THE RESCUE

Level 12: Search For Apophis

By Pascal Ducey (MagPlus)

Walkthrough written by Barry Osborne and expanded by Phil Lambeth

3 secrets (46 - 48), including 1 golden star

After flying through space and landing in a pool, climb out on the west side of the pool and climb the wall. Shoot the harpy that appears. Turn around and take a running jump and grab to the roof of the building in the middle of the pool. (It's hard to make the grab from anywhere but the far right side. It may also help to wait until the last instant before hitting the action key.) Traverse to the left and around the corner until you are over the handle on the side of the wall. Let go of the edge and pull the handle as you drop down to the water, arousing another harpy for you to shoot. The underwater grate that was closed at the place where you began this level is now open. Swim into the tunnel and pull the underwater lever on the left, then go forward and up through the open grate. Climb out and use the climbable wall and the monkey bars to reach the handle on the wall. Drop down and pull it, and this will raise a grate on the north side of the pool. Go there and crawl through the now-accessible opening. Drop into the second pool, swim to the landing on the west side and climb out.

Run forward and be attacked by a swarm of red locusts. Climb a block on the south wall, turn right and take a running jump and grab to the higher block to the west and pull the handle. Observe the cut scene of a gate at the area where the first harpy came from. Return to the second pool and look for a gap in the west wall of the building in the middle of the pool. Take a slightly angled running jump and grab, then traverse right and around the corner until you can pull up. Shatter the grate with your pistols, then carefully jump to the lower platform (or traverse to the platform). Pull the handle and watch the cage lower around the Scarab Talisman in the red alcove in the third pool area.

Return to the doorway, jump into the pool and swim to the east side of the second pool. Pull up into the arched opening, jump into the third pool and climb out to grab the SCARAB TALISMAN. Reverse roll, draw your pistols and shoot the harpy. Return to the first pool by repeating the jump and grab to the gap in the west wall of the central building, shimmying around to the opening, and taking a running jump and grab to the crawl space in the south wall. Swim over to the west side, pull up and climb over the wall ahead. At the base of the stairs in the NE alcove pull the handle on the north side. The gate to the north is now open. Place the Scarab Talisman in the receptacle. The ceiling grate in the dark corner will now open. Climb up and shoot the bats. Go to the floor switch in the east alcove and use the crowbar to open a floor grate leading to the second pool area.

But first, solve the puzzle of the chess pieces (one wrong move and Lara will burn!). One piece goes in the northeast corner (Lara needs to squeeze between the piece and the west column to position herself for a push); the other goes in the southwest corner. The gate to the next room to the west will open. Ready pistols and shoot the dog and the bat that appear. Solve the next chess puzzle by moving the piece in the west alcove to the southwest corner (again using the Lara squeeze play). Move the piece in the east alcove (shoot the grate) to the northeast corner. The door to the balcony area will open. Run out and deal with another harpy. Notice the huge mutant scorpion in the cage. Take the GATE KEY from the pedestal and immediately kill the now-released mutant scorpion. Take the crossbow arrows from its lair. Open the nearby door and follow the passage up the stairs to a library with an opening in the far left corner that leads to the basement. You will not be able to get to the basement until much later in the game.

Go across this room to the hallway in the NE corner and follow the ramp down to the ground floor. Go up the purple ramp to your left and open the door that takes you outdoors. Ahead is a large closed gate. Beside the gate on the left wall is a switch too high to reach at the moment. Turn left and explore the area for some revolver ammo, but watch out for the dog!

Return to the upper floor, continue straight ahead down the red-carpeted stairs to the south, and open the door that takes you out onto the balcony. The camera view goes remote, so be careful not to run off the edge. Turn left and explore the adjacent area for some shotgun ammo, but beware of the red locusts that may or may not be attracted by your presence (depending on where you step). Return to the balcony and use the binoculars to line Lara up with the roof of the building to the east. Stand between the two columns to the left, jump to the roof and grab. Traverse to the right and around the corner until you are over the high switch. If you want to go on right away, drop and grab the switch to open the gate. If you want to wander around on the roof, traverse right until you must stop. Climb up and back-flip-twist-left and you will land on the roof. Wander around to your heart's content, but be careful not to drop down from the wrong side of the gate.

