Destiny switches out Phase Shift for Augmentation. Destiny also takes the time to change up Solar Lash, throwing out the "Note that you cannot gain stacks of In the Zone on rounds you expend it." clause and renaming Solar Lash to Gravity Crush, changing the element from Fire to Psychic.
Omo takes 3 points out of RES and puts 6 points into MOV, granting 5 MOV.

Additionally, Destiny crafts an upgrade for Cypress's Zoom Scope.


Destiny runs to F10, activates Starstrike, and attacks Archer 1. Afterwards she tosses a Cinderfruit at its corpse, observes Spark, and retreats to C10.

It is only you, Spark, who shall be undone here! You have let yourself become nothing but a slave to the Butterfly of the End. Your delusions are shattering around you, and if you and your confederates cannot see what they are with your dying breath then so be it! Your name shall be nothing more than words in a book when we liberate LOCAA from war, destruction, and most importantly, your bastard regime!

GAIA'S GUARDIAN: Spawn at H16. Move to I12, use Reunion on Trombe.

The Fall of a False Heir
After Venia


Daskter lands at (M16), but they quickly move to (K13)

The Pikemen marches to (J12) and uses Pole Trust against Spark.

The Hunter charges Spark. They move to (K10), mark Spark, and then strike with all its might.

Battle: End of Unity

Thymebent Mode is activated.

Venia smiles at the absolute devastation of the core being blown asunder-and winds up being a little too smug to really react to the hands and gets yanked away with a yelp! When she reorients her bearings and realizes she is not in fact about to get instantly obliterated, she briefly ignores Spark's presence to keep an eye on the Dream of Unity, falling away. once she confirmed its original course wouldn't be of any serious harm to... Anyone, Venia turns to Spark.

And then Spark goes on his ominous villain monologe, and due to cutscene incompetence a brief bolt of panic at the sudden alteration to the surroundings, Venia fails to do anything interesting-until she sees the second pulse of creative energy rocket to the Dream of Unity directly towards everyone-and likely supercharging the payload.

"Spark what the hell. What the actual hell."

Venia's face contorts as Spark continues, unable to swiftly think of a snappy comeback in the face of the sheer pettiness of Spark's actions. But boy is she trying. It's only after Spark has made his final declaration to the Praetorians that Venia figures out something, and prepares her patent-pending Venia Monologue, trademark.

"... Spherebreakers! Let me be absolutely clear. If Spark and every Praetorian here does not survive this battle, I will be terribly disappointed. Our objective, ideally, is to capture any who do not surrender immediately to be turned over to the Chairian people for proper trial and punishment. Do not kill them."

Venia cracks her neck and spawns in at J16, while Aoki spawns in at K16. Venia has respecced-for this one battle, she has swapped out Incantaiton for Vampiric Venom. She'll need to probably get a bit of extra upgrades to her summoning at this rate.

"... Really, Spark? The "cruel fate we've thrust upon everyone?" The "end of civilization?" Your "crusade" against us? Do you mean, "A world where you are not the Chairheir?" You're really gonna kill everyone because you just can't handle the loss of your authority?!..."

Venia briefly shakes with rage, but she takes a breath-still out of habit-and refocuses, angry.

"... What a gag. You can't envision civilization without you. You can't take a syllable of criticism-your ego is paper thin. Everything you've done is just to drag everyone else into propping you up as the apex of existence, the ultimate Chairheir, an absolutely perfect leader who is never wrong, something greater than God."

"You are not."

Venia makes a powerful stomp to punctuate these words "You are a person. That is it. You have done nothing but misuse your handed-down authority in some audacious game of pretend, and now playtime's over and you're throwing a tantrum. Like a child! That is what this all is! So let's be clear: the world's been turning long before you were born and it'll keep turning after you're nothing but worm food. Everything you've done-all of it-Vanity! I promise it!"

Aoki drinks the Halobloom Remedy, gaining back MP and doing something else that has a 2/3 chance to be relevant. She moves to K15 and uses Dance Your Tune on Venia, granting her that sweet +40% speical damage.

Venia moves up to J12, in full combat stance.

"Spark... You said you don't even know why you bother responding to me? And yet you keep doing it anyways. I'll tell you why. You don't want to respond to me because I'll never say anything other than you're a cheap prop, a head of gold but feet of clay! You need everyone around you-The Legion, the Highchair, The Praetorians, and especially WARE-you need them to be even a semblence of what you claim to be, and I know that and you don't want to admit it! But you can't help but respond to me anyways, because I blow holes through your paper-thin facade every time I open my mouth, and you can only try to save face as I spit on your mental image until it's smeared to nothing. I should stop wasting my breath on you, worthless creature-you really aren't worth the effort of all this. But I just love talking like this, you see! To see a monster's delusions shatter like glass is euphoria beyond description! So it's time to break your illusion for good, you BASTARD!"

Venia uses Phantasmal Force-her spectral existence springs to life, empowered by Aoki's melody. You could say Aoki has touched Venia's soul. Either way, the beast radiates power. For being a ghost, it feels more tangible and real than everything else in the area. It wastes no time taking a black, crystalline, skeletal fist and immediately slugging Magus 2, making it explode into splinters. It immediately follows onto Kanzan, smashing her thrice and causing her to fall. Since Kanzan is only downed, Degrading Reality evaporates her HIT by 12 pretty much permanently... Which probably won't be relevant.

Then, Venia pulls out a Smash Ball, immediately regaining nine more uses of her special and entwining her soul with a kalideoscopic fury. The fighting spirit locks onto Rufa and gives a swift barrage of punches too fast to avoid, reducing him to exactly 1 HP and reducing his DGE by 12 (each shot is doing 51 damage; Rufa has 154 HP). Then, the ghostly presence flips back towards Soldier4 and delivers a single debilitating kick to KO it (and reduce its DGE by 4), before turning to Twilit, taking one hand to clutch their helmet and the other to deliver five swift blows, knocking them out (and in case it somehow becomes relevant, reducing HIT by 20).

Oh, and this all refreshes her buffs... Unless Venia can cure Royal Decree through this, in which case Venia's debuffs vanish, and if possible, *then* her buffs refresh.

Venia hasn't actually finished her move yet, as those were all free actions, so Venia steps to K11 with the last of her movement (now free of ZoCs), uses Kickstart My Heart to burn 16 HP and gain Ordo (to explicitly have less MHP and thus not be targeted by King's Greatsword), and immediately follows up with a use of Material Transfer directly to Spark's chest, targeting nobody for the heal as nobody's nearby her. She retreats back to K12, and gives Chloe Hope Rides Eternal to speed her to I12.

"SPHEREBREAKERS! DESTROY THE FALSE HEIR!"

ah yes, DTFH, my favorite DTG game

... Chloe will move to J8, using Echo stacks to destroy Soldier4's body and down Rufa. She will then Unsheathe, targeting P.Soldier3 and P.Magus1 with the Taunt and blinding pretty much everyone else, Spark included. She will also take this time to tag Kanzan with the Antimagic blaster for later shoving in the inventory. She retreats to L6, trying to shove Kanzan into the inventory and into custody.

---

Acacia

"Acacia!" Venia says, possibly starting her unintentionally-Venia has just opted to beeline to her wherever she is right now, which I don't know. "I know this is sudden. Just, drink this-it'll make you feel a lot better," Venia says, holding Yggdrasil's Vessel, ready for Acacia to drink from.

"Spark. It's Spark. We're fighting Spark. Now. We do not strictly need you in particular so much as we just need backup, but we need backup. Don't ask how I'm here right now and simultaneously fighting Spark, it is a long story and you don't have to worry about it, the short version is 'time shenanigans.' I can get you ready, just meet the rest of us there."

---

Cedar

"Tell me," Venia says, after a pause. "You praise Spark as if he's the best hope for any of you. Whether or not you would now... "

Venia pauses. Cedar probably got a front row seat to Spark deliberately and definitively using the Creation Glyph on the Dream of Unity to direct its crash course. All considered, any words that Spark is still a capable-seeming leader are going to look insane.

"Uh. Yeah. Anyways. I don't know who he is and the one time I asked he brushed it off without really saying what his deal was. Who is this guy? Some orphan who's lived with too little? Someone grieving and in denial? Or is everything I've seen him do now, is that all there's ever been of him? I don't know what he was, is the thing. I want to ask you, because of everyone I've seen thus far you're the only one to actually have a realistic view-that I can ask, anyways. You probably know who this man is, the path he took to get here."

"Who is Spark?"

