Welcome to Gaia! ::

Alfons and Dmitri finally reached the grounds where the shrine was located. Walking past the rock garden and up the path, the two went behind the small waterfall where the entrance to Manguusu's cavern temple lay. Alfons noticed a sign on the door. "Out wandering the Earth visiting holy places-- Manguusu."
"Scheisse," Alfons swore. "I was hoping that I wouldn't have to break in." He motioned to Dmitri, who quickly placed a small charge on the lock in the middle of the double doors. With the two standing to the side, Dmitri triggered the explosives. The moment the smoke cleared Alfons kicked the doors open.
"It very dark in zhere," Dmitri commented.
"No it's not," Alfons rebutted as he flipped a large switch by the door. Lights throughout the tunnels began turning on one after the other.
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Vincent waited next to a group of bamboo trees, watching his prey from afar. He heard several cars roll up to his left, parking in the rather distant gravel lot. Several Yakuza approached him within minutes. "Where is target?" one asked in broken English. Vincent pointed to the waterfall. The gang began pulling out their various guns, ranging from Glocks to MP5ks.
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Manguusu's train finally reached Takayama. After he debarked from the train, he rushed over to an old friend's house ("old" meaning he was 28 and had been visiting Manguusu's shrine for over two decades). Manguusu woke the poor guy up, apologizing profusely. "Ojii-chan, naze kono-jikan?" the sleepy one inquired.
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Ciro suddenly picked up on the aura Manguusu was tracking. He got a sinking feeling in his gut and his eyes widened. "The others are in deep s**t," he muttered.

((お祖父ちゃん、なぜこの時間？/Gramps, why this hour?))

"OK zhen. Let's go--"
"No. You guard the door. I'll only be a minute or two."
Dmitri looked uneasy, but he nodded anyway, pulling a PPSh41 and a round drum magazine out of his backpack. Sticking the mag in place, Dmitri racked the slide to ready the weapon. Alfons ran into the caves. About fifty feet in he could hear gunfire; he didn't even look back. Skidding to a stop another 50 feet in, Alfons had just passed a small statue of the Uho Doji. The jewel in his hand was an azurite sphere. Alfons grinned widely. "Finally! It's Mine!" He grabbed it with his right hand, a bright light enveloping him.
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Outside, Vincent's goons were fast approaching the falls. As soon as Dmitri saw one try to come up the path leading behind the water, he opened fire, killing one and injuring another. The yakuza returned fire, though blindly. Several bullets skimmed past Dmitri and most hit the wall in front of him. After a few exchanges, Dmitri had to reload. Removing the drum, he threw it aside and reached for a box mag in his pocket. Suddenly, a bright light came from the cave, blinding him for just enough to accidentally lean to far out from cover. He took a bullet in the shoulder for this. Dmitri launched himself back, pulling out his CZ75 with great difficulty using his left hand. As his sight came back, he saw a mook approach and shot him several times. The next one met the same fate. *Click-click-click* The gun was empty. Several thugs approached, one kicking Dmitri in the head, knocking him out. The others dragged him over to their boss.
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Manguusu was riding in his friends car when he noticed something worrying: dark storm clouds were circling above his mountain. "Hurry up you fool!" He yelled to his friend in Japanese.
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Ciro burst through the kitchen door. "I hate to interrupt, but there's a very familiar and powerful entity heading toward our comrades."

Kyo beamed under Val's praise.

An ominous prickle raced up Scarlet's spine when Ciro burst in.

"This is not good," she muttered. She pulled Kyo close and whispered in one of his large fuzzy ears. He raced away to do her bidding. Then she turned back to Ciro and hooked her arm in his. "Come, darling. If disaster is about to descend upon us once more, I would like to meet it in more than a dressing gown. Maybe you can help me pick out something suitable?"

Val watched them, listening carefully. his face was stoic, but he had a distant look on his face as he was deep in thought. when they walked off, he lingered a moment longer before walking off to prepare.

his thoughts were on what Goldschmidt could be up to. he knew it had something to do with his uneasy feeling about the man's earlier obvious alterior motives for coming along. somehow, he felt that whatever trust he had for that human was wearing very thin.

he found a quiet place to sit down, and made his prayers, asking whatever spirits that would listen to be with him as they went to face whatever it was they were about to face.

