Futuristic Glory To The Empire!

[Meme Machine]

When he spoke his name Evangeline paled. She remembered him. Her father had insulted his clothing, stature, and social standing. Evangeline had to y’all to him for quite a while to try and make up for the damage her father created. But her face paled even further when he asked about her mural. She didn’t even hestitate, but made sure not to speak to quickly. It was quite convincing actually.

“What mural? The one Geno created this morning?”

 

[Ginko The Mushishi]

Zenos Highwind
​

Her response was to be expected, but Zenos was no fool. She might fool others but having paint so close to a crime-scene such as the mural? She should have just ditched the paint somewhere and ran off. Not to forget, Geno didn't exactly seem very different in facial features than Evangeline...She would do well to probably dye her hair and have color-changing contacts..Something to at least set her apart from her alter ego...Yet again, Zenos didn't want to push it. Nor did he really care to.

"...Yes, you're right. Geno...Why do you think she created the mural then?" He said, a delayed response that definitely showed he didn't buy her dissuasion.. But the way he spoke about it so calmly showed he didn't care much either way if it was her or not.

By that time, they had moved past the guards. And one of them wanted to chit-chat, Zenos threw his hand up in their face. "Quiet, I have no desire to small-talk with you today.." From there, the guard moved away, rather scared of Zenos. He heard rumors of how Zenos would torture people who dared to bother him at his work....He didn't want to get on Zenos' bad side. The other guard though..Noticed the paint on Evangeline.

"M'lady, there seems to be paint on your clothes, and the bag too?" The guard inquired, suspicious until Zenos deterred him.

"We were painting earlier, aye. She was trying to do a portrait of me but she couldn't stop giggling like a school girl in love." Zenos quickly butted into the guard's suspicions. Cutting them down. "As you can tell though, she made a mess of herself in her fits of giggles. Don't tell her father though, he would be oh so mad that his darling little girl was messing with some bad boys." Zenos smirked down at the guard, intimidating him as well.

Zenos was a smooth talker, good at persuasion and intimidation. A gift from his assumed late father.

The guards shut up instantly, nodding to Zenos with complete understanding. Bidding them farewell and left to bicker about Geno..

"I saved your ass there, you owe me one." Zenos said as they moved on. Though that statement felt more like a "Give me a thank you" rather than a "I'll use your body as a test subject because of that"...Which was nice.

Meme Machine

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline played along as they faced the gaurds, but when they turned away she shot him a small glare.

“Yes, I suppose I do. But a school girl? I’ll have you know I’m much more educated and formal than a simple school girl.”

She took a breath, hoping to avoid the subject of him knowing she was Geno.

“Regardless, you have my thanks. As for why she does it, I’m not sure. I don’t know why anyone would hate the empire.”

She spoke sadly, seeming that she was sad anyone would fight the empire, when really she was sad that the empire she used to love turned out to be so corrupt.

 

[Ginko The Mushishi]

Zenos Highwind
​

A sneer displayed itself on his face after she shot her glare at him. It felt silly that she was so offended by that, but hey...At least he got to get a joke out of it. "I'll be more mindful of that next time then. College girl sound better?" He laughed a little.

"People hate the Empire because of what it does. Simple as that, you think we're helping out the multiverse by extending our greatness to them but honestly we're only trying to take over everything that we want. Guess I can't much complain considering I help them achieve their wildest wet dreams." Zenos shrugged at that, finally taking his soda out and popping the lid, taking a sip from it and achieving the classic "Ahh~" sound.

"I've created good things too, honestly. Not all my inventions are tools of war." He mused, scratching his chin some. "A water purification system for even the dirtiest, most toxic leveled water you could find. Mechanical limbs for people who have none, an enhanced crop system that can double the amount of produce for farm-lands.. Though I mostly keep that all in my spare-time at home. The Empire doesn't really need it, but hey. Who knows, maybe one day our water-ways will be poisoned and look who will be ready to take up the call for that." Zenos chuckled.
Meme Machine

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline laughed a bit at the college girl joke, and smiled sadly as he spoke about the empire grasping everything they wanted.

