Blind to the Dark

Diana had entered The Stone Yard with a single goal in mind: To prepare herself for the coming times ahead; that of Nue, the beast she had used to take down the artificial Bijuu Indira Kujira. With her were her two companions, Irene Moneta and Titania Leveilleur, the three had set out to train for the coming fight ahead.

Irene was currently working on her punching technique, having been given the Kōkinjō during the initial discussions of the plan as she had strength that could nearly rival Nue. Even though she was more used to bows as her weapon of choice, the simple act of punching was something she knew how to do. In fact the thought of taking on such a beast thrilled her.

Titania was currently fiddling with a curious set of three-colored pills that Diana had given her, staring at the gourd with some trepidation. Even if she had the easiest of the three jobs, she was a blacksmith and weapon tester, not a fighter by any means of the imagination. Diana however had faith in her abilities, and she trusted that Diana knew what she was doing.

Diana herself was practicing her sword swings with the Shichiseiken. Even if swordplay wasn't her expertise, she was no stranger to using them given she had been working on swords that could also use explosive tags to enhance their damage and overcome just about any defense. The Seven Stared Sword was a bit awkward to use though, the balance not something one would immediately be able to adapt to unless one was trained for it.

In front of all three of them was a makeshift planning station made of stone with a map on it as well as several lists and plans in the works. the map itself was fairly crude, but it depicted a swamp-like forest with mangroves unending, except for a large trunk in the middle; Nue's dimension. the three Guren Hanarete Prototypes were also sitting to the side, one for each of the women to carry and use for the coming battle.

Looking up from the gourd, Titania motioned to the others. "Hey gals, can we go over the plan again? I know its a good plan, but I can't help but be a bit nervous about all of it. I mean, we all saw what this...thing was able to do to that artificial monstrosity two years ago, will just three tools and their wielders be enough to take down this beast?"

Diana stopped her sets and set the sword to the side while Irene uncoiled the rope from her arm, setting it onto the stone table. "Of course we can do that Titania, Nue is something that I underestimated before, and I do not want to do that again with your lives on the line this time."

Placing her hand on the ground, a new stone table would form, this time with the map rendered into a three dimensional area with the large tree stump in the middle. Placing her hand above four clay figures would fall from her hand; three humans of different colors and a large beast. "Titania, you are the red figure, Irene, you are the blue figure, and I am the yellow figure. Last time when I entered it sent me straight to the trunk that you see in the middle, and I assume it will drop us inside as well. To ease our approach I will create two shadow clones and three C2 crystal dragons so that we can all enter without worrying about initial injury." The yellow figure would split into three as Diana made a few mini amethyst dragons from her hand, flying down to pick up the five figures to represent the plan.

"We will not know whether Nue will be resting inside the tree trunk or prepared to face us as soon as we enter, so we will be erring on the side of caution and assuming the latter. As soon as my clones or I see Nue, we will fire off three dozen crystal rockets from the dragons to severely weaken it. Despite the many times we fought, I could never damage it for long, and as such I am assuming it has the ability to regenerate lethal wounds if need be in the same way a senju can, if not even moreso." The dragons would fire upon Nue, exploding into little puffs of smoke as the Nue clay figure roared. "My hope is that by doing this we will be able to force it to use a massive amount of chakra to heal it's wounds, giving us the upper hand for the next phase of the fight."

"The next thing we'll need to do is pepper it with as many bolts and rounds as we can with the Guren Hanarete Prototypes during that initial explosive entrance, as I am almost certain that once that smoke clears it will start using wood jutsu to try and shoot us out of the sky. I will make sure to have some clay pegasi on standby so the both of you can quickly get down to the ground as I want the beast to have it's attention completely focused on me." With the addition of two grey clay pegasi sitting on the back of the purple dragons, the humanoid figures mimicked the actions of shooting at the smoke cloud before the red and blue ones got onto the pegasi, flying into the air as the yellow figures clapped their hand together.

"Now comes the first hard part. While I prepare their rock golem techniques, my clones will using the Jade Crystal Pentagonal Column and Jade Crystal Wall Eighth Formation jutsus to keep it pinned for the duration, as we need to keep it on the tree trunk so we do not waste any chakra standing on the water. I know that the cost of using the water walking technique is almost negligible, but I learned that when fighting a beast like Nue, every little bit of chakra counts. In fact, I do not fully expect this part of the plan to completely work, as Nue is mostly, if not completely made of chakra, specifically dark chakra."

Irene gave her creator a confused look. "Then why would you attempt this part of the plan Miss Diana? That sounds like a waste of energy more then anything"

"Because by encasing it in crystal it will turn it's full attention onto me, allowing you to eventually get close and catch Nue off guard with the Kōkinjō. Plus, while I may not be able to crystalize it due to the beast's composition, the crystal itself is strong and will be able to hold it for a short while."

