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Audrey Basque	HYDROCHOERIA     Audrey is really not in a state to be doing this today. When you all arrive at the tower, through the usual means, it's because the final debriefing was on the calendar for days. It wouldn't be long, and Audrey would provide drinks and refreshment and first dibs through the opened crates to those who helped get them in the first place, after Schneider'd already rummaged through with her when they were opened.     Audrey isn't in the meeting room yet; the large table there does have refreshments (alcoholic and non) on it, and snacks of various kinds, but the catering is being handled by Concord-affiliated staff that tends to the tower when she isn't there (which is actually like, most of the time except weekends, especially lately). By the time she does appear from a higher floor, you're all seated, and she's slightly but not dramatically late.     She's also pale as paper, there's no light in her eyes and she's wearing a simple white blouse and green/brown dress (skirt) that are clearly Kukuru's, though sized to fit her slightly more slender frame. Her hair is messy and down, still half-damp from a last minute shower she didn't take any time to dry it from, or even style it at all. 'Sick' might be another good word for her.     Her throat sounds a bit dry, and the moment she's standing at the 'head' of the table, her breathing gets weird and irregular. She seems to need several deep breaths and to close her eyes to start talking at all.     "H-- H-Hello. Apologies for..." For what? She didn't think ahead. There was an accident...     No! Not that one! Petra said... Nothing happened at all...     Something did happen though! It's obvious!! I think I've caught something and am unwell.     White could probably tell that's a half-truth at best.     "A-Anyway," she elects not to address it at all. "Thanks to... Lady Schneider, the crates have been opened. I haven't had... time to make a list of everything that's in them, so... i-if you would follow me upstairs... we can just... look through, and if you like anything you find, take it."     Upstairs is, well, the storage room. Audrey does not allow anyone to fret over her health, and ignores further questions about it. It's a few floors to go up, all of them tranquil and empty (normally they're not, but every defense in the tower is offline right now, which includes the awful obstacle course puzzle floors). Access to the floors above storage seems to be barred right now. That is to say, the wall has been twisted to cover the stairs.     The overpowering smell of bleach emanates from the top floor, despite the twist and seal. It's incredibly hard to miss.     In the storage room proper, dozens and dozens of crates of all sizes lay strewn about, with just enough room to walk between them. Some twice your size; some no bigger than a lunchbox. It's like walking through a warehouse. Among the notable things contained in these crates are:
Audrey Basque	* The entire Drombeg Stone Circle, which is brimming with druidic magical power... if assembled back into the proper formation. This one takes up a lot of crates and space, if you can't tell, and technically Love owns it.     * A throne that makes you immortal (actually just makes you live a year longer than you would have otherwise).     * Several crates of magical firearms and ammunition of every caliber, ranging in effect from basic spell founds (fire, ice, lightning etc.) to more specialized ones that are surely unsafe to use without training.     * A Sword of Selection still in its stone.     * A lot of paintings.     * A few deeds to estates or territories that aren't marked well enough to immediately trace but that Petra might have more info on from what she downloaded from Reese's office computer.     * Several ancestral suits of armor. They're just really old and valuable.     * Piles and piles of money in dozens of currencies, including just gold, jewels and other precious metals.     * One (1) crate that is still sealed and is marked "DO NOT OPEN, HAD A BODY IN IT, STILL SMELLS". Maybe leave that one be.     * A weird crystal key with no indication what it opens or where that thing might even be.     * Dozens of vials of blood from different fantasy species.     ..............
Audrey Basque	A whole ten minutes pass, during which you have undisturbed access to the crates and their contents. Audrey has shuffled off somewhere behind one of the larger crates, seemingly to take a series of long, deep breaths and calm down. This goes well, until the entire tower suddenly shakes.     And the sound of an explosion outside follows, with another shake. You need to go down a floor to get to windows, so you can see and hear-- OUTSIDE     "Petra Soroka! Come out or EVERYONE here dies!"     It's quite the gathering. The Warpgate activated all but once, for a single person; but the island is besieged in an instant by a second floating island teleporting in with a thundering noise. Its soil black, its trees dripping a purple goop as they die slowly. A single dark mansion is on the island, which is only about half the size as Hydrochoeria.     MAURICE NORTHINGTON stands at the edge of the island, megaphone in hand; he's still dressed in a gaudy and shiny gold suit, dozens of magical rings adorning his fingers.     SIGMUND SOTTENBURRY is by his side, a man somewhere in his mid-40s with a dirty beard and a uniform like a civil war soldier in orange. It's garish, it's ridiculous, it's a rich man's favorite.     VREN STAVROS, the old man in a black and purple suit with a blank white mask, stands near the Warpgate, hands still aglow from teleporting his island in. He snaps his fingers, opening up dozens of bright purple portals from which the gathered men's armies begin dropping onto Hydrochoeria.     VAMPIRES, bloodthirsty and without a sire. DEFORMED HUMANS, eyes glowing with Vren's signature purple mind control magic, limbs like weapons. MASKED SUITED MEN in black and red, wielding familiar lightning guns; Reese Demonte's little paramilitary troops.     POLICE TROOPERS WITH RIOT SHIELDS, who bear Sigmund Sottenburry's personal insignia on their chest, and whose riot shields are covered in... paint? Is that paint? There are streaks of black, red, a deep uncomfortable yellow. To look directly at the troopers instills a deep anxiety and fear that makes you not want to fight. It's unnatural, obviously magical, and will only get stronger the longer those troopers stay in play with their shields out.     And then, there's the temporal distortion.     Were THE VEX always here? Have they injected themselves in the timeline, only to be noticed now? There is a screech, like data and chalk, as BRAKION THE GENESIS MIND materializes out of a white flash of temporal energy, along with an entire host of smaller footsoldiers not too unlike it-- save that it is over thirty feet tall, and they are merely six to seven. They are already all over the island! But their gazes are all transfixed on the tower-- and they take shots at the OTHER invaders too. The Vex don't make alliances, but they aren't above using opportune moments either.     Audrey shrieks and panics. "E-Everything's off! I-- I turned-- I--" Breathe. She only turned HER things off. Petra's still got her defenses. "I need... I... f-five minutes, m-maybe ten, I can, turn everything back on. D-Don't follow. Please. You have to... handle this..."     She shrivels visibly from making such a request of her guests, then steps back through a mirrored crack, which closes behind her promptly. She reappears on the top floor... and then pukes in the trash can.     Maybe more like fifteen minutes than five or ten.
White	White unfortunately gives Audrey's condition what she probably wants least; attention. Being so blatantly pallid and sickly in front of White is a sure way to get her to take a peek at your status if she cares, which she at least nominally does now. Still, she's not likely to make a direct comment, focused on contemplating the cause to herself with the memory of Audrey's poor reactions to help in the past at the forefront of her mind. What she sees isn't... Particularly encouraging, either, so it's not until Audrey's fully out of the room that she can feel a bit of shelter from White's gaze.      She can still peruse the take, but not much of it draws her attention... She seems to be looking for something relatively specific among the haul, primarily some kind of magical storage medium or items connected to 'divine powers of creation'. It doesn't seem likely that she'll find something suitable, but she tries to give the sword of selection a firm yank anyway while she's at it. She's not expecting much, but... Well, she had to *try*, right? From there it's a matter of accepting that it's a bust for what she was hoping to find, and taking consolation prizes; a painting for her apartment is teleported away, a couple of pieces of silver jewelry she might eventually wear go with it, and she takes a look with the Evil Eye at that mystery-key too. It'd be fun if the name and description gave her a clue about a hidden treasure, but if not she moves on past that too, and mostly shifts to quietly helping others browse.      Unfortunately, things can't stay quiet for all that long. White's footing doesn't shake when the building does, but her eyes immediately tilt downward and outward, staring through the walls of the tower at the gathering below. Her fingers curl tight into an irritated pair of fists, and she looks up at the others expectantly. A breath draws in slowly, then huffs out quietly without her lips parting. "Miss Petra." she starts, turning back to look at the wall meaningfully. "How... Tough... Is this island?"
