Kalis moves to O8 to skirt around the rubble, then jukes back towards L13. They have thought deeply about what they want to do next, they have coordinated with the other players, and they have a plan. They wait for the left vehicle-sized barrier to drop... and then they cast an extremely large Earth Spike, targeting the left Shield Generator for a hopefully overwhelming 200% of its already substantial damage. They have the highest INT among people not named Dakster, and it's time that they put it to use once more.

Woodthorne moves to D14, and attacks the Bladedancer with the Forest's Breath.
He also applies Emboldened to Destiny.

Battle: The Shooting Range

Irongutta exhaled loudly through his nose. A lot of venomous words were being exchanged here - about par for the course in a heated fight of this nature. But what offended him most was the one who couldn't even show up in person.

"Oi there, that's a lotta hot air yer blowin' when ya aren't even 'ere! That's just shameful, that is! You really 'ave the nerve to sit up there yappin' at us through yer poncy hologram? You'd be quakin' in yer boots if you know whats good for ya you snivelin' grot, 'coz when we're done crushin' Acacia again, your sorry arse is next Spark!"

Hoisting Magnolia up, he readied himself to charge forward. "C'mon Magnolia, let's show these gits wot we've got!"

Battle action time! This will take place after Piono and Hannah's actions.

Irongutta starts off by finally using his special, WAAAGH! He zooms over to O20, but that doesn't end his movement. With the usage of the Warp Ring, he zaps over to O23 to get behind those defending the shield generator.

With a fierce roar, he devastated the Shield Generator with one swing of Magnolia. Provided it actually destroys it as planned, he will use Dance of Destruction to follow-up on the Expert Sage next to him.

Crystal moves to G15 and uses his Metaphysical Awareness as a bonus action to edit himself some Empowered3 for two turns. He swings the Nightmarron at Shieldbearer 1 and chains the swing into condensing another Light Petal with a *chunk*. Then, he whips around and chucks an Infinisyringe at the revived Lily, healing them for a bit of health.

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

Pope Bill moves to E20, then uses Burrowing Rally to get to L23 to hide behind the walls. Finally, he basic-attacks the generator!

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

Shooting Range (Before Nettle):

Remiel moves to N14 and casts Relinquish Will on Extinguisher2 via Soulless Suggestion.

<ROUND 265>

Pionobot and Echoss do some chats. Echoss nods when Chi mentions wanting to have Cypress take a look at it. He certainly could do that! He's also going up to the Sky Labs to have lunch with Chloe.

CHI: Hm? You are?
CHI: Is... that the safest place to have lunch?
CHI: Nonetheless, I'd join you... had I not just eaten.
CHI: ...Apologies.

The taste of pie still lingers on her tongue. Elsewhere, Pionobot is refuted by Cypress. Him, being the Rebel leader? Preposterous! Totally! He also asks what he could do to protect the prisoners in the area from Cypress. Moving them might be hard, so... they'd need to resort to alternate measures.

CYPRESS: ...Hm.
CYPRESS: Task: difficult. Electrophorus: powerful. Hard to stop. Moves wherever. Unpredictable. Pierces metal. Fortifications: unviable.
CYPRESS: No viable defense. Must use offense.
CYPRESS: Therefore, two solutions.
CYPRESS: One. Temporary relocation.
CYPRESS: Two. Kill the beast.
CYPRESS: Spherebreakers: expert hunters. Latter much easier. Probably.

...It's time to kill the beast! Raise your voices, torches, rocks! Bring this evil to the light! Finally, over in the Shooting Gallery, Pionobot addresses Acacia, calling her "love" towards Spark an unhealthy obsession.

ACACIA: ...
SPARK: Good. Ignore his lies.
SPARK: Do not even pay him mind.

SPARK: And you. Do not compare our tasks.
SPARK: I must protect the people, while you vagrants are free to move as you please.
SPARK: Were I able to devote the entire army to squashing you, I would do so.
SPARK: But alas. I have responsibilities. I cannot stoop to your level.
SPARK: A tragedy.

...Also kill this guy, too!

---

The Reflector becomes Acacia. Acacia is, needless to say, the slightest bit shocked. Okay, what? First, that Nettle lady steals her spells. Then, Venia makes fun of her. Now, they're just making copies of her? Oh, in what creative way will they mock her now? Spark gets a word in as her ire begins to build...

SPARK: Acacia. Ignore your... "clone".
SPARK: They will only use it to mock you. Whatever she says is but a lie.

This Mirror Acacia begins to speak, her eyes glinting with... "contemptuous ridicule or mockery". TIL. This other, perhaps more positive Acacia, has sided with the Spherebreakers. These randos from some other universe seem to keep beating back all of Spark's troops. Does Spark really have any power? Could Spark really give her the power she desired?

