"You will both be buried down here," Bonesword chuckled as he lowered his head to the ground once more, the body of vines moving to a malleable form as Charlie moved around the arena, causing a noisy distraction while Bonesword moved silently through the water, being able to see Khaine through his seismic movements while staying on his own. Charlie was causing a bit of interference, but sacrifices had to be made.

A few of the roots in the system underground sprouted up from the dirt as a couple of mineshrooms began to sprout above the ground in several random spots, seemingly systematic to a specific range of the teleportation of Khaine. He could easily dodge the mushrooms underneath the ground, but considering the water was so murky around the group, it was a risk factor of considerable proportions.

---

Charlie was thirsty for combat and was eager to get back into the swing of things. There wasn't a lot that he was commanded to do in the immediate moment aside from getting involved and being a distraction, so aside from both of those things Charlie was free reign to do whatever he desired.

What did he choose? The succulent taste of an ascendant, of course!

Charlie rushed over to Saef's location, the bulb glowing brightly on his back, and let out a mighty roar as the basil-isk lunged at Saef, aiming to devour the angelic human in one single bite. It wasn't the best-case scenario, but it was definitely one of the better cases.

Utada paused her journey to the castle as she noticed everyone stop fighting in favor of attacking the giant monster instead. While this would normally be cause for her to ignore them and let the monster die to the combined might of the Factions, things changed quickly as they were all swallowed by an inky darkness. Mere seconds later they were replaced by smaller copies of the giant monster, one of which was fleeing to the Angel's base camp. The other monsters began to attack one another, which meant a few things. Either they were all consuming each other in some strange attempt to become a supermonster or this was an illusion created by the original monster and those were just the same combatants. If it was indeed consuming each other to become a supermonster, she was screwed because she doesn't have the firepower to effectively take down something along those lines. If they were her comrades she could safely ignore them until they began to attack her, at which point it would be no different than a normal Faction battle.

Utada gauged where the original monster had last been and raised her assault rifle, firing a grenade housing millions of nanobots directly at where she believed it to be. If it hit the nanobots would quickly begin to consume the monster and eventually kill it hopefully. This grenade was normally meant to kill a small group of people quickly, she had no idea how it would work on a monster of that size.

---

Jubilee watched Cass get sucked into the hole with a bit of amusement, following soon after. She noticed how strong the vacuum was and sighed, it was gonna be one of those days huh. She covered herself in an orb of darkness once again and bounced off the tunnel walls over and over until she and Cass smashed through the other end. Sensing that she was no longer in danger of being splattered all over the walls Jubilee let the orb of darkness dissolve, groaning as she stretched out. Yup, that's gonna bruise no matter what.

While Cass was busy pulling herself back together from being splattered all over the wall, Jubilee was studying the floor. There were hints of a larger spell circle beneath all the dust and mud, which usually meant big magical stuff. She began sweeping away all the detritus with shadows from all across the room and studied the magic circle in close detail. It was all originating from the very center of the room, which had a small hole in it that could fit a sword. Perhaps a sword's hilt actually, it was a little too wide for just the blade. While Cass wanted to just ask one of the skeletons what was going on, Jubilee wanted to find out for herself.

She dredged up all knowledge she had of magic circles and rituals, which was quite extensive considering how she had gotten into the Nexus in the first place. Then she got as close to the floor as possible and tried to figure out what exactly this spell would do.

---

Damn was he good. Not only did he take out the left missile launcher, but he actually just got complimented by a fucking Vassal. He's gotten more compliments and thanks in the past week then he had in the past year with the Demons. Definitely made a good choice hanging out with the Machina. “Not bad. This model is starting to become obsolete,” Henry grinned as he floated in place. His grin quickly faded as he recognized the damage he had done was negligible at best. A construct of ice formed around the sparking and smoking missile launcher, Archorus breaking off a chunk of it to smash Titanica in the face with. And then the same construct began to stretch out to try and impale Henry.

"Fuck fuck fuck fuck-" Henry began to fly around again, this time dodging both missiles and this icy spear of death. With the missile output being cut in half he could easily shoot them out of the sky with just the Gates, but this icy spear seemed very intent on killing him. He would slice it apart every time it got close to him, but then it would just continue to grow at the same pace, splitting apart and shooting out to impale him. There were some real close calls, at one point he landed on the side of one of the larger spikes, only to jump off and continue his flight moments later as his feet began to froze and several pikes of ice arose to gut him.

Henry was starting to slow down, he couldn't do this forever. So instead he retreated to Titanica to refuel on heat, letting his armor heat up as he landed on her shoulder. "I really hope you have a plan, because I don't have any Vassal busting weapons!" He shouted as Titanica spun to smack Archorus in the head, tightly clinging on to her shoulder so he wasn't flung off.

The animate armor was more stubborn then Suparna wanted to give it credit for, her sword thrust through the visor to uselessly clatter against the metal at an angle ill suited to be torn free. That was the least of her concerns when the Lingering Sentiment seemed to decide it wanted both ladies kept close at hand, the cold metal crushing her against the breastplate with a threat of crippling injury should she continue to resist. She'd have spat in the polished visor had Diana not given her reason to pause and look back to see a flaming spear hurtling towards her immobilized body.

"Oh you have got to be kidding me." Suparna growled at the Dragon and her impending lance. Moving away was all well and good in theory, but to do so would leave Suparna sans a body anyway. "Sorry Diana, but I have a better idea. I may need to hitch a ride in you after this."

Twisting in the Lingering Sentiment's cold embrace Suparna shoved the stump of her severed arm through the visor and disgorged her carrion within, the humanoid shell deflating like a limp balloon against the armor. What poured inside condensed themselves into the Sentiment's arms and flooded the fingers, attempting to move the armor into turning its sword from Diana to itself and allow the incoming Dragon to hammer it home.

It seemed to work fine enough, this tactic employed by the maggot. The armor was much too focused on Diana's idioctic boasting of a hero to pay mind to the struggling girl in its grip. But oddly enough, the two worked in tandem, its vision-if living armor could be considered to have sight at all-being obscured by pale flesh and festering maggots. More confused than anything else, the armor's great blade was directed towards itself now. And not a moment too soon, the tip easily penetrating the breastplate with considerable force, Ascalon's flames emerging as the Lingering Sentiment stumbled back. The force behind the dragon girl's stab, coupled with its own sword, sent it reeling backwards, releasing Suparna.

