<ROUND TWO-HUNDRED AND EIGHT>

Maria takes a cookie, sliding a gun across the table. Nia grabs the gun, and examines it. It seems she likes the craftsmanship, even if it's only a lowly Tier 1 gun.

NIA: Whoa! Cool gun!
NIA: Where'd you find this thing?
CHLOE: More importantly, who'd be irresponsible enough to give her a gun!?
CHLOE: Seriously! Maria's just a kid!

Maria adds that she doesn't like guns.

CHLOE: A kid who doesn't like guns!
NIA: Who doesn't like guns!?
CHLOE: As the lady who uses a sword, me.
CHLOE: Guns are scary.

CHLOE: Anyway, please put that thing away.
NIA: Right!

Nia tosses the Grot Blasta into the inventory, before pulling up a chair next to Maria and sitting down.

NIA: Hey, Maria?
NIA: Are you feeling better at all?
NIA: Do you want some... milk, or whatever it is you like? I can get you some!
CHLOE: I could make you a snack, if you wanted!

Whilst Maria is left with her two guardians, Venia continues to deal with the flames. She fires a large blast of water, extinguishing a tile of flame and missing the rest of the fire hard enough to wash away a large deal of the ash. She then turns to the Sleuth, who's also busy attempting to put out the fire. She hits the "skip cutscene" button, and jumps to the part where she asks if he's interested in trying to take down the Sphere.

THE SLEUTH: The Sleuth ponders his situation. There's a long silence as he weighs his options.
THE SLEUTH: Several hours pass in absolute silence as he thinks it over.

Roughly two seconds later, he continues with his... "speech".

THE SLEUTH: After intense internal deliberation, he finally came to a decision.
THE SLEUTH: After all, they had not only saved his life, but given him clarity.
THE SLEUTH: How long had it been since he had freedom of thought?
THE SLEUTH: It was impossible to imagine a time before the Butterfly.
THE SLEUTH: But now, for the first time in forever, he was truly and finally free.

THE SLEUTH: With that in mind, he delivered his response to Venia.
THE SLEUTH: One that she had waited so dreadfully long for.
THE SLEUTH: "k"

The Sleuth has joined the party!

---

Mustache Girl nopes. She backs out of the Harpy Nest, and decides to improve her method of accessing the other island. Throwing together some Uniform Logs and some Iron Chains, she pieces together a makeshift bridge.

She then decides that she wants to climb up, so she takes it ever so slowly. This helps... marginally. At least, she only ends up losing (1) HP worth of stomach contents. Maybe she'll stop hallucinating that the rope is made of live scorpions, too? If only.

---

Echoss and Chloe continue chilling. The executive notes that running the Echo Collective as a whole is rather strenuous, musing on how much he misses the old days. It's also been oh-so-long since he's had a break. Chloe takes a moment to ponder exactly how being on Sussui can be a break when you're constantly being hounded by monsters. Eventually, she figures that she'd rather fight the Naclestial barehanded in a one-on-one fight than run a country multiple dyson spheres big.

CHLOE: Yeah, I can see where you're coming from.
CHLOE: Well, you seem pretty good at what you do, anyway.

CHLOE: Y'know, if you overwork yourself and burn out, you can't be of service to your people!
CHLOE: You owe it to yourself and your people to chill out, and take a break every once in awhile.
CHLOE: And, since you're here, on the wonderful, monster-infested, strangely chilly, and xenophobic Sussui... you may as well enjoy your time here, right?
CHLOE: ...Putting it that way, the planet doesn't sound that great, b-but it's beautiful in its own ways!
CHLOE: It's easy to focus on the negatives, but you gotta appreciate the good in it, too!
CHLOE: The picturesque nature, fresh air, rich culture...
CHLOE: I'm sure there's also things like that to enjoy about your job, right?

Abruptly, Chloe pushes off the wall and yawns, stretching her right arm above her head, and grabbing her right shoulder with her left. She then goes back to leaning against the wall. There's some light bags below her eyes, but she still has a gentle smile.

CHLOE: Haah...
CHLOE: It's been one tough day after another, hasn't it?
CHLOE: Hopefully we finish this whole Rose Cult business soon.
CHLOE: I wanna eat something and nap. Simple pleasures, y'know?

Chloe begins to daydream about burritos. Back at the house, a golem-powered fire crew extinguishes the last of the flames. Pionobot also helps tighten up the bridge that Mustache Girl made, making it a bit more sturdy. He also then commissions an item from Nia, handing her the Hammer of Banning +3! Unsurprisingly, it becomes the Hammer of Banning +4. It is no longer safe for Maria to use. How sad.

