[IC] The War of the Three

[Ryonara]

Hibiki & Shizuka

Hibiki counted the seconds it took her to get out of there. She had to hurry, not wanting to waste a moment. In roughly one minute, the barrier on the Killa Kan would break and leave the mech exposed to the heat. After that there was no telling what could happen. Either the bombs just get destoryed, or they explode prematurely. All the more reason Hibiki needed to get out as soon as possible, but when she actually got out of the tunnels she just received Bastion's message. Retreating was exactly what Hibiki was going to do, but Shizuka had a surprise for her: Total Cessation of Hostilities between the Demons, Angels, and Machina forces. Opening up a direct communication link to her Sister, Shizuka and Hibiki shared a dialog.

"What?! No way!"

"It's true. I just received word from Marquis and Bastion. It seemed like she negotiated something with them. The teleporter is ready to go, but the bombs-"

"The bombs! Shit! Get ready to evac, it may be too late!"

"But Hibiki, what about you?"

"Don't worry about me, sis will take care of things right quick!"

Just as Hibiki arrived to the top of her stairs, things only got worse for her. Her stealth cloak had fallen, so her ten minutes were up. Worse still an angel soldier was flying straight towards her. On a reflex Hibiki got low to the ground and took out her pistol, only to realize it was a familiar face. "You.... You're that angel who had infiltrated the Eliticor." If memories served, this angel was Diana. Hibiki was able to obtain a small dossier about her, mostly thanks to Shizuka being in possession of Diana's sword. But aside from that fact that Daina was on the angel's side and that her blade was effective against dragon-like creatures, Hibiki didn't know her other abilities or history. She obviously had wings and could spit lightning.

"You must be here because of the cease fire... Well... Alight! I need your help. I had planted explosives onto the ractor core, but if we don't hurry then this entire place is going to go up in flames!" It was very odd that Hibiki was telling Diana, technically her enemy, about this sabotage. But Hibiki didn't realize there was a cease fire until she had already gone through with her plans. And while the Nexus was a haven for war crimes, Hibiki wasn't going to mess up this chance because of miscommunication. "Let's go, there should be two robots down there. The one closest to the reactor has the bombs planted on them and they're armed. I need to get them back or else who knows what they'll do under these conditions."

Meanwhile Shizuka was pleased to see Henry leave peacefully. She didn't pursue him, though she did swoop down to secure the mech and more importantly, it's pilot. Shizuka struck fast and cleaved into the cockpit, revealing the pilot withing. Shizuka was careful not to kill the pilot as the maid had many questions. "Titania, please help me secure this prisoner. Do not let her near any of our equipment." The fact that this woman was piloting a mech instead of some sort of angel golem told Shizuka that she had good technical skills. Where she learned those skills was what Shizuka wanted to know, as someone like her could be either a valuable ally or a dangerous enemy. Either way Miyu was going to be a prisoner for now, and Shizuka kept a close eye on her. She wouldn't hesitate to run her through if she so much as reached for something in her pocket or behind her back.

@KoL@Flamelord@The 42nd Gecko

[Flamelord]

Tatiana Lorenz

It seemed that her suggestion was unneeded, but she wasn't surprised by that. That was why Shizuka was a commander after ll, and she just had to follow orders. Without some idea of the tactical situation beyond this mountain, she didn't need to go screwing this up for their faction.

At last Shizuka had some more instructions for her as she wandered about the teleporter room, making sure that it was secure from any potential trick. Here in enemy territory they couldn't take any chances, regardless of developments outside the mountain. Their attention turned to the mech present, and she joined the commander as they went about liberating the pilot from the robot that she was trapped in. That was certainly interesting, but at the moment they had other things to be concerned about.

"My name is Tatiana," she corrected for what it was worth as Shizuka instructed her to help secure their new prisoner. She had the feeling it wouldn't be very difficult though, and nudged the angel to see if she was still alive. With her unconscious and practically dead it looked like their equipment wouldn't be in much danger from her. Nonetheless she went about applying handcuffs to keep her in place, before adding a med pack to try and stabilize her. It'd ruin the point if she died while in their custody.

Glancing between Shizuka and their prisoner, she kept a rifle at the ready as she spoke. "So what are we using her for," she asked, just wondering what the commander was thinking. It wasn't like they were obligated to take prisoners at this point.

@Ryonara@TheWindel@KoL

[The 42nd Gecko]

@Ryonara@Flamelord

Miyu

[LHudson]

- FLOS - THE FLOWER OF DEATH -

The two strikes forward arrived before the Flower made his move. The sister came out and quickly clashed with the attacking creature. No words, only actions. The twins made their move, crossing each other as they gave the unit their wrath.

A moment of silence, Flos maintained eye contact with the unit, expecting another counter or even a slither of movement.

Nothing.

The unit had parted into two, it was done, and all Flos could do is observe. He flew to the broken walls and saw the field, the field now losing more and more soldiers.

He looked on before looking at the sisters in his hand, before at the corner of his sight he observed a...gathering? Machines mainly, and...

That face, the mangled face and body parts...it was familiar, not right. Flos kept a careful eye, but needed to go closer. He flew, took a different position, but would need to stay discreet.

@Ryonara @KoL @TheWindel @Flamelord

[KoL]

Diana
^{Current Location: Alt Signia, The Core Room Vent Tunnels}

"Oh? You are that maid of the Elicitor, right? What are yo-" If Diana were drinking something right now, she would have spat it all on Hibiki's face, after being told that the Machina somehow got a way to sneak and sabotage the Core room, despite Diana having locked the bulkheads before taking the center plug off. "You did what!?" The dragon girl was kind of dumbfounded.

