Scene #4770: The Puppet War

Owner	Pose
Starless Night	The 'distress' signal is not exactly a distress call. It is, in fact, scattered transmissions concerning an army on the move, one which is, after some more snatches of static-filled interference and signals, apparently on their way to capture a dollmaker and a 'kugutsu' that they believe is rightfully theirs. It sounds like they aren't used to using radios, but some multiversal creep has slipped into the xenophobic world. Triangulating where the army is headed is pretty easy. Surrounded by farming fields and with a small river passing right by it, the fortress has a wide open view of the whole surrounding area, and the farmers can withdraw into it at an uncanny speed. They've had more time than 'very little' to do so as well, so the fortress is pretty well sealed up. A first glance would make it look like a primitive one, thus open to numerous attacks... but a second look would show that the watchtowers are equipped with strange firearms that are tilted upward as if for anti-air, and the scurry of activity looks a little unusual inside. The approaching army has two siege towers, and looks a bit small, but there's something odd about how they move as well. Some of the armored troops look odd, with one in particular marching at the lead in what appears to be heavy, metal plating from head to foot, yet tireless in the approach. They're still some distance from the gate.
Shin Tokuyama	Shin has been hanging around the Tenra Banshou world for like a month or two now. Ever since he heard that there were people who made fully-grown adult girls who had no memory and were prone to identity crisis issues. Honestly, people who don't know the exact tropes he's trying to proc and invoke here. Which is why that signal scanner app on his phone is super useful. Shin is here today, having followed said signal to this exact location. He's got a big backpack on his back and sticks out like a sore thumb because of wearing a literal suit. He adjusts his tie and fixes his hair, strolling along. "Oh no! I am a wayward protagonist who just happens to be passing through! I hope no circumstantial chains of events see me swept up in some grand plot!"
Laer	Laer is not very good at pretending to be a farmer watching the impending battle, even though she's got an illusion up around her that should fool any casual looks. For one, she's actually floating a few inches off the ground, because these are new shoes. For another, she's far too interested in watching the armies and far too uninterested in fleeing. Still, she's wanting to let the two sides start to fight before she starts to intervene, unless given other instructions. Her brand of chaos is all the more effective if she's just adding to existing chaos instead of creating it all alone.
Anne Blakely	The anti-air makes it unlikely that Anne will approach from the sky. But she does! Sort of. Rupert, her dragon, swoops in at a low height in between the army and the fortress, only to pass right by and continue on, for now. She'll turn around and return in a little bit, but for now... the eight objects she dropped from the dragon will do her work for her. Namely, half a dozen clockwork humanoids, unfolding and standing at attention with blades at the ready. The other two are large mechanical dogs, much like the ones she often has accompanying her. Only, they possess one rider apiece. Gepetto, the wooden doll, with a slightly discolored arm, and Penelope the copper clockwork girl, whose leg is mismatched from the other by virtue of being a less refined and well-made one. Gepetto is the one who speaks, "HELLO THERE, ARMY!" He waves. "If you would like our help, then we would be glad to provide support for taking this fortress! You may have this 'kugutsu' in return, so long as we are allowed to take the creator for our own purposes! Do we have a deal?" Penelope is peering around, though if she notices Shin she doesn't recognize him.
Devon-7	It could be said that as the new Guardian liaison between the Vanguard and the Union, that Devon-7 is obligated to investigate more matters in the wider scope of the Multiverse beyond his home galaxy. It could be said he fancies himself some kind of roving intergalactic lawman. But... The truth of the matter is, Devon-7 is a Hunter. Hunters go where they feel and do as they please, and really, the space cowboy just likes sticking his nose in other people's business, where it probably doesn't belong. An odd signal, preliminary reports of an army on the move, and something called a koo-goot-suu just happen to be what catches his ear and pulls his attention from the night's televised Crucible match. Iscariot-30 is leading by 1500 after an amazing play of touching down with the spark into the rift, and he's retty sure his money is in the bag for that bet. Still, he punches a few commands into the console of his jumpship and sits back watching a playback, before the lightspeed ship settles into place over orbit. "Hey Oakley, let's mosey." A twitter of confirmation in his ear says his Ghost acknowledges as he slides his helmet into place, armor sealing, throws on his tattered old duster and plops his hat on. The hat is very important for the look as Oakley transmat's him down from the ship in a muted flare of silvery light. He lands without a sound atop one of the high walls of the fortress in a crouch, and then he's gone. A flicker of movement and ripple of light might catch the eye. Or it might not. It's a good vantage point to overlook the oncoming army, as well as get a look inside the fortress walls, and determine how to proceed, if intervene at all.
Setsuko Kaminagi	There are a number of things that are often sent by Union's intel division straight to Setsuko Kaminagi. One of those things is heavily war- or battle-related potential incidents; she has an uncanny knack for 'feeling' battles out, for determining how certain they are, how they're likely to go, and whether intervention is necessary. That's the case tonight, as certain signals have been sent her way in regards to the world of Tenra. And even before she's properly in range, her instincts and her divine senses practically trumpet at her: 'Battle is coming. Soon. Fierce. An army against a fortress.' That's more or less all she needs to pick up the pace. The demigod hurtles in on the back of her usual hoverbike, but for once stops a good ways away, giving some respect to those anti-air weapons and trying not to antagonize either side until she has a better picture. What she sees is odd, to be sure, but none of it sets off any kind of mental alarm bells... not until her eyes pick out Rupert swooping in low and fast. Whatever concerns she might have had, whatever hesitation she might have shown at getting involved, it's swept aside. Setsuko leans aside in her seat, and drops right off the hoverbike into a freefall. Down, down, down she goes - first simply let gravity doing the job, but then suddenly accelerating around the time Gepetto yells. Even at this distance, her ears are good enough to pick him up, just barely, and that settles her course of action. She goes into a power dive, swift enough that she can safely bypass the anti-air defenses to land right on the walls of the fortress... quite possibly hard enough for cracks to spiderweb outward under her feet. But before the alarmed defenders can attack, she calls out, "Hold your fire. I'm not hostile." Then she turns her back to them, facing outward over the field. Zanjintou whispers free of its sheath, then snaps outward as it takes its full size - easy enough to see even from a distance. Hello, Anne. "I'll be lending this blade to your fortress's defense today."
