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Owner	Pose
Kale Hearthward	PREVIOUSLY: There was a train. It was called the Infinity Train, though it wasn't technically infinite (just arbitrarily long in a way that couldn't be counted). It had some strange people on board, and also people that weren't Petra and Kale. The train picked people up, made them do what one person coined as 'forced puzzle therapy', and only let them go home when it deemed them 'fixed'. The elites put a stop to that, and let everyone off board. Along the way they had to deal with Lance, a powerful being from a place called Wonderworld. Wonderworld was run by Balan, who was busy with a client and had shunted off responsibility for Lance to the train's conductor One-One, and One-One fumbled that because he's One-One. By way of apology, Balan invited everyone to Wonderworld (accessible through the Balan Theater) and gave them a Stage (capitalization intentional and mandatory), which was basically a 'creative mode' playground with some constraints - areas built were in a tripartite of 'courtyard', 'tower', and 'crown'. Then Balan finessed everyone into doing him a favor, which was the real reason he invited everyone here and should be understood to be a bit of a dick move. The favor involved inviting another Wonderworld client to the group's Stage, and then calming them down via percussive therapy. The client, a giant cat with a lightbulb, turned into a giant computer, for reasons that weren't adequately explained. Then the giant computer turned out to have a cat in it, Niko (who claims to not actually be a cat). Niko found a lightbulb which is actually the sun, and then the group found themselves here on this dying world, and Niko given a mission to take the new sun to the tower at the center of the world. Also some other strange stuff happened.
Kale Hearthward	NOW: The method of getting back into the action remains unchanged. Back into the theatre, past the ever-refreshed concession stand, past the hallway with the 'STAFF ONLY' door that nobody's tried to open yet, through the theatre proper and up onto the stage, through the- - Oh. Okay. This is new. There's a pile of stuff on the stage, in front of the door. On closer inspection: it's the supplies that the group had brought with them and left with Niko. The sweater, the art supplies, the food - well, most of the food. The food that got eaten isn't here, but the snacks Niko stashed to save for later are here. ... Continuing on. Through the door into the Stage, and here at the center of the Stage with the giant computer. You still gotta jump from key to key to put in the #join command, that hasn't changed. Everyone who's jumping back in is back at where they logged out - which is to say, the terminal in the Glen ruins, not far from the entrance into the city proper. Niko's here waiting along with Calamus and Alula, chasing after a runaway goat and trying to get it back into its pen. (Niko doesn't have the sweater on.) Coincidentally, going to talk to Niko passes the group by the clearly labeled entrance through the walls to the City - an entrance that is currently overgrown with thick vines. Next to the entrance is a large robot, holding a scroll. "Caution. The route into the City is currently blocked," the robot warns redundantly. "Additionally, you will need to write your name on this scroll in order to proceed. Please have your own pen, pencil, or other writing implement ready." Can you imagine if you didn't have access to a pencil (or the ability to leave and go get one)? What sort of tedious fetch quest and trade chain you'd need to go through to get, say, a feather and a small jar of ink. Fortunately that's not the case here. And yes, Kale still has an eyeliner pencil on him that he'll share if you don't have one.
Futaba Nuki	It's time to head back into the cat computer! Before Futaba does that, though, she notices the pile of stuff on the stage. Whether it's because of mere curiosity, an experimental/any thought occurring, or mere whim, she reaches into her pouch, pulls out a small pipe that looks kind of like what you'd see in a specific genre's quarry, then sets it with the other stuff. "I'm more wonderin' if it'll follow us back in if we put it here." She replies to Ishirou with a curious snicker, then strokes her chin. "We'll find out if it's there when we head back in!" Only then does Futaba finally head to the computer, press all those keys with multiple unnecessary flips, and head right back to where she left! She's prepared to skip the fetch quest for a pencil, too, as her transformation abilities means she gets to just turn her hands into a fancy-looking fountain pen and a jar of ink! The less Futaba and anyone else thinks about what that ink is made of, the better. Probably. She's definitely not thinking about it when she's writing her name on that scroll, at least, although she looks mildly distressed afterwards. Coincidentally, her handwriting is super neat and flowing despite how fast she went, like someone that's used to signing these sorts of things in such a way out of habit. Afterwards, she starts cheering the trio of Niko, Calamus, and Alula on as they chase that goat. She's not going to interrupt them by helping, of course, since solving that is part of the challenge! Instead, she starts looking around to see if any of that stuff that was on stage (or added to it, in her case) actually shows back up anywhere nearby.
Ishirou	"That's... odd.  Why is all of this stuff that was given to Niko out here?  Maybe someone should take it back inside and see what Niko has to say about it?" Ishirou says upon entry and looking around the stage.  "Maybe things of this world are kicked out if we all leave..?  I'm not sure..." It doesn't seem like Niko would just throw all of that away, they seemed happy to get it. Ishirou himself sets up near the keyboard again, but this time waits for people to jump in.  He isn't going to mess with anything right away because there is no need to.  Instead, he speaks up to Niko themself.  "Hey Niko, how are you doing?" When they are having trouble with the goat, Ishirou tries offering some advice to them.  When they get a goat herded though, he cheers for them.  "Nice, the others are coming towards you in a few minutes.  So... why are you herding goats?" he asks Niko curiously.
Hibiki Tachibana	"...The heck? Is this all the stuff people brought for Niko? What's it doing out here?"     What has become a now (mostly) rote re-entrance and return to business (when it's not leading to more forms of drama) has Hibiki joining in on the party of confused individuals wondering what in the world it's doing here and not in there. "I can't imagine Niko would do it on purpose... not that they can even get out here in the first place. If we just bring it back in like before, the same thing'll probably happen... maybe there's something in the commands?"     Unsettled a little bit by the unexpected occurence, she nonetheless pushes on and leaves digging into the code to the ones who have taken on unofficial mission control, logging back in with a few hops into a #join - which'll also serve to confirm that the items really are gone from inside.     Huh. Niko doesn't have the sweater on, no. "You, uh... want help with that goat problem, there...?" She'll roll her sleeves up and lend a hand if they'd like one, although she also adds on off-handedly, "Where'd your sweater from before go? And everything else? You do somethin' with them?"     Regardless, there's also the matter of the guardian robot to deal with, and the request gets her tilting her head. "...You guys keep track of everyone who comes in and out? Just how often do you get anyone coming and going?" Still, idle curosity doesn't stop her from (reluctantly) borrowing Kale's pencil to jot down her name, handwriting not entirely neat but definitely to the point.     Her hands go back into her pockets afterwards, a frown on her face while eying the blocking vines. "...The grove guardian, huh..." She certainly has a lot of her own issues on her mind on a nigh-constant basis, but she can't help but push them aside to recall what Alula and Calamus told them last time.
Arcadia	The pile of stuff is new, and not the best sign. Even Arcadia stops to stare at it for a moment. "Why is all this stuff out here? Should we be conserned?" Because if it's the stuff that was given to Niko, and now it's out here, but Niko doesn't come out of the computer. And then Aidan says it makes sense, which just confuses her farther. ".. How does it make sense?" Ugh now she's getting a headache thinking about it. Moving on. Fortunately yes they can move on despite the pile and onto the Stage and to the computer as usual. Though now there's concerns. Enough that Arcadia decides this a time she should help investigate directly, hovering over the keyboard to hit the proper keys to # J O I N herself. Despite it's dull tone of it's repeating proclimations the robot gets a nod of approval from the sphinx. "A fellow guardian doing it's duty. This I take it is to document those who pass through then?" Signing things is no issue, she can use a claw like a pen nib. Just like you see cats in cartoons always do. Convenient! After which attention turns to what is actually going on with Niko and Co... trying to catch a goat? Or would herd it be more appropriate? Looks like they're trying to get it into a pen regardless. "I'd make a joke about 'get your goat' but it would feel too horned in." Darn sphinxs.
Petra Soroka	Eggpack, concession snacks, EGO gear, armory, mirror, and suffocating discomfort at the prospect of seeing Hibiki Tachibana again today. With all the typical preparations made, Petra politely squeezes past Fragment of the Universe to access the familiar Theatre door that appeared at the opposite end of the Containment Cell from its typical steel door.     The pile of rejected gear makes her pause before entering the Wonderworld, frowning. These were *Angela's* gifts, and the fact that they were, presumably, ejected out by the computer makes her a lot angrier than she expected. An act of kindness, from someone who needs to be able to express those acts of kindness, given to someone who appreciated them, tossed onto the floor like fucking garbage.     "What the *fuck*?" Petra seethes for a minute, then plops the Eggpack onto the ground to start repacking all of the gifts, sweater and lunches (presuming it's not spoiled, if it is, then Petra returns to concessions to grab some hot food in its place), so that it's not just disgraced on the floor. "I'm going to fucking kill Balan. No way." It's probably not even his fault. Petra knows that, and doesn't really care.     "I'm sorry, Angela. We'll keep doing it until it works. It's not just going to be-- to be wasted."     Then, # J O I Ning the computer world. Seeing the kids playing around with the goat immediately lifts her spirits, and she happily catches up to them, letting them run themselves out or voluntarily approach her rather than interrupting their goat quest.     "Hey, Niko, Calamus, Alula! Have you guys been having fun?" Petra pulls the sweater back out, though she lets Angela take it in the Eggpack arms if she'd rather hold it herself. "Did this disappear last time? Did you guys see what happened to it?"     Petra, in her infinite collection of pockets, always has a pencil, though it takes some time digging through paperclips, random knicknacks, and hairbands-- does she even use those?-- before she finds it. The form is signed without reading, because she was told that she had to do it.     Only after doing that does she look up at the robot, confused. "Wait, does signing it get us through? Is it blocked, and *also* we had to sign? What was tthe point of us doing that, if the Grove Guardian is still over there?"
