Brutishace continues to aim at the Edges at P23 he targeted last turn, hoping to finish the group off with another Drain Life. He lifts the skull again and blasts the spot with the third wicked spell, catching the Edges, the first Harmonizer, and the Raider in the blast.

He also drops an Apocalypse Rune at that point to mop up the corpses of any survivors or to get some damage on incoming units. Any healing from Soul Siphon alternates between going to Omorika and her Knight.

Nidra:
Retrieve drone from Nezira.
Power Nap Toast.
Move to K18.
Basic attack Corpsetaker1 twice.
Damage buffs: +10% from drone, +25% from trait, Empowered3
Retreat to K17.

Trellis Guardian:
Note that your health wasn't actually reset.
Creeping Vine Harpy6.

Auth smiles, giving Nana a thumbs up as the spectre disappears. He seems pretty happy that Nana is holding up quite well.

Auth does have his own problems to solve, of course. His own situation is not great, with three Iti standing right next to him, and Auth himself fairly badly wounded. This situation is easily solved, however, since the Iti are Reclaimed and Auth has just barely enough MP to cast Curaga.

Auth places his hands on the ground, causing a wave of healing centred around himself. He gets to take advantage of the healing and deal with the Iti around him too. Afterwards, he retreats to T17, where Echoss was.

Irongutta moves three tiles to K20, which triggers Unstoppable Force! He then attacks the Large Netwyrm Head.

For safety reasons, he also noms on his Icecream Necklace for some good buffs. Lastly, Irongutta targets Corpsetaker 1 with his Turbo Magezappa Lens.

The Engie drone has decided to sit on the roof and watch out in case there are important things.

"..."

EN glances up when she feels Cathy standing on her, turning a little and rolling her eyes at hearing her first remark, then chuckling a little while considering what to say.

"Ya missed a fair bit, really. Lemme think..."

EN proceeds to launch into a very long-winded explanation about the timeline of events that have happened between the first arrival on Sussui and the present moment. I don't feel like actually writing it up right now because jesus that's a lot of ground to cover, but it happens nonetheless.


BATTLE:

Verdana takes a look at the current situation. An Amphi got owned hard. There are other things to get rid of. An Observer looked at him funny. He feels tempted to obliterate the Observer in retaliation, at first, but remembers that that's a bad idea. He just waves off the Observer's gaze.

"You aren't worth my time. Begone!"

He then whistles, calling the Spiralfloof over to him at E10, then peering at the more distant of the Arkwinds. Namely, Arkwind1. He spins his staff around in one hand, whirling it at such a speed it briefly appears to become a circle, then some kind of psionic construct projects out from the top part, forming the shape of a hammer head. He takes a swing, and the psionic construct lashes out at a long distance, slamming Arkwind1 in the face with a powerful burst of psionic energies. His temper flares, Verdana suddenly getting an uncharacteristically aggressive fire in his eyes...

"Perish! PERISH! You are not wanted here! You shall NOT lay claim to the portal!"

The Vagrant's Will glows bright, Verdana issuing a command to the Spiralfloof - shoot Arkwind1. As for Wizard Nia, Verdana turns and gives her an apologetic look for not being aware of her range limitation, then... letting her decide for herself what the best course of action would be here, whether it's moving and healing someone she can reach, or just plain relocating somewhere she feels is important.

Because of course it did, jcink ate my post that had the actual transformation flavor text. Therefore, Emerald just uses his special because I am not typing that whole thing out again >:V

So for starters, Emerald becomes 3x3, and Auto-Lyonne procs.
He lances forward, killing either Reclaimer4 or 6, depending on which isn't dead. If both are dead... skip move 2.
He moves 2 spaces south, centered on S19.
Hidden Machine Guns, targeting Raider, Edges, and Harmonizer1, which should all be in range.
Skip move 5, therefore ending the turn

Hex looks at the Iti next to him, a expression of panic on his face.
HEX: oh gorilla oh gorilla oh gorilla oh gorilla oh gorilla
HEX: nope gorilla this I am OUT, i am not having a repeat of the Yggdrasil battle.
Hex nopes on over to D20, his cloak flaring up (activating the Teleport), warping him through the agressing Iti. He then smacks the Needle with his basic attack, and retreats up to D..18? If ZoC prevents me from moving that far, D19..
He then waves to the trio.
HEX: Hey guys, thanks for helping us with..
He waves around.
HEX: ..this. I don't think we've actually talked or met yet, so I'm Hex.
He snaps back to attention at the sound of EM turning into a tank in the background
HEX: Of course, introductions should probably wait until after the Iti Hordes aren't trying to kill us and all we hold dear.

Packo moves to P11!

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED FIFTY>

Echoss continues harvesting items. Two more Speakers are harvested, adding 2 Speaker Systems, 4 Iron Ingots, 4 Wire Scraps, and 2 Circuit Boards to the inventory. He also harvests some Fragapples from Zone 0's very own Fragapple tree, obtaining two. Then, at Acacia's house, he gets some golems to harvest the garden, and send its contents to the pantry.

---

Letsid takes a moment to fix her sheet up. She swaps an item- normally illegal mid-battle while taking an action, but I believe I did agree to this. She also sets some resistances, and a backstory! Which the GM transcribes into a slightly more condensed / formatted... format.

