Part Twenty: The Dead Sea and the Tower of Geddon
Now that you've completed the Dead Sea - and seen it utterly destroyed - you've regained the ability to jump between worlds. Return to Opassa Beach and use the Astral Amulet. You'll leap over to Another World. (Though Lynx's animation for doing so is far less impressive than when Serge does it.)
Upon arrival Lynx and the group will save a young boy from monsters. Once they're driven off he will mention that Serge is leading an army, and nowhere is safe. Ominous. Visit Arni Village and you'll see that everyone has apparently taken shelter, lending credibility to the boy's claims. (Though if you visit the spot where you recruited Mojo he'll be back there. Won't rejoin the party, but still...)
Travel through Fossil Valley and right out the other side, as there are no new items to grab. There are a few new enemies of note here:
- Shadow Cat - Black Innate. A pretty standard melee fight. Aside from dropping Fur and Mothership Trap Elements they're nothing special.
- Tutanshaman - Red Innate. Uses a variety of Red Elements to fight. Not a big deal, though they're good for farming Weaken Elements if you need any.
Head to Termina and you'll discover, just like in Home World, that the city is occupied by the forces of Porre. If you put Van in your party you can visit Another World's version of his father Gogh (who is much richer), and Van's Piggy Boink Tech will become stronger. Visiting Zappa with Zappa will result in a shared project between the two, though you need a stronger hammer that you can't get yet. You can also recruit Greco in the far east of Termina, if you didn't get him as Serge much earlier in the game.
Ultimately you want to make a trek to the bar. The barmaid will immediately act suspicious. Enter the room near the bar and she'll tell you to check the wall. Examine just left of her to find a secret room, within which you'll find Karsh and Zoah. They'll fill you in on the aftermath of the party's trip to Fort Draconia, and give you the Tear of Hate, a key item that will be very important much later.
At this point you need to make a choice: Recruit Karsh or recruit Zoah. You'll get the other Deva within the next few hours, so it doesn't really matter who you pick - though if you want to maximize your team's potential, Karsh is the more useful fighter of the two.
That's all for Termina. Your next destination is Viper Manor, though this time you'll be taking a very different route through the manor.
Viper Manor
The guards will let you right into Viper Manor, and once you enter the front door you'll see a cut scene of Riddel being questioned by Another World's Norris. Riddel will get taken down to the dungeon and you'll retake control of the party. Have a look around the manor before you head towards the plot:
- Check Zoah's room, the door nearer the stairs down the right hall from the entrance. If Zoah is leading your party he can open the chest inside his room and receive his Level Seven Tech, Toss & Spike.
- Look in Luccia's laboratory. It's the second room on the right on the lower floor. There's a Silver Earring sitting on the desk.
- Next door to Luccia's laboratory is an armory that you probably visited on your first trip through here. There are two snake statues inside, and you can push one into an empty slot near the right wall. This time it will reveal a secret path into a room with two chests, though they're guarded by snake statues that pelt you with a misty breath attack if you get too close. Go back into the main armory and look on the left side of the five sets of armor. There's a column that will open up, revealing a switch. Hit the switch to deactivate the statues. The chests contain the Viper's Venom, a weapon for someone you'll recruit soon, and a Rainbow Shell.
- Visit the library, to the west of the main hall of the manor. Check the bookshelves behind the desk and you can enter a secret room. The vehicle stored inside should be of interest. Speak to the creature keeping watch over the vehicle and it will give you the Porre's Furnace Custom Frame. This creature can also change the names of almost every character in the game, except for Lynx.
- Check the rooftop, down the hall from Viper's office on the highest floor of the manor, for a Sight Scope.
All done for now. Go through the rounded gate on the left in the entrance hall. The second door on the left is the parlor, and Another World's Norris is inside. Speak to him with Home World's Norris in your party and after some pained deliberation, he'll give you the Prison Key. (This conversation is a little more interesting if Home World's Norris is in your party, though he's not mandatory.)
After one more... somewhat disturbing... cut scene, you'll be back outside the parlor. Make your way downstairs from the parlor and you'll see a small grate near the lower end of the stairs. Check it to find a way into the sewers below Viper Manor.
Viper Manor Sewers
Ahh, that lovely sewer smell. You'll run into the following enemies beneath Viper Manor:
- Spearfisher - Blue Innate. Typically uses normal attacks, though it can use its unique Tech, Ice Tongs, to inflict a fair amount of damage to one character. Can also debuff your party with Numble. A priority enemy to take down.
- Lantern Jaw - Red Innate. A lantern with jaws. What else did you expect? Often supports other enemies using Turn Red and Strengthen. Pretty weak otherwise.
You'll be in the top-left corner of the sewers when you reappear. Head south, take out the Spearfisher patrolling near the water's edge, and jump into the water. It'll carry you to another, familiar room, and you'll need to do something about the current before you can find your way into the dungeon.
Climb onto the nearby platform, but ignore the northbound path for a moment and go to the bottom-right corner of the area, through the water. This path will take you to a grated water release leading into the waterway beneath the Shadow Forest. You can't go out here, but you can knock on the bars and annoy a nearby enemy into knocking a chest down. If you go down the well from the grounds of Viper Manor and into the waterway later you can open the chest to receive a Deluge Element.
Return to the sewers and go north through the water. There's a small platform with a barrel on it. If you push the barrel into the water it will float off to the west. Follow it through the water and you'll find a chest containing some Denadorite, sitting in the water near a ladder. Go up the ladder and you'll emerge near the dungeon in Viper Manor, creating a handy shortcut. The guards won't let you in, however, so it's back to the sewers with you.
