Dimension 999: The Final Stand; There will Never be Buses in Gensoukyo
Cirno?s eyes darted from left to right as she ducked behind the pillar. She ignored the blood, carnage, and icicles behind her as she reloaded her Nitori-Perfect-Freezer.
It was the 5th year of the Gensou-Outsider War, and things had just turned grim, or at least, grimmer than usual. Flandre Scarlet and Cirno?s comrade Mystia had just been kidnapped by the Outsiders. Captain Fujiwara had sent her, Lieutenant Cirno, to recover the two. Cirno grimaced as she prepped her ice-themed gun for the bloodshed to come. She checked her equipment. There was her gun, of course. And she still had several bombs; three for regular, Master Spark-esque explosions and one for a suicide bombing. After she finished, the ice fairy?s grimace grew as she thought back to how the war started.
The Outsiders had been drilling underwater for oil. They had set off a bomb, a bomb that had broken the Barrier. Cirno had seen it herself, watched as the multicolored force field had shattered into millions of flashing pieces before disappearing as they neared the ground. When the humans that had caused the Barrier to break finally realized what they had stumbled across, they had immediately made it known that they had found a supernatural, illusionary country. Soon all sorts of people began pouring into Gensoukyo, from scientists and doctors to contractors and business men, all looking to scrape some sort of material gain from the ?newly discovered? Japan sized- land that had materialized before them.
Of course their greed had gotten the better of them, and, sooner than anyone ever expected, they began looting and kidnapping, making off with goods, humans, fairies, youkai, and even a god or two. Hakurei Reimu had tried to stop them, but she had been whacked over the head and added to Outsider spoils.
Naturally, a very angry Yakumo Yukari confronted them, blasting the offenders into puny pieces and reclaiming the shrine maiden. It only got worst from there. Before Yukari could conjure up a new barrier, the human war machines rumbled right over the ruins of the Hakurei Shrine (it had been destroyed by the blast; Reimu had been elsewhere at the time) and headed straight for the Garden of the Sun.
Kazami Yuuka naturally obliterated them. But that only served to motivate the humans, and they unleashed all sorts of unpleasant weapons on them. Thankfully, the Underground youkai came to their above-ground counter parts and Okuu had managed to ward off the nuclear bombs and prevent fallout. Yet the humans continued their assault, and eventually Gensoukyo had to muster up their own army, filled with people from every race and armed to the teeth with kappa issued weapons. The fairies and had also undergone a change in their physical attributes, thanks to Yukari?s ability. They grew taller, stronger, smarter, with Cirno being the most powerful.
Unfortunately, with the uniting of Gensoukyo came the full brunt of the war. The humans had realized that the ones that they were fighting against were, for the most part, immortal and had organized special teams of soldiers to capture the members of Gensoukyo?s fighting forces. They had first made off with a few fairies and lower tier youkai, but soon they were making off with higher level youkai like tengu, kappa, and even an oni or two. Even the most hard-hearted fighters were disgusted by the abhorrable things Gensoukyo?s spies had found them doing to their prisoners.
Everyone had suffered losses in the war. The Moriya Shrine had been destroyed, though its residents had escaped unscathed. The kappa had lost many of its members to the kidnapping groups. The tengu had fared no better, and the Forest of Magic had been completely looted, with only Alice Margatroid and Kirisame Marisa escaping. The residents of the Human Village and Eientei had abandoned their homes, preferring to scatter around Gensoukyo, providing service where it was needed. And of course the Scarlet Devil Mansion had gone absolutely mad when Flandre had been kidnapped a couple of days ago. Remilia Scarlet had actually flown into the Outside World and trashed some country called Russia, before Yukari dragged her back into Gensoukyo.
