---

It seemed the large knight was indeed someone to keep an eye on in some capacity, since he was the first of the group to speak, and directly to Gabriel no less. He folded his arm behind his back, keeping his fist clenched. There wasn't any need to let the Akuma go to waste, especially since Gabriel hadn't sensed anyone besides this group in the surrounding area.

"I appreciate your openness, Sir Driscoll, but I hope you can understand why I'm not so quick as to trust you. Any of us gathered here could be behind out mutual abduction after all. Although, I'm not so paranoid that I wouldn't introduce myself. You may call me Shadow Moth." He stamped the ground with his cane as if making a point.

Another large man in armor, much more ostentatious than the Forever Knight's, addressed the group. Shadow Moth looked up to the sky, searching for something that just wasn't there. "I'm sorry to say that this isn't the doing of anything I'm aware of. I can't reach any akumas, and there wasn't anything in the tome that could achieve this. Unless this is the Fox Miraculous, but that's..." Shadow Moth muttered and trailed off during that last part, lost in his own thoughts. "No, no, this level of illusion would be too much for the brats she employs..." He seemed to catch himself, looking back up to the group. "Regardless of the why, it seems as if we're all in the middle of nowhere, wherever we are. It might be best for us to search for civilization, a shelter, any others that are out here. The culprit may be among them."

---

Cyrus remained silent initially. While he was not one to shy away from making himself known, there was much confusion among those who had arrived. One large man with red hair even shouted a bit of frustration in being displaced to this seemingly endless plane of grass. He observed as each new entity was fully exposed from the light. No doubt each would have one reaction or another. Each new entity was further evidence that not only was this not the universe he intended to create, but it was none of theirs either. The demonic dog, Houndoom, just forward of him remained ready to attack at a moments notice, only snarling when others started conversing.

Cyrus had never heard of the Forever Knights. They might have been part of another region, but Cyrus didn’t spend much more thought on it. He held out his hand, the fiery beast calming, the air around him cooling significantly. It brought its legs together and shook its body to help loosen the once tense muscles. This respite was short lived as it took a defensive stance as heavy steps shook the ground. Another suit of armor had walked by and stood before the group of different individuals. The man’s suit was unlike that of the supposed Forever King, Driscoll. It was more ornate and bulky. It was something that no human would have been able to move on their own. He was an imposing figure, but his speech was calm and almost reassuring. With how he presented himself, it didn’t seem likely for this man to have any enemies capable of doing anything significant to him.

Houndoom calmed once again as Cyrus took a couple steps forward. The one who first spoke up called himself Shadow Moth. An odd name to be sure but ultimately not important. Cyrus held his arms together behind his back, feet firmly pressed into the grass below.

“You may call me Cyrus. I am the leader of Team Galactic. Much like yourself, Sir Driscoll, there is no meaning in that name I am sure.” Cyrus gestured towards Driscoll with his right arm, looking him directly in the eye, “By means you would not comprehend, I sought the existence of a new world. This is not that world. I can assure you I have had no part. I am unsure of what this place is. Be that as it may, Shadow Moth’s suggestion is not an unreasonable one.”

Cyrus lowered his arm to his side. A small breeze brushed by rippling the grass in long sweeping waves. It really was empty plane for miles around. Perfectly flat, it seemed artificial. Yet the smell of the grass, the touch of the wind, and the texture of the dirt below felt real. If it were not for the others in the same position as he, Cyrus would have considered this the first step in the creation of his new world. Unfortunately, this was not. Given how imposing some of the others were presented, now was not the time to begin again. But assuredly, Cyrus was going to begin again.

Location(s): Paradox Engine, Simulated Universe #1 (Open Fields, Current Simulation: Unknown)
Mentions: Driscoll @Mintz, Cyrus @Randomness, Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame, Ganon @ActRaiserTheReturned, and Horus @Dead Cruiser.

---

---

Bonesaw's cherubic smile widened fractionally, as she finished her inventory check and set to observing the potential competition in this little pow-wow.

First came the man with greying hair, the old-timer looking like he hadn't smiled in years, but Bonesaw knew she could fix that up right-quick with a little song and some elbow grease. "Love bug, love hug~," she sing-songed the tune of her favorite show, giggling under her breath. A moment later, her baby-blue eyes snapped to the immediately brandished Tinkertech ball that made her head buzz with excitement. The activation got her attention even more, as some form of spacial or dimensional manipulation was put on display... before the creature that came out of it almost stole her breath away.

A horned devil in the shape of a dog, or was it the reverse? Either way, it was only the little blonde's manual control of her facial muscles that prevented the longing from shining through her gaze. Ash-black fur accompanied a spaded tail (she squealed internally) alongside a fiery-orange snout and underbelly. Bones or some other manner of calcium formation protruded prominently in a protective manner around the ankles and along the spine. Even from here, she could feel warm air drifting over, the air subtly distorting from the heat in a manner only those with enhanced vision might pick up this close. Drifting on that breeze also, her enhanced olfactory facilities detected a pungent scent, familiar and different all the same, the acrid scent of poison. It was... It's... just...

So cute I could chop it right up~! The little blonde's eyes glimmered with interest, as she reluctantly tore her gaze away from the perfect little death puppy mascot she'd never known she wanted till she'd seen it. Her attention instead shifted to the funny man in the snappy suit, who looked one step away from going full Bond-villain.

His self-directed monologuing did little to dispel that image, and Bonesaw giggled at the adorable amount of fluster on display, the man clearly out of his element. A little thrill of additional amusement ran through her, as the silly little man finally realized he wasn't alone and tried to regather some semblance of his tattered composure and reputation. Baby-blue eyes flickering around towards her fellow abductees, Bonesaw grinned at the seemingly prevailing sentiment of bemusement and dismissal. For her part, she wasn't about to underestimate him so quickly. Silly and simple costumes were often silly because the person wearing them was powerful enough to get away with it.

Case and point, Bonesaw, herself, who to any unsuspecting victim might as well be a cherubic little personification of Alice from Wonderland. Her neat little apron, darling blue dress and immaculate golden curls belied the devilish creature wearing them. Jack Slash went around using a silly name because he thought it would be funny to make people fear something so benign, all while wearing simple pants and dress shirts, like your everyday working father out for a stroll with his darling daughter... her!

Point being: she'd keep a stern eye out for opportunities here! Jack had taught her well, and if Suit Guy got ostracized by the others, well... Surely, he wouldn't mind a little company now and again... and a couple innocent questions. People like him sure liked to complain a lot, and it sounded like he had some interesting stories to tell... what with apparent time travel and all... In fact, at his question, she decided she might as well start now! Rocking on her heels playfully with her hands clasped behind her back, Bonesaw cooed out in her girlish, high voice, "Nnnope~! Well~, there was this silly lady with a fedora that I might have got on the bad side of..." She pondering in half-serious thought. "She wore a real nice suit too! Oh, not as nice as yours, Mister Suit Man, but it didn't look cheap!" she chirped.

"Hmmm?" The little girl's ears twitched at a familiar whine of protesting motors, as the armored Tinker finally straightened up to his full height. There was a rumble as an even bigger Tinker appeared some ways behind the first, but he wasn't her focus presently. Ever the opportunist, Bonesaw's baby-blue eyes briefly zeroed-in on the burn damage and a very distinctive crack across the otherwise unscathed helmet of the first Tinker's gunmetal-grey suit, a spot of damage she'd been unable to glimpse before he'd turned fully to glance over the rest of them. She grinned widely and waved. It seemed if it came down to it that her poison clouds were back on the menu!

The smaller Tinker dusted himself off then and then began rallying the troops! As she listened to him talk, Bonesaw's grin only continued to widen. That sly dog! First, he claimed kinship with their troubles, which even seemed true! Then, he made a neat but obvious observation that made him look more composed and attempted to subtly sever them all from their prior goals and ties, priming the table for an initial leadership play... which he took! His suggestion to introduce themselves was the first step. On one level, it might seem like just good manners that a Good Girl like her could always appreciate, but to the savvy, it also established him as the one leading the charge. And anyone who complied was following his suggestion and one step down from following another... and another... and then one more... and then all of them to come~! Oh, and then that stern little "Sir" and bow at the end was just a delight; he was goooood~!

