Hex moves first. Obligatory “FIRST” comment.
Hex strolls to I10, then casts Decaying Light Southwest.

Zahlia goes to open up her gift under the Christmas Tree. Meanwhile, the other person goes to press the buttons on the cube, C H A I R, to see what happens.

Terry moves to J12 and slashes at the Exhibition.

Brutishace realizes that Vitality Leech has weakened his foes in a... different matter than he expected. He will try to take advantage of this to its fullest, however.

Regardless of the change to Vitality Leech, Brutishace moves to J10 and fires a single shot at the Exhibition with his Avenger Pistol. He leaves the Chosen as they are- nobody's hurt on his side yet, and he could save that healing for later.

If he can, he also urgently opens his present that someone left for him under the tree! He feels bad not gifting anything, but he could try out a recipe for people to enjoy.

Because the Christmas Spirit shall never die, Packo enters the House and sees a breadbox for him.

"O-Oh my goodness... F-For me? Ette?" And with those words, he carefully undoes the lace, and opens the metal door, expecting some yummy bread!
___________________
Packo watches Ette plant seeds. He observes, while sniffing air, and a few tears on his eyes.

"T-This is so pretty..." He says after watching Ette cover the seeds with dirt.

"Now I will be able to make bread... If I ever come here. Maybe next year... I don't want to forget this place. Okay... What shall I do?" Meanwhile, he keeps nodding at Ette. It seems he is eager to follow orders from her...? He doesn't seem to be taking any initiative.
___________________

Packo is fighting alongside everyone else! Since it's the heat of the battle, he speaks little, but from time to time he is forced to cover his ears at the horrendous music.

As Packo hits the Onlooker, he expects some kind of attack. Instead, it gets absolutely deleted by a blast of light. It's Terry's weapon!

"M-My goodness... Nice work!" He says, glad at the prospect of not having to be hit by that ugly thing.

Sadly, his worries reappear when the enemies decide to start hitting Marron and Venia.

"H-Hey, you should really leave those people alone. Do so right now!"


And with that, he decides to whack the Exhibition at full force, while grabbing one of his stinky inventions.

"Y-You're not going to like this smell..." And he throws a splinter at the nearest enemy.
___________________

Packo moves to I11, hits the Exhibition with his basic attack, and throws a Stinky Splinter at the Niessence.

Irongutta nodded at Chloe's concerns. "Aye, probably fer the best. No tellin' what could 'appen to the lil' one in combat. Though, I'm sure Piggo is keepin' as much of an eye on 'er as she is on 'im, heheh."

A thought crossed his mind at that moment. He knelt down before Maria. "Speakin' of Piggo, whaddya say we make 'im a lil' pen or wot 'ave ya. I'm sure it'd make Piggo 'appy."

Right before leaving, he snuck Piggo a small mushroom as a snack. "Alrighty then, I gots some stuff to do over by the house, so I'll see you lot later!"

---

Irongutta expresses his gratitude to Nia with a hearty slap on the back. "Well, I didn't know you celebrated Dakkamas as well! Er, well I bet you 'umie types call it somethin' else don't ya?"

He tentatively popped one of the small ice cream snacks into his mouth. Chewing it for a moment, he was taken aback by the flavor. "Oi, this is fraggin' good! You weren't kiddin' when you said this was the greatest 'umie invention!"

Irongutta equips the Icecream Necklace with gusto!

---

Irongutta puts one skillpoint into MMP and swaps out Overpowering Smash for Focus Energy. He then joins The Mineshaft battle, spawning in at H16. He stays where he is and casts Fury on himself. Following up on the buffing madness, he then casts Focus Energy on himself as a Bonus Action.

Calibri nods to Chloe.

"Alright, sure. I'll wait for ya."

He then, as mentioned, teleports to the gift unwrapping area and waits.


Meanwhile, EN chuckles as she hears Tae's response to the gift.

"Necklass matches th' lass... Heh. Pretty sure e'eryone's doin' giftin' cause we're... celebratin' christmas way too early or somethin'. It's kinda a holiday where e'eryone gives each other gifts an' all. Anywho..."

