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The dogs turned out to be easy marks and the combined efforts of The Machinists and DWMA students made short work of them. Even though the situation quickly became hopeless for the dogs, not a single one of them retreated or showed the slightest bit of fear. No sooner had the last dog died than Cassie broke ranks and ran up to Captain Otoya, a clear look of worry on her face. "Otoya!" She cried. Captain Otoya looked down at her with a slightly surprised expression. "Cassie?" He asked. Cassie stood in front of him, her hands clenched against her chest. "I-I thought....I thought you were..." she trailed off after a moment. There was a brief moment of silence before a big grin broke out over Lieutenant Kiea's face. "I knew it! You LIKE him!" She called out, pointing at Cassie. Cassie's face turned beet-red. "I do NOT! I'm just glad we've almost found everyone!" She quipped back defensively. Captain Schifo looked at the two of them, scratching the back of his head. "What...? I thought she hated him...?" He said to no one in particular. "That's 'cause guys are dumb," Lieutenant Kiea informed him. Captain Otoya was still looking somewhat surprised. "Wait...what? Is...do you?" "No!" Protested Cassie. Captain Otoya was about to respond when there was a loud screeching of metal above them. The team would look up to see the burned out shell of a large tanker truck hanging off the edge of the ruined overpass. Emblazoned on the side of the truck was a biohazard symbol. Before anyone could react, the tank on the back of the truck burst open, releasing a waterfall of green acidic liquid. Captain Otoya reacted quickly, shoving Cassie to the side and out of the way. Unfortunately this left him completely exposed to the falling acid that would cover him in moments.

Decision: (Lily Only)

Lily's unique elemental abilities combined with her experience in using them are the only thing that can save Captain Otoya from his gruesome fate. Freezing the acid before it hits Otoya will save his life, but with the Kitsunes and Machinists being enemies, Lily's altruism will raise suspicions that she is not the simple pleasure kitsune they believe her to be...

1. Intervene to freeze the acid before it hits Captain Otoya
Adds 1 Suspicion Point

2. Don't do anything
Adds 0 Suspicion Points, but Captain Otoya will die

Although Lily's warning was heard, it was too late to be acted upon. The acid rained down unimpeded and the results were as horrific as one might expect. "Oh Hell!" Were the last words Captain Otoya would ever say. The acid drenched him and in seconds his skin began to boil and melt. His clothing and body seemed almost to meld together before coming off in layers, exposing his flesh and muscle. His face quickly became unrecognizable and Cassie stared at him, wide-eyed and unable to speak. After several more moments even his flesh and muscle was gone, leaving a skeleton that quickly collapsed on itself and fell to the ground. There was a moment of silence before Cassie let out a strangled sob. "Otoya!" She shakily got to her feet, clearly not in her right mind. She slowly started walking towards the remains of Captain Otoya, her eyes wide as she began to talk. "No....Otoya....I'm sorry...I didn't mean it..." she sobbed, not taking her eyes off of Otoya's remains. "I do like you....I do....please....don't go..." She reached the remains and made like she was going to pick them up before April and Kiea rushed forwards, grabbing and pulling her back. She didn't resist, instead standing limply as the other two girls held her.

Captain Schifo stared at the scene, all other sounds around him blocked out by a dull ringing in his ears. He felt numb. After everything that had happened in this hell, they had finally found another ranking Captain. Someone who could help him shoulder the burden of leadership. Someone who could help him make the tough decisions rather than them being left all up to him. Someone who was a friend. And now he was gone. Captain Schifo slowly walked over to one of the ruined pillars holding up what was left of the overpass and leaned against it slightly, seeming like he was in complete shock. Lieutenant Kiea and and April were still holding Cassie, barely able to keep themselves together as well. Cassie finally looked back at them. "We're all going to die here, aren't we?" She choked out slowly. Cassie's morale had been completely broken. "There's nothing we can do....we're....we're finished.....it's just a matter of time..." Lieutenant Kiea and April opened their mouths to protest but no words came out, and Captain Schifo didn't even look in her direction.

Texas grit his teeth as he watched the scene unfold. The Machinists from the refugee camps had been through so much, and yet here they were going through more and more. It was no surprise they were having trouble holding it together after all this. If Schifo was killed, the entire Command Staff of the Machinists in the refugee camp would just be Lieutenants, the lowest ranking officers in the military. It was as he watched the despair of The Machinists that the pieces finally fell into place. He had been unsure as to why Baiva had chosen this time or location to try and change the course of The Machinist Order. He had assumed it had to do with acquiring the augmentation machine, but that had only been part of it. He let out a slow breath as the larger picture finally dawned on him. The entire reason behind the mission. What they were truly there to do. He knew what it was now....and he knew they were failing.

