Chevaleresse

Hiroki, in her disguise, almost got angry. Especially with Swag's phrasing. She was relegated as unimportant, too weak to be involved in any of the decision making. As it were now, though. . . She just took her seat, and slumped into it, not even bothering to attempt to cover her actual size in the attempt; her stocking-clad legs were poking out of the bottom of the cloak, and most everyone relevant had likely witnessed the match with Supernova anyway. The mech pilot stared at the food in front of her. I should have just taken the challenge. She knew she should probably eat, but she was having a hard time finding the motivation. She was just. . . lost and confused, and still having a hard time believing she belonged here at all after how easily she'd been crushed.

I do not believe your group is worthy of destruction by my own estimation, but I am not the divine.

I. A long pause, in which the plush seems confused. God still commands that your group be destroyed, regardless of my wishes. My honor obligates me to inform you that if I were given the capacity to fight at full strength once more, that I would turn that strength against you.

I feel fine, holographic letters appear. Closer to my original form before I obtained this one. A brief pause. What do you mean to do with me?

Mitsurugi nodded. "I see. It's good to hear that I've no need to convince you, then. It is not always that a tsukumogami feels that way towards its creators. Though, I will amend one thing for you; the purpose that draws us all her reaches far further than defending one individual country. We have been called to defend the entire multiverse from ravening beasts that would make a meal of each and every reality that constitutes it." She looked down for a moment, taking a deepened breath to compose herself. "Some have already been lost."

The biggest opponent she'd ever taken down? Well, she had almost beaten Lord. . . but she didn't want to think about that, and it was probably not the kind of "big" Rory meant. Though there was the massive dragon. . . thing. "We took, um, down this huge monster in the world we, um, just left, working as a team." She tried to picture just how tall the monster had been. "It was easily bigger than, um, anything I've seen. You, um, can ask the others about it. LOTUS, um, might have recorded footage or something." That was really the only thing she could claim; she was specialized in fighting human-sized opponents, as Tempest was rather lacking in anything else.

Mitsurugi's expression shifted slightly; on anyone else, it was a grimace. Perhaps she had misjudged how far removed the situation was from her familiarity. "I know what it's like to be abandoned. Humans can be. . . fickle, but they are not so bad overall. I hope you can forgive the ignominy inflicted upon you." She bowed her head slightly at Iowa. "I am known as Saigai Mitsurugi. A goddess of natural calamities. . . once, anyway." Her head moved to one side slightly, before returning to look at Iowa straight on. "Do you know why you are here?"

Mitsurugi suppressed the urge to laugh. It might not be precisely what she was used to, but she was fairly certain she'd heard that complaint at least once before. It wasn't something she'd experienced herself; or, at least, not to a strong degree. "I'm certain you'll be used to it before too long." Her eyebrows twitched downward slightly, further considering what the stranger had said. Sinking, and then dry land. . . a ship? Almost certainly not what she was used to; a wrecked ship would not have come back. . . and if it did, it would be far more malevolent than this, in all likelihood. "Did you have a name before?"

Mitsurugi, detecting a sudden. . . something, feeling vaguely familiar to her, moved toward the throne hall. Her brow furrowed. That felt like. . . incarnation? An inanimate object becoming animate. A reasonably common occurrence in Gensokyo, but rarely witnessed, if only due to its nature of only happening to objects long forgotten. Something about this was different, but it still bore investigating; a new tsukumogami was more liable to be hostile to humans than not, at least initially, and that was a situation to be dealt with before it was an issue, one way or another. She came up on a woman in dress that might've struck her as unusual before this journey, staring a bit blankly down at herself in the throne room proper. "Hello. This may be a strange question - or perhaps not - but have you just acquired a body?"

"I'll, um, just call you 6D." She supposed it made sense; if she was an android, and probably produced in some kind of mass judging by how she put it, then she wouldn't have a name. Still, it was a little awkward, referring to someone by an alphanumeric designation instead of an actual name. Hiroki still wasn't quite sure how to deal with how enamored 6D seemed to be with her. Confused enough that her curiosity slowly overcame her hesitance. "Do you, um, not have humans in your world?"

