Operation: Crystal Paramour

The Indaina Kujira is capable of launching out hundreds of smaller puppets onto the battlefield that are controlled by it telepathically. This gives it an inexhaustible amount of allies ensuring that it will always win in a war of attrition. This inner core must be destroyed if the monster is to be defeated. Through an escape hatch located towards the back of its thorax, one can enter into the beast to reach the Inner Core. This part is responsible for manufacturing the puppets and then releasing them. By annihilating it, you rob the Indaina Kujira of its ability to make of its spawn.

Objective: Enter into the Indaina Kujira's Inner Core. Navigating through the complex circuitry will require someone with the Kugutsu Skill. Once you reach the Inner Core, it is important to note that it cannot be destroyed from without. One must enter the core itself and hit it with an S-Rank attack. Unfortunately, the Inner Core's assembly process can break someone down at a cellular level. Only those with a base Constitution of S-Tier OR an entity level regeneration ability can survive the continuous damage wrought by the Inner Core. Once destroyed, the Kujira will forcibly eject you from its framework so if you might want to have a way to make a soft landing or have someone catch you.

Diana had been on the battlefield for a while now, and she was feeling the effects of constant battle, even if it was mostly indirect skirmishes. She wasn't a fighter by any means, her skills lay in crafting, but the necessity of taking up two clan heads required her to have ample training. A few times she had to retreat back and recover her stamina, using what Ration Pills could be given to her to help in the effort of slowing the assault. At the moment she was flying high in the sky, returning to one of the improvised bases on her most recently made C2 clay dragon, calming her nerves by repairing one of the puppets Cerise had given her: Loving Karakuri. The poor thing had taken some serious damages when she used it to block an incoming attack, but at least she had gotten it to a point where it would be usable in an emergency.

Landing back at the base (which was really a set of two tents with a few crates holding clay), she'd slide off of her dragon as two squads of shinobi approached, giving a salute as they did. Diana returned with the same salute, her right fist over her heart while her left fist was behind her back in the small divot right above the hips. Her face was sterner then ever, but not because anyone was out of line. No, even if they weren't technically a part of any official team and she a genin, her status as dual clan head put her in a position of field leadership, and she had to act the part.

"At ease, while I am just here for a refill & some rest, I have updates from the front. Team Lacrima, make sure to swap with Team Thermite so that they can take a break and eat. Team Diamondback, keep up the good work, you will be sent to assist the Kirigakure shinobi over in District Nine in fifteen minutes. If anyone hears back from Team Firefly, let them know that they've earned the application of the Kinjutsu when this shit show is over. Dismissed!"

The teams would salute once more before going back to their jobs, Diana herself entering one of the tents. As soon as she sat down, she could feel the cramps try to take form, the amount of chakra she'd been channeling throughout the day being a drain on her. Her body cried out to lay down and rest, the mere act of sitting enough to almost lose her grip on her dragon, but she pulled herself back before she let go. There was no time for complete rest, and she'd bring her hand up to activate her linkpearl, looking at a diagram of the beast she had drawn up when she was up close to it.

"Titan...this is Ruby. What is our status regarding the next location we can disable? Over."

"This is Titan, outside of transporting those who haven't fully grasped how to maneuver within the Emporium's decaying gravity field, we're still looking for someone who would be able to survive the harsh insides of the beast. We have a few candidates, but the main issue is that they're either occupied taking out another area of the beast, or we haven't been able to get in contact with them. One of them is reported to be in the Emporium, but that information may be old by now. Over."

"...Roger that. Are the Blast Corps & Crystal Braves reinforcements moving out? Over."

"Affirmative, the squads you requested are en route to the Emporium, with the rest of the squadrons on standby. Over."

"Good. Two squads will be waiting for their arrival, see to it that they get back to their respective villages. Keep me posted on Kujira if anything new comes up. Out."

Cutting the connection, she'd take a sip from her canteen, filled with the sweet sweet nectar of the gods. Just a sip though, there was only so much fresh water without needing to do another supply run, even with the fuinjutsu enchantments to have it hold more. Diana really wasn't envying Titania, or rather Titan at the moment. Even if she was back in Iwagakure, the combination of having to prepare the backup defense for two of Iwa's clans as the liaison for Diana in addition to work with the Shinobi world's slow communication 'network' was probably a bit much for the poor blacksmith, but she understood the challenges when she took up the job.

Adjusting her uniform so that it wasn't chafing her semi-hidden under armor, she'd gather up some more clay and put it into her duffle bag before getting back onto her dragon, the puppet still laying in top in need for a good repair. 'Soon' she thought, 'Soon we'll be able to take a proper break and fix you back up. but first, we need to find that mysterious person and take that thing down.' Activating her sensory, she began the search as she flew over the Emporium.

---

185/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; 20 CP
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
164.5/185 CP

Sayuri had been walking through the Heavenly Emporium, quite enjoying the destruction around her, while Jareth growled his complaints. She had needed to reclothe herself as her festival gown had been marred by falling ash and debris, which had only taken a simple wave of her hand to recreate a white crystalline gown.

‘My Queen, please reconsider.’

‘What is there to reconsider, my King?’

‘There is no reason for you to be here, there are plenty of other willing bodies that can handle this.’

‘But I want to handle this. You have to know that.’

‘Of course, my Queen. It is only your safety that concerns me.’

‘I know, I know. You’re always so concerned with my safety, and I do appreciate it. But this looks. . . fun.’

‘I don’t disagree, my Queen. Fun it most certainly appears to be, however it is also very dangerous. I have never seen the likes of some of these things, and wouldn’t it be more wise to allow others to die for the sake of your curiosity? As you know, I cannot live without you.’

‘Where possible I always allow others to die in my place. And as always, my King, I will be careful. I could not bear to live without you either.’

‘Good enough, I shall do my best to watch over you, my Queen.’

As she and Jareth conversed, Sayuri walked through burning debris and seemed utterly unphased by the screams and yells of battle as she spied a dragon. Now she had seen a dragon once before, and had even flown on it, but that dragon had been much bigger and more. . . organic. Still, she was curious and made her way closer towards it, as walking away from something potentially dangerous was not something Sayuri was capable of it seemed.

As she drew closer, and as a concession to Jareth’s concerns, Sayuri would activate her sensory ability. But she wouldn’t have needed it to recognize her old friend. The strangely doll like woman she had met in a tea shop all those years ago.

‘Diana’

A grin settled on Sayuri’s features as she walked up towards the uniformed woman, she arrived within earshot just in time to hear her speaking about Kujira when she called out.

“How lovely to see you again, Diana. What was that about Kujira?”

She would look entirely out of place; her pale blonde hair blowing in the wind, a long white crystalline gown that unless touched would not reveal it’s hyoton nature to any but the most perceptive, and as always her bare feet padded softly along. On her face was a confident and intrigued smile and her usually blue eyes were frosted over as she had just recently used her hyoton.  

Notes:

Before she got onto her dragon to take off, the combination of a voice as well as her sensory caught up with her. A voice that sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. Looking towards the source of said voice she'd see before her a woman in a gown, and For the briefest second Dian thought she was hallucinating, but her sensory didn't lie to her. The woman before her was a Hyoton user and not some manifestation of another fallen subordinate created from pushing herself.

