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The Knight stood up, towering both Nirix and Ketin glaring at Ketin with his red eyes and says "I recommend you reconsidering that...even though my Lord had warned me of that answer you gave. Of course, I see why she is interested in you...your eyes say that you are a killer and you killed in high number...but your body doesn't say warrior, but in this day of age, a man can kill millions in a single push of a button...that is who you are a boy one who sits behind his comrades as they face the true horrors of war while you do the lion-share of the killing without experiencing the consequences. he takes a big breath and adds "From the tone and the glare you are giving me, it seems you are going to go kill again....anyway enough of my blabbering" as he picks up his greatsword and with great power swings it towards Nirix neck stopping it before it makes contact, but close enough that it can shave hairs. "I truly do apologize one who bears the sign, but I'm doing this under her Lordship's command even though i do not like doing this" he looks at Ketin and asks once more "Boy accept the ritual or else her head pops off" basically giving Ketin an ultimatum than a choice.

Funny thing is that anyone's mind can be used as a catalyst....

Daedalus' orbit, Shadow-Init Bravo Command Ship

Mortis Morale was analyzing the data he was gathering when the alarm activated, he instantly jumped off his seat, then activated the secured command channel.

-Land'rey ! Status report !
-We're intact sir, but we are detecting a huge data transfer spike !
-Where ?
-It's from the communication center sir ! It's frying the satellites !

The General stared in awe as all the satellites got blacked out one by one, the screen displaying the damages dealt to them, each and every one was beyond repair.

-What.The.Hell. Said the General.

One of the lieutenants nodded before activating something on his console.

-Commander Logsley, what is going on down there ?
-We have no idea sir, everything just fried ! We have confirmation that the hub has been destroyed in the process, and the file with it !
-What do you mean ?
-Our drive had finished downloading when it happened, but the overloaded destroyed it, so the file is no longer a problem sir.
-Okay, do you have any idea of what could have done that ?
-No sir, our scans can't tell us where the data has gotten exactly, but we can only assume it's one of the tangos inside of the com center ! Wait !
-What is it ?
-Hm hm ? Okay, right, Sorry General, I have report that two more tangos have been detected, one, a robot of some sort, has been destroyed, but the second one...It's weird...
-What ?
-Our scanners indicates he's made of antimatter...Hold on, I'm getting more data....I can confirm sir, this thing is made of antimatter ! I have no idea of why it hadn't detonated, but it's still here !

The general closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose for a split second before letting out a huge sigh, he reopened his eyes and for a split second everyone around him could see that they were red before returning to black.

-Commander ?
-Yes ?
-Whatever happened, we need to know why, you have full authorizations to capture those tangos, we don't really care about the antimatter one, but the one that caused this mess ? We need it, I don't care if it's a person, a machine or a god damn teddy bear, recover it ASAP.
-And if we can't sir ?

The General looked at the lieutenant, who nodded, he then turned back toward the communication console.

-Then get out of there ASAP.
-Yes General.

The General sat back in his chair as a giant hologram of the planet materialized in the middle of the bridge, every flying or orbiting object was displayed.

Communication Center’s Roof

The soldiers have jumped back and took cover when the hub was overloaded, the two specialists were thrown back and recovered mid-air by the agent, who simply laid them down on the ground before vanishing.

The soldiers looked at each other speechlessly before jumping near the specialist and began patching them up, one of them giving a look to the torn up and smouldering hub, a few seconds later their radio came back to life as they received instructions from their mother ship, the squad leader simply nodded, gave the two specialist a quick look, and decided that they were alright, for now at least, he then left with two of his men, leaving the other guarding their wounded, probably waiting for a medevac.

The three soldiers got to stair case leading to the lower levels, but one of the soldiers, a corporal, tapped his superior’s left shoulder and pointed towards the elevator, the squad leader then briefly nodded.

The persons on the 3rd floor would certainly hear the elevator moving, and Ketin would be capable of sensing the soldiers running down the stairs, though he wouldn’t be able to hear them or to get into their exact thoughts except their immediate one, since their implants replaced the majority of their brains, and they were working in closed circuit systems with exceptional extremely crypted transmissions.

If he would pay intention to them, he would see a glimpse of the elevator interior, and one of the soldiers posing some sort of explosive charge in it.

Ten seconds later, the elevator would came to a stop.

Ping

And the charge, if not disarmed, would detonate just as the door would open, emitting an ear piercing sound and a blinding flash, the elevator absorbing most of the detonation, then the elevator (or what was left of it anyway) would go crashing on the ground floor, a few seconds later the soldiers would come running down the stairs, SMG raised and ready to fire.

Eerie didn't even flinched when the...dog ? Whatever this guy was, hit her with his tail, after all, she had a totally unknown combat armor that, according to what the lab personel did, was resistant, very resistant.

She simply stared at the guy when he got behind the others, and then watched the woman jump and....patheticly crash in front of her, she then shifted her attention to the robot towering her.

That's it, it was too much, first that guy that was barking at her (even if he was a walking dog), that girl ridiculizing herself and this robot threatening her with her arm missing ? That was it.

She bursted into laughter.

-Ahah, who ahah are you guys ?

She was bent over, her left hand on her knee as her right one was barely holding the riffle, still laughing uncontralably.

She might be in terrible danger with those people, after all, she didn't knew anything about them, but it has been...god know how long since she had something funny to laugh about, it felt so good....

 Nirix hadn't expected this to happen.

She was perfectly fine with being a "hostage" in the situation with Nocturnus, in fact the Eoclu didn't even flinch when the blade was placed on the vital vein of her neck. The blade was indeed sharp, the proximity of it against her skin caused a cut to form and bleed. Oddly enough it stung, like the orange wasps of her planet and yet gave her entire body a prickly feeling. Maybe it had something to do with the color of the blade? It's whole appearance seemed made of an unfathomable amount of darkness and looking at it made Nirix's eyes hurt.

Blinking away the small amounts of pain, she let herself relax and tried to give off an appearance of absolute calm presence of mind. There was nothing to fear about, all that matter would be keeping Ketin safe and nothing else. Nirix didn't think that her life was meaningless, she just thought that the Da'len's life was worth a little bit more than hers. He needed to live more of his life away from all of this, from people who wanted him just as a pawn or who saw him only for his Devil's Eye.

If she could help him achieve that, by anyway possible, Nirix would gladly trade her life for that to happen. Breifly her mind traveled back to her homeworld, to one she had not fulfilled her promise to. He would understand, he would want it this way.

For once, Nirix wasn't ashamed to say that in the face of death, she would most definitely miss him.

Kekol, forgive me if I let my path end here...

"Da'len, you need to leave now, go as far as you can. I'll handle everything, just go" Nirix urged him on. She could defintely act, her sword already removed from its sheath and gun already raised. All she needed was a perfect time to shoot, the perfect time to make a distraction.

That time came before she knew it as everything exploded in light and sound. It appeared there were to be more people to have a hand in this situation.

"Is there someone in this Galaxy for whom you would do anything?"

"W-well yeah, of course, I-"

""And what would you do if that person was in imminent danger?"

"W-what?! Who-"

""If that person's life was threatened by another, would you have what it takes to protect that person? To take the life of another in order that the one precious to you might be saved?"

