Torag turned around once again as Diana spoke, making note of everything she said with the occasional nod to reaffirm her that he was listening. Based on her account, this was going to be much more serious than he had initially planned for, and he turned himself towards the general direction of Iona's office as she finished relaying the information. "You mean Alt Signia? I'll be sure to tell her myself. If things are as bad as you say, we need to mobilize quickly." He started off at a fast walk, his armor clinking loudly with each step. He paused, however, when the dragon behind him thanked him for the small deed he had performed. He paused mid step and cracked a smile with what muscle he had left in his face. "It's no big deal, Diana... though you're welcome. And yes." With that, he resumed his brisk pace to the office of Iona, picking it up to a jog. The sight of Torag running was a rare one, and was usually enough to set anyone that knew his reputation on edge.

Roughly seven minutes later, the wight pushed open Iona's door, rudely interrupting whatever activity she was up to at the moment. An air of urgency surrounded him, making it more than clear he had more than a good enough reason for the intrusion. "I apologize for the interruption, Lady Iona, but we're in dire need of defenses at Alt Signia. Hell is launching a full frontal assault on there to neutralize the victory at Ruthria, and they have a fallen with them. I suspect it may be the heretic Miyu, though I am not sure. We need everything at our disposal, here." He waited for a response, biting what was left of his tongue in the hopes for a swift call to action from her.

---

Marquis nodded as Titania introduced herself, a satisfactory response given the circumstances. When she wanted to know exactly why he was there, he was all too eager to explain. "Well, I've been ordered to assassinate a demon out near the next battlefield, and I require as-" He locked up as he received a transmission from High Queen Eos, requesting that he prepare for the battle and disregard the previous task. Moments later, the information processes, he spun on his heel and made his way for the facilities exit, calling for the soldier to follow him. "Gather your weapons, we're to report to the front lines. Point 10236: Hephaestus. Transports are waiting for us." He broke into a sprint once he was outside, a hand on his bowler hat to assure that the wind did not claim it. His destination was, obviously, the airdocks.

He arrived just in time to hear the end of Hibiki's speech, his eye lighting up in a pseudo-smile. "Well said, Commander Hibiki. Now, we have a war to win, and this location is completely useless to us. Once we have all the supplies we can evacuate, I'll make sure to blow it sky-high. Preferably with as many demons as we can pack in there still in the forge looking for me." He tipped his hat to the pair of commanders and took his explosive, tucking it into his coat for safe keeping and future use. With that he stepped onto the transport, presumably with the others participating in the battle, and left for their target. With any luck, the infiltration team would never need to fire a shot to secure the facility. Even better, the smiths there could be enslaved to serve the Machina, fabricating top-of-the-line armor and weaponry for their armies and mechs.

"Harbinger of Light, what is it that brings you here?" Iona turned to Torag as he entered her domain. After listening to his report, she rose to her feet. "I feared that this could happen if someone as prone for betrayal as Miyu was left alone with the Demons." Iona was meditating on the consequences of their failure to rescue Miyu. Now the whole security of the Heavens was at jeopardy because they were too slow to act. "Next time, I'll handle these issues personally. As long as I'm allowed to by Him." Iona's cryotic words were said more to herself than Torag, though.

Anyway, in but a moment she snapped back to reality, sending a message to all she deemed that would be of use on this uncalled for conflict. "Angels of Heaven, the sanctity of our previous victory stands at the face of jeopardy by a coward attack of the Demons of Hell and Machina of Mankind to our vaults at Alt Signia, backed by the traitorous angel Miyu. All who hear this message, present yourselves at the Seraphic Gates and get ready to defend our honor and our home, under the command of the Harbinger of Light and the Divine Deputy. Make no mistake, if you come across the traitor, show her no mercy, for her demonic allies shall show you none!" At Iona's command, Celestia flared to life, a hastily assembled force running to the Seraphic Gates, ready to teleport to Alt Signia. Perhaps that was not the most impressive of armies, but it would have to make do for the time being. Faith was an Angel's sword and resolve their shield, after all. Numbers mattered not in face fo such power.

"I shall assist on the recovery of the Claw of Heavens. She'll be ready to join the conflict in but a moment. For the time being, I want you to lead our forces, Harbinger of Light, show them the wrath of heavens." Iona laid a hand over Torag's shoulder, nodding silently before turning around to take her leave and meet up with Diana at the Healing Pools. However, she stopped briefly and said, without turning back, "This will be a battle fought to the last man standing. Our only chance of victory is getting rid of all the opposition. Sadly, I can't lend you my power, but I trust that your righteous fury will make up for it. Furthermore," Iona's voice dropped to a barely audible whisper as she said her last piece before leaving Torag, "Eclipse Princess will take part of that fight. Keep an eye on her, while her loyalty is not questionable, like Miyu, she's a loose cannon. Powerful, but far too hard to aim. Keep that in mind."

"May the Light be with you!"

Everything was just about ready. He had the location, he had a plan, all that remained was for Omega to assemble his team and the rescue would be underway. But soon all his work would be scraped as he and many others were suddenly rocked by the news of an attack on their forge; an attack lead by the very angel he was going to rescue. Omega froze still as a statue. His grip around the map slipped and it dropped to the ground with a thud.

