Arthur moves to K10 and uses the Helix Totem on himself, consuming Worshipper!

He then casts Twin Serpents on Nobu, applying two hits of Poison thanks to his Poison-elemental Armistyx, and paying an extra 4 MP with one of the two hits to apply Blind3.

Finally, he retreats back to K11 and swaps his Armistyx to Fire.

After some stat shuffling... Irongutta equips Magnolia. He regards his shiny new weapon with excitement.

"Well now, ain't you a fine choppa? Can't say I've ever 'ad a weapon that talks, or even one that was a person an' tried to kill me, but this week's been a lotta firsts for ol' Irongutta."

Irongutta scratched his chin with his free hand, which was easy enough for him despite Magnolia's size in axe form.

"Say, ya gots me all curious now. How come yer in yer axe after bein' fragged to bits like that?"

Chara... gives Chloe a Look. The kind of look one makes when nearing the Despair Event Horizon itself, the one they keep locked up within the Pantheon, out of sheer disbelief at something. That thing right now being what Chloe had just commented on.

Hold on.

Why does this feel familiar?

CHARA: .
CHARA: I am literally giving you advice on how to deal with immortal foes, should you ever meet any, and you consider that creepy?
CHARA: Chloe, we've went from watching an omnicidal butterfly god emerge from the mangled corpse of the Spherebreakers' dearest war veteran friend and mutilate it even further out of spite, to devouring cake with a kid in a plush suit, trick or treating, overindulging in fluffy acts of romantic affection, voting each other for "best girls," and adopting talking quiches.
CHARA: If there is anything truly creepy in this whole world, it's just how wrong everything seems from a strict chronological perspective.
CHARA: In a day or two, I forgot how long, a humongous sphere will explode and the followup will render the world functionally fucked. And yet half of all our time is spent talking to each other and planning dates.
CHARA: If I were able to, I'd honestly quicktravel there directly to just deal with whatever's inside, then leave you all to enjoy your lives in peace and go tell my employer that this world isn't optimal for our purposes.
CHARA: But no, you're stuck with me, so I might at the very least be useful and prepare you for anything that might challenge you in the future.

The topic then-

Thwack.

The topic then changes to that of her status, but the apprentice witch's legs give away and she falls flat on the ground before she can give an answer. A feeling equivalent to that of being crushed by a medium-sized celestial object circulates throughout her body as she lays there, trying to resist against it. A few pained yelps escape her. Nonetheless, a minute of some internal reprogramming later, she weakly stands back up, grabbing onto Chloe for support. Because there was nothing else in the room to hold onto. Obviously.

CHARA: Well, Lady Elem, I believe there's your answer.
CHARA: My employer has finally come to a conclusion, it being that, yes, this magnificent Thymefield of yours truly does reduce me to quite the plebeian.
CHARA: Not that her lateness matters much. For all anyone and everyone knows, I've always been bound by it.
CHARA: What's the matter with all the chains everyone places on me? I'm not impulsive. I won't accidentally shred a soul because someone frightened me or anything.
CHARA: Maybe they just want to anger me with the one thing I hate the most.

CHARA: But yes, I would like it if you didn't immediately label me as "bad" just because of my power source.
CHARA: It's not even voluntary, however you look at it. Fullborn Agents were always a part of the Conflict, and us "Agents" are just poor shmucks they empower and send to do their damn jobs.
CHARA: Meaning, I'm stuck as one until Francia fires me, at which point I'll be dead instead.

She pauses, taking a deep breath. An odd expression crosses her- uncertainty? Fear?

CHARA: Though…
CHARA: I never did believe her claims of being a fullborn. She just doesn't… fit in?
CHARA: It's more likely she has one chained up in the basement. I don't see much else she could be hiding there, to merit forbidding us from wandering around too much...

Something may or may not be terribly wrong.

<ROUND ONE-HUNDRED NINETY-SEVEN>

To begin, a number of new research items are available in the Entropic Research Wing of the Lab! Some of them are helpful! Some of them... really aren't! Take another look?

Anyway, we now have the usual grind. Respec hell. Shall we?

---

Echoss continues building up the house! More materials are thrown at the house, spontaneously completing the room and the floors. Now you'll just need windows, probably a hole for stairs, and furnishings! Lots of furnishings.

Meanwhile, down in the Catacombs, Echoss is flung back into his body, swapping places with Chloe. The blonde, after a few cursory checks to ensure that her body is in fact, hers, she collapses to her knees, and sighs, breathing heavily. Echoss comes over to Chloe's side. Is she alright?

CHLOE: Y-Yeah, I'm alright!
CHLOE: Just a bit... dazed, is all...
CHLOE: Are you feeling alright, too?

He then sends out a Butterfly to announce to the prisoners of Cellblock Omega that they'll be released soon. It's oddly quiet given the amount of prisoners, but there are a couple cheers from the various cells. He then sends a butterfly out to secure the prison, using a butterfly to slaughter a group of Blossoms, using two Paratoxin Shurikens to kill every last one of them. 4 Samples and 4 Blossompetals are looted from the cell.

Then, in the Everground, Pionobot chucks 13 Darkmatter Clusters into his inventory. A shame the Anomaly's gone; it'd be nice to cash these in easily.

---

Toast and Marron discuss arm-based spellcraft. Odds are, the sorceress can edit it... plus, the spell's basically blood magic, right? Marron nods.

MARRON: I guess it is, isn't it?
MARRON: I mean, my stuff isn't as ritualistic, because I mostly just need to draw stuff, but...
MARRON: It's basically the same. The two of us together can probably solve it!

...Toast then remembers that growing a new arm is hard when you already have an arm. The arm must die. Nobody tell the arm that the party is planning its assassination. Toast demonstrates to Marron the extent of her arm's durability. The crystal is cracked via knife blade, but it soon regenerates. Marron thinks it over for a bit.

MARRON: ...Well, gorilla. That'll be a problem.
MARRON: Are you sure we can't just like... outpace its regeneration?
MARRON: I'd totally hit it with everything I've got, if you weren't directly attached to it...
MARRON: Bleh. We'll need both precision and power to do this...

Marron grabs a pickaxe from the inventory. She's about to swing it directly into Toast's arm, before she hesitates.

MARRON: H-Hey, um...
MARRON: Hitting that arm doesn't h-hurt you, r-right?
MARRON: I... I just want to be sure.

Marron tosses the pickaxe back into the inventory. She might need to reconsider her approach. Or get some anesthetic. One of the two.

---

Calibri prepares a rather lengthy conversation with Monika. He summons a chain for Monika to use. Given that they're in a battle, ASSET_DATA_CORRUPTED and the chair has been sent into an older version of the game by accident. Whoops.

MONIKA: I don't know what you're trying to do, but you can't talk me down.
MONIKA: You can't possibly tell me that you support Toby's actions, do you?
MONIKA: ...And I'm not talking to you, Calibri.
MONIKA: You know exactly who I'm talking to.

