TEST DRIVE 004

[phantasmods]

Hello and welcome to the fourth test drive for Phantasmal Rift!

Test drive threads are assumed to be game canon for accepted characters unless otherwise noted, so don't feel like you'll have to introduce yourself a second time to everyone you meet! As an added bonus, participation in the test drive comes with the chance to earn up to two items of loot for your trouble! Characters who are accepted can earn one item for having a top level, and one for tagging out to someone else's top level! Your SWEET LOOT will be included with your acceptance notice.

Additionally, characters currently in game can earn themselves a piece of bonus loot for the dungeon by tagging people's top-levels on the test drive! Existing characters get their bonus loot along with the rest of their loot at the conclusion of the dungeon.

This test drive takes place in Keystone Reef, a water-influenced Fissure to the northeast of the station. It is home to numerous fish and coral species, as well as a very interesting magical effect...

OPTION ONE: FINNY FUN

Under the water is where you woke up, and under the water is where you might be stuck for a while. The magic is lodged in you and has changed your form -- maybe a little, maybe a lot. Perhaps you only have gills, but you may also have a full set of changes, fins and no feet to speak of. Don't panic, you'll surely be fine if you just keep swimming...

Aside from the strange changes, it's a pretty cool place to be. If you've ever dreamed about scuba diving on a coral reef, the place that you've found yourself is perfect for that (minus the needing to scuba part). Curious fish swim up and then dart away into rock crevices, coral growths, and even down to bury themselves in the layer of sand at the bottom. The water is also fairly shallow, allowing you to surface if you so desire.

Even the sharks are friendly and just want to have as much a look at you as you want to look at them. Don't harass the glowing eels tucked into cracks between the rocks, though, they bite and don't particularly let go.

OPTION TWO: WORLD'S SMALLEST JUNGLE

This must certainly be an oceanside jungle - in spite of the humidity, the smell of salt on the air is strong. Brilliant greens and the occasional bright flowers, accompanied by island birdsong... It could be a nice place to spend an afternoon. There's not even that many bugs that want to drink your blood (though bugs in general are, well, quite plentiful).

Eventually, though, however far you go, you'll reach the beach and be met with the expanse of the ocean - blue, uncaring, and real big. While one side of the little island thankfully has land visible in the distance, the outer side just overlooks a near-endless expanse of blue. If you're a very good swimmer, you could probably make your way to land past the rocks of the reef itself... Otherwise, though, you might be just a bit stuck on your jungle island paradise.

At least until someone brings a boat.

OPTION THREE: SHIPWRECK

Both above and below the waterline are the remains of ships crashed upon the rocks, just waiting to be explored. Even though it has clearly been an incredibly long time, the chunks of wood and metal are still in fairly good condition, and the chance of finding something nice tucked in with them among the rocks is surely tempting to anyone with an adventurous spirit.

The wrecks beneath the waves also grow coral and seaweed, and provide havens for larger fish, dragon eels, and sharks. Those along the rocks above the waterline, on the other hand, provide a home for seabirds of all varieties. Most notable is the hulking shell of a shipping craft in the distance, looking very much modern if ruined by some centuries of exposure...

For right now, though, you'd best contend with the flotsam a bit closer to you, and the wildlife that might not take too kindly to your exploring. Below the waterline, the dragon eels found in a few places don't take kindly to being disturbed; above, you might run afoul of some overprotective seabirds protecting their nests. Maybe even an invisible seagull (normal sized) - how ridiculous would that be?

Comments

[biddentodance]

[Fire coral...that sounds so cool. And makes sense. All-natural boiled fish...yummy.

He eyes the third fillet....he could certainly eat more, but...well. He doesn't want to be a burden on anyone, and he certainly doesn't want to eat all the food Akechi has.]

You don't have to... I eat a lot. [A lot a lot.]

[foolishjustice]

So do I. I've been hunting with my own appetite and Akira's in mind, so I boiled a lot of fish.

Besides, if you're sick, you really should eat.

[biddentodance]

[He shakes his head. Two was plenty for one meal, anyway, just because his appetite rivals the rest of SEES combined doesn't mean he has to eat that much all the time.]

A cold's no big deal. Pretty normal, for me.

[This feels a little worse than just a cold, but...nah, not that important.]

[foolishjustice]

[He frowns slightly.]

That's...not particularly reassuring.

[biddentodance]

Kind of annoying, that's all. [A shrug. He's pretty used to having a terrible immune system. Stay up too late or get caught without an umbrella, bam. Virus.

Don't worry, he only applies this nonchalance to every matter related to his own welbeing.]

[foolishjustice]

That doesn't mean you shouldn't still be taking care of yourself. If anything, you should be more careful of your health if getting sick is so common for you.

