Tatiana Lorenz + 2

The trio shared looks as Hibiki sat down next to them, before the one with short hair spoke up. "Come on, tell me you don't let her do that," she said to the one with green skin. Sure they were laid back, but they still had standards and their pride to keep! This was unacceptable, even though Tatiana herself didn't see what the problem was. It wasn't like it was that big of a deal.

Not so for her companion, who shifted to look at the maid. "It's Tatiana, you know? Ta-ti-a-na. You're not gonna have a romantic life if you deliberately get peoples names wrong." With that she leaned back in her seat, folding her arms over her chest.

The normal looking girl rolled her eyes, snorting in disbelief. "Don't listen to her. She wouldn't know what actual romance is like in the first place. Too in love with her explosives." And guns, and every other destructive killing tool you could think of, but that was besides the point. People skills evidently weren't a strong suit.

That earned a pout, offense taken at that comment as no one would be surprised to find out. "Oh come on. You can't tell me that smoking some idiot with an AMRAAM using laser tipped cluster munitions isn't a wonderful feeling. We were made to fight, so there's nothing wrong with taking some pride in our work." As far as she was concerned, it was practically akin to art. Sure anyone could do it, but you could easily tell who the masters were.

Meanwhile Tatiana herself sighed, listening to the bickering with a light smile. "It never felt important to mention," she replied to Hibiki's question. "We've got our own nicknames and stuff. But we also have perfect memory so it's not like we'll forget who each one of us is." Technology was wonderful for that. "Though speaking of that, where is your twin anyways? It's not often the two of you are separate."

@Ryonara

With yet one more defeat in a major skirmish hanging over their heads, it was no wonder to imagine that the morale of the Machina Forces was at an all time low. Even if the High Queen provides them with a life of luxury that none of the other factions of the former Triumvirate can ever hope to achieve.

The losses they have been amassing such as the impossible defeat at Ruthria, when the Machina not only outnumbered but outgunned the enemy at the final confrontation, all the way up to the recent massacre at Arcadia, when the Blood Countess' Demon Roses made all of the Machina efforts completely moot, weighed far more on the collective consciousness than victories like that of Point Hephaistos.

Eos worried, deep in her chambers, what was the factor behind it all? Her processors calculated every possible variable but never found the cause for why the Machina fell so low. "If this continues even the newer weapons will become useless. I must address the issue through another way," Eos thought. That was when something unexpected happened, the stoic High Queen of the Machina recalled a memory of her past, long before she was found by the Nexus' mankind, something that have her an idea of how to proceed.

This would have to wait, as Eos found her feet guiding her away from her chambers as soon as she noticed that Bastin had returned to Hyperion. As the Queen made her way to Bastion's room, she set her plan into motion, broadcasting a message to be relayed to the rest of the Machina territory by their extensive communication network.

Something unprecedented was about to happen. But before it, Eos had a personal encounter with her most valuable treasure. Such a meeting would begin with the Eos knocking on Bastion's door before walking in.

"I was... worried..." Those were first words Eos directed to her friend in a long time. Now, the stoic robot had to think on how to proceed with the conversation, leaving a gaping silence between them. Maybe Bastion felt like filling it?


"Hey, you glorified vending machine, raise up that thing's volume. There's something interesting on air," a very rude voice said to the service android that ran the bar. For most people on the relatively crowded establishment it would feel like a just one more 'meatbag' was trying to be cocky. However, those who were part of the game ran a certain alchemist not too long ago, such a voice would be unmistakable.

The news on the holoTV were relating a very uncommon, indeed a first time, event.

"... to conclude this edition," the news droid said as the video cut to the image of a gigantic concert hall, located not very far from the High Queen's palace, at the heart of Hyperion. "Her Royal Majesty, High Queen Eos, issued a message for her subjects," the droid's voice said before the projection was cut to that of Eos' bust. Some of the less tipsy occupants of the bar even rose from their seats, the mere glimpse at the High Queen's visage being enough to inspire awe on the hearts of all but the most foolish, Men and Machina alike.

"Listen to me, my Children. We know that the war has placed heavy tolls on us as of late. Even the most stalwart between you needs some rest eventually. I shall grant a moment of reprieve to all in the form of a Royal Concert. This is not a compulsory command. All who don't want to are free to ignore this call. This will be a chance not to recharge your power and ammunition but to recharge your spirits, do as your own will decrees," Eos' projection said, before flickering off. The news droid concluded his transmission just as the same message was being broadcast by every of the Machina mass communication means.

"Hah! That certainly is going to cause an uproar, will it not? Her High Majesty finally remembered that she was built as the replacement goldfish for a certain Schrodinger's Idol. Let's see where this will go," the voice, coming from a table right besides the one where Hibiki and the Tatianas were sitting, said once again. Naturally the only being who could do such a blasphemous declaration within the Machina lands was the Alchemist of Genesis, Hohenheim, whose narcissism and lack of respect for any other being were well known to many, now.

Hohenheim sat cross-legged at a cushioned chair, occasionally flashing her obnoxiously perfect smile when she wasn't eating an appetizer. Regardless of that she 'seemed' to be unaware of Tatiana and Hibiki. In all likelihood, she was feigning ignorance to goad them. The question was for what, and why Hohenheim was there.

The color in Hibiki's face drained away. "Oh my god... I'm so sorry! I always thought it was suppose to be like that! you know, like titanium..." Hibiki covered her face in embarrassment. How long has she been saying Tatiana's name wrong this entire time? Has everyone else been doing that? She definitely knew that she and Shizuka has at least. It was only after having this explained to her that Hibiki realized just how embarassing being called Titania might have been for Tatiana. The others teased Hibiki about it, causing the commander to act a bit meek. She had no excuse for it so she wasn't going to try to cover it, but she was more than willing to move onto some other subject.