"Ah..." She took longer then she would have liked to recall the person in front of her, but the dots eventually connected. "It is good to see you as well Sayuri, and I wish it were somewhere better, but alas here we are." Whether it was the sands of time, the fatigue of the fighting, or another thing she had lost from her stasis, she mentally berated herself for forgetting the girl she had met here several years ago; another thing to add to the pile of memories she'd need to chec-wait, no. Her medical memories had been ripped form her. More to the pile and things to worry about later.

Shifting her stance so that she could see her friend more comfortably, she'd take a better look at how the years had changed her. The dress was probably the most notable change, clearly made through a jutsu if her sensory was correct. And speaking of her sixth sense, this marked the second person she had met who's chakra rivaled the beast they were currently taking on. But what made her the most curious was seeing Sayuri and the casual reaction to the Emporium around them. She had heard that Sayuri had taken up a high ranking spot in Kiri, just how much battle did she see in her day to day life? How much had she changed from that nervous girl she had met in a tea shop to now? Too many questions for her liking.

"Right now I am trying to find someone who could assist in taking out a critical point on Kujira, specifically someone who would be able to take on immense amounts of injury. We have tried to send in a few shinobi who claimed to be strong enough and showed signs of being able to shrug off a lot, but...well they did their best and their sacrifice will be remembered." Diana couldn't stop herself from frowning as she thought about those who perished. The makeshift team Nitro Justice had shown promise, a mix of both Iwa & Suna shinobi who had responded in record time to the crisis at hand. It was also just as much of a tragedy see how quickly the team had been dismantled when they had tried to take on the Core; the ability to see what amounted to anything despite the distance provided many benefits, but the team's downfall was not one of those.

She'd pat her temples and motion for Sayuri to climb onto the dragon. "I was about to make a sweep over the battlefield to try and look for someone rumored to be able to take on the challenge of the beast's inners, would you like to come with? Even if we do not find them, we can at least catch up on what we have been doing since we last met." Climbing up herself, she'd wait to see the Ice Queen's reaction, and if she did climb on, she'd have the dragon take off, the thought of working on the puppet pinned for the time being.

---

164.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
164/185 CP

Sayuri was momentarily confused as to Diana’s dismay over their meeting place, until she was reminded by Jareth that not all people enjoyed death and carnage as a backdrop. She smiled in return to Diana’s greeting and waved off the threat of dismal talk. “You look well, Diana. And here is fine enough, don’t concern yourself with that.” Sayuri noted the change in Diana as well, she looked more formal. . . more militant that Sayuri remembered from all those years ago. It was an odd sensation to remember a person and then see them again after so long. Either she had no cause to remember the people she knew as they were still actively part of her everyday life, or they were dead.

She pushed thoughts of the dead from her mind for a moment as Diana debriefed her on the situation at hand, and a wicked grin spread across her face as she realized what Diana was looking for. “So if I’m understanding correctly, you are seeking someone with a unique tolerance to damage.”

‘No, my Queen. Ple-’

“Oh yes, my Queen. I think I may just be able to offer my assistance in this endeavour, Diana.” Her spoken reply was partly to cut off Jareth and answer him, and partly to Diana and her eyes would glitter dangerously as the thought of finding something that might be able to cause her pain filled her mind. She was continually on the search for new and interesting forms of pain, and the flying leviathan may be just the thing she was looking for. And on top of that, apparently there were bodies already there. Wherever ‘there’ was. Details were not as important to the Ice Queen.

Sayuri would look longingly at the dragon, remembering her time spent with Raijin and C. She desperately wanted to just mount the dragon and fly over the city, taking in the sights and sounds of battle. But she was also incredibly intrigued at the prospect of a new type of pain, so she opted to focus on the proposed mission. “I would love to accompany you, although I don’t think we need to look far. Do you have a knife?” She would hold out her hand expectantly as she asked her question. Her intention, should she be handed one, was to show her unique resilience to pain and wounds. If the weapon she was handed was less than A grade, it wouldn’t even be enough to scratch her, and she would gladly demonstrate as much. Sayuri was not presently carrying any weapons on her, finding no use for such things as her primary form of combat was through Ninjutsu.

Notes:

Diana was about to nod prematurely to Sayuri's question regarding their search for someone who could brave the insides of the beast, when something she hadn't expected happened in front of her. Sayuri had spoken, but it didn't seem to be directed at her. It was...unlikely Sayuri knew that she had taken up the title of a Queen, was she talking to someone telepathically? A psychological response to what was going on around them? Perhaps she just imagined it, it wasn't the first time today she had hallucinated a sound or visual, but it was a bit too clear to be faked in her opinion.

"...Yes, I am looking for someone who could tolerate as well as take a...considerable amount of damage." She'd pinch herself, sitting on her dragon without moving was bringing her down from her adrenaline high and knowing she'd need to keep herself stimulated to stay focused. She began writing down pi on the dragon with her free hand as she continued to listen to her friend as best she could; praying she wouldn't think her absentminded hand was Diana becoming bored of her. And like a left hook out of nowhere, Sayuri has asked something she didn't expect, making the current total of unexpected events to happen to Diana reaching a lovely 37. Or was it 73? Irrelevant.

"A knife? I do not have one on me right now. The closest tool I have to that would be my 3-spiked tekko." Processing the request, Diana began to have an inkling as to why Sayuri was asking for them, and that made her nervous. Sure they were only prototypes, but they were A-Grade prototypes for some very dangerous S-grade weapons she had been working on. And while she would have liked to be working on said gear, both the crisis and their sheer inability to translate over from some quirk within Tetsudashi steel seemed just hadn't been worth the effort at the moment. Unclipping one of the Tekko from her belt, she'd hand it over to her friend, leaning off the dragon to do so and wiping away her pi digits with a free leg as she did so. "Please be careful with it, they are one of the few melee options I carry on my person."

Even as she let go once her friend took the weapon, she'd keep her eyes on the Tekko. Sayuri was clearly planning something, but until she acted she could only assume it was going to be for a demonstration.

---

164.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
163.5/185 CP

Sayuri was moderately perceptive as an individual, and at this current time there was a lot going on, so it took her a bit to realize that Diana seemed. . . distracted. She noticed the tracing of letters or perhaps numbers on the dragon’s back, but she also remembered a time when she had used a similar tactic to keep herself calm during the Kage Summit in Tetsumura. At the time she had been doing it to keep from flying into a homicidal frenzy, and from what she remembered of Diana she didn’t seem like the type to have such troubles. But then again, Sayuri had changed considerably in the years since the two women had first met, so perhaps Diana had changed as well. Regardless, Sayuri didn’t speak of it, merely glanced and then returned her attention to Diana as she confirmed Sayuri’s understanding of events. If Diana was struggling against her impulses, it may impede her ability to seek new forms of pain if she were to encourage those impulses right at that moment.

Sayuri’s smile widened all the more as Diana said the words ‘considerable amount of damage.’ Those words spoke to her heart and she would take a few steps closer, not quite closing the gap between them, but she would be near enough that when Diana handed her a weapon it was done with ease. Sayuri took the weapon from Diana carefully and gave her a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, Diana. I just want to show you what I’m capable of, and then you can have it back.” With the weapon in hand, Sayuri would draw one of the spikes cleanly down the inside of her left forearm. The spike would barely break the skin, leaving a thin red line that slowly marred the splitting ‘fabric’ of her Hyoton made sleeve. Sayuri did not react in any particular way, if anything there was a split second of frustration that showed on her face. A masochist that couldn’t feel pain was the worst hell that the Ice Queen had ever experienced, and it was also why she was intent on aiding with whatever this mission was.