"I...I'd do anything. I wouldn't hesitate for a second. Is someone threatening you? I'll kill them, I'll kill them in a heartbeat."

"You know of course that there is only one acceptable response-"

"I'll tear them to shreds if they so much as think about hurting you!"

"I'm sure you will, Son."

---

There it was again, that terrible feeling in the air - deeper than the air. The energy, the hostility that resonated from the very core of existence itself. The fabric of all that was, of the energy that radiated through all matter - the terrible culmination of emotion and technology with each on par for lack of understanding. Unpredictability and untapped potential. Unadulterated hatred, loathing deeper than the crimson giants, deeper than the abyssal midnight of space, than the unholy blackness of the knight that stood so arrogantly before him.

His eyes were an enigma - fury hot and deep, and yet death - death of the self, of the Universe - dead eyes, killer's eyes - a Devil's eyes. Face betrayed no expression, only the stony blankness of he who had long since lost his soul in trade for the blood of countless, untold dead.

Eyes that would kill again.

To face the horrors of war, what need be present within the shell that called itself a man?
To face the consequences of unjustly inflicted death, what despicable, black spirit need take a hold of the mortal and irreparably corrupt the heart?


Nirix spoke, but he did not hear. Instead of finessing the assassin's pistol as he had before, this time he merely took it and stepped forward, with the eyes of death itself locked upon a gutwrenching glow behind the helmet of his enemy which failed to affect him in the least.

It all happened at once, and time seemed to slow down. The moment was incomprehensibly rapid, yet it dragged glacially for indeterminate time. He was practiced, he was skilled - he was beautiful in his execution.

Smoke, thick and viscous, burst into the room. Lights flashed blindingly. Eye was in their eyes, he saw the unfamiliar figure of the red-haired demon what wrought the wrath of Tartarus itself upon those so damned as to invoke his wrath.

The miliseconds passed like hours. He stepped forward, slamming free palm into the broad side of the great blade and shoving it with great force away from the assassin who had so boldly promised to take care of it.

Not this time.

The blow would throw Nocturnous off-balance if only for a second, but it was more than long enough.

He was not only inside the eyes of the men slowly, slowly barging into the room and readying their weapons - he was also in the eyes of Nocturnous himself - seeing in infared, in the vision so utterly alien to the human mind as to prove virtually incomprehensible - yet there was empathy - there was love for the enemy whom he so despised, whom must fall before him. The energy was unbelievably vast - there was no apparent source, yet the Devil's Eye was its' conduit. There was redirected the most fundamental forces of the Universe, those which bound the atoms together - no mere electromagnetic energy, but something deeper and more terrible.

The air itself seemed to vibrate as he moved.

Without the slightest hesitation, he took advantage of the knight's stagger to half-jump, planting the silencer-barrel of Nirix's pistol right through the slit in his mask. In his small stature he had to grab on to a plate of the creature's armor and hang there, but not for long.

One. Two. Three. Four.

The barrel had already pierced the ethereal crimson glow, and now the bullets entered already within the confines of the helmet. But they were no longer ordinary bullets - there were no gunshots - only terrible thundercracks that shook one to the core, that rattled the bones of those unfortunate enough to be present within the ungodly sight. Blue light that streaked like lightning, chaining from shattered molecule to shattered molecule as the very fabric of Nocturnous was reverted to conceptual probability, as matter itself dissolved into fundamental assets - as his very being was torn from unreality and dissipated into Notspace - and then into nothingness eternal.

Shards of shattered armor flew like projectiles back from the doomed knight's head, interlaced with the blue light, and streaks of utter abyss which constituted the antimatter entrails spilling from his crippled form.

The hulking body would fall back. Maybe it would land on the floor with a heavy thud, maybe it would gradually dissipate until nothing remained - but in one horrendously vicious attack, the Dark Knight had fallen.

And the rampage of the Devil's Eye was far from over.

Already, the ghastly intensity of the electromagnetic field - so vibrant and hellish as to disturb the conceptual fabric of space and Notspace themselves - had all but crippled everyone in or around the building. Electromagnetic signals were present not only in brains, but in nervous systems - and he had surpassed all possible barriers in order to induce what amounted to almost total neurological shutdown in the bodies of the soldiers, regardless of what petty technological defenses they had attempted to raise against him.

Only the Eoclu assassin was unaffected by this remotely induced mass-stroke - she would prove immune. She was, after all, the catalyst - the emotional anchor on which this unholy torrent of power could be released onto the mortal realm.

Is there someone in this Galaxy for whom you would do anything?

As the body of Nocturnous fell, the killer continued moving - as the soldiers outside his range of vision descended into helpless paralysis and deep coma, those who had burst into the room would meet a more direct demise. One bullet for each, before they could fire off so much as a single round. The utter intensity of the distortion which morphed otherwise normal projectiles into Notspace conceptual deconstruction might have applied to anything that he willed the Eye to imbue, but it was the bullets in his mind, and the bullets which would plant themselves effortlessly into the shoulders of the men, blowing off one arm or the other, leaving a gaping tear in their shoulders which was so fine that without crusting over they still failed to bleed.

And at last there was but a single soldier left, and it was he whom the swollen rage of the Devil Eye would come down on at last. Ruthlessly the soldier was grabbed by the throat and pinned with incredible brute force to the nearest wall. Anything which might have covered his face was easily removed, and the barrel of the handgun was shoved hard between his teeth. There it would be held with white-knuckled fist. There, the deep blue and unholy red-gold eyes would meet his with abyssal loathing beyond measure.

Only then would the dust settle upon the scene of unimaginable destruction what had befallen the rising chaos of the previous minutes.

There was the faint pattering of minuscule specks of debris as they fell. Time had not been slowed in reality, but the incredible swell of energy had propelled the Devil Eye with godspeed. Gradually, senses such as that of sound returned, and he began to realize that he was screaming through gritted teeth, that his eyes, despite their intense malice, had welled with helpless tears. Even as he kept his eyes locked with those of the probably mortified soldier, even as he held the gun painfully between the teeth and threatened to end his existence with the twitch of a finger - even as the abominable power of the Devil's Eye and the will and mind behind it were at long last displayed to the sorrowful universe - still the evil eyes had welled with bitter tears.

The power had gone out. Every electronic device in the building, regardless of complexity or encryption, had been utterly demolished. The station had been rendered permanently unusable - and a city-wide blackout had fallen over the planetary capitol. The inside of the room, however, appeared dimly lit, though there was no source and no shadows could be cast as conceptual unreality took the place of conventional illumination for this brief intrusion from Notspace into existence.

Forbidden technology, that of the First People, adapted by the four-century-dead scientist who had somehow managed to get away with it right under the nose of the Dimensional Lords. Unpredictable technology, barely-understood and brimming with untapped potential - a project half-finished and a quarter studied, capable of God-knew-what - if only the man could have seen what he unknowingly created. The abomination of unknowable technology and indomitable will, coupled with that most unpredictable factor of emotions.

He trembled violently, not blinking, allowing the wetness to trail from the brims of eyes down his face, appearing all the more insane to the petrified soldier for it. It was as though he were trapped on the brink - trying with all his might to fire, and yet doing all he could to restrain himself and spare the life. It was a fatal embrace.