"The Hellfire Knight," Hiroki responded automatically, before realizing her mistake and abruptly deciding that the floor looked quite interesting. "That's, um, my arena name, um, my mech and my identity are the same thing." She cleared her throat, as if it would somehow clear her own awkwardness. "My name is Yukimura Hiroki." She fell silent again for a moment that was just slightly too long, before asking another question. "Should, um, I call you Yorha? 6D? I'm not really sure. . ."

Hiroki glared at Rory during 6D's silence, his phrasing being enough to overcome her shyness for a moment. "Don't call me kid." She might have spoken further, but the sudden, almost violent bow made her physically jump slightly off the ground in startlement. The barrage of words didn't help her consternation, though she was able to get the gist of what the android(?) was saying. Not that it really helped her deal with it. "Um. . ." So she'd never seen humans before? "It's good, um, to have people who take, um, hits on the team, I think." She wasn't really sure how to continue, but 6D listed her capabilities, so. . . "I fight, um, using my Hellfire Knight. I designed it to be able to withstand hits while destroying enemies at range, without being vulnerable up close."

The armored helm on the mech shifted in what might have been a nod. "That matches with what everyone else has said." She stalled for a moment, not quite wanting to render herself vulnerable in front of strangers. . . but everyone here knew already, so it's not as if she'd lose much. I don't even know why I bother, after what happened in my last match. . . The mech vanished, fading out and dropping the one within lightly. A short girl, with violet eyes and long, silver hair. Her expression shifted from reasonably composed, to nervous, and back again. "You're here, um, to help fight monsters around the multiverse. It's a summons, um, or something like that. Nobody really had a lot of choice in it." She tried to stop her feet from shuffling about with her nerves. "This castle is one we found in the first world we appeared in. It can fly between universes."

Rhian looked forward and groaned. "Damned riders. Not everyone's got a set of wings. . ." K12

It felt like there was something grinding in the back of her head. She didn't care what he thought of her siding with Blink - or, at least, that's what she told herself. She had no reason to care what this stranger had to say about her. The real sticking point, though, was the challenge. She wasn't one to turn it down, normally; her entire goal here was to prove she was stronger, that she was better than her challengers. A voice in the back of her head, though, told her that there was a good chance she wasn't, and Hiroki wasn't sure she could take another grueling defeat like the one Lord had delivered to her. She didn't want to fight, but she almost had to. Hiroki shook her head almost violently, as if the motion would clear it. "I have other things to take care of. I will take you up on that challenge later." Without giving herself a chance to renege on what she said, she turned and walked away. She still needed to get back to Queen, somehow.

Rory's response resulted in a few things; perhaps most pressingly, the glow at the end of the cannon got brighter, and was now accompanied by a high-pitched whine. "Small fry? I could annihilate you in an instant!" A blast of unidentifiable static emitted from the machine. "For all I know, you two stowed away and are planning on sabotaging us as soon as you get the chance." 6D's response was at least enough to stop Hiroki from escalating further, though the cannon did continue to sway to point at Rory. There was a tense moment of silence, as Hiroki remained still. Eventually, though, it seemed like the android's explanation sunk the rest of the way in. The jets on her back fired, pulling her back slightly from the doorway as the cannon lowered. "What you said is consistent, though."

Loud, metallic clunking outside the door warns the pair inside the barracks of an oncoming something. They didn't get long to wonder, however, as it swung open to reveal what looked like a cannon protruding through the doorway. Following it back would reveal a roughly humanoid shape of black-and-blue armor plating that seemed to leak a faint internal light. Said light was decidedly less faint at the end of the rod pointed between the two of them. "State who you are, now!" A harsh, artificial voice grated out from inside the armor. Perhaps she was just massively on-edge from the world they'd just traveled to, but Hiroki didn't want to take the chance of there being some kind of infiltrators on the ship. At the same time, she wasn't keen on killing even more people, but. . .

Chelchis grumbles, merely hefting her weapon and doing her best to proceed toward her goal as fast as possible. . . though Central Computing was what she was looking for the whole time.

