"Alright. We're all prepared to push through the mines now."
"Ooo, pretty." Corissa said as she looked down at the shiny pretty star shaped Sealiths, "It kind of feels bad to just use them to detonate explosives."
"There's not a lot of things that can move freely enough in the water to trigger a mine at a safe distance." Roko said, snapping shut the box holding their gem shurikens, "Sealiths are just the easiest solution we have to this problem."
"We do seem to be using them a lot." Helena nodded, "Piscium must be making a killing."
"And yet he still wants more." Roko muttered.
"What more does he want?"
Roko looked at Corissa who was innocently unaware what the answer to her question was. And Roko wasn't willing to inform her.
"Let's just get going." Roko sighed, "Helena stand back."
"Just you three this time?" Helena said as she took a few steps back as Corissa casted her sanctuary spell around them again.
"Yeah." Roko nodded, "Don't want to risk anybody else's lives with the mines exploding."
"Make sure you protect everybody's idol then, Roko." Helena smirked.
"That's what Varis is here for." Roko sighed.
"Cool. Good luck!" Helena waved as everyone climbed back down into the sewers.
"There are those damn mines again." Roko sighed, "And I see they brought back the fish."
Ghostly piranhas swam around the mines, staring at them from a distance, all of them having seemingly learned to keep their distance from Corissa's circle.
"Should we get rid of them?" Corissa asked.
"It's fine." Roko said, opening the case of Sealith shurikens and taking one out, "They can't stop us anyway."
Without waiting, Roko threw the weapon at the closest mine, Varis quickly stepping in front of them as the shuriken sunk deep into the mine and triggered it's explosion. Like Roko suspected, the mine's yield was much smaller than one would expect. The blast grazed the roof of the sewer tunnel and rocked their surroundings for a brief moment. The piranhas around it dissipated and the blast sent a foaming current flying right at them that just simply became a gust of hot air when it passed thorough Corissa's sanctuary. A few pebbles and probably shrapnel bounced harmlessly off Varis' armor but in the end, all of them emerged unscathed.
"That was scary." Corissa said nervously as she peeked out from behind Varis.
"At least this works." Roko said, picking out another shuriken from the box, "I would've hated retreating to think of a new plan again."
"You're not affected by all this?" Corissa asked.
"Explosions happen all the time in all the adventures we go through." Roko shrugged, "Not that big a deal."
"But this one is so close."
"I'd be more worried if we get too close. If you're scared, you can stay behind Varis as we deal with the mines as quickly as possible."
"I-I can handle it!" Corissa said, pulling herself together to look more brave, "Explosions are only scary the first time! I won't be so scared the second time! I'll even throw one for you!"
"No, just...stay safe alright?"
Piscium had made 20 whole shurikens for them to use but they didn't need even half of that amount to make their way to their destination. Another dead end where Roko could spot the glowing blue sheen of an enchanted Sealith behind the grate. Placing the box away for a moment, Roko pulled out the clawshot from his bag and fired it through the bars of the grate to pull the Sealith into the sanctuary circle where it promptly lost all its magic.
"Finally." Roko sighed as he placed the powerless stone into his bag, "Another one to the collection."
"The water level's dropped again." Corissa remarked, "We're getting close to finally unflooding this entire place."
"Hmmm..." Roko mused for a moment on his own.
"Something wrong?" Corissa asked.
"Ah well...I was wondering how we should move forward from here." Roko explained, "We can try and aim for another Sealith in this trip. We did actually lose quite a bit of time. But I think we better get rid of all these mines first before attempting to take another."
"W-We can do both!" Corissa said trying to sound confident.
"What did I say about overworking yourself?"
"...Don't?"
"That's right."
"Oh okay...I honestly do feel fine tho-"
Corissa stopped as she felt something pierce her side. Looking down, she could feel a dart like thing that had fully pierced through from behind her stomach. This dart quickly unfolded four prongs to latch onto Corissa's navels and she was suddenly pulled away from them.