---

EN gives Taeda more pointers on how to guns. Apparently, holding down the trigger is for people with better grip and recoil control. The priestess nods, clearly not understanding what that means.

TAEDA: Oh, so like... if I had more arms, I could hold down the trigger?
TAEDA: If only I was a morph... then I could fire this really, really fast!

The android then notes that odds are, it's not great practice just firing at a stationary target. EN then suggests that Taeda shoot at her. The priestess blushes, flicks on her safety, and aims down at the ground.

TAEDA: H-Huh!? I-I don't want to shoot at my friends!
TAEDA: C-Couldn't you just... maybe put a target on some pulleys?
TAEDA: Or maybe you could even grab me some I-Iti, since that's what I'll be aiming at most of the time...
TAEDA: E-Except maybe don't do that, b-because it'd be dangerous!

Taeda awkwardly stares at the android. Seems she's left her speechless. Elsewhere, an Engie Drone grabs the Christmas Tree, uprooting it. This ends the Christmas Event! As antimatter flames begin to consume the tree, he acts quickly, throwing 20 Mortar Shells at it, as well as 10 Ashen Crystals, 5 Titanium Ingots, 5 Plasteel Ingots, an Ember Core, a Warchair, a Teslathrower, a Trash Can, a Meditative Sharpener, a Malice Striker, and a Heroine's Booster Greave! This creates the Ballistreec Missile. This is incredibly dangerous! Be sure to use it at a good time!

---

Ette continues to escort the boy out of the woods. As she tries to pick him us, he cries out in pain. Ette flinches back.

ETTE: E-Eep! Sorry!
ETTE: I should've been more careful. I'm better than that!
ETTE: Here, I'll grab you by the other leg...

Eventually, they're in the woods. Ette's pace is slow but steady, being careful to not agitate her patient's wounds. As the noises in the wood begin to grow louder, Ette's pace slowly picks up, and the boy asks if they're in danger.

ETTE: Not to alarm you, but I think we are.
ETTE: This planet's really spooky, and it has a lot of dangerous creatures!
ETTE: Good thing I found you, otherwise they'd probably have eaten you.
ETTE: ...I-It's the truth! Sorry.

Before much can happen however, Ette manages to break free of the woods. A Hound follows her out into the clearing, immediately jumping at Ette's right leg! It slashes a hole through her leggings, but Ette's defense is high enough for its blow to only leave a light bruise.

ETTE: O-Ow! Bad Iti! Bad!

She gives the creature a swift kick, punting it back into the woods. This jostles the boy a little, but hopefully not enough to cause him pain. With that little disturbance out of the way, she continues towards the house, which grows closer by the minute.

ETTE: Anyway, we're almost there!
ETTE: O-Oh! I realized that I never asked your name!
ETTE: So... what's your name? If you don't mind telling me, that is.

She continues to carry him towards the house, only now beginning to break a sweat.

---

Auth tells Lutea about how he met Nana. The apothecary shudders to remember how it felt when Maxim began to puppet her, and how close she got to death once Maxim discarded her. Her blush also returns in full force when he mentions the sleeve he got her. Lutea giggles.

LUTEA: You got her a sleeve?
LUTEA: That's awfully forward of you, sir Author! I'm surprised she didn't just faint on the spot!
NANA: S-Sis, that's mean!
LUTEA: Sorry, sorry! Still, you two seem happy.
LUTEA: Although, I am surprised you've grown so close after such a short period of time, but... I guess the battlefield can bring people closer, can't it?
LUTEA: Maybe getting conscripted was a good thing for you after all.
NANA: I guess it was...

She wraps her arm around his, the crooks of their elbows locked. Auth then asks if he missed anything. The apothecary shakes her head.

NANA: I don't t-think so...
NANA: I-I think you did a good job covering things! Thanks!

Lutea seems satisfied with the story. She then turns, looking at her biodome. Wasn't there something she was meant to be doing?

LUTEA: Oh, um...
LUTEA: I should get back to work! I want to try experimenting with those things you gave me!
LUTEA: It was really nice talking with you two!
NANA: It was nice seeing you, too!
LUTEA: Come by again if you need anything!

Seems like it's time to wrap things up! You don't want to keep Lutea from her work, do you? Maybe you'll get a nice potion out of it.

