World Tree MUSH

    Hours ago:

    "This is Operator 6O! 2B! It's time for your regularly scheduled contact! How are you~?" The chipper voice of operator 6O pipped to life on the communications band, jolting 2B from her thoughts.
    "I'm fine." The battle android replied in her usual terse manner.
    "Oh! I got the pictures of those flowers you sent me! I catalogued them immediately! They were gorgeous! They must have smelled so--"
    "Do you have a mission for me, or are you just going to go on about flowers?" 2B Interrupted the Operator's gushing.
    "OH! RIGHT! MISSION! I totally have a mission for you, 2B!"

    Now:

    Androids have gone missing. Not just YoRHa units, but units from all over the Tree. And the last tracking signal that many of them had sent out before going missing could be traced to a ruined and decrepit old Earth. Humanity has long left this world, leaving behind the shelled out husks and remains of their cities all over the planet. The signals specifically originate at the location of an old amusement park-- a place that should have long ago een shut down and inactive... But is bright and alive with light and fireworks and music right now.
    A giant castle looms over the fairgrounds, its turrets and spires forming arches that make the shape of a great big heart in the center of the building.
    Both YoRHa and the Gardeners want to know why so many androids have gone missing to this place in the recent weeks, and YoRHa, the local defenders of humanity have sent two of their units ahead.
    Those units are 2B and 9S. And the android pair wait at the gates to the amusement park for anyone who is showing up to this joint mission before they head on in.

Androids. Hells, just about anything and everything in this place that others have called 'Tree' have piqued her curiosity. But as much as her curiosity has her intent on learning more--not just about the Tree itself, but the worlds connecting it, her caution and wariness has been at a particularly high point. Which is why the way she is here, bounding carefully through the ruined husk of the buildings towards the amusement park, it's a roundabout path she's here. 'Missing' tends to be comparitively similar to people going missing, and even if she's not gotten the exact specifics of what Androids are like, she knows enough that helping out, at least to some degree wouldn't be the worst idea. 

Which leads us to now. Which leads to a figure in a concealing blue-green hooded cloak leaping from a rusted-over girder to land about twenty feet where 2B and 9S both are. "I'm curious about what happened to this place as a whole, but I surmise that such a story would take longer than we have time for, no?" Sonia offers these words, even if she is reticient about offering anything resembling a name. 

    More trouble out in 2B's world. That has Uni coming with her long rifle ready and loaded. She's wearing her adventure outfit instead of the black dress she ususally sports. She approaches the group on foot, scanning her red eyes across the location with a curious cant to her head. "Right... so, what's the situation as far as we know it? Do you have anything new to add from the original report?" she asks 9S, giving the android boy a bit of a smile.

    She looks to 2B as well, giving the cold battledroid a curt nod, while resting her weapon over a shoulder.

A staticky portal opens up, and out hops Emily. As is her habit when visiting this world, she's taken the form of a YoRHa android but in a white version of the uniform, with a catlike hair-ribbon instead of the blindfold, and with glowing purple eyes. ... And also with four arms for some reason.

"Invasion by dudes from outer space," she says, coming up behind Sonia, "and they trashed the place with their machine life forms. The humans are all hiding out on the moon." She has an amused and faintly smug smile.

She looks over at 2B. "For the record, I haven't heard of any Eudaemons going missing," she says. "I don't know whether that means anything, though, we don't exactly keep track of each other."

    Any other time Josuke would be super-pleased to go to a big theme park! But this one? This is... yeah, no. There's always something undeniably creepy about an abandoned themepark anyway. Moreso when it's STILL OPERATING -- that would just be a red flag right there. Add in the disappearances that have been happening, and you have a very nope-worthy situation for anyone who is sane.

    ...So of course Josuke's going to go there. He's in his usual clothing this time, not the western-themed desert drifter attire he wore the last time he came here. That means a purple thigh-length jacket (actually it does a little past his thighs, but let's not deal in semantics) and a matching pair of baggy pants, a yellow shirt with zippers on it, and lavender-colored loafer shoes. And SO MUCH BLING, in the form of thin gold bracelets around his wrists and a pair of large gold pins on his lapels.

    This place is pretty big, and there's a lot of ground to cover between the vine and here. So, well. Josuke's going to make a spectacle of himself. Because y'know what's faster than walking? Traveling via 'fastball special', and his Stand is the pitcher. He'll come in from a distance away, looking for a moment as though he's flying... before the pink-and-blue figure catches him mid-air -- yes, in a princess carry -- and lands nearby, setting him down on his feet before disappearing.

    He pauses to straighten his outfit, and looks to 2B and 9S. "Hi there!" he greets in a friendly manner. Then more seriously -- almost meekly -- he offers, "Um... I dunno how much help I'll be, but I'd like to try." He also offers a smile and a friendly wave to the others gathered too, as if he hadn't literally been FLYING THROUGH THE AIR a few moments ago.

    After what happened to Penny, Weiss, though she may not admit it, is a little twitchy about androids and the like. Too bad she doesn't have the resources she used to have, but keeping her Dust stocked enough to be effective is something she can manage. Just no jumping off from airships to see what's going on. She has to walk the hard way, and unfortunately this lets her see the devastation and ruin of this world. It's put her in a somber mood, even compared to her normal self.

    She's here just in time to hear the summary of what's gone before, and makes a face. With Myrtenaster at her side and readied, she does look ready for trouble... but wearing a dress is a little weird for being combat ready, isn't it? At least it's a loose enough dress to move in rather than an evening gown!

    "Guess I'm not the only one looking into this one," she mumbles. She readies her rapier and-

    Stare. "That isn't the normal way people travel in your world is it?" Josuke is getting a look, but then she slides her gaze to Emily. Looks different, but the static-like portal is familiar.

    Between the two androids, as people begin to arrive in their own ways, 9S, a youthful looking male android seems pretty laid back and relaxed. 2B on the other hand, stands stock still, and still somehow manages to convey an almost irritable impatience to begin the mission-- and of everyone to show up... They all look so...
    Human.
    Sonia is the first on the scene, and the silver-haired android's head snaps in her direction, one hand readied at her katana before the hunter actually speaks her curiosity.
    This is where 9S steps in.
    "Well, to make a long story short, the place is swarming with Machine Lifeforms. They're the reason there are no more humans around. But really... Yeah what Emily said"
    Uni, Emily, and Josuke are all familiar faces, and though Emily gets a stern look from the battle android, 2B does not comment about the shifter's choice in attire, but the glare is almost palpable through the dark blindfold 2B wears.
    "Is that really a safe way to travel?" She asks of Josuke, echoing Weiss- who is another new face to her- before 9S chips in, "You don't really have ground to stand on after leaping off that building, last time, 2B."
    She pointedly ignores the Scanner.
    "A lot of YoRHa units have gone missing in this operational area." 2B explains. "And from the reports we're hearing, so have androids from other places on the... Tree..." It really doesn't roll well off her tongue.
    This is when the floating construct at her side pipes up in a robotic, masculine, tone: "Suggestion: Commence mission now that a strike team has been assembled."
    And that's all it takes for 2B to wheel around on her heels and start walking into the park, taking point.
    Past the rusted turnstyles and into the park courtyard, everyone is met with...
    *BAMF!*
    Explossions of confetti and streamers.
    The clank clank clanking steps of various machine lifeforms can be heard, filing into the square, before they are seen, and when they are, it sure is a sight. A parade of cylindrical robots dressed in bright and gaudy clothes, faces all painted like clowns. Some juggle, some stagger in a dance like step, some fire ballons and confetti into the air from cannons mounted on their hands.
    "cOME pLay!" "PlAY! plaY! PlAy!" "laUGh WiTH uS!" "laugh laugh laugh!" "hAvE FUN!"
    2B and 9S are left paused in their tracks, weapons drawn and waiting... And waiting... And waiting... As the parade starts to pass by harmlessly without any signs of aggression.
    "Uh." 9S says. "That's. Not normal."
    "Weird." 2B mutters.
    But that castle is not too far off in the distance.