“You don’t seem to approve of the empire to much yourself. I thought you were a loyal inventor, but perhaps I was incorrect.”

She spoke evenly, speaking it as a question, but if he said he was loyal to the empire, then she would know to keep her distance. As hard as she tried, she had never been able to make contact with the leaders of the rebellion. And she had tried HARD. She wanted to stay the daughter of a lord until she made contact, specifically because her status could be very useful.

 

[Ginko The Mushishi]

Zenos Highwind
​

Evangeline's statement made Zenos think, a good moment even.. Stopping just short of the next section of road they would take. He looked up into the sky and continued to ponder on that thought. Before returning his gaze to Evangeline.

"I don't think I really have an allegiance, science, technology...They don't really have a set allegiance either. It doesn't matter where you're from, you can still use the same thing as another person many planets away. I'm only aligned to the Empire because they give me what I want. Our relationship stays at best, that if at all. I don't like the Commanders, I don't like the Councils, I don't like the Lords, I don't like anybody. I just want to do my work. I want to invent, and if the Empire wants a new toy I'll give it to them because that's how you keep a child from bothering you."

"At the same time, I wonder if my father was any better. Cid Highwind, so kind, so helpful. He seemed rather invested into the way that The Empire would make things better for everyone. But I guess that's just because he was an old man, and things change sporadically when you're an old man." Zenos scratched his chin. "I for one, am not blind.. I know what the Empire does, and though I help further their goals, I do not care so much for holding the Empire to high standards like a fanboy. Some of the Empire is stuck-up and annoying.." Making a jab at her father, whom Zenos did not forget.
Meme Machine

 

[Skylord Nexus]

For Aurum the rest of the day and night would pass peacefully and uneventually, no murders, no mystery letters, it would seem everything was going back to normal. Though perhaps this was just the calm before the storm, a storm whose direction would be determined by Aurums' actions the next day.

In the morning, once Aurum had woken up, the Guard Captain came to deliver his report, bowing before beginning to speak, his deep voice as stoic as ever though the dark bags under his eyes seemed to indicate a lack of sleep "My Lord. After personally checking the hanger and the entire estate, I can safely say that there is no trace of the intruder, and the Overseer seemed to be functioning optimally. Though I fear that may all but confirm the fact that we have a traitor in a midst if they are able to hide their tracks so easily. Aside from that sir, everything is prepared for your trip back to the capital. Your men are ready to depart when you are."

Once he arrived at the palace, Aurum would be ushered to the throne room where the court always took place. The room was immense, being large enough to fit a small ship inside, with walls of white marble reaching up a good few hundred feet high, with a length twice as long, and two rows of golden pillars rising to the top. At the other end of the room sat the Emperors' throne, currently empty, the golden throne while reasonable sized at its base, had it's back spanning to the ceiling, forming strange yet tasteful patterns. As the Emperor had not arrived yet, most of the nobles currently present seemed to be mingling with one another, though that being said, there were more than just Nobles there. There were a mixture of servant and guards from the nobles service as well as a mixture of some of the more prominent Lord Commanders and minor houses.

Those who would stand out at the most immediate moment were all leaders of Great houses, there were the leaders of houses: Justicar, Keltrix, the two of house Corona, Talius, Grandmoure, Galiron, Erim and Regulus. Each talking to either other minor nobles or their own people.

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Phineas gave the General a cocky smile "Truer words were never spoken, General. Alright, boys lets get going and show these Imps what happens when they mess with our ship." The man's words seemed to do enough to keep his men's morale high, eliciting a small cheer from them. On their way to the location the small squad was able to pick off a few lonely Imperials and gain three or so more rebels to help them out, before arriving at the long corridor in time to see the group about two-thirds down.

