Suzume and Aya received a pat on their heads from Sparks for their valiant efforts to keep everyone alive. Not only were they grumpy about his reckless disregard for their safety, trying to swat away his hand in disgust, but Sake was as well. Sake even began throwing up over the side in revulsion, and stomach churning nauseation. "I'm not calling you 'Sir.' Sparks anymore," Suzume said as she began to sit up, shaking her head to clear the stars. "You don't act like a gentleman," she continued, even though Sparks did try to make amends by offering to replace Sake's sake set.
Noticing that the platform wouldn't hold their combine weight while he was in his dragon form, DragonierMan began to revert back to his normal knightly form. His body shrunk, his snout and horns retracted into his head, his tail retreated, and his armor began to reappear as his torso and limbs began to look more human. He floated down and alighted upon the platform after returning to his "normal" self. Kama addressed the group around that point, pointing out that their approach to her was highly unorthodox. Also that she was glad that the spying was over. Apparently there were people that were wearing yellow tunics, similar to ones NS soldiers wear, in the forest nearby. Lee thought that they might be members of the group that BrainMan got control of, but Drago was not sure. "The ones that I met that BrainMan controlled wore black, with eyepatches, like pirates. I don't think anyone that BrainMan is controlling would wear the yellow of the NS. It could just as well be Hime keeping an eye on me. We'll just keep an eye out in case they try something."
Drago turned and approached the cart to talk to the twins, just as Sparks walked up to the edge to talk to Kama, and Lee interrupted everyone with an announcement. Apparently putting everyone in life-threatening danger was a hilarious prank in Lee's eyes. As such they had completed another task on the Samurai Bingo Card and scored a diagonal victory. The diagonals were designated as "sexy prizes". In this particular case, the "sexy prize" was Lee stripping into a sexy red bikini. This, and her sultry wink, caught DragonierMan off-guard and halted him in his tracks.
Now, it was clear that the differences between the skimpy armor that Lee normally wore, and this new provocative bikini were technically minimal, but it still was a shocking display of wanton sexuality. Drago's eyes drunk in Lee's form like a thirsty man in the desert, which was funny when they were surrounded by water, as well as a large woman in equally minimal attire across the way sitting under a makeshift waterfall. Smoke streamed out of his nostrils as his mind overheated, and a little saliva dripped out of his mouth. If this was a cartoon, his head might turn into a wolf and howl at the attractive woman. There was the tiniest lizard-brained voice in his mind that maybe it was Lee's attempt to steal some of the thunder from her sister Vee in his eyes. However, it was probably all in his man-head, and it was more likely just for the fun of it, than actually trying to flirt with Drago. Although the following part about Sake also having a sexy bikini underneath her robes caused him to take a moment to stare deeply at the sick Sake. His hungry eyes boring holes into her clothing.
Anyways, as Drago was struck dumb with lust, and the girls were finishing their recovery from a taxing event, Sparks, Lee, and Kama continued their conversation. Apparently Sparks was able to wave off the General's skimpy, sexy bikini as if it were nothing. Sure, he also took a good gander at it, but he was able to keep his mind on Kama. He explained to Kama his position in the ranks and asked that she also join the recruitment drive. And he also asked what Kama was doing in her current position. "The director of this dam told us that you were taking up residence here. And he asked us to investigate why it was malfunctioning in order to get the information on you that we requested," Aya piped up as she floated over to perch atop the railing. Aya looked like she recovered enough to take part in the conversation. "Though from what it looks like, you are causing damage to the dam," she continued, "Or perhaps you are trying to ineffectually plug the leak caused by something else damaging the dam."
"Regardless, our mission here is to try to get you to join the Neo-Shogunates. Even though we have fought in the past, we could use your considerable skills in our organization." She pointed back at the slavering hound of a master. "He even promised before to help you return to your normal size. And after talking to the witch Trik, we might have a solution to that problem." Aya took a pause to catch her breath. She was still a little winded from the fall. "Now this isn't contingent on your joining us. But, it will certainly make it easier to return you to normal if you join us."
"Oh, and before I forget, I wanted to warn you. There are several other groups interested in your size and abilities," Aya stated. "First, there is Alexis, lead by Alex, who want physically strong individuals so they can conquer the net. Which to be fair, is similar to our goals, but with the added benefit of peace instead of a constant state of war under Alexis. And the second group is ROT, lead by BrainMan, who have mind-control technology and are probably waiting until you drop your guard in order to subjugate your mind and body with their technology." Aya shuddered a little before composing herself again. "Basically we are trying to recruit you as a potential fellow comrade in arms. Instead of what happens if either of these groups get their hands on you, turning you into a weapon for their own twisted ends. So what do you say?"
The Dam at the Alaki Reservoir
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A little bit of time didn't really seem to make a difference for Suzume and Aya, who remained pretty icy towards Sparks given that they'd just about torn their arms out of their sockets trying to save everyone from flying off the dam a moment ago. Sake, perhaps because she'd only gotten an upset stomach and no further physical harm, seemed more willing to forgive and forget than they did. "Forget the tea set, I always have more tea sets. I'm going to take a rain check on that sake break though... I feel like I'm going to upchuck anything I try to put down right now," she responded, now sitting on her legs and rubbing her temples, trying to get her composure back. The group listened to Kama for a bit, but Sake offered her own perspective on the soldiers. "Uuuh... wouldn't they just change their clothes to wear yellow if they wanted to blend in with our soldiers? It's not really hard to get a set of yellow tunics," she murmured. "Though, I guess if they put on that black to begin with, they probably wanted to be distinct. I guess I don't blame those guys for sneaking off for some R&R... or T&A, if that's what it was," she joked.
"Haw! You don't think they get enough of that around the base?" Lee answered. "Well, it could be Hime's been using them to scope out the area. We had to know Kama was here somehow, after all. Anyway! Sexy prize!" she continued, before adopting her costume. Her grin widened as she took in Sparks' reaction; that appeared to be just what she wanted. "Ha ha! I know what you guys like!" she laughed triumphantly. This was actually a little tame compared to certain the titillation present in certain Neo-Shogun adventures, but Sparks didn't have a lot of experience with those yet. DragonierMan did, though, and even still, he found himself having an even more profound reaction than Sparks had. "Gee, DragonierMan! I can't tell if you want to eat me or-" she began laughing, but Kama cut her off. Given her size, Kama was uniquely capable of interjecting herself into a conversation using a whisper.
"Yes... I am Kama," the giant ninja responded. She didn't seem to have much of a tolerance for Lee's kind of horseplay. Her eyes narrowed again. "Recruit me? That's out of the blue. Do you think that just because I'm a ninja I should want to join the Neo-Shogun Empire? Well, I've said it before... I have no desire to carry out the commands Alex gives me, particularly, but it's pointless to oppose her unless I meet someone with strength greater than her own. Until that time, I, and whomever else she claims, remain under her thumb," Kama finished. The next question seemed to rub her the wrong way; her frown grew deeper and her brow tensed beneath her horns. Aya's questions began similarly. "Damn it..." she muttered to herself. It was perhaps meant to be inaudible, but given her size, it would be hard for her to keep anything private.
"Ha ha ha ha! Dam it! I get it!" Lee guffawed.
Kama sighed, then shook her head. "I was only here to meditate and exercise. I used the higher side of the water... on the other side... for swimming. During the dark, especially, where I could have some amount of privacy," she murmured, seeming to look both ways and flush a bit more on the pink side of red. "One night, as I was swimming... there was something like a... I'm still not sure what to call it. It was a mechanical noise, like an alarm. I saw something shoot through the sky... and then there was a glow, so brilliant I could no longer see. I dived to get away from it, intending to hide for a moment and, I, er, overshot... and became stuck in the dam. My front went through, but my momentum didn't carry me all the way through, and now my er... my body shape is keeping me from pushing all the way through, or back out-"
"Bahaha! She's saying her butt's stuck on the other side and her boobs are too big for her to shove out the other way either!" Lee finished the story, greatly amused by this turn of events.
"Th-That's not true!" Kama snapped back, now growing pinker. "I could get out if I really thrust. However, I can tell I've already greatly damaged the dam. If I put more strength into freeing myself, I'd knock apart this whole section and flood the valley, while draining the reservoir behind me. I don't know everything about this dam's purpose, but I can only imagine that would have some sort of negative effect would follow." With that explained, Aya had a few more questions to ask. "Hmph. Can that witch really do anything more to fix what she's done to me? I'd like to know more about it. My size may seem like a strength, but it's really only a curse. I want to be a ninja again, not a giant. Still, we'll save that conversation for later. If you really think you can do something to fix this, it would certainly allow me to hide from Alex more effectively over the long term... and then perhaps we could talk about my aiding the Empire."
Kama put a fist to her chin thoughtfully as she considered what DragonierMan said about the ROT. "I know them; Alex has even worked with them on occasion. Our goals of subjugating the weak and theirs of eliminating the weak often put us marking the same targets for different purposes, though, so that cooperation died out long ago. If they have some way of controlling my mind, then I am very lucky you all found me and warned me..." she admitted. "As I'm certain I'd be on their list of targets, given their previous knowledge of me. First things first, though... I need to find a way to get free of this dam without destroying it."
Sake pitched in here, finally able to get back to her feet completely and reclaim her usual demeanor. "Or, just so we're open to all ideas... we could figure out if this dam is really helping anybody. From what I understand, its generating power, but I don't see anyone around here relying on that power. That means that it's all being taken somewhere else. To me, pulling Kama outta here is easy, but keeping the dam in tact isn't. We should figure out if there's even any reason to try to keep this thing situated and if there's not, she can just stop plugging it up with her butt! Easy peasy."
The giant ninja didn't like the ending, but she shrugged at the rest of it. "Agreed. If it helps, I know ReservoirMan is relatively new as the owner of this dam, despite what you might think, hearing his name. I know ever since he's come in, the river on the other side has been kept much lower and the lake much higher. I never thought to question it before, since I really only used the lake for swimming. The previous owner was named DrainMan, and where he is I couldn't say. He disappeared when ReservoirMan appeared. Neither owner really spoke to me much, we really only knew one another in passing," she added.
"Sounds shady to me! Like we might be doing somebody a favor if we just bust the thing open and let the river have some more water. If Kama's kinda careful, maybe we can keep enough in tact to barricade it partially and it wouldn't be so bad, right?" Sake asked. It was hard to tell if she thought that was a genuinely good idea or was just trying to get their work over with quickly.
Lee crossed her arms, but nodded along. "That guy was kind of a jerk! I wouldn't mind paying him back for being such a buttface," she agreed. "What do you two think?" This was probably their chance to offer an alternative, if they had another idea to plug up or fix the dam while removing Kama. Also, while they still had a hold of the one-way communicator to ReservoirMan, it was always an option to let him know what had happened to the dam and see if he had ideas of his own on how to fix the issue. Lee suddenly perked up again and raised one finger. "Oh right! Telling Kama the ROT are looking for her so she doesn't get BrainMan in her head was pretty nice, so I'm marking that square on the card. You guys are doing really good at this!" she cheered, reaching over and grabbing Sparks' card to mark off another square. "Anyway, we might be overthinking this too! I'm not one-hundred percent sure Kama can even get herself outta there with her big butt like it is. I've seen that butt before!"
"I-It's not so big..." Kama complained, looking to DragonierMan and Sparks to indicate she really didn't want to talk about it in front of guys.
"So if she's like, actually really stuck in the dam, then we're her only way to get out! So that means we can just tell her we won't free her unless she joins up with the Neo-Shogun Empire! That makes this really easy, doesn't it? Then we just say phooey to ReservoirMan and his dam! And we get Kama to join us!"
"Ridiculous... I already said that I can break free if I want to," Kama grumbled, but she didn't sound so sure. It might occur to Sparks and DragonierMan that Kama had, apparently been stuck in this dam for a pretty good while. It was possible she really didn't have the strength to break free, or else she would have tried something already... At any rate, it could be another option for them, but it certainly wouldn't win them any favors with Kama if they forced her hand like that.
Lee grinned then bounced on her toes excitedly and crossed her arms behind her head. "Hey, hey! You guys, don't you wish you could dive underwater and see her giant butt stuck on the other side? I'd do it if it wasn't for my water thing!" she cackled. She turned to Sparks and spread her arms wide. "It's huuuuge! I wish you could see it!" Kama was biting her lip and staring hard at the jungle and river in front of her, clearly frustrated by the bullying. "Aw, don't you try to make Sir Sparky and DragonierMan sorry for you! You gave us a hard time at the beach earlier and you work for a baddie who attacks weak navis and tries to make them her slaves! You've got a lot to make up for once you join us!" Lee scolded Kama. It was a bit silly, watching the regular sized girl lecture a giant oni.
"Haw! You don't think they get enough of that around the base?" Lee answered. "Well, it could be Hime's been using them to scope out the area. We had to know Kama was here somehow, after all. Anyway! Sexy prize!" she continued, before adopting her costume. Her grin widened as she took in Sparks' reaction; that appeared to be just what she wanted. "Ha ha! I know what you guys like!" she laughed triumphantly. This was actually a little tame compared to certain the titillation present in certain Neo-Shogun adventures, but Sparks didn't have a lot of experience with those yet. DragonierMan did, though, and even still, he found himself having an even more profound reaction than Sparks had. "Gee, DragonierMan! I can't tell if you want to eat me or-" she began laughing, but Kama cut her off. Given her size, Kama was uniquely capable of interjecting herself into a conversation using a whisper.
"Yes... I am Kama," the giant ninja responded. She didn't seem to have much of a tolerance for Lee's kind of horseplay. Her eyes narrowed again. "Recruit me? That's out of the blue. Do you think that just because I'm a ninja I should want to join the Neo-Shogun Empire? Well, I've said it before... I have no desire to carry out the commands Alex gives me, particularly, but it's pointless to oppose her unless I meet someone with strength greater than her own. Until that time, I, and whomever else she claims, remain under her thumb," Kama finished. The next question seemed to rub her the wrong way; her frown grew deeper and her brow tensed beneath her horns. Aya's questions began similarly. "Damn it..." she muttered to herself. It was perhaps meant to be inaudible, but given her size, it would be hard for her to keep anything private.
"Ha ha ha ha! Dam it! I get it!" Lee guffawed.
Kama sighed, then shook her head. "I was only here to meditate and exercise. I used the higher side of the water... on the other side... for swimming. During the dark, especially, where I could have some amount of privacy," she murmured, seeming to look both ways and flush a bit more on the pink side of red. "One night, as I was swimming... there was something like a... I'm still not sure what to call it. It was a mechanical noise, like an alarm. I saw something shoot through the sky... and then there was a glow, so brilliant I could no longer see. I dived to get away from it, intending to hide for a moment and, I, er, overshot... and became stuck in the dam. My front went through, but my momentum didn't carry me all the way through, and now my er... my body shape is keeping me from pushing all the way through, or back out-"
"Bahaha! She's saying her butt's stuck on the other side and her boobs are too big for her to shove out the other way either!" Lee finished the story, greatly amused by this turn of events.
"Th-That's not true!" Kama snapped back, now growing pinker. "I could get out if I really thrust. However, I can tell I've already greatly damaged the dam. If I put more strength into freeing myself, I'd knock apart this whole section and flood the valley, while draining the reservoir behind me. I don't know everything about this dam's purpose, but I can only imagine that would have some sort of negative effect would follow." With that explained, Aya had a few more questions to ask. "Hmph. Can that witch really do anything more to fix what she's done to me? I'd like to know more about it. My size may seem like a strength, but it's really only a curse. I want to be a ninja again, not a giant. Still, we'll save that conversation for later. If you really think you can do something to fix this, it would certainly allow me to hide from Alex more effectively over the long term... and then perhaps we could talk about my aiding the Empire."
Kama put a fist to her chin thoughtfully as she considered what DragonierMan said about the ROT. "I know them; Alex has even worked with them on occasion. Our goals of subjugating the weak and theirs of eliminating the weak often put us marking the same targets for different purposes, though, so that cooperation died out long ago. If they have some way of controlling my mind, then I am very lucky you all found me and warned me..." she admitted. "As I'm certain I'd be on their list of targets, given their previous knowledge of me. First things first, though... I need to find a way to get free of this dam without destroying it."
Sake pitched in here, finally able to get back to her feet completely and reclaim her usual demeanor. "Or, just so we're open to all ideas... we could figure out if this dam is really helping anybody. From what I understand, its generating power, but I don't see anyone around here relying on that power. That means that it's all being taken somewhere else. To me, pulling Kama outta here is easy, but keeping the dam in tact isn't. We should figure out if there's even any reason to try to keep this thing situated and if there's not, she can just stop plugging it up with her butt! Easy peasy."
The giant ninja didn't like the ending, but she shrugged at the rest of it. "Agreed. If it helps, I know ReservoirMan is relatively new as the owner of this dam, despite what you might think, hearing his name. I know ever since he's come in, the river on the other side has been kept much lower and the lake much higher. I never thought to question it before, since I really only used the lake for swimming. The previous owner was named DrainMan, and where he is I couldn't say. He disappeared when ReservoirMan appeared. Neither owner really spoke to me much, we really only knew one another in passing," she added.
"Sounds shady to me! Like we might be doing somebody a favor if we just bust the thing open and let the river have some more water. If Kama's kinda careful, maybe we can keep enough in tact to barricade it partially and it wouldn't be so bad, right?" Sake asked. It was hard to tell if she thought that was a genuinely good idea or was just trying to get their work over with quickly.
Lee crossed her arms, but nodded along. "That guy was kind of a jerk! I wouldn't mind paying him back for being such a buttface," she agreed. "What do you two think?" This was probably their chance to offer an alternative, if they had another idea to plug up or fix the dam while removing Kama. Also, while they still had a hold of the one-way communicator to ReservoirMan, it was always an option to let him know what had happened to the dam and see if he had ideas of his own on how to fix the issue. Lee suddenly perked up again and raised one finger. "Oh right! Telling Kama the ROT are looking for her so she doesn't get BrainMan in her head was pretty nice, so I'm marking that square on the card. You guys are doing really good at this!" she cheered, reaching over and grabbing Sparks' card to mark off another square. "Anyway, we might be overthinking this too! I'm not one-hundred percent sure Kama can even get herself outta there with her big butt like it is. I've seen that butt before!"
"I-It's not so big..." Kama complained, looking to DragonierMan and Sparks to indicate she really didn't want to talk about it in front of guys.
"So if she's like, actually really stuck in the dam, then we're her only way to get out! So that means we can just tell her we won't free her unless she joins up with the Neo-Shogun Empire! That makes this really easy, doesn't it? Then we just say phooey to ReservoirMan and his dam! And we get Kama to join us!"
"Ridiculous... I already said that I can break free if I want to," Kama grumbled, but she didn't sound so sure. It might occur to Sparks and DragonierMan that Kama had, apparently been stuck in this dam for a pretty good while. It was possible she really didn't have the strength to break free, or else she would have tried something already... At any rate, it could be another option for them, but it certainly wouldn't win them any favors with Kama if they forced her hand like that.
Lee grinned then bounced on her toes excitedly and crossed her arms behind her head. "Hey, hey! You guys, don't you wish you could dive underwater and see her giant butt stuck on the other side? I'd do it if it wasn't for my water thing!" she cackled. She turned to Sparks and spread her arms wide. "It's huuuuge! I wish you could see it!" Kama was biting her lip and staring hard at the jungle and river in front of her, clearly frustrated by the bullying. "Aw, don't you try to make Sir Sparky and DragonierMan sorry for you! You gave us a hard time at the beach earlier and you work for a baddie who attacks weak navis and tries to make them her slaves! You've got a lot to make up for once you join us!" Lee scolded Kama. It was a bit silly, watching the regular sized girl lecture a giant oni.