EN shrugs.

"Y'ain't 'ave t' worry too much 'bout gettin' me a gift in turn, but ah appreciate th' thought, Tae. Heh."

Given that Auth pops up part-way through the conversation, EN turns to flash him a grin.

"Aye. Hope ya like 'em. Kinda 'ad trouble comin' up wit' anythin', 'til ah remembered tha' one book series wit' th' wizardin' school an' all... Ya prolly 'ave 'em somewhere in tha' library o' yers."

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED FOURTEEN>

Echoss partakes in some casual manslaughter. He first gifts the Bladedancer at the entryway some champagne. She shrugs.

BLADEDANCER: Oh, sweet!
BLADEDANCER: I'll happily save this for when I'm done with this gorilla.

Echoss then opts to rip out some throats and crush some skulls, all in sight of the Bladedancer. She seems... a little disgruntled.

BLADEDANCER: Oh, sure.
BLADEDANCER: Sure you don't normally do this.
BLADEDANCER: gorillain' psycho. Well, guess all you outsiders can't be decent...

Echoss also frisks the wallets of the Cultists. He finds 25 Credits. As he walks off, he gets some dirty stares from the Bladedancer. Then, Chloe and the rest of the team come walking down south through the entryway, now that the threats are handled. Fortunately for Echoss, the Bladedancer is silent as they move on through.

CHLOE: Oh, did you take care of them?
CHLOE: Thanks, Echoss!
CHLOE: Maria will be safe and sound, thanks to you!

The trio (and Piggo) make their way back to the house (mostly) uneventfully. When Chloe arrives, she notices the Christmas Tree, and examines the base.

CHLOE: Oooh, maybe I have a present or two!
CHLOE: I mean, I probably can't expect much, but-

---

Venia thanks Nia for her gift, scooping her up in her arms and giving her a hug. The comparatively-short cyan-haired woman dangles from her arms, blushing warmly all the while.

CHLOE: You seem... comfy.
NIA: maaaybe

Nia seems a little sad when she's plopped back on the ground... but her spirits turn around when she realizes that she's gotten gifts, too!



Anyway, Venia comments to Chloe that she has something for her in the works, but it's not done yet.

CHLOE: Oh, you do?
CHLOE: Huh, nice! Thanks again!
CHLOE: ...Not entirely sure about Marron making it though, but she did make that plushie of me without making it a voodoo doll... so it's probably fine.

On the couch where Chloe and Maria have decided to rest, Maria asks a few questions. Something about people in pajamas, and why Venia is mad.

CHLOE: Oh, those people. The ones in pajamas?
CHLOE: They're known as the Rose Cult. I-I don't really know what's up with them, but they're all really weird and like to hurt people.
CHLOE: They also worship this thing they call <0>. I'm not sure how I can even say that properly, but eh.

CHLOE: Anyway, the reason Venia was mad was because of them.
CHLOE: They were... t-they were going to hurt you, so Venia got mad and stopped them!
CHLOE: I-I'm so, so thankful Venia was there for us...
CHLOE: But hey- we're safe at home now!
CHLOE: I won't blame you if you wanna take a nap or something- I kinda wanna take one, too...

Chloe leans back on the couch, and shuts her eyes. She's not actually sleeping- just resting a little bit. Elsewhere, at the Garden Altar, Mr. Krabs decides to enter Acacia's name into the mysterious cube. Nothing happens. There's no "confirmation beep" or anything like that, either! Maybe there's a submit button somewhere, but none of the visible faces have anything of the sort. He does however, grab the Iti cat (which is honestly pretty unremarkable), and shoves it into the Nexus at Itisa Pond. Only one left...

Venia ends her turn by spending 600 Credits and 16 Samples on a full set of Essences for Nana. Nana levels up to Tier 2! Venia also opts to introduce herself to the Chairian...

NANA: I'm Nana! Nice to meet you!
NANA: S-So... you were that... s-spider thing?
NANA: I-I mean, I-I guess you're like me then! Just... j-just more extreme!
NANA: I'll do my best to make use of this gift!

