[IC] The War of the Three

[Flamelord]

Tatiana Lorenz

Tatiana could understand the reasoning applied for why Bastion had not been allowed to come, which was probably related to the last time that Bastion had been captured by something. They didn't need her coming back as a corrupted death machine after all, not after all the effort they had put in to getting her back in the first place. "Staying away from the mad scientist if you can seems like a wise choice," she concurred.

Falling silent, she averted her gaze out of embarrassment, or perhaps guilt. "Besides, I would have felt bad if I had accidentally killed you," she muttered. Sure that demon had gotten his just deserts, but that didn't mean she would simply pretend it had never happened. In a war like this there was plenty of time for revenge.

Fortunately they didn't have to worry about that for long as the conversation soon turned to the topic of what they would have to do next. "I hadn't." Tatiana had been a bit busy with practicing her new powers, but she would have looked into it soon. There would always be another battle after all. "And yes, it does." The question was what was at Arcadia that the factions wanted. She didn't know, but then again it wasn't her place to. She just had to fight, and she was more than ready to do that.

@TheWindel

---

Tartys

It seemed as though even with the interruption, more and more faces were showing up to either listen to the music or to commiserate with those who were already listening. Some of them were familiar and some of them not, but regardless of intent or person it gave her quiet satisfaction to see so many people here enjoying themselves, without the war to worry about.

Listening to her more persistent viewer, Tartys was left to wonder if anyone actually liked him, and how much of that was because of his attitude or because of his questions. Neither option would really surprise her, but it would probably be good to know if only for her own handling of this situation. She did her best to not let it get to her as she played along with weaving melodies and lofting notes that illuminated the vision she had in her mind.

Yet even the song faltered for a moment as the sound of wings came from above, but not just wings. Looking up, her eyes widened to see the sky filled with harpies, led by Syphax as he arrived near the group that had been arranged. "Congratulations," she called back to Syphax in praise as she watched the return. It might be bad for the cleaning staff, but that was what magic was for. They had survived worse, as far as she knew.

"Compared to the event, cleaning is most likely a minor concern," Tartys noted aloud on the heels of what she had said before. The harpies would prove a great boon to heaven if they were willing to serve, and the mere return of so many lost souls should be celebrated. She was sure they would have to fight soon, but for now, they could all enjoy their home and the wonders within it.

@Mega Birb@KoL@Inner Demon@Awesomoman64@The 42nd Gecko

[KoL]

Victoire Bordeaux, the Bloody Countess

"I see, that's certainly interesting," Victoire said to Henry as she righted her posture once again. "It seems that none of you have changed so much ever since Ruthria, right, Avaritia?" The vampire commented in her usual nonchalant tone, still largely unconcerned with Sliske's fate as he kept on haggling with Ira.

"Now that I think about it," Victoire threw a lascivious look at Henry as she said, "I owe you a treat, don't I? If you are willing, I can give it right he—" Victoire's fangs were already bared, flashing their pristine glint, when Gelgath barged in with his circus troupe.

A low hiss forced itself out of the vampire's throat, but not for long as it was soon replace with an amused grin. "Well now, I believe this shall be an amusing spectacle. Please, excuse me," Victoire said as she stepped aside and summoned a luxurious armchair to rest while savoring a cup of her blood rose tea. For all that Victoire cared, Hell could freeze or burn over, it was not her problem, but at least it would be fun to watch.

Ciel, the Stargazer

Ciel's smiled widened as she gazed upon the joyous moment the denizens of the Heavens were sharing, the flight of the harpies was indeed a sight to behold, including one particular individual who Ciel was particularly connected to, Aquila... the Celestial Spirit of the Aquila constellation and a High Priestess of the very same tsundere Wind Goddess the Angels faced on Hohenheim's tests. She swept by to greet her Master before going back to the garden. Aquila landed not very far from Syphax, but remained silent given that she didn't knew anyone there.

"Such a shame that it seems that not everyone can take part in the celebrations. I guess that I could see if I can do something about that," Ciel said to herself as she peered though a what looked like a mirror made out of pure starlight and saw a spectral figure leaving the premises of Celestia, seemingly in a sorrowful manner.

"And then, there are those who never make up their minds, no matter how much they think," the argent-haired girl chuckled lightly as she drank the remainder of her tea, leaving the silver and sapphire studded glass teapot with yet half of its contents (including a second cup she filled, apparently for no one), as well as the book she was reading, over the table as she got back to her feet. For a moment she glanced at the direction where Miyu was, clearly noticing the wings 'hidden' behind the plants. However, Ciel left without saying a thing, even if she was still smiling amusedly.

Sometime after that, a light knock would be heard on the door of Abigail's cottage. "Excuse me, please. I hope I'm not being a bother to come and knock at your door without being invited, but I saw you leaving the festivities with a sad aura around you. If it's not asking too much, would you like to talk?" Ciel asked in her typical soothing voice, hoping that she wasn't being a bother to the disheartened specter who inhabited this plain home.

Diana, the Claw of Heavens

"I hope I'm not late," Diana said to herself as she dashed through Celestia's halls in search of the garden Torag mentioned that he would be waiting for her. To say the truth, she wondered why the taciturn undead wished to talk to her as soon as possible, but they were friends (probably?) so Diana didn't care.

Finally, after much searching around (how many gardens Celestia had, after all?), Diana finally found the one she was looking for. To her surprise it was choke-full of people, most of which she was acquainted with, all gathered around Tartys as she performed. Without much difficult, the dragon girl found Torag standing by a font, along with a circle of some of the Heaven's finest and approached them.

"Hehehe, I'm sorry for being late. I just got back from scouting the a potential skirmish zone at the Ruins of Arcadia. By the way, hi there everyone, I heard that you guys hit quite the jackpot on your last mission," Diana looked somewhat apologetic, scratching the back of her head, while letting out a tense laugh. "Anyway, what did ya want from me, Torag?"

Ni-Mu, the 2201st Prototype

While commemorations echoed through the Heaven's, and rebellion was stirred on Hell, the realm of mankind was left much to its own devices, which for some might have actually been better.

Among those who wished to be left alone was Ni-Mu who had received a very unexpected and unwanted 'gift' from Hohenheim, sentience, the capacity to do judgement on her own, instead of following the rigid programming that enchained her up to now. Along with the gift of self-awareness, Hohenheim did more to change Ni-Mu's physical make up, at this moment the robot was in fact fighting to get used to these abrupt changes.

Needless to say, Ni-Mu didn't knew how to deal with it.

The android wandered the streets of Hyperion without a fixed destination and, before she could even process it, she found herself on the outskirts of the Machina capital, not very far from a certain old cottage overgrown by plants that wouldn't even be able to live here were it not for the abilities of their caretaker.

"..." Ni-Mu didn't say at thing as she knocked on the cottage's door, wondering why she even did so.

---

@Lmpkio @Banana @floodtalon @The 42nd Gecko @Mega Birb @Awesomoman64 @Ryonara @Flamelord @TheWindel @Inner Demon

[Gardevoiran]

Bonesword

~Hyperion Outskirts~

---

Bonesword was surprised when he heard a knock at the door of his hovel, and was even more surprised when he saw who it was. He didn't expect to see Ni-Mu around the outskirts of Hyperion, especially considering that she was... well... he expected her to be one of the more protected soldiers of the Machina Army. Why was she out here in the middle of nowhere? He hoped it wasn't because of Charlie being a thing that he had, as that kind of posed a threat to Eos' existence and reign. Why wouldn't it? It was a giant snake made from the very material that Bonesword could control, and since Bonesword was a demon, it wouldn't go without being watched.

The skeleton had hushed Charlie before opening the door to the hovel, standing directly in front of Ni-Mu. In the hovel, Charlie was staring at the metal soldier all the while the two talked. "Hello... What're you doing here...?"

---

---

---

Abigail, the Restless

~Celestia~

---

The spectre froze up from the presence of Ciel, and hastily turned around to face her. This was an unexpected situation, and it spooked Abigail. Heh, spooking a ghost. That's kind of ironic. "O-oh sorry. I didn't mean to be a bother to the festival that was going on. It's just that... well... I don't know exactly." Abigail was timidly speaking about all of this, and had floated over to Ciel while she spoke. "I don't really think that I want to talk about what's disturbing me, but I'll come to the festival if it makes you feel better." The spectre had a smile on her face as she spoke to the Stargazer in her cottage. She didn't want to upset her or anything, but she didn't really want to have to pour out all the details of her life to this woman who she just met. Maybe the festival would relieve some of this tension anyway.

@KoL

[Mega Birb]

Sliske, Serpent-Tongued Swindler

If things had played out in literally any other direction, Sliske would've punted Henry off the mountain the second he opened up a gate to steal his hand, turned his army on Ira, and taken her mask as a trophy. The problem was, between her sheer speed and the vice grip that was around him now, he was left with little choice. It was either get his body chopped into pieces and have to be stitched together upon regeneration, or swear fealty to the bitch that had just taken his right hand from him. He was given a third option with the arrival of Ghelgath, and a challenge was issued to him: Prove his worth, and he'd stay in his position.

