Unity

Daskter moves to (F15). They use Obseletion on Cedar nuking their AC and silencing them. They move back to (E14)

The Pikemen comes forward to (H15), and they First Strike Cedar. The Pikemen moves to (I14).

Battle - Base of Unity

The fusion seethes in disgust at Amabilis's behavior.

"Really, handing out that many threats to destroy people? Just cause they're a little apprehensive about the whole go up against people with terrifyingly high win/loss ratios thing? Idiot."

He grips his lance tightly.

"Of course they have no loyalty to you! WHY WOULD THEY BE LOYAL TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU? AMABILIS, PUPPET OF THE TYRANT..."

Cal-Fusion moves to I15.

"I BRING YOUR DESTRUCTION!"

He then casts Exertion, reaching out and slamming Amabilis with the heftiest whack possible.


Yes, this is legal. She's in Range 4. I specifically mentioned last round how the fusion's current Sol Aeterna form is the Lance. The Lance has a Range 4-5 basic attack. The damage calculation is as follows.

(28-29) Glitch (key and special Sol Aeterna have same base damage, Verdana does not have STR)

Ordo: +10% damage
Bushi Road: +20% damage
Empowered8: +40% damage
Exertion: Manafuelled2 (Lance form) and Ordo give +3 buff levels. Thusly, +105% damage

Total damage buff: +175%

Total damage: (77-80) Glitch damage (damage type inherited from key)


After that almighty whack, Amabilis is almost certainly on her last legs. However, she won't be downed even if that was a crit. Not with Saint1 beside her. But that can be easily solved. Calfusion quietly pulls something out of the inventory...

"Oh, and one more thing."

He promptly yeets a Splinter at Amabilis. He has 61 HIT. She has 3 DGE. This is extremely unlikely to whiff. As such, Amabilis will almost certainly take 1 damage and collapse.

"Kanzan's more attractive than you."

With that, the fusion remains where he is, chilling by the cover tiles. Unless someone happens to want I15, in which case he budges over one tile in any compatible direction.



As a nice flavor thing, once he's had a moment, the fusion also glances up at the dream of unity since Spark's voice came from there. Going by the fusion's expression, they don't like hearing him.

"I hate this channel."

He proceeds to try hacking the broadcast signal to see if there's anything else on. Preferably a music station of some sort. What better than some banger themesong to play while fighting?

---

The Old Pass

"..."

Loading.

---

The Everground

S.E.D remains where it is for a while. Then, it realizes there aren't really many more things coming from above. There's the possibility that they COULD, sure, but that's not being fulfilled right now. So it just places down a claymore mine so that anything barging into the area will get immediately blown up, then falls down to join the rest of the people.

Once close to the heart, it magnetizes to the wall, then turns and "stares" at the actual goddamn iti hydra. S.E.D decides it does not like this iti hydra. So it proceeds to sprout a large incendiary rifle and take careful aim...

...in entirely the wrong direction what are you doing-

Cue a blazing projectile blasting full-force out of S.E.D's rifle, bouncing off the AG264 Eversteel, lancing through the AE274 Predator, glitching against the floor and sliding along for quite some distance, then pinging off from Z279, ricocheting off of AF279, sailing just underneath the Remnant by a miraculous few inches, and finally embedding itself in the Lamia Queen's false head. The projectile is still on fire, but aside from sick trickshots, that's about all the drone has lined up for now.

This is where I put my action for Thymium

At least Relocate to E11
Use Special, in order of Priority Cedar or Vault Door, possibly?

Remiel acts before Venia.

Remiel feints towards Amabilis...
REMIEL: I'll deal with you later.
...then switches direction to S15 and casts Abduction on Exoknight2 (move to T16) and Sniper1 (move to R14).

Auth nods, faintly, to Vulcan.

AUTH: Well, yes. In so many words, that's an accurate summary.
AUTH: I've learned a lot of things in my time, and you'd be surprised how you can learn to apply the things you learn in interesting ways.

Auth floats back and nods as the heart's last major wound is sealed... and then, he turns around to look at the predator gnawing on the eyestem behind him. He is about to go and shoo that predator off... before the Lamia Queen emerges from the wall behind him. Auth groans, loudly. He quickly assesses the dexterous, agile iti, and begins forming a counter plan.

AUTH: I shouldn't be surprised by this development, but... how annoying. I must confess I was hoping to make a clean getaway - it seems that will not be.
AUTH: I'm a healer by... class, I suppose. I'm not that good at damage-dealing... so I'll do this instead.

Auth creates several bands of ink between his hands, one large one and several smaller ones. He fires the large band at the Lamia Queen first, where it will chase the iti until it can pin it against the wall. The remaining small bands of ink then fire, to try and staple the extra heads to the wall. While it can't move, it's an easier target.

---

Auth seems to have a revelation as Nana describes how crystals are sometimes used in instruments. Auth might not have much in the way of technological skill, but he is more familiar with electrical than magical sound amplification, so the idea of using those crystals to amplify sound surprises him.

AUTH: I think I should have assumed that it was something like that! It feels like such an obvious answer in retrospect, but I suppose most things are, no?
AUTH: The windflume... it sounds like such a fascinating instrument. I would like to see one at some point. It sounds like something halfway between an organ and an ocarina...
AUTH: I learned to play the organ, a little, after I learned to play the piano, and being able to play an instrument that complicated and have music come out is a very powerful feeling. Instruments that complicated tend to be very versatile, and very powerful. At least, in my experience.

Auth nods as Nana describes what Aoki can do.

AUTH: I can sing, a little. Not as good as my sister can. But it's very hard to sing and play at the same time - to sing, play and perform sounds like an extremely daunting task.
AUTH: It takes me many hours of practice learning the music of a song before I reach a point where I would even begin to start trying to sing at the same time - I imagine Aoki can do it quickly, and it's very impressive. I have a great deal of respect for musical performers - their job isn't easy.
AUTH: Maybe I should find some way to bring the music back to the Library, from what you've described to me it sounds like an excellent fit.

Auth smiles for Nana, thinking about what he considers home. He thinks to himself that it will be good to relax, finally. Despite everything that has happened here... he cannot help but feel on edge - it's not helping his sleep.

---

Auth floats down to the Security Hub, under the belief that he's late to this meeting.

AUTH: If you'll excuse me, I would like to participate in this, if there's something I can do that might be of any help.
AUTH: I would like to... as best as possible, at least, avoid hurting people and if we can convince as many Chairians as possible not to fight us, I would like to help contribute to that effort in some small way.
AUTH: If there's anything at any point I can do to help, please let me know. I will do it as swiftly as I am able.

Auth looks mildly concerned - it seems that the prospect of fighting through the Citadel and facing resistance at every turn is not something that he enjoys.

---

Auth floats into the air, and the entirety of the area is lit up in immense, intense light. Even under the Dream of Unity... in fact, especially under the Dream of Unity. The light coalesces around Cedar, and around Nidra, unless Cedar is downed in which case I'll just revive Nidra. He then looks to Plastic.

AUTH: I don't doubt your loyalty to Spark. If it sounds like I have personally called that into question, I deeply apologise. It was not my intention. Loyalty to your people is a virtue that I would commend. But I would not call what you are doing that. You have unquestioning, unthinking loyalty to Spark - which is unbelievably dangerous. I do not know your origins, whether you began as a Rose Cultist and were inducted into the ranks of the Praetorians or whether you were a Praetorian subject to the machinations of the Rose Cult, but I feel that I must as you to consider what that partnership says about the extent of the desperation Spark is facing.
AUTH: And what it would say for you, about what he might consider doing to you.

Auth then snaps to Amabilis, looking them dead in the eyes.

AUTH: It's not like blame you for being angry at defectors, but you should watch the way you speak. You represent Spark's best soldiers, do you not? Act like it. You are above smiting the rank and file. If you must consider anyone your enemies, we - the Outsiders - are here. Focus on us, and deal with your own later.
AUTH: What you are doing breeds nothing but resentment and further dissent.

Auth then hears Spark fly in from overhead.

AUTH: Spark, we humbly request that you go somewhere else! The introduction of your airships has completely and utterly failed to even begin to slow us down in the past, as you well know.
AUTH: Is it not embarrassing that your extremely technologically advanced airship was completely destroyed by a cluster of infantry? You should know that your airships are ineffective at the best of times, and in this situation have the possibility of causing immense, permanent and likely irreparable damage to an artefact that you must know is valuable.
AUTH: Please go somewhere else and bother us. No matter how many reinforcements you summon, or how many airships float through the air, we are a superior force and you will only momentarily slow us down. We can demonstrate this for the fourth time now if we have to.

Battle: Base of Unity

It's pretty straightforward, Irongutta decides to take a mean swing at Cedar and basic attack him. The Ork's raw strength combined with Magnolia's power should do the trick!

