The Dam at the Alaki Reservoir

When DragonierMan and Sparks followed Lee's coordinates, they would end up at a large lake; a guide board helpfully identified it as "the Alaki Reservoir". On one side was a lake with very high waters, while on the other, a valley with a river flowing into the horizon. The river itself was not named. They'd been deposited atop a dam, which regulated the flow from reservoir to river. A look around would show this area was remove enough that there would be some virus activity around the water, but the dam seemed virus-free, perhaps indicating there were some sort of defenses built in. It was difficult to tell, from this angle. They wouldn't be able to see all the way in either direction, nor even all the way across the dam... there was a thick, cold fog all around, different from the warm mist of Yoka Net.

It seemed like a nice enough place, but not exactly in line with the "fun" Lee had promised them. Furthermore, at least for now, there was no sign of any Alexis, that including the giant that they'd come to look for. Up ahead, it looked like there was a staircase leading down inside. Hopefully, the person Lee had mentioned they were going to meet first was just in there.

For now, DragonierMan and Sparks would want to meet up with Lee and Sake. The former was standing, dressed in the same armor they'd met her in, looking closely at the guide map. The determination with which she squinted through the fog to read the fine details made it clear she was taking her unusual role as mission leader very seriously (hopefully). Taking things less seriously was Sake, who was currently checking out the other side, making an equally pensive expression. She was dressed in the white robe she wore as a Neo-Shogun officer, which concealed much of her shape, though there wasn't a lot to look at their regardless. Her hair was light brown, fairly straight, and formed a moppy bob around her head. Her skin was a shade or two darker tanned than Lee's, but still distinctly Electopian. Notably, she was so short that Lee was about a head taller and DragonierMan quite a bit more. The young lady might look devoted to the mission, but if the navis walked around to see what she was studying so intensely, they'd see only some carved graffiti and no markings at all on that side. It was also perhaps noteworthy that her eyes were squinted so tightly as to be closed right at the moment... A closer inspection made it look as though she might have fallen asleep standing up. Would she really be able to help finding Kama?

Sparks, along with the trio landed somewhere in Okuden's digital world. He was still awe-struck over Drago's sudden design change before Suzume had dragged him through the portal. The samurai could only imagine what kind of powers that cross would lend his friend. "I hope that one day I can see what that cross can do for you, and hope it comes in handy quite often." He spoke before trying to survey the landscape.

Looking around, not much could be seen from where the six stood at the moment. A fog so thick, you could probably cut it like a slick of cake. They seemed to be in a somewhat remote area, nothing crazy happening at the moment. Sparks hurriedly snapped out of his focus on Drago. It was time to get serious and down to business. The samurai Navi stepped towards the generals and spoke out to the new comer first, while taking a bow. "Hello there... You're Sake I presume?" Keeping his head low he continued. "My name is Sparks, I'm hoping to soon become one of your most relied on comrades."

Suzume let go of Sparks as they appeared from a portal on top of the dam. Aya and Sparks!Drago came in behind them, one after the other. Sparks!Drago still had his electric-energy sword held out in front of him, which now acted like a torch, cutting through the heavy fog with a sparkling light (although his hair was also giving off a faint glow as well). The sword crackled and popped occasionally, drawing little attention to itself over the din of the flowing water around the dam. However, the whole thing was probably very noticeable by Lee and Sake, who at the moment were busy peering at other things.

Suzume looked around her in awe for a moment, taking in the various terrain features around her with her keen eyes, while Aya walked over to Lee with Sparks!Drago. "Need some illumination?" Sparks!Drago asked with a crackling smile, his teeth looking like miniature Tesla coils. He held the blade above the map, using it like a lamp, and giving some clarity to Lee in the fog. "So now that we are here. What is the 'fun plan' that you wanted to tell us?" Although, Lee probably had a better subject to broach, into the mystery as to why Drago looked like a samurai. But that might distract them from the mission at hand. Which if recalled, was finding the manager of the dam and talking to him or her, for some reason.

Sparks showed up just before Drago and his group, deciding first to introduce himself to Sake. The young lady turned her head to face him, then brushed her moppy hair out of her face. "You're right about that! Sake, at your service," she met his introduction, reaching out a hand as though for a shake, then falling forward and stumbling slightly past him, only stopping herself from falling to the floor by grabbing his shoulder with her hand. "Whoops. Pardon me! Boy, it's a tall order if you want me to rely on you more than anybody else. I rely on everybody else a lot! Sometimes I rely on them just to avoid falling over, see?"

"Ha ha ha... You sure make a first impression, Sake," Lee joked, leaning around the signboard to watch the two of them. "Don't worry, Sir Sparks! I'm sure she's more reliable than she looks. Probably!"

Once DragonierMan and crew arrived, Lee turned to look at them, her eyes widening as it took her a moment to recognize him. "Ack! It's you, DragonierMan! You scared the bejeebies out of me for a second there. I feel like my hair's standing on end! Maybe that's the static electricity moving through the fog, though? How about that, huh? I know a lot about the way science and elements work too," she announced proudly, though her claims were dubious. "What kinda costume is that, anyway? I didn't know you were an elec type! Anyway, good work, comrade: you remembered the promise I made! My 'fun plan' that's gonna make me your favorite general, he he he!" she chuckled, keeping a sly smile on as she brought out two maps from the folds of her metal skirt. The maps had a few sketches of the same dam diagram that she was surveying herself, very crudely drawn, but effective in conveying one key piece of information: the only part of the dam they really cared about was what was right underneath them, the receiving area. It was circled in black, with all of the rest of the dam scribbled over and the words "DOESN'T MATTER" written in big letters.

"There's your key intel for this mission! But more importantly, turn it over... this is what I call my Samurai Bingo Card! It's a fun game we'll play while we do the mission," she explained with enthusiasm dripping from her voice. An equally crude square, sectioned into nine roughly evenly sized smaller squares like a tic-tac-toe board, was drawn on the back of the map, with a few objectives written in each square. At the end of rows and diagonals, she'd written in prizes. "I've written fun things we should try to do in each square! You can also win secret fun prizes if you line up any column, row, or diagonal! The middle square's a free space, of course, cause I'm the most generous general," she informed them, excitedly tapping her finger on that space as if they wouldn't see the phrase "FREE SPACE!" written in otherwise. "Take a look. It's nice prizes, I swear that on my pride as a samurai!"



She waited for a second so they could read, then grinned and grabbed hold of the edge of the paper again, half threatening to crush the vital intel in her grip. "See? You can win special prizes for doing fun things! That way, I guarantee that this mission will be double-fun!" she cheered, her eyes sparkling. "Of course, for those funny ones, you ought to know that one half of comedy is timing! That means that instead of trying to knock them out right now, you should do it later when I'm not expecting it. And that's about it! Now we head on down to the reception room where we'll meet the guy who operates this whole dam! Well... he and some Mr. Progs do. We won't be meeting them, though. Just the guy who runs the place. He's gonna help us learn where Kama is around here! If you've got more questions, you can ask 'em on the way down."

Lee and Sake both would happily gab with the others as they made their way down the staircase and to the navi she'd mentioned. The inside of the dam might be a little surprising to them... what had seemed rustic from the outside looked locked down from the inside. Although Lee's map had said nothing else here was important, there appeared to be many security areas sealed behind locked doors, none of them with windows. The halls seemed somehow restrictively narrow. Then electric lighting was more than sufficient, almost a little too much so, with no apparent way to shut off any of the lights. No Mr. Progs wandered the hallways, despite Lee's earlier words.

