WEEK 7

[shardmods]

Though it may not have been easy or fun, your time in the Void was ultimately productive; you've become far stronger than you were when you entered, and you may have even made a friend(?) or two. Shadow insists on remaining behind in the Void because he does not want to interfere with this world or potentially cause problems with this world's Shadow (wherever he may be), but Infinite is free to either accompany you or stay behind and fight Shadow, depending on whatever you guys would like. Surprisingly, he'll respect your wishes without complaint (though this may be because he wants to fight Shadow).

You return to the outskirts of Chicago, and it seems that the city has changed some in your time away...

THE CITY

Eggman's chroma has taken over damn near everything. The buildings, the streets, even the wildlife. It seems that the changes have only hit the city itself, as the outskirts (where the base is located) are mostly chroma-free. Still, it's a stark change - you haven't really been gone for all that long, have you? It's kind of hard to tell judging from your time in the Void, but if you check a calendar you'll find that approximately two weeks have passed. All this in two weeks seems a bit much...

The city itself still retains the same landmarks, shops, and people - though the former two are Eggman-ified. The people are back to going about their business as lifelessly as ever, completely heedless of the robots even if they do get in the way... but even the robots are back to patrolling as usual. There are far more of them now, however, and they aren't the same ones you're used to. Sure, you can still fine drones, B33s, and tanks here and there, but they've mostly been replaced by newer, tougher foes.

You're going to have to fight if you enter the city for any reason. The robots will recognize you as a threat and try to kill you on sight, and there are far more of them now than there ever were. But you're stronger now, so you can certainly keep up, if not destroy them easily.

THE BASE

The new base that Sonic and friends have moved you all into is quite different from the last one. This one seems to have been an office building at some point; a simple two story building with plenty of large rooms and smaller offices that have been repurposed as bedrooms. You can room with the same people as before, or you can even claim your own room! There's plenty of space here, after all. Knuckles will even move beds around if you want to rearrange things and can't lift them yourself.

Unfortunately, this base isn't nearly as furnished as the previous one. Sonic Team has managed to get all the bedrooms functional in the span of a few days, but everything else? Well... You're going to have to help with that, aren't you? The kitchen is barebones, there's no rooms for entertainment, training, or anything else, and security is minimal. Tails is still working on getting his surveillance up and running, let alone all the various research he's been working on. In short, you've got your work cut out for you building this place into something you can truly call your own.

But it is located on the outskirts of Chicago and it is is safe. After all, you've got each other to rely on.

SHARDS

Shadow's test may not have immediately had any sort of effects on you, but as you return to Chicago and resume fighting, you'll realize that controlling your shard and its power is innate at this point. You won't be struggling with it anymore - in fact, you've completely unlocked your shard's power. You're capable of a great many more things with it now than you were before. You should be able to use your shard for offensive and defensive purposes - which yes, means our healers can do the equivalent of averaging their HP with the enemy in order to deal damage to them. Fun times all around. You'll find that bonding with another shardbearer is also easier, and you can bond with many more of them now. You're growing stronger; maybe your time away in the Void did some good after all.

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

Returning to the old base is ill-advised, but you can take a ring and hop over there if you've got someone to accompany you. After all, Tails would appreciate more of his old gear back, and you've probably left things behind there too. You'll find that the place is simply swarming with robots - they're on patrol rather than smashing your things, almost as if they were waiting for you all to return. Bring back whatever you need or whatever will prove useful - and be careful about it.

Of course, rings are running low again... so you know what that means. Scour Chicago and the outskirts in search of those pesky rings and make sure to bring them back! As always, they'll be found in increasingly bizarre and frustrating locations, but you'll be able to find them easier now than you could before. You won't even need a radar - your shards will innately draw you toward their location now!

ENEMIES

While you're undoubtedly going to find yourself running into familiar bots from the previous weeks, there are many new ones to contend with - and they are far stronger than the others. Eggman's army has more or less taken over Chicago, meaning that you'll be running into some sort of enemy frequently. The outskirts of the city are practically deserted, with the exception of your old base, that is.

Assault Drones have more or less replaced the majority of weaker patrolling drones. Unlike those, these are built for combat and they will not hesitate to engage in it. Capable of both shooting lasers, exploding, and sending out a loud siren call for reinforcements, they are not fun to fight. Still, they're the weakest of the new enemies by a long shot... though if you aren't quick enough and they get that loud siren out, they're going to be joined by those stronger enemies.

E-1000s are robots with gun arms that want you dead. They're capable of limited flight, shooting many lasers, and are quite durable... and to make matters worse, some of them even have shards allowing them access to a knockoff copy of one of your powers. The E-1000s usually patrol solo, without any other robots for backup, but they can and will call in reinforcements of the previous weeks' smaller robots when necessary.

Shadow Androids are basically what you'd expect. Shadow androids. They not only look like a certain black and red hedgehog, they also act like him, moving quickly and striking with hard hits and utilizing their fake Chaos Emerald shards for Chaos Control to both warp and temporarily freeze any opponent they face. They usually patrol in pairs - two Shadow Androids or a Shadow Android and any other assortment of weaker robots. Chaos Control is far more useful when someone else can take advantage of it, after all!

