Bauhaus hears some serious gorlla going on over at the whole other side of the Skylabs. He facepalms. "I just came here to check on a coffee shipment," he groans into his hand. "What is with these people?" He shakes it off. "Alright! I'll be there!" And so he sprints off.

- BATTLE: SHOOTING RANGE -
Bauhaus spawns at H5, moves to H9, uses a charge of Pocket Overdrive on Fluxblood Nia, charges up Dawn of Existence, then retreats to F9.

Crystal tosses an Infinipizza to Pope, then moves down to D12. He swings a Basic Attack at Splintershot 1, then steps back to E11 and follows it up with a War Scythe strike.

//////////////////////////////
ERROR: TRANS-MEDIUM TRANSMISSION RECEIVED. PRINTING...

Pope Bill marks C10 using his trait. He moves forward to B12, then teleports via Burrowing Rally to F17. Next, he targets Splintershot1, Extinguisher1, Acacia, the Faithful, the Sniper, and Shieldbearer with Intimidation so that they're all slowed down. Then, Pope Bill specifically uses Taunting on the Splintershot and the Extinguisher (he pays an extra 3 MP for Offend).

Next, he basic-attacks the Faithful. He uses the Light Petal on them ONLY if the Faithful hasn't been downed yet.

TRANSMISSION ENDS.
//////////////////////////////

Kalis reconnects to the server, after a long absence.

Kalis puts 3 Skill Points into SKI and 1 into HP, spends 1 to purchase Limiter Breaker, and invests 1 each into MP, INT, and RES. They also swap out Purify for Deep Thinking.

Next, they take off the Amethyst Kimono to put on the Operator's Suit, picking Tentacle Gift and Always Watching. Substituting damage types and adding extra status to your status are both right up Kalis's alley. They also assign the Chaos-Binder's Squarelet's currently unassigned Magical resistance (not sure how long that's been like that) to Fire.

-----

Craftpost:

Kalis takes 1x Starite, 8x Crystalline Conduit, 8x Roseblight Logs, 1x Entrophy, and 1x Spiralfloof Floofball because why not. Then they take out the Lucky Eight and start upcrafting it.

The Crystalline Conduits are twined around the Lucky Eight, serving as conduits for its Light aspect energy, like a twisted-wire electromagnet, but... for luck? As energy flows through it, fortune is sucked towards the coil and fed into the center of the trinket. But what's at the center?

Kalis, not for the first time, starts burning Roseblight Logs. They'd done this before to melt metal to cast their Chaos-Binder's Circlet, but this time, their objective isn't to make heat. Oh no... this time, they're making smoke. It's like burning incense, if incense was tainted by ancient entropic evil. They meditate as its strange scent wafts around the room, helping their mind achieve the state required... to warp the Starite.

The Starite grows a few extra points, until it has eight in all. Then the center continues to shift, forming a smaller eight-pointed star held within the octagon traced out between the outer star's points. Then a yet smaller star forms within that one, and so on and so forth forever.

Kalis holds the fractal Starite aloft in one hand and the Lucky Eight in the other, then claps them together, the Starite melding around the Lucky Eight and affixing itself at the center, one Conduit feeding into each point.

Finally, the Entrophy is cut in half, and each half is placed around the Lucky Eight. Kalis feeds mana into the trinket, and the Conduits and now-entropic Starite call to the Entrophy, fusing the halves back together as a clear piece of shielding around the trinket's core, greatly increasing the efficiency of its fortune draw.

Oh, wait. There's one more crucial step:

Kalis rotates the trinket 90 degrees, and equips their new Lucky Infinity.

(I'm not specifically sure what I want for this. More CRT, I guess? A higher chance on Lucky You would also be nice but I'm not sure how balanced that would be, and you can't go wrong with more DGE. If you have anything in mind, let me know.)

----

Kalis joins Acacia's battle, spawning on tile N5, moving to N7, and casting Deep Thinking in preparation for a bigger play next turn.

Lily spawns into the Shooting Range at F5, moves to E9 with her MOV, then Warp Rings to F13. She then uses Whirling Blades to move an extra 5 tiles along F14, G15, H16, H17, I18, bapping Halberd1, Extinguisher1, SBearer, Acacia herself, and RShield1, then Ripostes to draw attention. She then sends two stacks of Icicle Fall at Sniper1.

VolatileLily0058: LEEEEEEROYYYY JENNKIIIIINS

Battle: The Shooting Range

Irongutta moves to O14, gaining the benefits of Unstoppable Force, and basic attacks the Permafrost Robe with Magnolia!

Auth smiles, faintly.

AUTH: I mean, I'll just carry it. You'd be surprised the strength wearing an extraordinarily heavy coat gives you.
AUTH: I mean, there's every chance that my hands will break into a rash afterwards, but it's nothing I can't deal with promptly.

Auth nods quietly to Nana's happiness that there's still Godblossoms out there.

AUTH: You never really know until you look. Who knows? Maybe someday the population could be replenished.
AUTH: I suppose it'll require more stability around here first, though... after we destroy the Sphere, perhaps.

With Taeda again, Auth laughs quietly.

