You were successful in repelling the robots attacking the city, but you've been left with far too many questions. For once, Tails doesn't have any answers for you, and a gloomy uncertainty has fallen over your three allies. It probably doesn't help that everyone had a rough time of it last week. A win is a win, but it doesn't really feel like a win when you're not even sure who this unknown threat is...
Regardless, life goes on. Things are a bit different this week in Chicago, however.
THE CITY
You'll need to be careful now more than ever when heading out into the city. Though Eggman's usual robots are still present, their numbers have been cut drastically. Far fewer drones patrol the streets, with only the occasional tank or B33 to be seen. You can still find and fight them, and they will still call for backup, but it seems like you all really have destroyed a lot of them.
But there are the new additions to Eggman's forces. Unlike the white chrome versions, these are here to cause problems. You can find them patrolling sometimes... but usually you'll find them in the city proper, destroying whatever they can. Whenever they catch sight of you, they will stop at nothing to try to pursue you and destroy you.
The city itself is still undergoing changes, with more of that white chrome spreading throughout, as if infecting the structures themselves. The Badniks will still destroy even that, though; it's more like they're mindless machines than carrying out any precise orders.
But in a stroke of good luck, occasionally you'll find that some of the humans recognize the danger they're in. It's only when confronted with a robot - but you might hear a scream, or see them try to run away, and if you save them, you may even be able to get a few words in before they simply return to their monotonous lives. You won't be able to get any truly valuable information from them, but they will thank you repeatedly for helping. They don't seem to realize that they're being controlled by someone else, even if you ask them about it.
VISIONS
If you thought last week was a lot, get ready for the madness of week 4!
You may still have nightmares. You may still be pulled into each others' nightmares (same as last week, if you'd like to play out more of these). Or maybe you'll finally be able to catch a break and get some z's, but even if you are lucky enough for that, you'll still be dealing with everything else.
You may find yourself randomly teleported into the city. This happens at random, and can happen to multiple people at the same time. One minute you may be waking up, the next you'll find yourself surrounded by robots ready to kill you. And yeah, the robots are a feature, not a bug. No matter how it happens, you will always be facing down robots whenever you're brought into the city. Enjoy!
But maybe your luck holds out and you're unaffected by that. Well, there's still the visions to deal with!
There are two different kinds of visions that may happen.
The first are the more minor ones - where you may see the people closest to you (positive or negative). They will appear for others as well, and they will gladly speak with you - though they aren't exactly behaving in the way they should. They will torment you, reminding you of past failures and imperfections, and speaking as though everything is your fault. They will follow you wherever you go, and will only fade when someone else has helped you come to terms with the horrid things they're saying. These visions are a manifestation of a character's psyche and thus are based on their own perceptions of their friends/enemies and their own faults. They're incapable of interacting with the world or the characters, but they sure can insult you!
The second are much larger in scope. No matter where you were, you may find yourself pulled into friend's memory. These memories are one-for-one versions of what exactly happened, though now you're here! Are you playing the role of someone else, or are you just a bystander in all that's happening?
The character having the vision may or may not be aware of you initially, but once they're made aware of your presence, the vision will still play out as the memory would. The only way to stop it - aside from simply letting it play out in its entirety - is to drastically alter the memory in such a way that it cannot get itself back on track. Considering the trauma some of the people in this game have, it might be a good idea to help break them free of it.
Regardless of which happens to you (the nightmares, the teleportation, or the visions), your vision will turn bright red for a moment afterwards - it vanishes quickly enough, but it leaves you with the eerie feeling that you're being watched.
SHARDS
Your powers are growing, and you'll find you're able to defend yourself with your power in some way, even if yours is a power made for support. All characters are now able to fire off a blast of energy in their shard color to defend themselves - this attack will grow stronger in time, but at least everyone should be able to defend themselves (somewhat) now?
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
Like last week, Sonic Team is still in need of rings. Rings are still annoying to get. You'll probably need help to get them, but they're worth collecting. So make sure to grab some for Tails!
You may also be tasked with tracking Chaos Energy. Like with tracking rings, Tails will give you a device that can pick up on the signature. You should be careful in approaching, especially if the signature is a large one, considering the three enemies you faced last weekend. Still, Chaos Energy may lead you to more of Eggman's fake Chaos Emeralds, which could prove useful...
Tracking the source down will lead you to one of the weekly enemies with a shard somewhere on its body. It will be much harder to kill than the regular versions of that enemy, and capable of some kind of special power (players' choice). Crushing the shard will weaken the enemy and bring it back down to its normal power level, making it fairly easy to defeat, but if you manage to defeat it without breaking the shard, you can bring it back to Tails for examination.