SAMURAI BINGO CARD
| SEXY PRIZE <3 | BUGFRAGS | CHIP | ZENNY |
| ZENNY | DONE | Find a fun souvenir for Vee!  | Do something awesome we can tell Yasu about later to make her happy! P( |
| CHIP | Find a nice place to take a quick sake break! | FREE SPACE | DONE |
| BUGFRAGS | DONE | Find something really cool hidden somewhere around the dam! :0 | DONE |
| SEXY PRIZE <3 |
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"Ill make it up to you guys, I promise." This was Sparks last attempt to make right his reckless death defying dive off the dam. His friend Drago had yet to give any real indication on how he felt about the dive itself. Sake seemed to be slowly warming back up to Sparks, even if it wasn't much more then a quick shake off of the entire stunt. While the general continued crossing off squares on the samurai bingo card. DragonierMan and his SPs backed up his straight forward approach to Kama, providing her with even more insight on the situation at hand.
"I don't know these ROT or Alex people, but I do know that in terms of strength my friends here are pretty strong." Sparks rejoined the conversation, his gazed seemed fixed upon DragonierMan, when he said strength. Having fought beside him multiple times, the samurai navi could vouch for his friends power first hand. Joining the Neo-Shogunate could only benefit both of us, from what I could see anyways."
Sparks continued to listen to the conversation, only chiming in when he deemed it necessary. Alas they came to the supposed reason that the giant ninja Kama was trapped inside the dam in the first place. "What could this shining light through the sky, and alarm be?" His eyes refocused on the giant navi. "What made you hide from it anyways. Surly this giant form comes with a power boost as well?" He got even closer to the dam, "Before we move forward with any of these suggestions, I want to know about this arrangement you had with this ReservoirMan. Like the general over here, he really scratched me the wrong way. I'm sure that if he finds out you've damaged this dam he won't be to happy either, so maybe we should hold off on contacting him with the radios."
"I agree with Sake, shady is a way to put it." The samurai continued, "Why would the water levels change, just because the owner changed, and what if he did something to the previous owner?"
Lee had taken a moment... or two to speak on Kama's butt size, once again distracting the male navi's from the mission at hand. lt was obvious that Kama didn't appreciate the attention her body was getting, even if the part they were discussing was hidden on the other side of the dam. "I'm sure its huge, I mean you are pretty big at the moment anyways. Having a big butt isn't something to be embarrassed about." Sparks responded, while his mind drifted away from reality for a second as he was trying to build a mental image of the large bum that Lee spoke about.
"As soon as Kama is free from her predicament, the river on the other side is sure to come pouring into this side, it could be nearly impossible to plug it up before that happens. Unless we could find huge boulder or something, big enough to plug the hole. What do you think we should do Drago?" He again turned to his number one companion. "One of us could dive, and head to the other side, Maybe it would give us more insight on Kama's situation."
"I don't know these ROT or Alex people, but I do know that in terms of strength my friends here are pretty strong." Sparks rejoined the conversation, his gazed seemed fixed upon DragonierMan, when he said strength. Having fought beside him multiple times, the samurai navi could vouch for his friends power first hand. Joining the Neo-Shogunate could only benefit both of us, from what I could see anyways."
Sparks continued to listen to the conversation, only chiming in when he deemed it necessary. Alas they came to the supposed reason that the giant ninja Kama was trapped inside the dam in the first place. "What could this shining light through the sky, and alarm be?" His eyes refocused on the giant navi. "What made you hide from it anyways. Surly this giant form comes with a power boost as well?" He got even closer to the dam, "Before we move forward with any of these suggestions, I want to know about this arrangement you had with this ReservoirMan. Like the general over here, he really scratched me the wrong way. I'm sure that if he finds out you've damaged this dam he won't be to happy either, so maybe we should hold off on contacting him with the radios."
"I agree with Sake, shady is a way to put it." The samurai continued, "Why would the water levels change, just because the owner changed, and what if he did something to the previous owner?"
Lee had taken a moment... or two to speak on Kama's butt size, once again distracting the male navi's from the mission at hand. lt was obvious that Kama didn't appreciate the attention her body was getting, even if the part they were discussing was hidden on the other side of the dam. "I'm sure its huge, I mean you are pretty big at the moment anyways. Having a big butt isn't something to be embarrassed about." Sparks responded, while his mind drifted away from reality for a second as he was trying to build a mental image of the large bum that Lee spoke about.
"As soon as Kama is free from her predicament, the river on the other side is sure to come pouring into this side, it could be nearly impossible to plug it up before that happens. Unless we could find huge boulder or something, big enough to plug the hole. What do you think we should do Drago?" He again turned to his number one companion. "One of us could dive, and head to the other side, Maybe it would give us more insight on Kama's situation."
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Suzume had recovered enough to join Aya as Kama talked about her reservations about joining the Neo-Shogunate. And more specifically, because she was a ninja. "Just because you are a ninja doesn't mean that was the primary or only reason to recruit you," Aya interjected. "Though I guess it would help to keep the feel of their feudal aesthetics," she mused. Sparks piped in also with the fact that his friends, and more specifically DragonierMan, were pretty strong. So if anything else, they could be relied on to be the better choice to assuage Kama's fears of not being strong enough. A light bulb seemed to go off above Suzume's head at Sparks' comment.
"Oh! And if you need to meet someone with strength greater than Alex," Suzume piped up while turning to display DragonierMan, who had recovered from his gawking stare, and finished wiping his mouth of drool. "He is right there. So now you can oppose her," she continued. "Besides besting you on the beach in your current giant form, our Master has also beaten Alex the last time they met," Aya added. "Oh, and he beat her in the mission prior to the mission he beat you in. So, you shouldn't feel bad about losing to him the last time."
After that conversation, the talk switched to her predicament. DragonierMan had taken to the air to get a better view of the terrain and to see the problem at different angles while the rest of the people continued to talk. Suzume nodded her head at Kama's question about Trik changing her form. "Yes, the witch can help you return to normal. She said something about changing your core into that of a Support Program so she could manipulate your size. Then I assume restore you back to your previous status, sans being a giant," she clarified.
Aya turned to Sparks. "I wonder if the bright light was a flare. Maybe someone nearby was fighting. It could be a navi doing a busting run. Or, because there were alarms, someone was trying to bust into the dam. We have seen damage to the dam," suddenly her eyes narrowed and her voice got an edge to it. She pointed a finger at Sparks as she almost yelled the next part, her body shaking a little from restrained rage: "Up top where you drove the @#$%&! cart off of."
Having worked herself up again, it took Aya a few moments to calm down. Meanwhile the conversation continued. "Maybe Alexis or ROT attacked the dam," Suzume added to the list of culprits as they moved on to talk about ReservoirMan and how they didn't trust the guy. Suzume and Aya kept silent during the exchange, and again when they went back to talking about Kama's big ol' butt. Sparks acknowledged the situation, and Kama's butt, and pointed out that removing Kama now might cause a flood. "I agree," DragonierMan said as he returned from his inspection. "But I have a solution. First of all, we need to get you all to a safer location." He pointed to Sparks, Lee, and Sake. "When I free Kama, there will be a flood from the pressure. Though I would advise you against plugging the 'hole', as that is how the water normally flows out of in order to generate power."
"And the simplest solution to getting you to safety would be to get you three in the cart and I'll carry you to somewhere nearby that will be above the flooding. So that is what we will do first." DragonierMan said as he waited for the three to get back into the electric cart. If they followed through with his plan, he would transform into his dragon form and grab up the cart. He would spread his wings and fly out of the valley and set the cart down either back up on the dam (preferably not where it was cracked), or better yet, on some road or open area high enough above the observation platform that even if the valley got filled with water, the cart with its occupants would not be anywhere near to be swept away with everything else. Suzume and Aya followed the cart and perched back on top of it when it came to a rest. They tried to lift Sake back onto the roof if she let them. "If you feel better, perhaps we can have a tea or sake break while Drago finishes below?" Suzume asked Sake.
Drago then returned to where Kama was 'sitting' and opened a large clawed hand. A data package for a
Counter1Damage: (1-Hit I-Field) + (Counter(70 + Impact + Break): On-Hit)
Accuracy: S Block, A Return
Description: Defends against one attack, teleports to enemy, and strikes with Gutpunch. Impacting. Breaking.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: I-Field is pierced by Impact, Counter is negated by Impact.
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: D battlechip spun in his hand. He tried to hand it over to Kama. "KAMA!" his voice bellowed out of his toothy maw, more feral and beast-like than normal. His form shimmered as he activated a
Barrier100Protection: Combined Damage of 100 HP
Accuracy: S
Description: Defensive field that prevents damage up to 100HP.
Duration: Until Destroyed
Element: Null
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: C battlechip and applied it to himself. His scales hardened as he also activated his Dragon's Scales signature, layering himself in defenses. "ACTIVATE THIS BATTLECHIP AND YOU WILL BE FREE!" he intoned. If she took the chip, he flew backwards and up a few meters to make room. He waited for her to activate the chip, and then shot a Buster Shot blast from his open mouth. Once the attack hit, it should cause Kama to teleport out and strike DragonierMan with a counter attack. Thankfully, his defenses would be enough to block most of the damage, leaving him with just a scratch. "HOLD ON!" he said as he would then try to grab onto Kama and fly her out of the valley (using
RageClaw2Damage: 70 + Slashing (Attack) OR 35 + Impacting (Throw)
Accuracy: B / B then B
Description: Creates an impressive bear claw. Can be used to slash or throw enemies or objects.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 6 uses.
Element: Null
Special: Throw: The wielder must first grab the target to be thrown, then the target is thrown in the direction/area indicated. A second check is made if against another object/enemy. Throw deals damage to both thrown object/enemy and the second object/enemy. Damage occurs at point of collision with the ground/wall/ceiling/etc. or an object/enemy, not during initial grab attempt. Objects deal their max HP in damage (instead of the chip's damage) if they hit an object/enemy, then break. If they miss, the object just takes the chip's damage. This chip has a variety of uses.
Trader Rank: C, and his Dragon's Wings signature, if he needed it) to set her down near the cart. "THERE! THAT WASN'T SO HARD NOW WAS IT?!"
"Oh! And if you need to meet someone with strength greater than Alex," Suzume piped up while turning to display DragonierMan, who had recovered from his gawking stare, and finished wiping his mouth of drool. "He is right there. So now you can oppose her," she continued. "Besides besting you on the beach in your current giant form, our Master has also beaten Alex the last time they met," Aya added. "Oh, and he beat her in the mission prior to the mission he beat you in. So, you shouldn't feel bad about losing to him the last time."
After that conversation, the talk switched to her predicament. DragonierMan had taken to the air to get a better view of the terrain and to see the problem at different angles while the rest of the people continued to talk. Suzume nodded her head at Kama's question about Trik changing her form. "Yes, the witch can help you return to normal. She said something about changing your core into that of a Support Program so she could manipulate your size. Then I assume restore you back to your previous status, sans being a giant," she clarified.
Aya turned to Sparks. "I wonder if the bright light was a flare. Maybe someone nearby was fighting. It could be a navi doing a busting run. Or, because there were alarms, someone was trying to bust into the dam. We have seen damage to the dam," suddenly her eyes narrowed and her voice got an edge to it. She pointed a finger at Sparks as she almost yelled the next part, her body shaking a little from restrained rage: "Up top where you drove the @#$%&! cart off of."
Having worked herself up again, it took Aya a few moments to calm down. Meanwhile the conversation continued. "Maybe Alexis or ROT attacked the dam," Suzume added to the list of culprits as they moved on to talk about ReservoirMan and how they didn't trust the guy. Suzume and Aya kept silent during the exchange, and again when they went back to talking about Kama's big ol' butt. Sparks acknowledged the situation, and Kama's butt, and pointed out that removing Kama now might cause a flood. "I agree," DragonierMan said as he returned from his inspection. "But I have a solution. First of all, we need to get you all to a safer location." He pointed to Sparks, Lee, and Sake. "When I free Kama, there will be a flood from the pressure. Though I would advise you against plugging the 'hole', as that is how the water normally flows out of in order to generate power."
"And the simplest solution to getting you to safety would be to get you three in the cart and I'll carry you to somewhere nearby that will be above the flooding. So that is what we will do first." DragonierMan said as he waited for the three to get back into the electric cart. If they followed through with his plan, he would transform into his dragon form and grab up the cart. He would spread his wings and fly out of the valley and set the cart down either back up on the dam (preferably not where it was cracked), or better yet, on some road or open area high enough above the observation platform that even if the valley got filled with water, the cart with its occupants would not be anywhere near to be swept away with everything else. Suzume and Aya followed the cart and perched back on top of it when it came to a rest. They tried to lift Sake back onto the roof if she let them. "If you feel better, perhaps we can have a tea or sake break while Drago finishes below?" Suzume asked Sake.
Drago then returned to where Kama was 'sitting' and opened a large clawed hand. A data package for a
Counter1Damage: (1-Hit I-Field) + (Counter(70 + Impact + Break): On-Hit)Accuracy: S Block, A Return
Description: Defends against one attack, teleports to enemy, and strikes with Gutpunch. Impacting. Breaking.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Special: I-Field is pierced by Impact, Counter is negated by Impact.
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: D battlechip spun in his hand. He tried to hand it over to Kama. "KAMA!" his voice bellowed out of his toothy maw, more feral and beast-like than normal. His form shimmered as he activated a
Barrier100Protection: Combined Damage of 100 HPAccuracy: S
Description: Defensive field that prevents damage up to 100HP.
Duration: Until Destroyed
Element: Null
Special: Status Guard: This chip blocks debuffs.
Trader Rank: C battlechip and applied it to himself. His scales hardened as he also activated his Dragon's Scales signature, layering himself in defenses. "ACTIVATE THIS BATTLECHIP AND YOU WILL BE FREE!" he intoned. If she took the chip, he flew backwards and up a few meters to make room. He waited for her to activate the chip, and then shot a Buster Shot blast from his open mouth. Once the attack hit, it should cause Kama to teleport out and strike DragonierMan with a counter attack. Thankfully, his defenses would be enough to block most of the damage, leaving him with just a scratch. "HOLD ON!" he said as he would then try to grab onto Kama and fly her out of the valley (using
RageClaw2Damage: 70 + Slashing (Attack) OR 35 + Impacting (Throw)Accuracy: B / B then B
Description: Creates an impressive bear claw. Can be used to slash or throw enemies or objects.
Duration: Until Overridden/Broken. Breaks automatically after 6 uses.
Element: Null
Special: Throw: The wielder must first grab the target to be thrown, then the target is thrown in the direction/area indicated. A second check is made if against another object/enemy. Throw deals damage to both thrown object/enemy and the second object/enemy. Damage occurs at point of collision with the ground/wall/ceiling/etc. or an object/enemy, not during initial grab attempt. Objects deal their max HP in damage (instead of the chip's damage) if they hit an object/enemy, then break. If they miss, the object just takes the chip's damage. This chip has a variety of uses.
Trader Rank: C, and his Dragon's Wings signature, if he needed it) to set her down near the cart. "THERE! THAT WASN'T SO HARD NOW WAS IT?!"
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"Hmph! Pardon me, but that's naive. You beat me in this giant form, but that was after being turned to a giant yourself by Trik's magic. And if we'd been regular sized, you never would have found me at all before I completed my hand signs. As I said earlier, I wish I could believe that you fought Alex and won, but if you seemed to, I can only imagine that she was holding back. She is one of those annoying types who likes to see how far they can go on only a fraction of their strength," Kama complained. Her gripes sounded petty, but it was also clear that she had analyzed DragonierMan's case as a force capable of defeating Alex and ending the Alexis, which might be encouraging. "... Though, that you survive and thrive as part of the Shogun's empire does make you a prime candidate to do it one day. That solution to my size problem though... egh. No offense, but I'd rather not take on an SP form just to go back to being a normal-sized ninja. I doubt I would keep much of my power once the transformation was complete."
For now, the conversation turned to the question of what the source of that strange light that had disoriented Kama might have been. "This light was very high in the sky. I highly doubt it was a navi doing routine virus busting," she responded, shaking her head slightly. Sparks' question seemed to irk her a bit, but she turned her head to glance out the side of her eye at him (though it was hard to tell when her whole eye was yellow with no pupil). "A ninja's default placement is in hiding. If I believe there may a threat, I attempt to take proper cover and assess the situation. Brute force is a foolish first option for any navi... even a giant. Of course... hiding is much more difficult for a giant. And we can see how the attempt ended out for me," she sighed, her large bosom sliding up and then heaving back down distractingly as she did. "As for the damage to the dam, I'm quite certain that was all me. What few slight movements I've already made have sent cracks up and throughout the entire structure. It was not designed to protect against anything and even my simply leaning against it would topple a great segment of it."
She closed her eyes and remembered back to the dam's previous owner, then answered Sparks quickly. "There was no agreement, really. DrainMan simply consented to my being here in the first place, acknowledging that I'd use it for my meditation. I believe he may have suspected that my presence was useful for deterring virus attacks, or perhaps he was simply kind. Regardless, when ReservoirMan appeared, I approached him in much the same way and mentioned that same benefit. He agreed and did not oppose my staying here. And that was about the end of our interactions. The water level changed, but I had no real reason to complain of it. I can only assume he changed the flow of water allowed through the dam in order to benefit himself in some way. Though, you'd think if he wanted to generate power, he would increase the rate of the flow through, not stifle it." Her brow twitched and her fangs showed with clenched teeth as Sparks brought up her butt again. "Thank you for saying so, but please... let's focus," she implored him.
"Ha ha! Kama got a big ol' butt, oh yeah, Kama got a big ol' butt!" Lee taunted. It was a wonder that Kama didn't swipe one hand and smash the observing platform just then, but she managed to keep it under control. DragonierMan had taken back to the air to make a quick survey of the situation. If he had been hoping to see Kama's memorably giant butt again, he'd be disappointed, given that the water was so high on the other side that her lower body was hidden. It could be considered either fortunate or unfortunate that there was no sign of the NS soldiers Kama had mentioned, or anyone else about.
Once DragonierMan returned, he set about a plan to free Kama without endangering the others. "One small correction... while the water level is ordinarily controlled by adjustable openings in this dam, the opening I'm thrust through is not one of them. That is, it's just a giant hole made by my ramming the dam. So whether you plug or do not plug it is up to you, but it is not a natural means by which power is generated... the power can probably only be generated by going through those specific points and whatever damage I have done to the dam, seemingly, has hampered the generation of power. I'm sure it has something to do with the dam's machinery. I'm honestly surprised that ReservoirMan still has lights in there, if they're connected to the dam's power grid, anyway."
Lee and Sake consented to getting back on the cart, although this time, Sake rode on Lee's lap instead of on the front of the car. The smaller of the two chuckled, then produced a sake bottle from inside her coat. "Uh, I'll just sit here for now. That's enough riding on the hood for me. The sake break is a good idea, though! I've been a little too long without a buzz. Like... five minutes? Geez, that's like a new record for me!" she chuckled. While she was waving her bottle in the air, Lee grinned wide and reached into Sake's robe, as though she was searching for another bottle. "Bwah! Hold your horses!"
"He he he! Sake-chan, I'm not looking for more sake! I wanted to show them more, er, Sake!" Lee cackled, revealing that her intention was actually to pull open Sake's robe. "If you're well enough to drink now, you're well enough to show off your bikini!" However, when she managed to open up the robe to the shoulders, all that was revealed was Sake's skinsuit, along with a bust size only a little more impressive than Vee's was. "You're not wearing it?!" the general asked, shocked.
"Of course not, dummy! You had to .GMO yours on, remember? I'm going to have to do the same thing. Let's at least get the cart set down before I change," the subordinate sighed. Lee pouted, but conceded.
Meanwhile, Kama nodded along with DragonierMan's plan, accepting the chip. "Counter? I can't understand where you're going with this, but I will follow along," the ninja agreed. The rest of the events played out in a flash; DragonierMan put up defenses, attacked, Kama flew out in counter attack, was grabbed (to which she protested instinctively). However, her size was still incredibly great; lifting her was actually completely impossible for DragonierMan's dragon form. Instead, the two of them both fell down together into the valley with a tremendous thud, creating a huge tremor nearby the cart. For a moment, DragonierMan found himself atop Kama in a very familiar situation, although this time as a dragon rather than a man-dragon. "Get off me!" she insisted, this time comparatively powerful enough to assist in the task by shoving back at him. She was understandably testy after last time's events. Once he was off, she knelt and brushed herself off, then looked around for a moment and settled into a position sitting atop her legs. She likely didn't want to stand, because she'd tower far above the forest cover if she did so. Not that they were likely hidden regardless, after they'd both just dove through the air. If Sparks or anyone else was interested, they could now see Kama's black bikini bottom, relatively unremarkable if not for the fact that she had a very shapely set of legs and buttocks, and likely would even without the aid of being a giant.
