[b]Tartys[/b]

Respawning was never quite an unpleasant process, for which Tartys could be grateful. If anything, for her at least, there was always an element of disappointment to it, as if she was waking from a deep slumber, a warmth that appealed to her base soul, and now she was being cast into the cold world once again. She had been told that it was not like that for everyone, yet besides the Valkyries she had never found a good explanation why. And they were quite the exception to the rule. 

Her wings ruffled as she stretched, moving along the marble columns that lined the halls of Celestia. It seemed that the battle she had so recently departed was still going on, but the Angels themselves were no longer in contention. She was left to wonder on that, since apparently some had chosen to retreat rather than fighting to the end. With how the Nexus operated one had to wonder why hey had made that choice. They weren't saving anything by retreating after all. 

For now though that left her without much to do until the next urgent battle began that she would be called to. Playing more music was always an option, but she didn't feel like doing that at the moment. Practice was good but there was such a thing as overdoing it. Besides, there was so much else to do in Celestia that deliberately restricting herself accomplished nothing. 

Moving along she paused as something sprang into mind, along the line of creative endeavors. It was specifically the notebook that she had gotten a couple days ago as a gift, from Miyu if she recalled correctly. She also recalled something about a birthday being listed on said note that came with the gift and then being struck out. Which was...odd, to say the least. 

"One good turn deserves another," she remarked to herself before setting off on a new mission. The hard part would be locating a gift for her to get that Miyu might want. But eventually succeeded, and then set off for wherever Miyu lived to go repay the favor. Hopefully it would not be too hard to find

[@The 42nd Gecko](Referenced)
[hr]
[b]Tatiana Lorenz[/b]

Silently Tatiana Lorenz watched the factory churn away, the large structure casting smoke into the starry night sky above the Capitol. Her hair caught in the wind, whipping behind her as her hands rested in her pockets. She didn't mind the cold, nothing compared to the pain of gunshot wounds or being eaten alive by acid. 

A recycling plant. One of many such massive structures that dotted the outskirts of the Capitol. Inside machines churned away, converting waste, resources, even corpses, into materials that could be used for construction, food production, the war effort. The ultimate display of efficiency even with the limitless resources of the Nexus. But that was the Machina for you. 

Footsteps sounded on the rooftop, coming to a stop next to her. She didn't look, instead keeping her gaze on the Recycling Plant and the surrounding buildings. "Again?"

"Yeah," she replied with a nod. 

"How many bodies is this?"

"Seventeen. You?" How many were there? How many of her own bodies were down there, waiting to be consumed in fire or in converters, to be changed into something else that could benefit the Machina as a whole. It was strange even thinking that way, and she still wasn't completely comfortable thinking about it that way. 

"Twenty two. Not all of us are that lucky I suppose." The two stood side by side, one caucasian, one green, watching the factory as it churned away inexorably. It didn't stop. It never stopped. That was the nature of the war in the Nexus. There was nothing that she could say to that, even if she had wanted to. She really had been lucky, fighting with so many skilled individuals. 

Silence descended for some time, until the other Tatiana spoke again. "They want to see you." The two glanced towards each other, one confused and the other calm. A surreal conversation for anyone else to witness, but not for them. It was no shock either, though it was unusual. She had not seen them for some time now. They didn't usually have meetings like these.

"Why?"

That earned the ghost of a smile, with the other Tatiana lifting a hand to tap her head. "We all heard what happened in Hohenheim's trial. If you could teach us how to do what you can do now, everyone could benefit." Not just them, but the entire Machina too. She just didn't know if it would be possible. Not with whatever the mad scientist had done to make it happen in the first place.

Still, if they could replicate it then didn't they have an obligation to try? She certainly couldn't think of a reason why the effort couldn't be made. "Right now?"

"Soon. We hadn't set an exact time." Understandable and reasonable. Setting a time before they even knew if she would go along with it was a fairly stupid idea. With how often battles were though, arranging a meeting meant that it had to take place relatively quickly, before they got pulled apart again. 

After a moment she sighed, turning to face her doppelganger. "Alright. Let's go." 

The other Tatiana nodded, and the two of them turned on their heels. Together they moved off the roof, heading into the Capitol to attend the meeting. Along the way a confirmation was sent out, indicating that it was going to be happening. This was going to be interesting to behold. Either way, she was looking forward to seeing her sisters again.