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!
Temporarily. Not before he'd had his way with the city. He absorbed every last ounce of power from it and turned himself into a raging storm. [Remember the shadow hand that made us pancakes? Yeah that was him.] The sky went dark, the suns eclipsed... the bioquakes were disastrous.
We trapped him, before he could go too far. But our city was destroyed, and we had no safe way to wake our people.
So we fled, past the Great Barrier, to look for a place we could call shelter. And we had to leave our people behind in the process.
[Remember the giant sea wall that said shadow hand made us pancakes against?]
[and this is why he had very strong feelings about tails being very sad that their team failed and got the world zombified, because wow! such a mood!]
Something like that. The Barrier has always been there. [He even points out to the raging sea. It's hard to make out with the fog, but the horizon is not absolute - there is an enormous cliff that stretches for an unfathomable distance, reaching up into the heavens and disappearing, slightly curved and only visible at some angles.]
Dume had the gates beyond the barrier closed within the last years. But our captor - Makuta - he'd been in Metru Nui for much longer. I don't know if he was even seen as a threat until it was too late.
If we could have taken them all, we would have. Coworkers and friends and students. People we've known our whole lives.
But there were only six of us, and thousands upon thousands of them.
We...
[...]
...I ...also lost Lhikan, during the fight. So it waa truly just the six of us, and no one else.
[Raven brings his gaze toward the barrier and keeps it there as Vakama continues. Not even this formidable wall could keep out the Matorans' greatest threat... Boy does that sound familiar.
And boy do the familiarities keep getting worse.
He breathes out a sigh, pain in the edges of it.]
...Yeah. I saw. 'cept...I saw someone I lost in Lhikan's place. Fer a second I wondered if our nightmares were startin' ta meld together.
[He'll offer Vakama this much for how much of the Toa's privacy has been breached.]
It ain't easy ta pick up the pieces after something like that.
She was my superior officer- someone I looked up to a great deal. [And more, but that is left unsaid.] We found ourselves in an unwinnable battle against a giant black monster, and the two of us had to retreat to have any hope of rebuilding our platoon. We had to leave all of our comrades behind to face their certain deaths.
[...]
After killing everyone else, it chased us down and our backs were up against the metaphorical wall.
[His grip on himself tightens.]
She gave her life to protect me. I ended up being the only survivor of that horrible night.
[It's not the entire truth of what happened. He's omitted some details. But it's true enough for what he's willing to tell Vakama in the moment. It's enough to show Vakama how much he relates.]
Likewise.
[It's an experience he wouldn't wish on anyone, yet so many people here seem to have been through something at least a little similar.]
After something like that, I don't think it's possible to go back to who you were before it happened. At least, I sure couldn't.
[...]
She'd probably be disappointed if she saw what I ended up becoming. But at least after ten years I can finally say I'm trying to do more than simply exist.
You just gotta find that one thing that makes you want to keep going, if only for another day.
Huh? [He stares down at Vakama, completely taken by surprise.] You...want to tell them about her? Like a legend?
[He doesn't even know what to do with that for a moment. He never would've imagined being asked something like this. It's such a painful story for him to tell.
But...]
...I'd like that. She deserves to be remembered- as the true knight she was.
[Stories of her bravery should have been told back home, too. Not those of Schwann Oltorain. At least she'll be able to live on in Vakama's tales now.]
When this is all said and done, I'll tell you more about her.
--I tried to lead you as best I could. I wish I was better at it. But if there's one thing I've learned from all we've been through, it is that I am... what I am. And no matter how much I might want to... I can't just change.]
...
I... I was a shadow of myself when we returned. Angry and hurt. I was so determined to try and make it make sense. To make his death not be meaningless.
I couldn't see what was right in front of me.
[A beat, and he glances back to Raven, slightly pained.]
I do not want you to go through this, my friend. But... it is your choice.
[Only the route that Raven took was complete despondency. He lost his sense of self and simply coasted through life based on what was asked of him. But a chance encounter allowed him the opportunity to drag himself out of that pit. If he could find hope, then he knows it's not beyond Vakama either.
He places a hand on Vakama's shoulder.]