Roko barely had the time to react before the sanctuary zone was just suddenly pulled away from him and he was thrown into what was still a heavy and fierce flow of water. The impact of getting thrown into the deep end of the water was enough to knock Roko off his feet, spinning him around as he was left to get carried away by the current again. Thinking fast, Roko quickly reorient himself, spotting Corissa in the pitch black darkness as she held onto her lamp. Firing the clawshot, Roko managing to grab onto Corissa's leg though all he could do was let himself get pulled along by the arm. Squinting through the water, Roko could see the line that had pulled Corissa away from them was tied to some sort of underwater drone that seemed to still be trying to pull Corissa away from them. As Roko tried to think of a way of dealing with this drone, Varis was suddenly right in front of the drone, in the blink of an eye drawing his sword and slicing it into two before catching Corissa's body and holding her close to protect her as they were swept away. It was at this point that Corissa finally fell unconscious and her sanctuary spell collapsed, letting water take her and extinguishing the only lamp left, plunging them into complete darkness. Now, even if Roko thought to try and tell Varis to create an ice wall to catch them, there was nothing in the darkness to orient themselves. To make it worse they were starting to get swarmed by the magical piranhas again. Without sanctuary to protect them the monsters were now snapping at them from all sorts of angle. The only thing stopping them from completely getting swarmed was that the stream was pulling them faster than most of them could catch up. All Roko could do was scrunch up to protect the majority of his body and let the stream take them away to the farthest exit of the sewer and hope they would be safe by the end. Roko tried to swim up to take more breaths of air but the battering waves, the attacking piranhas and the clawshot that constantly pulled his arm away from him. Roko could only hope the claw kept a good hold on Corissa's leg as he felt his burning lungs choke him from inside out and he blacked out.
Roko woke up in the mud. He slowly picked his head up, half his face caked in unpleasant filth but at least he was still alive and still breathing. Flicking the thicker globs off of his head, he was soon reminded of the Sealith clawshot that he had miraculously kept hold of. Following the line, Roko found Corissa and Varis lying in the mud not far from each other. Quickly scrambling up, Roko first moved to Varis, shaking him forcefully until the black knight finally managed to pick himself out of the dirt as well. With the knight regaining his senses, Roko moved onto Corissa, trying to wake her more gently but it was clear from a glance that she wasn't in the condition to wake up again. She was still breathing but her face was pale. Perhaps it was the clawshot on her leg that had managed to maintain it's grip so tightly that there was actually some blood drawn from the cuts on her legs. Or it might've been that hook, that dart that had pierced her side. Blood had spread out from the wound quite a bit, even as they were being washed away. Which meant that they must've been here for quite a while for the wound to bleed back out so much after they managed to finally exit the sewer. It was a bit of a blessing the hook had remained inside her body, blocking the majority of her blood from escaping should it had been removed. Following the line attached to this hook, Roko could see the underwater drone lying on the mud next to them as well. At least half of it anyway. Perhaps the other half was in the mud around them as well but Roko wasn't in the mood to go looking. Roko stood up and walked unsteadily to the drone, reaching down to pick it up and stare at it with a grimace. Whoever this accomplice was, he certainly was fond of his toys. Dragging himself back to Corissa, Varis had regained enough of his self to run over to Corissa's side and cradle her in his arms. Even in this grim situation, the black knight remained silent, even though Roko knew fully well he could talk.
"We need to move her." Roko stated, "Onto dryer grounds first."
Thankfully, Varis nodded and the two made their way out of the mud. Looking around, Roko could see a vast grassland where this sewer exit hole was just dug out of the side of a small hill. Walking up this hill a bit, Varis laid Corissa back onto the ground. Roko had long removed his clawshot from Corissa's leg, the bleeding from it not seeming all too bad was relieving proof that Roko's attempt at rescue had only left a shallow effect on her body though there was still a bit of bruising around these cuts to worry about. More important was the hook that was still attached to Corissa's stomach.
"Cut the line." Roko said as he knelt down next to Corissa.
Varis nodded and pulled out his sword out, cutting the line for Roko to carefully remove the hook by pulling it out through the front. From there, Roko removed his shirt and did his best to doctor the wound as best he could, tightening the shirt around her stomach in an attempt to stop the bleeding. Corissa seemed a bit better now but still far from healthy enough to wake up. Still the worst of it seemed to have been dealt with so Roko finally had time to stand up and look around to see where they were.
