Lamia Scale: New Horizons - Private

(OOC: I know it's a lot to read, but I needed to establish setting, and plot so it took a lot of words.)

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It was early morning at the docks of Hargeon, bay C-12 where the largest gosh darn ship in the port was parked... the Arc of Destiny. The ship alone was 1,500 feet from front to back and 350 feet across. It towered at 600 feet above the sea, and had two massive guns that a grown man could walk in, jump around and never hit the top of the barrel in. The top of the ship had a hatch that opened up to reveal a third one of these guns, and the sides had another hatch with two more half their size... the most terrifying part of the ship was that a man could still not hit the top of the barrel if he jumped. Hargeon Port's government had no problem with Kaori parking such a monstrosity in its port as the one who owned it was technically a government official herself, and held high status in the Magic Council as a Wizard Saint. It was in this ship that Kaori and company would be moving in on a very large score with...

Over a week prior, a notice arrived at Lamia Scale from the Magic Council with a Rune Knight attached to act as an adequate paper weight. Gisen had originally planned a larger force to go to the island, but Kaori had motioned against it. The reason for the large force was the amount of monsters on the island, and their unknown level of power. However, Kaori had told her that there was a local tribe on the land mass which was enough for the Clan Leader to retract her opinion. Kaori explained that using her resources, they could mount a small attack force and clear an area. After that, Gisen would be able to establish a branch of the magic user clan on the island where they can slowly remove the monsters without disrupting the daily lives of the indigenous. This was the plan that Gisen agreed on, and when she asked how Kaori planned to get the locals to let them put the guild there, Kaori told her she'd handle it. This conversation happened over a lacrima phone call on account of Kaori being elsewhere handling business.

Fast forward to the day of the strike force's departure, it seemed that their force consisted of the guild's two strongest members, Gisen herself, and two of the normal hunters who showed promise. Upon their entering the ship, each would hear a wise sounding, feminine voice telling them to follow the blue line on the floor. Indeed on the ground was a blue line with white chevrons moving toward an elevator that would take them up to the residential quarters. Samira would need to guidance to find her room as it literally had her name on it, and as always, was directly across from Kaori's a couple floors above the residential quarters. The residency wing held a number of rooms; lacrima vision, gym, garden, music room, kitchen, and a couple others that were less popular. The rooms for each of the other four were quite large and very nice. Each had a king sized bed, a work desk with a lacrima screen in the middle, a large bathroom with a hot-tub sized bath tub inside, and extremely expensive lotions, creams, and bathing soaps included. Once inside their rooms, a voice would speak over the intercom inside. "Greetings, I am Athena- the Artificial Intelligence of this vessel. This is a pre-recorded message. The Ark of Destiny will take two to three days to arrive at our destination, during which time I am unable to authorize access to the other levels of this ship as this is a research, development, and war ship. You'll find various rooms on this level of the ship to provide various activities. If you feel hungry but do not wish to cook, you may press the red button on the wall next to your bedroom door to request room service. If you have any inquiries, you may call my name which will allow me to access the intercom in your room. Know that the defacing of any property will result in an immediate response, as will any attempt at harming the staff or other passengers. Recording terminated."

Kaori wasn't seen or heard from during the flight to the uncharted landmass since she was busy making sure everything was set correctly. In the research lab, Eagle was busy working on a device to keep other monsters out of a quarantine zone in an area that was determined to be the most suitable for a base of operations. It had sturdy, flat, level ground that could be improved with the right materials and construction equipment as well as very little forest surrounding it. The area could be cleared without causing too much habitat loss, which was a plus. The only issue was a trio of monsters in the area that turned out to be more dangerous that high density scans from Recon-One could predict. Also in the lab, a little girl was kept in a completely sealed lacrima cell that had no ways to enter, no ways to exit. Several could identify this child as Lillith, a girl who'd escaped prison multiple times and always ran back to the guild hall where she killed her only friends and family. The cell kept her powers contained, and Kaori was trying to work on making her mentally human again; but it was a slow process. Some oriental doctor was working on coding and doing some research in his own little area, and several armed people walked around helping where they could. Kaori was in this place doing the same, trying to make sure everything was perfect... She'd seen her own clansmen die because of her fuckups, she didn't want to risk seeing Gisen's clansmen do the same.

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On the day of the mission, the Ark of Destiny was hovering over the uncharted landmass like a giant fly swatter with guns. Granted, Kaori could just blast the monsters and be done with it, that would damage the land and she was trying to avoid that. Everyone was asked to meet her in her office and Athena had used the blue lines on the ground to guide them there. Those who tried opening 'other' doors, would find that they were all locked and unable to be forced through on account of being thick metal. Once they arrived, the door to Kaori's office would open and they'd see Kaori herself standing next to the room's center piece. The center of the room had a large table with a holographic, three dimensional map of the island hovering an inch or two above its surface with a projector overhead being the source of the hologram. The walls of the room were made of bloodwood, an extremely rare and expensive, but beautiful and rugged wood. Mounted on the walls at the top were the heads of different animals taking up three rows and encircling the room. The animals weren't the cute ones like deer, elk, and gazelle; no, they were the horrifying types... the ones that Lamia Scale hunted. Below them, on each of the walls were weapons galore. Swords, spears, axes, bows, daggers, guns from all civilizations and time periods- all in perfect condition. Tables with glass cases on them lined the bottom of the room with treasures within, neatly arranged to display Kaori's travels. On the far side of the room was a desk with a stack of paper on it a foot thick sitting in the middle, and six more stacks of equal size on the right side. The desk, like the walls, was made of bloodwood and had an ornate pattern embedded into the top that was made of pure, solid gold- not gold paint. Hovering in front the desk were a dozen lacrima screens, all of them blank so as to not reveal where she put her surveillance equipment.

In the corner of the room, leaning against one of the display tables was a man who wore a pair of black dress shoes polished to a perfect shine. In the middle of the bottom lace was a solid gold flower, a hibiscus. He wore a set of black dress pants to match, and a well cared for shirt of the same color was tucked into them. From his neck dangled another golden hibiscus, as though it were symbolic to the man. His broad shoulders gave way to normal sized arms, the muscular structure hidden behind black silk sleeves; courtesy of his formal shirt. The man wore a dark grey tie that had a crimson outline on the top, and holding the two tie ends together and preventing wind from flicking them about was a golden clasp. On his face was a gray mask with some markings on it. The mask covered his forehead, eyes, and nose like a type of masquerade mask that lacked the tacky shiny crap. Next to him with one of her arms laced into his was a tan girl wearing animal skins. Beads dangled from her garments that consisted of an animal skin head cover and poncho that left her front exposed. Under that was a top that had teasels at the bottom and covered her breasts, but left her stomach exposed with a ceramic accessory dangling over it. On her right side, starting at her oblique and running down her legs was a tribal tattoo and a similar one on the inside of her left thigh also running down to her feet. She wore something to cover her privates and butt, but they did nothing to cover her legs at all leaving very little to the imagination. Her white hair was contained by the head cover, so not many could see more than a couple strands of hair at very specific angles. On her feet, she wore a pair of ankle bracelets, but no shoes at all. Overall, anyone who thought of trying to take her for their own would have to deal with the fact that it looked like she had chosen someone already as she stuck to Ikuchi like a human ornament. In the room was five armored units that Lucius and Samira would know already from past dealings, the members of Eclipse Team; their leader Ghost, the infiltration specialists Tango and Shadow, the tech master and only chick on the team Eagle, and their weapons specialist Bill. They all wore the same armor except Eagle's had boobs.