...The game then promptly realizes that the crafts for Chloe and Omo are done, so

---

CobaltShade rejoins the game! This time, he's known as Tsukiko Akagi! He (or I guess she, since character gender) renames a bunch of her things, and +2's their SKI. Welcome back!

---

Nidra +1's her SKI, and stashes a gift beneath the tree for Omo. This consumes 5 Simple Fabric, 2 Silkweed Bundles, and 5 Coffee Beans.

---

Auth does a lot of stuff. Seriously, that's five spoilers of stuff! Anyway, he starts off by dying (and promptly un-dying) right in front of Nana. Nana doesn't seem to actually noticed that he died, even if it was briefly.

NANA: That's an... interesting healing technique.
NANA: S-Sorry again for the w-whole... stabbing thing.
NANA: Anyway... let's get going! I wanna see this base you've been talking about...

Auth then notes that Nana might want to meet up with her sister before going.

NANA: H-Hm?
NANA: Of course I'd like to see my sister!
NANA: I... I probably shouldn't tell her that I was possessed, though.
NANA: She'd never let me go anywhere, ever again!
NANA: S-So... give me a second!

Nana separates from Auth for a moment, heading over to the Replantation, where Lutea totally was the whole time and I didn't forget to move her. Lutea happily waves to her sister as she approaches, jumping up and down.

LUTEA: N-Nana! Y-You're okay!
NANA: I know! I'm... s-surprised, actually!
LUTEA: T-Thank goodness you're a-alright...
LUTEA: I was so, so worried! For both you and your friend!
LUTEA: D-Did you find them? W-Were they alright?
NANA: Yeah, Willow was fine. A little beaten up, but she was fine.
LUTEA: ...Willow? Who's Willow?
NANA: U-Um...
NANA: We only met really recently, so... I couldn't really tell you.

NANA: A-Anyway, there's something I need to tell you...
NANA: I've... I've decided to travel with the Outsiders.
LUTEA: ...W-What?

Lutea is left slightly speechless.

NANA: T-They... they saved my life.
NANA: I really, really feel like I owe it to them.
NANA: S-So...
LUTEA: ...
LUTEA: N-No, I understand...
LUTEA: I-I'm just... r-really worried. All the time.
LUTEA: E-Every moment you're not here, I-I'm constantly worried that s-something will have happened t-to you, a-and...
NANA: Well, n-nothing will happen to me!
NANA: T-They've done an incredible job of keeping me safe.
NANA: They even...
NANA: ...
NANA: Well, they did some incredible stuff, a-and I don't think I have any reason to believe that they won't keep me safe!
LUTEA: I-I mean, I'm not g-going to stop you from going...
LUTEA: J-Just... p-promise to come home safe, alright?
NANA: O-Of course!

The two take each other's hands. It's not quite a hug, but it seems to be somewhat similar.

LUTEA: O-Oh, before you go...
LUTEA: T-Take these! You might find them useful!

3 Tornadopetals, 3 Spiritblossoms, 3 Eterna Flowers, 3 Deathcaps Mushrooms, and 5 Apothecary's Remedies obtained! With that, Lutea bids her sister adieu. Nana slowly walks back to the Author, and nods. The two then begin to trot off back to the House. Once they arrive, they go on a quick tour of the place. Nana remains mostly quiet as she explores the house with Auth.

NANA: Ah, this place is massive!
NANA: H-How'd you find somewhere so... intact?
NANA: I-I'll try and make myself at home.

She opts to claim one of the rooms for herself. Auth then asks if she wants her outfit fixed up or not.

NANA: I-If you want to, you can try and fix it up!
NANA: I-I actually took a few sets of clothing from where Lutea was, so I can always change if needed...

While Nana visits the bathroom to freshen up, Auth opts to check the tree for some gifts. The first thing he finds is... socks! Auth obtains some socks, thanking his quote unquote "mama". Taeda, who is nearby, seems a bit confused.

TAEDA: ...Mama?
TAEDA: Well, what I do I really know about Outsider biology?

Auth then thanks Omo and Marron for the present, equipping it.