<ROUND 300>

CHLOE: Three hundred rounds of Project Thymium!
CHLOE: It's incredible, to think we've gone this far...
CHLOE: Thank you all!~
MARRON: Three h-hundred? T-That's a lot of time being unproductive!
MARRON: Wish I could spend that long being unproductive...
ETTE: If you enjoyed the time spent though, was it really unproductive?
NIA: Well, whatever the case... happy three hundred rounds!
NIA: I also "convinced" Creation to give us a few presents to celebrate the occasion, so... enjoy!
CHLOE: N-Nia... d-did you rob Creation?
NIA: Ehe~

A Tier 8 Creation's Flames enter the inventory, as well as a dosage of Research Nanomachines and 20 bars of Mythril!

---

Eren and Echoss handle broadcasting issues. Eren informs Cypress that they plan to go after the Citadel tomorrow, so they’ll probably send it out then. Cypress nods.

CYPRESS: Understood. Good timing, probably. But, potential complication. Spark: many eyes. Could be watching.
CYPRESS: If discovered, problem. Early shutdown. No message broadcast.
CYPRESS: Must be secretive. But, how? Preservation: likely difficult.

Keeping this a secret could be hard, yeah. What won’t be hard however, is getting Aoki’s materials. In fact, it’d perhaps take Echoss longer to find something that wouldn’t meet all her needs and more. That sort of might boggles Aoki ever so slightly.

AOKI: Impressive, to have such technological might that failure would be so difficult…
AOKI: I shall trust your judgement, then.

Back at home, a call goes out to whoever’s available. Someone needs to go grab that recording equipment! While Marron might technically be available, she’s busy staring down a god(?) of infinite(?) radiance. She turns briefly to the inside of the house, waving to Ette. The ex-puppet has been enjoying herself, munching on candy whilst being totally oblivious to the presence of Dawn.

MARRON: Yo, Ette.
MARRON: Echoss is being a really lazy… whatever he is, and he needs someone to go grab some stuff for him.
MARRON: Mind helping out? I wrote down what garbage he wanted here.
ETTE: Hmm… okay!
ETTE: Ette’ll have this done in a jiffy!

Nyoom! Ette runs off to wherever the Echo Collective portal might be, arms flailing behind her as she runs. When she arrives at the portal, she knocks on it rapidly. This is not how one operates the portal, but she’s rather fortunate- someone’s already waiting there for an order! Ette reads off the grocery list of items, totally unsure of what she’s asking for. Soon enough, a mess of packages come through the portal. Ette ties them together, obtaining a Recording Studio in a Box.

ETTE: Oh, oh!
ETTE: May I please have something shiny, Mr. Portal Person?
ETTE: I wanna see what cool things you might have there that I can use! For gifts and stuff, for all my friends!

Another package shoots through the portal, which Ette sweeps up. It contains a large chunk of Starite- 12 whole units! Satisfied, Ette decides to make a quick trip to the Sky Labs, where she drops off the contents before running off again. Ette has a surprising land speed velocity for someone so new to this whole “running” thing. Perhaps she’s just really enjoying having a body.

Next, down in the Everground, he uses a large swathe of materials to grab the light crystal at the top of Layer 3, ripping it from the ceiling. He also creates some sort of off cannon engine thing? This uses a grand total of 1 Gravcore Ore, 8 Joltwire, 10 Fluxfuel, 2 Crystalline Conduits, 4 Airship Weapon Parts, a unit of Void Liquid, 5 Darkweave, a Nanostorm Drive, and a charge from the Edge of Dawn.

Then, taking the crystal down a floor, he rockets into the Lamia Queen down below. The crystal, refined into a point, pierces right through the Lamia Queen, pinning it to the earth below. This stuns the body, and deals a hefty (150) damage to it.

Over at the battle that’s raging on at the Base of Unity, Eren yells… mostly at Amabilis, because she’s just in general an extremist. Didn’t the Spherebreakers need to stop the incineration of innocent civilians?

AMABILIS: The moment they started helping you, they lost their title of innocent “civilian”.
AMABILIS: We were doing our duty to put an end to such treasonous behaviour! Surely, you wouldn’t tolerate such dissent in your ranks?
AMABILIS: There’s also enough evidence on Cypress right now to incriminate him multiple times over!
AMABILIS: There’s also...

Amabilis gets a good look at Cypress, given that he is in combat right now. She blinks once, then twice. He’s a lot squarer than she remembers.

AMABILIS: ...I guess, there’s also the fact that he’s a Tabletopian now?
AMABILIS: I did… not see that one coming.
AMABILIS: POINT IS. GUILTY

AMABILIS: Also, bullgorilla on not massarcing everyone!
AMABILIS: What kind of psychopath just records how many people they kill? And you’re calling ME a lunatic!
AMABILIS: If I’m a lunatic, at least I’m a lunatic who can count!
AMABILIS: Also, I hope you know that counter doesn’t count kills through critical or counter. Gameplay purposes, or something.

Then, as a final thing, Echoss decides to create the Calypse Cannon for Omorika. This consumes 13 Darkmatter Clusters, 4 Amphi Extract, 2 Amberroot Logs, 8 Arkalloy, 20 Gaiameld, 10 Plasteel, a Starite Chunk, 2 Hardened Glass, and some unknown number of wiring material. This is easily inserted into the airship, leaving Omo to stare at the construction for a bit. She then looks at the freed Calypse, and shoves them into the inventory.

OMORIKA: Well… I suppose this concludes my current research.
OMORIKA: Excellent work, sir Echoss.
OMORIKA: I suppose I’ll get started on whatever our next project is? Just do be careful with Calypse themselves.

Ah, also. Echoss decides to contact the Dream of Unity itself. Ping! >Codex Updated!

---

Adria yells at Amabilis, yelling something about them being in Antimagic distance. As predicted, Amabilis's bluster is immediately disassembled, thrown int oa nice, organized pile on the floor.

AMABILIS: A-Antimagic technology?
AMABILIS: How the hell did you g-get that? W-We do NOT produce that here! A-Are you in league with the Tabletopians?
AMABILIS: gorillas, resorting t-to such cheap tricks!
AMABILIS: B-But, it doesn't matter! Y-You can't expect to win here!
AMABILIS: I-In fact, I-I KNOW you won't win here! L-Lord Spark w-will make sure of it!

She glares longingly at the Dream of Unity. Do the dreams of Chairian soldiers reside on the wings of this warship? Perhaps they did once, in a time long forgotten. But, with the revelation of Antimagic, the other Praetorians aren't looking so hot, either. With the exception of Plastic, who generally does not seem to care.

Elsewhere, over at the old chapel, Dorothy settles onto the pew with Sythia and Sophia. While the former really lacks anything to say, she's at least somewhat happy with the quiet. She pulls in close to her Chloe plushie. It's starting to get rather late, and the poor thing must be getting tired. It's been a long, emotionally taxing day.

Finally, back at Machining and Fabrication, Adria notes just how exhausted Mari is, and in such a short timeframe! Heading over close, she asks if she's alright. Mari shakes her head, a quick "no".

MARI: N-Not... the greatest w-with physical labor.
MARI: Honestly, e-even a short run can leave me breathless...
MARI: It's shocking stereotypical o-of a nerdy figure, I-I know... but I used to live in a Mindscape w-where I always had an army of drones of my d-disposal to do the heavy lifting for me.
MARI: I should p-probably start working o-out, but that's like, e-extra lame. N-Nothing's really caught my interest...

Being told she can take a rest, Mari takes a quick seat on the ground. She scooches over to the nearest wall, resting her aching back against it. Adria also informs her that she doesn't need to worry about the sabotage stuff.

MARI: Hey, I-I'm more than willing to help.
MARI: J-Just... give me a few moments t-to cool off.

Mari manifests a stormcloud a short distance away from herself, which immediately rotates 90 degrees and begins pelting her with a barrage of wind. One hell of a fan, that's for sure.

---

Maria wins at Snake and Ladders. In the two dimensions (or boards) of Snakes and Ladders 2: Final Remix, each player has their own dominion at the moment. If you require a refresher of the rules, they can be found over here.

Chaos has taken rule of the Void, his character Hugepecs McMusclearms currently the leader of the hot fast food chain, McWendys. They're currently a Level 18 character, with 3 points of Wrestler, 3 points of Fighter, and 12 points of Wizard. With a staggering growth of 250 Gold and 25 Soul Points per dice roll, Chaos has broken through 5 out of 7 layers of hell, being most of the way to Charon's own fast food chain, Soulfood. No player has ever defeated Charon, but he's fairly certain he should be able to get the win before the final event of the game occurs, Closing Hours.

He is however, caught up on the 6th layer due to a random event card summoning a Level 23 Antimatter Devil Karen. He lacks the skills and / or resources to deal with this raidboss of a unit, but he's slowly grinding away at it with his legions of disposable industry workers. With each worker loss, their Soul Point is fed into Chaos's Managerbot 5000, which he hopes will put a decisive end to the Antimatter Devil Karen. Unfortunately, that won't be completed for another twenty rounds.

