Author Topic: RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Thread)  (Read 148125 times)

Caber Knight Etch-A-Sketch

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Re: RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Thread)
« Reply #510 on: February 13, 2010, 05:50:28 PM »
Saniwa Shrine - Ria's room 6:00 AM, Day 6



Ria woke up after what felt like an eternity. Something happened that really messed with her head, probably another hangover or something. Kaguya laid sleeping in front of the Laptop she "borrowed" from Etch. Ria got up and openned the window. Staring out, she began to think about her life up until now. All the events that had led up to this point...


....


Saras Haven, Deck of the Sky Ray 12:00 PM Day ???


Ria stood atop the deck of the refurbished Sky Ray. After a hard battle against two of the most notorious wastelanders trying to collect on the bounty on her head, she could really go for a drink. She and the rest of the crew, that is. Decked out in the latest and greatest armor and armaments, the Sky Ray was indeed the most fearsome Land Crawler in the Wasteland.

Of course, being a wastelander, much less the one with the most dakka around, the City-States would try to take her down. She could already see the glint of the Xiangese Fleet approaching. General Tao Kwai had to be there, bastard wouldn't stop for anything. Taking her last draft of the cigarette, she flicked the butt off the ship and headed back to the bridge.

"Captain of the bridge!" One of the wastelanders said, prompting all the others to pay a bit more attention to what was going on.

"Status Report" She barked as she walked up to the large display screen.

"Captain, the enemy fleet seems to be heading away from our position. It is possible that they are leading us into an ambush of some sort."

"Alright, let's head off to--"

"Captain! I'm sensing a large build up of energy!"

"Is it a Mirage Cannon?"

"N-No! The energy seems to be building up around us! It's everywhere!" The Sky Ray began to shake as electricity crackled all around.

"Hold onto something!"


Forest, Sky Ray Bridge 11:00 PM Day 0


"Is everyone ok?" Ria called out. There were several sounds of confirmation amongst the crew.

"Where are we, Captain?" No one aboard the Sky Ray had ever seen such lush green land.

Smiling, gaining an idea as to where she was Ria walled up to the viewing screen

"Gentlemen, as untimly as it is, we are in a new land, rip for looting. I give to you, Nippon!"


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



Ria sighed as she pulled her last of the looted cigarettes from the packet. Lighting it, she looked off into the trees, noticing the birds singing. You know, she thought to herself, It's not going to be a while until the Sky Ray can move. I'm a long way from home, in a place where it is even more dangerous to carry a gun around. Maybe it's time I retired from it all, the looting, the guns...

She sighed as she looked the birds, not really taking the time to notice just how beautiful they were. Their songs seemed magnificent against the early mor

BANG BANG BANG


Saniwa Shrine - Kitchen, 8:00 AM, Day 6


Kaguya, a little out of habit, walked into the kitchen sleepily, looking for the coffee. She noticed Ria over by the stove, as something smelled delicious.

"Mhh, what is that nice smell? I'm getting really hungry~" Kaguya asked eagerly.

"Breakfast." Ria continued to work at the breakfast, which she knew how to cook really well, for some reason. Past experience, probably. "After Breakfast, for sure." Ria muttered to herself.

trancehime

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Re: RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Thread)
« Reply #511 on: February 15, 2010, 11:19:39 AM »
Saniwa Shrine - Living Quarters/Dining, 8:15~ AM, Day 6
Meira+VIVIT+Hirowaza, Taihou+Keine+Moko+Sak+Mima, Anthony+Letty

For the past few minutes, Hirowaza had been looking around, but mostly, he could not take his attention off Anthony. Ever since that time when they had first met and come to know more about each other, something about him... her... Had made him appreciate people more, in the sense that perhaps in time, he could show the world that he wasn't a cold, calculating bastard in its entirety. Meira and VIVIT could certainly feel this sentiment, and it caused Meira to smile, as if a plan could work. Meira piped up. "Hey, Hirowaza-san, what's up? You look peturbed~ Perhaps you'd like to cool off with a sparring session?" she asked. Hirowaza looked back at Meira expectantly. "Perhaps that would work. I've finished eating that delicious food and there's something I need to get some things off my mind."

Outside Saniwa Shrine - Near the Entrance, 8:20~ AM, Day 6

Hirowaza and Meira were facing each other, and VIVIT was simply sitting on the ground, leaning against a tree. Meira and Hirowaza then drew their weapons, Meira her blade, Hirowaza his Symphony, and, thinking they were going to be violent, VIVIT covered her eyes. But, in the end, there was just the sound of steel clashing. Nothing much was happening aside from them practicing their sword maneuvers. Meira was focusing on the offensive whereas Hirowaza was on the defense, trying to block and evade her deft strikes. VIVIT was a lot more relieved after this. "This is just sparring!" Meira said chirpily, lifting VIVIT's spirits a little bit. "We won't seriously hurt each other. We've been doing this for ages," Hirowaza nodded, starting to get slowly tired. "You're no Konngara, Hirowaza, but you're getting there!" she said.

...

Hirowaza, somewhat tired from all of that, leaned against a tree while resting his body, while doing cool-down stretches. VIVIT and Meira was talking about something unintelligible to him, and it culminated into a staring match. Hirowaza looked at the two and smiled. What about that strange boy... attracts me so much? Maybe I'll find out later... But I hope he is the key to my salvation. Perhaps he is.

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E-Nazrin

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Re: RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Thread)
« Reply #512 on: March 20, 2010, 01:45:54 AM »
Back Hills, Saniwa Shrine, ~6:09 AM, Day 5
Participants: Team Drillkumo: E-mouse

Now I regret talking about the Lunarians with Ran. It must have provoked whatever irony gods there are in this world.