In that moment, the ice demon gave a proposition that the swindler normally would've accepted if it weren't for the current circumstances. The frosty fiend was met with a confident smirk from the incubus at the top of the stairs, though it quickly vanished from his face. That look had screwed him twice before, and it wouldn't a third time. "As much as I'd love to turn around and skullfuck our new queen, these three have already sworn themselves to her. I may make rash decisions... but I'm not a fool." His eyes flared an aggressive shade of purple and he rose into the air, left hand and right stub flaring with magical energy as a singular rift opened up behind the throne. Ghelgaht's death warrant came in one massive, spiked foot stepping through and ripping into the tiling, signalling the approach of a certain trickster's army.

The only Overblesser to show itself that day was followed by a host of four Warfathers and six Battle Nuns. On its own, this was a powerful force, but the roar of engines forced away any doubt that Sliske had walked into this meeting unprepared. Through the same rift sped a set of three Tick Choppers, each imp seated with a firebomb getting tossed up and caught in one hand, and behind them was a pair of Blackguards, shields raised already. Behind them was two groups of Soul Kissers struggling to free their arms and two Punishing Parties, and finally a Blaze Warden making its presence known with the crack of a flaming whip. Every unit formed up behind their leader, whom cracked his neck and stared his icy counterpart down. "Queen Ira, you have my loyalty... for now. Ghelgath, you can either swear yourself to her or face me." His left hand balled into a fist at that moment, dark energy almost getting squeezed out of the contracted muscles and tendons.

@Lmpkio@TheWindel@KoL@floodtalon@Awesomoman64

---

Torag, Harbinger of Light

Torag couldn't help but admire the swarm of harpies that was passing overhead, lost in the visions of hundreds of thousands of freed souls enjoying the freedom they once had. In fact, he had been so transfixed by this image that he didn't notice Diana approach him, and she caught him off guard. This prompted a surprised reaction by the wraith's standards and the half-draw of his claymore, which promptly slid back into its scabbard when he realized he wasn't in an immediate danger. Now the girl brought up why he had called her here, to which he was quick to reply.

"Yes... I had an idea come to me last night, and I wish to know if you'd be capable of it." He began to slowly pace away, expecting the shorter girl to follow his movements. He disappeared from the revelry into one of the many nearby halls of Celestia, hands clasped behind his back. "Diana, you can control your dragon form under the right circumstances, circumstances?"

@KoL

---

Syphax, Knight of the Southern Winds

His fellow Angels seemed to welcome back his people with open arms, which was what Syphax had been counting on. One of them, someone that looked like some kind of trickster, had even taken up a fallen feather of one of his people, which earned a delighted smirk from their leader. "Take good care of that, friend, and you'll never need another quill in your life. There's no tool for writing more resilient than the primary feather of a Harpy. I'd pit them against the pens of the Machina, even!" He laughed audibly, obviously in higher spirits than usual. He even went as far as to pull a servant to the side and order a full round of drinks for anyone that wanted one in the garden, wanting to share is joy with everyone present.

He looked up in time to see another one of his race start a swoop down towards him, likely to say hello and meet her new allies, though his view was disrupted by a congratulations from a more recently made friend of his: Omega. Along with it came a joke about their resident tank of a commander, Torag. "Aye, the day Torag actually smiles is the day we all die for good!" He chuckled audibly as the fellow Harpy lighted down beside him, not saying anything at first likely due to nerves. Syphax, being the charismatic warrior he was, clapped an arm around the female in his merriment and pulled her close. "Aquila, my sister in arms, introduce yourself! No need to be shy!" His happiness was practically infectious at this point, as everyone around him seemed to become more gleeful. It was like the knight was becoming some kind of beacon in the normally drab setting of Celestia, and maybe it was a change for the better.

@Flamelord@KoL@Awesomoman64@Inner Demon

[TheWendil]

☬ Ira ☬
^{Current Location: Hell}

At long last, the final remnants of Hell’s “Elite” forces were beginning to gather in the throne room. She was not concerned about the resounding damages being added to her space considering it could always be fixed later. As Balrog swore in his loyalty, so too did Ghelgath finally make his appearance as well. And honestly, it was just as predictable as Ira had imagined it. It was no surprise Hell was flaky about their leadership positions anyway.

“Greetings to you too Ghelgath. Your words mean nothing on a Demon of Hell. What use is honor and reason when power is to be achieved?” Ira said in a bored manner, crossing her legs the other way now. “If you honestly me to fight fair, then you’re better off groveling at the Imperator’s feet. You could at least try to act like the cold-hearted warrior you call yourself.”

A sigh was given as he flat out challenged her, because really, did he honestly think this was good idea? Victoire, Henry, Balrog, and now even Sliske were willing to fight for her rule. “Be sure to wrap this up quickly you two. We still have preparations to make for the next battle,” she called out to Sliske and Ghelgath, wondering how much steam this spout would produce in her throne room.

Back in Hyperion, Bastion blinked in surprise to the solemn tone her friend revealed. Attacking her own teammates? What had happened at the Alchemist’s Castle? She so badly wanted to ask, wanted to pry just a bit further; but she also respected her friend’s decision to not talk about it too. But it only made all the more worried for her in the end.

“Yeah, something like that. I’m not sure what they’re holding there but it must be important to the war if we’re fighting over it, right?” Bastion said with a smile. “Were you just gonna practice here by yourself? If so, I’ll join you for some target practice. I need to hone my aiming skills anyway.”

---

@Lmpkio, @floodtalon, @Mega Birb, @Awesomoman64, @KoL, @Flamelord

[Ryonara]

Hibiki & Shizuka

Shizuka sat in her apartment alone. She and the rest of the machina had returned from the Alchemist's tower, some of them rewarded, others left empty handed. And Shizuka's case, she felt empty inside. Yet despite that, she had no strong feelings about it. It was a very odd sensation. So many of Shizuka's doubts and worries were just gone. No, not gone, but no longer a burden. Every time Shizuka felt even a hint of worry or concern her mind simply dismissed it. Whatever the alchemist did to Shizuka, it changed her. It changed her mind, body, and spirit. But Shizuka wasn't worried. Despite her cruelty, the alchemist had kept her promise and gifted her even though Shizuka had technically lost. She couldn't complain. Shizuka would just have to make due. "Hue... Break time's over." Shizuka stood up and went back to her books. A few grimoires and tomes taken from demon and angel archives. They say knowledge was power, and if Shizuka wanted to become more powerful than she had to seek it no mater what source it comes from.

Meanwhile Hibiki had some business to take care of. The last few battles have been nothing but a disappointment to her. Truthfully, some of it was her fault: she was far too slow to react to certain events and needed to be quicker. But everyone could use improvements. Hibiki felt that her queen, as much as Hibiki would venerate her, has a bad tendency to release uncontrolled super weapons like Bastion and Nu-Mu without supervision. Their strength if off-set by how little control and coordination they have with the others, though the machina has a whole lacked discipline. Far too many of their troops operated under their own interest and tactics. That had to change. Starting with the biggest offender, literally and figuratively.

Hibiki arrived to Krieg's construction warehouse. Reading up on his dossier before arriving, Hibiki learned that Grafdakka was merely one persona of the one known as Krieg, and he has a similar persona in the form of Mu-01, the maid with tank wheels Hibiki often sees when the High Queen calls for her soldiers. It would explain his recklessness, but that ends today. There was nothing but smoke and noise within the warehouse as machine parts were moving about, constructing the crude soldiers that Grafdakka would have commanded. However neither Graf nor Krieg were here. Despite multiple calls and hails, he did not respond to them. Thus Hibiki speculated that Grafdakka was still being possessed by the demons in hell. However that would only last so long as he lived. If Hibiki destroys Grafdakka at his source, at the black box that contained his spirit, he should return. So slipping on her mask and activating her stealth cloak, Hibiki waltzed through the warehouse until she found his Black Box.

It was with Mu-01, who currently sat dormant in a closet. With little ceremony Hibiki took out his pistol and fired into the base of Mu-01 multiple times, piercing through the black box and destroying it. That was Krieg's "True" body and thus should resurrect soon enough. And once it did Krieg would see message for him. With this deed done Hibiki left the warehouse and allowed the workers to begin stripping the building of it's equipment and resources. With one soldier handled, Hibiki can look into her personal business, namely her sister.

Kreig, this is your commanding officer Hibiki Meido.

You are henceforth stripped of your title as commander of the Machina forces, and with it the responsibilities and resources granted to you by High Queen Eos. Your performance in battle as well as your recent capture by demonic forces reveal that you are unsuited for leadership and you have been demoted back to vanguard. You will no longer have access to your construction facilities and your machines have been reclaimed by the Machina.

In other words, you will not have any more minions nor will you be obtaining any new weapons or equipment until further notice. Your original chassis as well as backup copy of your most recent chassis will still be available to you, however you will be required to pay and procure any additional resources or equipment independently.

You are to report your status as soon as you are able. Failure to comply will result in immediate imprisonment by authority of High Queen Eos.

Sometime later, Shizuka heard a knock on the door. When she went to open it it was Hibiki, holding a box under one arm and a set of keys in the other. "Time to go training Shizuka. You better be ready." With a nod, the two sisters left the apartment, got into Hibiki's nissan, and drove off to an airfield. Their next battle would be taking place in an area high into the skies, with multiple floating islands. While jetpacks and flying mechs would be useful for direct confrontation, Hibiki was going to lead with a much different approach. They needed to utilize all the Machina resources, not just guns and robots. But jets too.

