Your head feels heavy, your memories foggy, and as you struggle to recall where you are and what you were doing, you hear the sound of something large and heavy moving behind you. Whatever it is - machinery of some sort, you can tell that much right away - it doesn’t seem hostile; merely a massive machine going about doing something down far, far below you. You can see it - through the cracks of the floor you're standing on, and the steep drop off the side. At least there’s a railing on this path to keep you from falling down there?
No matter which way you look - up, down, or out straight ahead of you - there’s endless paths and structures, as though you’re standing in some sort of massive building. You look to your left and there’s a broken section of wall revealing open space - strange, since you aren’t wearing anything different, yet you’re still breathing just fine.
A loud ping! catches your attention, followed by a few more. As you turn around to find the source of the noise, you’re led to a rundown computer terminal. It looks ancient, untouched, and dusty, and yet there’s a message in bright green standing against the stark black contrast of the monitor.
/// L O A D I N G . . .
Oh good, you’re awake.
Hi, I don’t have much time, so please pay close attention.
You’re the only ones who can save this world - all worlds, maybe.
Thank you for agreeing to help.
For now, please practice your new abilities and try to work together.
I’ll be in contact with you as soon as possible.
It feels familiar, like maybe you've experienced something similar before, despite the fact that none of you recognize this place. What's going on here? What have you gotten yourself into?
AWAKENING
Your memories leading up to your sudden arrival in this place may be foggy. Even if they aren't, you certainly don't remember how you got here of all places. And where exactly is here? Well, inside of some sort of massive structure that expands outwards, backwards, downwards, and upwards. Every direction you look, there's plenty of building to be seen, whether it's walkways over the abyss (but thankfully with mostly sturdy guard rails) or stairs and ramps leading up and down to new floors, or even rooms that don't seem to hold much of interest. All of it is rundown, worn and in desperate need of some dusting.
Before you sits the terminal, a sturdy computer set into a pillar with an old-fashioned and dusty keyboard. The green text remains bright against the black background, with a cursor indicating that you can input text, if you'd like. You may try to communicate with whoever's on the other end at any point in time during the week, though you may not receive the answers you're hoping for.
Not too far away is a carefully-arranged group of supplies. You'll find plenty of non-perishable food, blankets and bedrolls, clothes in your sizes that are plain but acceptable, and some basic supplies - things like rope and matches and flashlights, but no weapons or anything you could use to defend yourselves. You'll also find a large room nearby that happens to have several bathrooms and a fairly large communal shower. Despite being rather old and dusty, they do work... though the water never gets above "not freezing". Sorry about that.
Looks like you'll have to settle in, as there doesn't seem to be any way out of this strange structure.
EXPLORATION
It's likely that your first thought will be to explore. Why not? After all, there must be a way back home, or at least a way out of wherever this is. Traversing the structure is fairly easy, as even if a path is blocked by rubble, you'll find another one going in a similar direction somewhere nearby. In fact, the entire place seems to be rather pointlessly constructed - hallways that lead to dead ends, paths that loop in circles for no reason, and far, far too many stairs.
If you're lucky, you'll stumble across rooms with some basic supplies. They won't have any food or weapons, but you'll find some dusty fabrics and blankets, or small caches of tools. If you're unlucky, you'll be lost in this structure for far too long, wandering off the beaten path and possibly losing track of where you are and how to get back to the base... you might want to travel with a buddy, just to be safe. Or hope that someone stumbles across you and can guide you back, your pick.
Holes in the structure open out into what looks like... well, outer space. An endless sea of stars amidst a black sky that never changes, making it hard to tell how much time has passed. Despite this, you can breathe easily, just as you would back home.
MACHINES
It won't take you long to notice that you aren't truly alone. After all, how could you be, when massive machines seem to be hard at work on constructing even more of this place? The large ones - the builders - do just that, building more pathways and rooms and walkways, endlessly working and never stopping. They don't take notice of you; they won't respond to anything you say, and even attempting to poke and prod them won't get a reaction. Even if you get particularly daring and try to take one apart, you'll find that it's nearly impossible; these machines are massive. Finding a panel to get into to get at their wiring is strangely impossible. They seem to be completely seamless, with nothing you can really do to investigate them further.