After you have opened the gate, step slowly forward and greet the huge mutant scorpion with a single super grenade-gun blast. The secondary explosions from the shell will shatter the monster. Vault up onto the ledge ahead and open the door to the next building. Go inside and turn right. Follow the hall around the corners and enter the library. Find the climbable column in front of the burning pedestal. At the top of the column, grab the edge of the slope and pull up. Immediately jump (without sliding) to the spike square below, then immediately backflip to the slide, then jump back to the spike square. The spikes are triggered during the backflip, but they retract before you jump back to the square and do not thereafter pose a problem.

Turn left and take a running jump to the next shelf. Turn right and run to the other end. Take an angled standing jump to the right to the near block next to the doorway and hop across the doorway to the next block. Turn right and use the climbable wall to get to a higher level. Now work your way clockwise around the room. There's a slightly tricky part near the SW corner where you need to jump to the sloped surface, slide down and grab, then shimmy to the left where you can pull up and back flip into the adjacent alcove. Then take a running jump to the long shelf against the west wall, hop back and grab the south edge and climb down to the bottom. Reverse roll and locate the switch. When you throw it you get a cut scene of a cage over in the NW corner that's barring your way to the torch.

Climb back up to the long shelf along the west wall and run to the north side. You see the cage straight ahead, but take an angled running jump to the right into the first north alcove. Turn around and note the crawl space in the bookshelf ahead and directly below you. Take a standing jump to the sloped roof, slide down and grab the edge, then drop and immediately grab the edge of the crawl space. Pull in for a large medi-pack and SECRET #46. Back out of the crawl space and safety drop to the floor.

Go back to the burning pedestal and repeat the moves you made before to get all the way back to the first north alcove. When you get there the second time, face north and look down the ramp to see a pool of deadly lava. Sidestep all the way to the left and allow Lara to slide forward down the ramp. Near the bottom, jump forward and use the right arrow key to make Lara swerve to the right so she'll slide down the slope forward. Jump off the slope and grab the wall ahead. Shimmy around the column to the other side and make sure Lara's feet are in the horizontal purple band. From the far right side of the east face, back flip to the sloped column behind you and immediately jump off, using the right arrow key to swerve in midair so that Lara won't bump her head on the low ceiling. She should land just beyond the lava's edge. Climb up to the first step and run up the stairs. Throw the switch to your left and you'll see the same cut scene as before.

Turn to the right and run off (without jumping) the edge to the shelf below. Turn to the right once more and face the jump switch on the adjacent shelf. Take a standing jump and grab to it, and you'll see the cage lower in the NW corner. Go over there (using the same tedious route you've already used twice), get the TORCH and light it on the flaming pedestal.

Then light both the candles in the tall candlesticks located in the nearby wooden alcoves, and the pedestal fire will go out. Toss the torch in a safe place (you must come back for it later) and take the GOLDEN SERPENT from the pedestal. You must now run for your life, because a fire demon is after you! There is a convenient pool of water outside to douse the angry demon, but you'll have to run a little ways to reach it. Run out of the library, down the hall and outside the building, and take the little dogleg to the left and through the open gate back to the courtyard. Speaking of dogs, one charges out to distract you at this point, but run past it and take a hairpin turn to the right and jump into the pool. The demon will follow and be doused. From the safety of the water, where the dog won't follow, you can deal with the dog at your leisure.

Once the excitement has died down, return from where you just came to the library entrance and place the Golden Serpent in the receptacle--formerly protected by a flame blower--to open the next door. Retrieve the torch and enter a room with a pool, and go beyond it into the Serpent room. Light the candles in the passage on either side of the flaming pedestal. Then toss the torch and go and take the COLORS OF EDFOU from the now-dormant pedestal. Bring the palette up in your inventory and examine it for a preview of some clues that will shortly come into play.