Crashing among the snow, the empty armor made sickening crushing sounds among the fallout. Ice and mist were blanketed among the air and only when it settled were Diana and Suparana able to see the fruits of their labors. Much damage had been dealt to the armor's chest area, its own sword leaving behind a gaping hole that held only emptiness within, like a great maw from beyond. But despite there being a lack of anything from within, be it flesh or bone, it brought with it....something more. Diana would be unaffected, but Suparna would begin to hear whispers by mere eye contact with the beckoning hole. Voices and words from beyond, seeming to blend into the wind. Yet because Suparana had already entered the armor, be it by her crawling spawn, the effect would be much greater than anticipated.

For all of them would hear the voices now, the words that threatened to engulf their minds like the storm of snow engulfing both girls. Some would emit a screeching sound, a familiar sensation Suparna may recognize as screaming. Some were devoid of any movement at all; it was difficult to say if they had either perished or simply placed in trance by the voices gettting louder and louder. All of them would correlate back to Suparna herself, the voices of the armor and the noises of her spawn all blending into a cacophony of madness.

"Well, that was easier than I thought. Don't you think it, Suparna?" Diana said, wiping her brow off of some sweat that had formed there, despite the cold winds.

If all they had to do to defeat their foe was to put their lives on the line, that was well and good, but, "Where the hell did this guy even came from? This place is way too weird. We barely stepped out of the city and are already being targeted elite foes," Diana said as she approached the fallen armor.

The dragon girl placed a firm sole on the steel being's chest and tried to pull her weapon out of it while she wondered why Suparna was taking so much time to get out of there. "Did you hear something?" Was the only thing she could say before the snow storm around them got even fiercer.

"You gotta be kidding me, right?" Diana complained, before putting all of her strength to free her weapon, rolling on the ground, carried by the remaining momentum, as she achieved her objective.

A deep sense of gratification washed over Suparna as their mysterious assailant succumbed to their attacks and she could fall boneslessly to the snow as the armor crashed ahead of her. There was no meat to be stripped from this foe and it had cost them more then they could hope to gain- It wasn't like they would be looting a destroyed chest plate for their own arsenals- but regardless, it was exhilarating to have finally come out on top in a fight against a superior foe.

It was a terribly short loved sensation, and her eyes snapped wide in sudden terror from a hole she was both distant and flush against. Her heart leaped, lurched, and seemingly imploded into an infinitesimal speck swallowed by a yawning darkness that devoured the minds of the maggots inside the fallen armor. Stunned into several seconds of agonizing inaction, Suparna severed her connection to the lost carrion and felt the weight of despair loosen considerably. "-Gah!"

Her attempts to cry out a warning were strangled before parched lips and a dry throat, and trying to rise to her feet only left her lamely flopping on her back as the loss of her maggot swarm left her more feebled then the threat of a snapped spine could have. Whatever they had just struck was more threatening in defeat then it was before and it wasn't the sort that hitting would dispose of, her every surviving carrion screaming to run for their lives while it was still down. By some stroke of fortune she had left a good number of maggots in reserve, as the ones she'd ridden to approach the armor were still in the snow, creeping back to her against the driving slow with painful slowness. She could only hope they returned before the armor made another move.

It was good timing for Diana to wrench Ascalon when she did, for the hole in the armor's chest suddenly snapped closed where her boot had been. A moment sooner, and more problems may have arised. But it didn't seem like it would have mattered anyway because the armor was moving again. Its hole opening up like a pair of jaws wanting to consume, its body crawling forward like a corpse seeking new life. The armor extended its gauntlet forward, more of its chains bursting out to wrap around Suparna's ankle. As it approached closer, clawing its way through the snow, so too would Suparna be dragged as well. Its chest opened and closed like beaks eagerly awaiting snatched prey and the obvious was being made clear. It intended to be worn by the maggot at any cost.

Diana regained her balance and soon was able to see the abomination that the armor had turned into. A look of shock crept through her face, but was soon dismissed when Diana noticed that Suparna was in danger.

With a rare quickness of her feet, the dragon girl ran around the armor, slicing at the chains that held Suparna, hoping that it would free the... girl maggot? At least this sounded like a better term given Suparna's current condition but whatever...

Using her tail like a lever, to lift the armor from the ground, Diana tried to multiply her strength enough to at least throw the damn thing away from them, before she continued to help Suparna. "I don't know what's happening anymore, but, I guess that this is a good time for us to consider a strategic retreat. What do you say?" she asked her friend.

"Gu- Oh thank you so much!" Suparna finally croaked as Diana came to her rescue, her obliviousness to the armor's call leaving her actual capable of defending herself. Spurred on by the armor being rebuked, her separate mass rushed in and poured in through her severed arm and mouth in a display that, while grotesque for anyone else, was a welcome relief for Suparna. Replenished enough to get her feet beneath her, she kicked off the snow and threw herself against Diana with arms joined around her neck. "Now screw this walking. I don't care if an iceberg is in the sky, just turn into a dragon and fly us away!

The two girls did exactly that, flying away and leaving behind the flung away armor. Neither of them would be able to see the animated creature slowly repairing every dent and damage it had sustained in this little scuffle. Perhaps more surprising was in the way it began to phase out of sight, as if an enigma from the beyond.

Yes, this battle was getting ever more interesting the longer it was prolonged. Unfortunately, Archorus had only brought forward a testing model, one not even advanced in mainframe and capability. Thus, it was no real surprise for her to see the mecha starting to falter and fail in its battle against a fellow Vassal and a soldier of the Machina. Archorus watched all this through the machine’s optic sensors, taking in each movement with new splays of data earned.

Still, it was holding its own against a Vassal and that alone was a success in Archorus’ eyes. Even now the machine worked to best Titanica, directing punches and slams of its ice slab at her body when she crouched to block the blows. It would not let up in its onslaught, both against Titanica and against Henry, the ice spears eager to kill him on the spot.