There were no turns, just a long straight hallway, feeding out into the reception room. It was probably not what they were expecting. Instead of a comfortable seating area, they would find that the room had no seating whatsoever. On either side of the back wall were two more thick security doors, and in the center, a long window of dark glass. Whatever was on the other side couldn't be seen, but one could easily get the feeling someone else was watching from the other side. A camera watched from just above the glass, seeming to track their movements. Speakers were mounted in the corners, but no voice greeted them. Lee looked as perplexed as they likely felt and quickly voiced that concern. "Uuuuuh... Hello? We're looking for the guy in charge of this place!" she called out, her voice reverberating throughout the suddenly large room.

"Do you have an appointment?" a deep male voice came out from the speakers, sounding impatient and also quite sure that they didn't.

"Uh... no... This place is just a dam, right? What's going on here, anyway? Don't you guys just um... direct... water around here?" she asked, not sounding one-hundred percent sure what the purpose of a dam was.

"That's not your concern. If you have no appointment, then I will not see you," the voice grunted back. A long sigh followed. "I have enough to worry about. If only my dam did simply 'direct water'. It's more important function is generating power and in that respect it is presently crippled, utterly useless. I don't have time for tourists." The voice hushed for a moment, then began again. "... What did you say your purpose was? You're not... Ahem. Are you collectors?" the voice asked, suddenly sounding as though it was endeavoring to make itself sound more agreeable. Lee looked at the others with puzzlement on her face, obviously not having thought out what happened if they went underground and found some high security power station instead of a friendly tour guide.

Drago was still showing off his Sparks cross, which came in handy when his bright electric blade cut through the fog. Sake's sudden trip, and grab caught Sparks off guard and almost caused him to stumble. The warrior managed to stabilize himself so neither of them fell to the ground. He was beginning to see that Sake ran deeper through this navi, then just her name. "Well if there is anything I can do for you... I'll do my best to help." After the two regained proper footing Sparks responded to Lee, "I hope so, she is a general after all. I'm sure that's not achieved with out proving ones worth first."

Sparks grabbed onto his Samurai Bingo Card. He took a few moments to study it deeply, making sure to read every one of the nine blocks carefully. He wasn't the funniest fellow alive, that was for sure... so the other blocks would have to be the key to the samurai's "fun". The fact that things always seemed to have a somewhat fun vibe every time he was with anybody from the NS let Sparks know he had made the right decision in wanting to join. "Well I'm not sure how well I will do in this game... but if there are prizes, then I'm in."

After everyone had finished reading up on their game cards it was time to move onward to the reception room of the dam. Sparks would proceed to engage the group in conversation as they moved towards the destination. "As a subordinate of the Shogun, what would be expected of me? What other kinds of missions are there for us to take?" Other things crossed his mind, such as how many other members they had, and how strong was the faction compared to other groups on the net.

Ultimately they arrived to the very unwelcoming reception that came over the loud speakers. It seems whosoever voice that came through it sounded frustrated with an issue with the power. "Excuse me... I don't mean to speak out of turn but that's no way to speak to a lady." Sparks interjected his self into the conversation. "You say there is a problem with the dam generating power. Well my friend and I here can supply you with some electricity if you'd be so kind as to help us out." His words flowed smoothly, like a salesmen trying to pitch his negotiation. All this talk was accompanied with a show as the electric samurai unsheathed his blade of lighting. Having just been upgraded, the sparks cracked in every direction, never had it looked more prominent in the past.

General Lee was taken aback by the appearance of Sparks!DragonierMan and started asking questions about it. "I am not normally an 'Elec Type' no," Sparks!Drago replied. "This is my SparksCross. I showed Sparks because he apparently activated a Cross with me during his latest busting run and asked about it. Even though this will fade soon, I still have a Cross with your name on it," he smirked. "And I could change into that afterwards if you want."

Sparks and Sparks!Drago then received the Samurai Bingo Card from Lee. They all looked over the cards, which were printed on the back of maps of the dam, as Lee explained the game. The Bingo game consisted of eight activities to complete during the mission, and a free space. BugFrags, Chips, and Zenny appeared to be the main prizes; appearing on the horizontals and the verticals. There was also something called 'Sexy Prize', with hearts drawn on them, for connecting the diagonals. As he looked over the card, Suzume and Aya came over and took a look as well. The three scanned over each task and tried to make mental notes about them. Sparks made a comment about how he wasn't sure how well he would do at the game, but he was willing to do it for the prizes. Everyone had to nod their heads in agreement on that.

Sparks!Drago noted the 'fun souvenir for Vee' in particular. Perhaps he could find something that might make up for the questionable time they had together in an earlier mission. Though Vee did forgive him, he wasn't convinced that the situation had resolved to his satisfaction. Also, 'Do something awesome we can tell Yasu about later to make her happy!' was another thing that Drago wanted to check off his list. If nothing less than to try to repair Yasu's damaged psyche from being taken over by BrainMan and forced to do terrible things to the ones she swore friendship and fealty too.

If he could complete the whole Bingo checklist with Sparks, he would. But the more important thing was to make sure that Sparks succeeded in the mission to join the Neo-Shogunate. It was imperative that Drago helped expand the membership pool to strengthen the NS against further attack. Though as Lee pointed out, you might as well have fun with it while you do it. Sparks!Drago wasn't the most humorous individual, but perhaps Suzume and Aya could help out with that. Or there might be a comedic timing point that he can take advantage of.

---

Anyways, the time came to move into the dam to find the reception room as circled on the map, and talk to the guy in charge to enlist his help in locating Kama. As they went down the staircase into the facility they began talking. Sparks!Drago came up besides Sake and looked down at her, reaching down to support her as she wobbled. "Besides a few brief times, and that one mission, I haven't gotten to talk to you that much. How have things been going since our last conversation? Anything strange happen? Any juicy gossip in the camps or about the rest of the Generals and Subordinates?"

Aya and Suzume came up behind Sparks and Lee, as Sparks asked his question about what was expected of a Subordinate. "That is actually a loaded question," Suzume said with an expression of wariness. "The short answer is: a lot of good PR and fighting hostile factions," Aya added. "Yeah. We have done everything from weapons testing, to game and talk shows, to spy stuff, to search and recover, to search and destroy, to recruitment, and everything else in-between, and under the rainbow. So really it is up to you to decide that," Suzume concluded. Aya tried to place a hand on Sparks' shoulder. "Though right now we are trying to replenish our ranks. BrainMan, the leader of ROT, caused a lot of problems for us recently and stole or drove away several prominent and not-so-prominent members. One of them being the leader of our minimal air force MachMan, who left after having an argument with General Yasu while she was under the control of BrainMan. Last time we saw him he wasn't looking so good. Perhaps he'll even come back someday." She let go of Sparks' shoulder and gave a little smile. "Helping you get into the NS will hopefully start a road to recovery, and strengthen us overall."

---

They finally arrived in the reception... hall. It wasn't a small room like it was described. It looked more like a security checkpoint. After a moment of confusion and asking if anyone was there, a voice came on the speakers. Apparently they were supposed to have an appointment, which seemed like something Lee should have figured out before they got there. But the more pressing concern was that the dam's power generators were presently crippled. Sparks immediately asked if they could help with supplying power to the dam, as Sparks and Sparks!Drago had electric flowing through them, even if Sparks!Drago's form was temporary. "I have my doubts that it would be that easy to fix this problem if all they needed was a jump start," Sparks!Drago said to Sparks. "If that is all they needed they would probably have an Elec Navi helping them."

