RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Thread)

[Gappy]

N.B.: This is a DREAM
Dreamscape, sometime in the night, Day 3

Covenant Battlecruiser Sky-Ray(?)/C.S.S. Gensokyo, ? AM/PM, Day ?

He blinked.

This was definitely not Kansas, no?

He looked around him. Sleek metal corridors extended away in both directions bearing the occasional metal door and robust-looking blast-doors. People in uniforms?wait, scratch that?.humans, youkai, beasts, kappa, tengu, fairies, ghosts, vampires, and other manner of non-human beings in uniforms milled about. The place looked somewhat familiar?.was that the Covenant crest on the wall?

?Phew, that was a good breakfast!? A voice said from nearby. It was a ghost, judging by the way she floated an inch above the ground and the spiral-pattern on her officer-cap. She looked?familiar?.

?Yuyuko-sama?.Taihou-san is complaining again. You just ate up a month?s supply of rations!? A half-ghost, judging by the small ethereal waterdrop-shaped Myon floating next to her, said, chasing after the ghost. ?Please don?t continue giving the chief purser anymore grief!?

?WHO LET THAT BLACKHOLE ONBOARD THE SHIP?!? A scream came out of the mess-hall. ?SHO! KEEP YOUR BLACKHOLE OUT OF MY MESS HALL!? A familiar-looking officer ran out under a storm of kitchen utensils, both sharp and blunt, all deadly.

?Mitaka!? He jumped upon hearing his name. Someone here knows him?

?R-Reimu?!? Mitaka gasped, looking around to find Reimu in a red and white officer?s uniform bearing the Covenant crest on her chest.

?That?s Lieutenant Hakurei to you, Sergeant.? Reimu said. ??.not in public, Taka-kun?? She muttered in his ear as she got close. ?Ehem?? She cleared her throat. ?The Captain requests your presence on the command deck.?

?Uh?ok?? Mitaka blinked. Perhaps?.he should play along?

?Yo, Mitaka!? A voice called out from behind. ?Is Reimu picking on you again??

?Chief Martial Officer Kojiro.? Reimu sighed. ?Lady Ambassador, is our Chief Martial Officer bothering you?? She turned to ask the vampire behind him, a small smile playing on her face.

?Yes, he is. Lock him up in the brig for me, please.? Ambassador Scarlet said, with a playful look. ?And throw away the key.? She added.

?Oy!? Kojiro protested.

?I?ll see to that later. But Captain Yakumo?s not one for patience.? Reimu said, nodding at the couple. ?Come on, Taka-kun! Yukari?ll throw US in the brig!?

?Uhh, right?? Mitaka ran after Reimu. So Yukari?s the captain of this madhouse? Well?he wasn?t too surprised?.

They paced through corridor A-1 towards the bridge?.Mitaka could still remember riding a tank through this corridor?but it was a lot brighter and cleaner now, with proper crewmembers walking to and thro.

??all I?m saying is, the mana warheads need more standardized mana-supplies. I don?t like these test results.? A girl who looked suspiciously like Rika said to a man who looked a LOT like ThirtyFour.

?I?m the Chief Weapons Officer and I say?? ThirtyFour blinked, before wilting under Rika?s intense glare. ??.err?I say we go with the standardized mana-supplies?? He murmured, uncertainly.

?Taka-kun!? Reimu hissed, gesturing for Mitaka to hurry up.

They entered the bridge. It was quite different from how he remembered it. It was broader?bigger?with many more tiers of control panels and operation stations.

The captain?s seat was set on a raised pedestal bearing the Covenant crest, set at the end of a long platform that overlooked the entire command bridge. And in it was Captain Yakumo Yukari, proud Captain of the C.S.S. Gensokyo. Engaged in a lively discussion with her was the vice-captain Jeremy.

?Chief Mana Spiritualist, Reimu Hakurei, reporting!? Reimu said, raising her right fist to her heart in salute.

An awkward silence crept in as all eyes centered on Mitaka.

?Uhh?ummm?? Mitaka started sweating nervously.

?Captain Yakumo, I apologize for Sgt. Mitaka?s rudeness.? Reimu said. ?He just recovered from another one of Eirin?s shady new drugs.?

?Fufufu, that matters not. We have little need for strict formalities onboard this ship.? Captain Yakumo chuckled, waving the matter aside. ?Mitaka-kun, how?s the new mana-link research coming along? You did resign from the post of vice-chief to concentrate on your new project after all.?

?Uhh?err?.? Mitaka looked around nervously for an answer. ?It?s?uhh??

?It?s going smoothly.? Reimu supplied for him. ?He just made another breakthrough. We?ve just run the first test and confirmed that his theory is indeed possible in practice.?

?The test subjects?? Yukari asked, interested.

?umm?? Reimu suddenly blushed profusely. ?err?I volunteered myself to be a test subject.?

?So you managed to share a mana link with Lt. Hakurei?? Yukari asked, raising an eyebrow at Mitaka.

?Er..umm?yes?? Mitaka nodded nervously. ?It appears to work?err?just fine.?

?How was it??? Yukari asked, edging closer, a hint of playfulness in her voice. ??sharing mana with Mitaka-kun, I mean?? She asked Reimu.

?C-Captain, I d-doubt that?s r-relevant!? Reimu stammered, blushing even redder.

?Oh, it?s very relevant.? Yukari said. ?I might end up having to commit myself to a mana link as well. And if it?s at all unpleasant then?well, poor Jeremy?? She said, nodding at her Vice-Captain.

?So it is feasible?? Jeremy asked, clearing his throat, his ears turning a little red.

?It would give us an edge against the Empire?s superweapon.? Yukari said, turning grave. ?By using these mana-links and having humans such as yourselves supply the rest of us with mana, we may stand a chance against that superweapon.? Yukari said, hopefully. ?With it, we will bring the very core of the Covenant?s strength, our promise of eternal brotherhood, to the fore and crush the Empire resoundingly.?

?It will require more work, however.? Reimu said. ?I believe a more stable linkage system will be required. Something like a proper ?contract?. We plan on involving Lt. Knowledge as well. Her research in summoning contracts may prove useful. We also plan on involing Lt. Komeiji. Her new ?dive? system may help us stabilize the linkage further.?

?I see. I?ll sort out the paperwork. You, Satori, and Patchy focus on the serious details.? Yukari said, sitting back. ?Jeremy, have Ran write up project transfer reports for Satori and Patchy.?

?Yes, Captain.? Jeremy nodded.

?And when we?re among friends, Yukari is fine.? Yukari added. ?Dear dear, you?re too uptight sometimes, Jeremy.?

??.I?ll work on that, Captain.? Jeremy said with a sly grin, just to spite her.

??.Reimu, Mitaka?? Yukari suddenly said, with a rather sudden worried expression. ?I?want to transfer you two back to the capital. I may send Lt. Satori and Lt. Patchouli and anyone else involved with your project with you.?

?B-but Captain?!? Reimu gasped. ?This is our ship! We can?t??

?Your research is important.? Yukari said. ?The entire Covenant Sphere?s fate may rest on it. As we speak the Empire encroaches upon us with their menacing superweapon. I can?t let you remain onboard this ship in such dangerous times. You and your research will be safer in the capital.?

?We refuse.? Reimu said, defiantly. ?You?ll have to drag me off the ship.?

??.? Yukari sighed. ?Reimu?please, this is for the Covenant?s sake.?

?I?m not abandoning my comrades, not when they need me most.? Reimu said. ?The ailment has spread amongst the non-human crewmen and now all of them have begun to show slight symptoms of wasting . Everyone is doing their best to seem as if nothing is wrong?? Reimu said, gritting her teeth. ?I want the people onboard this ship to benefit from our research first. If it weren?t for this ship and its crew, we would still be in the dark about the nature of the Empire?s superweapon. I don?t want that knowledge to come at the price of their lives.?

??.Reimu...? Yukari sighed. ?Look, this ship is stranded. We can?t even dock for supplies for fear of spreading the ailment. We can?t even enter the Covenant Sphere for Elemia?s sake. We?re sitting ducks out here on our own.?

?That?s why my place is here.? Reimu said, determinedly. ?Right, Mitaka??

??yes.? Mitaka nodded. He didn?t understand what was going on, but his friends needed him and Reimu onboard, right? That?s reason enough. ?Yes, we?re not going anywhere, not while our comrades are threatened.?

??.? Yukari sighed. ?I expected no less from you two?? She shook her head. ?Foolish idealism?.that?s what the Empire thinks is the Covenant?s greatest weakness. And they exploit it?? Yukari gritted her teeth. ?Holding our mining station hostage?all those innocent people??

?Captain! Hostile battlecruisers incoming. ETA 20 minutes!? A fairy officer reported from below. ?Imperial Forces!?

?Again?! How long do they plan on chasing us?!? Yukari cursed, turning her seat to face the command bridge. ?Jeremy, rouse the crew! Full retreat.?

?All crewmen, to your battle stations! We?re retreating! Ensign, get me the Head Engineering Officer!? Jeremy ordered.

?Yes, captain!? Nitori?s appeared on the holographic screen by Yukari?s seat.

?All engines to full, Lieutenant!? Jeremy ordered. ?All repair crew on the ready.?

?Ugh?? Yukari muttered to herself as the com-link with Nitori terminated. ?If only I could gap them all in one go?? She muttered to herself.

?You two.? She turned to face Reimu and Mitaka. ?Oversee the Mana Generator. I want it on optimum capacity, but whatever you do, don?t let it die on us. We?ll reduce output if we have to, but we have to preserve that generator.?

?Yes, captain.? Mitaka and Reimu both saluted before turning away.

As they rushed for the door the ship suddenly shook violently.

?What?! I thought you said 20 minutes!? Yukari gasped.

?They have teleporters, Captain!? A beast youkai below reported. ?Incoming enemy danmaku barrage!?

?Direct 40% output to shields! All the rest to the engines!? Jeremy ordered. ?Helmsmen, evasive maneuvers! All crewmen, brace for impact!?

?By Elemia, we WILL survive!? Yukari shouted, slamming a fist into her seat as she stood up. ?Jeremy, I?m sortie-ing! You have command!? She declared as a gap unzipped itself beside her.

?Captain! In your current condition you?ll?.? Jeremy began.

??.Jeremy?.? Yukari said quietly, without looking around. ??if anything happens to me?protect the Covenant in my place??

?C.S.S. GENSOKYO, FULL SPEED AHEAD!? Yukari shouted as the gap swallowed her whole.

??

?.deep, deep underground, the Covenant mana generator glowed perceptibly brighter as it hummed away in the dim darkness?.

And Mitaka woke up, drenched in cold sweat. ??.ugh?I blame you, Yukarin?? He mumbled, before falling back asleep.

[trancehime]

Saniwa Inn, Living Room, 10:55 AM, Day 4

"Meira-sama, what are we doing here, again?" Hiyori asked curiously.

Meira looked in the kitchen and saw Taihou, now a female, in a bit of a tight spot. Seemed that Mokou was up to her old ways and seemed ready to pounce on her from the front, and nearby,  from the kitchen door, is an angry Sakuya ready to skewer her full of knives. Well, Sakuya would get annoyed, after all, Taihou had a bigger bust than she did there, as Meira pointed out and consequently poked Hiyori's chest. Would ya look at that, Meira whispered. that's huge! That's four times yours! Hiyori whimpered. Her feet were killing her but she knew she had to help Taihou. Good thing I am flat, Mokou would not care about me in this state! Hiyori thought in her mind, but she knew her sentiments would be wrong. One would exposit about Mokou's tendencies. Meira laughed, and noticed Hiyori's switchblade was in its original shape, but was much larger, much like a machete. Meira casually walked right into the kitchen and leaned against the wall, totally ignoring the scene. Let's see how this pans out! Meira thought.

Hiyori ran into the living room through the side that Taihou was in. Hiyori stomped the ground.

"M, Mokou-dono, what are you doing?! Cease this immediately!" Hiyori said indignantly, however, it was nothing like her original voice, it seemed like she was joking. Mokou stopped doing her gestures and turned around.

"Oho... Izzat you, Hirowaza-chan?"

"What do you think you're doing to hi-- Her? Sakuya's going to have her head for... You know!"

"Funny you say that, dear, you are so flat!"

"S, shut up! Don't make fun of my size."

Mokou made a sly smile and took a step closer to Hiyori. Every step Mokou took, Hiyori would take a step back, until she hit the wall. "Gotcha." Mokou said slyly, now ignoring Taihou. Hiyori faced Taihou, who was now looking at her. Hiyori made several hand gestures to signify dealing with Sakuya.

"M, Mokou-dono... P, please. This isn't funny."

"You're not fun~" Mokou replied, noticing Hiyori turn to face the other way. Mokou placed her arm to stop Hiyori from looking that way. "Let's play a game..."

"What game?!" Hiyori questioned bitterly.

"I'll stop this if you..." Mokou whispered something into Hiyori's ear.

"N, n... No way!! P, please... Don't tell me... This... has to be... a cruel joke..." Hiyori whimpered, starting to cry. Mokou just laughed.

[Pedonymous]

Yatsugatake National Park, Karuisuwa, 11:34 PM, day 2

Arreku and Kaigomi, on their usual stroll through the forest, happily conversed. Kaigomi rested her head on her arms, using Arreku's fluffy brown top for support.

"--and then the man says 'Well Miss, why dontcha gimme yer info?' So I said 'I'm very sorry sir, but that's against cafe policy...' Not that I really wanted to anyways..." Arreku chattered about work to Kaigomi, who always intently listened after he came back from Tokyo during the weekends. She enjoyed hearing him talk, despite the odd subject matter. "--so I'm gonna buy a Yuffie figure I've had my eye on-" Arreku stopped in mid-sentence, freezing up.

"H-hey, what's the matter?" Kaigomi asked, surprised by Arreku's sudden halt. "Arreku, you idiot, listen to me!"

"There's voices... that way." Arreku pointed in a direction slightly off the path of their travel. "Lots of them."

Kaigomi, confused, tugged on Arreku's hair. "There's no voices, keep walking!"