Kukuru	Like Audrey, Kukuru's a little late coming down from the upper floors of the tower. Although she doesn't look quite as messed up as Audrey does, she does appear more worn down than usual, but not in the physical sense that several people have probably seen by now. No, she looks more worn down mentally than anything else, visibly fretting over something even while she also looks like she's half asleep on her way to the snacks. She doesn't even have snacks or drinks of her own to add to the pile for once. She's content to just grab whatever's being offered. With Audrey wearing her usual getup, Kukuru's opted to wear something different so as to avoid any conversations that might be expected from a dumb sitcom gag: her combat casual gear! Black jacket, black shorts, a sleeveless top with a button and collar just to fit a silver tie properly, and combat boots with hosiery. Even though Audrey isn't answering questions about her health, it's pretty obvious from the way Kukuru keeps glancing her way that she's paying close attention to her behavior today. She does respect her wishes and avoid asking her about why she looks like shit, at least, which might also be kind of weird for Kukuru. Whatever the reasoning is, though, she still greets everyone that comes just the same with her usual friendly, albeit more tired "He-llo"s and hand pats and hugs for those that aren't as shy or already used to Kukuru being the way she is. Heading into the storage room (And trying not to wrinkle her nose too much at the smell of bleach), Kukuru does still marvel at the size of those storage boxes. "We really got a lot from them, huh...?" She seems particularly interested in the firearms despite her lack of firearms training ("Should I learn how to use these? Oh, but I can just reach out and touch someone if I gotta, huh...?"), the Sword of Selection despite her lack of sword training ("Oh, what a funny looking hammer... Do you think it's sturdy enough like this?"), and the suits of armor despite never once being seen wearing a suit of armor ("Hellooooo? Is anyone awake in there? Maybe mom'll know what to do..."). And then something explodes. Teleporting to the windows instead of actually going downstairs the normal way, Kukuru leans out of it to peer at the gathering outside. Her entire body tenses up at Audrey's shrieking, and then her expression hardens while leaning back inside to turn to Audrey and immediately putting on her most reassuring(ly tired) smile. "Don't you worry, dear. We'll take care of this. Remember, you're safe here." She says, sounding like she's repeating something like a mantra even though she's only said it once so far... Right? Right. In standard Kukuru fashion, she takes a deep breath that's almost yawn-like as she slips into a cloud in front of herself, reappearing atop that dark mansion so she can stand dramatically at the top of it.
Kukuru	"Heeeey. You there. Cut it out." Despite being in the perfect position to shout dramatically, though, Kukuru might be kind of hard to hear from that distance. Realizing that, she teleports again right into the middle of the police troopers' numbers. They looked tough enough, after all, and shields... She's more confident about fighting people with shields than lightning guns, having been on the receiving end of those not so long ago. "Hey. Cut it out, or everyone here really will die." She murmurs with another weary yawn, slouching back for a second before going right on the offensive. She's not in the mood to be particularly gentle today for whatever reason that definitely isn't related to Audrey earlier, and it shows in the way she approaches the troopers and their riot shields. Namely, by slapping those shields with all of her freak might behind each swing. With the amount of force she's striking each one of those shields, whoever's behind them might be lucky to just be thrown off the island from the impact of getting bashed by their own shields. Those that she opts to grab, meanwhile, have to deal with someone probably a few to several inches shorter than them trying to just tear their arms right off before grabbing onto those shields and using them like someone trying to swat flies with a notebook. Striking back at her does work rather well, at least, although Kukuru's a massive cheater thanks to her regeneration. Even when she's battered, stabbed, and brought down by lightning guns or regular guns, she gets right back up less than a minute later, ready to hurl more of their numbers off the floating island or straight at the Vex footsoldiers if she doesn't just batter them into the ground with raw strength first. The only ones that get a little more mercy are the vampires, at least until they start taking swings at her, too. She'll look particularly disappointed if she has to kill any of them.
Angela	Angela arrives with Petra as she, essentially, has to. The first thing she does is rummage through the snacks until she finds a nice bag of Sour Cream and Onion potato chips. She intends to sit herself down near White and immediately and quietly offer her the bag of chips. "Punctuality is important. I will have to make note of this." She says solemnly, of Audrey's absence. ''Apologies for...'' When Audrey does come, Angela's eyes narrow considerably at the presence of Kukuru's dress on Audrey's body. She's surprised. She didn't think Kukuru had it in her. But all the same she says, "It's important to be on time for meetings you schedule. It sets a bad example. But I will let it slide as you seem to be having a difficult day." Kukuru coming down WITH Audrey is only making her more suspicious, especially when she keeps sneaking looks her way. Her eyes narrow down into squints. Since both she and White don't have huge appetites anymore, Angela takes a potato chip for herself as well and bites into it and swallows before making her way up as Audrey directs, though she's staying close to White and, by necessity, to Petra. "She's acting quite strange, is it something I should be worrying about?" She wonders to White in a soft murmur. But she continues along to the take and sniffs and-- "...Did someone die here?" She looks at the crate. "...." Her eyes narrow so much that they are now closed. "...Nevertheless, my interest is in the deeds and magical firearms and ammunition. The Stone Circle can be negotiated with Lovei if someone desires it. I imagine she'll happily hand it off in exchange for a day out on the town." Her hands open slightly again as Audrey moves off to have a little anxiety attack over there. She clearly doesn't want to talk about it or she'd just say and that means it's not really her business but she is mentally arranging possible ongoing situations regarding what's going on. THankfully, there are explosions. ''Petra Soroka! Come out or EVERYONE here dies!'' "Oh wonderful. I know you've beeen wanting more invasions." Angela asides to Petra. "And here you are, several mystical gangs and blood fiends all at once gnashing their teeth at you." Angela isn't going to stray from Petra, particularly when there's a brewing fight. But she looks at the arrayed foes before dictating the one most likely to give her an interesting and useful page. She snaps her fingers in Vren's direction, intending to draw a page out from him. Petra's probably going to destroy their spirits if not their bodies soon, judging from past experiences, so she needs to make sure there's some proper record maintained.
White	*Earlier, to Angela*      White takes a few seconds when Angela speaks to her, her head tipping down a little in contemplation before she glances her way. "... Maybe. Keep... An eye on her." She's already thinking about putting a few more eyes on Audrey herself, but won't have time to consider planting her 'agents' before the rest of the day's entertainment arrives.
Sarracenia	Princess Sarracenia almost didn't bother coming to this. It seemed pointless. She wasn't doing any of this for a reward, the host of the event doesn't particularly like having her around, and the host's best 'friend' REALLY doesn't like having her around. But, she said she would help with this, and Audrey had requested they all be there.      So, the Sundew Sovereign arrives at a prompt time and the princess makes her way from the wooden airship to the meeting room. When Audrey appears looking terrible, it draws a slight frown from Sarracenia. But, after being challenged to a duel because she was concerned for Audrey's well-being she says not a word about Audrey's appearance or sickness or energy level, though her gaze of something between concern and disapproval can be caught by Audrey every now and then. Sarra greets White and Kukuru when they appear, and most anyone else that is not Petra.      Dressed in her ususal black dress with the silver starfield across the front, Sarra partakes lightly of the refreshments, then follows Audrey up to the storage room. "Whatever I see that I like, hm?" She still has no interest in a circle of stones and even if she did Love owns it. Sarra naturally tries to claim the throne even with it seeming like it does not do what it says. She might take some of the paintings if any are of things that interest her. Flowers, rainbows, castles, cute animals, that sort of thing. The money doesn't interest her greatly, but her kingdom has suffered some financial hardship due to her generosity and projects, so she will claim whatever no one else claims.      One thing that does interest her is the Sword of Selection. "...the sword in the stone?" she murmurs quietly to herself, then hmms. Does she need to claim it, or just try to pull it? She waits for White to give it a tug, and giggles a bit in warm amusement. "One must at least try." she says before giving it a tug herself. Even if it won't come out she'll want to claim it anyway. Another is the crystal key. Even not knowing where it goes or what it opens, it is intriguing. Both items could lead to heroic adventures, after all. "I will take the sword and the key. If anyone else wants them, then we can discuss compensation or compromises."      Any discussion is interrupted by the explosion. Sarra heads down with the others and gazes out the window, then makes her way downstairs quickly even as she makes a phone call. The Sundew Sovereign moves into broadside position beside the tower, and the gun ports all slide open before dozens of cannons slide into place and with heavy 'ka-thunk' sounds each one soon has a shark-faced Bullet Bill ready to fire while fire flowers are passed out amongst the piranha plant crew.      'E-Everything's off! I-- I turned-- I--I need... I... f-five minutes, m-maybe ten, I can, turn everything back on. D-Don't follow. Please. You have to... handle this..."'      Sarra's lets out a devilish 'heehee'. "Audrey, dear. This is nothing for your allies gathered here. Why, I would not be surprised if your defenses end up not even being needed." she says before she heads downstairs. Sarra emerges downstairs, surveys the collection of men and monsters, then...smirks as she sees Maurice and Vren. "One really should be careful when one picks a fight with everyone~!" she calls out, her loud and piercing voice surely easily heard even on the other island. As she does so, the underside of the Sovereign opens and the Banzai Bill cannon is lowered.