ENEMIES
Though you can still find the enemies from previous weeks in Chicago throughout the city, their numbers have thinned. Mostly, you'll be running into new faces - robots that don't look anything like Eggman's usuals. They are very rarely actually patrolling or idling, instead focused on destroying parts of the city or attacking any people unfortunate enough to get in their way.
Moto Bugs are... rather cute. They roll around on their singular wheel and can slash with their front claws, though primarily they deal damage by ramming into things at fairly high speeds. They're fairly weak, all things considered, especially by now. They're completely powerless when knocked over or onto their backs. Though one Moto Bug is weak, you will never find them alone - instead, you'll usually find at least 3-5 of them in a group.
Crabmeats are robotic crabs. Where does the meat come in? Unclear. Regardless, they're stronger than Moto Bugs and are capable of both bashing with their massive claws and snipping, and either way they are capable of a good deal of damage if you get hit. They're slower though, which means getting out of the way shouldn't be too hard. Like Moto Bugs, these usually are never alone, often working in pairs.
Buzzers are bees. Did you think we were done with bees? We are absolutely not done with bees. These bees function almost identically to the B33 models in that they're capable of firing lasers from their stingers, divebombing to try to sting, and generally be(e)ing a nuisance. Unlike the B33 models, they do not have a glaringly obvious weak point and are a bit harder to hit and destroy as a result. Though you may rarely encounter only one of these bees out in the wild, usually you'll run into groups of them and they will not be(e) happy to see you.
[ Asking Turo personal questions turns out depressing every time, but More won't let that discourage him. If anything, he can feel keenly how much nobody's ever taken an interest in this man for his own sake and he wants to rectify it. ]
Oh, I did not mean to doubt, or even inquire about, your skills. I was just wondering if there is a type you enjoy more than others.
[ There's a beat as he puts something back on a clothes hanger before continuing to speak. ]
Back in my world, I was a scholar of what we call 'Archetypes'. Though I cannot manifest one of my own, I know my theoretical affinity and... well, even beyond that I do have some that intrigue me more than others in my studies.
[Oh! He waves back. Only polite even if this man is being mean to Wolfwood. Also listen Bigolas Dickolas is unrelated thats the guy who made everyone read that book.]
Well I don't know before I make the hole, and then when I did, I overheard what was being said and that felt like a bigger priority.
[But also yeah Vash has a point, you wouldn't even be his friend.]
and there's a part of wolfwood that wishes that fukuda didn't just acknowledge not!vash but what can he do here? cue him trying to encourage fukuda to go back to his hole experimenting fun. ]
Well, ya don't have to worry about it; nothin' he says is anything important.
[ not!vash gives him a slight frown at that statement. ]
[ looks up the stats page.... maybe?? if only because we have no idea what wolfwood's Actual Age is. ]
Fittin'? [ wolfwood isn't entirely sure what the inspiration is from but he'll just make a blind guess. ] I suppose; those kids are technically animals even if they don't act like any of the ones I've met before.
[ cue wolfwood giving the figurine a closer look. hmmm. ]
But I am worried. I know that even if you're used to it, it's not pleasant when other people say things like that about you. And even if you won't be my friend, we're still teammates, right?
[Fukuda don't bring up the friend thing you're just giving not!vash more ammunition.]
...I'm not sure. There was one I was closer with, once, but...it was his, truly.
[He spent more time with Miraidon - the first one - than any other Pokemon. Practically more than any other person except the Professor. But they never battled together. He's not exactly sure if it left him with a predisposition towards dragons or electric-types.]
The Seeker. An archetype defined by pursuit of knowledge. In its fully materialized form, it's well versed in many kinds of combat abilities, but not specialized on any which one. Its elemental affinity is Wind.
[ Broken down to the bare essentials. If you let him talk about Archetypes freely, you'll never leave here... maybe it's good clothes have More somewhat distracted right now. ]
You were speaking true - you really are a man who knows what he wants. I believe I have seen something around that fits your description in the letter... though I am not so sure about the spirit.
[ there's surprisingly a lot to what fukuda tells him that wolfwood isn't entirely sure he knows how to respond to. truly, why would just say how wolfwood didn't exactly agree to his friend. if only because the only friend he has gone on record to say he has had is the real version of the man standing here with them....
though because fukuda has so helpfully provided the ammo—
❝Is it really that hard to trust people, Wolfwood? Why does it scare you so much?❞
excuse wolfwood as he ignores not!vash and speaks to fukuda and only fukuda. and only about the part that is easiest to talk about. ]
[ Lark almost wishes he could feel relieved to be in some place that is more familiar to him than Chicago has been, even if this isn't the same—an apartment, the smell of the sea...
