The Wicked Storm [Mission S Rank]

[Michi]

The maelstrom was a churning vortex of wind and sand. The storms came after the Sunahoshi family came to a terminal point, the plagues ended the prestigious clan, however, their numbers were greatly diminished long before this point as there was only a single throne. Progenitor of the Sunahoshi line and ancient hero who felled two ancients with his legendary blade Primus, posthumously declared the One King, his progeny became the the defacto leaders of the Hidden Village. In the turmoil that followed Godsfall, the great war where humanity broke the shackles of subjugation and rose against their Ancient overlords left the great tribes at odds and the wilds were treacherous and threatened to wipe out a fledgling society. It is said that the Ancient Earth Court Lord, "MotherSuna" gifted the Sunahoshi line centuries before with domination over the golden earth, making humanity the stewards of this terrestrial domain. In the wake of the Sunahoshi's mastery over the raging storm, the perils that the gale-force winds brought forced humanity from the surface and into the depths. Others fled for the coast, where the storm could not reach. Attempts to control the storm in the absence of the Sunahoshi have been met with failure, the Sunaku clan, an assumed brother-clan to the Sunahoshi was woefully insufficient against the maelstrom. Hope had been lost and it was assumed that the sandstorm that encompasses a large part of wind country would continue on forever until Kaito revealed a skill-set possessed by Shouki that made it possible to placate the storm temporarily as well as an anomaly in the isolated badlands - an eye of the storm and a barrier that they, the Cabal could not traverse. It was a little-known fact that tides of the Undersea are provided by the transition of the Diamond Maelstrom's electromagnetic field, something that had been unfortunately ignored by a great many scholars who had studied this problem in the past [the description of this has existed since the forum area was created over 2 years ago].

The ever-shifting dunes were near-impossible to navigate, Sunagakure was easier to find than to depart. The Toraono Dojo was a massive stationary landmark, that if viewed through the rushing sands could be observed for miles in every direction. Departing, on the other hand, was a different matter. The massive landmark would be to their back and only tell them that they are moving in the same direction while it remained in sight. The skies were black, a barrier of earth and swirling debris obscured these celestial spaces. Some natural structures existed in the desert still, massive boulders polished to have gleaming facets like dark jewels rather than earthen fixtures. They would not lead the way, but perhaps they could serve as markers to where they had been.

Despite the layers of protective cloth these travelers might have procured, the earthen barrage could still be felt against your tender mortal flesh. Armored joints difficult to move as sand fills these crevices, seeking the depths of cloth or metal making what you wear weighted. It was as if the storm was trying to bury you alive, attempting to clog your nares, fill your mouth and burn your eyes. The storm screamed and howled, without name, reason or cause. Wrath could be sensed by an empathic man or woman, even in the absence of specialized skill. The storm, like a manifestation of limitless rage tried to limit your movement and choke the life from you unquestioningly.

• Be creative with jutsu use and make sure your profiles are up to date because I use them in my adventures.
• The storm takes 10% max HP per round in this present state from every participant, making this storm very dangerous and Nanami a valued asset in this adventure.
• Clues regarding methods to placate this storm are IC'ly known by Katsuo, Sousuke and Nanami due to their interactions with Kaito, perhaps the storm would be less-damaging if something was done to quell this maelstrom.
• It should take aprox. 3 rounds to reach the intended 'eye of the storm' but perhaps the way can be expedited by again the clever use of jutsus.
• Make sure that you remember what you brought with you in your inventory - things can be useful!

<i></i>

 

[Akako]

[col]The harsh sands of the desert were nothing like the fine, soft sands of the beach. Combine that with the fact that they were voluntarily braving a sandstorm made it a couple dozen times worst. The breathers Sousuke had given them were a godsend.

Nanami wondered briefly if slight insanity was a shinobi trait. Because she certainly wasn't this daring before she started practicing the chakra arts. Perhaps it was chakra use that made people crazy? It was certainly an interesting hypothesis. Either way, this was downright crazy. The worst she had ever done in her thirty years of life was to make enemies of the local mafia of Hashima Island, telling them to stay away from her clinic. (Well, actually, agreeing to the mission with the memory wipe was probably the worst. But not that she remembered that.)

She let the other three take the lead. Certainly, they would fare better against flying debris in their armoured state.

Speaking of which, she hastily placed a hand on Makoto's shoulder. There would be a flood of chakra, soothing with ease as long as he did not fight it off. "Had I known that armour was the norm here, I would have purchased one for myself," she tried to joke, voice muffled by her breathe. But her contact with the other mercenary was brief, only lingering for as long as necessary for the technique to take hold. Invading another's personal space was not on her list of priorities.

The process was repeated to herself, although there was no outside sign that she did so.

Considering the circumstances of their field, a skeletal fortification seemed necessary. It would save the two squishy humans from anything too serious in the long run, hopefully making it so that any wounds they were to incur due to the sandstorm would merely be superficial.

"Remind us again what's our plan? I'd feel infinitely better going into this thing with a proper plan!" she called out, this time to Katsuo and Sousuke. She knew... thought (?) that this storm had something to do with the Cabal business and Kaito. But, maybe, just maybe, she wasn't wholly paying attention to the whole politics of it, having been busy tending to patients at the time.

She did remember something about an artifact of some sort.|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Marked for Training on Mon Feb 23, 2015 4:05 am with 386 words
  
  Summary:
  
  Leaving the other three to use barrier jutsus? Crystalline Passage, Barrier, Nature's Guard, etc.
  Used Skeletal Fortification on self and on Makoto because WE DON'T HAVE ARMOUR

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[Mikaboshi]

The wind was ferocious as they came to the outskirts of the Maelstrom proper. He could feel sweeping wave after wave of the mineral-based sands crush against him making it hard to move even if the particles could not truly penetrate deep into his body yet. Still, even his armor would not last long against this sort of assault. But even with that thought present in his mind, Katsuo could not help but stand a little taken aback by the experience of witnessing the Maelstrom. He'd never attempted to venture into it before -- he knew full well what happened to those that did -- but he'd seen it before. Still, the sight never got less impressive. Massive funnels of swirling diamond sands raged at impossible speeds and the sun was totally hidden by clouds of dust and minerals.

It looked like the end of the world.

Compounding that was the dread he felt in each gust of the wind. He could not place it for certain but there was a... malevolence that was carried through the air here and in the growling winds. A nameless anger raged at the heart of the storm and it carried along the winds like the sound of someone's voice even though it carried no words. Perhaps for a normal man such an eeriness might have taken his heart and stolen his courage from him. The idea that such a construct as the Diamond Maelstrom could hate was terrifying in it's own right and was something on such a scale that most men and women would never even dream of facing up to it but it only made Katsuo want to advance further and find the source of it. Turning his head to look at Nanami as she joked about the absurdity of his attire, Katsuo smiled within his helmet at the continuation of her good spirits. It meant that the menace being carried along by the zephyrs of the storm was not getting to her either and that was a good thing. The last thing they needed to be preoccupied with was trying to help one of their teammates overcome trepidation towards the mission.

"We need to make it to the eye of the storm as quickly as possible! We won't last long out here!" Shouted Katsuo to raise his voice above the raging wind that whirled around them. "Move fast but keep an eye on each other, if you get lost out here we might not be able to find you again!"

The danger presented by the minerals blowing in the wind not-withstanding, the Maelstrom was dangerous for another reason entirely. With their limited visibility and communication in combination with the ever-changing surroundings thanks to the constantly blowing winds, if they got separated there would be little to no hope of rejoining back together. Their best course of action was to forge ahead as quickly as possible and get to the center of the storm before the devouring sands being blown in the wind ground them down. Still... perhaps there was something that he could do to make that easier. A flash of gold within his helmet would show just barely beneath the black visor of the helmet as two points of light as Katsuo's senses entered the atmosphere around them and willed the winds to come to a halt. He doubted that it would be that easy but perhaps he could put enough of an effort into it to drain some of the power out of the gusting winds as they moved.

"Alright folks, let's mosey!" He called excitedly, waving for them to get ready to move.