Suzume piped up at the 'collectors' bit. "Collectors? Well we have this Bingo card," she said while holding up the back side of the map. "You wouldn't have a gift-shop or something for souvenirs would you?" Aya glanced sideways at Suzume for a moment, before looking toward the camera again. "We aren't mechanics or anything. But we wouldn't be opposed to helping you if we can." Sparks!Drago sheathed his sword to crack his knuckles. "Oh I hope the problem is some viruses making trouble. I would love to crush something." Aya ignored him and continued. "We are actually here for some intel. We heard you might be able to help us find a giant ninja navi named Kama who should be in the region. Perhaps we can help you with your problem and you can help us with ours."

Before they headed inside, Lee took a few moments to address the others. "Ha ha! She's not a general, although the rank really only relates to when we joined as far as I know. Sake's just a Subordinate rank, like DragonierMan is!" Lee explained, patting Sake on the head as though to break Sparks' illusion that he had to be particularly respectful. The smaller girl, for her part, didn't object and kept smiling. "Great, Sir Sparky! I knew prizes would get you guys interested. That's my intuition as a general!" That much seemed pretty basic, but she was proud of herself regardless, apparently.

She turned back to DragonierMan then, raised her eyebrows. "You already have a MeCross? That's sick! I totally want to see it! But no-no-no, don't bust it out right now! Only bust it out if we fight something! I want the first time I see it to be super cool, okay?" she encouraged him, showing surprising reservation. They headed down into the dam now, with all of the major questions out of the way. Of course, inside, there was an opportunity to ask some more minor ones and kill some time. "You'd be amazed how much stuff there is to do as a subordinate! Subordinates go on all kinds of missions, like the one we're on now, or stopping trains, recruitment stuff, rescue stuff, negotiation stuff, testing out stuff... The sky's the limit! The NP and the Mafia may have their departments and their families, but we don't need things like those. We go where we're needed and do everything! That's what makes us so cool!" DragonierMan offered an answer of his own, including some more specific examples. "Yeah, uh... we're needed now more than ever!" she added, otherwise satisfied with the explanation.

Strolling along at an easy pace, Sake responded late to DragonierMan's questions. "Ha ha! Don't you realize you're at the center of all of the juiciest gossip lately?" she asked, her eyes opening slightly with a knowing glance at DragonierMan, hidden from Sparks. If he was perceptive enough, he might notice some kind of coldness there. She hiccuped, setting the mood back to normal. "Well, there's all kinds of stuff going on, and we only know what we're told. Hime's preparing some kind of big address, 'the state of the Empire,' that sort of thing. Yasu's recovering, but she's not doing real well yet... she still blames herself for everything that happened. You might want to talk to her about it some time, but she wouldn't talk to you right now anyway. Better to wait," she murmured, catching hold of his sleeve to keep herself steady while she moved. "Then, of course, there's the air squadron. Without MachMan, there's nobody to lead 'em. Hime wanted Skywriter to do it, but she turned it down. Roc's doing it instead, but uh, can you imagine that bird-brain actually leading anybody? Might as well put me in charge of the ground forces. So the future of our Air Squad is, as they say, up in the air. Oh, do I get to check off the funny joke square?"

"No, that card's just for DragonierMan, Aya, Suzume, and Sir Sparky," Lee responded, shaking her head. She gave a big grin and put both arms behind her head. "It was funny, though!" It didn't seem like her standards for joke-telling were going to be all that hard to meet.

"Anyway, gossip's fun, but my main girl, Dee, is mostly steering clear of the others. She doesn't like all this drama and hooey, and I'm kinda the same way. Anybody who's gonna stir up trouble is on my bad side," Sake laughed, then took another swig of her drink from a brown, earthen jug that she plucked from her sash.

Cutting off the time for further conversation, the group reached the reception room and began speaking with the dam's proprietor (presumably). Lee lit up at Sparks' defense, then pressed her fist to her change. "Yeah! A lady!" she reaffirmed, tilting her chin up proudly. "I hadn't even thought about that! You guys could power this jerk's dam for him!" she agreed.

"Ahem, no," the voice answered simply, sounding impatient, but actually slightly improved in mood from a moment ago. The offer to help may have done it, or perhaps the realization that they were not, in fact, 'collectors.' "There is no chance that two navis could generate the kind of power output I'm missing from my dam's operational downtime. I could probably power two turbines between the two of you and I'm sure you'd have to be running on hamster wheels to do it. Not literally," the man sighed. "Souvenirs? Does this really look like the sort of place where you'd get them? Before I took over, maybe. But when I bought this facility, I threw out everything related to tourism... not much of a revenue generator. People don't go on nature hikes across the net with the same frequency as in real life. Something a bit oxymoronic about 'nature' here on the net."

The navi halted as Suzume and Aya continued, then broke in again. "You're probably expecting me to laugh you out of the room now, but there was indeed a giant around here. I believe I've seen her recently. It sounds like we can help each other... you find the cause of my dam's issues, I tell you everything I know about the giant. I've actually spoken to her before and learned a lot about who she is and what she's doing here.... We had an arrangement where I allowed her to stay here at the dam. Yes, there's a lot I could tell you. But I'll want you to solve my problem first. The problem should be somewhere along the dam. I have to stay here and maintain the dam and the utility of the progs is a little limited. But you all are mobile and intelligent enough that you ought to be able to find the cause of the issue. I'll even lend you all the use of one of my carts to move around the dam faster."

The navi seemed to assume their compliance, because soon enough, a door open and a Mr. Prog jetted out, carrying two data packets wordlessly. Despite his smile, he didn't seem like he was going to talk. The Prog set down the data packets, then quickly skittered off, back through the doorway. The door opened and closed too fast to even think about following the Prog inside. "Inside those packets are the keys to my cart, outside, and also a communicator you can use to speak to me. Report as soon as you've found the source of the problem and I will tell you everything you should know about your giant. No need to come back here. You'll just leave the communicator with the kart and someone will retrieve it later. Then you can leave," the navi insisted. "My name is ReservoirMan. I don't care about yours. That's just something so you know who to address over the communicator."

"Well you're gonna learn it anyway! My name's Lee and I'm a general in the Neo-Shogun Empire! This is-" Lee insisted, proudly beginning to list off their names.

"Don't care," the voice interrupted rudely.

"-Subordinate Sake! And there's-"

"Don't care."

"DragonierMan, Aya, Suzume, Sir Sparky!" she finished loudly, raising her voice and speaking quickly so that he didn't have a chance to cut her off again. "Bah! I'm fed up with you. This is a fun mission, so we're not gonna contact you again until we're ready to report in! Otherwise, you might ruin our fun!" the general complained, sticking out her tongue at the featureless glass before storming out. It seemed that, for now, she'd decided to look for the cause of the problem on the dam so that they could get more information on Kama. Whether DragonierMan or Sparks accepted the two items, they would find that they were just as described inside the packets. Notably, the radio's default setting was off and it appeared only to toggle... no other channels, volume controls, or anything like that were apparent on the device, just a place to speak into and an on/off switch.

Sake stumbled along, but tugged on Aya's outfit to get her attention. "I don't know if that guy's gonna give us any info anyway. We might help him, but he doesn't necessarily know anything that's gonna help us. However... a giant hanging out near this dam and now there's a big problem stopping all of the power? I'd say the two are connected for sure. If we find the cause of his problem, I'll bet it'll be related to Kama. And if we find Kama-" she continued, but paused to hiccup, "then we are sure to find the problem too. We might could get the guy to be a bit more hospitable to us in exchange for that info! All I'm sayin' is... Let's keep all our options open," she finished, speaking low enough so that just the surrounding group would hear, and not ReservoirMan, who they were leaving behind.

