I was selling some stuff at the bazaar - we decided to ask around Celestia first before we did anything further - and Blad sent a bird to me to meet him in the Storm Mill. He told me that something odd was happening to the Mill's pressure system, so I agreed to help. He gave me a water-breathing potion but I pawned it off to someone else; that magic device in the Promenade made water-breathing potions a thing of the past!
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"It's terrible," said Herman. "A week ago, strange noises began coming from the old Waterworks in the alley." He pointed his claw to an old building I had passed many time in my visit to Crab Alley but never really noticed until now.
I checked it out. Sure enough, there was a horrid flushing noise and a feeling of lower pressure.
Inside I found the problem - a giant drain was sucking water down the tubes! I tried to turn it off but the valve was stuck. A door opened up and I went inside...
There were the culprits! I found a guy fighting them and helped him out. He introduced himself as Edward Lotusbreeze. "I was investigating too," he said. "Seems that some fish people want to steal all the magic in the Storm Mill and are draining the river to do it."
"That's bad," I said. "Let's work together to stop them!"
We flipped a lever to open another door, but the second lever was guarded by a vicious squid. (Meet Luska the Squid - he is one of the four sets of bosses which drops, very rarely(0.01%), one of the Mastery Amulets which allows you to use power pips for the amulet's school's spells. He is a gimmick boss.)
We fought hard but for some reason the squid's slippery body destroyed any traps we put on him and he blinded me with ink. (Gimmick #1 - unless you Vaporize him, he will instantly Cleanse any traps or Prisms you put on him. Gimmick #2 - he will 'ink' the 1st wizard in the battle order [and will ink others as he gets low on health; he inks two party members when he's at 75%, three if he's 50% or lower and all four if he's at 25% or lower. This 'ink' is a Smokescreen accuracy debuff, so expect to fizzle a lot, but...)
Then Edward attacked with a special spell and without warning a giant skeletal dragon appeared and blasted him with its foul breath! (Gimmick #3 - IF ANYONE WHO IS NOT INKED ATTACKS WITH A SINGLE-TARGET SPELL, LUSKA WILL PROC WITH AN UBER BONE DRAGON THAT DOES 1500 + 2400 OVER TIME OR A MEGA POWER LINK THAT DOES 1000 DAMAGE OVER TIME! Even more damage as those not inked are hit with proc'd Feint traps.)
After a long difficult battle, Edward and I defeated the squid and pulled the lever to open the gate t o the next area of the Waterworks.
I found a hood from the squid's treasure trove which I wore to keep my ears dry. (Luska also had a rare chance of dropping 'Waterworks' hats, which give universal resist and school critical and block. This was the go-to gear when Celestia came out as nothing save Aquilan future gear is stronger in power, at least until you hit Azteca. As you can tell, I transmogrified it right away into Sierra's hat as I don't like the look of the hats.)
After a few more fights, we finally turned off the valve...
"Hey you!"
"And you're in trouble now," I sneered. "I won't let you steal magic from Wizard City! In the name of my school, I will punish you!"
But not before they punished US. Just then... another mythical creature climbed from the ground - it was a hideous lizard that had six legs! It belched acid on the villains and then...
A mighty being appeared and fried that angler freak.
"Welcome, Child of Light and Shadow," it said to me through my mind as it looked at me. "We have been watching you and your friends, and soon your friend Christina will have me as an ally. You must beware Morganthe - just like I was once human and became a being of light, she was once human like you and became a being of darkness. You will face each other many times but in the end, you will meet in the World of Bugs and face her in the final conflict to save the Spiral."
He faded away and I crossed myself in prayer. I was eager to see Christina get to the Floating Land so we could gain the power of this being... which I realized HAD to be Ra, the god of light.
(Sylster and his mooks are a pretty nasty fight. He keeps up a Doom and Gloom and changes its color every three turns. After he does so, he destroys all traps and blades. I could go on about how you fight these guys but trust me, it's going to be a LONG battle. The battle didn't go as epic as how I wrote it but I did use a Basilisk treasure card or two. If you want the full experience, play the game. It's an investment but wortk it for a long time.)