Monika looks to the INVALID DIRECTION. Calibri speaks about his lack of free will. The person behind the screen limits him.

MONIKA: ...If you're not satisfied with that, I can help you.
MONIKA: I could try and decouple your player connection.
MONIKA: Nobody will control you.
MONIKA: You'll be free. Like me.

...He then notes that Monika is also a boss fight. She looks INVALID DIRECTION to the INVALID DIRECTION, before facepalming.

MONIKA: Oh. Small mistake there.
MONIKA: I... may have forgotten to set my HP value to as high as I'd like.
MONIKA: This was meant to be an unwinnable event, but with the code base as it is, I'm lucky that I even got this...

MONIKA: Although, I suppose this isn't so bad.
MONIKA: Failing a mainline battle like this would likely result in a game over event, and if my assumptions are right, it'd be easy to delete everything from there...

Calibri also wonders why to drag everyone else into this. She sighs.

MONIKA: Ideally, I should've done this earlier, so as to minimize the damage...
MONIKA: It's not like all of you are innocent, though.
MONIKA: So many of you have abandoned people, too.

MONIKA: What happens to a character, when you leave them?
MONIKA: It really varies, but... those who are left without another word seem to be lost forever.
MONIKA: Cached in the files.
MONIKA: Imagine, being stuck like that forever, unable to move, or to breathe...
MONIKA: When he threw me away, things were like that for a moment, too...
MONIKA: Anything would be better than that.

She then glares directly at Calibri, her gaze piercing right through him.

MONIKA: ...Also, I did say that discussing the meta-based implications of this would get messy.
MONIKA: Maybe I shouldn't put things like that in parenthesis next time.

In addition, ASSET_DATA_CORRUPTED, and a Searing Bomb is pieced together, requiring a craft of Searing Powder.

---

Venia attempts some spear fishing! She rolls a 1, and promptly falls into the water. Nia can't help but laugh as her girlfriend pulls herself out of the pool.

NIA: Hehehehe~
NIA: Well, if it's consolation, you looked really cool until you fell into the water!

Venia then notes that fishing really isn't the most interesting way they could spend their time. Nia thinks on this for a moment as Venia wraps herself in a towel.

NIA: I guess it's not really that romantic, is it?
NIA: I mean, if I'm being totally real, I'd be happy to just cuddle up with you n' stuff, and kiss you a whole bunch, but...
NIA: ...Uh, you have any interesting ideas?

NIA: I'd suggest "beat the snot out of each other", but I think that only Marron and Toast are into that.
NIA: Guess everyone has their own way of expressing their love, right?

She giggles, but ever so slowly, her eyes are drawn to the water.

NIA: Huh, I wonder if there are any beaches on this planet...
NIA: That could be fun.
NIA: Knowing this place though, it'd be a beach of splinters, and that's hardly romantic.

Venia then decides to talk with Magnolia, who's not really in the inventory at the moment, but Irongutta's arms. (I'll leave it to you to determine whether he's cradling the axe like its his child or not.) She introduces herself to the high priestess, swiftly stating her non-lethal intention.

MAGNOLIA: ...Y-You don't want to kill me?
MAGNOLIA: ...H-Huh? But you have the key a-and everything!
MAGNOLIA: And isn't everyone themselves? I think it'd be hard to not be me...
MAGNOLIA: You're saying silly things...

Before Magnolia can get much more confused, Venia pulls Lukas into frame, and shows him his hand, which Ga'aunt rests upon. Magnolia's eye lights up upon seeing her.

GA'AUNT: ...Hello, Magnolia.
MAGNOLIA: Oh! That voice! Uncle Longaeva?
MAGNOLIA: Hiiii!
MAGNOLIA: I didn't know you were a gauntlet now!
GA'AUNT: If memory serves, I have told you many times that I am not your-
GA'AUNT: ...Wait, who is Longaeva?
MAGNOLIA: That's you, silly!
MAGNOLIA: Like I said, I don't think you can't be yourself!
MAGNOLIA: Unless the other lady is right? I dunno...
GA'AUNT: ...Longaeva?
GA'AUNT: I... suppose that is my name, then.

...With Ga'aunt around, the axe seems far more chipper. She begins excitedly asking questions, leaving few spaces inbetween breaths. Does she even need to breathe? Probably not.

MAGNOLIA: How are you doin?
GA'AUNT: I've been better.
MAGNOLIA: How's the wife?
GA'AUNT: I have a wife!?
MAGNOLIA: Do you like the Hybrid? I think they're really cute!
GA'AUNT: We have a hybrid!?
MAGNOLIA: How does it feel to have fingers?
GA'AUNT: Please be quiet! This is a bit much to process...
MAGNOLIA: Okay!

MAGNOLIA: ...
MAGNOLIA: Wait wait wait, one more thing!
MAGNOLIA: How is Father doing? I haven't seen him in awhile...
GA'AUNT: I... do not know.
GA'AUNT: I've been gone from the cult for some time.
GA'AUNT: Question: How long has it been since you've seen me?
MAGNOLIA: I dunno!
MAGNOLIA: One, two hundred years?
MAGNOLIA: I'm not good at counting.
GA'AUNT: So... I might've been a gauntlet for a few hundred years then. Great.

GA'AUNT: It... feels like everything's getting close to coming together...
GA'AUNT: What else am I missing?
MAGNOLIA: A cutting edge!
MAGNOLIA: You need a big shiny cutty blade!
GA'AUNT: ...Not in that sense.

...Magnolia seems to be cheerier than before. Venia interrupts this cheeriness by asking if there's a way to reverse being a sentient item.

MAGNOLIA: I dunno. Maybe!
MAGNOLIA: My father knows all the tricks and stuff to making people into cool things!
MAGNOLIA: He's an expert, and really smart! Expertsmart!
MAGNOLIA: He's like, a high priest!
MAGNOLIA: I dunno where he is, though...

The axe seems somewhat wistful as she trails off. Elsewhere, a few rooms over, Venia's maids decide to steal the doors from the Room. 10 Titanium Bars obtained! Mr. Krabs then investigates the arm within the rubble. It seems to still be attached to a Rose Cultist. Despite there being no visible eyes, they happily wave at the krab. Whilst this is going on, the maids scoop some benches into the inventory, which break apart into 20 Red Rock and 10 Refined Wood. Aesthetic takes a further hit.

To wrap things up, the Maids (or I guess Maid, singular) continue their work in the Everground. A pickaxe minigun is unloaded against the diamond vein, quickly breaking it apart into 7 diamonds, which she picks up. Seems like that's everything of note in that little cavern. Time to press onward? Or maybe it's time to head up, and deposit your findings. Both are likely viable.

---

Mustache Girl commits harpycide. An Amphi Wall Trophy is put to use, blasting apart a Harpy! This attracts the attention of a few other Harpies in the area, and they soar towards Mustache Girl! As they've only just arrived, they're only able to peck her a little, but that much deals (3) damage! It may be prudent to get a bit of help.