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Kaori leaned over the map and rested her hands on the table surface. Only one person in the room would know Kaori truly... The last time Gisen or Hebisha saw Kaori, she was shorter, wore a mask, and had a completely different body shape. She had a scent back then as well, something she lacked now. Lucius had never seen Kaori, but he did know her fire squad to an extent. "For those of you who haven't figured it out already, I'm Kaori Leraci; head of the Leraci Clan of Midi, Wizard Saint, and ally to your clan. We'll be embarking on a mission today to establish a foothold in a new land. A scientist friend who's already topside has agreed to a trade, knowledge for work. Additionally, the Magic Council and King of Fiore have agreed to let Gisen settle this continent as part of her clan. The governments around the world were less enthusiastic, but they begrudgingly agreed. We exterminate the monsters that their all so 'high and mighty' warriors can't, and the land is yours." Kaori started the briefing, establishing why the world was letting one person control what very well could be a gold mine. "Now, let's talk strategy. The island's filled with monsters and they seem to be talking to each other through telepathy, or something similar; so the usual 'hit it till it dies' method won't work. Furthermore, leveling the place isn't an option on account of there being life down there other than giant ass monsters. So, we're gonna start small and work our way out."

The map showed a pentagon forming around a specific area that blinked a couple times. "This area is where we'll start. We clear this and some guys from Bosco will be able to roll in construction equipment and have a new base up in a month or two, maybe three depending on size. The plan's gonna be done in three parts. The first phase of the plan is setting down these..." Kaori paused as Eagle, the female armored member walked up with a device that looked like a black metal box the size of a human torso with a handle on top "...We'll split into five teams; Gisen and Ikuchi, Hebisha and Lucius, Eclipse Team, then Samira and I will run alone- our spirits will be our support." Kaori then set down a box that had small, finger tip sized lacrima in it. "Everyone take one and stick it behind your ear, it'll let us communicate over long distance. Once everyone's on the ground we need to work our way to specific locations, set down the box, and press the only flashy red button on it... it's also the only button period. This will erect a barrier large enough to establish a base and isolate our three targets from getting reinforcements."

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Kaori stepped back and the tribal girl had stepped forward. "My name Iri-Ra lb-Lgt (Erie-Rah lib-leet)." she began with her thick tribal accent. "I come from here, help make safe. You not hurt here." she then moved her hand to the right side of the pentagon that the barrier formed. "Here live Yps-ig Usb (Ip-sig  Ooh-sib), biiiiig cat, eat you, shoot rock from body- much danger" she then glided her hand to the other side of the pentagon. "Here live Ia-gent Agel (Ee-uh-gent Ah-gel), biiiig bird. Scream hurt head, sometimes make explode- much danger." She then pointed to the middle of the pentagon. "Here live Pablo, biiiig thing, not find mate- him lonely. Send water from claw, biiig hit, cut through rock. Biiiig claw, cut through rock. Send something from face, not know what, turn rock to pebble- much danger, kill last." Kaori stepped back up and said "To summarize what Iri-Ra said, once the barrier's up we're gonna take down the giant chicken and the kitten, then we kill their boss. We do this and the locals will let us set up the base peacefully."

The hologram changed to show a picture of a ship that was following the Ark of Destiny (the one we're on now). One of the five armored people walked up, the one named 'Ghost' and he said "This is Recon-One, one of the Captain's ships. If you need firearms, ammo, tactical or offensive equipment, artillery, reinforcements, or a diaper to shit yourself in- you press down on that lacrima and let her know. Recon-One will be monitoring us from the skies and letting us know if anything big's coming our way. The lacrima you have has an effective twenty five mile radius, this pentagon is twenty four for that same reason. Once you plant your barrier device you radio in and Recon-One will come in for extraction and regrouping for phase two." A bag was then set on the table with five devices that had a button on top. "When your ready to deploy press that button and you'll be on the surface. As for us..." Ghost took one of the items and pressed the button "Eclipse Out." and they were gone. Kaori looked around and asked "Questions, comments, concerns?"

Samira was next to go and Kaori could tell she and her spirits were having a mental discussion by the fact that she said 'agreed' without actually being given anything from the people present to agree on. She requested everyone to stifle their judgement, but in all reality the only one who thought she was crazy was herself since the others either didn't care, or hadn't noticed. Samira was gone and then the lamia of Lamia Scale had asked as to why she was on the mission. Kaori let Gisen answer the question since if it was up to her, Hebisha would've stayed back so she could train more and get stronger. The ninja didn't know enough about her and wasn't confident in her abilities... The first time she met Hebisha, she had been doing a number on the Rune Knights in the forests just outside of Hargeon Port; but considering as Kaori beat down their commander in an instant, that wasn't much of an accomplishment. Gisen had believed her stronger senses would be sufficient for the mission, but Kaori had more trouble with her lack of experience. The ninja allowed her to come under Gisen's guarantee that she would survive, but had chosen Lucius to be her partner on account of her having read a report from Eclipse Team about him and his magic, as well as Samira being able to vouch for his potential. However... that wouldn't happen as smoothly as planned on account of the ship's resident tribal having taken to looking at the trinkets in Kaori's room and accidentally knocking one of the stuffed monster heads loose, which coincidentally had landed on Lucius's head and knocked him out just after Hebisha left- good thing she wasn't there to find out.

Kaori had Lucius taken to the medical ward to have his head checked out while he recovered. Kaori then pulled out her iLac from her satchel and dialed the number for Recon-One. "Recon One, this is the captain. I'd like you to dispatch-" "You can send me." a little girl's voice said softly in the direction of Kaori's office door. Kaori slowly turned her gaze in the direction it came from to lock eyes with a little girl with black hair, one that many would know of as Lillith, the girl who killed her entire guild. There was at least one of her every other week, it's a real wonder why people kept taking over the abandoned guild hall and allowing girls named 'lillith' in their guild... all of them go on a murderous rampage. This one was one of the ones who was supposed to be brought to the magic council, but Ikuchi had ordered that she was taken to Kaori instead; an order that was interpreted as being made by Kaori herself. In the time after Samira had freed the child from her corruption and brought her to Recon One, and then the Ark of Destiny shortly after, Kaori had been working with her in a controlled environment to help her control her magic. The child had similar magic to Kaori's, and her psychic abilities helped Kaori relate to Lillith which made training with her easier. During those past couple months, the corruption tried taking back control; but Kaori had been the one to stop it and keep Lillith in check. It had been a couple weeks since the last time it happened, which was the longest amount of time she'd gone without it happen. Kaori walked over to her and kneeled down, resting a hand on her shoulder and saying "You're still recovering. It's much too dangerous for you." with a soft tone. Lillith looked at Kaori with a determined expression, radiating her heart to the surrounding area to show Kaori that she was ready. "I don't care." she said firmly, causing Kaori to crack a smile. "Fine... brat. Ikuchi, you're being reassigned. Gisen can handle this alone, I'll go with Hebisha."

