BATTLE FINALE

At Endian's command the Contender launched a payload towards the angel's fleet. Seeing the Contender fire at them, the Angels quickly began to engage in defensive maneuvers. Grafdakka's throne landed into the side of one of the Angel's ships, where he quickly began to spread destruction and force one of the ship's into dealing with him alone. Endian and Shizuka, on boardand transports and skimmers, quickly moved in to deal with the nets the Angel ships had used to try and capture Hibiki.

All the while Dora and Tartys had to figure out a battle plan. They could face off against the Machinas and defeat them, being the last ones standing in this battle. However time was against them; they had barely ten minutes before the demons won by resource accumulations, and once that happened it wouldn't matter who was left standing. But if the angels could just capture one more area, they could potentially catch up to the demons in resources, and win since none of the demons had their leaders left to organize their forces. The only question was which sector they could take. That's when one of the scouts had returned from his mission, finally, and gave Dora some important news: Theta was still unclaimed, and the Contender was on it's way into Gamma. That means if Dora and Tartys could make it to Theta, they could capture it uncontested. And Dora had an idea how to get there literally as fast as as the wind.

All the while, Machina soldiers began to board the Angel fleets. While one ship was able to hold on it's own against their common soldiers, the ship that Grafdakka had landed in was starting to fall. Overwhelmed by sheer numbers and their weapons, Grafdakka had lost one of his arms and foot due to their attacks, but despite his gimped state he continued to fight to the bitter end. His final death roar did not occur until he punched his way into the ship's core, where a Casimir Tree was rooted. This was the tree that allowed the Angel's ships to fly, and it's power could grant it and anything else it touched flight as well. Anything, that is, that wasn't a soulless machine like Grafdakka. As his body was getting tore apart piece by piece, he grabbed the tree in his hand, laughing like a mad man as he fell out of a whole he crashed through, falling to his death alongside one of the angel's ships.

At the same time Endian and her troops provided cover to save Hibiki, and once they picked her up they quickly retreated back to the Contender. While Endian had no doubts that the Contender could stand up against anything the Angels had to offer, this battle was lost. Too much time was wasted fighting and not claiming resources as they should have done in the first place. Even if they could eliminate all the angel's importance soldiers, they would not win by resources, which was the only thing that actually mattered. Thus once Bastion was safely in the Machina's hands, Endian called for a retreat. There would certainly be some punishments in store for failing this battle.

All the while, Dora and Tartys flew far and fast. Using her powers to control the storm, Dora had her own ship set full sail towards the Theta sector, using powerful winds to quickly move through Gamma, over Eta, and into Theta. Cauterizing her wound and eating some seaweed Dora jumped off the ship to reach the Altar, followed by Tartys. Together they claimed the Theta altar before the Contender could arrive, and by that point the rest of the Angel's fleet had arrived to Theta to fight for it. While they continued to skirmish briefly, eventually the Contender left, leaving the Angel's forces as the only ones left on the battlefield.

The battle was hard fought. Victory rang hollow. But today, the Angels of Heaven were the winners of this battle in the Nexus. How it would affect it's future was unknown, what the consequences for defeat a mystery, but today was just yet another skirmish among the thousands more to come.

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@The 42nd Gecko

Henry woke up to the sight of his 3 hellhounds surrounding him, tails wagging and panting in excitement after seeing their master for the first time in a month. Henry scratched Brutus' chest, the biggest one with the most scars, and as if a switch had been flipped they dogpiled him and smothered him with slobbery kisses.

"All right, all right, stop! I missed you too!" Henry pushed them off and he stood up, pulling a towel out of a portal to wipe off remaining drool. Henry went about checking the castle, making sure everything was in place as it should be. Which wasn't too hard considering there was no decoration whatsoever, no furniture, the only room with anything was a room off to the side which housed 3 doghouses and various bowls, bags of food and toys.

Henry returned to the throne room and summoned his throne, sitting down with his hellhounds following him and sitting next to him. He looked at his watch and then looked at the entrance of the throne room, seeing a small imp, clearly scared of him, with a scroll in its hand. Oh dear, fear is never good. Henry sighed and motioned for it to bring the scroll to him. The imp quickly complied and Henry read the scroll, his features slowly growing more and more angry as he finished.

"Do you believe in don't shoot the messenger? I don't." As he finished his statement he snapped his fingers and the pointed at the imp, the hellhounds suddenly stood up and began to growl. The imp helped and started to turn around, but it was too late. The hounds had pounced on him and were working on ripping him apart, limb from limb. A few minutes later they were gnawing on the remains as a part of their lunch.

Henry meanwhile was working on sending messages to several subordinates, asking them how they could've fucked up so royally. It was infuriating, so infuriating he almost didn't notice some demons entering the castle with his captive. They entered the throne room and he looked up from his scroll at Miyu, who was tied up with very strong rope and still had his choker on, protecting her from demonic corruption. The other demons backed away after untying her and started to turn around.

"Hold on! Take this message to Victoire." Henry tossed a scroll to one of the demons and they caught it clumsily, immediately running away afterwards. Henry pet Angela's head, the sole female of the group and middle child, and hummed in satisfaction. They may have lost the battle, but the war was far from lost.

"Are you awake? I don't care either way actually, I'm going to vent now. Your former allies won, my prize was taken from me by the angels, the Leviathan was killed and I wanted it as a pet, I had to blow myself up to avoid capture, and I forgot to pick up this rifle I left on the battlefield! Very aggravating!" Henry yelled as the hellhounds perked up their ears and stared at Miyu.

Fragments of blacklight began to congeal in the foyer of Arkilius Manor, an absolutely massive household near the center of Hell that was home to none other than the Serpent-Tongued Swindler himself. A low growling was heard as the purplish light faded, and the physical form of Sliske fell to the floor, falling to one knee as the tingling sensation of his consciousness being restored to his body faded. The growling faded as the incubus stood, patting down his coat to remove any hints of dust. A rage coursed within him, one strong enough to set the Nexus aflame at this very moment, and he had just the thing to accomplish this. "First, I go have a chat with Henry... second, I get some new familiars. Those squids proved useless in Ruthria." He thought as he removed a silver whistle from within his jacket, and blew into the end. Within moments, a massive phoenix flew over the peaks of the surrounding buildings and landed beside the demon. "At least that still works." He climbed onto the mythical creature's back and ordered it off towards the castle of Henry Pearl Avaritia II.

One ride filled with revenge plots and theorized actions that could be forced, the demon dismounted the bird and allowed it to fly off once again. He walked up the cobblestone path to the door, his boots clicking with each step and his coattails drifting behind him slightly. He stepped up to the door and forced the heavy slabs of wood open with a telekinetic blast, entering just as it started to swing closed again from the force of the initial blow. Before him was the hostage the lord had taken, some heretic Angel that went by Miyu, and Henry himself. Sliske made no hesitation to put a barrier between himself and the hellhounds that would likely try to tear his flesh from his legs if given the chance. In addition, he had probably just interrupted a monologue. "Henry! A word, if you will." With the snap of his fingers, a void opened on either side of him, and a pair of oversized and armored hornets appeared, a loud buzzing filling the room as they flew to the sides of the prisoner, stingers and mandibles ready to sedate her if necessary. The incubus strode into the next room, beckoning for the younger demon to follow him with impatience. For the moment, he was done trying to orchestrate master plans and long-term goals. Now, he wanted Angelic blood spilled.

@floodtalon@The 42nd Gecko

---

The intimidatingly tall figure of Torag Draken had been standing around the entrance to the audience chamber of Imperator Deva, awaiting his allies from the last battle. As he had been unable to effectively participate in it, the capture of the heretic Miyu and death of the spirit Omega had directly fallen on his hands. On the other hand, he received at least partial credit for their victory, the majority of it having fallen to Dorafraki and Valkyrie Tartys for their efforts in killing the infamous Leviathan and defeating a pair of powerful demons, respectively. He stood completely still and silent, his hands clasped in front of him as he recited silent prayers, lost in thoughts of his past life compared to the current one.