"N-no, I hear them! I'm going to check them out." Arreku suddenly jumped off into the bush, quickly sprinting to the direction the clatter of voices came from. Eventually, Kaigomi picked up on them too. He skidded to a halt on the edge of the bush, taking cover in the trees.

Below, there was a commotion of black-armored men, all encircling and struggling with something on the ground... an animal? A bear? A magic tanuki? Arreku's mind began to wander. Kaigomi, quickly picking up on this, tugged at his puffy ahoge.

"Yeow-"

"Sh-shh! Shut up and pay attention!" Kaigomi loudly whispered.

The commotion began to calm down, and soon enough the men brought an odd sight above their heads- an unconscious girl, hanging limp out of a large wooden bucket. Immediately upon seeing this, he swooped upon the men, who yelled in surprise.

"Ahh, it's another one!"

"It's just some ki-AGHK" A swift jab to the chest left the armored man breathless, as he collapsed onto the soggy ground. Arreku quickly scooped up the girl in the bucket and handed her to Kaigomi, who seemed both stunned and bewildered by this girl.

"Keep her safe, go into the bush!" Arreku ordered her, Kaigomi complied, rushing into the woods, dragging the bucket behind her.

Arreku swiftly raced around the guards, jabbing them in exposed areas, often hitting nerve points that left them stunned. Those who weren't stunned were driven into the ground by sheer force.

Arreku, surveying his work, stepped towards a van, it's back doors wide open. Inside, he spied a girl with a blue dress, and bright blue hair, lying unconscious, but before he could get inside to save her, he was interrupted by something that made his heart leap.

"D-damn it, bring in the guns! Bring in the guns!!" an armored shouted to a group of black vans, almost immediately, several heavily clad men bearing shield rushed out to face Arreku, their fingers itching the triggers of black AK-47s.

"Aim, fi-" The one gunner stopped in mid-sentence. "Where the hell did the bastard go?"

Arreku rushed through the woods, his heart racing, toting the bucket girl under his arm and Kaigomi on his shoulders.

--------------------------------------------------

Hokaido residence, Karuisawa, 12:12 AM, day 3

Arreku slept soundly in his bed, snugly situated by Kaigomi. For some reason, Kaigomi eyed the girl in the bucket over Arreku's sleeping body, sleeping soundly with bandages on her wounds. She hadn't awoken, but Kaigomi stayed awake the entire night, just in case...

This girl could be something evil.

[Helepolis]

- - -

[trancehime]

Saniwa Inn, Kitchen, 11:20 AM, Day 4

"I... I'm so sorry, everyone..." Hiyori said as she shook her head profusely while looking down at the ground, visibly ashamed. She looked straight again and eyed Mokou. "S, so... What's the second one?" she asked, her voice wavering slightly. Some sort of training this is!! Hiyori thought. B... But... I must... To save Taihou. This wretch!! Mokou tilted her head in thought as she quickly thought of her second command.

"Well," Mokou said, grinning slyly. "My second command is..."

"Wh, what is it?" Hiyori questioned, clearly embarrassed by this current chain.

"You gotta let me hit ya!"

"What the hell?!" Hiyori squealed.

"That's right, you have to let me smack you RIGHT in front of everyone here! ...Even Meira-san!"

"Wh, wha... N, no...!"

"You said you agree to this condition, so there's no backing out now."

"P, please... D... Don't... hit hard..."

Mokou smiled. Meira tried to break free from Keine but there was no use. She couldn't break away for some reason. Almost like Keine had been empowered by something. "Now, Hiyori-chan, just... stand there." Mokou said, pointing to a corner of the kitchen in plain, visible view to everyone inside AND passersby. Mokou walked closer to Hiyori, who was by now trembling. Hiyori knew how strong Mokou was and braced herself for the pain that she was about to feel from this.

"M, Mokou-sama..."

"Oh, dear, don't be a baby. It won't hurt... That much"

Hiyori trembled as she stood in the corner, holding herself in a way that could only mean one thing - brace yourself or die. Mokou cracked her knuckles menacingly and smiled evilly before a shimmer sparkled in her eyes. Hiyori closed her eyes and expected the worst. Everyone watching couldn't actually watch. But... Instead... Mokou didn't punch or smack Hiyori. Instead she started to tickle Hiyori everywhere. After several moments, Hiyori's eyes opened and she realized what was happening when she started to burst out laughing.

"Ahahahaha... N, no, M, Mokou-sa.. sama, hahaha, STOP!!!"

Mokou grinned as she noticed Hiyori contorting her own body. Hiyori was trying to avoid Mokou's fingers, but placed her hands against the wall so she wouldn't fall over, and she ended up bending over, her face against the wall. She continued to laugh as Mokou moved her hands from Hiyori's body to her legs. Hiyori pleaded for Mokou to stop tickling her, and after a while, Mokou relented and smiled. Hiyori thought Mokou was done, but that's where she was hideously wrong. Mokou took advantage of Hiyori's tired-from-laughing and bent over body to do something unforgiveable. Mokou raised her palm and slapped Hiyori's bottom lightly. ...Lightly by Mokou's standards, anyway. You could hear the sound.

"Aaaah!" Hiyori squealed, albeit sounding inadvertedly sultry.

Mokou heard Hiyori's scream and laughed. Meira amidst all this was trying to break free. "M, Mokou-san, you must stop this!" Meira proclaimed as she flailed within Keine's arms. "You're starting to hurt hi-- Her!!" Mokou ignored Meira's plea to stop, but one could get the feeling that she was enjoying it. Mokou smiled and did it again. And again. And again. Every time, Hiyori would scream in pain. But that last one was definitely the last one. Hiyori slumped to the floor and rubbed her backside, it was hurting very much. She clung to the wall like a prisoner in a cell.

Mokou turned around to face everyone, and then turned her head towards Hiyori.

"So, you've surpassed the second one. There's still a last one, ufu."

Hiyori was by now crying and struggling to stand up. "P... pain..."

[Pedonymous]

Hokaido residence, Karuisuwa, 7:39 AM, Day 3

Arreku groaned loudly as he stretched his arms and legs, working the sleep out if them. He was stiff after pushing himself like that last night, but he was glad that the girl he rescued was safe... Wait, where was she? She bed he had set up beside him was empty, and so was Kaigomi's. A commotion could be heard outside in the living room.

"--and then I'll--You crazy brat!" He could only hear bursts of Kaigomi's yelling as she ran back and forth, probably chasing their guest. He threw off the covers and dashed into the living room. He was horrified.

What Kaigomi chased was something not of this world, Arreku had been deceived. The girl, who was comfortably seated in her bucket, levitated around the room, green pigtails flying, carrying the breakfast ham. Kaigomi ran around the room, jumping up and swatting the bucket, to no avail.

"Awawawawa... awaaaahwaaa..." Arreku wavered out of fear, petrified of this strange girl. He should have known, those men were trying to get rid of this monster...

"AFWAH! SAVIOR-KUN!" the girl yelled at the top of her lungs, dropping the half-eaten ham on a more than disgruntled Kaigomi. "I'm so grateful!" she went on, swinging her arms around his neck, Kaigomi choked at the sight of the girl's round butt peeking over the edge of the bucket as she leaned out of it.

"Ah... ah... ahhhhhHHHHHHH!!!" Arreku flew into a panic, diving under the nearest table. "Suh-suhstuh-stayyy awaway!"

The girl crawled along the ground, her body half out of the bucket (Kaigomi was still staring at the girl's butt by this point), with a kind and cheerful smile on her face. "Arreku-kun's the best, he saved Kisume-chan! He saved me!" she squealed, diving towards him, catching the shoulders of his sweater. She calmly gazed into his eyes, quelling his panic. "He saved me..."

"Y-you quit that, you pervert!" Kaigomi yelled at Kisume, seemingly snapping out of her daze. She dragged Kisume out from under the table, forcibly pushing her back in the bucket (Arreku got a full view of Kisume, he passed out). "Either put some pants on or stay in your bucket. I don't know what the hell you are, but you're not just going to strut around in all your glory." Kaigomi said gruffly, trying to attain some dominance over the newcomer.

"B-but, I just wanted to show him my gratitude... and I'm a tsurube-otoshi!!" Kisume sunk back in the bucket, pouting hard.

"W-well, you didn't need to show him your pussy-"

"Kyah! I-I did...?" she seemed to scan the previous interval of time, and she may have just crawled out too far...

"Wherever you're from, I guess there's no such thing as shame, eh?" Kaigomi swished the skirt of her dress, while Kisume ruffled the collar of her blouse.

And so began the long conversation between the dwarf and the bucket dropper, of Gensokyo, human world customs, among other things. Arreku didn't hear a word of it.

------------------------------------------------------------------

Hokaido residence, Karuisuwa, 12:23 PM, Day 3

Arreku awoke to his stomach growling, the warm afternoon gently heating his face.

"Ah, I kinda forgot about you," Kaigomi said, her feet reasting on the coffee table above him as she sat on the couch. "Come on out, I got something to tell you..."

Kaigomi explained to Arreku about Kisume's origins, a demon living in a separate world called Gensokyo. Apparently, Kisume was as bewildered as Arreku and Kaigomi about what was going on. Her friend Yamame, a spider youkai, tossed her through a portal to this world, there was an earthquake going on and Kisume was very scared. When she awoke, she could hardly move, she was very weak, and when those men tried to catch her, she thought she was finished. But after being near Arreku, she felt much stronger and more confident, and was very excited about the boy who helped her so much. Kisume, who was seated in her bucket beside Kaigomi on the couch nodded her head playfully as Kaigomi told the story. Kisume had decided to stay with them for the time being, but was quite worried about Yamame, so they had arranged to have Arreku look in the surrounding area for anyone else from Gensokyo the next morning. Today though, Kaigomi decided it was best to get Kisume accustomed to daily human life...

------------------------------------------------------------------

Outside the Saniwa Shrine, 11:11 AM, Day 4

Arreku peered upside-down over the roof of the shrine to peer into the window, Kisume playfully mimicking him.

"You're sure there's someone you know in there?" Kaigomi questioned Kisume, not entirely sure what to think of this odd behavior of hers, bringing them to an old shrine like this.

"Ayup, I'm sure. Who's in there Arreku-kun?"

Arreku squinted, trying to figure out the silhouettes of the people inside. "Uhm... It's all girls in there, and... URK."

"Arreku?" Kaigomi squeaked with surprise.

"Awawawa..." He slowly leaned up from the window, beet red.

Kaigomi fumed. "Argh, what are they doing in there? You didn't bring us somewhere weird, did you?"

Kisume shook her head.

"Bah..." Kaigomi leaned over the eave of the roof to peer into the shrine, and immediately shot back up.

"GODDAMMIT KISUME!!"

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

Mysterious Ruins 11:20 AM Day 4


Marx and Cirno could hear voices in the distance.

Ria: Over here!

Austin: Wait up!

Cirno: Crap, they've found us!

Marx: Not yet. Let's keep going. The shadow clones should slow them down.

Marx and Cirno entered a large room with a bridge leading to another part of the ruins

Cirno: Ok, let's-

Ria: Not so fast!

Marx and Cirno turned around to see Teams Pirate and Shakin' behind them. Frank and Caboose were stil catching up

Marx: You...

Ria: Marx! What do you intend to do with the Generator?

Marx: How do you know my name? Who are you to me?

Ria: Marx, it's me! Ria!

Marx: Why should I trust you? You may have information I need, but how will I know if you are telling the truth?

Ria: Marx...

Austin: What I want to know is how she got past the alarm.

Marx: Pfft. That pathetic thing? I'm suprised anyone actually gets caught! NOw, if you'll excuse me, I have a generator to drain.

The sound of a gun materializing echoed through the ruins.

Ria: I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that!

Marx: Then stop me!

Wings bursted from Marx as she took flight. Cirno followed suit.

Ria: I can still hit a moving target!

Marx: Then which one is the target?!? Shadow Clone!

More Marxs started flying around, all firing at Ria. Ria responded with volleys from her Lagunas Cannon.

Austin: There! Shoot there!

Ria: I know where to shoot!

Kaguya began firing as well, aiming for Marx and Cirno. Kaguya still remembered the time Cirno froze her as a favor for Mokou.

Marx: (thinking) Rgh! can't keep... this up...

Ria: Mana failing you?

Marx: Don't think this is the last time!

Marx and Cirno flew down an alternate tunnel.

Nitori: Was she using OC?


Outside Tourist Helper 3:00 PM

Cirno's wings reverted back to the usual six wings. Cirno was carrying a limping Marx.

Cirno: We really should be careful how our mana is used.

Marx: Yeah...

Cirno: Well, a good rest should restore the lost mana. Good thing you reserved a room.

Marx: Alright, let's go in.


Tourist Helper


Rinnosuke: Ah, Cirno, your ok. And the girl from before. Tiring day?

Marx: You could say that. May we have the key to our room now?

Rinnosuke: Of course.

Marx and Cirno retired to the room that was reserved.

Cirno: I'm going to walk around the place for a bit.

Marx: Ok, just don't go too far.

Cirno left the room and began to wander Tourist Helper.

[Maid Xan~]

Ruins, 12:35 PM, Day 4

Sho, having commited all the mischief she felt appropriate for the time being, headed down to check out the ruins. She had, after all, been looking for the keystone. However, at the moment, that was secondary. Right now, she was interested in looking for loot. Surely something of interest had to be there. So she and Yuyuko had headed down to check it out.

The two had had the good fortune to stumble upon something promising almost right away, in the third room they entered. While it looked rather like a locker room, with various compartments built into the walls, many of the "lockers" gave off very strong magical auras. It took a while of searching to find one of the lockers that both responded to their attempts to open it while also giving off an aura. The contents, Sho considered, seemed to make it all worth it.

A dagger and a bracer. Both were clearly (from the design and inscriptions) of non-japanese origin. The dagger appeared to be of european origin, most likely Norse or Germanic, as it appeared to have runic lettering on it, as well as patterns evoking a snake. The bracer, on the other hand, had what appeared to be Sanskrit. Whoever had owned the two objects had done a lot of traveling in the past.