C'mon, let's go finish this. Think of the drink I'll be makin' fer ya when we wake up. Somethin' ta look forward to.
Right behind the lingering ghost of a figure with the bold voice of the Toa who does not listen; every step unsteady, on a path crumbling underfoot, as the fog grows denser amidst the buildings. A monument, a grave, more than a city.
Vakama tenses at Raven's side, a choking sound and a curling of his fists as though he's trying to say something. But it's robbed of him.
You follow.
You see energy crackle forward through the bare air to hit the ghost of your leader.
And only a moment later, your own body is hit, going completely rigid against your will.
Paralysis.
You crumple. All you hear is an absence. Too silent. Far, far too silent.
--everyone okay--
right behind you, fearless leader... literally--
bickering won't get us out of this--
noooo, but think-talking before charging straight into a TRAP might have--
Your eyes scan frantically. You see the bodies of so many of your fellow shardbearers.
Nothing.
You can't do anything.
The swarm quickly overtakes you.
It overtakes all of them.
Not even willing to face the consequences, even now.
Teeth bite, webbing pulls, tighter and tighter until every surface both metal and organic starts to give, starts to prick - barbs, hundreds upon thousands, sinking into every inch of you with the burning rush of venom.
Every pounding of your head riles you up. Panic, that grows, less like yourself, less sentient, less in control, and more like--
The change happens without warning. A ripple effect, in one limb, that rapidly moves down the body you cannot see in the tightened trapping of your cocoon. Metal and muscle suddenly twist. Crack. Bending out of shape to reform to another. Bulging, adding, changing. Armor merges with structure, masks sinking to join with faces, chest expanding as limbs outstretch and your mind twists ferally within your skull.
Your mouth opens to scream. A strangled roar rips from your throat instead.
Your cocoon rips to open air. You free fall, from the highest point of the city.
You hit the ground, somehow not dying from the impact. Your body moves awkwardly. Primal. Unbalanced. Instinct over your mind. The tunnel vision can't be ignored.
But Vakama is there. Still a Matoran, with his hands held in front of you placatingly, as though trying to prevent you from running.
He exhales as his eyes travel Raven, tense. Apologetic. You feel the growl in your throat against your will.]
...This. This is what I...
[What he didn't want to happen. What he didn't want to repeat. But his eyes grow cold, bitter, tracing down for a second to try and compose himself before turning back to... what used to be Raven.]
No wonder why Vakama apologized ahead of time, Raven thinks to himself as he's taken out by some kind of...monster?
What the hell is that? What did Vakama and his fellow Toa run into?
And somehow it only gets worse from there. The swarm, the biting, the...cocoon... Everything begins to blur as something foreign enters his mind. Fear grips him when he realizes he's losing control over his thoughts and sense. His body no longer feels like his own.
He feels his blastia twist and distort- its beating erratic and wrong.
No. No no no. Anything but that, anything--
He rips free from the cocoon with a desperate scream, and it's decidedly more avian in nature than human.
He collapses to the ground in a heap. His form is still human, but he sports smatterings of brilliant white feathers and his limbs contort at odd angles. He crawls on the ground like a baby bird fallen from its nest, dazed and confused.]
V-Vakama...
[A distorted voice tries to reach out with what little of his mind remains, but he's immediately drowned out by another birdlike scream. Everything that he now is urges him to attack, and it's taking everything that he can to not give in.]
[There's a flicker of relief in the words, his hands relaxing just slightly.]
I'm sorry...
This, of anything, is not what I wanted to share with anyone...
...
But it's going to be alright.
[--how are we supposed to--
--you call THIS all right???--
The sounds of others crawling to unsteady feet seems to echo. In pain. Confused. Horrified.
Furious.
Moving away, further and further.
Not from Raven, for Raven will find that foreign hands twist against his foreign, twisted frame, urging him backwards. Stay with the group. Stay together.
[He furiously shakes head as he tries to fight off the urge to run away, digging his sharpened nails into the ground. After everything he and Vakama just discussed—after everything they laid bare for one another—he's not going to let some foreign primal urges win out. This nightmare needs to just end already.]
Whatever ya need ta do...y-ya better do it quick! [He bites back another cry.] I dunno how much longer I can last.
