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.
[ More is just busy puzzling over the meaning of 'part of the security protocol'. Does that mean this is just one of many entities taking the form of Turo here, making up the aspects of his artificial heart? Is--
Well, it's not only pointless but also impossible to puzzle out when the next thing More knows, it's elephant attack time.
The good news is that he's been practicing evasive action quite hard this week! So he's not bowled over entirely, his leg is just grazed... and it hurts intensely. He tries to rush on, both to follow Turo and to get away from his Pokémon assailant, but it causes him to mewl in pain pretty pathetically. ]
More is going to continue limping after Turo, but a lot more vigilant of outside attacks now. Maybe... maybe he could try and see if their combined shard power is of any use, should something approach again? ]
Despite my fondness of traveling, I am not here to trespass, you know?
[ It doesn't help with easing the pain in his leg any, but focusing himself on the Ruby energy in the air does give More a good idea of what he can do by drawing on Turo's power as well as his own. A part of him takes extra satisfaction in doing so now that he's been called 'unauthorized' - if he truly did not belong here, would Turo's power respond to him?
More summons a tera crystal shard and imbues it with the word 'protect' to function as a mobile shield against further Pokémon attacks. ]
[The Ruby power does respond pretty immediately! Turo - the one present - does not seem entirely pleased with this; he turns to watch the crystal shard accept its mission and start floating about.]
Yet you're encouraging that. Whatever that is, it was not a part of the original design. It's invasive.
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.
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. ]
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. ]
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. ]
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. ]
[He gestures up at the time machine, which hums and then roars as it comes to life, the curved black prongs swirling and expanding like a flower blooming. White light begins to shine from inside, swirling as a sort of portal starts to open. An extension of the machine unfolds as well, reaching downward - it's like yet another prong, ending in a metallic figurehead like a skeletal human torso, arms limp at its sides, grafted onto the machine. It doesn't have skin or hair, no longer exactly an imitation of a human being. It's just a machine shaped like one, eyes shining points of blue in pits of black.]
[ More gasps as the time machine unfolds itself, as beautiful as it is terrifying. It's a marvel of technology that he would have been deeply appreciative of in another context, but right now he doesn't have the mind to try and praise the design.
No, all he's got eyes for is the approximation of a person that is descending towards him like a celestial being made of pure metal.
The more human Turo is forgotten instantly, now that More is seeing what he came for, who he came for.
He limps forward so he can cover each of these limp cold hands with his own warm and living ones. ]
My friend... Won't you come home with me?
[ Is it home to them, with Sonic and the others? Maybe not, but... Just for now... More so than this cold trapped position... ]
[The android twitches to life under his touch, blinking.]
Mmmm0re...?
[Oh - oh, no. He shouldn't be here. It's dangerous, and besides that - he jerks his hands away, bringing them up to try and cover his face. Without the molding and prosthetic work, it's far more skull-like: no lips or nose, no overlay to make his eyes look like real ones and no eyelids to cover them with. Disgusting.]
W-w-why -
[Behind More, the real Turo snaps his fingers.]
He's in the way. Get rid of him.
[Immediately, the machine begins roaring louder, and the prong holding the robot rises further up into the air. He flails his arms. There's nothing to grip onto to keep himself down, nothing at all except the smooth metal that's replaced his lower body and legs.]
Run!
[He doesn't move or gesture the way he typically does, in the waking world, when using his powers. But Tera crystals form in the air nonetheless, sharp shards shooting towards More. Roll to dodge rocks!]
[ More flinches when Turo shakes himself free from his grasp so decisively. It doesn't occur to him, at first, to read it as a measure of self-protection. This Turo looks different, certainly. Intriguing, More might say in a gentler context. He'd love to look at him longer, study inside out how he's made-- But then, would that be appreciating the craftsmanship of the human Turo? It's a sickening thought that all his overflowing affection is at the same time paying compliments to a man he finds so wholly repugnant.
It's not something More gets to think about for more than a stomach-turning split second.
He couldn't run even if he wanted to - the strange metal Pokémon from earlier has ensured that easily. Still, his reflex training of the last week almost pays off here - More manages to sidestep a part of the barrage, only to find the larger amount of it cutting through his clothes and into his flesh (10).
He can't run. He can't evade. And he can't leave his friend behind. ]
Though... Though he's been stripped of the form that is familiar, the author's friend remains the same he's ever known and loved. An absence of features is not an absence of heart, and that heart is still mercifully calling out for the author to save himself. It's that heart, however mechanical, that the author wishes to set free.
