Scorchsand Vacation

Scorchsand Vacation is an Adventure Mission on Penacony.
==Steps==
# Receive a message from Aideen
# Talk to Aideen
# Investigate the strange videotape
# Farewell Firefly
# Head to a Food Stall with Firefly and fill up on Energy
# Talk with the guide and start clearing the stage
# Select a stage
#* Dreamplay Fantasia: Action Challenge
#* Dreamplay Fantasia: Acting Challenge
# Go to the second stage entrance
# Start clearing the stage
#* Gunfire Time: Time Trial
#* Gunfire Time: Gunfire Trial
# Go to the third stage entrance
# Investigate the "Something Unto Death"
# Head to the finish line
# Investigate the strange videotape
# Discover the truth from Aideen
==Gameplay Notes==
* The final dialogue step allows the player to choose whether to leave or keep "Dormancy" as an NPC at the end of Path of the Superstar in SoulGlad™ Scorchsand Audition Venue.
==Dialogue==
===Receive a message from Aideen===
:
===Talk to Aideen===
;(Talk to Aideen)
:Aideen: (Trailblazer), you've finally arrived.
: What happened?
: Where is the gift?
::Aideen: Patience, please. I'll explain everything in detail.
:Aideen: Here's what happened — To recreate your heroic performance in the competition, we have asked a cosmically-renowned artist to make a film dedicated to your name.
:Aideen: Just like a dream bubble, this film stores the memories related to the Scorchsand Festival. But during the review process, a staff member got lost in the film...
: Oh, no! Spooky!
::Aideen: Ain't that right? So many shenanigans in dreams.
: Is this a prank?
::Aideen: Maybe, but from what I've heard, that artist is quite the eccentric character. Perhaps they embedded some shenanigans in the dream.
: Serves you right. You lot didn't ask my consent first for all of this.
::Aideen: Well... It was all precautionary measures taken for your personal safety. Ever since that one time when the arena almost got blown up to smithereens by a suspicious package, The Family has explicitly demanded all items to be thoroughly inspected before they are allowed entry into the dreamscape. Please understand.
:Aideen: This film is dedicated to you. Perhaps only you can save that staff member...
:Aideen: That film tape is on the sofa. O, our heroic Festive Superstar, we are all counting on you.
;(Talk to Aideen again, optional)
:Aideen: This film is dedicated to you. Perhaps only you are capable of solving this mystery and saving that staff member.
:Aideen: That film tape is on the sofa. O, our heroic Festive Superstar, please save us.
===Investigate the strange videotape===
;(Touch the videotape)
:A gleaming tape, metallic in its luster, adorned with a peculiar design on its cover — like some kind of amphibian's eye, fixated upon you.
:As you gaze into the eye, peculiar whispers reach your ears...
:*croak* *croak* *croak* It was the sound of a frog.
: Touch the tape
::The strange eye blink thrice — no doubt, you saw it right, three blinks.
::Your head spins, as ripples cascade from the unraveling tape, transforming this place into an enchanting pool...
::???: "Reality is a dream trapped in a cage, our destiny cannot be rewound. To propel the plot of life, one must constantly choose, only to be bound by their own choices, with no right to regret."
::???: "But films are untamed dreams, predeterminded destinies can be freely stitched together, reconstructed, and replayed. In the films, prisoners of reality find solace, mending regrets between frames."
::???: "(Trailblazer), my dear protagonist, thank you for your performance in this not-yet-finished art piece..."
::
: (Leave)
===Farewell Firefly===
:Firefly: (Trailblazer), where were you just now? Time is of the essence. Please don't just run about.
: What's happening?
::Firefly: Why the sudden confusion? Stay sharp, we must pass the Festivity Auditions and enter the Penacony Grand Theater as soon as possible!
: Are you really Firefly?
::Firefly: Huh? Of course, why do you ask?
::Firefly: Get yourself together. We need to pass the Festivity Auditions and enter the Penacony Grand Theater as soon as possible!
: So, this is a memory film...
::Firefly: Memory? What do you mean? Now is not the time to reminisce about the past!
::Firefly: Get yourself together. We need to pass the Festivity Auditions and enter the Penacony Grand Theater as soon as possible!
:Firefly: The challenge ahead must be tough. Let's replenish our energy at the food stall and set off!
===Head to a Food Stall with Firefly and fill up on Energy===
;(Talk to the merchant)
:Firefly: We're here.
:Merchant: Grab a bottle of SoulGlad, and make your dreams a blast!
