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.
[Your allies will be around sporadically this week, just like all of you. Sonic and Knuckles can usually be found searching the Void for Shadow, but they aren't really having much luck and are rather annoyed by circumstances. Tails is doing better, remaining on the "home base" shard and generally trying to make sure you all are okay. If you need extra rings, you can ask him.
Infinite is still alive, and will be patched up once again either by one of you all or Tails if you'd rather not deal with him (very fair). He's likewise searching the Void for Shadow, but with more fury and desperation rather than annoyance. Thankfully he has mastered the art of floating, so he is not going to risk injuring himself more (probably). At least he won't actually be able to find Shadow to try to throw down with him.
And speaking of Shadow... You won't find him. Even if you specifically call out for him, he won't respond. He's too busy watching and judging all of you all, after all.]
[Dorothy's definitely doing better than she has been in weeks, but there's a certain distance to her actions this week. That isn't to say Dorothy isn't going to be not trying to help others, because she is, but...
It comes out most in the early days of the Void, with Dorothy staring at a shard of her own world in particular. Humans and Raptures seem to have finally managed some level of coexistence through Eggman's machinations; the Nikke of the world do not have to fight anymore. Humans are repopulating the surface, slow but sure, and even her fellow Goddesses are back with humanity at long last. Sure, there's a few visions of just complete ruin, but...
It makes her think. And Dorothy's head has never been a good place to be.]
...What use is there for me, when our battle is said and done...
[Dorothy's left staring, transfixed--though she'll eventually remove herself from it hours later with help and go forth and train. If you need her help here, she'll be glad to provide it.
But of course, Dorothy herself will eventually get swallowed by the void, and where you end up is...not exactly what you would expect.]
cw: mindfuckery, body horror in the replies to come[The problem mainly lies in how peaceful everything is.
It's a Chicago free of Eggman's chrome and gloom, and everything seems...normal, actually. People go about their lives in ways that they normally would, but they seem even more aware than normal. Most of them greet you kindly and with great honor, in fact; you're the saviors of this world, after all. They're in your debt, and they're thankful as hell to you for all you've done. It isn't quite to devoted levels, not really, but even the most surly of bastards can be found giving you some sort of friendly rapport and a kind smile.
Of course, the problem lies in the fact that no matter where you go, you'll always end up in a different place. Streets don't lead where they should. You could go one direction and end up somewhere else entirely, even if you know where you're going. You might even end up in a place known as Dahngrest, though your time there seems hazier before ending up back in Chicago. There's a feeling of listlessness in the air, directionlessness. It's likely something you'll have to fight off, but...
Once you get outside of town, no matter where you go, you'll end up towards a cave.
A cave with...what seems to be worn down drawings of flight patterns for Eggman's robots, long worn down from disuse. There even seems to be cobwebs, implying it's been unused for a long time, but...
You can sense something in the cave. Do you transverse it?]
The Void [While Fukuda is glad they didn't have to fight Shadow, being left as they are (and perhaps some other things eating at him) has him once again low energy this week.]
What if Shadow's right? What if we're just not strong enough to take down Eggman with the power we have?
[Mulling this over while observing the invasions in the hexagons. Really, it's him that isn't strong enough, isn't it? But if he's part of this team, then... It's more an issue of him not deserving to be on the team.]
The Well (Broad CW: Body Horror) [The individual elements of the world you find yourself in are in a way, completely normal. Normal buildings, normal cars, normal roads, normal trees. However, the world itself is profoundly abnormal because it's all been shattered into pieces. The blocky disjointed fragments float in a vast white void. There's so many pieces it's impossible to tell if they'd all go together to make a complete whole.
There's an odd sterility to it, a lifelessness. While you see cars, none are moving. There's no animals. In the fragments of roads and exposed insides of houses you can see, there's no people. Everything just floats in place quietly.
But you have larger problems at this exact moment. As you come to, you'll find your own body coming apart like the rest of the world. Probably something you should address immediately.]
[When not in others' mindscapes, Viktor remained floating in the void and writing in a leatherbound notebook he picked up from his lab; taking copious and diligent notes regarding his own powers as well as those of the others, organized by shard color and with all multi-shard abilities he knew of taken into account. If this was where they had to begin to improve, then he was going to keep track of every relevant data point just like any other experimental process.]
[ii; mindscape; cw gothic horror-esque possessive implications] [The laboratory is empty, the sky beyond the tall window showing the last remnants of sunset giving way to nightfall. Notes, paperwork, and tools are scattered across the desk space in the organized chaos of a well lived-in location; in one spot a chair was left empty, with a wheeled stool no more than an arm's length from it.]
[The quiet is peaceful, as if this place were a sanctuary left empty only after a long day's work. That combined with the relative darkness makes it all the more clear that something is here, an incomprhensible presence. Violet light flickers in the corner of your vision, and upon a workstation to the side...]