Head back east and south (mind that you'll have to shove the barrel into the water again if you went up the ladder). Take out the Spearfisher patrolling the main pathway and go north. At the end of this pathway you'll find a second barrel that you can dump into the water, creating a small bridge to the south. Go around the two pillars in the north to find a Humour. Cross the barrel bridge...
... and you'll be back in the first section of the sewers, beside a water control valve. Tighten it and the water flow will slow down considerably. Use the shortcut to get back into the dungeon of Viper Manor, then loop back to the beginning of the sewer and cross the now-calmed water that swept you away earlier. Cross to your right before the slower current can send you back to the lower section of the sewers.
Follow the tunnels until you reach an intersection in the lower-right corner of the area. Go north to find another intersection. There's a valve wheel to the left that will open the southwestern path from the intersection, though there's no point going down it just yet. Instead, go all the way north from the intersection and take a right onto the next screen.
Beyond a patrolling Spearfisher in the next section of the sewers there's another valve that you can both tighten and open. Tighten it up, then travel to the previous valve wheel, open it, return to the intersection and go south, take a left, get down into the water, and walk right. Past a Spearfisher and up some stairs you'll find a path to a chest containing a Nimble Element, as well as the dual-path waterway that the third valve in the sewers controls. Get down into the water and climb up to the other side of the valve to open it, then go right towards the ladder out of the sewers. Something nasty comes crawling for you before you can escape.
Roachester
A larvae-covered, Blue Innate bug of enormous proportions, Roachester has beef with you for some reason. Its normal attacks are no big deal, but it has two Elemental attacks of concern:
- The first, Jitterbug, hits everyone for around 120 Blue Innate damage
- The second, Bug Kamikaze, hits one person for around 200 Blue Innate damage
Both are awful, so you want to get through the fight as quickly as you can. Heal up whenever Roachester attacks, then hit it hard with your best Red Innate Elements and single-hitting Techs. Once Roachester is visibly weakened it will stop using its two Techs, making the battle much less hazardous. Pretty straightforward.
You'll receive a Star Level, 1,076 gold, and an Elbow Pad for defeating Roachester.
Once the big roach is out of the way you can climb out of the sewer via some green-lit handholds. This leads to three more climbing spots. Go up the handholds on the right and you'll come out beneath Fargo's bed, inside a prison cell. Apparently he's been captured by Porre. Using the Prison Key he'll pop open his cell and flee.
Exit the cell. To your right is a save point and one last cell door. Heal up if you didn't after the battle with Roachester, then head into the cell.
Hell's Cook
Orcha? The cook? It can't be! Fortunately, this is not a difficult fight. A Red Innate, Hell's Cook uses a combination of Red Innate Elements and physical attacks to go after single targets. He can also use Spice of Life to restore a bit of his health. Generally Hell's Cook won't do more than 130 to 150 points of damage in a single turn, and he doesn't attack more than one person at a time, so you should have no trouble keeping up with his slow damage output. He has a lot of health so the fight may take a while, but it's by no means difficult.
You'll receive a Star Level, 1,490 gold, and a Gold Pendant for defeating Hell's Cook. You'll also receive Orcha's aid, as he will promptly force his way into your party once the battle is over.
You'll jump back to the main floor of Viper Manor, and Another World's Norris will see Riddel safely out of the manor. Cover their exit by running north, into the main hall. You'll need to fight a squad of Porre Privates and Porre Sergeants, no big deal, and once they're gone...
Grobyc
A Black Innate cyborg (note the name), Grobyc is... well, he's not a big deal. Though faster to attack than Hell's Cook, he doesn't hit as hard and has a bit less health. His all-hitting Hair-Cutter attack is a minor nuisance if your team is weakened, and Heal All is always annoying if you're running out of Elements to use on him. Of greatest danger, however, is when Grobyc uses Vigora, as he's going to follow up with a string of normal attacks that can put a weaker character in the danger zone. Heal regularly and pummel him with White Innate Elements for a fairly quick win.
You'll receive a Star Level, 1,250 gold, and a Freefall Element or a Defender for defeating Grobyc. And then...
Guillot
Four bosses in a row? Geeeeez. A Yellow Innate robot, Guillot is Porre's price and joy, and will come at you with a slew of normal attacks and its Tech, Heat Edge. Heat Edge is a Yellow Innate move that can do close to 200 points of damage to a single character. Not the worst you've faced, but no joke either. Green Innate Elements and other spells will bring its HP down fast. Fortunately, Guillot doesn't have a ton of health...
... though after you beat Guillot once it will chase you into the library, and you'll have to fight it again. The second fight is no more difficult than the first.
Flee up the ladder in the library to trigger a cut scene - you'll be saved by someone unexpected - and wind up in the dragon stables. The keeper will ask how you want to approach the situation, though regardless of your answer he'll release the dragons, and they'll pour out of the stables and run over the Porre soldiers outside. Once you leave the stable you'll be approached by Grobyc, who will also join the party. You'll then jump out of Viper Manor, with Hermit's Hideaway as your next destination.
Hermit's Hideaway
Make the trip over to Hermit's Hideaway. Climb inside the tree stump and you'll find the remaining two Devas, as well as Riddel, Viper, and Another World's Radius waiting. Speak to Riddel and she will join the party. Take up her offer to rest...
... and a surprise voice will interrupt your sleep. Fortunately, Fargo will sweep in and save everyone before things get out of hand. Your journey is about to become much more complicated.