"Yeah! I wouldn't mind holding it over his head either," Lee huffed, obviously having no great love for their new unseen acquaintance. "What do you guys think?" she asked Sparks and DragonierMan.

Whatever the case, they'd be outside soon enough. It hadn't been apparent earlier, but if they walked a little further past the staircase on the outside, they would indeed find an old-timey golf-cart situated atop the dam. It looked like it was only supposed to seat 5 max: two up front, three in the back including a middle seat, and tightly at that. The only way they'd all get on it is if Sake sat in somebody's lap... and then, there was the question of whether people in full armor would be able to ride. Lee looked at it for a moment, seeming to ponder that question and also weigh it against simply walking. Of course, DragonierMan could also opt to carry them all in his dragon form, so the cart might just be superfluous. Lee finally took a deep breath and spoke. "I can't drive," she announced solemnly. She looked to Sake for a moment as the subordinate drunkenly climbed her way out of the dam, step by step. "... We can't drive. Do any of you guys think you'd be able to? I mean... it's pretty straight and wide so as long as you don't do anything crazy, it ought to be easy."

Sparks apologized for giving Sake the wrong title. It was figuretivley small mistake due to having never met the female Navi before. They contributed on their path to get closer to finding Kama, the oversized girl that was the focal point of their mission. For a second there Sparks was able to sense a slight feel of tension between Sake, and Drago, that even though it wasn't much he decided to speak on it. "What do you mean center of gossip?"

Inside the station, it seemed as if the guy in charge had cooled off a little bit, but no telling what his true aim was, seeing as he could really be negotiating with nothing. He held all the cards right now, but Lee was just following the flow at the moment. Sparks accepted the package from ResivoirMan. "What's with all this disrespect around here." The samurai pointed out, "Much more of this and it's gonna drive to return the favor."

Once they were a little ways away from the rude Navi that had given them the packages, Sparks verified that his communication device was turned off before saying, "I have a feeling that we're being used. I can't picture them being any real help to us, not with the attitudes they have shown thus far."

Moving onward to the cart, which the group of six would have a hard time occupying it due to its size. "What do you mean y'all can't drive?" Sparks said sarcastically,"I'm sure Sake would do a splendid job!"

The last statement was nothing more then a joke, while Sparks again turned back to buisness. "I've never really driven before, it couldn't be to hard though." He spoke with confidence, "I'm fine squeezing in there or riding freely on this dragon form that I've never seen before." Eyeing Drago as he spoke, there was a little bit of emphasis on the second half of the statement that should give off the impressikn that Sparks wanted to see the GMO that General Lee had mentioned.

As they conversed on their way to the reception hall Lee expressed delight about DragonierMan's LeeCross. However, she wanted the reveal of it to happen as a flashy event. Sparks!Drago acknowledged the request. "Ok. I'll make sure to hold off on showing everyone YourCross until an appropriate event pops up."

Sake then revealed that DragonierMan was the center of all the juicy gossip. Sparks!Drago barely noticed the cold look that Sake gave him for a second, before continuing as if nothing was wrong. A chill swept through him for a moment at Sake's glance, causing the hairs on the back of his neck to stand up. He reached up and placed a hand on the back of his neck and wondered. What did this moment of uncertainty around Sake mean?

Sparks took the moment of silence to ask about the juicy gossip in more detail. But before Sake answered Sparks' question, she went on about various happenings around the Neo-Shogunate. The focus of her information was mostly on the status of Yasu and the air squadron, with Sake wanting Sparks!Drago to go talk to Yasu. Sparks!Drago might dread having a conversation with Yasu about what happened while she was under the control of BrainMan, but it was something that had to be done sooner rather than later. Perhaps after the mission was completed he would sit down with her and have a long chat. They had a lot to talk about.

As for the air squadron, it seemed to be having a crisis of leadership, which Sake joked about. Sparks!Drago chuckled with the rest at the well-timed joke, before she continued with more gossip. It seemed that Dee was trying to avoid the whole drama in the NS. Hopefully that was because she didn't like drama and not because she was also mind-controlled. Sparks!Drago made a mental note to track her down as well, and talk to her some more. He still hadn't really given her his attention on the fact that her real identity was being hidden. It would be nice to really get to know the true person behind the Dee persona.

---

Suzume was disappointed that there weren't any souvenir shops. Scratch one way of getting souvenirs. Though she perked up as it was revealed that Kama was in the area and that the dam's manager, ReservoirMan, had communicated with her and knew everything about her. And to get that information, all they would have to do is help him out. That sounded like something they were planning on doing anyways, so it would all work out in the end. He even had a Mr. Prog deliver a pair of radios to them, and give them access to one of his electric carts. Sparks!Drago, Suzume, and Aya didn't even bat an eye as the Mr. Prog darted away after the delivery. It had done its job and probably had other duties to attend to. Similarly they didn't get offended, unlike the others, when ResevoirMan told them to get going. They were all on a clock after all.

---

With the radios in hand, the group headed out of the nearby door, and walked to the parked electric cart. Sake tugged on Aya's clothes to get her attention. Aya was only a few inches taller than Sake, even with the armor, so it wasn't hard for Sake to get her attention. Both Sake and Sparks voiced their concerns that they wouldn't get much from the deal with ReservoirMan, and that it might be better to figure out where Kama was on their own. "I understand your concern, but I don't think it is that warranted at the moment," Aya replied. "He has a business to run after all. You can't just think that we can just walk in uninvited and he'll just give you everything for free can you? Think of his cost vs. reward. Similar to how he already made a deal with Kama. If you plan on getting him to give up his client, then we need to show that we are more valuable to him than his loyalty towards Kama. That is why I proposed the exchange in the first place. You got to give a little to get a little."

It was then that they came upon the electric cart. Funnily enough, at least to Sparks!Drago, most of the people in attendance confessed their inability to drive. Now DragonierMan and co. could fly, so their ability to drive was not necessary. However, they were built from base program code, so they could drive if they wanted/needed to. Suzume raised her hand as the question of who could drive came up, then also pointed to Sparks!Drago and Aya. "I mean, we can all drive," she said as wings unfolded from her back. "Not that we need to as we can fly," she stated matter-of-factually.

Lee then began to talk about the fact that DragonierMan could just turn into a dragon and carry them on his back. Sparks also piped up with interest in seeing this transformation. But before Sparks!Drago could reply, his SparksCross ended, returning him to his normal self... also Aya butted in. "Though if we fly, or more importantly, transform into such a large creature, Kama could potentially see us coming. I mean, if you want to give away any potential surprise we might currently have, then sure... Go nuts. Drago could carry all three of you on his back, or even the cart if you wanted to sit in it." Aya ended, giving them the choice. "And if you three want to sit in the cart and either have Sparks or one of us drive, that's fine too. We can follow behind the cart, flying low to the ground, so as not to crowd the cart." Aya grinned, "Also, don't worry about losing us to the speed of the cart, we could give you a run for your money even if this thing had jet engines strapped to it. Although, I suggest if this is your first time driving that you don't start by going full throttle."