Kaori would be the last to leave the room. The tribal girl and Ikuchi had taken Lillith and used the teleport switch to get gone, and once Lucius was all squared away in the medical ward, he'd have a button waiting in his room. Gisen would have to leave before Kaori, she'd never let anyone be alone in her office; especially another clan leader. Kaori's portal switch was different from everyone else's... Her mission was intended to be a solo mission, meaning that she wasn't supposed to need the same switch the others had. Her's was programmed to drop her in a specific location... six thousand feet above the continent where she could have the best view. Kaori looked down at the world below, scanning for a massive snake with a human sticking out of it and locking in on the white line among leafless trees. She knew her landing wouldn't be close enough to Hebisha to be of use immediately, but it'd be close enough to provide assistance in time. 'Hebisha, Luci's in the nurse's office getting an injury checked out. I'm coming to support you so start heading north. I'll meet you there with the barrier projector.' Kaori said in Hebisha's mind. She had no worries about the woman's sense of direction, most snakes were good with that sort of thing; and if she got lost, Kaori would know which direction to head to finish the mission.

Where Ikuchi had wound up seemed to be a particularly bad spot on account of the fifteen giant spiders lurking around. "Well... shit..." Ikuchi commented while tracking the arachnids that all turned to face the two humans and dragon. Ikuchi quickly reached for his revolvers and took aim, the tribal readying her bow and arrow. Lillith had panicked, but she quickly recovered and remembered her training. White magic circles appeared over her fingers and fired a set of blasts that tracked individual spiders, leaving only five that weren't flying in the air. Ikuchi released ten shots, five from each revolver that hit those five spiders and five of the ones in the air, killing them all. The tribal shot two arrows in rapid succession before loading three and firing them all at once, with perfect accuracy. Eclipse Team had a much more peaceful arrival, and was making their way to the barrier site.

The sound of the rushing wind embraced Kaori's ears with the soft flickering and whistling that it produced. She kept her eyes open, a bright smile on her face as she stared at the world below. Most humans would be afraid of freefalling without a parachute, but Kaori wasn't most humans. Most humans would black out by the time they dropped a couple thousand feet, a natural bodily reaction. Other humans would have a literal heart attack and be dead long before they impacted the floor and turned into blood pudding- but again, Kaori wasn't most humans. While she didn't know it, she was hardly even human. From above the woodland terrain, Kaori could see small figured moving through the brush that were rapidly gaining speed and heading towards a long, white streak. Kaori could make them out to be a type of dog, wolves most likely due to the formation of their pack. Cats didn't normally hunt in such large groups, and even then their formation was the more tactical pincer formation that was used to surround your enemy. 'Hebisha, you're being hunted. There's nowhere to funnel them into a line so you'll have no choice but to fight. If you take out a few of them they might decide you're not worth the risk.' Kaori said in the lamia's mind. After that Kaori began using her telekinesis on herself to reduce her speed, a very important action to perform since she was about to reach terminal velocity, otherwise known as the point where fire would engulf her and turn her partially human ass into partially human ash.

If Hebisha had chosen to fight the wolves instead of continuing to run... slither, Kaori would be ready to help her fend them off as soon as she landed. Her speed had been reduced by half at this point but she needed to keep slowing down, dropping her speed to fifteen miles per hour to make a mostly safe landing. As the ground got closer, Kaori began preparing her fist while her ruby eyes began glowing violet around the edges. Upon hitting the ground, Kaori slammed her fist into the soft soil and sent her psychic energy into it. A pulse of mostly transparent violent shot through the ground and the world around her, coating the wolf pack and sending them high into the air before vanishing and letting them fall to the ground. Any wolves Hebisha hadn't killed already would get up while whimpering, keeping their heads low and walking away from the two girls. "That was... smashing." Kaori would say, definitely not making any references to large nosed, red haired, australian characters from other worldly cartoons. Indeed, it was most definitely a pun from her telekinetic ground pound- very smashing indeed. Kaori then reached into her bag and pulled out the barrier device, the laws of physics seeming to warp for the bag as the barrier device was much longer, wider, and taller than tiny satchel. Magic logic seemed to work heavily for Kaori in that regard.

Kaori looked around at her surroundings and then at Hebisha before walking at a leisurely pace in the direction they needed to go. "We never got to talk much when we met. It must've been hard for you being hunted by those knights, I hope Lady Ceostra's clansmen treat you well." Kaori would wait a few moments, giving the serpent woman time to respond. The last time they met, Kaori had a much different face. She had a different scent entirely, and her magic was able to be sensed much better. Now, she looked different, she smelled as though she had no scent when in reality her scent was the same as the world around her, and her magic was completely undetectable. The only thing that was actually the same was her voice, which Kaori hoped Hebisha remembered. When they met last, it was after some Rune Knights were attacking the lamia and she... 'persuaded' their leader to get out of Hargeon. Just as her and Hebisha were getting ready to talk, a smaller group had started looking for her and Kaori said that she'd get rid of them. Kaori had also told Hebisha that there was a massive castle by the sea that could make a good home, but she never thought she'd actually go to the guild since she seemed to have some trust issues. If Hebisha had answered Kaori in regards to how the guild treated her, Kaori would say "Just so you know, I don't think you look scary. You look cute... and cuddly." with a light hearted tone.

After a bit more walking, Kaori had stopped and said "Here we are." while putting the black box on the ground and pressing the button. A white light shot into the air just before two more. "Ikuchi and Eclipse Team got theirs up, now for Sammy and Gisen." Kaori informed Hebisha who probably didn't see the lights on account of being ever so slightly, just a little blind as hell. "Alright, Snoop Genie, get us to Recon One." Kaori would say. Hebisha would notice the ground beneath her feet... scales... stomach... (the writer is conflicted on what the underside of a lamia actually is since they have human stomachs she thinks) would turn to the wooden planks of Kaori's recon ship. Ikuchi, Ashawti, and Lillith would be waiting alongside Eclipse Team. Now all they needed to move on to phase two was their other two mages.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

'Last time on the Super Duper Spirit Team Adventures, our heroes crash landed onto a strange land that was inhabited by mysterious and threatening creatures. Serqet, the most epic of the group, came up with the strategy of befriending one of the natives in order to use his knowledge of the land so they could safely reach the mountain of Terafattiti, where the trio must place a legendary item that would save the entire universe! The idea was shot down; overlooked by our two other less intelligent heroes. However, there was only one being awesome enough to handle such an item of importance. The native that our favorite scorpion tail heroine had befriended; Banana Joe. Serqet knew the wisdom of this choice and had bestowed the gift upon the amazing monkey. Meanwhile, Samira did what she did best and used her powers of eternal worthlessness to lead the group through the dangerous lands. But what's this? Right as our group of heroes had reached their goal, an evil serpent had taken Banana Joe hostage! Oh, no! The villainous snake had even taken possession of the legendary box! Will our group of heroes be able to save Banana Joe before he is tortured and murdered? Will they be able to recover the box before the world implodes on itself? Find out after this-'

"Will you shut up in there?" Susano shouted, interrupting the introduction summary and his tone of voice implying heavy annoyance. Samira was not the only one that could hear the mental voices of her spirits; they could hear each other as well while they were out in the mortal world. "Seriously, what was that even? That's not how it happened at all! ...for the most part. And why wasn't I included anywhere in there?" The swordsman crossed his arms as he walked beside Samira, who had slumped her shoulders forward and sighed. "He said I have the powers of worthlessness..." Her eyes rippled in comical cartoony fashion. Now even the less serious spirits were picking on her. She had done a good job leading them to the barrier point! Sure there may had been some obstacles, but they got there!