He felt like a complete idiot. Here he was ready to dive into hell to save this woman all the while she had turned against them. Sure it wasn’t like they were really close or anything and her views didn’t exactly align perfectly with the rest of heaven, but he still considered her his ally and friend. He had hoped she viewed him and the others the same.

As he stood contemplating the news, his trusted Lieutenant Sharn flew in obviously aware of the situation. “I take it you just heard as well? We should move to the Gates at once. No doubt the devils are already in position to strike.” Sharn’s words seemed to do little to budge the spirit. There was a brief pause before Sharn spoke again. “Sir, are you-”

With speeds that would surprise even Deva, Omega drew his pistol and shot the map next to him, the glowing orb shattered into a hundred pieces as Sharn jumped back in alarm. Almost unphased by his outburst Omega spun his revolver and slipped it back into it’s holster. ”Slight change of plans. I’ll go to the Gate, but I want you to start rounding up reinforcements. Look for anyone who might have missed Iona’s call or wasn’t present for it, anything to get us a true army while we hold the line.”

“Yes sir.” Sharn saluted and was just about to fly off when Omega stopped him, ”Oh, and if you happen to see Iona on yer way. Tell her I owe her a new map.” With that the two parted ways each moving hastily.

---

Standing next to Miyu while she carefully made sure everyone was in position, Balrog surveyed Aurora Hall admiring the volcanic structure and reveling in the thought of destroying it. His hand twitched as his patience grew thin; the thirst for battle growing ever more. Finally the order came down and Balrog grinned ear to ear, ”Get ready.” he warned before slamming his legs into the ground and holding a solid stance.

The small light on his chest began to glow a bright orange as the power of his mechanical parts fused itself with his natural hell energies. Spurts of red electricity began crackling around him and his whole body began to shake as his power swelled larger and larger. His new targeting sunglasses clicked on locating the best possible area to hit. Once it locked in Balrog shouted to Miyu, ”Marked!” letting her give one final check to see if everything was lined up before he sent the first and possibly most devastating attack upon the angels.

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

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

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

---

Henry marched along with Suparna, a wide grin plastered onto his face as he prepared to take ALL the stuff here. "There are few things as satisfying as a great heist. And there's only one thing more satisfying than a great heist. You know what that is Suparna?" Henry turned to her and drew the Macabre Dancers, clicking the safety off on both of them. "And that's fucking up some Angels with heads up their asses. Let's get this show in the road!" He yelled that last part to the expendables they had bought with them as they were starting to lag behind.

”I’LL HAVE IT NO OTHER WAY.”

Grafdakka bellowed after Hibiki had given him his orders. His new body, which was under construction since he was promoted, heaved with a metal glee at the idea of assaulting the angel’s for once. After their victory at the last battle Grafdakka would like nothing more than to cut them down a peg. He found it somewhat odd that the maids were now commanders, but with Endian’s new demotion he supposed it only made sense. Speaking of Endian, an android strode up to Grafdakka: Endian-04. Using Endian’s newest body frame and AI, plus a little personal influence from Krieg, and Grafdakka now had an elite minion of his own. He had no idea how Endian would perform now, but she was effectively under his control. And that’s all he really needed.

But one elite mook wasn’t going to win him battles. With his new authority and responsibilities, Grafdakka has slowly been considering the importance of not just his own combat prowess, but his ability as a leader. Previously he lost the last battle simply because he could not be there to face all threats. But with his own minions, that shouldn’t be so much of a problem. So not only did Grafdakka get a new body, with new weapons and equipment, but also a small contingent of minions aside from Endian. These minions were ”Killa Kans”, which were much like Grafdakka’s old body, albeit smaller and weaker. They even had Grafdakka's own emblem painted on their hull, just so friend and foe knew what was going to kill them. Armed with a deadly saw and claw as well as forward facing machine guns, against the rank-and-file demon and angels these robots were a force to be reckoned with. Even against more skilled opponents, the Killa Kans were tough and at least good at soaking up damage. That being said, there weren’t enough of the Kans to make up a bulk of the army, but for what Grafdakka needed them for they’ll be enough. After all, they were just a distraction.

Shortly after Hibiki’s speech everyone was loaded into the transports. Grafdakka and his retinue took up at least three transports, with Grafdakka himself being accompanied by Endian and a small handful of Killa Kans. The other two transports carried the rest of the mini mechas. As they were being transported out Grafdakka spoke to Endian. ”I AM DISAPPOINTED. I HAD THOUGHT YOU WERE MY BETTER, BUT IT SEEMS THAT THE TABLE HAS TURNED. FROM HERE ON OUT YOU ARE MY SLAVE, AND I YOUR MASTER. YOUR LIFE MEANS NOTHING WITHOUT ME. NOT EVEN THE SCRAPYARD HAS ANY USE FOR YOU. CAST THEM ASIDE YOUR DREAMS AND HOPES. THERE IS NO FUTURE FOR YOU ANYMORE. ONLY WAR.”

It wasn’t long before the first of the transports and their escorts arrived to the battlefield. Grafdakka didn’t know the full extend of Hibiki’s plans, but he knew what he had to do. He needed to get in the Angel’s faces and draw all their fire towards him; no doubt many would die before he even gets into combat. But Grafdakka was banking on them unleashing as much power as they could on him, as to draw it away from the others. ”OPEN BAY DOORS. ” The back of the bay doors opened up even as the transports were flying at top speed a thousand feet into the air. Grafdakka opened up his radio channels for all machina to contact him when needed. And any who were listening to his personal channel, or was merely within earshot of him, would hear a classical piece as he lead his soldiers to dive into battle over the Angel’s armory.

