You know what everyone needs after rampant robotic attacks and another iteration of clone wars? A vacation! That’s right everyone, you deserve this. CERES understands what you need. CERES is here for you all the time, so never doubt that this is a pleasure colony, and they are here to look after all of your needs. Kick your feet up, relax, and let CERES Recreation and Activity Necessity Keepers (Team RANK, that is) set you up with your ideal getaway.
It’s as if you can sense the incoming relaxation and luxury before you even completely finish loading. There’s the warmth encompassing your entire body as your code gets transferred into this particular ViViD Level. A cool, refreshing breeze hits you. The sounds of waves gently lapping against the coast fill you with relaxation. The sun, the sand, the surfs, it’s all there – welcome to the beach, baby!
An echoing greeting message from the ocean comes next, if you can translate it.
 OOOOOOOOOOOOHMAHH GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOHD.
YOOOOOOOOOOOORRRALL SOOOOOOOOOOOOO KYOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT.
KYOOOOOOOOOOOT EEEENAAAAUUUUUUUF TOOOOOOOOOOOOO EEEEEEEEEEEEEEET.
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PHASE I [ 08 00 ] That said, isn’t that breeze a little… too strong? It feels like it’s brushing up against all of you, if you know what I mean. When you open your eyes and look down, it becomes rather clear why. It seems that you’ve found yourself in some pretty interesting attire. Everyone. No exceptions. You appear to have two options – be overcome and scream like the Victorian maiden your heart says you are, or strut like a model in this stuff. Turn some heads! Work that up do!
But don’t worry, we’re also conscious about safety here at CERES! Therefore everyone’s also been provided a pair of super high-tech safety-tested appendage protection floatation devices (STAPFD for short.)
At least everyone around you is caught in the same sort of attire – and everyone around you also appears to be stuck inside a giant sand castle. It’s entirely malleable to what you want it to be! Want to see a fancy sand bidet? Feel like adding a sand statue in your honor? Think that wall should now be a door? Well, with enough perseverance, you can make it happen!
Just uh, be careful about getting sand in your… everywhere.
PHASE II [ 1000 ] Someone broke it. Not pointing any fingers, even though you sure do seem like a prime suspect, but someone broke it.
It almost starts like an earthquake with how the castle starts to rumble, the sand shaking right beneath your feet. And then the walls right next to you start to cave in followed promptly by the ceiling right… above your head. Oh dear. The sand starts to run and fall, losing its structure and shape. The hallway behind you starts to cave in, ceiling first and then the walls follow suit. Now the sand really is getting everywhere – but not just uncomfortable places. It’s in your hair, your eyes, your nose…. this sure doesn’t seem like a pleasant way to go!
Best to start running – there’s a trusty drawbridge to get over the moat (because what’s a sandcastle without a moat?) but who knows how long until that, too, is going to give way? Best to cross over it before it starts to shake and disappear too. Or if you don’t make it, hopefully you can land some pretty impressive airtime to make it to the other side!
If not, well...there'll be the sensation of sand crushing down upon you, filling your mouth and eyes, and you won't be able to breathe at all – and then you're alive again on the beach (but possibly in yet another new, uncomfortable, skimpy swimsuit). Honestly, be more careful, would you?
PHASE III [ 1200 ] However, once you do make it to the other side, it’s all smooth sailing from there! Or is it? Hah, as they say, life sure can be a beach.
Which is what this is.
Welcome to your Beach Episode, folks. Now that you’ve made it out of the collapsing sand castle, you’ve made it to the luxurious, picturesque golden coastline. Sure, you’re coughing up fine, luxurious, sand dust right now and you’ve definitely gotten sand in all of your crevices thanks to your swimsuit, but that’s okay! Go take a soak in the ocean or something or cool off with a smoothie. There’s a smoothie shack off into the distance, complete with a long chalkboard with… well, probably a few familiar names? And some unfamiliar ingredients. Sounds appetizing right?
That said, once you do ingest some of the smoothie with the name of a newcomer, you might suddenly find yourself feeling a bit… different. You’ll be taking on some of their traits, one of the most intense parts of their personality – or you might need to take a second to sit down because you’re suddenly seeing one of their memories. Whoa. What do they actually put in this stuff?