AUTH: Aha, sorry. I didn't mean to imply I thought you weren't gonna, but I felt like making my intention for asking clear would help a bit.
AUTH: A book on the subject would be fantastic, actually. My primary employer is something of a literary curator. I might've mentioned earlier, but the place I live is like the Grand Library but way more.
AUTH: I promise not to rush, sorry if it comes off kind of like it was going that way.

Auth smiles and nods to Taeda's comments about learning to run her own church.

AUTH: I think you'd be good at it, at least. In my experience, with helping a small church get onto it's feet, it's a lot harder than one might think.
AUTH: I don't think anyone is doing any study right now, though, so don't feel like you're being disadvantaged. Perhaps there's an argument that your experiences here could be study, in some way?

Auth then listens quietly as Taeda explains what the last things to happen in the Church were. He chuckles quietly at the explanation about evacuation. He looks thoughtful at the explanation of the last wedding held there...

AUTH: Huh. I'm glad for them. I hope they're both doing alright, wherever they are.
AUTH: It sounds lovely. Truth be told, I half expect the Devout to be at least decent singers.
AUTH: My sister is a very talented singer, tangentially.

---

Auth thinks, quietly.

AUTH: To create a world where death doesn't exist... it requires specific, very difficult circumstances.
AUTH: It would be nice if they were more common, I think, but... to some extent... I wonder if it's all good. I know that violence is seen less negatively because the consequences of it are usually impermanent...
AUTH: Hmm.

Auth sighs.

AUTH: I think it's about time for me to get going. How are you feeling?

---

Auth takes a thoughtful pose as Chloe questions pet ownership.

AUTH: The cats don't mind, I don't think. Their human pets are still happy to provide food, and all.
AUTH: Joke. But stray cats are known to have plenty of secrets to share. But cat ownership isn't illegal, I think most cats don't mind.
AUTH: Cats, in London, are the guardians of Dreams. Quite literally. The Viscountess of the Viric Jungle, that was the title of our Mayor, ran on a platform of teaching people to defend their dreams from nightmares. And snakes.

Auth nods.

AUTH: I don't believe the common house spider wants eyes. As for living in a cave...
AUTH: There may be no sun, but there are substitutes. The Dawn Machine, although that's a prototype and quite a bit weaker. Less malicious is the Mountain of Light, who I believe is a child of the Sun. Not in a mythological thing I mean that quite literally, child of the Sun. Earth's sun.

Auth nods, and thinks for a moment.

AUTH: The Echo Collective is correct. Parabolan Orange-Apples are highly toxic if you don't eat the right bit.
AUTH: Actually, one minute.

Auth pulls out an apple, carefully peels and slices it, then removes the core and the seeds. Auth offers a not insignificant portion of the Orapple to Chloe.

AUTH: This bit isn't toxic. Try it?

If Chloe eats it, it tastes like a citrus-y apple. Or maybe an apple-y orange? Or maybe both and neither, depending on the bite? It's very complex.

---

Auth offers support to Aoki as she gets up.

AUTH: Careful, careful... you're still recovering, really, don't work yourself too hard just yet.

Auth looks back to the group of tied up soldiers.

AUTH: I think basically everyone is okay. I haven't got around to waking them up, yet, but it doesn't look like there's any permanent damage.

Auth sighs at Aoki's comment about the speed of her deployment.

AUTH: Is the Legion in such a desperate state that they would deploy so quickly? That can't be good for mental state...

Auth looks in the foam pit.

AUTH: I think a rest would probably be fine. I don't think anyone else is coming this way. Would you object to taking a rest in the foam pit? It looks decently comfortable.

Should she object to it, Auth uses basic fabric and Spiralfloof Floof to make some kind of comfortable mattress to lie down on.

---

Battle Action! Auth stays where he is, far away from goons, and casts Perseverance: Igniveil on Generic.

Remiel selfcasts Soaring Rush from Abyssal Runes to move to O7, strides to R11, and attacks Morph2. If Morph2 is already downed, they instead attack Extinguisher2.

<ROUND 264>

---

Echoss and Pionobot do a variety of things. First, Echoss notes to Chi that he's unable to look up exactly how his subspace grocery box thing works. The doctor shrugs.

CHI: If you say so...
CHI: Still, to think technology can go so far!
CHI: The Tabletopians would love to look at that, I'd bet.
CHI: So would Cypress. It'd probably fascinate him for years on end, before he's able to create something like it.

Elsewhere, and elseperson, Pionobot goes to question Cypress about a rather important question- is Cypress working for the Rebellion? Or is he just grasping at straws? Cypress stares blankly at Pionobot.

CYPRESS: Your query: why?
CYPRESS: Blocking: database error. These things happen.
CYPRESS: Also, stacked supplies? Stacking method: common. From hometown, anyway.
CYPRESS: Unpacking: hard. However, benefits! Minimal volume occupied. Good for transport.

CYPRESS: Fun fact. Originally Tabletopian method. Portals: eat power. Larger: more drain. Smallest area: efficient. Smaller portals. Power saved.
CYPRESS: Rebel supplies: unrelated.
CYPRESS: Straws: grasped firmly.