As Grafdakka and his tin cans fell, Endian extended her hands out and her eyes glowed. Hard light projections shot out from her hands and towards Graf and his minions, thirty Killa Kans total, and created wings made of pure energy. From a free fall Graf and his minions began to fly and rained bullets down onto the angel’s defenders. Endian landed on Grafdakka’s back, using her own drones to provide heavy firepower onto Grafdakka’s target of choice.

@TheWindel@Lonewolf685@KoL@Flamelord@Mega Birb@Awesomoman64@LHudson

---

”Someone should really put a dick in her mouth!”

Fran said with a chuckle as she rode with Balrog’s vanguard. Specifically, she was riding on Balrog himself. Though she was quite aware that Balrog wasn’t suited for tactical thinking, Fran was certain that he could at least pull off a straight forward “Find the enemy and smash them” stratagem. Sure, Suparna and the others might be sneaking around to flank the enemy or some such, but Fran wanted to get some angel booty asap. Not to mention that, raging libido aside, Fran didn’t trust Miyu. Did too much talking when she could have been doing stuff, not to mention that she was on the Angel’s side before. Chances are that Miyu lead everyone here solely so Miyu could run back to her masters. Well, Fran would make sure that never came to pass.

Fran leapt from Balrog to the ground, rushing towards the front. Above her Fran noticed some machina ships. Now that Fran thought of it, a lot of these battles had been fought with great stonking machines. Made Fran wonder if she should try and get herself a mech too. Perhaps capture one from the machina, or take Miyu. Maybe taking Miyu while she was at it. Sure it’d piss Henry off, but Fran was willing to endure a few years of torture for a few minutes of shutting Miyu up.

The tale-tell signs of gunfire alerted Fran that the machina were nearby. A smile grew on her face as she turned towards Balrog. ”Looks like the robots are hereBalrog! We better hurry before they get all the fun!” Fran predicted that the machina and angels would want to try and take out the demons from afar, so Fran had been working on a new trick. Running back to Balrog, Fran hopped onto his shoulder and started an incantation. A little trick she was inspired by while watching Victorie getting tortured by hounds. An hellish rune appeared in front of Fran’s hand and when she touched it, she created a massive illusion of another Balrog, some distance away, climbing out of the ground. This illusion ought to draw some of the Angel’s fire and would simulate getting hit in order to sell it, though obviously once it made it to the wall it’d be useless since it can’t hurt anything. But for now, it’ll at least pretend to be a threat.

”Whooooo! Wow! That was more tiring than I thought…. Full steam ahead B-Boy! Let’s get some holy booty!”

@Awesomoman64

"So, it has finally began." A lone warrior, clad in regal looking purple armor said to no one in particular as she gazed at the encroaching demonic and mechanical armies on the fields before the ashen walls that encircled the Angelic foundry. Eclipse Princess stood tall, her hair and garments being blown by the hot volcanic gale looked almost like they had a life of their own. Such an image was the very picture of the saying "the calm before the storm", a moment of fleeting beauty before the chaos of warfare washed over these fields like a crushing tsunami.

"Let them come, I'll hold the line alone until the others arrive. I'll crush any opposition, if that's what I need to do to keep Celly safe." Being the undisputed master of spatial magic, it was no surprise that Eclipse Princess arrived here as soon as Iona sent her call. Teleportation was a trivial task to Princess, to say the least.

"Focus all the defenses to thwart the Demons' artillery. I'll reduce anyone who comes within my range to shreds, Demon, Machina, it doesn't mind."As she stood on her watch, Princess noticed the imminent approach of the Machina forces with easy. Their machines weren't prone to stealth, after all. Special their vanguard whose tactics involved spilling forth immense amounts of munitions as well as loud music. At least this time, the piece they put forth was one Princess could tolerate. "Ready the anti air strike... Fire!" With a wave of Eclipse Princess' hand, the first volley of shots from Alt Signia's defenses, a series of magical ballistas loaded with exploding holy light bolts.

Eclipse Princess' promise of destruction would be fulfilled sooner than she imagined as a very obvious target in the form of a gigantic demon presented itself among the Hell's vanguard. That was Princess' chance of doing something that mattered and have some fun out of it. "Keep firing, I'll face the Demons head on!" If the others didn't arrived to defend Alt Signia soon, it would fall to this divided attack, even so Princess advanced, taking a few hasty steps toward the edge of the ramparts and disappearing from sight with a mighty leap followed by a teleport.

When Princess reappeared, she was right above the illusion created by Fran, spinning in the air to build momentum as she rocketed toward the ground. "..." Not a word was uttered by the stoic warrior as the impact of her maneuver, not unlike that of the Machina's heaviest bombings, left behind a deep gash on the obsidian plains, decimating a squad of the Demon's army before they could do anything, though, the settling debris were yet to reveal the fate of Princess' original intended target.

