Two things about Drone Zero-Zero-Four Manager, AKA Jinyi:

One, he did NOT give up. Ever.

Two, despite the first thing, believe it or not, he did learn from his mistakes. It's called a growth mindset, people. So he was in Eridanus again, to reinforce Order's influence again, but this time with backup. Particularly loud, boisterous, and confident backup that no one could miss. If subtlety hadn't worked last time, then--

Well.

Jinyi tilted his head up at Ace with a ghastly grey-and-white grin, though he really didn't need it to see the other Drone. He wanted to give Ace the full benefit of seeing the beautiful countenance of family, after all. "Hope you're ready, Skyreaver. Let's give those Valkhounds a nasty surprise the next time they step foot here." With rather unnecessary (but fun) melodrama, he lifted a foot and stepped down decisively. Ordered magic radiated from its impact, enforcing a dictator's will on the area. The ground crackled as it turned glassy and cold, while the mosses and fern fronds shivered and became clear, fragile, and crystalline. No longer will it be so easy to undo the threads of fungus with their heretic magic, he thought with satisfaction. Their own efforts would be bolstered, while fire and dripping corruption would falter in the face of Order.

Also, it made for a really cool visual effect. Match that, Ace, Jinyi thought with teasing humor. Goading the other Drone into an aura-farming contest, Order edition.

@Ace

Also, if anyone wants to come help/stop them... :eyes:

Recruiting the services of a personal detail from the Hive wasn't difficult. First of the requirements was to belong to the Hive as well. The second was to, obviously, know someone who wanted to play the role of bodyguard for the day. Loyalty woven deep into the bones of any member of this great network, naturally potential applicants for such a role weren't in short supply, and that was before factoring in the Drones whose designs practically sang for the possibility of conflict. An opportunity of this sort might as well have been dangling a steak in front of a pack of starving dogs, and the most eager rushed in for the first bite, of course, yapping all the while.

Or bellowing in Ace's case. Not that there was much difference other than volume. Either way, as soon as Jinyi had sent in the request for help, he'd boomed his acceptance, heedless as to whether he did so across appropriate channels or not. The best in Order's currently limited air force, after all, who else was ideal enough to keep an eye on proceedings and swoop to unleash death from above on any mush-brained Chaos clowns idiotic enough to interfere with their work?

Don't dwell too long on the answer. It's an easy one: nobody, that's who. Selecting anyone other than Ace for the job was settling for less, and he said as much. Multiple times until the repetition faded into so much static in the background of any listening Hive member's thoughts.

For his excursion into Eridanus, he was armed and ready, every hooked and stabbing limb tucked close to his body as he flew. Tension coiled in them, waiting for the unsuspecting enemy to lash out at. Or, since he had the time and inclination, they could be incorporated in an elaborate corkscrew maneuver as the soldier plunged towards the nearest tree trunk. He impacted with its side, a roaring meteor, and as he spun, rough bark opened up to a flurry of slashes. A combat expert, not a magical prodigy, no fungus bloomed in these innumerable cuts as was his initial intention. Nevertheless, when he rose into the air again with a final downward claw of his main forelimbs, fangs were bared into a decidedly smug expression.

"Step foot? I'm thinking more along the lines of limp," Ace crowed. "You know, right after I knock the Oily spit out of their mouths and torch their asses."

This last bit he declared with a pointed swish of his tail, its stinger wreathed in cold fire, courtesy of the ring at its base.

@Jinyi

While less tolerant Gembound might have been annoyed by Ace's bellowing, mentally and out loud, it put a genuine smile on Jinyi's face. Not only was it reassuring to feel the confidence of his brother beside him (and how could anyone not of the Hive understand what it was like not only to feel someone's confidence through their words and emotions, but also feel the way their physical muscles moved so powerfully and experience the buffeting of wind against scales as they flew through a different set of nerves?), it was also... hilarious. Each time Ace repeated how he was clearly the best and only logical choice for the job, Jinyi smiled a little wider until he chuckled at loud.

Affectionately, don't worry. Only because it put him in a good mood to hear these facts, of course.

"Of course," he agreed with Ace, and when the dragon-Drone slashed his claws in a flurry across bark, Jinyi was quick to fill in the wounds with magic. Though the attack flurry had unfortunately created slashes that held no symmetry or Orderly pattern, they were quickly covered in a layer of Mother's fungus. Thus, both actions became contributions to Order in the end: one to prepare the substrate; one to put on the finishing touches. Then he looked up at Ace again, awaiting the Drone's next action to complement it once again.

The Hive's Praetors always patrolled in pairs. This was exactly why. What was more beautiful than two creatures of Order working in perfect synchrony?

