[The Gentle Breeze] Chapter 3 - Psychadellic Boogaloo

[CadetNewb]

Imperial Cruiser Wéifēng,
Recreation Area 1

Ellie quietly sat and brushed back her long, green following hair. By now, the little girl was looking much better now that she was in a proper dress and didn't look injured anymore. However, her emerald eyes were firmly fixed on something. Holding a finger to her lips to indicate silence, she held up a piece of some sort of plant. Right before she began slowly slicing into it on the cutting board. The sound filled their heads as though their ears were right up against the point where knife met leaf, the crunch diffusing through them like subtle shivers. However, it didn't end there, as the tearing of the outer casing ripped through their spines before slime slithered and popped. Ellie had her doubts, but finally, after taking a leap of faith, she began to bite and chew away at the translucent interior.

It felt like they were inside her mouth, listening to all the pops and crunches.

"Hahahaha!" Viz finally burst out laughing, unable to hold back any longer. "That mad parasite! She finally did it! I told her to try aloe vera, and now she's a cannibal! A cannibal!" tears of mirth gathered at the edges of the priestess's eyes. Just as she said that though, Ellie's viewer count was rapidly increasing. Right along with all the donations as well. "I'm sure she can't beat my no-hands challenge, but at least this abomination is learning from the best!" Viz proudly thrust her chest out, smugly smiling. Behind Ellie was the tree she was always beside, the rays of sun briefly obscured as a red, winged reptile soared past in the distance. The stream viewership exploded into frantic commentary as the little girl continued to monch-monch-monch away to the audience's delight.

They were all suited up, as the Dàqínese preferred, even Rikka whom Sakamoto had somehow convinced to wear the uniform. Thanks to their helmets and the built-in speakers though, they could hear all this in glorious high definition while they waited for Sif to come along and debrief them.

Brigid's first time meeting Ellie was turning out to be far stranger than she had expected. She was quietly regretting the series of life choices that had brought her to this moment. Part of her found the sounds to be oddly sexual, and she might have enjoyed the experience if not for Viz's obnoxious laughter. She had temporarily abandoned her attempts to get in the Priestesses good graces. Initially, she had believed there might be more to Viz. If there was it was buried pretty deep. She just had to figure out how to bring it out. At the moment she elected to remain in human form. Her hair was pulled into a tight bun to fit more comfortably inside the helmet. She swore that her uniform seemed even tighter in the chest and hip area, though not uncomfortably so. Trusting Dàqínese engineering, she had no worries about bursting out of the suit, but she did wonder if Sakamoto was behind the tightening. Some of the things she'd been hearing about the Rooster seemed to suggest a certain joy in tormenting her subordinates.

 

[CadetNewb]

"You know, technically the requirement for being a cannibal is eating your own species." Brigid pointed out. "I do enjoy your enthusiasm for corrupting the youth, though. We might have more in common than you thought."

Kikyo was the polar opposite of the audience. The incessant munching noise had her eyes twitching and the squads resident cat girl wannabe looked like she was about to gouge out Viz's very soul from her form with just her violet eyes alone. She spoke to whoever was near, "If I can't get this thing to mute itself, I'm going to scream," in a tone that echoed her annoyance in her eyes. Finally she just mentally yelled at her armor to just stop existing, she was getting tired of the skintight thing anyway, it didn't breathe right for her.

At least the Power Armors had some sort of climate control...

She flopped on her back and stared up at the ceiling, resting one leg on the other and bouncing it up and down impatiently. "Is she gonna get here at all? I want out of this thing and want a nap." Kikyo placed a hand on the face of the helmet, which was still transparent, and tapped it. "I will never get used to this thing." At this point, she was hoping to overcome the chewing noise by conversation. Anything, any subject just something to drone out the munch.

With each soft sound, the Angelic figure that accompanied the group twitched and jerked as if in physical pain. The blue eyes which shone from underneath the hood narrowed as if in a wince until Viz's words broke through their helmet. The blues went and narrowed again though this time stayed that way as she stared down the woman. About to say something, irritated as she was already, thankfully the demoness that was with them broke the otherwise unbearably soft noises that filtered into her strange helmet and quieted the woman. So instead Rikka held her tongue for the time being and instead shifted uncomfortably in her spot. She felt strange and confined in the strange suit that she wore under her armor. The hood she wore seemed to be a bit more full than usual with the helmet that she had put on and frankly all the talking that filtered in so clearly bothered her.

"I... do not like this. This helmet is strange and these clothes are far too tight. I feel like it will restrict my movements... You all always wear these suits? How? It feels like a second bulkier skin." The Angel looked to her hand and gave it a few flexes. It felt far too strange not to feel the comforting cloth that lined her gauntlets and padded the inside of the metallic armor, instead the feeling of the tight cloth that formed to her hand far too tight for her tastes. As she let out a small huff and searched the area around them for their leader as she called herself, Rikka still just stood there and shifted about all in an effort to get used to the suit.

 

[CadetNewb]

Imperial Cruiser Wéifēng,
Recreation Area 1

"Umm,"the little tree-bound-girl on-screen awkwardly shifted, finishing up her bite. Dabbing herself with a cloth, they could all feel the soft puff-puff of cotton against warm lips. "It's, ah, really weird," Ellie admitted, her voice almost whispered over one ear as she leaned to one side where the bulk of the aloe lay. "It had a bit of bitterness, but also a sweet-sour bite," she added, leaning towards the half eaten leaf and consequently, softly speaking into their other ear as she did so, shy and awkward. "But, it was also really sticky, slimy all over and slippery," she blushed. "I don't think I'll be - hey!" Exclaiming in shock, a black and yellow warning bar appeared over the top of the broadcast with an 'Enemy Alert',the foe quickly arriving on-screen. A rabbit slowly hopped over as Ellie began to cower from the herbivore. "W-wait, stop!" she began to cry as the fluffy creature began to pilfer her aloe vera. Reaching over to try and stop it, the rabbit angrily thumped its feet against the ground before pulling the food off-screen. "N-no bully!"

In the background, a faceless Dàqínese stormtrooper passing by diverted their course and walked up, soon passing the camera. A moment later, Ellie jolted in fear as the bright crack of a laser could be heard. A 'We are experiencing technical difficulties' screen quickly popped up as the chatroom on the side exploded with text.

