Seat of the Heart

This fascinating quest is both long, and difficult, but filled with tons of plot, dialogue and cut-scenes. It is also the first time that you are introduced to completely new, never before seen enemies and an all new area of the game. In the history of PSO quests, none has ever been able to match the magnitude of this one...and might never again. But enough with the description, time for plot:

Although the quest is under the VR category, only about half of it takes place there. Once you sign up for the quest, Elly Person is revealed as your client. She requests that you help a certain hunter through the VR exam which Chief Natasha has planned. It is later revealed that she is just being evasive, and that it is actually her that needs your help.

Natasha is having P2 research Gal Da Val island, and needs a qualified team of hunters to go there and bring back data. The lab has set up the VR exam to determine qualified people to go on the second research team. This is all very hush-hush, as you are reminded not to reveal any information about what is going on, with the threat of prosecution. During the exam, hunters are permitted to attack other teams, and this is actually encouraged by the rules. Each team needs 3 IDs to be allowed into the final area. If you 'die' in the exam, you are eliminated.

Once the exam starts, you'll see some familiar faces such as Ash and that green RAcast who was in Addicting Food (Gilliam). You also see a mysterious FOmar dressed in white suddenly appear in a part of the temple and begin walking.

It should also be noted that Elly will be accompanying you the whole time, and who also provides your main problem. She needed help on the exam for a reason. Could Elly be the new Mome? Highly likely. Elly was originally a FOnewearl in her first quest, "Knowing One's Heart", but she has since been converted to a Lab Worker, losing her hunter status, and most of her usefulness along with it.
On hard mode, she equips a Lockgun, and on ultimate mode she uses a Varista, all to not much effect. She only casts Barta and Gibarta as offensive techs, and will ocaisonally resta and anti as the need calls for it. However, if she becomes paralyzed, she will not use mates, and cannot be cured by androids. She carries no Antiparalysis, and the level is littered with lillies for her to approach and be paralyzed by. The only way to cure her is to wait for a cut-scene, when all status effects are removed from her, increasing the difficulty. She has decent evasion, and the new types of traps found in the level do not harm her.

Almost right away, Team H (consisting of a white HUcast and HUcaseal) are elminated by a HUmar with an afro in a distant part of the temple. Another confrontation takes place between a RAmarl (Karen) and a RAmar. The RAmar accuses her of being all talk because her father is a very popular soldier. (He is actually Leo Graheart) She argues back, and both of them draw down on each other, when Gilliam the green RAcast shows up and simply blows away the RAmar with a shot. Gilliam shows some personality, and that team moves on.
The next confrontation is much closer as team J, a HUnewearl and a RAmar are defeated by the mysterious Red-Eyed FOmar in white. He causes a massive fire and floating sparkle effect which essentially defeats them in one shot. As you approach the bodies, they vanish, but by that time the FOmar is long gone. Bernie and Ash encounter the FOmar, but Bernie convinces the impulsive Ash to leave before they can be fried. The operators of the VR system realize that the rouge FOmar is causing abnormal energy build up within the system, createing very real danger for all inside as he systematically eliminates teams. The VR feild begins catching fire and new kinds of traps begin to appear. Racton and his RAcaseal companion Type: V are eliminated by a new flame trap.

Elly then reveals to you that she is looking for someone inside the VR world. You are also followed by both a red eyed or a green eyed FOmar. The FOmar then attacks a HUnewearl with pink hair and a RAmar with a blue mask after saying the word "Retrieve". They are eliminated by an energy wave.

On the Space Ship area of the test, the new traps and breakdown of the VR field continue. Soon, you encounter Barb a HUmar with white hair who uses a Musashi. He dosn't want to fight for the IDs to complete the quest, so he resorts to underhandedness. He has his partner a RAmar named Oslo take Elly Hostage. As you fight Barb, the RAmar shoots Elly for disobeying him, and is almost immedeatly burned alive by the FOmar with green eyes. After you find where Elly was held, she tells you that she was told by someone in the lab to take the VR exam. Because you have now aquired the necissary IDs, you proceed through to the Gol Dragon.

After defeating it, Calus appears as the FOmar with green eyes. The red-eye FOmar represents the rest of the CALS system, which has a more logical and machine-like view. The CALS-system FOmar wants to eliminate Calus because it sees him as a threat to its own existance. After the CALS-System was reconstructed for use on the P2 lab, the 'concious' part of the system wanted to break away from the controlling machine side. Calus requests Elly boost the signal on her Com-Link and the two FOmars fight eachother, collapsing the VR system. Fortunatly, it boots you out safly to Pioneer 2, where you can take a much needed break. Talking to Nol reveals that she bet on your team to win. She also knows that two other teams passed, a Millitary sponsored unit and a Government sponsored unit. Bernie and Ash are most likly the Government one, and the RAmarl Karen and RAcast Gillium are the militarys' representitives.

Calus needs to go to Gal Da Val island, which is why he set Elly on this mission in the first place. After the rescue in the mines, he became part of the CALS-System entity. He wanted to talk with Elly and he had a sense of self that the system lacked. It controlled him, and wouldn't allow him to contact her or function independently. He knows that there may be a key in the Control Tower which could make him human somehow.

You now have the option to save your progress in the quest before moving on to the second part.

Part 2