Being as quiet as possible Phineas' men ducked behind a few outcroppings that went down the corridor as Phineas walked halfway up the corridor shouting at the large squad "Excuse me, gentlemen! It seems your a little lost, your ship is the one currently shooting at us!" Immediately the Imperials turned around in surprise but just wore smirks when they saw what was in front of them, Phineas wore a similar smirk as he drew his sword and dashed at them at a high speed than any normal man. The shield bearers bought up their large tower shields, hitting them into the ground forming a translucent blue wall in front of them, when Phineas reached it he jumped towards it, his feet making contact and forcing him back at which point he threw his sword at the ground in front of them. The sword began to glow and spark before giving out a large pulse causing the force field to flicker and die and blasting the shield bearers back onto the floor, leaving the others without defence.

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Cid would be interrupted by the sound of knocking the door of his workshop, the knocking wasn't particularly strong and could be hard to hear which was likely why it persisted until Cid would come open the door. At the door would be a young boy around twelve or thirteen years old with black hair and a hoody hiding most of his face, in one of his hands we were holding a bag "Excuse me? Are you Cid? I was told you could fix something for me." In spite of his young age, the boys' voice was cold and emotionless, though there was definitely a slightly refined accent in his tone. He then reached into the bag and pulled out a clockwork cube "My brother gave me this before he left, but it stopped working... well working is a bit of a long shot, I know it ticked before but I couldn't work out what it does, all I know it stopped ticking and I can't work out why. Is there anything you can do?"

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline smiles at his jab to her father, which she suspected he though had gone unoticed.

“Ah yes. When your father is constantly seeking for enemy’s due to his insults and arrogance, you learn just how selfish some people can be. One of the lords for example, thought that me apologizing for one of my fathers insults by killing him was acceptable. My, tables have turned....”

Evangeline trailed off, wondering if he would be offended by that, even though she meant no offense to him specifically.

 

[Meme Machine]

She stopped dead in her tracks when she remembered what her father had told her. He said that he was throwing a party for his ‘friends’, or AKA the people he wanted something from, and that she shouldn’t be back until tonight, or tomorrow morning.

Evangeline’s eyes widened. If she came home early, her father would be furious, and probably lock her in her room, restricting her from searching for the rebel leader tonight. She was even planning on searching this afternoon! She stepped back slightly, and looked up at Zenos.

“I forgot something! Yes. Forgot something. And I need to go pick it up. So, it’s been a very enlightening conversation, Lord Zenos. But I’m afraid I must make myself scarce. Have a wonderful afternoon.”

She spoke briskly, and curtsied as a official form of goodbye.

 

[Ginko The Mushishi]

Zenos Highwind
​

Zenos listened to her speak about her father, and though he trailed off from her conversation, when she acquired his attention again she was meaning to leave..Though something felt wrong about what she had said...Either way it wasn't his job to poke around other people's lives. He yawned as she began to move. "I'm not a Lord, damn it!" he hollered to her as she moved away, hand behind his head in annoyance... "Whatever...I've got things to do back at home anyhow" He muttered to himself. Making his way back home.

From within the elaborate housing he had attained through the Highwind fortune, Zenos lived comfortably. Yet seldom decided to decorate his home, instead rather he put a multitude of inventuions, tools, and scraps all around certain rooms. He never really lived at home anyway, only slept there. Flopping on his bed, he closed his eyes.. Evangeline, he would remember her for now. She certainly spoke with more colors in her soul than others in the Empire.
Meme Machine

Cid Highwind
​

The young boy showed the clockwork cube to Cid, and his interest piqued. He put a finger to his mouth as if in a "Shh" motion. "Call me Regalius, Cid is an old name for me. Come on in, I'll work on it in a flash, aye. Make yourself at home, but make sure not to touch anything, only look. There should be a few bottles of soda in my freezer to the side."