"So pathetic!" Viz 'fu-fu-fu'ed' with amusement. Throughout the stream, she had been folding a set of origami that was getting more and more complex. "We should have thought of this sooner, deploying their arch nemesis against this parasitic menace. Herbivores!" Insight gained, the priestess set a paper dragon down besides the crane she made. Starting to snip away at a milk carton with a pair of rounded child-safe scissors, the woman only paused long enough to waggle them at Brigid. "I'm certainly not corrupting the youth - look at her tree trunk! If we cut Ellie down and count her rings, she'll probably have like thirty rings or something," she remarked. Though the idea of counting rings, maybe with a scanner, wasn't bad, Ellie couldn't have been more than 10 years, even for a tree. That didn't matter to Viz's senses though. Firmly planted under the blanket of a kotatsu and slouched in one of the many smart-bean bags around it, she glanced over at Kikyo. "The boss-lady is gonna come when she comes. If you're gonna mope, go over to the dispenser and get me another carton for my giant mecha!"

As she continued to snip away, Viz couldn't help but snicker at the angel. "It's supposed to be a second skin," she pointed out. "See how deft and nimble my fingers are?" the priestess pointed out, oblivious to how she was accidentally 'snipping' her armor-weave covered fingers with the blunt scissors. "And I'm not even Dàqínese - they can feel everything through their suits. It's supposed to be like wearing nothing at all!" she bounced for emphasis.

Mac walked with the group listening to the angel complain slightly about the suit "yep remember to take a shower after every mission depending how long you were it you could develop a bad case of swampass." he spoke threw the team coms while the experiencing the cutting of leaf sounds was mildly irritating Mac would calmly repeat a mantra to help calm himself before he had a outburst. choosing to stay quiet unless spoken to when around new people.

As he sat in the recreation room drawing what could be described as a swan he paused looking up at Jayden "So Jayden you interested in joining me for lunch sometime?"

 

[CadetNewb]

Jayden was in the rec room, where she basically lived, idly punching at a regular punching bag. She wasn't hitting very hard, but the bag still let out a deep thud and shook on its chains. She was trying to ignore everyone, just focus on what she was doing. She had been in a foul mood since the end of the last mission, and was trying to stay out of fights. They didn't end well for her.

Then, she heard the question, and hit the bag much harder, the chain on the bottom snapping taunt, but managed to stay in one piece. She looked at Mac, squinting her eyes suspiciously. "Why?" She asked, her tone planning any playful banter or amusement.

Mac shrugged, "Honestly? I thought it might be good to socialize with a team member. plus it might give you a break from constantly punching things and to just have fun and relax." Mac said as he continued to draw the swan on his datapad paint program. "Plus your actually pretty cool, level headed unless provoked, you deal with obstacles head on and for the most part you get the job done."
setting down the datapad he looked back over to Jayden. "Though it's still your choice, i'll pay for lunch if you know somewhere you want to go eat specifically."

Rikka's eyes went to Viz as she heard the idle threat about cutting Ellie's tree down to count the rings and the blue eyes narrowed dangerously. "Touch so much as a leaf from her tree, and I will pin you to the doors of your church and watch you struggle." Of course Rikka never said what she would pin her with, but with how defensive Rikka was of the young girl, it wasn't tough to figure out just what she was talking about. Though as she heard the comment about something called swampass, Rikka tilted her head at Mac.

"What is... Swamp ass? Is it an ass that lives in the swamps? How would not showering lead to me turning into an ass from a humid climate?" In her head, she equated an Ass to a Donkey, but her mind quickly stole away to taking another shower and while the blush never showed, face hidden as it was, she was rather interested in taking another shower. It had been refreshing and wonderful the last time she had.

Jayden just scrunched up her face as she thought about what Mac said. Then she crossed her arms, cocking her hip to the side with a suspicious look on her face. "Really..." She asked, looking over the rec room. "You want to buy me lunch... Because you think I'm Cool,'' she said, using air quotes for cool. "That, and my supposed work ethic..." She added, rolling her eyes. "Wow, cause I've literally never heard a guy walk up to me, tell me I'm cool, offer to buy me a meal, and then suddenly I'm a worthless bitch in need of being punished cause I didn't fuck them," She snapped, her lips pulling back in a slight snarl. "I may not be bright, but I wasn't born yesterday. So I'm going to be completely real with you. You wanna sleep with me, it'll be over my unconscious, or dead body and you better pray I'm dead. Spread the word, I'm happier being alone," She said, turning back to the punching bag and starting back at punching it, her strikes much harder than they were before. "I don't need charity, and I'm not gonna be bought with a meal ever again," She muttered, tuning her focus on the bag once again. "Try the dumb angel. She's probably stupid enough to fall for it."

 

[CadetNewb]

Mac just listened as Jayden laid that all out before stating "I had no intention in bedding with you Jayden, just going out to lunch as friends and teammates. No offense but I don't sleep with people because A still got my V card And B I was raised to believe that is something you do with a person you care about vary much not something you ask someone as payment to go to lunch."

Picking up his drawing pad he added "my offer still stands if you want to go get lunch and get to know each other a little better from talking about each other, or if lunch isn't your thing maybe you could join me for a sparring session at the local dojo."

Child safe scissors clattered onto the table as soon as Rikka made her threat. Viz's eyes went dull like death as the sound of angry children filled her ears, followed by the sensation of helpless flailing. Dangling in the air, arms unable to reach anything. Anyone. Isolated and alone. The church was no comfort to her despite being within its bounds. The sounds of what she considered the mating call of the horndog quickly brought her back however.

"Pffft! Dumb Hikki-Neet!!" Viz sneered. His powers of persuasion were weak! Nobody would fall for that sort of mind trick! Laying all the way back on her bean-bag, her hair fell to the floor. To her, it now looked like Mac and Jayden and everyone turned upside down. Stretching out her arms, her ample chest rose and fell as she flexed. "Hey, Jayden? Do you wanna just hang out and get something to eat? You look bummed out and stuff," she offered with a smile that was now, very technically, upside down given the way she was sprawled out in her seat.