Sarracenia	Sarra raises a hand, then with a sharp downward chop the signal is given. The cannons all fire, showering the vampire and mind-control armies specifically with explosive Bullet Bills. Fireballs rain down from the deck as well. Once the smaller cannons are reloading, the Banzai Bill cannon fires. The truck-sized bullet flies toward the enemy island and the dark mansion atop it, where it will unleash its expanding and staccato series of explosions upon it before one final explosion which leaves a mushroom cloud in its wake.      At the same time, Sarra rushes in, her Silver hammer forming in her hand as she runs. She makes her way steadily toward Vren, throwing plenty of bob-ombs and Silver spikes as she goes. "My good sir~ Surely you are not seeking retribution for that minor tiff at the auction house~" She sounds entirely too cheerful about getting in a full on army battle. "I would think a classy villain such as yourself would not deign to work with these other ruffians!"
Petra Soroka	Petra is feeling normal today.     No, really (sort of). Her guilt about what happened is totally (sort of) separate from Audrey's feelings and more narcissistically obsessed with her own (sort of) moral failing-- no, the other one. She can't just *get over* it, but the lingering effects of dread and nausea on her are much different and more subtle than they are on Audrey.     When she swings by the Library to pick up Angela and bring her over to Hydrochoeria, she's skittish and avoidant of talking about certain topics, but otherwise relieved to see her. It's not until ascending into the tower and gathering with the others that the tension returns to her shoulders, and Angela can feel it with Petra's hand in hers. She conspicuously avoids looking at Audrey, and certainly not out of respect for her privacy, but Kukuru catches some intense glances-- not glares, but colder, probing warnings, an unspoken 'you better not', along with an undercurrent of fear.     Honestly, Petra isn't really interested in the random loot crates. She can't even bring herself to care about the Stars-- which one was it they were after in the auction house again? She can't remember. Their presence on Hydrochoeria is more of a black mark on the island, like pins in her flesh, each one another reason for Lilian to get mad at her. Still, at least, this is tuoys-- Petra can fuck with toys, even if she isn't in the mood for them.     Lifeless, drained leaning on either Angela's shoulder or the boxes, Petra's eyes flicker over them lazily. "I'll take the stone circle. Honestly, I fucking hate archaeological auctions, but at least I can find some way to deal with it instead of just tossing it in the garbage. Like, Love didn't actually buy it. She used my money to win an auction that we didn't pay for. I'm sure she won't mind."     Petra also has to take a turn at the sword, but after a tug she recoils from it and balls her hand into a fist hard enough that her nails bite into her palms. "Fucking-- amusement park horseshit. Is this really how I'm wasting my time? What's the point of any of this? What was even the point of those *missions*?!" "...Did someone die here?"     Petra raises her voice somewhat, and then sighs roughly and runs her hand through her hair. To Angela, she looks briefly shocked, and then follows her gaze to the crate. "Who fucking knows what those freaks wanted a corpse for. Honestly, I don't know why we kept it at all. We should just throw it out and be done with it."     Petra grits her teeth as her eyes track over to where Audrey's having a little melty in the corner, and then quietly lets go of Angela's hand and steps away from her side to go talk to Audrey. She braces her forearm against the side of the crate Audrey's hiding behind and leans in, using her body as either a wall or a privacy curtain to say something inaudible to her.     After that, the explosions! Petra jolts upright and looks around in confusion, seeming vaguely queasy and disoriented. Her eyes eventually find Angela, and she swallows hard. "Oh right. I did want some-- invasions. That's convenient. Yay me." "How... Tough... Is this island?"     "Build-wise... not super. The town's defended by some triggered forcefields and a bunch of anti-projectile stuff, but the only thing stopping people from running in and blowing up people's houses themselves is... well, like, ten billion traps. I made *so* many traps for this island-- god, actually, most of them haven't even been *used*, since I built them after Quicknest."     Petra pushes open the window and clambers out onto the edge, looking rejuvenated by the bleach-less air and the incoming attack. She can't jump-- not with Angela here-- but she sure does look like she thinks about it. Audrey totally vanishes from her mind, when some idiot shouts a challenge out by name.
Petra Soroka	"Petra Soroka! Come out or EVERYONE here dies!"     "Ha! I'm not surprised you survived the *last* time I dunked your stupid ass into an explosion, but it looks like you didn't get out unscathed! I must've incinerated every outfit you owned that didn't make you look like a cheap pimp!"     Petra has no fucking clue what the Vex are, but it's been a refreshingly long time since the police came after her in force. She decides she can't let this opportunity for shittalking pass her up, so she pulls out her transteam gun and pulls its trigger, enveloping herself in black glittering mist that explodes into STING SILVER. She hops down from the ledge, only to crouch down next to Angela and hold her arms out.     Slightly voice-distorted by the mask, "Mind if I carry you around, sis? I've got some idiots to make fun of."     With Angela hoisted into a princess carry, she gives some final orders to the Partners before leaving. "There's a big laser turret on the left side of the island, if anyone who wants to hop into that thing, Heyalexa's probably arming it now. Be fucking careful about blowing up the infrastracture, though, there's a *lot* of people who live here. There's also so many traps, so watch out."     She's nor kidding about the traps! Petra herself knows where they are, when she drops down to the street level from several stories up with Angela in her arms, but the first wave of Vex definitely don't. Crushers of all kinds burst out of walls and floors to flatten them, metal chutes open and plummet implausibly deep into pits of lava or chambers where the walls slowly close in. The very terrain of the island is inhospitable to navigate, because of Petra's preferences, with buzzsaws and high walls to jump over, moving platforms, narrow spaces that might lead nowhere or might be the only way forewards, and Petra navigates it as her own home turf.     Being immune to the effects of the riot shields means that Petra can double-jump with assistance from her armor's propulsion systems, glide onto an airborne slide of Silver, and then surf her way to the side of a building where she can get close enough to harrass Sottenburry and Maurice personally.     "Aw, hey bud! Was it not enough for me to carry your shit-ass ratings once, or is this your way of inviting me to your next garbage reality TV show? I have to warn you though, if you're filming without permission, the Concord's lawyers take that really seriously!"
White	White takes Petra's summary cooly, discarding one idea for the next. She starts by getting out her phone, typing something into the TTS so that Kukuru's radio will pick it up, then pockets it again as she steps toward the same window most of the others are crowding- then blinks out of sight to bypass Petra without disturbing her at her perch. Letting herself drop into a freefall, someone or other might briefly catch her mouthing an incantation to herself on the way down; the magically sensitive among the crowd below might start to notice the energy building around her rather quickly, as she physically streaks down alongside the tower like a white silk-wrapped missile. While still midair, she might briefly startle Kukuru by suddenly swapping their positions via teleportation; Kukuru hangs midair for a moment before gravity can catch up with her change in state, while White abruptly crunches slightly into the ground where Kukuru was standing. It's only the recipients for which the gift is meant, that have a chance to hear her mutter "Black World."      While Kukuru is still up above, White seems to suddenly emit a foglike aura in a pulse from her body, crawling in layers of black and sickly green across the ground, the shields, and the people wearing them. Decaying dark magic eats at everything it touches within the broad sphere of affected space, though Sarracenia can tell White was being mindful not to catch her up in it; it can't hit everyone gathered, and she's keeping it away from the tower, but there's a reason she swapped with Kukuru instead of just landing next to her.      The foggy corrosion spreads rapidly, lacking the instant impact of her usual spells but functionally impossible to avoid without leaving her proximity, and she lets the spell disperse after only a couple of seconds so that she can bring Kukuru back down into the fray safely. The top layer of the ground around her has become loose and crumbly, like sand and charcoal more than soil or stone, but the island's integrity is probably still just fine. From there, her scythe is called out again and she slides in against Kukuru's back; she doesn't have to look her way at all to follow Kukuru's movements, cover her back and block projectiles via stone walls or web strands. And at the very least, those troublesome shields are probably no longer viable or whole; the coatings are certainly eaten through at minimum, and a firm blow from either Kukuru or herself is probably enough to go right through them now.
Angela	Angela is coming to a conclusion here. Petra is skittish and avoiding looking at Audrey but IS staring daggers at Kukuru. Audrey is MORE skittish than normal and looks like she's just been through something physically exhausting AND is wearing Kukuru's dress. And Kukuru came down with her and is giving her lots of concerned looks. She organizes the thoughts relevant to drawing a conclusion and seperates them from seemingly unrelated details. 1) Audrey is wearing Kukuru's clothes O 2) Audrey looks exhausted, worn out, and hoarse O 3) Audrey just got out of the shower O 4) Petra is not looking at Audrey O 5) Petra IS glaring at Kukuru O 6) There was a corpse X 7) Petra cleaned the area with bleach like how it would be done at LobCorp X 8) Petra's going over to Audrey to no doubt give her a stern private warning O CONCLUSION: Audrey has slept with Kukuru and Petra is upset about it. ''I'll take the stone cirlce.'' "Of course." Angela needs to be extra gentle and accomodating, she decides. IT must be tough for her to have to be having missions with Audrey after fucking Kukuru in her territory like this. Audrey surely must be taking advantage of Kukuru, she's too much of a sweetheart to intentionally hurt Petra, right? But for Audrey, well. "Love wouldn't mind if you took them at all. And you spend time together plenty." ''amusement park horseshit.'' "I'm sure there is a scientific way to dislodge sword from stone, perhaps industrial lubricant or industrial equipment to shatter the stone around the blade. Hazardous to the weapon, perhaps, but it can be repaired once it is pried free one way or another." She smiles a little when Petra gets called out personally. Yes, she thinks, this will be good for her. Take her mind off from Audrey and Kukuru. That's good. ''Mind if I carry you around, sis?'' "Of course not. Have a wonderful time." Does she feel just slightly lighter than normal? Hum.
