Ignore this.

Henry frowned and shook his head. "Talk to me once you have a way to overthrow the Big Three. If I had known you were planning running away rather than a tactical retreat I wouldn't have even shown up." With that being said he turned to Endian and nodded. "Hell has nothing to offer me, Heaven would sooner behead me than take me, this bitch is a coward. I stand with you." Henry smirked as he walked past Endian and towards the portal. "Let me be clear though. I am no mindless guard dog, I do not work for you or under you, I work with you. As long as that is understood then we'll get along just fine. I'm one of the nice Demons after all." With that being said he walked into the portal and emerged in his own castle in Hell.

Henry put his fingers in his mouth and whistled sharply, his hellhounds scrambling to get to him first. "Come on guys, we're moving." As he and his hounds rushed to get out of the castle Henry pulled a remote out of the Gates of Tartarus labeled "To be used during defection or bad houseguests", pushing the button once they had gotten a sufficient distance away. Suffice it to say, the castle was no longer standing a few minutes later. Henry frowned, wondering how the hell he was going to get to Machina territory with his dogs before Lucille and her bitches got to him and imprisoned him for treachery. Then he snapped his fingers and realised he can create anything. His eyes shone Silver and a portal to the outskirts of Hyperion opened, directly in front of Bonesword's house coincidentally.

"Roll out the red carpet Machina ally people, your new best soldier has arrived! And he brought dogs which are very picky about food, so somebody is gonna need to sacrifice themselves as food." Henry then noticed that he seemed to be in front of a gross dilapidated shack with a bunch of weeds all over the place. Huh. Definitely not the capital.

Bonesword ignored the new statement by Helena. He already gave his answer to it. He was instead surprised by the sudden arrival of someone else outside. Bonesword ran out of the door with his sword drawn, but immediately lowered it as soon as he saw Henry with all of his things. "Are... are you really defecting?" The idea stunned Bonesword at first. What else would he be doing here other than letting a black hole turn everything into spaghetti in Hyperion. Hell, he could've probably done that a time ago... why didn't he?

Regardless of that idea, the skeleton whistled (somehow) as the derpy little Stump came outside of Bonesword's house carrying a pot and two odd steaks, which the skeleton picked up as he sat on Stumpy. He rode the small stump over to Henry as a vine closed the door and locked it. "You can probably leave your things in that weird dimension of yours, excluding your dogs. I can help you get to Eos and register, but you have to promise NOT to kill anyone before we get there. Hopefully these steaks will hold your hellhounds off until we get there."

Meanwhile, back inside the house, a refined specimen of one of Bonesword's earlier concoctions sat in another pot. The Mineshroom was ready. As it currently stood, if anyone on an enemy faction was to go near it, it would explode into a corrosive substance damaging armor and possibly worse. It was situational, but useful.

>NEW PLANT - MINESHROOM

---

Lillian heard the offer from the vampire, and wholeheartedly considered it as she was continuously on hold with Hohenheim. A way out? A way for HER to be the Hohenheim of somewhere else. The idea was nice, especially considering she made Eos kind of disappointed earlier in the last battle. It wasn't her fault, but she could tell something was not good with her when she tried to resupply on her ingredients.

After mulling over the choice for a whopping ten seconds, Lillian dropped her alchemy stuff and ran to Epsilon, getting inside of him and raising his hand to the air. "Helena! Beam me outta here!"

---

"Yes, nothing left for us here." Suparna said, trying to muster up some wistful longing for her prison, but finding, well, nothing. If nothing else this domain of desolation was good for a clean break, and even if it wasn't what Helena had offered, Suparna thought she'd gotten a good deal out of the whole debacle.

Diana's eagerness was palpable and it brought a chattering giggle from the Queen of Carrion to realize the dragon had an understanding of her dietary desires. "That sounds great, but let's see how they react to their neighbor before pilfering their young. Wouldn't want to get kicked out for fratricide before I even unpack my non-existent bags. That does remind me I need to get some new bodies since Chirada was vaporized.
Heh, maybe Heaven has some cute dragons like yourself laying about? But I guess I can worry about that after I get settled in."

"If I had to be picky, I'd like something...open."

And stepping through the portal hand in hand with Diana, a maggot passed through the gates of heaven and into paradise. A sky forever blue as it was nestled atop the clouds, with air that never knew the acrid tang of Machina advance or the sulfur of Demons. Grass demurred beneath Suparna's shoes and she came to realize Diana had dropped them in an open park, plants sculpted with the precision of devotion and paths of packed earth guiding the eye along water ways and gently rolling slopes that carried the unending sense of ease that pervaded the dominion of angels.

After being consumed within the space where nothingness gathered, to have such holy splendor sprawl forth and subsume Suparna was breathtaking. It was hard not to gape at the sights about her, from Grecian goddesses to winged angels, and a kaleidoscope of bobbing shapes trotting down the thoroughfare just barely gleamed beyond the park's edge.

"This...is certainly more open.

---

And such niceties were enjoyed by a great many, including the serpent, Ananta, who was surprisingly not asleep for once as she slithered along the grass at a sedate pace, her path marked with braying and giggling of wide eyed children, half a dozen clinging to her tail while four times that scampered across the grass or waited with expressions of unabashed eagerness for their turn upon the naga.

"Alright children, once more around the park and then the next group can climb aboard." Ananta announced with a warmth reflected in her sun baked scales, looking the part of a Sister caring for a congregation of youths if not for a gaggle of habit-clad maidens reposed upon the grass, faces heavy with the lines of exhaustive work without end yet still finding the time to smile upon what wonders bloom in their warring world. That they had a moment's rest while the Serpent carried on her nannying ways was just another blessing within Deva's paradise.

Henry didn't even bother getting ready for battle in anyway when the funny looking skeleton ran out with his sword drawn. The only real aggression from his side came from his dogs, Cero drooling over the prospect of bones to chew down. He snapped his fingers in front of Cero's face to get his attention, noticing Bonesword back down as soon as he realised who he was facing. Smart move. "Are... are you really defecting?" Bonesword asked with a tone of incredulity, shocked that Henry wasn't here to destroy all of Hyperion via black holes and a rain of magical weapons.

"Yup! I kinda committed high treason in Hell by telling the queen to go fuck herself and threatened to kill her horrible abomination of a daughter, who was some weird mix of all 3 factions I would like to add. Basically I kinda burned down every bridge conceivable." He said all this with an air of nonchalance, as if this was just another day in the Nexus. Which it really was. Bonesword whistled for a walking stump which brought out two steaks for his 3 dogs. They swarmed upon the steaks immediately, Brutus and Angelica fighting over the second steak while Cero comfortably munched on the one he got to.

"You can probably leave your things in that weird dimension of yours, excluding your dogs. I can help you get to Eos and register, but you have to promise NOT to kill anyone before we get there. Hopefully these steaks will hold your hellhounds off until we get there." Henry shrugged at the idea of not killing anyone. "I guess I'll try not to kill anyone. Unless they piss me off. Why does it matter anyways, they'll just respawn." With that being said they headed to Hyperion to register Henry with Eos.

Bonesword led the new arrival through Hyperion sitting on his stump. He glared at any passerby that were originally disgusted at the thought of letting this new demon in the streets of Hyperion, and upon seeing the face of the skeleton, they knew not to get up and try to take a stand against this influx. Everyone except for one brave individual, a tall lanky man who ran up and threw a rock at Bonesword.

"T-This can't happen! We won't let you bring another demon in this city!" The skeleton's eyes flashed as a large vine rose from the ground, plucking the man up by his shirt and carrying him far down the street behind Henry and his dogs. "I've got everything under control. Don't make the situation go sour." Bonesword kept walking, summoning a second minion (a small tree) with the command "Keep the public away without harm". It stayed close behind Henry and Bonesword, trailing them until they made it up to the main building in Hyperion. 'Hyperion Fortress', as Bonesword nicknamed it.

The skeleton walked up to the door, knocking on it loudly as he shouted to whomever was manning the door at the moment. "Hello?! I have a defector from Hell looking to join our ranks!"

"Nifty. Say, do you know how to get out of here?" Was what the voice on the other side of the door replied. "I'd just go through the door, but this one is surprisingly shiny, and they might get angry if I destroy it. There's some buttons, but I'm afraid to press them." This was definitely not the mechanical efficiency one expected from a building that typically had Eos, High Queen of the Machina in it.

Apparently, Alexi, Knight of Winter, had somehow managed to get lost within one of the most advanced buildings in existence. Her ability to show up in highly secure locations she had no business being in was nearly as impressive as her inability to navigate or use any sort of technology more advanced than pointy bit of metal. "I'm not quite sure how I got into this building again, but last time I did that robot was a bit irritated when I broke stuff. I haven't been able to find him to let me out again. Do you know where a robot that looks like he's made out of bronze might have gone?"