They had been pulled far from Mulapin but not quite far enough that Roko wasn't able to recognize the walled city in the near distance. It would be quite a bit of a walk back so Roko suggested they get moving as soon as possible before night fell. That said, it was pretty much twilight by the time Roko and Varis reached the walls only to find a peculiar number of guards patrolling the perimeter. From the armbands, Roko recognized them as the Starry Knights, the elite guards now being put on basic guard duty. With Varis around, they probably could fight their way in but who knows what might happen if they couldn't make it in in time and what other unseen preparations Sirius, or rather, Sirius' accomplice had put into place while they were unconscious. And they had to keep Corissa safe on top of that. In their current condition, forcing their way in was too risky. Thankfully, Roko thought of an alternative.
It was a difficult trip. Roko barely had the mental fortitude to trace his path but he somehow managed to find the open cistern that lead to the rebellion base below. Said base was still quite flooded but much less so than before. It still wasn't livable to any degree but they didn't really have much of a choice. So at Roko's orders, the two jumped, Varis carrying Corissa as they fell through the long hole and plunged so deep into the water that their feet nearly touched the ground that was submerged. Swimming back up to the surface, Roko let Varis and Corissa take a deep breath before continuing.
"Varis, make an ice wall over the entrance way. Make small holes at the bottom for the water to drain out."
Varis nodded and made the ice wall as instructed, blocking the water from entering and evening out the water level to...about door height which was way too high for this to be normal.
"Hold on." Roko frowned, "Analyze Map."
Roko had been afraid to use his spells while sanctuary was active in case it cause some sort of reaction that disrupted anything while underwater. But with no holy magic to get in his way, Roko was easily able to find the Sealith at the bottom of the base's channel and grab it with his clawshot.
"Here we go." Roko said, pulling the Sealith above water where it continued to expel an absurd amount of water, "Normally we'd have Corissa disenchant it but she's not available right now. So can you crush this with your hand?"
Varis nodded and took the stone with one of his gauntleted hand, crushing it with just his grip until the water stopped and the pieces dropped into the water. And sure enough, the water level began to lower again. Slowly but surely, the water dropped enough to lower their feet back on the ground and eventually to a thin film over the floor.
"Perfect." Roko said, "We can unseal the base now. You get Corissa to a bed and I'll start making my way to the infirmary."
Varis nodded and began tossing the sandbags away with one hand. Reminded once again of Varis' strength, Roko pulled the first of three sand bags away from another door and stepped through the empty corridors to the infirmary to remove even more sandbags. Once he got to the infirmary, he grabbed some cotton, some gauze and some antibiotic ointment before running back to check on Corissa.
Neither Roko or Varis was well versed in dressing a wound but Roko thought he did well enough by cleaning the surroundings with cotton, rubbing the antibiotics onto the wound and wrapping it up with the gauze. With her condition stable and under a warm bed, the only thing left was to give her some food to re-energize her. So after confirming that Varis did not know how to cook, Roko dragged his tired body to the kitchen so he could drag the sandbags out of the way and into the storeroom.
It had been several days since they were last here and some supplies had gone bad but there was enough for Roko to make a simple dish. Given her condition, Roko just made some simple chicken and egg drop soup, carrying three servings to the room for each of them. Varis, however, held off on eating his own share in order to gently feed Corissa first. She seemed to be able to eat just fine though she seemed no closer to waking up. In the meantime, Roko could barely eat his own soup, both out of fatigue and out of the need to examine this drone that had attacked Corissa. He scanned and analyze it but his mind kept trying to nod off into sleep before he could make any actual progress. And before Roko could knew it, he had lost to his exhaustion.
Roko woke up with soreness in his body. Yes, from yesterday's experiences but also because he had fallen asleep on a chair which left his back pretty sore as well. Still, after shaking off his morning blues, it was nice to see Corissa still in her bed. No signs that she had woken or made any sort of movement but still breathing gently at least. Looking around, he saw Varis slumped over in a corner, looking like he died but Roko just figured he was asleep. Both his and Corissa's soup were finished, leaving Roko the only one to have not finished his own meal. A tad ashamed, Roko decided to go back and heat up what remained of his soup in order to start the day. He also brought along the finished bowls to wash them.
