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Captain Angstrom[a] Darkwater is the main antagonist of Quest for Booty. The original captain of the space pirates, Darkwater led them until he was mutinied by his first mate Romulus Slag.

Darkwater was an explorer of the Polaris Galaxy who met the mysterious Zoni and had the means to communicate with them. Darkwater had a large presence on planet Merdegraw, whose residents told stories of him due to a curse he had placed in his resting place of Morrow Caverns that would bring back his crew as undead pirates to command.

History[]

Before Tools of Destruction[]

Find the Mayor cutscene 4

A page from Darkwater's journal.

Darkwater was the original captain of the space pirates.[1] He took part in many pillages and raids and stored all of his loot somewhere on his private sanctuary of Darkwater Cove. Darkwater became infamous to planet Merdegraw in particular—many stories and rumors of him spread throughout the hoolefoid islands.[2] However, stories about his island (and later his curse) were said to be a myth.[3]

Darkwater enjoyed writing melodies[4][5] and brewing grog. It is implied that Darkwater may have once tried to poison the Bartender's grog, with the bartender giving him the disparaging nickname "Jerkwater" as a result.[5][b] At one point, Darkwater tried to sell his crew.[6]

Find the Mayor cutscene 1

A page from Darkwater's journal showing the Zoni.

During a voyage to the Breegus Star Cluster taking place on the third of August, Darkwater encountered the Zoni. Their leader[c] gave Darkwater a Fulcrum Star, which he could use to keep in contact with the Zoni once he returned to Polaris. Despite being worth a fortune, Darkwater refused to part with it, consider it his most valuable possession. On Hoolefar Island, Darkwater built an Obsidian Eye, the most powerful lorentzian telescope in the universe, to use the star and talk with the Zoni.[7]

Darkwater knew that Slag would eventually betray him and steal the star, so he took steps to defend it. Using an ancient terachnoid incantation, and a coupon for one free curse at the Hoolefar Magic Emporium, Darkwater placed a curse on himself: he would bind his soul to his body to protect the star, so that any who disturbed his remains would bring back him and his entire crew from the dead.[7] Just as he predicted, Slag mutinied against Darkwater, using the captain's own sword to stab him in the back and killing any crew members who refused to join in.[2] Slag left Darkwater's remains and ship to decay inside Morrow Caverns.

Quest for Booty[]

Find the body of Captain Darkwater cutscene

Pete merging Slag and Darkwater.

Ratchet and Talwyn Apogee came to Merdegraw in their search for Clank, who had been taken by the Zoni, after hearing Darkwater knew them. In "Find the body of Captain Darkwater", Rusty Pete, carrying the head of Slag, guided them in their search for the Fulcum Star so they could power the Obsidian Eye and talk to Clank. Upon finding the remains inside Morrow Caverns Pete thrust Slag's head into Darkwater's corpse, triggering the curse and bringing back Darkwater's crew as well as Darkwater himself, but forcing Darkwater to share a body with Slag. Darkwater's crew then attacked Hoolefar Island,[8] with plans of invading the Zoni world and plundering it.[4]

Enter the Treasure Room cutscene

Pete and Darkwater capturing Talwyn and the Fulcrum Star.

In "Battle the Undead Pirates", Slag and Darkwater led their crew to battle, wherein Darkwater berated his crew before ordering a retreat as Ratchet them back. In Darkwater Cove, when Ratchet and Talwyn arrived to collect the Fulcrum Star in "Enter the Treasure Room", Darkwater had Ratchet trapped there, and kidnapped Talwyn, before setting sail for Hoolefar Island for another attack.[9]

Ending from QFB cutscene 1

Darkwater and Slag's union severed.

In "Recover the Fulcrum Star", Ratchet fought Slag and Darkwater, with Darkwater enjoying his chance to fight once more.[4] As Ratchet finally defeated them, Darkwater and Slag argued one final time over who had real control of Darkwater's body, before Slag's head burst off and his union with Darkwater was severed.[10]

Characteristics[]

Appearance[]

Angstrom Darkwater concept art

Concept art.