Audrey Basque	LOOT STUFF:     White can definitely find a bag of holding or two in the pile! She could also just ask Audrey to make her one, sometime. The Sword of Selection predictable does not move... but White's strength being so high means she could wield it with the stone still in it, if she wanted. It'd be like a hammer then! It probably won't make her King of England to do that though.     The key is called the Crystal Key of Lubaantun.     Does White know about the Crystal Skulls?     The sword won't budge for Sarracenia either, but she's also strong enough to just... lift it by the hilt, rock and all. It's not balanced compared to any hammer she's had before, but it IS a practically invulnerable rock at the end of a stick (sword). It would do!     Needless to say but Petra is not the King either.     Off to the side afterwards, it's not clear what Petra whispers to Audrey but it did make her... recoil? Flinch?
Audrey Basque	OUTSIDE:     Kukuru opts for VIOLENCE. This is understandable, considering how abrupt this was and the kind of day she's had. She starts by tearing through the troopers with their shields, smashing their protective equipment away with ease; the shields inspire fear and anxiety, but they're not more effective as shields for it. These troopers are the least threatening things here for her; they have standard firearms, but their role seems to be to protect the varied others.     It's when Kukuru wades into the Vex that things get a little bit tougher. The Minotaurs that Brakion brought along are pretty tough front line units; armored, heavily armed, shielded. Trading blows with them is literal-- every swipe Kukuru makes results in a second unit, in concert, using the opening to unload weird exotic matter blasts at her, which both sting and cause her body to become volatile! ... which mostly makes it explode a bit when hit again.     Brakion itself takes her presence seriously enough to turn towards her, its massive cannon lowering with a digital warbling that isn't quite speech. It unloads a volley of large fiery-red blasts without warning, and with unusual speed and accuracy for something so big.     Angela draws a page from Vren, and obtains his power of Brood Command. This power allows Vren to zombify people, eventually twisting their bodies to have bladed limbs and such, with distinctively glowing purple eyes. If she equips it, it'll also allow her to contest his command over his army!     Sarracenia has the luxury of her airship, and what a luxury it is when it's in position. A constant rain of explosives and fireballs starts pelting at the twisted humans and vampires-- fire being especially effective against both. This is a lot less effective against the armed guards from the auction house, whose suits seem to be able to handle the explosions and fire surprisingly well.     It does a good job opening the way to Vren, who actually does have to Try this time. Lifting his hand, he suspends the Banzai Bill with a flow of purple energy, to save his mansion (for now). Sarracenia comes for him, swinging and lobbing more of her explosives about; he responds, politely but with bite, "For a princess who sides with petty thieves, you certainly think yourself mighty. A hammer and bombs? Is that all?" More of his twisted soldiers surge forward; two larger ones, clearly minibosses! They manage to work together to halt Sarracenia and her hammer by reforming their arms into shields, and then part when Vren himself suddenly swipes with a gloved hand.     His touch is a Death spell. Sarracenia's too sturdy to keel over from it, but it won't be pleasant if she lets him in.
Audrey Basque	Of course it goes without saying the island's traps are making life difficult for the invaders very quickly too. The Vex bear the brunt of it, having manifested directly at the heart of the island; wave after wave of them go down, replaced by less and less temporally shifting Vex. It not only keeps Kukuru from getting overwhelmed too quickly, but also makes it easy for Petra to fly over without having to worry about too much cannonfire from the robot-like entities. Which of course, leads her to...     "I can buy new clothes anytime I want! You'll never have a brain, idiot," Maurice growls, hands raised and rings channeling a plethora of rainbow effects. Sigmund, however, clearly did not think someone would just make it right to him, and so quickly no less, because Petra's arrival and taunt makes him back away behind Maurice.     "G-Garbage? I would have you know that we produce some of the most watched shows of any network! I'll forgive you for not knowing, but I expect you to perish as reparation. Maurice, if you would? Make it worth the expenditure of Ratings."     Sigmund raises a hand, and Maurice starts flickering and glowing with TV-like static particles. He slams his hands together with a grin, and a barrage of magical effects buffet Petra and Angela! An explosion of every element, a two ton shove into the ground, blasts both light and disintegrating. That buff he just got is no joke, apparently.     White unleashed the Black World spell, cleaning up what was left of the shielded police troopers in what is no doubt a terrifying and demoralizing display for however many of them are still watching from the safety of those portals. Actually... the flow of replacements certainly slows down, but doesn't stop entirely, after that. Regrouping with Kukuru also gives White the opportunity to prevent quite a few cheap shots from the Vex, too!     But her display also makes her a prime target. The masked men in suits, who have quite a bit of coordination amongst themselves, all lock onto her and fire off dozens of lightning bolts from multiple angles. Some might catch Kukuru too, but White can tell she's made herself their target.     While the fight escalates, the top of the tower starts emitting cracks and tears in the space around it. The purple portals that were opened around the island start moving, and with a rapid swipe, all crunch together into one portal which then detonates harmlessly. Reinforcements have been cut!
White	White won't be too surprised to be fired upon; she took up Kukuru's back for a reason, and while lightning attacks are troublesome she's had more than enough time to come up with a reflexive countermeasure; Terrain Spears jut out from the rotted ground in rigid, blackened sharp spikes into the firing lines about two thirds of the way surrounding herself and Kukuru, intercepting and grounding the electrical attacks. Once that multi-part shield is constructed, it's easy enough to replace the pieces that do break away under the electrical attacks after repeat impacts. While securely behind cover that she can replace at any moment and trivially peer through one-sidedly, White makes a number of simple Earth Walls emerge behind rows of the attackers, and physically drags them closer until they're shoved up against the protruding bramblepatch of sharp, crooked stalagmites. Even if the spikes don't punch through those reinforced suits it should be enough to pin them in place... And cleave through the whole lot, stone spikes, suits, flesh and all in a huge swing of her scythe. She almost swings it more like a baseball bat than a bladed weapon, planting her left foot forward with a stomp and twisting her torso through the whole motion into a massive overswing... Just to be certain.      With that done, her own barriers aren't blocking Kukuru's backward movements anymore either, and she gets out of the healer-brawler's way to start hailing Black Bullets back upon the Vex in suppressive fire against the fodder-bots, letting Kukuru focus on handling the boss unit with less interruptions. A couple of her shots go toward Sarracenia's opponents too, but it's primarily to put them under more pressure and give the princess more of an opening; she'll be directing most of her rotating glyph-gatling of explosive dark magic blasts squarely upon the Vex, until that problem is solved, before she moves on fully.
Sarracenia	Sarra is a bit unnerved as the corrosive fog flows in around her even if it doesn't actually touch her. She looks around for the source, but finding that it is White puts her at ease. She waves a thank you up at White as she continues on.      Sarra had avoided the police forces because...well...they are probably actual people and she really doesn't want to hurt actual people any more than she has to. So, she is glad that someone is attending to them, especially with that unease that the shields were causing.      And...she was also harboring some small hope that the police force might be able to arrest Petra.      'For a princess who sides with petty thieves, you certainly think yourself mighty. A hammer and bombs? Is that all?'      Sarra's eyes are a bit wide at seeing the Banzai Bill just...held in mid-air. That's never happened before! But, Vren speaking to her draws her attention back to him. "Is that an insult to me, or yourself?" Sarra says with a grin as her hammer clashes with those shields. "A mere princess with only a hammer and bombs will be your downfall at this rate!"      The shields part, and in comes that hand. Sarra lets out an 'eek!' and brings the head of her hammer in to block it. "And it is not so much that I sided with petty thieves. I sided against a den of villains! And a villain that uses people as human shields is one of the worst, most cowardly types!"      As she is speaking, Sarra reaches into her purse and tosses a pair of Bullet Bills upward. Sarra thrusts her hammer forward to push Vren back, then leaps upward and goes into a somersault. She passes the Bullet Bills on the way up, smashing one toward each of the shield-bearing bodyguards before she herself comes spinning her way back down toward Vren. She is somersaulting fast enough that her hammer is a blur by the time she closes in on Vren again, and her hammer hits hard enough to leave a decent crater upon impact!      Meanwhile, the Sundew Sovereign continues its bombardment! Reinforcements drying up means more and more artillery is focused on the other island and the manor upon it. It takes a few minutes, but eventually another giant shark-faced projectile is loaded into the Banzai Bill launcher. Sarra grins a rather malicious grin at Vren. The second Banzai takes an arcing path to avoid colliding with the first. "I wonder...can you stop two Banzai Bill at once?! Hahahaha!"
