The Elements Of Gensokyo: Act One, Arc III.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

"Kanako, behind me! Do what I do! Gale, you run in after her! Go!"

Aesera charged the creature. She leapt into the air, thrusting her sword downwards as she landed in front of the creature. Kanako, as instructed, did exactly as Aesera had done. Aesera leapt back and into the air, and as Kanako plunged in front of her, she pushed the god forward, putting her right above the beast, which her sword plunged into.

Aesera held position as Gale ran at the creature. As Gale passed below her, she dropped lower, garbbed Gale, and threw him into the creature's chest. [Kanako, on its left and strike when I do!] "Tenshi, throw your sword at Gale, and just do it!" Tenshi did so, and Aesera sped forward. She grabbed Tenshi's sword as it passed, kicked off of Gale's head, and plunged Tenshi's sword into its head as she sailed over it. "Gale, take the sword and give its chest a puncture!"

As Gale struck, Aesera ducked around to its right and struct at the same time, with Kanako adding her own strike from the left. "Fall back!" Aesera ordered. [Kanako, toss your sword through its head, then call it back to you.] Kanako did so, and as her sword returned to her, Aesera leapt in, thrusting her own sword in the exact spot Kanako's had hit, then dashed away. [Right through the same wound! Now!]

[CrowCakes]

As Reimu barked orders to Mokou to bring the humans inside, Patchouli continued bombarding the Chaos spawns with spellcards.

"Fire Sign, Agni Shine!"

There was actually a trick to this thing. Apparently, fire pierced through the Chaos spawns like hot knife through butter, and Mokou made a very good demonstration of that when the ambush started. Maybe because it was energy, or maybe because it was artificial, or maybe just because they were monsters and fire prevented them from regenerating. Anyway, fire killed them faster than physical means.

But they were streaming in faster than they were burning out. Despite having been told not to join the fight, the librarian insisted on helping,

With one less person helping them, the spawns relentlessly advanced. Reimu packed even more heat, throwing a spellcard into the mass of blobs and watching a barrier incinerate those caught in it. Nothing went past Patchouli's spellcard, but it was only a matter of time before it ended.

OOC: Nothing for my characters until the next update. YJ summed it up in the last one.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Waiting on Sonae's reply. If not, I'll post by tonight.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

The onslaught continued, seemingly endless, infinite, neverending. The sole defenders of the Hakurei Shrine struggled in vain to cut down the unfathomable numbers of Chaos Spawns, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, two replacing one slain. Even before the embodiments and other gensokyans had arrived, the first two defenders were running low on spell cards. They relied on Danmaku instead of physical engagement, due to the fact that Patchouli could'nt never hold herself up for long against the swarm, and Reimu, even being as strong as any other Hakurei Shrine maiden, would soon be overrun.

The arrival of Mokou was sudden and incredibly helpful. If not for her, the barrier around the shrine would have already been breached. Now, Patchouli had only three spell cards, and Reimu, with one. All their most powerful. And Reimu would never in her life, use Fantasy Heaven against just these pawns.

Mokou had pulled Vante and Newan in, and after slapping the former a few times, successfully woke him up. Vante struggled to even get up on his feet, but slowly, he could feel energy being pumped into his body. It was only a matter of time till he could help. Newan on the other hand, was too exhausted to awake. His gifts from the gods did not increase his endurance.

Mystia ran out of the shrine, adding her own danmaku and spell cards into the fray. Nazrin was left in one of the rooms. Shuffling could be heard further in the shrine too. The nightsparrow took to the air, firing her blue danmaku towards the Chaos Spawns. Mokou, after waking Vante, charged head-first out of the shrine and barrier, being the only one that relied on hand-to-hand combat, imbued with everburning flames. With each punch, kick, or even touch, the fire seemed to repel the Chaos Spawns.

In the distance, a loud roar emerged from the south, below the stairs. Tentacles were sent flying, and acid was spewed everywhere. The long, clawed hands of Wriggle's Chaos Beast ripped through the wall of Spawns.

"...Oh god..." Patchouli covered her mouth, mumbling.

"...Tch. More problems."

"Man this is going to be a pain in the ass."

Vante, limping out towards the tori, called out. "Don't... Worry! It's on... our... side..."

"...What?"

The rampaging beast devoured all that stood in it's way, heading towards the barrier.
-

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA#########!!!!-"

The Kusanagi impaled the creature's forehead, right between all six of it's streamlined eyes. It cut cleanly through, leaving a hole visible as Kanako called the majestic blade back towards her. The mass of celestial bodies threw it's head on the ground, slamming it's entire torso on any solid object it could find, screaming hysterically in pain.

"What? It isn't dead yet?"

It's wings burst out of it's body, forming blobs of tentacles, which eventually took the form of gargoyle-like beasts, only with the eagle wings. They flew forward toward Gale and Utsuho, flashing their vicious claw-tentacles. The former still held onto Tenshi's sword, and ran forward to meet the oncoming flyers. Spinning to avoid their claws, before stabbing each of them in a series of quick manuevers. This gave Utsuho enough time... To fire a nuclear blast which hit both the flyers, and the abomination behind. It burnt the gargoyles to a crisp, and melted off the beast's entire arm. The wall that took the last of the blast seemed to have a few cracks, but nothing other then that.

Then, Kanako's sword took effect, breaking apart the body of the creature with pure Law, contradicting it's existence and turning it into dust.

Aesera motioned for the group to get out, as they did not want to encounter any more of those creatures. Wriggle had already left, and was at the bottom of the staircase. The group left, leaving Tenshi and Kanako above the still disintegrating freak of nature.

