A lone harpy sat alone at a table in a heavenly bar, nursing a mug of some alcoholic concoction while a number of scantily clad Angelic races made their ways around with trays of similar drinks. While not exactly a place that was as clean or respectable as the rest of Heaven, the drinks and women were cheap enough to serve even the lowest of soldiers regularly, and this humanoid killer had no intention to waste all his coin in one place. He downed the remains of his current drink and slammed the iron base of his tankard into the hard wood of the table, the universal signal for 'I need another drink yesterday!' His unspoken call was answered quickly as one of the waitresses passed by and dropped off a cup for him, fresh from the tap and filled to the brim, leaving the other container behind. He picked up the new one as a small group of three angels skulked their way over, earning an eye roll from the hybrid that was just trying to enjoy a quiet night for once.

"Hey, Snatcher, take a hike. This is a bar for respectable races, not trash like your kind." To seal his point, the apparent leader of the group, a tall humanoid with a chiseled jaw and similarly attractive features, took a knife from his belt and stabbed it into the table. The seated warrior tensed. "Tell me, you have a name, Snatcher? I wanna know who I'm evicting today." He laughed, the rest of his crew joining in a second later.

The harpy sighed and set his drink down, smacking his lips before staring the obnoxious man to his side in the eyes. "They call me the Knight of the Southern Winds. If that means anything to you, you'll fuck off back to your mirror before I garrote you with a table." As he expected, the entire group scoffed at the threat and had no intention to leave, whatsoever. The knight shook his head, laughing slightly as his left hand dropped to his side. "Y'know, I expected an angel such as yourself to know who not to pick a fight with." A second later, a crossbow bolt found itself stabbed into the abdomen of the haughty being. The bolt was then ripped across the poor man's gut, delivering a painful and messy death as his intestines were lacerated and blood spilled onto the bar's floor.

The other two angels reached for their weapons, but found themselves looking up at their crumpling bodies before their hands even got halfway to them. The slow, distinct sound of steel sliding back into a scabbard was heard, along with the clicking of talons on a hard wood floor as the Knight of the Southern Winds left the fight he had finished before it began. On his way out of the bar, he yoinked a few mugs for the road off of a vacant table, his wings barely fitting through the door even in their folded state. "Really? A thin door in Heaven's capital? What dumbass let this place go in..?" He shook his head and looked up from the tiled floor outside the bar, spotting a familiar face and changing his look of annoyance to one of excitement, for a multitude of reasons.

"Dora! How'd the last battle go!?" He clicked his way on over to her and pushed one of the tankards he had taken with him into her free hand, holding the other to the girl that was having a hard time keeping up. "And who might this be?" He looked over the newcomer with curiosity, his expression coming close to that of a confused bird of prey.

@Flamelord@Lucius Cypher

---

While Fran had chosen to make as flashy an entrance as possible, Suparna simply opened the front and walked inside. It wasn't like it was locked after all the abuse it had suffered from the litany of interlopers into Henry's castle. "Pardon the intrusion, but had any seen a horny succubus? She smelled an angel and ran off before I- Ah, there she is."

The Queen of Carrion let out a weary sigh and strolled past the piles of scrapped Machina, amazed that not a one of them had a leaking power source that irradiated the entry hall. She gave the angel who drew Fran into the castle an appraising look, craning her neck upwards as Miyu floated for a moment only to alight upon the machine scrap. "I presume that she has tried to harm your property? You'll have to forgive her, and by that I imply that I will be removing Fran before any opportunity to deny me the chance to punish her occurs."

"Now then, I hope you learned your lesson. We have enough lesser angels at my domicile, so restrain yourself till we acquire an actual Valkyrie or you'll wind up spoiling yourself for dinner." Suparna said, her other half drifting through the front door and wrapping an intestine around the fallen Fran's foot to drag her back outside. The loli turned to the master of the house, remarkably composed for a sudden and uninvited interloper. "Since we shall be participating in the next battle, I do hope we have a better outcome then the last conflict. Don't you concur, Henry?"

[@LuciusCypher]@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@The 42nd Gecko

"Mmm... Ugh, where am-" After days —or where it months?— locked away, suffering Victoire's treatment, Diana finally woke up in some place that wasn't the damp, floor of the vampire's dungeon. That was good new. The bad ones whoever is that Diana quite clearly could tell that she was still in Hell, she lost most of her gear, she was feeling worse than a living trash can. Oh! And she needed a bath... quickly.

"I guess that I can get my things later, for now, I'm going to get out of here. Wherever here is." Diana grabbed a plain white sheet from over a nearby table and, using her claws to rip it apart, made an improvised dress. She wasn't very much willing to walk around enemy territory the way she was born, after all.

A few minutes passed as Diana sneaked through the hall of the unknown castle which she found herself in. During that time the dragon girl wondered why Victoire even did let her out of her chains in first place? The last thing Diana could recall about her captivity was that time when she an Bastion were turned into little but sex toys by Victoire. After that all became blurred and hard to remember, maybe for good. "I have to, find where Bastion is. I promised that I would keep her safe, there's no way I'll give up now, not while I can stil-"

Diana's thoughts were abruptly cut when she heard the sound of voices, or better, a ruckus coming from a room that was just in her way. "Damn! How many demons can there be in just one place?" Diana tightened her grip around a silver knife that she stole while passing through the kitchen, where she took the chance to, at least, douse herself in water, to remove the unspeakable smell that she was wafting before. "If I just had Ascalon, I could escape from here on my dragon form, but now..."

There was no way she could do that.

"Anyway, is that an angel they are talking to? Has someone else been captured, or... is it a fallen?" Diana sneaked a bit further. If there was also someone else that was captured, it was her duty to try and help them get out of this demonic trap, she couldn't simply tuck her tail between her legs and just save herself. However, when Diana peeked over the corner, using the polished knife as a mirror, she saw the way the angel girl was interacting freely with the other demons while messing around with Machina armaments as if she were an expert at that. "A traitor? I guess I'd better report this as soon as I get out of here. Or should I try to stay behind and gather some more information? They seem to be discussing war plans, anyway."

