Well, then here chapter 15. i actually have a lot of fun writing this chapter. Despite the apparent lack of review except from my editor. Seriously guys, your words help.
Managed to get this done before the new year. Well, i babbled for too long.
One more thing. To facilitate easy reading, i decided to make thoughts highlighted by '.
For example,'DAMN he sucks.' Dutch thought.
Enjoy.
Night
Tengu village
Outside Tengu Guards Quarters
The White Wolf guard walked.
Tonight was like another night. Just another night of guard duty. The cold night air and the starry night sky. Winter was fast approaching and the night was a clear indication of it. Just like any other night.
But by dawn, it will be a totally different day.
Stepping on wooden battlements, crossing from one watchtower to the next, the White wolf Tengu hastened his footsteps. The faster he completed his rounds, the faster he can rest in the Warm barracks.
He entered the empty watch tower. Savoring the heat trapped inside its wooden interior, the White Wolf Tengu sheathed his sword and shield and leaned against the wall. Youkai or not, even he could not hold a sword and shield all night, especially in this cold one.
With his eyes closed, the Tengu picked up a small shuffle with his sensitive ears. He ignored it the sound, just dismissing it to a rat or a bird moving. No one in their right mind would dare attack the White Wolf Tengu quarters, it's like poking the hornets nest.
"Good night."
The Tengu jerked open his eyes lids. He looked up from the ground, and saw that a human was standing right in front of him. His brown hair, blue eyes and green fatigues somehow blended with the dark; leaving only the black Suppresser Equiped M9 barely visible in the nightlights.
'Ho...'The Tengu thought as the human grinned and pointed the weapon's barrel right at the surprised Tengu.
*Palt!*
Just as the wolf Tengu guard was about to reach for his sword; The 9mm non lethal bolt, just as black as the weapon that fired it, struck the White Wolf Tengu and knocked him out. He jerked back as his consicousness faded, and slid down the wall. The Human, who could be identified as Dutch Kotozaki, stood over the knocked out guard with a serious expression.
Dutch checked his surroundings. It would be annoying if all the time he spent waiting in the dark would be wasted due to that one moment when he took out the guard. Making sure that the guard was alone, Dutch picked up the guard by his legs and dragged him into the dark. While covering the unconscious guard with some hay he found in the tower, Dutch took the shield on the ground as well and hid it in the hay.
With his concealment finished; Dutch crouched out of the tower, taking extra care to hide in the shadows casts by the battlements and eyes constantly scanning for guards.
Dutch sighed as he looked around. Just yesterday, he was fighting a one vampire army, and now he's taking on an actual army, and of course, who is to blame? 'Goddamn Yukari.' He thought.
Flashback...
"Simple. You will attack the Tengu."
'What?' Every person in the room not sitting had various expressions of disbelief on their face while Dutch simply hardened his face to the information.
Yukari held her parasol over her head; even though the twilight of the evening graced the land. "Specifically, the White Wolf Tengu." Yukari continued.
"Lord Tenma. Pardon my impudence but surely you cannot support such a venture." Momiji said with her ears lowered and hackles raised.
"But I do. Stay your anger, Captain Inubashiri." Tenma adopted a serious expression. "This matter concerns you as well and it requires a clear mind." Lord Tenma answered, none too insulted by his subordinate's actions.
Momiji looked down and breathed in deep, then sighed. When she looked up again, her posture was composed, but in her eyes there was a conflict going on.
Tenma kept her serious expression, but somehow maintained a warming look. "Thank you." Tenma acknowledged Momiji's compliance, then continued. "Very well, since this may sound shocking to you, I will explain why I have agreed to this venture with Yukamo." Lord Tenma said while gesturing to the seemingly carefree gap youkai.
"For centuries, there has been a peace between all of the Tengu. Each group puts the good of the village before themselves." Tenma suddenly looked down at the ground. "However, in recent times, the White Wolf Tengu have grown to be a lot more bold. They have started to disagree with the other Tengu, putting their ambition before the village." Tenma looked up from the ground, and with an even more serious expression. All the previously-present warmness in her voice vanished as she continued. "If left untreated, they may cause tension with our ranks. Captain Inubashiri, on the trust that your word is true, do you disagree with my words?" Lord Tenma asked with shadows covering her eyes.
"I do not." Momiji answered while seeming a little surprised at the Tengu lord's mood-swing. While her experience was of an outer patrol Captain, disconnected from the life of the village, even she could see the danger in Lord Tenma words.
Lord tenma smiled as the warm feeling returned to her voice. "Good, at least you understand. I was approached by Yukamo with a plan to calm down the White Wolf Tengu. The human will attack the White Wolfs from inside their quarters. The humiliation alone from such an attack will dampen the White Wolfs ambitions." Lord Tenma finished.
"I understand." Momiji answered.
"May I ask when, how and where this will be done?" Dutch asked, multiple scenarios running though his mind. Most of them ended badly.
"When will be tonight, and how? That's up to you. Use your imagination. Where? The quarters of the White Wolfs, an area connected directly to the village walls for ease of defense. You will be inserted directly into the village walls. How you proceed from there will be up to you." Yukari returned Dutch's question with a confusing answer. Dutch decided it was best not to question the gap troll any further, and just went along with the flow of things.
Instead of asking Yukari to clarify, he maintained his hardened expression, and looked directly at the gap youkai. "I will need several items for the attack." Dutch threw the conversation back to Yukari. He was just putting the finishing touches to a skeleton plan of attack in his head.
Yukari held her fan out and hid half her face as usual. "At your drop point, I left a gap. Just think what you need and it will give it to you." She responded in a cheerful tone.
Dutch sighed, and raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, I'm going right now?" Dutch questioned, having experienced Yukari's tendency to drop him right into situations repeatedly.
Yukari put he fan away and winked at him. "Very perceptive." She lightly tapped him on the head, and Dutch dropped through a Gap...right into a Hay stack.
Spitting out the hay, Dutch looked around. He was inside a wooden tower, and from the view through the entrances, he could see the rooftops of the Tengu village.
'Watchtower. Village wall.' He concluded in his thoughts.