SPARK: Acacia.
SPARK: Did you not hear me. IGNORE HER.
ACACIA: S-SHUT UP! W-What if-
SPARK: Pardon? Dare you talk back to me?
SPARK: If you wish to win, know your place, and be quiet.
SPARK: How many times must I tell you? Must this be beaten into you?
ACACIA: O-Of course n-not, my liege. Of c-course.

...The deadliest siege mage in Locaa's history. She is that, right? Why would the clone say that? Is it trying to provoke her? Or perhaps, it's not? If that's the case, it'd certainly be a first. She tries to clear these thoughts from her head. She can't let them get in her way.

Elsewhere, "Lilac" continues her work on the field of Outpost Unity.

---

Hannah continues to jeer at Spark. He gives a short sigh, clearly audible through the intercom.

SPARK: There is a finite amount of you.
SPARK: Ridding the world of even one of your limited number is a cause for celebration.
SPARK: Besides. I am hardly the one to blame for our... "ineffectiveness" this combat.
SPARK: Miss Acacia should be far more capable of a leader than she is.
SPARK: She should've stayed back, and forced you lot to approach.
SPARK: Instead, her forces advanced upward, and were subsequently culled.
SPARK: Foolish, isn't she?
ACACIA: ...

While Acacia simmers in silence, Adria asks what a Yggdrasil is. Taeda takes a moment to clear her throat, before a warm grin crosses her face. Had she a stick and a blackboard, she'd be tapping the heck out of it.

TAEDA: Oh, Yggdrasil!
TAEDA: Yggdrasil is a gigantic tree that exists on Sussui! Known as the "world tree", Yggdrasil is sort of like... the origin of the world, I believe.
TAEDA: It's a few thousand meters tall, and made of the strongest, most ancient wood.
TAEDA: Yggdrasil was said to be the first tree to exist on this planet, and all other trees were originally made in its image.
TAEDA: From Yggdrasil, life sprung forth from its roots, filling the once-barren planet with life!
TAEDA: Of course, that was so long ago. Now trees have mutated and adapted for all sorts of environments, in many different colors.

TAEDA: ...Truth be told, nobody really knows the origin of Yggdrasil. Who planted it there? What was Sussui like before it arrived? Nobody knows.
TAEDA: We in the church personally believe it was Lord Helix who did it, but we can't be sure.
TAEDA: There's also many Yggdrasils on other planets, oddly enough.
TAEDA: I assume your planet has nothing of the sort?

Finally, out on Outpost Unity, Carica decides to assume a disguise!

---

Auth continues about his day. He insists to Taeda that strength doesn't instantly mean one is brutish. Taeda becomes the slightest bit bashful upon witnessing his reaction.

TAEDA: A-Ah, sorry!
TAEDA: There... p-probably was a better term for that!
TAEDA: But you're really strong, though! That's what I wanna get across!

Then, as Taeda goes on a spiel on how gunplay won't help her run a church, Auth suggests that should she think about it, everything is a lesson.

TAEDA: That's one way to look at it.
TAEDA: Learning how to handle oneself in a stressful situation is important!
TAEDA: But... I hope I never need to use these skills after the Sphere vanishes, ever again!
TAEDA: E-Except maybe for recreation!

As the trio walks on, Auth describes his sister to Nana. While they don't look much alike, they're still apparently twins! How does that work?

NANA: Twins, huh? Wow!
NANA: She really does look nothing like you...
NANA: She's really pretty, though! I-I guess t-that runs in the family!
NANA: A-Ah, um...

...The poor(?) thing seems to have flustered herself with that comment, a warm verdant glow enveloping her cheeks. Elsewhere, in part of the timeline where Auth has arrived at the house, he explains to Chloe that she's not likely to die. Or even get poisoned, for that matter.

CHLOE: So... don't eat the rind or the seeds. Got it!
CHLOE: Like less deadly, organic fugu fish.
CHLOE: Can't wait to see that marmalade! Good luck with that!

While Chloe dreams on about marmalade, Auth decides to leave Aoki to her own devices within the ball pit. Nothing in particular happens as she falls into a deep sleep. Really, she seems quite comfy in there. Kinda makes him wanna jump in himself...

---

Venia pulls Nia into a tight embrace. Venia laments to her girlfriend, her fear of Regalus overwhelming her. The much shorter Nia plants a quick kiss upon Venia's chest before speaking.

NIA: Y-You're really that scared of him, huh?
NIA: Really, I-I'm more worried he'll try and hurt you! But if I could put an end to your worries, I'd do it in a heartbeat.
NIA: But, the two of us together can handle anything! Right?
NIA: I know you're capable of protecting me~

A few more quick kisses are planted upon Venia. Suddenly, an idea flashes into Nia's head.