The idea of being captured again, before she could even successfully escape, and what that entailed, caused Diana to shudder. "I, I don't want to go through that anymore. But if I escape now, I'll never know what their plans are. If I that traitor really gives in our secrets... No, I won't let anyone else suffer that as well, this war has caused far too many people to suffer." Diana steeled her resolve, gritting her teeth. She was in a position that any spy would kill to get, but she couldn't listen very well to what the demons where discussing, over all the ruckus on the hall. Furthermore, if she just waited until she got the chance to, Diana could escape through the front doors, saving her the time to look for a better exit.

Looking around the hall from her safe position, Diana noticed a niche under the staircase that led to the upper floors. It was just small enough that she could fit behind the marble statue that decorated it and close enough to the talk that she could listen to all they were discussing. Getting there would be a bit tricky, but Diana waited until none of the Demons were looking at her way and sneaked behind a pedestal, doing it a couple more times as alert signals popped on her mind.

"Don't do that, you'll be captured..."

"They will torture and rape you way worse than Victoire..."

"Even if you want to, they'll never let you die and be free..."

Diana cursed herself. Why was she being such a coward? That was a chance of a lifetime to make sure she helped this war come close to an end, she couldn't run away now. She had to do it for Bastion, and those maids, they looked like they wanted to be friendly as well. Diana had to try and honor the chance she had. Event then, she couldn't stop her hand from shaking and her bare thighs from stiffening as she thought of her days in Victoire's dungeon.

Either way, Diana finally reached her last hiding spot, and tried to calm herself with a couple of quick breaths, focusing intently on the Demons' discussion, trying to learn and recall as they did and said, so she could report it as soon as she found a way out to get back to Celestia.

---

@Lucius Cypher@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@The 42nd Gecko@Lonewolf685.

Mu-01 soon arrived to Endian's production factory. Being one of the Machina's commanders, it was certainly better than the mill that Grafdakka was stored it. It had a mix of utilitarian and minimalism; there wasn't much to see, but what there was to see was both tasteful and practical. Well, the facilities were anyways. As for the actual Endian's, their quality varied. Mu-01 entered the facilities, pulling rank or simply forcing her way through until she reached the chambers were the various Endian bodies were stored. Some were in tubes, others simply hanging by racks. Mu-01 didn't know what the significance of these were, but she was looking for a specific: the best one.

Soon Mu-01 found what she was looking for: the newest body. Mu-01 wasn't sure if this was the best or possibly a failed prototype, but she would be using it anyways. Mu-01 moved over to the body and stood still. As she did so, the black box containing Krieg emerged from her waist. From the box, bits of Krieg's essence leaked out and towards Endian's new body. While it was protected in some sort of force field, the dark wisp merely fused with the field and continued on their way towards the body. The dark energies slipped inside, and aside from a minor convulsion, there was no other evidence of what Krieg had done. With this deed done, the box was returned inside Mu-01 tank treads before she went to one of the terminals. Taking it over so she didn't need to worry about bypassing whatever security measures Endian had on these computers, Mu-01 set things up so that if Endian's active AI is moved to a new body, it would go to the body that Krieg had left some of his essence within. This way Endian would be under his command, at least so long as the body remains active.

With the deed done Mu-01 left the facility, doing only a minor job at not leaving a trace. Endian might not notice if she doesn't bother to check, though signs of forced entry were obvious enough if she bothered to wonder why so many doors were opened. But aside from that Mu-01 retuned towards the factory where Grafdakka was being repaired. And there, she'll address Grafdakka's new minions as well.

@Flamelord

---

"Heaven ain't a place fer waiting Tartar! Yer gotta enjoy wot lil time we got til it's time to face hell all ova again."

Dora took Tartys back to the pud Dora was at before. Seemed like a little scuffled had started, and Dora was excited to get into a friendly brawl. And if it didn't stay friendly, that was fine too. A few drinks and Dora would be up for anything. Much to her surprise and delight, an old friend came out: Syphax. A strange birdman who helped Dora collect Thunder Stones a while back. A bit of a roughneck, but he did her a solid, so Dora was alright with him. The fact he came over and gave her a drink also helped. Downing it in one gulp, Dora tossed the mug away and embraced Syphax in a one-armed hug.

"Pred good. Demons an' Machina didn't win, so ders dat. Ah, and this cake 'ere is Tartys, Tartar, Tartits, et cetera. Just came back from a briefin' an' figured I'd bring along her for a bit 'ol the bender n'mean? Just like good ol times dat. Ere 'ere, since ye here let's just go an' git 'er wankered and maybe turn sum tricks, ya?"

Dora was quick to draw both Tartys and Syphax into the pub, despite only having one arm, with the intention of living the next hour in complete depravity and in a drunken stupor. Dora may claim to be better than a demon, but she was certainly no angel.

@Mega Birb@Flamelord

---

In the moments Miyu went to lay her hands on Fran, she had already lost. Whether she was going to do an over-the-shoulder, a hip-toss, or even just a trip and flip, when Miyu laid he hand on Fran she showed the angel girl why she was feared. It wasn't that Fran wasn't eventually thrown as Miyu wanted, but during the flip, Fran was flexible enough to contorn her body around the girl, feeling up her thighs and butt while at the same time waging her manly membrane right in front of Miyu's face, even making it give the girl a kiss on the lips. In another swift motion Fran swung her body around Miyu while tightly groping her ass, but not before sticking her nose right between the cheeks to give it a quick and stiff sniff, familiarizing herself to Miyu's must, followed by a magically infused lick to put Miyu under an illusionary spell. The last thing Fran did before she let the momentum of Miyu's throw remove her was simple enough: with a single swipe her of talons, Fran stripped Miyu of the clothes around her breast, letting all bare witness to her glory.