"You were. It was said that you were less intelligent. Oh, and also, I didn't want to give any spoilers away, but since I get the impression you want to come back and give poor Apollo a beating for being the narrator I'll tell you. You're the villainous snake's stupid, incompetent, and disappointing minion. You reveal your evil ways just as soon as you get the box back and are killed by Samira's hand. You like it? I worked hard on it for about ten seconds."

'And don't forget my cool narrator voice. I felt bad about calling the girlie worthless though. Maybe we should edit that from the full script.'

"I'm kicking both your asses when I get back there," Susano grumbled just before seeing three lights shoot up into the sky. A deep sigh was let loose. "And now we're late. Hey, do you have any idea which way that snake went, Serqet? It just dawned on me that we're following you."

The scorpion tailed female ignored the question as her eyes darted around in different directions. She stopped walking and looked to the left as her tail pointed right, and then looked right as the tail went left. Her tail then went back to the right and pointed twice in that direction like an animated arrow. "That way! I'm coming for you, Banana Joe!" Serqet then ran through some bushes and further into the jungle.

"She is starting to worry me. Is it normal for spirits to lose their sanity and act so strangely?" Samira asked of the wind spirit as they just stood there and watched Serqet take off. How exactly did she know the snake went that way? Susano thought about it for a moment and recalled the list of those that were seeing a spirit therapist, including himself. "Only when they're contracted with you." He could sense the irritation radiating from his summoner without even having to look at her. Not that he cared though. Before she could make a reply towards his words, he picked her up by her waist and tossed her so he was carrying her over his shoulder. "Susano! Put me down now!" She ordered while flailing helplessly. "I didn't hear a please so I am going to ignore that request. Besides, you move way too slow, I am annoyed, and I am not about to hear about how we came in dead last with setting up our part of the barrier. We're speeding this adventure up a bit." That said, Susano took off after the venom spirit while carrying Samira and ignoring her annoyed cries.

The super duper trio found the snake that had taken Banana Joe and the metal barrier box, along with many other snakes. If it weren't for the fact one had a square shape along its midsection it would have been nearly impossible to tell which snake it was. Of course, not like the big clue mattered. Susano materialized his sword as he rushed into the pile of snakes and a second later they all exploded into pieces as the swift winds released from his attacks sliced them all repeatedly. Naturally, since he was carrying Samira, she was not spared from being covered with the insides of the reptiles. Thankfully it wasn't so bad, but then the swordsman spirit dropped her right on her hynie in the middle of the mess, covering her further in snake blood and pieces. Eye twitches.

"Now lets see, where did that box go?"

"Banana Joooeeeee!" Serqet ran towards a small nearby monkey and hugged it tightly. The creature shrieked and flailed, obviously not happy to be held in such a way. The venom spirit ignored the cries as she happily squeezed it even tighter. Susano arched a brow curiously as he wondered how on earthland the monkey survived and why it was not covered in snake stomach juices. Just as he shrugged his shoulders and went back to not caring, the answer came to him. He lifted a larger snake piece as he searched for the box and under it was a little monkey corpse. Slowly and quietly he put the snake cover back down. Nope. He was not going to reveal the truth or else they'd be stuck for another few hours having a funeral for the monkey. Not happening! Back to the search he went. It really would have been easier if he had not made a real mess in the area.

A few more minutes had passed and finally the black box had been found. Not by Serqet, who was busy cuddling a monkey that was trying everything possible to get away from her, and not by Susano, who was still searching near where he had found the monkey corpse. The box was actually near Samira and within arms reach. Her surprise from having been dropped into a mess had passed and her mind went back to working fully. She grabbed the handle of the box and stood up. The woman marched over towards an unsuspecting wind spirit, and as she reached him the box was swung at him, being used as a weapon to send Susano flying into a tree. "How dare you drop me as if I were a rag doll, you jerk! Now I am going to have to shower for three straight hours to get rid of this mess." Samira almost screamed and considered smacking him again but fought the urge. A sigh was made to let out some of her frustration as she took out her iLac and began to put in the coordinates for their destination once more.

The spirit that had been sent flying was none too pleased. As soon as he had realized what had happened, in a flash as fast as a rush of wind, he was standing right in front of his summoner. "You got a little dirty, so what? In fact, now that I think about it..." He grabbed the iLac and forced it out of Samira's hand. "This is a handicap, and it annoys me. We're not using it!" Right after he said those words he tossed the lacrima device away and a small splash could be heard from its landing in a nearby river. Samira's stare turned into a furious glare. Her mouth opened to say something but was interrupted as Serqet came over, monkey still in arms. "Heeeeyy, stop fighting you two."

As the trio plus monkey stood there in a small circle, the ground beneath them began to groan. All of them, monkey included, looked down at their feet. The ground they stood on then collapsed and they all fell into an underground cave system, screaming during the descent.

Some. Time. Later.

The white light that would belong to Samira and her spirits shot into the air. With the amount of time they took it was likely they were last to set theirs down. If not, then that would be completely amazing and shocking. Not long after the metal box placement, the trio, and the monkey of course, were extracted and joined the rest of the group. Serqet looked as cheery and normal as ever as she held her new pet. Susano and Samira though.... well they were a mess and it showed their little adventure was anything but smooth. "Don't ask." Susano said as they joined the group. "Just know it was his fault." Samira added in. Neither of their tones were happy in the slightest, and after Samira's addition the two stared at each other with invisible daggers for a moment before both looked away and in opposite directions. "Team Samira mission complete!" Monkey shriek. Time for phase two.