As such, it was a testament of reflex and speed for Titanica to dash forward and grab at the machine’s side thrusters. Archorus watched intently as the great lizard placed all her strength into ripping the metal clean off, a tail whack jerking the mecha’s head sharply to the side. It was enough of a stunning distraction for the task to be done. The thrusters in Titanica’s hand sparked and malfunctioned, rocketing out of her grip and off somewhere in explosion.

“You think I don’t see through your ploy, Titanica? I have already calculated the results,” Archorus’ voice boomed from the mecha. So, she wanted to toss her down the mountain? The mech would be glad to do so, but only if it could bring with it some guests. Metal hands clamped to where Titanica’s neck should have been; as soon as they did so, a great sensation of chill would spread from every corner at an alarming rate.

Ice rising like a tide, the coming cold sought to fuse the machine and Titanica as one before throwing both down the side of the massive mountain. And just to ensure there would be no miracles, the ice forming on Titanica lurched fast to freeze Henry’s feet in place. Archorus was determined to bring them both down with the destruction of this failure mech.

@TheWindel, @floodtalon

---

The mech was beginning to falter as soon as Titanica ripped off Archorus' thrusters, jetting out straight from her hands as they flew in the air in circles before quickly exploding into burnt metal strips. Now the mech wouldn't be able to fly anywhere without plummeting thousands of feet down to the hard rugged ground below. Yet Henry didn't seem to notice the plan that the vassal had in mind, whether because of he being distracted by other dangers or the like. No matter though, she's going to end this conflict swiftly. Her spines begin to rapidly pulsate as she prepares to fire her atomic breath to push the mech off from a safe distance.

“You think I don’t see through your ploy, Titanica? I have already calculated the results,” Archorus suddenly booms from within the mech as she seems to catch her rival's plan.

And just before Titanica was able to fire, the Mech swiftly proceeded to clutch her neck, blocking off the kaiju's ability to fire. The beast grunts in surprise as she attempts to pry the cold metallic hands off from her neck, but it seemed too late, as a violent chill begin through her bones. A violent roar bursts from her maw as she attempts to swing the mech loose while clawing into her armored exterior or to find a sweet loose spot in which she's able to fire her breath straight into Archorus' face.

Yet struggle as she does, her rival suddenly pushes them off the mountain as they begin rapidly descending to the ground below. Archorus was no doubt attempting desperate suicide mission to take Titanica and Henry out in one go, all while sacrificing her body in order to accomplish this. It almost seems as if there's nothing that could be done in this instance as the ice continues to encapsulate them all into an icy tomb.

But Titanica wasn't going to let this happen on her watch. Her pent up atomic energy that can be seen glowing from within her her throat begins to dissipate as they travel right up to her spines. She proceeds to clutch into the mech into a violent bear-hug, stripping through the tough armored hull as she activates a powerful nuclear pulse. The force of that outburst would be more then enough to completely annihilate the mech, melting it's armored hull and becoming nothing more but scrap. This outburst would also be able to free Henry, but by that time they would be dangerously close to the ground...

Only to see a portal sucking them both in as they suddenly appear back into the sky and right back onto the top of the mountain. Thankfully, the portal was able to heavily mitigate the affects of the fall and Titanica crashes onto the ground on her own two feet. That was a close call... perhaps even too close. Still gaining her breath, the giant beast begins to shrink and transforms back into her human form. The battle has won in their favor...

If she can only receive her black wool as a prize for winning now... that would be great.

---

@KoL, @The 42nd Gecko, @thewizardguy, @floodtalon

---

Unit-T's blast seemed to have hit the creature... although unknowingly to her that beam would hit an ally of her's shrouded in the dark ooze. This darkness was something unlike anything Tina had ever encountered, acting as if the mech was covered in a gluey-like substance. Not only that, she can hear the gruesome cries of people, a whole city's worth, cry out in misery as if they were experiencing their doomsday. This was definitely going to make it much more difficult to traverse in and to find the monster effectively. Even her sonar begins to beep rapidly in various locations, as if it was stating the monster was all around her. What kind of substance is this anyways? She can only simply guess.

But as she traverses through the ooze, her sonar suddenly begins bleeping much more furiously, stating as if something was rapidly closing in on her. Not knowing where the creature is, she reacts to the dreaded news quickly by shutting off the Hyper Chest Cannon and activates all power to the thrusters, hoping that the creature wasn't above her. Yet she doesn't see anything else, not even the monster, from this mysterious oily ooze.

She begins to realize that all may not simply be as it seems. This must be affecting with her scanners and possibly her head as this clearly must be a trick deceived from whatever was ejecting this substance. One thing's for certain... she can't remain in this ooze or she'll be falling victim to whatever is lurking around. She continues to ascend as far as she can upwards in order to grasp the magnitude of the situation and to plan out her next moves.

---

@KoL, @The 42nd Gecko, @thewizardguy

---

The oily ooze begins to thicken and even the archangel began to feel its bizarre effects. Whatever this ooze is, it's meant to curse the minds of others and to disorient them into a state of chaos and woe. Regardless, Lucifus gets ahold of the situation and begins to light as far as he can by creating a ball of light from his hand. But even then it only provided minimal help to light what was in front of him, only revealing a bit farther of the sea bed. This monster can definitely use this to initiate a surprise ambush...

And that it seemingly did.

Lucifus suddenly notices large spiny tentacles burst from the darkness to capture the archangel. He wields his blades once more and attempts to slice the nearby appendages with quick strides. Next, immense jaws suddenly appear and with this Lucifus dodges to the left and attempts to wound the jaws' host by slashing across its jaw and towards where the rest of the head should be...

@thewizardguy@Gardevoiran



Apparently Saef had overestimated his ability to make turns sharp enough to avoid the previously demonstrated pinpoint teleportation of his Demonic opponent. Only his reflexive jerk to a giant sword appearing in his face turned what would have been a head on collision into a heavy but glancing blow. The energy field around him flared golden for a second and the energy bar on his HUD warbled as it dropped by a third.

An instant later his own blade was sweeping up, cleaving both the offending weapon and its companion in half. Sturdy and heat resistant they may be but nothing physical was going to stand up to an edge measured in individual photons. But of course that wasn't the end of it. No, the universe had apparently decided that it didn't like the Thaumaturge anymore. So it sent a giant plant...snake...thing, after him. Immediately joined by a school of those undersea monsters his men were facing. Each one doing its best impression of a self propelled aquatic weapon.