---

^{@TheWindel, @LHudson, @floodtalon, @The 42nd Gecko, @Mega Birb, @Awesomoman64, @Ryonara, @Flamelord, @Lucius Cypher, @Lonewolf685.}

Tatiana Lorenz

Tatiana listened on with growing interest as Marquis began to explain what it was that he had come here to get her for. An assassination? It wasn't her usual speed but it nonetheless sounded interesting. Even if she wasn't sure how they would manage to assassinate a demon, if it was a demon of any real strength. That wasn't really the high point of the Machina after all. But she'd leave that up to Marquis to describe as he went about convincing her.

Or perhaps not. She frowned slightly as he paused in his explanation before issuing her new orders. Alright then, so no assassination after all. She nodded before snapping off a salute and then going for her weapons so she could follow up on that. "Alright, understood," she agreed without complaint. It looked there was a fight on their hands, and she was more than looking forward to testing herself and seeing if their opponents had anything that could match her.

Following along, she quickly arrived with Marquis to hear the end of the speech. There was quite the group here, and she would have been intimidated had they not been on the eve of battle. Instead she was merely eager, looking forward to the fight and glad to have them all at her side and watching her back. It was one less thing to worry about, which meant she could give her all to the fight and not tactics or what have you.

The bombs she was given were stored on her belt for easy access as she looked around. "No heavy ordinance," she noted to herself at the same time. "Man, and using a cold fusion bomb on the forces outside the mountain would have made things so much simpler. Oh well." Not like she was going to complain when it meant she got to fight to her hearts content. With no more comment she boarded the transports with the rest of them to get on with the mission. She could fly, but the less she exposed herself before the actual time to fight the better. It prevented mechanical mishaps.

But as Grafdakka deployed, she could only sigh. "Seriously? Ride of the Valkyries? I guess originality is dead after all." Here was hoping that the duo leading them had a bit better taste as they headed for their target.

@Lucius Cypher@Mega Birb@TheWindel@Ryonara

---

Tartys

It would be a few minutes after the call to arms that Tartys emerged from one of the gates along with the stream of reinforcements that headed for Alt Signia. There was a bit of a buzz in her head from the drinking, but she was confident that she was fully capable of fighting. Of course she had expected that some downtime might be too much to ask for, and she wasn't as bad off as Dora or Syphax were.

Twirling her spear in her grip, wings flapped in powerful strokes as she headed through the halls and towards the outer bastions of Alt Signia's defenses. She needed to join the fight, to aid in the defense, and doing so in cluttered hallways wouldn't give her the sort of capacity to fight back that she would have otherwise.

At last she made it, bursting into the open with a huff. She came to a stop on the walls themselves, looking out on the advancing army and with the tint of smoke in the air. This would be quite the fight, but the demons were going to learn the error of trying to attack an Angelic stronghold when they didn't have their subversive tricks to rely on, even if there were the rumors of Miyu having defected to the demonic side. Well, time to see just what they were up against.

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

---

It may have been uncharacteristic for her, but Suparna could not help herself in feeling heated up for the battle to come. After the disaster that was the Dianax and sitting out the battle beneath Ruthria to fornicate with Fran so much she wound up evolving new powers based off the Succubus, it was high time Suparna went out and caught her own food. Beside her, Chirada flapped its wings and scattered some maggots onto the vanguard forces, Henry included.

"Should anyone be grievously injured or captured, the Whole shall puppeteer their body to act regardless of pain or desire, or just eat their brains to ensure they resurrect." Suparna spoke aloud to motivate the vanguard who would be suffering the most should they not succeed or die outright in the offensive as well speaking in reference to her collective self rather then the individual. Her head quirked to side, acknowledging Henry's own exuberance with a curt nod, the maggots settling among his clothes but abstaining from eating into his body just yet. "Considering we need to be quick about this, I will be providing us the fastest means inside, so best prepare yourself for something...nauseating, later on that is."

Suparna would rather save that ace in the hole if she could, as it was lacking in the cuteness of her current form. Instead Chirada floated closer and Suparna stepped inside, the ribcage clutching her like a snug harness while she reached beneath Henry's armpits and hoisted him into the air with her.

"Balrog, Miyu already told you to fire when ready. Do it!" Suparna barked out while her carrion nipped at the flesh of the meat shields, spurring them to charge forward and breach the entryway that Balrog would certainly open, all the while Suparna will fly low along the ground with Henry in tow till they could get inside and steal the objective.

She only hoped that the Machina bombardment would stay focused on the Angels static defenses long enough for the Demon army to put their plan into motion.
@The 42nd Gecko@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@Awesomoman64

@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@Lonewolf685@Lucius Cypher



Miyu paused for the barest of moments to stare at the Eclipse Princess' first attack, then back to business. One small tweak here and there to be sure... "BALROG, YOU'RE ON TARGET, SHOOT SHOOT SHOOTY SHOOT SHOOT!" Miyu lept up into the air and behind, towards the center of the artillery formation, lowering her shields momentarily to conserve the capacitors, and not block Balrog's shot (which would be very embarrassing).

"Everyone in the rear squad, out of cover and fan out once he fires, we need to surround that gal and fire from all sides, without being clumped."

Without another moment of hesitation, Balrog fired the reaper beam. The beam tore across the field scorching a trail as it made it’s way to the volcanic facility, it’s sheer force causing seismic activity that would be felt by all in the area. That would be the only warning the angels would get before the beam crashed into the shield. For a second, it looked as though the holy barrier would hold, but a moment more was all it had left as the barrier shattered opening the way for the demon army while the remainder of the beam slammed into the side of the volcano leaving a large crater and permanent reminder of the battle soon to come.

