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.
[ Those...sure are some nightmares that are happening, aren't there? What can Void Archives do but get themselves wrapped up in it? With the scenes that are being shown before the blond's eyes, they are unable to look away.
From the reveal of the odd mechanism to everything else that comes after, it's one hit after another.
The monster that also attacked, though, seems like a recurring, formidable beast. Considering the fight they recall happening and all that, they're not surprised.
The fading images of the trio are something quite curious - the two girls, and...Yeager himself, perhaps?
The dream is quite intense. But, Void Archives sits in contemplation.
Unlike last time, they do think it is something that should need addressing if they can find Yeager around. Even if they so happen to take a moment to let everything sink in before going on the little search! ]
[ Unfortunately or fortunately? Sometimes you just got to beat 'em up JJBA style and let nature take its course (no, except yes.) ]
Ah well, you don't see me complaining about that perspective either.
[ Because, well. They're still not very happy about it!!
They do end up seeing the other shoot at Vash again. They don't understand how he can miss when he's taking a shot so up close and all that, but maybe he's just not willing to shoot him when it comes down to it. ]
Is that so...? What about him is infuriating, exactly?
[ When Dorothy says that, they flash her something like an amused grin as if to say 'yes, I am', because this is how we are today. Please, do appreciate their puns (no) ]
You are safe to reopen them.
...That being said, I do wonder if we should make a competition out of this. Which one of us can defeat these two far more quickly, to clarify. And ultimately, if you can envision yourself participating in such a challenge~
[ Void Archives' playful tone is evident in their voice as they decide to shoot an energy beam of light at one of the still-stunned enemies (they will be dazed for one more round, but after that, will begin moving again...)
They're a lot tougher than the regular versions, so this will definitely take some heavy-lifting. ]
[ no one here is happy about the circumstances that they're currently in. was this what they signed up for when it came to helping out the furries? wolfwood would like to see the fine print. (never mind that he's allowed to leave at any point of time and simply doesn't.)
there's also irony with void archives asking him what makes vash so irritating because lord knows that they're equally frustrating. ...just in a different way. wolfwood clenches his fist as he responds. ]
He's an idiot who doesn't know when to quit.
[ "vash" looking down at where wolfwood is clenching his fist before turning to void archives with a head shake and a shrug of his shoulders. almost as a "what can you do" gesture. he takes a step forward towards wolfwood and it looks like he might reach out to him.
❝Wolfwood, you're the one who doesn't know when to quit. It doesn't matter what you do; it'll never be enough.❞
his words cause wolfwood's entire body to tense up—fight or flight, the words striking a nerve—and this time when he raises his gun again to fire another shot, his aim is true and goes right through the middle of his head. of course, it hits nothing. why would it hit anything...? ]
Listen to this guy—he's a damn hypocrite. No matter how many times I tell him to give up, he won't. [ "vash" will raise a hand to touch where wolfwood had "shot" him but looks far from being surprised or offended. ] This guy and his ideals will be the death of him and this place thinks that he has any right to lecture me.
( ... mom would just... come in. not ask. it's... strange.
she steps aside to let dorothy in. mafuyu's side of the room has books, more books, and notebooks- studying. a speaker displays some gentle light, but otherwise is silent. and my god the fluffy blankets. bliss, truly. )
... I'm just... tired, I think... of having these drawn out...
[In truth, Dorothy had been almost content to walk away when she saw Yeager; she was going to go prepare some tea for herself and Tails to talk with him and make sure the boy was doing okay and man! That sure was some awkward staring! Dorothy was almost appreciative of the teleportation but--
Of course he's with her.
...And of course he opens his big, stupid, fucking mouth--]
Yeager, is now really the time for this?
[SHE WANTS TO SCRUB THE ENTIRETY OF THE WICKERMAN (2006) FROM HER MEMORY AND YOU ARE NOT HELPING???
Anyway. Dorothy's lack of preparation (4) sees the battle taking a lot longer than anticipated, even if Dorothy's definitely getting better at trying to hit multiple targets; of course she ends up getting hit around a few times, and she's absolutely going to need to patch this new outfit of hers up as soon as possible, but she was hoping she wouldn't end up needing to go for repairs. Ugh. At least it's nothing life threatening...]
...That should be the last of them. Are you faring alright yourself?
[she swears to god if you make one joke young man--]
[It takes Yeager a little longer than usual to start the day. But then, of course it does - that dream was from a lifetime ago, and it takes him a moment to remember where he is, who he is. He doesn't really feel like putting on the usual act.
But it's not like there's much of a choice in the matter, now is there?
So eventually Void Archives will find Yeager out and about around the base; he's once again decided to doodle all over the walls because that's... expected. Safe, maybe. Something obnoxious that Yeager does that doesn't require any thought or speaking to anyone and he can pretend that dream didn't happen. And then hopefully tomorrow will be better, and he can pretend like this didn't happen. It's worked out well enough for him so far. Maybe his luck will continue to hold out.]