He didn't even think they had launched themselves. It almost looked like somebody had thrown them at him. Who throws troops as weapons, who?! Regardless this was not the place to be at the moment. Twisting his body Saef shot out of the way of the plantimal, putting its considerable bulk between himself and the oncoming terrors of the deep.

As he did so he took a quick scan of the battlefield. To say that things had changed would be an understatement. The black fog around the giant beast had grown and was still spilling forth monsters. In lieu of another likely perpetrator he was go going to blame the monster throwing on that. Because whyyyyyyy not. It was also closing in on the center of the city, which seemed a bit odd to him to say the least.

The battle elsewhere was what one normally got in clashes within the Nexus. The platoon of the 1st Mechanized below him were holding their ground but not much else. A misuse of resources to be sure, they wouldn't be of much use against the teleporting Demon and he wasn't sure he wanted to kill the other one at the moment.

"New orders platoon." He said over the formation channel. "Break out and head for the palace. Locate the throne room and slag any hostiles you find there. I'll stay back and give you cover from mister Blood and Fire over here." A round of choruses echoed back from squad leaders. Followed moments later as a series of explosions signalling the beginning of the maneuver.

Their Captain swept back around to the battle in the waters above. Still moving erratically, although at a somewhat slower pace and with more random changes in direction. Globes of light twinkled into life around him as he went. Like living constellations in the dark and cloudy water.

Henry saw what Titanica was doing at the last second, smirking as the thrusters exploded in the distance. "Alright bitch, we're taking you down!" Henry was already sorting out a contingent of swords to bombard Archorus with as she went down, just to make sure she couldn't grab onto the cliffside and drag herself back up. The portals began to form above Titanica when Archorus's steely voice rang out for one last chilling message.

“You think I don’t see through your ploy, Titanica? I have already calculated the results.” Suddenly she clamped onto Titanica's neck with both hands, nearly crushing Henry as he ducked the giant metal claw which sought to choke the life out of the colossal kaiju. Then they began to fall.

Ice clung onto Henry's legs and Titanica's neck as they rapidly fell to their imminent death, falling hundreds of feet every second. Henry attempted to pry his legs from Titanica's hide, but it was useless. The absolute zero of Archorus's ice had his legs stuck, no doubt about it. Ten seconds left until they splattered on the ground like that one angel Henry threw at mach speeds. 'This is gonna suck. With that thought in mind he clenched his teeth and swung his sword at his own legs, cutting through them like a hot knife through butter.

No time to scream, he was now in freefall and he needed to stop his descent. He flapped his wings as hard as he can and eventually stabilised himself in mid air, watching Titanica fall to the ground below holding onto the seemingly abandoned mech with a death grip. A pulse of something erupted from Titanica and Henry felt his bleeding stumps cauterize, along with several of his organs baking inside him. Now it was time to scream.

"AGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!" He was barely able to remain in the air after that, every single part of him hurt beyond belief. But remain in the air he did, his eyes glowing as he assessed and repaired the damage he had taken. The organs were first on the list, the legs were no longer bleeding so those would be last. He slowly began to ascend the mountain once more, seeing Titanica arrive before him via one of her portals and shrinking back down to human size. He collapsed onto the ground and coughed up some blood, spitting it out onto the snowy ground as he repaired his lungs.

Henry rolled onto his back and chuckled, for what reason he had absolutely no idea. "Five of you. I've survived five of you insane bitches." He kept laughing as he repaired his liver next, rolling back to his stomach and pushing himself off the ground, flying in midair as he observed Titanica. "I really hope you're not gonna try to kill me. I probably couldn't take you on when I'm at my best and I'm far from my best right now." Henry gestured at his missing legs and laughed a little harder, feeling his eyes straining as he finished working on all his internal organs. Henry reached to his left and a portal dropped a syringe of red liquid into his hand, a quick jab into his right thigh emptied all of it in one fell swoop.

This entire thing was going to Hell, and not in a good way. The attack was a success, but was soon interrupted by a barrage of giant monstrous squids. With a thought and a gesture Khaine floated around the attacks atop the spiked wheel he now used as a steed. Normally he'd be able to predict the patterns, but this damned flower smoke was blocking his vision. Hopefully whatever was attacking was having as much trouble aiming as Khaine was having trouble dodging. A glancing blow sent him flying several meters, but his sturdy construction saved him. It took a lot of force to damage his body, and as long as his heart remained intact, he'd be fine. Of course a direct hit would be unpleasant with the speed those things were going at, and Khaine had no intention of testing his defenses against such a blow.

With the power of the philosopher's stone Khaine opened a portal to an area near the ocean's surface. Stepping through he reappeared far above the battle, out of the lavender-scented smoke cloud and the barrage of monstrous creatures. It appeared that not only his area, but the entire city had been consumed by some kind of strange ink cloud. It prevented Khaine from pinpointing anyone else within the cloud, although he could see what looked like a massive shadowy sillhouette. Another giant monster? The snake from before? Maybe the stone giant he'd briefly seen during the battle, although it looked bigger than that. Regardless, it was clear that something serious was going on down there, and Khaine had no idea how to counter it. His fight with the angelic general would have to be put on hold for the moment while he tried to sort out this situation.

Thinking for a moment, Khaine focused his power on summoning more portals to hell. Not a frozen or boiling hell this time, but rather a dark and empty hell. Hell was a more varied place than most supposed, after all. The goal this time wasn't to freeze or boil the water, but rather to create several large whirlpools. Start draining water away into one of Hell's large empty caverns. Plenty of room down there. If the smoke was something physical, he might be able to drain it away, make his life easier. In addition the strong current would suck in any forces that got too close, regardless of what side they were on. While it was likely to affect his allies as much as it did his enemies, a demon would at least know their way around in Hell. It was risky, but at the very least it would provide a terrain advantage to any of his allies that got sucked in, and he could retrieve anyone who was on his side after the fact. A second risk was that he dumped the staff in Hell while he was busy, which was the reason he didn't want to use this strategy, but it was better than nothing.

