Destiny rushes to I14, observes Salt, attacks Salt with Starstrike, then moves back to G13.

Bauhaus wakes up in a jolt.

"Oh dear, I need to get back in there!"

Bauhaus moves to N13, basic attacks the Salt with the Greatsword, and retreats to M14.

Battle: Why do I suddenly never have time

Venia re-activates Kickstart My Heart and also triggers Unexisting Theorem once to re-gain special buffs and also further stack her defense. She then moves to Q8 and takes the Thyme Vortex there to teleport to O19. Once there, she uses her Special and her Trait to dunk all the Predators into Abysses:

-Predator 1 is moved to K18 (1/6 uses of Unexisting Theorem movement), then uses Hope Rides Eternal to shove it to H16.
-Predator 2 is moved to Q15 (4/6 uses of Unexisting Theorem movement), and promptly experiences gravity.
-Predator 3 is shoved to Q16 (all uses of Unexisting Theorem movement), and enjoys the experience of airdropping sans parachute.

After that, Venia uses nearly half of her MP to cast Pow Hammer as a bonus action and stun Verdana4, before then using her basic attack on Salt. She retreats back through the vortex to Q8.

Maria, meanwhile, readies Twisted Sisters, the air around her holographic projection picking up as she readies her Magical Girl Finisher Attack, because of course she has a Magical Girl Finisher Attack. Her Yggcrawler moves to G12, then uses Great Leap to J15 and tap Salt with the damage. The Yggcrawler, remembering Great Leap is a Bonus Action, then... Guards, retreating to J13. Meanwhile, her adorable Tumblefluffs float to D7 and messily tear Seeker1 limb from limb in a frenzy of bites, before retreating to C9.

---

Venia, moments ago, re-appeared from a hole in space-time, fresh from MSPAint hell and ready to resume fighting. "Alright, Salty, you little-"

"Venny!"

Venia's body chills. Her head whips to-Maria?! Not Maria. Something very like Maria. A holographic projection of Maria.

... In a magical girl outfit. Frilled, golden, with a big ribbon right in the chest, and very sparkly. As with all good magical girls, her hair has expanded in volume threefold and wrapped into twintails, and gotten considerably more blonde.

"Who did this." Venia asks, flatly.

"I did this!" Maria says, with a sparkly flare. "I am now Magical Sparkly Princess Maria! Mister Chaos and Miss Nia made me a super-sparkly and awesome robot projector thingy, so now I can kick people who are mean to you directly in the butt! With snowballs! I am immune to... Mort-al-it-e! And I'm getting an anime series!"

Silence.

" ... Venny do you know who 'Tem Urobuchi' is? They're making the anime."

Venia's smile comes slowly, strained.

"... Cute!"

"Yeah!"

It appears Maria is somewhat familiar with Venia in the form of a freaky spider monstrosity, given her relatively normal reactions to Venia's questions. Then again, she clearly isn't perturbed by anything going on right now in the slightest anyways.

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I made new friends! One friend is really tall, and also, I found baby fluffies! Ten of them! And they're pink fluffy things!"

"Oh my gosh, they're adorable!" Venia exclaims. "... Also they're venomous and unfriendly and they like exploding. Please do not touch them."

"I knowwwwww! Daddy is gonna make... A pen! Where they don't explode in. But first we gotta protect the baby fluffies! Everything here is evil!"

Dad. Oh god, that. Thank goodness Venia didn't really have a face right now. It takes her a few seconds to respond.

"... Alright everyone, you heard the princess, protect the tumblefluffs!"

"Hooray!"

---

Battle - Moments From Despair:

Keane moves to P11, then Negotiates with Symphonia1 as a bonus action, fast-talking it into trading its fancy new Autorevive for his Lucky. This is an objectively awful trade for Symphonia1, but Keane's mouth was just too fast. Keane then finishes movement, ending up at O12.

Keane then casts Channel Magic, convincing Symphonia1 to sell its statuses to a (nonexistent) hedge fund. Symphonia1 gladly obliges, giving all its statuses to Maxim. Parasite is a special status, so it doesn't get traded, meaning Symphonia1 gets a grand total of jack gorilla.

Keane then Quickfires the bancannon at Salty, and notices Teag.

KEANE: Oh! Hello. One second!

Keane then spends ALL his luck reserves on Teag, blasting him with eye beams to give him Lucky.