Kaori spotted Samira being teleported to the ship with Serqet and Sasuno, as well as a very strange addition to the team- a monkey. Kaori blinked a few times at the creature, but decided not to question it. Knowing Samira the reason she had a wild animal with her was probably logical, containing very few absurdities. "Good work you three, that just leaves Gisen and her pet salad." Kaori said, her voice containing no signs of hatred despite referring to Silvia as salad. From above, Kaori watched and waited to see a fifth beam of light coming out from the direction Gisen was supposed to be, but saw nothing. A man ran up to Kaori as she stood on the ship's deck and said "Captain, we've got word from the Ark of Destiny. There's a minor complication..." in a calm tone that made Kaori give him a sideways glance before turning towards him. "It seems Miss Ceostra encountered an unexpected aggressor. Use of M.O.A.R. rounds would result in her death, and nearly irreparable damage to the surrounding land- but the Ark has prepared a full volley in case-" "That's not necessary." Kaori interrupted the man, her resolve to not level the place being quite high. "What can you tell me about it?" Kaori asked, folding her arms under her bust. "The enemy appears to be a thirty foot wide crab. The armor appears to be quite thick, but so far it hasn't shown any magical capabilities but we have reason to believe it's holding them back." Kaori's eyebrow twitched as she reviewed the data in her mind.

Kaori: "Opinions on standard gunfire?"
Sailor: "Out of the question, the bullets would ricochet off its armor."
Kaori: "That's annoying... What about magical weapons?"
Sailor: "They might be able to hold it back, but have little effect otherwise."
Kaori: "What about plasma?"
Sailor: "Those could melt the armor, but a misfire could be catastrophic."

The sailor had then informed Kaori that there was more news... A fourth enemy had appeared at the place where they needed to place the box. This one was smaller, more human looking- but at the same time seemed to be much more powerful. Their magic signature made them appear to be high ranking mages, both with a sword. Kaori tapped her foot, weighing her options and assets. Undoubtedly the force of the ship's guns hitting the crab's shell would keep it down but the collateral damage was something she couldn't calculate. Plasma weapons would be effective, but can case a massive fire if it misses. "Snoop Genie, get Hebisha up here please." Kaori said and the lamia would find herself on the deck of the ship instead of the cramped halls below it, why or how she got teleported there in the first place was an anomaly. "Hebisha, a giant crab popped up where Gisen is. It's got pretty thick armor so your best bet is using magic and avoiding the claws." She then turned to Samira. "Sammy, you and I will take care of those mages and plant the box. I'm not sure how strong they are so I'd rather risk overkill than underestimation." If Hebisha had asked whether she would make any difference by fighting the crab, Kaori would tell her "That's not my decision, it's yours."

Gisen would need to hold off the crab for a few minutes while Recon-One got closer to where she was to safely drop Hebisha off without teleporting her into a tree. How she dealt with the monster literally popping up from under her would be her own issue. During the trip over, a special friend of Kaori's had arrived in the form of a 15 foot tall hawk covered in lava feathers. Kaori jumped on and held her hand to help Samira up. She knew that Samira wasn't too comfortable with mounts since her first few were somewhat bumpy, but she hoped that it didn't make her completely opposed to it. Once on the hawk, it would take off at a much faster speed than Recon-One could ever hope to achieve- but the ride would be smooth. Even when the hawk tilted to the side slightly to make turns, the ride would be fairly calm and the wind would be a gentle breeze. The hawk would get low to the surface, spinning to be upside down with Kaori reaching up to grab the black box by the handle while flashing past Gisen. Afterwards, it would turn right side up again and keep going. Hebisha would arrive a couple minutes later to help.

---

---

Upon arriving at the site where the barrier needed to be planted, the two mages would encounter their opponents standing out in the open. One was a rather small, silver haired girl with a three and a half foot long sword. The other was taller than Samira, who was taller than Kaori, and had a massive sword that was resting on her back. Kaori's eyes turned to glares as she looked at the two of them. Undoubtedly the smaller one would be fast and the taller would be strong, meaning that Samira was better taking on the tall one with Amaterasu. "So, you're the famous Kaori." the small one said, a gentle smile on her face that showed a minor Napoleon complex within. "What's this about?" Kaori replied, not in the mood for formalities. "It's rude not to introduce yourself you know?" the tall on commented while crossing her arms under her chest. "What's the point, they'll both be dead soon." the blonde commented. Kaori didn't recognize either of them, so neither could possibly be a wizard saint. "I'll make you a deal!" the short girl exclaimed, looking at Samira. "If you live, I'll let you become one of my dollies!" she said, her sword beginning to glow just before the girl shot forward. Kaori vanished and reappeared in front her, using her hand to block the sword strike that was almost too fast for even her to react to. White particles began floating in the air, indicating that Kaori was about to use her Passionate Burden to buy some time, but the tall girl appeared next to her with an unamused look and smacked Kaori with the broad side of her sword. Kaori was sent flying, bouncing off the ground and sliding a bit. The small girl had jumped back to give her friend time, but with Kaori at a distance she no longer had an issue with finishing Samira. She shot forward again, but instead of hitting Samira a war hammer appeared and hit her in the stomach with enough force to make her spit up blood. Energy pulsed through the arm attached through it and then through the hammer, sending a shock wave with force to send the runt flying. The tall girl looked at Kaori who was already back on her feet, glaring daggers at them with blood running down her head from where she was cut. A key was in her hand that was black in color and mammoth finished being materialized. Kaori vanished and reappeared in the tall one's face and tried to land a punch but was hit with the sword again. The girl then vanished and reappeared over Kaori in the air, hitting her and sending her back down. 'Damn she's fast!' Kaori thought moments before hitting the ground with incredible force. If Samira hadn't already gotten a spirit out, Mammoth would say "I advise summoning someone while you have time." Meanwhile the girl with the oversized sword had tried to finish Kaori off, but was stopped by a massive magic circle that doubled as a barrier. Once Samira had at least one of her spirits out, Mammoth would vanish to free up some space.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

"Gisen still has not arrived?" The pet salad remark would have been the spotlight question since it was a rather odd thing to call Silvia, but the fact that the bunny woman still had not finished her part was much more astonishing. "Good grief, there's actually someone not here yet even after we took the scenic route? And it's the guild master? Well, this is encouraging. Either she's taking the whole official tour of the place, or she's as hopeless as Samira." Within a few more moments it was realized that things were going to be slightly more complicated and go off the track of the plan. Wherever Gisen and Silvia were they would be dealing with some sort of crab monster with Hebisha lending aid there while team Samira and Kaori went to deal with random mages that coincidentally were standing right where the last barrier marker needed to be. "Oh, hell no! Step one was supposed to be easy and that ended up being one of the worst experiences in my spirit life. I am not taking part in step two. I'm on break starting now." The wind swordsman then poofed into grey colored particles. "Me too! I'll leave Banana Joe here to supervise!" Serqet placed the small money on the ground and poofed out of existence as well. "Wait! Do not..." It was too late. An untrained random monkey would now be loose on the ship. Samira was obviously not going to be able to watch it, and she certainly was not taking the awful creature with her. Of all things the venom spirit had to befriend and keep as a pet, why did it have to be a monkey? With a sigh and a shake of her head, Samira turned away from the creature and walked away, allowing it to wreck as much havoc on the ship as it wanted.

