>What was on our agenda for the day?
(Subscribing. This sounds cool. And that picture of Rumia is awesome.)
Are we planning on going back to Seiga?
>Well, let's head to Alice's place then!
>Let's head there then!
>Grin. "Yo. Been a while, hasn't it?"
>Let's dim the area a bit while grinning. "I'd expect Cirno to forget, but you?"
Sigh. "You really did forget, didn't you...? Does the name Rumia ring any bells?"
>Grin. "Think back, remember that little youkai who could do stuff like this?"
>Let's put up our Dark Aura, just like the good old days.
> We are taller. Stretch out our arms to match a cross.
> "For heaven's sake Marisa I'M RUMIA. Geeze. You've never seen a youkai grow up?"
Let's be a little bit prankish. Grab one of the books still in her back. "So what did you steal this time, huh?"
>Grin. "Did you forget? I do have that whole Sealed Form thing going for me after all. It's not all of it though, but I'm okay with this for now."
>"Anyhow, you know which way Alice's place is? Shinki wanted me to come for this month's visit apparently."
Grin. "So you won't mind if I borrow this one? Until I die, that is."
> "You're a youkai. I'm a human ~ze. Unless someone kills you I'll be dead looong before you."
> "Do you really intend to die?"
>"Well, anyhow, What's this about your place being the quickest way to Alice's? She move in with you or something?"
Hurriedly slip the book back into the bag. "Would you mind overmuch if I used it? Shinki wants me to go to Alice's house."
>"Can I come in, then? I'd like to use it before it closes."
>Assuming she's okay with it, do so.
>Spellcards, since they're likely different than our old ones now.
>Current abilities.
>Nod to Marisa. "Thanks a lot, we'll have to have a battle again sometime too, for old time's sake. I'm not the weakling I used to be after all."
>Let's head on through!
>Grin and give a slight wave. "Yo. Been a while, hasn't it Alice? Or maybe I should be calling you little sis." Chuckle a bit.
>"Who knows? For all we know, something could be happening down in Makai. After all, I was the only one able to fight her to a near-standstill back in the day, so maybe she needs to call in a favor."
>Grin. "But hey, it's what mothers do y'know? They obsess over their kid's well-being, even if it's totally unfounded. Kinda makes me wish I had one too y'know."
>"Well, these days I've learned that you can never be too sure about what you know. I mean, just look back a few years. You never would've thought that the little blonde maneater of shadows would've ended up being a hero. And yet here I am, a hero."
>Grin. "So, like the new look? I bet Shinki'll be surprised to see how far along I've come."
>Grin. "Heh, I should see about comparing to her sometime. But anyhow, how long until Shinki shows up?"
>Of course it would happen as soon as we ask.
>"Hi."
>"So, uh, been a while, huh? Anything new happen back in Makai?"
>"That's because I'm regaining it on my own, the long way. Training and effort! That, and having all the friends I do helps give me a reason keep my sanity."
>"Oh, she's finally recovered? I wasn't actually trying to freak her out or anything, I really was trying to be nice back then. It's just something you do when you beat someone in danmaku."
>"...Huh."
>"Well, I don't want to go crazy, so whatever the reason, I'm happy about it."
>"You think it might be because of me? Like, the me that came around after crazy-me was sealed? You said I was just insanity and destruction, so current-me wasn't a part of that. You make it sound like current-me can't exist from crazy-me, but I do."
>"Well, here in gensokyo, people grow and change with each turn, growing a little more each time."
>"And you probably already knew this, but that's how a drill works too!"
>"I'm just wanting to become a better, stronger person, so I can keep everyone I care about safe. Just like you care for, and want to protect the all the guys back in Makai."
>Grin sheepishly. "I wasn't exactly a nice person back in the old days."
>"Besides, look how Alice turned out. If it wasn't for you, she might have ended up the same way.."
>Beat.
>"Heeeey...This technically means Alice IS my little sis!"
>"That's kinda what i said, isn't it? Besides, I kinda like not being crazy. It's a lot easier to make friends that way."
>"Hmm...Well, it's pretty nice, getting to talk with you without it being a fight. Maybe we could be friends?"
>Pout a bit, then grin. "Well, okay then...Ah! Maybe you can leave letters with Alice or something! We could always talk that way."
>We may as well go chill somewhere while they're chatting it up.
>"Whoa! Hey, you're one of Alice's dolls. Don't worry, I'm only here because Shinki wanted to talk to me."
>Grin. "They wanted to have some time with each other, so I'm leaving them be."
>Chuckle a little bit. "Alright, alright. I'll just find somewhere else to chill out then."
>Administer headpats to the little doll before departing to find another place to relax in.
>We may as well chill out until it's time to get going, eh?
>But these dolls are kinda neat, maybe having one for ourselves wouldn't be so bad..
>"Well, I guess it's time for me to get going too, huh? I guess I'll see you around then!"
>.....
>"...But these chairs are so comfortable..."
>"Y'know, if I ever decide to settle down in a house, I think I'd like to have chairs like these. They're so comfortable."
>"Well, see you around!"
>Even though we really don't want to leave them, we may as well get up and head back through the portal to Marisa's.
>Sigh amusedly. She sure does care for Alice, huh?
>We may as well get going. What's next on the agenda?
>Alright, first up, the Shrine! Sanae won't know what hit her when she sees how we turned out! Maybe Rika's even come to grips too!
>Fly up behind her, then give her a big ol' hug!
>"Hiya Sanae! It's been a long time huh? Didja miss me?"
>Disengage from the hug if we haven't already.
>"Wow..You grew too! You actually feel kinda stronger! Check out what I can do now without needing to pull off the ribbon!"
>Let's make a little ball of dark energy in our hand, and have it float an inch or two above it.
>Toss the orb around between our hands for a bit.
>"Wow....That's pretty awesome! Hey, is Rika around? I wanna know if she's finally come to grips with the fact that she's a Youkai now y'know."
>Grin. "Well, if she tries something again, I'll be around to fix things!"
>Pause.
>"Oh, how's the frog I left here a while back? Did his family get bigger?"
>Sadface. "Aww...He didn't even get to become a Youkai? Maaaan...And here I was thinking it'd be awesome for that to have happened."
>Do we know about any other insectoid youkai?
>"Well, maybe there'll be a frog youkai from one of his bloodline!"
>Maybe there's a way to help that along...
>Spider, Insect, close enough!
>Grin. "Well, we've got plenty of time for that, I am a youkai myself after all!"
>"So, uh, how've you been doing? Aside from the whole getting faith thing."
>Let's have a laugh! "Good old Sunny! It's nice to hear some things never change."
>Puzzled look. "That is pretty weird. Maybe I should look into that."
>"Huh...I wonder who did it?"
>Beat.
>"Man...I'm gonna have to fight a lot of people! Gotta show everyone who strong I've gotten, y'know? Plus, I wanna see how strong you've gotten too sometime." Grin.
>".....I bet it was Rika. She didn't seem like she'd let up so easily. And that thing blowing up would have killed a lot of Youkai too, wouldn't it? That'd be right in with her motivations for the whole thing she did a while back."
>"But don't worry, we don't have to fight right now, whenever's good for you is fine! I'm looking forward to seeing how strong you've gotten! I know Marisa's looking forward to seeing how strong I've gotten."
>Nod. "Well, it's not gonna be a serious one, just a little spar to show off how strong we've gotten."
>"But you're probably right, it might not have been Rika. I'll have to see about finding the real culprit."
>Grin. "Am I sounding like Reimu yet?"
>Beat.
>"I should visit her next!"
>Nod. "That's the idea! Because since I've gotten stronger, I kinda understand why Cirno picks fights as often as she does. It's to test her strength."
>"But I guess I'll check around there too. Thanks! I'll see ya later!"
>Let's head for that Tengu Village, maybe they'll let us in this time!
>Let's head over to her then!
>"Heya! ...You probably don't recognize me, do you?"
>Nod excitedly. "Yeah! That's because I've gotten stronger!"
>"So, I heard about that mess with the reactor-thingy, and how it could've gone kablooey if you guys couldn't find it in time. So I thought I'd come by and help you guys figure out who it was that put Sunny up to it."
>"Well, I was kinda hanging out with those Taoists in their little world. It's a nice place really, great for training!"
>"But yeah, I heard about it from Sanae. I'm pretty impressed at how strong she feels now!"
>"I guess I'll see her then, but I remember that she didn't really like me much because of before, back when I first resolved an incident."
>"Well, uh, can I knock some sense into her if she tries to start something?"
>Nod. "Alright, I'll remember that! Because even though I'm way stronger than I used to be, I don't think I'd be able to handle all the tengu at once."
>Let's head on in and find Hatate!
>Let's dim things a bit, shall we?
>Alright then, pitch-black time!
>Let's put some suave charm into our voice, like Seiga does! "Hello again, Hatate, It's been a while."
(It's a common conception yo.)
>"Oh? Don't recognize the voice, do you?"
>Lessen the darkness so the point that it's just obscuring us.
>"Well, still pretty irritable, aren't you?"
>"Little? Oh how wrong you are."
>Drop the darkness to show off how we've changed.
>"I hear you were the one who found that letter about the mess with that reactor."
>Grin. "I heard about it from Sanae, and Momiji said you were the one who found the letter. So since I decided to look into things myself, I figured I'd come ask you about it."
>"Didja forget? Ever since the incident with Rika, I've been out of the loop on a lot of things. I've really only touched base with Cirno and the others."
>"Besides, if that thing went kablooey, it'd be another incident."
>"You still have it? Maybe I can figure out who might have left it. Or at the least, show it to people who might be able to."
>"Wow, even I can barely read it, and I used to be pretty bad at writing. But apparently the person who wrote it wanted to take a vacation or something, and the reactor was keeping them from doing so."
>Who do we know who writes like this aside from Cirno?
>Who do we know is tied to the reactor in any way?
>"Okay, so we know that since the kappa are way smart, they wouldn't write like this. So it's gotta be either Rika or Utsuho, maybe. And Rika's been missing for a while, so it couldn't have been her. So that only leaves one person, Utsuho. I'll see about asking her, would you be able to make a copy of this so I can check? It'd be pretty nice to touch base with Yuugi and everyone down below again too."
>Grin back at her. "Even the old me wasn't that stupid. But thanks. Maybe we'll have drinks sometime! Seeya!"
>Alright, let's make for the underground!
>Wave and smile. "Hi. Y'know, I think I remember seeing you around here back during the Makai Incident."
>"Yep! It's taken me a year though, but I'm getting closer and closer to getting back my original power!"
>We were told her name last time we were down here, right?
>"Yep! Check this out!"
>Make a corner of the cave go pitch-black.
>"This is just my basic power, I used to only be able to cover myself in some of it, but now I can make darkness anywhere I need to! Or want. Mostly I just use it to keep cool though."
>Then produce a small orb of Dark Energy, then let it fizzle out. "And this here's something I used to be able to do before I got sealed, but now I can do it again even while I'm sealed! The me before I was sealed wasn't a very nice person though.
>Grin. "But you know what? That seal did more than weaken me, it helped me make lots of friends too."
>"But where's my manners? I didn't even introduce myself! The name's Rumia."
>Set things back to normal now.
>"Wow, I kinda heard I was famous-ish, but wow. Hey, they even got a picture of my Unsealed Form! Y'know, I'm actually working back up to that without having to worry about going nuts. I wanna be able to protect my friends, y'know?"
>Beat.
>"Wow...They even got a picture from way back when I was still a hopeless idiot. That...Yeah...That wasn't exactly my finest moment, picking a fight with the Red-White..." Grin sheepishly.
>Grin sheepishly. "Yeaaaah....You can't really say I was a good example of being smart back then..."
>Nod. "The black-white's pretty nice when you get to know her though. The red-white's always serious and stuff though, not like Marisa. That's the black-white y'know."
>Nod. "Okay, guess I'll see you on the way out then! Seeya!"