Kukuru	If nothing else, at least the mess last night at least had a nice follow up today: Everyone seems to have their eyes on Kukuru today! Angela's looking her way super intently, Sarracenia came by to say hello, Petra was glancing over at her a lot, and White's coordinating plenty with her to get the jump on these invaders! Well, she doesn't feel quite so good about Petra looking her way so much, but at least she can feel secure in knowing that she hasn't breached Petra's trust by saying anything about what happened yesterday. Still, that boost in morale  uplift her spirits some, and knowing White's got her back as they fight off these invaders is doing wonders for her mentals! All that teleportation is a little disorienting at first, and she'd normally be freaking out a little at suddenly being back in the air, but... White's got her back. It's easier that way, not needing to worry so much about where she's going as much as she does about just picking targets or swinging at whoever's nearby, knowing that White has her safety covered and not having that extra mental stack lingering around. That also gives her a moment to think about what Petra was doing with the stone with the sword coming out of it. "Is that really supposed to come out of there...? Sarra might've had the right idea... Ah, later, later." First things first: Dealing with the invaders! She's still mildly annoyed that she didn't think to actually wear any of that armor out for this, but it's not as though she could've predicted an attack from people with a grudge against Petra. She just has to continue dealing with the situation alongside everyone else, tearing shields apart and beating the shit out of those troopers before being rudely interrupted by the Vex. "Owie.. What is that?" She wonders aloud as she notices the strange matter blast leaving that stinging feeling on her arm, then yelping as a followup shot blows a nasty hole into said arm and has her hissing painfully  while her nanites swirl about to close that back up. "Nasty weapons... That's not very polite at all, you know!" Sadly, the Vex don't seem to be speaking the same language as Kukuru, and she wisely decides not to stand firm in the face of Brakion's cannon when it's pointed right at her. With White right behind her in the line of fire and with those lightning gunners all proving to be colossal jerks after her last encounter with them, Kukuru turns quickly to grab onto White onto protectively. "Sorry, dear, but we need to... Oh!" They don't need to move after all, not with White's Earth Walls covering them from all that incoming fire. "This is way easier than what I was thinking..." She comments with a light giggle, the telltale fog of a teleportation cloud briefly appearing and disappearing from below them once she disperses that energy. Instead, she frets over White a little at first, taking advantage of that shielding to get them both healed up before looking towards the opening that's been created for her.
Kukuru	"Oh, very nice work, dear. This is perfect for getting right where I need to." Humming softly, Kukuru takes a few more seconds to get her claws on, clacking them together a few times to make sure she has them on right before punching a metal fist into a metal palm. "That big one's gonna be a reeeeal big problem... Okay. I'm gonna hit it right in belly. Stay safe, dear!" Knowing that her approach is covered, Kukuru deliberately climbs out of White's Earth Walls, loitering outside of that safety just long enough to draw some more fire her way before dropping into another teleportation cloud at the last possible second. It sends her high into the sky, dropping rapidly to build up speed while she weighs her options. She did promise to hit Brakion in the gut, and so... That's exactly what she aims for. The next portal points her right at Brakion's midsection, practically flinging the healer-with-hands directly at it so she can slam into it with all the weight and power of her punches focused on that weird line in the middle of that metallic plate thing in the center. She's not really sure what it is, but having a spot to focus her attacks helps her to direct her clawed punches and thrusts, just trying to drive the claw and her arm straight through it to reach whatever might be lurking beyond it. If she can get a good hold inside or work both claws in, she'll even start tearing outwards to try and make the gap even bigger!
Angela	Angela draws a page from Vren and... Angela grimaces and almost burns the page immediately just out of disgust, but ... It could be useful right? ... Only for this specific situation, Angela tells herself. She'll drop it later. What she was looking for was something a little different from what she saw he was doing but... ...No, there is something fitting she can do with this, she decides. Angela's eyes glow purple and she whispers--but to the zombified minions, it's more like a shout. "What are you doing? We're not the ones that stole your personhood away, we're not the ones that made you into weapons. But the one who did this to you is nearby. You should thank him, in the way he taught you." She isn't going to try to take the full horde, or even half of it--all she wants is a sizeable chunk suiddenly turning around on their original master. This feels like something she can make use of that feels right for the moment. And then she can set it aside. Not every piece of knowledge is worth holding onto, Angela learns, sometimes it should be buried so that the useful information can be found more readily, taken hold of more keenly. As someone who is being carried by Petra in the moment, she can't really DODGE. What she can do is summon Black Swan from her book and open it up to try and provide Petra some cover from the incoming assault. She's quite confident that Petra has it handled, of coure. She always has. She always does.
Petra Soroka	There's bespoke areas, a lot of them, where the island is covered in greenery, but most of the traversed terrain of the island is made up of playground rubber and steel. This is very good for running and rolling around, but when White's Black World spell disintegrates it, it ends up decompositing into gross sticky tar-like substances. Petra's mask turns towards the center of the magical black fog, and then looks down at Angela with appreciation audible through the distortion of her mask.     "Wow, sis. You know how to choose 'em." She pauses for a second, and though her facial expression's unreadable past the mask, Angela can tell when Petra is grimacing in self-disgust. "... Yeah. White's really great." "You'll never have a brain, idiot,"     "Ooh, wow, clever. Did you write that one on your hand so you wouldn't forget it?" Once she's on the new, evil island, Petra sets Angela down with a last squeeze to her hand. Silver drips down her arms to puddle in her palms, gradually building up into a pair of knives.     "G-Garbage? I would have you know that we produce some of the most watched shows of any network!"     Petra flips one of the knives up and catches it a few times, idly animating as the two talk. "Yeah, and you're welcome. Do you have a habit of only hiring back the *lowest* scoring members of your shows, though? No wonder your operation was as embarrassing and juvenile as it was."     When Petra's idle animation gradually slows to a halt, it's not in response to preparing to fight the newly buffed-up Maurice. Angela can tell, though it's likely that Maurice and Sottenburry can't, that this is Petra stiffening up and clenching her muscles hard enough to hurt. The pool of morphmetal around her feet shivers and spikes like ferrofluid, twisting into crystalline patterns, and when her gauntleted fist tightens, the morphmetal shudders in tandem.     "... God. What am I doing. This... vapid fucking small talk, from a bunch of hollow shells of people I've already wasted too much of my time on. It *should* be fun for me. But I just can't... get into the mood, where smirking and ganging up on a group of retards feels like anything but... rot, creeping through my veins. Aren't I better than this? It's only recently that I've been reduced to *this*, and...."     The twitching morphmetal shoots up to curve into an egg shielding Petra from her feet, in anticipatory reaction to Maurice's explosion of magic around her. A second later, the Silver egg melts away, without Petra inside of it. Maurice feels an unyieldingly strong armored hand grab the back of his suit jacket before he's thrown to the ground hard enough to drive the wind out of him. The Silver arcs up into a wave, and then hardens into a barrage of metal spikes that rain down on Maurice, punching multiple feet into the black soil.
Petra Soroka	Sting Silver is surrounded by the telltale signs of Audrey's magic, reached for unconsciously in response to Maurice's manipulation of gravity. Petra's shoulders shudder, and then she lifts up her boot to try and drive it down into Maurice. The mask lifts up to stare at Sottenburry, impassively for a few seconds, before she pulls a small remote out of the reflective surface of her Silver and presses the button with a pseudopod of morphmetal.     On the entire perimeter of the island, garage-like vents slide open, and a locust-swarm of ratbots pour out to fly over the surface. Most of them are carrying weapons affixed to the hooks on their undersides, like little laser cannons, or bombs to drop over the armies, or even buzzing chainsaws which they use to strafe and charge at the vampires. The biggest vehicle that emerges from the underside of the island is a heavily mechanized rebuild of Kale's East Wind, a VTOL that hovers up overhead with the roar of several jet engines, and then unleashes a sustained stream of missile fire carpeting the remaining foot troops.     "Honestly. You're fucking with *me*. If you looked up *anything* about me-- if you fucking *listened* to me when I was at your *bullshit* FUCKING events--! Why don't you people fucking *get* that I'm dangerous?! Did you *come* here to die?! Did you think you were fucking invincible?! 'Not me, surely', right?!!! 'I'll show that *bitch* who's really in charge'! 'She can't stop *all* of us'! Right?! Huh?!"     Sting Silver stands stock-still, stance wide and fists trembling by her side. The eradication of the armies, the spiraling storm of Silver blades that keeps launching at Maurice, all happen without her input to move, as she glares at Sottenburry, voice rapidly rising into a shriek. "Do you have anyone you left behind?! Is it worth it?! God, you *fucking* people choose the *worst* days!! I deserve to take you apart limb by *fucking* limb!"
