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.
[ Remember to apply proper warnings on threads with sensitive or inappropriate material and do let a mod know if your thread careens off into maiming or canoodling so we can lock the log. ] |
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phase iii;
But here, there are actual things to drink that aren't sandworms filled with water, so the little stand was an obvious destination. Maybe that's something worth his time? Then again, knowing this place, everything is probably made with ingredients that aren't fit for human consumption.
Or they're things that aren't actually edible in any sense of the word, with a few names that are somewhat recognizable... what the hell is this list and why is there an Uchiha anything on that board? Where is the eraser? No, seriously, where is i-- oops.
He really didn't mean to bump into anybody while trying to get to that board, but it happens, and he normally wouldn't offer any sort of apology, but the pink hair catches his attention and startles him out of his 'mission'. Why is she here? ]
...Sakura.
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then she hears his voice. ] Sasuke-kun?
[ It's her imagination, isn't it? She's just a bit shaken up from the combination of events occurring and the memories of this place flooding her mind. There's no possible way Sasuke is right here, right now, seeing her in this state of dress.
Turning in the direction of his voice with a smile, it fades instantly when she does acknowledge he's here. Flailing to cover herself, the eraser is going to go flying out of her hands as she crosses her arms against her chest.
And then of course
the eraser is going to land on her head with a small dust cloud of white spreading out over top. ]
Sasuke-kun!
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Give him a moment to let it sink in that yes, this is Sakura. She's actually her standing there. With her arms crossed and an eraser on her head, with a puff of white dust settling on her hair. After everything he's had to deal with for the past while here, this has him biting the inside of his cheek to keep from cracking even the tiniest of smiles. It's a break from all of the bad things and things to add to the list of Things He Doesn't Like.
But don't mind him when he reaches out a hand toward her. He's not trying anything, honest! It's just that she has something he wants. ]
Hold still.
[ The eraser. ]
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Once again, her heart and mind refuse to work together.
In that moment of weakness, he's able to reach her. Don't worry, she'll silently beat herself up over it later but for now she's paralyzed in her own fear. ]
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I need this.
[ Because that board is going to be deprived of the Uchiha name even if he has to break it. The other names aren't important. But now, there's one more problem. ]
... You're in the way.
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Hold on.
[ This isn't a sign of a backbone or anything, oh no. Nothing like that.
Her eyes size him up as she tries her hardest to keep her gaze above his waist, looking from one shoulder to the next. One. Two. Both of his arms are intact. ]
If you want me to move, then I want your word you'll speak with me after.
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Wait, what?
Okay, this is the part where he's going to have to swallow whatever embarrassment he's feeling right about now and suck it up, one eyebrow raised curiously. ]
And if I refuse?
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[ You know what?
If being stubborn as shit worked for Naruto, then it can work for her. ]
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Alright, fine. Two can play at this. ]
You do realize I could just swap places with you, right?
[ But that would be a waste of chakra and he could just accept her condition, but that would be too easy. Nope, have to make this as difficult as possible. ]
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[ This is a terrible time for a confrontation but she also knows this is ViViD. If something were to happen to her here, it likely wouldn't affect her outside of the program. Whether Sasuke knew that himself was a whole other question.
One she would have the answer to. ] I know this place. I've been here before.
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Sakura...
[ He really doesn't want a confrontation here, especially while dressed like this, but the threat is there in his voice. It's bad enough that he had to run into her at all, let alone resort to this!
I've been here before. It's a statement that shouldn't be of any interest to him, but much to his annoyance, it is. She's been here before. She knows more about this place than he does. She could possibly have more answers than Lee did, simply because Sakura had a sharp mind if nothing else. Knowing that she could actually be of use to him is kind of irritating, especially after everything he'd done to try and sever those ties. ]
Fine. But don't be disappointed if what you get isn't what you want. [ Ouch. That was painful to say. All that just to erase one word from a board. ]
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She steps to the side, allowing him access to the chalkboard.
A part of her is curious to see what he wants to remove but something inside of her already knows. Instinct perhaps? ]
Erasing it there won't erase the possibility they are here. [ Probably. There's a good chance it might since this place is screwed up in that way. ]
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He'll wait until she's stepped aside, then wait a few moments more to make sure she isn't going to renege on the agreement, before stepping up to get rid of that one word. He may be stuck here, but he'll be damned if he lets this place use his clan's name on anything without consent. Not that he'd give it, but they could've at least asked. ]
As if I'm supposed to know who "they" are? [ Madara is dead, Itachi is dead, and he's pretty sure nobody else survived, so why would there be any others? Different points in time doesn't compute to him, since that would mean there's an infinite number of the same world, which is just crazy. ]
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[ As stupid of a girl as she may be at times (especially when it comes to Sasuke), Sakura's not going to go hunt down a member of the Uchiha clan on her own. That's just crazy.