MARRON: It's pretty awesome, right?
MARRON: You're welcome! You owe me something, though!

OMORIKA: I hope you enjoy it, sir Author.
OMORIKA: ...I don't require anything in return, so you know.

Auth then opts to make himself the Second Sphere Halo, using the Harmonious Sheet and 1 Luminous Crystal in its creation! It does receive some hefty MMP and Resistance nerfs, though- a skill slot is a massive effect that should cost about as much as Flight. He then commits a custom spell to memory: Gratitude!

---

Boshi and Hat Kid go after their gifts. They're both from Echoss, and as a result for some reason, they open both presents at the same time. Hat Kid receives a soft, cuddly, and... strangely warm Fish Plushie. It doesn't appear to have any real effect, but the soft blue of its eyes is somewhat calming. She also finds a note, reading "Merry not-really-Christmas Hat Kid. You seemed like the kind of person who would like something like this. -Echoss".

Boshi meanwhile, receives a rather hefty looking loaf of Fruitcake. It appears to contain bits of Yggapple, Celefruit, chocolate, and some other nice confections. In fact, this might be the first delicious fruitcake to grace the universe! He stores it in the inventory, cutting it up into four squares, since it's a tad bit too large to eat all at once.

Elsewhere, back in the Everground, Mustache Girl uses 6 Sturdy Vines to extend her rope down to the ground safely. From there, she uses 6 Iron Ingots to create a chain, which promptly breaks as she harvests the 10 Searing Clusters.

---

Didn't nab this earlier, so Toast and Marron decide to open up their presents. Marron opts to go first, being far more eager than her girlfriend. She sits down cross-legged on the ground, and gives the box a little shake.

MARRON: ...
MARRON: It's big! I think!
MARRON: Alternatively, you put a box in a box in a box. Chaos did that once.
MARRON: It was funny for the first twelve, maybe thirteen layers.
MARRON: You probably wouldn't do that to me, though. Probably.

Marron produces a needle from her puppet arm, passes it to her left, and then gently makes an incision on the wrapping paper. Once she's able to stick her fingers into it, she rips away most of the paper, eventually producing the Therma from the box! Marron somehow failed to notice its disappearance from her back.

MARRON: W-Wait, h-how did you-

Marron looks over her weapon, noting the enhancements- silverwood limbs enchanted heavily with both fire and ice, the fire limb looking ashen with streaks of orange, and the ice limb looking as if it was made of frost before.

MARRON: I-It's beautiful! Like, it was already beautiful, but now it's like, really beautiful!
MARRON: Can't wait to give it a test run!

She can't really use it yet, due to currently being in combat. Time paradoxes and all. She hands Toast her present, a yarn ball that seems to hold a small box inside of it. Toast undoes the yarn (obtaining 2 Silkweed Bundles), and then opens the small box within. Inside, she finds a pair of earrings. Both earrings have a crystalline star adorning it, each in a frame of platinum. The stars glisten much like her scarf- they actually complement each other quite well! Celestial Earrings obtained!

MARRON: S-So...
MARRON: I... I really wanted to get you something pretty! Like the necklace you got me!

Marron grasps her Soul Necklace gently.

MARRON: I thought that it wouldn't be as noticable or pretty if your scarf overpowered it, so I made you earrings!
MARRON: Y-You're an earrings sort of girl, right? I-I don't really know, so... u-um... yeah.

Marron cuddles up to Toast in a rather cozy hug, just to the side of the tree.

MARRON: Merry Christmas!
MARRON: ...Even if it's not really Christmas.

She's content to just rest with her quietly for a moment, sitting beside her, head resting on her shoulder. Then, her eyes drift to the tree.

MARRON: Oh, I wanna see if I got any other gifts!
MARRON: C'mon! I'm kinda curious...

---

Brutishace attends to his own gift, ripping apart the skull-lined wrapping paper. Reaper's Robe's obtained! He finds a note attached to the gift...

Brutishace,

Thanks for helping the team and keeping us alive! I know it's rather stressful to keep the burden of healing everyone, but you've done an excellent job and I know better than to diss someone like you. You seemed to be a bit behind on our equipment game so I figured you'd like these; whenever you destroy a corpse or the like, you can use this to help circulate your magical energy as you do it. Hope it helps!