"You've freed me.... Thank you," she murmured, moving to a position bowing, prostrate with both hands in front of herself. "And I... appreciate that you did not act dishonorably while I was stuck. To be honest, I thought you were a lecherous man after our encounter on the beach earlier. I thank you for keeping to task," she added.
Back down with the others, Sake and the others were watching from the seats of the cart. "Wow! I'm surprised he pulled off something like that!" Lee shouted. "Wait... we didn't plug up the new opening in the dam, did we? Uh oh..."
The dam was still in the process of shifting in response to the absence of Kama's body; what was up came down, concrete and so forth tumbled from the top down. It looked as though the cracks were spreading as well, and water began to run out over the top into a new waterfall down into the river. The river was slowly but steadily rising... what had been a nice riverside picnic spot a moment ago was soon going to be part of the river itself, judging by how quickly water was rising up the bank. At some point, Sake had also changed, now clad in a white bikini, more modest than Lee's, with frills around the chest and the waistband. It made her look younger in age than she was likely intended to be. The rest of her body followed the template her top set: a little bit more adult than Sake's, but still rather childlike in their proportions. It seemed like her mind was really the only mature thing about her. She looked to the others, then shrugged and smiled. "Uh, we can admire my swimsuit figure some other time! I think we ought to go ahead and move this party back to more stable ground, maybe the hill back at the entrance of the dam?"
Kama reached down to pick up the cart, while another voice interjected with an opinion of its own... ReservoirMan had said he wouldn't contact them, but he broke that promise as he activated the radio himself. "What the bloody hell is happening?! The water level is changing and more of my generators have been knocked offline! It's like the whole grid's become disconnected. We've got more of the twice-damned flooding in the central section! Report, immediately!" the very deep voice insisted.
Lee laughed heartily in response, thankfully without the audio toggle flipped. "Twice-dammed! That's also funny!" she giggled, apparently a great admirer of unintentional puns, even re-used ones.
"Oh dear... I may have to own up to this," Kama sighed, carrying the cart back over to the location they'd spoken of earlier. Of course, the Empire's forces were the ones holding the radio, so they had the say in what to report to ReservoirMan, or, indeed, whether to answer him at all. With Kama freed, their real obligation in this mission was actually to finish negotiations with Kama, not to explain anything to ReservoirMan. If they did want to talk to the dam's suspicious owner, it would also be worth asking whether they should patch through on the radio or go back inside to speak to him there.
For now, the conversation turned to the question of what the source of that strange light that had disoriented Kama might have been. "This light was very high in the sky. I highly doubt it was a navi doing routine virus busting," she responded, shaking her head slightly. Sparks' question seemed to irk her a bit, but she turned her head to glance out the side of her eye at him (though it was hard to tell when her whole eye was yellow with no pupil). "A ninja's default placement is in hiding. If I believe there may a threat, I attempt to take proper cover and assess the situation. Brute force is a foolish first option for any navi... even a giant. Of course... hiding is much more difficult for a giant. And we can see how the attempt ended out for me," she sighed, her large bosom sliding up and then heaving back down distractingly as she did. "As for the damage to the dam, I'm quite certain that was all me. What few slight movements I've already made have sent cracks up and throughout the entire structure. It was not designed to protect against anything and even my simply leaning against it would topple a great segment of it."
She closed her eyes and remembered back to the dam's previous owner, then answered Sparks quickly. "There was no agreement, really. DrainMan simply consented to my being here in the first place, acknowledging that I'd use it for my meditation. I believe he may have suspected that my presence was useful for deterring virus attacks, or perhaps he was simply kind. Regardless, when ReservoirMan appeared, I approached him in much the same way and mentioned that same benefit. He agreed and did not oppose my staying here. And that was about the end of our interactions. The water level changed, but I had no real reason to complain of it. I can only assume he changed the flow of water allowed through the dam in order to benefit himself in some way. Though, you'd think if he wanted to generate power, he would increase the rate of the flow through, not stifle it." Her brow twitched and her fangs showed with clenched teeth as Sparks brought up her butt again. "Thank you for saying so, but please... let's focus," she implored him.
"Ha ha! Kama got a big ol' butt, oh yeah, Kama got a big ol' butt!" Lee taunted. It was a wonder that Kama didn't swipe one hand and smash the observing platform just then, but she managed to keep it under control. DragonierMan had taken back to the air to make a quick survey of the situation. If he had been hoping to see Kama's memorably giant butt again, he'd be disappointed, given that the water was so high on the other side that her lower body was hidden. It could be considered either fortunate or unfortunate that there was no sign of the NS soldiers Kama had mentioned, or anyone else about.
Once DragonierMan returned, he set about a plan to free Kama without endangering the others. "One small correction... while the water level is ordinarily controlled by adjustable openings in this dam, the opening I'm thrust through is not one of them. That is, it's just a giant hole made by my ramming the dam. So whether you plug or do not plug it is up to you, but it is not a natural means by which power is generated... the power can probably only be generated by going through those specific points and whatever damage I have done to the dam, seemingly, has hampered the generation of power. I'm sure it has something to do with the dam's machinery. I'm honestly surprised that ReservoirMan still has lights in there, if they're connected to the dam's power grid, anyway."
Lee and Sake consented to getting back on the cart, although this time, Sake rode on Lee's lap instead of on the front of the car. The smaller of the two chuckled, then produced a sake bottle from inside her coat. "Uh, I'll just sit here for now. That's enough riding on the hood for me. The sake break is a good idea, though! I've been a little too long without a buzz. Like... five minutes? Geez, that's like a new record for me!" she chuckled. While she was waving her bottle in the air, Lee grinned wide and reached into Sake's robe, as though she was searching for another bottle. "Bwah! Hold your horses!"
"He he he! Sake-chan, I'm not looking for more sake! I wanted to show them more, er, Sake!" Lee cackled, revealing that her intention was actually to pull open Sake's robe. "If you're well enough to drink now, you're well enough to show off your bikini!" However, when she managed to open up the robe to the shoulders, all that was revealed was Sake's skinsuit, along with a bust size only a little more impressive than Vee's was. "You're not wearing it?!" the general asked, shocked.
"Of course not, dummy! You had to .GMO yours on, remember? I'm going to have to do the same thing. Let's at least get the cart set down before I change," the subordinate sighed. Lee pouted, but conceded.
Meanwhile, Kama nodded along with DragonierMan's plan, accepting the chip. "Counter? I can't understand where you're going with this, but I will follow along," the ninja agreed. The rest of the events played out in a flash; DragonierMan put up defenses, attacked, Kama flew out in counter attack, was grabbed (to which she protested instinctively). However, her size was still incredibly great; lifting her was actually completely impossible for DragonierMan's dragon form. Instead, the two of them both fell down together into the valley with a tremendous thud, creating a huge tremor nearby the cart. For a moment, DragonierMan found himself atop Kama in a very familiar situation, although this time as a dragon rather than a man-dragon. "Get off me!" she insisted, this time comparatively powerful enough to assist in the task by shoving back at him. She was understandably testy after last time's events. Once he was off, she knelt and brushed herself off, then looked around for a moment and settled into a position sitting atop her legs. She likely didn't want to stand, because she'd tower far above the forest cover if she did so. Not that they were likely hidden regardless, after they'd both just dove through the air. If Sparks or anyone else was interested, they could now see Kama's black bikini bottom, relatively unremarkable if not for the fact that she had a very shapely set of legs and buttocks, and likely would even without the aid of being a giant.
"You've freed me.... Thank you," she murmured, moving to a position bowing, prostrate with both hands in front of herself. "And I... appreciate that you did not act dishonorably while I was stuck. To be honest, I thought you were a lecherous man after our encounter on the beach earlier. I thank you for keeping to task," she added.
Back down with the others, Sake and the others were watching from the seats of the cart. "Wow! I'm surprised he pulled off something like that!" Lee shouted. "Wait... we didn't plug up the new opening in the dam, did we? Uh oh..."
The dam was still in the process of shifting in response to the absence of Kama's body; what was up came down, concrete and so forth tumbled from the top down. It looked as though the cracks were spreading as well, and water began to run out over the top into a new waterfall down into the river. The river was slowly but steadily rising... what had been a nice riverside picnic spot a moment ago was soon going to be part of the river itself, judging by how quickly water was rising up the bank. At some point, Sake had also changed, now clad in a white bikini, more modest than Lee's, with frills around the chest and the waistband. It made her look younger in age than she was likely intended to be. The rest of her body followed the template her top set: a little bit more adult than Sake's, but still rather childlike in their proportions. It seemed like her mind was really the only mature thing about her. She looked to the others, then shrugged and smiled. "Uh, we can admire my swimsuit figure some other time! I think we ought to go ahead and move this party back to more stable ground, maybe the hill back at the entrance of the dam?"
Kama reached down to pick up the cart, while another voice interjected with an opinion of its own... ReservoirMan had said he wouldn't contact them, but he broke that promise as he activated the radio himself. "What the bloody hell is happening?! The water level is changing and more of my generators have been knocked offline! It's like the whole grid's become disconnected. We've got more of the twice-damned flooding in the central section! Report, immediately!" the very deep voice insisted.
Lee laughed heartily in response, thankfully without the audio toggle flipped. "Twice-dammed! That's also funny!" she giggled, apparently a great admirer of unintentional puns, even re-used ones.
"Oh dear... I may have to own up to this," Kama sighed, carrying the cart back over to the location they'd spoken of earlier. Of course, the Empire's forces were the ones holding the radio, so they had the say in what to report to ReservoirMan, or, indeed, whether to answer him at all. With Kama freed, their real obligation in this mission was actually to finish negotiations with Kama, not to explain anything to ReservoirMan. If they did want to talk to the dam's suspicious owner, it would also be worth asking whether they should patch through on the radio or go back inside to speak to him there.
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"Brute force has always treated me right... isn't that correct Drago?" Sparks replied to Kama's sly comment in regards to his question, "But I guess that DOES make sense coming from a ninja." The samurai navi took a step back. The fact that she said that there was no type of agreement bothered him for the simple fact that Resovoirman himself mention an agreement, but he kept quite and just viewed the situation further. "Oh I'm focused alright." He smiled in reply to her uneasy thanks.
Even after saying he was focused, the general seemed to grab everyone's attention as she all but fully stripped Sake, in an attempt to show off her bikini. To no avail on that attempt... however the tight skinsuit wasn't a bad thing... even if her bust size wasn't the largest. Sparks chose to get back in to the driver's seat, which shouldn't have been a problem with anybody, since they wouldn't actually be driving any where at the moment. "I hope you don't mind, I won't drive off any more dams unless the situation calls for it." He attempted to put any unease at rest before finally sitting down. "I would like some sake myself..." Sparks smiled reaching out for a cup before DragoneirMan, and Kama executed the plan to free the giant ninja.
Once the water began pouring out of the Dam, Sake indeed ended up showing off her child like bikini, while Kama scooped up the cart to carry the group to safety. Kama now being free was a good thing, but now the party had a pissed off dam owner on their hands, as his anger barked through the communication device at sparks side. "I almost have the urge to just toss this radio into the water falling from the dam. He's so rude." The samurai complained again about ReservoirMan's horrible attitude, "His reaction alone makes me dislike him even more." This was all said while audio dial was off, "Kama our only goal here is to try and recruit you, but maybe we should see what we can do to help this guy out. If he has a problem with you, then Im sure I wouldn't be in the wrong when I say we will have your back here."
Sparks pulled out the radio and turned the dial to the on position, appearing to take charge of the current situation. He took one deep breath in order to relax his nerves and not scream into the device. Sparks was an easy go type of navi, even though he was just angry it was quickly shaken off. With the hopes of making sure every one benefited from today's activities he answered the angry dam owner's previous statement. "Yes sir, ReservoirMan, we found what we were looking for, and on top of that we found what is possibly the most straight forward reason for whats causing your outages... Why don't you come out and meet us so we can come up with a better plan to fix the problem." Sparks held out his glass for another pour of sake from Sake, assuming he was originally rewarded with the glass to begin with.
Even after saying he was focused, the general seemed to grab everyone's attention as she all but fully stripped Sake, in an attempt to show off her bikini. To no avail on that attempt... however the tight skinsuit wasn't a bad thing... even if her bust size wasn't the largest. Sparks chose to get back in to the driver's seat, which shouldn't have been a problem with anybody, since they wouldn't actually be driving any where at the moment. "I hope you don't mind, I won't drive off any more dams unless the situation calls for it." He attempted to put any unease at rest before finally sitting down. "I would like some sake myself..." Sparks smiled reaching out for a cup before DragoneirMan, and Kama executed the plan to free the giant ninja.
Once the water began pouring out of the Dam, Sake indeed ended up showing off her child like bikini, while Kama scooped up the cart to carry the group to safety. Kama now being free was a good thing, but now the party had a pissed off dam owner on their hands, as his anger barked through the communication device at sparks side. "I almost have the urge to just toss this radio into the water falling from the dam. He's so rude." The samurai complained again about ReservoirMan's horrible attitude, "His reaction alone makes me dislike him even more." This was all said while audio dial was off, "Kama our only goal here is to try and recruit you, but maybe we should see what we can do to help this guy out. If he has a problem with you, then Im sure I wouldn't be in the wrong when I say we will have your back here."
Sparks pulled out the radio and turned the dial to the on position, appearing to take charge of the current situation. He took one deep breath in order to relax his nerves and not scream into the device. Sparks was an easy go type of navi, even though he was just angry it was quickly shaken off. With the hopes of making sure every one benefited from today's activities he answered the angry dam owner's previous statement. "Yes sir, ReservoirMan, we found what we were looking for, and on top of that we found what is possibly the most straight forward reason for whats causing your outages... Why don't you come out and meet us so we can come up with a better plan to fix the problem." Sparks held out his glass for another pour of sake from Sake, assuming he was originally rewarded with the glass to begin with.
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Lots of stuff happened in a short time frame. Kama had conflicting views of Alex from Alexis, on whether or not she showed off her true strength or not, and whether DragonierMan could really beat her if she went all out. But at the same time, Kama looked like she might take that chance in betting on Drago. She also talked a little more on what went on to bring her to this situation, and the damage to the dam being most likely her fault. Apparently brute force wasn't her first go-to when dealing with situations. Sparks commented that he preferred brute force and looked to Drago to see if he agreed. Drago nodded, "I also prefer the brute force option." Then on her supposed agreements with DrainMan and ReservoirMan, though she didn't like using the word 'agreement'. And all of this followed by comments and shenanigans from Sparks, Sake, and Lee.
So DragonierMan did his thing where he freed Kama, apparently forgetting to do the thing where he takes the cart filled with his team mates to higher ground, beforehand, like he thought he was going to do. But anyways, everything works out and Kama is released. Unfortunately, his plan of lifting the giant Kama to safety also didn't work out as intended, and he ended up on top of her again. He of course, got off of her as fast as she was pushing him off. This was hardly the time to play with Kama anyways. "I AM A LECHEROUS MAN," the dragon replied to Kama as she thanked him for freeing her. "BUT NOW IS HARDLY THE TIME," he stated as he spread his wings and took off. He wasn't going to let himself get swept away by the oncoming flood just for a little leching.
Everyone relocated to higher ground under the screaming of ReservoirMan over the radio and the rushing water that was quickly filling the valley. Once the group was safely away from the danger, and everyone had settled down, they commented on what to do about ReservoirMan. Lee continued to be humored by the situation, while Kama looked forlorn about the coming apologies. Sparks, though, took charge and asked for ReservoirMan to come out and view the damage and talk to them about the next steps. If they could fix the problem, it would help the NS image.
Meanwhile, DragonierMan took a moment to leer down at Sake, drinking in her lolita form. The bestial dragon head moved close enough to almost invade her personal space and breathe in her scent, which was probably swimming with booze. Suzume and Aya came up and bopped him in the nose with their fists. He snorted and blew some smoke out of his nostrils before raising his head. "SUZUME, AYA, LET US SURVEY THE DAMAGE," he said before taking off from his position, causing a small whirlwind in the wake of his large wings. Suzume and Aya, victorious for shaking his tiny animalistic brain out of molesting Sake any further, flew off to go scout the damage to the dam from the air with Drago. The three circled about the dam and split off to cover more territory, communicating over their own internal comms as they reported to each other about what they found. They also opened the line to Lee, Sake, and Sparks, so they could hear what they were communicating about. However, the line wasn't two way, so all they could do was listen in on the three scouting dragoniers. The flying trio would also look at the surrounding terrain to see if they could find impromptu building materials for, at minimum, a temporary patch job.
They might even find something really cool hidden somewhere around the dam, that they could bring back to Vee as a souvenir.
So DragonierMan did his thing where he freed Kama, apparently forgetting to do the thing where he takes the cart filled with his team mates to higher ground, beforehand, like he thought he was going to do. But anyways, everything works out and Kama is released. Unfortunately, his plan of lifting the giant Kama to safety also didn't work out as intended, and he ended up on top of her again. He of course, got off of her as fast as she was pushing him off. This was hardly the time to play with Kama anyways. "I AM A LECHEROUS MAN," the dragon replied to Kama as she thanked him for freeing her. "BUT NOW IS HARDLY THE TIME," he stated as he spread his wings and took off. He wasn't going to let himself get swept away by the oncoming flood just for a little leching.
Everyone relocated to higher ground under the screaming of ReservoirMan over the radio and the rushing water that was quickly filling the valley. Once the group was safely away from the danger, and everyone had settled down, they commented on what to do about ReservoirMan. Lee continued to be humored by the situation, while Kama looked forlorn about the coming apologies. Sparks, though, took charge and asked for ReservoirMan to come out and view the damage and talk to them about the next steps. If they could fix the problem, it would help the NS image.
Meanwhile, DragonierMan took a moment to leer down at Sake, drinking in her lolita form. The bestial dragon head moved close enough to almost invade her personal space and breathe in her scent, which was probably swimming with booze. Suzume and Aya came up and bopped him in the nose with their fists. He snorted and blew some smoke out of his nostrils before raising his head. "SUZUME, AYA, LET US SURVEY THE DAMAGE," he said before taking off from his position, causing a small whirlwind in the wake of his large wings. Suzume and Aya, victorious for shaking his tiny animalistic brain out of molesting Sake any further, flew off to go scout the damage to the dam from the air with Drago. The three circled about the dam and split off to cover more territory, communicating over their own internal comms as they reported to each other about what they found. They also opened the line to Lee, Sake, and Sparks, so they could hear what they were communicating about. However, the line wasn't two way, so all they could do was listen in on the three scouting dragoniers. The flying trio would also look at the surrounding terrain to see if they could find impromptu building materials for, at minimum, a temporary patch job.
They might even find something really cool hidden somewhere around the dam, that they could bring back to Vee as a souvenir.
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"Yeah, the guys are right!" Lee echoed the sentiments of DragonierMan and Sparks. "Using your fists is way easier than ninja stuff! As far as I'm concerned, it's fists first, brain second!" she sounded proud of the statement, although, ideally, she ought to try to use both. Kama shook her head and didn't bother responding to any of that. Between that and DragonierMan's statement that he actually was a perv but didn't have time to be one right at the moment, she didn't seem overly thrilled by the companions she'd ended up throwing in with to make her escape.
Sake didn't complain as Sparks helped himself to a drink, but did laugh at his promise. "Heh, well, let me know the first time you see a situation that does call for driving us all screaming off the side of a dam, then," she retorted, then raised her own glass and had a drink.
After everyone got clear of the rising river, now back on the hill near the front of the dam, Sparks responded to ReservoirMan's panicked requests for information. The dam's owner seemed less than thrilled with that answer, joining by their snappy answer. "If you know something, spill it, now! I can't pull myself away from my work for a face-to-face meeting," the deep voice complained. "If you don't like the radio for some reason, then head back inside and we'll talk in the guest reception area. If you do not, then don't worry, I'm ready to place a GNA helpdesk request for someone who can actually assist me with fixing my dam!"
