[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/6zc773j.jpg[/img][/center]
[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img][/center][hr][center][color=silver]𝕄: 𝕊𝕖𝕡𝕥. 𝟙𝟜, 𝟚𝟘𝟚𝟘   / /   𝕎𝕚𝕤𝕗𝕠𝕣𝕕, 𝕄𝕒𝕣𝕪𝕝𝕒𝕟𝕕
   / /   𝕋𝕠𝕨𝕟   / /  ~𝟙𝟟𝟚𝟝[/color][/center][hr]
[center][url=http://i.imgur.com/30zU5wZ.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/30zU5wZl.jpg[/img][/url][/center]
[center][hider=Structural Damage Map (for reference)][url=http://i.imgur.com/Pv7DDrx.jpg][img]http://i.imgur.com/Pv7DDrxl.jpg[/img][/url][/hider][/center]

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

A dragon was typically hard to miss. 

A dragon flying straight for the machines' source was a spectacle to all roving eyes, regardless of its smaller size in comparison to Factory. The sky serpent, in particular, curled towards the approach with a flash of its eight eyes, one that the rest of the airborne clockworks imitated. The circling birds near the offensive support team lifted upwards, moving as one to intercept the dragon. 

As luck would have it, the advance team had focused down enemies with projectile capabilities early on, given the vulnerability of their best crowd controller to high-speed objects. Any newly identified ranged types were also swiftly dealt with, though they had yet to figure out the capabilities of the floating snake.

But at least one thing was certain: it had either direct control of the creatures or could communicate with specific targets. Targets that were, very quickly, homing in on Chris's approach. Six mechanical birds speared towards the dragon, apparently intending to slam into the reptile.

Shortly after the dragon took off, the rest of the striker team was deployed. Their helicopter went in after the dragon and veered off in another direction, giving the scaly vanguard a wide berth as it aimed to approach from another direction. The plan was to use Chris as a distraction to protect the helicopter from any of Factory’s potential projectiles while the mechanical horror was still adjusting to the changing situation. However, command didn’t account for the flying serpent’s ability and with the offensive support team already engaging, they had little choice but to capitalize on the advantage now, before Factory redistributed its processes to creating more aerial attackers. With a sudden lunge, the snake reared its head, eight eyes once again glowing bright red while vein-like lines of equally red light flashed across the outer layer of its body, concentrating heavily around its mouth. A thick, red laser discharged from its gaping maw for only a few seconds, but that was more than enough. The beam immediately seared into the helicopter’s hull, tearing the steel apart as easily as a hot knife through butter before dissipating in a thunderous crack of sound. The serpent curled in on itself, light wisps of smoke drifting from the paper-thin kinks in its outer shell of finely meshed metal, each piece no larger than a penny and carefully patterned along the length of its body like scales.

There wasn't much of the helicopter left to explode and the cleanly sliced segments of propeller blades and steel alloy frame rained from the sky, crashing to the ground roughly a hundred meters from Factory's location.

Below, Factory's ground forces met a sudden bullet of concrete tearing through their ranks, shattering three of the large canines into jagged, twitching parts and tearing off a fourth of one centipede's body before finally coming to a thundering halt on crushing impact with a steel and iron spider near the backlines.

The seventh bird, despite initially mirroring its allies' movements, felt a sudden impact against the underside of its body, slamming it upward without control and flipping it off balance. The magical propulsion that seemed to power most of the flying clockworks failed briefly without explicit control, the bird tumbling back to the ground and smashing into it, one bladed wing bent at an unnatural angle. It hopped in vain, whatever flight system it used apparently broken. Instead its head flicked towards the direction of the attack that had crippled it, noting the latest batch of students.

Whatever attack it had up its sleeve (or wing) was for naught, however. A ball of white light snapped towards its head, detonating and leaving behind a mess of crumpled metal. Ethan gave the screamer mage a glance and a quick, two-fingered salute, turning back quickly to gauge the actions of the remaining horde.

The dark-skinned assimilator mage who had burst from the worm-like construct earlier rested a hand against Eric's shoulder while the runes on the other boy's arm trailed across them both at the connecting junction. Several seconds later, a mage whose body seemed to be made of the dirt and concrete he stood on had replaced the first mage and within seconds he was gone, body merged with the ground below. Not long, though, and the exertion showed even with the backup from Eric. A hand formed from the ground near the closest, bewildered dog and clutched at its front leg. The rest of the body followed quickly afterwards and for the split second between one form and the next he looked like every movement hurt.

The mage was clockwork and machine parts again and in the snap second it took for him to integrate with the dog, Myla had already cleared the area immediately around his current target, pushing them back with a fence of neon lines and daring them to try her. One of the centipedes grabbed at the discarded body segment of its compatriot, lifting itself up and hurling the nearly three meter length of legged metal towards Ethan's group as the assimilator crippled the afflicted dog's legs and expelled himself from its body, shifting to dirt again and relocating back to safety.

Genevieve flinched at the impact but her barrier held steady and within seconds the discarded fragment was already falling apart.

Deciding they would deal with the stationary team later, ten of the dogs shot forward, easily avoiding the slow-paced spread of the fractal field and aiming straight for Hazel. Myla cut the legs out from under one, sending its body flying into the dog behind it. Suddenly hampered and reeling, the creature in the back had too much forward momentum to dodge another shatter of white light scattering half its body in a spray of broken metal parts.