"If you're on the outside, I don't suppose you could find a way to open the door? I'd like to get out of here."

@floodtalon@Banana

At the border of the Hell's domain, Victoire finally came back to her castle. The Blood Countess had just come back from a trip outside the Nexus, courtesy of the deal she made with Helena right before the battle at Oblivion Dungeon. What she actually did out there was anyone's guess. Nevertheless, Victoire looked confident for whatever reason...

"What the name of Hell is this!?"

If she were drinking anything right now, Victoire would have spat it all over her Castle's throne room or whatever else of it still stood, after a spaceship destroyed nearly all of her home. What began as a rather good night for the Countess quickly became a monumental frustration. "What have I ever done to deserve this kind of Fate?" Victoire asked herself while turning her gaze to the crimson moon above wondering what she did to get so much into 'Their' bad side?
Meanwhile, in the Hyperion, Eos listened to Wolf's declaration with an unreadable expression in her face. The High Queen stared down at the inquisitor wondering what he could have been talking about since the ones in command of that mission were the Mecha Maids. To turn things worse —perhaps?— Helena had successfully whisked away a number of the Machina forces throughout the Nexus. The only one worthy of Eos' special consideration was Lilian, who seemed to never understand what the High Queen wanted out of her.

And, if this much wasn't almost enough to cause even Eos' stoic mask to slip momentarily, there was also a really big issue to deal with. That issue being the Silver Eyed Demon walking through the streets of her city along with Bonesword.

"That's enough," Eos said as she began to slowly pace back and forth. A moment later her eyes flashed a bright bluish silver as the High Queen used her powers to summon a few individuals straight to her Chambers, instead of relying on them getting here on their own. "Hear me, Endian/Krieg, Bonesword, Henry Avaritia as well as the Meido twins. By my power as the High Queen of the Machina of Mankind, I summon you to my presence!"

A moment later all of them would find themselves standing right beside Wolf as the Queen continued to slowly walk from side to side with her hands crossed behind her back.

"First of all, I have to thank you for your efforts at the Oblivion Dungeon. The enemy you fought is a being in a completely different scale of power than almost anyone in the Nexus. The simple fact that you have returned from the battle is enough to warrant a commendation," Eos said as she continued to walk, occasionally turning her gaze at them. "Not only that but, through your efforts, you have secured a powerful ally to fight by our side from now on. In face of such achievements, you have my gratitude as your ruler."

"Nevertheless, it's not prudent to trust a defector so readily. Thereby, I'm placing you, Henry Avaritia, on probation. You'll be placed under the watch and command of the most suited unit for this task. The only who won't be afflicted by any attempts of corruption that you may try to do, in case your intentions aren't genuine," Eos finally stopped walking and faced the group directly, "by this I mean that Bonesword shall be the responsible for your fate within our ranks. Conversely, your actions will influence his fate as well."

"As for you," Eos said to Bonesword, "I have commissioned a special reward. It's made uniquely for you, using KC-00032's top notch technology." As Eos said so, an android servant got into her chambers bearing a metallic case, which it opened before Bonesword's eyes, revealing a shinny metal and glass cylinder containing a few seeds floating in a green ectoplasm. "This is a prototype bio-weapon, it's called Vulcan Yew, it has the capability of turning into a powerful bio gatling gun capable of shooting poisonous, armor-piercing seed-like projectiles. With your abilities you shall be able to master it and fight against heavily armored targets."

"Sadly, I cannot handle any more upgrades at this time, for any of you. The past developments were too chaotic even for our capabilities. KC-00032 is still undergoing heavy repairs. I hope to be able to repay you properly for your efforts after the next main conflict makes itself known."

"While on this matter, I have a request that both you cooperate with as well as keep a watchful eye on Doctor Karizawa and his TEP organization. Whenever possible do your best to act in tandem with them but always keep your eyes on the greater good of the Machina. The overall command of this joint task force will remain with the Meido twins. I have faith that you'll continue to use your wisdom in our favor."

"Is there anything any you would like to ask?" Eos asked of them before going silent, waiting for any possible questions.

---

Henry had a cocky grin on his face as he strolled through Hyperion, knowing that the moment anyone tried anything he would have a justifiable excuse to take his pound of flesh. Unfortunately Bonesword had things under control right now, so no dismemberment. Yet. Some random civilian threw a rock at Bonesword and Henry caught it, about to throw it back way harder until Bonesword spoke up. "I've got everything under control. Don't make the situation go sour." Henry clicked his tongue and frowned.

"Why do you care? They're just some jackass humans." Eventually they made it to the main building where Bonesword attempted to get someone to open the door for them. "Nifty. Say, do you know how to get out of here? I'd just go through the door, but this one is surprisingly shiny, and they might get angry if I destroy it. There's some buttons, but I'm afraid to press them." Henry's smile returned as he prepared to bust the door open. "Don't worry about it, I'm happy to go through it." Unfortunately his fun was ruined when Eos summoned everyone directly to her. "Oh hey. How ya doing, it's been a minute since we've talked. And by a minute I mean about a day, when you threatened to wipe me from existence." He really shouldn't be snarking off to his new boss already, but he just couldn't help it.

This was usually the part where his boss would frown, shout angrily at them as they had failed miserably in killing or taking whatever, then somebody gets killed because death meant jackshit in the Nexus. However Eos actually praised everyone, excluding himself. She praised them for bringing him over, which was really weird. He raised a hand during one of Eos's pauses. "Is it normal behavior on your part to praise your subordinates? That's not really normal in Hell, I'm kind of trying to get a feel for how this works is all."

Then Eos turned to him. "Nevertheless, it's not prudent to trust a defector so readily. Thereby, I'm placing you, Henry Avaritia, on probation. You'll be placed under the watch and command of the most suited unit for this task. The only who won't be afflicted by any attempts of corruption that you may try to do, in case your intentions aren't genuine, by this I mean that Bonesword shall be the responsible for your fate within our ranks. Conversely, your actions will influence his fate as well." Henry shrugged, made sense. At least from a sense that Henry couldn't corrupt Bonesword, he could still absolutely wipe the floor with him. Hell he could take out Bonesword blindfolded, it would just mean he had to use a bomb from his Gates rather than his Silver Eyes.

More stuff happened, including Eos giving Bonesword a minigun. A plant minigun, which wasn't nearly as cool as a regular one but a minigun nonetheless. While Eos was talking he looked over at the Meido sisters and waved, he remembered them from that time he got kicked through a mountain and into a forge. He still needs to kill the snake bitch for that. Finally Eos finished off asking if anyone had any questions. Henry raised his hand once more. "Where do I live? And don't tell me it's with Plantsword, I'm not living in his gross shack. I have standards."

In a flash, Bonesword was summoned (alongside Henry) to Eos's chambers, with Endian, the Meido Sisters, and Wolf there as well. The group was commended for their efforts at the Oblivion Dungeon first, but then the deal for Bonesword was sweetened.

"Thereby, I'm placing you, Henry Avaritia, on probation. You'll be placed under the watch and command of the most suited unit for this task. The only who won't be afflicted by any attempts of corruption that you may try to do, in case your intentions aren't genuine. By this I mean that Bonesword shall be the responsible for your fate within our ranks. Conversely, your actions will influence his fate as well."

Holy shit, that was unexpected. Bonesword didn't think that would ever happen, let alone with someone as powerful as Henry. That was just as awesome as it was problematic, considering the only Machina documents Bonesword could read off of Henry were that he's insane and prone to absolute destruction.

Then the deal got sweeter.

"This is a prototype bio-weapon, it's called Vulcan Yew, it has the capability of turning into a powerful bio gatling gun capable of shooting poisonous, armor-piercing seed-like projectiles. With your abilities you shall be able to master it and fight against heavily armored targets."

This made up for the bottles that were thrown at Bonesword when he first moved in. This would definitely be a plant that Bonesword would learn how to use within due time, and it gave him a few ideas for some more... advanced troops. Of course, they'd need some firm testing, but this new tool would prove amazing within due time.

>NEW PLANT - VULCAN YEW

This day was probably one of the best he had in a while. Botany was going great, Bonesword was put in charge of Henry, and now the Vulcan Yew was something added to his arsenal. The only thing left was a series of two questions Bonesword had. Two very important questions. He raised his hand to speak once Eos asked for any questions.

"Thank you very much for the new gift, Eos, but I have two questions. First, may I have permission to upgrade my current living conditions outside of Hyperion, maybe a small castle to help accommodate Henry better into the Machina? Second, is someone going to tell Alexi which button it is to open the front door?"