Go back through the halls around the library, and when you exit the building turn left and locate the low ledge that allows access back to the second pool you explored earlier. Jump in, swim to the ledge jutting out from the central building and pull up. Then pull up into the alcove with the face on the door, and use the Gate Key in the receptacle. The door will open; jump with a grab into the alcove to your right and get the TEMPLE KEY from the pedestal. Jump into the water inside the building, pull the lever in the NW corner, get the large medi-pack in the SE corner and exit through the nearby tunnel. Return to the first pool area. (You remember the drill. Climb out on the west side, jump and grab the crevice in the wall of the central building and shimmy around to exit via the crawl space to the south.) Use the Temple Key in the receptacle on the east wall.

Enter the outer courtyard and the door immediately closes ominously behind you. Deal with the demigod who materializes from behind the central column. The best way to conserve ammo and minimize loss of health is to run directly at him and kneel down with pistols drawn, then fire until he is dispatched. You will be too close for his energy blasts to harm you and your pistol ammo is unlimited. Get the SCARAB TALISMAN he leaves behind and place it in the receptacle on the east face of the central column. The nearby grate will open. Jump down into the underground cave and shoot the bat ahead and the dog to your left, then find the switch at the end of the central north passage. Throw it and watch the cut scene showing the cage lowering around the Jewel of Apophis. Then enter the NE passage to climb the wall and slide into the area of the third pool. Take a hairpin turn to the left and pull up to take the JEWEL OF APOPHIS.

Return to the temple where you encountered the demigod, using the previously described route back to the first pool area. Place the Jewel of Apophis in the serpent's mouth to open the gate in the east wall leading to the inner courtyard. Enter and deal with the dog (from the front) and another demigod (to your right) as before. This demigod is also toting a JEWEL OF APOPHIS, so relieve him of it and place it in the serpent's mouth down in the little trench between the double gates to the east. Enter the opened gate on either side and slide down. There is a large pit in front of you, a green door on the other side, four colored handles in different places around the pit, and a monkey-swing leading to the four handles. There is a grate suspended on its side in the middle of the pit.

Turn around, go up to the back of the wall between the double gates and jump up to grab a handle. The grate will raise and now you can jump to the grate and then to the green door where you can jump up and grab the monkey-swing. But wait! As soon as your feet hit the grate, two harpies appear! Jump back to the landing where you have room to maneuver and deal with the harpies. Get back to the monkey-swing and head for the colored handles. But which handle to pull? Consult the Colors of Edfou. The door you want to enter is green, and green is the combined result of blue and yellow. Pull the blue (hidden down in an alcove) and yellow handles to open the green door.

Go through the green door and shoot the harpy that appears from the left. Go up to the end of the left passage, walk out onto the dark sloped platform and look down at the lava pit. Turn to your left and you'll see a jumpswitch jutting out from the wall. Ahead are two climbable columns. Run and jump to the one on the right. Traverse around to the left and take a rolling back flip and grab the adjacent climbable wall, then repeat the maneuver to grab the wall behind you with the handle. Position yourself to drop and grab the handle (or you may get lucky and grab the handle first), then drop to the slope and jump while swerving to the right in mid-air to the landing from which you originally jumped. Now perform the same jump-and-back-flip-with-twist moves to the same wall, but this time traverse right around the corner and drop to the floor of the upper room.

Walk through the west opening (the door will close behind you), get the revolver ammo hidden in the SE grass and pull the lever in the east face of the column in the pool. You will see the first of two doors opening to a tunnel leading to a wall receptacle. Climb through the high opening to the west (not the lower one to the left with the mound of dirt in front of it), turn around and drop down. Look out! Here come two huge mutant scorpions! Reverse roll and deal with them as best you can, then pick up the large medi-pack under the columns at the west end. Drop down the hole near the south wall at the bottom of a dirt ramp and find the SCARAB TALISMAN on a pedestal at the end of the NE tunnel. Climb up and find the devilishly disguised exit at the SW corner and return through the open SW gate to the previous courtyard. Then take a left past the central column and enter the next courtyard. Run across this courtyard and jump into the trench, then slide down the ramp and jump across to the area behind the green door.