"It ate the king. All my friends... All the people I knew in the palace..."

"Despicable."

Tenshi fell to her knees, and began to sob for those that were lost. All of the inhabitants of Heaven were by now, dead and corrupted, or alive, and would soon be turned either insane, or to become one with Chaos. Kanako could offer her nothing but silent comfort.

"Waaaaaaaah! Waaaaaah!"

"I'll kill them all."

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaa...."
-

The hallway lead to a great door, one similar to the mansion doors of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Aesera pushed open the door, to see a... Uplifting sight. Crystals and chandeliers hung on the high celling, illuminating everything. No trace of Chaos. Everything was in perfect order. The group ventured in, and far in the back, was Kanako, holding up a still-crying Tenshi.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

This was not the time for a delicate approach.

Aesera walked over to Kanako and Tenshi, and pulled Tenshi away from Kanako. "Okay, Tenshi, it's time to make a choice. You're perfectly justified in feeling the way you do, and I understand completely. But right now, there are additional concerns. We're still in a dangerous situation, and we need to be ready for battle at all times. And as much as I don't like to say this, if you're in no shape to fight, then you're a liability, and right now, I can't afford liabilities. So if you're too upset to do anything else, then we'll find somewhere that seems relatively safe and leave you there, and come back for you as soon as we can. But I don't want to do that, for multiple reasons. To name a more practical one: as soon as we're done here, we're heading for the Dragon Palace, and I'd really prefer to have someone who's at least a little bit familiar with the place along. And I'll also remind you of something: the odds are good that at least one of your people is still alive; someone had to erect that barrier. We'll give this place a thurough search, then head to the Dragon Palace,  and that's your best shot at finding survivors. So are you going to stay here in dispair, or are you going to come with us, look for and hopefully find survivors, and pay back the things that did this?"

For a while, there was silence. Then Aesera took a step back, leaving Tenshi standing on her own. The tears weren't gone, the despair wasn't gone, the sadness wasn't gone, but the anger, the hatred, and the determination were back. Good, Aesera thought. Looks like she's too stubborn to quit.

"I'm coming," Tenshi said.

"Good. Okay, people, let's search this place."

[CrowCakes]

"'On our side'? Really?" Reimu deadpanned. Taking advantage of the new distraction, she unloaded more amulets on the spawns, who fell as quickly as those being eaten by the incoming spawn. "Come on, get back in. We don't even know if it's still really 'on our side.'"

Mokou couldn't make heads or tails of what to do next and just stood staring at Wriggle's tamed spawn with a completely unamused expression. "I really, really hope you're tellin' the truth," she yelled from outside the barrier. While she was a target for all the Chaos spawns in sight, the flames that engulfed her sent them running in any direction that didn't lead to her. "'ey, Myschi, has your partner gone nuts?"

[I don't think so.]

The night sparrow flew above the torii, perching on top of it. The scenery below was blanketed in a thick gray and black, further darkened by the sky, and the charging spawn seemed to be clearing off the dense clusters of the ambush. Curiously, Wriggle was nowhere in sight.

"Well, she won't get a bigger kill streak than I will!" Mystia launched bullets at the far-away ambush spawns. None of them flinched.

There was always the off chance that Wriggle's new slave had broken free of her control. Regardless of whether or not they knew that, everyone was on the alert, ready to pelt the new threat as soon as it breached the barrier.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

"AAAAAA######YYYYRRRRR!" The ever-growing creature cleaves through the wall of Chaos Spawns, devouring them and adding to itself their power. Steadily, it approaches the shrine's barrier, leaving a trail of mangled tentacles wiggling in their vain attempt to escape the inevitable. As the wall of Spawns is soon reduced to a countable number and piles of ash, those within the shrine ready themselves - The approaching beast could very well be just insane.

The barrier flickers as the immense, distorting energy of the beast threatens to disable, if not fully destroy the barrier. Reimu grits her teeth, forming square, constantly spinning talismans around her. The beast arrives at the barrier's edge, growling as it turns back to see the Spawns gathering once more, for a last attempt to break through. The oversized monstrosity turns, looking at the last wave for a moment, before it's mouth tears open. An endless amount of thin tentacles fly straight out from it's mouth, grabbing and pulling all the Spawns closer and closer to the beast. As they are dragged through the air, they begin to shrink, sending pulses of energy through the tentacles into the beast's mouth, as if the tentacles were like veins carrying blood to it's heart. When the Spawns are all reduced to ash, the tenetacles retreat back into the beast's mouth.

"I... I guess that settle's it." Mokou walks back into the barrier, her clothes stained black by the very presence of the beast being close to her. It stands outside the barrier, sniffing the air and walking about.

Vante limps over to the donation box outside the shrine, sitting and leaning against the smooth wooden surface. "Tired..."

Reimu dispells her talismans and amulets in her hands, helping Patchouli to get down from the tori.

Mokou walks beside the donation box, and takes a seat on the other side of Vante, sighing to herself.

"Aww... I wanted some fun!" The night sparrow flies down and lands, walking up to the shrine too, stretching herself. "Why did they even come to the shrine?"

Reimu, after setting Patchouli down inside, walked out and shook her head at the mess outside the barrier. "When I woke up, they were just crawling their damn way near here. There were just tons of them, and for almost no reason, they chose to attack the shrine."

"No, there's a reason. The shrine is the gateway to the outside, right?" Mystia asked.

"If they came from the outside, and are inside Gensokyo, why did they need to bother about the shrine? Think, you little bird." Reimu crosses her arms, leaning on a wooden support.