Once the ship had gotten closer to where they needed to be, Samira would see the method of transportation Kaori and herself would be using to reach the barrier point; a lava hawk. The creature was not new to her, but it had been a very long time since she had last seen the large fire bird. She smiled with approval. Animal mounts were often too bumpy for her tastes and rough enough to make her sick. However, the last time she had rode it was after her very first mission with Kaori, and she did recall that it was less of a concern. There was no fuss to be made as she reached up and grabbed the ninja's hand and hopped up onto the lava hawk. From there, the flight began, at a high speed but definitely smooth. Well, up until it turned upside down. It was a quick motion, just long enough for Kaori to grab the black box that had originally belonged to Gisen. That did not stop Samira from tensing up and nearly having a panic attack though. If only that was as bad as things would get. If only.

When the duo had reached the barrier site, they encountered the mysterious mages that had been brought up earlier. A tall woman and a shorter one. Samira remained quiet as Kaori interacted with them, although she could already tell from the first set of words that things were not going to be pleasant. Thankfully, they were much more focused on Kaori than herself. The summoner had begun reaching for her set of keys, thinking she could use one of her spirits that were suited for crowd control and stalling, thereby skipping over an unnecessary battle. There was still more to be done with the actual mission, and she was in no mood to be wasting time or energy on uninvited guests. The short one then looked her way and shouted something about making a deal. That caught Samira by surprise and her hand had stopped going for the key chain attached to her hip. She had thought she was invisible up until that point. Then as the short girl mentioned dollies the summoner's face went blank. "Doll...ies?" Her face twitched. Surely the girl was not serious? There was not even any time to give a more proper response or make a move. The girl proved to be far faster than she could ever hope to be herself without the power of her spirits. If she further analyzed it, she would likely assume it was almost faster than even Ama considering Kaori could barely get there fast enough to block the attack. Unfortunately, due to the ninja having to step in and protect her against the attack, that left her wide open to take the hit from the taller woman as well and get sent some distance away. Samira gritted her teeth. Once again she was causing an issue just by being present in the middle of a battle and basically being an easy target that served as a major distraction for her ally and friend. It was starting to get very old.

Samira grabbed the entire key chain and prepared to summon a spirit, but the quick and small girl was making another rush for her, causing the summoner to pause her summoning process as she braced herself for the attack that was much too fast for her to move out of the way from. What had saved her was Mammoth, a spirit that Kaori had managed to have time to summon before the attack hit. The result was the small girl being sent back. That bought her at least some time. She was very much unaware that that opponent was the worst she could have ever gotten for more reasons than one.

"Agreed," Samira replied to the large spirit as she readied two keys; one for offensive and one to keep that annoying speed in check just a bit. While she wasn't using her more higher tiered spirits, she hoped it would be enough. With the battles that still lied ahead she preferred not to waste them on dealing with a brat that said she would turn her into a dolly. “Open, gate of the Avatar, Goddess of Destruction! Kali!” With the key held out and called, the blue skinned and almost demonic looking spirit appeared just as the larger spirit disappeared now that his role in stalling was over. She may have not been the fastest in the arsenal, but she was mobile and very capable. The smaller girl had recovered and was about to make yet another attempt at adding a new doll to her collection when she became occupied with having to defend herself with the rapid and vicious attacking four armed spirit. "Your speed is best used from a distance. You are slow up close. Pathetic!"

While Kali was dealing with the opponent, Samira summoned up her next spirit. “Open, gate of the Avatar, Goddess of the Moon! Awilix!”

Just as the second spirit was materializing, the enemy mage had jumped back to gain distance. Kali had wasted no time in going right after her, but the girl had predicted as such. She used her speed power to be above the spirit and attack from there with her sword. It was put to a stop before the attack could fully connect with the blue skinned spirit. Awilix was just as connected with Samira's mind as the rest and was already informed on how she could help. The gravity around the enemy girl was altered and she went crashing down on the ground the moment she appeared above Kali. Temporary stun was effective! For a moment anyway. Kali turned towards the girl lying on the ground and flipped her blades before aiming them at the girl. The pointed ends met the ground as the quick enemy proved to be...well quick. Her teleportation move had made it to where she was near instantly in front of Awilix. The spirit had raised her spear in an effort to block, which had succeeded, but making a true connection was not the girl's intent. Instead, some sort of spell was cast on her that drained the spirit's energy greatly. She found herself unable to remain in the mortal world despite the magic power of her summoner and the fact she had only just been summoned. "Strange. Not right." Awilix disappeared into a swirl of magic particles, but not the same type that indicated she returned to the celestial realm. Instead, a porcelain doll version of herself was left.

Fearing dolls, Samira stared in horror. The spirit being turned into one was mind blowing yes, but...doll. That was overtaking all of her thought processes. Kali just glared at the thing and at the small girl that seemed to enjoy turning the weaker spirit that had landed an easy hit into something so fragile. Then her eyes narrowed as she lowered her weapons. "This is ridiculous." The spirit then dismissed herself. What she didn't know was that the girl had managed to use the same spell on her while she was defending herself against Kali's onslaught of attacks. When dismissing herself, she had unintentionally given permission to be turned into a doll much earlier than what the original timer had been set to. Samira gasped and nearly fell over dead at the sight of a Kali doll standing there.

Meanwhile all the spirits watching from Samira's mindspace were facepalming.
Susano: 'Dammit, Kali! First being absorbed in Bosco and now being turned into a doll!'
Bastet: 'I question why so many dolls are drawn to Samira. Is it a conspiracy against those afraid of such things?'
Susano: 'Of all the things to be afraid of it had to be a child's toy. She can take out monsters, stand up to people that can otherwise kick her ass, and deal with all of us in her head, but toss a doll at her and she either freezes or takes off running in the opposite direction. This is so unbelievably sad to watch.'

Dolls. Dolls. Samira was frozen just from the sight of them even though they were in the image of her own spirits. She was an even easier target than before. The doll mage ported to Samira and slashed her sword against her abdomen, but it was apparent that she was just playing around at that point. The cut went through her clothes but it did not go deep at all, it was enough to cause a thin bleeding scratch. She didn't need to do much more than that. Her sword magic would take of the rest. The girl then ported away from the summoner, who would be feeling much more pain than that of a simple scratch. It was time to get started with using two new dolls to make the fight more entertaining.

To be continued...

A colossal wave of energy shot out from the woman with the large blade, threatening to crush Kaori under her own barrier but much to Namine's disdain the barrier didn't budge. Kaori wasn't a much of a wizard, but she was one hell of a power house and she'll be damned if she got crushed by her own spell. Of course, that wasn't to say she was just blowing off Namine's power... holding it back was requiring all of Kaori's strength and the use of her telekinesis. 'My how you struggle... my grandson must've made a mistake in choosing such a weak rider.' a voice said in Kaori's mind, almost throwing her concentration off. 'I suppose if I'm going to help the other, I should be kind and help you as well.' the old man said.

