Ziah looks at the treads, then at the autocannon.

Ziah: Alright... let's see what I can do.

Ziah draws an Orion arrow from his quiver and loads it into his bow. He then leaps off the treads, flipping backwards. Whilst in midair, Ziah pulls back the string and fires the shot at Autocannon1, landing dramatically at K3. Upon landing, Ziah continues the assault on the Autocanon, firing off a Fire shot with the Elemental Blaster. He then looks around, wondering if anyone noticed.

(Ziah moves to K3, shoots Autocannon1 with Orion, uses Elemental Blaster with Fire on Autocannon1)

-=+=-

Ziah: Wacky... tacky stuff?

Ziah repeats Bass' words, not quite sure if he's understanding.

Ziah: Is that a thing people say here, or... what's that mean?

Ziah kind of chills back with Bass as he (probably) explains what he's talking about, watching the Magic Club in awkward silence. Speaking of silence, a noise that would make you wish for it echoes from somewhere behind magic club.

Kokichi: Nee hee hee! You guys didn't forget about me, did you?

You probably forgot about him, huh? Unfortunately, I did not. Kokichi approaches the magic club, wearing a black cloak, which one may venture to call impressive, instead of the gown he was wearing previously. The Nailbat on his back is decorated with a painted band of white and black squares resembling his bandanna wrapping around the bat's circumference. He takes in the scene, his eyes falling upon Marron and Toast. A mischievous grin forms on Kokichi's face. Surprisingly, Kokichi refrains from making a comment, simply winking at the two of them.

Kokichi: Well, I was actually here to talk to Marron about something important, I guess I've got time to spare if you want me in your Magic Club.
Kokichi: Even if none of you people even considered inviting little old me...
Kokichi: I'm a mage too, ya know?~

Kokichi beams at the group, before shaking his head.

Kokichi: Although I could probably waste my time on learning a bunch of random magic, like Toast does reaaaaally well, I prefer to focus my spells around trickery! Stuff like Illusory Traps. In fact...

Kokichi's face darkens slightly.

Kokichi: Someone here is actually one of my primed illusory traps! It could be any one of us. It could be you.

Kokichi points at Wyvern.

Kokichi: It could be me. It could even be...

Kokichi's face returns to normal.

Kokichi: Just a lie. I am a liar, after all.
Kokichi: But I want to show you one of my tricks. I'm willing to bet anything that I can dodge an attack from anyone here. To prove it, I want any two of you to try hit me once, as hard as you can. Maybe it's the strongest of you. Or maybe the quickest. Or maybe you just really want to hit me.
Kokichi: Marron.
Kokichi: Using my awesome magic, I can guarantee that I'll dodge both attacks! And if I do, I get to join your Magic Club! Sound like fun?

Kokichi crosses both fingers behind his back, activating the Ace Up His Sleeve twice, ready to dodge both attacks.

Kokichi: Come at me!

Keiko moves to F13 to avoid the incoming tank, then invokes another Totem at E13, also with Fire resistance. She places a Mana Well at F13.

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED TWENTY-SEVEN>

Venia continues talking with Her. She notes how her mother must've gone through something...

HER: I forget how she used to act before she was a single mother.
HER: Apparently, taking care of a child is a bit too hard for some people. But, they think, they'll be fine on their own! Mother knows best, after all.
CHLOE: W-Wait, s-so that-s why Nia- you- I-I dunno, never talked about her parents...
HER: Yep.
HER: Mother doesn't know gorilla. Which is part of why we will never be like her.

Venia then asks about the Butterfly. What has it been doing?

HER: Oh, that thing?
HER: It's been oddly passive. Towards me, anyway.
HER: It has flown down here a few times, but it hasn't done anything.
HER: I suspect that it's planning something. Waiting.
HER: Who knows what it's up to. I'd prefer it if it was gone, though. It's... unnerving.

With that said and done, Her brings up the next memory.



...The memory fades away.

HER: From that day onward, Chloe and I were friends. Best friends, even.
HER: Even though the rest of the world seemed to reject us... she was by our side.
HER: ...Without her, who knows what'd be of us right now.

HER: Then, we angered this sweet, sweet woman. She, who had given us so much, though we were so little.
HER: We made her hate us. We made her fight us.
HER: Aren't we despicable?
CHLOE: N-No! Y-You're not!
CHLOE: I... I was the one who acted out first that day.
CHLOE: I-I should've known better than to hit someone, b-but I just got so mad...
CHLOE: Just... over everything.

CHLOE: If anything, I'm the despicable one...
CHLOE: I-I should've been a shoulder for you to lean on, someone to reassure you, e-even with all of this going on...
CHLOE: I should've noticed...
HER: ...


...Elsewhere, Venia reaches out for the Whispering Staff, and introduces it to Ga'aunt.

???: OH, HEY
???: YOU'RE THAT GUY
???: ONE OF THE FIRST FEW IN A BOX
???: DUDE YOU'RE LIKE MY HERO
GA'AUNT: ...Well. Interesting, the reason that I am known.
GA'AUNT: I was one of the first people punished in the way you were. It's sad to see that they punished so many more...