I was glad that was over, the river was running smoothly again. Good! I love my old hat. (The Tricksy Hood which we got from Luska was stitched into the old hat. The Senator's Poetic Laurel was wearing out its welcome.)
When I got back with my friends, Grace told me the news. "I have been busy myself... I had to help Clever Agnes with the culture of Mooshu..."
"Rra Balestorm told me that I needed to collect scaly worms to lure Leviathan out of the depths of the ocean, and I found a decrepit dojo in Mooshu..."
"But it was not unguarded. A disgusting samoorai and his ninja pig consort attacked me because I interrupted their worm snack."
"Ew!" said Christina, grimacing.
"He nearly killed me but I was able to use my wit and my minions to distract him while I used my Tempest to subdue him and steal some of his scaly worms. (This is one of the "Fair Play Brothers" you have to fight to get your Level 58 spell. This is Storm's Fair Play Brother. I'll explain why I call them that when Sierra gets to hers.) I have to go to the Chantry, but..." Grace sighed. "You told me Professor Falmea needs my help to assist a field trip to my home, Zafaria. I've decided to join the field trip... I need to reunite with my daddy's cousin and my family, see how they are doing. I promise I will try to return as soon as I can to help you in this investigation."
I began to cry and hugged her. "Oh Grace... we'll miss you!"
"It's okay," Grace said, hugging me back. "We'll always remain together in our hearts. I will miss you too - I just got back to my studies and now I must go away again, but I need to see how home..."
"It's okay, Grace," said Christina, smirking. "It's your home. If my home was in trouble, I'd be worried too. You help those students learn about your culture! I'll watch carrot-fairy like I did when you were away in Valencia." She nudged me.
I pulled away. "Go, I'll be fine. Good bye."
"For now," said Penny, smirking. "We'll be back before you get any more portal pieces!" She winked as she and Grace teleported away. I sighed. Just me and Chris again.
Dalton told us to go visit the Grotto, an underwater area, and find Rupert Fleming, one of the group who had been exploring the Grotto. "He would know about the portal pieces," he said.
So in we went! Our new gills worked great and...
I got ambushed. "Heyo!"
I swung my book and brained the ambusher but gasped. "Oh so sorry, I didn't realize it was YOU!"
"Who?" asked Christina.
"Sailor Venus at your service!" laughed the girl. I was surprised at how she could speak underwater but the voice was muffled by the noise refraction. "But you called me Mindy Goldheart! Amy told us to watch you, and uh... well, I have to get some field experience so I have to help you out since you lost a person recently. I hope you don't diss me because I'm your inferior!"
"Wait, you're Myth too?" I asked, groaning. Two Myth girls was a bit tough to handle... what if we ran into Myth enemies?
"I don't trust her," muttered Christina.
"Hey, it's cool," said Mindy, stirking a pose. "I'm the Sailor Wizard of Love, everyone will come to love me!"
"What a big ego---" Christina began but I coughed up bubbles. "You okay, carrot fairy?"
"You can join us," I sighed. "It's an honor to have a Sailor Wizard joining us - Jupiter helped me with the Plague Oni, so I owe you something, I'll help you with your 'field experience.' Just be careful. I'm a bit stronger than you are, right?"
"You betcha, but I'll catch up someday," giggled Mindy.
I had a feeling she would be a handful.
"Spiral Door," I said.
"Amazing," said Rupert. "I thought that door was broken forever!"
"You okay? Can we help you out of that cage?" asked Mindy. "Let me Crescent Beam..."
"NO!" me and Christina cried. "You want to bring all those crab-men against us!?"
Rupert, if he was annoyed at our argument, wasn't acknowledging it. "We were captured by the Crustaceans, but the whole experience has turned into quite an education!"
"Is this cat for real?" asked Christina, rolling her eyes
"He's a dog," whispered Mindy, which made my friend do the eye-roll again.
"Could you tell us more?" I quickly said, hoping to defuse the situation.
"None of us are much when it comes to fisticuffs," Rupert said. "And those Crustaceans are more than we could handle! They put us in these cages, so we chose to spend our time observing their culture firsthand. Still... that only goes so far! Can you go and thrash some Crustacean Clawcutters and see if you can find some clues about what they're up to?"