PHASE IV [ 1500 ] For the brave souls that venture out into the water, you have even more adventures waiting for you. Anyone who’s swimming around, wading in the water—hell, even looking at the water is getting scooped up and deposited in one of these giant orbs. But don’t take up too much room, because someone else is getting shoved right in there with you. Time to get cozy with your new friend, because it's only going to get worse as the waves begin to carry you out into this big, blue, virtual ocean. Hopefully the choppy waves don’t bounce you around too much or – well, you could always get really friendly with a stranger! Why not?
At least until it’s made very clear that fresh air does not make it back into these balls. That seems like a bit of a design flaw. Now what? Fight the other person who’s inhaling all your air? Suffer through it for swimsuit-clad fun? Or if you break it…. well, you sure are stranded out in the ocean. Or are you?
After enough flailing, you’ll be met by a giant, dumb-looking creature who will then eat you whole.
Everything goes dark. This is surely the end --
And then you're in Cerealia proper; it seems that was the exit to the level (but why there?) and you'll find yourself either in one of the fountains or the pond in the park. Either way, you'll be very, very well. And this time, that's not virtual. But hey, at least you'll have all of your stuff with you.
BONUS [ xxxx ] Do you hear that?
Anyone idle on the beach will hear a distant melody coming from further out into the ocean. It’s a beautiful, elegant song that automatically makes the listener stop what they’re doing and immediately wander toward the noise. It takes you a moment to recall – it takes a moment to think about anything now, really – but you remember hearing the smoothie shack owner say something about mermaids populating the beach. Could this be their song calling out to you? Whether you would normally abide by this kind of call or not, you find your feet walking further and further out into the water, the shallows lapping up to your ankles and up and up as you are drawn in by the song.
A rather classic song, though the usual instances of French are also replaced with the very enticing, enchanting nonsense promise of omelette du fromage........and then they try to drown you.
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Phoenix
Wait. I normally reserve this for traversing greater distances, but perhaps if I were to relocate us just a bit higher in space than we are now...
[She holds out her hands, and... an itty-bitty black hole appears, hovering over her palm. There are glowing rune-type things circling around it, as if there was any doubt that this was something magical in nature. She spreads her hands and it expands out, filling the bubble, consuming Phoenix and Muzét both in its terrifying darkn--]
[Phoenix is now just over the bubble. When he drops down, he should be able to land directly on it, and ride it like an oversized beach ball. Muzét is hovering nearby, stretching out now that she has the room to do so.]
[What do you think of that, oh mighty veteran?]
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And once it's done, this mighty veteran thinks... that he's definitely still afraid of heights.]
HUUUUUAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGHHHH!!
[As he falls to the bubble, he shouts as if falling from a hundred feet. And thought he lands on his feet initially, he soon slips and lands with his arms and legs spread out, clinging desperately to the top of the bubble.
Phoenix takes some heavy breaths for a moment as he assesses what the hell just happened, and he manages a weak smile of gratitude.]
W-well... I guess we did make it out of the bubble.
...Thank you.
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[She floats down to get a better look at him.] Not a problem. This way, we at least have some mobility, which can only help our situation
[And then she circles over the surface of the water, frowning.] But I'm still not quite sure where this attack is coming from. Or how it's happening. It seems to be that some sort of magic is at work around here, but I haven't seen any monsters, or sensed any mana...
[What is virutal reality, anyway. Why should it get to play by different rules than real reality?]
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Eeverything's fine! Just... I was just a little surprised, that's all! [Feeling a bit embarrassed, he slowly tries to get back onto his feet atop the bubble as he watches her float around.]
Well... Things may be a little different here than whatever you're used to. There's a lot of weird and unexplained traps to be found, especially when we're stuck in ViViD. I won't rule out the possibility of monsters popping out of nowhere, though.
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Are you sure? [She stops, looking at him.] ... though now that I think about it, this entire pocket dimension has been rather disjointed. We leveled an entire castle made of sand, and yet I've yet to hear much of a reason as to why someone bothered to build it in the first place.
[And my drink was awful! I want a REAL drink named after me! One with a pretty blue color, and fruit decorations!]
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Disjointed's one word for it. [He scratches at his hair now that he's finally standing again, if still feeling scared at the same time.]
And not to mention these swimsuits! You're not going to find much in the way of reason in these parts, especially when we're dealing with a virtual reality. ...You know about virtual reality, right?
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I... don't, actually. I've been to a great number of alternate realms and dimensions, but this is the first I've been to a "virtual reality".
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At this rate, school uniforms seem like an inevitability!]
