Your defeat of "Eggman" has come at a high cost, namely the Egg Fleet in the skies and the looming threat of Neo Metal Sonic. He gave you a week to prepare; best use it wisely.
THE CITY
The massive robot on the horizon is no more - it looks like Neo Metal Sonic truly did rip the whole thing up. If you head back out there, you'll find that there are still pieces of it, and plenty of scrap left behind, but not nearly as much as one would expect.
More pressingly, there are far more robots present than even before. While you recognize all of them at this point, they're all patrolling in larger groups and will once again drop everything to attack you. Definitely don't head into the city alone for any reason, and always be prepared for an ambush. These robots are absolutely determined to kill you.
It seems that the white chroma that has spread throughout the city has reached a standstill - there isn't any more of is present than there was last week, but it hasn't receded any either. Strangely enough, it seems like the animals in the city are feeling more lively than before, though not quite back to their usual levels of being.
THE BASE
The new base is coming along nicely, and should be more or less furnished as needed by now. Still, with more and more robots coming around, you may find groups of them straying toward the base. You can't let them find it and report back to Neo Metal Sonic, so please take care of them! This is also the perfect time to practice with your shardbond powers...
You may also want to start thinking of the future as well. While it certainly isn't a sure thing, Sonic and friends have made it clear that this should be the final battle, that taking out Neo Metal Sonic should be the end of it and that you all will get to go home soon. Or if not home, then to wherever - and whenever - you'd like! Your future is up to you, though you're certainly welcome to stay here in Chicago, if you have nowhere else you want to go. May as well start thinking about what you'd like to bring back with you, or where you'd like to go.
But maybe don't get too caught up on that, as you still do have a battle to win, after all.
SHARDS
Your shard powers are fully unlocked, and with them comes a mastery of your shardbond powers as well. You really have reached the end with what you can do with these bonds - so now it's time to put them to the test.
Knuckles wants you all to practice forming even larger shardbonds and maintaining them for as long as possible - ideally you'll be able to work up to a seven person bond, as that should grant you the full extent of your power. No one knows what exactly will happen when you can achieve that... So you'd better get to work, as it may be very helpful for the final fight.
Those of you with the same color shards have mostly been able to bolster each others' powers rather than actively forming a bond, but now that you're at the very end, that's changed - shards of the same color can now activate each others' powers as well as their own! So for example, Yeager can shoot water like Dorothy, or Dorothy can draw aggro and take reduced damage like Yeager. You can utilize the others' powers alongside your own just as long as the other shard is in the same vicinity!
TAILS' TASKS
As always, rings are incredibly important, and you should collect them, especially if you'd like to bring some home with you so you can travel back to Chicago at any point, or jump to your friends' worlds. Go forth and find those obnoxiously-placed rings!
There's also Knuckles' daily lessons on shardbonds; he'll be overseeing you all while you practice to make sure that everything's going well, though you don't really need his help at this point. Activating a bond with six other shards is the goal, but every single extra shard you can add to the mix is important.
Finally, Tails is working on a teleporter that will jump you guys right up onto the ships above... but he's still fine-tuning it. Turns out that finding the right ship is a bit easier said than done. If you want to help, you can take the jump to test it! You'll be given a ring so you can get back immediately - but if you get the wrong ship, you can stay to clear out the robots. Doing so will net you experience with your shards and bonds, as well as at minimum ten rings. So really, it's a win/win unless you hate fighting.
ENEMIES
The enemies you face this week are the same as the ones you've faced in previous weeks. There are no new robots to fight, though you'll start finding knock-offs of Mecha Sonic, Robo Knuckles, and Tails Doll hanging around in the city as well. Which yes, means you can (and will) get many more rocks at you. Have fun!