"There's that attitude again!" Lee complained, this time with the radio on for at least part of the time.
In the mean time, DragonierMan and his SPs took to the air to scope out the damage to the concrete structure or anything they might use to patch it up. Gathering up mud from the riverbank might be one way to plug up the dam, or simply piling more concrete there. Really, just about anything heavy enough not to move could be used to stop the water coming over the top of where the collapse had happened: debris, mud, or uprooted trees could all raise dam enough to at least block the water from coming through uncontrollably again. The much harder part would be repairing the power grid or power generation that ReservoirMan had mentioned, as all of that was internal and likely complex machinery, rather than simply a big lump of concrete blocking water from going over. Still, that might be out of their scope for this mission regardless.
On that note, he'd discover something fairly interesting... several items, hard to make out from a distance, could be seen flowing downriver from the dam. A closer look revealed them to be some sort of rectangular canisters, made out of non-conductive, metallic substance and featuring a handle to carry each one overhanded. An image printed on the front showed a lightning bolt. It seemed reasonable to imagine these might be related to the energy production ReservoirMan, either used in its creation or somehow storing it for transfer. Whatever the case, it was hard to figure out how one would "use" it.
Up above at the front of the dam, the two bikini clad generals both sighed, neither really looking forward to going in to talk to the testy dam-owner again. 'Good grief! I guess I can go talk to this guy, but uh, three of us did vote brute force as the best option earlier, right? So I say we just brute force it!" she insisted, although how exactly they would brute force their way to the understanding of the unseen ReservoirMan was another question.
"Eh, who knows? We have sexy swimsuits on our side now! Maybe he'll be putty in our hands when he sees these!" Sake joked. "It's a shame Kama can't go in too. He couldn't be too hard on her if she came in like that, could he?"
"Ha ha ha! I dunno, I'd bet he'd get real hard!" Lee guffawed. Kama didn't look as though she appreciated either joke. 'Oh well. Let's go on in, Sir Sparky." If Sparks had another idea, he'd want to interject now; otherwise, Lee and Sake were headed inside.
Kama was forced to stay outside, as there was really no way for her to go inside given her size. She probably could only stick about three or four fingers in without taking out more of the dam. Instead, she stepped over a short distance to join DragonierMan, her footsteps somehow light enough to avoid shaking the ground as she moved. "What are those? I've never seen such a thing before," she commented, noticing the strange canisters floating downstream. "They could be valuable... or dangerous. Should I try gathering some up?" For Kama, that would probably be as easy as reaching her hand into the river, blocking the flow, then clenching her fist and pulling them out. At this point, however, DragonierMan nor she knew if they were any risks to be considered in handling them. ReservoirMan would probably know... but asking him could eliminate any chance they had to pocket the canisters for themselves. It would also occur to DragonierMan that some of the canisters had surely been damaged or ruptured.
If Sparks followed Lee and Sake, he'd find that the inside of the dam was now completely dark... the power grid was, most certainly, out. Lee came to a sudden stop, so sudden that Sake would nearly crash into her from behind and Sparks would probably walk over them both if he wasn't careful. "Crap! Should I go back outside and make a torch?" Lee asked. If he was a lecherous guy himself, he might note there could be several benefits in feeling around in the dark with the two generals in their skimpy swimwear, but if he was misison-minded, he could probably help the group out with a makeshift light source.
Whether they turned around or kept going, they'd notice something different once they began to approach the reception area again; some electricity source was flickering nearby one of the doors into the back area. At first, it looked as though it might be some sort of lampost or another tall item that would produce light near head height. However, as they got closer, they could make out some of its features... it was some sort of navi, extremely tall with gray, rubber-like flesh all over his entire body. His face was featureless, except for an opening like three vertically oriented rectangles on an old-fashioned power outlet one would insert a three-pronged plug into. Right now, the navi had its hand placed upon the security door. It seemed like the door was creaking open and shut slightly in regular intervals, a repetitive and useless motion that indicated it was not functioning normally, possibly broken. The navi didn't seem to have noticed their approach.
Sake didn't complain as Sparks helped himself to a drink, but did laugh at his promise. "Heh, well, let me know the first time you see a situation that does call for driving us all screaming off the side of a dam, then," she retorted, then raised her own glass and had a drink.
After everyone got clear of the rising river, now back on the hill near the front of the dam, Sparks responded to ReservoirMan's panicked requests for information. The dam's owner seemed less than thrilled with that answer, joining by their snappy answer. "If you know something, spill it, now! I can't pull myself away from my work for a face-to-face meeting," the deep voice complained. "If you don't like the radio for some reason, then head back inside and we'll talk in the guest reception area. If you do not, then don't worry, I'm ready to place a GNA helpdesk request for someone who can actually assist me with fixing my dam!"
"There's that attitude again!" Lee complained, this time with the radio on for at least part of the time.
In the mean time, DragonierMan and his SPs took to the air to scope out the damage to the concrete structure or anything they might use to patch it up. Gathering up mud from the riverbank might be one way to plug up the dam, or simply piling more concrete there. Really, just about anything heavy enough not to move could be used to stop the water coming over the top of where the collapse had happened: debris, mud, or uprooted trees could all raise dam enough to at least block the water from coming through uncontrollably again. The much harder part would be repairing the power grid or power generation that ReservoirMan had mentioned, as all of that was internal and likely complex machinery, rather than simply a big lump of concrete blocking water from going over. Still, that might be out of their scope for this mission regardless.
On that note, he'd discover something fairly interesting... several items, hard to make out from a distance, could be seen flowing downriver from the dam. A closer look revealed them to be some sort of rectangular canisters, made out of non-conductive, metallic substance and featuring a handle to carry each one overhanded. An image printed on the front showed a lightning bolt. It seemed reasonable to imagine these might be related to the energy production ReservoirMan, either used in its creation or somehow storing it for transfer. Whatever the case, it was hard to figure out how one would "use" it.
Up above at the front of the dam, the two bikini clad generals both sighed, neither really looking forward to going in to talk to the testy dam-owner again. 'Good grief! I guess I can go talk to this guy, but uh, three of us did vote brute force as the best option earlier, right? So I say we just brute force it!" she insisted, although how exactly they would brute force their way to the understanding of the unseen ReservoirMan was another question.
"Eh, who knows? We have sexy swimsuits on our side now! Maybe he'll be putty in our hands when he sees these!" Sake joked. "It's a shame Kama can't go in too. He couldn't be too hard on her if she came in like that, could he?"
"Ha ha ha! I dunno, I'd bet he'd get real hard!" Lee guffawed. Kama didn't look as though she appreciated either joke. 'Oh well. Let's go on in, Sir Sparky." If Sparks had another idea, he'd want to interject now; otherwise, Lee and Sake were headed inside.
Kama was forced to stay outside, as there was really no way for her to go inside given her size. She probably could only stick about three or four fingers in without taking out more of the dam. Instead, she stepped over a short distance to join DragonierMan, her footsteps somehow light enough to avoid shaking the ground as she moved. "What are those? I've never seen such a thing before," she commented, noticing the strange canisters floating downstream. "They could be valuable... or dangerous. Should I try gathering some up?" For Kama, that would probably be as easy as reaching her hand into the river, blocking the flow, then clenching her fist and pulling them out. At this point, however, DragonierMan nor she knew if they were any risks to be considered in handling them. ReservoirMan would probably know... but asking him could eliminate any chance they had to pocket the canisters for themselves. It would also occur to DragonierMan that some of the canisters had surely been damaged or ruptured.
If Sparks followed Lee and Sake, he'd find that the inside of the dam was now completely dark... the power grid was, most certainly, out. Lee came to a sudden stop, so sudden that Sake would nearly crash into her from behind and Sparks would probably walk over them both if he wasn't careful. "Crap! Should I go back outside and make a torch?" Lee asked. If he was a lecherous guy himself, he might note there could be several benefits in feeling around in the dark with the two generals in their skimpy swimwear, but if he was misison-minded, he could probably help the group out with a makeshift light source.
Whether they turned around or kept going, they'd notice something different once they began to approach the reception area again; some electricity source was flickering nearby one of the doors into the back area. At first, it looked as though it might be some sort of lampost or another tall item that would produce light near head height. However, as they got closer, they could make out some of its features... it was some sort of navi, extremely tall with gray, rubber-like flesh all over his entire body. His face was featureless, except for an opening like three vertically oriented rectangles on an old-fashioned power outlet one would insert a three-pronged plug into. Right now, the navi had its hand placed upon the security door. It seemed like the door was creaking open and shut slightly in regular intervals, a repetitive and useless motion that indicated it was not functioning normally, possibly broken. The navi didn't seem to have noticed their approach.
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Sparks flipped the switch back to off on his radio to make sure ReservoirMan could not hear about the canisters when Kama mentioned about scooping them up, jumping in to add his own two cents, "Maybe grab whatever Drago can't. I would be careful though, surely anything with a lighting bolt on it, needs to be approached with caution." The statement would hopefully benefit the trio in the sky as well if they were paying attention to the one way comm that Drago had opened. "Let's be sure to keep them to ourselves for the time being though."
"Fine we will head your way ReservoirMan, I hope we can figure this out in a cool and calm setting." Switching the radio back on so that he could answer the dam owner, Sparks' words came out stern and precise. It was obvious that he was tired of hearing the the owner's rude way of responding, since the group did in fact offer his help, not once but twice now. "We will be there shortly."
As Sparks fell in line behind General Lee, and Sake on their way guest reception area to meet ReservoirMan it began to get darker, and darker until it became a little hard to see. Sparks was in deed not a lecherous man normally, but the two cups of sake had Sparks feeling a little more relaxed. More so then earlier, his eyes seemed to be drawn to Lee's sexily clad body and began to emulate a portion of Drago's earlier reaction. He had a clear view of each navi as they walked, but his eyes traced the general's shape up and down multiple times as they got closer to their destination.
It took a moment for him to snap out of his trance, noticing that it was getting even darker the electric navi decided to take the lead. Sparks unsheathed his blade of electricity which was bight enough to illuminate the immediate path that the trio walked. When they finally made their way to the guest room, there was an odd outlet like navi standing in the door. Was he friend, foe, or random passer by? Only one way to find out. "Hey, who goes there?" Sparks questioned the rubber clad
"Fine we will head your way ReservoirMan, I hope we can figure this out in a cool and calm setting." Switching the radio back on so that he could answer the dam owner, Sparks' words came out stern and precise. It was obvious that he was tired of hearing the the owner's rude way of responding, since the group did in fact offer his help, not once but twice now. "We will be there shortly."
As Sparks fell in line behind General Lee, and Sake on their way guest reception area to meet ReservoirMan it began to get darker, and darker until it became a little hard to see. Sparks was in deed not a lecherous man normally, but the two cups of sake had Sparks feeling a little more relaxed. More so then earlier, his eyes seemed to be drawn to Lee's sexily clad body and began to emulate a portion of Drago's earlier reaction. He had a clear view of each navi as they walked, but his eyes traced the general's shape up and down multiple times as they got closer to their destination.
It took a moment for him to snap out of his trance, noticing that it was getting even darker the electric navi decided to take the lead. Sparks unsheathed his blade of electricity which was bight enough to illuminate the immediate path that the trio walked. When they finally made their way to the guest room, there was an odd outlet like navi standing in the door. Was he friend, foe, or random passer by? Only one way to find out. "Hey, who goes there?" Sparks questioned the rubber clad
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DragonierMan, Suzume, and Aya were flying around the dam surveying the damage while their one-way communications were open. <It looks like we can patch up the dam with the surrounding materials,> Aya's voice came through as she looked down from above. <It will take time, but at least that is promising.> As Aya was looking over the structural integrity of the dam, Suzume was following the river that had been created by the outflow from the broken area of the dam. <Looks like we got something, somethings, leaving the dam. They look kind of like batteries,> she said as she noticed the cluster of floating canisters with the lightning bolt symbols emblazoned upon them.
<Don't touch them!> Aya warned as she turned and saw that some were damaged. Suzume pulled her hand back as she reached for one of the handles on one of the canisters. <They could still be charged and the water would conduct it,> Aya hastily explained. <We should try to dam up the river downstream before they get out of sight. We can deal with the retrieval after, in a more controlled manner.>
Aya flew down to join Suzume, before they both headed downstream as fast as they could. They would need a few minutes head start due to the speed of the river. <Drago, Kama, we are going to need your help as well. If you can find trees or move mounds of dirt, we need to make another dam across the river to catch the canisters,> Aya communicated over the comms line. <Don't try to grab the canisters with your bare hands/arms, they might shock you to deletion. We have no idea how much of a charge they can carry.>
Suzume and Aya split up and moved to each side of the river bank. They faced each other and raised their hands toward each other. <I call upon the magnificent
WoodDragon2Damage: 150 + Ground Attack + Medium Area Grass Terrain Change + Terrain Changer
Accuracy: C
Description: Summons a WoodDragon that attacks enemies as it glides across the ground. Changes terrain to Grass as it passes.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Terrain Changer: Ceases attacking when the Terrain Change effect is completed (once 25% of the terrain is changed).
Trader Rank: C. Come forth and make a dam across this river with your mighty earthen power in order to save the nearby forest!> A giant, stylized, clay jar appeared in front of Suzume. She pushed it over, facing the river, and a powerful WoodDragon slithered out of the pot and began to try to transform a section of river into an earthen work similar to a dam, or a tall wall of dirt and grass. Aya was also chanting her own spell at the same time. <Come forth
ElecDragon2Damage: 150 + Ground Attack + Medium Area Magnet Terrain Change + Terrain Changer
Accuracy: C
Description: Summons a ThunderDragon that attacks enemies as it glides across the ground. Changes terrain to Magnet as it passes.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Terrain Changer: Ceases attacking when the Terrain Change effect is completed (once 25% of the terrain is changed).
Trader Rank: C. We require your aid to magnetize this river and catch all these canisters in your mighty grip. That they may be used to further the cause of the elec!> she exclaimed. A similar stylized jar, this one made of metal, appeared before Aya. She tipped it over toward the river as well, releasing a mighty ElecDragon to storm across the river.
<Let your combined powers create a magnificent dam to dwarf all others!>
<Let your combined powers create a magnificent dam to dwarf all others!>
The twins finished together as the two dragons they unleashed performed their assigned duty to the best of their ability. Meanwhile, DragonierMan was elsewhere, still in dragon form, trying to uproot nearby trees and shoveling dirt into the river in various places in order to try to stop the flow. If Kama was doing the same, he would be right alongside her helping her out. It would take teamwork to get this situation taken care of. If he had any time outside of that, such as Kama doing a really good job or not needing his help, he would instead focus on trying to patch the holes and cracks in the dam with mud and other debris.
<Don't touch them!> Aya warned as she turned and saw that some were damaged. Suzume pulled her hand back as she reached for one of the handles on one of the canisters. <They could still be charged and the water would conduct it,> Aya hastily explained. <We should try to dam up the river downstream before they get out of sight. We can deal with the retrieval after, in a more controlled manner.>
Aya flew down to join Suzume, before they both headed downstream as fast as they could. They would need a few minutes head start due to the speed of the river. <Drago, Kama, we are going to need your help as well. If you can find trees or move mounds of dirt, we need to make another dam across the river to catch the canisters,> Aya communicated over the comms line. <Don't try to grab the canisters with your bare hands/arms, they might shock you to deletion. We have no idea how much of a charge they can carry.>
Suzume and Aya split up and moved to each side of the river bank. They faced each other and raised their hands toward each other. <I call upon the magnificent
WoodDragon2Damage: 150 + Ground Attack + Medium Area Grass Terrain Change + Terrain ChangerAccuracy: C
Description: Summons a WoodDragon that attacks enemies as it glides across the ground. Changes terrain to Grass as it passes.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Special: Terrain Changer: Ceases attacking when the Terrain Change effect is completed (once 25% of the terrain is changed).
Trader Rank: C. Come forth and make a dam across this river with your mighty earthen power in order to save the nearby forest!> A giant, stylized, clay jar appeared in front of Suzume. She pushed it over, facing the river, and a powerful WoodDragon slithered out of the pot and began to try to transform a section of river into an earthen work similar to a dam, or a tall wall of dirt and grass. Aya was also chanting her own spell at the same time. <Come forth
ElecDragon2Damage: 150 + Ground Attack + Medium Area Magnet Terrain Change + Terrain ChangerAccuracy: C
Description: Summons a ThunderDragon that attacks enemies as it glides across the ground. Changes terrain to Magnet as it passes.
Duration: Once
Element: Elec
Special: Terrain Changer: Ceases attacking when the Terrain Change effect is completed (once 25% of the terrain is changed).
Trader Rank: C. We require your aid to magnetize this river and catch all these canisters in your mighty grip. That they may be used to further the cause of the elec!> she exclaimed. A similar stylized jar, this one made of metal, appeared before Aya. She tipped it over toward the river as well, releasing a mighty ElecDragon to storm across the river.
<Let your combined powers create a magnificent dam to dwarf all others!>
<Let your combined powers create a magnificent dam to dwarf all others!>
The twins finished together as the two dragons they unleashed performed their assigned duty to the best of their ability. Meanwhile, DragonierMan was elsewhere, still in dragon form, trying to uproot nearby trees and shoveling dirt into the river in various places in order to try to stop the flow. If Kama was doing the same, he would be right alongside her helping her out. It would take teamwork to get this situation taken care of. If he had any time outside of that, such as Kama doing a really good job or not needing his help, he would instead focus on trying to patch the holes and cracks in the dam with mud and other debris.
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Kama would have a moment to reflect that it was indeed lucky she was speaking in whispers, because if she hadn't, ReservoirMan probably would have heard her mention the canisters no matter where he was. She nodded along with Sparks' warning. With that understood, Sparks' next task was to respond to ReservoirMan. If he was hoping to win some brownie points with the irascible dam owner by being punctual and affirmative, he'd be sorely disappointed; no response came from the other side, so hopefully, his silence could be taken as affirmation. Sparks then left to the inside of the dam with the general and subordinate, only mildly distracted by said general's alluring swimsuit figure.
Just as Lee mentioned the possible need of a torch, Sparks rectified the issue by producing his sword, which was, itself, a light source. "Ha ha ha! That's a good idea! If I'd been thinking about it, I coulda made a bunch of fire around my spear and lit our way forward too!" she pointed out, watching the sword with her face a bit closer than was probably proper for observing any sort of weapon, let alone one giving off sparks of electricity. "Okay, then! I wouldn't ask a guy to hand over his sword. You can lead!" she conceded, falling in behind him. Sparks may be excited to find that the light source was fairly low, regardless, so in order to avoid bumping into things once the sword became the only light to see by, the two girls would have to get in a little closer... each took a side, close enough to bump elbows.
When the small group spotted a stranger at ReservoirMan's now malfunctioning door, Sparks was the first to call out to them. The navi turned his head slowly, showing his strange face (or lack thereof) for a moment, before turning his attention back to the door. The navi didn't speak at all... it was questionable if he'd actually even be able to. All he was doing was, zombie-like, focusing on that sparking point at the door's opening. If Sparks observed closely, he'd notice that the intervals between the door closing were lengthening and the door gradually opened wider.
That became more evident as the navi experimentally began to wedge its shoulder into the opening slightly. The door slammed onto it, repeatedly, with a series of crunches, but the creature either didn't feel it or didn't care. He continued to fiddle with the door single-mindedly, placing his palms at different positions experimentally with excruciating slowness. "What the what?" Lee asked, squinting her eyes. "That's a weird dude."
"Yeah... And I'm sure he's a dude ReservoirMan doesn't want to meet. Weird that none of us have any idea what he is, though. I don't recognize him from the NS or the ROT..." Sake murmured, then took another swig of her drink, as if to build up the courage to ask. "What are you doing over there?" she called out more loudly, to see if she could get its attention. This time, it didn't even look over. "Rude!" she scoffed, jokingly.