[A hovering object neither metal nor organic, gently floating and pulsating in what almost resembles thought. It feels fundamentally wrong someehow, as if its very existence is a glitch in reality itself...and yet, it calls to you. In your head, more felt than heard, wordless and voiceless impulses beckoning in a way that makes you think it is calling you by name. Calling you closer, it wants to help you, it wants to make you perfect, for you to give yourself up to it so it can grant everything you have ever desired. A strong body, a flawless form, inviting you to evolve beyond your weaknesses, to run, breathe, move, live. No more fear, no more uncertainty, only the sweet safety of perfection.]
[The Hexcore wants you. It wants you to give yourself up to it, whispering wordless sweet promises like poisoned honey in your ear.]
In The Void [ More is around. He's recovered considerably from the state of turbo depression he's been in at the start of last week. After a period of isolation, he's no longer deliberately keeping to himself!! In fact, he might be striking up a conversation with you: ]
Are you holding up alright, confined to this space?
[ He's got some unfortunate experience being trapped outside of timespace, let him mentor you.
Alternatively you may find him doing any of the following: watching visions of other worlds thoughtfully, drawing (nude figure drawings, sketches of Chicago, images of the void itself - your pick), or... trying to train his physical strength by doing basic exercises. He's hating the exercises by the way. What do you mean he needs to do sports here?? ]
Mindscape - will contain Metaphor endgame spoilers [ Welcome to Akademeia, the novelists' study. It's a large single room library with a ground floor and a second floor walkway. There is a giant statue in the room, most often covering your view of the stained glass window behind it. On the ground floor there is a desk area with a cluttered desk. Near the desk, there's a side table with an ominous scroll on it, and on the other end of the desk is a celestial globe. In the armchair nearby, there's a sleeping cat.
The room is entirely quiet. Aside from the cat gently breathing in his sleep, there is no sign of life here. More is certainly nowhere to be seen. With no threat or urgency, you are free to explore as you like. What do you wish to look at?
(Literally every detail, whether from my flavor text or from the linked reference images themselves is free to be examined and may drag you into a variety of side locations from More's life!) ]
[As he had been forced to get used to and chose not to examine in any deeper psychological sense, dreams led Viktor to lose his mechanical shell--the crutch under his arm clicked against the floor as he looked around slowly, unsure what to make of anything. The library itself was a familiar enough atmosphere for a scholar, but strange enough that it led him to move cautiously.]
[...Not so cautiously that he didn't go to investigate the cluttered desk, of course. We're scientists here.]
[ The desk features the following: a pot of tea that is steaming gently, a lamp, a magnifying glass and a lot of books. They all look aged, and if Viktor opens them, he'll find that the majority of them deal with a magic known as 'Archetypes'. Behind the desk is a hand-drawn map, scattered with hand-written notes and one notepad that is just a little sketch of the kitty peacefully snoring in the room.
>Look at the map? >Read some of the books? >Examine something else or elsewhere? ]
[ Gyles is not a smart guy. And he's sure as hell not been any place with quite this many books. Honestly, it's a bit daunting!
Which is why his attention falls to something - or perhaps someone? - potentially easier to understand: that cat. He squats next to the armchair, waiting to see if his movements disturbed his slumber before taking a closer look at... whatever it is hanging around his neck. ]
[ Bless you, Viktor. He'll be able to gain a whole lot of information, so let's summarize it:
Archetypes are a kind of magic that is called forth when the user faces their anxiety. It physically transforms the user into a suit of armor capable of using powerful magic spells and a variety of abilities, based on which Heroic Embodiment it is. All Archetypes are based around some kind of culturally-understood beacon of virtue, so they're called things like 'the General', 'the Thief', 'the Seeker', 'the Mage' and so on.
The texts that are placed on this desk aren't super concerned with listing the abilities of known Archetypes already. Instead they keep circling back to an Archetype that so far exists only in hypothesis: the Prince Archetype.
The prince would be a leader, expected to protect his people, but what abilities he'd hold and whether it is possible to summon him at all remains a mystery.
On some of the pages, More has underlined the word 'prince' in shaky lines, suggesting he was trembling as he did so. ]
[Sensible enough, perhaps, if these Archetypes were--well, archetypal that one would be some form of idealized leader. But what was so upsetting about that? Viktor flippedd through the pages like there was some answer to that, doubting he would find anything conclusive.]
[You find yourself in a room with pastel pink and white striped wallpaper, accented by chocolate brown trim. There is no exit behind you, only doors ahead that open outwards into the unknown.
One is a doorway with a stained glass iris flower set into it, although you can’t seem to look through the glass to see what lays beyond...
One is a doorway painted bright pink with soft, velvety white ribbons tied just over the top of the door, drooping loops of fabric between the two ribbons accenting the pink cutely.
There is no third door. Only a space where a door is clearly meant to be.
One is a door with a stained glass sakura window, although once again you cannot see what lays behind it by simply looking through the glass itself.
It does not matter which you choose, but you must make a choice.]