---

It was at that point that they waited and watched what Lee, Sake, and/or Sparks would do. General Lee was the default leader of the mission, so it would most likely come down to her decision. If they wanted to go the route of having Drago transform into a dragon. Drago would nod his head before planting his feet firmly on the ground. His teeth become more prominent as his mouth stretched into an elongated snout, filled with large, sharp fangs. His hair spilled out of his helmet as his helmet and plate merged into his body. His muscled form expanded, growing a dozen feet taller as his arms and legs stretched unnaturally out from his body. The tips of his limbs bore huge taloned claws. Giant leathery wings erupted from his back and stretched up and away from him, temporarily clearing the fog with a tremendous beat as they flapped once, then twice. But instead of flying away his wings stopped, and his large body laid down on the ground, his long tapered tail stretching out behind him on the ground. His fanned ears and wings folded down as he waited for them to climb aboard. They could use the unfolded wings as ramps to get onto his back. Or they could grab his horns and pull themselves onto his head, using them like handlebars. He also had a lavish mane of course, metallic-colored hair running to mid-back to grab onto.

Once everyone was seated, he would take off with a heavy beat of his wings. Suzume and Aya would fly under their own power and take positions at his 10 and 2. From above the treeline, the whole area would open up to be seen from above.

Or, they got into the cart and he would carry that.

Or, they decided not ride the dragon express and decided to ride on the cart. If Sparks drove, then Drago, Suzume, and Aya would follow behind, flying low to the ground. If they wanted one of the three dragoniers to drive, then Aya would take the wheel, and Drago and Suzume would follow by low-flight as well.

Either way, it would be up to the people riding along to guide either the dragon or the cart towards objects or places of interest.

Once they were clear of ReservoirMan and headed upstairs, Sake returned a dopey smile at Sparks' question, revealing none of the behavior she had a moment ago. "Well," she began slowly, "for a while, he was almost the only guy in the Shogun's Empire, besides our random pantsless soldier guys. So of course there's gonna be some gossip about him! Me and Dee and Archie gossip about him all the time. You oughta ask Archie what she thinks about him some time," she giggled happily. Fun as it was, it did sound like she was avoiding providing a genuine answer. "Nowadays, well... aw, don't worry about it. All I'm saying is, the news everyone's talking about is that invasion recently and DragonierMan here might be the best source to learn more about it." Dodging further conversation on the matter, she buried her face in her bottle.

"Ha ha ha! 'Drive' to return the favor!" Lee interrupted. "That was a good one. Cause we're driving this cart, right? You're full of 'em, Sir Sparky!" she giggled. It seemed her definition of 'a funny joke' had some ample wiggle room for personal interpretation. "Fine, you can mark that one off the bingo card! But don't think that means you shouldn't make more jokes as we keep going!" She held her arms behind her head and kicked her legs out in a lackidaisical way as the group progressed to the cart. "Anyway, you have a point, Aya-chan! The Neo-Shogun Empire is all about being a beneficial force for everybody on the net, and this jerkwad is technically part of the net. If his dam's busted, we may as well find out why! We might just be able to help Kama in the process too. Oh, but you don't get to count that off the card unless we actually help him, of course! He he he."

When they reached the cart, Lee crossed her arms and rolled her head, thinking hard about what Suzume said. "Well, maybe you can! I can't. I mean, look at me, with my spear and my armor. Do you think anybody ever planned for me to drive anything when they programmed me?" she finally spoke up, laughing and scratching the back of her head. "Aya-chan shows her wisdom yet again! We should probably avoid showing Kama a giant dragon. Even if she didn't recognize who you were, she'd still probably get spooked if she saw a giant dragon coming and would either run or attack. Neither's what we want, so, if we approach in our regular human-sized forms, it'll be easier to scout it out and, if she does spot us, she should think her odds good enough that she wouldn't run. Yup. No dragon just yet," she concurred.

"I've always wanted to try taking a shot on dragon-back," Sake joked with feigned remorse. "Well, maybe I'll still get a chance to do it from giant-ninja-back."

"That does sound fun. Anyway, you're free to fly along in your human sizes if you like, but as for me, I'm gonna take shotgun! Sir Sparky, you take the wheel! Think of this as part of your inspection for the mission, he he he!" she cackled, vaulting over the back of the kart and into the front passenger seat. Sake climbed up onto the back, sticking her butt in the air for a moment and stretching as though she was going to take the whole seat, before drawing up to a respectful single seat's worth of sitting. Two spaces were left on the back, unless someone wanted to insist that she sit in their lap instead.

Whoever decided that they'd like to drive, they would find that holding the key data and pushing a button nearby the steering wheel was all the kart needed to power up. It puttered in a way most unappealing, sounding as though it hadn't been used in quite some time. A screen would pop-up in front of the face of the one driving, showing a few instructions of operation, but there was no need: the wheel, gas pedal, and brake all operated like a standard vehicle. Thankfully, one the initial puttering had stopped, it didn't seem like it would be such a noisy or bumpy drive. All the driver would need to do was keep the kart moving straight, theoretically.

Sparks decided to leave his pursuit for more gossip behind... for now atleast. While to his surprise, the phrase that wasn't a joke awarded him a crossed out square on the samurai bingo card, while the actual joke diminished into nothingness. That didn't matter, since the block was now crossed off he could focus on getting another one. The samurai couldn't let that distract him from the real goal though, as Lee all but made him take the drivers seat in the cart.

"Haha. Sake you could ride on top of the cart and try to take a shot like that." Sparks chuckled. "Well that's no good my friend. As smart as it is not to do it, I wanted to see this dragon form of yours."

"Well I will do my best not to let you down." Sparks spoke softly as he positioned himself behind the steering wheel. The vehicle was easy enough to operate, so he started the the little cart up. As annoying as the puttering was it resided quickly. "So... how's the rest of the car gonna feel up. We should probably get moving and get this over with".

"Why are you adding, and emphasizing, '-chan' at the end of my name. You didn't do that before. Are you all right?" Aya said with suspicion squinting in her eyes, while trying to feel Lee's forehead to see if she had contracted some sort of illness that was causing her to act strangely. "If you are feeling unwell you should tell us so we make sure not to put you into situations that might be too stressful or dangerous without being in the right mindset." If Aya could get away with it, she would also move any draping hair around Lee's forehead and ears to look for anything out of the ordinary. Assuming that Lee might have one of BrainMan's devices implanted on her.

"Funny you should mention that," DragonierMan said to Sake's remark about riding ninja-back. "Generals Vee and Lee both rode on my back when Trik made me grow giant-sized so I could fight Kama the last time." He spread his wings and floated a foot off the ground, with Suzume and Aya following suit. "Who knows? Perhaps if we need to fight Kama, you'll get your wish of riding on dragon and/or ninja-back."

"Ok Sir. Sparks it's showtime,~" Suzume said in a sing-song voice and a flap of her wings. Drago, Suzume, and Aya were lazily beating their wings as they waited the start of the expedition. "Ready?"

The three turned in the air to fly parallel to the ground. "Set."

"GO!" Drago shouted. The three dragoniers beat their wings once and zipped past the electric cart. Drago passed on the left, Suzume on the right, and Aya came out over the top. The quickness of the movements would cause the cart to rattle as it got caught in the wake of three fast-moving objects. The three flew down the path of the dam. Flying just above the concrete.