Sho pulled out her laptop and checked the reception. Not great, but it would do for a little research. The dagger's runes translated to Grafvolluth. That explained the serpent motif, as Grafvolluth was the name of a serpent or dragon from Norse mythology.

The bracer took a while longer to research. The Sanskrit refered to Paramātmā. This meant effectively the supreme soul, a soul shared by all beings. It could somewhat be equated with the concept in psychology of the collective unconscious, a set of concepts and memories shared among all humanity (and in this case, humanity might perhaps be extended to include youkai and other such beings, at least to some extent).

While these pieces of information did not immediately offer any insight into the abilities of the two items, Sho was determined to figure them out, through experimentation if no better means presented itself.

Taking care to close the locker and leave the room in as close to the same condition they had found it in, minus their new finds, Sho and Yuyuko stealthily returned back to their room.

[Nemo★Ma]

A room in the ruins, 0800AM,Day 4, Amarillo & Lily White

Amarillo wake up, and found that she is the one to get up early.

And it seems Lily has got up earlier.

"Morning!" as Lily saw Amarillo sit up from the bed, she called out.

"Oh, Morning, it seems sleeping early also get us to get up early... Wanna go fishing?"

"Eh?"

"Yeah, fishing, which is a good way to build up one's determination." Amarillo takes her fishing rod, and heading out.

"Er, you have your lightsaber hid in the rod, right?"

"Yeah, however, the increase weight will do nothing on fishing purposes. "

"And you are ready for an ambush?"

"Please don't let it happen." Amarillo sighed, then walk out the door, Lily White closely follows.

A pond somewhere close to the shrine

"So that means we will have fish for lunch today?" Lily watched in surprise as Amarillo successfully getting a fish hooked within five minutes.

"No, As I say fishing is for Character build, One can only resort fishing for survival when it's really the need." Amarillo put the fish back to the pond.

"Awwww...."

"Fishing is pure determination and Focus." Amarillo hook another fish up.

"Oh, well." Seeing Amarillo put another fish(which was just hooked up) back in the water. "You don't care if I sleep for another hour, do you?"

"I don't mind, however, I'm interested for the reason that you get up at THAT early as in 5AM."

"Hah? You knew that?"

Amarillo pulled the hook up and changed the bait,"Sure, however I know, or I guessed what had happened, so i didn't react to it."

"Cirno have escaped."

"And that's why I go fishing now, "Amarillo said "It's important to be calm, who knows what will happen at the moment..."

"Yeah, after pirates and a battlecruiser... Who knows what will be here in this world... Is the real world that scary?" Lily lied on the ground.

"Well, less scary compared to OUR 21XX, If you want I can tell you some historial...."

"NO."

"Oh, alright."

*AFTER A LONG TIME*

Lily's sleep is broken by something underground.

"Ouch!" As Lily jump up from the ground, Amarillo quickly moved to her side.

"What happened?"

"The ground below... just moved."

"The ground..WHAT?" Amarillo quickly draw the light saber and watched the ground.

The patch of grass is moved open, and Amarillo swing the lightsaber in an arc, produce some spark on the edge of the secret exit.

"Owwww!" Somebody's voice can be heard in the tunnel.

"That voice... GPop?" Amarillo disarmed her lightsaber and get near the tunnel.

And she was hit by something directly on the face and fall.

"That hurts!" As Gpop emerges out with the SubTerrain resident, Amarillo shout in pain.

"Sorry... Thought you as one of the bad guys... Say, how long have you been here?" Gpop seems a little worried for some reason.

"Me? I've been fishing since 8AM. So there is a secret passage under that thing?" Amarillo points to the patch of grass.

"Well- I just found of the passage. I suggest you go back to the ruin, and there will be something - er- funny, well, I have no time to explain, I'd gotta go! Come, girls!"

And then Koishi, who was behind them, shout back: "So you just hit some cute young girl on the face, and want to go away without anything?"

"Oh- er- I'm terribly sorry for what just happened." GPop turn back and run away, with all the girls follow closely behind her.

"He must've hid something." Said Lily White as she watched the gang of people went away.

And then Amarillo's cell phone ring, (The normal one, not the mana-powered one) It's no doubt from Rinnosuke.

"Ms.Viridian!" As Rinnosuke reports the news that Cirno and a unknown woman has appeared in Tourist Helpers and they have "ordered a room." Amarillo smiles.

"Thanks." she hang the phone, and stand up :"Seems luck is finally on our site! Let's go back to the ruins."

"OK, but are you really OK?" Lily said?

"Eh? Why-" as Amarillo starts her sentence, she felt something salty is dipping from her nose.

"You-you are having a nose bleed!"

"That GPop! He actually put some strength in that punch! " Amarillo cover her bleeding nose and quickly went in the secret tunnel. "Ahh, Next time I see him...."

[OOC: Hint: Comedy Scene in Next Post of Me, also, GPop seems escaped the 1st barrier since Amarillo didn't know what happened in the ruin, but next time....]

[Demonlord Pichu]

=== Saniwa Inn - 10:30 AM ~ Day 4 ===
-Previous Event-

Owlbear himself wasn't outwardly effected by the whole gender bend until sometime after he awoke from his (rather long) nap just now. And just like anyone else,  he did NOT take to it very well, going about it cursing and shouting that whoever took his manhood well face a very painful GEKIDO Punch.

"Owlbear, please calm down" Came the voice of Shinki as she tried to calm the raging Owlbear down. "There's a rational explanation for all of this!"

"There's only on explanation to this, and tha's; that I'm PISSED OFF!!" Eh? The more feminine voice of Owlbear screamed from behind the doorway to their room when it was suddenly wrecthed open, revealing the (strangely) female form of Owlbear Fukuma*, the aura of RAGE practically dripping off her. "...I want to know who did this..." She seethed, an ominous steam coming from her maw. "...I want to know, who stole my manhood..."

"Please, calm down this instant!" Shinki spoke a bit more sternly, staying the raging woman's wrath for a moment with a bit of her own. Despite her anger, Fukuma still knew Shinki was one not to toyed with when SHE get's angry.

"Yeah, there ain't no reason to get all worked up~" Yuki chimed in as she patted the still enraged Fukuma on the back. "Look, you even have breasts now, Oooh and very nice ones I might add~"

"Indeed, your chest is bigger than mine, Yuki's and Mai's combined!" Luize said with a smile.

"S-stop talking about my breasts, I-it's really embarassing" Fukuma muttered a deep blush on her face from both the compliments to her figure and the bashfulness she had over said figure. Seeing that a rampage wouldn't solve much of anything, Fukuma simply sighed in exasperation and went back into the room. "Geeze, I really liked being a guy why would ANYone want to change that?"

"Because it's more effeicent." Yumeko said as she walked into the room after Fukuma, catching everyone's attention.

"You know something about this, Yumeko?" Shinki inquired to the blonde maid.

"Not entirely, I know not as to who did it (although, I can make a valid assumption), but it is still something again reasonable route of taking things, considering that we're planning to re-open the Inn and Shrine." Yumeko explained to the others who began to gather round. "To put it simply, we needed everyone to to become women so we could have a more effective way of teaching them the ways of maid hospitality. Apparently, to humans, no one likes an inn run by a bunch a men."

"You coulda at least WARNED me first, Damnit!" Fukuma shouted "Every guy doesn't like waking up with delicate skin...shapely thighs...rounded hips...large succulent...breasts..." She trailed off as she began to grope herself particularly in the chest area. This action was short lived as Yumeko slapped Fukuma's hands rather hard, bringing about a pained yelp.

"Stop that." Yumeko demanded firmly. "If you're to be a maid you mustn't touch yourself in that manner."

"Fine. I'll stop touching myself, Geeze." Fukuma huffed crossing her arms firmly over her newly formed bosom.

=== Chiyudani Residence: Toshiro's Room - 10:35 AM ~ Day 4 ===
-Previous Event-

"Yamame-chan, can you turn the volume down a bit," Toshiro asked to the tsuchigumo who looked up and began to search for the button to cut down the sound but found it a bit difficult. When you've existed in a realm that doesn't have all these newfangled gadgets it's hard to remember which button does what.

"Uhm, which button makes the TV quieter again?" Yamame asked a bit embarassed that she had forgotten as easily as Toshiro told her some time ago. The tsuchigumo had taken a liking to outside world television and usually spent most of the day watching the exploits of cartoon heroes as they saved the world using the powers of 'Love and Justice'. She usually urged Toshiro to join her sometimes but he always claimed he was 'too old for cartoons'.

"The one under Volume with an arrow pointing downward." Toshiro answered back, his head not lifting up from his papers and magazines. It's common knowledge for a human to know where the buttons are on a remote...it's almost customary.

"What're you doing over there anyway?" Yamame asked as she hopped from off the love seat and curiously looked onto Toshiro's desk.

"I'm translating, I gues you could say it's my job for now." It was, at least part time. Toshiro was also looking for a college to get into so far, none have really accepted him as of yet, this job is really the only thing he did in high school, in fact the client who gives him the magazines practically knows him by now. I suppose you could say that; having this only job is his sense of doing something with his life. Of course, he didn't say that to  Yamame or Rin who were now watching him work.

"I don't think I've ever heard of a translator before." Yamame spoke now turning back to the television for a moment. "Does your dad work as one too?"

"Well, not exactly..." Toshiro replied a bit unceartain on how to answer. "I don't really know where dad works...he only tells me he works for the government and nothing else...that's all he every told us..."

"Is that why he's always away?" The spider asked again as she slowly began to realize that the reason Toshiro's father wasn't always here was... "Because he's working?"

"Yes...it is." Toshiro replied his expression darkening as he looked away "It's always been like that..." Ah, yes, the common case of the father who never shows; a father who says he'll play ball with you when all he does is say 'Sorry champ, I-I'm a little busy right now, we'll do it some other time', the father who argues with your mother because he feels his job is more important because it brings food to the table, a father whom you doubt loves you over their progression in the workforce...

Or worse...the father who misses the day your mother and sister died...

All these things weighed heavily on Toshiro's mind ever since he was younger. His relation ship with his father had only become more and more distant and strained as he grew older. So much so that the two don't even acknowledge each other when they meet in the living room or elsewhere. Toshrio's dad sometimes made the initative to start a conversation but it quickly dies off into that of a stagnant silence later on. Perhaps it would be best if he did leave for college, what difference would it make if he stayed here...

"Hey, Toshiro-kun..." Yamame spoke a bit concearned for Toshiro's prolonged silence and his somewhat pained expression. "Are you okay?"

"Uhm...yeah...I'm fine, just thinking, that's all."

"Hey, I think Rin wants to go out." Yamame pointed as she motioned to Rin, who had been napping earlier on.

"Alright, I'll be ready in a sec," Toshiro got up and looked to see the kasha using the side of the love seat as a scratching post. "R-Rin no! Bad kitty! D-don't scratch up the furniture!" Why was she doing all this anyway, he didn't do anything to her. "Ugh, geeze, I just got this too...I need to check to see if they have any cat toys or something at Junes when we go today..."

However, Yamame seemed to only be concearned with the 5 letter word he said just now. "W-we're going to Junes!?"

"Yeah, I need to buy groceries anyway." Toshiro answered, a bit puzzled about why Yamame loved Junes so much...he only figured she liked it for the it's jingle, which, to be fair, was really infectious.

"Yay! Junes~♪ Junes~♪"

"Settle down, it's only a department store." Toshrio chuckled.

=== Saniwa Inn: Dining Area/Kitchen - 11:22 PM ~ Day 4 ===

"What the hell is this a plauge or something!" Fukuma shouted in an outrage, having seen that most of the males who resided here were pretty much genderbended. Save for Alex...he wondered how he managed to get through this unscathed, perhaps he'll ask him later about it. In anycase it was just him and Shinki this time around, Yuki and Mai went off in the living room area to play together, Yumeko claimed she needed to clean the room (even though it was fairly clean) and Luize...well no one knew where Luize goes...she has a nasty habit of disappearing then suddenly reappearing when you least expect her to.

"It...would appear so..." Shinki said actually quite stunned that the genderbend went this far as to turning most of the male cast shrine goers into females. "Whomever orchestrated this did a fine job at not excluding anyone."

"You're actually complimenting whoever did this?"

"Well, it is a well thought out plot to actually alter someone's sex like this, is almost god level power." Shinki explained. "Even I didn't do such a thing when I ruled Makai."

"Well the only gods around here are you and maybe Yukari but still you all don't have any power to pull off something...like...this..." Fukuma trailed off as she passed the threshold of the kitchen, seeing a rather odd sight of a downed, and apparently sobbing, Hiyori (although she had no way of knowing it was Hirowaza), and who he believed to be, Mokou. "Okay, do I really need to ask as to what the hell's going on in here..."

"Fukuma!" Shinki said sternly "Stop being rude. It's not nice to take your frustrations out on others, albeit, verbally."

"I-I wasn't being rude, Shinki..." Fukuma replied before she took notice of th rather odd name that had replaced, 'Owlbear'. "And what kinda name is Fukuma?"

"The one I thought of for you~" Hey wait a minute Shinki, I thought that up, stop taking credit! "I think it sounds cute."

"..." Fukuma didn't say anything.

((I'm not touching other people's characters, it's a customary thing for me to do in RP's at least in the RP's I've been in, also I know some of you have somethin goin on or somethin but I got tired of doin nothin' and this was all I could come up with. *throws hands in air* Go figure.))

[mad]

10:46 Saniwa Shrine room 8492nd Day 4

Jalal was standing around watching the door.

Jalal, there is not going to be an assault on Eirin. In fact, most of the others are capitalizing on this opportunity.

"Is that so~?" Jalal asked.

Yes, I have come from the discussion thread and other bits of the story to get this information.

"The narrator again?" Eirin asked him.

"Yes, he said that there won't be an attack. So let's head down to where they are gathered in the dining area."

"Sure, the narrator hasn't steered us wrong before."

"Well, this one at any rate."

And so Team Lunatic headed to the dining area.

And saw Hiyori sobbing in front of Mokou.

"Hiyori? I never met anyone named that," Jalal remarked.

"That's Hirowaza," Eirin replied.

"You're making excellent progress! Keep going for the complete compendium!" he called to Hiyori.