[Potentially having one week to live probably should have frightened Viktor more than it did. There was a time when he would have lapsed into panicked desperation over the idea, which even now seemed like a more sensible reaction than what he felt now. Different than the way the Hexcore had deadened his emotions to ethereal blank calm, a little rest to recover had simply left Viktor focused, in the way of a mad scientist with a clear goal to accomplish and the work ethic to see it through.]
[This was not yet a lost cause. They had come out on the other side of every trial so far--not unscathed, but alive. Even if the chance of success was less than a single percent, it was not zero. If the probability were spread over a thousand timelines, he was sure this would be the one which was successful. It had to be, because it was the single known possibility that had already led to the right outcome once. The correct rune, the correct placement and timing and every single piece coming together in a wider picture that had resulted in a world pulled back from the brink.]
[It could happen twice. It had to happen twice.]
[So it was not with an overabundance of fear that Viktor (still heavily favoring his right leg and floating along on his hoverboard) accompanied whoever was heading into the city in search of supplies--the spare parts would come easily enough, with the more aggressive robots so thoughtfully coming straight to them. Very considerate. Either way, the non-machine resources Viktor sought out were as simple as raiding a few clothing stores--okay, that was probably a little closer to More's fashion sense than anyone would have expected from him, but he seemed unfazed.]
[As the days went on, one would be forgiven for assuming one of the lesser-used floors of the base was undergoing construction, which was exactly why it had been effectively overtaken--to minimize the annoyance of the sounds of drilling, hammering, the buzz of a laser used as a welding torch, and--maybe unexpectedly, the dull beat of the sort of music indicating one might be, as the saying goes, 'locked in'. Or just that they had very odd taste. Or both.]
[When Viktor finally emerged from his fit of mad science, it was with a newly crafted leg brace and a wholly different look, a repaired (albeit worse for wear) knee-high robot shuffling along behind him. The rest of the spare parts he took to Tails' laboratory along with his toolbox (helpfully carried by Blitzcrank), fully prepared to help construct the teleporter--that was definitely something he had experience with.]
[...And if anyone caught him along the way with an offer of combat training, for once he wasn't about to say no. But suggesting he do whatever he did that passed for 'sleep' at some point would be a good idea, too.]
[ There's nothing that Gyles particularly needs in the city - what he has is enough. His abilities, everyone's abilities, and their bonds will be enough - but it's hard to sit still for long. Which is how he's ended up here, alongside Viktor as they pick through the latest set of robots that tried (and failed) to come at them. ]
The quality of the materials has improved alongside the particular strength of our opponents, which is not surprising. But it is helpful. [casually looking over a busted robot before dropping a few pieces into a bg hanging off his shoulder.]
Or in other words, we have come a long way from scrapped prototypes. I can work with these.
[Turo's been forced to mostly drop his old hobby of wandering Chicago. Ever since they got back, the patrolling robots are just too powerful to risk being caught out alone. Being trapped inside here is boring, though! He's quick to tag along if he sees anybody going outside. Before he never would have risked imposing on someone like that, and even now...it's easier with Viktor than a lot of people.
At least, it was fine while we were collecting scrap.]
Well- [Having handed his staff over to the Hexclaw to keep himself steady, Viktor calmly looked through what could be best described as 'hot topic slightly to the left on the steampunk scale'.] -not to put too blunt or pessimistic a point on the matter, but if we have one week to live, I would prefer not to end this dressed like a cult leader.
[Lucifer has apparently gotten over his anger over the whole admitting genocide thing. Or, at least, outwardly enough to be willing to speak to Viktor again. Small mercies, because Lucifer genuinely likes the guy.]
I miss the days of being able to head out on my own.
[Said wistfully, in the tone that indicates he's trying to use humor to hide his own anxiety.]
Likewise, though it is too much to hope those abilities might suddenly return. As you say, it is better to improve what we have--shields especially will no doubt be necessary.