[The pain flashes. A twist of the space, the light, and a disformed figure drops down from the webs with frightening speed, snapping gnarled fingers onto the Matoran's skull, hoisting him up off the ground as he yelps.
[Vakama's touch is comforting for Raven's base instincts. He lets out a gentle breath and nudges into the Matoran's hand. For the briefest of moments, he thinks this nightmare was finally coming to an end.
So much for that. No, there's a reason why his body was so desperately screaming at him to run.
He hisses and shrieks in the face of this new creature. Instinctively he knows he has absolutely no chance of fighting this thing, but...this thing has Vakama's voice. This must be the change that Vakama went through.
He holds his ground. What little ground he has, at any rate.]
So this is where that path led you, huh? [Another guttural hiss escapes him.] Yeesh, and I thought how I handled myself was embarrassing.
[It's not far off from Schwann though, is it? He got so wrapped up in his hopelessness that he stopped caring. He did horrible things in Alexei's name. He became a husk of the knight he once strove to be.
This really is poetic, then.]
I've seen the Vakama of today, so this better have just been a phase.
Raven hisses and spits and shrieks, and the predatory growl in response comes from a completely different direction than before. He's clearly being circled.]
Give me one reason it should be.
The past goes nowhere, and the present only moves when you take what you want for yourself. I choose my duty even if no one else can bother, so what matters if I must do it alone?
[You have a job to do.
--we cannot help Vakama--
You have a JOB to do.
--his visions are only right so far, you know. Often enough that we might follow his lead, even if he simply made it up--
The group pulls at your limbs.
Leave him.
--Did you make that promise when you let Lhikan get captured, or when he died saving your sorry mask???--
You HAVE TO you HAVE TO.]
We work ourselves until we're dust on the ground, and for what?? A meaningless atonement that comes far too late. Pathetic, pitying words to some empty grave. A united front that falls apart under disagreement.
Why should it be any different now than it's ever been?
[Why shouldn't one continue to HATE themselves if it keeps things in forward motion?]
[Raven feels the nearly overwhelming pull to leave, but he digs his heels in deeper and hisses back at the feral copy of Vakama. Those biting criticisms only embolden him further to not leave his friend behind.
Just from the way this version of Vakama is talking, he can't say there wasn't any merit to those criticisms. Quite honestly, Raven wouldn't want anything to do with him either. But Schwann Oltorain serves a man who grew to be very similar to this.
He's lost faith in Alexei's ability to change for the better. But Vakama is a different story. He's seen the difference for himself.]
You know, actin' like this ain't doin' you any favors. Now you're just bein' the epitome of everything yer teammates hated about ya.
[His eyes carefully follow the direction Vakama's growls are coming from, his posture defensive but prepared. He's faced down plenty of monsters in his time.]
I ain't the right person ta tell ya how ta stop hatin' yerself. That'd make me one hell of a hypocrite. But I can tell ya you're never gonna get anywhere if ya close yerself off from everyone else. You're gonna be stuck wallowin' like this fer the rest of yer days.
[He lets out a shriek.]
I'm offerin' you a hand now. [Just like those kids did for him.] You gonna take it?
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no subject
We trapped him, before he could go too far. But our city was destroyed, and we had no safe way to wake our people.
So we fled, past the Great Barrier, to look for a place we could call shelter. And we had to leave our people behind in the process.
[Remember the giant sea wall that said shadow hand made us pancakes against?]
no subject
Ya had ta leave 'em behind fer a fightin' chance at livin' another day, otherwise there'd be no hope at all.
Can't say I blame ya fer feelin' guilty about it.
[There's a reason why he resonated with it.]
"Great Barrier", huh? [He remembers the wall, but...] Was it supposed ta prevent something like that guy from gettin' in?
no subject
Something like that. The Barrier has always been there. [He even points out to the raging sea. It's hard to make out with the fog, but the horizon is not absolute - there is an enormous cliff that stretches for an unfathomable distance, reaching up into the heavens and disappearing, slightly curved and only visible at some angles.]
Dume had the gates beyond the barrier closed within the last years. But our captor - Makuta - he'd been in Metru Nui for much longer. I don't know if he was even seen as a threat until it was too late.