Either way, the situation needed to be taken with calm and rational thought, "Erm... anyway," Diana cleared her throat and tried to sound cool and in control. "Don't you Machina put self-destruction devices even on your copy machines? Just press the red button and blast them before they blast us, or call them back, I don't know." Diana spoke from experience, given that one of her mission once involved copying the files of an old Machina archive, but somehow the damn copy machine exploded in her face despite not looking like it was bobby trapped.

"Or, if you can't, I guess we should get going. This tunnel here will take us right to the core. I don't know if you can take it, there are some places that are hot enough to melt steel. Oh, I know it!" Diana tapped her mantle, causing an aura of energy shaped like a dragon to envelop Hibiki for a moment, before dissipating, seemingly harmlessly. "I used my mantle's protection, you should be like a true dragon now, the heat will not be a problem, so let's go." The dragon girls leaped back in the tunnel's guiding Hibiki toward the core, where the Killa Kans should be.

---

@TheWindel, @LHudson, @floodtalon, @The 42nd Gecko, @Mega Birb, @Awesomoman64, @Ryonara, @Flamelord, @Lucius Cypher, @Lonewolf685.

[Ryonara]

Hibiki & Shizuka

"Causing them to explode is the last thing I want to do. They're too close to the reactor, and who knows what would happen if even one of them went off. The bombs themselves I'm not worried too much about, it's the killa kans. If they get destroyed before we get there, then the bombs might go off from the heat itself." Hibiki explained as she ran down the corridor with Diana. "As for the robots down there, they aren't really under my command. Their creator was that giant fight-happy war machine topside, so chances are they won't go down peacefully. They aren't mines, so we can just destroy them."

Soon enough the two girls would reach the forge, though the killa kan wasted no time asking questions and just started shooting Diana. "Stand down! She is no longer an enemy!" Of course Hibiki's words fell on deaf ears. These were Grafdakka's robots after all, all they knew was how to fight. Ideas like a "cease fire" was completely unknown to them. Hibiki was surprised that they could even recognize friend from foes. Hibiki dove out of the way of the bullets and bade a beeline towards the Killa Kan plodding it's way to the reactor core. She could already see the energy crackling from the barrier; if she doesn't get there soon then once the barrier was down, the killa kan would roast and potentially explode, with the bombs as well. "I'll disable the bomb, you need to stablize the reactor core before it's too late!"

Acrobatically jumping over any debris and obstacle in her path, Hibiki quickly caught up to the Killa Kan. Thanks to Diana's Mantle, the extreme heat from the room and the robot's own metal body barely phased her. However she was still pretty certain that if the reactor went nova, no amount of divine protection would protect her at ground zero. Normally Hibiki would be more delicate with machines, but in this instance efficiency was more important then empathy. Taking out her plasma cutter Hibiki cut into the Killa Kan, trying to get to the bombs directly. Bad mistake; by sinking her blade into the Killa Kan intentionally, she had marked herself as an enemy to the Killa Kan. She knew this when it tried to take a swipe at her. "Oh for fuck's sake!"

Hibiki rolled away from the Killa Kan's stray strike as it opened fire on Hibiki. She kept moving, making sure to run ahead of the bullets. Whipping out her pistol the mecha maid made a quick shot at the Kila Kan's gunbarrel, warping it and causing the gun the jam. She did the same to the other barrel, taking out both guns with two shots. Of course the war machine adapted quickly and charged, but that just saved Hibiki time from getting to it. It tried to lop off her head with a claw swipe, but Hibiki slide underneath the cut. When the Killa Kan tried to saw her in half Hibiki was quick to side-step. She could see the bombs nearby and while quickly holstering her pistol she grabbed the cluster of three before jumping back. She disarmed them quickly, rending them inert. But in that brief moment where Hibiki was distracted, the Killa Kan reached out and grabbed her by the leg. It's hydraulic-powered scissors sliced her leg in half and dropped her too the floor. Fortunately it was her prosthetic leg. Unfortunately now Hibiki couldn't move. She saw the Killa Kan's saw barrel towards her and the best she could do was raise her knife in a vain attempt to parry the strike.

Meanwhile back at the teleporter room Shizuka was maintaining the power to the teleporter. If Hibiki was going back to the reactor core to disarm the bombs, perhaps she could redirect the power back to the teleporter too. From the runes circling the main area, these runes could only take so much power. While certainly high yield, suitable for long distances, being powered by both Shizuka's ritual and the energy from the volcano might be too much. Shizuka was ready to drop her part of the ritual powering the teleporter if she felt something off, just to ensure they had an avenue of escape. Hibiki might have been quick to accept the cease fire, Shizuka had her doubts. She had no reason to think that the angels would go back on their word, and even demons keep their promises, but this was still a battlefield. And all is fair in love and war...

As Shizuka fretted about what to do she looked over to the body of Miyu. Removed from the mech, it seemed that Miyu was dead. Not really much of a prisoner, and it would be better to leave her body here for the angels to recover. However, when it came to keeping prisoners Shizuka was the warden between the two sisters. While Hibiki could use sweet words and false promises to convince a prisoner to switch sides or cooperate with the Machina, it was Shizuka's solemn duty to ensure they don't escape or cause trouble. After all, all the safeguards in place to keep Shizuka on a tight leash wasn't made by the Machina, but Shizuka herself. Only with Hibiki's permission did Shizuka lax the control over the safeguards, and she has never let one go so far.