:Merchant: The road ahead is quite tough. Why not buy some tasty snacks to replenish yourself!
:Firefly: He was right, we need to fill up first before taking on this final challenge. This time it's on me!
: Thanks. That's very nice of you.
::Firefly: Here you go, don't mention it. I'm not entirely sure if you'll like it.
: Let me treat you this time!
::Firefly: You're the best. I'll just have a small bite.
;(Open Cuisine Food Truck shop)
:
----
;(After buying every item available)
:Firefly: So much... this is simply amazing...
:Firefly: I'm sorry. You must have spent a fortune on this!
: It's just a token of my appreciation.
::Firefly: Next meal's on me when Penacony's chaos has been quelled!
: Can't fight on an empty stomach.
::Firefly: You're right... There are more important matters waiting for us.
:Firefly: Time is of the essence. Let's eat while we walk!
;(Otherwise)
:Firefly: How did you know that I had a taste for this... Thanks!
:Firefly: While I'd really like to sit here and sample these, time is of the essence right now... Let's eat while we walk!
;(Talk to the merchant again, optional)
:Merchant: Grab a bottle of SoulGlad, and make your dreams a blast!
:Merchant: The road ahead is quite tough. Why not buy some tasty snacks to replenish yourself!
===Talk with the guide and start clearing the stage===
;(Talk to the guide)
:Guide: Welcome to the first stage of SoulGlad™ Enterprises' thirty-third Scorchsand Festival of the twentieth season: Dreamplay Fantasia! In this stage, you can choose between two challenges: the School of Acting or School of Action.
:Guide: In the School of Acting challenge, you have to complete performances from three scripts and move the panel judges. In the School of Action challenge, you have to defeat three groups of enemies convincingly and reach the end.
:Guide: Now, please begin your selection...
:???: Cut!
:Guide: ...
: Something the matter?
:???: Dear protagonist, your destiny is being rewritten. Why dwell upon worthless choices. For the thrill of the story, the next scene can only be a brand-new beat!
:Guide: ...Now, we will select a challenge suitable for you. Best of luck!
===Select a stage===
;(Enter the Audition Shuttle)
:
;(If the player had pick Dreamplay Fantasia: Acting Challenge during , proceed to Dreamplay Fantasia: Action Challenge)
;(If the player had pick Dreamplay Fantasia: Action Challenge during , proceed to Dreamplay Fantasia: Acting Challenge)
===Dreamplay Fantasia: Action Challenge===
====Learn about the challenge from the guide====
:
:Firefly: The School of Action... Looks like we just have to be ourselves...
====Pass the first "School of Action" test====
:
: I shall... set you ablaze!The choices are a parody of Sam's battle dialogue in Sam: I will... set the seas ablaze.Sam: Once you're back in the real world, remember to tell everyone —Sam: About the Stellaron Hunter who was behind your ultimate departure.
: Remember, I am the one who will send you on your final journey!
:Judge: Dear me, what powerful lines! I'm really looking forward to your spectacular performance!
:Firefly: Is this what they call embodying the role? I think I'm starting to understand...
:Firefly: But time is of the essence, so let's make this quick!
;(Begin battle against , )
----
:Bubble Hound who's been forced to play a monster: SoulGlad™... My SoulGlad™... Raawrr...
:Firefly: Pretty simple... I just hope these tests don't take too long.
====Pass the second "School of Action" test====
:
====Pass the third "School of Action" test====
:
===Dreamplay Fantasia: Acting Challenge===
====Learn about the challenge from the guide====
: 
:
===Go to the second stage entrance===
;(Approach marked location)
:Guide: Congrats to both of you for clearing the stage! But more importantly: Are you having fun? Fun is more important than success!
:Guide: Welcome to the second stage of the Scorchsand Festival, sponsored by SoulGlad™ Enterprises — Gunfire Time!
:Guide: You have the option to choose "Gunfire" and undergo Brother Hanu's trial, or "Time," where you'll face Clockie's trial.
:Guide: Now... make your choice!
===Start clearing the stage===
;(Enter the Audition Shuttle)
;(If the player had pick Gunfire Time: Gunfire Trial during , proceed to Gunfire Time: Time Trial)
;(If the player had pick Gunfire Time: Time Trial during , proceed to Gunfire Time: Gunfire Trial)
===Gunfire Time: Time Trial===
:
:Firefly: The test of "time"... I hope it's a happy and positive casual game.