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

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Texas looked back and forth between Despair and Mirai. Both of their arguments had their points: on one hand Texas definitely thought it would be best to get out of here as soon as possible, but on the other he didn't want to push everyone too hard. Captain Schifo seemed to be having the same conundrum as he slowly looked first at Despair and then Mirai. He was still in shock and to him it sounded like their voices were underwater. Still, he could make out what they were saying. He turned around and seemingly walked off before jumping up onto a ruined pillar and then higher up onto the overpass itself. He looked around for a few moments before jumping off the side and landing in front of them again. "There's a motel not far from here. It looks mostly intact. The upper floors at least. We can rest there." Both his tone and his expression were blank, but his voice still had authority left in it. With that he turned and began walking, presumably in the direction of the motel. "Fall in," was all he said in the same tone. April and Kiea looked at each other for a moment before gently taking Cassie and walking with her to follow the Captain. Texas looked over at Mirai. "I guess we're going to recover for now," he told her. He paused for a moment. "Don't worry Mirai, we'll get through this. Captain Schifo he's....obviously a little out of it right now, but I'm sure he heard what you said. We can still make it through this, it's not over yet." He then looked over at Lily. "Can you still move on your own?" He asked her.

As the group came out from under the ruined overpass, the motel Captain Schifo was referring to came into view. Captain Schifo hadn't been kidding about just the upper floors being intact. In fact, the upper floors were the only floors remaining. The lower floors had collapsed entirely into rubble, making the motel seem as if it were somehow built upon a ruin. The remaining floors had once been the upper 30 floors of the large motel, indicating that before the Mobile Fortress was destroyed it had been quite a sight indeed. The name of the motel had once been hanging in neon lights from the roof, though all that remained now was the first letter: a "C" painted bright red and covered in now-defunct lights. There was only twisted metal where the other letters had once hung. Nevertheless it was still clear that the motel had, back when the Mobile Headquarters was still operating, been a very luxurious one indeed. The outside walls were covered in gold, stylistic swirl patterns and each of the "upper" floors had a balcony that once looked out onto the rest of the city.

Fortunately the walk wasn't far and the group made it to the ruined building unmolested. Obviously there was no door for them to enter, but a large hole in the side of the building did just fine. Once inside the group would find that the interior of the building had suffered surprisingly little damage. Apparently it had been built somewhat sturdier than the buildings surrounding it, though that hadn't done much for the lower floors. The new "ground floor" was nothing but rubble and the group had to watch their step as they crunched over broken tile and twisted metal until they found a stairwell leading to the higher floors. Captain Schifo wordlessly led them up the stairs, going higher and higher until they finally stopped on the top floor. Once they had entered the hallway of the top floor, Captain Schifo closed the stairwell door, using his augmented strength to twist the handles of the door into a pretzel and tying them together so that the door could no longer be opened from either side. Finally, he spoke again. "We're going to find two rooms across from each other, one for the men and the other for the women and we'll rest up there." Texas asked the question that was surely on many of their minds. "How long?" Captain Schifo looked over at Texas. "Until I decide we're ready," he replied simply. Texas nodded. It was as good an answer as they could hope for at the present.

It took the group a surprisingly short time to find two intact rooms across from each other. In fact, it seemed the majority of the rooms on this floor were intact. The electronic locks on the door had failed once the internal generator on the lower floors had been crushed and all of the doors were unlocked. The hotel room doors opened onto a dark but luxurious scene. Apparently the top floor had been the penthouse rooms. Both of the rooms across from each other were identical. The carpets were lush velvet and one's feet easily sank into them once they walked into the room. The beds and pillows were just as cushy. There were two beds per room, each one with its own drapes hanging over them. Each room also had a large bathroom with a hot tub and shower though unfortunately neither were working, as well as a door that led out onto a large balcony extending from the building. Captain Schifo looked back at the gathered group. "Alright then, we'll all get some rest. But first, Kiea I want you to scout the rest of the floor and seal off any doors that lead to the lower floors. I don't want anything being able to stroll in here while we sleep." Lieutenant Kiea saluted Captain Schifo. "Sir!" She replied. "Guardsman, if you would accompany her in this task please," Captain Schifo requested, keeping his tone civil. He looked at the others. "I'll be reviewing our situation....the rest of you try and get some rest for now." With that he turned and strode into the room designated for the males before disappearing out onto the balcony. Texas turned to look at Mirai, Lily and April. "Let's um...get Cassie settled in first," he suggested, glancing at the still, silent form of Cassie who still appeared to be in total shock.