-Venia Praefortis.

---

Packo loots his present! Kinda weird that it's in a breadbox, but alright. Inside, he finds not bread, but... a small plushie of himself. Packo Plushie obtained! It smells of fresh bread. Huh.

Back at the farm, Packo looks over the fields, noting how pretty it is. He then notes how he'll be able to make bread... next year. Ette tries to wave something to him, but he can't understand her! Ette then pulls out a sheet of paper, and quickly writes words on it.

"FARM IS FAST"

Ette then makes a gesture that somehow indicates that he should try planting more things. Maybe it'd be worth trying...?

---

Irongutta talks with Nia. I mean, he did talk with Chloe, but there's not really a way to respond to that. Anyway...

NIA: Oh, we call it Christmas!
NIA: Dakkamas sounds like, way better, though!

NIA: But, yeah! Isn't ice cream the greatest?
NIA: Ice cream is a food worth living for :D

He then dons the Icecream Necklace! He also +1's his MMP, and rotates Overpowering Smash for Focus Energy.

---

Calibri meets up with Chloe. The two of them then go to open their presents!

CHLOE: Alright! Three, two, one... go!

The two unwrap their presents simultaneously. Calibri obtains the Switched Slicer! It appears to be a modified version of the Secretary Slicer, but it looks like the eraser it had was honed into an actual blade! There's also a little switch on it for some reason.

CHLOE: Surprise! Merry Christmas, Cal!
CHLOE: Anyway, it's kinda like your sword, but I made it less dangerous. And more dangerous, at the same time!
CHLOE: Its innate powers are turned off... unless you flip that switch at the guard! Then it can start erasing things like it used to!

CHLOE: Anyway, I got a...

Chloe finishes opening her present. Something jumps out of the box, into Chloe's arms. It purrs.

CHLOE: ...
CHLOE: caaaaaaat~

...Chloe has obtained a Robotic Cat! She somehow gets this feeling of deja-vu as she strokes the cat's back and head, letting it rest in her arms

CHLOE: ...Wait, how am I gonna take care of a cat and go on an adventure...?
CHLOE: Um...
CHLOE: Well, it IS a robot. Plus, maybe Maria can take care of it while I'm out...

CHLOE: Anyway, it's wonderful! Thanks, Cal!
CHLOE: ...I gotta give it a name. How about... dunno, Cupcake?
CHLOE: I think it's a cute name~a

Chloe lets Cupcake go to explore the house.

---

Nidra opts to open her present! She finds... a pillow. It appears to be made of spidersilk, and as a result, is incredibly soft.

OMORIKA: I am not sure why you are giving out gifts... but I felt that I should create one.
OMORIKA: So, I have acquired this pillow for you. It's of a rather high quality.
OMORIKA: However, given your tendency to sleep on the battlefield, I have given it some additional features that you might appreciate. Psychic field projection attacks, a hyper-reactive shield...
OMORIKA: ...And, of course, it's still comfortable despite these changes. At least, I think it is. Haven't used a pillow in awhile.
OMORIKA: Enjoy.

OMORIKA: ...Merry Christmas?
OMORIKA: I believe that's the saying.

Spidersilk Pillow obtained!

---

Simeon opts to go inspect the cube in Zone 3, inputting "C H A I R" into it using the side panels. Nothing interesting happens. Still no confirmation ding, or rejection ding. Elsewhere, Zahlia goes to open her present! After a few seconds of unwrapping the crimson paper, she finds... a box. Inside the box is a bunch of chocolates! They're paired with a note.

"random thing I made to show the shape of the chocolates, as a note - Carleah"



Box of Chocolates obtained! It's a crafting material. Weird.

---

...The engine of the game is a little tired of typing long walls of text, so it opts to push back Ette and Omorika opening their presents until the next update. There's like, about 4,400 words as of the "words" back there! Except I changed things, so it's even earlier now!

...Anyway, per the request of Venia, Ette and Nana wander off to the mines in Zone 1 to get some work done.