Some people, however, were much less polite! And both of them were gingers! Coincidence? Bonesaw thought not! All things considered seriously, they might have arrived too late to hear Mr. Driscoll's wonderful speech, but there was such a thing as basic manners! The pretty green lady was ignoring them altogether, but her abrupt display of chlorokinesis...? Oh, that was just fascinating enough for Bonesaw to forgive her the slight for now. On the other hand, however, there was the big man with the sword! So rude!

"Hey!" Bonesaw piped up sharply, hands on her hips and a small indignant frown on her lips for once. "Don't swear, Mister! That's quite unnecessary!" She puffed out her cheeks, prepared to give him a proper what-for, when she felt a series of vibrations rumble through her feet.

Turning her attention away from the Rude Hairy Man, Bonesaw blinked owlishly at the titanic armored Tinker finally plodding his way over, his every footstep laying waste to the greenery that opposed it. To her discerning eye, his armor, gothic and bulky as it was, almost seemed overengineered, such was its size! Then again, unless she got around to digging inside it, she perhaps could better assume for her peace of mind that most of that bulk was actually protective and not the machinery required to move it, which would theoretically somewhat compensate for the size and unwieldiness of the whole thing. On a lesser but still important note, Bonesaw couldn't help but appreciate the lingering splatter of gore from the blood of this person's enemies that still littered the suit's frame, as his unclawed appendage rose to remove his helmet, revealing a fair poker face. The voice that issued forth from the man was delightfully fitting for a being his size, the kind she could practically feel rumbling in her chest, as he made some interesting claims. Only time would tell if that boasting would hold up, she decided, nodding amiably. "Wonderful to meet you, Mister Lupercal!" she chirped, almost feeling like she had to speak louder to reach the big guy properly! "Sorry to say, I don't have an answer for you!" She pouted briefly, putting her hands on her hips. "The meanies dumped me here while I was sleeping! Imagine that! Does it get any ruder?"

The Snazzy Suit Man finally spoke up again, introducing himself as just Shadow Moth, which looked like it meant he was actually intending to try and keep his secret identity intact during this whole shindig! Bonesaw's cheeks were practically hurting from how hard she was smiling at his naivete. So cute! So nervous~! She giggled aloud at his talk of illusions however, before politely clearing her throat. "Don't worry about this being a trick, Mister Shadow Moth! If there were any mind control going on, my berserker mode would be going off, and I promise we'd all have much worse things to worry about." Honestly, how polite could he be, giving her the perfect segue to mention one of her most important defenses? Normally, it was the sort of thing that one should keep as a trump card, but she didn't particularly want to kill anyone here yet, except for that Cursing Redhead. The last thing any of them needed was her berserker mode dropping plagues and poisons on everyone before she'd had a chance to semi-immunize her favorites. Meanwhile, Mr. Shadow Moth's suggestion to get to searching for civilization immediately got an enthusiastic nod of agreement from her. The early bird catches the worm and all that~, and she really needed to get to work reacquiring her best equipment. "Sounds like a plan to me, Mr. Shadow Moth! I am a bit inconveniently strapped for supplies!"

The old man with the bestest mascot ever finally took his own turn to introduce himself as Cyrus of Team Galactic! Fancy! What a big name... and bigger claims! Creating a universe? My, he certainly didn't think small, that was for sure! "Wowee~!" the little blonde piped up. "We sure have got a lot of big-shots, huh!" Grinning, she pressed her lips together in a small smile. "Well, you all sure sound important anyway! I'm not really a leader of anything, so I feel a little left out!" She hummed, before snapping her fingers and grinning. "Oh, I guess it's my turn now?"

Giggling aloud, Bonesaw's hands drew forward to take up the edges of her blue dress, as she gave a neat little curtsy, meeting their courtesy in kind. "A pleasure to meet you, Mister Driscoll Sir, and the rest of you as well! What wonderful manners you have!" she bubbled with a winning grin. "My name is Riley Grace Davis! It's true, I haven't heard of any of you, unfortunately, but, admittedly, I also go by a name you probably don't know!" She smiled brightly, thrilled by the novelty of meeting a group of people who might actually not know her! "If we're going to be playing together, then proper introductions are in order." Her smile was broad and pearly-white. "Hi, I'm Bonesaw, of the Slaughterhouse Nine!" What a polite and respectably devious person that Driscoll was; honestly, it was only right she respond the way a Good Girl should!

Location: Paradox Engine, Simulated Universe #1 (Open Fields, Current Simulation:...?)

Mentions: Bonesaw @Lewascan2, Cyrus @Randomness, Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame, Horus @Dead Cruiser, Ganondorf @ActRaiserTheReturned

---

---

Driscoll found, to his silent shock, that he had to cast his gaze towards the skies to see the latest arrival face-to-face. A true tower of a man, clad in bulkish, unwieldly-looking armor as he placed the head of his giant mace to the verdant ground beneath. A show of peace....If not also a quiet threat.

However, the Forever King found himself even more taken aback as he spoke a piece of Latin. Unexpected. 'Hail the Emperor, mm? Intriguing...' He mused to himself mentally as the beast of a man continued, claiming himself to be a Warmaster of the Imperium of Mankind. Yet again, more empty words, though the context behind them brought a small smile to Driscoll's face. Perhaps this individual's ideals were not so far off from the Forever Knights themselves...

The conversation was continued as the dapperly-dressed man spoke up once more, addressing Driscoll. He spoke of his concerns, and a lack of trust, before he began to mutter to himself once more. A man more used to solitude, if the King was to hazard a guess. Once would have been nothing, but twice is a pattern...Still, the man, who he could now refer to by a name, rounded back to the conversation and spoke of finding civilization.

"Mm...On that we agree, Shadow Moth. Trust is a harshly-earned commodity in any world. As for my openness, well..." Through the mere tone of his voice following this, you could feel the smug smile behind his helmet. "A true ruler has nothing to hide." Another show of authority from the Forever King, parading what some might see as vulnerability as mere grandstanding. Still, he nodded dutifully to the last remark of his new secretive acquaintance. "That sounds wise. Granted, this land seems devoid of much else than the grass beneath our feet. Something of this feels...Unnatural."

The gaunt-looking fellow finally spoke up, seeming to signal his attack dog off. Good. His talk of Team Galactic left Driscoll continually more perplexed. If there was another group even half as large as the Forever Knights, Driscoll would have known of them. And yet...Nothing. Between that and the Imperium of Mankind, another strange pattern began to reveal itself. Nothing between these individuals seemed to match the other. Stranger and stranger still....

"Well met, Cyrus. It is true; I have never heard tell of such an organization. Most peculiar..." Beneath the visor, however, Cyrus' claim of something he would not understand irked him, though perhaps irrationally so. Was this man suggesting something of his intellect? Or was it another case of that strange pattern, such as the both of them being unfamiliar with the other's team? In the end, he decided not to press it; this was not the situation to make enemies. Not yet. "...I will take your word on that. You possess quite lofty goals, I must say. My respect." He gave a curt nod to him, in truth finding them to be as he said. Not entirely dissimilar to Driscoll's intentions, though he suspects for much different reasons. Perhaps a middle ground could be met...

It was then that, finally, the Forever King's attention was taken back to the odd child who regarded the group, most particularly Shadow Moth, and spoke of what might have brought her here before briefly turning her attention to Driscoll himself with a smile and a wave. Something about her eyes, though...He had seen many a battle against innumerous beasts, extraterrestrials and otherwise monstrosities, and her eyes....Held a certain predatory quality to them. Disconcerting, to be certain...

His mind was taken away from this when the young one's gaze was taken away to some other individuals; both ginger, though vastly different beyond that regard. She spoke to the swarthy-looking one with the blade, reprimanding him for...Swearing? Truth be told, Driscoll couldn't repress a small, but honest, laugh. How amusing. "Yes. Can't you see we have a young lady in our midst? It would serve you well to remember your manners." At first, it seemed like Driscoll was merely humoring the little girl, but this too was a sneaky plot to leadership, effectively telling this newcomer that he ought to know his place, without outwardly doing so.

The moment snapped back to Bonesaw once she had finished greeting the new arrival, Horus, and spoke once more to Shadow Moth, though her words did not bring laughter to the aged knight this time. Something of how she spoke so casually of something called a 'berserk mode' played into what he had seen of her gaze before. Yes, this child was more than meets the eye. Interesting...If not concerning.

