Ryonara

The War of the Three

Hibiki & Shizuka

The color in Hibiki's face drained away. "Oh my god... I'm so sorry! I always thought it was suppose to be like that! you know, like titanium..." Hibiki covered her face in embarrassment. How long has she been saying Tatiana's name wrong this entire time? Has everyone else been doing that? She definitely knew that she and Shizuka has at least. It was only after having this explained to her that Hibiki realized just how embarassing being called Titania might have been for Tatiana. The others teased Hibiki about it, causing the commander to act a bit meek. She had no excuse for it so she wasn't going to try to cover it, but she was more than willing to move onto some other subject.

That's when Tatiana, always the sharpshooter, asked about Shizuka. Hibiki was quick to speak. Perhaps too quick. "She's out on her own right now. I just came back from training and she's... Well doing something." Hibiki tried to hide the fact that she didn't know what Shizuka was doing at this moment. She didn't want to give the impression of being a control freak, who had to always know what Shizuka was doing, but neither did she want to give away the tension the two sisters had. Whatever Tatiana thought of Hibiki, the mecha maid wanted to make sure she was able to keep a cool head and firm grasp of the situation. When it was important anyways. "A-Anyways, have you three been here for a while? I was thinking of getting a couple of drinks, a couple of songs, and just see where the night takes us from there."

A harsh voice called out that seemed oddly familiar to Hibiki. But before she could turn and investigate, the volume on the bar's radio was cranked up. It was an announcement made by the High Queen herself. The announcement was short but sweet; High Queen Eos would hold a concert to raise the spirits of those who have been fighting for her all this time. Such an event was almost unknown to Hibiki; she's heard of Eos's talents and abilities, but never in her life has she ever seen it first hand. This actually made Hibiki quite excited. At least, until she heard the same loudmouth from before insult Eos. Hibiki turned to see who it was when she realized that it was none other than Hohenheim, the Alchemist of Genesis. Her appearance was both a surprise, but also not unexpected. Hohenheim was a powerful person within the Nexus, one of the few beings who can choose neutrality in this war-torn realm. But that didn't matter to Hibiki. She was the maid of High Queen Eos first, and she wasn't going to take these insults lightly.

But Hibiki was also no fool. She knew Hohenheim was more than powerful enough to wipe the floor with everyone in this bar, but Hibiki had one thing that gave her a slight advantage: a somewhat friendly relationship with Hohenheim. After all, she had served the Alchemist the last time she had visited her tower, and hopefully Hibiki had left a good impression on her. And if Hibiki wanted payback from Hoho for insulting her queen, she'd need to utilize what little resources she had. "Hohenheim? What a coincidence meeting you here!" Standing up, Hibiki curtsied towards the Alchemists. "I take it that you heard the announcement? Will you be attending as well?"

@KoL@Flamelord

---

Meanwhile Shizuka was playing with puppies. Pomeranian, golden retrievers, even pitbulls. Pure bred too; thanks to the technology of the Machina, they were able to bring back species that have long since died out or been crossbred into extinction. And of course, they could genetically alter them to be more pleasing and convenient for their new owners. Shizuka didn't really dwell on that part. These dogs were cute, and that's all that really mattered to Shizuka. Indeed, ever since she was brought back to life in Heaven, her life has been a constant state of warfare. Training for war, fighting a war, recovering from one. She understood that the Nexus was always going to have a battle somewhere at any time, but Shizuka had to remember that even if she's already dead, she had a will of her own too. Sometimes she wanted to get away from fighting and just enjoy the simple things in life.

One such opportunity came when the intercoms on the petshop she was at changed channels. It was the Machina News Network, the main channel for all of the Machina news and propaganda. As Shizuka tickled a fluffy white pomeranian when she heard Queen Eos make her announcement about the royal concert. Everyone seemed quite excited, even the dogs. Shizuka felt... Apathetic. Not because she didn't care, but because she wasn't sure what to make of such an announcement. On one hand, surely everyone in the Machina faction would enjoy seeing their queen preform. But wasn't she only doing this because of the recent defeats the Machina has had? Of course doing something to lift everyone's spirits would be important, as higher morale meant everyone fighting more passionately. But would passion be enough to turn the tide of war?

