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[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img][/center][hr][center][color=silver]𝕄: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕎𝕚𝕤𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕
   / /   𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟   / /  ~𝟙𝟟𝟚𝟘[/color][/center][hr]
[center][h3][color f7976a]𝕊𝕥𝕣𝕦𝕔𝕥𝕦𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝔻𝕒𝕞𝕒𝕘𝕖 ℝ𝕖𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥[/color][/h3][/center][hr]

Data streamed into their mission-assigned phones constantly, updating the map display with various markers and filters, the most notable of which was the real-time damage report filter, coloring all areas reported to have heavy structural damage in a warning shade of orange, with lighter shading where the damage was prevalent, but not severe.

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Without any selective filtering, the map looked about as chaotic as the situation, rendered in colors and corresponding legends that threatened to distract more than they would define.

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[center][h3][color f7976a]𝕆𝕗𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥[/color][/h3][/center][hr]

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The large expanse of scarred terrain around Factory rumbled with the whirring armatures of clockwork creatures and screeching metal, scores of the machines dying by the drove as orbs of exploding light impacted the thickest congregations of enemies. What little remained of the buildings and streets in the area had been shredded apart by both the fighting and intentional demolition to clear out any structure the enemy could launch a surprise attack from. It left the group of six USARILN East mages in the midst of it entirely unprotected, of course, but that was the cost of clear vision.

Ethan, Myla, Genevieve, and Eric were huddled under the transparently blue barrier again, firing attacks at the amassing scores of mechanical monsters. High above them, a dark-haired boy with fair skin hovered upside down, feet stationary against a large, two-dimensional fractal pattern of a platform that was slowly expanding bright white and unhindered, already large enough to cover a rough radius of 15 meters from the center where the mage was positioned. The area directly beneath it was completely clear of living constructs and within seconds it was obvious why. A newly formed bird darted for the easiest target, but the moment it flew within range of the expanding pattern and the caster’s line of sight a needle-thin line shot from the fractal above, connecting to the clockwork and moving in parallel with it as the bird’s mechanisms slowed, sending it crashing into a shuddering roll along the ground. A quick burst of light shattered its body and the rest of the machines held their distance as the field’s area quietly deconstructed the material until nothing remained of the bird’s twitching mechanical parts.

A thick worm construct nearly eight meters long burst from the marred ground nearby, surrounding them with its long body and intending to crush them before the field fully demolished it, but a clockwork android followed it from its burrow almost immediately afterwards, slamming into the massive annelid’s steel-plated body and merging into it. The construct’s winding motions stopped almost immediately and parts of its body began segmenting into longer portions, revealing an unused function of the clockwork shell. The segments detached and broke apart, crumbling away under the effects of the degrading field and shortening the worm’s body until a few more blasts of neon and white lights tore the receding length asunder just as the android burst from the thickest part of the worm, launching outwards in a spray of shattered gears and springs and landing on all fours a short distance away.

Several seconds later, the android’s metallic body melted away, revealing a slim, dark-skinned boy breathing heavily with exertion. The lack of surprise on any of the other combatants’ faces made clear this was, by now, a common occurrence. Ethan reached out to help him up and Eric pulled a phone from his back pocket, voicing something to his teammates. The boy above them pointed forward at the winged snake above Factory, shouting something indiscernible to the group below.

It was Myla who finally took note of the recent arrivals with a quick check on her phone, notifying her group without taking her eyes off the cursors on her map. They couldn’t spare the time for communication with some 40 odd machines bearing down on them, but she at least took heart that backup would be here soon, and it wouldn’t be the previous shift’s exhausted group forced to battle again. With every setup, they had managed to push the creatures back towards Factory, but now both sides were at an impasse. The students couldn’t push any further with the rate more creatures were spawning now that they were close to the source and the clockworks couldn’t advance effectively past the spreading deconstruction field. But it was only a matter of time before they collected enough to pile into the zone’s effect at a rate faster than it could break down.

The monsters ahead of them moved backwards several steps, almost in unison, as the encroaching white above them edged closer. There were, at a quick glance, 17 canine clockworks, each standing at nearly 1.5 meters tall in front of three centipede constructs only half a meter in height but almost 9 meters in length. Seven birds hovered above the horde, banking around the large spell as they waited for an opportunity to strike and another 13 mechanical spiders only slightly smaller than the dogs hummed in the distance, the gears of their joints spinning as they waited on the rest of the group’s movements. This wasn’t the first time they had dealt with the breakdown effect. It was simply a matter of time and this close to their source the students would be hard pressed to retreat again unscathed.

In the distant background, Factory took note and began creating more.

[center][h3][color f7976a]𝔼𝕧𝕒𝕔𝕦𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕠𝕟[/color][/h3][/center][hr]

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The APC crawled carefully through the ruined streets, avoiding the worst of the destruction as it took long, winding paths deeper into the town. Most of the outskirts had been cleared of survivors, but there had been little opportunity to search deeper in town between magic and monsters and keeping track of rogue subnaturals (all of whom had, fortunately, decided not to resist in the face of USARILN soldiers and students, allowing the next relief truck to take them back to the temporary camp with the first shift of exhausted USARILN students). 

The experimental unit’s arrival, then, was timely for all the right reasons, especially in light of how much more damage output they could contribute compared to the stalling and slow advance tactics of the last day and a half.

Where the roving evacuation team was located, tucked in a narrow street between two rows of buildings whose tops had been shorn off by something that had apparently cut clean through the wood and concrete, four machines prowled, their forms different from the combat types Factory was currently pumping out.

