Wednesday, December 17, 2008



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[X] Sakuya will keep it occupied while you sneak into the room.

---

The mechanical monstrosity looms before her. Over twenty feet tall, and double that in length, it spans almost the whole width of the hallway. Thousands of gears and springs spin and turn to life as the creature stares at the intruder with its cold glass eyes. It clicks its mandibles audibly, as if to question the foolishness of its challenger.

"Greetings, fellow guardian," Sakuya says. "In the name of Lady Remilia, I seek passage to the chamber that has been entrusted to you."

The clockwork guardian takes a step forward to better observe its visitor. The room shakes as several of the larger gears begin to spin. Fire and steam begins to fill the room. As if in anger, the whole chamber rumbles at her presence. The guardian clicks its mandibles incessantly. A strange device pops out from within its mouth, and from it, a deep mechanical voice begins to speak.

"I... am... servant," it says.

The creature takes another step towards Sakuya. It clicks its mandibles faster.

"Watchmaker... is... master," it says.

It raises one of its gargantuan limbs. Sakuya readies her combat stance.

"Guests... not... invited..."

In one swift motion, the spider guardian lowers its leg, crushing the ground where Sakuya once stood. The room shakes violently with the impact. However, Sakuya is faster. Before the guardian can recover, she balances herself on top of the very leg it used to attack.

"Impressive. That would have easily finished a low level servant. As expected of the Watchmaker's guardian."

Sakuya pulls out a knife from her dress. She embeds the knife deep into the joints of the spider's leg. The knife deftly jams the gears and clockwork springs. The whole leg begins to shake violently. Steams begins to come out from the crack. A loud whirring noise. Metal grinding against metal. A sudden burst followed by hissing. Uncontrolled steam and pressure. Sakuya smiles at the guardian.

"Good thing that I am no ordinary servant," she says as she jumps off.

A loud explosion, then dust and ashes. The guardian's leg lays lifeless and broken on the ground.

"Is that all you have?" Sakuya asks mockingly.

As if in answer, guardian's eyes glow a fiery red. Suddenly, the broken leg completely detaches itself from the main body, dropping to the ground with a metallic crash. Its gears and springs begin spinning faster. The room rumbles with the vibrations. Slowly, another leg begins to take its place, as if being created from the heat and metal within the air itself.

"Threat... level... confirmed..."

Sakuya throws several knives at the guardian, but not a single one hits its mark. With remarkable speed, the spider guardian jumps on to the ceiling, dodging each attack easily. Its mandibles click continuously.

"Upgrade... complete..."

Sakuya smiles at this. Perhaps this will be an interesting battle, after all.

...

Grey turns to Sakuya.

"I have something to ask of you," he says. "I know this sounds dangerous but -"

"You want me to keep the creature distracted while you sneak into the room?"

"Eh?"

Sakuya turns to him, her expression unreadable.

"That would be the best course of action, considering the circumstances. You aren't experienced enough to face that guardian in combat."

He hesitates. They don't know if there is anything of value in this place. Whatever they find might not even be related to the incidents. But Sakuya looks confident; is Sakuya willing to risk her life for this? This might be too dangerous, even for her.

"But you said that your powers don't work in this place," he argues.

"They don't. But for something like this, I won't need them."

"What?"

"Just don't waste too much time in there. I'm not sure how long I can hold it off."

Sakuya steps forward toward the guardian.

"W-wait!"

She pauses, but she doesn't look back.

"Believe in me," she whispers.

...

Another loud crash shakes the room behind him. There is too much steam to see the details of the battle, but it sounds like Sakuya isn't having an easy time. He has to move quickly. There must be something important in this room. If he can't find it, then Sakuya's efforts will be for nothing.

Grey surveys the area. The room is bathed with an eerie blue light. Looking closer, he can see its source. A series of mirrors, lenses, and prisms at the center of the room guides the light from one end to the other. Dozens of optical devices are reflecting or refracting the beam of light forming a series of strange symbols and markings.

It takes Grey only a few moments to recognize it. The pattern is exactly the same as the sealing circle they used to contain Koakuma in his dream. At the very center, a single character is formed by the light. He knows that it isn't English, but somehow, he can recognize it.

"Curse," he reads.

[ ] Leave the room. Don't touch anything.
[ ] Wear the gloves before you touch anything.
[ ] Try to block the source of light with something. (Specify)
[ ] Disrupt the pattern created by the light somehow. (Specify)
[ ] Rearrange the devices to let the light escape freely around the room. (Specify)
[ ] Form another character using the devices. (Specify)
[ ] There must be something else you can do! (Custom)

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