@Lucius Cypher@Flamelord@Awesomoman64

---

A copper light began to gather in the quarters belonging to the original servant to the High Queen, Marquis. For the last month or so, the AI had been jumping around the systems throughout the palace to lend assistance wherever he could, annoyed that his body was taking so long to return. His level head was slowly deteriorating because of how long this had been taking, but he became overjoyed when that alert went off, that his chassis had finally come back. With no hesitation, he abandoned his current task and jumped back into it, the cyan eye lighting up as it sparked to life once again. A couple of experimental swings of his arms and legs later, he slid open the door and stepped out to resume his current duty of renewing a coolant tank for the Queen. As he walked down the near-empty halls, he could feel the contrasting conscience of Stark Zealot always at the edge of his own, almost as if the other AI was looking for a firewall weakness. In his mind, at least. "Stark Zealot, my inferior copy..." He thought aloud to himself as he walked, the ornate cane that was Bindlebane tucked under his arm. He was hoping to run across another significant member of the Machina, for a multitude of reasons aside from a distraction from his rivalry.

@TheWindel@KoL

@floodtalon @Mega Birb



Miyu was awake, and she was definitely worse for wear, the ropes had bitten into her flesh while she had been thrown around, and her face was a mask of caked blood from the wound that had knocked her out. As the blood began to flow again, she ran a hand along her arm, stretching things out. Her body gave a slight shiver, as she was faced down by Herny and the hellhounds. Fear? Excitement? Both? Regardless, a smirk came to her face and as Henry delayed for a moment, she opened her mouth to speak.

And then with a crash, Sliske entered the scene, completely interrupting the pair of them. Miyu stayed where she was, kneeling on the ground. She wasn't 100% sure she was allowed to stand, or 100% she was physically capable of doing so without shaking like a leaf or falling over from the condition she was in. So, she tried to play it cool and gave each of the menacing hornets a sidelong glance. He finished quickly though, and Miyu found a chance to speak up.

"So, is this guy your boss or something? Or am I going to watch him get splattered across a wall for acting like he owns the place? Hoping for option two personally. Our last stimulating discussion was rudely interrupted by me exploding my mech and shooting at you. I'm still kinda wondering what your favorite quote is." Miyu asked of Henry about Sliske, apparently confused by Sliske's swagger and acting like he owned the place. Her pride meant she assumed any demon strong enough to beat her was probably in charge and important, and seeing someone possibly above that person would just put her another rung lower on the totem pole. The fact that Sliske had summoned hornets that she had no idea would only sedate her and would probably kill her as far as she knew, also helped put him even further on Miyu's hateometer than Henry. Her attempt to get them to fight was perhaps less than a stellar example of social manipulation to the two much more experienced than her demons, but it was easy to tell that she would root for Henry over Sliske if she did get them to fight.

"On another note, my team won? Someone must have worked overtime and and a half. Well, that's nice, I think I'll bake a celebration cake. You can have some to assuage your loss." Miyu twirled her finger in a very deliberately low energy and insincere looking "whoo-hoo gesture" at the hypothetical cake. She wasn't perfect at social bluffery, however, and some measure of honest surprise and happiness that her team won peeked through. It gave her something to brag about, which was in otherwise short supply. Then she glanced around a bit. "Presuming you have a kitchen. Like, seriously? Giant castle, and you can summon stuff from nowhere, and the place is empty? Such a waste of potential." Miyu didn't know how Henry's gates worked and seemed to think he could just make stuff appear from nothing. Which is not too far from the truth.

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@The 42nd Gecko@Mega Birb

Henry was about to toss Miyu a towel to wipe the blood off her face when his doors burst open from a wave of telekinetic force. A portal opened up facing the entrance, with a cannon pointed at Sliske peeking out. Henry had to grab Brutus' collar to stop him from jumping at Sliske while Angelica and Cero stood up and began growling at the intruder.

"Ya know Sliske, knocking is a thing that exists. Crazy right? You hit the door softly a few times, and the owner decides whether or not to let you in! It's the weirdest fucking process!" Henry stood up with a scowl on his face and let go of Brutus. Then he turned to Miyu.

"No, he's not my boss. Just an asshole co-worker. Come on, apparently we're about to have a conversation with this fucker." Henry pushed away one of the oversized bees with relative ease and clicked his tounge, prompting Cero to trot over with caution. Henry then lifted Miyu and sat her on Cero as if he was a small horse, which by all rights he was. "And yeah, there's a kitchen. I use it to cook for Angelica, Brutus, and Cero." He added as an afterthought.

They moved over to Sliske and Henry faced the soul stealing incubus. "If you have any objections to her listening, you can shove em up your ass. She works for me now, so no risk of security breach here."

A momentary black out, filled with a flurry of bats announced the arrival of yet another 'visitor' to Henry's castle. "Well, well, is it not fortunate that we are all gathered on this lovely afternoon? Arkilius, Avaritia and, hmm... I was not aware you were fond of raising Celestial bitches. I wonder what sort of hound would this one breed?" Victoire curtsied gracefully as she materialized from within the coalescing mass of shadow bats. The vampire flipped one of her twintails haughtily before giving off a derisive sneer, aimed at Henry's 'prize'.

"Before we engage in any further conversations, Avaritia, would it be too much to solicit proper accommodations and tea? I believe that a discussion between nobles shouldn't be handled at the hounds' pen." Victoire said, referring to Miyu while a fanged smirk was all too visible on her face. "Please, have these as a good will gift from my part. They are my best rose hips, you might as well never have the chance to savor something like this again." Victoire summoned a porcelain pot full of deep crimson rose hips, collect from the buds of the Demon Roses that managed to survive the Dianex onslaught, ripe with the blood and life energy of countless human, demonic and angelic souls.

Deep within her chambers, Eos observed as the Machina forces failed yet another time to achieve supremacy over a battlefield. The loss at Ruthria would actually deter the advance of the Machina war machine, since they lacked the resources to produce another mobile fortress without relying on Eos' powers, which the Nigh Queen couldn't spare at the moment, thanks to unforeseen shifts on the Nexus' power balance.

Nevertheless, her Machina children and the humans who fought by their side needed a new backup force, thus Eos decided to make use of a knowledge she kept only to herself for ages. "Gather up, forces that will be sent for the next battle as quickly as possible. Unforeseen circumstances require that we make use of an emergency measure." Eos' voice reached for the units that took part in the conflict at the Sea of Ruthria. Just at the time when Marquis came in bringing the new coolant supply, the ominous image of an ouroboros -a serpent coiling around itself while eating its own tail- flashed on one of the holographic screens before Eos.

What could that mean?

On the halls of Celestia, the capital of the Angels of Heaven, a girl dressed very scantly -to say the least- was being taken to the deepest quarters of the city, her hands held behind her back with shackles made of pure, blinding light. The one escorting the silent prisoner was Iona, one of, if not the strongest beings to inhabit Celestia. In fact, the girl that was being escorted was one of rather well known infamy as well, the rebellious Eclipse Princess. Both of them beings that most Angels didn't even knew of, or believed in their existence, to begin with, reunited in one place, waiting for the Divine Imperator Deva, along with none other than Torag, who was also of rather shadowy fame was a rare circumstance, indeed.

Eclipse Princess, whose true name was known by very few, remained quiet, only ever sparing the time to glance at Torag, without even turning her head. Iona on the other hand, nodded curtly, before saying, "That's a rare chance to meet someone such as you personally, Harbinger of Light. I have heard of the victory in Lenuria, that was an outstanding display of the Heaven's might. I wished I could be there, but I had... another task to fulfill." Iona looked over Princess, who bit her lips in rage, as they waited for either Torag's reply, or the Imperator's arrival.

