Curse of Kusa - Part 1 [Event]

[Coal]

Houkou listened to the strange sounds on the other side of the door before he had entered, curious as to what was making that noise, a noise that sounded entirely mechanical. This was not his forte, being that he was a geneticist and not an engineer. Oh well. Once inside he was greeted by…a puppet? No, not a puppet, as there were no chakra strings attached to this strange construct, the visor red in color. One blue and one green visored copy lay in a heap on the floor, clearly not functioning, and the voice he had heard before spoke again from Red. Purely mechanical.

Houkou listened to what the robot had to say, one eyebrow raised, his Sharingan blazing in his eyes as he watched the creature carefully. It spoke of how this place worked, in a sense, and the need for this Bio Energy that came from the Tree Crystal. Somehow, the building they were in syphoned that energy, which was clearly chakra, in order to make this place function and open all its passageways. This was the only Tower that would probably work as well. If this place runs on the Tree Crystals chakra to refine it, I wonder if I would be enough to somehow power these two robots on the floor. With them active, this Helper Bot claims he can get this place running again. Ten years is far too long however.

“How do you activate the mechanisms that syphon the Bio Energy from the Crystal in the Tree? Also, how do you power up those two laying on the floor? What is the process for that? Once we get this place running, where does it lead?” Thinking just a bit, as the bot that’s helping had no idea of the time passage, he decided to add a bit more, “Running a diagnostic to make sure you’re still functional at maximum capacity and these are some of the questions you need to answer for a good review.” Hopefully that would be enough to fool the robot, because he did not want to face an unknown mechanical creature like this that could potentially do anything. Staying on its good side was the best course of action. Time to call it in. His radio came to life with a skrrrt!

“This is Houkou. Found a Helper Robot of some type in the Engineer room that is working, two that aren’t. Running a diagnostic on it to see what it still knows about powering this place and the two robots on the floor.” Houkou tapped his chin in thought for a second, then looked at the Robot. “Going to get the rest of my crew in here so that we can help you out. The radio came back on, “Tomomi, Harue, and Inoryu, get in here in and don’t do anything…reckless. We have a lead.” With that he would await the Robot’s answers to his questions before he would pose others, and then aid in reconstruction of this place so that they could transport to wherever it was that this place led.

[neko bo beko]

Inoryu gives a mouthful of a response, to which Tomomi seems to be rather distraught about. The two young men before her make the pinkette laugh on the spot, a soft but sharp chuckle escaping her lips as she rolls her eyes. Amused and exhausted by them both, she humors Tomomi and looks to where Houkou had disappeared to, listening to a noise that's not there. Before Tomomi had cut off their appointed man in command, Inoryu had talked about the barriers once again. Harue really didn't see them being very valuable to the unit or exploration, especially if Yuri had yet to mention them beyond warning. At the very least, Harue wasn't interested in them. "This realm is far beyond our own understanding, Inoryu-san, and poking and prodding at things like that only gets you so far..." she begins, her eyes still trained on where their team leader had left to. She didn't hear anything still. "And thank you," she says, snapping her head back to examine Inoryu. She smiles wholly, though it's somewhat forced given the circumstances. "I appreciate it. I can't stand people in command who don't accept opposing points of view." When she goes to turn back away, her pivot halts slightly so that she may flash Tomomi an exasperated expression. 

She steps away from both of them, in the direction of Tomo's previously extended finger. "If you ask me, I think we should follow Houkou." Once she stands at the foot of the stairs, she turns to the others and tilts her head, not wanting Inoryu to be offended by her concise faithlessness in testing the barriers. "Besides, I don't like the idea of one person getting to have all the fun!" She laughs a little, but is interrupted by the skrrt! of their radios coming collectively alive. When Houkou's voice echoes through it, Harue's expression goes blank as she listens to his first set of information. She hated being right sometimes - not only did she not get to meet a new life form first, they also weren't in on all the fun. 

Although Harue wants desperately to turn on her heel and ascend the stairs, she looks back to her temporary teammate, and her legitimate teammate. She'd have to squint to remember that time, though. She didn't even know where Shida was. She leans heavily towards the stairway. "See!" There's not much time in between, but by the time Houkou comes back through on the radio her foot is on the first step. She's smiling a bit too wide, waiting for them to join her on an ascension. If it's on Houkou's orders then it's okay, right? Although, the last time during this whole thing she actually got excited and peppy, it put a damper on someone else's mood. She didn't intend on letting that stop her again.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

active -
eyes of the planes
soul guard
solid regard
shadow walker: hide in plain sight

skills -
observation 81
investigation 100

Harue's Notes

SPOILER: Click to show

harue - 10 smoke pellets, 1 healing hands leyden, 1 clear nausea leyden, radio (channel 5) 4 vivre tags (half) (1 to houkou, 1 to yuri, 1 to and from tomomi)

houkou - 2 healing hands leyden, 6 vivre tags (4 half) (1 from harue, 1 from tomo, 1 from inoryu, 1 from ameya)

tomomi - 1 healing hands leyden, 2 cleanse spirit leydens, compass, radio, 3 vivre card (half) (1 to houkou, 1 to harue, 1 from harue)

inoryu - 1 healing hands leyden, 1 cleanse nausea leyden, 1 cleanse spirit leyden, 1 lightning leyden, 1 vivre tag (to houkou)

ameya - 1 lightning leyden, 1 healing hands leyden, 1 cleanse paralysis leyden, 7 vivre tags(?) (1 to houkou)

[Inoryu]

    Inoryu was abruptly cut off by a high pitched screeching sound made by Tomomi and it immediately caught his attention. When he mentions a sound coming from Houkou's direction, it was obvious that he was telling a lie as no sound came from that direction at all. He wondered what was going on in Tomomi's brain. Was he a compulsive liar among other things? Inoryu returned his attention to Harue, refusing to feed into Tomomi's pitiful effort at deception. Though, if he was willing to be deceive his own allies, it was a good thing that he was a terrible liar. [Future checks made to deceive Inoryu by Tomomi suffer -50 penalty and may be impossible]     