    Uni nods to 9S, brushing one of her side-tails away with a flick of a wrist. "Right. Search and rescue? Engagement protocols? Shoot on sight, or return fire if attacked?" she asks, holding her weapon in a down-but-ready hold, cycling the chamber until the 'running lights' along the side of the barrel turn from blue to a shimmering yellow-gold. "Lightning slugs loaded." she comments, before snapping her weapon up as the Machines start to approach... she waits for signs of aggression, but as the parade passes without even twitching towards attacking, she frowns. "Yeah... I mean, there were those passive ones near your basecamp, but they ignored us..." she muses, resting her weapon against a shoulder again as she cups her chin with the other hand.

    "These machines seem to be aware of their surroundings, and actively move to engage non-Machine entities with those... off-kilter vocalisations... I suggest caution, this may be some kind of ruse to lull us into a false sense of security. Everyone pick a buddy and stay close to them, watch each others backs and report as soon as you notice something strange, no matter how insignificant it seems."

    The voice in use makes her sound far older than her looks would suggest, a keen business acumen and tactical sense behind the young visage.

"..." Well that's somewhat odd--the feeling left behind by the portal besides, there's something... off. Whether it's legitimate or not, she adjusts her position ever so slightly, given a few errant terms she's catching--'Eudaemon' amidst others. And you know, the four arms. "Handy information." she deadpans mildly. Then again, she might be radiating a weird sense of danger herself. Not naked hostility--just something exceedingly deadly even with the cloak she's using to conceal much of her beyond the shadow of her face. Might be because of 2B. Might be because of the others. 

Still, she feels it's a bit better to let the others volunteer information until there's something that /needs/ being questioned. Which... at the rate some people arrive and enter, including Josuke, for who *might* also be the reason in the uptick in the tension from Sonia, at least before looking to Weiss and Uni. 

"Hn." 

Still, it's time to move on at least, and initially, Sonia is perfectly willing to let others walk ahead of her, and keeping an eye on their rear--trying to take the rear guard position just seems to get a baleful stare from shining blue eyes. She's horribly curious about the nature of what she saw regarding Josuke, especially that... spirit, but elects not to address it--at least, not until they're somewhere a little bit easier to converse, and the place they're headed into, well she *doubts* there's going to be an easy time to talk. 

An instinct that is quickly proven correct, the woman's posture rapidly shifting the moment the explosion of confetti erupts, the air around her momentarily heating as a hand emerges from her cloak. Actually, a burst of fire *does* erupt--making one burst of confetti a burst of blackened, smoldering ashes that evaporates on the wind as she has a sword pulled out and pointing at the machines. And yet... when they don't aggress further...

"... what manner of buffoonery is this." It's not even a question so much as it could be a statement. 

    Josuke blinks at Weiss. "Well... no, but it'd have taken me forever to get here if I walked. Also there's dangerous things on the way, and I didn't want to have to break anything on the way here." He grins, the expression a bit goofy. "Saves time, right?" Looking at 2B, Josuke answers her question, "Pretty safe, yeah. My spatial awareness is pretty good, and even if I miss, <Crazy Diamond> won't. It can see without my eyes, so it doesn't completely depend on me to tell it where I am." He's had it save him from self-defenestration at least once!

    He does listen to 2B's words explanation, and nods when the floating construct makes its suggestion. "Sounds like a good idea." And with that he'll follow 2B into the park. No worries for Sonia; Josuke is heading for the front of the group. He figures most of what's going to come after them is going to come from the front, and he'd rather it get him than someone else. However, Uni's words of 'lightning rounds' gets a perked look. "Hey, can I borrow a couple of those?" he asks. "Just a few. I'll save them for an emergency, and I'll give back what I don't use."

    ...What? Why?

    The explosion of confetti and streamers actually startles him. He manifests his Stand behind him, the pink-and-blue figure from before appearing, arms drawn back and hands balled into fists. It's ready to attack... but doesn't quite do so yet. He too notices that the robots aren't attacking. Yet. But there's something weird about the way they talk, like their vocal modulators are a little off or something. He shivers. "Geez... this place is already givin' me the creeps," he mutters, with a pouty, but thoughtful, expression.

Emily smiles at Weiss. "Oh, hey, haven't seen you since the academy." She has the exact same voice she always does. "I'm a shapeshifter, by the way," she adds, with a faint note of teasing in her voice. She shoots Sonia a winning smile, although it's far from clear what she's smiling about.

She looks around at the group, nodding to Josuke and Uni, before she announces, "Releasing capacitor seals three and two." Three distinct auras appear around her, one gold, one silver, and one pearlescent; the first two shatter, and the third one fades. And then, in a swirl of glitter, four black metal swords appear on her back, and her hair turns pitch black -- so black, it looks like a rip in space, or some sort of graphical glitch.

She follows the group until the confetti explodes, and pauses. "Okay!" she says. "This ... is weird." She seems to approve. "Not as weird as me, but, y'know." She waves a finger. "Getting there!"

    Weird is getting to be normal. That doesn't mean Weiss can't stare at a new thing! At least Sonia seems pretty normal. Which means she definitely needs watched the closest, like the unarmed man entering a city in Exalted. Weiss doesn't draw her blade yet, but she keeps her hand near it while she joins everyone to walk. "I don't know any of you except..." And confirmation. "Emily and Uni, you two are kind of drawn to trouble, aren't you?"

    Any of her thoughts about that are stalled by a strange procession! "... sometimes Grimm in my world will do... weird things and won't get aggressive if they don't have negative emotions drawing them in. Sometimes." She actually can only think of once, but it's still a good point. Namely, "Who knows what could trigger them."

    Maybe others are going to let Josuke's comment slide, but Weiss doesn't. "What would you want those for?"