But they aren't the only machines present. Though you likely won't see them immediately, you will hear them; a skittering, metal-on-metal clicking sound that alerts you to a presence, but fades before you can even detect which direction it was coming from. Whatever it is, it seems to be watching you.
And if you're ever alone... well, then they'll show themselves. Around three feet tall and made of metal with long, spindly legs that look like they shouldn't support their thicker cores, these spider-like robots aren't particularly strong on their own, but they never attack on their own, only in groups of three or more. If you're especially unlucky, you can find upwards of ten of them at a time. They have two claw-like "hands" that can shoot a jolt of electricity or scratch at you - and be careful, because they hurt! That jolt of electricity can even leave a burn if you're unlucky.
But surely if you stick together you won't have to fight them... right?
SHARDS
The strange gemstone imbedded in the back of your dominant hand almost hums when you're in danger. It fills you with confidence, with the knowledge that you can do something - though what exactly that something is varies from person to person. You might be lucky enough that you innately recognize your power and know how to use it. You might not be that lucky and you might have to manifest it in combat to defend yourself. Regardless, it will manifest - and you now have access to a power all your own.
It's not going to be easy to control it. This power is new to you, and you'll need to practice to have a hope of utilizing it in full. But right now, you have the means to defend yourself, and if those spider robots get particularly bold, you can stop them. After all, what better way to put your power to use than by testing it on fairly weak robots?
Let's hope that you can aim your power well enough, however. While the builders may not care about you at any point in time, if an attack goes wide and hits them or they're otherwise in the path of an ability, they will turn their full attention on you. You really don't want that. Builders are relentless in their pursuit of you - and they have massive steel beams they will swing at you, or they'll try to crush you with their giant hands and fists. There are only two ways to stop a builder: the first is to run far, far away. They cannot chase you, as they are connected to the building itself, after all. The other way is to destroy the joints of the arms or wrists, rendering the builder incapable of doing anything. Better hope you don't anger any of the ones near your base!
DOWNTIME
Aside from exploring, mastering the power of your shard, and getting to know one another... there really isn't much to do here. So how are you going to spend the time? After all, it's just you, your fellow shardbearers, and some robots that probably aren't sentient. Settle in, it looks like you've got a long week ahead of you.
ENEMIES
This week's enemies are described above: spider robots and builders. If you have an enemy idea you'd like to have your character encounter, let me know and we can discuss it!
Spider robots are three feet tall, silver metal spider-like robots that look vaguely like this. They have a core in the center of their body that can be taken, but it isn't particularly useful outside of being cool to look at. Even you tech nerds won't be able to get much out of it, as it seems impossible to find a way to dismantle it further. Spider robots come with two "hands" that have sharp claws on them; they're capable of creating electric zaps with these hands, which really hurt if they connect! Spider robots are very fast and will skitter away the moment there's danger... unless there's three or more of them, then they get bold. They will attack anyone sleeping, especially if they're alone. They're fairly weak enemies, and can be fended off even if you don't have a great grasp on your powers just yet.
The builders are a different story. Massive, structure-spanning robots that are nearly impossible to tell apart from the building itself, the only real part of them that you can identify are their dark metal arms. They are likewise massive, with one hand being large and strong enough to flatten five of you if you aren't careful. Though the builders are non-hostile and will go about their business of building this never-ending structure, they will turn their attention on you if you hit them with any sort of ability... even if that ability isn't an attack. They can swing giant metal beams or just go for the option of trying to crush you with their hands. They're slow-moving, but very powerful; though they can't pursue you so at least there's that. If you anger one near the base, watch out - as you will have to defeat it.
Perhaps it was... but on the same token, if this is something from a realm that neither of us come from, it could very well be a technology beyond what either of us are used to. Familiar principles might not have a place.
[He knows that's a lot to expect, but he has experienced a LOT outside the norm since he got here - if he has to stretch his mental flexibility, then maybe so does this guy.
...]
I don't mean to challenge your knowledge. I... really, I only wish to keep us from jumping to any conclusions.
No--your logic is sound. [Carefully, the Hexclaw moved to turn the core around, Viktor examining it from every angle.] I was...startled, nothing more. Even if it is magic, there is no reason to assume it holds the same dangers as controlling the arcane. This is no more than a preliminary gathering of data points.