[Jana]

(Catch-up post GO!)

Engineering Deck/Hanger, Sky Ray, 9:46 AM, Day 3

"WHAT ARE YOU EXPECTING ME DO TO? PUSHING MY DICK INSIDE THE BARREL AND FIRING IT 2 MILES TO THE HORIZON? NO, I'M REPAIRING IT! KEEP IT AWAY FROM US!", Thirtyfour yelled at Jan.

Jan stifled a chuckle at the tank driver's choice of words, but knew that he had a job to do. Running out from behind his rapidly-deteriorating cover, Jan fired another shot from his bow. The arrow made its way to the large monster, but it skittered harmlessly off to the left since Jan had fired without really aiming. Of course I missed... How silly.

However, the sound of the arrow hitting the hanger's metal floor was enough for the monster to become distracted. Since it could not see too well and could only hear,it sounded as if another enemy was approaching it. By the time it realized nothing was there, the tank operator had fired.

A large chunk of the chimera was blasted off, and it skidded across the ground with a sickening sound. Landing close to Jan, he visibly recoiled from the smelly mess.

"SAY A WORD ABOUT MY AIMING AND YOU'RE THE NEXT ONE ON MY SIGHTS!", Thirtyfour yet again yelled at Jan.

While he would have liked to retort, Jan knew he had more important things to do. Now that the beast's insides were exposed, Jan could fire arrows directly at it for massive damage. Aiming once again, Jan stood by the torn piece of flesh and let his shot fly.

As the arrow struck the flailing monster, it began charging the tank for the previous shot. Looks like it got its priorities straight. Now I can provide support with no risk at all.

Running to keep up, Jan loaded another arrow. As he nocked it into place and lifted the bow to aim, he could see the tank returning the monster's charge with one of its own. They're- They're going to crash?!

With the driver popping out of the tank to fire a machine gun into the monster's face, Jan feared the worst until hi popped back below. Figuring out the tank driver's tactic just in time, Jan loosened his arrow and ducked as the tank's main cannon fired into the roaring beast.

With an explosion of black blood and guts, Jan knew that the chimera was finally defeated. Looking back up, he saw the driver coming out with someone else and crashing on the ground. Waving his hand in the air, Patchouli and Koakuma came out from behind their own cover and began moving to him while he went over to the tank.

Oddly enough, Jan found it lucky that he was already covered in guts from the skirmish that had taken place when he had first made his way onto the ship. He did not have to worry about getting messy since he was already, so he could get to the two tank operators with no problems. "...Just exhaustion. Take a break; you did great."

Jan also slumped onto the ground, tired from running around the hanger the whole time. "...Looks like we could all use a break..."

Tank Deck, Sky-Ray, 10:42 AM, Day 3

After a break at the infirmary, in which Jan was able to introduce himself to some more of the team members and help come up with a new plan, he found himself on a speeding tank. His weapons,including the spear that Koakuma had previously thrown, were next to him, but he felt that he would not need them for his role in the plan. If it worked, chances were that he would be unable to lift them anyway.

The tank operators from before were having a field day with the nicer equipment, and Jan had to stay crouching to avoid the feeling that he would fall at any second. Koakuma and Patchouli were nearby, also crouched low. Jan quickly exchanged a look of confidence with them before checking his bloody map. "...We?re nearing corridor C3 of sublevel 4.?

Trying to make sense of the dirty map was not too difficult, thankfully, but it made Jan feel a little lightheaded to be trying to read wile moving so quickly. Listening to the radio chatter, Jan perked up when he heard an unfamiliar voice. One of our enemies, I guess... time to get ready.

Patchouli spoke to him first. "Well, we were expecting this. Time to enter phase 2 of the plan. Jan-san, are you ready??

Trying to muster up a smile, but failing miserably, Jan looked back at her. "Ready as I?ll ever be? ETA, 1 minute. Jeremy, Yukari.? Glancing at his new teammates, Jan folded the map and handed it to Koakuma before taking his spear and crawling over to a nurse and the woman helping operate the tank.

The device they were next to would have been unbelievable had the day's previous events not hammered the reality of it into Jan's head. A Mana Generator... Truly a strike of luck. With this, I may be able to fulfill my role yet...

Watching Patchouli unsteadily head to the front of the tank, Jan hoped that what he could do was enough. Knowing that the magic she needed to use would be hard to cast without Mana, Jan's role as fuel cell felt more important than the name implied. As the other group members realized what they had to do, Jan grimaced with the realization, but kept himself quiet.


As the tank neared its destination, Jan only felt an increasing dread. Worries kept entering his mind, and while he could force them out with a little self-psychology, they lingered in the back of his head. As Renko, the girl who had approached him back in the hanger, began counting down, Jan only looked at Patchouli with despair.

When the nurse flipped the switch on the generator next to him, Jan gasped for air as the Dark Mana's suffocating presence threatened to collapse his lungs. As Jeremy, the first battery who needed to provide output, grasped the generator, Jan could see the way his body was reacting and only grew more worried. Even his facial expressions showed that something profoundly bad was happening in his head but he persisted. As his partner began producing a magic circle, Jan could hear his name being shouted from what seemed like an eternity away.

"Right!" Jan replied to what he could only guess was Patchouli calling him, and he looked to the generator. Knowing that if Jeremy could do it, he could too. In one rush of movement, he reached out and held the generator tight with both hands. As the air in him was knocked out, Jan opened his mouth to breather deeply. Feeling his chest catch on fire, he willed his whole body and mind to grasp the generator as tightly as possible. "Pa... Patchouli!"

Trying to give her the signal through gritted teeth, Jan could not even hear his own voice through the rushing Dark Mana in his body. What was it that kept him doing this? He knew that he had already passed the suicidal phase of his life, as most teenagers did. He had no reason to be dying in the middle of rural Japan, thousands of miles from home, far from everyone he knew.

I'm supposed to be a psychologist,and I can't even analyze myself?! How pathetic am I? Have a I really sunk so low as to be unable to determine my own wants? I could let go at any time, and just drop out-

"...No..." Jan muttered, inaudible to anyone. Somehow, he could hear himself through the rushing Mana, even if he hadn't heard his own shouting. Looking up, the whirling Mana distantly reminded him of an old "friend" that only appeared when the lights went out, but he stared into it undaunted, facing all of his own fears and sorrows. I don't need to justify this. This is what I want to do. I want to help Patchouli reclaim her home. I want to see the look on her face...

"PATCHOULI!" Jan shouted at the top of his lungs. It seemed like an eternity had passed to him, but to everyone else, it only seemed like he was trying to be louder. From his point of view, he could see her struggling to stand, but the formation of a black magic circle in front of her made Jan feel happier than he had ever felt.

As the Dark Mana he was channeling flew from the circle, Jan felt the enormous pressure on his body leaving him slowly, but it was enough for him to sigh with relief. Seeing Patchouli collapse as she finished her spell, Jan finally released the generator and desperately made his way to her, inching across the tank deck. He did not make it very far before his arms gave out and he collapsed, shaking on the ground.

Renko was the first to notice and lift him up, shouting his name into his face. Jan could not manage to hear it, and could only hear the hammering of his heart in his chest as he drifted into unconsciousness. You piece of shit... You had better not stop pumping now...


Slowly opening his eyes, Jan still felt the miserable feeling in his head and the burning in his chest, but judging by the fact that he was still on the tank deck but with a new scene overhead, not much time had passed... In fact, he had only remained unresponsive for a few seconds. Well, I'm alive, so I guess it worked-

As they flew out of the Sky Ray's bridge with a shattering of glass, Jan felt some small pieces cut away at him, but it still felt like nothing in comparison to what he was already feeling. As the tank landed somewhere else with a heavy thud, the shock sent Jan into a sitting position. Seeing that Patchouli and Koakuma were next to him, as well as Jeremy and the woman who had created a barrier, Jan felt glad to see that they were safe. Wait... That still leaves that witch and her fuel ce-

Jan's thoughts were stopped by another sudden pressure of Dark Mana. Rolling his head to see, he would have gasped if he could. The sudden feeling of despair that came with the sight of the massive beam of Dark Energy was enough to almost knock him into unconsciousness again.

The beam was short lived, and since Jan was no longer next to the generator, he could see it's full effect on the enemies' ship without the disturbing Dark Mana swirling in front of him. The tank then fired it's cannon, which while infinitesimally small in comparison to the beam, happened to be the shot to blow the top off of the enemy ship's bridge.

Seeing the enemy commander scramble about with yells of orders, Jan laughed heartily. The sadist in him loved seeing the formally confident man broken and reduced to the babbling thing, telling his men to fire upon themselves. "Heh?we really ticked him off, huh??

As a new barrier kept enemy tanks from making fools of them, Jan could tell that they were in the air once again. All thoughts of falling had long left his mind, and with the remaining adrenaline,he simply enjoyed the ride until he blacked out once more.


Subterranean Library, Underneath the Shrine, 10:52, Day 4

Jan woke up once again, realizing almost instantly that he was in a real bed. As he moved about and opened his eyes, he was greeted by a shocking sight.

He was in a bed alright, but the bed looked to be surrounded by empty bookshelves and waterfalls, with small bridges over small brooks connecting the sections of the strange library. However, one thing stuck out in particular: Despite being surrounded by rock walls, there was plenty of light coming in from above.

"Oh, you're awake, Jan~" Koakuma appeared from behind a bookshelf and made her way over a bridge to the bed. "Miss Patchouli asked me to wait around for you while she helped brief everyone on the situation. Thank you for your good work."

Noticing that Koakuma was still in "work mode," Jan smiled and nodded. "You're certainly welcome. But... Where are we?"

Koakuma smiled back and sat on the edge of the bed. "After the plan to convert the ship was complete, we found this cave underneath the shrine in the lake. Since we're believed to be dead, we can lie low here for a while without having to worry abut anything. There's more: These ruins also contain one of the Keystones needed to contain Mana currents, so we now have a single source of Mana aside from you guys."

Jan sighed and lied back on the bed. "That's a relief...Everyone's okay, and we've bought ourselves some safety..." Jan stopped as he heard his stomach growl.

"Oh, some of the others made breakfast for everyone already. I saved some for you here!" Koakuma brought out a plate covered by a heavy paper towel and uncovered it, revealing a very appealing meal of eggs and meat.

"How wonderful~ Thank you, Koakuma~" Jan said as he grabbed a fork and began to eat.

"No problem. Of course, I also washed you and your clothes~" Koakuma added as she walked away.

Jan stopped eating and almost dropped his fork in shock as he realized that he was actually naked. He almost thought he had felt a physical shock when Koakuma said th- Wait...

Jan suddenly began to cough as the food in his throat was forced downwards. It felt as if his throat was getting thinner... Was he being poisoned?

He tried to call for help, but through his chocking, he could only managed a low, yet high-pitched yelp. At the same time, he noticed his bare chest rubbing against the blankets more, and his bare... Groin rubbing less. What was happening?

As the strange transformation ended and Jan manged to swallow his food, he spoke n a whisper to try and keep his throat from hurting. "What the hell- Imma lady? A naked one?"

Hopping out of the bed and clutching the blankets to his body, Jan slowly made his way to the bookshelf where Koakuma had been working, but she was nowhere to be found. Damn it... I at least need underwear...

(Stopping for now.)

[E-Nazrin]

????????????, Much Later...?
Participants: Team Drillkumo

...............

The sky's pretty.

Blue. Fluffy clouds.

The grass is prickly.

Spiky. Scratching my arms a little.

The waterfall's pleasant.

Gentle. Not so noisy.

It's nice here.

.....

"Where's 'here?'" I wondered aloud.

"D... Dreamscape." a voice replied, somewhere else in the field. A woman's voice. Scratchy. Must have hurt to talk.

"Yukari-sama, don't speak." another girl scolded her. Less familiar. More serious. Off to my right, or something.

"It's okay... Ran." the first woman replied, with difficulty. Voice was muffled a little. Must be on the other side of the waterfall.

"But doesn't it hurt, Yukari-sama?" a third girl asked. Left this time. Childish. Worried.

A weak laugh. "Yes... but it won't... hurt my recovery."

"You sound so familiar..." I wondered aloud.

Another weak laugh. "I'm hurt... Jeremy. You don't... recognize me?"

"... Yukari."

That's right. That's why I recognized that voice. Yukari Yakumo. Youkai of Boundaries.

"But what are you doing here?"

"Listening to... my mana battery... being an idiot." she replied.
   
... ah... that's right. I'd been to Gensokyo. I'd... left Gensokyo. It collapsed. I helped Yukari leave. She needed me as a power supply.

"Seems like he's taken the mana overexertion pretty badly." the girl to my right..... Ran, provided.

"Mana overexertion..." I repeated.

Why would I do that? It didn't sound healthy. Maybe something important came up?

"Don't... worry." Yukari managed, "He'll be... fine. Kept it... very gradual."

"... ah. Dark mana. Battleship." I explained to myself.

"There... we go."

"Does running low on mana cause amnesia?" the last voice asked. Chen. Cute Chen.

"Not really, Chen." Ran answered.

"I'm just forgetful." I added.

We fell silent. I stared up at the sky and tried to regain my bearings.

The Sky Ray... we had this plan to escape it alive. Had to... funnel some evil energy through me. Then through Yukari.

"That hurt like all hell." I thought aloud.

"No... kidding."

But now...

"Where are we?" I asked, again.

I could feel that I was lying on my back, spread-eagled, on some grass. What sounded like a small waterfall fell into water a few feet behind me. Yukari was probably lying on the opposite side of it, facing away. Ran and Chen were lying on the sides, facing away from the central waterfall... fountain, maybe?

I couldn't move.

"I... told you. Dreamscape." Yukari repeated.

"Shared dreams." I told myself. "We're dreaming? Does that mean we've made it?"

"Pretty sure." Ran said. "This doesn't look like Hakugyokuro."

"Hakugyokuro doesn't exist." I replied.

A nasty silence.

"... not anymore." I went on. "I know Gensokyo has a well-defined afterlife, but the outer world....."

"We're... fine." Yukari said. I realized she was breathing heavily. "My... afterlife... wouldn't be... lying around... on a floating... rock."

