Lucille was very displeased with what the Frog did, and he actually didn't blame her. Disobeying a direct order was a pretty big deal when you are trying to make a first impression, and this was no different than what he had expected from such an intimidating person. He knew that if he was going to try and make any statement to try and defend him, he had to do it right then and right there. He'd also have to pray to any single God he could in order to try and get off this without being burned to death... again. "My sincerest apologies, Miss Lucille, but I thought that if I tried to go and corrupt one of the higher ups in Heaven I'd be able to try and release the rest of the captives while also being quite the head honcho of Heaven. It was going pretty beautifully until a certain dragon girl threw me in an incinerator because of my failed camouflage. Once again, I apologize for my disobedience, and I shall attempt to make it up for you in the next battle I partake in."

@TheWindel

Torag bowed his head respectfully to Deva, stopping his tongue to prove Zeruel wrong. As the matter was returned to the escaped convict that had been deep within Celestia for as long as anyone could reasonably remember, the wight turned to both the Laguna beside him and his divine leader. "I wish it were that simple, some have theorized the Faceless One has a black hole in his stomach, and with good re-" He was cut off by the sound of Juno flashing into the hall, her sudden appearance forcing an instinctual reaction to draw his scythe. Upon his realization of who it was, he slipped it into the sheathe on his back once again.

"My apologies, Juno. I'm glad you can join us, there is a matter at hand that concerns the entirety of the Nexus. Zeruel has come forward with a document suggesting a possibility of Ragnarok coming. Given its apparent source, it may be true," The wraith recalled, hands clasped in front of his person. He certainly had his concerns over the matter, though this was the Nexus. There were very few things that were permanent here.

---

---

The door opened just as Gregorovic tossed his weapon into the air, only to catch it as dexterously as one would expect of a performer. It found its way back to his hip a moment later, closing up quickly on its own accord as he looked straight at the armored Mephilus. "Ah, Mephilus, it was, right? Lucille gave me nothing specific to do in preparation, so I thought I'd drop by, hoped you could fill me in on the last couple millennia." The macabre jester stepped into the demon's residence in his usual eerie fashion, feet landing silently on the floor with each step. He stopped and took in the surroundings before bending back to look at the home's owner. "You wouldn't have anything I could warm up on, do you? Or better yet, someone to eat?"

Zeruel heeds Deva's demand to be quiet as he listens to her carefully. She agreed more to Torag's judgement of forming an alliance with both factions, which displeased him at best. However, the permit to eliminate Gregorovic for good was taken into effect. Whoever would be set out to kill him however, must be wary about the Glutton's ravenous fury and forever-fueling hunger for subsistence and power. Perhaps as Torag mentioned, a black hole may be the thing fueling his appetite for almost anything around him. He's certainly extremely dangerous.

Like with Torag, they were interrupted when Juno teleported into the room. The Laguna Angel turned slowly as he looks right at her with his soulless and eyeless holes. He does see that she was eying him suspiciously for some reason. He attempts to clear some things up.

"JUNO. YOU'VE FINALLY ARRIVED. I WILL LIKE TO INFORM YOU THAT~"

But before he can continue, the scythe-wielding skeleton filled her in with some of the information. Yet it wasn't necessarily all. Zeruel wasn't going to repeat himself the entire story for a third time however.

"YOUR PARTNER, IONA, KNOWS MORE ABOUT THIS MATTER." he rumbles briefly, "SHE HAS SEEN WHAT'S IN THE SCROLL I GAVE TO THE GLORIOUS IMPERATOR DEVA. IT CANNOT BE IGNORED."

---

Ghelgath groans groggily as he grabs a cup of warm red hellcow-milk. The new heart that was placed inside his body was still trying to get used to its new host. Of course, maybe drinking a warm substance may not be the best thing for him right now, but even he needs something to fuel himself up once in awhile. As long as the Wicked Lich's frozen heart is healthy and solid, it's fine. Exhaling loudly as he gulps the entire cup down and he heads back to the throne room to check on who else arrived. But just before he can turn the corner, he hears words that sounded like it came from Ira's. However, it seemed to sound more childish if anything. Raising an eyebrow, he checks around the corner, seeing Lucille eye both Artoria and...

And low-and-behold... it was her. Only with wings.

Ghelgath was surprised at this stunning revelation. So the old leader of Hell didn't die permanently at all. What the hell happened to her anyways? It must've been Heaven having... altered her state a bit. He froze in place, simply glaring at her as he drops his cup, clunking as it hit the floor. Then he snickered several times before chuckling evily.

"Bwehehehehehehhhhh..." he laughs manically as he wheezes, catching his grip, "Ohhhhhh, look at you. The great mighty Ira, having been on the throne for a few measily hours, now turned into a measily prawn! Ha! This is hilarious! I-haaaaaha, I knew you'd fail in battle, but I didn't know you'll fail THIS badly. You're a fuckin' joke, ya know that? You've always been!"

He continues chuckling as he heads back into the other room.

"Too bad nobody else caught on about how much she sucks ass..." he then speaks to himself, audibly enough for some of the others to hear.

---

According to Gregorovic, he just wanted to visit due to boredom and wanted to be caught up about everything that happened since his imprisonment. The armored warrior simply shrugs.

"Sure," he mentions casually as he lets him in, "Feel free to come in."