Damn them. Ugh.

Well, okay, no, I'm just being silly. It did make sense, even if the timing was an unfortunate coincidence. At least it was only Lunablade, whichever Watazuki she was, that's actually trying to be deadly. Fan-girl, her pet, and their battery all seemed pretty mellow. But then there's Youmu...

... I'd be happier over seeing that frightfully exploitable use of Myon if it weren't for her also going insane. Damnit. Magical girls? This had better stop before it gets out of hand...

..... and then there was that weird debate Sho and whatshisname, Nike or whatever had... and earlier, he'd referenced Evangelion...
I AM THE GREATER SHINJI.
..... no, no, NO. Stop. Even... even if I have my moments, I'm not going to...
Though I might...
I'm NOT going to screw this up!!

I shook my head vigorously. Yukarin yelped a little from on my shoulders.

"Uwa!"

That made me stop. "Uh. Sorry, Yukari."

Up ahead, Ran stopped leading us up the increasingly-steep trail to where Reimu was leading miko training, and turned to face me. She looked over Yukari for a moment, then raised an eyebrow at me.

"Yeah, yeah, we need to keep moving, I'm being a wimp, sorry..."

Ran nodded, fox ears flapping a little. "I don't think it's much farther. If only the falls weren't so loud..."

Chen clutched her master's hakama a little tighter for a moment.

I forced myself to keep moving. Damn my lack of endurance.

But Yukari still wanted to talk. "Midori-oneechan's thinking too much, isn't she?"

"... yeah."

A small hand ruffled my now-curly, now-blonde hair.

..... that had recently been pressing against my now-boobs. Grk.

No, stop thinking about that!! We'll, we'll have that fixed soon enough!

"Don't worry. Things'll work out. I knew we'd be fine, especially with Youmu there."

"Even after she offered to let Lunablade at you?"

Yukarin giggled. "'Lunablade?' I thought you didn't like the magical girl nonsense~"

"I don't." I replied, gruffly, "But I remember that better than what their names are, on sight."

A soft chuckle. "Fair enough. But I know Youmu better than that... despite all the teasing, and the occasional outburst, she cares."

"Even with you constantly egging them on?"

"Well, I guess I was a little silly..."

"'Little.' Right."

She sighed irritably. "We weren't in any real danger. The rest of the Lunarians were perfectly civil, and you know Ran wouldn't let them hurt me either way."

A pause. "And neither would you, right, Midori-oneechan~"

... gah, my face must be turning red... "... no. Not that easily."

Another little giggle, and a ruffling of hair. "Besides, failing all else, I did a little experimenting while I was with Eirin, and..."

...? "Experimenting?"

Yukari let go of my neck with one arm, and paused for a moment before replying.

When she did, her voice came from directly beneath me.

"Experimenting~"

THAT made me jump. I stepped back and immediately looked down at the source of that voice to see how the hell that happened.

It was rather simple, actually. There was a small, shimmering-purple gap open in midair a bit below waist height, with loli-Yukari's smirking face visible through what looked like a translucent film of purple and eyes.

"Wha-- you can do that?!" I cried.

I heard Ran sigh and turn, but she didn't berate me for stopping again. Instead, she was silent for a moment, then asked, "Yukari-sama, are you sure you should...?"

For my part, I just stared in disbelief. Yukari's using gaps again? Through ME?! Without me feeling a damn thing?! That... how...

The little gap in the air vanished. Yukari giggled from on my shoulders, a bit madly. "I've only tried little ones, but I KNEW we could handle it, now!!"

"How did..."

She ruffled my hair again. "Midori-oneechan's selling herself short again~"

"... but when Ran was... doing whatever the hell that was..."

Ran grimaced. "I was... enhancing my arms to handle grabbing her sword, if I had to."

I nodded dumbly. "Right, that... uh, well, I'll admit that hurt a fair bit..."

One of Yukarin's arms moved off of my neck. Then something hard pressed on the top of my head.

I assumed it was her elbow, from the sly tone of her next comment. "Oh? But that makes perfect sense, Midori-chan. After all, I can tell you two are still having a little trouble getting along, but lil' ol' me..."

She trailed off, and I could hear the smirk in her voice at the implications. Damnit, I'm blushing again!

Chen provided a very, very welcome distraction. "Ah, Ran-sama! I think I see them!"

I re-set my grip on... on Yukari's legs. "L, let's go."

Ran frowned for a moment, but nodded and turned to go. Yukari giggled at her victory, but didn't tease me further. For now, at least.

-----
Hilly Waterfall, Saniwa Shrine, ~6:11 AM, Day 5
Participants: Team Drillkumo: E-mouse

We arrived just in time to catch Lunablade jumping down from a cliffside, twirling in the air, and making a rather blunt landing. She didn't even roll. And didn't stand up for a second or two. I was reminded of how Link reacted when falling way, WAY too far in Ocarina of Time, especially when you didn't try to roll and break the fall.

... wow, that's a pretty sad first thought, ain't it.

It took her a moment, and a yell, to properly recover, whereupon she was promptly threatened by a gun from... a new face. Some scrawny blonde girl. Who was then threatened back with a katana from half an inch.

Damnit.

... but I guess there isn't too much to worry about from her... she can't REALLY be stupid enough to try and take on all of Gensokyo at once, plus her own sister...

And then there's the way Eirin and Kaguya are squirming in embarrassment...

... y'know, I think I'll let this one ride itself out.

I smiled a little. "She IS acting like an idiot, isn't she?"