If we could have taken them all, we would have. Coworkers and friends and students. People we've known our whole lives.
But there were only six of us, and thousands upon thousands of them.
We...
[...]
...I ...also lost Lhikan, during the fight. So it waa truly just the six of us, and no one else.
no subject
And boy do the familiarities keep getting worse.
He breathes out a sigh, pain in the edges of it.]
...Yeah. I saw. 'cept...I saw someone I lost in Lhikan's place. Fer a second I wondered if our nightmares were startin' ta meld together.
[He'll offer Vakama this much for how much of the Toa's privacy has been breached.]
It ain't easy ta pick up the pieces after something like that.
[He never really did.]
no subject
The woman with the brown hair, right?
[He lets his hands stay clapsed together as he looks up towards Raven, apologetic.]
Was... it similar, for you?
no subject
[That makes this even more awkward, yay.
His tone grows serious as he continues.]
She was my superior officer- someone I looked up to a great deal. [And more, but that is left unsaid.] We found ourselves in an unwinnable battle against a giant black monster, and the two of us had to retreat to have any hope of rebuilding our platoon. We had to leave all of our comrades behind to face their certain deaths.
[...]
After killing everyone else, it chased us down and our backs were up against the metaphorical wall.
[His grip on himself tightens.]
She gave her life to protect me. I ended up being the only survivor of that horrible night.
no subject
[Similar enough in all but name and circumstance, it seems.]
...
I'm truly sorry, my friend.
Lhikan... did something similar for me. Shielded me, in a moment where I had tried something risky and failed in my effort.
It's... it's hard to feel like yourself again after something like that. How you can still somehow deserve to go on in their place.
no subject
Likewise.
[It's an experience he wouldn't wish on anyone, yet so many people here seem to have been through something at least a little similar.]
After something like that, I don't think it's possible to go back to who you were before it happened. At least, I sure couldn't.
[...]
She'd probably be disappointed if she saw what I ended up becoming. But at least after ten years I can finally say I'm trying to do more than simply exist.
You just gotta find that one thing that makes you want to keep going, if only for another day.
no subject
I couldn't, either.
...
[His frown thins, as though hesitant to tell any more. Instead, he asks:]
...What was her name?
no subject
Very different from the route I took, that's for sure.
[Not that his was any better. No, they both seem to have struggled immensely with this similar, very unfortunate situation.
He pauses when Vakama asks for the woman's name, but he ultimately gives it.]
Casey. Her name was Casey.
no subject
[He exhales slowly as he pushes up from his seat.]
When my time as a Toa is through, I... I will have plenty of stories to tell my people. Someday, when we can wake them.
Would you allow Casey to be one of them, my friend?
no subject
[He doesn't even know what to do with that for a moment. He never would've imagined being asked something like this. It's such a painful story for him to tell.
But...]
...I'd like that. She deserves to be remembered- as the true knight she was.
[Stories of her bravery should have been told back home, too. Not those of Schwann Oltorain. At least she'll be able to live on in Vakama's tales now.]
When this is all said and done, I'll tell you more about her.
no subject
For now...
[His eyes trail up the shore, to the city.
--I tried to lead you as best I could. I wish I was better at it. But if there's one thing I've learned from all we've been through, it is that I am... what I am. And no matter how much I might want to... I can't just change.]
...
I... I was a shadow of myself when we returned. Angry and hurt. I was so determined to try and make it make sense. To make his death not be meaningless.
I couldn't see what was right in front of me.
[A beat, and he glances back to Raven, slightly pained.]
I do not want you to go through this, my friend. But... it is your choice.
[Will you follow?]
no subject
[Only the route that Raven took was complete despondency. He lost his sense of self and simply coasted through life based on what was asked of him. But a chance encounter allowed him the opportunity to drag himself out of that pit. If he could find hope, then he knows it's not beyond Vakama either.
He places a hand on Vakama's shoulder.]
C'mon, let's go finish this. Think of the drink I'll be makin' fer ya when we wake up. Somethin' ta look forward to.
1/3 yippee yahoo another for the furry fest
So long as it is better than wine. I didn't care much for it.