Then she finally got around to her introduction; little Riley Grace Davis, otherwise known as...Bonesaw of the Slaughterhouse Nine? Questions bubbled to the foremost part of the Forever King's mind, but something told him he likely wouldn't appreciate any answer he could receive. But, at the least, he could appreciate her manners.

"You are quite the polite girl, young Riley. Your parents ought to be proud. Certainly better manners than an unruly teenager I know..." His last sentence held a vicious edge to it, clearly bitter just thinking about whoever he may be referring to. "Well then, beyond those two, Driscoll gave a brief wave of his hand to the two redheads, practically dismissing them already. "we are now more knowledgeable than we were prior, and that is worth something. I...Am loathe to admit it, due to the scarce prospects of such an idea, but it seems sir Shadow Moth's idea would be for the best."

---

---

Simulation Proceeding: Test variant 1T, Techadon Invasion. Calculating odds of universe survival....01.38%. Disconnected from the clamoring of those wicked few, something was brought back online after so many years of inactivity. Or had it only been seconds? In the Paradox Engine, such concepts as time meant precious little, even less so to the intelligence tasked with running the myriad simulations across the Testing Grounds.

....Unlikely scenario detected. Multiple Class-A Villains present in universe. Recalculating Simulation. Universe survival now stands at....

---

---

Driscoll barely had the time to recognize what was approaching in spite of the clear skies. Out of seemingly nowhere, he bore witness to two objects hurtling down towards the surface of the plains at incredible speeds, gathering heat and force by the second. Instinct took over; not that of the Knights, but of the Plumbers. "GET DOWN!" Hastily, the King unceremoniously scooped up young Riley and dove, barely getting the both of them away in time as the crash sent them, as well as most of the others, sailing briefly across the grassy lands. As soon as he recovered, he took quick account of her condition, and seeing her fine, gently placed her back on solid ground. She may be more than meets the eye, and not in a pleasant sense, but in Driscoll's eyes, she was still a human child; something worth protecting...Beyond the fact that he had the sense he'd soon need as many allies as possible.

As the other object still took time to catch up, out of the smoldering crater of the first crash, from smoke and flames, something rose...



A titan of metal, standing nearly eye-to-eye with the Forever King, the heartstopping arrival seemed to gaze at all the individuals surrounding it, taking them in...And without warning, it reached its hand towards Driscoll as a blast of searingly bright blue energy launched towards him. He only just found the time to defend himself, forming something akin to a kite shield made of energy, though it still managed to push him back a few feet as he scoffed. Only the young one was close enough to hear him speak up next. "This just keeps becoming more complicated...Techadons."

Location: Field, Digital World -> Control Centre, Paradox Engine
Mentions: Ben@Mintz, Danny@Crimson Flame, Merlin[@ActRaiserTheReturner], Terra@Dead Cruiser, Bruno@Lewascan2

---

---

It had been almost a year since Tai last visited the Digital World. With all the demands of starting high school in the Human World, Tai had been so overwhelmed that he hadn’t left Odaiba, much less his world. But with summer break, Tai finally had some free time and made it a point to visit Agumon and his other Digimon friends. And that’s why he was now lying down on his back, placed right next to Agumon.

Tai was relaxing on top of the bright green grass, a fresh breeze blowing across his face. Next to him was a small yellow dinosaur creature, his best friend Agumon. Further down the field was Tai’s human friends and their Digimon. It was really nice for all of them to come and be all together. As much as Tai wouldn’t like to admit it, he had been drifting away from his old friends like Sora, Izzy, and Matt. He figured that it was just a part of growing up, your relationships change.

But one person who Tai was still as close as ever with was Agumon. The dinosaur Digimon had fallen asleep next to his partner and best friend, the field of grass making a nice bed. As Tai stared up at the clouds, he too felt sleepy. But then his rest was disturbed by a loud gurgle coming from Agumon’s stomach. Tai just chuckled as the Digimon stood up.

“Tai, I’m hungry,” Agumon complained, “Do we have any food?”

“Maybe Joe packed something?” mused Tai as he too got up, “I mean there’s those purple fruits on the tree over there.”

“Alright, let’s go get some!” said Agumon cheerfully.

Tai and Agumon then walked over to the tree with the purple fruit, finding that it was just out of both of their reach. Without asking for permission, Tai grabbed Agumon and lifted him up toward the fruit.

“Tai, be careful and don’t drop me!” shouted Agumon.

“I won’t,” replied Tai with a chuckle.

As Agumon reached out with his claws to grab one of the plump fruit, it seemed like the digital sun got brighter as it got into Tai’s eyes. The light continued to increase in intensity as it messed with Tai’s equilibrium. Before he knew what was happening, Tai and Agumon began to tumble. Only to land on not the green grass, but a cold metal floor.

“You OK Agumon?” asked Tai as he pushed himself off the cold metal floor.

“Yeah Tai. And I saved the fruit!” responded Agumon as he took a bite of the purple fruit in his hand.

As Agumon munched on the fruit, Tai looked across the big room, seeing a gathering of other people. They all appeared Human, save some kind of crab Digimon who was mentioning something about a Paradox Engine. Tai got to his feet, Agumon joining him as he finished eating. The pair then began to approach the others.

It was then that Tai saw the white haired boy phase through the floor, meaning that he too could be a Digimon, just a Human looking one. Tai then wondered if the old wizard looking guy was also a Digimon. Maybe that meant that the others were there Human partners.

“Hey! Is this the Human World or Digital World? We’re not really sure how we got here or where this is? That Digimon mentioned a Paradox Engine? Is that like a Digimon as well?” asked Tai quickly.

“Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves Tai? You taught me about manners, remember?” interjected Agumon.

“Right,” muttered Tai as he scratched the back of his head, before speaking louder, “My name is Tai, and that’s Agumon.”

Tai hoped that these guys were friendly as he really didn’t feel like getting into a fight here. Plus he tended to assume the best of everyone when he met them. But he couldn’t assume the best of the situation as the manner in which he arrived here was similar to how he left summer camp and ended up in the Digital World, those five long years ago.

Tai & Agumon

Location: Field, Digital World -> Control Centre, Paradox Engine
Mentions: Ben@Mintz, Danny@Crimson Flame, Merlin[@ActRaiserTheReturner], Terra@Dead Cruiser, Bruno@Lewascan2

---

---

It had been almost a year since Tai last visited the Digital World. With all the demands of starting high school in the Human World, Tai had been so overwhelmed that he hadn’t left Odaiba, much less his world. But with summer break, Tai finally had some free time and made it a point to visit Agumon and his other Digimon friends. And that’s why he was now lying down on his back, placed right next to Agumon.

Tai was relaxing on top of the bright green grass, a fresh breeze blowing across his face. Next to him was a small yellow dinosaur creature, his best friend Agumon. Further down the field was Tai’s human friends and their Digimon. It was really nice for all of them to come and be all together. As much as Tai wouldn’t like to admit it, he had been drifting away from his old friends like Sora, Izzy, and Matt. He figured that it was just a part of growing up, your relationships change.

But one person who Tai was still as close as ever with was Agumon. The dinosaur Digimon had fallen asleep next to his partner and best friend, the field of grass making a nice bed. As Tai stared up at the clouds, he too felt sleepy. But then his rest was disturbed by a loud gurgle coming from Agumon’s stomach. Tai just chuckled as the Digimon stood up.

“Tai, I’m hungry,” Agumon complained, “Do we have any food?”

“Maybe Joe packed something?” mused Tai as he too got up, “I mean there’s those purple fruits on the tree over there.”

“Alright, let’s go get some!” said Agumon cheerfully.

Tai and Agumon then walked over to the tree with the purple fruit, finding that it was just out of both of their reach. Without asking for permission, Tai grabbed Agumon and lifted him up toward the fruit.

“Tai, be careful and don’t drop me!” shouted Agumon.

“I won’t,” replied Tai with a chuckle.

As Agumon reached out with his claws to grab one of the plump fruit, it seemed like the digital sun got brighter as it got into Tai’s eyes. The light continued to increase in intensity as it messed with Tai’s equilibrium. Before he knew what was happening, Tai and Agumon began to tumble. Only to land on not the green grass, but a cold metal floor.

“You OK Agumon?” asked Tai as he pushed himself off the cold metal floor.

“Yeah Tai. And I saved the fruit!” responded Agumon as he took a bite of the purple fruit in his hand.

