PHASE I [ ?? ?? ] This time, ViViD is a deathtrap.
There is random magma everywhere, monsters will spawn at random, and at some points, the game is entirely unplayable. It’s like the dev team totally disappeared mid-constructing the level.
Oh wait, that’s exactly what happened.
Monsters may spawn on top of you, you may suddenly be standing in a poisonous bog, you may suddenly lose your powers, or your senses, or so many different things --
It’s time to get out of here, ASAP.
Thankfully, the exit is obvious. Like. Blindingly obvious. It’s got a big sign over it that says EXIT
And just like that, you’ll be out of ViViD and --
PHASE II [ 0830 ] When you wake up (and it’s strange, because you were sure that you were logging out just a second ago), it’s in a pile of bodies.
They’re cold, but not in the same sense that a dead body would be cold. While they are lifeless and look incredibly real, they don’t feel real. They feel like dolls, mannequins, empty models and nothing more. Their code doesn’t seem to be functioning right.
And what some characters may realize upon looking at this pile of bodies is that they are all of the characters who were sacrifices before. Any character that was dropped who had a high magical or spiritual affinity is there in that pile of bodies, lifeless and eyes blank and vacant. Even you might be there, staring at your own dead body -- but it isn’t real It can be touched, but it’s really nothing more than a lifeless body.
You’ll have to crawl out of that pile of bodies to get anywhere, and then you’ll realize -- you’re in the Sanctuary, a building built by the characters as a safe place from CERES. And it’s looking pretty run-down at this point. The technology in it no longer functions, there is no security on it whatsoever…
Oh, and now there’s a pile of bodies. Great.
PHASE III [ 1000 ] There’s also a robot.
It’s wandering from place to place, though it’s impossible to follow. One second it’s there, the next it’s just gone.
Also, it’s wearing this. Weird.
But even with that on its face, the robot seems focused on one thing in particular. In fact, it has a sign, and it says:
Down with CERES. Up with Robots.
That’s a happy, cheerful message. If you try to go up to it to talk to it, it will look at you before...bonking you on the head with the sign and running off. That’s incredibly rude.
Alternatively, you may be safe and sound in your home, but then the doorbell rings, and there’s the robot again. The duck mask is gone, but now instead it has a pin on his fake lapel, and then he’s shoving a pamphlet at you.
He tips his hat, and then he’s gone. Weird.
(Also, if you hold onto the pamphlet, it will lead you directly to the person whose picture is on it, and you’ll feel like you’ve known them and have loved them for years.)
PHASE IV [ 1245 ] But not all is fun and games and shenanigans. There is something...well, strange happening, and the first real realization of that will be when it starts to rain. More than just the localized rain that a few unfortunates have dealt with -- no, it’s raining completely and totally, and that’s when it might hit you.
For the first time in Cerealia, there’s weather.
It’ll rain for a few hours, and then it’ll stop and become hot and sunny. It may get humid, considering it’s a jungle planet. At night, it’ll get rather cold.
Seems like whatever was keeping Cerealia’s atmosphere stable is now gone -- which also means that characters may start to occasionally experience headaches, nausea and dizziness if they go too close to the walls. It seems safer in the center of the city, and the Residential District is still okay, but… there’s no doubt that the planet’s atmosphere is starting to encroach on the city.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] But who cares about all of that? More importantly, you are here in this… totally not shoddy city to have fun, and it’s still being advertised as a pleasure colony. Or, well, it would be if, you know, CERES was still around.
But close enough.
And as a pleasure colony, it would figure that the first robots to really get fixed are...well, the Pleasure District robots. Unfortunately, the Pleasure District is still a nice big mess, so now they’re wandering the entire colony, looking for people they can hug, massage or...try to drag into more explicit activities.
Welcome to Cerealia!
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Chihiro ran up as if she hadn't just walked further down the street before seeing a stranger's plight and deciding to run up as if she'd been looking for them for a while. "You were supposed to take me to get ice cream, why are you hanging out over here?"
