Scion - Petro Campaign - Session 100
So, we're in Hong Kong, 1943 right now, getting ready to go undercover to make sure the Japanese commander here isn't kidnapped by the moon-beasts, so that she can be kidnapped by the Celestial Bureaucracy instead. Which is what is supposed to happen according to history. And I am really upset about what the Celestial Bureaucracy is doing to the Amatsukami agents they're kidnapping, and even more upset that they actually got away with it! There's a level of violation involved here that goes beyond anything I've seen before.
Okay, calm down Erika. Let's start over.
So, before heading back to 1943, we decided to visit Marishiten to see if she knew anything about what was going on in Hong Kong that might help us. So we stopped by my shrine on Red Mountain to get to Kurayashiro. I sent Keiko to request an audience with Marishiten (Mari and I are good friends these days, but I still like to be polite, especially if I'm bringing a bunch of friends ^_^). She was happy to receive us, so we went to her amazing palace, which sits in the middle of a tranquil lake filled with lotus flowers. And ninja. Apparently. At least, that's what Elisa says, but I've never seen them.
Mari told us what she could, but she didn't know a lot since she was more responsible for homeland defense during the war and did not have a lot of direct involvement in Hong Kong. One of her scions, a woman named Yuzuka, had been briefly assigned there as the military commander in charge of the divine forces, but went missing. Actually, a great many divine agents of the Amatsukami, including not only scions but also youkai, went missing in Hong Kong, and no trace of them has ever been found.
She couldn't really tell us more, but suggested we go speak to Ryujin. As Hong Kong is an island and he is the master of the seas, he had direct authority over Hong Kong during the war. So, after thanking Marishiten (and asking her to send me some of the tea she served us, which is some of the best I've ever had), we made our way to the shoreline of Takamagahara and swam down 500 fathoms to Ryujin's coral palace on the sea floor.
We were greeted by his attractive servants, who were mostly ningyo (mermaids) or female sea spirits of various sorts, and were conducted into Ryujin's large audience chamber. We did not have to wait long before he arrived, and he swept into the room in his dragon form, his long, serpentine coils weaving gracefully through the chamber's pillars until he rested comfortably in front of us.
In the course of our greetings, he went out of his way to congratulate me on my upcoming nuptials with Amaterasu! ^_^ I can't tell you how much that meant to me! I mean, I think that's the first kind word I've received on the subject from anyone in the rest of my pantheon. Even Marishiten's been a bit reserved in her congratulations since she's not too fond of Amaterasu. The fact that Ryujin seemed sincerely supportive warmed my heart, and I was filled with a sense of pleasant anticipation for the official wedding ceremony, which is to be held in less than a month. ^_^ As long as Hachiman doesn't try to assassinate me before then, it'll be all good. >_<
Sadly, my mood was dampened a bit as Ryujin described to us in more detail what transpired in Hong Kong. During the war, six scions and no fewer than twenty youkai disappeared in Hong Kong. Their spirits never showed up in the Underworld and no trace of them was ever found. Ryujin gave us a list of the missing persons. Among them were one of Ryujin's scions, named Gozu, who was the acting commander of the divine forces there. He was replaced by Mari's scion, Yuzuka, who also disappeared along with her adjutant, a kitsune name Ruka.
At the time we were to be traveling back, Yuzuka and Ruka had not yet disappeared, which meant that they, among others, were probably the moon-beasts' targets, and the moon-beasts were probably trying to use the ongoing series of disappearance as cover for their own activities. However, when Ryujin mentioned that Da Ji, a servant of Nuwa was allegedly causing trouble in Hong Kong at the time, the real cause of the disappearances (historically, anyway) began to become apparent. Charles and Adam started putting the pieces together and realized that the Celestial Bureacucracy had most likely been kidnapping the Amatsukami scions and youkai and then using their Taiyi powers to transform them into loyal lesser gods serving the Celestial Bureaucracy. That would explain how the Bureacracy managed to find new divine troops even though their earthly forces were cut off from Tien.
This pissed me off royally. Sure, war is war, and you do what you must to win. The Japanese military did some awful things during the war, and the Amatsukami didn't step in to stop them. But that doesn't make what the Celestial Bureaucracy did right! You can't just take someone and turn them into someone else against their will. I don't care if they can't remember that they were ever something else to begin with. That doesn't matter. It was bad enough with Da Li, and I've been upset about that ever since we were reintroduced to her at the fortress in the Endless Desert. Changing someone like that is absolutely repugnant. You can make all the excuses you want about how this was a necessary evil to survive the war all, but that doesn't excuse the Bureaucracy's actions. And the Celestial Bureacracy knows that's true because they've done everything in their power to make sure no one ever found out about this. That's why Charles couldn't find any info on the situation when he researched it. It would be one thing if the Bureaucracy had gracefully returned the kidnapped agents after the war. At least all of this would be forgivable then. But no, they just swept it under the rug and doomed our scions and youkai and life that isn't even theirs. Like forgetting about something make it okay. Seriously? F**k that sh*t.