NIA: Oh! If you're worried about him hurting me... we just gotta make me stronger!
NIA: We could like, totally spar, if that's what you're into. That's one way to make me stronger.
NIA: Buuuut, you wouldn't want to lay a finger on my cute cheeks, right?~
NIA: So instead, we could do that... thing! Y'know. You're a water elemental lady now, right?
NIA: Let's do that to me, too! We can be the unstoppable duo of ice and water!
NIA: It shouldn't be a problem, because of... this!

Nia takes a step back, producing a large pile of credits. A few of them spill from her hands, and out onto the ground below. The pile grows somewhat smaller, but she sweeps those that fell onto the ground into their own pile with her foot.

NIA: Ta-daah! My savings!
NIA: I've pocketed like, a lot of money from my work! We could totally pay Chaos to get us the stuff we need!
NIA: He'd never say no to a big ol' pile of money, right?

Nia's eyes glimmer brightly, as does her big ol' pile of credits. Will the power of capitalism combined with the power of love be enough to triumph over the power of the monarchy? It certainly wouldn't be enough to overcome the power of floof, as Maria could attest to. She's still attached to Nimbus, giving her a lotta pets. pat pat pat

While Maria's busy with incredibly serious business, Regalus asks about if there's a library or such to be found on the planet. Salix nods.

SALIX: Certainly.
SALIX: There's the Grand Library, run by miss Omorika.
SALIX: While it is currently in a desolate state, I believe many of the books there are still in readable condition.

SALIX: ...Say.
SALIX: Will you be taking this child with you?

...He seems to be the slightest bit annoyed with Maria. While it's absolutely adorable, he has places to be. How he wishes he could abandon his duties to pet Nimbus a whole bunch.

i wanna do that tooooo

---

Irongutta sends a few choice words towards Spark. Well, maybe not "choice" as he is an Ork, but still. While Spark is confused about what sort of "hologram" the Ork is seeing, he still remains solemn.

SPARK: Do you really think you'll even be able to lay a finger on me?
SPARK: There is an entire legion of loyal soldiers between us.
SPARK: Ideally, you wouldn't be leaving this room alive, either.
SPARK: But, it seems that miss Acacia here isn't very interested in taking your lives.

Acacia huffs quietly in the background. Why is she being overshadowed by him? This was meant to be her moment.

---

<THE SHOOTING GALLERY, ROUND 4>
Both Shield Generators are down! Realistically, you could gun directly for Acacia... but thanks to Spark's meddling, Electrophorus has ambushed the party! They've brought a few troops with them, so see if you can take them out! But maybe if you play it smart, you can kill both Electrophorus AND Acacia this round? Who knows?

...Oh, yeah. Also:

ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: oh no i have been hit by a train
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: Just an Arrow to the Knee
ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED: No Matter How Hard I Try

Combined, these two achievements deploy 3,500 Credits into the inventory. Auth's (complete lack of) pain is your gain!

Echoss and Chi:
"Safest place? Perhaps not.
But it's where everyone already is, and we seem to have something of a habit of eating lunch near the action.
Should anything actually try to attack the luncheon I suspect that they would just be another notch in the Spherebreaker's winning streak."
Echoss turns around and begins assembling sandwiches.
"And that's understandable. One meal at a time is enough.
If you don't mind me asking, when did you join the party?
The comings and goings of people seem to be rather... erratic.
It's hard to tell when someone new is actually new, or just someone who was gone for a bit."


Pionobot and Cypress:
"Yeah we're already working on number two.
I'm not actually too worried about Electrophorous, it seems pretty focused on us and we've killed like half of its segments already so I doubt it'll last all that much longer.
I was more worried about the other Iti.
If we've missed any stragglers in the vents or whatever, those might still be a problem.
If the soldiers don't have any defense, and we can't exactly give them their weapons back, it doesn't matter whether its an eliti or a pack of the regular fare, they're just as dead."


Pionobot and Spark:
"Hahaha no I'll compare our tasks all I want.
I'm not talking about civilian defense anyways, though if we wanna get into that, over the course of four days we have:
Cleaned most of the Iti out of the outskirts.
Cleared both an enormous swarm of Iti and a crowd of evil cultists out the library, and rescued one of the other Highchair members that you seem to be so eager to get rid of.
You do realize that's why Omorika joined us right? You almost got her killed. Kinda like... oh yeah, all of the others since the Sphere started.
Anyways: we cleared the Iti out of the Gardens and broke the Rebel siege for you guys.
And then wiped out another cult that was picking off your people for sacrifices that were hiding under the Grand Cathedral.

If you want to try and say you're up to the task you've appointed yourself to, you'll have to do better than 'I need the entire military to take down a team of twenty or so random people who hadn't even heard of each other a week ago'."

Pionobot looks at Acacia, then out at the various soldiers.