>Let's pick up the pace!
>Grin, and fly on over! "Hey! It's been a while! Still drinking like a fish huh?"
>Give her everything we've got.
>Grin. "Hey, maybe once I'm back up to full, we'll see who's stronger!"
>Beat.
>"...Wow, this just dawned on me, but I'm setting up fights with people all over the place. First Marisa, then Sanae when she's got free time, and now you. My schedule for the future's gonna be really busy, isn't it?"
>Beat. (Again)
>"Since I learned martial arts too, maybe I'll even be stronger than I used to be!"
>Nod. "Yeah, Reimu and Marisa are always up to something interesting, and they're some of the strongest around back up topside."
>Grin. "But I guess I'm getting there too!"
>Beat.
>"Oh hey, do you know where Utsuho is? I came down here to ask her about something that happened on the surface. See, that reactor thing up on the mountain she was involved in vanished for a while, and I only just found out about it today because for the past year or so, I've been off training, so I've been really outta the loop."
>Show Yuugi thephotocopy of the letter.
[It's a Photocopy :V]
(On a different note, Okuu's letter looked like how some stuff I type when I'm really tired does.)
>Sigh. "So it was her...That writing's even worse than Cirno's, and that's saying something."
>"So we found out who was behind it all then, and the only thing left to do is confront her about it I guess."
>"But yeah, I guess I can kinda relate to how Parsee was, my whole reason for being before I was sealed, was madness itself. I guess Yukari saved me from that, and set things in motion for me becoming who I am now."
>Grin. "If you ask me, I'd take being weaker and sane over being powerful and crazy any day of the week. It's no fun y'know, not being able to make friends."
>"Yeah...But at least it's fixed now huh? Better late than never, as they say. Back in the old days, the old me was isolated too. Not just because of her power, but because of the madness."
>Make a personal note to get a scarf somewhere, preferably one to match our charm in color. Never know if we might need one after all. Even Youkai get cold after all.
>"But yeah, Cirno's that Ice Fairy I sometimes hang out with. She's a bit dim, but she was like a big sister to me before I reclaimed some of my power."
>"Even now, I've still got a long way to go before I've surpassed the old me. But isn't it the same for everyone? They want to grow past who they used to be, and become a better person."
>Nod with a grin. "Like how I helped snap Alice out of her funk back during the Makai Incident, right? Fists aren't the only way you can convey things, danmaku works too."
>Nod with a grin. "I'll have to give you that one."
>"Y'know, when I get everything settled, and there's no incidents to resolve, I'll see about bringing everyone down here for drinks, Like when we resolved the Makai Incident!"
>"I wonder if there's someplace we can all gather then?"
>"That's too bad, I wanted to get the old group back together for old time's sake."
>"Well, maybe there's somewhere between the underground and the surface that'll work?"
>Sigh. "And I really wanted you, Orin, and the others to join in too."
>Beat.
>"I got it! I'll have some drinks with everyone on the surface, then come down here for more!"
>Sigh again. "Yeah...."
>Nod. "Okay, see you around!"
>Let's head for Chireiden.
>Wave. "Hiya! It sure has been a while, huh?"
>"....Whoa! I don't think I'll ever get used to that. But y'know, it's Futo's fault for looking so boyish."
>"But since you already know, that makes things easier, huh?"
>Facepalm. "...And the tengu ended up delivering it to that fairy."
>Let's go in then.
>"Yo. Been a while, hasn't it?"
>"Remember that little blode youkai from when the reactor was unveiled the other year?"
>Grin. "I grew up!"
>"Hair color." Point to our own hair.
>Sigh. It's just like dealing with another Cirno, isn't it?
>"...Anyhow, about that letter you sent...It got sent to the wrong thing, and things almost got really bad because of it."
>"Well...someone named Sunny did get it, but it was Sunny Milk, a fairy with a fondness for making trouble. She took it to mean that the reactor was supposed to vanish, so she used her power to mess with light to make it go invisible. And since the kappas couldn't get to it to keep it balanced, it almost exploded....Again. They did fix that though, but they had to invent something to reverse the effects of that fairy's power."
>"To make it simple, the letter got sent to a fairy that can make things go invisible. She thought you wanted her to make the reactor vanish, so she did."
>Nod. "Yeah, but they made something that made it un-poof. It was a really close call though."
>Administer headpats. "Don't worry, the whole mess was fixed after a little while. You just didn't think things through is all. At least now you know that there's a fairy named Sunny too, right?"
>What all do we know about Sunny anyhow? Aside from that fact that Cirno gets in fights with her and the other two a lot.
>"Well, I guess this solves that problem, huh? Wonder what everyone else is up to?"
>"I don't think the sun can read, though."
>Nod. "Maybe I'll run into her up there?"
>"Okay! Well, it was nice seeing you guys again, and tell Orin I said hi! Seeya!"
>Let's get back up to the surface, and head for the Hakurei Shrine this time!
>Stare at the web. "Whoa...Biiiiiig web."
>Let's get closer then!
>Let's try poking it!
>If that doesn't do anything, try lobbing a pebble-sized lump of dark energy at it!
>"Uh....hi?"
>Wrap ourselves in a coating of dark energy under the webs, then force it outward as cutting waves!
>Well, let's just make some outside the webbing, and hit ourselves with 'em! The exploding part should knock away the webbing.
>Time to ratchet the darkness up to full blast!
>"I'm nobody's meal!"
>Since spiders are connected to their webs.....
>Let's focus our Qi, and yank her right into our fist!
>Let's flood the area with small lumps of Dark Energy to hinder movement!
>List of Spellcards
Spellcards:
You still have your old spellcards; they are improved slightly, in the sense that they can last longer before timeout due to your increased focus, and the amount of bullets is larger.
Moon Sign: Moonlight Ray
Night Sign: Night Bird
Darkness Sign: Demarcation
Eclipse Sign: Lunar Eclipse [A combination of Moonlight Ray and Demarcation]
You also found a couple of old spellcards which you lost:
Darkness Sign: Dark Side of the Moon
Night Sign: Midnight Bird
Finally, you have several new spellcards, which are more powerful than your old ones. Most of them are upgraded versions of your old attacks. They require more focus.
Pitch Black Sign: Absolute Demarkation - It adds in slow-moving orbs of dark energy, fired inbetween waves of aimed bullets. The orbs slowly follow the target, and the longer the spell lasts, the more there are, to a point.
Moon Sign: Reflective Mirror of the Night: Adds in orbs of dark energy that move in and out from you during the spell in a spiral pattern. Upgraded Moonlight Ray, although it's weaker than Lunar Eclipse in terms of brute force.
Shadow: Moonless Night - A new spellcard, which is basically the same concept as Seiga's Demonify: Zouhou Rumo spellcard, except the kunai are small, red and blue bullets, and are eminated from an orb of dark energy you throw out, which fades after about eight seconds, prompting you to throw another. When an orb is thrown you unlesh a larger wave of yellow bullets from yourself to cover yourself.
- Last Word - Can only be used when all other spells are exhausted
Release: Demon of the Night: A survival spellcard that temporarily allows you to access the danmaku potential of your true self, although it is uncontrollable. It only lasts fifteen seconds, but the barrage is massive, a mixture of randomly fired red and blue bullets, mixed in with some curvy lasers, and orbs of dark energy, which spiral out in a manner similar to Reflective Mirror. The best way to think of it would be a mixture of Eternal Meek and Shou's nonspells.
>"Alright, let's see how you like this then! Pitch Black Sign: Absolute Demarcation!"
(Well, it is an upgrade to the original Demarcation card after all.)
>So our card wore off huh? Let's counter her shots with some rapidfire dark energy shots!
>Let's drop the darkness then, and get ready for the next card.
>"Alright, here's number two! Eclipse Sign: Lunar Eclipse!"
>Let's barrel right on through with a Qi-powered flying kick like Wriggle does!
>"Kh...I'll break through!"
>Charge up a big orb of Dark energy, just big enough so that she'd have to make a tight squeeze to get past, and launch it! Be sure to follow closely behind it when we do!
>Breathe a sigh of relief. "Man...Thanks for the save there Soga. I was almost spider chow! Let's get the heck outta here before she comes back for another round."
>Nod, and get to using the prayer to enter Senkai!
>"Oogh...I feel like I just went out drinking in the Underground....Stupid spider..."
>"Which way to Eientei again...?"
>"Then that'll have to do, it's a good thing I've already met her."
>Let's focus on Eientei, we'll open the doorway there sooner or later!
>"It doesn't matter right now though, because that's where I gotta go."
>Let's head through!
>"Hey, uh, is Eirin in? I kinda need her to take a look at me."
>Let's just wait here until Eirin shows up. We'll let her take care of things when she does.
>Nod. "Alright."
>"Man...Never thought I'd be back here this way...I still remember when you fixed up my ears y'know."
>"Hehe, yeah...I bet it'd hurt worse than Danmaku."
>Let's chill until the doc gets everything settled.
>"Well, I guess I can just do something for you, like the old one."
>"Well, bottoms up. To my health!" Let's chug it!
>Do we know who repaid our old debt? If not: "Who settled my old debt?"
>"Mysty? Wow, I'll have to thank her for that. But yeah, always does get worse before it gets better."
>Nod. "I think I'll head back to base and nap there."
>May as well head back to Senkai and rest there. We'll be safe at that point.
>"...Oh. Okay."
>We may as well conk out here then!
>How are we feeling?
>Chuckle a bit. We know how that is.
>We may as well wait for her to show up, maybe get a look around the room again.
>Nod. "Hey, I remember you! You were the one who led me to Tewi when I was trying to find Kogasa!"
>"Well, let's go then! And be sure to tell 'em thanks!"
>Let's get going!
>Nod. "Yeah, I really grew, didn't I? Well, see you around!"
>Let's head for the Kappa Village now!
>"Wow...It's the same as it was before I started training..."
>Let's head for the lake now.
>Head on over to Nitori.
>"Heya! What're you guys up to now? "
>Stare at it for a moment, then go all sparkly-eyed.
>"Coooool!"
(Just because we're more mature, it doesn't mean we're still not a bit of an excitable derp when we see awesome stuff.)
>Grin. "I bet it'll be really useful for cleaning houses too! Just fiddle with it, and bam! You can just lift the dirt and stuff right off!"
>Nod excitedly. "It'd be like cleaning normally, only way faster!"
>"....Maybe I should get one if I ever settle down somewhere."
>Nod. "Yep! Turns out it was Utsuho. She was trying to write a letter to the sun itself, trying to get it to go away so she could make another one and be the hero for a change."
>Sigh. "But she addressed it to 'Sunny', trying to be friendly with it. You can guess what happened next."
>Grin sheepishly. "Yeah, Hatate still hates my guts y'know. I guess she still hasn't gotten over that win I scratched out against her a while back..."
>"But don't worry about Utsuho though, I already told her she screwed up. It was kinda like dealing with someone dimmer than Cirno, but I managed to do it without getting into a fight."
>"She should go get drunk or something. Or maybe learn to meditate!"
>Nod. "Well, at least this little problem was resolved."
>Nod. "Well, I guess I'll get going now, seeya!"
>Let's head for the Village now, maybe we can actually get in for once!
>"....Well, I guess I'll go tomorrow~!"
>May as well head for the Misty Lake now.
>Must be Cirno's doing.
>Fly over to them.
>"Hi."
>"So, what's up guys? Did Cirno make that?"
>"Did she say anything before doing that?"
>That's not normal, is it?
>"...Eh? What do you mean by that Lily?"
>Nod. "Yeah...?"
>Beat.
>"Wait, you mean she's...?"
>Grin. "This has me fired up then! I'll have to see how strong she is when she's done getting powered up!"
>Beat.
>"So, uh, how long is this gonna take anyhow?"
>Nod. "Okay, so we just have to wait a while!"
>Did we learn any fun ways to pass the time while training with the Taoists? Like Mahjong, or Shogi?