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Bijuu Modifiers:
X-Class (Yes): 20
Res. Tech (Human Puppet): 10
Exclusive Techs (5/5): 10
Preparation Post (This thread): 10
Additional KKG (Kiokugan): 20
X-Rank Item/Artifact (Treasure tools): 10
Entity Modifier (Nue): -6
Total: +74

Irene crossed her arms and closed her eyes, clearly annoyed at the plan so far. "So then what, I hit it with the rope, you cut the word soul with the blade, and then we have Titania come in and try to suck up the soul inside the gourd? I know you've told us this plan time and time again, but it just sounds too risky."

Titania nodded. It was an...well not a simple plan, but there wasn't too many moving parts, and those that did were redundant in a few areas. "I agree with Irene hon. I know you spent a year with the beast, but don't'cha think you're overestimatin' just what we can do? I mean, look at us!" She'd gesture to all three of them. "I'm a simple smith, Irene is a prototype who can barely keep up with a special chunin; no offence of course." "Some taken." "Oh hush, but my point stands. Even with these pills, I can maybe keep up with Irene, but against a beast on par with a bijuu? What do you see in us?"

Diana stayed silent for a solid three and three fourths of a second, each second agonizing for all three of them. They all knew she wouldn't be mad about what was said; a little miffed at most, but Titania and Diana went way back and understood each other quite well. Eventually though, she would have to speak."I know that it is a lot to ask, but that is why we are planning. I do not think I can take it on alone, and with Masaru, Tatsuya, and...and Adam not available for this, well you two are the only people I feel can help take this monumental task on with me. The Jounin and ANBU have to stay here to protect the village, and I am not going to subject the Warmachina nor the Klironomia to this sort of danger any more then I have to."

The clay figures on the map had taken a break, clearly unneeded at the moment while the trio discussed this fairly important matter. Diana sighed and tapped the ground, a small stone coming up to act as a seat. She had figured out during her time with Nue how to do sealless jutsu as she had studied it whenever it used a wood technique, yet she couldn't replicate the ability to not need somatic components outside of a few edge cases. "Look, the longer this beast stays untamed, the more at risk I put everyone here at. But I also wish to put my heart at ease."

The figurines on the map would change, leaving just Nue and a lone yellow figure. "When I had entered, Nue and I had battled for three hours straight, my stamina slowly being whittled away. By the fourth hour I had tried to use the Gozu Tennō to escape, but it didn't work; something was preventing me from leaving." The two clay figures would mock battle each other as a purple humanoid with a question mark for a face stood on the edge of the map. "For the next several months, it was a game of cat and mouse between myself and Nue as I tried to find a new way out. Every so often I would feel a familiar chakra signature as I hid and ran, but I never could figure out who it was that was there, just that it wanted to test me. By the time I finally escaped, it was through a natural space-time gate near Nue's tree trunk, which was when you and I reunited."

The artificial 'human'' furrowed their eyebrows. "So what does this have to do with bringing us along?" Another good point; Diana had trained her well, even if half of that training was just programming.

Diana took a deep breath. "I can not go back inside and face that beast without you two. I just can not." The two of them would wait to see if she had anything else to add, but Diana said nothing. That was it, just a primal fear of being alone in the dark with a beast she had brought into this world, and now wished to tame in some form. The two of them made eye contact with one another, wondering just how much Nue had dug into Diana's soul. Just the sight of a bijuu attacking, let alone being near it's chakra, could leave scars on one's mind. TO have survived an entire year knowing it was hunting her down...no wonder she wanted people she could feel comfortable around.

Irene puffed out her chest as a visible snort escaped her nose. "Fine, you've convinced me. I'll make sure to come in and save your ass when this all inevitable goes wrong. That's what I am programed to do after all."

Titania nodded. "Yeah, I guess I'll have to come as well. Someone will need to make sure Irene doesn't break down mid fight because she forgot to clear out her fuel pipe."

The Tsuchikage smiled. It was good to hear that the two of them still had her back. "That is good to hear." She'd stand up, the rock sinking back into the ground. "As much as I would like to continue with the plan, we should probably do some inventory for this fight, would you two not agree?"

Both Irene & Titania nodded, knowing in their hearts and minds that they'd need every advantage they could get for this up and coming battle. They just hoped it would be enough.

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Settling on making sure the logistic side of the battle was accounted for, Titania pulled out a scroll while Diana pulled out several storage scrolls, as well as several stacks of explosive tags tied up together in a nice twine bow like a stack of ryo that one would find in a large briefcase.