Kaori's barrier exploded when Namine empowered her sword with flames and overpowered it, making her drop the blade on Kaori herself only to be blocked by a white blade and begin producing a great deal of steam. Namine smirked and said "I heard you were smart. Holy water, right?" with an arrogantly amused tone. Kaori vanished and reappeared, slashing Namine's armor and leaving a frosted spot before vanishing again. She didn't even bother replying to the woman's comment, Kaori wasn't much to talk during a fight. When it was over was the time or words, but during battle, her enemies weren't even given the credit of being human, just cannon fodder. Of course, Namine was no slouch either and she used her massive sword to block in incoming attack whith a slash. The weight of the sword was immense, more than enough to send Kaori flying backwards. As Kaori stopped sliding, she felt the broad side of the sword smashing her over the back of the head and knocking her out, sending the girl to the floor. Namine then scoffed at how easy it was to take Kaori down and turned her attention to Kuromi. "Oi, you done yet? This one's boring as hell!" she shouted, to which Kuromi told Namine to wait a few more moments. Namine huffed and slammed her sword into the ground, grumbling about how she got stuck with a boring mission again...

In the darkness of her mind, Kaori saw scales moving past her. 'Are you finished, human...?' the voice asked, to which Kaori replied 'Never.' in a powerful metal tone. 'So you're not ready to die?' he asked, his tone being intrigued. 'I'm always ready to die... if it means my friends live.' Kaori replied, making the dragon laugh. 'Such a foolish girl! How will you protect them if you die?' The words were correct and pointed out a fatal flaw in Kaori's line of thinking. 'The Lareci Clan doesn't stay dead... We go to hell to regroup, then we come back a thousand times stronger. My friends, Samira, and her spirits will never be without me...' In the real world, Kaori was already beginning to move, gripping the grass below her while forcing herself to get up. 'So you'll resurrect and die as many times as it takes?' the dragon god of dreams asked. 'Absolutely.' Kaori replied, her ruby eyes beginning to turn white. 'Your ideals will cause you suffering... but you have a great deal of resolve, human. I will teach you a spell to summon my power to your body... do not abuse this.' the dragon said and his presence faded from Kaori's mind.

A green energy took over Kaori, the visage of a green, serpentine dragon wrapping itself around Kaori's body showed up moving from her stomach to her left arm and lingered. "Ryūjin..." she said, causing the dragon to glow bright and catch Namine's attention. "...no ken wo kūrae!" Kaori shouted and the dragon vanished, becoming one with the ninja and increasing her power drastically. She shot forward, screaming a powerful battle cry and forcing Namine and her sword into the sky. Kaori vanished and appeared over her, rage filling her now verdant eyes as she lifted her heel above Namine and dropped it down, sending the woman to the ground to cause a massive crater. 'Yes, human. Fight like a dragon, let your humanity wane and give into instinct...' the voice of Ysrad said in Kaori's mind. Kaori looked down with a rage filled look and began pooling energy around her hand to form a shuriken that was larger than she was, spinning while collecting fire. Samira and her opponent Kuromi would both feel the heat from the attack, as well as Kaori's immense amount of anger surging through the air as winds kicked up. Namine was still in the crater, slowly getting up while using her sword as a cane to muster the force. "You'll regret ever showing your face to me... WHEN YOU'RE IN HELL!" Kaori shouted and sent the white fire shuriken towards the spot Namine was supposed to be. An explosion ensued upon impact and the shrill scream of pain could be heard emanating from the crated. The explosion worsened and became a pillar of white flames that turned the nearby grass to ash, and the ashes to white hot glass.

Kaori formed a small orb at the front of her hand, the temperature of the world nearby dropping to absurdly cold to the point that her fire had vanished and the glass shattered into the air from the near instantaneous temperature change. The orb was pure magic, and composed of Kaori's wrath that radiated from her like pain from a deep stab. The orb shot forward and hit the hole where Namine was and Kuromi shouted "NO!" as loud as possible, but there was nothing to save Namine from Kaori's absolute anger. Kaori was after all called the Demon of Wrath as one of her nicknames, and for good reason. The hole filled with ice and using her telekinesis, Kaori lowered herself to the ground and stared at Kuromi who was glaring at her original target. By now, Samira and her would've been fighting for some time and the former had likely lost a few spirits. Samira would hear in her mind 'I know you're scared, but you know running isn't an option. Let your love for your spirits, your family, course through you and overpower that fear. I won't interfere with your fight, but I will avenge you if you lose.' Kaori would then grab the barrier device and set it, sending a white signal into the sky and making the other devices begin forming the massive barrier and isolate the three remaining monsters inside.

---

---

The crab having been dealt with, or so they thought, the ground would begin shaking and the sound of thundering steps would be heard in rapid succession. They'd also feel magical energy radiating from the crab's corpse and if they turned, Gisen would see a green mist coming from it. The crab would begin moving, the ice inside it shattering and it getting the strength to rise up once more for a second round while releasing a blood curdling scream. It stood tall and slammed its claw into the ground to send a wave of water towards the two beings, only for that attack to be blocked by the sudden appearance of a large, white wall of energy. It would seem Kaori's barrier had kicked in just in time and as the crab began banging on it, it would seem that the two were safe from having to fight two enemies. However, the thundering sound had slowed and they'd find themselves face to face with a large feline. The large cat was covered in stone plating, making it so stabbing it was a less effective, but still viable option if you had the strength for it. At the site of the new enemy, the crab had immediately made itself scarce.

"Mages come in all shapes and sizes. Where one may falter at something, another may excel."

The small cut from Kuromi's blade hurt more than it should have. The short girl was able to increase the pain her target felt, and with such magic Samira was feeling as if she had been stabbed rather than obtaining a simple cut. The feeling snapped her out of her stationary state and she cried out as she fell to her knees, her hand going towards her stomach where the cut had been made. The girl laughed and gave the summoner a smile that was befitting a more insane person. If it were not for the dolls that were around Samira would have gotten up and smacked it right off of her face. However, there were dolls, and to make matters worse they were made from two of her spirits. "You can lock my spirits away then." Of course she'd get such a counter as an opponent.

The girl giggled and mentioned something along the lines of locking them away in a doll wasn't all she could do. Before Samira could question what she meant by that the Kali doll exploded into particles and the spirit version appeared. A sigh of relief would have normally escaped her, but she held it in. Something was very wrong with the spirit that told her Kali did not just happen to over power the spell. The spirit's eyes were now red rather than their normal white glow, and she stared at Samira as if she were an enemy. Definitely not right. Even with her bitch personality Kali never glared at her in such a way. The spirit's scimitars raised and she charged forward towards the summoner, her attacks only being stopped by a small barrier that formed from her spirit keys.

Agni: 'Well that was close. I was worried about that reaction time.'
Bastet: 'That will not work forever. If that girl can turn us into dolls and use some form of mind control then this is going to be a problem.'