Maria is giving Chaos stiff competition, having taken dominion of the surface world. While most players would agree that the surface is a near-worthless area once you break the two-thousand gold mark, Maria's character "Venia" has put all of her 17 levels into Hunter, obtaining the perk Animal Companions. Having tamed every snake on the board, Maria has set up an incredible money generation mechanism where she constantly generates 200 Gold. While one might think it'd take incredibly high levels of Engineering and Dimensionbreaking to create such a device, Maria has innovated by creating a gigantic chain of snakes which she can ride down constantly. With a special technique, she's capable of performing an integer underflow and sliding downwards from Tile 1 to Tile 100. And, thanks to a few other perks she took (mostly so she could ride snakes more because it was fun), Maria typically generates at least 800 Gold per dice roll.

In addition, her snake breeding program has bore fruit- she's managed to bridge the gap between the overworld and the Void by crossing a dimensional snake-ladder hybrid. This has drilled directly into Chaos's Soul Point vault, and thanks to zoning restrictions and Maria's careful(?) interpretation of the law(?), she's able to take 40% of Chaos's Soul Point profits due to her technically owning the land that Chaos has built his empire around. Chaos has attempted to make negotiations with Maria to get claim to Maria's 40%, but her Lawyer has put 16 points into Bard and as a result, the share he's been giving has been slowly increasing. And though he's able to occasionally defeat Maria's snakes in combat, the snake-ladder hybrid allows her to immediately reclaim her snakes from the void.

The race towards Charon is on between them, with Maria taking the Zookeeper route to victory. Again, it's not a very common meta strategy, but Maria's Zoo Grade is at a solid 92 out of 100. At 100, Charon will drop everything to visit the zoo, where if she plays her cards right, will not only be able to kill Charon, but hide the body and get away with it for a 300% score modifier. Though Chaos has tried to tip off the authorities many times, the authorities seem to turn a blind eye due to all of them being snakes for whatever reason.

As for Cushion, the secret third player and dark horse of the game, he has dominion over everything that is not actually part of the game. He has eaten three whole pizzas and shows no signs of slowing down. Chaos is using part of his business empire to cook pizzas for Cushion. The next pizza should be done in three rounds.

...Oh, also. Venia immediately fires a vaporizing beam at the head that's watching over the Eyestalk. Being a rather fragile entity, it's vaporized near-instantly. That should help the efforts a bit.

---

The Reflector extracts Calypse from the Calypse Cannon. This isn't too painful of a process- the glass cage around them is easily shattered with a hammer or some similar object, leaving them out in the open. Calypse immediately responds by firing a beam into this random room of the Rosen Catacombs, forcing the Reflector to abandon the room before it explodes into a gigantic pulse of dark matter.

Fortunately, after that little incident, Calypse fails to perform another attack. Perhaps they're just resting now. Or maybe disassembling the cannon caused it to "fire". Who knows for sure? They attempt to communicate with Calypse, but the monolith is mostly non-communicative. At least, until the Reflector decides to transform themselves into a version of Calypse. The monolith begins to rapidly flash towards them in response, ominous red light humming from their body in a rhythmic pattern. It's speaking in morse code, but to save you the effort I'll just translate it.

CALYPSE: (OBSERVATION UNIT #005 AT YOUR SERVICE)
CALYPSE: (NOTHING TO REPORT)

The Sight of Smoke reveals that Calypse has been recording incredible amounts of footage in their mind. Unfortunately, most of it is just being in a glass container, with an occasional target popping up for it to fire a laser through. Perhaps it'd be possible to look through all of their footage, though?

Elsewhere, the "Metallurgist" pays a visit to Mari. Apparently, the remaining El Iti got banned, somehow. Can Mari perhaps do something about that? Mari plugs their arm-terminal into the head of the El Iti. Apparently, this somehow works. They browse through thousands of lines of possibly code, but it's more likely to just be gibberish.

MARI: Uh.
MARI: Somebody installed DRM onto this Iti.
MARI: I have no idea who thought this'd be a good idea, but it appears that not only was their account banned, but the DRM is preventing them from functioning.
MARI: I've sent a request to the server to unban their account, which should be processed within a few minutes, but... it looks like the DRM comes straight from WARE themselves. We're gonna need to find a way to circumvent that. Any bright ideas?

In just a few moments, the "ban" message disappears from above El Iti's head, but they're still unresponsive. How can one circumvent DRM? Can the Metallurgist find a way to deal with this? I have no idea.

---

Calibri (or I suppose, the Fusion) notes that Kanzan is hotter than Amabilis. She gives the fusion a blank stare.

AMABILIS: Uh... h-how is that relevant?
AMABILIS: A-And... t-that emo gorilla i-is not m-more attractive than me!
AMABILIS: I-I am Spark's ideal subordinate, beautiful in both deadly grace and c-conventional attractiveness!
AMABILIS: D-Don't even think of comparing us!

He also tries to hack the broadcast signal that Spark is using, but it appears that there are no radio broadcasts that actually reach all the way up here. Annoying. Also, Spark's connection is rather powerful, and a bit hard to overtake.

Then, down in the Everground, S.E.D plants a mine to prevent any more aerial intrusions from interrupting. They then chug down the wall a few dozen meters down, and they fire a railgun round in some odd direction! It ricochets off a piece of Eversteel, obliterates a Predator, then after some convoluted process, slams into the Lamia Queen's False Head for... (1) damage. Looks like all that bouncing must've taken quite a bit out of the armor-piercing power of the shot. The shot being on fire has applies a Burn effect to the Lamia Queen however, which might help with the thick armor.

---

The Author continues a variety of tasks. To begin, he prepares himself to do battle with the Lamia Queen! He manifests bands of ink, which the Lamia Queen is powerless to dodge due to already being pinned to the ground. These chains of ink ensnare the extra heads, leaving them vulnerable to an attack from Vulcan!

A barrage of crimson energy blades form behind her, jamming themselves into the Lamia Queen's body! She rushes towards the beast, using the blades as jump pads to spring herself along the creature's body, ripping it to shreds as she flies across. She soon comes upon the edge of the beast's tail, where she springs skyward. Like with how she enchanted herself when in the Author's hands, a crimson energy veils her blade. With a single slash, she then sheathes herself, dropping down in front of the Lamia Queen. A flash of red spews from the Lamia Queen, dealing (30) damage to its body, (30) to its tail, and removing the head that was targeting the Remnant!

The two Predators remaining in the room charge Vulcan, their claws and tails dealing (10) damage to her, and poisoning her for a few rounds. She's able to force them to back off with a barrier, preventing any further damage. The Lamia Queen's false head then bubbles forth with Thyme Matter, swinging forward much like a pet door. Two freshly-baked Predators slip out, their bodies still slick with Thyme Matter. And, while the body is unable to claw much of anything due to being pinned down, the remaining head is still more than capable of attacking! It lunges towards the Maid, ripping (8) HP out of them and applying Poison for some time. Then, from the tail, a new head bursts forth! Great. Maybe go cut that thing off?

Elsewhere, Auth wonders with Nana if he'll be able to see a windflume at some point. Nana nods her head.

NANA: W-Well, we have a p-planet famous s-songstress in our party!
NANA: O-Once we're done here, w-we should attend one of her concerts!
NANA: Maybe she'll let us backstage, too. Take a look at a windflume. Or give us recommendations on where to buy one.
NANA: I bet you'd be really good at playing one, Auth!

He also mentions to Nana that while he can kinda sing, her sister's more talented at that sort of thing. And just maybe, he can find a way to bring her music back to the library. Nana raises her right hand.

NANA: O-Oh, I have this weird Tabletopian device a-at my house called a "cee dee"!
NANA: I don't know how to use it, b-but apparently it can play music! S-Somehow! I tried blowing on it, b-but it didn't make much noise...
NANA: Maybe y-you can figure out how to use it? A-At the very least, you could take it back to your place.

Nana wonders exactly how this "cee dee" works. Apparently, some Chairians are rather avid collectors of those things, but nobody in her hometown has them. Or "electricity", really. It's a bit of a rural place. Maybe Auth has a way to play it at the moment, though?

Auth also takes a moment to poke his head into the meeting at the Security Hub, noting that he'd rather avoid hurting people if possible. Is there anything he could do? Cypress ponders this for a few moments. The Author is an interesting figure among the Chairian people. Some claim that they can witness a powerful holy aura around him. While he does not believe in this nonsense... it's something to consider.

CYPRESS: Hm.
CYPRESS: You have infamy. Good infamy, notably. Considered an angel. In many ways.
CYPRESS: So, potential strategy. You and Aoki. Both together. Delivering message.
CYPRESS: Respected figures. Both sides. May be powerful. Thoughts?