His mechanical voice modulator really doesn't help in telling if he's lying or not. He could spin the ultimate lie and a blatant truth, and have both sound the same. How bothersome. In the same area, Pionobot asks the Chairian prisoners in the area if there's anything they need before they run off to save the universe. One of them raises their voice.

CHAIRIAN: Um...
CHAIRIAN: Can you make sure Electrophorus doesn't... break in?
CHAIRIAN: We've heard that they've been all over the Labs, a-and if we're bound up like this, we'll be helpless should it strike.

Elsewhere, in a room that's actually likely to be threatened by Electrophorus, Pionobot flips out at Acacia. Her mouth begins to bubble over with words of rage, violently waving her staff about as she shouts.

ACACIA: WHAT DO YOU KNOW?
ACACIA: I! I am happy to be his pawn, if it means that he can further his grand ambition!
ACACIA: He will restore us to glory, and I will be by his side!
ACACIA: Of course he sees me as trash now, b-but that will change! I will return to his side!
ACACIA: You know NOTHING of his love- no, you WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND LOVE IN THE FIRST PLACE!
ACACIA: I WILL EARN IT BACK!

Then, he throws a few words at Spark. Just a few lines, nothing more. Acacia nearly implodes.

ACACIA: WHAT THE gorilla DID YOU JUST SAY?
ACACIA: OH, YOU ARE SO-
SPARK: Acacia. That is enough.
SPARK: Do not listen to their empty words. They are scared.
ACACIA: O-Of course, m-my lord...

Spark clears his throat.

SPARK: You call my leadership lackluster. This could not be further from the truth.
SPARK: I have been leading the people back to the light, over those Tabletopian gorillas. It is where we rightfully belong.
SPARK: Though sacrifices must be made for our people to thrive, and some may disagree, I shall see that my ideals come to fruition.

SPARK: And if you think I am incapable of defending myself...
SPARK: You couldn't be further from the truth.
SPARK: But I doubt you'll live to see proof of how you pale in comparison.

...Silence comes from the intercom. Chloe, who is definitely close to Pionobot, whispers something to him.

CHLOE: ...He is totally posing with his weapon right now.
CHLOE: I can just feel it!

---

Hannah yells at both Acacia and Spark. Though Acacia refuses to speak due to Spark's own command, Spark is more than happy(?) to reply to Hannah.

SPARK: Oh my. Another child with anger issues.
SPARK: I'm surprised you don't get along just fine with Acacia. Peas in a pod, you two.
SPARK: I would wish you luck in your plans to mulch me, but to wish luck upon a prospect so hopeless would be a waste of time.

Back at the house, away from crazy dictators, Adria explains to Taeda just how they can keep making the one place bigger. The city doesn't just grow outward- it grows upward, too! Skyscrapers and the like. Nobody really lives underground, though. That'd be horribly dull.

TAEDA: Oh! That's how you do it!
TAEDA: Guess you can't get cramped if you do that!
TAEDA: Although, I'd think living underground is totally viable! Like, if you can build really high up, shouldn't it also be possible to build really deep down?
TAEDA: Then you wouldn't need to worry about things falling over, either!

Apparently though, most enjoy the lofty heights of the ever-expanding city. There's even a nice environmental barrier that stops sand from blowing into the city and like. They also hunt down monsters around the city, since making the barrier strong enough to stop them would be pricy.

TAEDA: Well, I suppose maintaining a powerful barrier is really hard!
TAEDA: Remember Scale Yggdrasil's barrier? Apparently that takes absurd amounts of magical power to use, so they like to drop it whenever its not required.
TAEDA: Maintaining a barrier of that strength, around an entire city? That'd be impossible!
TAEDA: It'd... also be questionably helpful, if you're dealing with time travelling monsters!

Can they time travel? Probably not, but it'd be cool. Elsewhere, Hannah takes her time to explore the Border Outpost.

---

Crya discusses "benevolence" with Chi. What being benevolent is can vary from person to person, but the gods do their best to help the people along without destroying reality as one does. She also apologizes to Chi for the whole "arm wrestling thing".

CHI: Oh, it's alright.
CHI: I'm also suppose that to a god, "benevolence" is a relative term.
CHI: As the highest being there is, there is nobody to display benevolence to them, so things could differ...

CHI: ...It was a pleasure talking with you, miss Crya.
CHI: Just... be sure to watch your customs next time, alright?

She bows slightly forward towards Crya, bidding her a farewell. Crya then proceeds to have a big roleplay session with Echoss! Chi listens from where she sits as she picks away at her pie, somewhat bewildered. Souls? Resurrection? The Void? Just where do these Outsiders hail from? Is she weird for not knowing these things, or are they weird for knowing those things? It's all quite odd to her.

---

Venia continues her taunts against Acacia, also taking the time to throw a few jabs at Spark. Despite orders, Acacia can't help but snap at Venia.

ACACIA: Y-You would dare compare him t-to the genocidal warlord that Ikea was!?
ACACIA: To say he's no different t-than the one who m-murdered Abies... H-HOW DARE YOU!?
ACACIA: I'LL gorillaING KILL-
SPARK: Perhaps you weren't listening before?
SPARK: Be quiet. Focus on ripping them to shreds.
SPARK: Prove that you are worth something.

