Out with the old, in with the new as they say, and this ViViD level is no different. Ever progressive and ever mindful, CERES has decided in their war against the evil carbon footprint to give citizens both new and old a lesson in healthy living. To show this, they've created a level all about... recycling, or as close to recycling as a company like CERES can get. (Which isn't very close at all, honestly.)
This, of course, means that when you're dumped in to today's ViViD level, the first thing that will hit you is the stench. It's vile and rancid and the type of stench that makes a person want to give up smelling altogether, and when you finally open your eyes, you'll see why. There's trash everywhere. The buildings are decrepit and crumbling, the cars are broken down and rusted, and overall, it looks like the apocalypse rolled right on through. Which is weird because this is definitely not a post-apocalyptic game. Yet wandering around this pathetic excuse for a ViViD level will just reveal more of the same -- it's a total wasteland.
And if you look up, you will see a billboard.
RECYCLING AND YOU: HOW NOT TO BE A DIRTY WASTE OF SPACE
You'll only have a moment to be offended by the sign before, amongst the piles of trash and rubble, there's another, smaller pile of trash and rubble. The only difference is this one can talk.
 Welcome to The Dumpster Dive, my cool cats and sweet kittens. A brand new ViViD level, created and innovated to you by CERES's very creative and innovative technicians. We're all here to help you learn to Reuse, Reduce and Recycle, givin' you kids some tools to help you lessen your impact on the planet. After all, we're all here together on this great planet of Tellus. Wouldn't want to ruin it, right? Ha ha!
Happy Trash Day to Cerealians one and all!
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PHASE I [ 6 00 ] So, you're here.
You're probably sitting in a pile of trash because, well, everywhere is a pile of trash. You're in a landscape of trashiness and there's no escape. Your only option is to give in to the sweet, sweet pull of the garbage. The buildings are crumbling, the sidewalks are a mess of bottles (but no bottle caps), rubble, and empty chip bags, and you're stuck in this... trash. This garbage. This hellhole.
Wasn't recycling supposed to be clean?
It probably takes a rat skittering over your foot to get you going but like any good game, the protagonist needs to move. If you're going to find out anything in this trash heap, you'll need to explore a bit. See if you can find someone else! Or something else. Maybe someone more experienced with ViViD can help you figure out how to log out. Even if logging out doesn't seem to be working right now. You should be careful too because one wrong step might cause the pile of trash you're standing on give way and send you into the sewers below.
Which means there are rats, there are bugs, the ground is unsteady and... yep. It's starting to rain.
Good luck.
PHASE II [ 800 ] And then come the... trash drones.
They zero in on any living thing in this ViViD level -- if you’re moving, if you’re breathing, if you have some sort of a pulse, they’ll be there. And they’ll grab you and take you away. No matter how many you shoot down, more and more and more will come, never stopping until you're swarmed completely by them. They have to get you! You're garbage, you're garbage, you're garbage! You're garbage!
And so, you're snatched up.
Don’t worry, though. After a short flight (wave hello to your fellow drone-napped neighbor!), you'll arrive at three huge trash chutes with three equally huge signs above them. GARBAGE, RECYCLING, and COMPOST hang above the chutes and the drones pause just momentarily before announcing one of these options in a robotic voice. You've been sorted and without any preamble, the drone will dump you in whichever one it decides.
Hopefully you don’t end up in the compost. Gross.
Of course, once you down there, there's plenty to poke around in (or not much if you're still not into the whole trash thing). It's piles and piles and piles of trash as far as the eye can see! Again! If you're especially clever, you may be able to use the trash to build a way out of the chute. The very, very long chute. Maybe there's someone around that can help you? And better do so quick, who knows what CERES has deemed to be "recycling" this time.
PHASE III [ 1125 ] CERES's standards continue to shine on again, because after some time, those chutes will finally start working. So if you've been separated from a friend through any of this ordeal, don't worry about it. You're all gonna end up in the same place anyway.
Which is the incinerator, of course! (Wait, that’s not how recycling works.)
The ground beneath you shifts, enough to knock over whatever flimsy excuse for an escape plan you have, and suddenly all of the trash, compost or recycling will be dumped down into an underground furnace -- along with everyone stuck there, of course. Bit by bit, everything moves ever closer towards that red hot furnace and it’s clear that everything's going to be dumped straight into the fire and burned. Say your farewells. Make nice with your neighbor. Finalize your will because --
Oh. It stopped.
Looks like it jammed.