As Agumon munched on the fruit, Tai looked across the big room, seeing a gathering of other people. They all appeared Human, save some kind of crab Digimon who was mentioning something about a Paradox Engine. Tai got to his feet, Agumon joining him as he finished eating. The pair then began to approach the others.

It was then that Tai saw the white haired boy phase through the floor, meaning that he too could be a Digimon, just a Human looking one. Tai then wondered if the old wizard looking guy was also a Digimon. Maybe that meant that the others were there Human partners.

“Hey! Is this the Human World or Digital World? We’re not really sure how we got here or where this is? That Digimon mentioned a Paradox Engine? Is that like a Digimon as well?” asked Tai quickly.

“Shouldn’t we introduce ourselves Tai? You taught me about manners, remember?” interjected Agumon.

“Right,” muttered Tai as he scratched the back of his head, before speaking louder, “My name is Tai, and that’s Agumon.”

Tai hoped that these guys were friendly as he really didn’t feel like getting into a fight here. Plus he tended to assume the best of everyone when he met them. But he couldn’t assume the best of the situation as the manner in which he arrived here was similar to how he left summer camp and ended up in the Digital World, those five long years ago.

The Archmage of Britain almost rolled his eyes,but decided against it. "I am Merlin, the Wizard. This is an ironic pleasure to meet you." His annoyance finally subsided. "I promise that I'm not as grumpy as I look all the time. I didnt' mean to make myself an enemy of anyone. The problem is just that I have so many enemies already. I still have little clue of what's going on." The wizard remembered his youth in the days of Camelot for just a moment. "No, I still have no clue what's going. Except for a mention that we're in some kind of Matrix." He told anyone who was listening. "I am a wizard. I use the powers of the world to weave my spells and magicks at will."
"I take it that this advanced form of science is likely a form of magick as well, I wouldn't be surprised."

Location(s): Paradox Engine, Simulated Universe #1 (Open Fields, Current Simulation: Unknown)
Mentions: Driscoll @Mintz, Cyrus @Randomness, Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame, Ganon @ActRaiserTheReturned, and Horus @Dead Cruiser.

---

---

Mr. Driscoll was so polite~! Bonesaw's smile only widened at his chastisement of the redheads, and she nodded sympathetically to his gripes about unruly teenagers. Skitter and her crew sure had been impressive. It really was a crying shame they hadn't managed to recruit either her or Big Sister Panacea!

A short pop of displaced air drew Bonesaw's gaze upwards a moment before Mr. Driscoll bellowed a warning and dove at her. Though her body language didn't show it, the abruptness of it all had reflexively opened several vents along her ribs, preparing to eject a cloud of paralytics in response to the sneak attack. It was only her comprehension of his words that stayed her proverbial hand, as an explosion vibrated through her body from the other side of the Forever King. Blinking, Bonesaw couldn't help a charming grin from overtaking her expression.

While she likely could have weathered the damage just fine and put herself back together later, Mr. Driscoll actually tried to save her! Guess him leading "knights" wasn't for show! If nothing else, he'd sure saved her an inconvenient amount of time and resources... and also her dress!

And they said chivalry was dead~!

As Mr. Forever King set her down and turned to face the threat, she nodded with an outward expression of childish determination and observed the enemy herself, the sight of smooth bluish-grey and black steel greeting her in overlapping layers without any clear vulnerabilities... aside from the joints, which were almost egregiously unprotected. Under normal circumstances, that might not be odd, but the fact that she could see the metal almost flexing with the being's movements where it was properly armored told her that such openings were nothing less than a blatant flaw... almost suspiciously so. Perhaps the limbs could be ejected? Oh, did it have rocket fists?! Or extendable arms like hers?! A moment later, she frowned in consternation at her Passenger's almost lackluster reaction. While she couldn't speculate properly on the internals, it was unlikely anything organic... which really put her in a bind. The only thing she had that might do the job was her Crawler-brand acid capsules.

Oh, fiddlesticks! Didn't we already get enough harassment from drones last year? she whined internally, before tensing, as the probable robot aimed an arm her and Mr. Driscoll's way, unleashing an azure energy blast. Unable to determine who it was aiming at specifically, the young lass saw her best prospects in taking cover behind the only meat shield available, Mr. Forever King, as he deployed a nifty and knightly-looking energy shield, which held up applaudably well! As the attack died down, Bonesaw heard him mutter a statement of recognition.

Perking up with her smile still unfadingly present, she asked, "Friend of yours? I had someone like that too, a real meanie who killed Sibbie! Dragon had too many drones too, but hers were way better!" Nodding in childish consternation, she pouted and chirped loudly enough for the group to hear. "Hers didn't have massive weak-points on the joints, for one!"

How haz theez dooble post heppened.

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Before any reconnaissance could happen, the universe decided to meet the group halfway. How accurate that statement was would be lost of the group for a while longer.

Shadow Moth was flung backwards by the strange object's landing. It was only thanks to his empowered reflexes that he was able to land on his feet, skidding the rest of the way across the grass. Gritting his teeth, he adopted a more defensive stance, holding his cane at the middle. Whatever this thing was, it didn't move like a human. Something mechanical, then? While not the 'civilization' Shadow Moth was hoping to encounter, it did mean someone else was in these grasslands with them. Someone hostile, but still.

"'Weak-points on the joints', hm?" Shadow Moth smirked. These wouldn't be much trouble, then. He raised his staff, the small gem-like tip popping open, and he raised his other hand up. He released the akuma he was holding, which flew into the small opening. No need to waste that little trump card so soon, especially since Shadow Moth had no idea when he'd be able to acquire more.

"I can dispatch this one easily enough." Shadow Moth unsheathed his cane-sword and charged forward. With much more dexterity and strength than he might seem to have, he leapt from the edge of the crater, over the Techadon's head, and slashed downwards. His sword cut clean through the joint between its body and the arm used to fire at Driscoll. Shadow Moth turned to face the robot once he landed, one long swing to cut at its legs and, as it fell to the ground, jammed his sword right through its neck!

Reaction: Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame, Horus @Dead Cruiser, Cyrus @Randomness

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The lumbering automaton was powerfully built, and fairly durable, but quick it was not. By the time it had looked up to see the pirouetting Shadow Moth go overhead, its arm already fell hard to the ground beneath it. It whipped around to face the assailant...Just in time to drop to the floor, both legs falling limp on the earth. However, it finally seemed to regain its standing in the battle; at the last moment, it interposed its remaining arm between its head and the razor-sharp blade meant to sever the connection, as it barely wedged halfway through the heavy-duty armoring on the Techadon this time around.

More concerningly, something became clear to all of them that this move was a dreadful mistake. The whirring noise of hastily-reconstructed machinery pointed itself to the newly found stumps on the robot, already forming fully-functional legs, alongside a new arm, in mere seconds....Not to mention that the dismembered parts made prior had also begun to construct full Techadon bodies of their own, as it became clear the 'obvious weak points' had been nothing more than bait to create more Wardrones.

With one having quickly become four, the Techadons began to push their advantage. One turned towards the towering figure of Horus, and as its shoulders began to morph, a set of missile launchers emerged, and it did not hesitate to launch both full salvos of explosives towards him. Two more looked towards some of the onlookers; Poison Ivy and Cyrus. With a single glance exchanging all the information the two machines needed, they both raised their palms outward and fired familiar bright blue beams of dangerous energy towards the two of them.

Lastly, this Techadon now had Shadow Moth in a precarious position; unable to retreat just yet, due to the staff's blade end being firmly trapped in the forearm of the drone, it rose up to its full height once more, and raising its free arm, brought it down upon the Miraculous user, fully intending to cave him into the ground.

They gathered and spoke, introducing themselves. Driscoll, the knight. Shadow Moth, a mystery yet. Cyrus, master of xenos beasts. Bonesaw... the most perplexing of the bunch. Each of them he scanned for weaknesses, vulnerabilities either physical or mental. This was a reflex that came as naturally to him as blinking. Most of them did not prove themselves to be immediate threats. Auspex scan of Driscoll indicated that he was wearing some unknown pattern of power armor. Horus didn't need the auspex to know there was something wrong with Bonesaw. The way she moved and spoke, her body was either mutated or altered in some way. The signs were subtle, but Horus was well-accustomed to sniffing out the taint of mutation in human populations. She, he would have to keep an eye on most.