Go up the right hand passage this time. From the right side, take a running jump across the lava pool to the flat area at the base of the ladder. Climb up the ladder, traverse right, release and allow Lara to slide backwards briefly to a facing slope. Be prepared to jump off immediately and keep the jump key depressed as Lara makes a total of three jumps. You can twist to the right in mid-air after the third jump and land safely to avoid a tricky final move. However, if you wind up grabbing the edge of a sloped block, just shimmy to the right as far as possible, pull up, slide a short distance and jump off with a mid-air swerve to the right to land safely to the right of another lava pit. Pull the handle ahead to open the door above.

Instead of moving forward, as a logical person would at this point, reverse roll and walk out to the edge of the platform overlooking the lava and sloped blocks. Turn left and take a standing jump to the slope below and another jump off it, keeping the left arrow key depressed so that Lara lands on a safe surface. Pick up the GATE KEY. Look to the east to discover an opening over a lava pit that leads back to the area behind the green door. You don't need to go there yet, but just remember it's there. Turn around to find another small opening up to your right in the south wall. Take a slightly angled running jump and grab to the opening and crawl through. You will find yourself on a block above the platform with the wall switch you threw earlier, but the opening behind you is invisible and inaccessible from this side.

Jump up into the west alcove. Turn to your left, pull up and slide down in front of a closed gate. Use the climbable surface to your right to scale the wall. Turn right and run along the top of the wall to the other end, then take an angled running jump to the right to to the dark platform. Hop down a couple of blocks and turn around to pull a handle that will open the gate you saw just now across the way to the south. Get back there, go through the gate and kill the dog that runs in from the right. Continue down the stairs on either side and enter the room ahead with colored squares on the floor.

Drop down onto the green square. Take standing jumps to the right-hand blue square, then to the reddish square, and finally to the purple square. Be sure not to get too close to the edges before you jump, or Lara will fry. From the purple square, take a standing jump and grab to the walkway. Pull up, look right and up to see a boulder trap. Stand near the edge of the walkway, facing south and slightly to the west. Walk forward just enough to trigger the boulder trap, then hop backward off the walkway with a grab as the boulder rolls by and falls into a shallow pit. Pull back up, turn to the right and walk about halfway up into the passageway. Turn around and take a standing jump to grab the handle. The east door to the lava lake is now open.

Hop over the gap on the way to the lava room and look inside from the entrance to see three ropes hanging down in front of you. Jump to the first rope, then immediately turn around and jump back to the entrance to deal with the pesky bat that appears. Jump to the first rope, then to the second rope and then jump to one of the passages in the far corners of the room. This can be quite tricky, so don't be discouraged. (We all develop our own techniques, but what seems to work best is to climb to the top of the first rope, which quickly stops all the bobbing and weaving. From up there, turn Lara to either side to line up with one of the other ropes. Then slide down to the bottom, push once toward the rope and jump off at the top of that first push and grab. Don't line up Lara flush with the vertex of the opening ahead, or she won't make it. Instead, line her up slightly to the outside of the opening and she'll land safely inside.) Pull the handle in your selected alcove, then trigger the boulder trap the way you did earlier by jumping into the opening and quickly hopping back. Then run into the tunnel and stop for some flares at the top. Continue down the other side and dash into the alcove with the other switch as the second boulder comes tumbling by. Throw the second switch, and you'll hear the sound of the door opening above you, across from where you picked up the flares.

Go back up and pull up into the opening. Sidestep all the way to the right, then take a standing jump and grab to the overhead walkway ahead. Pull up and slide down the other side, and start running forward to avoid the boulder that follows you. Run to the end of the overhead walkway, where you'll lose camera control, and hop back with a grab off the right side. The boulder will fall off the walkway on the left side. After it is gone, pull up and use the binoculars to aim for a running jump and grab to the near platform on the south wall. Note the star design on the platform's surface, denoting the universal warning of a spike trap. Shimmy to the right around the corner, pull up and immediately back flip to the platform in the corner. As soon as you land, jump forward to the first platform, and both spike traps will have been harmlessly triggered while you were in the air. Jump back to the platform in the corner and turn right for a running jump and grab to the west section of the overhead walkway. Activate the floor switch with your crowbar, which opens a door down below.