Touta Konoe	The method to return, having to enter the theatre, from the concession stand, and through the path with that one sign, and ultimately to the stage has slowly become familiar enough that arriving at the over-sized computer has been easy enough to not forget at this point. Especially with everything that's built up with it, it'd be hard otherwise. So it's questionable when he also ends up seeing all the gear and snacks that were left on the floor. That alone sort of raises a brow, though hearing Ishirou speak up on it does raise another question he starts thinking about.     "Maybe, definitely sounds like something we should ask doesn't it?"     He's pretty sure that nothing came back with them when they left besides what they brought in, but he could have been wrong. Still, it did raise a question that if there were objects that were returning what was the condition that they were coming back? "Ishirou, think it might be worth it to look at the code later? Might tell you if there's like a timer for things to come back, or if something's scanning for foreign objects right? You should be able to do that without actually changing any code, right?"     Touta's not a coder by any capacity, most of his tech knowledge comes second hand at best from an old engineering buddy. But he's pretty sure that what he said at least made sense. He's just not sure if it's viable or not. Regardless, he's just wanting to hear Ishirou's opinion on it, trusting it one way or the other as he starts looking through the snacks. Checking any expiration dates while listening to Futaba as she thinks up her own theory.     "Well, guess we can find that out either way."     He won't be taking everything that was there, but he does try to bring back a few of the snacks that are left. At least enough for a small snack for the cat known as Niko. Apparently him and Petra have the same idea on that. If that being the case simply taking up what she's not able to carry over on her own, and wasn't spoiled. From there he's just beginning to do the electric-#-J-O-I-N-Boogaloo.     Touta gets to realize quickly that returning doesn't bring them back to their original starting point, but the one near the ruins. Definitely something that's convenient. Especially considering it brings them all so close to Niko and the rest. Though it seems they definitely are busy with an adventure of their own. So he doesn't immediately rush to them. He imagines that they're pretty busy.     What isn't convenient is finding out from the golem that they need to place their names upon this scroll before being able to pass, and well...The options aren't exactly the usual choices when he sees the one from Kale and Futaba alike. For a moment he looks like he's about to grab the eye-liner pencil till all of a sudden he notices another presence and realizes something. A potential third option as it was.     "Oh, Hibiki, yo! Just wondering, you still have that pen I gave you a while back?"     He catches her just as she starts using something else which might imply 'no', but well...It's worth a shot.     Once finished there he'd be joining up with Niko and the group once they made their way to Petra.     "Hey, don't mind me just wanted to finish bringing the rest of these for you guys. If you want later, I can try helping you put them away somewhere safer if you need it?"     Admittedly, he's not sure what would be safer for this, but he offers all the same. He also lingers there wanting to hear what they have to say on the de-virtualized items too. It's just...As he does all this, his gaze does end up lingering on the Eggpack. There's a brief look (at least for Touta), but unlike last time, at least there's a smaller smile with the light nod that comes this time.
Aidan Proudpick	"Cha⦠Like⦠chat." Aidan flips the card over, smiling in a bit of self praise. Having to memorize the various buttons on his keyboard has helped somewhat. Extensive use of his tablet a little bit more. It's still not easy. Kids make it look so easy! Sitting in a security kiosk of a Multiversal Mall is not his favorite way to spend the day. It has ups and downs. He gets to see what people wear, the various people of the multiverse. What people buy, how people talk. On the other side, he sees more popular Paladins on the occasional sign, the reference to a Concord member in passing conversation. A spike of jealousy. Aidan tries to keep upbeat. People asking him for help, even finding something, asking where something is, helping find a lost child, makes it worth it. He feels needed on a day to day basis. It keeps him coming back. And the pay isn't too bad, since the threat of Elites keep most other elites from trying anything dumb. Thankfully, the doors appear, the mid afternoon is always quiet. Aidan quick changes into his armor in the locker room, picking up his shield and gun from lock up, and bolts into the Stage for salvation. He stops, one hand with a large box of nuts and dried fruit blinking at the items. "Oh! Nothing stays. That makes⦠sense." Aidan leaps up to the keyboard, quickly typing # J O I N so he's not left outside this time, bringing his pack of adventuring gear with him. "Hello, Niko! I haven't seen you directly in a while! I've been hovering outside mostly."
Angela	Puzzles can be therapeutic, Angela'd agree. She has little reason to leave her little Office outside of Script Actions that she has fewer and fewer to indulge in the farther the Manager--and the Multiverse--accomplish. She doesn't have to torment Sephirah who have already fulfilled their purpose and, because tormenting Sephirah is a hassle, she elects not to do it. She is confident she can avoid calling NIko a cat now that Niko has informed everyone they are not a cat. She takes a long look at the snacks that have just been...dumped out back outside of the World Machine. Angela frowns. She didn't bring MORE art supplies because she didn't think such things would be that neccessary after giving them once. She stares for a long moment as if to try and come up to an answer as to why these items burpd back into the Theater. Has NIko found a way to make those items #leave? Perhaps as part of a puzzle? Is it someting else? She sighs. Petra knows why this bothers her. But she doesn't dwell on it too long. "Petra, perhaps they were rejected by the machine. There was some indication there may be something wrong with the World itself. We should inquire more from within." She naturally ends up going along with her when she pops in herself "We found some items on the outside that we had left inside. There may be a clue in it." Angela tells Niko as her eyes settle on their-- --lack of sweater. But to be fair you don't want to wear a sweater while chasing after goats. "Is your sweater still here?" She asks, as since it wasn't on the Outside--this may be another clue!
Kale Hearthward	> "So... why are you herding goats?" "Because they need to be herded?" is the best answer Niko can come up with. The kids manage to get a goat back into the pen. MANDATORY LISTENING: https://nightmargin.bandcamp.com/track/ram Niko's not wearing the sweater, and none of the kids have any of the snacks that got left behind last time. The pipe doesn't magically appear either. When asked: "It just sort of disappeared a bit after you left last time." > "Wait, does signing it get us through? Is it blocked, and *also* we had to sign? What was tthe point of us doing that, if the Grove Guardian is still over there?" "I am not sure," says the scroll-holding robot. "I believe you are jumping the gun a bit. I do not mind. Though you will have to sign again when you are ready to go through." "Right. Let's go and have a nice pleasant talk with the grove guardian," says Kale. "Get her- them- er... no wait, it *was* 'her'... right?" He looks over at Alula and Calamus. "She/Her," supplies Calamus. "Right. Get her to pull the vines back. It's in the interest of saving the world, right?" The group gets directions to the Grove Guardian... deep within another set of ruins. The way gets hard to get through very quickly - at first it's a mazelike path that's hard to follow, even with directions - but soon enough the overgrowth becomes apparent here too... ... the pathways choked with vines and thorns, noxious weed-flowers, and generally hazardous to simply even traverse!
Ishirou	During all of this, Ishirou sighs.  "Yeah, not while people are in there... and I am reluctant to do so while Miko is in there.  It will be dangerous to them potentially," He responds to Touta.  "If things we give her are ejected that is the least terrible thing to happen... I think at least." Though he does look to Angela at this.  It does suck to not have a gift be able to be accepted. Eventually, after talking with Niko through the computer, and seeing the vine problem, he decides to join in today.  After typing JOIN, he catches up with people by meeting them on the way back through the ruins from where the computer terminal is.   Then the way gets dangerous, with various dangerous flora getting in their way, dangerous traps, and vines to make things deadlier for the group.  That's not good!  Especially for Niko.  "I think you should stay behind us Niko, alright?"  With that, he stands up straight and summons his RESCUE armor, a black armored-looking suit that covers him from head to toe.   POD still hovers nearby, as Aidan seems to have a plan.  Nodding to him, he scans ahead, trying to find all of the dangerous plants, and trying to coordinate with Aidan about where to best put his wind corridors to better make a way deeper towards their goal.  For Aidan, it'll be magical pointing and words that he might not be able to read, but he'll be able to get the jest of 'make it stronger here.