---

Bow Kid takes up painting! The canvas is blank, so she gets right to work. She doesn't really do much yet... but it seems that Acacia's tools are of a superior quality- that much is clear simply from holding them. Anyway, Bow Kid practices a little, probably drawing some happy little trees.

---

Venia's Hat does some extraction! 10 Fluxtainted Fish are sent to the chopping block, yielding 5 total Flux. The general area now smells like fish, butts, and purple, in that order. Hat also commissions Chloe to go and see if she can find a water-element Regalia. Chloe shrugs.

CHLOE: Sure!
CHLOE: I'll be back in a jiffy!
CHLOE: Not like, a millionth of a second or anything like that, but... yeah, you know what I mean.
CHLOE: See ya!

Chloe runs off with her wheelbarrow dragging behind her. She eventually returns, clothing and hair completely soaked. She places an Aurora Crystal on the ground, and sits next to it to dry off.

CHLOE: So, I took a visit to the Gallow's pond, and there was something sparkling in the water.
CHLOE: I didn't have any nice ways to investigate, so I jumped in! Turns out the sparkling thingy wasn't... a Regalia. It was a weird, glowing crystal.
CHLOE: When I went back to shore, a Mollusk inched over to me, stole the crystal, and left me a present in exchange.
CHLOE: Not... not really a conventional harvesting job, but I guess it still worked out.

2 Tsunami Regalia obtained! In addition, she also deposits 8 Whirlpool Clusters, 18 Raindrop Crystals, and 5 Feather Rope Coils.

CHLOE: Oh, yeah.
CHLOE: Some ropes tried to kill me.
CHLOE: Fortunately, they were just ropes.

---

<THE HOUSE, ROUND FIVE>
What's there to really say? There's more Iti, more Harpies carrying Bouquets, and there's a Gazyer on the top floor. You should probably get to dealing with that- it's the Gazyer that Daskter angered some time ago, and it'll be hellbent on killing him! In addition, there's some new threats on the ground floor, like Inciters. They're also placed near the Bastion, so prepare for a hyper-powered shot from it! Also watch for those Seeker Spheres in your backline- they'll deal a lot of damage if left unchecked!

(whoops, posted *just* after ire, ahahah; post for above update)

==BATTLE==
Nezira, as a bonus action, activates Quick Scan and Blinding Eye, and splash-scans K25 to catch the Vilebaron and Throwlem, applying Weakpoint Analysis to both!

She then moves to Q11 and casts Shopping Spree, going shopping for three Airstrike Flares!

For the previous rounD

Mobve to g15, fire upon Corpsetaker1

In the house:
Action happens last. All other allies should act before me I think.

Echoss, abruptly realizing that couchtron was moving the wrong direction, sighs and slides off the once-more motionless furniturebot, and moves down to N13. He then spins the sporulating fan a bit, then winds up and chucks it at the seekersphere, an attack which the gorged just barely dives under. He then gestures, and the fan whips out of the spot where it lodged in the sphere, catching the gorged in the back of the head on its way back to Echoss's hand.
Meanwhile, his Chibi decides that it's hero time and toddles down to O18.
ITEMSTORM
The Chibi Nia rises up into the air surrounded by a flickering aura, while Echoss turns and leans on his sporulating fan to watch the Nia unleash fiery death upon his chosen target.
The Bastion promptly gets nailed in the face by a crystal bomb core equipped with an ashen crystal, knocking away it's Fire resistance by way of Ignublight.
This is promptly followed by a quick barrage of one of our searing bombs and all 4 El-ite knives I shopping spreed last round.
Explosions and massive bursts of flame engulf the Bastion, and the Chibi Nia drops to the ground, smiling very cutely in direct contrast with the tactical nuke it basically just dropped.

no flavor text:
Echoss moves to N13 and sweeps West, hitting Seeker Sphere 2, and the Gorged it spawned.
My Chibi Nia moves down to O18. I then proc Itemstorm and cast all 6 item actions through my Chibi Nia, who chucks a fire-element crystal bomb core at the bastion, followed by both of our searing bomb and all 3 remaining shopping spree'd Fire El-ite Knives (toast uses one below).
Then we get to why I moved last. For any multi-uses my trait procs (might not happen, but if it does then I wanna be ready) the bonus uses will target enemies in the following priority: (I know a lot of these will be dead, and that this list is overly comprehensive for the very small number of double casts I'm gonna get, but I couldn't think of a better way to do it)


Out of combat:
I request for Chloe's gathering service to grab some incendiary scraps and searing power. Only a bit though, I don't need a whole lot so if other cool things are located those will work just as well as long as I at least get some of the first two. Please don't explode while doing it though I like my friends alive.

Actions:
The butterflies flutter to the forest outskirts, see the rock spire that we've left unmined for like, forever, and just steal the entire spire.

