WEEK 3

[shardmods]

Your success in retrieving Knuckles has brought your three colorful allies back together, thus marking it a resounding success. Still, it's highly unlikely Eggman is going to overlook the destruction of his robots at that base or Knuckles going missing... But strangely, it seems as though life goes on as usual in Chicago.

The patrolling robots have had their numbers cut; a sign that you're doing something, at least. Unfortunately, the humans of this world still don't react to your presence at all, and there's no stopping the chroma slowly overtaking the city. More buildings and wildlife have been affected this week, even though Eggman hasn't set foot here. It's not exactly the most encouraging thing even if this weekend was a success.

THE CITY

Now that you're familiar with Chicago and how to find your way back to the base, you're free to explore as you see fit. You want to venture out into the suburbs? You want to take a day trip to wander even further out? Sure thing! Just be sure to let Tails know where you're going so he doesn't have a heart attack if someone goes missing.

While you're out exploring, you'll likely run across Knuckles or Sonic - both of whom will immediately beeline into the nearest robots to smash them with extreme prejudice. Regardless, they'll gladly help you if you need a hand with anything, or will otherwise carry out their tasks for Tails.

Unfortunately, the rest of the city is as lifeless as it was last week. The humans will scarcely pay attention to you, wildlife will go about lifelessly, and Eggman's unique white chrome slowly overtakes more of the city. In fact, some buildings seem to have been entirely renovated from last week - you'll find more and more "Eggman" versions of stores, attractions, and landmarks.

NIGHTMARES

The biggest difference this week has nothing to do with the world around you at large, however. Instead, you'll find your nights are far more difficult - for absolutely no reason that anyone can pinpoint. If you're lucky, you'll have unsettling dreams that leave you feeling a little worried when you wake, but otherwise fairly well rested.

If you're unlucky, you'll have horrific nightmares.

You may dream about an unwinnable battle - is it against hordes of robots? is it against your enemies back home? - where you simply don't have any choice but to fight, even though you know you can't win. The odds are stacked too high against you, no matter what you do. Will you give in? Will you fight?

You may dream about your fears - the things that threaten to seize you in a vicegrip and never let go. Are you scared of failure? Then you will experience your greatest failures in detail. Even the simplest, most mundane fears will be wildly twisted out of control - and you're powerless to wake yourself up, trapped within the dreams until the night is over and you finally, finally wake up.

You may dream about your past - whatever horrible incidents that haunt you or frighten you to think about will return in full force. These are never perfect recreations of the past, instead twisted facsimiles that only make those thoughts worse. Reliving it is one thing, but having the experience changed on you may be even worse.

Regardless of your dreams, you may find that you're not alone. Others here can be pulled into these dreams - trapped with you until either the dream ends and you wake up... or you die in the dream. Those seem to be the only ways out, no matter what you do. Still, having a buddy with you to help fight might help, right?

When you do wake up, you'll see blood red and you'll feel tired no matter how long you slept. Perhaps a nap is in order - but these dreams are just as likely to infect your naps as well.

SHARDS

You should feel fairly comfortable with using your shard power by now. You may also find that the more you use it, the more things you're able to do with it. Starting this week, your shards' powers are more pronounced, allowing you to do more with them than you could before.

As you fight with your allies - particularly those you have a close bond with, positive or negative - you may feel the tug of something in the back of your head; it tells you that you can do more. Together, you can become more powerful. You can use your shards together. Doing so will grant you a new power, or strengthen the one you already have. The more you trust one another, the easier this power will be to use.

It might be good to experiment with these new powers; after all, you never know when you may need them.

TAILS' TASKS

As mentioned to some of you, the rings that Sonic and friends use to hop between worlds have been dwindling in number, given how many were used to visit all of you and bring you in to begin with. Your job - should you choose to accept it - is to track down more rings. Tails will grant you with a tracking device that will allow you to find the exact locations of these rings. All you have to do is figure out how to get them.

Rings, as it turns out, are not quite as easy to collect as one would expect. They can appear anywhere throughout the city or the surrounding areas, but they always appear in some sort of frustrating place. Perhaps one has manifested at the top of a tree, or on top of the bean. Maybe it's hiding behind rows and rows of items in the W*lmart. Maybe you'll have to break into an employees' only room or a restricted area for one. Regardless, no ring is going to be simple to collect, and it's up to you to figure out how to get it. Every single ring counts, after all.