Cid had an accent for one, not so much noble as it was Irish and Scottish infused descent. The workshop wasn't particularly crowded for a child, but Cid did have to manuever his way through the room to settle at his work-bench. Inspecting the fine looking cube, he slipped his goggles on for a closer look at the inspection. "A brother you say? What does he do, or where has he gone?" Cid pulled out a few tools, first he pried open the insides of the clockwork very carefully, looking for any damage or something that would show signs of wearing down.
Skylord Nexus

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline ran down the ally’s, the conversation running through her mind. She owed him a favor for saving her, no doubt about it. She splashed through some mud, while at the same time taking off her painted jacket. Running until she wasn’t sure where she was anymore, She stuffed it in her bag, her white of the shoulder top underneath it matched just as well with the black pants and boots.

She slowed down near one of her old murals, a recent one considering they hadn’t painted over it yet. It was the empires flag, torn in more places than one, with holes all over. Inside the holes, if you looked closely, you could see the body’s of dead lords. She sighed as she walked away, looking around for any pub or place where she could gather information. She hid her cloak and paints, but kept her mask no hide her face.

She spoted a workshop, with what looked like two people inside. She took some red paint, and run it through her hair so it looked almost natural, with white streaks here and there, before she pushed the door open.

 

[Meme Machine]

As Evangeline entered, she figured that if she called herself Geno, she might get a better reaction from the rebels. As she entered she saw a old couple behind the counter, messing with the display box’s and other things.

 

[LadyOfStars]

Aurum Soleil​

After the day he had yesterday Aurum was secretly thrilled that his morning had started off as it always did. He didn't skip a single step in his routine and that helped to reassure him of the idea that today would be just another day, even with the issues at court. To add to his good mood the Guard Captain’s report was just what he wanted to hear. It was unfortunate that they might have a traitor, still, but his fleet was still intact and that was what mattered. With the bumps in the road ironed out he headed to the palace and spent his time during the voyage trying to determine who among the nobles was responsible for the letter.


Aurum’s arrival to the Palace was subdued, he and his four guards avoided the main corridors in favor of side hallways and detours that would allow home to move unnoticed. The halls he chose to walk also had hidden messages from the Soleil spy network within the palace. The complicated conlang created by Aurum centuries ago would kept the contents of the letters a mystery to those outside House Soleil, although it was most likely to be useless gossip about the nobles.


As they drew near to the court Aurum inhaled deeply and then exhaled slowly. The game never stopped, which wasn’t a bad thing, but the people who played were pains due to their inadequacies. His guard opened the doors and Aurum’s figure crossed the threshold dressed in a long, black robe made of expensive fabrics from the edge of the Empire. Usually his outfits were not so lavish, but today was a special occasion for several reasons. To add to his flare the robes had a trim of white-gold and he wore six rings made of white-gold, a diamond encrusted circlet was his unofficial crown and he of course walked as if he were the Emperor.


“Keep your eyes on their servants and staff.” Aurum whispered to his guards while he surveyed the room, making note of his present foes and his few allies. Without a word to any of them he moved across the room towards the chair that he usually sat in, his black robe’s train dragging behind him by a few feet. His eyes went to the empty throne and he sighed at the idea that the Emperor might be even more late than he already was. The longer this dragged on the more time he spent around these immortal imbeciles. Aurum pulled his chair out and gracefully sat down, paying no mind to the rabble.

Skylord Nexus

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline hid her face behind her mask, making sure she looked something like Geno if they asked. She walked up to the table, leaning on her elbows and crossing one ankle over the other.

“Hello there.” She didn’t attempt to hid her highborn accent from these people, she barely knew them. “I’m looking for something, or more specificity, someone. I was hoping you could point me in the right direction.”