Echoss's minigolems attend to the farm, which has been left neglected for far too long. First, the coffee is harvested, then the currently stored compost blobs are used to fertilize as many tiles as possible.
Then, things are planted (as many as possible on each space), with highest fertilizer priority to least:
Tornadopetal
Deathcap Mushroom
Slkweed
Cinderfruit
Celefruit
Lumipod
Frostleaves
Cofee
Gigistem

Additionally, love is given to the crystillery. If the super crystal cluster toast made is ready, it is harvested, and then the crystillery is properly seeded: (gosh dangit we're out of a couple of T1s)
TL: Frigid Crystals
TR: Gaia Crystals
ML: Seer Crystals
MR: Luminous Crystals
BL: Shadow Crystals
BR: Raindrop Crystals
Just freshening up some of our crystal supplies. Once these are done I'll probably fix up our clusters.

Additionally, butterflies collect the following respawning resources:
2 lumipods
1 holy dew
2 cinderfruit
16 sap blobs
3 celefruit

While the fight is raging on over at the house, something can be heard sneaking around in the Forest of Departure. The noises are very faint, making them quite difficult to hear, but soft footsteps could be heard by someone with a particularly trained ear. Eventually, the source of the noise steps out of the forest. A seemingly young, cloaked figure, whose appearance blends in with the forest behind her, her face concealed by her hood. She seems a little on edge, her steel blue eyes darting back and forth as she skirts along the edge of the forest. The cream coloured cloak she wears over her black long sleeve shirt seems to be torn and tattered. Also not in the best condition are her black stockings, which she wears along with a dark green skirt. Atop her head is a bow, faintly resembling a pair of rabbit ears, the colour of which matches her cloak.

Her head spins back around, as her attention is suddenly caught by rustling in the bushes nearby, and lots of it, at that. She tenses up as the rustling is followed by seemingly hostile snarling and growling, which she fears may belong to the strangely untameable creatures that she’d had a close encounter with before. She draws her staff, clutching it tightly in both hands as she begins to shake. The girl backs up slightly as the noises grow louder, visibly frightened by them. Without warning, a seeker leaps at the girl, causing her to yelp. She quickly thrusts her staff out in front of her, knocking the creature from the air, not hesitating as she gives it a few good hits, until she’s sure it’s down for good. Her victory is only momentary, however, her eyes widening with fear as eight other Seekers approach her, all at once.

Suddenly, a small voice speaks in her ear, "You may wish to take a step backwards madame." She notices a shadow over the seekers in front of her, and quickly steps back as a massive rock drops from the air overhead and crushes most of the seeker pack in front of her. One of the seekers climbs up over the rock, and leaps at the girl, only for a group of six golden butterflies to swoop down past her head and suddenly flash with light, creating a net of glimmering threads that catches the seeker, then launches it at the other two survivors when they try to climb over the rock. Leaf makes the most of this opportunity, sending a blob of sap flying at the remaining seeker, rendering it immobile before sending two grass crescents towards it, which slice through its body. She quivers slightly, before looking around for the owner of the voice she’d heard. “T-Thank you for…” Leaf seems slightly confused as she’s not able to find anybody nearby.

"Ah, pardon me, this is a rather bad position for conversing isn't it?" Suddenly a glowing golden figure hops off of her shoulder and down onto the rock in front of her. The small image of a man turns to face her and looks up at her. "Salutations."

Leaf crouches slightly, clearly fascinated by the figure. “O-Oh! I’m… sorry, I didn’t realize you were there.” She places her hand on the back of her neck, slightly sheepish, but still clearly shaken. “I’m Leaf… thank you for saving me.”

The man smiles and shakes his head. "It is quite okay, I didn't take up position on your shoulder until I realized those seeker were about to attack you." He tilts his head. "Though, hm. Now that I actually stop to think about it you don't seem to be a native to this world, where are you from?"

She nods, pausing for a moment. “I’m from a world called Azuri… it’s a little bit like this place, actually. Lots of forests.” Leaf shudders. “We don’t have anything like these creatures though, so none of us are really trained to hunt. I came here when I discovered that the entire planet was made of wood, but…” She frowns slightly. “I-I can’t seem to get back. My spells aren’t working the same way it should.”

The figure shakes his head sadly. "That is not a surprise. Those creatures," he gestures to the murdered seekers, "are not really native to Sussui either. A massive… thing called The Sphere is creating them, as well as projecting a power dampening aura on the whole planet called The Thymefield. It makes attempts to gain entry and to leave far more difficult." he looks up at her and tilts his head. "Hm, I could, perhaps, offer you some assistance in getting to a safe location. There is only so much I can do with my butterflies under the effects of the Thymefield and I strained those close to their limits just now, if a larger pack of Iti catches your scent I might not be able to do enough."

Leaf takes a moment to register all that he has said, before slowly nodding. “That’d explain why I can’t tame these things...” She sighs, shaking her head and smiling softly. “I’d appreciate the help, mister…” Leaf becomes slightly flustered. “S-Sorry… what was your name?”

The figure freezes for a second then rubs his temple for a moment. "Ah… apologies, I appear to be a tad out of sorts. My name is Echoss, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. Anyways, the fastest way to get you out of danger might be a tad disorienting, do you think you can hold still for a minute or so? It doesn't need to be totally still, I'll just need you to stay on the spot for a little bit."

“Mister Echoss… It’s nice to meet you too~!” She nods, able to stand surprisingly still, with very little movement. “Will you tell me when you’re about to do so?”