    "Search and rescue is the plan!" 9S replies to Uni, once he rallies from the sight of the eeriest parade in the last few thousand years. "We picked up on a few active Black Box signals, so it means wherever they are, the androids are at least alive. ... Nnnnnnormal YoRHa protocol is to attack machine lifeforms on sight but..."
    "If they're not hostile, then attacking them would be a waste of time. Those androids are waiting for rescue." 2B cuts him off. "And it might trigger their aggression, anyway." She adds.
    2B's buddy is obviously 9S, so others are free to follow Uni's suggestion as they see fit.
    But 2B is eyeing Sonia; the almost palpable menace that wafts off the woman has the android keeping watch on her from the corner of an eye-- not that the direction of her gaze can be discerned while wearing that blindfold.
    It's like two apex predators sizing one another up.
    This is about when 9S falls into step with Weiss.
    "Hi! I don't think we've met. I'm 9S. That's my partner 2B. You're a human right? You know, we've only recently started coming into contact with actual humans, you're all pretty fascinating. I never thought--"
    "9S. Focus." 2B chides.
    "Hrk!"
    ...
    "What's a Grimm?" He does sneak in.
    The parade passes without incident, but as the group heads up the lone boulevard leading up to the castle gates... It looks like there are other varied machine lifeforms here, going through the act of running shop stalls. Their 'merchandise' is ancient and old, but there is a jewelry cart, a toy cart, a cart of MACHINE BODY PARTS, and several other innocuous carts of amusement park styled merchandise.
    This, however, is when one of the machines breaks off from the others. It... Floats on a fan-like apparatus, but most notably, it's face is painted up in cutesy makeup and it has two twin spiralling metal bits protruding from its head to make it look like it has girlish pigtails. And it floats right up to Josuke, eyes lighting up with hearts.
    <3_<3
    "Hello, handsome!" It says.
    9S near chokes.
    "Ghrrhghrk! IT TALKED?!"

"Is that what you call it?" Sonia wonders aloud, looking evenly at Josuke for a moment. She's staring at the space around him, before turning her attention to matters at hand--and for the time being, she keeps that short blade of hers drawn out. No reason to imply that she was the source of some of that confetti literally exploding with a plume of heat and fire from her. Nope, probably best to let Weiss and others think she is normal, simply the look of a hunter for the time being. 

In the meantime, Emily's winning smile doesn't necessarily warm her up anymore than the situation itself does--especially given the seeming 'powering up' she's doing. Well, that's all well and good, though it earns a quiet stare from beneath the hood. It's only that much of a look, because the true lion's share of her attention is actually on 2B. The feeling one gets is that... at least for 2B or anyone with a refined danger sense is that the sword the unnamed woman in the cloak is holding in one hand just barely peeking out? 

... Not the danger at all. It's simply a tool. 

Really, one might really get the sense that she's watching *everyone* in a much more pronounced fashion than before as the procession moves past. Uni is not considered as much of a potential threat, nor Weiss, but the sense of being watched doesn't necessarily abide. 

"Automatons. Living golems." Sonia muses half to herself as much as anything else on the subject of Machines and Androids in equal measure. It's not that she's racist or anything, but it's a nice way to frame things for a want of comparison. They're not the same things, as Androids like these definitely need a more refined classification, but it's a start for later notes.

Her eyes glimmer for a split second as the group progresses as she shifts around a little--circling around the path the pigtailed machine seems to have taken, before looking to 9S. "So did the others, for whatever husks they were. This one is not... I feel it. Is talking not something it should be able to do then?" she almost demands.

     As the figures proceed into the entry and past the wonderful procession shown, a quiet figure waiting just around the corner of a small kiosk-like building turns to subtly round the corner and fall into step with the others as they pass in as casual a manner as one might dare to please given the bizarre nature surrounding such serious circumstances. Were the one falling in behind less tall and more human, it might not seem so out of place. However, the figure is anything but short or human-like. The individual is relatively tall and decidedly more furry. 

     Aside from the fact that the stranger tagging along is a wolf man, his attire speaks of something much different. Anyone that knows this being will immediately pick up on the cross of technological enhancement amidst a bikerpunk theme. A rather larger handgun of some variety is holstered on his right hip and the two-legged beast wears some type of Head Mounted Display that covers his left eye. 

     There are no hellos given; greetings are fully withheld as his large armored boot-born footsteps join the sounds of the rest. The sound of a spark igniting gas and the burning of that fuel marks his presence to any that don't immediately pick up on his being there. If that doesn't give Wolf O'Donnell away then the following smell of smoke might. His expression is neutral. He merely follows along unless prompted to react otherwise. -until prompted to react otherwise?

    Uni looks at Josuke, "Sorry, my ammo is made from Share Energy... I can't take out individual 'bullets' like you'd expect." she says, dropping the magazine and showing a reservoir of glowing golden fluid of some kind. It's weird in that it doesn't spill out when she moves it, or even slosh about like one might expect. "I've got some physical slug-throwers in my inventory for if my Share Energy runs out though." she produces another magazine, after slotting the first back into her rifle. This one if filled with 5.56mm rifle rounds. "But I don't know why you'd need bullets... why would you need the---" and then the weird floating machine comes over, making the Goddess bring her weapon up in readiness and rack the slide... though she doesn't fire just yet.

    Weiss' comment does get a terse reply. "It's kinda my job. Goddess goes to where trouble is, fixes the trouble, gets faith out of it... y'know the deal." she says, eying the floating machine with the heart eyes warily.

Emily chuckles at Weiss's comment. "Trouble is interesting!" she says. In many ways, her answer is more-or-less the opposite of Uni's. "And if I participated on the bad guy side, the consequences would just be a pain." Although it would be even easier for her not to participate at all ...

She nods to Sonia. "Not a bad analogy! I wouldn't twist your brain into a knot trying to overthink it, though." Is she oblivious to the sense of danger? Or does she just not care? Well ... see above. The latter is much more likely.

She smiles as she wanders along, just taking in the sights of the carnival. The cart of ... parts catches her attention for a second, but she doesn't let it bother her very much. After a moment, in a swirl of silvery glitter, her YoRHa outfit transforms into a red and yellow dress that seems to be made of expensive-looking silks, and she rises off the ground and hovers along, getting a better view of the carnival as a whole.

She raises her eyebrows as the hovering machine speaks up. "... Yes," she says in response to 9S's exclamation, floating back down to the group with an ever-widening grin. "Yes it did. Interesting." She glances around, then nods to the newcomer. "Hey, Wolf!"

    Once he's reasonably sure he's not about to get jumped by robots (at least not immediately), Josuke looks at Weiss, to answer her. "Well, these are robots, right?" he reasons. "So, if we're gonna be fighting robots, it seems like lightning would mess 'em up pretty bad. <Crazy Diamond> might be able to fire the lightning rounds, if they've got a firing pin like a regular bullet does. Or if impact is a sufficient trigger to have them go off."

    He nods to 2B's assessment. "Yeah. Best not to get them riled up until we have to," he agrees, dismissing his Stand finally. For now at least. They enter the park, and Josuke looks around at the place. "Huh... doesn't look too bad..." And then he sees the cart of MACHINE BODY PARTS! "...Oh man. I hope that's not... what I think it is..." Androids are machine underneath their human-looking exteriors, right? He hopes they haven't been taken apart and put on the scrap heap...

    Sonia's question gets a confused look for a moment. Then he realizes where she was looking -- right where his Stand was before he dismissed it. "Yeah. <Crazy Diamond> is my Stand," he offers, by way of explanation. A pause and he reassures, "It's not a demon or anything. I know it looks like one, but don't worry, it's not."