NAVIGATION

Comments

[akademise]

[ This is a difficult matter to consider. Knowing now that he's not going to sleep anytime soon, More crosses his legs on the bed to get into a better thinking position. ]

Perhaps his inventions were not considered fit for the society of this world? You are no stranger to the concept of outrageous inventions, and on a smaller scale such things also existed in my own world.

This place does not seem to be as devoted to destroying science as the Sanctist Church is, but even then... He may have already done 'too far' by the metrics of those judging him.

[tworo]

Hm. That may be. They certainly must have liked their technology here, but it doesn't seem that things like robots were commonplace.

[At least, he hasn't seen any in the stores they've been to, either for sale or for use by the staff.]

It's difficult to gauge how people felt about things like that now.

[akademise]

Yes... It never stops being unsettling to watch the people act so apathetically, does it?

[ As much as More enjoys being able to go outside again, but that had bothered him even when it was safer to explore Chicago. ]

[tworo]

.....it is. I wasn't like that even when I was brand new.

[There's something deeply wrong when a machine right out of the box is more emotive.]

[akademise]

I haven't met you when you were younger, but I imagine you were still... inquisitive? I think that is what unsettles me about everyone here. The lack of curiosity for everything and anything.

[ Even the worst people ever still have things they're somewhat interested in!! ]

[tworo]

They're still...working.

[Why? For what? They don't even seem to use the money for anything other than basic food and necessities, if they are indeed still getting paid at all. Which is a WHOLE OTHER THING if they aren't!]

[akademise]

... Dr. Robotnik still needs materials for his robots, and those need to be manufactured. To keep the factories open, one needs workers who need to be fed, and that in turn means needing food production, and so on.

I imagine they're all just contributing to his empire, one way or another.

[tworo]

He doesn't, though. That's what robots are meant to be for. There's some kinds of work we cannot accomplish, but if he put his mind to it, he could fill most necessary positions with workers who don't need much of anything.

[akademise]

Ah... yes, that is true. It appears I still have not quite wrapped my head around the concept of larger application.

[ The robots he knows are split into two categories: 'just a person' and 'weapon liable to toss rocks at me'. ]

We haven't actually seen a Robotnik-made robot for any purpose other than fighting, have we...?

[tworo]

No...maybe he used to make weapons?

[This, at least, is something Turo can't speculate that broadly on. It isn't really the done thing in his own world; there, Robotnik would have probably been out there trying to...well, wait, isn't this similar to what that group in Sinnoh was trying years ago?]

[akademise]

Perhaps...? Despite my rosy initial assumptions, I have learned that this world has quite a few wars that would necessitate such a thing.

[ And Robotnik sure brings an absolutely insane amount of firepower... ]

[tworo]

Maybe this will be the thing that makes them rethink it.

[Though it isn't a direct consequence of war, so...probably not...]

[akademise]

We can hope. When the old world was destroyed by dragons, the making of dragons became a forbidden and nearly lost art... but new kinds of weapons and violence took their place before long.

People can be... rather cyclical that way.

[ And he wants to believe in the fantasy of a better future but. WOWZA. ]

[tworo]

I suppose so. Well, it is not as though we're planning to stay here.

[They can do what they like, he guesses? Even if it is a little sad.]

[akademise]

Yes... I can only hope that this world will learn from what has befallen it, and I believe that our young friends will be right there to guide it along.

[ It feels... a little cruel to place this on Sonic, Tails and Knuckles but...?? They're good kids and certainly accomplished a lot! ]

[tworo]

[Mmmm...Turo's coming to similar conclusions.]

Maybe we could at least check in on them.

[akademise]

Perhaps we can find enough rings to bring us back occasionally in order to visit and find more rings?

[ It seems like a frivolous use of such an important resource, but then... they won't be needed in such a life-or-death way anymore, will they? ]

[tworo]

Maybe so! We probably ought to keep at least one or two in case of emergency anyhow, if we can.

[It's a good means of escape from a nasty situation! And, well, maybe the world they pick will have something awful happen to it that they can't deal with. It seems to be catching.]

[akademise]

You're right that we ought. It's quite a luxury that we have here - to go from being confined to merely the place of our respective creation, to being able to traverse among the worlds freely.

[ A poetic journey, really. ]

[tworo]

It really is remarkable, isn't it?

[akademise]

It is more than I could have dreamed of, even at my most optimistic.

[ A small, conspiratorial smile. ]

Though I think we both found 'stepping outside' to be quite the high goal already, so maybe this is not surprising.

[tworo]

[Turo returns the smile, secretly a little thrilled at the idea of being conspiratorial together.]

It's certainly more than I ever dreamed of, too.

[akademise]

Speaking of dreams, were you not scolding me to go to sleep?

[ Cursing himself by bringing it up, but he can't help teasing a little. They got so caught up in conversation... ]

[tworo]

Oh! Yes, you should. Though - I should warn you first. I have been told that my appearance when I sleep can be...unnerving. My breathing stops and I go nearly completely inert.

[He looks kinda like a dead body, is what he's saying.]

Please do not worry if you see me like that. I can still wake if you need me.

[akademise]

Oh.

[ Yeah, even knowing that Turo is a robot, that would have freaked him out. He's very used to the Turo who mimics a human's functions during the day after all. ]

I appreciate the warning - I do admit, it might have taken me a minute to understand without it.