>Grin deviously. "Well, since Cirno's kinda busy right now, I guess I'll have to take the lead for now. Let's go mess with China!"
>This bodes well for Cirno then!
>Whisper. "So, how should we mess with her? Maybe steal her hat and put it on a statue?"
>"Nah, too easy, she'll find it too easy!"
>Pause, then get a look of realization.
>"We'll take her hat...And turn it inside-out!"
>Jawdrop.
>"Wriggle, Mysty, Lily, stay here and tend to her. I'll head on in and make sure things are okay."
>Let's go.
>Any signs of... anything?
>Enter and look around.
>Dai can calm people, so she's gonna be handy to have around. "Don't worry Dai, I'll keep you safe in place of Cirno. I saved you back then too after all."
>"Hey Dai, try to see about getting that Fairy Maid to come our and talk with us, you should be able to calm her down."
>Let's leave this to Dai for now, we're probably too formidable for the little one right now.
>"So, they went to the library huh? You should head to the gates, some of our friends are there tending to the gatekeeper. Dai, make sure she gets there okay? I'll head for the Library to help out."
>Let's roll!
>"Hey...Hey, are you alright?"
>Let's help her up then!
>"You must be that devil that Alice mentioned then, I'm from Makai too! And no, you're not dead, you're still here in Gensokyo."
>"So what's your name?"
>Blink. "Familiar? Nah, I'm the Darkness Youkai, Rumia! Oh, but don't be scared, I'm not crazy like the old me was."
>Point to the ribbon. "See this? It's sealing up the old me. Kinda hard to make friends when all you think about is craziness and killing."
>Nod. "That was me! I was really mean, nasty, and crazy back then. But then I ended up here in Gensokyo, and got sealed."
>Grin. "But y'know? I don't mind at all! Because now I can actually make friends!
>"Someday I'll be as strong as I used to be, but without the crazy. I've still got a ways to go though."
>"But anyhow, let's see about saving your boss, eh?"
>Let's make for the fight!
>"Well, time to get cracking! Incident Resolver Rumia is on the job!"
>Let's make for the fight!
>Let's set to bombarding the rabbits with some dark energy shots!
>"You guys look like you could use some backup!"
>"Not using Danmaku eh? I can get behind that for now."
>Let's charge up our Qi, and deliver a series of flowing Palm Strikes!
>"Heh, not bad, guess I'll have to rely on my own natural power then!"
>Create a field of Dark Energy orbs that lock us off from outside interference, then drop the light levels inside the field to absolute zero.
>"I wonder if you can handle fighting when even light itself is obscured?"
>Commence Multi-Directional Dark Energy Bombardment.
>Well then, let's orbit them around the rabbit, then crash them into her one by one, and detonate them if they miss.
>Grin, then instantly drop the darkness, and then dispel the mines to make a large one right in front of her, like we did with Yamame.
>Pull ourself together! Get up!
>We don't need to see to fight back, we'll just close our eyes and rely on scent and sound to find where she is!
>But to add to it, we'll bring up a group of Dark Energy Mines to surround us.
>Let's start zooming around blindly, and when we get close, we'll grab her in a crushing bear hug, then slam into the ground using her as a cushion!
>"Got you~!"
>Now let's rocket into the ceiling, and once we hit the ceiling, start dragging her along it while pushing her into it!
>"Whee~! Isn't this fun?! I haven't gotten to cut loose in a while~!"
>Flip, and use her own force against her to slam her into the ground!
>Grin. "Heh...you're pretty strong, y'know? I like that! But, there's more than one fancy house in Gensokyo y'know."
>Let's close our eyes once more and focus, keeping an ear out for her possible attacks.
>Open our eyes, and take stock of things.
>Nod. "That's me. I was wanting to kill some time until Cirno woke up, so I thought I'd visit the gatekeeper. That's when I got involved in all this."
>"Anyhow, you could leave her to me, I don't think I've had rabbit in a while~!"
>"Either one works then I guess. It's a shame that the one I was fighting died though. I kinda had a little respect for her being able to stand up to me, y'know.""
>Grin. "As long as I need to! I'm not the weakling I used to be y'know."
>"As for how I'm holding up, nothing a good meal can't fix! I heal quicker when I eat something y'know."
>Wait. Those rabbits looked kind of like Reisen, and they said they were living in a fancy house.
>What do we know about Kaguya?
>"Hold on, those rabbits looked like Reisen, and they said they were looking for someone who lives in a fancy house. Could they be after Reisen?"
>What 'fancy houses' do we know of besides here and Eientei?
>Nod. "So I guess the only other place to look would be Eientei. Because if you're anything to go by, most of the others should have no problem with dealing with those rabbits."
>Fistpalm. "Or maybe they used some shady medicines!"
>Beat.
>"Wait, I heard templates like that were forbidden."
>"Anyway, those rabbits look like Reisen, so maybe she would know how they got in!"
>Do we know about Eirin, Reisen and Kaguya being from the moon?
>Nod. "Okay, maybe I oughta go visit them next. Should I go see about telling Reimu too? I haven't visited her yet today."
>Nod. "I'll make sure this gets resolved! After all, I used to live in the area!"
>Let's book it to the gate where everyone else is.
>Wave to the others. "Well, found out what happened!"
>"It was a buncha rabbits that looked a lot like Reisen, but they weren't using Danmaku! I tell ya, they were strong, good enough to give even me a good go!"
>Look to China. "Heya! The rabbits also mentioned you use Qi too! That's pretty cool! I kinda understand why you're so strong now, because I learned how to use mine too!"
>Nod. "Huh. Well, I'm always up for a sparring match when all this is finished and done, and stuff's calmed down."
>Look over at Cirno's crystal. "So, she close to waking up? Because I'm thinking we may have to carry her until she does."
>"Awww...I was hoping it'd be awesome. Like, the crystals explodes in a burst of light and shattered ice, and then she steps out of the smoke all cool-like and stuff!"
>Look back to China with a grin. "Really? Because I visited the underground earlier today, and Yuugi offered me a free hit to see if it was worth it to let me run around down there on my own. She was pretty impressed!"
>"Well, it was mostly because I focused the full 10 seconds to get the attack primed. At the very least, I made her exhale when I landed it."
>Grin. "I think we could have some fun if we had a sparring match sometime."
>Let's keep watching the crystal!
(Busted image, try using the share link instead?)
>"Well, for me that's still a lot. And even then it's probably not all THAT strong. I didn't really feel much give when I pulled it off."
>Wave to Cirno! "Yo! Cirno! You got stronger too huh? We should have a round real quick before we head to Reimu's!"
(Still nothing....)
(Still nothing....)
>"I guess so."
>Well, let's watch them fight then.
>"So've I. My turn, Cirno!"
>Settle into a stance, and start focusing. "I've trained in more than Danmaku y'know!"
>Grin. "Well, let's go for it then! I'll let you get the first move in too!"
>Slip out of the way, and deliver a palm strike to her chest with the charged-up energy!
>Set up a mine of Dark Energy right in her path!
>Grin. "You're using your ice, so why can't I use my element too? Besides, I didn't fire it at you, did I? You spun right into it."
>Chuckle. "Besides, I learned that just wildly spinning doesn't do anything other than getting yourself hurt."
>Let's just barrage her with smaller ones then!
>Dodge, and hit her with an aimed palm strike in an open spot where the wings aren't!
>Let's make a big orb of dark energy overhead, and then fling it at her!
>Let's boost in and get her with an elbow strike to the gut, and then follow it with a palm upper!
>"Looks like you reacted on instinct Cirno, just like how I instinctively use my Darkness, or Dark Energy."
>"So, wanna call it here? I think you've proven you've definitely gotten stronger! You actually sound a bit smarter too!"
>Grin. "Nah, we'll leave this one as a draw for now, we gotta go see Reimu!"
>Let's take everyone with us to Reimu's, we'll drag Cirno my the arm if we gotta.
>Sigh. At least we got smarter.
>"Well, you can fight her some other time, there's big trouble going. And we gotta tell Reimu about it!"
>Nod. "Yeah, so let's go!"
>Let's get everyone to Reimu's!
>"Uhh...Cirno...? I think you're gonna have to wait on fighting her."
>We may as well land and walk over. "What happened here...? It looks like Marisa came through and spark'd the place!"
>"Wow....This is...What, the third time it's been destroyed? Man, I wonder if someone cursed you so your shrine gets destroyed every so often?"
>Look to the others. "Hey, keep Cirno from starting a fight okay? I'm gonna look around for evidence!"
>Let's see if we can't find Mima now, eh?
>Sigh. "Well, there's more than just this going on, but I'll fill you guys in once I've gotten some more info on what happened here."
>Well, let's go over to Mima now!
>"Hey. Been a while, huh? Haven't really seen you since the whole Makai thing. Any idea what happened here?"
>Nod. "I guess that makes sense. Well, let's go, I figure you'll wanna know about the new Incident too."
>Let's head back to the group.
>"Well, Mima's story lines up with yours, so its time to tell you what's going on."
>Time to get into Incident-Resolution Mode! "Alright, I went past the lake to visit the others, right? And I find Cirno in the process of becoming an Ascended Fairy like Lily is. But that's not the Incident."
>"Since it was gonna be a while until Cirno woke up, we decided to go the to SDM to play pranks on the gatekeeper to kill some time. But when we were about to take her hat and turn it inside-out while she was sleeping, it turned out she wasn't asleep, She was out cold! So I went in, and we found out that a bunch of rabbits that look like Reisen had gone in and attacked the place while looking for someone in a fancy house. I also found out that they're attacking all the other fancy houses, like Eientei, the Moriya Shrine, and maybe even Alice's too!"
>Nod. "Well, the rabbits weren't using Danmaku. And they gave even Patchy and Sakuya a rough time of it, and even I had trouble. I probably would've been stuck fighting that rabbit all day and night if Remilia hadn't shown up."
>"So I guess the next place to check up on is Myouren, then the Palace Underground, just to be safe. Even I know to not go poking around at The Garden without a good reason, and that was before I got stronger and more mature. So there's no way Yuuka'll have trouble with them, she's way stronger."
>Nod. "Alright, let's go!"
>Let's head for Myouren Temple with the others!
>Let's head into the temple itself!
>"Heeeey! Anyone here!"
>Let's see what we can do about this darkness, eh?
>"S'me, Rumia!"
>"I was over at the Scarlet Devil Mansion when those rabbits attacked, and the Hakurei Shrine got totaled by a fireball around the same time too! Reimu went to go check on the Moriya Shrine, and the people on the mountain, while me and my friends came to see if you guys were alright."
>Nod, and return her hug with a little more strength than we usually do.
>"I'm just glad you guys are okay! I had a heck of a time holding off the rabbits over at the mansion until Remilia showed up as backup."
>Grin sheepishly. "It's funny, I was the backup, but then I ended up needing backup myself. Guess I still need more training, huh?"
>Nod excitedly. "That's 'cuz she's an Ascended Fairy now, like Lily is! She's gotten a lot stronger too! I'm gonna have to train even harder if I'm gonna keep up!"
>Grin at Cirno. "But there's always a second-strongest y'know! And you know I won't lose that easy! We'll just have to save it for after the Incident's resolved though, no sense in having incident resolvers fighting during one y'know!"
>"So Kogasa, you wanna come with us and help out? it'll be like old times!"
>Nod happily. "Okay! First we gotta regroup with Reimu and Suika. So let's try heading for the mountain!"
>Wave to 'em. "Heeeey! The folks at Myouren are okay! How's things on your end?"
>Nod. "Okay, I guess we should check on the other places, then get to tracking down Yukari, huh?"
>Sigh. "Yeah...That's gonna be the hard part...Maybe we should find Ran?"
>Fistpalm. "I got it! Why don't we find Chen, and ask her to help?"
>Grin. "You leave that to me! I've been wanting to talk to Yukari myself anyways."
