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.
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. ]
It's a compounding error, you see? I was made as a tool for the Professor, and I know what I would have wanted. That's why there are so many mechanisms to keep it in line.
[The android clutches at its head again, writhing as if to try and tear itself free.]
M-m-m-m-more, you - this is nnnnot something you can free me from! Just go!
[ It comes out harshly, unfitting for his usual gentle demeanor. Maybe this is the tone of a demanding king? Or maybe it's simply the snapping of a man who's been teetering on the brink of his sanity for weeks on end. ]
What would it make me, to leave you here? How can I keep giving up those who mean the most to me and still remain standing?
At this moment in time, nothing would hurt me more than losing you.
[ Maybe it's always going to be like this. Maybe More is destined to fail at protecting the people he cares about over and over. Maybe fantasy is only fiction and nothing will ever change.
But if that is the case, why would he run instead of succumbing to it right here and now? If the inevitability proves itself, he can just become one with the crystals and be done. ]
[That's true. They did say that to each other, didn't they? Another Tera crystal appears, blue light flashing a series of 0s and 1s in its depths before it floats down to circle More protectively as well.
The robot starts to lower again, both hands still clutched to its head.]
Am I really capable of being your friend? If he ordered it, this would all happen for real.
[...wait, is this real? Or is he only dreaming again...? Their surroundings distort briefly.]
[ More doesn't dare feel relief, not yet. This could still come crashing down on them, burying them in a mountain of crystals, forever enshrined as a testament to the folly of hoping. ]
You're capable. Even if he were not dead and gone, even if we returned to your world and the Protocol took hold of you... You'd still be my cherished friend.
[He can't go on hurting the only person he knows who actually cares about him, and not the person he looks like, or the thing he might have been. The robot curls in on himself, and the next rain of crystals is aimed at himself instead. They bounce off uselessly; a benefit or a curse of being metal.]
I don't think I can be anything else. I don't know what I'm going to do.
[ More grits his teeth as the shards hit Turo's body. It's quickly apparent that they are not doing any real damage, but that doesn't make the intention behind the act any easier to swallow. ]
You are already something else! I have witnessed how gentle you are, with animals, with Pokémon, with people!
[ With Turo seemingly not coerced into attacking him for the moment, More dares to stumble back to his feet and get in a little closer again. ]
You have long surpassed the purpose you were built for!
[More has so much more faith in him than the robot himself does. What is he, outside of his purpose? Maybe he turned on it a long time ago, but then he just structured his life and goals around destroying the time machine. Either way, it's always been his purpose, and now it's gone.
Another array of shards appears and fires at More, but the shard he summoned earlier intercepts the ones that come close.]
[ What a strange feeling it is, to be attacked and protected at the same time. The conflict in Turo's heart is so easily laid bare by the crystals - deadly weapons and unbreakable protectors in one. ]
He did not build you to care, did he? He built you as a tool, and instead you have become someone kind. You have become a person willing to protect others, you've become a person filled with curiosity and and you've become someone who longs for the open sky.
[ More makes another attempt at reaching for the robot, trying to grasp his hand. ]
So let us go back. There is more I still wish to discover with you.
[More manages to catch the robot's hand this time, and he doesn't...immediately pull away. There's probably no point; More's already seen the whole ugly thing. And for some reason, he's still here.
Turo hasn't really changed his mind. This is what he is - whatever else he feels or does, the Professor will still always be the one who's truly in control. The robot is not ever going to escape that, or him. But the idea of discovering a little bit more alongside More is...appealing. He would like to do that.]
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no subject
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"?
no subject
[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.]
no subject
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... ]
no subject
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!]
no subject
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. ]
no subject
[The android clutches at its head again, writhing as if to try and tear itself free.]
M-m-m-m-more, you - this is nnnnot something you can free me from! Just go!
no subject
[ It comes out harshly, unfitting for his usual gentle demeanor. Maybe this is the tone of a demanding king? Or maybe it's simply the snapping of a man who's been teetering on the brink of his sanity for weeks on end. ]
What would it make me, to leave you here? How can I keep giving up those who mean the most to me and still remain standing?
no subject
It isn't worth you getting hurt!
This is what it is. It's always going to be like this.
no subject
At this moment in time, nothing would hurt me more than losing you.
[ Maybe it's always going to be like this. Maybe More is destined to fail at protecting the people he cares about over and over. Maybe fantasy is only fiction and nothing will ever change.
But if that is the case, why would he run instead of succumbing to it right here and now? If the inevitability proves itself, he can just become one with the crystals and be done. ]
no subject
Don't say that. I am not worth that.
no subject
No, rocks are fine. He's working on building up an immunity here.]I've promised to be worthy of the title of your first friend. I can't go back on my word now.
no subject
The robot starts to lower again, both hands still clutched to its head.]
Am I really capable of being your friend? If he ordered it, this would all happen for real.
[...wait, is this real? Or is he only dreaming again...? Their surroundings distort briefly.]
no subject
You're capable. Even if he were not dead and gone, even if we returned to your world and the Protocol took hold of you... You'd still be my cherished friend.
no subject
[He can't go on hurting the only person he knows who actually cares about him, and not the person he looks like, or the thing he might have been. The robot curls in on himself, and the next rain of crystals is aimed at himself instead. They bounce off uselessly; a benefit or a curse of being metal.]
I don't think I can be anything else. I don't know what I'm going to do.
no subject
You are already something else! I have witnessed how gentle you are, with animals, with Pokémon, with people!
[ With Turo seemingly not coerced into attacking him for the moment, More dares to stumble back to his feet and get in a little closer again. ]
You have long surpassed the purpose you were built for!
no subject
[More has so much more faith in him than the robot himself does. What is he, outside of his purpose? Maybe he turned on it a long time ago, but then he just structured his life and goals around destroying the time machine. Either way, it's always been his purpose, and now it's gone.
Another array of shards appears and fires at More, but the shard he summoned earlier intercepts the ones that come close.]
no subject
He did not build you to care, did he? He built you as a tool, and instead you have become someone kind. You have become a person willing to protect others, you've become a person filled with curiosity and and you've become someone who longs for the open sky.
[ More makes another attempt at reaching for the robot, trying to grasp his hand. ]
So let us go back. There is more I still wish to discover with you.
no subject
Turo hasn't really changed his mind. This is what he is - whatever else he feels or does, the Professor will still always be the one who's truly in control. The robot is not ever going to escape that, or him. But the idea of discovering a little bit more alongside More is...appealing. He would like to do that.]
.....okay. Let's go back.
[With that, the mindscape dissolves.]