Sadly, others followed suit. Marisa apparently thought she was a real magical girl.

God DAMN it.

... well, maybe she's just making fun of her...?

I frowned, but I let her proceed. Then I cackled as Marisa changed her story from "adoring fangirl" to "wanna-be archnemesis."

I noticed a little brown-haired girl in a white sunhat jump at my laugh, and give me a nervous look. An older, black-haired girl alongside her gave me a puzzled look, before getting pulled away by her smaller cohort.

Odd.

Yukarin interrupted my worries from her perch on my shoulders. "Midori-chan, are you suuuuure you don't enjoy this~"

"I enjoy mocking it, at least." I shot back, around a less-than-friendly grin.

My amusement was rather sharply diminished by the sudden announcement of something like a dozen more archnemeses.

God damnit.

Well, at least Reimu's snarkiness is making up for it. She's even acting like she doesn't recognize Lunahime in her goofy outfit! That's some comfort... wait, she REALLY didn't recognize her...? I'm not sure if I should be amused at the indifference to royalty, or irritated at the lack of respect on a human basis... well, 'human,' rather.

Anyway, Marisa didn't take this revelation of facts well. "... b-but... I-I thought she was the great Lunablade?" she asked, sounding like she didn't want to believe it, "That funny person we played with had two right hands..."

... I fought down another laugh. That's right! There WAS joking about one of her hands being drawn badly in SSiB! And Yukari'd joked about it, too! I barely noticed!

Suika pulled out Lunablade's hands for confirmation. Yep. That... must be really inconvenient to deal with, actually... poor girl.

Alice mentioned something about Prinnies. I blinked. Then grinned a little. "Well, well... maybe we WILL be able to abuse some Disgaean mechanics..."

"'Abuse?'" Yukarin echoed, "It sounds like Midori-oneechan's scheming something~"

"Vaguely." I admitted. If only I knew enough about what we're working with, and how to make the best use of it...

... like Yukari's gaps, which...
drugs in the stomach, bullets in the lungs...
... are frighteningly dangerous even in their current form...

My dark thoughts were drowned out by the sound of crying.

... crying?

... LUNABLADE crying.

What the fuck? I'd figure her to be stronger than that, but... well, I guess things just haven't been going her way ever since escaping the moon. Ugh.

... Reimu suggested a trip for ice cream as a peace offering. I honestly think it's a bit cold out for ice cream to be the best idea, but it's the right intent, I think... the point's to make up with the Lunarians, after all...

... though the others reacted a bit TOO enthusiastically to the idea. Maybe ice cream is rare in Gensokyo? I never really looked. I have simple tastes, after all.

..... wonder if that 'summon strawberry' spell I came up with in Gensokyo would work out here...

There was a mention of where to find ice cream. Though, I really don't think it would be that difficult, just take a few minutes looking around town - though we'd have to get in civilian clothes first to avoid drawing too much attention...

Someone pointed out that Yuyuko raided the town for food a few days back. They were completely right. Though now I wonder if there'd be any ice cream LEFT... heh.

N.... Nalth or whatever his name was, the Lunarian battery, promptly got into an argument with Suika about ages and oni. Oh, Nathanial, that was it. I am so damn clueless.

Then another debate sprouted about... about wanting to seduce Nate or switch to using him as a battery, with some offhand degradation of Mitaka. Who was that again...? right, Deodorant! Damnit, he deserves better than that. But right now I can't really help with the whole "toddler" problem. Bleh.

Damnit Eirin.

Yukarin broke me out of my introspection with a rather alarming comment.

"Hmm, love potions, huh..."

I jumped a little. "Wh... what?"

"Ne, ne, Midori-oneechan, can I have some?"

G... Gensokyo had love potions?! Someone mentioned it already?!... maybe we wouldn't have to use Koishi. But why wasn't it used already? Unless whoever it was... thinking back, must have been Marisa... was just pulling a scam? That sounds likely.

"Pleeeeeeeeease~" Yukarin pleaded, sweetly.

I let go of one of her legs to wipe off my upper lip, and considered.

...

"I... I don't think it'll be necessary, Yukari."

That broke her into giggles again. I glanced over towards Chen and Ran... to see they were preoccupied with staring at the waterfall and comforting their shikigami, respectively.

Not pissing off Ran is a higher priority than any amount of lust or haste in regaining strength. It... it'll be a while. But with the smarter head admitting it makes sense, now... oof. Need to make sure I hold myself back...

... but I'll grant, not being a pedophile should help with that for a little while.

Reimu spoke up in a more commanding voice, apparently calling out to everyone in the area. "Get back to your positions, everyone." she glared off to one side. "Yes, even you, Gpop."

I followed her gaze to see a guilty-looking little... wow, an actual boy... anyway, that must be shota(heh)-popsicle, if the Koishi standing beside him was any indication.

... where's Satori... ah, a bit away from them, looking reluctant. That's right, she has to stick close thanks to the mana problems... but without her powers... Damnit!

"Time to finish off with exorcism training." Reimu went on.

... exorcism training? What'd she mean by that? Well, based on the relieved sighs all around, I guess it was something new. And hopefully manageable. Though the Yakumos are gonna have to make up for the absence somehow...

... and me. I'm NOT a Yakumo. Oh god, stop it, Jer!

I was interrupted by a cry from Lunablade about not wanting to be a miko - or rather, them being her 'sworn enemy.' But, uh... I'm inclined to believe that this wouldn't be a good prejudice to hold in our current situation. And miko powers in addition to whatever you've already got would be useful, wouldn't it? Well, assuming it's possible...?