One can't help but wonder if Auth would be good on stage. Though, he probably has a Persuasive score of at least 200. Maybe he'd be a good fit on the stage with Aoki. Or perhaps he can think of another way to contribute? Who knows.

Finally, over with Plastic, the Author tries to talk with him. Fluxblood still drips from their maw, and it's unclear how much they're actually listening to the Author. Mid-sentence, Plastic snaps at them.

PLASTIC: BUTTERFLY
PLASTIC: BUTTERFLY
PLASTIC: BUTTERFLY
PLASTIC: DUTY
PLASTIC: DUTY
PLASTIC: DUTY

...That probably went about expected. Auth then tries to talk to Amabilis. She should absolutely watch the way she speaks to her subordinates. She sighs, tapping her warstaff on the ground.

AMABILIS: You're using your famous tactic right now, and I won't allow it.
AMABILIS: This false kindness... trying to convert everyone to your side! You won't turn us against each other, and I will see to it that Spark's troops remain loyal!
AMABILIS: No matter what it takes.

Finally, Auth then politely asks Spark to leave. Airships, historically speaking, have not been very effective at stopping the Spherebreakers. Spark laughs quietly, his voice reverberating through the speakers.

SPARK: Say what you want.
SPARK: Nothing can prepare you for what comes next.
SPARK: By all means. Breach the vault. Seize the Glyph.
SPARK: Not even that would be able to save you.

You heard the man. Breach the vault! Get the thing! Beat up Spark, again! He's literally asking for it!

---

<BASE OF UNITY, ROUND 3>
The Vault Door has levelled up, becoming the Vault Cannon! It now has a fairly deadly basic attack. Fortunately, it shouldn't be too hard to rip apart. Just don't forget to deal with the legions of troops that have arrived this round- at least Wattle's arrived, too! He should be able to help DPS down the Vault Cannon, and get you to whatever's inside!

Base of Unity

Adria glares at the troops that just came in, as well as the cannon, and groans.

ADRIA: Honestly.
ADRIA: He's practically outnumbered 2:1 and he's still supposedly this confident.
ADRIA: A-and so nonchalantly just... shooting his people with t-that... thing...

Adria ponders something for a moment. Then, turns her glare to the Dream of Unity. Several Praetorians have already looked there in reference to Spark, whose voice was also coming from there. Not to mention all the Praetorians and soldiers already here when they got there. Perhaps...

ADRIA: (...There's something going on in there, isn't there?)

Adria quickly turns to Cypress.

ADRIA: Say, Cypress... theoretically, where would this craft's engine, gravcore, or similar be?
ADRIA: It seems like it would be quite the vehicle if it were completed.

She not-so-subtly winks at him.

On receiving the answer, whatever it may be, even if it's just telling her to not even think about it, she nods, and refocuses on the task at hand.

ADRIA: Chloe, move closer to the cannon! We're cracking this door wide open!
ADRIA: You there! Yes, the Librarian! When I pop back here, do your thing!

Adria then has a snack in the middle of the fight, snacking on a pastry. The nearby cat tosses Adria a drink with its tail, which Adria catches almost instinctively.

ADRIA: Thanks Bristle- wait what.

She turns to the cat, apparently named Bristle. She looks surprised to see them just standing there. It approaches the Exosuit and rubs its face on it. It purrs quietly.

ADRIA: Bristle! What are you doing here, you little rascal?
ADRIA: ...Though I suppose your energy-sapping quills could prove useful... Alright, you can stay. Just stick behind me.

ACTUAL ACTION

Chloe moves to (M23) and waits for Adria.

Adria eats a Banana Variety Fruit Pastry for Empowered5 and Mending12. The cat passes a vial of Bottled Luck to Adria. Adria gains 8 MP and Lucky12.

She warps to (I21) using her Chronoshade, and Basic Attacks the Vault Cannon. This is boosted by Empowered (+25%), Chronoshade (+20%), and Watching Over You (+30%, +6 CRT). She then expends 2 stacks of Lunar Processing to attack it again (with Empowered and Watching Over You boosts).

She summons another Chronoshade at (M24), set to Static Overcharge.

The Symbiote uses Spike Burst.

The Exosuit uses Greatblade Smash to the East, hitting 2 segments of the Vault Cannon. Adria then uses Timely Displacement to return to (I15).

Omorika approaches (I15) as much as she needs to and uses Null Somnum+ on Adria.

Adria uses Alter Reality to change her Empowered to Enlightened. She also uses Full Attention to Praise! again, and warps to the Chronoshade at (M24) and casts Static Overcharge on the Vault Cannon. She uses Spell Feast for an extra boost.

The Static Overcharge is boosted from:
-Chronoshade (+20%)
-Watching Over You (+30%, +6 CRT)
-Static Buildup (+65% from 13 tiles moved, Spell Modifier)
-Enlightened (+2.5 Buff Levels, +25%)
-Full Attention to Praise! (+4 Buff Levels at minimum, +40%)
-Spell Feast (+3 Buff Levels, +30%)

The Exosuit uses another Greatblade Smash NorthWest.

The cat sprints to (N23). Chloe can do what she wants after.

---

/working

BATTLES

The Nanotechnician moves to D8, and with the Hackdrive lent to them, they take control() of Exoknight 1. They then sprint to D12.
The controlled Exoknight will move to D22 and fire their chemical thrower west, hitting all four of their allies with the cone and breaking the Saint's divine shield.

"Scion" moves to E20 and casts Living Plague on Splintershot 3 and transfers the plague to herself. She uses her bonus action to spread all negative statuses from that Splintershot to herself, the Songstress, and Saint 3. This doesn't give the Saint a new divine shield (yet), because Violence Virophage spreading doesn't do HP damage.
At the end of her turn, the plague spreads to Permafrost Robe 1 (from the Splintershot), Thundercloud Robe 1 (from the Songstress), Earthshaker 1 (from the Saint), and Exoknight 1 (from the Scion).

---

CALYPSE

The Reflector frowns. As they reply to Calypse, the red veins on their body begin to flicker back in Morse code, matching their speech.

CALYPSE REFLECTOR: observation unit #005, please describe describe your experience collecting recording data in the last week.
CALYPSE REFLECTOR: what observations have you made? for what purpose what mission were your activities done?

---

EL ITI AND THE DRM

"The Metallurgist" shrugs.

"THE METALLURGIST": I'd advise just accessing the source code and deleting the DRM, but I'd bet this WARE fucker has it encrypted if he has any brains.
"THE METALLURGIST": ...Since the DRM on this human video game -- "Overwatch," is it? -- comes from WARE, maybe we could just uninstall the damn thing and then buy them a real copy from the human Internet.
"THE METALLURGIST": WARE shouldn't have a chance to interfere if we get our own copy, since the Iti's been separated from the hivemind.
"THE METALLURGIST": We'd have to install the critter with an interdimensional router and modem to make sure it stays connected.
"THE METALLURGIST": You think that's manageable?

---

STAR

Sometime after officially joining the Spherebreakers, Star lies on the roof of the house, staring up at the sky. They lift Sol Aeterna up into the air, swapping it between forms.

STAR: You sleep o shining blade
STAR: I felt it when I first lifted you,
STAR: Tell me do you dream? Do you witness far off realms of flesh and mind?
STAR: When I sleep I see the gray one in his violet prison which I was borne from;
STAR: and thyself was lifted from a scarlet dream of my same creator
STAR: We are more alike than I initially saw
STAR: ...
STAR: I will wait for you to wake cousin
STAR: until then paint your dreamessence into being with me

If there is no response (and Star does not expect there to be one), they sheathe the weapon and instead take out a pen to sketch the slowly dwindling daylight.

The soon to be dead Vault
Daskter moves forward to (G18); they cast nanostorm on (C22).

After Aoki
The Pikemen marches onwards to (H17). They poke Saint1 with their pointy stick.

Battle - Base of Unity

"...Yeah, honestly I just said that to see what you'd do. No hard feelings, right?"

The fusion shrugs at the fallen body of Amabilis, wondering if he should do more about that. Then, he turns away from her, aiming his attention more towards certain other priorities. Namely, a big-ass turret...

He waits for other people to do their things first, for specific reasons. Namely, waiting until last so that everyone else can hammer on the turret, since his plan would reduce their damage if he went first.

Then, once everyone involved with turret DPS has acted, Calfusion moves to H18, uses Honorable Duel on the Vault Cannon, then hits it with a mega phat Purge.

By my calculations, at (51-53) base Glitch damage, with +20% damage from Bushi Road, +10% damage from Ordo, +40% damage from Empowered8, and +50% damage from Honorable Duel, that comes out to a total of about... (112-117) Glitch damage.

The fusion then performs a maneuver known as "conga after headshot", a highly disrespectful maneuver meant to frustrate the enemy.

