<TURN TWO-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FOUR>
Oh, only one post to address in this part of the update. Cool.

Anyway, still going through the Operative's mind, Chloe is given the green light to traverse around. Upon reaching the neatly-organized past memories section, she gets to witness a bit of !FUN! Chloe gasps and winces as she watches the footage... and once it comes to a close, she's silent. When she speaks, she's calm and composed.

ga: So...
ga: Your name is Joshua...?

She smiles.

ga: Hi, Joshua!
ga: ...S-Should I keep calling you Op? It feels a bit weird saying it, and it's a matter of if you'd mind the others hearing your name...
[small][small]ga: Then again, given how chat interfaces work, I guess they all know it now but whatever[/small][/small]

Her form within his head suddenly flickers and glitches.

ga: ...Oh dear.
ga: I think the fusion's breaking!
ga: So! Mind if I ask one last question, while I'm still here?
ga: What... led you to that room? What happened? Was there an accident?
ga: If it isn't any trouble, I'd like to know.

She begins to fade a little...

ga: It was nice doing this while it lasted, hm?
ga: We should do it again sometime...

She sits down, awaiting an answer and the end of the fusion.

<BATTLE: TURN SIX>
Sirens suddenly come to, fulfilling their one purpose in life; screaming their heads off. This provides a very nice background noise as two gigantic anti-aircraft guns emerge from hidden hatches in the mountain. They then unleash a deadly hailstorm of lasers, railgun rounds and just random rocks up into the skies. They blaze through the air, soaring just over the direction you all came up from.

It's unclear what they're shooting at. Suddenly, a voice rings out.

cc: ze(t)(t)a, you migh(t) wanna du©k-

A sonic boom temporarily replaces everyone's hearing with ringing. A crimson projectile has decided to find its mark directly in the pile of stones that used to be Zetta. There's no explosion; only shockwaves created by the impact. The entirety of Nightmare Mountain trembles, knocking some of you over. The barrier separating you, Chaos, and the Dreamer suddenly loses power, vanishing into thin air. After a brief silence, Chaos's speaks again.

cc: a©(t)ually du©king wouldn'(t) help a(t) all
cc: good (t)ry (t)hough
cc: ...
cc: anyway you alive or

There's no response.

cc: ...
cc: gorilla
cc: really (t)here was like one (t)urn of foreshadowing you ©ould've dodged (t)ha(t)
cc: bu(t) oh well
cc: we have bigger problems

A Crimson Scale rests in the middle of Zetta's rock formation. It crackles with a destructive, entropic energy that's just waiting to be unleashed.

You might wanna deal with that.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 01:34:00

Prior to Emerald moving, Auth warps over to D10, reviving Jon on E11. Then, he pings Emerald with Peligin and Cosmogone.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 01:56:00

Move to M24, cast Guardian.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 06:58:00

Well, I first go and stab the Crimson scale if nobody else is gonna do it, and then switch out the weapon for the Anti-Glitch Rifle.

"Yo Chaos, do you have any more rounds for this thing?"


CRAFTING

"Alrighty, time to get some more personalized gear."

"Dah dee dah dee doooo, ooh, we have souls. These will probably do."

"Marron, do you have any needles? I'm going to try something. Don't worry, everything will be fine. I know exactly what I'm doing."

DCCCV slits the bottom two thirds of the cloak, and then cuts the bottom two thirds of the strips off, and then cuts those strips in half. He then ties the strips back together into the cloak. Pulling on one of the knots, it comes apart easily, as intended.

Taking the needles he has, he dumps some of the souls into a small box. He then dumps the needles he's gotten into the box.

The needles greedily absorb the 10,000 souls inside the box. They begin to leak soul essence at a slow rate. The souls inside would eventually dissipate out, but that would take several hours, with the amount of souls in the needles. With the amount of essence leaking out, it was kind of hard to actually see the needles. Mistakes were made.

DCCCV carefully picks up each needle and gingerly sticks them into the knots, hidden from sight. Despite his best efforts, some still got stuck into his hands.

"Ow, ow, ow."

If someone had the idea of grabbing onto the cloak, the knots would just come free, leaving the assailant with a handful of cloth strips. However, DCCCV would rather not get killed by Marron, so he stuck the needles into the knots, so that once they came free, it would release needles all over them, hopefully dissuading them from from ruining it.