Anyway, he was really hoping to avoid Dorothy for awhile longer, buuuuuut here we are. There's little choice but to fight, and there's more than a few enemies to contend with, but between the two of them they do manage to cut their way out. Not without some difficulty, certainly (12).
Yeager rests that massive scythe back over his shoulder with the last of the bees gone, free hand coming up to his chest as he tries to catch his breath. Oh, hold on, he pushed himself a little too hard, didn't he—
He drops to a knee, breathing hard as his vision blurs a bit. He really needs to be more careful. There's no one here who knows how to fix that damn blastia, after all, and he certainly isn't going to let Tails look at it when he's never let anyone else see it.]
I'm— fine, give me a moment.
[Thankfully, his back is to her. Maybe she'll allow him his space and she won't notice just how tightly he's clutching something beneath his cravat.]
( jasper, please, this is the girl who's regularly turned herself into an icicle trying to defend people. completely unaware of his frankly justified paranoia, though, mafuyu just... responds sincerely. )
Oh- there's a more upscale bookstore downtown. I could show you if you'd like? I just- um. My dad likes his fantasy books to have this sort of binding, so I thought it'd be nicer.
( mafuyu has been very, very reclusive as of late- and who can blame her? but as tails begins to neglect himself, she decides to take matters into her own hands. she can't quite account for the taste of the filling- grilled salmon, chicken and tuna mayo- but even she can make a riceball, right?
so after a bit of cooking, she comes into lab, careful not to spill. )
Tails...? I made a snack, if you're hungry.
( sonic and knuckles' portions are wrapped, labeled and refrigerated for safe keeping, though if they skip it she'll gently hound them later- )
[ could have come here for the nightmare memories but given how one of wolfwood's arms is out of commission due to the unfortunate fact that he cannot heal himself (nor will he ask for healing from anyone else), he hasn't been able to continue whittling as he had just been doing as of last week.
so color him extremely interested in what joker is doing here. ]
[ They asked absolutely knowing that they must be a different kind of irritating. Though if anyone inquired if such an irony would be lost upon them, they'd play dumb for fun. As it is, they let out a little chuckle. ]
Is he now?
Hmm...he's an individual with unerring tenacity, then.
[ So someone who doesn't know when to give up; a quality that already sets them apart. At least that's what they assume - they can be stubborn and resolute. Yet, they know that they are not some kind of foolish protagonist.
But, they raise a brow hearing the response that they do from this 'Vash', looking at Wolfwood. Though next they're watching as the man fires a bullet at the image and it does a load of nothing. ]
What exactly are you attempting to make him give up, when it comes to his ideals? There are those who cling so stubbornly to their beliefs that you would have to wait for a miracle for it to change, after all~
[ They are quite curious. It warrants the ask, after everything. ]
[Dorothy's returning from a supply run when she sees a certain blue blur around town--she doesn't...usually talk to him out of a small sense of awkwardness, but he does seem to be somewhat tired this time around...
...Well. Someone has to look out for him, she supposes--]
Sonic, do you have a moment?
[...Do you want something to drink, she's got a few bottles of something or other in her bag--]
[Yeah, of course he remembers, but more importantly:]
Thirty-eight today, so I should be pulling ahead by around two or three by now. Knuckles gives me a good run for my money 'cause he's so strong, but I make up for it by finding more enemies faster.
[Sonic and Knuckles will both leave a note for her - Sonic's writing, though Knuckles also signed it - thanking her for preparing food for them! They'll definitely eat and appreciate it, so don't worry about having to track them down!
Tails turns when he hears Mafuyu enter, smiling, though the expression quickly turns sheepish.]
Oh, I guess I sort of forgot to grab lunch... Thank you so much! I'll take a break now.
[He tries not to overdo it but... well, he's really bad at remembering to take breaks when he gets caught up in something...]
Void Archives sees Yeager hard at work, doodling all the walls, expression unreadable.
Then, they leave.
They return to join him with some coloring implements to join him. They're not certain if it will last long because of the topic they're planning on bringing up in the first place, but it seemed like a perfectly logical idea?? (What logic is even in this...?) ]
Ah, there you are, Yeager! [ They say like they didn't notice him before. Draw a couple of mecha-like squiggles or something. Pause in consideration and break whatever thin line of harmony there may be with: ] I was looking for you. It appears that this time I experienced a rather more intense...dream regarding your past.
You've been very focused, and I can understand why... but... it's important to take care of yourself, too. Especially when you're still growing. Have you gotten any fresh air?
( it's a gentle urging: take a break. don't be like her, while she tries to not be like her mother- true support, and not... confirmation. )
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