KEANE: Boom. There you go. From Keane with love. Thank you for your contributions to the destruction of taxes.

House

Blacklight observes the remaining damage to the house.

"Hm. This should be relatively manageable."

Blacklight resolves part of the problem by leaving the area temporarily and coming back with a ladder, propping it against the house so he can climb up and manually install some new windows to replace the broken upper floor ones. After that, he hops down, carries the ladder away, returns with some tools and duct tape, and works on patching up some of the furniture for a while.

...He apparently didn't notice the existing ladder while doing all that. He really didn't need the other ladder. Anyway, once he's done with the window and furniture repairs, he overhears some conversation a bit away, deciding to check out the situation.

Which is how he stumbles across Sakura and Sophia. He overheard a bit of what happened, though clearly lacks some of the context, just standing there and helping himself to a cigarette until there's a good opportunity to cut into the conversation. Then, when the time is right, he speaks up.

"Greetings. As the most literal incarnation of the phrase loose collection of character defects, I have to ask... What is happening here?"

---

"..."

Loading.

---

The Temple At The Beginning Of Time

Calibri performs an analysis of the situation.

"...I kind of wanted the battle, but honestly, that's probably way easier on both of us. If it doesn't work, see you in 5 minutes. If it does, then... Well, I won't really need to come back here, will I?"

Calibri promptly depowers again so that reentry into the thymefield won't immediately hit him with the worst jet lag ever known to an entity, takes the physics-bending kidney, and stares at it. He then shrugs, returning back to the timeline from whence he came, ready to basically tell Chaos "yeah I totally killed that guy see here's his kidney as proof" and hope that works.

...There's a slight detour in his timetraveling route, but that probably won't be anything too significant, right?

---

Zone 6 - The Eclipsed Citadel

Hopefully Lato's explanation will be up to Marron's explanations. Lato briefly moves forward to check some stuff in the room, probably gets pelted by angry Sentinels, then heads back to the corpse area.

"He is the gardener here. I believe the plants would appreciate his resurrection. It would certainly make this matter easier to handle - and, of course, benefit us in a karmic sense - over trying to take things by force. Speaking of which, I have identified the presence of three Godblossoms and an unknown object of interest within the room from where I retrieved his body."

Then, a pause for thought.

"...If it is your blood supply you are worried about, then would the ritual still function if it siphoned off of my life force instead? I lack blood in the traditional sense, but depending on the role it plays in the ritual..."

---

The Past - Zone 2 - Whispering Library

Calibri takes a moment to figure out what's going on. Going by the alignment of chronological phenomena, general geolocational abilities, and other big sciency words that are actually just nonsense...

"Little bit early. Might as well scope out the situation, though. But first, I need..."

Calibri rummages around in the inventory of the normal timeline, retrieving some stuff. Carrion Flesh, Bloodhound Hide, Corpsetaker Legs, and Harpy Feathers. Also some thyme matter. And a Shadowflame Veil. Anyway, he crafts himself the Thymetraveler's Cloak, a bit of getup that should help him convincingly pass as just a really weird Iti of some kind (and also give him immunity to dipping in Thyme Matter because that's totally how it works). Need to make sure the people from this part of the timeline don't recognize him, after all.

Then, he gets going. His destination, the Hall of Sages. The approximate time... Some number of rounds before a fateful battle plays out there. Calibri, disguised as he is, can afford some leniency. But he still makes sure to stick to the shadows - no need to risk blowing his cover. He needs to find a quiet stealthy spot and see how it all played out...

Perhaps even intervene, if the need presents itself.

---

Battle in the Sphere - Moments From Despair

The real Verdana nervously side-eyes the several copies of him that came into existence. Then, he more nervously side-eyes the teammates that apparently had a plan for this all along.

"...Don't know if I like how quickly they thought up a way to deal with multiple of me..."

Still, he can't exactly dwell on that. There's things in need of doing.

After Kalis has acted, Verdana moves to F7. The Cherubian Helper uses [Deconstruct] to the west, destroying the thyme matter tiles from E6 to E8. Then, Verdana uses I Am Spartacus to put a fully-effective damage redirection shield over Kalis. Then, he resumes his movement to E6, and Guards.

"Even when Sundered, my armor vastly exceeds the values that most can deal with!"