Jayden continued her punching, snorting at Mac's attempt to salvage his attempt at asking her out on a date. "The answer is still no. Sorry," She said, not even missing a beat as she continued her workout. Then she heard Viz, and took a deep, loud breath, grabbing the bag as she contemplated her response. See, it was one thing to be dumb. Jayden was dumb. She was okay with being dumb. Viz? Viz was fucking retarded. Cause only someone who was retarded, would hear someone get shot down, laugh at them, and then immediately ask the person who shot them down the exact same fucking question. It... It was fucking amazing.

She turned around, with that bewildered valley girl expression on her face, curling a lock of her pink hair around a finger, her stance one of exaggerated contemplation. "Uhh, like, I think that would totally be a good idea," She said, her dumb bitch voice spot on. "I mean, like, we could totally just sit a chill, talk about how amazing the goddess is, and of course you since, ya know, you totally worship her, which is so, totally awesome you know?" She asked, lifting her arms in an exaggerated shrug. "Like, maybe then we could go back to your room, do each others hair, and have a sexy pillow fight to tease all the like, cute boys, and to get them to like, totally worship us!" She smiled brightly. "Then, while you're having that fantasy, you can go fuck yourself She snarled, dropping the act like it was radioactive.

Then she walked over to a bench and picked a towel, throwing it over her shoulders. "Ya know what, I'm going to go have a shower while contemplating a lobotomy, cause at this point anything is better than being here," She said, starting to walk away.

 

[CadetNewb]

"Hey!" Viz puffed her cheeks with indignity. "That's not nice!" she began to counter. "I'll have you know that fucking yourself is boring, which is why horny devils always wanna get their paws on you, and lobotamajigs will just turn you into a big dummy, and you're not!" the priestess pouted. Looking away, she curled back up on her smart-bean bag and went back to snipping at the paper-card milk carton as the large display screen suddenly cut back to Ellie's broadcast. There wasn't any sound, but the little girl was cowering in terror as a Dàqínese stormtrooper was dodging and rolling to evade several pouncing rabbits. "I know you're mad and sad and stuffs, but nobody's making it to be that alone," she grumbled, more to herself than anyone else. By now however, the screen showed Ellie huddled up and plugging her ears as the Dàqínese stormtrooper behind her and her tree was rabbit-piled. The blue haired young woman's attention soon shifted as things heated up.

"Bwhahahahaha! They messed with a whole bunch of dire rabbits! Hahahahahaha!" Viz started to burst into mirthful laughter. Another Dàqínese stormtrooper came up with an anti-foilant flamethrower, forcing the dire rabbits back and away from their squadmate before the transmission cut out again. "They're so stupid! And did you see the look on that tree parasite's face?! She's scared of the rabbits and the fire and the screaming! Hahahahaha!"

Mac nodded "understood Jayden, you have a good day" he said politely before watching Viz's response to Rikka's threat followed by Jayden's over exaggerated response.
"Nice going Viz you pissed her off." he said in a annoyed tone as he continued to draw "Here's some advice by the way, if someone shows disdain on a subject like going out to lunch dont keep pressing the question after the second shut down its rude and by that point seems like a bad joke." as he continued on his drawing again he added "basically don't be a idiot and learn to pick up on Social queues"

as he finished with the sketching and began shading the swan drawing he looked to the angel "So, out of curiosity what is your god like i may look into joining you for prayer when it happens."

Brigid was growing extremely bored with this whole situation. She felt like was surrounded by a bunch of socially awkward teenagers. She wished she had been the one to think of giving Viz the child scissors. Even her attempts to get a rise out of the repressed priestess were failing. Maybe the girl was too dense to even figure out that's what she was doing. Her interest was piqued when she noticed Viz's reaction to Rikka's threat. She filed that interaction away for future use.

The interplay between Mac and Jayden she found boring. They should just bone and get it over with, she thought, rolling her eyes. Royama was the only person intelligent enough in the squad to be worthy of her and she just wasn't Brigid's type.

She watched the scene with Ellie, glaring at Viz. The flat tip of her wing thumped Viz on the back of her head. "It's not funny, you heartless harpy. That poor girl hasn't done anything to deserve that." She hissed. It was true that the trooper's antics were amusing, but she felt bad for the little girl. Being stuck to a single place with no way to determine her own path. It reminded her of the stigma placed on her own kind thanks to whatever asshole had decided they would make good bad guys. People assume things about them based on how they look, forcing many into a role they never wanted.

 

[CadetNewb]

Imperial Cruiser Wéifēng
Recreation Area 1

Fan Mei Xing sat quietly in one of the chairs as an automated hair grooming system brushed through the fluffy cyan coat of her nine tails. She didn’t let the antics of the group distract her from starting her post-mission hair grooming routine. However, there wasn’t much she could do while still clad in the sweaty, skin tight embrace of her armor, besides running combs through her hair. While, she entertained herself with Ellie’s oddly stimulating stream. The sounds of the girl’s chewing, cutting, and crunching cut into her sensitive ears like the knife through the supple leaves of the aloe vera.

It made her cringe.

Immediately after Ellie took the first bite, Mei Xing tuned the stream out in visceral disgust, not wanting anything to do with the strange act of cannibalism unfolding before her eyes and ears. Even though her squad mates were somewhat odd as well, it was much easier to tolerate their presence since she had largely grown accustomed to their antics.

However, Mei Xing hoped she would never grow used to something like cannibalism.

“Poor girl.” Mei Xing muttered softly to herself as she distracted herself with her suit's holographic interface, a wide-eyed expression marking her features when she found that her armor had an automatic cleaning feature…

Dante had been leaning against the wall and fixing a thousand yard stare on the stream as it flickered on and off, the content didn't reach him as he was too busy trying to comprehend the events that lead him up to a walk of shame in front of 3 terribly snide Dàqínese spec ops.

The only thing that snapped the half traumatized Incubus from his daze was an oddly familiar voice that he couldn't place, as he looked over to the source and watched jayden head for the showers his face twisted into a mix of confusion and intrigue, was she in an advert or something before she joined their ranks? Whatever it was Dante could find out the answer later, seeing as two idiots other than himself had managed to severely strike out and leave her in a less than pleasant mood.

Pushing the thought back for another time Dante shrugged off what he did in the church and sat down across from viz with a mischievous smile "hey brigid, speaking of the goddess" he trailed off for a moment "you ever think of heading down to her church and defiling it? Seems like a good pass time for us" He asked with a glance to the hyperactive blue haired woman, hoping to keep up a conversation that ruffled her feathers.