ENEMIES

This week's enemies are the same as last week's, though lesser in number. Like last week, you shouldn't let them escape, but you're growing stronger: they should be easier to beat than last week.

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.

Badnik Tanks are mini... well, tanks. They stand about the size of a large dog and roll around on treads through the city. They're much rarer than the other robots, but it seems some have been sent to Chicago after the destruction of the base. These tanks are capable of shooting a large laser that deals significant damage to anyone it hits, and they're quite durable. When severely damaged, they start sparking - they'll explode when hit, and you probably don't want to be in melee range!

NAVIGATION

Comments

[crosswired]

I
[Given the dark turn that quickly starts to take over everyone's week, Vakama seems to be functioning just the same as usual, albeit with a little bit of a sharper edge to every action he takes and word that slips out of his mouth. Never had he has such an onslaught of imagery every time he chose to close his eyes... and with what Knuckles had shared with him only days ago, he can't help but wonder if another force is at action here.

During waking hours, one can find Vakama exclusively back out on the field, deliberately clearing out robots and searching for the rings that Tails had requested. He's not getting any more sleep than the rest, given that he can be found up at odd hours of the night either in the entertainment room or just tucked away in one of the warehouses; always with a notebook in hand, always writing or drawing furiously; always looking pained like his head is ready to split open. If he spots anyone else wandering around in the dead of night, he'll take time to wave them down gently, setting down what he's doing immediately if they don't run off or decline.]

...Don't be disheartened, my friend. [Tired, but earnest.] Would you tell me what's troubling you?

--

II - BLANKET CW FOR THE FOLLOWING: heavy hallucinatory aspects, disassociation, active mutation/body horror, apocalyptic imagery. PLEASE ADVISE HERE if there are ANY images or topics you do not want to see!

--

[It's deceptively peaceful.

Separate.


You stand, alone, in a vast and unstable blanket of white extending out to all corners. You float, and yet still feel the ground under your feet. Here, and yet not. Sounds ring and ripple in your ears. In your head.
Pulses.
Voices.
Constant, unending whispers that say both nothing and everything, like static that you can't quite parse without immense concentration.
Your head aches. It's easier to drift.










Snap out of it. Snap out of it. This isn't the time.

It's a feeling that ties your chest tight, weighs you down like a vice.

You fight it. Wake up. Wake up. But the whispers don't care. They mock, in voices both familiar and unfamiliar.


--what's with him--

--must have cooked his head--

--I don't here you saying anything, smelthead - what's the matter, too busy cooking up another master plan--

--what a waste--

--can be a sign of madness, yes--

--are so misguided--

--are you crazy?! And how are we supposed to--

--so what, we go on some scavenger hunt because a firespitter spent too long in front of his forge--

--what kind of leader are--

--don't deserve something like you--

--wasting everyone's time--






You feel compelled to walk. To keep walking. Your limbs limply pull like a puppet on a string, your eyes kept open no matter how hard you try to close them. Shapes and lines and spirals dance in the corners of your vision, vanishing the second you try to look. Incomprehensible.

But eventually, one shape stays solid. Warm colors and light. Company, in this vast nothing -- though he's much shorter than before, four feet high at best guess, though currently huddled against the floor with his head in his hands. If approached, he'll at least look up, confused and bracing to back away - but with the same softspoken tone, completely unchanged.]

What--? What are you doing here?

[There's already a tugging sensation in the back of your mind, sharp and painful - one that makes Vakama flinch as well. Something calls, and you find you are very much empty-handed. But maybe you can at least try to get some level of bearings with your small little friend while the surroundings start to shimmer and shift under the press of the whispers.

He doesn't seem to be all that alarmed by any of it, after all.

All responses for prompt II will come from firespitter .]

Entertainment Room

[akademise]

[ More... doesn't look super tired. There are bags under his eyes, but a smile is playing at his lips and he's carrying himself with subdued but unmistakable cheer. ]

Ah, your kindness is appreciated, but I am hardly troubled. I just came here to make use of the 'internet', as Tails called it - to the best of my ability, anyhow.