 

[Skylord Nexus]

The child gingerly walked into the workshop, looking around, but not in awe, just looking, he didn't even go get a soda, he just found a spot and plopped himself down. The small boy gave an equally small nod to the man's question "Yes, it was my brothers... I think. He was never really around. Since our parents died he's been the one looking after me, he'd often be gone for weeks at a time for work, but he always left me with enough food, and he spent time with me when he could, it's just..." The boy trailed off and looked to the ground, his face and tone as cold and stoic as before "He gave me that the last time he left, that was a few months ago and I haven't seen him since."

As the mechanist pried the clockwork apart, the cube split into four uniform sections revealing a dull grey orb inside. The orb was completely mundane, it wasn't made of anything valuable, it wasn't hollow, it was just a solid sphere of inert crystal which was seemingly pointless.

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The younger Highwind would have little time for sleep however as a loud noise, that seemed to be of stuff being knocked over, would ring across the house, followed by a voice, though from the distance it would be impossible to make out to Zenos. If the royal mechanist was to make his way out of his bed and follow the noise he would hear considerably more noise of more stuff being knocked over, as well as the voice, much clearer than before which seemed to be struggling with something "Oh come on damn it, why do you keep knocking stuff over? jeez, sometimes I wonder if this is worth the hassle." If Zenos were to enter the room, he would see three silhouettes, two of large men, possibly armoured, and another figure currently lounging around on a chair, his feet up.

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When Evangeline entered the workshop the elderly couple looked up in surprise, the man continues to work with the display boxes whilst his spouse made her way over to the girl, a warm smile on her face "Well hello there dear. Isn't often we get customers, especially at this time of night, what can we do for you? This little shop of ours might not have much, but we'll do our best to help in whatever way we can. Isn't that right honey?" The elderly man just gave a grunt in response and he struggled to lift a box of goods. The elderly lady chuckled and waved a dismissive hand "Oh don't mind him, dear, he's just a bit grumpy since he hasn't had his whiskey in a while." The sound of the mans' mumbling then echoed through the room "Bloody taxes, I served in the military for thirty damn years and this is how they repay me? I should have become a doctor like my parents suggested."

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline smiled a little under the mask, unbeknownst to the woman. She loved old couples like this, happy in life. Or, mostly.

“To be honest, I’m not sure who can help me. I want information on the rebels, but I don’t know anyone who can help me. Perhaps you can.”

 

[Ginko The Mushishi]

Cid Highwind
​

The boy's tale was an interesting one, and sad at the same time. But he would not comment on it out of respect, although the orb seemed like an oddly placed item inside of a clockwork cube.. So he poked at it softly with one of his screwdrivers, barely even a tap. Dancing around the idea that it might pose for something important if not special to the boy and his brother.

Sniffling, he sat up from his work-bench. "I have no clue what that orb is, but mayhaps you might know. Come here and take a look young man, and ah, what's your name?" Cid said as he scritched his beard, moving to the side a bit to allow the boy to inspect the orb. "Mayhaps you know what it is, or perhaps its something your brother left specifically for you. I'm not entirely sure, but I don't want to play around with that too much." Cid rested against one of the beams of his workshop. Looking down at the boy and the orb.

Zenos Highwind
​

The god's gifted him little sleep in general with all the ruckus that soon enough began in his home. Maybe an hour at most, but in the long run that's all that Zenos really needed. Sleep was only to recharge quickly for him. But the aggrivation was still there with having to get up.

"The bloody hells before me, everything just has to piss me off now doesn't it.." Zenos grumbled as he moved through the house. Throwing his coat back over his shoulder he descended the staircase before arriving to the three silhouettes.

"I don't get very many visitors, less of them that even come out of my home alive mind you." Zenos spoke, one of his eyes twitching in annoyance. "Clearly you aren't here to rob me, that would be the dumbest idea anyone would have. So who is it and what do you want?" He sighed annoyed. Cracking his neck some and scratching his hair.

Skylord Nexus

 

[RayPurchase]

Coriolanus turns to his own two men as they regroup on him and they begin jogging down the corridor after Phineas and his squad.