A piece of paper fluttered onto his head. Taking it off, he read the words on it:
For best results, you need to steal something from the top floor of headquarters of the White wolfs. Here's a map. Good luck.
Dutch sighed, and stuffed the paper into one of his pockets. "That's not how you end a briefing." He whispered.
The annoyed gunman settled in for the night, and awaited to make his next move.
Now...
Shaking his head at the unfairness of it all, Dutch crouched through the darkness. The darkness did not affect him, because one of the enhancements he got gave him perfect vision in low light conditions, and if there was no light? Well… infrared does not need light.
Hidden from sight, Dutch came upon a ladder on the side of the wall. He carefully mounted the ladder, and to avoid making any sound, he slowly climbed down to a lower floor. Once he was half way down, he heard a noise below him and froze.
Right underneath him, at the base of the ladder was another Wolf Tengu. Her body was against the wall, and her head angled backwards as she quietly napped. If she opened her eyes, she would see Dutch's body framed against the starry night sky.
"Oi Sagi-san! It's better to rest in your room." Another Wolf Tengu called out as he walked along the base of the wall.
The Wolf Tengu below Dutch got off the wall and glanced at the speaker and saluted. "I would agree, Hano-dono, except that the Captains have called for a night drill and they are taking anyone they find in the barracks."
Hano returned the salute and laughed. "I see. That makes us lucky that we are on night duty."
The two Tengu walked off, continuing their conversation as they rounded a corner. Dutch breathed a sigh of relief and climbed the rest of the way down. Once his feet touched the ground, he quickly dashed off into the shadows.
Hidden, he remembered what the map showed. If he was right, he was in the Barracks area, where the troops stayed. And according to the two Tengu, there was a night drill going on and anyone found in the barracks was pulled in.
Good news. Instead of crossing the alleyways, which was his original plan, he would use the barracks, and since it would be relatively empty; he would have a lesser chance of being spotted.
Dutch looked around, and bad news greeted him. There are a lot more guys awake and around the area.
Shrugging, he pulled his pistol from his holster and continued off. He turned to look up at the night sky as he entered the lion's den. He gazed up at the night sky, and he saw a shooting star. "Wish me luck." He whispered.
Sky
Over Tengu Village
The golem landed. It dis-engaged its lunar shroud and slid into the darkness.
It's objective. Locate the source of the signature and eliminate. All other threats, knock-out.
It flexed it's claws and wist-shooters. It's oval single-eyed head spun a full circle, testing it dexterity. Satisfied with its current status, the Golem's eye brightened in the darkness.
It moved through the darkness. Even with-out a soul, it craved. The only way to quench that craving was to kill.
It hunted.
Tengu village
White Wolf Quarters
The Tengu sighed in comfort as she entered the barracks. The cold night air really made walking around with weapon and shield uncomfortable. Smiling contently at the heat, she left her weapon on the wall and sat down on her own bed.
Reaching for her shirt, she pulled it up.
*Plat!*
Dutch got up from the closet from where he was hiding. The Tengu was lying on her bed, her shirt half off. Dutch could clearly see her, ahem, well developed assets through her Sarashi from where she lay.
Shaking his head to clear his mind, Dutch went for the door. Thank goodness that he shot her quickly, otherwise it would have gone from stealth mission to voyeur quest.
…Damn did those look good.
'Focus!' He thought as he slipped outside. Looking around, he noticed that he was at a four way crossroads...and the sound of marching was approaching. Very rapidly.
Quickly, Dutch returned back into the barracks, leaving a small crack in the door. The sound came closer and closer. Dutch peeked through the crack in the door. Outside, a column of White Wolfs marched past, their sword and shield held high. At the head of the column, a White Wolf with a Maple flag led the whole contingent, silent. In fact, the only sound Dutch could hear was the sound of marching feet. Not a single command was given as the group, like some organic creature, made a smooth left turn and disappeared down the road.
Waiting at the door for about a minute to be sure, Dutch exited the barracks to find himself was all alone. Standing at the side of the crossroads Dutch could see the headquarters of the White Wolf' Tengu guard from where he was.
"Headquarters. A big and obnoxious 'Target me' Sign." Dutch said to himself as he read the signs on the crossroads. If he went that same way as the column, he would reach the headquarters. But that path must take a back seat first. He got another path to take first.
Checking his surroundings, Dutch went down the path in front of him, running from shadow to shadow. A picture-perfect version of the map displayed clearly in his vision allowed him to find the closest alley. Moving quickly, Dutch travelled in-between buildings.
"Craziest idea ever. Of all time."
"What? It makes perfect sense when you look at it. It will be a perfect distraction if we need it and if we don't, It will be a great calling card."
"It's still crazy."
Dutch shook his head to clear the voices. No time to reminisce.
After a couple minutes of sneaking between buildings, Dutch came to his destination. A small warehouse, barrels stacked on top of each other on the outside. A pair of guards stood at the door, hardly a care in the world as they chatted.
Dutch smiled as he carefully aimed with his pistol. Taking his time, Dutch carefully sighted both the targets until he was confident he could shoot both within a second. Aiming, he pulled the trigger.
Plat! Plat!
The two bolts of black danmaku struck the bodies of the guards, hitting center mass. Both guards dropped onto the ground, their conversation halted.
Dutch ran to the entrance. Picking up one of the guards, he dragged the body across the road into the alley. His deed done, Dutch returned and dragged the other body as well.
When all traces of the guards were gone, Dutch went to the warehouse door and slowly opened it, his pistol held really. An empty warehouse answered him, no one inside, just rows after rows of stacked barrels along the walls to greet him.
Smiling at his good luck, Dutch entered and closed the door.
Outside, a sign over the warehouse spelt out it purpose. It read: Sake Storage.
Tengu village
Inner Wall connected to White Wolf Quarters
Hunting with a one track programmed mind can have both it's strengths and drawbacks. The strength being mainly all other objects are ignored in the hunt. It allows for very easy to plot paths, any distractions becoming useless to them.
The drawback is that the paths usually become very straightforward. Right through any other obstacles. It's okay when you have a rock or a tree, you can easily sidestep them but when you have a FREAKING wall in the path, following the path becomes nonsensical.
