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.
Hmm... perhaps I would be happy to go ahead and indulge myself regardless of how much it would surprise you at this point. I am getting the impression you may also want this--
[...because Void Archives is tall--why does he keep going for much taller people--he goes ahead and grabs at their collar and pulls his face down in close...]
[A warm sensation courses through you as the memory plays within the crystal, and the woman with white hair speaks up.]
...Your NIMPH has been removed, as you have requested. There were no complications in the procedure; you should be able to take the field if you need to in the next few days. As you've requested, I did not go 'poking around your brain' for anymore than necessary.
Splendid work, Cecil. [Dorothy checks herself over briefly, nodding her head in some form of approval at least.] I will be expecting much of you in your contributions to Eden, going forward. I do not want a single Nikke who passes through these walls with their NIMPH activated, if they intend on staying with us for an extended period of time. The Ark would be far too excited to get their ungrateful hands upon what we've built, and frankly, the sooner they rot? The better.
[Cecil doesn't say anything in approval nor denial of that, at least. But something in her brows knit momentarily, and she does speak up.]
Of course. But Dorothy...you're certain that you do not want any sort of enhancement to your memory?
...I told you once before, that I do not want you anywhere near my brain until I can be certain you've discarded your loyalty to the Ark. [Dorothy's tone is harsh, and something almost threatening despite the smile on her face. Her eyes have gone dark, cruel almost.] Why exactly are you insisting on trying? Do you want me to leave you for dead?
Considering that I built this structure, aren't you being a little rash?
[Dorothy glares sharply at Cecil, and in an instant and with strength that far exceeds what Dorothy has been capable of here, she grabs Cecil by the throat and holds the much taller woman in the air, her expression shifted to a sneer.]
You would do well to know your place. I could figure out in time just how to keep everything operational, and you'd do well to remember that.
...Dorothy, you only have five more years of memory left in your brain.
[The words from Cecil's throat come out tight, and Dorothy seems to pause, her expression shifting to one of shock for a moment as Dorothy lowers Cecil to the ground.]
W--What? But...there's no...
Human brains were not meant to live for as long as this war has continued for. [Cecil pauses, her gaze averting.] ...You were never meant to live for this long, and the human brain cannot keep up with so many years. It's a wonder you haven't had to start deleting memories now, but that isn't going to remain the case for much longer.
[Something goes blank in Dorothy's expression.]
...And if I were to start deleting memories now?
...That isn't going to work how you want it to. But depending on how much you delete, you could get another couple of decades. Nothing more than that, however.
...I see. So this revenge mission has a time limit, then.
Very well. [Dorothy releases Cecil, her expression still blank, but...] You are dismissed. I will find a way to deal with this myself.
...Very well.
[The two women separate after that, and the large pink crystal shatters to reveal the way to the next destination. It's still lit, but it seems...dimmer, almost.
[Yeager watches silently. Her true strength isn't a surprise, nor is her temper and reaction (hot???) but her memories...
Dorothy clings so desperately to those memories of her past. Deleting them to make way for new ones is unbelievably and unfairly cruel. Did she end up doing this in pursuit of her revenge, or did this happen just before she arrived here? Has she already had to make that decision while she was here?
It... really isn't something he likes, but he suspects he's going to have to keep thinking about it with whatever this place has to show him next. Onward we go. What's next?]
I've seen the future. It's an entire world full of the same beauty and wonder as this crater. Why should we have to wait in the dull present? I can bring about all those millennia of progress now.
Is that right? Progress is certainly a wondrous thing, but... who specifically would benefit of this?
[ Is it JUST about beauty? More has heard about this world, has seen bits of it. It's been plenty wondrous to him, and above all... peaceful and happy. ]
[The path that Raven is led down is mostly dark, with the flickering light of what appears to be something like orbs leading him down further; bright pink in color, the walls of the cave seem even more littered with various drawings and the like. Battle plans, tactical ones. Ones that are long worn from disuse, but they're there and they get more nonsensical over time. It's strange. Like someone clinging to the only thing that they know.
But the orbs stop in front of a way deeper into the cave, and you can hear some kind of voice speaking to you.]
What does one do, when their purpose is fulfilled? When they were made for a singular purpose, but it is no longer needed?