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

The Diamond Maelstrom.

A colourful name, for such a bleak place. A pretty name, for such a dreary place. A severe underestimation of the actual reality of the storm, not that 'Storm of Hellacious Desert Sands and Winds' was a name anyone would ever use for anything.

Makoto had never in his life been so glad to not be the only one on a mission. This seemed like a task worthy of a team--one that would definitely require the efforts of more than any one ninja. Even the strongest, cleverest shinobi ever to live would likely been unable to do anything.

Not to mention that he couldn't shake the feeling something was watching them. His sixth sense kept twinging, telling him there was some kind of hostile out there. Well, he'd already stopped sparing any concentration on repressing his Pressure aura, and silently named the three others with him as not to be affected by it. If there was any intelligence out there, a living thing controlling or influencing the Maelstrom, it would find it perhaps just a touch harder to do so.

He kept tilting his parasol in the direction that felt like where the strongest winds were coming from at any given moment, but all the same he was glad for his goggles and scarf, not to mention the breather Sousuke had lent him and the kerchief he'd brought to cover his mouth. The parasol only blocked some of the sand from him, and while his clothes held up find, the parts of his face and neck that weren't covered were taking a bit of a beating. The sheer strength of the wind might even have been enough to bruise through his clothes, by the feel of it.

In addition to that, and the fact it blotted out the sky, it was so loud it was difficult to hear yourself think.

He'd thought it possibly before entering, but he really, really thought this was not solely a natural phenomenon now. Certainly conditions of this level of oppressiveness could, potentially, form on their own. But somehow, it was a little too much. Whatever force was behind the current state of the Maelstrom had overdone it a little bit too much to be believable as an entirely natural phenomenon, especially with it running constantly. A literally endless sandstorm that just so happened to also be terrible and discourage travelers around a ninja village, just so happened to have such conditions as to even be troublesome to ninja who lived in said village presumably their whole lives? No.

Plus there was that whole 'I feel like I'm being watched' sensation, which he couldn't discount.

Nanami was trailing a bit behind them though, slightly sheltered by the three of them, particularly when has parasol happened to line up of an angle with her. Maybe she wasn't a local, after all.

Hired medic, maybe? She may have had contracts with them before. Certainly, if I were in Sand's place I'd hire additional medical personnel. Of course, the only medical personnel he knew from back home would've been completely useless in this situation.

Nanami clearly wasn't. She stepped up and tapped him with some kind of protective medical jutsu. He inclined his head in thanks, assuming it would buffer him slightly against the storm. Given as the two of them both lacked armor like the others had, it made sense.

"I don't imagine armour would help us much without also learning how to move in it in conditions like this," he said, disliking that he had to raise his voice to be heard. Makoto was not a loud person by nature, certainly.

Ah, yes, the plan. Presumably, there was one? There had to be one, why else would they be out there?

He looked over to their two armored companions. Did either Katsuo or Sousuke know what they were doing out there? It only made sense the Sand nin accompanying them did. He was apparently the only one going into this completely cold. Good thing he wasn't an idiot, then.

And Katsuo did, at least. The eye of the storm?

"Do we know where the eye of the storm is, exactly?" he called back. "I don't suppose you brought a map of some kind?" He had to squint to see most things properly, but each of his companions was in visual range, at least. If he tilted his head up and angled his parasol away he could see other structures off to the side.

Getting lost was not on the agenda, though.

Protective measures, that was one thing he could do. His Pressure aura was relatively effortless, and if there was a force behind the storm it would be feeling it, but it wasn't exactly a protective measure.

There was something else he could do, though. Something fortunately low-cost enough that even if he needed his chakra for combat when they were through, would possibly be able to mitigate some of the damage from sand and winds.

His free hand darted in a sequence of seals he had used many times before, a multipurpose jutsu that could be used to protect or attack. Most people cast it in a diamond shape, but as it was a non-elemental jutsu, Makoto had enough skill with it to modify the shape into something else. This time, he used hexagons, to cover as much space as he could with them and, if necessary, bring them together into a pattern easily to block a sudden blow. There were four, too, so he could throw one hexagon of protection to rotate around each of his teammates without hindering their steps, which he did. They glimmered softly with their own bluish light, each of them just over six feet tall. That was more than enough height for himself and Nanami, and would have to do for Katsuo and Sousuke, as he couldn't make them any larger.

"You mentioned protective barriers, Sousuke-san," he called over the winds. "If you have another to cover us all, I'd suggest now being the time to use it!"

The hexagons were, after all, only about as effective as his parasol, couldn't cover all sides at a time, and would likely break after not long. Between his own shield and his parasol, he was probably nearly as defended as armor would have done, though...

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Sousuke was used to this for the most part. After all he had collapsed several times out in the surrounding areas. He was very thankful his armour had not given out. He was used to travelling in the storm. This particular instance of storm travel was fifteen percent more difficult. His eyes beneath the helmet constantly shifted lenses. He was trying to detect a genjutsu at work. Who knew what terrors lurked out here. Nanami joked about the armour being the norm out here. "If you commission a suit, I would make you one ... with a significant price reduction if not free given your assistance from earlier he answered."<i></i> Sousuke didn't know she was joking of course. The Steward was still a stranger to emotions considering he had recently acquired them. He couldn't tell if a person was being serious or silly. She had inquired what the plan was, and Katuso readily answered her.

"Do not remove your breathers."<i></i> He warned. "Diamond sand in the lungs is ... well a problem. I'm speaking from experience, and corruption from it is very painful. It may cause a cease function."<i></i> He tried explaining, hopefully he hasn't lost his allies somewhere in his speak. Makoto inquired as to where the eye of the storm was. "Northwest of Deadlines. We passed by that large black monolith with the middle cut out of it. That is Deadlines where the Kirishii reside. The worse the storm gets, the closer to the eye we're getting to it."<i></i> Sousuke answered. It was a grim answer, but it was an answer. The best one he could offer. "Is your parasol made out of titanium? I'm surprised it has lasted this long."<i></i>

As they continued to trekk forward Makoto had used a jutsu to begin forming a barrier. He has requested Sousuke to assist him. The Steward complied. He formed his own hand seals and large wall of earth formed. A flame shield wouldn't be quite useful in this situation. The white barrier would also be ... somewhat problematic as that was a station one. This would have to do for now. The Steward began to fashion the wall into an arrow shape. He began to push the blockade forward. The Steward had cut out a part of it to form a peek hole of sorts to see where he was going. Sand was pouring through the hole, but Sousuke blasted it with a stream of plasma to form a sort of glass widow. "Close formation. If you wish to use those barriers and form a roof, I think we'll be in a good position here."<i></i> He would continue to push forward and thus shield his allies from a forward blast.

 

[Michi]

The devastating sands pounded against the quartet's armor and clothed flesh. Crevices and folds filled to the brim with sharp shards of diamond sand, some crept inside, forcing its way in through cuffs and collars, under and around scarves. These razor-like granules sliced into tender flesh attempting to bleed Nanami and Makoto dry. But the hard stones that were hurled through the air that crashed into limbs and ribs that should have broken their bones only met with failure thanks to Nanami's skeletal fortification. It did not protect them from blood losses but it kept their structure intact as the storm became increasingly more violent as they continued their travels towards the epicenter of the storm.

The armor that Sousuke and Katsuo bore, slowed their gait to an arduous trudge. The armored faces pocked with where debris had smashed into them, protecting them thus far from the ravages of the storm. Sand, however was filling the gaps between metallic plates and had started to fill the distal points of their armor. Adding weight to their likely already substantially heavy suits they bore to brave the maelstrom, ultimately slowing their gate. Katsuo's hands snapped through an array of seals, casting a powerful wind ninjutsu (AOE A Rank). A powerful blast of wind emanated from Katsuo, temporarily stifling the storm. The black walls of the sandstorm surrounded them still, like endless black walls that cut into the heavens. The sky immediately overhead as a brilliant robin-egg blue and the ground a glimmering gold and almost glass-like hue. The ground, rippled like a seabed floor, disturbed now only by the trudging footprints of our adventurers.