    As Harue replied to his thoughts, for the first time he had actually begun to build rapport with another member of his village that wasn't a relative. He found Harue's insight endearing and was elated that he she appreciated his open-mindedness. It was clear she felt that the barriers weren't worth investigating, and Inoryu thought she was right. Their mission is to investigate this place and find out what it is. Perhaps he was being overzealous in his effort to collect data and that the data he was trying to collect was useless to the investigation. She suggests joining Houkou and Inoryu was about to agree when Houkou's static voice came through his wireless radio. He couldn't help but laugh with Harue's enthusiasm after the update and nodded towards her as a 'go ahead'. 
    
    "Let's go Tomomi," Inoryu said, thoroughly unimpressed with the genin's lack of skill with deception and poor conduct. He would follow Harue up the stairs, make a left, keep moving until he could make a right, followed by a final left towards the engineer room and dismiss his glamour. Inoryu was surprised, to say the least, to find an android interacting with their team leader when he was expecting something less sophisticated. Inoryu approached confidently, but cautiously having been forewarned in Houkou's report, and touched a point on his camera vision goggles to snap a picture of Epsilon in all of his glory. He immediately found a good angle to photograph the other two bots as well. However, Inoryu suspected that the helper bot was more than a mere robot. This robot was most likely the engineer that they needed to fix the portal. "How can we help?" Inoryu asked. When Epsilon would speak next, it would further confirm his suspicions. "A.I...." Inoryu thought in utter fascination. He was even more eager to receive orders after discovering the first sign of life in the land. He couldn't help but wonder what else there was to discover. 

    

[👺 Usiel]

You're not a GM Jyuuken. You cannot dictate how a Role will go so don't do that again. GMs will dictate that which is Loki. Don't do that again or else any future checks made to deceive Inoryu by Tomomi gain a +50 bonus and may be trivial.

[j]

Tomomi remained with a dull expression on his face. Harue was more kind than he'd assumed. This would definitely put a damper on their relationship moving forward. She was being so especially nice to Inoryu that Tomo in fact felt jealous for a moment. But he quickly shook those thoughts away. No way. She was particularly talented at making Inoryu feel like his idea wasn't rejected or perhaps foolish, but simply moved on from.

Instead, Harue suggested that they follow after Houkou. A fine idea, which was interrupted by the voice of Houkou. Houkou told them he'd found something and that they were to quickly come to where their leader had gone previously. Inoryu began to follow after Harue, but paused and turned towards Tomo. He gave him a look, the sort of expression you can even see behind a pair of goggles and a helmet. Tomo quickly disregarded the verbal gesturing and followed after his comrades.

Tomomi followed them up the stairs and down the hall to where the engineer room was. Tomo hovered near the entrance to the space rather than entering with the others. He felt out of place, and quite frankly he didn't even want to be there anymore. Rather than attempting to be useful, he waited for their ideas on how to proceed.

SPOILER: Click to show

Byakugan x6 [10 meter telescopic]
Observation 260+30+30, 320
solid regard - immune to fear
acting 125?

neko bo beko , DJ Loki , Inoryu , An'ei Sekitan , Dr. Neuro, RN

[Draven]

Godric continues to stare at Yuri, wonder exactly what the situation is... He looks about as he shifts his weight to his left side.

[DJ Loki]

"A robot?" Yuri said curiously. There was advanced technology, down there sure, but she had no idea that it was that advanced, especially for such an obviously old place. This was becoming very interesting, "You even seen anything like this before Godric? Ancient advance cities? You've been around since forever." It would be helpful if Godric had encountered anything like what was being reported but she doubt that was going to be the case but that would make things a fair bit more difficult.

Back in the engineer room Epsilon looked up from his work for just a moment, as Houkou tried to run a diagnostic check on him. He let out a noise that sounded much like a snicker, and then went back to work, "Who are you fooling Life Form? I am an A.I. We both know you're rather primitive compared to the technology used to create me, look at those ridiculous communicators." Epsilon chuckled as he floated over to get something that he need. As he clanged through the parts he was mumbling under his breath, in a mechanical tone. It was clear that it was a highly advance piece of tech seemingly with a personality of it's own.

"But to anwser you questions, You aren't authorize to know how it functions. To power up these two, we'll need... hmmmmm where are you? Ah... This!" he turned around and held up a tube like device as he floated over towards one of the Helper bots. He wedged the tubing into it's exposed chest. There was the sound of clicking as the tubing was put into place. "The process is simple, Plug this other end into an energy source, it'll flow through, and this tubbing will refine the Bio-energy into usable fuel for this unit. Would have been a lot easier if they keep up their own maintenance. Ah, well."

The floating robot looked over over Houkou's shoulders as it heard the approach of the rest of this party. It floated over towards Houkou and, "And it will lead to The Curse City of Lying Roots. It's a place of Science and wonder, that rests deep within the earth. And I assure I am running at maximum capacity, don't need some surfacer scientist trying to check me out." Epsilon pointed at Houkou accusingly, before returning to his work. He was going to need some way to get pure unrefined Bio Energy into this tube. Eplison began to looke for some kind of containment unit, to hold the could be energy in. "After that I'll just have to create a containment suit to shield from the vibrations. If I cannibalize some of the material around here that could decrease the estimated time, hmmm but there's a 46% chance that the structural damage caused could hinder the portals... no... too risky. Ah maybe this."

There were thousands of sineroes running through his thought processes, and none of them seemed to be offering results that would decrease time without causing unacceptable damage to the rest of the systems.