====Investigate the talking Clock Statue====
:
====Find the Big Ticker's missing parts====
:
====Fix the Big Ticker's fragmented core====
:
====Adjust Building Blocks and Dream Mirror to help the Clockie collect gears.====
:
===Gunfire Time: Gunfire Trial===
: 
:
===Go to the third stage entrance===
;(Approach marked location)
:Firefly: Huh? Why isn't there a guide here?
:Firefly: Strange... (Trailblazer), let's go inside and take a look.
;(Enter the Audition Shuttle)
;(Select either Superstar Showdown: Arena I or Superstar Showdown: Arena II)
===Investigate the "Something Unto Death"===
:Firefly: Huh? Why isn't there a guide here?
:Firefly: Strange... (Trailblazer), let's go inside and take a look.
;(Approach the first set of stair)
:Firefly: I think I hear something familiar...
:Firefly: Aeons. Look! There!
;(Approach the body)
:Firefly: On the stage, it's that meme...
:Firefly: What's this? Why would that thing be here?
;(Approach the meme)
:An invisible barrier parted you from "Dormancy." Due to slamming into the cage over and over, its body is coated with injuries.
:Even so, you can feel the rage, frustration, and despair emanating from the imprisoned lifeform...
:"Dormancy": Gal... lag... her
:"Dormancy": Gal... lag... her
:Firefly: Is it calling for Mr. Gallagher?
:The monster twists painfully as it roars and smashes... The cage, thin like wings made from light, grew weaker and weaker. With but two more... no, one more strike, it is sure to crack!
:Firefly: (Trailblazer), look out! It's lost its senses!
;(Begin battle against )
----
;(After the battle)
:Firefly: Whew. Finally, we can have a moment of peace.
:Firefly: The Memory Zone Meme is very resilient. It didn't look dangerous, though. Without the influence of the memes, the two workers should be able to wake up soon.
:Firefly: But how did the meme get here? Mr. Gallagher probably wouldn't allow such a thing to happen.
: Were all this the result of being in the film?
::Firefly: Film? You mean strange things like this can only happen in fiction, right?
: Did something happen to Mr. Gallagher?
::Firefly: He gave a lot in that last big fight... I'm a bit worried.
: I don't know what happened either.
::Firefly: Well, we don't have that much time to think it over. Let's go.
:Firefly: You are about to reach the end. The answers are just ahead of you.
===Head to the finish line===
;(Talk to the "Dormancy" again, optional)
:An invisible barrier parted you from "Dormancy."
:It is much quieter than before, as if it has become used to the environment here. However, you can still hear a faint calling...
:"Dormancy": Gal... lag... her
:"Dormancy": Gal... lag... her
;(Enter the Audition Shuttle)
===Investigate the strange videotape===
;(Go through the door)
:Announcement: Let's give a round of applause to our aspiring young guests!
;(Approach the main stage)
:Firefly: What's wrong? Why is there no one at the finishing line... Look. It looks like there's a tape there?
;(Touch the videotape)
:The girl who accompanied you suddenly dissolves, leaving behind the metallic gleam of a videotape before you. That enigmatic eye still gazes silently at you.
:"*croak* *croak* *croak*" It's again the sound of that frog.
: Touch the tape
:???: Beloved protagonist, the end to this film will soon arrive. How do you feel?
: Pretty good.
::???: Is that so? If your words aren't mere flattery, this evaluation actually leaves me somewhat disappointed — someone of your taste shouldn't have praised such a storyline.
: Pretty thrilled.
::???: Hehe, this is not a reward for me. No creator would be satisfied by their work only offering cheap thrills.
: I want to keep watching.
::???: You already know what will happen next, don't you? A blazing sun setting within a daydream, a shattered belief crumbling under the weight of another. It's truly a captivating tale.
:???: Regardless of your perception, I must say this about this art piece: utterly mediocre, dreadfully dull.
:???: The sponsor only wanted to capture the sensory thrill of the game through this film project, and they inevitably resorted to confining the actors' souls with many a tedious protocol... Honestly, I don't want my name to be attached to this project in any way.
:???: Do you feel it now? Most people's lives are as uninteresting as this perplexing film, where they always follow some kind of "script." That script may be called "habits," or "rules," or "destiny"...
:???: Outstanding actors are always pigeonholed into vacuous roles, forced to repeat monotonous lines and experience the same vapid scenes and beats over and over, making the same limited choices over and over again, before finally departing in numbness.
:???: Only when the curtain falls upon life can they shed the tackiness of this script... But after leaving the stage, actors will often face an end worse than "death"... Being forgotten by the .
:???: I hope you won't give such a boring performance. My lens is upon you... Don't let me down. And more importantly, don't let the audience down.