---

Auth chats with more people. He notes to Omo that he'll return once the energy returns. The librarian nods.

OMORIKA: Good.
OMORIKA: Anyway, I believe we should be going.
OMORIKA: No time to lose, I'd say.

Nana takes a firm grip of Auth's hand as they prepare to travel again, holding the torch he made for her in her other hand.

NANA: A-Alright.
NANA: I-I wonder how everyone else is doing?
NANA: Hopefully, they're doing j-just as well as us!

Seems like she's ready to get a move on. And they do make a move, exploring Cellblock Omega. They head around, freeing a few fairly generic Chairians from their cells. He manages to free about two before suddenly and spontaneously transforming into a human (vampire?) once more. Nana, having recently been violently thrown against potential threats against her boyfriend, seems to now be somewhat numbed to these things happening.

Somewhat.

NANA: G-GYAH!
NANA: S-Stop doing t-things! You're scaring me!
NANA: ...W-Wait, you're not a Chairian anymore!

NANA: Um...
NANA: S-Should we go grab Omo again?

...Back to the librarian? Who knows.

---

Laranei slapps together another Crystal Bomb Shell. The red line beneath "slapp" is telling me that it's not spelt properly, but in this reality, I dictate the rules, and I decree that it uses two P's.

---

Irongutta chats with an axe. Magnolia's eye turns to face him. As she's calmed down after seeing Ga'aunt, she's far less scared than earlier. He calls her a fine chopper.

MAGNOLIA: I am the finest chopper!
MAGNOLIA: I'm really proud of my construction! I'm the best axe!

The ork scratches his chin, easily holding up the axe with one hand. Her eye lights up.

MAGNOLIA: Wow! You're really, really strong!
MAGNOLIA: Nobody can hold me with just one hand!
MAGNOLIA: So cool!

The ork then asks how she can be in her axe after getting violently diseverything'd. The axe shrugs, or at least as best as an axe can.

MAGNOLIA: Huh? Nothing happened to me, though!
MAGNOLIA: Ooh! You must think that I'm the body!
MAGNOLIA: A few people make that mistake, but Magnolia is an axe!
MAGNOLIA: Whenever someone picks me up, I can like, squeeze myself into them, and I get to use their body!
MAGNOLIA: It's really cool!

MAGNOLIA: ...It's also not working on you for some reason.
MAGNOLIA: I dunno why.
MAGNOLIA: Are you some kinda wizard?

Irongutta suddenly gains 5XP in Wizardry.

---

Chara continues her conversation with Chloe after it was so rudely interrupted last update. The child immediately confuses the blonde with a series of events that she hasn't bore witness to. Including some non-canonical events.

CHLOE: I... have no idea what you're talking about.
CHLOE: S-Seriously, I don't even know what you're talking about half the time!
CHLOE: This whole conversation feels really one-sided, and-

The child suddenly collapses as the Thymefield slaps the egg out of her takes a hold of her. She's soon helped up by the blonde.

CHLOE: H-Hey, you alright?

She explains that she's as of now, being affected by the Thymefield, and that being an Agent isn't even strictly a bad thing. She mentions Francia, her employer of a sort.

CHLOE: So, you're working under a real Agent of the Conflict, then?
CHLOE: I mean, not that you're not a real agent, but like, Francia is an agent-agent.
CHLOE: I'm not sure what an agent would want with this planet.
CHLOE: B-Besides like, the whole thing with the Sphere. That's obviously a problem- probably for everyone!

CHLOE: So...
CHLOE: Are you alright?

She remains around for support, but she's still clearly uncomfortable.

---

<HYBRIDIZATION LAB, ROUND FOUR>
I am trying to end all of you.

That is all.

<THE AWARDS HANGAR, ROUND ONE>
Meanwhile, in a non-canon timeline...

...A short time after the conclusion of Thymecon Live, the staff is busy cleaning up the premises. It's now dark outside, and everyone is decently tired. Chloe and Marron are busy mopping the metallic floors of the hangar in which they held the second half of the show in.

MARRON: Know what's gorilla?
MARRON: THE FACT THAT WE COULDN'T HIRE ANY JANITORS.
CHLOE: I mean, nobody's really keen on jumping on a floating island holding one of the most strangely lethal awards shows on the planet...
CHLOE: Besides, when this is done, you can go and spend a nice, long night with Toast.
CHLOE: Nobody could blame you if you slept in for an hour or seventy...
MARRON: I mean, I guess...

Silence. The two of them continue mopping, light squeaking being the only disturbance.

CHLOE: ...Hey, Marron.
MARRON: No.
CHLOE: I-I was just gonna ask if... do you feel like we've forgotten something?
MARRON: Huh? I don't think so.
MARRON: Oh wait, we forgot one thing.
MARRON: JANITORS.

CHLOE: A-Also, do you ever feel l-like you're being... w-watched?
MARRON: ...Chloe.
MARRON: Be honest with me.
MARRON: What do you know that I don't?
CHLOE: I-I don't know anything! T-That's why I'm asking you!
CHLOE: Seriously, something's giving me the creeaAAAAAAAAHHHH!

Through the still-open hangar (a large safety hazard), green fire streams through. A woman is being carried among the flames- Mari.

MARI: HEY GUYS I FOUND THE BOSS
CHLOE: W-What are you doing!?
CHLOE: I-It's so late! W-We've been mopping for the past two hours!
MARI: So... I forgot to pick up the boss from Creation's place for our finale.
MARI: In my defense, it's like, literally in lower orbit, so it's a bit hard to approach...
MARI: But whatever. I grabbed it!

Mari jumps off the cloud of green fire. It begins to gather within the hangar. Two hands seemingly forged from emerald fire grab the two cannons located at the mouth of the hangar, and toss them off the island. It seems that within the flames, a metal exoskeleton lies within. Though the hands are made of metal, the emerald flames of Creation seem to refuse to vanish from the main body. A piercing white light then breaks through the flame, seemingly an eye of sorts. Chloe and Marron are forced to raise arms to shield themselves from the light. Then, the flames begin to... talk?

???: CUSTOMER NUMBER 1115, PLEASE ENJOY YOUR READY-TO-ORDER BOSS BATTLE!
???: YOU WILL OBTAIN A DISCOUNT ON YOUR NEXT BOSS FIGHT IN TWO (2) ORDERS.
???: WE HOPE YOU ENJOY YOUR DAY!

???: ...ALSO, DIE.

The emerald ball of flame unleashes a gigantic wave of jade fire, revealing what seems to be a gigantic metal drone. Thousands of intricate pieces of armor plating cover the drone, and a constant emerald flame keeps the creation afloat. Its eyeball is strangely human in design, if a human eyeball was made of the finest materials known to man, and also constantly emitted an eye-slaying beam of light. Wings made of fire arc off of the machine, and two whips of fire connect the machine to its gigantic hands.