Sanary Rondel	Sanary, meanwhile, is way too good at pretending to be a farmer watching the battle. Has she done this before? She's definitely done this before. Sure, she's more of a rancher at heart considering the whole pig angle, but there's certain techniques one learns from being forced to live off anything that can grow in crappy soil. "Looks like we got somethin' big comin', heh?" She's even got that accent going as part of her act. It's... Part of the act, right? Right. The healer's not completely unarmed, at least, having hidden her massive gunaxe and a much more standard-issue kite shield in a nearby toolshed. Like Laer, she's opting to watch the armies go at it for the time being and observe whoever's coming in to intervene. Hopefully, Shin nor Setsuko will recognize her face from afar. She's wearing a less fancy eyepatch, at least!
Nort and Scar	"Are we sure we want to be involved?" Scar rumbles. The giant wolverine is watching the oncoming battle from some distance away. "We should at least check it out," argues the man astride the saddle. "It sounds suspiciously like something we may want to intervene with before it becomes a problem." And then Anne swoops in and drops her payload. Nort looks down at Scar. Scar looks at Nort. A small grump, and the wolverine starts to lope toward the battlefield.
Starless Night	The armies are... mostly interested in one another, at least at first. Anne's drop of 'soldiers' makes the approaching army halt, and the offer gets something of a murmur. Technically they ARE here for the bride, not the maker. It's still an uncertain matter until they discuss it with their commanders, which takes several minutes. Warily, the reply comes: "Deal." There's more to deal with on the other end of things. While the armies largely don't notice Laer or Sanary simply due to DISTRACTIONS they are undergoing, they do sort of have those distractions. One does point out Shin's odd appearance, but while they're discussing what to do about the random wandering protagonist, Devon and Setsuko slam down into the fortress, getting guns turned toward them and shouts of alarm. One particularly decorated, tattoo'd man who looks like seven feet tall and carries a massive(but not giant) blade looks ready to draw as Setsuko declares she's an ally, unsure about it. "Now now," comes a sweet, youthful voice. A woman of seventeen or eighteen years of age emerges from the nearest building, wearing an elaborate kimono. "In a time such as this, can we really be suspicious of someone claiming to be an ally? We should give time for the Prince to finish preparing his meikyo. If they were here for the kugutsu, I think they would not try this approach, hmm?" This seems to placate the men, and the girl vanishes back into the nearby building... right next to a huge, cloth-covred structure that is vaguely man-shaped.
Anne Blakely	Wonderful. Anne has heard that Setsuko is here, and that means she brings Rupert around at a different angle, swooping in low and then scraping the ground, to come to a rest some distance from the fortress. Atop him, Anne adjust the witch's hat she's wearing today. In a loud voice, "Kaminagi, did you have something to say to me?" The other constructs turn and begin to approach with the army, with Gepetto clapping his hands. "Excellent! We'll just help you wit that front gate. Penelope? Do you have something for that you think?" "Of course, dear," the little girlish copper girl says, holding up a little vial."
Shin Tokuyama	Shin's not really engaging either army right now, so much as he is just going along his merry way. He believes in the Peaceful Fist (For today, anyway), and so doesn't want to pick a fight where he can avoid one. Instead, he's much more interested in casually strolling along and getting a jaunty tune in his heart. So long as no one is directly stopping him or interacting with him, he doesn't really have a reason to fight or chat. In fact, he's mostly browsing his phone as he walks and playing some sort of mobage to pass the time while he waits for the next step of his grand master plan to begin, "Oh dank. I got the lucky draw and managed to pull a Burst Soul Break off the latest banner in Catalogue Catcher. That's gonna make my Samurai way stronger." He taps at the phone a bit while going.
Laer	Laer will step out of the field, the air shifting slightly around her as she starts to look more like one of the soldiers around her. Actually, it's exactly like one of the soldiers, a bit away from her - she's cheating on the illusion some, mostly just trying to keep anyone from bumping into her as she starts to drum her fingers at her side. This is one of her slower ways of starting to wind up a spell, and it'll take a while, but the moment the army reaches the gates, a spell to grant speed and precision to as many of the ones around her as she can will fire off, even as she herself doesn't do any of the work. The story later will mostly focus and embelish her role, but stories can only be written by people who don't go looking to get arrows in their face during the actual battle.
Setsuko Kaminagi	"If it will assuage your concerns," Setsuko says, for both the woman and the soldiers, "I do this not for pay or personal gain. I seek no reward or advantage, and we will probably never see each other again after today." She slings Zanjintou around, and rests it by the handle against her shoulder. "I have personal reasons to be here. The woman with the clockworks stands on the other side, and so I stand against her. Unless you give me a very good reason otherwise, of course." In a lot of ways, such a simple, selfish reason is more relatable and trustable than something loftier. She might catch sight of Sanary in the distance, but she doesn't /notice/ the TOTALLY NORMAL FARMER, beyond a simple brief, faint moment of 'oh that's an eyepatch' curiosity. Most of her attention is reserved for Anne. When the witch comes back around, Setsuko lifts Zanjintou off her shoulder, holding the weapon straight out to one side and taking a two-handed grip. "Only that you should think strongly about leaving. We aren't in some back alley or remote village. This is a battlefield. I am more dangerous here than you've ever seen me. But you're not going to, are you?" She already knows the answer to that.
Sanary Rondel	Is that Shin? Yep, that's Shin. Sanary peers at him and his phone curiously from afar, halting her hoe in mid-swing before resting the tool's head on the dirt. She can't quite tell what he's doing on that phone, but there is a hint of worry on her face as he keeps moving closer to that fortress. Well, maybe it'll be a good opportunity to really see what he's capable of. Or it would be if Laer wasn't joining the fray. The healer seems to be having trouble deciding on what to actually do, looking between the two armies several times and catching glimpse of Setsuko... Did she just look at her? Sanary freezes for a moment at that, but quickly turns away and starts walking to the toolshed. Some rummaging around inside later, and the DEFINITELY NORMAL FARMER is back out with a... Shovel? A shovel. The fertilizer needs spreading, and that'll still give her some cover to watch the impending battle without having to expose herself as a potential combatant just yet!
