#psychicwave 02

[ultimatelifefcrm]

@psychicwave

So, this seemed to be the caveat to this strange dimension. Being thrown into some dangerous scenarios like someone's guinea pig...Well, actually, he wasn't going to think about that, now wasn't the time to get existential when he stuck out in the total whiteout.

While another certain hedgehog blended in, too well, actually. Before Shadow could really get lost in his thoughts and devise a plan, he faceplanted right into the fresh snow.

"You're napping?" They were kidding, right? Whatever the case, the annoyance was palpable from the black hedgehog as he helped himself back up.

While he didn't say anything else, the stare that Shadow was giving him oh so clearly said, 'explain yourself.'

[wolfofthewisps]

While she still felt bad about what happened with Silver and Duo, she'd managed to shake herself of some of the paranoia. Having Tangle around helped with that...which made it all the more unfortunate she wasn't here in the city. Losing her twice and still being stuck here...hadn't been good for her.

Even then, Silver was a very welcome presence for the lonely wolf. She felt a pang of guilt when he trailed off in his talk about Soleanna. He didn't need to cut himself off for her sake- she enjoyed listening to others, particularly those she felt closer with. Things had gotten rockier between them, but she was still his friend...surely he saw it that way, right?

"Training's going well. He's up and about now...showing promise. Hope he can keep growing." It was true- though he'd only recently started training with them, Duo was able to keep up better than expected of a newbie. Still seemed less savvy than them, but his progress was steady...

Then memory of the most recent happenings struck her, and her expression darkened. She turned her head away, clearly trying to keep calm...but the flattening of her ears and the cold, open glare of her eyes betrayed her temper. "...Got some new recruits, too. Just before I arrived here. Looking to turn over a new leaf, on Sonic and Amy's recommendations." Were it not for her gloves, her claws surely would've been digging into her palms by now.

"...Surge and Kit."

"yeah," he echoes softly, stomach flipping in response to her hesitance.

"i never had the chance to tell you back home, but it's okay. i got to travel with blaze afterward, so it wasn't all bad. soleanna's really nice! you should try the crab if you ever decide to, um..." he's babbling, isn't he? force of habit. "...visit."

he really has moved on for the most part. they had a valid reason for kicking him out (he's convinced himself of that), so the last thing he wants is for whisper to feel bad. she wasn't in the best headspace back then, either.

she blamed herself for his actions, but it was silver who should've known when to quit.

"...how's training been going with duo?" had he fully recovered? did he do anything suspicious since the incident? a lot of questions rolled into one.

[placides]

starter - @psychicwave

Shouko had completely no idea what she went off after being curious that leads her to the unknown beneath below. She's not strong, she's not armed with magic and weapons, just her fears in things will not end well but worse. It could be her demise that's quicker than a fired bullet.

And of all places, it had to be an abandoned space station. How gruelingly unlucky.

"D-Don't... hurt me." She saw a white-colored hedgehog-thing but either way, she's screwed in all directions. Her voice was soft-spoken.

Shouko was cornered.

[ultimatelifefcrm]

"You don't want me to answer that, do you?" It was a nice way of saying: you would fumble that so hard, don't even try it.

"For this being a survival situation, you sure are loud." The ultimate lifeform couldn't help but quip at them as he took a peek over their cover. Nothing was coming, at least.

While Silver was busying themselves with sharpening the arrowheads, Shadow was sifting through the snow to find something to tie the arrowhead to the sizeable branch he'd procured.

"what? i just assumed you'd take it from there, with your... non-lethal bb gun." yeahhh, strategy isn't their strong suit; going out there defenseless sounds like a one-way ticket to an embarrassing respawn. "you're right, again... you don't think i'd actually fumble that hard, though, do you?" please don't answer that.

they gawk at the hefty branch, gulping. of course they see where shadow's heading, but weapons aren't their thing! mind-controlled weapons don't count.

squashing the wariness down, silver flashes a thumbs-up and begins their search. they're trying not to dwell on shadow being the reliable one here, but it's difficult not to; you'd think he was the one with a post-apocalyptic background. it's both impressive and humbling...

