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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He does look up at Kashuu's indignant words, takes in just how far it is to the shore... and then just sort of sighs where he sits, unsteady and weak and already knowing he won't be much help. No matter how much he wants it.]
Well, it's just the kind of thing that happens in this place, isn't it? It's a bit hard to be surprised by it by now.
[It's hard to find any proper anger or frustration right now. Despite knowing things will be complicated, and that he and Kashuu will probably have a long way to go, in the end he can't be too upset about whatever it is Ceres will throw at them next. In this place, he knows he won't be allowed to properly die, after all. Staying alive is actually something he really wants now, and so being stuck here together with people he genuinely cares about... well, it could be a lot worse, right?]
I guess we should still try to get back though.
no subject
Though something about that seems to just - set Kashuu off. Which probably isn't surprising either, since his temper is always volatile and he often falls to its whims rather than controlling it. But hearing that lack of proper anger or frustration just seems to transfer Souji's share to Kashuu instead, who makes an upset sound and smacks his palms against the side of the stupid hamster ball. Bad idea, naturally, since that just upsets the balance and nearly sends him tipping over, but he manages to catch himself before he falls on poor Souji, at least...
And because he'd very much like to not fall on poor Souji, he just. Sits down, too. And puts his face in his hands for a second.]
... [A very long second. Maybe like, five whole seconds, even.]
...I dunno how to get back. I don't even know if I can swim.
[And he's pretty sure Souji can't, and he probably can't swim back with Souji. Off to a great, useful start!]
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Or maybe he just left Kashuu with a lot more to be angry about. After all, if things hadn't been resolved the way they were recently... maybe he would've grown angry in his loneliness too. It wasn't as if he'd never felt resentful, after all.
Either way, while he does sympathize with the emotion, he still can't bring himself to get properly agitated. He just makes a small grimace and pokes the plastic experimentally.]
I probably can't swim very well like this either. [He leans experimentally against the side next, and it does indeed shift a little in that direction, but... well, not much.] The chances of someone seeing us and being able to help out are pretty slim, right? So we're just going to have to try to make this thing move after all. Probably by making it roll, I guess.
[A self-deprecating little smile, and he looks away.] At least you're pretty strong, huh?
no subject
...Balance is probably gonna be a bigger problem, I think.
[Still, he manages to keep some careful neutrality in place as the anger starts to seep away. He leans over a little and gives the bubble a harder shove, which moves them a little faster, but also leaves the bubble bobbing around in the water pretty harshly. And there's another problem too, of course--]
We're gonna need to pop this thing soon, even if we can't get back to shore.
[Because the rasping of Souji's lungs certainly hasn't gone unnoticed.]
no subject
However, as Kashuu talks about popping the ball, he just frowns in honest puzzlement.]
Ah, really? I don't think that would be a very good idea. Won't it break if we do that?
[Look, he feels like he can't get any air all the time, okay? He hasn't quite noticed yet that he's struggling more than necessary, or that the air is getting thinner.]
no subject
I'm like, pretty sure that you're gonna run out of air in here if we can't get out soon. So if it's suffocating in here or taking a chance with drowning, I guess drowning's probably a little better?
[PROBABLY?! For him, he could just demanifest inside the bubble or stop using his human lungs, but Souji would still be in trouble, then. So to the ocean it is...]
no subject
[It's oddly flat and resigned, and he looks away once more. It's not as if he doesn't know that this would be a problem for just about any human being, but the fact remains that it's a lot more urgent due to his lungs, and that stings. He can't help it, really. To constantly be reminded, and every day find himself more and more of a burden... it will always be hard.
His chest is aching. The fact that he isn't coughing already is no doubt due to the medicine Ceres had provided earlier, but it's only a matter of time.]
I'm not sure. Either way, I guess it means dying of not being able to breathe. [A small, not even remotely happy laugh.] But I guess I'll do that anyway one day, so... I agree. Let's break out of here, if we can find a way of doing so.
no subject
He had learned that Souji died shortly after being summoned to Haru's citadel. He had read the books himself, and they all confirmed the same thing. Okita Souji, who had seemed infallible to him right up until the night that he himself had died, was just as mortal as any other man. And at the time, he hadn't felt much. Maybe it's because he was still freshly hurt and angry, or maybe it's because there's a distance that's created when you read something in a textbook rather than experiencing it firsthand like Yamato (who carries the impression of Souji's death on himself so boldly that it hurts to look at, sometimes).
But this... Even though he knows it's inevitable, and Souji seems to have come to accept that in a way, too - it doesn't seem right. There's a part of him that wants to reach out for Souji's hands, and his fingers twitch a little, but he keeps to himself even now.]
...I could try to cut through it. If we put a hole in the top we should be able to break through the rest of it before it sinks, I think.
[Because being stuck in a deflating plastic orb while it crumples into the sea is sure death...]
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So with a small smile, he starts edging himself onto his knees, to show Kashuu that he's in fact ready to go along with this plan.]
I- I shouldn't say things like that. I'm sorry. [He shakes his head, momentarily distracted by a memory, before he adds:] Back home, while I as there... you could say I sort of promised someone that I'd keep breathing for as long as I can. So I'm going to try my best, okay?
[To the best of his ability, he tries to draw a calm breath, hold it in without choking on it.]
Go ahead.
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But he'll handle it as he usually does, unsurprisingly. He can revisit this later (maybe) when they're not trapped in a little bubble floating out to sea.]
Hold onto me if you need to, okay?
[Even if he's only just about to find out how well he can really swim, he's a sword, right? And it's his duty to protect, even if there are just some things that a sword can't cut through.
As Souji rises to his knees, Kashuu will try to find the least shaky way to strike a stance. He draws his blade and angles the sword upward-] Ready? I'm gonna give it a shot. [-And pierces through the double layers of plastic, creating a pretty large gash that arcs overhead.
Which means the stale air inside is rushing out fast and the bubble itself is losing buoyancy, too. Kashuu slides his blade back and reaches up as quickly as he can to pry the layers of plastic apart, trying to create enough of a gap for Souji.]
Here!
no subject