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[ Threat: Extremely Dangerous]|[ Despair ]|[ Title: Demon of Light and Hope]|

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Betsy smiled as she heard Mirai explain the realm, looking like she was lost in a daydream. "I so wish I could do that," she sighed. Lt. Laurell looked pretty excited too. "Aww, I want to see it too!" She replied. Captain Cross listened to Mirai with a more military interest. "Sounds like this kishin you keep talking about is trouble if witches are keeping track of him as well. Though I suppose that's understandable given the circumstances."

April May looked at Lily skeptically. Hmm." Was all she said in reply. "Wonder what she would think of us? Though 'course we couldn't get anywhere near her without being spotted as Fauxes. I'd hate to wonder what kitsunes'd do if they got their hands on one of us Fauxes."

Lt. Kiea continued patting Melanie on the head before she finished watching the suds off of her back. "All done!" She told Melanie cheerily. It seemed the girls were mostly done with the shower even though the steam hadn't vented yet.

Captain Otoya brightened as he heard Despair. "That's right! Yeah, I bet you have some awesome augments!" Lt. May looked up at Despair and nodded nervously, signaling he was ready for Despair to make his move. "Okay, ready when you are."

On the roof, Texas breathed a sigh of relief. It looked like his plan was working.

"Thank you Kiea"
Melanie said as she felt more refreshed, suddenly the wavelength created by despair dissipated the steam causing it to reveal all the other girls which started acting mad, furious about it.
To which Melanie cocked an eyebrow and turned over to Kiea.
"What's going on?"
For a moment, there was a flashback on her head. Which made her pause from the current moment in development.
When she reacted, Mirai was already lunging at Despair attempting to slam her fist against the demon.
Melanie sighed while looking over at Kiea, smiling lightly as she felt like hugging her, she was just too cute. Who would have imagined that machinist could be actual people?
The redhead giggled to this and turned to see the resolution of Despair and Mirai's actions.

Changing up her clothes Melanie would follow after the girls.

-minutes later-

While there was a chatter with the boys, Melanie fooled around the camp. Exploring this civilization.
Making sure to note the graveyards location for future references.

[[Timeskip 15 minutes]]

Melanie, Mirai, Lily and Texas were all gathered in the Command Tent along with the rest of the Command Staff. This time there were several rows of other officers sitting down nearby, their chairs facing the center of the room where the DWMA team and the rest of the Command Staff was, standing over a map of the ruins of the Mobile Headquarters. Of course, it was only a partial map considering the vast majority of the place was still unexplored. Something was different about this meeting though. The door to the tent was closed and locked. There was a tension in the air so thick it could be cut with a knife. The incident with the showers seemed to have been all but forgotten at the moment by the Command Staff and they all wore tense expressions as they stood over the map. The inside of the tent was stifling hot with all the people in the enclosed space, but no one made a move to open the tent door and let more air in. Some of the officers already had sweat running down the sides of their faces. Captain Cross was the first to speak. "Where's the Guardsman?" She asked. Captain Otoya looked over at her. "Gone. He was summoned by the Gene Children." Captain Cross let out a sigh of relief. "Good. Then we don't have to worry about him for the moment." The Officers all fell silent. They were all clearly there for a reason yet no one seemed to want to be the first one to say it out loud. Finally, Captain Cross spoke. "Well....the Gene Children sure put us in a bit of a tight spot," she began, placing both hands on the map table and leaning slightly forward. "We underestimated them. They may be good at giving speeches but it's more than just talk. They're cunning and we let them maneuver us into a difficult position." Nobody else spoke though it was obvious there was a consensus among the gathered officers about that. Captain Cross stood up straight again. "They've sent us on this mission to get the BAMID blueprints so we can build one and begin to augment people. And that's all well and good but we all know who the Gene Children are going to give augments to first." Another brief silence. "Their supporters. The ones who are loyal to them among the refugees. Those are the people they want to survive. The sheep that will follow them anywhere. Anyone they perceive as a threat to their power will have to "wait in line" for their augmentations. And the majority of them will probably have died of something by the time it's "their turn" to get them. That's how the Gene Children will eliminate any threats to their power and ensure the survival of their supporters without having to lift a finger. And we're delivering the means to do it right to them. At the risk of our own lives of course." Captain Schifo spoke next. "On the other hand, it's a mission we can't refuse. If we do, the Gene Children will simply tell the people that they can't be saved through augmentation due to a rebellion by the Officers and everyone will turn on us. Either way, they win." Captain Otoya grit his teeth. "I can't believe this. How stupid ARE these people? Can't they see through the Gene Children's bullcrap? They talk about saving The Machinist Order and protecting our future but they have no idea what the Hell they're doing. They're relying on us to do the work while THEY take credit for it and build up their own supporters." Captain Cross nodded. "They know how to make a good speech and how to tell people what they want to hear. And people buy into it, especially in desperate times like these. But they just want power. Then of course once they manage to outfit enough of their supporters with military augments, they'll no longer have any need for us and..." nobody wanted to finish that sentence. "They'll seize control of everything. Anyone who gets in their way will be crushed or eliminated. They'll establish their own little kingdom among themselves and toss the original purpose of The Machinist Order right out the window so they can rule as tyrants. The very thing we fought so hard to free humanity from. But they're ignorant and arrogant. So self-absorbed it makes me sick. I give it 5 years before it all comes crashing down around them because they're too full of themselves to realize when they make mistakes."