Devon-7	In an instant Devon freezes. The rippling flicker stopping with him, rendering the Hunter a soft blur; hard to see, but there for the keen-eyed and observant. He opts to not draw attention for the moment, and then Setsuko arrives. He remembers her. That's one he recognizes, and the Guardian is perfectly fine with letting her announce herself, and choose sides for this engagement. It makes it easier for him, that way. It allows him to spend more time soaking in the surroundings, now that the lines are drawn. The indistinct blur of his motion flickers again as he creeps along the wall, visor turned out to the approaching army. The dragon inbound and riders, calling out an offer of assistance to the force on approach. He unslings a rifle strapped on his back. Slender but sturdy; the barrel too long to be an assault weapon. The Hunter adjusts the range finder on his sniper rifle's scope. His finger is off the trigger as he peers through the sights, taking better stock of the soldiers below, before swinging back upwards. He adjusts the zoom again. . o O (Really... Aiming at a woman and two children... Oh bearer, mine?) Devon's finger twitches on the trigger, almost yanking it, but stopping himself at the hissing giggle of a whisper at the back of his mind, taunting him. He adjusts his aim when Rupert and riders actually land, setting his sights on Anne at first. But something catches his eye. His aim adjusts again, clawed gauntlet creaking as he squeezes his finger tighter on the trigger, compensating for wind and distance, as crosshairs set on that vial in Penelope's hand. The Hunter may be cloaked, but the CRACK and report of his sniper rifle is not. The gun going off makes his cloaking systems ripple noticeably as the force blows his cloak back.
Nort and Scar	Now a mechanical dragon? Nort grumbles, "Still don't think we should be here, Scar?" He pats his mount, who grunts irritably before skidding to a halt. What should they do then? "We need to get inside there, but those things... hmm. Well, I suppose they won't care if we knock out a few of those." He's now within sight of both armies now. Well, both of them are. Nort raises his rifle and he, too, takes a shot. His is with less hesitation, though. The disintegrator blaster cracks out with a sizzle and a wake of brilliant, retina-searing white light, crackling out toward one of the six constructs the dragon dropped.
Anne Blakely	Nort's blaster cleaves through the air, and... hm. These constructs are sturdier than the 'mook' ones that others have fought, but Nort's a pretty good shot and that blaster is a powerful artifact. The disintegrator shears off an arm, making the construct stagger and look as if confused. Three of them turn and start for Nort and Scar, firing off small but deadly bullets from their off hands. And the shot from Devon? That blasts the vial and shatters it, making for a sudden, MASSIVE explosion. Penelope's mount is blown to pieces, and even the copper girl shrieks as she's hurled backward, her damaged leg ONCE AGAIN blown off as she's hurtled into the midst of the army. Gepetto grumbles, "Well, guess we'll have to do this the HARD way."
Starless Night	Impending battle is right. There's... a lot going on. Or it seems to be. The explosion stymies the army for just a moment, before some of the riflemen drop down and add their shots to the ones toward Nort and Scar. Soem of the men rush forward, and one of them, sporting a mechanical arm and eye, shouts to Sanary and Shin, "YOU'D BEST GET OUT OF HERE!" At least they aren't laying sword to the farmers and passerby's? The one in the middle is the one that is moving MUCH faster though. The one in heavy armor. The way he moves is unnatural... and headed right for the front gate. At high speed. Bullets from the walls just ping off of that armor. From the inside, things are getting more complicated. "If you're here to help, then help!" the large man shouts... moments before he glows reddish, and bulks up with massive, rippling layers of muscle, an aura of power around him. Behind him, the cloth slides off of what appears to be a giant robot. But... "WHERE IS THE PRINCE!" one of the workers shouts. "Still inside! What's taking so long?"
Anne Blakely	Anne sighs as Penelope blows herself up accidentally. Ah well. Setsuko is the one who has her attention for now. "Perhaps I haven't seen what you can do," she points out. "But neither have you seen what I can do. Now then, Rupert. Why don't you give Miss Kaminagi a little demonstration of our own?" She pats the dragon... With a rattle and hiss, Rupert's body lifts up, head lowering at the same time. The jaws open, and a stream of acidic napalm-like flaming substance is hurled outward, splattering over the west side of the fortress. Why bother with the gate? Wherever it lands on one of the defenders, they'll have to deal with intense, burning, flesh-eating fluid that can reduce a normal man to a skeleton in seconds. "Come and get me, then~" she singsongs.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Well, as much as Setsuko might like to stand down on the field and repel the enemy army, Anne has just made herself a target the demigod can't ignore. Not with a siege weapon like that. So Setsuko whips Zanjintou around herself once, and then leaps into the air, shifting her grip slightly on the immense blade and coming to stop just a dozen feet or so up. She cocks the sword as if preparing to strike... but a ripple of change works its way down the blade, a shimmer of blue-white that changes the shape of it. (Slightly) shorter, more curved, more... aerodynamic. "Zanjintou...!" And then she starts to spin. "DAI!" Faster and faster, building up momentum. "SHAAA!" A blur of black, grey, silver and steel, a whirlwind, a spinning top. "RIIIIIIN!!" And then she throws it. The still-massive blade goes hurtling through the air like a boomerang, banking around and arcing towards Rupert in a throw of uncanny accuracy, straight at his neck from the side. And Setsuko in the meanwhile rockets into the air, heading for the OTHER side - where she can come to a stop, waiting high above the ground to catch the sword when it goes by, as if perfectly planned.
Devon-7	Well that set things off with a bang. Devon remains still for a moment, holding his breath after detonating the vial and sending Penelope airborne. He whistles quietly to himself at the effect and takes his finger off the trigger... It is something else that gets his attention next, though. He leaps off the fortress wall and down into the fortress proper. 'Where is the prince?' The Hunter decides to go see if he can find him.
