They either took over a breach to harvest it or took down a Type Zero or managed to find a way to generate their own.

The first two are out as all breaches and Zeros are accounted for. So the third might be a strong idea for them which would be a goldmine for humanity.
Or they found a way to harvest stray particles left over from excessive use. Or convinced "Decimator" to give them some. If they had some sort of array that could accumulate stray huggs from very near to breaches/passing type-zeroes then it would be a potential source, but extremely risky to engage in. If they were involved in diplomacy with The Antagonists, then... well such has been hinted at, even though such would be plainly ridiculous, but seems like it would not be an option for factions other than H.H.'s apparently-defunct group.
 
Or they found a way to harvest stray particles left over from excessive use. Or convinced "Decimator" to give them some. If they had some sort of array that could accumulate stray huggs from very near to breaches/passing type-zeroes then it would be a potential source, but extremely risky to engage in. If they were involved in diplomacy with The Antagonists, then... well such has been hinted at, even though such would be plainly ridiculous, but seems like it would not be an option for factions other than H.H.'s apparently-defunct group.
Best typo.
 
Hell's Hand is noted to make extensive use of Higgs particles.
They're using it only in the last two floors, for a single static spatial expansion. That's the furthest from "extensive use".

Higgs particles only have two sources. The breaches and the Higgs generators attached to every Type Zero.
You forget that regular Types (especially Type 10s?) have a sizeable supply of Higgs as well.
Previously, to generate explosions of that magnitude and power, you had to either consume multiple Types in a row for Higgs or bait Type Tens into activating their self destruct then teleport them to where you wanted the explosion. Neither method is very efficient at all, while the presence of Types guarding such fabrication facilities was almost guaranteed, the most common Type Sixteens held very little Higgs reserves and the most convenient of them, the Type Tens, were very rarely present in the labyrinthine tunnel networks that held the majority of the more important Antagonist structures.
That's how Anna herself got her Higgs supply - by consuming them. And Anna already commented that QA's core repair looked quite similar to that.
She was pretty sure it was just a fleshier version of one of her own materials assimilation methods.



if they start pulling out shard-based superpowers to be better Friends without anyone managing to figure out what's going on.
QA's powerset already includes that Friends gain a thematically appropriate power from hats they wear, and due to shard restrictions I don't see any way said Friends could get other powers without a trigger event.

Symbie is great and all, but Durga really does deserve the title of Best Core behind the scenes.
Blasphemy!
 
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You forget that regular Types (especially Type 10s?) have a sizeable supply of Higgs as well.

Honestly I want some kind of Portal type facility. Just antagonists in jars or something being sent for harvesting alongside the dead test subjects. A kind of clinical horror under the weird horror that just pinpoints how surreal it all is.
 
That's actually really flattering >.>

I won't demand that you go through and make sure it's perfect or anything, fret not; there's a few simple things, like sometimes missing punctuation at the end of sentences. :p



It's more than half @Avalanche's setting, but you're welcome~


EDIT:

Escape 7:

*CRACK*

"HOLY–I can't believe you actually sho–"


Escape 8:

"You were saying?"

"...Objection withdrawn, I guess?"
Made some changes so it flows better and added more punctuation. Hope that's better.

Oh, perhaps I used the wrong word when I mentioned setting I was referring to hell's hand in particular. While I like every part of your story, horror/comedy especially ones that have alien perspectives and how they integrate into various settings will always have a special place in my heart. I even went back to read an old favorite of mine a week ago Honor Thy Masters by Gabriel Blessings, shame hes gone.
 
Symbie is great and all, but Durga really does deserve the title of Best Core behind the scenes.
Blasphemy!
Symbie is a Symbiotic Support Frame, not a Valkyrie Core. There is no actual competition. :V


That's how Anna herself got her Higgs supply - by consuming them. And Anna already commented that QA's core repair looked quite similar to that.
*Type Ten looks oddly at a floating candy bowl and fishing lure before giving them a wide berth*

"Symmmmbiiiieeee, why can't I catch anything?"
 
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Random thought, some people have standards. Some organizations have standards. Whatever was going on in Hell's Hand probably included very stringent standards comprehensible only to a pair of twisting crystalline space worm things. However, I would LIKE to think that Coil failed at keeping a set of standards that would spell his abysmal demise.

Because seriously, anyone else want the Valkyries to find an example of what happens when someone bases their plans almost solely on the acquisition, drugging, and enslavement of underage girls? Just think of the messages on the wall we can have!

The beautiful, angry, exceptionally hammy messages!
 
Random thought, some people have standards. Some organizations have standards. Whatever was going on in Hell's Hand probably included very stringent standards comprehensible only to a pair of twisting crystalline space worm things. However, I would LIKE to think that Coil failed at keeping a set of standards that would spell his abysmal demise.