>Fistpalm. "Hey Wriggle, what about using your bugs? I'm sure you can send a bunch of them all along the boundary!"
>Cheer spiritedly! "Alright! Let's go!"
>"Now remember, leave the talking to me!"
>Grin. "Okay guys, leave the talking to me."
>Let's make the area get darker, then lighter, in random pulses as we head for where the shadow went.
>"Heeeey? Where are you..?"
>Make the lights normal now, and smile cheerfully.
>"Hi! Hey, uh, are you Chen?"
>Grin. "That makes stuff easier then! The name's Rumia, I heard that Ran was the best way to get in touch with Yukari, and that you were the best way to get in touch with her!"
>Pull back a bit. "Hey, calm down okay? That's only a part of it! I figured we could be friends too y'know."
>"Anyhow, I was wanting to talk to Yukari about a few things, like my ribbon, and stuff."
>"And later on I wouldn't mind hearing about this place too. Do you take care of all the cats here?"
>Nod. "Really? Cats must be easy to take care of then, not like frogs. I once tried to take care of a frog y'know. it was fun, but I had to leave him at the Moriya Shrine with Sanae and the others."
>Grin. "Really? So that must mean you're smart too, huh?"
>Grin. "That must means you're pretty strong, right?"
>Beat.
>"Oh hey, have any fireballs been falling from the sky around today?"
>"Or any rabbit girls running around trying to shoot you? And they don't use danmaku either."
>Nod. "Yeah! They showed up all over the place! I actually fought one! Man was she strong, shame Remilia took her down. I was having fun too!"
>Beat.
>"Oh yeah! That was another thing I wanted to talk to Yukari about!"
>Nod. "Okay, we were just worried you'd flip out. Reimu was worried Yukari was behind it all."
>Turn back to where the others are hiding. "Hey guys! She's gonna see about getting Ran to help!"
>Nod. "Okay, so we just need to kill some time huh?"
>Grin at Sanae. "Hey Sanae, how about we have a short spar to kill some time? At least until Ran gets here."
>Grin at Cirno. "Okay then, but let's not go all out eh? This is just a light sparring match, okay?"
>Let's hover a bit.
>Let's have a laugh! "Alright then, looks like I may have to use a spellcard or two then! Good thing I got plenty of 'em!"
>"I'll lead this one off then! Darkness Sign - Dark Side of The Moon!"
>Laugh. "That was pretty impressive! Now I guess I'll show you what I can do!"
>Focus an orb of Dark Energy(Danmaku Version) above us, then fling it towards Cirno! When it gets close enough, trigger it to explode.
>Grin. "Looks like it's just us, eh? I may as well wrap this up with a bang! Absolute Demarkation!"
>"What?! Don't tell me you trained under Yuuka..."
>If we haven't used a spellcard, we may as well try to counter it with our own lasers. We can just sandwich a bunch of them together to get the same effect.
>Ouch time. "...Now this is gonna hurt."
>Well, we can't really do anything, and this was just a sparring match after all.
>Grin. "That was actually pretty unexpected! So I guess so?"
>Look to Chen, if she's finished, call it a draw.
>Grin. "Alright, fair enough. Let's call it a draw, huh?"
>Let's go land and see if Chen's done.
>Nod. "Okay!"
>So now we wait!
>Nod. "Yep! They were strong too, didn't even use Danmaku or anything! They've been attacking all over the place, and the Hakurei Shrine got toasted by a fireball."
>"Uh...It was Reimu's idea, not mine."
>Look over at Reimu. "You want to explain things better?"
>"Oh boy. This isn't gonna be easy, is it? Well, nothing for it then!"
>What can Cirno do now as an Ascended Fairy?
>"Cirno, make a thing to brace Kogasa! Kogasa, once it's made, use your spark!"
>Let's use one of our stronger Dark Energy nonspells!
>"Tch...Guess we'll have to hold out until then!"
>Fire a Dark Energy Nonspell off!
>"Alright everyone, try to limit her movement!"
>Let's use those lasers then, try to arrange them in a way that'll make slipping between them a challenge.
>Grin. "Hey Kogasa, check this one out, it's a new trick I picked up! Shadow: Moonless Night!"
>"You're pretty good! This is pretty fun Chen!"
>Keep it up!
>Once we can return fire, let off a multi-directional barrage ourselves!
>Until then, just dodge and weather hits as best we can.
>Since she's charging, let's fling some non-spell Dark Energy at her, and set it to blow up when it get close, or touches her!
>Ah well, time to hold out again until she goes back to charging!
>When she does, barrage her with lasers!
>Let's charge at her with a field of Dark energy in front of us, like a comet!
>Alright then, let's settle for dropping a Dark Energy mine right on her!
>Alright, bombard her with the works!
>"Hey guys, you can take Chen on yourselves, right? I'll go help Reimu and Sanae!"
>Let's make a large orb of Dark Energy above Ran, and drop it on her!
>"Tch..."
>Pull back to the others then.
>"Wow...everyone's giving it their all, huh?"
>Let's charge up some dark energy to the limit!
>Can we pull off homing shots now? If so that would be useful about now.
>Well, let's start flying at top speed ourself! If we gotta lessen the charge to manage, then so be it.
>Let's drop a few Dark Mines in Chen's Path, but detonate them if she gets by, and Mystia isn't too close.
>Nod. "Alright, I'll give it everything I've got!"
>Unused Spellcards?
>"Alright, let's start this off right! Moonlight Ray!"
>Grin. "Doesn't matter, this is part of my plan!"
>Keep going until it wears off, then unload Night Bird if we get a chance!
>Grin. "Simple, I've got something they don't."
>"Cirno, Kogasa! Let's go for it!"
>Next up is Demarcation!
>Cirno uses her bigger cards.
>Kogasa Spellcards?
>Alright, we'll move on to Lunar Eclipse next!
(I had so much trouble with that one in DS.)
>Alright, Kogasa will use One-Legged Return Hit.
>Blink confusedly. "...I did have a plan y'know, that card you used earlier gave me an idea."
>Grin. "Nah, guess I should save it for later. Let's just say it's a lot like that card you used at the end of your fight with Reimu and Sanae."
>"Well, I guess we should go talk to Yukari now huh?"
>Grin. "Well, when I saw that card, I remembered my Last Word. I was setting up to use that, but I needed to use up my other cards to do it."
>Look back to Cirno. "Hey Cirno, why don't you go have fun with China? I bet you could win now that you're stronger!"
>Facepalm. "Man...Even after becoming an Ascended Fairy, she's still an idiot."
>"Well, it was a longshot thing, so I was going for that."
>Nod. "Yeah, let's go see her."
>Beat.
>"I wonder how Dai'd turn out if she ascended...?"
>"Yep! She said it's because the mikos accused you but we just wanted to talk to you."
>"Well, someone told these rabbits to come here and find someone. Whoever did that must have had some way to get them here."
>Hmm...
>"Is there anyone else with powers similar to yours?"
>"Yes."
>"Um... who are these people?"
>"You said they're stronger than Yukari. Are they stronger than old-me?"
>"If they're from the moon, does that mean that they're looking for Eientei?"
>"Um... what can we do? If they're even stronger than I used to be, then who can help us stop them?"
>Wait.
>Fistpalm. "I know! We can get Alice to help! And she can get Shinki to help! And we can get Remilia to help, and Kaguya and Eirin, of course, and Kanako, and Suika, and Byakuren, and Satori, and Utsuho, and everyone else the rabbits attacked! Which is anyone with a fancy house! And I can see if Miko and Seiga and their people want to help, too!"
>"But you said they have better technology. Even if we stop Rika, what's to stop the Lunarians from coming up with their own device? Or finding some other way in?"
>"This is just like what happened with Alice. Everyone teamed up and beat the invaders. Just forcing Shinki back wouldn't have worked, 'cause she would have tried again. It's the same thing here. We can't just drive them back or stop them from coming, because they'll just try again. We have to team up and beat them, no matter how hard it is!"
>"You don't think they'll just force their way through? Or keep looking until they find some other way? Yeah, we can go find Rika and keep them out this time, but what about the next time? And the time after that? And the time after that? And the time after that? If you're right, then they aren't going to stop trying. What if they find a way in you didn't think of? What if someone from inside creates another opening and they come storming through themselves? We have a warning this time. We have enough time to get everyone together to stop them. What if we don't have that chance next time, and they ome through right away?"
>Beat.
>"Wait, we should ask Kaguya what she thinks, since she's the one they're here for."
>"I'm gonna get my power back soon? Cool! And don't worry, I'll be okay. Can't let myself go crazy and kill all my friends, you know?"
>"Well, we've got a lot of people, so we can do both at once. I'll go to Eientei. Reimu and Sanae should probably go find Rika. The others can go with either group."
>"If these two try to force their way through the border, how much warning will we have before they get through?"
>"Do you know where Rika is? She went and vanished after she found out that she was a youkai and went into denial."
>"Umm, how do you fight yourself? Will it be like beating up the crazy me?"
>"Hey, maybe that's what Shinki meant when she said that I was made from crazy!"
>"So...Essentially, it'll be me, against the old me. I wonder what would happen if this me, and the old me, were to become one, singular self?"
>Attempt to avert headache from thinking something so existential and deep and stuff. "....Okay, I don't think I should think about something like that right now, think I'm starting to get a headache."
>"So...where would you be if you were Rika? I mean, you're one of the oldest and wisest Youkai around, so I'm sure you would have an idea of how she thinks!"
>"Or maybe the Moriya Shrine? She could be around there too."
>"Reimu can check around her shrine, and Sanae can check around hers."
>Nod. "Yeah. So...where should I hide out until the whole thing with the other me is done with? It should probably be somewhere I can't escape without outside help, like you or Reimu."
>Wilt a bit. "Oh boy...Maybe I shouldn't have started training so much..."
>Grin. "I guess you're right. Thanks Yukari. I guess you aren't known as the Legendary Youkai Sage for nothing."
>"After all. Moving forward, and making progress little by little is how a drill works, right? I guess I'll help look for Rika then!"
>"Well, when you think about it, I'm slowly moving forward and becoming a better person. Drills kinda do the same thing, carving out tunnels and stuff."
>"Either way, I'm ready to go. You two can stick around if you want to, I know you guys'll show up sooner or later!"
>"So, what did you want to talk about that involves that stone and flower you and Yuyuko paid me with that day? Is it something to do with Rumia?"
>"Wow....Really? That's pretty amazing. I kinda-sorta-vaguely remember hearing you were involved in something pretty big about the moon, did you find them back then or something?"
>"So, what else did you want to tell me about them, because I'm all ears."
>Nod. "Right! I've kept them pretty safe since that day, but I never knew they'd be this important!"
>Let's go get them when she opens that gap!
>Nod. "Yeah, looks like it's another really bad incident...Maybe even worse than the Rika Incident."
>"I think we should get everyone together first, I think I can fill everyone in then. I guess Eirin already knows, which makes this easier."
>"That'd be just about everyone for now. Because we'll find the others afterwards, Yukari gave me a pretty good lead on things."
>"Well, I meant for you to get Eirin too, but this'll have to do."
>Look to them. "Okay, so you guys already know those rabbits are from the moon yeah? Looks like they've really stepped up their efforts to bring you back up there, huh princess?"
>"Well, I had a talk with Yukari, and she definitely ain't involved. We figured out that Rika's probably behind the whole mess again, something about a teleporter device."
> A few minutes later, Reisen returns with Eirin, Tewi, and Kaguya.
>Nod. "Yeah, me'n Yukari think she might be hiding out somewhere near the Hakurei Shrine."
>"Come to think of it, I remember hearing someone once say that 'The closer you are to danger, the farther you are from harm'. I don't understand how that works, but I guess she thinks that hiding there is the last place anyone would look?"
>"Anyhow, I'm thinking that if we find Rika, we can bust up that teleporter. Since there has to be one on this end, they won't be able to do anything if this one's broken!"