Samira took the small chance she had to stand up and reach for her keys once more. The mind controlled Kali leapt back and then disappeared, likely using her mobility and speed to attack from another vantage point. "Summoning one of the spirits of higher power should work to end this quickly. Maybe Ama-"

Everyone: 'NO!'
The shouts of all the spirits echoed loudly in her head and made her jump from the sudden surprise of it. "Why not?"
Susano: 'Look, you wanting to put an end to this with a flashy bang is good and all, but lets not go that route. Lets pretend you have a brain for a second. Are you pretending yet? Good. Now lets say we don't know anything about that girl's magic except she can turn us into dolls and then be used against you and as a bonus, us. Lets theorize that you bring out your most powerful spirit and she turns into one of those freaky little dolls you love so much. Are you getting where I am going with this yet?'
Samira: "We would have to fight her."
Susano: 'You make me proud. Now who here wants to fight Ama?'
Crickets.
Ama: 'What's wrong with fighting me? I would be most amused by it.'
Susano: 'Yeah, most amused by having a good excuse at kicking everyone's asses. I'm on break so it wouldn't happen to me. I am sure as hell glad for that.
Loki: 'You all do know that I could just-' Interrupted.
Ama: 'What was that, brother?'
Susano: 'Nothing. Nothing at all. Back on topic, I have one piece of advise...don't use strong spirits. For celestial's sake just don't. Use utility spirits.'
Loki: 'Speaking of, I really could-' Interrupted again.

Samira sweatdropped. The spirit Kali attacked again but hit the same barrier. Annoyed, Kuromi also attacked. The barrier was weakening, she could tell. "You cannot be serious. Something like that would work on a weak opponent. I have my doubts on her being susceptible to most of the effects on the non-offensive spirits. Not to mention..." The easier they were to take down, the more dolls that would be around. Samira went into a cold sweat just from the thought. The Awilix doll was still there...staring...trying to take her very soul...it was evil!

Ama: 'Samira... I think this fear of yours is making you lose any intelligence you once had. Use the the utility spirits to act as your support while you take on the powers of one of us. She cannot turn you into a doll or she would have done it by now. I suggest using my powers since everyone else here has decided that I cannot go out there myself anyway.'
Loki: 'Well I guess everyone is just going to ignore my usefulness here. How tragic. It'd take only a second.' Ignored.
Ra: 'It is not just you that cannot be called, Amaterasu. None of us on the higher offensive can. Stop pretending to not understand this. Your search for amusing reactions annoys me and is meaningless.'
Ama: 'It's not meaningless if I enjoy it.'

The conversation cut off as Samira now had to stop listening. The spirit Kali and Kuromi attacked the barrier together, shattering it. They'd find nothing there as the summoner had already taken Ama's powers as her own and teleported away in a blink of light. Great, she had powers and Ama's fighting ability temporary. Now what was she supposed to do with it? Cut her own spirits down? The idea disgusted her personally, but for Ama to suggest using her power she got the sense even a light spirit approved of it. Maybe it'd even return them to normal. Samira used a different key to gain access to Ama's spirit storage, which just so happened to have a weaker sword in it. While she herself was very clumsy and a horrid fighter, when using the ability that fused the spirit's power with herself she was able to do the same things they were capable of. The physical fighting was a rarely used aspect of the ability as Samira mainly just always used it for their spells. The current battle was changing things up a bit.

Using Ama's skills, Samira fought against Kuromi and the controlled Kali. Both were difficult to fight, although for different reasons. Still the spirit eventually turned into particles and Awilix was summoned as a replacement. Samira summoned her own replacements, although they did not last long after using their abilities. The shorter girl wanted more dolls apparently, and eventually the ground was littered with dolls in the shape of her spirits. She couldn't even pay attention to the fight of her fellow guild ace. Then it happened. Cupid turned into a doll right above where she was standing. His doll form fell and bounced off her head and then shoulder before finally hitting the ground. Samira tensed up and paused as it touched her, and her eyes went into panic mode. Dolls....everywhere. It was time to flee before they turned into a murderous army and went after her! A shame she couldn't even move. Even her spirits screaming for her to snap out of it wasn't enough. It was with luck that her opponent was distracted by the fate of her comrade or else she would have been in serious trouble.

Just as it seemed she would be lost in her own imaginative fears, Kaori's voice entered her mind. The words brought peace of mind and calmed her, although the fear of the dolls around here was there. Rather than focus on that though, she instead focused on a different emotion: anger. Anger at being forced to fight that girl. Anger at her magic dealing with dolls. Anger that the magic turned her spirits into dolls. Anger that the girl had the nerve to mind control her spirits and use them against her, forcing her to defeat them herself. That was unforgivable. That anger fused with the love she had for each of her spirits, even the ones that were often mean and cruel towards her. They always had their reasons for it, and most always it was for her own good. They just had their own ways of showing how they cared. A different sort of power was being used by the summoner now, but it wasn't a power that gave her the abilities of a spirit. She could feel the energy of all of her spirits surround and fill her, making her stronger for a single attack.

Samira's opponent was severely pissed off at losing her companion to Kaori, and wanted to make things equal by taking out Samira. She teleported towards the summoner to make a deadly final attack, not taking notice of the white glow around Samira that was overpowering Amaterasu's glow. Big mistake. Samira still had the light spirit's speed to match Kuromi's. When the girl appeared, Samira was ready and acted purely on instinct and anger. She punched Kuromi the moment she appeared, unleashing the mixed energy of all of her spirits and sending the girl flying backwards and into a few trees. Surprisingly, Kuromi was getting up even after that.

Loki: 'Oh, goodie. It's still going. Can you please summon me now so I can end this? This really should have been done several minutes ago.'
Susano: 'That doll girl just took a punch that had all of our energy in it! What do you think you are going to do that is more effective?'
Loki: 'It's a surprise! Now get on with it! It's rude to keep a willing spirit waiting.'

Samira arched an eyebrow, wondering why he did not just come out himself if he really wanted to. Nevertheless, she summoned the trickster spirit while her opponent was still trying to recover. "Finally!" The jester shouted cheerfully before putting on a mischievous grin as he set his eyes on Kuromi. She now had her sword back in hand and teleported to add him to her own collection. She was met with an explosive dummy that waved its hand as it tilted from side to side instead. Kaboom! On the ground she was once more. "So terribly rude! I do see that we both like dolls though. There's just one tiny difference." He snapped his fingers and Kuromi had disappeared into a puff of smoke. What remained was a tiny chibi sized Kuromi. Samira and the spirits in her head sweatdropped while allowing their jaws to drop. That's right...they forgot he could do that. "I like my dolls to be a bit more lively," he said with a high pitched laugh as he picked up the tiny Kuromi and held her tightly. The girl struggled, but couldn't really do anything. With a gentle flick to her head, she was knocked out. He then tossed her at Samira, who just barely managed to catch her. "Here you go. She's cute, but I get the feeling she would rather snuggle up to you than me." Samira's eyebrows twitched in irritation. She wouldn't allow a doll near her period and most certainly not a tiny doll version of her opponent. "Ge-Get out of here!" The jester spirit laughed before disappearing into particles. Now what the hell was she supposed to do with the now tiny human?

"You would not happen to have a jar on you, would you?" Samira asked Kaori as she turned towards her and held up the tiny Kuromi with her index finger and thumb and as far away from herself as possible as if the chibi sized mage was infected with something. She really did not want to carry her in a pocket, and there was no telling when the spell would wear off. If Hades small doll status was anything to go by, Loki would have to remove it himself.