Flashing red gates opened up in several locations spread through the city. Water immediately flowed through the large portals, forming swirling underwater whirlpools. Powerful currents would draw anything from magical sealife to treasures and soldiers into the literal abyss, where the monstrosities of Lenuria were sure to fit right in. Of course Khaine was completely unable to aim with this attack, but at least one of these vortexes would be placed near the monstrous shadow in the blackness.



The cowardly attacker had vanished, seemingly into nothingness! Then again, Antaeus couldn't see anything in this smoke. He threw a punch on the off chance that his attacker was in front of him, and hit nothing but water. Crying out in frustration Antaeus performed attacks in random directions, not being able to tell if he was completely surrounded, or all alone. Typical demonic trickery! The minions of Hell were too cowardly to face him head-on, so they tried to hide from him under the cover of this smoke? Despicable. But his moral high ground wasn't helping Antaeus actually find his enemies, so he was forced to shrink back down to his 10-meter standard size. No point in going full size when he didn't even know where or what the enemy was. This was maddening. However, despite his generally brutish approach, even Antaeus was not entirely devoid of subtlety. If his eyes and ears were fooled, then he might need to use his other senses. Reaching out, Antaeus made use of his connection to the earth, to the very rocks around him.

As a being born from earth, Antaeus was inextricably linked to stone and dirt. Such elements were his literal flesh and blood. It was the source of his power, and he was the fist through which that power was manifested. While rocks do not speak they can tell many stories to those who know how to listen. Small vibrations, tiny movements, indicative of larger movements. He could feel the roots of some kind of plant worming it's way through the ground, he could feel the vibrations from the movement of several large creatures. And in the background, the gentle rumbling hum of mother earth herself, the distant echo of tectonic friction. He would track down the beast through this, and then he would face it in combat. After all, none could hope to face Antaeus in a fair fight!

Having sent a tower through the portal to heaven, Cydone stayed close to the portal, watching the battlefield for any opportunities to jump in and help. But he didn't need Reality Check to know there was nothing he could do against Khaine, and the only other thing he could spot was the giant cloud of hurt your friendlies. Seeing the interaction of Khaine and said cloud, all Cydone could say was "What in tarnation?" Given his position near the portal, and the soon to close battle, it would be unlikely he would get anything more done.





Cass giggled in delight as her new friend told her about the room's purpose. "That's great! Thank you very much. Now, let's get you some more friends to help us defend this room, right? If there are any other defenses I could activate to help protect this room from intrusion, let me know while I'm working, kay? Even if the defenses are destroyed, I might be able to reactivate them." Cass set to work animating the other royal guards. Sure, any real threat could probably tear straight through them, but that was no reason not to have them. Useless minions were better than no minions!

@KoL@floodtalon

Bonesword felt Khaine disappear from the battlefield before he noticed the monsters overhead, seemingly ignorant of Bonesword's skull as they rained into the ground around him, shifting the terrain and, actually, pulling up a series of a human skeleton. Nice!

Well, the skeleton had most of it's body, anyway. There was a singular arm missing from it, but it was his right arm anyway, so it wasn't a massive deal. Bonesword was a lefty when he was born, and his left arm was more dominant than the right in most situations despite his ambidexterity.

It was then that a loud roar sounded above him, and a smirk washed over the bony face of Bonesword. "There it is."

Charlie issued a defeative grunt before rushing back to Bonesword and grabbing the skeleton, using his slithery body to begin to ride up towards the actual battle. A thick gash was along his back, but where the bulb once was had been displaced. Popped, even. What happened next was something good for Bonesword.

---

As if it was paper, a large version of the bulb on Charlie's back burst out of the undersea wall, spewing thick thorny balls towards the undersea life near Saef and, indirectly, Saef himself. The beast, known as Plantera, was here. Months of research by Bonesword went into the creation of the beast, and it would definitely prove useful in this battle.

The beast, focused on what attacked it at first, began to fire large seeds out of it's bulbous orifice towards the beasts below it in attempts to riddle the beasts and anything underneath with holes. Whether Vulcan Yew was involved was a paradox, but the seed bullets were definitely firing with speed, seemingly uncaring of the waters dynamics and properties.

This was absolute chaos. And not the useful kind either, but the sort where everything just sort of decided to blow up because it felt like it. There had been a couple days back in the labs that had been like that. Saef hadn't been a fan then and he wasn't a fan now.

It did present an opportunity however. The Demonic general had left and not in chase of the men and women of the 1st Mechanized. Bullet-like seeds were starting to fill the surrounding water but the onslaught did not appear to be aimed at him specifically. And while that other Demon had somehow revived himself he still wasn't attacking Saef. He was essentially free to once again focus on the actual objective of the battle.

The Thaumaturge turned and jetted directly for the large cloud of inky darkness and the golden light that shone within. The thing was obviously the local Power and entities of power collected objects of power as a matter of course. Or perhaps it was the object in question? Nobody seemed to know exactly what had happened in the fall of Lenuria. It was possible that the staff had become corrupted somehow and destroyed the city.

Hypothesis aside something capable of showing through that mist was worth checking out. If it was the staff he could grab it. If it was an ally he could help them out. If it was a giant glowing eye blasting it with a giant laser seemed prudent.

On went the armor clad wizard-knight, putting on ever greater speed even as he gathered power around himself. Holy magic emanated from him as a brilliant white aura. One particularly dim imp had a chance to show just how much power was in play, interposing itself between him and his goal and was immolated before it got within two feet.

Upon closer inspection his course was not a direct line for Lenuria's monster but rather towards a whirlpool that swirled between the two. Besides providing a very large and textbook example of the spellcraft involved in hell portals it was also fairly close to the monster in question. Saef probably could have avoided the vortex if he wanted to but still he kept on.

He did not, of course, dive right into the center to get sucked up into the depths of Hell. No instead he followed a carefully calculated course that sent him through the outer currents. Redirecting him the extra few degrees needed and sending the man shooting off like a flywheel. Coupled with the speed built up on his trip there Saef's total velocity upon arrival was impressive to say that least.

With a wordless shout the Thaumaturge released all of his accumulated light just before he entered the mist. Directing it in a giant beam right below the glimmer that he hoped was the staff. If all went according to plan his speed would allow him to zip in, grab the supposed object of power and be out again before anyone could stop him. At which point he could take off for the throne room and victory.