...Silently, Acacia bobs her head. Elsewhere, Maria regains consciousness from the shock that overwhelmed her. Spiralfloof babies explode? How dreadful. But maybe they just need to be told not to explode.

SALIX: I don't believe that Tumblefluffs are the sort to listen to commands.
SALIX: They're really quite aggressive, biting whatever they can. And, if they're not biting you, they're busy exploding.

Regalus chimes in with an idea. Why not try an anti-magic breeding pen? Salix shrugs.

SALIX: That... is a fascinating concept.
SALIX: I wonder if perhaps, Cypress has developed any sort of anti-magic technology?
SALIX: If he has, that'd certainly be something to consider.
SALIX: ...It'd save us many suits of armor, too.

Salix shudders. The physical whammy of the blast and the emotional whammy of the death of a small cute thing... it'd be great if Regalus's idea could end that. Also, unknown to him, Nimbus seems to have gravitated towards Maria, and is rubbing its fluffy cheeks against her head. Is Maria strong enough to resist the urge to pet? probably not

Ah, also! Venia prowls the battlefield just North of the Pass, Entropic Key in hand. Nia tags along behind her, acting as an "ordo battery" to help speed up the process. Readying up Purge, Venia fires a purifying beam at each and every unconscious cultist. Scale Reapers float up out of their bodies, Venia slaying each one of them and collecting them. All in all, eight more cultists have been Freed. Nia inspects each of them, making sure none of them are in danger of death. I mean, they all are, but Nia's resourceful enough to bandage them up.

NIA: There we go!
NIA: Venia! You're so kind, y'know?
NIA: After everything the Rose Cult has done, you're willing to forgive and help them out.

NIA: Think there's anything we can do for them now?
NIA: Some of them have been cultists for a really, really long time, I think.
NIA: They're probably lost and disorientated...

After any sort of response, Nia wraps her arms around Venia from behind.

NIA: H-Hey, you seem kinda stressed.
NIA: Wanna talk about it? I'm here, if you want!~

...It also seems that Nia is hungry for affection.

---

The Reflector explores the Border Outpost. Is that some loot they spy?

---

Kalis expends a Starite, 8 Crystalline Conduits, 8 Roseblight Logs, an Entrophy, and a Spiralfloof Floofball to create the Lucky Eight... which is then rotated 90 degrees to create the Lucky Infinity. They also modify their loadout, in a way that I am currently a bit too lazy to type out. But apparently, I'm not lazy enough to write some rambly text here. Motivation. It's weird.

---

Auth continues home with Taeda and Nana. He decides that he'll just sorta... carry the Helix Statue. Secretly, he's a buff boy. Nana's jaw drops, while Taeda simply and happily claps her hands together.

TAEDA: Oh, alright!
TAEDA: I didn't think you'd be able to just sorta... lift it!
TAEDA: Didn't think you'd be the brutish type.
NANA: W-Wow...
TAEDA: And apparently, neither did Nana!
TAEDA: Just goes to show that you should never judge a person just on their looks, right?

As they continue onward, Auth notes that his primary employer is a literary curator. Taeda bobs her head. Kinda like Miss Omorika, she supposes.

TAEDA: That's why you want a copy, then?
TAEDA: I guess that's a fine reason, then.
TAEDA: Maybe we can get you a fresh copy once the war's over, though?

He also argues that perhaps Taeda's experiences out here could be a study of sorts. She giggles, but ultimately shakes her head.

TAEDA: I-I wouldn't really call this "studying"...
TAEDA: Most devouts- or well, all devouts, save for me- never learn how to use a gun!
TAEDA: How will gunplay and warfare help me run a church?
TAEDA: Thanks, though!

It also comes up that Auth has a sister. Nana perks up- he has siblings?

NANA: Y-You have siblings!?
NANA: W-What's she like? Friendly? Smart? D-Deadly?
NANA: I want to meet her! W-When we can, of course!

While Nana imagines a smaller, cuter, female Author, he also talks with Chi at some different point in the timeline. Though, it's about time he gets going, isn't it? He asks how she's feeling right now. She shrugs, completely indifferent.

CHI: I... suppose I'm fine as I'll ever be.
CHI: Take care, alright?

Elsewhere, Auth explains london cats™ to Chloe. The cats are apparently fine with having owners, and they have many a secret to tell! Also, there's a cat who also happens to be the goddamn mayor.

CHLOE: Y-You have... a cat as mayor!?
CHLOE: Huh! Talk about being progressive!
CHLOE: And... w-wait, I think I've heard of London's sun before.
CHLOE: Chara yelled at me about suns that one time, a-and I'm pretty sure I almost suffocated somehow?
CHLOE: It was... a bit of a rush.

She shrugs. A moment later, Auth offers Chloe a slice of a Parabolan Orange-Apple. She's incredibly apprehensive about accepting the fruit, having just learned that it's incredibly toxic should you not eat the right bit. Then again, Auth lives down there. That's probably the right bit. Slowly and hesitantly, she takes the slice, and puts it to her lips. The doors fly open, and snap- Chloe has munched the slice.

CHLOE: O-Ooh! That's weird!
CHLOE: I really hope I'm just tasting the orange-y goodness, a-and not any sort of deadly neurotoxin!
CHLOE: ...
CHLOE: I mean, I haven't died yet, so it's probably fine.
CHLOE: So... c-could I have another slice?