---

Chloe suddenly remembers that she's received a gift from Chara! Popping the wrapping paper open, she finds the Tilde Letion, a vibrant red blade made of a... programming manual. She questions its existence for a moment, before remembering that Hat is a thing that exists, and this is mundane by comparison. She decides to thank Chara.

CHLOE: Thanks, Chara!
CHLOE: I'll be sure to give this a try!

CHLOE: Maybe by the time I get off this planet, I can have like, an entire armory of swords.
CHLOE: I mean, Lato wouldn't be happy with being hung on a wall for decoration, so maybe I'd need to get some different swords, but...
CHLOE: Yeah. I'll do that when I get home. South side of the room is gonna be all swords.
CHLOE: Wonder how I'd arrange them...

Chloe begins mentally mapping out sword arrangements like it's some convoluted game of Tetris.

---

To celebrate Valentine's Day, I've prepared a special bit of story! It's contained within the following spoiler. Enjoy!

---

<LABYRINTHINE CHAMBER, ROUND FOUR>
Not too much to say. Wrap things up? Just don't forget about Mr. Old Guard <3> up in the corner there. He can still re-animate if you don't desecrate his body, so maybe go do that.

<RUINED BATHS, ROUND FOUR>
You're nearly there, it looks like! While the hordes of enemies are still spawning in rather quickly, you likely have some powerful AoE tools that you can apply to the horde! Just maybe give Chloe a moment to fly away beforehand. She'd rather not die horribly.

<FORTIFIED FARM, ROUND THREE>
Did somebody say spider tank? No? Well, now you're facing a spider tank! Damaging its three "systems" is now part of the battle objective! Be careful, and smash that tank! Also watch out for the storm of shells raining down on the farm itself. Those will sting. Not too much, but they'll break apart the walls, so watch for foes that might slip through the gaps!

For above update:

Before JOE's action...
Pope Bill teleports to O10 with the Warp Ring, then basic-attacks Ashstormer 4. He then retreats to N11.

"Thank you Miss Elem, the sentiment means a lot."
Echoss laughs at Chloe's comment. Funny, she doesn't think she's heard him actually laugh out loud all the way before now.
"I will be fully honest, if the Spherebreakers weren't here on Sussui, neither would I. Sussui is quite pretty, but picturesque is something I have back home as well."
He thinks for a moment.
"Well, there definitely is, at that. I do have quite the opportunity for collecting things, and I'm able to meet and interact with many different individuals.. It gives me the opportunity to help people.
And... being in charge does have it's perks sometimes, even if it makes it difficult to actually get close to people."

Echoss chuckles and nods.
"Have we even stopped to have lunch properly? Hm, I wonder..."
Echoss casts Shopping Spree, and a small selection crops up in front of him in a holographic display.
"Anything strike your fancy?"


The Echoss golems continue using the raindrop crystals, washing away the ash.


In the Everground, Pionobot loots the nest.


An Echoss golem arrives out front of the Church of Helix. He takes the harpy out of the inventory and affixes a small note to one of its feet.
"Hello Miss Droplet, we found this one somewhere else, and figured you might perhaps appreciate having them returned to you. -Echoss"


Omorika's research station is commissioned to research:
Ammo Efficiency
Crystal Energizer

Chloe's Scavenging Service is commisioned to grab clockwork bombs. Twice. Echoss goes with her, as per usual.


In Battle
An Echoss hologram sits on the edge of the wall for the bunker, it looks the samurai up and down, and then posits a question.
"If you don't mind me asking, is there any particular reason you're commiting this much resources to destroying what is effectively a glorified vegetable garden?
I could understand if you were simply trying to draw us out, but you don't seem to be too interested in us ourselves. Surely the 'Zabaton' has better things to do than commit petty vandalism?"

Main Echoss meanwhile, moves up to Q18 and basic attacks the Scarlet, before chucking out an ice el-ite knife, which through the use of his curve ability, zooms around the side of the cover and hits Eviscerator2.

Battle: Ruined Baths

Venia and all actions below should go first, excluding Nia's action because she's asleep. She'll just go whenever she's woken up, so do be careful.

Venia moves to J11, then uses her Heart Stacks to gain Ordo. She exploits her summon to activate her Monument's Spell Beacon; Venia then casts Material Transfer from its tile, less for its position and more for the fact she can shift half of the spell's MP cost onto the summon, while still benefitting from the +3 Buff Levels. That said, she targets the Nest with the attack, pretty much instantly killing it and ridding the whole party of the crippling +3 AC aura it was generating. The heal targets Crya.