Gaia Eruption should clean up some corpses, hit Seekers 1, 2, and 4, lightly graze both Geysers, and hit the Jotun twice. Pyralux Bombardment just smacks the Jotun twice. Stand By Your Side protects Hexagon, who should be here by now I think.

In the Cultist Room, Auth stares at the random assortment of cards he was given, and thinks quietly. He stares at the shiny thing on the table, then. What is it? Does it explain how this game is supposed to work, at all? Or is it, perhaps, a reward?

Given the cards on the table, Auth plays Piplup and an Island, tapping the Island to assign a Water Energy to Piplup. Blue Mana and Water Energy are basically synonymous, right? And some substitution must be permitted if this game is to be possible to play. Every move Auth makes is somewhat hesitant, as though he is feeling out the rules of the game in play.

Auth assumes that, given that he's not played this game (or any games that this game is comprised of, for that matter) that there will be some forgiveness if the rules, such as they may be, are not followed most strictly and that correction will be polite. It's only fair - one has never played this before.

Auth, notably, does look mildly confused the whole turn.

AUTH: Go fish.

---

As for battle, I have pretty clear instructions. Auth uses Inkscalibur's Bonus Action to apply Evasive to his Southwest, giving that buff to Chloe, Nia and Bauhaus. He then, without needing to move from his in-air position, uses Perseverance on Hexagon. Hooray.

The battle seems to be going rather well, all things considered.

---

Please talk to Auth, I'd like him to have something interesting to say before the game goes out...

At Shelly's sudden crushing nihilism, Echoss raises an eyebrow. Then it suddenly clicks when she glances back towards the Hybrid Lab. He rubs his temple and gives an exasperated sigh.

"Miss Wolfe nothing is, or was, going to happen to your daughter.
Instead of basing your assumptions on the cosmos off a single person's exceptionally unusual personal experience perhaps you could've tried asking a few of the party members who are experienced and knowledgeable in the subject?
To put it bluntly we are not going to stop existing just because 'the camera' so to speak is no longer upon us.
While I am not privy to the exact mechanics of it, stories like these have framed themselves on our reality in the past, and will likely do so again in the future.
In fact, the trappings of story and their interactions with our reality have an entire branch of science to themselves: Narrative Metaphysics. Metacognitives such as Monika are not common, but they are not hard to find if you know who to look for either.
We have a few in our party even. Isn't that right 'pionoplayer'?
Regardless, the fact of the matter is that Monika has several unusual facets to her mode of existence besides being metacognitive. A physicalized infomorph, a partial but uncontrolled access to the source code of reality, and having her combat capacity abstraction involve directly interfacing with the update terminal.
Very few would be able to get into 'character storage' on accident if they tried, let alone on accident as she manage.
If I had to hazard a guess, though this is more a hunch than based on any empirical evidence, the others she encountered there were approximate doppelgangers of previous party member's technical abstractions. Never really alive or real in the first place, and the individuals they were based on simply left Sussui, or wandered off into the wilderness. It has happened to others, myself included.
The only case you should be worried about our continued existence upon the cessation of 'Project Thymium' is if the Sphere goes undestroyed. We will continue to go about our business of living once the camera is gone much the same as we did before it arrived, so unless existence has had a third of its matter carved to nothing I would rather say things will be easier again once it's gone."

Rocketeer moves to (M9). They fire a splitshot against Destroyer 3.

(I think I forgot to add the all-out modifier on the battlesheet itself, last post I gave the rockeeter that)

Daskter uses Veteran Reserves to summon a an Assassin or another Rocketeer. I'll pick later.

Before Teag Acts: the Ignihorn moves to M10 and uses Call of the Horn on Mex.

Any time after the Mexamissile's turn: Remiel unmantles Aoki and mantles the Ignihorn.

Ramiel unmantles, moves to M14, and Relinquish-Mantles Verdana2.

Remiel uses There Will Come Soft Rains, mantling Aoki, Verdana2, Remiel's Missile, Mex, and Maria.

Remiel's Missile moves to K15. Remiel Relinquish-Mantles Verdana1.

Verdana1, Verdana2, and the Ignihorn "donate" all their MP to Remiel.

Remiel's Missile basic-attacks Salt. (I dunno if I actually get MP from this, probably needs a ruling from Ire.)

Battle: Moments From Despair

Irongutta moves to F11 and starts pointing Magnolia towards Salt.