[Fussy fish!]

[biddentodance]

Don't care.

[He can't avoid late nights....well, investing in an umbrella wouldn't be a bad idea. But is it really that big a deal? It hasn't killed him yet.]

[foolishjustice]

[He presses a hand to his forehead, as his antennae curl in exasperation.]

You sound like Sae-san...well, you won't get anything out of neglecting your health while here. There's enough of us that we're not at all short on manpower for closing this Fissure.

[biddentodance]

[Manpower. Fissure. A mission? ...An operation. The operation. How long- two weeks? And change?]

How do I go back?

[Mitsuru's going to be angry enough that he disappeared, if he misses the operation...]

[foolishjustice]

We don't know yet. We're hoping that studying stabilized Fissures will give an idea of how to control passage through them, but right now it seems to be at random.

[He moves his hand from his face and brushes back a bit of hair that's slipped loose of the fins on his head.]

There's no evidence either way yet, but...the people studying the Fissures have theorized that because they also warp time, we might be able to go back to when we left from.

[biddentodance]

[This conversation (and some food) has done a lot to ground Minato and get him thinking through the fever. More than usual, even. Fissures have some related danger demanding they be closed, aren't well understood, tie space in knots and....can even possibly affect time... Time.

"A time manipulation device"

It's just like Shadows, isn't it? Is there a Dark Hour here, too? This is no vacation. Not even close. And there are people studying the Fissures, too. Just like the Kirijo Group. This isn't going to end badly at all.

Just ignore the slight hitch in his breathing, it's almost imperceptible anyway.]

Understood.

[foolishjustice]

Either way, for now you should just rest. You don't have the equipment needed to stabilize the Fissures anyway, so there's no need for you to push yourself.

[biddentodance]

[There's that familiar coil of dread in his gut. Two weeks at home, and who knows how much time there is before disaster here.]

I'm fine. [He's not.] Isn't the Fissure more important?

[foolishjustice]

My experience is that people who say that usually aren't. Besides, like I said, we have plenty of manpower. This is only expected to take about three days, and the last one took five.

[biddentodance]

...Is that...until you're done, or until something happens?

[foolishjustice]

Until we're done. These Fissures have been here for centuries...the main thing we're worried about is the fact that the things coming through them have been getting gradually larger...most of the new arrivals have only appeared when a group of us goes into a Fissure to stabilize it, but seeing as the first group appeared unprompted, the only way to make sure people don't keep arriving is to keep these missions up.

[biddentodance]

[That's somewhat reassuring. There isn't some deadline looking over them...]

You were in this Fissure and then more people came through? [Responding to people showing up seems more natural...]

[foolishjustice]

That's right. The same thing happened with the previous one, and the one before that. I've already confirmed that the energy signatures that accompany new arrivals have only appeared after a group went in.

[biddentodance]

That's... [There's no way that's a coincidence, right? It doesn't seem like it...

But he can't think it through fully. That fever has to kick back in sometime. A small shiver and light shake of the head, in hopes of clearing it...]

I want to help.

[foolishjustice]

You can help by resting so I don't have to worry about you while I'm setting up the stabilizers. There should be another expedition in about a month, you can help more actively then.

[biddentodance]

Wh... Monthly? [That's... That's not good. The sky, he needs to see the sky. He'll, he doesn't even know what time it is, let alone the phase of the moon...]

Excuse me. [Sorry Akechi, he is just. Swimming upward toward the surface. If circumstances were different, he'd be able to do this more gracefully and secretively, but...he needs to know.]

[foolishjustice]

[Well, that's an interesting reaction...he's just going to follow Minato upward?]

That's about how long it takes to build enough stabilizers for an expedition, yes...

[biddentodance]

[Sea slug mermen can only swim so fast, but as quickly as he can he breaks surface. Bright and sunny out, lovely ocean weather. Reminds him of Yakushima. Locating the moon takes a minute - there it is.

First quarter.

There should be three weeks left, so....monthly, yes, lunar, no. That's a relief. He lets himself slip back underwater, exhausted from the effort of the swim. He should rest and he knows it, he wouldn't go to Tartarus like this and his vision is swimming. But these aren't normal circumstances.]

[foolishjustice]

[Yeah, guess who's moving to support Minato so he doesn't have to keep himself oriented with a fever, after exertion? ...And wow, he feels so hot to the touch, it almost feels appropriate to equip Rangda.]

What was that about? You shouldn't even be moving around at all, with how high your fever is!

[biddentodance]

[And this is with a significant amount of his body turned into a slug. Imagine as a full human. He's out of strength.]

...had to check something.