Mephilus' castle is a rather roomy one, yet also very gothic in design. Pillars line parallel to one another as a blood-red carpet reaches towards the back of the massive room, revealing a staircase at the end to the second level. Here, the rooms are actually connected without doors; the living room being to the left which spans almost the entire side, with a dining room closest to the right and a hellish-looking kitchen to the back. Drapes covered the castle's interior, along with red gothic furniture and a fire place nearby. Chandeliers can also be seen hanging from the ceiling and torches on the pillars. Various weapon antiques can be seen hanging on the wall along with the skulls of various hell creatures. For a Hell castle, it was rather nice and roomy, if not creepy for non-hell individuals.

"Make yourself feel at home." the Hell Knight remarks kindly as he heads to the kitchen.

Good thing he went there too, as Gregorovic asked for something to eat. Of course, this is not surprise, as Mephilus knows about his almost undying hunger. The Knight simply nods. Yet instead of opening a Hell-Fridge, he actually opens up a portal and reaches his hand into it. As he takes it out, his hand grips the neck of a scrambling imp as it desperately tries to escape his firm grasp, screaming wildly in anger.

"It's not much," Mephilus mentions as he eyes the imp for a few seconds, "But he can be a little appetizer until I can get my hands on something bigger."

Then he hurls the helpless imp as it lands right in front of the hungry jester. Mephilus sighs to himself as he looks out at a window nearby, overlooking a vast sea of lava and hell creatures roaming around it, along with the faint cries of the damned.

"You know," he starts off, "Hell has really changed. Actually it changed rather drastically in the past, oh what, 24 - 36 hours? And that's nothing compared to the countless millenia of old. Already we've passed two new leaders within this time phrase, they being King Rufus and Queen Ira. Now we have this... Lucille girl, I don't know who she is really. Of course, if there's one thing that hasn't changed is... well, war."

He then turns and takes a seat on a hellish-sofa, which was near the fire place.

"To be perfectly honest," he continues frankly, "I hadn't participated much in the war as of late. Been mostly chilling out here or hunting these behemoth monsters, for sport really. Hadn't encountered many angels or of the new Machina faction that appeared fairly recently. But alas, I honestly wouldn't mind slaughtering these folk. Just to simply have a temporary change in pace you know? Like eating the same meal over and over, you know, you just get tired of eating it every day, so you go for something new. I bet you can relate to that rather well, eh?"

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

---

Henry stared as some some sort of frog puppet just dropped into the room unceremoniously. It wasnt from his collection, so who's was it? Suddenly it got up and started walking around and Henry had to hold himself back from squealing with delight. That was really fucking cool. It leaped onto him and climbed his shoulder, that's where the fun ends. Henry's eyes narrowed and he plucked the frog off his shoulder, setting it on the ground.

"The names Henry Pearl Avarita the 2nd, and I have a few rules. Rule 1 is you don't take my stuff, or I take your head. Rule 2 is don't touch me unless you're either saving my life or I have you permission. This was a first time offense of rule 2 so I'll let it slide for now." He wouldn't have let it slide for anyone else of course, but looking at this frog have him weird feelings of nostalgia for some reason.

The frog reported that he was thrown into an incinerator by a dragon girl and Henry snarled. "Fucking Diana. I still need to get her back for fucking up my castle." He muttered more for himself than anyone else. He also vaguely remembered there being another person who annoyed him that day. Some chick with a dick.

Then Ghelgath burst in, interrupting Henry's thoughts, and started laughing at Ira for her current appearance. "As much fun as this is, you do realize she's probably still at full power right? I'm actually tempted to throw her a sword just to watch you get your ass kicked." As he said this he discreetly dropped a sword near Ira from a Gate of Tartarus, wgile also simultaneously moving away from Ghelgath and towards the new queen. Gotta protect your ruler after all.

Hildr was having some difficulty deciding on what was the greater pain in her ass at the present time. As strong as it was, the Valkyrie wasn't bitter in the least with the bruise along her cheek from Artoria's mule kick, as the bag of ice she rested against her cheek did wonders for the physical ache.

Not only had she been denied the chance to make her father a drooling mess of frayed nerves, but she barely got a chance to witness her edge be dulled down to an avian cutey, and the bizarre furry seemed to have replicated Ira's strength to make her escape possible. "In hindsight, I really should have drugged them before I started playing with them. That would have kept the fox nice and docile, and I'd still have her on a leash."

The Elder Valkyrie idly lifted one of the severed limbs, it's pail splendor belonging to the vampire she'd only taken on a whim, and noticed a peculiarly powerful enchanted ring still nestled around her finger. It couldn't have been anything directly dangerous if Victoire hadn't used it to escape, so the Valkyrie was of the opinion it had more to do with her captive's own debauched nature. "At least I have a shiny consolation prize."

After slipping the ring off and stowing it in her jacket pocket, the business suit-clad Hildr opened a tear and left her now blood soaked basement behind to enter the most sanctimonious place in all the Nexus. Possessing more lens flare then the collective film work of JJ Abrams, Deva's throne room was as gaudy and auspicious as anyone would expect the head honcho of angelic kind. Hildr emerged into the surprisingly populace space, curious as to why the Laguna and everyone else were just loafing about.

"Oi, Deva, you best get to packing your shit and high tail it out of here. Lucille sent some cute fox girl to retake my prisoners and dollars-to-donuts she's coming to plant a sunflower so far up your ass the roots come out your nose. And trust me, that gets old after the fourth eon, but she'll keep using you as a seed bed for another ten if she doesn't get distracted with someone else, though if your lucky she'll have used you to make a kick ass salad for the next PTA meeting."