Vinny aimed his gun at Alfons. "Go ahead, shoot me," Alfons taunted with an evil smile. "As you wish." Vincent stepped around Dmitri and pulled the trigger. Alfons disappeared into a burst of water. Vincent was stunned, and his surprise quickly turned to anger. Just as he turned around to shoot Dmitri, Alfons reformed in front of him. "You can't stop the rain, Vinny. Water always wins in the end. Always." Water suddenly enveloped Vincent, slowly suffocating him. Alfons stuck his right hand up to the sky, electricity sparking from his fingertips. "Shi ne!" He closed his fist and brought it down on his enemy's head. Vincent fried as his cowardly minions scattered, fleeing for their lives. Alfons finished his punch, slamming the thoroughly cooked corpse to the ground. Finished, he turned to help his friend.
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"Now we have to take the long way!" Manguusu complained. They turned the car around and headed down the mountain to find an alternate route.
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Ciro walked over to the gunmetal blue armor. "Oh I don't know, we only have enough here for a small army," Ciro jested. He lifted a sword from the stand next to the figure, partially unsheathing the blade, revealing a blueish-black metal. "Clearly made by modern techniques," he thought. "I do like this set" Ciro thought out loud. Sheathing the sword, he stared at the clay soldier for a moment, realizing that he couldn't sense the unknown presence and could barely detect Alfons's new power. His senses spiked again for a moment, but then dwindled. "Why can't I focus...?"

Alfons was shocked. Dmitri was awake, pointing one of the goon's Glocks at him with his good arm. "What are you?!" he angrily inquired. "You are not zhe Boss I know!" The rain seemed even heavier than before. Both men's clothes were sopping wet, and the water streamed down their faces. "Dmitri, I'm still th--" "NO! Zhe man I know vould not do zhis!" Dmitri interrupted, gesturing towards the charred remains of their pursuer. Alfons became enraged. "I have obtained a power that only a fool would oppose! I will crush you if you stand in my way!" he yelled; it was quite obvious that power was going to his head. Electricity began sparking around Alfons as he clenched his fists and teeth. Before he could attack his friend, a blast of energy hit him, flinging him back into the the wall of the cliff containing the caves. A completely black figure then fell from the sky, creating a small crater where Alfons had been. "Tsukuyomi no chikara o miyo! Wagahai wa Amaterasu no chikara no goyō-sha ni chōsen shite imasu!"
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Ciro noticed the energy blast. "My senses can be quite random at times," Ciro replied to Scarlet, "but I can say for sure that Alfons and Dmitri are in trouble. As for us, it depends on whether or not we go to help." He paused for a moment, looking at Scarlet's eyes as he thought. He smiled. "Sweetheart, I think we should gear up and see what's happening to our comrades."
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Another tree had fallen on the road Manguusu was on. The two exasperated men were stuck on a stretch that had no exits. "Kondo wa nan'nano?" Manguusu's friend asked.


((月読の力を見よ！/Behold the power of Tsukuyomi!; 吾が輩は天照の力の誤用者に挑戦しています！/The magnificent I am challenging the abuser of Amaterasu's power!; 今度は何なの？/Now what?))

meanwhile, Valthier had been meditating in a private room. he'd already changed into a more comfortable outfit, one which was fitting to the current surroundings; a kosode and traditional Shinto garb, including trousers and vest. he wore his maroon bandana and his shades, but not his hat.

something was not right, and he could feel the imbalance.

he prayed at the Shrine to Izanagi in the room he was in, asking for answers to this strange imbalance. the message he received was unsettling; it was as he feared, someone had done something foolish, and tampered with a power that they shouldn't have. and Valthier had a sinking feeling he knew who it was.

he rose, and payed his thanks, which included folding his feelings as appropriate.

making his way back to the main room, his face had a definite expression of resolve. he was steeled as a cowboy ready for a showdown. he didn't even wait for Scarlet and Ciro; he left emmediately, headed towards the Shrine that Alfons and Dmitri had left for earlier. he used his Shadow Step, though the risks were great.

Valthier was fleeting through the mountains and forest, slipping back and forthe between the Shadow Realm and the material Gaia. he was gaining so much speed, more than he ever had before. hungry Spirits followed him, eager to feed on the energies of the confrontation to come. branches scratched his face and pebbles shifted underfoot.