Shizuka put the dog away and left the store. She had her feel of cuteness for now. She decided that she'll attend the concert, but if she was she'll need to find some new clothes. All she had was her maid uniforms and her combat armor, neither which were exactly very festive and showy. Shizuka could probably go for a haircut too. A new makeover even. She felt excited except... She'd be doing all of it alone. She could go tell Hibiki about it but she'd probably not appreciate Shizuka wasting her time getting prettied up instead of doing more important things like training. It made Shizuka realize that she had no friends.

"Maybe I should go get that dog after all..."

The War of the Three

@KoL

Thanks for the extension. I'll try not to squander it.

@The 42nd Gecko

We could have Shizuka and Alexi meet up. I feel like Shizuka would be able to train Alexi better than Hibiki can.

@Flamelord

I'll try to post later tonight.

The War of the Three

Hibiki

The moment Hibiki entered the karaoke bar, someone recognized her. It was Titania... Titania, and Titania. While each one looked different from one another, Hibiki could recognized their faces were all the same. Hibiki wondered why until she remembered that Titania was a clone. Hibiki didn't know that the other clones were active at the same time though. Hibiki wasn't even sure if any of these three Titania's were the same one she's worked with before. But for the sake of her own sanity, Hibiki would pretend they are. "Hey Titania! Fancy seeing you here. I didn't know you sing." Taking a seat with the three Titania's, Hibiki flipped through the menu. She always chose the day's special instead of anything specific.

"Titania, you never told me you had sister's too! And triplets too. And here I thought I was the only one with a twin." Light-hearted banter. Hibiki knows that the Machina of Man employs mass cloning, so people with twins numbering in the hundreds wasn't unusual. She just didn't know that Titania was one of those clones. "I gotta ask though, do all of you go by Titania even among each other? That's got to be confusing." Hibiki wondered if they had serial numbers, like calling themselves Titania-1245 or something like that.

@Flamelord

The War of the Three

@Flamelord

Alright. i need to head to bed soon but I'll just get a post for Hibiki up. I'll try not to do back-to-back posts, but it's been a while since I've felt so energetic.

The Chronicles of Dosei: Sands of Blood, A Dungeons and Dragons Roleplay. (Reboot)(Full)

Catarina La'Spada

Catarina followed with Vivian to the wagon, strapping on her armor and equipment. As they were getting to move a gnome greeted them, followed by that dwarf Shayle. Underneath her helmet Catarina narrowed her eyes at the dwarf, but listened to them. Ellenora shared Catarina's feeling that these two might try to backstab them in the ruins, though admittedly Catarina also felt a certain sort of camaraderie with the dwarf. Her words struck a cord with Catarina that she could agree with, but after their fight yesterday Cataraina's feelings about the dwarf was less than neutral at best. That being said, Catarina had no problems if these people wanted to join them. However, she had something herself to say.

"I don't care if you want to join. Don't slow us down and help us out and you're gold. But know this, dwarf; we have two elves in our company. I don't care what your opinions about them are. If you want to join us, they're your allies, and you will treat them with respect. I won't tolerate bigotry while we're out in the ruins."

---

Parum

Parum, always the sneaky one, went completely unnoticed by the others as she got her things together, ate breakfast, and hopped into the wagon. It seemed like Malkai was going to take the lead this time, so Parum let him do his thing. Veridis was helping Kalista, which made Parum wonder if something developed between the two. For a bard Veridis had been awfully reserved and half expected that he would have hit on all these women by the time they met. Catarina and Vivian also seem rather close, classic lady and knight. Though Vivian was more a dark sorceress, and Catarina was a mere mercenary. But the archetype fits nonetheless. Parum also sensed something between Alexander and Ellenora, perhaps the two gruff warriors had something in common that they liked about each other. It was funny seeing these relationships bloom so suddenly. It made Parum wonder how quickly they'll come apart.

