The Twilight Cage was a vast prison that reached to the furthest reaches of space- as it should, it is the space after all that encapsulates the colonies that populate within the otherwise empty cold. Yanked from their old homes- their home dimensions abandoned by all means but choice. Now they are to live within here or seek ways to try and return to the places the Argus Event wrenched them from once again even if those worlds are now nothing like what they were in the mere years they were gone.

For now though, that was nothing for Nex to worry about until she righted the many, many, many wrongs that had befallen the residing colonies near the remnant of Nocturne whilst her body was used as a hollow shell to act, a costume for evil intent to dance with for 2 years. She was currently set on a mission that would help her reach closer to this goal she set herself even though it was beyond her actions.

Since IX had been wiped away by those dimension travellers the Nocturnus Clan fell to total disarray in which many troops retreated towards the deeper holds of the Twilight Cage than they had delved into before for the most part. They left in squadrons or singular Rogue units whilst scattering like the stars to who knows where; some of them hadn't an idea either. What was found out when searching through the abandoned residence were plans for a base of operations welded into an asteroid belt. Asteroids held pockets of bases where weapons, supplies and troops alike would hole up and use as a backup in case the worst happened.

Well, the second worst- IX wouldn't have cared so long as he survived, his ego all he cared for. From the supposed location it seemed some of the Marauders had fled to here by choice or leadership of higher ranking members- now terrified and unemployed. Nex agreed to take them out so they cannot eventually return as a rally or retaliation by herself with full confidence she could handle these measly goons. After all, some of these may be targets for revenge given how she was subjected to torture that makes her blood bleed with rage just thinking about it!

Nex sighed as she realised her grip almost crushed a control on the panel of her scout ship. It was meant to get her there and back given that the asteroid bases had no anti-air weaponry and if her intent was to take them down or take prisoners it wasn't the biggest concern. "I need to distract myself, this is an easy job. I could do it in my sleep, heheh..." The Echidna stretched, her sleek rubbery suit glistening as her arms reached high and shined against the lighting systems. "Daily stretches are important when you need to be as agile as I!" Nex continued to lean, stretch and pump herself up- her legs spread wide while she leaned against a panel, her plump posterior pressing up. For a fighter her body had a lot of "fat" so to say yet she still had great strength.

"Now lets see...only a few minutes left until arrival. Unless this machine is off like when I thought I was a few minutes away from the Kron Colony." Nex gave the front a brief whack to see if the counter would jolt, to which it remained intact. "Good, finally worked that kink out!" Knowing that the time was coming Nex slid across to the opposite end of the cockpit where her Saw-Blade was placed; with both hands she lifted and swung in a merry circle before promptly hopping it into the air and placing it on her back. The Blade was giant and needed both hands yet could attach to her back with magnetic technology. She still needed great back strength of course, if not for her ample rubberclad bust that bounced naturally in her quick-paced movements.

She promptly went back to the seat to see the violet cloudy space dispel, and she could see the asteroid belt as described- lights also flickered as if they were emulating stars with functions clearly happening within the shrouded operations location. It seemed vast and connected by many tunnels that were contained and held them together. "They managed to manipulate asteroid placement solely to fulfil this disguise? They must have been really concerned with their privacy. Sadly this place won't be of use for our plans, so I'll be able to freely tear through it!" A smirk escaped Nex's expression as her ship scooted to a landing port that had no flickering lights, excited to be able to use her weapon for full traversal and combat purpose. In most places she can't just rip gashes into the ground after all.

When the ship finally landed Nex watched the door slowly open...it creaked as it trailed itself down... As Nex kicked the door it swiftly went wide open, like the mouths of people who haven't seen her before. She was dead-set on her objective and had an idea: the lowly scouts will be given a chance to surrender and will be aimed with being knocked out. They probably don't fully hold the grasp as to what really happened and cutting them down would be unfair. The Praetorian on the other hand are fully aware of what their oh-so-benevolent leader had planned and done, and for all she knows some of them partook in the attempted mind-numbing acts to try and break her will. They deserve to feel the crimson chain of her Blade, her singed eyes sparking with a flair of red and purple as she got herself angry. "...No, calm down. Calm down... its over now. Focus on the mission Woman!" 