My mood over the whole situation only got worse when, at Charles' suggestion, we visited Tien and went to discuss the matter with Nuwa. After all, Da Ji (not to be confused with Da Li) was her servant and was, as far as we could tell, the one responsible for the kindappings. We didn't pull any punches, and told her what we thought the Celestial Bureaucracy had done. We offered her a chance to help us set things straight and make them right. We might not be able to do so in the past, for fear of upsetting the time stream and empowering Zvran's minions even more than we already have. But at the very least we can do so now, in the present, by getting the Bureaucracy to return the kidnapped scions and youkai to the people they were before.
Da Li attended to us until Nuwa arrived, and seeing her just fueled the flame of my displeasure. Nuwa apparently knew what we had come to ask about, because Da Li tried very hard to warn us away, claiming that her mother was very agitated and that people usually died when that was the case. When Nuwa finally appeared, she was less than cooperative, but at least she made it apparent that she didn't agree with what the Bureaucracy had done. She told us to forget about it, and made it clear that she "knew nothing," but she did so in a way that implied that she did know what had happened and that for all our sakes, she was NOT going to share any details with us. She also strongly suggested that Charles should cease this line of inquiry unless he wanted to destroy his future in the Bureaucracy. Fortunately, Charles is made of sterner stuff, and he stood firm with the rest of us in demanding to know what had happened.
Eventually, Nuwa relented slightly and sent us to a small house on the edges of the realm, where, she claimed, a liar lived who could give us the answers we sought. It was pretty clear she was talking about Da Ji. I think that if I weren't so angry, I might have been a little more anxious about visiting Da Ji. I mean, we're gods, but she has the experience of ages on her side, and she's supposed to be very dangerous. She's not unlike a Chinese reflection of Inari, the god of rice and fox-spirits in Japan. But she's more malicious than Inari, apparently possessing little sense of morality.
Anyway, we trekked across the meadows of Nuwa's domain to Da Ji's cottage. She greeted us with fiery anger in her eyes, and stepped out to confront us rather than inviting us into her abode. As usual, I stepped forward to do the talking, which might not have been the best idea given my state-of-mind.
Da Ji told us that we were very brave to come to her, given the way we murdered her daughter. At first, there was a moment of confusion. I mean, seriously? When did we kill Da Ji's daughter? Then I realized that she was talking about Da Li. So...Da Li is Nu Wa and Da Ji's daughter? Very interesting...especially since Nuwa seems embarrassed by that fact... I guess her pantheon isn't very accepting of same sex relationships. Well, f**k them. they can get over it. Mine isn't very accepting of my relationship with Amaterasu either (though I suppose that has less to do with our genders and more to do with the darkness of my taint...), but I'm not going to keep it a secret just because other don't approve.
Anyway, Da Ji's accusations were the last straw for me, and we got into an argument. Da Ji was pissed about us killing her daughter, and I was pissed about her daughter trying to kill ME. She asked how I would feel if someone had killed my daughter...and I think everyone else was just looking on unsure of what to do to defuse the argument until Adam and Charles stepped into to try and calm things down. By that point, though, I'd realized that Da Ji wasn't really as upset about us killing her daughter as she was about what the Celestial Bureacracy did to Da Li afterwards, which, honestly what exactly what I was so upset about. So I pointed this out, and proposed that if Da Ji could help us, then we would do whatever was in our power to help fix Da Li. Charles backed me up on this. Being the only member of the Bureaucracy in our group, his words had the weight we needed, and Da Ji hesitantly relented.
She confirmed that we were right about what the Bureaucracy had done in Hong Kong. Apparently, she was responsible for most of it, but now she was in a tenuous position herself, because she was essentially the Bureaucracy's scapegoat for the whole debacle. Even though she had been acting on the Jade Emperor's orders, no records would confirm that now and most of the others who were involved had either had their minds wiped or had been changed into someone else. Damn, the Bureaucracy is f**king insidious. This whole situations is making me question whether I even want the Amatsukami to make peace with the Bureaucracy. I think I even went so far as to tell Charles that if the Bureaucracy decided to shun him (or worse) over all of this, then he was welcome to join MY pantheon.
Anyway, in 1943 Hong Kong, Da Ji had managed to smuggle two minor Bureaucracy gods out of Tien: Wang Dang, a son of Fu Xi, and Xi Ci, a daughter of Xi Wang Mu. With their aid, she kidnapped scions and youkai working for the Amatsukami and turned them into lesser gods fighting on the side of the Bureaucracy. After the war, the kidnapped Japanese were again transformed into other lesser gods and placed in easy, comfortable posts in Tien, where they were more or less forgotten. Wang Dang and Xi Ci were also transformed into other beings and made to forget what had happened during the war (T-Bone wondered out loud whether Charles was really the new version of one of those two, which I found to be a bit tasteless given the circumstances).