 

[CadetNewb]

"The gods of my Pantheon are wonderful..." Rikka's eyes looked to Mac, somewhat shocked he seemed interested in her pantheon and the gods themselves. She let out a small sigh as she thought on them but smiled the more she did.

"They care for those of the heavens, and the mortals below. They wish happiness for them, which is why they have us help them. There are several gods, one that handles a few different domains or specialties, like the arts or battle or home and hearth, that sort of stuff. They all take their jobs seriously, they take many trips to the mortal world disguised as Mortals themselves to interact and leave a bit of themselves behind, or so I've heard them say."

Her eyes seemed to search back and forth for a moment, lost in her memories of home before she spoke. "Jaladen is the God of Justice and Righteousness. I am his right hand, I carry out his will in the mortal realm when it isn't something that needs his direct intervention." She seemed proud of this fact, something easily seen as she puffed her chest out. But it was about then that the dire rabbits began to swarm and Rikka began to fear for Ellie. She began to walk around, eyes searching for the smaller girl and as it took her some time to find her the Angel began to get a little frantic. Minutes passed until she looked around at the others.

"Whe-Where is she? Where is Ellie, I can see her right in front of me! Those rabbits are going to hurt her we have to go keep her safe!" Her ears twitched a little as she heard Dante and his idea and the blue eyes narrowed. "Defile a holy place such as a church, and I will make sure your skin peels off slowly under a smite Demon."

Mac nodded "well i wouldn't mind joining you in prayer some time but i think i should go clean up." he stated before heading off to do such a thing grabbing a dark black t-shirt with a white triangle outline with a rainbow shining out of it and a pair of cargo shorts and undergarments before grabbing a towel and headed for the cleaning center quitely entering and assuming the T-pose. choosing not to acknowledge the giant cat teammate so as not to piss her off.

Brigid grinned and shrugged. "If it's Viz's goddess I'm in. As long as I don't end up like the necromancer. You must have some hidden power down there." She said, looking down at Dante's crotch thoughtfully. "Normally I go for the big beastly types, but I admit I've never tried a handsome devil like you."

Her grin faltered. Rikka's threat, and the memory of the terrible burning feeling of Rikka's wrath, made that particular thought much less tempting. "So you say your gods leave pieces of themselves behind. Have you ever considered what they mean by that?" Brigid asked, trying to redirect the conversation. "Have you ever heard of demigods?"

 

[CadetNewb]

Jayden had already been foamed down. Being, literally entirely fur, hand shampooing was a pain in the ass, so she got foamed. Lot's and lots of foam. She didn't turn around when she heard someone walk in to use the fancy, quick cleaner thing. She just stared at the wall, working the foam soap into her fur. And yet, with only one shower running, there wasn't near enough steam to obscure her. With her fur matted down, she was like a chart in science. Whoever was in the Shower could see every muscle in her body, and how they all connected together. It certainly didn't help that she was cleaning down, which meant as she got to her legs she started to bend over to reach.

Jayden, despite everything she did, every flaw she had, her lack of basic schooling, had one thing she did well. Take care of her body. It was actually flawless. Despite only having a view of her from behind, there was not a fatty part of her body. The curves of her body were nothing new to anyone, the bodysuits they wore left little to the imagination in that regard, but it always hid what made those curves. She worked on her thighs, keeping her posture up. The only bend in her back was a slight downward arc. She didn't slouch, she didn't droop, and she did not let up as she moved down to her calves.

Her legs were still straight, spread just enough for her to get her hands between them to continue the arduous task of cleaning her fur. The way the muscles of her thighs joined her gluts, being pulled tight as she got down to her ankles. It was one of those things, you know? Where you're damned if you do or don't. Stare, ogle, and relish in the display of her soaked, bent over form, or, look away and insult the effort she put into looking the way she did.

What would you choose?

 

[CadetNewb]

Imperial Cruiser Wéifēng,
Recreation -> Personal Sanitation

"I was just trying to be nice, unlike you!" Viz then stuck her tongue out after Mac. By now, she was intensely concentrating on what looked like the foot of a giant mecha statue, however, Brigid and Dante's antics quickly drew her ire. "Bah! Stupid hell-pigeon!" Viz rubbed her head, irate at where Brigid's wing had hit her. "Unless it's to repent for your unholy ways, don't even bother stepping a foot inside my home church - it's the main one on the continent and is a holy nexus of power!" the priestess boasted, waving about her safety scissors. The blue haired young woman couldn't help but grin though. "I'm all for the two of you having intimate relations - with luck, he'll absolutely slay you for us!" Despite her self-righteousness however, her shoulders soon slumped as she sighed. "We need to tell Feather Butt about live streams I think. At least Horn-Dog over there is...wait, where did he say he was going?" Viz asked. Trying to think this through, she accidentally poked herself in the side of the head with her safety scissors before properly scratching her head in thought.

"FEATHER BUTT! HE'S GONNA WALK IN ON JAYDEN IN THE SHOWER! NAKED!" Viz suddenly screamed, rising to her feet in a wild-eyed panic. "COME ON! WE GOTTA GO!" she urged the others on, storming off towards the showers. Within moments, the priestess stormed in, chest heaving, fists clenched as she took in every detail of the sordid scene in front of her.

Mac would begin washing himself, letting the balmy water cascade over his body loosening the sore muscles and numbing the bruises from their mission. His mind, a once quiet place to retreat to in moments like these was racing as he stared at the flawless woman like the gods themselves sculpted her beauty for this world. Gritting his teeth he shook his head, turning away from her. .

Though it's like his lungs were stuck in a vice, her beauty took his breath away. His heart beat a little faster as he struggled against his sin. The ache of his muscles coupled with his elevated heart rate gave his knees a slight tremble as he continued to wash himself.

Feeling himself slipping he turned the water he bathed in to a brisk cold spray in an attempt to regain control over himself.
‘No I'm better than this I shouldn't let these feelings control me’ He thought to himself hoping that would be the end of it
‘Lets be fair she has a nice rack a little peek mabie a Pat down to that veiw?’
His thoughts fought for control as he cleaned off himself but this conversation with his inner demons just made him feel dirtier.
‘No Mother and father would not support these thoughts’
‘Your right they are a heavy burden for you to carry lets see if your crush can carry them’


As he argued with himself he began to turn the water off to grab his towel to dry himself off mumbling no the entire time. Feeling himself slipping as his ‘demons’ struggled with him he just wanted to get out of here as fast as possible. But with his legs like lead, heavy and slow that may not be possible.