By the time Fran had crashed onto the pile of Machina parts, she just couldn't control herself. She started to twist and whither with excitement, wanting to violate Miyu desperately. She grabbed a roughly cylindrical object off the pile he was on, but it was too small. Spying the cannon that Miyu was working on earlier, Fran rose to her feet and in a single leap, lunged at the cannon and used it to sheath her meaty limb. This entire time, the illusion placed on Miyu when Fran licked her would show nothing, but she would hear nothing but this sound. Visions of Miyu's fate in Fran's possession flashed in her eyes, which in truth, were actually things that Fran had done recently, as early as this morning, with simply Miyu as it's victim instead. But the intent itself should be clear enough: Fran intended to violate Miyu sexually.

This entire time Fran said nothing, letting her actions speak for her. It wasn't until Suparna arrived to dragged her away with her long fleshy meat did the succubus say something in protest. "Suparna, nyuuuuu! We have an angel right here! And she has so many toys from the machinas that shake, twist, and shove! Just think of all the fun we could have with these Suparna." As she was being dragged away, Fran picked up one of said toys and pointed it towards Suparna right as she was dragged next to the girl's legs. "You know you wanna plaaaaay~"

@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@The 42nd Gecko

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

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

---

"ALRIGHT, AT THIS POINT I DO NOT GIVE ONE FLYING FUCK ABOUT ANY APOLOGIES YOU HAVE TO OFFER! I'M TAKING A LIMB!" Henry yelled as face contorted in rage and his eyes glowed silver at the massive hole in the wall along with the door was covered by a silver wall. Henry pulled a bloody sweater out of a portal and threw it to Miyu to cover herself with as per his personal code of chivalry. He drew his sword and stalked towards Suparna and Francisca when suddenly Brutus began barking at something.

"Huh? What's up boy?" Henry tightened his grip on his sword and walked towards Brutus. Brutus suddenly bolted towards a seemingly random spot and Henry chased after him. Angelica and Cero followed closely after and it was revealed exactly what Brutus was barking at. A prisoner was attempting to escape/listen in on them. "Huh, I wasn't even aware we had another prisoner. You're Victoire's right?" All of his Hellhounds were growling at Diana and all it would take is one order from Henry to make them attack.

@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@Mega Birb@Lucius Cypher



Fran would notice something as she molested at Miyu. Namely that her body and clothes currently were on the level of "insanely hard rock" in how they reacted to physical touch. The Mantle of Unconquerable Sun was currently redirecting force on Miyu's body into the diffuse whole of the floor underneath Miyu's feet. While Fran certainly had the physical power to break through it, having brute forced her way through reinforced Machina doors on the Elicitor, it would require more than the effort available to her while half in midair over Miyu's leg with no proper center of balance, and she'd have to be expecting it, rather than holding back so that slicing through Miyu clothes wouldn't cut her torso in half. Miyu, when not fighting someone who's magic cheating sword cut straight through it, did actually have good defense, if nothing else.

As far as the illusion, it was Fran's specialty, but defense was Miyu's specialty, and Angel magic had a natural leg up on Demonic, which was counterbalancing Miyu's relative lack of raw power nicely. As such, the illusions came through, but distorted, as if by buzzing static in the sound and dead pixels in the visions. Just a tiny, nearly imperceptible bit when Fran's touch was fresh, but as the seconds dragged on, Miyu's magic continued fighting off the illusion more and more until there was more static than illusion, until Miyu concentrated her energy for one last repulsion, sweeping a hand as if clawing a curtain out of the way, shattering it.

"No." Miyu said flatly as Fran continued antic'ing. "I am MMMPPH" Then Diana showed up, and Miyu stopped being badass when a sweater whacked her in the face. She realized Fran had managed to cut a line through her clothes, even if they weren't currently dropping off her, they might when she let down her guard. Still, she didn't want to wear a bloody sweater. And there was Diana to consider.

~Alright, let's consider this logically. From an Angelic standpoint, the best result is Diana dies, getting rezzed back home, or escapes. A negative result is that she continues being trapped here. And the worst result, is that she turns to the dark side, wooOOOooo... and becomes another fallen. From an Ethical standpoint, I'm still pretty uncomfortable with her being tortured. That seems mean. From a Demonic standpoint, the goals are the reverse of that for Angelic. Now, considering my own position, if I kill Diana, that probably proves I'm on the Angels side, removing both my potential for betrayal double agent shenanigans and probably putting me in the torture position which would only be fun for a very short while until I reached my limit, all bluffing aside. I probably wouldn't be able to kill Diana, with all the demons that outclass me physically, unless I was really sneaky about it or they wait here patiently for a half an hour for me to rig up a bomb. And doing that would almost certainly be impossible for me to go "ooops, accident, didn't realize we shouldn't kill her" as I haven't been playing dumb enough for that to fly. So, regardless of whether or not I'm going to be an Angel or a Demon, going for the kill right now doesn't make sense. That said, if Balrog, Fran, or Suprana kill Diana while in the heat of the moment discovering her or something, that could work, as it wouldn't implicate or hurt me directly, regardless of which team I'm on, Angel for having one of their warriors restored, and Demon for I'm still not terribly comfortable with watching people get tortured, regardless of caring about who kills who on a Resurrection amped battlefield. I just stand here and hey, maybe I'll get some good news. Of course, if Henry is responsible for the kill, there's some potential vampiregal could make a move along the lines of "Well, he let my prisoner escape, so I should get his." This would be baaad for me, with how I think vampiregal would treat me. On the other hand, her current political clout seems to be less than zero, so I don't think that's a huge risk, and I don't THINK Henry will make that call, though he is angry right now :3. Then, alright, escape? If I knew any better methods than making a run for it out the whole in the wall, I'd be tempted to consider that further, but it seems like a dead end thought corridor to me. It's not a plausible option, so why bother wasting time thinking about it when probably the same things that apply to going for a kill apply to. Alright, onto point two, Diana continues being a captive here, this is the highest probability scenario, as Henry probably won't go for the kill. This thus requires no action from me. While unfavorable from an Angel aspect, it is currently a null, because it's already the starting state. From a demonic aspect, it's a slight benefit, albeit still a null sum. Trying to push for this would remove the slight benefit/drawback of a vague chance they'll kill her. And again, probably tighten up the screws on me one way or another, which is an undesirable state for me. Ok, final option, she falls? Fat chance. If she's held out this long, why give out now? My impact on this scenario seems unlikely to have any effect. I'm not some super temptress that will pull Diana to the darkside, nor am I some valorous orator who in a few words will convince her to keep up the fight. Again, nearly no benefit for nearly certain loss of freedom on my end. I suppose if they've got any of her gear, I could nab that for benefit, but such things would probably be in Victoire's vaults, and she's indisposed at the moment. Alright, make a note to ask Balrog and Henry to rob Victoire, call it a test run for the heist on angeltown, and distract/calm down Henry to remove the small chance that he kills Diana which might have a small chance of turning out badly for me.~ Miyu after several minutes finished thinking through the scenario and deciding on a path of action, making a note for the future, and completely failing to act in time, having stood there staring at her feet for a few minutes.