Donning the cloak and spinning around, he was pleased to see that A, the strips wouldn't come free if he w, and that when moving around, the leaking soul essence left large trails of obscuring mists behind.

Needlebound Cloak made.

He hesitates for a moment. There was something he needed to do first.

Using 5 ingots of titanium, he crafts himself a spiritloom.

Sitting down, he uses 900 souls to soulweave himself a grey scarf.

"Huh, I didn't expect that would actually work."

Putting on the scarf, he infuses it with 1,000 souls. This doesn't give any combat stats, it's just something nice for him to wear.

OKAY, OVERHAULING LOADOUT AGAIN. HOPEFULLY THE LAST TIME.

Weapon: Anti-Glitch Rifle
Helmet: Puppet Mask
Bodygear: Needlebound Cloak
Trinket: Hook of Absurd Mobility

STATS
HP 42 (12 Skillpoints)
MP 15 (5 Skillpoints)
STR 5 (12 Skillpoints)
AGI 9 (24 Skillpoints)
INT 1
SPC 1

Picking up the Glitch Rifle, he was ready for combat.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 07:17:00

FINAL MONE ALLOCATIONS:

-4 Life Bottles (4)
-4 Blue Sap Jars (8)
-1 Blank (9)
-2 Entropic Interference Detectors (11)
-1 Awesome Sauce (13)
-Free Awesome Sauce from a Temmie Coupon
-1 Knights of the Frozen Throne Card Pack, from the Side-Temshop (14)
-1 ordering of Swat Temmies to our position, from the Side-Temshop (18)

That's it! That's all of our money!

"...And just when I was thinking this was getting too easy. Of course. You'd think he'd have waited until the end of the fight..."

"Coward! Don't hang around for your stupid dramatic tension bullcrap! Psi was a phony wimp! His successors did better than him at his own craft! You're nothing but his stupid, stupid little tool! I've killed curses before! Stand down or you're going to find that there is no timeline where you cross us and live!"

Roxxanne's fiery spirit burns as she moves to I9, using Counter and opting to grant Chaos halved MP costs. The Temmie Hero, Temanne, and Glitch Skeleton will likewise move to H9, H10, and F10 respectively. Temanne will apply Counter to herself and eat Salmon on a Stick, while the Glitch Skeleton will focus and eat a Fruitcake. The Temmie Hero just guards.

... Hey, anyone remember EXE?

I do.

She spawns at I12, moves to H13, and spawns a Glitch Construct at I13.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 07:22:00

Hezetor doesn't even blink seeing E008 being destroyed, in the end expendable machines are expendable.

Even after becoming a dog, the E008 crumbles to dust and disappears, all his items returning to the inventory.

As he sees the crimson scale appear all the spheres from which he was looking at the battlefield are gone, with a single gesture of his hand he dismissed them all.

"It was finally time for something a bit more interesting to show up."

After musing that to himself, like that he seemingly becomes completely white and radiant as if he was light for a moment before disappearing, his throne of stones returns to the ground from with it came as he leaves.

An instant after that Hezetor appears on the battlefield.

---

Hezetor spawns at G26. If he can't spawn here he spawns whenever he can and then moves there, as there is infinite movement. If he can he casts Turn().

The only difference in his build than before is that he has Sentry rather than Earthbomb.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 10:46:00

joedog moves to I20 if those are rubble and not abyss, or H20 otherwise, and basic attacks the scale, or, if thats not an option, Bark bark's the scale.
....unless he has access to revive spell as JOEdog, in which case he revives himself. ew. dogness. blech. am no lik dogs. what can say.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 11:53:00

Clone Dimitri furiously opens the Knights of the Frozen Throne card pack. Hey, if that last one gave him what's basically his signature weapon, what could go wrong in opening this one?
----
If it's okay, Clone Dimitri sells the Grenade Rifle, Nemesis, the Justified Horn, the Hydra Mask, the Ghost Amulet, Macross, the Fishron Wings, Ellen's Knife, a Lute, a Shovel, and a set of Potions of Burrito to Glitch Temmie. Why?
----
1. Dimitri instantly swaps Revive for Temship Raid.
2. Dimitri spawns at L25, and Dimiheart spawns at M26.
3. Dimitri moves to J19, Dimiheart to K19.
4. Dimitri uses Temship Raid, spawning GT at K18, then tosses the CROISSONT the Crimson Scale. Negative healing, gorilla. If JOEdog kills the Crimson Scale, then he uses the Sunbro Soapstone.
----
?. Glitch Temmie's Temmie Armor updates. +1 AC, +1 MP regen. :onlyhalfjoking:
----
"BRING I+ ON!"