---

Longavea's Long-Awaited New Life

Venia fills the empty sap tank with the Lifeblood Sap. Now, all five tanks have been filled to satisfaction.

"... Longavea," Venia says, holding the Whispering Gauntlet. "Are you ready? We've finally gotten this machine rolling. It's only a matter of testing it. I have no clue how this will all work... But there's really no way to test it except to use it, right?"

In case of an affirmative statement, Venia puts the Gauntlet into the appropriate receptacle and activates the machine.

---

Engie

"... This could be it. You never know... But now we have everything we need to prove the sphere is a threat."

"Engie," Venia says, talking to... Let's say wherever a random Engie drone would be. PRobably back in the everground if I may be honest. "You are a known multiversal figure and you have Engietech, and the Tabletopians know who you care. Would you care to send a message to Tabletopia... With all the relevant data on what's been going on here, the things that aren't obvious like the Sphere being ready to destroy most of existence, and a recommendation to evacuate?" Venia asks.

"I... Kind of remember, back with the, uh, bottles, that Tabletopia could mount a full global retreat from the planet in extremely fast. They won't need too many resources, and they're not as rushed for time, but the whole 'airship falling out of the sky' thing is an issue. I don't think you need to worry about the Thymefield, Tabletopia is ages away from there. Y-you can do that, right? You know we're not destined heroes absolutely guarenteed success, we can fail-we can't evacuate Locaa like that due to the Thymefield, but Tabletopia could still survive. Y-you can do that, right?"

---

Mariaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

Maria frowns at not being able to be bypassed. "Maybe it'll just make me older... Ooh ooh ooh, if it makes me older, maybe i'll be old enough to say..."

Maria looks around conspiratorially, before leaning into Nia's ear.

"Poggers."

She leans back, the smile of a very smug secretkeeper on her face. "... But I want a robot too. A super awesome robot, with the power of sparkly, and singing, and fluffy. I love fluffies. And then Venia can't be angry, because it's not me, it's a robot, and I am not a robot and I am safe. Let's make a super-awesome robot!"

---

Yato's straw hat tilted to the side at the tendrils reaching out to tug the samuari off the ship into some portal. Ah dear, that might be an issue. Ah well, perfect time to swap out some spells!

Swap Wakizashi for Familiar!
Take 3 points out of INT, 1 out of MMP, and 1 out of MHP. All 5 into SPC, since that should put me at 18 total SPC. 15+1(16 softcap)+4. Light Eternal on Yato's special.
Yato also eats a Soul Key for a T3 trait slightly early.


(Note: Yato's trait should say 'two Marked targets' in the battle map.)
Spawning at G16, Yato, still riding Gibbet, doesn't hesitate in the slightest before they direct their noble steed towards G15, a key glittering with power appearing in their left hand, which they gazed at somberly for a moment, before thrusting it into their chest, shining with a firey aura.
T3 Trait obtained!

An arrow loosed at Spark. Flying over the heads of Trombe, and the other perfect soldier, with a few choice words for the more timid Praetorian. Thankfully, convenient subtitles appeared, as was typical for the moonspeak Yato used.

["It is not too late. A leader who is more concerned with destruction than salvation should not be followed. He has led you here to die, sacrifices to delay us. And for what? A delay, until the deaths of everyone here from his last failure. Our friendly leader will be by shortly, and as your role as one of Spark's Praetorians, you will be one of her targets. Stay down, retreat, or surrender. We do not wish to kill you."]
Yato nodded to Gibbet, the crow(?)'s eyes glittering as it fixated on Spark. Note his condition. Cast Super Big Cutty. And then the arrow landed.

["Look around you. Do these comrades seem genuine? You and yours are real, but the rest, facsimiles. Crude puppets of his will, dancing to his tune. These are his perfect soldiers, mindless drones who do not question, do not improve. They simply obey. They are more of weapons than even the very blades and bows they carry. Do you wish to be nothing more than a sword for Spark to point, even to your grave?"]
Yato couldn't help a grim chuckle, fixing their attention to Spark. That was their target.
-------------
Moving First

Gibbet moves to D15, casts Super Big Cutty on Spark. ...Yato also makes an Exotic Sandwich, complete with Meat and Cheese. Tasty Lucky+Empowered. They then basic attack Spark.

Nidra grabs some Elemental Prismas from the inventory and takes off her Clockwork Nightgown. She then falls back asleep, far too tired to do the actual work. Her stuffed koala hops off her shoulder. It finds a large tub from... somewhere, and takes an Elemental Prisma in nub. With visible effort, it squeezes the crystal, and after nearly a minute, the crystal pops and cracks, rainbow liquid pouring into the tub below. The koala repeats the process with additional crystals until enough magical power is in the tub. It then carefully takes the Clockwork Nightgown and dips it in the tub. After a few minutes, it takes it back out. The nightgown is now shifting between colours much as the prisma did, though much more slowly, and a magically observant bystander might notice the colour isn't merely aesthetic, but reflects the elemental affiliation of a shifting protective layer that the nightgow now has.

The stuffed koala then hops on Nidra's head to take off her Sleep Mask, and grabs a variety of Regalia and other magical materials. Reusing the tab after a through cleansing, it simply melts all of the materials into colourless liquid mana, the tub far fuller than last time. It then unceremoniously drops the sleep mask in the tub, allowing it to soak and slowly absorb the mana, strengthening its relatively minor magic enhancing traits until it allows its wearer to use a greater variety of magic.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iJq...dit?usp=sharing

Nidra equips Overload in her new slot.

End of Unity
Move before Venia.
Spawn at K16.
Move to K14.
Power Nap self.
Cast Psycho Link from Twilit to Spark.

At the Grave of Civilization, Zahlia and Simeon rise to their feet. Since Simeon's going to be stuck on this field this baggle, Zahlia hands him the Longinus, and he takes her side, latter glares at Spark with all the fury he can muster.

"Really?! This was a perfectly good forest!" he shouts from across the field. "You've j-just what, cut it down to make this, your little art exhibition?" Holding up a Soul Key, he uses it, raising Zahlia's trait to T3.

Mirage (Tier 3)
Attacks from Range 4 or further deal 75% DMG to you, and you have +6 DGE against them. In addition, if you dodge an attack, you may Counter with +50% CNT from from any Range.

+1 DGE per 3 SPC.
-5% DMG Taken per 7 SPC.

Zahlia also switches out Eager Beaver and Ace In The Hole for two instances of Pop Pop, to represent how Simeon is also helping out.

The two of them fly over to I13, to use Riposte and Nothing Ventured on Trombe, brandishing beckoning blades towards the Praetorian.

Bring it on, Spark! I've got a Transistor function with your name on it! Literally!
----
Bauhaus is thrown out of the portal, landing on one foot and one knee. He gets up, comically oversized techno-sword in hand.

Reisz, now unbound from the Transistor, but still fighting alongside it, follows, parasol-arm at the ready.
-- ACTION: END OF UNITY --
Reisz...
- spawns in at H16,
- moves to H13, and waits...

Bauhaus...
-- spawns at H16,
-- moves to H13,
-- and casts Fury on Reisz and applies Self-Fury as well...

Reisz's turn continues...
- she casts Backdoor() on Trombe,
- basic attacks Trombe,
- then she retreats to H14.

PLANNING: 10 / 10

Auth appears to be rather irritated as he appears in the new battlefield. His hair and coat are obviously disturbed by the sudden movement. Auth, on the outside, however, appears to be totally calm, as he stares down Spark.

AUTH: Well. Spark, we meet again. I trust that you've been well?
AUTH: Indeed, for if you were not, you certainly would be in no condition to perform a stunt like this.

AUTH: Disgusting.

AUTH: You have signed a death warrant for your people because you are a child. A child having a tantrum. Because you did not get what you want.

AUTH: But I can say all this, Spark, and you and I both know that none of it will sink in. So I believe I can rephrase it to something that might get through your head.

For the effect, as Auth does enjoy the dramatic, Auth flicks on the Karmaephemera, which would create a truly colossal aura of light, which briefly flashes red. His Variable Resistance changes to Fire. Taeda might have some divine inspiration, for a laugh. He floats to G12. He then lifts his hand, and points square at Spark.

AUTH: Our sentence shall be far more cruel than merely killing you, Spark. You shall live a full life, complete in the knowledge of the sap you have spilt for your own worthless, ego-fuelled crusade.

AUTH: You will never, ever be able to run from, nor hide what you've done, from your own conscious. Your actions will haunt you forevermore.

AUTH: The innocent lives you have burnt up will haunt your sleep and the back of your mind.

AUTH: You can lie to yourself, and to your minions. You can tell yourself that you are just and true. That it wasn't for nothing.