That's when Tatiana, always the sharpshooter, asked about Shizuka. Hibiki was quick to speak. Perhaps too quick. "She's out on her own right now. I just came back from training and she's... Well doing something." Hibiki tried to hide the fact that she didn't know what Shizuka was doing at this moment. She didn't want to give the impression of being a control freak, who had to always know what Shizuka was doing, but neither did she want to give away the tension the two sisters had. Whatever Tatiana thought of Hibiki, the mecha maid wanted to make sure she was able to keep a cool head and firm grasp of the situation. When it was important anyways. "A-Anyways, have you three been here for a while? I was thinking of getting a couple of drinks, a couple of songs, and just see where the night takes us from there."

A harsh voice called out that seemed oddly familiar to Hibiki. But before she could turn and investigate, the volume on the bar's radio was cranked up. It was an announcement made by the High Queen herself. The announcement was short but sweet; High Queen Eos would hold a concert to raise the spirits of those who have been fighting for her all this time. Such an event was almost unknown to Hibiki; she's heard of Eos's talents and abilities, but never in her life has she ever seen it first hand. This actually made Hibiki quite excited. At least, until she heard the same loudmouth from before insult Eos. Hibiki turned to see who it was when she realized that it was none other than Hohenheim, the Alchemist of Genesis. Her appearance was both a surprise, but also not unexpected. Hohenheim was a powerful person within the Nexus, one of the few beings who can choose neutrality in this war-torn realm. But that didn't matter to Hibiki. She was the maid of High Queen Eos first, and she wasn't going to take these insults lightly.

But Hibiki was also no fool. She knew Hohenheim was more than powerful enough to wipe the floor with everyone in this bar, but Hibiki had one thing that gave her a slight advantage: a somewhat friendly relationship with Hohenheim. After all, she had served the Alchemist the last time she had visited her tower, and hopefully Hibiki had left a good impression on her. And if Hibiki wanted payback from Hoho for insulting her queen, she'd need to utilize what little resources she had. "Hohenheim? What a coincidence meeting you here!" Standing up, Hibiki curtsied towards the Alchemists. "I take it that you heard the announcement? Will you be attending as well?"

@KoL@Flamelord

---

Meanwhile Shizuka was playing with puppies. Pomeranian, golden retrievers, even pitbulls. Pure bred too; thanks to the technology of the Machina, they were able to bring back species that have long since died out or been crossbred into extinction. And of course, they could genetically alter them to be more pleasing and convenient for their new owners. Shizuka didn't really dwell on that part. These dogs were cute, and that's all that really mattered to Shizuka. Indeed, ever since she was brought back to life in Heaven, her life has been a constant state of warfare. Training for war, fighting a war, recovering from one. She understood that the Nexus was always going to have a battle somewhere at any time, but Shizuka had to remember that even if she's already dead, she had a will of her own too. Sometimes she wanted to get away from fighting and just enjoy the simple things in life.

One such opportunity came when the intercoms on the petshop she was at changed channels. It was the Machina News Network, the main channel for all of the Machina news and propaganda. As Shizuka tickled a fluffy white pomeranian when she heard Queen Eos make her announcement about the royal concert. Everyone seemed quite excited, even the dogs. Shizuka felt... Apathetic. Not because she didn't care, but because she wasn't sure what to make of such an announcement. On one hand, surely everyone in the Machina faction would enjoy seeing their queen preform. But wasn't she only doing this because of the recent defeats the Machina has had? Of course doing something to lift everyone's spirits would be important, as higher morale meant everyone fighting more passionately. But would passion be enough to turn the tide of war?

Shizuka put the dog away and left the store. She had her feel of cuteness for now. She decided that she'll attend the concert, but if she was she'll need to find some new clothes. All she had was her maid uniforms and her combat armor, neither which were exactly very festive and showy. Shizuka could probably go for a haircut too. A new makeover even. She felt excited except... She'd be doing all of it alone. She could go tell Hibiki about it but she'd probably not appreciate Shizuka wasting her time getting prettied up instead of doing more important things like training. It made Shizuka realize that she had no friends.

"Maybe I should go get that dog after all..."

Tatiana + 2

"It's fine," the green skinned Tatiana reassured her. "I'm used to it. Regardless of what these two might say." So long as it didn't get written down that way on her official records, she would be fine. Though she knew that she was going to have a discussion with her sisters about this later. They were going to insist on it.

The explanation of where Shizuka was seemed a bit shaky, but honestly none of the trio cared or thought it was a big enough deal to push past the surface to whatever might be beneath. Not just yet at the very least. That was why they were here after all, to forget about their worries. There were plenty of programs, drugs, and people who were around to help with problems if someone actually wanted them solved, where sitting out in a bar couldn't do the same.

At her comment the three of them shared looks, silently parceling out the question. "Mmm, half hour or so," the original looking Tatiana decided at last. It wasn't that long, and they were definitely on board with her plan as presented. Besides, even if they were worried about future action, there were pills for that sort of thing. Not pleasant, but definitely effective at purging alcohol from the system (if you were someone who didn't fight better while inebriated)

Before they could go on though the tv volume picked up, and the bar practically fell silent to listen, or rather to watch the ill positioned camera that seemed deliberately set to have missed her face. Which was probably intentional. Surely Eos wouldn't have allowed this to air if she didn't want people to see that. But the announcement itself was interesting as the trio perked up. A concert? Featuring Eos herself? The trio couldn't think of a time that had ever happened, and they certainly couldn't think of what had prompted it either. It wasn't like the enemy was at the gates. But if Eos felt it was necessary, then who were they to argue? "I wonder if there are going to be any other bands there too," green skinned Tatiana remarked aloud in contemplative thought. It didn't matter that much, she was just curious. Which was enough to allow a loud voice ring out in the booth next to theirs with words that both made no sense and that no one in their right mind would have said aloud for fear of punishment.

