Level up, buttercup!

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ The figurine continued to sob, curled into a fetal position, a whirlwind of thoughts spiraling in their head. This was real? They really were in a video game, stuck, and couldn't get out? No they weren't, they couldn't be, but it was so real; they could feel it was real. Now I'm never going to find help, now no one will find me... Now *he* can't find me.

It was uncertain if it was the cheese slice landing on their head or the last thought, or perhaps both, that calmed them down. They let out a hitched gasp once the cheese slapped them, it took them a few moments to register what was going on and to collect themself, before they reached up and peeled it off their face. They held it between their fingers for a few seconds, and sat up, then slowly looked up at Kaufmo expectantly.

Before either of them could say anything, the doll was interrupted by the sudden appearance of a small figure, dressed in a red ringleader's suit and had a mauling pair of dentures for a head. They only jumped slightly, but other than that, their reaction was quite muted.

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ "Kaufmo, are you yelling because you've gone insane? Oh--" He noticed the human sitting on the floor. "--Not yet then." He lets out a small sound of clearing his throat, adjusting his tie and running a hand over the top of his head as if slicking back hair, before putting on a more grandiose welcoming voice.

"Wowee!! It appears a new human has entered our humble realm! Welcome, welcome to the Amazing Digital Circus!" Caine was mostly focused on the new comer, but he did make a brief glance over at Kaufmo inquisitively, gesturing at the cheese towards him, then back to the newbie.

【🤡】— HE didn't think the cheese would actually work, but he was glad it did. He was just about to ask them some more grounding questions to help them snap out of it when Caine arrived.

———-> ❝GEEZ, Caine, where have you been this whole time? I've been having to deal with this myself, you know.❞ His tone was a lot harder compared to the soft, easy tone he had been using on the new comer until then. He didn't particularly like Caine, if the AI took notice, he wasn't sure. Still, at least Caine might be slightly better at introducing this Circus to her than he would be.

Gangle talks about Sonic lore.

"Hey pal. You just blow in from Stupidtown?"

"BOO, YOU STINK!!!"

"Oh no, he's/she's/they're hot!"

"We paid nine dollars for this?"

"The nerve of that guy and his driving eyeballs."

"I've never felt such a strange combination of pity... and indigestion."

"You took my ONLY FOOD!!! Now I'm gonna starve!!!"

"BACKING UP! BACKING UP! BACKING UP!"

"Your ceiling is talking to me!!!"

"What am I running here, a nuthouse?"

"It's not just a boulder...! It's a rock!"

"You have no skills and you're a LOSERRR!"

"I have a really bad feeling in the pit of my wallet."

"Liar liar, plants for hire."

"THE MANIAC'S IN THE MAILBOX!!!"

"Did you see my underwear? ...Did you want to."

"I had a bowl of nails for breakfast this morning... without any milk."

"You'll never catch me, ___! Not after I shift into... MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!"

"How many times do we have to teach you this lesson, old man?"

"WHAT KIND OF PLACE IS THIIIS!?!"

"I'm ugly and I'm proud."

"I don't need it... I don't need it..."

"IIIII NEEEEEEED IIIIIIIT!!!!!!!"

"This is a load of barnaclllleeees..."

"Pull your pants up, ___. We're going home."

"You think this is funny???"

"WELL, mister FUNNY MAN... IS THIS HOW YOU GET YOUR SICK KICKS?"

"That thing's green! BAHAHAHA... GREEN!!!"

"Just you, me, and this brick wall you built between us."

"Fiiirmly grasp it."

"FLAPPIN'-FLOTSAM, WHAT'S THAT?!?!?"

"Just do what I do when I have problems. SCREAM!!!"

"Would anyone else like to enter the "Fly of Despair"?"

"I'M THE OPEN-WINDOW MANIAAAC!"

"We should have bought the whoopie cushion...!"

"Remember, licking doorknobs is illegal on other planets."

"I believe that... EVERYBODY I KNOW IS A GONERRR!!!"

"Where's the road? Road? Road? Road? Road? Ro-- ...Sorry."

"No, no, it's not GAAAAAAWAAAWAAAAA."

"I'll give 'em eleven minutes."

"I CAN DENY IT NO LONGER...! ...I am small."

"THE ROBOTS ARE RUNNING THE NAVY!"

❗ She knew enough about the Doctor at this point, from finding his mechs scattered all over the world, to watching the destruction he wreaked on civilization. It was beautiful. A wonderfully bloody distraction from the pain behind her eyelids. Jack brushed her massive claws against her jaw, leaning on a nearby console. She was massive compared to most Mobians, tall and very gangly, more suited to human height and even then, taller still. Intimidation came easily to her.