As for Miyu's corpse, Shizuka knew what to do with it. Going to the body Shizuka gave a prayer to the body, touching Miyu's body on the forehead. Rex, Rex tremendae majestatis, qui salvandos savas gratis, salve me, fons pietatis..." As Shizuka chanted, a glow of light appeared on her finger tip where she touched Miyu, and soon her whole body was glowing. Shizuka wasn't resurrecting Miyu; such magical rituals took far longer than just a short prayer, and were too powerful for even Shizuka to use. She was actually consecrating Miyu's body to ensure that when her spirit returns, she would awaken in her own body. That is to say, when Miyu resurrects from death, she won't be with the Angels or the Demons. She'll be with the Machina, so long as Miyu's body is whole or if Shizuka remains alive. This way Miyu cannot escape from Shizuka even in death. Because in the Nexus, dying is only temporary. Once this battle was over and everyone went back to their respective bases, Miyu would be in for quite a surprise.

@KoL@The 42nd Gecko

[The 42nd Gecko]

@Ryonara@LHudson@Flamelord

Miyu

And then the Teleporter Room exploded.

While the Daimyo's reactor wasn't capable of going fully megaton yield critical, it was still quite capable of overheating its reactor for a more kiloton-measurable yield explosion. Now, it was a fusion core, which meant the operating temperature, was in the multi-million degree Celsius range during normal operation. When it went higher than that, and dropped containment, the result was the heat sending the Daimyo's parts apart at rather absurd speeds outwards, as the armored metal deformed like a cell-phone in a microwave, only sped up several hundred times and explosively seperating. The enclosed room and the hallway outside were bathed in both kinetic and thermal energy far in excess of what the teleporter would be able to survive and still function, much less "still be distinguishable from molten metal mid forging process". The walls would burst outwards, and depending how far above the forge room they were, Miyu might have just blown up the treasure too. Shizuka, Flos, and Titiana would have their work cut out for them.

Had Miyu really managed to predict these things this far in advance?

Secret Secret

No, she didn't. Her spirit unified with the Daimyo's systems via some quirk of her Unity type magic, Balrog and Grafdaka style, to make one last parting attack. Checked with Windel for Oks.

[Flamelord]

Tatiana Lorenz

While Tatiana had originally thought that the angel was unconscious or something, at a second glance it appeared she was actually dead after all. Really it was something of a miracle that she had gotten this far with such a bad head wound, but she supposed that if anyone would have access to miracles it would be Heaven. That was sort of their providence after all.

But it seemed that her companion had something else in mind, and Tatiana kept guard as Shizuka went about some sort of ritual on their now dead captive. There was some sort of haze at the edge of her sensor range, and she wasn't quite certain what it was, which left her on edge. Sure there was the truce in effect, but if they were discovered inside the Angelic stronghold who knew what would happen. There might just be an 'accident' or something like that, which she would prefer to avoid if she could. Now that they had come this far.

And then the mech exploded, some sort of suicide mechanism in the machine that was tied to her vital signs perhaps? It didn't seem that unreasonable. Unfortunately she didn't exactly have time to think about it. "Fuck."

Then she couldn't say anything else. Because she was dead. From standing next to an exploding fusion reactor.

@The 42nd Gecko@Ryonara@LHudson

[LHudson]

- FLOS - THE FLOWER OF DEATH -

The Angel observed, watching as the body was being analysed. The smell of them, the clashing scents from sheer sight alone, almost disgusting if it wasn't for the fact that the Flower was a hypocrite. Best to admit it then to lie to others, shows that you're the exception to your own rule. "What the hell are you up to?" he spoke to himself, wondering what would become of their tampering. He gripped the sisters, and prepared to make his move.

One quick breath.

White light, quick flash, gravity and heat pushing towards him.

He was high in the air, his senses now gone, only being able to feel the cold wind as his guideless flight continued. The sisters were gone, his arms frozen in the sheer shock, and his eyes fixed towards whatever direction his body faced. He could hear nothing but his breath, his heart, and could see only the sky above.

Then pain, near overwhelming.

The base of his back landed first, kicking him back into the air only temporarily, before once again contacting it. More bounces, before a continuous roll gradually slowed the rag-doll to a halt. His wings were pained, his leg injury aggravated, and his arms rendered weak. All that, in addition to the near endless cuts all over his body and face, sent Flos into a daze. His eyes were weak, he slowly moved his arms, and dragged his body towards a small clearing that rested on an angle.

Beyond that, the aftermath, he saw the shockwave continue, disturbing or laying waste to whatever was in its path. Alt Signia, now covered in the bright light that annihilated it. Did it? Couldn't tell, his eyesight was betraying him, failing to focus on anything. He couldn't speak, only try to observe, do the one thing that lead him all the way to this point. Slow, in extreme pain, and his head in a land he has never heard of.

He pushed himself onto his back and looked at the sky. He focused on his wheezing breath and tried to contain the pain, but to no avail. He heard of the stories of the Nexus and it's properties, but it wouldn't stop this, wouldn't stop the pain nor the dread of possibility. He heard stories of people coming back and some not, it was an avenue he never found himself in, and yet, he was in fear of possibly encountering the gates.

He closed his eyes, felt the winds, focused his breathing.

@Ryonara @The 42nd Gecko @Flamelord

[Lonewolf685]

The War of the Three
^{~The Forges of Alt Signia~}

^~Conclusion~

The Battle for the Angelic Forges of Alt Signia began and ended with a bang, and while all sides tried to achieve some success from the conflict, one does come out the clear winner beyond the others.

The Machina had accomplished their goals of acquiring the Ruthria resources and suffered the least casualties. More importantly, while it was not through their doing, the Angelic Base was rendered inoperable both above ground and below, forcing the Dwarven the inhabitants that survived to leave their homes and search for a new mountain to rebuild.

Within 24 hours of this exodus, tectonic activity reached a critical point that terminated in the eruption of the local Volcano, burying Alt Signia beneath a sea of burning crimson and all the weaponry that hadn't been carried out by hand therein. While this has removed a notable measure of control over the local angelic territory, it is still to deep past the border for either the Machina or Demons to take any ground at the moment.