Cirno?s grimace disappeared as she heard footsteps. Voices reverberated down the hall as a small group of guards, just about to change shifts, headed down to the recreation room, where the soldiers had their breaks. Little did the guards know that an ice fairy had paid the recreation room a little visit, and that there was nothing left in the room but bloody corpses and scattered debris. Cirno tensed waited until the guards were right next to her pillar, before she jumped out and began firing. Icicles tore through the first man before he could even register that someone was shooting. The next guard was a little faster, and managed to get his hand near his gun before he too fell. One guard charged Cirno, but she ducked under his outstretched arm and stabbed her fingers into his neck. The rest of the guards stood no chance, as Cirno dodged all their bullets while picking them off with her Perfect Freezer. When the last man fell, Cirno reached down and snatched the keys away from his belt and attaching them to her own.
She flew down the hall, shooting at anyone who dared show their faces. The alarm began to sound as the men and women tending to the prison realized that an intruder had managed to bypass their defenses and was heading straight for the Youkai Containment Area, a mile long structure built specifically for containing youkai and their ilk behind bars. More and more soldiers poured out of Shinki-knew-where, but they were disposed of the same way the guards had been. Cirno reached the Youkai Containment Area without a scratch, but as she flew in, an explosion several yards away from her blew her straight off course. She slammed into a set of metal bars, flying through them and landing on the floor below,her vision blurring as she banged her head. She stood shakily, but slumped as her head suddenly throbbed rapidly, crimson splotches dancing in front of her eyes.Cirno gritted her teeth and steeled herself for more pain, before rising to her feet, her black uniform now stained with her blood. The Perfect-Freezer, which was still gripped in her hand, was thankfully unharmed.
A loud clapping sound echoed throughout the concrete pathway that Cirno had been flying through. She looked up and saw one of the more hated Outside figures within Gensoukyo: The leader of the Supernatural Capturing Militia. He was surrounded by what had to be the rest of the garrison; next to him was a gorilla-like woman wielding a grenade launcher. Cirno glared at her.
Oh, she is so going to pay..
?Well, well, well. So you are one of the lieutenants for Gensou-whatever.? Cirno?s glare changed to an inhumane grin that promised a slow, icy death. ?Yes, yes, you?re very angry and all that. So, here for your friends??
The man signaled suddenly. Two of his men dragged someone forward, gripping them under their arms. They roughly deposited the figure at their boss?s feet. Cirno?s eyes widened.
?Mysty!!!? Sudden screaming reached Cirno?s ears, as well as great creaks and booms. ?Flandre!!!?
Mystia, was, for all intents and purposes, completely ravaged. In all senses of the word. She was bloody, broken and naked. It didn?t take a genius (like Cirno) to understand what she had been through.
Flandre had been chained and chained and chained to a large, silver cylinder. The chains themselves where glowing strangely, and Cirno, being a genius, realized what they were. The cylinder was cracked, chipped, and dangerously close to being broken, for Flandre was making the best of her situation and was unleashing as much destructive power as she possibly could, wearing away at the pillar as she screamed in pain from the artificial, sunlight generating chains that strapped her to it. As soon as she caught sight of Cirno, her blood red eyes lit up and she began to struggle all the harder.
The man looked at the vampire with distaste. ?My, that wouldn?t do. We can?t you breaking that, you know. Titanium is very expensive, and it wouldn?t do for you to vaporize it, you know.? He snapped his fingers at the nearest soldier. ?You there, raise the power of the chains.? Flandre screamed as the artificial sunlight began burning her delicate skin.
?You MONSTERS!!!!!! YOU INCOMPETENT MONKEYS!!!! WHAT. ARE. YOU. DOOOOOOOOOOIIING!!!?
Cirno screamed, her face turning red from sheer anger and hatred. Her wings began to drip as white hot rage spread. Her body turned a bright, fiery red, but suddenly, her skin died down to her normal skin tone. The man, who had been grinning and panting as he beheld Flandre?s suffering, suddenly stopped and stared.
?Oh? Did the poor, poor fairy?s brain get overwhelmed by this?? the man jerked his head towards the still screaming Flandre. ?Is the poor, unintelligent fairy upset? Is the poor, poor fairy giving up??
Cirno lifted her hand and reached for the man. Just as she was about to turn him into a popsicle, she remembered something Captain Fujiwara had once told her.