"Now... I think it's 'bout time we find out wot this does."

Then... he activates Bouquet of Thorns, firing a glitch laser directly towards Salt!

<ROUND 330>

Echoss puts Shelly in Gay Baby Jail. A quick command from a Spectral'd Echoss designates Shelly as a valid target for the Anti-Magic Field Generator to suppress. Try as she might to invoke any power, she's unable to feel her... magical organ? How does it work for most people, anyway? Anyway, a Timeclone Shelly is reset back into the prison. Whoops.

The injured Biflora is retrieved from through the wall, planted in a new cell, and promptly healed with a Halobloom Remedy. Though she fails to regain consciousness, at least her arm now ends in a nice, tidy, non-bleeding stump.

Elsewhere, just across the hall, a copy of Echoss flicks a cultist on the head who's about to release Linseed. They do not stick around to listen to Echoss's speech, instead fleeing for their lives. They hide somewhere totally discrete. Though terrified, they've certainly gotten the message, probably. Don't free prisoners. Gotcha. Simple.

Finally, back with Droplet, Echoss thanks the Iti idol as he takes his leave. Once the Sphere is gone, he'll come visit again. Droplet replies silently with a simple, curt nod. Not much else to say. But they'll meet again, won't they?

---

Sophia and Sakura, the hit sitcom, continues with its fourth episode! For Sophia, apparently children getting spacecraft and going on space adventures is a (surprisingly) common thing. In fact, her own vessel is rather small.

SAKURA: Well, at least you have a spacecraft.
SAKURA: The rebels wouldn't give me a spacecraft either. Jerks.
SAKURA: They were working with the Tabletopians! They should have like, a million spacecraft!

Sakura then says some mean things, prompting Sophia's anger. Didn't most of the Chairians join of their free will? Sakura glares at the child.

SAKURA: T-They were never loyal, anyway! Or mind controlled! O-One of the two!
SAKURA: Honestly... what happened with Omorika and Cypress? Acacia, I can understand. Dad's a proper gorilla, and someone so close to him would totally lose their gorillaing mind and some point.
SAKURA: And like, god! Don't think that I know every little detail of what's happened!
SAKURA: I have like... pretty much the same view as every single random peasant!
SAKURA: Sure, there were like, intelligence reports, but those were totally all falsified anyway. Gotta stroke Dad's ego, right? Make him think things are totally peachy so that they don't get their legs broken or something.

The princess takes a deep huff. Though, she's not really fazed when Sophia puffs her cheeks up. A wicked little smug smirk crosses Sakura's lips. Though, what's admittedly less cute is the warcrimes Sophia has brought up.

SAKURA: H-Hey, what else are you meant to do w-when the Rebellion breaks out the firebombs first?
SAKURA: I-If they're going to use the strongest weapon a-available, w-why shouldn't we use it as well?
SAKURA: We're n-not just going to lie down and die because we're not gonna break out the incendiaries too!
SAKURA: Yeah, the Legion hasn't been perfect! I know that much, because anything my dad heads cannot be this glimmering beacon of anything.
SAKURA: But like, come on! What should we have done, miss paragon? It's not like you guys were above fire use, anyway.

Elsewhere, Hannah and Chi take a break after a work session well done! There's nothing else the mustachio'd hero wants to learn, so their lessons conclude there. Besides, she'll need to be on standby in case the party needs her to put a few Iti in their place.

CHI: Fine by me.
CHI: Enjoy your break, miss Hannah.
CHI: I'll likely be staying here in case anyone else requires treatment.
CHI: Though, perhaps I'll get moving. There's likely a few other medical stations like this that are horribly understaffed.
CHI: But first, a rest. Can't make myself useful if I faint from exhaustion first.

Another sip of tea.

CHI: My, there'll be a lot of work to do once the Sphere falls.
CHI: Perhaps you could be persuaded to help?
CHI: Best not to dwell on it for now, though. Enjoy your rest. Have a snack.

Taeda sits down next to the duo, nibbling on her pastry.

TAEDA: Good work, you two!
TAEDA: I'm still surprised that you're here, Hannah... but I'm thankful!
TAEDA: So! Can I get you guys anything?
CHI: Hm? I'm fine, thank you.
CHI: How about you, Hannah? Some kind samaritan donated a shipment of food to this establishment. Though you're not from here, there's certainly something you'll enjoy, yes?

wait till she learns who put those snacks there

---

JOE and Nia continue their science! He suggests that perhaps in the small window he has before he's lasered, he could try and do something! Nia bobs her head in agreement.

