"You just had to say it..." More vibrations shook the tower, but Arty anchored himself to the floor and paid as little attention to them as he had to the first ones. His sword remained in his hand, ready for use should the three warrior fellows decide they were suddenly a threat again. Luckily for them, they didn't, and luckily for Arty, it sounded like there was going to be a fight regardless. He turned his masked gaze on the warrior he assumed was the leader of the three. "What can we expect when the legions of doom come strolling in here? More mooks like you guys? Zombies like the ones downstairs? Robots like him?" He hooked a thumb at the Clockwork Man. "Or something else you aren't too keen on fighting?" He raised a questioning eyebrow, a gesture that would go unnoticed beneath the mask save for the slight tilt of his head, and fell silent as he awaited his answer.

Rarenrar eyed the strange automaton and considered his request. Though he knew nothing of this construct, they could rather use allies then enemies.

"Fine, we need to buy time to gate the tower, if the Angar-Rylla have found us, they have come in force. We have no choice but to us the Mystans coordinates to travel to the Crucible. I would explain more but-" another strike hit the tower to cause it to shake again. v struggled to maintain his footing, once the shudder passed he continued. “We obviously have little time. We're still alive so the shields are holding; we just need to deal with Imperial ground forces entering the tower. "

Rycro seemed doubtful. "Are you sure we can trust them?"

Rarenrar only half smiled. "Well were all in the same boiled water now, the Angar-Rylla will not hesitate to kill them as they will surely try to kill us."

"What can we expect when the legions of doom come strolling in here? More mooks like you guys? Zombies like the ones downstairs? Robots like him?" He hooked a thumb at the Clockwork Man. "Or something else you aren't too keen on fighting?" He raised a questioning eyebrow, a gesture that would go unnoticed beneath the mask save for the slight tilt of his head, and fell silent as he awaited his answer.

Rarenrar only responded. "Those 'zombies' are called archons, doubtful the Angar-Rylla possess that technology." Another shot shook the tower again, though this one was less violent. The sounds of more small explosions could just be heard outside. "I can't tell you what to expect from the Angar-Rylla, they are as diverse as they are cruel. Expect anything."

"If you’re willing to hold the lower levels, it should buy us all the time we need."

“Alright. Elder, remain here in the dubious safety of this tower.” He regarded the trio. “Ensure your men know who I am, I’ll be joining them shortly.” The Clockwork Man declared resolutely, turning on his heel and preparing for the long descent down to the lower levels.

Considering he was a near tireless automaton, this run took a lot less time than anticipated, and only ten minutes later he was at a level which screamed alarms and spat red light down every corridor. There were mangled bodies on the ground, and two similarly styled opponents (though one was clearly a Nas’Gaduran) writhing on the ground stabbing at each other until they both succumbed to their wounds. Two of the guards the Clockwork Man had spotted outside rushed past him, apparently having received the memo he wasn’t to be shot on sight, and prepared to hold the stair-way.

“This is the only way for them to breach the tower, hold them here.” He shouted, firing his weapon past the Clockwork Man and dropping another intruder some distance down the corridor. The Clockwork Man helped himself to some form of automatic rifle, his own pistol safely holstered because he was swiftly running out of ammo, and let loose down the corridor, burning through foes with his unnatural accuracy.

It was only moments later that Arty arrived to join the fray with his own barrage of weaponsfire, having finally opted to use his pistols instead of relying solely on his melee weaponry and powers. In this tight of a space, with this many projectiles being hurled down the corridor at the intruders, melee combat would have been suicide, even for him. He drew a bead on an oncoming trooper, but before he could pull the trigger the man was dropped by a barrage from the clockwork man and the tower's defenders. His second target was lost in a similar manner before he could fire, as well as his third and fourth. The sheer volume of firepower being poured down the hallway was bringing down the opposition almost as quickly as they appeared, and the bodies were beginning to pile up. It wasn't long before Arty gave up trying to get a shot in edgewise and just put his pistol away and leaned back against the wall to watch, pulling his sword free to admire the workmanship and humming a tune as he waited for the battle to take a turn.

As the heavy assault continued the tower had begun to shudder with unseen force. Without any warning light flashed from within the tower itself, in the moments it faded the tower and all it's inhabitants had simply vanished. Within the tower itself it would have felt like the realms had shifted as the center of gravity suddenly changed. It only lasted a moment before the tower finally reached it's destination.