As for the Demons, there choice in Commander by the oft derided King Rufus had cost them any glory in battle, but with it being Miyu that had put the final nail in the coffin, few could argue with the results. Their objectives where achieved to some degree, with the second largest portion of resources carried away by a tide of maggots, Henry Pearl Avarati, and two STLTH units whose self destruct functions were disabled immediately on acquisition. They wouldn't be bragging about this battle any time soon, but they had not failed either, and were the only side to take any captives. Having both Grafdakka and Endian captive proves a substantial boon to their cause, and it came through the efforts of a horny succubus.

The Angels suffered the worst in this engagement. Many valiant souls fought to preserve Alt Signia from invaders, one even going so far as to offer the olive branch to preserve the dignity of all those gathered, but it was not enough. Sabotage, miscommunication, and excessive collateral damage broke the base's defenses and crippled it beyond repair, leaving Heaven without a major manufacturing hub in its resource network. With time a new base can be established, all the better with the health and safety guidelines laid out by Diana after her erroneous efforts to hinder infiltrator, but in the present they will suffer a drop in efficiency.

Now the battle is done, and those left return home to those who have already resurrected in order to rest, recuperate, and plot their next moves.

They would not have to wait long, for three missives were making their way through back channels, and would soon come to rest before the thrones of the three leaders. What they contained would be a mystery to Eos, a dire omen to Deva, and a grim opportunity for Rufus, but what that meant would be discovered soon enough...

---

^{@TheWindel, @LHudson, @floodtalon, @The 42nd Gecko, @Mega Birb, @Awesomoman64, @Ryonara, @Flamelord, @Lucius Cypher, @KoL, @Grombus.}

[KoL]

Diana
^{Current Location: Alt Signia, The Forge}

"So... we can break them but, they can't explode themselves? Is that even possible?" Diana questioned the logic behind Hibiki's statement. "Don't you guys put bombs even on your toasters?" Diana knew very well how the Machina were bomb maniacs, after that time when she tried to copy some documents during an infiltration just to have the bloody copy machine blast her face, followed by the very papers exploding too!

"The Machina really take 'blowing their load' seriously. Maybe that's one of their Queen's kinks? Hehe- What the!?" Being distracted as she was with dirty thoughts and jokes, she failed totally at noticing when Hibiki engaged the Killa Kans, up to the point where the Maid was almost killed and one of the Kans turned to Diana, spewing hot lead at the dragon girl. "Heh! You think that's enough to take me, when we are in a place such as this one?"

Diana jumped backwards, drawing a long breath. When she landed, she made a point of remembering the Machina, what happened on the Elicitor. "Ghhh!!!" Came out Diana's breath attack, a straight line of plasma, far hotter than the lava running behind the tunnel. What was left of the Killa Kans was a few puddles of goopy metal, the rest, including their main hulls and any bombs was destroyed in a flash by the several thousand degrees hot, electrically charged gas.

"Y'know what? It would be so very easy to capture you to make up for that time on the Elicitor but, I'll let it slip this time." Diana said after helping Hibiki back to a sitting position, against one of the charred stone walls. "And, if I wanted to kill you, all I needed to do was take the mantle's protection away when I did my breath attack. Just call one of your allies and get out while I can turn a blind eye to it." Diana lifted Hibiki's chin and tuned the maid's face to take a profile look, using her tail, before letting it go and turning to the inner core. "But, I bet that my Mistress would reward me if I took someone such as you to her. Maybe, I should do that next time, when we are not in a truce?"

With that said, Diana left, to do what she was supposed to, now that this battle was pretty effectively over.

---

@TheWindel, @LHudson, @floodtalon, @The 42nd Gecko, @Mega Birb, @Awesomoman64, @Ryonara, @Flamelord, @Lucius Cypher, @Lonewolf685.

[Grombus]

MAEN

Maen wriggled his feet in the cool dirt, enjoying the feeling of grass between his toes and the breeze on his skin. New sounds assailed his senses and his eyes widened in amazement at all of the new things to behold. He stared around him spinning in a circle attempting to take it all in, seeing the rolling hills and blue sky, dotted with strange white puffs that seemed to float by themselves.

A concerned look flitted across his face as he realized that there was no moon in the sky, instead there seemed to be some kind of fiery orb that made his skin tingle and his eyes burn. Though it slowly seemed to be falling into a patch of colors he had never seen before. He turned away and saw beautiful pillars of some brown material that was rough to the touch, they were holding up grass.

He peered closer and realized that instead of the strange green hairs on the ground these ones were shaped in a variety of ways, rounding out at the bottom and coming to points at the top. He took one is his hand rolling it between his thumb and forefinger, exploring this new and strange world. The green object left his hand wet so he wiped it on his chest.

He looked towards a group of the strange brown pillars and saw some four legged creatures bounding across the ground, their coats look soft and warm with white spots mottling their brown fur. He started towards them but as he came closer one of them wrenched it's head towards him and bounded away, the other ones followed and soon they were lost in the vast forest. Overwhelmed by these new sights Maen sat down on the ground and stretched, attempting to collect his thoughts while enjoying the feeling of the green hairs on his bare skin.

He shook his head and looked away from the forest, first noticing that in every direction there was sprawling grasslands and wide open fields, some with strangely straight rivets in them. Weird metal objects lay scattered on some of these fields along with colorful sprouts that seemed to just come out of the ground. He looked next to one of these strange field and noticed a plume of smoke coming up from behind one of the hills, seeing nowhere else to go besides the vast dark forest behind him he set out towards it.

Approaching the smoke he caught the scent of something delightful that set his mouth watering, he sped towards it and came around the hill. On the other side he saw a hut that seemed to be made of the same strange brown pillars he had seen earlier with a rectangular section cut into the side that had a weird circular stone on it, the top of the hut had a stone tube jutting out of the top that seemed to spew forth smoke.