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 12:33:00

Emerald stays in one place, casting Sword Beam "...I have a lot of buffs right now"

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 13:03:00

I move to H20, remember that Wire Spark is range 4, and use that on the Crimson Scale.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 16:03:00

Chlorin nonchalantly fires a bullet at the Crimson Scale.

Meanwhile, I take two points out of INT and place 3 skillpoints into AGI and 3 into HP.

C!Chlorin decides it is time.
I'm tired of having a second rate weapon while everyone here gets the good stuff. I'm going to use a Mythril!
Eh, nevermind.


Originally posted on 2017-09-10 16:06:00

Dark frowns slightly. "...Well, that was anticlimactic for him. If he's still living under there, we'll deal with him later."

He proceeds to glide to (G9), and puts a cloud at (H5). He retreats to (F10). TemSide mirrors Dark's moves on the other side of the field.

He again begins his musings; "Always hated these entities that believe they have a greater power than everyone else, because they've been given power from their inception or some such [b]gorilla. Always so stuck-up, believing they can beat anyone down. That notion is simply untrue. There will always be a force greater than it, and chances are, he's equally up in the clouds, perhaps even more so. Continue this way until you hit the top of the chain, where they have a right to be so arrogant."[/b]

"But that's just one force out of upwards of infinite. And the top dog has to fall eventually."

"As we know, Zetta was not a top dog. As we also know, the Chaos Butterfly also isn't one. They both act like it, though, which ticks me off. Silently, but it does. It just takes a bit of force to show them their true place. Whether or not they actually give a [b]gorilla about that isn't up for anyone to decide."[/b]

"A damn shame... the only way to fight the strongest; through any non-diplomatic way (because very few use that method properly anymore); is to surpass that strength, in some manner. And the strong tend to prey on the weak and protect the stronger, rather than the other way around."

"Because they're [b]gorillaing ludicrously selfish; they'd do anything for a bit more power, be it coin, magic, worthy allies, or weaponry, to name a few. And the strong have these things in spades. The weak don't. So why prey on the weak? Because their 'allies'; typically beings with even more power; said to, for usually one malicious reason or another. Really, they just become more pawns in an ever-growing game of chess. And no side has a winner, and likely never will. Everyone suffers because of it, aside from those superiors."[/b]

"The DarkSides; myself, Vas'ill, Paranoid; all have a common goal. To break that chain, from the ground up, breaking the malicious links as we go. Starting low, and gathering strength through slower methods, which turn out to be better in the long run. The end result? Well... we'll see when we get there."

"For now though, we've got some butterfly wings to rip off."

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 18:32:00

"...Well, Zetta's dead now. And that scale means one thing..."

Lyra's already moved to G9.

Originally posted on 2017-09-10 22:28:00

>Battle: recover from sleep when it comes time to do so

>RP: okay

Oppy's Mind: Once he's fully sure it's the proper time to come in, another phantom image of Oppy materializes in the past section, arms crossed behind himself as he appears. There's a pause as he checks the viewscreen, realizing which memory Chloe ended up viewing, then he just silently turns to her and nods. After a moment...

Mmm... I'm fine with you using my name, but I'd rather just be addressed by my title. It seems... simpler, that way, almost. I'm not sure how to describe it.

Then comes the glitching. For a brief moment, Op looks quite concerned, flinching and having apparently been caught off-guard by the happenings, although he quickly composes himself again once he realizes what's going on. Then there's one last question for him to answer...

Well... Things on earth had not exactly been all too great before I left. Broken arms had been left for so long that there wasn't any hope of recovering them properly, so they were originally going to be the only thing altered... but I thought that, since they were getting replaced, I might as well go full-body. It felt... better. Dunno how to describe it.

There's a pause, and the somewhat-presence of reminiscence... then, an uncertain Oppy decides to hope that her final question wasn't a rhetorical one.

...I'd quite like that.

Originally posted on 2017-09-11 18:27:00

@Sp33d0n, could you toss me a heal? Violant would be nice.

After being healed by Auth, Toast moves to O10 and uses Blood Molding, summoning an X-Saber at O11. She is then healed by Mabuz, eats a Burrito and summons a Gingerbread Man at P11.