Da Ji claims that she wanted to revert the captured Japanese to their original forms and identities after the war. I'm tempted to believe her, if only because of how she obviously feels about what was done to Da Li. Unfortunately, the rest of the Bureaucracy didn't care about what she wanted.
So, at least we know what we're up against now. The real danger in all of this is that the Bureaucracy might decide to wipe all of our minds so so that we can't reveal what we've learned. If that were to happen, certain people (like Amaterasu) whould be seriously pissed off, so it would be a very dangerous move for the Bureaucracy to make. But that doesn't mean they won't try it. We're going to have to cover our asses somehow, maybe by spreading the word to key members of other pantheons so that the Bureaucracy gains nothing by erasing our memories. We still have to figure out how to get the Bureaucracy to admit what they did and return the kidnapped scions and youkai. That might take some time, but Charles and I are determined to see it through. And the first step is getting them to undo what they did to Da Li.
So, Da Ji wasn't happy with us. She seemed frankly annoyed that her last, best hope for saving her daughter lies in the hands of that daughter's "murderers." But she did what she could to help us, so that's a win for our team. She even gave us a phrase we can use if she or her servants happen to encounter us in Hong Kong. If we say that we were "sent by the one who tugs your little tail," in Chinese, she'll think we were sent by Nuwa. That's actually pretty cute. I like the way it hints at the playful flirtations Nuwa and Da Ji apparently shared prior to the romance that gave birth to Da Li. ^_^
It's worth noting that we caught Da Li kinda spying on us as we left Da Ji's place. She was apparently worried about us. She knows there's something up between Nuwa and Da Ji, and has figured out that Da Ji's her other mother. I hope we can fix her soon. She might not be as nice and sweet, but I don't really care. She should be who she really IS, flaws and everything, not the perfect little puppet the Bureaucracy made her.
Okay, I gotta get something off my chest here. Yi and I are going to have a long chat when I get done with this. We've been on the rocks for long enough, and I don't know whether all of this will help or hurt our relationship. But Yi needs to know this. She seems to have this idea that the Celestial Bureaucracy are faultless aside from a bit of corruption and the way they treat her father, and that the Amatsukami are all the bad guys. Maybe she'll see the Bureaucracy's actions in Hong Kong as nothing more than justice for what the Japanese did elsewhere. But I hope she sees what I do in all of this. The war brought out the worst in people on all sides of the conflict, and the Bureaucracy did horrible things just like the Amatsukami did. None of us are blameless. And we just have to make amends (not just sweep things under the rug) and get over it. I've already made an effort to get Amaterasu to do just that...and maybe I can work with her to begin negotiations with the Bureaucracy for the return of our kidnapped scions and youkai. I hope Yi will start to see some of the problems in her own pantheon and will help me and Charles begin to remedy those problems. I mean, lets face it. These issues are symptoms of a much deeper and more endemic sickness plaguing the Bureaucracy, and the cure for that sickness is going to have to come from within the Bureaucracy itself.
Damn. Poltics suck. I mean, I thrive on them, sure. But they still suck. >_<
Anyway...
Having learned all we were likely to learn, we took the Valkyrie to Hong Kong and found the time anomaly. We emerged from Hong Kong's harbor in 1943. There, on a dingy pier, Someone was waiting for us. He looked like a Chinese minister, though he had smoldering black skin, stark white hair, and eyes like embers. Adam immediately identified him as Ahrimane, the avatar of Zvran whom we have been expecting to try and work out a deal with us to keep us out of Zvran's hair. His presence put me on guard, since I'm worried about what he might offer us to ensure our cooperation. We had a short conversation with him, Adam taking the lead this time. But this time, at least, Ahrimane didn't try to make deal with us. Instead, he simply told us that the moon-beasts had concealed themselves form magic and time, and that they had moved their headquarters somewhere underwater. Then he just left. The first one's always free, I suppose... I admit, I was rather amused by the pop culture references he kept interjecting into his speech, especially the Rolling Stones references...
Even with Ahriman's information, we still didn't have a direct lead on tracking down the moon-beasts. From there, we decided to take the direct approach, and more or less take control of the situation by introducing ourselves to the Japanese divine command as agents sent from Tokyo. We made our way to Hollywood Road, which was the center of the Japanese districts in Hong Kong and the headquarters of the occupying Japanese command. Of course, those of us from other pantheons would be a little problematic if anyone could scent the divine auras that surround us, so Elisa and I were the only ones to approach them openly. I changed to the Japanese version of me ^_^ since there weren't any non-Japanese Amatsukami in WWII, and Elisa accompanied as an Aztlanti mercenary. Adam transformed himself into a wasp to follow us discreetly, while Charles found good place nearby to hole up with Pierre so that he could teleport the two of them in if needed. T-Bone, of course, disappeared behind the veil of invisibility and shadowed us.