>Grin. "I think some well-placed Dark Energy oughta make it blow up good."
>"You know these people best. That's why."
>"Um, who are they, anyways? Yukari didn't tell me that."
>"....Wait...If they're so strong, why don't they just rule in her place? I mean, the way you're talking, it sounds like they're pretty well-respected up there."
>"So if they already do it, why can't that Toyohime lady do the waving and smiling stuff? From how you guys talk about her, she'd be great for that."
>"So they want to lie to everyone on the Moon?"
>"But if they make you do it and you're not happy, wouldn't people notice?"
>".....The people on the Moon are really mean."
>"...What would happen if they found out then?"
>"It sounds like the truth would cause some real chaos there."
>"And you can't just, say, stay here and appoint someone else to the position?"
>"Huh."
>"Okay, so we've got to stop them, then. Reimu and Sanae are looking for Rika. When we find her, we'll get rid of her machine."
>Wait.
>"Um, Eirin? You said you go back to the moon sometimes. How do you get there, and could these Watatsuki people get here the same way?"
>"So to summarize, maybe we can snag up their teleporter, and maybe mess up their plans for a while in the doing?"
>"WHat I want to know is how we stop them from coming again."
>"Maybe if we seal her up so she can't? At least until she overcomes her issues that is."
>"Well, you're one of the smartest folks in Gensokyo, yeah? So doesn't it make sense to want some added opinions?"
>"Ah well, I guess we've wasted enough time here huh? Time to find Rika and bust up her teleporter-thingy!"
>Beat.
>"...Here's hoping those two folks you mentioned haven't decided to do it themselves?"
>Let's make for Reimu's!
>"Wow...So that stuff you got was that important, huh? That's so cool!"
>Let's pick up the pace!
>Head on over and give Cirno a slight Dope Slap.
>"Alright guys, looks like everyone's here huh? Well, Yukari and me figured out how those rabbits got in. Remember how Rika vanished? Well, we figured out she's hiding out here somewhere, and has the other end of the teleporter-thingy."
>"So the plan's pretty simple. We look around here, find Rika, do a little Percussive Stuff on her, and bust up the teleporter-thingy in the doing. Could get nasty if those two moonladies that Eirin and Yukari mentioned show up though."
>Spazwave. "Oh hey guys! Been a while! Remember that little blonde Youkai who hung out with Cirno?"
>Huge grin. "Well, that was me! And I grew up!"
>Headtilt. "So, uh, what's that about knowing where Rika is?"
>Grin. "You wanna pull a prank? Try busting up that device then, I betcha she'll be really mad! I'd kinda like to see her reaction to that really."
>Beat.
>Dash over to Sunny and co, and grab 'em in a big ol' tacklehug. "You guys just gave me a great idea!"
>Set 'em down, and grin while flashing a thumbs-up. "How about I do ya one even better and help out, huh? It'll be fun! Big Sis Rumia's always up for some fun y'know!"
>Grin. "You got it! And it solves what we'll do to keep her from making another one of those things too!"
>Look to the others. "Well, let's do this!"
>"Looks like we're close huh? Wasn't Rika's last hideout like this too?"
>Let's keep searching!
>Grin. "It's been a while hasn't it, Rika?"
>If she doesn't seem to recognize us, let's pull up our classic Darkness Aura.
>Even Dai can dodge these!
>So let's weave our way through the lasers to get close to Rika.
>Slip just barely out of range of the spanner, and grin. "Well, aren't you a different sort now? You don't feel human anymore, but you don't feel like a Youkai anymore either. What'd you do, become a god of crazy devices and schemes?"
>Let's have a little laugh. "If that's the case, you must be well-worshipped by fairies!"
>Let's form an orb of Dark Energy in one of our hands. "Betcha you're wondering what this stuff is, eh?"
>Grin. "Since you know what it's called, how about you feel what it can do firsthand!"
>Flip back and jam a little dark energy orb in each of the opened panels, and make 'em blow up!
>"A monster at Danmaku eh?" Grin.
>Let's try slipping into an open spot at short range, and then pop off a Dark Energy-wrapped, qi-powered punch!
>Grin. "Well, I guess I gotta aim for another weakpoint then, eh?"
>Slip back up to Rika, and hammer a punch right into her gut!
>"Ugh..Lemme guess, other-me?"
>"Wow, I didn't know there was this much crazy between the two of us, huh? But y'know, since I'm kinda you too, this is kinda my world too. Darkness is kinda refreshing when you think about it, you don't have to worry about overheating in the summer, or getting too cold in the winter. Kinda like a really good house."
>Let's head for the eyes, maybe we'll get a better look at the old us.
>Nod. "Maybe, but did you think about other ways to use it outside of that? I did."
>"I don't fear the darkness either, because I was born from the event that sealed you. So in essence, I guess you're not just me, but kinda mom too."
>Beat.
>"Wait...if Yukari put the seal...Oohhhh man, I got two moms!"
>"But y'know, the darkness isn't just used for that. Because when you look back, before everything was even around, there was darkness. Were we around back then too? Who knows, but it's time to pass things to the next generation. You did your job of keeping people on their toes in the old days, now it's my turn."
>"...I think I like this look."
>Grin. "And this just means I can be imposing and awesome-looking without needing to be all crazy and stuff."
>"You can do a lot more with just being awesome, than you can with being crazy. I've learned that while you were asleep."
>Point upwards while looking awesome!
>"It doesn't matter what you look like on the outside! Because what's on the inside is what really matters! Besides, aren't there fallen angels too?!"
>Lock blades with our own! "Since I'm you, we're pretty evenly matched. This could be the funnest battle yet!"
>Call up a few smaller blades and set them to spinning around us!
>"Well, that just means the odds are against me, which means I'll fight that much harder to win!"
>If this is her world, and she's the old us, we should be able to do the same stuff she can!
>Dodge the cables and make some of our own.
>"We're the same person. That means it's my world, too. Didn't we already go over that?"
>"You've lost sight of what it means to live. To live is to move forward!"
>"A wise man once said this; 'Why to people have eyes in front of them? It's so they see the ever-expanding landscape in front of them. If they had the eyes in the back of their head, all they'd see is the birthplace they leave behind.'"
>Let's try creating a mass of chains as well, but coming at her from all angles!
>"There's just one little thing you don't realize."
>Charge in, slicing up her chains if we can and avoiding them if we can't. Then give her the Wriggle treatment.
>"The seal wouldn't be breaking if I couldn't win."
>Take the darkness around us and push it away.
Also: battle music (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VoaUYcwEpSw&fmt=18).
I was thinking more along the lines of this (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_58-XYXuJMs&feature=relmfu).
But that's just the whole Us VS Inner-Us thing talkin'.
>"I'm more than just darkness!"
>Dash in and give her a full-power focused punch right in the jaw! "I'M ME!"
>Alright then, form a drill on our other arm, and use that to break through!
>"You won't stop me from protecting my friends, even if you are me!"
>Let's get up, and form a little shade around us too. "That old trick...Man, it really helped out against Shinki huh? For you and for me."
>Let's bind her with Dark Chains now! "I'll surpass you, and be the new Spirit of Darkness! No matter what you say, I'll keep moving forward with my life, you're only interested in killing and wholesale slaughter. There's no room for something like that in Gensokyo!"
>Mirror her laugh, but in our own, non-crazy way. "You should know how stubborn I am, since we're the same person!"
>"And about Yuuka. She knows that peace is good to have too, as it gives her time to do other things, like tend to her flowers. I like that."
>Let's form a scythe now, and cleave right through her, the chains, and the throne!
>Chuckle a bit. "Sure, lay it on me Kiddo. I'm like this to stay now, no more 20-second limit like last time. So I can afford to kill some time."
>Sigh a bit. "I should have expected something like that from you. Well, let's get this started, shall we?"
>Grin in a slightly unhinged way, in a nod to the old us. "But first, let's take care of a little extra something, shall we?"
>Let's wrap the teleporter in dark energy, and then crush it! "Dark Grasp!"
>Well, let's pull up a Dark Barrier like the old us did in our fight.
>"Guess there's no way around it, huh? Ah well, you'll be a great first opponent! I'm nothing like the me you saw last time we fought."
>Let's have a laugh. "We could be at this for ages y'know! You're near-impossible to damage, and I just regenerate right away! Man I'm gonna have fun!"
>Let's call up a Scythe or five, and fling 'em at her!
>Grin. "I could say the same to you!"
>Alright, let's manifest a simple-looking Katana out of Dark Energy. "Let's see how you can handle my full power, enhanced by my training!"
>"THat's 'cause the magic all came here. Even a fairy knows that much."
>Well, probably not, but still.
>"Technology isn't winning out here, now, is it? Even all the crazy new stuff the kappa make runs on Okuu-power."
>"She still uses magic to control it though."
>"Also."
>Full-power dark laser to the face. Follow it up by charging in and piercing the Sigma eye with the katana.
>Back off a bit, then manifest a large hammer and swing it into the Katana to drive it in further!
>"Oh, the usual. Busting up threats to Gensokyo, keeping the peace. The old routine."
>Let's keep our cool...We'll just have to shove them back through then.
>"Lemme guess, still hate Youkai, huh? Shame really, because without you becoming one, you'd never be in this sort of state. You'd still be a typical human, stuck relying on your gadgets. Doesn't it feel good to be able to do things without your own two hands, and not rely on something else?"
>Let's form a Scythe now.
(Wriggle?)
>Grin. "Well since you've joined with them, doesn't that mean you're doing things with you own two hands now? Heck, before you pulled this upgrade, you were probably equal to a lot of Youkai."
>Let's use our Absolute Darkness Control to make the area around us and Rika go completely black, but keep on guard for attacks.
>"Everyone, I'll handle Rika! You go gather as many heavy hitters as you can! We'll need all the help we can get to deal with those two! Remilia, Kanako, Satori, Utsuho, Yuuka, everyone!"
>Told you, Yukari.
>To Rika: "You let them through? You do realize they hate you as much as you hate Youkai, right?"
>...Oh. Not good.
>"So you don't like folks who turn on their friends too, huh?"
>oh [censored].
>"Actually guys I'd like some help over here!"
>Attempt peaceful negotiations in the meantime.
-Attempt to be inconspicious.
-Pray the fairies will attempt to be inconspicious.
-Keep observing the Lunarian's actions while slowly floating backwards.
>quietly edge away
>panicpanicpanic on the inside
>If it's a good idea, try covering the entire area with darkness and get out of there as quickly and silently as possible.
>"She'll pull herself together, but I think that was a big blow to her pride. Anyone'd want revenge after something like that."
>So let's check on her. "Hey, you alright? Looks like she turned on you, huh?"
>"S'not pity, I actually hoping you were okay. After all, we didn't get to finish our fight, no thanks to her."
>"So how about it, since she turned on you, why don't we work together for once, and send her and her flunkies back to the moon? That way we can finish our fight in peace."
>Nod. "Alright! Let's work well together for now then, eh?"
>Let's take the fairies and get going!
>The Hakurei Shrine's as good a place as any. That's probably where everyone'll gather anyhow.
>Silly Rika, being Tsundere like that. We'll knock some sense into her someday, we'll have to fit it into when we're not training Seiga though. But we can do that after we've fixed everything.
>Ah, let's go to Senkai right away then to get them together.
The only way to defeat a side story character is with another side story character! - Kogasa[citation needed]
>ask for Kasen's help.
>"Well, anyone who can help out is a big help! Because the more allies we have, the better off we are when go to drive those lunar dum-dums back home!"
>"Well, I can't guarantee you'll avoid a run-in this time, but right now stuff like that's gotta be put aside, for Gensokyo's sake."
>"Anyhow, the name's Rumia. I guess you could say I'm more than a Darkness Youkai, but the manifestation of Makai's Darkness itself. Not that I'm evil or anything, I'm past that already."