Take a running jump down to the opening in the NW corner. If you bounce off the wall, that's okay, because you'll land on a safe platform. Hop down into the alcove, turn left and take the second SCARAB TALISMAN from the pedestal. A door opens nearby, allowing access to the room with the colored floor squares. Turn right, go up the stairs and emerge outside to the sound of crashing thunder. Use the climbable surface to your left to get back to the top of the wall.

Drop down on the other side into a small courtyard. Use the Gate Key and go through the open gate. Draw your pistols and kill the dog that runs at you from the left and the huge mutant scorpion ahead. Jump up to a higher section that's not obstructed by a railing, and run down the other side to the closed iron gate. Place a Scarab Talisman in the receptacle on both sides to open the gate to the small pool. When you walk in, the gate will close. Find the underwater lever on the west face of the pedestal base and pull it to activate the fountain. Take the WATERS KEY from the pedestal, and a cut scene shows the second gate (in the area behind the green door) opening. Climb over the north wall from the NE corner, slide down the other side and make your way back to the area behind the green door by turning right into the doorway next to the snake head receptacle and running across courtyard to drop down into the trench. Pull up into the now-accessible tunnel and place the Waters Key in the receptacle at the other end. This causes the large pit beyond you to partially fill with water. Reverse roll, jump into the water, flip turn and swim down through the east opening.

At the end of the passage turn left and swim north up the connecting tunnel. Pull the underwater lever on your right (as the ones on your left and ahead to the north trigger an unavoidable spike trap) to open a gate near the opening above you. Swim to the south end and climb out (there is an opening midway, where the gate was just opened, if you need air). Approach the pole going through the floor and heed the dramatic music that tells you a difficult task is ahead. Save your game! Climb down the pole and look around. There are jars in the corners of the room with each corner having a different color. The floor is a timed spike trap and the platforms between the jars are protected by flame emitters. Beyond the platforms are handles on timed spike traps to open the door to the mirror room. Position Lara so she is looking at the jar in the reddish (SW) corner.

Climb back up, back-flip, draw your uzis and fall down the hole while shooting as fast as you can. If you are lined up correctly the jar will shatter and the flame emitters on the platforms will go out. Immediately turn to the right and take a standing jump up to the green platform before the floor spikes skewer Lara. Jump down into the green pit and take a side jump to the right. Pick up the small medi-pack. There's no need for you to throw the switch in this pit; if you do, you'll trigger a spike trap and make it more difficult for you to get out. Turn around and take an angled standing jump back up to the green platform, then take a couple more standing jumps to reach the platform in front of the reddish-orange pit directly across the room. Jump down into the pit and throw the wall switch, then immediately side flip to the right before the spike trap is triggered. Then turn around and carefully angle a jump out of the pit; if you're too close to the handle square, Lara may be impaled on the spikes. (If you reverse roll and hop back to the wall after making the side flip, so that Lara's feet are evenly straddling the crack in the floor, you should be able to make an angled standing jump back up to the platform without even triggering the spike trap again.) You may have missed hearing the sound with all the excitement, but throwing the wall switch opened the door to the mirror room above. Jump back to the pole, climb up and back flip into the tunnel.

Turn around, pull up into the mirror room and look around. The floor has blocks in various places. In the mirror, some of these blocks are green. This indicates a death block, so avoid those. On the block to the north is an invisible small medi-pack. Go there with a running jump, pick it up and proceed with a running jump and grab to the next safe block to the east. Take an angled running jump to the right to the next safe block in the center of the room. From there take another angled running jump to the right to the next safe block near the mirror. Turn left and take a running jump to the last safe block in front of the NE alcove. Jump into the alcove and pick up the JEWEL OF APOPHIS. As soon as you do, an enraged ice demon appears. You can find your way back to the water and cool its ardor; or, another trick is to shoot your pistols madly in its direction and hopefully cause it to lose interest in you (although you can still hear it flying around).

NOTE: You could exit the level now, since you have the last Jewel of Apophis, but you would miss out on two secrets and the final Golden Star (which you will need to play the bonus level -- Rescue 13: The Fight Against Apophis). If you desire to finish the level now, return to the water, backtracking your way across the safe blocks in the mirror room, and swim to the center opening. Place the Jewel of Apophis in the snake's mouth and run forward and into the water to end the level. But if you wish instead to experience the entire level, read on.