ALSO, Pyralux Flare activates to ping the Vault Cannon for (7-7) Fire damage, boosted to (11-11) by the Honorable Duel because eat shit vault cannon. Surprise! That armor effect is legally usable by the fusion. If that still hasn't gotten a kill somehow, the Fusion then pulls out the elemental blaster and blasts the Vault Cannon with a solid Electric shot for another... (26-29) damage, I think? I dunno. Do item actions benefit from Honorable Duel? RAW indicates yeah.

---

The Old Pass

"..."

Loading.

---

The Everground

S.E.D is not sure what to do this round, so it scans the Lamia Queen. Specifically scanning for potential weakpoints, but a geenral scan would be good too.

---

The... um... where is this happening?

Verdana is... doing a thing somewhere in an altered timeline. I'm not sure about the specific details cause I kinda forgot what he was doing after having him show up in the battle and join the fusion. But, eh, I'm sure those can be worked out.

Besides, that's not the focus of the scene. He turns to Adria when called, headtilting a little. Then he sees the disc.

"...That shouldn't be out here. Unless..."

He frowns slightly, doing his best to consider possibilities. That entails some finger snapping. Once he's figured it out, he stops snapping his fingers, instead pressing them together tightly. So tightly, in fact, that one can hear the faint sound of stressed crystals...

"What have you set in motion, Calibri... Anyway, to answer the question! The short summary is that me and Calibri and our sister from a mindscape realm now apparently... Kinda just get close to each other in the right conditions, gather power, and temporarily slot our souls together while nobody's looking? Cores, really. Same thing. For some reason they're broken in a way that lets them do that, even though it doesn't look like they can."

Verdana shrugs.

"I don't know what determines who's the one in most control. Maybe it's just whoever's already there first."

Destiny moves down to F20, Observes the Songstress, and Phase Shifts with the enemy Songstress, activating the Proximity Mine. She then restrained Hookshots the Songstress, landing at F19. She retreats to G17.

AOKI: After Destiny acts, move to H18, attack Songstress until they are down, use any remaining attacks on the Vault Cannon. Retreat to K16.
ROSIE: Move to M9, turn right 90 degrees, and blast the Standardbearer, then have GTurret2 clean up the Standardbearer, GTurret1 attempt to fire at Darkmorph2, Biomod targets Halberdier.
WATTLE: Fire a Tac Missile K22.
MAPLE: Attack Exoknight 2 twice.
SPLINTERSHOT 1: Before Calibri acts, move to O18 and use Pinpoint on the Vault Cannon if necessary. Otherwise, attack Splintershot 4.
Eren: Move to H18, slap TCRobe1 once, move back to I17.

Broadcast work
Eren hums and nods at Cypress's not. Fortunately there was enough foresight to disable the cameras in the security hub.
"Well, for one thing we should probably do the recording and editing back at home base instead of here. It'll be easier to set up there and just avoid being observed there anyway.
And also there's literally no one back home who would even think of reporting to Spark. We're pretty exclusively all people with death warrants on our heads or Outsiders.
And then do the broadcast from stealth? People have put together some pretty crazy stuff with all the artifacts and iti parts and whatnot we've been collecting over the week, making a cloaking system to get to the broadcast point without being spotted shouldn't be hard.
At the very least not in comparison to a poison capable of actually just deleting a person."

Echoss looks over the recording studio in a box (more subspace grocery box technology!) and looks down the specs list given along with the equipment, and hands it over to Aoki. Everything is beyond her expectations, most of it very well beyond.
"Perhaps 'difficult' was an exaggeration, but my home has much more of an industrial base than LOCAA, and an advanced technological base to go with. The mass production of below-standard audio equipment is rather a waste, so what is created to... more regular standards comparatively I suppose, is generally done so for different reasons. Such as example studies in baseline technology, or for those who wish to use simpler equipment for specific artistic purposes.
Regardless, everything should be in order?"


Everground:
Not!Echoss looks at the tail thrashing around, then nods. He pulls out a log, turns it into a crafting table, pulls out some thyme crystals (4) and iron ingots (4) and a single piece of ohmetal for it's presumably slightly magnetic properties. He combines these in the crafting grid to make a Thyme Magnet, which he then combines with 3 Feather Rope Coils and a Throwlem Crystal to make the Thyme-Attracted Lasso.
He flings it outwards, the lasso attaching onto the flailing neck, and using it Not!Echoss yanks himself onto the flailing thing. Firmly attached to the Lamia Queen's head, he pulls out a sword from the assorted chairian weapons and hacks away at the neck until it cleanly severs, taking the two remaining heads with it.


Creation
>Thank you for your assistance Creation, I'll be contacting you some time in the next few days.
Echoss closes the connection.


Battle:
I'm only doing RP right now, anyone else who cares to has permission to give Eren his battle orders since there's a very good chance I won't be able to handle them myself this round.

Eren looks irritatedly at Amabliss but before he can spit out another retort she gets demolished.
Also I can't really think of anything good to contribute here that others aren't already covering



To-do List:
Also hand the Subspace Grocery Box to Cypress when he heads back to the house
Anti-Spark measures (anti-magic in progress, have anti-artillery to deal with airstrikes and conventional artillery support, signal blocking to prevent Praetorian or Sentinel summoning, lots of EMP options, be ready for BOSS)
Anti-Propaganda: use the Infinite Shadow for the stealth gear.
Craft Serpent up some higher tier fragapple-derived attack consumables to use for pinging assists (higher range and wider splash desired over damage up)

Make sure party prep is ready. (save for near the end of the day)
Properly seal up Linseed's room so he can't try to dig out. (save for near the end of the day)

Base of Unity
Wait for Tazz's post.
Sheep Counter self.
Move to P17.
Last Dream Saint4.
Hibernate Earthshaker 2.
Power Nap self.

Original Action:
Zahlia Fifth Element's her way onto F17, moves to D19, and uses Nothing Ventured, taunting the Saint.


~~PermafrostRobe. She also throws a Splinter at the Saint~~
yeah uh my action is a mess just don't pay attention to this ugh

Remiel moves to O18 and basic-attacks Earthshaker2, then casts a rune of Reckless Revenge onto God Hand 2.

REMIEL: If you don't mind an upgrade, this'll help open up the door a bit faster.

Auth, in regards to the Lamia Queen, switches gear now that the Iti has actually injured some of his allies into Healing mode. He floats down towards Vulcan, and holds his hands just over her body, shooting ink to patch up the wounds and to help expel the poison from their bodies. He then flips backwards, over the Maid, and patches up her wounds too.

AUTH: This is far more my element. I am always a healer more than I am a fighter. Personally, I hate fighting.

---

Auth smiles, realising that Aoki is naturally in the party so such a thing is not impossible.A
AUTH: That's very true! Perhaps it would be work asking Aoki. Did you ever get that autograph? I seem to remember you asking her for one.
AUTH: I very well could have imagined it, such a thing is not impossible. Total recall doesn't mean that false memories don't slip in. But you seem like a fan of hers to me, not that it's a bad thing.
AUTH: Backstage passes to concerts do sound like fun. I think it might not be as unlikely as one might think, now... I'm sure Aoki would probably have plenty of input about instrumentation.

If not, Auth figures that he and Nana could achieve both things at the same time. Hence why he asked - killing several birds with less stones is something Auth finds to be extremely useful. He then thinks about the "cee dee"

AUTH: Oh? A CD? The library has a significant collection of those. They're not too complicated, I know the theory behind them. I suspect that it probably won't be particularly interesting for you, though.
AUTH: They don't work in isolation - they're not an instrument. Do you have a player? I think Cypress might have one, or a red laser that could be tuned for it. To be honest, I suspect that a record might be better for Chairians since it plays music mechanically rather than electronically.

Auth quietly wonders if a CD player could be converted to run on one of those magic crystals for power, instead of relying on an electrical input that does not exist in remote parts of Sussui.

---

Auth nods faintly, as Cypress talks about how Auth might input into the work that they're going to do to try and convince the Legion not to fight. Naturally, Auth is entirely unaware of this alleged holy aura he puts out, and thus has no concerns as to whether it could be captured on video.

AUTH: I don't think "good infamy" is infamy, I think that's just fame. Besides the point, I suppose.
AUTH: If you would like me to speak, I would be more than happy to. Just tell me what it is you would like me to say, and I can get the message across.

Auth does a slight bow to Aoki.

AUTH: It'll be a pleasure working with you, Aoki. Assuming that you're okay with sharing the stage with me, so to speak.

Auth's concern is more whether Aoki will be willing to work with him than actually delivering the message. That's the easy bit.

---

Auth looks genuinely hurt when Amabilis accuses him of using the renowned technique of "false kindness".