"So, for each of you I have about a hundred stacks of explosive tags each; and I want to make it clear these are not your regular explosive tags. These are probably the strongest explosive tags on this side of Kishin, with each of these packing about the same strength as an S-rank technique. Use them as you see fit and do not worry about running out of them; just treat them like any normal tag when it comes to their blast radius and you will be fine."

Once again for what was likely not the last time in even just the hour, Irene raised her eyebrow. "Why are we not using these to fight Nue?" She'd take one of the explosive tag stacks. "Surely these would be more then enough to defeat it in just one blow.

Diana handed the other stack to Titania, which she took without a word. "Because we are not trying to kill Nue, just bring it under my control. Severely harm maybe if it comes to that, but not kill. Killing him only gives him time to regenerate, which will only make the next time we try to subdue him even harder."

Another visible huff. "...Okay, what's next on the list then?" Diana wasn't sure if Irene wanted to say more or if she was just annoyed that her line of thinking had already been thought of. Despite making her the proto-warmachina was always a little difficult to read, even for Diana.

Moving on, Diana would gesture to the legendary artifacts in their possession. "The three treasured tools, though we all know what those do and how we plan on using them, so we can skip over all of that. Instead, I want to make sure you understand the three-colored pills that I-" Titania cut her off before she could finish the sentence.

Pulling up the container, Titania would tap each one in order as she spoke about them. "Elena hon, I remember. Green first, Yellow second, and Red as the last; with the Red one to only be eaten in an emergency. How did you acquire these anyways, aren't these normally reserved for one of those Konoha clans? What was their name again, the Aku-me-key?"

Diana shook her head. "Akimichi, and I received them from an associate who was a fellow puppeteer before the Emporium fell. No idea how she had acquired them myself, but I am not want to complain about the good fortune in regards to her gifts." She wondered how Chikamatsu was doing. To lose her father, and then to lose her ability to manipulate her tenketsu & chakra as a whole? It was a scary thought given how many things in the shinobi world required the ability to at least interact with chakra as a whole.

Another huff from the warmachina. "I still refuse to believe you are a puppeteer."

This time Titania spoke up before Diana had a chance to. "Irene hon, you're literally a puppet given life. Hell you saw the damage the puppets took after Diana returned from the Emporium." She was right, the puppets that Diana had used during the battle had sustained heavy damage, and fixing them had taken a pretty penny in order to make sure each was up to spec. The fact most of them moved on their own was still fairly ingenious in her opinion.

Irene would shrug, but didn't back down. "And I will continue to be a contrarian about it until she builds a puppet that doesn't move on its own. Speaking of which, do you have any plans on using that strange puppet technique you got from Suna?" She'd look to Diana, who was patiently waiting for her turn.

Bringing a hand to her chin, Diana spoke. "I've been trying to think about how to use it actually, though outside of some small upgrades to the Hypherion Battery so by body doesn't reject it, the best I can do is preform some minor upgrades on you with it. Speaking of which, sit and turn around." She'd make a twirling motion with her finger as Irene did so. Even if they didn't get along, Diana understood the mechanics of her body better then anyone in Iwa, taking a set on top of a rock Diana brought up from the ground.

Kneeling down and activating her dojutsu, Diana got to work on a patch of Irene while Titania looked back to the list. "Okay, so while you're doing that I'll go over some of the minor things. Let's see...bags? Check. Canteens? Check. Soldier Pills? Check. towels? Check. Bolt Blasters & Little Lancers? Check. Ammunition? Check." Marking each of the list as she went down eventually Diana would finish up the small upgrade to Irene.

"There we go. that should help keep your chakra flow a little smoother. The secrets Suna had on that scroll are honestly revolutionary, though I understand why they wanted to keep it under lock and key." Diana got up and wiped the black, oil-like blood off onto a rag before sealing it away. Irene for her part stayed silent about the whole thing, finding Diana's 'mothering' to be grating against her persona.

Titania would look at the two of them, her head shaking side to side as she addressed them. "Okay, is there any other gear we may have missed? Any armor, shields, weapons, et cetera?"

Diana looked a little sheepish. "Well, there is the C3 and Tachyon Tunguska I prepared..."

"You what."

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"No, I'm serious, you what?" Diana had only mentioned these techs to Irene and Titania in passing, but to here Irene of all people reacting this was was a bit...odd.

Diana spoke again, this time with a more conviction. "I prepared a few C3 and Tachyon Tunguska figurines. I figured that if things went really south we'd be able to use them as a getaway plan. After all, the former looks like me...kinda, and the latter looks like a rock, so they could be decently used to our advantage."

Despite the logic, the warmachina pinched the bridge of their nose as they waved their hand to the side. "The C3 I can understand, but the TUNGUSKA? You told us that that thing was made for large area excavation instead of a concentrated blast!" Even for Irene, the amount of gesturing she was doing was more then normal. Diana knew she had instilled Irene a self-preservation instinct that was about the same as hers  at the time...did her year with Nue alter Diana's values? The thought was concerning.