AUTH: But you will know, in yourself, and it will crush you more than anything that anybody else could inflict on you.

AUTH: In so many words: Death is a mercy we will never grant you.

Auth then directs his pointing hand to the Calfusion, casting Kindness on him. Auth is aware that he is starting to run out of Mana and would like a chance to take a break.

ACTION SUMMARY:

Auth changes his Variable Resistance to Fire, moves to G11, and casts Kindness on Calfusion.

---

Auth closes his eyes, recalling the pain of the 1898 Election.

AUTH: Perhaps fortunately, there were no parties. There were three candidates for the seat of Lord Mayor. A cat, a prominent scientist, and an entrepreneur. The supporters of the former and the lattermost despises each other.
AUTH: London was almost in as much strife as when one mayoral candidate a previous year had announced his platform to be effectively making London a year-long streetfighting tournament.
AUTH: You'd be surprised how quickly you can get two people to devolve into fighting if you push the right buttons.

Auth then sighs and shakes his head.

AUTH: Oh, that's right. I think you mentioned something like that already. It had slipped my mind.
AUTH: I completely understand the sentiment though. Seeing someone you had taught be considered for positions of such prominence would be remarkably satisfying.
AUTH: Probably a good idea to monitor the zealotry, but I don't think she's that bad personally.
AUTH: As for when she should be asked...

Auth thinks for a moment.

AUTH: I agree that she shouldn't be asked directly about it until after the Sphere falls.
AUTH: However, I think it would be smart to... not suggest it, but try to get an opinion from her about it sooner rather than later.
AUTH: It might make the actual blow a bit easier. And I think Taeda might be able to handle it anyway.
AUTH: We didn't exactly have a... good, first impression, but she's stuck with us since we got here, and as far as I know, without complaint.
AUTH: She's stronger than she probably seems, in short.

Remiel Respec, pt1:
KP Allocation: 16 MP, 16 STR, 12 INT, 16 SKI, 2 RES, 16 SPC, 6 MOV
Add Opening Act.
Swap Armour to Stripe of Strife. Resists: 2x Fire.
Swap Trinket 2 to Power-Kore Shardstorm. Resists: Slashing.
Swap Abduction to Mana Ripper, Cinderclasm to Terraform.

End of Unity:
Remiel acts before Destiny.

As Remiel is pulled through the tear in reality above the field, it grabs onto the sides and rips it open further. The area fills with clouds as smaller tears fall like rain. What the Thunder Said activated.

Remiel marches forward, then rips the energy out of Magus1, swirling it around to leech Trombe and Soldier3. It pings Archer1 and Soldier4, right as the storm starts to engulf Trombe and Soldier3.

-Activate Special.
-Move to H12.
-Basicattack Magus1, hitting Trombe and Soldier3 with Spike Storm. Opening Act +30% DMG.
-Cast Cherry Energy once each on Archer1 and Soldier4.
-End turn, hitting Trombe and Soldier3 with Special.
-Gain a stack of LOVE for every down/assist.

Battle: End of Unity

"Zog, I gotta stop gettin' myself in these situations where I'm on a ship that's about to crash 'orribly. Next time remind me to get off wotever ship we send hurtlin' to the ground first, Magnolia."

It was clear that Spark was still alive and kicking, so in this case the circumstances were special.

Irongutta spawns in early (per Piono's request) at M18. After receiving his buffs, he applies an Everfluid Coating to Magnolia and charges the distance to G12 to show Trombe what a proppa smack is.

<ROUND 308>

I have. A lot of stats ahead of me.

---

Adria decides to level her new weapon against Spark. On top of the speech and the weapon, Spark is... completely unfazed. Would he like to be the first test subject of said device?

SPARK: Threaten violence all you want.
SPARK: A little more violence from you would be a footnote.
SPARK: Once the Dream of Unity lands... there'll be nothing left, anyway.
SPARK: So... do as you please.
SPARK: It really doesn't matter.

Elsewhere, over at the Wastes, Sophia and Dorothy rip through a Cinder each. Given their relative strength at this point, even Cinders pose little threat. One is air-punted into the water, the other bisected with what's hopefully an umbrella. Dorothy meanwhile, heads into the depths of the world. What lies at the bottom? Thirty flights of spiral stairs later, Hannah winds down the tunnel to find... a wall. A wall of Spark statues. Or rather, their limbs and the like have been organized into a crude, makeshift wall. It really wouldn't be hard to knock down.

Looking through the many, many gaps in the wall, Hannah can get a general scope of the place. It's fairly vacant... and rather icy cold. Limbs of stone are strewn about the room, and a pile of ash lies in the back of the room. Above it is a hastily scrawled "BRB", carved directly into the wall. Perhaps it'd be worth properly breaking in?

Then, somewhere over yonder, Adria and Mari share a moment of collective awkward gay. It's unclear if it's actually gay or not, but maybe it is? I dunno. I can't see Nia at this moment in time, so her natural function as a "lesbian magnet" can't help me. After a bit of confusion, Adria explains a few things about Stasis City to Mari. To me, the GM, it's a wonderful utopia and I want in.

MARI: Time dilation for simple things like that? Nice!
MARI: Maybe I can actually have a sleep schedule that resembles... a normal sleep schedule! No waking up early for anything, and I can sleep in all the time, and... yeah!
MARI: I've always considered screwing around and trying to make something that does that, but... well, it's not like I'm an expert on time travel, or even time manipulation.
MARI: Chaos has a strict ban on time travel plots in place. Like, I'm pretty sure he'd aggressively assault Venia from a distance with sunflower seeds if he knew about her time travel plot stuff.
MARI: Is... that something I know about? I dunno. Whatever.

MARI: Anyway, lemme see that brochure.
MARI: I'm gonna get a nice apartment, make vidya, sell vidya, and also probably inadvertently create weapons of mass destruction because I CAN.
MARI: Buuuut, maybe I'll be allowed to make something that isn't a weapon for once?
MARI: God knows all we seem to make here is weapons and armor.
MARI: An MMO player's paradise.

Ah, then the slightly sensitive subject of Pane comes up. Adria picks her own brain, trying to figure if there's anything she can do about an entity like Pane coming over. How would someone deal with one?

MARI: Uh... a way to deal with them...?
MARI: Typically, a bunch of people spring into existence and beat the Godmodder to death over the course of a year or two, politely taking turns in exchanging universe-wiping attacks.
MARI: That's just... how it's done. As the Two Thousand Elders intended
MARI: Probably don't want that happening near Stasis City, though.

Adria very specifically looks to her left, looking for Chaos. Unfortunately for her, Chaos has outsmarted her, very tactically standing to her right. He spams his crouch command as Adria eventually takes notice, posing a question about Pane. How can they deal with him?

CHAOS: hold on i [t]hink i have an answer [t]o [t]ha[t]
CHAOS: i have eyes everywhere
MARI: Sure you do.
CHAOS: y'know [t]hose shopkeeper drones i have
MARI: Yeah?
CHAOS: i have [t]hem on a universal s[c]ale
CHAOS: for profi[t]
MARI: oh
MARI: Wait, how the hell did you manage that?
CHAOS: capi[t]alism
MARI: fair enough

CHAOS: anyway, [t]here's a drone near pane's pla[c]e
CHAOS: le[t] me see if i [c]an a[c][c]ess i[t]s da[t]a banks
CHAOS: won'[t] be long, [t]hanks [t]o [t]he power of [t]he in[t]erne[t] ([c]opyrigh[t] [c]haos)
CHAOS: boop

Through the magic of the internet, a Chaos Drone is flung through space and / or time, slamming a short distance away from Chaos. It appears that it was in the process of selling a corn dog before it was so rudely intercepted. Chaos rather casually extracts its AI Core, and eats it. After a few seconds of chewing, Chaos swallows several terabytes of information.

CHAOS: soooo
CHAOS: pre[t][t]y sure pane is pre[t][t]y busy dealing wi[t]h s[t]uff
MARI: Stuff?
CHAOS: he's nego[t]ia[t]ing a sequel deal
MARI: Like... DTG: Chaos 3?
CHAOS: no
CHAOS: i[t]'s like, he's going [t]hrough a sequence of even[t]s [t]ha[t]'ll [t]o[t]ally be [t]old [t]hrough an in[t]era[c][t]ive medium
CHAOS: [c]hairheir s[t]udios is no[t] sus for on[c]e

CHAOS: also [t]o be fair
CHAOS: pre[t][t]y sure you're like
CHAOS: as low priori[t]y as a [t]arge[t] ge[t]s
MARI: That's... insulting.
CHAOS: he has business like picking on other godmodders, [c]hildren, and people who aren'[t] surrounded by li[t]eral armies of [c]ould-be des[c]endan[t]s
CHAOS: [t]l;dr: you'll be fine, even if he doesn'[t] die somehow
MARI: Not sure if I'm reassured or not.
MARI: But... thanks.
CHAOS: yw bes[t]ie
MARI: ...Bestie?
CHAOS: yes

Without any further explanation, this particular version of Chaos ceases operation, rotating sideways 90 degrees and vanishing in a puff of smoke. Mari sighs, shrugging in the general direction of Adria.