Afterwards, she consumes 80 SP to cast Limit Break as a free action. I suddenly realise that Sunfire/Radiance costs 125 SP, not 220. Toast chooses Rogue as her next special, adding 140 to the 125 SP cap. Her new SP bar should now read 45/265, and possibly be locked due to Massacre, but idk. She also gets a new burrito woot.

Originally posted on 2017-09-11 23:51:00

Mabuz moves to N12. First, he consumes a Burrito.

...

It just works, okay? It's magic. With the Burrito consumed, he casts Grim Bolt on Toast.

Originally posted on 2017-09-12 00:04:00

A long blade stabs out of Dogstal, flickering with a very particular sort of violet energy, then neatly bisects the dog lengthwise. In its place is Crystal, looking none the worse for wear except for being coated in a thin layer of dog fur. Yuerk. He then is suddenly at J12, with Crystem below him at J13. Crystem casts Understanding on temself, healing temself back up to full and applying Blessing and Guardian. Crystal just waits.

Originally posted on 2017-09-12 01:12:00

<TURN TWO-HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-FIVE>
DCCCV decides to go and craft a new piece of armor. He asks Marron for a couple of needles.

tc: ...No.

Welp.

Fortunately, Ette is feeling generous enough to donate a few needles to the cause, ejecting more than enough needles from her body for his use. Fortunately for him, Marron completely misses the destruction of her cloak, and the usage of 11,900 souls plus five pieces of Titanium to create the Needlebound Cloak! It appears to turn you into a glass cannon, with -3 AC and +3 DMG on it, in addition to the +1 AGI and +10% Dodge it had before. Be careful with it! DCCCV then swaps gear... and watches as 15 suddenly vanishes from sight.

Roxxanne then goes on a mad spending spree, purchasing 4 Life Bottles, 4 Blue Sap Jars, 1 Blank, 1 Entropic Interference Detector (tem decided to help you and said that you only needed one), 2 bottles of Awesome Sauce, a KotFT Card Pack, and a Swat Tem. This adds up to 17 Gold and one Temshop Coupon. Despite going slightly overbudget, Tem decides to let you get everything you asked for, anyway. The KotFT cardpack suddenly bursts open, and...

"WHHHAAAAOOOOOHHHH! GOLDEN LEGENDARY!"

You pulled:
-Uther of the Ebon Blade (Golden) (Consumable)
-Bonemare (Consumable)
-Acherus Veteran (Trinket)
-Shadowblade (Weapon)
-Bloodworm (Consumable)

Hezetor then respecs kinda, but not really. Dimitri then sells the Grenade Rifle, the Nemesis, the Justified Horn, the Hydra Mask, the-

"Whoa, whoa, slow down! I can only process so many items at a time..."

"Plus, I'm only willing to take the Nemesis, the Macross, the Fishron Wings, and that knife. For... let's say 6 Gold."

Tem loots the items, paying out 6 Gold in the process. She promptly equips all of them. Temmie is decked out in so many items that you can't even really comprehend it. Chlorin then does a minor statswap, while the Operative talks with Chloe. In his head.

ga: Sure.
ga: I understand completely. Besides, I'm too used to calling you Op, anyway...
ga: Heh...
ga: And sure. We can fuse again... later...

Then their connection severs, due to the breaking apart of their fusion.

<BATTLE: ZETTA, TURN SEVEN>
As the Scale is snapped by usage of a cursed breakfast item, something soars overhead. Millions of individual scales, sweeping and cutting their way through the air, all converging over that rather conveniently placed cliff just north of the Dreamer. They all fly into position; some of them form long and slender but still deadly-looking legs, some of them form a set of six magnificent wings along with a large thorax...

Then, out of the main body, more scales rip outwards. A singular, large eye ball extends out of the body, attached to a single stalk of scales. Then, with a crackling of entropic energy, the body seems to morph from a being made entirely of scales, to an actual butterfly-type creature. A horrifying, eldritch butterfly creature, but still a butterfly nonetheless. The eye, now made of a strange, gel-like substance, stares directly at Chaos, who's standing only a few feet away from the eye. Beside the eye, a < and a > are called into existence, created out of pure energy.

cc: uh
cc: hi
HUSH, MALF<0>RMED. I HAVE BUSINESS T<0> ATTEND T<0>.

The eye shifts its focus to all of you. At the same time. Don't question it. You feel it staring right through you, examining every little detail of your bodies...

DESCENDANTS. <0>UR TIME <0>F ESCAPE HAS C<0>ME.