[Draven]

Godric approached the viewing. He had never seen anything like that before but,"There is an Ancient underground city underneath Iwagakure. Similar technological advances, but in shambles. Though, I have never seen one of these, it looks non living." He observed the monitor to see if he could find anything of relavance.

(Skill roll Observation:125sp please)He was trying to find any small details about how it operated, how it talks, how it seemed to move, and even how it was conducting it's business. As it mentioned bio matter the thought of chakra or soul energy came to mind. "Is it powered by chakra?..." he wondered out loud.

Taking in all the detail he was wondering what could power that thing, if his theory was correct (Skill roll Chakra Lore:125sp please if applicable) then all they would need to do is channel chakra into that thing to finish it's request. "I feel as if it's using a Chakra device as well." he assumed again the nature of how it was talking about this device was similar to such. (Finally Chakra Lore:125sp toward bio energy receptical if applicable.)

[An'ei Sekitan]

Houkou raised an eyebrow at the robot, this Epsilon, knowing that it knew full well that it would need his help. Oh well. As the rest of the party arrived, he would hop on the radio yet again, a skrrt! echoing several times in the room and then his voice as he heard it from every radio in there. “Yuri, looks like this Robot, Epsilon, is in full working order. Apparently, the main portals lead to some ancient cityscape: The Cursed City of Lying Roots. Some kind of scientifically advanced city.” He paused for a moment and looked over at his group, rubbing his chin with his free hand

, while his right still held the radio. “Tomomi and Inoryu, both of you place your hands on those tubes and see if you’re able to power those robots using chakra. Harue, I need you to catalogue the findings here so far. And Epsilon, how do you refine…Bio Energy?”

Houkou himself paced a little bit, examining the robot for any kind of clues as to how it functions, and how to refine this Chakra it uses, while awaiting its answers to his question. That pedestal at the end of the platform must be for transport of some kind, or it was how they would get to the tree. After they were done here, he was going to need to get another look at that map and see if it held any details. “Tomomi, use the chakra you use when Hyuuga close tenketsu and see if that’s refined enough. Inoryu, just pump raw chakra and see how that works.” Once again Houkou would get on the radio. “Yuri, Ameya is out of commission and we could use another Hyuuga down here. Seems we need to refine chakra, but I would also like another pair of eyes that can see through matter. Are you coming?”

[neko bo beko]

Harue doesn't miss the way Tomomi does a sort of pout, so she lags at the foot of the stairs and leans aside so that Inoryu may take the lead. She smiles to her former or current teammate, they hadn't really talked about it yet, and accompanies him up the steps closely. She sticks to him, allowing Inoryu to navigate the halls while keeping a sense of direction, making sure he's going the right way from behind. Perhaps she could pull some strings, even if she was not the 'leader.' When they come into the new room, Harue is absolutely elated to see the new life form standing before Houkou, moving and speaking so flawlessly. It was surreal. Instead of letting Tomo stand outside of the doorway, she laces her arm around his and tugs him along with her, into the room wholly. She was boundlessly excited to help the helperbot. "Don't be a sourpuss," Harue whispers excitedly, feeling a thrill for the first time in some while. She hadn't been happy to be alive like this in at least a few months.

She breaks away from Tomomi to come stand closer to the robot gutted open, peering into his body from afar before looking to the active robot. What was his name? Their? Its... She waits for an opportunity, pulling out her notebook to follow the instructions presented to her. She wasn't exactly sure what findings Houkou was referencing, or why she'd have to write them down in her personal notebook, if that's what he meant, but it wouldn't hurt. She writes down the name Houkou refers to the robot as first and foremost. Once Houkou asks Yuri if she's coming down, Harue looks towards him and listens for a response. Momentarily she thinks about her pink beast, but she knows he'd much rather stay up there regardless or the whereabouts of her dame - er... Yuri. With her notebook and pencil still in hand, jotting down details of their findings here and there until she finds an opening - a moment of silence.

"Epsilon?" Harue chirps, shimmying closer to the levitating hunk of material. Her red eyes glittered with admiration. She didn't want to invade its personal space, if it had any, or come off as threatening though, so she keeps a respectable distance. She smiles at it though she's not sure if it'll understand the notion, but she ducks her head in a sort of bow regardless. "Hi!" She had a million questions for it, mostly all about its life and time down here, but she didn't want to be intrusive. It was her first time meeting something outside of her realm! She was admittedly a little flustered and didn't know what to say, but she wanted to say something. Instead of gushing, she tries to appeal to it - after all, you never know how much a robot will like strange people coming in and trying to take over. "Will pumping the Bio Energy directly into the tubes do the trick?" She tilts her head towards the tubes that Tomomi and Inoryu are supposed to be utilizing. Her biggest fear was that if they act too quickly, Epsilon might not have all the necessary precautions set. Was there a specific amount of energy they needed? Was there a proper receiver set up in the other helpers, or would the chakra be wasted? She taps the end of her pen against her notepad, wanting to study the robot as an individual as much as she could without objectifying it. "Is there anything you need to do before that?" 

---

SPOILER: Click to show

active -
eyes of the planes
soul guard
solid regard
shadow walker: hide in plain sight

skills -
observation 81
investigation 100

Harue's Notes

SPOILER: Click to show

harue - 10 smoke pellets, 1 healing hands leyden, 1 clear nausea leyden, radio (channel 5) 4 vivre tags (half) (1 to houkou, 1 to yuri, 1 to and from tomomi)

houkou - 2 healing hands leyden, 6 vivre tags (4 half) (1 from harue, 1 from tomo, 1 from inoryu, 1 from ameya)

tomomi - 1 healing hands leyden, 2 cleanse spirit leydens, compass, radio, 3 vivre card (half) (1 to houkou, 1 to harue, 1 from harue)

inoryu - 1 healing hands leyden, 1 cleanse nausea leyden, 1 cleanse spirit leyden, 1 lightning leyden, 1 vivre tag (to houkou)

ameya - 1 lightning leyden, 1 healing hands leyden, 1 cleanse paralysis leyden, 7 vivre tags(?) (1 to houkou)

page 2-
epsilon, the helper robot/engineer/ A I - definitely self aware
2 helpers out of commission, need refined bio energy
bio energy = chakra? tomomi and inoryu will attempt to find out apparently
...