..... Don't let the enemy get to your head alright? And never, ever lose your cool. If they mock you, if they taunt you, it's a trap. Without doubt, they'll be planning something. Humans are fickle, tricky creatures. Lose your cool, lose your freedom, or life, if you're mortal.Cirno took a deep breath, and before long, her wings began to freeze again. Her skin became pale, and she exhaled, her heart as heavy as lead and her body loose and empty.
. Won?t you let them go? You?re losing resources like this, and I?m going to break them out anyways. If you let them go without fighting back, you?ll be losing a lot of soldiers to me, you know.?
?No, no, no. That wouldn?t do at all. Not at all. They were bad girls you see? And bad girls have to be punished.? The man flicked his wrist at one of his goons, and the chains around Flandre grew brighter, and her screams grew louder.
You know, Flandre?s sister trashed ?Canada?. And Rumia ruined ?Los Angeles?. Don?t you feel bad that, by keeping and torturing Mysty and Flandre, you?ve indirectly killed so many people? Not including my little killing spree back there. Don?t you feel guilty at all??
?Not at all. Their deaths are for the greater good! ?.. Or at least, that?s how my superiors are trying to put it. I don?t really care about them. The fools were in the way, and they died as a consequence. Oh well. Too bad. But my life is here, managing you youkai and blah blah blah.? The man suddenly extended his hand towards Mystia and stroked her cheek. ?Really though?. It?s a shame how you youkai refused to cooperate with us humans. Now we?re reduced to capturing you and the like. Such a beautiful race you all are. Shame you refused our offers of peace; we would have gotten along famously."
?Famously? Yeah right. Your actions; in other words, the actions that started the war, already proved to us what we needed to know. Peace is impossible with you humans. The only thing that comes with you is suffering. You humans bowed to us, long, long ago. And you WILL bow to us, even if we have to eradicate your entire world to do so. Get your hands off Mystia, filthy trash!!?
?Oh?.? ?Hands off?, you say. I think it?s already too late for that. I?ve already had my hands on her, and in her as we??
He never finished that thought. For Cirno, who had healed, jumped and unleashed her frozen hell.
?Take this, human scum!!? Cirno shot the woman who had given her a taste of grenade, before spinning around to kick the stunned human man who had been caressing Mystia, catching him on his jaw. Cirno landed and shot at the chains binding Flandre, before whirling around in a circle, shooting and shooting and shooting. Humans fell, bone-chilling screams filled the air, and the bodies began to stack.
?Call reinforcements! Call for reinforcements!? The cry was taken up by all remaining soldiers.
?? Tch!! Flandre!? You okay?? Cirno yelled over the screams and shouts. She trod on the man who had been torturing the captives; his face was twisted in ecstasy. The man, Cirno decided, was definitely machosistic.
?? You..? The ice fairy from the lake?? Flandre managed to croak. The chains had weakened her more than ever, and the blonde had trouble standing. ?? Sis sent you..??
?Yeah! She was really worried! Come here!!? Cirno shouted. ?Bring Mysty as well!!?
?? Okay.. .? Flandre grabbed Mystia and stood from her slumped position in front of the pillar, which was now riddled with icicles and bullet holes. It looked ready to collapse. Flandre dragged Mystia and herself over to Cirno, mustering every ounce of her strength and occasionally attacking the soldiers surrounding them.
?Hang on you two, I?m getting you back!!? Cirno continued to shoot, until her Perfect-Freezer suddenly exploded in her hands. ?The hell!??
Mystia suddenly groaned and lifted her head. ?? Cirno?? Did they force drugs on me again?? Her voice, once so beautiful and melodic, was hoarse and scratchy.
Cirno grimaced and shook her head violently, her hands shaking in pain. The shards from her now-discarded gun had stuck themselves into her hands, and they were bleeding profusely from both the shards and from the force of the explosion.
Cries of, ?Her gun?s gone!!? and ?Let?s get her!? rang throughout the area from the seemingly endless amounts of soldiers. They began to advance as the thing that was harming them so lost its major advantage. They paid no attention to Flandre and Mystia, for they were too weak to escape and as such, could be captured again later.
Cirno?s shoulders began to shake in fury. She began to draw on her magical power, focusing it as best she could. She directed the power towards the center of the large room, where most of the soldiers where, and let loose.