With two nice little entryways created no either side, Balrog shut the beam off before it overheated his systems. Overjoyed at the sight of the destruction he had just caused, balrog broke into laughter, ”BWAHAHAHA! BEWARE! BALROG COMES FOR YOU!” His mockery came too quickly as instead an angel had come for him, though she had the misfortune of fall for Fran’s illusion. ”Want to play little girl? Here! aiming at the Eclipse Princess, Balrog opened fire launching four of his missiles simultaneously. The projectiles spiraled around each other as they zeroed in on their target.

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

---

Omega arrived just in time to feel the entire plains quake. This was in no way a good sign. Sure enough a quick survey revealed that their defenses had been penetrated and the armies of hell had already begun their advancement, not to mention their artillery was busy fending off the machina who also were approaching rapidly. They were in a tight situation with no clear advantage and unless someone came up with a plan soon their defeat would almost be assured.

Omega’s mind raced trying to come up with something but kept coming up empty. Spotting Tartys not far from him, he ran to meet up with his fellow commander hoping the two could brainstorm a tide turning idea like they had before. ”Well,” He started as he reached Tartys, ”Looks like we’re out numbered, flanked on two sides, and our defensive perimeter has already been breached. Ain’t that dandy. Don’t suppose you have any ideas we could try?”

@Flamelord

The alarm was given, angels were moving, and those within the hall was a little struck back. There was confusion in the air, since the recruits were nothing but small fry and limited Flos' chances of combat, but the alarm changed the game. No questions, no answers, just him taking advantage of the situation and promptly left the room. An upcoming meat grinder, all three in one spot to lay waste to a landscape, one that he was more than happy to be at the centre of.

He approached the gate and proceeded to enter it.

"Soon," he muttered with a hint of childish glee as he gripped one of the Sisters. "I'm coming for you all."

@Awesomoman64@floodtalon@Lonewolf685@Lucius Cypher



Balrog would notice something very disappointing. He HAD been right, and all the fancy talky people had convinced him he was wrong. For his sunglasses, tweaked by Miyu, fed him incorrect targetting information for the shot and a couple moments afterwards. It fired a couple degrees low, slamming through the demon advance force, annihilating it utterly, leaving not even bones for Suprana to animate. It had been centered on the space Suprana had just fortuitously evacuated to match up with Henry, who was conspicuously absent from the blast zone.

The realization of this might cause some natural anger, perhaps angling the Reaper Beam up to the correct target, or perhaps Miyu. This would be interrupted when his everything mechanical exploded. The microcharges in his glasses blasted glass shards into his eyes to blind him. The focusing apparatus in his Reaper Beam catastrophically overloaded, causing all the remaining energy in the Reaper Beam to explode. The jet fuel in his leg thrusters obliterated the cybernetic leg enhancements. And the missile magazines for his Death Cannon went critical.

Every other mechanical piece of gear Miyu had gotten her hands on and equipped demonic forces with ALSO exploded at the same time, as the the demon artillery position became a metaphorical hell zone of fire, shockwave, and shrapnel.

And THEN the nukes went off.

The SATuration NUclear Cluster bombs to be precise, dropped from Miyu's airborn position, decisively finishing off the rest of the demonic grunts, charged with holy energy for good measure in case any of them had the talent of intangibility.

"Didn't get Suprana, dunno about Fran, but presuming Balrog didn't shrug that off, that's significantly better than I expected as far as the plan going according to plan. Now time to take care the of Machina forces by pretending to be the fattest Valkyrie ever. Daimyo, prepare contingency 33." Miyu started making her way towards the Machina forces, turning her back on the hopefully smoking wreck of Balrog.

"Affirmative. Searching for Machina that look somewhat similar to Valkyries in techno-gear."

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

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

---

Suparna picked Henry up and they headed to the barrier after Balrog fired at it. However it would appear as if he fired low and all of their forces were decimated. Henry turned his head towards Balrog and snarled. "BALROG YOU FUCKING... mo...ron..." Miyu dropped all her nukes on the demonic forces and his face drained of color as his jaw dropped. Then his eyes glowed Silver once more.

Henry wrenched himself from Suparna's grasp and landed on a platform he released from his Gates. "MIYU! I'M COMING FOR YOUR FUCKING WINGS!" Henry constructed a set of wings of Silver, attaching them to his back and giving them a few experimental flaps. He threw the Macabre Dancers into a portal and took Mjolnir out, storm clouds gathering in the air in response to Henry's smoldering rage. Henry sped towards Miyu and furiously screamed as he got closer to her. While he had lied about her collar activating when he got too far away, he hadn't lied about its electrocution feature.

He just lied about what it takes to activate it.

Henry struck at her with lightning, attempting to manually activate her collar and shock her into submission. While she may have just screwed the Demons in this battle, it wouldn't be without its price. Henry was going to recapture Miyu. And this time he wasn't playing nice. "I SHOULD'VE HANDED YOU TO SLISKE YOU BITCH!"