[ At this point, More's power can only do one thing: strengthen allies. By casting it on AI Turo, he might well be dooming himself. He might well be enhancing his attacks. But there's a chance, however slim, that he can give Turo the boost needed to resist instead. More will take the gamble. ]
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Well, it's not only pointless but also impossible to puzzle out when the next thing More knows, it's elephant attack time.
The good news is that he's been practicing evasive action quite hard this week! So he's not bowled over entirely, his leg is just grazed... and it hurts intensely. He tries to rush on, both to follow Turo and to get away from his Pokémon assailant, but it causes him to mewl in pain pretty pathetically. ]
W-wait, just a moment--!
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Keep up.
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More is going to continue limping after Turo, but a lot more vigilant of outside attacks now. Maybe... maybe he could try and see if their combined shard power is of any use, should something approach again? ]
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That is why unauthorized entry to the crater is forbidden.
[There's another research station coming up, but he seems like he's going to just keep walking right past it.]
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[ It doesn't help with easing the pain in his leg any, but focusing himself on the Ruby energy in the air does give More a good idea of what he can do by drawing on Turo's power as well as his own. A part of him takes extra satisfaction in doing so now that he's been called 'unauthorized' - if he truly did not belong here, would Turo's power respond to him?
More summons a tera crystal shard and imbues it with the word 'protect' to function as a mobile shield against further Pokémon attacks. ]
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Yet you're encouraging that. Whatever that is, it was not a part of the original design. It's invasive.
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'Invasive' is a rather restrictive phrase. It's adaptive. Your being responds to outside stimuli and adjusts to the situations it faces accordingly.
Surely that's a benefit?
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[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.
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[ Not that it's surprising, exactly, for the most automated part of Turo he has seen this far. ]
What purpose is that, then? To support Professor Turo with his project?
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[What else is there?]
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[ 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. ]
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[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.
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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. ]
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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.
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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. ]
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Has Arven ever asked for this? Has he ever indicated this will give him happiness? Even once?
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He'll understand when he sees. It will all be worth it then.
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[ 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. ]
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[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.]
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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. ]
Where is your "creation"?
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[He gestures up at the time machine, which hums and then roars as it comes to life, the curved black prongs swirling and expanding like a flower blooming. White light begins to shine from inside, swirling as a sort of portal starts to open. An extension of the machine unfolds as well, reaching downward - it's like yet another prong, ending in a metallic figurehead like a skeletal human torso, arms limp at its sides, grafted onto the machine. It doesn't have skin or hair, no longer exactly an imitation of a human being. It's just a machine shaped like one, eyes shining points of blue in pits of black.]
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No, all he's got eyes for is the approximation of a person that is descending towards him like a celestial being made of pure metal.
The more human Turo is forgotten instantly, now that More is seeing what he came for, who he came for.
He limps forward so he can cover each of these limp cold hands with his own warm and living ones. ]
My friend... Won't you come home with me?
[ Is it home to them, with Sonic and the others? Maybe not, but... Just for now... More so than this cold trapped position... ]
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Mmmm0re...?
[Oh - oh, no. He shouldn't be here. It's dangerous, and besides that - he jerks his hands away, bringing them up to try and cover his face. Without the molding and prosthetic work, it's far more skull-like: no lips or nose, no overlay to make his eyes look like real ones and no eyelids to cover them with. Disgusting.]
W-w-why -
[Behind More, the real Turo snaps his fingers.]
He's in the way. Get rid of him.
[Immediately, the machine begins roaring louder, and the prong holding the robot rises further up into the air. He flails his arms. There's nothing to grip onto to keep himself down, nothing at all except the smooth metal that's replaced his lower body and legs.]
Run!
[He doesn't move or gesture the way he typically does, in the waking world, when using his powers. But Tera crystals form in the air nonetheless, sharp shards shooting towards More. Roll to dodge rocks!]
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It's not something More gets to think about for more than a stomach-turning split second.
He couldn't run even if he wanted to - the strange metal Pokémon from earlier has ensured that easily. Still, his reflex training of the last week almost pays off here - More manages to sidestep a part of the barrage, only to find the larger amount of it cutting through his clothes and into his flesh (10).
He can't run. He can't evade. And he can't leave his friend behind. ]
Though... Though he's been stripped of the form that is familiar, the author's friend remains the same he's ever known and loved. An absence of features is not an absence of heart, and that heart is still mercifully calling out for the author to save himself. It's that heart, however mechanical, that the author wishes to set free.
[ At this point, More's power can only do one thing: strengthen allies. By casting it on AI Turo, he might well be dooming himself. He might well be enhancing his attacks. But there's a chance, however slim, that he can give Turo the boost needed to resist instead. More will take the gamble. ]
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