The keyword is "almost" because, well, none of this feels right, actually? And that's before taking the body in the room into account, which pushes this to Lark trying very hard to keep his cool even when internally he is screaming a little. ]
[ The dream is a perfect deja-vu. He wakes up when he should be dead, he tries to claw his life support out of his chest, he's stopped from it by the strange commander... It seems excessive, how often this world draws him to this scene. Meeting Casey, Raven, Yeager... Again and again and again, like the universe is trying to hammer home some kind of point.
When he woke from Raven's dream, he'd been crying. He's not crying as he rises from this one, but then... he's not the same man he was last week. He knows who he is now, and he can guess at the unspeakable grief he feels when he thinks about these men and Casey.
More's been avoiding people since he had his own memory lane journey, but it feels wrong to pretend he hasn't seen any of this.
Yeager will find a small bouquet of three white lilies by his door. It has a note that reads "With my sincere condolences for events long past and loss never forgotten. -More" in a nice cursive. ]
[Oh, he definitely decides right away. Without hesitation, Ed moves towards Matau there. Yup, you definitely look like you need a bit of a pick-me-up, buddy]
Seems we need you -- but is fine. You need support, you will get it. Think you can do it?
[Go on and do your duty, he means. Looks like you're needed, Matau]
[There's something to be said about Lucifer not being human himself; he sees everyone here as a person without question, which means he's quick to stride over to Turo's side.]
You cannot blame someone for a rampaging creature.
[He can't comment on whether or not Turo was glad that this asshole died; Lucifer doesn't know the situation enough either way, and he's not going to judge complex emotions.]
[Ed groans. This is the worst. Why did things have to go this way?]
Is much to ask you forget everything? Things Ed would rather others not to see...Ed knows it is all as sinful as it looks like. Is well aware of that -- but even despite that, can Ed ask you to forget and...try not to think about it next time you see Ed?
[That's as much as he can wish for, really. He knows that all it takes to earn someone's disdain and hate is for them to know about this. Great! The nightmares from last week continue]
[ Yeager isn't the only one looking for shards today! She's not doing well at it, as she is distracted by her own visions, but Ashley is also out on the city. The sound of chatter far too animated for the droned city draws her in his direction, as it's people she doesn't recognize—but she realizes when she turns the corner of whatever city block they're going down what's going on.
To see and hear Yeager with these girls... She feels like she shouldn't interrupt.
Convenient, then, that her own vision, a boy with a gnarly claw wound across his face walks from behind her, letting a long, low whistle out from his ripped and torn lips. ]
Now what do we got here? Doesn't this look like just a, a nice, quaint little family, huh, Ash?
Jo- no, no, I'm not talking to- Yeager, sorry, I-I wasn't trying to eavesdrop.
[ In a mock whisper: ] I-I- I was.
Shh!
Edited (tfw you forgot to put the prompt number) 2025-02-07 01:12 (UTC)
[Lucifer has had a good conversation with Wolfwood every time they've spoken. Even if "good" is a matter of perspective, since it's not like they've ever had particularly pleasant conversations. Still, they've been ones he's enjoyed.]
Everything all right?
[He only heard the tiniest exchange, but it is enough to be a nosy Devil about it.]
[ it's ironic that with how much is being said, it seems as though wolfwood and void archives are having two different conversations. rather, that there is a disconnect between what wolfwood is saying, how void archives interprets the information as, and then responds to that information. it's not as though it's a new thing—plenty of people will clash due to personality, beliefs, and the like, but as void archive speaks to so many things aside from the question that wolfwood asked, he gets it. and for all of the bite that wolfwood had just moments ago leaves him with a simple huff.
he had said it himself earlier: they're hardly human themselves. of course they wouldn't understand him. (but vash would. vash in all of his infuriating self.) the next time that wolfwood speaks, he does so with a different attitude. ]
I think I should be the one who is doing the pityin' now between the two of us after hearin' ya say all of that stuff.
[ momentarily, wolfwood looking over his shoulder to see what kind of an expression that they would make when the tables were turned back on them. would they see this coming? would they be confused by the sudden shift? ]
Fine; if ya wanna hear me call myself a coward so much then sure, but I'm no more or less of a coward than Vash. [ he waves his good hand at void archives dismissively as he turns back to "vash" and looks at him properly and not the man he represents who isn't there. ...though he wishes that the man was here, foolishly. selfishly. ] He and I...