"a-ha! these'll work," they triumphantly raise two stones in the air (one to sharpen, one to stab). "how about it? you can attach it to the stick after i get it nice and pointy, then we'll be raring to go!" aaand they're already going at it, eager to prove themself.

[ultimatelifefcrm]

"Mhm. Just one problem: just what do you intend to do once you sneak up on these beasts?" Silver wasn't exactly what Shadow would call a physical powerhouse. Though, the imagery of them brute forcing it was amusing.

"Slow down." The ultimate lifeform had an idea, call it inspired or whatever. "We'll need to detour before you jump into a situation and get yourself killed." In reality, Shadow wouldn't let it get that far, he would help them if push came to shove.

"If you have a good enough arm, you may not necessarily need to put your whole neck out." As he spoke, he reached up and broke off a nice sized branch. "It's no Chaos Spear but it may work in a pinch."

"You do see where I'm heading with this, right? Let's find a good material for an arrowhead and we're set."

and unlike some people, silver doesn't take it as a joke. in fact, it makes complete sense, "now that's a plan worthy of a top GUN agent! ex-GUN agent...? to be honest, i have no idea what you're up to nowadays." heck, what does GUN even do?

they shake their head-- focus, silver. "i saw a few big ones down that way before my na-- strategic rest. they looked perfect for pelts and food, so we'd be totally set." just two teens casually strategizing a hunt-- that's silver and shadow for ya.

one problem: silver has zero stealth experience on-foot. there'd be no room for self-doubt if psychokinesis were an option (they'd just energy slice 'em, easy), but with that crossed off the list, they'll have to rely on shadow's unflappable confidence for some inspiration; although it isn't as uplifting as sonic's can-do attitude, it'll do!

"c'mon, i'll show you!" they wince, voice lowering to a whisper before their rival can get a sarcastic word in, "quietly, i promise."

[ultimatelifefcrm]

"You don't-" Well, whether he liked it or not, it seemed Silver was hellbent on giving a hand. He was hardly excited about the team up, but whatever means was necessary to ensure both of them got out of this relatively unharmed: he'd have to take them up on it.

"Fine. We'll team up." He wasn't going to give Silver the satisfaction on agreeing to their stealth comment, no matter how true it was.

"First, we have access to nothing except what's on our person." Shadow didn't exactly like how slow he was, that was really hindering any progress he could've made on his own. "I have this, but it is non lethal." The hedgehog thought the BB gun he was given when he arrived in the city was entirely useless, but maybe it would prove to be handy.

"Maybe you could serve as a distraction for these beasts." Where that might be a joke for some people, Shadow was serious. "You'll be fine."

so shadow is struggling (not that silver's happy about it, it just proves they were right to worry)! still, the other hedgehog's giving it his all-- they really ought to step up their game, too.

"sounds like you could use a hand," silver puffs out their chest, clearly having assigned themself the role already (with or without shadow's approval). "just leave it to me! i know you prefer working alone, but you have to admit i'm your best bet at stealth right now."

it's kind of exhilarating-- the thought of them working side-by-side for once. now silver can show him what they're really made of!

oh, right. plans. "er... any ideas yet? i could go for a meal, myself." granola supply's run empty, as evidenced by their rowdy stomach...

[ultimatelifefcrm]

The 'strategic rest' comment earned an eyeroll from the black hedgehog, if anything, that just sounded like an excuse. If that was how Silver chose to survive, well then Shadow would just leave them be.

But, Silver raising concern for Shadow was enough to pull him out of his annoyance with Silver. "It's a work in progress." It's a pretty sheepish response for someone so normally collected and figured out.

"I'm aware of how much I stick out. The first plan of mine is to figure out how to get a pelt." That would cover most of the ultimate lifeform's problems right there. "I just need to be able to get close to something."

"guh...?" yikes, talk about a rude awakening! they shoot straight up from the snowbank, meeting shadow head-on with a bashful defiant glare of their own.