I stared up at the sky for a moment. Well, I always had been, but this time I focused on it. "... neither would mine."

"Ran-sama..." Chen sounded worried. "Are we really...?"

"We're fine." the rest of us replied.

"It makes more sense that way." I explained.

"Nyuu..."

I managed something vaguely resembling a grin. "Ah... so cute."

"She is." Ran replied, proudly.

"Nyuu~!"

"... but I'm just being shallow, aren't I?"

"You worry... too much." Yukari said.

"I like being cute!"

"Ah... really?"

"Really!" Slight annoyance.

"... I'm glad." Yet... "But I still haven't been treating you as much more than a pet..."

"She doesn't mind that, either." Ran provided.

That reminded me. "And I've been a COMPLETE dick to you."

"I... well." She was flustered.

"I'm not just treating you as a pet, I'm treating you as a smell-o-matic! And Yukari--"

Yukari cut me off. "Jeremy. You worry... too much."

"Yukari-sama, please don't..."

She cut off Ran, too. "They LOOK... like pets. It's very difficult... to treat them... as people... like that."

"But they can't help it! And they don't deserve to be--"

"Jeremy. Stop being... an idiot."

"Yukari-sama, he doesn't have the mana to..."

"Oh. Duh." I said. "I have to help it."

"Unfortunately, that could take a while." Ran replied, sounding bitter.

"I'm sorry." I said, sincerely. "I can tell you really hate this. I wish I could get strong enough to let both of you return to normal. It would help in so many ways. But I'm still just a squishy human..."

Yukari laughed again. Louder, this time. Led into a coughing fit. She was really amused.

"Yukari-sama!" Ran cried, "Stop it!"

Yukari's coughing, wheezing laughter faded after a few seconds. She breathed heavily and spoke up. "'Squishy... human?' What you did... with that generator... was impossible. I wouldn't... have expected that... from Reimu."

... high praise, from a Gensokyo native. And yet... well, no, I shouldn't...

My mouth wasn't listening to my fears. "Because you care about her?"

Silence. "Damnit. I hate you, subconscious."

More silence. Everyone breathed softly.

"... I wasn't... pretending, Jeremy."

Yukari sounded dead serious.

I worked my mouth for a moment. "... no. You can't be serious. As much as I want to believe you, I..."

"Not entirely, at least." Ran amended, grumbling.

Silence.

"I... I can believe that."

No way...

"... why?" I asked. "I'm still just a nobody. Whatever you might like about me, there's got to be someone better out there..."

Yukari managed to restrain her laughter this time. "Oh, Jeremy... give yourself... some credit. Your cunning... matches Ran's. Your wit... I hadn't seen... for decades... in Gensokyo. Yuyuko already... showed you... you could be cute. Whatever... drove you... to get through... that crazy plan... is incredible. And your love... for Gensokyo..."

She trailed off.

She... she was absolutely right. Our personalities really... weren't that different. I just took myself too seriously more often. I didn't want to dare think of myself as special or important, especially just for being who I am, but... it made sense, and she...

"I'm just no good at addressing emotional stuff, am I?"

Yukari chuckled. "I tend to... avoid it... myself."

I smiled. "... I suppose it helped that you didn't have much choice, though."

"That was... a good... icebreaker... yeah." I could tell she was smiling back.

The field fell silent again. It stayed that way for a while.

-----
Team Drillkumo Dreamscape, ~3:00 AM, Day 4 (Day 3 late-night)
Participants: Team Drillkumo

I don't know how long that silence lasted. I lost track of time. It felt like a small eternity.

Dreams are weird.

The reprieve was broken by Chen.

"Ah! I can move!"

"Seriously?" I asked.

A rustling on the grass where she was lying. "... oooh. Spinny."

"Chen?" Ran asked. More rustling. She groaned as she got up. "Oof... sore."

I tried to move. Failed. Sighed. "Damnit, I can't."

Soft footsteps. Ran and Chen stepped into view, wearing only loose, monochrome gowns. Blue and red, respectively, of course.

Ran looked rather... "Stern."

A pause. "Damn it. I'm really not helping, am I?"

"Not really." Ran replied, looking me over.

I stared back. My memories of the earlier dreams were pretty fuzzy, so I still wasn't especially familiar with the specifics of how she looked. It was about what I expected from the Touhou series - fairly tall, somewhat motherly look, the serious Yakumo, reasonably proportioned...

_{oi, don't focus on that}

... with soft-looking fox ears poking out from her hair, and...

"Your tails are beautiful."

She blinked. Blushed slightly. "Ah... thank you."

"How shallow of you." Yukari chimed in, teasingly. Her voice sounded MUCH better. "Well, at least it's what she's proud of..."

"It's true, though." I countered.

Chen smiled proudly. She looked a little more... mature, physically, than I had expected. "That's right! Ran-sama's tails are super-pretty!"

She grabbed an armful of three and nuzzled them with a cheek.

Oh god.

Something dribbled onto my cheek.

"Ah, hell, that's going to be annoying." I muttered.

"Don't worry!" Chen said. She let go of the tails in her arms, walked over, and wiped at the nosebleed I'd developed.

It carried on longer than I was expecting.

"So... cute..." I mumbled.

Chen smiled.

It took another few seconds for me to recover. Chen finally moved her hand away, and wiped the blood off on her gown. At least it wouldn't show.

"Well, that was embarrassing." I said. "Thanks, Chen."

Behind Chen, I could see Ran smiling.

Yukari cut in with a chuckle. "My, my, Jeremy. Chasing another nine tails already? You're as bad as Yuyuko's toy!"

I hesitated. "Yeah, sorry. I'm fairly friendly to the idea of polyamory."

"So, a tenth tail, then? Goodness!"

Ran blushed again. Redder this time.

Yukari sounded quite amused. She must have known Ran would react that way. "Ah, but I don't mind. It's only fair, after all the other toys I've juggled over the years."

"Since Yukari can rape anyone, right?" I asked.

She laughed. "Pretty much. Though, I do try to be gentle with Ran..."

"Yukari-sama!!" The inside of Ran's ears were getting pinker from blush overflow.

Chen was a little red-faced, as well...

I frowned. "This isn't the best topic to be discussing with Chen here, is it?"

"It isn't." Ran growled. "Could we please move on?"

Chen mumbled something. Ran glanced at her, but didn't reply.

"What was that, Chen?" I asked.

"Uh, uh... I said..." The poor girl was very embarrassed. She swallowed. "I said... I didn't mind..."

A silence. Ran's expression was stoic, probably trying to mask what she thought about that.

Yukari chuckled. "Ahh, puberty."

I smiled. "Guess so."

Ran cleared her throat. "Well, I'm not sure how relevant this is to our situation..."

"It isn't here, but it will be once we wake up." Yukari corrected. "He's linked to you two as well, remember?"

"But that doesn't mean...!"

"I'm not at all aggressive romantically." I said, "Whatever happens with that is up to you."

I hesitated. "The... main thing I'd ask to do would be to play with your tails sometimes."

Ran folded her arms. "... that should be tolerable... once I have them back, at least."

"I think that will be soon." Yukari said. "Jeremy's mana must have skyrocketed after that battleship fiasco."

"Are you sure? I just acted as a conduit..."

Yukari was stern. "Give yourself more credit. You put 'the courage of a lion' to shame. What you did for that is irrelevant."

"... I just thought I was going to be throwing my life away..."

"Well, you didn't. And here we are. Honestly, I think we're recovering faster than I expected. So there's some evidence already."

"... what do you mean by 'recovering,' anyway?" I asked.

"Ah, that's right." Yukari said, "I didn't explain that earlier."

"You were hurting yourself enough already, Yukari-sama." Ran said. She walked around the center... waterfall? Fountain? - and knelt by her master.

"You two are close."

"Yes." Yukari admitted. "But anyway...

That hell with the Sky Ray's mana generator was extremely dangerous. It hurts to take in dark mana on its own, and the pain felt from drawing on it is relative to your own mana, ignoring the extra reserves... As you probably expected, we could have died. Easily."

"Yeah, I was expecting that much." I said.

"All that apparent-overexertion probably knocked us all into a coma, plus who knows what sort of physical injuries. But, I kept the mana usage very gradual and steady. Spiking it tends to cause the worst damage. I expect we'll make a full recovery.

... but, it'll probably take a while."

"... how long is 'a while?'"

"However long it takes us - well, mostly you - to regain enough natural mana to catch up with what we 'lost' from using the dark mana. My first guess was maybe a week of bed rest."

"... fuck."

"You're wildly exceeding my expectations, though. It could be just a day or two."

"That's still an awful lot to miss, given how chaotic things seem to get with the rest of the crew."

"True. But it seems we made it through alive. That's what counts."

"... yeah."

Silence. I tried to move again. This time I could at least curl my fingers. It hurt a little, but more like I was having a much-needed stretch than tearing my fingers off. It was a welcome change.

"... Yukari, can you move?"

She chuckled sadly. "No... I probably won't be able to get up for a while, still. Using all that mana and having to get the rest back from you really took a toll on me..."

"So, I take it our competence in this Dreamscape means we're not all recovering at the same rate?"

Chen did a cartwheel in front of me as a rather blatant point.

"Yeah." Ran agreed.

"... you two are going fastest since you can keep your mana requirements lower right now. I'm screwed up from dark mana channeling. And Yukari's nearly fallen apart from having to use it so much and being delayed by having to drain through me." I summarized, as best as I could guess.

Yukari objected. "Oi, I'm not THAT far behind."

I smiled. "I suppose so."

A long silence.

"So, how long do you think we've been out?"

"Not sure. At least a few hours, maybe half a day. Dreamscape time is weird." Yukari replied.

I managed a nod. It didn't hurt much. "I suppose I should have guessed. Regular dreams are goofy like that, too."

Another silence.

"So, what do we do now?"

"Wait, mostly." Yukari replied.

"It's not like we can do much while we're here." Ran said.

I had a suggestion. "Well, we could plan."

"Maybe. But we've probably missed a lot - it might not be relevant anymore." Ran countered.

I managed a shrug. Body's loosening up, bit by bit. "No harm in trying."

"Fine. Plan what?"

"..... uh... hm."

Ran sighed.

Surprisingly, Yukari was less willing to just drop it and relax. "Well, let's review. What CAN we plan?"

"Well, there's a whole hell of a lot to suggest for security and Kikuri-interfering purposes..." I said, "Though probably too much, and too complex, to go into detail with here, especially without input."

"So, what else is there?"

"Mana recovery." Yukari replied.

A brief silence. "... and talking here isn't going to slow down that much." Ran said, rather begrudgingly.

"So there's little reason not to?"

Ran sighed. "Sorry. I'm worried about Yukari-sama."

"Aw, how sweet." Yukari replied.

I smiled, and nodded. "I understand. She's already said she's fine, though."

"It wouldn't be the first time she showed false bravado." Ran said, darkly.

"No, no. It just seems like Jeremy's ease of boredom is rubbing off on me."

I smiled. That was probably a good thing. "After all, sleeping all day isn't going to help us bring back Gensokyo."

A pause. I realized I'd said that last part out loud.

"God damn it."

Yukari's laugh was somewhat reluctant. She wasn't very happy about that comment. "Harshly put, but true." A pause. "I had some trouble sleeping as much as I usually do that day, actually..."

"During our train rides, you mean?"

"Yeah."

Silence. "I'm quite annoyed at all the trouble the rest of the crew got into while we were out."

"It wouldn't be the first time Reimu got caught up in a mess she didn't need to be."

"It was her job in Gensokyo. But here, we need to stay out of trouble."

"Does SHE understand that?" Ran asked.

"... good point."

Yukari made a different point. "Though, trouble came to us this time..."

"... the Sky Ray again." I said. "We're going to need to have a long talk about that..."

"I'm amazed they had a Covenant mana generator." Yukari paused. "Or, well, at least used the symbol on it."

"No, it was the real deal." I put real conviction in that one.

Some rustling. A pause. I got the impression everyone had turned to stare.

"What makes you so sure?" Ran asked.

"... none of you were awake after we got back to the Sky Ray?"

"You WERE?!"

Even if it was a praising surprise, Ran's tone still intimidated me. "Er... I was basically falling apart, but yes..."

Yukari went into another fit of amazed laughter. I waited for her to finish, and tried to gather my thoughts.

"It was a Covenant battleship."

"What?"

I grabbed the Drill off my chest. Wait, had it been there before? And my arms were working this well already?

... whatever. I pointed it straight into the air, arm extended.

"The main systems activated after I tried to transform the ship Spiral-style.

The mana checker or something approved of the variety we'd gathered.

The Spiral turned into the Covenant logo."

I grinned. Much too widely.

"We are the new Covenant.

The Covenant of Gensokyo."

[Helepolis]

- - -

[Pedonymous]

On top of Saniwa Shrine, 11:50 AM, Day 4.

"Ugh, this is disgusting. DIS-GUS-TING." Kaigomi snarled at the theatrics outside the shrine, apparently, it was a contest for the best 'maid'. Pure fetish fuel.

Arreku watched intently. "Is it a cosplay of some sort? I don't recognize it..." He paused, examining the women below further. "They should model for figures..."

Kisume giggled, thumping the bucket back and forth as she watched. "Eheheh, it's funny! Look at Reimu-sama, she's so embarrassed!"

"URK. Y-you know one of them!?" Kaigomi sputtered.

"Oh, right, yeah. That's Reimu down there."

She pointed to a girl with semi-long, chestnut hair, waddling around in an attempt to Keep her short maid skirt down.

Arreku recalled Reimu's name, and her relation to Kisume. "Sh-she's the one who beat you up!?" he growled, a gruff and deep tone arising from his aggression. He moved to a crouching position, eying his target carefully. He was jerked down by his scarf roughly, choking him.

"Arreku, you fucking idiot! If only a few of those people are Gensokians, they'll kill you!"

Arreku rubbed his neck, looking guilty. "I'm sorry Kaigomi-sama..."

"... You can beat her up if we catch her by herself."

Arreku nodded, a malicious grin twisting across his once sweet face.