>Fistpalm, then look to Seiga. "I guess that's why I picked it up like an Oni takes to drinking! Makai's loaded with Dark Energy y'know, so I guess that's why I can do stuff with it. It's pretty much a part of me!"
>Did we ever disperse that Scythe? If so, call it back, then turn it into a Katana, a pair of nunchuks, and then to our default of a Zweihander. If not, do that stuff without calling a Scythe.
>"I guess you'll want to learn this stuff later on, huh Seiga? Well, that's for another time. Let's make for Scarlet Devil Mansion, and if nobody's there, we'll head for the Moriya Shrine."
>Let's focus on opening a portal to the SDM first.
>Nod to Miko. "Thanks. This does technically qualify as an emergency though, Gensokyo's in danger. So nothing can afford to be fussy, not even the place I called home for a while."
>Let's head through!
>"Heya. I figured I'd come by to help gather folks for the repelling effort. The plan's to use Rika's Teleporter to shove those moonfolks back where they belong."
>Beat.
>"Oh, you guys probably can't quite recognize me, seeing as how I've changed so soon after running into some of you. Well, it's me, Rumia."
>Make the area around Flan and Remi dim down to shade-levels with a snap of our fingers.
>"Since I overcame my old self, I have full control over my abilities now! But even before reaching my full power, I could do this."
>Look at Flan with a cheerful grin. "Besides, us blondies gotta stick together after all. So stick with me, and we can have a blast!"
>Look to Remi. "Oh yeah, you won't need that parasol while I'm around. I've got it set so it's dimmed down for you too."
>Grin. "Well, I'm from Makai too, just like her! Name's Rumia! It getting darker was my doing, I can control and create Darkness. Since your big sis helped me out earlier, I may as well return the favor, y'know?"
>"Well, when it comes down to a fight, you'll want to be able to go all out, right? This just lets you go all out. Plus, think of the looks on their faces when they see you fighting in the sun without burning up. I bet it'll be great for a few laughs!"
>Theoretically, could we use our powers for a temporary speed boost?
>"Oh, that all-out bit was directed to your big sis."
>"Anyhow, Makai's kinda this place where demons and stuff come from. Koa and Alice are from there too, so you know folks from Makai are okay."
>Grin. "Think of it this way, I can make it night kinda, the night's good too isn't it? And besides, would your big sis really be willing to work with someone bad? I don't think so."
>"I can work with Shadows too, it's pretty neat."
>Let's make the Zweihander a bit bigger by adding more Dark Energy to it. "I can mess around with something called Dark Energy too. it's a pretty basic building block of what makes Makai, Makai. This here sword's made of the stuff, but I can make more than just swords with it too!"
>Let's cycle through the various weapons we showed off earlier, but adding a Lance like the one Remi used, and a set of Knives like Sakuya's to the mix.
>Sigh a little, and then chuckle a bit. "I remember when I was still overexcitable like that."
>Grin. "Then again, I still kinda am. Just because I'm at full power and more mature doesn't mean I can't still act like a kid when I want to, y'know?"
>Can we take others with us in the shadows?
>"Well, I might know some folks who can help her out if it's all up in the noggin. They're really good with that stuff!"
>"Anyhow, let's get going, the more time we spend sitting around flapping our jaws, the more time those moonfolks have to mess things up."
>Let's roll with everyone for the Bamboo Forest!
>"I'm not too sure, but they might be able to. One of them's a pretty funny girl who lives in the subconscious. Sakuya tried to kill her once, 'cuz she's a Satori. But I figure that if what's up with your little sis is all upstairs, she might be one of the best to ask."
>Look to Flan with a smile. "Well, they caused a lot of trouble a while back from what I hear. Plus, they interrupted a fight I was trying to have. That's something you don't do y'know, interrupt a fight between two Youkai. It's just not honorable, y'know? But other than that, they're looking to take someone important away, and they're way too willing to kill everyone to do it. They ain't even using Danmaku! So we gotta beat 'em up, and chuck 'em through Rika's Teleporter-thingy to make sure they can't get back into Gensokyo again!"
>"...She's just like the old me...The me before I was sealed and went good..."
>Look ahead with determination. "...That just means I gotta help out even more. We can handle this once we've sent those moonfolks packing."
>Nod. "Even so, I was practically made of crazy. The old me didn't have anyone to help her out, so I guess your sis has it better off since she's got you."
>"Well, it's a shame I didn't get a crack at him, I probably would've done more than just break him if I were there. He probably got off easy, getting busted up like he did."
>Grin. "Ah well, sometimes being unpredictable is a good thing. And either way, it's in my nature to want to help out someone who's in trouble. Even if it means saving them from themselves."
>Let's keep rolling until we get to the forest!
>"hey, does anyone else have this foreboding feeling? Like we're still in for the fight of our lives? Just checking."
>Start your own preparations, whatever they may be.
>"...Here's hoping everyone here's gonna be enough..."
>Let's head over to Reimu and co ourself. "Hey, I got Rika in on this too. She said it's okay if she's working with you, the fact that folks like me are on the same side is a coincidence."
>Pause.
>"I betcha her and Alice would get along pretty well. If it wasn't for the whole Magician being a type of Youkai thing."
>"Soon after you left, the Lunarian with the sword showed up, cut Rika in half, said that she was a tool that lost her usefulness and that they had to attack Eientei early since we knew that they were here."
>"She said that she'd help drive them off then we'll finish our fight. There's a word for how she acts on the tip of my tongue...."
>"She's like part-machine now or something. When I left, she was putting herself back together."
>"Anyway, does anyone have an idea on how we're going to fight these moon people? Cuz I sure don't."
>"Well, only that powered up armor-thing got cut in half. she was inside it, so she wasn't as badly busted up. Still had to start reattaching her legs at the knee though."
>"Didn't Yukari invade the moon or something? OF course they won't listen to her sfter that."
>"Re-attaching just means she's putting them back on."
>"Well, I just thought of this, but the dark side of the moon's pretty dark, yeah? I mean, I do have a spellcard named for it after all."
>Grin. "But maybe I oughta show them real darkness, the kind that was around way before everything else."
>Theoretically, could we create a darkness so deep and pitch-black that nothing can see through it?
>"Well, maybe we can trap them in something and send 'em back through the teleporter like some kinda express delivery or something."
>Fistpalm. "Hey, think we could seal them in something if everyone put their energy towards doing it? We'd have to deal with the rabbits first though I guess."
Somewhere, Kogasa is expecting an "all your powers combined" routine.
>"Aw man, that would be cool! It'd be, like, some sort of giant energy seal thingy that would require countering all our powers at once to break!"
>Sigh. "So we gotta beat 'em down first, huh? Well, may as well then, seeing as how this time they're the ones invading, huh?"
>Beat.
>"...Hey, isn't she one of those guys from the moon...? Well, at least she seems more agreeable than the other one I guess."
>Sigh. "Yeah, you can say that again, she's got an attitude worse than the one the old me had, and that's saying something..."
>"But yeah, actually, I do have a couple questions. Why exactly are you guys so intent on dragging the princess back when she clearly doesn't want to go? I mean, she is pretty happy and content with how she's living down here after all. I know there's some pretty bothersome trouble up on the moon, but you guys already run the show, and you're a good deal more polite than your sis, so why can't you act as the face of the capital?"
>Nod. "Like the old saying goes, 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. She's happy with things down here, you guys already run the show up there, so why bother shaking things up?"
>"....So why don't you guys just take over then? If the folks down here are anything to go by, the folks up there should be okay. I mean, they already know you guys are reliable, yeah? I mean, your sis has the muscle, you've got the brains, you two oughta have no trouble running the show in her stead. Besides, what if she told you guys to run it in her place? I mean, you can't exactly refuse an order from her, can you?"
>"And to be honest, would it ruin their lives? Did you guys think to actually go around asking them? I mean, they're the ones you guys are looking out for in the first place, right? So in reality, it's up to them as to what should be done. Does Kaguya go back? Or do you guys get to run the place in her stead? They oughta have a say in it after all."
>Grin. "Wow, that's about as neat as what I can do!"
>Fistpalm. "Oh yeah, I never introduced myself. The name's Rumia. I can mess around with Darkness, Dark Energy, and Shadows."
>Let's make our own natural shadow rear up into many grasping limbs for added effect. But keep 'em close, can't be getting fresh with anyone, not even the enemy. "See? Pretty cool, eh? Then again, comes with being born from Darkness itself, huh?"
>Fistpalm once more. "Oh yeah! Darkness was around since before everyone, even the moon, yeah?"
>How far away can we mess with shadows? Would we be able to mess with ones on even the moon?
>Grin. "Well, you did too, so I'm just being polite. Besides, I've only shown you a little of what I can do. Messing with shadows is just a little parlor trick these days. Always fun though, great for pulling tricks."
>Would we be able to shadow-walk there?
>"The great thing about my powers, is that you never know what can happen when they're involved. Since Darkness is formless, and everchanging."
>"You'd be surprised what teamwork and determination can pull off y'know. That monkey only failed because he was alone."
>Grin. "Besides, it takes a lot to intimidate me these days, I gotta be brave in order to protect my friends."
>Grin. "Well, guess we aren't that different then."
>Sigh. "I kinda wish we could've settled all this over tea too. I bet the doc's got plenty of awesome teas too."
>Sigh again. "I was meaning that we'd all have some tea while we hammer all this out. I bet we could figure out a way that makes both sides happy. Like say, Kaguya running things from down here by using a teleporter to commute to and from here and the moon. That way she still gets to live down here like she wants, but you guys get a leader like your folks want, y'know? I mean, if Rika could make one big enough for you guys and a bunch of rabbits, then I'm sure she can make one small enough for home use, y'know?"
>Sigh. "Well, maybe a better idea will be hammered out by the time you guys get back."
>Quick recap, who's still present? Aside from us, Flan, and Remi.
>Would we, theoretically, be able to hide inside someone's shadow?
>Grin. "I just had an idea!"
>"See, you guys remember what Toyo just said, right? 'If her immortality... as in, through violent means, us Lunarians do not die from age, is exposed to the public, she will have to be exiled again, and the time of chaos and disorder will follow.'"
>"So....If we figure a way for Kaguya's immortality to be revealed to all the folks up on the moon, then blammo! I just gotta know how much time it takes for Kaguya to revive from different deaths. See, I can hide in someone's shadow too, so I could figure out a way to reveal her immortality, all while hiding inside her shadow, which would mean I'd get a free ride to the moon, and back!"
>"You guys forget, I'll be hiding in her shadow the whole time. I should be able to set some dark energy somewhere inside her, and trigger it to blow up in a way that'll kill her, but she'll be able to revive real quick, thus revealing her immortality. She gets exiled again, so she gets to live down here. Those two tweedle-brains get made to run the show up there, and everything works out."
>Grin. "Besides, you guys know I'm good for crazy plans. Remember how I resolved the Evil Eye Omega thing? I tried to crush that reactor's power with my own. Oh sure, it worked, but I was out for a while afterwards. This plan should be a lot easier to do."
>Then look to Rika with a grin. "Besides, I don't plan to die anytime soon, I still got promises to keep. That includes fighting you when everything calms down, and mentoring Seiga on how to control Dark Energy better."
>Fistpalm, and look to Seiga. "Oh yeah, you use knives in some of your spellcards, you could try coating them in Dark Energy. Just visualize them being encased in it, and then use that mental template to guide the Dark Energy. It's how I coated my fist with it when i fought Rika earlier."
>Grin. "Consider that an advance lesson ahead of time."
>Chuckle a bit. "Besides, I'm the best person for the job, Sunny'd just get distracted, and no way can anyone else pull it off. So my abilities over shadow are the best bet."
<"Like they say, 'The right tool for the right job'."
>Nod. "Well, that's just the baseline idea. I'm sure she can figure out a way to improve it."
>"Waaaaait....Correct me if I'm wrong, but I can make a portal to Senkai from anywhere, right? So if I can get at least 30 second's free time without them pestering me, I could use Senkai as an escape means."