GA'AUNT: What's your name, staff?
???: ...
???: THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION
???: AND I AM MISSING THE ANSWER KEY
???: IT'S IN ANOTHER BOX

The staff stops shaking for a bit as it thinks.

???: NOPE NO IDEA
???: CALL ME WHATEVER
WHATEVER: NO LIKE
WHATEVER: JUST CALL ME SOMETHING
SOMETHING: AS IN GIVE ME A NAME
GIVE ME A NAME: YEAH
GIVE ME A NAME: GIVE ME A NAME THAT'D BE COOL
GIVE ME A NAME: IT SHOULD CONTAIN THE WORD "BOX" IN IT, OTHERWISE IT'S NOT A REAL NAME

As the staff awaits a name, Ga'aunt takes a moment to speak with Venia.

GA'AUNT: ...This staff.
GA'AUNT: I am not sure how many people the Rose Cult have been stuffing in boxes, but... this is bad.
GA'AUNT: He seems unstable- most of us are. Judging from his demeanor, I'd say that he's a fairly recent addition to the rose.
GA'AUNT: Most of the older members tend to be more... "reserved", however loosely that word can be used on us.
GA'AUNT: Still, he may be a valuable asset to us. What should we do with him?

To end the round, Venia purchases a Radvessel and a Smash Ball! The GM shudders in the face of all of the respecs that'll happen because of the Radvessel...

---

Toast chats about her languages. Apparently, she knows five.

MARRON: ...And I know two.
MARRON: I mean, if you count my blood magic as a language.
MARRON: I feel inadequate, honestly...

She sighs. Marron and the other NPC's then take the time to listen to Toast's presentation on her magical language. Chloe nods her head along with everything, having already learned the basics of the system. Marron meanwhile, attains Confusion1, despite the language really not being the most confusing.

MARRON: Uh...
MARRON How about the word for needle Or blood or fabric?
MARRON Could I like, use my magic system, then use this magic system to restore my blood thus breaking the system?
CHLOE: ...Oh, I'd like to ask a few, too!
CHLOE: I'd like to start with the elemental basics: fire, ice, lightning, earth, light, dark, psychic, air, water, poison, and...
CHLOE: ...
CHLOE: Uh, "burrito"...?
MARRON: Really? Burrito? I doubt there's a word for that.
CHLOE: I... I'm a bit peckish...
CHLOE: At least I still have that burrito Toast gave me!

Chloe pulls out that chicken burrito Toast gave her, and begins munching on it. She seems to enjoy it! Marron seems the slightest bit hungry, too.

MARRON: W-Well, if she can ask for something dumb like a burrito... I'm gonna ask for the word for "cookie".

...It seems that Toast has a few things to answer.

---

Hex attempts to collect his soul. He succeeds, returning it to his body. That's kinda boring, but oh well- maybe he can launch it out later, and try and collect it in a bottle? That'd be neat. He then asks Bass about how the Rose Cult puts people into random objects.

BASS: oh, i've seen the process
BASS: it's pretty neat
BASS: it involves some over-the-top method of execution- varies based on day-to-day preferences, a device to extract the soul, and a multi-colored wheel to help determine what we're gonna put the offender in

---

Nezira continues her chat with Chloe. They're kinda cute together, aren't they? Anyway, Nezira puts up the offer to tell Chloe about wands and staves and such.

CHLOE: Sure! Could be fun!
CHLOE: I'm learning a crazy amount of stuff today... I hope I actually remember it all.

CHLOE: Anyway, you've experimented with something like the sword pack?
CHLOE: Ah, it'd be really cool to actually use something like that...
CHLOE: I sorta doubt that it's possible to really nail down, but I'd be so, so happy if someone proved me wrong~

CHLOE: ...Anyway, staves! When you're ready, of course!

---

Calibri does magic! He presents a theory about magic- how it's connected to the specific emotions of a person. It strangely seems to work out, mostly. After talking, he hops up onto a tree. Chloe still manages to chat with him, regardless of his position.

CHLOE: That's an interesting way to look at things!
CHLOE: Normally I'd call it true since I'm not an expert on magic, but I've learned a lot today, and everything seems to be a little different from mage to mage...
CHLOE: I think what you said seems to be pretty true, though! Like, look at Omo! She uses Earth and Dark magic mostly, and... it works out!
CHLOE: To a further extent, Fire, too. Those repressed emotions we saw with the Ashen Knight...
CHLOE: I wonder if it lines up 100%, though?

EN then chats with Lutea. She accepts the experimental potion. Tornadopetal Remedy obtained! She then asks about how much Tornadopetal she could put into a single bottle.

LUTEA: Not much...
LUTEA: It was actually a pain to find a bottle that could withstand the stress of the storm within... but if I were to say, put it into an iron shell and make it a grenade of sorts, then maybe you could launch something around like that.
LUTEA: ...To do much more than launch someone, you'd need at least two Tornadopetals. The potion you're holding has one.

LUTEA: ...Careful with it, by the way!

---

Mustache Girl goes mining more! Or rather, spelunking, as they move to through (K93)! However, ascending the vine has a negative effect on Mustache Girl- they feel incredibly nauseous for whatever reason. They don't throw up or anything, but they'll need to be careful- climb around all willy-nilly, and they may take damage!