"Who is feather butt?" Rikka looked confused as Mac walked off and Viz started to freak out, but as she was unsure who the Priestess actually spoke to, she stayed where she was and watched the stream worried for now about Ellie. At least until she heard Brigid speak up, which made her raise her brow and chuckle a little.

"I am not dumb Demon. I know what Demigods are. They are beings born with a hint of essence of divinity. They are mortals touched by the gods to do great things and change the world around them, to bring glory to the gods through deeds that help the mortal realm from great dangers." She turned her nose up at Brigid with what they could only guess was a smug sense of self satisfaction over the fact that they knew what they were talking about, or at least believed they did.

"And they leave behind parts of themselves to help the mortals. This realm always needs help from one thing or another, mortals are so weak... If it weren't for the gods, you filthy Demons would have long ago enslaved and destroyed them in your own self-satisfying gluttony and greed. But the Gods leave behind pieces of themselves in weapons, spells, items and people to help them, to better them so they can protect themselves when we can't."

 

[CadetNewb]

Imperial Cruiser Wéifēng
Recreation Area 1

“Uhh...guys? I don’t think we’re allowed to take off our armor yet.” Mei Xing said futilely as Viz stormed off into the showers after Mac in a screaming fit of obnoxious pomposity. All in all, the Kitsune held no regard for Jayden or her privacy. After all, no one thought anything of it when animals were without clothes. Why would anyone care for Jayden being naked? If anything, it was sometimes cute and amusing on the rare occasion that animals did wear clothes. When they went without, it was just them exercising their natural state of existence. It was by no means a noteworthy event.

“Viz, maybe we should wa-...” The Kitsune trailed off and took a deep breath which caused her tails to gently rise and fall behind her . Although she was disinterested in Jayden’s nudity, Mei Xing could not help but to feel fascinated with Viz after seeing her revive the man that she had killed on Gygaxia. The busty priestess had called her a slut to her face. Nevertheless, Mei Xing knew that the woman and her extraordinary arcane talents were extremely important to whatever objectives the Dàqínese hoped to accomplish on Gygaxia. Otherwise, there was no real reason to keep her around or to entertain her impulsive whims.

Although she hesitated for a brief moment. Mei Xing closed and opened her eyes in an exasperated manner, before standing up from her seat and following Viz towards the showers.

Dante lay himself properly on the floor, legs still under the kotatsu and propping his head up with his hand to catch the blue eyes of the angel. A grin grew on his face as he picked the scissors up and span them around his finger "you know, you best get to peelin' angel, I mean you did see the scene in that church with the witch right?" He teased, a wretched snicker developing as he tried to rationalize the events that had occurred "I think we're all well aware that I made that mess" he finished, looking from the piercing 'holy' gaze to the door mac and jayden had left through.

"Oh and I think you best get in the showers before they commit the deadly sin of lust because" he trailed off and shifted a look back to brigid "that's our job" he deadpanned pointing the scissors between the two Devils before setting them down "so get a wiggle on you painfully stupid holy man" he suggested with a shoeing motion toward the door "wouldn't want to fall from grace"

Rikka stared down the foul mouthed demon, eyes glaring down on him as she stood above and away from him. It took her a moment to calm herself down to a point where she didn't go off on some shouting rant, but more importantly it allowed her to control herself a little in what came next. She held her hand out as a bright glowing light enveloped her gauntlet before it was expelled directly at Dante, a lower level Smite spell, but still strong enough to give him a good shot.

"I don't care what those mortals do with one another, as long as it doesn't affect my task." She said with a huff before she turned and walked off to another area. Why in the name of her pantheon would she want to go into the shower area where everyone was undressed? She wasn't the type to get nor see nudity so casually, so when she learned they were nude in there she wanted to be as far from the area as possible. To do so though, took her to a corner where she simply stood and crossed her arms.

 

[CadetNewb]

Recreation Area 1

As Dante was smote by Rikka’s holy light, he found himself searing with pain! Horrible, horrible pain! Pain the likes of a really bad sunburn, completely and utterly anticlimactic as it was. The young man could have sworn that it should have hurt a lot worse, and Rikka would as well, but already, the suit he was wearing began to ‘douse’ his skin with med-gel. Seeping out of its layers, its interior grew oddly, pleasantly slippery as he felt himself cooled. Right as the engine of a motorcycle roared down the hallway outside.

Brigid was starting to unzip her bodysuit when Rikka fired off her holy energy. She screamed exaggeratedly and fell to the ground, clutching her breast. “It buuuurns! It buuuuurns!” Brigid yelled in a comically high-pitched voice. “Cursed angel, I’ll destroy you and your whole family!”

Tires screeching, the body suit clad rider burst into the room at full speed, rubber squealing as she deftly spun to a stop by one of the vacant kotatsu. Kicking its stand down, their squad leader dismounted. Right before hopping onto the table.

The demon girl managed to keep a straight face for a few more seconds. Unable to contain herself any longer she looked up at Rikka and burst into uncontrollable laughter. “That’s.. what we’re supposed.. to act like.. right Dante?” Brigid said between fits of laughter. That was the exact time Sif came in.

“Unruliness of this sort will be punished severely,” Sif’s deadpan voice reminded them all. Drawing a sword, its silver edge flashed. Sliced cleanly in half, a grape fell from the cluster on the Kotatsu top, right as the seven inch tall woman began cutting it again, this time like a melon scaled down for someone of her size. “I do not see everyone here. Where are the others?” the mini-tigress demanded.

Brigid jumped up quickly and stood at attention. “Ma’am, they went to get a shower before you came. Shall I fetch them for you?” She asked without emotion.

 

[CadetNewb]

Personal Sanitation

As Viz and Mei watched on, the priestess could not believe her eyes.

“I-Impossible!” she spoke in disbelief, face gaunt and pale with horror. Revitalizing herself with anger, the holy woman marched right on over to the undressed man under the cleaning devices, stroking her body-suited arms from wrist to bicep like a person rolling up their sleeves. “You’re supposed to be molesting her you daft fruit!” she pointed an accusing finger at him. “It’s the only reason a man would ever go into the same shower room naked! I’ve read the doujins!” Viz accused the man. “And you!” the blue haired woman wheeled around to point at Jayden, “Aren’t you supposed to be all, ‘please no!’ or something like that?”

