With most of the group now resting beside Dr. Langstrom as she recovers from a near-death experience courtesy of Andrew Ryan, Johnny, Atlas, Mr. B and Sally, Legolia, Viktoriya, and Michiru made their way to the Farmer's Market, to find the bee enzymes and distilled water they needed to create the Lazarus Vector. Langstrom's Audio Log found in her lab revealed that all the items they need would be found in the Farmers Market, the distilled water located in Worldly Winery, and the Bee Enzymes located in an Apiary run by someone named Tasha Denu. However, little do the group know that this gathering mission will be harder than they realize…
The group opened the hatch door, opening the way to the Farmer's Market, a sign naming the place under another propaganda banner.
"A man creates. A parasite asks…"where is my share?"." Michiru read.
"Ryan sure does know how to mince words, doesn't he?" Legola asked Atlas.
"Aye, one 'o his many talents." Atlas answered sarcastically.
"I don't suppose you or Johnny know where Worldly Winery and the apiary are located here, do you?" Viktoriya asked.
"Well, I can't say exactly, but I think if we follow the path, we'll find them. I know where th' winery is, but Tasha's apiary… not so much." Atlas admitted.
"Actually, I know where it is." Johnny said. "If we head up the stairs in a room right when we get through the tunnel, we just need to go straight, then turn into a side-street. There's a Gatherer's Garden near there, so that's how I know."
"Tasha might still be in her Apiary tendin' to her bees." Atlas said.
"Uh… that's not correct, Atlas." Michiru said.
"Why's that, lass?" Atlas asked.
"Because I just found her."
Close to the entrance of the Market was the corpse of one Tasha Denu, evidenced by the jar of honey lying next to her.
"Ah, Jesus." Atlas said somber;y. "She must've gotten cornered by Splicers. Poor woman wouldn't've stood a chance."
"It's not a total waste. Look." Legolia said, searching Tasha's body for a syringe full of Bee Enzymes. "She has an enzyme sample on her." She also picked up a tape belonging to Tasha, playing it.
"Julie, my dear, I am trying to run a business here. You wanna spend time with my honey bees, well, I'm gonna have to start charging you for the pleasure. If I come out one more time and find you lolling out there amongst my hives, I'm grabbing my shotgun. As to your question, yes, my days in beekeeping school are a blur, but I do seem to remember something about that enzyme you keep babbling on about."
"Okay, so we're looking for hives… but that still doesn't tell us much." Michiru said. "Looks like we're gonna need to do a little exploring."
The group continued on, passing through a glass tunnel that connected the entrance to the actual market. However, just as they were approaching the door, it opened up for a Splicer who was running for their life.
"Run! They're killing everybody, they are!" the Splicer yelled as he tried to get past the group, only to be manhandled by Johnny. "Let me go! I'm trying to get out, I am!"
"Wait, who's they?" Johnny asked.
"Those people that've been looting Rapture are here, they are!" the Splicer said in panic. "We tried to fight back, we did, but they slaughtered us! I'm going to Arcadia where it's safe, you blokes should do the same, you should!"
As the Splicer ran out, the others realized the Splicer who was talking like Yoda was saying.
"Dark Ocean! They must've established a front here!" Viktoriya realized.
"Most likely to strip the market bare." Legolia guessed. "If they take all the water and enzymes before we get them, they'll unintentionally doom us, and themselves."
"Yeah, you're right, lass. They don't even know Ryan's locked up Arcadia and killed the oxygen supply." Atlas said. "Though I ain't sure how they got here without us spottin' them…"
"Questions for later, we need to hurry." Viktoriya ordered seriously. "Our mission just got much more dangerous. We need to get the ingredients before Dark Ocean takes them."
The group slowly walked through the lower level of the market, making their way up a flight of stairs and past a destroyed turret, ducking behind a wall when they saw a group of Dark Ocean members standing in the Main Market area, lead by Pressure Washer.
"We've cleared out the streets sir. All the Splicers, and that Rosie model Big Daddy have been dealt with." one of the members informed their leader.
"And the brat that was with 'em?" PW asked.
"Already taken to the sub, sir."