[More robot parts means more options for fuel, and a large enough source means that Vakama can finally jerry-rig the closest thing to a steady contained heat source without smoking out the entire base or giving away their location. It's here that he finally seems fully in his element without hesitation, testing and shaping the unfamiliar alloys, a makeshift guard across his eyes as the pounding of the hammer echoes across the space. Melting down, reconstructing, the builder to craft that which the engineer could concoct within his mind.
Precise measurements are nothing new. So crafting the circular rings at just the right adjustment of circumference - that of Viktor's leg - takes up his afternoon, putting aside his hammer and yanking his faceplate up off his eyes to carefully pick up one of the largest of the tempered pieces to inspect it for damages. It would need plenty of adjustments under the finer tuning of Viktor's laser, of course, but structurally the base should hold...
The jointwork's around here somewhere... maybe Viktor took it to fiddle around with it some more, who knows. It's hard to keep track of what pieces migrate around. But he'll at least tuck away from his makeshift furnace to try and find wherever Viktor's tucked away. Might as well see if he could convince the man to take a break.]
[There was something very comforting about the process of metalworking--Viktor had never spent much time at the House Talis forge, but the smell of metal and smoke was always something that ended up lingering in the lab. It was hard not to associate it with the concept of home, something safe and familiar.]
I appreciate your help on this. Metalworking itself was never my particular skill. [The Hexclaw hovering over his shoulder fired in a razor-thin and precise burst to fix some minor details in the pieces he was currently adjusting.]
Irritating, that all my old measurements are off now. Though perhaps that's to be expected in this form.
Were I to only have had my fire powers from the start, this would be far easier. But we'll make due. [There's a LOT more happening to these metals than would ever happen with protodermis, but basic principles still seemed to apply the same. If only they had more time, he could work out some of the issues with impurities and the differences in structures.]
Are you at a stopping point? We've been at this for a while, and I'd like to see if the jointwork will fit comfortably for you.
If I went presenting things cracking apart at the first use, I'd have been long out of a job.
[How decent he felt he was ranged wildly, of course, regardless of how far he'd come or why Makuta of all beings had singled him out for projects, but he at least had some sort of pride in his basics.
He casts his glance towards a discarded chair, dragging it over with his telekinesis as he reaches to gather the small collection of rings, gently testing their pliability in his palms.]
Take a seat. I'm not going to make you do this on your feet again.
If you have those pistons from earlier, I can pin those in as we go. They're not going to lock in place just yet, but we can test the tension, at least.
["Locked in" indeed. Over the week, Jinx didn't show so much fear as a healthy amount of pep in her step. She was quieter, head down, darting from area to area. While Viktor worked, it was a safe bet Jinx was somewhere nearby, gravitating around his work with her own. A necessary and established alliance of Zaun kids.
After all, she often supplied the robot parts.
A moment's pause has Jinx rip her welding goggles off and run a hand through the creases of her eyes, with a general sound of annoyance.]
This'd be so much better with my old lab I destroyed.
We will be fine, Jinx. [Viktor pushed his own goggles up to sit on his head, the Hexclaw's laser powering off as he did.] You of all people understand innovation with limited resources.
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[This was not yet a lost cause. They had come out on the other side of every trial so far--not unscathed, but alive. Even if the chance of success was less than a single percent, it was not zero. If the probability were spread over a thousand timelines, he was sure this would be the one which was successful. It had to be, because it was the single known possibility that had already led to the right outcome once. The correct rune, the correct placement and timing and every single piece coming together in a wider picture that had resulted in a world pulled back from the brink.]
[It could happen twice. It had to happen twice.]
[So it was not with an overabundance of fear that Viktor (still heavily favoring his right leg and floating along on his hoverboard) accompanied whoever was heading into the city in search of supplies--the spare parts would come easily enough, with the more aggressive robots so thoughtfully coming straight to them. Very considerate. Either way, the non-machine resources Viktor sought out were as simple as raiding a few clothing stores--okay, that was probably a little closer to More's fashion sense than anyone would have expected from him, but he seemed unfazed.]