"Enough about Spark, frankly I'm wasting my banter on him. His 'rebuttals' -and I use very heavy quotes there- are so weak that it's not even fun anymore.
The rest of you.
I want you to remember this fight.
Not that we demolished you guys, that's kind of old news at this point.
No I want you to remember Spark's actions and words. For all he says he's protecting you guys, he's not. You heard him before, he plans to make sacrifices for his 'grand vision of the future'.
That means you.
Not you in a general sense, it means that if he felt like you specifically dying would bring him his imagined glory, he wouldn't hesitate to separate your head from your shoulders. Or feed you to the Iti."
Pionobot points at Electrophorous.
"Spark, who treats those of equal ranking to him like disposable weapons.
Spark, who tried to assassinate Cypress less than an hour ago over suspected treason instead of actually verifying it or trying to arrest him.
Spark, whose aid fails catastrophically so he blames it on those around him.
Spark, whose grand plan is to take the single greatest threat to the Chairian people and give it more weapons. And then send it to the other side of the planet so you can't destroy it once its done.
Spark, who has led your people into a grand new age of ruin and death and conflict.
Spark, who just summoned a notorious Eliti in the middle of a fight full of your wounded and fallen.

Now, obviously, I'm not saying you should just stop fighting right now. I'm not stupid.
But when we're done here. When you're done here. When you go home to lick your wounds and think about what happened here.
Remember.
Think about who's leading you. Think about why you let them lead you.
Whatever you choose to do, we're going to keep putting ourselves on the line to keep the Sphere from killing all of you.
What is Spark going to do?
And what are you going to do?"

Anyways, move time.
Pionobot moves up to N16, and procs his second use of poetry pamphlet onto Shieldbearer2, for Primed3 and Slipthrough3. He then procs sprint (I know sprint comes before MOV this is just to verify that i can indeed bonus action pamphlet the shield bearer) and rushes up to N11
IMPORTANT NOTE: Tazz's post has turn ordering that's rather important for this round's shenanigans, to whoever does updating, please refer to the turn ordering in tazz's post before you do anything else, as there's a handful of turns that need to happen in a certain order in relation to each other.

BATTLES - THE SHOOTING RANGE

The Reflector moves to O11, casts Suffocating Hatred on K7 (the status chosen doesn't really matter since Eliti Bulwark), and retreats to N12 to tank what will now be the Calamity heading for Kalis.

The Mirror Reflector (still currently "Acacia") continues standing in the area of Upheaval, just to flex even harder on Acacia. (This will actually heal her, since she has 140% Earth resistance with Parasol Protector.) She stays where she is and meditates (gaining Ice-veil for the turn just in case the Blizzard Robe makes some weird targeting decisions) while making dead-on eye contact with the real Acacia.

"ACACIA": Spark wants you to kill the Spherebreakers while their backs are turned fighting an Eliti? How stupid does he think we are?
"ACACIA": I've already showed you! You can't hurt me with your little spells. We're the same person, after all.
"ACACIA": But let's say Spark's plan does work. Let's say you MASSACRE them while they're distracted, just like you've always wanted!
"ACACIA": You think that will win you back Spark's respect? After you failed to kill them three times on your own, and Spark had to send in a dozen of his own troops, an airship, and a gorillaing ELITI?
"ACACIA": There's nothing you can do at this point to win Spark's request back, because he's INSANE. He wants you to do what he can't do himself.
"ACACIA": But maybe you can win back the respect of your troops! Of the Chairian people!
"ACACIA": I say gorilla Spark!
"ACACIA": Help destroy this monster. Do what even Cypress couldn't do, and spear its head into pieces!
"ACACIA": And, hey, if you want to duel us to the death after the snake's in the dirt, fine by me. I've been ITCHING for a good bloodbath.
"ACACIA": Just don't take the coward's way out, for both of our sakes.

---

THE BORDER OUTPOST

"Lilac" laughs the worker's questions off.

"LILAC": I wasn't always a fancy special operative, you know! Can't a girl do something nice for someone once in a while?
"LILAC": But you're probably right. Wouldn't want command to know I'm wasting time moving boxes on my mission. I'll get on that right away.

"Lilac" heads over to the hangar and finds the nearest pilot-looking Chairian she can.

"LILAC": Hiya! I'm looking for a flight crew to take me to a location called... Acorn Orphanage, I think it was? I've been asked to look into some suspicious activity near there.

Meanwhile, ""Lilac"" shrugs at the rebel guard.

""LILAC"": You'd be surprised! I normally run infiltration, and the stuff Kudan has me send reports on is crazy advanced. I don't think I've even seen a normal comms array in the last month.

When the Tabletopian asks her for her identification, she giggles.

""LILAC"": Oh, of course! Right away. Let me just--

She reaches into her pocket, pauses, and frowns.