---

Ziah chats with Bass. What does "wacky tacky stuff" mean?

BASS: dunno
BASS: i say things and i don't understand what they mean
BASS: however, it was weird
BASS: and therefore, you understood
BASS: that i was implying that stuff's weird yo

...Elsewhere, Kokichi makes a glorious return, proposing a challenge! He can dodge any two attacks, from anyone at the same time! Should he do this, he gets to join the club.

MARRON: Oh? Feeling lucky?
MARRON: Well... I'm not gonna pass up an offer to beat the gorilla out of you.
MARRON: So... Toast, you wanna do it?

Toast promptly casts Skeletal Toss on Kokichi, flinging him towards the barrier! He takes damage from the toss itself, and damage from being fried by the shield! That's two uses of Ace Up His Sleeve! Irongutta then runs in, and promptly decks him in the face before Marron can do anything.

MARRON: I wanted to do that...
MARRON: Anyway... was there a trick involved? I'm pretty sure all that happened was you got decked.
MARRON: Idiot.

...It is not known as to whether Kokichi survived Irongutta's punch.

---

<FAR OFF FIELD, ROUND FIVE>
...Okay, so! A few important things to note:

-Toast accidentally nuked Emerald, Wyvern (killed), and... Marron, who lived the blow but got angry at her girlfriend. She was then forcibly subdued by Chloe and Venia, after she attempted a bit of murder. It might be best to actually NOT revive her, strangely enough. Unless you're confident in your ability to calm her down when she comes to. If she's mad, of course.

-Massive reinforcements! The Rebels spawned 3 Nanotechnicians, and they'll either heal R4 or hit you for rather massive splash damage should they not go down. They also spawned a lot of Iti, who aren't allied to them but may as well be, given their positioning. Still, maybe it'd be neat to fling something big like the Seeker Sphere into R4. They'll probably blindly attack it!

Careful now. You're playing with fire, even if R4 is mostly defanged. You might be able to kill it if you try really hard, though! Just don't bank on it, I'd say.

For previous round, go to P14, Elemental Blaster Ice the Main body of R4.
"Pew."

Toast thinks.
"I think I know... most of those."
She starts with the identifiers, writing down the english words in a column.
"'Blood', 'fabric', 'fire', 'ice', 'lightning'..."
She pauses, thinking about words.
"...'earth', yeah. Then... 'light' and 'dark', 'water', 'air'..."
Again, she pauses, frowning. After a bit of thinking, she skips over to write the translations.
"I'm not sure about 'psychic', or 'poison'. Though, I might be able to work it out if you give me a bit to think. Anyway, those are all the other identifiers you asked for in the meantime."


"Now, those are all identifiers, some of which can be used on their own. So, of what you said we have needle... burrito and cookie. Somehow needle is the most difficult of those."
She throws her hand at the ground, saying "Alto Thenfor Teth," prompting a metal spear to manifest, then throw itself at the ground. She frowns, then tries this a few more times. On the last try, a needle is launched instead, and she seems satisfied.
"Now, I don't know what the word for needle is, but if you imagine a needle and say the word for spear, I think the language is okay with that. So I'll add one or two extras, too..."



"Some of the identifiers also work as forms, which are blood, fire, water, dark, and light. So yeah. Now you can make a fire burrito, if you want. Or... a ring of fire. Masith Aya."

A band of flame forms around Toast's wrist, before she dispels it.

"Speaking of making stuff, I should give you some action words, so you can actually manipulate all this."
Like before, Toast writes a short list, e denoting effectors and c denoting creators.


"Sonun is a weird one. It's kind of like 'Split', except, well. More violent? It's not that its particularly useful, just interesting. And before you get any ideas, you can't use actions on people. Not directly, at least."
"So... I'll keep these tables around for like 10 minutes. Probably a bad idea to leave them around for random Iti to learn. Till then, if anyone wants me to add things, just ask."
For some reason, 10 minutes seems like about until R4 goes down, or magic club ends.

~~

Toast would probably punch Destiny under different circumstances. Or if she hadn't already run off.
But she had.
She's now running through the branches and trees, getting sticks in her eyes and scratches all over her face. It doesn't bother her; she's trying to escape herself. Eventually she finds a place. It's unfamiliar to her, but there are all the telltale signs of Spherebreakers. In her self-destructive rage, she nearly cleaves a tree in two.
Eventually, anger gives way to shame. Seconds later, she finds herself barefoot, dipping her feet in, and, most significantly, sobbing.

~~
Turn order:
1. Hex, 2. Nidra, 3. Simeon, 4. Toast.

Toast(?) moves to I6 and casts Proximity Burst on R4, before retreating to K7.

...Well that was quite the spectacle.
Miss Toast I believe you should try not to mortally wound your lover when attempting an attack. Miss Marron I believe your are overreacting to almost being killed. Unlike in most other places we have the power to bring you back from the dead.
Venia...
Please do not murder anyone, for the love of the Pantheon. You are going to make things worse, I am surprised that you are acting like this considering what you did during me and Chloe's debate.

Destiny runs to M7, slashes at the Treads, and retreats to M5.

Nidra acts before Nezira.

Nezira uses Transcendent Analysis to copy Nidra's Nightmare Singularity, and casts it on N12.