Angela	''Wow, sis. You know how to choose 'em.'' Angela didn't know that White had a spell that could just mass disintegrate cops into goop but she's always willing to find more reasons to appreciate White. Angela isn't really a fighter, nor does she think too highly of violence, but she does appreciate efficiency and it's hard to not call the all consuming death fog as anything but efficient. She smiles in a humu like expression--but it doesn't linger long as she notices Petra's grimace. She likes to think she knows her sister pretty well now and can tell when Petra's disgusted at Petra rather than when she's disgusted at other people. But she's not sure why that would be the case unless... Does Petra blame herself for Audrey and Kukuru's relationship? It's possible, she doesn't think that's impossible anyway, but it does feel like a longshot. Maybe she's missing some key detail. While she's thinking about it, she's set down. She gives Petra's hand a return squeeze. Angela doesn't want to interrupt Petra from insulting h her enemies. She knows that's a very enriching activity for Petra but... ''But I just can't... get into the mood.'' Something's wrong. "Eonni, if you're not in the mood--" Angela says. ''You *fucking* people choose the *worst* days!!'' Angela pretends to take in a deep breath for effect, and then exhales it out slowly. "I see. I was hoping this would cheer you up, but it seems this is just the wrong moment for this sort of activity." She turns to the horrors unfolding and the various enemies. "Perhaps you should leave now." Armies are eradicated, silver blades are launched. Angela continues to talk like she has to turn away someone from the door of a small business because the boss had a sudden change in plans. Reverting to 'Secretary' comes far too naturally for her. "How about you leave for now and if you really want we can annihilate you at a later date at our convenience." There, she thinks, that's quite reasonable so they'll be sure to listen to her impeccable logic.
Audrey Basque	WHITE abuses her knowledge of the elemental hierarchy of most worlds (and physics) and establishes a field of lightning rods, which successfully deals with most of the incoming shots! The suited, masked men adjust, holstering their firearms and reaching in their pockets for various replacements. This doesn't do much for those who are a mite too slow, clubbed and shoved and even cleaved by White's follow-up. The guards that do manage to stay standing did it through magical barriers, a few of the men holding out glowing crystals that protect themselves and those nearby.     It's even enough to tank the overswing!     ... barely. White can see the barriers strain heavily. They're not rated for Elites, let alone ones on her level.     Her gatling of smaller spells does a good job keeping the Vex from boxing them in; a few stray shots can even distract Vren (more on this)! But the Vex are not happy about this, their digital warbles intensifying as they start huddling together closer, their personal forcefields stacking and making them harder to breach. The blasts from the fodder stops though?     KUKURU gets to see why. Brakion engages her in melee combat, which is to say it's a thirty foot tall robot with similar amounts of strength. Her claws dig in, ripping metal plating off the titan, and it uses every opening it can get to either smash her back, or try to get in a cheap shot from its cannon. When the third chunk of plating is ripped off by Kukuru, it starts sparking. Brakion releases a wide-area blast of arc energy as its armor clanks off and it switches into a faster configuration-- slimmer, more exposed, and twitchier. The rest of the Vex moved out ahead of time.     And coordinate their return volleys on White and Kukuru with the wide area blast from Brakion.     SARRACENIA finds that Vren is freakishly strong, too. Giving the impression he's a feeble but magical old man is his game; you get in close, and... he catches her hammer, not without an unpleasant crunch sound in his arm, but he holds steady nonetheless.     "Cowards live. It isn't about being 'brave'."     His bodyguards don't fare as well, the Bullet Bills knocking them back out of covering range. So he does without them.     Especially since the Sundew Sovereign is hacking his army of deformed ghouls apart with constant cannon fire, and his portals have closed. He needs an opening, to reopen them-- just a small one.     "Stop? Perhaps not. Then again--!"     Vren leaps back away from Sarracenia, and flicks his hand up. The suspended Banzai Bill impacts with the other one! The flash is BLINDING. The uses the cover to channel portal energies again, starting to tear open a few, until one of his own minions leaps at him.     Because ANGELA makes use of the dark gift. The horrors start infighting, and Vren's portals close again, this time due to lack of focus. He grunts, pondering his options. Cowards live. That's always true.
Audrey Basque	Petra, on Vren's island, pummels Maurice into the ground. Even with Sottenburry's weird ratings-based(??) magic, taking Petra on fair and square without backup is a stupid proposition. One he's too invested in at this point. His rings produce multiple layers of colorful magical shields, which break in succession one after the other under Petra's flurry of metal spikes. One finally makes it through puncturing (possibly removing entirely?) his arm.     Petra rants, and yells, and insults and screams and none of it registers for the haughty little bastard of a mage who still thinks he's The Hot Shit. Another wave of spikes, but he raises his good hand, half a dozen of the rings lighting up to try Everything.     A spell of magnetism to try to turn the metal on Petra.     Lightning blasts to try to conduct through it back at her.     A repelling field, to simply try to reflect them.     And all the while another volley of elemental blasts.     All the while, effortless for her, Petra's deployment of armed ratbots and the VTOL start thinning out what's left of the aggressing troops. Keeping most of the island safe, as designed.     Sigmund, who can only watch Maurice get pelted while Petra monologues, has the allures of a man who's just been told No. Furious, and confused, and... "Ha! As if I would tell you about my family. You are scary, I grant you, but... you really do not understand who you're lobbing threats at, do you?" It's more like he doesn't understand. One of his hands slips behind his back, and he retreats something from a pocket...     Angela's threats don't seem to dissuade him either.     But he needs a few more seconds.     "Oh? Would you be that polite, then? Perhaps we could... yes, yes, reschedule this? A better day," Sigmund feigns a hearty smile.     The tower, and by extension Audrey, finally seem to 'have their shit together' which might improve Petra's day by a whole half a percent point. A pulse rings out from it, and every single enemy combatant is subjected to a gravity increase that is visible. Humans strain-- Vex start crunching into their own parts. The fallen can't get back up.     Vren rumbles under his mask.     "I will not lose my life or my island for your silly games, Sottenburry. Tell Demonte the deal is off. I am leaving." He starts reciting an incantation, body glowing a bright purple-- his whole island, starting to glow as well, starting to flicker along with everyone on it, which would include Angela and Petra!     And then it abruptly stops, as AUDREY refracts into view behind Vren. Her presence alone disrupts his spatial translocation spell.     She's still pale, and sickly, but she's going to be *useful* if it's the last thing she does.     "T-That's... ours, now. Y-You can't have it back. You can't l-leave with it, either." She traces a line on the ground with her foot, and Vren is pinned in place by enough downward force to elicit a scream. He's still struggling, though, which makes Audrey look at Sarracenia and simply say:     "A-All yours."
White	Normally, White's order of operations here would have been: Teleport inside the barriers and handle the suited goons, then sweep away the Vex with her scythe, then go for one of the bosses. However, two things change her focus! One, Audrey managed to enter the fray and do most of the heavy lifting (heh) on keeping the weaklings down. Two, Angela is holding some kind of conversation with Sigmund, and on closer examination he's doing something behind his back.      White takes advantage of the fact that she hasn't been using her Evil Eye so far to surprise any still-standing suits and Vex with a sudden, max-power glare of the Evil Eye of Panic, sweeping her arcane sight across the closely-grouped mooks and shocking their brains with sudden terror, the kind that makes knees wobble and conscious sight turn off. Long enough to make sure that any who were still strugglesomely staying afoot will crumple under Audrey's gravitic force, especially when she sweeps back the other way with her own Heavy Evil Eye. Kukuru gets the mild courtesy of a flick of White's scythe peeling up some of the tar-coated steel ground, a hastily made metal wall swept between the battle-medic's duel and the other Vex minions to keep them from getting a line of fire. Kukuru will be fine, at least for a little while, as long as she can focus.      After handling those minor tasks, White teleports away and appears midair behind Sigmund. Maybe Petra could've caught on to help Angela, or maybe she's too distracted with her fit, and White isn't risking the latter as a possibility. Her choice of attack for this sudden ambush is a little different though; her leg is raised up, and as she plunges down at Sigmund she targets *herself* with the Heavy Evil Eye at the same time as him, simultaneously slowing his movements and increasing her own effective weight, right as she slices the air with the back of her leg swept downward. She aims for his head... She's more likely to hit a shoulder, though. Even still, his skeleton might not ever fit together the same if he catches this one unaware. She's gotta do things like this for Angela now that they're dating, right? That's normal? Or is that just a guy thing? She's not going to seem less feminine because of this right? Right?! Oh whatever, red looks good on white, so it should look good on White too!