The delicious smell was coming from inside the strange hut, he walked up to the rectangular section in the wall and touched it. It was smooth with a pattern of straight lines starting from the top and going straight down, he pulled back his hand and rapped solidly on the wall. A hollow echo sounded out, he liked how it sounded as it reminded him of how the stones sounded back home.

While he went to knock for the third time the door opened wide and revealed a creature clothed in strange fabrics with what looked like pieces of straw adorning its head, the creature looked at him, it's eyes widening as it peered up and down his body. It's mouth opened and a horrid noise tore from its throat, in a strange guttural language it turned around and called for something, it's small stubby legs carrying it quickly to the back room of the hut.

When it exited again Maen was still standing still at the front door confused at why this creature was running around awkwardly, he tried to calm it saying "I mean no harm strange beast." he paused remembering a much more important question "Are you the thing that smells so sweet?"

Unhearing or not understanding, the creature charged at him this time though another creature came from the back room it had just been in, this creature was larger and more defined, it's shoulders were wider and it wore less cloth than the straw headed thing. Behind the large two legged creature stood a small one, it's squat legs and arms quivered as it made a strange squealing sound.

The small creature in the back bolted back into the room it had come from while the large one and the straw headed one charged Maen. The straw headed one had a shining triangular weapon clasped in it's hands, it looked almost like glass and just as sharp. While the large one in the back was holding a stick with four prongs on the end of it, they both looked angry and afraid. The one with the glass-but-not-glass stopped short of him and held the the thing threateningly as it continued spewing strange sounds, the large one came up to Maen and shoved the straw headed one back holding out his stick as though trying to scare Maen away.

Maen held his hand out and tried to push the creatures aside to get into the hut and towards a strange black bucket that sat over a tiny version of the thing in the sky, this bucket seemed to be the source of the smell that had drawn him here. As he shoved the straw head aside the large one lunged at him with the pointed shining stick, as soon as it made contact Maen's skin dissolved into smoke and the creature fell through him, his momentum kept his stumbling past Maen and out the door.

Maen walked towards the metal bucket and the smell became stronger, he looked inside and saw a pool of delicious smelling broth bubbling and steaming. He reached into it and scooped some into his hands, he brought his hands to his lips and drank. The boiling stew soothed his throat and left a comfortable warmth in his stomach.

Satisfied he had found the source of the smell he turned back around to see the weird creatures staring at him in fear, their awkward grunting noises becoming louder and more frantic. The large one charged at Maen again and tried to spear him through the chest, and again his body dissolved into smoke leaving the thing to stumble behind him.

Maen's ears perked up as he heard a familiar noise, he looked around frantically trying to find the soundless song that echoed through his very soul. The noise he had heard so many times, that had soothed him and kept madness at bay. He peered around panicked and confused as to where it could be coming from, as the moon wasn't there the last time he looked. He saw a hole in the wall that led out into a world with a black sky. That can't be right, the black sky is gone. The sky is blue here, with the false moon and the white fluffs..

Everything was so different here, how could it change again so suddenly, he raced past the straw haired thing and the large one, and through the hole in the wall he had come through. The air was cool and the sky was black, but this sky had points of light dotting it, thousands of them. Yet none compared to the bright and perfect moon, it's majesty could not be marred by these pretenders, it's perfect beauty still calling to him from so far away. He smiled knowing that she hadn't forsaken him, "Why did you leave me, why did you stop singing to me for so long?" he whimpered.

It's strangled song, sad and melancholy echoed through his very being, until it was interrupted as the straw haired thing thrust his stick through Maen's head. Silence. He listened closely, yet the perfect silence dragged out into an eternity. The music was gone again. He closed his eyes and turned his head back towards the moon, a red tear slipped from his eye as the silence consumed him. His sorrow turned to anger and he turned around, his green, moon crazed eyes boring into the creature behind him, "Why..." he asked "Why would you stop the music?"

Silence.

"WHY WOULD YOU STOP THE SONG?!" he roared and reached out, but not with his hand, with something deeper, something darker.

It roared inside him like a beast uncaged, it's rage unknowable and terrible. It reached out to this puny creature and crushed it in it's grasp. Yet crushing it wasn't enough, it tore deep into the things body finding where it's life beat in it's chest. It tore it out and rent it apart, spraying red liquid across his face and the grass nearby. The large creature cried out in anguish and charged, but his cry fell on deaf ears as the darkness lashed out again, grabbing the thing by the chest and lifting it into the air, it would take it's time with this one, learn all it had to know, and then tear it apart.

The dark tendril fanned out splitting into multiple appendages, each one sinking deep into the creature tearing knowledge and memories free, drinking deep on all this thing had to know. Maen decided he wanted to know what these horrid beasts thought, why they assumed they could interrupt him and his music. A word bubbled to the top of his mind, the word that this beast used to describe itself.

The creature held this word in reverence as though without it, it would be less, "Humanity" the word echoed as though it alone could define it's horrid existence. He would find out this creatures thoughts, he would understand it and all of it's kind. And he would bring them death.

It would take time, but then again, what was time to a thing as old as him.

[Gardevoiran]

Bonesword

~Intermission~

---

With the recent war over with and one hopefully not happening any time soon, the skeleton was roaming around the cities of the Nexus in his spare time, with the majority of them being neutral, and he was currently spending time at his favorite region. There was a region of neutral territory where anyone was allowed and the troubles of war were pretty much ignored, allowing for the mingling of factions as long as there was no violence out of hatred. The main attraction of this place, however, wasn't the equality of the various factions... This region was well-renowned for it's alcohol, being it's source of unofficial 'power'.