The three of them quietly watched the spectacle in secret.

[E-Nazrin]

6 PM Commuter Train, ~12.45 PM, Day 2
Participants: Team Drillkumo, Team Star GPS: E-mouse, Sanasanasan

Getting down into the main train area wasn't too difficult, after that whole fiasco on the top of it. I was pretty worried about how we'd explain our sudden appearance, though. Hopefully they wouldn't check the tickets when we get off. Or heard much of our running around on the roof.

Luckily, the train was packed to the brim, just like in those morbidly amusing videos you see of overcrowded Japanese trains where they must have shoved people in to fit.

Well, okay, it wasn't THAT bad - we could actually squeeze into the standing room near the door we entered by - but it was definitely very full.

This meant that no one would really notice us among the crowd. Unfortunately, standing up the whole time plus plushie maintenance was making my legs feel like jello.

... Yukari was kind enough to let me lean on her side in the meantime.

We reached the next stop after about five or ten minutes, and managed to sneak off without getting accosted by the staff. I made a beeline for the nearest station bench, sat down, and let out a long sigh of relief.

Yukari sat down next to me, smirking. "My, your leg endurance is terrible."

I shrugged. "Yeah, I'm a wimp."

I looked around. "Where're Sana and Renko?"

"We're right here." Sana said, from behind the bench. I jumped. "But, uh...I think we might have to stop by somewhere. Renko's kind of...depressed."

I looked back over at him. "What do you mean?"

Renko was standing next to him, sobbing quietly.

"Oh."

She was cradling the Disgaea case in her arms. "My save file... it's all gone..."

... okay, I know I'm a horrible, sentimental otaku, so shut up.

"I feel for you." I said, softly. "It's like losing a child, if it's kept your interest."

"Yeah...."Sanasan reassured her. "It'll be fine. You'll be back to 1000 in no time."

"You people are horrible." Yukari said.

I rolled my eyes. Renko was less amused.

"Do you have any idea how much work that was?!"

Yukari tilted her head. "If it's work, then why are you doing it in your free time?"

Renko's cheeks puffed up in indignation. I don't think she had an answer to that.

After a moment of thinking, I did. "Because it beats sleeping?"

Yukari was confused. "... what? What are you talking about?"

I gave her shoulder a pat. "Balanced lifestyle."

"I drink too!" Yukari replied, indignantly.

"Yes, yes, and you resolved a few Incidents, I know. We're just obsessive-compulsive and easily bored."

Yukari muttered something and sighed. "Whatever. What now?"

"...Hey wait, I'm not obsessive compulsive..." Renko said.

"Trust me, once you start levelling again, you will be." Sanasan replied.

I grinned. So very, very right.

But that was in the future, this was... wait, what? 'Again?'

"Uh, if that copy of Disgaea is broken..."

Sana nodded. "Yeah, it's definitely broken. I think we'll have to buy a new copy."

I stared. "Is... that a good idea? I mean, we got a good wad of cash this morning, but..."

Renko was now affixing me with the same look that Kikuri's goons had faltered under.

I understood their fear.

_{"... right."} I said, in a small voice, _{"Let's find a store, then.}

Yukari sighed heavily. "Shouldn't we just go back to Karuisuwa and leave them to get their game?"

... she has a point.

"When's the next train there?" I asked.

We all looked at Sana.

"Well, I think there should be one coming up soon." He said.

"How soon?" Yukari pressed, irritably.

I rolled my eyes and looked around. Pointed at the glowing schedule display across the station. "I don't know the town names around here. Sana? Renko?"

Sananananana looked up at the display for a moment. "Hrmm... to head back, there should be one coming at about 1:15?"

"Great. Trains don't like going against rush hour flow." I muttered. Yukari seemed to share my sentiment.

I looked up. "So, think 15 minutes would be long enough to pick up a copy and come back?"

"Plus a memory card!" Renko chimed in.

Sanasan frowned. "...I think so, but that's if there's a decent store here." He turned towards the ticket counter. "I'll go look for a map."

"We'll wait here." I called after him. Renko was less patient, and tagged along. She had to stay close anyway, come to think of it.

I sighed, and leaned back on the bench. Hectic day...

"... so, now that the clueless are occupied..." Yukari said, quietly, "What did we find out at Maribel's?"

"Nothing we couldn't already guess." I replied, "But confirmation is non-trivial, and I may have gotten in some psychological warfare. And that serious goon..."

Yukari nodded. "Mmm. I'm not completely surprised Kikuri has a few mages in the outer world, but finding one in the rank and file..."

"I can't believe it!" Renko shouted. I looked up to see her storming back over to us, a meek Sanasan following behind her.

"What happened?" I asked.

Sanasan shook his head. "Hate to say this, but....this place hasn't got any good stores. The closest store is the next town over."

"Back at Maribel's?"

"No." Renko grumbled, "In the opposite direction." She sighed. "Unbelievable. All I wanted was a copy of Disagea..."

Yukari stretched her arms over her head. "Well, see you later, then."

Sana blinked. "Huh? You guys aren't coming?"

Yukari smiled at him. "I'm afraid I'm no babysitter."

"Oi." I cut in. That was awfully harsh. She must be worried about the rest of the crew back at Ka...whatever.

She rolled her eyes. "I mean, I don't think you need us to come along for a shopping trip."

"Those thieves already ruined my Disgaea game once!" Renko replied, hotly. "I'm not going to have shingles handy to stop them if they try again!"

Yukari and I glanced at one another. I reached up and rubbed my forehead gently. Right response, wrong reason...

"Isn't it fairly... unlikely that thieves would be chasing you just for this... 'Disgaea?'" Yukari asked.

I cleared my throat, loudly. "Well, it might not be insane to be careful."

She turned to glare at me. I raised an eyebrow at her. I'm pretty sure we were exchanging something along the lines of "Damnit, what are you doing that for?!" and "Not 'thieves,' remember?"

But whatever.

Yukari sighed, and turned back to Renko and Sana. "All right, all right. But I'm not convinced. We shouldn't leave the others alone forever."

"You did say we couldn't do much for them..." I said.

"After two hours, things must have calmed down. We should look for them."

I frowned. "Where would they be, though? If they managed to go clothes shopping, Reimu won't be in her distinctive Armpit Miko outfit anymore."

"The shrine." Yukari answered.

"Or shopping." I considered. "Or that Tourist-whatever. When was that meeting going to start, anyway?"

Yukari frowned. No, she was not liking this. We could always wait, and it was unlikely Renko and Sana needed extra security, but...
---
Sanasan spoke up. "Maybe there's something else there that you two might want to pick up?"

Ah! Inspiration lightbulb for me!

"Actually, yes."

Yukari's eyes narrowed.

"I don't think we'd find a high-zoom video camera at Kawa-whatever, would we?"

"Karuisuwa." Yukari corrected. "And what do you mean, 'high-zoom video camera?'"

Sana tilted his head to one side. "What do you need a video camera for?"

I clasped my hands together, smirking. "Simple. You know that creepy government operation that we ran from back at the first shrine last night?"

He nodded. "Yeah...but that still doesn't explain why you would need a video camera."

"Not on its own, no. But the sniper scare this morning was from the same crew, and we managed to squeeze the location of his base out of him."

Yukari frowned. "And you want to try and record what's going on there...?"

I grinned. "Exactly. I'm inclined to believe that if Kikuri's stooping to kidnapping, there's going to be some more evidence of mistreatment there. If we can get solid evidence of any, and dump it on the internet, then we've got a decent shot at causing a public uproar. And if that happens, then Kikuri's going to be distracted trying to keep her pet project from being found out or shut down. Basically, it'd help to get her off our back for a while."

Sanasan blinked. "Oh. Well, I guess that's a pretty good reason, then."

Yukari pointed out a rather glaring flaw in my plan. "We also discovered Kikuri's supporting the others from Gensokyo with those artificial mana generators the sniper mentioned."

I... had not thought of that. "Er."

"Getting her project 'shut down' would mean all of them getting abandoned, so....."

I shifted uncomfortably. "Well... it's still good information gathering, either way." ... ah, there's a better counterpoint. "And if she decides to abandon them on her own..."

Yukari frowned. "Fair enough. But do we have to do this now?"

I glanced at Sana and Renko. "How long does it usually take to get to a decent electronics store from Karui...something?"

"Karuisuwa."

"About 45 minutes." Sana answered, bitterly. "It's ridiculous, we're in the middle of Japan and it takes FOURTY FIVE MINUTES just to buy a game?!"

"And to the 'next town?'"

Renko glanced back at the schedule. "25ish? I think the train's leaving soon..."

I looked at Yukari. "Efficiency enough?"

She sighed. "Not really, but if you're going to be this stubborn about it, I guess I've got no choice."

"Well, we could try to find out from there, too..." I mused.

... I grinned. "And, more time on the train means more time to nap."

She hesitated.

"Should we get some tickets?" Renko asked.

"Yeah, go ahead."

-----
A Distant Mall, ~1.40 PM, Day 2
Participants: Team Drillkumo, Team Star GPS: E-mouse, Sanasanasan

I swear Yukari was pouting during the few minutes before we'd gotten settled on the train. It was still crowded, but we managed to find a workable nap spot - although Ran and Chen had to be put on her back. We didn't talk much during the ride, between the crowds and the plushie maintenance and maybe just afternoon tiredness.

Anyway, we made it to the town we were looking for and located the mall we were looking for after a few minutes. It was pretty large, actually. We went up to the map closest to the entrance, and examined the map.

The electronics shop and games shop were not exactly close to one another.

"Joy." I muttered. "Well, I guess we can split up, at least..."

Renko tugged my ear. "We brought you to watch for thieves, remember?!"

I winced. "Ow, ow, yeah, sorry, I forgot."

Yukari snorted.

"So which should we get first?"

"Camera." Renko supplied, immediately.

I raised en eyebrow. "Er... that's more at risk of being stolen, isn't it...?"

Renko's horrifying expression returned.

"... right. Camera first."

Yukari snickered.

---

Selecting a camera was more troublesome than I was expecting it to be. Being completely clueless about what any of the features meant, plus worries that any store helper would suspect our "maximum zoom with decent quality and low cost" requirements to mean voyeurism, led to a lot of rereading the packaging and scratching our heads.

"'A42 jack?' What the hell is that?"

"Is 30 dpi good?"

"Can we afford 52,500 yen?"

"Ah, this one actually supports USB! But recommends a magnifying glass..."

"Is 4x zoom enough?" (Answer: No.)

"This one has 16x analog zoom! But the box is half a meter long..."

"Hey, this one looks pretty cool, but it...doesn't have batteries?"

"That's a webcam, Renko."

"Oh...well, it sure doesn't look like one."

"Spare a lap?"

"Not in the store, Yukari."

"Oh, wait! Here's one with 8x zoom, and it's really small! And....80,000 YEN?!"

This went on for a while.

---

In the end, we settled on a 35,000 yen toaster-sized video camera with high-quality 8x digital zoom and a multi-foldable tripod. I wasn't entirely happy with it, but it was the best we could manage.

It was pretty heavy, but meh.

"Okay, we're good here?" Renko asked.

I nodded. "Yeah. Yukari, you willing to help me with this?"

Getting up with plushie maintenance was enough trouble, carrying this thing...

She gave me a cruel smile. "Oh, don't be silly, Jeremy."

I looked at Sana, pleading. "Sana?"

He considered for a moment, then sighed. "....Oh, alright. Looks like nobody else is willing, anyway."

I nodded, gratefully, and handed it over. "I owe you."

"We should probably catch up." Yukari noted. I looked up to see Renko probably at the far edge of where Sana could keep up with her mana, glaring back at us.

"She's in a hurry." I muttered.

Her glare turned into the increasingly-familiar death look. I cringed.

"Uh... I guess we are too."

"Sheesh, Renko. I already told you I'd help with your levelling when we got it remember? Just slow down a bit." Sanasan said, jokingly.

Her glare shifted onto Sanasan. That was a real relief.

He paled slightly. ".....Ok, apparently your levelling can't wait." He sighed. Renko growled. "Alright, alright, we're coming."

[Sana]

A mall, 1:45PM, Day 2, includes Team Star GPS, Team Drillkumo

"And we're here!" Renko said. "Finally!"

They were standing in front of a small store, brightly displaying its name in neon lights. The windows were full of recently released games.

"So, you guys want to wait out here, or do you want to come in too?" Sanasan asked.

Jeremy shrugged. "Up to you." He looked around for a moment. "How about we take that bench just outside and watch the door? Call us in if you need help or anything."

"Alright then. Come on, let's go get your game." Sanasan said to Renko.

"Yes!" Renko said, pumping her fist childishly.

The two went in. It was amazing how the shelves seem to extend forever into the room, all stacked to the brim with games. After some searching, they finally found a copy of Disgaea PS2. However...

"Wait, what is THAT?" Renko said with surprise.

"Huh? What's what?" Sanasan asked. He turned around. Renko was almost drooling over a copy of Disgaea 3. "....Oh."

"D...Disgaea 3!? THERE'S A DISGAEA 3?!" She looked at him, and tried her best 'Pleaasee?" look.

"....No." Renko's face fell. "There is no way I am buying a PS3 and a copy of Disgaea 3 for you."

"But..But...IT'S DISGAEA 3!" Renko stammered. "I CAN FINALLY FIND OUT WHAT HAPPENED AFTER 2!"

"They're not even related by story!" Sanasan reasoned. But she wouldn't give up. Sanasan had to resort to outside help. He looked out the window and tried to get Jeremy's attention. It took a bit for him to notice, but he got the message. Unfortunately, there was a sleeping Yukari on his lap, and getting her off was not an easy task. After a few minutes and numerous apologies, he walked in.

"What's wrong?" Jeremy asked.

"Help me convince Renko that buying a PS3 and a copy of Disgaea 3 is a terrible idea, and wouldn't be the greatest way to spend our money right now." Sanasan pleaded. "I tried, but she seems really set on it."

Renko looked at him defiantly. Jeremy looked at Sanasan, then Renko again. "AND a PS3? Please tell me you aren't serious." He said.

"If there's one thing I don't joke about, it's Disgaea." Renko replied.