Rarenrar Darkfire adjusted the control amplifier as the rogue shifts of space time settled down around the tower. The space beyond outside resembling a fantastic mix of colors and clouds. The sight from even the view screen looked astounding.

Rarenrar looked to Rycro. "We've finally found it. Get the Construct and that warrior, it's time we explained things."

Though the Clockwork Man was hardly aware of the monumental change taking place up above, and throughout the tower, he was aware when the tower actually –moved- or as close to it as he could feel. The last of his foes in the coridoor was brutally dispatched with a blow that outright snapped his neck, and in his brief moment of respite the Automaton took stock of his own situation. Minor exterior damage, significant aesthetic damage (his jacket and trousers were punctured with holes, even his shirt!) and a seething irritation with the Angar-Rylla, a faction who threatened the one thing he wanted most in the world. The Nexus and its people had to be protected, which meant the Clockwork Man was a resistance fighter for now.

He was about to turn and regard Arty when without much notice one of the warriors from above appeared before them. He looked mildly impressed by their efforts, though he didn’t go as far as to actually compliment them.

“You’re wanted up above. It would seem you’ve proven your loyalty with the blood of our enemies.”

“If only everyone were so trusting from such a trifling act.” The Clockwork Man replied, some of his old characteristic sarcasm filtering through to his words. “It would seem we get some explanations Arty.” They headed up, trusting in their new allies, but for how long?

"It would seem."

Arty echoed the Clockwork Man's statement as he fell into step behind him and the apparently now allied warrior, a hint of disappointment in his tone. All that fighting, and he hadn't even gotten to kill one enemy. In his opinion, guns should be a tactical option to use on occasion, not the primary means of combat via slinging lead, plasma, depleted uranium, various other forms of energy, or what have you at the other guy and hoping it took him down. Combat should be an art, not a turkey shoot. Oh well. There was always next time.

He followed the two up into the top level of the tower once again, this time without his weapons drawn, and crossed his arms over his chest, leaning casually against a pillar while he waited for the explanation he'd been promised. On a whim, he decided to pull his mask off and hang it on his belt, breathing for the first time the unpurified air of a world that was not his own. His tongue darted back and forth across his lips, as if tasting something he wasn't quite sure about. "Tastes kinda chalky."

Back on the planet itself with the Angar Ryllan fleet's assault ships, a small white object emerged from the nose of one of the corvettes.This white object, a little longer than a human is tall, was swathed in a bright blue light as it rocketed towards the ground. It broke its speed somewhere about 12 feet above the ground and dipped into a horizontal glide before touching down outside of the perimeter of where the tower once was. At the very cusp of the hole in the ground Arp dropped the cloak of hard light from his body to reveal a lithe giant of a robot. Peeking into the hole he saw one of the undead beings that guarded the structure. Somehow left behind from the tower's spontaneous disappearance. Kneeling down with his left hand he picked up a handful of dirt from the very edge of the pit and brought it up to his eye, taking a closer look at it. Slight signs of displacement showed on the edges, such as grubs that were sliced in half and stones with perfect shears. Dropping the dirt and wiping his hand off on his chest.

The sound of a radio channel opening chimed inside of his head. The high pitched synthetic voice echoed through the empty chamber that is his head and through the inbuilt communications system. "This is Arp, the mercenary unit. Evidence shows of spacial displacement, I am unable to detect whether or not it is permanent or temporary." A hand reached up from the hole and grasped his ankle, it was that undead soldier that he had spotted moments ago. Arp had thought the edge was too sharp for it to climb. Huh. Without pausing from his conversation his left arm split down the middle and his hand popped upwards and slid into the new gap. A small barrel slid from the entrance and the split closed back. "Anyway, there's still some stragglers from the enemy's protective forces. I need a mission log here, Angar Ryllans. I can't do much until they get back, so what am I here to collect? You neglected to inform me of my target."

Without looking, Arp lowered the barrel at the zombie's head he fired off a red shot, his own eye flashing red for a moment as he fired. It tore cleanly through its head and knocked it back into the pit. "If you're not gonna give me the information I'll just take your money and go. Otherwise tell me who or what I'm after."

Rarenrar watched the Clockman and his companion enter the large main chamber, his eyes lingering on the strange automaton.