Even so, Diana pressed ahead, knowing she needed to make her thoughts clear. "It is Irene, that's why it's a last resort, though I doubt it'll do much to harm Nue if I'm honest, it will buy us time to get out of there." Okay, that wasn't quite true. The true last resort was to use the hundreds of explosive tags she prepared to essentially make a forced 'tear' in the dimension so they could escape. She knew what areas could make such an escape, and the explosion would temporarily take out Nue if it tried to stop them.

Despite the assurance, it didn't appear to do much to sway Irene. While she seemed to give a little, she appeared to be more exacerbated then angry now. "Then why in Yaburenai's name did you fucking prepare it instead of more C3? surely those are more then enough against a single target." She had a point, C3 would be better at keeping a large beast down, but there was more to it then that. There was the terrain they had to account for, the trees, the water, the mud; all of it was something they'd have to level if they wanted solid ground if they couldn't use the large trunk in the middle.

Seeing no better way out, Diana gave up some ground as well. "Look, we need firepower, and if the first five plans do not work, then we at least have a sixth. Okay?" Irene didn't seem to like it, and was thinking of something to say when they were both interrupted.

Titania, despite not having much of an opinion on whether Diana should have made more C3 or the Tunguska, did feel it necessary to step in. "A'right you two, break it up. I get that tensions are high, but we shouldn't be at each other's throats right now. Irene, go and punch some rocks; Diana, take a moment and breathe." With a harrumph, Irene nodded and walked off to the strength training area of the field, taking the rope with her to practice getting in solid hits for the coming fight. Diana on the other hand wanted to say something, but the look in Titania's eyes made it clear she needed to blow off some steam.

Accepting this loss, the Tsuchikage would close her eyes, bring her hands to her chest, and take a deep breath in. She'd hold it in for a few seconds, and then released it for several more. Once she was finished, she opened her eyes and saw Titania double checking the list they had made. "..." Not sure what to say, Diana picked up the Shichiseiken and stared at it, opening and closing the blade. "...Titania, I think I need to meditate for a bit. Will you please continue to check and make sure we have everything, and to let Irene know where I am once I get back?"

She'd see her friend and forgemaster nod with a smile. "Of course, just...look don't be so hard on her. She doesn't want to lose you again, none of us do. We want to trust that you know what you're doing hon, but we're just as worried that your fear is blinding you." From Titania's posture, the unstated concern was palpable, and Diana felt bad that she hadn't picked it up earlier.

Not getting a response from her leader, Titania continued. "You can talk to us Diana, you know that. You said it yourself; you aren't alone anymore." To use her own words against her; that hurt, but it was a good hurt. Like it or not, Diana had just pushed away her psuedo-daughter with that argument because she was still carrying the fear of that year with her.

She took a moment to think of a response, but a response did come. "Thank you Titania; I think after this I will take a small break so I can properly sort my thoughts out. I shall see you in a bit." Turning away, Diana would walk over to a more secluded part of the Stone Yard. Preforming dozens of handseals, the ground would slowly change form, a mix of stone, dirt, crystal, and clay would all rise from the ground to create what looked like a miniature ancient temple. Walking up it's shimmering stairs, Diana would sit down and cross her legs. It had been a while since she had properly meditated, so it would take her several minutes before her mind drifted down into the deeper parts of her psyche. Part of why she had stopped meditating was because of Nue in fact, but now was probably the best time to do so, as it might give her insight into the opponent at hand, at least just a little more then she was originally working with.

As she felt the world around her disappear, she could feel the eyes of Nue on her, Diana's mind's eye conjuring forth the nightmare realm she had lived in for the past year.

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Nue.

Diana had a lot of feeling regarding the mythical beast she had contracted with, as well as the contract seal, the Gozu Tennō. Ever since she had awoken from her crystal slumber, she had dreamt of the seal. Maybe not every day, but it would always return, always to haunt her dreams and stay in the back of her mind; only returning when she had forgotten about it. It had consumed her life for a while, but she had to know what it was back then. Eventually she had found out; the seal was a medium for space-time ninjutsu. For the longest time she had assumed it would lead her to that land she saw in her fever dreams; that strange land of skyscrapers and individualistically unique bloodlines. But the Sage had decided otherwise, and as she continued to work on the seal she realized that the summoning sigil was not to allow her to go to that world, but to pull something through.

It was only once she had placed the seal upon her back that she realized just what she had done, and that was when she had first met Nue inside her mind. Shortly after she had used him to take down the Indira Kujira, and then kept the doors between them as locked as possible. She didn't want his power anymore, nor did Nue want to be in contract with her, but it had been soul-binding, something that could only end in her death.