"Right now in fact, brace yourself for a sec this tends to be a tad disorienting the first time around." And then Echoss shifts into the form of a golden butterfly, which is shortly joined by several other large swarms of butterflies from the surrounding trees. The butterflies gather in a large swirling pillar that stops barely an inch above the ground and closes up into a twisted top above Leaf's head. Leaf feels slightly dizzy watching the butterflies swirl around her, until suddenly a series of shimmering lights shifts up the column. The lights fade away, and the butterflies scatter off in many directions, leaving Leaf standing somewhere completely different. A small cottage with a pig and oddly unsettling bird in front of it seems to be a short distance in front of her.

Leaf takes a moment to stabilise herself, trying not to fall over. Once she comes to, her attention is immediately drawn to the two animals. She gently pulls off her hood, revealing her light olive green hair, which comes down into a long ponytail and curls up slightly at the end. The girl then crouches, taking a moment to look between the two animals. “Are these friendly, Mister Echoss?”

Another golden butterfly settles down on her shoulder, transforming back into an Echoss hologram. "Indeed they are, though I believe they already belong to some of my… friends already I suppose, seems strange saying that word again. Regardless, there are others in this house but I believe it belongs to someone else so it would likely be best to take care about not making a mess."

Leaf pauses. “Right…” She cautiously reaches out to gently pet the Gibbet, likely allowing her to, given the nature of who she is, before standing back up. “So… what happens now?”

"Well presumably either you go inside, or someone comes out here to investigate the noise my method of transporting you made."

She nods, and heads for the door of the cottage, giving it a soft knock. “Hello?”

A few seconds pass in silence. Then, someone on the other side of the door fumbles with the handle for a moment, evidently not used to opening doors. It’s opened eventually, of course. EN’s answered the door, standing and taking a look at the one who just knocked…

EN: Yo. Ain’t seen ya before.
tC: Darling, who is it?
EN: Ah jus’ said ah’ve naw seen ‘em before. Ya might wanna take a look yeself.

Soon after, another face appears in the doorway. A tall, extremely pale woman with thick brown hair and blood red eyes.

The Echoss hologram on Leaf's shoulder stands up and tilts its head, looking at the newcomer. "Did we have more new arrivals while I was gone, I recognize you from earlier," he points at EN, "I believe you're one of the… no, still no names I really need to remedy that. But I don't think I've seen you?" he gestures to the other.

tC: Well, sweetie, that would be because I just arrived myself! I’d not be terribly surprised if you didn’t know who I was.

EN just chuckles quietly.

EN: Seems like it.
EN: Ah reckon more fellas ‘ave shown up back at th’ maun ‘ouse. While ah’m naw there t’ check, jus’ call it a hunch…
EN: Anywhom, who’s this ya brought wit’ ya?

Leaf seems to have zoned out temporarily, but is brought back as EN asks this. “O-Oh, I’m… Leaf. I kinda got stuck here exploring, and then attacked by those purple creatures…” She sighs. “Long day. Nice to meet you, though!”

tC: Honey, I’d bet it was from what you’ve told me. I haven’t seen any of these creatures myself… why, if I had they’d be no more than a purple mist! I’m Catherine. Catherine Geraldson, it’s a pleasure to meet you.

A red dragon, about the size of a large dog makes its way outside after Catherine introduces herself. Leaf seems quite fascinated by this, but stays silent.

Echoss blinks, and stares at the dragon. "Surprisingly, this is a face I do recognize… You're Master Genoa, correct?"

The dragon yawns quite loudly, apparently having just woken up.

gC: I mean, if we’re going with titles like that… it’d be “Mistress”, but yeah. I’m Genoa.

Echoss nods slowly, thinking to himself. Leaf tilts her head as she hears Genoa speak, but remains in a curious silence. "I… alright then, apologies it has been a while on my end. Well, I suppose… Hm. Would you kind folks mind making sure Leaf is okay for now? Settle her in and give her a rundown of what's happening. I seem to be multitasking a tad too much at the moment. Call my name if I'm needed for something and I shall bring a butterfly over."

Leaf looks to the side slightly at Echoss. “You’re… going?”

"Not far, and hopefully not for long. Worst comes to worst, I have a fair few butterflies in the woods surrounding the cottage, and one or two inside as well. I shall be nearby if you need assistance."

Leaf nods slowly. “Okay… thank you for the help, again, Mister Echoss.”

His hologram bows slightly, and then transforms into a butterfly which flutters away into the bushes.

EN notes the request for a rundown, responding with a quick nod, then she moves slightly aside from the door to make it easier to get inside.

EN: A’ight. C’mon in, talkin’ outside’s borin’.
EN: Also th’ rundown’s prolly gon’ take a wee bit, so...

Leaf nods again. “Mm. That sounds fine to me.”

tC: I too would appreciate a debrief, actually. Please be sure to emphasise how our lovely son is doing~
gC: Aren’t you unbiased?

EN: Aye, ah can do tha’ too. Anywho, we got seats somewhere ‘round ‘ere…
EN: Technically they’s th’ house’s owner’s seats, but she ain’t ‘round right now, so, fair game.