[It's a nice moment to have someone correct in his favor, however brief. But with a shake of his head, he lets it pass, with all the normal inner protestations that he's so very used to.
Was it knowledge, or just luck of the tongue? Maybe he'd trust in either of them a little stronger someday, even after this many years.]
Then... let's figure out what else we can gain from this, you and I. If we could find a second one...
[Ah, no, he's getting ahead of himself. He shakes his head again, stammering a little.]
[He tilted his head slightly at that reaction, eyes a faintly warmer color as the apprehension around the magic core passed. But he didn't comment on the hesitation, instead focusing on the matter at hand.]
There is no shortage of these machine as far as I have noticed, so that will prove no real problem. So long as we disable them with some semblance of care, dismantling them will be no issue.
[He thinks over it for a moment, before repositioning himself on the floor and reaching a hand out. From about a foot away, a stray scrap of metal rises unsteadily, before being shot wildly at an upwards angle, without an apparent target or any control of the force. It hits a railing a story up and ricochets out of sight.
Vakama huffs out a breath as a hand rests against his head.]
Aim doesn't ever come easily. How I wish it would.
[Viktor watched in fascination as the scrap metal floated upwards, followed by a sound of alarm not unlike a misfiring engine at the sudden motion and ricochet. Definitely hadn't seen that one coming.]
That is certainly...unexpected. But I see what you mean.
[He nods in acknowledgement, still nursing his head as though it aches.]
A fellow Toa held a similar power, though I can't say he struggled so much...
[Nuju wasn't the type to chat about his progress unless he was irritated at a lack of future effectiveness... but more than that, Vakama can't help but wonder if this would be the same stumbling block that his own mask powers had given him.
What would it take this time?
...]
...Never mind. It's not quite the point, is it?
If I could still control flame, I could guarantee precision. This, however... it feels like loosing a Kane-Ra bull in a room full of glass.
It seems I was lucky, for a change. Controlling the Hexclaw is familiar to me, though fighting may take some practice. Considering that, it may even be a good thing we find ourselves with spare time before our purpose here is clarified.
[A pause, then:]
...Are you alright? You look as though your head is bothering you.
If the ones who summoned us knew as much... that would explain their request. That we could use our time wisely...
[He drifts as the pause stretches, and though he can hear Viktor ask a question, the noise muffles like whispers underwater. He shakes his head unsteadily as golden eyes go pinpoint, as though trying to prevent something, though it takes over like a clap of thunder, familiar and unwanted.
Darkness morphs to dripping moisture, to curving tunnels and the rot of the sea. Bodies of those twisted and forgotten line the ground. Familiar and unfamiliar.
Out of time.
He no longer sits, but tilts downward, forcing to gaze into an open maw filled with so many teeth, of spines that twist and the buzzing of bugs, and a feeling of such immense dread.
Almost out of time.
A clock ticks. Stars fade. And he hears a voice, a laugh so familiar and cold, twisted hand against the throat of--
Viktor will watch Vakama whip his head suddenly behind him, seemingly at nothing, his hand flying to his neck as though being strangled with a sudden gasp for breath. The chassis is knocked askew with a crash. But as suddenly as it happens, the Toa is jolted right back to normal, looking around the space wildly as though snapped out of a dream.]
[A spark of something came to the shard in his hand as Viktor reached for his staff in preparation to run or fight, the Hexclaw emerging from his collar as it unfolded itself from his shoulder again.]
[He nods towards Viktor, briefly, as his eyes track where his half of their project has fallen to the ground. Damn it all, what had he been doing... Sighing, he shoves himself over to pick the severed robot back up and inspect for damage.]
I suppose there's always going to be some parts of us that even a place like this can't take away.
[Viktor looked to his own hand as he contemplated that, turning it over slowly and studying it like it was another unsolvable mystery like so many others here.]
...
[It was so quiet now. Sky's voice (had it ever been Sky?) was long gone, but now so too were the countless others--the dully roaring white noise of thousands of minds, their thoughts and wishes replaced with silence. He couldn't even will his own mind to retreat into the endless expanse of the arcane, now feeling alarmingly limited both in scope and form alike.]