So she'd ignore the issue for weeks, until she had jumped into that portal. And now, as she meditated she could see that underground-like mangrove swamp with him in it. Stalking. Craving. Even if this mental image wasn't truly his den or world, it felt real to her. Even as she felt that connection between her and Nue open up ever so slightly she knew it wasn't real. Even as the mental projection of Nue turned to look at her, it's eyes clearly looking at her despite Diana not being in this place and needing to run now now now now now.

It wasn't real.
It was. Not. Real.

Diana would open her eyes, feeling the sweat forming on her forehead. She had only just barely gotten into the meditation and she couldn't keep it together. She was better then this, she knew that, but that forest...no person have to live on fight or flight instincts for a year. Exhaling in disappointment for her lack of mental fortitude, she'd right herself within her makeshift meditation temple in the stone yard, and tried again.

It took her a little longer to get into the right headspace to meditate, but instead of envisioning the forest, she would enter her own mental landscape; that of an endless flooded salt flat. She could see the sky reflected within the water, making it appear as if she was standing on the very sky itself. She could see a few mountains in the background; likely her memory of the Chang Mountains, but a place she would never be able to reach while awake in this mental plane. There was also a few buildings, each made of wood, crystals, steel, and clay, though one building stood out. It looked more like a tree with a door carved into it, with the water around the tree darket, more green then a clear blue. She didn't need to open the door to know what it represented: Nue. She hadn't place the building in here, it must have made it's way in over time ever since she had placed the seal. Yet as she inspected the tree-door, she would find that the so called 'door' was an outline. It couldn't open because there was no door at all. Was this supposed to mean she would need to be the one to open it, to give Nue permission into her most sacred and secure spot? No, no that could not be it. Maybe she was just overthinking it and it just represented how Nue was able to send it's emotions into her mind. Yeah, that had to be it.

The endless sky would fade from her mind as she opened her eyes. It wasn't perfect, but she felt a little more confident. Still though, she had yet to address the issue oh her unsorted thoughts. Maybe as long as Nue was around she wouldn't be able to address them, but she still had to try. Taking another deep breath, Diana would close her eyes for meditation one final time today as she tried to reach out to the beast. Nothing.

She would try again. Not a single peep.

Not sure what she was doing wrong, Diana envisioned the forest, making sure that she got as much of the place correct. She would make sure that the bark of the trees had the right texture, the color of the water was just aquamarine enough, and that those stupid little ropes would be properly knotted in the same way she had seen them before. And she would include the stump with the beast inside of it, resting as if it were asleep. And then she would try again.

This time she got an answer, and she could feel it's annoyance and curiosity at her knocking instead of it peeking into her life. It took her a second before she realized she was holding in a breath, exhaling as she felt Nue's presence fade away from her mind. It wasn't to hard of a guess to think he didn't find her meditation very interesting right now, and she was fine with that. But she had managed to make a connection, and she felt a little better about that.

"Hey Diana, are you good over there?"

The voice of Titania would break her concentration and she would call back. "I am well, give me a minute and I shall be back over there." Standing up, she would get off of her fancy little temple that she had built and dismissed it, the entire thing fading back into the ground before walking back to her friends...no her family.

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Making her way back over, Diana would see both Titania and Irene talking to one another, speaking about something she wasn't quite sure of given their distance, though she did catch something about Irene wanting to meet with a Muramatsu? She could pry, but it wasn't her place to. Besides, if Irene wanted to talk about it she would open up about it eventually; that how she normally operated. Giving a small wave to indicate her presence, Titania would notice said wave while Irene picked up the change in Titania's facial structure. Turning around, Irene looked...well she looked a little drained. It took no guess to assume she had overworked her chakra network training and was currently taking it a little easier. Diana debated on asking about it, but she dismissed the idea, figuring that they really didn't need another reason to fight with each other, especially while they were on the precipice of fighting something much stronger then all of them.

The mood was a little tense as neither Diana nor Irene spoke, but Titania released it all as she knew keeping them in waiting was just going to make things worse. "So Diana, did your little meditation session help you calm your mind and straighten out those thoughts of yours? You looked like you were going through something fierce in your head, and I didn't want to bother you until you had come out of it."

Diana would give another nod. "It did, thank you for asking." She would then turn to Irene, who seemed like she was waiting for Diana to ask the obvious question, of which Diana would comply. "How about you Irene? Are you doing okay?" Irene merely nodded as Titiania spoke for her. "She's still in a little bit of a mood, but she is willing to go back to discussing and preparing for the fight ahead." Irene would not curtly. Maybe not the best response, but it was still a positive one; something Diana wouldn't reject.