Venia then puts the scanping and her remaining stacks of Heart into scratching away some of the Large Netwyrm Head's HP.

The Monument, having not taken its action yet, decides to use the Helix Totem to get some buffs of its own and snipe the Carrion with its Elemental Gear set to light.

Chloe, after this, will use a stack of Echo on the Carrion, happily deleting it after the Monuments attack. Then, she will move to O7 (thank you flight) and slash at the second Small Netwyrm Head. She'll retreat to N6, again exploiting flight.

If Nia is awoken, she'll move to J10, uses the Helix Totem as well to gain power, drag Blossom3 to M11 with her basic attack, and unleash her Super Soak eastwards, hitting all three blossoms and two of the three Netwyrm heads at least. The spout as well, I guess.

---

Mariaaaa

"I love milk," Maria says.

I guess this continues in a relatively generic but heartfelt manner for a while. Not everything has to be a crazy scene.

---

Bass

With the immediate threat of the fire taken care of, Venia relinquishes rebuilding everything to others as she grabs Bass for the long-awaited attempt at mind-reading with the Golden Dream Ring. For sake of sanity, this takes place in Bass's room downstairs.

---

- THE EVERGROUND -
I SAID

MALIK CONTINUES TO CLIMB UP THE EVERGROUND
- THE LABYRINTHINE CHAMBER -
Lukas moves to E13 and uses Purge on <3>.

Bow Kid waits for everyone else to move, nearly crying because of the damage she took.

If <1> is still not dead by the end of the round, she smacks them again.

---

After the hallucinations calm down, MU notes that she hadn't gone up all that much before starting to vomit. This 'curse' is really strong... at this rate, she won't be able to go anywhere fast.

So she doesn't. Instead she climbs back up to Area 2. She starts making another chain once there, attaching it to (Q132). She den uses her new drill to drill down through (R132-134), taking the end of the chain with her. She keeps extending the chain downward until she can safely reach the cliff again.

---

Boshi decides it'd be cool to pilfer the remains of the Ash pile, before washing it away with his equipped Cloud Cannon.

Battle Action:
First, I put another 2 GP in resonant getting me Resonant 2, and 2 GP in Ingrain for 3 health regen.
Then, I aim the Elemental Blaster again and fire at the Evascirator1, probably killing it, in which case I move to R8, otherwise I move around its ZoC to Q7. Having moved, I cast Illusory Trap again. If I'm on R8, I make traps at U10 and 9O, else at T10 and N10. The Illusions I display are the following:
(if R8, my two illusions are of:
firstly, the ground shaking slightly, bits of dirt moving apart, before rising up with visuals very similar to casting Terraform, and apparently creating a hulking golem-beast out of Dirt, armed with what looks to be a heavy stone hammer. it silently imitates aiming at the Duneyrr, and acts like it is suffering from Summoning Sickness. this is the U10 one.
and the creation of a very small and unimportant pebble. This is the 9O one, it's there to get hit by the Ashstorm's barrage and hopefully kill it.
And simultaneously, assuming I have indeed killed the Evascirator, the existing Illusory Trap at N4 depicts the previous "barricade" cracking open like it was some kind of barricade-resembling egg, hatching a more agile dirt-beast thing, and rushing to O8 to also get hit by the Ashstorm's barrage)
(If I am at Q9, then my illusions are:
At N10, the appearance of a single additional piece of tiny Rubble, hopefully entirely unnoticed, to get hit by the Barrage and hurt the Ashstormer.
At T10, a hulking Golem-beast like the U10 version would be if the Evascirator is dead.
and the existing N4 Illusory Trap doing a cracking egg routine like above, but heading R4 with visible stone blades and close combat killing things in hopes of attracting fire from the Ashstormer despite lack of guarantee it'll be hit.)
Notes: the Sentry AI should, I hope, make the Turrets focus on the Golem-Illusions first, which I believe they wouldn't doubt 1) Turrets with no Brain who weren't here to see past traps even if they had a mind, 2) I can have 3 spells and have yet to actually use anything but Trap so as far as they know these could be an Incantation variant or something, 3) I pointedly only made one Visible trap this round, which is different and might confuse.