Shin Tokuyama	"I hope we get another orbfest. I really need to upgrade some shit, but I can't do that with standard dailies and my stamina is shit," Shin mutters to himself as he goes along, playing with his phone and generally not interacting with the completely amazing battle that rages around him. This is because there's an epic-er battle raging on the screen in front of him and he totally wants a piece of that action. The battle on his screen has memory crystal drops and stuff. It's when someone finally interacts with him and forces him out of his little phone world that he lifts his head and looks at the guy tiredly, "No way. I can't get out of here. I need to be here when the girl wakes up for reasons that wouldn't really make sense to you, but make perfect sense to me in this context." And then people are off to go fight again! Shin's major obstacle right now is figuring out a way into the fortress without engaging with either army or the bulk of the defenses. This is, for someone like Shin, actually immensely difficult! It is, in fact, borderline impossible. And it causes him to stand there, rubbing his chin as he looks at everything. The west wall has crazy crap pouring down that can melt people. So instead, he opts to climb the east wall. He's going to try to use the bricks to secure hand and footholds and kind of doggedly scale the outside of the castle while looking for a window.
Laer	Laer will have to drop the illusion to do much more. Fortunately, the illusion seems to no longer be needed; with the rush of battle all around, the army is unlikely to much mind suddenly having an elf among them. Hopefully. The guitar on her back will probably still stand out. "Why don't some of you go over the wall?" She'll ask; there's anti-air and then there's anti-person floating up right next to you. The elf is going to start casting flight spells on those near her until someone stops her or she runs out. Luckily, these take a few seconds per, so it's hardly going to be the end all be all, but if the army she's sided with cooperates it could be quite the tide-turner.
Sanary Rondel	"Eh? But I wanna see this!" Sanary protests to the soldiers telling her and Shin to get to safety. It's not until she actually says that out loud that Shin might be able to hear her, though, and she quickly turns away to stab the dirt with her shovel some more. That's probably not suspicious at all! Even Sanary has to realize how suspicious it is, though, and after a few moments, she instead heads right for the toolshed again. Instead of a tool, however, she emerges shortly afterwards with her gunaxe and that kite shield! Although she's not quite sure where Laer is, she can hazard a guess at what she's up to with those floating soldiers. Instead of heading that way and drawing the ire of the everyone on the front lines, she opts to head towards the east wall. It's just going to take her a bit of very obvious running just to reach him. "Guh.. Hey, Shin! What're you doing up there?" She's not going to try scaling the wall just yet, but she does try climbing up just a little to see if the walls can even bear her and her gear's weight first.
Nort and Scar	Pew pew. Ping ping. Many of the bullets are deflected by the shimmering force field that surrounds Nort and Scar, but some get through, making the armored man grunt, and Scar growl as one drags a furrow through his fur and shoulder. He dislikes that. "Guess we do this the hard way," Nort mutters. SCar growls agreement, and the wolverine CHARGES forward, eyes flashing and sending laser beams lancing through the constructs. Bleeding from his side, he favors the other, while... Nort doesn't shoot again. Instead, a whistling hiss is heard, as a sonic grenade is launched amidst the oncoming soldiers and constructs.
Anne Blakely	A launched sword is a deadly thing, but Anne is right. Rupert is a level above many of her constructs that Setsuko has fought. A level above... but not indestructible. The dragon rears up, forcing her to clutch tightly, and she scowls as the divine blade manages to shear through her enchanted plating and actually open up the neck, tearing off a chunk of armor and exposing some of the clockworks within. It's not a deadly wound, not with the redundancies, but it's more damaging than she'd like. "Yes, I know you are not a mere human," Anne replies firmly. She lets her construct twist about, and then LURCH forward with a sudden launch of a flurry of brass, enchanted spikes from the shoulders of the draconic being, following after the spinning sword. it's going to be quite a sight for the fortress to watch, the battle between brass dragon and goddess.
Setsuko Kaminagi	A mass of brass spikes hurtle towards the demigod. Though not fully divine, she is in her element - something in her seems more alive now, more energetic and potent than anywhere else. She catches the flying form of Zanjintou, slings it around herself once, and by the time it's on the other side, it's regained its full size and shape. But she keeps spinning it, this time in a defensive whirl that deflects aside a good number of the spikes... but not all of them. Several get through, clipping her across the limbs, one even gouging a deep wound across her left side, but when she moves it's as if she doesn't even care about the pain. She lunges FORWARD, through the hail, flinging herself and her blade into a direct attack. Or so it looks at first. She cocks Zanjintou to attack, as if planning a straight-ahead chargethrough slash, but at the last second, dips down and to the left. The blade swings out once in passing, but it's a harrying blow, little more than that. Her path suddenly zigzags again, launching her straight /up/, where she turns a flip and then comes down with an overhead slash. It's aimed at the neck again, trying to deepen that damage. It's obvious what her goal is.
Starless Night	Climbing the wall is something Shin is... well. Going to find difficult. Difficult, but not impossible. Especially with the WEST wall pretty occupied with the fact that it's collapsing, and the FRONT gate is suddenly shuddering, then exploding in places as the armored 'man' proves to be some sort of construct himself, blasting it apart with powered punches. It's shuddering and in danger of failing. Meanwhile, Laer flies up to meet... the buffed up guy! He flies as well, it seems, and without a word presumes that Laer is an enemy, hurtling toward her with blade first. It lashes out, the samurai showing his own powers in engaging the mystical elf. The army starts to head for the gate and... well, a few head for the west side, but most decide not to get near the dragona nd the demigod. Probably wise. The defenders take shots at them... and at Sanary. One of them shouts up, "That's why!" Another, with a metal right leg, raises his rifle and fires a shot at the defenders. To Sanary, he says, "If you're going to help us, put that to use." A few others are heading for Sanary assuming she's an enemy though. The grenade Nort launched blasts two of the three men down, while the third is injured but not badly enough to keep him from firing again. He's kind of outmatched though. Devon slips into the building where the Prince is supposed to be... and finds that the bodyguard - or at least, an armed man with the livery of the fortress - has had his throat slit. Bleeding all over the floor. In the next room, another one is slumping to the ground, with an armmissing and numerous cuts across his body, while the prince - a boy of no more than twelve - is backed against the far wall staring. "S-sister, what are you... doing...?" The woman who said Setsuko could help, apparently the boy's sister, has her bloodied blade out and flicks the blood from it. "I'm simply... oh, excuse me, brother. You'll have your turn." She pauses, turning to confront Devon with her blade at the ready. "Hm. I don't think you're a native. Family affair, you'd best turn around and take your leave."