""LILAC"": Helix gorilla it.
""LILAC"": I swear, if the cloaking tech dissolved it or something, I am going to scream.
""LILAC"": ...I'll just come back! See you soon, hopefully!

""Lilac,"" feigning the frustration of someone who has lost her keys very accurately, sloughs away. Once she is out of view, she ambles towards disguised-Hannah's location behind the barracks and lowers her voice to a whisper.

""LILAC"": Heya, partner! We're going to need I.D. to get into comms.
""LILAC"": Got any ideas?

Move to L11, eat some more Infinipizza, Mana Leech/Toxin Coating(Poison), attack Electrophorus.

Battle: Electrophorus steals the show kekekekekeke

Important Turn Order here! Please do not ingore!

The turn order does not constitute a list of actions and is not to be used as a substitute for actually posting, therefore I will only list actions truly relevant to The Plan:tm: here.

>Pionobot will apply Slipthrough and Primed to Shieldbearer 2.
>Daskter applies armorbreak to Electrophorus.
>Destiny will move up, Phase Shift the Wonderer, then apply Candy Corn Liquor to themselves to shred Electrophorus.
>Venia+The Wonderer will, respectively, Purge Shieldbearer 2 and move Shieldbearer 2 into range of Nettle's Upheaval.
>Chloe+Crystal will GTFO of Nettle's Upheaval (and Crystal will maniuplate text to make Electrophorus take a Devastation to the face)
>Nettle acts to unleash Upheaval and probably nukes Shieldbearer 1.

Thank you for your time and consideration!

---

Spark's every syllable makes Venia shake just a little bit harder in barely-contained rage. What atrocity won't he stoop to? Psychological manipulation, callous disregard of others opinions, baiting dangerous Iti into a fight his own troop's at, calling her scum, what won't Regalus-

Spark. Not Regalus. What won't he stoop to?

Venia, understandably already conflicted about the extremely uncomfortable parallels between her boss and Acacia's, as well as their treatment of their underlings/loved ones, doesn't take well to Pionobot disregarding her desires and continuing to sass the person she doesn't want to think about at all. "We get it! He's a total idiot and a massive coward, most of the highchair backs us and not him, he's a loonie tyrant with no right to rule, stop pissing on Chaiere's grave, ectcedera, we get it! Everyone except him gets it! He wont' get it! He can't acknowledge he's wrong! He never will! Now be SILENT! I CAN'T STAND THIS ASININE PISSING CONTEST!"

It is perhaps proof of the existence of the divine that Venia somehow does not let interfere with her actions.

Venia, in accordance with the turn order established above, will first scan-ping Shieldbearer 1 (for his codex entry), and then will move to J11 and activate Purge on Shieldbearer1, slamming him for massive damage which is also a forced minicrit that slips through his SHP. She will then retreat to K10, and use Affidavit Adjudication once to instantly kill Pin2. She then dumps 2 stacks of Heart into Pin1 to also instantly kill it through SHP and dodge and jazz.

Venia would be getting so much SP if she didn't have to special every round, jeez. :U

Meanwhile, the Wonderer will move to K15 after Destiny repositions it, use Playing Around Displacement to drag Shieldbearer 2 to I17 before full-action casting Friendly Fire onto Lily and the Electrophorus.

"Ignore Acacia! Yes I am aware she is more dangerous! I don't care! The primary target is now Electrophorus! We are killing the damn thing now! Show Re-show Neo-Ikea here who really gives a damn for his people!"

---

The Old Pass

"... You really want to?" Venia asks. "I mean. If you want to, I say go for it... But, like-if I'm really afraid that he'd attack you... Ugh, like-that wasn't what I was thinking of, or not just that. I'm afraid he's gonna kill everyone and sabotage our own plan!"

"From his perspective, any timeline that's failed is just 'corrected' into the 'original,' or something. I don't get how the hell it works and I'm sure theoretical physicists are already screaming for making it more than theoretical to begin with. So in other words, it's no cost to him to try and try again except for who he loses-and if he thinks he's losing a would-be treasonous rebel instead of a loyal duchess, that's practically a benefit. And I don't know if he's already thinking of trying that! I don't know if I should even be on his side or trying to find a way to bump him-and I'm not sure if I can bump him!"

"... I shouldn't be worrying about this. I don't know enough to do more than speculate wildly. I-yeah. Let's go. Let's go talk to Chaos about getting everything, OK? I'll be there, gotta be anyways to make the machine run, and support you..."

Venia's thoughts are clearly elsewhere right now, but she does seem to approve.

---

The Skylabs

Venia, midway through smoothing over the nonstop chronological warping she continuously does in a day, suddenly stops as a strange thought occurs to her. She decides to pay it the minimal amount of heed.

