Now that Tails has spoken with you about your mission, the state of the world, and the threat you're facing, you're free to settle in to life here. While the warehouse isn't exactly the most thrilling place to set up a base, it's clean and well-maintained (despite the only one here being a kid fox?) and Tails encourages you to make it your own as best you can. You're going to be here for awhile, after all. This world needs to be saved, and you're the ones to do it.
The warehouse is thankfully quite large, so there's plenty of space. Aside from the ground floor containing Tails' workshop, there's a room for Tails, Knuckles, and Sonic, as well as your rooms. There's a large bathroom and several nice showers - this time with actual hot water! Though it may not be fancy, it's certainly acceptable accommodations for your time here. Exploring further through the warehouse reveals that there's an upper floor, with several other rooms that have already been furnished for varying purposes; after all, it seems your friendly neighborhood talking animals have been living here for quite a bit themselves.
But outside the walls of the warehouse are where things get particularly dismal. Though life goes on in the city of Chicago, it's without any sort of passion or thought at all. The humans go about their day-to-day lives in monotony, acting as though nothing is wrong or out of the ordinary. They don't acknowledge you, even if you try to talk to them. They don't recognize you as weird, even if you aren't human (or a talking animal). They simply move about, drone-like, heedless of the robots that patrol the streets.
Eggman's robots are high-tech, white chrome and smooth; these are almost a work of art as they are technology. They all come equipped with laser beams regardless of the shape or size of them, and they all seem to be set on keeping an eye on the people. There are robots watching everywhere. You can't turn a street corner without seeing one or two, and they follow pre-determined surveillance paths as they watch over the humans.
Lingering in the distance, you can see a massive robot that takes up the horizon. That seems to be Eggman's base of operations, at least as far as Tails has been able to determine. Though it poses no threat to you right now, it's a looming reminder of what awaits you.
Welcome to Eggman's utopia.
THE BASE
Though he's apologized for the base not being particularly lively, Tails has promised you the freedom to make the place your own. He's even directed you to a "crafts room" if you'd like to decorate! This art studio is surprisingly robust for something put together in an abandoned, worn-down warehouse on the outskirts of the city. You'll find plenty of markers in every color you can think of, sketchbooks and paper and papercrafts, string and glue and everything you could need for your second grade arts and crafts project. Though it may all be a little kiddy, it's here for you to do with as you wish.
The crafts room isn't the only odd one on the upper floors, you'll also find a gymnasium. It's more of a home gym than anything else, with only a couple of beat-up old treadmills, a few exercise bikes, and some weight lifting stations, as well as plenty of weights. It's not exactly the best room in the base, but it's here if you'd like to make use of it.
Next door is an open room with several soft mats - an open room for sparring and training. This one doesn't really have much in it, but you're welcome to make use of it however you'd like.
And next to that is the requisite first aid room! This one is well-stocked and even has a few cots in case of more serious injuries. You'll find plenty of first aid kits, painkillers, and other various medical supplies, though nothing that will allow you to perform home surgery or anything of the sort. Hopefully you don't need to do that, though?
Finally, the last large room is one that a lot of love and care has been put into - an entertainment room! There's a large screen TV mounted on the wall, with many couches and plush chairs. You'll find that you've access to any and all modern day media you could find on a TV, from streaming services (who is paying for these, anyway?) and knock-off YouTube, to your favorite anime and even Twitch. It seems that our three allies have quite the varied interests, given their search history and "previously watched" shows and movies. There's enough seating in here for everyone, so why not have a movie night?
Oh, and you'll find the kitchen on the ground floor behind Tails' workshop is suitable for all your needs - it's not particularly well-furnished, as your pals here aren't exactly master chefs, but you're always welcome to talk to Tails about obtaining something more for the kitchen or any room in the warehouse.
All of the items you had on you at your canon point can be found in one of the storerooms as well. This includes weapons, though anything magical will unfortunately not work properly. Please ask me about anything gamebreaking!