The golem wondered with the small ghost of it's sentient mind what it's masters were thinking when they paved it's course, and promptly discarded it as it regarded the wall in front of it.
It jumped over the spikes and swiped with its claws at the wall. No success. The puzzle-like stone and wood configuration of wall yielded no purchase to the sharp metal claws of the golem. The claws bounced off the wall.
The golem was left in a situation where it was in midair with no handhold and sharp spikes that will kebab it right under it. Thinking quickly, the golem used it's legs and launched itself off the wall...right into the chasm.
If it could swear, it would probably alert every guard on the wall.
Flailing it's arms, the golem fell quickly towards the river in the chasm. Rapidly and constantly surveying the walls of the chasm for some kind of foot hold with machine throughness, the golem managed to spot a small handhold on the side of the chasm.
Reaching out with its claws, the golem managed to hook its claws onto the handhold. That gave it enough time to stab with it's other hand into the chasm wall, using it's wrist mounted gun to fire into the rock until a handhold was blasted out.
The golem hung there, body over the calm river flowing under it. Footsteps above it made it freeze and turn invisible. Above it, a White wolf Tengu stared curiously at the chasm, trying to locate the source of the strange sounds it heard. Her ears flicked around as they scanned for noises.
Luckily for the golem, the gentle flow of the river overpowered any sound it made so it was masked from the Tengu. Unable to find the source of the noise, the Tengu shrugged and walked away.
Doing the golem version of a sigh of relief, the golem disengaged it's camouflage and readied its powerful legs, gathering magical power in them until it was ready. Once it's audio sensors confirmed there was no sound of movement in close vicinity to it, it launched itself in a massive leap away from the walls.
At the other end, the golem stabbed it's feet into the walls and launched away upwards. It followed that routine, launching away from the walls until it reached the top.
At the edge of the chasm, still in midair, the golem swiped downwards with its feet at the edge. The extra boost pushed the golem even higher, allowing it to reach above the wall. In addition, the angle of the swipes allowed the golem to fly towards the wall. It flew high over the spikes and the wooden/stone battlements.
Once it was over the wall, the golem manipulated it's magic again, creating a small field of energy just above it's body surface. The Golem's body received a invisible burst of electricity as the energy field dissipated it's momentum. The energy discharge was enough to kill any human but the wielder was unaffected. The golem stopped in midair as if it had hit a wall and gravity took over. It landed on top of the wall, a small tap announcing it's breach of the Tengu defenses.
Like the human before it, the golem was undetected by the Tengu guards. It's dropped onto all fours, crawling to one of the watchtowers that dot the wall. Latching to the wooden tower, the golem climbed to the top. It stood over the tower, seeing the lights of the village.
Time to work.
The signature was heading to a large building that was very near to the golem. The building had a large court yard that was devoid of any being. It would wait for the signature there.
Attack plan set, the golem leaped off the tower.
White Wolf Tengu Quarter
Near Tengu village defense headquarters
Dutch looked at the large four story structure. It had a large maple leaf flag at its top, lighted by lanterns. Below it was a balcony. Below that was two stories worth of intricate design made to block view of the inside and cleverly placed defense posts that doubled as windbreakers. The ground actually sloped into a courtyard that was below ground level. The courtyard was surrounded by a wall that only allowed entrance through small doors only capable of fitting a single person.
All this was seen by Dutch through a second story barracks. In front of the headquarters was a parade square which was currently occupied by the night drilling White Wolf Tengus. They marched in clean columns, like a stream of water. It was hard to focus in one single column, each of them constantly moving either beside, behind or in front of each other.
It was interesting to watch but in a practical view?
It made entering the headquarters DAMN impossible.
Dutch watched the groups move. Now how was he going to get through that?
Behind him, a crow cawed.
Dutch turned to the bird, sitting calmly on a bed, it's black eyes giving him an inverted mirror image of himself.
A order from the parade square rang out. Dutch turned back to the grounds and watched as the column marched out of the square, down the road into the quarters.
Dutch watched as the last column passed him and turned down the road. He ran to the ground floor of the barracks and looked out the windows.
Empty, only light to occupy the square.
'Probably a trap.' Dutch thought as he surveyed the grounds. 'Ah well, you know what the experts say.' Dutch lept down from his hiding place. 'The best way to find a trap is to spring it.'
Dutch walked across the square, the dirt crunching under his feet. But nothing happened as he got nearer to the headquarters. At the door, Dutch looked around, unable to believe his good luck. He slipped through a door and closed it.
Inside, the courtyard sloped downwards before him. Dutch walked down the steps, his pistol ready. Just as he stepped onto the ground, a strange feeling swept over him.
'Master! You must leave!' Vale said to him in his mind.
'What do you mean?' Dutch thought back.
And then a black metallic object slammed into the ground in front of him.
It was similar to the statues that Dutch encountered in the cave. Like the vault guardians, it had a stocky body and claws for hands and feet. That was where the similarity ended. Unlike the vault guardians, which had a helmet head with wing-like protrusions, this one had a rectangular single eye head with crescents on both sides. On its arms were some kind of barrel. And finally, it was made of a blackish metal that fitted the darkness.
As Dutch looked, a series of messages popped up into his view.
...
/Warning/
...
/New threat identified/
...
/Lunarian Assassin Drone/
/Equipment:Slasher Claws, Wist bolt shooters/
/Magic:Force manipulation field, purity vein./
/Threat level:Extremely dangerous/
/Recommended action:GTFO/
...
'Assassin. Meh.' Dutch simply thought.
'Master! You need to get out of there!' Vale continued.
'Calm down. I faced worse odds before. I'll be fine.' Dutch answered.
Human and golem stared at each other. Both simply checking out the other. The golem clicked and blurred forward, claws swiping for Dutch's Head.
But it wasn't there.
Dutch bent backwards enough for the swipe to pass just over his head. Thinking fast, he brought his legs up and kicked the golem. It slid backwards,arms crossed in defense.