Aidan Proudpick	"Hold on, is that eyeliner?" Aidan mutters to himself. Is THAT how he gets those eyes? He looks a little dejected that he didn't get to do the goat puzzle, but it does put a smile on his face. Much like the Pokemon world, there's a certain feeling here. It's not that the stakes don't feel high, he just... he just isn't constantly putting life and limb at risk. Aidan has his survival goodies. And like last time he was heading into the library. He pulls out CHALK. He is less smug about it this time, since last time, no one really seemed to care. Instead, he makes markings as they go along the maze, arrows and Xs if they need to head back through it. "Aren't we just going to talk? It doesn't really seem right to HURT anything here?" That thought is immediately put to the test by spikes and vines. Toxic pollen roils in the air, making Aidan cough. But at the first sign of cough, he snaps back like he had been burned, eyes wide. "Yea, hold on. I can help with this part. Thanks, Ishirou!" Aidan breathes out deliberately. He isn't any better with wind magic, but he's trying to gesture more. It looks more like a stage magician doing magic than ever as he flattens his hands out to either side, forming two barriers of wind right where Ishirou's orders are.. Then, with a mighty puff of cheeks, he blows out a puff of air that turns into a gale force wind, blowing the pollen down the corridor.
Arcadia	So stuff they bring into this world is ejected when they leave. That... doesn't make a lot of sense but it at least explains what happened. Plus they got the goat penned back up. So we can put a pin in that concern for the time being and move on. Arcadia is afraid of no maze!... but it is good that they have directions, because that means she doesn't have to use her speed to rush ahead and just try every possible path to find the right one which even with her speed could take an awkward amount of time. That said she's hardly taking it slow either. Because that's just not her way. Which is what eventually tangles her up in a bit of a mess. Arcadia rounds a corner, rounds another corner.. and right into the overgrown mass of thorny vines and toxic flowers. She hits the proverbial brakes, air-skidding to avoid plunging directly into the brambles. But she doesn't pull away fast enough to avoid getting scuffed up a bit by the sharp parts of the entangled mass. "Uuuugh. I hate when things force me to slow down. Let's clear this out quickly!" She does give Ishirou and Aidan a moment to set up their tandam, using wind to blow back the poisonous pollen. Then she steps up and opens her mouth, drawing on that feline side of her being to unleash a mighty roar! That happens to coincide with using her own inherent magic to unleash something akin to a fire breath attack from her open mouth as well to blast down the pathway and burn away more of the overgrowth.
Futaba Nuki	'It just sort of disappeared a bit after you left last time.' "Darn. Eh, I'll grab my stuff on the way back, then. And then I can hand it over next time!" Futaba explains without explaining anything about what she actually brought, just chuckling instead at the end of the goat herding minigame and stretching her arms out behind her head to limber back up. She doesn't seem too worried about the whole signature matter nor anything else for that matter, just content to go along with the flow instead. 'I am not sure,' 'I believe you are jumping the gun a bit. I do not mind. Though you will have to sign again when you are ready to go through.' "Must be part of the process, then. It'll be fine!" Futaba chimes in to try and reassure Hibiki and Petra with a louder laugh, pausing again once she considers how weird it might sound to just sign something like that so easily. Having to sign it again later also gives her just a bit of a reason to pause, but not enough to actually have her stop where she is. It's easier to walk and think, anyway. "How'd you all learn to sign your names the way you do, anyway?" She asks with another curious glance at Niko and Angela in particular. She learned from her family, and she can guess that almost everyone else learned from school or their parents, but she's not sure about either of them in particular. Plus, having something to talk about will distract Futaba a little from those thorns and vines jabbing into her as she waltzes right into them. Without missing a beat, her skin hardens, then pushes outwards as she transforms a chunk of herself into a forward-moving snowplow-like shape to just start shoving right through those plants like she totally planned on doing that the whole time. She didn't, but she needs to show Niko that she can be reliable even with a bit of poison pumping into her from those weeds.
Petra Soroka	"Hey, don't mind me just wanted to finish bringing the rest of these for you guys. If you want later, I can try helping you put them away somewhere safer if you need it?"     Petra turns to Touta, her expression visibly flickering from being softly relaxed around children and Angela to dully hostile apprehension at whatever he's about to say. She just shrugs, sliding the pencil back into her pocket, her gaze turning away from him immediately after processing his words.     "It's not like we don't have a fucking closet to put it in, dude. What do you even mean by 'safer'? This shit isn't getting raided by fucking thieves or anything. I don't even think you have any idea what the problem here is, or why this sucks, you just want to have some cool trick that solves the problem without thinking too hard so you can get credit for that instead of trying out having empathy." "It just sort of disappeared a bit after you left last time."     That makes Petra frown again. She'd almost want to ask Ishirou to tweak the game files to prevent it, but... she's not going to trust him with that for two reasons. Altering the computer with the kids inside of it-- her mental perception smoothly shifted from 'who cares about this world, I just want to get Niko out' to 'who cares about this world, I just want to get these kids out' without her noticing-- is a danger to both safety and privacy, of course, but also, no matter what form it takes, she doesn't want to leave helping one of the girls in Ishirou's hands. He'd fuck it up somehow, it's just what he does.     She can do it all herself. "Well, let me know if you want snacks or anything, okay? I'll stay with you to give you time to finish them, if you're hungry later." "It's in the interest of saving the world, right?"     Directions to the Grove Guardian... which Petra promptly forgets, due to the slippery way most people's words fall out of her mind. Thankfully, Angela can never forget, so Petra relies on her to lead her towards the destination, through all the horrible plants.     "This *sucks*! I'm glad I'm wearing long pants, ugh." She says, having never been seen in shorts. Stomping her way through vines and roots, with the occasional puff of stinging pollen or itching chemicals, gets on her nerves pretty quickly, even though it's only a mild annoyance. "What is it they use in Indiana Jones? A machete, right?"     Petra stops for a minute to retrieve the Silver FullBottle, popping open the cap with a click and a pressure-hiss. A partial-blob, less than half the full mass of the morphmetal, floats out, and then stretches and flattens into a chunky blade in the same moment that Petra wraps her hand around the newly-formed hilt.     "Yeah, there we go. That looks right." Hacking her way through the plantlife still isn't *easy*, exactly; it's slow going, and still along the ground with the densest clusters of plants, even if Aidan soothes the pollen. Still, though, she seems to enjoy herself a lot more, now that she's not just stumbling her way through. It's the *aesthetic* of being an explorer, mimicking the tools and tropes she's familiar with, that boosts her mood up, as she cuts her way through more stubborn vines and ducks and clambers through others, propping open gaps and holding back branches so that Niko can pass through after her.
Hibiki Tachibana	Oh, Hibiki, yo! Just wondering, you still have that pen I gave you a while back?     "Huh? Oh, yeah. It's not like I gave it back to you yet, did I? Why?" Hibiki glances to Touta after signing off, seeming confused... and having it click a moment later. "...Oh, right. Isn't that supposed to be a super special pen? I couldn't just use it to write on any old paper..."     Given what he intended for it to be used for... that'd feel a little wrong, even if it /could/ be used as you would a normal pencil.     And while she speaks, she side-eyes Petra going through the motions of putting down her own signature. Her mouth opens as if to say something-- but words don't manage to make it out, at least before the gate guard replies that they'll need to do this /again/, and she heaves out a shoulder-sagging sigh. "Couldn't you a have mentioned that before we went through the trouble? Come on."     No choice but to go onwards, to go ruin-diving again. As they do, Hibiki makes an aside towards Niko. "Sort of disappeared...? ...We'll have to find a way to fix that, after we deal with the grove guardian. She'll be counting on us... you." There's a shift of her eyes towards the lightbulb (it is the sun). A moment of silence passes. "So let's get there safe."     Of course it won't be that easy. And it won't just be vines to worry about either. Hibiki inhales deeply, fishing out the crimson pendnant beneath her collar. "Balwisyall nescell Gungnir tron..." A flash of gold and a budget-friendly offscreen transformation later, she's stepping forward and tugging her Symphogear's scarf up to protect against the stinging toxins in the air.     Mazes, she's not very good with. Obstacles are another story. She's not especially fond of harming the plantlife more than necessary, in case it feeds back to the guardian somehow-- but they're not going to get anywhere unless they make a path one way or another, and she's not opposed to simply gripping onto thickets and /wrenching/ them apart through brute force to make openings.     It's not especially intentional she's basically working alongside Petra in this case, doing her weed-pulling bare-handed.
Angela	Angela doesn't have strong thoughts about Eyeliner. She was built to be hot and she knows it. She doesn't actually feel great about it, exactly. She does frown that Niko's sweater wasn't something that he could keep. She worked on that sweater. She doesn't have any other friends Niko's size who can wear a sweater. She doesn't even KNOW any children, really, unless you count the Tiphereths who aren't really children. And a sweater wouldn't fit them either. Her head hangs for a moment. "...I apologize, we had no idea it would vanish like that." Angela doesn't particularly care for this world either, she just wants to get the kids out too. But she wonders how NIko will feel about it. They seem sweet and ill inclined to be the type to just abandon a dying world. ... But if there is no saving it, then what? Niko has seen those messages to, haven't they? She says, "Mm, yes, we can at least still give you snacks, but you'll have to eat them quickly, it seems. Long term storage is just not going to be possible for the time being." Maybe that's one of the reasons why there's no saving it. Angela can utilize her mechanical limbs occassionally to tear away at vines, carefully supporting Petra's own push forward. Angela CAN'T forget but that does not mean she is always paying attention. This time, however, she is and occassionally pipes in with an update to the directions they are supposed to go on rathe than say it all at once and expect everybody to know it. She considers Touta for a moment occassionally but doesn't speak up. She just looks at him. But not that often--she has to pay attention to where they are going in case they have to go back.