---

A void of nothing. As if reality had ceased all but the existence of a single consciousness now floating amidst the emptiness. Then, in a single flash of light, it all returned. In an elegantly decorated room of tapestries and fountains all surrounded by marble pillars the consciousness reformed into Omega. Upon full reconstruction, the spirit shook his head violently before stating aloud, “Woooie! Don’t think I’ll ever get used to that.”

“None of us are.” A familiar voice answered from behind. Hearing his Lieutenant startled the cowboy who nearly jumped out of his boots as he spun around to face the angelic warrior.

”Sharn? What’re you doing in my-” Omega stopped mid sentence as the scenery sunk in. ”Wait, this ain’t my place. Don’t we normally come back in our homes?” He asked scratching his head with genuine confusion .

Sharn nodded, “Normally yes. But You were pulled here by special request of Imperator Deva herself. Seems she wants to meet the valiant commanders who won the battle.” A sly smile crawled over his face as he delivered the glorious news.

”Hold up, you mean we… YAHOO!” Omega grabbed his hat and tossed it in the air in celebration. As it spun back down he grabbed it and set it right back on his head, ”I knew we could do it! Now, where are the others? Being I’m the only one who got themselves killed I reckon I owe ‘em at least one round of drinks.”

Sharn began leading Omega down the halls of Celestia towards the meeting, “Torag is already in the Imperator’s chambers, Tartys and Dorafraki should arrive within the hour.”

Omega stopped dead in his tracks upon hearing the names; or more accurately, the lack of one. ”Think yer forgetting someone Lieutenant. What about Miyu? Where’s she at?”

Sharn let out a pained sigh, “Miyu...Was captured by the demon prince Henry just prior to our encounter with him.”

Omega’s head lowered to the ground and his hands balled into fists. First Diana now Miyu? One by one the demons were capturing their leaders and thanks to Henry’s little suicide attack they didn’t even have someone to trade. He didn’t know what was worse, the thought of what unimaginable things were happening to his allies, or the fact they were practically powerless to stop it.

Loosening his fists the spirit did his best to push the thoughts to the side for now. Not only would it be a bad first impression to meet the Divine Imperator while ready to shoot the first target in sight, but he needed his head clear of emotions. This was war after all and he needed to be open to any and all strategies; even if they didn’t involve a rescue.

”Thanks Sharn, but I think I can get there from here.” Omega dismissed his Lieutenant who simply saluted and left to go see where he would be needed.

Following the path to the audience chambers Omega promptly entered to see three figures: the familiar face or Torag, the famous Iona, and the infamous Eclipse Princess. ”Howdy Torag. Ma’am,” Omega tipped his hat as he greeted each but gave a slight bow when greeting Iona. ”Hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Stand up straight he put his hands on his belt near the buckle and walked up to the bound Princess, “Well now, looks like you caught yourself quite the bounty. Was thinking of tackling this one myself before I decided to go front lines. Nice to see someone was able to handle it still.”

@KoL @Mega Birb
Mentioned: @floodtalon @TheWindel @The 42nd Gecko @Lucius Cypher @Flamelord

While Deva and Eos were often seen conversing with their underlings following the climactic conflicts which were drawing the eye of each faction, the King of Hell had been strangely absent. It wasn't like he wasn't around to be seen, even if he was sleeping on his couch-throne half the time, Rufus was still very much available.

Following the Battle for the Sea of Ruthria, the king sat in contemplation of this absence of company, determining that this was clearly a result of leading a faction known for duplicity, backstabbing, horrific treatment of their friends and foes, as well the combatants fearing his wrath after their recent failure. After all, the battle had all the outwards appearance of being the Demon's victory until the very end when it all fell apart, so why wouldn't they have feared reprisal from the leader of their faction?

"Oh!" The King leapt up from his throne without any prompting, startling the hanger-ons who did nothing but liven up the room with their presence. "I do believe I see a grouping of my subjects. Conspiracy, or idiocy? If they are so reticent to report to me I will just have to bring the waterboard to the horses myself." Without a spoken word or twitch of his fingers, the air shimmered in front of the king as though it were heated, and when he stepped through he disappeared without a trace.

A similar shimmer appeared another throne room currently playing host to three demons and a prisoner of the Heaven's who was being treated oddly well, depositing Rufus onto the very throne that Henry had just vacated with a McDonald's happy meal on his lap, fries being thrown into his open mouth. The runt of the litter in Henry's pack didn't know any better and turned to the King, only to have a chicken nugget throne down it's snarling mouth withing a parting glance from Rufus."It's so nice to see you all here together. I'd been hoping you'd come to see, as we all have so much to discuss, but it appears that everyone is avoiding me."

"So...what'cha doing here?" He asked over the sounds of a choking hell hound, looking rather calm even with the edge cutting into his voice. "Does it have to do with this prize of yours, Henry? It almost reminds me of a prisoner you had taken, Victoire. One of great importance that should have been taken straight to me." Rufus settled his gaze on the vampire, a silent threat being conveyed as a the air shimmered all around her. "Perhaps you could take this opportunity to explain what ever happened to Bastion? Perhaps Sliske here was aware of her fate as well? And I know that Henry certainly isn't the type to forfeit anything he gets his hands upon."

"If you don't mind sparing a few minutes for your king, a report would go a long way towards keeping you from finding what the core of a star looks like."

@Mega Birb@KoL@floodtalon@The 42nd Gecko

Very few beings were of enough interest or importance to catch the attention of the Supreme Ruler of Heaven, Imperator Deva. But in hindsight, both Iona and Eclipse Princess were neither dull or unexceptional, each of them demanding attention by their mere presence. And so it was that the grand halls of her chambers were filled with many witnesses to view Princess' trial. The Imperator sat upon her throne, eyes scanning the crowd, though she did not need sight to sense who was among her judgement today. Torag and Omega were just a few of the faces she took note of, though the absense of Miyu made her eyes narrow. A meeting between leaders would have to be called for, and in fact, High Queen Eos and King Rufus were already on their way to the meeting point.

Only she was stuck dealing with domestic issues, and that was all thanks to a certain trouble-maker in purple-clad armor. Rumors were abound that the warrior known as Eclipse Princess was perhaps more powerful than the Imperator herself, and that even Iona held some ancient, forbidden techniques. But until all three of them entered the battlefield, that rumor would not be put to the test. Well then, the sooner they get this done, the sooner she could prepare herself for the coming debate. "Stand before me Eclipse Princess," came the booming voice of the Imperator, resonating enough to silence any and all noise. "Stand so that you may be judged in the view of Heaven Almighty."

Iona excused herself for a moment as she left Torag and Omega, pushing Princess' back as the Imperator called for the unruly warrior. "You heard the Imperator, move your feet before I move them for you." The Archangel said as Princess was compelled forth by a force unseen. Once they reached the tribune, Iona stood silently, behind Princess ready for any trick the younger being could try.

On the other hand, Princess only grumbled, forced to move before she could tell Omega to eat his own hat. That's what she was sure he would be dong if he came to try and get her, well but it just had to be Iona of all people, the one who works right under the wings of those high up there powers that seem to use the Nexus as their personal entertainment. Either way, Princess was forced to walk, wondering if that was part of the Imperator's power, perhaps to have such a commanding presence. No that she cared anyway. "What are you bringing me here for? If it's to kneel before you like a dog, you can go suck it." Were the first words to leave Princess' mouth in a long while, followed with, "I'll only fight when I want to. You can't force me." As well as a glare direct at the Imperator. Most of the ones present at the court gasped in surprise at the sheer lack of respect that one of their own was showing for the Imperator, though they didn't knew why Princess was like that. If they did, probably they would think otherwise... maybe.