MARI: Guess that's that.
MARI: I'm pretty sure Chaos is right. Or at least, telling the truth.
MARI: Man's scary if you think about it too hard.

Next, on a whim, Adria's gains the inspiration to upgrade some of Mari's equipment. Not complaining, Mari removes her lab coat, leaving her in a comfy red sweater. The ideal sort of wear for a place as chilly as the Sky Labs can be. She lounges around, providing feedback as required as Adria works. She's more than satisfied with the end results, immediately donning the upgrades.

MARI: Hey, thanks.
MARI: If you weren't already fully geared, I'd do something cool for you.
MARI: Let's just say that I owe you one, alright?
MARI: I'll make you something hella weird if you want it.
MARI: Maybe I can make something cool, like a-

Adria pulls out the Lunar Ray, wanting to show it to Mari. She immediately begins to salivate.

MARI: -a railgun.
MARI: oh BABY this is a beautiful piece of kit
MARI: can't resist

Mari cannot resist. She hugs the gun. All the tech. All the style. It is simply beautiful to someone like her, who came from a world where "adding more cameras to a phone" was the peak of ingenuity. Gravcore ore, mithril, spell storage- oh god does she want to wife this gun. Unfortunately, this gun is already married to Adria.

MARI: This is the most beautiful thing I've seen, possibly ever.
MARI: If there is one good thing to come out of the conflict with the Sphere, it would be this weapon.
MARI: ...That, and the multiple romances that have somehow bloomed whilst fighting this damn thing.
MARI: But mostly this gorillain' GUN. Like, I wanna try making something this insane next, so that we can have the most kitted out weapons on the goddamn planet.
MARI: Weapons that would make god blush like the goddamn tsundere they are.

...Ah, also. Adria brings up the question of working on the Antimagic Bomb. Mari shakes her head. She needs a moment after seeing this gun. Life is just so beautiful, y'know? Also, the GM's a bit overwhelmed at the moment. This is a lot of post. Like wow.

Finally, Shelly attempts to electrify a pool of Thyme Matter. Placing down a Nanostorm Drive and a bunch of Crystalline Conduits, she flicks the switch! Almost immediately, the Thyme Matter begins to bubble... and a swarm of Pins shoot out from the Thyme Matter. Fortunately, with the presence of a flamethrower, they're easily dealt with in due time. Perhaps any form of elemental resonance with the liquid would be dangerous.

Also, it's a big goddamn pool. To electrocute everything in there would be really hard, take a lot of power, and spawn an unethical wave of Pins or worse. Maybe some sort of rebreathing device would work well? I don't know how diving works. You tell me.

---

Echoss continues his variety of plans. With Chi, odds are it'd be best to go in person. It really would be inconsiderate to just text them that the war, as well as their relationship, just isn't working out. It's over. She nods. Plus, those insane deliquients will need a guiding force at this particular time. A stern one, if required.

CHI: It would be for the best, wouldn't it?
CHI: Truthfully, I'm a bit scared to return there, especially after working with all of you.
CHI: But... well, it has to be done, hasn't it?
CHI: I shall get going as soon as I can.
CHI: If I recall, Cypress does have a teleporter set up somewhere in the Sky Labs. I'd just need access to it in order to reach my destination as fast as possible.
CHI: Time is of the essence, with the Dream of Unity in the air.

Is she fine to head off now? Probably, but should Echoss not have more to say, she'll be off.

Elsewhere, down in the depths of the Central Labs, Not!Echoss uses copyright friendly Waterbending:tm: to extinguish the lives of two Cinders in the area. They're easily swept away! With all of the Cinders defeated, he's free to loot the 4 Ember Cores left behind. Great success!

Over in the house, Echoss pokes his head into where Acacia's currently resting. Well, she's actually at the Sky Labs right now due to that meeting, so maybe he just pokes his head into the Security Hub. What to do with her old body? Acacia shrugs.

ACACIA: What to do with my old body?
ACACIA: Not... a question I thought I'd answer.
ACACIA: No idea, but... I honestly do not give a gorilla.
ACACIA: Turn her into fertilizer. Make a hat out of her. Hold hands with her.
ACACIA: I-I don't know!
HERSILIA: Is... t-that the best idea?
HERSILIA: That body was, at one point, you.
HERSILIA: Shouldn't you treat yourself with respect?
ACACIA: ...Nah.
ACACIA: Honestly, I just don't want it around. T-To think, that Spark of all people, k-killed me...
ACACIA: T-That's... only because he got the jump on me! A-Any other time, and he'd be dead!
ACACIA: S-So... just put it somewhere. I honest to Helix do not care, just put her out of my sight.

mrgrgr she salty

Finally, over at the Grave of Civilization, the Echobot lands in front of Spark. Armed with the Incandescent Key, the machine levels it towards Spark. Ruler to ruler, they finally meet. Though, is Spark really a ruler anymore? He lacks a rule, the ability to lead, or even a crown upon his head. In response, the Creation Glyph flickers ever so slightly, manifesting a crown like an aurora upon his head.

SPARK: What does it matter anymore? My failures. Your failures. Everything.
SPARK: This world can't be saved. And even if it could, is it worth saving?
SPARK: Those who survive this cannot be governed by Outsiders. The Tabletopians will wipe out the survivors in retaliation, once the Sphere finds its way to them.
SPARK: Nobody. Wins.

Once upon a time, Echoss was excited to meet the Highchair. The one that ruled a fallen kingdom, shepherding the distraught of the world out of despair. If only that's what happened. Instead, the Sphere went up. His dictatorship took place, and his people slowly began to fade from view. But he was lucky... that he met the real Highchair. Omorika. Cypress. Acacia. Those who had real passion, real power. Those who shine ever so brightly compared to the falling star that is Spark, the liar. The betrayer.

SPARK: Oh, shut up.
SPARK: You act if as if you could do any better.
SPARK: To act as the leader of a kingdom that shouldn't even exist.
SPARK: One who's mightiest warriors CAN'T EVEN KILL SOME HALF-GROWN HUMANS.
CHLOE: H-Hey!
SPARK: Omorika, Cypress, Acacia. They couldn't do anything, even with their supposed expertise and knowledge. Someone had to make sure they were anything more than useless wastes of sunlight.
SPARK: As I've said.
SPARK: Truly, this is a mercy killing.

Echoss goes on. He detests him. Those who would make themselves emperors, then play with their people as if they were disposable. The black pawn that leads straight into a Scandinavian. He hates those who are given the world, only to take from those beneath them. Ultimately though, Spark is nothing. If they would live better lives without him, then he is nothing. Perhaps less than that. A failure.

SPARK: Without me, we would never get our revenge.
SPARK: The Tabletopians, for once, fear us. I was going to lead us to greatness.
SPARK: Then, you. YOU. You arrived, and ruined everything.
SPARK: History is written by the victors. Had I been free to use the Sphere, I would be lauded as a hero.
SPARK: But, you're here to damn me as a villain. After all I have done for the people.
SPARK: Have you considered that perhaps, this planet never needed you? That we were fine without you?
SPARK: We did not need saving. Not from anyone.
SPARK: It would've been great.
SPARK: But you had to play "hero".

With this, Echoss asks one last question. How well will he burn?

SPARK: Almost as well as you.

His flamethrower releases a plume of embers. Spark's determination to kill everyone increases further. Maybe at this rate, he'll truly grow another special. Perhaps there'll truly be nothing left of either side...

---

The Scion struggles to chat with Marron. Her eyes barely meet the seamstress's. While cooking is probably unviable for the Scion in any meaningful capacity, surely they can play a board game! Does Marron really want her around, though? She bobs her head.

MARRON: Of course we want you around!
MARRON: Now, c'mon! Let's find a cool game to play!
MARRON: Probably something where we don't need to touch the same pieces, though. Unless you can like, wear gloves.
MARRON: Maybe we can...

Marron snaps her fingers.