Katsuo's wind had a limited breadth, something that end when they traveled outside the perimeter of his control. It would appear that Makoto was prepared for such an eventuality as he cast Chakra Shield to protect himself and his allies. They had to move quickly through the storm, and unlike a power ninjutsu to sate the storm within a limited boundary the hexagonal shields offered a wall-like barrier on one side of each traveler. It was enough to deflect a rock, a torrent of sand that might have choked them if it crept past their breathers, scarves or armors. As they moved through the invisible barrier of rushing wind and back into the storm the wrath of the storm would seem even more powerful. Those with a sixth sense might even feel a sense of lingering death and rage in these screaming winds and begged them to turn back. The winds themselves enough to knock lesser men and women to the ground, and even most shinobi. It was not their physical strength and fortitude alone that sustained them but the shield that 'protected' them from the maelstrom did more. It diverted some of the storm's strength head-on allowing them, this unlikely ban of mercenaries and shinobi to travel hindered still but able to move forward with less delay. Unfortunately, Makoto's parasol did not fare as well as the armor or as the jutsus they had performed, the winds threatened to bend the parasol inside out or fold it onto itself as it tried to save itself - the hell with its wielder.

Sousuke attempted to gaze into the storm, all he would see is the literal swirling vortex of earth and wind. There was no genjutsu at work that he could discern. The Steward erected a massive wall in front of him, The kind of wall that would take a large portion of his chakra to create but it would effectively prevent the onslaught from the front. The wind came from every which direction, this included from behind but by cutting off the current of the storm the force of the gale was greatly diminished. The glass made from plasma-melted sand was a temporary fix as it broke after several moments of concentrated force barraging the window until it shattered. The sand poured inside like a gushing river.

They were getting closer, in fact they were almost there...

What happened?

• Nanami's skeletal fortification prevented Makoto and Nanami's bones from being broken by rouge flying debris. (I did not expect you to get that, nice.)
• Sousuke and Katsuo's armor protected their bones from being reduced to powder but they will not last for long.
• Katuso's wind jutsu (considered to be an AOE A Rank) temporarily subdued the storm in a stationary area. The storm resumed once they stepped past the perimeter of his technique.
• Makoto's chakra shields did not necessarily protect the circumferential winds BUT it helped the travelers push forward when they would have been otherwise delayed as the winds grew stronger and it was harder to travel. (-1 round to reach the destination).
• Makoto's sixth sense feels that there is death and rage associated with the wind.
• Sousuke cannot sense any genjutsu in the storm (because there is none).
• Sousuke errects a massive moving wall to push through the storm. It helps protect the crew but it comes at a great cost to his chakra (15% max CP per round). While some of the winds break through on the other side, it is nothing more than a powerful breeze at this time. The 'glass window' is broken.

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[Akako]

[col]Nanami could not feel the dread, the fear that exuded from the storm. Perhaps, had this happen a few months ago, she would have felt it chill her to the bone. But something else horrible ran through her blood, stewed in her soul; something she herself was not aware of.

That's a story for another time though.

All she was worried about was this storm and whatever may lay behind it for purposes of physical wellbeing. "Go forward, get out of this storm. Got it!" That had been a no-brainer. And she felt like an idiot for a split moment for even asking about a plan. Still, questioning gave the dual purpose of making sure the two armoured men were still alive under all those layers of steel.

Sousuke was given a suffering smile in turn, the woman glad to see that he too was still well. Though she had no real plans on commissioning armour of any sort, the notion that her assistance was appreciated was nice enough. Perhaps another favour would be asked of him later, after the mission. The inquisitive mind wanted to know many things, after all.

Closing formation, the doctor gritted her teeth and lifted a hand.

Sand swirled around her fist before turning into a white sphere... a blinking blue eye in the middle. It took even more effort to send it forward, against the wind currents. But she hopes, guided by her chakra, it would give them warning of what lay ahead. "Sending a recon scout. Keep those barriers tight, gentlemen. It'll only get worse before it gets better."
|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• I am awesome
  Lame post is lame though
  
  Summary:
  Used Crystal Eye to scan ahead

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[Mikaboshi]

The winds outside of the makeshift vehicle of walls and protective barriers they'd erected and though he'd managed to stymie the rage of the storm for a short time the maelstrom only pushed back even harder than before following his attempt to halt the winds. The sensation of possessing the storm was totally alien from how it had felt underground. The storm that he'd created underground had been totally within his control and even had felt like an extension of his own body. Each strike of lightning was as easy as throwing a punch. He only had to think of it and instinct took care of the rest. This storm was something wholly different. "Looking" down upon himself and his allies, Katsuo could feel the ominous malfeasance that had assaulted them when they'd first arrived much more acutely than before and that made one thing clear -- the storm was actively working against them. The Maelstrom wasn't simply a construct of the desert gone wild, this was something animated and given a purpose to achieve and it recognized that the group attempting to penetrate it's walls of wind and minerals were there to interfere with that purpose.

Makoto's words about a map brought Katsuo's senses back to the ground and out of the storm, disorientating Katsuo for a moment as his perspective shifted away from the disassociated way that possessing the storm forced him to perceive things.

"Don't need one!" Katsuo's perspective within the storm allowed him to "feel" the direction that the storm wished to prevent them from going and in that way sense the goal of their expedition. Ultimately if the storm did not want them to be someplace then that place was certainly a place they wanted to go. Kaito had told them that intelligence reports stated that someone or something was controlling the storm at the center of the Maelstrom and it held to reason that if that were the case then the Maelstrom would be doing all that it could to prevent anyone seeking to invade it's perimeter from reaching the staging area where the controlling ritual was being performed. "Complicated to explain, just trust me! Keep pressing on in this direction-- don't let the winds blow us off course!"

Static and lightning gathered around Katsuo's body, zapping and arcing to the air around him as rogue particles of mineral grit managed to breach the protective barriers they'd raised. He was holding a healthy dose of his voltaic chakra at the ready to perform emergency support if the Maelstorm threw anything greater than what it was already attacking with at them. They'd already made it further than any other recorded incursions into the storm had ever managed to venture so at this point it was anyone's best guess at what they might encounter. In the distance they'd witnessed a handful of massive mineral twisters roaming about like colossal beasts with nothing better to do than lumber about and it was foremost in Katsuo's mind what might happen if the Maelstrom -- or whatever was controlling it -- decided to attempt to leverage on of those or something similar against them. He wasn't sure if he could match the storm for raw power but he would certainly give it everything that he could.

[Pressing on to the eye. Preparing to cast Shinra Tensei (Master Rank) using it's Special Action to protect the group should the Maelstorm send anything big and dangerous our way.]

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Don't remove the breathers and inhale clouds of sand and tiny rocks. Got it. Makoto still gave a muffled affirmative to Sousuke. He had the blue kerchief he'd picked up earlier over his mouth, and wasn't about to remove either until they were well clear of the stuff. The eye of the storm might be safe, but then again, if whatever was controlling it was there, the eye of the storm was not necessarily a stable location.

"At least we--general we--know where we're going," he said, loudly enough for everyone to hear. "Not so bad if we're nearly there, though I don't expect it to be nearly so easy as just getting there...everyone should be on their guard just in case. I sense...something, some form of intelligence. And it's angry. I don't think this storm is just a storm of any kind, unless you're used to local storms actually trying to kill people as opposed to incidentally doing it."

He did try a keep in close formation with the others too. Good idea to do in any case, but moreso for keeping them all in the same rough area to conserve chakra on shields.

He shook his parasol out, gave it a look, and sheathed it. "The spokes are titanium, yes, but the fabric is just layered and chakra-enhanced. I'll have to figure out a way to shore it up later; it doesn't like the storm much." So much for 'you're the best one to send to the desert because you have a parasol.'

A flick of his hand sent a barrier each to in front of them and above them respectively, while the other two shifted to rotate around the group as a whole, slightly more rapidly. The one at the front 'skittered' back when he flicked at it again, joining up with the ones from the top.