Shin Tokuyama	"Oh hey Sanary! I'm climbin! Trying to get into the fortress. Got stuff to do here before the good guys and bad guys all fight over it and stuff," Shin says pretty flatly. He's making some good progress getting up it. It's not easy, though, especially in semi-dress shoes and a suit. "I figure I can't stop all the really powerful people hanging around here. Or I really don't want to. I dunno. One or the other." He shrugs a bit and keeps climbing, "So I'm gonna hope I can do my thing before everyone kills a bunch of people, or however this plays out." Shin's goal is, despite the difficult climb, to get up and over the wall pretty quickly. Hopefully Sanary can keep up if she wants to keep bothering him.
Devon-7	And then Devon enters a horror show. No sooner than he finds the first corpse, the Hunter kneels; inspecting the kill briefly. The body tells a tale. An easy cut of thr throat says the kill wasn't expected. He moves on. The second body, too, has a story. Losing the arm was already fatal, but the other injuries were to ensure the deed done and over with quickly. Pragmatic and efficient. Then he catches the voices. "Ahem..." He is not a native, the battered suit of pressurized armor, the color of dust, completely out of place on a world more akin to feudal Japan. It's like The Magnificent One walked on on The One Samurai. Except in this case it's a killer shinobi. He's silent for a moment, expression unreadable behind his visor as he stares down the sight of the prince and his sister, apparently out for his blood. First things first... Devon-7 tips his hat. "Ma'am." There. The niceties are handled. He has been polite and proper. But then he pointedly turns his helmet to the boy a moment. "Oh? Is that all? Ha ha, family matter, right, well then I'll just mosey." He announces. Another tip of the hat, he turns around... . o O (She will kill him, you know. Gun her down. You know it is the only way... Oh bearer mine.) It is, perhaps, out of simple spite, that when he wheels around, surprisingly fast in spite of his apparent bulk, that something silvery flashes through the air; a single razor edged blade flung from his sleeve. It is, technically, a lot safer than opening fire with the the boy so close by.
Sanary Rondel	"Whoa, hey hey! What's the big idea?!" Sanary shoves off the wall forcefully as the defenders start firing at her, having to practically fling herself back just to not get shot through the side. At least they're forcing her hand now in joining up with the attackers by virtue of... Well, it's not like she planned to help the defenders to begin with, but still. She's got an excuse now! She's also looking considerably more annoyed. "I just wanted to see what was going on, but if that's how you want it...!" Holding the gunaxe back with one hand and the shield forward with the other, the farmer-healer starts gathering energy into her magitech eye as the Fire matrix inside it powers up. "So that's... Ah. Don't go left, Shin!" That's all the warning he gets before she fires a laser from her eye at the wall, sweeping it upwards and creating a series of small explosions tracing up the wall. She's making sure to keep it a fairly safe distance away from where Shin's climbing, at least, even as she's aiming to sweep that Fire-laser at the defenders firing upon her. "Keh... If you wanna get inside, why not help me take down these guys?" She might be hiding some important details there, but it's not like she even knows them herself, right? Right.
Anne Blakely	Penelope sputters, "FINE JUST LEAVE ME HERE!" Oh, she's still alive. Dragging herself along, it looks like. Gepetto sighs, directing his riding dog-machine over to pick her up. The other remaining three constructs surge toward the door, firing at the defenders as well, while the others head for Nort and Scar... more slowly, since they're heavily damaged by the grenade blast that has caused them to limp and stagger. They're moving slower, now. Meanwhile, Rupert growls as the scrape of the sword slashes along his side, and then the sweep of the blade causes another deep cut. This time, mechanisms are bared and damaged, spurting a silvery lubricant... but the nearest wing slaps toward Setsuko as well, and the dragon starts to turn and snap jaws. That's when Anne reminds that she's on Rupert's back. Namely, by opening fire with her own pistol, snapping off a quick shot from the side. "You realize, this could end with less bloodshed. I only want the dollmaker. I won't kill him."
Laer	It's not that Laer isn't a semi-competent swordfighter, but more that she's managed to make it this far in life with a relatively low number of scars by not swordfighting with people who look like they practice it a lot more than she does. Buffed-up samurai guy seems like just the sort who would have, so she won't even bother reaching for the sword at her side, trying to fly backwards out of the way, her leg getting nicked on the retreat. A minor wound, particularly given the lack of weight on it. She'll whistle, in turn, sharply, arms making the motion of plucking a bow. As she does, a green arrow appears between them, firing towards the samurai with a sickly trail behind it. "I'm not even here to fight you!" She'll yell at him, after attempting to put an acid arrow through his stomach. She has a funny way of showing pacifism, really.
Nort and Scar	Quick blasts from the wrist blasters work on cutting down the remaining soldier, and also fire at the constructs. Another bullet wings hard enough into Nort's armor to make him grunt again, but it's hard to tell how BADLY he's hurt. Enough that he doesn't want to stick around here. He's looking at the gate and the side of the fortress now. "I think that's another one... we need to find this man fast," Nort says to Scar. "Scar... think you can get up enough speed to jump that wall? The acid should be weakened enough that it won't hurt your cybernetic claws, just don't let it touch your fur." "Got it," the wolverine growls, blasting at one of the constructs with the eye lasers. Then he's dashing at high speed, working on skirting the battle between Anne and Setsuko to take another entry into the fortress. He's looking for where the dollmaker might be, and less interested in the personal conflicts here. To help, he whistles sharply, calling on a nearby rat to scout the buildings inside.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Zanjintou swings up, blocking the wing directly with a loud ring of metal against metal, and then smoothly shifts to deflect the snapping of jaws. But the bullet? That hits her cleanly. Right through the abdomen, drawing a sudden growl of pain. She pushes against Rupert's jaws, glaring at the dragon, but her words are for Anne. "The battle below would have happened even if you or I weren't here. And the fact that you want him alone, is enough for me to shed my own blood in stopping you. It doesn't matter what you have planned for him." Suddenly, Setsuko lunges back and away, then drops down. This time, she stays down, and Zanjintou's massive blade dissipates entirely. She intends to stay close to Rupert's body, so close that his own size works to his disadvantage in catching her. And this close, she can also get in some prime strikes with her katana, particularly aiming for the base of the neck - still focused on disabling the ability that holds the most danger for the fortress.