Out of Battle action- Crafting I think?: I pick up the left over spike pits from the crystiliary, 4 units of disgusting food, some cobblestone, and 2 pieces of glass. crafting the cobblestone into cobblestone walls via a Workstation, I use the resulting pillar-structures of cobblestone to make a reinforced frame for the spike pits. I then pour some green sap into the gaps in the existing spikes, break the glass into very sharp and painful spikes which I attach to the Sap, followed by mixing the disgusting food with some highly viscous plant matter(using a temporary cauldron made of Iron which I promptly dispose of) and carefully, without touching it, coat the spike trap I've produced with it. Then, I carefully add Splinter Spider Venom to the tips of the largest spikes. Finally, I take some Uniform Logs,craft them into 4 particularly flimsy doors, and attach those doors to the side of the Poison Spike Trap so as to block line of sight into the spike trap within.

(Resources consumed: 4 disgusting food, 6+ cobblestone, 2 pieces of glass, 14 green sap, 7 iron ingots,2 splinter spider venom, 8 uniform logs)
(Intended Effect: Create an item- possibly a consumable, I dunno- which is a concealed poison spike trap.)

Out of Battle Action 2: I then attempt to place the above spike trap in the hallway leading to the farm, just past the portal, so as to stop the Rgriefer and Rassassin from making the battle worse.

RUINED BATHS

The Reflector moves to I10 and meditates. They use Protean to grant themselves Teneveil3 for the round (no resistance changes).

The Mirror Reflector moves to H11 and uses their action to wake up Nia, then retreats to H10.

Nidra:
Warp Ring to H8.
Move to J9.
Power Nap Crya.
Use Sheep Counter on Chloe.
Last Dream Chloe.
Retreat to I10.

CRYA: Chloe, move out of the way, I shall smite the enemies around you with Absolute Zero!
Moving before Nia but after Chloe, Crya moves to I10 and uses Ice Stalagmites on Blossom 1 before retreating back to I9.
Chibi Nia shoots the Nest again.

AUTH: With my present knowledge, Lutea, I can't say that you're wrong. Although, I didn't exactly know at the time. I am... trying to learn things that Chairians find meaningful... I do understand what the significance behind hands are now, I think. How they're important because they're used to manipulate magic, and the world. I think. I'm... still trying to learn. It's a bit hard because it's kind of awkward to ask, haha...

Auth chuckles quietly as Nana reacts to the "mean" comments from Lutea.

AUTH: Sorry, sorry, but... thank you. It means a lot you're so open, Lutea. Although...
AUTH: Actually, don't worry about it. We'll talk again in the near future, naturally. I don't think it's that surprising we've grown so close, personally. I mean, lives have been saved, right? Twice in the one day, haha... We've fought together, to protect each other and our alliies, y'know? It's... a special bond we have, definitely.

Auth nods, as the Markhamia sisters discuss Nana's conscription.

AUTH: While I don't think anyone should have been conscripted... just from a principle of saving lives, I can't say I disagree with Nana's being a net positive. I don't think I'd have met her without it, after all...

Auth smiles, allowing Lutea to get back to work.

AUTH: Have fun, Lutea. I hope it turns out well. I'll come by again later to see how it goes. Do your best!

Auth quietly stands back up, and looks around.

AUTH: Have anywhere in mind to go after this? If there's somewhere you want to go, and you'd like me to go with you, I don't mind..

----

Auth moves before Crya, and floats around to H9. He slashes Crya with Inkscalibur, applying Mending to her and the Monument. The Mollusk, meanwhile, scoots over to F7, and Water Guns Wild Card 2.

RP - Dueling Hut

EN shrugs.

"More like strength than number o' arms..."

She also shrugs at Tae regarding how to make moving targets.

"S'pose ah coul' rig somethin' up if ye'd be willin' t' wait. Or ah coul' jus... throw thin's fer ya t' shoot at, ah guess? Sack o' splinters, somethin' like tha'..."


Battle - Fortified Farm:

Verdana, upon seeing the enemy used mechanized warfare, pulls out a phone to call someone.

"EN, need a favor. Throw me the Armadillo."

He then waits. A moment later, the SB1 Armadillo comes flying through the air, spinning as if someone just fucking megayeeted it. Verdana redirects gravity around the flying object, gradually slowing it down until it comes to a comfortable stop nearby, then rolls out into the bunker...

SB1 Armadillo: Spawn on C12-D12, move to H12-I12, fire on ??? with Covering Fire.

Verdana himself then moves to O16, reaching out with Guiding Hand to pick up ??? and move him to S12.