    Uni displays the energy reservoir then and Josuke leans to look at it. "Whoooaaa... kewl," is his assessment of the stuff. Still, he nods when she explains. "No problem!" he assures. "Just thought it might be a good idea, if it was possible." Though he nods at the physical rounds. "<Crazy Diamond> can fire them, if they have a firing pin," he explains, shorter this time.

    He starts to go over to the cart of machine parts, but then this... fan-thing approaches. "Whoa," he notes, stepping back so he doesn't run into it. And then it speaks, and 9S seems surprised. "Uh... is it unusual for them to speak? The ones back there seemed not to have any trouble..." He turns to look... and then claps eyes on Wolf.

    He pauses, blinks. "Hi?" Josuke offers in greeting. "Are you coming to help?" Though yeah. Keeping an eye on that fan thing. Which seems to be making him nervous -- is that a bit of a blush on his face?

    Weiss answers 9S with a simple, "They're monsters who attack humans and are drawn to negative emotions." It's hard to explain everything about what they are in a short little statement after all, and there are other things to focus on. Like the carts. One of these is not like the other, and it makes Weiss have a visible chill up her spine.

    "Robots," she says shortly at Sonia. "Usually pretty soulless, but I knew one who was... more human than a lot of humans," she admits. Even the cool ice queen gets a flinch and a look of sadness there, but it passes in the face of other things like... Josuke getting flirted with. Boggle eyes. "R-really?"

    Wolf is also noticed, but since he's flesh and blood and armed, she just draws her sword... but doesn't point it toward Wolf. It's the thing hitting on Josuke that has her attention. At least she knows he isn't helpless after his answer, but her fingers spin the cylinder on Myrtenaster, her sword, anyway. She glances at Uni and Emily then, and back at Josuke.

    Huff. Looks like someone should do something.

    Her free hand suddenly reaches for Josuke's arm, and she says loudly, "Yes, he is. Come on sweetie, let's go look at that big thing over there~"

    Her voice is suddenly, obviously fakely sweet.

>> SUMMARY[Weiss Schnee] >> Helping Josuke because Diamonds are a girl's best friend.

"I don't plan to," Sonia remarks, barely keeping an edge of irritation from her voice as she looks to Emily. "They're not quite the same. Most automatons don't have a spark in them, where I feel it in them. Different. It must be made note of. Created with science, not the occult." There's a few hints here and there to what she is, as she regards Josuke. "I never thought that. Not all spirits are born of the Night." Her voice softens ever so slightly, before regaining its hard edge, despite the ghost of a smile given in the young man's direction. 

But her attention is not solely on that--namely, picking up on the presence of another--such is that her spiritual sense tends to offer. She picks on him just as he rounds the corner--falling in 'behind' is something that causes her to shift subtly, and shift quickly to look the wolfman over. He doesn't /feel/ like something of the Night, even if he bears a passing resemblance. Still, the tightening grip on her sword belied all that one needed to know about what she thought there. 

"And you are?" At least the others seem to know him. But the mention of 'robots'--a term she heard in the first few days of finding herself here, is acknowledged with a faint nod, adjusting the grip on her sword slightly with regards to the flirtatious fabricated floozy. 

>> SUMMARY[Sonia Belmont] >> Just a quickie to address things. And to use awesome alliteration.

    The machine parts on display are crude and rusted. Nothing like the more human-looking parts of an android, they match up more with the designs of the machine lifeforms parading around the park. There are no android parts to be found here, thankfully.
    "They usually... Don't talk. It's not normal. They've never talked before." 9S explains to Sonia and Emily, rubbing at the back of his neck. "The messed up parade was one thingm but they ignored us, this is..." He motions at the pigtailed machine like he has NO IDEA WHAT TO DO.
    He doesn't.
    Even 2B looks hesitant to just cut it down, lips quirking downwards into a pretty intense frown.
    Regardless, it's probably a good thing Weiss steps in, right about now. The floating machine is circling an orbit around Josuke, and it's cheeks seem to flare up with circular red blush-lights-- right up until Weiss takes the youth by the arm. Immediately the machine's demanor changes, eyes changing from hearts to trailing waterfall tears of dark oil before it turns and floats away sobbing mechanically.
    ;___;
    But Wolf's arrival does not go unnoticed by the YoRHa androids.
    "Who are you?" 2B demands, stopping at the entrance of the castle to regard Wolf with a level stare. She doesn't question further than that, though, it's not her business beyond that if he's here to investigate, like the others, or is out for the potential Gardener's job reward. It's just a silent stare that lasts a beat from one professional to another, before she pushes the heavy castle doors open.
    The interior is... A sparse and blank chamber of dull grey stone, a single set of stairs leading up to the next chamber beyond... Which seems to be some kind of grand theater. There are rows of seats, a balcony above, and a massive stage... And no sooner than everyone enters the room, the curtains rise. Spotlights shine down...
    On a massive machine.
    Feminine in shape, with tattered red cloth draped over a metal gown to make for a shredded mockery of an elegand opera dress, the machine-woman turns around... Revealing that the dress is festooned with flayed android corpses, dangling from her crown and gown.
    The machine woman lowers her glowing red gaze to the arrivals and wait's just a beat's pause before she raises her arms and lifts her voice.
    "Laaaaaaaa...! LAAAAAAAAAAA...! LAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!"
    The sheer force of her voice is enough to send a concussive wave across the room that slams 9S off his feet, as she lowers from the stage and begins singing a deadly song of lasers and sonic waves.

    Uni watches the machine flee, then looks over to Weiss with a quirked brow. She knows that tone, very well.

    She follows along after 2B, putting the magazine away in her inventory. Josuke's going to have to find another source of bullets. The goddess follows, keeping her weapon ready, but the sight of the giant machine makes her red eyes widen... "They're using the bodies as decorations!" she exclaims, before getting blasted back by the force of the sonic wave.

    "I don't have the Share Energy for this!" she complains, picking herself up and leveling her weapon on the giant machine-woman. "Lightning Shot!" she calls, pulling the trigger and sending a volley of crackling electrical bolts at the machine-singer, trying to strike at places where there aren't those android corpses.

Emily bursts out laughing as Weiss suddenly takes Josuke's arm! She pauses when the heartbroken machine flees, then chuckles again. "Okay, that was perfect timing," she says to Weiss.

She maintains her cheer as they head into the castle, still just floating above the ground, with her feet at approximately shoulder-level. "A theater, hmm?" she murmurs. "Iiiiinteresting ..."

And the lights go on. She puts all four of her hands on her hips, smiling cheerfully at the machine ... and then she sees the bodies.

Her smile starts to look forced. "... Holy shit."

She grabs all four swords her swords from her back, and they light up with glowing pink circuit-board patterns as she charges forward, circles around slightly so as not to get hit by the lightning-shots from Uni, and then starts slashing at the machine's face.

     This 'Wolf', so addressed by Emily in the most obvious title available to an actual walking, fully-dressed, cigarette-smoking wolf man, lifts his brow at the greeting instead of actually speaking, but when Josuke decides to aim a question in his direction the lupine speaks a reply, "Always." Now, it's pretty typical for O'Donnell's type to be helping somebody in some way, even if it's just helping himself, but it usually never done out of the goodness of his heart. Altruism doesn't turn a profit. 