It wasn't long before the forces of the Machina were set out. Grafdakka went on ahead, and already Hibiki could see him in action from so far away. The Angels reacted rather quickly to their attack, but perhaps that was expected in the Nexus. It was a world that knew nothing but war after all. At any moment, one's home could become a battleground. Fortunately Grafdakka was doing his part well, drawing away the angel's anti-air fire. The demons were on the offensive as well, with two massive demons armed with corrupted Machina weapons charging the front lines. The angels launched everything they had at them, including a very impressive bomb. Of course, Hibiki was unaware of the traitor in their group, but it matter very little to her. As long as they continued to fight there, they won't notice the others.

Hibiki, Shizuka, and the other aircraft were flying in low and slow around the fortress, intending to get them from behind. The escorts that came with them separated, most of them anyways, and committed to bombing runs against the angel's front lines in order to continue drawing their attention. The demon's massive energy cannon attack only served to help increase the machina's effectiveness at being both a distraction and an actual threat, as jet fighters flew past at sonic speeds and unleashed their payload of chemical weapons. A little something that Hibiki was "inspired" by Victoire, seeing that most demons and angels were made of flesh. While it'd certainly be effective against Hibiki and Shizuka, right now it was only Grafdakka and Endian, both who were machines and thus wouldn't be harmed by the flesh eating gas.

As they flew closer Hibiki was giving out orders, but soon noticed that she actually had a line towards High Queen Eos. Perhaps it was just a commander thing, but Hibiki was tempted to use it. However she wasn't sure if she wanted to show High Queen Eos how reliant Hibiki is on others if she calls her for her first deployment as commander. But then again what was worse, asking for help to secure victory, or losing because of pride? Hibiki chose to try and contact High Queen Eos, but instead of being able to converse with her Hibiki was only allowed to leave a message. "That makes sense. Ahem, High Queen Eos, this is Commander Hibiki Meido. We are approaching the Forges of Alt Signia and the battle is already well underway. Commander Grafdakka has taken unit Endian to draw enemy fire while I shall take my forces to infiltrate Alt Signia and complete our mission. I wish to ask for any assistance you can provide, be it intel or even just encouragement." Sounds of explosion were getting louder and closer, telling Hibiki that she didn't have much time left. So she finished off her message as politely as possible. "We are near the battle, so I must leave soon. And my Queen..." Hesitating, Hibiki knew that so far the Machina hadn't been doing so well. She had promised victory so many times, yet failed to deliver. And now so much more was riding on her as their commander.

A hand was placed on Hibiki's shoulder, and when she turned to look she saw Shizuka's smiling face. Despite Hibiki's own doubts, Shizuka had faith in her sister. Even if Shizuka was scared, she knew that she could rely on Hibiki to help her. And so far Hibiki hasn't failed her yet. Finding new hope in her sister's smile, Hibiki turned back towards Queen Eos. "I'll bestow upon you the absolute best victory!" Soon after sending the message the transports were close to the drop off point. Fighter jets had covered their landing with smoke and fire, masking their approach. Before they dropped Hibiki gave everyone one quick reminder of their objective. "Drop in and meet up at the rendezvous point in ten minutes! We will split into two groups and remain on the move. Minimize enemy contact but leave no witnesses. Those with the bombs, use them as you see fit, but remember they aren't grenades! They can either be set to explode remotely or on a timer, and they have quite a punch. Use them wisely. High Queen Eos watches over us. Operation, start!"

Shizuka and Hibiki jumped out of the transport together. They were close enough to one of the buildings that Shizuka, while carrying Hibiki and their equipment, was able to safely land for the both of them. There was no angels in sight but that wouldn't last for long once they send troops over to investigate the damage over here. Wordlessly the two sisters moved on to a safe, relatively secluded location where Hibiki set up the way point. It was a nice spot that gave the two sisters a view of whoever came pass. Hibiki had her pistol out, attaching a silencer to it while Shizuka wielded Seier, a Valkyire sword. Hibiki didn't know that Ascalon was gone now, but Shizuka knew what happened to it. It went back home. Both armed and ready, they would wait for their allies to show up before they continued further inside.

@Flamelord@Mega Birb@KoL@Lonewolf685@TheWindel

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@The 42nd Gecko@KoL

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"FUCK YOU WHORE, SHE'S MINE!" Henry spun rolled in midair to avoid the black hole and flapped his wings even harder to escape the pull of gravity. Lightning raced from the tip of Mjolnir towards the black hole in an attempt to destabilize it and then Henry swung at Princess, releasing a massive bolt of black lightning directly to her face.

The traitor was his to punish.

"MIYU YOU FUCKING TRAITOR! THEY'LL NEVER TAKE YOU BACK! THEY'LL EXECUTE YOU BEFORE THEY BELIEVE THE HUMAN LOVING ANGEL WAS SECRETLY A DOUBLE AGENT! NOW GET BACK HERE SO I CAN BREAK YOUR FUCKING LEGS!" Henry looked at the arm attempting to cut into Miyu and an ornate Silver scimitar materialized above it, swinging to cut off Princess's left arm.

@floodtalon@KoL@Lucius Cypher



Happy little accidents.