Dutch smiled as he fell backwards onto the ground of the courtyard. As he landed on his back, he was already bringing up his pistol, aiming and firing bolts of black danmaku repeatedly at the killer drone.
The golem leaped away from the bolts, leaping off the walls to avoid them. It clicked in a angry manner as it fired it's wist shooters, randomly aimed sprays of bright blue bolts hitting close to it's target..
Dutch got up quickly just as the golem made another leap toward him. Rolling out of another swipe, Dutch brought up his M9 and got off a couple of pointblank hits.
But the bolts stopped a few centimeters away from the metal body. They burst in a flash of black light, illuminating a transparent shield just above the body. The light faded and the shield disappeared. The golem clicked again as it jumped up onto the walls surrounding courtyard. It's black metal skin blended with the darkness and it disappeared.
'What the hell was that?' Dutch thought as he reloaded.
'Barrier shield. It's a standard equipment for drones.' A different voice from Vale answered.
'And who the hell are you?' Dutch asked, constantly turning and checking for the golem.
'Really now. We just chatted hours ago and you already forgotten me youngling.' The voice answered.
'You. Got a name?' Dutch returned.
'Hahaha. If you really feel the need to name me, just call me vault.' The voice said.
'So, vault. Explain to me how to beat this thing.' Dutch asked, a clack of wood making him spin around.
'The same way you have beaten all your adversities. Here's a tip through. It can create a field of energy to blend light, making it almost invisible to the naked eye. It's not perfect through, there is a blurring of the affected area when it is used. If you can spot it, your job becomes easier.' The voice finished.
'A cloaking device.' Dutch answered.
Clicking. Right above him.
Dutch rolled to the side as the golem slammed down onto where he just was. It snarled in its clicking way and swiped at him. Dutch twisted to avoid the slash and answered with bolts of black. Once again, the shield protected the golem.
As bolt after bolt impacted the golem, the shield glowed brighter and brighter with each shot. The golem, it's defense wilting, sprayed desperately at Dutch with its wist shooters.
Dutch coolly avoided the badly aimed shots and continued his assault on the assassin drone. The golem finally screeched and jumped up, instantly blending into the night sky.
'Not very brave, isn't it.' Dutch thought as he reloaded his pistol again.
'Ah, well, it's programming is an assassin type. It's not made to be brave.' Vault answered.
'It's also not very imaginative in its attacks. All straight out of the shadows kind. What kind of person programmed this things?' Dutch questioned.
'Lunarians.' Vault returned.
A spray of bright blue bolts from the darkness peppered the courtyard. Ditch rolled away to avoid a couple and scanned the rooftops. But the black metal golem managed to blend in and Dutch saw nothing.
A tap behind him made Dutch turn around but there was nothing there. Scanning the area, he carefully eyeballed the ground, trying to spot any blurring of the surface.
There.
Snapping up his M9, Dutch emptied his magazine. The bolts illuminated the assassin, it's body in a crouch in preparation for a leap. The drone, stuck in it position, did the most logical thing. It leaped towards its target.
Dutch twisted away from the drone, switching his pistol to his left hand and phasing in his diamond knife. The drone landed on the ground and moved to turn around.
Dutch took the initiative and stabbed with his knife. The steel coated diamond blade flew to its target. The golem, desperate, raised one of its arms in defense.
The blade pierced the already weakened barrier shield and penetrated the black metal armor.
The golem screeched in fury.
It jumped away from Dutch and climbed up the walls, visibly slower. Clicking in a pained manner, it reached for the knife with its other claw and ripped it out. The hurt golem threw the knife at Dutch and climbed up to the third floor balcony of the headquarters and disappeared inside.
Dutch snatched the flying blade before it hit him and phased it away.
'Now it's inside.' Dutch thought as he stared at the four story building lighted by it inside.
'That would make it easier, won't it?' Vault answered, it's voice a slight hint of taunting.
'Not really. Now it doesn't need to reach out to take off my head since its close quarters.' Dutch returned.
Dutch ran up to the building front doors. The pair of wooden sliding door shined with interior light. Dutch slowly slid away one half and entered, his pistol held in front.
The room was empty, lanterns the only thing that was not part of the building welcoming him. Dutch closed the door behind him as he scanned for the usual guards such an important building should have.
But it was as devoid of life as a septic tank.
Now really suspicious of the whole affair, Dutch made his way deeper into the building interior. He came onto a garden in the middle of the building. A small stream curved along the plants, supplying water to their roots. Herbs plants of different types peacefully co-existed together in the small plot of land in the middle of the building of was simple and yet entrancing at the same time.
Above the garden, a open space reached all the way to the roof. Dutch looked at the ceiling and sighed.
Something from the top, he remembered Yukari saying.
With a assassin running around inside the building, it was going to be a long night.
Boundaries in between anything and everything
Yukari watched as Dutch entered the building. His progress so far has been impressive. But the lunar drone was a worrying object that affects the situation both long and short term wise. If her memories were correct, sooner or later, she would have to interfere with the exercise.
The appearance of the drone meant that some of the lunarian elite disagree with the ruling. While she couldn't care less for the inhabitants of the moon, what it mean for her charge is a all too different matter.
It was the first jab by the elite at an object that would affect them. When it comes back that it failed, the Lunarians would send in stronger groups to kill him. Dutch aside, it would also mean that Gensokyo will experience incursions of the lunar kind at a rate that was many times the normal it has experienced during its few centuries or so of existence.
And if the Lunarians become willing to send assassins to hunt down a human that brought controversy among them, what is there to stop them if they start to send assassins to hunt down threats to them and their possible designs on Gensokyo other then themselves.
Nothing.
She hissed as she ran the possible outcomes through her head. Whatever happens, Gensokyo has a very high chance of losing out.
She will not let her handiwork come to nothing. Not after all she has done for it.
If only she had something that would distract them...
And then she smiled. She already did.
Looking at Dutch through her gaps as he traveling through the second floor of the headquarters, she came to her solution.
To save her beloved Gensokyo, she keep the Lunarians attention on Dutch by any means necessary. Even if at the cost of his life.
"I'm sorry, Gensokyo matters to me more." She whispered regretfully as she watched his progress.