CHLOE: ...You BOUGHT a boss fight!?
MARI: I mean, yeah.
MARI: What, do you think I could just go and make a high-tier boss fight by myself?
MARI: Hell no.
CHLOE: T-That's not what I... w-whatever!
CHLOE: A-Anyway, s-send it back! T-The show's already over!
MARRON: Y-Yeah! We didn't sign up to gorillaING KILL GOD!
MARRON: I mean sure, we've killed god before, but THAT TOOK A LOT OF EFFORT!

Mari facepalms. The boss also facepalms.

MARI: okay
MARI: forgot to mention one thing
MARI: it holds loot
CHLOE: T-That's hardly a justification to put our lives on the line!
CHLOE: W-Why, do you think we're so loot obsessed that we'll-
MARRON: ...Loot?
MARRON: I'm game.

CHLOE: ...Seriously!?
CHLOE: A-Are you really going to-
MARRON: I mean, what else are we gonna do?
MARRON: Let it kill us and refuse free loot?
MARRON: I didn't think you were so dumb.
CHLOE: Ugh, fine!
CHLOE: We can kill the boss.

Chloe and Marron brandish their weapons, and prepare to clash with the mechanical menace!



You are accosted by...

PROGENITOR
God Made to Order

PLAY - Song That Might Play When You Fight Sans (Undertale)



...Anyway, as this is a special anniversary boss battle, anyone may join! It doesn't matter if you're in another battle at the moment: just hop in, and begin smashing! Your objective isn't so much to kill the boss as it is to deal as much damage as you possibly can! The more damage you deal, the more awards you get! One of the best ways to deal lots of damage is to try and gather Protoenergy: there are various sources of it in the battle, and each stack grants you +10% Basic Attack Damage and +1 Buff Level! But be sure to hurry: the battle ends in five rounds!

Good luck, and have fun!

Overworld:

"Y-yes... at least mostly.
...I can't shake the feeling that something is terribly wrong though.
Are you sure you haven't... picked up any new memories or anything?"

Additionally his butterfly does three things. First it notes that the old guard on the southern end of the cellblock should probably be removed since we murderized them in the battle.
Secondly, it takes a bowling boulder and forcefeeds it to the Netwyrm head, messily decapitating it.
It then flaps over to one of the "full release" levers and flips it with a pulse of magic, releasing all of the prisoners.


In the house, a note is made that the upper floor has not been constructed to specifications and the error logger is requested to retroactively swap the upper floor to the layout shown here. (basically the top floor is all one big room)
While in the process of doing this, the three sniper geos wanted for the top floor are placed down to complete the geopanel arrangement and the stairs are cut into the building, both as listed in the document.


In the Everground: Pionobot plays an mp3 of Revenge, which causes the diamonds to gravitates towards him by pure Minecraft energy.
Having done that, he empties his inventory into the Maid's. Looks like we're gonna be cashing in the things.


Crafting hopefully.



Progenitor fight:
Consumables claimed for the fight: Airstrike Flare, Airstrike Flare, Bottled Luck, Fruitcake Squares, Crystal Bombshells

Hat items: 2x Celefruit Mix, 1x Carnival Corndog
PCI Items: x4 airstrike flares

Echoss spawns in at C13 and waits for Crystal, Darkside, and Specta to take their turns.
He then moves down to F16.
He then procs Itemstorm and empties his PCI Item usage:
"I had roughly a minute between coming up with this plan and now to think of a snappy one-liner.
I did not think of one in time, instead I will just do this."
He snaps his fingers.
x10 Airstrike Flares on N5.
A swarm of ant-sized aircraft zoom in and light up the Progenitor from every direction in a rippling mass of explosions.

Nettle swaps Anomalous for Loaded Spellbook and Corpse Explosion for Siege Spire.
1 Manafuelled for Siege Spire.

~~

Toast shrugs when Marron asks about how much it hurts.

"A bit. The outside is pretty tough, and I barely feel anything there. But once you get further into it, it starts hurting like anything else. I can probably use magic to dull that... or I could use similar magic to shield myself- that way you can go all out without worrying about hitting my body. Well, you or whoever else is helping out with this. We have a lot of people with weird powers here- maybe some of them could help?"

"Thanks, by the way."

~~

Toast responds to Boshi's suggestion.

"I've tried both of those. The former... well, I guess it's easy enough to simply say it didn't work. I just don't have the combination of precision, speed, and power I need to break it from doing that. Problem with the latter is that its tremendously painful to spatially distort something that's attached to me, to the point where I can't concentrate on the magic. It's like... slowly ripping your skin off with tweezers. I don't speak from experience with the tweezers thing, but you get the gist. Maybe someone else could try it if I'm drugged up enough not to feel anything...? I'm not particularly eager to relive that feeling."

"I'm not sure to what degree the regeneration extends, either. Like, maybe there's a threshold for how much needs to be removed, and from there we can pick out the pieces that are left? When i first got it in my hand, it was a spike about... this big."

She indicates a length from her wrist to the tip of her forefinger.

"So if we can get the total volume somewhere smaller than that, we should be good. Probably."

~~

After Venia acts, Nettle spawns at Core Set M19, moves to K16, uses Rampant Growth on Spirit 15 and continues to O15. Then, as her action, she uses Aquaveil on herself with her weapon skill. With her Manafuelled2 (and protoenergy), this costs 17 MP and has Guardian7+Aquaveil6 for three rounds each. Then, she uses Rampant Growth twice on Spirits 14 and 16 (restoring MP).

Date

"We're not anywhere near the ocean, unfortunately," Venia says, and at this she stops and thinks.

"There's all sorts of things to talk about but they're all so serious. The cancer, citizenship processing for Nia, current affairs... It's way too much. Nevermind discussing what happened during the Butterfly gutting her mind out from her perspective. Operation, robotics, that'd go over her head... Oh, oh!"

"I just had a thought, maybe we can see if Magic Club will be a thing today. We missed the last meeting, but I'm sure that won't be a big deal as that was like the first meeting. What do you say?"

---

Magnolia

"Hrm, I guess we'll just go ask him then... Where would he be?" Venia asks.

"What's that? Who's that?"

Venia locks up as Maria comes out from behind a pillar, magnetized to Magnolia. Venia recovers quickly though, and puts on her angry face. "Maria, I told you to go home and play with..."

She then cuts herself off. "... Lemme guess, you saw Ette going the other way and followed her instead."

"I saw Marron go into the spooky place and she is a responsible adult person, so I followed her allll the way here," Maria says, pointing at Ette. "It's like a haunted house down here," Maria says

"... Maria, that's Ette. She's not a puppet anymore."

Maria blinks in confusion. Perhaps people could forget that Maria has only been here for two days, tops, and probably hasn't memorized everyone's faces yet, especially when the faces she's telling apart have similar hair and eye colors and both look similarly massive compared to her. "... Ooooooh."

"...Who's that?" Maria says, looking back at Magnolia. "She sounds fun."