NIA: Ooh! That's a smart idea!
NIA: Here, sit down and I'll-

The two of them are immediately annihilated by another laser from the Sphere. Nia and JOE respawn inside the house, the former being completely unfazed by her recent obliteration. She gives JOE a pap on the back.

NIA: We've been banned from science!~
NIA: It was worth a try, though!
NIA: Anyway, pray that Venia doesn't read these updates! Or run! Why not both?

While Nia owo's quietly in the not-distance, JOE breaks into the underground garden. While the Sentinel flowers are tempted to shoot him down, they recognize him as the ONE TRUE FARMER GOD. This allows JOE to run around and gather a lot of rotted plants. 40 units of Decay enter the inventory. Mmm. Delicious.

JOE then breaks into the archives, sticks a straw into the Old Rosen Oath, and extracts exactly 0 Flux from it. Huh. Darn thing is flux free. Must've been made in a time before Flux was applied liberally to everything in existence.

Next, JOE moves to the hallway with odd gravity, where he's immediately confronted by a trio of cultists.

CULTIST: oh my god
CULTIST: we are begging you
CULTIST: stop messing with our gorilla
CULTIST: we will give you this bucket of flux if you leave us alone

...That's a wooden pail full of 30 Flux. Should he take it? He could take it, then continue harvesting Flux anyway. But that'd be rude. And then he'd probably die. This interrupts his flux harvesting attempts, however. But still. Take the deal?

---

Maria and Venia meet on the battlefield! In a cool way, though. Don't worry. It's really quite cute. Plus, it let Maria meet a horde of ten baby fluffies! They'll probably go explode on something though, which is sad. Good thing Maria's dad will make a pen for them, right? Right? Someone's gonna need to have that talk with Maria later. It'll be awkward. But for now... protect the Tumblefluffs!

NIA: Aye aye, captain!~
NIA: I'll lay my life down for the fluffies!

Fluffies are serious business. :niapet:

---

Blacklight does some window repairs! Ladder in hand, he zips up the wall, and punches some new windows into place for the House. Once that's out of the way, he despawns the ladder, and intrudes upon Sakura and Sophia's conversation. Or at least to Sakura, he's intruding. She scowls at this shadowy intruder.

SAKURA: H-Hey, what the hell!? W-Were you eavesdropping on us?
SAKURA: What's your problem? And if you were eavesdropping, why the hell are you asking me what's going on?

While Sakura refuses to be useful, Calibri decides that yes- pacifism is a great option! He accepts the offer presented by Sir Isaac Newton, Herrscher of Physics.

S.I.N.H.O.P: Yes! Good!
S.I.N.H.O.P: This is for the best. Let's avoid a frivolous battle that you could not possibly win.
S.I.N.H.O.P: For instance... are you aware of a game that they call Five Dimension Chess with Multiversal Time Travel?
S.I.N.H.O.P: It's an incredibly simplified version of what Galileo is capable of doing to any brat that opposes us.
S.I.N.H.O.P: Now, shoo. We have universal laws to uphold.

Anyway, kidney in hand, Calibri returns to Chaos. Chaos gives Calibri a standing round of applause, a few new arms spewing out of his back to creating a clapping chorus.

CHAOS: oh damn you really did i[t]
CHAOS: you know [t]ha[t] was a joke righ[t]
CHAOS: you didn'[t] really need [t]o kill [t]he herrs[c]her of physi[c]s
CHAOS: i jus[t] [t]hough[t] i[t]'d be funny [t]o make you [t]ry
CHAOS: i [c]an already defy physi[c]s anyway

To demonstrate a point, Chaos raises himself off the ground by half a centimeter. Impressive...?

CHAOS: besides, i've learned how [t]o defea[t] physi[c]s and gravi[t]y wi[t]hou[t] [c]hea[t] engine
CHAOS: a spe[c]ial [t]e[c]hnique i [c]all
CHAOS: ar[c]hi[t]e[c][t]ure

Chaos unveils his plans for the HOT DOG EIFFEL TOWER. Less efficient than stacking them to the heavens one at a time, but far more fancy

CHAOS: good job [t]hough
CHAOS: anyway kidney gimme

Chaos obtains the kidney, and nails it to a wooden board. He shoves it through a seam in reality, hanging it above his interdimensional mantle. Mission... complete? Years from now, Chaos will tell stories about how he defeated the concept of gravity itself, and took its kidneys. Calibri will be forgotten in the history books, because history is written by Chaos. Look it up!