"Oh hey, it's that Laughing Lady," short haired Tatiana remarked with a grin as she looked over to see Hohenheim sitting next to them. A name so earned because with the various shortenings she had heard it really did sound like someone was laughing. It was either that or a food product, and that one didn't seem like it would go over any better. Still, it was surprising to see her here for plenty of reasons. Sure, she might have the sheer power to do whatever she wanted, but from the experience at the Tower it didn't seem like she was interested at all in engaging with the rest of the Nexus except when she needed something. "You run out of mad science to do or something?"

Green skinned Tatiana picked that up as well, looking at Hohenheim out of the corner of her eye. She still thought that that 'Trial' had been rigged, but she was smart enough to not say that out loud. Respawning wasn't guaranteed after all, and somehow she doubted that Eos would intervene to save someone as insignificant as her. She was an expendable asset.

Of course, that didn't mean that she was entirely silent. "I'm just surprised that she's here at all. You'd think that she would be at some high class establishment rather than a random bar in the middle of Hyperion." Seriously, someone with her ego being here? It didn't make any sense.

@KoL@Ryonara

The skeletal swordsman, still clearly feeling unwell from the realization he had from the last battle, decided to try and drown his sorrows with something mixed as opposed to something straight. Scotch was good and all, but it never really had anything going for him. What really tickled his fancy was the usual here, as this was one of the only bars in Hyperion that still served him mixed drinks...

... ok, so maybe it was the only bar in Hyperion that served him mixed drinks...

... ok, so maybe it was the only bar in Hyperion that served him, but either way, this place was where he got his fill of mixed drinks, and he was thirsty, dammit!

Bonesword walked over to the bar and sat down at a stool, where the bartender walked over and simply asked him two words. "The usual?" The skeleton answered with a nod, as the bartender started mixing him up his drink. He saw Hibiki, a few Tatiana clones, and even the Alchemist in the bar as well, all partaking in some merriment, but he ignored them for the time being. After about a solid minute, the bartender returned a glass to him, consisting of a freshly-mixed kamikaze that was both on the rocks and salted. He had a bit of a bizarre taste, but he liked it nonetheless. The skeleton took a swig of the cocktail before pulling a small potted plant out of a bag, placing it on the counter and patting it.

@KoL@Ryonara@Flamelord

Lucille was right. Hell really is the home of chaos. And idiocy, but Luci kind of likes that.

The slime girl looked rather dumb founded as events unfolded in a whirl of non-descript mayhem that seemed to end with Frog being killed and sent right back to Luci for judgement. At least, she thought Frog died, since he went out the window and teleported right back soon after.

"Hmmm....okay. You are forgiven, Mr. Frog! Sorry Puppy Lady, but- Oh, guess she's gone." Luci said, a touch confused and disappointed not to have her nearby. "You've been punished, so don't upset my momma again."

Taking the puppet in hand, she sat herself down at the foot of Lucille's throne and set Frog on her lap, seeming happy if a little confused. "Oh, I know. Sing a song about flowers! Me and mommma grow the most beautiful flowers and we need a song for them!"
@TheWindel@Banana@Mega Birb@The 42nd Gecko

Miyu was needless to say surprised at how the giant metal dog had tackled her. She had been aware it was here. But honestly, everything it seemed to do surprised her.

Including how it had somehow managed to not hurt her, despite being a giant metal dog that had just tackled and grappled her. That mystified her completely. She had been spun about, impacted, and her gun had been eaten, and yet somehow, here she was, held up under the dog, flat on her back without being hurt.

And she could see again. And didn't have her glasses on. So many questions, and so many of them simply went: What?

The demonic/machina? beast had made her eyes work normally somehow. And for some reason, she felt angry about that? Why? Why would she be attached to her own frailties?

What?

Kinda reminded her of those cultures that worshiped death, as though dying forever and the ephemerality of being was something beautiful rather than a flaw. Was she like that?

What?

Maybe, because she connected so much of what she was as a person with what needing glasses had taught her, she was attached to them? But wasn't that in direct contradiction of what she believed in, technological ultitarianism?

What?

On the other hand, healing magic had never fixed her eyes before, so obviously there wasn't a damage to be repaired. Whatever the beast had done to her had probably CHANGED who she was, physically, at least? Granted, mentally and spiritually weren't out of the question either, could she trust her own thoughts anymore after being tampered with? Could this all be a lotus eater dream thing? She had heard the Machina had those as interrogation tactics.

What?

She had never been one to augment herself directly with technology, never crossing the line between a tool to use and a change to her body. But she was so physically weak, so why hadn't she? Was it because she was afraid of it? Had this beast crossed that line for her without letting her have a choice in the matter? THAT she could certainly take offense too without feeling guilty about.

What?

And how had the thing done what it had done without hurting her? Was this a dream? Then why would it need to act to stop her? Would the machina put a "anti-harm" aura on their creations? Why would you even?

What?

And why was it just standing there? What was this thing designed to achieve?

What?

Miyu.exe has stopped working.

As far as BEAST could see, his new host had simply stopped moving, lying on the floor. Heart rate and blood pressure a bit elevated, but within normal levels. It wasn't going DOWN persay, as someone who has been startled and surprised should eventually start doing, given time to recover. So, it wasn't exactly healthy in the long term, but nothing about Miyu's lifestyle of excessive drinking, under-eating, irregular sleep schedules, dangerous working conditions, habitual suicide, self-inflicted harm, and poking dangerous things and bringing them home with her were healthy in the long term, but Marianne had kept bringing her back in one piece anyway.