MARRON: Oh, oh!
MARRON: There's this weird game I haven't played, but it's like, a roleplaying game?
MARRON: We like, pretend we're people we're not, and go on an adventure!
MARRON: I think it's called Dungeons and Dragons?
MARRON: No idea how it works, though...
MARRON: I think there's like... a "Mindscape Master" or something? Chaos tried to get me to play it once, but it sounded lame.
MARRON: But now, it's probably a good option!

Are we entering some sort of meta-DnD in DnD? I mean, this is DnD? I have no idea. But maybe Asha would prefer Pathfinder instead? I don't know. I just have this hunch.

also they explore north, so that's availableeee

---

The Calfusion decides to be sociable! However, when asked a question like "why did you join Spark", he glances to Spark, then back to him.

RUFA: dude not now
RUFA: my boss
RUFA: is literally right there
RUFA: there is a time and a place for this
KANZAN: Filth. Filth. FILTH.
KANZAN: Out of our way.

Far as all the other Spherebreakers seem to be concerned though, now is the perfect time and place for this. Smack talk. It's what everyone seems to be good at, much to Spark's annoyance. Maybe that's why he wants to kill everyone, because god forbid a bunch of snarky teenagers / young adults take over all of everything.

EN-913 then considers throwing some Disgusting Food into the pool of Thyme Matter. She would, but reality... is actually perfectly fine with this course of action. It spirals and splashes into the water. Moments later, a total of a few dozen infested Fell Beast corpses surface. Not necessarily at this pool of Thyme Matter, but if they were to poke around they'd find all of them at other pools. No sign of the Fell God, though. It looks like... assuming one has a way to breathe down there, they should be good to go downward.

Oh, and then the universe decides to write the disgusting food out of existence. It's for the best.

Finally, an Engie Drone (or is it just Engie?) decides to take a leisurely drive to Tabletopia. As he drives up to the wall, he takes notice of the entire fleet of vessels stationed just a mile off from the city outskirts. Are they preparing for the arrival of the Sphere? Whatever the case... it probably won't work out. But they've got to try, right? As for defenses at the walls, well... there's still a lot of troops. With a lot of guns. About fifty-two different lasers shine themselves upon the Drone's head. Seems they're not too receptive to visitors at the moment. He may as well share his message here while he's at the gate.

Once his message finishes, an unnamed soldier strides towards the truck, completely unfazed and completely professional. So... about Engie's evacuation plans. The soldier sighs.

TABLETOPIAN: ...Sir. The city's been evacuated for quite some time now.
TABLETOPIAN: Only about 10% of the general population remains- mostly those with jobs maintaining the city, or those who are supporting the military in some way..
TABLETOPIAN: While this is out capital city, the population has been temporarily relocated to other cities around the continent.
TABLETOPIAN: Just in case the Sphere causes significant damage. While we are confident in our abilities to defend our fair city, it's for the best. The Sphere may move out at any time.
TABLETOPIAN: Assuming nothing extraordinary happens- say, a wave of self-replicating bottles overtakes the entirety of the planet by storm, we should be able to evacuate all remaining personnel immediately.
TABLETOPIAN: Now, begone. Your kind is not welcome here.

rood

---

Venia continues to ruin Spark's day, perpetually. Truly, Spark cannot take a modicum of criticism. This is a tantrum, and he should know it. The world will keep turning long after he's turned into worm food. He begs to differ.

SPARK: By taking all of the Glyphs, you have robbed me of my ability to control the Sphere.
SPARK: It shall remain here, and it shall massacre the remaining Chairians. Slowly but surely.
SPARK: This is the end. Even if you kill me, and press forth...
SPARK: There's no way you can destroy the Sphere.

SPARK: It can't be done. It simply can't be done.
SPARK: Not even the Tabletopians can lay a finger on it.
SPARK: Those who have attempted to enter from the outside have been greeted with nothing but hordes and hordes of beasts.
SPARK: The only chance one has to get in is through the Glyphs. And even then, they wouldn't take you straight to the core.
SPARK: You would be in the thick of the Sphere, surrounded by all manners of WARE's pawns.
SPARK: And... though he is mad, Ire is still what you call a "Descendant".
SPARK: Descendants... cannot be killed. It is impossible.
SPARK: No matter what, the Sphere cannot be stopped. The laws of the universe wouldn't allow it.

Venia then touches on why Spark keeps responding to her. It's because she keeps blowing holes through his paper-thin façade. Really, she should stop wasting his breath on him.

SPARK: Good.
SPARK: I've had enough of you running your mouth.
SPARK: But... just in case...
SPARK: SILENCE.

With the power of the Creation Glyph, Spark casts True Silence on Venia! This doesn't stop her from casting spells or anything- rather, it completely prevents her from talking. It feels like something is gripping her vocal chords in a vice, crushing and juicing them for all they're worth. Or at least, it feels that way until Taeda dispels the enchantment, firing a burst of holy energy from her gun towards Venia.

TAEDA: No! Bad!
SPARK: You dare defy me, you-
TAEDA: Yes, I do! We're not scared of you!
TAEDA: Nobody is! Not even me!
TAEDA: You'd be nothing without that Glyph by your side, and you know it!
SPARK: SHUT UP. JUST SHUT UP.
SPARK: You. You're really spoiling all of our deaths.
SPARK: No respect for the dead. But of course. You're the Spherebreakers.
SPARK: You lack respect for anyone, or anything.

As Venia continues playing DTFH, another Venia visits Acacia over at the Central Labs. She presents her with Yggdrasil's vessel, telling her to drink. It'll make her feel better. Though she gives the bottle the second most lethal death glare a bottle has ever received, a simple glance from Hersilia is enough to coax her into drinking from it. Her teeth grit after she swallows a mouthful from the vessel.

ACACIA: Oh gorilla.
ACACIA: It tastes... it tastes...
ACACIA: ...pretty good.

ACACIA: Far as potions go, this is alright, I guess. Kinda like Yggapple juice?
HERSILIA: Ah, I haven't had that since I was a child...
HERSILIA: It'd be nice to have some myself.
ACACIA: ...You better not be taking me for some sort of gorillaing child, Venia.
ACACIA: But... sure. Thanks.
ACACIA: So, what the gorilla do you want? Whatever it is, I'm not doing it.
ACACIA: I am not so weak-willed as to immediately join the opposing army-

Venia mentions that they're killing Spark.

ACACIA: ...Oh.
ACACIA: gorilla YES. Let's beat his gorillaing gorilla into the gorillaing ground!
ACACIA: I'll help you just this once though, o-okay? This is the LAST time!
HERSILIA: I'd come myself, but I'd rather not stand on the battlefield again...
HERSILIA: I'm just not built for that sort of thing.
HERSILIA: I'll send Freja with you, Acacia. Stay safe, alright? The both of you.
ACACIA: Won't need to stay safe if I kill him instantly.
ACACIA: But... thanks.

Acacia prepares to make her way over to the battlefield. She'll probably spawn in this round. That'd be fun, wouldn't it?

Elsewhere, Venia takes the time to ask Cedar as to who Spark really is. It doesn't seem like he knows for sure, but he does his best to explain things anyway.

CEDAR: Who he is? Well, I've never taken the time to pry into his private life, but there are a few things I know for sure.
CEDAR: I believe back before he was elected to the council, there was plenty of debate as to whether he should be allowed in. There was some worry that he'd be... unstable.
CEDAR: Before the war, he was a veteran of many battles against the forces of Tabletopia. While he hasn't seen the battlefield in quite awhile... that's what he did before ascending to the Highchair.

CEDAR: He was the sole survivor of an entire squadron of men. An ambush, if I recall.
CEDAR: Tabletopian pyromaniacs. Dozens of them, out of the blue. They never stood a chance.
CEDAR: All of his squadmates were wiped out in moments. Nobody's really sure how he survived... but he returned a changed man.
CEDAR: It's thought that he managed to take control of a Tabletopian's flamethrower and turn it against them... or that he took control of the situation, and commanded his squadmates in such a way to guarantee his own survival.
CEDAR: Of course, that's speculation. He was the only one there.
CEDAR: Despite what had happened, he seemed stable enough to act as a leader. Plenty of field experience, too.
CEDAR: ...Of course, it's easy to tell now, that any sort of "stability" he projected was a façade.

CEDAR: As for anything that happened before that... I'm not sure.
CEDAR: I think he was just your ordinary guy.
CEDAR: Born into the perpetual war. Felt the losses that the Tabletopians brought first-hand.
CEDAR: I think he lost family to them as well.
CEDAR: But... that's about all I know.