"Perfect, that's another one for the chopping block…if Whirlpool ever decides to grow a pair." the sub-leader grunted in annoyance. "Alright, you know the drill: take whatever's not nailed down, pry out everything else, then wreck whatever's left."
"Sir, latest reports put the Fatebreakers group in Arcadia, the area directly connected to this one." another of the members pointed out. "If we encounter them, we won't have the time to do a full excavation of-"
"Don't worry about those jackasses." PW scoffed. "Like they'd waste their time coming here. And even if they did, like hell they'd be able to handle my Water Gun and Sword. Just do your damn jobs already."
"Yes sir." the members responded as they headed off to start their looting.
"So they havent started looting yet…" Legolia said. "We're gonna need to be sneaky about this if we wanna get the items on our shopping list before they do."
"Looks like that guy in the wetsuit is the leader, so he'll probably stay out in the streets." Michiru said. "We're gonna have to get past him if we want to get anywhere."
"That may not be a problem." Viktoriya spoke up. "Michiru, if you can use your chameleon invisibility, you can sneak past him and cause a noise somewhere else. PW will hear it and, if he goes to investigate, it will give us a chance to sneak past."
"That's…a pretty good idea." Michiru said, giving herself chameleon characteristics and turning invisible. "Wish me luck."
The young tanuki girl crept past PW as he looked around the area, then headed into the next section of the market, spotting a Health Station.
"That'll work." Michiru noted as she used her Gorilla arms to smash the machine, the noise catching Washer's attention.
"Hell are those idiots doing in there…?" PW wondered as he made his way towards the section, seemingly unaware of Michiru moving past him, invisible once more, or the rest of the group quickly and quietly moving into a side-walkway.
"Great job, Michiru!" Legolia complimented her teammate as she reappeared. "You've really gotten the hang of your shape-shifting since Anima City!"
"Thanks, I've been practicing." Michiru smiled. "Now come on, those other Dark Ocean grunts are ahead of us."
The group made their way through the market, noticing and avoiding several Dark Ocean grunts taking items from behind counters, until they saw signs for both Worldly Winery and a place called Silverwing Apiary, both next to a door.
"That must be the apiary where we'll find those enzymes." Atlas said. "Be wide, gang, some of those Dark Ocean poxes might already be inside."
The group walked through the door, which led into a glass tunnel that connected the two places. The first door on the left was for the Silverwing Apiary, which the group approached with caution.
They heard voices from behind the door.
"BEES! BEES EVERYWHERE!"
"Oh, hold still, you moron!"
The group saw two Dark Ocean grunts, one of them surrounded by a swarm of bees and being sprayed with a hose wielded by the second one.
"Yeah, that's right! Drink it all up, ya stupid bugs!" the second one said in triumph as the swarm dissipated. "Oi, you fine?"
"I'm soaking wet and stung all over, but other than that…" the first one moaned. "Man, I wish Dark Forest had lent us some help."
"Hey, the Admiral can vouch for them not coming. Grand Arbiter Redwood, the Leader of Dark Forest, doesn't like these looting missions. He's more of a eco-terrorist type of guy." the second said. "Besides, it just the one room these things are in. Now, help me figure out how we're gonna get into those hives."
The two walked to the back of the room, not noticing the group coming in behind them.
"Looks like they're after the Bee Enzymes too." Legolia said. "And they're having a bit of trouble with the bees."
"It seems they've already tried breakin' into the Gatherer's Garden here. But they haven't figured out how it works." Atlas said.
Legolia thought for a minute before her ears perked. "Hey Johnny, think you could see about buying me a Plasmid?"
"You wanna give yourself an injection too?" Johnny asked.
"Not to give myself a Plasmid, more or less. Enhancing my arrow arsenal. This Garden's gotta have an exclusive Plasmid on sale, right?"
"Yeah, it does actually. The Insect Swarm Plasmid." Johnny said. "I think Fontaine Futuristics made that one for an April Fool's Day joke, I mean, who wants hornets crawling out of their hands?"
"Well, it'll work for what I have in mind." Legolia said. "So buy it already."