“I want measured aimed shots, there’s going to be friendlies amongst the Imperials, I don’t want any blue on blue fire occurring. Take the shields out first, then magic users and any ranged troopers,"


The two men simply nod and keep moving. They were well trained and drilled that such orders were more or less unnecessary, simple tactics laid out in training of priority targets. He had made sure that the men underneath him were not some rag tag group of beserkers and untrained warriors, his men were soldiers, trained well enough to outfight a standard Imperial trooper. They take position hidden behind several outcrops, remaining silent and out of sight as Phineas drew their attention. As soon as he heard the crackle of the force shields crackling out of existence he swung out from behind cover, his revolver raised and already opening fire on the shield bearers, followed not a second later by his two men, also laying fire on them with their automatic weaponry. Surprise was the element here, they were outnumbered, and if they couldn’t even the odds in the next few seconds they could be in trouble.

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline relized she might need to tell the people who she was. She had noticed Geno got a pretty good reputation for so openly hating the empire.
“And you can trust me. I won’t rat them out.”

She held her hand out to shake the woman’s.

“My name is Geno. What’s yours?”

 

[Skylord Nexus]

No sooner had Aurum sat down when two little devils rested their heads on both his shoulders, these devils were Lady Alisandra and Lady Crista. The girls were 16 and 15 respectively, making them the youngest Nobles in charge of a Great House in history. Not only that but what made them unique was that instead of fighting over the title of House matriarch when their mother died, they shared the title, effectively halving their workloads. The first to speak was Crista, the more outspoken of the two, or just spoken if there was one thing this girl liked to do, it was talking "Well, well, well, look who it is sis, the ever elusive Lord Aurum Soleil. I have to admit, Mothers' description of him was right, he is a good looker, I'd be down to get a bite of him." Her sister smiled coyly at Aurum then at he sibling "True, just a shame he's attracted to guys. Though Imagining him with some of the other guys here is rather hot." Fortunately for Aurum, this rather uncomfortable situation was cut short by a Figure looming over the two girls causing a visual shiver to go down their spines "I'd advice you to speak about your peers with more respect while in there presence young ladies." Behind them was their God Father Lord Oberon Grandmoure. The man looked at Aurum and gave him a small bow "Apologies Lord Soleil. The girls are still adjusting to there new responsibilities since their mother passed a few months ago."

A large set of doors to the left of the throne then swung open, a servant coming out and standing in the centre of the room "Lord's and Lady's of the court! Please rise and show your respects to His Majesty Emperor Solrac Titus Nexus the Second, as well as Arc prince Lucius, Lord Admiral Ventrius, Lord Treasurer Gelt, Lord Minister Crux, Lord Inquisitor Amberstar, Lord General Arcadius, and Lord President Crowley!" Everyone in the room immediately rose from there seats and bowed or curtsied deeply as our form the same door came the Emperor, closely followed by the Members of the Arc-Council all of whom stood either side of the throne as the Emperor was seated. After this, the Nobles released themselves from their show of respect and fell silent, waiting for what the Emperor had to say. However, no-one expected the words that came out of the Emperors' mouth "Lord Eridus is dead."

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The woman fell silent at Evangeline's words, a look of surprise on her face "Well dear, it isn't that simple." The old woman looked down at the floor remorsefully "Honey? Could you put on some of that special tea for us? It seems we need to have a talk." The elderly lady then went to the door changing the sign from open to closed, she then beckoned for Eva to follow, leading her into a small, homely kitchen, with the old man and three cups of tea sitting on a small table "Please dear, take a seat and have some tea. There are some things you must know." If the young rebel wanna-be drank the tea, she would begin to feel very sleepy and eventually lose consciousness.