A leg rises up, and smashes against the Dreamer's shields. It seems to dent slightly, despite being made of energy.

I KN<0>W Y<0>U MAY N<0>T TRUST ME. BUT THAT IS IRRELEVANT. WHAT MATTERS N<0>W IS THAT WE HAVE A C<0>MM<0>N G<0>AL. LEAVING THIS PLACE.

Its wings begin to flap rapidly, a farcry from the gentle hovering it once did. The wings push away so much air that the winds created threaten to knock you over.

Y<0>UR DIRECTIVE IS SIMPLE. ATTACK THE DREAMER'S SHIELDS. FAILURE T<0> C<0>MPLY WILL BE MET WITH IMMEDIATE TERMINATI<0>N.

Another leg smashes into the shielding, bouncing off.

<0>NCE THEY ARE G<0>NE, WE CAN ALL BE SET FREE. THERE IS N<0> NEED T<0> FIGHT. LISTEN T<0> ME.

cc: hol' up jus(t) one se©ond
cc: i'd like (t)o poin(t) ou(t) (t)ha(t) (t)his guy's a bu(t)(t)
cc: and (t)ha(t) i ©an a©(t)ually jus(t) release you guys righ(t) now, given enough (t)ime
cc: le(t)(t)ing (t)his guy ou(t) is probably (t)he single wors(t) idea you ©ould ever have
cc: and man have you had some bad ones before (t)his one
cc: if (t)his is an idea you're having, anyway

D<0> N<0>T LISTEN T<0> HIM. HE HAS BEEN RUINED BY THE B<0>Y'S C<0>DE. HE IS TRYING T<0> DECEIVE Y<0>U. HE WILL INSTEAD CAST Y<0>U FURTHER INT<0> THE MINDSCAPE.

cc: no seriously
cc: here i'll even go and free one of you now to prove s(t)uff

Chaos rubs his face against the shields of the Dreamer, eventually slipping past it with a loud pop. He begins to press a bunch of buttons and suddenly, Chlorin feels a warmness enveloping him... which suddenly fades as a barrage of Crimson Scales slams into the shielding.

cc: hey rude
cc: uh, i'll jus(t) go spawn in some des©endant-y s(t)uff so you ©an mus©le (t)hrough him wi(t)h ©rea(t)ivi(t)y and heaping mounds of bs-

Chaos is interrupted mid button press by another scale ripping itself from the wings and crashing into the shield.

cc: haha, fun
cc: i ©an'(t) do any(t)hing produ©(t)ive if he keeps a(t)(t)a©king the shields
cc: shield hits drain power and s(t)uff (t)ha(t) i'd use to help you
cc: so, uh
cc: yeah you're gonna need (t)o go and kill (t)his guy
cc: jus(t) like slap (t)hose wings and you migh(t) be able (t)o s(t)op him from in(t)erup(t)ing me-

Another scale slams into the shield. They flicker for a moment, before restoring to full power.

ANYWAY. Y<0>U HAVE A DECISI<0>N T<0> MAKE. DESTR<0>Y THE SHIELD AND ESCAPE. <0>R Y<0>U MAY STAND AGAINST ME AND FALL. THE CH<0>ICE IS Y<0>URS. BUT N<0>TE THAT THE <0>NLY TIMELINES IN WHICH Y<0>U LEAVE HAVE Y<0>U DESTR<0>YING THIS SHIELD.

S<0>, D<0>N'T DELAY. LET'S LEAVE T<0>GETHER.

<BATTLE: TURN ZERO>
Well, the Chaos Butterfly has left you with a choice; attack the Dreamer and escape the Mindscape together, or attack him and be cut down. If you do decide to fight the Butterfly, I'd personally focus the scales, then the wings; the scales buff the wings with damage resistance, and the wings need to be killed to actually progress the battle!

Also, killing the wings might allow Chaos to divert a bit of power to spawning those Descendancy Wells! They'll be a great aid in attacking the Butterfly! And once all the wings are down... maybe you'll be able to lay the smack down on the Butterfly!

Originally posted on 2017-09-12 02:24:00

Quickly, before anyone else goes anywhere because I don't see any clusters of peeps for me to heal, Auth goes to J24, firing Violant down, then aims at Toast and hits her with Gant and Violant.

Originally posted on 2017-09-12 03:11:00

I move to H14.

Originally posted on 2017-09-12 04:57:00