White wolf quarters
Village defense headquarters
Top floor
Dutch wanted to get out of the building. Really wanted.
The lack of any guards within the headquarters was absolutely worrying. Such a large and important structure was guaranteed to have at the very least a small guard force for appearance.
But the building was dead. There were traces of activity here and there but no one was there at all. It was as if they were packed up and left in a hurry, everything left in their places as the occupants left.
Which could mean a large variety of situations, most of them bad.
At the top of the staircase to the last floor, Dutch was tempted to burn the wooden structure just to draw an reaction. Anything but this silence.
As his foot met the floor, that funny feeling that Dutch felt before came through him again.
'Hello again.' Dutch said as he dropped into an armed stance.
He walked up, slowly scanning for threats. As he walked, Dutch was met by...nothing. The room was empty and at the other end, the night sky peeked through a almost closed door.
'Now where are you?' Dutch thought and he surveyed the room.
Clicking. Right above him. So close he could feel the sound on his skin and hear air moving as it was displaced by a moving object.
Dutch dropped as the claw slashed across his back. His fast reaction stopped the claw from raking his back but it managed to contact the skin on the back of his neck. Pain surged across his nerves.
Dutch rolled away as the drone dropped from where it was hiding on the ceiling. He gingerly felt the back of his neck. Red stained his hand.
...
/Warning/
...
/Slight penetration to surface carapace/
...
'I really need to cancel that function.' Dutch noted as he confirmed the damage. It was a slight nick, enough to draw blood but as the saying goes, it only looks worse than it actually is.
Dutch stared at his opponent. The left arm of the golem leaked glowing misty green ichor that disappeared when it touch the ground. The golem actually looked exhausted as it clicked at the insolent human that managed to hurt it.
It leaped at Dutch, swinging it right arm with it's lethal claws. Dutch, instead of dodging the lethal appendages, answered the attack with his knife. The two melee weapons clashed together with a clang.
Both looked at each other. Dutch, held his knife with his right hand and his pistol with his left. Other than the slight nick on the back of his neck and the standard exhaustion from constant movement, he was fine. His opponent, the golem, right arm was still in fresh condition, the sharp claws with the wist shooter that hummed with power. It's left was held limp and it moved at the speed of a normal human, which was sluggish when compared to it's original speed. The claws hung limp but it's shooter was still humming with power.
It was at this condition that both stared at each other. Dutch grunted and the golem clicked.
The golem brought up it's other arm and fired with the wist shooter at Dutch's head. At the same time, Dutch fired with his pistol right at the Golem's body. Both jerked away from the shots and faced each other from their end of the room.
And then a White Wolf Tengu burst through a portion of the wall.
The three looked at each other in silence. The tengu, realizing the situation, shouted out loud.
"Now!"
A squad of white wolf tengu came in through the hole in the wall. Some had their trademark sword and shields in hand while others had bolts of danmaku ready at their fingertips, their sword and shield sheathed. And they all looked triumphant, as if they already captured the intruders.
"Put down your weapons!" The leader of the squad announced. Dutch and the golem faced the leader...and promptly ran for cover.
Smart choice.
The danmaku users cut lose with their shots. Dutch ducked behind a pillar as bolts peppered the area around him. Chairs, tables and parts of the pillar broke as the bolts struck the adjacent areas.
The golem jumped onto the ceiling, where it leaped constantly to avoid the danmaku sprays. Clicking, it blurred into almost invisibility, it's light field managing to blend in with the wooden ceiling. The tengu, having possessed exceptional hearing, fired at the sounds the golem made as it leaped closer to them.
A couple of sword wielding tengu peeled off to apprehend the human. They came in a line formation, sword and shield raised, ready to corner Dutch and take him out of commission.
Dutch glanced through all of them and attacked.
The tengu right in front of him was his first target. Feinting an strike, Dutch managed to draw the guard into a attack. He raised his scimitar and came in for the attack, rushing forward and breaking formation.
Dutch blocked the tengu scimitar with his knife. The guard eyes widened at the sight of the 9-inch blade blocking the far larger scimitar. His eyes stopped moving when a pair of shots from Dutch's pistol took him out of his surprise. He collapsed onto the ground.
Now Dutch had broken the formation and he took full advantage of it.
Firing with his pistol, Dutch managed to get another pair of shots at the side of a guard. She collapsed as well, her scimitar and shield chattering on the floor.
And then he charged.
Dodging a swing from a blade, Dutch swung the hilt of his knife. It met the head of another tengu with a sickening crack, causing instant knockout and a possible concussion.
His face a mix of cool indifference and excitement, Dutch moved on to the next.
On the golem side, it steadily approached the danmaku using tengu. The tengu could only pick out the sound of the leaps it made, meaning their shots hit only where the drone once was. Panic slowly rose among them as they see their shots hitting only empty wood.
Then the sounds stopped.
The tengu froze as they tried to hear for the intruder. Their ears flicked left and right.
A tap. In the middle of them.
The golem decloaked and struck. It swung it's clenched claws, knocking out a pair instantly. The rest of the tengu spread out from the golem , either firing their danmaku or charging in with their scimitars ready for a swing.
The golem ducked a pair of scimitars and punched with its claws. The would-be attackers took the hits to the torso and simply dropped. Another scimitar forced it to block with it's claws. The golem clicked mechanically as it clasped the blade with it's other claws and pushed back.
The sword rose up and the tengu struggled in the losing battle of strength. The golem kicked out with its legs and the tengu dropped on the ground. The last thing the guard saw was the feet of the drone landing on his head, sending him into unconsciousness.
The golem looked up at the tengus peppering it's barrier shield with mechanical contempt and launched itself at the attackers.
It continued in that way, both Dutch and the golem tearing apart the tengu guards. Since both Dutch and the golem were by themselves, they did not have to be careful with their attacks and they used that advantage to it's full potential. Both traded attacks with each other as they decimated the tengu guards.
For the tengu guards, they had to be careful with their attack for fear of friendly fire. Opportunities to attack were wasted as the guards had to ensure that they did not hit their comrades by accident. Their numbers proved to be a great disadvantage.
