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.
Hah... Nerves do not make one a fool, Viktor. There's no need to be so harsh on yourself.
[He would ALSO be mortified if he'd broken down like this right before his peers for the sake of his work - still does, in fact, every time he found his mind had snapped into a vision and taken his body along with it - so he kind of gets it.
He glances off towards where the banner hangs.]
...Is this where the two of you had first presented Hextech, then?
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 competition is an annual event--the most promising invention gets its creators attention, funding, everything an inventor could want in order to make real change in the world. On top of that, it was a matter of personal pride for both of us.
[They hadn't known, back then. It was impossible to guess just what their work could lead to, and even if it were possible--who would ever have assumed as much?]
This project was just a means to an end--a teleportation system, intended to be constructed as a point of instantaneous transit for shipping or travel. Something for the Council to see as profitable, so we could have the funding to develop things we actually wanted. Inventions to help the Undercity, and resolve the disparity between Zaun and Piltover.
So... you presented something of more neutral merit to gain the attention you needed for the future, rather than risk losing it entirely within the politics between the boroughs right at the start.
[Teleportation sure is a handy enough attempt at that, if not a bold one - Matoran had never been able to get the timing of it right with teleportation discs in Metru Nui, but the chute systems would have been in shambles and the economy of Le-Metru tanking overnight had engineers ever figured it out.]
...It was not a bad dream, Viktor. I do not think you should regret how it started.
Even this long ago, you had a bold heart for wanting to try as much for your people.
I do not regret it in the strictest terms. I wish we had been able to produce something that did more than make Piltover even richer, yes, but...
[It wasn't fully 'regret' so much as it was a thin disappointment. It could not hve been helped; even with the miracle of magic fueling whatever they had presented, it would not have been enough if it didn't look useful to the Council.]
...but I think this day was the happiest I've ever been. Everything was so much simpler, and after winning we truly believed we would save the world together.
[Save the world together... it's bittersweet, knowing the Viktor and Jayce of the future, of the things they would force themselves and one another to do.]
I envy the trust you clearly both have in one another. It's remarkable to watch.
[...
He exhales slowly.]
Viktor... I do not want to take this moment from you, or its importance. And if you need to see it through to its conclusion, I will follow you, no matter how it resolves.
But you and I both know you cannot stay here forever.
I know. [Softly, layered with resignation and the faintest echo of something metallic.] ...I know. Forgive me for troubling you like this yet again. I will not argue the point and I do not intend to linger now.
[He doesn't question it further, especially not when Viktor pinpoints Jayce in particular.]
Alright.
Then, at least for yourself... If you need the moment of quiet, to help settle your heart. A last way you wish to walk, or somewhere you would like to collect yourself.
It is only the two of us. What duty we have can hold for a little longer.
I will be fine. It is only...it has been a lot to bear in a short timeframe.
[He shook his head, starting to walk in steps much less uneven than his usual self in dreamscapes; the benefit of a younger form, more likely than not.]
All of it. I was only myself again for...seconds before all this started, compared to months of quieted and muted emotions. I feel as though I have had to relearn everything about myself and my functions, all while fighting for our lives and confronting things like this.
[A gesture to the surroundings; bright, peaceful, and painfully hard to leave behind.]
Any machine would break under this kind of overclocking. Though a human hert can endure more, it makes the ordeal no less of a strain.
[It's only a bare echo of something familiar - waking up off that stone floor, changed and confused, shoved straight into responsibility with no time for questions or anger or mourning. Adaption in motion, always in motion, always expected, while the heart still ached and the mind struggled to match pace.
...]
Anyone would be struggling were they to be balancing as much as you have. Human or otherwise... let alone someone who does not prefer to sit idle.
But there is wisdom in voicing as much. Knowing that one has a limit. [Something he had never done through all his self-judgement, something that could have prevented so much. Something he wonders if Viktor struggles with in equal amount.] And it is no failure, to say as much.
All systems have limits. Knowing them is important, knowing when to push them is vital. [He had rarely known anything else; pushing himself out of stubbornness, desperation, or both at once. Short on time, limited in resources, all but screaming for recognition with a voice few would ever listen to.]
...We can not afford to have anyone fall behind. I can not afford to let myself falter.
Logically, yes, of course I understand this. We are more than parts in a larger machine, but still must form a cohesive unit nonetheless.
