Part 92: Overtime D: Separate Ways (Part 3) - The Ferryman and the Fairy

Overtime D: Separate Ways (Part 3) - The Ferryman and the Fairy

Continued From: Episode XVI (Part 1): Hydras Are Not Humorous


Next up on our alternate takes is the dilemma of what to do about Kid's poisoning. Of course, being the main heroine in peril and all, most people probably went with this path their first time through. It has its pros and cons.

On the negative side: going after the poison cure will lock the player out of obtaining Glenn in that playthrough. Also, Macha and Doc...but who gives a shit about them...? Another big con?


This insufferable twat muscles his way into your party.


Since Korcha doesn't decide to stick his nose into business that has fuck all to do with him, like the jackass that he is, Serge gets to hold onto Kid's Astral Amulet. Which means he also gets to return to Home World much, much sooner than the alternate path (remember we had to the whole wasting time visiting Radius, Fargo ship, and ghost pirates raid crap last time.)


On the down side, we don't get access to the boat until after we finish this somewhat lengthy quest, as Korcha is only willing to ferry us back and forth between Guldove and Termina.


And of course, he'll whine like a little girl even doing that.

A short trip to Termina later...


Korcha also has a much pussier version of the scene dealing with the jackass dock manager giving the party shit for parking their boat on the docks. While Macha just yelled at the guy to eat shit and die, causing him to back off immediately via sheer Big Mama intimidation skills... Korcha...


...bribes the official with some Guldove booze he stole out of his mother's liquor cabinet. Did I mention Korcha is just awful in nearly every way...? CHA! It is true.




Korcha "temporarily" joins at this point. Since he is a massive pussy and won't commit to permanently joining the party because it might muck with his lucrative career is world's biggest tool. Look at this guy and tell me you don't want to punch him in the face.


So, at this point the party gains access back to Home World. It all proceeds mostly the same as before and nothing really changes when we get there.

Music: Hydra's Swamp


The villager from Arni barring access to the deadly monster and racist dwarf filled quagmire will block access to a single teenager wandering in here. But three teenagers who are obviously up to something? Go right in!


A short distance into the swamp, Serge will see some sort of fairy spirit that floats toward the west. Apparently, Serge is the only one that can see it as Leena just asks why Serge is standing there slack jawed.


Korcha, meanwhile, bitches like a little baby constantly. Maybe you wouldn't be so cold if you wore some pants, shirt, or some shoes and didn't have such a stupid fucking haircut you whiny prick.




Further up the overhanging bramble above the swamp, the party will encounter and have to battle one of those Beebas fellas as we are apparently steppin' on their turf and they do not appreciate that. I really hope those dried skulls on its umbrella belongs to some dwarves.




In any case, defeating the swamp folk will earn the Beeba Flute waaaaaaay earlier. No Ancient Fruit, though. That is still reserved for late game. So, what can we do with only a flute?


Well, we can still summon a Wingapede. Only, we've nothing to tame it with this time and it gets rather ornery as a result.


"Good idea. Thanks for volunteering."
"Volunteering? WhatCHA talkin' about?"
"Well, we need to feed it to calm it down, right?"
"...ya?"
"Welp, I left my knapsack at home. We'll just have to make do with what we've got on hand."
"I ain't gonna be no meal for some overgrown bug!"
"Well, then why did you bring it up in the first place? Honestly..."


So, there is a rather uneventful battle with the Wingapede after Korcha manages to piss it off. Sure, it would get pissed if Korcha were not in the party. But, I'm thinking that big red Speedo didn't help matters.


I think you know how this works. Wingapede is a push-over in any playthrough. The only thing it had going for it was the ability to poison characters, which can be irritating early on.


After the battle, the ground on...whatever in the hell the party is standing on...cracks and gives way, sending them tumbling into the cavern below.


Luckily, Team Serge's fall is broken by the squishy head of a giant octopus creature dwelling below. The impact will immediately knock the tentacled monstrosity unconscious, much to the relief of Leena (and probably Korcha) I'm sure. Now, the party can just book it up the ladder in the room and continue on with no conflict. Or, they can take a gander at what is being held at the bottom of the cave.


"I've never seen one before!"
"No, Korcha. It's a donkey."
"Really? Ain't seen one of those before either..."
<sigh>
"We can't just leave her trapped like this! Let's help her out!"


Before the party can free the trapped fairy...something or other calls out to them. I honestly don't know who the intended speaker of this line is supposed to be. It might be the big octopus... It might be the fairy...it might be one of the bazillion disembodied ghost voices in this game... Who knows?


Anyway, the octopus monster springs to life and is rightly pissed we barged into its humble abode and are trying to make off with its dinner. So, it decides it is going to eat us as well.


A brief battle occurs...


...and the dinner menu is switched to broiled calamari with tomatoes and arugula. I'm sure Korcha would eat it...


Speaking of which, thanks for centering the camera on Korcha's backside for the monster's death animation, game. That was just swell of you.


"Let me introduce myself... My name is Razzly! I come from Water Dragon Isle. I think you can tell by just looking at me, but I'm a fairy! I guess you could say it's fairy obvious! Tee-hee-hee!"
"I liked you up until you started with the puns. Knock it off."
"I've heard of that island. The old fisherman in my village sometimes spoke about it. But he says that because of the strange dry spell we've been having lately the island's water source has dried up! I wonder if it's the same thing in this world?"
"Huh? Our water source has dried up...? This world...? I don't understand what in Fairy Godmother's name you are talking about!"
"Yeah, welcome to the club..."
"Serge... Perhaps we'd better explain!"
"*I* will explain. You just try not to drown in a puddle or something."