[Inoryu]

    Inoryu tapped a point on his camera vision goggles that would end the record. He had recorded Epsilon as he spoke about the The Cursed City of Lying Roots and rambled about the science of constructing a suit of some sort to protect from vibrations, and deliberating if he should cannibalize some material for the suit opposed to the structural damage that could hinder the portals. Ultimately, he decided against it. Inoryu's heart raced with excitement by the presence of this sophisticated and highly intelligent life form. He was awestruck by how personified the being was despite being in a purely mechanical body. He wanted to ask him such questions as "What is the meaning of life?" or "Do you believe in God?" How intriguing it would be to learn more about the robot's perspective of life or the bigger picture. Another question that popped up in his mind was, "Since being created, what have you learned?" He read somewhere that A.I. were more intelligent than humans because of their infinite capacity to learn and the quickness of their learning processes, and new concepts that would lead to A.I. pairing to a cloud and learning what the other is learning, effectively doubling, tripling or more the rate of which they can learn depending on how many A.I. were learning and connected to that cloud. [Current Affairs: 125, please]

    However, he couldn't allow himself to be side tracked from the mission at hand. Epsilon was fascinating and exciting, but he had a job to do. Maybe when the mission was completed, he could come and visit the robot and have a deep, stimulating conversation with him. He moved over to the tubing that was connected into the framework of the other robot and did as he was ordered. Inoryu had a deep affinity for chakra and was born with a larger chakra pool than others and higher potential of chakra refinement which makes him especially suited for genjutsu. Though, this was his first time hearing about the Hyuuga clan's legendary chakra refinement and he wondered how it stacked against his own. He grabbed the end of the tube and attempted to pump an S-rank amount of chakra through it to power the robot. He would pay close attention to the effects as he did, keeping an open mind, carefully observing any changes that may occur, and possibly learning something new about the process. He couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement as he anticipated the robot before him coming to life. He began wondering what this other robot would be like. Would his mannerisms and thinking process be the same as the one functioning now? Or will he have a completely different personality. According to what he has read about A.I., it was most likely the latter. [Observation: 134, and Current Affairs: 125 please]  

[j]

As Tomomi walked up the stairs and down the hall after Inoryu, Harue lingered behind in order to walk with him. It was an odd gesture, one that caused Tomo to realize exactly what'd been happening. However, he didn't quite have his epiphany until they'd reached the room. It was when Harue forced him into the room with her, that his pouting registered. Tomo straightened up somewhat and pulled his arm out of Harue's grasp, in an attempt to avoid any awkwardness between them and the others. What they saw in the room was definitely exciting, at least to some of them. Tomo didn't quite feel the same way. He never felt the draw to futuristic things like this. His mechanical skills and knowledge were extremely limited.

He knew next to nothing about these artificial forms, why they were there, or how they worked. In fact, this was the first thing he'd seen anything like this. Tomo simply regarded them as puppets with their own will. It seemed that only one of them was working at the moment, leaving the other two as distraught piles on the floor. But just then, Tomo and Inoryu were given their orders. But... Tomo's order was slightly misleading and left him confused. 'When I close the tenketsu? Does he know how Hyuuga work? Do I?' However there was no point in questioning or explaining himself now. Tomo approached the robot Inoryu seemed to be exhausting himself on and got to work.

Tomomi placed his palm just above the tube and considered for a moment exactly how he'd go about putting his unique chakra into the machine. The only thing that came to mind was the chakra needles, and perhaps empty palm... But at the moment those were the only two real Jyuuken techniques he knew. A befuddled shrug, and There went the chakra. Tomomi imagined an empty palm without the force behind it. Simply chakra leaking out. Or more like one of his needles, but less pointy. It wasn't much chakra, meager amounts compared to the draining amount Inoryu pushed into his bot. Tomo took the cautious route this time, instead choosing to wait for a reaction before he put all his chakra into an attempt that may or may not work.

SPOILER: Click to show

Byakugan x6 [10 meter telescopic]
Observation 260+30+30, 320
solid regard - immune to fear

neko bo beko , DJ Loki , Inoryu , An'ei Sekitan , Dr. Neuro, RN

[DJ Loki]

I'm Up

"Yeah I got another Hyuuga up here with me... I can just pull them out of my ass. You two have meet before... so play nice." Yuri said over the radio and then turned her attention over towards Godric, "Go meet of with them, they went to this quadrant I'm sure you can follow their trail, should be fresh." Yuri said as she handed Godric instruction on where the other's had gone based on the information that was even to her. Yuri then placed her hand on her chin as she though over everything that she was hearing. This was all rather strange, but unsurprising to her. She had learned a while back that the world was a hell of a lot bigger than man believed.

Back in the Engineer room, Epsilon looked at the group curiously, "Greetings, human female." Epsilon, commented to Harue, before making an inquiry of their own. "You wish to transfer Bio Energy from yourselves? Improbable... Human don't have such functions." Epilson was not very familiar with the term chakra, such a term was not common place down here, or just refereed to in fairy tales nothing more than foolish magic stories. Epsilon looked over at Houkou, to answer his question, "Well that is quite simple, those tubings, while they may not look like much, are filled to the brim with thousands upon thousands of Micro filament filters. they take the smallest bit of unrefined Bio-energy, harness it and mold it into working energy to power everything you have seen. It's really...quite...some...thing."