Because seriously, anyone else want the Valkyries to find an example of what happens when someone bases their plans almost solely on the acquisition, drugging, and enslavement of underage girls? Just think of the messages on the wall we can have!

The beautiful, angry, exceptionally hammy messages!
He literally refers to drugs as "candy." You can bet your ass that Taylor and Symbie had fun with that one. :V

...Is what I would say if this were canon. Sanctioned-Coil was placed in an indefinite coma months before he could've gone after Dinah. It's covered in one of the interludes.

EDIT: It probably would've featured blatant mockery/satire instead of their usual attempts at translation. For example, Coil/Alternative trying to lure a younger citizen and immediately getting shanked by them, or elaborate decorations that were promptly covered in graffiti.
 
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He literally refers to drugs as "candy." You can get your ass that Taylor and Symbie had fun with that one. :V

...Is what I would say if this were canon. Sanctioned-Coil was placed in an indefinite coma months before he could've gone after Dinah. It's covered in one of the interludes.

EDIT: It probably would've featured blatant mockery/satire instead of their usual attempts at translation. For example, Coil/Alternative trying to lure a younger citizen and immediately getting shanked by them, or elaborate decorations that were promptly covered in graffiti.
Now I'm imagining his property is just a spacially expanded white unmarked van in the middle of a playground filled with candy and trench-coats. On one hand an expanded van is probably valuable... on the other hand who would want to integrate coils van into themselves? 🤮
 
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Unfortunately, at least one of them already is - to that sweet, sweet promise of tech. I'm half-expecting one of Decimator's lackeys trying to grumpily demand some hints on its problem when QA's finally deployed somewhere.
Funny you should mention him; next chapter has another Decimator POV. :p
 
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Funny you should mention him; next chapter has another Decimator POV. :p
Given their continued relevance to the fic, I fully expect them to try and infiltrate the squadron at some point, cleverly disguising their nature as an Antagonist via a school girl uniform and some makeup. This works perfectly, because between "Taylor's" craziness, whatever nonsense The Nameless Girl brings, and the usual unusualness of this cast of characters, all of the authorities will be too busy second guessing everything they see to possibly believe that an actual Type Zero dressed in a school girl uniform is infiltrating Perth intentionally.
 
Given their continued relevance to the fic, I fully expect them to try and infiltrate the squadron at some point, cleverly disguising their nature as an Antagonist via a school girl uniform and some makeup. This works perfectly, because between "Taylor's" craziness, whatever nonsense The Nameless Girl brings, and the usual unusualness of this cast of characters, all of the authorities will be too busy second guessing everything they see to possibly believe that an actual Type Zero dressed in a school girl uniform is infiltrating Perth intentionally.
...Decimator is over a hundred meters long. That must be some impressive makeup, I gotta say. Decimator should start a channel.
 
...Decimator is over a hundred meters long. That must be some impressive makeup, I gotta say. Decimator should start a channel.
Cue the quiet new girl being weirdly averse to violence for a Valkyrie and coming across as a shrinking violet always reluctant in the extreme to ever do anything as if she's afraid of breaking someone or getting embarrassed, or something... and being really good at spacial warping for some reason. In fact, so good that she maay have misconstrued things a bit and shrunk herself down a little too much in an effort to "fit in" better, since no one would ever suspect her of secretly being a ginormous kill-monster if she was short enough to be a little moeblob, right? Statistical analysis thus suggests that she would be best off ingratiating herself to the slightly taller tsundere to make her protective of her and in turn allow her to hide behind said short-but-not-as-short tsundere when faced with the looming "gorilla woman" ...which actually is kind of intimidating, being so close to the girl who soloed another Class D Type Zero.
 
Crazy thought: Decimator CONTEMPLATES the idea of infiltration, dismisses it, then suddenly finds itself in the constricting form of a schoolgirl despite it/her absolute disbelief of the out-of-context situation. ANTAGONISTS WERE NOT MEANT TO SUDDENLY TRANSFORM INTO SCHOOLGIRLS!!!

Meanwhile; Dreamer gets the popcorn.
 


I'm just saying it's doable.
After what QA has gotten them used to...

"...Cores do not infiltrate? I mean, c'mon. She's not even trying to hide it."

Crazy thought: Decimator CONTEMPLATES the idea of infiltration, dismisses it, then suddenly finds itself in the constricting form of a schoolgirl despite it/her absolute disbelief of the out-of-context situation. ANTAGONISTS WERE NOT MEANT TO SUDDENLY TRANSFORM INTO SCHOOLGIRLS!!!

Meanwhile; Dreamer gets the popcorn.
"Antagonists do not voluntarily infiltrate."
 
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