BGM

Raging flames streaked through the cosmos, painting a bright trail or brilliant oranges, reds, and whites, as a shining comet made its way across the nexus. Stars and warped space flew by rapidly. Cinders peeled away from the fireball as cosmic dust was seared in its wake. The fires burned a path between the stars, no end in sight as they striped the darkness of the void. Suddenly there was an abrupt end in sight. With a thunderous crash, the comet impacted into the side of a much larger asteroid which loomed into its path. Bits of debris and dust flew off the side of the colossal space rock, slowly clearing away to reveal a small crater a few yards long, sitting like a blemish upon its surface.

A pile of rocks and dust gave way, floating away with very little gravity to hold them down, In their place emerged a small silhouette. Pushing aside floating boulders and briskly combing bits of dirt from his fiery crimson hair, the smoking heap that was Zak made his way out of the Crater. Normally the smoke came from his lungs but this time it was wafting off his back. Straightening up and pushing small crackling snaps out of his spine, the angel groaned a bit before gazing around at his new location. "Always a wee bit rough those landings..." he Grunted, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand while the other subtly fetched something from beneath his infamous blue coat.

"I do say sir, you nearly knocked my block off." It was still Zak speaking but he did it from the corner of his mouth while shaking around a certain old robot snipers decapitated head. "Little late fer that, don't ya think captain Socket?" Replied Zak...to himself, or rather to the head. "Oh my! Why are we standing on an asteroid in the middle of nowhere?" Zak's voice for 'Captain Socket' was posh and as proper as he could make it sound through his thick scottish accent. "C'mon captain, use yer head. We're here cause' asteroids can't change direction on their own." Bobbing around with a hallow metallic rattle, Captain Socket seemed discouraged. "Poppycock! What are you going to do about it?" Zak held up a finger to Socket's....where his lips would be if he had any, and gave a reassuring hush. "Ask it politely to move of course..." Captain Socket was carefully tossed onto the ground in a ball of Zak's jacket which drifted down as the now glowing angel flexed one of his arms, slowly rotating and stretching it. "...with explosions!"

Small specs of light glimmered high in the night sky above the industrialized fortification known as TEP Headquarters, twinkling a bit brighter than the surrounding stars as they seemed to wade amongst them. What started as shooting starts streaking through the distant void soon became a storm of molten rock and flames which rained down from the sky. A series of rumbling impacts exploded into the barren earth of a pale wasteland in view of the TEP HQ, causing subtle tremors to gently rock the ground with each collision. It lasted for several seconds, going off like firecrackers in the distance as a shower of meteors bombarded the wasteland. Before long, it was over, leaving a smoldering field of various sized craters scattered about the land.

Hefty amounts of smoke and dust billowed into the air for several minutes before the rugged winds cleared them away. Something peeked up from one of the craters, glimmering faintly in the dim hue of starlight. The inanimate gaze of Captain Socket emerged from behind the piles of dirt and rubble that lined the edges of the scarred earth, spinning left to right as if to survey the surroundings. It seemed like the close was clear. At least Zak assumed so considering nothing blew the head out of his hand. From beneath Socket, emerged Zak as he cautiously lifted his own head up to cast a shifting gaze upon the land. "By jove, it appears we aren't being shot!" said Zak, or rather Captain Socket. "Lets see if we can keep it that way." Responded Zak, but as himself this time.

After about an hour of covertly scouting around, getting lost, backtracking, and some witty head related banter, Zak finally stopped, arriving at a small gravel filled ditch a few dozen meters from the imposing outer walls of the massive TEP installation. His left hand emerged from beneath the billowing folds of his coat, carefully placing a thinly rolled rice paper joint between his lips. "Fer cryin' out loud...I didn't realize there would be so many people with pointy things and guns." Sparks flit from the tip of his right index finger as he brought it up to the end of the joint. "Maybe I should'a packed snacks..." Pale smoke escaped Zak's lungs, getting lost in the winds as he turned and scooted up the side of the ditch, peeking over its edge toward the headquarters.

Small firefly like orbs of light began to form in the air around Zak's hands and he held them out in front of his chest. In the blink of an eye, the swarm took off, spreading out and disappearing into the distance in every direction. Some time passed. Light crunching of gravel crackled out as Zak ran his heel back and forth over the pebbles and stones. He was picking shapes out that resembled various common objects. One looked like a slice of bread. Another like a tomato...He was already regretting not packing snacks. He nearly considered sampling one of the stones when he was suddenly stopped by the return of the fluttering orbs he had sent out. A scowl quickly crossed Zak's face as the lights absorbed back into his body. "Bloody hell. It's sealed up tighter than a frozen can o' expired glue...and if I get any closer to those walls to look fer cracks, I'll get spotted fer sure. Pretty sure they'll not be havin' company willingly."

Then he saw it. Through the memory of one of the luminescent orbs, he spotted something out of place. "Hmm? What's all that then?" Nestled snugly between a sparse thicket of trees near the foot of a mountainous area not to far from the fortress was a collection of out of place boulders. Soil around the stones seemed loose, as apposed to the solid baked earth of the surrounding area. There, hidden in the some mossy weedy overgrowth in the shadow of the looming trees was a mossy metal surface. There was a good chance it was some kind of hatch. "Captain Socket! You never said there was a secret pathway. Ya been holding out on me after all! Everybody knows I'm a big fan o' secret pathways!" Zak flicked the metal cranium of the robot head, or rather Captain Socket, before tactfully making his way out of the ditch and slinking off behind the cover of boulders and dunes toward the mountains.

Another hour of covertly scouting around, getting lost, backtracking, and some witty head related banter passed before Zak finally found his way to the site his orbs discovered. Pushing past a few leafy shrubs, the fiery haired angel managed to spot the metal surface. "Alright...please don't be a sewer. Please don't be a sewer. Please don't be a sewer." Zak Briskly brushed away some dirt and foliage, running his fingers across the creases in the metals paneling until he felt a jiggle. "Bingo!" With a little rattling, creaking, and just a tad of angelic strength, Zak lifted the large panel, which as he suspected was a hatch. The area beneath it was poorly lit by dim orange lights, causing Zak to have to squint to see what he was in for before jumping in. He rejoiced at the absence of sewage and instead found there to be stairs and caution signs. Some sort of underground emergency exit. "Watch yer head captain Socket, we're goin' in."

"I know Tobayashi..." Karizawa responds with his head down, "I know..."

There was a few seconds of silence before Tobayashi begins walking out of the room. Before she gets out of the hallway however, a piercing alarm blares out throughout the entire facility. Both characters look wildly as they try to figure out the situation at hand. Then the phone next to the commander rings loudly and without hesitation, he quickly grabs it.

"Stein," he calls out urgently knowing that the line is coming from the control room, "What's going on out there? Are we under attack?"

"Negative Commander," confirms the Main Operator as he projects onscreen the threat at hand, "We've detected a large meteor storm heading towards our general location. There's a high probability that the asteroids may hit the communications tower in the mountainous sector."

Karizawa took a deep sigh as he keeps his composure in check.

"How much time until impact?" he asks cautiously.

"T-minus... one minute and thirteen seconds, sir." he responds with some hesitation.

"Direct all emergency shields to the tower." sternly orders the commander with haste, "Keep it on at max power until the storm passes."

"Copy that, over." Stein responds, putting down the phone as he faces the rest of the panel operators to repeat the orders, "Direct all shields to the communication tower, on the double!"

With that, the operators routed the shields protecting most of the underground base, which are safe and secure several meters underground, some being at most a mile deep. The shields can be seen protecting the communication array as a faint blue glow can be seen with a good eye. Soon the meteors began to flame up in the atmosphere and make atmosphere contact. Soon enough they began to crash to the wasteland farther away from the Machina base. Some of the flying rocks of doom flew dangerously close into the comms array as they raced across the sky. One of the larger asteroids hit the comms array causing a massive boom to tremble across the northern sector of the base. Every other meteor impact caused a miniature tremor that lightly shook the base, followed by the sound of faint explosions. Some of the lights flickered as they were effected by the underground shockwave of the collisions.

It lasted for up to a minute, with some impacts taking place almost directly after one hit the ground, before the meteor shower finally subsided. The operators quickly scan the sky for any other potential asteroids before finally breathing a sigh of relief. They check on the wasteland, now dotted in craters, both big and small. It almost looked as if a battle took place in that area. As they checked the craters, Stein dials the phone to contact Karizawa.

"We're clear Commander," he announces, "No confirmed damage with the main base. Unfortunately, one of the larger meteors have seen to have hit the comms and it seems to have taken some damage."

Karizawa scowls angrily to himself as he scratched his head.

