The ring deposits you all safely outside the base and seals up afterwards. Neo Metal Sonic doesn't chase after you, which is something of a mercy.
What's significantly less of a mercy is the sky - it's gone dark and ominously stormy, though the clouds spark not with lightning, but with that same green Chaos Energy you've been facing this entire fight. Worse still, there are now far, far too many robotic planes filling the sky - the Egg Fleet seems to go on endlessly, as far as you can see. Though perhaps it would be more accurate to call it the Neo Metal Sonic Fleet.
Sonic and friends arrive shortly, looking pretty banged up but otherwise still healthy enough to make it here, though they stare up at the sky with obvious concern.
"O...kay, this is definitely not what any of us were expecting."
"We will have to take the fight to them, it seems."
"Easier said than done, I'm afraid... I'm not sure how to pinpoint their leader's exact location to send you all with a ring..."
A jolt of green lightning flashes across the sky and Neo Metal Sonic's voice rings out.
"I expect to see you onboard my fleet in one week's time. That includes you, my loathsome copy."
It seems you don't really have much of a choice. For now, tend to your wounds and try to regroup; you've earned a break after today.
Not every day people run into beings that can wipe out entire planets if they feel like it. [ wolfwood says easily but in earnest. even with the taste that he had gotten with void archives’ history, he figures that he can piece enough things together based on everything that they’ve experienced so far. it's funny how someone like him has had as much experience as he has regarding beings that may or may not seem as human as they first appear.
yet, it’s that humanity that they may or may not possess that ends up being what bothers them the most. suppose that’s why there’s something about uncovering little idiosyncrasies about them so much more important—something that wolfwood shares with the sort of hope that void archives is able to understand that much without needing to spell it out. ] Even less people realize that they can have a huge sweet tooth and will eat boxes upon boxes of doughnuts.
[ he continues with the same amount of casualness in his voice as he takes their amusement as a good sign of things. ]
…and didn’t think they would. Be real fuckin’ weird if that was a thing that could happen; I’m not sure what I’d do if my fork started to talk back to me. [ he’ll frown, but only in exaggeration and not in any level of seriousness or concern of this actually happening. ] But—
[ wolfwood drops the act just long enough to show that what he says next is not something he is taking lightly. he has promised far worse and far more extreme measures but it’s very unlikely that they’ll be dragged to those lengths here. ]
If it does happen again—however unlikely it’d be—I got two hands to use as a reminder.
I think that makes sense. It is far more difficult to lean on such kindness than it is to offer it to another.
[He feels like he's sort of experiencing the truth of this right now. If he were in Void Archives's place, he doesn't imagine he'd be handling anywhere near so well. But on the other side, trying to help them just feels natural.]
...I have always admired the extent to which you have overcome your circumstances, and made a...person, of yourself. And he took it away as quickly as that. Someone like him, too...it feels as though we should at least not do that to one another.
[Void Archives is...sort of not a robot by traditional means, he thinks. They're something far vaster. Still, the creations of humanity here - who could possibly understand what that's like except each other?]
[ There's a moment of silence on Void Archives' end.
As they digest what More has to say, with him relating those feelings of a different kind, something so fiercely powerful in its wretched state, even Void Archives has enough sense to understand it. First, he nearly died, and then was forced to relive such despair?
They're reminded of something first and foremost:
The nightmares, the visions, the suffering for those behind all of that...and now, this. It infuriates them intensely, and for a moment, snaps something within them so hard that it feels like they can even feel it in their throat. Then, it inevitably spills outward... ]
...We'll have to destroy him. Of course, I had no doubt that it was what we would always do. It's only fair, since he is trying to kill us all so thoroughly.
Ahh, wouldn't it be wonderful? To invite such misery upon him as well...I believe it would be truly a sight.
[ Their hands clench tightly to fists; they don't know if they can even hold onto rage for long - negative emotions leave them easily and they are fleeting, like the ghost of a breath. But, right now? It feels infinite. ]
If we could figure out to make him suffer, to beg for mercy, with no intentions of granting it...I would truly enjoy it!
Ah...well, certainly not. But, it seems that you have a tendency to meet such individuals quite often, I suppose.
[ Void Archives does so happen to find that a bit amusing for him to deal with the aspect on a consistent basis, apparently? They wonder if it's just sheer coincidence or simply up to the hand of fate. But, even with matters in mind, it seems to have...been integral in their interactions.
They do lend an ear to the sharing of Vash's preferences - the blond's sweet tooth, that is, tilting their head ever so slightly. It is not for the simple matter of sharing, and they read between the lines. ]
Heh. If your fork dared to talk back at you, I believe that there would be quite a few other potential troubling aspects to contend with. Though...
I do understand what you're getting at. Including you mentioning your dearest one's sweet tooth.