"I fear I'll have to make this quick, we were able to forestall the Angar Ryllan assault by placing the entire tower within a pocket dimension. It won’t hold for long, we didn't have enough time to properly coordinate the quantum flux. Still seeing as you were willing stand against the imperials, we can safely assume you’re not in fact their agents. Or you are and are the greatest masters of the art of subterfuge." He shrugged. "But if you are the enemy of the Ryllan, you are friends of the Happa-Meleon's."

"We're a splinter group that was once a part of the Angar Ryllan once upon a time." Rycro added, squaring his large shoulders apparently from exhaustion before continuing. "Of course that changed several decades ago when a select few discovered the truth behind Sir Dou’far Klaast reasons for his recent expansions into other worlds of the Omniverse. He'd spent years acquiring complete control of Angar Ryllan, and once he had he went on a mad campaign with the aim of conquering all the Nexus of Worlds to be ruled by his totalitarian regime."

"Which brings us to why we're here." Rarenrar continued, warily dyeing the machine as power sparked between the four pillars. "Two years ago a being known as a Dreamer came to us. Normally the Dreamers never intercede in the plights of mortals, but it was this Dreamer who foresaw the end result of General Dou’far ambition. Thus seeking us out and warning us of something he called the lost omnicron. He wouldn't tell us what it was, but made it clear that should it fall to the Empire our cause would be lost." Rarenrar walked directly up to the clockman looking him dead in eyes or at-least the optical sensors that served as much Rarenrar reasoned. "I know I have no right to ask, but if you truly wish to hurt the Angar-Rylla, then acquiring this omnicron would be the first step in giving us a fighting chance. Even if you don't agree, you would be free to go, with the Mystan elder. Though I doubt anywhere will be safe from the Empire for long."

“I admit, I have my own reasons for wanting to see the end of the Angar-Rylla.” The Clockwork Man said finally after a moment of pensive waiting with Rarenrar staring directly at him. He couldn’t confess to really caring about the plight of the masses should a tolatarian regime be put into place by the rapidly expanding empire… such was the way of the world, but he had been promised something very important to him should he combat the greatest threat the Nexus had ever faced. He couldn’t pass up on the opportunity, and if he had to ally with murderers so be it.

The Mystan Elder to the Clockwork Man was a similar tool, he was to finish the matrix of the spider to better allow the Clockwork Man to combat his foes who’s strange alien technology was far beyond even his control. Still, here was a potential set of allies who had plans… people who could do real damage beyond the Clockwork Man’s vague schemes.

“If you have a plan in place to stop them, then I suppose I can forgive your interference with my own business.” He looked at the Mystan Elder to emphasise his point. “I assume you have some idea where this Omnicron may be located?” He asked cautiously, not yet pledging himself to any cause.

Totalitarian multi-universal mega-regimes, mysterious omnicron devices, and a whole freakin' bunch of evil thugs just waiting to collect on their hazard pay. He'd followed the strange robot fellow in hopes of finding a way home, but now things were starting to get more interesting than he'd expected they would. Almost too interesting to pass up. This omnicron thing especially sounded pretty powerful, and if there was one thing Arty had learned in his life it was that it's always better to be at the top of the heap. He listened intently to what the Happa Meleon (who even comes up with a name like that anyway?) was telling Mr Clockwork, and to what Mr Clockwork told the Happa Meleon in reply. He didn't look like he was listening intently though, he had one sword out and was apparently inspecting the blade for chips or nicks as he leaned leisurely against a pillar, still in full armor. He'd need to find something to change into soon. As comfy as his suit was, even he couldn't wear it full time.

Rarenrar nodded before returning control panel. "I suppose we can extend some trust if you’re willing to do the same." He pressed a command on the console and a holographic window appeared. "We were able to track down its location to a realm called 'Sortiarius' and if our previous scouting of the region is accurate, retrieving it will be no easy feat. Of course, that's assuming we can deal with the Imperial forces that have already found us, our dimension jump was brought us a short reprieve but I fear that it's just about over, and it's not a trick we can pull off twice any time soon." Even as he spoke the tower was shaking anew as it began to phase back into reality. "If your still willing to stand with us, now's the time."

Outside the tower the earth shook as spark of energy ignited across the surface of rock the tower once stood. Ryllan forces quickly regrouped as they prepared to mount the offensive anew.