Sparks' suggestion would seem to the average person like an off-color joke, but judging by the way Sake and Lee were exchanging grins with one another, it wasn't going to be taken that way. "That's an awesome idea! I always wanted to do that on Escort's limo, but she won't let me. Well, she's not around right now, and I've got a perfectly good limo right here!" Sake agreed, climbing over Lee's shoulders to reach the front of the cart. Thankfully, she wasn't especially large, so as she balanced with one hand and began setting up her drinking set with her other free one, she didn't particularly obstruct the view of the dam for Sparks'... not that he needed to see where he was going that much. If he just stayed away from the sides, he ought to be fine. "Hm... It's a lot easier than I thought it'd be," Sake admitted, taking a sip of her sake. "Did anybody else want some?" she asked, holding up a stack of saucers and cups, which, despite her claims, were clattering enough to imply she ought to be pretty unsteady on the hood of the vehicle.

"None for me yet! We can't all be drunk right now, we're only just getting started," Lee laughed, quashing any hopes that they were going to quickly mark off their sake break block on their Bingo cards. She looked up to see Aya touching her head, then continued graning her neck to look at Aya upside down. "Ha ha ha! You're just kinda stuffy. It makes me want to call you Aya-chan!" she giggled, putting even more of a "spring" into the word than she had been. As her head was further inspected, Lee raised her eyebrows; all Aya could find were largish ears smooth, eastern-modeled skin. "You're weird today! There's no Bingo space for acting like a weirdo, you goof ball!"

Sake turned back to DragonierMan with an idle smile, then pressed a finger to her lip. "Huh. You were a giant too, huh? So like... if you turned into a dragon... would you be an even bigger dragon than normal? Or maybe you did? Anyway, let's try not to fight Kama if we can help it, heh heh! Fighting people isn't usually good for convincing people not to fight you," she joked.

"I dunno, Sake! That's actually pretty normal, isn't it?" Lee questioned, turning her head back to the front of the car. "I mean, when ya think about it, history's full of guys fighting other guys to stop them from fighting. It's pretty messy and it doesn't always work... Anyway, let's just do what we can!"

On that note, the other three zipped ahead of the cart, though they heard Lee's protests from behind. "Wait, dammit! No fair!" she shouted. "This isn't a split-up mission!"

Having, for however little time, gotten ahead of the cart, perhaps to scout ahead, DragonierMan and his girls would find.... a whole lot of nothing, for a bit. In a little while, however, they'd start to notice something: tiny cracks in the surface of the damb. At first, they were very far between, but then, closer together... until finally, they were getting to cracks so noteworthy, wide, and frequent that the cart was having some trouble behind as it reached them. Strangely, it seemed that a little further up, they were starting to die down a bit again... With that in mind, it might be worth stopping to take a look around.

The cart would catch up soon enough. DragonierMan and his girls would hear something down below: a rumble, followed by a tremendous splash. They wouldn't feel anything, but the sound was quite apparent...

... On the other hand, the cart would feel a tremendous shaking of the dam, but couldn't hear the sound from their distance. "Dang it! Did DragonierMan break the whole dam already?" Lee asked the others, crossing her arms and sulking. Sake looked out ahead and spotted them, shaking her head. "Huh... D-D-Dang! This ride's getting bumpy! Try to avoid the cracked parts!" Lee instructed Sparks, though it was an order easier to give than to follow. The rumble made it worse. "Bwah! Now I'm wishing I could fly!"

"I wish I could breath underwater," Sake retorted, taking another drink of the sake she had somehow miraculously not spilled during the quake just now.

"Hm... I wish I could go into water without taking damage!" Lee responded, frowning. "But we're getting off topic! What in the world made that quake? You got any idea, Sir Sparky?" she asked, turning to her driver.

Sparks also regrettably turned down Sake's offer for sake. "I'm good for now, maybe after we find Kama, we can all sit down and discuss the issue over drinks." He paused for a second, then continued. "Unless Drago wants some, I think its best that we continue to focus on the mission, and me becoming a real member of this group here."

Drago, Suzume, and Aya sped off into the distance, and fast too. "It's not a race....." Sparks shook his head. Even though he said that, his actions were the opposite. The samurai dug his right foot into the gas pedal of the tiny cart causing it to speed off as fast as it could go in pursuit of the flying trio. While there was a moment away from his friend, he decided that he would reintroduce the slight tension from earlier. Direction his question to the small drunken navi that road atop the hood of the cart sipping alcohol, "So Sake, I hope its okay... but could I ask what happened between you and Dragonierman?"

It wasn't long before the cart encountered the ever so quake like shake of the dam. "Hmm do you think Drago caused this really?" Sparks questioned still trying to think of what could be causing this mess, when the general asked for his opinion on the matter. In which he replied with, "Maybe Kama discovered us and is going on a rampage... you know with her being a giant and all it could make sense." Sparks slowed the cart down in order to keep his passengers safe. The last thing he wanted was to throw someone off during this quake like experience.

As the trio flew across the dam, they began to find cracks scattered across its surface. The three stopped at the largest area of such damage as a rumble and tremendous splash brought them to a halt. They began circling the area like vultures as the cart began to catch up to them. They were scanning the area below with their eyes, trying to pick out how bad the damage to the dam was, and where that splashing was coming from. DragonierMan saw that the cart had caught up and was slowing down, and rocking from side to side. Clearly it was shaking from more than just the bumps in the road.

"Suzume, Aya," Drago called out and pointed to the cart. He pointed his two index fingers to each other and brought them together. "Steady the cart," he commanded.

"Roger!"
"Aye!"

The twins said before flying down to either side of the cart. They pincered the cart between them, reaching their arms out and flapping their wings to keep the cart from tipping over one way or the other. They gripped the cart's roof and the poles that held the roof to the rest of the cart while it bounced along, becoming correctional jets. Clattering their teeth a bit as they tried to keep the cart upright.

As the twins took care of the cart, Drago turned his attention toward where he thought the splash originated from. He folded his wings and dove off the dam and towards the water. "We-ee though-ough-t we-ee sa-aw a-aa spla-aash," Suzume tried to explain through the bumpy ride as to why Drago went off by himself. Drago soared down to the water, but broke off before he hit the surface. His wings spread wide as he skipped over the surface of the river, trying to see if he could see anything that would make the splash.

"Yeah yeah... I guess you're right. Well, the good news, since I drink around the clock, I'll be ready for another one later!" Sake laughed from on front of the car, raising her cup briefly before draining it in a long gulp. She nearly spat the drink up as the cart began to rattle harder, due to a combination of faster driving and a bumpier road to travel. "H-Hey, no reason to make me lose mine just because you don't want any!" she complained, rescuing a few plates and cups while the others clattered off. While still pouting, she wiped off her robe sleeves and sat back cross-legged, trying to ignore the bumps as her head jerked back and forth. "Nothing happened between me and DragonierMan," she shrugged. "But you deserve to know that DragonierMan over there was on the wrong side of the scuffle between the Empire and the Right of Operation Templar. He didn't knowingly serve them, but he wanted to make a power grab inside the empire, even if it meant taking out the Shogun to do it. I don't know why the Shogun is forgiving him, but me, I'm not too judgment-impaired to form my own opinion on him. The only reason I'm even here in the Empire is because of my friend Dee, so f he's going to do messed up stuff like that without consulting us- not that she's even talked to him about it, cause, you know, how do you even start that conversation?- then he's no friend of mine. You should really consider carefully if he ought to be a friend of yours, too."

Lee clearly didn't care for the conversation, because she eagerly seized upon the opportunity to change it. "Now now, fun mission! I'm the fun general, remember? We're going to leave all of that stuff to the Shogun and those all to figure out, while we focus on the situation here! An important and fun mission, I remind you both!" the lady samurai insisted, giving another wide smile. "Anyway, you're probably right. I think it's gotta be Kama causing the ground to shake like that. At least, I hope he's not bumping up against the dam for some reason. Speaking of bumping up against the dam, this is getting p-p-pretty-!" she exclaimed, clutching onto the sides of her seat. She hadn't thought to fasten a seat belt, perhaps because of her lack of familiarity with traditional vehicles.

