The Elements Of Gensokyo: Act One, Arc III.

[Sonae]

((Assuming StB Doesn't distract me tomorrow, I should have the fight scene written out. Oh, I'm still deciding all the cards I'm going to use too))

((Also, Before I can post, I need Crow Cakes Permission to do a certain something))

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Still waiting on Orphea and Sonae.

[XinXin]

OOC: Just to remind you if you've forgotten, I'm still waiting on you to get out of text adventure mode.

[Sonae]

((WHAAAAA FIVE HOURS AND IM STILL NOT DONE?! And I thought I was kidding when I said it'd be 5 pages long...))
((Will hopefully finish Tomorrow))
((THE SKIES SHALL RAIN FIRE AHAHAHAHAHAH))

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Official Poster for EoG is up. Sorry for crappiness. I also know how to start Act Two after we finish arc 3.

[Sonae]

((What crapiness? That banner is great))
((Act 2 after Arc 3? I thought there was four arcs))
((Who'se the purple haired on in the banner?))

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

((What crapiness? That banner is great))
((Act 2 after Arc 3? I thought there was four arcs))
((Who'se the purple haired on in the banner?))

(There shall be changes. And that's Nanaya/Katelin)

[Sonae]

As Youmu and Rhiseza chase after Patchy, the stop dead in their tracks.
"What the hell..." Youmu say wide-eyed.
Rhiseza gazes at Patchy, not wanting to believe her eyes. "Oh shit." is the only thing she can manage to say.
Patchy steps forward, her undescribable form leaves the two wide open. She turned her eyes to Rhiseza.
"Saint Elmo's Pillar"
Youmu spun around quickly.
"Get out of the way!" She shouted, running towards her dazed partner.
Rhiseza flinched, not understanding what Youmu was talking about.
Youmu tackled her, the two of them flying through the air then skidding across the ground. The place where Rhiseza had been standing burst into a tower of flames. Rhiseza just stared at the fire in terror. To believe she could have just been roasted alive if it weren't for Youmu.
Youmu got off of Rhiseza and turned to Patchy, giving her a fierce glare.
"Patchy! What are you doing?! We aren't your enemy!" Youmu shouted at the magician.
Patchy's expression didn't falter. It remained unemotional and cold. She held out a hand, fire forming in it.
Youmu clenched her teeth. "I don't want to do this...but..." She said, reluctantly pulling out a card. "...It seems I don't have a choice...!" She shouts. Her head lowers, her body shaking weakly. she clenches Roukanken tightly.
I'm sorry...
Youmu lifts her head and raises her arm into the air, card in hand.
"Obsession Sword! Blood of Asura!"
Youmu dives at Patchy at an unbelievable speed. In less than a second she's in front of Patchy.
Patchy's expression remains unfazed. Just as Roukanken nears her stomach, she moves to the right, avoiding the sword and grabbing it between her left arm and her crystal armor.
Youmu is stunned, unable to pull back unless she lets go of her treasured sword, given to her by her master. Patchy, however, doesn't give her the chance to retreat.
"Elemental Harvester"
Patchy presses her crystal covered body against Youmu. A milisecond later a mass of spinning saw blades burst from her body.
Youmu is hit directly, the saws tearing through her clothes and ripping apart her flesh, blood sprays everywhere. She lets out a scream of pain and lets go of her blade, leaving it in Patchy's possession.
Gravity takes effect on Youmu's broken body, dragging it onto the stairs, and all the way down.
Rhiseza watches the scene in horror. Unable to believe someone who seemed so fragile vould do something this extreme. Her body is shaking in fear.
No! I can't let fear take over! She shakes her head, refocusing herself. She holds out her hands, a determined expression on her face. Her extra arms sprout from her back.
I need to help Youmu! The thought echoes in her mind clearly. She closes her eyes and concentrates.
Please...give me the power to save her...to save everyone! I don't want to helplessly watch everyone die! She remembers what Yukari said about Youmu dying. Tears form in her eyes.
Please...! Give me the power to protect everyone!