Finally, Auth helps Aoki walk along, noting that everyone's alright. She silently, solemnly nods as they walk along. Then, looking around for a place to lay down Aoki, his eyes fall to the foam pits around the area. Would she be fine resting there?

AOKI: It... looks rather comfortable down there.
AOKI: Lower me down gently, a-alright?

Though perhaps it'd be more fun to be hurled in at 50km/h, Auth gently drops her into the pit. She lands safely, the many foam cubes bouncing a little with her impact. She leans back into the pile, giving a sigh of relief.

AOKI: This... this will do.
AOKI: Thank you, sir Author.
AOKI: Now, if it's fine by you... I-I'd like to get some beauty... sleep...

Her eyes flutter shut, and she immediately begins to snore gently. She naturally wiggles her way deeper into the foam, a few cubes acting as a "blanket" of sorts. Truly, she is the most comfy woman on the planet at this moment in time. (Disregarding anyone who may be touching / riding a Spiralfloof, of course.)

---

<THE SHOOTING GALLERY, ROUND 3>
Because I am angery™, more reinforcements have arrived than expected! Including the rather scary, rather invincible Airship Guns. They'll poke at you for decent amounts of damage each round, and there's... really not much you can do about them. You'll just need to stay away if you're low on HP. Anyway, you might be in a good position to reach Acacia's shield generators now! Maybe try and gun for them now?

Echoss responding to Chi
Echoss nods at Chi's mention of Cypress liking a look at it.
"Well, once some of these sandwiches are made, I'll be heading up to the Skylabs to take everyone lunch with Chloe.
If you think it'd perhaps be a good idea, it wouldn't be any trouble to hand this to Cypress if we meet him there.
I assume he'd be there anyway, I am admittedly a bit behind on today's events."


Pionobot and Prisoners
"Oh, hm, that's a good point.
Electrophorous has been pretty focused on us so far, so it shouldn't be too long before we finish killing it.
But if there's any Iti still crawling around in the vents they could be a problem.
I'll talk to Cypress and see if we can come up with anything to keep you guys safe."
This is when he moves over to talk with Cypress.


Pionobot and Cypress
"Oh, sorry. yeah that explains it all."
Pionobot looks at the floor sheepishly for a moment.
"Oh, yeah.
The guys we took down over there.
We don't have any way to get them back behind 'legion lines' so to speak, so they're kinda gonna be stuck in here for a while.
Which means we need to make sure that no Iti break in and try to eat them before we can put them somewhere safer.
Do you have any ideas?"


Pionobot and Acacia:
"Acacia, I may not have ever been in love but I know enough to know this is an unhealthy obsession, not love.
You've lost, uh... two battles? In an unbroken string of us steamrolling everything including, according to the others, a splinter of the thing at the center of the Iti's hivemind I think?
You've hardly done anything wrong, Spark's just using you. Abusing you.

Anyways, to the man so certain of himself that he tries to pose over the radio:
You talk big game for a guy whose brilliant tactical acumen has resulted in an unbroken string of losses against the Spherebreakers.
So far you've been throwing just about everything you've had on hand at trying to kill us.
Meanwhile we've been pulling punches to not get the people you seem so unconcerned about killed, and you still haven't killed any of us.
News flash: if your gross incompetence gets everyone eaten by Iti there won't be anyone left to bask in your ego's repugnant fumes.
And before you point to the new girl getting sproinged on by a frog, give it a minute, you have dealt with exactly 0 of our healers.."
Shortly after his comment, Auth revives Lily.
"I rest my freaking case."

For actual battle action: Pionobot waits until someone has changed cover with a console to remove the large cover on the right side of the map.
He calmly, collectedly, strolls South 5 tiles.
He then pops LEGENDARY BLADEMASTER.
Pionobot reaches behind his back, and from a small rift in the air, draws forth a sword legendary to any who know of the Second Godmodding War. Ircucvci.
"What is the phrase again?
Oh, right.
YOU ARE ALREADY DEAD"
In the blink of an eye, Pionobot dashes to P18 (1 MOV used, 5 remaining), then down to M20 (3 more MOV used, 2 remaining), uses a mid-special bonus action (sanctioned by ire) to read out a poetry pamphlet, applying Slipthrough3 to Dartfrog1 and the Shield Generator (or if I'm misreading the pamphlet, and I can't do that, Slipthrough3 to the shield generator and Primed3 to the Expert Sage), and then using his last 2 MOV to slip right into O21, using the final attack on the Expert Sage.
Time suddenly snaps into being as a blur of shining sword strikes cuts through Yurei, Splintershot2, both Dartfrogs, and of course the Expert Sage.
Pionobot sheathes his sword and steps back to N21, redrawing Armistyx (now in water mode).
"Psh. Piece of cake."

reminder to both ire and myself: change the "+1 threshold upon downing 3 or more enemies in a round" to 'downing or killing'

Nettle acts last-ish.