What sort of path forward is there, for someone who's never known how to live a normal life at all?
Am I merely delaying the inevitable, by agreeing to this...? There will surely come a time where my strength isn't needed, before I fall apart entirely...but what do I do, then?
[Crystals continue to illuminate your path further down. They seem the same at first; small memories within those crystals, but it's as Yeager gets further down that something starts to seem...wrong with them.
The memories seem clear at first, but they seem to have...overwritten other memories on some, playing part of one memory before it cuts to the new, clearer memory. Some of them are clearer than others, inane little things that have been overwritten by things slightly more important, but it does seem like Dorothy's brain has had some trouble keeping up already.
But Yeager will come across another set of stones; this time, two large stones block the path forward, with memories held within them.
One of them appears to be in front of a signpost, Dorothy's dark look toward the ground contrasts the almost bright, sunny look outside and the white flowers upon the ground. And it appears she's in front of a sign for the Ark.
The other...well. It seems to be Dorothy pointing a gun at a small girl with brown hair, who's eyes are bright red. Dorothy herself looks utterly distraught.
[The first time he catches it, Yeager hesitates in front of the crystal. He watches the memories play out again and again, frowning at how suddenly the memory cuts out for the new one. Proof that Dorothy has already had to overwrite some of her memories, it seems.
He shakes his head and forces himself to continue. Two choices it seems... May as well take the more upsetting(?) one first; he's going to the one with the little girl.]
[This is... not a place Yeager recognizes. Well, alright, fair enough, there are plenty of people here with plenty of their traumas to go through, so maybe it's better that he doesn't recognize it? Sure. Why not. Off we go!
It's the retreating figure that gets him to pause more than anything else; there's no way that was who he thinks it was, right? No, it couldn't be. Besides, it's not like he's ever met the man in person and he's so damn elusive that all Yeager has to go on are descriptions of him, so...
Well, it's as good a direction as any for what path to take, so he's following after. He figures there's no sense in trying to be stealthy about it, so he'll raise his voice to call out after him:]
Do wait up! I'd appreciate a guide to help me through whatever traps this place may hold~
[The memory starts much further back when Yeager touches it. The despair is palpable, overwhelming in it's feeling, in her failure to save Pinne. In what happens afterward; the rest of her Goddesses leave her alone, unsure of what to do. Because they're the only ones left fighting at this point, but they need their leader somehow. They need to take care of everything that they can, because the mission is important. The mission is everything to them.
Perhaps what's worse is what happens afterward. After the voice message plays, and for a brief moment, Dorothy's look brightens and she's...
...She talks to someone who isn't there. She talks to Pinne, like she's still there. Like her mind hasn't utterly snapped in pursuit of the mission, and nobody says a thing about it for the time being.
The memory stops, and the crystal dims, though it doesn't shatter yet. But this time...something speaks up.]
...Even now. Even now, I can't stop thinking about it. I thought I wanted to change. I thought I wanted to look to the future, why am I still reminded...
[It's Dorothy's voice, but it sounds...strange. Despair filled, truth be told.
But there's another memory. Want to test that one next?]
[Lmao, he sees nothing! When he hears the sound of the training, though, he'll go to check it out. It doesn't exactly bode well for not getting into fights, but...oh, well, that's life.]
Even assuming that hypothesis holds true - what of the time until then? What of this moment? You have your son right in front of you, but are you looking at him at all?
[ Years, and years, and years, believing his precious child to be dead-- lost to him forever. So much regret, so few moments shared---
More forces a deep breath. This man isn't even real. This isn't worth it. ]
cw: The Pinne Incident (suicidal ideation, attempt, hallucinations)
Not only did she lose someone she loved, but she was forced to do it herself. Forced to take her dear friend's life because she was already losing herself to the corruption. There was no other way, and Dorothy had no way to handle the loss.
And when she finally tries to keep moving, it is only with the strength of Pinne's memory that she does so, even if she clings to it in ways that are truly unhealthy.
Yeager doesn't really have time to process that before he hears Dorothy's voice again, and he needs to reach her—]
Dorothy, listen to me. This is... a dream.
[That's what it has to be, right?]
