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.
[He shakes his head, pulling over one of the desk chairs with his powers and dropping himself down into it a little heavier than normal.]
You know I do not think of you as a burden, Viktor. There is nothing to apologize for.
And if you mean what happened during the fight... [He trails off for a moment, eyes flicking to the floor, before he shakes his head a second time.] I am in no position to argue.
I did not want to see you repeat something that would weight on your heart. Whatever I had to take to make sure that happened... it is worth it, in my eyes, if it made sure you stayed free.
[Viktor shook his head, whirring in an exhausted sigh.]
I will not claim myself any better. I have spoken through those I linked to my own mind and even fought with their bodies as the conduit for my voice and will. In that sense, perhaps this is only fair retribution in a larger sense.
I have no right to confess myself to have been frightened. But I can say, whether cruelty or mercy, they no longer had that capacity when I did it.
Do not give that Neo creation so much credit. [Is he gonna be spiteful for a second? Absolutely.]
He echoes your mistakes but is willingly beyond reversal of them, whatever the reason may be. It was no retribution, it was an attempt to toy with us. To make us feel powerless.
You are allowed to feel fear, Viktor. It does not have to be seperate from what parallels are drawn. Perhaps... it may even be for the better, to know it as such.
Whether he is beyond reason or not...it is not possible to know that with certainty, not yet. Even if it seems a certainty, that is not an assumption I wish to make right now.
[Maybe that was selfish, projecting, or both. Wishful thinking, at the very least.]
But you may be right. These troubling emotions are...significant.
I do not expect as much to be possible. I do not know him, and I do not even know the purpose behind his actions--whether it is seeking perfection or a desire for control.
...I have said from the beginning, I am not a soldier. My purpose as a scientist is to improve lives, not to take them. One could make the argument that countless would be saved by ending one, but that is...not a solution I am prepared to accept.
[Because it was right. Viktor more than anyone knew he should have died to stop what he had nearly done, but on the other side of it he knew damn well he did not have the capacity to make that decision.]
When this inevitably becomes a fight, I will not hold back for the sake of protecting everyone here. To save this world, I will face whatever twisted imitation of my past self that I must. But I...will not be able to do so alone.
...Then it is a good thing, is it not, that you will not be alone?
[His smile is light, before he lets his eyes glance down towards his hands.]
I do not want it to end in this way, either, my friend. There are plenty among us that wish to just end all of this definitively, to possibly end this with force that feels deserved as an even match and call it done for good.
[...]
Toa... we do not kill. Or... we should not, at any rate. It is a feared and loathsome thing, to be driven by the urge to take another's life, or to help another in pursuit of the same. Even knowing that some of our own want as much... even if I know that we may well have little remaining options, it still does not sit right with me.
I can not say it would be wrong to utilize force. Of all people, I can not say his crimes are ones earning anything except being stopped by any means necessary. If and when it comes to that, there is nothing I will do to dissuade anyone from that course of action.
...But I have killed far too many in my attempt to 'save' the world. I do not have the strength to do so now, even if that salvation should be more than a lie this time.
Mn. Force is one matter, and I don't disagree with it. It is... whether or not Neo is something to be considered "alive".
Is it just another machine under the command of something else? Something rogue? Is... it something like you, or me, that wears its likeness but still thinks for itself?
...I would not have nearly cared as much if this were even two months back. Angered and disillusioned as I was, armies at my fingertips that could have easily done all that for me while I thought it would save what mattered. It's far easier to think about, when you keep yourself blinded.
[How Lhikan would have frowned upon him, to see what he did under Roodaka. The Toa Code was already an unwritten mess of morals, something he only knows in bits and pieces with no mentor having been alive long enough to pass them along. It makes the lines fuzzy in places, and his own roughened experience just blurs them even further.]
...I know we will not have the time to know as such, and we will have to make the best decision we can. Those of that cannot... will need to rely on those who can.
I do not...necesarily fully understand the matter of what makes a machine 'alive' or not as some of you seem to. To me he appears to have a discernible will, whether it has been crafted by another or not. That is enough for me to consider his existence a form of life no matter his structure, but my perspective is a limited one in this.
[turo being the first actual artificial intelligence he's ever known of, it's kind of a difficult thing to fully comprehend as a sliding scale of sapience.]
I do not know about yours, but my own army was...different. A thousand extensions of myself and my will, each having long ceased to have any individuality or thought. Each one working in perfect synchronicity to commit the gentlest, bloodless murder imaginable. Omnipresent sight, and yet I too was blinded to anything but saving the world.