"And getting the original again isn't enough for you?" Jeremy asked her.

"I don't think I can go back to the original knowing there's a Disgaea 3 out there that I can't play." Renko explained.

"But come on, Disgaea 3 and a PS3 probably costs at least 70,000 yen! That's more than they spent on that camera!" Sanasan reasoned.

"Well then, it would be 70,000 yen well spent." Renko replied.

"Please, tell me you're kidding. You know I can't afford that!" Sanasan said.

"He's right, a new console is a lot to jump on for one game. Especially in our situation..." Jeremy said.

"Even if that one game is really really good?" Renko asked.

"But you don't even know if you'll like Disgaea 3! I mean, sure, it's got levelling like they all do, but for all you know, you'll hate the story!" Sanasan said.

Jeremy rolled his eyes. "How about 'even if you'll have to live on water and free food handouts for a month to make up for the price?'"

Jeremy's words struck gold. Renko suddenly looked unsure of herself. Was Disgaea 3 worth living on nearly nothing for a month?

"....Fine." Renko agreed grudgingly, arms crossed. "But we're still getting the original."

Sanasan breathed a sigh of relief. "That's fine by me. Thanks for the help Jeremy, I never win arguments like this with her."

Jeremy shrugged. "Probably hyperbole, but it's good to make a concrete example of what the price actually means. Are we good to go, now?" He asked.

"Probably, I just have to pay for this stuff now." Sanasan said, making his way to the cash register.

[Gpop]

(Amarillo, there's no way I punched your character at 8:00AM when I found the passage at 11:00AM =/. Please fix this).

Secret Passage below Shrine, 11:05 AM, Day 4

"What about my mana?" Gpop asked Satori.

"Well...I just noticed...a dramatic mana decrease once again Gpop. You're mana is now 10000." Satori replied.

"Wait what? Again?" Gpop was getting fustrated. Yesterday his mana has dropped dramatically when they entered the ruins, now it dropped EVEN MORE? Gpop felt like he wanted to beat himself for allowing this...

"Hey! Which way do we go?" Koishi asked the team.

Gpop noticed that the passage splits up into two. "Two ways? Well...normally we'd split up to explore both of them quicker, but I have no idea how far we separate ourselves, assuming that the exits are far away. I mean, we're lucky enough when Satori left for the forest the other day."

"Well I guess it splits up so if the enemy ever finds the passage, they'll have to choose between the two paths. So I'll assume that one of them is a fake." Satori explained.

"Hmm...well I have no idea which way." Gpop tried to find the end of both paths, but they're nowhere to be seen. "Any suggestions?"

"Umm..." Merlin began, and everyone turned towards her. "Well we poltergeists have a simple intuition when the path splits in two. My intuition says...right!" She said as she pointed to the right path.

"Well, I guess we can go with that." And the two of them started their way towards the path on the right.

The path was MUCH longer than expected. But Gpop didn't seem to notice this, as he was still pondering about his mana in fustration. He doesn't want it to drop anymore, or he could risk all of their lives like this.

"Hey! There's a ladder there!" Koishi exclaimed as she pointed at a ladder located at the end of the wall.

Gpop looked up to see the ladder leading to a hatch. "I guess I'll go first." He stated. He wanted to do so anyways so whoever is up there, assuming that it's a trap, he could take his anger on that person.

And they began their way towards the hatch...

On top of Saniwa Shrine, 11:10 AM, Day 4

Gpop head back into the passage after puching Amarillo in the face.

"The hell? So this passage lead BACK into the shrine pond?" Gpop pondered about this.

"Well maybe this path IS the trap. It leads the enemy BACK into the shrine, but that's only assuming that the other path leads to somewhere MUCH farther away." Satori explained.

"Well I guess we should go explore the other passage then!" Koishi said happily.

"Well then I guess we're all in agreement here that we go explore the other path?" Gpop asked the group.

They all nodded in agreement and they began their way back towards the other path.

[Pedonymous]

(OOC: COMPLETELY disregard both conflicts with Madness and Etch, starts from this post.)

On top of Saniwa Shrine, 11:19 AM, Day 4.

Arreku, Kaigomi and Kisume hung upside down over the eave of the roof, watching the antics of the women in the shrine. Not much was going on, however.

"They STILL haven't done anything." Kaigomi groaned, becoming severely impatient. "All that's happening is that chick with the white hair is talking to them, this is ridiculous."

Arreku scowled, he was trying to listen to the conversation, apparently, someone named Mokou was holding a contest to see the best maids in the shrine. The losing team would be subjected to punishment, whatever that meant. "W-well, maybe it's really complicated... Quiet down so I can hear!"

"Grarrr, if you're talking, how am I supposed to hear what's going on!?"

"You've been chatting away this entire time, you'd know what's going on if you'd hush up!"

"You don't tell m

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

Saniwa Shrine Grounds 11:19:40 AM Day 4

(OOC: This does not interupt the competition going on outside.)


Austin: You hear something?

Ria: Yeah, look at that bush.

Frank: Shall we whack it?

Austin: Hang on a sec. Piercing Eye!!!
......
Oh dear...

Ria: huh? Piercing Eye. Er... ok. Nitori? Do you have a hose?

Nitori: Sure why?

Austin: There are, uh, indecent people...in the bushes.

Nitori: indec-oh.

Everyone blushed.

Austin: I, uh, guess that's what you call rough se-ow

Momizi: No need to say it!

Caboose: Should we wait until they're done?

Frank: We should stop 'em. Tell them to get one of the rooms.

Ria pulled out a bull-horn.

Ria: Hey! You two in the bushes! Stop copulating and get a room!

Nitori looked up and saw a bucket loli.

Nitori: Huh? Hey! Kisume! Is that you?

Ria: This is your second warning! Stop copulating and get a room! We have hoses!

Austin: Could you stop having sex for a bit and tell us who you are?

Kaigomi and Arreku: WE'RE NOT HAVING SEX!!!

[Nemo★Ma]

A time between 11 AM and 12AM, the shrine.Day 4

As Amarillo and Lily White returns to the shrine, she found out a terrible thing.

It seems all the residences are females.

And there were a fight that involves Cirno and a somewhat mysterious woman.

And the females are.... doing a contest on Maid Training???

"No... I can't think properly with the blood loss like that..." Amarillo murmurs when she finally arrived in her room.

"You looks pale." Lily said, worried. "I hope you can still find the medicine Eirin give you yesterday."

"Ahh.. At least I can do that," Amarillo put the fishing rod aside, and pulled out the drawer, took out the brown bottle and take a pill out.

It's a red pill with strange curving on it.

"Do you think this is safe?" Lily asked.

"Oh, whatever, I don't think Eirin would do something shady now, since we are ..... all in danger." Amarillo swallowed the pill.

Five minutes later, the bleeding stopped and Lily wiped the blood away using the towel found in the room.

"Now can you walk? The contest needs you!" Lily said as Mikata and the other's voice can be heard outside the room.

"Actually.... This thing put me to sleep..." As Amarillo closed her eyes, the brown bottle slip to the ground, and Lily took it up.

On the label, there is VERY SMALL writings, written in a very light yellow colour. (Oh yeah the label is white.)

"To maximize the effect of Phoenix's Tail, I have put another medicine that can put one to sleep for at least four hours. Forgive me if it's shady-- Eirin"

"Oh..... Guess I'm wrong, then...." Amarillo replies weakly as Lily is reading that footnote.

"You can still heard me? then tell me what I'll do now! These people are short of members! Me must join." Lily White looks at the door, where somebody (Mokou?) is shouting "All people gather around" or something.

"Merge... with me, and I'll sleep for.... whatever hours it said.... You can take full control of my body in the meanwhile."

"Eh?"

"We'll take the contest... And it's the only way to do that... I'm also not used to do these stuff."

"Oh, OK. But if I'm taking the control of YOUR body, that means all your powers are disabled, right?"

"Do...you really think you need to use them?"

"Er...No."

"Ok, now do it.... And get an idea of what's going on first... I'm completely out of situations now."

"Haah... You never pull your guard down, even you are put to sleep like that?"

"......"

"And SHE'S ASLEEP!" Lily White lets out a sigh, then she performs the Merge.

And then somebody knocks on the door. Lily White stands up on the ground (in Amarillo's body) and opened it.

Outside of the door stood Mokou.

"Are you ready, Ms.Viridian?" Mokou asked.

"Ahh.. Actually I'm Lily White now, Amarillo is down by Eirin's shady drug. and before that, a punch on the nose." Lily sighes in relief that Amarillo's dark jacket had covered the bloodstain on it.

"Oh, then may I ask you where Gpop and his team is?" Mokou asked curiously, "Since you are outside since morning and Gpop was disappeared in the morning too."

"Oh, sure I know." Lily said angrily, "He delivered Amarillo that punch."

Mokou was shocked for a while, then she started again "so forget that loser, you know we are going to have a contest, right? And we need members."

"And WE are in." Lily White answered seriously "At least it was Amarillo's idea, and that's why I'm currently in her body."

"You ESPers always bring surprise." Mokou laughed "And Eirin always do these shady drugs, now follow me to the hall, or do you need more rest? I can recruit more people and go back for you."

"Ah, thanks, I'll be there now." Lily leaves towards Mokou's direction while Mokou rushed to another room.

"I never know a human's body is that heavy......" As Lily slowly walking in the corridor, she thought.

"......"

"Really asleep? That drug sure have some strong effect on her."

"......"

"This is too slow, I'll try flying to here...."

And Lily lost her grip and fall as soon as she left the ground.

"Are you OK?" Mokou's voice can be heard far away.

"I'm alright."

"Oh, well......" Mokou's voice disappeared into the corridor.

"And that's why most humans prefer to stay on the ground?" Lily stood up and continues walking "Well, seems Cirno is wrong about controlling a human body after all, she said a human body is more stable than ours..."

"...... is harsh."

"huh?"

"...... only 45.... "

"Sleeptalk?" Lily sighed. Then she realized what Amarillo meant.

For a fairy, the maximum body weight would not exceed 10kg.

And Amarillo is a human.

"I don't want to be chosen on cleaning, not in this body...." Lily thought.

[mad]

11:19 AM Dining area Day 4

Team Lunatic noticed the trio stand up proclaiming their lack of copulation.

Jalal, there was a retcon.

"Huh? a retcon?" he asked.

Yes, that group has another narrator's blessing and that narrator demanded a retcon as he heavily objected to the trio being naked and bolted to the floor.

"That sounds kinky."

"What sounds kinky?" Eirin cut in.

"The current narrator said that we were shoved backwards in time because of another narrator objecting to that trio being bolted to the floor."

"Oh." Eirin paused for a moment, then swallowed a pill.

"Whooaah," she said.

"Um...Are you okay?," Jalal asked.

"Just...wait someone just said 'Jalal said'."

You can hear me?

"Yes," Eirin answered, "though I'm a bit stoned at the moment."

Um...

"So you are the narrator?"

Only one of many. I am in charge of Team Lunatic consisting of you and Jalal. So why did you get stoned?

"I got tired of not hearing what you said to my husband, especially if you had something to tell us."

I see. Well here's what happened. You guys snuck up on Team Ahoge which was spying on the actions in the living room.

"I don't remember that. And who's team Ahoge?"

Well, I'm getting to why you don't. Team Ahoge is that boy-girl-bukect-loli trio. After paralysing that team with drugged arrows, you stripped them and bolted them to the floor. All of them, though the attention was mostly on Arreku.

"Who?"

That boy. Anyways, his narrator made a pretty big fuss about your methods.

"That sounds like standard Lunarian empire prisoner handling procedure, though, and it sounds like it was nothing personal."

Yes, it was nothing personal. Just someone at the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing. His narrator objected that Arreku did not deserve the standard treatment on the grounds that he was a sweet kid.

"To me, that doesn't seem related at all."

Neither does it to me. His narrator then reversed time to the roof. His group then fell down and was caught by Teams Pirate and Shakin.

"Who? I think Ria and Kaguya are team pirate, since Ria is a Pirate, but Shakin?"

That's Austin, Nitori, and Momizi.

"This is getting to be some spirit walk, eh?" Jalal cut in.

"I think we could get plenty of information from this narrator."

I'm being helpful...when it suits me. Now, this time handle interrogation like the infamous Spanish inquistion, not Lunarians.

"You mean like bring out the soft pillows?" Jalal asked.

Yes.

"Wait a moment. An infamous inquisition used soft pillows for interrogation?!? Were they infamous for being utterly ineffective?" Eirin asked, "Or did they humiliate their prisoners in submission?"


Actually, that was a reference to Monty Python's Flying Circus.

"A circus about interrogation?"

No, just silliness. The point I was making was that you should go about restraining him a different way.

"If he hurts Kaguya though, I'll execute him."

With a time dilation drug?

"You guessed a part of it."

Get going, prepare to ambush Team Ahoge.

"I got the proper prisoner capturing drug right here."

Actually, you shouldn't use that. Time travel is uncomfortable to say the least.

"Time travel? This-oh"

Yeah. Now go.

"Wow, I never held this long a conversation with him before," Jalal remarked, "I think we should take up position to use paralysing-only drug arrows should Team Ahoge attack."

"Good idea, this drug was specifically designed to not affect my aiming abilities," Eirin replied.

"What exactly does that drug do?"

"I get high enough to go on a spirit walk and get an urge for a snack. It doesn't affect my aiming abilities, I tested myself to see that."

"You aren't going to pass out on me or anything right?"

"No, now get me a snack."

[Pedonymous]

Outside Saniwa Shrine, 11:21, Day 4.

Arreku paused for a moment, analyzing the question he was just asked, and the answer he gave. He stood up, Kaigomi still hanging around his neck, the people confronting them could see he was very embarrassed.

"U-uhmmmm... W-we weren't doing that..." he whispered, playing with the collar of his scarf.

"Well, could you please explain why you're here?"

Before Arreku could answer, Kaigomi butted in.

"We were having sex!"

A cacophony of groans or gasps could be heard. Kaigomi looked up slyly at Arreku, she'd found his weak point.