A fade to black for off camera exposition later...


"And you've come to these marshes in this world to save your friend in that other world?"
"Yes. You seem to have got it. But actually Serge is originally from this world!"
"And if I didn't have feel like a dick if I didn't help Aussie girl out, I'd be back on the beach taking a nap right about now."
"We don't expectCHA to believe us but it is true! We traveled through a wormhole to your world!"
"We need the Hydra Humour to make the medicine that'll save our friend!"
"There sure is a Hydra in this forest. I saw it with my fairy own eyes!"
"You're doing it again..."
"Sorry..."


"So...you don't mind us going to kill this Hydra thing...? Not going to bitch us humans out for messing up the environment or anything...?"
"The only thing in this forest that depends on the Hydra are those dwarves and they threw me in here just out of spite. If it were up to me I'd burn the whole swamp to the ground and lob thunderbolts at any of them that made it out alive. Tee-hee!"
"I like that kind of attitude."
"I want to go home to my island, but it's too far for a fairy like me to fly on my own. Tee-hee... How about taking me along with you!?"




And so this bizarro version of Team Serge gains Razzly as an ally. Razzly is one of the best magic casters in the entire game and is a pretty great character all around. This is really the primary choice in the two separate paths: Glenn and his physical powerhouse abilities vs. Razzly and her magical powerhouse abilities.

If you can't guess, Razzly gets a pretty big role in the whole Dwarven/Fairy genocide later in the game. Indeed, she can alter the whole outcome of that event. But...that is a tale for another day... Let's go kill us a Hydra.


Further into the forest, Serge and companions will come upon the dwarf assholes' main camp. It seems they spent all their days just dancing around waist deep in muck, while getting high as shit on swamp fumes and attacking anyone who gets nearby. Just for fun. Pleasant folks, to be sure.


"The Hydra is the tutelary deity of this forest, hi-ho! Without it, this forest will die..."
"How does that even work...?"
"Magic!"
"Which I am finding is the secret code word for 'I do not know', am I wrong?"
"Should you still wish to advance, you will have to get by us! Prepare for battle, wicked humans!"




So, that battle against the clusterfuck of dwarves at the entrance to the cavern system at Water Dragon Isle is shifted here instead in this path. It is ridiculously easy at this point. Razzly was able to one-shot the entire six-dwarf team with one heavy strike (Rod users hit all enemies with their heavy strikes.)


And that earns the party an early Level Up. In this path the party gets Star Levels from beating these jokers and the Hydra next. The whole battle against Polly and Fargo later on earns nothing, in order to even up the playing field.


The Dwarf Chieftain runs off to warn the Hydra that evil humans are coming to wreck its day. Of course, this just leads the party straight to the thing. Dwarves are not nature's brightest species.


"Prepare to receive the anger of nature that you so deserve! Hi-ho! O great Hydra! Hear my voice! Turn on these wretched humans... Teach them how the forest, no...our planet...is pained by their existence! Hi-ho, Hydra, away!"
"This sure the hell ain't my world! I can't believe there's a Hydra before my eyes....! It's comin'!!!"
"Ugh... I didn't know Hydras attacked in such gross ways.... Bleh."




And here we have the Hydra we'd heard so much about, but never actually saw (not counting zombie skeleton form.) I cannot rightly say I am particularly impressed...


In any case, put another notch on Serge's belt for the extinction of a species. Considering it happens either way, I'm pretty sure it was fated at this point.


"Not thinking of the future...cutting down trees like there's no tomorrow! Burning the forests to make your towns even bigger! And all for what?"
"I couldn't rightly tell you because NONE of that is actually happening. 95% of El Nido is covered in vegetation. There are exactly four towns in the region. One is stocked by you demi-humans living in caves and...shell things. Two are fishing villages with a population of under a hundred. And the only big town is Termina and it is one of the nicest, cleanest towns I've ever seen. Plus, it is surrounded by forests. This island alone has a huge untouched swamp, valley, and woods.... I do not get what you are going on about..."
"I think I might have a fairyly good idea what is going on here."
"Again with the puns..."
"Sorry...force of habit..." <clears throat>
"THIS DOES NOT TAKE PLACE ON EARTH! YOUR ENVIRONMENTAL MESSAGE MAKES ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE IN THIS SETTING! IDIOTS! Tee-hee..."
"You've got a hell of a pair of lungs for being that small..."


"Don't kid yourselves! You are just hairless apes! Or worse, hi-ho! You are nothing more than freaks of-of-of evolution!!!! Hiii-hoooooowwww-ugh!"
"That's nice. Why don't you go hi-blow me while I gut your Hydra BFF, pal."

The dwarf chieftain runs off....


"Why, we fairies are forest dwellers, too! But I don't think all humans are bad! I'm sure that there are many humanfolk who love greenery and are kind to the smallest of life-forms! I believe that is true!"
"That's nice of you to say.... Hey, Red Wedgie. Come hold this bottle while I squeeze the blood out of this gross thing we just killed."


And that, as they say, is that...


"Tee-hee... The Hydra isn't extinct, and this forest isn't going to die...as long as there is life.


So yup...the forest is perfectly fine since the Hydra had babies that apparently eat out of its stomach like a chestburster. Guess what the fuckheads dwarves are going to go do anyway, later on...?






The Ferryman and the Fairy's Techs




Razzly Official Art - Much cuter when not being digested by a giant octopus.