((YJ You should update with everyone since my battle will be 5000 words long a while longer))

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Rhiseza whimpered and prayed in her mind as Youmu got torn to pieces by this expressionless, crazed lunatic. Which was Patchouli. Those black, almost flaring arms on her back pulse with energy. But what could they do, to one so offense-orientated like Patchouli. All she could do was heal, and that was what she did. Running over to Youmu and healing her, Patchouli stood at a distance, watching. Waiting. Her right arm, covered in pure light, shone brighter. It was gathering energy...

Patchouli flings the Roukanken right back to Rhiseza and Youmu, and it lands lodged within the ground beside them. Rhiseza pulls out the sword and places it beside Youmu as her other arms begin healing. In just moments, Youmu was back on her feet, unknowingly charging into her demise. Again. Patchouli's right arm raised in the air, along with Youmu's Roukanken. As they clash against each other, the impact made the air around them burst in all directions. Oxygen literally was ripped into smaller atomic particles.

Patchouli curled her right hand into a fist as the Roukanken began digging into her arm. The air was still flying all over the place, as if a hurricane rolled into the area. The walls were practically being ripped apart. And then, with a reversal... Patchouli punches Youmu in the chin.

"Royal Flare." She mumbles, her face still expressionless. Her right arm begins to release all of the light it has stores, unleashing a huge burst of heat and light, burning through the entire library. Burning and burning, screams of pain are heard bellow them. However, Rhiseza is unharmed... Youmu, on the other hand, suffered far worse injuries then the first. Her clothes were ripped to shreds, almost replaced by burn marks and bleeding wounds. As the ball of light that engulfed them all faded away, the damage to the library is revealed. It's now exposed to the sun, wind and outside. There is no Library. Only a pile of rubble. Youmu lies on the floor next to Patchouli, burnt, mortally wounded, but conscious. She grips the Roukanken, unable to release it. Patchouli looks at Youmu, her expressionless face now showing one of sadistic love.

She lifts her right arm once more, gathering light. But this time, it isn't all going into the arm. The light is somehow, actually circling her arm. "Sun-Moon Sign..." Rhiseza rushes forward, the black energy arms being pushed forward towards Youmu. But she won't make it...

"Royal..."

Rhiseza begins to cry. She isn't going to make it. The Royal Flare has pushed her far away from Patchouli and Youmu.

"Diamond..."

The light intensifies around Patchouli's arm, making it extremely hard to see, and it begins to burn.

...
...
...

"The Priest should defend her friends, no?"

A burst of black light rips forth from the ground, breaking the spell Patchouli was casting. The black light literally entangles Patchouli, stopping her from moving. That sadistic grin on her face is now replaced with that expressionless face. Once more.

Rhiseza walks out of the black light, those black energy arms now covering her own, chains being wrapped around them. A black halo floats above her head, visible even in the darkness behind her. Chains wrap around her body, pure black and just tingling with energy. The Shadow Priestess.
-

Mystia flew and flew, maneuvering through all the bullets, grazing many of them. It was hard, really hard. She had never seen such complicated Danmaku besides the ones from Yukari. But Yukari's ones were more... Straightforward. Flandre laughed and laughed as she continuously shot green balls in random directions, still night blinded. But she had come to a realization... She stopped the spell card right in the middle of it, and chuckled to herself as the bullets vanished.

Out of view, Mystia began panting, but she could take this chance to make the vampire cr-

"Oh little birdie. You sung so well. I'll make a singing contest. You and me~" She giggled, not the kind of giggle one would expect of an insane vampire, but one of a little girl. And then, she opened her mouth, teeth all the way to the side of her face. And screamed. Mystia dropped to the ground, and Vante almost slammed his on the pavement. The voice was horrendous, like a thousand screams all mixed into one, along with gurgling and one much like how a Banshee would sound like. The long scream almost made Mystia's ears bleed. It was much worse then her's, and it wasn't even high pitched!

Flandre finally closed her mouth, grinning. "Fun! Fun!" She wasn't night blinded any more. The effect has broken off once Mystia touched the ground. Flandre ran straight to her, claws extended, but turned, at the sight of Vante.