EN strolls briskly inside, Leaf following close behind, and Catherine and Genoa walking along after, the four passing through the kitchen to get to the table. The kitchen seems to shudder briefly as EN passes through… Once at the table, she realizes there’s only two seats, staring at them with an “oh” expression.

EN: ...Right, naw enough seats. Anyone got spares?
gC: Three for four people...

Leaf makes a slight disappointed sigh, before smiling. “It’s fine, I’ll stand.”

tC: No, no, honey! That simply won’t do. You’re a guest, and a new friend! You must sit down.
EN: It ain’t right t’ make ya stand like tha’.
EN: Jus’ take one o’ th’ chairs, ah’ll stand. Or put one t’gether meself.

“You’re sure it’s okay?” Leaf asks, slowly sitting down on one of the seats. “I really don’t mind standing if you’d like to sit.”

Genoa proceeds to immediately jump on the table and curl up, and Catherine sits down in the other seat. Leaf smiles faintly as Genoa curls up on the table, resisting the temptation to pet her.

EN: Nah, ah’m fine standin’.
EN: T’ be honest, if ah sit down on one o’ these flimsy thin’s, ah’ll prolly break it…
EN: It’s ‘appened at th’ other place, though tha’ chair’s been fixed.
tC: Darling, it’s happened at home too. We got more durable ones to accomodate you, remember?
EN: Tha’ too. Anywho...

EN rummages around somewhere for a moment, putting on a rather comically oversized ushanka, then crouches down near the other seats and table in a russian squat style.

EN: Th’ russian chair - naw a chair.
EN: So, wha’ t’ go o’er first?

tC: I think going over what everyone’s doing here would be a good start.

Leaf nods in agreement, before remembering something. “Oh, um… I don’t think I caught your name earlier?” She says, looking over at EN. EN just grins and glances at Leaf for a moment, then nods.

EN: A’ighty…
EN: ...Ah’m squattin’, ya both be sittin’.
EN: As fer names, me name’s EN-913, though mos’ jus’ call me EN. It be easier, an’ me sister units ain’t ‘round many places.
EN: Tha’s Cathy, tha’s Genoa.

EN gestures, respectively, to Catherine and Genoa. It might be worth mentioning to EN that she somewhat missed what “what everyone’s doing here” means. Leaf giggles softly at the misunderstanding, taking it as a joke.

gC: EN… you do know what she meant, right? What everyone else is doing on Sussui.
EN: ...Oh. Why ain’t y’all said so t’ start wit’?
EN: If tha’s wha’ we’s doin’, then... quick recap mode.
EN: This be a planet. There be people on it. There’s a giant evil thin’ on it, called th’ Sphere.
EN: We’re tryin’ to git t’ th’ sphere so we can break it. An’ wha’e’er be in it.
EN: Th’ people on this planet ain’t smart or trustin’, so we gotta go through some o’ ‘em. But don’t make a habit o’ it, it reflects bad on us if we kill too many people.

Leaf slowly tilts her head at this. “Didn’t really plan on killing… but I suppose if I have to…” She frowns slightly. “Hopefully I don’t.”

gC: You discredit Omorika and the other Chairians in our party, EN. They’re not stupid, they’re… marginally paranoid about Outsiders, and in the middle of both a brewing civil war and war against a different race of wood-people.
EN: ...Right, forgot ‘bout ‘em… Ah’m naw too off th’ mark, though, mos’ o’ ‘em ain’t got much reason t’ trust us.
EN: (They’re cute though.)
tC: (Oh~? You’ll have to introduce me, then.)
EN: Anywho, there’s, like… how many groups…
EN: Th’ legion, th’ rebels, an’ th’ rose cult, at least fer th’ local populace.
EN: There’s also Iti, but honestly they’re jus’ pests. Real dangerous ones, but pests anyway. Don’t feel too bad ‘bout killin’ ‘em.

“Oh! Those are the purple things right?” Leaf pauses. “I got attacked by like… nine? Mister Echoss helped me escape, but I took down… two, I think. I can’t manage to tame them for some reason, but it might be the… Thymefield, I think he called it.”

tC: I’d be more than willing to put money on that being the case, yes.
tC: They’re already connected to something else, too. I can feel the link going out to… somewhere else. On the planet. That’s probably part of why you couldn’t tame them.
EN: Yeah, they’s th’ purple thin’s.
EN: Verdana’s got one as a pet now, no clue ‘ow.
EN: Me boss apparently managed t’ sorta-befriend a singing one via playin’ guitar or somethin’, he ain’t explained it well t’ me in th’ slightest…
EN: Honestly, there might be somethin’ redeemable in some o’ ‘em somewhere, but fer th’ mos’ part, they’re jus’ a hivemind o’ killy thin’s.

Leaf nods. “That makes sense… who’s Verdana?”

EN: Another party member. Yer gonna ‘ave a lotta introductions t’ go through once ya meet up wit’ th’ e’eryone else, ah can tell tha’ already...

“Right… how many of you are here trying to break the sphere?”

EN: ...Several. Ah can’t remember th’ exact count, but by now, it be at least o’er two dozen. Maybe gettin’ close t’ three dozen by now, ah’ve no idea.
EN: Eh, ya’ll meet ‘em in time.
gC: There’s more than that, definitely. I estimate around 50, personally.
EN: Ah doubt there’s tha’ much jus’ yet…
EN: Though we’ll prolly git there if there’s more people who join us.