That left the remaining eight bounding swiftly out of range and towards the offensive support team of experimental unit B.

In the back, the remaining spiders shuffled closer together, thin metal wire spooling from their protected abdomens while unoccupied spiders plucked at the strands, arranging the wires and knotting them at particular intersections.

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

The evacuation team's APC rounded the corner of the nearest building and onto a safe street just as the figure appeared, rising from a crouched position behind an overturned car. A pale young woman with platinum blonde hair, dirt clinging to it in clumps. Covered in an assortment of scuffs and scratches, she ran towards the APC, waving her arms above her head to try and catch their attention. 

[color=f7976a]"Help!"[/color] she cried out, her voice muted by the thick walls of the vehicle and the engine's low hum. 

She quickly approached the door as it opened. The girl, who didn't seem to be much older than Lawrence, hesititated for only a moment upon seeing the mark on Lawrence's cheek as he stepped out first. Her eyes were red rimmed and tears cut through the layer of dirt on her cheeks. Every other breath was a distressed whimper as she gestured towards a Food & Drug store with all the windows busted in a short distance away-- the direction she'd been running from.

[color=f7976a]"M-my boyfriend's stuck in there! He needs help,"[/color] she pleaded in between breaths, [color=f7976a]"He's in there with one of those [i]things.[/i] We have to hurry! You have to go help him! He'll die! Please!"[/color]

[color=f7976a]"Okay, calm down. Can you be a little more specific?"[/color] Lawrence asked, watching her carefully in case he needed to use his ability. The activation of Sophia's eyes had put them on a timer. There was no room for hysterics.

[color=f7976a]"I-it's one of those robot animal things,"[/color] she started, seeming to compose herself, [color=f7976a]"I th-- I think it's a little broken. Or hurt. He trapped it in the other room, but it's trying to break out. H-he told me to run and find help."[/color]

Lawrence motioned for the APC to follow them as they moved towards the store, surrounded by broken glass and debris. The lighting inside was dark. Beyond the checkout counter, one could barely make out the several rows of shelves, which seemed far emptier than they should be. A good deal of the missing merchandise decorated the floor. 

In the back of the store, just behind the pharmacy counter, Sophia would be able to make out the figure of a young man in a heavy coat and jeans leaning heavily against a shaking door, one foot firmly planted on the counter as he tried to keep it shut. Beyond the door, an animalistic machine clawed at the wood, sparks flying off one side of its head. Every so often, the mechanical beast balanced itself on its hind legs before slamming its frontpaws against the door, allowing it to squeeze a muzzle full of sharp, gleaming teeth through the allotted crack with a metallic snarl akin to a feral canine.

[center][h3][color=f7976a]𝔻𝕖𝕗𝕖𝕟𝕤𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕊𝕦𝕡𝕡𝕠𝕣𝕥: 𝕀𝕣𝕧𝕚𝕟𝕘[/color][/h3][/center][hr]

Near Gregory's position, one of the collectors rumbled past, each pounding footstep sending small vibrations through the building. Its scan range was small despite its size, but a flicker of activity registered in its sensors regardless as it approached and the creature's outer carapace opened at the shoulders of its two front legs, metal rods and sliding wires slipping cogs and gears into place until two arms about seven meters in length extended from either side of its circular head.

The detection wasn't perfect, courtesy of a creator that had lost its mind, but the machine could sense a living creature's general area if close enough. Now, it needed to find the source of the signal.

It pawed at the door to the movie theater, tearing through the already damaged building and shattering chunks off the concrete of both floor and walls, exposing the inner ironworks of steel reinforcing bars and building foundation. When it had created an aperture large enough to fit its bulk, the thing lumbered through, arms scattering counters and arcade machines as it blindly groped for someone warm and fleshy.

[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/3R5vYYi.png?2[/img][/center][hr]
[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]

[center][u][h3][color=f7976a]𝕊𝕔𝕠𝕣𝕖𝕓𝕠𝕒𝕣𝕕[/color][/h3][/u][/center]
[center][table=bordered][row][cell]Enemy Type[/cell][cell]Enemies Dead[/cell][cell]Enemies Injured[/cell][cell]Enemies Left[/cell][/row][row][cell]Canines[/cell][cell]4[/cell][cell]0[/cell][cell]13[/cell][/row][row][cell]Spiders[/cell][cell]1[/cell][cell]0[/cell][cell]12[/cell][/row][row][cell]Centipedes[/cell][cell]0[/cell][cell]1[/cell][cell]2[/cell][/row][row][cell]Avians[/cell][cell]1[/cell][cell]0[/cell][cell]6[/cell][/row][row][cell]Collectors[/cell][cell]0[/cell][cell]0[/cell][cell]4[/cell][/row][row][cell]Factory[/cell][cell][/cell][cell][/cell][cell][/cell][/row][/table][/center]

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[u]Previous notes:[/u]
    
Three day timers (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.

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).

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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.)

For those who wrote without specifying a map location (and only if your location is different from the set destinations), the GMs will set one for you.

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As usual, direct questions to the GMs, but small details are yours to create within the current setpiece 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.
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