Silence in the wake of the gutter of explosive violence. The barrel pressed into the back of the silenced, but still-living soldier's throat, and it seemed for all the world that his life depended now on the actions of a woman who had no way of realizing just how important had become to him - until, perhaps, this tragic, silent moment, where dust fell like toxic ash and ragged breaths tuned to the aftershock of the Devil's Orchestra.

The Dark knight smiled seeing the anger in Ketin's eyes. So he began to chant..."Blood and Darkness shall cover this realm..." as everything was quick in Keitn's actions. Nocturnu's incredible weight made him stagger longer for Ketin but the Knight still chanted "....I am the sword and the shield...." as the gun was pointed at his slit in which he stared Ketin down and yelled out "TO MY LORDSHIPS HONOR!!!" and the shots rang true. Nocturnus's phyiscal form was fine, but he knew he was out of commission for now and so he gives this victory to boy he doubted. He fell to his knees giving out a low laugh as he utters the final phrase "morior invictus...my lordship comes" and then dissapaints in a large harmless black flash.

Once the last phrase was said a already a small black line appeared in the corner of the room in which all the action was taking place can easily be seen and once the phrase was said momentarily got bigger opening up as a crevice and then closed after some dark figure jumped out of it and then backed into the corner. Since this person did not want to be seen just yet, it stood in the dark corner, one its eyes can be seen, but if one looks closely one can see an unsual uniform...one familiar to a three musketeer outfit, a rapier in its sheath, and two sheathed flintlocks. When the dust settled it contiue to stay in the corner and it only said one thing in a very low whisper:

Bon garçon

     N O T S P A C E
          Into The Kingsbane

     The living suit with female voice wouldn't be the only one She would see aboard the Artillery Cruiser. Amidst Her trek to find the destination of 'that box', the Girl would cross her way with a regular amount of such beings, with similar features. Those weren't just robots programmed with female voices but individuals as well. Their opaque, ebony black frames, would differ only in size while maintaining a general shape, with the only distinct features being their heads. Previously noticed by her as helmets or miniature computer consoles, a few of those things, had speaking, breathing human heads. With blinking eyes, moving mouths and all that good stuff. Their behavior diverged by parsecs from the likes of androids or people-mimicking automatons. She would notice the abundant ethnic variety found abroad this unusual place on those 'living armors', with a fine extent of them speaking casually with one another or with the people over their surroundings. Most of the time, in quite the jolly demeanor.
     People were working, but people were speaking with each other. They worked but, most importantly, they looked happy. It was obvious. There would be the occasional scandalous dork that tended to scream at their partners, sure, but this place was stable. The fact that so many people could work - or live - in this warship, was surprising, after all, there was this hellish voice haunting those claustrophobic corridors on a constant basis.

     This One Girl, product of Notspace, Isandril and it's misteries, was safe inside the Heavy Artillery Cruiser, Kingsbane.
     ... But this joint could have been better built, damn it.

     She wouldn't be the only one wracked by the unholy architecture of those doors. Even in Her hurry, it was not hard to spot one or two of the crewmen banging nervously at the door, moaning with deep frustration about how those devices, sometimes, failed to move or because it required an unnecessary amount of strength to open it once the locks were released. Whoever owned this ship, surely needed to move towards the way of more 'recent technology'. Automated bulkheads, dimensional portals, jump gates, or anything in between that good stuff of the everyday, space-age civilization.
     After her hard fought struggle to find her destination, the Girl would eventually come in the Research Lab, to meet up with someone friendly to her presence. Still, even though that change of environment was relieving, it was quite unsettling to see that much people quiet as countless computers beeped as data, much like Severin's exotic-looking face gear, scrolled through screens running over a good portion of the walls on the Laboratory.
     The moment that the Girl started to speak, however, the smile from the Old Man's mouth slowly disappeared. To Her, it would look like the geezer was deeply displeased of hearing what She got say.

     She didn't have the vaguest idea, however, that it was quite the opposite.

     "Contact..." - The Astrophysicist muttered, slowly taking the box into the embrace of his hands.
     "... We have made contact... !"

     The Notspace signal Harkahn had detected, those white irises, her dumbfounded conduct and... The language. The Doctor were pretty damn sure he have just stumbled upon a sapient alien-being with obvious human features. Maybe she was a Notspace travelling cyborg, maybe she was a cosmic horror disguising as human, but, Severin? He got a doubtless epiphany, typical of his conclusions. Intuitively, he knew she something both human and both inverse of human.
     That Girl was... Interesting. - "... I see." - His smile soon came back as the Girl finished speaking, still based on his intuition and, of course, some clear body language, Severin had the idea that this being was apologizing for something. Maybe it was the fact that she missed her destination by a nearby stairs flight.

     Severin would calmly nod to the Girl, not saying a single word afterwards. He would simply release the grip of one of his hands from the 'the box', carelessly holding it down like if it was a worthless piece of trash, letting out a sigh of implied annoyance. Taking some steps ahead from the Girl towards the exit from the Laboratory, the Old Man would only wave his arm to the Girl, gesturing to an apparent order to follow him.

---

     'Earth' Solar System - Earth Four, Surroundings of Jungle City
          The Masked Bounty Hunter & The Escaped Rebels

     Yet, Sergei further pressed unto the already depleted patience of the Ranger. Usually, that's when his provokers get a caliber .500 round on each one's skull, with CL leaving unscathed, no matter how many armed men there are in the vicinity. In fact, he had his trigger finger itching while the gun were tightly unto the grip of his mechanical hand. Sergei or Dmitri didn't really mattered anymore, not after an insult of that level. Dim did have some striking similarities about a certain race the Ranger is closely related to, but the canid have already proven how disposable he was. Plus, they would be of no use for him anymore, rescue were literally calling the Ranger over his radio, what could he possibly not benefit from killing the duo right there, right now?¨

     Despite his over-willingness to kill Sergei, something else was currently tormenting the Ranger.
     
     ... The same thing that Captain Petrovalyc felt back at his meeting with the Ranger...
     ... The same thing that made the Ranger to be as he is...
     ... The same thing that made him point the gun at Sergein...
     ... The same thing that made his glare so unbearable.

     To Sergei, his assailant had just stopped working. He was held in place, by some force only to be known through his piercing crimson glare. For the Mad Ranger, however, it was absolute torment. Something, deep into his (what could be called) soul, deconstructed the very foundations of what he considered to be ally and enemy. That duo, that man have just provided shelter from certain doom to a bad looking stranger, clad in combat armor and geared with obvious surveillance equipment. It felt like he could take on an army by himself. They trusted the Ranger.
     ... And there he stood, triggered by an 'infantile' insult that brings memories those two have no need to know about.

     Sluggishly, CL lowered his arm while letting loose the grip on his gun, and just as he was about to shove it on his hip-holster... He felt the daring knock on the back of his helmet.
     Under normal circumstances, that's when he would pull his Nanocarbonite Knife and arc-slash straight into the throat of whoever wanted to take him by surprise, but... Knocking on the back of the helmet? Nobody have ever dared to sneak behind the fabled Mad Ranger just so it could pull a trick like this. This was something new.
     First thinking it was 'Canary' after finally locating his position, when he turned around, it was unexpectedly far away from CL's thought: More canids. The Bounty Hunter couldn't do much but stare at the furry bunch. The previous wave of negativity brought by Sergei and That Thing was instantly washed away, giving room for amazement. They looked pretty distinct from the species he was used to, but just the fact that those 'dogs' reminded him of the old times was reassuring enough to keep his jumpy anger at bay. And they were dressed in human clothes too.... And speaking.

