The Final Return to Troll Citadel

The segment of beach where TrollMan had constructed his evil citadel / giant live-in sandcastle had once been a populated place. Like the Toyotomi engineers constructing Oda Castle, he had transformed it into their base of operations over a night. Since then, the spire has been ruined by the attack of the Alexis. Half the tower was torn off and set into the beach; at the time, it had been a curiosity for the beachgoers, but since the attack, the area has been guarded by a giant in ninja garb. This, as one may imagine, has stifled the flow of visitors to said area of Beach Net.

The most recent visitor to this area is the Neo-Shogun's tiniest general, Vee. Although her size is measurably smaller than that of her opponent, she struggles to take down a giant woman. Dressed in black with gleaming white eyes like two distant moons and red skin, the giant is intimidating (although perhaps not particularly suited to the work of a ninja, despite her clothing). Horns peak out from beneath her hood but her nose and mouth are masked.

Neither the little ninja nor the big ninja say anything; Vee takes what few openings she can get but is outmatched so significantly in power that her efforts prove useless. Breathing heavily, she escapes from another giant stomp and comes to rest behind the wall of the castle, where Lee and DragonierMan are scheduled to hit down.

A beam of light smashed into the ground, widening to reveal a large gray dragon ridden by a woman in red armor wielding a spear. The giant may be... well, giant; But with air-power, it was a more even match-up. The dragon gave a roar as it spotted its target. Flapping its large leathery wings, it started rising its bulk off the ground. It only took a moment later before it catapulted into the air, bearing Lee towards the enemy's face. The giant would taste her spear up close.

"Wuuuaaaah!" Lee cried, still trying to get her bearings riding a dragon for the first time. "This is a little different from fighting on horseback, you know!" She gripped tight with one arm, pressing her full body against DragonierMan, then gradually worked to a more comfortable position. "Alright, I'm ready! Let's get her!"

The giant ninja demon thing turned to face them, obviously far more concerned by a large dragon than a tiny ninja. Her fanged mouth curled into a look of concern; the fangs, glowing eyes, and skin pigmentation could easily remind DragonierMan of his last new acquaintance. It seemed that DragonierMan was just destined to fight a lot of women with double professions in mythological monster and fantasy setting staple professions. "Alex really hit a hornet's nest this time. But you're no match for a ninja!" the giant boomed. It was a little strange to hear, like thunder speaking conversationally. She also didn't seem to see fit to mention the additional facts that she was a giant and some kind of ogre, as though those were inconsequential to her status as a threat.

"Ninja giant or not, I'm not scared of you! Hyah!" Lee taunted her opponent,delivering a powerful wiped of her halberd, more to slash than stick. Flames kept from the blade as it tore into the cloth at the ninja's collar bone, creating...

... A rather insignificant knick. "Poop," Lee murmured. Their enemy seemed unphased and continued to watch them fly around her, raising one brow. "I guess brute strength isn't going to work..."

In a burst of crackling electricity, Vee appeared nearby her sister, clinging to DragonierMan's scaly dragon body alongside her. " Tell your dragon to get some distance! I have a plan for how we can fight her!" Vee announced, displacing her mouth covering so that the two could hear. Without her mask on, she did look a little like her sister... but the sensation of their chests pressing against him reminded him of the differences between the two.

"He's not my dragon! He's our dragon! DragonierMan, I mean!" Lee explained.

"Oh. Regardless, he needs to get some distance!" she reiterated. As the three flew together, the younger sister elaborated further. "There are a number of magic cauldrons in the ruins of that castle that can transform a navi into a giant. If we use one, we may be able to fight her!"

"Why haven't you used it then? I thought you wanted to be bigger!" Lee gasped. When her sister returned an icy stare, she laughed and shrugged it off. "To fight the giant, I mean!"

"Well, from what I've overheard, it sounds like there's a magician who originally controlled these cauldrons and she has since fled the area. That's why our opponent is stuck as a giant monster... Regardless, I felt it unwise for me to use it alone with nobody to secure me the magician through ordinary means. It would be highly awkward to be a giant without explaining it first."