"i wasn't napping! i was taking a... strategic rest," the action speaks for itself! besides, silver hardly feels a thing thanks to their guardian, and sleeping on the ground in short spurts was literally how they were raised. maybe it's shadow who needs a nap.

speaking of which... they scan the other hedgehog's stark fur from head-to-toe; the contrast is pretty funny, but this experiment's all about survival, isn't it? silver resists the urge to gloat, concern taking precedence, "don't take this the wrong way, but... you weren't planning on looking for resources alone, were you? you stick out. badly."

[wolfofthewisps]

Well, this is not something Whisper had expected to grow as accustomed to as she had. First the time with Frye when they first met, then back home with Silver...now with the pain lingering in her muzzle, she has to stumble back and regain her bearings for a moment. Once she's able to refocus, she finds that history has repeated itself in a much more exact manner this time.

Though she's clearly glad to see him, her demeanor does shift at those last words. To say things had not gone particularly well between them last time they'd seen each other back home would be a vast understatement. "...Yeah," she replies simply, even more withdrawn than usual. "...Glad to have you here too. 's been a while."

@wolfofthewisps

thwack! riddled with anxiety or not, silver needs to get a grip. this head-bumping streak of his is getting ridiculous...

his hands instinctively fly to his aching nose, then -- once he realizes who he'd bumped into -- exclaims, "whisper!?" now that's a wild coincidence. aside from the deja vu of it all, a lot's happened between them since last time... uncomfortable stuff, mostly.

"hmph. the stars have a lot of nerve dragging us both around like this," it's a huff that soon brightens, albeit hesitantly, "but i'm glad we're here together... er, again. e-even if... you know." ahem, even if they haven't talked since the 'getting booted from the diamond cutters' thing.

[placides]

Shouko only nods as fleeing is the only way.

The one was indeed focused on her alright, thus it shudders her but Silver's willing to give her a chance to find a way out of this nightmare. The aliens were already advantageous as it was already like one's visage can faint a normal human away. He succeeded as she started running away immediately.

Her heart was beating like a madman as it could give her a heart attack by a chance if there is more surprises awaiting for her. Went from vent to vent, there is no exit that she could be lost right now.

By no exit, means no escape unless it directs them to the other biome. Now, she could be hiding somewhere else due to being pursued by aliens.

She had to tell him that there were no exits, if they ever meet.

"o-oh crap!" forget about this girl's reasons for being here, silver had to find a way to get her out, asap. "okay, listen! i'll draw that thing toward me, but you have to run as soon as you see an opening, got it?"

they didn't wait for her answer. slowly, they start to float over to the opposite side of the room, pushing their ability to glow brighter as they maintained eye contact with the creature. the inhuman screeching was horrible enough, but the actual look of it... it reminded them of the monsters back home, just worse.

their distraction didn't last long, though. the alien swerved its ugly head in shouko's direction without warning -- clearly, it had decided which of the two was the easier target. "wh-- no! look at me!" desperate now, they telekinetically ripped a giant screen off the wall and flung it directly into their enemy's face. the attack didn't even leave a mark, but it let out an earth-shattering roar... charging right toward silver! success! "now's your chance! get out of here!"

[placides]

She literally had no idea why she was here, let alone having nothing to protect herself. Shouko had never met anything weirder since months ago and here goes a talking hedgehog-thing. They seemed to be an ally but better than nothing. Gotta answer them while removing the fear in her even if it's gonna return to her nowadays.

"I-I don't know... i was checking a r-random hole." Poking things out is indeed not a good idea but it was too late that she ended up here with no special powers like everyone else does. Until a monster screeching noise was possibly behind Silver.

"B-Behind... you." She was pointing about something but the way she points is quite... shaky.

silver had descended into the hole hoping for clues about the island, the last thing they expected was space! and they had no idea what to make of the bone-chilling... snarls echoing in the distance, either. whatever it was, they could handle it; with their power returned, they could make it through anything! er, but they'd admit it was a bit freaky. the sooner they left, the better.

they opened a sliding door to an eerily quiet room, illuminating the darkness with a glowing hand. a figure in the corner made them jump -- hold on, isn't that a teenage girl?

"huh? no way! i'm not going to hurt you," they approached slowly, concerned and confused. it looked like she didn't belong at all. "what the heck are you doing here? you look terrified!"