Aya and Suzume came to the rescue then, stopping the cart from nearly capsizing during the quake. In the mean time, DragonierMan flew down to investigate what may have caused the splash in the water. "Huh... I guess I gotta count that as finding a reason to dive off the dam," Lee mused, using one hand to stay in her seat while taking Sparks' card with the other, finding a break to mark in another bingo square.

Down below, DragonierMan discovered two major objectives simultaneously: the likely source of the dam's problems and the ninja he was looking for. The giant upper body of Kama ascended from the water, slightly outward as though she might be hunched beneath the water. A massive volume of her red skin was visible, given that she was currently clad in a black bikini top, buckled at the center with a gray clasp roughly the size of a door. She was wearing a very weary expression but sitting very still; her hair and body were soaked. While she may have been swimming recently, it seemed more like the moisture was just from the water flowing through cracks in the dam over her head and shoulders.. She looked like she was either kneeling under or perhaps sitting inside an indentation in the dam, through which much water was leaking. Had she backed into it by accident or simply, without caring, made a seat of it? Was she even sitting? How deep was this side of the reservoir, anyway? There was a lot that was hard to tell without either asking her or perhaps investigating beneath the water. She didn't notice him yet, implying she was either deep in meditation or deep in thought... her face held a very cross expression, indicating she was in a bad mood... could she be aware already that someone was looking for her?

He would also spot a small observation platform to the right side of her tremendous bosom. There was a binocular set there, which looked to require a 10z input to operate. It was currently pointed so as to stare out far over the river, seemingly into the forested area surrounding this side of the reservoir. It looked like there was a slightly gnarled ladder leading down to the platform... the others could probably climb down that way, but it might be easier for him to just carry them down if he felt so inclined.

"Hmm I don't want to cross him out as a friend yet..." Sparks replied staying focused on his driving. "Ever since he became DragonierMan.... I've felt like there was something malicious inside of him. Maybe I will speak to him after the mission is over." The samurai didn't want to drag on the tense conversation any longer and that wasn't gonna be a problem because now he really needed to focus on driving.

"I'm so sorry Sake, I did not mean to mess up your drinking" The samurai was managing to keep control of the vehicle, but was almost at the point of tipping when Drago's two SPs swooped down to help keep it steady. "Why thank you!" Sparks directed his gratitude towards Aya and Suzume, when all of a sudden out the corner of his eye he seen DragonierMan falling from the dam, almost hitting the water before spreading his wings. "Now... that was pretty cool!"

Not wanting to be outdone by his dragon like friend, Sparks took a moment to consider his options. He scanned his surroundings. Then gave each of his current companions a quick glance "Hey everyone. I need you to hold on tight, we are about to make this thing fly!" That's the only notice that the group received, because he again pushed the peddle to the metal and sped off towards the edge of the dam. The bumpy cracks made an almost perfect launching ramp that the samurai didn't hesitate to use.

The cart flew off of the dam, only having a short moment of hang time before it stated to dip back towards the surface. "Aya, Suzume do your best to help us glide towards Drago." Sparks explained, just now letting everyone in on his plan. "If the roof dosen't hold make sure you guys scoop up Sake, and Lee, I'll manage on my own if I have to."

Suzume and Aya stopped the cart from toppling over as it rattled along. They held on as the cart swayed from side to side, their wings beating furiously to stabilize the ride. "N-No pro-problem." Suzume said in reply to Sparks' thanks. Her expression grew wearying as they continued though. "Per-Perhaps yo-you sho-should st-stop th-this th-thing!" Suzume shouted out over the non-stop bumps, her voice quaking as she tried to get Sparks to take it easy.

However, Sparks had other plans. He pushed the gas pedal down, causing the cart to increase its speed exponentially, and announced his plan to jump off the dam. "A-Are yo-you nu-nuts?!" Aya cried out indignantly as the wheels spun even faster, kicking up debris as they all headed towards the cliff's edge. Acting on instinct with little time to hear a reply, Aya and Suzume climbed up onto the roof and shoved Sake down onto the ground, trying to make her spread out her arms and legs to take up as much surface area as she could. Sake's sake set was probably sent flying every which way, shattering on the dam's concrete or sailing off the sides of the dam.

Suzume's and Aya's gauntlets were similar to DragonierMan's, in that they were tipped with sharp metal talons. And so were their boots. They slammed their hands and feet into the roof and attempted to dig their taloned-fingers and toes deep within the metal. Stabilized on the roof, they spread their wings out wide on either side of them. They tried to make them as straight, and as horizontal, as possible. Sake was covered up by a canopy of leather as their wings overlapped across the top of the roof. The end result looked like Suzume and Aya had combined to become a large hang glider.

DragonierMan found Kama, apparently in a bathing suit, and kneeling under or perhaps sitting inside an indentation in the dam created by a break in the dam. However, before he could think about what was he wanted to do, there was a sound above him. There were the sounds of several people screaming above. As he looked up, he noticed the strange sight. Aya, of course, was making the most noise. A stream of colorful words flowed from her mouth directed at Sparks, cursing him out like a sailor, as she and Suzume struggled to hold aloft a heavy cart filled with people. Their wings and other muscles straining with the effort.

"IF WE SURVIVE THIS I WILL DELETE YOU! YOU &%$#@&%$#@...!"

DragonierMan looked between Kama and the falling/gliding cart. He had to make a hasty decision on how to proceed, quickly. The noise would definitely alert Kama to their presence, so the stealthy approach was done with. On the other hand, having all his crew smashed on the rocks below wouldn't help the mission either. He growled before making the decision to deal with Kama after he saved everyone. Flapping his wings, he bolted skyward towards the cart.

As he ascended he began to change into his gigantic dragon form. His teeth become more prominent as his mouth stretched into an elongated snout, filled with large, sharp fangs. His hair spilled out of his helmet as his helmet and plate merged into his body, becoming a lavish mane of course, metallic-colored hair running to mid-back. His muscled form expanded, growing a dozen feet taller as his arms and legs stretched unnaturally out from his body. The tips of his limbs bore huge taloned claws. Giant leathery wings erupted from his back and stretched up and away from him, beating heavily as he got closer and closer. Smoke bellowed from his nostrils and curled over his head and snaked over his great horns. His long tail thrashed the air as he set upon the group.

He came over the cart in a huge wave, rocking the boat in his jet-stream. He reached out with his four massive limbs and wrapped his monstrous talons around the vehicle like a bird-of-prey grasping a flying fish. His prodigious wings created quite the draft as he attempted to land the cart onto the small observation platform. Suzume and Aya panted heavily, their overly-strained wings flopping down limply at their sides, as the loaded burden was taken off their beleaguered forms. Sake was probably still buried under the twins, used now as a pillow, as the two snuggled up towards the center of the roof.

It didn't take more than a minute or two for the dragon to set down the cart on the observation platform. "Y-You j-jerk," Aya panted out in a weakened voice. Having cursed so much on the way down, Aya probably almost lost her voice to the strain on her throat. Suzume, on the other hand, had only cried out once or twice on the way down. "W-Why did you *pant* do that *pant* Sir. Sparks? I trusted *pant* you..." she said through gritted teeth and some tears. She wasn't crying, the tears were probably just reflexive eye-watering due to the muscle strain. She was probably going to feel those aches and pains for a while.