"We shall." Soon enough, Silef strode back out of the depression, and after saddling up herself, gave the order to head back to the fortress. The group galloped off once more, leaving the party to collect themselves and prepare for their own departure. It was simple enough to navigate back to where the castle had landed. Back at the Asterlux castle, a short time later. . . "Lady Silef, you can't just leave at a time like this! The house needs your leadership!" The court mage's protest was uncharacteristically energetic, robed arms gesticulating (and occasionally letting a loose sheet of parchment fly. "I can, Belenus, and I will. You were even closer to my father than I; you knew his thoughts on me, and they are true." She took another bag from one of the servants, while another six or so were dragging an ornate chest out of the door and into the stables, where Silef stood speaking with the mage and Rand. "That was before the entire family was killed off, Silef. You are needed here and now-" The noblewoman held up a hand, silencing him, but he continued. "What are we to do if you die? Or worse, we simply never hear from you again? If nothing else, you are a symbol of the house's endurance." The response he received was another stern shake of the head. "I've considered all the factors, and I have already made my decision. You cannot stop me." She hefted herself up onto her riding horse, just as a draft animal beside it had the chest belted to it. "Besides, I will return, with knowledge and insights from Lumabella." Belenus frowned. "You can't expect me to believe this is some sort of holy vision quest. "No, I don't. But I expect you to convince the others that it is." Her tone softened for a moment. "Both of you, I appreciate your concern for my safety. But I have to go." She walked her horse to the stable gate. "I'm trusting you with everything. I won't tell you what I expect, because I can't imagine coming back to anything but prosperity." And with that, she was off, horses trotting out through the gates and toward the castle.

The man looks practically starry-eyed at the proposition. "Let me get this straight. You think there's a chance that I would turn down the chance to sail the stars? Of course I'm coming with, especially now that the war is over."

Dackly's victim volunteer didn't seem to quite understand the specifics of what Dackly meant, but he understood the gist. "Well, it's always impressive the kinds of things a simple chain shirt can protect you from. And I would kill for the ability to throw things as if I'd shot them from a bow."

"Supersoldier? I've never really heard the term, but I can guess at what it means." He doesn't seem to have been offput by Dackly's mistake(?). "You mean turning someone into a powerful warrior, right? Like the Asterlux sorcerer-soldiers." He seems intrigued at the prospect already.

Dackly's tone and strange look, combined with her already somewhat intimidating appearance, causes most of the soldiers to avoid her, despite many having worked with her previously. Eventually, though, she sees a hand go up through the crowd; tracing it back, it belonged to a rather scraggly and scrawny-looking fellow who failed to either notice, or be concerned about Dackly's intentions. Silef nodded slowly, and did so again when LOTUS spoke. "I am aware that your group is organized in an. . . unconventional fashion. I expect to be respected as you might a visiting noble, but do not expect my words to be given any weight other than their own merits." A third nod, as if a decision had been made - and perhaps she had. "If that is agreeable to you, then yes, I would travel with your group. Though there are some arrangements that must be made first."

Silef shook her head. "I have relatives that are far more capable than I; you've met at least one during your stay here. Abdication is. . . not quite what I want. The simple country life is not one for me in any respect, for much the same reasons as I would make a poor peacetime leader. I can, however, place the next one in line to inherit in charge while I am absent, for an extended period of time. A part of me had hoped. . . Your group has ways of crossing through the Astral Sea, correct? Traveling between planes?" Her voice sounded hopeful, even if she continued to try to maintain her haughty tones.

Silef turned at the call, expression looking rather softer and more uncertain than usual. "Well, with this campaign concluded, and your group leaving. . ." She thought for a moment. "Yes, I suppose I can do that." She assumed a veneer of command once again, and gestured to Edmond to follow her. She walked toward the mine's entrance, far enough that none of her men would be within easy earshot, especially over the din of a group of soldiers preparing to move once again. Once Edmond had, in fact, followed her down, she spoke again. "I have to admit something. I. . . don't think I am suited to lead this house through reconstruction. I'm only a passable war leader at best, and I've no patience for the political maneuvering of peace. Furthermore, I'm not ready to, without putting too fine a point on it, do my duty as the sole remaining pureblooded heir." She shook her head as if dispelling the thought.