Ziah nods as Bass mentions that stuff is, indeed, weird, yo. He then stops to take a look at Bass' robes.

Ziah: Hey, these are pretty neat. Aren't these uh... like those cultist ones? I'm not sure where I remember seeing them, but they look pretty cool on you.

He realizes something and tilts his head slightly.

Ziah: Are you a cultist?

He pauses.

Think you could hook me up with some robes?

-=+=-

Kokichi's eyes widen in surprise as Toast fakes him out, tossing him against the barrier and sending him to the ground. He seems slightly in pain after taking the fall, but quickly stands to his feet, dusting himself off.

Kokichi: That was a kinda mean, Toast... a-and an obvious lie.
Kokichi: W-Whatever. I didn't take any damage, so I...

His face goes slightly pale as he comes to realize that being fried by the barrier did no damage to him, and freezes as he watches Gutta approach, holding his hands out.

Kokichi: W-Wait, don't-

Kokichi's hands clench into a fist, and he shuts his eyes tightly as the ork takes the swing. Irongutta has some mad damage. In combination with Kokichi no longer wearing any kind of protective gear, his crushing weakness, and the fact that he's merely a sixteen year old boy being decked full force, this punch kills him, without a doubt. Gutta's fist goes straight through Kokichi's head...

He hasn't hit anything, however. His attack phases through the boy's head. Kokichi lights up, before bursting into multiple bright flashes of light. Eventually, once things have settled, Kokichi is able to be seen sitting on top of the root of the tree. Although this is a prime opportunity to make a joke or a teasing comment about Gutta missing, or pointing out that he dodged both attacks, so he's allowed to join the magic club, by technicality... Kokichi says nothing. His body doesn't seem as good a liar under pressure, as he's visibly shaking, and his face remains blank. Kokichi pants.

Kokichi: Y-You almost...

-=+=-

Ziah does a mental windows error as he hits something else with his shot. He doesn't seem too happy.

Ziah: I... I missed?

He notices that his target was already dead and curls his fists around the bow in frustration.

Ziah: I guess I got lucky by not hitting something for no reason, but... still.

Ziah draws his bow, before being told to by Venia to get Marron to safety. He nods.

Ziah: On it, boss.

Ziah carefully lifts Marron, holding under her arms... arm. His other arm takes hold of her torso so that it's easier for him.

Ziah: Alright, hold on...

He carries her to G8, and places her down gently on the adjacent spawn tile at F8, sending her out of the battle. He sighs as she's warped away, turning his attention to a seemingly distressed Ette. He thinks to himself for a moment, before smiling.

Ziah: She... she'll be alright. They'll get her help... and stuff.
Ziah: You lose focus for one second, and suddenly there's chaos. And not Chaos chaos either.
Ziah: Point is, we've got this. Don't lose hope, and it'll all work out. Trust me.

Ziah draws an arrow and loads it into his bow, aiming at Zweet1. He takes a deep breath, before firing, aiming for its heart.

The Battle of the Fields

... "How did Toast screw that up? I mean she managed to beat me in accidental consequences." "Also more enemy fodder has arrived!"


The Pioneer applies Swift of the Marksmen then sets Friendly Fire from Daskter to Breaker 1.
The Pioneer disappears from the battlefield.

I summon a 2nd Marksmen with Light Damage at I8
Same Resist/Weak has the first one.

Marksmen fires against Breaker1 (Both weapons)

Packo, who was focusing his attention fully on the tank, suddenly hears a big crumbling sound, followed by the enraged screams of Marron.

"W-W-W..."

He is helpless to do anything, and he feels helpless as well. After Toast is gone, running away from the rest of the crew, his fear overcomes his worriness. As other supports seem to be tending to the hurt people, though, he cannot help but think one thing:

"S-She isn't on our side anymore?" He thinks.

INCOMINGINCOMINGINCOMINGINCOMING

The small drones start shouting again! It seems more reinforcements have come.

"O-Oh come on, really? Goodness..."

Feeling quite stressed, he directs his gaze away from the tank and moves towards the newest reinforcements.

"Just go... I will keep them busy..." Packo says to the nearby people.

As he clicks the button on his weapon twice again, the drones happily start flying around, setting themselves on the targets.

@EVERYONE@EVERYONE@EVERYONE@EVERYONE

Nanotec2: Wait how the hell are they capable of physically saying @-

As he's distracted, Packo hits him with his weapon!

"I r-really need you and your... Flying things to get away and stop bothering my flying t-things!"

______________________________

Packo moves to O16, and hits Nanotec2, while sending drones to Nanotec1 and 3.


.

Emerald pauses at the waves of energy just outright blowing right over him, and shudders, his body briefly wracked with pain and force, though he wasn’t bloody moving, not while literally bonded to a tank.
After the assault is over, and his body is covered in a dozen dozen minor cuts, each bleeding healthily, slowly sealing up, he looks over to the source of the attack, rapidly splitting into many source*s*. Aka illusions. Then over to Marron, getting knocked unconscious. Then back to the Toasts. Back to Marron. Marron is not Toasts. But if she used Old Spi- no. And with 4 simple words, he called out to the fleeing mage, then returned to proving his superiority to a literal metal tank. No malice in his tone, no anger, simply.. incredulousness. Perhaps shock. But definitely volume.
“TOAST WHAT THE FUCK.”
———————————————-
Emerald shifts his way over to M7 via STICKYYY FINGAS and tosses Hex an Ignuveil, applied via dirt ball to the air.