【🤖】— ❝STRAIGHT to the point, I see. Very well, verrry well.❞ The mad scientist leaned back in his chair, and reached over to fetch some printed out documents. Eggman wasn't usually one to print out physical copies of anything, but Jack would find out why soon enough.

———-> ❝NO killing involved, for now, though I'm not opposed to collateral should it call for that. I need you to find someone and bring her here, a cyberneticist and hacker that's, let's just say, is a loose end I intend to tie up. Gone into hiding decades ago, no idea where she is or what name she's going by nowadays, can only assume she's gone back to her home country Österschweiz.❞

———-> THE documents given to the strange dinosaur-like creature would have pages and news clippings of a woman in her mid 30s, though the pictures were dated from thirty years ago, as well as some private articles of GUN projects with several redacted lines. One that would stand out was a "Henrietta Jaeger" as the woman's name.

@npcharacters asked: 【🤖】— ❝YOU can either tag along with me or you can stay here and try and save the world.❞ (From EGGMAN to any sonic muse)

random asks || always accepting

It was tempting.

He would be lying if he tried to say, if only just for a second, that it wasn't so, so tempting.

Some hero he was, huh? Fallen so low as to even silently consider the possibility of abandoning the people who had come to count on him, saving his own neck instead. Sonic had never claimed to be perfect, he had never even set out to be a hero in the first place; he just wasn't the type of hedgehog who could see wrong happening in the world and turn a blind eye to it.

He just wanted the world to not be in constant danger. He lived in this world, his friends lived in this world, he wanted to protect it so he could protect them, but when was he allowed to just enjoy being part of the world?

【🤖】— EGGMAN would run away, thank you very much. Usually this whole end of the world baloney was his fault, so he'd have to fix it, since, of course, only a genius could fix their own mistakes. But not this time. This time the evil was 100% the forces of some other cosmic entity, one that he neither tried to awaken nor control. He could just leave the planet, gather his most important assets, start anew on some other alien world-- he could even offer to bring his nemesis and friends passage. After all, it wouldn't be the same without Sonic.

———-> BUT of course the rodent refused to leave with him. That just left two options: compromise by offering to get his friends to safety, which would take far too long and most would probably refuse anyway, or help.

———-> HE hated helping. He especially hated Sonic. But he hated the idea of continuing his work without his greatest challenge.

‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒‒ "Now throw it at that sucker and get out of the way!" It probably wouldn't matter how far or where Gangle would aim when she threw it, from what Yorna had observed, the dinosaurs reacted to movement and movement alone, not smell or sight.

What they weren't confident in was the physics of the situation. In real life, fire extinguishers didn't explode at a high velocity like they did in movies or video games. They just had to hope that what they intended would work the way they planned.

They waited for Gangle to throw it, and then, once the giant raptor caught the extinguisher in its mouth, Yorna with the incendiary ammunition and the rifle pointed it at the extinguisher.

【🎭】— SHE had to have some confidence in this plan, she just had to, for their sake. Sure, maybe like Yorna said, the stakes weren't as high when they couldn't technically die, but Gangle still had the motivation to get through this.

———-> THE ribbon sucked in a breath, and then, with all her flimsy ribbon might, chucked the fire extinguisher as far as she could throw it. While her aim wasn't the best, the movement made up for it, as the zombie-dinosaur itself was far more concerned with catching anything that moved. It bit down into the painted red steel of the cannister, then shook its head to try and kill its pray.

———-> WHEN the incendiary round struck the cannister, it did exactly as planned, and the giant, decaying raptor's jaw was shot to bits. It let out a screeching roar, fractals of the extinguisher's steel lodging itself through the skull upwards, into the brain. It writhed, jerked about, and then fell, it's limbs convulsing until the last of its brain waves died down, and it was finally defeated.

Cue the stunned silence as the Rito Warrior stands frozen in disbelief, eyes wide, beak slightly agape. It takes a full minute for Revali to compose himself enough to squawk indignantly — ❝ Absolutely not! ❞

What a perposterous idea. The sheer horror of sharing warm bathwater with the Goron Champion paints vivid images in his mind: the humid moisture in his feathers, the awkward silence, the potential for unexpected guests, the list goes on. Shivers dance along his spine at the very thought.

Sure, the Rito elder encouraged him to bond with the other Champions. Get to know them on a more personal level to help build trust and enhance teamwork. They're a unit that serves to aid the Princess and to protect Hyrule, after all. However! Boundaries must be established!

❝ Rock roasts have more appeal than accompanying you to the hot springs. ❞ @npcharacters

【🌋】— ❝REALLY? What changed your mind? I thought you hated rock roasts.❞ The older Goron didn't catch on that the comparison was sarcasm, evidentally. Or maybe he did, and he was intentionally trying to mess with the younger champion.