"I know!" Lee called out, suddenly having an epiphany. She placed one hand on her hip, extended out one leg, and pantomimed hiking up a skirt which she no longer had. "Yoo hoo! Hey big boy!" she taunted him, turning a bit to show off her hip. The navi, of course, didn't respond. "Dammit!" she groaned. "What do we do about this guy?"
ReservoirMan spoke up again, this time sounding somewhat panicked. "You all! If you're really not here with the collectors, then you must destroy that... that thing! As long as that thing's out there, we can't hold a discussion! End of discussion!" he complained, then cut off, seeming as though he'd hung his hat on the hopes that the Neo-Shogun Empire would solve his dilemma for him. Notably, his voice was still only understandable from the radio, not coming from behind the door that was apparently being forced open. He'd either never been behind that one-way window or all or otherwise might be deeper into the dam somewhere. Regardless, their only way in now, if they really wanted to meet ReservoirMan, was to take care of his uninvited guest or perhaps finish opening the door themselves so they could slide in along with the intruder.
---------------------
Meanwhile, on the outside, DragonierMan and his girls were preparing to play clean-up crew with whatever strange things were leaking out of the opening in the dam. Aya warned Kama that touching the canisters would be a bad idea, due to the danger of electrocution. "Hm, you may be right. It's hard to imagine such small containers carrying enough of a charge to actually injure my enlarged body, but it's best to err on the side of caution," she agreed in a giant whisper. "I agree. If I can't use my hand to stop the flow downstream, I'll need your help." As it turned out, Aya wanted her help too. Gathering up dirt and trees would be even simpler a matter for Kama than DragonierMan, given her ability to use her dexterous humanoid hands. Neither of the two were master engineers, but simply moving enough things into the lower part of the river to stop water from getting through didn't take a master engineer.
With their part over so easily, they'd have time to watch the twins do their part. Kama watched with a passive expression, digging her toes into the mud idly. "Your partners work well together, though they might be more effective if they tone down the theatrics. Supporters are most effective when they can work from the shadows. Still... It looks like we've completely stymied the water flowing out that hole," Kama pointed out, pointing one gigantic finger. This meant that the dam was back to only letting water through the correct places. What had changed, however, was the down-river dam... With water still coming out, the level of the river would continue to rise until they removed that dam. It was, however, effective in stopping the canisters from floating away. "We've stopped them for flowing down into a larger body of water, but if we don't act soon, the river will just keep flowing out over the valley. We need to decide what to do with all these before the waters get that high."
She placed one hand over her mouth thoughtfully, then looked back at the dam. "If only we knew what these are used for. It could be best for everyone to just destroy them. Then again, they may be something useful... ReservoirMan may want them. For that matter, your empire may want them," she murmured in a quiet (relatively) voice. "I'd love to get some answers from him. I think we both know that when dams are used to generate electricity, this isn't the way it typically works. They don't typically store the... electricity... in cans. This must be for some specific purpose. If we knew why, we'd know whether ReservoirMan's operation here should be shut down or not. I assume that's something you'd want to know, anyways. That sort of thing is what your Empire is about?" she asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Technically, it didn't have much to do with uniting the net, so probably not, but if ReservoirMan was up to no good, it was likely somebody would thank them for shutting it down. Or, if he was actually on the up and up, well... it would be good peace of mind to know that!
"If we had some sort of way to insulate our hands, we could probably inspect those canisters. Or you could search the coast and find one that washed up and doesn't look damaged. I can't really personally see them closely enough to tell... or pick them up individually without crushing them," she murmured, scanning the coast with her unfortunately large yellow eyes. To her, the canisters probably looked like tiny ants.
Just as Lee mentioned the possible need of a torch, Sparks rectified the issue by producing his sword, which was, itself, a light source. "Ha ha ha! That's a good idea! If I'd been thinking about it, I coulda made a bunch of fire around my spear and lit our way forward too!" she pointed out, watching the sword with her face a bit closer than was probably proper for observing any sort of weapon, let alone one giving off sparks of electricity. "Okay, then! I wouldn't ask a guy to hand over his sword. You can lead!" she conceded, falling in behind him. Sparks may be excited to find that the light source was fairly low, regardless, so in order to avoid bumping into things once the sword became the only light to see by, the two girls would have to get in a little closer... each took a side, close enough to bump elbows.
When the small group spotted a stranger at ReservoirMan's now malfunctioning door, Sparks was the first to call out to them. The navi turned his head slowly, showing his strange face (or lack thereof) for a moment, before turning his attention back to the door. The navi didn't speak at all... it was questionable if he'd actually even be able to. All he was doing was, zombie-like, focusing on that sparking point at the door's opening. If Sparks observed closely, he'd notice that the intervals between the door closing were lengthening and the door gradually opened wider.
That became more evident as the navi experimentally began to wedge its shoulder into the opening slightly. The door slammed onto it, repeatedly, with a series of crunches, but the creature either didn't feel it or didn't care. He continued to fiddle with the door single-mindedly, placing his palms at different positions experimentally with excruciating slowness. "What the what?" Lee asked, squinting her eyes. "That's a weird dude."
"Yeah... And I'm sure he's a dude ReservoirMan doesn't want to meet. Weird that none of us have any idea what he is, though. I don't recognize him from the NS or the ROT..." Sake murmured, then took another swig of her drink, as if to build up the courage to ask. "What are you doing over there?" she called out more loudly, to see if she could get its attention. This time, it didn't even look over. "Rude!" she scoffed, jokingly.
"I know!" Lee called out, suddenly having an epiphany. She placed one hand on her hip, extended out one leg, and pantomimed hiking up a skirt which she no longer had. "Yoo hoo! Hey big boy!" she taunted him, turning a bit to show off her hip. The navi, of course, didn't respond. "Dammit!" she groaned. "What do we do about this guy?"
ReservoirMan spoke up again, this time sounding somewhat panicked. "You all! If you're really not here with the collectors, then you must destroy that... that thing! As long as that thing's out there, we can't hold a discussion! End of discussion!" he complained, then cut off, seeming as though he'd hung his hat on the hopes that the Neo-Shogun Empire would solve his dilemma for him. Notably, his voice was still only understandable from the radio, not coming from behind the door that was apparently being forced open. He'd either never been behind that one-way window or all or otherwise might be deeper into the dam somewhere. Regardless, their only way in now, if they really wanted to meet ReservoirMan, was to take care of his uninvited guest or perhaps finish opening the door themselves so they could slide in along with the intruder.
---------------------
Meanwhile, on the outside, DragonierMan and his girls were preparing to play clean-up crew with whatever strange things were leaking out of the opening in the dam. Aya warned Kama that touching the canisters would be a bad idea, due to the danger of electrocution. "Hm, you may be right. It's hard to imagine such small containers carrying enough of a charge to actually injure my enlarged body, but it's best to err on the side of caution," she agreed in a giant whisper. "I agree. If I can't use my hand to stop the flow downstream, I'll need your help." As it turned out, Aya wanted her help too. Gathering up dirt and trees would be even simpler a matter for Kama than DragonierMan, given her ability to use her dexterous humanoid hands. Neither of the two were master engineers, but simply moving enough things into the lower part of the river to stop water from getting through didn't take a master engineer.
With their part over so easily, they'd have time to watch the twins do their part. Kama watched with a passive expression, digging her toes into the mud idly. "Your partners work well together, though they might be more effective if they tone down the theatrics. Supporters are most effective when they can work from the shadows. Still... It looks like we've completely stymied the water flowing out that hole," Kama pointed out, pointing one gigantic finger. This meant that the dam was back to only letting water through the correct places. What had changed, however, was the down-river dam... With water still coming out, the level of the river would continue to rise until they removed that dam. It was, however, effective in stopping the canisters from floating away. "We've stopped them for flowing down into a larger body of water, but if we don't act soon, the river will just keep flowing out over the valley. We need to decide what to do with all these before the waters get that high."
She placed one hand over her mouth thoughtfully, then looked back at the dam. "If only we knew what these are used for. It could be best for everyone to just destroy them. Then again, they may be something useful... ReservoirMan may want them. For that matter, your empire may want them," she murmured in a quiet (relatively) voice. "I'd love to get some answers from him. I think we both know that when dams are used to generate electricity, this isn't the way it typically works. They don't typically store the... electricity... in cans. This must be for some specific purpose. If we knew why, we'd know whether ReservoirMan's operation here should be shut down or not. I assume that's something you'd want to know, anyways. That sort of thing is what your Empire is about?" she asked, raising an eyebrow quizzically. Technically, it didn't have much to do with uniting the net, so probably not, but if ReservoirMan was up to no good, it was likely somebody would thank them for shutting it down. Or, if he was actually on the up and up, well... it would be good peace of mind to know that!
"If we had some sort of way to insulate our hands, we could probably inspect those canisters. Or you could search the coast and find one that washed up and doesn't look damaged. I can't really personally see them closely enough to tell... or pick them up individually without crushing them," she murmured, scanning the coast with her unfortunately large yellow eyes. To her, the canisters probably looked like tiny ants.
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The enemy chose to ignore the trio's request for a name and or explanation, yet continued to mess with the door. Sake asked nicely, while Lee had a more seductive idea. Sparks watched the general with an amused grin on his face, "That might have worked on Drago." Sparks gave a short chuckle after Lee attempted her provocative stance. "Speaking of Drago, I should tell him whats going on." He ignitiated his on direct link with DragoneirMan, "We haven't reached the guest room yet, were not even sure if ReservoirMan is in there, but there is a strange navi trying to get into the room. We may have a situation here."
ReservoirMan's panicked voice came from the radio alone, but Sparks didn't give it much thought. Had it finally come? The time for him to use his sword? It appeared as if the moment was now, but how should the samurai approach. Surely Sparks couldn't justify giving this unknown navi a kill shot, no matter how much then Dam Owner pleaded. Sparks intended to find out what the navi was after, and since the polite way didn't work, it was time to go with plan b.
"You had your chance!" Like a bolt of lighting, Sparks exploded towards the strange navi with his sword held high with his left hand. The plan was to have the enemy focus on the blade, and while it was distracted Sparks would attempt to use his right leg and trip the outlet faced navi off his feet. If that was a success he would mount the enemy, and hold the point of his electric katana right at it's face. "I'll ask you again, WHO GOES THERE!" His words were cold and precise, "Answer, or you will receive more then just a fall."
ReservoirMan's panicked voice came from the radio alone, but Sparks didn't give it much thought. Had it finally come? The time for him to use his sword? It appeared as if the moment was now, but how should the samurai approach. Surely Sparks couldn't justify giving this unknown navi a kill shot, no matter how much then Dam Owner pleaded. Sparks intended to find out what the navi was after, and since the polite way didn't work, it was time to go with plan b.
"You had your chance!" Like a bolt of lighting, Sparks exploded towards the strange navi with his sword held high with his left hand. The plan was to have the enemy focus on the blade, and while it was distracted Sparks would attempt to use his right leg and trip the outlet faced navi off his feet. If that was a success he would mount the enemy, and hold the point of his electric katana right at it's face. "I'll ask you again, WHO GOES THERE!" His words were cold and precise, "Answer, or you will receive more then just a fall."
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DragonierMan and Kama managed to stymie the flow of water from the cracks in the dam as Suzume and Aya managed to stop the flow of the water downstream. However, the dam's normal outlet for the water was still open, and water was still flowing out normally. As such, the space between the two dams was rapidly filling with water. Eventually the water level would reach a point where it would flow over the makeshift dam downstream. Needless to say, that would invalidate the efforts to gather the canisters, as they would just float away again.
As Kama commented and critiqued on the efforts of her three dragonier allies, Drago was looking at the rising water. "YOU ARE CORRECT KAMA," he said in his booming dragon voice. Clearly he didn't have a volume control in this .GMO form. Although to Kama, it was probably as loud as a normal conversational voice. Size comparison and all. <SUZUME, AYA, MAKE A FISSURE IN YOUR DAM TO LET THE WATER THROUGH WITHOUT LETTING THE CANISTERS SLIP THROUGH,> he commanded through their one-way comms, assuming that they would hear him. Not that it was hard when his voice came through just as loudly. <I WILL STOP THE WATER FROM THIS END.>
As the three dragoniers were about to move, Drago heard something on his comms:
It was Sparks, and he was communicating his situation inside the dam. Drago sent back a quick reply:
Suzume and Aya were discussing how to perform the order given to them. After about a minute or two they finally settled on using a
GolemHit2Damage: 190 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: A fist of stone falls from the sky to smash an enemy, and create a shock wave that hits two nearby enemies. The area affected by the fist becomes Cracked terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C to crack a few panels in the dam. The cracked terrain should have enough holes to let the water through without also being big enough for the canisters to also fit through. As Aya loaded the chip and took aim at a spot in the middle of their makeshift dam, Suzume had a bright idea. She flew off to find two large, pole-like branches. Even cutting them off nearby trees if they couldn't be found on the ground. She took out two of their looting bags and some rope and began fashioning them into 'butterfly nets'. Aya summoned the stone hand and let it fall on the middle of the dam, trying to get it to crack, but not break, the section to let water through the fissures. Suzume, when finished, flew over to Aya and handed her a sack at the end of a pole. Aya was confused for a moment before looking at the floating canisters, then immediately figured it out. The two set to trawl the canisters with the nets on the end of poles. Fishing out the canisters and dumping them on the side of the river.
DragonierMan, meanwhile, flew over to where the spillway of the dam was on their side and activated a
Blizzard2Damage: 100 + Medium Ice Terrain Change + Cone Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: Blast up to 4 enemies with a cone of freezing breath. Changes terrain to Ice and has an increased chance to Freeze targets on all forms of Aqua Terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua.
Special: Ice Type: This chip counts as Ice Type for the purposes of potentially freezing targets on Aqua Element Terrain or environments, as applicable.
Trader Rank: C chip. An icy storm shot out of his huge dragon maw to freeze over the spillway. He raked the frost breath over and around the hole, trying to seal and clog it with ice. The dam lost a lot of water due to the damage caused by Kama earlier, so even if it was feeding from river upstream, it would take a little while for it to fill up again. By that point, the ice that was hopefully sealing up the spillway, would have melted or the pressure would pop the cork. Either way, the hope was that the combination of freezing over the dam's spillway, and the cracking of the makeshift dam to let the buildup of water through, would drain the area between the two dams so that the canisters could be safely extracted.
If Kama didn't have her own loot bag to use to help collect canisters, Suzume and Aya would try to hand her some more of theirs. They always carried spare loot bags in case there were a lot of loot to be had, or their primary loot bags burst from all the loot they carried. It was not clear whether the bags were insulated, so whether or not Kama would use them for makeshift glove/mits if she had trouble trawling with them, were up to her. She could fashion a sack-on-a-stick like the twins did, or do her own thing. Kama probably had her own ninja tricks for situations like this.
To help even further, Drago flew down to the water as close as he dared to the canisters and stuck his head underneath. He activated a
WoodPowder2Damage: 90 + Medium Grass Terrain Change + Confusion + Cone Attack
Accuracy: C
Description: Blast up to 4 enemies with a cone of miasma breath. Changes terrain to Grass and causes confusion on contact.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Trader Rank: C chip and breathed out a cone of grass terrain right underneath the floating canisters. The extra mud buildup would hopefully lift the canisters out of the water to be more easily gathered by the others. And what's more, the mud wouldn't also conduct the electricity of damaged canisters as easily as the river would. So the canisters would hopefully be more safely extracted. As Drago lifted his head back up, he sent another message to Sparks, and also Lee and Sake:
As Kama commented and critiqued on the efforts of her three dragonier allies, Drago was looking at the rising water. "YOU ARE CORRECT KAMA," he said in his booming dragon voice. Clearly he didn't have a volume control in this .GMO form. Although to Kama, it was probably as loud as a normal conversational voice. Size comparison and all. <SUZUME, AYA, MAKE A FISSURE IN YOUR DAM TO LET THE WATER THROUGH WITHOUT LETTING THE CANISTERS SLIP THROUGH,> he commanded through their one-way comms, assuming that they would hear him. Not that it was hard when his voice came through just as loudly. <I WILL STOP THE WATER FROM THIS END.>
As the three dragoniers were about to move, Drago heard something on his comms:
Quote (Sparks)
"We haven't reached the guest room yet, were not even sure if ReservoirMan is in there, but there is a strange navi trying to get into the room. We may have a situation here."
It was Sparks, and he was communicating his situation inside the dam. Drago sent back a quick reply:
Quote (DragonierMan)
"Then 'take care' of the navi and get to ReservoirMan. We are busy here. We'll get to you after. Good hunting."
Suzume and Aya were discussing how to perform the order given to them. After about a minute or two they finally settled on using a
GolemHit2Damage: 190 + Break + Panel Crack + Wide AttackAccuracy: C
Description: A fist of stone falls from the sky to smash an enemy, and create a shock wave that hits two nearby enemies. The area affected by the fist becomes Cracked terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Null
Trader Rank: C to crack a few panels in the dam. The cracked terrain should have enough holes to let the water through without also being big enough for the canisters to also fit through. As Aya loaded the chip and took aim at a spot in the middle of their makeshift dam, Suzume had a bright idea. She flew off to find two large, pole-like branches. Even cutting them off nearby trees if they couldn't be found on the ground. She took out two of their looting bags and some rope and began fashioning them into 'butterfly nets'. Aya summoned the stone hand and let it fall on the middle of the dam, trying to get it to crack, but not break, the section to let water through the fissures. Suzume, when finished, flew over to Aya and handed her a sack at the end of a pole. Aya was confused for a moment before looking at the floating canisters, then immediately figured it out. The two set to trawl the canisters with the nets on the end of poles. Fishing out the canisters and dumping them on the side of the river.
DragonierMan, meanwhile, flew over to where the spillway of the dam was on their side and activated a
Blizzard2Damage: 100 + Medium Ice Terrain Change + Cone AttackAccuracy: C
Description: Blast up to 4 enemies with a cone of freezing breath. Changes terrain to Ice and has an increased chance to Freeze targets on all forms of Aqua Terrain.
Duration: Once
Element: Aqua.
Special: Ice Type: This chip counts as Ice Type for the purposes of potentially freezing targets on Aqua Element Terrain or environments, as applicable.
Trader Rank: C chip. An icy storm shot out of his huge dragon maw to freeze over the spillway. He raked the frost breath over and around the hole, trying to seal and clog it with ice. The dam lost a lot of water due to the damage caused by Kama earlier, so even if it was feeding from river upstream, it would take a little while for it to fill up again. By that point, the ice that was hopefully sealing up the spillway, would have melted or the pressure would pop the cork. Either way, the hope was that the combination of freezing over the dam's spillway, and the cracking of the makeshift dam to let the buildup of water through, would drain the area between the two dams so that the canisters could be safely extracted.
If Kama didn't have her own loot bag to use to help collect canisters, Suzume and Aya would try to hand her some more of theirs. They always carried spare loot bags in case there were a lot of loot to be had, or their primary loot bags burst from all the loot they carried. It was not clear whether the bags were insulated, so whether or not Kama would use them for makeshift glove/mits if she had trouble trawling with them, were up to her. She could fashion a sack-on-a-stick like the twins did, or do her own thing. Kama probably had her own ninja tricks for situations like this.
To help even further, Drago flew down to the water as close as he dared to the canisters and stuck his head underneath. He activated a
WoodPowder2Damage: 90 + Medium Grass Terrain Change + Confusion + Cone AttackAccuracy: C
Description: Blast up to 4 enemies with a cone of miasma breath. Changes terrain to Grass and causes confusion on contact.
Duration: Once
Element: Wood
Trader Rank: C chip and breathed out a cone of grass terrain right underneath the floating canisters. The extra mud buildup would hopefully lift the canisters out of the water to be more easily gathered by the others. And what's more, the mud wouldn't also conduct the electricity of damaged canisters as easily as the river would. So the canisters would hopefully be more safely extracted. As Drago lifted his head back up, he sent another message to Sparks, and also Lee and Sake:
Quote (DragonierMan)
"We are finishing up here. We have fixed up the dam and are gathering up the canisters. Who knows, maybe these canisters will fill three of the four remaining spots on our Bingo Card. Vee might want them as souvenirs. They were also something hidden 'somewhere around the dam', although I don't know how 'cool' they are yet. And with them and Kama joining us, it should make Yasu happy. We need any technological edge these days. Who knows how useful these canisters could be? Perhaps they are some sort of energy storage or energy producer. That would definitely be worth the effort."