"Um, I'm gonna go look for the laundry room."

Tartys

While Tartys could see what Dora was trying to get at, it did not really make her more inclined to go at a quicker pace. They didn't seem like they were in that much of a hurry, especially since the next battle wouldn't begin until the outcome of the rescue mission had been determined. But there wasn't much she could do about it, and she picked up the pace to keep Dora from dragging her wholesale through the halls of the capital.

"I think that can be done at a walk and with a pleasant chat," she added, not that it did anything to deter the dwarf. Soon they were at their destination, and they found someone exiting the pub with glasses in hand, obviously having decided that he wouldn't stick around but not wanting to leave his drink behind. Though why he hadn't just taken a bottle or something was a mystery to her.

She shot a glare at Dora for a moment before nodding to their new companion. "I am Tartys, Angel of the Second Hour of Night. And as she said, the battle went well." A moment later she found herself pulled into the bar along with the man, Dora managing it somehow. "Fine, but you're paying," she said to Dora before looking to her companion. "So, what's your name?"

@Lucius Cypher@Mega Birb

---

Tatiana Lorenz

While Tatiana could have just wasted her time away floating in the skies above the capital, she at least recognized that it wouldn't be a productive use of her time. Sure, it could be done in moderation, but after all that panic and running she wasn't really in the mood for it.

So she wound up in one of the Machina training facilities, zipping back and forth through an obstacle course with rifles drawn. It was simple really. She just had to pass through the hoops and shoot any targets that appeared. Of course with the Machina involved it was rarely that simple, but she was used to it by now. Muscles flexed with exertion as she rolled in midair, bringing her rifle to bear before firing with a beam of light.

So she hadn't been brought on the mission, big deal. There was always the next battle to worry about, and that was what she focused on. A slight adjustment of her thrusters brought her in for a snap turn, dodging a laser bolt before firing at the drone that had shot at her. With how cheap death was in the Nexus, they could afford to use lethal ammunition in their training. It provided something of a learning experience for those who were trying to improve.

A few last feet and she finished the course, guns deactivating and green lights flaring up. She looked over the results with a nod of satisfaction, wiping some sweat off her brow. It was good, but there were a few points where she hadn't done that well. That would need to be improved. "Again," she said before reactivating the training course. Time to do it over.

Balrog paid little attention to rest of the demons scuffling. Not that it wasn’t entertaining to see Henry throw yet another tantrum while Fran was dragged off by a newcomer, but something else caught his attention; There was a stench in the air. It reeked of blood, piss, and other bodily aromas not unfamiliar to those of hell and frankly expected being so close to a succubus. Scanning around for the source of the putrid smells, Henry’s hounds proved to have the keener noses as they ran to the staircase.

”Someone here.” Balrog said in a low growl as he stepped toward the yapping animals and their master who was already on the case checking under the stairs.

It was revealed a fugitive was trying to escape. Backed into a corner and armed with a small knife the cowering girl had a sudden shift in attitude as she gain a sly grin before breathing a wave of plasma at the surrounding demons and destroying a good amount of the machinery. Not having any of it Balrog drove his claw into the niche she hid assisting in her suicide by increasing the damage from her heart to the entirety of her upper torso.

Pulling his blood covered claw out to admire the gruesome splatter, Balrog turned to look at the other angel who wanted to look for a laundry room. ”You go nowhere!” Balrog reached out and grabbed Miyu lifting her up to eye level. With one attempted escape his anger and distrust of the angel was heightened greatly. The idea of her roaming the castle freely didn’t sit well with the now on edge demon.

”Could try to escape like other. Balrog not think she walk free yet.” He stated to Henry while keeping a firm gaze at Miyu, ”Why no break her legs? She only need arms to build.”

@floodtalon@The 42nd Gecko@Lucius Cypher@Lonewolf685@KoL

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@The 42nd Gecko@Awesomoman64@Lucius Cypher@Lonewolf685@KoL

---

Diana smiled in front of Henry and his eyes widened. "Oh fuck you!" He shouted as he opened a portal right in front of her to catch any plasma breath she spewed at them. He then sliced a wall open to the outside to vent any plasma that had gotten by while opening a portal under all his Machina parts to take keep them safe. A good portion of stuff got melted but he kept them anyways just in case. The important stuff remained for the most part, the parts that melted was mainly armor plates. Diana stabbed herself in the heart before he could stop her and his face went blank.

The room was silent for a while as Balrog questioned why Miyu was being kept around. Henry turned to Balrog and pointed to the collar on her neck. "The collar tethers her to me. If she gets too far away the collar begins to shock her, if she continues regardless she gets electrocuted to death." This was of course a complete lie. There would be times where Miyu would have to seperate from Henry to accomplish something, crippling her like that would he pointless. Neither of them needed to know that though, it was a good deterrent either way.

Henry redumped the parts on the floor and what remained of Miyu's mech. "As soon as we fix this, we're raiding Celestia. They destroyed my stuff. I'll be taking their stuff as compensation. All of it." He then motioned for Balrog to put her down. The next time he saw Diana, he was going to dismember her.