Well... Rest assured that this isn't exactly a familiar thing to me. [Now he feels self conscious and lowers his hands in front of his bathing suit.]
Er... as for the whole virtual reality business? It's like... a fake reality made to play games in. Kind of like a living dream?
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Well... I see. That certainly would explain all the oddity. And all the nudity. [As if the point didn't make itself, she tugs at her bikini strap a little.]
[... she stares at him a moment... then loses interest, mildly disappointed. As if she just tried to set him on fire with her mind and it didn't work.]
It doesn't have quite the free reign of lucid dreaming though, does it?
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Er... something like that. But it's definitely missing that element of freedom, for sure! [Phoenix did catch that odd stare for a moment and raised an eyebrow uncertainly. Why do I feel like I've been saved from something horrible?
Moving right along...]
Usually all we can do is try to find some way to beat the game, and then we can get out of here.
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[But if it's a false world with special rules and a sought target...]
[She's quiet, considering the situation that they're in. When she speaks again, it's in a low tone.] May I ask... beating the game. Is the objective an obvious, physical goal? Such as something you have to find and break?
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Sometimes it's obvious, sometimes it's... not. And a lot of the time, it ends up being beating some big and powerful boss monster. [That's not exactly Phoenix's strong suit.]
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[Of course, something felt misleading about referring to those trials as a game. But the objectives certainly lined up with the pattern of the divergence catalysts: sometimes obvious, sometimes strange, very often a living being that needed to be defeated.]
[Given the parallels, it raises another question: ] Is there a larger objective in these games? Something we're looking for, perhaps?
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Her follow-up question leaves him confused, however, and he raises an eyebrow.]
A... larger objective? I'm not sure, aside from the things I just mentioned. ...Well, I guess sometimes we have to try to find the exit itself.
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[She makes a soft 'hmm' to herself, before explaining her reason for asking.]
In the game I was playing before, each objective was marked by a special item. A catalyst. And each time, we had to find and destroy the catalyst, whatever form it took.
But a few of them were special, and held something called a waymarker. And our higher objective was to find and collect those.
There's... no common goal like that, between these virtual realities?
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Huh... I've never heard of anything like that. It's possible that some of the games are like that, but none I've been in yet.
[Phoenix scratches at his head sheepishly.]
I... don't really willingly play them that often, to be honest. It's not really my thing...
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[While making small talk, she starts pushing gently on his back, guiding the beachball-boat forward. Maybe this time they don't have a boss to worry about, and they can enjoy the water for a while longer?]
Perhaps I won't bother either, then. What other things are there to do?
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W-well, most of the time we have a choice! Other times, it's more like we're forced into it, and we have to play along until we can get out. This... might be one of those times.
[It still is a really nice beach! Phoenix has been wanting to go to one. He just wishes he was wearing something else, at the very least.]
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Well, it doesn't look like we're under attack right now. No monsters or bosses in sight at all.
... what do you think? If it's just a game, should we 'play along' and go looking for them? Or should we try to find safety back on the shore?
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[
XILLIA 2 DECISION SCREEN POPS UP]Let's try to find our ticket out of here!
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let's fund Phoenix Will Kresnik, we just need to dye a few of his spikes into white streaks and give him a]All right! Let's get moving!
[... but for the action choice, there's really not much action to be found out here yet. Just water, water, and more water.]
[Time to make some small talk.]
Oh! As long as we're adventure buddies, we should trade names, shouldn't we? I am Muzét, one of the Great Spirits.
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And I'm Phoenix Wright, one of... uh, the more average humans. ...Pleased to be adventuring with you!
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Is that so? If you're what passes for average around here, then I can't wait to meet the rest! ... eh?
[And that's when the first large wave comes. The kind of massive waves that would probably make some radical surfing over by the shore. Muzét's not floating on the water, though, so for a moment Phoenix is rising over her head while she stares at him, wide-eyed -- and the next, she's getting carried up by the water itself.]
What in the world? [The weather's too calm for giant waves like these, isn't it? Almost as if something were disturbing the water...]
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Whatever this is, it can't be good news! [Don't tell me it's boss time...]
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You said that it might be a powerful boss monster, didn't you?
[Quite a distance away from them, but still far too close for comfort, a giant dome rises slowly out of the water. It's not until the tail flips up behind it that it can be fully recognized as a whale.]
I think we may have just found it!
(no subject)