Starless Night	The samurai fighting Laer was not ready for that. The acid arrow hisses into his stomach, making him grunt... but he looks to be tougher than the average guy. Laer /probably/ outmatches him enough to take him out, even being a bard not focused on straight combat, but it will not be a quick battle. Especially when he lets loose a blast of flame breath to counter the attack. "Get out!" Unfortunately this leaves the front gate mostly unguarded, so that the smashing finally causes it to crumple. The defenders regroup and start to shower the whole entrance with bullets, but the metal man, despite damage, keeps coming forward. He too is looking for the dollmaker. Meanwhile, Shin and Sanary can, with their respective abilities, manage to get inside... though Sanary will come under fire. Shin will get just one guy drawing a spear from a rack. "Hey, who ware you?" It'll be relatively easy to find the dollmaker though. There's a fortified building which is rather nicely furnished, and that is very obviously where any expensive guests will be staying. Inside, Devon hurls a knife at the sister, who tries to deflect but gets a bloodied shoulder for her troubles. "That would be a no, then. One moment, dear brother..." She flicks her sword to the side as if making a cut... then the other hand thrusts forward, a spray of strange webbing coming out. It isn't trying to entrap Devon, instead it slashes through the nearby wall, cutting right through the supports in its deadly arc to try slicing DEVON in half.
Shin Tokuyama	"Noooope. This is a you-centric problem, Sanary! I'm not involved in this narrative yet! You'll know when I am! But I have to be brought in by some very specific flags." He wags a finger, "Very specific flags! I have been trying for WEEKS to proc this event, can't slow down now. Can't, can't, can't!" He seems weirdly emphatic about this little sidequest that he's talking to Sanary. And also about climbing that wall! Once he gets inside, though, he immediately gets to work, "DO NOT WORRY. I am not here to hurt or help! I just wanna see the Kugutsu! So you need to take a nap!" Shin dashes in towards the guy with the spear and gives him a judo chop to the side of the head to try to knock him down. Once that is taken care of, Shin adjusts his backpack and starts jogging towards the fortified building in the center! He has a very limited timetable on this one and he needs to work fast. This entire place is going to shit.
Devon-7	No sooner than that first knife is flung another seems to just slide into the Hunter's hand. "It's a no." He confirms. She swings her blade. He moves to evade- only to learn it was a feint. It's a testament to the gunslinger's reflexes that he's able to react in time. Weight shifting on a dime he makes to dodge and draw... At the same time. "Don't wait for nothin', boy, git!" He encourages the prince with the basic reminder that sometimes discretion is the best part of living to see another day. Tihs still does not handle his ninja assassin conundrum. But he moves like lightning, drawing that gold inlaid gun smoothly and fanning the hammer. Several shots ring out as he vaults. There is just a slight miscalculation, when he lands after that webbing whip sails by. His arm is missing. Clattering limp to the floor, it twitches and jerks; fingers curled and flexing around the second knife. But there is no blood. Niether end of the cut bleeds, though sparks visibly jump and arc from his shoulder. "Well damn. That wasn't too kindly of you, ma'am." He's still fast with one thumb to pull back the hammer on his six shooter. But he won't be blazing that rapid fire anymore. The question is, will he be fast enough to outgun the killer princess?
Sanary Rondel	"NRgh...! Aw, come on! Fine, fiiine... But what's this about flags?!" Taking cover behind her shield, Sanary bites back the pain at bullets getting past her defenses and grazing or impacting against her arms and legs. Instead of showing the pain, however, she just grits her teeth and keeps moving inwards to keep up with Shin in her own destructive way! Also, cheating with self-healing. She can have the bullets removed later, but dealing with that now means she'd end up falling behind, and she can't have that! Once inside, the healer's more than content to let Shin handle the spear guard, but she's forced to start running again as he takes off. She's not even sure where this dollmaker is, but if she's going to be lucky today? She just might find him while following someone els! That shield's going to stay up just to avoid getting shot in her everything, though. That might slow her down, too, what with having to cut down defenders or even blast them with her gunaxe's Fire shells.
Anne Blakely	The good news is, the idea works. The katana is sharp enough to cut through the armor of Rupert's throat, and finally disable that napalm spray. The bad news? This ends up spraying raw chemicals on Setsuko. It's rather acidic, though at least not actually burning like when Rupert breathes it out. It also makes the dragon HOWL as that's some REAL damage, and he almost bucks off Anne. "PErsistent. I suppose I'll give you that. You hero types always are," Anne admits as the dragon scrambles to claw Setsuko away.
Setsuko Kaminagi	"It's my nature," Setsuko replies simply. "I don't rest until my objective is achieved." And then she drops away. Several claw-strikes manage to catch her with varying degrees of severity; in the couple of seconds it takes the demigod to disengage, she's even worse for the wear than before. But she's able to break free with gravity's help, and she's now dropping straight towards the fortress. Straight towards the courtyard. Straight towards the man in metal armor. Zanjintou snaps out to its full height. Setsuko pushes power into her fall. The divine blade swings around once, and then the next time it moves is when she descends on him, with all the speed of her power dive, all the strength in her arms, and all the momentum of twelve feet of godly steel carries. "CHEEEEESUTOOAAAH!"
Nort and Scar	Nort dismounts from Scar as that fortified building is revealed. And... hey, a Shin. "Shin. Pleasure to see you again," he greets absently. The armored man still just busts through the door, looking around and calling out, "I'm just here for the dollmaker." HE glances at Shin. "What are you here for?"
Laer	Breathing fire is something Laer's usually doing to people, not having done to her, and she finds she doesn't much like the role reversal, her dress still burning as she opens her mouth and starts to sing, six quick notes in a lilting language, vanishing after and reappearing twenty feet away. This is just to buy a bit of space, and to lure the samurai further away from the walls, defenses hopefully crumbling while she distracts the combatant. Of course, as he's probably going to come flying in at her, she'll prepare another spell. This one's going to wait until he's close, hopefully, and then she's likely to draw attention from everyone as she lets forth a massive Shout, a blast of force and sound potentially knocking him back into the wall. At the very least, even over the sounds of battle, everyone involved in the fight will hear this. There may be collateral damage to some of the forces fighting, on both sides, in the area in front of her... but they weren't really Laer's troops, anyway.