Over in said throne room a certain slimy necromancer wouldn't get much of a chance to reactivate any defences the palace once had. The whooshing of underwater quantum particles being ejected at high speeds gave the Demonic occupants of the room seconds to react before a good dozen flashbangs were tossed into the chamber. Each device detonated nine microcharges in rapid succession. Turning the room into a very loud and disorienting monochrome disco for several seconds.

Those who threw the weapons didn't even wait for them to finish, protected from the effects by their armor. Forty five soldiers of the First Heavenly Mechanized swept into the room and started pouring fire into anything that moved.

Cass' necromancy was sadly interrupted. The flashbangs didn't really do anything to her, her eyes being entirely for show as she was composed not of organs but of slime shaped to look like organs. But the lasers were significantly ouchier. "Screw this, I'm outta here!" She said, smashing through the floor. By the time she had drilled her way out with the Necrolimb's armor systems, enough lasers had hit her that she had went from threatening slime monster to fleeing child.

Still, small creepy children with bones sticking out in unusual places were an archetype of Necromancer, and as the first fireteam of Saef's men moved in to make sure the corpses were down for good after the barrage of lasers had hit them, Cass activated Corpse Explosion on them, causing all the dead in that room to explode violently with the force they had been attacked with, only demon styled. Alas, poor fireteam, we hardly knew ye.

Severely weakened, Cass decided to try summoning some hacking ghosts after she had took enough twists and turns she was sure even a guided rocket wouldn't be able to trace her path. But little did she know the angelic tech would likely defeat it easily, and that Saef was about to win before she got enough ghosts.

@TheWindel@KoL



Whether or not his giant and fairly tiring laser was enough to seriously damage the monster Saef wasn't sure. His speed combined with the thick mist prevented him from seeing much. What he did know was that he managed to grab the staff as he whooshed by. A sharp jolt running up his arm as the golden rod tore free from whatever had been holding it previously.

Bursting from the other side of the black cloud he turned and swept around towards the palace at the center of the city. Torpedoes exploded nearby and bolts of hissing flame boiled the water around him as he made a mad dash with his glowing cargo. Swimming above the battlefield like this didn't exactly provide much in the way of cover and moving down into the city would slow his progress considerably. So instead he covered himself in barriers and attempted to be as agile a target as possible.

Thankfully he had allies. Heaven's forces took advantage of the distraction and before long everyone was too busy fighting one another to shoot at him. Combined with the short trip his route had provided he arrived at his destination alive, if perhaps with far too much adrenaline running through his veins.

Not willing to relax while there was still a battle going on the young Captain hurried to where his men had secured the throne room and the magical circle within. Some damage had been done to the chamber during the short fight but hopefully nothing that would effect the magic circle. Apparently some sort of goopy, boney woman thing had burrowed out of the room in order to avoid death. One other Demoness had been present but the flashbangs had been much more effective on her. Apparently disorienting her enough to prevent any sort of major defense.

One hurried trip through the winding palace corridors later and Saef entered the throne room. He slowed his hurried swim as he arrived, looking over the chamber. The magical circle encompassing the floor was very impressive and definitely something that deserved study. After the battle. With a deliberate pace he swam to the center of the circle and carefully placed the staff in its receptacle.

The Battle of Lenuria had yielded some interesting results; it wouldn't be a stretch to say the Faction Leaders had predicted all possible outcomes to the conflict at hand. But none of them could have foreseen the appearance of an outsider. They had all witnessed the great snake emerge from Lenuria and escape into the open world of the Nexus. It would not have been call for concern had the creature been identifiable by either of the Faction Leaders. It wasn't, which made their puzzlement all the greater. Such as it were then, that a meeting between all three Factions had been called into place. And when the Imperator of Heaven opened her eyes, she found herself sitting upon one of the many, discarded thrones of their usual gathering grounds. Eos was already present and soon enough, Rufus would be too. Deva had not expected him to come alone but perhaps, given Team RILD's chaotic nature, that was for the best. "To what do I owe in calling forth this truce, Rufus," Deva spoke to the leader of Hell, assuming he was the one to call them together. Who else would be so brash and reckless?

"Nice to see you too, your high holiness. I had a real nice vacation, thanks for asking, by the way." Rufus replied from his throne, feet already resting on the table as he folded his hands across his lap. "Sooo...just not gonna mention Lenuria? Really? Guess not; had fun dealing with that newbie though. But I suppose I'll save the photo album for that another time. For once in my life I've called us together for something serious-"

The Former Sole King of Hell paused, looking about the room theatrically before resuming with a shrug. "Could have sworn that would summon the man upstairs. Anyhow, I'm certain you all noticed that between the people we tacitly call soldiers drowning the ocean, a rather large snake just happened to swim up from the depths. And since it clearly wasn't a Vassal unless Queen Toaster's wife went for a dip, it seemed only wise to call us all together for a chit chat."

"If you want to check with your own eyes, I can call her here," Eos retorted as soon as Rufus made his last quip. The High Queen was clearly in some sort of spoiled mood, if the frown in her face was any indication of it. Probably, whatever caused Eos to be that sour had something to do with a large present box that she teleported out of the room as soon as the three of them materialized there. Being interrupted during her activities had always been a pet peeve of the android.

"Either way, I too am aware of the unknown subject's presence. Just as much as any of you two. However, I don't see what is the reason to hold a meeting over this matter," Eos said as she analyzed their surroundings, to be sure whether or not Rufus was trying to trick them. "More importantly, don't you think that your Oligarchy should be more worried about managing your assets, instead of holding meeting like this? It is getting very tiring to deal with Demons seeking asylum every day," she added, probably out of spite.

While mention of Team RILD's antics was perhaps a better topic of discussion than some snake in the water, Deva was much too prideful to be openly poking at Rufus' joint leadership. Besides, there was something very evident in his words and the Imperator sighed. "You're attempting to lie to us Rufus. As one with Heaven, I see easily through your tricks and schemes. It's best not to claim ownership of actions you don't do lest you annoy the real perpetrator," Deva said, feeling this was a waste of her time. "Besides, we know this isn't a Vassal. What threat does it hold to us then?"