Or too much that they can.
[It was better that way, he insisted to himself. Safer. But that didn't make it any less disorienting.]
Does any of this make sense to you? Bestowing power alongside these stones while shedding nearly everything else...counterproductive. Inefficient for our stated purpose.
[The metallic sound to his voice grew more pronounced as Viktor worked through his thoughts, as if running elaborate calculations.]
Missing, but too immaterial to be taken. A...disconnection. Detachment. Reaching out to the arcane...a message without a response. Too wide a distance, or too powerful a barrier.
The arcane speaks through mages. They do not command it. What we created and named 'the Hexcore'...a perfect fusion of technology and runic magic. So perfect that it began to undergo that which all life is subject to; evolution.
[His voice caught sharply on the word, like cogs grinding and scraping in a strange reverberation. His eyes turned distant, impossible colors of cold silver and ethereal white not quite seeing anything as he spoke. His mind lost in thought, or in the strange liminal space between human emotion and the lack thereof.]
Organic matter was the catalyst. Plantlife grew and decayed in an instant. Blood caused its form to shift and change to something beyond control, an anomaly of uncontrolled wild magic. It corrupted the vessel it was unwittingly given. Turning desires to compulsions, compassion into coercion.
[The way Viktor describes it, this seems less like a controllable power source and more like an entity, a power beyond simply manipulating. Something unimaginably dangerous.]
[It was quiet. It was so quiet, so why did everything sound like the soft hum of the endless arcane and the wordless whispers of the Hexcore and a thousand voices across space and time and a mage in white staring out over an endless field of dreamless solitude when every equation was solved all that remained-]
[The truth was that a human mind--which Viktor now had whether he wanted it or not--could not truly contain everything he had been prior to all of this. Beyond maddening, to understand your own emotions had been deadened and manipulated by the will of some malevolence built by your own hands. Worse to know what you had done because of it.]
[He let out a sharp breath he didn't actually need, raking a hand through his hair and struggling to find his focus again.]
...My...apologies. I am not sure what came over me.
There was...an accident. My research partner saw no option but to utilize the Hexcore to heal my extensive injuries. Neither he nor I could have guessed the extent of the results.
[A slight gesture with one hand, light catching the erratic gold circuitry across cybernetic sinew.]
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[He knows that's a lot to expect, but he has experienced a LOT outside the norm since he got here - if he has to stretch his mental flexibility, then maybe so does this guy.
...]
I don't mean to challenge your knowledge. I... really, I only wish to keep us from jumping to any conclusions.
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Huh. He was not expecting that kind of response.]
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Was it knowledge, or just luck of the tongue? Maybe he'd trust in either of them a little stronger someday, even after this many years.]
Then... let's figure out what else we can gain from this, you and I. If we could find a second one...
[Ah, no, he's getting ahead of himself. He shakes his head again, stammering a little.]
You know... I never think I asked for your name.
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There is no shortage of these machine as far as I have noticed, so that will prove no real problem. So long as we disable them with some semblance of care, dismantling them will be no issue.
And it's Viktor.
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Toa Vakama.
If I had the powers I was more used to, I feel that would be a much easier task. The one I've been "gifted" is... unrulier than I'd like to repeat.
[It's not stated with much disdain, though - if anything, he seems nostalgic in his brief frustration.]
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[Gingerly setting the core down, the Hexclaw folded itself not unlike a wing and retracted into Viktor's shoulder.]
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Vakama huffs out a breath as a hand rests against his head.]
Aim doesn't ever come easily. How I wish it would.
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That is certainly...unexpected. But I see what you mean.
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A fellow Toa held a similar power, though I can't say he struggled so much...
[Nuju wasn't the type to chat about his progress unless he was irritated at a lack of future effectiveness... but more than that, Vakama can't help but wonder if this would be the same stumbling block that his own mask powers had given him.
What would it take this time?
...]
...Never mind. It's not quite the point, is it?
If I could still control flame, I could guarantee precision. This, however... it feels like loosing a Kane-Ra bull in a room full of glass.
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[A pause, then:]
...Are you alright? You look as though your head is bothering you.
cw: hallucination
[He drifts as the pause stretches, and though he can hear Viktor ask a question, the noise muffles like whispers underwater. He shakes his head unsteadily as golden eyes go pinpoint, as though trying to prevent something, though it takes over like a clap of thunder, familiar and unwanted.