NANA: A-An assignment? Already?
NANA: I... suppose.
NANA: I guess I can always tidy up when I get back. No use in tidying up if I'll just get messy again...
NANA: Let's go!
ETTE: (Yeah! Adventure!)

---

<SCALE YGGDRASIL CORNER, ROUND THREE>
Well, the Exhibition was absolutely demolished thanks in part to Venia and Marron. Shouldn't be too hard to clean up the remaining Rose Cult, but don't let your guard down!

<THE MINESHAFT, ROUND TWO>
...Of course, nothing is ever simple. A gigantic Eliti (or its head?) has appeared in one of the far-off shafts! And, from the looks of things, there's a LOAD of Iti that came with it! It also has the ability to spawn three Carrion a round if it feels like it. You're best off running to the Chest, and getting out of dodge! Make use of the narrow hallways- you can prevent them from rushing you down if you use them properly!

As Venia attempts to open the present, she'd realize the wrapping paper... isn't paper at all, being rather plush and not at all easy to rip. Doing this, however, causes the top of the present to open. Peering inside, Venia would be able to see the inside of the present.

It's made of... what looks like some kind of fleshy material which squirms around as the thing breathes. Even more unsettling is the box's multiple sets of teeth, and a rather long and disturbing tongue. Ugh, mimics... it doesn't seem to be hostile, however.

The box begins to unfold itself onto the floor, until there's a breathing cross of teeth and flesh. It then begins to contort, changing shape as it writhes.

It continues to rise and compact itself until it begins to resemble a person, with its appearance slowly being shaped and gaining some colour. Its form appears to be a fairly tall boy about Chloe's age. The "wrapping paper" has turned itself into a candy red hoodie, a set of grinning teeth still visible in the lower portion of it, before it's covered over by the same material.

As the boy comes to his senses, he seems a little confused. Strangely enough, it doesn't look like he was put there willingly, tilting his head to look up at Venia.

"Um... hey?"

I put the Red Sap Tree where it was. It was for science...

Now I enter the Everground at Zone 0. Leaping on top of the Sear Cluster. I start digging into it while standing on top of it.

After that quick RPsection, Tsukiko walks back out. She makes her way to the Endless Gardens.

RP: meri cribmus

---

Because time is dead in DTG, Venia simultaneously reacts to the mimic box, backing the hell up before it transforms into a confused person with a bow. "...Hi? Hi. Hello. Uh. I haven't seen many transformed mimics turn out to be friendly... How'd you get here? Actually, you know what, that doesn't matter. That has never mattered for us, in the past. Welcome to Sussui! Uh, to make a long story short, there is a big evil sphere that is going to destroy at least this entire universe and at most all of reality as we know it, and all the locals don't believe us. We're here to stop it, basically. Want to help?" Venia asks.

---

Maxim Mind Reading

Meanwhile, time attends its own funeral Venia uses some minor temporal trickery to appear in the Lab, Maxim's body in hand. She has, as a precaution, taped the jagged tip of Maxim's tail to the point of safety, so as to not suffer a death via Maxim's razor-sharp reflexes. She also sets up a few simple chairs-OK, they're not simple, they're like small thrones for how ridiculously opulent they are. It appears 'ridiculously magnificent' is the theme for whatever Venia's in need of, isn't it? Regardless of all decor choices, she places Maxim dead-center, and places the Golden Dream Ring on a gold pedestal in the center of the room. The pedestal would enable everyone to see what was going on inside the Ring. Finally, she rigs up a small curtain around the whole setup, ensuring that no prying eyes could peek in effortlessly. her real defense against that, of course, would be her undying hatred, a far more effective deterrent than any physical barrier ever conceived by man or machine.

With all of this set up for Nia next turn (?), Venia takes the Golden Dream Ring AND the Psyche Shard, and uses the former on Maxim to gaze into its mind. Given how previous Iti mindscapes have gone, this should deposit Venia outside of a giant sphere with some different flavoring. If that is what occurs, rather than something radically different, Venia flies into the Sphere, hopeful to find memories-specifically, memories relating to the lexicon of clicking that Maxim used. It was complex enough to enable Maxim to set up that trap, after all, and the Yaga could understand it perfectly, so she figures this information would be of immense use.