Nettle uses Sing Unto Me to move Extinguisher2 to O11, then uses her trait (Heavemarch) to drag it to N8. Next, she uses her special on Halberdier2 and the Permafrost Robe, then moves to I13. At the end of her movement, if the Earthshaker is within her Threshold or downed, she drags/yeets it to G16 and uses her special on the morph Bauhaus is standing on. With the three of them down, her threshold is bumped up to 13. This gives her an additional Heavemarch usage, and she drags Extinguisher1's body (at E14) to E15.

NETTLE: You're pathetic! Let me show you what I can do!

She activates the Helix Totem, then casts Upheaval (Netu Patch-empowered) at H18! This has 14 Buff Levels (Loaded Spellbook, 5 Bodies, Manafuelled2, Netu Patch, Enlightened3), costs 27 MP, and has Splash 3. This becomes 15 Buff Levels if the Earthshaker was thrown. She also receives an Earth Reagent, increasing her AC by 1. She then retreats to H12.

Here's a summary of her actions in non-paragraph form, since there's a lot of moving parts to her action.

BATTLES - THE SHOOTING RANGE

Roleplay: As the smoke and debris of the Devastation and Calamity attacks clear, the twin Reflectors smile from behind their energy shields. The pair each gently tap the runes on their wrists, causing the shields to dissolve into light. Each Reflector takes a bow.

THE REFLECTOR: acacia the cinderwitch! a pleasure an honor truly a magnificent pleasure to finally make your acquaintance.
MIRROR REFLECTOR: the spherebreakers our erstwhile allies, well they’ve told us many things many things about you!
THE REFLECTOR: we are terribly sorry our first meeting is under such well such violent circumstances but such is war so is the state of war.
MIRROR REFLECTOR: you do seem quite perplexed about something. our ability to ignore your attacks perhaps? well then i believe an explanation is in order!

The Mirror Reflector winks at their prime self and, with a flourish of light, twirls and transforms into the visage of one Acacia, Cinderwitch.

“ACACIA”: Oh, come on, me.
“ACACIA”: You really thought you’d be able to hurt me with my own spells?
“ACACIA”: How pathetic do you think we are? Just because they burned us once?
“ACACIA”: Don’t you realize? What doesn’t kill us only makes us stronger.

“Acacia” steps forward, her eyes glinting with derision.

”ACACIA”: You know, I empathize with you, Acacia.
“ACACIA”: Killing these scum to reclaim your position as Spark’s right hand? I would do it, too.
“ACACIA”: Except, I’ve seen what you haven’t seen.
“ACACIA”: You’ve been trapped on your little throne, needing soldiers to fight for you and Cypress to fix you. Because you’re scared you’re too useless to fight on your own.
“ACACIA”: I’ve been out there on the front lines. I’ve seen what the war is like.
“ACACIA”: Spark thinks we need him. He thinks we’re scared of him.
“ACACIA”: But Spark’s LOSING.
“ACACIA”: These Spherebreakers keep beating his troops at every turn. I’ve been there. They haven’t lost a single fight, and most of the time they’re HOLDING BACK!
“ACACIA”: If Spark were really so powerful, he’d come and kill them all himself and end this. But Spark’s scared. He knows he’d lose.
“ACACIA”: And so he sends us, sends you into the fray, and then blames you when you lose.
“ACACIA”: You want to know why I’m working with our enemy? Because they’re the ones with real power in this war.
“ACACIA”: And when they win, they’ll give us power Spark could never dream of giving us.
“ACACIA”: If you think Spark still loves you, then stay with him. But here’s my opinion.
“ACACIA”: We are NOT useless. We are the DEADLIEST SIEGE MAGI IN LOCAA HISTORY!
“ACACIA”: And if Spark doesn’t think so, then you’re wasting your love on him.

Battle actions: The Mirror Reflector moves to F13 and casts Suffocating Hatred (Taunt) on C16 before retreating to F12.
The Reflector waits for Auth to revive Lily, then uses their action to grant Lily Shields Holding (Divine Shield + 5 SHP version) to keep her alive through the round.

---

THE BORDER OUTPOST

“Lilac” approaches the rebel workers.

“LILAC”: Yo! Special operative Lilac here.
“LILAC”: I’m looking for a ride to Acorn Orphanage, but you all seem like you have your hands full...
“LILAC”: Want me to pitch in? It seems only fair.

Meanwhile, ““Lilac”” (the mirror image) walks up to the communications hub.

““LILAC””: Um, hi! Don’t think I’ve seen you before. I’m one of Kudan’s special operatives.
““LILAC””: I’m here on a top-secret mission, and I need to make contact with Kudan to share some of my findings once I’m done.
““LILAC””: I’ve never visited this airbase before, so do you think you could show me how the setup works so that I don’t waste any time once it’s time to report back in?

Battle - The Shooting Range

Hannah blinks at Spark's entire speil at her and Pionobot. Then grins. Then starts giggling, which eventually spirals into a full-on laughing fit. "PFFFFFAHAHAHAA, A-AM I SUPPOSED TO TAKE ANY OF THAT SERIOUSLY!? Heh-Hah-HOW AM I!? LOOK AT YOU, ACTING ALL Ha-HIGH AND MIGHTY! HAAAHAHAHAHA... Haha..."