@Inner Demon

"So... A woman of taste I see, one who really understands what beauty is. Beauty isn't some synthesized moe idol bot, it's the rock and roll of a screeching tire and smoke in your lungs? Looking for some wheels with real grit? No worries, ole Firefly's gotcha covered lady, I've got everything worth buying the Machina ever made." A man that you could practically see the sleeze wafting off of, covered in a grimy red trenchcoat and a fedora that you think you could see some tin foil peeking out from underneath, was speaking from across a booth with Endian-01. He leaned a bit closer, the stench of both unkempt man, oil, and smoke, wafting unpleasantly closer, as he lowered his voice, "I've got the real good stuff. You remember those days when we kept attempting to build demonic hybrid machina and stopped cause they kept going rogue and kiling us? Well, I've got a few, shall we say, discontinued units that've got an engine that really knows how to ROAR, infernal combustion engine with smoke that'll make you feel alive to choke on, wheel's that'll grow spikes on command and a grill that'll belch fire. Master a ride like that and you won't risk getting corrupted on the battlefield, just like training yourself standing naked in the snow." He leaned back into his seat with a grin, confidently spreading an arm over the booth's back like it was a girl he was making a move on, and pulling up a cig, biting down without lighting it, "Course, if the little lady wants something a bit meeker, I got normal wheeled vehicles too, and there's nothing wrong with that. But regardless, you looking for two wheels? Four? More?"

But before Endian-01 could answer, the man was smacked across his smug face with a double necked guitar, frothing spittle and yellowing teeth shards flying across the table at her. The man was launched over the table and through a privacy curtain causing an earsplitting serenade of screams from apparently a bunch of synthesized moe idol bots that had been actually doing karaoke in the next bar over.



There was a slight knock on the wall, unheard from inside, save for the man directly adjacent to the wall. With a slight build that made his spiked leather garments look a bit more like kid trying to look tough, or maybe a sub, his most distinct trait was six synthetic arms arrayed like some semblance of a spider, with two double necked guitars on his back. "Hey, bro, you hear that?" "Hear, what, Rock?" "Tha-" He was cut off as a sword blade passed right in front of his face, as well a significant portion of wall, sending his food and table flying.

"Oh, sorry about that, I couldn't find my way out of that alleywa-AAAAAAY!" Alexi had been entering through the whole in the wall she had just made when the spider-rocker-boy grabbed her with six arms and sent her flying across the bar, skidding across a table and landing near Endian-01.

"I know Tuneko(TM) would send someone after me eventually! Well, you can tell your masters that the ArachnaRocker isn't joining their record label anytime soon! I'm no sell out!" The ArachnaRocker yelled out as he leaped to follow Alexi, both guitars now drawn by his many arms, sliding across the table that Alexi had skidded across, and striking. But as his guitars passed through her form, she vanished like a mirage or hologram, one of the ArachnaRocker's guitar's hitting Firefly and the other one sending an entire booth flying through the air to land on the Tatiana's table. @Flamelord

"You'll never take me alive, copper!" The Firefly yelled, as he stumbled to his feet in a daze, surrounded by idol bots that were fleeing in terror. He pulled two revolvers from his boots, firing orange energy bolts wildly. One shot hit an idol bot who seized up as orange energy crackled across her, and she fell to the ground stunned. Another bolt smacked into Bonesword's potted plant, which immediately drooped. But at least it didn't sizzle. Still, someone had just messed with his plant. @Banana

And so chaos began erupting in the bar.

@Ryonara@KoL

"... I don't know any songs off the top of my head about flowers... but I'll try my best ma'am!" the Frog confidently exclaimed before hopping down from Luci's lap and beginning to sing a song. While it was rather simplistic and short, it was sung quite well for what it was, and especially one that was made up on the fly by the Frog.



As the Frog's voice softened, he did a little jig before asking a question to the princess of Hell. "I will extend the song, or I'll reword it if you wish, miss Luci."

---

The female harpy, still happily resting in the confines of a really bloody bathtub (to the point where the contents looked like tomato soup, really) flinched back into Syphax's body, pushing him against the side of the tub. Diana had rudely interrupted personal time to tell the two lovebirds to keep it down next time. Eve didn't blame Diana, as she admitted that the two were loud as fuck during that whole ordeal, but honestly she felt so good that she didn't care.

Unfortunately, it seemed like all of these good times had to end, sooner or later, and Eve figured it was her time to fly the coop. She looked back up at who she was leaning against before asking him a question. "... mind if I leave...? I need to go get some things done... and this is staining my feathers..."

---

Everything was going okay in the bar... but then this guy shot an energy bolt right at his plant, causing the skeleton great horror as it drooped. The audacity! The damn nature of this guy! This plant was basically his new child, and this man had the balls to shoot it. The skeleton didn't show any emotions as he poured the rest of his cocktail down his gullet, calmly placing the glass down, then pulling a completely normal sword out of his backpack and flinging it at Firefly, aiming at his shoulder. The plant was incredibly fragile, and who knows what kind of effect that bolt had on it. This man was getting what he deserved, whether he likes it or not.

Meanwhile, a really dumb looking stump had galloped into the bar, running to the aid of Alexi for no definite reason. Maybe it was confused, or maybe it sensed that a human needed help? Either way, it managed to catch Alexi on top of it as it continued running around the bar aimlessly. Boy, was it having a good time! ^{_{ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ}}

The Inquisitor wandered through the streets of Hyperion, his path illuminated by the many lights and neon signs of the city. He had originally been sent by the inquisition to show off their new creation to the High Queen; an attempt to raise her spirits after the string of loses. However, she was absent upon his arrival, and with no indication where she was or when she’d be back, Wolf figured he’d have to find a way to kill time until she returned.