The two sisters walked up to a pair of ADF-01 "Falken" fighter jets. They've been trained to use jets before, however they haven't used them recently. It was time to change that. Hibiki and Shizuka geared up and got into the cockpit of the aircraft as they were fed information for the drills they'll be preforming. This was just basic practice to get them familiarized with the controls of the machina fighter jets, as well as the Falken's own special payloads. Hibiki intends to use these in the next battle, striking hard, striking fast, and not giving either angel or demons a chance to breath.

[Flamelord]

Tatiana Lorenz

"I'm sure Eos believes so," Tatiana replied with a matter-of-fact tone. It was the truth after all. Even if it didn't seem like it to them, the High Queen worked on a level far beyond what they could comprehend. Plans in plans and layers upon layers. They might lose, but she was certain that their leader had some way to work that to her advantage, all in the name of ultimate victory in the war. She just probably wouldn't live long enough to see it, but it didn't bother her. There were worse fates.

The offer was easy to accept, given that she really didn't have anything else planned right now. "I was, at least for now. I need to practice my new abilities more before the next battle comes around," she explained, stepping over to the side so Bastion could join her on the range proper. There was no complaint at the company, especially not when they could both work together to do what it was they had come here for.

There was no point in waiting much longer and so she got to work, lifting her left arm as she stretched out her mind. The targets down range would lift off the ground to over in midair, floating for the moment at a respectable height as Tatiana focused on keeping them that way as long as she could.

"You can fire when ready," she told Bastion, preparing for her friend to act. They would both get training this way, with Bastion trying to shoot the targets while Tatiana tried to have them dodge the incoming shots. It would even work her other powers a bit in the process, though she was mainly working with her telekinesis thus far, to see what sort of limits she had. Either way, this wasn't bad for practice at all. The other factions wouldn't know what hit them when the next battle came.

@TheWindel

[Awesomoman64]

Omega

After sharing a quick laugh with Syphax, one of the harpies broke from the flock and landed nearby. Though it was clear she had something she wanted to say, her awkward stance around Omega made it obvious she wasn’t very comfortable around strangers. Syphax attempted to coax Aquila into breaking the ice to which Omega commented, ”Hey, it’s alright. No need to make the poor thing uncomfortable.”

Turning his attention to the shy harpy Omega slowly approached before reaching out his hand. ”Howdy, names Omega. Don’t worry, I don’t bite. Literally.”

@Mega Birb@KoL

---

Balrog

Just when things seemed to be winding down, Gelgath bargged in with a small army in tow. Instinctively Balrog raised his arm cannon ready to quell the rebellion before it began. However, Sliske too had a small battalion at his command, and they were waiting to meet Gelgath’s in battle. Every inch of Balrog wanted to join in on this fight, but with all the other demons sitting back, he was getting the impression that this was Sliske and Gelgath’s fight.

With a reluctant sigh, Balrog lowered his weapons and dropped down next to Ira’s throne to watch. Perhaps he would just setting for killing the winner when this was done.

@Mega Birb@TheWindel@floodtalon@KoL

[Lmpkio]

Ghelgath Fenrir Calder-Berg

@floodtalon, @Mega Birb, @Awesomoman64, @KoL, @TheWindel

The Ice Lich expected at least some of Hell's forces to come to his aid, to Rufus' aid in all reality. However, one by one, it seems as everyone seemed to decline the offer. It came as a mild surprise to Ghelgath as he was sure that at least the majority would step with him. Then again, compared to everyone here, he's the outsider. Everyone here is fire-based for the most part, while he was simply an ice demon. Everyone just stepped back, all but one. Sliske, Ira's now proclaimed "champion", turned to issue a confident smirk, stating as much as he would like to fuck the queen up, that the majority sided with her and henceforth he won't be as foolish this time. As he rose into the air, the demon ripped open a portal revealing his own prepared force. It seemed as if he was ready for such a conflict. His forces were indeed powerful, but nothing Ghelgath hasn't seen before.

Sliske declared his loyalty to Ira and gave the Lich King one last warning to surrender or face his wrath, with dark energy pulsing from his fist. Both forces were equally sized, and arguably equally matched. The ice from Ghel's army can withstand great temperatures and are incapable of melting. Their ice powers can even freeze fire depending on the attack. Physical damage can only knock these opponents down. Now it all depends on the commander of each force. Whoever wins can take the place of Ira, or perhaps knock down Ira. Meanwhile, the Queen nonchalantly told them to finish it up quickly. And she wasn't worried about the return of Rufus? Something seemed suspicious. But Ghelgath wasn't going to back down. His two fists pulsated into cold-blue flames, the burning sensation of frost-burn fueling his strength and power.

"Tsk tsk tsk," he taunts as he spat on the floor, "A shame that you can't see the bigger picture Sliske ole' pal. Even if you defeat me, Rufus will be coming back here at any moment. And by hell will he be back with a vengeance."

With a powerful stomp of his foot, the entire ground floor (minus the throne or anywhere that is blocked by stairs) was covered in ice. Holding his Lich Axe, he points it at Silske with a sneer.

"Let's see how long til' you get frostbite shall we?" Ghelgath says one last time.

And then, with a snap of his fingers, the army charges at their opponents. The frigid soldiers make up the first front, some just wielding swords, with some wielding shields, along with the regular incubi, succubi and imps as they charged in first. The second front supports the first front by giving in covering fire, wielding lobs of frozen blobs that completely freeze an opponent upon impact. And some ride on the backs of the giant Ice Golems that make up the last and third front as they bash into the ground revealing giant ice spikes from the ground. The Ice Sergeant follows Ghelgath as he too charges into the battlefield. If Silske is going to retain his position of allegiance to Ira, he'll have to fight on the Ice Lich's front.

[KoL]

Victoire Bordeaux, the Bloody Countess

"Oh?" Victoire let out a surprised vocalization as Sliske mentioned her oath to Ira. "Please, don't mind me. If you paid attention, I swore loyalty to the new 'Ruler of Hell'," A fanged grin made itself known once more. Victoire sure liked to flash her canines.

"If you were to dethrone her, I would gladly become your servant— Oh, silly me, I guess this turns me into the Starscream, right?" Victoire questioned herself, before remembering that no one other than she was likely to know what she was talking about. "Not that any of you would know what this means, fufu~" And then she resumed with her tea, as if nothing had happened.

Yet, the sudden arrival of a Dullahan Courier riding his dark chariot into Ira's chambers, before kneeling down and saying, in a raspy, unnatural voice, "All praise the new ruler of Hell!" The undead rider drew a leather scroll and presented it to Ira, "For the glory of Hell!" The courier exclaimed, waiting for his next orders.

Ciel, the Stargazer

"Oh, no, I'm the one who's sorry for intruding like this," Ciel said hastily as the ghostly girl came out to greet her. "It's not like I'm trying to tow you back to Celestia, much less pry on your life. There are more things we can talk about, for example..." the argent-haired girl tapped her chin and furrowed her brows pensively, "Ah, I see!"

"Have you ever taken part in a major battle?" Ciel asked spontaneously. However before she could finish saying what she meant, the sound of mighty trumpets silenced all of Celestia, announcing that their leader, the Divine Imperator had issued a new call to arms. "Well, whether you did or not, I guess that's your chance, not? Don't worry, I'll be there as well," Ciel extended a hand, beckoning the wraith, "By the way, I'm Ciel, pleased to meet you!"

Diana, the Claw of Heavens

"Oh, that's what you wanted to ask? Hehehe," Diana laughed heartily when Torag made his question. "Yeah, I kinda can do it now, after I got used to what Iona did to me before Alt Signia. Most of my power is ok to use."

"I don't know what would be if I pushed it to the edge, though," Diana added before the trumpet call sounded. "What did ya want it for?"

Ni-Mu, the 2201st Prototype

"I—" Before Ni-Mu could even say a single sentence, the lights of Hyperion were shut down momentarily, allowing an holographic projection of the High Queen to tower over even the highest skyscrapers built by the hand of the Machina.

"Listen to me, my children, a new conflict rose on the horizon. This is a battle that we, Machina, cannot afford to lose. By my word, the strongest and more capable of you should present themselves at the docks at this moment. All who want to, except unit Ni-Mu— you are to present yourself for maintenance, a diagnosis of your systems is overdue," Eos said before her semblance faded from Hyperion's skyline once again.

"We shall talk another time," Ni-Mu said to Bonesword, already turning her back to the derelict hovel. Even if all of the android's body language made it dubiously clear if she wanted to part with the skeletal swordsman, the commands of the High Queen were absolute. Not in a sense that they were to be respected with utmost diligence, but rather that a being like Ni-Mu could be robbed of her volition by a single word coming from Eos. Very much likely, this wasn't the first time that Bonesword was pitted with such a dark reality of the world of the Machina.

---

@Lmpkio @Banana @floodtalon @The 42nd Gecko @Mega Birb @Awesomoman64 @Ryonara @Flamelord @TheWindel @Inner Demon

[KoL]

T H E B A T T L E O F A R C A D I A

"War. War never changes..." Or maybe, it does. However in a world such as the Nexus, build around it, living and breathing of nothing but conflict, there can be only so much change before one goes back to the basics. After all, history's a carousel, no matter how long you ride it, one time you always come back to ground zero.