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"I would have figured it'd work on anybody!" Lee huffed, sounding surprisingly serious about her ability to win over enemies with her sex appeal. "Geez... No accounting for taste! Or maybe I should just leave that kind of thing to Dee from now on?"
"I don't think taste has anything to do with it," Sake mused, watching the creature closely. "It doesn't seem like it can talk. Are we even sure it can see?" The general thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't even know if it can drink sake! How am I supposed to communicate with something that can't drink sake?" she questioned jokingly.
Sparks figured he had a way to get through to the navi: namely, with the sharp edge of his sword. As Sparks approached, the navi turned its head to face over its shoulder, seemingly fixated on the light source. It seemed to gain speed, now turning its body towards him and walking with its hands raised, as if to catch the blade if it descended from overhead. The raised weapon was a feint, however, and Sparks attempted to trip the enemy by sweeping its legs from under it. It worked, to an extent... the navi wasn't moving much, so the kick to its leg didn't act on any momentum that was already there. Furthermore, the navi was apparently quite heavy. Instead of falling down to the floor, it simply stumbled to one knee for a moment, then rose back up.
Regardless, it was still possible to hold the sword to the navi's face. Rather than recoiling or stopping, however, the navi reached up and grabbed hold of the sword, as it had been trying to earlier. Electricity crackled in the air around both of the combatants as the navi seemed to be manipulating the current running through the sword, just as he had the door earlier. In a few flickers, the room's one light source vanished, leaving all of the navis in pitch darkness. "Wah! Hold on a second..." Lee interjected, then gave a battle cry and began swinging her spear in a circle over her head, igniting the blade so that it would form a torch. This created a strobing light that only slightly increased visibility, but it was better than nothing. "I'm still not hearing a name or a purpose from this guy, though!"
"That's cause he's got no mouth," Sake repeated the obvious. "Anyway, what do you think? Is it worth taking him out so we can get ReservoirMan to talk to us?" she questioned again. Or maybe we can slip through that opening in the door now without beating him? Or maybe we just leave? After all... I doubt that ReservoirMan's gonna pay us anything once he learns what Kama did to his dam, unless we're going to punish Kama for him. And just between you and me, I don't think that's gonna be so easy now that she's free from that wall."
"DragonierMan could do it! But uh, I'll leave what to do up to you, Sparks. I've got my hands full with this!" Lee finished. The grip of the gray creature's long hands on Spark's sword was very tight and its body exceptionally heavy. However he might answer Sake, Sparks was also going to have to think of some way to get his blade free, unless he wanted to just let go of it. His opponent seemed far more concerned with the sword than it did with him.
-----------------------------------------
Outside of the dam, Aya and Suzume were playing engineers, first creating new cracks in the dam for the sake of letting water through without losing more canisters, then creating a makeshift fishing net to pull canisters out of the river. Both had the intended effects: the former allowed more water to get through while the latter gave the girls a way to safely rescue the canisters without risking electric shock. Kama followed suit, summoning a large, olive green sheet with white, triangular marks patterning the surface, reminiscent of the one she used at the beach as part of the glider allowing her to stay mid-air. When held in two hands as a bag, the sheet allowed her to pull up canisters without touching them with her hands, like the girls were.
Gathering up the cans was going pretty swimmingly, with all of the ladies netting large hauls. It was hard to tell how much DragonierMan was helping, but the work was quick anyway, and before they knew it, the presence of canisters in the water was mostly diminished. Of course, some people couldn't be happy about anything, and ReservoirMan contacted the group again to rain on their parade; Sparks would hear the same message inside the dam. "It's over... I'm finished! The dam is at zero power generation, not to mention that Progs are reporting we've lost 90% of all of our reserve batteries. I'd be lucky to get a single lightbulb turned on in here and when that collector comes... forget it, I'm not sticking around for that! I'm out of here!" This was probably their last chance to calm ReservoirMan down and get him to stay, but it'd be hard to do that without giving him some sensitive information that had previously been withheld, including who had caused the original damage to the structure and what had become of the aforementioned reserve batteries.
Lee would send back a message of her own to DragonierMan, while he and Sparks pondered what to tell or not tell ReservoirMan:
"I don't think taste has anything to do with it," Sake mused, watching the creature closely. "It doesn't seem like it can talk. Are we even sure it can see?" The general thought for a moment, then shook her head. "I don't even know if it can drink sake! How am I supposed to communicate with something that can't drink sake?" she questioned jokingly.
Sparks figured he had a way to get through to the navi: namely, with the sharp edge of his sword. As Sparks approached, the navi turned its head to face over its shoulder, seemingly fixated on the light source. It seemed to gain speed, now turning its body towards him and walking with its hands raised, as if to catch the blade if it descended from overhead. The raised weapon was a feint, however, and Sparks attempted to trip the enemy by sweeping its legs from under it. It worked, to an extent... the navi wasn't moving much, so the kick to its leg didn't act on any momentum that was already there. Furthermore, the navi was apparently quite heavy. Instead of falling down to the floor, it simply stumbled to one knee for a moment, then rose back up.
Regardless, it was still possible to hold the sword to the navi's face. Rather than recoiling or stopping, however, the navi reached up and grabbed hold of the sword, as it had been trying to earlier. Electricity crackled in the air around both of the combatants as the navi seemed to be manipulating the current running through the sword, just as he had the door earlier. In a few flickers, the room's one light source vanished, leaving all of the navis in pitch darkness. "Wah! Hold on a second..." Lee interjected, then gave a battle cry and began swinging her spear in a circle over her head, igniting the blade so that it would form a torch. This created a strobing light that only slightly increased visibility, but it was better than nothing. "I'm still not hearing a name or a purpose from this guy, though!"
"That's cause he's got no mouth," Sake repeated the obvious. "Anyway, what do you think? Is it worth taking him out so we can get ReservoirMan to talk to us?" she questioned again. Or maybe we can slip through that opening in the door now without beating him? Or maybe we just leave? After all... I doubt that ReservoirMan's gonna pay us anything once he learns what Kama did to his dam, unless we're going to punish Kama for him. And just between you and me, I don't think that's gonna be so easy now that she's free from that wall."
"DragonierMan could do it! But uh, I'll leave what to do up to you, Sparks. I've got my hands full with this!" Lee finished. The grip of the gray creature's long hands on Spark's sword was very tight and its body exceptionally heavy. However he might answer Sake, Sparks was also going to have to think of some way to get his blade free, unless he wanted to just let go of it. His opponent seemed far more concerned with the sword than it did with him.
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Outside of the dam, Aya and Suzume were playing engineers, first creating new cracks in the dam for the sake of letting water through without losing more canisters, then creating a makeshift fishing net to pull canisters out of the river. Both had the intended effects: the former allowed more water to get through while the latter gave the girls a way to safely rescue the canisters without risking electric shock. Kama followed suit, summoning a large, olive green sheet with white, triangular marks patterning the surface, reminiscent of the one she used at the beach as part of the glider allowing her to stay mid-air. When held in two hands as a bag, the sheet allowed her to pull up canisters without touching them with her hands, like the girls were.
Gathering up the cans was going pretty swimmingly, with all of the ladies netting large hauls. It was hard to tell how much DragonierMan was helping, but the work was quick anyway, and before they knew it, the presence of canisters in the water was mostly diminished. Of course, some people couldn't be happy about anything, and ReservoirMan contacted the group again to rain on their parade; Sparks would hear the same message inside the dam. "It's over... I'm finished! The dam is at zero power generation, not to mention that Progs are reporting we've lost 90% of all of our reserve batteries. I'd be lucky to get a single lightbulb turned on in here and when that collector comes... forget it, I'm not sticking around for that! I'm out of here!" This was probably their last chance to calm ReservoirMan down and get him to stay, but it'd be hard to do that without giving him some sensitive information that had previously been withheld, including who had caused the original damage to the structure and what had become of the aforementioned reserve batteries.
Lee would send back a message of her own to DragonierMan, while he and Sparks pondered what to tell or not tell ReservoirMan:
Quote (Lee)
Super! Grab one of those babies and we'll take it back to Vee, that sounds like a great souvenir! I'm sure Yasu will be happy if Kama really is going to join us, too. So that's two squares for you guys once we meet back up... if Kama really is going to join the NS, I mean. Or maybe she'd be happy just to know Kama and the Alexis don't plan to try to put the hurt on us while we're regrouping from the ROT thing?
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Sparks's attempt to threaten his new enemy didn't turn out the way he wanted, but that wouldn't stop him from following through with it. In the real world Joseph had been watching the whole mission play out from his PET at the coffee shop. He, and Sparks both came to similar conclusions of what the outlet navi was capable of after he reached up, and made darkness by grabbing the electric katana. "Sword battle chip, download." The operators words were calm and collected as he sent his navi a replacement blade.
"Weather you don't want to, or cant answer us doesn't matter to me, you've chosen your fate." Sparks tone seemed a little more irritable compared to that of his operators. The fact that this outlet faced navi could easily one up him was embarrassing. Even if the other two didn't see it like that, Sparks didn't want to look weak in front of Lee and Sake. An elementaless sword glowed from the same handle that his signature blade of lighting previously emerged from. Sparks spoke into his comms, and the radio. He was speaking directly to DragoneirMan, along with the dam owner ReservoirMan.
The samurai's actions spoke the answer to Sake's multitude of questions. With precision and speed, Sparks stepped closer to the Navi, and attempted to run his newly fashioned sword through the rubber covered chest area of his opponent. He did this not once, not twice, but three times, with every intention of deletion. Maybe it was the embarrassment that drove these actions, but with each attack the thrill of battle seemed to grab a hold of Sparks, filling him with excitement.
If that resulted in the end of the battle, then Sparks would sheath his blade, releasing the chip's data. He turned to General Lee, and their partner Sake, "Shall we make our way in and see whats actually behind this door now?"
"Weather you don't want to, or cant answer us doesn't matter to me, you've chosen your fate." Sparks tone seemed a little more irritable compared to that of his operators. The fact that this outlet faced navi could easily one up him was embarrassing. Even if the other two didn't see it like that, Sparks didn't want to look weak in front of Lee and Sake. An elementaless sword glowed from the same handle that his signature blade of lighting previously emerged from. Sparks spoke into his comms, and the radio. He was speaking directly to DragoneirMan, along with the dam owner ReservoirMan.
Quote (Sparks)
It looks like this navi is someone who can absorb electricity, I believe he and anybody that's here with him is the main cause for the power issue. I'm going to do everyone a favor and delete it!
The samurai's actions spoke the answer to Sake's multitude of questions. With precision and speed, Sparks stepped closer to the Navi, and attempted to run his newly fashioned sword through the rubber covered chest area of his opponent. He did this not once, not twice, but three times, with every intention of deletion. Maybe it was the embarrassment that drove these actions, but with each attack the thrill of battle seemed to grab a hold of Sparks, filling him with excitement.
If that resulted in the end of the battle, then Sparks would sheath his blade, releasing the chip's data. He turned to General Lee, and their partner Sake, "Shall we make our way in and see whats actually behind this door now?"
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<As the general commands, we'll pocket one for safe keeping,> Aya said through the open communication line. <Here you go sister,> Suzume said as she picked up a dry, intact canister, and held it out to Aya. <Thank you sister,> Aya said as she untied one of the bags from the tree branch and opened it up for Suzume to place inside. They closed the sack and made it wink away to the PET. <There we go, all done.>
Meanwhile, DragonierMan had heard Sparks proclamation through an internal line between him, Sparks, and ReservoirMan that Sparks opened up. What? Combat? I will not miss this! he thought before transforming back into his normal, human self. <KIIIYYYAAAHHH!> he shouted, his kiai being picked up over the open line, as he bolted back towards the dam's entrance with all speed. The twins, and possibly Kama, were stunned by the sudden shout and looked up from what they were doing as Drago streaked back towards the top of the dam. "I wonder what's gotten into him?" Suzume said as she ended her open comms to the party. Aya spread her wings to take after him. "I don't know, but I am going to follow." She turned her head briefly toward Suzume and Kama. "Stay here and guard the canisters and keep an eye out for trouble. I'll see to the Master," she ended before bolting into the air as well.
As Aya followed Drago into the dam, Suzume suddenly decided to begin sorting the damaged and undamaged canisters into separate bags. It would be pretty obvious what she was doing with just a moment to watch her. "Hey I got an idea," Suzume piped up as she was placing a canister into a bag, "Why don't we keep each other company with some conversation while the rest do their thing?" she suggested to Kama. "I'll go first," she said with a quick glance at the large ninja while she continued to sort the canisters. "What do you think about the NS, the Neo-Shogunates? I mean if you accept their offer to join, or at least ally with them, it would be nice to know how you think of them."
Kama would probably catch that Suzume deliberately avoided saying 'us', as if she wasn't a member. Did that mean that Suzume, and perhaps by extension DragonierMan, didn't think of themselves as full-fledged Neo-Shogun members? Were they testing her? It was hard to tell as Suzume continued. "I also don't know much about Alexis, and by extension, Alex. Perhaps you could tell me more about it? It would be rude of me to preach to you about things that I don't fully understand. Perhaps we aren't so different after all."
DragonierMan flew like mad toward the entrance to the dam, Aya in hot pursuit. They landed as the reached the doors, folded their wings behind them, and then hoofed it through the corridors toward Sparks, Lee, and Sake. "What's going on?" Aya loudly whispered to DragonierMan. "Sparks' engaged in combat," Drago replied. He punched his left palm with his right fist, "I am not missing this action!" Aya nodded and reached to her sword, bringing it up in front of her with both hands and unsheathing it in front of her face, tossing the scabbard behind her to clatter on the ground. "Once more into the breach," she stated as the light began to fade around them.
Meanwhile, DragonierMan had heard Sparks proclamation through an internal line between him, Sparks, and ReservoirMan that Sparks opened up. What? Combat? I will not miss this! he thought before transforming back into his normal, human self. <KIIIYYYAAAHHH!> he shouted, his kiai being picked up over the open line, as he bolted back towards the dam's entrance with all speed. The twins, and possibly Kama, were stunned by the sudden shout and looked up from what they were doing as Drago streaked back towards the top of the dam. "I wonder what's gotten into him?" Suzume said as she ended her open comms to the party. Aya spread her wings to take after him. "I don't know, but I am going to follow." She turned her head briefly toward Suzume and Kama. "Stay here and guard the canisters and keep an eye out for trouble. I'll see to the Master," she ended before bolting into the air as well.
As Aya followed Drago into the dam, Suzume suddenly decided to begin sorting the damaged and undamaged canisters into separate bags. It would be pretty obvious what she was doing with just a moment to watch her. "Hey I got an idea," Suzume piped up as she was placing a canister into a bag, "Why don't we keep each other company with some conversation while the rest do their thing?" she suggested to Kama. "I'll go first," she said with a quick glance at the large ninja while she continued to sort the canisters. "What do you think about the NS, the Neo-Shogunates? I mean if you accept their offer to join, or at least ally with them, it would be nice to know how you think of them."
Kama would probably catch that Suzume deliberately avoided saying 'us', as if she wasn't a member. Did that mean that Suzume, and perhaps by extension DragonierMan, didn't think of themselves as full-fledged Neo-Shogun members? Were they testing her? It was hard to tell as Suzume continued. "I also don't know much about Alexis, and by extension, Alex. Perhaps you could tell me more about it? It would be rude of me to preach to you about things that I don't fully understand. Perhaps we aren't so different after all."
DragonierMan flew like mad toward the entrance to the dam, Aya in hot pursuit. They landed as the reached the doors, folded their wings behind them, and then hoofed it through the corridors toward Sparks, Lee, and Sake. "What's going on?" Aya loudly whispered to DragonierMan. "Sparks' engaged in combat," Drago replied. He punched his left palm with his right fist, "I am not missing this action!" Aya nodded and reached to her sword, bringing it up in front of her with both hands and unsheathing it in front of her face, tossing the scabbard behind her to clatter on the ground. "Once more into the breach," she stated as the light began to fade around them.
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Retrieving a relatively clean, undamaged canister from the selection they'd pulled from the river was a relatively easy task for Aya and Suzume. The two whisked it away to the PET, to present to Vee as a souvenir later. Just then, DragonierMan received a message and with it, the call to fight; he blitzed off to join the group inside the dam while the battle was fresh. Kama watched, then sighed and gave a disapproving shake of her head. "I can hardly imagine there's any good reason to fight right now. Now that you all have accomplished your mission here and ReservoirMan is ready to abandon the dam, we should simply let him abandon it," she noted. Seeing as she couldn't turn into a smaller form to follow DragonierMan even if she wanted to, she stayed outside to watch the nets with Suzume.
The giant watched Suzume work, but was unable to contribute, due to her tremendous size. She cast her eyes down and knelt, either to converse better or simply for comfort. "I have no quarrel with the empire, personally. I think that some of their decisions are... lacking in tact, such as the rush to battle just now or really, trusting me far enough to remove me from that dam. However, they are no less brash than those of Alex and serve a better end," she suggested, looking back towards the dam. "I do owe DragonierMan and Sparks a debt of gratitude now for releasing me from that dam. So, I suppose the least I could do is attempt to support you all in some way, if you have a favor to ask of me. I don't intend on becoming a full member of the Empire... for various reasons. I need to be free from Alex first to entertain any such idea."
She frowned, then shifted, carefully, to sitting on her legs. "Alex is a conqueror who prides herself on her physical power. She prefers to test her limits by imposing handicaps on herself, when she can. She takes great pleasure in combat, often for the sake of itself. Despite her barbaric behavior, she is also quite a strategist, when the situation calls for it. I believe if she joined the Mafia and applied herself, she'd be a true force to be reckoned with, but the only thing holding her back is her own ego, her stubborn desire to sit at the top of the mountain with no illusions that anyone else should be her equal," the ninja spoke in a whisper, but even with her voice murmuring, her distaste was clear. "She's not interested in any kind of empire or society... the closest she gets is forming her Alexis from those strong enough to join her. Apart from that, she subjugates others and makes them slaves in name. Oftentimes, she simply leaves the community with unwritten bonds of servitude. Some, she never visits again. Others, she destroys as thoroughly as she can manage, especially if they fail to interest her in some way. My original village was one of those... only myself and one other ninja were spared from its destruction. She took an interest in me and made me her slave, then later, an Alexi. As for the other ninja, I've no idea what happened to her. She managed to escape Alex at the time, which was no small feat."
"Most of the time, she can be found at Mount Alexander, plotting her next movement. She uses some other slaves as spies, rather than doing the scouting herself. Mount Alexander has no particular defenses, besides Alex herself, but there is nothing there of any worth there for anyone to find or take. I only hope that one day, the net is rid of her altogether. In case you're worried I might hold some loyalty or debt of gratitude for her sparing me in the past, don't... she was solely responsible for the destruction of my peaceful home, as well as many other lives, and I will never forgive her for that," Kama insisted, grimacing again. "Forgive me for saying so, but... something about your master reminds me of Alex. It makes him hard to trust."
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Inside the dam, ReservoirMan responded to Sparks' message, coming through to everyone copied:
While the electric sword hadn't worked against the navi, the sword did well enough. One cut sliced deeply into the navi, spilling data, then another. Not just data was coming out... jolts of electricity like miniature lightning were also shooting out from the crevice. The navi was still lurching forward in standing position, its arms grasping blindly now that Sparks had removed the electric sword. Finally, the third attack cut the navi from shoulder to hip, and it fell over like a lump, collapsing onto its knees until an EJO beam zapped it off of the net. It seemed it hadn't been much of a threat after all.
Lee continued spinning her spear, sweat now forming on her brow from the continued exertion to create a light source. "Huh! Guess that's it. A little anticlimactic, don't you think?" she asked. "And we still have no idea what that thing was! Maybe ReservoirMan knows more than we do about it?"
"Or maybe he just got us to save his bacon and becoming his accomplices at the same time?" Sake proposed with a shrug. "Dang, I gotta get extra drunk for this," she giggled, taking another swig of her drink. "Anyway, we gotta pry that door open so we can keep moving."