@Ace

Virosa had not left Eridanus yet, thought it was beginning to realise that managing its infection wasn't a job for one Valkhound, no matter how well equipped. It had enjoyed the solitude, and the lack of competition in regards to food, having settled comfortably into the niche of an apex. But competition was not absent, as its previous encounter with one of the Hive's drones had proven.

Virosa was unlike its brethren. It was not eager to throw itself into the fray. It was delicate animal. So alongside it this time were creatures who weren't so fragile.

It was given time to prepare, thankfully, since this pair clearly weren't interested in stealth. Their boldness seemed earned, considering the size, strength, and style of the stranger by Jinyi. Yes, Virosa is capable of appreciating a beautiful mane on another, regardless of faction.

It hissed to its compatriots before it emerged into the clearing. "I will target the smaller. I've met him once before. He has... Chips, if you want. They are good. Feel nice on teeth."

It stepped forward, in plain view of both drones now. "Hello again!" As it spoke, the oilstone embedded in its tongue glimmered as spores began to settle on its "friend", threatening to take root and burst out of his chitin - just like old times. :)

posting eleven next, then tagging snail for agate

ROUND 1/?

ATTEMPT: manifesting corrupted fungus on Jinyi
DEFENSE: lingering further back, otherwise none
INJURIES: always a little sick and weak

Eleven never really got along with Agate - or maybe it did and they were both just... Weird. Either way, if left unsupervised for 30 seconds or less, they'd explode into petty violence until someone else dragged them away from each other. It was strangely comforting, but not conducive to a productive workplace environment, so it had been avoiding its sibling for some time.

That, and it knew if it found out about Gravedigger... Eleven wouldn't hear the end of it, and even bringing it up once or twice was enough to send it spiraling. Violently. Also not very productive.

But it liked Agate, sort of. Or maybe it felt it should. So it invited it to Eridanus to kick some ass, and only almost mauled it to death once or twice on the way there.

Eleven wasn't sure why Virosa needed the help, considering it was twice her height, but the fact it did made her feel useful, and she was grateful for that. She was struggling to understand it, though, as a person. She'd met pure Valkhounds before (haha, met) and they had little in common with this one.

Virosa proved her point again. "What?" Completely irrelevant to combat. Why even say it at all. Is it stupid? And why the smaller one? It's not like anyone here can fly.

Sure, let's just wail on the tiny, weird little mannequin-thing until the other flies within reach. Whatever.

It lunged out of the trees, snarling loudly as it surged towards Jinyi to pin him down - feeling a little guilty about ganging up on the smallest drone here.

ROUND 1/?

ATTEMPT: pinning jinyi to the ground
DEFENSE: quills along spine
INJURIES: emotional

@V-Agate-One

It wasn't Agate anymore, except when it had to be. And, yeah, it TECHNICALLY had to "earn" a name, but that was STUPID. And how would anyone ever really find out? Ratatosk was careful to only use it's name around those who had nothing to do with the Chaos Forge. Well. It also told El, but it ALSO had told her that it'd rip her ears off if she snitched. It hadn't gotten in trouble yet, so it assumed its 'secret' was safe. Which was nice. El would look pretty stupid without any ears.

Ever since Ratatosk had earned the right to roam, its presence within the forge has significantly decreased. It did just enough to keep Vargas and his overseers off its back- it found it could get away with a lot by claiming it was 'scouting' and providing a vague report of its travels. So Ratatosk hadn't really noticed that El was trying to avoid it, although it did sometimes wonder about her- not CONCERN, mind, that would be an insult to her capabilities and its own self-respect.

But the invitation to patrol together was. Nice. Made less nice by the valkhound they were accompanying and the place they were going. The Hive seriously creeped it out. The way mold covered everything in Eridanus like nasty-smelling cobwebs. And the idea consuming just a bit of that mold would have you just... consumed by it. Ratatosk was significantly less talkative as soon as they arrived in Eridanus. It almost felt the need to hold its breath, but that would be stupid, so it didn't.

It would've joined the other two in mauling the poor dontas manager, but something caught it's eye- the tail of the flying drone was wreathed in fire, a ring sitting just behind a deadly-looking stinger. Caves, that was so cool. Way too cool for some mindless molded-up drone to be wearing.

It HAD to have it.

Ratatosk was, possibly, the worst of the three to go head-to-head with Ace. It was the smallest, and by FAR the stubbiest. So, when it lept for Ace as he dove close enough to the ground, it didn't get very far. It miscalculated, bit thin air, and face planted into the dirt that had recently become hardened and glassy courtesy of Jinyi's spell. A bit of blood dribbled from its nose, but it was mostly focused on not breathing in any of that nasty fucking mold.