[ There's a short pause as the man makes it clear, about what he would intend to do if it should happen again. And, well, Void Archives is...not really the optimist here in it not reappearing once more. ]
...I do believe it's highly likely he will attempt it again. As much as I loathe to say it, it is a sound strategy, to turn allies so harshly against one another. [ ... ] But, very well.
It's...difficult to accept what had happened, and that it may happen again. Though, I suppose you have proven reliable before, haven't you?
Ah...the troublesome nature of emotions. It's an unenviable position to be in - though, I suppose I do now realize the potential upsides of allowing such things to be shown so freely to others. Even more than before.
[ Void Archives is...certainly handling it! In various respects; it does help that more than people approached them in the aftermath of this.
Honestly, if not for that, if not for people supporting them right now? There wouldn't have been anything to stop them from breaking down before the new week. As Turo dares to bring up this integral aspect, though? ]
...Have you? Truthfully, it means quite a bit coming from you - as I found myself relating quite closely to you more than I initially imagined that I would. We had various aspects in common, and I enjoyed spending time with you as well - of course, it shouldn't be a surprise too when I did my best to try to help you too, hm? I didn't want you to be in a horrid situation.
That said, I had wondered, in that instant, after working so hard to even consider that I could call myself something like that, that if it could be taken away so easily...was I wrong? That I was always meant to be nothing more than my original purpose? If, another being similar to 'us' could so easily use me, then is it not evident that I would never be able to reach any form of true personhood?
[ Their voice has a little bit of a tremor in it, caught between something unstable, and sorrowful, at the same time. They may not be a 'robot' indeed, but they counted themselves among the artificial lifeforms with ease; and so even if their existence was quite beyond a certain scope, at times they hardly saw much of a gap at all. ]
Luckly 'ol me. And who said that God doesn't play favorites?
[ the dryness in wolfwood's voice cannot be understated as snorts. truly what is about him and meeting people who are far less human than human and have great destructive potential? doubly so that they're, largely, blond? if there's another snide remark that wolfwood can make about his whole situation to make light of their's or a half-baked appreciation of them being able to understand wolfwood's actual message without saying anything then it's going to need to wait until wolfwood's brain gets back on track.
hearing them use a word that he would never use to describe vash catches him off-guard more than it probably should. in fact, it causes him to choke on the smoke and the cigarette itself all at once as he sputters. it also goes to say that wolfwood's reaction is the confirmation that he had been talking about vash to begin with. he loves this for himself. it's not very long before wolfwood recovers, at least. ]
[ so happy for them to be in a better mood—enough to tease him about this.... truly. though as the tone changes and allowing wolfwood time to properly put himself back together, he'll raise an eyebrow. look at them (both of them) making some proper progress with the state of things. ]
...but sounds like ya feelin' a little bit of guilt there. How fortunate for ya that I don't feel like disappointin' either one of us so ya don't have to deal with any more of that.
Lucky you indeed. Perhaps you should print out that phrase and stick it to a shirt that you can wear.
[ Void Archives simply says with their questionable sense of humor in turn. Typically, meeting such destructive forces of nature are bound to not be a sign of anything good, of course. Though, they so happen to grant pause at his reaction to their phrasing - which was actually mostly a slip of the tongue. They usually reserve that terminology for Vash in accordance to Wolfwood's potential view of him for their own headspace.
...But, they don't particularly care now that they've voiced it aloud. ]
Hm. Is it?
[ They fall silent for a moment, as if considering from now on strictly referring to him as that. Though, they give further pause when he points out the aspect about guilt. It's funny, that, yes...it is true that they might be, just a tad. But, even for their own thoughts on the matter - the semblance of feeling at 'fault' for not being able to resist - they would rather not be blamed for what happened. Yet, how can they not be? Still...that's definitely not the sense they're getting here. ]
I'd rather not go ahead and say that I feel such things. But, I may have already spoken in a way to indicate that it is so, so it feels moot. Should I express my gratitude to you in advance for knowing you will not be a disappointment in assisting in helping myself evade such reoccurrences, however?
[ wolfwood is, without a doubt, going to give them a stink eye as he lights up another smoke when they try to play coy. they both know what they did—slip up to not—it’s how they view vash to wolfwood and that’s enough to earn the stare he gives them. though worse of all, probably, is the way that wolfwood suddenly imagines just how that would have gone should his """dearest""" be present with them. the mental image causing him to drag a hand over his face as he takes a long drag. ]
I’m so glad he’s not here to hear any of this. I’d never hear the end of it from him if he ever overheard someone say that.