“You see?” Sayuri would question as she held up her arm for Diana to scrutinize if she wished. “Barely a scratch. And. . .” Sayuri would pause and sigh deeply, the sigh of bitter resignation and disappointment. “. . .no pain. Whatever it is that you need a person like me for, I am eager to assist with. If there’s even a chance that I could feel something again. . .” Sayuri didn’t finish the sentence, she would just sigh once more as she handed the weapon back to Diana. “I insist that I aid with this. Where do we start?”

Notes:

Diana winced as she watched her friend bring the spikes to her arm and draw it down, wanting to snatch her weapon away as the sympathetic pain kicked in. It wasn't until she saw the face of Sayuri that that phantom pain went away, her face not of pain but of...disappointment? Anger? Did she not feel the pain at all? Did she have a form of congenital analgesia she hadn't known about? Whatever it was and despite her emotion, it the weapon had shown to be effective in the Ice Queen's goal it seemed as the arm was brought up to her. Even if she didn't want to admit it, Sayuri was qualified for the task at hand.

While she could have asked about why Sayuri was dissapointed in the weapon, they didn't have the time. She really didn't want to subject what would happen to that quiet girl at the tea shop to what was to come, and in some ways she could see said girl from back then...but she wasn't the same. The Shinobi war had left it's mark on everyone, and she had to assume that whatever was going on with Sayuri's unexpected attitude was related to it as she took back the offered weapon. "Very well. If you believe you can handle it, I will not stop you as we do not have the time. Get on, as we are about to start."

Standing up, she'd put her fingers to her mouth and let out a loud whistle, with several groups of shinobi coming over. "Teams Lacrima, Diamondback, Typhoon! Change of plans! You are to move out and do what you can to keep the enemy off of us! If you find any of the other teams, have them use their emergency ration pills and keep up the pressure! Outside of that, You know what's best for your teams! Everyone else, you know your roles! Operation Crystal Paramour is a go! OORAH!"

"OORAH!"

The three shinobi teams would immediately take off, with the remaining shinobi moving out to spread the word. After a second Diana would release the breath she was holding in, clutching her chest. "I do not know how they keep up that energy, but it seems to do the trick." The dragon would begin to take off and head towards Kujira once Sayuri was on, Diana taking a seat and moving over to do field maintenance on her puppet, but not before reaching into her pocket to produce a marble-like object. "The flight will not take long, please put this in your ear. As long as you have this in there I will be able to keep in contact will you while you are inside the beast as it is similar to a radio." She'd pause, doing a mental checklist of things she should say to her now-teammate. What to leave behind, what to bring in, all of it was important, but there was something a bit more personal she wished to know.

...

No, the question could wait. Asking that sort of thing was liable to have fate's cruel eyes set upon them and get one of them killed. Sticking to the checklist then. "I will keep it brief, you are going to enter the core of the beast and take out said core with your strongest attack. I will guide you to the core as best I can as what little glimpses we got gave us the impression of a mazelike structure. if there is any other information, I will update you as I receive it. Any questions?"

---

163.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
163/185 CP

Sayuri was the only one who wasn’t allowed to feel pain, the reaction from Diana showing her that her old friend still had the capacity for empathy. Diana seemed more in charge, in that she seemed to be in charge of people, but otherwise was the same as Sayuri remembered from the tea shop. All except the notebook she had shown her, in place of hopes and dreams of crystal castles it appeared that the Iwa-nin now had a dragon. And a fairly impressive one at that, which Sayuri was invited to sit on. So sit on the dragon she did, a look of excitement on her pale face.

The last time she had ridden on a dragon had been very different, and yet very much the same in some ways. Death, chaos and destruction were an intrinsic part of the ancient flying beasts it seemed. Sayuri climbed and sat atop C2 as Diana issued orders to the groups of shinobi that were assembled, a smarter leader might have paid closer attention but all Sayuri caught was the names of the teams, only two of which she recognized. Once Diana was finished issuing orders and a loud call was heard, Sayuri would lean over to the doll like kunoichi. “People have much more energy than they think. If you push them hard enough. They’ll always complain, and yet somehow. . . there’s always more.” Sayuri was not speaking about the mental or physical fortitude of soldiers during a battle, she was fondly remembering times when she had pushed her toys far past what they had believed was their breaking point.

A ghost of a smile would form on her lips as she gave Diana her attention again, forcibly pulling her mind out of the bloodlust soaked reverie she had nearly fallen into. She looked for a second at the small marble like object that Diana handed her, listening as she was instructed in its use. “Alright.” She would say simply as without a second thought Sayuri placed the marble in her right ear, taking a moment to brush her fingertips over the crescent shaped scar on her right cheek, her beloved parting gift from Shimiko Chinoike.

Stupidly fearless as always, Sayuri listened to Diana’s plan as though she was listening to the woman recite her favourite cookie recipe. This was not bravery or even arrogance, it was just an utter lack of survival instinct. She had never been in danger of dying as far as she knew, and she had never once experienced pain in a negative way - quite the opposite. She had been groomed to be the perfect vessel for a being obsessed with obtaining power and as such hearing dangerous plans was nothing new or strange to her. Death, chaos and destruction were an intrinsic part of all ancients. “No questions.” She said as they grew closer to the flying artificial bijuu. “I must say, this is an exciting way to meet again after all this time. I’m glad to see you again, Diana. Truly.” Sayuri was not typical in the ways that she showed affection, or even in recognizing that that was what she was doing. She would reach out her hand to pat Diana on the arm briefly, and then would rise to standing once they were close to the Kujira. “Just point me in the right direction, and I’ll tear it’s guts out.” A beautiful smile accompanied her words as snow began to fall around them as far as the eye could see. Once Diana pointed out where Sayuri needed to go, the Yuki Princess would leap from C2 and onto the back of Kujira, flurries of snow and ice trailing behind her. Over the ‘radio’ Sayuri would issue one final parting as she scurried up the creature's spine. “And Diana, don’t die.”

Notes:

Sayuri was right, people always had more in them then what they thought capable. Ever since the Shinobi war started, she had met people who could push on, doing what they could to keep pushing just a little bit farther. Often it would get them killed, but not all of them. Every so often there was someone who made it and become famous for it. Diana figured she'd fit in the third category, pushing her limits but not getting major recognition for it, and she was fine with that. She already had enough attention on her, no need to paint more targets.

Then again she was helping take down one of the biggest threats to the shinobi world that wasn't regarded as myth or ancient history, so the point was probably moot.

Fiend repairs on her puppet hadn't taken as long as she had anticipated, giving her more time to focus on getting to the beast before them. As much as she'd've liked to have sealed it away, the Xenobeasts & Xenopuppets made it too much of a risk, so it would have to stay on standby for now. Looking out to the beast itself, she'd spot the exit hatch her subordinates had used before, their ghostly memory reenacting the motions in her mind. Thankfully Sayuri's words drew her back to reality, forcing her to take a momemt to process what the Yuki girl had said before responding.

"Exciting indeed." She'd give a forced smile and tried to force some more emotion into her voice, though even she could tell it was a stretch to call her tone 'excited'. "And I the same with seeing you. Perhaps when this is over we can-no, not yet. No risk in jinxing ourselves." Exciting was really not the word she'd use for this situation, but in a way it fit. It might not be exciting for her, but those she had been directing to fight had found it to be exhilarating, so they likely fit the bill. Sayuri was someone she definitely didn't expect to describe the situation as 'exciting', but that was becoming the new normal. At least she caught herself from saying it, that could have been close.