"Impressive," he said, with a note of surprise. "It looks like we have very little to contend with as far as the sands go--hopefully it doesn't tax you too much to keep that up for a short while longer. Although if you need it when we hit the eye, I have a few energy drinks in my pack."

The shields seemed mostly useful for buffering them against setbacks. Well, he could maintain them without too much cost. Every step he took made him only more certain something was controlling the storm. Surely, if it hadn't been, then Katsuo's technique should have worked for longer? Surely, if it was just a natural weather pattern, it wouldn't sound like the damned were shrieking at him through his sixth sense, sending chills up and down his spine?

A scout? He glanced over at Nanami in time to see her send a Crystal Eye zipping forward. Hopefully it wouldn't be obliterated the second it left their makeshift shelter. Not a bad idea. Hope she finds something. Oh! Maybe it's some kind of towering abomination with a gigantic sword! He barely noted one of his barriers 'dodging' the eye as it zipped forward. Naturally Non-Elemental jutsu took little to no effort for him to maintain and direct; it was almost reflexive.

"Keeping the winds from slowing us down appears to be why I'm here," Makoto said lightly in response to Katsuo. Had he been doing more than just channeling wind...? Couldn't hurt to ask. "Is there something specific we should be worried about? I'm only getting formless malevolence for now. Although it is getting stronger."

Couldn't hurt to try something, in any case. Maybe none of the others were trained as wardens--or, as they were known in villages he'd heard, ANBU--so he would be the only one who could do this. Besides, he didn't know if any of the others could feel what he could, so he was the only one who might have enough to get a fix anyway.

He reached out with his chakra senses, probing for the source of the anger to see if he could determine anything about it. If it sensed his probing and that made things more dangerous or it could directly attack him through that he'd break it off immediately, but gathering intelligence on an enemy they'd likely be facing soon was worth the slight risk of that in his estimate. If he could determine its form, its exact location, or anything of its powers and on what level they would have to overcome it to quell the storm, that could only be helpful.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

Katuso had travelled to places Sousuke only read about. Truthfully the Steward had never left his home land. He had never seen an ocean before. He had never seen the great woodlands of the world and those who lived in those great trees. In truth the Steward sometimes wondered if those parts of the world suffered their own ... geographic problems. Who knew? Maybe there was a leafstorm that caused intense paper cuts, or maybe people got drowned out by the rain. Sousuke's mind snapped back to his current task. Pushing forward the great earthen wall. In truth he never had stopped, his mind wandered while he was doing his task. What really caused his mind to snap back was the fact the glass broke. "Blast."<i></i> He thought to reform the window, but that was would be insanity. Doing the same thing again, and expecting a different result. That was insanity at its basest form. "Apologies. I thought diamond glass could withstand this wing, but apparently not."<i></i> His line of vision was being compromised, but he merely had to keep going forward with the wall. Nanami sent forward a scout. "Sand is compromising my field of vision. No genjutsus detected. Certainly not a mirage ... that I can tell."<i></i>

As Sousuke continued to push on, Makoto detailed him about his parasol. "Fascinating."<i></i> He was somewhat joking about the titanium bit, but apparently it was true, either that or Makoto was being sarcastic. Sousuke was a stranger to sarcasm. Makoto seemed to be surprised by his conjuring of the earth barrier. "I may need to take you up on that offer. Not that I'm tiring out just yet. You have my future-appreciation."<i></i> The party seemed to be detecting a sort of malevolence out of this storm. There were things that unnerved the Steward, but his sense for this was weaker than the rest of the party. Sometimes he got a feeling that something wrong was coming forward, but there were those that could sense this much quicker than he could. "Formless malevolence?"<i></i> He inquired. Formless, as it not physical? Spiritual? The Steward pushed his wall forward all the time still. Makoto made an inquiry "There have been ... strange creatures on the surface that have preyed upon the Kirishii, but you said that it was formless. These things had a form. Wait ... would you kindly elaborate on the formlessness of it? That's ... fascinating really. Does it make a mental picture in your head, or does it merely just ... leave an emotional imprint?"<i></i> Sousuke was very much a man of science. Things that were not explained easily, or were outside of his range of expertise fascinated him.

 

[Michi]

​

The massive wall manufactured by the Steward Kazekage crept onward to the genesis point of the maelstrom. A fearsome state, the howl and the wrath, how it clawed and screamed at their door. As they moved onward, the storm became more circumferential but the gust that trickled from the posterior was a pittance to contend with in comparison to what they would have faced head on. That is except for the blast of sand and wind that shot through the 'window' like a pressurized water-gun with a constant stream.

An eye was formed and it scouted ahead...

It was an arduous trek for the tiny crystalline sphere, through the maelstrom. With each step, the winds blew harder as if they were trying to expel the diminutive bit of spyware. But it would not be deterred, to the heart of the twisting nether the scout went. Where sand, wind and ...rain and storm could be found? It was an extraordinary sight, the diamond sands glistened like priceless jewels, entwined with water and arching currents of raw energy. The golden sands crackled and became like glass, the diamond-like shards were formed here in this monsoon. The arid expanse at this threshold, saturated with rivulets of murky waters. The air was wet and thick, hot and musky, vision started to cloud over, but not before it got sight of the calm. Beyond a wall of pure storm-force was a placid field of dry, dusty earth dotted with wilted desert-life. A massive stone formation in the center - a single stone in fact cracked down the center. From the core, a torrent of energy that was seemingly expelled into the wicked heavens. The churning dark clouds covered the celestial space, highlighted by electrical discharge. But that was all that Nanami's eye could see, that was all it could withstand. A bolt of lightning sizzled as it struck the crystal-like scout, but it merely cracked the dedicated eye. A forceful push from an unseen but felt gravitational force hurled the eye back and it landed deep in the muddy sand.

Coiling arcs of electricity zapped Static and lightning gathered around Katsuo's body, zapping at errant granules leaving behind crystal-like gems in his wake. The storm was wild, and uncanny, almost thrashing against this intrusion.

A funnel of water, more like a torrent whip, black from earth and debris shot through the undulating veil. It drilled into Sousuke's earthen wall, causing the facade to crack and break away. The force of the water-drill had dissipated by the time it broke through the wall. The earthen facade shattered and was taken by the wind, Sousuke's wall armed the storm. A hunk of stone was headed straight for Nanami, perhaps it was a conscious consequence for impeding on the storm's private domain. Before the stone met with the woman's glasses, Katsuo's quick-thinking and preparedness allowed him to alter the gravitational pull for merely a moment. It was not long, but it was sufficient as the hunk of compressed earth veered off course despite the violent strength of the wind and crashed directly in front of Sousuke. Burying itself half-way into the earth and still exceeding the Steward's height. That was a close one. The remaining three circled around, and tried to strike the men in the group from behind. Makoto's chakra shields were put to use as all three of the the hexagonal barriers swayed in front of the onslaught. In a burst of chakra, all three dissipated taking with it a majority of the kinetic force. If these three were normal men, they never would have made it this far into the maelstrom but they also would not have been able to avoid the 'attack.'

Makoto used his chakra sense about to delve further into the storm. To understand perhaps the source of this mayhem. There was something there, he was cognizant but his mind was a blur. Hands were moving in a rhythmic pattern, slow and purposeful. He was alone. Rain and electricity and wind danced around him, in candidacy with an unsung song. While there was rage on his face, his eyes were dead. Perhaps his mind eye could not see but it could know, not the passing images of a man but a sense of emptiness... of kinship with the storm... of pride and betrayal... It was strange how this state was constant, this isolationism. There was no spike in his chakra expenditures despite these purposeful attacks, only a simple order to retreat now. If Makoto tried hard enough, he would sense him at the heart of the stone formation. He would know that he had not move, is not moving and will probably not move from that very spot.

