[b]Tatiana Lorenz[/b]

Karaoke with the Commanders had been fun, though Tatiana had ruefully realized that her singing voice wasn't as good as she had thought it was. It might not have mattered since that was the whole point of karaoke in the first place, So she enjoyed her time with the others, up until she got the message from Eos that they had another mission on hand. 

First though she deposited the book she had gotten from the owner of that Mech in the last battle off at the recycling center. Honestly she didn't need the reminder of how she had died, and the joke gift was more annoying that anything. She'd get back at her for that next time.

The task was unusual, apparently a challenge run by one of the Independent factions in the war (Neutral implied uninvolvement, something that could not be claimed in the Nexus given that apparently everything was hostile to everything else all the time). They'd have to go, complete some challenges, and then get a reward. The only problem was that Eos didn't seem to be able to help out in any fashion, so they'd have to do this on their own. Which she wasn't that concerned with. She could manage. 

Once she had gotten all her stuff ready she hit the button, and found herself teleported to their destination. "Someone's on an ego trip," she muttered aloud as she hefted her rifles, on the ground for the moment as she observed the castle. Small wonder she was banished, as the following speech accentuated. 

Listening to the description of the challenges, Tatiana couldn't help but grin a bit, in spite of how difficult it would probably be. "What, only four challenges? I thought this was supposed to be difficult," she noted aloud with obvious confidence. Of course they would succeed in this challenge. They were the Machina; overcoming ridiculous adversity was what they did. Rebelling against Divinity tended to involve playing the odds. 

Needless to say, she was fairly confident, and once the address had been finished she turned to look at the others for the plan. Time to show those other two groups just why the Machina were the ones who were going to win the war. 

[hr]
[b]Tartys[/b]

While conversing with Torag, Tartys was pleasantly surprised to find herself approached by a courier, who handed her a package before heading off. She wasn't sure what it could be, given that she had not ordered anything nor was she expecting any packages. Looking it over though she quickly found the note, a smile gracing her features for the brief message that was written there. For all the hardship she had been put through Miyu had still proven herself to be loyal, so while she didn't feel like this was needed she would nonetheless accept the gift. 

Opening it up, she found a small sculpture of a snake inside it, hand made and beautiful in its simplicity. She wasn't sure why it was a snake, perhaps her armor, though she would have thought a lizard was more appropriate there. She wouldn't reject the gift though, and kept it close by so she could store it in her quarters later. At about that time the summons came, and Tartys rose to join the others who had been called in listening to what the Imperator wanted of them. 

With the letter they had been shown, it seemed that they would be taking part in a challenge proposed by some third party in the Nexus. They had been chosen to brave the challenges, whatever they might be, and claim the reward for the challenge at the end. Fairly simple as far as objectives went, though she had no doubt that actually accomplishing their goals would be a tad bit more difficult. Third parties traditionally were not on their own simply by the goodwill of the other factions. 

But they headed out, Miyu allowed to come with and Juno coming along too. That made Tartys a bit more nervous than she had been otherwise, if only because Juno ha demonstrated her willingness to throw the rest of them under a falling boulder if she felt like it. That would definitely impact their ability to succeed in this challenge.

With Miyu's gift stored away, Tartys soon fund herself with the others at the entrance to their destination, resplendent in shining armor and spear honed to a sharp knife. There were two other groups with them, the other factions having arrived to take part in this challenge. She hovered slightly above the ground as Hohenheim explained the challenges that they would be going through, and it looked like it would be quite difficult, especially with the restrictions on advancing through the various challenges. 

"Well then. I suggest that we be careful," she noted to her allies. She didn't want anyone captured and left stuck with the Alchemist if they could help it. Eternity was too long for a fate like that. Specifically to Miyu she added, "Thank you for the gift. I'm glad that you're back with us." 

[@KoL][@Awesomoman64][@The 42nd Gecko]