Venia is actually aware of the full map. Let's not seriously ask why, gameplay and story nonsense. She uses this information to head on over to the Sealed Testing Chamber, right up to the terminal, input 'Kudan' in order to log in, and then goes to Favors.

She then inputs the name "Xavier Elem."

"I mean, he is the only other real option; another high technologist with even higher tech than the legion who's been here and nowhere else the whole time... But this can't be so, can it? Best just cross this inane idea off my list now."

---

Mariaaaaaaaaaaa

"But I love the fluffy," Maria says. "Fluffies are the best!"

"Now now, Maria, it's best not to annoy the good soldier," Regalus says, pulling Maria away. "Lady Omorika appears to be inside that room-why don't you go play around in there? There might be more spiralfloof inside! That aside, there's some business I realize I have to attend to, the boring kind," He says.

Maria barely needs more encouragement. She immediately barges into the room.

"Thank you for the tip. I'll be off," Regalus says. "If Maria asks, I've gone to a library to do my business in peace."

Regalus begins departing for the Library-though given he doesn't know instant transmission or anything he walks slowly, making it to about the center of the eastern nexus.

---

Battle - Shooting Range

...No way. He didn't. He summoned it. He summoned the snake that got away. Electrophorus. Right in the middle of the action. Right when his own troops were vulnerable and dwindling.

While she was indeed willing to laugh again before, the moment the snake crashed in, it ceased to be funny to her, her taunting grin and tone but a memory now.

This wasn't a joke anymore. Hannah looks at the intercoms, the soldiers, the iti, and Acacia. Completely deadpan. Compared to her previous volume, her voice this time when talking to Spark is... unusually muted.

"...Okay. So you've clearly and obviously stated that you don't care what happens to anyone. Not even your own."

"You're not just as bad as that stupid Mafia Boss, or even the Nyakuza Empress, according to what I've heard. You're worse. Oh, so much worse. You're making it stupidly hard for me to sympathize with your 'plight' when you literally summon 'giant pecking eel and co' over there."

She takes a quick glance at Acacia, a glint in her eyes, before returning her temporary attention to the intercoms. "...You hate her, don't you? For all the surface level stuff, you hate her. Effectively failing you three times... calling her useless... worthless... all the while she bends to your every whim in the hopes of power beyond power."
"Me? I don't see her as useless. Launched the railcar I was in pretty far. Nearly got me eaten by Yggcrawlers. Seeing it firsthand was frightening, but at the same time pretty awesome."
"But I know that's not the only thing that she's good at."
"A... friend of mine was really inspired by her paintings. Told me they were gorgeous works, among other things I didn't really understand, though all of it positive-sounding. So in the end... she's won a new fan. A fan that, by your dumb logic, should be impossible to obtain."
"She also has friends. Real friends. People that care. That Hersilia girl - sweet lady, really - and that servant guy care enough. There's probably others I'm missing... point being, well... people do care about her."

"Even I can see that."

"And here you are, seeing her as nothing more than a tool. You're a fairweather 'friend', though really, 'friend' is too much credit for you. If you really cared, and had at least one brai- ehem, core cell in that skull of yours, you would have used your obviously massive influence over her to not lose to us the first time. You would have decided that it wasn't worth getting in our way. You might've even seen that making a weapon out of the stupid wooden ball with the freak in it was and still is a horrible idea."

"If you truly believe we're going to be the death of your race... well... be ready for a rude wake-up call if we all die, somehow."

Hannah sighs. Knowing Venia will ask her to shut up again, Hannah takes the initiative; "...Ven. I'm done with this idiot. I'm killing this eel. We've got unfinished business, it and I."

Hannah moves to (F11), and Mirror!Hannah moves to (F7). Hannah casts Terminus Lances North-East (with another lance spawning at (G8)), and Mirror!Hannah does the same thing, except East.

---

Outpost Unity - "Carica"

Nine Mechonis!? Dang, they really were going all out on killing them.

Before she moves on, Mirror!"Lilac" approaches her with a request to find them some ID. "Carica" ponders for a little before responding, keeping her voice as low as her partner's. "I-I dunno, maybe we could snag some loose ones around here and try and forge some for us? That might be our best bet..."
"...It also sounds like that assault on our base I heard about was no joke. They're planning on sending nine Mechonis, along with whatever other stuff they can. Keep an eye out for anything like that too, yeah?"
"Finally, mind that sniper tower. I dunno who's up there, or if they're ever gonna be looking this way, but better to be careful."

Deciding she shouldn't draw attention to herself or her partner any longer (especially if caught), Carica walks past the pilots as normally as she could, trying to listen in on other rebels in other barracks as she passes by. She also tries to get a closer look at the Sniper's Tower while she was absolutely, totally on patrol right now.