“So… you’re fighting enemies to accomplish a goal… doesn’t that make you warriors, in a way?”

EN: Pretty much. Maybe? Though not e’eryone’s fightin’ at once.
tC: Well, warriors fighting to save the universe… that sounds just about how Authy put it...

“Hm? Auth...y?”

EN: Another party member.
tC: Another party member!? Darling, he’s the most important one out of all of them!
gC: Wow, such an objective statement. I can’t believe a parent is so overwhelmingly unbiased towards her own son.

Genoa’s eye roll could destroy the planet alone if she wanted to, given how sarcastic she sounds.

EN: ...No offense, ya might be a little biased. But yeah, ‘e’s pretty ‘elpful. Bet ya people’d be ‘avin’ trouble stayin’ alive if he weren’t ‘round.

Leaf frowns slightly. “I’m… not sure I’d be too helpful with fighting or anything, but…” She puts on a small smile. “I’ll try my best!”

EN: Good on ya. Might be worth notin’, th’ thymefield thin’s been suppressin’ a fair bit o’ mos’ o’ our powers, but it’ll at least make ya fight-capable.
gC: Any and all help is appreciated, though. I mean, if we can have Ansem as a party member...

Leaf nods, sighing softly, taking off her rather tattered cloak. “You wouldn’t happen to have… an armory or something, would you? Just somewhere I could repair this. Looks like a normal scarf, but… it’s actually good for defense… it’s hard to explain.”

EN takes a look at the cloak for a few seconds. It’s not entirely clear what she thinks about it right away… She soon shrugs.

EN: Yeah. Prolly got some stuff lyin’ ‘round. Lemme check th’ inventory...
gC: There’s also a crafting station at our actual base if you’d like to fix it yourself, of course, but it’ll have to wait until it’s no longer under siege.
EN: A’ight, found th’ inventory.

EN proceeds to pull a rather large collection of equipment out of herself. It’s not entirely clear where she got that from, or how. What is clear is that there’s a lot of gear to try out. Leaf seems slightly confused about how EN manages to do this, but doesn’t say anything about it.

“O-Oh, I… kinda just need to fix the scarf…” She does, however, eye a small vial of what seems like venom. She picks it up, eyeing it carefully. “Would you mind if I…”

tC: I’m sure it’s fine. There’s probably more than plenty to go around!
EN: Yeah, go ahead. Mos’ o’ th’ stuff there’s in practically limitless supply.

Leaf pockets the vial, looking between the three. “So… you’re all warriors, too?”

gC: Pfft, no. I’m the one who tells Auth what to do. He’s like a lost lamb without me.
tC: I mean, I can if I’m asked to, but I didn’t come here for that.
EN: Done a bit o’ fightin’, but ain’t doin’ it right now. Verdana got real pissed when Nia died. Ah reckon it’d be better fer ‘im t’ do some fightin’ fer th’ time bein’.
EN: Fer some reason th’ thymefield’s stoppin’ me an’ Cal an’ Ver from all fightin’ at th’ same time, but it’ll at least let one o’ us into battle at a time, an’ two o’ us ‘ave gear…
EN: It’s bloody weird, but we’ll work ‘round it.

Leaf’s face grows slightly more solemn as she hears about Nia dying. “O-Oh, um…. you lost someone?” She pauses. “I’m… sorry to hear that.”

EN: Eh, ah’ve ‘eard they’re in th’ middle o’ doin’ somethin’ t’ git ‘er back. No worries.

There’s silence for a small moment, broken by Leaf failing to stifle a soft yawn. “S-Sorry, just… slightly sleepy.”

tC: Most normal people would be at this hour. If you can find a place to rest, feel free to, since we should be safe around here.
EN: (Cute.)
EN: Yeah, there’s prolly somewhere t’ sleep ‘round this house somewhere. Th’ bed’s taken up right now, but tha’ ain’t a problem.
EN: Prolly enough spare shite in th’ inventory t’ improvise somethin’ if ya have to.

EN chuckles quietly. Leaf thinks to herself for a moment, before smiling faintly. “I’ve been sleeping outside for the past two days… even falling asleep at this table would be more comfy.” It seems as though that might become a reality if she doesn’t move soon, as the girl struggles slightly to keep her eyes open and her head up. Seeing that Leaf is getting tired, EN quickly moves to do something, then promptly tosses what appears to be a ball of sage robes bundled up tightly to her.

EN: There. Might well ‘ave ya ‘ave somethin’ comfy t’ rest on.
EN: ...Don’t worry ‘bout whether or not those’re not meant t’ be used tha’ way. There’s pretty much infinite o’ ‘em, no joke.

Leaf nods, seemingly surprised by the sudden kindness. “Oh, um… thank you, Miss EN.” She gently places the makeshift robe pillow onto the table, continuing to resist the temptation to fall asleep while the others are around. EN chuckles quietly.

EN: Yer welcome, cutie. (Ah didn’t catch yer name, by th’ by. Ah might be a tad bad wit’ those.)
EN: ...Hmm… There anythin’ more ya might wanna be debriefed on before ya nod off?