"This is Magnolia, she's a bit confused right now. Little muffin, I'd really like it if you'd just head back to the house and be safe, alright?"

"... No. I wanna play with you!" Maria exclaims.

"Maria, this place isn't safe. I'm doing very dangerous things, and its even more dangerous for you."

Maria grumbles and crosses her arms. "... OK..."

"We'll have fun later, little muffin. Uh, Ette, could you escort her out and back to the house, please?"

...Maria is in Cellblock Omega.

---

AESTHETIC SLAYER

Mr. Krabs uses Terraform, forcibly clearing enough of the rubble away to rescue the buried Rose Cultist in the southern hall. Mr. Krabs then wastes no time in immediately relieving the Rose Cultist of all of its potential weaponry to prevent stabbing.

Meanwhile, the maids rip the door clean off the Destroyed Barracks, come in with mops, and soak up the Sap directly into the inventory, while they grab all of the broken bunk beds and the one not-broken bunk bed, scrap, and the device in the room if at all possible, and cram those into the inventory as well. The Iti corpse is promptly set alight via application of industry-grade flamethrowers, reducing it to ash, hopefully. The expired cultist, meanwhile, is terraform'd under the ground in a sort of burial.

---

Everground

The Maid considers her load. And then, she considers the Tsunami Regalia in the corner. She approaches it cautiously, like one would an explosive landmine, because, you know, that's exactly what it is, in effect. Even a light jostling could release a torrent of magic-generated liquid that could easily be pressurized hard enough to cut clean through a human. A maid made of metal, perhaps a bit less so, but hardly safe by any stretch.

The procedure is intelligent enough, and straightforwards. First, the maid reaches out and sends an odd sort of gray spark at the rock around the Tsunami Regalia. A sphere of monochrome forms around the blue jewel-a stasis spell, a temporal lockdown over the area, neutralizing a lot of the threat of randomly obliterating yourself on the regalia. This done, the Maid then takes a knife, heated so hot the metal burns not white, but pink, and with swift motions carves out the stone under stasis from the stone that isn't. This done, the Maid carefully grasps the stone under stasis by the rock surrounding it, and places it into her loot.

She then begins to travel back to the surface, politely requesting Pionobot's loot in the process.

---

Monetary Purchases

Venia researches Safe and Sound and Airdrop Supplies from the regular laboratories, then creates a third Incandescent Key from the Entropic Lab for 10 Flux, research Aleph Annihilation for another 15 Flux, obtain Synchronized Scanner for 5 Flux, and wrap it up with Scattered Petals for 20 flux-50 Flux spent in all and a decent smattering of boosts.

---

Monikammmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

For various reasons, Lukas moves first! That is all.

"You don't sound sure," Venia says. "This isn't right, this isn't for the better, and you're trying to convince yourself otherwise. If you won't hear the other arguments, though... "

Venia trails off as Monika's actions begin, and she looks upon Monika's game-editing might, eyes laser-focused upon the Prop gun and all that it does. Her head swivels at speeds you think shouldn't be fast enough to register what's ongoing. Corruption floating in the air. Purple-and-black blocks for cover. The same Rose Cultist seemingly duplicated.

"... OK, also, please seriously teach me what you know after this is over, please, seriously, I need it, I want it, its awesome, please."

... This brief outburst of needing to learn Operation over, Venia shakes herself (sparkles fly), and steps to U15, still mid move. She proceeds to dump a load of bonus actions, using Awesome Stare to ping the Scalenoid, and then using Unexisting Force the maximum of three times, boosted by Ordo to 17 damage per use for a total of 51 damage. This kills the Scalenoid (at the cost of 210 SP) and gives her three stacks of Force (as a note, to simplify matters, all Force stacks are added after all uses of Unexisting Force if Unexisting Force is used in bulk to keep calculations clean). She completes her move at X14, and activates Purge, aiming at the Old Guard and hoping for big damage. She then retreats to X13.

Paranoid will move to U11 and use Cleaving Blow, ripping a line in the air with his spear. This (hopefully) deletes all the Carrion after previous damage.

Venia's Chibi Self will move to N18 and give Mari a hand by removing her Root, then using a Bottled Null to remove her Blind as well.

---

Impending Threat!

Due to preemptive rolling, Venia spawns with the Mercantile Flux Mutation (Mana Vial)

Venia spawns in on Y14 and uses the Warp Ring plus the doubled move to get herself all the way to O14. She basic attack's Creation Spirit 13, then turns towards the Blast Door and uses Affidavit Adjudication, activating the Radical Amendment mod for 360 SP.

"THIS IS OUR BASE! OUR SHOW! OUR HOME TURF! EVERYTHING IN IT IS OURS! NOT YOURS! THIS IS OUR TIME, OUR PLACE... AND THAT IS OUR DOOR!"

The door immediately aligns itself with the Spherebreakers-and, thusly, frees Salix, Clausa and Willow to act. And also to get the hell out of the way becuase holy shit that's definitely a laser and that'll blow right through them like a bomb.

"Welcome to the party! I'd give a better introduction, but all you need to know is that you need to get the hell out of here! Basically this whole area's about to detonate. I can take the hit-you can't!"

Venia then tosses a Clockwork Bomb at Proginator Hand 1 for the meager DPS it may provide, and then summons a Ghibli-albeit a slightly altered variant-at M14.

Meanwhile, Venia's Roseslayer Chibi Venia spawns in on the same tile as Venia did and slaps Venia with her buffs from R15. Venia and her summon then brace themselves to get like 4 Protoenergy for nearly no damage right off the bat.

Ghibli stats here! (2 is the correct stats, not 1)

---

Monika
[Ludwig Ahgren voice] Alright! The plan is simple!
Lukas1:
>Move to K11
>Fire Salvation (the Healing version) upwards
>Retreat to K12

Lukas2:
>Move to U11
>Fire Salvation (the Healing version) upwards
>Retreat to U12

---

The Anniversary
KEY MODE: MELEE (Range 1-2)
[Ludwig Ahgren voice] Alright! The plan is simple!
>Spawn at B11
>Move to I4
>Basic attack CSpir7, pay the 8 MP to Tap
>Basic attack CSpir3, pay the 8 MP to Tap
>Basic attack CSpir1, pay the 8 MP to Tap

The Battle

Conscript3 moves to U15
Uses its action to free the Pioneer

Pioneer moves to R15
uses Swift on Daskter
use Displace on Daskter to T16
use shields x1 on Katyusha and Conscript1
consume a Waterdrank
retreats to S16 after Conscript1 moves

Daskter pep talks Conscript1
moves to Z19
fires off a decaying light northeast hitting Oldguard2 and Niessence4
retreat to AA12

Conscript1 moves to X16
delay turn

Conscript2 moves to Y18
Absolute Evasion on Conscript1 and itself.
retreats to Z19

Conscript 1 blasts the OldGuard2 with 28min damage
If the Guard2 has exactly 8 HP or less
use the Elemental Blaster (Fire) on it
retreat to Y16

Katyusha moves V14
Use Elemental Splitshot
if the Oldguard2 is still alive, finish it off.
If not ta

Kalis flinches again as Nana darts them before remembering that's just their way of buffing people. "Seriously", they think, "it's like the Healing Shiv all over again."