     It was incredible, very few were the times that the Ranger encountered with such beings, of such likeness to the Homo Sapiens. Just now he started to think about how ignorant he was with Dmitri. Still, he managed to keep his astonishment contained, answering the vanilla-yellow creature:

     "Rescue's here already." - CL were just curious on how the group didn't notice the substantially spacecraft taking low flight around the jungle's canopy, just outside the bunker.
     "Wasn't expecting any of it, though..."
     Curiously, the Ranger's weird accent appeared to... Fade off from his, now controlled, voice.

     "<*******> it, Ghost! Are you even <*******> alive?!" - The same female voice from before would hail into open frequencies from the ship planing around.
     "Affirmative, Canary." - Clicking on a button at his helmet, the Ranger spoke, letting a low chuckle come out.
     "HELL YEAH! Gears did you hear that?! He's alive!!"
     "Damn it, Ghost, why did you took so long to answer?"
     "Personal issues, keh, heh, heh..."
     "Up yours too, bud! Are we clear to land? Is there hostile inbound?"
     "Site clear, go ahead. No hostiles... Not now at least, but... But there's 'people' tagging along. You'll like them."

     Of course, if none of the three canids had any radio equipment receiving signals, they would only hear the Ranger speaking with himself. Still, it was pretty obvious he was communicating with somebody else through a miniature radio phone built inside his helmet, judging by the brief pauses. Then, releasing the finger from the button, CL would shove his Luciand Defender on it's hip holster, calmly jogging towards the ladders leading to the bunker exit.
     "Last one in's a old mule's tail!" - Even though he shouted the silly challenge, the Ranger would keep a steady pace climbing his stairs.

     On the outside, the modified civilian space craft would slowly bring itself to a nearby clearing made by a crashing satellite, part of collateral damage from the chaos caused by the Mysterious Code. Four columns would extend from it's lower section as it softly kept itself in place, yet, it's engines remained active for an immediate take off. The people working with the Mad Ranger were not fond of saving some fuel just so they could get into a hot situation with their engines turned off. Amidst the support beams lowered by the space craft, a person or something clad in jet-black armor would open a hatch an throw a rope ladder, waiting for anybody to come in...

---

     Sector J84 - Moon 456
          Illiya "Dragon Lady" Vs. Maria "Lock-On"


     Clenching both of her fists as she waved her arms yapilly to the air, Illiya's reaction to Maria's sheep being enveloped in a thick screen of smoke as it went down was exaggerated. Letting out a high-pitched roar, that felt to deaf ears, the Dragon Lady took a firm grip on the yoke of her craft, making sure she would do wide loop in her flight with, even releasing a short flurry of the same missiles that she used to take Lock-On down. She did it.

     "YES!!! Lavi! Lavi!!! Come in! I did it! I took her down!
     "Holy <****>! I totally saw that! Good <*******> job, Illiya!"

     Just the achievement of taking the fabled Maria "Lock-On" down was enough for Illiya. Without thinking twice, he directed herself towards the opposite direction of the unknown starship that had appeared and was ready to activate the boosters of her hybrid-spacecraft and rip through the troposphere, the voice coming from the drone spoke again.
     "What are you doing?! You still have to confirm the kill! Go back there and make sure Mari-- Pheasant did not survive!"
     Illiya was distracted by the pure thrill of battle, so much that she had forgotten that her actual objective was to Eliminate Maria Lockheart, but after all the tales - and detailed briefings - she had about Lock-On, it could be said that the Dragon Lady had built an almost lucid feeling of admiration for the bounty hunter. She did not see Maria as an enemy but rather as a rival, someone to be bested not killed.
     The thought of coming back to the surface of 456 brought a spiking filling over all of her body, the human equivalent of a rush of goosebumps. Even though that Illiya was more than fit to fight against the bounty hunters of that level, she could not picture herself killing Maria. In Illiya simple mind, she wanted to bring Maria back with her just so they could work together in an explosive trio, with someone else, bounty hunters of unparalleled skill and feared all through The Galaxy Wide.

     Unfortunately, human relations weren't so simple like her mind.

     "What do you mean, Lavi??? I'm supposed to... Kill Lock-On... ?"
     "... Phantom, 09... And yes, you are. Didn't Ghost Red brief you on that?"
     "Y-Yes, he did, but... Phantom, can't we turn a blind eye on--"
     "Are you out of your mind?! Just go down there, pop the bomb you have equipped and behead the Pheasant!"

     Slowly loosening the grip on the yoke, the Dragon Lady started to dwell into her own thoughts. She was more than physically apt to take Maria Lockheart down, even if she did had a spacecraft optimized for combat. The problem, however, was the platonic relationship she had built with Maria. For almost half an year, Illiya was preparing herself to the encounter with Lock-On, constantly receiving intelligence about the hunter's practices, strategies and, most importantly, her stories. How she was the daughter of a powerful emperor, how she was struggling with an alien parasite within her, how she had took more bad guys than the Mad Ranger, there was no end to it. Now, when the day to finally face the truth had arrived, Illiya was not apt to throw all of Maria's stories on the drain of oblivion just because a certain Ranger saw Lockheart as a potential competitor.

     "... No... I won't do it. LAVI, I'M NOT DOING IT!" - She protested. Loud and clear.
     "T-There's no need for me to go back! I-I took her down, right?! She... See?! She's probably already... Dead!"
     "... 09, listen..." - The man on the other side would let out a sigh, giving room to a long pause.
     "You have a special nuclear missile equipped, release it and I'll guide it for you..."
     "... I... I can't engage it's controls... It's broken..."
     "You can't lie to me, 09. Look... It'll be much worse if Ghost Red hears that you could have behead the Pheasant easily. Hell, 0-- Illiya, think about it. It'll be bad even for me."
     "... No. I'm moving out. I'm not going to satisfy Carl's stupid needs to kill all the competition. YOU should think about it, Lavi... She... She doesn't even know about us yet." - Much for her disappointment, Illiya did not know about the events that have unfolded on Earth IV when the order to eliminate Maria was given.
     "... She wouldn't have the same sort of mercy on you, Illiya. Do it now or--
     HOLY <****>, LOOK THE <****> OUT, ILLIYA!!!"

     Boom.

     The Buzzer could only lay it's cameras on Illiya's spacecraft as it's powerful, but fragile, engines were struck violently with a shining bolt of blue light, resulting in a fiery explosion and, consequently, making the Dragon Lady to descend into certain doom. She met the shot with a surprised roar. Immediately, jamming her claws on another button, the enveloped her frame into a clear glass shell. Made of special aluminium alloys and semi-transparent compounds, it had many properties of steel and, sometimes, would be even stronger than it.
     In desperation, Illiya couldn't even shout out a worda she struggled to keep control of the expensive spacecraft but all of her efforts would be in vain, all she could do was to redirect the vehicle into it's eventual crash. At least, she managed to stabilize it enough just so she couldn't fall nosedown into the moon's surface. No sort of material would protect her life in this case.