Shin Tokuyama	"Oh hey Nort, my man, what's the haps? I'm here for some narrative bullshit related to the doll. I figure a lot of people are gonna be killing the guy, or kidnapping the guy, or whatever." Shin says with a bit of a shrug, chasing after Nort. "I mostly just need to be here for when the doll wakes up. That's what my manga, Saber Marionette J, taught me about this." Shin pats his backpack a couple times, following Nort in.
Starless Night	Setsuko comes flying at the man in the metal armor, and... well. It doesn't end as expected. The demigod can slice into it, yes, and even does an excellent job. The arm that comes flying off is... hollow, though. Or rather, constructed of artificial servos and muscles. The 'man' looks at the missing arm, then counters with an incredibly powerful punch, though it's clear that he's far weaker than Rupert. Meanwhile, Shin disables the man with the spear rather easily, while Sanary guns down one of the defenders. Meeting up with Nort in the fortified building is rather simple now that they're past the guards and the chaos is outside. This leaves three people in there with possibly different goals. Nort's rat is able to find the exact room easily enough. The man is an older man, perhaps in his sixties, and is absorbed in the work of the lifelike doll's creation. She doesn't seem to be... quite finished. Though he's putting the finishing touches on her at this moment, her wooden body taking on the resemblance of flesh and blood. He glances up at the entry. "Eh?" As for Laer, the Shout does work. The samurai is hurtling toward her, so the shout catches him and slams him into the wall hard, dazing him for a moment. "Rrrgh..." He shakes it off and snatches up his sword, but the elf has some breathing room. Devon, however, has another matter on his hands. The boy does take off at a run, while the girl grunts as bullets slam into her, making her stagger backward. She grabs her chest, wheezing, but... the bullets don't seem to have penetrated nearly as far as they should. "Nngh..." Like greased lightning, she lunges forward, the blade flashing out in a deadly arc that seems to change direction at the last moment. There's a sound like a loud click, then a tiny explosion... and that sharp blade hits like it has the force of a truck behind it, if it connects at all, as the soulgems surge through the Scarlet Steel of the gemblade.
Anne Blakely	Well this is unexpected. Anne doesn't really care about the invasion force though. She has her own goals, which are currently being thwarted... maybe. Sanary is inside there. "I suppose I may just have to take the doll if we can't capture the maker. I don't think the invasion force is strong enough." Not without her 'siege weapon' anyway. Rupert isn't fully disabled... he could probably wreak some havoc in there even without the flame breath. It would involve fighting Setsuko more, though, and she's evaluating that risk right now. And keeping well away from the fortress for the moment.
Shin Tokuyama	"Awwww, it's happening! It's HAPPENING." Shin bounces up and down, clenching his hands into fists as he heads into the room and spots the man working on the doll and putting the finishing touches on it. He looks completely serious. "No one take the doll yet! He has to finish it. This has to happen!" Shin shouts, "This is very important to me!"
Devon-7	The boy ran. Good. That's good. Means he won't have to see what happens next. Because when The Last Word DOESN'T get the last word in. He has a problem. It's in moments like these, where one can see their life flashing before their eyes. If there's any emotion upon the man's face, it's impossible to tell behind the mirrored goggles of his helmet and visor. He's fast... But she's faster. Try as he might to deflect the blow, or turn it aside, or roll with it to abate the force, as the gemblade cuts through any defense his armor has to offer, the explosive force of the cut cleaving, "ARGH!" Clean through Devon-7. There's a moment of stone silence. Several long beats of a perfect, quiet, stillness. "Ah... Y'got me, pardner..." The space cowboy sighs, as his upper body slides neatly off of his lower body, both crumpling in lifeless heaps to the floor, sparks and smoke hissing from the single, clean, cut.
Setsuko Kaminagi	The most visible of Setsuko's superhuman attributes is easily her speed. But it's not her only one, and perhaps not even the most dramatic. Against Rupert, she needed both hands and her blade to stop blows, and avoiding them outright would probably have been the better call. Against this man... His fist slams into her left-hand palm, and stops cold. She's strong enough to halt his punch directly. It kicks up furrows beneath her feet, but she herself holds firm. "I see." She shifts to one side and lets go, allowing the man's momentum to carry forward - intending to put him off-balance. Zanjintou, once again returned to the form of a katana, comes up; she aims to put it right through his chest, and then slash straight upward. Then the signal from Devon dies. Unless something stops her, she means to go charging through the fortress at full speed to find him.
Sanary Rondel	Sanary's still able to keep up with Shin and Nort relatively easily, cheating again with some magic in her legs to keep herself from falling too far behind. "Nort, was it? Aah... Sanary Rondel. Good to meet you!" Manners are important. Once they finally reach that building and the door's taken down, the healer rests her axe on her shoulder while glancing around slowly just to make sure there aren't any straggling defenders waiting to ambush them before following Shin and Nort inside. "So Shin's here for the doll, Nort's here for the guy, and I'm... Uh." She pauses, then steps aside briefly to speak with her allies while watching the man work on the doll idly. "That so? Hm... Alright. I'll see what I can do." Sanary furrows her brow while looking between Nort and Shin, barely looking all that concerned about the dollmaker himself or his... Girl? "So! Er. I just need to bring back either one of 'em." She turns to Nort. "I mean, do you need him long-term, or can I just bring him back when you're done? If not... Er. Shin? I can wait." She shrugs. It's easier than actually trying to fight them, right?
Laer	Laer's not really interested in fighting too much further; she isn't going to be the one to get to the doll, and the samurai seems like the sort who might actually try to hurt her if he can manage it. She'll lift a hand up, a giant orb of fire appearing in the sky above her a rock within it.. And with a gesture downwards, it'll glow and descend upon the samurai, threatening to engulf him if he doesn't somehow dodge it, moving seperately from Laer. Except... if it touches him, it's no warmer than a tanning lamp, almost entirely an illusion, one that the elf is using as a distraction to try to open a portal elsewhere. If she manages to pull this distraction off she'll step through into her temple quite a long ways away, undoubtedly annoying him.