Such is the nature of this battle, there shall be no conflicts for resources, no quests for glory, or points to capture. Just war in its most pure and unbridled form...

I N T R O

Having overcome the trials demanded by the Infamous Alchemist of Genesis, despite the great hardships and traps laid on their way, the former Triumvirate found itself once more at at a state of ease.

BGM

War was still raging all through the Nexus, of course, but the main representatives of each faction could rest for sometime, after becoming the playthings of the narcissistic genius who — perhaps — had a little too much power in her hands.

That wouldn't last, for, soon enough, another missive would reach the hands of the leaders of the three realms:

"The mystic lands have risen once again from amidst the primordial chaos. It's time to test the mettle of your best, for this time only TOTAL WAR will grant you victory.

Neither accept, nor give any quarter— as long as the blood of your foes is still running within their veins, there shall be no end to the oncoming strife."

O B J E C T I V E

— Kill or capture all the opposing forces on the battlefield. No other condition shall grant the victory to any side. Only the last man standing shall savor the spoils of this conflict.

---

@Lmpkio @Banana @floodtalon @The 42nd Gecko @Mega Birb @Awesomoman64 @Ryonara @Flamelord @Lucius Cypher @Lonewolf685 @TheWindel @Inner Demon

[ReaptheMusic]

Before The War

Cherry/Krieg

Kreig awoke in his factory. It was quiet. Too quiet. There should have been a caphony
of machines creating weapons of war for him. Killa Khans and his new minions, Deff Dreds. Giant stompy robots of destruction that could only glipse at the glory that was Grafdakka. But there was none of that. Only silence.

"My legion... My soldiers... MY MINIONS! WHERE ARE YOU!?" From the black box in Mu-01's body came a black ghost, with sickling glowing veins and a red mouth. A single cyplopic eye floated on his face, darting around. He started looking for machines he could possess but there were none. Not even a computer. He went into his factory and saw that it was all gone. All the machines, all his robot soldiers, even his battle bodies were gone. He went back to Mu-01 and tried to possess her but he found no avail. She was too damaged to use. He kept looking until he noticed there was a message left behind.

Seeing what was written drove Kreig mad. "How dare she.... HOW DARE SHE! I AM KRIEG! GRAFDAKKA DESTROYA! QUEEN EOS'S MIGHTIEST WARRIOR! That slave in rags has no right to do this to me!" Kreig went to find Hibiki and destory her but he didn't get far. Before he could even leave the building he felt a pull against his ghostly body. His black box was keeping him bound to this location. Struggle as he might, he couldn't go beyond it's boundry. But Krieg kept trying, pushing against this invisble wall, shouting spiteful things to fuel his rage.

But no one would hear him here, he thought. Not in this lonely factory where even his voice doesn't echo. He was a Machine Spirit, and only machines could hear him. And they have always been silent. Krieg didn't know how long he struggled against the boundry of his cube but eventually he his rampaged died down to simple loathing. Mumuers of hateful things as he beat his ghostly fist against the air. What could he do now?

"Are you really Queen Eos's Mightiest Warrior?"

The voice that broke the silence and monotony of the dim factory came from behind the tantrum throwing ghost of machines. Behind Krieg, in a short and very revealing dark pink outfit with bare feet, blue eyes and hair both as thick as it was light in color, a tiny android stood with her hands clasped in front of her body.

Her head ticked to the side, examining the specter before her, her blue eyes wide as they scanned him up and down slowly. As she spoke again, her voice was light, hopeful, and very classically romantic in the way that seeing a girl at dusk sitting beneath a wilting apple bloom tree might be.

"Are you hurt, Warrior? I can service you... Oh!"

The tiny android leaned over to look at the other side of Krieg, spotting the downed Mu-01. She brought up a small hand to her lips and began to pad over to it, almost immediately forgetting about the ghost of green mass right before her.

Krieg turned his head towards the voice. It was an android. Female body, soft voice, seductive outfit... It was a sexbot. Krieg never had interests in the machina's carnal desires. If it wasn't a fight he had no interest in it. And these sexbots lacked anything he desired. And unless she was going to go offline right here, he doubts there was anything she could do for him. "Go away. There's nothing you can do for me..."

When the android went closer to Mu-01 and his back box, he dashed right to it, standing between her and his core. "I said leave me! I don't need you! I can take care of myself!" Even though he was a Machine Spirit, he could lie. His face was angry but also shaking. He wanted help, but he didn't want to be weak. He wanted to be able to somehow take possession over Mu-01's damaged body and make his way to his old Grafdakka armor, but it was too far away. It was on the otherside of the factory, far beyond the reach of his core.

"I... Am High Queen Eos's mightest warrior and most loyal servant. I am Krieg Grafdakka Destroya, Mu-01! I don't need your help! So go away!"

The Pleasure Droid's face went blank as she paused, looking up at the trembling spirit.

....

....

Oh! Her face lit up, as if she'd just figured something out. She pressed her fist gently down into her hand.

"Oh I get it, you're intimidated by me!"

"What!? No! You're just a... A toy. A play thing! And I don't want you anywhere near my belongings! Who knows where those hands have been." Krieg would wish he could say he never felt fear, but there were times he was scared. But certainly not now, he just felt annoyed that of all robots that could help him, it had to be a pleasure droid.

"If you want to help me then go away! You're in the way of my work." Another obvious lie. Though Krieg was certainly doing a lot of nothing. He started waving his arms at her, his ghostly appendages extending far beyond what would normally be possible in a mortal body. "Even without my body I am a Machine Spirit! I can possess the bodies of the mightest robots in all of the Machina! So leave me, or else I will possess you!"

"Shhh...~" The android stood up on her tip toes and pressed a finger over where the ghosts' lips appeared to be. After she was satisfied with his silence, she fell back onto her heels, her face never once losing a serene, hopeful and slightly needy expression. "I am not dirty," She began to explain, sounding as if she's recited this hundreds of times before, "I bathe three times a day to meet with the cleanliness standards with full internal cleaning compatibility. Everything about me is as sanitary as can be with no risks of passing diseases or bacteria as I am an efficient android of Gears of Ple... mm, The Machina Militia."

She paused, then smiled up at him again, eyes sparkling as lights shimmered behind the lenses of the aritficial orbs.

"It's okay to be afraid if you haven't done this before. I promise, I'll be gentle." A small heart emoticon formed in the air beside her, a blush appearing on her androidal cheeks. As with most pleasure bots, the blushes were perfect ovals that appeared right on either cheek bone.

Humming, the android moved through Krieg's ghostly form, reaching inside of Mu-01's body and pulled out the core. She immediately plopped down beside the bullet riddled form, pulled the core up against her chest, and began covering it in tiny, chaste kisses.

Small heart emoticons appeared all around her as she did, sweetly caressing the core. The ghostly specter may have then felt a strange, warm sensation as the effects of the android, healing, even with these small kisses, took effect on his core and any scuffs it might have received in the fire of war.

By leaning back, too, against the Mu-01, some of the robo-maid's exterior seemed ot be slowly rewiring itself.

"Stop! Stop stop stop!" Krieg shouted as he tried in vain to stop the robot from touching his stuff. He didn't need anyone's help! He wasn't going to accept weakness. He had to be able to fend for himself. That being said, there was nothing he could do now but watch as the android took his core and... Started kissing it.

Now this was just weird.

"What are you... Stop that. That's strange. Let go of my... Core... Right now..." A strange feeling was going through Krieg's mind. It felt like that demon's illusions. It made his ghostly form feel warm and pleasant... No, this was different from the succubus. The Succubus fed his bloodlust and blinded him with the glory of battle. This feeling felt softer. It was a strange new thing that made Krieg feel sluggish, hot, yet oddly satsified.

The damage to his core was gone. Mu-01 still needed some repairs, but now Krieg was more or less okay... Sans missing a physical body of course. His mind wasn't so full of hate, but confusion. Who was this android and what did she do to him? "Who are you? What did you do to... Me?" Krieg looked calmer. His angry snarl turned into a straight line. He also seemed smaller.

A small moan escaped the small android's body and she paused just as she was letting her kisses get a little more erogenous against the core when the ghost spoke again. She lowered the cube that was Krieg's core into her lap, a little steam, as is usual for the effect of a Pleasure Droid showing arousal, lifted off of her and was visible as she exhaled, smiling brightly up at the ghost.

"1001101011-XXX," She began, her legs shifting beneath her, "I am a Pleasure Android that's been repurposed for the war as healer... Mmmmm... By contact... My old owners called me 'Cherry' when referencing me to their customers, but they could rename me if they wanted, too."

Cherry lifted her legs to her chest, balancing Krieg's core on her knees carefully while also exposing she wasn't wearing any garments beneath the short skirt she wore. She was, in a word, fully autonomous.She leaned her head on top of the core while batting her eye lashes up at the specter.

"You were upset, Mr. Krieg Graffdakka Destroya, Mu-01. Would you be pleased if I helped you find your minions, your soldiers, and your legion?" Her shoulders raised up and she averted her gaze, rubbing her cheek to her shoulder as she hugged the core close to her chest. "I'd love to see you happy..."

"Did you hear all of that?" Now Krieg just felt embarassed. He was angry, sure, but he had kinda hoped he was just ranting to himself. This android, this Cherry, made him feel very, very odd. She made him feel warm, fulfilled, and oddly tired. Him, a ghost and usually a machine, tired. Though his face couldn't turn red he still turned away from the android to hide his flustered face.