Itisa Pond/Bedroom

Mr. Krabs appears outside Rainbow Mountain, and, simply put, stretches his magnificent Krab Klaws into the Bedroom, slowly. Very, very slowly and cautiously, ensuring that Yume does not majestically spring to life on him before the party is prepared for a fight. If he manages to undisturbed, he stretches all the way to the knife, and with a swift motion, yanks it out and then darts his arm back, filling out the last bit of the nexus and presumably enabling us to start a fight.

Battle: Scale Yggdrasil Corner

Venia looks almost ready to say something, but then blurs at an impromptu moment, forcing her to briefly pause. This doesn't bode too well for her attempts at dealing with the Chosen or the Onlooker, but her bravado remains. "Oh, want some!? Get some!"

Venia moves to N9. Her hat pings Seer 1.1 as she brings her gun to bear against it. Alternating Weapon Attacks kick in to give Venia some extra zest with her attack as she pulls the trigger with uncanny aim, lining up a good shot to the midsection.

On the permission of Sp33d0n, Auth moves to K14 and fires Liberation upon Seer 1.3, with any overkill heal directed at Marron.

The figure stumbles back, seemingly startled by Venia moving backwards, and barely keeping himself from knocking over the Christmas tree.

"H-Hey?" he repeats, interjecting with Venia's own greetings, rather awkwardly. The boy tilts his head slightly as Venia mentions brings up mimics. As she interrupts her own question of how he got there, the boy smiles slightly, not quite sure himself. Venia goes on, with the figure nodding as she does so, the only real indication that he's actually listening, besides a mildly concerned look as she mentions the destruction of a universe and most all of reality. Once she's finished, the figure finally speaks up.

"Usually I'd be doubtful, but given that I have no idea how I got here..." He sighs, before nodding. "I uh... I believe you. And I wouldn't want to take the risk of the universe being destroyed anyway, so..." He places two fingers to his temple, appearing to be thinking. "I'm not sure what it is you want me to do but... yeah. I'll help." Ziah gives Venia a small smile, before waiting for a response of some kind.

-=+=-
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Fp2...dit?usp=sharing
(I'm working on special modifiers as of typing this so. Possibly also trait modifiers.)

As Packo opens the breadbox, expecting a large amount of bread, he finds... A plushie of himself. Instead of saying anything, he grabs the plushie and starts hugging it while enjoying the sweet smell. After a few hours of happiness and lots of silent, standing cuddling, he feels ready to go, and takes the plushie with himself, holding it tightly.
___________________________________________________________
Packo reads the sign from Ette, telling him that things grow fast here?!

"I-Is that true? O-Oh my... This is too good!" And very quickly, he starts planting lots of stuff.

He grabs 30 Wheat Seeds, 10 Psychoid Seeds, and 20 Gaiaroot Potatoes, then plants it all in there. "I normally don't plant this stuff... I just work with flour, and water, and dough... And my boss wants me to smash it good with... With my roller..." He says, pointing at what used to be his "roller", now turned weapon.

"I-In fact... The day before I arrived here by accident, I was doing just that... Bashing dough like they asked us to..." He seems to be remembering those moments with melancholy. "I accidentally hit my friend while working... And he fainted... There was a lot of blood, but I turned my weapon's safety feature on, and he stopped bleeding. He was still sleeping, though..."

As he finishes planting stuff, he stands up, and concludes his small story. "T-They promoted me that same afternoon, you know? For some reason, they told me I was ready for interstellar travel... Even though I never took a course in that kind of travel... A-And that's how I arrived with my spaceship... But I couldn't say goodbye to my friend. Anyway, I hope you meet him soon! His name is Smart. Smart Pickle." And with that, he finishes his story.

"I-It was a pleasure... Planting this..." He seems to be trying to make gestures with his own hands, but it just looks weird... "Um... Ette... Do you think you could uh... Teach me how to speak with your hands? I know you understand me, but... It feels like I'm being rude..."