"True. Well, good news: we met the witch and I can track her down later! Bad news:she kinda hates Drago now..." Lee laughed; her sister did not seem as amused. "We'll twist her arm and it ought to work out! The important part is who is getting supersized to fight the enemy. Do your clothes expand with you?"

"... Yes," Vee answered, unenthused at her sister's off topic question.

"If Drago does it, then he transforms, will he turn into an EVEN BIGGER DRAGON?" Lee asked, looking excited.

"Maybe... I don't know," Vee sighed. "Regardless, we will have to split into two teams: one to distract the giant and the other to sneak in and transform. How to you want to do it, DragonierMan?"

The dragon flew away from the giant oni creature. Unfortunately their pitiful attacks were not harming the large female ninja. They just didn't have the same size advantage. It was like an ant striking a dog. Or something else as insignificant striking something that was significant.

Vee had joined Lee on top of the dragon's back. She had suggested finding one of the missing cauldrons and using it on one of them. Lee seemed to relish the idea of an even larger dragon. Vee seemed unenthused at the idea. But asked DragonierMan his opinion.

The dragon swept over a large dune and landed behind it, blocking the view to the citadel. His figure contorted as it shrunk back down to human-size [Warrior.GMO]. This time he wasn't half-naked with a thong as his only source of clothing. He wore a striped/scaled vest of white and gray wool-cloth over his bare and rugged torso, pants, and leather boots. A headband of similar cloth adorns his head, graced with his Navi symbol, the black stone tower with three ramparts. Armoured armbands complete the ensemble. He flexed his clawed hands, cracking his knuckles as he looked at the dismounted Vee and Lee. He looked like a more feral SINN, the knight-like Navi that Vee met at the conference a long time ago. But since then their paths had not crossed.

Drago swept a hand through his short, wavy, dark cloudy-gray hair. He addressed Vee. "Since you seem to know how to use the cauldrons, use them on me. I will fight the giant." A gleam caught in his eye. "I relish the chance."

"Since the giant hasn't been fighting with General Lee all this time, her skills are unknown to it. General Lee will provide the distraction we will need for us to sneak in. I just hope that you, General Vee, can help me with your skills. I am not known for being stealthy." He stopped for a moment, forgetting his place in the hierarchy. "If that is acceptable to both of you, of course."

"Very well... you are probably the strongest of us three," Vee agreed, pressing her fist to her chin. Lee took offense, but she dismissed any complaints with her usual cool frown. "If you're going to be the one confronting her, you should have all of the intel I've gathered on her. The ninja, Kama, became a monster and a giant from those cauldrons even before they captured this citadel: the cauldrons manipulate anyone who enters them and stews for precisely five seconds into a giant monster. The problem is... while the cauldron does grant those changes, it shouldn't give the one who enters new abilities. She has many, however... she's a skilled ninja beyond just a powerful giant. She may be stronger than you," the ninja suggested brazenly. "Even once you're her size, you may be unable to fight her on an even level. However, I have two hunches: one is that she will attempt to use her tricks to misdirect your attacks and hide from you, since... at least during my battle, she never used the brunt of her force to destroy me. I'm not certain as to why... My second hunch is less substantiated..."

Vee hesitated a moment, which finally prompted her sister to grab her and shake her. "We don't have long before she sees us! What's your second hunch?" the samurai demanded.

"If a kunoichi is seen in the nude, she can never marry. It's been a concern of mine. I sense that she may be a kindred spirit... and that knowledge may be useful to you," Vee murmured, failing to meet the gaze of the others as if to absolve herself of anything that might happen.

"You might be surprised how often this kind of situation is coming up today," Lee laughed, patting her sister on the back. "But that's good information! I'm sure DragonierMan will figure out some way to use it," she cackled, winking and giving a thumbs up with her free hand. "Although telling him the enemy is too strong for him is just going to make him angry..."

"I don't know for sure. But I suspect it. Her ninja skills are about on part with mine, but her power is far, far greater," Vee spoke up again, focusing her eyes on DragonierMan's own to convey her seriousness. "Don't underestimate her nor the rest of the Alexis. I don't know if Yasu told you, but she has history with them... before Escort, Yasu was the strongest of all of us. And they dismissed her handily."

