World Tree MUSH

    The bustle of the camp is pretty noisy, and the troops are almost ready to deploy right now! The aliens have also been building up, and it's about to boil over, that's easy to see. Numerous android troops appear unglitched... mostly. The shade of grey that the new ones have taken on is subtly different, with a hint of blue in there, but they don't seem to be going crazy? That's good. They're all arming up, and the commander is laying out the battle plan!

    "So, these three anchor points are what we need loosened. We have simple satchel charges for this, but when they go off, there will be a brief decompression. Set the timer here and run. This first one is also surrounded by toxic mushrooms, so those need taken care of first. Our objective is to blow at least two of the anchor points today."

    He looks up at the group approaching, then gestures, "Let them handle anything tricky... you troops will be engaging this main mass. The objective here is to 'survive' and to hold them off long enough for the anchor points to go. They have more troops than us, so we need to use our forces smartly. Good luck."

    Troops handling the mass, leaving the anchors to a small, fast team! Makes sense to Belle! She's best when given a direct, simple objective anyway! "Well, not a fan of poison gas, so someone else take care of that first. I can either team up with one of you to take on the second point, or I can try for the third myself."

    Circe will listen, her mask on given the various toxins and all in the air, her hand digging through her pouches. "I can... see if I can do something about the mushrooms, I suppose. Explosives aren't normally something I'm especially skilled at. Do you want to help with blowing things up or maybe just with lifting heavy things or whatever?"

    That last part is directed at Samus, wherever she might be, rather than at anyone else. Samus is the one Circe is the most interested into bullying, after all. "If anyone has a better idea, at least, I'm listening, but that's the best I have."

    Handling tricky business has been Samus' job for a long time. The bounty hunter is here, helmet clasped in her hand as she arrives. She's all business as she puts her helmet on and seals it.
    "Handle the mushrooms. I'll deal." The hunter says matter of factly. Her suit is sealed so she should be fine, but Circe can probably actually neutralize it better than she can.
    "Let's focus on one first then deal with the next." She does say to Belle.

    While the small group is debating, the androids line up in formation. They look sharp, but there's a small amount of fidgeting... not complete automatons? With a loud yell, the battle is joined! As promised, the main mass engages the aliens clustering around the 'mouth' of the asteroid punched through the hull(technically a fourth anchor point), and they respond in kind. It isn't a mad charge though... both groups are splitting up and using maneuvers and tactics, as the firing starts, but the point is it does seem to leave the anchor points undefended. A few skittering or lurching 'zombies' there on each, but nothing even one of the group couldn't handle. The main problem is going from one anchor to another will involve cutting through the battlefield.

    Circe is, perhaps, not going to be going with the absolute best plan for the gas cloud except she claim later that it is a terrific idea if anyone else asks her about it later. Instead of attempting to actually deal with the toxic mushrooms in a standard, normal way like killing them, she's going to attempt to make herself immune to the effects of the gas long enough to get in and set a charge herself.

    She does this by standing back for the moment, messing with a little vile of liquid, a stream of what others may not recognize but are actually nanobots going into it. She is attempting to make a poison that will both make herself euphoric and - more importantly - block all receptors up so that any other poisons will be prevented from getting to her for however long it lasts, so that she can both set the bomb, not die, and also at least enjoy herself a little bit.

    Well if Circe has the toxic mushroom issue handled... Samus nods her head to Belle. "Let's mosey." She says. And with that she starts heading for the next anchor as the battle starts. Samus is already in motion.
    Pelting a few of the zombies with a few well placed shots of plasma from her arm cannon, she brings her hand up to the side of her helmet as she activates her visor's scanner.
    Various readouts in the Chozo language scroll across her vision as her visor flips through scanning, thermal, and x-ray visions to locate the most optimal point to place a bomb.

    "Call me if you run into trouble," Belle says to Circe, tapping her wrist. While the poisons expert handles the poisons, Belle shifts SLIGHTLY into a more bestial form, letting her run faster and keep up with the mercenary. A few arrows to deal with the zombies, and... she gets an idea.

    "These are slowing us down," she growls. A literal growl, rumbling that before she narrows her eyes and decides to speed this up another way. "Let's clear a path."

    But killing them all would not be any faster. She flicks her wrist, the bow forming in her hand, then the slightly wolflike girl draws an arrow instead of summoning one, and lets fly... and in a smooth motion, repeats this several times, sending arrows this way and that.