Reimu expressed the same concern, if more harshly: "... I?m sorry... are you perhaps under the impression that you were given a choice...?" She glared at Lunablade for a moment, then turned away and went on. "... now sit down. You might learn something valuable from this. Something you might be able to actually fight with... rather than that flimsy little butter knife."

A LOT more harshly.

Lunablade didn't take that so well. There was a 'shing' as she drew her sword, drowning out... something she said, I didn't catch it.

Reimu promptly solved the problem by smacking Lunablade's wrist with her gohei, making her drop the sword.

... well that was easy.

Lunahime stammered in disbelief for a moment, before Reimu explained, in a surprisingly calm voice: "..... without your mana, you have little to no fighting strength." She bent down and picked up the moonb... moon princess' sword, and offered it back to her in a distinctly non-threatening manner. "Even those of you who used to rely on physical strength are now weaker than your average human being. Our bodies rely on mana that much. As such, to survive, we must use alternative methods of fighting. Thus today?s training." She turned and gestured towards the waterfall and stream nearby. "Focus is the first step towards overcoming your disadvantage in mana. And I am about to show you how."

Focus? Hm... wonder how I'd be at that? I can get obsessed with things easily, but usually my mind wanders a lot...

... case in point...

Lunablade's sister came up to comfort her, and managed to convince her to at least retreat peacefully for the moment. Good.

Reimu went on, indifferent to the Lunarians' tactical withdrawal. "While we?re at low fighting strength, I urge you to use miko exorcism techniques to take on shadows."

"Such as?" I asked, quietly.

... wait, 'shadows?'

Hiwa... Hiro, the burning girl from earlier, had a sarcastic suggestion. "... so... you?re going to wave the gohei and throw talismans at them?"

.... come to think of it, that DID work pretty well in Gensokyo, didn't it?

"Heh, throw cold water at them, perhaps." Zei chuckled.

"Depends on if it's pressurized." I muttered. Then realized he'd just confirmed that waterfall meditation was basically what Reimu'd asked for here.

This is going to be uncomfortable.

Armpits didn't appreciate the quips. "... you can laugh when you find this actually saves your life." she snapped. Then she pulled a sash of some sort out of... her sleeve or something, and lifted it up for everyone to see. I squinted at it and managed to make out... a handful of golfball-sized yin-yang orbs attached to it somehow. Weird...

"Now these..." Reimu went on, "... are compact demon-sealing orbs which Sanae, Keine, Eirin, Nitori, Rika and I created together using modified Covenant technology."

Demon-sealing orbs? Sounds like one of her spellcards. But it's appropriate enough, I guess.

... why do we need demon-sealing orbs, again? I thought we were in relatively secure condition aside from the yakuza right now. What were those "shadows" she mentioned? The... the things from when we were leaving Gensokyo? And the Sky Ray? I thought those were summoned by Kikuri's goons? We only got out of that by faking our deaths! How is this going to help against another goddamned battleship?!

She distracted my frustration by taking off one of the orbs and turning it into a pokeball.

I stared.

... okay, it wasn't QUITE a pokeball. It was still styled after a yin-yang orb, but the size change, the sizes, the coloring... hell, the enlargement TECHNIQUE - what the hell?!

Much snickering and giggling commenced from the observers. Not even remotely to my surprise, some of it emanated from atop my shoulders.

"This is your doing, isn't it?" I asked Lolikari.

"No!" She replied, breathlessly, and giggled for a moment before continuing, "I mean, I gave Marisa the first season, but... heeheehee!"

I sighed. This is kinda stupid...

... but if they work the same way, then getting those 'shadows' on our side would be...

... WHAT shadows? Damnit, I thought we were safe!!

Armpits apparently managed to fight down her agitation at the general mockery of her strategy, and went on in perfect seriousness: "Now, how to take down a shadow. Basically, first you either lure them into an area bounded by four paper talismans stuck onto walls, poles, rubbish bins, people, whatever..."

She appeared to be demonstrating by herding a few volunteers into a square, with... probably Marisa in the center. The four 'corners' each had a paper talisman of some sort on their chests, making a box around Marisa. Suika was quite a bit shorter than the others, and... wait, isn't that Deodorant's team, plus Sanae?

Reimu went on, which was more important than figuring out exactly who was being used as demo equipment. "Either that, or you pepper them with paper talismans and demon-sealing needles until they?ve been weakened." She pulled out two big handfuls of paper talisman ward things and small needles... which apparently had little yin-yang orbs on them. Peculiar.

She continued the demonstration by plastering a talisman on Marisa's face. And then another. I tried hard to fight back snickering at the sight. I failed when the witch tried to say something from behind the mummification of talismans on her face.

"Midori-oneechan, don't laugh, it's meeeean~" Yukarin sang.

I fought down my laughter. "R... right, yeah. Sorry, just... bwahah!"

Reimu was actively trying to ignore the snarky comments from around her. "... then you throw the demon-sealing orb at them and, if all goes well, the shadow will be sealed away." She demonstrated with an ineffectual pokemikoball to Marisa's forehead, eliciting a small 'ouch!'

"... this is so ripped off something..." someone muttered. I couldn't help but grin among the agreement given from some others in the crew.

Armpits remained all business, impressively enough. "That?s the basics. As for HOW you pull it off..." she trailed off, and looked around at the Gensokyoan army gathered around her. "... that?ll depend on each of your teams. You?ll have to decide amongst yourselves how to go about ambushing and trapping shadows. Each team is unique. You?ll have to think up your own distinct styles. As for practice... there?s no better practice than the real thing, I suppose."

... more fighting? I... I'm not so good at that... I thought this was going to be more staying out of the way? Stealth? Y'know?