[ Vakama is one of the stranger people More is observing here, looking more like an Archetype than like a person of any tribe. It is ample ground for curiousity, and More is grateful for the opportunity to have a little chat. ]

Might I join you for a while?

[crosswired]

Of course.

[With how frequently these nightmare episodes have been coming, he's kind of given up on the idea of privacy, anyway, as uncomfortable as it is.]

I can't say I know what it is you're mentioning with this "internet", but... Tails is an intelligent young one. I hope he was able to explain it to you.

What did you intend to do?

[akademise]

[ Permitted to come and chill, More sits down on one of the couches. He's been here a few times, but the entertainment room is still full of wonders to him and his gaze keeps getting stuck on this-or-that trinket. ]

From how I understand, the 'internet' is a kind of archive that can be accessed and edited from anywhere. I'm assured that it's not magic but rather a pure feat of engineering that makes it possible.

[ And wouldn't that be marvelous? He's practically sparkling. ]

I have been busy learning ever since I came here, and my work is nowhere near done.

ii

[reallyfishy]

[When the onslaught of mockery finally fades, Raven uncovers his ears and feels a brief sense of relief. They weren't voices he's familiar with, but boy did some of that criticism hit close to home. But before he can reflect on it further, he's moving through this vast emptiness without thinking.

Finally, he comes upon something. Something oddly familiar, yet not at the same time.

When the little being looks at him and speaks, he stares with a dumbfounded expression.]

Vakama? That seriously you?

[He looks almost...cute, now that he's smaller than Raven.]

[firespitter]

Raven?

[Well, there's the confirmation that Raven is, in fact, still recognizable at himself. But there's no comfort in it. In fact, the little guy that is now the height of your average 7-year-old looks more distressed the longer that Raven is just.. being Raven. As though he's bracing for something.]

That's... this isn't right. This isn't how this is supposed to work.

[Your mind tugs again, a painful jolt like lightning through the skull and neck. This close to Vakama, Raven can see his eyes shrink pinpoint for a moment, though he tries to shake it off, grabbing at Raven's hand.]

C-come on. Come on, we can't stay here.

[White starts to flake away to metal streets, though the sides of your vision never get any clearer. The smell of smoke and molten metals thickens the air with warmth, the lighting going red and dark under towering cylindrical buildings, walkways that stacked on top of one another, foundries and conveyors, shipping and processing yards fenced up several stories, smokestacks that seem to stretch far off into the sky.

The district is cramped, but empty. Quiet.And every few steps, that pain flickers, and with it, so do the surroundings. Darkened skies. Destroyed catwalks. Enormous towers split down the middle and spilling their molten contents over miles and miles of buildings, the roar of fires and failing structures groaning like the cry of some far off dying animals, all as the sky rumbles.

Every flicker gets worse, like a warning bell in the mind, and it only seems to stop if Vakama halts completely.]

[reallyfishy]

[Wow, it really is Vakama! But boy does he not seem happy to see Raven here with him.]

Whaddya mean how this is supposed ta wo--agh!

[The sudden jolt of pain makes him stagger and he reaches up to clutch his head. He's felt something similar to this before, but not in his head. It's foreign and unsettling. But he doesn't have time to dwell on what's happening because Vakama has his hand.

He doesn't put up a fight, simply letting Vakama lead him to what he assumes will be somewhere safe. None of this looks safe, though, especially as the world seems to constantly shift around them.

The pain from these flickers of what he can only imagine is a doomed version of this place gets so severe that he's nearly taken to his knees.]

V-Vakama, [He warns,] I can't...do this much longer...

ii;

[divinevoid]

[ Who is this tiny little guy? No, it's very apparent as to who it is, isn't it? Vakama is so small, though! The silly thought runs through their mind, as they are unable to contain a chuckle or two.

Alright, on a serious note, Void Archives definitely decided to approach because they aren't the type of person to shy away from doing that, at the least.

Though, the grin they feel they're making is now absent in the form of the tug; the smile returns when they answer, however. ]

I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Not unreasonable, hm? There are strange happenings, after all...

[firespitter]

[Oh it is immediately apparent that Vakama has no trouble recognizing them. Smaller or not, the vibrant glare of annoyance could pin it for him from miles away.]