"You shouldn't spread around such personal information!" Lee complained, bopping her sister on the head.

"But it's relevant..." the ninja sighed. "Seriously, don't try to fight her. If you want my ElecDragon, you'll do as I advise... I don't like seeing a mission go bad... And I don't want to give up my ElecDragon to just anybody," she murmured, crossing her arms defiantly. "That's all the intel I have. We need to get moving. Lee, if you fail to distract her and she spots the two of us-"

"That won't happen, not a chance! I'm not going to let myself be ignored!" Lee roared, grabbing back up her polearm weapon and raising it above her head in both hands. "Hey ninja! You've got the fattest ass I've ever seen and I'm gonna stab iiiiiit!" With that bizarre battlecry, she ran back out onto the beach, spinning her weapon in a blur above her head.

The tremendous enemy turned, seeming as though she was snarling beneath her mask. "That was uncalled for!" she boomed, sweeping one leg towards Lee in a 90 degree arc across the sand. What would have ordinarily been a move to trip up her adversary instead became like facing down a giant avalanche- a wall, hiding the very horizon with its sheer mass. Lee clenched her teeth and ran backwards as fast as she could, trying her best not to head for the safety of what remained of the former troll citadel.

Vee grabbed DragonierMan's arm and led him through the ruined halls off the citadel, then down a spiraling staircase. Statues- some crumbled, others not- lined the walls, in the image of an unfamiliar witch. At the bottom, the two had to adjust their eyes; what would have been a very dark storage basement had been smashed open, allowing sunlight to illuminate a myriad of black kettles. A strange, swirling green broth half-filled several of them, less-than-half others. There were too many pots to count. "You can use any of them you want... Just get in and sit... You can keep your clothes on," she instructed him, pointing at one of the vessels. "In five seconds, you'll be teleported out a short distance into the sea there, and you'll be a giant. After that, chances are you won't be able to hear me again unless I shout... so you won't hear me. That means it'll be up to you."

"Why don't you smash me with your stomach fat, huh?!" Lee continued from outside. Another giant smash followed by a scream of panic made DragonierMan feel like he hadn't gotten the worst job in all of this.

Vee gave DragonierMan the run down on the giant. Her name was Kama and she was a skilled ninja. Even with the acknowledgement that Drago was probably the strongest of the three Neo-Shogun members in attendance, he may still not be a match for Kama. Drago snorted at the implication that he was not the strongest in the fight, but he kept silent as Vee outlined her plan. Kama may use her ninja ways to distort his attacks, so Drago would need to pull his punches until he found an opening. It was also a rule that if a kunoichi, a female ninja, was ever seen in the nude she would not be able to marry. Lee found it amusing that Drago would potentially be forced to strip another female opponent of her clothing to achieve the mission objective.

Drago on the other hand was conflicted. It seemed that ever since he joined the NS, he had been forced to deal with naked or near-naked females constantly. And that his missions usually ended up with everyone in their underwear. Technically, he was getting what most males would give their right arm for. But it almost always seemed to be a hollow prospect at the end. Almost.

Don't get him wrong, he enjoyed the flesh and attention. But he was also a killer. Fighting was what he was made for. What he lived for. It was what he most desired. He could enjoy himself the other carnal pleasure after the fact. Until then it was a distraction.

Then Vee told Drago about Yasu and Alexis. It was the stuff he already knew, except the part about an NS member named Escort. He had heard the name in passing, but had never met Escort. If Escort was the strongest NS member, he would need to seek him/her out later and find out if he was the strongest.

Focus. There is a battle to fight here. Vee was offering up her ElecDragon if he followed her advice. He was not supposed to beat her in combat, just strip her naked. Those was his orders, regardless of personal feelings toward the issue. He nodded his assent to the plan, then followed Vee as Lee led the giant away. They moved stealthily through the ruins of the citadel and into the dark basement. His eyes adjusted quickly to gaze upon a multitude of magic cauldrons. Trik must have been raided dozens of times for Alexis to amass such a collection.

"I will defeat this Alexis grunt like I defeated Alex herself earlier." Drago grunted before picking out what looked like the largest cauldron of the bunch and climbing into it. "At your advice, her clothes will be rags." He stated just before he disappeared.