     "Oh my god... Oh my god... KEEP CONTROL OF THE CRA--" - Again...

     ... Boom.

     Now, it was the time of the remote-controlled drone. The only communication medium between an unseen presence and the Dragon Lady. The blue bolt passed straight through the Buzzer, taking a good portion of it's structure in it's path. It was more than enough to shut the down the drone and sending it in the same fate of Illiya.
     Baring her teeth fiercely, the Dragon Lady took the yoke in her grip with all of her might, just so she could attempt an emergency landing with the craft's belly towards the ground. Even though she managed to maneuver it for a proper emergency landing, the vehicle strayed a little bit to it's sides... The effects were devastating.

     The moment it had hit the ground, the craft bounced as it started to spin furiously. Pieces of it sprayed all over the surroundings as it hit the ground again. And again, and again. Poor Dragon Lady, inside, she would be next to clothes into a washing mashing on it's maximum setting. Violently tumbling around inside the glass shell as it slowly disintegrated. She couldn't do much but cover her head as the shards of the cocoon started to strike her body. While her limbs were protected from them, her bust were the most affected, as it was the only part of her frame that was human-like in features.

     The crash landing would only end with the vehicle hitting a canyon-side. ... Coincidentally, Maria's own crash site would be just a few minutes walk from Illiya.

     With most of the ship destroyed and it's functions now disabled, the Dragon Lady had to punch her way out of the glass shell. It would hurt quite a bit but she had other things to worry about now. Her worries about Maria had opened a huge gap for the bounty hunter to place a well-placed hit on her craft and on the drone with pinpoint accuracy. Even though she didn't do figures about how close the Lock-On were close to her, Illiya knew that, sooner or later, Maria would come to settle her score... Probably with the same gun she used to take the craft down.
     Unfortunately, the weapons that Illiya were supposed to use to engage her rival in close quarters were left completely unusable from the crash landing. Even the weapon that was specially built to deal with cyborgs on the likings of Lock-On...

     Standing out from the rubbles, the Dragon Lady, instead, reached for a wide metal pole that once was a .50mm cannon and took it out. The cannon was unusable but it's barrel was quite thick and just another lethal weapon on the Dragon's Lady hands... Now, she just would have to wait for the dust to settle and finally face Maria "Lock-On"...

Even though finding the hatch that leads to old man Jenkin's hideout, she looks up and see's the handy work she did on the bike and apparently a drone after seeing some electrical wiring fly from it. Her anger was allivated somewhat but she was still fuming in anger. Seeing the crash happen before her eyes was quite the sight, but she gave a disapproving grunt on how close it was. As soon as her opponent crashed an enitre fleet of 7 Kampferian battleships came in all for Maria. With there presence no doubt they can easily scare the other ship away.

On one of those ships....

"Captian! We have traced Maria's signal here on the moon's surface, but I'm also detecting another life source on the surface as well not too far away from her though" the operator said as he looks at his console. Captian nodded and says "Send a force down there and secure Maria and the other possible life force...don't take any chances if we mess up Kampfer will have our heads and any other poor bastard as well" The operator nodded and sent commands for 3 dropships fulled to the brim of 12 men/bot each in total of 36. As soon as they began to deploy to the surface, the Captain turned his attention to the other unknown frigate. He opens a verbal message to the unknown craft and says "Unidentified craft, retreat from the area or we will open fire upon you! If you do not comply, we will take it as hostile action! You have only 5 minutes before we will open fire" and he ends the message. They wanted to do this quick and not further risk of the bounty hunter's safety and they aren't afraid to open up upon innocent vessels without question. Maria's safety is all they care for and not face the wrath of Kampfer because of there failure.

Back on the surface.....

As the dust settled, Maria stood poised, her hand by her hip, ready to draw as she see's an unusual figure within the dust cloud. As it began to settle, she see's who her opponent was and she looked at her in confusion. "Kilwen's agents? No that's impossible, he hadn't been Lord of Dragons since way back before I was born...No this is someone else...but who? Never heard of a dragonkin species before" she talks to her self as she looks over the features of her would be opponent. She was confident she was a dragon of some kind, thanks to her farther's rambling on welsh mythology about a red dragon. She can hear the drops incoming, they didn't much time to settle the score and so she just yells out to Illiyia "So...congrats on shooting me down! I'm assuming you know who I am..." she spat on the ground "..and I hope you do realize I am about to teach you lesson in taking down another bounty hunter! as she was ready to draw her pistol as she waited for her to make the first move.

Papyus back off once the bullet was out of Kellenger's leg. She continue to sit as she see's the sorry excuse of a fighting force assmebly in front of this unknown person. Papyus sighs as she gets up, but as she gets up she was getting a heavily encoded message from Doctor Glades. She listened to to it and was confused as she looks Toffi and then looks away. She gave an affirmative reply back via tapping her mask. She shook her head as she looks at kellenger on the floor and get back up. She did wish she can continue to use the rapier, but she crossed her arms as she stood side by side the large bot and says to the guest "The real question is who are you?" as her digital eyes stared the other person down, not afraid of her though. Of course her attention was to her group in which she so wished she can wipe into shape, but ah well.

On the other end of the bunker, two Supersoldaten's were deployed from the nearby underground base and began there metal march towards the group, it would take them a little bit before they can arrive....

Eerie put her back against the wall and looked straight in Papyus' eyes.
-I believe you'll have to answer my question first, miss, this, is my home, you could at least have the politeness of introducing youreself when invading somebody's place.
She gave the group a quick look, noting Kallenger's wound, Toffi's....strategic retreat, as well as Papyus' coat, riddled with bullets, same for the robot's armor.
-But you seemed to have gone through one hell of a gunfight, need any help ?

She was not allowed to be afraid.

She was not allowed to show the tenseness that grew in her mind and heart. Nirix was suppose to be an "assassin" and somewhat of a "protector". Yet now, she couldn't rise to those expectations; her legs failed to let her stand tall no matter what was happening. Her sword was drawn and though it was a powerful thing that she favored in using, it seemed non-existent in this moment in time.

Ketin. He had been the one to explode and in his explosion came a rain of death and utter destruction. Was this normal? Nirix didn't think it was. He had just...acted, killing in an almost beautiful but devilish way and leaving nothing but carnage. Why? What had made him act this way? He killed nearly everything, made the lights spark and the machines around them explode and fizz.

And the Soldiers. They fell one by one, choking and gasping and bleeding, blood spattered the walls with each bullet Ketin ruthlessly dispensed into their bodies. It made Nirix believe, that maybe Kampfer had been telling the truth about her Da'len's past. Ketin could definitely bring cities and a whole planet to ruin with this kind of power that seemed to closely tied to his emotions.

That seemed so tied to her.

"Da'len," Her lips felt dry as she said that, a trembling hand tentatively reached out to him. She had to stop him now, he needed to stop this, stop killing, stop crying, stop-

"P-Please don't kill him, put the gun away and then I'll be alright" Nirix was close to him now, her hand slowly reaching for his own trembling one that held her pistol. She could see the tears, feel them as they dripped onto his own hands and slip onto hers. She enclosed her hand over his now, somehow having sheathed her sword before using her other hand to pry him away. Briefly she stared at the solider below them, wondering if pulling the trigger would do any good. Their had already been so much death...

Nirix was growing tired of death.