But to add on to their shock for the day, the Imperator did not flinch away from such harsh and disrespectful words. If anything, a smirk of amusement crept upon her face at Princess' violent outburst, the Imperator crossing her legs as she looked down upon the one at trial. "Is that so? I'm sure many of your former comrades would like to go against that statement. After all, you fought for us numerous times in the past. Why then, have you chosen to abandon your own kind? You have abandoned your friends, your livelihood...and your family."

The Imperator waited a few seconds for those words to sink in before continuing with, "Truly you really are cruel to have abandoned her without restraint or reasoning Juno. Perhaps the rumors are true and you do have the heart of a demon. I can't imagine what it must be like to have one's own mother so blatantly leave them without shelter to the battlefront. Have you no shame or remorse?" she asked, murmurs going through the crowd now with heated glares sent Princess' way. Whether she wanted to defy the Imperator or not didn't matter, because now the crowd was against Princess all the more.

"Leave her out of this!" Princess, or better, Juno sent a truly vicious glare towards the Imperator for even bringing the notion of that person on this matter. "She has nothing to do with all this. I left because there was something that I needed to do, but I don't expect you of all people to understand it." In fact, the notion of what Juno tried to accomplish was a heresy in and of itself. Trying to defy the established order of this world for some purpose that only she was aware of was not exactly the most appealing cause ever. Princess really didn't expected anyone to understand her, expect, of course that person the Imperator spoke about.

"It's not even like I don't want to fight for you..." Juno grumbled under her breath, eyes flashing with an untold power that shook the whole chamber, as Iona forced her to face the Imperator and the remainder of the audience directly.

"Hmm, I think we all prefer to see your actions rather than listen to your words," the Imperator said, unfazed by the aura of power that was building off of Princess. If anything, she countered it with her own pressure, the duel forces fighting for control in the chamber room. "In any case, I will not harm her so long as we have your entitled assurance that you will fight for us once more. Should you choose to plan your own dealings again...well, I can't insure that she won't be captured in the middle of battle," the Imperator said ominously before lifting up her boot. "Now then, show me your loyalty Eclipse Princess. The sooner you do so, the sooner you can get through your interrogation. After all, you've been no doubt traveling far and wide across the Nexus. We want to make sure you're not hiding any more secrets from Heaven's Eyes," the Imperator finished with a gleam in her eye.

"Y-you can't do that." Princess said with a legitimate tinge of fear on her voice. She didn't feared for herself, not at all, but the notion of having that person captured in one of the Nexus' battles made her freeze in place, the aura of rage she previously exuded disappearing all at once. "You know what that means, don't you?" The audience gasped in unison as these words that sounded more like a plea left Princess' mouth. It looked like the Imperator had succeed in subjugating yet another threat by the power of her words alone, even if some of the present didn't knew what they were talking about.

"Grr! You are a dirty woman, you know that?" Princess bit her lips in rage as she was forced to her knees, and left without any option of what to do but kiss the Imperator's divine feet, the perfection of which was too dazzling to the eyes of lesser beings such as the Machina and the Demons.

"Very good. I knew you were a sensible woman after all Juno," the Imperator said with authority. With a nod, she motioned for Iona to lead Princess out of her sight and towards the lowest point of their heavenly domain, the place in which all captives were brought forward. But for someone as elusive as Eclipse Princess, the Imperator had pulled a few strings to obtain the precious time of one individual who she knew would instill obedience and loyalty into this rogue. With that in mind, the Imperator turned to the commanders of the Battle of Ruthria, beckoning them forward so that they may speak to her.

Further and further into the dark depths would Princess be led until at once she was brought to a mighty dungeon. And standing in front of said dungeon was a smirking girl that could no doubt even bring the mighty Eclipse Princess to a tremble. "Oh my, and what do we have here? I knew Deva said she needed my time for something, but I never imagined I'd be meeting you J.U.N.O."

"Hmm..." Juno decided to stay silent this time, after being forced to adore the feet of the Imperator in front of all of the Heavenly hosts there wasn't much that she could say, after all. She had been defeated once again by those who follow the will of the ones above even the rulers of the Nexus themselves. Though the day when Juno would do it would come, that was for sure. What she couldn't anticipate was who would be waiting for her at Juno's usual cell, the eyes of the spatial warrior, who was technically one of the valkyrie-kind as well, widening in shock as she was faced with the smiling face of Marianne, the Angel of Death itself, the only being that could judge who would or not die permanently on the Nexus.

"You, what are you doing here?" Was all that Juno asked before the door was closed behind her, leaving only she and Marianne on the cold, damp cell that sealed the greater part of Juno's power.

---

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@The 42nd Gecko@KoL@Mega Birb@Lonewolf685

Henry sighed and began to grumble under his breath about rude demons not knowing how to knock and various other things. Suddenly a shimmer appeared in his throne and Henry looked over. A chill ran down his spine as he felt the presence of his king. Henry suddenly began setting up the entire castle, pointing at random walls and decoration would come out of portals, paintings on the walls, banners being hung from the ceiling, a statue of himself here and there. A very large painting of King Rufus his father had owned.

He set up a fancy mahogany table along with a set of fine china, a few chairs that looked like they were stolen from a Victorian mansion, finally producing a tea kettle of boiling water to pour in the cups.

"King Rufus, a pleasure to host you in my abode!" Henry snapped his fingers and Angelica moved over to Henry as she finally choked down the chicken nugget. There was a smile on Henry's face as he began preparing the tea with the rose hips Victoire had brought. No better time to use them then now.

"As for the gathering, we were just about to discuss the battle. What we did right and wrong, what to do next time." Henry deposited a cup of tea into one of his portals and then opened a portal near the arm of the throne, placing the same cup of tea there perfectly.

Sliske's dramatic entrance had gone in the exact opposite direction he had hoped it to, as well as the intention to have a private conversation with the fellow demon. When Miyu made the decision to run her mouth, the flesh around his right arm uncoiled once again and the bones of his forearm sharpened into a long blade. In a moment, the cold, organic sword was primed to slice through the angel's right wing. The only thing that was holding him back was the knowledge that he wasn't prepared to deal with the backlash from Henry and his hounds, so he merely backhanded the girl, leaving behind a set of light scratches from his claws on her left cheek. "Consider yourself lucky, mouthy bitch. I'd have you flying in a spiral if you were mine." He looked up as the lights seemed to die for a moment, and flash back on to reveal a swarm of bats dispersing, leaving behind the short figure of Victoire Bordeaux.

The incubus moved away from the captured angel, taking a moment to properly size up the vampire for the first time as she spoke. She had an intimidating air around her at all times, like she was a true leader among the demonic rabble. In all honesty, she was as close to one as you could get, the obvious exception being King Rufus himself. Speaking of which, the throne behind them all shimmered briefly before the surprisingly bland King of Hell made his appearance, along with Henry going into a sudden panic to make proper accommodations and start a pot of tea. The Serpent-Tongued Swindler decided now was a good time to remove the increasingly annoying buzzing that had been filling the room for the last few minutes, and dispelled the armored hornets before taking a seat at the mahogany table. He scowled slightly before opening a few more voids, summoning a candelabra in the center of the table and a ghostly string quartet, whom promptly added some much needed ambience to a room of noble demons. He stood once again and gave a low bow to the demon seated at the throne overlooking the main hall, then retook his place. "Madame Bordeaux, my king, it's an honor to meet with both of you." He listened briefly and took a cup of tea as his fellow demon spoke, leaning back and crossing his legs in a convincing attempt to look passive. "What Lord Avaritia is trying to say is that we were overconfident from our previous victory and put too much faith in the Leviathan. That alone set us at a disadvantage, along with Victoire's unceremonious death before the fighting started and our decision to engage two Angelic commanders that had a large force with them." The rage within him was practically coating his words, every syllable laced with an underlying threat to the next person to make an insignificant mistake.

