AP:: 2/3 (1 AP spent)
Location:
Vintergard
Prompt:
Magias Without A Cause
Narrator Tag:
N/A
Of course they wouldn't be happy with sentries.
Mizuki muttered to herself as she snuck deeper into Vintergard this time, her padded paws making no sound as they softly pressed against the barren dirt with each step. Walking on all fours she kept a low profile, sniffing the air periodically as she made her way forward.
The people from the MIT hadn't exactly been unhappy, but given that it was hardly the first time someone had managed to capture a sentry the luna wolf's contribution hadn't amounted to much. Their words had been diplomatic, but it was clear that they expected Mizuki to bring back something more substantial if she wanted them to keep up their end of the bargain and give her updates on the situation with Szofrit.
Not that she minded that much. To earn something you needed to work for it, and the MIT were wisely keeping updates on Szofrit out of circulation. There were too many people who'd get worked up about the fact that the Mother of Machines were still alive, so if she wanted to be kept in the loop she'd have to put her back behind it.
Which didn't change the fact that she was now targetting something much more dangerous than a sentry, so she had to be more careful and more aggressive.
Regulators weren't something you'd pick a fight with on a whim, given that their plasma cannons could sear holes straight through even the strongest defences if you didn't get out of the way. To take one down you had to abandon all ideas of enduring their attacks: evade what you could, and destroy the regulator before it could do too much damage. Worse yet, they were only found near the Dragonship itself, where other nuisances could quickly show up to make the situation worse.
Dashing behind a building to avoid being spotted by a sentry patrol Mizuki growled. The Dragonship's large, metal frame stood out like a sore thumb, dominating the landscape even as it seemingly lay dormant. Even with Szofrit gone that thing was more trouble than it was worth, but it wasn't like they could just pick it up and carry it away. Once the patrol had passed Mizuki shot out from behind the building and into an alleyway which was guarded on both sides by what had been homes at some point, but could now only be described as rubble. Still, tall enough rubble for someone to hide behind.
The Dragonship was quickly getting closer as Mizuki made her way through the city, until finally she peeked out from behind a crumbling wall and saw a huge metal surface rising up before her. Too tall to climb easily, given the lack of handholds. And also no regulator nearby. At least the actual sentries didn't get close to the Dragonship: there was no reason for them to.
Sticking to the metal wall the luna wolf advanced, running past the remnants of a once great city which had abruptly been rendered to nothing but memories and regret. It might once again become a hub of civilization in the future, but right now it just reminded her of what it had been like in the past. Fortunately, keeping herself hidden kept her busy enough that she didn't have to worry about becoming melancholic, her fur patterns shifting to match her surroundings as her paws carried her onwards.
Seeing a blue light in the distance she abruptly halted, slowing down as she leapt through a window and inside a building which had yet to fully collapse. The insides smelled like dust and rotting wood, making Mizuki wrinkle her nose as she moved back towards the window, hidden underneath the windowsill as she slowly lifted her head far enough so her mismatched eyes could see what was outside.
A large mechanical figure was slowly making its way through the street, accompanied by a bright blue glow originating from the runed orb it carried. Three metal legs tapped out a regular pattern on the cobbled street, a very faint humming tickling Mizuki's ears as she bared her fangs and tensed her muscles. Had she been spotted? Regulators weren't supposed to move away from openings into the Dragonship... but they were also supposed to be very fast while this one was going at a walking pace.
Well, regardless, she'd have to capture it before it passed her by. The doorframe was empty, the door long since having fallen out, meaning the wildling could easily use it as her path out of the building. Remaining hidden behind the wall she counted the regulator's steps, feeling the ground vibrate ever so slightly with every step. The regulator was more elegant in its movements than its size would suggest, but metal was still metal. While she waited she slowly brought her clawed thumbs to the backs of her hands, cutting open the skin so the blood could easily flow out. As a red line marked her hands the blood thickened, taking the form of vines which crawled up her forearms.
One... two... three!
She jumped into action, rolling over and onto all fours before charging right out of the doorway, towards the regulator. The large machine had been almost right outside of the building, which meant that even as it began to spin almost immediately to respond to Mizuki the wildling was already upon it. Hitting the ground with all four limbs she launched herself in time to catch one of the stilt legs which held the regulator's body aloft, preventing it from retreating and giving itself room to shoot. The vines on her arms uncurled themselves to wrap around the leg instead, shooting upwards to create handholds for Mizuki to grab as she quickly climbed her prey.