As preposterous a claim as it was that she shouted into the busy hall, Hildr spoke with an alarming surety born from personal experience. And a small trickle of drool as she recalled Lucille's famed salad once again."Mmm, I really need that recipe..."

@TheWindel

"Ragnarok?" Juno repeated the word coming from Torag's parched throat in a pensive tone as if she had remembered something about it. A moment later, she said, "Isn't that the thing th—" However, she was interrupted by Zeruel's booming voice before finishing. Right about the same time Hildr arrived and said her piece to the Imperator.

"Oi, Zeze, you can't yell on people's like that. And you can't talk like this close to children. Don't be a bad influence to Celly," the purple-clad warrior said with a serious voice, letting go Celene's ears, which Juno had covered to avoid Zeruel's deafening blares along with Hildr's string of curses. After she was done with it, Juno turned to her daughter. "You can go if you want, Celly," she said.

Even though Juno was more than certain that Celene could kick anyone here to the next dimension when she was older. However, having someone who wasn't ready to fight the War stay here while they talked about boring boring stuff wasn't necessary. Unless Celene wanted to stay by her mother's side, of course.

"Anyway, isn't that the thing they need the valkyries for?" Juno said with surprising clarity, after she went back to the main issue. Which wasn't that much of a surprise as long as one recalled that Juno was technically a valkyrie as well. Just like Hildr, who came in right after the issue had been first discussed.


"Now that the Snake of the World is already here, I'll take my leave. She should be more than enough in case 'they' show up in the near future," Iona said as soon as Juno arrived and was introduced to the situation at hand. "I have to inquire the Alchemist of Genesis about the reason why she didn't inform us that she let the Dragon Goddess of the Wind in the Nexus for her experiments. Furthermore request the liberation of anyone she may have captured during said experiment."

Iona seemed rather busy— just as always— as she left Deva's Throne Room and went for her sanctum. As soon as she reached it, the Dark Archangel's first action was to get rid of the nuisance which caused the attempted demonic invasions of Celestia in the last few hours. "I have too much work to do. I can waste time on the likes of you," Iona said to Fran, lifting on of her sword as if meaning to end the Demon's current life.

"However, until I say otherwise, you'll keep this," she said, referring to the restraint on Fran's genitals. "Even the Angel of Death can't undo that, I hope you take your time to think about your own sins, Demon." With these words the blade fell, taking Fran's head in a clean cut, seared by Iona's light.

Moments later, Fran's body would reform somewhere on Hell. True to Iona's word, the chastity belt was still there and, unless someone could override the Dark Archangel's power, there it would remain. At least now Iona didn't have to worry about stopping her work to punish wannabe trespassers who weren't even smart enough to attack in a coordinated way.


Back at the Throne Room of Hell, Victoire's frayed and mortified form would be nowhere to be seen a few moments after Artoria dragged her back at the cost of tearing away her limbs. It was unlikely that the Bloody Countess had perished from just that kind of injury, but when added to all that she suffered on this day, the least resistant member of the Armies of Hell was likely strained far enough to not want to take part into more battles for the time being.

Heat and demonic mist spilled out of a tear in the earth as a portal opened across the ground in some obscure part of heaven out of sight of the citadel. Swirling flames and molten rock fused in a circle like a glowing red pool and after a few moments, Zak and his fiery creations emerged. The bit of red mist that came through the portal dissipated quickly, feebly assisted by the absent waving of the red haired angels hands as he cleared the smog away from his face. One by one, each of the flaming entities Zak had summoned faded into cinders and smoke. All except for the large golem, who sat obliviously on the ground next to Zak, towering over him.

The fire and light faded as the ground solidified beneath the angels feet and the portal sealed itself away. Once again the cool air and warm sun of heaven greeted Zak. A sight that made him feel a bit less agitated from fighting in a chemical warzone. The battle ultimately was a shorter one on his part but it was still a pain in the neck for him. A battle with no purpose other than for the sake of fighting was something the angel steered away from. He mulled over why he bothered going in the first place. It took him a moment, but then the reason returned to him.

Coughing a bit, Zak straightened his jacket, briskly brushing off some of the dirt and dust, before turning around to gaze upon a somewhat large tree house a few yards away. "What a blasted ordeal that was..." He scratched at the tattoo on his wrist. "Well? C'mon Checkers. Ah believe this is about the time ye show up outta nowhere with some one liner." The golem tilted its head curiously, watching Zak as he called out to nobody in particular. A few quiet moments passed while the red haired angel tapped his foot against the grassy ground, anticipating a familiar voice to greet him.





Standing alone amongst the pale dunes, Beast gazed up at the ascending angel as she grew further and further away, distancing herself from the creature she had inadvertently awakened. Wind howled across the wasteland hollowly, blowing loose grains of sand across Beast's chrome body. After processing the situation for several moments, Beast withdrew its gaze from the stars as Miyu finally disappeared from view. Clicks and whirs accompanied low mechanical whines and bellows as Beast paced for a moment. As the heap of scraps that was Daimyo came back into view, the mechanical creature paused. It seemed to come to a conclusion in its own primal way, rearing up and having at the metal corpse once more. Just as before, Beast began tearing off and consuming chunks of the mech's hull.

A blur of motion riddled Daimyo's body as the frantic feeding of Beast began to grew more fervent. Sparks and soon heat bled from the heap, followed by sparks of electricity and emanations of strange energy. Light pumped through the neon streaks across Beast's frenetic form. Snarls and bellows echoed out through the grinding and ripping of metal. Daimyo's chest, or rather what was left of the cockpit, began to expand visibly from the outside as something grew within, pushing outwards on the warped plating across its armored body. Finally the tension peaked and the armor burst open in a hail of molten metal bits and debris as something massive shot out and into the air in colossal plume of flames and smoke.