Elisa and I had no trouble navigating the guard posts and gaining access to the main HQ of the Amatsukami forces, where we were received by a very perky kitsune girl named Ruka (the local commander's adjutant). I removed the scarf with which I'd hooded my face, revealing my full divine appearance, which caught her off guard and made exactly the impression of status I wanted, though I was amused when a stunned Ruka babbled something about how she wasn't the prettiest woman around anymore. ^_^ Ruka hurriedly ushered us in to meet her the commanding officer, a very severe, stern daughter of Marishiten named Yuzuka. Whereas Ruka's beauty was warm and energetic, Yuzuka's was altogether more subtle. It was cold and aloof, yet quite appealing in its own way. I definitely saw echoes of her mother in her features.
Yuzuka was taken aback and none-too-happy to have unexpected visitors, but through her austere facade, I sensed that she was quite taken with me, so I played up my charm, flashing her a few heart-melting smiles as we made our introductions. Ruka apparently picked up on this and, in a manner that was wholly unbecoming of a Japanese soldier during WWII, kept making some not so subtle comments (some whispered directly into Yuzuka's ear) about how Yuzuka should make a move on me. ^_^ I had no intention of indulging Yuzuka's interest...but that didn't mean I wasn't going to use a bit of flirtation to get her to do exactly what I wanted in regard to our current mission... ^_^ It's good to be a little naughty.
I also had a hard time keeping a straight face whenever Ruka said something suggestive or just outright perky and Yuzuka, annoyed, told Ruka that she would have her whipped. This happened several times during our conversation, and at least the first few times T-Bone invisibly whispered "Hot." in my ear. So, what is it with these command groups and their not-so-subtle sexual innuendos? I mean, first there was Synn and Cila in the sexy nurse get-up, and now the Japanese commanders talking about whipping each other? ^_^
Anyway, I introduced myself as Hinokagehime, daughter of Izanami, and claimed I was sent by her mother, Marishiten, to help resolve the issues in Hong Kong. It wasn't that Mari lacked confidence in Yuzuka's abilities, but new information had come to light, and I'd been sent in to covertly assist her. My presence was to be kept absolutely secret. We explained that the kidnappings were not a coincidence and that we needed to lure the culprits out into the open without endangering Yuzuka or Ruka. I had been sent, along with my Aztlanti mercenary as something of a specialist in such things. Our plan was to make sure Yuzuka and Ruka were safe while we used our powers to take their place. I told them we had other agents hidden nearby who could come to our aid when the enemy attacked.
Yuzuka wanted to know more about the enemy, and I wanted so much to warn her about what the Celestial Bureaucracy was up to. The thought of her falling into their hands and being turned into someone else grated on me so badly that I almost told her everything, just to keep her safe. But I couldn't. Not without endangering everything we're working toward. If we keep the Bureaucracy from grabbing Yuzuka and Ruka, it could cause major fluctuations in the time stream, and who knows how much that will empower Zvran's forces. Only the knowledge that we would do all we could to get Yuzuka and Ruka and the other captured Amatsukami agents back in the future made hiding the truth from her bearable. I know that even if we protect Yuzuka and Ruka from the moon-beasts, we're sentencing them to something just as bad...but I suppose it's the lesser of two evils...even if it doesn't feel that way. >_<
Anyway, I explained that there was another supernatural enemy at work in Hong Kong, an enemy who was not serving the Allies, and that they were responsible for some of the missing agents. Yuzuka was of course quite concerned about this, and told us that a jorougumo (a youkai spider-woman, like Maneki's friend Rakushinpu) who had been brought in to serve the Japanese forces had gone wild when her ghost handler disappeared. She was currently attacking the local Chinese population and attempting to birth offspring. To her credit, Yuzuka was sincerely concerned for the Chinese locals, and insisted that she could not allow the jorougumo to run amok. So we promised to investigate and deal with the jorougumo on her behalf. Hopefully, doing so will draw out the moon-beasts. After all, they're probably using the jorougumo as bait for Yuzuka and Ruka anyway.
Of course, one thing we realized was that according to the list of missing scions and youkai provided by Ryujin, the jorougumo was supposed to have already gone missing. That means the moon-beasts have already changed the events of the past, assuming they are responsible for the disappearance her ghost handler, which is almost certain. Unfortunately, this means we'll probably have to kill the jorougumo to eliminate her from the future, unless we can figure out a way to get the Bureaucracy to kidnap her after all, which kinda makes me sick to my stomach.
So, now that I have Yuzuka wrapped around my finger, Elisa and I can introduce her to a few of our comrades. T-Bone is going to use illusion to make Elisa look like Yuzuka, and I'll use my own shapechanging abilities to look and act like Ruka. which won't be hard for me. ^_^. I can be hella perky when I have to. ^_^ Elisa...not so much. Which is why she's gonna be Yuzuka. I wonder if she'll threaten to have me whipped a lot?