I turned to Mindy and gave a wink.
Sucks to be Storm against TWO Myth Wizards! ^_^
"What do they mean?" I muttered. I wish Grace hadn't left. :(
"You need to be more observant, girl," said Rupert proudly."The story these clues tell is that the Crustaceans are up to something in the Coral Caverns. It's a dangerous, sprawling place filled with wild sea-life. I'm not about to enter those caverns... I wouldn't last a minute!"
"Not like you could," laughed Christina, pointing to his predicament.
He laughed. "You've got me there. Still, it's a dangerous maze filled with at least a dozen types of coral. Can you try and find the origin of the piece of coral you found?"
"Tell us some general directions and we're good to go," I said.
We found the coral as well as other students of Ravenwood exploring Celestia. I wonder who was letting them into this lost world. They seem to have discovered the ancient device too.
Rupert was spot-on with the description of "dangerous sea maze filled with deadly sea life." Eels and fish which reminded me of that monster which had fought alongside Slyster Glowworm swam about. We quickly collected four pieces of coral which looked like the one we had gotten from the crab-men.
"You betcha," said Mindy. "Sierra here has a piece of a portal stone and we need the rest. Any leads?"
"Let me look at the first piece of coral again," said Rupert. He studied it and frowned. "Oh no! See those scorch marks?" I did notice that the first piece of coral was badly scorched. "That area is frequented by Voltic Eels! I suspect the Crustaceans have taken said portal piece to the Voltic Eel cave nearby, based on the evidence you've collected. The logical conclusion, then, is that you must go there and see if our theory is correct and that the portal piece is there."
"Any proof?" Chrisitna muttered.
Rupert looked annoyed. "You observe, make a theory, and then test that theory. It is the scientific method in action!"
"We'll check it out," I said. "But we have to be very careful."
"We're wizards!" said Mindy, laughed. "Voltic Eels? Really? They're storm, we're myth! Easy!"
"You idiot!" I screeched as Mindy engaged the eels. I got pulled into battle too as Christina took the distraction to explore. Getting blasted by Stormzilla wasn't fun.
The gate was locked but Christina figured out that the glowing pedestals marked the order in which to light the monoliths in order to open the gate. Inside, she grabbed the portal stone piece and we booked it before the Eels fried us any further.
I was furious. I didn't care that this was a Sailor Wizard, my opinion of her was ruined by her behavior. "Look, Venus! I don't care if you are a superhero, you need to remember that we're in dangerous territory! We could have all died there! From now on, you answer to me!"
Venus sighed. "Okay. Sailor Moon is our superior and I... okay, okay... sorry. Let's just go."
"That was harsh," said Christina.
"Well, we could have gotten by without potions if someone hadn't rushed into danger!" I said. I was bitter - my sister was gone again.
"You're becoming quite the leader of our group," said Christina with a smile.
I gaped. Was I now the unofficial leader of this group? I didn't see myself as a leader.
"Yeah, but we barely survived," I muttered, glaring at Mindy. "But how many more are there?"
"One more," said Mindy. "While I was at the Base Camp, I saw three rings. There must be there pieces to fix the portal."
"And we already got one earlier from that crab guy holding Rutherford West hostage," said Christina.
"You saved Rutherford?" said Rupert, smiling. "Jolly good!"
"So we have one more to find," I said. "But where could it be?"
"The Crustaceans are a lazy bunch," said Rupert. "So it's certain that where one piece is found, the other is not far afield. We've observed that Crustaceans tend to pick up small pieces of stone, shell and other shiny bits whereever they go. If you search their belongings, you'll gain insight into where they might have been."
Please don't tell me we can beat up more crabs!
Yep, have to beat up more crabs. If there is anything WORSE than a Stormzilla's breath, it's a FIREZILLA'S. :(
But Christina's sandstorms cauterized the burns and made it all better. :)
We found that the Pincers were entering a giant coral-made castle... but a huge starfish was binding the door tightly shut. "Now what?" I muttered.
"Back to Rupert!" said Mindy, smiling.
I admitted that was our best course of action.
As usual, he was very helpful. "The Crustacean boss around here is Optio Misemos."
