[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/z6cC6JC.png[/img][/center]

True to her own words Alicia kept moving, and luckily it seemed that the tea cup drones would not be a significant obstacle to their progress. That was probably to be expected, unless it turned out that the tea they were dropping was magical in addition to being scalding hot. But nothing had happened yet, so it was probably fair to assume that that would not suddenly change. 

She nodded to Penny as the girl stated her intention to avoid killing anyone if she could avoid it. The mention of the events at Veronica's castle still stung all this time later, though Alicia had done her best to try and be better since that day. At least there would be no surprises about mind control here, since they already knew that this entire realm was trying to mind control people. That was why they had put so much effort into preparing for their current attack.

[color=aba000]"Fair enough. We'll have to see how it looks when we get there, if the eggs are all stashed in one spot or split up,"[/color] she agreed with a nod. It was likely correct that Mad Hatter would be defending at least one of these eggs personally. For now she kept her focus on actually getting further inside and locating the eggs that were their main goal.

Past the drones they entered the inner complex of the large factory. There they found the chess game that the Hatter had been intending that they play, though repurposed for the sake of combat. Chess wasn't really Alicia's game of choice, but even she knew enough to tell that each piece had a particular role and attack pattern, and that the King was probably the most important enemy on the battlefield. [color=aba000]"I guess we get to play after all,"[/color] Alicia grumbled as the Hatter cried at them over the intercom. 

With such a myriad of opponents a frantic melee seemed like it was developing, with a combination of ranged and melee attacks, as well as supporting spells from the back rows.Settling in with determination, Alicia moved to continue with all the vigor she had previously expressed. Arrows snapped like straight bolts, whether single or paired, striking at the back row to try and disrupt any spells being cast. Her wings aided her mobility, giving her just an extra push to allow her to leap clear of the danger. And if a piece got too close she had a blazing sword of light to fend them off with in addition to the blades of her bow. 

They couldn't afford to fight their own isolated battles, and so Alicia would do what she could to take the pressure off the others and give them a shot at defeating the higher value pieces. [color=aba000]"Come on,"[/color] she grunted. [color=aba000]"let's show him that we're not just big talk."[/color]