The swordsman entered a locally-owned tavern. It was rather cheap for the prices it sold at, and for what they sold as stock it was just a dandy little place. Bonesword spent a lot of his time here when he wasn't on duty, and a lot of money went into buying drinks. The skeleton wasn't an alcoholic by any means, he just drank heavily mixed drinks which were rather expensive. Without a moment of hesitation, the skeleton went into the pub and up to the bar, where he began to place his order for his standard drink. "A kamikaze and a full bottle of Scotch." Expensive? Yes. Underrated? Hell no. The skeleton waited for his drink as he pulled a small puzzle cube out of his pocket and played with it in his hands, shifting it up and flicking through it while trying to solve it.

---

^{@anyone-who-wants-to-have-a-drinking-game}

[Flood]

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

---

The gates to Henry's castle rose, the 10 foot doors swung open, lights flickered on all across the hallway, the Hell Hounds perked up as they knew their master was finally home. Finally he made his GRAND ENTRANCE... and collapsed on the floor a few yards in. The Hellhounds panicked as this was never a good sign, however rarely it happened. They rushed over to him and began sniffing and whimpering, trying to nudge him and make him get up.

Henry was not in good shape, blood and oil all over him and his arm was definitely broken in 2 separate places. He was barely conscious, likely to die if he didn't get himself fixed up immediately. Luckily he had prepared for just this scenario. Angelica gently placed Henry's unbroken arm in her mouth and bit down gently. She began dragging him to the room where the Hellhounds slept and moved aside a kiddie pool they used as a water bowl. Underneath it was a bottle filled with Blood of the Legion, which forced the body to burn Mana to heal the body. Probably the worst healing potion Henry had, but the rest were in the Gates.

Angelica rolled the bottle to Henry and he fumbled with the top, eventually electing to just smash the top half of the bottle and drink it like that. He gritted his teeth in pain as he felt his bones begin to forcefully align themselves properly and hissed in pain as they fused back together way faster than they were supposed to. His Hellhounds surrounded him while he reflected on the past day and healed.

Anyone breaking into the castle looking for Henry can follow the trail of blood to the Hellhound's room, but they will be attacked if they get too close to Henry. And there are few things that hurt more than a Hellhound's bite.

[Flamelord]

Tatiana Lorenz

The worst part about dying, after dying itself, was waking up from being dead. Barely had consciousness returned for her than did Tatiana collapse to the metal floor, coughing and resisting the urge to throw up right there. She felt like crap, her limbs hurt, and it definitely could have been a better time for her right now.

Such was life. She had died, and then they had stuffed her backed up consciousness in a new body, one with most of the memories she had had before. There might have been a few missing, but most of those involved exploding in one form or another and she wasn't too distraught about that. This clone body had been prepared with her own DNA< and was for all intents and purposes her, even if her last self was very much dead at this point.

Her muscles still burned, a result of being actually used rather than dosed up with all their needed nutrients and then held in stasis, but she found past it to rise to her feet. She was in a large room, rows after rows of tubes stacked on top of each other, most of which had a body floating inside. Motorized cranes rested nearby for retrieval, along with the equipment to remove a person from inside the tube and wake them up. Everyone here was a human, but she imagined that the other members of the Machina had their own facilities elsewhere.

At least she had clothes, though it was basically a white medical gown. That was first on her list of priorities, but following on that was the pangs of hunger that were starting to make themselves known with the pain she felt fading away. It probably had to do with only getting liquid nutrients or something, though she was used to it by this point. Once you died enough times, you started to adjust to the process.

"Stupid suicide bomb," Tatiana huffed as she started on her way out of the room, wincing against the cold metal of the floor. Really, why would the Angels have something like that, much less set it off inside their own base? Sure, she was only complaining because it was a pain to be reborn after dying but she figured it was a justified complaint. It wasn't like she had done much else in this battle that was worth complaining about. At least they had won the fight.

Regardless, priorities. First she'd get some clothes and then move on to the nearest cafeteria. She was going to load up a tray with as much food as she could fit on there and then eat until she couldn't eat anymore. She felt like she deserved that much.

---

Tartys

Tartys sat with an inner turmoil in her heart, masked to those who would look at her by a calm exterior as she sat in one of the many pavilions of Heaven tuning a guitar. it was a hobby of hers, and one that she was fairly good at. Not a virtuoso, but she could certainly be worse off in that regard.

With the outcome of the previous battle, she sorely needed the time to recover and to reflect. It was strange, that they had done so well in the fight to the point where the Demonic faction had been effectively eviscerated, yet somehow it was still a loss for them/ Even Alt Signia itself had fallen after the battle was over, a crippling blow even if it could not be seized by one of the other factions.

At least they had Miyu back, so that was a positive. Even with the whole trial bit following on that.

A soft sigh escaped as she strummed the strings, letting the sound ring out before reaching over to twist one of the many knobs at the end. With how it had ended, she could only reflect on her own role in the battle. She had fought well, but it felt like she had underperformed. Perhaps if she had done more, if she had fought harder, they would not have lost as badly as they had. Against the Machina there was always going to be a limit to how well they did, but it would be silly to argue that it was the demons who had won this battle. There was no reason they should have came out of this as well as they did.

After a few more minutes the guitar was tuned to her satisfaction, and a smile graced her lips as she strummed it and began to play. It was a slow melody, melancholic and full of the emotions that she felt right now. Sadness, her personal failings, and perhaps something to console if someone needed it.

"I saw the light, fade from the sky. On the wind I heard a sigh....."