Leaf blushes slightly as EN calls her cute. “Oh… i-it’s Leaf.” She considers this for a moment, before shaking her head. “No thank you… I figure I’ll probably find out tomorrow when I meet the rest of the team and see the base and all… probably going to be another long day, huh?”

tC: I’m sure. You’ll need your rest. Night, honey.
EN: Yeah. S’pose ah’ll jus’ leave ya ‘t sort yaself out later, though ya can come ask if ya got anythin’ ya wanna question.

EN grins, pushing herself up from her squatting position. Giving in to a minor temptation she’s had for a while, she reaches over and pets Leaf for a few seconds, then turns to Catherine. Leaf seems to enjoy this, smiling a little.

EN: So, wha’ now?
tC: I told you, I want you to tell me what our darling son has been doing here.
EN: He’s been doin’ fine. Healin’ people. Gettin’ in conversations, sometimes. Gettin’ forcefed sometimes due t’ concernin’ levels o’ self-neglect. Maybe gettin’ friendly wit’ some o’ th’ locals.
EN: There’s one who seems t’... y’know. Like like him. Coul’ be fun t’ see tha’ play out.
tC: Ohhh~ That certainly sounds like our Authy. You should introduce me to Authy’s new girlfriend!
EN: Aye, will do, prolly. If me memory’s right, ‘er name’s Nana.
EN: Come t’ think o’ it, there’s quite a few people t’ meet. There’s this cute healer lass, Taeda’s ‘er name, ya might like ‘er...
tC: I’m sure. Sounds like fun.

Leaf rubs her eyes. “I heard about… the natives… they’re made of wood too, aren’t they?” EN blinks, evidently a little surprised that Leaf hasn’t drifted off entirely yet, turning to her and nodding.

EN: Yeah. Kinda a cute aesthetic, ya ask me. Hehe.
tC: I can picture it in my head! They sound positively adorable, upupupupu...

Something appears to click in Leaf’s mind. “Dryads?” She manages to ask, though her words are slurred slightly.

tC: From the sounds of it? Not quite. They don’t inhabit specific trees, they just happen to be made of wood.
tC: Wouldn’t be the first non-human species I’ve met, all-things considered.
EN: Yeah, they ain’t dryads, jus’ wood people. Ah’m naw sure if Chairians is their… country-person-thin’ name, or their species name.
EN: Ah’d ask but tha’ feels racist. Ya can’t jus’ ask someone tha’.

Leaf nods, seeming a little guilty. “R-Right… shouldn’t have assumed they were…”

EN: Eh, don’t worry ‘bout it.

EN giggles, and promptly pets Leaf again. She gently leans into EN’s hand. “I’ve… been meaning to ask, Miss EN...” Hearing Leaf start a potential question, EN hums in a please continue tone, but doesn’t do a full response. Not yet, at least. “Correct me if I’m wrong… you’re… made of metal, right?”

EN: Aye. If yer gonna ask ‘bout me origins… ah can’t really answer tha’. Ah don’t know meself tha’ well. Though any other question type’s fair game.
tC: I suppose you could summarise EN as a “living robot” or something… I’m a vampire myself, which is why I only just woke up.

Leaf slowly nods. “Oh? Being a vampire sounds interesting~” She pauses. “And… I think metal is really cool too! We don’t usually see it a lot on Azuri, but when we do, it’s pretty much always being used for something amazing, so if you’re made of it… you must be pretty amazing, yourself.”

tC: (Darling, you’re correct, if I didn’t say so already. She’s adorable.)
tC: Aww, thanks, honey. I appreciate it!
EN: Heh. Thanks fer th’ compliment.

EN grins. Leaf makes a small noise of frustration as she struggles with consciousness again. “I don’t really think… I can stay up too much longer… sorry...”

tC: Alright, you take as much rest as you need then.
EN: Ya shoul’ prolly sleep now if it’s too much strain t’ stay up.
EN: G’night, cutie.

“Good night…” Leaf lays her head on the sage robes pillow, gently shutting her eyes. EN hums quietly, giving Leaf another quick petting, then turning and starting to wander out of the room. She stops and turns her attention to Catherine for a moment, as if expecting her to follow on out. Her expectation is fulfilled as Catherine follows EN outside after giving Leaf a gentle pat herself.

Emerald gives a deep, booming chuckle at the Jotun slapping him, and slowly shakes his head. "IS THIS YOUR GREATEST CHAMPION? BRING ME MORE!"

He heals Omo and Crya, before shanking Jotun2, Jotun2 again, and his umbrella being long enough to stab all the way through to Migi2 "THAT ONE MAY LEAVE A SCAR. YOU HAVE MUCH BIGGER PROBLEMS THAN THAT THOUGH. LIKE ME." Another deep chuckle, as the tank takes two steps towards Q19, yanking the massive umbrella out of the Iti at the same time.

Briefly setting down the umbrella, two cannons stick out of his arms, firing once at Auth, and once at Irongutta, laying down cleansing sparkles over the pair of them, applying Toxiveil and Guardian (Inten:4, Dur:3)

With a metallic hand, he picks up the massive umbrella again with one hand, flipping it open and giving a shoulder charge, with umbrella, to the Jotun, grunting deeply as he welcomes it to the jam.

