Alice Quest - The Seven-Colored Puppeteer's Week v4

[Neovereign]

>"You're about to have a fight in the mushroom field. You've all made it my business."

> "Cuz you think all the mushrooms are yours, right!"
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Is there just one speaker? Or are several speaking up in turn?
>"It is a public garden, wasn't that the argument I heard?"

[Neovereign]

>Is there just one speaker? Or are several speaking up in turn?
>"It is a public garden, wasn't that the argument I heard?"

> The latter.
> "Shut up. We don't need to answer you."
> The others speak to each other. You think it's something about tricks.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Fix a foul look on that speaker. "You shut up and you mind your manners."
>"Now, if the rest of you don't want to be good neighbors about this, then I suppose there's no helping it. That's a shame."
>How quickly can we conjure a line of dolls and set them firing? Can we conjure them in formation?

[Neovereign]

>Fix a foul look on that speaker. "You shut up and you mind your manners."
>"Now, if the rest of you don't want to be good neighbors about this, then I suppose there's no helping it. That's a shame."
>How quickly can we conjure a line of dolls and set them firing? Can we conjure them in formation?

> "Make me!"
> Just a couple of seconds. Yes.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Summon up a brigade of 14, in wedge shape with the  point directed at the mouthy faerie. No fire order yet, but have them ready.
>"I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

[Neovereign]

>Summon up a brigade of 14, in wedge shape with the  point directed at the mouthy faerie. No fire order yet, but have them ready.
>"I'm sorry, could you say that again?"

> You summon up a group of dolls.
> The fairy hastily gobbles up one of the mushrooms.
> "UHAAACK!" She continues, then swallows.
> The others in the group start giving each other mushrooms and eating them...
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Direct the dolls to open fire around the bag immediately, half with beams and half with streams of arrowhead danmaku; they they going for mushrooms, they are getting a faceful of danmaku in the process.

[Neovereign]

>Direct the dolls to open fire around the bag immediately, half with beams and half with streams of arrowhead danmaku; they they going for mushrooms, they are getting a faceful of danmaku in the process.

> You direct the dolls towards the bag.
> Some of the fairies get hit as they're trying to get to the mushrooms.
> There's a lot of flashing.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Take a step back, and prepare to summon another squad. For the time being, just focus on denying area around the bag. Whether or not it survives is immaterial now, this is about teaching faeries some respect for their betters.

[Neovereign]

>Take a step back, and prepare to summon another squad. For the time being, just focus on denying area around the bag. Whether or not it survives is immaterial now, this is about teaching faeries some respect for their betters.

> You step back and prepare...
> The fairies all start transforming, still handing out to the rest.
> The shots seem to be doing nothing against the fairies around the bag, effectively ensuring they distribute it...
> Some of them are beginning to retaliate, sending complex patterns of their own, much more so than fighting a group of fairies normally is...
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>How are faeries distributing if the area around them is full of danmaku? Surely the other faeries are getting hit when they try to get mushrooms themselves?
>Are the mushrooms themselves not being harmed by the danmaku? If not, is that unusual?

[Neovereign]

>How are faeries distributing if the area around them is full of danmaku? Surely the other faeries are getting hit when they try to get mushrooms themselves?
>Are the mushrooms themselves not being harmed by the danmaku? If not, is that unusual?

> The larger, mushroom affected fairies are taking nearly all of the hits that would otherwise get to the rest. The rest are using them as protection for the front. Not many are using the firing ones, given they're not giving mushrooms.
> None of your dolls are aiming directly for any of the mushrooms, and the bag hasn't been hit directly yet, thanks to your dolls combined efforts of missing and hitting fairies in the way.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Shift focus toward faeries who haven't gotten any mushrooms.
>What are the incoming patterns looking like?

[Neovereign]

>Shift focus toward faeries who haven't gotten any mushrooms.
>What are the incoming patterns looking like?

> You do so. The ones not guarded are already flashing though, and in a moment, everyone will be greater...
> A quick glance details that some resemble flowers. You can't determine more without time passing...
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>So how did they all eat these mushrooms so fast, given the dolls only took a couple seconds to appear and we gave the fire order almost immediately? Especially given that faeries tend to be small and thus need more time to eat them. Surely we didn't just sit there and let them?
>Let's conjure another group of eight or so dolls on the opposite side of the faerie pack, so we flank them. For now, don't have them do anything except hide themselves away in the woods.
>Also, observe those patterns more, move a bit further back to buy some time.