None of them had any leads on what had happened to them, or why, but they were given precious little time to discuss the matter. The proximity sensors in his armor indicated an impending artillery strike, with scant seconds until impact. Knowing his terminator plate would not clear the blast radius, he took the time to don his helm, and as the impact struck, he grabbed Worldbreaker and stabbed it into the ground to serve as an anchor. As the dust of the impact settled, Horus rose from one knee at the lip of the crater that had been formed. An armored humanoid form emerged, and Horus readied his weapons in case it attacked. Rather, it chose to attack Driscoll instead when it saw him. The man had called them Techadons... had these been responsible for their capture?

Horus directed his auspex scan at the Techadon. Scans indicated no organics, but rather a robotic automaton. Men of Iron. Horus swallowed, his mouth dry as he felt trepidation for the first time in many decades. He gripped Worldbreaker tighter, raising it to strike. There was no time for fear or hesitation. As he closed to crush the machine, his auspex indicated unusual technological structures within the unit, likely due to nanomachine interference. Horus stepped back, reconsidering his approach. As he did, however, the Shadow Moth struck at the machine with his concealed blade.

"No, fool-" This was all Horus could say before Shadow Moth cut the robot apart, and the machines promptly multiplied. "Nanomachines." He said simply, hoping not to state the obvious. The scene erupted into chaos as the emergent machines each broke off and attacked a different person. Horus pulled back, and bellowed out across the battlefield, "Driscoll! You know what these things are! How do we kill them?"

One of them reconfigured, assembling what Horus immediately recognized as missile salvos, and emptied them into him at close range. A huge cloud of smoke and dust enveloped Horus, obscuring him from sight. The cloud was silent and still for only a moment before Horus erupted from it, his maul raised furiously. Soot and superficial damage blackened his armor, but Horus had not been slowed. His speed at a full charge was something to behold; he seemed less like a man, and more like a runaway locomotive. He barreled into the Techadon, shoulder-tackling it, before drawing his Talon to strike. He activated the lightning claw's energy fields, and scintillating electricity coursed across the weapon's cruel blades. He stabbed with full force where his auspex had indicated the greatest concentration of vital components, likely the central processor.

Reaction: Horus @Dead Cruiser.

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As the full might of the Warmaster barreled into this Techadon, Horus could find himself surprised; while it was true their reaction speeds, as well as speed in general, were fairly poor, their strength held up in spades. The shoulder bash served to stagger the machine, where it would send most targets sprawled across the land. Still, it was all he would need as he brought the vicious, lightning-lapped Talon into the steel machination.

However, things didn't go quite so smoothly. The Techadon had recouperated from the frontal charge enough to maneuver itself. Not much, but enough. A dense arm caught the brunt of the force, pushing the weapon off course just enough; inches away from what would be its head. Still, crackling with energy, it tore past the notable defenses of the drone, rending its arm and cleaving down the length of its chest, leaving a half-ruined mech lying in the grass. The fact that each time one of these so-called 'Techadons' had their core processing, their heads, threatened and reacted with the upmost of their strength, speed, and durability, would not be lost on a man like Horus. They were purposefully guarding it.

The small fragments of its arm that had been struck off and lie on the ground seemed unable to reform themselves, though the exact reason behind it was questionable at best. However, the lower and upper halves of what had, moments ago, been a whole Wardrone, began to form into seperate selves; two of these vile, ad nauseum repeating weapons-bots were now the adversaries of Horus...

When they reformed, they stood and stared for a moment, and the Favored Son would recognize that they seemed to be observing...And soon, they adapted. He witnessed as right in front of his eyes, the armor of these Techadons began to bulk out, becoming eerily familiar to his own, and with opposite arms raised, another recognizable sight began to take shape; nanomachines swarmed around an arm of each of these machines, forming a weapon not so dissimilar to the Talon of Horus itself. As their new tools began to fixate properly and crackle with power, the newly formed duo rushed toward the Wolf of Luna, each looking to flank into him and tear with their shocking adaptation of technology.

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The force of the crash landing was powerful. It sent Cyrus tumbling head over heels across the grassy field. Houndoom flew father than he, yelping as it bounced along the ground. Once Cyrus finally came to a stop, he was face down in the dirt. He saw a tall metallic figure of a man once he pushed himself up enough to look. If he wasn’t in immediate pain, Cyrus might have made another comment about suits of armor. He looked down towards the ground as craning his neck left him sore. His eyes shifted to just behind him where he spotted his fiery beast regaining its composure, shaking off the dust and debris the now covered its coat.

Cyrus staggered as he regained his footing. He stumbled forward, but was able to catch himself before he fell over once again. The initial pain subsided, leaving his muscles to only ache mildly enough for him to push through and ignore. He attempted to wipe off as much of the grass stains and dirt as he could in vain. After regaining his composure he saw that the others had started to engage the warrior. Driscoll held Bonesaw close, an energetic shield of sorts defending them. Shadow Moth dashed forward blade in hand, and Horus stood right by the crater’s edge, the patch of grass behind him clean of any airborne soil.

Before Cyrus made a decision on how to proceed, Shadow Moth made quick work of the assailant. This seemed like good news, but then something felt odd. If the machine could survive that impact intact, how was it dismembered so easily? As if to answer the question, the machine started to regenerate much like a starmie who had lost a limb. In place of one, four now stood. Whatever technology this was concerning. If one machine could create an army this easily when under fire, they would be quickly overwhelmed.

Cyrus’s eyes darted to one of the newly assembled machines. It had taken notice of him while the other seemed fixated on another. Cyrus didn’t have time to see who. The machine clone raised its hand and discharged a beam of blue energy. Cyrus braced, when suddenly a dome of green energy enveloped him. The beam landed true, but this force field was able to completely block the attack. Houndoom now stood in front of Cyrus, ready to charge, fangs bare. When the beam ended, so did the protective dome. The fire beast inhaled deeply, before craning its neck back delivering a loud eerily frightening howl.

“Houn-DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!”

Cyrus looked ahead at the pair of robots that had just fired their energy beams at him. If cutting them was not going to work, perhaps he could incinerate them, much like taking a torch to the severed heads of a hydra. Cyrus looked to his companion, and then to the machines. Pointing forward Cyrus gave out a command, “Houndoom, flamethrower.”

Houndoom ran forward, heat building as it did so. In just a few seconds, the black devil dog was in range. With another deep breath, it opened its mouth releasing a torrent of scorching hot fire towards the two machines. The grass below blackened as the immense heat washed over it. Fires sprouted along the edged of the fire stream. In mere moments, the metallic warriors were engulfed in fires capable of melting down iron.

Reaction: Cyrus @Randomness.

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Sadly, getting both Techadons was a pipe dream; due to their sheer size, and the concentrated nature of the Flamethrower, it only managed to strike the one closer to Cyrus, the one that had attempted to strike him before a well-timed Protect had secured him. Still, it didn't mean this wasn't successful. Far from it.

As the top-end of the Wardrone was engulfed in intense flames, it tried to push back with the one arm it could raise in time, and indeed the Galactic Boss could see the figure slowly pushing through the inferno. However, the closer it got to the source of heat, the worse it became. While there wasn't external damage growing beyond soft burn marks, the internal effects did not go unnoticed by the machine. The metal menace lacked anything of a cooling system, and was getting cooked from the inside, its thick outer armor only serving to make this effect worse. It was all this Techadon could do, in its final moments of activity, to wrench off one of its arms, chucking it off to the wayside; one could see steam and a slight ooze of molten metals coming from the removed limb, but even still, it was reforming into a new one. Slower than the rest, but it would manage.

This sacrifice would cost the original everything, as scorching heat now sweltered unfettered through its internal circuitry. Once the attack finally ended, the fairly charred metal-clad monstrosity, looking surprisingly unscathed on the outside....Clunked harshly to the ground, the first of the Techadons properly ended, the vital internal workings cooked beyond repairs.

The other one, the spared progeny of the cooked scrap-heap on the ground, had barely managed to reform to about half its mass; the legs and left arm were fully intact, as were its head, but most of its chest and the entirety of its second arm were naught but dense forests of huge metal wires and coils, incomprehensible messes of machinery. Still, it rose to its newfound feet and stared toward Cyrus and his hound. They had chosen a new method of assault.