Next up, Venia preapres to put Longavea into the Rosen Forge. However, if only because the GM is a bit overwhelmed at the moment, he seems to be having second thoughts. Ultimately... that is a Rose Cult machine, yes?

GA'AUNT: Venia. One moment.
GA'AUNT: I am... unsure of the safety of this machine.
GA'AUNT: I'm aware that this isn't really something we can test, but are you certain it'll work?
GA'AUNT: I would like to be as careful as possible, miss Praefortis.
GA'AUNT: If only we had a subject to test on...

Finally, Maria says a gamer word. Chaos gasps.

CHAOS: she said her firs[t] gamer word
CHAOS: i'm so proud of her
CHAOS: she [t]ruly is
CHAOS: my li[t][t]le pog[c]hamp

Maria then lays out her plans, which are probably more elaborate in her head. She wants to be a robot, like Nia suggested! She'll have the power of sparkly, singing, and fluffy. She will become a force that can oppose anime itself. So, shall they make a super awesome robot? Chaos bobs his head, vomiting up an entire Lego set on the spot. Nia also nods, though a bit less enthusiastically after watching Chaos do... that.

NIA: Yeah! Let's make a robot!
NIA: So, uh... what's with the blocks?
CHAOS: i[t]'s a [c]hild friendly s[c]ulp[t]ing medium
CHAOS: did you know you [c]an like, build au[t]oma[t]i[c] rubber band ma[c]hine guns ou[t] of [t]his s[t]uff?
CHAOS: really, i[t]'s not [c]hild friendly a[t] all
CHAOS: i[t]'s a weapon of mass des[t]ru[c][t]ion wai[t]ing [t]o be harnessed
CHAOS: so, if [t]hey [c]an build a gun
CHAOS: we [c]an build a robot

Chaos gestures to Maria. She must help with the building process. It's unclear how simple a process this will be, but Chaos already has an instruction manual ready. For an entirely different set of Lego, sure, but still. Maria shall be the architect of her own power. Of course, Nia and Chaos are there to help, too. Especially given that Chaos also kinda has a robotic endoskeleton sitting around. An integral part of Lego building.

---

Auth casts Obliteration on Spark. In a verbal format. It's not actually a spell. It's just that for someone like the Author to verbally assault someone. Spark will never be able to run from, or hide from what he's done. The weight of his actions, of his sins, will always loom above him. They will haunt him. Death is a mercy the party will never grant him.

SPARK: ...Y-You would... deny me death?
SPARK: Absurd. I will not... s-shall not, let that happen.
SPARK: Are you not merely satisfied with killing us? Do you wish to eternally torture us as well?
SPARK: You're sick. Beyond sick.
SPARK: I-I shall... not allow you to do as you please.

...Is he doing okay? Though trees cannot become paler (probably), he's looking a little pale there. He glares at the canister that holds IKEA's head, still held in relative safety by Chloe. That can't be his future. It shall not be his future. It can't be his future. Perhaps, he should keep his flamethrower close.

Elsewhere, Auth muses about the 1898 Election. Were a human asking this question, they'd be wondering exactly what Auth was doing back so long ago, when it's legally like 2015 or something? Timelines. They're wild. Then again, time's dead, so who am I judging? Anyway, Auth explains that while there were only candidates, there was an incredible amount of strife anyway. Also, someone announced a platform to turn London into a streetfighting tournament.

OMORIKA: A cat? A year-long streetfighting tournament?
OMORIKA: Is... that a valid mayorship campaign?
OMORIKA: Are you sure that London is not a region of pure, uncontrolled anarchy?
OMORIKA: ...Horrifying.

Auth then agrees with Omo- they should probably wait until the Sphere falls until suggesting she become a member of the Highchair. But, letting her know... that'd be a good idea. Omorika pauses, thinking on this idea.

OMORIKA: Asking how she feels would be a good idea, but... could you bring up the idea?
OMORIKA: A member of the Highchair asking her if she wanted to be a member of the Highchair... that would be a little blunt, wouldn't it? Even if it's a theoretical idea, coming from me, it would certainly weigh on her.
OMORIKA: So, would you assist me in that regard?

She has a point. Unless, Auth has something to say in response to that? Perhaps there's a better way to do it.

---

Bergilmir shouts down at Spark. Doesn't he sound like a villain to himself? Spark shakes his head.

SPARK: I'm just acting like how you perceive me.
SPARK: Demonize someone, and they will become a demon.
SPARK: I'll be the mad god you so desire, if only because we won't be living any longer.
SPARK: And perhaps you've slain gods before.
SPARK: But how could you slay a god whilst in the Thymefield? Your powers are limited.
SPARK: You couldn't even scratch a god.

---

<THE END OF UNITY, ROUND 11>
Spark's special has gone off, and with it... there's been a surprisingly low amount of deaths. The injuries are very serious however, and should be tended to IMMEDIATELY. In addition, the effects of Thymebent have properly gone off, spawning a legion of allies for Spark! This'll be a bit dicey. Also watch out for Spark's current moveset: he has a lot of AoE potential, which'll definitely chip through everyone's already low HP! Keep your health up, alright?

This is pre-Round 308.

Berg spawns at J16 in the End of Unity.

cA: Be quiet Spark. We all tire of your inane ranting. Even your own allies start to doubt you, and well they should, for I have never seen a thing go to such depths of madness. Destroying the world to kill us? Even you admit you sound like a villain. You are so incapable of seeing past yourself, that you can't see a world without you.

cA: You no longer have a voice. You lost it when you decided to carry out the destruction of this world. You lost it when you chose violence and vengeance over understanding. You lost it when chose yourself over your people.

Berg moves to J12, initiates Polar Piledriver...

cA: You behave like you're some mad god, Spark...

...and moves to J10 to attack Spark. A blizzard, out of nowhere, kicks up as Bergilmir rushes forward, ignoring the soldiers around him.

cA: ...but we've killed gods before.

The area around Spark and Bergilmir is obscured by a thick cloud of snow, and the entire arena drops to nearly freezing. Spikes of supernatural ice manifest from the walls, spearing out in random directions.

cA: You and the Sphere will be no different.

The last thing seen is Bergilmir wrapping his titanic arms around Spark, the only sound heard being the ice giant's roaring voice.

cA: Feel the cold of the heart of winter. Let its chill freeze your blackened soul! Let this repay you in full all the suffering you have caused to this world! By the power of Ymir, POLAR PILEDRIVER!

Tell me, Mr. 93 (that's probably not his last name but whatever), why are you fighting this guy? Is all that you're doing just going with the flow, or do you have a reason?

He remembers. He remembers the lab. He remembers the spears, and who once wielded them. He remembers a spectacle of destruction and the full force of his allies brought down onto the ehemy's airship. He remembers a change of heart, a giant snake obliterated...

And then he remembers.
----
Bauhaus glances at Reisz, with a determined smile on his face. "Sword princess, I need you to fight the hardest you've ever had."
-- BATTLE --
[Reisz] And so she does. She goes first, moving to F13, casting Backdoor() on Spark, performing her basic attack on him, then retreating to H14.

[Bauhaus] Bauhaus moves to H9, and casts Turn()!
- He casts Ping+Tap(). Ten times. On Shinai. He deals (70) damage and returns to full health. -10 Planning except not really because...
- MyTurn() ends. +2 Planning.
He retreats to I9.

PLANNING: 2 / 10

The Spark of Battle
"We always have more reserves."
Daskter activates Reserves. They head up to (L12) and give The Hunter their last Pep Talk.

The Pikemen moves to (G13) and stabs Spark.

The Hunter heads to (F12) to attack Spark once again.

Daskter casts Nanostorm on (G12) hitting Spark and healing a bunch of friendlies.

oh god things went downhill fast

Adria's momentum is immediately halted by the sudden appearance of Perfects right next to her.

ADRIA: ...O-oh.
ADRIA: Um.
ADRIA: O-okay, I guess we're doing this now.

As she moves, she calls a certain someone...

---

The Glyph Chamber

It doesn't take ling for Hannah to mildly freak out over possibly being too late. She rams a pickaxe straight into a section of the Spark Golem Wall, and pries it open, collapsing the wall. Which was her intent.

HANNAH: No no no! Please, please don't be too late...

She immediately rushes over to the ashen spot. Swirls. And 'brb' carved into the wall. The latter of which means nothing to Hannah.

HANNAH: Swirls... where have I seen that before...
HANNAH: Come on, Hannah, think-

She's rudely interrupted by the Spark Golem saying... random button presses? Not that it matters, as Hannah yeets her pickaxe straight at it.