"Really? Electricity? That's like the PG friendly torture. I was expecting spikes impaling the neck or something." Miyu responded to Henry's torture attempt, her neck cricking a bit and her body slightly twitching, the Daimyo's motion halting and becoming mere station keeping. Not like it didn't fucking hurt, but she had been expecting worse. She included her body in the Mantle of Unconquerable Sun spell, diverting the electricity into the armor of her mech. As potent as this little parlor trick collar might be, it was not going to noticeably harm the Daimyo's performance for a minute or two. There was nowhere for the energy to discharge to while the Daimyo was in flight, meaning that the Daimyo would eventually have to land unless the collar's "battery's" drained. And because the Mantle spell didn't perfectly divert, Miyu was still feeling a rather potent "tingle". But she'd be alright for now.

She was spared from Eclipse Princess death by cowardice. She didn't want to fight Henry, and her guts told her there was a pretty good chance Fran or Suprana might show too. So her plan to maximize the Angel's chances for victory was to lead the Demons straight into the Machina lines. The fact that she still was dying to get to fight Grafdakka in a giant robot battle surely had nothing to do with it. She jetted her flight engines just as soon as she had recovered from the initial shock get it? of the collar. Which was exactly when Iona's bitch Jorm tele-ganked her. Jorm chose to do a full swing while the Daimyo showed off it's full acceleration, meaning Jorm would just barely glance the tip of the armor, the powerful blow smacking right through the Mantle and taking a chip of armor off. And sending about twenty seconds of the collar's charged up voltage through Jorm's sword, seeing she had thoughtfully provided somewhere for it to go, just at the same time Henry was attacking her from the other side.

Happy little accidents.

"Awww.. Finally wanting to get around to that torture session you promised but never gave me? Too late now, Henry, girls hate guys who don't keep their promises." Miyu taunted back over her speakers. "Alright, Henry's following me, no signs of Balrog.. Time to lead them to the Machina forces." Miyu spoke to herself with the speakers off, before glanced to her rear cameras. "BY RUFUS' RUFFLES... FUCK I'M JUST PLOWING INTO GRAFDAKKA." Miyu finally aware of what happened, set her target, and dumped everything she could into the engines. Imperator damn it, she was going to get at least one giant robot battle, even if it was only her slamming into the target once at max speed before something bad happened.

Balrog had gotten so caught up in the moment he failed to realize he had missed the shield, and upon firing at the Eclipse Princess, was reminded why he hated those from the other factions. His targeting glasses burst on his eyes blinding the colossal demon, yet this was the least of his worries as his arm cannon and leg thrusters began to shake and beep with error tones. In moments both exploded violently, and if those didn’t finish the job, Balrog’s core which powered the Reaper Beam refused to discharge any power and instead continued to build.

The last thing heard before it went supernova was Balrog’s furious screams cursing both the angel who did this and the demons who fell for it.

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

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It seemed Omega’s hope for a miracle came true as the majority of the demon army practically self destructed as a series of blasts and nukes reduced their force to nothing more than a handful of troops. Omega whistled very much pleased with this devastation. ”Huh, guess we won’t need to worry over the demons any more. Come on.” he said waving his hand for Tartys to follow as he headed toward the other conflict, ”Juno can take things from here. We need to help deal with the machina.”

Leaving the demons to whatever misfortune fate had for them now, the deputy joined the artillery that was trying it’s best to shoot down the Killa Kans while simultaneously avoiding the gunfire being rained down. Omega could help but chuckle seeing the flying bots, ”What in the hell are those? I thought the machina prided themselves in making fancy high tech doodads but those look like they welded all their spare parts to a furnace! Ah well,” Omega drew both his pistols and promptly shot one out of the sky, ”Still make good target practice!”

@Flamelord

So far, the attack was going well. The Angels had focused their artilleries towards Grafdakka and his forces and they were getting pummeled heavily, though they haven’t taken any loses yet. Many of the Killa Kans were forced to land while damaged, but that was fine. Grafdakka himself was able to avoid most of the anti-air fire, and what few that did manage to hit him failed to do any real harm thanks to Endian’s hard light barrier protecting him. ”DIVE DIVE DIVE!” Grafdakka shouted as his Killa Kans dropped down towards the angel’s base. Though still under heavy fire, these iron giants shrugged off the angel’s small arms, and any who thought to get closer with heavy weapons were either perforated by bullets or torn apart by claws and saws.

Two Killa Kans landed near Omega and Tartys, flanking them on the sides. One which Omega had “shot down”, but that failed to destory it. Though it did get it’s attention. While Endian’s wings were no longer fit to give the Killa Kan’s flight, they still provided much needed protection behind them, occasionally lashing out with a blade to strike anyone who thought to attack the Killa Kans from behind. With their backs protected, the two iron giants wasted no time approaching Omega and Tarys, unleashing a rain of bullets as they charged forward to chop up the two warriors of heaven.

Flos wouldn’t be left wanting either, as one of the Killa Kans was coming in hot. Literally; he was on fire. While one of the more critically wounded Killa Kans, this just meant that it would be kicked into overdrive, attacking faster and more furiously than the others would, and ultimately it shall die in an explosive death. But before that would happen, the Killa Kan intends to take as many forces with him. And he’d first start by trying to crush Flos under the weight of it’s two ton body.

The other Killa Kans went after the artillery and infantry, most of them who only suffered minor or no injuries. The few that were more damaged or even close to death wasted no time causing destruction, tearing apart structures and ripping through the angel’s forces with all the strength they could muster.