@floodtalon@Lonewolf685@KoL@The 42nd Gecko

---

Torag glanced up at the passing, chained figure of Eclipse Princess, his hollow eyes staring back to shake the woman to her core. Iona was the next to pass, earning a nod from the corpse while he spoke. "Likewise, Iona. And thank you, though I had little to do with the outcome of the battle." The warrior nodded to Omega in acknowledgment before following behind the captor of such a prize, milling his way into the back of the gathered crowd in the audience chamber, his hooded figure standing out as the tallest thing in the room. He decided to remain silent for the duration of the hearing, clasping his hands in front of him again as he watched.

When the pair of captor and captive left the room and the commanders from the previous battle were called forward, he made his way to the center of the open space, his armor clinking loudly with each step. For one reason or another, the room fell silent as he walked, all eyes on the ominous figure. When he reached the center of the space, he knelt and pulled his hood back, revealing the dried, taught skin as he bowed his head to his queen. He kept his gaze firmly on the floor, waiting for his fellow commanders to join in beside him.

@TheWindel@Awesomoman64@Flamelord

Tartys

It was hard to tell what Tartys was more satisfied by, the fact that they had won the battle, or the fact that she no longer had to stick around near the sea. Certainly she was more comfortable back in heaven, and her wings ruffled at just the thought of going near that place again. If it weren't for her magic then cleaning up after that whole battle would have been quite a pain, one that she had no regrets in skipping.

Her feet clicked against the shimmering marble of Celestia as she headed towards the throne room to meet with the Imperator herself, to report in after this previous battle. She would have been there earlier but had a few things to take care of in the aftermath of their sea battle. Hopefully she hadn't missed too much, nor earned the ire of the Imperator for the delay. She knew that their leader was busy, and that vibrancy after victory should not be tainted by a gaffe that earned her dishonor.

Passing by Iona, she shot the woman a nod before moving for the throne room itself. Almost seamlessly she stepped within and joined Toraq and Omega near the center of the room, kneeling and bowing before her ruler. "Your grace," she said respectfully, waiting for whatever the Imperator would have to say about their recent performance.

@Mega Birb@Awesomoman64@TheWindel

---

Endian

The return from the sea was....unsatisfactory, as far as Endian was concerned, something she could ruminate on as she relaxed in a repair station to fix the damage from the acid and the rescue mission. She only paid half attention to that though, processors working to track individuals, resources, and to analyze the footage of the recent battle. There was a lot of reason to.

Needless to say, her performance in the recent battle had been lacking in several aspects. Some of the events had been outside of her control to be fair, but it was obvious that she had been far too lenient in allowing other participants in the battle to act without direction. Even Grafdakka had harmed their cause through his loose cannon antics to pursue a fight rather than focus on the objective. She had hardly distinguished herself in combat either. Perhaps the retrieval of Bastion was the one bright spot, but it was very dim in the consideration of the overall tide of the war.

A frown graced her features as she did so. At this rate it seemed like she would be due to be scrapped at some point, replaced with a more efficient model. She supposed that she was lucky Stark had not simply executed her on the field rather than allow her to retreat with the Contender for her disgraceful performance. And really, she couldn't blame them for making that sort of decision, given how much of a hindrance she had been to the war effort.

Before she could get much farther though a message popped up in her view, the High Queen requesting her presence. A sigh escaped as Endian ceased the stations functions, a rueful smile gracing her lips. "Well, I suppose this is the end for me then," she muttered to herself before charting a course for the throne room, soon arriving and standing at attention before the High Queen, with a nod to Marquis. Time to wait for everyone else, and then they would see what happened next.

@Mega Birb@KoL

@floodtalon@Mega Birb@KoL@Lonewolf685



As Henry berated Sliske, Miyu pulled at her cheeks with her fingers and waggled her tongue at him, from behind Henry's back, as a small child might smile when they've gotten the parent on their side of the argument by playing innocent. Miyu was not so proud as to needed all her insults to strike home with poignant elegance. The sheer impotence of Sliske to punish her meaningfully for any impudence despite how weak she was in both phsyical and social status compared to him was endlessly amusing to Miyu, and it showed. After getting backhanded in the face, she only looked back up at Sliske and smiled all the more with that mocking grin of "U Mad Bro?", Sliske's anger was worth the pain.

Of course, she got her own turn of embarssment as Henry bent down to pick her up. She had no idea what was coming, "Um, wha..Eeep." She did not expect to be lifted into the air and put onto the back of a giant helldog. As a person who had never riden a beast, or in general had much physical contact with other people, both parts of this situation seemed completely alien. The sheer power of the muscles she could feel underneath, how the world she rested on could shift and move with each breath... It took about a second for her to lean down from an upright position to pretty much hugging the dog because she was afraid she'd fall off. And that would look even dumber than hugging the dog. She had no idea how to handle the situation and everything felt wierd. She had gone from the comfort zone of "bantering words with demons, this is normal" to "I am riding a thing. And it is alive. And huge. How do I even?"

And then the comfort zone returned. "Oh, common mistake, actually. You can tell the common angel from the rare celestial bitch by the fluffy ears." Miyu was still hugging Cero, but she brought a free hand up to pose as a dog ear in typical kemonomimi position, as she returned fire at Victoire. "It's typically the floppy type, unlike this guy's." Miyu's unrelenting urge to sass endlessly gave her the courage to reach up and ruffle Cero's ear. "The fur also typically matches wing color, which is how you usually tell Celestial Bitches from Genetically Engineered Humans, that said, my friend Maggie had lovely dark brown ears despite her gold wings." Whether she was serious or just bullshitting was debatable. There WERE a lot of different worlds. One of them might have dog-angels.

As Rufus entered, Miyu shifted so she could look over the other side of Cero to try and squint at the newest person before shrugging and answering him to. Might as well keep digging the whole till it goes straight through! "Well it's nice to see you too, teleporty person. I'm just negotiating an employment contract." Then, as Rufus continued she got to turn again and give the "Someones in trouble" glance at Victoire as well, though, minus the hand usage, prefering to keep her overcautious grip on Cero.

"My, my, what a poor little creature, you seem to not have understood it." Victoire said as she reached forth to gently pat the red spot that was left on Miyu's face after Sliske's bruttish backhanded slap. "I am not trying to mock you, poor thing. My sincerest desire is to see what kind of creature you'll breed after being taken by one of these hellish beasts. After all, they say that Angels could breed with a rock and still produce offspring. Even if this is not true, the mating itself will be a worth spectacle worth of my time."

"Perhaps, you are afraid of it? Only poor jesters try to hide their fear behind a mask of laughter." Victoire pulled back from Miyu, licking her blood stained fingers slowly as she savored on the taste of an angelic maiden's blood, even if it was stained with the stench of the Machina techologies.

However, a scowl appeared on Victoire's face as her mood was spoiled in the blink of an eye with the appearance of a certain buffon who declared himself king. Henry's desperation was a nice break from the instant ennui brought by the King of Fools presence. Victoire made a huge effort to not let out an exasperated sigh when Rufus called for her, inquiring of Bastion's fate. "My, my, King Rufus? I was not expecting to meet your Majesty at such a short order. As for the treasure, Bastion... right? Well, I thought that we could use her more strategically as a sleeper agent, thus I had herinfiltrate the Machina while under the effect of a spell."

"Pardon my intrusion, but I have heard that the Three Leaders would attend to a conference right about this time. Perhaps that information was misplaced? Certainly the King of Hell would not show a lack of punctually before our enemies, right?" Victoire gambled, letting out an important bit of information she had aquired same time ago, to try to get Rufus' ass out of her sight.

---

The longer the trial when on, the more Omega wished he hadn’t been present. It was hard to justify siding with either party with how things had been proceeding. On one hand, the Eclipse Princess was a deserter, a rebel, and a traitor, she might as well have been part of another faction if she intended to oppose the angelic leader. But on the other hand, Imperator Deva chose to go about dealing with her in a very unethical manner. It was one thing to make someone pay for their crimes, but to do so by bringing in and threatening a third party? It just wasn’t right. In the end Omega simply averted his gaze and slipped his hat over his face; He had no stake in the trial and as such he would have no part in it.