"Ah, Arreku-kuuun~, we were so loud because you couldn't get inside me, right?" she swooned, bringing her face closer to his. "He's-so-big!"

Ria spoke up, in a slightly disgusted tone. "W-well, like we said, ge-"

"K-K-K-Kaigomi...!" Arreku sputtered, ignoring Ria. He was beet red now, wobbling on his feet.

"I win." Kaigomi whispered as Arreku toppled to the ground on his back, Kaigomi still on him. She crawled off the skinny hulk, straightened her dress, and did an elegant curtsey.

"I am Kaigomi Verte, daughter of Pierre Verte, owner of PineTech Industries."

She pointed to Arreku. "This is my associate Arreku Hokaido. And as I can see, you've met Kisume here."

Kisume, still giggling at Arreku's reaction, waved down at the crowd.

"Well what are you doing here then?" a handsome woman with dark skin spoke up. "This is private property!"

Kaigomi glared at her. "Well you could at least put up a fence or something!"

She thought for a moment. "A sign would suffice!"

Ria thought to herself: 'These idiots can't be RAI, they're not even trying to conceal themselves, they're un armed... and they were fucking in a bush.'

"Right, we'll get you a room. We'll talk about payment and cleaning costs after you're finished. Grab your boyfriend there and let's go."

Kaigomi growled. "Do you expect me to drag him there?"

"Oh, right." she mumbled, loostening the kink in the hose.

"W-WAIT, NOOOO!"

Kaigomi jumped in the way of the hose, recieving a face full of cold water. She was soaked.

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

Saniwa Shrine 11:21:30 Am Day 4


Austin: R-right, we'll help you bring Arreku in.

Frank: Come on Cabo- What the hell?!?

Caboose: I...think...I'm...dying...

Ria: *sigh* Kaguya, can you get Eirin over here? we need a blood transfusion or something.

Kaguya: On it!

Momizi looked at Arreku's crotch.

Nitori:...pervert.

Momizi: *blushes bright red* H-hey! I-I was...

Nitori: Checking to see if it was true?

Momizi: N-no!

Austin: Ah, stop tormenting Momizi like that. If she wants to see another person's shlong, let her. She's a curious sort of person, you know.

Nitori: Yeah, and besides, it's not like she can check yours.

Austin: HEY!

Ria: A-anyways, we'll introduce ourselves in a moment, but we need to get you guys a room.

Nitori: Kisume! Come on down! It's alright!

Kaguya: Is this a good idea?

Ria: I'd know if they're RAI, but they are not. It's alright.


Room 294


Ria: My name is Ria Soguyien, daughter of Arina Soguyien.

Austin: Name's Austin Magree. My friends call me Etch-E-Sketch

Frank: Name's Frank.

Caboose: *holding a tissue to his nose* I'm Caboose Sharf.

Momizi: I'm Momizi Inubashiri.

Nitori: Great Inventor and Leader Nitori Kawashiro, at your service.

Austin: Hey!

Ria: So, what are you guys doing here, anyways?

Frank: They were having sex of course. But, why in a bush, of all places?

Austin: And what was Kisume doing on the roof?

Nitori: And where was the camera she hid?

Caboose: Camera?

Nitori: To film it for some porno site.

Austin: How do yu even know about that kind of stuff?!?

Ria:Oi! Let's just do this one question at a time. Oh, could you wake Arreku up for this?

Kaigomi shook Arreku awake.

Arreku: Wha-wha-wha!

Ria: Now, down to business. What were you guys doing having sex in a bush as opposed to in a room? Would it have not been more comfortable in a bed rather than a bush?

Eirin: They could simply have have broad tastes.

Jalal: What do you think, Narrator?

Huh?

Jalal: Yeah, what do you think?

Is he talking to me?

Yeah, I think so.

Um, hi there.

Jalal: Eh, why so confused?

It's just that I'm not used to talking to characters directly

You'll get used to it.

Jalal: Oh, you must be one of the other Narrators in the story.

Well, yeah. Name's Etch-E-Sketch.

Jalal: Well, you probably know my name already. What with it being right in front of these sentences.

That's true... Well, gotta get back to the story now. It was nice to talk to you directly.

Jalal: Smae here.

Everyone but Eirin was staring as Jalal.

Ria: A-anyways, so what was with the sex in the bush? Heat of the Moment? A "Bright Idea"?

Austin: Read it in a book?

Ria: There's a book for that?!?

Austin: Yeah. Didn't you know?

Ria: Never found a book for that!

Austin: Oh, yeah. One's is an E-Book. on the E-Mouse, I mean the Internet.

Ria placed her head in her hands.

Ria: Anyways, could you answer the question?

Caboose: I never had sex in a bush.

Ria: I wasn't talking to you!

Caboose: Oh, sorry.

Ria: Anyways, what was with the sex in the bush anyways?

Teams Pirate, Shakin', and Lunatic waited for Team Ahoge's response.

[Pedonymous]

Inside Saniwa Shrine, 11:22 AM, Day 4.

Kaigomi sniggered the entire time they speculated this matter, so dense.

"*Snort* I-I lied! Arreku needed to be beaten, that's all."

Arreku, tightly wrapped in a ball on the floor, nodded shyly.

Ria glared at Kaigomi. "... I don't believe you."

"M-me neither," Momizi chirped, her tail wagging slightly. "You weren't lying about-"

"UHHHHhhhhhh..." Arreku moaned, muffled by his arms. Steam visibly rose from his head.

Kaigomi was visibly uncomfortable at this point. "Aright, what can I do to convince you?"

Jalal, who wore a wide grin the entire time, spoke up. "Weeeeelllllll..."

[mad]

11:22:05 Day 4 Shrine room

Etch paused.

"Are you sure this isn't some foreshadowing about a future event?" Jalal asked Kaigomi, "I mean look, you're sopping wet, recently used up a lot of energy, and embarrassed. Well, maybe just him. You seem pretty hard to fluster with that sort of thing."

"I have some special pills to help you out if you want," Eirin offered.

"Eirin could just check," Etch said.

"Check what?" Kaigomi asked.

Jalal and Etch leaned in and said in unison "You knoooooooooow. Jinx! You owe me a soda. Fuck! Stop that!"

Jalal punched Etch, not hard mind you, but enough for him to stop talking.

Eirin pulled on rubber gloves. She turned to Arreku. "Alright. Strip."

[Gpop]

Secret Passage, 11:30 AM, Day 4

The second path seemed a lot longer than the previous path for the entire team. They were starting to feel a little bored and tired for walking with no clear sign of an end. The group was ready to draw back until...

"Hey look! I think I see a staircase ahead!" Koishi yelled cheerfully. The rest of the group began to focus on the path and noticed a faint outline of a spiralled staircase. Then they all began to run towards the staircase.

When they reached the staircase, they noticed that it lead to yet another hatch on the ceiling.

"Alright, I'll lead once again, and this time I won't punch anyone until I KNOW 100% who it is." Gpop said. All of them started their way up the staircase until they reached the hatch. Then Gpop began to lift the hatch and the light from outside beamed into their eyes, and everyone became temporarily blinded.

As soon as everyone regained their sight, Gpop popped his head out to see a deserted graveyard. He turned his head to see a headstone which had writing on it. Gpop read the writing, "Here lies one of the survivors of the Covenant War." Quickly he understood what the writing meant, and he turned again to look around.

After a few seconds of observing the entire graveyard from the passage, he deemed it safe enough for all of them to emerge completely. It was deserted, and a little foggy, but the fog was low and clear enough to still see the sun shining brightly from above.

"Well...this place seems like right path. Deserted, far from the shrine, and completely unrelated." Gpop mentioned. "I think we should tell the rest of the guys about this. It's a perfect escape route if we were ever attacked by the those guys in black again."

"Wait...I think...I hear voices..." Satori said.

"You sure it's not our hearts?" Gpop asked.

"No...I hear them...from underground...not from the same passage we came from though...but...7 stories below..."

"Whoa, I didn't know you could read from that far." Gpop said in a surprising tone. "It's probably a subway or something. We don't even know where we are."

"..." Satori had a worried expression on her face, but no one seemed to notice.

"Well I guess we should head back and tell the others if Amarillo didn't already." Merlin suggested.

"Sure. I wonder what they're up to right now...?" Gpop asked rhetorically.

Then the entire group headed back into the hole and closed the hatch firmly. They walked down the staircase and began their way back to their rooms in the long passage.

[Pedonymous]

Room 294

Boing.

BZZZZZZZRRRRT.

Thwack.

Arreku, panicing, jumped straight up in the air, hitting the light fixture. He hit the ground with a sickening 'whump'.

The room was darker now, the one beside and the next one, and the next... Arreku absorbed the local power like a sponge, it took a few moments for the other rooms to regain power.

"Fuh-first of all, what are you gonna do to him!?"

Eirin smiled calmly. "Consider it payment, if you want a free room."

Kaigomi sighed, her thick eyebrow twitched furiously. "Hahhhhh, right. But second of all, you shouldn't touch him right now..."

"A bit possessive, are we?" Etch grinned.

"N-now that he's here, you need to share him!!" Momizi chimed. Nitori groaned in embarrassment.

"N-no... Uhh, Yagokoro... Get some heavy duty power gloves, we need to get him outside... Then you can do..." she swung her hand in a circle, thinking of the right phrase to use. "Wh-whatever it is."

Nitori jumped up. "I've got some really nice Kevlar gloves, I'll go get them!"

She ran off, very excited.


Caboose dragged Arreku across the ground with the heavy gloves, stopping by a nearby pond.

"Okay, throw him in. Be ready to rescue him if he doesn't come up."

Ria was flustered. "I still don't understand why-"

"Shuddap an` do it!"

Caboose heaved, throwing Arreku in the pond.

The shattering crack of lightning was heard, followed by a plume of bubbles and steam. Hundreds of dead fish rose to the surface.

While everyone stood dumbfounded, Eirin grinned widely with fascination.

"AWAH! WAHHH! IB DROWNING!!" Arreku bawled as he flailed in the water.

"You're fine, buddy." Frank shouted. "It's shallow!"

Arreku stopped for a moment, moving to feel the bottom. He treaded to the edge of the pond, he drooped from the now heavy clothes pulling him down. He calmly waddled over to Kaigomi.

"J-jeez." Etch gasped.

"Are you glad you didn't touch him?"

"K-Kaigomi..."

Arreku was focused on the pond of dead fish, his lip quivering. A small crawdaddy floated up to the surface...

"Uh-WAHHHH!! I killed them all Kaigomi, I killed the crawdads!!" he wailed, falling to his knees and squeezing Kaigomi tightly. She reassuringly rubbed his back.

"What's the matter with him?" Jalal asked.

"He... likes crustaceans..."

[mad]

continuing the above.

Team Lunatic made a mental note that outnumbering Arreku might not help in a fight.

"Well, a crustacean dinner for all, or maybe just me. I'm really hungry right now," Eirin proclaimed.

"They are having a cooking tournament in the kitchen, you know," Jalal said.

"I wouldn't touch that with a ten foot pole."

"Ouch"

They dragged Arreku back into room 294.

"Well, that was entertaining," Jalal said.

"Yes, now that we've had our fun, Nitori," Eirin called.

"I've prepare the bed like you asked," Nitori responded.

Teams Lunatic, Pirate, and Shakin pushed Arreku and Kaigomi into the bed.

One naked and intimate exam later.

"You're pregnant," Eirin said, while eating a crawfish.

"Wha-what?!?" Kaigomi shouted.

"You better take responsibilty!" She shouted at Arreku.

"B-b-b-but!" Arreku stuttered.

Eirin started a stifled laugh.

"Just kidding. Nothing happened, they weren't having sex," Eirin said

"Well, that settles the matter then," Jalal said then he(she) turned to Arreku and asked, "So...what now? Oh yeah. How didst thou come into the acquaintance of yonder bucket loli?"

Team Ahoge was still naked and strapped to the bed with their limbs spread out. There was not problem, or was there? Arreku was currently the only male in the room. All the teams mentioned in this post were still present though.

[Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch]

continuing from above

Eirin: Ok, 10 minute break everyone!

Ria: Eh? What do you-

Eirin: We've gotta get some blood into Caboose again.

Teams, Pirate, Shakin',, and Lunatic took a break from the stimulating event.


Somewhere in the Shrine

( OOC: In the previous story post with Marx, it said that she arrived at Tourist Helpers at 3:00 PM on Day 4. This is a look at what happened before she arrived. Just so you know.)

Cirno: Marx, are you OK?!?

The wings from Marx had vanished, and she was breathing heavily.

Marx: Ne-need Mana...

Cirno: Are those fangs?

Marx dashed off to a room in the shrine, and Cirno followed.


Room 294


Arreku, Kaigomi, and Kisume were still strapped to the beds.

Arreku: They could have let us out...

Kisume: Oh, I think I hear them now!

Arreku: Where? From outside?

Kaigomi: What the hell are they doing out there?

The window opened and a girl in black and grey clothes jumped in, followed by an idiot fairy. Who ever these people were, they were not the same people Team Ahoge met earlier.

Marx searched the room for the person with the most mana. She targeted Arreku. Smiling, she approached.

Arreku: H-hey! WHo are you?

Kaigomi: Get away from him! Rgh, why can't I get out!

Kisume: Darn you, Nitori! You always made high quality stuff.

Marx got on top of the still strapped Arreku.

Arreku: IIrealydontknowyouandeverythingisgoingsofastImeancantwejusthavesomethinglikedinnerandamovieor-

Marx placed a finger on Arreku's mouth silencing him.

Marx: Give me...your all...

Marx glomped down on Arreku's neck and wings began to form on her back.

Arreku: GAAAAH!! GET HER off...me...

Kaigomi: ARREKU!!!!

It was at this moment that Teams Pirate, Shakin', and Lunatic burst into the room.

Ria: MARX!!

Marx: Tch.

Marx jumped off the sleeping Arreku and flew out the window, followed by Cirno.

Ria: Dammit, how did she get that Crios Auspect?


Outside the shrine


Cirno: We're not flying to the town?

Marx: No, I'll consume too much mana. We walk.

Marx and Cirno began their trek to Tourist Helpers.