"See how you like being slowed and somewhere you don't want to be!"

Crystal casts Exertion and brings Nightmarron down onto Old Guard 1 with a mighty Ordo-infused slash, following up with a War Scythe strike!

If he's already downed, Crystal instead moves into Range 1 and executes the Old Guard, scythe flaring with Ordo-light.

Battle: Labyrinthine Chamber

Irongutta saw Old Guard 3 twitching. He narrowed his eyes as he approached it.

"Not givin' up, are ya? Hmph, I'll fix that real quick-like."

Stepping to M5, Irongutta acts to utterly destroy Old Guard 3's body.

== BATTLE: Fortified Farm ==

Pope Bill marks L12 with an Eye of Providence and moves to R12. From there, he basic-attacks Magirifler2; afterwards, he moves his Tumor to U9 to T10 to Lockdown the Duneyrr.

-=+=-

???: It's fine... thank you for your help.

The boy sighs softly as they resume on their path, listening to Ette talk. The mention of dangerous creatures worries him as he cannot defend himself right now, but he doesn't show much reaction.

Then, the Iti attacks, and he lets out a startled yelp, though he quickly recovers once the threat is dealt with. Sighing, he tries his best to calm down as they continue, not paying much attention until he is asked for his name.

ZIAH: Oh, uh. My name is Ziah. Don't think I caught yours...

-=+=-

Ziah jumps as the Eyestem hits him in the back, catching him off guard. He shakes himself off, darting down to E10, hoping to finish off the first Old Guard by lobbing a shadowball at him, before delivering a downwards slice with the key.

<ROUND TWO-HUNDRED AND NINE>

Echoss asks Chloe if they've even stopped to have lunch. She shakes her head woefully.

CHLOE: I don't think we have.
CHLOE: Or if somebody did, they didn't invite me.
CHLOE: ...Rude!

She giggles for a moment, before bending forward into the inventory. Moments later, Chloe pulls out a Rebellion Banner from the inventory, which she rolls out across the stone brick floors of the catacombs. With a gentle hop, she sits down upon it, criss-cross.

CHLOE: Let's have a quick picnic, then!
CHLOE: ...Inside the dark, dusty, corpse-laden catacomb.
CHLOE: There's probably somebody out there who'd consider this location to be romantic.

He joins her down on the "carpet", casting Shopping Spree. Within the Triangle Emporium menu, there's really not too much in the way of food. Of course, there's one obvious pick that catches Chloe's eyes.

CHLOE: Ooh, he sells burritos?
CHLOE: That'd be delicious! And... for a drink, well... I'm covered!

She pulls out one of the Genericola from the inventory. Then, rummaging through the inventory some more, she passes another Genericola to Echoss. It's still cold, somehow.

CHLOE: You must be hungry too.
CHLOE: Want one?

Elsewhere, Echoss's golems continue to rain down droplets upon the ash leftover from Mari's firestorm of a computer. It's almost fully washed away by this point- just that shiny bit of ash left in the center now. Then, in the Everground, Pionobot shoves an entire nest into his inventory, which decomposes into about 10 Elden Everwood logs.

Then at the foot of the Church of Helix, another of Echoss's golems deploys the Grey Harpy at the front of the church. Like your shady neighborhood drug dealer, Droplet inexplicably materializes from out of a shadowy corner, and picks up the Harpy.

DROPLET: ...
DROPLET: Thanks, I guess.
DROPLET: Look, here's something to persuade you to grab me more of these idiots.
DROPLET: Grab me another, and maybe I'll even give you some equipment. Wow.

She forcibly gifts the golem with two Heavenly Regalia, two Chernobyl Regalia, and 32 Samples. Seems like she has quite the stash of things to gift for Grey Iti. Then, as a bit of housekeeping work, Omorika and Mari begin to research Ammo Efficiency and a Crystal Energizer. Chloe is also commissioned to go grab some Clockwork Bombs... and is then promptly denied by the Sleuth, who runs off, stealing her wheelbarrow.

CHLOE: H-HEY! GET BACK HERE!
CHLOE: That's my wheelbarrow! I use it for-

The Sleuth, riding inside the wheelbarrow, Shopping Cart Heroes back towards the house, with three Clockwork Bombs in tow. He yeets them into the inventory, each of them miraculously not exploding.

CHLOE: U-Um...
CHLOE: T-Thanks?
THE SLEUTH: The Sleuth bows towards the hysterical dame.
THE SLEUTH: Another job well done by the cool, collected, hard boiled Problem Sleuth.

