While your conversation with Shadow may have shed light on a few things... it's obvious he doesn't think you all are up to the task of saving the universe from Eggman. Which also means that now you're dealing with his test, starting immediately. Some of you may be whisked away with no time to even blink, while others may find themselves wandering the Void aimlessly. Regardless, it seems this week won't be a particularly easy one.
THE VOID
Nothing has changed in the Void. Nothing ever changes in the Void. It's impossible to track the passage of time in here, and your only escape are the rings... though you should be careful with them, as there's far fewer this week. You're free to travel between worlds as you see fit - Shadow won't stop you - but you can be snatched up from wherever you are at any given moment and pulled back into the Void. Maybe don't plan on spending to long anywhere else, because it won't end well for you if you do.
The hexagonal shards will still show you visions of other worlds... but this time they all show the same thing. You'll see worlds - maybe even your own - taken over by robots and Eggman's chroma, reduced to smoldering ashes or being rebuilt in Eggman's image. Your friends, allies, and enemies may even be going about their lives just as listlessly and dutifully, heedless of their surroundings. You may even see alternate versions of yourself among them. Regardless, it seems all these shards have to show you this week are all the possibilities of failure - that other versions of shardbearers in other timelines have already lost.
MINDSCAPES
Shadow's usage of the Phantom Ruby and his own fake Chaos Emerald shard have caused quite the problem for you all - namely, you'll find yourselves traversing each other's innermost thoughts and dreams. Exactly how this mindscape manifests depends on the individual, but one thing will always remain true: you won't be able to find the owner of the mindscape easily.
As a reflection of these inner thoughts, mindscapes can be any sort of place. Perhaps they are a reflection of the owner's inner demons and fear, or perhaps they showcase a bright future they want to work towards. Regardless, this is a dream and one the owner must be awoken from... which means finding them and bringing them back to reality. That's easier said than done when traversing through this dream-like state, where the rules are made up by the owner and you're a foreign being that the dream recognizes as a threat (even if you aren't).
You may encounter familiar places or people within these mindscapes. You may not. You may end up fighting for your life in here... or you may not. Each one is individual, and the experience can vary wildly from person to person. No matter what you face, you must find the owner of the mindscape and bring them back. You must ensure you're strong enough to support them... and protect yourself.
Curiously, you can activate your shared shard power with the owner of the mindscape at any time - or bolster your own power if you share shard colors - even without them being present. Will this make it easier or harder to help bring them back? It depends on the person, your bond, and the mindscape itself...
Waking them up is as simple as convincing them that they're dreaming - that this isn't real and that they still have things to return to - but that may be easier said than done depending on the person... or the mindscape itself. There's no telling what you'll encounter, after all.
SHARDS
You'll find you're capable of more now than you were before. You're really adapting to using your shard powers and fighting with others. Those of you who share shard colors will feel the strength of your shards increasing even more when working together.
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
Given that your allies are being pulled into mindscapes and are unable to break free of their own, your task this week is to help your friends. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles are off dealing with their own mindscapes, but whenever they are around, they're adamant about the importance of making sure everyone is freed and prepared for whatever comes next.
ENEMIES
Like last week, you will not encounter any of Eggman's robots. The Void is still free of enemies, though other worlds may possess their own threats. Mindscapes are a bit of a different beast; each one varies, and you may or may not encounter threats of any sort in them. Best be on your guard.
[He has a harder time placing the voice at first. But as soon as Casey is mentioned--
...
Is this what Raven had meant? That dream felt so long ago, so muddled in amidst the exhaustion of those weeks, but... the empathy he'd insisted upon, the claim of losing his way after Casey's death...
A pull to power and belonging in a moment of utter weakness, of guilt and self-hatred. He hates the echo he feels, even with just this.
A million questions enter his mind as Schwann - no, Raven - appears, and then dissipates just like a ghost. How much of this had been his choice? From the sounds of that conversation, that man had not wanted to continue on. So what power, what figure, was enough to convince him otherwise?]
Wait -- Raven, stop--!
[It's calling out to shadows at this point, he knows. But he'll still chase after it.]
[VA out here like dang, i forgot my lockpick for vakama's weird volcano dungeon, oh well
They may backtrack to any of the following:
- The path to the jungle, from the spot of their last fight. - The abandoned canoe on the starting beach. - The branching paths back into the jungle from the starting beach. - The telescope.]
[Mercifully, they haven't been transported back to that terrible night. The cacophony of war dissipates as they back off, though a dull ache in their heart remains. It feels as though it may never go away.