She eventually winds down her laughing fit, but she's still grinning. "Hmhm... you have the self-awareness of a frog! You have no idea what you're doing! Look around you; one kill on us means absolutely nothing! You're in a horrible position! And you're excited for a kill that took that much effort for literally no payoff? Your defeat isn't just likely; it's inevitable!"

"I wonder how many innocents you left to rot or get eaten while you were in pursuit of your stupid plans! You're so far up your own butt that I don't think you'll ever see the light of day again!"

Spark challenges her to try and mulch him. Hannah scoffs.

"Pfeh, please, I could do it in my sleep! You want a real taste of what I can do? I'm not just some idiot child, you know!"

"My turn!~"

Mirror!Hannah moves to (C10) and shoots Shieldbearer 1.

Hannah moves to (D4), drops the cover at (E21-G21), (M21-O21), and (D16), returns to her original position at (E6), waits for Venia to pop the Saint's Divine Shield and for her Wonderer to move her into position at (B10), and shoots the Saint for what is hopefully a clean down.

...

Venia shouts her down again. Hannah rolls her eyes, still with a grin on her face. "Nah. Too fun. Dang, and I thought you'd love to rail on this guy, Ven."

---

House - Adria

Taeda suggests it's totally viable to live underground. Adria nods. "I didn't say it wasn't viable. If push comes to shove we can always do so. I know a few that have decided to try it out at least once; some liked it down there, many others hated it."

She then mentions Scale Yggdrasil and if she remembers the barrier around that. If it was anyone else, the answer would undoubtedly be 'yes'. Though in this case, Adria's left confused. "I... suppose the effects would be similar? We can supercharge ours in case of, um, a huge threat..."

"...What's a Yggdrasil? It sounds important..."

---

Outpost Unity - "Carica"

Hannah takes a good look at the Locust suit, not questioning why it's there in the first place. It's full-body, making it a good disguise in a vacuum. Unfortunately it's a bit too big for her. Maybe she could get it to shrink somehow?

She flips an empty box over herself, in case someone comes in and sees her mid-change.

...

A couple minutes later, "Carica" emerges from the box, wearing an appropriately-sized Locust outfit in place of her standard outfit, which she stored away in the inventory for now (though she keeps some of her corrosives on hand just in case). She's ready to move out, checking her map for stuff to do.

"Carica" emerges from the Teleporter room, and gets her bearings on the place. She sees "Lilac" in two different places: the Runway and the Communications Hub. She notes that those two places have Tabletopians nearby; something's up, definitely. She also notes the Sniper Tower in the distance; if anyone's up there, things might get messy if they screw up. To look inconspicuous as they approach the tower, "Carica" approaches the Barracks area to get out of sight. Who knows, she might overhear some gossip...

Wheee!
Give Nettle pizza, move to O16, Mana Leech, Toxin Coating, whale on Yurei.

Battle action, cuz that's important to go first:

Auth moves to J12 and revives Lily.

---

Auth makes a noise indicating indignation at their assumptions about his undeclared strength.

AUTH: Hey... strength doesn't necessarily correspond to brutishness.
AUTH: But yes. I elect not to show off much... mostly because for the most part, my coat supplies enough weight to make restraint a simple task.
AUTH: Brutish...

Auth clearly dislikes the idea of mindless violence. He shakes his head, and then listens to Taeda's comment.

AUTH: Yes, more or less. I have some obligations to her to collect material.
AUTH: Which only reminds me of the future report on this I'm going to have to make. A problem for future-me, I suppose.

Auth figures that bringing more material for the Genesis Library will let him accidentally on purpose forget to submit a report...

AUTH: Well, honestly, everything is a lesson if you think about it. But what I really meant, when I said that, is more along the lines of how you can help people who are in stressful situations or directly traumatised, right?
AUTH: This whole deal is going to have a huge impact on the lives of so many people... there's a lot I feel like being embroiled in it could teach someone by experience, y'know? It's a matter of perspective.
AUTH: And, depending on where the Church is... well, maybe you might have to use that gunplay. Wild creatures and that.

Auth nods, slightly, to Nana's question about him having a sister. He starts looking through his pockets.

AUTH: Yes, I have a sister. We don't look much alike, but we're twins. Believe it or not.
AUTH: How would I describe her...? Hm. She's extremely friendly, and very excitable. She's an extraordinarily powerful mage, although she herself... well...
AUTH: Alicia leaves me to do the thinking, shall we say. Here...

Auth produces a picture of himself and a similarly tall, blonde girl with blood-red eyes, silver-framed glasses and a blue and white dress. Auth is smiling faintly in the picture, while the girl is grinning widely. The background looks vaguely like an office, perhaps Auth's office? It seems to be a strong anchor for Auth.

---

Auth nods.

AUTH: Yeah. Cat mayor. There was, unsurprisingly, a huge number of people who voted for her because "Cat Mayor". There were... other, significantly more complicated and involved reasons for it, of course.
AUTH: I'm sure Chara probably would have freaked out about the Sun... and it's for reasons perhaps not entirely unrelated to our aforementioned Mayor, if I had to guess.
AUTH: Suffocating, though...? Where would you go for that to happen... or did they do something with Discordance? I'd guess it's something they'd rather forget... not that I'd blame them.