Anyway, we're still working out the details of the plan, but at least we know who our impostors will be. More later!
Okay, calm down Erika. Let's start over.
So, before heading back to 1943, we decided to visit Marishiten to see if she knew anything about what was going on in Hong Kong that might help us. So we stopped by my shrine on Red Mountain to get to Kurayashiro. I sent Keiko to request an audience with Marishiten (Mari and I are good friends these days, but I still like to be polite, especially if I'm bringing a bunch of friends ^_^). She was happy to receive us, so we went to her amazing palace, which sits in the middle of a tranquil lake filled with lotus flowers. And ninja. Apparently. At least, that's what Elisa says, but I've never seen them.
Mari told us what she could, but she didn't know a lot since she was more responsible for homeland defense during the war and did not have a lot of direct involvement in Hong Kong. One of her scions, a woman named Yuzuka, had been briefly assigned there as the military commander in charge of the divine forces, but went missing. Actually, a great many divine agents of the Amatsukami, including not only scions but also youkai, went missing in Hong Kong, and no trace of them has ever been found.
She couldn't really tell us more, but suggested we go speak to Ryujin. As Hong Kong is an island and he is the master of the seas, he had direct authority over Hong Kong during the war. So, after thanking Marishiten (and asking her to send me some of the tea she served us, which is some of the best I've ever had), we made our way to the shoreline of Takamagahara and swam down 500 fathoms to Ryujin's coral palace on the sea floor.
We were greeted by his attractive servants, who were mostly ningyo (mermaids) or female sea spirits of various sorts, and were conducted into Ryujin's large audience chamber. We did not have to wait long before he arrived, and he swept into the room in his dragon form, his long, serpentine coils weaving gracefully through the chamber's pillars until he rested comfortably in front of us.
In the course of our greetings, he went out of his way to congratulate me on my upcoming nuptials with Amaterasu! ^_^ I can't tell you how much that meant to me! I mean, I think that's the first kind word I've received on the subject from anyone in the rest of my pantheon. Even Marishiten's been a bit reserved in her congratulations since she's not too fond of Amaterasu. The fact that Ryujin seemed sincerely supportive warmed my heart, and I was filled with a sense of pleasant anticipation for the official wedding ceremony, which is to be held in less than a month. ^_^ As long as Hachiman doesn't try to assassinate me before then, it'll be all good. >_<
Sadly, my mood was dampened a bit as Ryujin described to us in more detail what transpired in Hong Kong. During the war, six scions and no fewer than twenty youkai disappeared in Hong Kong. Their spirits never showed up in the Underworld and no trace of them was ever found. Ryujin gave us a list of the missing persons. Among them were one of Ryujin's scions, named Gozu, who was the acting commander of the divine forces there. He was replaced by Mari's scion, Yuzuka, who also disappeared along with her adjutant, a kitsune name Ruka.
At the time we were to be traveling back, Yuzuka and Ruka had not yet disappeared, which meant that they, among others, were probably the moon-beasts' targets, and the moon-beasts were probably trying to use the ongoing series of disappearance as cover for their own activities. However, when Ryujin mentioned that Da Ji, a servant of Nuwa was allegedly causing trouble in Hong Kong at the time, the real cause of the disappearances (historically, anyway) began to become apparent. Charles and Adam started putting the pieces together and realized that the Celestial Bureacucracy had most likely been kidnapping the Amatsukami scions and youkai and then using their Taiyi powers to transform them into loyal lesser gods serving the Celestial Bureaucracy. That would explain how the Bureacracy managed to find new divine troops even though their earthly forces were cut off from Tien.
This pissed me off royally. Sure, war is war, and you do what you must to win. The Japanese military did some awful things during the war, and the Amatsukami didn't step in to stop them. But that doesn't make what the Celestial Bureaucracy did right! You can't just take someone and turn them into someone else against their will. I don't care if they can't remember that they were ever something else to begin with. That doesn't matter. It was bad enough with Da Li, and I've been upset about that ever since we were reintroduced to her at the fortress in the Endless Desert. Changing someone like that is absolutely repugnant. You can make all the excuses you want about how this was a necessary evil to survive the war all, but that doesn't excuse the Bureaucracy's actions. And the Celestial Bureacracy knows that's true because they've done everything in their power to make sure no one ever found out about this. That's why Charles couldn't find any info on the situation when he researched it. It would be one thing if the Bureaucracy had gracefully returned the kidnapped agents after the war. At least all of this would be forgivable then. But no, they just swept it under the rug and doomed our scions and youkai and life that isn't even theirs. Like forgetting about something make it okay. Seriously? F**k that sh*t.
