MAP09: Sabbath Sewer (Memento Mori II)

MAP09: Sabbath Sewer is the ninth level of Memento Mori II. It was designed by Mark Klem, who also composed "Disposition," the music track used in this level.

Mission Briefing
According to both the text file and the Infopack:


 * [Agent report follows]


 * We appear to be in some sort of inescapable hole inside the city. My shotgun lies on the ground from where I dropped it when I fell in this hole.  You know, like those idiots do in the movies.


 * We managed to pry up a manhole cover and toss it aside. This is the only way possible to get any further.


 * There is an old abandoned church here that is accessible from the sewers. Heavily gaurded [sic] and they ain't preaching the gospel.
 * The church holds a super shotgun and some major health provisions.
 * The exit is here, but will require a blue key.
 * Better get movin'; there's no time to pray.


 * [End Of Report]

Walkthrough

 * Letters in italics refer to marked spots on the map. Sector numbers in boldface are secrets which count toward the end-of-level tally.

Secrets

 * 1) On your way to the red skull key, take the stairway east of the lightning bolt-shaped hole in the ceiling, kill the opposition there, and run into the dead end.  After that, dash up the stairs as fast as you can, and enter the newly opened tunnel to the south.  At the end of this tunnel is a rocket launcher. (sector 303)  Walk toward the west to exit.
 * 2) After obtaining the red skull key, the wall in front of you will move; walk through this wall, round the bend to find a teleporter, and enter it six times.  On the sixth time, you will be warped to an alcove in the corner of the room with a soul sphere.  Drop from it and a switch will be revealed; flip it to open a tunnel.  At the end of this tunnel, you will be able to jump to the southern alcove in the west portion of the sewer.  Resting there are two boxes of rockets. (sector 350)
 * 3) On your way to the red skull key door, there is a portion of the northeast wall defaced with a pentagram and some skeletal faces.  Open this wall to find a stimpack, a box of ammo, and a blur artifact. (sector 339)
 * 4) In the wooden room following the fake-out with the yellow skull key, a portion of the eastern wall is scratched.  Open it, traverse through the long hallway, and you will eventually discover a room with windows providing a view of the buildings behind the starting portion of the level. (sector 113)  In this room are six armor bonuses, three clips, four sets of shells, three rockets, and a compartment with security armor.  Grabbing this armor will close off the hallway, and open windows to reveal enemies, but will also cause a skull switch in the distance to rise from the ground.  Shoot this switch to open the path out of this room.
 * 5) At the inner platform of the lava cavern, there is a section of wall in the southwest that is jagged.  Open this wall to access the lake of blood behind this area.  In the southwest is a tiny island with a megasphere, which counts as a secret. (sector 422)
 * 6) At the end of the hallway with the blue skull key, a portion of the northern wall is lit more brightly in contrast to the portions beside it.  Open this wall to find four health bonuses, a medikit, five sets of shells, four clips, and a box of rockets. (sector 218)
 * 7) In the dark room southeast of the waterfall area, after flipping the switch to access the red stone hall, grates will be revealed, and you will obtain this secret if you walk into any of them. (sector 62)  The second grate from the east has a glowing arrow on the floor and ceiling pointing to it, and can be walked through.  Jump across the gap to the sludge fall on the other side, where the grate and wall can also be passed through.  Behind these is a soul sphere.
 * 8) In the same hallway, there is one portion of the southern side that does not have an inset containing a blue torch.  After obtaining the blue skull key, rush back to this location to find a secret hallway has opened behind the metal panels.  Enter this area to find some imps, a sergeant, a demon, and a teleporter.  Taking this teleporter will warp you back to the red stone hall.  Instead, look to the east, and you will find a section of wall with a different texture behind the panels than the rest.  Shoot this wall to find a secret teleporter.  (sector 183)
 * 9) Enter the teleporter in secret #8 and you will be warped into one of the cages beside the red skull key door, obtaining a combat armor in the process. (sector 233) Enter the nearby teleporter to be taken back to secret #8.
 * 10) In the church, one of the pews has a white seat instead of a red one.  Climb on top of this and a portion of wall in the southwest will lower.  Ride this wall like an elevator to reach the top of the western, stone wall. (sector 64) On Hey, Not Too Rough or lower, a soul sphere can be found in the northwest.  On higher difficulty levels, it will be found in the southeast atop the opposite wall.  This can be reached by strafejumping from the northwest platform to the northeast one.
 * 11) The stained glass window in the southwest of the church is aligned differently than the one in the southeast.  After climbing onto secret #10, walk through the wall beside that window to find a path leading to a tiny room looking into the exit room, containing a berserk pack. (sector 284)

Routes and tricks
This level is one of the few in Memento Mori II that can be completed in under a minute. The reason for this is a death slide that can be performed in secret #11 by killing yourself with the rocket launcher while running backwards, with your weapon aimed at the northern wall and your back facing the southern half of the exit hole. If done correctly, the blast will fling your corpse through the window, and across the exit linedef, ending the level. The linedef is located inside the southern half of the hole rather than its outer sides, so your aim must be true, lest you miss the exit. The fastest way to obtain a rocket launcher is to do so through secret #1.

Current records
The Compet-N records for the map are:

Trivia
The background music in this level was one of the favorite songs of fellow level designer Eric Sargent.