Travel to Carvous City! The Festival of Eternal World Peace!
Carvous Greeting Person: Hello, and welcome to the fabulous city of Carvous! If you are here for the festival, please sign in at the reception table to your left. If not, GET OUT BECAUSE THE CITY IS OFF LIMITS TO THOSE WHO DON'T HAVE A TICKET!
Dashe: *Whose hair is blown back from the lady's yelling* Geez don't kill me of course I have a reservation! I'm Dashe of Yenro Village!
CGP: Oh Dashe I hardly recognized you in all that adventuring gear you got so tall over the years...
Dashe: O_o Ack! I don't even KNOW you! (And you're calling ME tall? I'm barely even five feet! YOU'RE taller than ME!)
CGP: Go on through the gate. Your mom is waiting in her office. She's probably looking for you.
Dashe: Oh-kay! Bye person I SWEAR I've never seen before in my life!
You run through the gate and into Sector 1. The place is packed with people, and loud music resonates throughout the city, but that doesn't stop you from locating the Poo building (it's the tallest one in town! You can't miss it!) You walk to the door and are immediately surrounded by guards.
Guard 1: This is a restricted area!
Guard 2: It's off limits to the general public! Leave the premises at once!
Dashe: I'm Dashe of Yenro, and my mom's in there, and...
Guard 1: Sure, sure, you and how many others? Get lost, will ya?
Dashe: (Hmm...I can't get in through the front door. I need a different strategy.)
You circumnavigate the building but don't see any way in. The building next door is open, however, so you go inside. You walk down a metal staircase into the basement and discover an underground tunnel...that leads directly to the Poo building! You go down the tunnel and eventually find yourself in a dimly lit corridor which you recognize to be part of the Poo building's basement. You disable all the security cameras you find via use of the "X" button, and take the elevator to the top floor, where your mom's office is located. You bribe a guard to get out of the way with some nachos you picked up at the festival, and make your way into the office.
Dashe: *Pant, pant* Mom... *pant* I made it from...Tikea...*pant*...on foot...took...forever...*collapses*
Mom: Now Dashe, why in the name of the Tikean Supreme Magister Cody did you WALK all the way from Tikea to here??? You know I'm the president of the most influential industries in Carvous! I could have sent for a limo or something...
Dashe: *Gets up* The Supreme Magister's name is CID, not Cody. And besides, I'm trying to gain EXP in case I get attacked by anything in the future. The Innkeeper said it was a good idea. Besides, defeating monsters is the best way to get money!
Mom: MONSTERS??? Don't overexert yourself, Dashe! If you ever need any money, you can just call me on my cell phone, and I'll be happy to give you some!
Dashe: (She really doesn't get it, does she?)
Mom: Well, anyway, you're free to enjoy the festivities! I bought you an all-you-can-eat buffet ticket, so you're free to take as much food as you'd like...
Dashe: ^-^ Thanks! Bye!
Before her mom can utter a word, Dashe picks up a chair and uses it to break open the 72nd story window, and jumps out into the city below. She grabs onto one of those streamers with the little flags on it you see all the time at festivals like this, and swings on it to build up momentum. She aims toward a sushi cart with a bouncy-looking cloth roof and bounces off of that into a barrel of lemons. The barrel falls over on impact, and she tumbles out into the middle of the crowd.
Mom: I DO wish she'd use doors more often...seems to me like she's always had that problem...
You get up and walk around. You talk to the partying aristocrats of Carvous, and all the while you hear someone shout through the crowd, "Pomegranates! Get your pomegranates! Geez, isn't ANYONE gonna buy any of these stupid pomegranates???" Since, even for an RPG, this is very strange, you follow the sound to a crappy booth near the edge of Sector 1. A girl who looks to be about your age is screaming at the people. She's carrying a HUGE sword that's even bigger than the one Cloud Strife from FFVII carries around and her sales methods don't seem to be working too well...
Salesgirl: Hey you! Yes you, the old geezer who's trying to dance there! Wanna buy a pomegranate?
Old Guy: Hmph! *Walks off*
Salesgirl: Hey lady! If you wanna lose some of that blubber you've got, buy one of my pomegranates! Guaranteed results immediately!
Fat Lady: Of all the nerve! *Leaves*
Dashe: Hey, why are you yelling at everyone?
Salesgirl: What, do YOU want to buy any pomegranates?
Dashe: -_- Uh...no.
Salesgirl: Then what are you doing here?
You are presented with a dialogue selection. Option #1: "Oh-kay, oh-kay! I'll buy your stupid pomegranates!" Option #2: "Uh...nice sword?" You pick the second option since you don't like pomegranates anyway.