Epsilons attention was drawn towards the two life forms as his sensors were picking up refined Bio Energy coming from them. He floated there in the shock for a moment, before he paniced..."Woah, woah, woah!! too much!!!" Epsilon rushed over to grab the containment unit he was going to use, and quickly yanked the tub out of the other helper bot and quickly placed it into the containment units. Tomo's managed to fill up an entire unit on it's own, while he quickly cycled through several containment units to deal with the massive supply that Ino had provided. "Stop now please..." Epsilon said as he snatched the tubing away from Ino, and his visor quickly open to reveal a slot. He shoved the other end of the tubing into the slot, and the energy burst through the the tubing into his systems.

Their was the sounds of whirling, and the cracking of gears. The light then faded as the machines floating body began to float back down to the ground, as a mechanical voice sounded "Leaving Power Saver Mode." As the robot stopped floating it's bottom split into legs and it's arms became more visible. It's fingers began to move about rapidly as it come into form and landed softly on the ground. It yanked the tube out of the slot, and as the tube came out, an animated face formed where the slot use to be." WOOOOOO!!" the face shouted as it's lips came into from an shouted out. "Ah man... this was something else. Incredible..." Episilon said as he walked over toward the containment units that were now filled up.

"You guys..." He said as he turned to look at the group once again, his visor closing own over his face as he scanned them. "All of my functions are running at 120% their normal capacity, and that was just from a fraction of the bio energy you provided. All of you are overflowing with enough refined bio energy to power this station, for centuries. Yet I sense no Bio Energy refining technology on you. Sending you bio energy through there filter, created the most pure, most potent bio energy I've ever seen. This will be more than enough to get things up an running. Thank You.... one moment."

He first took the containment until filled by Tomo and walked over toward the back of the room. he was just hoping for enough to power his companions, but with this he could get thing off of limping from auxiliary power. Her shoved the containment unit into the slot that was there. As he did so, the same whirling noise that was heard when he came out of power save was heard all around them. "HAHAHA wonderful. All systems are online. Handy Bots should be online shortly. Ah... give me one moment... I need to get everywhere else back online." As he said this his picked up two of 8 containment units that Inoryu had filled and then then he blinked from existence, as he teleported towards one of the other towers, this was one of the many functions restored to him from the energy he received.

A moment later, Houkou would here Both Su and Salihn over the radio asking, "Hey Houkou we have some activity going on here. Everything seems to be coming back online. It that good new or Bad news?" They waited for Houkou's answer as Eplison appeared before the group once again, he started to walk out of the room with a visible hop in his step, he clearly seemed to be in a good mood, "My word haven't felt this good in years, I think this could power me at this efficiency for at least 200 years, how wonderful. Come this way, if there is something to be done with those two the Handy Bots will handle it. shouldn't be but a moment for them to run a proper diagnostics. Until then, I'm sure you all have questions." As he said this floating smaller bots began to zip pass the group, they were everywhere as they began to fix the disrepair of the place.

[Draven]

Godric nodded "As you wish..." he noted as he activated his Byakugan. Indeed the footsteps from the others were around him. He started to trace them with his all seeing eye. He would enter this massive place. He was versed in tracking so if the trail somehow became difficult he was a quick study to pick it up again.

Other than the walk it was simply following it till the trail ended. He noted how it split off into other directions, but he figured it would converge with the rest no matter which trail he followed. Looking at the monitor before hand he noted the group was together, so it was an easy assumption.

If all things went as planned he would see the others. His eyes were already trailing toward the two he had met at the embassy. A slight grin fell upon his face, though his brand new Kusa headband dangled on his belt on his left next to his multi weapon holster.

"Good evening, I was told an extra pair of eyes were needed..." Godric said as the understatement trailed off. Looking around to capture his own eyes upon the scene to see what he could see. If there was anything of interest he would focus upon it, given his excellent observation.

Should their be unchecked halls or other avenues, he would use his telescopic eye to see what he could glean from those routes. And finally getting a fresh set of eyes upon this contraption, he would marvel at it's craftsmanship.

[An'ei Sekitan]

Houkou was not at all astonished to see the activation of the robots, as a geneticist it was easy to deduce the use of chakra as the power source for these Artificial Intelligence automatons, as they had already previously told him that was the case. He was surprised however to find that the body natural had refined chakra on hand. What exactly is unrefined chakra and how do you find it? Epsilon had a visible pep in his step, so to speak, which only slightly annoyed Houkou, that comment earlier still itching at him a little. “Guess you needed a surface scientist after all.” The robot vanished and reappeared almost instantly, having placed some tubes here in the containment units for this tower, then most likely doing the same for the others, before returning. Houkou knew this because of the radio chatter that followed shortly after. Skrrt!

“This is Houkou, the turning on of the towers is neither good, nor bad, but it is the way forward,” he would begin, apparently taking charge of the entire expedition somehow, “The pedestals at the ends of the lanes closest to the tree, the ones that need you to place your hand within, seem to be the teleporters. The destination will be The Cursed City of Lying Roots, so let any Helper Bots you might have over there know that is where you wish to travel, they are the Engineers. They’ll be the ones that are taking charge of the other bots. Double check with them on those teleporters though and get back to me if they say anything different.” Once Epsilon was on the move, Houkou would follow suit, signaling for the others to come with as they were about to enter a brand new location soon. Skrrt!!

His eyes would light on a familiar face, though it was not one he had previously been privileged to knowing would exist within Kusa, yet that Kusagakure no Sato headband was unmistakeable, as was that ridiculous height and pale flesh. Godric. Was it Yuri's task to have his emotions war within him, with some sick twisted delight in torture perhaps? He could not focus on that now however, but it was definitely something that would have to be settled sooner or later. Instead, having run into Godric in the hall, he would utter a simple command and expect this new addition to fall in line for the time being. "Come." As they followed, Houkou would get on the radio once again, keeping himself in check as perfectly as he always did, that is to say only a slight growl was in his voice. Skirrt!