Once they reached the 'eye,' just as Nanami's crystal eye had warned. It was wet, and humid. The moist, hot air pervaded the layers of cloth that the foreigners wore and even crept beneath the armor that the Sunan locals bore. The wind was harder here still. A wall of lightning seemed to block their path and they felt that they were being pushed back, but not by the brutal winds but rather by a literal gravitational force. It was pushing them back, back in the direction they came. The deafening roar of the storm would make it hard, but not impossible to communicate. Suddenly, it was as if something grabbed a hold of you and tried to toss you aside or rather into each other!










What Happened?<i></i>

• Nanami's crystal eye looked up ahead and saw the center of the storm. It was calm there, but this storm was made up of more than wind and earth.
• A water drill-like attack broke Sousuke's wall, causing the wall to fragment into 4 pieces: 1 was aimed directly at Nanami but she was protected by Katsuo's Shinra Tensei, the others attacked Sousuke, Katsuo and Makoto in a round-about way and they were protected by Makoto's chakra shields.
• Makoto's chakra shield on Nanami remains up, they never had the chance to try to protect Nanami from the water-drill, but it did protect Sousuke, Katsuo and Mokoto from being struck.
• Sousuke's wall persisted for only part of the 'round,' max CP losses reduced to 10% for this round.
• Some storm damages were taken for part of the round (5% max) because the wall was broken part-way through.
• Makoto senses something strange at the epicenter of the storm - a mixture of emotions coupled with an utter (not metaphorical) emptiness. The source is located at the very center of the rock formation and he is not moving from that spot.

What is About to Happen?

• You have reached the eye of the storm.
• It is raining.
• There is lightning.
• There are harsh winds.
• Sand, earth and debris can and will be used as projectiles.
• There is a literal gravitational force (as warned by Kaito IC) that is pulling you back (literally) from this point.
• Find a way to overcome the gravitational pull to enter the storm.
• There is a lightning barrier that you will have to cross to enter the placid center of the eye - this wall is very damaging. Try to mitigate this damage somehow or prepare to heal yourselves/eachother if you just barrel through it.
• The storm is going to attempt to 'pick-up' each of you and chuck you at headteacher as a make-shift projectile.

<i></i>

 

[Mikaboshi]

Gilded light poured forth from Katsuo to suffuse the intrepid group in preparation for an incoming attack as the storm roared in defiance of their progress and smashed through the wall that Sousuke had erected. Though the serpent-like tendril of water managed to slip past his attention, Katsuo's light formed together quickly enough to shield Nanami from a massive colossal rock sent catapulting towards her head. Pooling the gathered magnetic chakra that he'd been preparing, Katsuo thrust his hand forward in the form of a concentrated fist and his manifested chakra aura did the rest of the work by transforming itself into the form of a huge gauntleted fist that smashed into the missile sent towards the group and sent it careening off course to land harmlessly near Sousuke. It looked like he was right about the violent nature of the storm -- it was not going to pull it's punches any longer. A rock of that size would have easily caused one of them serious injury if not incapacitated them entirely even if it had hit one of the two armored Sand-nin. Makoto's chakra shields did the rest of the heavy lifting by protecting the group from the remaining onslaught long enough for them to push through into the eye of the storm... where things managed to get even weirder.

"It's... raining?"

Not a deluge by any means but it went without saying that it was bizarre enough for it to be raining at all this season in the middle of the desert and most certainly at the center of a sandstorm. Unfortunately there was no time to marvel at the wonder of nature that they were witnessing before them for just as soon as they managed to pierce through the walls of mineral sands being blown by the winds those very winds redoubled their attack and assaulted the group harder than ever... but that wasn't even the worst part about it. Energy sparked like no natural phenomena that Katsuo had ever seen or heard of, forming itself into a literal wall of crackling lightning and electricity that pushed against them with it's own gravitational field. For anyone else, this would have been a problem but this is why Katsuo had come. In his mind's eye, Katsuo could see the motions that the spark of Primus was pushing his instincts in the direction of. Sweeping hand motions, graceful movements. It would take the external force of the energy and concentrate it -- use it.

[SCENE BGM]

Planting his feet into the sand, Katsuo placed both of his hands out in front of him as if reaching for a distant object and willed his body to accept as much of the energy flowing around him as he could. The natural white-blue of the storm's lightning phenomena mixed together with Katsuo's own brand of bright gold lightning in a brilliant light-show even despite the shining sun overhead. Feeling the lightning chakra coursing through his body, Katsuo brought his arms back while cupping his hands together to contain the power he'd gathered while he prepared his next move and took a deep breath. Exhaling as he flung his arms wide around him and expelled the chakra that he'd gathered and combined with his own magnetic energy, Katsuo reflexively let out a loud shout to help cope with the great pain he was feeling from having taken in so much external chakra. It hurt so much that it felt like his arms were being torn from his body but if his gambit paid off they'd be home free. He planned to take control of the gravitational forces around them and cancel out the effect that was pushing against them. Even though he'd never wielded the technique before in his life, he had faith in the intuition provided to him by the spark of Primus. It had yet to steer him wrong anyplace else and now was not the time to begin doubting his ancestor's nor his own instinct for battle. If he succeeded in taking control of the area's gravitational forces, it would prevent the storm from leveraging them against the group and they could focus on a way to get around the huge barrier of living lightning that seemed to stand in their way.

[Casting Gravity Distortion to bend the area's gravitational forces to my will and prevent the storm from using them against us. If the storm attempts to pick me up, use Anti-Gravity (or Gravitational Pull if it's one of the others) to prevent being thrown around.]

 

[Akako]

[col]What the eye saw inside the... well, eye of the storm left Nanami flummoxed. A whole other storm raged and a great electric barrier at the very centre and only confirmed what they already knew. This was not nature's work. It distracted her for a beat or two. Especially when she could see, feel as her creation was killed, toss aside like useless junk. And distractions were rather deadly.

Had she been alone on this venture, she might have been incapacitated then and there, left buried alive by the sands. She barely had time to blink as a stone ricocheted toward her like a bullet, right between the eyes. Getting blinded by the broken glasses of her spectacles would have been the least of her worries, had it hit. Thankfully, she was not, due to Katsuo's quick reflexes.

It did not stop there though as a torrent of water tried to drill through her. It was Makoto's shields this time that would save her.

The conclusion came quick.

This storm, rather whoever was behind it, was trying to kill them and it was trying to start with her first. That pissed her off. Royally. And the doctor was often one with a great deal of patience and a temper that often only came to simmer, at most. Never boil. But, oh, how she boiled right now.

Her anger was momentarily forgotten however. There was no time, as one thing happened after the other. First the stone and then the water. And now, she found herself nearly weightless. Not exactly floating. But leaning towards being flung around like a rag doll. It did not help at all as the winds caught at her, the hurricane like speeds lifting her a fair distance off the ground... Of course, ground levels did not necessarily insist when the desert landscaped changed like waves due to the sandstorm.

Katsuo's gravitation technique didn't quite kick right away. The delay was long enough that the good doctor was several feet back and off the ground, flailing. In her panic, in her admitted inexperience compared to the real shinobi, she lashed out. Her shadow expanded and distorted, tendrils of darkness reaching out towards the others with haste. That did more harm than good, at the moment, as it sped up how the others were dragged back.

She never liked being helpless. Not one bit! And to be rendered as such by an unseen opponent made her teeth ache.

When the gravitational distortion cancelled out though, her blind panic subsided momentarily. Enough to realize crashing down to the ground would be very, very painful with the still windy environmental conditions.

Stupid. Stupid!

They'd fall to the unforgiving sands, battered by the storm or struck by the lightning because of her. Because of her and this would be all for nothing, just because she fucking panicked.

She had to rectify that.

Time seemed to slow down as her mind got working.

Even though she was only part Nara, she had certainly gained their renown intellect and analytic abilities. Her brain worked on all cylinders, firing one possibility, cause and effect, one after the other at dizzying rates. She dismissed them at the same rate as well, the moment she saw a flaw.

