Many trips were made between Marion's house and the Fortress of Doom. Slayer basically moved his workshop into the Fortress, as the advanced technology present was much more useful up there. On top of that, the primary computer onboard FAR exceeded any Remnant computer, especially considering it was quantum. Another feature that would likely come in handy, but the Slayer had no idea how yet, was Marion finding 4 Sentinel batteries, left over from his adventure.

The girls had helped too, mainly with clearing out excess junk, ranging from weapon mod drones, to pedestals where Sentinel crystals had resided, and beyond. The ghosts of the Night Sentinels had all seemed to be at peace, and had crossed over to wherever the new heaven was. If I could do one thing that is beyond my power to do, one thing that would be "godly", it would be to find a true heaven, or make one if need be, so that way, I have absolute proof such a thing exists.

There was also one other piece of junk that the Slayer had gathered up, Dr. Hayden's old body, though he made sure that all the specs were in the computer, just in case. Slayer then threw it all out of an airlock, while in his armor, all in such a way it'd reenter the atmosphere and burn up. It had gotten him thinking that one thing he needed was a trash compactor for such a thing. Hell, the list is extensive. Bedrooms, bathrooms, a few command center additions...and to get the Ripatorium online again. Though I have to ask...demons, or Grimm? Personally, I hope it's Grimm, for their sake.

Thanks to the computers onboard the Fortress, Slayer had finally figured out the pocket dimension drives. In fact he was able to make a pocket dimension server, of sorts. The girls each had their PDD's, that all linked up to the PDS, and thus inventory could be shared. Their heists against the White Fang were getting bolder, as they were cooperating better, and learning their new technology as well. But there were still issues with the learning. AND there was the big issue of making enough things to keep up with demand. "We need A LOT more help," Marion had noted.

DMND were taking a break from things, wandering around Vale. The Vytal Festival was up and coming, and the Slayer had been doing research to learn what it's all about. At one point they all sat down near the docks, watching the ships come in, Slayer still busy with his thoughts, another of those being miniaturizing the neural collars. Likely into necklaces/chokers. And/or collar inserts. Issue is fashion here. I get the feeling nobody'd buy something if it clashed with their outfit.

"Good to get out, every now and then. Having to hide is BORING. And hey...it's helping me integrate here," the Slayer says, looking around. "So, this thing is pretty much a fair and an arena fight, right?"

"Students from all over Remnant will come," Daisy says, while looking around at everything.

"Great. So Triwizard Tournament. Well I hope Harry's name isn't in the Goblet of Fire," the Slayer laughs.

"You and your references to things we don't understand," Nixera laughs, as they watch people doing their thing. "Huh, there's an odd one," she continues, noticing a girl with orange hair. "Wait...is she coming this way?"

"Salutations!" The strange girl says. "You 4 look like a Beacon team, except you look a bit older."

"So then, why seek us out?" Marion asks, frowning slightly, brows furrowed in concentration.

"I recognize you," the girl says. "You're Marion Fiye. Owner of Fiye Weapons, revived after selling strange technology," she continues with a bright smile, green eyes seeming to...glow?

"It's all his work," Marion responds, thumb pointing to the Slayer. "Miss..."

"Penny. Penny Polendina," the strange girl answer, sitting next to them, and everyone else introduces themselves. Though when it's the Slayer's turn, Penny looked alarmed, and moreso than what would be usual.

"You. You're the dangerous criminal calling himself Doom Slayer. Standing orders are not to engage directly, and request backup," she said as her eyes widened. "Opening a channel," Penny continued in a robotic tone.

"I'm sorry Penny. I'm afraid I can't let you do that," the Slayer says, everyone noticing energy somehow building around his left fist, as he punched Penny in the head. There were 3 surprising results. First was that as the punch connected, there was a shockwave of energy radiating from the Slayer's fist, though for the rest of DMND it was almost not that surprising, because they were used to the idea that he had tricks up his sleeve. Still, it was a sight to see, leaving them awed, and a little jealous as well. The second surprising result was Penny's head came clean off of her neck, which in turn caused gasps of shock. But the third thing was that Penny didn't bleed. In fact, where there should've been exposed flesh, there was instead metal and wires.

"What the..." Daisy says in shock. "She's not human?"

"Gynoid," the Slayer answers. "And she's likely an issue too," he continues, already gathering up her up.

"Are we taking her up there boss?" Nixera asks, pointing skyward.

"Negative. Back to the shop, get one of the scramblers working so she can't squawk for help," the Slayer answers, and Nixera gives a lazy salute. "You're learning quickly. I'll make a marine of you yet," he chuckles, as Nixera takes Penny's body, and Blinking away, then coming back for her head. "We'll meet you there," he finishes.

"Aye aye boss," Nixera responds with another salute and smile, as they all make their various ways back.

Once at the shop, Penny's body was struggling, having been tied to a chair. Her head was on a desk, as DMD came in. "Report," the Slayer asked, eyebrow raising at the sight.

"Robot girl here's got backups," Nixera answers. "As you can see sir, it seems her body has a backup CPU. Body was struggling plenty on the way back. And she's STRONG too. Not sure how she compares to you however. Head's waking up too," she continues, as Penny's head was starting to do so, looking around.

"Good work," the Slayer responds, turning to Penny. "Ok gynoid...Penny was it? Start talking. There's a scrambler nearby, so you're not radioing for help."

Penny looked around, seeing her body nearby, and everyone looking down at her. "Put me back!" She cried out, her body struggling, though she also looked sad, almost ready to cry. "And now...now you know my secret," she adds, and Nixera looks down, empathizing with Penny in that moment.