What the hell does she mean, 'shadows?!' I didn't think... Damnit.

"You said something about some killer technique, right?" someone asked. I glanced over - a little girl next to Sakuya? That's right, it DOES look like her battery from earlier. "Is this?it?"

Reimu hesitated. "... Let me tell you a story..."

A... story? Okay, Reimu, I don't know what's going on, but I hope this is good. And stop snarking about it until you hear it, guys. How annoying.

... well, I would have done the same if I was annoyed with the story instead of them. I'm such a hypocrite.

Armpits kept ignoring the quips. "A long time ago, back when all living beings honoured the sacred Covenant, there lived the greatest doctors to ever live..."

THAT got my attention. I felt my ears perk up... somehow. Wow, that actually happens?

But I'll be honest, I don't like the wording. But go on. Eirin and... tourist demon? Forget her name, but she must be from Makai, if her hanging out near Shinki was any indication. Quite a crowd there, actually... anyway, they complained a bit, but Reimu went on.

"... well, I say 'doctor,' but that?s a loose translation." she admitted. "The actual definition in this case is somebody who researches mana and looks after the mana and spiritual afflictions of humans and non-humans alike."

Hm, a more spiritual healer? A doctor of magic? Heh, fun. But right now, "I can see why we'd have no literal translation for something like that." I pointed out, with a nod.

Reimu glanced at me for a moment, and went on. "... now, these two doctors were humans living in the final days of the covenant. At the time, a mysterious illness had spread amongst the Covenant that only the humans were resistant against. The disease stopped all non-humans from recharging mana."

... wait... this sounds awfully familiar... non-humans being unable to produce mana? Wouldn't that mean they'd need an external source.....?

"Now, these doctors were officers in the Covenant military serving onboard a mobile fortress and a ship..."

Tsk. Military.

"... in fact, they served onboard the very ship docked underneath us now, the Sky Ray."

I felt my eyes bulge out. "What?!"

Reimu looked at me again, and nodded. "It surprised me, too."

I didn't stay surprised long. After a moment, I just narrowed my eyes suspiciously and hissed, "Quite a coincidence... isn't it?"

"Wait, so that ship?s seriously a Covenant ship?" some kid asked.

"No, it?s mine." Another shot back.

... wouldn't that be the pirate girl? I glared at... ah, she's lolified.

... I shouldn't feel so good about that making her harmless.

... or not, after taunting from some other blonde I didn't recognize provoked her to pull out a gun. Granted, her rival countered with much the same, but still... Chiyuri, we don't need this right now.

... I really need to ask her about Yumemi sometime.....

Both of them were stopped by someone nearby - didn't quite catch who - and some scolding about putting people's eyes out. Heh. That's good, at least.

Reimu rolled her eyes and continued. "This was crippling to the Covenant, who relied on mana for all their combat, weaponry and equipment, as well as day to day life."

Smooth. Well, I guess the outer-world humans are about as bad about technology, especially agriculture and electricity... but we've got some forms of backup, at least. Usually. I think...?

"The two researched many mana-sharing techniques and created the first 'contract' systems that allowed non-humans to live on, reliant on human partners for mana..."

I KNEW it!

"...which gave birth to the 'Linker' series of systems. In order to continue fighting, they developed techniques to allow them to charge up and amplify what little mana reserves they had from their contracts. The first of these was the Linker-MAD."

I raised both eyebrows. Charge up? Amplify?! "Oho... over 100% efficiency, then...?"

"Not really." Yukari responded, "But probably better than we're managing now."

... a brief irritation.

"I remember you shouting something about the Linker-MAD during that fight." Little Shoko said.

Down in the underground, right? She... DID mention that, I think...

Armpits nodded. "Yes. The Linker-Mana Amplification Drive, or linker-MAD for short. This is what I?m about to teach you today."

Some excited murmurs from the rest of the group. But a snarky comment from Renko stood out the most to me.

"... Mutually Assured Destruction...?"

... nah, couldn't be. Reimu's still okay... right?

"That said, I?m only beginning to grasp all this mana stuff." The hatty outworlder went on, shaking her head. She grinned eagerly. "So... a potential fifth component to the universal powers... the key to completing the theory of everything...!"

Heehee. She likes to know how things work too, eh? I wonder what else there is to find out about these linkers... and the Covenant in general...

Chiyuri turned and looked Renko over for a moment. Then she nodded. "Hey, you know your stuff... Professor Okazaki was working on that, up till..."

The Sailor of Science trailed off, her face falling.

... well, I guess that means nothing GOOD happened to Yumemi, at least. But was it betrayal, a falling out, separation, or kidnapping? If it was betrayal.....

"... Professor... Okazaki...?" a little girl next to Renko asked. Probably Sanou. Hope she... he, whichever, is okay after all the insanity that clueless normal kid's been going through...

Chiyuri recovered quickly, and grinned. "Well... uhh... I could teach you a thing or two! You two are scientists, right? You seem too bright to be one of these folks."

I rolled my eyes. Don't worry, dear, there are a few around...

Renko approved of the offer, snatching Little Sauna up around the neck. Chiyuri returned the approval an--

"Heehee, maybe it's more like mother and daughter~" Yukarin sang from my shoulders.

"What?" I thought for a moment. "Are you STILL trying to tease those two about that?"

"Of course~"

My sigh was interrupted by the appearance of some sort of holographic display near Reimu, apparently coming from a cellphone communicator thing Nitori was holding.

"Whoa!"

"All your communicators have this application thingy. It is called the Linker-RSA.? Nitori explained, pointing at the holo-screen, which showed a list of names and head-shot pictures, much like the one I saw when I first fired up mine. It looked like it was for her group, since it had her and.....

