A Failed Rescue Attempt

Mission Details:

Isamu awoke to the sound of his sister's voice in his head, the young girl pleading with him to find her. He woke in the bed the couple at the Adoption Center had provided for him and looked about in confusion as he heard Hasumi continue to speak directly into his head, informing him that she was captured by a madman who lived in the ruins that their creator and her had been staying in. Isamu was shocked by the news and took a moment to figure out how this strange telepathic link between him and the other artificial being worked. Finally figuring out how to respond, Isamu did his best to reassure Hasumi that he would look for their creator and then try and find her.

Getting out of bed and quickly getting dressed into a well-fitted robe, the tall man made his way into the kitchen and informed Sota's wife that he wouldn't be able to stay for breakfast this morning. He also asked her to watch his master's dog as he went about his business. Thankfully she didn't seem too upset, only telling him to come find her later as Seto or her had some more work whenever he needed it. Quickly making his way out of the home Isamu found himself heading towards the ruins, moving as quickly as he could. Thankfully his body was starting to grow stronger after having worked a bit and he moved through the plains at a decent pace.

Isamu tried to get in contact with his creator using the same telepathic ability Hasumi had used to contact him, but unfortunately, the man seemed to be occupied. All Isamu got in response was that it would be foolish to try and save Hasumi alone and that the creator was currently trying to formulate a plan to save her. Isamu argued with his creator for some time as he traveled towards the ruins, trying to convince him to meet up with Isamu and try and save Hasumi as quickly as possible. Eventually, he relented in trying to convince the man but did inform him that he would be scouting the area around the ruins himself. The creator wasn't happy with this update but informed Isamu that he wouldn't get in his way.

Isamu found the ruins easily enough, the rubble-filled wasteland was easy for the artificial man to spot. As he approached he briefly wondered what the village had looked like before its destruction, recalling his creator mentioning that the place had a sort of building called a skyscraper. With how much damage the village had suffered Isamu couldn't make out any of the buildings that were still fully intact, but some remnants still stood at about half their original height. Isamu wondered how humans could have built such structures, curious if he would ever be able to build something of that scale within his lifetime. As he admired the engineering of the past Isamu made out bits of movement in the area. From a distance the figures seemed like small dots, but Isamu guessed that these must have been some of the strange men that had attacked his creator and captured Hasumi. The tall samurai-looking guy decided to try and sneak up on these monsters and try and infiltrate them if he could. It didn't take him long to get close, though he wasn't all that quiet it didn't seem as though the monster men had noticed him just yet.

Getting close enough that he could see their appearance Isamu decided he would attempt to use a technique he had gained through the memories of his creator. It took him a moment, while hiding behind a ruined building, to make sure he had the hand seal right as he practiced it twice to make sure he wouldn't mess it up. Taking a deep breath, Isamu performed the Dog hand seal and focused his chakra to take the shape of one of the mole men he had just witnessed. An odd feeling overtook him as the technique changed his shape, causing his body to expand slightly and his face to morph as he transformed. Once the transformation was complete, he took a moment to get used to his new form. He had given himself functional eyes, but they didn't seem to work well. He lumbered slowly through the streets and toward the mole men who were meandering about the ruined village, joining them and following them to some destination.

He tried to stay in contact with Hasumi as he moved about, but he noticed his sister was less responsive now. Every once in a while she would respond and inform him that she was fine, but he could sense that she was very afraid for some reason. It didn't seem that she was in any immediate danger, but that didn't make Isamu any less worried. Isamu had been informed by his creator that Hasumi was terrified by the appearance of her captors, the artificial man hoped that perhaps that was why she was so terrified. Unfortunately, their telepathic communication was proving to be less useful than he had hoped, all Hasumi could inform him about her location was that it was dark and likely underground.

Isamu eventually found a nearby tunnel near one of the ruined buildings, but when he stepped out of line to move towards it the mole men around him suddenly stopped and turned towards him. They seemed to suddenly realize that he wasn't meant to be with them, and screamed as they started to chase after him. Isamu thought that his disguise had been seen through but he heard one of them shout thief in a garbled voice, it seemed the monster men had thought he was heading towards that tunnel in order to steal something.

Deciding against undoing his transformation Isamu quickly stumbled through the streets, trying his best to run in his deformed transformation. The mole men followed after him, slowly gaining on him as he struggled to move at his full speed. Turning a corner Isamu realized he would need to do something to shake the mole men off of his trail, and opted to try another technique he had learned from his creator. He quickly performed the ram hand seal and created 4 copies of himself. One of the mole men stayed behind to try and spook the leading monster men when they got around the corner while the other three remained with Isamu.

Looking back Isamu was disappointed to find that the mole men didn't seem to notice his projection at all, and it was only different-looking monsters that stopped and tried to attack his clone.

Realizing he would need to utilize a different technique, he had his clones scatter about instead of remaining close. Some of the different monster men seemed to be distracted by them but many followed the mole men, realizing they were able to track the real one.

Hoping that he could fool them with his next technique he performed his first string of hand seals. His hands formed the tiger, boar, ox, dog, and then snake seals at 30 speed, managing to form them just correctly enough with his strange new hands. He had a piece of rubble take on the appearance of him as he passed by, making it look like he had given up and was cowering in fear.

As he turned the next corner he heard the sound of some of the mole men pouncing on his substitution, beginning to brutally beat it as he made his escape. Fortunately, the illusion held up long enough that Isamu was able to leave the ruins and escape into the plains before any of the monsters spotted him again.

As he left the ruins he sent a telepathic message to his sister, informing him of his failed attempt to save her and that he would try again soon.

TWC: 1320

[EXIT]

Mechanics
-20 AP for Telepathy
-5 for Transformation Technique
-5 for Clone Technique
-5 for Substitution Technique
390/425 AP Total