If Vee statement was true, Drago would have teleported into the sea. He began the slow trek out from the bottom. The ocean bubbled as he reached the surface and rose up around him until the bubble burst and water streaked down his face in waterfalls. As more of his monstrous body began to rise to the surface, water would cascaded down his neck and shoulders. His arms swept out over the beach, draining rivers down upon the sand. His eyes glowed with a soft fire as his footfalls became louder, causing massive footprints in the mud. He wasted as little time as he could before he charged the other giant. He made no sound beyond the pounding of his boots on the land. He would try to catch the kunoichi and disrobe her while she was busy with Lee.

Vee looked momentarily surprised at hearing that DragonierMan had defeated the leader of the Alexis. "That's a story I will have to hear another time... although, judging by Lee's words earlier about your prior experience tearing women's clothes off, perhaps it's best that I don't know..."

After a simple climb into the cauldron bath, DragonierMan found himself very briefly underwater... and then emerging from the water, like a monster from an action flick. Being that tall likely brought several new sensations to mind, but luckily, DragonierMan already had the experience to know how to deal with being a larger size (or different shape). Lee distracted Kama for a moment longer, but she could only do so much; if that giant continued to be distracted by a tiny samurai, it would be like she had failed to notice a stranger because an ant had her attention. "You got to the cauldrons? No matter... we have what we need from those," she spoke to herself. "State your name, Neo-Shogun officer."

After pausing for a moment to allow him to introduce himself, she bowed, then rose back to her full height. She began to gesture with her hands... it could only be Kuji In, the hand sign "seals" used in ninjutsu. Before DragonierMan could peace it together or get in an attack, she vanished.

DragonierMan heard a tiny voice... it gradually became louder until finally Vee reached his shoulder, breathing heavily. It had been a rough climb, even for a ninja. "I recognize those motions... she's charging her chakra. I would estimate she knows you're a powerful foe and ha gone into hiding while she completes her preparations. Your only chance is to find her... she's a giant, though. How far could she have gone?" Vee murmered. Even from such close distance, it was hard to make out her words.

The beach did indeed look empty. Miles and miles of empty sand to the left and right... the sea outward, the dunes inward, the sky above. "Don't be fooled... a true ninja can hide in plain sight. Blend in with the terrain... try to think of different ways a ninja might avoid detection using the landscape!"

The clouds above, so close he could reach his arm through, obscured his view overhead. He could see so much of the sea that one would figure he'd see another shore, but he didn't. The waves seemed especially rough, despite the calm weather. The sand seemed relatively undisturbed, apart from the dunes and a pit, about the size of his giant feet, further into the hills.A giant rod of bamboo sat there, as is someone had discarded it. Further down the beach, the air seemed to shimmer and wave almost unnaturally with the heat of the beach... he might try to walk in that direction and see if anything new came into view.

((Find the ninja before she can use her ninjutsu! Each time you find her you can attack her clothing. Finish her as quickly as possible for a bonus!))

Seals complete: 1 of 9

DragonierMan stopped short at his detection by the giant ninja. He placed one clawed hand on his chest. "I am DragonierMan, your defeat." He then sprouted giant leathery wings from his back, blocking out the sun and darkening the ground around him. His hand came from his chest to rest to his side. He bent his knees to charge, when she vanished.

Drago's ears twitched like a cat's as he scanned his eyes around the terrain. Vee appeared on his shoulder and warned him about 'seals' and 'charging chakra.' Clearly that was something Drago could not allow.

His attention then came to rest on a large bamboo pole, probably a knocked down tree due to its size, lying on the sand. "Hold on," he said to Vee as his wings beat once as he leapt towards the pole. He soared over the nearby hill and swept the weapon into his meaty grip.

Another beat of his wings and he wheeled around towards a shimmering heat pattern. Dust scattered and dirt shifted under his wings as he flew towards the shimmer and swung his bamboo tree in a wide arc through the mirage. Another powerful beat of his wings scattered sand into the air as he landed.