Nort and Scar	"Nice to meet you, Sanary," Nort says. He's wearing a helmet... actually probably looks a lot like Devon, but without the duster and hat. He's less concerned about things than Sanary seems to be. Then again... Sanary asks, and Shin seems to want to be there when the doll is awake. He turns to Shin first, "She goes rogue, it's on you, Shin." He points, in an odd warning. Then he lifts his wrist blaster and a blaze of white is sent toward the dollmaker's head. "All yours, Miss Sanary," replies the man, turning to leave.
Starless Night	The dollmaker looks up, about to say something... and then his head is vaporized by an old world disintegrator. Whoops. The body slumps over, dead. Nort isn't even in the room when the kugutsu awakens, sitting up with a confused look on her face. "Father?" And then... Laer throws an illusion at the Samurai, who shields his head... only to find out it's not deadly at all. He blinks, turning to the metal man... and Setsuko is cutting that in half now. So the Samurai grunts and leaps into the fray to drive off the rest. Setsuko dashes into the building, the boy rushing past her in the process, terrified. But at the same time there's a loud BANG and a blaze of light. Continuing on will see small fires have been started, and the 'princess' who helped them is laying there, dead, stabbed through the lungs and heart by a single knife thrust. Only she looks a few DAYS dead and is not nearly as pretty.
Setsuko Kaminagi	Seeing the dead princess immediately tells Setsuko what happened. It's not the first time they've seen this, and she knows she's been had. But maybe there's still time. Maybe she can reach the man, the doll, /something/ in time. She's got to keep running. They just lost a man, this can't be completely for naught...
Devon-7	Devon is also thereabouts. Equally dead in two pieces. That's when he gives up the Ghost. Or to be more specific, his Ghost floats out from the tattered shreds of his duster; the blocky construct turning her cycloptic eye on the corpse of her Guardian. Oakley sighs. It takes her a moment, segmented parts splitting away, circling her core in an orbit as the entirety of her construction, no larger than a baseball, breaks apart, adjusts, re-assembles... And then there's a flash of light. The corpse is gone. Devon's, that is. He is whole again, legs and torso in one piece, even his arm back in place. The Hunter draws a breath; his first of thise new life, and promptly collapses to his knees. "Ah, ah, ah... Darn it that ain't the best feeling..." Grunted as he holds a hand over a portion of his chest where he is pretty sure he was gut in half. It's a second or two before he actually shambles back onto his feet and starts staggering along. This is probably when he stumbles into view. And now sees the corpse of the girl. "Goddamn, did you do that? She wasn't lookin' so... Dead, when I saw her last. You know, 'fore I died."
Shin Tokuyama	"WOAH, dude. That was like... 0 to 10, then back to 0. No chill, there, man. Geez." Shin looks more than a little shocked at the fact that Nort just completely vaporized a dude's head and then walked off. But at the same time, Nort vaporized a dude's head and walked off, so on some level Shin has to respect the narrative cojones that it took to do that. Shin immediately dashes over to the kugutsu and grabs both her hands, "Hi. Hello. Hey. Hi. Your dad died. Terrible tragedy, but look at me here. Limited time schedule." He clasps her hands in his, "Shin Tokuyama. Hero of Fists. Here to protect you! Destined meeting. Yada yada. Remember my face." And then he decides to involve himself, because the proper narrative flags have been triggered. The Hero of Fists has been activated from his dormant slumber. Shin stamps a foot down and there's a corona of ki around him as he lifts up both hands. "I know I only just got here," That's not entirely true, "And I don't know what's going on," Also not true, "But I can't let you take this girl."
Sanary Rondel	And then the dollmaker's dead! A shame. At least Nort still seems pleasant enough. "... Well then. Uh. Bye, I... Guess." Sanary's looking and sounding utterly baffled by what's just happened, but at least it means not fighting someone? Maybe. Probably. Turning to the kugutsu as she wakes up, the healer raises her hand to the girl with a still-confused look on her face. "Er. Hi there. Sanary here. Don't worry, we'll take good care of y-" ... Dammit, Shin. Did he just back down on his word that he didn't actually give? That's a violation of the highest order! OR... At least it's enough to get Sanary to give him a disapproving frown. "Well, you know what the deal was. I waited for you to do your thing, so you should let me do my thing. I gotta bring her back home to keep her safe." Is that true? Sanary's not sure, so... At least she's not technically lying! She does brace her shield in front of her just in case, though, keeping a wary gaze leveled on the Fistman. "... I mean. You can come, too, if you want?" Worth a shot.
Starless Night	"I don't... understand?" The girl shakes her head, sitting up. She looks rather blank, in fact! "Who am I? Who are you?" She's still unnamed, after all! Bewildered, she doesn't seem to have an opinion at all! "Thank you?" To Shin. Basically, just taking her hand and pulling her out will lead her to whomever.
Shin Tokuyama	This is the golden opportunity! "I already told you who I am, but..." "Your name is Raspberry! You were designed to be a totally awesome fighting girl! You're on a quest to find true love!" Shin holds up his fists and takes a fighting stance, "They're going to take you from me, but I'll try to come rescue you some day! I promise!" Shin looks between the two Feds, "You know, I probably can't take both of you in a fight."
Sanary Rondel	Sanary blinks a bit, then lowers her shield slightly at the girl's apparent confusion. "Easy, easy. You're... Raspberry...?" She gives Shin another confused look, letting out a low 'uhhhh' as he continues. She rubs her forehead for a moment after putting her axe back on her... Back, then sighs and shakes her head before bringing her free hand up to her head in a brief salute. "Sanary Rondel, Confederate captain and medic. I dunno what Shin's talking about, but if you come with me? I can help you figure things out. Don't gotta rush it or anything. This place is dangerous, though, so we should get back to my place where it's safer." She offers 'Raspberry' a brief smile, then turns to Shin once again while looking about as confused as she was moments ago. "But... You're welcome to come, too. We can just go." She even points back at the hole where the door was for emphasis!