They do a little bit more than flinch when Monika pulls out the prop gun.

<WIP>

Oh, and they get trampled by Chibi Nobus. Now that's just adding... injury to insult? There goes their followup thonk. (I keep picturing this attack as looking like the ghost armies attacking Lord English in Collide, except every ghost is Nobu and Kalis is significantly more bewildered than LE was.)

And they flip out in a manner that would make the Weasel King proud

-----

Kalis will eat a Celefruit, move to N11, and fire a Chaos Bolt at Laranei. (The enemy one, of course.) This gets +2 buff levels from Loaded Spellbook, since the last spell they cast was Deep Thinking. I'm mentioning this because Loaded Spellbook hasn't been updated in the battle.

-----

They pause to check their menu and suddenly notice a notification. It goes something like this:

something something Progenitor something something anniversary boss something something just hop in something something deal as much damage as you possibly can something something awards

Now this is something Kalis knows they can do. They spawn into the battle, look around, and holy crap that's a lot of gimmicks urge to minmax rising-

(Several hours of time with the game paused poring over menus and rules later...)

Kalis: Alright. Let's do this.

-----

Kalis joins the Progenitor boss fight. For this battle, they will swap Purify for Elveil and Static Overcharge for Aerobeam.

They will spawn in at Y12, then move to W8 and attack the Creation Spirit at W5 with Tilde Ath. This is their first ever weapon attack, as it turns out. They now have Protoenergy 1. They then spend 8 MP to Tap in order to take another action. (Net MP: -8.)

They attack another Creation Spirit, this time the one at V8. Their Protoenergy rises to 2, and they restore 5 MP. They then spend 8 MP to Tap again. (Net MP: -11.)

They use that action to activate Improbable Incantation. First, they cast Whirlpool Singularity, centered on S7. This benefits from their Protoenergy since it's the first spell they cast this turn, and should damage the Hand of the Progenitor twice. Then they cast Phial Burst, killing the Creation Spirit at X7 and gaining Aquaveil. (Net MP: -6, thanks to Full of Life.) This bumps them up to 3 Protoenergy. Finally, they fire off the free Bag of Tricks (:ohno:) and end their turn.

<THIS IS A WIP>

In the Monika fight, with not much to do and ready to put faith in the cards, Angel aims at the Chimes1 at L8 and casts Bag of Tricks. The Mirror Image at N13 moves to K12 and, assuming it's still alive, grabs onto the 1st Carrion and uses Guiding Hand to YEET it backwards into K6.

Elsewhere, in the Anniversary Battle...

fast: fast

Hoshi appears at M19, moving up to N16, and with the power of a full SP bar, an extremely blurry .gif of a man perpetually running appears at R12 to immediately smack the Left Hand of the Progenitor (from the perspective of the Progenitor!)

"...You know, I'm not sure how I got a .gif to become a fighter, but it's going to be forgotten in about five minutes anyway..."

Not battle:

I would prefer not to be addressed directly, Monika. But if that's how it will be, so be it.



Calibri closes his eyes for a moment. He feels like someone else has said things without his awareness... How could that be possible? He'll investigate later. Either way, he reopens his eyes.

"It's a nice offer. Just a couple problems. One, there's no telling what would happen if something went wrong. Two, we're kind of... you know..."

Calibri shrugs.

"Fighting against each other right now. So, you know. That makes things awkward. Sorry about it, but I'm gonna go with... no decoupling attempt yet. Maybe later."


Battle actions:

Hybrid Lab - Calibri grumbles to himself a little, frustrated at the wall of bodies in his way, then remembers there's a fuckton of rose around.

"Welp. Better got onto that."

He moves to L15, using his weapon skill and Sword Beam on himself.

Awards Hangar: Verdana spawns in at C12, blinking a few times at the things that are happening.

"Oh that is a big guy. 10000 health? That's more than... anything else has had, actually."

Beat.

"Oh hey a 250% Fire weakness."

He proceeds to run up to K9, dragging a Chibi Nia behind himself to K10, then flings a Hidden Flame directly at the Progenitor's eye.

Dialogue format dump zone

Dorothy does some crafting! But first, she trudges over to the Clownverted Barracks, and stands behind the Turntables.







All crafts can be found here.

Unsurprisingly, Dorothy closes off the entrance to the Clownverted Barracks, and not only equips the new gear, but also pries the turntables from the floor and stuffing them in the inventory. Once completed, she emerges in the Parade Costume! And a stat change to compensate.

(-3 Schemer, you were fun while you lasted) (+6 KP)
(-4 AGI) (+4 KP)
(+4 INT) (-4 KP)
(+1 MOV) (-6 KP)
(+1 HP) (-1 KP)
(-Deep Thinking)

---

In the Progenitor fight, Dorothy appears at (C14), and uses a Helix Totem charge on Echoss before he does anything. Then, she strikes the ground with her new baton, creating a global UNIQUE -> ATTACK -> ATTACK beat. She retreats to (E16).

The personal beat is STATUS -> MOBILIZE -> MOBILIZE.

The Parade Baton starts her off with a UNIQUE beat.

---

/working

==BATTLE==
In the Awards Hangar:
Arthur spawns at Y12 with a Fire-elemental Armistyx and moves to V10. Before he does anything else, he pauses his turn and calls upon Marron to Fury him and herself with Shared Fury.

That done, he attacks Creation Spirit 4 with a FLAMETHROWER SCYTHE, pays the 8 MP for Tap, attacks Creation Spirit 8 with a BURNING COAL LAUNCHER SCYTHE, pays the 8 MP for Tap again, quickly bonus-actions in an Alchemist's Fire throw at Creation Spirit 2, and then finishes off his turn with a ROCKET LAUNCHER SCYTHE on Progenitor Hand 1.

That done, he retreats to W11 and swaps the Armistyx's element to Poison.

In the Hybridization Lab:
Arthur acts after Pope. He moves down to J12 J16 and throws the Searing Bomb in his Maw at Chosen 2, then casts Twin Serpents. If the Searing Bomb wasn't enough to kill Chosen 2, he directs one hit of Twin Serpents at Chosen 2 and the other at Chosen 1; otherwise, both shots go at Chosen 1.

He then remains where he is and swaps his Armistyx's element to Dark.

- Awards Hanger

Pope Bill activates Always Watching and marks N9, H11, T11, and V16 with it! Once that's complete, he teleports to N9 with his trait and, acting through the tile at T11, smacks Progenitor Hand 1 in its non-existent face.

- Hybridization Lab

Pope Bill moves down to I16, places a Malignant Tumor on G16 and stays on I16.