ROUND 1/?

ATTEMPT: ground Ace
DEFENSE: Enchanted spiked collar, quills
INJURIES: Bruised nose,

@Cyneweard @Jinyi @Ace GO MY HIVE

As all Drones, Ace was designed with the standard appreciation for harmony. After all, what creature of Order would he be if the teamwork of the Hive didn't stir within him a sense of all-consuming pride? Every role perfectly complemented another: the soldier reaped and the manager sowed. That was how it should be and how his beloved Mother had always intended the work to be distributed. And what had also been her intention when creating him was to assign a stalwart warrior to the defense of her flock of peacemakers. Therefore, while others might've dreaded the sound of their enemy announcing their presence, the thrill of ensuing battle vibrated through every fiber of his being.

These knuckleheads were unmistakably Chaos's cronies—slinking, stinking, and very likely unthinking. And, of course, excepting one who gloriously ate dirt trying to catch him, they attacked the far more vulnerable Jinyi, ever true to their craven nature. The ugly sight of them was enough to spur Ace to comb his spearing arms through his mane and coat their length with the toxin saturating it. Forelimbs clashed together in anticipation of the inevitable clash to come. He tucked wings close, streamlining himself for maximum speed while plummeting from the air.

If fortune favored the bold, his first target to disable was obvious, and neither distance nor height meant anything to the one titled Skyreaver. A toothy grin on his face, he dove straight for the tallest Valkhound and howled a jeer into the wind.

"What, no hello for me? Really, I'm wounded. No, wait, that's you!"

Shoulder appendages snapped out, their points leveled at Virosa's neck.

ROUND 1/?

ATTEMPT: Stab Virosa in the neck with toxin-coated spearing appendages
DEFENSE: Glass cannons don't care if they shatter
INJURIES: Give him a second, they're coming

@Jinyi

He had been a distant observer to the pair as he patrolled elsewhere in Eridanus. His presence was faint, maybe a hum of joy as they worked together to reinforce Mother's will, or laughter at their boisterous antics. This was the beauty of their family- he didn't need to be present to share in their company.

Periodically, he'd transmit a status update of his own. Something like, Fungal growth in the fern trench is flourishing. or Western node needs maintenance.

But then Signs of Chaos. Oil and corrupted foliage. Tracking down source.

Urgency increasing. Trampled earth and distant arguing ahead. Patrol of chaotic forces, numbers uncertain. Stay vigilant.

Blaringly loud panic. THREE HOUNDS. COMBAT IMMINENT.

He wasn't quick enough to give them a true advantage, bursting onto the scene at about the same time chaos' vicious hounds did. He threw himself in front of Jinyi, sword and shielded forearms braced to block the attack. His back slammed against the forest floor hard as Eleven pounced, briefly winding him.

ROUND 1

ATTEMPT: Intercept Eleven's attack
DEFENSE: Drone armor
INJURIES: None

@Jinyi

Hello again!

Jinyi whipped around, a familiar sense of dread and not again rising in his belly. "Back again?" he managed before two more hounds came crashing through the trees, one heading straight for him. He threw himself ungracefully to one side, though thankfully Cyneweard was there to intercept its charge. But that wasn't the end of it--before he could focus on either the hound slamming into Cyneweard or the one jumping after Ace, he felt a very familiar prickle at his robes and chitin.

Ordered magic flared to defense immediately, and the fungus wilted before it could fully sprout to life, its mycelium unable to penetrate his magically-reinforced chitin and weakened by the Ordered ground on which they stood. He felt a sense of grim satisfaction that the Valkhound would not get him the same way a second time.

ROUND 1/?

ATTEMPT: resist virosa fungus
DEFENSE: infested ground, resistance
INJURIES: none

@Virosa (eleven) @V-Agate-One (Cyneweard) @Ace

Okay, so these Valkhound were a little under-experienced, and they'd just lost the advantage of numbers. This was less of done deal than Virosa had planned, but it was around the same age as its party - no place to judge.

It was an immediate primary target, likely by size alone. It should've anticipated this too. The drone above swooped gracefully toward it, but few were truly prepared for Virosa's speed and its... upsetting ability to skitter. It was there, and then it was somewhere else.

It retaliated, seeking to disorient the flyer by puffing its spores in his direction as he made his getaway - infecting him as they'd done to Jinyi, if they were to land. This one wouldn't have magic on his side.

ROUND 2/?

ATTEMPT: manifesting corrupted fungus on Ace this time
DEFENSE: lingering further back, otherwise none
INJURIES: always a little sick and weak