:
===Discover the truth from Aideen===
:(Trailblazer): (What's going on here? Better go ask Aideen...)
;(Talk to Aideen)
:Aideen: Ah! Our Festive Superstar! You're back!
:Aideen: The missing workers have returned. You have really done us a good deed. You have my thanks on behalf of SoulGlad™!
:Aideen: After passing numerous challenges, you have proven yourself. You truly deserve the title of "Festive Superstar"!
: So, you're the final boss?
::Aideen: No, no, no. Of course not. Looks like you still got more in you, huh? But these old bones of mine won't last a second against you.
: So, you're the director?
::Aideen: Haha, I'm just this film's sponsor. As for the director... that's someone else.
: What on earth is going on?
:Aideen: I'm ashamed to admit that we couldn't hold the award ceremony for you due to the technical issues. As such, I invited a cosmically-renewed artist to make a "Memory Film" just for you.
:Aideen: Through this, I hope to reignite the glorious moments of victory for you... and capture your exhilarating journey as it unfolds, etching it within the film. In the future, we can share this joyful time with all our esteems guests.
:Aideen: Just as you've experience, it's all about a thrilling blend of danger and excitement, the perilous memes of the Memory Zone, the delectable delight of SoulGlad, and an immersive journey through the Scorchsand Festival.
:Aideen: In the not-so-distant future, the Dreamscape stores will all have a film like this one, to let everyone know what it's like to be a Festive Superstar. The SoulGlad corporation will also use this moment to create new opportunities upon the tides of commerce!
:Aideen: Got any question, superstar?
: About that Memory Zone Meme...
::Aideen: Oh! What a wild, magnificent, and powerful existence. It's like a living nightmare! I'm very much tempted to design a new SoulGlad flavor based on it. I shall call it "DeathGlad"!
::Aideen: The strange thing is... This terrifying creature has somehow been rendered so fragile, and yet it managed to break into the Moment of Scorchsand. For the safety of everyone, we spared no effort to have it captured.
::Aideen: When shooting the film, we couldn't get the rights to that Knight of Beauty, so we had the director place this monster as the final obstacle. Isn't that a thrill?
:: You shouldn't have kept it here.If this is chosen, "Dormancy" will not be kept as an NPC at the end of Path of the Superstar in SoulGlad™ Scorchsand Audition Venue. Same outcome if no choice is made by skipping the topic.
:::Aideen: Oh my, did it bring you any inconveniences? Truly sorry!
:::Aideen: That make sense. I heard this one caused no shortage of trouble in the dreams. If the Hounds found out about it being here, it might bring no end of trouble to the SoulGlad corporation... Best to send it back to the edge of the Dreamscape.
:: Letting it stay here is a perfect idea.If this is chosen, "Dormancy" will be kept as an NPC at the end of Path of the Superstar in SoulGlad™ Scorchsand Audition Venue.
:::Aideen: Haha, you're right. It'll definitely be the most popular mascot here!
:::Aideen: But honestly, this guy just won't listen. Typical Memory Zone Memes are pretty easy to control, but this one just won't heed any warnings at all. I'm worried it might run off...
: About Firefly...
::Aideen: We once sent Ms. Firefly an invitation... A shame that her physical condition prevents her from participating in such an intense sporting event.
::Aideen: Thankfully, the director's skills were great, and he managed to simulate her likeness just from a few memory segments. It looks just like her!
: About that artist...
::Aideen: Oh! That great director. People call him "Mr. Reca."
::Aideen: He has outstanding taste in aesthetics and almost supernatural skill. It's just that he can be a bit eccentric...
: About Gallagher
::Aideen: Who? I don't think I've heard of him.
:: A nameless hero.
:::Aideen: Well, if he's a nameless hero, then it seems perfectly normal that no one should remember his name.
:: A friend.
:::Aideen: Never heard of him... Probably no one important.
:: Forget it if you've never heard of him.
:::Aideen: Haha. Sorry. I only remember superstars like you.
: No other questions.
::Aideen: In any case, congrats on clinching the Scorchsand Festival trophy yet again.
::Aideen: May the sweetness of SoulGlad be with you, and your future be as sweet as SoulGlad!
;(Mission completed)
;(Talk to Aideen again, optional)
:Aideen: In any case, congrats on clinching the Scorchsand Festival trophy yet again.
:Aideen: May the sweetness of SoulGlad be with you, and your future be as sweet as SoulGlad!
==Notes==
==Other Languages==
==Change History==