A small disk of ice appeared within the mass of rabid soldiers, rotating somewhere near the speed of sound, growing bigger and bigger as it twirled, drawing murmurs of fear and suspicion as the soldiers beheld the relatively stationary, spinning Frisbee that had materialized near them.
The disk suddenly grew icy vines, complete with thorns, lashing out in all directions as it continued to rotate at high speeds. Anyone who even brushed against the tentacles was immediately reduced to giant blocks of ice, their faces frozen in the grotesque expressions they had on as they perished.
?C-Cirno??? mumbled Mystia. Her face, scratched, scarred, and dirty, had managed to put on an incredulous expression as she beheld her newly-powered up friend.
?Don?t worry. I?ll get you two out of here, no matter what.? Cirno said coolly as she watched her Ice Flower claim their victims. ?I promised everyone, and something like that has to be seen through. I?m not going to let them get away with what they did.?
The whirling Frisbee had become a variable hurricane, but it was starting to slow. Cirno frowned. It was supposed to last longer than that.
Guess my injuries were worse than I thought.... Shit.....The humans stopped cowering once they realized that Cirno?s attack had ceased, and they began to advance. Cirno drew back and grabbed Flandre, who was carrying Mystia, before climbing onto the vines of her now-stationary Ice Flower. She dropped Flandre once she reached the highest point she could access, and created a crude ice sword, pointing it at the incoming wave of humans.
?Alright then, bring it on!! I?ll take on anyone!!!? Cirno began swinging as the first soldier reached her standing point. The soldier fell, as well as the next, and the next, and the next. Soon, a tall pile of bloody and mangled soldiers had piled up at the ice fairy?s feet. Behind her, Flandre and Mystia, who had finally regained her senses, were picking up the corpses and stacking them atop of each other. The trio began climbing, stacking, and w , heading higher and higher on the mountain of ice, gore, and bodies. Occasionally, Flandre or Mystia would pick up one of the loose corpses and weaponize them, swinging or throwing it to knock back the enemy. Before long, Flandre began to slash at their adversaries with her claws, while Mystia swung the corpse of her torturer; the man that Cirno had riddled with icicles, knocking back anyone within a three-meter diameter of her.
Despite the fact that the trio was fighting back as best they could, for every soldier they defeated, another one took the place of the one before. The vampire, bird, and fairy were fighting a losing battle, and they wouldn?t be able to hold out much longer. Cirno backed up and bumped into Flandre, pressing some things into her hand and mumbling to Mystia as she swung her sword. Suddenly she pushed them both off the mountain of bodies and the girls toppled off the pile of carcasses. Mystia rolled down the side, over hot blood, cold bodies, and pointy metal weapons. Flandre had been protected by Mystia, and didn?t suffer as much, but even she was coated in blood and bits of flesh when they finally came to a stop.
?Come on Flandre! Don?t let go of that thing Cirno gave you and follow me!!!? Mystia grabbed Flandre, who was sitting in a confused pile, and dashed towards the cells of their fellow fighters, where the youkai, fairies, humans, and etc?s had been roused as the fighting began. Now they were screaming encouragement, curses, and pleas for help. Mystia grabbed the keys that Cirno had forced onto Flandre, and began unlocking the restraints and releasing the captives. The former-prisoners began to head towards the fight, but Mystia suddenly let out a shout.
?STOP!!? The supernatural phenomena stopped and turned to Mystia, who had held out a hand. ?Don?t!! On orders from the lieutenant! Please come with me!! We?re going back to Gensoukyo!!? A cheer followed her words, and the Gensoukyans followed her as she went back to releasing the captives.
In the meanwhile, Cirno was badly injured, and her fairy immortality hadn?t kicked in yet. She was just as bloody and battered as the corpses she was standing on, and it didn?t look like she?d heal anytime soon.
??. Damn?. I hope Mystia, Flan, and everyone else is okaAAAAUGGGHHH!!!!? her almost-prayer was cut off as a bullet entered her chest, followed by more and more until Cirno toppled off the mountain. Cheers rose from the humans as their reinforcements marched in.