[Neovereign]

>So how did they all eat these mushrooms so fast, given the dolls only took a couple seconds to appear and we gave the fire order almost immediately? Especially given that faeries tend to be small and thus need more time to eat them. Surely we didn't just sit there and let them?
>Let's conjure another group of eight or so dolls on the opposite side of the faerie pack, so we flank them. For now, don't have them do anything except hide themselves away in the woods.
>Also, observe those patterns more, move a bit further back to buy some time.

> You wonder if you did, given your choice of concentration earlier on being those around the bag, rather than those that already started eating after the first fairy ate...
> You get a few dolls on the opposite side of the group.
> You move further back.
> Some of the patterns seem to be groups of shots directed towards you. Others are in your general direction. Because of their positions and your back-stepping, it all seems like a wall, with few choices of getting through being near the bullets that were aimed towards you.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Scan ahead of those openings for potential traps, move toward them but pause if we spot any.
>"Shangahi, Hourai, draw back please. I don't want you two caught up in this."

[Neovereign]

>Scan ahead of those openings for potential traps, move toward them but pause if we spot any.
>"Shangahi, Hourai, draw back please. I don't want you two caught up in this."

> The two dolls float away from the fight.
> You don't see any at the moment...
> You start moving ahead.
> The fairies continue firing, now that all of them are in a state for such. You're starting to notice lasers manifesting... Some towards you, some already made and snaking towards you. The way they're doing such makes you worry they're homing...
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Is it possible to use our dolls as spotters to help untangle some of this mess?
>Either way, let's disperse the wedge of dolls out of the battlefield and put them on standby. Unless there's some familiars, there's nothing they can do other than catch bullets.
>Actually, can we create familiars, as opposed to dolls, and deploy them in such a way as to absorb some of the drama coming our way, as Eirin did against us bad during the Eientei incident?
>Will either of those laser sets reach us before the first wave of bullets?

[Neovereign]

>Is it possible to use our dolls as spotters to help untangle some of this mess?
>Either way, let's disperse the wedge of dolls out of the battlefield and put them on standby. Unless there's some familiars, there's nothing they can do other than catch bullets.
>Actually, can we create familiars, as opposed to dolls, and deploy them in such a way as to absorb some of the drama coming our way, as Eirin did against us bad during the Eientei incident?
>Will either of those laser sets reach us before the first wave of bullets?

> You can't see through them and they can't really call out warnings to you...
> You disperse the wedge.
> No. The best you could do similar to such would be an old technique from when you were at Makai, though the dolls would still be in danger of being hit, and you aren't sure you can even still do it.
> The ones directed towards you are already coming into existence thanks to dispersing the wedge. They might be too large to escape with just your speed alone.
> The others are a bit behind the rest of the bullets, but seem to be catching up.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we slip between the first formation rather than escape?
>Judging from the speeds we're seeing, what order does it look like these things are going to hit us?

[Neovereign]

>Can we slip between the first formation rather than escape?
>Judging from the speeds we're seeing, what order does it look like these things are going to hit us?

> You don't believe so. No directions give such a choice.
> The large lasers about to come onto you will do so first, definitely. Unless the fairies shoot more lasers like this, the danmaku will cloud you, and the other lasers will be among them.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

Let's figure out where the lasers cross, and get behind it. We'll just deal with the cloud as it comes. Then move away from the potentially homing lasers. Hopefully the cloud will try some last minute trickery.

[Neovereign]

Let's figure out where the lasers cross, and get behind it. We'll just deal with the cloud as it comes. Then move away from the potentially homing lasers. Hopefully the cloud will try some last minute trickery.

> You suspect that the lasers cross behind you, but you have no time to look.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>We'll just have to trust our gut and not back away.

[Neovereign]

>We'll just have to trust our gut and not back away.

> So you'll continue moving forwards?
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Does it seem like moving forward will have a difference compared to staying put?

[Neovereign]

>Does it seem like moving forward will have a difference compared to staying put?

> No.
>_

[Hello Purvis]

>Stay for for this moment.