The warrior that was Torag had been wandering the halls of Celestia, thinking up an attack plan for the coming battle that had no cover, yet an open sky to work with. His guess had been that it would be a King of the Hill type war, the volcano near the center of the battlefield serving as a capping point in one way or another. Anyone with an aerial advantage would have a strangehold over the barren landscape, and that was exactly what Heaven had. Tartys and Miyu would be perfect candidates to lead a division of Valkyries to the volcano, while the rest of the forces split up and met at the point...

His thoughts were interrupted by a girl half his height bumping into him and going off on a tangent, speaking of a demonic fortress and a fallen angel within it. From what he could recognize of her clearly beaten and emaciated figure, she must've been the captive the Demon Lord Bordeaux had taken months ago. Therefore, this could only be the dragon Diana, having finally found a way to escape... or on a darker tone, committed suicide to arrive back in Heaven. To stop her indecipherable speech, he crouched down to her level, which forced him to put a knee to the ground, and set a hand on her shoulder. The sheer weight of his gauntlet would be enough to unbalance her if she wasn't prepared for the motion. "Calm yourself, Claw of the Heavens. You need good food and a warm bed, you look deader than I am. The report can stand to wait an hour or two." He gave her a look of concern despite his ghastly appearance, his eyes softening for the first time in awhile. Since her age was unknown to most, he wasn't entirely sure if he was taking on an uncharacteristic fatherly or brotherly role, but he was happy to do so anyhow. Happy... that was a feeling he hadn't experienced in hundreds of years, not since his first life. Dismissing the feeling for now, he stood back up and motioned to a close-by pub. "Come, let's get you sorted." He paced for the door to the place as a familiar dwarven figure disappeared inside with a harpy and an angel.

@KoL

---

Syphax laughed heartily as Dora embraced him, an arm around his waist bringing her to about chest height on the taller bird-man. He had expected no less from the jolly woman, and strode back into the bar he had just killed three people in to find the blood already cleaned up and the damage repaired. Honestly, he was amazed. Never in his life had he seen an establishment recover so quickly from someone insulting a harpy. Sure, they're not exactly the best of races, but they've probably the most formidable pride in the entire Nexus. He snapped out of his thoughts as Tartys formally introduced herself and asked for his identity.

He couldn't help but smile at the girl slightly. She certainly had a warrior's charm, that could go unquestioned. "I am Syphax Gallus Aquilus, Knight of the Southern Winds." He spoke, retaking his seat from mere moments ago as Dora let him go. He kicked out the other two chairs in a fluid motion, giving his companions a place to sit as well. The second the dwarf mentioned getting piss-drunk and having some explicit fun, he chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Last time you got that drunk, I remember you getting bent over a table and screaming my name for an hour. Tartys here, though... I don't think she can handle a drink as well as you or I." He grinned brightly after this statement, almost like it was a challenge. For added effect, he looked sidelong at the angel as a tray of drinks was dropped off at the center of the table. "Here's your chance to prove me wrong." He took one of the tankards and slid it over to his corner, then crossed his arms in wait.

@Flamelord@Lucius Cypher

---

As Marquis made his way through the Machina capital, he hummed quietly to himself, a simple tune he had learned before his body had been manufactured. While he passed through a side street and next to a training facility, he could hear the gunshots within. He paused for a moment, considering his options as they stood right now. He could either bring a small force into this mission and take the demon by surprise, or lead a large force in, overwhelm her, and set up a base camp for the coming battle right then and there...

His metallic feet clanged on the floor of the facility as he entered, the lobby of the place staring back at him in an almost intimidating manner. It was a building made to Machina standards; regularly waxed floors, overstuffed couches you could bounce a coin off of, the whole nine yards. A place like this was one of the best locations their military had funded, and live fire was an always thing. Death wasn't an issue in the Nexus, aside from an unlucky few the sentient space refused. The AI took his time walking through the building until he happened upon a running course with a soldier making short work of it with near-flawless accuracy. With the training rifle she had, it was a wonder she could hit anything. Marquis had only ever worked with semi-automatic weaponry, since he considered fully automatic guns to be unwieldy and hard to predict. He watched as she tore through every target in the gauntlet with brutal efficiency, running calculations in his head as she went. At the stop of the run, he made his way down to greet her. "Ma'am, if you could spare a moment, I'd like a word. I am Marquis, Servant of the High Queen." He stopped and clicked his heels, standing straight and examining her model. Short, slim, and quick; all things that would be needed for the coming operation.

@Flamelord

@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@Lonewolf685



Miyu's response to the whole plasma breath affair was hiding behind Henry, and then putting her wing off fire. She hid behind Henry to avoid being picked up by Balrog too.

"Wow, that's gonna be super inconvenient for bathtime unless it's got a decent range on it." Miyu pondered aloud about the colar. "Also, about your earlier question, no we don't all talk so exaggeratedly.. But enough of us do that we've got a bad rep for it. Much like how Demons have a bad rep for all being all about sex, and there's the occasional Fran to support that."

"Anyway, Balrog, if you want proof I can be of use, just wait until I'm done with your systems." Miyu cracked her knuckles ready to get down and... And then a thought struck her."Wait, so, you store things in your Gates of Tartarus, but when the plasma burst entered it, it didn't blow up anything? You basically have a literally unbeatable except by space-time warping attacks defense at no penalty?... I kinda want to punch Life in the dick for how unfair he's being." And then she got down to working.

And so, begin construction montage!

Engineering Dilemas: "Hum... You've got a fully function Seiten Wing System, but that thing uses power like none other, unless I had two reactors, I'm not going to get it and the Aegis IX running at the same time. Losing shields whenever I fly will be crippling when fighting angels, and I don't think I'm good enough to engineer a solution with two reactors... Maybe a capacitor system? Eh, that's only a bandage, but it might be my best option with the parts I've got. I'll need some wheels for fast ground maneuverability that doesn't need that kind of power.. Am I seriously hoping to find Mecha-Rollerblades?"