THE CITY
Chicago itself is exactly what you'd expect of a typical American city. Well, apart from the robots patrolling and the lifeless people going about their days endlessly, that is. Anything you'd want to find in a city, you can find here! But be mindful - those robots can and will notice you, unlike the people. Most robots will engage in combat on sight, as you're someone unfamiliar and could possibly pose a threat, but some will try to flee - you probably don't want them getting away and reporting sightings of an unfamiliar person!
While the city may have undergone some major changes in its population, the infrastructure is about what you'd expect. The people clean and maintain everything just as they always have, leaving it to almost seem as though everything's fine... were it not for the construction. Unlike most construction sites, these are clearly being maintained and built by the robots - there are buildings that have been completely taken over by Eggman's white chrome finish, leaving to odd sights of mish-mashed buildings and structures that are half-advanced technology, half-old school building materials. Though it may look like a normal city at first glance, it would seem that Eggman is quite literally transforming everything into his very image. You'll even find a statue in a local park that has been replaced with an Eggman statue.
Sadly, it seems as though the people are not the only ones trapped under Eggman's thumb. Animals - be they pets or wild ones - also go about their usual business, with absolutely none of their usual livelihood. You won't see many people playing at the dog park, just passing through taking their dog on a needed walk and returning home. Squirrels and birds likewise carry on as if nothing is wrong, even if they're perched on something that is clearly Eggman's technology rather than a proper tree. Which yes, means that even some of the trees are being taken over by Eggman's chroma, transforming the very living world around you as well.
Though businesses are still running as usual, the people aren't exactly in any state of mind to notice if you steal something from them - as long as you're careful about it, anyway. While security cameras and the like may still exist, it doesn't seem like anyone's checking them. In fact, it seems like no one's committing crimes either, as the city is remarkably peaceful at all times of the day or night.
SHARDS
You may feel as though you have more control of your powers this week... or you may not. Regardless, things are still prone to going haywire, which could pose a problem if you get into a fight with a robot. Tails has asked you very nicely not to hurt any of the people, so maybe lead the robots somewhere that won't risk causing injury? Or don't, I'm not your mom.
Starting this week, you may attempt to use your shards together with someone you have a strong relationship with, good or bad. Once this has been used for the first time, a page will be opened to explain the mechanic. Regardless, that's going to take even more work than mastering your own power... so perhaps fighting those robots isn't a bad idea after all.
And you do want to fight those robots - Tails has warned you that the robots are searching for the rebels' base. You don't want to let a robot escape to bring information about you and possibly the base back to Eggman, do you? Should you let a robot escape, let me know.
TAILS' TASKS
For those of you willing to help - or if you're just particularly bored - Tails will offer some tasks for you all to help around the base. He can always use help with organizing and gathering supplies, keeping the base clean and in good condition, or even keeping track of the security cameras and communications networks. He'll gladly teach anyone who would like to learn technology as well!
For more specific tasks, this week he will grant you a small, rectangular box with an antennae on top. It's kind of cutesy, but it has a radar function built in and it is tracking some kind of signature. Tails says that it's tracking the Chaos Emeralds, and that some sort of Chaos Energy was detected not too far from the city about a week ago, when Knuckles vanished.
Your mission - should you choose to accept it - is to see if you can find this Chaos Energy reading and determine the direction it's coming from. You are to go in pairs, but you are not to try to track the readings to the source, just determine where they're located and what direction they lead to. Of course, nothing's stopping you from going off on a wild adventure if you really want to...
ENEMIES
This week's enemies are Badniks, Eggman's robots. Specifically, you'll find yourself facing the Badnik Surveillance Unit, the Badnik Drones, and the Badnik Transformer Model B33.
Badnik Surveillance Units are primarily made for reconnaissance. They can be found flying overhead, observing the people go about their lives and following scheduled flight paths and patterns to ensure every inch of the city is being observed. Well, mostly. You can find some back alleys and hidden spots here and there, and these Badniks usually won't go into buildings or out into the woods. They will immediately try to flee upon spotting you. They're easy to take down, though a bit more durable than one would expect, given Eggman's designs. If cornered, they are capable of shooting a simple laser beam that will hurt and possibly leave a burn.