...It would have been easier if this were still Robotnik and I still thought him too far gone to be reached. This new equation is not one we have the time to study or adjust for.
[He lets out a nervous breath of a laugh about the army, completely humorless.]
Nothing quite that intimidating on my part, and far from gentle. As much as their king wanted the Visorak armies to be omnipresent, they were never going to be, but... force is still force, for those that decide to demand its obedience. I didn't care about much else at the time, pained as it all was.
[...]
They were easy to dispose of. Even though they were far more sentient than any other beasts we'd come across, it wasn't as though I ever thought twice about their wellbeing. They weren't even machines.
For Matoran who are mechanical at creation, all that really sets us apart from the machines we help to build is the knowledge of what we are and the ability to think and decide for ourselves, as well as to change those thoughts as we please. We argue, we feel, we progress. We love.
Machines cannot. Wildlife cannot. They cannot do anything else but what they were built to do. Or, at least... it is what we tell ourselves, perhaps.
[If he thinks about it too long, it's going to really dig at him... but it's not like he can take anything back now.]
I have to wonder what even happened to Robotnik, especially considering how caught off guard Sonic and the others have been. They clearly believed it to still be the same one who they had been fighting this whole time... Makuta did something similar, slipping in to a role with absolutely no indication of the change until he had already dug his claws in tight to every facet of what he wanted.
[Viktor made a quiet mechanical hum as he listened to Vakama speak, acknowledging he was listening despite how quiet he had gone. There was no judgment in his demeanor, because how could there possibly be? He had thrown away more for less, overwhelming force dressed in the thinnest veil of false compassion.]
Things have changed, for all of us. If we manage to survive this, then whatever follows will be an important step forward. We can create something better, no matter what kind of damage we have left upon the path behind us.
[It was a heavy 'if'. But they had already come this far, through overwhelming probability stached against them. 'If' was not a definite statement of failure.]
I wonder if they are still alive. It seems doubtful, but...mm. Perhaps there is still something to be saved in all of this.
Even if it is not the way we would have expected, or if we come out the other end changed, we will still find a way. If he plans to try and take some of us in his grip again, then I hope today showed that there are those willing to fight just as hard to bring people back.
We just cannot falter. Especially not now. Whether Robotnik's fate becomes known or not, it doesn't change that Neo will still need to be stopped. Whatever comes after... we will deal with in whatever way our strength will allow.
[...
The tension in his shoulders lessens as he reaches to touch Viktor briefly against the arm - an unspoken request for him to stay put.]
Rest, my friend. I'll see what can be salvaged and get it to Tails' lab for safekeeping. Can you trust me with as much?
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no subject
Thank you. Truly, I-...am sorry to have caused you trouble.
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You know I do not think of you as a burden, Viktor. There is nothing to apologize for.
And if you mean what happened during the fight... [He trails off for a moment, eyes flicking to the floor, before he shakes his head a second time.] I am in no position to argue.
I did not want to see you repeat something that would weight on your heart. Whatever I had to take to make sure that happened... it is worth it, in my eyes, if it made sure you stayed free.
no subject
[He trailed off uneasily, pressing a hand to his eyes as if warding off a headache.]
...unpleasant.
no subject
...If you would like to speak of it, I am here to listen.
no subject
I will not claim myself any better. I have spoken through those I linked to my own mind and even fought with their bodies as the conduit for my voice and will. In that sense, perhaps this is only fair retribution in a larger sense.
I have no right to confess myself to have been frightened. But I can say, whether cruelty or mercy, they no longer had that capacity when I did it.
no subject
He echoes your mistakes but is willingly beyond reversal of them, whatever the reason may be. It was no retribution, it was an attempt to toy with us. To make us feel powerless.
You are allowed to feel fear, Viktor. It does not have to be seperate from what parallels are drawn. Perhaps... it may even be for the better, to know it as such.
no subject
[Maybe that was selfish, projecting, or both. Wishful thinking, at the very least.]
But you may be right. These troubling emotions are...significant.
no subject
...Do you wish to break through to him, like someone had managed with you? That the conflict might be resolved without further loss?
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But...I have to try. I just-...I have to.
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Hopefully, we will find ourselves another chance. But even if we do everything right, we still may never know.
If he truly cannot be reasoned with, in the end... do you think you could still keep going?
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[Because it was right. Viktor more than anyone knew he should have died to stop what he had nearly done, but on the other side of it he knew damn well he did not have the capacity to make that decision.]