Anyway, just north of the stand and a few feet underground, Lato explains as to why the Chairian needs a resurrection. He's the gardener here. The plants would likely appreciate his resurrection. Marron sighs.

MARRON: Lato. They're plants.
MARRON: Like, technically the Chairians are plants too, but we're talking like, potato plants here! Potato plants don't have feelings!
MARRON: ...I mean, maybe they don't? I think there's like, some sort of science that Chaos tried to tell me about once, but good luck getting valid information out of him.
MARRON: Now, really. I can't just revive every random-

Lato steps into the room briefly, and gets pelted with acidic blasts. owie

MARRON: ...They're still plants! Angry plants, but plants nonetheless!
MARRON: They probably have like, plant brains! Y-You can outsmart a plant, r-right? This is a really complex solution for a really simple problem!
MARRON: J-Just like... shoot them! Or use the other guy who just waltzed in there without getting shot, b-because... I-I don't know!

MARRON: D-Do I sound like a jerk?
MARRON: Probably sound like a jerk.
MARRON: But again, I can't just resurrect every last person we come across! I-I'm not built for that!
MARRON: And you can't do the ritual either, unless you write it in... whatever sort of magic system you're accustomed to!
MARRON: Blood magic system. Needs my blood, not yours!

Meanwhile in the future past, Calibri abuses Chaos's time-travel device to return to the Whispering Library. Preparing a few items, he disguises himself as a weird Iti of some kind, and tries to find a location to take cover before the battle begins. It's there where the previously-perished Eliti, Pop and Pip, are vibing. It's entirely unclear what they're doing, though it appears to be some weird cross between spawncamping Seekers and vehicular man(?)slaughter. Luckily for him, he hasn't been noticed yet. He should probably find a place to hide soon, though. Get ready?

---

The Author plays CARDS. But first, what's the shiny thing on the table? It's a ring made of solid silver, with flowers engraved into it. A gentle white glow shines from the engravings. The cultist sees Auth eyeing it, and reaches his hand over to slide it more to his side. As his finger touches the ring, his hand catches ablaze with a holy fire. Undeterred, he slides the ring to his side of the table before rather casually blowing on his hand to extinguish it.

Anyway, Auth decides to play a Piplup and an Island. Tapping the island, he grants Piplup one Blue Mana. A stunning, but legal move. Auth then utters the command phrase "go fish". The cultist on the other side of the table nods, drawing an additional card. Then, sensing no further commands, the Cultist assumes that Auth has ended his turn.

To begin, the cultist plays two Burning Pillars, a staple of fire decks. This gives him a good source of Quanta generation. He then plays a Flamvell Firedog, and attacks the Author directly! Auth's player token has a chunk ripped out of it. Concerning, but okay. He then moves his own player pawn a few tiles to the east. A crooked voice drifts from his mouth...

"LESHY": GO FISH.

...Auth draws a card! The cultist then ends his turn, his two Burning Pillars generating 2 Fire Quanta. What's he gonna do with those quanta? Better be careful. His current hand's pretty interesting though... that Geck can get him whatever card he desires from his deck. Maybe there's something in there that can turn the game around?

---

<MOMENTS FROM DESPAIR, ROUND 4>
Word, that's a large Seeker Sphere. Good luck breaking that thing apart! Of course, along with it is a brand new crowd of foes to deal with. Isn't this getting a little excessive? Maybe if some of you keeled over and actually died, the flow of foes would slow down slightly. WHY WON'T YOU JUST DIE!?

(All these actions take place before those of the people they buff.)
Hexamissile:
- E6, attack Jotun. (Shardstorm hits seekers, vital strikes hits all targets blind4)

Hexagon:
- F8
- Watchful Eye Wide Eyed D6.

Mexamissile:
- M11, attack Chimes, apply Evasive to Echoss, Remielaoki, Mexagon, and Daskter.

Mexagon:
- Foam Teag. (Before he acts)
- Retreat to Q10.
- Bonus Action Foam Keane. (Before he acts)

Moving after Maria:

Kalis1 moves to G6, casts Pow Hammer with ricochet as a bonus action on Jotun1, and moves to H7.