Her answer was given in the form of loud snickering, the likes of which drew her gaze upwards. Oh. Of course. Deva was dully suprised at Harley's form among them, rather likening herself to a queen among rulers with her taking seat in one of the thrones above them. "Why am I not surprised. Was it you Harley who ripped us out of our busy schedules with one of your pranks?"

"Oh I'm not the one you should be pandering to, Angel," the monochrome Vassal said, all smirks and narrow-eyed. "He is."

"It pains me greatly to hear you sweep aside my summonings so easily, old friend." Whatever misgivings Deva may have had at that point were dashed aside with real shock, gaze looking past Harley. Indeed, the masked man of their reckonings was there. Like a ghost among shadows he was barely seen in the low light but that would change soon enough. Even so, the Jester did not emit the emotion his words implied and he stared down at the leaders in unreadable fashion. Harley took extreme relish in savoring all three of their expressions, her snickers never missing a beat.

A jolt shot down Rufus' spine and his head lurched back to crack painfully against the throne as his petty ruse was eviscerated by the appearance of both the Jester and that maniac at his side. A sure fire way to ruin all his fun and make him regret not wearing his brown pants that day. "Che, couldn't keep the gag up forever. I'll just be happy they didn't decide to summon my compatriots. Something tells me this meeting would dissolve into flaying Ira and Lucille for getting a bit...rambunctious. Alas, it is my lot to suffer, being the most sensible man in Hell."

Dragging a hand down his face in grandiose fashion, he turned from the Man Upstairs to Deva, finding his composure easier to maintain that way. "But you see, if this creature wasn't of note, the actually important people wouldn't be about to rake our asses over the coals, now would they?"

"Thank you for stating the obvious," Eos replied to Rufus' more than unnecessary comment. "I'll be sure to name the next version of the Machina debug programs in memory of your contributions to the Nexus' society."

The android regarded Harley and the Jester with nonchalant indifference, showing her usual stoic face to both. It was one of her advantages over the far too expressive 'King of Hell' or the runner up for the title of less expressive being in existence, following right behind a certain Eel, that was the nominal leader of Heaven. Eos being a machine didn't really need to show any kind of emotion if she didn't need to, which —with the help of people from her past— made the High Queen's true persona into a deadpan snarker. The fact that she kept this side of her sealed for so long, thanks to the slog known as living in the Nexus, was actually a miracle. One that no one other than Roma helped to revert not a long while ago.

"I assume this does not have to do with our performance this time. Am I right?" Eos asked as soon as it became evident that they weren't here to be 'reprimanded'... yet.

"Oh I like that one," Harley said, mismatched eyes zeroing in on the High Queen. "Full of spunk and defiance. I wonder if it's from the people she hangs around. Maybe that wife of yours should be rethinking her life choices." It was only by the fact her Master was here that she didn't tear the uppidity android apart; and she had plenty of reason to do so. "Well, I'd love to stick around and see you three morons get chewed out but I have to be going now. I've got some lesbians I need to make into CORPSES," the Vassal said manically, phasing out of sight and out of mind to some far corner of the Nexus.

Her seat was soon enough occupied by the Jester of the Court and he looked down at his followers with unknown intent. "This latest excursion has been interesting," he said, referring to the current status of the Nexus. "And yet, there is nothing substantial to be said of your progress. There are those among the Court who lack faith in this experiment, those who would feel you are all better off being erased. No one would miss you." The masked man took time to flick his eyes from one leader to the next. "That is why I'm...accelerating the process. The creature you witnessed was no Vassal, but the awakened servant of another. One that speaks from the stars themselves. I intend to gauge the mantle of this latest batch of experiments through the Snake of Entropy. No...it's more akin to say, I'll throw Apophis at you."

Rufus did a remarkable job resisting the urge to roll his eyes. A Healthy respect for the Man Upstairs? Sure. Casual disregard for everyone else? Totally. But one can only be threatened with the termination of their existence so many times before the words got rather dull. That, and Deva lead credence to this being a fate far from terminal. "Can't say I'm too impressed with the progress, but at least one demon is recieving personal tutelage from a powerful Vassal. That should produce a powerful Demon worth note in the future, regardless the Faction he's with. Personally I always knew he was destined for greatness, spotted him early and even stopped at his castle to tell him how much I appreciated him."

And nearly killing Henry's dogs, but that was neither here nor there. The only animal he was concerned with was the great big snake that now had a name. "Sooo, what's an Apophis? I didn't think the Egyptian's were on par with us, so must be something else, right?"

"I see. This must be related to The Alchemist's direct attempts at influencing Your experiment. She has been far more active than usual. I was right in assuming that You had something in mind," Eos stated in a matter of fact way. Because the Court's 'scientist' was aligned with the Machina, the High Queen had a far better insight on the world's internal workings than someone like Rufus. That said, the fact that their enforcer actually mingled with the Angels, made it hard to get the full picture. She could only extrapolate so much based on their movements.

"I see that you Demons really like taking everything as easy as possible, huh? If nothing else, your kind should know more about that Snake than Us. Well, if I had not been there when she was unleashed before, that is." In fact, among those here and now, Eos was the second one with the most knowledge about the terror known as Apophis. The android saw with her very eyes what the Snake could do was was none too pleased with the prospect of having to face a phantasm of her past, especially since she couldn't count on the help of Volunta this time around.

"If you seek answers, perhaps you should ask your ally among the Machina," the Jester said to Rufus, directing his gaze to Eos. "If I recall, you've once made contact with the great serpent, machine. Within a failed world doomed to be lost into memory. As for the Empress' assistant, both her and her Master have taken a certain liking to this territory." Well then, that seemed to be their next course of action at the moment. None of them needed to ask how to approach this problem, for they would receive the guidance of figuring it out for themselves as a result. Still, the Imperator had been silent for long enough and finally dared to raise one question.

"With all due respect...why not let the Vassals we have on hand to deal with this threat? If Apophis is not among us quite yet, they should be able to deal with her before the Nexus is put in danger."