...Seems like he's helping Chloe out now. Fun?

---

Maria likes milk. Chloe also likes milk. The two of them have some milk. It's quite quaint. Also, Venia decides to go and visit Bass, pulling out the Golden Dream Ring. Bass sits down on the bed, swinging his feet.

BASS: okay so
BASS: please don't judge me for what you might see in my head
BASS: not that i can remember what's in my head
BASS: but shhhh

Venia holds up the Golden Dream Ring. After a few moments of meditation, a link is establis-

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Oh god, the noise! There's a powerful ringing in Venia's ears, some odd mixture of static, whispering, and internet dial-up tones. Her vision is hazy, but she thinks she's in some part of the catacombs. Specifically, the northern hallway- hell, she's been in this hallway! The doors to the east should lead to that room where she first fought Magnolia. At least, in theory. Who knows what's going on with this place? Especially since the southern end of the corridor shatters and breaks off into a ceaseless wall(?) of red static. Of course, there are still other rooms to explore, so maybe don't dive into the static just yet? Who knows.

---

Malik yells at the game, making it sad. It mopes as it grabs his character token, and slides it up a long distance. This deals (3) points of nausea damage. Not as bad as the Third Layer, but it still feels awful to ascend....

---

Mustache Girl ascends some more! Due to already being incredibly sick, she only takes (5) points of raw nausea damage as she ascends back up to the second layer, where the effects of the Curse seem to mellow out. She rests for a moment, making another chain, and extending it down to the cliff. What's her gambit? Who knows?

Boshi then decides to go search through the Ash Pile, power washing away the rest of the ash with the Cloud Cannon. In a soaking wet puddle, he finds the Mysterious Processor that Mari put into the computer.

MARI: Oh, awesome! The processor survived!
MARI: ...What the hell is it made out of to survive THAT?
MARI: Whatever. It's probably useful to us.

He picks it up, and shoves it directly into the inventory. Seems that its served its purpose as a Key Item, so it promotes (demotes?) into a Trinket. Mysterious Processor obtained, again!

---

JOE picks up a spike pit. Like, the entire thing. Pit and all. It is unclear how this works. He then also somehow shunts this entire goddamn pit into the floor instantly. He then grabs 4 Disgusting Food, 6 Cobblestone, 2 sheets of Glass, 4 Green Sap, and 2 Splinter Spider Venom to make said spike pit violate the Geneva convention.

The Rebels push forward into the hallway, where the trap was just placed. The Rebel Griefer is somehow caught unawares by the trap, and tumbles in. A few spikes pierce his body, poison and disgusting food seeping into his system, along with shards of glass. The poison however, is slightly weakened by the presence of the green sap, which has restorative properties.

Of course, this is still incredibly agonizing for the poor Griefer, who would have much rather died instantly to a landmine or something. He screams in pain, flailing for his friends to go and lift him out of the pit. Thanks to the powers of Woodmancy, he's fished out of the pit, but he's been poisoned on multiple levels. Oh, he's also been impaled a few times, and his wounds are filled with glass. While the assassins want to try and help their friend, they have a mission to do. They set the griefer aside, and press forward into the bunker.

---

Auth notes that he shares a special bond with Nana. Lutea nods.

LUTEA: I guess you do!
LUTEA: Saving the same woman twice in a single day, and then fighting alongside her...
LUTEA: It's not surprising that she fell for you!
LUTEA: I mean, it still is surprising, but I can see where it comes from.

Auth then smiles, and departs, leaving Lutea to her work. She waves goodbye.

LUTEA: Goodbye! Safe travels, you two!

Once they're back near the entrance to the gardens, Auth asks Nana if there's anywhere she wants to go. She shakes her head.

NANA: U-Um, not r-really!
NANA: I-I am getting a bit tired, though...
NANA: M-Maybe we should go and f-finish our work at the c-catacombs?
NANA: Not t-that I want to be down there, b-but I want to do m-my part!

Perhaps it's time to get back to work, then?

---

EN offers to help set up something for Taeda. The priestess nods, then sets her weaponry aside.

TAEDA: It'd be great if you could help!
TAEDA: I'm not too great with craftsmanship like you or the others are, but I can try and help if you want!

Until she's called upon, she sits down, and enjoys an ice cold glass of water. Seems like she's worked up a bit of a sweat whilst training. She also takes a few moments to inspect her weaponry with the various tools she's been given, probably not realizing that given that she's using magical armaments, they probably don't need as much upkeep as she thinks.