"Send a repair squad to fix the damage." the commander replies annoyingly. Then he remembers about the asteroids. "Also scan the asteroids for any signs of lifeforms. I want to make sure that this IS a simple meteor shower and not some secret invasion force."

A quick minute passes by as soon as the scan was initiated... followed by a second one to make sure.

"Both scans come up negative." Stein responds confidently after checking the status, "No signs of life were detected on any of the asteroids."

There was a little pause in between the two. Karizawa seemed to sense that something looked slightly off about the strike.

"Something doesn't feel right." he responds suspiciously, "Send a mech squad to check the rubble and put their footage on screen. I'll be there momentarily to monitor what they find."

Stein sighs as he forcibly nods.

"Yes sir." Stein obliges.

If only did they do a third scan would they have found a certain someone...

---

Near the location where Zak secretly snuck into the base, a small group of maintenance workers rushed to the sight of the damaged comms array while flanked by two heavy guard bots. Being to preoccupied at their mission, they would pass a small hallway that leads up to a flight of stairs, the same one Zak was traversing down. The door leading to it looked as if it seen better days, being covered in caked mud and dirt, but still operated fairly well. If Zak were to peek out from behind a corner leading to that same hallway, he can see the workers and bots quickly run past him, as well as other human guards patrol the area.

Zak's not going to get far once he gets caught by the guards, as they will be alerted to his presence. Not to mention that security cameras are locked onto almost every corner of the building, capturing anything that moves. If he's going to dare to be sneaky, he'll need to be smart enough to find something that can allow him to traverse the base without getting caught...

If he is to look up, he'll see a fairly large air chute by the corner leading to the main hallway... maybe he can use it to his advantage?

"Hehe, we have plenty of open space around here," Diana replied to Suparna's comment. "With most of the people that live around here having wings or being generally on the huge side, that's a given," she added while taking a moment to look at Ananta and her congregation of infants.

Diana waved to the small angelic beings, smiling as some of them returned her greeting. A moment later she grabbed Suparna's hand once more. "Well, I guess we should go find a place for you to stay. There are a few vacant rooms in the upper part of Celestia, you'll probably really like them," she said. "Also, if you wanna find something about bodies, you should go talk to the Angel of Death. She probably knows everything about that. I can show you the way later if you want."

After saying that, Diana began to walk around Celestia, with Suparna in toll, looking for a room that the maggot girl would find enjoyable. On their way up a flight of stairs that lead to Deva's court, the two of them crossed the way of a woman dressed in a regal uniform.

"I wonder who that one is? It's been a while since I have seen new people around Celestia, but it seems like that things are changing slowly," Diana commented idly, after replying to the woman's nod. "Maybe everything will be really better from now on," she added as Suparna and she continued in search of a proper room.
Meanwhile, Farris Aran, the captain of Deva's royal guard had just arrived back in Celestia after a long campaign in the name of the Divine Imperator. She crossed the way of Diana and her newest companion, nodding politely to them as she made her way to the Imperator's court. The knight wondered how this domain would be different from their homeland? If the fact that the former rebels that threatened to destroy all that they stood for, found a new way of living in this realm, Farris was certain that her choice to heed to the Imperator and the Court's words wasn't a misguided one.

The Herald of the Thundering Warcry was a woman of resolve, after all. Once she made her mind to follow a cause, nothing would change. That was just who Farris was. And she wouldn't like it to even be different.

"I have finally finished my duty, Divine Imperator," Farris said as she came into Deva's court, where the Imperator presided over the Will of Heavens with envoys such as Iona, the Dark Archangel and Juno, the Snake of the World, aiding in her decisions. "I'll be glad to be at your service once more. For me, there could never be any greater reward."
"Your allies are more equipped to answer the question of whether it's customary for me to reward the efforts of our troops," Eos replied to Henry while gesturing toward the others before her. "Nevertheless, I'll also handle sanctions in the same way, if your performance is anything less than perfect. I hope you understand that."

"Regarding your questions, swordsman," Eos turned to Bonesword once more, "A castle on the outskirts of Hyperion is definitively out of question. It would damage the city's architecture far too much. Nevertheless, I have a place where I can allocate the two of you to." Just as Eos said so, a holographic projection of Hyperion appeared behind her. A blinking dot marked a specific building which was the zoomed in, revealing the location to be the city's most prominent entertainment center, the night club/hotel known as The Nile, a gigantic pyramid of black glass and steel whose bright lights shone like a beacon, piercing Hyperion's nearly perpetual night. "The Nile has been recently finished, you cannot find better accommodations in Hyperion than its rooms. It shall serve both of you well. That said, your experiments still have to be conducted out of the City or inside of a safe zone. We don't need any more nuisances with rogue B.O.W.s."

"Regarding Alexi. There are no buttons to open any of the palace's doors. All of them are automatic and will open for those who have the appropriate authorization. The main entrance has free passage for all Machina citizens. It's impossible for her to be stuck there. All that she has to do is walk toward it for the gates to open," Eos answered the question about how Alexi could get stuck in an automatic door. A moment later, the High Queen summoned a holographic control panel and pressed a button. "That said, even if she still doesn't make it, this shall work," Eos said, as she commanded the doors to open.

The holographic projection of Hyperion changed to alert mode a moment later as bright red lights began to scan it. A satellite image zoomed at in at what looked like a meteor crater right outside of the city, with a redheaded Angel rising up from it. A second scrolling feedback had all the data the Machina managed to collect about Zac, especially the result of the analysis of his performance at the battle of Arcadia. Eos could only attribute the lapse in Hyperion's surveillance systems to the fact that Henry's presence put the whole city on red alert until just a few minutes ago. Worse than that, the overeager troops of TEP decided to take the issue into their own hands, instead of alerting their Queen as it was to be expected.

"That came in a perfect time, to say the truth," Eos said to herself as she turned to Bonesword and Henry. "The two of you are going to be deployed at capture or eliminate that Angel before it can cause any form of damage to Hyperion or come into contact with sensitive information of any form. This shall be your first mission as a team. The remainder of you are going to stay here, ready for action, in case any more unforeseen situation arises," the High Queen commanded.

---

Man. This was quite the upgrade. Staying at the new nightclub in Hyperion was a serious step up from his current accommodations, although he felt like he'd hate walking to his workshop all the time. Maybe he could do some... smaller scale experiments in his place. Ones that didn't harm the structural integrity of

"Yes ma'am!" Bonesword barked as he checked his sides for his arsenal. Shield? Check. Shroomblade? Check. Cutlass? Check. Unleash? Not check. The swordsman must've left it behind at his workshop. Nevertheless, he was ready to hunt this Angelic SoB down and also slap whoever was in charge of the TEP organization for being kind of an idiot. He pushed the line once already, why would he risk it again?

---

Bonesword and Henry stood inside of the entrance to the new location of the TEP organization. He was ready to go in and stab this Angel in the heart, but he was also afraid that Henry would cause some spaghettification friendly-fire, so the supervising figure of the duo spoke up with some kind of "plan."

"Here's my idea. We go and capture this angel before he turns us into barbecue demons by means of just encasing him in a silvery cage or by tying him down with vines, then we go and shout at whoever runs this place and scold them for their dumb plan to try and take down this angel on their own. Feel free to stray if needed. Any questions?"

A hallow rattle caught the attention of a uniformed guard, lagging behind the rest with his partner to cover the rear. He stopped for a moment, tightening the grip on his rifle as he stared down a dimly lit corridor leading to a staircase. "Did you hear that?" spoke the guard to his comrade. "Hear what?" responded the other, pausing from his march down the hallway to address the comment. "N...nevermind." They pressed on, no doubt with many to come behind them. Dangling in the air just out of line of sight with the doorway was Captain Socket, just barely saved from dropping onto the ground by a well timed grab.

Awkwardly suspended from the ceiling, clinging to the ledges of wall paneling and the metal door frame, Zak let out a sigh of relief to see the soldiers pass follow quickly by a grunt of frustration as he tugged the head back up into his grip. "Are ya out 'o ya mind Doctor Socket? Yer gonna get me caught!" Suddenly he noticed something in the reflection of Captian Sockets eye lens. "Oh wait just a tic..." Straining to turn his head, Zak managed to catch the sight of a slotted vent behind him. It looked like one of those good sized industrial vents you run into xenomorphic entities in. "Pardon me sir but perhaps you could use those to get around?" Zak smiled, carefully shifting around, narrowly losing his balance, before coming to face the vent. "That's thinking ahead Socket! Wish I had thought of that meself!"