     As he speaks, smoke drifts from between his sharp teeth and from his nostrils. For having a general lack of expression, 'Wolf' certainly seems to be relaxed. Perhaps he is unaware of the full extent of the danger present. Perhaps he is fully aware yet is less sneaky now that there's a group with which to tag along. Or perhaps... Perhaps 'Wolf' has a very different set of plans and priorities and the assumption of his presence being a response to a call for investigation is simply a perfect front and he has no need to draw more attention to himself. 

     No need to do that when Sonia decides to do that for him, anyway. The six-foot-two wolf man almost visibly smiles -- if one can call the faintest of curls at the corners of the mouth of his thin black lips on that white muzzle a smile -- when asked who he is by the woman. There's a level of studious scrutiny on his behalf, too, regarding Sonia. A flick of the eye can, if noticed, give away his own quick sizing up of the Belmont's form, posture, and readiness. 2B's parroting query further adds to the question of the stranger's identity. A gesture with his cigarette points toward Emily. Sure, Emily barely knows O'Donnell, but chances are Emily has had plenty opportunity to know more of O'Donnell. 

     "Didn't you hear the pup?" Wolf asks, referring to Josuke, although his gesture was clearly a pointed emphasis on the 'name' Emily used. "I'm here to help." Sure. Let's go with that. This furry fellow may not be a robot, but he's not fully biological, either. Not entirely. Not anymore. If the numerous scars on his face, ears, and arms are any indication it's no surprise why this might be. 

     That should be all the explanation needed. It's all the explanation given. The armed and armored guy continues to tag along as allowed, though, and is ultimately exposed to the sight -- no, the presence -- that the others are drawn to witness. "Well, this explains the lost workers from Macbeth," Wolf states with a turn of the head to watch 9S deal with a rather stiff wave of sound. The swirling air doesn't seem to have quite the same effect on the tall mercenary, but it's not entirely due to his stout frame; nonetheless, the mohawk of a mane on his head and the scruffy fur of his tail are tousled by the forceful motion. "If you can't handle it, then stay behind me." 

     O'Donnell does not draw his gun, though, in order to fire as Uni does. Rather, he takes those first few seconds of engagement to study action and reaction. He does this standing still, too. While perhaps mistaken for hesitation, this is far from the truth. Still, an unmoving target is easier to hit...even if he announces some form of protection for anyone too weak otherwise. It's almost a defiant stance, at that.

You know, if Sonia was born just a few decades later, she'd have an instinctive and undying hatred for whomever designed this robot. Corsets were forever a bane then, after all. 

At least for what it's worth, Sonia doesn't have to worry about that. No no no, far and away the least troublesome thing to be concerned about. Like perhaps Wolf from mere moments before, for whom she very, /very/ much has an eye on, even now. She does as little as possible to give him any hints, because she recognizes that look he's giving her. But... all of that changes with their arrival here in this place.

Questioning the abusrdity is not something she can actually do--when the woman begins to 'sing', instinct, tension shifts ever so slightly, and in front of Sonia the air itself seems to shimmer as the concussive sound waves collide just a few inches from her--it still pushes her back, but not as much as it should a clearly normal woman, her forearm lifted up as though to shield herself from the maniacal scream. 

But wait, there's more! Lasers!

"Tch, almost like a stone cyclops." she mutters to herself, before leaping upwards--and twisting about--the cloak whirling around her as she swiftly sheathes the blade she was carrying moments prior and pulling loose... a whip? The leather strap unfurling to a good twenty-odd feet as it snakes outward like lightning to a part of the ceiling's lighting support. 

While there's no crack, she uses it to yank herself upwards in an arc towards one of the opera house's balconies, landing as the cloak she was wearing begins to fall apart. A grunt, and she pulls at the clasp, tearing it free and off of her, revealing a blonde figure in tall blue boots, a dark green armored unitard amidst dark violet gauntlets and a short coat. Really, if it weren't for the colors, she'd fit right in here. 

"Morbid," she notes, given the use of the Android bodies. "Not... unlike something I've faced," she admits with some regret. Still, given what's going on there's little time for dawdling or talking. After coiling her whip up partway, she leaps--somersaulting off of the balcony and spinning, keeping her body straight, but the spin makes the whip coil around her midsection, that as she lands, she keeps moving, keeps spinning, and builds up momentum to the point of /lashing/ the whip outwards at a blinding speed. 

And from the momentum build, crimson flame and divine light draws upwards through the Vampire Killer Whip--and with it a wave of searing white hot light aimed at the thing's head shaped like moon's crescent--and already moving in anticipation of the retaliation to come.

    "Wh-wha?" Josuke just seems absolutely flabbergasted at Weiss taking hold of his arm, and his blush becomes more obvious. "A-are you sure? I don't know if we should... split off from the rest of the group..." He trails off though, realizing that this robot could be an enemy. He doesn't want to reveal information to a possible enemy.

    ...Though it's also worthy to note that Josuke is not making any effort to pull away. Even if he does look a little confused and a LOT flustered. Cool? What cool? Ain't no cool here!

    Though there's a visible relaxing of tension when Sonia seems to accept the Stand. "Y-yeah," he agrees, to her assessment of not all spirits being 'born of the Night'. And he totally heard that capital 'N'. He'll want to ask her more about that, when there's time...

    When the girl-bot moves off, looking upset, Josuke winces a little. At least Josuke's first heart broken is a mechanical one -- it'll heal much faster, right?

    ...Right?

    He does nod to Wolf, though, not seeming bothered by his presence. Or his gruffness. It's kinda familiar, actually. Anyway. "More help's always appreciated," he notes. "I get the feeling we're gonna need it. Things are always the calmest right before the storm hits..."

    His words turn out to be... basically the truth, it seems. When the 'star' of the show appears, Josuke frowns at her outfit... and then is visibly disgusted at what's being used as 'decorations', once he realizes what they are. "It... it can't be..." It is. But he's Japanese, and 'it can't be' is a common Japanese expression of surprise. Uni speaks up as to the source of the issue before he can, but he adds, "That's horrible!" But before he can verbally lay into the creature like his bloodline demands he do...

    BAM!

    He resists the pressure of the sound wave for a scant few seconds before it shoves him right off his feet! Before he can get blasted completely out of the room, he summons Crazy Diamond, and the Stand grabs hold of his arm and stands before him, weathering the worst of the storm. Though that initial impact... that might be a trail of blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.

    A mental command from Josuke and the Stand is scooping Josuke up under an arm and running towards 9S, to make sure he doesn't get blasted completely out of the room either -- the Stand reaches out trying to grab hold of 9S's arm too, to steady him. "Hey, are you okay?" he calls over the din. Hopefully there's a wall he can leave the fellow propped against so he doesn't go tumbling or sailing.

    Once he's sure 9S isn't going to come to any further harm, he turns his attention back to the robot opera star from hell. He doesn't act immediately either, though. He's also waiting for a pattern. For a 'tune'. Because when he hears a lull, he's going to have Crazy Diamond THROW HIM AT THE THING with all its might.