---

Ziah introduces himself to Ette. The puppet nods.

ETTE: Ziah? Zi-ah. Ziiiii-ah!
ETTE: That's a nice name! It has a "Z" and everything!
ETTE: I'm Ette! Ette Needleworker! It's a pleasure to meet you!

She continues to march onwards towards the house, eventually reaching the front door. She knocks on it, before remembering that she's technically a co-owner of the house now, and invites herself in. She violently suplexes gently places him down onto the couch.

ETTE: There we go! Safe and sound!
ETTE: Welcome to my house!
ETTE: O-Or, more like... "our" house? I think technically, lady Omo owns it...
ETTE: Anyway, I'm just going to go replace your bandages and stuff now.
ETTE: Hold still!

She does as she said she would, unpeeling the bandages with a dexterity she didn't know she had. Soon enough, she's cocooning him in a fresh layer of bandages once again. Whilst working, she decides to hold some idle chit-chat with him.

ETTE: So... what brings you here?
ETTE: Lots of people come to this planet for some reason.
ETTE: Did you come here on purpose? I dunno!

ETTE: Oh, I should also probably introduce you to some of the people here!
ETTE: They'd probably be a bit spooked if they found a random kid resting on the couch!
ETTE: Maybe I should introduce you to Sis... but she can be grouchy at times.
ETTE: Hm...

The ex-puppet continues her handiwork on the boy.

---

<LABYRINTHINE CHAMBER, ROUND FIVE>
Success! The Rose Cult have been purged from this chamber. The loot you've obtained is... quite interesting! Namely, the Revelation! It doesn't seem quite functional, but you've unlocked a new research! Check it out? As for what to do now... perhaps it's time to move in on the final chamber? Boss fight!

<RUINED BATHS, ROUND FIVE>
Another job well done! As I've said above, perhaps its time to move on to bigger, greater things? It's unlikely that there's more pressing threats that need to be dealt with in the Catacombs. Except, it seems that the Wildcards have relocated somewhere. That might be problematic... but they don't seem actively harmful. Maybe deal with them later?

<FORTIFIED FARM, ROUND FOUR>
I think you're getting close to a conclusion here. The only thing you really need to smash now is the Duneyrr's systems, and then you win! We can't guarantee that the farm will remain intact even if you smash the thing, but... do your best!

Echoss nods, though he does pause a moment at the mention of 'romantic', and selects two burritos from the shopping spree menu, they pop out on neat little plates, and he sits down on the blanket.
"You know, one thing I am thankful for in our time on sussui is that we aren't actually stuck eating field rations. Almost anywhere you go, being stuck on field rations is unpleasant."

In the house, the Echoss butterfly turns to Mari
"Now, if you wouldn't mind, some help repairing the holes in the wall would be nice."
The two golems in the area begin using refined wood planks to patch up the holes in the wall and ceiling.

Pionobot realizes he's been abandoned and sits on the ground, he peers over the edge to try and see what's further down while he waits for someone to come back and help him clear out the harpy nest.

One of Echoss's golems materializes from the woods behind the bunker, and walks over to the Griefer, it presents a holy dew to him. Echoss's voice echoes from the golem
"Here, take this. Despite what SOME people apparently think, I will not be endorsing war crimes."

Not!Echoss realizes that nobody's using Nia's service, they can be a gremlin again!
Nia is promptly commissioned to upgrade the Sentient Sock Puppets and Hydrahead Flowers.


STRIFE:
When Linseed responds to Echoss initially:
"Ah, I suppose that's fair. And it seems we responded quite predictably at that."

The butterfly hologram winces and sighs when Echoss-main gets heckin oblitersploded by the spider tank's cannon, but seems more irritated than actually concerned. Regardless, the butterfly transforms back into butterfly form, and flutters past Omorika.
Omo could swear she hears a whisper as the butterfly flutters past and off into the woods.
"Don't worry Miss Omorika, I will be fine."

{ MALIK }
Malik rides the Bucket upwards.

{ LUKAS }
Lukas carefully examines the broken key.

"I'll... I'll try."

"Nia" takes a deep breath as the battle ends, her mirror image dissipating in a burst of light.

"NIA": Well, that was fun, huh?
"NIA": Now, Nia, Venia, let's talk!



The Reflector puts their new skillpoint in AGI. "Nia" then attempts to craft an item.