But they must press on. They still have a stranger to track down...though perhaps they aren't as much of a stranger anymore.
Another dark hallway lies in wait beyond the statue.]
cw blood, dead bodies (sorry this is escalating quickly)
Vakama will feel that overarching topaz energy ripple for a moment at the mention of that name. Is that a good thing or a bad thing? Hard to say at this point.
As Vakama reaches the end of the hall, darkness gives away to the dim light of the ever-present lanterns in the main chambers.
...the light is very helpful in illuminating the growing splatters of blood on the ground.
Splatters turn into puddles, pooling and pooling until it reaches the dark form of Schwann Oltorain at the center of it all. Around him are the bodies of several unknown figures.
The echoed voices from before resurface.]
"Schwann, I have no intention of giving up now. As long as I live, I still have my dreams.
But this time, let's begin after all our obstacles have been eliminated. We don't need numbers. If we can get rid of the right ones, the rest will get the picture.
...
All I have left now is you. Will you take care of it?"
[Schwann's gaze lifts from the bodies to Vakama as his disembodied voice responds:]
"I will do as you say, but..." [As if to assuage any hesitation on the other person's part,] "It's a great plan."
[There's a dark twist of corruption in the air as this conversation comes to a close. No more playing nice. It's all downhill from here.]
"Tonight it is, then."
cw: blood - i can't talk after the rollercoaster i put u through man, follow ur dreams
[The sensation flutters, faint like a far off echo. Vague, but he had not come so far if not for trusting in things that couldn't be explained yet.
The first sight of red splattered across the floor has his hand to his weapon, drawing it at the ready as the amount increases. He's been around humans enough by now to know the implications of this much injury, pale corpses atop a final vibrant hue, gasping the last colors of their life.
Schwann's eyes lift, and Vakama's gaze meets his, halting his forward motion with his pose on the defensive. Golden eyes narrow at the twisting sensation - the pull of corruption that once again feels too familiar.]
...
Who is it insisting these things to you?
[It's careful, clipped. Unsure if this version of Raven can even see him, let alone consider him something safe in this strange space. The whole thing sounded like a clear request for assassination... possibly more than what was already at Schwann's feet.]
We must have spent a dozen sleepless nights leading up to this. Fine-tuning every last detail, checking and re-checking every single calculation. It was such a close call that he was still notching the last few gears on the way over. Both of us were terrified of what failure could mean for the whole endeavor.
[Viktor sighed with a thin smile, looking back towards the Academy.]
...It almost fell apart under the strain, but it worked. A scale model of what would eventually become the Hexgates.
The dull ache remaining, not so much - but with everything happening as it has, it's already narrowed down the possible owner of this mindscape in a flash.
All the more reason to indeed hurry along - and indeed, their steps are a bit more sped up to see what's up ahead.
[As you approach the canoe, the unsteady feeling worsens. Your mind slips for a moment into a void of white.
-The pressure of water from all sides presses as the light slowly fades. You are crammed in a crowd of shadowed bodies, huddled and panicked between shades of green, packed like sardines as the pressure increases. The air feels thinner and thinner--]
[With a snap of light, you return. A small shadowed figure stands in front of the boat as thought ready to jump on, staring directly at you.]
...Is everything alright? You look like you spaced out.
Did you even hear anything I said?
[Just like the guard, this figure is small and formless outside the flash of their eyes, mixed colors of blue making up what should be their body. Unlike before, this voice is distinctively female.]
[Dorothy isn't sure what to make of this lab at first. It seems almost eerily peaceful; sort of like what Dorothy had seen in the past, long abandoned labs left behind by people in a hurry who may or may not have actually managed to flee. Most didn't. But this is...
Strange, all be told. Dorothy finds herself almost entrance by it, but there's only so long that she can ignore the strange whisperings. She'll turn to see their source, and...
Dorothy listens. For a brief moment, she considers what this could mean for her. Could she finally get rid of this grudge in her heart? Could she maybe even get rid of the need for worrying about her own brain, age-prone and memories only so limited?
...
Unfortunately, Dorothy has seen corruption happen one too many times from such sweet whispers. Dorothy will attempt to shoot the Hexcore.]
[The Hexcore seems almost to burt on contact, expanding like a newly formed galaxy into a swirling chaos of colors and stars that whirl past in a bright vortex before collapsing back in upon itself in an explosion of brilliant violet light-]
[-and as that light fades, the animated chatter and light of a party sets in. The wide interior of a warm and welcoming bar, flooded with people in clothes rnging from 'formal' to 'rock band' and lit in neon over a steampunk DJ setup onstage. The atmosphere is crowded but light, buzzing with excitement and camaraderie.]