Mac rose an eyebrow “what's a doujin?” he said in a monotone voice before attempting to move past them. “I assure you all I was doing was taking a shower, nothing more.”

Jayden turned around, looking at Viz and narrowing her eyes at the random screaming, then at Mac. She looked back to Viz. “Are you insane?” She asked, crossing her arms. “I’m pretty sure Mac knows he would be a stain on the wall if he tried molesting me, and I would do a lot more than just, constantly beg him to stop if he tried,” She said, lifting he hands and cracking her knuckles as she approached Viz. “But wanna know what I really hate?” She asked, hand shooting out and grabbing Viz by her neck and lifted her up into the air. “Girls who don’t know when to shut up and leave someone alone…” She growled deeply.

Mac looked at jayden horrified “jayden put her down!” he yelled not wanting to get involved both because he just has a towel on and two because he just wants to get out of the shower room. 'What to do, what to do?’ he thought to himself before taking a deep breath “sorry jayden.” he stated before pulling her tail as hard as he could. There was a sharp crack, and Jayden’s legs faltered underneath her, dropping to her knees with a strangled scream.

She clearly tried to toss Viz, but she couldn’t. The back was important when it came to support and power, and Jayden felt like hers was broken. Her tail and the small of her back started to swell, her tail now limp in Mac’s hand. Her legs slipped out from underneath her, dropping Viz and trying to hold herself up. The pain she was in etched deep into her face as she inevitably laid on the smooth tile floor, covering her head with her arms.

 

[CadetNewb]

Recreation Area 1

For a moment, Sif chewed on her slice of grape before finally deciding to reply. “No, that is not necessary,” she began. “Tell me, why are you all here?” the tiny tigress then asked, her voice deadpan and bland as it always was. “Is it for better pay? Promotion opportunities?” The snowy haired woman glanced at Rikka. “Perhaps the opportunity to bring honor to your family?” Fruit in hand, she slowly began to pace across the table. Before coming here proper, Sakamoto had promised each and every single one of them something. Something very valuable. For each person, it might have been different, or perhaps even interpreted differently, but the fact remained, there was reason behind all this madness. All this insanity that they had endured up until this point. “What is it?”

Outwardly Brigid maintained a straight face although an internal debate raged inside her head. She had her own reasons for wanting to be a part of this experiment. They didn’t exactly coincide with the interests of the Transhumans. She just wanted the freedom to go where she pleased, not worry about money, and do practically whatever she wanted. If she had to feign lack of emotion she could do it. Sif would probably be able to tell she was lying. A half-truth would have to do.

“Ma’am,“ she began, lowering her hand and looking down at Sif. “I’m here to become a Second Class citizen. I want to find my place in the world, and I believe that is serving as an example for all Third Class citizens to look up to. We can change the Empire’s opinion of the lower class and make it possible to raise one’s class.”

Rikka eyed Sif. While it wasn’t widely known her purpose, or maybe it was she couldn’t quite remember if she had told the others, Rikka shook her head over the worldly desires the others had. Her calling was one from the pantheon of her Gods themselves, a task.

“My Gods requested of me a mission, a quest. I am to find other Pantheons and make contact. To that end, your leader has offered her help with transportation, and in return I am doing work for her as well.” She explained, eyes narrowed on the woman. Though now standing beside Brigid, Rikka narrowed her eyes at the demoness and instead turned back to the stream of Ellie.

 

[CadetNewb]

Personal Sanitation

Legs dangling in the air, Viz soon found herself unable to breathe, unable to see as her eyes began to tear up, and unable to hear as panic began to wash out the words that the dumb people around her began to angrily sputter at each other because they were stupid. Stupid cat. Stupid fruit. Stupid foxgirl. As everything began to darken and her attempts at struggling began to weaken, hot tears of terror and frustration streamed down Viz’s cheeks. Only for a sharp crack to travel up the hands holding her and reverberate through her own head. With a crash, the young priestess collapsed on the ground, coughing.

Gasping for air, her breaths ragged and hoarse, she rubbed at her water logged eyes as well and saw a pained heap on the ground in front of her. Goobers streaming down from her nose, she reached out with her hands and cast a faint, white glow as she sobbed.

“I expected this from an animal, not a civilized soldier of our Empire,” Sif blandly remarked. Her full sized hologram stood, looking down her nose at them all. “You were expected in the Recreation Area,” she added, the statement emotionless yet somehow sharp like the pointed blade of accusation.

Jayden looked up to see Viz’s magic, and quickly swatted her hand away. “Don’t you fucking touch me,” She growled, flinching in pain as she did. She worked through it, dragging her knees up. The muscles in her back firing sporadically as it tried to compensate. She tried to get to her feet, yeowling a bit before powering through and standing up. “And let go of my tail… Before I rip your arms off…” She snarled, starting to walk towards a wall, leaning against it. Her tail remained limp, dragging along the floor rather than being held up off the ground as it normally was.

 

[CadetNewb]

Recreation Area 1

The screen continued to state, “We Are Experiencing Technical Difficulties! Please Be Patient!” while a silent slide-show of highlights went by, showing Ellie blowing bubbles, playing with puppies or reading a book aloud.

“So you. You’re all fighting for the civil rights of your people,” Sif began, pacing across the top of the Kotetsu as her eyes slowly drifted from Brigid, to Dante, then Royama. “Then you all have ample reason to ensure that you are at your best.” Looking at the three soldiers, she then added, “Such rights simply aren’t merited if your performance and behavior are lackluster.” The tiny tigress’s gaze then settled on Rikka. “And you, messenger, in the name of your gods,” the tiny Dàqínese woman noted. “I have met the Heavenly Legate, and they will not meet you if your behavior is unbecoming of an Angel,” Sif’s deadpan, disinterested voice carried on. “The importance of your work cannot be understated.”

In a rush, Sif suddenly grew in size as she hopped off of the Kotetsu top, the distinct feel of magic wafting off of her form.

“Which brings me to our next assignment.” The now normal sized woman languidly eyed the remains of her grape. “How valuable do you think 2nd Class Citizens are? Anyone?” She then popped the fruit into her mouth.