Cirno groaned as she tried to sit up. Her lungs had filled with blood, as well as being punctured. She wouldn?t last much longer. Soon her fairy regeneration would kick in, and she would be out for at least an hour, which meant that Flandre, Mystia, and whoever they had managed to release would be captured again. She couldn?t let that happen. She couldn?t!!
Cirno rose to her knees. She began coughing and vomiting blood, but stood shakily. The lieutenant could hear the sounds of celebrating masses all around her, from both humans and Gensoukyans. She smiled as the cheers from the humans suddenly became murmurs of fear and shock, before they became outright screams. Cirno reached into her hidden pocket. She wouldn?t get out of here. She knew that now. So she only had one choice.
Alright, useless, polluting, raping scum. Let?s die together. Forever.Mystia looked around her. She and Flandre had released every youkai, fairy, human, and etc. in the containment center. Cheering had begun in the room that Flandre and Mystia had left Cirno in. She knew what had happened, and the songbird?s heart sank and shattered. She knew she wouldn?t be seeing the boisterous leader of Team 9 ever again.
Mystia fingered the last item Cirno had given Flandre, before activating it. A gap opened near her feet, and the released captives let out a roar of approval and began climbing in, one after another. Flandre tugged at Mystia?s arm.
?Mysty? Where?s Cirno?? Flandre asked, scarlet eyes wide and innocent.
Mystia?s eyes filled with tears and her already aching chest seemed to rip itself apart from the inside. Flandre didn?t know, she didn?t know the fate that Cirno had resigned herself to.
??. I?ll tell you when you get back. Go inside the gap, okay? Your sister and everyone else is waiting for you in Gensoukyo.? Flandre obediently climbed inside. Mystia turned and watched the rest of the Gensoukyans climb inside the gap, tears blurring her vision. She listened for any signs of Cirno all the while. Needless to say, she heard nothing but gunshots. When the last Gensoukyan climbed in, Mystia turned towards the gap and put one of her feet in. She turned back to the room she had left her friend in.
"Goodbye Cirno. Your legend will live on forever, I swear it!!"
The sparrow sorrowfully put her other foot in and fell into the gap just as an earsplitting explosion rocked the building, eradicating or freezing everything and everyone inside it.
Mystia was propelled farther into the gap at high speed as the shockwaves from the explosion forced her into Gensoukyo.
?What the!?!? Yukari stood and stared at the near naked, very bloody, and barely recognizable Mystia Lorelei in front of her. ?Another one!! Damn, Cirno really did her job!!?
?Ugh?.? The bird rose to her feet, covering anything that had to be covered. ?General?.?
The freed youkai, fairies, humans, and etc?s murmured in confusion. They were happy that they had been freed, but something was wrong?.
?Cirno?.. She? She?. Her final stand?? whispered Mystia.
?? What???
?She? She?s not coming back?. She forced us to leave???
The room exploded with activity. Flandre stared at Mystia, her eyes wide. Tears began to fill them as she realized the meaning of Mystia?s statement.
"Explain this Mystia!!" Yukari yelled. And the sparrow complied. The words poured out of her mouth, and tears began to fall. Rumia, who had arrived just in time to catch Mystia's explaination, walked up and comforted the sparrow. Wriggle, now one of the army's greatest spies, also came over and patted her back. Daiyousei had long since perished, in a similar manner to Cirno, and thus could not join in.
Yukari listened, enraptured. She couldn't believe that the little pest by the lake had grown so much. "... I guess she used a bomb. I don't think she's alive anymore.... That sort of bomb won't let Cirno regenerate...."
?Her? Her final words? Her final words were?.? Mystia's hand shook as she produced a small slip of paper.
?Yes?? Yukari leaned towards Mystia, her violet eyes wide; from guilt or shock, no one could tell.
The songbird handed over the note, which Yukari read aloud.
Eye'm the strongest!! And there will never be buses in Gensoukyo! -------------------------
7 pages. First long story I ever wrote. (Well, the only one I ever liked.) Please tell me what you think, and any suggestions for my next short, Mahou Sensei Mima.