... what the fuck?! Is that Akyu?! She's here? Somehow? Well, that should solve some problems with retrieving 'memories of Gensokyo'...

... but dear old kidnapper-ship-cloaking Nitori is linked to the dick that tried to kidnap whats-her-name, the Paulaesque time traveler, isn't she? That must be the loli I don't recognize on the list...

"This is the summary page." Nitori went on, "It shows you the condition of everyone in your group." She moved her finger over to point to the odd graphs next to her team's mugshots. "The graph shows two things. The green line shows you your vitals. If it goes red and flat, you?re dead. That?s all you need to know. The blue line shows you your mental status, or your 'spirit'?y?know, how crazy or stupid you are. The numbers on the side show you your synchronization percentage and your mana level, reduced to our cat standard devised by Patchouli."

So... HP, INT, sync ratio, and MP?

... odd they can be reduced to something that straightforward. The real world's more complex than that, isn't it...?

Kappapa reached out and poked at Akyu's portrait on the holographic display. The screen promptly 'zoomed in' to a more detailed summary of Akyu's condition, with larger versions of the same graphs, plus a few other details.

"This screen essentially shows you the same, plus a few more details like vital details," Nitori went on, "Pulse, blood pressure, hunger, fatigue, how badly you need to potty, etc."

Oh, so THAT'S where the 'HP' details are. Good, that's...

Wait, 'need to potty?'

Akyu squeaked in alarm, and dove into the hologram, flailing her arms around wildly. "D-d-don?t show that!" Luckily for her, her hand-waggling managed to disrupt the hologram enough to make it just about indecipherable.

Reimu promptly shooed her out, as Nitori fiddled with her communicator again for a second. The hologram clearly changed, but it wasn't until Akyu scampered out of it that it was clear what it'd changed to.

"This comes in useful when using the Linker-MAD," Reimu went on, gesturing at the clearly-labeled screen from the hologram. The details there were a bit small to decipher offhand, but it didn't look TOO complex.

"During Linker-MAD, one person will activate the Mana Amplification Drive and begin charging mana. Basically, the person will accumulate all the mana he or she can produce or acquire from another person and amplify it a few times over."

Amplify again... So it IS over 100% efficiency? Awesome! Now, if we can find ways to recurse that to infinite levels...

... I think some very nasty things.

"The mana charged up can then be used to power a single attack, say, a spellcard." Armpits continued. The holo-screen flickered over to a... apparently a recording of that stupid airborne fight from earlier, when she managed to prepare that spellcard, whatever it was, without turning Deodorant into dust.

"Only one person can efficiently charge up mana in a group," she explained, "As in our current condition we?re drawing mana from only one person anyway."

"But can multiple people charge up to a lesser extent at the same time?" I asked.

Reimu glared at me for a moment. "Let us finish."

The hologram video shifted to focus on Sanae, floating in the air and launching a flurry of danmaku. The real Sanae spoke up to explain how she pulled that off. "The Linker RSA can then be used to link yourself to the mana charger."

"Oh."

"While linked, you can draw mana from the mana charger and use it for whatever you need it for, whether it be flying or fighting. Unfortunately, it wouldn?t nearly be enough to execute full spellcards. In battle, it would be best for those linked to fight to use the mana to protect the mana charger as best as they can."

Well, that was about all I was worried about, anyway. And let's be honest - spellcards aren't the only thing we're working with, here. I know Gensokyo restricted things to that, and with good reason, but right now, the gloves are off... and proper application of Gensokyo's many manipulations can be far more frightening. And not just Yukari's, either...

"This technique is a double-edged blade." Sanae went on, with a tone of caution. "While the mana is being charged, the mana charger becomes extremely vulnerable. He or she must focus entirely on controlling the mana flow. One moment of distraction, whether it's from personal thoughts and feelings, or getting hit by the enemy, and he or she will experience a mana backfire and end up in a 'critical down.'"

Well, so much for me being any good at that.

"Ah... thus the intense meditation training..." someone mused. Paula of the Future, after a glance, still lookin' her usual. "To build up focus, no?"

Hmm... that would help, wouldn't it...

"Precisely." Reimu answered. I looked back to catch the end of a nod from her. "A critical down can vary in severity depending on how much mana had been charged up. At low levels of mana, it would cause severe exhaustion at best, fainting at worst. At the level of mana required for full spellcards, the critical down can cause the charger to enter a coma-like state which?.theoretically, can only be reversed through a mind-dive."

"'Theoretically.'" I echoed, momentarily preoccupied by Fifth Element references. Alice was more concerned with the mind-dive part... I never DID get around to doing a manual one of those, did I? Only been dreams with the Yakumos, even if one of 'em was from a day-long coma after the Sky Ray mess...

... how did I survive that...

"Furthermore, all those linked will experience a mana backfire through the mana links, which would cause intense pain and possibly even injury." The wind priestess added. "... we?re not sure what the full extent of 'intense pain and possible injury' entails... and honestly, we don?t want to find out."

Which, of course, simply means that disrupting a high-end spellcard is probably fatal. Wonderful.

"... I do..." Eirin said, quietly. All eyes turned to her, many of them rather weirded out. "... what?" She asked, defensively, "... better prepared for the worst than getting caught in the rain, right?"

True... under controlled conditions it'd be good to find out how bad it can get. But only once we've got some free time - and actual volunteers. That Hirowizan kid seems pretty tough, maybe...

"This is a very, very dangerous technique, and I urge you to only use it in times of great need." Reimu cut in, her tone serious. "Unless you want to risk dying a fool's death for some petty reason, of course."