Badnik Drones are the most common combat robot you will find. Small chrome white orbs with red eyes, they are capable of scanning and detecting abnormalities. They are not quite as common as the Badnik Surveillance Units, but you'll still spot several of them floating through the city at any given point in time. Unlike the Badnik Surveillance Units, these come ready for combat. They can fire lasers as well as shoot small homing missiles. The homing missiles thankfully aren't very fast and can be outrun or otherwise blocked, but they pack a punch if they do hit! These robots will stand their ground and fight if they spot you, but they will call for backup - if you aren't fast enough, you'll find yourself facing many of them!
The Badnik Transformer Model B33, more affectionately called Buzz Bombers by Tails and friends, is... well, it looks like a bee. A hornet, rather, as that stinger is actually a precision laser that moves fast. These robots typically look like Badnik Drones, but are capable of shifting and uncoiling themselves to become the B33 units. They are fast, they hit hard, and they are relentless, pursuing you nonstop until they've been destroyed. They will not call for backup, which is possibly the only saving grace about fighting them. Unfortunately, it's impossible to tell if a Badnik is a Drone or a B33 until you're actually in combat - and by then it may be(e) too late.
[Now that Raven's starting to feel a lot better than he did after he got exploded, he's spending more time wandering the warehouse. He's pleasantly surprised to see a little archery setup in the sparring room.]
Oh, hey! Don't remember this bein' here the other day...
[He should go grab his personal bow and shake the rust off.]
That's right. [His arms cross tightly in front of him, frowning in concentration as he thinks of how to summarize it.]
Wherever Tails had sent us to start, it wasn't anything like this place. A building stuck in the heavens, among the stars, built endlessly by enormous machines. The only other things there besides us and those machines were an endless amount of robotic spiders.
The spiders were aggressive the entire time we were separated, but manageable so long as we worked together. It wasn't until a few days ago that everything grew silent all at once. When we investigated, one of the larger machines turned on us, along with two other robots that looked built specifically for combat.
Many of us were injured, and several got caught in an explosion that triggered from that fight. Some of our number claimed they were swarmed by the spiders around the same time.
We were able to disable all of them enough to regroup, and Tails was able to get the portals running soon after that.
[Now that he's on the mend, Raven has come by to do some archery practice with the little station that Basilio set up. But it's hard to miss Ashley in here muttering at her notebook.]
[When Raven catches Vakama between activities, a thought strikes him.]
Hey, Vakama! You been to that huge store that's down the road yet?
[He doesn't remember what it's called, but he's referring to Walmart. Now that he's able to actually head there without the aid of being pushed around in a shopping cart (don't ask), he wants to explore! And it would be very funny to see the big robot navigate that place.]
Sheesh, good thing he was able to get you guys back here, but sorry you guys had so much trouble. Is everyone recovered from the explosion?
[But... Hmm. Sonic folds his arms and frowns, gaze slipping to some point on the floor.]
I guess we can't rule Eggman out entirely, but it doesn't sound like his usual way of doing things. He's real proud of his own robots and would've picked them every time. I'll talk about it with Tails, see if we can't come up with some idea, but...
[He trails off, shaking his head. Things just aren't adding up.]
I’m sold. [He can’t even do a backflip.] I’ve always thought I could do things with a little more style, you know? That’s what the war was missing. Flair. If Megatron were doing kick flips we probably wouldn’t have lost.
[Dorothy jolts a bit, clutching the necklace close to her for a moment like she's afraid it's going to be taken, like someone's going to see it and--oh.]
Oh...oh, it's you. Am I in your way?
[...Just ignore how Dorothy has that necklace in a death grip, she'll get out of Rio's way real quick--]
[Dorothy startles outright at that, turning to Raven and clutching that necklace of hers closer to her on instinct. It takes her a few seconds to come close to easing, but...]
No. Not in the slightest. [It comes out a little defensive, but Dorothy will move out of the way, at least.] It is just...something rather precious from home that I was worried I'd lost, that is all.
[Dorothy hates it here. Of all of the places to have to acknowledge Ashley again and of all of the places to be in debt to this girl, it had to be here. Oh how the turntables have!