>"Well, looks like it's up to Kaguya and Rika then. Let's run this past her, and see if there's anything her and the doc can do to make it work safely."
>Let's go find Kaguya!
>Light up in a big ol' grin! "Mysty, you're a lifesaver! This stuff oughta be just the ticket!"
>Let's add the stuff to the inventory, and then give Mysty a big ol' hug. "Thanks, here's hoping I can make it back. We'll all have some Sake and Lamprey when I do! It'll be a party just like the one after the Makai Incident!"
>Let's roll!
>Grin. "Because I got a plan to beat those two at their own game."
>"See, Toyohime said something that caught my interest. 'If her immortality... as in, through violent means, us Lunarians do not die from age, is exposed to the public, she will have to be exiled again, and the time of chaos and disorder will follow.' I know it's a kinda evil plan, but it's the best I could come up with."
>"So my plan's like this. I hide inside Kaguya's shadow while she heads back to the moon with dumb and dumber, then when everything seems all fine and dandy, blammo. I use some dark energy I hide inside Kaguya to expose her immortality or something, she gets pitched back down here, and I make my escape thanks to these, and my own ability."
>Show off the Rock and Flower.
>Grin. "It might be a bit messy though Kaguya, so you should probably wear one of your outfits that you don't mind getting messy with your own stuff."
>"See you guys after all this then, we'll all have the after-party down at Mysty's!" Let's hide inside Kaguya's shadow!
>Is she in a good view of just about everyone?
>Alright...it's now or never...Sorry about this Kaguya, but you're immortal anyhow.
>Let's send out some Dark Energy chains up Kaguya's robe, and set them to snap her neck quite visibly, but in a way that'll both kill her, and allow for a quick resurrection. then jump to the next-nearest shadow, and keep shadow-hopping until we get to the Teleporter. Unless something stops us.
>Grin. "And that's checkmate. Feel free to visit for tea though!"
>Let's use the flower and skedaddle on outta there!
>Well, looks like they're pretty peeved.
>"Wow you guys, little hasty to make craters, huh? And this in the capitol city too, what was that about not wanting to hurt innocents?"
>Let's keep moving as we say all that, but stop talking every so often to find another spot to throw 'em off.
>Right, so, can we manage to hop into Senkai?
>Keep the rock on hand as well in case we get hit by anything; people aren't supposed to be able to see through our shadows as well and we know how that went.
>What can we do that'll stop the arrow in it's tracks? Or even better, divert it.
>Well, let's counter it with an equally-strong Dark Arrow!
>Can we create enough darkness to dispel all the light that other one's making?
>If we can make it like it was in our inner world, the ability to attack from anywhere would help at least.
>Let's charge up a giant orb of Dark Energy, and then form it into a shield.
>Then blast Yorihime with an orb of dark energy formed behind her.
>"Heh, you guys are really something else. You're on a totally different level than Evil Eye Omega was."
>Let's let out a little nutty laughter, like the old us used to. "But you guys are nothing compared to a nuclear reactor, even I had trouble stopping one when it went out of control! And even then it took everything I had!"
>Let's chug the vials of Grand Patriot's Elixir now!
>"I was just biding my time for this." Let's send out a massive web of Dark Tendrils in an effort to trap them, like the old us did when we fought her.
>Then, take to the area above, and start pooling all the dark energy we can muster into one orb, and throw it to the surface at them! Even if they manage to cut it in two or whatever, it'll still explode pretty big.
>What are we capable of right now anyway?
>"Tch, alright then, guess I'll do this"
>We may as well land, and start focusing.
>Let's scan her for a weakpoint in her stance.
>Alright, which side is her sword arm?
>Alright, let's push our Qi focus to the limit, then attack her left!
>...But avoid the likely counterattack and redirect our attack to hit her sword arm at full power instead!
>Struggle to get up, and keep an eye on the portal.
>"Oh, just my medicine, gotta take it every so often to keep healthy, y'know?"
>Chuckle weakly. "Well, she was the one who prescribed it. It just so happens that the dosing orders were three vials to be taken at the same time once a month, so I guess I got lucky it was today, huh?"
>We just gotta keep 'em busy, huh?
>"Y'know, you guys really are pretty strong. It's a shame you don't like the folks from down below, 'cuz it'd be fun having you for a sparring partner."
>Chuckle a bit. "Heh, so you're the Calvary, eh Shinki? Well, mind busting this seal Yorihime smacked me with? She used Hakurei Power to pull it off."
>Grin. "What say we show them how Makai does things, eh, old friend?"
>Grin. "Heh, I still recall everything though, which is what pushes me to be a better person even now. I have to make up for all the evils I committed."
>Chuckle. "But yeah, I gotta agree with you, she's a little too arrogant for her own good. Which one do you wanna handle? I'll take whoever you don't pick."
>Let's manifest a Katana exactly like Yorihime's, but made out of Dark Energy.
>Grin. "Alright, let's see if we can't show them the power of Makai's Strongest!"
>Flare up a flame made entirely of darkness and dark energy in our free hand, then crush it out, for it to be replaced with a spiked gauntlet made of darkness and dark energy.
>Parry with our own sword!
>"Let's see how fun this fight is now that neither of us are holding back!"
>Alright, let's make a full set of Dark Armor, but minus a helmet.
>Now, let's make a bunch of Zweihanders in the air and also launch them! "Let's see how you can dodge this!"
>Hell, let's go nuts with the fired Dark Energy Weapons, and throw every kind of bladed and pointy weapon at them that we can think to make!
>Does Shinki get hit by our attacks?
>If not, we can just throw darkness in classic danmaku style.
>Of course, since they're not following spell card rules, we don't either. Attack Marisa-style: No flashy fanciness, just as much power as we can manage without burning ourselves up.
(I was going more for Gilgamesh and the Gate of Babylon, but I guess this works too.)
>Grin, and lay out the binding cables once more, using them as a wall to block the water shots as well. But make sure to not snag up Shinki too.
>If we snag 'em, let's float into the air once more. "Hey Shinki, I think you oughta dodge this! Because I think those two are definitely gonna need a trip to Eirin's after this one!"
>Let's do what we tried to earlier, before we got sealed. But this time, compress the orb into a small one once we've got it charged to max, compress it to about the size of our head.
>Grin. "Alright, let's wrap this up! Dark Bomb!"
>Throw it so that it'll hit the ground right next to them, but trigger it to explode at full force when it lands!
>Are they out cold? Or still awake?
>Let's try landing for a closer look.
>"Yeah, I think they'll be feeling it too."
>Let's go help Shinki up. "They're totally wrecked. I don't think they'll be waking up for a while."
>Let's head over and heft them onto our shoulders or something. "We should at least drop them off somewhere where they'll be remotely okay though, if only to keep 'em busy."
>Nod. "Alright, let's get outta here!"
>Look back to the two moonbroads before heading through the portal. "Heh, you guys were strong, you've earned that nap."
>Let's head into the portal with Shinki!
>Smile in a reminiscent way. "It's been quite a while since I've been back here, huh? I hope Yuki and Mai are alright."
>Let's adjust our wings a bit, and disperse any dark energy weapons or such we may still have active.
>Ponder if Shinki meant for us to follow her.
>True enough. Let's head there, but just use any shadows we find to go mostly unseen.
>But let's keep an eye out for any of the old crew, like Kikuri, Elis, and the others.
>Nod and smile. "Yeah, alright. It's been a while, huh? It's good that you still stuck around after the whole thing I did back then..."
>Grin sheepishly. "...Uh...sorry about that? ..At least this body won't give out on you as easy..?"
>Let's follow Yumeko if she moves to take us to our new room.
>"Well, the last bit was referring to the whole killing-you thing the old me did."
>Let's dispel our wings for the time to save energy, and go have a lie-down.
>"So...how's everyone been over the past year? Mai gotten over the the accidental freakout I gave her yet?"
>Chuckle a bit. "Oh, that'd be Sakuya. She even fights like you, except she uses knives."
>Pause, then slowly grin. "So you're using your mastery of space to speed up time outside, and Sakuya uses her control over time to make the mansion bigger on the inside. I bet a mansion that both of you had the run of would be one awesome place."
>Sigh a little, and lie back. "Well, here's hoping I can eventually make 'em smile instead of run screaming. It's better to have friends, than to not. I know now that that's a part of why the old me was as bad as she was. Well, besides being chaos incarnate that is. That seal helped me make friends, like Wriggle, Mysty, Cirno, Dai, Koga, and all the others."
>Bolt upright, and fistpalm. "Oh yeah! There was gonna be a party when I got back! I should see about having Shinki come along! I mean, she helped me get off the moon in the first place, so it's only the polite thing to do y'know. She's just as much a part of the incident resolution as I was."
>Nod, and get up. "Alright, I think we might be able to talk it over with Yukari about her being able to join the party!"
>Let's go with Yumeko!
>Smile. "Thanks for saving me back there on the moon. I just remembered that there was gonna be a party at Mysty's when I got back from the moon, I was thinking we could talk it over with Yukari about you coming to join in the fun. I mean, without your help, I'd be moondust by now."
>Chuckle a bit, and head up to the portal, then look back to Yumeko with a roguish grin. "Keep on livin' now, you hear?"
>Head on through.
>Look over to Alice with our classic roguish grin. "Heh, I'm not late for the party, am I?"
>Make a little punching motion forward, then thrust a fist into the air. "We totally wrecked faces up there, you shoulda seen it! Me'n'Shinki knocked those two out cold!"
>Beat.
>"Oh, did they send Kaguya back yet? I did make sure to make it pretty damn obvious, and I'm pretty sure I managed to keep dumb and dumber busy long enough for for Kaguya to revive."
[Good ol' Book Ends (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BookEnds).]
>Sigh. "Yeah, the one problem there. Toyo wrecked the teleporter. Which I guess solves the problem of them getting back in the next time they want to try it. She probably couldn't find me because by the time the full moon rolled around, I was already outta there with Shinki. She had me chill in a guest room in Pandemonium! Of course, Yumeko had to accelerate time outside it to make sure I didn't build up too much Makai Energy. That's why I was gone for three days, I couldn't get back until Shinki's scheduled visit."
>"But yeah, if it wasn't for Shinki, I woulda been moondust by now. There's no way I woulda been able to hold out until the full moon, not when Yorihime sealed almost everything but my physical abilities. Though Shinki made short work of that one."
>Fistpalm. "Oh yeah! Since Shinki helped out, I wanna talk to Yukari about letting her attend the after-party!"
>"She used the power of that god Reimu's got. The same kinda seal I had a while back. Except it only suppressed my danmaku, dark energy, that stuff. It's gone now though, Shinki saw to bustin' that seal. Unlike the old one, it was just there to make the fight easier for Yori apparently."
>Look to Yukari. "Yeah, I'd be splattered all over the moon right now if it wasn't for her timely arrival. I was wondering if she'd be able to join in on the party I was planning on having. I did promise Mysty we'd have a big ol' party when I got back, and since Shinki helped out, that means she oughta join in too. She's just as much of a Hero as I am this time around."
>Smile. "Thanks Yukari, you oughta come too y'know. After all, a party means fun for everyone, and everyone in Gensokyo was pretty much involved in the whole thing."
>Fistpalm. "I just gotta rest up for when I fight Rika later on, I did promise her I'd finish that fight after all. And then I gotta teach Seiga too...Oh man, I'm gonna be pretty busy in the future!" Grin.
>Let's have a laugh! "I know just how I'm gonna shock Rika too. She should be okay since she's a machine and all. I just need a nice red scarf, the awesome-looking kind."
>Equip the scarf, making sure to wrap it around our head so that all but our eyes and the upper half of our head(this includes hair!) are obscured, and there's still a good amount of length left for it to flap in the wind.
>"Well, should we get the party set, or what?"
>Oh Yukari.
>Adjust the scarf so that it just looks awesome then.