「 Think, Mizushima, think. Think fast or there won't even be enough left of you for them to get DNA identification from. Think-」

「 Cell nucleus.
Nucleus.
Nucleation.
Crystals.
Crystal.
Sand.
Lightning.
Glass.
Shelter.
Insulator!」​

As unorthodox, as strange how her mind worked... she had her methods. She silently thanked her (un)lucky stars at the horrifying amount of general text she had read in her spare time, filing away such knowledge. She'd never thought she'd put them to practical use, of course. "Hold on, you three! Trust me!" she roared, pulling them towards her. On purpose this time. It left them vulnerable for a few moments. Hopefully, Makoto's shields would hold long enough. She'll handle their ire later.

But she focused, the roar of the storm fading to a small whisper in her ears and everything blotted out, washed in bright light as she looked straight at the electric barrier.

Focus.

She had been thought to control. Chakra was nothing more than a medium, the fuel. She repeated the process of making the Crystal Eye like before. But this time, in a grand scale, letting her chakra trap the sand that swirled around them. It was easy enough, with how much of the stuff there was. The idea now was to let it flow tightly around them like a... tunnel.

So as lightning struck... or tried to, at least, it hit the sand. One thousand eight hundred degrees Celsius and chakra in place of silica, bonded and formed the flimsy structure into a glass tube. It was a Crystalline Passage (though a Fulgurite Slide would have been more accurate), to protect them from the raging storm and the lightning. "Into the tunnel! We'll be safe from the storms in there!"

Although, due to her hasty creation, the tunnel came out to be more of a slide rather than a proper tunnel. A slide that shrunk and grew, following Nanami's movements with her limited range and focus, so staying close to her was a definite must as she tried to steer them through the electric barrier in their transport and shelter. Hopefully, as it lead underground, it would lead them safely to the other side of the glorified electrical fence.|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• Poor Wheatley.
  
  Summary:
  
  Nanami panicked and pulled the others backwards and upwards (a bit) using Nara's Shadow Constriction. (Much apologizing necessary later)
  
  Used Nara's Shadow Constriction to make shadow-tentacles-thing and herd the others towards Nanami to make sure they go into the Crystalline Passage.
  
  Used Crystalline Passage to make a glass tunnel-slide-thing through the lightning barrier because glass is an insulator! And because slides are fun! You cannot dissuade me from this! Edited to make it go underground a bit, only to surface on the safe side (hopefully).
  
  Fun round. Hope you guys don't mind Nanami's little panic attack and subsequent actions. Otherwise, I can edit it. I'm so happy when science works well with what I had in mind though.
  
  Edited: I derped for a moment there and thought we were being flung upwards (since gravity is upwards, downwards, pull, etc.)

[/legend]<FONTFACE fontface="monospace">[/col]

 

[Shiruko Makoto]

Well, it could be a lot worse...

"Yes," Makoto answered absently, focusing on his scrying for the controller of the storm. "Emotional imprints. I'm picking it up with my sixth sense. I'm currently trying to see further for the source of it, but I feel like it's safe to say there's an intelligent being behind this, and anything any of us might sense in the storm comes from that. Whether it has a solid form or not is also something I'm trying to determine right now."

Human or no, plus whatever weaknesses it had...that was what he wanted to know.

He flinched as three of the four chakra shields broke, but they had served their purpose while doing so. He hadn't expected them to last nearly as long as they had anyway. The one covering Nanami still hovered around her and, with a second's thought, he decided to leave it be. She was probably the most fragile of the four of them anyway.

Now I've got you.

There was a mind in the Maelstrom's center, to be sure. An unusual one--it was as if the man there had put all of his thoughts and will into the storm itself, which explained the strange reactions of it. The storm was, in effect, alive, and not of itself entirely. Somehow, this man had bonded completely with the storm and devoted himself to it.

The 'why' didn't concern him, just that they now knew their enemy.

"I was right." There was a slight echo of triumph in his voice. He blinked once and dropped the sensing. "There is an intellect in the storm...at the true center, there is a man. He's controlling it, but he doesn't seem to be entirely mentally or emotionally present. It's as if he's put almost all of his being into the storm, and his body is simply the focus, the vessel. In effect, you might say that he is the storm, now--but at one point, he appears to have been human. He's now the avatar of the storm and, well...we'll undoubtedly have to defeat him to end this." He the frowned lightly. "It's strange, though...he is so in tune with the storm he has no sense of self, and actual attacks directed at us cost him no more chakra than the control itself...the area around him is completely empty."

Breaking through the harsh wind of the storm to the humid wet was like a breath of fresh air.

Practically like home, he thought, suppressing an uncharacteristic grin.

Makoto's clothing was, of course, made for Moon Country--an area a lot more humid than Sand natives would be used to, given that the town he'd grown up in was immediately on the ocean. It could take an awful lot of humid, and so could he. It was still somewhat unbearable, but he was undoubtedly better off than the others.

"I'd pull out my parasol but the wind is probably a touch too harsh for that still," he said mildly. "It's a good thing we're likely to be out of the rain soon..."

The intense gravity field in front of them seemed to have a number of solutions even at first glance. He might be able to negate a part of it, or create a force of wind strong enough to pass through, or just plain make them light enough. If the others were capable of it, they could likely even all pass safely under the ground.

Although it seemed like Katsuo had that one well in hand, Makoto quietly readied himself to whip up his own storm of winds, the gale force of which ought to be able to get them through at least the gravity field and quite possibly the lightning barrier beyond. He ought to be able to quell any damaging effects for the time he would need to maintain it to get them to the true eye. But that was only if Katsuo failed in...whatever it was he was doing.

Which was, apparently, taking on the gravity field on its own terms. Well all right then. That left him to handle the winds that kept trying to pick them up...

Fight wind with wind, then. Something fast, at that.

Okay. What he needed was a pulse of wind to shield them from getting picked up...a buffer of their own.

Although it was usually used to cover one person, it could still be flung outward like a burst, and if he put enough force into it, it could stop them from being flung around like ragdolls until they could break through the barriers.

...or apparently, head under them. He only glanced back to maneuver the last remaining shield into place behind them to block any other projectiles flung by the 'storm' from hitting them from that direction before they could finish filing into the tunnel.

Slide.

Thing.

Whatever.

[Using the Special Action of Whirlwind Spin reflexively against the wind trying to pick us up. The above Hurricane action only kicks in if Katsuo's gravity manipulations fail.]

 

[Takahashi Aki]

His wall had been broken, but by a water drill? How could water be out in these conditions? How could it form so quickly and spear his wall into fragments? The Steward's mind swapped about as he tried to figure this out in his head. This was absurd. Sousuke was protected by Makoto's shield. More importantly he was now airborn. He was being hurled. It took a moment for Sousuke to have this register in his mind due to the already strange circumstances he was being affected by. It stood to simple truth. Kaito was not lying.

Lighting wall. Raining. Falling. The last of those were being fixed as Nanami caught him with a shadow tendril. The tendril wrapped around his ankle mechanisms and locked it. Sousuke felt himself being dragged forward. Katuso was working on his own counter to the magnetism. Sousuke as he drew closer saw Nanami construct a giant crystal construct. Makoto was working on his own counter. There was the lightning wall that had to be dealt with. Presupposing it was natural lightning... which it might not be. Sousuke would have to test that next. Passing through that lightning wall would hurt, but perhaps it was possible to have to focus on something else. Something ... metal. Sousuke's gaze shifted to the a focal point in the wall. He was going to force the wall to answer to him. Well not him directly, but his technique. Sousuke formed hand seals. He began construction of Rock Golem near the lightning wall. The Rock Golem upon construction would then appear to start armouring it. Metal plates began to creep up upon the created entity. Hopefully the Golem could withstand for some small amount of time what he had in mind. The now metal golem would run itself into the wall. The Steward wanted to explore two subjects of interest here. The first being that the lightning wall was natural. The second being that... the lightning wall would react to a lightning rod being his construct, thirdly to draw attention away from the crystalline construct Nanami invented. Theoretically his metallic golem should be acting like a human hand swatting at a wasp's nest. In turn the wasps should be focusing their attention at the human hand batting it. Then to follow up, Sousuke would metallic missiles at the lightning wall at a high point to further attempt to distract it. Given the magentism present, the missile would not land at its original intended point, it would be something alot lower.