Slowly, slowly, the universe came crashing back in around him. It had not been unconscious, nor had it been some terrible spirit overtaking his body. It was the nature of the will of the sentient mind that all actions in which it partook were conscious and intentional. Emotions influenced decisions, yet only the individual could make the final choice. Thirteen had made his.

And now the adrenaline had drained away, the unnatural un-light had worn off and given to godray shafts of pale golden, dust-speckled light from shattered windows along one desolated wall.

A hand closed around his, the one which held the instrument of death what verged on killing the final victim of a glorious and tragic massacre. Gently, Nirix T'relis began to pry Thirteen from his potential victim - she eased him back - and saved his life.

As if becoming suddenly aware that he was allowing himself to be moved, Thirteen spasmed, his body tensing and the handgun firing impotently into the ceiling. There was no thundercrack now, only the subtle shot of a silenced bullet impacting drywall and sending flakes crumbling down onto their heads. But in the same spasmodic motion, Kete half-flung himself back so that he was sitting on the floor at Nirix's feet, seeming to focus all his energy into the act of desperately jabbing the barrel of the gun into his own mouth and, with both hands clenched around it, pulling the trigger.




Click.




Eyes shut tight, he seemed not to register what had happened.

Click Click Click Click

Nothing.

In touching him, the assassin had managed to prevent the inevitable by forcing him to waste the last bullet, that which would have mercifully ended the long overdue existence of the City Killer.

In that moment, he loathed the gun for failing to do its' job.

Click click click.

He couldn't accept it. If he only pulled enough times maybe another would manifest in the magazine...

Eventually, either Nirix would take the gun from his hands, or he would drop it - either way there would be no more resistance. After that there was nothing to do but clutch at his forehead, palms over eyes, and wail - silently at first, body wracking with soundless sobs, then audibly with the howling sorrow of that most inescapable, unbearable of emotions.

Regret.

He shook his head, as if willing it all to have been a dream - a nightmare - refusing to open his eyes to look upon the scene of death and destruction which he had wrought. Helpless, lonely, wordless cries for help which could never come, for comfort which could never be given.

Though doubtless the woman would try, and find that despite the futility of consoling the despair of unforgiven regret, he would after some immeasurable time prove receptive to it, if subtly. Should she keep close enough he would lean into her, saying nothing, trembling violently, wishing for all the Galaxy Wide that he hadn't missed.

tsk

Was all that can be heard from the mysterious figure hiding in the darkest corner of the room behind Nirix and Ketin. Soon the figure stepped out of the shadows and showed herself. She was indeed wearing a d'artagnan(three musketeer's outfit) but this one was black with a deep purple embroidering with a purple feather on her cap. Her skin was snowy white while her eyes were deep red like blood.

She gave a cocky grin as she pulls out a flintlock. She aims it at Nirix as she comforts Ketin. She closes one eye and squeezes the trigger and...

[click/i]

Nothing happened, the mysterious woman purposely pulled out a empty pistol and says to herself "And that would have sent the boy mad" as she began to chuckle to herself. She begins to clap her hands after putting away the gun and says "Congratulations! With the stunt you pulled you have become the enemy of Kamper and Erica! Of course, you are used to being hunted down as you wallow in your depressive state...I pretty sure in your head you be playing Linkin Park "What I've done if you knew what song that was you uneducated plebs as you continue to ignore me" as she rambles on and her rolls her eyes almost mockingly.

"So anyway I do thank you both in letting me join you all in this realm for some jolly old cooperation as more and more of the universe begins to unravel" she says. "Oh I almost forgot, my name is Lord Ova, Lord of the Dark Dimension...a pleasure" she greets with an exegratted bow as she takes off her cap and holds it to her chest. She raises back up and puts her cap back on showing off her freakish smile as she gives off a foreboding aura full of dark emotions...

Goddess Creya, mother of the soul stream...

The words were on the tip of her tongue, waiting to tumble out of the Eoclu lips. It was not to be a prayer for her but a prayer for Ketin. Never had she seen him this broken, his entire being seemed shatter and if a wind blew by, she was sure he would be scattered to the wind and floating through the infinite realms of space. Comforting him seemed futile, but Nirix found herself helpless in not doing so.

Wash the sins and troubles from this one and set him on the distant land of the healed spirit...

The gun was a distant thought, Nirix had kicked it far from Ketin's or her own reach. Taking careful steps, she merely sat beside the sobbing half breed and cradled him. Soft fingers stroked his hair and a soft murmur of words were whispered, offering up what little bit of reassurance she could muster. Nirix knew it wouldn't be enough, it would probably never be enough for him, but she was trying to make right with what little she had. Ketin didn't deserve to be broken, not over her, she didn't want to cause him to act this way.

This one’s heart is pure but held by a shadowed past. Guide this one, Creya, and he will be a cherished one as he is to me...

The Assassin barely looked up at the approach of footsteps, only when did another empty gun click did her lavender eyes swerve upwards to stare at the Women who found delight in their pain. Swiftly and silently did she rise, carrying Ketin much like a mother would her child before sparing her a single sentence.

"Leave us. This is not the time to wreck even more destruction upon the boy's life," The Eoclu turned her back on the so called "Lord of Darkness" and sought away out of the remnants of the Satellite building. For now, she would focus on keeping Ketin safe and calm. That was all that mattered.

There were a few tense seconds following Kallenger huffing and sitting herself back down.

In her infinite insolence, the newcomer girl burst into laughter at the pathetic sight that was a dog-boy, a one-armed robot, a crippled swordswoman, a Darth Vader cosplayer and one almost painfully normal person.

It was probably the drugs doing it, but sure enough, a few seconds after the new girl started to laugh, Royanna joined in. Helpless, heaving laughter, causing her to buckle over and grab at her her gut. Her face had even turned a twinge red across the nose with a blush half from her own stupidity, and half from the utter hilariousness she was processing at the moment.

It took some time for Roya to be able to form words - longer than it did for the newcomer to get a hold of herself, but the drugs might have had something to do with that. Or maybe she was just losing her mind? Or both.

"Gh....g...reat Space, Plat-P-Papyus, the girl's got a !@#$ing point. I mean look at us! A dog, a one-armed robot, you and me who look like we're right out of some neo-goth music video, and poor Cox over there who's just a totally normal mother!@#$er, and we...we...we're asking her who she is? Pfff~!" Another bout of helpless laughter.

At last, she stood - sorely - and put a hand on Christofer's shoulder to keep herself steady. If she didn't put any weight on the leg, she could stand. She did not wait for any signal now - maybe it was stupid of her, but she obviously didn't care any more. She had, at least, gotten a control over her diaphragm and was able to speak now without bubbling into giggles, which was an improvement over the last few moments.

"I'm Roya Kallenger." She said, using one of her nicknames in an utterly uncharacteristic manner. This was totally unlike her but then. what identity had she now?

"This is Christofer Markov-" She jostled the boy's shoulder as she said his name, and nodded toward the rest as she rattled them off. "That's Helen Cox, Colonel P...Papyus, and the robot is...Iril. We're just a collection of miscreants brought together by the necessity of having guns pointed at us. We took cover in here 'cause we thought the bastards were going to bomb the place, which-" There was a brief flicker of sobriety in Roya's expression as she glanced upwards, adding quietly "I guess they decided against."