    Arrows that spin with a faint hiss, then suddenly when some distance away, 'open up' and make loud, shrill shrieks! Signal arrows, meant to bring allies, but in this way they're good distractions to draw off interposing forces, making it easier to approach.

    Neutralizing the poison this way is... not the most effective way, maybe, but it is probably the safest. The mushrooms hiss all around Circe, obscuring her view somewhat with the thick clouds. It tingles too, perhaps having a mild corrosive effect, but her superhuman body is evidently able to handle that without problem. It's no wonder the badgers didn't want to try this, though. At least it seems the mushroom gas isn't affecting her, but they are glowing strangely...

    As for Belle and Samus, the bounty hunter quickly starts analyzing the hull and where the asteroid is stuck. It's clear that the instructions were based upon a very quick assessment... while the charge placed where told would probably have worked, it would have made a bigger hole in the hull than needed. Belle's arrows make loud shrieks, and the 'zombies' do seem to turn and follow. They aren't true zombies, but husks animated by alien troops, so they do think... but that just makes them more susceptible to a deception like this, rather than a zombie the goes by scent of flesh or something.

    Meanwhile, the android troops are not faring so great. The alien mass is more experienced and outnumbers them, quickly cutting down any that emerge from cover. They're starting to lose ground against the aliens, partially because they are definitely underequipped for a full scale assault. It won't be long until the androids are rout...

    With the husks turning to face Belle's distracting arrows, Samus finishes her visor's analysis.
    "The charges will make bigger holes than we need." She points out before looking back at the battle. It's not looking good. "Let me try this, first..."
    That's when, right in front of Belle, the Hunter curls up. ... Into a small ball. Like. Less than half Samus' original 6'3" height. That's a tight fit, but the now perfectly spherical armored bulk of Samus Aran's body just... Rolls towards the anchor.
    And starts laying a series of bombs at strategic points along its body.

    Circe will hiss back at the mushrooms a little as the mushrooms make noise at her, ignoring the glow from them as best she can as she tries to just approach the anchor, forcing her way through it. She usually is pretty careful not to put herself into direct danger like this; her body, while supernatural, certainly isn't immortal.

    There's definitely no bad side effects that could result from blowing up a whole bunch of poisonous mushrooms, really. And if there is, it's not going to be Circe's problem for long, hopefully - that's an android problem. She starts working with the charge now as she moves to the center of the field of mushrooms, and hopefully her drugged state won't leave her confused on how to operate a weapon that for once she was not the one to design.

    Sniffing the air, Belle stares at Samus for a few moments, but then shakes off her startlement. "Well, whatever." She turns about, and decides that signal arrows from here would just draw them faster. Instead she breaks into a run, and while Samus is laying the bombs, she provides cover.

    That is, in the form of tearing into any of the alien troops that come close, using superior strength and raw, brutal unarmed combat. Mostly just ripping off limbs if she has to.

    Uh oh. The troops are REALLY having a problem, and they're starting to slowly retreat here and there. They aren't going to be wiped out, they're too good to fight to the last man, but the 'cover' may not be there for much longer!

    Circe meanwhile has found what is probably the right place. From the looks of things, blowing this up won't send the toxic gas through the deck... IF the explosive decompression works as the commander said! That has yet to be tested...

    Not even by Samus! Because while Belle is able to provide cover, there's a small issue with the fact that the alien crystalline core of the 'prongs' the asteroid is using is not something Samus is familiar with, nor her suit's technology! The bombs start to go off, and thanks to more careful placement, the decompression is brief before the automated systems deploy foam sealant to close the breach, but... one of the spires is still anchored, cracked and weakened but still clinging on!

    After she's done laying her bombs, Samus unrolls. It is just as weird as when she initially rolled up. But there's a problem. Her visor blares red alerts at her at the last anchored spire.
    Uttering a curse in the language of the Chozo, the Hunter aims her arm cannon at it, charging up a shot of superheated plasma before she unleashes it at the cracked prong while waving at Belle with her free hand.
    "I'll finish up here and catch up! Get going!"

    Circe, absolutely not worrying about the consequences now, will poke at the bomb, setting it in place and then setting a flask atop it. Mushrooms are not really her speciality, but it's meant to twist any that survive to make the mushroom's corrosive gas start eating at the anchors as well as people. It may not matter, if the charge that she's been given works the way it's supposed to, but it's a nice backup plan just in case so long as there's nobody with any problems with the surviving mushrooms becoming even more lethal than they already were!