Meanwhile, likely being ignored now, were several lines of data indicating the mechanical symbiote's thought processes which scrolled across the bottom of Miyu's vision. They continued to roll by as she arrived at the overgrown factory. The quiet emptiness of the area greeted her, broken only by the ambience of aging crumbling infrastructure and creaky rusting metal. Nearing the door that was unclear to her, the angel felt as though she wasn't alone. As the cold and rough surface of the wall met the palms of Miyu's searching hands, The distant clatter of metal and concrete echoed out from somewhere around her. The sound was brief and could almost be dismissed until it was shortly accompanied by the shattering of glass.

Through her glasses, Miyu could probably make out the blurry motionless masses that were her surroundings but not much else. However, even though she could see nothing, the angel could feel a presence around her. Something shifting around in the shadows and blind spots of her muddled sight. It could have very well been the wind or the natural paranoia that comes when ones sight is stripped away. Or maybe it was a stray animal, if wildlife even existed in this random unassuming part of the nexus. It seemed the blinded angel might find out real soon.

Many described death differently in the Nexus. Some say it's like being awoken from a peaceful slumber back into a warzone, others have called it nightmarish and painful. Syphax landed on the nightmarish and painful end of it, like a dream sequence dead set on shaking him to his core...

Wings clipped and bleeding, he ran through a burning forest, not unlike the one he had died in hours ago. He was totally unarmed and naked, vulnerable in every sense of the word without even his wings to cover his modesty. Things were bad as it was, but there was another factor that crippled him more than anything had before. Everywhere were the mutilated bodies of his people, burnt to crisps, impaled on trees, trapped in nets of razor wire. Everywhere was a sense of total hopelessness, like everything he had spent his life working for had been reversed, in some twisted dimension where the good were punished and evil prospered. "Eve, Aquila..." His clawed hands closed into tight fists, a seething hatred cascading over him in every sense of the word. He could feel it, feathers turning as black as the umbra of an eclipse and his eyes turned a shade of red akin to the flames surrounding him. Just as this transformation started, it was as if his mind left his body and wandered off, leaving a body separate from a soul.

And in a moment, he felt the connection between the two break like a tree in a hurricane.

"WAKE THE FUCK UP!" yelled Eve as she splashed an entire bucket of water onto Syphax. He was not having a great time in his dreams, it would clearly seem, and it scared the pants off of Eve. She didn't like seeing him twitch from nightmares, and it wasn't surprising that her method of waking him up was so... so blunt. Eve tried shaking him awake about a minute ago, however that was to no avail, so naturally the next step was the bucket of water. On the plus side, if he pissed himself because of the nightmare that he was having because of his respawn, Eve wouldn't know that he did. "Are you dead? You had me scared for a second."

As the water hit him, the Knight of the Southern Winds shot up like a bullet, exposing him to the elements of his poorly lit room within Celestia. It took him a moment to realize there was someone else within the room, at which point he scrambled to grab the sheets underneath him and cover himself up to his waist at least. "Yes I died, but what the hell Eve!? Did you really have to dump that on me?" One hand still on the scrap of cloth covering himself, he shuffled over to the armor stand that his gear had returned to. In the bottom right side of his chestplate, there was a wide gash where Ira's blade had penetrated and eventually killed him. For a second, he looked down and noticed a fresh scar exactly where he had been impaled. He shoved the thought to the side quickly and took the bottom half of his armor from the stand, slipping into it as quickly as he could.

"You know you liked it," snickered Eve, giving Syphax the comfort of not being watched while he put on his pants. "Seriously though I did have to do it. I tried shaking you awake earlier and you responded... exactly how you'd expect." Eve was seriously wondering why he was putting on pants anyway. She'd seen it earlier, and she wasn't wearing pants at the time. Well... she had feathers to cover her lower half, but she didn't really care if he wasn't wearing pants. A quick ruffle of her feathers happened as she turned around to face Syphax once he had pants on. "How'd the fight go? I mean, aside from you dying and all."

"Well, it was going fine at first," he started as he moved to sit down on the edge of the bed, stretching his sore wings despite the limited space. "Hell's new queen, Ira, went to the battlefield. One of the Machina launched a suicide attack on her, did some heavy damage to her. I came in and tried to talk her down at first, then she came at me. I swear, it was an even match and I would've come out on top if Hildr hadn't come in and fucked me over." He leaned forward and rested his elbows in his knees, wiry muscles stretching and flexing in the mean time. "So she send her flying into an island and leave me picking for scraps like some kind of vulture. Soon enough Ira gets tossed back to me and she ends up stabbing me in midair... and she fucking breaks her neck to stop me from killing her. We ended up falling through some trees, I took the brunt of the branches and broke everything, and I end up getting killed slowly by fire. So it sucked." He finished, claws tracing the new scar in his collection. This wasn't the first time his recklessness had gotten him injured, but it was one of the few times it had gotten him killed.

"You went toe-to-toe against the new queen of Hell? Damn." She knew the power of a male harpy but she didn't know that it would amount to that power. Then again, Hell is in a bit of crap right now, so the leader not really being such a strong combatant isn't surprising. "Sorry I didn't participate in Arcadia. A lot of the recruits were having trouble with the recent task I had them put through. I dunno how they're even standing, let alone fighting, when a lot of them can't swing a sword with good technique. There are a few promising harpies in the fray, but a bunch of them need a bit more elbow-grease to get into shape with." Eve walked over to sit beside Syphax as she explained, and it seemed like she was agitated while she spoke. The recruits must be kind of... lackluster if they put this much stress on her.