Soon enough, they had arrived close enough she'd begin relaying directions, though not before the Yuki had spoken again. "I can do that. The entrance is right below us, once you enter the hatch, You will need to follow the twin yellow lines until you reach the sawblades. After that I will need you to fill me in so I can get you the rest of the way there." Even if Sayuri had jumped off before she finished her explanation, she'd just switch to her own linkstone 'radio' to relay the information, pulling back to a safe distance (as much as one could call being just out of range of Kujira's puppets 'safe') before responding.

"And do not worry about me, Death knows better then to try taking me after his last failed attempt so soon."

---

163.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
163/185 CP

Sayuri was definitely listening to Diana’s instructions and not just chomping at the metaphorical bit to get down to the Indaina Kujira to cause mayhem. She gave a nod as she noted the entrance that Diana pointed out, and with all the grace of an anvil plummeting from the top of a mountain Sayuri landed on the back of the Kujira. Sayuri was surprisingly solid for a waifish five foot three inches, and she landed on her right foot with her right knee bent and her left foot extended outwards as well as one hand placed down in front of her and the other extended in parallel to her left leg. The weight of her touching down from so far made a dull ‘thud’ noise against the back of the monster, and that noise caused several heads to turn.

Surrounding her were a dozen alien looking beasts with black shiny carapaces and they all turned in unison to snarl and hiss threateningly at the unwelcome arrival. Sayuri looked with interest at the rows of silvery sharp teeth that were now bared towards her, tilting her head slightly as she noticed the heavy amounts of slick saliva that poured from the beast's mouths in their attempts to intimidate her. Sayuri was not able to be intimidated. The concept of intimidation relied heavily on the idea that the person being intimidated actually feared anything; Sayuri feared nothing. She began making her way to the hatch at a purposeful pace, and then the Xenobeasts lunged.

They tried their best; one of them tried attaching it’s sharp teeth onto her leg, and more went after her back and torso. None of them had the strength to even break her skin however and were it not for their collective weight slowing her steps the Ice Queen would have kept walking unperturbed. One particularly aggressive one leapt at her chest, its teeth aimed to take out her throat and it was at that moment that Sayuri became annoyed. She didn’t particularly care about the monsters trying to kill her, since it was obvious that they couldn’t even hurt her, it was more about the audacity of the thing. In a flash Sayuri’s hands came to grasp onto the thing’s head and back, firmly holding it to her own body and with a surge of Hyoton chakra a full set of icy fangs filled her mouth. “How dare you. . . I am the thing that monsters fear. . .” Her voice was low and almost suggestive as she lowered her fangs to the side of the creature’s face to enclose her bite around it’s jawbone and bit down hard. But she didn’t stop there. With her fangs sunk deeply into the flesh of the monster she began to pull. At first the creature didn’t understand the danger it was in and still continued to fight her, intent on ripping out the blonde woman’s throat. But as Sayuri began tearing the flesh from its face and it’s jawbones began to separate from their natural resting place - it panicked. An ear splitting screech sounded for a few seconds, only as long as it still had the capability to make noise. And Sayuri made a muffled humming noise, the kind of noise one made while eating something particularly delicious. That screech signalled the other Xenobeasts that were attempting to rend her flesh that something was terribly wrong. Nervously the remaining beasts would back up, seemingly watching in horror as their group leader was killed painfully slowly. The whole process eventually devolved into Sayuri continuing to tear pieces off of the monster with her fangs and the other Xenobeasts continuing to back away. Sentient or not, this group had decided that she was the more frightening monster and chose not to continue fighting her.

Tossing the still quivering and whining carcass of her ‘snack’ onto the ground, and now covered in thick alien blood, Sayuri continued on to the hatch no longer impeded by the weight of a dozen murderous aliens. She had successfully proved her point, at least in her mind and now with the annoyance gone she could continue. But of course, it couldn’t be that easy. There were the puppets to contend with, and with a sigh Sayuri would wave her hand and summon Marshmallow - her Ice Forged Behemoth. The twenty meter tall ice golem roared at the small puppets that flew around and with an order from Sayuri “Kill them.” would effortlessly swat them out of the air as she made her way safely inside the artificial bijuu. Marshmallow would continue swatting away puppets and Xenobeasts so long as Sayuri remained within a hundred meters of him.

Once inside the small space, Sayuri found she couldn’t stand up straight as it seemed that this space wasn’t built with regular use or maintenance in mind. Her choices currently were to stoop as she walked, or to crouch and move along more slowly. She opted for crouching and began the long trek through the insides of a mechanical and chakra created monstrosity, following the yellow lines as Diana had directed her. It took some time but eventually Sayuri saw the saw blades that Diana had mentioned, some sort of archaic security system she thought, not being experienced with puppetry Sayuri couldn’t recognize the assembly process. “I’m at the saw blades. They’re pretty old looking though, nevermind me I don’t think these could cut much of anything to be honest.” Looking around she saw small metallic chambers with more of the puppets that she had seen outside, though in various states of creation. Along one wall was another hatch, and three levers that were colour coded. “I’m not sure where to go from here, it looks like there’s just more puppets but not finished ones, or maybe broken. There’s another hatch and beside it are three levers; one red, one yellow and one blue.” She would wait to move until she received direction from Diana, giggling to herself as the snow now started to cover the insides of the Indaina Kujira.

Notes:

Above the battlefield on her facsimile of a dragon, Diana sat patiently as she preformed a field tune-up on her weapons. She had been planning on doing it before she had met up with Sayuri, but with her schedule moved up she only just found the time to begin the work right now. It wasn't like there was much she could do right now anyways, she only had so much energy she could muster, and with her on standby to continue directing her friend she wouldn't have been able to enter the fray anyways. So she sat, taking apart her weapons and replacing parts with crystal substitutes when possible.

By the time she had thought to look and see with her eyes if Sayuri had made it in, her sensory and the screech of the Ice Queen's punishment had already given her the information she needed. Instead her eyes were greeted with the sight of a large golem made of ice. Seeing the impressive creation confirmed that Sayuri had it in hand, leaving Diana to go back to her work. All good things had to end though, and midway through her cleaning of one of her tekko she heard her linkpearl go off, with Sayuri's voice coming through.

Diana mulled over what Sayuri had said. Three levers of different colors, puppets either broken or unfinished, and a hatch next to said levers; likely unopened. It wasn't much information to go on, but she could find a way to make their job possible. Pulling out her notebook from her bag, she'd begin scribbling notes. They had no idea who the designer of the Indaina Kujira was, but given the sights she was seeing they had some sort of connection with the extraterrestrial. There was the presence of a foreign & dangerous chakra just...emanating from somewhere inside the beast, and there was advanced elements from several major nations incorporated within the beast's design. The beast was near-indestructible, but not adding fail-safes and traps would be out of the question.

If all the levers were by the hatch, then they were likely all connected. Two yellow lines, old saws...likely logic gates then. After a few more moments contemplating the possible combinations, she snapped her fingers and radio'd back to Sayuri.

"Okay, here is what you need to do. Move the Red and Blue levers so that they're on, and have the yellow lever perpendicular to what it's connected to. Do not worry about the activated machinery, and do NOT flip the yellow switch all the way, that one will likely try to poison you with gas if turned on, but moving it to the middle is needed. Once all three are in position, flip the yellow switch off and you should be good to go through."