I have...never been one to ask for help. Such things in my life either went unanswered, or were a sign of weakness from a flawed and pitiable thing. This too seems like a skill I must learn on top of every other adjustment to be made.
I won't pretend it will be easy. Especially not when when one is used to it being out of reach. But...
[...]
You are always full of questions and a want to understand whatever is required to find progress, so much that it weighs on every single thing that you do. Where others may ask with their voice, you rely on your observation and intellect. Even with Jayce, back there at the cart... you held yourself together until you were fraying at the edges, if only to keep him calm. You predicted his own requests, followed his train of logic while battling your own worries.
He did not speak to you, or view you, as anything other than yourself when you finally had to let it drop. He wanted to help you, just as much as you were trying to help him. And he is not the only one who wants that for you.
You put so much pressure on yourself. If asking for help is too hard to start... then perhaps you can start with simply allowing it when it comes.
...He was the first person ever to look at me and see something. More than a failing body, more than mere intellect, he saw past what I was and the desperate perfection in my work to make up for my flaws. Even when I woke up in a body of arcane metal, his only reaction was to embrace that inhuman form and be happy I was alive.
All he ever saw was Viktor, in ways I had never truly thought myself worth notice.
So many of you have been...just as kindhearted as him. More than I feel I deserve and more than I understand how to contend with. It is...frightening, to be so overwhelmed by something I thought nearly impossible.
...It feels unreal in a way, doesn't it? Like some point may come where someone may pull the shield from one's eyes and reveal a reality that fits more in line with our feelings, rather than accepting what is happening as genuine and acceptable.
[He understands. He understands so deeply, and he wants to say as much, but it feels... wrong, invasive, to interrupt this moment for Viktor. So he puts a pin in the thought before it can leave his mouth.]
...All the better reason to take it as it comes, in however way you feel you can allow.
If you are scared, then let us at least walk alongside you, so you do not have to maneuver it alone.
Exactly. There were times I expected as much, but even after years--after everything I've done, nothing ever truly changed. Even corrupted by the arcane, even as the Herald, he still just saw...his partner.
[Poisoned mental state or not, Viktor had been so damn stupid for so long.]
Having the luxury of relying on others and the willingness to be seen with such vulnerability is...new, to me. Navigating these complex rediscovered emotions is only making it a more difficult endeavor. But I...would like that, I think.
[He doesn't respond verbally this time, little more than a relieved sort of smile and the echoing ambience of the city to punctuate Viktor's statement.
That touch returns to Viktor's shoulder as they walk. Less comfort, this time, and more a response to that openness, a firm understanding of Viktor turning his back and choosing to ignore what would otherwise be an aching desire of his heart. The desire from Viktor to not be alone, however brittle in its start, is not left to the heart, and not something Vakama wants to ignore in the silence of the space. It is mutual, after all.]
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[He would ALSO be mortified if he'd broken down like this right before his peers for the sake of his work - still does, in fact, every time he found his mind had snapped into a vision and taken his body along with it - so he kind of gets it.
He glances off towards where the banner hangs.]
...Is this where the two of you had first presented Hextech, then?
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[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.
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[Though ther term "Hexgates" is a new one...]
What was your original intent with it, this far back?
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[They hadn't known, back then. It was impossible to guess just what their work could lead to, and even if it were possible--who would ever have assumed as much?]
This project was just a means to an end--a teleportation system, intended to be constructed as a point of instantaneous transit for shipping or travel. Something for the Council to see as profitable, so we could have the funding to develop things we actually wanted. Inventions to help the Undercity, and resolve the disparity between Zaun and Piltover.
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[Teleportation sure is a handy enough attempt at that, if not a bold one - Matoran had never been able to get the timing of it right with teleportation discs in Metru Nui, but the chute systems would have been in shambles and the economy of Le-Metru tanking overnight had engineers ever figured it out.]
...It was not a bad dream, Viktor. I do not think you should regret how it started.
Even this long ago, you had a bold heart for wanting to try as much for your people.
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[It wasn't fully 'regret' so much as it was a thin disappointment. It could not hve been helped; even with the miracle of magic fueling whatever they had presented, it would not have been enough if it didn't look useful to the Council.]