Meanwhile, Despair was led through the Gene Children's miniature fortress by a guard until he reached a large door. The guard knocked politely on the door. My Lord, Guardsman Schwartz as you requested," he called. "Come in," a familiar voice replied. The guard opened the door, letting Despair inside before closing the door behind him, leaving him alone in the room with Prince Damien. The Prince had his back to Despair but turned to face him once they door shut. "Guardsman, it's good to see you again," The Prince told him with a serpentine smile. "It's good to finally have a military man who knows where his loyalties lie." The Prince walked forward until he was standing in front of Despair. "I called you here because unfortunately, I can't say the same for many of your fellow Officers. I'm sure you've noticed. I doubt they've seemed too pleased with your presence. They fear you, as they should. Because they know the strength of a true solider loyal to our Saint." Prince Damien turned around again, walking over to a cushioned chair and taking a seat. He waved for Despair to take a seat across from him in a similar chair. "And that is what I wished to discuss with you. I do believe that some of our more senior officers are...plotting a bit of a power grab. These upstart cookie-cutter soldiers believe THEY know Saint Clara's will better than us, who were raised and trained by her personally." Prince Damien leaned forward, smiling once again. "But as you and I both know, they're wrong. It is we who were chosen to lead The Machinist Order into a brighter future, and we who are meant to liberate humanity. It's quite literally in our genes. The mission I've sent them on tomorrow is one that will be critical to our success. We need that blueprint to rise up out of these ashes. But I've no doubt that even now those uniformed rats are plotting on how they could use this situation to their advantage. They want to control who gets augmented. They'll augment those who support them and dethrone us by force. This we cannot allow." Prince Damien leaned back in his chair, still smiling. "But of course, simply arresting and eliminating these...troubling elements will make a scene. It will give the message that we, The Gene Children, cannot even control our own military. We can't have that." A slight frown crossed Prince Damien's face. "If only Saint Clara were here. She would put these upstarts in their place and have this situation back under control in no time..." with this statement Prince Damien would seem to be genuine for the very first time. Even the Gene Children admired her. "And perhaps she will be again. But for now, it is our duty to keep this dream alive." Prince Damien looked at Despair calmly from where he sat. "But I can't do that with rats nipping at my heels, and I can't stamp out the rats myself. However....the mission you all will undertake will be an extremely dangerous one. I've no doubt that...The Command Staff will suffer numerous casualties. Battlefields are dangerous places after all. Anything may happen to them and if would have to be chocked up to death in combat. It would be a loss but I'm sure we could manage." He paused for a moment, giving a slight nod. "Though the only one I would truly miss is Captain Belle Cross. I do hope she returns safe and sound. She still has a role to play in the coming days." He looked at Despair evenly, his expression betraying nothing. "If you serve The Gene Children, Saint Clara's inheritors, faithfully then you have my word that you will have a prominent place in the rebuilt Machinist Order."

Back in the Command Tent the meeting among the Command Staff was still going on. "I'm telling you, this mission is a trap!" Captain Otoya was saying. "The entire Command Staff all on this one mission? Come on!" "We don't know that," Captain Starla cut in. "A mission this important: to recover the blueprints that can save thousands of lives, it would make sense to send the best of what we have." "Yes, but..." Captain Otoya trailed off. "Do you truly believe even the Gene Children would do something like that?" Lieutenant Marison asked. "I don't know, and that's what worries me," Captain Cross answered. Lt. Laurell slammed her fist down on the table. "If only Saint Clara were here....she'd put those brats in their place. They hadn't even finished half their training when the Mobile Headquarters went up. If she were here she'd clear this up right away and get us back on track." "Well she ain't!" Captain Cross replied in a harsh tone. "And it's no use wishing she was. We're on our own for now." Lieutenant Laurell looked at Captain Cross. "She'll come back. She wouldn't let herself get killed by something like that. And she won't leave us on our own. She'll come for us. I know it." Captain Cross looked back at her. "Well, until then we have to deal with this ourselves. So short of open insurrection, how can we keep The Gene Children from using the BAMID to set themselves up for power as soon as we build it?" There was a silence among the Officers. No one seemed to have an immediate answer.