The dragon's head swept down as he released the cart and found his own feet on the platform. He snorted a gust of wind through the front of the cart as he eyed the occupants below the roof. "What happened?" a demanding loud, but also concerned, growly voice came from the dragon. Understandable to someone who was both large and out of the loop. But before anyone could answer, the dragon reared itself up and pointed towards Kama. "Also Kama is there."

"Yeah... somebody should talk to him for real," Sake agreed, with Sparks, indicating that she didn't want to be the one, before the girls arrived to steady the cart. "Ha ha ha! There's no need to worry about me. So long as there's still sake, I'm gonna find a way to drink it!" she responded, but a few moments later would have her seriously rethinking her decision to forgive Sparks as he veered off of the dam to join DragonierMan down below. "Holy crap! You're insaaaaane!" she shouted, losing the rest of her sake set as she grabbed hold of the windshield for dear life. "Blurf! I'm gonna hurl...!" she warned the girls as they worked together to keep her pressed onto the hood of the cart.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! You're craaaazy!" Lee laughed along, being the only one apparently amused with the situation despite the fact that if she hit the water, she was going to be in the most pain of any of them. She held on tight to the seat in order to avoid flying off, which probably wouldn't have saved her from spilling if the cart flipped over front-wise like it was in danger of doing. Thankfully DragonierMan moved to assist, taking dragon form to stop the cart from plummeting quite off coarse , past the ramp, and into either the river or the valley on either side of it. He managed to do that easily enough, thankfully having the proper size and strength to take care of it, unlike his girls. "Aw man! That was a great prank, for sure! You're a much funnier guy than I you said you were!" she guffawed, clapping Sparks on the back while the others were cursing him.

Sake probably wasn't pleased either, but she was too busy vomiting over the side of the observation platform to notice. Kama, a neutral observer to all of it, turned her head to watch them; the sound of the water shifting was like a natural phenomena in itself, like several waterfalls suddenly re-positioning themselves. Oddly, it seemed like she couldn't actually crane her neck up to watch DragonierMan for some reason until he placed himself on the observation platform with the others. As it turned out, he ought to take a light touch; the platform was only just large enough for him, and likely not solid enough to hold his full weight for long. It took a moment for Kama to recognize who they were, but Lee's costume gave it away. "So, you've finally approached me, Neo-Shogun Empire," she spoke, speaking intentionally quiet so her voice would come out only as a booming whisper rather than a thunderous pitch. "You've been monitoring me so long, I thought you were just appreciating the view."

"Uuuh, no! We just got here," Lee chuckled. "If you try too hard to sound cool you just end up sounding dumb! Ha ha ha!"

"... I'm not the dumb one here, General Lee," Kama responded simply, sounding as weary as she looked. "I've seen your soldiers, observing me from the forest down there. Soldiers, wearing your yellow tunics. I may not sound it, but I'm grateful you've finally put an end to the spy game. Though, your entrance was certainly unusual, as befits your ragtag army."

"Ha ha ha! You've got nothing on us," the general laughed, apparently taking that as a compliment. She looked to DragonierMan, then smirked. "If she's seen soldiers, they might be the ones that BrainMan's controlling! Unless a bunch of guys have been getting together to ogle her giant boobs. I uh... I guess that is actually a possibility," she murmured, covering her mouth with one fist as if deep in thought. "Anyway! You're better with Kama than I am!" she giggled, nudging his scaly hide with one elbow. "You really got her to open up last time! Huh? Gonna do that again? How about you, Sir Sparky? Got any fun ideas how you're gonna negotiate with her?" It didn't seem to have crossed her mind that Kama was not so helpless this time as last time... even as a dragon, DragonierMan wouldn't nearly match the size of Kama, not without Trik's magic to enlarge him.

That said, the ninja certainly didn't seem prepared to engage. Either the dam was very tall and the water very deep, which didn't seem to make sense given that from this distance they could see the valley rise up on either side, or she was for some reason seated under water... or she wasn't seated but was instead peaking out from out of the dam for some reason. "Why are you here?" Kama asked simply, narrowing her eyes as she looked at DragonierMan. "Why have your men been watching me?"

"Wait wait! I've got something else important to announce! You managed to get a bingo!" Lee interrupted, grabbing one of the cards again and holding it up to show Sparks, then DragonierMan. "That means you get the first sexy prize!"

"... S-Sexy prize? What are you...?" Kama asked, narrowing her eyes further and apparently not liking the sound of that.

"It's... this!" she announced, activating a .GMO file that replaced all of her armor with a red string bikini, very flattering on her sporty figure but very equipped at a very inopportune moment, given they were supposed to be negotiating right now. The outfit was a little provocative, having very thin, taut straps with tied knots at the hips and tight fabric at the bottom. Of course, there wasn't much new on display that Lee didn't normally display, given that her regular armor really only covered the chest and the hips anyway. "See? It's my new bikini! You're the first to see it!" she announced, turning to show both sides and giving a wink to DragonierMan. "Is that a prize or what? Sake has one too!"

Sake was doubled over on her face, seemingly out cold after having vomited throughout the entirety of Kama's introduction. "I-I'll put it on later," she insisted, waving one hand in the air lazily. It was questionably how sexy she could be after the ordeal she'd just gone through a moment ago.

Kama watched Lee for a moment, then shook her head and raised one eyebrow. "You're... a moron," she sighed simply. "Alright, I'll bite. What 'negotiations' are you talking about? If you're talking about that then you must understand my... predicament." Unfortunately, as of this moment, nobody really did, unless maybe Sparks or DragonierMan were ready to make a guess about why she was stuck peaking out of the river like that.

Dragonierman made his hasty save, by revealing his dragon form. "That is actually pretty damn cool." Sparks said in awe of the transformation. There was surely a multitude of emotions from the group. Ranging from good and bad it seemed. Sparks may have not made the most sound decision, but he was definitely happy with it. He knew that in the end it would have worked out some how, some way. "So that was pretty fun right?" Thanks for your support girls." He especially thanks the two SPs that helped early with the stabilizing of the cart.

The dragon set the cart down on the observation platform, and demanded to know what happened, in which Sparks replied, with a smirk. "I just wanted to get us down here as soon as possible. Brought the cavalierly with me." The green armored Samurai exited the cart and acknowledged the two weary SPs, and Sake. "Hey... don't be mad. It all worked out right? Ill get you a new sake set also. It's a shame that it fell... I'm sure we could all use a sake break after that excitement." He gave Aya and Suzume a consoling pat to their heads.

For the most part it seemed as if the group was against Sparks sudden reckless decision, except for General Lee, who summed his action up as a "prank". Well that was all good and dandy as it marked off yet another box on the samurai bingo card. "Super secret prize time?" Sparks looked on as the Generals skimpy armor was replaced with an even more skimpy sexy bikini. He didn't know how that benefited the situation at all... but it looked nice, as the navi had to do all he could to keep his eyes from popping out of his head. "You are indeed the fun general." He laughed off the randomness of the situation.

Sparks now turned his focus towards the reason they were here. "So this is Kama?" His eyes went from the lovely Lee, and turned towards the giant of a ninja Kama. "We've yet to meet it seems. My name is Sparks, I'm here searching recruitment into the NeoShogunate ranks. I've come to ask you to join us as well." The approach was rather straight forward, while he took center stage. "Predicament? What do you mean by that? Why are you down here in the dam?"