Even saying it out loud she knew it sounded crazy, but puppets and their creators were just...odd. Nothing was ever simple and those claiming they had done so just had something up their sleeve. That and most people assumed levers only had two states; on or off. If it were just for the machine made sense, but with the hatch there with no obvious way in, well the levers were likely pulling double duty. Or she could be overthinking it, but with the complexity of the beast, she trusted her gut on this one.

---

163/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
162.5/185 CP

Sayuri poked around at everything in the assembly chamber while she waited for a response from Diana. Literal poking. She would reach out and touch an icy fingertip to the various surfaces, leaving small trails of frost as she went. Eventually she got bored with waiting (even though ‘waiting’ was just a few seconds) and she began to draw elaborate designs on the floor in the small layer of snow that had built up.

Once Diana began giving her instructions, Sayuri moved away from her art and to the levers on the wall.  

"Okay, here is what you need to do. Move the Red and Blue levers so that they're on. . .”

Sayuri looked around for something that said ‘ON’, but of course there wasn’t anything there that she could find. Just the levers with their coloured handles. ‘Doesn’t anyone label anything? How are we supposed to sabotage things that aren’t labeled?’ Jareth chuckled. ‘You are masterful at the art of sabotage, I am certain you can figure it out.’ Sayuri sighed in annoyance at Jareth’s laugh, even though she didn’t catch the underlying snipe she could tell that it wasn’t kind. Ignoring the comment she grabbed the handle of the red and blue levers, one in each hand, and pulled them down. They made a satisfying ‘click’ noise and a tiny green light lit up above them. As soon as the light came on she heard a strange ‘whirring’ noise coming from just above the hatch in the wall.

“. . .and have the yellow lever perpendicular to what it's connected to. Do not worry about the activated machinery. . .”

She hadn’t been worried about the whirring noise, lack of self preservation and all but she noted that it meant she had activated something. Now Sayuri was not a complete idiot, she was fairly well read and quite skilled with bookkeeping, but she didn’t immediately recognize the word ‘perpendicular’ as it applied to the levers. So she grasped the yellow lever and began to push it up, hastily assuming that was the correct course of action, since she hadn’t been instructed to flip it down with the other two.

“. . .and do NOT flip the yellow switch all the way. . .”

The yellow lever was nearly flipped into the ‘OFF’ position when she heard Diana. “Oh.” was all she said as she stopped moving it and let it rest as she waited for further instructions.

“. . .that one will likely try to poison you with gas if turned on, but moving it to the middle is needed. Once all three are in position, flip the yellow switch off and you should be good to go through."

“Ah, well that could have been interesting. I wonder if that’s what the noise was.” Sayuri moved the yellow lever to the middle position and heard another satisfying ‘click’ noise as a third green light lit up and the ‘whirring’ sound above the hatch abruptly stopped. Sayuri was a little bit disappointed that she didn’t get covered in poison gas, she hadn’t had that happen yet and she was curious about what the effect would be. ”The noise stopped. And I think I can get the hatch open now.”

Going over to the hatch she would grasp the large metal handle and pull, beyond the doorway was a small tunnel that was only just big enough for an adult to crawl through. She was slightly smaller than your average adult so she would have a bit more wiggle room but it was still less dignified than she was used to travelling. “I don’t know who this was made for, but they must have been small.” She grumbled as she got down on her hands and knees and crawled inside the maintenance hatch. “There’s only one way to go it looks like, so I’ll just crawl through for a while. It is very hot in here. I don’t know if this was meant for people.” It was hot enough that the snow that fell around her would melt as it touched any surface and the clothing she had on that was made of Hyoton began to weep its complaint onto the metal floor. A less sturdy person would have been burning their hands and knees at this point, but Sayuri didn’t feel a thing. She travelled about a hundred meters before there was an abrupt stop to the maintenance tunnel and the floor and ceiling dropped away to create a vertical shaft. Below her she could see a glowing blue light, some strings or wires and above her faded into darkness. “Up or down? Actually I’m going to go down, there’s a light down there, a blue one. I want to see what it is.” Sayuri would drop down the maintenance shaft unless Diana directed her not to.

Notes:

Diana let out a sigh of relief as the first major obstacle in Sayuri's path was taken care of. It was extremely fortunate that she had gotten it right on the first try given the Ice princess's lack of knowing which positions were on or off, but they were through now. Something was bothering Diana though relating to the noise stopping. She hadn't anticipated that whatever had turned on would appear to have stopped. She knew that she wouldn't be able to know everything after studying the alien puppets that were captured in addition to those from Suna she had worked with, but that lack of information was the sort of void that could get someone killed.

Hearing Sayuri continue to speak, she'd shove the issue into the back of her mind to ruminate on. "The shafts were likely made for either autonomous or remotely control puppets to go through while the beast was being created. Summons could have also been used, but I am inclined to assume the former given how Kujira's puppets function and the heat you have mentioned." From afar she had seen Tetsudashi Steel (how dare it steal her element.) and some sort of carbon alloy she didn't recognize, and while that former element had her concerned, she couldn't do much about it other then speculate. Perhaps if Cerise's father were still around, perhaps he would have a better answer then her tired mind.

Her mind drifted to that girl, gifted with the legacy of two worlds, then having it torn away cruelly, not able to produce chakra in any fashion anymore. The image of her smile, her enthusiasm for the world of crafts fuel to push Diana farther. To make more and learn how other culters implemented their trades. Heck, she could see that face right now, upon the darkness before her.

...Darkness?

Diana jolted up from her dragon, almost losing her balance as she focused back on the here and now. Looking around and judging the terrain, she knew she had been out for about a second, but that was a second too long for a mission as critical as this. Her mind drifted back to the container with three small drugs inside of them before being shove father back then the issue of the absent noise. Not yet. Instead she'd pull out a small syringe and place it on her skin, letting the needle sink down before fully administering the dose of amphetamine to her blood directly, the last bit of medical knowledge she had held on to for dear life assisting in knowing where the blood vessel was. Releasing a breath she was holding in, she'd use the lack of a response from Sayuri to be a good thing, waiting until she said something once more. She didn't need to know anyways.

When Sayuri did eventually speak up after some time, Diana deliberated on the new roadblock in their path. Addled mind or not, this was tougher then the previous issue. "Blue light, blue light...the light should be fine, but be careful and be ready to defend yourself with your ice or to keep yourself in place. Even with my puppet and engineering knowledge, a glowing blue light in a heavily heated vent is not enough for me to go off of, but you should be close. a mistaken turn or two will not be the end" Perhaps if Diana knew of the wires, she might've inferred the possible dangers, but as it was she was working with what she had. And adding onto the dangers neither were aware of, once Sayuri would descend down the shaft, the sound of several puppets moving through the vents would begin to reverberate through it, the heat & metal carrying the noise as fast as it could.

---

162.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
162/185 CP

The drop from the maintenance tunnel onto the floor below was not a far one, only three meters, it unfortunately resulted in her touching some of the wires as she dropped however. The wires did nothing, only vibrated slightly as they were disturbed by Sayuri’s movements. “There’s these wires everywhere, I touched some of them on the way down but they didn’t do anything. But now. . .” Sayuri would pause as her eyes adjusted to the eerie blue light being cast throughout the room, it gave off strange shadows and she could have sworn she heard something other than her own voice. The room she had landed in was roughly domed, though it had all straight planes, as though it was a dome made entirely out of flat triangular pieces. In the center was a metallic pedestal that gave Sayuri the impression of a clawed metal hand, and within that hand's grasp was a crystal type polyhedron that was the source of the glowing blue light. As she watched it seemed as though there was a slight pulse to the light, like it was breathing or pumping blood. Sayuri would take a moment to describe the room she was standing in before she stopped and considered what Diana had said just moments before.

