PHASE I [ 9 00 ] You open your eyes, and there is a chicken pecking at your face. It's not a very happy chicken, either, but if you can manage to fend it off, then it will be clear that you are in a village. It is... medieval-esque, in that video game sort of way; the details don’t seem too clear, but if you look to your left, there’s a cow! And to your right, a well! Ignore the clear evidence of modern technology in the buildings such as lights, gas, and 21st century plumbing; CERES is dedicated to authenticity.
Looks like the new ViViD level has finally been released, and everyone is invited to play, whether they want to or not.
The game (because this time, that's surely what it is) will start simple. Everyone begins in the same place and every NPC villager will say the same thing: to get out of here, you have to go through the caves. They’ll shove a stick at you (“take this, it’s dangerous to go alone”) and off you go, into the caves… !
Which are full of tiny rats and more chickens. They will try to fight you, but it’s really not very effective when they’re perfectly small and average (especially when everyone still has their typical powers and abilities -- CERES didn't mess with those at all this time). The caves are winding and circular and maze-like, and to make matters even worse, the only ones around are the other poor saps stuck in this situation.
But if you kill enough of the rats, you’ll get to hear the satisfying level up jingle. Congratulations! You are now level 2. It's probably satisfying just for a minute or so until you finally find your way out of those maze like caves and -- You're back in the village again. Great.
PHASE II [ 930 ] You’re carrying a bag. No matter what you do, you can’t take it off, either; it’s stuck with you through thick and thin. But it is awfully heavy. Maybe you should actually open it and see what’s inside?
The problem is, it’s going to take a while.
The bag has clearly tapped into its true hammerspace nature; there are items for days in there, and they’re all very, very strange. You might end up covered in hats of all sorts, buried in logs as you pull out one after another, or look like you have an odd fetish for pickaxes.
Maybe there’s 1/3rd of an evil turnip, half a piece of pie and an egg.
Geez, what in the world are you supposed to do with all of that?
PHASE III [ 1200 ] Eventually, you make it out of the caves the right way despite the harassment of the rats and chickens and the fact you'll keep perpetually getting lost. Hooray! You come out into a large, peaceful, scenic meadow, with a small river bubbling off to one side, and a house.
You'll immediately notice that there’s a bridge to cross the river, but there’s someone standing in the way of that bridge. When you approach to go past him, no matter what you try to do, you won't be able to. Asking him why he won't move will only get one thing in response -- “Bring me a fish. Cooked.”
Then he’ll shove a fishing rod at you and expect you to get to it. You can’t attack him, you can’t get past him -- looks like the only thing to do is to catch and cook that fish. Time to sit back, relax, and get to work. Or maybe you’ll team up with someone else and be the person in the house making sure that the fish gets cooked properly. For some reason, if you leave it too long it turns right into a pile of ashes.
Weirdly though, no matter how good you are at cooking or fishing usually, it’s as if you’re right back at the metaphorical level one. Any sort of seasoning or effort to cook it faster falls flat and in the end you'll only be able to place the fish in the pan and set it on the stove, whole. This may take awhile.
And if you try to cross the river itself, well... no, really, don’t try to cross the river.
At least if you get eaten, you’ll just respawn back in the village, but do have fun traveling through the caves again!
PHASE IV [ 1430 ] You made it through the caves. You made it across the river (with a slightly burnt fish). You’ve made it to the wide open world, and you can finally adventure to your heart’s content. You take a step forward on the road and --
A message pops up, bright red and in your face.
[ Restricted Area: Members Only ]
No matter what you do, you can’t go past that point. In fact, if you’re not careful and you’re going too fast, you might run face-first into it like it’s an invisible wall (which it is).
Then, just like that, you're back in the village. Again. Only this time, there's a nice, blinking message -- Pay a small subscription fee to access member's content. Oh well. No big deal, you can just start again.
Except then you see a cool sword and when you try to pick it up, you'll get that same message, and end up transported back to the village yet again. And again, with some shiny new armor. And again, with that attention-grabbing NPC over there. Looks like you're caught in an infinite loop here but no matter how much you inspect the pop up, there's no... actual way to pay the subscription fee (and why would you want to?). But at least you have company, because you can't be the only person who thought that sword was cool.