...but I think this day was the happiest I've ever been. Everything was so much simpler, and after winning we truly believed we would save the world together.
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I envy the trust you clearly both have in one another. It's remarkable to watch.
[...
He exhales slowly.]
Viktor... I do not want to take this moment from you, or its importance. And if you need to see it through to its conclusion, I will follow you, no matter how it resolves.
But you and I both know you cannot stay here forever.
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I just- [...] I am so tired, Vakama.
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[It's the hints of that voice that sounds far more familiar that has Vakama reaching his hand for Viktor's shoulder.]
Take whatever time you need.
I will be here to help you, when the moment is done and spent. But I will not rob this from you.
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If I see him again, today of all days...I will not have the resolve to leave this behind.
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Alright.
Then, at least for yourself... If you need the moment of quiet, to help settle your heart. A last way you wish to walk, or somewhere you would like to collect yourself.
It is only the two of us. What duty we have can hold for a little longer.
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Come on. The docks are only a short walk from here.
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Sorry, I -- I'm worried about you, Viktor. It aches me, to know you are burdened like this.
I have already made too many mistakes in not listening to the needs of those around me. Pushing them back to their duty no matter what.
I would not forgive myself if I repeated such a mistake with you.
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[He shook his head, starting to walk in steps much less uneven than his usual self in dreamscapes; the benefit of a younger form, more likely than not.]
Overwhelming, I suppose.
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Do you mean personally, or with our circumstance in Chicago?
[Could be both, tbh.]
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[A gesture to the surroundings; bright, peaceful, and painfully hard to leave behind.]
Any machine would break under this kind of overclocking. Though a human hert can endure more, it makes the ordeal no less of a strain.
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...]
Anyone would be struggling were they to be balancing as much as you have. Human or otherwise... let alone someone who does not prefer to sit idle.
But there is wisdom in voicing as much. Knowing that one has a limit. [Something he had never done through all his self-judgement, something that could have prevented so much. Something he wonders if Viktor struggles with in equal amount.] And it is no failure, to say as much.
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...We can not afford to have anyone fall behind. I can not afford to let myself falter.
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You are not some weak link in the chain, Viktor. To ask for help under strain is not faltering.
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I have...never been one to ask for help. Such things in my life either went unanswered, or were a sign of weakness from a flawed and pitiable thing. This too seems like a skill I must learn on top of every other adjustment to be made.
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[...]
You are always full of questions and a want to understand whatever is required to find progress, so much that it weighs on every single thing that you do. Where others may ask with their voice, you rely on your observation and intellect. Even with Jayce, back there at the cart... you held yourself together until you were fraying at the edges, if only to keep him calm. You predicted his own requests, followed his train of logic while battling your own worries.
He did not speak to you, or view you, as anything other than yourself when you finally had to let it drop. He wanted to help you, just as much as you were trying to help him. And he is not the only one who wants that for you.
You put so much pressure on yourself. If asking for help is too hard to start... then perhaps you can start with simply allowing it when it comes.
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All he ever saw was Viktor, in ways I had never truly thought myself worth notice.
So many of you have been...just as kindhearted as him. More than I feel I deserve and more than I understand how to contend with. It is...frightening, to be so overwhelmed by something I thought nearly impossible.
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[He understands. He understands so deeply, and he wants to say as much, but it feels... wrong, invasive, to interrupt this moment for Viktor. So he puts a pin in the thought before it can leave his mouth.]
...All the better reason to take it as it comes, in however way you feel you can allow.
If you are scared, then let us at least walk alongside you, so you do not have to maneuver it alone.
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[Poisoned mental state or not, Viktor had been so damn stupid for so long.]
Having the luxury of relying on others and the willingness to be seen with such vulnerability is...new, to me. Navigating these complex rediscovered emotions is only making it a more difficult endeavor. But I...would like that, I think.
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That touch returns to Viktor's shoulder as they walk. Less comfort, this time, and more a response to that openness, a firm understanding of Viktor turning his back and choosing to ignore what would otherwise be an aching desire of his heart. The desire from Viktor to not be alone, however brittle in its start, is not left to the heart, and not something Vakama wants to ignore in the silence of the space. It is mutual, after all.]
...Then you need only to ask.
[He will not be left unanswered.]
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cw: suicidal ideation
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cw: suicidal ideation
cw: suicidal ideation
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