Nex had to keep calm and not let her emotions get over her. If it becomes too personal she might waste time and let some of them escape, and she'd then fail what she set out here to actually do. With herself forcing serenity in her mind Nex walked around the facilities; the asteroids had a completely unnatural interior adorned in semi-recent Nocturnus technology that fully held onto them, much like how her smooth suit clung perfectly onto her. It seemed that they were made to withstand the empty space of their void sweet void, but nothing shouts of military. "Either they were planning to house here while building a new base or this was to be expanded...either outcome best not happening."

It was a few minutes afterwards that the sounds of her rubber boots clanking against the firm metallic material that made the ground that a scout ran up to her view, Leech Blades fully in hand. "Ah there's one. Hey! Listen up, you got one chance to surrender to me." Nex called out pretty directly as she walked towards the armed individual, who stared for a second before taking a gasp. "Holy-! Hey, are you...that Nex lady?" The scout seemed to recognise her? How interesting for a Marauder to have recalled. "Indeed, and you are?" given how his stature was slightly quaking and the Leech Blades were poorly held, she felt like it wouldn't be much of a need to attack.

"Yeah, I uhh..I'm just a Marauder scout, you wouldn't know me." He isn't wrong, but given he knew her name- and the way he said it in such a questioning tone interested her. To know her name would make sense given the escape attempt, but he didn't sound like there was malice in those words...and his stance was familiar... "Are you that scout who kept looking at my ass?" She recalled in the early days a scout had kept watching her voluptuous ass as she patrolled Nocturne- well at least one in particular who nearly followed her for it. "WHAT!? N-N-No! Totally not! Why would I stare at something so..so...uhh...N-No, OK!?" Yup, seems it was. "Sure...well, you seem innocent enough. Come on, we won't hurt you."

"Are you for real? Like..really?? ...Alright, can't hurt to get close to you- I MEAN, get close to a better place!" he dropped his blades as he began to walk towards Nex, who had rubbed one of her hands, making the tight second skin squeak slightly. This was the scout alright..the same one that also happened to smack her ass once. "So what do I do no-" A swift punch towards his jaw sent him flying into the ceiling, where only a few seconds later did he plummet back onto the ground out cold. "You wait there until I drag your pervert ass into prison, that's what!" It felt good to get revenge...Though she should have asked that easy target for more information, thinking about it. "Drat! ...No, its OK..I will know when I got them all." Nex sighed at how she let her anger rush towards a conclusion, but for now she simply continued through the tunnels.

It was interesting at the very least to see the chasm of space while wandering through a tunnel made of well-held, multilayered glass. The way that no matter which way the buxom Echidna had averted her eyes it wouldn't make a difference if she was looking up or down or all around, all of it was the same empty blanket that had her and the rest of the people wrapped in black, purple and blues of all shades. It really made her feel that she was indeed surrounded by this space that could be escaped from, though for now that was not her concern; Nex has nothing to go back to, so to say. Instead, she wants to make something of herself here where things are harsh and the more of a helping hand is given the better.

It was only too soon she saw a group of Marauders huddled together in a larger chain of asteroids with the ground especially metallic and stretching far...so far it engulfs asteroids that loom on the walls and top. This must be an important established location. "Listen! I'm here to bring you lot back, and you can either comply or force me to possibly do something you won't like!" Nex made herself clear with a booming yell, the room filling with the faint squeaking of her rubber suit as she stood tightly in place, her hands reaching and yanking the Saw Blade from her back. 

"Heh, get a load of this chick!" One scout said with a near jovial tone, not taking her seriously. "Shit, she's got a good bod~ I didn't think they'd let her be a fighter." A second one said while clearly eyeing up her supple bust, to which Nex growled in response. "Very funny, coming from the floor the bottom of the barrel sits on. Now answer, I'm not messing around." "Hey...isn't that Nex?" Another of the gaggle spoke up to this, making the others turn their heads. "Oh damn it is! It's that bitch that got blown up! Come on guys, let's finish her proper!" The whole group quickly whipped out their blades and charged ahead in a snake line formation.