When this inevitably becomes a fight, I will not hold back for the sake of protecting everyone here. To save this world, I will face whatever twisted imitation of my past self that I must. But I...will not be able to do so alone.
no subject
[His smile is light, before he lets his eyes glance down towards his hands.]
I do not want it to end in this way, either, my friend. There are plenty among us that wish to just end all of this definitively, to possibly end this with force that feels deserved as an even match and call it done for good.
[...]
Toa... we do not kill. Or... we should not, at any rate. It is a feared and loathsome thing, to be driven by the urge to take another's life, or to help another in pursuit of the same. Even knowing that some of our own want as much... even if I know that we may well have little remaining options, it still does not sit right with me.
no subject
...But I have killed far too many in my attempt to 'save' the world. I do not have the strength to do so now, even if that salvation should be more than a lie this time.
no subject
Is it just another machine under the command of something else? Something rogue? Is... it something like you, or me, that wears its likeness but still thinks for itself?
...I would not have nearly cared as much if this were even two months back. Angered and disillusioned as I was, armies at my fingertips that could have easily done all that for me while I thought it would save what mattered. It's far easier to think about, when you keep yourself blinded.
[How Lhikan would have frowned upon him, to see what he did under Roodaka. The Toa Code was already an unwritten mess of morals, something he only knows in bits and pieces with no mentor having been alive long enough to pass them along. It makes the lines fuzzy in places, and his own roughened experience just blurs them even further.]
...I know we will not have the time to know as such, and we will have to make the best decision we can. Those of that cannot... will need to rely on those who can.
no subject
[turo being the first actual artificial intelligence he's ever known of, it's kind of a difficult thing to fully comprehend as a sliding scale of sapience.]
I do not know about yours, but my own army was...different. A thousand extensions of myself and my will, each having long ceased to have any individuality or thought. Each one working in perfect synchronicity to commit the gentlest, bloodless murder imaginable. Omnipresent sight, and yet I too was blinded to anything but saving the world.
...It would have been easier if this were still Robotnik and I still thought him too far gone to be reached. This new equation is not one we have the time to study or adjust for.
no subject
Nothing quite that intimidating on my part, and far from gentle. As much as their king wanted the Visorak armies to be omnipresent, they were never going to be, but... force is still force, for those that decide to demand its obedience. I didn't care about much else at the time, pained as it all was.
[...]
They were easy to dispose of. Even though they were far more sentient than any other beasts we'd come across, it wasn't as though I ever thought twice about their wellbeing. They weren't even machines.
For Matoran who are mechanical at creation, all that really sets us apart from the machines we help to build is the knowledge of what we are and the ability to think and decide for ourselves, as well as to change those thoughts as we please. We argue, we feel, we progress. We love.
Machines cannot. Wildlife cannot. They cannot do anything else but what they were built to do. Or, at least... it is what we tell ourselves, perhaps.
[If he thinks about it too long, it's going to really dig at him... but it's not like he can take anything back now.]
I have to wonder what even happened to Robotnik, especially considering how caught off guard Sonic and the others have been. They clearly believed it to still be the same one who they had been fighting this whole time... Makuta did something similar, slipping in to a role with absolutely no indication of the change until he had already dug his claws in tight to every facet of what he wanted.
no subject
Things have changed, for all of us. If we manage to survive this, then whatever follows will be an important step forward. We can create something better, no matter what kind of damage we have left upon the path behind us.
[It was a heavy 'if'. But they had already come this far, through overwhelming probability stached against them. 'If' was not a definite statement of failure.]
I wonder if they are still alive. It seems doubtful, but...mm. Perhaps there is still something to be saved in all of this.
no subject
Even if it is not the way we would have expected, or if we come out the other end changed, we will still find a way. If he plans to try and take some of us in his grip again, then I hope today showed that there are those willing to fight just as hard to bring people back.
We just cannot falter. Especially not now. Whether Robotnik's fate becomes known or not, it doesn't change that Neo will still need to be stopped. Whatever comes after... we will deal with in whatever way our strength will allow.
[...
The tension in his shoulders lessens as he reaches to touch Viktor briefly against the arm - an unspoken request for him to stay put.]
Rest, my friend. I'll see what can be salvaged and get it to Tails' lab for safekeeping. Can you trust me with as much?
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no subject
[A brief exhale of a laugh as he stands from his chair, crossing his arms in front of him.]
Even if you did, I would have to find a way to put you back together to scold you for as much.