[...]
Thank you. I have not had someone to talk to of such things in... a while.
[As he starts moving forward, his walking starts to stutter, as though being pulled by a string. Guess there's no stopping it now.]
...And I'm... I-I'm sorry. [Eyes to the ground.] I'm so sorry for what's about to happen.
2/3
Right behind the lingering ghost of a figure with the bold voice of the Toa who does not listen; every step unsteady, on a path crumbling underfoot, as the fog grows denser amidst the buildings. A monument, a grave, more than a city.
Vakama tenses at Raven's side, a choking sound and a curling of his fists as though he's trying to say something. But it's robbed of him.
You follow.
You see energy crackle forward through the bare air to hit the ghost of your leader.
And only a moment later, your own body is hit, going completely rigid against your will.
Paralysis.
You crumple. All you hear is an absence. Too silent. Far, far too silent.
--everyone okay--
right behind you, fearless leader... literally--
bickering won't get us out of this--
noooo, but think-talking before charging straight into a TRAP might have--
Vakama--
---what do we do?]
3/3 cw: body horror
You can't do anything.
Your eyes scan frantically. You see the bodies of so many of your fellow shardbearers.
Nothing.
You can't do anything.
The swarm quickly overtakes you.
It overtakes all of them.
Not even willing to face the consequences, even now.
Teeth bite, webbing pulls, tighter and tighter until every surface both metal and organic starts to give, starts to prick - barbs, hundreds upon thousands, sinking into every inch of you with the burning rush of venom.
Every pounding of your head riles you up. Panic, that grows, less like yourself, less sentient, less in control, and more like--
The change happens without warning. A ripple effect, in one limb, that rapidly moves down the body you cannot see in the tightened trapping of your cocoon. Metal and muscle suddenly twist. Crack. Bending out of shape to reform to another. Bulging, adding, changing. Armor merges with structure, masks sinking to join with faces, chest expanding as limbs outstretch and your mind twists ferally within your skull.
Your mouth opens to scream. A strangled roar rips from your throat instead.
Your cocoon rips to open air. You free fall, from the highest point of the city.
You hit the ground, somehow not dying from the impact. Your body moves awkwardly. Primal. Unbalanced. Instinct over your mind. The tunnel vision can't be ignored.
But Vakama is there. Still a Matoran, with his hands held in front of you placatingly, as though trying to prevent you from running.
He exhales as his eyes travel Raven, tense. Apologetic. You feel the growl in your throat against your will.]
...This. This is what I...
[What he didn't want to happen. What he didn't want to repeat. But his eyes grow cold, bitter, tracing down for a second to try and compose himself before turning back to... what used to be Raven.]
Can you still hear me?
[Are you still you?]
no subject
No wonder why Vakama apologized ahead of time, Raven thinks to himself as he's taken out by some kind of...monster?
What the hell is that? What did Vakama and his fellow Toa run into?
And somehow it only gets worse from there. The swarm, the biting, the...cocoon... Everything begins to blur as something foreign enters his mind. Fear grips him when he realizes he's losing control over his thoughts and sense. His body no longer feels like his own.
He feels his blastia twist and distort- its beating erratic and wrong.
No. No no no. Anything but that, anything--
He rips free from the cocoon with a desperate scream, and it's decidedly more avian in nature than human.
He collapses to the ground in a heap. His form is still human, but he sports smatterings of brilliant white feathers and his limbs contort at odd angles. He crawls on the ground like a baby bird fallen from its nest, dazed and confused.]
V-Vakama...
[A distorted voice tries to reach out with what little of his mind remains, but he's immediately drowned out by another birdlike scream. Everything that he now is urges him to attack, and it's taking everything that he can to not give in.]
no subject
[There's a flicker of relief in the words, his hands relaxing just slightly.]
I'm sorry...
This, of anything, is not what I wanted to share with anyone...
...
But it's going to be alright.
[--how are we supposed to--
--you call THIS all right???--
The sounds of others crawling to unsteady feet seems to echo. In pain. Confused. Horrified.
Furious.
Moving away, further and further.
Not from Raven, for Raven will find that foreign hands twist against his foreign, twisted frame, urging him backwards. Stay with the group. Stay together.