As for Grafdakka he was eager to join the battle on the ground as well. He noticed that the demon forces were getting absolutely devastated, their own weapons self destructing on them. He suspected sabotage, though he was unaware that it was Miyu’s doing. He was, however, quite aware of Miyu approaching. He remembered her challenge to him back at Ruthria, but left before Grafdakka could properly fight her. He was more than willing to meet her now, and from the looks of it, she brought friends too! He knew one as Henry, a demon from Hell who was one of the commanders of the previous battle. There were two other female warriors he didn’t recognize, but Grafdakka cared very little for reputations. If they were going to fight, then Grafdakka was going to kill them all the same. But first, Miyu.

”OI RUSTY! WHAT DO YOU AND A SMASHED UP PILE OF SCRAP HAVE IN COMMON? COME AT ME, I’LL SHOW YOU!”

Draw all six chainblades out Grafdakka charged towards Miyu while also charging energy into his next attack. This wasn’t merely a strike in Miyu’s general direction, this was a wave of destruction at the tip of Grafdakka’s blade, and anything that stood in it’s way. The two forces were going to collide, and yet Grafdakka wasn’t aiming for just Miyu’s destruction. He aimed well beyond her, towards her pursuers, and all the enemies behind her. Henry, Jorm, and even Fran. All the while Endian remained on his back directing his flight and using her drones to support Grafdakka, namely by unleashing a hail of lasers at Miyu.

@TheWindel@Lonewolf685@KoL@Flamelord@Mega Birb@Awesomoman64@LHudson

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Things were going good! Balrog had a lock on target, the Machine were here, and the angels just sent a lovely slice of ass to try and strike the illusions! Sure Jorm broke Fran’s illusion, but at least she hit the illusion instead of the real Balrog. When he turned to fire missiles at Jorm, Fran was quick to hitch a ride. Throwing a chain out towards one of the missiles Fran quickly caught up to it and rode the rocket towards Jorm. Just in time too, because that’s when Miyu’s treachery finally revealed herself. Balrog had missed his target and instead wiped out a large swath out of the demon’s forces. Balrog also blew up, thanks to letting Miyu screw around with his parts. Fran wasn’t a smart demon, she never boasted about her cunning or wit, but she knew all along that Miyu was going to be a traitor. Sure she had no proof, but it didn’t take a genius to figure that an angel’s lackey was never going to side with demons. They should have just let Fran have her way with Miyu while they had a chance, but no, Henry was too proud of his “prize” to treat it as it should have been: A prisoner.

But that didn’t really matter to Fran. Shit like this happened all the time in the demon world, and getting prisoners involved just means it happens more often. What did matter to Fran, however, was that Jorm was here and she had a nice shape to her. Fran would have loved to take her prisoner and impregnate her with her unholy seed. Coating her axe with some Aphrodisiac Poison, the succubus redirected the missile with her chain to chase after Jorm. When she tried to take out both Miyu and Henry at once, Fran flew behind Jorm while tossing Love Tap to Jorm’s back. Fran intended to use the gravitational force of Jorm’s localized black hole to help suck the axe right into Jorm’s body, knowing that for a tough girl like her, she could take a hit. The poison on the other hand wasn’t going to be so easy to shrug off.
”Hey Henry, why don’t you share some of your girls with me? Go put your bitch back in her place while I break this one in!” Fran smiled with glee as she turned her missile around for a second run.

@Awesomoman64@KoL@floodtalon

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The large gusket of fire and metal might have spooked Bastion initially. But her eyes only flicked toward the transport that was no doubt containing Grafdakka with mild annoyance. She knew he was mostly useful for big distractions and heavy artillery, but did he have to be so brazen about it? Still, it was better than the treatment she received from the Demons. At least she was respected over here. Thankfully someone seemed to share her sentiments on the big oaf and she turned to grin at Tatiana.

“He’s not much for subtly, is he?” she asked, already knowing the answer. Their airship soon began to bump and rock about, the sound of heavy fire and conflict reaching all their ears. Her STLTH Units were rigid and emotionless, tasked to only operate in the protocol of the mission; with that in mind, Bastion had no one to speak to except the other Machina present.

“Don’t bother waiting for a reply,” she called out to Hibiki; it was incredible she could hear the maid’s conversation even above all the battle racket. “High Queen Eos walks among you through me and she expects nothing but the greatest of performances. Likewise, she gave specific regulations to stay out of my way,” she finished after Hibiki’s orders.

It was difficult to tell if there was malice in her voice since her expression was deadpan, but she left her gaze lingering on the maids a little longer before turning away. “Try not to get killed. I like you already,” she said in passing to Tatiana before leaping out of the airship.

True to her word, she departed away from Hibiki’s group as well as the others, the STLTH Units following in suit behind her. Cables from the armor around their wrists enabled all of them to scale the ruined landscape and keep up momentum, each of them moving in a fluid motion. By the looks of things, it seemed the Demons were sustaining the most casualties out of any Faction. Good. More time for the mission to be completed.

With a flick of her fingers, she directed two STLTH Units to disperse from the group and jet towards the Demons to cause further chaos among the battlefront. The two cyborgs suddenly disappeared from sight, activating cloaking technology and hurling shuriken at everyone and anyone their sights laid upon who wasn’t a Machina; all in the efforts to distract them all from the groups infiltrating Alt Signia.

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