"This will be even more fun!" Vante gulped, his ears still recovering from that tormented scream. In seconds, his scythe was sent flying down from the heavens, descending on the vampire's head. She caught it with much ease, and forced Vante back, his armor still forming. "Weapons? I have one like that too!" Flandre slammed the ground with her hand, throwing up a card. She rocketed herself off the ground and into the air, spinning while a long, burning pole-like object began to manifest itself in her hands.

"L?vatein is there, that Lopt with runes
Once made by the doors of death;
In L?gjarn's chest by Sinmora lies it,
And nine locks fasten it firm."

L?vatein formed, it's shape uncomprehensable due to the pulsating waves of flame from it's center. It was still counted as Danmaku, and Mystia could still fight...

"Fun! Fun! Let's stain the ground red with you!"
-

Koakuma was busy with Orin, trying to fire needles at her, but the cat was too agile, transforming into her animal state in a blink of an eye, and leaping out of the way. Eventually, Orin was forced deeper and deeper into the corner of the room, unable to escape any more. Koakuma, however, decided on another way to exterminate Orin. The fiery eye on her chest glowed, matching how Utsuho's would before she shot a Giga Flare. Koakuma raised her hand, her other holding onto a small card.

At this moment, Gale, even with all the pain he was struggling with, managed to bring the whip down. It slammed down on Koakuma's arm, searing it down slowly. She pulled her hand back, jumping to the nearest wall. She grabbed her arm, going "Ow. Ow. Ow. Ow." Soon, the scorching on her arm stopped, revealing a small piece of bone. Flesh slowly regrew over the bone, and Koakuma chuckled.

"I may not be that good offensively, but I am a demon. And a demon, along with this... Power..." Her eyes turned red, almost completely so, expanding from her pupils, leaving only a ring of white left. She shot herself towards Gale, head-first, colliding into his chest and sending him flying to the wall. As the wall cracked and dented, Gale was stuck there, almost comically. Koakuma sighed to herself. "That was not how I expected it to be."

She turned towards Orin, Gale now rendered motionless; The whips of light not even being able to move. They're summoned out, attached to his arms, but now they only burn the air. Orin shivered, she felt something insane, something filled with malice within Koakuma. Just like how Utsuho was the moment right after she had eaten the Ya-

Her thoughts are cut short, Koakuma delivering a fierce kick to her stomach, sending her flying. Orin pulled out a card, and began to use it. "Cursed Sprite "Vengeful Spirit: Possessed Fairy!" She shouts, before landing on her feet smoothly. Koakuma tilts her head, beginning to smile. Grey faeries, looking at the floor, start to form all around the room, around Koakuma, Orin and Gale. "You want to play Danmaku? Sure!" Koakuma grabs a spell card, a different one then the first one. She runs forward, dodging the blue bullets that have formed.

"Demon Sign! Fiend's Grip!" Koakuma pushes her hand out, in melee range, aiming for Orin's head. She flinches, not prepared for such a fast, close-combat attack... The faeries raise their head, and begin to charge forward towards Koakuma. But her old, reliable spell card wouldn't save her. Not this time. Koakuma's hand flared purple, and slammed down on Orin's head, dragging her entire body to the ground and creating a crater from the impact. Jumping back, Koakuma has, in her hands, a thin string of purple connected to Orin. White energy begins flowing from Orin into Koakuma.

"This is your friend's Life Force. It's mine. Now." She says as she faces Gale, who has a look of shock on his face, still struggling to get himself up. As the white energy flows through the line, Gale can hear his own heartbeat slow. And his anger, boil. Forcing himself forward, the wall cracks a little, but does not relent. His heartbeat slows, slowly, feeling his own life being snatched away. If Orin dies, so does he. And he can't... die...

...
Don't die...
...
Don't die...
...
Never die.
...

The whips disappear from existence, but a new form of it appears inside of Gale. His organs are replaced, completely, by Light. Shining light. His limbs glow, and a makeshift form of a helmet of light covers his head. Gale, slowly but steadily, begins to disintigrate the wall, and lands on his feet, renewed with energy. His heart will not stop beating. It will never until there is no hope left in him. If there is a will, Gale will exist.

"You were never ment for direct combat. You are a mage! A magician! A master of the art of Light!"