Leave him.]
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[He furiously shakes head as he tries to fight off the urge to run away, digging his sharpened nails into the ground. After everything he and Vakama just discussed—after everything they laid bare for one another—he's not going to let some foreign primal urges win out. This nightmare needs to just end already.]
Whatever ya need ta do...y-ya better do it quick! [He bites back another cry.] I dunno how much longer I can last.
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[The calmness may seem strange, in the face of all of it. But it is empathy that makes Vakama's eyes look softer.]
Don't panic.
Remember that you're still Raven. Remember what that means to you.
Don't forget that.
We're going to get you out of here.
[A hand reaches carefully, to rest against Raven's head for just the briefest moment.
But something gets to Vakama first.
You know that isn't how this works.]
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Familiar enough, and yet not - twisted painfully, stalking like some great cat against the ground.
With incredible violence, the Matoran is tossed aside past rock and web, rolling to an unresponsive stop against the ground. And the voice that rolls out falls heavy on unnatural breath and predatory rumbling under every syllable, slipping right back into cover.
Hunting.]
Picking up the pieces.
You must be joking.
[It's almost incredulous. So incredibly bitter. Animosity building, amplified.]
If you understood as much as you claim, you'd know there is nothing left. It is the kind of "hero" we are, after all. You and I.
The ones who will always find ourselves separate. The ones who destroy all we touch.
[--who have you been TALKING to, Vakama, who's put these thoughts into your head--
A breath rolls out, a rolling growl. Ignoring the voices. Uncaring.]
What use is there in fighting it?
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So much for that. No, there's a reason why his body was so desperately screaming at him to run.
He hisses and shrieks in the face of this new creature. Instinctively he knows he has absolutely no chance of fighting this thing, but...this thing has Vakama's voice. This must be the change that Vakama went through.
He holds his ground. What little ground he has, at any rate.]
So this is where that path led you, huh? [Another guttural hiss escapes him.] Yeesh, and I thought how I handled myself was embarrassing.
[It's not far off from Schwann though, is it? He got so wrapped up in his hopelessness that he stopped caring. He did horrible things in Alexei's name. He became a husk of the knight he once strove to be.
This really is poetic, then.]
I've seen the Vakama of today, so this better have just been a phase.
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Raven hisses and spits and shrieks, and the predatory growl in response comes from a completely different direction than before. He's clearly being circled.]
Give me one reason it should be.
The past goes nowhere, and the present only moves when you take what you want for yourself. I choose my duty even if no one else can bother, so what matters if I must do it alone?
[You have a job to do.
--we cannot help Vakama--
You have a JOB to do.
--his visions are only right so far, you know. Often enough that we might follow his lead, even if he simply made it up--
The group pulls at your limbs.
Leave him.
--Did you make that promise when you let Lhikan get captured, or when he died saving your sorry mask???--
You HAVE TO you HAVE TO.]
We work ourselves until we're dust on the ground, and for what?? A meaningless atonement that comes far too late. Pathetic, pitying words to some empty grave. A united front that falls apart under disagreement.
Why should it be any different now than it's ever been?
[Why shouldn't one continue to HATE themselves if it keeps things in forward motion?]
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Just from the way this version of Vakama is talking, he can't say there wasn't any merit to those criticisms. Quite honestly, Raven wouldn't want anything to do with him either. But Schwann Oltorain serves a man who grew to be very similar to this.
He's lost faith in Alexei's ability to change for the better. But Vakama is a different story. He's seen the difference for himself.]
You know, actin' like this ain't doin' you any favors. Now you're just bein' the epitome of everything yer teammates hated about ya.
[His eyes carefully follow the direction Vakama's growls are coming from, his posture defensive but prepared. He's faced down plenty of monsters in his time.]
I ain't the right person ta tell ya how ta stop hatin' yerself. That'd make me one hell of a hypocrite. But I can tell ya you're never gonna get anywhere if ya close yerself off from everyone else. You're gonna be stuck wallowin' like this fer the rest of yer days.
[He lets out a shriek.]
I'm offerin' you a hand now. [Just like those kids did for him.] You gonna take it?
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