[As the days went on, one would be forgiven for assuming one of the lesser-used floors of the base was undergoing construction, which was exactly why it had been effectively overtaken--to minimize the annoyance of the sounds of drilling, hammering, the buzz of a laser used as a welding torch, and--maybe unexpectedly, the dull beat of the sort of music indicating one might be, as the saying goes, 'locked in'. Or just that they had very odd taste. Or both.]
[When Viktor finally emerged from his fit of mad science, it was with a newly crafted leg brace and a wholly different look, a repaired (albeit worse for wear) knee-high robot shuffling along behind him. The rest of the spare parts he took to Tails' laboratory along with his toolbox (helpfully carried by Blitzcrank), fully prepared to help construct the teleporter--that was definitely something he had experience with.]
[...And if anyone caught him along the way with an offer of combat training, for once he wasn't about to say no. But suggesting he do whatever he did that passed for 'sleep' at some point would be a good idea, too.]
city
You findin' what you need?
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Or in other words, we have come a long way from scrapped prototypes. I can work with these.
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At least, it was fine while we were collecting scrap.]
What...are we doing here?
[CLOTHES STORE, HIS NEMESIS]
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[...sometimes sarcasm is the best you've got]
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...I suppose I understand.
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[At least, that's what he's taking from the whole thing. The clothes here do look like the sort of thing More would wear, though.]
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city
I miss the days of being able to head out on my own.
[Said wistfully, in the tone that indicates he's trying to use humor to hide his own anxiety.]
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[Though they've managed to fight back thus far, the stakes could not be higher currently.]
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We've gotten along with narrow wins before, but this is... a far bigger threat. Perhaps we should see if it's possible to strength our own bond.
[Counterattacking will probably come in handy.]
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I do wonder what our adversary has planned. It seems as though he's quite confident in succeeding.
[And Lucifer knows they can't afford to lose, either.]
What do you say to destroying some robots on our errand?
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base wildcard
Precise measurements are nothing new. So crafting the circular rings at just the right adjustment of circumference - that of Viktor's leg - takes up his afternoon, putting aside his hammer and yanking his faceplate up off his eyes to carefully pick up one of the largest of the tempered pieces to inspect it for damages. It would need plenty of adjustments under the finer tuning of Viktor's laser, of course, but structurally the base should hold...
The jointwork's around here somewhere... maybe Viktor took it to fiddle around with it some more, who knows. It's hard to keep track of what pieces migrate around. But he'll at least tuck away from his makeshift furnace to try and find wherever Viktor's tucked away. Might as well see if he could convince the man to take a break.]
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I appreciate your help on this. Metalworking itself was never my particular skill. [The Hexclaw hovering over his shoulder fired in a razor-thin and precise burst to fix some minor details in the pieces he was currently adjusting.]
Irritating, that all my old measurements are off now. Though perhaps that's to be expected in this form.
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Are you at a stopping point? We've been at this for a while, and I'd like to see if the jointwork will fit comfortably for you.
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[Provided they lived through whatever happened next, he could make something more permanent later if it were necessary.]
I can pause for a moment, I think these pieces are usable now.
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[How decent he felt he was ranged wildly, of course, regardless of how far he'd come or why Makuta of all beings had singled him out for projects, but he at least had some sort of pride in his basics.
He casts his glance towards a discarded chair, dragging it over with his telekinesis as he reaches to gather the small collection of rings, gently testing their pliability in his palms.]
Take a seat. I'm not going to make you do this on your feet again.
If you have those pistons from earlier, I can pin those in as we go. They're not going to lock in place just yet, but we can test the tension, at least.
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Do whatever you have to.
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base
After all, she often supplied the robot parts.
A moment's pause has Jinx rip her welding goggles off and run a hand through the creases of her eyes, with a general sound of annoyance.]
This'd be so much better with my old lab I destroyed.
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