    It's not going to leave him to splatter though. It disappears as he leaves its range, but then reappears once he gets close. He's actually aiming not for the head, but for the body -- the front. Why? Because, should he manage to get close to the 'ribbon' of flayed androids... Crazy Diamond will start a superspeed punch-flurry at the closest one he can get to. But it's not to destroy it. No, the Stand glows with an orange-gold aura -- he's going to try to start fixing them, one at a time. He can't bring life back to the dead... but an android is mechanical; if it's repaired, it should function normally! He hopes, anyway.

    Fortunately he's the only one that needs to hang on for dear life. Crazy Diamond can sort of float. But that does leave him kind of open to attack, and at the mercy of his own very human (even if considerable for a youth his age) strength.

    Her mission accomplished, Weiss lets go of Josuke. "No offense, but you aren't really my type. You just looked like you needed a little help." Cool toward him as before, but this does establish that she considers him an ally right? There's some level of trust there.

    More than Wolf, whose grumpy attitude is making her hypocritically eye him. Because she isn't the most friendly of sorts herself! That's all not important now though! It is just a little longer when she encounters giant opera woman. At fist it's just disturbing, but then a second glance makes her ice blue eyes widen... and then a greenish cast take over her features, sickly-looking and disbelieving at what she's seeing.

    Disgust can wait! "AH!" A shrill scream it is! Tumbling backward Weiss hits the wall hard, very hard, but shakes it off with surprising easy despite her frail looks! A whipping slash of her sword summons up a barrier underneath her, a glyph that shimmers with darkness and roots her in place.

    "I can keep you in one place, just let me know where to form a glyph!"

    It's an intense opening act, and the only thing that keeps 9S from getting launched clean out of the theater is Crazy Diamond reaching out and grabbing him.
    "I-I'm fine, thanks!" He's quick to rally, opting to stand behind Wolf for reasons all his own once the Star Wolf mercenary offers him a place of succour amid the chaos.
    He's analyzing.
    "We don't have any records of a machine like this!"
    But the attacks flow- Uni opens fire and Emily so conveniently aims for the singer's face, causing her to flail and... Scream.
    "No no no no NO!" Shrill and warbling as she tries to protect her face- only to retaliate with a sudden blase of sonic force.
    Sonia leaps up to the balcony... And is met with a grisly sight.
    Row upon row upon row upon row of metal beams and girders, bent into makeshift crosses and Y-shaped stands, each bearing a skinless android crucified upon them.
    Whatm ay be horrifying is how their heads lift up in silent unison, eyes glowing red as they open their mouths and scream. Echoing the singer's notes in bone-chilling unison, they howl wildly, sonic waves erupting from sputtering vocal emitters as the hunter's fireball impacts with the singer's head and jerks her neck with stunning force... And it does stun her- giving Josuke enough time to launch himself in and start repairing the android belt she wears.
    ... So then why do they scream at him, as well, as he does it?
    It is in that dazed, stunned moment, that a burst of data leaks from the machine...

    A vision of a tiny machine looking up to a much larger one with a top hat.
    "I know... I must become more beautiful... Adding lots of adornments will make me beautiful..."

    Yes where is 2B in all of this?
    Wolf is not the only person standing still. But where the mercenary is calculating, the YoRHa android is... Dazed... Stunned, standing slack-jawed and unmoving.
    "It's trying to hack 2B!" 9S shouts.
    Then... Then the singer jerks upright.
    "Beautiful... Beautiful...! I must be BEAUTIFUL!"
    Her scream is enough to shake the rafters, more crucifixes and more flayed androids dropping from the ceiling and screaming bloody murder as she...
    She turns her attention upon Weiss.
    "... Beautiful... ...  BEAUTIFUL... GIVE ME YOUR BEAUTY!" Demanded as she charges the young heiress, reaching out with claw-like hands.

    Uni grits her teeth, She doesn't have the output... a quick inventory tells her how much power she's got for her HDD form. Thirty seconds at full combat output... She can be seen weighing up her options, much like Wolf in some ways, while maintaining a steady stream of lightning-aspected shots. Laser beams rake past her, sonic waves belt against her, but she maintains her footing as sprays of damaged red code fly from her like blood sprays.

    And that's when the machine goes for Weiss.

    Uni's reaction is instant. "ACCESS!" She cries, turning on her heel to move towards where the heiress is fighting. Mid-step, she's engulfed in a white pillar of light, emerging in the form of Black Sister to interpose herself between Weiss and the onrushing Machine Singer. "Hey ugly, I've got your beauty RIGHT HERE!"

    The EX Multi Blaster begins belching out volleys of lightning shots, stronger than before, while those that miss begin to hang in the air around the Machine. "I've been working on this one for a while... how do you like this?! DOLCE VIDA!"

    With a snap of her fingers, all those hanging bolts redirect at the Machine again, showering it from all sides, before a large 'hole' of yellow energy erupts beneath it.

>> GAME >> Uni spends an Edge for: Transforming to Black Sister

    "--What...?!"

    It's about all Josuke has time for, when a SCREAM echoes from the 'belt' of androids as well, and he goes flying, with a yelp of pain and surprise. Crazy Diamond disappears as its user goes flying back from the stage, crashing into a row of seats with enough force to break them. He doesn't immediately get up.

    When he does manage to pull himself out of the wreckage, he is bleeding. There's also probably a piece of one of the seats stuck in his back, but screw that. More important things to deal with. That is, however, definitely a human. He bleeds like one, moves like one when he's injured.

    He does get up in time to hear that 2B is being hacked, however... and narrows his eyes. Or he might just still be in pain. Forcing his injured body to move as fast as he can manage, he moves over to 2B. His Stand reappears... is he going to try to TAKE HER OUT, before she can be hacked and turned against them?! As it turns out?

    No, he isn't.

    Crazy Diamond glows with that orange-gold aura again, and this time, instead of punching, the Stand makes to gently place its hands on either side of her face. And yes, Josuke is trying to 'unhack' 2B. He can 'fix' energy and revert it to its original source; he's done it before. And data is just energy, right? In case it doesn't work though, he starts trying to get through to her. "2B! Come on, you can fight it!"

    ...As an aside, Josuke is really, dangerously close to the super-fast, super-strong robot girl with the katana. If she doesn't wake up, if the hacking is successful...

    ...He's probably going to die very quickly...

     It's an impressive sight, to be sure. Mechanical development is fairly advanced and the use of AI in mechanically engineered constructs is rather commonplace from where Wolf is from. Facing down a large creation like this is not something new for him. Independently created, owned, and operated giant sentries are things that are sometimes emplaced as a security measure against intruders and trespassers. Every sentry has its weakness. One simply needs to find and exploit it. 

     Whether by offensive action or by defensive tumble, it would seem that the group splits apart. Some take on a full attack while others, like Wolf, offer defense and support. 9S takes up the opportunity to use the tall muscular lupine as a meat shield. Whether acting fully independent or somehow as a single unit is yet to be seen as attacks are given of different kinds at different angles. The resulting symphony of screams is enough to shake one's very bones. O'Donnell's ears go flat at the sound, but he stands steadfast. Weiss, having been blown away, is effectually behind where Wolf stands his ground in the face of such looming danger. 