Calling Tech Support: "Hey, I'm trying to interface to interface a SIII Firefly Reactor with an Aegis IX shield.... What? No, I have not restarted it... I haven't even turned it on yet, I'm just trying to connect the electrical... GODDAMN IT, I DON'T NEED TO RESTART! IT'S A FUCKING NUCLEAR REACTOR AND I WANT TO KNOW WHAT KIND OF ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS BOTH IT AND THE SHIELD GENERATOR ARE COMPATIBLE WITH!"

True Love: "Is.. is this a SATNUC rig?" *excessive drool*

Things Balrog never asked for: "I created some telescopic sights for your Reaper Beam, linked to these retractable sunglasses, dunno why they'd make retractable sunglasses, especially in your size, but that's all I could find to make it work. The cohesion on it is very impressive, and it's got more than enough power to punch through plenty of atmosphere, so I think with this scope you could use it to snipe high priority targets from across the battlefield. It's a Machina speciality."



And then she began planning the demonic assault to steal the resources the Angels had seized in the last battle, gathering the Demons she felt she had the power of personality to convince and or really needed. If Suprana wasn't down for it, that would be alright, but her presence was one she felt the need to reach for if possible, as it added some nice touches.

"Alright, if I was a betting woman, which I am, I'd bet the resources, or at least some of them, would be stored in this vault, underneath a cathedral manor thing, Aurora Hall, because half our fucking buildings in the capital are cathedral manor things. Though, I must say I saw a ton of spooky castles on my way here, so we really aren't any better on that front."

"It's protected by a holy shieldy thing in this tower. High-class demons should be able to pierce, but it'll still be a pain and sound the alarm. That's why we sound the alarm by firing Balrog's Reaper Beam to blast the holy shield to pieces. However, that'll also signal the enemies, so I want Suprana and Henry and a mob of fighty-expendable types already moving towards the target when he's charging. Keep your heads down. I want Henry at the front of the formation to lay down cover with the Gates of Tartarus in case resistance is heavier than, Suprana in the middle for maximum two-lives meatshields."

"Henry, your job is to steal all of the things into your pocket dimension, while Suprana infects everything as expendables trade their lives with any guardians. Balrog and a host of spelly/shooty-expendable types will provide covering fire to prevent any reinforcements from reaching you guys, while I shield our entry point from ranged fire, and Balrog tags off to engage anyone who gets in melee with my position. Then Suprana, Henry, and any survivors of the expendables return. As you're returning, Suprana hits any pursuers from behind with her infected minions. Then we leave."

"Sadly, due to Tech Support being infuriatingly slow and no one else stepping up, we're taking on this mission really late. So, while if everything goes as planned and there are no high-class angels protecting the target, if there are, your objectives are first survival, and second kill high-class angels, and thirdly, actually steal the stuff. The next main mission is probably even more important, and we're doing this so late there's no 100% guarantee we'd be alive again by the time of the next main mission. But, hey, what are the odds they'd have enough high class angels there to beat the four of us?"

Doors open, tables around, and soon everyone was sat down, playing half-attention to their commander on front. Made sense, these angels weren't built for war, more like fodder to come both first and last, depending entirely on their effectiveness. Least effective become cannon fodder to take the blunt of the enemy's first strike, while the more effective ones are tied up on patrol, making sure that a counter attack doesn't come in too quickly. The position pained Flos, who sat down and looked intently and the commanding officer. He was hoping to be pushed towards the enemy, or maybe get that long-awaited order to storm the gates and extinguish the flames that don't belong in this world or any other. The commander had only babbled on about what might happen, what could be happening, not what should happen.

"You don't belong here, Fallen."

He heard that word too many times before. 'Fallen', not one he would personally use but one that seemed to serve to only shackle his potential. It would imply that he fell from a higher pedestal and negatively impacted himself, but from what he learned and did, why should he be called Fallen? Only thing that distinguished him out from the others were his black wings, the one thing that marks him out as a Fallen. He only had what he salvaged from the gore pile he created and fused it with himself, apparently enough to interfere with his soul. He turned his head slightly and simply said, "If you want to live, shut up and listen to your commander." He wasn't wrong, the only thing that kept the angel from death could lie in the commander at front, and it was also the only way he would get the fool to shut up.

"Maybe you didn't hear me, you've gone through the wrong door." Flos turned his head to see the angel at the corner of his eye. "The Gates of Hell are way out of the city, so why don't you return with your spawn you freak?"

Flos clutched one of the sisters with his hidden arm, only hidden from view from the people confronting him. "Believe me, if I could I would. Then again, not like you to face a real fight."

He heard a sharp breath, struck a nerve, excellent. "Watch your tongue--"

"Hope you didn't talk to your mother with that attitude, or it's unlikely Deva will want you in leagues length of her."

The angel leaped towards him, and with one quick turn two cuts appeared on the young angel's wings. He convulsed on the floor to the open wounds, and the others around the two reacted accordingly. Some were surprised, some simply looked at the commotion, while two others talked about what might have happened, all while Flos looked at the foolish boy with a dark sense of satisfaction.

"Sabium, do we have a problem?" the commander called out, forcing Flos to pass his attention to the two central characters of the room. The young one was rolling from side to side, while the commander made no attempt to interfere practically.

The sister was sheathed, and Flos sat back down. "No sir."

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@The 42nd Gecko@Awesomoman64@Lucius Cypher@Lonewolf685

---

Henry and the crew finally got around to fixing up the mech after many shenanigans and convincing Balrog to not crush Miyu.

Engineering Dilemmas: "Yeah, I don't know what the fuck any of that shit meant. I found some wheels but they're pink, so we have to repaint them black with cool flames to make them faster. It's proven that painting flames on stuff makes it 100% faster and cooler."

Calling Tech Support: "Give me the goddamn phone. SHE JUST SAID SHE DOESN'T NEED TO RESTART IT! IF YOU DON'T GIVE ME A REAL ANSWER, I WILL RIP YOUR INTESTINES OUT AND- ... He hung up. What a rude prick."

Snack Time: "Is water supposed to be flammable? If not we have a very big problem."