"To all Angar Ryllan forces this is Mother Hive, we are detective a large power flux in the vicinity of the tower. Engage and Terminate with extreme prejudice any rebel forces you encounter once their tower reappears, your objective is to capture the rebel fortress and acquire any intelligence when given the chance."

The Clockwork Man tilted his head, a sign that he was deep in thought.

“I concede, you certainly have a more elaborate plan than my own.” He settled down finally, as if coming to that decision had been a great physical effort. “I’ll stand with you, for what it’s worth.” He shrugged his shoulders and the Clockwork Spider detached itself, clambering over to the Mystan Elder who took it eagerly.

“I see the matrix is almost complete, my apprentice did well. I’ll be a while adding the final code though.” Without another word he began to cast powerful technomagic over the creature, and the Clockwork Man nodded appreciatively.

“Now my business is complete, let us see to keeping this tower standing, hmm?” This time he addressed Arty, presuming to make his decision for him at least in regards to defending the tower. It wasn’t much of a choice after all, if they didn’t protect it they were all going to die here, regardless of if they cared about the future standing beside these rebels.

“I’m sure they’ll make another incursion into the tower, I’ll be sure to make them feel it this time. Do you believe we can defeat this force or are we only buying time?” The Clockwork Man posed his question to the Death Cult leaders, but regardless of the answer he would be forced to begin the journey down to the lower levels once again, because a fight was to be had whether there was any hope or not.

If the robot had lips he would have a splendid little smile stretch across his face. "Extreme prejudice you say? Ooh I'm gonna have so much fun!" With his cannon already withdrawn, Arp was waiting for the tower to re-appear. "Now, how will I get in? I know they'll be setting up charges to stage a riot breach. The Ryllans I mean." It was at this point that an outside observer would notice that Arp has propped up the corpse of the undead warrior, forcing it to walk beside him. It sort of dangled as he walked, he was taller than it was so when he picked him up his feet didn't touch the ground. "Should I make a siege weapon, Kojak?" And again. At this time, an outside observer would notice that Arp is not only speaking to the corpse, he has in fact given it the name of a popular TV detective. He leaned his head in closer to Kojak and pretended to hear an answer. "Eeee! I knew you would say that, Kojak! You're such a great guy. We need to hang out more."

Dropping the corpse he walked, or rather, skipped a few paces away from the area where the tower once stood. His singular cycloptic eye narrowed and shifted to green, the light that shined from the tip of his cannon turned green as well. "Alright, so I'll need a. . ." He trailed off as he began drawing in the air, dragging his pump through the air into the shape of the letter H but with two bars in the middle instead of a singular bar. Like an equal sign. The suspended drawing was rather thin as it is, but Arp was alright with that. It would begin to take shape shortly. Between the two bars he drew another line and added a circle on the end of it. This too suspended itself in the air, Arp made sure to make it only flex in the middle. "I'm a genius!"

"Weeeeeeeeee're off to kill the wizard..." Arty pushed off the pillar and followed Clockwork Man down the stairs into the lower levels of the tower, twirling his sword a couple times before sliding it back into place on his back. "...the wonderful wizard of, uh... damn. Shoulda thought that one through more." Unfortunately for his lyrical stylings, however, his thoughts were engaged elsewhere. Mostly on what this omnicron thing might be and what it could do. Funny how being a sociopath made it okay to sing songs from children's movies while dressed in flat black battle armor and marching out to face certain death. Not his own death, mind you, but a certain one nonetheless. As he walked, he pulled out first the pistol on his right hip to check the chamber, making sure a round was ready to fire, then the pistol on his left hip to repeat the process, twirling them back into the holsters when he was finished. They made it one level down before a little blue light came on in the edge of his vision. Damn. He hadn't realized it had been that long since they got here.

"Hey CM, how long do you think until there's goons to kill? I didn't get to do anything in that last fight, and when I've got the armor on I build up energy a lot faster than normal." He needed a discharge, an opponent on whom he could unleash all the excess energy building up in his brain. Already his thoughts had begun to race as the buildup filled his suit's capacitors and began to feed back into his body. His hands began to twitch slightly and his speech increased in speed. "When it fills the batteries and starts feeding back into my body I get kind of... hyperactive a bit. Like ADHD on steroids, after drinking two dozen double espressos and getting hit by lightning. Not a fun time. I gotta zap something or I'm gonna lose it pretty soon."