     The charge given toward Weiss is something that Wolf won't have any part of, though. "Watch it, Blondie," warns he to YoRHa No. 9 Type S and actively takes a steps back toward him in order to let his personal bubble of shielding envelop him, at least partially, while holding out his left arm protectively. His right arm finally draws his hand cannon energy blaster in preparation to try to interrupt the charge, but Uni takes a greater offensive edge. 

     "Stop attacking this machine like it's a person!" Wolf O'Donnell yells. "It's just a machine; it's peripherals don't matter. Wear a hole in its armored defense and ruin its internals. That dress isn't just for show!" In order to demonstrate, the Lylatian space pirate picks a single plate that comprises the dress and begins to repeated fire. He doesn't use elemental damage like many insist on using. He doesn't intend to disrupt electronics. He simply aims to help paint a spot in which to melt a hole. One good grenade would be fun to toss into such a thing. If anything, Wolf's excellent shield defense should keep 9S out of harm's way unless O'Donnell himself comes under direct fire. Such a shield doesn't last forever against such imposing danger. 

     "I'll level this entire building if I have to to stop this theft."

As much as Emily usually likes to play it cool, or at least play it laughing-at-everything, there's an uncharacteristic sharpness to her movements, a rawness that seems fairly ... un-Emily-like.

And it causes her to get knocked back by the sonic attack. She staggers back in midair, clutching her stomach for some reason (the reason: that's where her CPU core is at the moment); the sword she was holding in that hand floats next to her. She's also gained a few "rips" of silver where her nanomachines were damaged.

Her eyes go wide as she receives the data, and she goes still for a split second.

And then she breaks into a wide smile. "Beauty, huh?" she says. "I get that." The swords dematerialize for a moment, her legs vanish, and her torso expands until it's about seven feet tall with her head expanding to match. A ruff appears behind her, her clothing becomes an elegant white ballgown, and a hologram of a long white skirt appears ...

... She's transforming herself more-or-less into a copy of the machine in front of her, except actually beautiful.

She glances around. Okay, Josuke is in bad shape, but she can't do anything about that, and he's handling 2B. Uni's gone super and Wolf's offering sound advice. So Emily's free to act in her own way.

"Congratulations, you've failed in your attempt to find beauty," she announces. The nanomachines which previously created her swords swirl together, creating ... a huge sword, twelve feet long and two feet wide; she holds it upright. "You are the ugliest Machine Lifeform I've ever seen!"

And then she lets go of the sword, which simply falls over onto the machine, letting its weight form the brunt of the damage. The sword then disappears, and returns to Emily in a swirl of glitter.

That's horrifying. No, that really is. If anything, before she launched her attack, heading up to the balcony and catching sight of that was enough to galvanize her even more. They may not be fully 'human' but the symbolism is not lost on her. Not in the slightest. 

And it's perhaps made worse by the crucified Androids screaming out in sync--the implication adding to the trouble of the missing Androids. She grits her teeth, an almost savage kind of energy radiating out of her. "Bodies up here too," she harshly calls out to the others. "Androids." The implied horror of it all. And with what she sees Josuke doing--no, /feels/ what he's doing, she stiffens. "N... no." And with her left hand, the right still gripping the whip tightly, energy begins to coalesce, making the air around her distort, then bands and ribbons of light coalescing into solid form. She'll have to trust Josuke to not get, y'know, horribly maimed as she lashes out with her whip towards one of the massive Machine's limbs, ideally to try and restrict its movement a little bit. But the real point of it is to take advantage of one of it's swings to use it to launch herself upwards. 

...and once launched, to unleash waves of her Arcane Soul outward--not so much at the Machine Singer, but at the bodies atop its macabre dress, the woman in mid air and falling gracefully up and over after slinging herself overhead. Maybe tarnishing that so-called 'beauty' will do something to confound it. 

And by tarnishing it, we mean waves upon waves of disruptive energy that's perfect for shredding the those bodies. Even if she senses something partly alive, she also feels... that they need to be released. Somehow. That their existence is nothing but suffering right now, and they need not to be repaired, but rid of the suffering. Though... hopefully, Josuke won't be at odds with Sonia over this. 

    There are a lot of things to keep track of here. Weiss concentrates, flipping her sword over as if she is going to summon something. "Oh no," she whispers, hearing something about hacking. That's not good! She hurries to try a summoning, but she doesn't get the chance before the massive robotic foe is rushing toward her, because of the natural choice as the most lovely of the opponents.

    Weiss is better, but still kind of vain.

    She has to divert. "AH!" A short shout is all she can manage, and a spin of the cylinder! The impact that comes toward her is one that encounters a blast of billowing flame, a brief impact of her flame shield against the attack.

    It isn't meant to harm Simone. It's so Weiss can survive, thrown back again and hitting the ground hard, but without a direct hit on her small frame. "Nnh. Thanks..." She did see someone - Uni - blasting it for her. It's kind of nice actually having a semblance of teamwork again.

    It's a horrific nightmare of a battlefield, flayed androids screaming bloody murder, a psychotic singer, and lasers everywhere. Weiss is spared from a violent skin-ripping assault as Uni leaps into the fray, the barrage of lightning shots staggering the machine-singer heavily, ripping apart plated and armor, revealing an ugly conglomeration of mix-matched parts all jam packed beneath.
    "NO NO NO NO NO!" The singer screams as fire focuses and converges upon her...
    But not before 2B jerks where she stands, the contact of Crazy Diamond's hands on her face making the android rattle and shudder, before her fingers clench around the hilt of her katana.
    "... Thanks..."
    9S skids to a halt from within the cover of Wolf's shield, looking flummoxed at Josuke. "--How did you-... I was counterhacking and... But..."
    It's a discussion to be saved for later though as fire converges. Wolf designates a target and unloads, adding to the endless flurry of Uni's rays.
    As the singer jerks bodily with every renewed shot wearing her down, Sonia finds a perfect opening to swing in, her raw magical strength raining on the belt of androids on that dress, freeing them from their agony in the only way possible at this point.
    "NONONONONONONO!" The singer has devolved now, to wild panicked flailing, armor plating flying everywhere before her attention locks in on... Emily.
    "NO! NO! SAVE ME! SOMEONE SAVE ME!" Her final howl resounds in a monstrous echo through the theater as that blade falls, in unison with a bright beam of light from 2B's pod, and the deluge of endless lasers focused upon her-- the machine singer falls to pieces in a violent explosion with one final scream of agony, before the music hall falls to stone dead silence.

Emily sighs with relief. Her holograms vanish, and in a swirl of silvery glitter, she transforms into a more-or-less ordinary human woman with auburn hair and robotic-looking eyes, dressed in the red and yellow dress she gave herself in the carnival. She's looking physically very tense, and her jaw is clenched. "You know, it's not physically possible for me to throw up," she says, "and yet somehow I still feel nauseated." Emily isn't bothering to hide it anymore; she is rattled.

She pauses and looks around. "That thing broadcasted some data," she says quietly. "... She ... was originally this dinky little Machine Lifeform called Simone, who wanted to show off for a Machine Lifeform in a top hat named Jean-Paul. And ... the Machine Lifeforms had a rumor that you could become beautiful by ... eating androids?" She sighs softly, and runs a hand through her hair. "... In other news, ow, on several levels."