Soon, there were only two tengu guards left. They stood back to back with each other, their once triumphant face now occupied by fear masked by courage at the two intruders that managed knock out their entire squard.
Dutch and the golem lunged for the two. The guards jerked up and raised their shields.
The golem swiped at the shield of its opponent, it's other arm raised for defense. At the same time, the tengu answered with her scimitar. The claw clanged against the shield and the scimitar pinged against the claw. Both glared in their respective ways at each other.
The tengu facing Dutch braced herself for the attack, figuring that she would counter right afterwards. Instead, Dutch phased away his knife and reached out with his hand, managing to get his hand though her defense before she could react. Smiling, he reached for the closest body part.
The tengu yelped and blushed.
Dutch gave himself a embarrassed grin as he realized where he caught. Swinging with his arm, Dutch launched the tengu at the golem and the other tengu. The tengu crashed into the duo, knocking the three onto the ground.
Dutch aimed with his pistol equipped on his left hand. He fired repeatedly, peppering the pileup with black nonlethal bolts. The two tengu were taken out within the first few shots but the weakened barrier shield of the golem still managed to shrug off the bolts. The golem leaped up from where it was in the pileup onto its feet and leaped for Dutch.
Dutch phased in his knife into his right hand and avoided the leap of the golem. He fired his pistol at the golem. The golem spun its body around and met the shots with it's claws, dissipating the bolts without affecting the barrier shield.
The golem countered with a slash at close range. Dutch could only raised his arms to block the attack. The razor-sharp claws sliced through the cloth of the fatigues and took away the skin and some of the muscle underneath. Blood ran freely and stained the jungle green fatigues red and black.
Dutch snarled as he felt the metal rip away his flesh. But the pain was blocked by the enhanced painkillers that flooded his body and he felt no pain. That would come later.
Dutch jumped away as the drone continued its assault with a burst of bright blue bolts. A bolt managed to fly true and hit Dutch in the right leg.
Dutch gasped as the life-force in his leg was forcibly destroyed by the killer magic energies of the blue bolt, causing his nerves to deaden and ravaging them at the same time. As a result, his jump turned into a tumble. His knife remained in his grip but his M9 chattered across the floor.
...
/Warning/
...
/Dangerous Damage to body/
...
/Full penetration to surface carapace/
/Magical damage to right leg/
...
/Motor functions damaged/
...
Dutch tried to move his legs. While his left leg responded normally, his right leg answered with a deluge of pain. At the same time, it felt dead. He was presented with the funny sensation of having a leg that felt dead but gave pain at the same time. He grimaced. The pain-killers for the slash on his arm was starting to wear off as well.
...
/Initiating restoration/
...
The vault glove glowed with soothing blue light. Ditch blinked as feeling returned to his right leg. While the pain was still there, he now had at least a small amount of control over his leg.
The sound of metal meeting wood indicated that the golem was walking to Dutch. Dutch looked up to see the golem coming to him, the green ichor still dripping from its arms and it's movement definitely slower.
It clicked as it came right next to Dutch and pointed its wist shooters at the human. Clicking triumphantly, the drone powered it's wist shooter and the barrel hummed with power.
Not a chance.
Dutch launched himself from where he was on the ground onto the golem. Pain surged through his right leg as he knocked over the assassin. Both fell onto the floor, Dutch on top the golem.
Yelling, Dutch stabbed repeatedly at the golem. The steel-coated diamond blade penetrated the weakened barrier shield easily but bounced off the frontal armor of the drone. Undetered, Dutch stabbed again, repeated strikes making and deepening dents in the drone's armor.
The drone fought back as well, thrashing around in an attempt to shake off the human. It screeched as it felt its armor starting to break under Dutch's assault.
Dutch snarled, raised his knife high and sent it whistling down right onto the neck of the golem. The black metal armor, dented from the earlier strikes, finally caved in and the knife plunged into the golem interior parts. A spray of misty green ichor sprayed out and disappeared at it made contact with any solid surface, including Dutch. The golem froze and it's thrashing arms and legs dropped onto the floor.
Dutch took out his knife. Ichor coated the grey blade, green mist lifting off it. Then the knife and his vault glove glowed blue and Dutch watched as the vault reached with a tendril and absorbed the ichor coating the blade, leaving him with a clean knife.
Panting, Dutch got off the metal deadweight. His right leg still hurting, Dutch crawled to a pillar and leaned against it. He looked at the night sky revealed by the pair of doors that was destroyed during the fighting. It was a tapestry of stars, winking back at Dutch.
Hum...
Dutch looked around for the source of the sound. He came back to the dead golem. Lines of blue shone from beneath it's surface, like a network of blood vessel. It originated from a bright blue circle in the middle of it's torso and as Dutch watched, pulses of blue left the ball and travelled the lines.
'Youngling, I highly recommend that you leave right now.' Vault said to Dutch, a hint of warning in his voice.
'Let me guess. Blue lines equals bad?' Dutch returned as the ball released another set of pulses.
Hum...
'Remember the magical equipment on the drone? It's equiped with something called the purity vein. That is standard equipment for assassin drones and have always ensured that the drone gets the job done. In your terms, it makes the drone into a body bomb, the explosive in this case capable of completely annihilating everything in a 100m radius. There is no armor capable of withstanding the blast and the only way to survive is to get out of the blast radius.' Vault explained.
'A 100m? And how do you think I can get a 100m away with a wounded leg and 4 stories off the ground.' Dutch jokingly asked Vault.
'Right...'Vault answered, it's tone unsure.
Hum...
' Pretty much nothing we can do right now, so let's just sit back and relax.' Dutch finished as he leaned back and closed his eyes.
Hum...
'Youngling...'Vault said.
'Shush.' Dutch answered.
Hum...
Hum...
Silence...
Gap distortion sound...
"I don't think now's is the right time for resting." A taunting voice spoke. Yukari's.
"With my leg, I'm pretty much immobile. I rather be comfortable and stay still than move and have my leg punishing me. Not to mention that I won't be able to move pretty far." Dutch answered as he opened his eyes. Yukari leaned on her gap where the drone was and the drone was gone. Her face was covered with her fan and she had the air of a well-entertained audience.