[ and it's here that wolfwood gets stuck. yes, what is one nicholas d. wolfwood and one vash the stampede? a shit priest and a walking natural disaster—"human" typhoon? a man who has had nearly all of their humanity nearly stripped from him and a being of higher power with more humanity than humans themselves? ...simply just two men who happened to find each other?
despite wolfwood failing to find the words that he wants to use, a moment of clarity that hits him instead. of course. wolfwood brings his good hand to his face, covering it, as he laughs; (it's too late. it's truly too late.) "vash"'s smile changing just slightly. once he's done having his laugh (mental break??), he'll give void archives a leveled look. ]
Here, have somethin' on the house—somethin' to chew on with all of that stuff goin' on in yer head. [ he speaks with a slight smirk on his face. ] If a person who has been lookin' for a place to die suddenly starts thinkin' about tomorrow 'nd actin' on things that they wouldn't otherwise, are they that miserable of a person?
There's no happy endin' for us, but we've lied to ourselves enough times to accept that it's never been about us.
[ It's the blood that Ashley followed to get here. She's starting to have a hard time telling what's reality from what's everyone's tortured thoughts given life. You'd think she's learned by now to stop this, but when fear takes over, something has to be at the wheel and it is always, always her curiosity.
And that leads her to the man she'd watched literally come apart at the seams last week, one of the nightmares she's tried her hardest to bury.
At the moment, Ashley is free of her own visions. But that doesn't make her any more equipped to deal with this. Why is it, then, that she finds her shaky voice speaking up. ]
H- hey!
[ Maybe it's because the Turo she's getting to know sounds nothing like the one from that nightmare. Maybe it's because she can place him, here. ]
[ Ashley doesn't know what to make of Fukuda. They've had one altogether pleasant conversation, but overall he unsettles and unnerves her. What with the last week and a half being what it is, she's decided more often than not to avoid him when she can.
So. Of course she winds up here, confronting what she does not want to.
Watching and waiting would be a great strategy, were she not completely taken aback. Her words get a little tangled and stuck, but, ultimately, Ashley ends up practically screaming out: ]
You were killing people?!
[ The Psycho that Josh concocted... Has someone like that been here, the whole time? ]
[...okay that does get him to chuckle under his breath a bit, which is probably some sort of success. Hendrik, however, is not amused as he turns to address Void Archives.
"Nor is high treason, which is why I have no intention of speaking to the man."
...well, he's not quite as amused anymore, but you know.]
[ Speaking of those revelations that ended badly...
In the last week, Ashley has been too much of a coward to face Ed. She realized that she was wrong and she judged too soon, but the thought of facing him after such a grave error—it's too much. So she's stayed away and let him think she hates him, because it's easier, and she's hated herself the whole time, even whilst enjoying the blossoming of a new relationship.
That's the simple reality of their situation.
She doesn't know when she would face him on her own, had she not found herself stuck in this vision as well. Not once does she try to interrupt or intervene, not after last time. It provides...context. It's not exactly needed context, because the moment she learned what Ed's mate had been doing to him, in her eyes it excused everything. The rest of it, well...
It just reinforces that. It leaves her crying silently, until Ed— the Ed here and now — expresses his frustration at the state of things. ]
E- Ed, I- I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I was wrong.
[ He must not want to see her. He must not. But he has to know. She can't be a coward anymore. ]
[After the traumatic first memory of Dorothy's that Raven relived, this is a much nicer change of pace...even if his dream attire catches him off guard. He brings a hand up to his chin and notes the lack of stubble. Wow, clean-shaven, even. Seems like the dream took a page out of Red Hood's interpretation and gave him an event-appropriate outfit. When was the last time he got all gussied up for a military ball...?
He takes his time walking around the ballroom, observing the other Nikke. It's so peaceful...he has to imagine that this is one of those rare moments of peace for Dorothy.
Ah, but where is Dorothy? Why isn't she out there enjoying herself?
As he searches for her, he notices the memory rewind. The song on the phonograph restarts, and the dancing Nikke return to their starting positions. That's when he starts to piece together the meaning of this dream. Dorothy doesn't want to leave, does she?
Well, there's an outside element now. A certain fool under her care.
He finally locates her along the wall and offers a bow.]
Ya look positively gorgeous tonight, Lady Dorothy.
[Please don't hurt him, he's being serious for once--]
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