"You think so, hmm? I assure you Imperator, that my Vassals are not devices for which to use in cleaning up your messes," the Jester replied, turning his masked visage at her. The Imperator had no response to this and it brought some hint of amusement to the Jester. "Besides old friend, you should be grateful. For which Apophis' return to the Nexus, you all will prove to me the success of this latest batch of test subjects. Through this conflict, old relics may indeed be recovered." The Imperator raised an eye at this before the Jester continued with, "This next battle among my Nexus will be handled in a place you know all too well, Imperator. The deserts of Exilia."

Deep in the snowy tundras of Valhalla, another development was arising. Having found a dragon stone among the corpse of their first enemy, both Diana and Suparna were well on their way to obtaining more power for themselves. Granted, it had taken time for the maggots to spit out the swallowed jewel but it had been well worth it for giving Ascalon another element to utilize. Soaring through the skies meant a better view of the land and to their chargin, Diana and Suparana could spot a massive castle of old spiring right below them. In no time they had landed to the ground and entered inside the ancient building's interior.

"Well, that's what I call a cold reception." Those were the first words to leave Diana's lips as soon as they entered the old stone fortress. Despite her light build, at least in her human form, Diana's footsteps echoed through the main hall, thanks to her greaves.

It seemed like the place had been built specifically to become an old, derelict dungeon, by the way it looked: old tapestries, armor sets, statues and candelabra of all sorts, positioned in the perfect way to entice one's curiosity. However, Diana wouldn't fall for such obvious trappings. They were here for the big loot, other things could come around later.

"If I was a pile of treasure, where would I be hiding myself?" Diana thought out loud while taking the time to take a better look at the Dragon Stone they found. "Do you have any guess, Suparna?" she added with a huge grin in her lips as she seemed to sniff around, like a tracking hound, for whatever purpose.

"What did you expect? A red carpet? This is at least less hostile then anything else in Valhalla. Not a Rufus-level mind fuck to be seen here." Suparna opined with a whistle, flexing her one good arm as she walked about with her gaze idly wavering over the castle grounds. No trippy acolytes of Marianne, killer elephants, or animate armor was a good thing in Suparna's mind. "If I were treasure, I'd be where the yummy smells are. Either a guard beast or an inhabitant can point us in the direction once we ask nicely."

She waved her sword to add emphasis to the 'Nicely' bit.

"I think I know a guy."

The voice could be defined by the smirk its owner was splaying, coming directly behind Suparna. With no concept of personal space, Harley had emerged from whatever void of existence she sporadically comes out of to look down at the two girls. "Oh no, it's Harley....that's what you're both thinking, right?"

"Hey it's you, the one that is always with that Match Head," Diana exclaimed as soon as Harley pop into existence close to them. She had so many 'surprises' today that it was starting to get hard to draw the energy for comical overreactions, so Diana decided to simply address the obvious.

Nevertheless, a small look of disappointment replaced the grin she had in her face before Harley arrived. This untimely interrupting had cut her chance to show off one of her draconic perks to Suparna. After all, what was the use of being able to smell treasure when someone just popped out of nowhere to give it to them?

Diana's attempts to boast went right over her head, and apparently Harley's as well. Suparna jumped with a start and felt her head press against the monochrome woman's buxom before she managed to right herself and deflate under the realization of who had popped up.

"You got it in one, Cheshire." She blurted out, not dignifying the vassal with turning around and feigning terror at being confronted by such a terrifying being beyond their power. It got old after the second time in an hour. "I don't see what's so important about us a great Vassal would pop in, but we'll bite. What'cha selling?"

"Well, maybe one of you isn't worth my time...but one of you just might be," Harley said in snickers, eyeing the back of Suparna's head. It amused her to see the other girl try to be brave in her presence, but she could drink a mountain's worth from the wariness she was feeling through the maggot. "Ah, it hurts to see you act so cold to me Suparna," she said, sneaking a little pat onto the shorter girl's head before sweeping her mismatched gaze on them both. "I can't congratulate you after your long journey here? You already beat the boss so why not collect your prizes."

The Vassal made a swoop of her arm, still smirking as the room changed before them. It was a minor difference, but big enough where Diana and Suparna could make out their new features. Two rows of what looked to be coffins surrounded them, six on either side. Their lids were glass, allowing their contents to be viewed; and what they would find were twelve warriors in all, either sleeping or perhaps even dead. Twelve bodies. "Well? I thought you'd enjoy my present for you," Harley said, directly looking at Suparna now.

"Nah, it's not like I'm of any importance here. I didn't even came for the treasure, I just wanted to spend a little time with a friend," Diana said in a self deprecating way as she looked at the shifting scenery. "Less even if this treasure is just a bunch of corpses. That's not the kind of thing I have any use for," she added while taking the time to walk towards one of the coffins and clearing some frost that gathered on it to get a better look inside.

"Who are these guys anyway?" Diana asked, not quite able to keep her curiosity in check. "That is, if you don't mind me asking."

"Just some warriors I felt deserved special praise. Oh, they're long gone now. But who knows what you could do with corpses like these," Harley answered, lingering her gaze on the dragon girl. "I might have something for you after all, Lava Breath...."

The levels of cheese induced a flippant eye roll in the maggot girl, and she ultimately caved under the head pat and turned around to glare at the Vassal who was so easily amused by the two of them. "Could you tone down the animosity?"

It eluded her as to why a Vassal she had never met before would be so disdainful of Diana yet lavish Suparna with a gift of...coffins, but Suparna would be feeling rather upset with herself if she didn't make some gesture of defending her rescuing dragon girl. Though putting her ill-ease aside she had to admit these were exactly the sorts of treasures she had been looking for when she came to Valhalla, and they lacked the grievous wounds of combat she would have expected to be required to take down warriors worth using as bodies. Mirroring Diana she approached another and peered into the glass, noting the presence of horns and a scent wafting out reminiscent of Diana. "Are these...dragons? How generous."

"Oh, you could recognize them already? My, my, you're rather good," Harley praised, smirk shifting as her customers checked out their goods. "Well, I suppose I had to give you what you really wanted. You did pass the time for me with your little spectacle with the Gestalt." Eyes gleaming, Harley splayed out her arms in beholden to the corpses, mocking a showman catering the best they had to offer in the production line. "Well ladies. Which poor soul will it be."