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

Alicia kept in motion, bolts of light flying from her bow as she pivots, aimed, then darted away and repeated the process. Despite the initial onslaught from the Hatter's pieces, the group had adapted well. They had a large variety of abilities and were all skilled fighters in their own right, so progress was made as chess pieces were smashed one after the other.

[color=aba000]"Hello again,"[/color] she called as the real Penny made her dynamic entrance, but there wasn't much time to focus on that as the melee continued. They would have the opportunity to chat and make sure the other elements of the plan were going well once they were clear of the Hatter's forces.

Of course that wasn't the only trick up the Hatter's sleeve as all the Pawns shifted, transforming into queens armed with greatswords and crossbows. All of a sudden it became a lot more hectic, the onslaught increasing immediately as the air was filled with projectiles and the chess pieces pressed the offensive.

That said, it was perhaps a bit less unusual than the Hatter hoped it might be. [color=aba000]"Was anyone actually surprised by that?"[/color] Alicia asked aloud as she rolled away from a flurry of crossbow bolts, more a rhetorical question than a serious query. [color=aba000]"I mean they are chess themed, and I do have some idea of how chess works even if I don't know strategies."[/color] Alicia had the feeling that even if some of them had been surprised, it would annoy the Hatter more if they didn't admit that. And him being more annoyed could be useful.

In the meantime the battle went on. Her blade clashed against a greatsword before she leapt away, firing an arrow at a queen that was taking aim at Magical Dream Princess. She then spun in place, a quick turn to let her fend off another attempted attack before launching another follow up at one of the King pieces. With the variety of foes left in the battle she did her best to support anyone who looked like they might be at risk of getting overwhelmed by the sheer variety of attacks and number of enemies. 

Would the Hatter have any tricks left? Probably. But so long as they kept to their gameplan Alicia was confident that they would make it through in one piece.