Its one proper arm began to shift, and where its lower arm had been now had some sort of cannon design; four barrels, each one oversized enough to make most weary of the payload it would be delivering. It aimed, and after a brief period of whirring, as the whole lower arm began to rotate at high speeds, a hailstorm of laser blasts began to pelt the area near Cyrus. Each blast on their own were not powerful, but the Techadon had done the calculations; an attack like this was far more likely to succeed against the canine's defense tactic.

---

Nothing could be so easy, now could it? The attacker's weakpoints turned out to be a trap, one that Shadow Moth foolishly flung himself into. He grit his teeth, retreating back from the machine as it slammed down in counter. His impatience got the better of him there. Though perhaps his impatience would be what gives him the upper hand, as well.

The rest would have to deal with the fallout of Shadow Moth's brashness themselves, since he was facing one down himself, and without a proper weapon. He straightened, passing his fan from one hand to the next, and spread it open. "I'll underestimate you no longer," he said as he plucked one of the many feathers from the fan. Between his fingers, the little white feather sparkled and, in a tiny flash, turned brilliantly blue. "Come, my little amok, bring forth an end to this nuisance!"

Shadow Moth raised the second half of his cane, still in his hand, and brought the 'amok' to it. Once they touched, the amok vanished with a magical spark. In the air above Shadow Moth, a dark cloud of purple energy materialized, roiling and morphing into a longer shape. Then the cloud disappeared, revealing a strange creature floating over Shadow Moth - it looked similar to a flattened jellyfish, a yellow-ish oval at its center, four wiry tentacles spread out that ended in similar yellow pads, the whole thing encased in translucent, blue-tinged skin. "See to it that this mechanical annoyance is put under your control, Static Cling."

At Shadow Moth's command the creature, "Static Cling", darted forward, streaking through the air above the Techadon and stopping short just behind it. Of course, Shadow Moth wasn't leaving it to his sentimonster alone; he charged the robot again, fan and cane at the ready, and moved to strike it. His aim wasn't to win this fight, exactly, but to distract it long enough for Static Cling to attach itself. He swung, ducked, dodged, kept the pressure up as best he could, as his sentimonster floated down, lowering itself towards the Techadon's back...

Ivy sat there sitting on her throne of plants, ignoring most of everyone else. They talked about finding civilization and shelter and other such things, but Ivy couldn’t care less. This was a paradise unspoiled my industry, or humanity for that mater. She could easily spruce this place up, and make it another Eden. Besides, the alternative was going back to Arkham, and she wasn’t interested in that.

The only one amongst the other humans here had any sort of interest in was the young girl. Somehow that girl reminded her of Harley. Though, she was a lot more eloquent than the Harley she knew.

Unfortunately, this place couldn’t remain green and pure. An object fell from the sky that was soon revealed to be a large automation. The men had tried fighting it off, but nothing they did seemed to be making the situation any better. In fact, they actually made it worse. The machine they had just destroyed had reformed into two new ones. It then pointed its gun at Ivy fired. The redheaded villianess managed to dodge out of the way just in time, but her plants weren’t so fortunate. They had been burnt to cinders.

Ivy was furious now. “How dare you! This place was completely perfect, and you had to go and ruin it. Typical… You humans are a cancer on the world!” Ivy raised an arm, and summoned several long vines beneath the Techadon‘s feet, and they started growing, and twisting and wrapping the automation up tightly.

Reaction: Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame

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The Techadon's full-force strike was avoided by mere seconds, its fist crunching into the solid earth as it made a fist-sized hole into the ground. This didn't come without a cost, as Shadow Moth had to abandon his blade, still wedged thoroughly in the forearm of the Wardrone. As Gabriel spoke to the machine, it, of course, did not respond; though its gaze focused on the strange new weapon he revealed, plucking a shimmering feather as he pressed it to what remained of the cane. Its attention now shot over to the peculiar entity that was conjured. Just as it prepared an assault on the unexpected interference, its focus was stolen once more by the masked Miraculous user as they began a full-frontal assault.

Of course, the blows didn't manage much. For every dent of the cane, and cut of the fan, repairs were made practically moments after the damage was caused, each strike too minor to last even a second. But it kept him off-balance, and as far as its own retaliation attempts were going, they were going miserably. This man had a flow about him in combat that a simple machine like a Techadon could not keep up with; not with its lumbering, uninspired movements. Still, this exchange of blows did not go entirely in Shadow Moth's favor; near the end, as the construct finally neared 'Static Cling', it managed a glancing blow, a harsh smack of its hand that would likely send the man careening off, though no doubt with his footwork he could catch himself before the hard fall...Though he would certainly be feeling the strike.

Still, the plan was successful. The unwitting Wardrone couldn't turn around in time, as adhesive, stretchy tendrils latched onto its legs and arms, and the bizarre jellyfish-esque monster strapped itself to the back of the machine. At first, there was a tense moment of resistance, as the Techadon thrashed out with its full might against the Sentimonster. However, slowly, the fight began to leave its limbs, and although its head turned towards the throttled Shadow Moth accusingly, 'Static Cling' forced it to stride towards the master, and painstakingly made it bow with the violent creak of resisting metal. The Amok had been successful...For now.

Meanwhile, another Techadon looked towards the burnt remain of a sleek, vine-covered throne where its laser put a clean hole through it, and the rest was steadily withering away from the damage. It caught sight of Ivy as she began shouting towards it, but as it rose its hand once more for a repeat performance, it found the appendage...Quite unresponsive.

Turning its head, the Wardrone watched as a surge of vines and roots began to overtake it, starting with the arm, bound tightly and pulled near-taut to the side, barely able to flex a finger, as more of the verdant onslaught grew forth. By the time it was over, the machine was held aloft, entrapped nearly head-to-toe in plant life. As these tendrils began to put the squeeze on this tin soldier however, they found much resistance; between the raw strength of the Techadon and the durability of its armor, it withstood the crushing force being placed upon it...And then, it took action.

It was barely noticeable until it was almost too late, but a reddish glow could be seen emanating from under the tangle of vines, and without warning, the Techadon had sawed itself in half, effectively freeing itself at the cost of its lower body....If it were anything other than a Techadon, that is. The upper half had already reformed proper legs, and to Ivy's horror, its arms formed something very recognizable; flamethrowers, or at least something close to it. Without warning, it began its scorched earth policy as it approached Pamela, burning past the once-luscious grass plains to bring its wrath upon the environmental villainess.

For its part, the other end of that Techadon was all but complete once more, and with its arms free, had no problem forcing its way out of the earthly grasp, landing solidly on ground once more. This one, however, took note of all the ongoing scenarios, and saw two combatants who were biding their time; Driscoll and Bonesaw. Beginning a charge, this metal hulk thudded past the ongoing conflicts, towards the Forever King and his seemingly defenseless companion.

Location(s): Paradox Engine, Simulated Universe #1 (Open Fields, Current Simulation: Unknown)
Mentions: Driscoll @Mintz, Cyrus @Randomness, Shadow Moth @TruthHurts22, Poison Ivy @Crimson Flame, Ganon @ActRaiserTheReturned, and Horus @Dead Cruiser.

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Ooooooaaahhhhh~~! Bonesaw’s grin widened at the sight of the robot’s pieces beginning to form into brand new bodies of their own. “So that’s why the weaknesses looked deliberate!” she proudly chirped from behind Mr. Driscoll. At Mr. Horus’s bellow of warning and admonishment of the adorably enthusiastic -and apparently equally baitable- Mr. Moth, the little blonde’s excitement only grew. “Nanomachines~?!” she practically squealed at the sight. She’d only heard about that kind of technology, and even the Nine didn’t go around bothering the Machine Army back on Bet just to change that. She gushed, “Oh! Where do they get the mass?! How are they-?” She let out a girlish breathy gasp, as the one Mr. Horus split from shoulder to nuts adapted.

And it was adaptation. That much was made clear by the next few instances of the drones taking any form of injury. “Oh my, Crawler would have loved it here~!” Bonesaw hummed aloud, looking for all the world entirely unconcerned with the threat of an eternally replicating and adapting foe, as she began fiddling with her fingers and then wiggling her feet. To the sharp-eyed, one might catch the vaguest hint of something… shifting beneath the skin of her fingertips.