Sarracenia	It isn't the first time that her hammer has been caught in such a way, but even so...Sarra ends up with eyes wide and teeth clenched as the reverberations from her own strike are transferred back through the hammer to her. She drops to the ground as Vren leaps back, then starts to follow after, but has another eyes-widening moment as the first Banzai is tossed into the second. She covers her ears and squints her eyes against the explosions that follow. When she is able to focus again, she hears Vren saying he is leaving. "H-hey!" she exclaims...      Then blinks in surprise as Audrey is suddenly there. And not only there, but holding Vren for Sarra! Sarra blinks a few more times. "Well, thank you, Audrey!" she says with a smile, then grins at Vren. "It is a bit dishonorable to hit an opponent while he is pinned, buuuut..."      Sarra reaches into her purse and pulls out a fist-sized chunk of black iron. Those who have seen her DK Hammer might recognize it as a piece of that. "...there is no dishonor in accepting help against a stronger opponent!" she says, then pushes the chunk of metal into her Silver hammer.      Prismatic energy flows over it in a wave, and then over Sarracenia. Her hair and skirt starts to float and sway ever so slightly, almost like she were underwater. "It has been a while since I used this. I hope you are honored, mystery voodoo man!" she says, then her teeth clench as the hammer energy infuses her. "Someone like you...will probably even survive this~" she says before...she just starts hammering. Almost robotic in her movements, she swings up and down a few times a second, each swing carrying enough power to smash the ground apart and send an audible thud through the area. The hammer fever lasts for a couple dozen seconds before the prismatic energy fades, leaving Sarra panting from the effort.      Audrey's declaration that the island is theirs now reaches the Sundew Sovereign, and the airship stops bombarding the island. The airship's guns refocus on the Vex, helping to pin down and mop up that group to assist Kukuru and White.
Kukuru	With the number of explosions rising by the second, Kukuru's actually finding it a little hard to hear anything. That does help her focus somewhat, at least, since it means she can try to just focus on her adversary instead, and it's truly a battle of power against power. With Brakion commanding the noticeable size advantage, Kukuru's greatest advantage here must surely be mobility! Except she's normally not particularly mobile without her teleportation, and that's pretty damn predictable the more she uses it. She's all too eager to use it, of course, to get those first few plates off, but they don't come without their own cost in flesh. Those that have seen Kukuru fight before, however, may notice something different from her now that certainly wasn't like that some weeks ago: She's not getting winded. She's slowing down a little, yes, but she isn't panting or gasping for air. She's pacing herself as she clashes with the giant robot, pitting her strength against its bigger-than-her limbs when she can and backing off when she needs to recover and regenerate from the wounds she sustains just keeping it busy. She even tries clambering up its arm at one point, but getting smashed into the ground reveals that she's probably better off just fighting it straight instead of trying anything too tricky and tiring. After getting that third plate off, Kukuru screeches briefly as the sparks force her to dismount the giant with the plate in tow, watching it closely for whatever it is that it's about to do. Her timing couldn't be better with that plate, either, as it provides her some level of defense against the arcing energy blast, although she's soon forced to release it as shots from the Vex's return volleys start coming her way from behind and the sides, creating more painful explosion-wounds that the nanites have to ramp up in order to keep up with. "You again...? Oh, don't you dare!" Seeing them firing on White riles her up again, as though she wasn't already riled up enough from this whole mess upsetting Audrey as it did at the outset. She's still being pinned down by the volleys of horrible matter blasts, though, but luckily for Kukuru... A new opening appears, courtesy of White and Audrey! Between the metal wall providing with more much needed cover and Audrey pinning the Vex down with the tower's power and White's Heavy Evil Eye, Kukuru can focus once more on the giant's twitchy-rapid second form. "Thank you, dears! Aaah... Now, if you're gonna change that much to move faster, then I can do that, too." Thankfully, Kukuru doesn't mimic Brakion's form-change by just tearing her clothes off and calling it a day. Instead, she shifts her nanites priorities with a silent command, glowing blue instead of their usual green as they pulse inside of her. Tripling her size over the course of a few seconds, Kukuru is... Still barely over half the giant robot's height, but she's got the power of love for her family fueling her as she starts advancing on Brakion. With that lesser size difference, Kukuru can turn this into a more even brawl! She's still a massive regenerating cheater, of course, so she's all too willing to trade blows with Brakion, taking massive punches right to the face so she can return them just as hard at the titan. Rather than just swinging at center mass and missing because her limbs are still shorter, Kukuru actually goes for the limbs striking her. She knows she can heal herself even if Brakion cracks her across the jaw, but how long can it last when she's latching onto an arm to snap it off, or when she sinks all those jagged shark teeth through those metallic legs?
Petra Soroka	Maurice is fighting a losing battle, but at least it's one that he can get a few satisfying smacks on Petra during. She's far from her most focused right now, so even though she habitually resists magnetic and magical control over her Silver, it's still launched at her quickly enough to send up sparks off her armor. *Unfortunately* for him, her cinematographic angle is that of a rage-fueled hazard form, rather than the kind of plucky armored heroine to blast and roll away before picking herself back up again. Lightning washes over her suit in crackling arcs, and her knee buckles as her heel grinds into the ground, but despite all his efforts, Maurice isn't even close to debelting her. "As if I would tell you about my family."     The sound of Petra derisively spitting comes through the distortion of her mask, but... hopefully she didn't actually spit in there. "You fucking gambling addict. I'm not a fucking *carousel* that you can cheerfully hop on and off whenever it *fucking* pleases you. You bottom-feeding vermin."     Petra raises up her hand, and the rivulets of morphmetal rolling down her arm coalesce into a blade angled towards Sigmund. Angela's words are what make her hesitate, with a shudder running down her spine. Her breathing rasps through the mask for several seconds, audibly slowing down a gear.     "... Y'know, Ange... that's probably a good idea. These people could be a fun fucking field day for me if I wasn't in such a dogshit mood." She jerks her chin. "Get out of here. Use your old man and get out of my sight before I kill you."     But then, White flattens Sigmund and prevents him from pulling off whatever trick it was that Petra had overlooked. Audrey's sudden reappearance makes Petra skitter to the side a few steps, which she makes up for by kicking Maurice in the side. The call to retreat was made, but suddenly... the bile rising in Petra's throat stings as she looks around the island-- *her* island-- and the wrapping-up of the people who came to attack it, and Audrey, standing in the corner of her vision. Sting Silver vanishes in a small explosion of black glittering mist, leaving Petra standing with smears of soot across her face and arms. "T-That's... ours, now. Y-You can't have it back. You can't l-leave with it, either."     Petra's teeth grit hard enough to be audible. Without turning to look at Audrey, she cuts in, spitting the words. "No. I don't want it."     This was all inexorably tied to Audrey, wasn't it? This shitty little mansion would be another black mark on Hydrochoeria, another chain hooked into Petra's own business, another fucking parasitic little leech burrowing into her skin to tie Audrey closer to her. The rarely-felt nowadays prickle of her aura washes off of her in full force, twitching and itching like shattered plastic splinters writhing underneath skin, and the pearlescent echoes of her psychic copy of Audrey's magic vanish.     She snaps her fingers. "Audrey. Send it to the bottom of the ocean. I don't fucking want to see it anymore."     Again without turning her head, Petra's hand blindly reaches out in Angela's direction, trying to hold onto her hand. "White, can you bring us back to stable ground?"
Kukuru	When it looks like Brakion might be on its last legs, Kukuru moves in for the kill even with all the bloody marks and bruise building all over her. With her healing slowing down just to keep her fighting at that size, she has to bet it all on getting close enough to grab the giant robot around the waist, almost looking like she's hugging it while hoisting it off the ground. Imitating a move she's seen from the athletes in her youth, Kukuru tightens her hold into a waist-crushing squeeze before falling forwards, using her own weight alongside Audrey's heightened gravity effect to try and embed it right in the island.
Angela	''Oh? Would you be that polite, then? Perhaps, we could... yes, yes, reschedule this? A better day.'' "Oh! Really?" Angela is not accustomed at all to anyone taking her reasonable and perfect advice. Normally they just sort of. Ignore her advice. The idea that it might be a trick just doesn't occur to her because it's just honestly nice to be listened to. Even better, Petra is corroborating! She's helping improve Petra's day. Angela smiles faintly and then turns back to Sigmund. "Well in that case, we should shake on it." She steps forward and offers her hand. "A deal with me is more secure than any deal with a Wing--" Fortunately, White IS able to recognize Sigmund is up to something and she comes crashing down like a piano landing on a coyote. Now you might think that Angela might be a little disappointed to see her attempt at parlay interrupted by White--certainly, she STILL has no idea he was up to something--but she has too high an opinion of White to actually be troubled by it. Startled, of course, since it wasn't expected--but they hadn't actually shook hands yet so the deal wasn't formalized anyway. "Impressive, White. Thank you for the hand. Or perhaps--I should say... foot?" She seems amused by her own wordplay but it's hard to keep her mood up when Petra is doing so poorly. Angela rushes back over--she practically runs even though she was only two or three feet away, so it looks a little off--to take Petra's hand. "I'm here." She promises. "I'm here."