The Man does a really cool but ultimately unnecessary flip to J7, and then uses his special on the Gazyer. Gazyer3, to be specific, even though there's only one Gazyer.

Adrian casts Pink Like Petals, moves to O15, then basic attacks Vilebaron2!

Crya uses Ice Stalagmites on Corpsetaker 2 before retreating to T17.
Lady Omorika, watch out for that strange creature over there! Take this!
Before retreating, Crya tosses a Mana Vial at Omorika before retreating.
Soldier Nia steps back to S15, fires at Seeker Sphere 2, before running into the house at S13.

Maria

...zzzzzzzz...

---

Battle: The House

Venia flinches as the Seeker Sphere flies in, though thankfully she's not the target-her powerful Blindsider, however, is messily devoured. Venia turns to meet the rude intrusion and rushes back to meet them.

"Oh, you cheeky little gorillas."

Venia cups her hands and chants another spell, and another high-pressure beam of water appears, ripping through the Seeker Sphere (and the Gorged behind it) like so much trash. The Sphere is promptly disintegrated, its seekers are probably disoriented, and the Gorged is almost certainly a paste on the ground.

"YOU LIKE THAT?! YOU LIKE IT?!... i love it! I want to see every last one of you become gorillaing PASTE!"

...In non-flavor text manners, Venia moves to J13 and uses Super Soak east. 50%/40% Water Weakness on the Sphere/Gorged each, plus 30% more damage from the Sphere's passive. Oh, and the Vilebaron should be hella dead so there goes their defensive bonuses. And they're both Healblocked but that probably won't matter. Venia doesn't even bother to apply Unify to the beast.

---

Notes

-Nothing so far.

Ansem scowls at the lack of response even as he is granted a barrier. He would raise a hand, but the Darkness on the other side of the paper construction made is far more pressing at the moment. He at least acknowledges that the strange barrier has some power to it, so he instead lets his Guardian float over to the closest turret as he positions himself properly. His command over the Heartless seemed off, so he made sure to have a proper line of sight on where this one came in from.

"Come forth, creature of Darkness!"

Things immediately felt off. First, he felt his personal pool magical ability take a sharp dive. That should not have happened, considering all he was doing was baiting a Heartless with his own Darkness. Furthermore, its shape and form were unlike any Heartless he had ever seen. It lacked the Emblem, and yet he could instantly tell it wasn't a Pureblood.

"This is... concerning..."

Unable to do anything about it, he tries to sneak a quick analysis of the shielding he had been given, only to hear someone's voice.

CHLOE: Heya! You're new here, right? You must be kinda lost and confused...
CHLOE: I'm Chloe Elem. And... I think I recognize you? You're...

He turned his head to her, taking note of her pause. He also noted that she knew of him, which should have been impossible.

No one outside of the Real Organization XIII or that one Fairy, Maleificent, should know about him, and the Real Org. XIII wouldn't tell a soul more than they had to. So either they had ties with that foolish being of Darkness, or...

CHLOE: ...Ansem, right?
CHLOE: I've heard of you, from... s-somewhere! I-I kinda forget, sorry!
CHLOE: All I know is that you're like, the lord of all darkness.
CHLOE: W-Which is fine! Darkness is a t-totally cool element!

He snorted, a smile of irritation crossing his lips.

"You need not try to appeal to me," He waved his arm grandly. "Many are afraid of the Darkness, even if it's inevitable that one's Heart shall be consumed by it. Even if it's only in death."

He would have said more, but this 'Chloe' was eager to move on in the conversation.

CHLOE: So... what brings somebody like you to this place?
CHLOE: It's kinda crazy, seeing all of the different people here, united under one banner...

THIS made Ansem freeze in place. His mask of arrogance and certainty evaporated instantly to reveal the confusion and ignorance underneath. It was restored just as quickly, but the damage was already done.

"I don't see how that pertains the to matter at hand," He replied coldly. "But if I must... I know nothing about the situation. I found myself in the middle of this warzone, and I preemptively attacked those creatures of Darkness.Had I been familiar with them, perhaps I could have commanded them to stand down, but they were far unlike the Heartless I knew..."

He turned and grinned a vicious grin. "But you could easily guess that already, couldn't you, 'Chloe'?"

The Vessel, meanwhile, attacked as per its summoners Orders, blasting the Chosen in the weak point!

Action Summary:

Ansem moves to X3, summons a Vessel at Z5. Vessel uses a base attack on Chosen2 at Z3. Guardian moves to V4.

Vessel's stats: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u--...dit?usp=sharing

Toast moves to R21 and casts Ignite Blood on the Corpsetaker. Now she uses a whole bunch of Bonus Actions. First, El'ite Throwing Knife followup on the Corpsetaker.
She then picks Bag of Tricks as her spell of the day and casts it.
Next, she uses Tides of Chaos on Static Overcharge to delete it, before retreating to P19 (boldly assuming she hasn't died to her own Liberation or locked herself in with Force Glyph.)
Then she Bonus Action uses the portal to teleport to N15.
Finally, she generates five new spells to end her turn.