Things Balrog never asked for: "Why did I grab sunglasses that big even? Antichrist knows what I was thinking."

---

Henry listened to the battleplan intently, smiling at the thought of both stealing from the angelic host and killing, until he had one thought. What was the defense going to look like? He wasn't going to do this if there wasn't enough people to kill. As a matter of fact, where the hell is Aurora Hall? Is it directly in Celestia or something? Is Iona on vacation if so? He wasn't going to fuck with someone who can keep Rufus on his toes.

Henry raised his hand and decided to voice his concerns/horrific nightmare scenarios. "So, I'm loving the plan so far, I get to kill and steal which is awesome. My only question is where the fuck Aurora Hall is. I'm not exactly the most experienced in Angel Land geography." He pulled out a old map of Angel Territory from about ten years ago and opened it, holding it out to Miyu so she could point out where it was.

Tartys

Somehow the angel was not surprised with the sort of company that Dora kept when she wasn't on the battlefield, though she would not have been surprised to learn that they fought together as well. She knew that the dwarf, like all dwarves really, liked to indulge in the more earthly pleasures, but she had been less certain about her friends. Now as she took a seat, she was fairly certain what the answer to that question was.

"A pleasure," she replied with a nod as Syphax introduced himself. Well, at the very least he seemed to be a capable fighter, though she hadn't yet decided whether it made up for his attitude. the more lurid talk was brushed over and she ignored it. Not that she ignored the challenge as a tray of drinks arrived, and she took one for herself while the others did the same.

A lofted eyebrow and a look of skepticism was what she gave Syphax. "I must apologize for not being insane. Prideful though I may be, I know better than to challenge a dwarf to a drinking contest. I like being able to move my limbs." Nonetheless she took a sip from her drink, feeling the burn as it went down her throat but not too put off by it just yet.

@Mega Birb@Lucius Cypher

---

Tatiana Lorenz

Another run through the obstacle course, with Tatiana applying all that she remembered from the last run to try and improve. The fact that she had a photographic memory helped, though she knew that it couldn't compare to real computer analysis. But it was better than nothing, and she was confident that she hadn't messed up enough to warrant it just yet.

Beams of light flashed across the room as she fired, spinning in midair to fire at another target without even a pause. Of course the obstacle courses were randomized to keep one from growing complacent, but she had her own skills, her own tricks. She would have been a poor fighter if she could allow herself to be snuck up upon, especially in an environment like this. It wasn't as if her vision or other senses were being obscured in any manner.

At last her run finished, the final target dispatched and the last ring passed through. She was happy with her performance, since she knew that it had been better than the previous run. It might have only been by minor percentage points, but even those could make the difference between life or death on the battlefield. Perhaps she should practice something else next. Maybe high altitude combat? Never could go wrong with that.

Yet she was distracted, finding someone else waiting at the end of the obstacle course. After a second she idetified who it was, recalling that he had been at the meeting that she had just barely missed. It seemed that she was needed for something after all. "Tatiana Lorenz," she replied, turning to face Marquis and snapping off a salute. Her weapons were placed back into their holsters as she approached this conversation. "What is it?"

@Mega Birb

---

Plasma was most certainly a most unpleasant response to being discovered outside her cell, and Suparna wanted nothing to do with being bathed in such a volatile matter. Taking a step back, Chirada swooped down and closed itself around the loli while dragging Fran inside as well. The two were squeezed together within the confines of the angelic corpses ribcage, a position they were already well familiar with form their extracurricular activities, though now served to leave them unscathed while heated energy washed over the folded wings of Chirada.

The attack passed and the Angel perished, leaving nothing to do but stand back and listen to the surviving Angel lay out her plans for conquest while Fran was left to squirm in Chirada's grasp lest she molest Miyu in the middle of her speech. While it was amusing to witness the antics that ensued in the interim and their ill fated battle against tech support, she held her tongue and watched until her potential role became clear.

"I see. Well then, you can count on my participation in this mission. It's been some time since I've been able to eat a meal that can actually try to fight back." Suparna said evenly, approaching the map to stand beside Henry in contemplation of their course.

However, before she could mirror Henry's concerns as to the location of their side mission, an early intruder returned through a distortion in reality.

"Sorry I'm late, but I just got this information myself and it's a-" In walked King Rufus with a rolled parchment in hand, ready to hand down the royal decree upon the unfortunate lot chosen to lead his forces in the coming battle, only to come upon a map marked in shocking similarity to his own. "Okay, has someone been peeking into my war room, cause that's where I was sending you lot...Well it looks like I made the right choice in commanders if you are already on top of things here, soooooo gather your stuff and bring back the bacon."

Feeling a bit put out that they had stolen his thunder, Rufus left as quickly as he came and went to do his kingly duties upon his throne.

@The 42nd Gecko@Awesomoman64@Lucius Cypher@floodtalon

Shizuka was reading information about angeleic rituals when she received Eos’s command to get ready for deployment. She was doing some more research about the target that they would be after as well, but this seemed to take a higher priority. Shizuka rushed back to her sister’s side as fast as she could, using one of her new holy rituals that created wings for her. It took a minute to cast and it’ll only last for ten minutes before she’ll need to cast it again, but having flight whenever she needed it would be vital.

By the time Shizuka met back with Hibiki, she was already getting geared up. She had her new biotic rifle, side arm, and other equipment sans her armor. Additionally, she had a new mechanical leg. Hibiki smiled at Shizuka as she slung her rifle behind her shoulder. ”Let’s get to work sis! Send me the data you’ve received so far and I’ll think up of a plan.”

Shizuka and Hibiki arrived to the air docks where Eos had send them fast transport to the next battlefield. Many of their allies were there, but they would lack heavy ordinances like the Eliticor or Contender. But that was fine with Hibiki, she wasn’t good at commanding big things like that. She’s better with small groups instead. Since they were the new commanders of this battle, along with Grafdakka, Hibiki took it upon herself to give everyone a quick rundown on the plan.