The Forever King, for his part in things, was entirely too absorbed in the conflict to witness such strange happenings. As he feared, it took only seconds for these fools to break into the Wardrone…And thus, complicating their situation immensely. Only one of them even had something close to what he would dub a success, and, well…The hail of laserfire upon Cyrus spoke to the contrary.

“Yes, nanomachines. I cannot speak to the exactness of their functions, but the Techadons are mass-produced war machines, able to regenerate from past failures…And adapt to them, as one could plainly see.” Driscoll merely motioned to the catastrophe before them; the charging duo of drones, equipped with heavy-duty armor and vicious Talons, and the one who had now begun bringing hellfire to the poor plains were clear evidence of that.

“...I am also painfully aware that I do not know their weakness, although….” The Forever King began to take account of the situation. Something had to be missing here…When all of these constructs were struck down, it never seemed to sit…Except one. He glanced towards the smoldering, inactive remains of Cyrus’ first Techadon. Something happened to stop that one, but what..?

“...It’s the head. Whatever process they use to reform and adapt, it originates from there; if we can dispose of that, it should fall. It will not be easy…” He finally turned his attention back to the small child. “If you intend to run, now is the time.” With that, he rose back to full height from his huddled formation, flexing the mechanized muscles of his armor back into force, and forming a warhammer of sorts in his hands. Slashing them apart did not work, but a single crushing blow to their central processing? Well… That ought to do just fine.

Bonesaw’s only immediate response was a giggle, before Driscoll felt a weight settle onto the back of his armor. Hardly anything enough to disrupt his balance unduly, but it was there. Bonesaw’s hand clasped into each of his pauldrons, as she briefly leaned over and gave him an all to wide pearly grin. “Don’t worry, Mr. Forever King Sir~! The Slaughterhouse Nine never runs… except when running would mean we win even harder next time~!” Giggling again, the child moved back and settled herself more, before letting out a brief “Oh” and scrambling a bit, as Bonesaw pulled off both her shoes and socks and slipped them into the front of her apron, wiggling her toes happily.

“As it so happens, Mr. Forever King Sir, I used to have a teammate who worked a whole lot like these drones… except, you know-” she giggled. “Organic!” The fingers on either side of Driscoll’s head, clasped to his pauldrons began to… twitch and flex in a manner that seemed distinctly uncomfortable, not that the child gave any sign that it was. Continuing on, as if discussing the weather, Bonesaw said, “He had this real neat acid spit, and I got to work with him often while he lasted~! Long enough to figure out how it worked and make something just. As. Good~.” In unison, and then in sequence, her fingernails flapped upwards like trap-doors, before finally setting back down again.

“I’m something of an ace with cybernetics, you know?” Bonesaw’s grin was one that could practically be heard. “So I made some capsules filled with that super special acid and stored one in each of my fingers and little toesies~!” Humming for a moment, she chirped, “But no more than that~! No sir! That stuff is super volatile, way too risky to stuff more than that in. It’s a self-replicating acid filled with all kinds of digestive enzymes, you see? Once exposed to basically anything other than the inside of its capsule, it’s honestly one of the most reactive substances I’ve ever had the distinct pleasure to study!” Giggling girlishly again, Bonesaw whispered, “This acid can melt through concrete, steel and so much more in practically an instant~. One capsule to the head should be enough for each of these naughty naughty bots~!”

Abruptly, she let out something of a small whine. “Moouuu~! But, I need to get close to do anything, you know? I can launch the capsules with my needles, but the range is pretty bad, and there’s no way I want to break them while they’re still on me! So~? I guess that means you and I will be staying real close for the next little while~!” She hummed cheerfully. “Now then~! Who to target first, hmm~?” she wondered aloud in what almost sounded like mock thought. “Well~, Mr. Cyrus is the only one so far to not make things worse,” she posited, pointing towards the bot that was currently barraging Cyrus’s position with a blaze of blue fury. “Maybe start with that!”

Driscoll gave a good laugh as the young lass clambered atop him. “My, aren’t you a brave one, young Riley? And wise at that…I can agree with that sentiment when it comes to fleeing, and running from this problem will only prolong it. We end this now.” Before he could launch into the fray, however, Bonesaw had spoke up once more, about an old teammate, and potent acid, promptly revealing it to the Forever King. Her lack of response to such….Morbid methods of arming oneself was surprising. Perhaps, just as she had mentioned this teammate’s ability, she too possessed some form of unnatural trait. Well….Beyond her very nature, he supposed. Still, this was an agreeable outcome, for once. This could make the process exceptionally quick. Especially if…

Before he could continue that thought, though the small lass had been too focused in her demonstration to realize, Driscoll caught something; a new Techadon, a fresh one, barreling straight towards them. “Hmph. Hold that thought. We have ourselves a challenger..” As it ran forward, looking to smash headfirst into the King, he took a low stance and slammed his energy warhammer straight into the chest of the machine, as small chunks of metal and hardware flew to the ground and the construct went hurtling across the plains, crashing back down nearly a dozen feet off.

“Oh~! Nice one~!” the child cheered enthusiastically.

Driscoll wouldn’t give it the time to recuperate and reevaluate this situation. Charging forward with Bonesaw squealing in joy from his back, the two looked destined to meet in a frontal clash, but at the last moment, yet again taking advantage of the sluggish nature of the machines, the Forever King went low and hit true against the knee of the machine, staggering it to the ground. Without time to waste, he quickly decided a smarter method; with a flex of his gauntleted hands, the energy of both reformed into twin armblades that promptly sunk deep into the thin crevice between the head and torso of the machine. Bonesaw could hear the exertion of Driscoll, putting his full force behind it. And just as it looked like the attempt would fail, and the Techadon began to rise up once more…

“Go~, go, go goooo~!” the little blonde chanted.

The armblades met in the center.

The head of the construct clattered to the ground, cleanly severed from the rest of its nigh-indomitable form. With only brief moments of activity left, it weakly tried to raise itself back up…Only to fall before Driscoll.

“Alley-oop~!” Bonesaw tittered, hopping down from his back, clasping the hem of her blue dress, as she practically skipped over to the downed head. Humming, the little blonde took hold of the large fallen head, and with far more ease than a person her size should, flipped it over, giggling. “Oh!” she said after a moment, humming. “I see, very little nanotech in the nerve center, hmmm~?” Nodding, she grinned. “Makes sense! You know, even with how amazing nanomachines are, I guess even they have some limits~! Sure must be hard stuffing all that fancy programming and adaptive learning tech in there~!”

Nodding to herself, she skipped back over to Driscoll and clambered back onto his back. “They must have had to partition things, so if you can separate half the equation from the other, neither can work~! Symbiosis~! Two entirely different species of codependent nanomachines forming a working ecosystem of simultaneously robust strength! A strength and weakness all in one~!” Bonesaw squealed in excitement. “Oh~, I just can’t wait to dig around in there properly~!” Sighing in longing, her chirpy voice filled with faux seriousness, “But before we can play, there’s work to be done for all good little boys and girls~!” Stabbing a deceptively harmless looking finger forth at the bot still menacing Cyrus. “Mr. Driscoll Sir, let’s free up the only other successful ally we’ve got!” She didn’t feel the need to include Mr. Moth in that statement, because honestly, she was being merciful enough not mentioning him at all.

Driscoll toned out Bonesaw about halfway through her monologue. Her prattling sounded like she was learning something valuable about these machines, but he couldn’t quite grasp all she spoke of. Symbiosis? Codependent nanomachines? Well, at the very least, she seemed knowledgeable in the subject. A useful thing to take note of.

However, more pressing matters still stood. The Forever King felt…A modicum of confidence in the towering Horus, in spite of his situation. If he was proven wrong, then so be it. And as for the strange woman who seemed obsessed with the greenery around her, well…Perhaps her being burnt off the stage would not be a bad thing. She already sounded troublesome, and he hadn’t even properly met her. Thus, it left one target.

“Agreed….Tell me, how much pressure do you believe those capsules can withstand?” A devious plan began to hatch in the King’s mind, and if it went as planned, this would become even easier than he had begun to anticipate….

“Moouu~!” Bonesaw hummed in thought. “Well~, a lot, really. Might break if you stomped on one real hard in your suit. I needed to make sure they wouldn’t accidentally pop inside me, you know?” Nodding resolutely, she continued. “So, I mostly launch them with my needles in order to puncture it mid-flight, but I can eject them manually…?” She trailed off questioningly.