"A bitch!? Well if I am then you guys have to be neutered!" Nex had spun her much larger blade around and flung herself upwards; though the blade had a energy function she kept it off to use more as a blunt weapon to slice them out of consciousness without being so fatal. Their words did mean that she completely somersaulted over the first goon, trampling and kicking off the head of the second, landing and flicking her feet at the hands of the third one (and knocking their weapons out of their hold and stopping on her feet behind the fourth, who turned and saw her fat ass poking upwards, and wiggling around a bit. Though distracting, he shook his head and turned to attack until an upswing by Nex made his head slam into the ground by the sides of a thick weapon; the force made all of her more ample assets jiggle briefly in the clingy outfit.

The third Marauder had ran into a scramble for their weapons that flung far across the vast room, making loud echoes as they bellowed against the harsh floor. Nex activated her blade for a second so that she could stand on it and go rocketing towards the second, her Saw Blade eating into the thick floor and giving her extra force as it shut off. When she was close Nex hopped and lifted her enlarged blade high and her legs opened to clasp around his head. He couldn't react in time to stop her as her fat thighs choked his head and crunched down- though soft and juicy, there was a suffocating strength to it that made them lose all grip in their hands, and fall to their knees before the first could ready an attack. "My "hot bod" doesn't mean I can't be better than you, jerk!" When the time that the first was now ready Nex responded with slamming her blade down and knocking him back as he closed in. 

He responded by preparing a rapid cutting barrage- the speed of the thin cutters was fast and covered all sorts of angles, though Nex flipped and held her giant blade around to stop each duo of damaging attacks. As his pace picked up she packed herself into a spin that made his arms feel stunned by the sudden smack, that left him flailing more while she spun more and more. "I was the fastest cutter in my class! He boldly declares while Nex kept a regular -if not miffed glare- towards him. The constant smashing and the build up of force made Nex's firm weapon overwhelm and knocking him over so that she could flip over in a leap and knock it into his stomach. The breath of the first Marauder jumped like she did out of him and left him out for the count.

Now Nex took a turn to the third scout who finally picked up his weapons...only to throw them to the opposite ends of the room and turning to bash his head against the solid wall to knock himself out. She winced as this act of desperation and fear happened because of her ass kicking. "That's probably a bit extreme, should I feel bad? I'm not sure on that..." She sighed as she looked over, and was a bit surprised to see that was mostly it. The squadron was particularly small- only 5 members? "There must still be a leader of this group, they have no right to have known about this place by themselves." 

"Indeed, I had brought them here so they could do maintenance." A voice called out from above, and from one of the asteroids feel a Praetorian! He looked over to Nex with his visor on so that she couldn't identify who it was, aside from their gruff sounding voice and tone. "Well they were but you knocked them down...though you didn't kill them. That means once I toss you out to space I can continue, and do what IX willed for!!" He shouted this out so loudly his voice nearly cracked and Nex had instantly turned her energy mode back on, swinging it around in a furious presentation. "So you are one of those ones that know what happened, means I can make you pay for it." She looked to the cold, emotionless mask he wore with intense rage, the look of her half red and half purple eyes making him jump back and point his right arm- a suited energy cannon.

"Well well, Nex. You think you can really do that? Stupid woman, there's a reason that you had to be re-purposed!" He started to run around while firing beams of gleaming blue light towards her, her purple latex well reflecting the growing blue glow of the upcoming attacks and her own blood soaking red of her blades and lights. She met these with cuts that split them to nothing while she charged towards the ranged assailant. "So you know of the brainwashing...scumbag, just as I thought!" The rapid assault of beaming blasts meant that the as she cut she spun around, taking it to herself to jump when the blasts start to cover the pristine floor with ash-stained holes and immense pufts that nearly stained Nex's shiny latex as she advanced.

Nex took a slam towards him with a clean swipe, but he started to run up the walls and aim a charged beam at her. "Gah!" Nex went stumbling back to the opposing wall as the hellfire continued to rain down towards her. The Praetorian was gleaming under that headpiece of his and she could feel that cold enjoyment. "Hahahah! See? You were never anything on your own! And you dared to deny the punishment you so deserved? Die!" He just kept shooting again and again as he trampled on the wall. The blasts were coming in too fast to swat away and they hit the wall in an eruption of cloud pufts- it moreso resembled a volcano erupting sideways if it was to be said as a view. Though Nex shooting out as her blade strapped to her back, eating the wall and allowing her to get over with a hot red trail lining with her rush. "Huh!? Oh you are kidding me!" He tried to take shots but she swerved and snaked her way around...and was way faster than his running speed was, even when he leapt and latched back onto the ground. 