In the mirror room, use the binoculars with light assistance (using the action key) to find a hidden hole in the floor that's reflected in the mirror. (If you can't get the binoculars to work for you, locate this hole by jumping back to the safe block in the center of the room. Then take an angled running jump to the right, away from the mirror, to the next safe block. Turn and face east, then run off the block to drop into the hole.) Draw your pistols and kneel to shoot the bat, then crouch and lower Lara down to the floor.

You'll find chess pieces in colored alcoves that must be moved to their respective colored squares in the doorways. First, move the blue piece to the blue square. (It's okay to take a shortcut by dragging the piece over a "foreign" square.) A gate will open, then Lara must step on the square behind the gate and she will say "aha!" Painstakingly move the other pieces to their proper places, being careful not to block your way for the subsequent pieces. (It's safest to drag the last two pieces into the inner room before placing them; but be sure not to get them mixed up, as they all look alike after being pulled out of their home alcoves.) After each successful placement, another gate will open and Lara must step on the revealed square to trigger an enigmatic strain of music. When this has happened four times, the last gate will open to allow access to the DIAMOND OF THE NILE, which Lara will pick up for SECRET #47. Now you must find your way back to the Library basement you encountered near the beginning of this level.

Go back to the central block in the chess piece room, make sure Lara is properly oriented (she should be able to see the mirror to her left as she jumps), and jump up to grab the safe block. Pull up and take a running jump and grab to the next safe block. Take a left and a running jump to the final safe block. Turn right and take a standing jump with grab over the fire trap, then hop down into the passage where you climbed out of the water and slid down the pole. Look up and to the left just before you reach the water hole; you will see a climbable section on the wall. Jump up and grab, climb up the ladder, and after pulling up at the top turn around and take a standing jump across the hole into the tunnel. Follow the tunnel up and lower Lara through the crawl space at the end. However, don't release, as there's a lava pit below. Shimmy to the right and around the corner, pull up, slide down a short distance on the other side and jump off with a swerve to the right in mid-air.

Return to the platform where you picked up the last Gate Key, using the same tricky move as before with the two standing jumps while swerving to the left in mid-air. From that platform, turn to the right and take a standing jump and grab to the opening in the east wall. Pull up and crawl through the tunnel that leads back to the green door area. Drop down and jump over the partially-filled water pit, using the central grate, and go up the ramp on the other side. Climb out and continue west through the inner and outer courtyards ahead. Keep going straight, dodging the central column, and go through the west doorway. Swim across the pool and around the central building, and pull up on the other side. Climb over the wall, jump down into the street below and turn right at the end. Climb up onto the block in the dark corner. Pull up into the puzzle area and make a hairpin turn to the left to enter the area where you got the first Gate Key near the mutant scorpion's cage.

Take a left into the open doorway and follow the passage around the puzzle room until you reach the stairs leading to the library. Run across the room and enter the passageway in the far left corner that takes you down to the basement. At the bottom of the stairs, in the alcove to your right, you'll find the receptacle for the Diamond of the Nile. Place the artifact and the basement door back up the stairs will open.

Enter the basement, and in the cramped quarters below move the block from the SE corner to the SW corner. Run and vault your way back to the upper library level, then continue across the room and take the hallway to the left to reach the lower library level. Find the fireplace where the fire has gone out. Push the block behind the fireplace into the wall to reveal an alcove to your left. Use the crowbar to claim the eighth and final GOLDEN STAR and SECRET #48.

Now find your way back to the green door (the partially filled pool with the central grate, remember), reversing the route described above. Dive into the water, swim through the east opening and surface in the central area with the air hole. Place the Jewel of Apophis in the serpent's mouth to open the gate to the final room. Enjoy the music as you walk to the water and jump in. If you have the necessary items and have installed the bonus level, the current will carry you there. On to Rescue 13: Fight Against Apophis!

NOTE: If you need a savegame with all 8 Golden Stars at the end of Rescue 12, to enable you to play the bonus Level 13: click here