With its opponent on one of its own legs the regulator was having a hard time reacting: it swung the leg to try and shake her off, but Mizuki's vines kept her from falling as she scaled the limb as quickly as if she'd been running on a horizontal surface. Lifting its orb it released a ray of death, but it passed harmlessly over Mizuki even as it drilled a hole into the building behind her.
Mizuki's hardened claws carved into the metal surface of the regulator's main body as she reached the top of the leg. No time to hesitate. Pulling herself up she immediately threw herself to the left, in time to avoid getting vaporized by another death ray accompanied by a piercing whine and a wave of hot air. She only had a small window before the regulator's cannon was recharged. Her vines continued to expand, covering the machine's whole body so she had a handhold wherever she went. Running across its main body she went straight for the blue orb which was charging another shot, the runes on its dishes glowing with increasing intensity. She'd have to dodge another shot at close range.
The shot came, and this time she could feel the fur on her back burning as she fell flat upon the regulator's body to avoid the rest of her burning away as well.
She pushed herself up.
She steadied herself.
She jumped straight towards one of the dishes, the runes having lost their glow but quickly accumulating enough energy for another shot.
Reaching the dish she spun and kicked it, overcoming whatever force kept it in position and launching the large metal flap down the street, throwing up a cloud of debris as it crushed the cobblestones until it came to a rest against a pile of rubble which might have been a mansion in years past.
Grabbing the ring which surrounded the orb Mizuki pulled herself down, combining gravity with her own strength. With one of its dishes removed the regulator's cannon wasn't charging as quickly, trying to compensate for the instability the luna wolf had introduced.
An instability which she made worse when she smashed her full weight against the second dish which was right underneath her, dislocating it from its hovering position and sending it straight into the ground where it embedded itself.
Grabbing one of her vines to prevent falling as well Mizuki climbed back onto the regulator's main body, this time from behind. The other two dishes were glowing fiercely, but the orb wasn't firing. Maybe...
Her brief thought was interrupted when she had to let go of her handhold or be vaporised. The beam seared through the regulator's own armour, the combat machine having decided that eliminating Mizuki was more important than not hitting itself. Spinning mid-air Mizuki caught herself by hooking her foot behind another vine, swinging back upwards and towards her third dish.
The rising whine which indicated the regulator's charge was both slower and lower than before, indicating that Mizuki's plan was working. That was much-needed encouragement as she grabbed the third dish, planting her legs against one of the machine's own limbs to give herself the leverage she needed to throw the dish away.
One dish left, and the regulator was spinning wildly in an attempt to shake Mizuki off. The wildling growled as she jumped up towards the last dish, pulling back one arm and curling her hand into a fist, flesh giving way to hardened bloodwood.
Her punch launched the dish into the air, leaving the regulator's cannon without any means to charge itself. Landing on top of the regulator Mizuki looked at the orb. If she was judging the runes right it was facing her, but it couldn't fire.
Holding onto her vines to prevent the regulator's spinning throwing her off Mizuki raised her transformed fist and returned it to normal, then opened and closed it once.
The vines which had crawled all across the machine's legs shot out new tendrils which interwove. Once connected they contracted, pulling the regulator's limbs together. The machine trembled, then fell over as its legs were disabled, its own spinning throwing it against the ground. Jumping into the air to avoid getting crushed Mizuki winced as her ears were assaulted by the very loud and very unfriendly sound of metal smashing against stone, scraping and screeching as metal was carved and stone was shattered.
Landing on top of her prey Mizuki inspected the damage. The regulator was still trying to move, but its legs were tightly bound, and without its dishes the orb was useless. Which was a good thing, because the MIT had told her that the orb was very important. They also wanted her to bring back the dishes...
She was already dreading trying to get out of Vintergard while dragging this thing once, but now she'd also have to return to retrieve the dishes as well.
Mizuki sneaks into Vintergard, locates a regulator, then disables it and brings it back to Camp Hope so the MIT can study it.
Roll Result
1d100 (50) 25 + 25 =
100
Magias Without A Cause | Ueno Mizuki | 1815 