"They came caz' they wan'd you dead, Reimu. I mean, you're one of the most powerful in Gensokyo, so those littl' shits might as well get you outta the game."

"This isn't a game, Mokou. This is war. Well, almost." Reimu walks over to Vante, turning over once to see the knocked-out Newan still lying in one of the rooms.

"Damn straight son."

"We'll talk more once the three of you, and Patchouli, gets some rest. Me, Mokou and Mystia can handle the outside as long as that thing doesn't go crazy and run in."

"Actually, Vante, I think you're well enough." Reimu fiddles with the gohei in her left hand.

"What?"

"You aren't panting anymore."

The godly energy was pumped through every inch of the embodiment with each heartbeat, filling Vante with more and more stamina.

"So, Vante, tell me. What happened? And about that... thing." Reimu points to the lumbering beast outside the barrier.
-

TBC

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

The library was grand, magnificent, overwhelmingly large and almost brand new. There was no trace of Corruption inside the library, no signs of any struggles, just an untouched sanctuary in the midst of unspeakable horrors. Lighted by crystals upon queer chandeliers, the place was bright, almost glaringly so. Endless shelves filled with countless books presented themselves to the group. Aesera, nodding to herself, closed to door slowly behind them. Gently nudging the closed door just in case the generic horror movie seen would play out. However, it could never have been sealed or locked, if it was untouched like this. It was as if Chaos just avoided the place.

"Look around, guys. And be alert."

The group had split into different directions, each one going to a different part of the uncovered library. It was silent, too silent, yet it was calm and peaceful. No blood, no bodies, no Chaos. It looked as if Volie had been refurbished and cleaned. Gale, Rin and Utsuho had set out to explore the furthest end of the library, with the latter staring googly-eyed at the crystals set upon the celling and chandeliers. Aesera began to pull book after book out from different shelves, accompanied by Kanako and a sniffling Tenshi. There were tomes from the time as far back as japan's first warlords, before Gensokyo was made. Some books were different, about other things like youkai and fairies. Some were from the outside, like a curious book about the Nazis and the Soviet Union that laid silent on the top of a shelf. Kanako was one of the few Gensokyans to know about the outside and what happened long before. She even knew about the Celestial Palace, but never of this library.

>You have the option to take any two books. Specify which random books you want to take, imagine a shelf in front of you filled completely.

Wriggle had been climbing shelves, trying to find the exit. So far, the only thing she found were books, and shelves. Eventually, the bug gave up and dropped to the ground, walking towards Aesera. Gale's group didn't find much either, just an endless maze of knowledge, They ventured so far in that they had to fly back to meet up once more.

"Found anything?"

"Just books, everywhere, about anything we would ever need to learn to be some genius in the outside. Man, if I was still studying, I would come here every day..." Gale sighed to himself, stretching as his parting and Utsuho went over to flip through a few books.

"Tenshi, tell me about this place."

"Yeah... Why didn't I know about it?"

"Haa... Uhm... I don't know. I knew there was a library here, but this is the first time I've come here... Hehe..." Tenshi faked a smile and scratched the back of her head.

"So, where's the exit?"

"I don't know... But it should be at the other end..."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

"We check the other end, then," Aesera said.

Aesera took two books from the shelves. One was an instructional text on using magic, one quite clearly geared towards those without any natural ability. Definitely something I should learn. The other was a more theoretical text on multiple worlds. There was a section on the separated worlds of Gensokyo and the outside world, of course, but Aesera was interested in the more speculative sections, such as those concerning theoretical additional worlds, or especially those concerning that which might be outside or between worlds. The chaos isn't born from any actual world. It was born independently, existing before any worlds. Its existence doesn't match with any world; it is something completely outside them. Understanding it requires looking into the realm of the theoretical, into thoughts on what is outside of any worlds.

Aesera opened the book on magic. It began, naturally, with ways for those without natural ability to enable themselves to use magic, the first step in learning it. "Let's go," she said, continuing to read as she followed the other across the library, while also keeping an eye out for potential dangers.

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

OOC: I can't remember if I mentioned this before, but Aesera is a very capable multi-tasker.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

((I haven't. What's it look like (texture/color/shape/size/etc.)?))

I can't even remember right now. This is one of the drawbacks of waiting for people to post. I forget everything. :|. Do yourself a favour and look through the thread and find what it is you're looking for - I bet just the name will remind me of it. I can't do it myself because I'm a little busy doing stuff.

Also arranging for Squawkers to jump back into the story. Soon. Yeah, he's retaking his place.

CROW! YOU DERP. You no longer have to post for Newan. Hurr.

First page updated. Forced updating coming right after Squawkers makes his return and Sonae, Maybe Orphea, post.

[Sonae]

((WHAT? WHAT! WHAAAAAA-bricked-))
((SQUAWKS IS BACK? REALLY REALLY REALLY?!?!))
((plsdon'tbelieplsdon'tbelie))
((Oh look, it hyped me enough to make me finish my post!))

Ranna heaved out a sigh as she pushed herself off the ground and stood up. She looked around at her surroundings for a moment, then focused her gaze at the object in her hand.
It was a stopwatch. Apparently once belonging to the vampire's maid, Sakuya Izayoi. The vampire had given her it, saying that she would need it. Ranna frowned. ...Why would I need a stopwatch...?
After a few seconds of silence, Ranna let out another sigh and slid the watch into her pocket.
As she did so, the girl felt her retreating fingers brush against something unfamiliar.
The girl stopped and frowned as her mind searched for an explanation. Unable to find one, she reluctantly let out a small, empty sigh. Ranna slowly moved her fingers around the odd object, which was hard and faintly smooth. She carefully grasped the object and cautiously removed the thing from her pocket. Ranna held the thing up and gazed at it. Her frown deepened for a moment as her brow furrowed in confusion.