If she leaves it to Sasuke to handle by himself however, there may be a bloodbath and by now she's grown tired of cleaning up after the boys. If she can prevent something from breaking out, then she was going to get involved. ]
Togeth--[ Wait, hold on. They're being yelled at by someone now.
More specifically, Sasuke is the one being yelled at for touching the board. ]
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Oh. So this guy is mad that he erased a word off the board? Well that's too bad. In fact, he's just going to pick another name at random and erase it, too. And another. And another. All with the same casual attitude, not even caring what comes of it. He's already gotten yelled at for it, might as well keep going.
Sort of like the attack on the Kage Summit: if you're going to get blasted for it, might as well make it worthwhile.
As for Sakura, he'll just claim her as an accomplice if need be, since she is the one he got the eraser from. ]
1/2
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Leave it to Sakura to try to talk her way out of it with a sweet smile and kind words. ] Please mister, you don't understand. There were misspelled words so we were just trying to help out by rewriting them!
[ Except that only seems to piss the owner off even more. How dare she accuse him of not being able to spell. He's yelling for something and oh my, a swarm of these robots show up to take the case. ]
Sasuke-kun, I think we should probably leave. [ Talking her way out of it has failed them both. Maybe they can walk away from the shack without anyone (or anything) getting hurt? ]
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[ But it's not as if the owner cares. He's still yelling at Sakura for insinuating that he can't spell, and then there are clams. Just when he thought this stage couldn't get any weirder, out come the robots.
Giant clam robots. Beautiful. Can today possibly get any worse? Setting the eraser down, he backs away from the board until he's within reach of Sakura, his attention fixed on the clams. Leaving is very good, and if they can't walk away, they run, and if they can't run, then he needs to be able to grab hold of her to teleport them both out of harm's reach. Whether or not that's a thing he can actually do, who knows, but there's a first time for everything. ]
You just had to insult his spelling, didn't you?
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Plus, how was she supposed to know it was intentional on the shack owner's part? She doesn't have enough of a sense of humor to find joy in puns despite finding word games to be fun. Puzzles don't belong in business, Sasuke. It's completely justified in her mind. ]
You have to admit it was poor. [ His spelling, not her manners. ]
In a situation like this... I've found it's better to run away rather than fight the monsters. [ Most of the time they're programmed to be unstoppable. ]
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He got one right... [ The only one that he was concerned with, anyway. If he's honest, this was justified in his mind as well -though, not for the same reasons.
But now there are the clams to worry about, and while she's the intelligent one who understands that fighting is futile, he's the-- Okay, he gets to be the token hot-headed idiot right now, because yep, he's just going to prepare to shove a Chidori right into the maw of the first clam that makes a move.
Nobody has ever actually informed him about the robots' programming, and oddly enough, this is one of the first he's actually attempted to take on. The rest were just ViViD's idea of monsters. ]
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In the past, a younger Sakura would have covered her face with her arms and cowered in fear, leaving one of her teammates to have to save her from an assault. In the past, a more love-struck Sakura would have fawned over Sasuke acting as her savior.
Fortunately she's come to her senses since then and can easily dismiss the thoughts of her past. ] Sasuke-kun!
[ Not this time. This was going to be a point in her life where she took action and stood beside her (former) teammate as a partner. Reaching up for the side of his head, she'll employ a tactic used often enough on Naruto. Yes, she's attempting to grab at his ear. ]
This is a waste of our energy and time!
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It's not a feeling he's used to, and the suddenness of it has the jutsu dissipating, flickering out to nothing as he winces at the pain. This is a woman who could probably easily separate his ear from his head with a flick of her wrist if she felt so inclined. ]
Sakura, that hurts!
[ Maaaybe it's a good idea to listen to her. Hopefully the crabs don't take offense and attack them anyway...]
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At least the shack owner seems willing to call off the hoard if they willingly leave (also if they accept their lifetime ban). ]
Isn't that right, Sasuke-kun?
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We will?
[ Hey, whoa, who let her decide on things? No no, they're not leaving yet! What if the clams attack? Wouldn't it be best to take them out before they can make a move? Between the two of them, they should be able to handle this many without a problem! What is it with you people? First you tell him he can't run off to get stronger, then he can't have his revenge, then he can't stay gone, and now he can't beat up a few clams? Do you hate
what passes forfunaround herethat much, Sakura? Do you??But he also likes having his ear attached to his head, so despite not wanting to listen to her, he'll fold... but not without a little resistance and an irritated sigh. He's not quite docile enough to just shut up and obey. ]
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Sooner at the rate their interactions keep escalating. She's not on Naruto's level of FRIENDSHIP, but she's stubborn when it comes to her own beliefs! Especially when they come to Sasuke. ]
You're about as bad as Naruto. [ Always causing trouble when it's unnecessary.
When they're far enough away from the premises, she'll release her hold on him. ] Don't you think you should conserve your energy for something stronger or did you forget already?
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