-

The solution to dealing with Rin's ability was clear to Aesera, although it was the sort of thing that most people probably wouldn't realize. The key was that the effect was purely one of memory; it only looked like a time skip. It wasn't some autopilot thing, either. They were in full control of themselves; they simply didn't remember what they'd done. The seeming jump from one position to another could easily throw people off, so the key was to have a plan and execute it. If you knew what you were going to do and could determine where in that plan you were, you could keep it going through the skip. And after testing Rin's combat style for a bit, Aesera had her plan.

Aesera threw her lance, and there was a skip. Rin was right in front of her, and Aesera had the blade of Rin's scythe caught between the two prongs of her lance, exactly as planned. Aesera merged the two prongs together, and as she'd thought, her weapon, one of divine origin-was stronger than Rin's. The blade of Rin's scythe broke, and Aesera took advantage of the opening by punching Rin in the face. There was another skip, and Rin had Aesera up against the wall. And then Kanako struck, grabbing Rin. Another skip, and Rin had been thrown over to Rumia. "Rumia," Aesera said, "the enemy needs to die. I'll let you do the honors."

Rumia grinned, happily. Hirenko was pushed out of the way, and Rin was still plummeting towards Rumia. She turned for a second, looking at Hirenko. "It'll be better if you don't die if this backfires." The Blade Of AntiChrist was sent flying straight up, thrown by Rumia. It just practically sliced Rin's head in half. Blood and brains spewed out in a frontal direction, before Rumia kicks her split-opened head, sending it flying towards Aesera, who in turn, threw another one of her lances, which impaled the body perfectly.

But there was a skip. Rin was now behind Rumia, who got impaled by Aesera's lance, both stuck in her abdomen. But she only threw one! Rin laughed and pushed Rumia to the ground, grabbing Hirenko by the wrist. Kanako ran forward, throwing caution to the wind, even as Aesera called for her to come back. Pillars shot from beside her, piercing through Rin's chest and arm, making her drop Hirenko.

Aesera ran to Rumia, and dispelled the Lance. Rumia was injured by her own weapon. But how? Another skip. Rin's scythe cut through Kanako's waist, and she was sent crashing into the wall behind Aesera. Rin didn't only have the ability to erase memories. She had the ability to change them. Hirenko pulled out the Shadow Blade from the ground, and wielded it. Another skip. Rin was behind Hirenko, but she knew better. She had trained with Mima before. With a spin, Hirenko's blade cut cleanly through Rin's hand and arm. She jumped back to the wall and ran on the side of the cafe's windows.

Rumia began to stand up, even in this form, she was fragile. A glass cannon. But she had more power then anyone else here. With a snap of her fingers, Rumia began panting, and a small, black orb formed in her hands. Another skip, Rin was beside Kanako, she threw her towards Aesera. Aesera turned her back for a moment only to collide with Kanako, who managed to shoot a blade of wind towards Rin. She dodged it expertly, but the blade split into three and raced towards her once more.

Another skip, and Rin stood in the middle of the cafe. But at the wrong moment. Rumia thrusted her hand into her chest, shouting. "Unholy Spark!" A massive beam of darkness shredded the entire cafe into little pieces, as orbs of blood-red shadows began to fly all over the place. There was no blood from Rin. Not anymore. There was a ticking sound.

"Five seconds." Hirenko said, only to be kicked to the side by Rin once more. "You're right, little girl." She then walked up to Hirenko and grabbed her neck. "Master wants you dead. Better off then being Alive. A threat to all of us." Rin said, clamping down on Hirenko's neck more...

(The reply to this will be written by Himiko. Also, Himiko has control of Rumia for now.)
-

Newan rolled out of the incoming wave of knives, and Nazrin ran in, delivering a melee blow to Sakuya while she was right about to throw her knives. For some reason, her time manipulation didn't last as long as it normally would, and this allowed Nazrin a window of opportunity for a quick succession of hits... But no. Sakuya grabbed more knives, spinning them in her hands as she jumped up, cutting Nazrin's face. Sakuya landed behind Nazrin, and ran towards Newan's prone body.