The Queen did show herself sooner as well as stranger way than expected with a message to all about a concert she was putting on to boost the moral of the troops. It seemed rather unorthodox, but his was not to question to the will of the Queen. If she wanted a concert she’d have it. Besides, he had much bigger things to worry about, such as the enormous amount of strange magic he was detecting within the city.

As his sole purpose in life was to find and combat such power, Wolf took it upon himself to find and investigate the source incase it posed a threat to the Machina. Following the trail, Wolf found himself standing in front of a karaoke bar where the source of the magic originated. The sound of gunfire and breaking furniture only further confirmed his suspicions that magic users were causing chaos.

Without hesitation, Wolf burst into the Karaoke bar just in time to see a an orange bolt whiz past his head. The man firing the bullets was quickly incapacitated by a skeleton that reeked of demonic magic. To make matters worse, another magic user was in a scuffle with some sort of spider person swinging guitars everywhere. Despite their mystical nature, neither were the source of the magic that brought him here. Still, both needed to be dealt with.

”You two.” Wolf called out to Alexi and Bonesword, ”Cease these petty squabbles and- What the?” Before he could finish his command a stump pushed past him and bolted straight to Alexi. ”How dare you!”

---

Coincidentally, there were in fact bounty hunters in that bar sent by none other than Tuneko(™) to bring in ArchnaRocker. Seemed they had given him a substantial amount under terms he came to work for them. Of course he had taken the money and ran which is why they were here now. The two hunter bots were just about to spring on the Rocker when some swords woman beat them too it.

“Hands off, frosty! He’s our bounty!” The bots each pulled out assault rifles only to have a booth slam into them. The two went flying with it landing close to Tatiana’s table. They quickly recovered and started firing at both Alexi and ArachnaRocker. One of them, deciding they needed cover, had the bright idea of grabbing Hohenheim’s table and flipping it over to shoot behind.

@The 42nd Gecko@Banana@KoL@Flamelord@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher

Irritation bled through in Zak's expression as he glared at Harley. Each time she was in his presence, the mismatched girl managed to push buttons he didn't even know he had. That, and the fact that she seemed to enjoy it made him begin to reconsider his little makeshift alliance with her. "Hoodwinked? Ah'll show ye hoodwinked ye little-" The sudden sputter of mechanical sounds and robotic words cut Zak off just before he could kick off another rant. Looking over, it became clear the robotic sniper had finally resumed function. Well, as much function as it could with no arms or legs. After a moment of silent observance, swiftly followed by more snide remarks from the quick tongued girl, Zak stepped toward Marquise. "Believe me 'little girl' if Ah wanted to scrap the bloody thing Ah would have. But silent heaps o' metal don't make fer very good intel." Zak looked back at Harley. "Still, Ah don't see how any o' that is valuable to me. It's not like Ah can torture the answers out o' the bloody thing considerin robits don't feel." Zak scoffed. "If all me technological know how wasn't stripped away, Ah might've hacked it...alas Ah'm as savvy as a bag o' doorknobs when it comes to tech. So how do ye suggest Ah get any worth out o' this thing?"

A low strained groan escaped the golem as it finally fell onto its rear, the life and flames fading from its body. The rocky bits that made up the rest of its body crumbled to the ground in a heap leaving Marquise in a pile of ashes and charred stones. Kneeling down, pushing away a few rocks and brushing off the thin layer of dust from the worse for ware robot, Zak let Marquise get a real good look at him and Harley before giving the bot a ingenuous smile. "Well hello there sleepy head. Ah see ye've finally decided to reboot er whatever yer lot does. Ah wouldn't worry too much about where ye are. Jus' sit pretty while we grown ups figure out what ye might be good fer other than as a paper weight."

In all regards, Zak could have cared less about what intelligence or information the bot may have had. It's not like he really cared for the war since there would never be any real victory anyway. The only thing that interested him was the value Marquise may have had to Eos. Someone who would send a rescue party for something as valuable as Marquise was made out to be if he was indeed that important. Still, if Harley knew of some way to extract information from a machine, Zak was all ears. Otherwise, Marquise was as good as scrap. "Ah suppose we could try askin nicely." The fiery haired angel looked down at Marquise. "Oi mister robot...Tell us all the secrets o' yer queen an' Hyperion...please."




Beast sat idly by the side of its master, silently looking at Miyu with its eyeless gaze as she laid motionless on the floor. The low ragged breathes that reverberated from its massive body were the only sound to quietly breach the lengthy silence and stillness that overtook the moment. Other then the slightly abnormal but ultimately healthy vital signs, there was no way for Beast to discern what was going through the mind of its host. It couldn't register or understand the suicidal behavior she was exhibiting either. It simply continued following its programing as it had been. The text that scrolled across her vision continued to monitor her, as well as Beast. Notably, it was less text than before, the data sitting relatively idle compared to earlier, just like the angel and her new 'friend'.

Much to her surprise, Fran wasn't plastered on the floor the moment she came in. Either the new court was highly disciplined, or maybe Fran was just ignored. Either one was a possibility. There was a bunch of new faces though, so Fran figured it was time to go introduce herself the only way she knew how. Taking out her Bond of Matrimony, Fran flung the chain into the ceiling and swung herself towards the thrown, releasing just in time to slide into place. "Hello hello! You must be the new queen! I am Francisca Labrys Seax Luxuria, at your service! How can I please you?" Fran spoke towards Luci and her pet Frog, only somewhat unaware that she might not actually be the new Ruler of Hell. But she was cute and looked fuckable, which was really all that mattered to Fran.