The male harpy took a moment to chuckle, pulling the female in with his left wing. "Don't need me to go in and whip them into shape, do you? And what'd you even tell them to do?" he inquired, comforting her with a few bushes of feathers against her side.

Eve seemed to relax as she explained what she had planned for the recruits she was training. "I told a few of them to pick up rocks with their feet and drop them onto targets, like bombs. None of them could even lift a rock up. A few of them pulled a muscle trying."" Eve leaned back onto Syphax as she spoke, slowly becoming more malleable to him as time passed.

"Hmph, either those years in Hell have really left everyone weak, or they're not ready for a war... I could swap off with you for the next battle, I need some time to rest up before I go back out. You kick some ass, I get people ready to kick ass," he joked, letting his arms gently close around Eve's midsection. With her trapped, he laid back on the bed, pulling her down with him.

"I'm down with that... although you better be rested for at least a few minutes," she said as she allowed herself to be pulled down to the bed, feeling like she knew where this would be going, and she was perfectly fine with what was happening.

"Well I am pretty beat, coming back to life and immediately having a nightmare takes a lot out of you," he replied. For a moment he sat in silence, simply enjoying the feel of someone else's body against his. Until now it had meant some kind of hollow longing, like an itch that could never be scratched. "Y'know, I never thought I'd get everyone out of that hole. We owe everything to Hoho now, is the only problem," he sighed, hot breath grazing against Eve's ear.

"I never thought we'd get out either, but then you came along and everything changed..." Eve said as she turned around in Syphax's arms, her chest in his as she wrapped her arms around his back. Her body slowly became warmer as the two stayed together, however it never escalated to a point where it gave either of the harpies any feeling of discomfort. "Thank you for that..."

Syphax loosened his hold on Eve just long enough for her to flip over, the two coming face to face. "Well, I'd do it all again. Every wound, every death was worth it." He wasn't sure if it was intentional, but his head was drifting upwards towards hers, tilting slightly to the side in preparation. Sure, they'd done something similar before, but this one felt... different, somehow.

Eve lowered her head towards Syphax's, tilting it in the opposite way. At first, she couldn't believe she was actually doing this, but what started out as feeling so wrong began to feel completely right. It wasn't but for a few more moments until the two locked lips, still in each other's arms.

For whatever reason it was readily appearent to even the lowest tear of angel that Deva's throne room was more active then most of the contested battlefields at the present, and that energy of excitement had roused a perfectly content serpent from a very long nap upon a gift she'd received entirely out of the blue. Before the lids of her eyes had even risen, her tongue slipped out and tasted the air around her, conveying a picture of events around Celestia by scent alone.

"Someone is frisky. I can smell the fertilized eggs from hear." Ananta said amidst a yawn and the uncoiling of her body to flee the terrifying comfort of her rock before it dragged her back into blissful slumber. A rumble soon issued from her stomach, and it took something of a conscious effort not to start slithering after the smell of horny harpies to sate that burgeoning hunger. She was a baby sitter, not a baby snatcher, and in the bleary haze of her wakening mind she had to remind herself of this.

"Oh my, I do believe I missed Hohenheim's challenge. A shame." The naga said as she affixed her shawl around her shoulders and slithered along the pristine gardens and smooth marble of the heavenly capital with the throne room as her destination.

---

"Aren't you all lively this morning...or afternoon." It wasn't like she carried a watch, and in the end the time of day didn't very much matter in the grand scheme of things, and most certainly not in the Nexus. Having pressed through the grand doorway she stood among blaise valkyrie's, towering Laguna, respectful undead, and-

"Greetings my fair ladies." The serpent greeted with a tremor running down her whole length, eagerly slithering up to Celene side like an ecstatic aunt meeting their niece for the first time. There was no relation as far as Ananta was aware, but Juno and Celene were something of Serpent royalty, and while some snakes wouldn't care regardless, Ananta couldn't help but be charmed by the cuteness of the young Celene at her mother's side. "My, my, the young lady has grown up so much. I haven't seen her since I accompanied Lady Roma to see her when was a fresh hatchling."

It was becoming something of a herculean effort not to reach over and hug the adorable cosmic snake, and Ananta was quietly hoping something would distract her before she started trying to nuzzle Celene's cheeks.

@KoL@Mega Birb]@TheWindel

One by one, more and more summoned people had arrived into the Imperator’s chambers. Some had been expected like Juno and her daughter, while others…were less than savory. The Imperator held back the urge to clench her cheek against her fist and sigh when Hildr boldly announced to the whole of Heaven and beyond that the Black Goat had made her claim among the Nexus. How wonderful indeed.

“Thank you, Elder Valkyrie, for informing me. Although I am already aware of such knowledge. Please refrain from using such a casual tone with me before I have the High Laguna watch over you,” the Imperator said. It would be Hildr’s only warning in keeping her in check among Heaven’s superiors. It was bad enough Zeruel had a problem with arrogance so maybe pairing them up together would help.

“In any case, I am assigning you both to dealing with this Ragnorak issue. You will most likely be deployed into the next battle Juno,” the Imperator said, looking at Iona and the Snake of the World. With Iona’s departure, the Imperator addressed the rest of the crowd before her. “If there is nothing left to say, you are all dismissed. Continue to prepare for the next battle, of which I will inform you of the circumstances. That is all.”