My mood over the whole situation only got worse when, at Charles' suggestion, we visited Tien and went to discuss the matter with Nuwa. After all, Da Ji (not to be confused with Da Li) was her servant and was, as far as we could tell, the one responsible for the kindappings. We didn't pull any punches, and told her what we thought the Celestial Bureaucracy had done. We offered her a chance to help us set things straight and make them right. We might not be able to do so in the past, for fear of upsetting the time stream and empowering Zvran's minions even more than we already have. But at the very least we can do so now, in the present, by getting the Bureaucracy to return the kidnapped scions and youkai to the people they were before.
Da Li attended to us until Nuwa arrived, and seeing her just fueled the flame of my displeasure. Nuwa apparently knew what we had come to ask about, because Da Li tried very hard to warn us away, claiming that her mother was very agitated and that people usually died when that was the case. When Nuwa finally appeared, she was less than cooperative, but at least she made it apparent that she didn't agree with what the Bureaucracy had done. She told us to forget about it, and made it clear that she "knew nothing," but she did so in a way that implied that she did know what had happened and that for all our sakes, she was NOT going to share any details with us. She also strongly suggested that Charles should cease this line of inquiry unless he wanted to destroy his future in the Bureaucracy. Fortunately, Charles is made of sterner stuff, and he stood firm with the rest of us in demanding to know what had happened.
Eventually, Nuwa relented slightly and sent us to a small house on the edges of the realm, where, she claimed, a liar lived who could give us the answers we sought. It was pretty clear she was talking about Da Ji. I think that if I weren't so angry, I might have been a little more anxious about visiting Da Ji. I mean, we're gods, but she has the experience of ages on her side, and she's supposed to be very dangerous. She's not unlike a Chinese reflection of Inari, the god of rice and fox-spirits in Japan. But she's more malicious than Inari, apparently possessing little sense of morality.
Anyway, we trekked across the meadows of Nuwa's domain to Da Ji's cottage. She greeted us with fiery anger in her eyes, and stepped out to confront us rather than inviting us into her abode. As usual, I stepped forward to do the talking, which might not have been the best idea given my state-of-mind.
Da Ji told us that we were very brave to come to her, given the way we murdered her daughter. At first, there was a moment of confusion. I mean, seriously? When did we kill Da Ji's daughter? Then I realized that she was talking about Da Li. So...Da Li is Nu Wa and Da Ji's daughter? Very interesting...especially since Nuwa seems embarrassed by that fact... I guess her pantheon isn't very accepting of same sex relationships. Well, f**k them. they can get over it. Mine isn't very accepting of my relationship with Amaterasu either (though I suppose that has less to do with our genders and more to do with the darkness of my taint...), but I'm not going to keep it a secret just because other don't approve.
Anyway, Da Ji's accusations were the last straw for me, and we got into an argument. Da Ji was pissed about us killing her daughter, and I was pissed about her daughter trying to kill ME. She asked how I would feel if someone had killed my daughter...and I think everyone else was just looking on unsure of what to do to defuse the argument until Adam and Charles stepped into to try and calm things down. By that point, though, I'd realized that Da Ji wasn't really as upset about us killing her daughter as she was about what the Celestial Bureacracy did to Da Li afterwards, which, honestly what exactly what I was so upset about. So I pointed this out, and proposed that if Da Ji could help us, then we would do whatever was in our power to help fix Da Li. Charles backed me up on this. Being the only member of the Bureaucracy in our group, his words had the weight we needed, and Da Ji hesitantly relented.
She confirmed that we were right about what the Bureaucracy had done in Hong Kong. Apparently, she was responsible for most of it, but now she was in a tenuous position herself, because she was essentially the Bureaucracy's scapegoat for the whole debacle. Even though she had been acting on the Jade Emperor's orders, no records would confirm that now and most of the others who were involved had either had their minds wiped or had been changed into someone else. Damn, the Bureaucracy is f**king insidious. This whole situations is making me question whether I even want the Amatsukami to make peace with the Bureaucracy. I think I even went so far as to tell Charles that if the Bureaucracy decided to shun him (or worse) over all of this, then he was welcome to join MY pantheon.
Anyway, in 1943 Hong Kong, Da Ji had managed to smuggle two minor Bureaucracy gods out of Tien: Wang Dang, a son of Fu Xi, and Xi Ci, a daughter of Xi Wang Mu. With their aid, she kidnapped scions and youkai working for the Amatsukami and turned them into lesser gods fighting on the side of the Bureaucracy. After the war, the kidnapped Japanese were again transformed into other lesser gods and placed in easy, comfortable posts in Tien, where they were more or less forgotten. Wang Dang and Xi Ci were also transformed into other beings and made to forget what had happened during the war (T-Bone wondered out loud whether Charles was really the new version of one of those two, which I found to be a bit tasteless given the circumstances).