Sparks was best suited for that, given that Lee's hands were full and Sake didn't look like she had the physical strength for it. Luckily, the rubbery navi had already done most of the work; with no power to the door, it was just two big slabs of metal on either side he needed to wrench open. It was hard to make out any specific details of the hall on the other side, even as Lee approached and reignited her makeshift torch, but he could make out two things: a door to the left, leading to a smaller room that must have been behind the earlier glass, and a Mr. Prog, watching all of them silently from further down the hallway. It seemed to have a camera strapped to its head. As if summoned, ReservoirMan spoke again.
The navis may have wanted to oppose that order and venture further into the dam, but they wouldn't have time. The sound of running water heralded the arrival of ReservoirMan around the corner, just past the Mr. Prog. The navi was of stocky build, so wide it looked as though he'd barely fit through his own doors, composed mostly of a rocky head, bearded by another series of lighter-colored cement blocks about his chin and upper lip. Shoulders with thick arms, those ending in huge hands, flanked the head on either side just below his earpieces. He had no feet, but his mouth was open, creating a stream of water that he moved across as though much lighter than he appeared. His eyes were deepset and completely white, no more expressive than the Mr. Prog's were. The navi emblem on his ear-guards displayed a wide gray dam with a thin river streaming out the center. Rather than holding his radio, he appeared to have it attached to one shoulder, with a button he could push to toggle it.
Rather than doing that, he now spoke to them directly. "Hmph. You've cleared that nuisance; that's at least one problem off my list," the navi spoke in his deep, rumbling voice. He might appear a little physically imposing, if they hadn't just met a literal giant. "I will tell you everything I know about that giant now. She and I have an unwritten agreement... I allow her to stay here and in return, she acts as a deterrent to viruses who would make this dam their home. I am short staffed here, so the built in security is helpful. It didn't seem to deter that navi just now, though... Rrrgh... I suppose I ought to make it clearer. That navi was sent by a debt collector. There's been... a set-back... but now that you've taken care of that one, that gives me a little bit more time to regroup and make the payment..." he grumbled, resting one palm on the floor while rubbing his rock beard thoughtfully with the other. It didn't sound like he intended to actually pay them for ridding him of the threat, though...
... which the good General promptly pointed out. "Hey! Information was the old deal, okay? Now that that's done with, can't you pay us for taking care of that guy?" she griped, sounding impatient, possibly because she was still spear-spinning.
ReservoirMan watched her with his perpetually stern expression, then spoke slowly. "I don't believe we've concluded that first order of business. You're saying you do know what's behind the dam's power failure?" he asked, stoney, straight teeth now showing momentarily behind his beard. Water continued to pour from his mouth, as if he was salivating. "Do you also know what's cause the reports that I've lost the lion's share of my buffer? Or why I can no longer even control basic water regulation?" he growled, his square jaw creating a grinding rock noise each time it moved.
--------------------------------------
DragonierMan would find that he was late for the battle, presumably... rather, he couldn't exactly get started. When he and Aya arrived at the entrance to the dam, they'd find the culprit somehow standing outside, but it would be more accurate to say culprits. Counting them, he'd find ten gray navis just like the one Sparks had dispatched, slowly shambling their way into the entrance of the dam. One of them had paused to grope at a light fixture, then slowly moved on as he realized it was dead. They didn't seem to notice DragonierMan's approach.
He'd find something else more surprising in a moment: a giant beam of light shot down onto the net beside the dam on the reservoir side, then deposited an enormous ship of gray, riveted metal, with a flag displaying a yellow lightning bolt. The ship seemed to have more of the gray figures on it. That wasn't enough, apparently, as more of the gray figures started to beam down around the dam in mostly random patterns, but mostly focused on the dam's entrance. For the most part, they looked the same, but some had lightning rods sticking upward from their heads. It probably wouldn't be effective here, given the nice weather... At any rate, their sheer number was likely to give cause for alarm. As each appeared, they began making their way into the building.
A voice started up from the ship, sounding like a swarthy young girl. "Reservoir Douche! This is Captain Power... you know, your lender? The one you pay to keep this operation going? I give you land, you give me Lightning in a Bottle. That's how it was supposed to go, right? So where's the Lightning, huh? Where's my shipment?!" she started, quickly devolving into a tantrum. "I know you're hiding in here, so I'm going to take this dam apart, brick by brick, until you give me a good reason you're behind on your shipments! Days behind! And just so you know, you and this dam don't look all that different, so if my boys take you apart in the process, well, 'dems the breaks!"
Long tubes, apparently cannons, began to extend from windows lining the sides of the massive ship, and from each of them, bolts of electricity began to arc and spark between the various gray navis. As they did, each of the navis seemed to find their motivation, and began raising their arms and legs in what could be more accurately described as a sprint than a slow shuffle. The electric chain formed a web between the rods on navis' heads primarily, but even occasionally shocked the rod-less ones, spurring them to faster movement in short bursts. It was evident that the navis were going to begin piling up inside the dam much faster than it had first appeared.
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Inside, ReservoirMan's rock eyebrows lowered, his teeth clenching in an expression of frustration while water continued to escape from between them. The voice of the arrived captain had been loud enough for everyone to hear, even inside the dam. "Ugh... I have to jack out," he growled, his beady white eyes looking back and forth between his first set of visitors, as though he was trying to surmise if they were going to stop him from leaving. "I'm out of time. This is a bust... You all had better leave too, if you know what's good for you."
-------------------------------------
Back outside with Suzume, Kama had covered herself with another sheet, which miraculously changed to match the view of the surroundings, at least from the angle the electric navis would be viewing her from. Suzume could still see Kama's hunched, bikini-clad form from her side. "We should leave," she reiterated, turning her head to see if Suzume would agree. "Your master would be a fool to fight all of those navis for no reason. There's nothing worth staying for. I can meet you at your Empire's public camp, if that's what you want me to do..." she offered, hoping perhaps she could appeal to the SP where the navi would likely be unwilling to listen. "If you like, I can carry the net with the rest of those canisters... It sounds like ReservoirMan is going to abandon them anyway. Of course, if we were to do that, then you and I would make an enemy of this 'Captain Power' person, as well as possibly ReservoirMan himself. Though, he seems too much a coward to be any threat." Her voice was a very thin whisper, as light as she could manage, to avoid letting the new arrival hear her plan.
The giant watched Suzume work, but was unable to contribute, due to her tremendous size. She cast her eyes down and knelt, either to converse better or simply for comfort. "I have no quarrel with the empire, personally. I think that some of their decisions are... lacking in tact, such as the rush to battle just now or really, trusting me far enough to remove me from that dam. However, they are no less brash than those of Alex and serve a better end," she suggested, looking back towards the dam. "I do owe DragonierMan and Sparks a debt of gratitude now for releasing me from that dam. So, I suppose the least I could do is attempt to support you all in some way, if you have a favor to ask of me. I don't intend on becoming a full member of the Empire... for various reasons. I need to be free from Alex first to entertain any such idea."
She frowned, then shifted, carefully, to sitting on her legs. "Alex is a conqueror who prides herself on her physical power. She prefers to test her limits by imposing handicaps on herself, when she can. She takes great pleasure in combat, often for the sake of itself. Despite her barbaric behavior, she is also quite a strategist, when the situation calls for it. I believe if she joined the Mafia and applied herself, she'd be a true force to be reckoned with, but the only thing holding her back is her own ego, her stubborn desire to sit at the top of the mountain with no illusions that anyone else should be her equal," the ninja spoke in a whisper, but even with her voice murmuring, her distaste was clear. "She's not interested in any kind of empire or society... the closest she gets is forming her Alexis from those strong enough to join her. Apart from that, she subjugates others and makes them slaves in name. Oftentimes, she simply leaves the community with unwritten bonds of servitude. Some, she never visits again. Others, she destroys as thoroughly as she can manage, especially if they fail to interest her in some way. My original village was one of those... only myself and one other ninja were spared from its destruction. She took an interest in me and made me her slave, then later, an Alexi. As for the other ninja, I've no idea what happened to her. She managed to escape Alex at the time, which was no small feat."
"Most of the time, she can be found at Mount Alexander, plotting her next movement. She uses some other slaves as spies, rather than doing the scouting herself. Mount Alexander has no particular defenses, besides Alex herself, but there is nothing there of any worth there for anyone to find or take. I only hope that one day, the net is rid of her altogether. In case you're worried I might hold some loyalty or debt of gratitude for her sparing me in the past, don't... she was solely responsible for the destruction of my peaceful home, as well as many other lives, and I will never forgive her for that," Kama insisted, grimacing again. "Forgive me for saying so, but... something about your master reminds me of Alex. It makes him hard to trust."
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Inside the dam, ReservoirMan responded to Sparks' message, coming through to everyone copied:
Quote (ReservoirMan)
Okay... good. I don't know if this navi is the cause of the power outage- and I somehow doubt it- but I do know he's here to threaten me. Eliminate him and then we can talk. I'm coming up front to meet you... once it's clear, of course.
While the electric sword hadn't worked against the navi, the sword did well enough. One cut sliced deeply into the navi, spilling data, then another. Not just data was coming out... jolts of electricity like miniature lightning were also shooting out from the crevice. The navi was still lurching forward in standing position, its arms grasping blindly now that Sparks had removed the electric sword. Finally, the third attack cut the navi from shoulder to hip, and it fell over like a lump, collapsing onto its knees until an EJO beam zapped it off of the net. It seemed it hadn't been much of a threat after all.
Lee continued spinning her spear, sweat now forming on her brow from the continued exertion to create a light source. "Huh! Guess that's it. A little anticlimactic, don't you think?" she asked. "And we still have no idea what that thing was! Maybe ReservoirMan knows more than we do about it?"
"Or maybe he just got us to save his bacon and becoming his accomplices at the same time?" Sake proposed with a shrug. "Dang, I gotta get extra drunk for this," she giggled, taking another swig of her drink. "Anyway, we gotta pry that door open so we can keep moving."
Sparks was best suited for that, given that Lee's hands were full and Sake didn't look like she had the physical strength for it. Luckily, the rubbery navi had already done most of the work; with no power to the door, it was just two big slabs of metal on either side he needed to wrench open. It was hard to make out any specific details of the hall on the other side, even as Lee approached and reignited her makeshift torch, but he could make out two things: a door to the left, leading to a smaller room that must have been behind the earlier glass, and a Mr. Prog, watching all of them silently from further down the hallway. It seemed to have a camera strapped to its head. As if summoned, ReservoirMan spoke again.
Quote (ReservoirMan)
Good, you took care of that navi. I'll be out to you momentarily. Stay where you are.
The navis may have wanted to oppose that order and venture further into the dam, but they wouldn't have time. The sound of running water heralded the arrival of ReservoirMan around the corner, just past the Mr. Prog. The navi was of stocky build, so wide it looked as though he'd barely fit through his own doors, composed mostly of a rocky head, bearded by another series of lighter-colored cement blocks about his chin and upper lip. Shoulders with thick arms, those ending in huge hands, flanked the head on either side just below his earpieces. He had no feet, but his mouth was open, creating a stream of water that he moved across as though much lighter than he appeared. His eyes were deepset and completely white, no more expressive than the Mr. Prog's were. The navi emblem on his ear-guards displayed a wide gray dam with a thin river streaming out the center. Rather than holding his radio, he appeared to have it attached to one shoulder, with a button he could push to toggle it.
Rather than doing that, he now spoke to them directly. "Hmph. You've cleared that nuisance; that's at least one problem off my list," the navi spoke in his deep, rumbling voice. He might appear a little physically imposing, if they hadn't just met a literal giant. "I will tell you everything I know about that giant now. She and I have an unwritten agreement... I allow her to stay here and in return, she acts as a deterrent to viruses who would make this dam their home. I am short staffed here, so the built in security is helpful. It didn't seem to deter that navi just now, though... Rrrgh... I suppose I ought to make it clearer. That navi was sent by a debt collector. There's been... a set-back... but now that you've taken care of that one, that gives me a little bit more time to regroup and make the payment..." he grumbled, resting one palm on the floor while rubbing his rock beard thoughtfully with the other. It didn't sound like he intended to actually pay them for ridding him of the threat, though...
... which the good General promptly pointed out. "Hey! Information was the old deal, okay? Now that that's done with, can't you pay us for taking care of that guy?" she griped, sounding impatient, possibly because she was still spear-spinning.
ReservoirMan watched her with his perpetually stern expression, then spoke slowly. "I don't believe we've concluded that first order of business. You're saying you do know what's behind the dam's power failure?" he asked, stoney, straight teeth now showing momentarily behind his beard. Water continued to pour from his mouth, as if he was salivating. "Do you also know what's cause the reports that I've lost the lion's share of my buffer? Or why I can no longer even control basic water regulation?" he growled, his square jaw creating a grinding rock noise each time it moved.
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DragonierMan would find that he was late for the battle, presumably... rather, he couldn't exactly get started. When he and Aya arrived at the entrance to the dam, they'd find the culprit somehow standing outside, but it would be more accurate to say culprits. Counting them, he'd find ten gray navis just like the one Sparks had dispatched, slowly shambling their way into the entrance of the dam. One of them had paused to grope at a light fixture, then slowly moved on as he realized it was dead. They didn't seem to notice DragonierMan's approach.
He'd find something else more surprising in a moment: a giant beam of light shot down onto the net beside the dam on the reservoir side, then deposited an enormous ship of gray, riveted metal, with a flag displaying a yellow lightning bolt. The ship seemed to have more of the gray figures on it. That wasn't enough, apparently, as more of the gray figures started to beam down around the dam in mostly random patterns, but mostly focused on the dam's entrance. For the most part, they looked the same, but some had lightning rods sticking upward from their heads. It probably wouldn't be effective here, given the nice weather... At any rate, their sheer number was likely to give cause for alarm. As each appeared, they began making their way into the building.
A voice started up from the ship, sounding like a swarthy young girl. "Reservoir Douche! This is Captain Power... you know, your lender? The one you pay to keep this operation going? I give you land, you give me Lightning in a Bottle. That's how it was supposed to go, right? So where's the Lightning, huh? Where's my shipment?!" she started, quickly devolving into a tantrum. "I know you're hiding in here, so I'm going to take this dam apart, brick by brick, until you give me a good reason you're behind on your shipments! Days behind! And just so you know, you and this dam don't look all that different, so if my boys take you apart in the process, well, 'dems the breaks!"
Long tubes, apparently cannons, began to extend from windows lining the sides of the massive ship, and from each of them, bolts of electricity began to arc and spark between the various gray navis. As they did, each of the navis seemed to find their motivation, and began raising their arms and legs in what could be more accurately described as a sprint than a slow shuffle. The electric chain formed a web between the rods on navis' heads primarily, but even occasionally shocked the rod-less ones, spurring them to faster movement in short bursts. It was evident that the navis were going to begin piling up inside the dam much faster than it had first appeared.
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Inside, ReservoirMan's rock eyebrows lowered, his teeth clenching in an expression of frustration while water continued to escape from between them. The voice of the arrived captain had been loud enough for everyone to hear, even inside the dam. "Ugh... I have to jack out," he growled, his beady white eyes looking back and forth between his first set of visitors, as though he was trying to surmise if they were going to stop him from leaving. "I'm out of time. This is a bust... You all had better leave too, if you know what's good for you."
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Back outside with Suzume, Kama had covered herself with another sheet, which miraculously changed to match the view of the surroundings, at least from the angle the electric navis would be viewing her from. Suzume could still see Kama's hunched, bikini-clad form from her side. "We should leave," she reiterated, turning her head to see if Suzume would agree. "Your master would be a fool to fight all of those navis for no reason. There's nothing worth staying for. I can meet you at your Empire's public camp, if that's what you want me to do..." she offered, hoping perhaps she could appeal to the SP where the navi would likely be unwilling to listen. "If you like, I can carry the net with the rest of those canisters... It sounds like ReservoirMan is going to abandon them anyway. Of course, if we were to do that, then you and I would make an enemy of this 'Captain Power' person, as well as possibly ReservoirMan himself. Though, he seems too much a coward to be any threat." Her voice was a very thin whisper, as light as she could manage, to avoid letting the new arrival hear her plan.
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Finally ReservoirMan came face to face with his "helpers". In return for slicing up the rubber navi that was intruding he offered the information that they had basically already received from the giant Kama earlier. He spoke of debt collectors and set backs and didn't really put Sparks into a position to help him further, until he understood the problem more. "So I just chopped up a henchman that works for this debt collector... what exactly are you in debt to them for? It dosen't look like that navi was here for zenny." Sparks questioned the dam owner. He could still offer Kama up as the reason that the dam had originally lost its power, but he wanted to feel the situation out a little longer, seeing as the original goal was to befriend her, and not this selfish owner.
Before anything else could happen a loud female voice from outside echoed even in the dam where Sparks, Lee, Sake, and ResevouirMan were. The voice came from a supposed Captain Power, the cause of ReservoiMan's debt. "Lighting in a bottle? She must be speaking about the canisters we found." Sparks spoke aloud so that even ReservoirMan would hear.
The Dam Owner was by looking so great, and appeared ready to flee. "Why so ready to leave? Things are just now getting interesting." The excitement of battle still filled the air as a few small sparks crackled from the electric navi's left hand. "We could possibly offer our services for an extra fee. How does granting the NeoShogunate full use of the Dam and its surrounding facilities? It could make a useful base for us. If that works for the general of course." He gestured for Lee to take over any sort of negotiations.
While the general took over, Sparks got back on the radio reaching out to DragoneirMan for an update on the outside.
Before anything else could happen a loud female voice from outside echoed even in the dam where Sparks, Lee, Sake, and ResevouirMan were. The voice came from a supposed Captain Power, the cause of ReservoiMan's debt. "Lighting in a bottle? She must be speaking about the canisters we found." Sparks spoke aloud so that even ReservoirMan would hear.
The Dam Owner was by looking so great, and appeared ready to flee. "Why so ready to leave? Things are just now getting interesting." The excitement of battle still filled the air as a few small sparks crackled from the electric navi's left hand. "We could possibly offer our services for an extra fee. How does granting the NeoShogunate full use of the Dam and its surrounding facilities? It could make a useful base for us. If that works for the general of course." He gestured for Lee to take over any sort of negotiations.
While the general took over, Sparks got back on the radio reaching out to DragoneirMan for an update on the outside.
Quote (Sparks)
Drago!? How's it going out there man? Sounds like a lot of fun just dropped in..
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Suzume hummed along as she worked on sorting the canisters. As DragonierMan and Aya raced off to do battle, Kama noted the senselessness, or pointlessness, of fighting now that their objectives were completed. Suzume looked up and gave what she hoped was a reassuring smile at Kama. "Those boys love to fight don't they?" Suzume began, then her brow furrowed as something suddenly came to mind. "Oh! And girls. My sister and Lee specifically... Anyways," she continued, going back to her sorting. "It is best to humor them. When we get handed missions from the Shogunate we tend not to see a lot of battle. The NS is trying to be the sweethearts of the NET now after all. So most of our duties are things like recruitment and diplomatic overtures." Suzume stopped to carefully examine a canister. "To be honest, I kind of like the quiet moments like this. I didn't inherit from Master the bloodthirstiness that my younger sister did. I guess you can say I am a more liberated SP. Free from the lust of combat that drives the others."
As Kama continued, Suzume's ears twitched as she listened. "I'm glad that we can at least be working partners. To be fair the NS has quite a bit of enemies already," she commented. "And as for the 'lacking in tact' part, well... various members have different ways of going about their work. You just happened to find some of the more war-like of the group. I can assure you that not everyone of them are that tactless. Oh!" Suzume finished sorting a canister and then her hands went to one of her pockets. She produced a small data-slate the size of a pocket calculator and tossed it over to Kama, landing on the grass in front of her. It immediately stretched and enlarged to the size of a flat screen monitor. What popped up on it was the contact info of the four generals of the NS and DragonierMan. "I almost forgot. It would be a good idea to get your contact info. And while we are getting yours, you can get ours. Since you will be working with us, we should be able to contact each other."