@Banana@Lonewolf685



Endian wandered the city aimlessly, unsatisfied with the selection she's seen. She saw everything from high preformance, sleek sports vehicles, heavy and loud industrial rigs, and even a mech that could match Grafdakka in size, but none of them was what Endian wanted. She was debating just trying to build one from scratch when some shady fellow started talking to her. He seemed to have known that Endian was looking for a car, but how or why he was peddling to her, Endian didn't know. "Who the hell are you?" She was almost certain this must be some sort of demon, but as he was trying to sell her something, he was attacked by a guitar. Endian smacked the flying teeth away from her and got ready for a fight. it seemed like the karaoke bar next door had erupted into an all out brawl fest.

"Perhaps annihilating these ruffians with break me out of my..."

Clenching her fist Endian focused on her right hand. If she remembered correctly, her powers included the ability to control remote drones as well as create hard light constructs for weapons, drones, and so forth. The original Endian may be able to create complicated machines and such, but this Endian was much simpler. And instead of bright, neon blue hardlight, Endian-01's holograms took the form of shadowy, serrated solidified darkness. Just because it matched the aesthetics. This darkness took the form of a clawed fist, which was sent to uppercut ArachnaRocker off his feet.

"Malaise."

@The 42nd Gecko

---

Inexplicably, two Killa Khans were at this same karaoke bar. Ever since Grafdakka was stripped of his range as Commander, his Killah Khans had been left to their own devices. While most have ended up dying in some way or another, a few have managed to live some semblance of a normal life as regular units of the Machina. Of course, these two in particular only managed to live for so long because they were cowardly gits, and generally stayed away from the front line. They traded out their claws, saws, and guns for a pair of hands they could use to work tools and such, and have effectively become glorified forklifts. It kept them safe, but there was times they did miss the thrill of battle. But being only recently awakened machines, they had no idea what would happen to them after "Death", if they would be resurrected like the rest of the people of the machina, or if because they were just machines, they would fade away.

When the brawl broke out at the karaoke bar, one of the Killa Khans stood up and roared. He was tired of living in fear. He was created to do battle, not haul boxes! The other Killa Khan tried to stop him, but he too felt restless at this false life they lived. They will not die as mere tools; but as warriors! Once the fighting broke out they charged from their cramped karaoke booth and looked for the most threatening looking opponent to fight; that person was Wolf. So huge, clanking machines came barring right at him with fists as large as his chest, a giant hulk of steel aiming to crush his head.

@Awesomoman64

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

---

As Artoria collided with Henry, he pondered how nice his new fur coat was going to look. As they crashed through the first wall he felt kinda weird but disregarded it as he pulled a knife out of his pocket. On the third room Henry definitely knew something was up as her arms were now covered in feathers, black and white specifically. Not bad. By the time they crashed into the volcano Henry pushed Artoria off of him while holding his knife in the stabbing position.

"I told you not to touch me you fuc- what's wrong with my voice?" Henry pressed her hands to her throat and gasped as she caught view of her hands and arms. About 2 seconds passed before a high pitched girly scream echoed throughout Hell. "I'm going to kill you!" Henry pulled out the Cheater's Blade and dashed towards Artoria with murder in her eyes. She swung violently in an attempt to cut Artoria's legs off and unless she dodged she would definitely lose her legs.

A private booth? Excellent. If Hibiki could put herself on Hoho's staff than she would be in the perfect place to plot out repisal for her words against her queen. "I would be honored to service you once again, mistress-" As Hibiki spoke a brawl broke out. Someone was knocked into Tatiana's table and caused wood bits to fly into the air. Without skipping a beat Hibiki grabbed one of the table legs and smashed it into the back of Firefly's head as he was distracted shooting up the bar. She also took note that Bonesword was here and just threw his sword at Firefly, so in the event that her attack ends up interfering, she'd also take measures to avoid the flying blade.

Things quickly started to get out of hand as more people showed up and a larger brawl ensured. Killa Khans were here and attacked a random passerby who seemed to have come to stop this fight. Alexi had also been thrown into the fight and seemed to have been chasing down some sort of six-armed musician who was just punched by Endian. If things weren't chaotic enough two more bounty hunters appeared, both who were sent flying over thanks to a wayward booth. One took Hoho's table as a makeshift barrier which Hibiki reacted by knocked the table out of the way with one kick, and then delivering a swift stomp with her robotic leg right into the bounty hunter's head. "It's going to be one of those days isn't it?" While still wielding the table leg in one hand Hibiki took out her pistol with the other. She went to look for that other bounty hunter who seemed to have scampered off to find his own cover.

@Awesomoman64@KoL@The 42nd Gecko

“It’s a long story Edgelord,” Lucille said to the dark-armored warrior that was Mephilus. “I have many children. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised to find if you were one of them,” she followed up offhandedly, reaching up to pat Luci’s head. Of course, all those children were ungrateful little brats all the same, but she figured the general disdain she had for most things was more than well given off by her aura alone.

When Luci hopped off her lap, Lucille watched the myriad of scenes play out in front of her upon her Throne. So this was why Hell was riddled with idiocy; everyone here was an idiot that got nothing done. Really, she could have figured that one out, but here was yet more proof. In the span of a few minutes, Frog was tossed into a volcano and now entertaining Luci, Henry had been tackled by Artoria and no doubt turned into another animal girl, Greg was doing something stupid, and Absinthe was as grating as ever.

“If your sister is here, she’s probably buried six feet under,” Lucille said plainly, looking at Absinthe, clenching the arms of her chair and cracking it. “Mention who runs this place again and I’ll make sure you join her. As for your master, tell her to show up herself and bother me; otherwise I’ll have all three of you as punching bags.” Before she could finish chewing Absinthe out, a succubus with an axe suddenly appeared. “And who are you?” Lucille asked, bristling as this Fran ignored her in place of talking to Luci.