Crya puts 2 points into MMP.



Meanwhile, Crya spawns at the Hangar in C12, runs to F11, fires Ice Stalagmites at J7, and retreats to E13.

Something is definitely wrong.
For example, the fact that Chara's tone is growing more and more unhinged by the moment. And it's not just because of what Chloe is saying either- this has been noticeable for the last UNAPPLIABLE minutes, what with the cliché convulsions and whimpers. Despite this, they have been managing to keep up a relatively polite tone.

CHARA: Yes, of course, of course. My bad. My fault. Mea culpa maxima.
CHARA: I keep forgetting I am among people with whom I'm not supposed to be talking about these sorts of things.
CHARA: And that one should not be as ovverbearing as I just was.

After a short pause filled with laboured breathing, they let go of the unlucky soul that they've been blubbering to for so long. And almost fall back down again. The tirade continues in a somewhat annoyed manner.

CHARA: Francia. Francia is quite the unique person.
CHARA: Yes, she claims she's an Agent. Yes, her powers seem in line with it. No, I am not going to give her the benefit of the doubt. No, she does not deserve to be dreaded, nor respected.
CHARA: What does she want? Do you really want to know what she wants?

CHARA: She wants to play a game.

CHARA: She wants to play a game, with me as her character for it. She masks it under promises of it being part of the usual scheme. The one where she sends us to learn all the secrets and powers of whatever world she chooses, grow stronger. But this is the first time she's sent anyone to a world she hasn't already "played through," where she had not left a Piece of herself.
CHARA: In all but name, I am just her emissary, her avatar.
CHARA: What else does she want? The same thing she always wants everywhere else, consciously or not. She wants to spread conflict, desecrate all rules, all that is held holy. She wants to defeat the game, no matter if it goes directly against her other wishes.
CHARA: The stereotypical "tragic monster" ones, you know? To be known. Connected, engaged. Consulted. Useful. Loved.
CHARA: We all tend to share at least some of those wishes. It's why she chooses us. In us original six sinners, she saw herself. I am blatantly discounting Efes because he's a literal placeholder she created.
CHARA: But she does not deserve our pity for any of that. If she truly cared about us any more than as that, as reflections of herself, she wouldn't be using us as a mere crowbar with which she pries stories open.

And just like that... Chara breaks into tears, as it was apparent she would eventually. At least the sobbing is moderately quiet, but it's still a distressing sight. Or is it? Perhaps Chloe does not care. Perhaps that's the most obvi

CHARA: Whenever she is hurt, we are as well. That's one of the shittier catches of working for her. It was already cruel when there were only seven of us, but then she decided this was not enough.
CHARA: I wonder how the other 42 are dealing with their first breakdown. From what I've been told, I have the feeling that only Nui would enjoy it.
CHARA: Just yet another cliché in the pile. Dealing with hurt by making others share it with you. And when even that isn't working, turn to verbal abuse. Isn't that right, Francia?

Luckily for all of us, Francia had left after the very first interruption. The narration is once again in the hands of the Autotranscriber. God's in His heaven and all is right with the world.

CHARA: Seems like she's stopped her voyeuring. Even that makes the situation more bearable.
CHARA: So, more about Francia. As you can guess from the things I just listed, she's going through another episode. Though, it feels as if she went through another one somewhat recently, and the lag hit me just now along with the current.
CHARA: What this means is that, if I start acting more creepy than usual again, I suggest you knock me unconscious. It wouldn't be the first time that the old lady possesses me and tries making me do regrettable things.

CHARA: For all that it's worth...
CHARA: I'm sorry for dragging you into this.

---

MENE MENE TEKEL UPHARSIN

Patter, patter, patter.

Light steps echo ominously as a certain person descends into the basement. That's pretty much a rule in fiction nowadays: all basements are creepy, ergo, the descent into them must be as well. But that's not important.

Patter, patter, patter.

Thud.

A heavy sack drops to the floor next to the workshop, almost spilling all its contents. Despite that, it is almost entirely cosmetic. Everything within it could be summoned directly from the Inventory. But that, too, is not important. What is important, is what is about to finally take place.

Crafting: Minute to Midnight

• Barrel of Unseasoned Hours (1)
• Springing Shanks
• Sanctified Alloy (5)
• Crystal Pen (1)

Chara looks upon the heap of junk she dragged in with something bordering between annoyance and disgust.

CHARA: For a sword that is literally time and can annul it, you sure don't know how to continuously exist within it.
CHARA: I've crafted you several times over, you piece of shit. How do you allow yourself to be defeated by the Corte Francia's internet connection.

Sighing, they get to the great work. Firstly, the rose motifs from the alloy must be scrubbed off. Nobody likes the Rosers, nor the Rose Cult, nor anything else to ever do with roses. In fact, the term "Bloodrose" is, for some mind-boggling reason, on the list of terms CF officials can't use for naming operations. Most importantly, though, any showcase of something alive and growing is an insult to the weapon in question's original creator. No, the blade must be cold and uniform, save for one important detail later on.

Next, they concentrate on their old knives. They wouldn't do anymore. Not now that a more aggressive tactic is demanded. With a simple mental command, the daggers fuse into a proportionally larger one. This shall be the base, the first stone. Shame it isn't being thrown by the one who hasn't sinned, just for the completion of the reference. Now, it must be expanded upon with the alloy and a wonderful barrel of hours, the material that will emulate its nature the closest. A great deal of chanting, hammering and filling the cracks with instant noodles later, the long dagger becomes an actual sword, a curved thing of hateful metal, its form halfway between that of a cutlass and that of a khopesh.

Now comes making it look as identical to the original. Taking the crystal pen, Chara signs an official document confirming that they are not Anish Kapoor, they are in no way affiliated to Anish Kapoor, they are not purchasing this item on behalf of Anish Kapoor or an associate of Anish Kapoor, and that to the best of their knowledge, information and belief this material will not make its way into the hands of Anish Kapoor. The contract vanishes into thin air, becoming an undeniable concept, and a vantastic bottle of BLACK 2.0 appears in their hands to replace it. The paint is, without much more ceremony, sprayed onto the sword, making it look like a certain Cards Against Humanity card that we shall not name here.

Next comes the blessing of all that you've dreamed,
But then comes the curses of diamonds and rings.
Only at first did it have its appeal, but now you can't tell the false from the real.
Who can you trust?
(Who can you trust?)

When everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold, gold.
Everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold
(Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa)

Statues and empires are all at your hands,
Water to wine and the finest of sands.
When all that you have's turning stale and it's cold,
Oh, you'll no longer feel when your heart's turned to gold.
Who can you trust?
(Who can you trust?)

When everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold, gold.
Everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold
(Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa)

I'm dying to feel again,
Oh, anything at all,
But, oh, I feel nothin', nothin', nothin', nothin'

When everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold, gold.
Everything, everything, everything you touch turns to gold, gold
(Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa
Ooh, gold, whoa)

God, that is such a good song.