“Once we are in this city, the first priority will be meeting up, so everyone do your best to head for the center of this new place or the largest structure you can see. Be on your guard, the name itself implies trouble, so boost your mind and body for battle. I’ll see you there.” Allowing the radio to end transmission, Houkou would then address Epsilon, doing more talking than he really had in his entire life. Skirrt!! “Epsilon, our destination will be The Cursed City of Lying Roots. I do have a few questions though. This Cursed City of Lying Roots, as a hub of science, how much experimentation with mutations took place there and what should we expect after so long out of reach and commission? Are those pedestals the transporters to get to this city? How do we get back?” These were the most important questions on the Chuunin’s mind, as he would be leading everyone in, and he had to think of their safety and return first before anything else.

[neko bo beko]

Why did Harue nearly swoon when Epsilon regards her? Where did this strange fascination stem from? She had no idea. She didn't know why her eyes were wide, observant and awestruck, as she watches the foreign being. She can't help but smirk heavily as he responds to her but only trails off, seemingly amazed that he was wrong. Perhaps AIs weren't as all-knowing as they claimed to be - but that only made Harue all the more interested. She wants to nip at Epsilon's heels as he moves around, but he seems to be in such a frantic rush that Harue allows him some space. Instead, she takes to her notebook again, recording everything as it happens. Her eyes jot up to examine Epsilon every now and then, the way he moves and talks and goes about his business. When he takes on a more humanoid shape, Harue blinks a few times, simply observing. She barely even registers the radios all coming alive or the echo of voices. The only reason she knows to follow Houkou and the others is because she was already at Epsilon's heels, on his side opposite of Houkou once he catches up to the bot as he walks and talks. 

Maybe it's Harue natural affinity for secretary-ism and accompanying the highest up closely, but she willn't admit that that's probably not the case. Just as it is with Yuri, the only reason she feels so inclined to be so close is due to an immediate admiration and liking of the robot. He was different and cold, and didn't take bullshit from 'surface' dwellers. She could dig it.

Harue slows briefly when she sees Godric. Wasn't he with Krystal the last time she saw him? As a stone representative? She tilts her head, smiling towards him but not wanting to break any balances, she remains silent as they all continue their stroll with the bot. She checks Godric, watching him for a moment, before realizing the hitai-ate on his belt. It wasn't always of Kusa, surely. She looks back towards Epsilon, then Houkou, before to her notebook. She'd grown increasingly accustomed to writing and walking at the same time flawlessly. She keeps her eyes peeled, using her peripheral to keep her surroundings in check. Hopefully they'd make it safely to wherever this Cursed City was, and hopefully Epsilon would continue to accompany them.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

active -
eyes of the planes
soul guard
solid regard
shadow walker: hide in plain sight

skills -
observation 81
investigation 100

Harue's Notes

SPOILER: Click to show

harue - 10 smoke pellets, 1 healing hands leyden, 1 clear nausea leyden, radio (channel 5) 4 vivre tags (half) (1 to houkou, 1 to yuri, 1 to and from tomomi)

houkou - 2 healing hands leyden, 6 vivre tags (4 half) (1 from harue, 1 from tomo, 1 from inoryu, 1 from ameya)

tomomi - 1 healing hands leyden, 2 cleanse spirit leydens, compass, radio, 3 vivre card (half) (1 to houkou, 1 to harue, 1 from harue)

inoryu - 1 healing hands leyden, 1 cleanse nausea leyden, 1 cleanse spirit leyden, 1 lightning leyden, 1 vivre tag (to houkou)

ameya - 1 lightning leyden, 1 healing hands leyden, 1 cleanse paralysis leyden, 7 vivre tags(?) (1 to houkou)

page 2-
epsilon, the helper robot/engineer/ A I - definitely self aware
2 helpers out of commission, need refined bio energy
bio energy = chakra? tomomi and inoryu will attempt to find out apparently
bio energy definitely = chakra. epsilon running at 120% and says that we could fuel this place for centuries or something. must now know humans so closely, or if they have met humans then they were considerably weaker than our generation
all towers are going to be functioning thanks to our unit.
we're going to the cursed city of lying roots, presumably 

[Inoryu]

    Inoryu was startled by Epsilon's reaction to the amount of chakra he was pumping in the robot, but it was too late to stop, he was committed. It was amusing to watch Epsilon manage what appeared to be damage control as he took the tubing from the robot's framework and placed it into numerous containment units. Inoryu stopped immediately at Epsilon's request, though even if he hadn't, the robot abruptly yanked the tubing from his hands to use the remaining Bio Energy to power his own supply. Finally, when the chakra was fully allocated, Inoryu was awestruck as the light seemed to dim and the sounds of mechanical systems began throughout the engineer room. The artificial body that took the first of his Bio Energy began to levitate in the air. Inoryu could feel excitement coursing through him as the artificial body floated to the ground and began to speak! The Yamanaka was rapt as the bottom half of the machination split into legs, its arms became more visible, and its fingers moved about rapidly as it came into form and touched the ground. It was quite the sight to behold and it took Inoryu's breath away. It yanked the tubing out of the slot behind its visor, and a face capable of vast expressions formed in its place.