“You said I should be ready to defend myself. Do you think there’s someth-” Sayuri stopped speaking once more as her eyes finally adjusted and she noticed movements coming from across the domed room. From the shadows emerged half a dozen flying puppets, each of them had small weapons attached to their ‘arms’ and they flew straight at the intruder intent on dismembering it. “There’s something. Six somethings. One moment.” Sayuri would breathe a ball of chakra into her hand, infusing it with Fuuton and then flinging it at the puppets as they approached her. The first ball hit the puppet in the lead and easily knocked it out of the air and its pieces exploded harmlessly onto the ground, so naturally she created four more and aimed them at the oncoming puppets. Sayuri was fast but not quite fast enough to take all of the puppets out before they reached her. She had just dismantled the fifth one when the sixth actually got up to her, aiming it’s tiny weapon at her throat. It hit, but ultimately did nothing owing to her extreme constitution and in another bout of annoyance she activated her chakra once more and stepping back encased the puppet in a pillar of ice.

“Alright, that’s dealt with. It seems as though I am not wanted in this particular room. There were puppets, fairly dedicated ones.” Sayuri was sweating now, the intense heat that was coming off of this glowing ‘crystal’ was like an inferno, her clothing had long since evaporated and she now stood surrounded by puppet parts completely nude. Not that anyone else could see her though. “So is this the thing? Do I blast things, or is there something else?” Sayuri was not so much enjoying this level of heat as it was impeding her enjoyment of things like, letting snow build up everywhere. She was still attempting to allow the snow to build up, but it barely fell from the ceiling before evaporating entirely.

Notes:

"They were likely a razor or trip wire defense in the case someone had a resistance to the heat, such as a member of the Fujio Clan, but I guess they did not anticipate natural durability. Which of them they are though is not easy to tell from just a description, and I doubt I would have much luck guessing even if I saw it." That was always the issue with kugutsu, just because you knew how to make and use a puppet didn't mean you knew how the designs of other puppets worked at a glance because art is just finicky like that. Sure she could get a general layout of how it worked, but the intricate traps and gears were more educated guesses. At least she had other information she could draw upon to make the chance of a mistake much lower. Soon enough though her guess had an answer in the form of Sayuri saying she needed a moment. Briefly muting her side of the connection, she'd mutter aloud.

"I guess my gut was correct, trip wire it is."

She wasn't sure if it was the amphetamine or just her nature, but she was rather nervous as she waited for Sayuri to speak up. The wait, while reasonably short, felt like it was dragging on in her mind. It was moments like these that made her wish she had a more durable body, not needing to rely on stimulants to keep her body moving, because at least without them she knew it was her own body failing her and not a side-effect from one of her untested remedies. The briefest flicker of having Sayuri's durable body crossed her mind, but she swatted the thought aside. Not being able to feel at all would be bad enough for a mind like hers, the deprivation of senses she once had, now lost in memories. Perhaps that was another reason why Sayuri acted less...stable. Maybe she could ask when she woke up later. For now she'd make sure her linkpearl was unmuted as she responded to the Ice Queen's confirmation that the thread was dealt with.

"It is good to hear that you are all right, and this is highly likely the right place if that attack is to be believed. If my understanding on how they designed the Indaina Kujira in this area, there should be a source of heat nearby that is keeping the core from overheating. Hitting it with your strongest Hyoton attack cause the core to warp or shatter from the rapid temperature change, but if that does not work, attacking other systems in your general area would likely achieve a similar effect. Once that is done you should be good to get out of there."

Knowing how close Sayuri was now, Diana began to steer her Dragon back towards the hulking beast to prepare to retrieve her friend once she was done. Really, outside of the minor attack this mission was shaping up to be a rather easy one. So was there another shoe that would drop? She felt like she was forgetting something. Only time would tell, and that was something Diana didn't know how much they had left of.

---

162/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
161.5/185 CP

“A source of. . . heat. . .” Sayuri began wandering around the area touching basically everything, trying to decide what in the room was actually hot. As her fingers made contact with the glowing blue ‘crystal’ her eyes lit up and she let out what could only be described as an adorable coo. “The crystal feels warm so. . . yes I’ll smash this and see what happens.” By ‘smash’ Sayuri definitely meant ‘stab to death with ice’, insofar as a crystal could feel death. Her eyes turned white with frost as she formed vicious looking spears that easily shattered the crystal with frightening speed. “Hmm. . .”

All in all it was fairly underwhelming, and while the crystal had most definitely shattered she saw now that it wasn’t the crystal that was glowing, but rather some sort of liquid inside of the crystal. “It looks like the crystal wasn’t the thing to destroy. It was filled with a liquid and I think. . .” She would pause for a moment to touch her fingers to the liquid to verify her theory, pleased when she could tell that her theory was at least partially correct. “Yes, the liquid is the hot thing and it’s still flowing. It looks like it’s coming from below this. . . pedestal. . . hand. . . thing.” Her words were separated by low grunts of effort as she worked to toss aside the shattered and twisted pieces of the monitoring station. “I’m supposed to go inside the core right? Say the word and I’ll jump down there and destroy it.” If Diana gave the go ahead Sayuri would slide down between the ice spears and into the inner core that was beginning to fill with the glowing liquid meant to draw heat away from it. “Do you think I’ll keep my hair?”

Notes:

Right, she forgot Sayuri couldn't feel small heat differences like she could. Even with Diana's small slip-up, Sayuri had seemed to have found the target Diana was trying to have her find, giving the bi-bloodliner some relief. Finding out that her plan had little effect was disappointing, but there was no time to fret with the new info that Sayuri was giving her. She was doing well with flying closer to the Indaina Kujira, the puppets not targeting her yet, but there were more threats then just them, and the longer this took, the more chances she could slip up.

"Hm, liquid leaking that is hot for you, the ventilation system...oh! I should have expected them to use a cardiovascular cooling system for an artificial Bijuu! Even now they continue to surprise me." Another tally mark for the designer of the Kujira, even if she wanted to also strangle them for having to assist in destroying it. To make a core as complex as to replicate a living creature's blood flow was such an unneeded flex, and yet given the esoteric power that it held Diana wondered if the design was more like a complex fuuinjutsu ritual, with the need for the complexity a byproduct. It didn't completely explain everything, like how the beast could shrug off damage like one of the 7 swords of Kiri, whatever the name those stories gave it, but a smaller step of understanding it would give them a slightly sharper edge in dismantling it.

With a quick clearing of her throat, she'd continue. "Personal thoughts put aside for now; as much as I would prefer you not going in, the insides of the core is likely weaker then the outside due to the heat. As such your assumption is correct, go a head, jump in to the core, and do as much damage as possible to it's insides." It was a bit of a kitbashed plan, mostly hoping that the beast's core wasn't built to take damage from the inside. She didn't even know if Hyoton would be the most efficient element in this case because it was a cooling system, personally she would have tried to have Sayuri fill it with air, but even if the Ice Queen wasn't as intellectually smart as her, those puppets beforehand proved Sayuri knew how to apply her current intellect to combat and destruction better then her. "I would not know about your hair though, but if it is as durable as your body, I would assume it will be fine, if not a little steamed."