Touta Konoe	There's a small hum like Touta was wondering if there was a safe way to implement those checks. Though after the sigh, Touta does end up nodding.     "Got it, better to play it safe on this one if we're not completely sure."     It's not much that happens from that time up to the point Hibiki brings up the pen, and its use. He starts waving it off.     "No need to give it back. It was for you to use. Besides, it's not like you can't use it normally still. Not like it's some legendary item or anything. Honestly, just use it how you think is best."     The fact she has kept it secured like that though does give a bit of a smile, which does ultimately fade a tad as the next conversation happens. If it could even be called that?     "It's not like we don't have a fucking closet to put it in, dude. What do you even mean by 'safer'? This shit isn't getting raided by fucking thieves or anything. I don't even think you have any idea what the problem here is, or why this sucks, you just want to have some cool trick that solves the problem without thinking too hard so you can get credit for that instead of trying out having empathy."     He knows that a better hiding spot isn't a solution, and he imagines that it's better to tell the kids than just outright, 'We don't know why it doesn't stay.' It was something he's all but ready to tell her till she all but up and turns her head away from him. It just ends up having him looking at Angela again. Seeing her reminding him of a certain request. Admittedly giving a look that's hard to gauge. Ultimately there's a small inhale he takes before stepping past the two for the kids. If she was going to look him in the eyes, that was fine by him. Instead he just focuses back on the kid regardless. "Either way, still want to make sure you guys got these. If you want, I can hold them or give them to Petra if she's gonna stay with you afterwards, I can leave it with her or you guys if you want. Whatever works best."     He'd just let the kids decide how they want the snacks distributed before they begin going through the maze path. Being one of the more durable ones, Touta's opted to head in case there was something that was to happen. Though, with Ishirou and Aidan's solution it seems that a good majority of these vines are already being well handled. That said, some of that noxious weed-flowers, and a bit more of the lingering pollen did catch him at first. Something that even with healing takes a moment till he gets some of it out of his system. Ultimately joining in hacking away at the vines and thorns with his own blade as the party continues on.     "Ugh...Okay, not fun..."
Kale Hearthward	Touta distributes snacks. "Hey, thanks!" "Thanks." Niko takes theirs to go. "I should tag along... that way I can show that yes this is the sun and not a prank," they say, holding up the lightbulb Ishirou scans ahead, finding the most dangerous clusters. The area is saturated enough that avoiding them all is going to be hard, but the party is going into the danger more informed now. Likewise Aidan can isolate the pathway, helping give a bit better air quality. "I could have done that," says Kale, who then is kept busy trying to keep Arcadia from setting the entire place on fire. > "How'd you all learn to sign your names the way you do?" "There was a schoolhouse at home," says Niko, in a way that suggests it's a 'one room where every grade level is taught simultaneously' sort of schoolhouse. Niko follows along behind Futaba as she mows down plants. Petra carves a path. The machete does seem pretty effective. She can anticipate having to outrun a boulder next, right? "Hmm... if things were just being ejected from the computer, wouldn't they be just outside the computer, not outside the Stage altogether?" wonders Kale. "I kind of feel like there's something else going on besides just the computer thing." Further in - and reaching a large room that has to be the Grove. It's all overgrown. The vines are thicker here, the blossoms are bigger... ... But - while the growth is larger and the danger is enhanced, it all doesn't look any more healthy here. There's no vitality. And in the center... https://i.ibb.co/HqKPf4z/Maize-bio.png That has to be her. She's curled up, knees tucked to her chest, and appears to be in a deep sleep. Getting her attention, whether violently or not, turns out to be a challenge. And all the while the plants of the grove assault the group, now more actively than before...
Ishirou	Rocks fall, but this time Ishirou is ready.  He jumps towards the center and then corrects his movement to jump back and away from the center.  The force of the boulders hitting each other and the shrapnel still gets him, but he's /far/ from hurting from that thanks to his quick movements.  These plants are still a problem, and dangerous to everyone, especially the children. "POD, Marker Laser!" he calls out, as POD opens up its box-like configuration into a T-shape.  Shiny bits are now visible, as his scanners look for the most dangerous parts of this garden.  He aims for the largest plants, the more aggressive vines, and the highest concentration of pollen that is deadly to them.   Then to both Hibiki and Petra, he starts marking them with laser blasts.  They leave a lingering trace, making their weapons and shots more accurate based on purely being able to cut through any defenses the plants might try and put up.  This can't go on forever, but hopefully, they can keep the damage to a minimum... Because Ishirou assumes, and will confirm with scanning, that these plants are somehow connected to this woman who is appearing to be asleep.  No doubt without the sun this is a futile attempt to prevent death, but... They have to be alive too!
Arcadia	Maybe that was overdoing it just a tad. But you'd be hard pressed to convince Arcadia as much, all that matters is they make progress towards their objective and another step closer in securing the means to preserve this failing world. "It doesn't make sense it was outside the door, no. But right now we've got bigger matters to tend with." Overall the task is done, and the group makes their way into the primary point of the maze. The lady cloistered away in it is presumably the one they're looking for. Unfortunately, the local flora isn't taking kindly to their presence. It lashes out in aggitation, but now that there is more room to maneuver Arcadia does just that, zigging and zagging about to avoid the lashing vines and thorns. The plumes of poisonous spores and fumes are bit harder to entirely avoid, but have less of an effect than getting struck directly would. Fine, fine, no more fire. Arcadia gets the hint. She spins away from a vine leaving it to slap upon the ground, and pulls up for a better vantage point. She spreads her wings and deploys her bits into a wide spread formation, then pulls her wings forward to her sides. The magitech phylons spread at angles and open the emitters in their tips. A faint hum can be heard as they fire their astral lasers. As do the bits. Lasers at different angles and bisecting paths, aimed to avoid the target lady and other members of the group, but cut through as much of the botanical warfare as possible with the gridwork of beams it creates.
Aidan Proudpick	That does get a smug grin from Aidan. Then a frown as Kale exposits. "Wait. The text that I got. It was from outside the computer, on my tablet. Is someone else typing on the computer?" THAT thought is terrifying. "We need to start watching the computer every day!" Aidan gives a nod towards Petra as her morph metal SAVAGES through the plants. Aidan does try to give her a minimal amount of respect for two reasons. One, she is still a person. Two, he REALLY doesn't want her to try and kill him, because it would not go well for the squirrel. Then again, Hibiki is just GRABBING them. Ripping them clear with a moderate ease. Once again, as the pollen floats in, AIdan quickly makes a wall of air in front of his mouth, filtering things before they can get him coughing again. ANd giving him time to focus on the area in front of them. She's asleep. "I don't think she's controlling anything. She looks asleep." But those vines are very REAL. And as they lash out at Aidan, he struggles to put his shield up in time, bashing it down just in time to keep it from breaking him completely in half. He groans, feeling the exhaustion, torn muscles pushing him down towards his knees, the flare of pain in his elbow and biceps. "She's asleep. Don't attack her!" He calls out, desperate for people, most of who have no real reason to follow him, to not engage in full on VIOLENCE. Then, after a moment, he realizes he can do that himself. Aidan takes down the two barriers behind them. And with a sudden lash out, he throws barriers ahead, wind solidifing into a translucent moving barrier, both to force the vines back, and to block that humanoid form!
Futaba Nuki	The light from 'sun' is a welcome sight in that forest, even when it's coming from behind Futaba. It (along with their reply) reminds her that Niko is indeed nearby, and it gives Futaba more reasons to keep up that brave front for the mysterious cat child. "Yeah? Wonder what that's like... All I've heard about school is from stuff on TV and the internet. Can't imagine living in a house that's also your school." She continues with the small talk for a while longer, slowing down a bit to adjust her pathing so she can help widen the way forward alongside Hibiki, Petra, and Angela. She can breathe easier, too, with Aidan and Ishirou guiding the way while Kale keeps Arcadia's fire out of her face. "I'm still not sure how all that stage and computer business work, honestly. But if it ended up outside the computer, then that'd mean it could reach even further, right? Maybe the range is.. Uh. In a box before getting out of there." She suggests, sounding confused even while saying that. Futaba's going to need to mull on that more later, though, as she sees a mysterious sleeping figure up ahead! "Same plan as before?" Futaba asks even as she's already continuing onwards, transforming her arms again into a single massive wedge instead of trying to bunch all the plants up. This time, she just needs to push through to the sleeping lady. She does pause, however, to glance back at Niko with the same confident grin even as all those plants slice and smack at her shield-like arms. She can feels some of their poison seeping in, but Futaba puts on a brave face of ignoring the lot of it just to make sure that they don't get too worried about her. "Ready, Niko? I think this lady's gonna need a bit of sunlight to wake up!" And then she starts moving again, widening her stance to take up as much room as she can without actually growing. Niko still needs to be aware of the danger and move carefully, of course, but that doesn't mean Futaba can't make a show of creating a path so they can approach with confidence.