It was then that she heard the defeaning screech of the chaos beast.
Ranna jumped at the noise, dropping the strange object in the process, then froze. W-what the hell...?! she thought as she gazed in the direction the sound had come from. Soon after, silence returned to the shrine. Ranna held her breath for a little bit longer, then took a few deep breaths in order to calm her frazzled nerves. She carefully made her way to the door and out into the shrine.
Ranna peered into the darkness surrounding her as she slowly moved down the hall towards the dulled sounds of voices. The girl remained silent, with only her soft footsteps making any sort of noise.
As she moved out of the hallway, she could see a patch a moonlight which shone into the shrine's open side doors. Unaware of the battle that had ended only minutes earlier, she stopped and gazed at the serene moonlight.

[Aya Squawkermaru]

(I'd recommend not waiting for me. Some things have come up, so I need to give more thought as to whether or not I'll re-join.)

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

And then:

I realize that I need Crow to post before I can merge all updates together.

Crow get to work.

[CrowCakes]

"...that thing was a lu-"

"That thing was an accident! As if I couldn't hear you!" Mystia roared from atop the torii, "A certain firefly got lucky and got the thing under her control!"

Vante crossed his arms and gritted his teeth. "Yes, that. She experimented with whatever power she had and summoned the Chaos spawn."

Reimu opened her mouth to spout out all the implications it had, but no words came out as she looked at the monstrosity sitting obediently outside the shrine grounds. It looked just the same as every other blob-or-whatever they had tried to hold back, if not nastier. In fact, everyone outside was still aiming it.

"Now that I think about it, it does look like a bug..." Reimu mused.

The shrine maiden didn't need to get suspicious, Vante decided. "Wriggle Nightbug tried to attack it with insects, but the spawn just ended up absorbing- assimilating them into its anatomy."

Reimu wore the same disbelief she had earlier. "...so you're saying that... Wriggle, a youkai who I've beaten up in the past for being a pesky troublemaker... suddenly got guilty over making this thing."

[Uh, I think you've just pressed some buttons you weren't supposed to...]

Now he had to tread carefully about his words. "I'm not sure about that part. I just saw the spawn kneeling in front of Wriggle when I went out."

"Okay," Reimu, with hands on hips, stared at the side. "Where is she?"

"With one of us outsiders, as you put it."

From afar, even Mystia could see Reimu's eye twitch.


OOC: Reimu's not very happy about not getting the answers she wants.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

People are almost never naturally given the ability to use magic. They either need to inherit it, or are born with it, which is incredibly rare. With enough training, an ordinary human can surpass their mortal limitations and become a magician, and eventually, even a youkai. A lot of research and hard work is needed for a normal human to learn a single spell - They must research, study, and constantly experiment to achieve what they want. Magicians as a profession are very similar to scientists and researchers in the real world. Magic and Science. Mastery of both requires extensive knowledge and research into the true laws of the world, and magicians often build upon the research of others and collect data just like all scientific researchers do. Magic is not something that just happens randomly, just as gravity, electricity, and propulsion aren't. Much like how a skilled monk, after years of meditation, can make his skin as hard as stone, a human after years of practice can form Danmaku and conjure spells.

Several pages have been forcefully torn out, leaving odd marks near the center of the book. Whoever tore it out must've been in a hurry...

A common misconception is that Danmaku is a type of magic. No, it is not. Danmaku itself can be used by just about anyone, whether they have experience in magic or not. Danmaku is present as a form of energy when any thing begins their life. Danmaku is the s-

Half of this page as been ripped out. There are burn marks on the other pages, even. Aesera flips through the charred parts of the book, searching for something important. Who would come all the way into Heaven's library just to steal pages of books?

All living... Locked...
Inside themselves... Science...
Experiments... Infused...

On the last page of the book, there laid a small section untouched by the flames.

Everything came from the first two beings that came into our world. All of our souls are their boon and their bane. They gave us the choice to fight back or die trying. Why? Because they knew that the other being that made us would fall. Danmaku. Why can we all use it? The answer is simple. What is science and magic if the two do not come together? -Rikako Asakura

Aesera switches the books, flipping right to the last page -

It's not theoretical science any more. It's not conspiracies and the illuminati. It's not rubbish and old mother's tales. All these wars... All this pain and horror... Humankind stood to the test of time. But soon, who knows when, will they still live through the challenge? Intellectuals like Albert Einstein and Isaac Newton, these geniuses... They were wrong. All wrong. Countless textbooks have to be rewritten, laws must be reformed. Intelligence? Knowledge? Humans know little. Too little. Yet their atop their high seats and arrogant asses do they shout to the heavens and scream in hell. Planets, galaxies, the unreachable ends of the cosmos... Represent only the beginning of mankind's knowledge of the universe as we know it. Parallel universes do exist. Not as those seen as sci-fi movies, but parallel universes that do not contain aliens. We are the only planet in this one universe that contains life. The rest of them have the factors that we are made from. Things a simple human mind cannot comprehend. Flee back into the dark age as you wish, but once Magic and Science unite, there will be no more chaos in the world.

Written in ink under that last statement, is a signature. Okazaki. And in fine print, there said...

Only three universes exist. And I still don't know if a world without chaos is a good or bad thing, given human nature...