---

161.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤20/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
161/185 CP

As soon as she got confirmation from Diana, Sayuri would slide beneath the ice spears (that were quickly melting) and the twisted fragmented remains of the pedestal she had destroyed. It was a tight fit, but as a small sprite-like thing, and the continuous moisture from the melting snow around her, she managed to drop down inside without any trouble. Once inside the heat rose astronomically, and while she was unfortunately immune to the pain of it she could imagine how much it would have hurt ordinarily. Her bare feet splashed down into the faintly glowing blue liquid that was leaking from the cooling system and she could see that everywhere the liquid touched her skin began to turn red and burn. With a loud seductive laugh she addressed her friend before she began her destruction. “Ah, if only this were a few years ago. Then I would be able to feel this and I think it would feel wonderful. One destroyed core, coming right up.”

Sayuri had noticed that despite her mastery of Hyoton, the heat from the core was rapidly evaporating any ice or snow in the area. This meant that even though ice was her favourite by far, she would need to employ a different technique if she really wanted to damage the intricate wiring and inner machinery. The area she stood in now was cylindrical with wires and tubes wrapped around the outside edges, behind which she could see more bits of metal and gears perhaps? Sayuri didn’t understand puppets. Not the mechanical kind anyway. Forming a series of five hand seals - rat, snake, horse, snake again and then dog - she drew in a deep breath as she focused on utilising her fuuton chakra. When she exhaled she would scream like a banshee and swing her head around so that the razor sharp blades of wind struck the core. She kept this up as the blades sliced through the delicate inner core, all the while the blue liquid burned and the severed wires snapped out to slice into her bare skin leaving trails of red blood across her that spread like lace across her white skin. She wasn’t aware how much damage she was sustaining, but Jareth was, and he was genuinely concerned. This wasn’t like her usual antics of swimming with sharks, this thing was trying to break her down at the cellular level. It all happened in less than an instant, the technique was terrifyingly fast and strong. As the core reached its threshold for internal damage from the blades of wind, it activated one final surprise; core ejection. The destruction of the core would mean that no more puppets could be created from the Indaina Kujira, but in order to ensure that no further damage was sustained it had also been designed with a safety mechanism.

One moment Sayuri was safely death wailing the core and the next she felt a rush of movement as the core was forcefully expelled, what was left of it - along with her. She had the curious sensation of being weightless for a few seconds after the initial explosion that had propelled her through a few thin walls. The weightlessness ended as gravity took over and she was now free falling through the snow, naked as the day she was born save for the layer of blood and blue liquid that clung to her. Reaching up to activate the pearl in her ear she looked around until she caught sight of Diana and C2, assuming they were still there. “It is done. I do have the unfortunate circumstance of plummeting towards the ground now however. I don’t think it can kill me, the fall, but I would appreciate a pick up if you’re available.” Her voice was calm as ever, no hint of the physical damage she’d sustained, or any indication of fear. She had not miraculously gained a survival instinct while inside the Indaina Kujira, and if she heard the stern voice of Jareth insisting that she save herself, she had something up her metaphorical sleeve.

Notes:

Even if the sound quality was worsening from ambient heat damage the linkpearl was taking (boy was she glad that crystal didn't like to melt), she heard Sayuri's declaration to destroy the core...and the comment about how wonderful the inferno sauna she was entering would be. By this point she didn't give those mental flags much note, Diana instead just focusing on staying in a safe enough range. Thankfully it looked to be that Diana was ignored in favor of the more imminent threat, that of Sayuri inside the core. She'd watch as puppets began entering the hatch the Yuki had entered...some time ago like water going down a drain.

After...some more time, she'd watch as one of the assumptions for how Sayuris actions played out: the core ejected itself out of the beast, their mission a success. And then she remembered Sayuri was in th-nope she just fell out o it and had entered freefall. 'Shitshitshitshitshit.' she'd think, her dragon flying at full speed to catch up to the Ice Queen. Diana wouldn't break eye of sight with her ally's rapidly changing location, the more she looked the more her eyes told the Bi-bloodliner just how much damage she had taken. Fear flashed across her face, the memory of those who last went in now replaced with the faces of Sayuri. Diana knew Sayuri wasn't ready, no one was durable enough to survive the hellhole that was-

The calm voice of her living, breathing friend came through, and she knew the worst-case scenario for this mission had passed. "Yes yes, I can see that! I am on my way!" she'd cry out, thinking of faster ways to get to Sayuri. Diana would command her dragon entered a full dive, the clay wings tucking in and it's body angled so that it could use it's greater mass to catch up to Sayuri in time. Diana for her part...well she internally prayed to the Sage that the upcoming G-forces wouldn't cause her to black out. Sure she had run equations as to whether or not her body could take sudden turns, they were equations; theoreticals; the sort of thing you really didn't want to test especially when your body was pushing itself father then it was made to do. As Diana got closer, so did the ground. Uncomfortable close, but before she entered the range where she knew she wouldn't have been able to pull up, she'd intercept Sayuri's plummet and have the dragon simultaneously unfurled it's wings to fly once more, while also unleashing half of it's clay ammo onto puppets below. The core itself landing shortly after, creating a small crater in the land below; heavily damaged but still intact.

She tried to say "I got you!" as soon as she had Sayuri's beaten body, but the sudden re-angling back towards the sky forced that air back down, the only sound that did escape being a wheeze, then coughing once her body wasn't having it's air pushed from her lungs into her feet. Her sight, just for a moment went black from a lack of blood as it happened, but she didn't pass out, thank the Sage. As as soon as she didn't see ground on the horizon she'd level the dragon's flight out, letting it glide down to the ground as she regained her voice.

"You are...alive? Thank the Sage." Several deep breaths, each one painful, but less so then the one before them. Having one's blood & air rush from top to bottom was not fun. "I apologize if I do not sound more excited, but that was more then I am used to." At least she'd know how to brace herself for future dives as she looked towards the newly formed crater in the ground; a thought striking her. She had a chance to study a proper part of the beast now, the margin of actually getting anything out of it was miniscule perhaps, but still if it could move her timeline up, then it was worth the risk. Diana would reach towards Sayuri's hands and hold them, checking over Sayuri to make sure she wouldn't die anytime soon. "There is...one final thing that I need to do before I head back. Your part in the mission is finished Sayuri, I will have the dragon drop you off so you can be healed by the medical-nin." She took a few more breaths as she let go of Sayuri, the intake of air less hampered, but still something she knew she would have to get looked at. Without thinking, she spoke up, the words she'd been waiting to say but didn't in order not to invoke bad luck upon the duo. "When this is all over, I think I will come to visit you in Kirigakure. See that castle you wanted to build. Maybe it will motivate me to properly start mine." She was close enough to the ground now. Time to go.

Sliding off of her clay dragon, she'd mentally command it to fly to one of the closer outposts she knew about, keeping an eye on Sayuri with her sensory to make sure she didn't try to follow. While she'd lose access to one of her linkpearls, that was okay. The core needed to be permanently removed from the battlefield, and she was the only one she knew who was close by that could do it in the time they had.

In a cheerful voice over her linkpearl, Diana addressed her friend for likely the final time today. "Hang on to that pearl for me, okay?" Landing on the ground with a roll, she begin making her way over to the remains of the core; not expecting a response from the sweet girl she met those years ago.