---

Skylabs - Hannah

Hannah was busy watching the teleporter, when she senses someone else come in. She quickly hides behind the pillar of rubble nearby, and immediately identifies it as Venia. Not wanting to be in the same room as her for too long, she swiftly ducks away and out of the room (though odds are she's going to be caught doing so).

Coming out of the Sealed Testing Chamber and into the Eastern Hub, Hannah spots a very particular person walking from the west. Could this be that Emperor Yew was talking about? Looks gaudy and regal enough, and those two purple horns and eternal smile looked pretty sinister. She walks in the opposite direction of the man for a while, getting a good look at him as they pass each other, hopefully unaware of what she's doing.

Once she gets enough distance from him, she turns around to where she came from, and where the Emperor was headed, making use of cover and corners to keep her distance, and remain out of line of sight.

---

House - Adria

Adria listens intently to Taeda's explanation on what Yggdrasil is. She's left wide-eyed and fascinated. "W-wow... life stemming from a single massive tree... I-I definitely think the lack of one on our planet is the reason for the sheer lack of plant life and plant diversity..."

"I-if something like this is a regular occurrence across space, then... what made us different? Was ours... destroyed, very early in the planet's life? Did we even have one at all? If not, then what created life there?"

"...A question for another day, I suppose."

She thinks for a few moments before finding another topic to discuss. "Hm... your people wouldn't happen to have any unique customs, would you? I-I... wouldn't really want to be awkward around anyone because of something I don't know."

Going after Pionobot, Destiny runs up to G13 and Phase Shifts with the Wonderer. She takes out a bottle of Candy Corn Liquor.
DESTINY: ...well, here goes nothing.
She downs the bottle of Candy Corn Liquor and casts Whirling Blades, moving to J9, K8, K7, K6, L5 and finally M5. She then retreats to L6.

Kalis moves to O11 to put some distance between themself and the Bladedancer, then activates Chaos Control and casts Chaos Bolt on Electrophorus's head. If the attack ends up inflicting a status, they spend 5 MP to use Always Watching's ability to... watch it. Watch it closely. Stare directly into its eyes... Eventually, the staring contest takes a toll on Electrophorus, and its eyelids start to twitch... and waver... And it blinks. Then it blinks again, and again... The strain of the staring contest has caused it to develop an involuntary eyelid twitch, interfering with its vision! In other words, Always Watching inflicts Blind4.

Lily moves to O8, noms on a Packaged Lunch, then uses her special and Ripostes.

The Shooting range

Moving (G9), Daskter casts Decaying Light north-east hitting Pin2 and the Electrophorus

Rocketeer moves to (H10) to fire a barrage (Elemental SPlitshot) at Pillager2.

Nettle moves to D17, uses Sing Unto Me on Dartfrog2, then pulls the Saint, Dartfrog2, and the Ballista one space closer each with Heavemarch. You don't need to move them on the map, since they'll be disappearing anyway. She then uses Shackling Blast on Shieldbearer1, "destroying" all corpses within Range 1-4 of her. The corpses are on the following tiles: B17, C13, D15, E15, E17, E22 (before movement), F15, F20, G16, G19, I18 (before movement), and L19 (before movement). This leads to a total of 12 corpses fueling Shackling Blast. She gains +1 Threshold from killing at least 3, then retreats to D16.

Then, Upheaval goes off.

NETTLE: Please. My abilities are far more than a pale imitation of yours!

Bauhaus is shaken out of his chronic standing-still-and-doing-nothing by the loud and sudden arrival of Electrophorus.

"YOU AGAIN!?" He readies the Edge of Dawn. "Prepare to die!"

-- BATTLE ACTION --
Bauhaus moves to I8, unleashes an Ice-element Dawn of Existence facing north-east, then retreats to H8.

Shooting Range
Power Nap Self.
Channel Magic (Status Clone) from Venia to Auth.

==OUT OF BATTLE==
Crystal requests that Chloe go and gather some Order Singularities. He has a plan for a weapon to mount on the ship...

==BATTLE==
Crystal moves to H10 and activates Universal Cognizance twice, using that power to activate the power of Logos! He takes a peek at the sheets and... oh dear me, Acacia's targeting simply won't do! He edits some text, swapping Calamity and Devastation's targets so that now Kalis is being targeted by Calamity and Crystal is instead being targeted by Devastation... then he makes one more edit. You see, he doesn't quite feel like being impaled by a gigantic spire of wood -- he feels it would be much better if Electrophorus was instead. He selects C24 and edits it from "Devastation Target: Crystal" to "Devastation Target: Electrophorus" before hitting Save.

He then uses his Winter Festival Hat's Temmie Powder Cake as a free action, converting the Mending into Ordo, and subsequently beans Electrophorus with a basic attack, following that up with a War Scythe to the face. He then drops an Infinipizza into the group inventory.