HANNAH: Shut up, I'm trying to-

She suddenly remembers. Sophie was telling her about their adventures in the Outskirts. There was a similar swirl near where she entered the Everground, and that's from when Chloe got here. She couldn't have done it on her own, and it's well known that a bunch of people rescued Nia from another portal.

Which means...

HANNAH: ...He's alive.
HANNAH: But... how?
HANNAH: He was surrounded by...
HANNAH: ...Gh, forget it.

Before she could think about calling Adria, Hannah gets a call from her anyway.

ADRIA: More backup, need more backup.
HANNAH: Addy I'm literally underground how do you expect me to help right now
HANNAH: ...Oh yeah, Xavier's alive. Tele'd out.
HANNAH: Odds are he's coming to help. Relay that to the others, yeah?
ADRIA: Oh thank goodness. Certainly, I can do that through private channels.
ADRIA: ...But please consider bringing more backup yourself once you're up.

Hannah shudders at the long climb ahead of her.

HANNAH: Y-yeah...
HANNAH: In the meantime I'll pester Spark.
ADRIA: ...How, exactly?
HANNAH: You'll see.
HANNAH: Can I get a few files sent my way real quick?

Hannah hangs up without further comment. She approaches the still-living Spark golem, raises a fist cloaked in some sort of shadow, and decks it over the head. Then she just leaves it to its own devices. Hannah commences her long trek up the stairs...

Poor girl's gonna be exhausted after this. At least she receives the files she wants after a short time.

---

End of Unity, Pt. 2

Adria receives the news from Hannah. She brings up the Spherebreakers' Private Chat immediately after.

ADRIA: I've received some intel regarding Xavier.
ADRIA: He's alive. He teleported out of the chamber.
ADRIA: It's safe to say that he will be joining us very soon.
ADRIA: Protect his last creation. He may be teleporting in through that.

As Adria reaches her location, she looks significantly less upset, yet still has that face of calm determination.

On Spark's side, however, something... weird happens. More specifically, to his shadow.

It contorts, it twists, it shrinks to the size of a teenage girl. Venia and some others might immediately recognize the silhouette and emerging gold eyes from anywhere.

It's Hannah.

HANNAH: (dear lord all those speeches were so... painfully standard. all so willing to point fingers without thinking.)
HANNAH: (time to throw this boy for a loop.)

HANNAH: So. You're Spark.



ACTUAL ACTION

ADRIA: Mari! Over here!
ADRIA: Hit us with a Nanostorm, on my mark!

Adria steps to (Q13). She uses Full Power To Weapons and uses Abyssal Vortex, hitting Perfect Soldiers 5 + 6, Perfect Archers 4 + 5, and Perfect Leader 2 (no damage) with 6 Buff Levels. The Perfect Archers move closer to (R14) and (R12).

ADRIA: NOW!

Mari moves to (N12) and casts Nanostorm on (R13).

If there are no downs, Adria immediately uses Instant Suffocation on Perfect Archer 4 to drop it.

If at least one Perfect is down, Adria eats 3 Glockolates from the Halloween Candy, and pings off all of the Perfect Leader's shields.

If many or all of the Perfects are down, Mari throws a Fragapple at Adria's location to remove the bodies.

Adria then plonks down a Chronoshade at (L11), set to Basic Attack.

---

The Wastes

Sophia and Dorothy both look around. Fortunately for them, their enemies were doused in moments.

Sophia salutes to Not!Echoss for the help as she approaches Dorothy, who was more concerned with Hannah.

SOPHIA: Heya, Dorothy? Mind tossin' me that drill for a sec?

Dorothy's worried expression doesn't shift, and she doesn't respond, continuing to stare down into the hole Hannah made.

SOPHIA: ...Um. Dorothy?
SOPHIA: Y-you know she's gonna come back up!
SOPHIA: She's stupid tough!

Dorothy sighs.

DOROTHY: Y-yeah...
DOROTHY: I-I'm just... worried.
SOPHIA: fair
DOROTHY: You, um, wanted the drill?
DOROTHY: Here.

Dorothy gives the drill to Sophia.

DOROTHY: I-I'm gonna stay here and keep watch okay?
SOPHIA: okay
SOPHIA: ...But you sure you'll be ok here?
DOROTHY: I'll be fine, d-don't worry!
SOPHIA: okeydokey

SOPHIA: HEYA, ROCK NERDS!
SOPHIA: GET DRILLED!

Sophia immediately jumps on the nearest Meteos, turning the drill on as she speeds towards it.

As she lands, it's obvious that Sophia attacks with the drill in a very... unorthodox way, to say the least. She swings it like a sword at the Meteos. While this cuts incredibly deep still, and has a ton of blunt force, it wouldn't be nearly as effective as a stab.

---

The Hunt

Shelly expected the shock to not work. She didn't expect the horrific looking food to work, but it kinda did anyway? At least the swimming beasts are thinned out.

But the matter's still there. Shelly seems... extremely irritated.

SHELLY: Ugh, don't tell me we actually need to dive down there...
SHELLY: I get why there hasn't been a submarine or something built before but come on now.

...Shelly pulls out the Deployable Corvette to see how well it handles the Thyme Matter. Maybe they could transform it into a submarine? Well, assuming it floats and doesn't immediately start getting eaten.

---

The Fusion

Adria lowers her head. It appears her worries were spot-on.

ADRIA: So my guess was that close...

She calmly takes a breath.

ADRIA: All the more reason to get it done properly.
ADRIA: Because of it, though... well, it's going to take a while.
ADRIA: Unlike your creator, I'm not going to rush.
ADRIA: Honestly, what was he thinking... that is far too short of a timespan, even with near-standstill time dilation...

She hums a little as she looks at the screen. Specifically, the moment where Blacklight and Hangman manifested.

ADRIA: How to deal with those two...
ADRIA: I could incorporate them in some way. At this point, they're a significant part of you two.
ADRIA: Though, I'm not completely certain on that angle...

---

Mari

ADRIA: ...I'll just, um. Let you do your thing for a bit. Y-yeah.
ADRIA: I'll grab that brochure in the meantime.

Adria breathes a sigh of relief, relaxed after the little Godmodder scare. She pulls up a hardlight terminal and gets searching for a brochure.

...Though something seems to bother Adria slightly. A look at the Lunar Ray really made her think...

ADRIA: I know the stuff I made is... well, out of this world, but...
ADRIA: I realize I've made... a lot. For both yourself and I.
ADRIA: So how about you make us some stuff once you're ready? I can't have all the fun, can I?

ADRIA: I'm excited to see what you can come up with!

/brochure?

Destiny uses Gravity Crush on Archer 1, Soldier 3, and Soldier 4 before Zahlia moves. After Zahlia moves, Destiny drinks a Candy Corn Liquor and uses Whirling Blades C11, D12, C13, D14, C15, C16, C17.

Bergilmir moves to M12, and activates Give It My All!

cA: Come on you coward! For all your talk of strength and power, you have barely scratched my skin! That glyph gives you the power of pure Creation, yet you fight like any other! You claim that with the Thymefield you are unbeatable, yet against us you can only struggle and writhe, just like the former allies you so demean! From where I'm standing, you aren't doing any better, Spark the Weakling!

Bergilmir throws his arms wide, goading Spark to do his worst.

cA: LET ME SEE WHAT YOU CAN REALLY DO, YOU SO-CALLED "GOD"! UNLEASH UPON ME THE TRUE MEASURE OF YOUR STRENGTH! PUT ME DOWN, IF YOU CAN!

Internally, Bergilmir braces himself, not allowing himself to show any weakness.

cA: ...May the Norns continue to spin the tapestry of my fate, so that I may weather this tide....

End of Unity
Move to H15.
Channel Magic from Spark to Auth.
Power Nap self.
Try to retrieve pillow from wherever lost things go.

Without anything in particular to say to Spark, Yato simply pointed at Perfect Soldier 4. Gibbet complied, casting Glitch Noose from a tattered wing, the noose settling around the soldiers neck, and constricting.

After that, Gibbet flaps it's way over to H15, and settles into a rest. Or more accurately, a Roost.

This doesn't bother Yato much, though, and under their straw hat, the archer simply smirked. An aura descended upon them, a burst of firey warmth surrounding them, tendrils of flame licking over their clothes, their weapons, and even Gibbet, though without setting things alight.

[Special Cast!]

Enchant: Fire. Active. Cast Watchful Eye on D14. This puts Spark, P. Soldier 3, P. Soldier 4, P. Archer 1-2, and P. Leader 1 under the watchful eye. Given the amount of buffs Yato is under, on top of Bushi Road, their Special dealing fire damage, and Spark being Marked, will do a boatload to the first person to move, a boatload to Spark, and a decent chunk to the people who move after.

