Gettin' Groovy

Onslaught Event: Summertime Saviors

Episode 2

Gettin' Groovy

Previous Quest

A Familiar Plight

Next Quest

The Master of the Sea

Summary

To appease the soldiers while also protecting the beach, Patia challenges them to a contest. And while the soldiers leave satisfied, their mission remains a mystery—one that Patia and Mikoto worry may represent a greater threat.

Dialogue

Get 'em, boys! We WILL have our vacation! I see you vacation-thirsty beasts have returned! But wait just a moment! Ha! We don't have to listen to you! We're enemies, remember? You'd be wise to listen all the same. Do it precisely BECAUSE we are foes; because you thirst deep for recreation! If you want the beach, LIVE the beach! Battles at the beach are fought not with weapons, but with sport! That is the true spirit of the shoreline! Lathom Beach exists for recreation, and any who would turn up their noses at beach sports are wholly unfit to hold it. Throw away your weapons and throw down with us instead! Show us your might as you cavort across the sand!  ! If that's a challenge, we accept! I'd not expected so immediate an assent. Then let's begin with a little beach volleyball! Death match style, anything goes. First team to three points wins. Are these terms acceptable? HOO-RAH! Then I'll take first serve. Let's raise a ruckus, right arm!

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...Point and match! It seems the imperial team has won the day. YEEEEEAAAAAAH! But how?! How could I have possibly lost at my own game?! Don't beat yourself up, lady—we had a whole team playing against just you. Ain't no way you're beating those odds. A fair point. But worry not, my friend; the next event is groovy-groove surfing, and I do not intend to lose. Sorry. Did you just say "groovy-groove surfing?" It is a means of competition I discovered while searching the world for Mineuchi. One wins by finding so groovy a groove that they control the waves themselves. So it's just a surfing competition, then. You shoulda said so—we're all a bunch of zimzala board freaks, so this'll be easy! I have zero idea what is happening here, so I'll just leave it to you. Good luck! ...Begin!

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Bwah! There's a giant tidal wave coming at us from outta nowhere! My battle began the moment I took surfboard in hand. I fear nothing, for I am one with the sea. Wooo, I'm grooving in my groove now! We just gotta maintain the momentum from when we beat that lady and we'll totally rule this beach!

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Blurgh! Okay, now this wave is just toying with me! Finding a groovier groove than one who has attained revelation is no easy task.

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Fine, you win. That means we're tied. But that only makes my fire burn brighter, so we'll lock up the win with beach flags! And then some watermelon splitting! And then a muscle flex-off! And THEN a no-holds-barred sand castle buildstravaganza! Keep shouting those requests, guys! Oh, and don't worry—we'll make sure to kick your butts in every last one!

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*pant* *pant* Too...tired to move... We've been at this all day. Even I'm feeling a bit winded. Yeah, but I'm tired in a GOOD way. I'll never forget this day, that's for sure. It was a damn good time. Yeah, it's almost like I got rid of this huge weight that was holding me down. We won some and we lost some, but I don't even care about that anymore. Yeah, I feel like this whole thing has really opened my eyes. That whole "storm the beach" thing seems like a pretty stupid idea in retrospect. Thanks for this, lady. We owe you. Well, I guess it's back to work for us. We'll restart the search fresh tomorrow! Well, looks like we saved the beach. And by making a competition out of it, there were no hard feelings in the end. I couldn't have done it without you, Mikoto. Thank you. I merely did as Heaven bade me. But... ...But? That soldier mentioned resuming a search. Perhaps they seek cats as part of an ecological survey of this island? If so, I would hope to join them. The Empire has no truck with cats, Mikoto. If they're looking for something, it is because they seek a military benefit. Hmm. So they're searching this area, and appear to be under strict orders to keep looking until it is found... They were careful not to reveal the details, but that does indeed seem to be the case. Does this not seem odd to you? Lathom is a tourist destination; what could they be looking for? There are no relics with potential military uses, and barely any resources they could mine to make weapons. All it has to offer is white sand and good vibes. And the cats all strut about freely. This is a good place, and I do not see your problem with it. I don't HAVE a problem with it, Mikoto! I merely think it's odd that the Empire would be searching a place like this. What could they possibly be looking for? I know not. However, if you fear the tranquility of this place may be broken once again... Then there may yet be more that I must do to restore the balance of nature here.