(It was really, really cool.)
BONUS [ xxxx ] What’s that on the ground in front of you? It looks like… some bunny ears? Or maybe it’s a chicken head, or a pumpkin head. Either way, the moment you touch it, you have a strong need to put it on your head -- and once it’s on, it’s not coming off.
To make matters worse, each hat has an effect associated with it; the bunny ears will, in fact, randomly turn you into a cute fluffy bunny for anywhere from 5 minutes to an hour before you pop right back to yourself, whereas the pumpkin hat will, in a complete reversal, turn you into Cinderella for a bit -- complete with beautiful ball gown and the ability to talk to all of those cute fluffy bunnies.
Also the rats will love you, so maybe you should go back to the caves again.
Meanwhile, the chicken hat won't transform you into any odd creature, but it will inspire in the people wearing them a very real, persistent desire to build a nest. This will involve picking up twigs, trash, shiny things and whatever else catches your eye to try to build a nest out of it. You'll also try to pick up whatever food you find on the ground to eat, have the weirdest desire to lay an egg, and basically have all sorts of odd chicken-like instincts inflicted upon you.
At least you look festive!
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...yes.
[There was no point in denying it. He'd seen her with his own eyes.]
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But he is baffled by this sudden turn of events, and he wonders if she's even real. This place has made illusions of people appear to him before. He does hold back from asking her if she's real, though - he'd find that a rude question to ask even an illusion of Iris.]
You weren't hurt, were you? Are you alright? [He looks her over in concern.]
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[From there, she held them in front of her, staring with her head slightly tilted to one side for a long moment. Wondering.]
I'm not hurt, no. [Quite possibly mortified beyond belief, but she could survive that. Probably.] It was...these things. I think. When I put them on, that's when I changed.
[She glanced up at him, hoping that the redness from her cheeks had faded enough by then.]
What's going on, Feenie? What is this place?
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Magic bunny ears...? [He mutters as he looks them over. But Iris's question is more important now.
Phoenix looks her in the eye seriously as he addresses her concern.]
I'm sorry, Iris. There's no easy way to explain this. And... It's not something that's easy to believe, either.
But, we seem to be trapped in a completely different world than our own. And within that... right now, we're actually in a big virtual reality game that's part of this alien world.
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[It sounded utterly fantastic. Almost unreal. Trapped in a different world. Spirited away, essentially. And, on top of that, currently stuck in a...a...]
Virtual Reality?
[The one term she didn't recognize.]
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...Or, um, what about computers in general?
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[Just as the last time it was brought up, she seemed strangely proud of herself for this fact.]
Though I don't remember playing many games on one. I mostly used it to type up special messages for Sister Bikini, and the occasional research for the Temple.
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Well, that's very professional of you, Iris!
But essentially, the things is, virtual reality is pretty much like being put right into a computer game. I guess that we're stuck here until we find a way to beat it.
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Then we're...inside a computer?
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I know it must be really confusing. Maybe it will be easier to explain whenever we find our way out of here.
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...I must be dreaming.
This is all so...so...
[Trapped inside a computer after having been temporarily turned into a rabbit. With none other than Phoenix Wright standing before her. Only--]
[Only there was something different about him, too. Not quite as noticeable as her previous change. Something she couldn't quite put her finger on. Probably a result of her subconscious' influence. It had to be.]
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I don't know what to consider this. If this is a dream, then for me it's setting the record for the longest dream of all time. [...I really hope I'm not in a coma.] I wish I could say that the weird and impossible things end there, but I'm afraid that this is just the beginning.
W-well, um... Whatever this is... [He shuffles a little awkwardly.]
...It is is good to see you again, Iris.
[She must be taking good care of herself... She looks so young.]
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You too, Feenie.
[Dream or no dream.]
Although...you're acting as if we hadn't just seen one another yesterday. When you came to visit me with Mystic Maya and the violent little one.
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...Wait.
His eyes widen uncertainly.]
Iris, that time... Just after your trial...
Is that the last thing you remember?
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I...yes? [Something was definitely off, but she still couldn't quite place her finger on it. His reaction wasn't helping that feeling, though. Iris might not have had any spiritual powers, but even she had her occasional instincts.] Why?