Nidra moves to J10 and casts Last Dream on the Stratoshield.

The Boshi in the kitchen gets tired of standing around, and walks into the living room. He then checks upstairs and down, realizing that Sophia managed to slip out of the house unnoticed somehow.

"(That's... that's not good.)"

He moves to exit the house... but for whatever reason he receives a call from the Boshi in the R4 fight. Guess he must have time-based communications active. He puts his hand up to his ear-analogue, and covers it. After a short string of yoshi noises, he learns that... well... shit just went from bad to worse. This day couldn't possibly get worse than it is right now... right? He's sweating profusely, clearly stressed at being pulled three ways at the same time. He considers making more time clones, but figures that'd be way too much of a hassle.

"(Urrrgh... what to do... hate being pulled every which way...)"

He ponders, pacing back and forth for upwards of two minutes straight.

Then, he sighs. It's time to ask for help. He writes a note on a piece of paper.

"Yo, Cal. Think you could look after Sophia (that's Hat Kid) for me? Something's seriously wrong with her. I've got other stuff to do. Meet you in front of Scale Ygg later, alright? I'll tell you more then.

-Boshi"

He then folds it into a paper airplane, takes it outside, and launches it with a blast from the Razorwind Reaver. It's sent flying to Cal's position at Scale Yggdrasil. It should land soon...

He then exits the building, tapping his glasses lightly and looking around... he proceeds to slowly walk along the path to the Chairian Outskirts...

---TIMESKIP, I GUESS---

Eventually, our indigo pal ends up juuuust inside the Hanging Garden. He stops the moment he notices Toast. Though, he doesn't try to hide. Instead he thinks that this might be a nice resort area in the woods once the bodies were ridden of-

No, no, he's here on other business, he says to himself. Toast. Hopeless, lost, and destroyed. Though what could he even do to help...?

"NIA: Help can be as simple and humble as sticking by someone's side when they're going through hardship. It can help, knowing someone's by your side!"

These words echo through his mind as he looks on. Yes, it might be okay to go up and give her someone to lean on - to vent to. He approaches Toast cautiously, yet calmly, trying his hardest not to startle her too badly in doing so. Or maybe she already noticed him, in which case he just approaches calmly. Once close enough, he gives a kindhearted "(...Hey, Toast.)"



---

After Calibri finishes his message that he's written in the ground, Sophia sees the appearance of the words in the earth, letter by letter. She didn't read it relatively quickly, but it seems she understands it well enough. She's relieve that all her friends didn't up and die immediately after the reset, but it's replaced with worries about herself and the world around her now...

"S-so youre... all okay? Yay! That's good, whoever wrote that message!"
"...B-but I can't see anybody! What's happening!?"

---

MU leaves the vault be for now, and heads over to the other side of the Evergrounds. Or, more specifically, she goes through to the zone past (AD92).

---

Boshi could only look onward at the violent breakup between Marron and Toast. He sweats. "(oooh that's not good...)"

He then realizes Toast ran away. He blinks once, taps his glasses lightly, and puts his hand up to his ear-analogue, covering it completely. After a few strings of yoshi noises, he transfers what he learned to his time clone.

As for right now, though, he focuses on the tank itself, moving to (O7) and exploding the track again. Specifically, (O8). He's launched back to (O5). He stays there.

"Jesus Christ! I haven't seen a friendly fire incident that bad since Operation Cocked Pistol!"

The Man backs off to J15, whirls around and shoots Nanotech 2.

RP: Niascape

Venia watches. She seems even shakier than before, but she resumes quicker.

"...Those littlegorillas! I'd have ripped their gorillaing heads off! I'd have-I'd have... Sorry about that. Ugh. I've had issues with little green eyed monsters of my own. Point is they were totally unjustified! Its awful that you got beat up by those stupid freaks, And its awful that you have an uncaring mother and a father who just up and left, and awful that you had to get kidnapped and enslaved to your best friend's brother and share headspace with a gorillaING PSYCHOPATH ELDRITCH AI!!"

Venia is pretty concretely shaking from all of this. She pauses, taking deep breaths and wiping her face with her hand.

"... I... I'm... Eugh. I'm... I'm sorry for, uh... That. Look, look. You are not 'despicable' at all, you've just been put through hell for no good reason! There's... There's just, more to life than this pain! I felt like I've been hanging on to whatever's left of my will to live for that maxim alone! You just need friends-you said as much yourself to Chloe... and you need them precisely for all of this," Venia says, waving her arms at all the black and red goo and the remaining memory orb. "... You wanted to be my friend, and I want to be yours, OK? It just, hurts me to see you so hurt. That's why I'm down here... I just want to help. That's all."

"... Only one memory left of this batch. Pitch black. God knows what's in this one... Do you think this will be all we truly need to see to... Understand what kind of living hell you've been through?... Or at least, start grasping it? If it isn't, I'd be happy to just, stay until its all bearable, but... Time constraints."