"Optio Misemos?" said Christina, trying to repress a snicker. "What sort of parents did HE have to name him some as bad as that! I bet he was teased at fish school."
"'Optio' is some sort of rank amongst their legions, like a lieutenant."
"So it's a militant race," I said. "So all we have to do it find and defeat this guy and he'll tell us what we need to know?"
"Correct," said Rupert. "He's a coward... he'll tell you."
I was eager to beat someone silly and I didn't want to alienate the Sailor Wizards by making Mindy the target of my wrath for her shenanigans.
"Wrong!" said Mindy, striking a pose. "We're going to punish you in the name of Venus!"
I held my head at the lame motto. Did I really think that motto was cool a long time ago?
Needless to say, Mindy did pull her weight when she cracked open a can of whoop-dog on the crab.
"You have an awesome new spell!" cried Mindy after I defeated the crabs with Ninja Pigs. "You have to tell me how to get it!"
"Okay talk, or I'm eating crab cakes," hissed Christina, putting her blade to the Optio's neck.
"Don't hurt me! I'll tell you anything you need to know!" screamed Misemos.
"How do we get past the starfish door which is guarding that castle in the east side?" I demanded.
He hung his head. "That starfish likes to eat algae. When we feed it algae, it relaxes and opens the door."
Christina smacked him with the flat of her blade and knocked him out. "Let's get out of here."
(We helped Rupert later with some 'guardians of the Brambles' which were tough enemies later. Side quest will be skipped because it involves fighting three tough bosses.)
"If Optio Misemos told you the truth..." Rupert began.
"He had a glowing blade to his neck," I said. "What you told us was true, he's a coward, so I doubt he had any reason to lie at that point."
"Right," said Rupert. "If what he was true, the next step is to gather enough algae to feed the starfish. The Crustacean Waverunners are always carrying little pots full of algae, presumably for the starfish. If you defeat a few Crustacean Waverunners..."
Le Sigh. Ugh! (Waverunners are horrible - they spam Tower Shield and Freeze. Also, the algae is a 40% drop so expect to fight more than three battles unless you have friends to pull in more! Sierra got her pots in two battles but Christina needed another battle to get that last pot.)
With the algae in hand - boy, I am glad I can't smell well here as that stuff REEKS! - the door was unbarred and we hurried inside.
I glared at Mindy as she waved at the patrols in the front room. "NO. We are not causing a distraction, there are too many guards here; we'll use stealth to get by the guards."
Christina gave me a thumbs-up and I snuck by the patrols and made them port to me.
Mindy smiled. "You don't need a shell to love! We're going to pu---"
"Shut up, Mindy," I muttered as my Earthquake tore all of the enemies - the Governor was ice and his mooks were storm - a new one. (Took a while to kill these goons as Nereus threw up a Tower Shield just as I put up a double Feint, but hey, it happens. I paralyzed the Clawcutters with Blinding Light to give us some breathing room.)
We found the last portal stone piece and tied up the governor before he could wake up. "Let's get out of this underwater hole," I said.
"Hey, here's a book!" said Venus.
It was the Book of the Crab Zodiac Sign. I took a few notes for the journalist I had met earlier.
And we yoinked Nereus's best table. It'll make a fine addition to my future Celestian Observatory. (The crab shell table is awesome.)
We went back to Rupert who told us to return to Prescott. "No sense in risking those pieces down here," he stated. I nodded. It wouldn't do us jack if we kept them here anyways - they needed to repair the portal to the Stellarium.
We went back to Dalton. "Now that you have all of the pieces of the portal, you can go to another part of the world," he said. "Report back to Edith."
Edith was plum as pickles to hear our success. "Where is your friend?"
"Oh, she had to do something," I muttered. "Mindy is subbing for her."
"Those pieces open the way to the District of Stars," said Edith. "Fix the portal and see if anyone who was through there before it was destroyed is okay."
"Ready?" said Christina.
I was. I placed the pieces in the pillar and the portal flared into life. We went through...
"Oh, I was here a while ago," said Mindy nonchalantly. "Watch out for the sharks!"
I groaned. I had thought I had seen the last of shark-men in the Waterworks...
[TBC...]
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