There was a severe tingling sensation in Luke's extremities as he materialized on the roof of the apartment building. 'Nirvana, did we just-' 'Affirmative. Sensors indicate the presence of a class two shield.' 'Hehe. Kids came to play, huh? Alright. 'Ana, warm up some Cherubims. I think four should do the trick.' 'Ana simulated a sigh and shook her head anxiously. 'Roger that.' 'Ana sent a routed command to the command base mainframe, and a small hole in the building's roof spiraled open...<br/><br/><strong><em>~Command Center~</em></strong><br/><br/>The darkness was almost a physical thing, blanketing the upstairs hangar and flight deck. Dust hung thick in the air, and clouds of insects swarmed near three of the room's inky corners. Small machines reminiscent of fighter-jets rested on racks bolted to two of the walls, and tools lay scattered about on tables throughout. A single red light blinked lazily in the center of the room, barely larger than a pencil eraser.<br/><br/>Then the light turned green, and all hell broke loose.<br/><br/><strong><em>~Gwin's Apartment~</em></strong><br/><br/>'They're awake. Luke...are you sure you want to call the Cherubim? They've never been exactly...stable.' 'Aw, come on. What's the worst that can happen?'<br/><br/><strong><em>~Command Center Flight Deck~</em></strong><br/><br/>Four of the machines winked and whirred to life, LEDs and DRDs flashing in bright electric blue and green. The drones' A.I.s pulled themselves out of hibernation mode, noted the time passed since they'd last been operated, and performed  full maintenance and equipment checks.<br/><br/>'Drone Andiun, prepped and ready for launch.'<br/>'Drone Etriun, prepped and ready for launch.'<br/>'Drone Mikiun, prepped and ready for launch.'<br/>'Drone Soriun, prepped and ready for launch.'<br/><br/>Within moments the four were airborne, hovering silent and still below the hangar's exit as they checked their on-board weapons caches. Etriun was the first to break the silence, speaking to his brothers in a high, child-like voice.<br/><br/>'Guys? Hey. Hey, guys?' 'What?' Soriun replied, spinning to point his nose at Etriun. 'Do you think we're gonna go get to kill some people?' Etriun asked, his excitement evident as he revved his engines in mid-air. Mikiun revved his engines even louder and began to hover in a slow, lazy circle. 'Ooh, I hope so! I bet we'll get to kill lots n lots of people!' 'I bet I can kill more people than you can!' Andiun shouted, issuing a challenge that would not go ignored. 'Nuh-uh! I'm gonna kill the most people' 'No, I am!' 'I'm gonna do it!' they cried, their voices jumbling with each other into a high-pitched screech of joy and bloodlust.<br/><br/>At last the hangar door ratcheted open, like the maw of a demon spitting forth a plague upon the world. The drones began to fly in a circle, round and round the room, speeding up with each revolution until reaching almost Mach 4, and blasted out of the roof single file, laughing and shouting and whooping with glee, singing playfully as they locked onto Nirvana's transponder signal.<br/><br/>'We're gonna get to kill some people, we're gonna get to kill some people...'<br/><br/>OOC: To the tune of "<span class="bbc_u">Ring Around the Rosies</span>". Aren't they just adorable?