Please, Dorothy, this isn't reflective of just how far you've come. There's nothing wrong with feeling this pain or remembering what happened - you've still made the decision to move forward and that...
[...]
...That means more to me than I can ever say, truly. So please...
[That is strange! Turo's own memory is perfect, video-like; he's never known what it might be like to forget something or have an uncertain memory. The woman with the sharper image catches his attention, and he'll turn to follow her.]
[It won't be, but...there's a pulsation of warm, pink light from those crystals that illuminates the room just a little bit more.]
...You know it means a lot to me too. Don't you, Yeager? That you're...willing to do the same.
[Dorothy's tone is surprisingly warm at that. Kind, though despair filled and almost...staticy seeming, despite feeling so far away.]
It means so much. You've...continued to see me, and chosen to stay. It means so...so much to me. But still, I...
[The voice fades at this point. Seems the only way forward is to touch the other crystal, and this one...the memories play in a reversed order, though it may not be as obvious at first.
The first memory seems to be of long ago; Dorothy's outfit somehow still pristine as she takes temporary shelter on the surface. Her eyes scan for Raptures as she eats her meal, and when one spots her, she's on the run again. The memory feels...faded, janky almost. Like it's an amalgamation of memories left behind by Dorothy, that she's tried to delete.
The next one is clearer; a place she couldn't leave. A place she had been in stasis for so long, until she could find her own way to move forward: to take the Ark back, and destroy those who'd wronged them. (end at 1:13:21)
The next one is just as clear; something someone tries to snap Dorothy out of this. Someone tries very hard to get her to realize who they are and why they need to do this. About how they really didn't walk away; how walking away was, in truth, something she meant in a different way for some of them. But a lie is told; they go their separate ways, and at Pinne's insistence, she stays at the paradise they created. One that eventually fades once Dorothy realizes Pinne is dead, while managing Liliweiss' grave... (54:10 to 58:00, and 58:54 to 1:03:07. if you want extra painful context: 1:05:09 to 1:08:14. :3)
And last but not least, the betrayal that cemented her hatred for the humans who had betrayed her trust, and taken everything from her. The people she devoted herself to, abandoning her on a surface to die.
The thing that broke Dorothy's mind beyond all comprehension. The reason she's been the way she has, because she can't trust them. She can't. She can't. She's so used to everyone walking away, or rejecting her, and...
The crystals finally shatter, allowing you to move forward.]
...Yes, they certainly do wish for what Jasper is implying here - there is no doubt that they are an individual who hardly would look away from the mere notion of acknowledging such admittances. Even now that they have made more realizations these days, rather than at the beginning of this...the state of allowing themselves become "attached".
Such to the point that Void Archives can't help it when Jasper pulls on them, the distance between their faces eliminated completely, looking once again far too satisfied with themself. ]
...I do.
Allow me to show how much, hm? You can't exactly expect me to do nothing, when you have permitted myself so very close to your space, asking such things of me. Or, is it that you do? Do feel free to act accordingly, either way.
[ ...But, for a moment they ponder in the midst of this if they're understanding this correctly, and start to overthink. With Jasper pulling them so close, they think they do. There's hardly much room between either one of them! And they have imagined doing something about it from time to time, so is it not clear Jasper wants them to as well?
Though, they close their eyes tightly, and will try to go in slowly for a light, brief kiss. Even if all the while their face lights up and reddens as they do - partly because they are in fact truly embarrassed for trying to do something like this for the very first time. ]
Arven is fine. I just need to finish my work faster.
[Speaking of which - they're here. The elevator doors slide open onto the time machine chamber, a place More will recognize. The crystal dome is white now, and the bulk of the time machine looms black and metallic above.]
But More stops arguing with a construct from the past and exits the elevator as well. Just being here sends his pulse racing - Turo's nightmare is all too vivid within him now.
You'll try to get him killed here, he wants to say, but doesn't. ]
[ It's an admittance; it comes easy when everything had been in a bit of a blur...odd images that filled in that pale color witnessed before their very eyes. Alongside those sensations - a memory that certainly can't belong to them. ]
What, exactly, were you trying to say?
[ They get straight to the point. There's no need to skirt it in any sense. ]
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