AUTH: I-I... wh... If I have done anything to come across as anything less than fully genuine, I deeply apologise. In myself, I can say that I have been nothing less than absolutely and utterly sincere with you the whole time.
AUTH: The assertion otherwise hurts, actually, because it tells me that you think that I have been deceptive with my attitude. I did not mean to be.
AUTH: I assure you that we have no interest in turning you against each other, we would just rather that you went somewhere else. We never want to be fighting you.

Then, Auth reaches up to the air, and light envelops the two Chairians that Spark downed. They should feel themselves resuscitated and energized, with power far greater than Chairian clerics can usually deliver, most likely. The Darkmorph and the Sniper can be put to useful work now.

AUTH: Don't be afraid to side with us. Don't be afraid of Spark! We take good care of those who side with us, we will try our hardest to protect you if you side with us.
AUTH: Don't let the fear that Spark might instill in you overwhelm the voice in your heart that tells you that this is wrong. We will protect you from Spark, it's natural for us to want to make sure that you're protected. It would be remiss of us to have you turn and then not stick up for you. Please, stay with us here.

<ROUND 301>

The Reflector converses with Calypse. They exchange rapid flashes of red, signalling one another in morse.

CALYPSE: (DATA COLLECTION SUCCESSFUL)
CALYPSE: (NO NEW DEVELOPMENTS)
CALYPSE: (PREVIOUS NOTABLE EVENT: ARRIVAL OF SPHEREBREAKERS ON PLANET)
CALYPSE: (TRANSMITTING...)

Calypse violently vibrates on the spot, beaming information directly into the Reflector. Through their head, a few images flash by. The deployment of the Spherebreakers to the bunker all the way back in Zone 1, and their skirmishes with Chairian forces. The locale immediately changes to that of the inner interior of the Sphere. The center of the Sphere, in fact.

There lies WARE, wooden vines ensnaring their entire body and holding him aloft in the center of the room. They twitch rapidly, speaking numbers at random. Calypse pauses, transmitting a message to WARE the same way Calypse just did to the Reflector. The stream of numbers from WARE's mouth ceases, and they go completely silent. Calypse warps back to Zone 1, observing the bunker. On cue, hordes of Iti begin spilling in from the forests enmass. The Spherebreaker's first encounters with the Iti.

The transmission fades, leaving the Reflector to ask about what purpose their mission serves.

CALYPSE: (PRIMARY SCOUTING UNIT FOR TARGET "OMORIKA")
CALYPSE: (TASK: OBSERVE, PROBE WEAKNESSES)
CALYPSE: (TASK SUCCESSFUL)
CALYPSE: (LUCID FINETUNED AND DEPLOYED WITH INFORMATION)
CALYPSE: (THEN SET TO ROAMING MODE)
CALYPSE: (CURRENT TASK: WAIT FOR UPLINK REPAIRS)
CALYPSE: (DESTROYED IN ENCOUNTER WITH SPHEREBREAKERS)

...Uplink repairs? If Calypse is a rather mobile scouting unit, it's surprising they haven't just warped away to continue their scouting operations. Perhaps that's why they've been so cooperative as of late.

Elsewhere, the Metallurgist ponders how to solve issues of DRM. Eventually, they decide that the best method of doing so would be to purchase a copy of Overwatch, and install some sort of interdimensional router and modem onto them. Mari nods, typing in a few commands on their arm terminal. They also pull out a cellphone from their back pocket, and extract a few key resources from it. These are taped directly onto El Iti.

MARI: Okay, so. Taped parts of a burner phone onto them.
MARI: Thanks to a few tricks I learned, said burner phone should give them good enough interdimensional internet access.
MARI: And, I also just got a digital copy of Overwatch. Which, by the way, you will compensate me for.
MARI: Now, just let me install it onto them, and...

Mari then plugs their arm terminal into El Iti. A few minutes later, and Overwatch has been installed onto El Iti! A standard, human version! Notably though, Mari has temporarily disabled the phone's interdimensional access.

MARI: So. Pretty sure the moment you turn that thing on, El Iti will wake up.
MARI: You'll probably want to take them somewhere safe before you flick them on. Just in case they, y'know, switch to Bastion and kill all of us.
MARI: Happy gaming, my dude.

Mari gives El Iti a quick pat on the head, to which they do not respond. She then hands the still-sleeping Eliti to the Metallurgist, for safe keeping.

Finally, Star decides to lift Sol Aeterna skybound. While I'd typically respond to this... I believe that the only person properly equipped to talk about this is Semple. They're the one who made the weapon, after all! So, the GM throws a ping at them, containing the contents of this very paragraph. Whoa. Meta.

---

S.E.D scans the Lamia Queen! Though it appears to lack a proper codex entry due to being some sort of weird one-off Everground Entity, a few notes pop up on the Scanner. Ahem...

ENTITY: LAMIA QUEEN
- The heads upon the Lamia Queen's tail are their own organism. Upon destruction of the liquid tail, they will detach and attack of their own volition.
- The tail can regenerate if given enough time, using the immense amounts of Thyme Matter held within their body.
- The false head guards their interior source of Thyme Matter. Destroying it may allow the destruction of that source for an instant kill.

Ooh. Did somebody say instant kill?

---

Whoops, skipped over this. Ahem. Adria asks Cypress for a few details on the Dream of Unity. He doesn't quite understand the wink, but earnestly gives her the information she so desires.

CYPRESS: Gravcore: center mass. Incredibly large. Two meter radius. Fair distance: cockpit.
CYPRESS: Would be sophisticated. If functional. However, no core. Ore was salvaged. Used for experiments.
CYPRESS: Interior: unfurnished. Exterior: untouched. Grand. Would be amazing. Assuming completion, naturally.

A gravcore with a radius of two meters. That's... rather big, isn't it? Would she even be able to shoot that from here and deal notable damage? And, if the interior of the Dream of Unity really is empty and nonfunctional, what's the point of shooting it? Who knows.

---

Eren lays out a plan for broadcasting at the Security Hub. To begin, he suggests that they should do the recording at home. Especially since nobody at home would have any reason to report their works to Spark. Cypress agrees to this notion.

CYPRESS: Affirmative. Work from home. The smartest option.
CYPRESS: Also: proximity. Not far: Citadel. Few kilometers. Broadcast from home? Substantial setup: possible.
CYPRESS: Stealth not required. Just home defenses. Which are bountiful.

That's an idea. At the same time, Echoss and Aoki go over the Recording Studio in a box. The equipment within dazzles Aoki. Such quality! Such sophistication! Such... shiny outer casings! Though, she appears to be completely unfamiliar with how this future technology works.

AOKI: Oh my. I've never seen anything quite like this, sir Echoss.
AOKI: May... May I try this out? I'll admit to being somewhat interested in trying this setup out.
AOKI: Though, I will require your assistance in using these devices.
AOKI: Their sophistication is out of my range of expertise. I lack the knowledge of how to set up many of these devices- there's a fairly large amount of cables that I am unfamiliar with.
AOKI: Or... are these cables?

The GM is unsure about how these devices even look. Is the Echo Collation so advanced to forgo wires? Or do they still make use of them? I have no idea. Regardless, why not set this up back at the house? Have a small concerto with Aoki.

Then, down in the Everground, Not!Echoss makes use of 4 Thyme Crystals, 4 (0) Iron, and a piece of Ohmetal to create a Thyme Magnet, which is promptly combined with 3 Feather Rope Coils and a Throwlem Crystal to make the Thyme-Attracted Lasso! He grabbles onto the flailing tail, and sword in hand, begins violently hacking at it! The tail is destroyed, Thyme Matter splattering against the walls! As he floats off, the two heads break free from the now-splattered tail, and cling onto him for (7) total damage! Looks like they're still alive. Bleh. The loss of the tail causes the Lamia Queen to cry out though, and makes it lose an additional (10) HP.

Echoss also closes his connection with Creation, ending his conversation.

---

Auth continues his daily routine. Namely, healing! Down in the Everground. Making use of his ink-based powers, he swathes Vulcan in ink which helps expunge the poison from her body. He also does the same process to the Maid, restoring (5) HP to each of them and dispelling their Poison.

Elsewhere, Auth realizes that yes- they do have Aoki! Maybe they really could get backstage passes to one of her concerts. Also, did she ever get that autograph? Nana shakes her head a somber "no".

NANA: A-Ah... I don't think I ever got the autograph...
NANA: B-But, if we go to one of her concerts, I-I'll be sure to get it then!

Also, upon hearing about the mythical "cee dee", Auth clears things up for Nana. Apparently, it's just a "CD", and the library already has a whole bunch of them. They're all science-y and stuff, even if they're ultimately not too complicated. When questioned about if she has a player, Nana's face goes blank.

NANA: A... player?
NANA: I don't have anyone who knows how to play them... o-or a device that knows how to play t-them, for that matter.
NANA: And... h-how could a red laser be tuned to use a CD? It doesn't make any sense...
NANA: A-And even if it does make sense, h-how would people find t-that out in the first place?
NANA: S-Science is scary...