Petra Soroka	She can anticipate having to outrun a boulder next, right?     Petra is absolutely delighted to have the opportunity to outrun a boulder next. When her war on vegetation brings her to an inclined section of the maze, she even instinctively looks to the upper side to check for one, because she's practically *hoping* for it.     While running down the slope and slicing through vines that threaten to trip her, Petra's rambling to Angela starts sounding a bit like Tennant. "It's, like, a classic, right? You go into a temple in the jungle, that you uncover by cutting through all the vines and overgrowth and everything, and inside, there's all these-- all these low-tech, like, natural sort of, traps, to defend it. You know? So the boulder, it's obvious, you see it in the movies, because it basically turns *itself* into a defense mechanism, just because of gravity, without-- augh!"     The downside, to Petra attempting to outrun a boulder, is that she can't. She's just not fast enough, and untransformed, she's not strong enough to force her through the minor impediments slowing her down. Sound of a Star would keep her alive and conscious, at least, if she got hit, but she'll have to body block the Eggpack to make sure *it* doesn't get broken, and it's an incredibly uncomfortable prospect for Petra that becomes increasingly unavoidable every second that passes.     She turns around and braces herself, wincing with her eyes screwed shut as the boulder gets closer, until a massive boom jars her out of it. Tentatively cracking her eyes back open, she sees Hibiki, who'd been running besides her, just having punched the rock to smithereens before it would hit Petra. The rigidity of the escape and imminent impact drains out of her with a huff, and she turns away to continue down the slope.     "... I would've been alright, you know." Said in the same tone that she'd insisted that she'd be fine if Grier came after her, because she has her friends at her back, right before Angela revealed she had never heard of the threat before. She doesn't follow up with any thanks, and doesn't even look at Hibiki, instead choosing to conspicuously focus all her attention on getting through the plantlife, but the other girl's presence is a flashing alert at the edge of her vision now. "Hmm... if things were just being ejected from the computer, wouldn't they be just outside the computer, not outside the Stage altogether?"     "Yeah. It's totally Balan's fault." Petra provides no evidence for this. That has to be her.     "-- Oh! I thought-- I was imagining..." Petra blinks in surprise at the Grove Guardian, momentarily stalled. Angela is reminded of the fact that Petra had shown an article about some sort of nature goddess, when scrolling through the Wiki to explain her connection to it. "I thought she'd just be a monster or something."
Petra Soroka	Finishing with an "I guess we have to talk to her, then," Petra sees the encroaching plants, glances at Angela's Extendo-Arms to either side of her, and gets a bright idea. Pulling her compact mirror out of her pocket, Petra flips it open and presses her palm to the surface, pulling away and expecting to close her hand around something other than what she gets. Instead of an oversized gunblade, what's wrapped up in Petra's hand is another hand, quickly followed by a head with blonde hair with metallic purple streaks. "Heyyy, Bikki! That was re~ally cool earlie--"     "Shut up! Shut *up*! You obsessive little *freak*!" Petra slams her hand against the mirror to shove Qetra back in, hard enough that she accidentally loses her grip on the compact and drops it on the ground, with Qetra's head still poking out. Planting her boot onto her reflection's head to stomp her down and out of sight, Petra keeps shouting at her, red-faced from embarrassment and snapping after however many weeks and weeks of this exact same dynamic. "*Why* are you *like* this?! Meeting up with her in secret, fucking gushing about her all the time, chasing after her like-- like fucking *Remee* did with me-- she doesn't even *like* you! She's not our friend! Leave her *alone* and stop *embarrassing* me when you have my *face*!"     Petra exhales heavily, boot finally connecting with the ground with Qetra gone, and brushes back a strand of hair that had stuck to her sweaty forehead. As casually as she can, she bends over, picks up the mirror, and pulls the gunblade out of it.     "Here." Offered to Angela, to hold in her Eggpack arms. "If you don't mind. It's my old gunblade."
Touta Konoe	That genuine smile returns seeing the kids get their snack back. It's rejuvenating to say the least to hear them seem genuinely happy to get their stuff back. Though he's sure before even Petra says anything...     "If you need to thank someone, definitely thank Petra and Angela first. They're the ones that brought these originally. I'm just being the delivery person this time."     Traversing the path certainly does become easier as the group keeps going. At this point, Touta's clearing his throat before hearing Kale's thoughts regarding the returning the snacks.     "I mean, maybe? But, why would it just be moving it from the computer to the stadium instead? Doesn't make sense to try and steal it from the world and just leave it on the floor of the stadium instead. Who knows, maybe instead of the snacks having poofed from here after a while, someone took them and--"     Touta's words trail off for a moment as he starts having a random thought come to mind. Though rather than getting to linger on the thought is when the group finds the large room. The whole place appeared as though it'd been completely overrun by plant-life.     "Like a self-contained forest or something."     It's here that they find the slumbering woman, and some talk about whether she controls the plants or not.     "For all we know, they might just be trying to keep anyone from getting to her while she's out of it..."     That'd be his guess at least. Still, it wasn't a prime time for guesses one way or the other. The vines don't really seem exactly keen on letting them come to their own conclusions on the matter and so the group is doing their best to deal with the grove assault.     In Touta's case, he finds himself attempting to cut through fines as they come. Less of a focus on protecting himself than making sure that no stray vines end up reaching for Niko. Either having to cleave his way through with his blade, or using his body as a shield as the vines come down in droves. It does lead to him receiving a few lashes as some whip, and even a few gashes as thorns pierce him. But it's apparent from the steam coming from his wounds as they start closing up so quickly that he should be fine enough. Though hearing Futaba's remarks to Niko, he turns to them as well with a nod.     "If you're going to try and get that light to her, go for it. Just make sure you're behind one of us, okay? And if it looks like we're in trouble, you run back."     With that said, he side-eyes to Futaba. "I'll step in first, you make sure to cover what follows?"     He speaks as if that might seem to be the gameplan as she widens her stance. One way or the other, Touta does end up stepping up in front of Futaba, trying to act as a vanguard to help clear the path for her to safely traverse with Niko behind her. His blade is simply cutting through a majority of what vines are coming through first, but when it becomes more droves upon droves of them, Touta bites into his thumb a moment as blood spills as just a droplet before turning into a black mud-like water that expands till it's near the size of a large wave, the force of it crashing into some of these vines as they come and just bulldozing them off the path that Niko's trying to reach the slumbering woman.
Angela	Angela glances over to Niko and nods to them. Not a prank. She isn't really sure what to say for a long moment. She isn't feeling too chatty. Her mood has fallen consierably. Physical challenges aren't something she particularly has to fret about--at least until a boulder nearly runs he over. She grimaces--but Petra protects her from getting SQUISHED. "Are you alright?" She asks PEtra--and frankly also Hibiki, her gaze swiveling between them. ''I would've been alright, you know,'' "Ah, that is true." Angela agrees that Petra probably can handle these things for herself. She doesn't even really think about if that's actually true because she just ha that much trust in her. ''Yeah It's totally Balan's fault.'' Angela wonders if that's true. Or partially true. Petra pulls a gunblade out of a mirror. Angela is always a little weird about mirrors--but she's had time to grow accustomed to Qetra. She hasn't had time to grow accustomed to holding a Gunblade. "Ah, I don't mind." Angela says. "I have no experience with swordsmanship, though, do you have any advice in how to wield it?--" She tries to awkwardly help with cleaving vines, though she's nowhere near as proficient as Petra is in wielding it. She doesn't UN-contribute however. "Is there a particular method that is ideal for utilizing the 'gun' component? I suppose it would be a waste of ammunition no--" BGM INTERRUPT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FempfCbpkAA&ab_channel=DoctorKonrad "Shit--" Angela spins her attention away from the situation. "Take down the Silent Orchestra before we lose the whole day's energy! Manager, send OHNO and Sal there, if you please!"
Hibiki Tachibana	"...I wonder," is Hibiki's dour response back to Petra even as the other girl is moving again, after flicking her wrist a few times from residual soreness invoked from punching a fucking boulder. "If that's really how you feel. ...Well, whatever." She's not interested in pressing the point too much right now, but the similarity in tone didn't exactly escape her either.     She pushes onwards, fist at her side, and conspicuously doesn't look back at Petra herself while they forge a path onward to their goal.     ...     "That's her...?" 'Not doing well' certainly seems to be the case. Hibernating, maybe...? Do plants do that? Plant people? She's pretty sure some of them do things like curl up for the winter. Whatever the case is, there's no doubt that she's in a bad way. As far as she can tell, this overgrowth might not even be under her control at all...     "And if we want to talk to her... we'll need to wake her up first," Hibiki murmurs after Petra's own comment, before glancing to Niko. "That probably means we'll be relying on you to help wake her up. Sunlight is what she needs, right? So..." It's difficult to tell if that's one of her usual trailing off moments, or if it's a certain reflection suddenly speaking up that gets her to do so.     And Petra's own outburst, that gets her to blink several times in quick succession. Her mouth, for the second time today, hangs open like she has something to say but can't find the words.     This, conveniently, leaves her wide open to get belted by angry plantlife and thrown a dozen meters across the room.     "Ugh-- why the hell is it /always/ like this...!? I'm /seriously/ hitting my limit with it already!" What exactly she's talking about isn't really obvious, although it's clearly not something she's particularly happy about - given the way she immediately pulls back a piston on one of her gauntlets and belts it into a surge of aggressive plantlife to completely blast it apart with a kinetic shockwave.     Well, deafening combat-booms and a lot of shouting tend to be pretty good for helping wake up sleeping beauties, too.