[TheWendil]

~Bastion~
^{Current Location: Hyperion, Capital of the Machina}

Hyperion. The Capital of the Machina was as cold and bleak as the robotic overlords that ran the place. Although Queen Eos tried to keep up the illusion of peace between machine and human, it was pretty obvious who was at the top of the food chain. Still, humans and Machina worked well enough if only for the war effort. Funny how conflict had a habit of uniting people, regardless if they wanted it.

Even so, Bastion was regretting the whole human aspect and wondered if her place among the Machina was really that special. Being called in by Queen Eos’ personal advisor to report on the mission had been fun she guessed, but the moment she walked out of that massive chamber did reality begin to kick in. Mutterings of a human fighting on the frontlines didn’t fail to reach her; but like her Machina comrades, she chose to ignore it with a stoic feature like cold metal.

Such as it were that she found herself eating alone in one of the Machina’s cafeterias located in their many soldier facilities. Nothing too special since her appetite had been ruined for the day. Thoughts of Diana continued to fill her mind and her mismatched eyes stared at the soup a little longer before scanning the rest of the room. Still, one sight made her blink and she forced a smile on her face.

“Over here Tatiana,” she called out, hoping to flag the other girl down. It wasn’t like she had anyone else to talk to and the STLTH Units were opening their mouths soon. “Did you make it back alive?” she asked, the first thing said when Tatiana was within hearing distance. “Oh, and I also heard Graf and Endian got captured by Demons. But since we got the most supplies it might have balanced out but I dunno….”

---

@Flamelord, @Ryonara

[KoL]

Absinthe Blue
^{Current Location: A very peculiar bar in the middle of nowhere}

"Right away, mister, right away!" Bonesword would be answered by a very... peculiar bartender that just happened to attend to clients on this most prestigious establishment. The impish looking being, known by the very appropriate moniker of Absinthe Blue handed him his alcoholic concoction with a sweep of her tail, before reclining over the counter, practically trusting her impish features on his skull.

"May I ask you what brings a gentleman such as you to this establishment? Surely, you must have heard of our fame. Or perhaps, you're just looking for a place to rest your bones?" Sadly, her humorous penchant didn't quite caught up to her mixing skills, it seemed.

"Could I suggest our houses special? The first bottle is on our tab, y'know?" The bartender pulled a bottle of the same drink all other patrons seemed to be partaking in happily, a glowy, blue spirit that seemed to pull one's eyes to it, whispering sweet melodies of inebriation in the eternal early evening with which the zone where the bat was located in was bathed.

Every now and then, one of the patrons went to pass through a mysterious door in the side of the counter and would not really come back at least for the time Bonesword had been in there. Was it the restrooms entry, or perhaps, a far more... hot place? One thing was certain though, whatever happened there, it was probably too good to give up.

---

@Banana@TheWindel@Lonewolf685

[Gardevoiran]

Bonesword

~Intermission~

---

The swordsman was put-off by the atmosphere of the place. All he wanted to do was get alcohol that he desired, and not any of this special stuff. The blue alcohol was attractive, even hypnotic, but with the look that everyone in the bar had at that time, it did not give a good vibe to the skeleton. "I thank you for the offer, but I'm alright for the time being..." Bonesword had a bottle of scotch and a kamikaze, and he was quite happy with that. He couldn't even properly get intoxicated off the stuff because he had no liver or stomach to even process it, and if anything it just wet his pants when he drank anything. One might ask why the skeleton possesses a trait of alcoholism but cannot get drunk off it, and they would be answered with how the swordsman did not want to be rude.

"... nice pun by the way. I can respect a sense of humor." Bonesword actually questioned if all succubi had a fondness for wordplay, because so far he's met two succubi that both said some good puns. It was then when he noticed that there was the small door on the side of the bar, taking whatever unlucky patron to god-knows where. It enticed the swordsman to know what exactly was down there, but there was the sense of something bad underlying everything. How could he figure out without personally experiencing it? Immediately the wordplay came back to mind, and the skeleton chuckled as he put his kamikaze down to speak. "I'll buy a bottle of the house special if you can tell me where *that* door would whisk-me off to." Heh heh! Whiskey, whisk me! The skeleton loved that joke.

---

^{@Kol@TheWindel@Lonewolf685}

[Flamelord]

Tatiana Lorenz

It was a fairly quick trip to the cafeteria once she had retrieved some new clothes, and she was looking forward to it. Once the immediate pain of being released had faded away new aches sprang to the surface. Food would do some wonders for her physical condition, she was sure of it. Then she could get on with whatever else she needed to handle in the day.

Arriving at her destination, she wasted no time in doing just as she had said. With a tray obtained she got herself a glass of mineral water, and then loaded it up with everything she could. Eggs, sausage, pancakes, biscuits, a bit of gravy, and more. She was going to eat until she couldn't eat anymore, and then she would be satisfied. Rebirth made you hungry, it was just an unfortunate part of this one method. It wasn't like food was particularly scarce here in the capital anyway.

With her food in hand she moved back into the cafeteria to take a seat. Before she could do so she was flagged down by a familiar figure, and made her way over to join Bastion in sitting at her table. "No, I didn't," she admitted with a shrug as she placed her food down before sitting in front of her current companion.

As she stabbed at one of the sausages, she explained. "Me and Shizuka were holding down the teleporter room inside the volcano, then this angel comes stumbling in, drops dead, and then...I think they exploded. The last couple seconds are a bit fuzzy." Much as she had wanted to stay alive, there wasn't much she could do about in that particular moment.

Grimacing, she eyed the food on her fork with an obvious desire. "Now I've got that weird taste in my mouth, you know? It's kinda like fluoride or something." Needless to say it did not taste good, and she quickly masked the taste as she began to chow down on the food in front of her. She was still paying attention, of course, but she kept it no secret that she was hungry right now.