Auth watches carefully as Chloe eats the fruit.

AUTH: Sure, yeah. I've made marmalade with these, what... half a dozen times, or so? I like to think I'm reasonably able to identify what is or is not safe to eat.
AUTH: I think a decent comparison for these apples is fugu. I'm sure you know what that is.

Auth disposes of the rind, core, and several slices.

AUTH: They looked angry. The rest should be fine... but at this point, I think the poison has been reduced where even if I missed some there'd be some slight discomfort at worst. Nausea, dizziness, nothing severe. The worst of the poison is in the rind and the seeds, really. If you don't take care of that properly you'll ruin the whole fruit.

Auth sounds authoritative enough, probably, that Chloe shouldn't worry about being poisoned. Probably.

---

Auth nods, gently laying Aoki in the foam pit.

AUTH: Sounds reasonable to me. I'd have suggested getting some rest either way. Physical stresses combined with the mental stresses of deployment and such...
AUTH: I'd say anyone would need it. I'll see you later.

Auth watches Aoki for a minute, to make sure nothing notable happens as she drifts to sleep, and then leaves her to her rest.

Battle: The Shooting Range

Spark's repeated responses visibly agitate Venia. Despite this, Venia doesn't begrudge him a word, and instead turns back to Hannah and Pionobot. "Hannah, Pionobot, they're not gonna listen to reason, cut it out!" Venia shouts, with more obvious stress than last time. "This one time you're really distracting me! Just focus!"

Venia moves to F16. For reference, this is right in front of Acacia. She leers down-the height difference between the two is immense. She doesn't speak to Acacia despite the proximity. "... You know, I think you remind me of myself way too much, but also not at all at the same time. Do I act like this when I get mad? Is this me before I came here, give or take? ... Focus!"

Venia raises her hand, and uses Unexisting Force, twice... On the Singularity Robe several tiles behind Acacia, downing them through their SHP. This also refreshes Venia's Unrestrained Power buffs (before using the special, but that's less relevant now). Venia then pings the Saint's divine shield away via Hat, scanning True Magi-it's Unmoddable instead of Direct so it won't ignore the shields. Venia then shoots the exposed Ballistae with her basic attack and the remaining two uses of the Elemental Blaster set to Ice. She retreats to F15, excepting if Bladedancer1's ZoC no longer exists, in which case she retreats to E15 instead.

"Chloe, over there. Take out that Ballistae and interfere with Acacia's casting," Venia asks, pointing at F18. She'll hopefully basic attack the Ballistae and remain put to trigger Get Back!(.)

"Nia, Persephone, now! Down that Earthshaker!" Venia says. Nia should take this to move... Basically anywhere that won't get her shot by Devastation/Calamity, that is within range of the Earthshaker, and then unleash Reshape Our World, summoning Persephone somewhere safeish too. Both should use Hidden Shard on the Earthshaker to down them again. There 'where' isn't as important as the ZoCs are really suffocating.

The Wonderer moves to J11, attacks the Bladedancer, retreats to I10, then moves Hannah over to B10 via Displace and Playing Around.

---

The Old Pass

"It's him. It's him. I don't know what to do! I still don't know what to do. But, I... Nia, I'm scared!"

Venia grabs Nia and pulls her in.

"Nia, I'm scared he'll hurt you! I don't want to take you away to anywhere dangerous, I don't want to hurt you! I don't know what to do! But, like, what do I do? I don't know!"

---

Maraiaaaaaaaa

"Fluffy!" Maria says as she begins petting Nimbus. "I love fluffies," she adds, hopelessly hypnotized by floof.

"... An enightening response! I figure you would already have such means. Hrm, actually, I figure I should find out where everything stands here-know any libraries or such?" Regalus asks Salix.

Pionobot looks over at Venia.
"First off, who gave you micromanagement rights?
Second off, if I want to take a turn to poke at the baddies I'll darn well do so if I please.
It's not like I can't talk and fight at the same time."

(OOC: Tazz, given how out of any given fight you're the one who has the highest chance of being the one launching taunts or whatever, it's definitely irritating that you're trying to lock me and darkside out of it for exactly no reason whatsoever. Not cool)

Destiny Hookshots on to Bladedancer 3, moving to C18.

ETTE: It's time, everyone!
ETTE: Your hopes, your dreams, your prayers...
ETTE: They'll-
CHAOS: none of [t]hem will ma[t][t]er unless you vo[t]e wi[t]h [t]he link below
ETTE: H-Hey! I was gonna say something uplifting!
ETTE: But... he's right.
ETTE: Vote below, or Chaos will take your soul!

The Chaos Awards are now open for voting! Cast your votes now, and see the winner... some time after the conclusion of next update? Yeah!

Vote Here: https://forms.gle/vBtDXg59rrpmaKj7A

Shooting Range
Power Nap self.
Move to G15.
Last Dream Royal Shieldbearer 2.

The Shooting Range
Daskter moves to (F10) then they fire off a Singularity at Bladedancer 2 (K15) without murdering Earthshaker.
They eat one of their manabiscuit.

The Rocketeer follows up to (E9). They fire off a First Strike against Royal Shield 1.

If any of the targets is downed, roll a die and attack any target in range.