In moments, the angel was gone, welding the panel that covered the vent back into place with a molten hot finger. Managing a pained grunt under his breath, Zak removed his shoes, pouring out two piles of gravel that had accumulated on his little journey around this place. With that, Zak began discretely scrambling through the network of vents, gently scooting along on his hands and knees careful not to make too much noise. He'd rather be mistaken for a rat than discovered as an intruder. Shuffling along, he managed to spot a few beams of light cutting through the claustrophobic darkness several yards ahead. A small sense of accomplishment filled him as his movements sped up a bit. Finally he managed to get close enough to the illumination to see it was leaking in through another vent cover.

Peeking out through the thin slots, Zak found himself looking down at random storage room filled with large metal crates and containers marked with danger and caution signs. "Nope..." declared the angel, knocking a few bits of rubble and dust out of the vent grate before moving on. A few minutes later, Zak discovered a similar panel. This one was to some kind of locker room. The floors were tiled and the walls were stained with a few patches of scum. "Nope..." The next grate led to the latrines, but Zak already figured as much as he could smell them from a mile away. He didn't even bother looking through the grate as he passed by. "Gross...and nope..." Finally, after several more minutes of cleaning the dust off several yards of venting system with his knees, Zak arrived at a grate overlooking a long corridor. Just a few feet from the vent was a guarded door, watched by a pair of ceiling mounted sentry turrets and two uniformed human. "Gotcha!"

Air flowed through the angels clothes, causing them to billow subtly off his skin. It was nice and somewhat refreshing. Almost relaxing in the way that it quietly hissed through the vents around Zak. He was especially fond of the way they abruptly hummed in the distance...Regret struck him. "Wha?! Wait!" A torrent of wind began rushing passed Zak, pushing against him like an angry storm as the ventilation activated. Sweaty from the trek to this spot, the angels fingers slipped off the creases of the vent segments and was whisked away like a leaf lost on the current of stream.

"Nononononono!" Pleading and grunts echoed through the maze of vents, drowned out by the thunderous whooshing of wind as Zak was pulled helplessly along. "Well this blows..." He muttered to himself between groans and whines. He should have expected this, though he can't account for every little detail. He definitely didn't expect to see a set of giant rapidly osculating fan blades spinning at the end of the vent he was currently surfing. A panicked gasp escaped Zak's lungs as he desperately began clawing at the metal walls and surfaces within the vents. Looks like this was the end. Death by air conditioning. Then he saw it. Protruding from the side of an upcoming segment was a service box of some kind. Whatever it was, the angel hoped it was sturdy as he reached out for it. He missed...Fortunately there was another a few feet from the first a couple yards from the whirling death. With a grip like he's never gripped before, Zak snagged his hands on the panel.

One problem solved, yet another took its place. Zak was inches from being turned into deli meat and there was no telling when the fan would stop. "Okay....alright.....easy...." Coaxed Zak as sweat fluttered from his brow into the massive blades. Slowly, he pried one hand from the box, careful not to release the other, and held his palm toward the massive engine like fan. In a burst of light and flames, Zak shot backwards, ricocheting off the walls of the vent like a pinball before sliding over a loose hatch. Screws popped out from beneath Zak's hands, rattling through the vent as the hatch burst open, swallowing the fiery haired angel whole and sending him cascading down into the dark. There was some falling, also some screaming, a bit of cussing, and finally a loud rattling thud against metal as Zak face planted into the crisscross grate of another vent panel. A feeble pained moan resounded from the vent before it popped open. A dusty heap of an angel fell onto the concrete floor of a steamy room filled with various sized pipes, tanks, and meters.

"That's the last time I take advice from a head...where the bloody hell am I now?" Making a futile effort at brushing the dust cakes from his knees, Zak stood from the ground and peered around the dark chamber he now found himself in. The temperature was quite high, yet the air was very humid. A deep red hue barely managed to fill the room with dingy light. Bursts of steam systematically ejecting from pipes and canisters thinly veiled the area. It was some sort of boiler room. "The plumbing? Power transit? Who even needs pipes this big?" pondered Zak as he limped along, trying to shake some of the soreness from his bones as he walked along, using railing and walls for support. Finally he managed to spot a pale light streaked across the floor amidst the haze and darkness. A door. Zak scrambled forward, collapsing to the ground and pressing his face to the cracks across the bottom of the door. He made it just in time to see a set of approaching boots.

"Shit!" Exclaimed Zak, quickly standing and looking for a spot to hide. Thinking as quickly as he could, the angel closed himself into a near by supply locker. He picked the middle compartment since he knew the far left and right were always the ones those xenonorphic entities picked first. As quickly as he hid himself, slamming the compartment door behind him, a pile of power tools and led aprons collapsed from a higher shelf. Zak briefly thought back to when times were good, fish didn't exist in heaven, and he wasn't being prodded and squeezed by several pieces of machinery. It's the finer things...

Henry and Bonesword got to live in a nice nightclub/hotel. Dope, he'd been meaning to check out the nightlife around here anyhow. Clubs and other entertainment was practically archaic in Hell, fucking tea parties are still considered cool. Henry laughed and gave Eos a thumbs up. "I like it, gotta say that this is already a pretty sweet gig compared to Hell. I'm gonna enjoy being around here."

As if he the powers that be hated the good mood in the room, an alarm went off as Zak came riding into Hyperion on a flaming meteor. Of course Henry recognized him immediately, they had fought in Arcadia. More specifically he had beaten Henry and forced him to retreat. Even more specifically then that, "THAT FUCKER CHOPPED ME IN HALF! Come on Grasswhip, we gotta beat this fucker down!" Henry stormed out of the room, with Bonesword chasing after him to make sure he didn't destroy a good portion of Hyperion in his rage.

---

Henry and Bonesword stood inside the TEP headquarters, one of the employees tried to stop Henry but a nasty glare and explanation from Bonesword resolbed that situation before it could escalate. "Here's my idea. We go and capture this angel before he turns us into barbecue demons by means of just encasing him in a silvery cage or by tying him down with vines,

Henry interrupted Bonesword as he was talking. "Let me stop you right there Skeleshroom. This dude harnesses the very essence of fire, you're basically useless right now. I know you think you're my boss and you can do stuff better than I can stuff because Eos said so, which is very cute, but I got this." Henry whistled hard and stood still for a minute. If Bonesword tried to say anything Henry would just hold up his hand in a gesture to wait. Patience would be rewarded as Henry's hounds came bursting through the door, skidding to a stop before their master. "We're hunting for an Angel. Find him and alert me to his position, do not attack." They took off running and it only took Cero 2 minutes to find a suspicious smell emanating from what appeared to be the entrance to a boiler room. Something like that, the title on the door was really fancy and Henry didn't care. Henry kicked open the door and pulled out an assault rifle. "Alright Candlestick, I know you're in here so come out with your hands up. Actually no, behind your back. Honestly if you could just chop off your hands you can make it easy for me, I'm going to do that either way."

"Oh, awesome! I was completely wrong about where that door was!" Alexia turned away from the wall she had been investigating when the door opened for her. It seems she had been looking at the buttons for the visitor map that let citizens know what sections of the building were open to the public, which was why the automatic door had not opened for her. She hapily left the building, to wander around further. Whether or not Helena's words had made any impact on the immensely dull but exceptionally bloodthristy Alexia was like asking whether they would have had impact on Balrog.

@KoL




Cydone opened an eye and titled his hat a bit to look around, having been resting his eyes a bit, when Helena called. "Mmm, no thanks, ma'am, this is a pretty sweet deal. I fight once a century, I get free immortality. Gives a feller peace o'mind. They don't even ask ya to win, just fight." Then Cydone lowered his head again and went back to sleep.




"Shhh... I'm hunting rabbits!" Zyata waved off Helena's offer, as she stared out of her bush at a group of unsuspecting rabbits. One had to wonder how Zyata intended to hunt rabbits with an anti-vehicle sniper rifle and a spear.

A metallic sound rattled out from the darkness as some frantic shifting around echoed through the hissing of steam and creaking of warped metal. The sounds accompanied the hasty entry of the eager Henry as he came suddenly barging in with all the subtlety of a decapitated chicken. There was little responce to his demands, other than some muffled grunts emenating from a line of utility closets ahead. The middle compartment shook briefly, as the door came slightly ajar.

A few tense moments passed before the door finally swung open. Squirming out and wriggling across the dark concrete floor was a naked man. Chains, ropes, and a few random strings, were all knotted up and tied around the man, decorated with a few ribbons and a wad of balled up socks shoved into his mouth. All his clothes were stripped off and nowhere to be seen. Feebly thrashing around for several seconds on the ground at the point of Henry's rifle, the bound man began gesturing desperatly at the cieling just above the door, pointing with is nose.