With adrenaline abating for a moment, Sonia draws a gloved hand up to wipe away just a hint of crimson from the corner of her lips, though her eyes are lingering for a few moments on Emily given the visage she took. Partly because of becoming that... copy, the other because of what she's saying. "... cannibalism for... what." Her flat tone belies a sense of disgust that no other words can even properly produce. 

A slight look to where Simone just recently exploded from, and even if a breeze of wintry wind rises from her to ease the ache of the sonic attacks from before, she begins to coil and gather the whip she was using and attaching it to the clip at her belt. "Monsters. No matter the place, it never seems to change. Comforting, if troubling at the same time," she notes with a sense of resigned acceptance. 

Shaking her head, she looks to some of the androids she effectively shredded with her magic. "They were part of her. Like empty vessels chained to her." Her eyes shimmer with a faint luminescence as she extends her senses about the arena for a few moments more... and seems to be satisfied at least for now. "Mmn." Is the most she feels like offering at that point, as she moves to collect the remnant of her cloak and pulling it over her shoulders again. It's... tattered, damn near falling apart, but it's better than nothing. Nothing seems to change--one hunt leads to another, she privately muses. 

    Uni pants for breath. If it's possible for a goddess to sweat, by the Four she's got a river running. White hair mattes out a bit, the twin-drills drooping. Procsesors flicker with physical static, as if they're almost about to dissolve away into nothing. "Nnngh... times up." she murmurs, falling to the floor in a heap as her HDD mode fizzles out, melting off of her like one might take something from within one of those soluable capsules some toys come in... Black Sister evaporating in white and black and silver motes, leaving the black-haired girl to sit slumped on her knees, trying to recover.

    Emily's revelation about the singer makes her frown a bit, red eyes looking over the wreckage. "It's sad... in a way... she did all of this, turned herself into a monster... for something she couldn't have."

    Slowly Uni stands up, and moves over to help Weiss to her feet as well. "You okay?" she asks the heiress.

     Wolf actually turns away from the climactic explosion. No doubt flying debris and shrapnel strike the air around Wolf; a flicker of light crackles with each and every piece, but the protection holds. Mostly. His shield's capacitor was greatly weakened by the barrage of laser fire around the hall during the confrontation. That wall of wolf and energy offers Nines plenty of defense against harm even as part of the shielding yields and a shard of metal finds O'Donnell's shoulder. His good eye barely winces, but briefly becomes unfocused at the sharp sensation. A soft voice gruffly asks of the one he now faces, "You okay, pup?" 

     Now, in the heat of battle Wolf's cold nature regarding machines was apparent, but perhaps it was due to Simone's lack of dialogue and a drive fueled by desperate frenzy that marked her as but a simple machine in his eye. He's not necessarily a bigot regarding 'artificial' life, but there is certainly a very shifted point of view on the matter. 

     Wolf slowly works to stand, having dropped to a knee upon being struck and slightly impaled in the shoulder by a fist-sized piece of metal, and after a wobble he seems to be fine...despite bleeding down his back. "Job's not done. Not sure what the state of things are outside, but I need to find the machines that were stolen." Again, 'machines' is used. It's a very stark contrast compared to the worry(?) and kindness(?) displayed toward 9S in the scuffle. 

     "If they can be salvaged, I'll get a bigger check. Don't feel sorry for that one, though. She made her own choices and all choices have consequences. You have to ask yourself if this could have ended any other way."

    Josuke sighs in relief as 2B seems to come back to herself, and the Stand moves back. It doesn't quite disappear, because there's still danger. He does look up to 9S though, with a nod. "I'll tell ya later," he promises.

    Then everything seems to explode in fire and vibrations, and Josuke takes cover behind his Stand; Crazy Diamond crosses his arms to block as much of the thing's death throes as possible, but he and his stand are still pushed back.

    He doesn't relax until everything falls silent. It's only then that he steps out from behind Crazy Diamond. And he sighs. "Geez, that was close..." he notes. Emily's words draw his attention, and he listens with a thoughtful pout on his face. When she gets to the part about 'eating androids', he makes a disgusted face. "Ugh... why would anybody believe that?" He shudders. And then he mutters under his breath, "...This world is SO screwed up..."

    Josuke looks at Sonia then. "I guess people will believe some crazy things," he offers. "There was once a woman that believed she'd stay young if she bathed in blood." He knows a little about that story, not much -- enough to know it was historical rather tha mythological. ...He thinks? Though he notes her cloak and offers, "I can try to fix that for you if you want. It'll only take a second or two."

    Though he does have some thoughts of his own. Walking over to one of the destroyed androids ner Sonia, he crouches down and examines it. "It didn't occur to me until 9S said something about it trying to hack 2B... these androids were under her control." Going from referring to the thing as 'it', to referring to it as 'her', tellingly.

    Uni's words also get a nod, and a sigh. "It's too bad... but after someone passes a certain point, they can't really come back. After that, they've changed themselves too much... become something that's no longer 'them'..." His voice is slightly distant, as though he might have a little idea of how that works.

    To the group at large, he offers, his head bowed, "...That was kinda stupid of me... it gave her more vectors of attack, and made things ten times worse. I'm sorry." He does sound honestly contrite about it. Wolf's words prompt him to look up quickly. "...Hey! Now that she's gone, maybe I can fix them properly, and they won't attack! I mean, I don't know if there's enough of them left, but I'll bet if I can, you'd get a really big paycheck!" He knows what it's like to be motivated by money, after all...

    That's good that Simone was defeated. Getting hit directly is bad for Weiss... her aura protects her, but she's still the most physically frail of the RWBY team, that's why she uses her summons so much. She eyes Uni's hand as she sits up... then takes it, climbing to her feet with her hand brushing her dress off. "I think so. My Aura caught the brunt of it, just a little shaken and bruised." And green around the gills.

    Josuke's idea has her looking doubtful, but she nods anyway. "Maybe... I don't think anyone deserves that. What is wrong with this world?" Sigh.

    "That's not possible. Machines don't have feelings."
    That. Was 2B. Replying to Emily. Though she's leaning on her katana where the point is embedded into the ground, her voice; normally so full of conviction, is faltering. That normally stern frown is replaced with a thin-lipped expression that is patently difficult to read.
    Even the normally stoic 2B seems to have been shaken.
    For now she will have no part in the philosophical debate of monsters and what makes them from harmless machines, and the tragedy therein.
    9S on the other hand...
    "I-I'm fine, just shaken. I'm not made for direct combat like that" A pause. "... Pup?" He sounds genuinely baffled there, but doesn't go to any length to turn down the pet name either, as he rubs his head.
    "So... Bad news everyone. Most of the Black Box signals dropped as soon as the machine was taken out... The YoRHa androids circuits are all fried. I can't say for the offworld androids; maybe they can be repaired or at least salvaged, yeah."
    He then pauses.
    "... Bathing in blood sounds gross. I prefer normal baths.
    "You don't even need baths, just follow regular cleaning protocols, 9S." 2B chides.
    "--But baths feel so good!"