”The objective of the next battle is simple: Stop the demons and remove the angel’s new supplies! We won’t have any heavy ordinances to help us, so we need to fight more subtly. But that’s not to say that we won’t give them our all! This will be mainly a stealth mission: I will lead a small group with me to infiltrate the Angel’s base of operations to sabotage or destroy their supplies.” Hibiki walked to a few others who she would be taking on the mission, specifically Tatiana, Marquis, and Endian. She handed each of them a set of three cubic bombs. ”These are demolition charges that we’ll need to strategically place within the Angel’s base to either break down their defenses or destroy their supply depot. Ideally however, Shizuka would be able to steal the supplies right from underneath the angel’s.”

Shizuka looked around surprised, not expecting Hibiki to call her out like this. When her sister turned towards her, she gave Shizuka a silent, confident smile. Swallowing her doubt Shizuka spoke as loudly as she could. ”I… May- No, I can! I can take control of the device they are using to teleport their supplies in from Ruthria. For a short while anyways. We will also be using their teleporter to evacuate from the battle after we have taken control of their teleporter, as bring back as much supplies as we can. With my spell, I can also disable their teleporter, that way once we escape and even after they remove my control over it, they will not be able to teleport supplies directly there.” Giving her sister a thumbs up Hibiki turned back to everyone else.

”Our goal is to get Shizuka to the Angel’s main teleporter so that she can disable it and give us a chance to escape. While it would be best if we could take the supplies, as long as we deprive the angels of it we can also destroy them if necessary.” Hibiki then turned to Grafdakka, or at least someone she assumed was representing Grafdakka. She also called him directly over the communications in case he wasn’t here at all. ”Commander Grafdakka, you will not be with us during the infiltration. I will need you to lead a force of your own to cause a distraction big enough to concern the Angels and Demon. You main enemy will be the angels, so try not to fight with the demons so that the angels will be fighting on two fronts. However as the demons are still our enemy, if you sense weakness or believe you can take the opportunity to do massive damage to them, take it! I cannot promise any evac for you, so please fight to the death.”

Hibiki wanted to give everyone one final hurrah before they’re set out to fight again. ”I have walked through valleys of sin and oceans of light. I have looked demons and angels in their eyes. I have heard the whispers of dark things that wanted my soul, promises of an afterlife free of burden and life. And never once have I encountered anything that has struck the fear into me that either would feel if they ever truly understood the resolve of the Machina of Man!”

@Flamelord@Mega Birb@Lucius Cypher@KoL@Lonewolf685@TheWindel

The next battle had begun without a roar or a thunderous applause, but with the silent recognition of goals and priorities. Both Demon and Machina factions knew their task and both set their sights upon the location for the next bloody conflict. To the Machina, the volcanic desert forge that was the target was fittingly named Hephaestus; to the Demons, it was Aurora Hall. And to the Angels, the towering streams of sand and lava to the heavens were simply titled Alt Signia.

While not the central supply plant to the Angels of Heaven, it was most notable as being the largest and most productive, as well as the most hazardous for enemies to approach. The very air was scorched from both the embers of the massive volcano serving as its heart as well as the harsh desert surrounding it on all sides. It was here where dwarfs like Dora would find their work most appreciated, the ring of metal constantly filling all ears.

Such as it were then that a great stroke of irony would settle upon Celestia. For of the three factions, the Angels were of course the last to realize the danger and approach of the next battle. Only two individuals, Iona and Ananta, would be able to sense the rising threat of the Demons and Machina. It would be tasked to them to alert the others in preparation for battle.

Even the Angels toiling away in the mighty forges of Alt Signia were unaware of the threat that would soon be at their doorstep, allowing the Demons and Machina an opportunity that was not to be wasted. A first strike, heavy and swift was the key. Would the Angels react in time to this devastating blow? That had yet to be seen.

Yet the tides of war seemed to shift in the favor of the Machina in this instance. The sound of clanking boots on metal floors would signal the arrival of a new individual to the Machina air docks, the person having just caught the last words of Hibiki’s speech. The individual blinked before moving to enter one of the airships; but not before passing by the maids.

“You seem fired up. That’s good considering where’s we’re going,” said the individual, who both Hibiki and Shizuke would recognize as the Queen’s Treasure, Bastion. Her voice was dull as was the expression she gave the both of them, feet already taking her away from the duo and closer to the edge of battle. Whatever the Eel had done to convert her, it seemed to have worked all too well.

Trailing behind Bastion were six more individuals, both as silent as the grave. STLTH Units. Elite Machina cyborgs who were tasked in infiltration and assassination. It wasn’t hard to conclude that they were under Bastion’s command. But for what reason? And why had the High Queen chosen not to mention their presence in this mission? Whatever the answer may be, it would have to wait after; the battle had officially begun.

---

@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@Lonewolf685@Lucius Cypher



"Wow, I had completely the wrong name guys, sorry, we would have ended up in the wrong desert entirely next to an oasis instead of a volcano. It's Alt Signia, if you care about proper appellations. Thank Eos' Shiny Thigh Highs for Nexus Maps. Anyway, I've marked a target for your blast, Balrog, it should create a highway straight to the treasure for Henry and the advanced team." Miyu checked her screens. Her team was entrenched, with the outer ring carrying heavier Machina weaponry that Miyu had salvaged from the damaged weapons, stripping them down to heavy/emplaced infantry weaponry from their mecha origins. She herself had purloined an SMG and a one-shot triple anti-armor missile launcher, both rather ordinary of quality, for her mech.

"Advanced team should be getting into position. Fire when ready, Balrog." Miyu had laced Balrog's new targetting systems to one of her displays, allowing her to double check that the shot was lined up. Aegis IX and SATNUC systems primed and ready, and the anti-armor missile launcher in hand.

This was it. Her time to shine, to show that all this investment and planning wasn't for nothing. The nagging voices telling her that she was making the wrong choice, that she was going to mess up and be dead and then tortured anyway, and so on so forth, were silenced by a fluffy fruit punch in a syrofoam cup. Cup holders were the best upgrade yet.