As Aesera reads through, she realizes something. These authors know of creation, yet not of Chaos as what it is now...

"This, is the exit? It looks like a horrible exit." Wriggle pokes the large blackened door, examining it with curiosity. It's as wide as Utsuho when she fully extends her wings, and around three times the height of Kanako. It's charred black and any details on the door have been lost. Whoever tore the pages from the first book must've been the one that tried to burn the door down.

"Someone burnt this? It hasn't quite fallen apart yet. Still appears sturdy... Was it an accident?"

"I don't think so. Some pages in this book have been ripped out, and others burnt. Keep your guards up. We don't know what's behind this." Aesera closes her second book, signalling for Kanako to go forward and open the door. The latter nods, gripping her sword tightly as she pushes the door forward.

The door swings open, and Kanako narrowly blocks a blue, orb shaped bullet from within.

"Don't sneak up on me like that." The blonde woman clicks her tongue, turning to face the descending staircase. "Get out. I told you I'm the one that will solve this bullshit. Leave and I won't need to gap you to oblivion."

"Yukari. List-"

"I don't want to hear you nonsense, outsider. Get out."

"...Leave her be, Aesera." Kanako points to the black, slowly evaporating ground around her. "...She can take care of herself."

"We need answers."

"I have none to give you."
-

A darkness consumes you. And you arrive outside the library, in the main hall. Aesera sighs. Another wasted chance.

"Maaaan, you made her maaaaad~" Wriggle teases.

"You don't know half of it." Tenshi sighs, pulling Wriggle aside.

"So Aesera, where do we go now? There's only one place to check..."

"The Dragon Palace."

"...Unyu?"
-------

"Once I get my hands on that little cockroach I will rip her throat out and strangle her with it." Reimu hisses. "Where is she?"

"I don't know, but mayb-"

"It came when we were near Youkai Mountain, so clearly it would've been from there! Stop being dumb!"

Vante sighed, glancing over to his partner, a wide grin on her face as she thought of more things she could do to get Reimu mad.

"Then, we're going there. Go get the others, leave Patchouli here. I'm sure the barrier will hold. There's no other signs of those disgusting things anyway." Reimu turned, crossing her arms. "And you. I don't know when you got here, but enough of standing there looking around. Yes, things happened. Now, we're going... Outsider."

Mokou turns, noticing Ranna standing a distance behind her. "Yo. Glad to see you're back. No idea how you came back from wherever you went, but at least you're back. Ya can tell me about it later. We have business to attend ta' " Mokou stands up, stretching as she walks over to Ranna.

Reimu walked into the shrine, past the duo, towards the rooms. First, into Newan's. Pulling an amulet from somewhere in her miko outfit, she places the blue seal upon Newan's head, before doing the same on Patchouli's. "Patchy, you're going to have to stay here. It's safer and better for you to remain here. I don't think the barrier will break anytime soon once it recharges anyway. We're taking Newan, though. So you'll be only with Nazrin."

As divine energy begins to replenish Patchouli's own, she manages to nod silently.

Before Reimu leaves, she places her last amulet upon the mouse youkai's head. Along with it, a smaller white one. One very much similar to those on the keystones of Tenshi.

The Hakurei Shrine Maiden tugs on the shirt of the embodiment, before lifting him up and carrying him outside. "....Can't believe you're lighter then Marisa." The embodiment doesn't respond. Even with energy flowing into his body, he is still too weak to even wake. Reimu begins to walk towards the shrine's edge. "You guys coming or not?"

"Youkai Mountain?"

"Apparently so."

Three embodiments leave the Shrine, along with three Gensokyans. As they take to the air, after moments of Mokou threatening to roast Mystia if she doesn't carry Vante, they soar through the sky towards Youkai Mountain. On the ground, the once still, silent Chaotic Abomination moves towards the direction of it's "master".
-

"The winds... They seem a tad off." Mokou muses as her wings flicker in the constantly increasing speed of the wind. As they go closer and closer to Youkai Mountain, it reveals that the mountain itself is covered by a vortex of wind, almost as if it was the eye of a hurricane. And yet, above the mountain, is another storm. One much more calm and soft, as if it was a beacon of hope atop raging storms. Or a signal. A pretty bad one considering that it almost merged with the storm below.

Reimu, carrying Newan, led the group towards Heaven.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

"Kanako," Aesera said, "is that attitude typical of Yukari?"

"Nobody really knows just what is typical of Yukari," Kanako said. "She's one of the more mysterious people in Gensokyo."

"Damn. Okay, then. Listen up, people. From this moment on, Yukari's allegiance is to be considered unknown."

"Wait," Orin said, "you think she's not on our side?"

"Even from just our few brief encounters," Aesera said, "I know she was never on our side. She's been on only her own side. It just so happens that we've shared a common enemy and goal. Apparent sudden changes in behavior are something I would not find surprising to see coming from her, but given that she was recently infected by the chaos, we cannot be sure that her current attitude is, in fact, entirely her own doing. Some fragment of the chaos may very well remain within her. When we get a chance, we will investigate that, but for now, we head for the Dragon Palace. Tenshi, lead the way, please."

The library in general didn't look burnt, Aesera thought as the group moved on. The door did, but not the rest of it. I doubt it's exactly common for books in there to be burnt, and yet I happened to grab one that is. I don't think that's a coincidence. Of course, that's hardly the only thing that just came up. [Kanako.]

[Yes?]

[Tell me everything you know about Yukari.]

[CrowCakes]

[Are you so hellbent on making our lives as miserable as possible?]