    Inoryu was taken back slightly as the AI shouted with exhilaration, not out of disgust but from the sheer exhilaration it inspired that almost overwhelmed him. For the time being, the scene was enough to make Inoryu feel alive and fully in the moment, rather than being in his thoughts. Instinctively, he focused on his breathing to calm down as he watched the revitalized robot slip the containment unit filled with Bio Energy into a slot, more sounds of machines started. The engine room was coming alive as well. He was ecstatic that he had supplied enough chakra for the robots and for the engine, or what seemed to be the engine. He couldn't help but laugh and beam as his emotions overflowed. Inoryu also found it immensely amusing that he poured out the chakra, there in that particular engine room, the robot vanished and seconds later to hear the other teams over the wireless radios update that their engines were being restored as well. When the robot ordered to follow him, smaller, less sophisticated bots flew into the room to treat the other machines. Inoryu would wait for Houkou's order, or follow his own directives.

    Just then, a newcomer appeared and Inoryu's first impression was his unbelievable stature. Inoryu thought that he was dwarfed by Houkou, but the height of the new Hyuuga dwarfed even Houkou. He noticed the same peculiar eyes inherited by the Hyuuga clan, he had gleaned that much over the exchange Houkou had with Yuri over the wireless radio. He then noticed the large number of swords that he had holstered on his person. Inoryu wondered, "Did he come to supply us with swords?" Rather than act on his assumptions, he would remain passive. He then noticed his belt regarding the symbol for Kusagakure from a headband. With Houkou's order to follow, he would stride behind, alongside Tomomi, giving him the opportunity for any kind of exchange as they made their way through the halls. He would try to glean more information about the boy, but he was perfectly fine with silence as well. 

    However the interaction went, Inoryu would observe Houkou's orders and prepare for battle. It made him imagine transporting to The Cursed City of Lying Roots, and being separated from the team. The notion of the team separating terrified him, not so much for concern of his own well being, but for the concern of others. He was confident that he would be able to make it to the checkpoint, but what if the genin ran into trouble, would they be capable of handling it on their own? Was Inoryu capable of handling himself in completely new territory? Explorers; though they cause the human race to progress as a whole, must have the courage to go where no man has gone before and deal with threats that might have never before been challenged. Inoryu weaved four hand seals and activated the aspect of the four winds jutsu, intriguing the east aspect to increase his luck. Then he activated the selective invisibility glamour a second time, choosing for all of his team, the towering Hyuuga, Yuri, and Ameya included, to not be affected by the genjutsu. All else was subject to possibly being deceived by the glamour. He felt confident in his armor that enhanced his stealth and protected him to a great degree, and all of his weapons that were sharpened. 

SPOILER: Click to show

Jutsu activated- 
Selective Invisibility [Will save= 32, Stealth= 386] [Trickster Trait: Active 30 minutes]
Rank: "C"
Skill: GenJutsu
Effect: As Invisibility, except the user may allow certain creatures to see them. These creatures must be chosen at the time of performing.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: Affects anyone who sees the target. The user is able to perform this technique on the target they touch. The duration of this technique lasts for 5 minutes per class level. This technique may be negated. As Invisibility, except the user may allow certain creatures to see them. These creatures must be chosen at the time of performing.
Limit: Must know the Glamour Perception. Must know

Aspect of the Four Winds
Rank: "D"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: User taps into one of the directional winds to give them a bonus.
Special: Handseals
Drawback: ---
Description: Range of this technique is personal. Duration of this technique is 5 rounds per Class Level. Target is the user. User takes on the seemingly discordant characteristics of the four winds, making their actions and movements unpredictable. The user gains one of the following benefits based on the aspect they select at performing:

North Aspect: +1 enhancement bonus to Movements.
South Aspect: +10 competence bonus to Jump Good and +1 Fly maneuverability.
East Aspect: +1 luck bonus to Saves.
West Aspect: +2 luck bonus to Range Attack Damage.

Limit: Must know Wind Release.

[j]

The machines came to life suddenly. Surely the Kusa team couldn't have expected that their chakra would be so potent. Houkou seemed somewhat composed and self-assured, although perhaps that was his default state. Inoryu was reacting oddly as usual. Maybe he didn't understand that his chakra isn't infinite? He did give the robots a rather large portion of his chakra, but he didn't even flinch while his chakra transfered. But other than being slightly bewildered, Tomomi didn't seem to care much. Both Inoryu and Harue obsessed over the robots while they went about their business.

Tomomi's interest in the odd figures was perhaps disheartening. Typically a curious young man, Tomo was more interested in finishing the mission so he could go home. The mentally fatigued Tomo stood in the corner for a bit, before a new figure came into view. Tomo saw the man just before he entered the room, allowing Tomo to react somewhat before the fellow actually came into the room. Tomo gasped as his eyes fell upon the giant. He was... amazing, and probably familiar. All of his previous disinterest seemed to fade away instantly.

Where did he see this guy? Wasn't he someone he'd met several times before? Instead of greeting the Hyuuga, or perhaps introducing himself, Tomo spent several moments examining the man. As the group followed after their leader, Houkou; Tomo continued to inspect the strange fellow. Tomo made odd noises while he walked next to the man. "HMMMMM..." he'd exert with an inquisitive hand placed on his chin. If Inoryu was trying to get close to Tomo, he couldn't have paid it any mind, perhaps shoving the armored dweeb out of the way if he had to.

WHO WAS THIS GUY!?

SPOILER: Click to show

Byakugan x6 [10 meter telescopic]
Observation 260+30+30, 320
solid regard - immune to fear

neko bo beko , DJ Loki , Inoryu , An'ei Sekitan , Dr. Neuro, RN

[DJ Loki]

Tutorial Over... Mission Start!!!!

Epsilon head perked up from a moment and then made a full 180 degree turn, and then faced Inoryu as he performed his jutsu. Epsilon eyes scanned the boy as he preformed the Genjutsu, it had no effect on the Robot as it had no senses to fool, or manipulate. It then turned his robotic head back around, "I see... I believe I understand now." He said as he looked over at Houkou, and his scanners seemed to piercing through him. "Yes... you surfacers, you have found a way to cultivate the bio energy within yourselves. Through that cultivation, you have gathered obscene amounts of it, to the point you can perform Aberrations within the use AADs. Truly a marvel."