Johnny did as asked, buying the Plasmid and throwing it to the elf.
"Alright, here we go…" Legolia said, taking out a few normal arrows and placing them on the ground, placing the Plasmid in front of them.
"I'm not sure I understand what you're doing, Legolia." Viktoriya asked. "How do you intend to add the effects of the Plasmid into your arrows?"
"It's a spell I have." Legolia said. "I only really started to use it more recently, ever since Teba and Revali showed me how they made their special Hyrulian arrows. I can infuse my arrows with special properties, like fire, thunder, and explosives. This Plasmid isn't a typical element, but if they can give the same properties as elements, then…"
Legolia turned back to her set up and concentrated.
"Oh, spirits of nature, who watch over the land. Lend me your power, so that my arrows may fly even higher. Arrow Synthesis!" Legolia said as the Plasmid's liquid combined with the arrows to turn them into a new arrow. The top of the arrow was bronze, a bit large, and looked like a hornet with stinger primed.
(Cue- Item Get- Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild)
Insect Arrow
Upon landing, these arrows release a small swarm of bees. At their most lethal when the tip hits an enemy!
"Alright, new arrows for you!" Michiru said "Made with a Synthesis Skill like Seiya's, too!"
"Yeah, I actually got the idea of getting the skill from him." Legolia said, putting the arrows in her quiver. "Even if he acts weirder than Orcbulg, he knows what he's doing. Now… let's go take care of those enzymes."
The group saw the two handling a kind of panel, with smoke clearing out of a room full of bee hives.
"Okay, so I timed it, and it's… a 40 second window for that smoke. So, you go in there and start searching, and I'll handle the smoke. You come back here before those 40 seconds, and I'll restart it if you need more time. Simple!" the second grunt said.
"Easy for you to say, you didn't get stung…" the first one grumbled. "Alright, start the smoke."
"Okay, three…two…one…" the second grunt said, hitting the button on the panel, allowing smoke to fill the room.
"Go!" Legolia announced as she rushed into the room ahead of the grunt.
"What the - HEY!" the first grunt said, the two of them running into the room after her.
The elf archer started quickly running and checking every hive, pulling out bee enzyme samples out of each of them, moving away ahead of the two grunts trying to take a swing at them. Soon enough, she had all the enzymes the group needed.
"You're not getting away from us!" the first grunt said, as the two blocked the door. "You're about to be acquainted with angry bees!"
"Nope. That would be you two!" Legolia declared, as she jumped over them, drawing one of her newly crafted Insect Arrows and letting it fly, right into the ground between them.
"Ha, you…missed?" the second grunt stopped as he saw bees coming out of the arrow. "Uh-oh…"
"Looks like your time is up!" Legolia called out as the bees swarmed the room, trapping the two unlucky grunts inside.
"Well, at least I'm not the only one getting stung this time." the second one sighed.
"AAAAH, NO, NOT THE BEES!" the first grunt said. "NOT THE BEES!" he screamed as the bees swarmed them.
"I got that!" Michiru said as Legolia returned with all seven samples.
"Got what?" Johnny asked.
"Oh, I uh… I understood that reference." Michiru said embarrassingly. "It's a movie back on the surface where I live."
"Oh, right." Johnny understood. "Well, we got the enzymes, now we just need to get the water."
The group left the apiary and headed into Worldly Winery, where they stumbled upon a curious sight: some Dark Ocean grunts standing around a table, one of them awkwardly comforting a sobbing Splicer.
"I-I-I don't wanna - *hic* - be a free man no more! Not down - *hic* - not down here!" the Splicer cried, clearly drunk. "I'll p-p-pay all the taxes they got in Washington, just - *hic* - just let me go home!"
"Uh…there…there." the grunt patted the Splicer on the back.
"Hey Johnny, now's your chance to try that new Chemical Thrower. Use the liquid nitrogen you collected in Arcadia and freeze them all at once." Legolia said.
"Yeah, good idea." Johnny agreed, walking over to the collected group and taking out the Chemical Thrower, hooking up some liquid nitrogen handed to him by Sally.
"Hey, what's that you got-" one of the grunts started to ask before Johnny turned the thrower on, freezing them all.