As Parum quietly waited for the adventure to begin they were met up by two more strangers. A gnome and a dwarf that Catarina fought yesterday. Seeing an opportunity to gain a few more allies Parum chimed in. "Our group is getting pretty big. Perhaps we should consider splitting into teams? While splitting the party is usually a bad idea, I think with a group this huge, we can afford some degree of separation."

The War of the Three

@Lmpkio

The Machina aren't nearly as dramatic.

The War of the Three

Ah, looks like I missed downtime again. Oh well.

The War of the Three

Sorry for the long, rambling post. I didn't really know what else to write.

Well let's see. Marquis is indisposed and probably wouldn't care. Krieg wouldn't care. Ryo is basically dead right now. Eos is out for obvious reasons. Ni-Mu doesn't exist outside battles. Bonesword is in a committed relationship with someone in another faction. Bastion is possible but seems more interested in Diana, and Windel is currently busy playing ruler of hell. The Machina have a successful captuee rate of -2, so that hasnt had a chance to happen. Which leaves me, and I'm not writing a scene for myself that only serves to help you guys get off.

Yep. It's a real problem.

@Flamelord

Again, sorry I'm not around as often as I should be. Hopefully I can have a better attendance now, if you want to do anything with my characters. Hibiki is going to get a drink and Shizuka is shopping for pets. I know they're not exactly the sort of action-packed or character focused things you can do with our machina soldiers, but I feel like just using the downtime for whatever.

The War of the Three

Hibiki & Shizuka

These past few days have been a blur for the sisters. Hibiki went about upgrading her gear while Shizuka just kept training. Usual soldiering things. After the last battle they felt rather embarrassed at losing to the demons. For all their bravado they didn’t exactly bring the heat. Worse still, it’s almost as if their efforts as commanders meant nothing in actual battle. Reading the after battle reports everyone on the Machina faction were simply too spread out and disorganized to coordinate a proper offensive effort. Too many rogue agents who don’t have to follow a chain of command. Many who simply don’t. Bastion and Nu-Mu were outside of Hibiki and Shizuka’s command, and the likes of Grafdakka and Alexi just don’t. Bonesword and Titania at least can follow orders, and Hibiki personally felt that she’s been overlooking them. Or maybe she’s just too bossy.

Hibiki realized this when, a few days after they returned from that battle, she had an argument with Shizuka. Normally Shizuka never argued with her; she just kept following Hibiki through thick and thin. Always the loyal sister. But one day when Hibiki and Shizuka were suppose to go training again, Shizuka refused. She wanted to take the day off. This completely caught Hibiki off guard; not only did Shizuka not do what Hibiki told her, but it was Shizuka, the more combative and dutiful of the two, who wanted a vacation. Hibiki… Didn’t react well. All the stress she’s had acting as commander came crashing down on Shizuka, blaming her for their defeats and their lack of coordination. Heaven’s forces were too strong to play around with and for all the chaos the demons sow among themselves, they had highly competent strategists. And what did the machinas have? Glamorous elites who don’t answer to anyone, without nearly as much power to justify it. Their enemies were literally gods, and yet some of these people think they can actually go toe-to-toe with them?

Yet at the same time Shizuka made it quite clear that Hibiki’s methods weren’t going to work. No one was going to follow her orders just because she told them too, or that her ideas are even good. If the past battles were any indication, teamwork and cooperation were nice in concept but infeasible in application. They lost because they couldn’t react quick enough; the enemy wasn’t going to wait for everything to line up perfectly. The Machina needed specialists who can strike hard, strike fast, without so much set up to pull it off. That’s why Bastion and Nu-Mu don’t follow the chain of command; their duties were precisely to provide the type of shock and awe the enemy has, but for the Machina forces. If Hibiki wanted to feel useful, she needed to match their strength. That’s what Shizuka intended to do, but she also knew that she had to do it her own way. Ever since the Alchemist removed her inhibitions, Shizuka figured out what was holding her back; her sister.