It doesn't remain jammed for long because CERES is, if anything, highly efficient. So it starts up again. But then stops again. And then starts again. And then stops again. This may be a glitch in the level, actually.
So, you're still getting ever closer to fiery death, but... slowly. Very slowly. In fact, you could probably walk away from said fiery death faster than you're going towards it. It's like they can't even program a near death experience right!
PHASE IV [ 1125 ] Maybe you avoided the incinerator. Maybe you ended up in a different part of the level altogether. Maybe you just got lost. Either way, now you’re stuck with the age-old hobby of enthusiasts and the exceptionally desperate alike.
Dumpster diving.
And CERES wouldn't send you down there without an incentive, you know. If you look, it seems like there might be something valuable, something incredibly important and just for you. A shiny item that you’ve always wanted right from home and it’s right there in your grasp, something precious that you could never get in Cerealia. How it came to be there, nestled between an empty carton of eggs and a half-eaten cheeseburger, no one knows, but you'll be filled with the inescapable, all-consuming urge to go get it. Just jump right into that dumpster and get it.
The more you resist the urge, the more it'll hurt. (As in, physically hurt actually. The feeling will be comparable to your fingernails slowly being plucked out.)
This is ViViD though and the moment you hit the trash, the spell breaks. You'll see that your most precious thing, whatever it was, was never actually there. Instead, you seem to have actually grabbed something else and whatever it is, you can't let go of it. Be it an empty bottle of bacon soda or a bicycle tire with a giant hole in it, it's attached to your hand now and no matter what you do, you can't get it off.
Hopefully whatever you grabbed wasn't too big because it looks like you're not getting rid of it. Not till you beat the level.
BONUS [ why o'clock ] The odd thing about being stuck in a trash wasteland is that you can go for ages without seeing another person. Ages. Of course, CERES doesn't like that very much since ViViD games should be co-operative! Player with player! Player against player! Players who shouldn't be playing at all. That's the type of play CERES supports.
Which means the longer you go without seeing another person, the more you might feel an itch. It gets under your skin, making you feel dizzier and dizzier, and shorter and shorter of breath until -- you pass out. Vision going dark, breathing cutting out, and down you go into the trash and whatever this ViViD level has planned next.
It won't take long. You'll wake up feeling slightly confined and there will be a moving body next to you. It seems as if you've finally, finally found someone -- and they're really, really close. In fact, maybe a little too close? When you open your eyes, you'll see that the two of you may be bound together in a way that might be familiar to some.
But instead of a shirt, it's just a garbage bag. A really, really strong garbage bag that can't be broken out of no matter how strong you happen to be. No laser eyes, no super powers, nothing will separate you from this person other than, well, getting along.
There really is only one question you have to ask yourself now. Just one.
What the hell does this have to do with recycling?
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[Hikari glanced down at Tailmon, then back up again. She nearly opened her mouth to correct the older girl, except...if they were somehow back in the Real World, then it was better she keep up the pretense of Tailmon being a cat, right?]
Her name's Tailmon. [Offering her name surely couldn't hurt.] And mine's Hikari. Yagami Hikari.
It's a pleasure to meet you, and...thank you for helping us.
[With hints of a smile, she bowed her head down respectfully.]
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[Still, if this girl has her cat, perhaps Luna might be around somewhere too, for all Usagi knows. It's hard to say. Regardless, her focus is still more on Hikari and the situation at hand.]
Hikari-chan then. I'm Usagi. Usagi Tsukino. Now, I can't promise, but I'll do what I can. I want to get back home too. Or, at least, out of this tip. So if we work together, we might manage!
[Sometimes she isn't. So great with kids. But that is probably just because Chibi Usa is so like her that she couldn't help getting frustrated at times. Not to mention her insecurities set on overdrive with how close Chibi Usa was with Mamoru. Still, she is trying, giving a reassuring smile before looking around. Trying to see if any particular direction has an obvious exit.]
Now, which way.....?
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[How sad. Hikari gave Tailmon that much tighter of a squeeze; the little digimon stirred for a moment, her whiskers twitching, but had yet to awaken.]
I don't...think I've seen her, but I can keep an eye out, if you're worried?
[Of course, judging from the way Usagi phrased it, there was also every chance that her Luna simply wasn't here. Still....]
[A glance behind her.]
Well...we came from back that way, and I didn't see anyone. If that helps at all?
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[Pretty distinctive, really. So it should be obvious if Hikari or anyone else do find Luna at least. Usagi considers for a moment, the direction she herself came from and where Hikari did. Turning and pointing.]