“If you would be so kind as to offer me one. I believe I have a method that will suffice beyond needles…” With a brief flex, his left arm dissipated his armblade, and formed itself into a cannon-like shape. “This fixture fires off a highly-pressurized blast of water. It was meant for a more…Specific scenario, but it will function well for this.”

“Hmmm…” Bonesaw murmured, before pulling herself up to sit fully atop his right pauldron. Reaching down to her bare left foot, the pinky toenail flapped open, and the little girl plucked a viciously-green colored capsule from some sort of crevice within, a tube leading deeper into the appendage visible behind where the capsule was taken… were one to have the right angle.

The toenail closing, Bonesaw’s smile remained, but there was a certain wary skepticism to it. “Well~, it’s your suit, Mr. Driscoll Sir. For safety’s sake, take this as a Doctor’s professional warning! If that hose is comparable to a pressure washer, might want to dial it back just a bit on launch before ramping it up on impact~! Otherwise…” She grinned leadingly and handed the highly volatile Tinkertech weapon over. Little more needed to be said on the matter. A screw up was not going to be any joking matter.

“Understood.” Tapping a finger to the side of the newly formed armament; a portion of the metallic plating slid open to reveal a dial; perhaps a bit rudimentary, but with his systems all but fried, he would have to handle things manually. Turning it back from maximum pressure, he brought it down all the way to a ‘one’ on its scale; admittedly, even that low was still comparable to a pressure wash, but Driscoll had confidence in his scheme. One had to wonder what he had intended to douse with the maximum of ‘ten’...

Regardless, he took the deadly concoction delicately in the giant fingers of his suit, and carefully placed it within the cannon. In spite of what failure could mean, the Forever King would not know of the word; not anymore. Taking strides towards the now mostly-reformed Techadon, he rose his weapon to bear…And fired.

“Oohhhoooo~~!” Bonesaw could feel the brief spray of water that came off from the jetstream that fired, heading markedly towards the constructed menace; and with the capsule riding perfectly in the front. Just before contact was made, with a grin only he knew he bared, he cranked the pressure back to max.

It was evident immediately that it worked, judging from the fact that the jet of water punched straight through the machine’s torso, and over the rushing sound of water, the brief cracking noise of a capsule could be heard. As the Wardrone crashed to the ground, spraying laserfire wildly, the acid took violent effect; already, most of its torso was eaten away, and as it reached its arms down to try and stop the process, one touch of their fingers was all it took to begin dissolving those as well.

Its last moments were those of helpless resistance, as given only a few moments, the Techadon was no more, with nothing left to mark its presence. Bonesaw gave an enthusiastic smattering of rapid applause, smiling brightly at the successfully hatched scheme. Driscoll merely gave a nod of approval at the work it had done, before quickly referring to Cyrus….Though not before a small sigh could be heard by Bonesaw escaping him. “Cyrus, see to it that the greenhouse madwoman doesn’t get turnt to cinders. We will see to that.” He shouted across the field, glancing towards the sky; the last Techadon was still yet to land, and its delayed entrance spoke silently of its importance. While a huge difference was made by this pair, the fight was not quite over yet…Lastly, the Forever King took notice of Shadow Moth, and his seemingly claimed Techadon. “I don’t suppose you’re up for another, mm?”

At first, it seemed like Ivy had succeeded in disabling in the machine with her vines. Unfortunately, her success did not last long. The automation had broken out its green restraints, by sawing itself in half, and then reforming a new pair of legs. “W-w-what?” Then, it’s arms because something worse than a missle launcher. Flamethrowers! It was headed straight for her. Ivy rolled out of the way before she had been turned to ash. Now she only had moments to respond before it would turn this paradise into a scorched wasteland.

“That’s it!” She placed her hand on the ground, and the earth beneath her shook for a moment. Soon, some vegetation began to sprout beneat her feet. Within seconds, Ivy was sitting atop a massive oak tree. “Oak trees are fire resistant you know. As are other varieties of plants.” Ivy made a gesture with her arms, and the branches of the tree grew thicker and extended. Wrapping themselves around the body of the wardrone. “That’s what you get for thinking you can scorch my babies!”

Their speed surprised Horus, who found his attack rebuffed by the defending Techadon. Their bulk belied their swiftness, and they were every bit as strong as their size implied. Horus stepped back after being parried, his footsteps cratering the earth where they fell. The robot that had attacked him was now regenerating, and the scrap that he had sloughed off of it was now reforming into a separate machine. Horus was annoyed with himself for being so careless, and underestimating an unknown enemy.

Then, the two robots reconfigured themselves, each taking on an appearance that mimicked the Serpent’s Scales, and fabricated weapons that resembled the claw blades of his Talon. Regeneration, adaptation, mimicry. These automatons were formidable; Kelbor-Hal would have loved to have taken one of these apart, Horus thought drolly.

All the while he maintained awareness of the battlefield. Their number of combatants seemed to have doubled, again. Others were having limited success combatting the multiplying robots, mostly with flame and acid weaponry. Driscoll shouted for the others to target their heads, and Horus updated his visual tracker and targeting systems to do just that.

His attention on the robots advancing to either side of him was even more tightly focused. He saw the detail to which they had replicated the Talon, down to the length of the blades. He had already seen the robot’s speed defending against him, and knew how much strength it had to bear. Horus reckoned that against the speed to which the robots now moved, and how their posture had changed. He could guess how much heavier they had become, and the likely thickness of their imitation armor, as well as how much their reaction time had been slowed. As they closed to strike, he couldn’t help but smile.

Judging their range and speed, Horus made his move as they closed his range. The power field to Worldbreaker flicked on, and its powerfield generator thrummed with a sound like the world was ending. Horus swung the mace in a circular arc, and it became a directed comet of metal, lightning, and death. He aimed not at the Techadons’ vital systems, but their newly-formed weapons and limbs, hoping to completely obliterate their means of defending themselves.

With their improved defenses being centralized around their chest and central controls, they weren’t prepared to watch their newly formed weapons, along with the whole arm, be turned into flattened metal as they dropped with a slight clunk to the ground. Taking a cautionary step back, the two took a different approach; raising their intact arms up, while the others began to reform, they sent a united blast of energy straight to the helm of Horus.

Their retreat meant their destruction; Horus smelled weakness and devoured cowards. Horus lunged at them with startling speed, barely giving them the chance to take a second step. He batted away its laser-firing arm as the others' fire glanced off of his armor. The majority of their power seemed directed to nanite replication; the power of their laser weaponry wasn’t enough to overcome his shielding systems. Allowing no break in his attack, he thrust his Talon through the break in its armor where the arm had detached, and tore upward, to rend its internal systems and tear off its head. Near-simultaneously, he used the reach of Worldbreaker to strike at the head of the other robot, which lacked a close arm to defend.

It didn’t defend itself; at least, not in the traditional way. By the time Worldbreaker was to come upon it, the second arm had finished reinstating itself just in time. It maneuvered in such a way that the mace slammed full-force into the Techadon’s chest as it skid harshly against the ground…But instead of sailing off, the machine had both arms grasped tightly to the head of the weapon, desperately holding its ground.

Horus did not relent. Discarding the dead husk of the robot from his claw, it was brought around as the living robot blocked his strike. Both of its arms occupied, Horus plunged the claw into its ocular sensors and unloaded with his storm bolter into its head.

The crushing blow of his Talon caught the Wardrone dead in the newly-armored visor…And if a machine could be thankful, it would be. It held just enough; not without its damages, as it began to crack and creak, but it managed.

Then it got a faceload of bolter shots.

Shot after shot hammered in, as the armor gave way more and more with each violent explosion staggering it away. At the last moment, as it managed to raise to full height once more….Was the nail in the coffin. This bolt tore right through the thick casing, sending Techadon head shrapnel in force across the grassy knoll, fragments of smoking debris littering the area.

These Techadons were no more.

Horus scoffed, shoving off the smoking body still gripping his mace. These were unintelligent machines, poorly programmed for battle. Their mistake had been assuming his form; Horus knew his own weaknesses better than anyone. He returned his attention to the battle at hand, and activated his vox-caster, intending to share an inspiring battle-cry with his fellows. “Victory is near! They possess neither honor nor courage! Victory! For the Emperor!” He raised Worldbreaker in salute to rally his allies.