So that was it then? Well….this was boring. For the longest time, Celene had kept quiet among herself to let the adults talk about their dolling politics. She was just a little miffed about the censorship-she could handle a few swear words from Hildr-but whatever. She honestly didn’t care that much and was just waiting for this meeting to end already.

Though she couldn’t leave quite yet, not when a voice had called out to her and her mother. With the same bored and blank expression, Celene turned to notice another snake much like herself slither up to her with praise. “Yeah. Thanks. Have we met or something?” she asked with a tilt of the head. How was she supposed to just instantly know who all these people were?

As for the rest of the denizens of Heaven? Well, Harley would answer Zak’s call with a complete load of silence. No doubt it would make him look crazier in the presence of the golem. Whether she forgot he was there to begin with or was simply doing it for a prank was hard to determine. But knowing Harley, it was very much possible she was just being a troll. Possibly. Maybe.

Within the depths of Hell itself, Lucille listened to the Frog’s pleas. Oh, he had some definite good points; but that didn’t change the fact that he had still disobeyed her. “You had a good intention, I’ll say that now. But you still failed in my name. So, I think I’ll just have my dog play with you for one hour. Yes, I feel that is completely the right amount of appropriate retribution.” To what end playing with Artoria meant was none of her concern really. As long as it was amusing.

Meanwhile, the Former Queen of Hell turned around slowly to release a death glare right at Ghelgath. “Henry is right you know. It’s probably best not to taunt someone who can keep you burning in death Ice Boy,” Ira said, holding her stub up and summoning a glob of black flames along the stub of her arm. “Go ahead. Keep talking. I’m sure the new Queen is just itching for someone to shut you up.”

“That reminds me Popsicle,” Lucille said from her throne. “Would you like to give me your report on the last battle? From what I hear, you accomplished nothing but getting your ass beat by a girl.”

---

Bonesword

The skeletal swordsman had finally returned to his home near Hyperion, running into the small little hovel and slamming the door shut, locking it afterwards. Once he was safely inside his house, he walked over to the cabinet where he kept all of his alcohol and started to drink as heavily as he could. He kept pouring bottle after bottle of booze and cheap wine in his mouth, amounting to nothing more than a large bronze colored puddle on the ground below him, soaking the bottom of his boots and just making him more depressed. The other resident of the home, Stumpy the Stump (who had been absent because he was buying booze for Bonesword's drinking problem), walked up to the skeleton's knees and bumped into them gently. The skeleton, in a state of emotional depression, instinctively hugged the stump and began to... 'cry'. He was all he had left at the time, and even though Stumpy was made on a whim by the skeleton needing a servant, he grew ever compassionate for him.

After a while of crying, the skeleton began to look around his grassy and wooden home, and he saw the door that he had locked for the longest time. Where Charlie was raised, and where his only memories of Abigail and him sat. Bonesword stood up from hugging the stump and began to walk towards the door, with Stumpy following in close proximity. With no hesitation, the skeleton opened the locked door with the nearby key and he walked in. The room was quite large, with a large patch of soil around the middle, a ceramic square surrounding it, and a garage door on the other side. To the side of the room, several broken picture frames stood, each one containing a picture of Abigail and the swordsman, and a few of those pictures with a small green snake in them. Stumpy ran over to the soil and began to sit in it, making a few odd noises which called for Bonesword's attention. Watching the small little stump roll around in the soil... it made the skeleton feel... happy. Something he hasn't felt in a while.

The skeleton walked over to Stumpy and laid beside him, staring towards the ceiling. He wasn't thinking or anything like that, he was just... doing nothing. He didn't care to do anything right now. He just wanted to take a bit and relax.

---

Abigail

Abigail had never died in the Nexus before, and she dreaded what would happen when she fell into her slumber before her respawn. When she saw what her dreams entailed, she was horrified beyond any reasonable measure.

Harpies. Hundreds of them. Dead and mutilated. They were scattered among a burning forest, no doubt caused by her ex. The sight was an unbearable one, as blood laid strewn about in the charred grass, she could see only one harpy alive. The male of their generation, running through the forest in his nudity, which was something the specter wished she could unsee. She saw him stop in the forest, stand for a few seconds, and then the faint noise of someone yelling profanity rang out in the dream as the sight cut to black.

Abigail jettisoned up from her sleeping position, breathing heavily and placing her hands onto her head in disbelief. What the hell was that dream? She didn't even know any of the harpies in the first place, so why would she dream of such a scene. She rose up from her mattress and walked around the room, trying to piece together what in the fuck happened. In any case, she felt like her mind had an incredible amount of power within it, just waiting to be channeled by her. A quick raise of her hand showed that a large clump of a Dreambolt was sitting in the palm of her hand, and then the pieces started to click into shape. Did she see the dream of someone else...?

In any case, this Dreambolt was definitely a force to be reckoned with.

---

@TheWindel@The 42nd Gecko

Even with Henry warning the Ice Lich that Ira could still be in full power, with the Former Queen issuing a death glare at him, Ghelgath still couldn't take them too seriously. Ira's defeat and capture had prompted her much less respect from the same person who challenged her rule.

"Ohhhhh, I'm soooo scarrreeeed, oooooooh," Ghelgath continues taunting at her as he turns back around, "If you really think you can beat me, then you should've let me fight you before the battle of Arcadia instead of letting poor Sliske do it."

It was then when Lucile interrupted the squirming two as he asked the Ice Lich for his own report, specifically mentioning how he happened to have gotten his ass beat by a girl.