    Seeing the androids losing ground, Belle knows this will be tight! She's no tactician, but that just makes her more worried that they won't have time for the third. Sure, she's pretty sure Circe can handle the first, and-

    There's a loud boom from that anchor.

    Belle is //certain// Circe can handle the first anchor, but she doesn't like the idea of only leaving two there. With a growl, she unslings her satchel charge and leaves Samus there, her body bulking up considerably... and dashing forward, letting her natural durability compensate for the rush where she cuts through the main mass of alien soldiers, making a beeline for the third anchor! If she can get there in time...

    Plasma cannon. This wouldn't be enough to shatter the grip normally, but as damaged as it is, it's enough now. It cracks, almost holding on, glowing hot with the plasma impact... and then with a faint crackling noise, finally splinters, to vanish in the sudden bulge of foam sealant! A very mild decompression before the foam went to work, this time.

    In opposition to this, the loud explosion that RIPS through the more distant anchor is quite violent! The mushroom gas may have been slightly flammable, or perhaps the commander just didn't expect anyone to get so deep in there. It almost sucks Circe right out into space, but fortunately she instead rebounds off a spray of quick-hardening foam, leaving her probably dazed and bruised but nothing broken. The improved corrosive gas is also slowly eating at the foam, which could make repairs a problem, but it does appear to be holding for now.

    Belle takes a direct route. As she guessed, she picks up several shallow injuries on the way, but her sudden blitz is also from the flank, so none of the more deadly attacks such as the uh... literal death rays the aliens have are directed at her before she breaks through the formation. There are still some problems, namely a small cluster of spiderlike aliens that are hissing and turning toward the oncoming freight train of the transformed high schooler. They probably won't prove too much of a problem for her... but they could prove to delay her enough that the main mass can redirect its attention before she can get to the anchor.

    Circe was, perhaps, slightly underprepared for the level of explosion that happens. She's very very good at what she does, but as it happens explosives themselves don't fall under the heading, directly, of what it is that she does. She bounces off the foam, collapsing to the ground, looking perhaps for a moment like she's been knocked out or at least has been concussed by that particular journey.

    Maybe she has been concussed! But she's not knocked out, rolling over onto her back where she landed after bouncing off the foam, staring up. After a moment, while Samus and Belle are probably busy actually continuing to help after dealing with their first anchor, Circe will be lifting her hand up directly in front of her face and just kind of staring at it.

    Samus pauses for a beat- just to ensure that the last spire is broken before she turns.
    And she breaks into a full tilt sprint after Belle.
    Most people wouldn't likely be able to keep up with the transformed teen.
    Samus Aran is not most people. Especially not when the thrusters on the back of her armor kick to life.
    And she's suddenly so much faster.
    Faster--
    Faster--...!
    She's kicking up dirt in her wake as she blitzes towards the third anchor, stopping for nothing as she's soon enough running faster than a car on a freeway with full intent to bodily SLAM into the last anchor as hard as she can with her armored bulk.

    Samus jets past her, and Belle lets the bounty hunter blits through the obstacles... hopefully giving her the opening she needs. She'll even leap up and take a gash on the thigh, using one of the alien spiders as a stepping stone to get a better view of her goal, eyes squinting through the comical-looking glasses she STILL wears when bestial.

    Of course those glasses are only needed to see mystical things. Her actual vision is quite acute, as an archer!

    Punching the timer, she hurls the satchel at where she hopes the right spot is, then hits the ground in a roll. That ends with her running, making for the retreat that is sure to start soon.

    It's utter chaos in the alien mass, fortunately. They are dominating the ill-equipped androids, leading to a rout at last, but they did not do so without some cost. Nearly a fifth of the aliens lay dead on the ground, though how many of the actual parasites are dead is unclear. The androids, while they lost nearly half their force, were a considerably smaller group... and the mission goal was a bit pyrrhic, but succeeded slightly beyond their goals.

    The third anchor explodes, with a hull breach as well, but the throw was slightly off. Not Belle's fault, one of the aliens barely managed to snag it, sending it tumbling and impacting not too far from Samus, who thankfully has a suit to keep her eardrums from bursting when it goes off. The anchor remains there, though heavily cracked and showing its crumbling crystalline core. Crumbling, but still lodged there. But if the trio doesn't want mobbed by effectively the main army, that retreat is looking good.

    Mission accomplished!