Kama talked about Alex. Suzume made mental notes while recording the conversation. When Kama got to the part about her village being destroyed Suzume's ears perked up. Especially when she described that there was another survivor besides her. "Hold up," Suzume said with a raised hand, then swiped the air in front of her. The data-slate in front of Kama moved as if Suzume had touched it with her hand, moving the contact info off the screen and displaying a full-body picture of Yasu in her green armor and eyepatch. "Yasu, the lead general of the NS, said that Alex destroyed her village as well. She didn't mention any other survivors, but perhaps you two came from the same village?" she ended in a hopeful question. "If this is so, then there is more cause for celebration from this mission. Yasu has been going through some tough times lately and it would be great to tell her that someone else survived the destruction of her village."
"Oh, and we've been to Mount Alexander. As we said earlier: we met Alex there. What we probably didn't say is that we went there with Yasu, and together we sent Alex packing. Now it is probably as you said, she did sort of retreat on her own will. So it is more than possible that she 'let us go' as you put it." Suzume smirked at Kama's last comment about trust. "I don't know if Yasu really trusts Drago all that much either. But to be fair, I don't think you ever really need to fully trust your allies, if their goals align with yours. It is healthy to have a degree of mistrust, it keeps your senses sharp." Suzume laughed. "Anyways, you don't need to trust Drago, his heart is almost always on his sleeve. Or maybe his claws? Any, anyways, you would probably be reporting your findings to Yasu and the other leaders. You barely need to deal with or talk to us again after this if you don't want to. And don't worry, we won't take it personal if we never hear from you again. But if you ever get into trouble, you can at least count on us to fight to rescue you. Since you are an ally and all. It is just common courtesy."
DragonierMan and Aya flew to the top of the dam, just to find a bunch of things awaiting them. First, there was a bunch of gray navis shambling, zombie-like, into the dam. Second, and more impressively, an enormous metal ship appeared in the waters of the reservoir. Of course, more of the gray zombies began to appear all over the place, and headed for the entrance to the dam. It was like they were in some sort of zombie-pirate movie. It was then that the pirate captain broadcasted her message loud and clear across the area, calling for ReservoirMan to deliver her tribute. Apparently, this was how ReservoirMan became the current owner of the dam, and the reason that the canisters existed. Apparently they were like batteries after all.
What interested Aya the most about the whole situation was the way she commanded the gray hordes. Apparently, her ship used a complex set of electric tethers to 'motivate' her zombie soldiers. It was an ingenious, though also flawed, method as it painted a huge target on the ship in a war zone. Not that it wasn't already a large target in and of itself. As Aya was watching the tethers intently, and DragonierMan was frowning at the numbers of enemies and thinking about whether or not to fight them, Sparks sent him a message through the radio:
Drago sent a return reply:
DragonierMan asked before he gave a motion to Aya to follow and flapped his wings to get altitude. The pair of them made their way towards the boat.
Meanwhile, Kama had camouflaged herself with a large sheet, similar to what she did during the last time they met Kama. Kama noted that fighting all of them was not wise and that withdrawing from the area was the better move. Suzume had finished sorting the canisters into two bags and then slapped labels on them so they could be identified as damaged or intact without needing to open the identical sacks. "Well, I don't think we'll fight them just because they are here to collect their taxes. Though I guess it is possible that Master will play the fool if he feels like he has a good enough shot at winning... Or if he is just pent up and needs to smash something to calm down, he he," she said while scratching the side of her head. Though she waved away the concern, "But we just came from a busting run, so he should not be so gung-ho right now."
She then looked at the sacks and then back at Kama. "We'll ask the general if we should retire with the treasures we collected." Suzume opened a line to Lee:
Suzume intended to bring both sets of canisters back with her, as they could eventually figure out how to repair the damaged ones as well.
As Kama continued, Suzume's ears twitched as she listened. "I'm glad that we can at least be working partners. To be fair the NS has quite a bit of enemies already," she commented. "And as for the 'lacking in tact' part, well... various members have different ways of going about their work. You just happened to find some of the more war-like of the group. I can assure you that not everyone of them are that tactless. Oh!" Suzume finished sorting a canister and then her hands went to one of her pockets. She produced a small data-slate the size of a pocket calculator and tossed it over to Kama, landing on the grass in front of her. It immediately stretched and enlarged to the size of a flat screen monitor. What popped up on it was the contact info of the four generals of the NS and DragonierMan. "I almost forgot. It would be a good idea to get your contact info. And while we are getting yours, you can get ours. Since you will be working with us, we should be able to contact each other."
Kama talked about Alex. Suzume made mental notes while recording the conversation. When Kama got to the part about her village being destroyed Suzume's ears perked up. Especially when she described that there was another survivor besides her. "Hold up," Suzume said with a raised hand, then swiped the air in front of her. The data-slate in front of Kama moved as if Suzume had touched it with her hand, moving the contact info off the screen and displaying a full-body picture of Yasu in her green armor and eyepatch. "Yasu, the lead general of the NS, said that Alex destroyed her village as well. She didn't mention any other survivors, but perhaps you two came from the same village?" she ended in a hopeful question. "If this is so, then there is more cause for celebration from this mission. Yasu has been going through some tough times lately and it would be great to tell her that someone else survived the destruction of her village."
"Oh, and we've been to Mount Alexander. As we said earlier: we met Alex there. What we probably didn't say is that we went there with Yasu, and together we sent Alex packing. Now it is probably as you said, she did sort of retreat on her own will. So it is more than possible that she 'let us go' as you put it." Suzume smirked at Kama's last comment about trust. "I don't know if Yasu really trusts Drago all that much either. But to be fair, I don't think you ever really need to fully trust your allies, if their goals align with yours. It is healthy to have a degree of mistrust, it keeps your senses sharp." Suzume laughed. "Anyways, you don't need to trust Drago, his heart is almost always on his sleeve. Or maybe his claws? Any, anyways, you would probably be reporting your findings to Yasu and the other leaders. You barely need to deal with or talk to us again after this if you don't want to. And don't worry, we won't take it personal if we never hear from you again. But if you ever get into trouble, you can at least count on us to fight to rescue you. Since you are an ally and all. It is just common courtesy."
DragonierMan and Aya flew to the top of the dam, just to find a bunch of things awaiting them. First, there was a bunch of gray navis shambling, zombie-like, into the dam. Second, and more impressively, an enormous metal ship appeared in the waters of the reservoir. Of course, more of the gray zombies began to appear all over the place, and headed for the entrance to the dam. It was like they were in some sort of zombie-pirate movie. It was then that the pirate captain broadcasted her message loud and clear across the area, calling for ReservoirMan to deliver her tribute. Apparently, this was how ReservoirMan became the current owner of the dam, and the reason that the canisters existed. Apparently they were like batteries after all.
What interested Aya the most about the whole situation was the way she commanded the gray hordes. Apparently, her ship used a complex set of electric tethers to 'motivate' her zombie soldiers. It was an ingenious, though also flawed, method as it painted a huge target on the ship in a war zone. Not that it wasn't already a large target in and of itself. As Aya was watching the tethers intently, and DragonierMan was frowning at the numbers of enemies and thinking about whether or not to fight them, Sparks sent him a message through the radio:
Quote (Sparks)
"Drago!? How's it going out there man? Sounds like a lot of fun just dropped in."
Drago sent a return reply:
Quote (DragonierMan)
"Looks like we have some company. Dozens of gray zombies are heading into the dam so you are about to have a lot of company. Also there is this huge ship here feeding them electricity to make them faster. I'm going to get a better look at that ship and its captain. Are you almost finished in there? Did you find ReservoirMan?"
DragonierMan asked before he gave a motion to Aya to follow and flapped his wings to get altitude. The pair of them made their way towards the boat.
Meanwhile, Kama had camouflaged herself with a large sheet, similar to what she did during the last time they met Kama. Kama noted that fighting all of them was not wise and that withdrawing from the area was the better move. Suzume had finished sorting the canisters into two bags and then slapped labels on them so they could be identified as damaged or intact without needing to open the identical sacks. "Well, I don't think we'll fight them just because they are here to collect their taxes. Though I guess it is possible that Master will play the fool if he feels like he has a good enough shot at winning... Or if he is just pent up and needs to smash something to calm down, he he," she said while scratching the side of her head. Though she waved away the concern, "But we just came from a busting run, so he should not be so gung-ho right now."
She then looked at the sacks and then back at Kama. "We'll ask the general if we should retire with the treasures we collected." Suzume opened a line to Lee:
Quote (Suzume)
"Hello? Things are heating up out here. Should we head back to base with the canisters?"
Suzume intended to bring both sets of canisters back with her, as they could eventually figure out how to repair the damaged ones as well.
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"Hmm... There are productive ways to apply yourself to combat, like virus busting. Picking a fight with random navis you encounter on the net is just going to create problems for DragonierMan and his organization. But you're probably tired of me lecturing you all, and it's not like my own career path leaves me much leeway to do that without making myself a hypocrite," Kama admitted in a subdued whisper. She listened a bit longer, frowning; she was probably unhappy that she was sitting on her legs while Suzume did work. "I can provide you my contact info. I'm probably not the chatty type, but I'll respond if you need something from me. I do have a debt to you all I need to repay."
Partway into her origin story, Suzume introduced a twist. Kama stared for a moment, then crossed her arms. "I do see a resemblance. With the scars, the musculature, and the eye-patch, I suppose I never noticed before, but she could indeed be the same person. I'd need to speak to her to be sure... But even if she was, our paths diverged so heavily. She escaped the burning village and joined an organization that could fight Alex... I, instead, have remained subservient to her this whole time. And yet, somehow, it looks as though she's had the harder time of it. That only makes me feel more cowardly about the life I've lived. I may owe her something as well, though amends rather than gratitude."
When the pirates hit, Kama was forced to cut the chat short, given that it was pretty difficult for her to keep her booming voice low enough to avoid drawing attention. As such, she simply listened to Suzume and awaited instructions on how she ought to proceed. Suzume, for her part, asked the question of Lee, but the answer didn't come right away, indicating Lee was either distracted or busy...
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ReservoirMan grimaced (though he really didn't seem to have much range of expression beyond that anyway) and responded in a painfully dry, deep drawl. "That's really nothing you need to know. Suffice to say, continuing the previous relationship with my lender is now impossible. The 'loan' she granted me has lost its value and unfortunately, without it, I can't amass the currency with which I would pay her regardless," he scowled.
"Whaaa? She loaned you a dam? I don't really get that at all! How'd you even move it here?" Lee asked, lowering her eyebrows. "You're talking about the dam, right."
"Not just the dam, the land! Dammit, I don't have time to explain this someone like you," he growled.
Lee clearly didn't take kindly to it and brandished her spear near his face. "Listen, jerk! You might tuck your tale and run any time an elec navi looks at you funny, but I'm not scared'a you just cause you're an aqua navi!" she protested, her face showing her anger. Of course, the fact that her position and her face were visible were noteworthy, as she'd stopped spinning her spear, which was previously the only light source. It seemed the lights were beginning to come back on, at least for a moment, but they began flickering erratically shortly after. "See! Your dam's fine, the lights are coming back!" she pouted.
ReservoirMan looked less pleased by the development. "Bleh... That's not a good sign. It's not that power is coming back, it's that the lender's men are tapping into electrical sources within the dam. Not that I'm worried about the dam any more, but that means they're powering themselves. He turned back to Sparks, then leaned down slightly, resting one elbow on the floor and rapping its fingers impatiently, creating a sound of concrete batting against concrete. "Yes, 'Lightning' is what she causes the power that I create and package for her here at the dam. That was my payment to her in exchange for her granting me this land," he explained. "Your offer is meaningless, there's no point in my requesting you rescue the dam and land if you're saying your organization would own it. The whole point was for me to own it," the dam's proprietor snapped.
"Aw dammit! That sounded pretty good. Couldn't you just let it use it as a base and you could still use it as a dam?' Lee asked, looking around as the lights flickered maddeningly once again. "I guess we should-" she started, then raised one arm to shield her face as one of the bulbs nearby her burst, sending glass clattering all around. "Sheesh! Uh..." she murmured for a moment, licking her lips with a tense expression. "Oh! A message," the general shifted again, pausing a moment to send a response.
"If you want the dam, then feel free to try fighting off those pirates. I'd be surprised if there's any dam left after they finish here," ReservoirMan grunted, before jacking out of the net, leaving the NS group alone. The Mr. Prog in the hallway vanished as well, with the sound of other beams coming from deeper inside.
"Okay, so, I know I told Suzy to take the canisters back, but there's nothing stopping us from beating up some of these shady zombie gray guys before we leave! Whaddya say? Wanna blow off some steam?" she asked, giving her spear a few test thrusts at the empty air. No sooner had she done that than several of the gray men began to appear in the lobby behind the slightly cracked door she was pointing her weapon at, these ones moving much more quickly than the one Sparks had fought earlier. As they encountered the door, two of them placed their hands onto the door and tried to pried it wider, before another with a lightning rod on its head pushed the two out of the way. It clapped its fingers around either side and threw it open effortlessly, with the noisy sound of crunching metal accompanying either side of the sliding door jamming in the slots to either side. "Hyah!" Lee shouted, jabbing her spear into the chest of the oncoming monster.
If Sparks wanted to join in, he would be free to do so, though it could also make a lot of sense to try to dissuade her from doing that and head back to the dam instead. It was clear that many more gray men were behind the three that were currently fitting through the doorway. Sake pitched in, offering her own view of the situation. "Uuuh, I mean, I can heal you and power you up, but it'd be silly since we really oughta just leave! I mean, I'd have to be a lot more drunk than I am now to think this was a good idea... and I'm pretty drunk already," she suggested, clasping both hands around her sake bottle nervously.
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The gray men made no attempt to stop Aya and DragonierMan as they approached the main ship, nor did the cannons turn towards them. The voice, however, did redirect its banter towards the two of them, as they weren't making any attempt to hide their approach. The voice's owner, however, wasn't visible; they must be somewhere inside the large, metal vessel. "Who the heck are you guys? I heard there were some weirdos hanging around this place recently, but nothing about some kind of bat knights!" she laughed, apparently not realizing that the wings were intended to be those of dragons. "Listen, weirdos, I've got a bone to pick with the guy who's holed up in there, but I won't hesitate to blast the bajeesus outta ya with some lightning if you get in my way! We don't have a problem, do we?" the girl's voice threatened, sounding almost as eager to get into a fight as DragonierMan had been.
The gray men still weren't attacking, but those that hadn't poured into the dam already did appear to be slowing their movements and turning up their plug-hole faces as though staring at the two strangers.
Partway into her origin story, Suzume introduced a twist. Kama stared for a moment, then crossed her arms. "I do see a resemblance. With the scars, the musculature, and the eye-patch, I suppose I never noticed before, but she could indeed be the same person. I'd need to speak to her to be sure... But even if she was, our paths diverged so heavily. She escaped the burning village and joined an organization that could fight Alex... I, instead, have remained subservient to her this whole time. And yet, somehow, it looks as though she's had the harder time of it. That only makes me feel more cowardly about the life I've lived. I may owe her something as well, though amends rather than gratitude."
When the pirates hit, Kama was forced to cut the chat short, given that it was pretty difficult for her to keep her booming voice low enough to avoid drawing attention. As such, she simply listened to Suzume and awaited instructions on how she ought to proceed. Suzume, for her part, asked the question of Lee, but the answer didn't come right away, indicating Lee was either distracted or busy...
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ReservoirMan grimaced (though he really didn't seem to have much range of expression beyond that anyway) and responded in a painfully dry, deep drawl. "That's really nothing you need to know. Suffice to say, continuing the previous relationship with my lender is now impossible. The 'loan' she granted me has lost its value and unfortunately, without it, I can't amass the currency with which I would pay her regardless," he scowled.
"Whaaa? She loaned you a dam? I don't really get that at all! How'd you even move it here?" Lee asked, lowering her eyebrows. "You're talking about the dam, right."
"Not just the dam, the land! Dammit, I don't have time to explain this someone like you," he growled.
Lee clearly didn't take kindly to it and brandished her spear near his face. "Listen, jerk! You might tuck your tale and run any time an elec navi looks at you funny, but I'm not scared'a you just cause you're an aqua navi!" she protested, her face showing her anger. Of course, the fact that her position and her face were visible were noteworthy, as she'd stopped spinning her spear, which was previously the only light source. It seemed the lights were beginning to come back on, at least for a moment, but they began flickering erratically shortly after. "See! Your dam's fine, the lights are coming back!" she pouted.
ReservoirMan looked less pleased by the development. "Bleh... That's not a good sign. It's not that power is coming back, it's that the lender's men are tapping into electrical sources within the dam. Not that I'm worried about the dam any more, but that means they're powering themselves. He turned back to Sparks, then leaned down slightly, resting one elbow on the floor and rapping its fingers impatiently, creating a sound of concrete batting against concrete. "Yes, 'Lightning' is what she causes the power that I create and package for her here at the dam. That was my payment to her in exchange for her granting me this land," he explained. "Your offer is meaningless, there's no point in my requesting you rescue the dam and land if you're saying your organization would own it. The whole point was for me to own it," the dam's proprietor snapped.
"Aw dammit! That sounded pretty good. Couldn't you just let it use it as a base and you could still use it as a dam?' Lee asked, looking around as the lights flickered maddeningly once again. "I guess we should-" she started, then raised one arm to shield her face as one of the bulbs nearby her burst, sending glass clattering all around. "Sheesh! Uh..." she murmured for a moment, licking her lips with a tense expression. "Oh! A message," the general shifted again, pausing a moment to send a response.
Quote (Lee)
"Yeah, you guys go outtie! Grab those things, cause I think they belong to some kind of shady, money-lender criminal person anyway. It sounds like they're pretty valuable!
"If you want the dam, then feel free to try fighting off those pirates. I'd be surprised if there's any dam left after they finish here," ReservoirMan grunted, before jacking out of the net, leaving the NS group alone. The Mr. Prog in the hallway vanished as well, with the sound of other beams coming from deeper inside.
"Okay, so, I know I told Suzy to take the canisters back, but there's nothing stopping us from beating up some of these shady zombie gray guys before we leave! Whaddya say? Wanna blow off some steam?" she asked, giving her spear a few test thrusts at the empty air. No sooner had she done that than several of the gray men began to appear in the lobby behind the slightly cracked door she was pointing her weapon at, these ones moving much more quickly than the one Sparks had fought earlier. As they encountered the door, two of them placed their hands onto the door and tried to pried it wider, before another with a lightning rod on its head pushed the two out of the way. It clapped its fingers around either side and threw it open effortlessly, with the noisy sound of crunching metal accompanying either side of the sliding door jamming in the slots to either side. "Hyah!" Lee shouted, jabbing her spear into the chest of the oncoming monster.
If Sparks wanted to join in, he would be free to do so, though it could also make a lot of sense to try to dissuade her from doing that and head back to the dam instead. It was clear that many more gray men were behind the three that were currently fitting through the doorway. Sake pitched in, offering her own view of the situation. "Uuuh, I mean, I can heal you and power you up, but it'd be silly since we really oughta just leave! I mean, I'd have to be a lot more drunk than I am now to think this was a good idea... and I'm pretty drunk already," she suggested, clasping both hands around her sake bottle nervously.
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The gray men made no attempt to stop Aya and DragonierMan as they approached the main ship, nor did the cannons turn towards them. The voice, however, did redirect its banter towards the two of them, as they weren't making any attempt to hide their approach. The voice's owner, however, wasn't visible; they must be somewhere inside the large, metal vessel. "Who the heck are you guys? I heard there were some weirdos hanging around this place recently, but nothing about some kind of bat knights!" she laughed, apparently not realizing that the wings were intended to be those of dragons. "Listen, weirdos, I've got a bone to pick with the guy who's holed up in there, but I won't hesitate to blast the bajeesus outta ya with some lightning if you get in my way! We don't have a problem, do we?" the girl's voice threatened, sounding almost as eager to get into a fight as DragonierMan had been.
The gray men still weren't attacking, but those that hadn't poured into the dam already did appear to be slowing their movements and turning up their plug-hole faces as though staring at the two strangers.