Back in Hyperion, Bastion was lying in her bed. Arms crossed and staring at the ceiling, the events of the last battle replayed over and over in her head. Despite her usage of the Eyes, she had still almost died back there…no, that wasn’t accurate. She had died and had even been taken as a hostage. Sighing, she noted that she would need to be more ruthless next time; the sound of knocking at her door turned her away from these thoughts.

“Oh, High Queen Eos!” Had she known the High Queen herself would making an appearance, she would have tried to clean her room better. As it was, Bastion scrambled onto her feet and saluted the leader of their Faction. “Er, is there a reason you’re here High Queen? Did…Did I do something wrong?” Worried? She must have screwed up somehow.

Back in Heaven, Celene looked at Ananta with a new light of interest in her gaze. “So you’re like a…babysitter? For snakes?” And who was this Eel person? Sure, eels and snakes were kind of similar, but not entirely the same. “Wait, do you just serve people who…don’t have legs? Or arms I guess too?”

Elsewhere, Harley watched the sputtering Machina attempt speech but it was swiftly drowned out by Zak. Still, she got the basis of what it was trying to say. And then the golem decided to just die on them, sending rocks and ashes everywhere. Harley stood unfazed as the thing scattered about, mismatched gaze still on Marquis.

“It’s a machine that’s of high value to Queen Eos herself. Maybe you should use it as blackmail or something,” Harley said, crossing her arms. “And no, I’m not going to help you extract information partner. You wanted treasure? You got it. I’m just the treasure map.”

---

Tatiana + 2

While ignoring the comment about creators as Hohenheim stroking her ego again (Did it really matter who had made humankind anyways?) the green skinned Tatiana couldn't help but grin at the mad scientists observation. "Well they are basically me," she pointed out. "If I've got it then there's no harm in giving it to the rest of me too." It wasn't like she was on a level to challenge Eos or something. It just made it easier to fight the war for their own faction.

Then things started to go crazy (through no fault of their own). The outbreak of violence was unexpected, as was the both landing on their table and ruining basically all three meals that had been there previously. Fortunately they all had psychic powers by this point, and were able to make a triple powered shield that ensured that none of them actually got hurt.

"Someone has a death wish," short haired Tatiana noted as she reached for a bottle and produced a lighter. She was certainly not oppose to a bar fight, even if they all had a good chance of ending up in Hohenheims lab for this. She wouldn't put it past the mad scientist for interrupting her break or whatever. Ah well, that was just a price she had to accept. As Hibiki had noted, it was just one of those days

Before she could do anything she found her hand grabbed by the normal looking Tatiana. "No explosives please," she chided. "I don't think any of us want to pay to fix this bar if you accidentally burn the entire thing to the ground with a molotov cocktail." The other girl scowled, but put the bottle down rather than using it as she had intended. Sadly, anyway.

Well, they'd just have to use their powers. Grabbing sticks from the destroyed booth, short haired Tatiana would charge into the fray, moving for the bounty hunters to take them out with some martial arts, while the other two would proceed towards the bar using pushes and direct psychic attacks (more effective on drunken minds, ideally) to get anyone out of the way. They weren't as interested in taking part in some random bar fight as their sister was. On just hoped that it was over soon and law enforcement wasn't too harsh on them for it.

@Ryonara@Lucius Cypher@Awesomoman64@Banana@The 42nd Gecko@KoL

---

Tartys

Tartys would admit that it had been pretty difficult to find where Miyu made her home, if only because it was so isolated from the main halls of Celestia itself. One had to wonder where the factory had come from, given the distance from Machina territory. It was practically a relic, if she could make such a claim as she drew near to the entryway.

Without anything to stop her approaching Tartys walked up to the door and knocked, hoping that she had not missed Miyu going out on a trip. "Hello, is anyone there?"

@Inner Demon@The 42nd Gecko

Chaos continued to rowdy higher and higher from within the Throne room. Henry swung at the poor green frog as he issued a home-freaking-run. If there was one thing Mephilus knows about the Silver Eyes User, is that he's always unpredictable, especially when he's bored out of his mind. This pissed off the wolf girl as she gave him the same treatment that the Hell Knight had just experienced minutes ago. And once the poor soul opened his, or rather her, mouth, the demon began to chuckle and snicker uncontrollably, politely trying to cover his mouth as he looks at the bird-anthro that Henry became.

"Bahaha! Ohhhh, so angry!" he laughs while wiping his eyes, "Be careful Silver Eyes, so much anger can give you a heart attack!"

He pauses as he ponders something in his mind.

"Oh? What am I saying?" he thinks to himself as he faces the enraged demon's attempt to chop Artoria's legs off, "Please, continue Henry. Never mind what I said!"

As Mephilus watches the hilarity that ensured, he notices another familiar face entering the room. It was the Sex Demon Fran, who from what he recently heard was captured by Heaven. As soon as she finished introducing herself to Queen Lucile, the Hell Knight waved at her kindly.

"Greetings Madam Fran!" the Knight greets her with open arms, "It's been a long time now, hasn't it? How's life been treating you since your release from Heaven?"

Miyu finally started paying attention to the text being displayed to her, as she slowly recovered from her daze. She didn't feel all that much like moving up, as there were still bits of glass and stuff spilled on the floor, and her vulnerable wings were currently first in line to take that damage if she encountered any. Well, here was a chance to get a question answered. "Huh, I don't suppose you could print out a readout of the Host and what is this link or whatever, and what it has done and how it works?"


Beast remained motionless and quiet in response to Miyu, Not equipped for creating printouts. However the words that lined her vision began going crazy, scrolling across her sight swiftly and in mass.