With the winds picking up, it would be a logical reaction for any flying thing to slow down and try to weather the turbulence. Mystia, of course, was not a logical flying thing. The night bird picked up speed, trying to catch up with Mokou, who was having an easier time carrying a much lighter human. Vante's arms were dangling precariously on Mystia's hands, and, all the while, with wind pelting her, Mystia was shakily trying to maintain altitude. Had none of the whole Chaos mess had started, this would have been a friendly race.

[And why are you so heavy? I swear, this is why ordinary humans like you sucked! Can't even fly!] The moment this was over, maybe she'd try her hand at Mokou-killing. The phoenix girl was carrying someone lighter than she was, while Mystia was carrying someone a dozen or two pounds heavier than her.

[I'm an outsider. I think that was expected. And I think I'm hardly ordinary anymore after all this, am I?]

Mystia ignored him. "Hey, Mokou, do you know what's up with the other guys up Youkai Mountain?" she screamed against the storm winds, "Aaaargh those tengu and their damned whirlwinds why can't they STOP SHOWING OFF why didn't anyone evict them along with the oni?"

Being in Heaven felt so good, but being in a quiet wrecked place in Heaven was great. If there were no threats greater than humans, that was. Feeling almost at home, Wriggle ran up to Tenshi's side.

"Do you have any pests in here?" the firefly asked. Other multicolored, delicate insects that had come with her roamed around, gathering around everything. It seemed that they'd never been in here.


OOC: I still am in control of Wriggle, right? Sonae, do you want to contact GYMO's team?

[Sonae]

((Uh, you'll have to give me a bit of time to decide on that. I'm a little behind on my readings because of school. So yeah I'll likely be able to tell you by this weekend.))

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

This is disappointing.
Update on Saturday/Sunday.

Since some people are not posting.
:|.

[Sonae]

I'm trying. Give me a damn break geez.
I should be nagging you to post in my rp, since you haven't posted in more than 3 months, soon to be four, but I'm not.
I haven't posted here in about a month and a half because I was BUSY.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

I'm trying. Give me a damn break geez.
I should be nagging you to post in my rp, since you haven't posted in more than 3 months, soon to be four, but I'm not.
I haven't posted here in about a month and a half because I was BUSY.

You do realize I'm not posting because of Trance.
He needs to reply you subatomic derpface.
And he's on writer's block.

[Sonae]

((Anyways. Crow why'd you ask if I wanted to contact GYMO? Are we able to do so now? My apologies for my bad memory, but it's been a while since I've read back.))
((Short non-important post is coming up))

((And... Filler post complete))

As Mokou walked over to Ranna, the girl frowned and gave the immortal a puzzled look.
?Hear about it? There?s not much to hear about?? Ranna muttered aloud. The girl sighed to herself for a moment and watched as Reimu placed seals on Patchouli?s, Nazrin?s, and Newan?s head. As Reimu grabbed Newan, Ranna tried to speak up again.
?The Vampire is fine. She hasn?t been corrupted.? Ranna blurted out while the group was still within the shrine.
As Ranna spoke, she furrowed her brow slightly, thinking it through. How did Chaos manage to get everyone except Remilia? I heard her say that the maid had taken them ou?but what for?
As Ranna was busy thinking, Mokou had come up to her, tapping her lightly on the shoulder to get the girl?s attention.
?C?mon, Let?s go? She said with a faintly devious smile.
Ranna looked at the immortal blankly for a moment, then nodded.

---

The group ascended higher and higher, aiming to reach heaven. Heaven, huh? And I thought something like that was too good to be true? Ranna thought as she gazed towards the sky.
Upon hearing the night sparrow behind them shout, the girl was tempted to turn her head and look back, but remembered her earlier experience with flight and decided against it. Mokou snickered at the bird, a grin on her face. Ranna said nothing, but turned her attention back towards their apparent destination. Two storms?Why would there be a storm in heaven? And above the clouds for that matter. The girl wondered, her frown deepening. More questions began to surface in her mind, but she reluctantly repressed them. We?ll get answers when we get there. Ranna thought to herself as she focused on the sky ahead of them.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

>Write Update
>Experience delays because making Good End for Rhizesa is quq
>Get to work YJ.
D8>

[Sonae]

I don't think that's a good idea.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

[It was said that Yukari helped establish and maintained the Hakurei Border. She has the ability to manipulate boundaries, so I see no reason to question the authenticity of this. Even Reimu agrees that she did have a part to play in the making of Gensokyo as it is today. As I said before, nobody knows how she really is like. She's mysterious, cunning, secretive... She's just one of those enigmatic people that this world has. You can guess, but you can never say for sure...]

[She acts on her own most of the time, but comes to Reimu whenever big problems arise. One of those problems were caused by me back in the day, so I should know. She's extremely defensive of Gensokyo, and of every living thing in it, even sometimes bringing those who have died unnecessary deaths. Although that's very rare, for up till now, almost nobody died of unnatural causes. The humans too, are spared from being eaten by Youkai once Yukari steps in. She's prevented the little Rumia from eating any stray humans and defend those outsiders who drop into Gensokyo from the sidelines.]

[... And I've never seen her angry or completely serious about something before - Even during an incident which I started all along, she was taking it easy most of the time, only lending her power to Reimu and talking through her ying-yang orb.]

"Now, this will sting a little..." Tenshi waves her hands in a circle, placing them gently on the door to the Dragon Palace. Her sword begins to flow; soothingly at first, then as if pure adrenalin was pumped into it, the intensity of the red light soared. The others, even Tenshi herself, cringed at the pulsating light. Only Kanako watched, captivated by the display of what a weapon of heaven had to offer. As the light grew stronger and stronger, the door itself began to crack, and the celestial was struggling to keep her hands on it.