Audrey Basque	The flurry of final blows is brutal. Kukuru gets in close with Brakion, and in its stripped down form, loses an arm to her strength. Its integrity is more than compromised, and the giant starts flickering temporally until it breaks part, in a little shower of white energy.     It decided, wisely, that it was never here.     This causes the remaining Vex (what few haven't been destroyed or immobilized by White, Kukuru, the ratbots and so on) to also temporally dissipate.     Sarracenia beats Vren into a pulp.     What people decide to do with him once he's conscious again must certainly be up for debate now.     All the while her airship can clean up remaining ground forces.     White, diverging away from the Vex, makes a surprise attack on Sigmund-- whose head is lopped off clean. He is not a fighter, and he has no reflexes. If she aims for the head, she hits the head-- and his argument with Petra and Angela is now irrelevant.     The device he was holding falls to the ground behind him. It's clearly some kind of magical orb, and it had been accumulating power. A lot of it. With the right twist you could release that power and turn someone into fine mist if you wanted to. There might not even be mist left, actually.     Which just leaves Maurice, missing an arm and beaten to an inch of his life. Sigmund's buff flickers out of existence with his death, and Maurice passes out without its support. Which means he, Vren, and quite too many unconscious or simply pinned people across the island are now in Petra's hands to decide the fate of.     As for Vren's island...     "O-Okay," Audrey responds to Petra.     No questions asked.     Once everyone is off it, Audrey sends it down, to sink into the ocean far below Hydrochoeria. She didn't think anything of it, besides that if Petra says it goes down, then it obviously goes down.
White	White isn't challenged on her choice of 'greeting' for Sigmund, so she doesn't bother justifying it; if anything she looks almost peppy as she straightens back up from her landing stoop with a little bounce. With her long and storied history of getting her legs stuck in walls, tank armor, *people's torsos*... It gives her a little pride to be able to think of her mighty calves as a pair of proper guillotines, even if it was a sneak attack. Angela's thanks are met with a small bow of White's head while she straightens her dress out with her palm and tries to use Thread Manipulation to part the blood from her right sock, but she ends up deciding that's better done at home while she's not wearing them. She pauses to bend down again and carefully pick up the magic orb, grimaces at it for a moment, and vanishes it into her sleeve; a couple of her 'agents' scamper out of the pocket space nervously, but she pays them no mind. Maybe she can feed it to the System, or use it as one of the magic 'vessels' she's been looking for, if she's lucky.      The next moment all four of them are transported away in a fleeting flicker of light-blue onto Petra-owned land, leaving the invasive island behind without a second thought. It's a space-designated teleport rather than individual-as-a-group, so they arrive in the same physical arrangement they vanished in, relative to each other, and there's no risk of a loophole causing Petra and Angela to be separated dangerously.      Sarracenia's ship cannons have cleaned up most of the trash she left stunned in her wake, and given the princess already pummelled the other remaining boss pretty thoroughly, it just leaves that big Vex that Kukuru's slugging it out with for a little bit longer, and she makes a good enough showing that the enemy retreats! White offers a quiet clap for her in congratulations, one palm against the back of the other hand since she's still holding her scythe. Audrey still gets a sidelong look, but White's not having to work hard to mask her concern given her usual plain expressions.
Kukuru	The invaders are defeated! Kukuru isn't quite sure what happened with Brakion as, when she moves in for the kill, she's just sort of grasping at empty space instead. Not too bothered by where it could have gone, she instead turns her attention towards the Vek who also aren't there any more. She didn't hallucinate all that, did she? Kukuru looks over at White to see if she might be just as confused about what happened, looking just a little confused at the clapping at first. Once she catches on, though, Kukuru giggles pleasantly and throws her claw-covered hands forward in a double peace sign."Nice work~ Aah, that was some reeeally good teamwork there, White... Hehe. Oh. You're not hurt anywhere, are you?" As Kukuru regroups with everyone, she return to her normal size before the nanites can burn out too much. She's still got work to do and people to check up on, of course, even though she's back to her sluggish self now that the anger has subsided and the adrenaline worn off. As always, Kukuru makes sure to fix everyone else up before treating her own wounds passively, and then... "Audreeey. How're you feeling after all that?" Of course she's going to check on Audrey first. The poor girl was freaked out so badly when those people showed up earlier, and she's still not even close to 100% after yesterday. It's only natural Kukuru would fret over her again!
White	Despite Kukuru's good intentions, White has no remaining injuries by this point! She'd taken a few shots here and there, mostly to the back of her forearms going by the holes in her dress's sleeves, but even those are starting to close up as White finds the time to knit the clothing back together. She, without moving a muscle in her face, does at least return one V-sign though.
Angela	Angela can't tell what the magical orb's purpose was just from looking at it, though she can tell it was accumulating power. Angela doesn't think it could turn her into a fine mist because she has a very high opinion on the state of her construction but if that was some sort of attack, could it have knocked her far enough away from Petra... And if that's the case did White just essentially save her? It's...probably okay to be saved by someone you're dating right, from time to time? If they find it fulfilling? White seems peppy after saving her so... yes, it's probably fine. She studies White. Perhaps she should figure out healing to--oh no wait that's Sigmund's blood. White's fine. As theyreappear onnto Hydrochoeria, Angela says, "You are a lifesaver, White." SHe knows gassing up the person you're dating is good because she's seen Lilian and Tamamo do it for each other occassionally, if perhaps more fluidly than she can manage yet. Of course, she means 'lifesaver' in a more metaphorical sense. It's hard to be more worried about her physical wellbeing than Petra's emotional wellbeing. She clearly doesn't want to talk about it yet. And maybe she never wants to talk about it. Kukuru rushes over to Audrey, ''of course''. "Let's find someplace quiet." She suggests to Petra and White both.
Audrey Basque	Audrey has just enough life in her to-- without being rude about it, just... direct-- put distance between herself and Kukuru. With her arms, at first, and magically, if she insists. Deep breath. PHONE: Petra Soroka hisses under her breath, leaning in for privacy, "Get your shit together. I'm fucking serious."     "I'm okay," says the least okay person present.     ... maybe second least okay person present.     "I don't need anything," she insists.     She can't tell White is looking at her.     Actually she can't much look at anyone herself.
Sarracenia	The island is deemed trash and dumped into the ocean below. Sarra pouts lightly, but doesn't say anything else. She does look over at Audrey though. "Audrey...I do not know what is going on, and I am not going to ask. But...clearly something bad happened to you within the last few days. It does not matter how tough or how useful you are - which you are - eventually you will need to rest and recover properly. Otherwise..." Sarra's hand moves to rest on her eyepatch, an ever-present reminder of Sarra pushing herself past the brink. "Just...please. Take care of yourself. I can recommend some very good spas."      Audrey pushes Kukuru away, and Sarra mmphs in annoyance. "Or do not. Push yourself until you collapse." she says, a deep frown on her face. She obviously wants to say more, but her fists clench. She did make a promise over a duel. With a heated huff, she turns away from Audrey. "I am going to gather the sword, the throne, and the key, and then I am going home. Thank you for the entertaining day."
White	The short conversation she has aside from everyone else with Petra and Angela resolves quickly enough, and White gets her phone out to type out a message to the others. "I've taken what I want. Some of my agents are around the island right now, so if something happens, wave one down. Otherwise, have a pleasant evening." She pauses, thinks, and right as Sarracenia is leaving she thinks to add, "I hope your buried sword helps you find a hero that isn't terrible, Miss Sarracenia.", totally misunderstanding what the princess might have in mind.
Audrey Basque	Sarracenia attempts to look after Audrey!     There's a cloud in her head, and an echoing voice, and a scream that calls her worthless and that if she needs a pick-me-up from Sarracenia Fucking Sundew to feel better she may as well just die.     This brings things into focus just enough that that she seems to... twitch, a bit, shiver, and then wobble a foot to the left to puke into the closest bush. Then her head is quiet again.     By the time she can stand up straight again, she just starts walking towards the Warpgate and leaves the long way around.
Sarracenia	Sarra blinks in surprise at White's message, then a slight smile forms on her face. "I hope so as well, Miss White~" White may be properly understanding after all! Surely one wouldn't do anything with such a sword trapped in a stone except try to find the hero that can free it.      Audrey throws up because Sarra offered her support. Of course, Sarra can see that Audrey is in bad condition, so instead of taking it incredibly personally she just shakes her head and keeps walking.