She shifted her weight for a moment. I was reminded of something important.

"... says the person who did it just to force people into miko training." I pointed out, dryly.

"That was a demonstration, using very low non-lethal levels of mana." Armpits shot back, with a huff. "Performed by experts, too. But even that much gave us serious pain."

Hm... it would explain why they didn't really seem to pursue us after that fight. That glassy look I saw in Sanae's eyes really suggested how much it'd taken out of them...

"Ne, ne, Midori-oneechan..." a breathless voice on my shoulders said.

"Whatd'ya want, Yukari?" I replied, gruffly.

"Can we try it out? Can we? Can we?!"

I paused for a moment, and blinked slowly. "... what? Reimu just said it was for emergencies! Don't be stupid, Yukari."

... that was mean of me. "... I know you want to get your strength back, but I'd rather not take any unnecessary risks. If we get into a fight, then... well, I think that's about all I can help with anyway, in my current condition. But even then, I'm not sure it'll be necessary..."

Reimu cleared her throat. I realized that some other excited whispers from the others suddenly died down, along with the fading of Yukari's pouty mumbling.

Weird... oh, wait, don't tell me they want to play with it, too!

"Before you try this or miko exorcism out in actual battle,"

"Exorcism..." I mumbled... maybe I COULD actually help with that... it sounded simple enough? Well, it wouldn't hurt to ask Reimu for a little gear... just in case.

"I urge you all to practice using it first. We've unlocked the sparring room and training room underground. They are in the residential block. There are Yin-yang orbs stationed everywhere, so you can get one of them to guide you."

Hmm... how safe are these exorcism techniques to use on other people? Well, Marisa didn't seem hurt, at least... but how can you tell if they're having any non-trivial effect? I assume they'd be a bit more colorful against those shadows she kept going on about...

... why the fuck would we be fighting shadows?!...

"One last thing..." Reimu said, loudly, drowning out some more excited murmurs, "Team linking."

Oh?

"Remember how Sanae and I linked, despite being contracted to different partners?"

... why didn't I notice that earlier? Derp.

"The Linker-MAD also allows you to link up people on different contracts, even entire teams together, for added firepower."

Oho...?

Sanae continued the explanation. "What?s more, one person can charge up mana on each team, increasing the rate of mana charging exponentially." The holoscreen blinked and switched to a graph with an exponential curve. I felt myself grinning involuntarily at the abuse potential.

"Say, six people across six different teams charge up mana and link up together, the team members linked to them would be able to draw enough mana to allow full functionality. That is, flying and firing danmaku just like back in Gensokyo. However, spellcards should still only be executed by the mana charger. We?re not quite sure about the consequences if a linked person attempts a spellcard."

Oh my... so that means a few teams can hide somewhere safe and funnel enough mana into others to bring them up to full strength and wreak havoc? Or... maybe beyond their usual 'full strength' in Gensokyo...?

Hmm... now I wonder if EX-Rumia is real... though I don't think I've seen the regular version around...

For once I shared in the sudden bout of enthusiasm Sanae's explanation sparked. Cool indeed, little loli-by-Shinki. This is fantastic! If we can just find a good combination to set up someone that could keep the mana batteries protected, then use the rest to...

... are we... are we actually somewhere close to being able to challenge Kikuri...? Maybe her worries about those shadows aren't as insane as I feared...

"Wow? like the power rangers, ze!"

My "What?" managed to sync up perfectly with Reimu's.

Naturally, I did not share the sudden enthusiasm that was sparked by the term 'power rangers,' and the subsequent claiming and assignment of colors. Jeez, even Paula of the Future was willing t--

"Miko Violet! Miko Violet!" Yukari cried from my shoulders, cutely. She let go of my neck and I could feel her shifting her weight as she... probably posed or something, based on the little "Hah! Hoo! Hyoi!" sounds she was making.

Sukima ended with an "Uwaa!" as she managed to lose her balance on my shoulders, but I caught her lower back in time to prevent her from falling.

"Uwaa... thanks, Midori-oneechan..." she said, quietly.

I declined to respond, silently cursing the blood dripping onto my lip. Damnit, Yukari! Stop being so cute, it's not like you!

Miko ranger color assignments continued, with some debate over nonstandard colors and... well, the occasional thing that wasn't a color at all.

In the meantime, I reached up to wipe the blood off my nose. This turned out to be a mistake, as Yukarin's hand darted out to grab my wrist and raise my hand in the air--

"Miko Green here~"

I sighed. "Would you stop it with that, already...?"

... well, at least don't call me that publicly...

Gah!! Don't think like that!!

I snapped my arm out of her grip and kept both of my hands low on her l-legs to keep them out of her reach. Damnit, Yukari.

I shook my head at the continually growing rainbow of miko ranger colors (capped, appropriately enough, by Miko Rainbow being assigned to Alice - seven-colored puppeteer, indeed). Then Marisa jumped into the middle of the conversation.

"Miko-Rangers, assemble!" she cried.

Damnit.

"In the name of Justice...!"

Isn't that... Kaguya? Come to think of it, I don't remember seeing her around much earlier... is she a recent arrival?

"...Love!" Marisa cried, grinning. She nudged the purple-haired girl next to her. "C'mon, Patchy, say somethings ze!"

"... Peace and quiet..." Patchouli mumbled, reluctantly.

This is annoying...

"... Equality!" the unrecognized loli near Shinki cried, striking a weird pose.

"... Fun!" Flandre suggested, waving her hands happily.