By this time Sousuke had now found himself sliding down a colourful tunnel. Sparks flew as his armoured frame met the slide with friction. Hopefully he was the first one down this ride as if he landed on someone ... they would be ... well his armour did have some significant weight. As he made his way down the slide, he heard Makoto speak of who was controlling the storm. A man. Perfectly intune with the storm. "Fascinating."<i></i> Sousuke paused. Who could have this been? It could not be Daisuke. He was presumed dead for ... twenty years? He was given a vacant body funeral. Did Daisuke have any children? It was a possibility, given the fact that Katuso was present. Depending upon the spouse that child could have gained additional power sets. Prominent bloodlines married into other bloodlines of power. Given the gravitational control ... the lightning, the rain. This person maybe was not Daisuke's child? A grandchild perhaps? Maybe it was the child of a Sunahoshi prior to Daisuke and Hiro? That adult could have had a relationship with another and thus that child would have multiple power sets, and then went and that child had a son which is what was before them now? Most unlikely, but ... possible? "Defeating yes. Killing said individual would not be in our interest, should we wish to contain such a threat in the future."<i></i> Sousuke thought out loud. "I've considered it better to have an answer to cataclysmic entities through using what we can't understand initially ... with future knowledge to be gained."<i></i>

[Creating a rock golem. Then converting it to a metallic golem using the Iron Will passive to turn it into a metal golem to have it act as a lightning rod to the storm wall, then as back up I'm throwing a steel slam at the storm to further draw its attention, or at least hope to]

 

[Michi]

​

Makoto had determined the true face of the storm. At the epicenter there was a man, he would not know who. That would be impossible for anyone to know, this man was assumed dead decades ago. Sunahoshi Daisuke disappeared during the plaguewars that ravaged the populus of Wind Country and terminated his family line. He was declared dead after never returning. Then the storms came, supporting this hypothesis. The Sunahoshi clan, the progeny of Primus, the posthumously decreed One King, all of which blessed with the power over the diamond sands. A phenomena those gathered here are now witnesses to. The crystalline sands glimmered her at this nexus of sand and storm. If it was not for the fact that their lives were in peril, the awesome natural phenomena before them would be awe-inspiring. Waters and biting winds coupled with the weight of gravity may push them back into the storm, further away from this mysterious threat.

The good doctor was knocked aback by the powerful spate of gravitational forces. From her a series of cirrus-like shadows shot out from her and attempted to coil around her allies. She was taken aback, perhaps not as far as she otherwise would have considering the resistance her propellant force would have had to overcome considering her armored allies general weight. As she shot back, like a rubber-band she recoiled briefly before she resumed her previous trajectory. Makoto, Sousuke and Katsuo's waists coiled with shadow, it pulled at all three of them forcefully. Without their chakra shields to prevent this friendly-fire assault (Evasion Rolls: Sousuke 7, Makoto 4, Katsuo 3), Nanami's shadows wrapped around (Attack Rolls: 16 14 18) the trio and took them with her about 20 yards.

Cool blue electricity mingled with Katsuo's gilded energies. The twisting, snapping currents canceling each other out in some cases and in others one consumed the other. The force at the epicenter was surely more powerful as the storm and the lightning wall covered miles of space and Katuso's counter covered yards. Despite this disparity, it was an impressive display. The marvelous puissance of the maelstrom would have already killed a lesser man. An unseen force was constantly pushing them back, attempting to expel them from the twisting fringe of the epicenter. Katsuo mustered his mastery over similar forces, this constant tide subsided. A tug could be felt perhaps, but insufficient to hinder movement.

Their feet being listed from the ground. Katsuo resisted the gravitational pull before he could be listed off his feet, he was also able to save Makoto from also being flung aside as he altered the ebb and flow of the invisible force that tried to toss his ally. Nimble fingers completed a seal array as Makoto subdued the gale with a counter-force he found in Whirlwind Spin. The winds calmed once again. The earth was wet and hot, steam seemed to escape from underground invisible vents. Smooth, ridged stones littered the landscape. The air smelled stagnant, despite the raging winds now that the contents within had begun to spill out. A wall of lightning still separated the men from whatever lay in wait beyond. ark clouds overhead begin to part, Makoto's winds pushing back even the rain in a limited manner.

Sousuke created a metallic Rock Golem; an inert armored creation. It trudged through the wind and the rain and directly into the lightning wall. The electricity became more concentrated as it assaulted the armored golem. Thick, blinding blue bolts shot through the metallic creation, the surface immediately starting to crack and chip away. It would not last long as it took on the immediate wrath of the storm. The wall of arcing electricity persisted in the areas adjacent, but the metallic construct seemed to attract a majority of the electrical force. Sousuke manifested a formless metallic projectile that he also hurled into the storm with impressive force. Again, the powerful current was attracted to the metal projectile like a lightning rod. The thread-like elecrical currents that remained as a barrier seemed flimsy in comparison to the trunk-like arching branches of energy licking the armor and hunk of metal left by Sousuke as his final surface act.

Nanami's hands whipped through a series of hasty handseals again as she tried to herd her allies closer to herself. Again her shadows came for her teammates, reaching and twisting through the storm. Grabbing a leg, arm or even throat, she tried again to couple herself with Makoto, Katsuo and Sousuke (Attack Roll 5, 4, 10). Her shadow only consolidated a single member of her party, Sousuke (Evasion Rolls 20, 16, 4). The woman had a plan, perhaps not a great plan but it was a plan non-the-less. For a non-shinobi, the physician knew a number of advanced ninjutsus. Upon her final seal, the ground started to swell about them, walls of hazy burnt glass. The winds relinquished, as the walls did serve as a barrier but they were also placed in a labyrinth that took them below the maelstrom and the golden dunes. The labyrinth created by Crystalline Passage cut into the worm-carved caverns that twist and break the dense earthen terrain hidden below the surface of Wind Country. Makoto, Katsuo and Sousuke (Attack Roll: 7, 10, 5) tried to escape the changing landscape (Evasion Roll: 18, 5, 20). All three men (statistically) escaped the rising walls, somehow, leaving themselves subject to the elements. Sousuke, it seems had chosen to take the path unknown, he did not try to escape the rising walls or the labyrinth created by the foreign medic. Sousuke and Nanami plunged into the depths of the worm-carved caverns. It was dark underground, pitch black. She could hear something rustling here, now so parted from the howl of the storm. Something breathing in the dark...

What Happened?</FONTFACE>

• Makoto sees dead people...
• Nanami uses Shadow Constriction to grab a hold of Makoto, Katsuo and Sousuke. She she is launched back by the gravitational force, she takes all three of these men with her.
• Katsuo counters the gravitational pull with Gravity Distortion.
• Makoto uses Whirlwind Spin to counter the gale-force winds of the storm. The winds are still in their immediate area.
• Nanami uses Shadow Constriction to grab a hold of Makoto, Katsuo and Sousuke. She pulls Sousuke to her side.
• Katsuo prevents himself from being picked up by using Anti-Gravity.
• Katsuo prevents Makoto from being picked up by using Gravitational Pull.
• Sousuke's metallic Rock Golem attracted some of the lightning. Metal attracts lightning like a lightning rod, it will be destroyed in seconds!
• Sousuke uses a metal projectile to attract even more of the electrical energy.
• Nanami creates a slide-like labyrinth (Crystalline Passage), Sousuke is with Nanami but Makoto and Katsuo have been separated from the group. The crystal-like slide would beckon the entire group underground if they had not evaded the attack. Nanami and Sousuke slid into the worm-carved caverns underneath Wind Country. There is something there!

What is Going to Happen?

• Underground: Something is coming out of the darkness to directly attack Sousuke and Nanami. It is subject to the Crystalline Passage limitations as does Sousuke and Nanami. It has 10 AP. Be concerned. Additionally, I would be concerned that Sousuke is alone with Nanami. Rumor has it, he is quite the ladies man.
• The Surface:
  • The lightning wall is still present, but the lightning in the immediate area has been attracted to metal that has made its way into the electrical field so it has been greatly reduced in damaging power but will damage someone who crosses it.
  • The gravitational forces remain at bay due to Katsuo's influence.
  • The winds start picking up. 2 A Rank wind attacks will be summoned by the storm next round if they remain in the storm.