The scenery pulses, shifts. One minute, tranquil. The next, a flash of unforgiving white, before the seas roaring with tidal waves that reach like great mouths of water. The sky is dark, the stars falling like embers from a fire, and the air around you grows thick and heavy like a hand pressing down upon you. The red star above you lies unmoving. Uncaring.
On your palm, you find something practically engraved in your skin. Three circles sit in a straight line, with the center being significantly larger. The first of the circles faintly flickers, but never quite solidifies. You are missing something important.
...
>> In front of you sits a primitive but sturdy canoe, abandoned. Fading footsteps lead away from it, as though its owner fled in a hurry quite some time ago.
>> To your left, a strange structure glistening with a green light sits high above your head, up a winding stone staircase overlooking the sea.
>> To your right, the beach stretches off into rocky lowlands filled with smoke and charred wood.
>> Behind you are white sandy paths, threading out and disappearing into lush tropical plantlife. A crude wooden sign can be seen several yards in, where the sand starts to split off into dirt and rock and mud, though it cannot be read from where you stand. A bond with Vakama (Diamond) will be present from the moment your feet touch the sand, though it is incredibly faint. Though not necessary, it is heavily recommended you team up with those around you to progress.
[ There are no answers in the pages, but as Viktor searches, he'll suddenly find himself engulfed by a woman's voice. It's coming from everywhere and nowhere, soft-spoken yet confident, and very regal. ]
He was playing his role as a guide for the Prince quite well, before he left to meet all of you.
[The sudden voice made him jump in surprise, nearly dropping the book entirely. He fumbled with it for a moment before settling it back on the desk, standing up cautiously.]
What use is there for any of us, when all is said and done?
[...he's maybe been observing a little quietly, but...]
...I suppose that is an improper philosophical conundrum to bring up out of the blue. Nevertheless... I suppose it is worth considering. These visions are designed to confound us, after all.
[congratulations you have more common sense than jayce talis. low bar but by janna, you've cleared it.]
[The sword falls, and seems to pass through nothing--but at the moment of impact, a blinding violet light bursts, and then collapses like a star with the sound of rending metal. As it implodes, the laboratory goes with it, and for a brief moment there is nothingness.]
[Then something else takes its place--a small, impoverished neighborhood of sorts that you can probably recognize as being in the same kind of deep fissure that the commune was. Some sunlight manages to reach this far down, illuminating the run-down and yet lived-in houses built into the stone.]
[Strangely, no one seems to be present, at least not apparently so.]
well, okay, no. Yeah, this looks familiar, but it seems less like a horror show now. He's not going to sheathe his sword, though. It seems like a bad idea in a situation like this...
He'll walk further into the settlement, looking around for any sign of life beyond, say, plants. Plants don't count.]
[As one might expect of a settlement with (so far) no signs of life, it is eerily quiet and there are, perhaps surprisingly, no plants. As a result of that second point the air feels stagnant, smelling like metal dust and contaminated water--barely habitable, on a good day.]
[Down one particularly winding and narrow path, what looks like a small artificers' shop has signs of flickering lamplights in its windows and very slightly open door. Probably a sign of life, right?]
[Well, Jasper really couldn't help but laugh at Shadow's assessment that Sonic had chosen poorly. Admittedly, it wasn't for the reasons the little edgehog had brought up, but whatever. Maybe it was for the reasons Shadow had mentioned. Who could say.
It's not like they can go world-hopping this time, even if Jasper had wanted to, so whatever. Maybe he'll wait in the void until he gets dumped into somebody's hellscape. He'll do a few sword forms somewhere, but on some level he's kind of... well. It's not that he's given up. But he does find himself a bit prone to a sort of nihilistic leisure. He ends up parked in front of one of those shards, not really paying that much attention to what's going on in it. Well, not obviously. He's just reading in front of it as a fantasy kingdom gets turned shiny and chrome. The slimes look like this now. Maybe in the images played through the shard, some alternate Jasper has even placed himself as one of Eggman's lackeys? Maybe he pays... maybe a little closer attention to that. Maybe. He doesn't want anyone to pick up on him paying attention, though. Don't notice that his eyes look up at that particular image and a scowl flashes across his face. He doesn't care at all.
If you do end up in his mindscape, it's... well. It's fractured. It kind of switches one way to another on a coin flip. Sometimes, it's a pretty normal castle, brightly lit with shiny and gold everywhere! There are people around, but they're more like... shades, really. They're just kind of going about their business, but they don't really acknowledge you and if you try to touch them, your hand just goes through them.
Of course, when it changes, it's a ruin lit only by the light of the moon streaming through the various holes in the roof and the walls, and you feel considerably less alone. But that's probably not a good thing, because what you might run into isn't particularly good. And you know... maybe if you go from one to the other, if you are near a person, they might be replaced by... something or other. You'll see.
[Oh. Well. Okay. That's definitely more concerning. He will, at least, head towards the sign of life, though he's definitely prepared to Kill if he has to as he very quietly teases that door open to look inside...]
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