We were wondering if you could share one of yours with her.

Baal: No can do.

Medusa: Why not! Are you saying you don't want to waste your strings on me?

Baal: Don't be so paranoid. That's not it.

Baal: I can't give you a spare string because I don't have any extras on hand right now.

Baal: You'll just have to hold out until we stop on an island that sells them.

Medusa: But I want to practice more. I can't sit around wasting time—I've got to improve!

Satyr: I know, but how are you supposed to do that if you can't use your guitar?

Medusa: ...

Baal: Hey. What are you looking at?

Medusa: ...

Baal: You can't be serious...

Medusa: Baal. Let me borrow your guitar!

Baal: Absolutely not. I'll be damned if I let you snap the strings on my guitar too.

Medusa: It'll be fine, I swear! I'll be super careful with it!

Baal: But at your current level...

Satyr: Are you sure you can't let her use it, Baally? Meddy's just trying to do whatever she can to get better.

Nezha: Your guitar is a true masterpiece. I can fully understand why you wouldn't want to entrust it into the hands of another.

Nezha: But by playing an instrument of that caliber, Medusa could very well experience some sort of epiphany.

Medusa: C'mon, Baal! Please?

Baal: Oh, all right. But just this once.

Medusa: Woohoo! Thanks so much!

Medusa: This is pretty heavy. And is it just me, or do the strings have a different texture?

Baal: Of course they do. Every aspect of that guitar is custom-designed to mesh perfectly with my artistic sense.

Baal: It's on a completely different level from yours. Especially the strings.

Medusa: O-okay, here goes! Just gotta do it like always!

Baal: Hey, you're pressing down too hard! If you strum the strings like that—

Medusa: Whoops, it snapped.

Satyr: Uh-oh...

Nezha: You actually broke a string? And so quickly too.

Medusa: N-no, wait! I can explain! Um... Er...

Baal: This is why I didn't want you to touch it.

Baal: You haven't been breaking strings left and right just because of all the practicing you've been doing. I was right—you're using too much force.

Baal: If you do it like that, the outcome is going to be the same no matter how much you play.

Baal: Even my guitar couldn't survive it...

Medusa: ...!
Listen, I'm really sor—

Baal: Sigh...

Medusa: Wait... Huh?

Nezha: It seems you escaped his wrath, Medusa.

Medusa: B-but...

Baal: The sense of shock just won out, that's all.

Baal: And anyway, I had a feeling it would turn out like this from the beginning.

Medusa: Hey! Does that mean you were expecting me to snap a string?

Baal: I thought there was a high chance you would, and it turns out I was right. That's all there is to it.

Medusa: Urgh... I mean, well...

Baal: Hmph. But even though I might have predicted this outcome, I can't just leave my guitar in this state.

Baal: I'll have to get some new strings and replace the broken one as soon as possible.

Baal: At this rate, the curvature of the neck will be warped, and the sound will go out of tune.

Nezha: Not to repeat your own words, but won't we have to wait until we reach land to buy more strings?

Baal: As I mentioned earlier, my guitar is on a completely different level from Medusa's.

Baal: The strings are particularly special.

Medusa: H-how could I have broken something so precious!

Baal: This goes without saying, but I expect you to help me obtain proper replacements.

Medusa: I-I know, I know!

Satyr: Don't forget about me! I'm more than happy to come along and lend a hand!

Nezha: I'll accompany you as well. I'm interested to see what makes these strings so remarkable.

Baal: Well... I suppose having you three around will make things a little easier.

Thus the Primal Pals decide to help repair Baal's guitar together.

Wasting no time, Baal heads off to give Rackam the coordinates to a secret island within a certain skydom.