Venia 'selects' the pitch black orb.

---

Magic Club!

The rather abrupt silence that followed after Maria's question told her everything. Her face fell, and she remained silent for quite a while, letting toast finish, staring at the Eternal Author with wide eyes.

She did catch wind of Hat Kid wandering around, though, which eventually distracts her. Its probably the first time she actually paid attention to her. "What's she doing?" Maria says, pointing at Had Kid off a distance. "HEY! FRIEND PERSON WHO LIKES MY CATS! What're you doing?!"

---

Verdana

1

Venia thinks for a moment before giving the Whispering Staff a name: "Boxican." She says.

That name? It has no significance whatsoever other than having 'Box' in the name because that's a real name.

Venia stops bothering Ga'aunt and the newly-cherised Boxican for now. "... So I just learned that the Rose Cult really enjoy a particuarly cruel punishment: Sucking people's souls into items, which are put into boxes, which are put into bodies of water as a punishment. Charming... Eugh. Thankfully they've only been irritating for us, at least thus far...

3

Venia stares at the figeting Verdana. "That's great! I mean. We only have two that we've found. But there's probably loads more... Just need to find them." Venia says, not entirely sure if indebiting the Chairians to Engietech on any level is a good idea.

Venia stares at Verdana as he says that, yes, she's been getting pissed off by the Rose Cult. "... Really?" Venia asks, completely surprised. She pauses, rubbing her chin in contemplation. "... Uhhh... Have I? Are they really sure?" Venia asks, sounding rather confused. "I mean. Ga'aunt here isn't bothering me in that way, I'd know in a flash. But... You're sure about that? They're sure about that? I mean, they wouldn't lie, but... Uhh, I..."

"... Have I been blanking out or something? No no no... I swore I was being... Like... Reasonable? Maybe they're cognitohazardous? Are my powers going haywire?"

Venia trails off and remains silent for several seconds before finally sighing. "... I have no idea what you're talking about. Video may be nice if you have it, but that's probably not possible right this second... Unless you can prove me wrong."

"... You're fidgeting quite a bit yourself. Anything the matter?" Venia asks.

5

"... It's less that I don't trust you or them and more that I really need to see it for myself,", Venia says, responding to Verdana, before letting him skitter his way around a...

...

"..."

Venia scoots back on the couch.

"... I, uh. I think I've known you for like two days and we've interacted all of thrice before now. That's..."

Venia stares Verdana up and down, far more confused than anything else.

"He loves me?! Of all people, me?! It must just be my overblown appearance again! He barely knows me! Same with Nia! No-one sane falls in love with anyone they barely know! ... I don't feel like he's trying to lie, though... Seems too earnest. But I... Hrmmm..."

"... Uhh. That's actually just kind of really just... It's really just very fast to just... Look. This may sound really cold, but that was really forwards of you for someone you've met two, three days tops. I didn't even know who you were until I freaked out at the bridge and we've talked, like, four times, counting this. I, don't get me wrong. I owe you a lot, but, like... Like, I don't really know you [i[at all[/i]. More to the point, I'm not gonna be around to know you better. I've got to, you know. Go back to the future and all that? That's not a small time in the future either. Engietech doesn't even exist when I'm from. If you're not time travelling and effectively abandoning your brother, your job, EN and anyone else you know and/or have for one girl you've met for three days tops, you're waiting a frankly ridiculous amount of time. That just... That really doesn't sound like a good idea. I don't know you, you don't really know me, and you're basically star-crossing yourself if you can't abandon Engietech and all. I'm sorry, I can't reciprocate. Emotionally or in good conscience."

Venia pauses, and sighs, and puts a hand on the temple. "... It sucks, I know, but... I'm not the girl to dance around this kind of thing. You're a nice person-I'm sure plenty of other people will come to appreciate you that way."

"... That was the right thing to do. Right?"

---

RP: Far off Field

Venia wasn't too far off from Toast and Marron's... spat. She wasn't taking it well, but she could tell Toast's presence was illusory after only a few seconds. Her face sours.

"... SOME GIRLFRIEND YOU ARE!" Venia screams. "I... I can forgive the nuke mishap, I can almost forgive her killing Wyvern, I can forgive Marron getting pissed, but she ran! The coward! Can face a giant tank's main cannon firing directly at her face but can't owe up a single apology!" Venia screams.

The sound of Iti rushing up right behind her, flanking most of the party, snaps her to her senses quickly enough to cut short what would likely have been an extended rant.

"... ZIAH! Get Marron out of the fight! I'll contact Taeda!" Venia says. She presses a hand to her temple.

A zone back in the Preserve, Tae abruptly hears a voice, rousing her from her reunion with the dirt. <"TAEDA! Its' me, Venia! I'm contacting you telepathically, I'm not nearby right now! It's an emergency! Marron's been knocked out, mostly telekinetic and mental damage! Head trauma noted, missing an artificial arm too. I'm getting Ziah, dude in a red hoodie, to send her to you! And keep her restrained if you wake her up, she's pissed! No time to explain further!">

Venia whips back towards Destiny's snide remark and simply glares at her, then at Chloe, who'd probably flip.

