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.
[At first, Fukuda feels leery of the hexcore. That influence, that wrongness, it doesn't feel entirely unfamiliar. It reminds him of the strange nagging at the back of his skull when he'd found himself in that hospital room in his dream, John Walker offering him something he didn't want. Something he wasn't interested in at all. And yet...
But then the invitation from the hexcore becomes clearer. A perfect body. Strong enough to fight. More importantly, the ability to have a clear head while also being whole. Being properly formed and normal. It would solve all of his problems. How could he refuse that?
[The pulsating and rotating grew more animated as Fukuda moved, that wordless intent louder and more insistent with every inch of distance closed. Promising perfection, to cure every weakness of body and mind, all you need to do is give yourself to it-]
[Fukuda's hand makes contact, and a sudden force lances out from the Hexcore in a torrent of wind and violet lightning; pulling him closer, refusing to let go, sending an agonizingly painful shock through his entire body that seems to run straight down to every molecule of his composition.]
[And then, abruptly, the pain stopped as everything turned black. Maybe you think you passed out, mayybe you need a minute or two, but when Fukuda opened his eye...he would find himelf floating in an endless cosmos, an infinite space with thousands and thousands of golden threads each ending in a singular human shape.]
[Well, okay, ow. But you know what they say, no pain, no gain!!!!
Anyway at least it's over? But also. Now he's in some sort of outer space soul dimension which is. A lot to say the least. He's here to wake one of his teammates up, and just based on what the Hexcore promised, he assumes it's Viktor. But how the hell is he going to find one person in a place this big???
Well, nothing accomplished by staying put. So first things first, he'll see if he can move around freely here. Or is he stuck floating in zero gravity?? Does HE have one of those golden threads.]
[First and foremost, Fukuda would findd he could in fact move here, just as easily as floating through the void between worlds. (Which probably explained why Viktor was so weirdly normal about it.) However, it probably would not take long to realize two things: one, that he did in fact have the same connection as all the others. Secondly, he was...]
[Well. He was perfect, in a manner of speaking. A flawless body of gold and white, without a trace of physical pain.]
[Ah. Well that's going to distract him for a moment. He wishes he had a mirror!!! He can only see his cool robot hands and body, though. They are. Very cool!!!! He reaches up to touch the smooth metal of his robot head. There seems to be some extra ornamentation where his hole was but. Emphasis on was. He's whole. Pristine. Without any of the suffering that usually entails.
Dimly, in the back of his head, he mulls over what a shame it is that this is only a mindscape and not real.
In any case, having this thread at least gives him something to work off of. The logical course of action is to follow this thread back to the source. So he'll do that.]
[...statistically speaking, someone was probably pretty okay with the glorious evolution, honestly. with a sample size that large, it's almost certain.]
[Regardless.]
[It's almost painfully quiet, passing by shape after shape of human souls assimilated into a stagnant peace. Unmoving, unaware, lost in an eternal dreamless slumber, so many that it is momentarily hard to trace any single thread...and then a voice shakes the infinite cosmos, reverberating like the mechanisms of an unquantifiably enormous machine humming to life, words intelligible but barely human any longer.]
YOU SEEM SATISFIED BY THE EVOLUTION.
[The threads all coalesce and end in a golden halo, crowning a tremendous and ethereal deity wreathed in the fabric of the cosmos itself. Perfection taken to its logical extreme, order and chaos inteersecting in the form of this singular existence.]
[Under layers and layers of machinery, the cadence and sharp accent could just be made out--definitely Viktor's voice, but twisted almost beyond recognition.]
TO BRING AN END TO SENSELESS CONFLICT. THEY MUST EVOLVE TO SOMETHING BEYOND THEIR BASE INSTINCTS.
... I understand how you feel. People are inherently unkind and prone to rejecting the things they don't understand. That's why I've been alone most of my life.
But Viktor... These are the kind of things a well intentioned extremist type antagonist would say, you know.
MEANINGLESS. YOU OF ALL PEOPLE MUST REALIZE THIS. TO RID HUMANITY OF THAT INHERENT CRUELTY WHICH CAUSES STRIFE, THEY MUST BE BROUGHT PAST THE IMPULSE FOR CRUELTY ITSELF.
EMOTION IS THE ROOT OF THIS MEANINGLESS SUFFERING. ONLY IN THE SERENITY OF THE GLORIOUS EVOLUTION WILL HUMNITY EVER KNOW AN END TO PAIN.
[He nods. He really does understand the logic here. He understands taking drastic measures in search of an end to pain.]
That's what I was trying to do when I drilled my hole. I was just trying to find a way to make it all stop.
[The pain, his thoughts, the cruelty and isolation he lived with. The numbers.]
But... when I came to and realized I wasn't dead, I was glad. Because I was able to think clearly again, and I remembered all of the good things human emotions can create. The surprise of an unexpected stroke of luck, the orange light of the sunset, the jazz music that I could hear through my neighbor's open window... I couldn't appreciate any of that without emotions. You're throwing away that side of things too.