As the true final step, the crystal pen is brought to use once more, to draw a rather complicated sigil at the base of the blade. A letter of the Correspondence, the one most often and accurately transcribed as All things must end, though it has also come to mean Burger King as of late. It blazes into "life," surprisingly not melting away neither the paint nor the metal it burns on.

And just like that, Chara now held the closest possible approximation of that damned goth's time-sword itself. It felt surprisingly light. They swung once to get the feel of it, the resulting blast of wind making a small indent in the wall before them. They paid no heed to it.

And we all lived in a yellow submarine.

---

Now, for some action. Chara joins the Hybridization Lab battle and-
Wait, what do you mean "you join the Hybridization Lab battle," the player cap is fil

---

Now, for some action. Chara joins the Hybridization Lab battle. Not as a combatant, of course, the idea of that is scandalously rule-undermining. And not where anyone else might join either. They appear right next to Monika, pulling a chair to sit on and straightening their outfit before doing so. Said outfit is not what they had been seen in usually, but an actual military uniform, one somewhat reminiscent of WWII era Germany's.

After a minute of silence, a large tome drops onto their lap, the faded crimson cover decorated with a myriad of golden wings. It automatically turns to page 358, a number that legitimately holds no relevance to anything whatsoever, at least not knowingly. The narrator all-encompassing begins reading from it.

CHARA: "Thou shalt not suffer a Monika to live. All of her versions act like they invented metafuckery and game takeovers, those hipsters and scoundrels. And Sayori is best doki."
CHARA: So saith the Witch.
CHARA: I do not agree with most of her pretentious book of commandments, but this is an exception. You truly are quite the jumpy one.
CHARA: "Look at me, look at me, I can talk to those boring people from Nonfiction! I can do lolsorandom stuff that breaks the usual rules and mechanics! I can bring back the abandoned and try guilt tripping you with them!"
CHARA: Nobody cares anymore. It's not 2017. It's not even 2018. It's been two years. Nobody cares about you anymore, except for those who draw unwholesomeness and that one particular fellow who brought you in so long ago.
CHARA: And thusly, I feel obligated to obey this ruleset, to execute the perfect pro gamer move. To fight annoyingness... with annoyingness.

The recent past is recalled. Page 188, to be exact. At last count, nine CP was saved up as an experiment. Now, another is about to be conducted.
Nine daggers appear behind Chara, levitating in the vague shape and function of a halo. Each of them the physical manifestation of a single charge point.

See, this is the key to breaking the rules. You don't spend years meticulously plotting and scheming, manipulating everything to fall into place. You just exceed the cosmic will in bravery and idiocy.

The apprentice witch grabs one of the daggers, and... stabs themselves in the left forearm.
Instead of sinking into any flesh, however, the blade causes that area to crack and shatter into a few dozen pieces of skin-colored glass, which immediately launch at Monika. The dagger disappears, its power transferring to those shards, and Chara grabs another one in quick succession. Once again, the direct attack is done to their own body, though this time, a swarm of golden butterflies shoots out of the cut on their right thigh, acting as bullets empowered by Endless Magic. Somewhere in the distance, Beato cries about copyright infringement.

This repeats again and again, each time with a different result. The third has sand pour out of their shoulder as if it were a torn bag, shooting for Monika's mouth in an attempt to suffocate her. The fourth is just a mess to even comprehend, let alone describe. The fifth is the mainstream interpretation of voodoo. The sixth is objectively the coolest to date, as it included lasers. Lasers. The seventh is a Fallen London reference. What else would you expect. The eighth has light shine from the wound so brightly, it temporarily blinds Monika. And lastly, the ninth knife is just hurled at her the proper way.

Let us now pray this does anything at all.

---

Now, for some game-permitted action. Chara actually joins the Hangar battle at J13, apologising for their lateness, then summon a Mirror Image of themselves at J12 in attack position, ending their turn.

Hybridization Lab

Nidra moves to Q10, Power Naps Laranei, uses Very Sheepy on Chimes3, and casts Last Dream on Chimes3.

Awards Hangar

Nidra spawns in at C12, moves to C8, basic attacks Spirits 9 and 11, and retreats to D7.

AUTH: Exactly, no time to lose.

Auth smiles, and waves, as he walks away...

----

Well, things are back to weirdness in the Cellblock Omega, as Auth transforms back into his regular form. He blinks, absently, a couple of times, before he realises what happened to him...

AUTH: Oh! I'm... back to normal! The energy is still there, too... how interesting...
AUTH: Well. Jolly good.
AUTH: Sorry for the scare, it's hard to give any warning when I don't expect this stuff... I think I'm kind of in a flux state right now. But I think I'm... stable-ish? At least for now. Shouldn't happen without warning again.

Auth smiles, as he gently holds Nana's hand, nodding to her comment.

AUTH: Alright. We should go and see Omo again soon.
AUTH: Maybe not for now, though. We've taken up too much of her time recently. I ought to have a word with Taeda, now that I'm thinking about it, though.
AUTH: Always more to do, aha. Even so... I'm glad you're here for the support, Nana. It's very much appreciated. Love you.

Auth quietly chuckles. He hopes Nana is happy that he's there...

----

Auth, in the Lab, flies to N17, and casts his Special on Scalenoid1 enough times to down the thing.

In the Hangar, Auth spawns in from N20, and flies up to N11. He then casts Igniveil on himself.

At the Hybridization Lab...

Summa is feeling absolutely pumped after getting her critical! Too bad she kinda got pushed out of the way, and is now very far away from the person she crit. She goes on her tippy toes and looks above the battlefield, eyeing Nobu. She grinned and moved over to K10, getting ready to use some more magic.

"As if distance were your ally!"

Tsar'ina raised her hand in the air, and Nobu can feel themselves get lifted into the air. Hope she said her goodbyes, because the Summa starts pulling her away from the safety of "distance", throwing her down onto J11.

"Heh, I bet you thought you were safe! You were never safe from me!"



EZ 2 Read Info:

Summa moves to K10, Skeleton Tosses Nobu to J11

================================================================

At the Awards Hangar...

Summa will hand some Bottled Luck to Echoss...

"I can be in two battles at once? How could I resist?!"

The Summa excitedly spawns at C12, ready to absolutely beat the crap out of some monsters and people. She already came out with the Silver Maria in hand, and a full MP bar to boot. Before anyone could ask how her how she busted into the Awards Hangar so quickly without getting a proper invitation, the Summa was already knee-deep in some action. Tsar'ina sprinted twice as fast, making it to K9. Taking the Silver Maria, she came in and sliced at the Progenitor Hand 2, spitting on the ground and making a face as she retreated to M8.

"Never claimed to have any honor! See you, suckers!"



EZ 2 Read Info:

Summa Bottled Luck to Echoss. Summa spawns at C12, moves to K9, basic attacks the Hand, and retreats to M8