Motion seized across the pipe ladent rafters as a series of chain reactions made up of improvised pully systems crafted out of a conglomeration of diassembled power tools triggered by the weight of the door swinging open eventually released a falling pile of jagged metal and broken pipes. The sounds of heavy crashing and resounding clangs shook the entirety of the boiler room as the heap of wreckage fell like an avalanche toward the gun toting Henry and the doorway. Even if it missed him, the debris was enough to block the door off, sealing anyone still inside away.

Meanwhile, uncomfortably adjusting the loose fitting uniform he was borrowing, Zak made his way down a random coridor. With his energy concieled to match that of a human, and now some clothes to match, he just needed a map and he would be set. Feigning a salute to a pair of soldiers who rushed by, Zak suddenly got the feeling his secret visit was no longer a secret. The alarms and sirens going off was probably a pretty good indicator of this. It didn't deter him from his goal however, whatever that was. A brief glance at a small peice of paper pinched between his fingers reminded him, or atleast gave him incentive. Turning another corner inconspicuously, the fiery haired angel, or human rather, dissappeared into an oncoming squad of jogging soldiers who dispersed hastily.

HR-513 ascended the steps to meet with the High Queen of The Machina of Man. As it did so it took in the sights, sounds, other stimuli and stored them in its' infinite database. New information was always desirable to HR-513. Its' purpose quite simple. It wished for a government sponsored way to record and decode their nation's extensive database. In it, was everything ever recorded by The Machina of Man. Becoming High-Cartographer was The Harvester's goal. One step closer toward gaining all knowledge in the cosmos.

However, it most likely would not be that easy. High-Cartographer was a position coveted by many in The Machina. The High-Queen did not give it out on a whim. If HR-513 could prove its' abilities to her, perhaps she would grant it the honor of High-Cartographer. The position unlocked access to all information within The Machina of Man. HR-513 believed that its' super-intelligence and information would be most beneficial for their empire.

As HR-513 neared the top of the stairs he was blocked by multiple guards. That is when The Harvester spoke in a low confident tone it heard 10 years ago,"I wish to speak with the High-Queen about a matter of the utmost importance. She should be expecting me." The Queen wasn't the easiest being to get a hold of. HR-513 knew this well. A meeting like it wouldn't come often, but it intended to make it count. This was a very important moment in its' existence. One droid guard turned and began to contact the queen while the other stood still, eyeing The Harvester. HR-513 waited with a steely quiet, completely motionless. Time meant little to The Harvester. HR-513 could slow or speed it up within its' mind at will. Patience was no issue.

As Zak scurries over to hide inside a supply locker, the guards began to walk past him. Accompaning them were another two giant heavy bots, each wielding a massive arm cannon as they patrolled the area. They didn't seem to notice or hear any sounds of Zak scurring for cover, but they were still on high alert. They would stick around for a few seconds, just talking to one another, before finally turning the corner and head to the next level. They would've immediately have tried to shoot Zak if he was still out in the open and indeed warn the facility about the intruder.

Meanwhile, near the entrance of the base, several more TEP personnel were guarding the entrance to the secret facility. It was a rather boring job just to guard the same place over and over, despite this place being still pretty new to them. Just the fact that they'll probably be doing this for another few years or so would send many to be rather sick already. There really wasn't going to be much action around Hyperion anyways. One of the guards was eating a sandwich as he chats with another guard who was lying against a railing overlooking the front entrance.

"Man, I'm already so bored of this place," says the guard eating the sandwich, "I mean, it was kinda interesting in the beginning but now it's already becoming stale."

"Yeah, I wouldn't blame you." the other guard responds lazily as he shlouches a bit down, "I wonder when we can get some real action, you know? Like I know we just had that little ole' Foundry Incident, but we didn't even get to shoot shit."

The opposite guard takes a bite out of his sandwich.

"I mean, all we did was just skiddaddle outta there, but still like I really want some action here. Just once for hell's sake. I don't care if we have to deal with enemy soldiers or~"

Just then, a flash of black and red suddenly scurried from the darkness. The sandwich guard had little time to react before the dog leaped at him and took the food item right out of his hand. And not just the sandwich, but the hand too! To his horror the guard clenches his bloody stump as he screams in agony as he falls to his knees moaning in pain. The other guard was quick to raise his gun as is teeth began to chatter at the situation.

"D-dogs, what the hell?" he asks himself aloud as he tries to look for the thing that just flashed in front of him.

Then the guard hears an alien conversation coming from the entrance. He and the rest of the guards pointed their weapons at the gate to greet the two "intruders". They can see two figures coming into view, one being the short lil' mushroom-skeleton Bonesword, and the other being... a demon?! It was Henry the demon of greed! One of the guards was quick to make that comparison.

"It's that Henry guy!" the guard from the upper left cried, "And he's working with Bonesword? State your business here skele-shroom, what are you doing here with the demon? Attack and we'll shoot and sound the alarm!"

Bonesword stopped in front of the guards to explain the situation to them, drawing his sword as he did so and pointing it towards the facility. "We're here under Eos's commands t-"

"Your security is shit. Also shoot that guy in the head, his moaning is bugging me." Henry walked past the guards nonchalantly, knowing if they tried to shoot he would have a believable excuse to lop their heads off. His dogs continued the search for Zak, leaving Bonesword to explain the situation while Henry began his hunt. It was good to be him.

"... what Henry said. I'm trusting you guys to let him in there to properly catch the angel you guys missed because of the meteor shower, while I discuss the situation better to your superior, Doctor Karizawa." Bonesword sheathed his blade as he reasoned with the guard, his trusty Stumpy running up behind him carrying the same flowerpot from before.

The guards quickly looked at one another in utter confusion.

"Angel?" they all seemed to ask in unison, "What Angel?"

Then another guard was quick to respond to this event.

"C'mon ya wee little bastards!" chants the guard with a strange thick accent, "Don' just lie around all silly-looking and crap! Contact Karizawa immediately and find that bloody intruder! Otherwise ye be all gettin' no top of the mornin's from meh anymore!"

The rest of the guards agreed to that statement as they sound the alarm. The blaring was able to travel to Karizawa's position as he looks around in utter confusion. He utters an annoyed sigh as he rolls his eyes.

"Agh, damnit," he growls annoyingly as he grabs the phone that was ringing rapidly on his desk. He dives straight to the phone as he answers it with haste. "Guards! What's going on down there?"

The slouched guard that was on the lie began to speak of what's going on. "We have company! Bonesword and for some by-god reason, the demon Henry has just arrived on scene! Appearantly the demon is with the skeleton and they've been dispatched to take care of the angel that's lurking around here! Commander, how did you miss the fact that someone came out of the meteor shower?!"

Karizawa's head began to spin for a brief second as he smashes his fist on the counter with a growl of distaste. He knew something was going on right at the start. Just then, the Main Operator Stein interrupted Karizawa before he had a time to respond.

"Sir, the mech's have just finished their scanning run on the metors." he announces to him calmly.

"AND?" the commander booms loudly as he already knows what the answer is going to be.

The operator simply points to the screen as it shows a cracked meteor and a pair of tracks in the sand. Multiple pictures began to surface as it follows the tracks all right up to where Zak originally got in... through an old secret blocked hatch. Karizawa's blood begins to boil as he tries to surpress his anger as much as he could. They just only moved into here under Eos' orders just two days ago and they still have to scout out the last hinges of the base for any potential and perhaps uncesseary points of entrance in Graf's old werehouse. Of course, they just miss an entrance, blocked off rather considerably at that. And if Bonesword and Henry just came in to address the situation... oh no. He begins to pound the desk three more times in anger before sliding off his chair towards the wall, breathing heavily as he tries to calm himself down to the best of his abilities. Stein was simply standing motionlessly as he waits before he calmed down completely.

"You want us to send all divisions down to find~"

"CORRECT." interrupts the angry commander as he points his finger at the Operator, "DEPLOY UNIT-T DOWN THERE AS WELL, IMMEDIATELY!"

He then gets back on the phone to the guard calling him.

"DON'T LET THAT INTRUDER GET AWAY!"

Both the Operator and the guard nod as the former addresses all forces to be on high alert for the Angel in the base. They won't be having Zak escape this secret facility without major punishment...

"So... can I be led to Karizawa? I'm confident Henry has this covered," Bonesword asked as he stood in front of the trio of guards, the eager Stumpy bouncing back and forth on his two legs.

The guards seemed hesistant in leading the skeleton mushroom to Karizawa, but considering that he's actually on their side, they eventually began leading him to the control room where Karizawa and the rest of the officials were. As they began walking towards the door into the hallway, they passed the sandwich guard who was bleeding out on the floor and moaning in pain. Before he attempts to get up, he suddenly gets shot in the face and flops to the floor like a fish.