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The boy hopped up from his seat and walked over next to Cid, looking over the device with inquisitive eyes before a flash of recognition entered them "I haven't needed the orb properly before, but I have seen this." The boy quickly went back into the bag where he kept the cube and pulled out a pile of papers. The papers themselves seemed to be from a variety of sources, some were squared some was lines, heck one was even a take-out menu, but all of them had the same near unintelligible chicken-scratch writing on them.

The boy then shifted some of the papers aside to show one main paper which had a diagram of the device in its current state with various chicken scratch notes around it. The only difference was that in the diagram the orb had lines coming off of it as if to signify some form of emission. "My name's Ciel by the way."

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Zenos would be able to hear a chuckled from the man lounging on his chair "I'd advise you don't make threats young master Highwind, it could end badly for you if anything happens to me. Not only that but first you'd have to get by these two fine gentlemen here." The men at either side of him didn't make a move, there just stood there like statues. The man then removed his feet from the table they were resting on so he could position himself to look directly at the Royal mechanist "What do you know about Regulaian tech, from before the time of the empire? Because I have a task that needs someone knowledgable in it. You will be paid a large amount of cash, as well as a share of whatever we find."

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The shots fired by Coriolanus' men found there mark, swiftly dispatching the shield bearers as well as a couple of the ranged infantry, they would have got the wizard too if he had not cast a shield around himself. Swiftly Phineas flung two daggers into the chests of two of the soldiers with swords, causing them to collapse dead on the floor. The additional shots fired from Phineas' men also succeeded in taking out the rest of the ranged soldiers.

The mage then looked at Phineas and his men, scowling, and began shooting an orange beam from both his hands towards them. Whilst Phineas was able to dodge, two of his men were not so lucky, letting out anguished screams as the beam cut through them like a hot knife in butter. Now pined down, Phineas dived for on the shield bearers shields, holding it up to block the beam. Though successful there was no way to tell how long it would last, and the sound of footsteps coming from the corridors behind them signified that they may not be alone for much longer. Wincing in pain as flames began to curve around the shield licking his uncovered skin and clothing, Phineas looked at the General "Ok, I've got nothing. Time to show everyone what a good general you are General!"

 

[Meme Machine]

Evangeline noticed the change in her demeanor, and could smell the change in the tea. She could tell it wasn’t anything dangerous, but wasn’t quite sure what it was. She let it slide, these two wouldn’t truly hurt her.

“I assumed it wouldn’t be. I just..... I have some information and some items that I would love to pass down to whoever is in charge. I think I can make a difference, and so I’m seeking them out.”

She fiddled with her hair, the paint starting to dry and flake off. Maybe just painting it wasn’t such a great idea, but nothing could be done now.

 

[Ginko The Mushishi]

Cid Highwind
​

Ciel was the boy's name and Cid would remember that, nodding to himself. Ciel honestly reminded him much of his own son when he was a young boy, though Zenos was more prone to getting into trouble.

"So you've seen the orb hm? Do you know what it does or why your brother had it?" Cid looked over the orb once more, examining it. Then looked down towards the documents Ciel had procured from his bag. "Might I be allowed to take a look?" Cid asked, being respectful to Ciel's personal belongings.

-----------------------------

Zenos Highwind
​

If it were someone important to the Empire, then maybe Zenos would be in trouble for attacking them. But his care about that was thrown to the way-side once he heard the man speak of "Regulaian Technology". Zenos' eyes seemed to gleam with a certain mischevious interest now, and he took a seat in one of his chairs. Locking his fingers together, he rested his chin on his hands.

"Aye, I know more now than my father ever did. The Old Man kept the secret documents and records of such technology for us in our personal vault. From time to time I return to them, to re-educate myself of their wonders.." Zenos leaned back in his chair now, flopping his hands at his side.

"I am creating something currently that is based off of their technology, the Empire likes their surprises..So only I know of its existence right now." Zenos grinned. "But now you strike me interested, how do you know of Regulaian Technology, and who are you?" Zenos leaned in, hand on his chin now.