Da Ji claims that she wanted to revert the captured Japanese to their original forms and identities after the war. I'm tempted to believe her, if only because of how she obviously feels about what was done to Da Li. Unfortunately, the rest of the Bureaucracy didn't care about what she wanted.
So, at least we know what we're up against now. The real danger in all of this is that the Bureaucracy might decide to wipe all of our minds so so that we can't reveal what we've learned. If that were to happen, certain people (like Amaterasu) whould be seriously pissed off, so it would be a very dangerous move for the Bureaucracy to make. But that doesn't mean they won't try it. We're going to have to cover our asses somehow, maybe by spreading the word to key members of other pantheons so that the Bureaucracy gains nothing by erasing our memories. We still have to figure out how to get the Bureaucracy to admit what they did and return the kidnapped scions and youkai. That might take some time, but Charles and I are determined to see it through. And the first step is getting them to undo what they did to Da Li.
So, Da Ji wasn't happy with us. She seemed frankly annoyed that her last, best hope for saving her daughter lies in the hands of that daughter's "murderers." But she did what she could to help us, so that's a win for our team. She even gave us a phrase we can use if she or her servants happen to encounter us in Hong Kong. If we say that we were "sent by the one who tugs your little tail," in Chinese, she'll think we were sent by Nuwa. That's actually pretty cute. I like the way it hints at the playful flirtations Nuwa and Da Ji apparently shared prior to the romance that gave birth to Da Li. ^_^
It's worth noting that we caught Da Li kinda spying on us as we left Da Ji's place. She was apparently worried about us. She knows there's something up between Nuwa and Da Ji, and has figured out that Da Ji's her other mother. I hope we can fix her soon. She might not be as nice and sweet, but I don't really care. She should be who she really IS, flaws and everything, not the perfect little puppet the Bureaucracy made her.
Okay, I gotta get something off my chest here. Yi and I are going to have a long chat when I get done with this. We've been on the rocks for long enough, and I don't know whether all of this will help or hurt our relationship. But Yi needs to know this. She seems to have this idea that the Celestial Bureaucracy are faultless aside from a bit of corruption and the way they treat her father, and that the Amatsukami are all the bad guys. Maybe she'll see the Bureaucracy's actions in Hong Kong as nothing more than justice for what the Japanese did elsewhere. But I hope she sees what I do in all of this. The war brought out the worst in people on all sides of the conflict, and the Bureaucracy did horrible things just like the Amatsukami did. None of us are blameless. And we just have to make amends (not just sweep things under the rug) and get over it. I've already made an effort to get Amaterasu to do just that...and maybe I can work with her to begin negotiations with the Bureaucracy for the return of our kidnapped scions and youkai. I hope Yi will start to see some of the problems in her own pantheon and will help me and Charles begin to remedy those problems. I mean, lets face it. These issues are symptoms of a much deeper and more endemic sickness plaguing the Bureaucracy, and the cure for that sickness is going to have to come from within the Bureaucracy itself.
Damn. Poltics suck. I mean, I thrive on them, sure. But they still suck. >_<
Anyway...
Having learned all we were likely to learn, we took the Valkyrie to Hong Kong and found the time anomaly. We emerged from Hong Kong's harbor in 1943. There, on a dingy pier, Someone was waiting for us. He looked like a Chinese minister, though he had smoldering black skin, stark white hair, and eyes like embers. Adam immediately identified him as Ahrimane, the avatar of Zvran whom we have been expecting to try and work out a deal with us to keep us out of Zvran's hair. His presence put me on guard, since I'm worried about what he might offer us to ensure our cooperation. We had a short conversation with him, Adam taking the lead this time. But this time, at least, Ahrimane didn't try to make deal with us. Instead, he simply told us that the moon-beasts had concealed themselves form magic and time, and that they had moved their headquarters somewhere underwater. Then he just left. The first one's always free, I suppose... I admit, I was rather amused by the pop culture references he kept interjecting into his speech, especially the Rolling Stones references...
Even with Ahriman's information, we still didn't have a direct lead on tracking down the moon-beasts. From there, we decided to take the direct approach, and more or less take control of the situation by introducing ourselves to the Japanese divine command as agents sent from Tokyo. We made our way to Hollywood Road, which was the center of the Japanese districts in Hong Kong and the headquarters of the occupying Japanese command. Of course, those of us from other pantheons would be a little problematic if anyone could scent the divine auras that surround us, so Elisa and I were the only ones to approach them openly. I changed to the Japanese version of me ^_^ since there weren't any non-Japanese Amatsukami in WWII, and Elisa accompanied as an Aztlanti mercenary. Adam transformed himself into a wasp to follow us discreetly, while Charles found good place nearby to hole up with Pierre so that he could teleport the two of them in if needed. T-Bone, of course, disappeared behind the veil of invisibility and shadowed us.