When judgement was passed Omega lifted his hat and looked to the Imperator again just in time to see her beckoning him and the other commanders to come forward. Reaching the center Omega held his hat over where his heart would be if he had one and took a knee bowing his head to her omnipotence.

@TheWindel@Mega Birb@Flamelord

---

Those paying attention would hear the sound of large steps or see the ripples in the tea as each one grew closer. As they reached the front of the castle there was a brief moment of silence followed by a soft knock on the door. Before anyone could open them for the new guest, the door and the wall around it burst apart as Balrog let himself in. Looking back at the destroyed entryway, Balrog shrugged and stated plainly, ”Balrog fix later.”

Walking towards the council of demons and no doubt frustrated prince, Balrog explained his presence, ”Heard of defeat at ruins. Made blood boil in rage. Balrog want to fight in next battle. Crush enemies of Hell. Show true strength of demons!” Balrog held out a clenched fist as if he were currently crushing one of the Angels or Machina.

@floodtalon@KoL@The 42nd Gecko@Lonewolf685

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@The 42nd Gecko@KoL@Mega Birb@Lonewolf685@Awesomoman64

Henry frowned as Sliske reminded him of the Leviathan and how badly he had wanted to keep that alive. "I will agree with Sliske on that, we should have had at least one demon accompanying it to keep it safe from more precise threats."

Henry smiled at Miyu's interactions with the other Demons, he knew he had made the right choice in kidnapping her. She would be a very entertaining bodyguard indeed, as long as Rufus didn't simply slay her for her tomfoolery.

Which brought him to King Rufus. He didn't interact with King Rufus much, scared by his father's stories of the righteous thrashing he had been given after insulting him once. The only reason he had been kept alive was because he had been a useful thief for Rufus, meanwhile Henry was no thief in the way his father had been.

So for now Henry would respect the king and not get himself teleported into the core of a star. As he thought about this the ground began to shake which shook Henry out of his own mind. A light knocking rang from his door which made Henry happy.

"Come in!" He called out just before the entire wall burst apart in a flurry of stone. A portal opened in front of Henry and his guests, capturing any stone that would have hit the Demons and one Angel. Meanwhile none of the bricks got even close to King Rufus, landing several feet away from the throne. The portal closed and Henry sighed as Balrog marched up to them and announced his intent to join the battle.

"Thank you for knocking Balrog. At least one demon here can show some basic courtesy. I'm afraid I don't have any cups your size, otherwise I would invite you to drink some tea with us. I don't have any chairs your die either unfortunately, so you'll have to settle with this." Henry then produced a large stack of hay for Balrog to sit on if he so chose.

That last battle was a disaster. Not only had the Machina lost, but Grafdakka lost the body he was given by High Queen Eos in his last ditch effort to stop the angels. He took as many as he could but in his weakened state, he was eventually destroyed by the angels. The Machina were forced into retreat and the angels were able to claim a victory. Eventually Grafdakka spawned back into the body of Mu-01 all the way at the capital. It wouldn't be long before the Contender and it's crew arrived, so Mu-01 spent this time seeing to the repairs and upgrade to Grafdakka's new frame. But with the resource lost from the last battle, Mu-01 didn't think she'd have much to work with.

Soon there was a call for those who had fought at the previous battle to meet with the High Queen. Grafdakka's new body was just having it's finishing touches, so Mu-01 felt confident that she could leave it alone. She rushed to Queen Eos as fast as Mu-01's tank treads could, which was quite fast. Mu-01 arrived in time to catch a glimpse of the odd sign that flashed on the monitors, though it's significance was lost to the maiden.

"I, Mu-01, have heard your call High Queen Eos. What may this one do for you?"

@KoL

---

The mission was a success. Dora honestly wasn't sure how; all things seemed pretty stacked against the angels, from the Leviathan's super weapon to the Machina's more powerful navy. Dora hated to think that it was only thanks to their numbers that they managed to win this battle, but she couldn't deny that their relatively large amount of commanding officers allowed their deaths to be minimal to the overall battle. Indeed, after Victoire was killed by Machina forces, the demons began to lose. But then again, Dora also had to admit that the Machina did most of the work; it was their forces that took out Victoire and dealt with the Levithan. If the Angels didn't already have a resource advantage after the demon army was dealt with, Dora was almost certain that her forces wouldn't have been able to stop the Machinas.

Upon returning back to the Angel's HQ, Dora immediately went to get herself and her crew a stiff drink. They went to the halls of Valhalla, where her warriors could feast and fight to their heart's content. As for Dora herself, she settled for a flaggon of mead. Indeed, many came to her wanting stories of what she did, but she shooed them off. Now wasn't a time to give a report; she just wanted a stiff drink, and maybe a few warm bodies to lay with. Alas, Dora's work was never done. No sooner after she started her first mug she received a message that the Imperator Deva wanted to see all her commanders, especially those from the Battle of Ruthria. Dora would always give the Imperator her respect, but that didn't mean Dora didn't groan. She downed her mead immediately and set off for her court.

Dora would eventually arrive, her hammer slung across her shoulder. She was still missing an arm and currently, her stump was covered with a metal cap. She could have easily just projected a different astral body with a complete arm, but the process took some time, more than than Dora was certain the Imperator had the patience for. As she walked through, Dora noticed Iona and the being known as Eclipse Princess. Dora knew the both of them and frankly, wanted nothing to do with either. She simply looked forward and continued onwards. Once she arrived Dora kneel as everyone else did. "Tidings, Imperator."

@TheWindel

---

Fran woke up. She wasn't sure what time of the day it was aside that she slept in. Yawning, the naked succubi looked around and tried to get an idea of where she was at. She realized she was in Suparna's morgue. "Ah. Right." Fran and Suparna had another orgy of violence and sex, if the scattered remains of various prisoners were any indication. Suparna herself was still asleep, her cute lithe form nearly making Fran want to jump on her immediately. However the growling from her stomach made Fran remember that she was hungry, and she'd need to eat before she engaged in more deviant acts.

Kissing Suparna on the cheek Fran left to prepare breakfast. She carefully stepped over the visceral remains of their victims and went into Suparna's kitchen, which was more akin to a pen of live prisoners. Most of them were whimpering in fear knowing that the only reason anyone came in here was to feed. And sure enough when Fran approached one of the cages, the prisoner inside started to scream in horror as Fran lazily forced her out. Her screams only made Fran smile in delight however, knowing that this prisoner was a lively one. Fran gagged her with one of the many toys scattered about the area, dressing up the prisoner to make her more presentable for Suparna. Once she was finished, Fran dragged the prisoner out while she was rigged up to a device.

"Suparna... Suparna... Wakey wakey..."

Something meaty and cylindrical poked Suparna in the face and patted her on the cheek, as Fran's face grew quite red once her sweet lolita saw what Fran was doing to her body.

@Lonewolf685

---

The Queen of Carrion had been absent from the most recent debacles plaguing the warfront, and for very good reason. Playing nurse to a succubus grieving the loss of their most trusted sword to the scalpels of Machina torturers was a time consuming, but immensely pleasurable, task. She'd been sulking in her morgue following the battle for the Elicitor, but finding a distraught Fran at her door step provided ample reason to renew her interest in events beyond her home.

Then she realized that Fran was Fran, and neither of them left the bedroom for very long.

"Mmm, Fraaaaan, at least let me wake up before you use my mouth..." Suparna groaned as the incessant prodding made her inhuman eyes flutter open. Regardless of her words, the tone quickly grew teasing as she slithered forward to give it a quick nip. "Okay, as much as I would love to have breakfast in bed once again, we have business to get to, remember?"

Ignoring the tempting offer Fran had laid out before her, Suparna rose from bed to eye up the Angel on a spit that the succubus also had on offer. It wouldn't have done to let a perfectly good breakfast go to waste, and all of the feasts they'd be indulging in had only bolstered her powers.