[The form of that massive and unknowable cosmic horror seemed to flicker omewhat, an almost imperceptibly gradual change--like he was slowly getting smaller.]
SURELY NO MEASURE OF JOY IS WORTH THE SENSELESS PAIN AND SUFFERING. EVEN MISERY WOULD BE NONEXISTENT TO AN EVOLVED HUMANKIND.
It can be, if it remains in line with the purpose of the machine.
[Having passed by the other research station, they're arriving now at a towering building that's nearly been entirely consumed by crystals. Turo walks up the ramp, and the doors open automatically to admit him.]
Anything else is useless at best and an error at worst.
[Jasper laughs under his breath, ceding control to Void to humor them. Because he's enjoying himself, and he can take control back at any time. That's part of the dance, isn't it?]
My dear Void Archives, it sounds as though you want that from me. Does the idea of me making the mere attempt intrigue you so? Perhaps I should consider it, then; I will be honest, the thing that leaves me so cold about the idea of joining our shared adversary is his poor sense of aesthetics.
But I see that would not surprise you, and I feel like I would enjoy attempting to shock you more at this point, I think. That is what intrigues me at this moment.
[ That it is. There is something to the push and pull - the inherent spark and rush of its unpredictable, yet consistent nature. Though, there is no guarantee of any allowance, there is also something novel about them knowing that the chance to take control is within their hands.
In a way that is unique to the both of themselves; one that defies the normal convention of the aspect of "control", while hovering within it. And, really, isn't there something refreshing about it? As enticing and inviting about where these steps are taking them?
Then, there goes Jasper, addressing them so, and they feel a delightful heat threaten to reach their face in earnest. ]
Hah...yes, he certainly has so little to appreciate in his designs - in both a literal sense and appearances. I have witnessed far more foes with grander styles and magnificent approaches. With similar, repetitive mindsets...
[ Though, they do give something like a dark chuckle. They don't see a reason to deny it - and so they don't bother. Jasper is correct that it wouldn't surprise them. Their assessments had been honest; they meant every word they said. Everything they have done - pulling them close together once more, their lips curl up into another sharp smile. Their gaze intense as there is something pleasantly familiar about the rest of those words. Except, as playful as they are, the stakes are higher, aren't they? ]
...ah, is that so? You did say something before about finding more ways to be devious, implying it would be to surprise me so, didn't you? How do you think you will manage that, I wonder? Will you grant me the privilege of showing me now? Or perhaps it is something you still plan to keep under wraps, hmm? Sharp as you are, I do wonder if you can hide it so long, and make good on such intentions...?
Just what Paradise does not benefit of a wealth of knowledge and experience...?
[ It's strange, actually, that he still doesn't know what exactly the human Turo meant to accomplish. He supposes a part of him has been too much of a coward to ask. ]
[He half-snarls. Inside, the lab is...a wreck? It's a tiny windowless room filled with clutter and a lot of stone debris from the walls and ceiling. Turo ignores it, pressing the call button for the elevator.]
That's exactly why it was necessary to create this system at all. All of this is just corrupting it further.
For how much this Turo talked about systems, More had become increasingly convinced he was merely a fragment of the robot Turo that was concerned with order and structure. But no, it really is... the real deal. Or at least AI Turo's internalized version of the man, which is about as good as the real deal given the amount of proximity and memory-sharing going on here. ]
Do you mind outlining your vision ever so briefly, for a curious fellow scholar? We still seem to have some way ahead.
[ More doesn't know the term elevator pitch, but he's quite literally asking for one. ]
Strange. I would have expected an AI that prioritized human survival to be much more severe about such a thing. You really must have softened.
But...I believe I understand what you're getting at, even if I cannot agree entirely.
Please, proceed.
[Void Archives will be allowed further at this point, and the cave actually lets out into a far more beautiful area to start. White flowers bloom all around and the field seems almost endless. But it's...peaceful, if briefly, until Void walks further. They'll find something on the ground...or the remains of someone, rather. An unidentified man, seeming to be left to die in a way that looked agonizing.]
I've killed a great many people in pursuit of this revenge. The Commanders of the Ark have grown to see Nikke as nothing more than mere weapons. Things to be thrown away, cast aside and left to rot without any consideration of the lives they were made from. Always expendable...always replaceable. Many of the humans I've come across seem to share this sentiment, and before any human is let into Eden, I give them a test of character of sorts.
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