"T-This... Is harder then I thought...."

The forces coming from both Tenshi and the door strengthened, pushing each other like magnets of the same pole. Aesera took action first, pushing Tenshi forward and soon, along with Utsuho and Gale, covered the gap behind Tenshi. There was no way she could get thrown back if the forces grew too violent. The door's frame broke into shards of wood, before falling vertically down, as if some sort of safety mechanism stopped it from flying towards anyone behind it. Just then, the door erupted into a frenzy of divine light, revealing a keystone with an odd hole in the middle, right above where Tenshi's hands were placed.

But even still, the door repulsed the celestial with it's sustained vigor. Kanako smirked, reaching for her blade...

And pushed it into the hole.

At once, the power came to a sudden halt, and as forces broke apart, Tenshi, Aesera, Utsuho and Gale fell to the floor, the celestial being completely exhausted.

"Unnnnyuuuu... That hurt!"

"Yeah and you should get off me, you birdbrain." Gale mumbled as he tried to free himself off Utsuho's large wings.

"Tenshi, are you alright?" Aesera looked over as she got off the ground, faintly smiling.

"Haaa... Yeah... Just tired is all..." Kanako extended her hand, which Tenshi gladly accepted.

"So, what were the two of you doing back there?" Gale frowned as he saw Orin still crouching.

"I- We- Uhh... There was no space for us to help! Yeah!" Orin faked a smile, her hands twitching nervously atop her head.

"Then get up. There's space now."

"O...Okay." The firefly and cat rose, turning to look at the now opened door. Kanako retrieved her sword from the keystone, admiring it's still perfect blade.

"A-Anyway!" Tenshi mumbles "The door's open, and all we need to do is walk through."

"It's a wall." Wriggle points out.

"Typical youkai like you can't see what walls can really do!"

"They block people."

"S-S-Shut up!"

"Enough fighting you two. Through the wall, eh, Tenshi?" Aesera looks over as she begins walking towards it. The former nods.

The embodiment places her hand on it, and the wall vibrates, the stone flowing apart towards the sides as if a pebble was dropped in a puddle of water. There was a mirror, reflecting a blurred vision of the group. Aesera nodded to herself, and pushed her hand through the mirror, walking through as the glass seemed to crack and shatter without falling apart.

"Let's go." Gale entered through second, followed by Kanako and the rest. Tenshi was the last, leaving a mark of red energy with her sword.
-
The entrance of Heaven was once filled with lush greenery and lakes of crystal clear water. Trees grew enormous sizes and peaches were plucked by roaming celestials who wanted a snack. Catfish were found in the deeper lakes, hunted up for picnics or for sport. Even some oni and youkai roamed the huge gardens of Heaven, playing and enjoying whatever they could after Tenshi declared that everyone had entrance to the once prohibited place after Reimu came up and thrashed the her to the ground.

The sight that greeted the group would turn away even the most foul of youkai. In the fields of what used to be tall grass, there laid the barren ground, blackened and corrupted by Chaos as they set foot on it. Bodies littered the ground, disintegrating into nothingness as time past by. The surviving trees leaked of green acid and other disgusting fluids, releasing a stench only the strongest could endure. Weapons were scattered in various places, tarnished and slowly breaking apart, as if Chaos has an effect rather like rust to metals.

Reimu arrived first, silent, followed by the rest of the group.

"Oh man. Oh man, are you bloody serious about this?" Reimu stomped her foot on a wiggling piece of what used to be a plant. "Oh sure, you waltz right in and try to take over my home. Oh man, I'm going to rip all of those disgusting things apart with my bare hands, strangle them with their throats and shit down their miserable excuse of a face"

"Uh... Uhm... Reimu, that's too graphic."

"Not as graphic then this shit right here. I think I maintain the right to spew whatever the hell I want when even heaven's in this shape, Vante."

"I am bloody sure they deserve the fight the're lookin' for, Vante." Mokou puffs, cracking her knuckles and her neck simultaneously.

"I guess you're right... And the path is cleared? Did anyone come through this recently?"

"Oh man I can't wait to see the look on Tens-" Mystia blurts, only to be pulled on the ear by her partner. "Shush now. Bad timing."

"Ow ow ow ow! Okay okay I get it!" Vante complies, and the night sparrow proceeded to shut up, pulling herself away from Vante, covering her feathered ear. "...You don't have to be so harsh on me..."

"You seem insensitive to the death around you, night sparrow." Mokou hisses, the immortal flames around her growing stronger as her blood begins to boil. "Reimu. Are we doing this, or are we just gonna' stay here and waste the night away?"

The Hakurei shrine maiden gave no reply, stomping off into Heaven, following the cleared path made by Aesera's group earlier. The immortal took flight, scanning the surroundings while keeping close to Reimu. Vante, carrying the still-recovering Newan on his back, slogged towards the duo as the night sparrow and Ranna both took their time. The latter was too horrified by the surroundings. The former just wanted some time away from the three "overly-serious" people.

Together, they walked towards the only landmark in sight within the wasteland.

The Palace.
-

"Gods are unchanging. They can not learn, they can not evolve, for they are perfection in your eyes. However, humans can rise above that. Humans can change, can learn, can become better than they are now. In time, anything can be understood, any boundary passed. Gods too are blinded by their biases, and are unchanging, while humans can evolve, can improve.