Moving back to the table with all of their gear and plans, Irene spoke up. "So we have the firepower, the tools, the plan, and the people. What else are we missing?" It was a good question, by all accounts they appeared to be ready, yet Diana didn't feel like they had everything yet. Something was missing, and she wasn't sure as to what. Turning to her forgemaster, Diana asked a simple question. "Titania, you went over the list twice, correct? Is there anything on the list that we forgot?"

Titania shook her head in the negative. "Nothing that I could see." Okay, so if that wasn't it, then what was it that was nagging at Irene & Diana? If it was just Irene or just Diana, they could probably write it off as just their nerves, but the fact it affected both Moneta's mad the Tsuchikage wonder. Thinking to herself for a moment, Diana snapped her fingers as she thought of the next possible thing. "The Warmachina. I need to make sure that those who are fit for battle will be able to attend if things go truly sideways...at least those that I am able to summon under my own power." All three of them knew who Diana was referring to; their big ace in the hole and hidden defender of Iwagakure; the S-001 Warmachina and Big Daddy himself Kujira Indaina. The name was extremely on the nose, but Diana had felt it was critical that the Boss of the entire Division was named after the Emporium's attacker despite the scars left behind. Given Diana couldn't summon the Big Daddy it was a bit useless right now, but she had other Warmachina that could come to their aid.

Biting her lip, Diana would draw a little blood from it and placed her hand on the ground; sending out a call though the contract for any available Warmachina to answer the call. She'd receive a few responses, and would allow both Kurama-Kai and Mibu to come forth. Two portals would form in front of Diana as both rose from said spiral exit points and stood at attention.

"K-Kai, Reporting as ordered Ma'am!"
"Mibu, Reporting as ordered Ma'am!"

Diana would give a wave in their direction. "At rest you two; I only wish to go over the procedure in case I am to summon either one of you within the next twenty-four hours." The two warmachina would widen their stance to shoulder length and put their hands behind their back as they listened. "If I am to call upon you and you see the bijuu-like entity known as the Nue, you are not to engage it unless I inform you to take up one of the treasured sage tools and do just that."

Diana would point and look at K-Kai, the warmachina moving to attention. "K-Kai, if you are specifically summoned, there is a high chance of either needing to stabilize one of us, or to break us out of a genjutsu that I am unable to attend to." She'd turn to Mibu. "As for you, if you are summoned I will need you to move whoever has fallen in battle so either K-Kai or another person can preform their duties. Is that understood?"

"Yes Ma'am!"
"Affirmative Ma'am!"

Nodding, Diana would dismiss the two as she went through her other available options for summons in regards to the up and coming fight. As much as she would have liked to bring along her five sage recreations, they were not yet ready for combat, not was her chakra system strong enough to support all of them. In fact, the very fact that so many of her warmachina weren't avalible for immediate combat was something she needed to address. Unfortunately, with the timeframe she herself made that would have to be addressed after the battle.

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Titania and Irene stood to the side as Diana dismissed her summons, taking it all in as she gave the orders. Once Diana had finished her instructions she would walk back over to them and speak. "Perhaps it would be best if we did a mock fight to prepare. I know we have done a lot of preparation as it is, but we have yet to do a practical test of our plan."

Titania gave a quick nod. "I don't have an issue with that, what about you Irene?" They'd both look to the proto-warmachina, who brought her hand up to her chin before sighing and nodding as well. "While it is a little unorthodox, it will have to do. Diana is the only one here that knows how Nue fights anyways, including just how fast it could attack us."

Having decided on the plan, Diana would take a few minutes to create a life-sized replica of Nue, going with a size close to a boss summon, but not quite to that level. She'd made the replica out of clay, crystal, and some earth before using the Iwa Kinjutsu to bring the creation to 'life'. It would stand there, looking down at it's creator as Diana felt the third eye of Nue form for a second to look at her creation before disappearing, likely unamused by her replica of the beast.

Diana would motion for the other two to come close, both having taken the time to gather up their gear. "Okay, both of you remember the plan, correct?" They would both nod, not needing a repeat of before. "Okay then; for now assume that you are on the dragon already, and when I call your name you will begin." Titania would give a thumbs up as Irene merely nodded again. "Okay hun'." "Understood."