[Even the hesitation seemed to leave a mechanical hum in the fabric of the universe.]
SUCH THINGS CAN NOT BALANCE OUT THEIR MISERY. I HEAR THEIR THOUGHTS- [A slow gesture swept through the air, colossal staff directed to indicate the countless souls surrounding them.] -AND THEY CRY OUT FOR BETTER LIVES. FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR. I WILL GRANT THEM THE PEACEFUL EXISTENCES THEY DESIRE.
[I'm taking getting a face icon that Viktor was at least slightly moved.]
You can't make that kind of decision for other people. They have to do it themselves or it won't work. That's what I learned when I tried to give other people the same hole as me. [You know. As you do. Don't worry about it.]
Anyway, even if people think they want oblivion, as someone who tried, I think it's not actually a good idea. And it's not a decision you can take back.
THIS POWER WAS ATTAINED TO HELP OTHERS. TO SAVE THEM FROM THEMSELVES. FLAWED HUMANITY CAN NOT BE TRUSTED TO KNOW HOW TO END THEIR OWN SENSELESS CONFLICTS. I...I AM MORE THAN THAT. THE HERALD OF A WORLD ETERNALLY FREE OF PAIN AND SUFFERING.
[Said in a scolding tone;] Well for starters, as a scientist you should know full well that evolution doesn't have a destination, Viktor. All species evolved from the same starting point, but none of them are "right," are they? They all serve their own unique roles in the ecosystem.
Besides that, who decides what "perfect" looks like? Who decides what a "flaw" is? For example, often the same things that make a brilliant detective are also problems in other avenues of their lives. Sherlock Holmes is able to pursue leads in a case with incredible zeal, but it's this same need for mental stimulation that drives him to abuse drugs when he doesn't have a case to occupy his time.
Well I like this body! But if your plan is for everyone to just not go out and experience things in order to avoid pain, then I can say from experience that while that's safe it's also miserable.
Are you the kind of guy who keeps all his collectibles in the packaging or something?
[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.
[Ah!!! Is his positivity working??? Then he'll keep at it.]
I think it is. There was a point I was so miserable I wanted to die. But now, I'm glad I didn't end up dying, not just because of my hole, but because it sent me down a path that led to me meeting everyone here. Those 30 years of suffering were worth even just these few weeks. That's how powerful joy is.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
ii
But then the invitation from the hexcore becomes clearer. A perfect body. Strong enough to fight. More importantly, the ability to have a clear head while also being whole. Being properly formed and normal. It would solve all of his problems. How could he refuse that?
Fukuda reaches out to touch the Hexcore.]
no subject
[Fukuda's hand makes contact, and a sudden force lances out from the Hexcore in a torrent of wind and violet lightning; pulling him closer, refusing to let go, sending an agonizingly painful shock through his entire body that seems to run straight down to every molecule of his composition.]
[And then, abruptly, the pain stopped as everything turned black. Maybe you think you passed out, mayybe you need a minute or two, but when Fukuda opened his eye...he would find himelf floating in an endless cosmos, an infinite space with thousands and thousands of golden threads each ending in a singular human shape.]
no subject
Anyway at least it's over? But also. Now he's in some sort of outer space soul dimension which is. A lot to say the least. He's here to wake one of his teammates up, and just based on what the Hexcore promised, he assumes it's Viktor. But how the hell is he going to find one person in a place this big???
Well, nothing accomplished by staying put. So first things first, he'll see if he can move around freely here. Or is he stuck floating in zero gravity?? Does HE have one of those golden threads.]
no subject
[First and foremost, Fukuda would findd he could in fact move here, just as easily as floating through the void between worlds. (Which probably explained why Viktor was so weirdly normal about it.) However, it probably would not take long to realize two things: one, that he did in fact have the same connection as all the others. Secondly, he was...]
[Well. He was perfect, in a manner of speaking. A flawless body of gold and white, without a trace of physical pain.]
no subject
Dimly, in the back of his head, he mulls over what a shame it is that this is only a mindscape and not real.
In any case, having this thread at least gives him something to work off of. The logical course of action is to follow this thread back to the source. So he'll do that.]
no subject
[Regardless.]
[It's almost painfully quiet, passing by shape after shape of human souls assimilated into a stagnant peace. Unmoving, unaware, lost in an eternal dreamless slumber, so many that it is momentarily hard to trace any single thread...and then a voice shakes the infinite cosmos, reverberating like the mechanisms of an unquantifiably enormous machine humming to life, words intelligible but barely human any longer.]
YOU SEEM SATISFIED BY THE EVOLUTION.[The threads all coalesce and end in a golden halo, crowning a tremendous and ethereal deity wreathed in the fabric of the cosmos itself. Perfection taken to its logical extreme, order and chaos inteersecting in the form of this singular existence.]
no subject
Well, yeah! This is better than the body I had before. It work properly while still being whole.
[Looking around again.]