"I want to be in the center!" Another girl cried, shoving Marisa out of the way, and then striking her own pose. "... Peaches!" She added to the slogan.

"What, peaches?" An unfamiliar girl near Flandre asked, blinking.

... peaches? Who would... wait, it's not the moon princess, so that must be... Tenshi?! She's here?! We have a Celestial?! Weren't we missing one in that Covenant species rundown?! Excellent!

... that's what we should be focusing on, though... maybe if I reminded them...

"The Covenant...?" I suggested. A bit too timidly, in retrospect.

Especially after Yukari drowned me out with "Lolis!"

"I didn't know you were a pedophile." I quipped.

"It's because they're cute, Midori-oneechan~" she countered, cheerfully.

"... point granted."

The motive montage carried on, some sillier than others. "Donuts!" "Brotherhood!" "Friendship..."

... you know, that one's good, too...

"Hotblood..." "Otakus..." "Vengeance..." "Peace, Passion, Potential of course~"

No, I wasn't really right, was I?...

"... I?m jealous..." "... Truth..." "... cleanliness?" "Love! Er,  MOE! HNNNNNNGGGGGGG! AND KOISHI?S SMILE!"

I rolled my eyes. Stupid... no... what I'm looking for is more... sentience, isn't it?

"... pain..." "... Mistress..." "SAKE!"

Tsk... no, that's not quite right, either...

"Spring! Spring!" "... a hard boiled egg..."

I grinned. No, it's...

"... and the Lunarian way!"

I clenched a fist on the Drill beneath my gi-top, and growled...

"All of the above."
There was something here once. Wonder what...

Nemo★Ma

  • Have Faith.
  • *
  • And keep it.
    • NMforce
Re: RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Thread)
« Reply #513 on: March 20, 2010, 11:35:19 PM »
Day 6, Outside of the Shrine, Amarillo, Jason, Lily and Hong

As Amarillo talked to Jason about the story she heard from Rinnosuke, he quickly ended his training with Meiling and follows her out of the yard.

While they are walking towards the town, they saw Nitori and Etch, who seems just finished their breakfast and talking.

"Nice Timing, wait for me here, guys." Amarillo smiles, and go towards them. "Nitori~~"

"Oh, it's you." Nitori noticed her. "What kind of new technology will you show me this time?"

"Eh.. Well, we are out of Gensokyo, so don't except anything new.. Or maybe yes.." Amarillo took out her broken lance. "This is my new weapon, and it comes with a newer energy crystal."

"What? Another Energy Crystal?" Nitori gasped, "They are superior technologies indeed!"

Etch seems interested in Nitori's words as well, "What do you mean by superior technologies?"

"Oh, yeah. Last time Amarillo showed me her crystal within one lightsaber she carries, and it's something completely unbelievable! It can release energy on its own..."

"No, that's called a radioactive material, remember? A certain hell reven also have this ability." Etch sighed.

"Well, this crystal is special because it never run out of energy!" Nitori looks the remains of Amarillo's weapon. "that's why it can be shaped into something that can hit other stuff and so.."

Amarillo interrupted, "We have no time for this, just... mend this for me, please? We have the usual deal on. OK?"

"Usual Deal?" Etch asked.

"Well, last time she give me her lightsaber for repair, she allows me to take away 1/4 of that Crystal for whatever research I can." Nitori replied.

"Yeah, this time I still give you 1/4 of this Crystal, I don't know the details, but it seems amplify itself in special cases, and change its status accordingly. "

"Hmm, that's sure interesting." Nitori looks at the remains of the weapon, "And this is your new weapon? Seems like a fishing rod to me."

"Well, because it can be used as such." Amarillo explained that "her friends" did that but they didn't do a good job on it and make it too heavy.

"Oh, I get it, I'll look into it when I have time." Nitori take the weapon from Amarillo and walks away from Etch.

Amarillo runs back to Jason, who was waiting for her.

"Heh, you are going to face your "Mirror Image", feeling nervous?" Jason asked.

"Well, you want a honest answer, or not?"

"Just remember I'm here as your helper, if you think you can't handle it, just leave things to me. I'll clave them......"

"Oh please." Amarillo let out a big sigh, "It's because YOU are here that's making me uncertain about that, I'm thinking if you will just go ahead and clave our opponent in half and increase our enemies."

"And he likely will." Meiling added.

"Why you too?" Jason looks back with "What's that for" eyes.

Meiling explained Jason's "Rampage" at the small restaurant.

Surely it's good being cool saving a girl, but that also cost him a bit of money for the repair fee of the floor and windows.

"As I said he cannot be helped." Amarillo looks at Jason, who is now sweating heavily.

"... but I don't know, what did "Mirror Image" mean?" asked Lily.

"Oh, seems you didn't know yet."

Basically Rinnosuke told Amarillo the following.

20 minutes ago, when he opens the shop, three people came in, they are talking about how they are just on a blink escaping from RAI and mentioned their chief doing very crazy things as usual. Afterwards they took their phones and contacted somebody, seems like their chief.

Then, a 16-year-old girl with blonde long hair stormed in and asked for a place to stay, and this girl bears a surprising similarity with Amarillo Viridian.

She introduce herself as "Amber Vivian", after Rinnosuke lead them to upstairs, he give Amarillo the call.

"And that's why they said I'm going to face my "Mirror Image"."

"But I believe that Amber is no harm! Amarillo's mirror image won't be a bad guy at all!" Lily said after Amarillo finished telling the story.

"Well, who knows, we'll find out in no time." Amarillo answered emotionless, as they are approaching to the shop.

"Lay down the defenses, we are not here to cause any harm." She told others.

Break anything that stands between you and them!