"J-just Krieg is fine... Grafdakka and Mu-01 is only when I'm in certain forms. This is just Krieg." The ghost looked down at his hands and flexed them.It has actually be a long time since he's gotten a good look at himself. Usually he was in Mu-01's form overseeing the construction of a new body or weapon, or in Grafdakka doing battle. Krieg hasn't seen any action at all.

The ghost in the machine was quiet for a long time as he thought about Cherry's question. "Hmm... No. No, you don't need to find my minions. I... I guess I don't really need them. Maybe I got too used to bossing them around." Looking back at Mu-01, Krieg moved over to try and possess the body, but it was still too damaged. "I can't move beyond the boundry of my core. This body is too damaged to be used right now, but I have my Destroya Form on the other side of the factory. Perhaps if I can get my core over there I can..."

Krieg thought about what exactly he was going to do if he got inside Grafdakka. It wasn't exactly made for delicate work like Mu-01 was. He thought about maybe going after Hibiki, but he doesn't know where she lives or where she's at. He'd just wander through the city aimlessly and be angry. And for some odd reason, Krieg didn't want to be angry right now. "I... I don't really know what to do now. Usually I'm fighting or getting ready to fight but I can't really do either of those things right now."

The android watching Krieg slowly tilted her head to the side and frowned. It bothered her, very greatly (as it should,) that the ghost seemed. sad. She thought of her memory, replaying it inside her head as she'd peeked around the factory at the screaming Krieg. She popped up to her feet, sparkle emoticons all around her.

"That's no way to be, Mr. Krieg!" Her sparkle emoticons got brighter, "First things first, I'll get you to your body!" The android turned sharply and marched toward the direction of where it seemed the Destroya body might be, undoubtedly tugging the ghost along as she held the core. "Then you can go back to what you do best! You are the mightiest warrior of the Queen, you said so yourself! Won't she be looking for you?"

The android's radius of sparkles grew as she paused to smile back at his specter, giggling brightly.

"No, she wouldn't. I mean the only reason I'm even in this predicament is- Whoa!" Cherry walked faster than Krieg anticipated when he felt the boundry slam into his face to follow after his core. Turning around Krieg went after Cherry trying to explain the siutation. "Y-you weren't suppose to hear that. I mean, I am a strong fighter and I was made for war. It'll only make sense if I'm good at it. But I don't think Queen Eos thinks highly of my right now you see, because I've sorta been fighting demons even though we were suppose to retreat and well... One of the other soldiers came by and kinda killed me, because I was distracted fighting and all. I mean I know that sounds strange coming from me because usually I think of nothing but fighting and to be honest right now I could actually go for a good scrap but I'm almost certain that I'm suppose to be doing something else oh and we're here."

Krieg and Cherry soon stood before the massive metal behemoth that made the name Grafdakka. This crude iron titan sat in an inactive charging bay, it's weapons unloaded and still strapped into the bay. Moving towards his body Krieg could possess and active the bay to release Grafdakka. Now all he needs to do is posess his body and he could be autonomous once again. But there was hesitation. After Grafdakka was freed Krieg just stood there looking at it. Cherry looked over at him, his core still pressed to her chest. Her emoticons had died down, now she only had her small LED blush in perfect ovals on her cheeks active. Her blue eyes blinked up at him.

"What's wrong, Mr. Krieg? Isn't this your body?" Then she parted her lips, turning towards him fully, a slightly pouty look on her face. "Are you not pleased?

After a moment of silence, Cherry perked up again, an idea popping into her head.

The Pleasure Android kneeled to the ground and set the core down there gently. She sat on her legs right in front of it and moved her hands up to her torso, eyes closed with a smile on her lips. She pressed somehing on the right of her upper abdomen, elciting a click, and then, like a curved cupboard, the upper portion ofher abdoment where the ribcage would usually be swung open. A nearly organized myriad of objects were inside, (including seasonal items like a travel size can of whipped cream and maraschino cherries) and she pulled open a small pink bottle, closing her abdomen with a soft 'click.'

She opened up the bottle and pressed some of the fluid into her thumb, then pressed her thumb to the top of the core twice. There, a pink heart shape was placed on the core from her efforts.

Cherry put away the tube of edible paint quickly and picked herself and the core up, kissing it once more as she looked up at Krieg, blush upon her face.

"You were made for the military, right?" Her eyes were bright again as she gazed up at him. "Well... um... I'm in the military now too. If... you don't mind, I can't defend myself out there... could we... stay together, Mr.Krieg?"

"What."

Anger became pleasure, pleasure became doubt, and now that doubt was confusion. This android was too weird for Krieg. First she just shows up and helps him, which he finds odd due to his dwarnist mentality, does odd things to his body that he isn't sure what to make of, and now she tells him that she's actually a soldier like him? Sure a lot of the Machina warriors were physically appealing and often employed sex for whatever reason, but Cherry didn't come off as the type who'd beat a man to death. But she would certainly beat him off.

"Just... What? Give me a moment." Kireg turned away and put his face into his hands. He had to seriously consider what was going on with him right now. While he was argueably Mu-01 most of the time, Grafdakka was the form he identfiies most because it was only in Grafdakka's body that he's done most of his memorable things. But after Cherry healed him he felt strange. Perhaps the demonic corruption that had first claimed him was cleansed? After all, that Succubus had only managed to lure him away by feeding his rage and fury. Perhaps Cherry was able to lift that illusion and left Krieg without said rage and fury. But now he just felt empty.

"A soldier... A soldier. You're a soldier?" Krieg turned back to Cherry, noticing that she had drawn a heart on his core for some reason. He decided not to question it for now. "Look, you and I we're made for different purposes. That core may be my real body but this," Krieg pointed up to Grafdakka. "This is where I belong. You said it yourself that you can't defend yourself. So... So.... Why? Why do you want to be with me, and why have you helped me?"

Of course thinking about it Krieg figured out why and quickly corrected himself. "Nevermind, I know why. You're a pleasure bot of course. You're suppose to make soldiers feel better about themselves. You only want to stick with me because that's what you were made for. Just like how I'm made to fight, you're made to love." Saying this made Krieg feel jaded. He enjoyed fighting, and he was sure once he got inside Grafdakka all his doubts and fears would wash away. He'd find confidence in himself and march off to war again without any fears or worries. Yet right now as Krieg he didn't have that confidence. He questioned things. He made things complicated.

"If I go inside this machine, you'll have to leave. I... I wouldn't tolerate someone who can't fight. I don't care if you could heal me, Grafdakka doesn't have patience for weaklings and deadweight. I... Thank you for your help. But your done now. I don't need your help anymore." Krieg turned his back from Cherry and looked up to Grafdakka. His face was trembling.

...

...

...

Oh she left his side quite some time ago. Cherry had gotten bored trying to listen to what he had to say and was already climbing up Grafdrakka's giant form, pulling herself easily to replace the core in its rightful spot. She was humming something while hoisting herself up onto the giant's shoulders. She looked down at where Krieg was, waving her arm and cupping a hand around her mouth as she set the core down.

"Hey, where do I put this?!"

...

...

...

...

"OH SHIT! GET DOWN FROM THERE!"

It's been forever since Krieg had used the Destroya Form and some parts of him needed replacement. Krieg knew this but it wasn't relevant until he saw Cherry climb onto Grafdakka's shoulder. Just as she looked down and started shouting towards him, the shoulder plate she was on started to shift. Before Cherry would realize it, the plate she was on fell off Grafdakka and with it, Cherry and Krieg's core.

The specter had to act fast. This was no time for self reflect: he went striaght to Grafdakka, possessing him to reach out and catch Cherry in the crux of his left arm. He had no hands to catch her with so this was the safest way for him to grab her. Grafdakka now stood up on his feet, looking down at Cherry's comparatively miniature form.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING? MY CORE DOES NOT BELONG ON THIS BODY. YOU COULD HAVE GOTTEN YOURSELF HURT. I AM NOT ABLE TO REPAIR YOU IF YOU HAD DAMAGED YOURSELF."

Cherry had caught Krieg's core as she'd fallen, holding in her hands as she stared at the mecha shouting at her in her face.

Then she smiled, small heart emotcons appearing around her as her blush formed on her face. She popped up, standing on her feet on the crux of his arm, and leaned forward to press a kiss to the metal torso of the mech. She rubbed her cheek against the cold metal, when she spoke it sounded like she was melting.

"Mmm, yell at me some more...~"

The Android let out a steamy exhale.

Oh if only Grafdakka had hands. This android was werider than most demons. In fact, he wouldn't be surprised if this Android is actually one of those succubi. It was the only way to explain her strange reactions to everything. Grafdakka always thought maybe he was one of the strange ones for his eagerness to fight, and certainly seemed like a freak compared to some of the more straight-laced Machina soldiers. But once more the nexus only proves that there are those who can out-do him in the strangest ways.

Letting Cherry down on the floor Grafdakka took a few steps forward away from her, shaking off loose parts until he was stripped down to his chassis. Without his factory producing him new parts he doubts this form would be ready for battle anytime soon. Hibiki did mention that he would be allowed to use his most recent upgrade, so he'll just have to go find that one soon. But he had one more problem to deal with. Turning back to Cherry Grafdakka tried his best to seem stern, though unlike his ghostly form Grafdakka lacked a face to make exrpessions.