" CHLOE! Nia and I would be pissed if you started another fight now! Just imagine the tank as you-know-who instead!" Venia says, hoping to end a flipout before it began. Venia then turns and shouts roughly at Nia's direction "NIA! We really need everyone for this that we can, please stay here, we can find Toast after this!" Venia then turns to Ette. "ETTE!... It'll be alright, OK? I promise!"

"EVERYONE! Just keep calm and keep fighting! We don't have a choice!" Venia yells.

"Who am I even trying to convince? Myself?"

Destiny's comment at Venia just earns her another glare from Venia.

---

TANKS FOR NOTHING, TOAST R4-SAT0SKR

"If you have more siege spells, launch 'em at this tank! If you don't, take care of the Iti and those Nanotechs!" Venia screams.

Venia's hat annoys Tread1 with its signature ping before Venia herself moves to I9, presuming that Toast(?) has left the general area. She uses Alternating Weapon Attack to launch a Splintershot round directly into Zweet1. (If she doesn't have an Alternating Weapon Attack bonus, she uses the Blossoming Key instead. If Zweet1 is already dead, Zweet2.)

"Ette!... This is going to sound dumb, but after everyone moves, can you just, uh, move to slap the tank?" Venia asks. "... Marron could probably use a funny and cool anecdote when she wakes up!" Venia adds.

Calibri chuckles, now hanging out of the tree by one leg to chat with Chloe. It may be worth noting that this means he's upside-down.

"Yeah, that's pretty much the idea behind it. And now that I've thought about it a little, I'm actually curious now. Curious about what kind of personality traits the other party members have going for them..."

He seems like he'd talk more, but is promptly bapped by an upside-down paper airplane, taking it out of the air to take a look. He glances around, noticing Hat Kid again, then back at the letter, then back at Hat Kid. There's a pause, and his eyes flash as a construct eyeball appears for the sole purpose of searing a message into the ground near her. Once it's done, it dissipates, the only sign of it being there being a message...

Can you read this message? If you can, good. We're here. Several of us are.

...Pretty neat how he could fit all that on a fairly small section of land.


2

Meanwhile at the house, Verdana glances at the glove and the staff for a few seconds, then turns his attention to Venia again. His demeanor seems to have changed after Venia mentions the information about what the rose cult do. The spark of an idea is clearly visible in his eyes...

"I see. Interesting that they can manipulate souls like that. Possibly a problem if they have some way to do it in a fight... Although hey, if souls put in items is the thing here, that'll be easily solvable after we're done with the sphere! Engietech has... not a spectacular focus on biotechnology, but enough so that we could probably set up some new vessels for them to inhabit, and probably well enough for them to be decent. We'd need to establish a presence on the planet and construct a Biolab for that, though, and if the Chairians are like what I've come to expect from them, they probably won't be fond of another highly tech-focused faction intruding on their territory..."

He trails off, deciding to relegate that planning away for later. Once he's done being thinky about what to do with the items post-sphere, he returns his attention to Venia again. He seems curious.

"You... seem to kind of not like the Rose Cult, come to think of it. The other two have noticed that, and while I can't cross-verify what Calibri said, I at least trust him enough to think there's probably something true to that. Wanna talk about them? Or would you rather have something else on your mind for now? Either way is fine for me."

He still seems to be fidgeting...

4

Verdana nods in acknowledgement of the fact there'd be more ensouled equipment to find out there in the wild, then falls silent and seems a little worried as Venia expresses surprise over his confirmation. He doesn't say anything out loud, but it's clear that as far as he knows, they're something of a sensitive topic. As for being asked about video evidence, he just shakes his head.

"We could have had video evidence, but nobody really thought to record any of it. At least, nothing they've been willing to share with me..."

Then, once Venia picks up on how much he's been fidgeting, Verdana falls silent again. His gaze seems to flicker from one part of the room to another, busily trying to avoid focusing on her while he gathers his thoughts together. He eventually turns his gaze back on her again, although in something of a change for his usual demeanor, he seems quite openly nervous...

"I, um... Maybe. Maybe a little. There's, um. Something. That I probably should say. I just... kind of... am having trouble saying it. Just, uh, give me a moment to... ramble, maybe. Rambling helps us gather our thoughts. By us, I mean me. And Cali. And my predecessor. And the thing I wanted to ramble about is, um. It's a, uh. Well. It's... complicated. I'm still not completely sure I understand it. So. Maybe. Um... I'll... say things. And, you can draw your own conclusion or something, maybe."

Verdana seems to be glowing quite bright red, although not with the emotive aura. It's really just him blushing, all things considered. He continues speaking, and it seems like he's gotten a little quieter as he does so.

"So, um... We've hung out before. For a while. And done things during those hang outs. And, um. During those hang outs, I am... not really sure how to describe it, but, um. You're nice to be around, you know. I can't really find something to perfectly describe it, but, uh, I do have an analogy. It's like... erm... Well, um. You know how when you get clothing freshly out of the drier, it's all pleasant and warm and things like that? I... sort of have, like, that kind of feeling, except it's more internal rather than... thing. I don't quite know why the feeling is there but it's nice, so, um. I did have a talk with someone else about that kind of feeling. Um. I... erm. What was that word..."