Moving outward, to what would be a reasonable distance from the clay replica, Diana's aura would shift as she took on a more commanding (yet somehow still monotone) tone to her voice. She would begin by calling out attacks and where she would be aiming the miniature dragons at, while Irene and Titania took a knee and aimed at the large beast. They both knew there was a high likelyhood that the real beast would be larger, so they took comfort in the fact the mock fight was only the size of a three story building. Titania especially was trying to calm her nerves as she made small 'twang' noises as she aimed her crossbow at the beast, mimicking the sound of an actual shot as they didn't want to waste time reloading and re-preparing any more then they needed to. That was another thing Diana had forgotten to talk to them about; Diana had mentioned Nue could absorb chakra, and all of them had low pools of the stuff compared to a beast, hence why they were employing ranged tactics. Probably the one who'd be risking a lot of chakra loss was Irene given she would be moving in with the rope, but all they would need would be to land that hit and she could get out of there. Also unlike Irene, Diana had the Hypherion Battery, so if Nue tried to take her chakra she could last longer then them, even with how much chakra she had planned on using for the fight.

Eventually Diana gave the signal and 'shouted' "Your turn Irene, get in there!" As if a switch were flipped, Irene got out of her kneeling position and ran towards the clay colossus, Kōkinjō wrapped around her right arm. the Clay Nue would make swipes at her, but she'd use that swipe to punch at the beast, steam coming out from her shoulders as she mimic'd using her Battle Matrix to try and slow the strike. "Irene, your arm is now blown off from both the recoil and Nue's natural strength, get out of there!" Irene looked surprised, but nodded as she moved out of the way while Diana moved in. Irene had only seen Diana's memory marble of the event, so she knew the beast was strong, but not that strong.

Diana now moved it, sidestepping most of the fake Nue's attacks as she moved in and mimic'd the action of cutting a word soul. Diana would them retreat back to the location that meant she was on a pegasus now, silently counting down for a few seconds as the fake Nue swipped at thin air to mimic Diana keeping it's attention. Once about ten seconds had passed Diana looked to Titania. "Nue should be slowed down enough by this point from the cutting of the word soul, go for it Titania!" Nervously, Titania would stand up and move forward, mimicking the action of uncorking the gourd to suck it's word soul up. The clay Nue would then make one final roar as it dramatically fell to the ground.

All three would stay silent for a few seconds, then Irene spoke. "Did you need to ham up the death of the beast Diana?" Diana shook her head. While her face didn't show it, she was clearly smiling on the inside. "We have had a stressful enough day preparing, I figured that we could use a little treat." Titania let out a small chuckle at Diana explanation, but recomposed her self quickly enough. "Its good to see you haven't lost that tacky sense of what you think is 'a treat' for us."

Walking over to the 'fallen beast', Diana would release the kinjutsu and began using her ninjutsu to put the surrounding land back to the way it was. "It is not tacky in the slightest, the Kotōshura find it quite entertaining, especially when I used the kinjutsu to make proper plays for the childeren."

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964 words
7,000/8,000 words

Having returned the rest of the earth back to where it belonged, the clay back into her unusually spacious bag, and the crystal dissipated back into the air, Diana felt like the three of them were well and truly...well ready on the physical and strategy side of things. Perhaps they could have prepared more, Diana knew she hadn't taken much time to get to know Nue (the year of being trapped inside of its dimension not really counting) and she could have recruited Masaru & Tatsuda to assist in the up and coming battle, but this was something she believed she needed to handle in this particular way. Looking to her closest allies, she would begin the long process of opening the gate.

Diana would hold out her hand as the Gozu Tennō glowed with a red hue underneath her clothes, the symbols appearing through her black underarmor as she began the steps necessary to open a portal to Nue's Dimension. Something she had found rather frustrating was the time it took to create the gate, but it did give her some time to cover some final points and concerns in addition to psyching everyone up before they entered the proverbial lion's den.

"Last chance to back out girls; once we enter, I cannot promise your safety, let alone promise that we will find a way out if we lose."

Titania gave a hearty laugh. "Oh trust me, I want to go running as far away from this idea as possible, but I cannot pass up the opportunity to see this through to the end. Plus," She'd give Diana a small jab in the ribs. "I'm not going to leave my best friend behind at a time like this."

Irene nodded, an honest to god grin on her face, something Diana hadn't seen outside of when she was making fun of others. "I agree. The chance to take on the very beast that took down my step-uncle is something I cannot pass up." Her grin would widen even further. "That sort of accomplishment is something not even Big Daddy will be able to claim, and he is supposed to be the best of us all!" She'd lift up the arm with the rope attached. "Plus, I doubt he can claim to have used a tool used by an actual legend."

As the Gozu Tennō continued to glow, her Proto-Imprisonment Seal now started to ignite. The proto-seal itself was rather simple, it was based on an old design she had seen during her visions; a metal circle with nine triangles pointed inwards. Currently her seal had two of the triangles lit with an orange glow, the gate slowly forming as she began to locate where she needed to punch a hole through space-time. "Very well, if you two are that committed to seeing this through, come hell or high water, then I will have to do my very best to impress." She'd shift the weight of the sword she she could better hold it with both hands. once the plan began.