"HMM. YOU ARE VERY TROUBLESOME. WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, CLIMBING ONTO THIS BODY? CAN YOU NOT SEE THAT I AM IN DIRE NEED OF REPAIR? I WAS NOT EVEN ONLINE AND I COULD HAVE DESTROYED YOU! FOR A SOLDIER, YOU ARE QUITE FOOLISH. AND WHAT IS WITH THAT PERVERTED PERSONALITY OF YOURS? ARE YOU SOME SORT OF SEX DEMON? THIS IS WAR YOU HUSSY, NOT A BROTHEL! WE DON'T NEED WHORES HERE! EVEN IF YOU DO MAKE ME FEEL GOOD!"

The Android moaned loudly, sitting on the ground, staring up at the mecha with the core situated between her open legs as she sat on her knees, heart emoticons over her blue eyes as steam poured off of her. Cherry trembled, it was clear she was enjoying this.

Letting out a mechanical sigh Gradakka walked back to his charging bay, posessing the machines to lock Grafdakka back up. Soon after Krieg left Grafdaka's to speak to Cherry in person. "Seriously. You... You just make me so confused. You make me feel happy, than worried, then angry, it's crazy. But it looks like I'm stuck with you for better or for worse, since I can't do maintence on my war machines until I get a smaller body ready." Sighing, Krieg pointed towards the exit of the factory.

"If you're going to stick with me, then you do as I say, got it? First thing's first, we need to get my new war machine. I don't need to take this big guy out of here, so I want you to carry my core to the factory. While we're out I need to find a new body to inhabit too, since Mu-01 is still too damaged. She was due for an upgrade anyways. I actually know a place for her replacement, so we'll go there after we get my new body."

"Alright...~"

Her giggle was whimsical as a windchime. She picked up his core from between the growing heat between her legs, smoothed her skirt and stood up, pressing the core to her chest protectively. No doubt the militia officials she'd been accompanying were wondering where she was right now, well, they'd have to wonder a little longer. She'd found where she needed to be.

---

Cherry/Krieg

It's been weird.

Grafdakka didn't think he'd ever find a companion. Certainly not someone like Cherry. The few times he's even considered friendship he often thought they'd be powerful fighters like Bastion, Titania, or Marquis. Instead he of all people gets saddled with Cherry, the sex bot. She was about as useful in a fight as a fifth wheel on a wagon. Sure, she could secret some sort of restorative ooze from her body, but unlike some soldiers Grafdakka lacked the parts to please Cherry. He figured that alone would have been enough to keep the sex bot away from him, but she seemed to deride pleasure riding him.

As in, sitting on his shoulder as he moved about fighting. Apparently she liked to feel the rough rumbling of his body in motion as it slammed into his foes with great fury and passion. It didn't help that Grafdakka had been using his new body, the Grind Gear. Unlike the Destroya Form that was land-based and combined melee and ranged, the Grind Gear was entirely melee and was capable of agile manuvers. Though still large and bulky it was built for both speed and durability instead of being a mobile turret like the Destroya Form.

Though despite the awkwardness between him and Cherry, she utlimately was a positive one. Grafdakka focused more on keeping her out of danger and bossing her around instead of pursueing petty vengence against Hibiki. While he still felt a bit sour, after mulling over it he can accept his punishment. He thought it was odd that he was promoted to commander anyways: his place wasn't tactics or strategy, just taking his weapons and himself to the enemy and laying waste to them.

The next battle took place in an area called Arcadia. There were many floating islands that just showed up and it was a scramble land grab. The objective was simple: Leave no survivors. That made Grafdakka utterly giddy: no complicated objectives, no need to distract enemies. Just kill everyone keeping it simple. Grafdakka was one of the first to hear of the battle and left immediately to the air feild where flying carriers would be taking them to the battlefield.

Naturally, the pleasure android had joined him, having also been called to be on the front lines for her healing abilities.

And waiting for the actual carriers was horribly boring.

"HaAAAaaahhh....~!" Cherry's small body shuddered, straddled against one of the large, vibrating pieces of armor plating on Krieg's Grind Gear shoulders. Her androidal body relaxed slowy, and she exhaled with copious amounts of warm steam pouring from her body. She laid back, relaxing completely against the flat of his shoulder, nuzzling her face up against the top of his.

"Will it be much longer...? I don't want to use up all my fluids..." Her face burned with the LED blush, her fingers walking themselves up the head of the robot that she leaned up against.

A low groan echoed from Grafdakka's body. He should really be used to this by now, but he still found Cherry's habits a bit off putting and distracting. At least she cleans up her messes. "THEY BETTER NOT KEEP ME WAITING. IT HAS BEEN TOO LONG SINCE I HAD A PROPER FIGHT!" Grafdakka's voice boomed as he loaded into the air carriers. Though there was plenty of islands to fight on, air superiority was the key to this battle. Though he did have a few tricks and ideas to utilize the envioment in battle, if he gets the chance to use it.

Once Grafdakka's carrier was loaded it flew off ahead of the rest to the battlefield. They moved fast and were given a few minutes before arriving to brief and get ready. "ARE YOU SURE YOU CAN HANG ON? I WILL NOT SAVE YOU IF YOU FALL OFF." Grafdakka's Grind Gear lacked any handholds for Cherry to hold on his shoulders, since normally people shouldn't be on his shoulder anyways. While he was a giant robot he was not a piloted back so he didn't have a cockpit either. And he never installed one because he doesn't want Cherry to make lewd comments about being inside of him.

"I'll be okay~" Cherry smiled at him, a heart emoticon appearing beside her shoulder. She'd been busy on the ride over looking out the windows and softly murmuring her amazement of the beauty of Arcadia. As she spoke, she opened up her abdominal compartment and ruffled around for something inside.

"The Militia said I just need to stay put on one of the smaller floating islands as a rest stop for the other Mechas so I can heal them when they need it. If you can take me there, I'll be able to handle myself."

She paused, then winked at him.

"Are you concerned for me, Mr. Krieg~?" She said this with a blush on her face.

Grafdakka lifted and dropped his shoulder suddenly, causing Cherry to be tossed into the air and land roughly back onto his shoulder, eliciting a small 'eep!' from the android. "THAT'S GRAFDAKKA! WHEN I AM IN THIS BODY, I AM GRAFDAKKA. REMEMBER THAT, OR I WILL GRIND IT INTO YOUR CPU!"

"Hhhh....~ Yes, sir....~" The Android clung to his shoulder to right herself, pushing her hair back with her hand as she blushed and bit her lip, her eyes sparkling as she looked at her companion.

There was about five minutes before they arrived to the battleground. Grafdakka made sure he was properly fulled, his blades sharp, and his armor in top condition (Recent staining aside). There was just one more thing to do. Opening up his chest compartment fully revealed a large nuclear reactor in the center of his body, currently dormat. Should he fall in battle or be close to capture, he had his nuclear core to self-destruct and kill himself and his enemy, leaving no trace behind. However it needed a key to activate it and that key was his Black Box. Without Mu-01 to protect it, he now needs to carry the box with him. Unfortunately without any minions and no hands of his own, he couldn't put the box in himself. That's where Cherry came in.

"CHERRY, INSERT THE CORE."

The Android nodded and slid down off his shoulder. She'd opened her comparment on her abdomen before for this now.

Her small, pale hands reached inside of her abdomen, where she had stored the Grafdakka's core very carefully, and held it now in her hands. The small heart she had imprinted on his core now still very much visible on top of it, the android briefly rubbed at it with her thumb fondly. She looked up at the Mecha with her wide, blue eyes.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." Grafdakka said simply. His core pulsated with a soft green glow, waiting for Cherry to do the deed.

The Android nodded, blush prominant on her face, as she lifted it up into Grafdakka's chest and slid it in delicately with hands made to be as gentle as possible. When it was in far enough, her finger tips pressed against the flat of the core and slid it the rest of the way in until an audible 'click' was heard. Then she leaned forward, pressing her face against the core right beside the nuclear reactor for a moment before giving it a sweet, gentle kiss. Cherry peeked up at Grafdakka with a small smile.

Shortly after Cherry inserted the core into Grafdakka's chest, the entire nuclear reactor started glowing with an awesome power, humming to life. Heat eminated from it's surface and soon coolant was sprayed onto it to keep it from overheating. Once it was stablized Grafdakka's nuclear reacted glowed at a steady beat, as if his heart had awaken. A heart capable of utterly disintergrating himself and any enemies near him. Once Cherry was safely removed from the core Grafdakka resealed his torso and they had arrived to the battlefield.

One by one other machina soldiers left to do battle. Before Grafdakka left he turned his head towards Cherry. "THIS BATTLE WILL BE CHAOTIC. I CERTAINLY INTEND TO DESTORY EVERYTHING HERE, FROM THE ISLANDS TO MY ENEMIES. YOU WILL BE SAFEST WITH ME." Probally not true, but Grafdakka didn't really care about the truth. He was keeping Cherry with him and that was final.

"Well... if it's an order from my captain, how can I refuse?" A mischeivious smile on her lips, Cherry nodded as she looked up at Grafdakka, her lower regions already moist of the idea of Grafdakka's rumbling form in battle pressing up against her. The idea alone made her giggle and blush. The Android opened up her compartment and pulled something out before closing it again.