You humble humans can see with not only your eyes, but with your mind, making conclusions. With work, diligence, and perseverance, one can see more than the gods, for the gods are a permanent standard, while human perception is a variable.

In the end, there is nothing that one can not improve on in themselves, and that is why one may supersede the gods, blind in their perfection.

If Heaven, Hell, and Earth were to merge into one, then, while the demons and angels would fight, being led to do so by their masters, and while they would be more powerful than most humans, the living have a power others do not. They can make choices.

Choices make you human, choices let you choose what you do, who you are, who you serve, and what you think.

Is it not better to choose what you do, who you follow, than to fight in a war because it is your nature?"

The light of the soul is absolute terror. Isn't it sad how tragically beautiful the world is? It can break your heart;rend your soul... Yet it can give you all the love it ever held, and inspire you to go beyond every limitation, every obstacle placed in your way. The lone, the restless, the one who had discovered, who realized the least, remained to choose her fate. What she chose eventually, none would know, but peace was restored in her damaged mind. The fragments remaining from the dull, old life of hers vanished - as fragile as glass, did they shatter as they hit the ground.

"Whenever you choose to go, you can go."

"Whatever choice you make, it is yours to decide."

"The land of illusions only stands to allow you to choose."

"Since you cannot go on, another will replace you -"

"But, your endeavours will not go unnoticed. You will be forever remembered, placed firmly rooted to the land... Now, go, embodiment. You have made your choice, mortal. Live on the rest of your life knowing true peace, human."

The half-ghost bows to the two next to her. One was her partner, the other, the weaver of fate itself. And with the release of the former, Youmu Konpaku begins her journey back to the Hakugyokuro, leaving the God and the embodiment.

"I wish you good luck is all your future endeavors, Rhiseza. The path is now yours to write and act out. I, no, we, hold nothing of your destiny. You are free to leave Gensokyo." The armor-clad man rests his hand on the girl's(well, compared to his age) head. "We'll be seeing you."

With a wave of his hand, a portal claws itself into existence. A weakening, fading portal. One of the last of the cracks within the border, untouched by Chaos. "This is all I can do, for the border is almost completely infested by those fuckers." The embodiment nodded silently, glancing back at the Hakurei Shrine.

Yes... It's been... A long journey...

And she stepped into the portal as it snapped shut, fading out of existence.
-

"You're telling me that we made our way here, and ~*magically*~, Kanako's group came here and cleared everything for us?" Reimu cracked her knuckles. It was obvious that she didn't take lightly to anyone who solved "her" incidents.

"And now I can safely assume that Tenshi actually bothered to write down that they went through this... Mirror?"

"Reimu, I didn't know ya could read celestial." Mokou walks up and pokes the red runes on the wall. "Anyway we should be going ey? Spending time talking out here is a bad idea. The others could be having trouble ya' know?"

"Yes yes whatever. And your for infomation that isn't 'celestial'. I just know how to see Tenshi's writing. I mean have you seen the words she tries to write with that sword of hers? Ugly." The Hakurei Miko folds her arms, looking back at the mirror, giving it a kick. "Seems solid enough. Kinda like one of those shields Alice has on her dolls. Hard if you use force... But you slip right through..."

Reimu presses herself against the mirror, the glass cracking as it did earlier before. The Immortal walked back, turned and signaled for the rest of the group to hurry up. Mokou then slid her hands into her pockets, strolling into the mirror as if nothing had happened, well, once the group was in sight range. Vante followed suit, sighing to himself. It was clear something bad was going to happen. Ranna was pushed in next, by the nightsparrow who almost fell into the mirror by walking backwards and tripping on a slab of rock.

"Ow ow ow. My foo-"

"Don't push!"

"M-M-Mystia!"

...
...
...

And through the glass, came the endless seas of infinity.
There laid the foundations of thought and imagination.

"Ha... I'm glad you all made it..." The red man panted, bloodied and broken.

"Oh yes! YES! I am glad! Now as all of you, together, can watch one of the most powerful beings in this world get destroyed. Hakurei Reimu, come and meet your maker."

"You guys were fast. Thought we were only here for a minute or so." Aesera turns back, nodding to herself.

"A minute in the Dragon Palace is fifteen times as long as one in the outside." Tenshi smirks, readying her blade.

"We reach and this ol' fucker's already here?" Mokou grins.

"Time to break some heads. Especially yours, Rinnosuke."

"Reimu... I don't think it's a good idea to break his h-"

"Yes yes shut up Vante we have had enough of you already~"

"And you are in no position to talk, Mystia."

"Neither are you, you cockroach!"

"Unyu... Such noisy people..."

"Well, Utsuho, at least they aren't constantly on your back like Koishi-sama."

"...Don't remind me, Orin."

"Enough talk." Kanako swings the Kusanagi in a wide arc, it's blade glowing crimson, slowly transitioning into blue.

"Time for business."

"Then come! For I bring you the marvelous creations Gensokyo has gifted me with!"
-
(By now you should know who you will be fighting. First, are the enemies from the fight you had earlier at the shrine. Do you remember them? Of course you do! I mean it was in the outside world.
I apologize for being late. /o\ my lappy died.)

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Almost...
TWO MORE PARTS
/shot

[GuyYouMetOnline]

I need a little more before I can really do anything. You left off with my group walking through the wall, and I really don't know where to go from there.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

I need a little more before I can really do anything. You left off with my group walking through the wall, and I really don't know where to go from there.

Yes yes I know the two parts includes yours since I will be merging stuff.

[Sonae]

Should I post? Or wait for you to finish?

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Should I post? Or wait for you to finish?

wait pls