His wings spread out as he scanned for his opponent, before he stooped down and scooped one of his great wings into the sand. He rose up and spun, flinging the sand around him like a tornado. Hoping that some of it coated the invisible ninja, assuming she was nearby. If he found her, he would attempt to tear a piece of clothing off. Either catching a piece with his pole, or with his claws.

"Come out, come out," Drago called out, his teeth sharply glinting in the light. "Wherever you are." He kicked up another few pounds of sand into the air with a massive boot. "Hiding from me only makes the hunt more fun. Eventually I will find you."

"Eventually I will catch you."

"You may be interested to know that she was using that to breathe while submerged beneath the sand earlier. Since it's here and not there, I suspect she's not planning to try that same hiding location again," Vee remarked, unsure of whether or not he was going to waste time digging up the hole. Thankfully, he didn't and instead began to investigate what appeared to be an ordinary heatwave further down the beach.

Upon inspection, however, it was no heatwave at all; he managed to whack Kama's arm with his stick, causing her to drop a giant veil in the design of the beach past that point. The fact that the image had looked so real was uncanny; the sheet somehow almost perfectly filled the image of the spot beyond where she stood that if he hadn't been looking for her, he would have never realized anything was amiss. For his trouble, he managed to tear open and off her tunic, revealing a tight mesh of black chainmail beneath. It wasn't transparent, but it did show off the size of her very impressive rack a lot better (it must have been pretty huge even before the transformation). "You're quite determined, I'll give you that. I don't know why you're going for my clothes, but I'm not going to return that armor to you regardless!" she warned him strictly, then promptly vanished again.

"Good start. There's only so many places she can hide," Vee commended her ally. According to Vee, the sand was a dead end, but there were many dunes still to be searched, as well as the pit and the flat of the beach. Beyond that, he could head further down the beach, investigate the tumultuous waters, or search for her in the sky.

Seals complete: 2 of 9

"Why are you in Alexis anyways? You should know that that organization is circling the drain now that I am here. I have already beaten your leader in combat. You would be wise to surrender and beg for mercy." DragonierMan shouted out in an effort to demoralize his foe. And hopefully reveal Kama's position should she be foolish enough to talk.

Meanwhile Drago looked around in an attempt to locate suitable locations for his foe to hide. He had defeated her first hiding spot and disarmed her of her beach-scenery sheet that she used to hide behind. So most likely she wasn't on the beach proper. And although he was not sure whether Kama could fly, it would be too large an area to cover capably enough, so Drago just had to hope that she wasn't there. That left the pit and a newly discovered patch of tumultuous water.

Well, since the first distortion seemed to pan out, Drago took off towards the turbulent, frothing ripples. He speared at the center of the disturbance with his bamboo pole like an ancient mariner spearing fish. Again and again he attempted to fish the giant ninja out with his prodding, trying to get her to surface so he can tear another article of clothing off. After a while, he even began rooting around with one hand under water while the other continued to spear with the bamboo. Anything to find Kama.

If that proved fruitless within a few minutes of his attempt, he would abandon his post and fly over to the pit. And then begin a similar regimen of smashing the area with the bamboo tree and his claws. Just generally making as much of a frenzy as possible.

Finally, Drago kicked off the ground after his attempts at the two sites. He rocketed into the air to get a better view of the field. Perhaps he missed another area of interest that Kama could have went. He scanned the battlefield from the air. Using all his senses in an effort to find likely spots for her to hide.

The ninja, of course, chose to answer DragonierMan's question and threat with silence. She wouldn't be much of a ninja if she was that easy to trick. He next adopted the hands on approach of checking out the water with rapid straw pokes... he wasn't able to get anything to come up, however, until he reached down and managed to find an unnaturally soft spot. As he yanked it up, he grabbed a fistfull of Kama's buttocks (almost as oversized as her top) and kept pulling until he got her slops to tear. Before he could get her out any farther, she had teleported. DragonierMan had to figure that she had either dodged all of those straw pokes or, more likely, endured them to try to hide her presence; either feat might be considered impressive.

"Good work, I doubt she can hold out much farther... she should surrender once you've gotten a bit more," Vee encouraged DragonierMan.