Over in the Sky Labs, Auth agrees with Cypress- if required, he could give a speech. But, what would he want him to say? Cypress responds in a fairly eloquent, concise way: a shrug.

CYPRESS: No clue. Not speechwriter.
CYPRESS: Rarely handle socials. Mostly do science. Science makes sense. People do not.
CYPRESS: Aoki, any ideas?
AOKI: Many of my speeches have been pre-written.
AOKI: I rarely have had the chance to flex my speech-writing muscles. Of course, I have written music, but that is about the extent of my writing capabilities. They're two separate realms, I'd say.
CYPRESS: Very well then. Omorika?
OMORIKA: Certainly, I could do my best to write a speech for you, sir Author. Or if it's required, the both of you.
OMORIKA: If that is what you desire, I shall be your pen. Though, as your name is the "Author", perhaps you could assist me in writing your speech as well?

Could Auth become the ghost writer for his own speech? Or would that just be a "writer"? I don't know. Semantics.

---

Venia calls out Spark's ploy. The Glyph isn't there, is it? Spark gives an audible shrug, through the speaker system. The man must have powerful shoulders.

SPARK: If a gigantic, fully-automated sentry gun vault door is a "trap", then I'm not sure what to say to you miss Praefortis.
SPARK: This is as genuine of a defensive setup as any other. Though, since you have these delusions in your mind, I suppose I will not be able to dispel them, no matter what I say.

SPARK: So, why not go with your madness. Ahem.
SPARK: Yes. This is a blatant trap. You Spherebreakers are so foolish, walking directly into it.
SPARK: You see, the vault is actually filled with explosives. Yes. That's it. That's the trap. It'll kill exactly one of you, and you'll crawl out of whatever grave it is you all seem to rise from after death.
SPARK: Yes. Praefortis's wisdom has seen right through this facade.

If sarcasm was a resource, this man would make it Tier 7. Know what else is Tier 7? The Hellpiercer Drill. Having just performed the best, most buttery transition of his life, the GM goes on to process the Everground bit where Venia flips the Hellpiercer Drill turnways. Revving it up, she jams it into the False Head! The Lamia Queen lets out an earth-shaking roar, which rather suddenly drops a couple hundred octaves as a hole the size of its body is punched through it. The Hellpiercer Drill surges through the Everground, the pull of gravity eventually causing it to create a snaked tunnel down to the Chairian equivalent of hell. Wherever that is.

Thyme Matter floods out from the Lamia Queen's body as it rather instantly dies from this. (Also, Vulcan's attack probably would've been enough to ensure its death after this, but shhhh.)

VULCAN: ...Terrifying.
VULCAN: What use would anyone have for a device of such power like that? Though, it does seem to function as an admirable weapon.
VULCAN: A weapon we will not likely be able to retrieve, but a weapon nonetheless.
VULCAN: Now, let's clean up the rabble. Then, we can talk about the Old Rosen Oath, miss Praefortis.

With two quick flicks of her blade, an equal number of Predators bite the dust. Jamming her blade into the ground, spikes shoot upward from below, killing the other two Predators. Then, with a quick leap into the air, the two remaining heads of the Lamia Queen fall. The cavern, for the first time in awhile, goes silent.

VULCAN: ...A rather anti-climatic way to end this battle.
VULCAN: But, there's no reason to complain.
VULCAN: From the looks of things, we've done everything we've set out to do. The Remnant's infection has been cleansed, and the Iti have been fended off.
VULCAN: Truly exceptional work. I can see how you were able to kill my husband, with skills like that.
VULCAN: I am in your debt, Spherebreakers.

VULCAN: So. Miss Praefortis.
VULCAN: You've come here for the Old Rosen Oath, yes?
VULCAN: I suppose I owe you that much, don't I?
VULCAN: Though, I am unsure why you covet an old piece of parchment so much.
VULCAN: But, if this is what you want... take it.

She decouples the Old Rosen Oath from her hip, thrusting it towards Venia's Maid. Perhaps with a moment's hesitation, the maid seizes the scroll. It's made of some sort of animal's hide, treated to withstand the ages. Whatever text is scrawled upon it cannot be all that long given the general size of the document, but... what secrets does it whole?

Old Rosen Oath obtained.

One can read it if they wish. It's just a bit late at night at the time I'm writing this. Just don't forget, okay? It'd probably be an interesting writeup.

---

<BASE OF UNITY, ROUND 4>
Chloe and Xavier have reached the mouth of the vault. With the Vault Cannon absolutely pulverized, nothing stands in their way. Xavier's two God Hands dig into the metal, violently ripping chunks out like a child ripping the fluff out from a teddy bear. Soon enough, a small trash heap of smoldering metal has been freed from what remains of the construction, revealing a small passageway down into the earth of the Sky Labs.

XAVIER: The vault's been secured.
XAVIER: Chloe. Let's get in there, seize the Glyph, and get the hell out of here.
XAVIER: Shall we?
CHLOE: Yeah! Let's go!
CHLOE: Watch your step, now...

With a careful leap, Chloe enters the spiraling stairway down into the depths. A gentle hovering sounds from behind Chloe, signalling Xavier's advance. The God Hands, a bit too big to fit into the passageway, set themselves to idle just above the crack in the Vault Cannon. Manifesting a small ball of light in her hands, Chloe cuts through the all-consuming shadows. Their voices wander as they descend.

XAVIER: ...You can cast magic?
XAVIER: When'd you learn to do that?
CHLOE: Oh, I've had a few friends help me out with this stuff.
CHLOE: There's this nice lady called Asha, and we once travelled with this lady called Nezira. They both taught me a lot!
XAVIER: Impressive that you've learned that much in such a short timeframe.
XAVIER: Or perhaps, were you boosted by the Thymefield?
CHLOE: That might be the case, but-

The staircase ends. Darkness looms ahead of them, opening into some sort of gigantic chamber.

CHLOE: O-Oh!
CHLOE: This is it! The Glyph Vault!
CHLOE: C-C'mon! There's no time to lose!
XAVIER: Of course.
XAVIER: Just be careful. There's no telling what could be down here.
CHLOE: Well, I've been in two of these vaults before.
CHLOE: Typically, there's just a staircase, and then you enter a big, open room that has the glyph.
CHLOE: Much like... this one, really.

Stepping forward into the chamber ahead, Chloe's eyes dart around the room. It's absolutely freezing down here, not a speck of light coming from anywhere in the room. She takes a few cautious steps about, her boots clicking against the cobblestones of the floor. Jutting from the dark, she soon sees the spire- the same as every other vault. Upon the top of this would be the Glyph. Chloe stares up into the dark. Her light isn't nearly strong enough.

CHLOE: ...Normally, these things give off a pretty powerful glow.
CHLOE: Is it... up there? Maybe this glyph is... a bit more subtle about its godlike power.
XAVIER: I have nightvision active. There's... certainly something up there.
XAVIER: Go up and grab it.
CHLOE: Alright.

Thrusters firing, Chloe rockets up to the top of the twisted spire. A smooth stone sits upon the top of the spire, floating a gentle distance above it. It's a soft grey, with absolutely no discernable features upon it. As Chloe touches it, prismatic energy courses through the stone, lighting up the whole room.

CHLOE: A-Ah! This must be it!
CHLOE: It's... awfully plain, though.
CHLOE: If this is the Creator Glyph or whatever... maybe it's like, a statement about a blank canvas, or something.
XAVIER: ...Wait.
XAVIER: Chloe.
XAVIER: That's a rock.

YOU COLLECTED THE:

< PERFECTLY ORDINARY ROCK >
1 Glyph Remains, still

PLAY - Path Complete (VVVVVV)

Chloe stares at the rock in her hands. For what's apparently a perfectly ordinary rock, there's an incredible amount of energy swirling around it. It lights the whole room up with a rhapsody of color.

CHLOE: W-Wait, how can this just be a rock!?
CHLOE: Y-You see it, right?
CHLOE: The whole rainbow e-energy stuff?
XAVIER: Of course I see it.
XAVIER: But... that energy. It's not coming from the rock.
XAVIER: I would've detected something earlier.
XAVIER: Rather, I believe that what you're seeing is coming from another source entirely.
CHLOE: W-Wait, so... t-this entire vault was m-made to guard a rock?
XAVIER: ...Seriously?
XAVIER: Idiot.
XAVIER: It's simple.
XAVIER: Or I guess... we're both idiots.

He chuckles to himself, ever so quietly.

XAVIER: We're both incredibly dead idiots.
CHLOE: W-What d-do you-

Xavier thrusts his right hand forward, a beam of air piercing through the air. It rips at Chloe's hands, knocking the stone from her grip and sending it spiraling into the wall of the chamber, prismatic energy still veiling it. The beam then performs an incredibly tight turn, slamming into Chloe directly. She shrieks as she's launched just a foot or two from the entrance, taking an ugly tumble across the floor and into the wall. As Chloe stumbles to her feet, blood dripping down her forehead, she witnesses the prismatic energy spread from the perfectly ordinary rock to the entire chamber. The very structure of the room begins to bubble. Xavier unleashes a pained grunt as his gaze turns to meet Chloe's terrified eyes.