Kale Hearthward	The group carves a path, and manages to get to the guardian, employing a wide variety of means to get her to wake up. "Wh... what?" The guardian wakens. Her attention is drawn towards the group. "Um - hi! I need to get into the city, to install the new sun?" says Niko, holding up the lightbulb. "Also - your name is Maize, right? Calamus was telling me..." Maize focuses on Niko - mostly focuses. She looks not well, and that's an understatement. "... Oh. The... Savior." "Y-yes, I am. Or so everyone keeps telling me... but the way is blocked by the vines. Could you, uh... do something about them?" "... I'll remove them." She looks around, as if taking in this room for the first time. "Things have been hard to control, since... the sun went out." There's some time for the group to ask Maize questions, if they desire. But after a bit of time... "I should... deal with the dangerous plants here too." Maize focuses, putting both hands on the ground - or, rather, into the ground - and the thorny vines and pollen-spewing weeds start retracting into the ground. "They're kind of pretty, though - ow!" Niko has wandered too close, and gets cut on the arm by a thorn. It's not a bad cut, thankfully. "... Be careful-" Maize starts to say, but gets interrupted by everyone's cell phones (tablets, radios, LCorp pagers, etc) going off.
Kale Hearthward	what did you do. NIKO IS HURT. WHAT DID YOU DO. WHAT DID YOU DO. WHAT DID YOU DO WHAT DID YOU DO WHAT DID YOU DO WHAT DID Y If anyone's happened to open the stop.txt file on the computer before now, the address the text comes from is the same. Replying to it gives an 'address not found' error. "Why's everyone beeping?" says Niko as they examine their minor injury. A few more moments pass, and then there's a horrendous noise. It's one the group has heard before. Glitchy squares start appearing in the chamber. "Oh no... at least that one is out of the way, though-" *More* glitchy squares start appearing in the chamber. Touching any of them is bad. "I- think we need to leave." says Niko.
Ishirou	Ishirou sighs a breath of relief when Maize wakes up and the dangerous flora disappears.  Niko runs up, with the lightbulb, and together they have a small talk... until Nico scratches herself.  Things /quickly/ go to hell.  The shaking causes Ishirou to lose his step, and appearing graphical errors smash into his back causing him to scream in absolute pain before falling forward. Landing on his face, he barely has time to give the thought of the deranged or perhaps more correctly, frantic panicking of the... something.  The other entity that has both seemed to help but also seems obsessively protective of them.  Then again, they are almost as protective of them as it is... Slowly pushing himself to his feet, he shakes the pain off, feeling his back is an utter mess right now, and staggers back to standing.  No time to think about it.  They need a plan to get out before Niko is further put in danger.  Futaba is one of the ones on Niko, so Futaba gets a sensor rush of information, trying to predict nearly unpredictable glitches to try and cut a path through them.   Then Angela, Aidan, and Petra feel their OPTIONs surge, providing them with just a little more energy and effort to push out of this place.  Ishirou, on his feet again rushes ahead, using electromagnetic force to try and blast forward occasionally.
Aidan Proudpick	As Maize finally wakes up, Aidan rolls back the shield in front of her, drawing that bit of breath back into himself. A relieved sigh. Aidan lowers his arms, his chest heaving. He hangs his head, fingers flexing to get some blood back into them. Beep, beep, beep. Aidan glances down at his tablet as it reads the message aloud. "Hey. HEY! It's just a scratch!" Aidan throws his head around. No one's at the computer, everyone's in here. He looks up, to where the monitor might be. "Niko is fine! I brought bandag-" A snap to the side of primal fear as the glitch squares appear. Aidan throws himself in front of Niko, activating the shield with a hurried breath. One slides off, if only because the shield seems to conflict with the glitch itself. There's a bright flash of light and Aidan quickly backs up. "I don't... we have to get out of here." Can he fly through them? It might rip the Aegis apart, then where would he be? He'd be even LESS of an elite. A wall? They'd go right through it. Right? He doesn't know anything about them. What can he do? Aidan's breath quickens. Trying isn't enough. Would a wall be pointless? His breathing grows more rapid, facing something that isn't possibly a physical threat. Something that can just outright kill you. How does he protect someone from that? "Get away!" Aidan is speaking both to the ones around him and the glitch squares as his breathing gets more ragged. Fear. Terror. Energy flows into Aidan from Ishirou. He can't think. So he does what he did the last time he simply can't think. It's a terrible scream. Pent up feelings of anguish, jealousy, rage. It forms into a single great arrow as Aidan vents everything left in his lungs, molding the winds into a shape by pure emotional force. Like a child grabbing clay and molding it with two fists rather than spinning it carefully. He screams, drawing out that terror of failure and those it could hurt, and launching it upward, hoping it will force anything back.
Futaba Nuki	"Man, I really it doesn't have anything to do with..." Wait. This is still on a Stage, isn't it? Or something like that. Futaba sighs lightly just thinking about what had happened on that train with all the pain that entailed, but she doesn't dwell on the pain there for long. There's pain here to deal with, after all, as she still has to get Niko to the sleeping lady before she can really think about anything else. Touta's willing to head in first, though, and Futaba's grin widens just a bit. "Heh. Trying to look good in front of the ladies, eh?" She laughs outright before nodding and letting him take the lead. It certainly makes her job of shielding Niko easier, anyway, and eventually... They're all there! Better yet, the guardian wakes up, and she seems willing to help out with Niko's quest! Grinning a little more, Futaba finally lets her guard down as Maize starts withdrawing all those thorns and weeds. "Thanks a bunch, ma'am. Pretty impressive stuff, though, being able to control all those like that." Niko gets a little cut, and Futaba's face flashes with concern briefly before she lets out another easygoing chuckle. "They are... Ah, careful there! Just a nick, though. A little spit and a ban-" The contrast between the cut and the call have Futaba looking both concerned and irritated at who/whatever sent her that message, and she shrugs lightly at Niko's question while peering at her phone. "Some... Body? Somebody's not happy." She comments just before that terrible noise hits her ears, wincing and covering them instinctively. Two more hands come out of her sides to cover Niko's ears as well. That comes just in time for the glitchy squares to start appearing, and there's a more severely concerned look crossing her face as she sees more of those squares starting to appear. "Yeah, let's get outta here before they really start boxing us in!" With more actual urgency in her movements, Futaba's tail transforms into a motorcycle sidecar-looking thing (complete with the comfortable AND secure kind of seatbelt), and she lays it in front of Niko. "Climb aboard!" She offers while looking ahead to see where the best path to go through would be without letting them come to more harm and setting off that weird message again. Luckily, Ishirou paints a path for her that's probably safer than the one she was looking at, so she takes that once she feels Niko getting on. She flips, she dips, she does crazy spins, and she even somersaults through the path while improvising a bit whenever she needs to so as to not slam her tail and (intended) passenger right into those squares. This may involve crashing through a few of those squares herself if they show up right in her path, but at least the tailcar and passenger are kept safe through all that.
Petra Soroka	"I have no experience with swordsmanship, though, do you have any advice in how to wield it?--"     "Well, they're just plants, so it's sort of more like... gardening, than swordsmanship. If you-- if you twist that, press that button, pull that little lever-- that one-- and then squeeze the trigger, you can get the bayonet to stay out without retracting. All you really need to do is hack at the plants, like I was with the machete." "Take down the Silent Orchestra before we lose the whole day's energy!"     Right then, Petra's L-Corp pager goes off-- along with four other devices, but after Angela's words, that's the one that catches her attention to the exclusion of everything else. "Oh, damn it-- *right* when I leave?! Fucking horrible timing, I don't think I could get back before the movement ends, I-- oh." The pager isn't actually requesting her presence for an emergency, and after a short daze, she clicks it silent.     Then clicks her radio silent. Then her smartphone, in one pocket. Then a second flip-phone, for whatever reason, in her other pocket. Then the Eggpack, which can apparently receive text messages, despite having no way to view them. She releases an irritated exhalation of breath, shaking her head.     Then the glitches start popping into place, and Petra's eyes widen with alarm, remembering what happened to Qetra when she touched one. "Fucker! She only got hurt a *little*; this shit will cut her in *half*! You're endangering her even fucking more!" <J-IC-Scene> Futaba Nuki says, "I'll get Niko! Someone get.. Uh... Green lady!"     Petra doesn't entirely trust that Futaba has 'got Niko', but, of the people here, she's probably the (second) most trustworthy to do that besides herself. So keeping an eye on Futaba and Niko, Petra rushes over to Maize rather than fleeing, her machete melting into a string of wobbling droplets that whips out at the guardian and pulls her to the side, away from a glitch that was about to manifest right near her. "Do you need-- need us to get you out of here?"     Rushing to Maize gets Petra cut along her hand, one of the few uncovered parts with her EGO gear, with other glitches sending up sparks where they scrape against her suit. It also puts her right beside Hibiki, with Petra hissing in pain and pressing on the wound. "Ugh-- why the hell is it /always/ like this...!?"     "You know? You *know*? That's fucking half *your* fault, Tachibana." Petra, of course, interprets 'what Hibiki's talking about' to be herself, and gets angry appropriately. "If *you* weren't always *feeding* into Qetra's bullshit, if you weren't *meeting up with her*, and just encouraging her to keep clinging to you, and-- and everything she does, I bet she'd be fine now. If you can't stand her, and can't fucking stand *me*, I wish you'd *act* like it; it'd be easier for *everyone*!"