But it doesn't seem like there's much to do around here. Won't people get bored?
no subject
HUMANITY MUST SURPASS SUCH BASE DESIRES.[Under layers and layers of machinery, the cadence and sharp accent could just be made out--definitely Viktor's voice, but twisted almost beyond recognition.]
TO BRING AN END TO SENSELESS CONFLICT. THEY MUST EVOLVE TO SOMETHING BEYOND THEIR BASE INSTINCTS.no subject
But Viktor... These are the kind of things a well intentioned extremist type antagonist would say, you know.
[In case Viktor wasn't sure this was Fukuda yet.]
no subject
MEANINGLESS. YOU OF ALL PEOPLE MUST REALIZE THIS. TO RID HUMANITY OF THAT INHERENT CRUELTY WHICH CAUSES STRIFE, THEY MUST BE BROUGHT PAST THE IMPULSE FOR CRUELTY ITSELF.
EMOTION IS THE ROOT OF THIS MEANINGLESS SUFFERING. ONLY IN THE SERENITY OF THE GLORIOUS EVOLUTION WILL HUMNITY EVER KNOW AN END TO PAIN.
cw: references to past suicide attempt
That's what I was trying to do when I drilled my hole. I was just trying to find a way to make it all stop.
[The pain, his thoughts, the cruelty and isolation he lived with. The numbers.]
But... when I came to and realized I wasn't dead, I was glad. Because I was able to think clearly again, and I remembered all of the good things human emotions can create. The surprise of an unexpected stroke of luck, the orange light of the sunset, the jazz music that I could hear through my neighbor's open window... I couldn't appreciate any of that without emotions. You're throwing away that side of things too.
no subject
...[Even the hesitation seemed to leave a mechanical hum in the fabric of the universe.]
SUCH THINGS CAN NOT BALANCE OUT THEIR MISERY. I HEAR THEIR THOUGHTS-[A slow gesture swept through the air, colossal staff directed to indicate the countless souls surrounding them.]-AND THEY CRY OUT FOR BETTER LIVES. FREEDOM FROM DESPAIR. I WILL GRANT THEM THE PEACEFUL EXISTENCES THEY DESIRE.no subject
You can't make that kind of decision for other people. They have to do it themselves or it won't work. That's what I learned when I tried to give other people the same hole as me.
[You know. As you do. Don't worry about it.]
Anyway, even if people think they want oblivion, as someone who tried, I think it's not actually a good idea. And it's not a decision you can take back.
no subject
THIS POWER WAS ATTAINED TO HELP OTHERS. TO SAVE THEM FROM THEMSELVES. FLAWED HUMANITY CAN NOT BE TRUSTED TO KNOW HOW TO END THEIR OWN SENSELESS CONFLICTS. I...I AM MORE THAN THAT. THE HERALD OF A WORLD ETERNALLY FREE OF PAIN AND SUFFERING.no subject
Anyway, a world free of pain and suffering is one thing, but isn't this also a world free of joy as well?
no subject
...NO. I AM NO LONGER HUMAN. FREE OF MY WEAKNESSES AND FAILINGS. PERFECT, AS HUMANKIND LONGS TO BE.[Another hesitation, the space almost feeling as though it shook with the silent uncertainty.]
WHAT VALUE IS JOY WHEN IT IS FLEETING INSTANTS IN A LIFETIME OF SUFFERING? THE EQUATION IS NOT BALANCED. IT MUST ALL BE ERASED.no subject
Now you just sound like a kid who knocks the game board over when he's losing. That's your "perfect" and "more evolved" solution?
no subject
EVOLUTION HAS A DESTINATION. THIS IS THE FINAL, PERFECT FORM OF HUMANITY LIBERATED FROM ITS FLAWS.
WHAT IS SO WRONG ABOUT THIS SOLUTION?
no subject
Well for starters, as a scientist you should know full well that evolution doesn't have a destination, Viktor. All species evolved from the same starting point, but none of them are "right," are they? They all serve their own unique roles in the ecosystem.
Besides that, who decides what "perfect" looks like? Who decides what a "flaw" is? For example, often the same things that make a brilliant detective are also problems in other avenues of their lives. Sherlock Holmes is able to pursue leads in a case with incredible zeal, but it's this same need for mental stimulation that drives him to abuse drugs when he doesn't have a case to occupy his time.
no subject
THAT...NO. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND. WHY DO YOU RESIST, WHEN YOU SO READILY ACCEPT PERFECTION?no subject
Are you the kind of guy who keeps all his collectibles in the packaging or something?
no subject
SURELY NO MEASURE OF JOY IS WORTH THE SENSELESS PAIN AND SUFFERING. EVEN MISERY WOULD BE NONEXISTENT TO AN EVOLVED HUMANKIND.no subject
I think it is. There was a point I was so miserable I wanted to die. But now, I'm glad I didn't end up dying, not just because of my hole, but because it sent me down a path that led to me meeting everyone here. Those 30 years of suffering were worth even just these few weeks. That's how powerful joy is.