"Oh, it's supposed to be a secret, huh?" The Slayer says, raising an eyebrow. "Well, how about this. You talk, and we won't," he continues. "Though I WILL clear up some things. First, I'm not the criminal everyone says I am."

"Ain't that the truth," Marion adds. "Or else he wouldn't've saved that one time."

"I am dangerous, yes I'll confess to that," the Slayer says, pacing about. "Though that's an understatement. I am THE most dangerous person, in all of creation. NONE have seen me at my full potential, fully being the Unchained Predator," he states calmly, in a manner none would associate with such a statement. "I have more experience than everyone alive put together. But I don't harm innocents. AND...you are in a position nobody else CAN be in. You can see...all that I've done. And process it too," he finishes, going to a computer to tap a few controls.

Penny was worried, especially once she felt that the Slayer had made a connection to her brain. But on the other side of the connection, she could feel something, something powerful. She could tell that this "Slayer" was packing some serious computer power. And then she saw his logs, what looked like helmet cam footage. She couldn't identify any locations, but she could tell he was fighting monsters she had never seen before. They always outnumbered him, using attacks she had never seen before. And the Slayer himself using weapons she had also never seen, and alongside the sounds of the strange creatures, there was music. A deep, heavy metal that if Penny was human, would get her heart racing. And he always won. It was always a slaughter fest. By certain parameters in her programming, she'd have to define the Slayer as cruel and unusual.

But that wasn't all she got. Sure, there was the helmet cam footage, streaming into her mind faster than any human could ever watch, and she was thankful she was able to keep up. But she also got a series of audio logs. Logs recorded in a deep, demonic voice, and titled "Slayer's Testament." "In the first age, in the first battle, when the shadows first lengthened, one stood," the first one started off with, carrying on about how "he found no peace" among other things, ending with a line that sounded as if even the narrator was afraid to say it. A line that even made her body shiver, though she wasn't connected. "And those that tasted the bite of his sword...named him...the Doom Slayer," it finished, and it seemed as if MORE heavy metal was playing, upon the mention of his name.

She even saw some of his interactions with other humans too. True, they were scared of him. But he didn't harm them. Sure, he got up in the face of one soldier, who had initially told him "you can't...be...here!" the last word said in a panic. Yet all the Slayer did was give a look, as if to say "Did you say something to me?" while taking the soldier's gun as punishment.

She didn't get everything. She could sense there were gaps. But she saw enough to get the gist. Though one part stood out, and she replayed it. He was inside what according to the logs, was known as the World Spear, retrieving a strange blue crystal. It looked familiar, so she searched her own logs. A match!

"E-excuse me, sir?" She asked, and he looked up. "What exactly is this?" She continued, as his monitor lingered on the crystal. "And before you ask..." She displays something else. Drone footage of a similar crystal, embedded in a crater. The White Fang retrieving it it, taking it off to who knows where. "It didn't give off the same energy readings as Dust would."

The Slayer stood there, looking at the footage, eyes wide. "That's a Wraith Crystal. Just one can do wonders," he says. "We need to find it. The White Fang don't know what they have. But I do. Do you have any idea where the White Fang took it Penny?" He asked.

"None sir," she responds. "We've looked, but it would be hard to pinpoint exactly where it might be. There's a lot of footage to go over, energy readings, and etc. Our computers are taxed, and it's also not the highest priority right now," she explains. "I couldn't tell you."

The Slayer didn't seem disappointed. In fact, he was smiling a little. "Well then, Miss Polendina," he says with a chuckle, picking up her head. "How's this. You don't rat us out...I let you hang around here, whenever you want/are able. I also...tell nobody your secret," he continues, and Penny looks down. "ALSO, you help us find that crystal. I know how best you can help. Maybe, if you're compatible with the Fortress that is," he adds.

"I'm willing to comply sir," Penny says, and she feels her head being placed into her own lap, as Nixera cuts her bonds. She puts her head back onto her neck, double checking everything was OK. She suffered no damage otherwise from the Slayer's punch, though now that she thought about it...

"Also..what WAS that punch of yours sir?" She asked, as she got up, making sure everything was working properly.

"What she said," Daisy adds. "I thought you showed us all your tricks!"

"Sorry for that. But I had to save it," he explains. "That, was a Blood Punch. I only have another charge left, and it's not that easy to replenish them."

"Blood...Punch," Marion comments. "Gods, what CAN'T you do? And why does everything around you always sound so...metal?"

"Because that's just how I am," he laughs. "Now, Penny, come here," he says, as he types a few things. "You should feel the beginnings of a connection...now."

She felt herself connecting to a computer, but it was unlike any she had known before. This was unfamiliar, yes. But also FAST. Likely quantum. She couldn't feel much of it, but it seemed as if via said computer, she could process the data with speeds even she couldn't calculate. Not to mention she could tell that this "Fortress" had sensors she never had known.

"I have to ask...where is it? This Fortress you keep talking about," she asks.

He responds by pointing up. "In orbit. Fortress of Doom is the full name," he explains. "Space station, currently in orbit. Not sure if you could go up there. After all...you run on Dust, yes?" Penny nods. "Exactly. And Dust doesn't work outside of the atmosphere. But I AM working on trying to fix all that," he explains.

"There's more sir," Penny explains. "We think there's something big happening soon, with the White Fang. We're not sure what, but I thought you'd want to know," she continues.

"Thanks Penny," the Slayer says with a smile. "Now at some point, you should leave before you're missed."