"Cash won't be necessary, I'm well fit myself already...But I will mull over the idea of something that will be accustomed to my tastes. By the way, don't cross over this side of the room. Tiles on the floor are registered to my foot-prints. And I wouldn't like you all to get blasted into next week aye." Zenos smiled, completely in his element now. This man struck something that really pulled Zenos into whatever scheme they might have...

Skylord Nexus

 

[Skylord Nexus]

The old women sighed, looking Eva in the eyes "As I said, it isn't that easy my dear girl. Even for a rebellion, there are rules and regulations. Not only that but you're still a child, you have your whole life ahead of you, there's no need to-" There was then a loud BANG that echoed throughout the room as it began to fill with a thick smoke making it almost impossible to see. Eva would feel a strong arm wrap around her head and push it against a broad chest and the hand held some kind of fabric to her face, it had a strange smell on it, one there was hard to pinpoint... that was it! Chloroform.

When Eva woke up, she would find herself tied to a chair, in a semi-large room. Though slightly dark there seemed to be a number of old monitors around, as well as a few weapons and other pieces of junk. Aside from that, there were two people arguing, one was a girl around Evas' age wearing goggles on top of her red hair, the other one was a guy, probably a bit older than the girl with brown hair. Neither of them seems to have realised Evangeline was awake, however, as the girl began raising her voice "We should just kill her, we can't risk her being a spy!" The male shook his head firmly "I'm not risking the life of an innocent Yuki, even if she is a spy there's still half a chance she's being forced to do it anyway."

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Ciel shook his head, looking down at his feet "No, I have no idea. My brother never talked about what he did, he didn't even leave those papers out in the open, he hid them under a floorboard under his bed." Ciel then nodded at the mechanist, taking a second to put them all into a neat pile before handing them other to him. Almost all the writing was indeed in that strange chicken scratch, all apart from dates, which seemed to also be written by hand, but had far more refined and legible handwriting to them.

Ciel just continued to stare at the grey orb as it sat in its' perch "You know, this reminds me of the stories my brother used to tell me. They were about how before Regulus became Nexaria some of the population stole some of the creators' ships and escaped to different universes. Once there the people constructed installation to hid themselves from the Creators, apparently, there were really skilled at using magi-tech and clockwork like this. Interesting huh?"

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The figure chuckled at Zenos' question "Well let's just say it's my job... well that and it was one of my majors." The figure then stood up and walked closer to the royal Mechanist whilst still staying far enough away for his face to remain hidden "Well let's say that I'm smart, extremely skilled, and the closest thing you have to a boss aside from my Father." He then clicked his fingers causing the lights to flash on revealing the figure to be none of other than the Arc-Prince himself. The royal had an extremely friendly smile on his face as he held out his right hand "A pleasure to finally meet you." If Zenos was to look behind Lucius, he would also see that the two imposing figure that had previously stood behind him were, in fact, cardboard cutouts with funny faces drawn on them.

"Anyway, let me give you the low down." Lucius then stood back, a holographic screen appearing between the two men. This alone would be shocking to Zenos as the screen existed without any form of a projector, tech like that was light years ahead of what the Empire had. "Ok, so I have recently cracked one of the codes to enter one of the old Exo-Labs from before the time of the Empire. This is a pure and untouched cache of ancient, Regulaian technology. What we are going to do is crack that baby open and go inside without any form of preparation what so ever, just the two of us, no one will know. Oh, and before you ask. I have no particular reason to choose you apart from your skill and that I'm super bored. So what do ya say? Want it?"

 

[Meme Machine]

Eva kept her eyes closed, and her breathing even. She let her entire body stay limp, except for her arms. She had learned how to get out of restraints before, but these were ridiculous.

 

[Meme Machine]

As she twisted and rolled her wrists, trying to get free, she fell over, hitting her head on the floor. She moved quickly, kicking one of the peoples knees out from under them, and standing almost all the way up, turning around and coliding full force into the other person with the chair.