"You mean the Machina unit who almost one-shotted that giant hulking Laguna Angel with a single bullet?" he replied in a more slightly serious tone towards the new Queen, "Nah I took care of her. Of course, at the same time my bloody kneecap got blown in by that robo-sniper, so there's that."

He turns back to Ira with an evil grin.

"But hey, regardless I survived and was able to return here. Barely perhaps, but I've been through much worse," he says walking closer to her face, "At least I didn't get captured by Heaven, who probably humiliated you to some fucked up BSDM party, or whatever they do to prisoners. Heh, I bet they interrogated you by placing dirty panties in your mouth and tortured you to do any lewd acts as they please with wooden boards or whatever. I bet you enjoyed that shit, didn't you, you filthy whore."

Ghelgath didn't care if he'll get his faced smashed into his body at this point, or burnt up for eternity. In fact, he expected it to happen. He can simply respawn back in his Ice Castle if anything. He just wanted to make a point to her. She dared take the throne of Rufus, failed in keeping her power, and now this new Queen was in control due to her incompetence in leadership. At this point, he feels like his face is going to get blasted in at any second, but he didn't fear it, only smiling coldly at her.

"So go ahead." he finishes, "Do your worst. Hit me with that black fire, cripple me, torture me, BREAK ME like the Angels have done to you. Make me understand what you've gone through, your pain, your anger, your suffering, I don't give a shit. Besides, what good will it do to you when your pride has shivered to ashes... and your rule having been compromised in only a few hours since you've been on it? How will it satisfy you? Because at the end of the day, behind that mask and armor, you're just like the rest of us lot, Ira. You're not special. Because what I'm doing now isn't to achieve any power... it's simply to prove a point."

At this point, she was really up in her face, three inches from her nose. It seems as the worst was yet to dive into Ghelgath's sanity.

“….is there any particular reason why you need me?”

Harley manifested beside Zak with an irk of an expression on her face. She was hoping he’d go off and play Legos by himself but when it became obvious he would waste his time waiting for her, she obliged to appear. And here she was. Right here. In the flesh. Exquisite. Harley ignored the Golem beside her, waiting for Zak to get this over with already. “I’ll repeat again. Exactly why are you wasting my time right now?”

Back in Hell, a clash of fire and ice was about to take place. Ira twitched an eyebrow and bit the inside of her cheek as Ghelgath got close, very close to her face. Oh, how she wanted to break his teeth in and shove the chipped remains down his throat. Each word and spittle of his cold breath was another testament to her patience, a strike to her nerve, and a push of her self-restraint.

Had she been in control, she would have gladly given Ghelgath exactly what he wanted. “Quit it you idiots. You’re giving me a headache.” But evidently, Lucille’s words were very much enough to draw Ira back from her little mental space of rage and hatred. The Black Goat’s command drowned away anything more Ghelgath could throw at her and Hell’s former Queen turned away, her black flames dissipating.

“Prove your words with actions,” she said simply before leaving the room to go find a place to rest and heal. Lucille watched her go in dismissal, allowing her to recover. Given the state she was in along with Victoire when she arrived, it would take more than a night’s rest to patch them back up. Smirking, Lucille turned her eyes on the ice brat now.

“You know, this really doesn’t change the fact that you got beat by a girl Ghelgath. Did you see her die? Do know you for sure if she was a confirmed kill? No? You don’t? Because it sounds like more of the common conceited Demon bullshit,” Lucille said, glancing at Henry. “I think I’ve finally found someone more annoying than you. At least you can get shit done.”

---

An hour with Artoria. This was a travesty! The puppet only saw a small sliver of what Artoria could do, and even that gave him the willies! If she could mess with Mephilus in mere seconds, there was no telling what an HOUR could do to the poor frog! The puppet sighed as he walked over to Artoria, his face aimed at the ground. He was dreading this, and he knew it would only go one way if any. With an abnormally downtrodden tone, the frog puppet spoke to the wolf girl. "... D-do what you want, Artoria. Please be gentle, though." While he was staring at the ground, he wasn't even humming his favorite song, rather just thinking about what his new name would be as soon as this hour would be over.

@The 42nd Gecko@TheWindel

"DO NOT CALL ME ZEZE." the Laguna Angels booms at Juno again, ignoring her request to "pipe down" entirely. After all, this is how he normally speaks and he doesn't have many people that consider it a problem.

After a few words from the Imperator, she eventually excused them to prepare for the next battle at hand with Zeruel floating silently out of the throne room. Perhaps he should consider dropping off two of his Laguna allies with him to help with the next battle. Of course, he also must remember to make sure he's in humanoid form and size the next time he enters. He may glorify his strength, but he also knows how to adapt to the situation at hand.

As he considers who to release, two particular Angels come into mind...

The "Thunder Of God"...

And the "Angel Of Water."

---

Ghelgath's whole "logical-intimidation" act might've indeed costed him an arm or a leg, perhaps both if Ira was angry enough. In fact, the latter option seemed very obvious the way he saw her face twitch and turn. It was clear that he touched a nerve from within her blackened interior. But the Ice Lich didn't move a muscle, as if he was accepting his predicament. However, before she could strike, Lucile demanded that both 'idiots' quit it, as they gave her a headache. The former queen would calm down, sputter at her opponent how "Action speaks louder than words", and walks off to go rest. Ghelgath lowered his arms back to his side as he watched her walk away. It looks like he will continue living for just a little bit longer.

Of course, that didn't stop from Lucile from trying to roast the frozen wretch herself.