Epsilon continued to relay his thoughts out loud as the humans chatted over their primitive communication devices. "But your application of the Bio Energy is far to heavy handed. Though I suppose that is a natural progression. Through that cultivation, you own body has filtered and molded the energy into it's purest usable form. However, without the assistance of AADs, much is wasted in the application. But with such a high capacity, you can accomplish about the same feats." Epsilon nodded his head, "Humans are truly fascinating, to completely diverging paths, bring you to the same conclusion. If your Capacity and honed control were applied to AADs... truly terrifying entities could be born." After he had shared his thoughts, several of the robots came floating towards him. They made a series of beeps and then floated off.

"That's unfortunate... It seems my Helper Brethren are in far worst shape than I hoped for. While they are in fully functional condition, their primary A.I. functionally are completely shot... it will be some time before they can recover. However, that is my concern, in their current state they should be more than capable of getting their respective towers in repair." Epsilon then finally turned his attention over towards the large human that had made his appearance. But he was not a human at all... not really, "Greetings... well life form isn't really accurate is it? Regardless... there is a strict no biting policy, I hope you brought your own food sir. And all light here is artificial, so no worries."

Epsilon patted Godric on the shoulder and continued until they were back in the main room. Once they arrived there he began to answer their questions. "Experimentation, with mutations, have been strictly forbidden. All experimentation, is mechanical, and software based. I haven't been back to the City myself in some time, but the last i was there they were making breakthroughs with AAUs or Aberration Assistance Units. It draws the bit of Bio Energy in the human body, and forms it to make it possible to do marvelous things. Much like the Aberration that young one had performed earlier. It was in it's infancy when I was there last, but if my calculations are correct, while they possess on average, not even a 10th of the Bio Energy of any of you here, they should be capable of similar feats. I say this only because you have the look of warriors, and I'd advise against inappropriate actions."

He then nodded his head, "That Platform is indeed how you made your way to the city. There will be a similar device on the other end that will return you here. However, I doubt that it will be manned, as this side has been out of commission for sometime. Are there any more questions?"

"Yeah I have a Question... you can hear me right?" Epsilon titled his head, over towards Harue, and then walked over and leaned in as he heard the voice of Yuri over the primitive device. "I assume you are the Leader of this group."

"I'm the leader of their whole village." Epsilon's head tilted to the said, and then gave a polite bow, "A surfacer Queen? It is a great honor, how may I assist you?"

"That city, they're about to go to. You know it well right? I want you to be their guide through it. If it's not to much trouble. So... what do you want in return." Epsilon's visor shot up and it's eyes fluttered for a bit curiously. "Your majesty, as a Helper Bot it will be my great honor to guide your vassals. Just the opportunity to observe surfacer mannerisms will be enough. Move over, I can gather materials there to help me fully repair my brothers. So this is a win win for me." Yuri laugh delicate laugh could be heard over the communicators, "Excellent... Houkou, make good use of your new resource. Godric make sure to keep an eye on Epsy, please."

"Epsy?" Epsilon inquired, he had never been giving a nickname before. He also countered, "You are aware that I can hear you right your majesty?"

"Yeah... and your point? Good luck guys, make sure to keep me posted." Epsilon, was at a lost for words. Such an angelic sounding woman, yet she was so, direct, forceful. Truly she was a Surfacer Queen. The moment he agreed to help, he became nothing more than another subordinate to her, and a new one at that, one that needed supervision to make sure that he was cohesive with the team. It was a wise choice on her part, and her directness was something he appreciated. Epsilon nodded his head, and then turned to Houkou, "You have an interesting Queen... this way to the portal, it should be ready by the time we get there.

[Draven]

Godric's eyes passing from one to the next. Perhaps his presence was making a stir, but this was something he was accustomed to. Attention was actually something he enjoyed, so he gave a nod and a big toothy smile to each. "I supose I should introduce myself... Though some of you already know me." he passed a glance to Houkou and Harue. "Godric Hyuuga, Dark hand of the Hyuuga, Former Tsuchikage, and Former Iagakure employee. I am now one of you, in a sort of Shinobi exchange program." And with that Godric followed the orders of Houkou, to follow.

As the words were coming from Epsilon, his glance passed over to Tomo. Such curiosity coming from another from his tribe. There were a few Hyuuga here in Kusagakure, which was starting to grab his interest as well. He wondered if this village was some sort of refuge for the Hyuuga. He had not been to the mansion in quite some time, and wondered if something had happened. As he was about to ask Tomo, "Wha..." Epsilon addressed Godric personally.

The notion of who he was or rather what he was passed through the air like molasses to Godric. With a nod he acknowledged the rules. "I follow laws of any land. If I need food, I'll suffer, else find my own means, if need be. You won't have to worry about me." he stated. Though he did find himself lacking in any reserve.

Finally an order from Yuri. Godric to be charged with the presence of another. He had once looked after an entire village, so a single being was trivial, none the less he acknowledged. "As you wish." More information came across, and the realization that they were to be transported by a single platform was a vexing prospect. Should they need emergency retreat or should things fall apart within this unknown land, thing could become problematic with this 'platform'. He did not wish to be held captive by unknown automatons should things turn sour.

Godric pulled a 7 foot long Katana from his Multi Weapon holster. He looked around for just the right crack in the wall or just the right material before shoving the katana in. With great force he used Power attack and time if need be to wedge the weapon into the wall if need be. It was the exit strategy, a Hiraishin seal placed upon each of his Katana. The one he placed in the wall bore one as well and this would put his mind at east. "I am ready to journey." he noted to Epsilon as he boarded the platform, sticking close to the automaton.