As the cool evening breeze brushed against her face, Melissa closed her eyes, before opening them once more and gazing down at the street before her. While some had already begun to turn in for the night, other nocturnal beings had just begun to awaken, meaning that the street was still alive with activity.

Many of the daylight shops had already closed, but the ROB did find a few that were still open, and among those, ones that tickled her fancy. She purchased a few articles of clothing and a nice looking piece of art, which she promptly teleported back to her hub universe, ensuring one of her servants was on standby to pick them up. With that out of the way, she returned her attention the city streets.

Despite all of the myriad races and hyper advanced technologies present in her pawn's federation, the scene before her was one that would not looked out of place in twenty first century Earth. Cars and other vehicles breezed by on the street, occasionally stopping so that their occupants could do business, before moving on. Those who had lawns or plants to manage were busy caring for them right now, watering them before night came or trimming them back now that it was cooler. Above, birds flew about, careless to the struggles of others, while pedestrians makes their way across the sidewalks, some walking dogs or similar creatures.

Briefly, the female ROB stopped her walk to observe an empty field at the edge of the town. Here, a group of children seemed to be playing a game of catch. Many were human, but others were of different races, be they ones that the Comamder had crested, or ones that had immigrated into his empire. Perhaps the strangest among the assembled kids were a trio of Drengin, followed by a quarter of Korx and a lone Dread Lord. Stranger still was that the Drengin seemed to have the most fun playing with the Torians in the group. Not a trace of animosity was present in the children, be it in appearance or thought. Melissa smiled at this: for all of her pawn's faults, she did admire his idealist desire to try and make peace between bitter enemies (and no, she was not embarrassed to admit that she admired that). It seemed that here, his labors were bearing fruit.

Reducing her smile to a mere grin, Melissa moved on, wishing to observe her pawn's dominion as best she could.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, what do you think about my mom?"

"...what?" Asked Rory, perplexed by the question.

"I mean, do you like her? As a person, I mean."

"Well, yeah, of course. She's got her annoying moments, but aside from that, she is a good person."

"I know. I could say the same about your dad."

"Thanks...why did you ask me that question?"

"Because, well, they act really friendly with each other, but my mom says that they aren't friends, and I don't get why. I mean, your dad is the only person my mom seems to be completely comfortable with and isn't completely loyal to her."

"Oh. Yeah, that confuses me too... do you really think they are friends?"

"...yes, why do you ask?"

"...well, she's really nice, so...I wouldn't mind having her as my mom...and you as my sister..."

"...that makes two of us...should we ask them about it?"

"No, no, no! If we push it, they might get angry. If we want them to get together, we wait until they stop saying they are enemies."

"...we have a lot of waiting to do, don't we?"

"Yes we do. Yes we do."

XXXXXXXXXXX

"So, your subordinate's pawn has found out about them, has he?" Asked a masculine voice.

"He has."

"Great, just great. Things are getting out of hand."

"True, But we need not abandon the project because of this issue."

"I do believe we will have to - he will not ignore this discovery, and it is only a matter of time before he finds out the truth. And your surrogate daughter is not helping this at all."

"What does she have to do with this?"

"She has grown close to the Commander, and will not tolerate anyone harming him. Part of it is a matter of wounded pride, but more importantly, even if she may deny it, that young man is the first friend she has had in a long time. She will not abandon him to the wolves if she can help it. And what she may do to save him could cost us dearly."

"I will make sure that she does not overstep her bounds."

"Be sure that she does, or there will be consequences...for her, at least - you have proven your devotion to our cause."

"I...understand."

"Good."

XXXXXXXXX

Clink-clank.

The foundry slept, oblivious to the world around it. Nearby, its companion, the misery, also slept.

The two had once been proud beings, creators and nurturers of machines and monster, sent out to obey their masters. They had made armies to conquer worlds, and then raise those worlds to greatness.

Clink-clank.

Now, though, they were lifeless, without meaning. The war they had been made for was long past, while their masters were now far away, no longer interfering with the multiverse. With no purpose, the great facilities had gone dark, hibernating, waiting either for deactivation or new purpose. Still on standby, they had waited eons for orders that never came.

Clink-clank.

But they wouldn't have to wait anymore.

A signal, just a faint one, reached the facilities, in an instant rousing them from their rest. The structure minds cautiously reviewed it, trying to see if the signal was false.

It was not. Yes, the signal was different from the normal, but the key components were all the same.

It was, unmistakably, a Progenitor signal. Evidently, though, it had been hijacked by a third party.

Instantly, the foundry and nursery whirred to life. Assembly lines, left to collect dust, began to move again, while Origin stalks awakened from hibernation to begin gestation of new warrior beasts. Meanwhile, the greatest of all the assembly lines began amassing pieces to prepare for the slassembly of the most dangerous machine the foundry could create.

It appeared that, whatever foe they were up against, it appeared to wield the power of a Progenitor Commander.

Well then, it was time to fight fire with Fire.

XXXXXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!