There was a long pause. Roya regretted nothing, returning her attention to the newcomer. She tried to be serious, but failed - as she spoke, the words again bristled with barely contained laughter - though this time it was more in recognition of the general absurdity of things.

"So yeah, I th-I think we could pr...probably use some helph~!" But she was not totally oblivious, and as if sensing Papyus' displeasure at her ruckus actions, she defended herself without being prompted. "I mean come the @#$% on guys, a huge, rusty robot stumbled out of the jungle and we trusted it in a heartbeat. Letting this girl tag along with us is hardly going to be the worst decision we've made~!"

---

Bad. Bad!

She had done something wrong.

And though some vagueness in the back of her head hinted at the fact that the old man's expression was not displaying exactly what he was feeling, that vagueness was hugely trumped by the general insecurity and anxiety of her situation.

What had she done wrong? Obviously she should not have been speaking. Stupid! Unbearably stupid. This, she thought, this is why. This is why. Dumbass.

The reaction in her demeanor was instant - she seemed to shy away immediately, looking very much guilty, as though she had been caught in the action of some terrible mischief and was going to be smacked for it. Head sunk between shoulders slightly, gloved hands prodded guiltily at each other and she seemed further apologetic.

Well, don't just wallow in it, jackass. Fix it. Fix it! So the next logical step was relatively simple.

Oh, wait, he was moving. A gesture of the hand - follow? Follow. Right. Don't just stand there.

So the girl followed obediently, sticking right behind - probably a little too close - but then, that was his fault. He had willingly made human(?) contact with her, now she was going to stick to him like a wet glove. Or an exceptionally spunky spitball or something.

No, she had irritated him. He was annoyed. Stupid! Should have just shut up. And now how was she trying to fix the problem?

Following closely along, mostly under her breath and spoken to herself, she said in half-whispers "Contact...? We have...made contact." The words were accented strangely and indefinably, and clearly they were alien to her tongue - but she had recalled them well enough, even if she was only speaking the words aloud in some vain hope that it might help her understand. Or maybe he would be less angry if she did so? Eagerly, she continued - speaking mostly to herself, but loud enough that it would be of no strain to overhear her.

"If...I recall, I did n-not...ask anybody to come over the...Research Department." She muttered, eyes downcast, looking thoughtful, trying to piece out what the words might mean. It was fascinating how well she seemed to remember them, and despite the fact that the gramatical structure was so very different, she did seem to have a decent grasp on it...Save for the unplacable accent and the obvious failure to even vaguely understand what she was saying.

"N-now everything m..makes s-sense, you're the thing Mister Harkahn...spoke about. W-welcome to...the Kingsbane...Doctor B-Benedict Severin, Star-Class As...Ast...Astrophysicist, Research Director and...First Mate of...this fine ship."

Without realizing that she was doing it, the girl had been periodically glancing up to the man to try and gauge his reaction to her repetition of his earlier words. Maybe garner something...positive? She had made a terrible impression on these mysterious new people, she was certain of that.

Maybe she could fix something for them, that would-

NO! What are you, stupid?! NO FIXING THINGS. That's NOT a good thing to do anymore, remember? Stupid, stupid stupid stupid STUPID!

For a few moments, she looked very much as though she were silently calling herself stupid - though it might take an intuitive observer to notice that, and it passed relatively quickly.

The reason for the quick passing of this apparent self-loathing was that the place she was in was so bloody fascinating!

Indeed, amidst her repetition of the Doctor's words and her bout of feeling like a furious idiot, she had regained enough confidence to start poking and prodding at walls again.

The hallways were so narrow, but she didn't mind that. Actually, she realized, she liked it. It felt cozy and safe, which was nice. Of course, it would have been a very different story if the lights ever went out. That would warrant a pretty solid panic attack - but she had no reason to suspect that lights might go out.

She had to resist the temptation not to go poking and prodding at the other people.

She was still too energetic, still to excited - even though she was still convinced that she had done something terribly wrong, even though she was concerned that they might at this very moment be planning to eject her into the void or maybe bury her for a few more millennia or something - despite all this, she couldn't help but be infinitely curious, insatiable in her hunger both for interaction with other people and for knowledge about the magical new place.

She opened her mouth to ask something, but decided against it at the last second. Better to stay quiet, she figured - speaking was what made the man irritated with her the first time, she wasn't going to make that stupid mistake again, that was for sure.

So she followed, and occasionally poked things, and couldn't keep her eyes locked on one place for more than a few seconds before some other utterly mundane wonder caught her attention.

[Place holder post for an interaction with Ketin and Nirix]

Sergei had not moved an inch from his place. Really, there was nothing for him to lose. For the better luck of him and Dim's nerves, the Ranger had chosen to finally lower that arm of his. Good. No unnecessary bloodshed today it seemed. And with Sergei, it was just fine.
Dmitri would have not minded, and he probably still preferred the thought of lashing out at the stranger, but at the moment, that was not considered the best action anymore. With a squint of his eyes, the albino canid glared at the man, until finally dropping the growling and returning back to his place at Sergei's side, only a few inches away, barely avoiding their uniforms or his tail from brushing against the other one. If it were for him, he'd be clinging onto Sergei's arm like a possessive being. But no. As the taller man did not want or approve of it, Dim would not be doing any of that.

The darker furred one took a step back, slightly unsure on whether he liked the stranger turning to face them or not. They looked strange, seemed unhuman to him. Ears fell slightly back and hands tightened around the person he was carrying, though this didn't seem to bother the brown canid the least bit. It's as if they knew and understood that there was no need to be afraid of this stranger, but that didn't seem too reassuring to the darker furred man.

While the backing away did not get a reaction from the lazy one, it got the more pale furred one to move between the one backing away and the man with a mask. Still not extremely happy with the situation and his expression did not change even if he was told that some 'rescue' was there to pick someone up. That just sounded like some weird plan that he didn't know about. The things on surface level had already calmed down, who needed rescue now?

The man with the mask did seem like a bit of a weirdo to him. Definitely wasn't from here.
Watching the man speak out on their own and all that was stupid. Well, he started to suspect some radio communicator to be in action, but really, at the very first words the man spoke 'to himself', the blonde was raising an eyebrow at him.
"What do you mean tagging along." There was some grinding force in those words and his expression stayed a frowny one. "No-one's going anywhere." Though stoic or not, it didn't really seem to do much or have an effect that impressive.

Sergei just shrugged lightly at the whole 'thread' of no-one actually leaving. Really, in this situation, with the gate-crashers, he couldn't say much to them, for, surprisingly enough, they weren't his men, even if they resided on the camp. They were outside of his field of rule, did mostly whatever they pleased. Had nothing to do with him. So with the blonde canid staring at him, the man would be focusing more on his own hands than the arrivers.
"Shall we then?" A brow was lifted at the, rather childish, way of the Ranger to speak out their departure. A race even? Childish. But he had to go with it for now, unpleasant or not, he had only planned for the departure, not the company. Dmitri he as suspecting on following him. Getting rid of the albino wasn't that easy, he had his uses though. Could be helpful.
Not when he was snarling at others for no reason though. The canid was tugged from the collar of his clothes, and with a one eyed glare, he would turn his back, leaving the new arrivers behind him and made his way out.