...Of course it would be you.

[It's flat - less animosity, and more pure exhaustion, even as the air twists with Void Archive's own voice in painful weight.

--foolish

childish

how do you hope to--

Your mind tugs again, a painful jolt like lightning through the skull and neck. This close to Vakama, Void Archive will see his eyes shrink pinpoint for a moment, though he tries to shake it off just as he had done days ago.]

W-we can't just stand here.

Come on, follow me...

[White starts to flake away to metal streets, though the sides of your vision never get any clearer. The smell of smoke and molten metals thickens the air with warmth, the lighting going red and dark under towering cylindrical buildings, walkways that stacked on top of one another, foundries and conveyors, shipping and processing yards fenced up several stories, smokestacks that seem to stretch far off into the sky.

The district is cramped, but empty. Quiet.And every few steps, that pain flickers, and with it, so do the surroundings. Darkened skies. Destroyed catwalks. Enormous towers split down the middle and spilling their molten contents over miles and miles of buildings, the roar of fires and failing structures groaning like the cry of some far off dying animals, all as the sky rumbles.

Every flicker gets worse, like a warning bell in the mind, and it only seems to stop if Vakama halts completely.]

[divinevoid]

[ Damn, they were hoping that he wouldn't. Ah well.

They let out a huff, then. But, they are also not anticipating the bombardment of their own words back at them, making their expression also go carefully blank. Or maybe it isn't exactly so much as careful as more...thoughtful; perhaps a semblance of their own surprise.

They are very well capable of such clear emotion on their faces - but, here, it's just a different sort that doesn't draw it obviously to it. The reaction to before is also similar enough that they feel themselves tense. ]

What's all of this? What happened?

Entertainment Room

[ised]

Ed should be the one asking that. Ed has to admit he is not entirely sure but something about your body language...is tired. Exhausted.

[Not to say Ed isn't tired, but also Vakama asking him if he was okay sure makes Ed want to reciprocate]

[crosswired]

[He hums his acknowledgement, a hand briefly pressing over his eyes. Spirits above, his head felt ready to split open.]

Just as much as the rest of us, my friend. I won't pretend I am the only one.

Dreams of strange nature... they are more startling to some than others. I just hope those that struggle reach out as they must.

[ised]

Probably not. Ed can tell they are...very personal dreams. Kind of dreams most would not want to talk about.

Unless you go to...what was they called? The rad priest?

[...close enough, Ed. Someone must have told him about the concept of therapy at some point, but the new terms still get a bit mixed up]

ii

[hexcrafter]

[There had been serenity within the arcane. To exist within everything and nothing, floating in the instants between heartbeats and the spaces between stars. To know thousands of minds connected to yours in golden threads, all leading back to the god within the machine. You hear their whispered laments, they want better lives, but emotion clashes with reason.]

[In that regard, this situation was not an unfamiliar one. Yet this body was not the spectral idealization of the soul, but...fallible. Mortal. The same as it had been in each of these liminal spaces, and that was enough to pull Viktor back to his senses amid countless voices.]

This is... [and there was something odd to his voice, distant and almost like a forgotten recitation,] ...what you see?

here we go

[firespitter]

[He doesn't respond back at first -- hesitant, waiting, bracing for something to happen. This... is Viktor. That he recognizes as much, but it's... wrong. Other. Something uniquely foreign in a space where reality no longer mattered.

He carefully rises to his feet with a different sort of trepidation than when their eyes had met - not innocent fear, but an exhausted openness, a resignation born from thousands of visions with no end in sight, as he takes a step towards Viktor. Then another, a hand raised out to try and touch him, however briefly.

Hand meets cloth with a very visible flinch. But nothing happens.

The Matoran blinks rapidly, exhales a shaking breath he wasn't aware he'd been holding.]

You're not-- [Changing. Not part of it. His hand tentatively curls into a fist, before dropping away.]

You're not supposed to be here. Not like this--

[Your mind tugs again, a painful jolt like lightning through the skull and neck. This close to Vakama, Viktor can see his eyes shrink pinpoint for a moment, just as they had the first time they'd spoken, though he tries to shake it off with a hand to his forehead.]