Unfortunately, DragonierMan's second attempt was a lot less fruitful; he poked at the hole for a considerable length of time before it finally became evident that the pit remained unoccupied. "Let's move on," Vee suggested, although DragonierMan was already getting the hint.

The little ninja held on tightly as DragonierMan took to the sky above, searching for his prey. From overhead, he saw the ruined castle and re beach dunes as the only places his adversary would likely have retreated to, although the castle couldn't provide a lot of cover for a woman of that size. As he searched the clouds, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary. The sun seemed bright- too bright to stare directly into. Another thick bank of clouds, possibly rising into a thunderhead, was revealed in the distance... there was a chance she would use that for cover.

Seals complete: 4 of 9

Drago angled himself at the thick bank of clouds and drove towards them. The possibly rising thunderhead could be used as cover. If it was used as cover, then the ninja he was fighting was quite skilled. When he reached the cloud bank, he swept his bamboo pole and clawed hand through the dark clouds to see if he would hit anything. If he did, he would plunge his claw in and start tearing clothing off. If not, he swept his pole through again a few more times, just to be sure.

Hopefully, the task was done with that series of attacks. If not, then she could be hiding in or around some of those large sand dunes. With a crack and thunderous beat of his wings, Drago plunged to the sand. Landing with a womp that scattered sand everywhere, the giant Navi began to beat the nearby sand dunes to molehills with his bamboo pole and clawed hands and large-booted feet.

As DragonierMan entered the black cloud bank, Vee's eyes narrowed... she sensed something was amiss. "A trap!" she called out at the last moment; a bolt of electricity nearly struck DragonierMan as he entered. "We can't go in there without injuring ourselves, nor could she..." With that logic, DragonierMan was forced to back off the cloud after a few experimental attacks. To Vee's credit, DragonierMan didn't see anything inside either at a glance, once he got up close. The ninja had likely avoided this spot because, in a roundabout way, it made too much sense...

On that note, the dunes came up empty too. Each stab just brought up more waves of sand. "It's no use. This is her last line of defense... She's certainly going to be hiding somewhere very crafty. Take another look around and see if anything else comes to mind..."

The sea had calmed and DragonierMan had basically stabbed at all of the beach nearby... Two possibilities were that she'd gone further down the beach or was somehow hiding in the ruins of the sandcastle. To do that, though, she'd almost certainly have to have shrunk down again... It was also possible she'd gone back into the water, but not likely, seeing as the waters looked basically calm. The sun continued shining down so brightly that he could barely look into it. A shadow passed by, blocking the light partially for a moment... Perhaps a cloud or a flock of seagulls.

Seals complete: 6 of 9

The Castle was the last place DragonierMan expected the giant to go, so he squared his large shoulders and flexed his wings, and soared across the sands. "I am getting very angry!" Drago bellowed as he banked past another dune. After failing to get the ninja three times in a row, Drago worried if he would be able to get her before she finished. Flashes of previously failed missions passed in his mind's eye. He gritted his teeth and gripped his bamboo pole tighter. His eyes darted from one area to another, trying desperately to find and strip his opponent. He would descend on any spot he could see, quickly make a probing swipe, and then move on. He had a lot of territory to cover, and little time remaining to cover it.

Going down the beach proved fruitless. Each stab came up empty and no matter how far he proceeded in any direction, he found no new desirable hiding spots. "This is her last line of defense; she won't hide anywhere less than a cunning location. Somewhere we would never think of looking because its simply counterintuitive to even inspect it further than a passing glance..." she reasoned, but offered no suggestions. A shadow passed over them again briefly. She put one hand up to shield her eyes and looked up. "I thought she might be using a 'kite' to float herself... But we checked all of the clouds already."

The sun continued to bear down relentlessly upon them, making it hard to look into the sky. At this point, she could only have found some way to shrink or become invisible or perhaps gone into a previous hiding spot... but Vee seemed convinced the sky was the answer. Was there anywhere he hadn't looked?

Seals complete: 7 of 9

DragonierMan wheeled back toward the citadel. "The only spot left to her is the citadel." Drago stated as he beat his wings and soared over the sand towards the tower. "Keep a sharp eye out. She has to be here."