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To clear: Magnetic forces have been subdued. Nanami is now underground inside the labyrinth she created in the wrom-carved caverns. There is something there.

 

[Mikaboshi]

Energy pouring from every inch of his body, Katsuo's breathing came slowly but steadily as the pain subsided into a dull throb that extended to each of his extremities. The gravity field was under his control for the time being or at least stabilized to the point where it was no longer attacking them but now they had another problem-- the desert itself had reared up and for lack of a better term swallowed Nanami and it seemed as if Sousuke had been dragged beneath the yawning earth in an effort to prevent her from going into the depths alone. With the sands blocked off by what appeared to be large barriers of crystal, that left only the option of pushing forward and trusting that Sousuke and Nanami could handle themselves. After all Nanami was a mercenary capable of ninja techniques and Sousuke was the Steward-Kazekage. They weren't the helpless townsfolk that Katsuo was used to rescuing.

That left the lightning wall and the rock formation beyond it. If he and Makoto were going to press forward then they would need to pass through the bizarre fortification of electric energy that stood between them and their goal. Leaving small fragments of twisted and burnt sand in the footprints behind him from the arcing lightning and power falling in waves from his body, Katsuo inclined his head to Makoto before stepping forward.

"I'm going to try and tear that wall down. This is either going to go very well or very badly so uh." He remarked over his shoulder to his last remaining ally before turning his attention back to the wall of lightning. "Hold on to your butt."

As inspirational words went, he was being honest at least.

The spark pounded in his chest as he raised his arms and once more Katsuo's helmet illuminated with golden light as his eyes flashed and transitioned into their transformed state. He could feel the lightning in the storm and in the air all around him. When he'd first awakened Katsuo had believed his eyes were seeing electromagnetic fields and the like but as time had gone on and the spark more completely integrated with his person he was learning more and more about the way his powers interacted with the world around him. Bracing himself once more, Katsuo let go of the heavy breath he'd been holding and focused his willpower. This technique was something completely different than the one he'd done before. The first one had been to supercharge his own reserves of lightning chakra to take control of the gravitational field away from whatever force was controlling it but this one was something so much more than that.

He wasn't even sure if he could do what he was attempting but every fiber of his being told him that this was "right". Even though he'd done no formal investigation or study of his powers, he could feel the invisible hand of the spark guiding his heart and leading him to the answer that he required. He wasn't sure where his own instincts ended and the influence of the spark began but now wasn't the time for such introspection. He knew the course of action that was necessary. In his mind's eye he could see the result that he wanted. There in the landscape of his mind he saw the lightning field folding in upon itself, drawn into a section of spark reserved specifically for the power that he was wielding. He couldn't explain the way that it worked even if he tried. Words and language failed totally to explain the way that his mind retrieved the information that he wanted. Still, as his chakra poured from his limbs the air twisted around the mass of lightning distorting it in unnatural ways.

If reality mirrored the way that he visualized it in his mind the lightning field would be collapsed into a single point of light, appearing as water being sucked down a drain in the bottom of a basin. It was a visually unimpressive maneuver but spiritual logistics of the technique were a twisted yarn-ball of complication. Katsuo wasn't intending to take over or usurp control of the lightning wall from it's creator -- rather he was using his willpower to effectively shunt the lightning wall's energy mass into "storage" so to speak.

 

[Takahashi Aki]

The good news? Sousuke wasn't trapped in a storm that was on the very verge of destroying his armour. The steward emitted a small chakra blast to get the sand out as he stood up. The good news in absolutely no way was going to overcome the bad news. Sousuke's eyes emitted a yellow glow as he scanned his new position. It was a tunnel. Not made by man. Not made by Kirishii. "Sand worm tunnel."<i></i> He simply said. "Are you still functioning Nanami? "<i></i> He inquired as looked about quickly. He had read about sandworms. Studied their great and long history. Fascinating really considering the original entrance into sand was using an elevator to go up and down the throat of the legendary sandworm Barnyx. This tunnel was significantly smaller than Barynx, but still a sandworm was a sandworm. It was capable of knocking out buildings. Eating people. Eating lots of people really. "It is ... beyond highly likely ... that one is coming this way. Sandworms are usually susceptible to water techniques... but don't flood the tunnel we need to find a way out."<i></i> The Steward's armour changed slightly as several spikes began to push outward especially from the shoulders. It wasn't as if his armour had enough spikes. In truth the additional spikes would poision the target if contact was made. "Don't make contract with my armour... this defense of mine has some offensive aspects."<i></i>

"The options are ... force it to retreat. Tame it ... or be eaten. The middle option has a very ... low chance of success as we are not figures of legend... but we can certainly try it out. The third option is something we're going to prevent at all costs ... and the first will be very awkward."<i></i> The Steward braced himself for impact. Should the sandworm attack them head on he would attempt to avoid first to be eaten, and then secondly he would dramatically increase the weight of the sandworm with a burdening touch. The Steward despite his small size outside of his armour was stronger than he looked. He doubted he could man handle and grapple a sandworm, but at the very least he could exert force against it to slow it down, for a time. In theory if the sandworm if becoming weighted may not be able to move forward, thus giving himself an Nanami a way out by going forward. "I'll try and weigh it down, if that fails ... blast it with a water technique."<i></i> Sousuke suggested. He wasn't sure if Sandworms still traveled in packs, if so ... then ... he would have to think himself out of that when it came to that. Should the sandworm not be stopped, and should it open its mouth, the Steward would conjure metallic razor blades and send them inside the beast to cut up its insides.

(Using Senbon Coating on self w/ special effect of poisioning it, and using Burdening Touch on the sandworm ... if burdenig touch does not have the desired effect, one super alloy tempest pls. Nanami was at a loss for posting and suggested I go first.)

 

[Mikaboshi]

[For the record, I am casting Kamui (Rank 1) on the lightning wall.]

 

[Akako]

[col]It took a bit for her to recover from the heavy chakra use as well as the fact that she had been thrown around several times. She found she had no patience to have her eyes adjust to the low lighting however. Not when those precious seconds might mean their death. So a lantern, a lantern was conjured, to cast an eerie light around them, the thing floating about the doctor like a buoy in the waves.

But when she realized she had not gotten everyone into the tunnel, a feeling of dread and shame crept up on her. She, for a lack of better term and if one could excuse the language, fucked up. All because she had panicked. And, when rectifying that, she had failed too.

She had to swallow down an apology. Now was not the time and place for it. "Still fully functional, Takahashi-san," the doctor confirmed instead.

What he said next, after inquiring about her status, was ominous. Yet fascinating. That, they could agree on. She had heard of the legendary sandworms before. Thought them to be hearsay or myth. To find that they were standing in what could very well be the pathways created by the colossus was both amazing and... problematic.

"I should have the water techniques covered. Flooding the tunnels may be avoidable, if push comes to shove though," she nods in ascent to that as well. At her response, two whips made of water materialized in her hands. At the same time, a crystal eye, much like before, shuddered to life and started zooming ahead of the two. "Would it really attack us?"

She did rather find it strange that very few of the Sand shinobi she had met thus far knew no water techniques. You'd think such talents would be prized and the learning of such talents would be supported by the locals.
|</FONTFACE>[legend="[b]Out of Character Notes[/b]"]

• I mucked up.
  
  Summary:
  Summoned a Spirit Lantern (Mastered) to light their surroundings (and maybe to reveal things they normally can't see).
  Created two Water Whip(s) (Mastered). Ready to go rodeo on that sandworm.
  Used Crystal Eye (Mastered) (again) to help with navigation and to possibly warn them in advance.
  
  Debated using Senbon Coating and Mercury Poisoning too. But, nah. Too many high level techniques, one after another is blegh, especially with the premise of this character.

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