"Sorry buddy," the slouching guard says almost regretably as puts his gun away and begins searching for the intruder.

---

A few oranges. Some random boxes of rations. A ton of bottles of milk. All of these random things were scattered about the tiled floor of a random cafeteria kitchen, tossed about as the uniformed angel rummaged through a large chrome refrigerator. Across the walls, several drawers had been pulled open and cabinets emptied onto the counter tops. Packages of cereal spilled crumbs and sugary pellets onto the floor and several opened ration packets swam across the sea of trash forming over the floor. "Is there nothin' in 'ere that isn't freeze dried or concentrated?" barked Zak as he tossed random items over his shoulder. Then he saw it. So glorious it almost glowed. A large slab of roasted meat, charred at the edges and wrapped in cellophane. A small post-it reading the words 'Bob Hands Off!' which was stuck to the front of the delicious looking meal was inconsequentially tossed away as Zak grabbed that meat quicker than a hungry ravenous hound bursting in through the window...

"Uh..." Glass shattered out through the kitchen, dancing over metal counters and tiled floors as a massive black and red hell hound burst in through one of the windows of the two very unlocked swaying kitchen doors. The snarling beast was shortly accompanied by another, who decided to actually use the door, pushing in creepily. A third loomed out in the hall, hungrily sniffing around before following its pack. Zak froze for a few moments, looking at the hounds. The hounds froze for a couple moments, sizing up Zak. "Good poochies....gooood poochies..." Hugging a heap of foodstuffs topped with the meat, he stepped backwards. That was all the hounds needed.

"Alright men! Keep on your toes! There's an angel in our midst. Even if he was foolish enough to break into TEP headquarters, he could quite a threat to have gotten this far in without setting off any alarms. Squad one! You'll be in charge of scouting sectors-" "Uh sir?" Interupted one of the guards, as a hand raised from the formation. "What the hell is it soldier?! Can't you see I'm talking?!" The guard winced, stuttering a bit before managing a pointed finger, aimed over the sergeant's shoulder. With a annoyed grunt and a scowl across his face, the sergeant turned to see what this fool was interrupting him for. Before he could take in what was running at him, a hunk of meat missing a bite slammed him in the face. "Bad poochies!! Bad poochies!!" A surprised gasp struck the rest of the platoon as a soldier came running down the hall dropping boxes and rations from his embrace shouting obscenities and halt commands.

"Get the bloody hell out o' my way ya blatherin' idiots!" Screamed Zak, bounding into the ranks of the formation like a bowling ball, scattering several more random food objects through the air before desperately pushing his way out of the confused guards and shooting down the hallways with a box in each hand. "Wait a minute! What division are you with?! What's going o-" A loud demonic howl shook the corridor, interrupting the guard as something else emerged from the direction Zak had came from. Panicked voices began to ring out from the broken formation of troops as the three hounds bolted forward. With no idea the hound were on their side...sort of anyway...the guards opened fire. Of course to no avail as they were quickly torn into like a package of potato chips, sending viscera and guts flying about, painting the walls of the corridor in chunks of flesh and blood.

Henry chased after his hounds, just missing Zak as he came upon the scene of his hounds tearing apart everal soldiers with meat all over them. He stood still for a moment staring at what was happening, before shaking his head and running down the hallway where Zak's trail of destruction led. The dogs continued to tear the soldiers apart. "Alright motherfucker, it's payback time for Arcadia! Now I'm gonna slice you in half!" He yelled as he drew his sword and created a small heat tracker around his eye. If his dogs were busy, he would just get creative.

---

Meanwhile, the guards were quick to show Bonesword where Karizawa and the others were hiding out. As they enter the door, one of the guards was quick to introduce their new guest.

"Commander Karizawa," the guard says, "Bonesword wants to meet with you. Like I really dunno why, but he really wants to."

The Commander turns around from Stein and Tobayashi to see the skeleton mushroom standing at the doorway. He simply sighs as he turns his head back.

"Yes Bonesword? What do you want?" he asks him annoyingly.

"For a high-class compound, you really do have some horrible security..." Bonesword started as he took a swig of a whiskey bottle from his bag, the alcohol falling straight to the ground. "If I was secretly mind-controlled, I could've walked in here and murdered all of you in a blaze of fucking glory. Shame, too, because your incompetence has made me consider doing that for Eos so she has a few less messes to clean up."

"Alas, that's not why I'm here. I'm here with Henry to fix the error in your own countermeasures, and to simultaneously tell you about what risks you've just run by letting this angel into this place without your knowledge."

"We've only recently discovered that this "Angel" is in the base..." he replies as if he was drained of energy, "If it weren't for the meteors having damaged the comms array, we would've discovered the Angel and IMMEDIATELY call you guys up... but alas this isn't the case now is it?"

"Sort of. It's more or less a case for me telling you guys that this angel can burn this place down in a matter of seconds, and if Eos catches wind that you ran that risk... hoo boy, would she be mad," Bonesword poured more whiskey down his gullet as he spoke. "Just here on business is all. Also, getting that giant mech of yours involved was probably not the best idea. Henry caused enough of a stir in the city as is."

"But hey. I'm not the one running what's clearly a multi-million dollar circus, am I?"

Karizawa didn't dare even mutter any hints of the incident with Harley back at the Foundry base. Even then, her appearance was completely caught by surprise and niether did any of them expect her arrival at such a remote and secret location. But just before either can say anything more, one of the nearby cargo elevators opens suddenly to reveal a large mech come walking out of it. Unit-T was finally released into the fray. Karizawa turns around to see the servaliance cameras monitor the battle that was going to take place.

"There she is..." he breathes as he looks on with anticipation.

"Is that the thing made to fight that one godzilla monster that I saw in the dungeon? Boy, does it look menacing," Bonesword took a seat on Stumpy as he watched the surveillance cameras with Karizawa, capping his whiskey while he did so. "It worked well at the foundry, from what I was able to see with my 'secret eyes'."

Tobayashi's eyebrow perked up after hearing his statement.

"Secret... eyes?" she asks the skeleton mushroom curiously.

"I control plants, of course I have my methods of seeing shit. Even what caused you guys to evacuate." Bonesword was totally bluffing, but nobody in the room could feasibly tell from his body language... or any facial features. That was another perk of being a skeleton.

---

Skidding across the sleek floor on his heel, Zak quickly turned another corner, stopping and quickly dashing behind cover as he heard a few voices from ahead. A set of guards accompanied by to large heavily armed cyborgs turned the corner down the hall. Zak cussed under his breath, unsure if the machines had facial recognition. They probably wouldn't recognize him, which would be a bad thing. He had to think fast. The option for escape came in the form of another vent grate above. Thinking back, the angel wasn't too happy about the idea but he was quickly running out of options, and hallways.

"Well...at least it isn't a sewer..." Tearing open one of the boxes while tossing away the other, Zak quickly looked over the contents. A small frown crossed his face. "Lollypops? Bloody lollypops?! Not cookies, noooo....that would be too much like good luck." The footsteps grew closer. A bead of sweat trickled down the side of the angels face. After several moments of debating with himself, Zak finally shoved his hand into the box, grabbing as many of the packaged candies as he could and shoving them into his pockets along with a few other random things he picked up from the kitchen. The guards emerged from around the corner, marching in formation as the heavy boots of the mechanical guards subtly shook the hall. One of them paused, as if he felt something odd. "What is it?" He looked around, his gaze briefly passing over barren corridor. "It's nothing..." They marched on.

Wind blew past Zak, tossing away the hat that came with his borrowed uniform as he clawed his way along. The tips of his fingers glowed brightly as he dug into the metal paneling, burning molten fingerprints in his wake. Before long, Zak found a length of vent not being bombarded chilly winds. He took a moment to relax, letting his back slide against the metal paneling. The maze like architecture of these vents weren't helping in finding a stable sense of direction. The hoards of troops and apparently demon hounds didn't make things better. Then Zak thought for a minute. What were demon hounds even doing in this place? More likely than not, it meant there was a demon lurking about. The angel cringed, balling a fist as his thoughts trailed off. There was no way someone else had his genius idea. A demon of all things? Nervousness shook over the angel for a moment as he frantically pondered the idea of someone else with similar goals as his. Zak's thoughts were abruptly halted as the dull murmur of voices snatched his attention.