"Hmmm" Miyu scratched her chin and pondered that. "I wonder if I can..." She turned over and pulled her wings in close, and set her hands against the ground and pushed up. "Neat, I can do guy pushups now! That's kinda nifty."

"So, your energy levels and cognitive systems are not at 100%? I'm hoping 100% gets you to a more independent tone. My Autopilot's a better conversationalist and that's kinda sad. How do I get you operating better?" She asked as she continued doing pushups, hoping to find the limits of this new strength. Viewing the BEAST as another machine to fix and take care of was getting easier, as the BEAST was starting to seem less like an adversary and more like a really dysfunctional bot. Maybe electrocuting her had been an accident? "Do you need to eat more? You consumed one of my Daimyo's, so you apparently have a digestive system... OOOOOH! Do you have an internal fabbery for transforming eaten material into useful stuff? I've always wanted one of those."

And Tartys rang at the door.

"Huh?" Miyu perked up, pausing her pushups and looking up towards the door. "Oh, someone actually came? Sounds like Tartys? Uh.. COME IN, DOOR'S UNLOCKED, JUST A BIT RUSTY. She yelled, not quite sure whether she could be heard or not, which fortunately she could.





The ArachnaRocker did himself proud, not taking the hit like a total chump, he pulled both of his double necked guitars down in a crossed parry. He was only MOSTLY a chump, as he didn't have nearly the body mass or force to stop Endian's strike, being slammed halfway through the ceiling, two dangling legs swaying limply as one of his guitars fell to the ground with a sour twang-thud. This was pretty lucky for him, though, as otherwise he would have died in a hail of bullets. Of course, that was assuming his neck wasn't broken.


Firefly was incapacitated as Hibiki whacked him in the back of the head, which again fortunately moved him forward, taking Boneswords sword hilt first instead of pointy end first. As he slumped to the ground, orange energy warped over his body and he disappeared. A deadman switch recall teleporter was a decently clever idea. Of course, a much cleverer man would have used it MUCH sooner.


Alexi found herself rolling over a stump as it tried to pick her up. It's horrifying, horrifying face. Nope, nope, nope. Fleeing the stump with all her vigor, exorbitantly using flash steps and illusions and ice slicks. But the stump was implacable. Unstoppable. And it was still smiling that horrible face..

"HEELP!" She cried as she jumped for what looked like the safest, most unreachable place that the stump wouldn't be able to follow her. Wolf's back. "Save me save us save me save us save me!" She prayed out as she sought to latch onto Wolf's back and use him as a sanctuary from the stump. The storm of bullets and following stump didn't apparently count as mortal peril, and so Alexi's useful, if terse, combat personality was still nowhere to be seen.

If she did manage to get onto Wolf's back, she would quickly find that the Killa Kans made this a less than safe place to be, as for as much as Wolf's form dwarfed hers, she wasn't exactly safe against attacks aimed at him. "Look out!" She would cry about the incoming Killa Kans, pointing at what the battle hardened and serious warrior had probably already seen if the stump hadn't distracted him too long.

Beast tilted its head, curiously watching as Miyu turned and tested her newfound strength. No matter how many times she pushed her body off the ground, her muscles remained resilient, not breaking a sweat though admittedly, being a small angelic woman, she wasn't very heavy to begin with. The microscopic mechanisms in her body allowed for the most optimal amount of oxygen and energy to pump through her bloodstream while maintaining her temperature and heart rate to keep her from feeling tired or sore. Muscle cells were reinforced and strengthened along with the durability of her skin and flesh. She wasn't superhuman but the limits of her physical abilities were maximized. In spite of the strength and durability, her muscle mass remained the same and her skin didn't feel any harder. However her metabolism had increased somewhat, causing her appetite to grow slowly the more she exerted herself.

--Command input recognized--Transmitting data--

--Information: Energy levels replenished through solar radiation--Intake efficiency 10%--Energy levels replenished through organic and non-organic material--Intake efficiency 30% to 60%--Energy levels replenished through host bio-organic samples--Intake efficiency 100%--

--Information: Conversion of additional matter required to access utility programs and modes--Data available--

And Tartys rang at the door.

Neon lights scattered about Beast's large mechanical body suddenly pulsed and flickered red, facing the sound. Small guysers of steam jetted out from small ports hidden along its sides, blowing damp, hot air past Miyu's feathers. A shadow overtook Miyu as Beast rose up, arching its back and clawing at the ground while facing pointedly toward the direction of the path that led to the door. A chatter of clicks and beeps accompanied by reverberating robotic snarls riled out from the visually agitated monstrosity. Growls that could likely be heard even outside where the new visitor stood.

--WARNING--Unidentified lifeform detected--Threat potential unknown--Engaging target--

In the blink of an eye, Beast seized into motion, almost losing its balance on the slippery debris covered floor as it made for the door. Equipment and tools went skittering across the floor, knocked away by Beast as it frenetically leapt into the air and charged across the room, leaving several scrapes and scratches along the desk and walls as it did. Appliances and lighting fixtures were inadvertently tossed through the air in a flurry of motion, followed closely by a loud commotion of sound throughout the factory. Like a wild animal on the run, Beast made its way through the factory, swinging across support beams and bounding over scaffolding.

Seconds after hearing the invitation to come in, Tartys could hear a thunderous heavy rumbling of noises approaching rapidly from behind the door followed immediately by rust and chunks of cement exploding outward as the door was blown off its hinges by the impact of the massive metal creature barreling through it. The door was sent flying through the air, over Tartys' head, leaving her face to fangs with the toothy maw of a large metal plated monster bearing down on her only inches away with sword like talons and an eyeless visage, ready to pounce, rip, and tear her to angelic shreds. "GWWWAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOO!!!!"