Kids weren't a usual part of the landscape in Cerealia, and the way she'd taken to setting her hands on her hips and glaring at the robot was more bravado than a genuine thought through plan of action. Chihiro marched up and pointedly brought her hands to rest on the arm of the robot holding on to him. She stared at it, not so much the man who'd been politely objecting, and spoke in a firm voice.
"You can't have him. You'll have to find a customer somewhere else." No please. She'd learned early on that the robots that had come back online weren't responding to pleasantries. Chihiro didn't like the implications, not with how they'd been reacting before the shutdown. "So I'd like you all to leave now, because ice cream is very serious business."
Meanwhile, Chihiro seriously hoped this person either played along with her really dumb plan or was confused enough that any response was one she could try to fake-bossy her way through. Or fake brat. She could do a decent fake brat. (She was enough of a real one before.)
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“Yes, we really must get going. My niece can get quite impossible if she doesn’t get her way. Now...”
He manages to dodge the robot’s attempt to grab his arm again and backs away quickly, placing a hand on Chihiro’s shoulder to pull her back as well. “We must take our leave.” Then he takes the Chihiro's hand and runs!
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She's surprisingly used to running with people at the drop of a hat. Or the drop of a particularly lascivious invitation, in this case, for all that most the particulars fly over her head. Luck follows them, meaning the robots distinctly don't pursue once they get past two blocks or so. There are easier targets. Or at least more stationary ones, which works, since they're easier to haul off unasked.
Chihiro keeps running until a glance over her shoulder shows no pursuers. She tugs on his hand, still at speed. "I think they've fallen back!"
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“Thank you for helping me out back there, Chihiro-chan. That was really good quick thinking.”
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... before giving him an honest look over, checking for a sword, and finally smiling. "Ichigo! I didn't realise that was you!" Yes, her quick thinking had been done based on a process of deciding if she could help a stranger or not. "I'm glad you're okay, and that you went along with it. I had no idea if it'd work or not. The robots that have been coming back are kind of pushy."
She doesn't find their shift in demeanor remaining on the difficult side of things all that appealing. If anything, it seems like it's probably no good.
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"I don't know the details, but the head of the company that's responsible for bringing us, the code-born, here to Cerealia threw a fit when she fired an employee. I guess he'd been kind of on our side? Or working to do... to make things better for us, I think. Maybe it had to do with getting our homes recreated." She's not sure how any of that process is meant to work in the end. "But um, after she made the announcement, the robots started acting strange. Aggressive and super insistent like you just saw. A couple of days later, the city went totally dark, and then the robots all were down. They didn't come back awake until now."
The problems weren't as bad (from her point of view, as police robots weren't trying to imprison everyone), but having anyone be forceful over things that were unnecessary has her on edge. If she can't outrun them, she can't outfight them. About all she has is quick, creative thinking, and a stubborn desire to not give up.
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“Has anyone heard from this employee or the head of this company since the robots started acting strangely?”
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Not that finding them took care of what the Flamines would want, now, did it?
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They'd also implied that the code-born and the colony would be gone at that point. She wasn't sure how important that was to mention.
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"Then should we find them and flush them out for good?"
That would be rather important to know, Chihiro!
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His master's orders are absolute after all.
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She listens attentively, nodding at the end. What he says about his master's wishes and about the situation as a whole is the more experienced way of acknowledging what Chihiro's learned to see.
"Then I think you already had your answer, Ichigo-san. Is Haru-san also your master?"
Curious, because she's still not entirely sure how those dynamics work. Or where Haru's been, but she's barely met him over the network when they were talking about things like loneliness.
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"I do? And yes, he is. He is the saniwa sage who gave us our human forms. I've heard that he's here but I haven't yet seen him in person."
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Not to mention having it verified that he's the saniwa sage for probably all of the related sword spirits. Er, the ones who knew each other, not so much direct relations.
"You do. Everything you said to me sounds like a good answer, though... maybe you can talk with Kashuu or Tsuru or Sayo-kun to see if Haru-san has any special orders for all of you. I haven't asked about things like that." To be honest, she's never felt like it was her place.
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