Echoss quickly obtains the samples from Lutea, might be useful against Spark?


Echoss + Chi
"Good luck Miss Chi. Hopefully by this time tomorrow, the Sphere will have fallen."


Not!Echoss saves the kids
The Cinders have been vanquished, so Not!Echoss polevaults back up to the second floor and default dances his way into Fusion Development, where he pulls out a pair of tweezers and a huge vacuum pack. Ice skating(?) his way across the time puddles, he vacuums up all of the thyme matters, before picking up the thyme matter device with the tweezers and yetting it... somehow. Maybe the inventory, maybe just outer space, who knows at this point. Either way, Fusion Development is now free of Iti taint.


House Cleanup
Echoss nods to Acacia.
"Understood."
He makes his way back down to the body, takes it over to the woods near the house, and buries it, with a sapling planted above it. The grass is returned along with the dirt, no marker to show that this spot is different from any other sapling.


Praetorian Gulag
Real Echoss quietly extracts Xerophyte and Kanzan from the in-battle inventory and puts them into cells in the catacombs, glaring warily at the cultists who have showed up.


INFINITE CRAFT WORKS
1: MP restore consumables (x5 Yggapples, x5 Frostleaves, x15 Manablooms, x30 Manabloom Seeds, x5 Blue Sap Blobs, x5 Prisoner's Honey, x1 Aurora Crystal, x1 Powerade Sink)
(Blue Sap Blobs, Manablooms and Manabloom Seeds are roasted using the Aurora Crystal to release more of the sugars while the mana is strong making basically high-mana sugar, which is roasted further to make Mana Caramel. Prisoner's Honey is diluted with Powerade so that it isn't strong enough to fully pull someone into a dream, but strengthens the other exotic properties. It is then mixed with the mana caramel to make a proper Mana Glaze, which is then poured over the Yggapples to make the end product)
X5 Managlaze Yggapples (provide large amounts of immediate MP restore, low grade Enlightened, and maybe another weird effect from the prisoner's honey but not something that would hinder casters)

2: Different MP restore consumables (x8 Reverie Fragments, x1 Effect Egg, x1 Siren Music Box, x12 Goneblossoms, x8 Soulblossoms, x16 Manabloom Seeds, x8 Electrum Ingots, x1 Yagatooth, x1 Greatwood Log)
(Take the Reverie Fragments and arrange them in pairs, smelting the electrum ingots to make ornate 'holders'/focuses for them, inlaying them. Take the Yagatooth and use it to carve a small spell circle into the ground, then lay out the manabloom seeds, goneblossoms, and soulblossoms out into a pattern to impart spiritual power into them with a ritual. Use the greatwood log to fashion a set of wood pipes, and fit them into the siren music box making it a bit more melodic and inherently magical from the power of the greatwood. Sit in the center of the magic circle with the siren hand-organ and play out a tune to resonate with the magic circle, which infuses the power into the Reverie Fragments, finally finish the casting up with an Effect Egg, to make sure those who use it have sweet dreams)
x4 Reverie Crystals (crystals that when used at the same time as a meditation inflict you with Deep Sleep for the round, which can't be dispelled through being attacked. As long as the Deep Sleep isn't removed through other means (such as been downed or dispelled) the meditation is still successful, and is more powerful. Restores all MP and maybe gives other effects too)

3: BUNKERDUNKING (x1 THE BUNKER, x1 Combination Orb, x1 Confetti Sentry, x1 Furniture Flinger, x1 Darkmatter Splinter, x2 Fortification Runes, x1 Small Abandoned House, x1 Escape Pod Chair, x1 The Empty Powerade Sink From My First Craft, x1 Minifridges, x4 Banquet Tables, x1 Toilet, x1 Sink, x1 Tent, x1 Plastic Chair, x1 Crate, x3 Purest Explodium, x1 Plastic Tree, x2 Orchid Jets, x1 Stone Rose, x1 Flarematter Missile, x1 Mobile Home, x50 Refined Wood, x100 cobblestone, xfree Iron Ingots, x10 Eversteel, x20 Gravcore Ore, x1 Blackhole Regalia (40 crafting credits spent), x1 Bastion Thymeport, xfree Thyme Matter)
(Not!Echoss does the cartoon character thing where he pulls out a saw and hammer and very rapidly assembles an entire small town, except it's an entire small town of cheap minecraft houses built out of wood with cobblestone roofs, and all of them are nailed to THE BUNKER in some way or another. He then takes the Small Abandoned House and Mobile Home and then, combining them together with an extradimensional gravitational krork-brand subspace engine made out of the eversteel, gravcore, and blackhole, dimensionally merges the two houses with THE BUNKER, creating a multidimensional off-centered multi-structural overlay over THE BUNKER, delivering the same "dropping a house on Spark Sleuth-style" punchline three times at once when the payload is dropped.
Of course, in order to delivery this mighty device, it needs a launcher of some kind. The Furniture Flinger, so long languishing within the inventory, is selected for this. Not!Echoss empties out the Combination Orb and then stacks it with a much larger selection of movement spells than it should be capable of holding, but that's okay because it will only be used once, he slots it into the furniture flinger. Two Orchid Jets are mounted onto it, allowing for mid-flight corrections and nearly unlimited flight in the first place. The Confetti Sentry is added to protect against would be thieves because anyone with a short enough attention span to believe that stealing this monstrosity is a good idea will be easily distracted by confetti. Tacked onto it is a Bastion Thymeport modified with [free purple goo!] and iron to make it more suitable for firing, as the flarematter missile and darkmatter splinter are loaded in so that they will fire out and hit the target, dealing small damage and (probably not) taunting it at great distances due to Not!Echoss [TECHNOBABBLE] to make the ember core within it merely boost the missile faster in exchange for making it do no damage on impact but that is okay because the darkmatter splinter instead of calling down a blast of dark magic acts as a targeting device for the greatly upgraded furniture flinger.
It is at this point that Not!Echoss realizes he's made a mistake. The Furniture Flinger only flingers furniture, not buildings! Well there's a way to get around that. Not!Echoss grabs every unclaimed furniture piece in the inventory and puts them all into a central room in THE BUNKER. He also includes the Stone Room to improve the feng shui and the plastic tree because with how cursed this entire thing is already that's gotta be a pretty good synergy yeah?
Finally, he slaps the Fortification Runes onto the descent-edge of the bunker-town to make sure the whole thing can survive until impact, and then puts the purest explodium within the impact-edge of the bunker, to make EXTRA sure it's a good landing!
With his magnum opus finished, the greatest mistake of all his lives, he launches the abominable device, ascending into the skies on jets of malicious fire. It is now finished, and in a few turns it will presumably be used.)

Item created: THE GREAT ORBITAL BUNKERDUNKING OF '21


Battle:
Echoss sighs and massages his brow.
"There are so many holes in your response... but perhaps I should've known better than to waste a grand speech on a blind idiot acting as a weapon for the fell god in the Sphere in the first place.
So instead, has it occurred to you that we seem unconcerned about our own well being largely because you have, once again, failed to threaten any of us by endangering your own people? You've commented on our remarkable ability to recover from what should be certain death before, and are surprisingly sure of yourself for someone who has completely failed to account for... any of our demonstrated capabilities, to be honest, let alone the ones we still hold in reserve.
If we fall here you have doomed your own people, and none more. In fact, you will have freely cleared the path to the Sphere for us by annihilating all hostiles between us and the gateway, all we'll have to do is pick the glyph off your ashes you short-sighted, deliberately ignorant, wretched, woodlouse-ridden, piece of damp kindling."
BATTLE ACTION:
Once the RP above finishes, Echobot picks up Freja and moves down to I20, depositing Freja at K21 through the Golem Yeeters ability.
He then whips out a Phoenix Up and tosses it to Freja (52.8% hp restored to Freja on rez if Know How To Use It applies. 20% dupe chance: is wasted since nobody else is downed)
For his second trick he takes the Ancient Yggcrawler Nectar and gives it to the Godhand (Restores 80 HP through Know How To Use It but also inflicts Blind8 and Ensnared8. Not a valid target for Deep Pockets)
That done, Echobot triggers Alter Reality to change the Enlightened back to Empower and basic attacks Perfect Magus 1, then retreats to H19


To-do List:
Also hand the Subspace Grocery Box to Cypress when he heads back to the house
Fix the hole in the wall that Chaos made.
Craft requests:
Swift/movement consumables