Darkness morphs to dripping moisture, to curving tunnels and the rot of the sea. Bodies of those twisted and forgotten line the ground. Familiar and unfamiliar.
Out of time.
He no longer sits, but tilts downward, forcing to gaze into an open maw filled with so many teeth, of spines that twist and the buzzing of bugs, and a feeling of such immense dread.
Almost out of time.
A clock ticks. Stars fade. And he hears a voice, a laugh so familiar and cold, twisted hand against the throat of--
Viktor will watch Vakama whip his head suddenly behind him, seemingly at nothing, his hand flying to his neck as though being strangled with a sudden gasp for breath. The chassis is knocked askew with a crash. But as suddenly as it happens, the Toa is jolted right back to normal, looking around the space wildly as though snapped out of a dream.]
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What happened? Is something wrong, Vakama?
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I-I...
Something... vicious, horrible... down the depths under the ocean, with no time to... to...
[But this isn't home. This isn't home. There was no Makuta, no Matoran. None of the faces he had seen had been flesh and blood...
...
His hand slides from his throat to his face, covering his eyes as his other lifts as a shakily placating gesture towards Viktor.]
Sorry. Sorry, I... [A swallow.] It's nothing. Please, forget I... forget I said anything.
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[The arm retracted again, Viktor slowly lowering his staff.]
Are you certain you are alright?
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[He nods towards Viktor, briefly, as his eyes track where his half of their project has fallen to the ground. Damn it all, what had he been doing... Sighing, he shoves himself over to pick the severed robot back up and inspect for damage.]
I suppose there's always going to be some parts of us that even a place like this can't take away.
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...
[It was so quiet now. Sky's voice (had it ever been Sky?) was long gone, but now so too were the countless others--the dully roaring white noise of thousands of minds, their thoughts and wishes replaced with silence. He couldn't even will his own mind to retreat into the endless expanse of the arcane, now feeling alarmingly limited both in scope and form alike.]
Or too much that they can.
[It was better that way, he insisted to himself. Safer. But that didn't make it any less disorienting.]
Does any of this make sense to you? Bestowing power alongside these stones while shedding nearly everything else...counterproductive. Inefficient for our stated purpose.
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[Like, mood, but why couldn't the universe take his "power" of visions along with everything else? Or was that the point?
...]
From what I understood, it wasn't intentional. A side-effect of pulling us from our homes. The shards are just a substitute.
If our "captor" is to be believed, that is.
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[The metallic sound to his voice grew more pronounced as Viktor worked through his thoughts, as if running elaborate calculations.]
Missing, but too immaterial to be taken. A...disconnection. Detachment. Reaching out to the arcane...a message without a response. Too wide a distance, or too powerful a barrier.
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...That's the source of the magic for Hextech that you had mentioned before, correct?
You have a connection to it?
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[His voice caught sharply on the word, like cogs grinding and scraping in a strange reverberation. His eyes turned distant, impossible colors of cold silver and ethereal white not quite seeing anything as he spoke. His mind lost in thought, or in the strange liminal space between human emotion and the lack thereof.]
Organic matter was the catalyst. Plantlife grew and decayed in an instant. Blood caused its form to shift and change to something beyond control, an anomaly of uncontrolled wild magic. It corrupted the vessel it was unwittingly given. Turning desires to compulsions, compassion into coercion.
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By vessel, do you mean... ones like yourself?
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[The truth was that a human mind--which Viktor now had whether he wanted it or not--could not truly contain everything he had been prior to all of this. Beyond maddening, to understand your own emotions had been deadened and manipulated by the will of some malevolence built by your own hands. Worse to know what you had done because of it.]
[He let out a sharp breath he didn't actually need, raking a hand through his hair and struggling to find his focus again.]
...My...apologies. I am not sure what came over me.
[it's called running panicattack.exe, viktor.]
Yes. I have--had--a connection to the arcane.
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Your body... it's not like the others around here. Is that Hextech's doing as well?
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[A slight gesture with one hand, light catching the erratic gold circuitry across cybernetic sinew.]
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