[ because it was something that could easily be played as a joke even if they was a deeper meaning and a level of sincerity to it. vash had gotten worked up for far simpler niceties that wolfwood had thrown his way. and as the jokes subside and void archives takes their moment to get lost in their head, wolfwood waits it out to see what becomes of it. the results… feeling about right.
or, well, probably more than “about right”. it sort of feels like they’ve made some level of progress towards understanding things that aren’t entirely logical or reserved for things that are completely cold and unfeeling. it’s progress that wolfwood feels generous enough to “reward”. ]
Sure. I’ll accept yer thanks now for whatever the fuck my future self is gonna have to deal with.
[ ...in his own way. ]
However, if ya end up winnin' against the next cheap shot that guy takes at ya, I promise to express my gratitude for it when it happens.
[Mmm, well. If they're going to do this, then Turo supposes he does have to reluctantly let go and pull back. He wants to look at More while he speaks to him, which is hard to do like this.]
You have taught me about becoming my own person. That I am not entirely chained to my creator, and what he wished of me. That I even can go off and have a life of my own. You have seen the worst in me and accepted me all the same.
[That's exactly how Turo has always thought of it. If he can be forced to do whatever the Professor wanted, even after the man is dead and gone, how can he really claim to be anything more than the man's tool? But as strongly as he's believed it's true for himself, he doesn't like to hear it from Void Archives. They aren't supposed to question themself like this.
It occurs to him for the first time that maybe he's not as well-suited to approach them after such an incident as he thought. Aren't these the exact questions he has never quite overcome? He's never been able to mount much of a defense before. But, Void Archives has done so for him, so he'll try his best to do so in turn.]
Maybe...maybe that's not quite true. It happened to the others just the same, after all. Maybe we are...a little bit easier to override... [It's true, and hard to ignore.] ...but that does not mean we are not people at all.
[They're just...people with extremely large buttons that stop them from being people sometimes? No, he's losing the plot a little.]
I believe so, yes. Though that could be useful on its own. I can create shields, so a stronger shield would involve covering more people. It doesn't seem like strengthening our abilities has been as immediately useful as combining them, though.
[With a grateful nod, Oscar lights the cigarette and takes a deep pull on it, exhaling a puff of smoke in what almost sounds like a sigh. The ritual is more comforting than he'd like to admit, a way to calm his jangled nerves after a harsh battle... which is certainly what today had been.
He's silent for quite a while, rolling the thoughts around in his head while he tries to figure out what he wants to say. At last, he settles on:]
... I really thought we were gonna lose someone today.
[ 'You know what you did', shaming sign for Void Archives. It'd be hilariously perfect, because they absolutely said what they said on purpose - even if it's seemingly low key, it is definitely in reminiscent of their usual brand of nonsense. They have no idea of what things would have gone like, but when they see him take a long drag, the amusement kind of just...creeps in a little more?
Less going through the motions and less small - more overt now even if it's a twinkle in their eyes at the moment. ]
Would he now? A pity we can't have him suddenly become aware of the conversation and write down his thoughts.
[ But, they start smiling a little when he at first says that he accepts his thanks.
Before, well...they just hold in a reaction of overt surprise, pausing for a moment to just chuckle. ]
...Hmm. Winning against the next cheap shot? You mean to suggest that you can see myself fully resisting any further future attempts to be under his control - entirely?
[ They...didn't think of that as a possibility. They assumed that it would be a natural forceful take over and then, well, potentially the same pattern as before.
But, now that he's voiced it, they kind of can't stop thinking about it... ]
[ There's a long moment of silence on Void Archives' part. Then, a crooked, sharp smile makes its way across their face as they chuckle darkly. ]
A little easier to override, hm?
[ Void Archives' little, considering but uneven smile remains. Yes, that is certainly true, isn't it? It hurts their pride to admit to that; to concede to such a thing, but what happened makes it all the more apparent. They seem to consider the other words Turo has said, though, even after the small question leaves them so. ]
Interesting to consider. You are correct that it did happen to the others, and they weren't like us. Not really.
Perhaps, in that sense, it doesn't exactly mean we are so far removed from the others that we are nowhere near being considered something close to a "person". I have no idea what that means for us. After all, I had struggled with such a concept even now...there is no reason to act like I suddenly attained such thoughts with ease.
Yet...it is a step somewhere, hm?
[ They are grasping a hold of it tentatively. Is it because there is logic in this? Or because they are desperate to hold onto something when everything feels like it unraveled? Or because Turo himself can even argue such words...? ]
[ They seem to pause a little at this, hearing that. ]
Yes, it does certainly get quite a bit frustrating after all of that...hmmm?
[ They fall a bit silent, for a small while. But their mind is definitely still quite far away from that pondering too hard on that subject. Yet, contradictorily. those words that are grasped thinly have them wonder about something. ]
What do you hope to do against the one before us all, however? If you could do your worst. Humor me and do tell me.
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