Since then the two haven’t really been on speaking terms. Shizuka trained on her own but also sought to be a person outside her sister’s shadow. Hibiki focused on her jobs as a maid and a commander, though her mind still lingered on her sister’s words. Was Hibiki really holding Shizuka back? Was she really too bossy, asking too much and not providing enough herself? Was she going about this all wrong? Part of Hibiki wanted to say no. Everything would work out just fine if people just followed orders. But somehow, she knew Shizuka was right. Hibiki had always been reliant on others to be her strength. She’s always needed Shizuka to carry her burdens while she did jobs that was easy to her. Even in the grand scheme of things Hibiki relied on the likes of Eos and the Machina faction to provide her weapons, skills, and intel, and none of it HIbiki could provide for herself even if she tried.

As much as Hibiki tries not to, she had to consider her strength compared to other commanders, both her allies and her enemies. She didn’t have their raw power, nor their vast intellect. She was just a human who’s somehow managed not to get killed so far. And if that was suppose to be Hibiki’s greatest accomplishment, than she really was a sorry commander. These were the thoughts going through Hibiki’s mind as she was flying her Falken, doing aerial maneuvers and stunts to hopefully help her win the next battle. In a moment of weakness she was unfocused, and in the midst of a midair sniping-into-hijacking attempting, her aircraft crashed into her and Hibiki was killed.

Moments later she respawned back at the airfield. She felt that this was enough training for today and went back to the city for a drink. She’ll drown her sorrows, think happy thoughts, and tomorrow she’ll pretend to feel better so hopefully karma returns the favor. Hopping back into her nissan Hibiki drove towards the city, dodging traffic and speeding through the streets towards her favorite karaoke bar. Maybe some singing could help Hibiki forget too.

---

Meanwhile Shizuka was out looking for a pet. As odd as it was, getting stronger wasn’t really that big of a deal to Shizuka anymore. Sure, after the Alchemist had removed her inhibitions, the first thing on her mind was how she could use it to get more powerful. But when she returned home Shizuka noticed all the wonderful things that she had missed before. The lights, the sounds, the entertainment, the people. A lot of people think the Machina of Man were all slaves to high Queen Eos, and in a way they were. The High Queen provided them safety, comfort, food, and luxury. Yet at the same time, she allows them to fight for her, and even lets the likes of Shizuka join their faction. Her word was law, true. But so far her words have been reasonable and not tyrannical. Before Shizuka refrained from indulging herself because she had believed all of it to be as fake and synthetic as the machines that fight for Eos. Yet somehow, seeing things with her own eyes, Shizuka didn’t see anything wrong.

It did make Shizuka wonder about her faction however. In her time with Heaven Shizuka was certainly sheltered. She was taught war yes, and she has been showed the sort of horrors the demons and machines commit to them. Yet somehow Shizuka had a feeling that not all is as it seems. Heaven made itself seem like the last bastion of decency. But the Machina have fared well for themselves. Shizuka wasn’t sure how the demons handled things, but somehow she felt that they quite like their lot in life. It was just a hunch. But the point was that now, Shizuka was truly naive; all the previous notions she had were gone. Now she can see what the other factions were like without the propaganda.

All in due time of course. Shizuka wasn’t going to go waltzing into Hell anytime soon, and she was almost certain that Heaven would strike her down the moment she stepped foot in their domain. But perhaps, as insane as this sounds, there could be a chance for peace. If she could just… See how similar these factions are, and connect them through that, perhaps they wouldn’t need to keep fighting. These were dreams Shizuka had. And slowly she’d work towards that dream. But first, for a simple goal: finding a puppy.

Heroes of Beacon - the Next Chapter

Yeah two paragraphs is really shitty considering that I haven't posted in a month, but there it is. To be honest, I kinda thought Beacon had died. Activity has slowed to a crawl.