"Diana hon, you've already impressed us, this is jus the next step in your journey, simple as that." Titania would shift the gourd under her arm, the feel of the gourd still strange to hold. "Though I don't think any of us planned for this outcome."

A quick laugh escaped from Diana. "Perhaps not, but I do not think I would want it any other way." She could feel the third triangle light up as Irene butted in. "I certainly would not have; after all it is thanks to you two that I even exist."

Four triangles now, with each and every second that Diana inched closer to opening the gate to Nue, the more all three of them could feel the anticipation rise. Diana could see that her friends were still nervous; and she couldn't blame them as she felt the same. For all the preparation, planning, and attempts to get them motivated, this was a very serious thing to take on. Diana had faced death on multiple occasions; Titania and Irene only had the tangential experience through the Indaina Kujira.

Unexpectedly, it was Irene who spoke. "So...do we have a plan to get our blood pumping just that little bit more before we enter?" It was an honest question, and one Diana did not have an answer for. Titania also looked to be at a loss for words, so Irene spoke up once more. "How about a simple fistbump shared between all of us? Does that sound good?"

Titania was the first to respond. "Yeah, I think that that's a good way to start us off, don't'cha thing so Diana?"

Five. Time seemed to slow as Diana considered those words. Would a simple fist bump be enough? There was no tactical value to it, but that clearly didn't matter. It was an emotional one, and Diana knew better then to neglect Irene in such a matter.; she was family after all.

"Yeah, a fist bump sounds like a good way to kick things off."

The talking finally stopped when Diana felt the sixth triangle ignite. Instead, Titania and Irene simply held Diana's hands. For this short time, as Diana was about to face her year-long nightmare, she was reminded that she was not alone.

The seconds passed as the three of them took those final few moments to temper their resolve just a little bit more, and then it happened.

Diana would feel the seventh triangle on her seal glow with chakra, and just like that Diana knew it was time. She'd reach out and pull at the air, and the air seemed to pull apart as the gate appeared. As soon as the portal stabilized, the three leaders of the Iwatomics sub-corps would look to each other, give each other a fistbump, and enter into the gate with weapons in hand; unsure if they were truly prepared for what lay ahead, but confident they would get through this together as a team.

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1,005 words
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Preparation Post Completed

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Bijuu Modifiers:
X-Class (Yes): 20
Res. Tech (Human Puppetry/Volens Memoria): 10
Exclusive Techs (5/5): 10
Preparation Post (This thread; completed): 10
Additional KKG (Kiokugan): 20
X-Rank Item/Artifact (Treasure tools): 10
Entity Modifier (Nue): -6
Total: +74

Diana is entering her control fight with Nue
[Rolling the Control Fight Dice to determine the results]

Rolling for Control Fight

The member 'Nozomi' has done the following action : Dice roll

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'Surgical Dice' : 65

Stepping into the underground forest, Diana, Titania, and Irene spent no time waiting, immediately sending the plan onto motion before Nue could even react. The Dragons were made, Nue was subdued as Irene freed Nue's Word soul and Diana cut it. Even Titania, who was the weakest of the three, was able to use the gourd to capture the word soul without needing to use the pills, giving Diana more then enough time to take hold of Nue's Chakra and meld it with her own.

It couldn't have gone any better, and as soon as Diana took in the chakra the gourd activated, sucking in Nue before it could hurt any of them. Seconds passed as all three of them watched the gourd. One second...two seconds...five seconds...

They would all relax as it was clear Nue was not getting out without external assistance. Titania would collapse on the large tree stump as Irene began to heal her wounds, the power of her punch causing fractures to appear on her skin from the impact. Diana for her part just stood there, the tension gone yet the moment...not feeling real. She had won. An entire year having fought Nue, and then, just like that it was beaten. Releasing her grip from the sword, Diana smiled, and began to laugh.

It was a simple laugh, starting out as monotone like everything other noise that came out of her mouth, but as it went on it became more alive, sounding more like a mixture between a laugh and a cry as her emotions spilled out. She didn't even realize that she had fallen to her knees, her face brimming with a melancholic release of emotion as the other joined in with the laughter; glad to see the burden of this fight being lifted off of Diana's shoulders.

Eventually though, the good time would have to end, and as Diana wiped the tears off of her red and semi-stuffy face, she's stand up and walk over to the gourd. She'd pick it up and uncork it, releasing Nue from it's temporary prison. For a moment Nue looked at her, anger in it's eyes as they both felt the deeper connection to one another. Then, it would make a noise that Diana would later describe as a 'harrumph' before jumping down into it's den to rest and heal it's wounds. Turning to the girls, Diana would smile once more.

"We did it. We can go home now."

{Exit}

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Diana now has control over Nue