A beat of silence. And of one of those fluffy cat ears from earlier twitching. Verdana closes his eyes and inhales, then opens them again and focuses his attention on Venia again.

"I'm... not sure if it's what's actually happening, but... I... might... have... a crush on you."

That seems to be about all he can get out for now. At the very least, after speaking all that to Venia, he's stopped fidgeting...

6

Verdana nods when Venia states it might be a bit fast for a love confession, managing to squeeze out an "Admittedly, yes..." before falling silent again and just listening to the rest of what she has to say. Once she's done, he just seems to have gone completely silent, staring at the floor in front of the couch. It's fairly obvious he's trying to think of how to handle the current situation, and with it, every variable Venia just listed that could potentially prove an issue... Gradually, he turns back to face her.

"By all accounts, yes, those would be issues for most people. But take a look at me and ask yourself if I fit into the category of most people. For one thing, yes, it might be a bit fast. But that's not an issue - we've still got quite a few days left on this planet for things to play out. Wherever that leads is wherever it leads. That might still seem fast to you, but to me, it's quite fine - I don't need a whole lot of time relative to other people to figure out how I feel about them, and I'm (almost) never wrong with my conclusions. I could be wrong again here, but it certainly doesn't feel wrong."

"Granted, for most people, that would be the smaller issue. In my case, it's really the only issue - we do have access to timetravel technology, both in the sense of moving forward and backward in time and in the sense of jumping across timelines. It's generally considered a bit unsavory to go back in time to events before one existed, but the future is fair game so long as we don't bring things back that would attract unwanted attention. So as long as I'm careful and remember to adjust for timeline progression differences, that should be just fine - I won't have to abandon anyone to make a cross-timeline relationship work out, assuming that it develops in the first place."

He falls silent after that, then sighs, turning to stare at the floor again. Venia's remark about him being a nice person seems to have been the thing that made him do that.

"I know you're trying to let me down gently with a phrasing like that, but that's not really how this works. If you haven't noticed, I tend to get more expressive when I'm comfortable hanging out with someone I like hanging out with. And, unfortunately, the way I act when I'm expressive in that manner seems to either put people off or make it impossible for them to really take me seriously at all. Combine that with how... young most at the company see me as being thanks to my recent physical creation, and it's entirely fruitless to expect anything of the sort from anyone there."

After a brief pause, he goes to say something again, but falters and seems to have said everything he can think of saying, turning back to Venia again to wait for her response.


"Hmm..."

EN seems quite thoughtful about something. She remains silent for a time, aside from the occasional humming, then chuckles at some kind of thought she's had. Eventually, she snaps her fingers, bringing herself back to focus, and promptly does nothing for a few seconds after forgetting what she was thinking of. Then, she focuses on Lutea.

"There's an idea. We got 'nuff iron lyin' 'round, well as other stuffs like titanium an' durasteel, so ah reckon there's 'nuff spare fer a shell or two. Ah coul' prolly make a shell right 'ere if ah knew wha' ya specifically were lookin' fer, heh. Wha' woul' ya need?"

Beat.

"Yeah, ah'll be careful wit' this. Th' others are generally intuitively aware o' wha' somethin' do, or at least wha' it coul' do, so they'll 'opefully be careful wit' it too, heh. No need t' worry."


Battle action

"...Ah. That's a problem. The Iti showing up aren't great either."

Calibri sighs, then takes a slash at... okay, this is complicated, but.

Choose one: Nanotech 1, Nanotech 3
Target preference: Unstunned. Alive. HP level sufficiently low to die. HP level sufficiently low for a future attack in this round to kill.

Anyway after that he retreats to H12.

After Nidra's actions, Simeon activates his special, Noctomancy. Beneath his feet, dark mists rise. He silently strides over to M17, standing perfectly at ease.
"Nanotech, hm? You should probably learn how to shape items from programmable matter on the fly, sort of like this."
Holding out his hands, the mists surrounding him solidify into two blades, both of which he uses to strike Nanotech2.
He then sticks a hand out of the voidmist to give Toast the thumbs-up.

A shockwave of mental energy cascades throughout the tank. Being fairly near to said tank, Terry gets shaken by it, and gets back up.

Terry! Marron and Toast have just broken up right in front of you! What do you have to say?

Terry brings the hood of his, er, hoodie down, revealing a pair of black-and-white headphones.

---

Meanwhile, 10 minutes in the past, at the Magic Club meeting, furiously takes notes on the interesting systems of magic being discussed, such as Calibri's theory of emo-magical attunement, some of the command words of Marron's soon-to-be-former-girlfriend's magical language, and a bit more.

---

Terry moves to Q10, and slaps R4-Sat0skr.

Astrec heads away, satisfied. He then names the staff Caixa. That's like, Box, in another language, and that's hip and cool.
And then, I, the narrator, speak to the voice in the divider.
"Yes, we can hear you. Who are you? Monika, Creation?"
BATTLE RP:
Hex dashes to Q7, and slashes up the tread, then runs to P6.

Brutishace stands his ground and fires Twin Jolts at the third Nanotech- he'd much rather be on the other side of the field! He also detonates the Apocalypse Rune sitting atop the tank behind him.