Angela	"Understood." Angela tells Petra even though she is mostly thinking bout how to not accidentally shoot the gun. Angela doesn't think twice about Niko getting minor injury--in of itself, though in the moment the 'ow!' draws a lot of her focus, the screen spinning sharply towards him. She starts to say something when her screen is temporarily taken over by what did you do. NIKO IS HURT. WHAT DID YOU DO. WHAT DID YOU DO. WHAT DID YOU DO WHAT DID YOU DO WHAT DID YOU DO WHAT DID Y It starts scrolling down her screen. Angela seems alarmed before her visage is quickly and heavily obscured by the running text. ''I think we need to leave.'' "Agreed. Petra, are you seeing this on your side as well? It's reversed on my side so it is difficult to read. It seems Niko getting hurt agitates the source of these 'glitches'." She pauses a moment. Technically isn't everyone here, except maybe Niko, AI? She puts the thought out of her head for a moment before she completely spirals but she keeps in mind that thought for later. She is decidedly unable to leave under her own power and is going to have to count on Petra being legs, the idea of propelling herself along with Petra's gunblade like she's from Getting Over It sounds noxious. The horrendous noise she hears now isn't as bad as the noise she JUST heard but it's still pretty bad.
Arcadia	The woman is awakened, and the fierce floral frenzy withdraws. "Well that's it, isn't it? Mission succe--AAAH!" Arcadia abruptly caterwauls, clutcing one side of her headgear with a hand, though it's mostly just a reflexive gesture. The downside to having your communications partially internalized, that was almost literally right in her ear. "WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?!" she yowls, and not being one to swear regularly, emphasizes how much of a shock it was. Now things are starting to glitch.. wait, is that connected to what happened to Niko? She quickly backs away from the walls and glances over her shoulder. "Geeze, it was what, a thorn prick? Talk about overreacting." But the situation is pretty dire all the same Their way out isn't going to be open long.. Arcadia recovers though, and zips back into action. Futaba said she'll get Niko and the Sun Lightbulb, which are the important parts of saving this world. "We really need to get out of here!" She flares her wings, overcharges her magitek boosters, and takes off along with Futaba and her tail-karting Niko. She's still got her options out in formation to, and start blasting away in an effort to keep glitchy patchs away from Futaba and Niko, or put holes in walls so they don't have to take a long path around. Or even skid against them herself if it keeps the route clear for the other. She's a Guardian, guarding the one thing that's suppose to save the world is all that matters right now.
Touta Konoe	"Heh. Trying to look good in front of the ladies, eh"     Touta literally just staggers for a moment as he hears that. He's not even sure how to respond to that with most of the people here... "Let's just focus on getting Niko through okay?!"     He'll leave it at that before the two end up carving a path. It honestly seems like it's a genuine success as the slumbering guardian awakens and Niko is able to garner Maize's attention. It's a shame that her condition is clearly poor, but the fact that she begins to remove vines that was the greatest threat involving them, Touta looks to Niko in all of this, "Hey, Niko, you doing alright? The path wasn't too crazy for you was it--"     As he's making sure that they're okay is when that little cut happens Touta speaks up again. "Huh, guess you'll have an honor's mark when this is all finished up, don't you thin--Huh?"     In the time after Niko's cut, the sound of their devices all go off at once, and with it is that sound that resonates with them all. It only gets worse from there when the glitches return.     It'd quickly become a race to pull both Niko and Maize out of there. It was already looking like Futaba was handling Niko, and Petra was working to pull out the two. They'd already seen the kind of damage that this thing can employ, and even now Petra was already experiencing one of those glitch squares. At this point, again opting to act as vanguard towards the path. Though, there's very little that any of them can do against these squares as they arise. The only option seems to be to act like a football player and simply tank the blows, soaking up the damage, but hopefully clearing the path with his body.
Hibiki Tachibana	Well, that was easier than expected, actually. Getting to the guardian without any other issues cropping up is exactly why Hibiki still has some leftover adrenaline between fighting and girldrama by the time everyone is having their friendly chat with Maize; rather than having any questions herself, she's relatively in the back, running a hand back through her hair and exhaling through her teeth as the lethal plantlife retreats.     Which leaves her surprised when a harmless prick that Niko takes invites something even worse. The blaring voice in Gungnir's earphones makes her wince and shift her hand to cover it, letting out a frustrated groan. "The hell--? What--" Her head snaps back towards Niko, but as far as she can tell, it really was just that pinprick. If it was poisoned or anything, Maize would certainly be acting like it, so why--     Glitches. The same as before.     The same that left that vicious cut into Qetra's shoulder, and this time, there's a whole lot more.     Hibiki cursing under her breath and backing up protectively towards Maize while Futaba gets Niko out is exactly why she's still there when Petra forces her way there as well. This doesn't help her mood much. "/You're/ saying that to /me/?" Even in the middle of this, Hibiki whirls on Petra just as obviously angry as she is disbelieving.     "She's /your/ reflection, Petra! Her bullshit is your bullshit! Unless you're even more of an idiot than me, you should have a pretty damn good idea of why she acts the way she does! I do, after talking to her so much! And you know, I'd /love/ for it to be that easy to act like it, but you said it yourself-- feeling one set, two-dimensional way about something really is stupidly hard!"     "So sure, half of it /is/ my fault-- but I'm trying not to bring this petty crap into all this when all I wanted to do was-- help-- Niko!!" The sentence is punctuated by a particularly heavy-handed blow into an encroaching glitch-thing, with produces predictable slicing lashback from making contact with it - and unintentionally(?) helps open the way for Petra to help escort Maize out of here, if need be.     It doesn't stop her either. Pushing forward, she plans to actively belt /any/ of them that get in the way out with complete brute force, without any obvious care for the retaliation that comes from doing so as long as they're battered out of the way of the others. Even the walls of the ruins aren't going to be considered an obstruction to them all getting out.     If they get in the way of their escape, she'll knock those down too.
Kale Hearthward	Ishirou starts pushing a path clear. Aidan forms a magical blast. Arcadia goes guns blazing. Futaba gives Niko a ride. "Wow! This is like one of those auto-mobiles that the big city back home has!" > "Do you need-- need us to get you out of here?" "There's not much point," says Maize, but from the context of her following Petra closely that response does not seem to be a 'no'. The group runs. The glitches seem concentrated to this set of ruins, thankfully, so once they're out they're free... ... But the mass of glitches manages to destabilize the ruins on the way out, bringing the ceiling down. Fortunately the group gets clear well before then. When the group gets clear, and also when it *becomes* clear that there aren't more glitches forming, Maize slumps against the nearest wall. "The path should be clear... that's all you needed, right?" "You'd better ask now... because I don't think I have much time left..." "Oh! Is there somewhere you need to go, Miss Maize?" asks Niko, innocently.
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan does the same, gasping and rasping for air. Even with some of the breathing training that everyone does, people aren't meant to yell like that. His chest burns as he leans back, head tilting up. A wince as Maize confesses their short life span. Tears well up. For all that work, only just to pass. Sure, Niko is safe, but. He still failed. "Do you know who keeps sending those squares?" Aidan croaks, "Or who keeps calling us?"
Ishirou	Out of the ruins, Ishirou sighs a sigh of relief and slumps down.  That was rough... that was so rough.  He coughs up some dust and pushes himself back up to his feet.  He looks around to see if the children are already, specifically Niko, and smiles at them when he sees that she is.  His voice catches in his throat when his eyes look over to Maize. He looks at her, scanning her life signs.  However, it doesn't take a scanner to see what is happening.  His head tilts down for a moment.  He takes a moment to kneel next to Maize and... words don't come at first.  She lasted this long, Niko was close but... "Is there... anything we can do for you?" Ishirou asks Maize instead, his head tilted down.
Arcadia	They're clear. The glitchs bring the ceiling down on the ruins but well it was already ruins. What matters is they got Niko out safely and they have the Lightbulb intact. Arcadia flares her wings out, using the increased surface resistance to slow herself down once they're safe from the buggy mess. Tail lashes a few times, and as they're apparently clear of danger she folds her wings and slumps. The option bits that survived the trek are dismissed back into their storage pocket dimension. "That the dying world doesn't like Niko being hurt is duly noted," she exhales. Maize... well, it was probably already happening, but at least now it won't be crushed under the ruins collapsing.