When he reached the tower he began to circle it. Looking for any spot that one could contort into. "How flexible can she be?" he asked. "Is it possible that she can change her size?" he asked while looking. "How do I get back to my own size after this anyways?"

It was just then that a though occurred to him. He began looking outside the tower. "General Lee, have you seen the ninja?" Drago hoped that Lee was nearby and had been paying attention to the battle so far.

"To return to your own size, we will need the help of that witch. From what I can surmise, it seems likely she will show up again once we clear the citadel of her opponents and return her stolen goods to her," Vee suggested. "That said, it seems highly unlikely that Kama changed her size to hide in the citadel. But perhaps Lee has seen something that will help us."

Unfortunately, when they encountered Lee, she didn't have any good news for them. "No... I did see the witch, though. She's over there among the pots, trying to hide near the back," she answered, pointing to the partially concealed, newly robed sorceress hunched behind one of the cauldrons.

Trik stood up and sighed. "I thought I would come see how things had ended out and then try to take these things away once the ordeal was over. But isn't it over? I don't see that giant ninja anywhere..." she grumbled.

"No, it's not over. Her absence is only due to her need to hide as she charges her chakra using special seals. According to my estimates, she's nearly done. Do you have any idea at all where she might be hiding?" Vee inquired.

"I did see her set up a kite earlier! She's probably in the sky," Trik answered enthusiastically, hoping to get the nonsense over with.

"But we looked everywhere up there... Did we not? My intuition says she's still up there," Vee murmured.

It was difficult to look up into the sky, with the sun shining so brightly directly overhead. Looking into the sun seemed nearly impossible, but then, why would anyone look into the sun anyways? The only clouds left unsearched were those thunderheads that Vee had claimed were so unhospitable that there was no way they could be used as a hiding spot. Another shadow passed by overhead, but there was no sound of birds...

Seals complete: 8 of 9

Another shadow passed by with no clear reasoning behind it. DragonierMan kicked himself at not seeing it sooner. Well, there goes finishing up on time. Drago thought as he watched the sky for another unexplained shadow, before spreading his wings and taking off towards its originator.

"I hope those Seals make you strong enough. I have been itching for a worthy fight!" Drago called to the shadow-maker as he swung his bamboo pole at her. He hoped he struck something so he would be able to finish the deed and be done with it already. With claw and fang.

"Why don't we drop the foreplay and get straight to the main event?" Drago asked as he reached out with his claws to rend fabric asunder. This was of course all hinged on the fact that he managed to catch the ninja. With the way she had avoided him for so long, she was at least somewhat skilled. That or Drago was just terrible at hide and seek.

He probably just didn't have the patience and/or perception needed to fight a ninja. Perhaps he would have to get pointers from Vee later. And maybe that would allow him to play the same game with Vee.

DragonierMan took into the sky again in a final effort to find the ninja, one that he felt fairly confident in the success of. Blessedly, he was on the mark this time; the ninja had been using the unnaturally bright light of this net's sun as a way of hiding herself in plain sight. He managed to hit one of her flanks with the short bamboo stick, then from the sound surmise where to grab with his claw. The two of them came tumbling down together as the kite engulfed them, with her fighting him off and him ripping apart the links of her chain mesh garb, until finally, they hit the ground in a massive eruption of sand. The kite ended up pinned beneath her, with her on top of it and DragonierMan in turn on top of it. This would be the second time today DragonierMan had ended up pinning down a fanged monster woman, for better or worse.

As the last of the mesh came off, DragonierMan got a good look at her body: wide hips and oversized breasts with a slender waist, a great hour-glass figure. Her only clothing beneath the chain-mesh was a primarily yellow, fur bikini with tiger stripes across it in black. Black hair, curling slightly at the ends and reaching about shoulder length, framed her head where her hood used to be. Her fanged mouth was clenched into a tight frown, but her expression was more one of alarm than of anger. "Wait! Don't tear any more!" she requested clumsily, grabbing hold of his wrists. There wasn't anything left to tear besides her underwear, regardless.

"... An oni in tiger-striped panties... That's cliche," Vee grumbled, crossing her arms irritably.