___________________________________________________________

Packo witnesses how the Exhibition is destroyed swiftly, and the music has stopped playing. Hooray!

"M-My goodness... I'm soo glad!" He says, as he throws the Stinky Splinter at the Niessence.

The Niessence doesn't seem to be happy, and, angry at Packo's smelly weapon, he decides to gaze him badly!

"S-Stop that... It's making me feel a bit weird... I think..." Packo shivers. Something is wrong, but he doesn't notice it yet. However, he does see that the jewel in his gloves reacted to that weird curse. Did it do something for him? What a mystery...

"O-Okay... Let's neutralize these people, and ask them why they did that! C-Can we not kill them, though? Maybe they are just like that poor woman... Nana! And the huge m-monster thing..."

As he says this, however, he seems eager to attack first. He moves around one of the units, and hits another one nearby. He then just sees three more enemies in front of him.

"Uh... Hello!" Just in case, he prepares for the worst. He decides to touch and poke his own clothes for a while... This, magically, makes the cotton inside his fluffy clothes harder, but also more resistant, somehow eliminating all SHP, and increasing AC. How in the hell does that even work? At the same time, he grabs the cute plushie he found earlier, and puts it next to him. "Heheh... Do you guys like my plushie? Do you even have plushies? Let's talk a little!" He says, trying to cover the fact that he just whacked one of their companions.

___________________________________________________________

Packo moves first! He goes around the Chosen and moves to I7, and casts Collapsable Shield, then hits the same Chosen. Finally, he places an Emerald Plushie at J6.

The Man, stumped on for what to do, decides to so some impromptu crafting(trademark).

==PRE-BATTLE==
Nezira places another three gifts under the tree.

==BATTLE TIME==
Lured by the promise of new Iti to scan and learn about, Nezira swaps her spells from Force Nail to Proximity Burst, then joins the Mineshaft battle, spawning at G16, moving to H12, and summoning a Construct at F10. She also scans Carrion 1, applying Observer Eye, gaining 2 Samples, and restoring 2 MP.

Construct stats:
Specialization: Standard.
Damage: Crushing.
Weaknesses: Slashing 10%, Psychic 30%.
Resistances: Piercing & Crushing 20%, Earth 10%.
Upgrades: Elemental Phial (Fire), Resistant Plating.
SPC Milestone: Alpha Strike.
Point allocation: 5 Upgrades, 3 SHP, 3 DMG, 2 CRT, 2 CNT. (15 total.)
Final stats, with 16 INT:
33 MHP (1 AC), 7 SHP, 19 MMP, (11-13) Crushing damage, 9 CRT, 21 (18 base +3 from Standard) HIT, 2 DGE, 13 (11 base +2 from Standard) CNT, 19 CAV.
Final weaknesses/resistances:
Weaknesses: Slashing 10%, Psychic 30%.
Resistances: Piercing & Crushing 40%, Earth 30%, Fire 30%.

Terry casually basic attacks the Onlooker. He can do this because he used his close-range attack last turn.

Destiny runs to F8, uses Overpowering Strike on Carrion 3, and retreats back to G10.

At some point after finishing his conversation with Venia (which may or may not have happened yet, given that time is weird in DTG), Ziah enters The Mineshaft, spawning at F16, and moves to F12, meeting up with Ette.

"Hiya. Mind ducking, real quick?"

Assuming she does so, Ziah uses Splash, targetting Carrion1. His aim is slightly off, but luckily still hits the Carrion, missing the Observer.

Brutishace unwraps his gift and uncovers the Reaper Robes! He also reads Venia's note, and his heart warms at such camaraderie. He feels the most appreciated he has yet on this team and smiles to himself.

The necromancer wishes he could repay the favor- perhaps sometime in the near future.

He can't equip his new robes right now, though- he has Rose Cultists to murder.

Brutishace hops to I8 and casts Twin Serpents towards the Niessence. If only one shot downs it, he uses the second on the first Scarred.

He then harvests the first Chosen's corpse, using it to heal Venia. Thankfully, that other Chosen he backed into should get finished off quickly.