“What do you mean they will not meet with me?! What have I done unbecoming of my position?” Rikka glared at the woman who had suddenly shifted, seemingly not worried so much about the change in size so much as her accusations that Rikka had done something wrong. She moved toward Sif, fists at her side as she stared at her.

The question though, confused Rikka so much that her eyes seemed to narrow, but she mustered an answer nonetheless.

“They are mortals, they are living, so they are just as important as any of you are. They are people as well… They have the same rights to life and to better themselves and bring glory to the gods as anyone does.” The question was a strange one to the Angel, but she slowly began to remember the words of Kikyo, of their conversation before, and things began to slowly fall into place. “Do they not? Are they thought of less because they are… Second class? As you call them?”

Brigid was stunned by the revelation that Sif could use magic to change size. She considered the question carefully as she tried to shake off her surprise. She felt that her own worth was far higher than the Daqin believed. To say that would likely be considered a major problem by many. Rikka’s response was in line with her own thoughts, but it didn’t reflect the reality of the Daqin. “Yes, Rikka. Second class citizens are worth more than us rabble. Second class may be physically Daqin, but they aren’t culturally, and will never be.” She explained flatly.

“First class citizens like Sakamoto are priceless… you might say they’re like gods,” Brigid said with an amused look on her face. “Then there’s Jayden. She’s nothing more than a trained monkey in the social hierarchy. A monkey that can rip your face off, but still a monkey.”

 

[CadetNewb]

Personal Sanitation

“I wasn’t gonna touch it!” Viz pouted. Sniffling back her tears, she held her hands out again, the glow brighter than before. Bright enough to reach Jayden despite the distance. Bright enough for the Chǒngwù to suddenly feel her tail snap into place as relief washed over it. “Stupid cat!” Turning towards Mei, Viz’s helmet undeployed as she grabbed one of the Kitsune’s tail and blew her nose into it.

“About as valuable as a handkerchief, apparently,” Sif blandly remarked. Taking in a deep breath, she pointed her thumb over her shoulder. “The briefing has begun. I expect to see you all there. Immediately.”

With that, Sif’s hologram vanished.

Jayden growled, snarling at Viz. “I told you not to touch me…” She sneered, standing up straighter. “I would have preferred the pain than have you do anything to me,” She added, grabbing her suit and putting it on, before walking out of the room, muttering all the while.

Mac Gathered his clothes before exiting the shower room with the intention of getting dressed and making it to the briefing ‘saying anything would be stupid so just dont talk.’ Saying nothing would be a poor decision you should say something.’ he argued with himself after breaking jayden like that as he made his way to his quarters to get dressed a new frase entered his mind making him involuntarily smirk. ‘Give into your SIN! Reward yourself! You are the only one who can say they broke Jayden in the showerroom!’ and with that, he began dressing before heading to the briefing.

 

[CadetNewb]

Recreation Area 1

“I didn’t touch you!” Viz angrily pouted at Jayden, drawing Sif’s aloof yet somehow annoyed gaze. “Since Horndog here pulled your tail, and you didn’t want me to lay-on-hands, I just glowed at you instead!” she stomped her way back into the briefing. Plopping herself back down on the kotetsu, the blue haired priestess picked up where she left off, snipping away at a milk carton and adding to a suspiciously realistic looking giant-mecha foot.

The snow and black striped Tigress decided to slowly blink once, then turn a placid, uncaring gaze over to Rikka.

“The Holy Legate is a disciplinarian, and you lack discipline,” Sif’s flat voice replied. “Like certain other people.” In the background, Viz began licking the glue to try and get it to stick properly again. Eyes drifting away with disinterest on the topic, she slowly began to pace as she led them into the next. “Brigid is correct, as dour as it may seem. Unlike Third Class Citizens such yourselves, First Class Citizens are very valuable, but so are Second Class Class Citizens.” She didn’t mention herself though. “So valuable, in fact, that more nefarious groups will gladly capture and use them to create offspring that can be made into loyal enforcers or soldiers.” Sif stopped pacing. “Do you all understand where this is going?” she flatly asked, the words far more ominous than her deadpan voice.

Mac catching the tail end of that comment responded with rather chipperly “I guess it means one of your first class and second class citizen is getting a breeding party.” Mac said with his hair slicked back and bound into a ponytail. His uniform was worn neatly on his person as he stood there with a slight smirk on his face, arms folded over his chest as he listened intently to the briefing.

‘Be mindful of the thoughts they will lie to you’
‘Listen to your thought we tell the truth’

“So what do you want us to do? Kill a target? protect a second or first class? Cripple another person?” He asked in a rather laxed but not normal tone then his usual scared to talk nerdy self.

Brigid enjoyed the idea of being bred, but she would rather be in control of the situation. Having a bunch of handsome lust-fueled men locked up in cages to torment and use for impregnating herself sounded like fun. She would only use the brightest, most physically fit men of course. Realizing that she was practically drooling at the thought, she cleared her throat and straightened up.

“Hate to admit it, but Mac could be right. Someone must have captured a second class and we’re supposed to go save them.” She said, watching Viz lick the glue. The woman really does have the brain of a child and the body of a porn star, Brigid thought. The antics in the shower had somehow gotten violent. She wished she had gotten to see what went down. Maybe she would be able to extract the information from Dante later on for fun.

Jayden crossed her arms, growling. “If they really are in that kinda situation, let them rot,” She muttered, leaning up against the wall and looking at the group. “Not our fault they were dumb enough to get caught. I mean, they do have the freedom to say no don’t they? The freedom to just, walk away?” She added, snorting with annoyance. “There are quite a few people I know who would love to have the freedoms to even try and protect themselves from just such a situation, but what do I know? I’m just a big dumb Chongwu.”

"Yes well what was the last known location to the second class? Feeling better Jayden?"Mac said glancing out of the corner of his eyes at Jayden.

"what exactly will we be saving our beloved overlords from, ma'am?" Dante asked in a sickly sweet voice, almost as if he really had bought into the caste system he was stuck at the bottom of "though, to be quite honest, it doesn't matter. I'd join a suicide squad to get out of this room" the Demon added, his tone returning to being sarcastic and pointed as usual. Catching a glimpse of the priestess beside him licking a mecha foot he groaned "especially because of some people" he finished, glaring between the angel that burned him and the freakishly stupid Viz, who would most likely also burn him in the near future.