Roko hadn't made that much soup though there was still at least one or two more bowlful of leftovers he had not refrigerated but could still reheat. But when he came up to the pot where he had made the soup, what leftovers should be there was gone. A curious mystery if Roko had not already had an idea of who this was. Reheating what was left of his soup for a quick breakfast and properly cleaning up after last night's cooking, Roko walked off to confront the person who stole his soup.
When Roko first arrived the room was completely dark and after turning on the light all it revealed was a normal room. Nobody seemed to be here but Roko knew better.
"You can come out now."
A short silence followed before a part of the cavern wall began to slowly open and Vespa peeked his head out.
"How'd you know I was here?"
"Simple. You weren't reported among the evacuated people. That meant you either died...or stayed behind here. And since no one's found any body, I figured you must've holed up in your own personal shrine."
"You knew I was in my Draconesis shrine?"
"I knew, or rather figured, a fanatic like you wouldn't dare leave your shrine unattended and vulnerable to the flood. That was the only conclusion I could come up with though I do recall you saying that your collection was elsewhere?"
"My main collection, yes. This vault is just all the stuff I found while staying over here in Mulapin that I haven't gotten around to moving yet."
"Is there a lot of stuff?"
"Come take a look."
Taking Vespa's invitation, Roko peeked around the stone door and found a completely dark room with only a single light illuminating the center. A giant multi-layered display was set up in the far back with several figures, masks, fans and coasters among other things. There was a giant TV that served as this shrine's centerpiece that was paused on a specific episode of Draconesis the Dragon's Bane. There were several other displays, some with their own base light to highlight some select merchandise. Wall scrolls and tapestries decorated the wall along with clothing and even the occasional underwear.
"That's...very impressive." Roko gulped, "I assume you must've been prepared to survive on your own here without having to evacuate."
"Y-Yeah." Vespa said, a bit proudly, "I've always been prepared to defend my shrine. This place is waterproof and I have plenty of rations to survive for at least a month. All I had to do was marathon old episodes of Draconesis though."
"Did you run out of episodes?"
"I'm not even halfway done." Vespa laughed, "Draconesis is an old series with thousands of episodes."
"Did you only come out to take my soup?"
"I-I didn't take-"
"The path here was completely clear of sandbags. How would those bags have been moved if you didn't move them?"
"...Okay so maybe I stole a bit of your soup." Vespa admitted.
"That's fine." Roko nodded, "I don't mind. Though it would've been nice of you to introduce yourself before scavenging around."
"You were all asleep before I could do anything." Vespa said, "What happened anyway? Is it just you three? What happened to the rest of the rebellion?"
"That's a long story. Do you have any water?"
After what felt like a long time, Roko managed to finish filling up Vespa on what had happened since the flooding. Vespa listened, engrossed by the story until Roko finished and he frowned, troubled by the story,
"So you're saying someone manufactured this flood?" Vespa frowned, "And they interrupted your efforts to stop it and now you're stranded outside of the city and only just barely managed to return here for shelter?"
"That's the gist of it." Roko said, taking a sip of the water Vespa had provided.
"This is crazy." Vespa held his head, "Things have been crazy since you got here."
"Well I won't say we weren't responsible." Roko shrugged, "But it's not like we're out of options. We can still fight back."
"On your own?" Vespa asked, "What about the rest of the rebellion?"
"Good question." Roko said, pulling out his phone, "I figured someone would have called us to check up on our disappearances but that hasn't happened yet."
"Let me see it." Vespa held out his hand for Roko to hand him his phone, "...It's waterlogged."
"Waterlogged?" Roko raised an eyebrow, "I know we've been underwater quite a bit but it still worked last I checked."
"Well your phone is a diamond so it's especially resilient but even it must've reached it's limit."
"How'd you know it was waterlogged?"
"Well for one I've worked on phones before." Vespa explained, "For another..." He waved the phone up and down, letting the soft sloshing of water serve as proof of his claim.
"Fair. How do we fix it?"
"Well the first step is to take it apart and let it dry." Vespa said, separating a cover from the phone and letting a small amount of water splash onto the floor. But that splashing was undercut by a much larger splashing. Several large and loud splashes. Coming from the entrance of the base.
"What was that?!" Roko's head whipped around.
And before he knew it, he was already running back to the base's entrance. Him and Vespa.