Kalis2 uses the Thyme Vortex to move to M20, casts Pow Hammer as a bonus action on Verdana3, uses the Thyme Vortex to move to J10, and then meditates because they only actually moved 2 squares.

BATTLES - MOMENTS FROM DESPAIR

Star flies to J6 and has Maxim use a Temmie Powder Cake on them. From there, they fly to G2 and basic attack the Core, benefitting from max trait stacks, Fervent Emotions, and Opening Act. This detonates the pocket dimension. Star proceeds to keel over and autorevive at spawn at N10.

Star then self-applies an Infinisyringe and uses another charge of Astral Birth to place a Thyme Vortex at M19.

Teag, after getting buffed, uses a Wormhole Edge to get to D10, then after presumably receiving an Autoloader from Kalis1, fires an Exertion-boosted Earth-type railgun shot at the Crucible Knight using the Kekbox's Range Hack.

[Flux]
I happily accept the Cultists deal and depart the catacombs as quickly as reasonably possible. I probably wouldn't've generated 30 more Flux by other means, anyway. And I'll stay out- it's a good deal presented in good faith (albeit out of possibly mild desperation) so of course I'll abide by the terms.


[BattleDraft]
I use the Thyme Vortex to travel to L19 and swift-cast terraform, creating a shallow water tile on J15, Fortified on D10, and Lava on N26 and a door next to salt somewhere someone wasn't going to end their turn on. I use the Ainifni if nobody else has, then buy Godblossom using my four GP generation this round and three of what I already had, taking control of Verdana3; I proceed to retreat back through the vortex, or if that's not possible, use royal insurance.

Verdana3 Pyralux Bombardments Saltling2 with Light damage, [Curtail]s it with idunno slashing maybe, and uses Switch In to switch to Lato, whose Everything template is [Burst, Ranger, Cautious Maneuver, Water element]. Switched in Lato4 attacks the crucible knight I guess or maybe the orb, then uses the Warp Ring to move the Orb down; and uses Royal Insurance to teleport to spawn. wherever's open is fine.

Not!Echoss crimes:
Nia is asked to upgrade the Apocalypse Nia and an Engineered Burrito


RP:
Sophia

Ette
At (some point) earlier in the day before the Spherebreakers ascended towards their final destination, Echoss approaches Ette.
"Hello Miss Needleworker, how are you doing?
We are coming up on the final stretch... I figured I should say hello to a few people before things come to an end, one way or another."


MOMENTS FROM DESPAIR:
ECHOSS TURN TAKES PLACE AFTER THE DUEL ENDS
REMOTE AIRSHIP CONTROLLER OVERCLOCK: every single point is spent firing the under-wing cannons at (N24). (Enlightened6 benefit, no trait proc)
Echoss triggers Projectile Airdash, and fires a Lively Concoction so that it lasers from (M10) to (P10), healing all of the duel returnees for 45 HP. (enlightened6 factored into health restore value, no trait proc)
Finally, he Alters Reality, changing his Enlightened back into Empowered, and fires up his weapon skill at the Transcendent of Salt. (Empowered6)
Then he chucks a Monster Energy to Hexagon. (no buff, no trait proc)

The Cat gives Aoki Enlightened with Warm Glow.



CONSUMABLES x3:

Counter Change

Because Adria's Counter is obscenely hard and annoying to proc, I've decided to change it to something simpler. This is the result.

COUNTER: Timeclone Beatdown
Range: Any

You cannot counter normally. If your Watching Over You target is attacked, roll counter. On success, deal (16-17) Crushing Damage to the target.

Damage scales with STR at a 1/2 rate.

---

Base: (11-12)

Moments From Despair

Despite Chloe's worry and the hit dealing a heckload to her, Adria maintains her composure.

ADRIA: Th-this is nothing! I'm fine!

Adria slaps herself wit a bit of Nanomend Duct Tape. This heals her to near full.

ADRIA: Hm... almost dead. Better shoot it.

Once the Crucible Knight is down and Verdana has acted, Adria shoots Salt from her current position.

ADRIA: You know, I'm impressed with your tenacity.
ADRIA: However, unlike us, your time is about to come to an end.
ADRIA: Not like a lump of sodium chloride was going to do much to us anyway.