But Dorothy nods her head rather vigorously. Yes! You!!! Get over here so she doesn't have to come out of the clothes rack with other people looking, please spare her that much of a humiliation at least--]
Do you know...anything about this labyrinth?
[There's no derision in her tone, just the stress that's the equivalent of 'MOM COME PICK ME UP, I'M SCARED' and BOY DOES DOROTHY HATE BEING WEAK--]
Indeed, I do. That poor boy rarely eats from what I've seen, so I've been trying to make tea and grab a few treats for him so he can rest from time to time...he deserves to at least enjoy himself a bit, especially with the workload that he has on his shoulders.
[The gauge is tipping into "extremely concerned" territory but if the guy says it's a good hole like... what more can Yugi say? It's not his head or brain.
...]
What's it like to shower and wash your hair?
[Does water get stuck in there? Does it feel like water in ears but worse?]
[ Look at these little things; they look at it curiously as it sits on a perch on their hand. They continue to examine the tiny lifeform curiously, raising the hand for a moment before lowering it. ]
What a pity that they were.
Though, there may be some use to 'moral support', even if it is to appear like...this. It's like playing with a small animal.
[ Carefully, they put one finger from their other hand to pat the perched one. ]
I'll let you know that such things don't exist in my original universe. But, you also say you were gifted this so-called Aeon's power, with something like a fortuitous blessing, hm? However, even if you have been blessed, do you believe in their vision as well?
[ Perhaps, perhaps not. Void Archives does for certain catch sight of her as they so happen to stroll into the area - though they look curious as they notice she isn't exactly utilizing the facilities for their intended function. Well, there is nothing stating that an exception isn't allowed. ]
What are you hooping to achieve, exactly?
[ Their tone is playful as they ask, approaching, one hand in pocket, and the other gesturing curiously to the notebook. ]
[ Void Archives has a habit of hardly making themselves scarce. As such, it is difficult to miss them passing through the habitually busy area of the base.
They grant a little smile, as if (absolutely) amused by the potential locations marked on the map. But, first, they must at least be some level of ridiculous about this. ]
Ah, I can confirm that it has not slipped my mind! Alas, what would I do without such knowledge?
[ Performative antics aside, they decide to also answer seriously: ]
...Fortunately for you, I haven't bothered to spend my time at too many of the areas as of yet. As such, you will have the rarity of myself acquiescing to your available choices, without much of a preference of my own thus far.
[ The blond blinks as one of the disks nearly misses them, though they don't seem particularly bothered by the close call, having certainly had worse, and admittedly it takes quite a bit to truly ruffle them. Not to mention, in an outdoors-like area there is a far more negotiable room for error.
Though a near hit is a near hit. Such that they can't help but speak up almost immediately, sing-song tone evident. ]
[ Is the reaction a sort of realization for Wolfwood? Good. They can be smug about it, even if they can't quite follow all that he is thinking...though, actually, the reaction and words do indeed say enough. As such, they will chuckle brightly, quite satisfied with themselves. ]
Oh? Quite a guess from you, isn't it? But, I shall not lie. Your dour and straightforward nature at times makes for a good deal of quality entertainment. Yet, I do have some terrible news for you, Wolfwood.
You are nowhere near perfect. Yes, you do need a lot of inner work, and in some cases, outer work, in order to be considered above reproach.
[ A pause on Void Archives' part, intentionally as they pass him a bright smile (derogatory) as the other is looking over at them. What is it for? Perhaps they have no criticism to offer? Is it for suspense (yes)? Their voice is completely playful, not reaching anywhere near severity as they speak the rest... ]
...Such as your terrible smoking habit. I know normal humans who have an abnormally high nicotine intake will obtain an inevitable and unfortunate substandard health. The kind that brings alongside a myriad side effects that shall becoming quite troubling at some point in life.
Then there is the fact you clearly are usually in a constant state of denial in the moments where I can say that I've claimed the potential "right" side of a deduction. That isn't very 'winning' of you, is it?
But, don't worry, I will grant some mercy and leave it at that for now. There is no need to show gratitude, but I won't be surprised if you do.
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