So....this way then. Neither of us checked this direction.
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[Granted, Hikari was in no position to comment on animals with strange markings. And she wasn't. Not so much as she was simply...curious. That was all.]
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[Even here, in some strange new place, she isn't quite the most forthcoming on the details. On how and why. How Luna is actually pretty special for a cat. Still, she gives Hikari that much, as they try to progress and follow. See if this direction might yield any results in getting out.]
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That must be how you came up with the name Luna.
[An educated guess, as she slowly started walking in the direction they'd decided. In her arms, Tailmon momentarily stirred before blinking her eyes open. Looking up at Hikari first, mouth opening as if she was about to say something--but, at the last second, catching sight of Usagi and...meowing weakly instead.]
[Recognizing the poor digimon's plight, Hikari gave a slight chuckle and looked down with a smile.]
Good morning. Are you alright?
[More meowing.]
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Yup! That's right. I guess it isn't very original, but it's pretty...unique.
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There's nothing bad about unique. Just look at Tailmon.
[The little digimon gave another meow, her cheeks strangely taking on a pinkish hue. As if she were blushing.]
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[She's noting the markings, that blush. It really does remind her of Luna. But Usagi isn't about to outright ask or say anything. Not yet anyway. Chances are, if Tailmon is anything like her Luna, it's supposed to be a secret and all. Hikari and Tailmon deserve time getting to know and trust Usagi or anyone else before potentially deciding for themselves if they want anyone else aware.]
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[Well, now Tailmon was just preening. As Hikari finally set her down, letting the little digimon walk on her own (four) paws alongside them.]
What's Luna like?
[Since Usagi continued to refer to her as strange. Not to mention, she recognized the fact that animals had different personalities just as much as humans.]
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[In that 'she can talk and nags Usagi about homework' way and all. Still, she isn't going into specifics. Not yet. Usagi considers, worrying and wondering on her own cat.]
She's pretty special though. I found her when some kids were bullying her, putting a plaster over her moon on her forehead. After that she just kind of....followed me home, I guess.
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But that's horrible! Who would bully a poor, defenseless cat?
[Tailmon let out an almost immediate meow, but Hikari ignored her. Clearly, she didn't think Tailmon to be defenseless, so it wasn't the same.]
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[Though, like Tailmon, Luna is really anything but defenseless. She's pretty darn smart. Usagi notices it seems to upset Hikari though, and places a hand atop the girl's head.]
If we find her, I'll let you come visit her. Maybe she and your cat can play together.
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I don't know. Tailmon doesn't always play nice with other cats. She and Meeko never got along that well.
[At that, Tailmon gave her a sharp look. A distinct Meeko started it was very clear from her cranky expression.]
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[She is vaguely aware that sometimes older pets get rather territorial if a new one shows up. It could be something like that. The look Tailmon gives Hikari only has Usagi seeming more amused if anything when she catches it out the corner of her eye.]
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She's lived with me and oniichan since I was really small.
...come to think of it, she didn't get along with Koromon the first time, either.
[They'd gotten into a fight. Koromon lost.]
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[Which. Only now has Usagi wondering if her family might be here too. But....surely not? So far, they've mostly been kept out of her whole senshi business. And she'd prefer it to stay that way. She assumes this whole mess has something to do with that anyway.
Regardless, she has to keep going. Keep looking. She shakes her head and keeps searching. For someone. For some stupidly obvious 'Exit' sign or something.]
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[Back to the Digital World.]
What's your brother's name?
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['Go away' doesn't necessarily sound like he was given up and taken to a shelter or something, exactly. But either way, it's sad to be parted from a pet. Because Usagi knows from Luna how close they can become, like friends, like family.]
Ah, that's Shingo!
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Something like that.
[More like flew away into the sky.]
Shingo-san, huh? [Young than Usagi didn't necessarily mean younger than her; she automatically went with the -san honorific out of respect.] Oniichan's name is Taichi. He's a few years old than me and his hair is this big.
[She held a hand...roughly a foot above her head. It was not an exaggerated estimate.]
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He must have impressive hair then! Does he gel it, or is it just naturally...really big like that?
[She can't help giggling at that image, when Hikari tried to demonstrate her brother's mop of hair.]
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Oniichan doesn't like haircuts very much.
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[Her hair isn't really much a priority though, between school and her friends and her senshi duties and all. Though she did have the girls cut it more recently when it started to grow after regaining her memories of her previous life as Princess Serenity. So. It could be even longer.]
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I like your hair. It's very pretty.
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