She mounted his shoulder, climbing back on with little difficulty. The Pleasure Droid, chains in hand, fingered around on his shoulder until she'd found some small open mounting piece that had been used to stabilize the mecha on his charging dock, sliding the chains through. She held onto the chains, tugging on them to ensure they wouldn't come off easily. Being so light, there was a risk in staying on the mecha as he fought, but she'd rode him as she fought before. Cherry nodded from her mount on his shoulder.

"I'm ready."

Nodding his head Grafdakka looked forward towards the carrier's bay doors and jumped out. He fell through the skies at break-neck speeds, with G-force strong enough to have torn a normal human to shreds. But for the likes of himself and Cherry, this was just a breeze. He was falling towards an island, faster and faster by the moment, until at the last minute he activated his thrusters and charged forward towards the enemies in the distance. There was no words to describe these feelings, nor to describe his thoughts about recent events or his return to battle. So much has happened that he still needs to figure out. But if there was one thing he had to say, it was this.

"WAAAAAAAAARGH!"

[Lmpkio]

Zeruel

---

Among those who have had received the briefing of the next mission, was a simple angel. He has rustled light grey hair, skin as pale as snow, and with eyes crimson like blood. He wore a simple white shirt, with baggy black pants, and sports wings sprouting from his back. The angel is recognized as Kushiel, a post-war Angel who has "almost" given up on the idea of physical violence and has devoted himself into more peaceful activities and subjects. Yet why was he, a non-violent Angel, given the briefing when he's clearly not going to partake the event? He's not going to answer the briefing.

But rather, he's delivering it.

After running through the holy halls, with yellow light flooding through the gigantic windows several stories high, Kushiel approaches a large golden door. He gingerly opens one of them, letting little light through as he steps into a dark corridor. It had an almost ominous feel to it, yet there is a strange feeling of holiness, of something pure, coming from within at the same time. The only things illuminating the room are two long rows of colorful stained glass, showing only a bit of light through the middle, but only stopping halfway in. The Angel briskly walks down the hall, looking only forward, as he is eventually lead into a circle at the end of the room, the rims illuminated by techno-like lights. He approaches it and kneels right in the circle of the circle, placing both hands on one knee. He bows his head for a few seconds, quietly reciting a prayer, and looks up.

"My lord." the angel says in a calm voice, "I bring urgent news from the Imperator. There seems to be an emergency mission to~"

Theme (0:00 - 0:31 "Repeat")

But before he could finish, a loud blare rumbles through the corridor. It was like that of a fog horn, but at the same time having a rather organic effect, like a growl. As it ends as suddenly as it began, Kushiel could feel something turning his direction. Yet all he could see was the blackness of the void beyond. However, he knew all too well of the being that dwells here. Then, peering from the angel's left and right, four giant paper-thin tendrils slowly came into view, flailing slowly like flags in a low breeze. Then, two points of light, erupted from the blackness, revealing two holes resembling eye sockets. Kushiel is looking into the eyes of the "Arm Of God", the "Angel Of Might", or most notably, as Zeruel, leader of the Laguna Hierarchy. He peers down towards the advisor rather portentously, and begins to speak.

Visual Interpretation

"Cease the formalities, Advisor Kushiel." booms the mighty being, his very voice filling the entire room, "I've already received the dispatch statement long before your announcement. You need not to remind me."

Kushiel blinks once as he soon responds.

"So I believe you will be attending?" he responds curiously,"Knowing you, I do expect you to decline the offer... but, you seem rather interested with it."

"Because I am." blatantly responds Zeruel.

This almost stunned the advisor, for Zeruel has not been involved with the war going on at hand since it's launch. His haughtiness prevented him from taking part, as he used to deem it as "pointless and insignificant" This event that'll be taking place will involve taking part of the war. He stammers several times before speaking again.

"But I thought you said you wouldn't be partaking in the War at hand?" Kushiel responds confusingly, "What made you reconsider?"

"You've neglected the basis." the being replies unemotionally, "Have you not forgotten the recent deaths of Fortitudo, Temperantia, and Shamshel that occurred just one week prior by several hands from Hell?"

"Please excuse my shameful ignorance, Lord Zeruel." Kushiel quickly responds in slight shame, "I remember you telling me about the incident."

"Despite the offenders having already been accounted for," the giant Angel responds without hesitation, "And having been executed under my hand, it is not enough to be proven satisfiable. The legions of Hell shall not be dismissed lightly."

His full body then gleams into view, a hulking black mass with dark orange ribbons forming down the bottom of his tendrils, along with white ribcages protecting his valuable core. He gleams down at advisor Kushiel forebodingly.

"I will participate this assignment." the Laguna speaks bluntly, "That previous dispatch of the little 'event' did not prove to me of any interest. It was a pointless and foolish endeavour... However this assignment speaks to me far greater than the last. I shall leave at once."

The advisor quickly bows down again.

"As you wish my lord." Kushiel responds with a loyal bow, "May the Imperator shine good luck in your travels. Farewell."

As soon as the advisor exits the room, Zeruel quickly proceeds to join up with the main forces and head onto the battlefield.

---

(Black Angels - Battle Theme)

The overall trip didn't take too long to get to the location of the battlefield. The perks of having a travel mode that increases your speed does have its own benefits. It was a beautiful looking location, filled with Earth's most purest nectar of life. What once belonged to the humans were covered by rich vegetation and the waters below, followed by massive waterfalls that make Niagara Falls look like nothing. Normally one person would take a jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring moment to look around, almost getting lost in such a vibrant environment...

But to Zeruel, this does not matter.

Today he embarks on a mission with one pure motive. War. And it's War in its most total and rawest form. The Laguna Angel had been itching to swear vengeance for the demons that dared killed the other Laguna Angels during the War. How dare they even attempted to kill them. This is a battle that he will take on personally. And he will not stop until every living demon is destroyed. And if humans get in the way, so what. Humans are just as vermin-like as the Hellbents. If anyone gets in his way, they will all be slaughtered like dogs.

His arrival began as the ground from below burst suddenly in a beam of light, followed by a large explosion. Debris of dirt and trees littered the battlefield as Zeruel announces his presence. He slowly looms from the depths of the earth, his tendrils slowly flowing in the air as he scours the area for any threats looming about. While not at his most maximum size, 25 meters in height is still half compared to his fullest potential. He is Heaven's Champion, Heaven's almighty fist. And he was going to bring a hammer of justice down on those be damned.

[Gardevoiran]

Bonesword

---

What a time to be alive! The sky was filled with the normal blue, and the day was young. It wasn't going to last long for sure, but at least it would give time for the skeletal swordsman to prepare himself for what was about to come...

...and what better way to prepare for the battle then to start out where you feel you would be best?

That's exactly what the skeleton did. He found himself behind a forest, watching the congregation of various ships enter the scene of Arcadia in pursuit of the battle, and the ripe stench of blood was to be wafting through the skeleton's... nostrils? He didn't really have any but nonetheless he thought he could smell something. Beyond all of this, the skeleton was armed today with his three swords, consisting of the typical Shroomblade, the newly named Religious Cutlass, and the newest piece of the trio Unleash. He was ready to get underway with what he needed to do, and he brought a few pumpkins along for the ride...

Harpies were raised from their deaths, and so he shall raise his army from the ground. The swordsman was ready to get it started, and he drew Unleash as he charged through the forest, his hand raised and glowing green. The largest harvest of the swordsman's life was coming on, and the only goal that the minions were tasked with was "Leave no survivors of Heaven or Hell here in Arcadia." As he ran through the forest, every tree he ran past sprouted up from the ground, walking up behind the swordsman and facing towards Heaven's armada, every other plant that was summoned faced towards Hell. The ground of the swordsman shook, and finally ended when the basil-isk known as Charlie rose from it, resting next to Bonesword, and waiting for his move in order to attack.

"Machina troops. My army stands ready."

---

---

---

Abigail, the Restless

---

Abigail floated around the various harpies that were entering the field. and waited for the first attacks between the three nations to commence. She was near Zeruel as he seemed like he could use any sort of cover fire at the time, and this would be rather nice with Abigail's respectable amounts of firepower, being her Wisp Veil cannons and her Dreambolts. Of course, these were rather limited in use unless she found some troops that wanted to donate their dreams to the power, but they packed a punch nonetheless. The Spear of Destinies was being held in Abigail's hands as she spoke aloud to herself.

"No survivors. Got it... what's the worst that could happen anyway?"

[Flood]

Henry Pearl Avaritia The 2nd

@TheWindel@KoL@Mega Birb@Awesomoman64@Lmpkio@Banana

---

Henry watched with a look of anticipation as a series of events all happened at once. Balrog burst through the wall, threatening Ira and then calming down once he saw how fucked up Sliske was. Victories offered to give Henry his reward until an ominous fashion, Henry discreetly pulled a large revolver out of a Gate just in case. Ghelgath burst into the throne room with a neat little army of ice soldiers, good thing Henry pulled his gun. Ira kinda nocked Ghelgath for his sense of honor and Henry chuckled. This chick was way more tolerable than Rufus, that's for sure.

More stuff happened and now Sliske and Ghelgath were fighting, Sliske having summoned his own army. Henry summoned his own throne and sat down right as Ghelgath covered the floor with ice. Chilly.