>"Well, first we get everyone together, and then the party starts! I know it's a pretty Oni way of doing it, but hey, it works."
>Grin. "But of course, I gotta stay out of sight so I can make a dramatic re-appearance."
[Feel free to have Shinki administer a dope slap if she thinks it's a bad idea. XD]
>"We just need the party somewhere with lots of shade!"
>We're definitely sneaking up on Rika. She's a robot, she can't have heart attacks.
>Grin. "You can send your dolls all over the place, right? Plus, I bet Yukari's already gathering folks as we speak."
>We should still be able to hide in someone's shadow, even with how worn-out we still are, yeah?
>"Yeah, that'll be a good idea for now. But now we wait for everyone to get the message."
>Let's go park ourselves in a cushy chair! Man do we deserve it after everything we've been through.
>Grin. "That'll work out. Make sure you bring Goliath too, I plan to use her to make my entrance. She oughta cast a nice enough shadow for me to hide in."
>"You could ride on Goliath's shoulder, and say you wanted to try not walking or flying for a change."
>"But yeah, Shinki hides behind Goliath or something, and I hide inside Goliath's Shadow. It's how I got up to the moon with Kaguya."
>Alright, when Goliath gets there, and everyone's settled in enough...
>We'll pop out of Goliath's shadow, and stand on it's shoulder, looking awesome as we do it!
>"Why so sad? This is supposed to be a party!"
>Grin, and return the hug. "You guys really thought I'd die in a place like that? I still gotta finish some fights, and train Seiga too!"
>"Now come on guys, let's do this party right! But first, we gotta bring out the other guest of honor! Without her help, I wouldn't have even gotten off the moon and lived to tell the tale!"
>Grin. "Alright, now that everyone's here, let's have a blast! Drink! Eat! Make with the merry already! Gahahahaha!"
>Let's get down there and join the party!
>Chuckle a bit at all the chaos. Now this is the sort of wild things that should be happening in Gensokyo, not those Lunarians causing a ruckus.
>Let's go find Kaguya and Eirin if they're here.
>Nod. "Yeah. Did you guys hear how Toyo and Yori got laid out like a couple of goons?"
>"They were pretty strong, I wouldn't mind sparring with 'em sometime. Good ol' Shinki really saved my bacon up there y'know."
>Grin. "Oh, I bet you probably already knew this, but Yori can only keep two gods on call at any given time. So if she wants to bring in another one, she's gotta send one home. She really shouldn't have stopped using that Aether fella or whatever, she could've won if she kept him on standby."
>Grin. "Me'n'Shinki figured that one out. Well, Shinki was the one who thought of it first, I just helped push the issue."
>Let's have a little drink of whatever we brought with us. "I tell you, those two were really pissed off after I used some Dark Chains to snap Kaguya's neck like that. I figured it'd be a nice and painless kill, one that's also an obvious one, and one she could easily come back from."
>"I was more considering the revive time, we needed you to revive in public for the scheme to work after all."
>Chuckle sheepishly. "I didn't know they'd literally throw you back though."
>"So, what are they doing up there now anyways? Are they still riled up?"
>Nod. "Guess if I wanna know if they're still peeved or not, I should ask Yukari."
>"Wow...I don't think even my Shade Regen could match that."
>Speaking of which, does that restore energy as well?
>So it essentially transfers our energy, into physical status. Would we recharge energy if it were natural shadows?
>Ah well, we can just get in an eating contest with somebody, or something like that. Should be able to recharge that way.
>"I kinda figured it couldn't. So how were they after they got walked on? I bet they were in shock that a little ol' Youkai could smack them silly, huh?"
>Grin. "Well, Shinki did help with that, but hey, Those two still got flattened!"
>Grin cheesily, like Marisa would. "Hey, they were still down when we woke up. So it still counts in my book."
>Laugh a bit. "Guess I overdid it a bit though, if even you got banged up in the doing. Maybe I shoulda stepped into their shadows to pull off a point-blank blast instead."
>"Man...those two sure are something else though. I've never gone up against anyone that strong before. I don't think even when I was first sealed, or when I first fought Shinki all those ages ago, could compare."
>"Their bodies were fine, but their egos were in pieces. After all her talk about breaking my spirit and commanding any god, they lost to a youkai and a god."
>Grin. "I bet they're still in a funk. Wonder who's running the show now? It probably ain't them anymore, thanks to that reputation hit they took."
>Nod. "Yeah, but I bet folks have started to lose faith in 'em. They were probably viewed almost like gods themselves, and gods run on faith. So the less faith people have in them, the more likely they'll lose more fights."
>Grin. "It's just one big conga line, ain't it?"
>Grin, and take a few swigs of our drink. "Exactly. She was probably pretty strong, but no stronger than anyone else here. If she loses enough support, she'll be back to her old power level."
>"Well, the way I see it, the only folks she'll get the trust and faith of if she hits rock bottom, is Toyo, and maybe you two. That's about it."
>Grin. "Hey Shinki, know any party games?"
>What sort of party games do we know of that'd be the best to play with this group?
>"Well, we did give 'em a beating on their home turf, so I think those two will be stewing for a while. Well, Yori will at least. Toyo's probably gonna look back on this in a few centuries and laugh. She seems like the sort who'd do that."
>We can reach through shadows and take objects with us as well, correct?
>"Hmm...Well, we could always trick a few fairies into doing something stupid, then watch the chaos that ensues."
>Grin. "Y'know, Dai's got the best record of that so far, she actually talked a fairy into taking one of Yuuka's flowers, and waving it in her face until she woke up. I don't think that fairy was ever seen again, the common guess is that she's got it locked up somewhere still."
A note, since this is ending: I'd actually like to see another Rumia Quest, although I'd be thinking of more of a slice-of-life sort of thing. We spent all this effort on her; let's see what her life is like now that she has her power back and everything. Up to you, though, Raikaria; I'm just giving my opinion.
>Grin. "I wonder if we can trick one of 'em into getting Rika to come?"
Maybe if we revisit this one, Seiga could be the playable? Maybe make the main goal mastering Dark Energy. (Which already seems to be her goal as it is.)
>Grin. "That's the fun of it! If you're really good, you can set up a whole chain of funny!"
>Grin. "Pranks!"
>Grin. "I know, right? So here's an idea for you. There's this girl named Rika running around somewhere in Gensokyo, See if you can trick her into following you here. I'm okay with however you do it, either by talking her into it, or stealing something of hers."
>Give her a description of Rika then.
>"Okay? Now, this should be fun."
>"Eh? Policy changes? I wonder if that's something edible."
>Turn to face the voice.
>Grin. "Y'mean like how I don't need the seal anymore?"
>Grin. "That's great! That means I can make more friends y'know. I bet my powers over darkness could be pretty handy on those hot summer days. Just put everyone in a shade bubble they can see through, and presto! They won't overheat while they work!"
>Grin. "Well, the idea's still out there when they want it. Come summer they'll want to not worry about the heat of the sun. After all, back when I was sealed, I never had to worry about the heat of summer, because I was always in the shade wherever I went."
>"But when you think about it, you go into the shade to cool off, right? My shadows can do the same thing."
>Grin. "That was the old me y'know. I'm not sealed up anymore, so I can adjust it now."
>Demonstrate by lowering the light levels of the immediate area a few notches to a pleasant shade.
>Nod. "And unlike the old me from before I was sealed, I'm way nicer. But you already knew that didn't you?"
>Grin. "So, wanna join in on a little party game? Dai's got the best record so far."
>Grin. "Seeing what we can trick fairies into doing. Dai's got the record of tricking one into doing something over at Yuuka's."
>Grin. "Always a fun game, tricking fairies. I bet you could probably trick Cirno into doing something really stupid, like stealing Reimu's panties right here and now."
>Nod. "True....So pick a random fairy then, except Dai, and the one with the popcorn."
>Chuckle a bit. "That's right kiddo, I bet it'll blow your mind."
>Grin. "And I'm older than that."
>Come to think of it, how old are we? Since we know now that we were around before we were a little derp.
>"If I had to guess, probably around 150. But I've been in places where time's all weird before coming to Gensokyo, so I'm probably even older than that,"
>Grin. "Have you ever been somewhere where time's all wonky? I don't think so."
>Chuckle. "Well, being dead means you're not alive, right? You only age if you're alive."
>Pause.
>"Well, Remi and her sister are a different matter I guess."
>Nod. "Yeah. Your age is how long you've been alive. But since time was all wonky in a couple places I was sent to, I'm not sure how long I was around."
>Sigh a bit. "Ah well. Let's just say I might be older than you."
>"It's actually more, because it's a hundred, plus another fifty. But who knows? you might be older than you think. Fairies do forget stuff sometimes."
>....Were we ever that stupid?
>Facepalm.
>Facepalm again. At least we could count to ten when we were a derp.
>Sigh.
>"Well, at any rate, just follow Mokou on the full moon, okay?"
>Nod. "That's the one!"
>Grin. "It should be fun!"
>Look to the others. "Well, any other ideas? Or maybe you would like to join in on tricking fairies, Kaguya?"
>Grin. "That's true. Even the sealed me wasn't stupid enough to do something like that."
>Beat.
>Giggle. "But Cirno still is."
>Nod. "From what I hear, ascending magnifies character traits. She wanted to be stronger, so she got it. Buuut...Apparently it also magnified her stupidity. See, Lily really loved spring before ascending, now she's pretty much spring incarnate."
>Beat.
>"Come to think of it, I'm pretty much the embodiment of darkness as well."
>Smile. "I hope Dai ascends too!"
...
...
Have Dai ascend.
>"Well, she's a good kid, and she'll probably ascend eventually I guess. It's just a matter of time, like with Cirno."
>Grin. "And time's something I got plenty of. Besides, somebody's gotta be around to keep Cirno's wacky antics in check."
>Nod. "And there'll probably be a time when she wants that. Who knows, even Youkai don't live forever after all. Maybe she'll even end up taking over for you as teacher when you retire!"
>Laugh. "That'd be something to see, wouldn't it? A fairy, teaching smart-stuff classes, and doing it better than a normal human!"
>Chuckle a bit, and drink a bit more. This improved body sure is a lot more tolerant than our old, sealed-up one, huh?
>"Y'know, I thought of something. I may be darkness incarnate, but I'm a pretty nice girl. Then again, not all darkness is bad, just look at the night sky."
>Smile. "That's the kind of darkness that should always be a thing, something for future generations to look up at, and treasure."
>Grin, and look over to her. "Exactly. It'd be stupid if someone tried to cast a spell that made it always day or always night. Even that's a little beyond my power."
>Chuckle a bit. "Now if she wanted to, Yukari could probably pull something like that. But I'd really have to wonder why she'd do that."
[Looking forward to it. And the possible revisiting of the Rumia-verse. Maybe we'll play as Dai next visit. I think it'd be fun.]
>Fistpalm. "So if it's suddenly daytime all the time, she's the one I should go see!"
>Sigh a bit. "It's a shame that Yuki, Mai, and the others couldn't come though, what with me bein' here, and them bein' liable to go ape."
>Grin. "I wonder if we can rope Yukari into messing with Reimu for a bit? Besides, Koa's from Makai too!"
>Nod. "Yeah, I kinda figured that."
>Smile warmly. "This is the sorta thing I like best about Gensokyo. It doesn't really matter who you are, as long as you can enjoy yourself. Just look at me, a Youkai born of of Makai's Chaos and Darkness. And here I'm welcomed with open arms as a friend and hero. If there's anywhere you can go to start over again, it's here in Gensokyo."
>Grin. "Yeah...Hey, at least I'm a hero now. I wonder if I can give Marisa a good fight since I'm at full power? Then again, I should probably train my body more, so I don't always need to use my Shade Regeneration ability."
>"This sure has been an eventful few years, huh? Let's hope things stay quiet for a little while at least."
>Grin. "But for now, let's party like we've never partied before!"
Fin