XAVIER: RUN. gorillaING RUN, YOU DUMB gorilla!
XAVIER: IT'S A TRAP. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.
CHLOE: W-Wait! I-I won't leave you!
XAVIER: DID I STUTTER?
XAVIER: RUN. OR YOU WILL DIE.
CHLOE: Y-You can't be s-serious! J-Just come with me!
XAVIER: FANTASTIC IDEA. I WOULD IF I COULD.
XAVIER: LOOK.

Chloe stares at Xavier's legs. Stone tendrils have risen from the ground, ensnaring his legs. Something shoots from the floor to try and ensnare Chloe, but with a quick leap, she avoids what appears to be a set of stone arms. From the various walls around the room, arms and faces begin to burst forth. A familiar gaze. Spark's visage glares from all around the siblings, radiant energy bursting forth from their eyes like a floodlight on LSD. Chloe's legs tremble at the sight, barely able to move or speak.

CHLOE: B-But... I-I... X-X-Xavier...?
XAVIER: ...Look.
XAVIER: I'll live, alright?
XAVIER: Believe what you want, if it gets you out of here alive.
CHLOE: I... c-can't... leave y-you...
XAVIER: I know.
XAVIER: And... I'm sorry in advance.

A trembling comes from behind Chloe. A mess of sparks and wires forces itself through the spiralling passageway. It's one of Xavier's God Hands, though it appears to have been incredibly mangled in the process of fitting itself into this passageway. The one functioning finger grabs hold of Chloe, prompting her to shriek as it immediately goes into reverse. She reaches a hand out towards Xavier, who's only in vision for a few brief moments before the light of the surface surrounds her once again.

---

Down in the depths, Xavier lays witness to an army of at least... twenty- no, thirty stone golems. Each bears the visage of Spark himself. Though it appears they morphed from the surface of the chamber itself, there's no indentations, or even evidence of loss of material. It's as if they materialized out of thin air, really. The jet booster upon his back, a little useless given he's been rooted, unfurls itself. The Aero Core in the back that powers the engine is fully exposed.

[XAVIER: Thirty versus one, in a fairly large room.
XAVIER: Opponents are made of stone, and are unarmed.
XAVIER: We're approximately thirty or so meters underground, from the Base of Unity.
XAVIER: No help is expected to arrive, and something's already gotten my leg.

XAVIER: Eh. If any situation's met the Godzilla Threshold, it's this one.
XAVIER: You poor stone-faced gorillas. If you had just grabbed Chloe, you would've won.
XAVIER: YOU'VE ALREADY LOST.

And with that, the horde of stone Sparks rumble towards Xavier, a horizontal rockslide. The Aero Core upon his back roars to life, a deafening sound filling the entire room...

---

Chloe is flung a short distance into the air by the God Hand as it fully loses functionality, tumbling into the hole she just emerged from. Whilst in the air, Chloe screams a few quick words at the top of her lungs, as Spark's laughter fills the air.

CHLOE: S-SPARK HAS THE GLYPH!
CHLOE: RUN! RUN!
SPARK: See? Everything you've done leading to this point. Worthless. Beyond worthless.
SPARK: Ever since you killed Aneura, I've been here. Waiting.
SPARK: Waiting for the chance to kill you all myself.

The same prismatic light that surrounded the Vault Cannon earlier begins to radiate through the wings of the Dream of Unity. The crystalline wings crack and shatter from the sheer amount of energy coursing through them, only to immediately repair the damage they've sustained. The landing gear pops out from the vessel, which has begun to hover. The cockpit of the vessel cracks and crumbles to the ground as something new shoots from behind it. Made from the very crystal that makes up the wings of the Dream of Unity, Spark's face has consumed the cockpit of the Dream of Unity. Or rather, it has become the cockpit of the Dream of Unity.

Chloe is caught by the remaining God Hand, which gently sets her on the ground, just in time to see the Dream of Unity take its first flight. Cypress stares in awe of the vessel, which soon crashes through the glass ceiling of the Central Labs. Shrapnel rains down from above, shards of glass becoming caltrops around the battlefield. Then, a realization dawns upon him. The entire vessel appears to be veiled by the Thymefield.

CYPRESS: Dream of Unity. Eventually: would repair. See it fly.
CYPRESS: Thought it'd happen. Just. Not like this.
OMORIKA: I-Impossible...
OMORIKA: H-How does the Creation Glyph have such power? T-This much output shouldn't even be near possible!
NIA: M-Maybe it's like that time we were fighting A-Acacia, and the Thymefield w-was boosting her!
NIA: B-But... i-is it really boosting the C-Creation Glyph?
NIA: T-That's overkill! T-That's totally overkill! C-C'mon!
CYPRESS: Need plan. Dream of Unity. Incredibly lethal. Empowered by Glyph.
CYPRESS: Think. Think.

More prismatic energy coalesces upon the bottom of the Dream of Unity. From the nothingness, a gigantic cannon begins to push forth. Its incredible size and scope dwarfs that of the Vault Cannon. And it's charging up.

SPARK: Spherebreakers. Those who have betrayed me. I leave these parting words for you.
SPARK: This building shall become your tomb.
SPARK: Goodbye.

In a panic, Mari uses the Remote Airship Controller, calling it down to the field.

MARI: LET'S GO. PACK IT UP. WE ARE OUT.
MARI: EITHER WE GET OUT OF HERE, OR WE gorillaING DIE.
MARI: GO, GO, GO! ON THE SHIP! ON THE SHIP!

The same energy that's repaired the Dream of Unity begins to swell around Spark's remaining troops on the battlefield. Looks like they'll be protected from whatever sweet hell is about to completely light up the battlefield. There's no chance to fight the Dream of Unity from down here. The Airship is the only way out.

Anyway, the circumstances of the battle have changed. Get on the Airship, or DIE. Being on a tile within Range 1-3 of the just-landed Airship will have you board it come the end of the round. Failure to do so will result in instant death. So, get running! The next phase of the battle will begin after this round. If you wish, you may spend your action this round to respec, or buff up. Buffs won't be ticking down this round, so take advantage of it to enter the next phase with all the power you can!

Battle: Base of Unity (for the dop above)

Irongutta was fired up and ready to charge headlong into the enemy's backlines. With Magnolia in hand, he moved to G21 and activated Together, We Dance, targeting TCRobe1. If this downed TCRobe1, he would move to D22 and strike PFRobe1. Lastly, if this somehow downed PFRobe1, he would place his final possible hit on Exoknight1.

For previous turn!

Base of Unity

Venia... Isn't able to directly see the Vault's transformation. "... Do you take us for idiots, Spark? Do you really think that we're gonna believe a dumb giant turret is it? You know what-my money's on that this is a big "trap" and that Spark's already secured the Glyph to give us the runaround. He can teleport between the Glyph rooms, right? So naturally the only place the Creator Glyph would be left at is in Spark's hands, literal or metaphorical."

"... But we're already here, and Spark's in listening range. Might as well prove that even his traps are just speedbumps."

The Vic Viper will move before Nidra and fly to N18. They'll (somehow) chuck Saint 2's body to N15, before cheekily pinging off Saint 4's Divine Shield before retreating to M19.

Venia moves to M20 and throw Extinguisher 1's body to P17.

"Xavier, can you move your Godhands out of the way? I'm about to nuke this thing."

Venia waits for Xavier's action-which can just be whatever on the single caveat the God Hands aren't at K20, L20, M21 or M22. Nobody should be there, in fact. Once Xavier and his God Hands have moved out of the way, Venia will use Kickstart My Heart to gain Ordo at the cost of 16 HP, and then immediately burn it via Salvation: Resolution.

---

Everground

"Ah," Venia quips at seeing the false-head barf out two more Predators. "No time for half measures, then."

Venia's maid puts away the Entropic Key before pulling out a different weapon altogether from the inventory-the Hellpiercer Drill. She pulls a running leap over the Predators as she slams the drill directly into the False Head.

There, Venia's Maid doesn't just activate the drill. It's do-anything nature quickly reacts to morph its whole body to add itself as a rather large extension to the drill-a spiralling rocket booster-spinning up in concert and radically amplifying the already-extreme penetrative power of the Hellpiercer drill up to eleven.

Given this drill was meant to carve through solid rock nigh-instantly...

Venia's Maid spins up fast enough to kick up a breeze in the otherwise still cavern air, as the drill whirls to life and begins digging in-and-through-and relentlessly carving away as much of the false head as she can before she's forced to dislodge, which, given, might just be after the Lamia Queen has ingloriously died.