---

161/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤10/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
160.5/185 CP

Most other people would have had very different reactions to free falling to their potential death. Sayuri was not like most other people. As she fell she laughed with glee, enjoying the sensation of fast moving wind across her skin. The wind whipped at her hair and pushed the blood on her skin into wavy rivulets that looked akin to a piece of abstract art. As she had requested Diana to come get her she saw the doll-like woman and her dragon make a sudden drop towards the ground which greatly accelerated their speed but also put them dangerously close to the ground. Had it not been for Diana saying out loud that she was on her way, Sayuri might have suspected that she’d either lost control of the dragon somehow or had no intention of actually attempting to catch her at all. Sayuri wasn’t exactly an intellectual, and had little experience with being airborne so didn’t have much to go on to figure out Diana’s current strategy.

In her mind, Jareth was pitching a fit.

‘My Queen, you need to soften your fall.’

‘Why? She said she was coming to get me.’

‘. . .’

‘What reason would I have to doubt that?’

Jareth knew he had created this problem. He had allowed her to believe she was immortal, and that there was a chance that belief would be proven wrong.

‘And if she doesn’t? What then?’

‘If she doesn’t, then I’ll hit the ground. But I’ve done that before, and I was perfectly fine.’

‘From not so high up.’

‘Maybe. Or perhaps I’ll have Marshmallow catch me. Don’t worry, my King. I trust you to keep me safe as always.’

Jareth was beyond frustrated, his previous hosts at least had some semblance of the will to survive. But those previous hosts, while more stable and reasonable, were also more difficult to control. So while he was frustrated with his current predicament, he knew the trade off for that frustration would be worth it, and since he knew that he kept his peace.

‘As you wish, my Queen.’

At that moment Sayuri landed safely on the back of C2 next to Diana and she laughed again as she clutched to the clay scales of the beast. She gave her friend a broad smile as they soared upwards, narrowly avoiding crashing into the ground in a fantastic display of manoeuvrability. The effect from the G-force felt to Sayuri like being cradled lovingly by the air itself, which was not at all representative of what was actually happening. Jareth had done his part to ensure her durability however and she carried on as though she were on a carnival ride and not in a dangerous situation. “Of course I’m alive. No need to worry.”

Once they were flying level once more Sayuri would allow Diana to examine her for injuries, a pleased smile still on her blood covered face. She would offer a nod as Diana said she still had something to do and that the dragon would fly her to a medical tent. She didn’t think she needed medical attention, but then, she never thought she needed medical attention. And she’d learned by now that arguing with people over that fact was just irritating and mostly a waste of time, so it was easier by far to just go to a medical nin if that’s what would ease Diana’s worries. She didn’t bother pointing out that she was a medical nin herself, and could just as easily take care of herself. What she did take away from that was that she got to fly on the dragon for longer, so really it was fine with her.

“I do love to show it off. It’s quite the trek though I’m told. And there’s wolves. But you are welcome to visit. I’ll keep the pearl safe for you, you can collect it when you visit.” Sayuri watched as Diana slid off the dragon and headed off in the direction of the core, holding onto C2 she would wait until they had flown within easy jumping distance of the outpost and likewise slide from the back of the clay beast. She would give C2 a pat before disembarking and then wander into the throngs of people that were now standing and staring wide eyed. “Thank you dragon, that was fun.” There were a few small groups of people; shinobi, civilians, medical nin, volunteers. . . hosts of people assembled to offer their assistance in the fight against the Indaina Kujira. They parted as she walked through, glancing away in discomfort or staring in horror as the charred, bloody and unclothed Princess calmly walked into the medical tent and sat cross legged on the nearest table. She would be tended to and before long it was as though nothing at all had happened.

With nothing left to do, Sayuri would create a new set of clothing for herself and pocket the Link Pearl Diana had entrusted her with. She was enjoying being in the medical tent, finding the wailing and crying of the injured a soothing song. So she opted to continue to watch the fight and tend to the injured while she did so. It was seemingly altruistic, which pleased Jareth, but it was far from. Her intentions were anything but pure. She went from bed to bed and did heal people, though she memorised every bar of pained melody as she went, snow still falling gently around her as she sang an eerie tune.

[Exit Thread]

Notes:

Once the dragon had dropped off Sayuri, it would fly back to Diana's location, but in the meantime Diana continued towards the core. She hadn't landed too far away, her mind may have been compromised in many ways from lack of sleep; external energies; and supplements that were likely the only thing keeping her awake at this point, but she still had enough to keep the mission in mind. Even if the core was ejected & destroyed, it wasn't completely blown to smithereens. There was a chance that the Indaina Kujira would send puppets to recover and repair it, and that was not a chance she was willing to take. Too many people had died thanks to it's existence, so she would make sure it would be out of those unscrupulous hands.

Soon enough she's reach the crater proper, and the mass of biomystical machinery inside. Sayuri had done a wonderful job indeed: the machine was useless in it's current state, more apt at being a large paperweight then a powerful weapon-maker. Even now, as someone who understood almost all one could about modern-day crafts, this part from an eldritch machine was not something she could fully understand at a glance. But the mission came first, she needed to get rid of it. Diana would pull out one of the large scrolls from her bag, one she hadn't expected to use, yet couldn't complain about having it now given it's internal storage space would be just enough, and with a touch of her hand an enclosing seal would be drawn upon it. She'd then roll it out and begin the sealing process. At first, the smoke that escaped the scroll from it's activation would come out slowly, as if trying to get a feel for it's target. The longer it stayed active though, the faster the smoke would move, until it completely encompassed the remains of the core. Then, the smoke receded back into the seal with the core inside.

She looked at the scroll now containing her target, reaching into her pocket and pulling out the pocket lighter she had received from Cerise. She could end it right now, make sure that they couldn't make any more puppets without needing to build a new core...

'...becom...the Puppiter you where always meant to be...'

She looked to the lighter. The core held secrets on how one could seize the means of puppet production, to create a world where people didn't need to die. She could use it to make prosthetics en masse, augment those who could no longer use chakra, be it from lack of training or a disease that prevents them from doing so. But then she wondered if she was going down the same path those who made the Indaina Kujira did. Good intentions could be taken too far, seen the wrong way. The creation of the Kujira should have been a good thing on par with the Heavenly emporium, the various parts she had seen coming from more then just the clans of each of the five villages, and yet, despite the clear unity, it was tying to remove it! No, her goals were noble, no one would need to die. Not like today. When she got back to Iwatomics she could study it alongside the silver cube, make a new version of both that could be used for good.

Her dragon landed beside her, it's back painted red and blue from Sayuri's adventure into the core. Pocketing the lighter and climbing onto her creation's back, she'd set the scroll down and into the small concaved back of C2. Her dragon would then take off, and she'd see how close she had cut it. The puppets had come like she predicted, though not as fast as she had expected. And with her in the air now and flying away, they wouldn't bee able to catch up with her. Bringing her hand up, she'd contact Titania.

"Titan, this is Ruby. The Core is removed from the Indaina Kujira, having been destroyed by Sayuri Yuki and what remains recovered by myself. I am on my way back to Iwa, have Team Thermite join up with me at outpost 32. The mission is complete, and we are one step closer to the beast's defeat. Ruby Out."

{EXIT}

---

160.5/185 CP
Sensory Technique; 0.5 CP
C2; no upkeep cost
➤10/20 C2 Dragon missiles remain
Enclosing Technique; -3 CP
157/185 CP