"Wait, WAIT!!" The more cream colored canid shouted after those leaving. "Are you not going to inform the rest of the troops?!" The tone in his voice was a confused one more than anything, though the question itself came first before the reaction and the anger to the actual realization could be made. He was growing somewhat pissed at this situation. What was going on? Did the others on the camp know of this? Was he - and his accountance - the only one not knowing what was going on. With a frown on his face, he'd place out a curse, though it sounded more like some fancy pouting than a dead wish to the others.

"... Connell..?" Came a name spoken out by the darker canid as he looked at the one cursing, voice having that pleading tone as if to ask him to calm down and behave, while also being a little worried over the situation himself too.

The blonde sighed, rubbed his fingers against the top bridge of his muzzle and shook his head.
"I know, I know... Let's go now, before they leave us behind." Jumping in the situation at the middle point was a little confusing, so he could only hope on things explaining themselves over time.
With a final look, he'd leave the room behind and follow the others to the stairs, turning to look at the darker canid, he noticed the hesitation they were seemingly feeling towards the situation. There was, however, no need for him to go and ask what was wrong as they would already be reading each other's thoughts with a quick glance.
"I... Gimme." Hands extended to reach out to the other man. There was still a 3rd person with them afterall. The one that was too lazy to go and climb the stairs themselves. At first the blonde, the one that had been labelled Connell, had thought of carrying the person up himself, but upon considering the fact that they both were around the same size - all 3 of them - and that the lazy sleeping one had a rather large tail to boast. Yeah, it was best that he not carry the whole other person up by himself. Instead, he'd take a hold of the person, having them wrap their lazy hands around his waist as he in return held the other one in a similar way, making his way up the stairs with some effort, the darker furred man supporting him from bellow, pushing the legs up to prevent weight stacking on Connell too much. The latter task was easier, but Connell was ready to take charge of the riskier duty, he was like that.

It would take a little while, but eventually the trio made it to the surface, the pampering of the sleeper continued as he was carried over to where the others had already gone.

Q held the device in her hands. The device certainly looked shiny and futuristic, but she knew she could trust her own tech a lot more.
Still, she carried it with her. It would prove to be useful just in case her own systems did not function. Without much of a word, she followed Arthur to the mysterious cave.

As they walked, she scoured her data banks for anything related to "Lord Signals" and "Dimensional Lords". Unfortunately, she found nothing of the sort. Perhaps the Iridiites did not encounter these beings before...

The foreboding jungle and dark cave seemed to cancel out the minuscule amount of safety she had felt holding the gun. Still, at eight feet tall, even if this "Dimensional Lord" had the worst in mind for her, Q was prepared to face it. It was like an ancient algorithm had kicked in. An overwhelming feeling of fear, yet courage and determination to protect.
She could not pinpoint where and why this had started.

---

Iril looked over at her destroyed right shoulder. Was she really not as intimidating without her second arm? Did she look lopsided or askew? Embarrassed, she looked in the other direction. She could still do damage with her one arm, but she had to admit it. She was much better with two.
"Heh." She said, trying to key in on the sudden laughter from both the newcomer and Kallenger. Who was she kidding? The whole situation was awkward.

Roya was right. If they could trust her after she had tried to attack them (and likewise, she trusting them after they had prepared to attack her as well), she could trust the newcomer who had done relatively nothing.
Iril loosened her stance and stepped to the side so she wouldn't block everybody's way.
"Greetings, stranger. Forgive my-"
"-Hasty reaction."

---

[Sector ???]
The vibrations and loud signal ripped across the destination zone. The wormhole opened, and like wretched moth emerging from a cocoon, Z emerged from the wormhole.
She eyed around her surroundings. There was a planet in sight, as well as it's orbiting moon. What wonderful luck. Perhaps there would be some new civilization to ruin. Some new horror to unleash upon an unsuspecting victim.
She couldn't help but feel it was familiar. As though she had seen it before.

Smiling, she decided to test whether or not anyone was watching the space around this world.
Ping. A signal sent out to anyone who would listen. Perhaps some hapless space cruiser would pick up on it. Travel to find the source... and unwittingly lead her onward back towards their home.

PONG. A loud reply. An almost angered reply, as if to say: "Stay the hell away from me".
Whatever it was, it was from something big. Maybe even as big as Z herself.
The thought enthralled her. Something big enough to take her on? There were few things in the galaxy capable of doing such a thing.
And Z knew each and every one of them.
"Alright... I know you're here. Think you can deter me with an angry response? Think again. Why don't you show yourself, and we can make this quick and painless~" Z broadcasted to seemingly empty space. She began to circle the planet, Watching for movement.

A gargled transmission replied. "I know that voice...
I... HATE that voice.
How dare you show your face around here, you MONSTER?!"

There was a sudden movement from the space behind Z. A dull orange and a hint of electric blue.
Whipping around, Z's right hand created a blade from hard-light and it raised up in haste. It immediately clashed with an orange maw, creating a forceful shockwave. Both combatants were knocked back, forcing them to correct their momentum for a brief second.
Bright lights illuminated from the wings of both machines. Heavy vibrations. Ancient machinery.
Eye contact.

What a sight.
Z grinned maliciously. "Well, well, well! Surprised to see me? Or was that fear I heard in your voice? Hard to tell the difference, you know."

The other glared, lights flickering on and off in it's crater of an eye. "Fear is for the weak. I believe the term you were looking for is 'rage'. Of course, you probably didn't care, since nobody matters to you besides yourself."

Z chuckled. "Oh, you know me too well... B"

For the Lord of Chaos, Arena decided to go to her Yacht that orbits the system, a former pirate sailed power vessel converted into a giant luxury liner and a radio station. The long elegant ship with four solar sails on all four points on the back of the ship, up,down,left, and right. Arena stands on the viewing deck on the bridge as the skeleton crew continue to make sure the ship is functioning and the radio waves still work. On the radio station nothing can be heard but the ancient classic music of humanity. From composers like Shostakovich, Mozart, Beethoven, Prokofiev, Brahms and Tchaikovsky and many more like Bach. Some say because of ACMH(Ancient classic music of humanity) radio station's equipment is so powerful that it can be heard from one end of the galaxy to the next. Some enjoy the music while others are more than willing to shut it up when given the chance. Rumors have circulated that lost captains used the radio station frequency to find there way back to civilization judging how close they are to civilization by testing the strength of the station frequency.

Either way Arena was on her personal Luxury liner/Radio station "Santa Maria " as she stared out the window observing the system and its two suns she says "Hmm I wonder what we do is just something that other worldly beings want us to do because they have no idea what else to do...maybe they have a universal writer's block?" she chuckles to herself as the ship slowly sails away from the two suns already having plenty of energy to explore much more of the system and it's deepest depths. The sails retracted and the engines kicked on and so the Santa Maria went to the deepest part and two giant blimps came on radar which startled the Captain "Ma'am two unidentified objects to our port!" Arena looks to port of the viewing bridge and see's two giant robots Z and B. "Keep our distance, lets watch as we provide them some classical music to there fight...maybe even calm them down...maybe" she says as she smiles softly as she sips on her coffee, which ended up cracking and in which she gave a disappointing sigh and says "Aww this was my favorite mug" of course the mug saying "I hate Mondays"

{Mind if I join?}