Darkwater was, when he was still alive, tall with a slender built, along with long and thin limbs. He wore a green tunic, along with golden skull-shaped pauldrons, and also carried a pistol and a short blade on his hips.

Darkwater's body included a built-in mechanical parrot on his shoulder.[1] Whenever Slag was in control of his body, the parrot turned behind Darkwater, but when Darkwater spoke and had control, it came back up.

Personality[]

Darkwater was known for being vile, iron-fisted, and above all, cheap. It was said he "pillaged a million bolts without ever spending a penny", instead hiding his loot in a place called Darkwater Cove. Of course, no one's ever seen the island, and it's not on any map I've ever encountered.

Angstrom Darkwater was sadistic, iron-fisted, and a miser. He greatly enjoyed killing,[4] and was known for pillaging.[3] Darkwater was also cruel to his own crew, once apparently attempting to poison his bartender[b] and selling his own crew.[6]

Above all, Darkwater loved protecting his riches, and was frugal to a comical degree. This was to the point where he placed a curse to protect it in the afterlife as opposed to protecting himself, concerned more with Slag stealing his loot than killing him,[7] and to him hiding it on Darkwater Cove where only he could pass. Darkwater's frugality included prefering melee weapons over ranged to save bullets,[6][4] using free coupons for curses,[7] and trying to sell off his crew.[6] The only thing he loved more than his riches was the Fulcrum Star.[7]

Darkwater was deeply mistrusting of Slag and foresaw his betrayal coming,[7] then holding great contempt for him after he was stabbed in the back.[8] He was not however above betraying others, having a working relationship with the Zoni and the hoolefoids,[7] despite then invading them with the hopes of pillaging the Zoni world.[4] When fused with Slag, Darkwater fought with Slag often for control of his body and held great scorn for him,[8][10] but the two worked together toward a common goal when mutually beneficial, and Darkwater even joked with Slag when disparaging his own crew.[6]

Abilities[]

Recover the Fulcrum Star gameplay

Ratchet facing off against a giant, spectral Darkwater.

In his life, Darkwater was an accomplished pirate who pillaged millions of bolts in loot.[3] That Slag chose to resort to stabbing him in the back while he was asleep instead of fighting him head on suggests that Darkwater was a skilled fighter.

The curse that Darkwater placed meant that his soul was bound to his body, and that he commanded his entire crew to return as undead pirates.[8] In his battle with Ratchet, Darkwater projected an immense phantasm of himself that was invulnerable to normal attacks and only took damage from pirate skulls.

Darkwater was also a proficient organ music player, having written his own piece titled "Concerto of Doom".[5] Darkwater's phantasmal form played said organ music when slamming his sword onto the deck of the ship. Outside of this, Darkwater could also brew grog,[5] apparently poisoning his bartender when doing so.[b] Darkwater was also a highly skilled engineer, building the Obsidian Eye, the most powerful lorentzian telescope in the universe, himself, made with lenses carved from obsidian glass and powered by the Fulcrum Star that the Zoni gave him.[7]

Notes[]

Annotations[]

  1. An angstrom is a metric unit of length equal to one hundred-millionth of a centimeter, often used to express the sizes of microscopic structures, such as atoms and molecules. Angstrom or Ångström is also a swedish surname, meaning Steamriver.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 The Bartender requires Ratchet to mix some grog in order to pass; if Ratchet mixes the grog incorrectly, the Bartender will drink it, spit it out, and make angry comments such as, "Are you trying to kill me?! Again?!" or, "Poison tastes better than this! And I should know—I've been poisoned!"[5] This suggests that Darkwater may have once tried to kill the Bartender by poisoning his grog.
  3. It is unknown if the leader Darkwater refers to is Orvus or simply the leader of a small group of Zoni. As the Zoni are a hive mind, it is possibly Orvus, although Orvus is not known to leave the Great Clock often.

Citations[]

References[]

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