Kale Hearthward	"Do you know who keeps sending those squares?" "They started some time ago. I don't know if there's a pattern to them... but they don't go away once they exist." "Is there... anything we can do for you?" "Later - after... there'll be a seed. It should - no. I can't say what you should do with it. This world is a shell of its former self, even if it can be saved.
Petra Soroka	"She's /your/ reflection, Petra! Her bullshit is your bullshit!"     The sharp gasp that Petra makes at that would be almost comically offended, if the rasp at the edges of it wasn't a clear indicator of how angry she was. Storming out with Maize in tow, Petra barely gives the nature guardian any mind besides what's necessary to keep her safe from the glitches and traps, in favor of shouting more at Hibiki.     "*My* bullshit? My bullshit?! She's not a fucking window into my fucking *soul*, you creep! She's not *me*!" Morphmetal distends into a huge scooping shovel cuffed around Petra's hand, that she uses to carve out a path through a blockage of dirt, along with Hibiki's help loosening it, where a glitch bars their progress. "You'd just love that, huh? If you had some nice, convenient fucking way to know *exactly* how I'm feeling, and it just *happens* to be so *desperately* fucking *pining* for you, still right? You must feel so *goddamn* smug, thinking that my *stupid*, fucking *bimbo* of a reflection proves how *obsessed* I secretly am with you!" "-- feeling one set, two-dimensional way about something really is stupidly hard!"     The aggravated near-*growl* that Petra makes at that, followed by her inability to refute it-- those words were borrowed from Lilian first, after all-- only makes her more agitated in an increasingly transparent way. "You know, at least I do a better job at not making it a major fucking issue every time! *I* know what I'm doing! *I* have myself under control! *You* just keep going *back* and forth, making everything a confusing fucking mess, and-- and Qetra's not going to fucking understand that! She doesn't really know what's going on!"     "She doesn't even have a brain! I know! I've seen it, when All-Around Helper got her once! So you hear that, the person you're trying to fucking use to psychoanalyze me like you know fucking everything doesn't even have a *brain*! Real high opinion of me you've got there, right? If *only* things were so fucking *simple*!"     They're outside by the time she's done with her tirade. She's snapped out of it, with fluid beading on her forehead and glistening in her eyes from the exertion of shouting, by Maize slumping over. Petra blinks rapidly at her, swiping her sleeve across her face in a covert attempt to wipe it clean, but only smudging tears across her cheeks.     "H-huh? Why? We've-- we've got you the lightbulb. We got you-- got you out of the ruins. So-- so what's--" Petra's voice is rough and choked-up, shouted raw. She coughs, then kneels down besides Maize, pulling her first aid kit out of her trench coat pocket. "That's not right. I'm sure we can-- there's something we can-- Niko, you sit down here too, let me get a look at your...."     Checking Maize over, almost certainly futilely, and then Niko, Petra disinfects and bandages any wound she can, almost as a meditative activity rather than something actually medically necessarily. Even little cuts, she insists, going through the full routine of dabbing it clean and everything.
Angela	Angela looks towards Hibiki for a long moment. This again, she thinks. Sometimes, Angela knows, it's better to be silent than just to say anything. Despite knowing for sure this is just what she should do she ultimately feels the compulsion to say something anyway. Doing nothing is a choice! Inded, sometimes doing nothing is the correct choice. But she curls her hand into a small fist, off the screen where none can see it. Sometimes being a tv on a backpack is helpful. She opens her mouth. ''It just *happens* to be be so *desperately* fucking *pining* for you, still right?'' Angela closes her mouth, at a momentary loss. She rethinks the matter again. "You are a glutton for punishment, aren't you, Hibiki?" Angela asks. "I don't derive much pleasure from it so I suppose that is why I always struggle what to say." And that seems to be what she has to say except for, "We should probably be careful. They are quite concerned with Niko's wellbeing." She almost misses MAize saying she doesn't have much time left. Angela hadn't gotten to know Maize well but... She looks to Niko. Then back to Maize. "Perhaps we should move quickly as more paths may be barred to us if we dally--But if there is anything else you need before we do so, please let us know."
Hibiki Tachibana	Every moment of Petra's increasingly emotional outbursts as they make their exit seems to only fuel Hibiki into bashing every unfortunate obstacle in their way even harder. There's not a reply to any of it while they're focused on escape, forcing ahead side-by-side to remove everything ahead of them, other than teeth clenching tighter and facial muscles straining.     If she's really smug about it, she doesn't look the part. The opposite.     It's only when they're making their exit once and for all that she finally utters, past low breaths, "...Yeah. If only they were that simple. But for whatever reason, it never is. Glutton for punishment must be right." For all she seemed to have been building up to a gathering storm lash-back while taking every word on the way, it doesn't hold up. Not... now.     She doesn't care about the source of the glitches, when there's probably only speculation and no real answers as to what they are or where they come from. She can't bring herself to care about that, when someone is expiring right there in front of them. It just seems... distant. Unimportant, just like all of this stupid arguing.     All her petulance and anger and gross feelings boiling somewhere between her chest and her stomach fall away at the same time her shoulders sag, and the swallow she makes is obscured by her scarf. Her eyes shut, and for a couple seconds, it seems like they'll stay that way until the end.     But they open again, albeit only halfway. They're too heavy to go the whole mile. "...Niko." Hibiki brings a hand up to said oversized scarf, and pulls down so that her voice won't be muffled even when it's quiet. "It's the sun. Not a prank. Right?" There's an unnecessary, small dip of her head towards the everpresent lightbulb.     "...She hasn't gotten to see sunlight in a real long time. But she should get the chance, before she goes. Don't you think?"
Futaba Nuki	'Wow! This is like one of those auto-mobiles that the big city back home has!' "You're from the city? Huh... Never woulda guessed!" Futaba keeps that lighthearted banter going even as she slips through so much glitchy garbage , trying to make it sound effortless even though she's hauling ass just to bound off so many trees and things to not get caught up in the chaos of the crumbling ruins. As she passes through the exit to the ruins, she skids to a stop on all fours, twisting herself around and sliding on her ass just in time to see the ruins crashing down. "Haaah... Made it! Everyone get outta there okay?" She asks while doing a quick headcount of the group once it looks like everyone's out. There's a moment where her eyes go wide as the numbers don't match up quite right, and then she remembers that Angela is attached to Petra, and that Qetra had been pushed away earlier. After letting out a satisfied and relived sigh, Futaba finally approaches Maize and also remembers to let Niko down safely. "Path's clear, yeah! Thanks for the hand-" She takes a cue from Niko, perhaps not thinking too hard about where the name came from. "-Maize. I think s... Wait. Not much time left?" Connecting some dots between all those plants and how the ruins had come down, Futaba grimaces slightly while getting on a knee besides her. Closing her eyes, she rests a hand on Maize's shoulder, giving it a light squeeze before nodding solemnly. "Got it. We'll take care of that seed for ya and... Don't worry. We're not going to forget what you did for us. We'll make sure your..." Niko doesn't realize the implications, do they? Futaba's first instinct might be to try and pull them away, but Petra going through a medical/meditative checkup for both Maize and Niko has her reconsidering. Instead, she remains right where she is and rests a hand on Niko's shoulder as well. "She's... She's gonna be going through some changes, Niko. Getting..." Futaba's struggling to figure out a way to make it a little easier to digest. "... Smaller. Uh. More portable, for later. We'll need to take good care of her seed once that happens, okay?"
Kale Hearthward	Niko's cut isn't all that bad, really. But for Maize... Unless Petra secretly has some gardening experience she hasn't shared yet, there's not much she can tell beyond 'not looking good'. > "She's... She's gonna be going through some changes, Niko." "Oh... changes? Good changes, I hope?" "... Changes that are a long time coming." > "...She hasn't gotten to see sunlight in a real long time. But she should get the chance, before she goes. Don't you think?" > "Perhaps we should move quickly as more paths may be barred to us if we dally." Kale fields the points Angela and Hibiki bring up. He's quiet for a while, looking at the ground, before he lifts his head and speaks up. "... We can afford to stay a while, I think. If we wait too long and a path gets blocked..." Kale looks around the group of elites. "We're a capable bunch. Between all of us, we can find another path forward."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan slowly drags himself down to the ground. He can operate the shield enough to push it through a wall, at least. He hoists the bag from around his back and sets it on the ground in front of him, opening it up. Among the various exploring tools, rope, chalk, flint, knife, is a couple stacks of hardtack and what appears to be some sort of version of Nut Pemmican. A less enticing version of a Kind bar. "I brought food. Well. Soldier food." "Yea," he agrees, barely noticing that he agreed with Kale.
Ishirou	Ishirou listens to those assembled about what to do next, but when Kale cuts through things and suggests that they stay for a while, Ishirou smiles at him. "I agree, let's stay here for a bit longer," he says and sits down nearby. "It's only fair that she gets to see the sun for a little longer after all this time."