“You know, this really doesn’t change the fact that you got beat by a girl Ghelgath."

Ghelgath turns his head to the new Queen, her expression as cool and cold as a cold winter day.

"I told you already. I took care of her myself." he remarks calmly in a shrugging pose.

"Did you see her die?"

"I~"

"Do know you for sure if she was a confirmed kill?"

"Well I~"

"No? You don’t?"

"I didn't say that, lemme~"

"Because it sounds like more of the common conceited Demon bullshit,” Lucille said, glancing at Henry. “I think I’ve finally found someone more annoying than you. At least you can get shit done.”

The Wicked Lich wasn't amused on how he was getting cut off repeatedly. However, she did have a point. While he did take down the roaring Bastion straight from the sky, he didn't stay around to find out if she was dead upon impact. After all, the bigger problem at that point was that robot sniper Marquis and not her. If he wasn't distracted by something, he would've captured Ghelgath himself. He almost suffered a similar fate to that of Ira, provided the interrogation wouldn't be as humiliatingly lewd. However, luck was on his side that time and he was able to make it back to Hell alive.

"Are you really bringing sexism into this?" he replies to the Queen face-to-face, "How about you battle Heaven's Imperator, then come back to me and say how it went. Only then we can come to conclusions. Would be already hard enough while having a bullet lodged in your fuckin' kneecap."

He begins to walk out of the throne room and towards the kitchen again. He then looks back.

"And you want shit done?" he suddenly remarks, looking back at Lucile, "Heh... You'll see shit getting done next battle. Just you wait."

And with that, he exits the throne room.

---

And as Ghelgath leaves the throne room, enters Mephilus, having recently finished talking to Gregorovic at his castle. It was a nice talk overall, but he must still prepare on the matters at hand. He looks to see the Wicked Lich King walk away into the kitchen. He didn't know what exactly happened, but it would be best not to ask. The Hell Knight slowly begins walking into the Throne Room in his heavy armor...

Almost simultaneously as Ghelgath left the throne room, the back wall exploded as Balrog broke in in his signature style. Stepping around to the front of the throne, the demon proudly delivered the news he brought. ”Balrog has killed last enemy. Control of Arcadia now absolute!” Once in front of the throne, it didn’t take long for him to realize there was a new face occupying it. ”Huh? You not Ira…Uuuuuuuugh.”

Balrog buried his face in the palm of his hand. Another one? Really? Another demon decided to seize power while all the most powerful combatants were away and unable to challenge her properly? And he was just starting to like Ira. Oh well. There were more important matters at hand, like what was going on with the frog puppet currently submitting to the dog girl while Henry sold popcorn. ”Did Balrog...Miss something?”

@TheWindel@Banana@The 42nd Gecko@floodtalon@Lmpkio

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

---

"Oh that's who we were talking about beating up Ghelgath? Yeah no, she totally survived. I tried to capture her but then 2 different snipers started taking potshots at me so I had to settle for slowly murdering her with demonic energy." Henry interjected as Ghelgath left. Suddenly his leg stumps began to ripple and two brand new legs erupted from said stumps.

"Oh good my legs are back." Henry finally stopped flying and landed on the ground, grabbing a pair of pants and shoes from his Gates and quickly changing into them. "Anyhow, what's next? I've got a score to settle with a lot of people, I want to beat these fucking snipers at their own game."

Miyu was actually somewhat of an expert at keeping her cool when she couldn't see. She could tell the creature was still following her, but didn't want to show weakness, show that she was frightened. She had managed to bluff the demonic hosts for a decent amount of time, what seemed like so many years ago. Or maybe it was? She wasn't really sure. Other than Tartys appreciating her gift, Miyu had stopped really having a reason to keep track of time after her last birthday had gone so disastrously. She'd have to check if she had a callender program or something somewhere. Maybe she'd be able to check based off of her dispatch for the second Daimyo she had exploded at Alt Signia.

She frowned, and now here she was, thinking about another one of her greatest failings as a person. At least it ultimately didn't matter that she had harmed the Angelic war effort, with how unimportant said war was. Still, it felt like cowardice, and that wasn't a fun emotion to recognize in oneself.

And finally, her fumbling fingers found the entryway to her solitary fortress, and she entered. No key or code needed, her factory was free for anyone to enter. Not that anyone other than herself ever had since she had claimed it as her own. Boy, more depressing thoughts.

Feeling her way over to the massive desk strewn with the tools and parts for a thousand minor mechanical pieces of the Daimyo mech type and associated addons such as the drop-carrier or her ill-fated speedboat shoes, Miyu plopped the Autopilot Gestalt down, having no hope of reinstalling it in a mech in her blinded state. Finding her favored spiny chair, a velvet green marked with dark splatters from heavy use, she sat down.

"Bleh.. How do I feel like killing myself this time? Jump in the forge like usual? That's getting a bit old and if I mess up while blind I could set this place aflame. I could rip these annoying new eyes and their stupid messages out and enjoy the bleedout, but I'm not sure that'd kill me if the symbiote whatever gave me a healing factor like the fact that I have no electrical burns seems to indicate. Hmm... Guess I'll do it the old fashioned way." Miyu twirled in her spinny chair as she contemplated her method of suicide. Once she had been very afraid of death, but now it was an old friend. She was sure resurrecting would fix whatever the strange machina-demon had done to her.

She pulled out her sidearm, flicked it to burst fire, and made to shoot herself in the head. It's not like any of her "pets" would starve while she was dead, given their fusion reactors.

@Inner Demon