These were larger, lumbering bulks on four pillar-like legs and a comically spherical head dotted with the same red lights as Factory’s eyes. The pinpricks flashed on and off, like it was blinking, though the act was entirely useless for something inhuman. They stood a little over four meters tall, elephantine in their stature and build, but missing the signature trunk of their natural counterpart. 

Their eyes were scanning, and in that mass of tessellated metal shapes resembling houndstooth that formed the outer shells of their bronze bodies lay dozens of dead, dying, and injured humans. 

A thundering footstep nearby convinced the driver to turn down a different corner and into a tight alley that barely fit the width of the armored car. On the lowest floor of a nearby building a scrawny teenager and his younger sister huddled in a corner near the door, freezing up at the sound of the rumbling car that they presumed to be the collector machines patrolling again. The boy’s left arm ran red with a deep gash tied under a makeshift bandage of a torn T-shirt and the limb dangled uselessly at his side, the wound his price to pay for dashing into the nearest convenience store and scooping up what food he could. He didn’t think he really escaped—after all, the creatures were closing in on where he was last seen, but they had both been hungry and help would come, right? There were soldiers all around the town. Surely, now that the fighting had moved away from the town’s center, help would come. He clapped his good hand over his sister’s mouth, shushing her and holding her small body against him protectively as the car moved closer.

[center][h3][color f7976a]ℍ𝕖𝕒𝕝𝕖𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔻𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥[/color][/h3][/center][hr]

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General paths to Christmas’s and Brent’s positions were clear albeit devastated and traversal required moving on foot, the amount of toppled buildings and scattered machine parts forming effective barricades for almost all vehicles. Brent's position, as damaged as it appeared at first glance, was mostly intact, the reported destruction in that area luckily more superficial than scathing, leaving several two-story office buildings and a four-story apartment complex standing. The initial plans had considered airlifting them to and fro, only to be met with Kardos’s utter disappointment regarding the high risk of visibility to both Factory and any flying clockworks. There was no cover in the air, after all, and their helicopters couldn’t match the maneuverability of magic, period. Movement had to be on land and if the offensive support team garnered enough attention, the healers wouldn’t need to encounter combat at all.

Lily’s and, to a lesser extent, Gregory’s locations ran into the slight issue of either defeating or circumnavigating the large collector clockworks, but they were both far enough away from the nearest ones that there was no real danger so long as they weren’t seen on their ways to a diner surrounded by used clothing stores and miscellany shops (for Lily) and a series of townhouses near a large movie theater (for Gregory). 

There was some heart to be had despite the overwhelming straits: where the collector types prowled meant there were people to find—people to save. 

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[hider=OOC Interaction Tags/Notes]
[@VarionusNW] [@Lasrever] [@ERode] [@VampireOracle] [@Zombehs] [@GreenGoat] [@Diggerton] [@banjoanjo] [@Baklava] [@RedDusk] [@Piercing Light] [@Dragonmancer] [@Riffus Maximus] [@Deathmyster] [@Chasers115] [@PapiTan] [@Kyrisse] [@January]

Three day timers start here (and then another two/three days for GMs to read moves and respond), but given that rate of posting the GMs will be much more lenient on players shafting responses and moves onto more available people to write. For particular cases, just ping the GMs on Discord/the forum and let them know so your character won't suffer anything too serious as a result.

Timers for this fight are mostly desynced due to the scale of the battlefield. We'll go action set by action set instead up to a rough maximum of maybe five or so minutes IC, give or take. Much time fudging will take place, but the GMs will worry about managing that in update posts.

Maps show destinations for each group with the exception of Evac (since the car is being driven by a soldier at the moment and location is technically under GM control for now).

[hr]
A map is available for collaborative effort [url=https://docs.google.com/drawings/d/1lU_hWojq1JEbbTYD3Xk6FPCxTCudGdqPSiTfL8Q_AeE/edit?usp=sharing]here[/url]. Please keep positions updated for other players to refer to. If you're unavailable, have a GM or another player make the changes. (I recommend just selecting Insert > Shape > A circle or a rectangle > Resize > Color it in and move it around.)

[hr]
As usual, direct questions to the GMs, but small details are yours to create within the current set piece unless it's a matter of some import. When in doubt, ask. Generally this is the difference between "How many cracks do you think the sidewalk in this little stretch has?" (42.) and "Is it okay if my character randomly finds a gaping butthole's load of spare ammunition out of this cupboard and they happen to work perfectly with his/her current gun?" (No, unless you came up with some ingenious reason why that's there and why there's a gaping butthole's load of it.)

That said, questions like "If my character heads into that particular building, what is it and what can I expect to find as far as useful supplies?" are perfectly acceptable. We'll probably let you write what you like if you have something in mind, otherwise we'll give you a backdrop on the fly.

Long story short: use your own discretion wisely. For most things, we don't really care what you'd like to write in for your character to see/touch/lick(???) and maybe ruminate on (five bucks Red's first thought was "urinate on"). Just keep it in the spirit of writing out nice scenes.

[hr]
[u]Previous notes (though still relevant):[/u]

Lawrence and Savannah will be puppeted from here on out and are still around with evac. Enjoy that, Marcus and Sophia. Evac team is free to move into the prepared APC. If support takes too long, the plan proceeds regardless, but with significantly more problems.

The offensive support team is intended to move first here and they're allowed to [i]begin[/i] proceeding towards the destination (but won't be officially reaching it until the next IC update) if they want, but the situation is now open for various moves from all parties before we truly begin.

Chris is allowed to head towards Factory directly here if he wants, though leave the resulting consequences to the GMs.

Pathing is mostly clear until you guys reach roughly the point where the support should set up.

Everyone's been briefed, but we all know that saying about the best laid plans of mice and men....
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