"Ah but your mission is not completed. There is still much more for you."Yukari answered, anticipation written all over her face.
"And how do you expect for me to continue with my leg?" Dutch asked, indicating his right leg.
Yukari laughed."Have no worries. Just for now, I give you a one-up. You have gone through this test quite impressively and to end now would be a real shame."
The youkai of broken gap powers waved her hand. A gap opened and swallowed Dutch entire right leg. Dutch let out a breath of relief as he felt his leg return to normal. Inside the gap, the border of healing, time and other factors were bended to Yukari's will, accelerating the rejuvenation of Dutch leg until it was back to gap disappeared and Dutch moved his right leg.
"Better." Dutch simply answered as he experimentally used his legs to stand up. The leg responded without any problem whatsoever.
Dutch walked to where he dropped his pistol and picked it up. Cocking the pistol, he phased away the sidearm. Dutch turned behind to see Yukari gone and a note fluttering onto the floor.
Dutch walked to the note and picked it up. With a bit of anticipation, he read the note.
Once you taken the item you need, you will have to bring it to the tengu palace and present it to lord Tenma. Alternatively, you could let yourself get captured. You already have done your job. But that wouldn't be fun.
Dutch balled up the piece of paper and threw it away.
"And how will I get to there?" He asked to no one in particular.
One thing at a time.
Dutch walked to the balcony and looked out at the entire white wolf quarters. Fire torches provided small pinpricks of light in the darkness. A glint of light at the edge of his eye caught his attention.
It was a small green seal, with the insignia of a maple leaf on it. On top of the seal was a plaque that said, "Seal of the high commander." It was surrounded by a glass barrier on top of a bronze pedestal.
'Looks important.' Dutch thought as he reached out a touched the glass barrier. Nothing happened and Dutch gripped the barrier and lifted it. The seal shone back at him.
Without out a thought, Dutch grabbed the seal, lifted it and tucked it in his pocket.
The pressure plate below the seal rose up.
From the top of the tower, a column of flame rose into the night sky, lighting up the tower. The sound of marching rose rapidly.
"Shit." Dutch cursed in frustration.
A shout from behind Dutch made him turn and run back to the centre of the floor with the open space. Looking over the edge, Dutch saw white wolf tengu coming out of hidden doors in the walls, their weapons at the ready.
"A trap! I guessed right." Dutch said to himself as he watched the tengu guards gather in a group and head up the stairs in perfect formation.
A flap of wings behind him made him turn around. There, a trio of crow tengu landed on the balcony. Like the Wolf tengu guards, they were armed with melee weapons, this time it being a Wakizashi. Their wings folded as they touched the floor and on the shoulder of the middle crow tengu was a crow, perched obediently like a pet. The same crow that cawed at Dutch earlier at the barracks.
Dutch gave an impressed smile as he figured out why the Tengu guard knew where he was. He never would've guessed that they were using crows as guards.
The triumphant looks on the crow tengu died as they regarded the floor littered with unconscious tengu guards and the lone human standing among them. Various thought crossed their minds. Such as, 'Oh Kanako, I should have brought more backup.' and 'Why couldn't the White Wolfs be able to fly.'
Dutch regarded the tengu coolly. He had concluded that this small group was sent in to keep him busy until the guards managed to reach the top. He needed to bring them down fast otherwise they would have accomplished their job.
Giving up all pretense of stealth, Dutch phased away his knife and phased in his carbine. He sighted with the M4 and pulled the trigger.
Brakkk!
The loud bark of the M4 echoed throughout the parade square. If anyone was doubting the presence of intruders, they had their answer.
The triple bolts of danmaku travelled the short distance and took out the tengu standing in the middle. She jerked in accordance to the hits and collapsed onto the floor. Her crow lifted off its perch, cawing in protest.
The other two tengu looked like deers caught in a headlight. They were rookies, having gone through training but had never been in an actual battle, a result of the centuries of peace that the tengu village experienced. And with their leader taken out, they did not think to take the initiative.
Dutch punished their hesitation with a pair of bursts.
Brakk! Brakk!
Two more on the floor.
Shout from behind Dutch made him turn around. The tengu guards were at the second floor and reaching the third soon. He was almost out of time.
Dutch walked out to the balcony. Columns of White Wolf tengu faced the building, their faces staring defiantly at the human intruder. Above them, a group of crow tengu hovered in midair, holding position. The ease of which Dutch had taken out their comrades had broken their bravery.
Dutch tsked. With all those tengu watching, any attempt to escape the building through the exterior would be impossible.
Time to go to plan B.
White Wolf Tengu village defense headquarter
Third floor
Tengu guard squard
The tengus crossed the threshold for the third floor.
They had full confidence that the human intruder was done. Another victim of their defense plan.
It was simple in design. Crows would spot any intruder and alert the White Wolfs. They would then let the intruder enter the headquarters and let him take whatever he wanted. Then when he had grabbed his objective, they would spring the trap, surrounding the building with guards and using the headquarters defenders, which were waiting in hidden rooms, to apprehend the intruders.
The plan has proved to be very effective in past engagements. It certainly has done it again.
The squad ran up the staircase to the fourth floor, ear and eyes constantly scanning for threats. At the top, they came to a stop at the sight that greeted them.
The room was littered with tengu bodies. The slow movement of their chests showed that they were breathing but it was shocking to see so many tengu incapacitated by a single human.
The same human standing at the other end of the room, at the balcony. He held some kind of small box that had lights on it and there was some kind of large tube-like device with a large canister attached to it and a grappling hook sticking out of it.
"Surrender! You have no escape!" The squad leader shouted.
Dutch smiled and pressed a button on the detonater.
A distance away, at the sake warehouse, bags of Semtex stuck to barrels of sake. The detonaters on the bags beeped as they received their instructions. They did their job.
And a fireball lit up the tengu village.
BOOM!BOOM! BOOM!
The packs of Semtex detonated, sending fire, vaporized sake and wood splinters flying up into the sky. Every single person not expecting it turned their eyes to the fireball rising into the night sky. Which meant everyone except Dutch.