Then in an unprecedented move, Adria uses the Stasis Projector on herself.

In short:
-Wait for Crucible Knight death and Verdana act
-Nanomend Duct Tape Self
-Shoot Salt
-Stasis Projector Self

Note: Adria's Special should no longer be locked as the buffs on Chloe have worn off.

---

Shelly

Shelly remains dead silent for the duration of Echoss’ rant. A complete overturning of her understanding of reality, and it left her stunned in utter disbelief. Her mouth opens ever so slightly at one point (though she quickly closes her mouth again because the blood and sap running down her face cannot taste very good).

When Echoss finally finishes, it takes a full minute for her to get to grips with what she just heard, a rush of emotions cycling across her face. Doubt, shame, confliction, a sense of relief, and yet, a new sense of dread in its place. The scariest thing about the entire ramble was that she knew for a fact that Echoss knew his subject matter.

And at the end of it all, she slumps down into the corner of her cell, deathly quiet.

SHELLY: . . . . . .

Everything she hid from her superiors out of fear of starting a riot, everything she hid from her acquaintances to not worry them... and everything she hid from her daughter so she wouldn’t have a breakdown... nearly everything she thought she knew about the topic ended up being a bunch of misinformation. And that misinformation has invaded her thoughts on everything else.

And now she probably looks like a real big idiot. Well, at the very least, she feels like one. She blankly stares at the partly-sealed portion of the cell, and finally speaks, albeit quietly.

SHELLY: I... I need a moment. And... solitude.

She takes a breath.

SHELLY: ...Go. Don... don’t let me keep you here any longer.

---

Sakura

Sophia continues her (ineffective but cute) angy face into her next set of ranting.

SOPHIA: It ain't about loyalty! An' get that dumb mind control peck outta here, that's a super sensitive thingy for a tonna people from what I know!
SOPHIA: An' have you even thought 'bout talkin' to Omo and Cypress yourself? Think you'd be surprised!
SOPHIA: peck it, do the Sleuth too, you'd get an answer from him for sure!

SOPHIA: An' I wasn't talkin' 'bout the Rebels, they're pecknecks for doin' it too!
SOPHIA: I mean, if everyone's burned to nothin', then who's left? An' what then?

Sophia glances at Blacklight as he mentions the Tabletopians.

SOPHIA: 'Specially with somethin' like that at your doorstep!

SOPHIA: An' just so y'know, we never used fire in our fights against people!
SOPHIA: ...Except for that hexagon thing with Acacia, he's a peck.

...She didn't mention the fire used at the very start that killed people. Perhaps for the best.

...Meanwhile, Dorothy peeks out from behind the spiral stairway, wondering what the commotion was all about...

---

Medic

Chi asks if Hannah would be willing to help with the injured once the Sphere is done for. She ponders this for a moment.

HANNAH: ...I'm not actually sure if I only want to stay here temporarily.
HANNAH: I kinda like this place, despite all its faults.
HANNAH: I might be able to convince Dorothy to stick around for a bit, but she'll probably want to go home again soon enough.
HANNAH: ...I wonder if I could commission a teleporter or something from someone... then I could come and go as much as I want.

She's then asked if she wants something to eat. She shakes her head.

HANNAH: No thanks, I had a big meal before I came out here.
HANNAH: There was some meat in the party's stash so I cooked that.
HANNAH: Then I cooked some more things for people who need it.
HANNAH: Gave some to the Scarlet ladies to hand out, then I brought some here, which is where those snacks came from.
HANNAH: It wasn't a big deal, really. I can make, forage, and donate more if we're seriously hurting for stuff.

Hannah huffs.

HANNAH: ...N-not now, though. Need a break.

- Asha switches to Pierce Stance.
- She activates the Sprint Hat, moves to (U15), then tosses a Rubber Railgun Bullet at Symphonia6, giving it (Bleed6, 3) and (Slasblight4, 2)
- Asha uses Always Watching twice for 10 MP, adding (Manaburn10, 2) and (Blind8, 2) to the mix.
- Then, she uses Toxin Coating (Aching), followed by a basic attack on Symphonia6, applying (Aching16, 3).
- Next, she uses Infinite Infection to give these five debuffs to Pillager3, Shardnado2, and Vesperia2.
- Finally, she retreats to (U14).

Moments From Despair
Basic attack Salt twice.
Power Nap self.