W-what are you doing here?

[hexcrafter]

What do you-

[Viktor flinched at the sudden jolt, bringing a hand up--to his forehead, specifically. No, not the same pain--too close, but no monstrous transformation took hold this time.]

I do not know. This...can not be real. I am no longer connected to a space like this.

II

[toybombs]

[Oh wow he's actually shorter than her this time.]

-Toa?

[firespitter]

[Toa.

The simple acknowledgement earns a flicker in reality - Vakama, for a moment, appearing as his normal self knelt against the floor, before snapping right back.]

Rio...? What are--

[Your mind tugs again, a painful jolt like lightning through the skull and neck. This close to Vakama, Rio will see his eyes shrink pinpoint for a moment, though he tries to shake it off with a hand pressing to his skull.]

W-what are you doing here? This... isn't right. This isn't how this should work...

[toybombs]

-?!

[What was that...? Just what is going on here?]

That's what I'd like to know. What do you mean, it isn't how it should work?

ii

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[ Ashley feels heavy and worn down by the time Ashley approaches the smaller Vakama. Like she's been filled up with all the ridicule and negativity. She feels less a person and more a tool, particularly with how her body won't listen to her to a greater degree than it usually does in dreams.

Vakama, small as he may be, is a familiar and welcome sight. Particularly with all those sensations and shimmers. ]

Vakama? You're so- No, that doesn't matter. What was all that?

[ But...she has a guess. It's what's weighing her down so much. ]

im ready for this thread to be agony for both of us

[firespitter]

[The Matoran hears her voice, locks his eyes with her... and freezes like a deer in the headlights.

The entire space twists in immediate protestation, the voices momentarily a cacophony.]

No... oh, n-no, no no no... [He scrambles up to his feet towards her - a moment, brief, of flickering to his normal Toa form before immediately snapping back, reaching out for her hands with his own.]

Ashley. Oh, Ashley, you're not... y-you were never supposed to see this...

[Your mind tugs again, a painful jolt like lightning through the skull and neck. This close to Vakama, Ashley will see his eyes shrink pinpoint for a moment, though he tries to shake it off with a hand pressing to his skull.]

T-this... [A tight grimace of pain.] I-it's not the same, something's not right... But it... it's similar.

My visions, they... t-they can start like this...

pain! pain! pain! pain!

[hashtagafreakingghost]

[ Ashley puts a hand to her head at the flood of voices, shaking it to try and clear them. It doesn't help, considering the almost instant lightning crack of pain with that sharp tug of the mind. ]

Like this? [ Her voice cracks up half an octave or so. ] Oh no. Ohhh no no no.

ii obviously (cw: suicidal ideation)

[holeful]

[Honestly, Fukuda doesn't fully process that he's in someone else's nightmare at first. The haunting words in so many ways so familiar, things he could imagine having been said to him with very little word changing.

That feeling of floating, tireness. He can almost feel fresh wetness again at the hole in his head. Recall the daze he woke in, realizing he was still alive. Reaching for the drill weakly to try again, before having a change of mind, a moment of clarity-

He slaps his cheeks to bring himself back to the present, prompted mostly by the sight of this tiny Vakama. He doesn't even remember walking over here, so in a daze as he was. And because of this, he doesn't even fully process the question, and instead says stupidly;]

You got shorter.

hello hole man

[firespitter]

[Shorter...

He looks down at himself as he tries to push up onto his feet. Congrats, he's about the height of a seven-year-old like this.]

I... right. Right... [Said in a slightly detached way, as though he's still bracing for something.] You wouldn't have seen a Matoran before...

I... got taller, actually. This is how I remember being. Before--

[Your mind tugs again, a painful jolt like lightning through the skull and neck. This close to Vakama, Fukuda will see his eyes shrink pinpoint for a moment, though he tries to shake it off with a hand pressing to his skull.]

Ghh... Fukuda, w-what are you doing here? This... isn't right. This isn't how this should work...

[holeful]

[Yeouch! Fukuda doesn't know what's going on but he doesn't like it.

But hum. Taller? Then that must mean-]

Did I shrink then???

[WAIT NO, HE SAID BEFORE-]

Ah, no, is this maybe... your memories? Or a dream....