He was swept onto his feet when the Jet Black Echidna shot at his legs and made a shot hit an asteroid that soon collapsed onto the floor. Craters plastered the area as they both made mad dashes to avoid being turned into red paste on the silver steel ground. It was unfortunate but one of the tumbling boulders crashed down on one of the unconscious scouts...Nex froze up when she saw it and haltered when they had stopped. Then, she could only look and hold her mouth. "Ahhh damn it, that one knew how to code! Now I have to do that part myself...you stupid bitch! Couldn't just stop could you..." The Praetorian said so while carelessly spinning his cannon arm around in a taunting stance, sneering under his concealing visor.

"Ahh...y-y...you mother...Mother FUCKER!!" Nex was shaking with pure anger; how could this bastard be so damn cold!? Even if she was brainwashed she felt she would think so, even if that isn't true. And she was livid with herself for not dragging them away first! Idiot!! Idiot Idiot!! "There is NOTHING you can say to make me resent you more!!"

"Enough! You really did only sound good when choking on my cock."

That sicko...he was one of them...one of them that participated in the sexual assault as part of the torture. This was one of those very bastards...He...HE...HE!!!

"I'm going to KILL YOU!!" Nex had swiftly kicked her Blade on the floor and shot ahead, hands wide open and not on hold. He took more shots but her thick hips made forceful turns that let her swing by perfectly. "What the hell!?" He could only say as much before she lunged and locked the blade handle between her feet, swinging and slicing off his cannon. His eye visor widened with a near blinding light and he shook more than the most extreme of earthquakes. Before he could register and shriek to the pain though Nex started punching and smacking him with kicks and whacks, the blade left planted firmly like a root. She punched into his gut, kicked his ribs in and clenched both her hands for a firm spin that made a cracking sound...of the visor's left eye that she crushed. The battering continued sa the Praetorian was only allowed to slowly slink to his withering knees that could no longer hold the anguish.

When done, Nex picked up her blade and turned on the crimson cutter as it pointed to his head. "Any last words?" Her teeth were gritted hard, and she spoke no more. "Oh I do...tell me, how did it taste?" His voice was fading and raspy with the pain choking it out. "How did my cum taste when I shoved it down your gullet, you WHORE." He would have laughed had Nex not took the shot and sliced him clean in half.

There was a mess on the ground, and her purple suit with red decal was now doused in the deep patterns of her work. She stared to the bleeding rock for a few seconds. "...I'm sorry." All she could say was this, as she brought the remaining knocked out scouts to her ship. Her mission was done; it was...successful, by technicality. "I failed, I completely failed...Why? I just wanted to..to help..." Nex moved into the showers on her shuttle to wipe herself, her suit now glistening with none of the show of her work on her body but in her mind it played for the trip.

Nocturne brought the Marauder scouts to cells for now and Nex had passed an apology to them all about her failure- the loss of their colleague. She would have gone to apologise herself but General Raxos called for her for a debriefing. He sat before her in an open hallway while she tried to keep a straight face.

"Nex, how was the mission?" He asked her, wanting to get directly to the point given he could tell something was amiss about her. "It was...technically a success but-" She was about to continue when he cut her off. "Excellent work, you have proved yourself capable." "B-But, I lost one of the scouts...he was crushed when a Praetorian hit something, and he was unconscious because of me! I feel like I failed." He stood up and walked closer- something that admittedly unsettled her slightly since she had yet to know him better. "Enough. That fault was not one caused by your intent." "Well yeah but if I just... moved him first- or saw it falling and did something- or cut it myself then h-" "NEX!" He shouted a bit louder this time, causing a few to look and for her to straighten up in full attention. 

"You want to continue helping us right? You can, you performed as well as mostly anyone would have; that was not something you could have stopped. If you could, you would have. Having you be so down-struck about it will hinder your performance. Now accept you aren't to blame, and go rest for now! I will not repeat myself." Something about this statement hit..surprisingly deep. As soon as he turned back to walk off, Nex had decided to go to her place now. Tears slowly began to trickle down her cheeks and she couldn't fully understand why.

"Not...my...fault..."