Salesgirl: Really? You think so? Thanks! I'm the best fencer in all of Carvous!
Dashe: Huh? You're a FENCER? But they carry rapiers and epees, not big clunky swords like THAT!
Salesgirl: Only the WIMPY fencers carry THOSE things!
Dashe: Riiight. So you're selling pomegranates. Nice. Whatever.
Salesgirl: What, are you saying your job is better than mine? What do YOU do for a living then?
Dashe: Well you see...
Basically the game goes into elapsed time, in which Dashe recounts everything that happened so far in the game. Yeah. You already heard it. Why repeat the obvious?
Dashe: Hypocrite!
Can it shorty!
Dashe: Anyway...that's what happened.
Salesgirl: Cool!
Dashe: ^_^ Isn't it? And today, I get to spend the entire day not worrying about Eel Mick-rone-dis!
All of a sudden, the intercom crackles to life.
Announcer: May I have your attention please? Will Mr. El Microondas please report to the dance floor? I repeat, will a Mr. El Microondas please report to the dance floor?
Salesgirl: Ha! Your El Mariachi came all the way out here! HA!
Dashe: Well, it does sound suspicious, but that guy who got called down was named El Microondas, not Eel Mick-rone-dis! Besides, the REAL Eel Mick-rone-dis is back in Tikea wreaking havoc and making the rest of my party miserable! I don't have to worry about a thing!
Salesgirl: I don't know. I have a bad feeling about this...maybe we should go to the dance floor and check it out!
You are transported once again to the wonderful name selection screen in which you are to enter the salesgirl's name. You select the default as usual (in this case, Zephyr.)
Dashe: Oh-kay...I guess... (Dang it! I'm missing the all-you-can-eat buffet!!!)
Zephyr: Oh, and by the way, I'm Zephyr. I live here in Carvous.
Dashe: Dashe, Master Thief of Yenro, at your service! Now come on! We've got no time to lose!
You go through the two blocked-off (due to the festival) sectors of Carvous searching for the elusive "Eel Mick-rone-dis" but can't seem to find him (and since he's been drawn so badly you'd think he'd be easy to find.) You decide to go shopping in Sector 2 and visit the Weapon and Item Emporium. After stocking up on supplies yet again and upgrading your equipment, you go to the door to leave. However, when you open it, you witness a horrifying sight...one which is so horrifying it's almost beyond your comprehension!
EL MICROONDAS IS HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He takes one look at you and breaks into the most sinister and creepiest-looking grin you've ever seen. He says but one word: "YOU!" However, one word is all it takes. Dashe breaks into full panic and darts out the door into the crowd, with Zephyr following close behind. El Microondas stops whatever he was doing at the time and ensues in a chase. At that very moment, the words "Active Time Event" (ATE) appear at the lower-left corner of the screen. You press SELECT to view the ATE...
~ATE: "I'm Bored!"~
Meanwhile at the Tikean Inn, Travis and Elbie are sitting on one of the beds, bored out of their minds.
Elbie: Gee, I wonder what Dashe is doing right now...
Travis: She's probably eating like a pig at that...uh...what was that thing she went to?
Elbie: ...I forget.
Travis: Me too.
Elbie: Ugh! I am SO bored!
Travis: Hey, do you wanna find that hot Joe guy from the Executive District?
Elbie: I guess...
~End ATE~
Dashe and Zephyr sprint through the crowds of people dancing, eating, and whatnot, with El Microondas in hot pursuit, shouting things such as, "I'll get you for ruining my robe that day!" and "You'll be sorry you ever messed with me!" You dart down alleys with Zephyr in the lead, since she knows her way around town. You jump into the back of a produce truck after turning a corner and dive into a crate. El Microondas is too mad to even think about looking for you there, so he runs straight ahead like a moron without even noticing the truck.
Dashe: I think we lost him.
Zephyr: *Looks at Dashe like, "Told ya so!"*
Dashe: Hey, stop looking at me like that!
Zephyr: We should get back to the party. I'm starving!
Dashe: Me too. ^^ TO THE ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFET!!!
You return to the party. Zephyr gets some food, and Dashe...well...
since you're this far into the game, you should know Dashe well enough to assume there wasn't that much food left after she got her lunch. They go to sit down, when who should appear but a certain badly-drawn ambassador. He spots Dashe eating like a pig out of the corner of his eye and grins that evil, insane grin he did before. He sneaks up behind her and grabs her (while she's still got some ramen hanging out of her mouth). Before Zephyr even knows what's happening, he's already teleported away with Dashe in tow. He reappears inside an abandoned building in the slums of Sector 3 and throws the Thief into a cell...