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Well. You know how there's a lot of confusing and impossible things happening around here?
It's... it's also possible for people here to be from the same world, but... from different times. [He's not sure how well she'll take it, so he'll give it to her piecemeal, and he looks at her seriously.]
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[If it had been anybody but Phoenix, Iris might have leaned more towards disbelief. Or assumed she must have misheard. It was one thing to accept they had been kidnapped from their respective locations...but from different times?]
How different?
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[He pauses for a moment, offering her an expression that seemed to apologize to her as he spoke.]
Like... like eight whole years.
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Eight years? But then...you're...we...
[It's good to see you again. A day's time for her. Maybe a couple, if she had been rendered unconscious during the trip to this world. Eight years past for him...]
[Had it been that long since he's seen her at all? Had their lives once more parted along the way? Her mind swam with possibilities, each one more unsettling than the last. She wanted so badly to ask him--it was in her eyes--but she couldn't quite get the words out.]
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He responds calmly.]
Just take a deep breath, Iris. I... I know that it must be a lot to take in...
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[Then she took another.]
I...don't even know where to begin.
[Although the truth was a good start.]
[While her mind collected itself, Iris took the time to really look at him. Those differences she couldn't quite put her finger on before...she could see them now. His change in stature. Just as he had grown since their (or, rather, his) University days, he seemed to have grown even more in those eight years' time. His shoulders were even broader. His features were even calmer now. Experienced. In control. Here, she was, probably looking like a frantic, excited mess...and he was staring at her with the most peaceful expression.]
...are you happy?
[She decided that was the most important question to ask first. He seemed happy, but she knew fully well what kinds of pain a smile could hide. She needed to be sure.]
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Are you happy?
Of course, looking at her reminded him of one of the first times he felt truly happy. It was essentially that entire period of time that they dated... until the death of Doug Swallow. An innocent and blissful happiness from a time long gone. He looked back on that and he wondered. Did he know happiness?
He's come a long way since that day when he learned the truth about Iris and Dahlia in the courtroom. He was framed for forgery, stripped of his badge, living as a disgrace for seven years while the law was lost to darkness...
...Trucy. Getting to raise her and be there for her. Getting to regain his badge, rebuild his law firm, gain two bright minds to guide, fighting the dark age of the law with them...
Suddenly, it didn't seem like that much of a question anymore. He cracks a warm, sad smile at Iris.]
A lot has happened. Both good and bad... I've suffered some of my greatest downfalls. But I've come a long way from that.
Things aren't perfect, no. B-but... I think that one could color me 'happy'. [He admits that with a sheepish laugh as he rubs at his head.]
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[Their lives weren't easy. They never were. Easy was an illusion clouded by the naiveté of their younger days. Fueled by lies and deception. In fact, it wasn't until she had confessed to him, finally, on the stand in a public courtroom, that Iris had been able to appreciate that time spent together. That she could smile once more, having gone through so much pain and survived.]
[Phoenix, too, it seemed, had gone through even more trials since. And while it pained her to think she wouldn't be at his side to help him through any of it--thanks to her sentence--the fact that he could come away from it now with that look on his face...her shoulders slumped in a partial relief.]
I'm glad.
[Not about the downfalls, of course. The rest of it.]
I'd...like to hear about it sometime. The stories of your cases. What's been going on in your life all those years.
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Even with all the time away, he feels a faint glow in his chest. Is it a nostalgic feeling, or something else? Phoenix isn't sure how to sort it, and he knows that now isn't the right time.
She's here and she's safe. That's what I should focus on. That's what matters right now. And... what makes me happy right now.
Phoenix gives a soft shake of his head as he answers her.]
I'd be glad to tell you all about it... about anything you'd want to know about.
This just... isn't the time, or place, I'd say. [He takes some glances around their surroundings.] We're still in the virtual world, after all.
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[The lightest of flutters in her chest occurred at the thought. It was silly of her, really...even selfish...and yet...maybe...just maybe...]
Of course. [Though she didn't fully understand exactly what that meant. Would they be brought somewhere else after the 'game'? Was this the one and only chance she truly would have to speak to him like this?] ...later?
[If we're here, and things settle down, we can talk. You and me.]
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