"If you were to dethrone her, I would gladly become your servant— Oh, silly me, I guess this turns me into the Starscream, right?"

"I suppose I'm Soundwave then. Shall I bring out the boombox?" Then some random dude on a horse came riding in and handed Ira a scroll thingy. Fun times is over. Henry aimed his gun upwards and fired several times, making sure to get everyone's attention.

"HEY ASSHOLES! IT'S FUN TIME!"

---

Henry made it to Arcadia relatively quickly, his new wings were pretty damn handy in that regard. The mission was nice and simple. Death to all that opposed the new queen of Hell. Which is exactly why Henry was flying over the forests and dumping mass amounts of lit napalm all over them with his Gates of Tartarus. Where's the connection between those statements you may ask? Well Henry saw a demon skeleton yelling about how his troops were ready for the Machina and he also saw said skeleton raising troops from the forest. That was a definite danger in his book, so now he was busy burning down the forest. Smoky would be so disappointed.

He also noticed a big ass angel, he made sure to try and stearate clear of that fucker. Henry wasn't gonna break his wings a day after getting them. He wasn't gonna get swatted like a fly again. What a jolly day.

[Inner Demon]

Zak

Zak leaned back as Syphax approached, briefly remembering his last unfortunate encounter with harpies. Glowing jubilantly with accomplishment, the warrior explained the qualities of the feather. "Ye don't say?" He muttered, pocketing the item within his coat. "So if tha feather is mightier than tha pen..." The curious angel leaned in. "...an' tha pen is mightier than tha sword..." As Syphax turned to converse with another of his kind, Zak quickly reached out, snagging another pair of feathers from the wing of the cheerful harpy, before darting out of sight behind a pillar. "Three lifetimes o' feathers. What else could a lad ever need?" Zak's hand disappeared once again inside his coat, adding the feathers to his pocket of hidden treasures, and came out with another joint pinched between his knuckles. He brought it up to his lips, ready to light when suddenly he noticed a brief flicker of movement a couple yards away. Curiosity struck the fiery haired angel once again, sending him into a seemingly oblivious roam about the pavilion.

"Howdy pardner." Mumbled Zak jovially in a western accent as he bumped into the cowboy themed man Omega in his path who was introducing himself. "Nice hat." He declared shooting the cowboy with his finger like a pretend gun as he continued backward. However the grinning angel lost his footing and tripped over another angel, toppling backward head over heels into the thralls of a plot of bushes away from the group. He wasn't much for crowds anyhow. Disappearing into the foliage, Zak groaned and scratched his head, knocking away a few leaves absently before noticing the root of his earlier curiosity. Rolling onto his stomach, Zak crawled across the ground war trenches style over to the girl having an avid conversation with herself in the cover of the leaves. Zak quietly listened for a moment before scooting next to her and splitting open a small hole in the foliage to get a look at what or who she was observing. "Who're we hidin' from?" Asked Zak in a whisper, lighting the joint clasped in his lips with a flame from the tip of his index finger. "Oh wait Ah know...bird people spook me too."

_{@Flamelord@Awesomoman64@The 42nd Gecko@Mega Birb}

[Lonewolf685]

Hildr Reinhardt

Arcadia had all the hallmarks of an ideal utopia, an Avalon made manifest, yet had the misfortune of existing within the Nexus. As such it was now just a name on someone's map, and that made it as good a place as any to unleash the devastating power of three colliding armies upon the floating islands. Amidst the ranks of angels, there would be an imperceptible sound akin to the piercing of wet paper before a sharply dressed woman in a skirt suit emerged onto a floating rock with a cell phone pressed to her ear.

"Look, if its not an irradiated wasteland when we're done here, I'll take us out here for a picnic, but you are not taking part in this battle. Someone has to keep Gunnr from discovering Skinemax and right now it's on you...what? Oh fine, but don't let Eins order the Pizza or he may arrive with Velcro pants and extra sausage...Yes, I love you too. Have fun~"

The call terminated and Hildr slipped it into her coat pocket for safe keeping. She looked about and found their ranks had more harpies and giants then recalled. "Huh, I expected more spear wielding canon fodder. Guess this front sprung for the eccentric soldiers- wow, is that a Laguna? Sheesh, forget nuclear wasteland, I'll be lucky if there is a dust cloud to show where this place was. Too bad."

Still, if that was how things were going to be, then at she didn't need to bother holding back too much.

[Gardevoiran]

Bonesword

---

"Damn it! Charlie go underground!" was the next sentence that came out of the swordsman's mouth. He was not happy at all with what the flying Henry had just done to his new army, and he wasn't just going to let it slide. As Charlie dove underground to protect himself from the napalm, the skeleton had a few of his newly-summoned tree soldiers come forward and throw their bushy tops over him in protection. They'd be dying in his protection, but at least it wouldn't be too bad for them...

... or this just didn't happen and the army became a walking forest fire. Thanks Henry. The trees protecting Bonesword had returned to a dormant state of being normal trees that were on fire after they kept him from death, however, the rest of his army was given quite the interesting buff on top of being already pretty dope. A quick order from Bonesword had ordered the plants to stay away from him and to either douse themselves at all possible, or kamikaze if they were interrupted.

Simply put. "Stay away from me. Douse yourselves, then continue the original plan. If you are interrupted by an enemy, kamikaze them."

Charlie, meanwhile, was ordered to prepare for a launch towards other islands, carrying Bonesword along with him. Right now, though, this would be aimed somewhere else... where it was though was unknown.

@floodtalon

[The 42nd Gecko]

Miyu the Traitor Angel Honorless Blade

"Warg!" Was Miyu's elegant response as she jumped from Zak having snuck up upon her. She jumped up slightly, but this only resulting in snagging on the bush and falling back down into it.

"Er, um, no, it's not the harpies. I mean, look at me." Miyu flapped a wing, freeing it from its leafy prison. "I'm pretty much a bird person too. No use judging someone for being a little bit MORE of a bird person than me." She shrugged. Then, looking back towards Ciel, she noticed the Stargazer had left, moving on to some other thing. Well, no need to make a decision then.

"I was deciding on whether or not I wanted to ask Ciel a dumb question, but it looks like she left, sparing me the need to make a decision, yes!" Miyu gave a quick fist pump to celebrate the effectiveness of her indecision. "So, I'm Miyu, can I help you?" She turned back to Zak.

@Inner Demon

[TheWendil]

☬ Ira ☬
^{Current Location: Hell}

While it was nice to watch idiots try to kill themselves, the greater duties of this long war game had to come first. A shame really, because Ira was very much enjoying to see who would come out of this little spittle alive. Yet the Dullahan’s presence was a reminder that work needed to be done and Ira was already sensing the comings of another battle. The demonic intel that had been scouting the area of Arcadia was finally getting back to her via mental links and the first forces had been sent forward. With a sigh behind her mask, the great demon rose from her throne.

“Enough of this. There is strife and conflict that must be tended to. If you care to see the glory of the Hell carried out through action instead of gilded words, you would do best to head to Arcadia Sliske, Ghelgath,” Ira said, unsheathing her blade and flicking her wrist forward. Instead of cutting everyone in the room like most would expect, the blade instead rended a tear through the air itself as a dark portal was made manifest before her.

“Do you take me as some sort of hypocrite? A real leader charges forth with their armies bellowing behind them. That was King Rufus’ failure and that is why Hell shall reign in victory. If you still have devotion to your new Queen, follow,” Ira said, letting Henry get to the battle via his own method. One step brought her away from Hell and into the lush lands that was the new territory to be conquered. The fighting had already begun, and she motioned for the others to begin their assault.

Back in Hyperion, Bastion nodded in agreement. High Queen Eos seemed like she knew what she was doing and, from rumors, the High Queen seemed to house much more empathy for her soldiers than the other two Faction leaders. The irony of her machine heritage was not lost on Bastion and if anything, it made her desire to fight all the stronger. That would be proven now with Tatiana’s offer to train, Bastion nodding with a grin.

“Sure. Get ready for this,” she said, slinging free her rifle. She was allowed to bring her own guns, right? Well whatever, because she was already firing off round after round before her fingers could slip from the trigger. She shot a few bullets straight forward and a few slightly angled to the side. With Tatiana’s enhanced abilities, she figured her friend would move them out of the range of her firing path; thus, the bullets ricocheting would have a better chance at hitting their mark with precision. At least, she hoped.

However, a booming voice made her jump in place and cease fire immediately. Turning around, her mismatched eyes widened to see the High Queen herself in hologram form and issuing the next set of orders. She had said nothing about her though and Bastion frowned at the ground when Eos was gone from sight. She had been kept away from the last battle…but she wanted to fight. She wanted to protect her new friends…even if it meant disobeying the High Queen.

“Come on Tatiana. This time I’ll help you win,” Bastion said, already dashing for the nearest teleporter to Arcadia’s territory. She wanted to leave quickly before one of the High Queen’s more personal servants realized the danger she was putting herself in by heading to the front lines. Oh well. They should have been faster; this Bastion thought with a grin even as she was teleported away from Hyperion and onto Arcadia’s soil. And judging from the burning forest, it looked like the fighting had already started.

---

@Lmpkio, @floodtalon, @Mega Birb, @Awesomoman64, @KoL, @Flamelord, @Banana