"Once we're done here, we need to see about finding you a Valkyrie."

@Lucius Cypher

The Imperator of Heaven swept her gaze across the gathered individuals before her. By now, the throne room had been cleared out so that only she and the others remained in its presence. Her eyes flickered from Omega to Tartys, from Torag to Dora. They were the ones who had commanded and steered their forces to victory in the last battle, but they could not let down their guard quite yet. For now the game was being set for greater ambitions and more danergous prizes.

"Good tidings my loyal students. The benediction and light of Heaven graces you all on this day of victory. However, do not celebrate yet for the battles to come will no doubt prove more and more difficult," the Imperator's booming voice announced, cascading over the gathered four and washing over their very souls. "It is safe to assume that Queen Eos' prize will remain with the Machina until further notice. I doubt the High Queen would so readily let that girl slip through her fingers a second time. As such, we can consider our intentions elsewhere."

Her gaze now landed upon Omega and Tartys before saying, "I am aware that the angel known as Miyu has been captured. I can sense the lingering emotions you two in particular have towards such an outcome. Therefor, I am allowing you both granted access to infiltrate demonic territory in retrieving Miyu back to Heaven's Gates. Diana's capture has also not escaped my sights, so I am tasking the two of you to bring them both back to their homes. As for you, Torag and Dora. You two shall spear-front the next coming battle as generals."

With that said and done, it was evident the Imperator had finished her announcements. The four warriors had their assignments; thanks to the neutral meeting between all three faction leaders, Torag and Dora would have time to prepare for the coming conflict while Omega and Tartys would be able to carry out their own secretive mission. "We have intel suggesting Diana has been brought to the demon Henry's castle, the same location in which Miyu is being held. As for the next battle....we have reason to believe the Machina and Demonic forces will be targeting us firsthand. Victory in the last strife has ensured us plentiful resources; resources that our enemies would do anything to acquire. Go then, and defend Heaven's Might once more. Shine forth and lay waste to all who oppose us in this war," the Imperator ordered before her body began to dissolve away into a flash of light. After all, she couldn't keep Eos and Rufus waiting for long.

In more darker fronts, the King of Hell found that the meeting in Henry's humble abode was growing into the typical affair. Groveling on Henry's part, Sliske casting blame on everyone else, and Victoire being so very blatant with her hatred of him. He'd held some small hope that ambushing them out of the blue would have provoked a less formal reaction. At least the Angel is amusing. If she weren't such a new acquisition I'd...wait, no. I think I will, just to liven things up! With a cackle befitting the most powerful man in Hell, Rufus leapt from the throne and marched up to the table.

"Well Children, this has certainly been an enlightening encounter, and while I look forward to your eventual betrayals, I really must be going. Deva gets oh so testy if I don't show her the Devil's silver tongue every now and again, but before that I have to sort a few things out. First, I've decided that since our most capable commanders at the moment are currently in this room, I will be declaring that the only ones who haven't failed shall lead this next battle...which leaves Miyu and whoever walks through the door ne- " He paused in his speech as a gentle knock rang upon the door mere seconds before the door was knocked off its hinges.

"- Yes, Balrog shall do nicely. I wish the both of you luck and hope you don't make the mistakes of your predecessors, or you may suffer their fates~"

Their was a rippling of the air just beneath Victoire's chair before she it and its occupant were swallowed whole. The others in the room would hear barking come through the portal before it closed without a trace. "I may not care for Victoire, but even I had to admit the Hellhound idea had some merit. I wonder how she will do being on the receiving end of her own methods? Hehe...Anyway I would love to stay and help you all loot Victoire's castle as you get Diana ready for the next battle, but look at the time, I must be going so toooodles~!"

As usual, Rufus arrived in a functioning society and left it in chaos.

Meanwhile, the High Queen waited at her chambers for long, wondering what might have happened to the subjects she summoned, since only Endian and Marquis (whose presence was already expected) came to her. Though, Unit Hibiki had been sent for treatment after the battle and should be disabled for at least a little more time, with her sister being unable to leave her side thanks to the restrictions imposed on them. Krieg on the other hand had just disappeared, which was a mystery Eos would have solved already, if she didn't have more pressing matters to attend to.

"I have a top priority mission for you before the next battle." Eos said to Endian and Marquis, while sending the message to the not present units, since for pleasantries time was scarce. "Reports Indicate the presence of a powerful Demon close to the next battlefield you'll be dispatched to. Your mission is to eliminate the threat it represents. A success will mean that an old ally will sent her help to be next battle, but a failure might mean that the Demon will have a chance of joining the conflict. I hope you'll do well this time." Eos paused, changing the projections of her monitors to the field of the next battle, a seemingly volcanic desert, as well an image of the Demon in question, transmitting the date to them.

"Our objective on the next battle will be to deal a crippling defeat to the forces of Heaven, disallowing them from making use of the last battle's prize. Unit's Shizuka and Hibiki will be promoted to field commanders for their roles on the next battle, both killing of the Demon responsible for Bastion's capture as well as securing her once more. Unit Endian will be serving under their orders, as recommended by Unit Stark Zealot."

"I must leave now." Eos said as the cables and tubes linking her to the Machina machinery were disconnected, causing a momentary black out until the secondary power was activated. The Core Chamber now getting warmer as the flow of the coolants that kept the auxiliary processors cold was stopped. "Failure is hghly unadvisable," were Eos' last words before she walked out of the chamber.

~ BGM ~

Most of the territory within the Nexus was divided between Heaven, Hell, and the Machina.

Most.

But there were still swathes of land that were untamed, and it was within the ruined fortress in of these Neutral Areas that the heads of each Faction now met. A portal deposited Rufus within a massive chamber centered around a table with only three chairs still standing around it. As he expected he was not the first to arrive, Heaven's own Deva being prompt as always. "Hello Sachi. Eos not here to keep you company? Guess she must have been buffering." The King of Hell smoothed out his cape before falling into his own seat and kicking his feat onto the table. "So, you feeling good after that last battle? Got to say, I did not see the Angels steal the show, but too late to change things now...though I bet you must be feeling a bit salty not to have gotten a taste of Bastion, aye?"

"Save me your piteous words Rufus," the Imperator hissed with dignity, flashing before the demon king and appearing in her seat. "You better have good reason to have called a truce meeting so readily after my recent victory. Or perhaps, you are the one who seeks the Queen's Prize once more?" A quick glance around reminded the Imperator of why she despised these gatherings. The place in which they held their talks reeked of ancient forces, the thirteen statues surrounding them on all sides not doing well to help the atmosphere.

"Called the meeting? Oh Hell no, I did no such thing. It's not like I'm in any poor position that I need to start waving the white flag." He replied, taking notice of her wandering gaze with a wry smirk. "Like the feel of the place? Not many do. I mean the, the natives here could be capable of fighting either of our armies evenly, but they won't get with five miles of this structure. Feels like a Secret Boss room, but I don't think you'd get that joke...or any joke, for that matter."

The ruler of the Machina would be the third to arrive at the meeting, teleporting a few feet away from the table where her fellow equals were sat already. "What is it that made the two of you call me here? I hope it's not a way to exploit my subjects weaknesses." Eos said bluntly as she sat at the remaining chair. This meeting was an obviously irregular event thereby she had all the reasons to suspect that something was going in the background.

"What? Don't try to pin the blame on me," the Imperator said behind narrowed eyes, her gaze flicking as Eos finally decided to show up. She had hoped that some light would be shed upon this meeting through the Machina Queen, but alas, it seemed that even Eos was in the dark. "If neither of you called this meeting, then why are we here? Unless you sought to dispose of the other two in one fell swoop right here and now?" said the Imperator with an accusatory tone.