"You're just mad because she's a good ninja that's also stacked!" Lee pointed out, which seemed to be on the money, as Vee turned her head aside with a moody expression. "Anyway, unless you want to bare it all for our dragon, I suggest you hand over the armor you stole!"

"I-I was wearing the tiger stripes before I was an oni! Ahem... Yes, very well," she agreed. She wordlessly acknowledged the seriousness of the situation; apparently, hiding her naked form was as important as Vee had implied it would be. Slowly, she released one of DragonierMan's arms and used her free hand to reach into the chest of her bikini, from which she produced a tiny golden trinket. Upon closer inspect, he found that it was the remaining golden armor (although at this size it would be better as an ear ring... then again, it hadn't been much to begin with).

"Now, can we turn DragonierMan back to his normal size?" Vee inquired, turning to Trik.

"Yes, although... that woman, the ogre, is stuck that way. I tried to undo the spell on her earlier so she would be easier for my monsters to fight, but it didn't work. That's just a lesson for all of you: don't use other people's things without asking," she sighed; it sounded funny to hear such a basic children's lesson coming from an evil witch. "Something about her code must not play well with my magic."

"You can imagine how it's hindered me. Everyone thinks it's great being a giant, but it's not, especially for a ninja," Kama murmured. The swell of her breast went up and down as her breathing heightened; it wasn't clear what ought to happen next. Could DragonierMan release her? Logically, they might want to take her captive, but he didn't know of any technology that the Neo-Shogun Empire possessed to prevent jack-out. It begged the question of why she wasn't jacking out right now.

"She's charged eight of her nine hand seals, remember," Vee suddenly pitched in. "Whatever we do, we can't let her use both of her hands to finish that ninth one."

"I see, you were wise to remember that," Kama applauded Vee. "However, that's not what I'm waiting for... There are problems with my jacking out. Suffice to say, I need you to agree to my surrender; I've been defeated and have returned what I've stolen. I need you to withdraw and release me, so that I may jack out."

"Ha! So as long as we hold on to her, we can take her prisoner!" Lee cheered.

Kama, however, shook her head. "I can jack out whenever I'm ready. I choose not to because I have been defeated in an honorable confrontation, and it is necessary that I yield to the winner. However, I'm certain that... we'll finish this in a way that upholds both of our honor... with my surrender and your accepting the terms I set forward. There's no reason either of us needs to lose their honor," she explained, caught between her code of honor and her need to maintain her dignity. The thin fur fabric of her bikini would offer less resistance than the chain mail had if DragonierMan simply decided to tear through it...

"Well, for my part, I don't want to shrink DragonierMan down until we're sure she's going to withdraw. DragonierMan, please release her and we will accept her surrender," Vee encouraged the subordinate. "Then we will return you to your normal size, Lee and I will pay you, and this whole nonsense with the Alexis will finally be finished."

Although Kama said nothing, DragonierMan sensed from the way she was biting her lip that she wanted to say something cool about how the feud between the Alexis and the Empire was just beginning; she was likely only hesitating due to her unfavorable situation.

DragonierMan waited until everyone had finished talking before he grabbed at her other arm with his free hand. If he succeeded he would bring both arms out to either side of him, spreading her arms wide, and pinning them to the sand. He dipped his head down to run his teeth over the center of her chest, lightly brushing the middle strap holding her bra together. "I don't know about that... To the victor go the spoils after all," he said with a hint of teasing. He grabbed up the strap in his teeth, catching the fabric only a little before releasing it to snap back onto her skin. "I think we have a unique situation here."

"On one hand, we have the time for her to tell us all she knows about Alexis. On the other hand..." He sticks his tongue out and runs it down to trace around her belly-button before coming back up to lick up Kama's neck and chin with a quick movement. He pulled back just a tiny bit afterward, his lips inches from hers. Leaning in. His breath blows across her skin as his voice lowers a bit. "I can see her honor laid bare. Even if you can't get married afterward, you'll always have a place with me."

"So," he said as he sat back up a bit and reached down with his wings, letting the claws on the ends of each tip tickle over the strap of her bra, "What's it going to be Kama? I hope you choose the second option." He grinned, showing his own pearly fangs again.