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

Pope Bill moves to N23 and targets J19 with Burrowing Rally, then puts himself on K19 and Irongutta on J18. Finally, if SShot2 hasn't been downed yet, Pope Bill basic-attacks it; if SShot2 is downed, Pope Bill basic-attacks the Holyblade.

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

AUTH: Yeah, I know what you meant. Brutish has the connotation of unthinking strength - an individual who just tries to punch through their problems.
AUTH: I prefer to avoid punching through my problems unless no other options are available, y'know? I don't like hurting people.
AUTH: I appreciate the sentiment, though. I know what you meant to say, even if it was the wrong word.

Auth smiles, faintly.

AUTH: Yeah. In my experience, everything is a lesson. More than that: Things you learn often have unexpected uses. You might find some day that learning to use weapons like this might have some unforeseen advantage.
AUTH: Not that I can think of any right this second, but that's very much the point. There might just come a time where you'll find it helpful in a situation you don't expect it to. In my opinion, having as many skills as possible is always a benefit.

Auth nods.

AUTH: She and I are like polar opposites. She's very much a party animal, so to speak, and it might surprise you to know that I don't especially consider myself one.
AUTH: You might say that in jest, but I'm actually somewhat convinced it is. Vampires have powerful glamour. An ethereal, persistent and supernatural beauty, and our mother passed a weaker form down to us, I think.
AUTH: My sister can specifically induce sparkling around herself, which I think is part of that.

Auth chuckles quietly, as he notices Nana get flushed again.

AUTH: I mean... you'll probably see eventually. In short: My sister is like a ball of energy. She never seems to tire. I think I'm more restrained and controlled.

Auth thinks for a minute, then nods. Sounds like a fair comparison, he thinks.

---

AUTH: Yeah, basically. The rinds and the seed are the worst of it. But a lot of it is by feeling. I've been taking good care of the tree, where I tend to get them, so most of it is edible when I get them. But most people will have to discard lots of the fruit because it is, quite literally, too angry to be eaten. If you get a bad fruit, you'll kind of... feel which bits are safe and which aren't.

AUTH: That's the only way I can describe it, really. You'll feel that it's angry about its treatment. But these ones are good, so I can use most, if not all, of the fruit.

---

Auth sighs, in the battle against Acacia.

AUTH: I have, thus far, elected to remain silent, and to save the posturing for after the battle concluded...
AUTH: But I feel an obligation to speak at this point.

Auth sighs, and turns to look back at the Electrophorus briefly.

AUTH: You know, Acacia, you do not require Spark's approval, or anyone's approval, for your strength to be acknowledged. I'm sure it means nothing to you, but even before you had adapted to new weaponry and skills I agreed with the assessment that you were, and still are, the strongest mage on Sussui.
AUTH: I don't think anyone in their right mind can question that you truly are incredibly powerful. It is objectively untrue to suggest otherwise. But surely, you are more than your power?
AUTH: I think you are the greatest limit on yourself. Why do you consider yourself a tool for Spark? I think you're more than that. I'm certain there's others who would agree with me. A talented artist, for one. Passionate and resolute, and selfless to a perhaps dangerous extent. Am I wrong in saying that you want to be helpful to people with your strength?

Auth's voice seems to echo slightly, as though being amplified by something above him.

AUTH: There's another thing I feel you need to hear, for your own good if nothing else, Acacia.
AUTH: Nobody ever, and I mean nobody and I mean ever, goes without losing. Nobody goes without losing a fight, or a game. Making mistakes, losing, screwing up... it's a part of life. It happens. You might not believe it, but even we lose. I find, personally, that the opportunity to learn from loss is far greater than the possibility of learning from victory.
AUTH: And that without losing, you never learn your limits. And if you don't know your limits, you can't ever grow past them.

Auth pauses after that, thinking.

AUTH: Truthfully, I lost my train of thought and I'm not sure where I was going with that.
AUTH: What I want to say, ultimately, is that you don't need to prove to anybody that you're the strongest. Not like this.
AUTH: And that I don't think Spark should have as much sway over you as he does. From what I've seen... it's causing you to drive yourself to self-destruction. And even if you're okay with that... even if Spark's okay with that, which he seems to be...
AUTH: I'm asking personally that you consider what would happen to those who you'd leave behind if you did something drastic.

Auth sighs, loudly.

AUTH: There is one last thing, I suppose, although I think it might have been mentioned already.
AUTH: We don't want to fight you. We don't really want to be enemies, in truth. Hence why we worked to find something to help treat you. As some kind of peace offering. We truly want to help you.
AUTH: Even if... the way some of the others speak to you doesn't really indicate that. I swear it's true.

---

Auth actually doesn't move and casts Perseverance, in Igniveil, on Kalis.