"...Well, I feel sorry for that one Splicer, but at least he'll have some time to get sober while he thaws." Johnny said.
With the grunts frozen, the group comped the winery for all the distilled water they could find until they got seven bottles.
"Alright, think that's everythin'. We got the Clorophyll from Langstrom's lab. Now we just gotta craft the Lazarus Vector." Atlas said.
"How do we do that?" Michiru said.
"We can use a U-Invent Station to make the solution." Atlas said. "Think there's one in this winery, actually. Let's try lookin' downstairs."
So they did, and they found a U-Invent station just like Atlas said. Johnny used it to make the Lazarus Vector easily.
"Bangin'. Now we just bring this back to Arcadia, and pop it into a gadget called the Central Mistin' Control. That'll clear the fog right up."
"Wait, look over there!" Viktoriya pointed to a flooded part of the floor, where a Power to the People Station could be seen.
"Good eye, Viktoriya!" Johnny said as he quickly went over to the machine and upgraded his Pistol for more damage. "Now there's just one more thing we need to do. Infiltrate Pressure Washer's sub he mentioned and save that Little Sister."
"Leave that to Mr. B!" Sally said.
"Great suggestion, Sally! Big Daddies like him can go out into the ocean, so wherever the sub is parked, he can infiltrate it from the outside! Dark Ocean will never expect it!" Viktoriya said.
"Alright then, Mr. B. Do your thing!" Michiru said.
Mr. B roared in affirmation, marching towards a nearby window.
"Ah, hold on a spell. How's that thing gonna get outside?" Atlas asked.
"...I think we should start running." Legolia suggested.
"Actually, you all go on ahead." Viktoriya said, putting on her suit's breathing mask addition. "I have an idea. I'll meet you all back at Langstrom's lab when I'm done."
"If you say so." Johnny said. "Now, as we were saying before…LEG IT!"
Johnny grabbed Sally before he followed the group as they ran out of the winery, just as Mr. B punched the window and shattered it, causing water to pour into the location, the Big Daddy simply walking out into the ocean, Viktoriya following close behind.
"I can't believe you two got outplayed that badly!" PW laughed as he walked alongside the two grunts from the apiary, both covered in sting sores. "I mean, bee stings! In the Great Sea! Hahaha!"
"Ha-ha, very funny sir." the second grunt deadpanned. "Look, those Fatebreakers have to be in the winery. We'll corner 'em and take 'em down, then use 'em to get the others to surrender."
"Great plan for a dumbass." PW said. "Now, let's give those idiots a-"
"GANGWAY!" Johnny yelled as the Fatebreakers ran right past PW and the grunts, a flood of water right on their heels.
"-surprise, WHAT THE FU-?!" PW yelled as the three were swept up in the flood, being carried along back to the Main Market. The flood subsided in the area, the three coughing as they were surrounded by water and flopping fish.
"Well that could've been worse…" the first grunt said.
"Commander Washer, are you okay?" the second grunt asked.
"...Boys, get the rest of the group together, and contact Soran." PW said darkly. "To Hell with the notable threats list…we're gonna kill those pieces of crap."
Meanwhile, the group made it back to Arcadia, finding Megumin outside.
"Ah, our brave allies return triumphant!" Megumin noted. "I can sense that you have grown stronger since we last met, the same as I!" she declared, holding out the grenade launcher, which had clearly been upgraded.
"Oh, you found a Power to the People machine, good for you." Legolia said. "Anything major happen while we were gone?"
"Alas, none of come to challenge us, as they were left quaking in fear by my-!"
"Some sense would be lovely, lass." Atlas spoke up.
"Ugh, fine. It's been quiet since you left. Tanya's managed to set up defensive positions in the lab, and I think Dr. Langstrom was starting to stir before I left." Megumin said before she noticed something. "Hey, where's Viktoriya and Mr. B?"
"Busy freein' a little one from the confines of those thieves lootin' the place." Atlas said. "Tell the others ta wake up if they're noddin' off already. Once we get this stuff into the mister and it starts pumpin' out… there's gonna be a big fight."