Tracking the sound to a vent grate a few yards away, Zak quietly shuffled forward until he was right next to the light bleeding through the slots. "No way..." Whispered the angel, gazing into the brightly lit surveillance room. The voices he heard were of the imposing Karizawa and the...less imposing skeletal form of Bonesword. With the sounds of rushing winds not too far behind him, it was difficult to make out what they were saying. More importantly, there was something in front of them which gave Zak a smirk. A collection of monitors surveying the entirety of the TEP headquarters projected everything the angel needed to see. He had to shimmy around the grate a bit so his eyes could take everything in, and the troops wandering by from console to console obstructed his vision a bit, but he was able to get a general idea of the facilities layout. The smirk faded as he noticed the scowling visage of an angry and yet determined Henry as he passed beneath on of the cameras. "...Fuck sake..." Henry's view suddenly swerved towards the camera and his scowl deepened as he flipped it off, stalking out of view a moment later.

Henry tracked Zak's last location to just below an air vent, the cover sealed and his trail gone cold. Henry snarled and stalked back to the camera from before. "He's in the air vents, do some Machina bullshit to flush him out." He said as he looked directly at the camera. Then he left the camera's view once more, determined to track down Zak one way or another.

Karizawa acknolwedges Henry reporting on the enemy's location. Just how did he get in without having to make a sound in the first place is a bit confusing though. Regardless the Commander wastes no time as he begins to initiate counter-measures.

"Stein," he barks towards the Main Operator, "Power up the air vents at maximum power. We need to flush the angel out of hiding before we can move in."

"You got it." the operator replies before turning to the others, "Maximize air conditioning at full power!"

He turns to Karizawa.

"And if I may ask so humbly, what if this doesn't flush him out?"

A small pause issued on the Commander's behalf before he responds.

"We'll have to gas him out then..."

"I might be able to assist," Bonesword spoke up as he looked over at Stein and Karizawa. "I've been doing a bit of botany, and I got a gaseous mine that should help. Problem is, you guys probably don't want to be breathing that stuff, nor would you want it in your vents. Still, I'm probably able to assist should you guys need it. Oh, and don't try to gas him out. He can turn into fire."

"Who said about gassing the entire facility?" Karizawa barked back while looking back at him. Saying that he turns to Stein, "Are we able to control the air's direction and where it flows?"

"We can sir." the operator responds after checking the map.

"Right." he responds, "We corner him in a secure room, lock the doors and all other ways of getting out, and gas him there. Even if does spark an explosion, depending on the room he's in, it should absorb most of the explosion."

"I'm guessing you guys don't need me?"

"Oh don't worry." the Commander responds assuringly, "You'll be providing the gas."

Bonesword doubled over onto his chest as he imitated a wheeze. "You guys want to risk breathing rust for a few days? Alright."

---

Zak couldn't make out everything that was being discussed on the other side of the vent but he heard enough to let him know he needed to not be in the vents anymore. Then the gears in his head began turning, churning out a stream of ideas as he rubbed his fingers over the grooves of the vent panel. Gazing around, Zak began feeling around the crevices and corners of the vent as if searching for something. Moving along, quietly shuffling passed the surveillance room, Zak continued grazing the walls and bolts. This continued this for some time as, just as promised, the vents began to kick up speed, pushing against him fiercely. Smoke wafted off the angels body as fire began to spew from his back, taking the shape of flaming wings burning brightly as the winds fanned them into infernos. Taking a breath, Zak turned around, and with a massive beat of his blazing wings, he shot through the vents surfing the currents of the fierce winds.

Thunderous echoes rumbled above the corridors and strings of smoke leaked from the vents as a massive ball of molten hot flames shot through them, warping the metal with large red welts with each ricochet. Before the wind had a chance to push him around another corner, Zak burned off a bit of extra explosive flames, propelling him forward, faster than the winds, and straight through the metal paneling. Shreds of molten metal and shrapnel spewed onto the catwalks above a large robotics garage. Shooting through the wall like a firework, the flaming ball of Zak bounced around the room, toppling several unpiloted mechs and smashing into a pile of spare parts. The room went dead silent for a few moments, broken only by the sounds of distant sirens. The fire simmered down from within the metal heap of parts as they shifted around to reveal the pained expression of the buried angel.

Slowly pulling himself up, Zak cussed under his breath. He was losing a bit of steam from all this running and hiding. There was no avoiding it. He needed a moment. A private moment. A few flames spewed from the tip of his fingers, darting up through the rafters ad over the catwalks before systematically reducing all the cameras hanging from the ceiling to burning smithereens. Reaching behind his ear, Zak removed what was left of a small joint, singed at the end and a bit worse for ware. Pinching it in the corner of his mouth, Zak lit the joint and took a few drags. He let the smoke leak from his nostrils and the corners of his mouth as he savored the flavor and the relaxing calm it brought over him. Leaning back, Zak noticed he was leaning against something rather large. Far bigger than the rest of the giant empty robots in the room. This one was huge and imposing. Zak marveled at it for a little while, thinking of how awesome it would be if more angels started using these things.

Henry turned around slowly as he heard several crashes and alarms going off in the distance. Showtime. He ran towards the alarms as quickly as he could, no getting away this time fucker. He would be at the garage in a manner of minutes.

However, someone else beat Henry to his prey first. As Zak looks curiously at the empty mechs and robots, the sound of aching metal breaks way to reveal Unit-T and its glowing yellow streaks of eyes. It's first metallic foot steps into the room with a metal thunk as it faces the Angel. Indeed it was taller than the Angel, although not by much, averaging around at an imposing 8 feet tall (2.5 meters). Once it's eyes catches Zak's figure, it turns to face him dead on, opening its jaw as it reveals a deep metallic screech. With Henry coming his way and with the Control Room personnel having erected a plan, it looks like Zac is finally cornered... only that he has no idea whats coming his way...

In the vents, however, a skeleton was slinking through the vents, unknown to everyone else aside from Karizawa and his assistants in the Control Room. The skeleton knew exactly where to go, and he was just small enough to nimbly move through the ventilations and head towards the rendevous point where Zak, Unit-T, and Henry were all going to meet up. Fortunately for the skeleton, he was able to sit in clear view of Zak, who was currently blazing it. An easy catch,

Around Zak, a flurry of large vines surrounded the angel, trapping him and keeping him held down, preventing his escape. He was cornered, trapped, and he had pissed off not just two Machina warriors, but three.

And unfortunately for him, this one was competent.

Bonesword kicked the vent off and fell to the ground, holding up the Religious Cutlass to Zak and watching him closely for any signs of movement or resistance. He'd happily shove a blade in the neck of Zak if he tried to escape, and knowing how well the Shroomblade had worked on Demonic folks, the cutlass would definitely leave a mark, if not an instant death.

"Howdy."

Henry burst into the room soon after, eyes glowing bright silver as several chains erupted from his back and wrapped around Zak. "Sup." He stalked closer and closer, yet maintaining a healthy distance so Zak couldn't try anything stupid.

Bonesword decided that enough was enough, and while he would've preferred to capture Zak and keep him alive for interrogation purposes, death was just as effective of a way to silence the enemy. The vines that encased Zak began to squeeze tightly, constricting him more and more until the accented angel began to turn a mute shade of blue, his eyes swelling up into a pinkish color. As the head of Zak became more and more visible, Bonesword took his cutlass and for a moment he considered decapitating the angel and just being done with it, but at the last second Bonesword halted the blade. A large stump rose from the ground and lifed Zak right off of it, carrying him towards the exit as Bonesword turned to look at Henry.

"If you want, you can feed his legs to your hellhounds."

Henry moved aside as Zak was carried by, spitting on the angel and chuckling. Bonesword spoke up and Henry suddenly stopped laughing. "I don't need your permission to feed a worthless angel to my hounds." A moment passed and his scowl softened into a smirk. "But yeah, I think I'll do that."

---

The incident at TEP can be considered as a mild embarassment. Sure, the officials had only recently been assigned to an old, relatively outdated, werehouse that needs days if not weeks of retrofitting to accomodate all the fancy gear back into place, and yes was Zak eventually captured, but to have a random angel just find himself into the base is already hard to believe in the first place. Granted the way he found in was supposedly covered up by the previous inhabitor of the facility, but even that is simply laughable. Perhaps if Zak had attempted to invade the base a few days later, he would've been discovered much sooner by the remote satalities up in space. The comms array was only temporary to keep TEP connected before they can install the supercomputers deep inside the facility, safe from any environmental harms outside. Would they have captured Zak on their own without the help of Bonesword and Henry? Just with Unit-T on android mode? Perhaps, but the outcome wasn't certain.

As the two Machina Warriors escort the captured Angel into a proper prison chamber, Karizawa and the rest of the officials can finally relax for the time being. Of course, this only means one thing. They better get all of their gear inside the base quickly before another potential attack can be acted upon Hyperion as a whole in the future. This could've all been avoided if they had everything inside and operational. Already have they encountered two very bad days, with one being at the Foundry, and now this mess. They can't take anymore more of these inconveniences. Perhaps the Nexus will grant them better days in the future, but only time will surely tell...