Elisa and I had no trouble navigating the guard posts and gaining access to the main HQ of the Amatsukami forces, where we were received by a very perky kitsune girl named Ruka (the local commander's adjutant). I removed the scarf with which I'd hooded my face, revealing my full divine appearance, which caught her off guard and made exactly the impression of status I wanted, though I was amused when a stunned Ruka babbled something about how she wasn't the prettiest woman around anymore. ^_^ Ruka hurriedly ushered us in to meet her the commanding officer, a very severe, stern daughter of Marishiten named Yuzuka. Whereas Ruka's beauty was warm and energetic, Yuzuka's was altogether more subtle. It was cold and aloof, yet quite appealing in its own way. I definitely saw echoes of her mother in her features.
Yuzuka was taken aback and none-too-happy to have unexpected visitors, but through her austere facade, I sensed that she was quite taken with me, so I played up my charm, flashing her a few heart-melting smiles as we made our introductions. Ruka apparently picked up on this and, in a manner that was wholly unbecoming of a Japanese soldier during WWII, kept making some not so subtle comments (some whispered directly into Yuzuka's ear) about how Yuzuka should make a move on me. ^_^ I had no intention of indulging Yuzuka's interest...but that didn't mean I wasn't going to use a bit of flirtation to get her to do exactly what I wanted in regard to our current mission... ^_^ It's good to be a little naughty.
I also had a hard time keeping a straight face whenever Ruka said something suggestive or just outright perky and Yuzuka, annoyed, told Ruka that she would have her whipped. This happened several times during our conversation, and at least the first few times T-Bone invisibly whispered "Hot." in my ear. So, what is it with these command groups and their not-so-subtle sexual innuendos? I mean, first there was Synn and Cila in the sexy nurse get-up, and now the Japanese commanders talking about whipping each other? ^_^
Anyway, I introduced myself as Hinokagehime, daughter of Izanami, and claimed I was sent by her mother, Marishiten, to help resolve the issues in Hong Kong. It wasn't that Mari lacked confidence in Yuzuka's abilities, but new information had come to light, and I'd been sent in to covertly assist her. My presence was to be kept absolutely secret. We explained that the kidnappings were not a coincidence and that we needed to lure the culprits out into the open without endangering Yuzuka or Ruka. I had been sent, along with my Aztlanti mercenary as something of a specialist in such things. Our plan was to make sure Yuzuka and Ruka were safe while we used our powers to take their place. I told them we had other agents hidden nearby who could come to our aid when the enemy attacked.
Yuzuka wanted to know more about the enemy, and I wanted so much to warn her about what the Celestial Bureaucracy was up to. The thought of her falling into their hands and being turned into someone else grated on me so badly that I almost told her everything, just to keep her safe. But I couldn't. Not without endangering everything we're working toward. If we keep the Bureaucracy from grabbing Yuzuka and Ruka, it could cause major fluctuations in the time stream, and who knows how much that will empower Zvran's forces. Only the knowledge that we would do all we could to get Yuzuka and Ruka and the other captured Amatsukami agents back in the future made hiding the truth from her bearable. I know that even if we protect Yuzuka and Ruka from the moon-beasts, we're sentencing them to something just as bad...but I suppose it's the lesser of two evils...even if it doesn't feel that way. >_<
Anyway, I explained that there was another supernatural enemy at work in Hong Kong, an enemy who was not serving the Allies, and that they were responsible for some of the missing agents. Yuzuka was of course quite concerned about this, and told us that a jorougumo (a youkai spider-woman, like Maneki's friend Rakushinpu) who had been brought in to serve the Japanese forces had gone wild when her ghost handler disappeared. She was currently attacking the local Chinese population and attempting to birth offspring. To her credit, Yuzuka was sincerely concerned for the Chinese locals, and insisted that she could not allow the jorougumo to run amok. So we promised to investigate and deal with the jorougumo on her behalf. Hopefully, doing so will draw out the moon-beasts. After all, they're probably using the jorougumo as bait for Yuzuka and Ruka anyway.
Of course, one thing we realized was that according to the list of missing scions and youkai provided by Ryujin, the jorougumo was supposed to have already gone missing. That means the moon-beasts have already changed the events of the past, assuming they are responsible for the disappearance her ghost handler, which is almost certain. Unfortunately, this means we'll probably have to kill the jorougumo to eliminate her from the future, unless we can figure out a way to get the Bureaucracy to kidnap her after all, which kinda makes me sick to my stomach.
So, now that I have Yuzuka wrapped around my finger, Elisa and I can introduce her to a few of our comrades. T-Bone is going to use illusion to make Elisa look like Yuzuka, and I'll use my own shapechanging abilities to look and act like Ruka. which won't be hard for me. ^_^. I can be hella perky when I have to. ^_^ Elisa...not so much. Which is why she's gonna be Yuzuka. I wonder if she'll threaten to have me whipped a lot?
Anyway, we're still working out the details of the plan, but at least we know who our impostors will be. More later!