@TheWindel

[Mega Birb]

Sliske Arkilius

The shadowy figure of Sliske sat atop a throne of corpses on his new planet, listening to the somber sound of a funeral march played by his entourage of ghostly musicians while the slaves of his empire trudged past in chains. This was what he could accomplish when he was left in charge, when no one was there to interfere with his greater plans. This burning rock was just a stepping stone to him on the way to the demonic throne. Though the biggest issue was that Rufus always expected betrayal, it was the whole reason he had been in power for as long as he had. A matter for another time, for now the incubus was merely there to strengthen the demons to immediate victory. He couldn't help but chuckle. He had a new arsenal to reinforce what powers had already had, and the time to showcase them would come soon enough. For now, he stood from his mountain and clawed open a rift before him, leaving behind a number of his specialized minions to keep the land secure for the foreseeable future.

The rift would open up in the foyer of Henry Pearl Avaritia II's manor, the scent of conquest still thick on him while Sliske stepped through. Purple fire erupted from his eyes, the magical power inside him barely able to contain itself within his physical form. He glanced down at the floor for a brief moment and noticed the surprisingly consistent trail of blood leading into the kitchen, then decided to follow it. While he stepped, the iconic clicks of his heels on the floor would probably alert the hellhounds the fellow demon kept as pets, though it was of little matter. In his current state, it would take an army to bring him to his knees. Upon his arrival to the kitchen, the incubus spotted Henry groaning in pain while his body shuddered with repairs. He leaned on the door frame, crossing his arms and legs while he spoke. "Y'know Henry, if you ever feel like staging a coup against Rufus, I'd be willing to bury the hatchet for an hour or two." He pulled his lips back in a smirk, the faintest hint of silver flashing from between his lips.

@floodtalon@Lonewolf685

---

Torag Draken

Torag had stayed at Alt Signia to help evacuate the area and preserve what he could of the Dwarven technology. In the end, his work proved fruitful, much of the technology had been moved off world by the time of the eruption, though the issue of a superior forge to the other factions still existed. There wasn't much he could do, though some of the volcano had survived the blast. In the years of war to come, maybe an effort to rebuild could be made.

At the current moment, however, Torag was wandering the halls of Celestia in search of Tartys and Omega, wanting to congratulate them on their efforts to preserve what they could of the mountain in the battle. True, none of that really mattered by the end of the conflict, though the time put into the fight would still merit at least a thanks. He paused for a moment as the tuning notes of a guitar rang out a short distance, piquing his interest momentarily. The draugr shuffled his way to the source of the sound, the trademark clinks of his armor giving away any approach he may have wanted to hide... for some reason, stealth wasn't his forte. In a moment, his expression would light up moderately as he discovered the musician gracing the area with her music: Tartys.

In a number of slow, deliberate movements, the wraith sat down beside the angel and listened in silence while she sang. A beautiful tune it was, despite it's simplicity. In the moment, something within him moved, long dead feelings coming to life once again while he started to read into the lyrics of the song... and one could almost see the traces of tears from long ago grace his cheeks. While the girl finished her tune, the corpse choked out the words, unsure of how to say what he was thinking now. "That... was beautiful, Tartys. I had no idea there was an artist among this band of holy inquisitors." He paused for a moment, his thoughts returning to the original reason he was even in this brighter end of the Angelic City. "I also wanted to thank you for your efforts at Alt Signia. They will not be forgotten." He cracked his face into a pained smile, trying to convey some amount of emotion with the simple gesture.

@Flamelord

---

Syphax Gallus Aquilus

In the search of a better drink than what Celestia had to offer, Syphax had decided that a somewhat passive Neutral Zone famous for it's alcohol was his best bet. He had left the drunk Dorafraki a note, detailing where he would be going in case she wished to join him eventually... or in the event he ended up trapped there, for one reason or another. The harpy shrugged as he pushed aside the curtain that served as a door, tucking his wings in to fit through the small space the best they could. They gave the top of the frame a little more than a light brush due to their sheer size, though it wouldn't be responsible for any real damage, though the pommel of his greatsword left a slight dent in his wake. Once inside, he found the pub to be relatively empty, the obvious exceptions being a bright blue bartender and a skeleton that looked like it had made a hat for itself out of a mushroom. "Well, I take it that all three factions decided to sit down for a drink today." He laughed to himself as he took a seat beside the bone bag, not really caring for the allegiance of anyone in the room. His talons would wrap firmly around the stool, instinctively doing so to provide a perch despite his seated position while the aqua-colored bartender mentioned something about the house special. "Well, you found my one weakness. Set me up with one of those, thanks." He nodded to the girl, paying virtually no mind to the room people were frequently disappearing into.

@Banana@KoL@Lucius Cypher

---

Marquis

Marquis stepped from his "private" armory, the term used loosely because he shared it with Stark Zealot and a new prototype unit he had yet to meet. Despite the extremely vague information he had been given regarding the new AI, he felt much better about this addition than he did about Zealot and his mysterious, if not malevolent, personality. He tipped his hat forward as the door sealed behind him and he made his way off, headed for the cafeteria. While he had no need to eat, it would at least be a good idea to mingle with his comrades and figure out better ways to organize the Machina. While others would like to sit on a victory, he was one to always keep planning, like some form of obsession.

Moments later, he arrived to find the dining hall largely empty, with the notable exception of Tatiana Lorenz and Bastion. He gave both of them a polite nod before taking a seat across from the pair, back straight as always. "Greetings, friends. I'd like to congratulate both of you on the battle, we made off with more than enough resources to cripple any advance Heaven may make. They're on the defensive now, for certain. I doubt we'll see much of the juggernaut Torag for a long time." He shuddered ever so slightly at the mention of the commander, knowing that not even the unmatched precision of the robot could kill something like him.

@Flamelord@TheWindel@KoL