Dutch smiled as the guard squad shifted attention to the cloud of fire rising into the night sky. His finger found a second button on the transmitter and depressed it.
The four command linked claymores that the four ends of the room received their instructions and detonated, each sending 500 pallets of danmaku flying out in a scything cone. The tengu guards were either blasted back by the pallets or just plain dropped ontop the floor.
Dutch phased away the transmitter and picked up the Plumett AL-52 grappling hook gun and aimed it at the second story barracks he occupied earlier. Correcting his aim just a bit, Dutch pressed the trigger.
The black grappling hook soared through the air, rope trailing it as it crossed over the parade square. Both the Wolf tengus and the crows tengu were mesmerized by the ball of fire lighting up the village and did not notice the hook crossing the sky.
The hook sailed right through the open window of the barracks. Dutch immediately pulled back on the gun and the hook slid back and caught on the window sill. Dutch tugged the rope to check the strength. It held.
Smiling, Dutch phased in a carabiner, slid said carabiner onto the rope, grabbed onto it and jumped over the railing. But not before flipping the crow that watched him the bird.
He slid down the rope with increasing length, picking up speed the longer he went. As he whooshed across the sky, a crow tengu spotted him. The tengu opened his mouth to shout out.
At the same time, the vaporized sake, transformed into gasous form by the Semtex and blown into the open air, mixed with the oxygen to form a potent mix. When saturation was complete, it was ignited by the myriad of burning materials in the air with the force of a warehouse of explosives.
VABOOM!
The improvised fuel air bomb blasted outwards, sending shockwaves channeling through the air. The hovering crow tengu were blown back by the force of the blast. Dutch almost lost his grip as he was shook by the pressure wave.
But it managed to keep the attention of the majority of the guards away from him. The barracks was steadily getting closer and Dutch realized something.
The grappling hook was attached to the sill of the second floor window. To the sill of the window.
"Shit!" Dutch cursed as the wall steadily got closer.
Whack!
Dutch gritted his teeth as he slammed into the wall with a meaty smack. Pain flared all over his body. Still holding onto the carabiner, he reached out and climbed into the window.
"Well that's over." He said before picking himself off the ground and walking away.
Walking up to the door and leaning against it, Dutch slowly opened it and look outside. The street was screaming with life as White Wolf tengu ran to the burning building to try and prevent the fire from spreading.
Closing the door behind him, Dutch joined the flow, following the tengu as they bought buckets and other water carrying equipment along with them. Strangely enough, not a single one realized that he was a human.
At the intersection, Dutch slipped in a alley way. Calling up the map into his view, he plotted the path to the tengu palace. Reaching his hand into his pocket, he felt the seal.
Grinning like an idiot at the success of this endeavor, Dutch rejoined the crowd.
Tengu palace
Side guard entrance
Ran watched as the village awoke to combat the fire.
Hordes of youkai streamed out from alleyways, houses and everything in between to support the firefighting effort. Seeing that the majority of the village was made of wood, it was no wonder that they did.
The main street was a line of colors as the inhabitants of the village all headed to the White Wolf quarters. The fire was still going strong despite the efforts of the resident firefighting force.
Ran smiled. Dutch had accomplished his task wonderfully. The embarrassment from having to draw help from the other tengus would be sufficient enough to cool down their ambition.
On the subject of Dutch, Ran wondered where was he. Was he captured by the tengu? She had no way of contacting him and her mistress was keeping silent. All she showed Ran when asked was the satisfied grin of a entertained audience.
A flash of jungle green drew her eyes. Dutch was walking up to the side entrance, for all looks and purpose a casual traveler, nothing of mention to draw anything other than a glance. Except for the claw marks on his right arm. And the resultant blood stains.
"You did well." Ran said as she ran up to Dutch.
"Yea well it definitely wasn't easy." He answered as he grimaced. The pain from the wound on his arms was burning and the painkillers that his body dispensed earlier had worn off. He dug into his pocket with his arms and passed the seal to Ran.
"Get this to Lord Tenma. This should be sufficient embarrassment." Dutch said as Ran took the seal from his hands.
Ran looked at the seal and blinked. And blinked. And blinked again. "Did you blow up the quarters to add to their embarrassment as well?" She asked.
Dutch gave the Kitsune a quizzical look." No. The explosion was a distraction to get the guards attention." He told her.
Ran processed the information...and collapsed into a fit of laughter.
"What?" Dutch protested as the nine-tails laughed out loud to the heavens.
"Hahahahahaha*breathe*. The fire is already enough embarrassment for the tengus. To think it was just a distraction...Hahahahahaha!" Ran laughed.
"Oh god, she dying from laughter." Dutch said as he grinned. Ran's laughter was infectious and he let himself get swept among. The two entered the palace, Ran still laughing as the door closed behind them.
In the village, the flames burned brightly under the starry night sky.
And so end the chapter where i make the White Wolfs my butt monkey.
When i first started, i had several idea of approaching this situation. One of them was to go Rambo, another was to blow up everything in sight. i finally settled for the stealth approach because i decided that if i went the first two routes, i wont be embarrassing the Tengu, i would be putting the fear of Dutch into them. That would be against how i want Gensokyo to view Dutch. I want Dutch to be a shadow force to be reckoned with but you won't see him coming. He will be in your base killing your doods before you even know !
Evil plans aside, i setting a challenge for you my, readers. Come up with the most diabolical and ass-ass-in way to attack Dutch. Please keep in mind that it was to be lunarianish. And ass-ass-in-ish. No impure weapons.(That means no Bio bombs or nuke em approach. Thats is the domain of us dishonorable impurities.)
Put it in the review or Pm me. If i like it, i use it and you get credit for it.
Also, i'm starting a poll on how Dutch should continue his journey. To be specific, a poll on should Dutch use a Real-World approach to Gensokyo or a more magical based approach. If you have read all my chapters, you would know that Dutch essentially uses real world weapons and equipment to counter magic or to overcome his lack of it. The poll is a question on if you want for Dutch to stay to his real world origins or adapt to the magical world around him.
As usual, Sweebation get a great big thanks as the editor and i sign off.