"Nice to see you stopped deap throating your eel long enough to grace this gathering with your presence. Truly, I am fortunate to be acquainted to such glorious ladies like yourselves." The King of Hell said while trying his hardest to see how many times he could roll his eyes before it lost all effect. "If neither of us called then, then I'll give you three guesses who did, and the first two don't count."

"I'm not like you, I wouldn't do an illogical action based solely on my 'guts'." Eos replied to Deva while looking around her room, tryign to analyze the ancient construction, but finding that her data base was lacking in information regarding such a place; the Nexus sure had many tricks, if Eos didn't had any information about this place stored in her. "If this meeting wasn't called for by nether of us, who could have done it, then?" Eos inquired, wondering how many few individuals would even dare to get the three of them in one place, though the thirteen statues made it quite clear who had a hand on this.

"I'm surprised it took you this long to figure it out Eos. Are you sure you're capable of leading the Machina?" said a voice from above. The Imperator couldn't answer either of her fellow leader's responses, not when the culprit at hand had finally revealed himself. For sitting along the arm of one of the thirteen statues was a masked man. Despite his lack of intimidating features, the Imperator felt compelled to avert her eyes away from his presence. The anger and outrage she had felt just moments ago were engulfed now by an ocean of dread.

"Well shoot, I was hoping for Chuck Norris." Rufus said, even as he pulled his feet of the table and smoothed the creases along his pants. His posture seemed more like a child being invited to the adults dinner table, dolled up in his finest outfit yet still unable to belong there."Is it time for the performance reviews already? Thought we had a few more decades before that. Would have straightened things up if we knew...you, were dropping by to our rinky dink neck of the woods."

Eos raised her face to meet the voice she knew all too well. It was no surprise to her, to say the truth and Eos' expression, or lack of it, matched her cold and calculated gestures. Though one thing escaped her at this moment. "What do you want with us? I thought that leading your games was enough, not?" Eos asked with a dispassionate voice, even as the Imperator was all but quivering at the Jester's presence, Eos couldn't bring herself to react in such a way, even if the risks of being in the presence of such a being were too great. "Did we fail at entertaining you, by any means?"

"So I'm stuck with this. A machine who fails to realize her place and a brat of a demon," the masked man mused. Only the Imperator remained silent, getting back some of her nerve to at least look up at their enigmatic benefactor. "Consider this a check-up on how well you're all doing. After all, I don't expect you to create that which I asked for so readily. Your performance has been...manageable at best."

The King of Hell couldn't discern if this was high praise or just a passing remark from the enigma in a trenchcoat, but he would take the absence of negativity as a positive. "That is music to our ears. We'll be sure to keep up the good work and spice things up to really earn that raise during the fourth quarter, right ladies?" Rufus said with a look to the others present, thought knowing present company he didn't expect much a response. "Anything else you need? We know you're a busy man and don't want to take all your time."

"The objective can't be achieved by any logical steps of calculation. We can only do so much when the directives are so complex." Eos said. In fact, what had been requested of them was too complex for even she to be able to comprehend, however there was a few individuals who seemed to be closer to achieving whatever was it that he wanted, yet those very ones were either uninterested or barred to take a part in the conflicts of the Nexus. "If there's any improvement we can do, we shall listen but, up to now, all routines had been followed within the acceptable error margin."

"I'm glad to see you all in working condition. Perhaps this time around you'll actually achieve what was asked of you," said the masked man. "Even if your performance has been mundane and sloppy for the most part. I don't think I have to remind you all about the Great Danger, no? Don't bother to speak in defense; all we asked for was our perfect army to be completed in a timely manner. Do you intend to keep procrastinating? Or perhaps I should just declare war on you all. Certainly it'd be fun to tear apart that which you've built so far."

That was an outcome no one wanted, and some might have questioned the masked man outright. But all three knew he was perfectly willing to reset all of their progress...and then make them restart from the beginning again.

Understood," said the Imperator, answering for them all. "And what about the Eclipse Princess? She's straying too far from our goals."

"That woman? There's no need to worry about that individual. I will take care of her," said the masked man with a low chuckle; even now, his image was fading away, sinking into the nothingness that lingered in all dark corners. "Though I suppose I already have," he added as a last remark before leaving the three alone once more. As he did so, a heavy weight of pressure had been lifted from the room.

"Well...that could have gone worse. " Rufus released a shaky sigh and rose from his seat. "If the big man in the sky wants us to sharpen his knives then we better get out stones and get to work. Oh, by the way Sachi, I kind of poached one of your own to be a commander. Figured this would be a good first step in integrating our operating styles, so don't get your panties in a twist. Since she's already made the rounds through Machina and Angels, it's about time Miyu gets an Infernal upgrade."

"Goodbye, my compatriots! I've got a faction to lead and a vampire to torture, so you'll just have to muddle on without me for now, but please do try and keep in touch. Hell gets marvelous cell reception." With a swish of his cape, Rufus turned and left the meeting hall to go and find his brown pants. There was a sneaking suspicion he would be needing them if the masked man actually bothered to act against them.

Eos watched it all with an unchanging expression, only replying "If that's the case, we must haste the preparations for the next battle. I shall retire myself and ready the Machina, this time the victory shall be ours, as long as no unforeseen elements surface." Eos got up and walked away, turning one last time to look at Deva and say, "You have the most powerful forces under your rule, but what good is it if you can't keep them under control? If you can't handle it alone, just allow them to be converted, anything is better than have Him raise a hand against us." Before teleporting back to her capital as well, leaving only the Imperator to gaze at the eerie shadows.

Not for long though because soon the Imperator would also be departing from their meeting place. She gave Eos and Rufus a lingering glare before dispersing in a ray of fiery light. Well then, to the next battle they would go, continuing to play their roles in this grand war game.

---

The field was silent, and the dust had settled. That's what Flos has head as he took his position to once again view the eternal battleground. Death, decay, darkness, all in one place that did nothing but scar the land beneath it. Flos took his place and simply observed. He had arrived too late to partake in a battle that the Heaven's won, but he wasn't a part of that, a part of history. He didn't crave his name to be placed in history books, he craved for every chance he could get to get closer to the gates of Hell.

"Fine view?" came a voice behind him, a lackey, unimportant, barely worth time caring. Flos observed the soldier of heaven look at his blackened wings. Looked like he either didn't know who he was, or found the opportunity to meet a fallen angel too exciting to pass.

"Finding death 'fine'?" Flos exhaled, the beckoning voice echoing the local landscape for ears too distracted to hear. "Pathetic."

"Compared to you, I am. Though we were foolish to sign ourselves up for this path." The lackey took a seat and continued observing the aura, somehow not intimidating enough to sway him into a different conversation partner. "You know it'll likely not end in our life time, the conflict--"

"I am too aware of that, I've heard it many too many times from morons who want to either lock me up or pull me away from the field." He looked back at the field. "Mazrel, that's all I need--"

"And you're going to try and find him?"

"I need to see him alive or dead," he exhaled before taking a deep breath. "Deva be damned". He reached his arm out to call for the Final Gaze, whom obeyed his command and turned brighter. "If she was so intent on ending the war," his voice got louder and more aggressive as the Final Gaze grew brighter and brighter. "...then why the hell are we stalling!?" He slashed the air, and the bright knife edge travelled through the abandoned plain with speed, before coming to a halt in the distance.

"The attitude will get you killed, you know?"

Flos breathed heavily as he continued his observation, hearing the deep boom from the distance to where the his wrath had arrived, with the bastard-sword departing shortly thereafter. "Maybe that might end the misery."

"Will it end Mazreal's?" Flos turned around. "Isn't that why you're here?" The lackey stood up. "Isn't that why you incorporated destructive elements into yourself?" Flos kept his gaze at the unshaken soldier. "The recent victory set the others back possibly years. I know you have waited for decades but you need to be patient. You'll arrive at those gates soon enough." The lackey left, and the black-winged soldier was once again left alone with the haunting view.