Mac looked annoyed at Dantes response "Dante, we're soldiers, which if my logic serves me right means we're compensated but expendable assets it's in the job description." Looking back in the direction of the briefer he would remain silent unless spoken to by said briefer.

“I am no citizen of your empire, and if this is how you treat your people, I doubt I ever will be… Prioritizing people based on where and who they were born to is just ridiculous.” Rikka hmphed a little and crossed her arms as she frowned. She really wasn’t sure what the whole breeding bit was about, but it seemed the people were in danger and there against their will. “So this is a rescue mission, simple enough.” She offered up with a small shrug, pressing past the bit about her being undisciplined. It would do her little good to get into an argument with the woman over something she knew nothing about, but the thoughts would surely not die down anytime soon, no they would stew in her head until they had time to talk.

For the longest of times, Sif simply let them talk. But when the Tigress finally did talk herself?

“It would seem that you are all perverts, and it’s all my fault,” she bluntly stated. Her face was still placid and uncaring, however, her gaze lingered on Brigid’s a moment longer than the rest. Seeing the priestess start to open her mouth, the woman quickly added, “Except for Viz,” stopping the complaint before it started. “I should not have been so nebulous,” the snowy haired Tigress admitted. “We are not going to rescue a person or persons being held against their will and being bred,” Sif began to explain proper. “Dàqín has numerous colonial flotillas proselytizing the superiority of the Empire, spreading its culture and influence into other nations, but one of them has reported unusual activity.” Sif then snapped her fingers, and her appearance immediately changed as the recreation area’s holo-projectors sprung to life.

The Tigress’s garb had changed to something far more informal, a simple grey and black Ruqun robe with the symbols for ‘Security’ on the back. “We will be posing as guards for a college campus, while the other squads will be providing support,” she informed them. “Naturally, we will not be carrying heavy weaponry this time around.” Sif then looked at Rikka. “You are going to have to fit in as well,” she added.

The woman seemed to grate more and more at the Angel’s nerves with each word she said, insulting her now for no reason. Her blue eyes narrowed as she spoke on the mission at hand and left her arms crossed for the moment, though as she looked to Rikka, confusion crossed the blue eyes under the hood. “Fit in how…” She asked, suddenly worried what the woman intended.

Jayden rolled her eyes. “I know what I’m going to have to do to blend in…” She muttered, crossing her arms.

“Right so….”looking at the angel mac continued “So your going to want to dress like a normal person and not preach at everyone unless your wearing sundays best…..and jayden will need a collar leash and service vest and look like a pet.” mac said sighing.

“Close, but not quite,” Sif replied. “Since we need to look like second rate campus guards, that means we just need to wear this sort of garb,” the squad leader began to explain. “Jayden, meanwhile, will have to wear a bomb-sniffer outfit instead,” she added. Looking at Rikka, the squad leader added, “This means you’ll have to leave your armor behind on this mission. I assure you that it will be well cared for and guarded,” Sif was sure to say. “Our own suits will be worn underneath, and provide the protection, systems and services we need.”

Jayden stared at Sif. “I… A bomb sniffing outfit?!” She asked, jaw working as she tried to figure out what to say. “I can’t sniff out bombs! I fucking lift heavy things! They’re gonna ask me to sniff out a bomb and I’mma be like,” She said, putting on a large smile. “Oh yeah, like totally no bomb there!” She said, slipping into that dumb bitch voice. “Anything else might have a bomb mister?” She added. “I mean, like, I thought you were gonna put a bomb collar on me. I could at least deal with that!”

“Hmm, not the most flattering outfit. When you mentioned college I was picturing more like miniskirts and tank tops.” Brigid said, sighing at the ugly robe. “Should have known it was nothing like that. The question of the day is, what kind of unusual activity warrants this? We got a basketball playing werewolf or some kind of secret cabal of rich nutjobs?”

"I don't know" Dante said with skepticism "if there are terrorists around, brigid's right, I could think of better clothes to die in. I don't wanna be a narc either" he half joked, a light chuckle echoing as he pushed himself under the kotatsu "obviously, i never did get a fancy college degree, so taking a look around a campus doesn't seem half bad while we're getting paid" he grinned, trying to enjoy the blanket even though he was covered in armor "when exactly do we set off to our new mall cop job?"

 

[CadetNewb]

Recreation Area 1

“You’re not going to be bomb sniffing yourself,” Sif stoically replied to Jayden, ignoring her 'dumb bitch voice' for the time being. "You will all still be wearing your suits, with camouflaging holo-projectors. The clothing will address what the projectors cannot. Yours in particular Jayden, will have a 'sniffer' module included, and will give you its simplified feedback," the Tigress explained. "As for the students themselves, I figure some of them will be dressed in that manner," Sif replied to Brigid. Despite her flat toned words though, her roll of the eyes told plenty. "You are not here to make friends though, and you are correct that something warrants our added presence. Some people have indeed gone missing, and in human society, this would have been missed, but not with Daqin. They will come, and you will be there to catch them. Plain and simple."

"Dumb devil, even if you die, you're not gonna stay dead," Viz interjected, very aware of Dante's allergies to death. "I'll just put you back together, just like new, then send you to hell myself!" she casually replied. By now, the thing she was working on resembled a power armor's whole leg portion. The text all over about milk and expiration dates however, gave it away for what it really was, but a bit of paint would have solved that judging by the quality of her work. Pointing her safety scissors accusingly at Dante however, the priestess added, "Just make sure not to kill the wrong people again! That last one was so weird, I couldn't even bring her back!"

 

[Helios]

When viz chirped up with the resurrection talk, across the tonkatsu Dante was once again preoccupied trying to place the voice jayden pulled. The mention of Hell however exchanged puzzlement for mild distaste as he looked to the priestess.

"Listen, darling, with you around I'm already in hell" the Demon replied in a sharp tone "though I suppose that is what I'm meant for" he pointed to his horns, emphasising his point "so do bring me back if a college kid manages to do me in" Dante concluded in a more democratic tone, sitting up from his place on the floor and leaning over to the leg made of milk cartons to inspect her handywork.

That was until she brought up the folly he had on their last mission. At which point his face sunk completely into loathing, his red hand reached out and with the help of a magic infused flame he attempted to set viz's structure alight.