Only to be punched in the cheek. Blood squirted out from the wound, and Sakuya hit the door of one of the rooms. Nanaya ran out, hands and feet covered in Crystal. A horn was starting to form on her forehead too. She ran towards Sakuya silently, dodging the knives that flew from her. She was cut by a few of them, but she managed. In a few quick hits, Sakuya was sent flying once more towards Newan. Sakuya was never built for melee combat, and more for ranged assassinations.

Sakuya's impact with the ground made her roll a couple of times, before getting herself up as she threw Newan to Nazrin at the same time. She coughed blood on the floor, and began panting. "Still getting used to this body... But... I can..." Sakuya stood up, around thirty knives suddenly appearing all around Sakuya in a circle. "No more games." She grabbed more knives, one imbetween each finger once more. "Illusion World! The Continuum!" Gravity shifted, space distorted. The surroundings were beginning to turn into a gooey mess, as the three Ns hit their head on the celling. Which was the now-floor. And then, more then a dozen knives surrounded each of them. Nazrin was laid on the floor, knives in her legs. Newan had knives in his chest, and Nanaya, knives in her arms.

Sakuya smiled, and tossed out a couple of knives, and as they flew, one of them was aimed at Nazrin's head. Except it wasn't a knife. It was a stopwatch.

At the last moment, Nanaya grabbed the stopwatch in mid-air, and froze up. Unmoving, not responsive. "One down. Two to go." Sakuya pulled out another stopwatch. And it was ticking forward this time. Funny, didn't the one Nanaya catch... Tick backwards?

(I'll give you control of Nanaya~ Oh, and to break her from that state, make the forward-stopwatch break at the same time as the backward-stopwatch.)
-

>Alice: "A... fairy?!"
>Alice: "What are you doing in the outside world?!"

>WILL DO YOURS SOON.

[Sonae]

((YJ DAMN IT. YOU MESSED UP MY FIGHT SCENE NEVERMIND I CAN WORK WITH THIS))
((Crow Cakes, Either don't reply. Or reply having Mystia up in the air again. I need her in the air for my fight scene))
((IT'S ALMOST FINISHED DON'T WORRY))

((Also, Squawks used an achievement earlier))

((My post is finished and below. You shall shit bricks when you see it))

[CrowCakes]

Mystia's thought process was now jumbled up and in overdrive. She did not expect to be assaulted so rapidly with a spellcard that complex. A brief respite came when Flandre stopped, but was immediately ended when she wanted to have a "singing contest." Her ears were ringing so much, it was like the scream never stopped.

"Waaaaaaaait!" she shouted. Flandre stopped herself from swinging her giant flaming sword. "We're still playing danmaku!"

Inside her mind, a mock conference took place between her different thoughts.
Wait! We're gonna lose! Just get up to her and rip her to shreds!

No, no, no! Just use your Last Word!

That's stupid! Just stall and let Vante take care of it!

No, he's a human, for crying out loud! Use him as bait!

Don't listen to them, just fight with danmaku until she gets tired!
"But of course!" Flandre replied, "But it doesn't mean I get to kill you after! They told me so!"

"Who's 'they'?" both youkai and human ask.

"I don't know! Onee-chan just told me so!"

"Can't you stop? It would be much better if we both did," Vante attempted to defuse the situation with the same idea he briefly brought up with Mystia. He tried his best to stay upright and still, but Flandre's screaming caused him to keep swaggering.

"I can't! They told me to, or else bad things would happen to me."

[Keep her busy, human. Maybe I can turn this into a real singing contest!]

[What? At least give this a serious chance!] "And you trust them?"

"Uh..." Flandre actually gave this a serious thought, but was unfortunately stopped by her blood lust. "Shut up! Wait for your turn to play!"

[See, don't be ridiculous! She's a vampire, and vampires are youkai. You can't trust youkai!] There was a hint of sadistic glee in Mystia's thoughts.

[But you don't know what she thinks!] Vante reasoned. He was still firm in the belief that they could dissuade Flandre from fighting any further.

[Pssssh! Don't argue with me about that, argue with everyone!]

And Vante knew that it was pointless to reason with his partner. He was going to be all alone for this. "...if you play with her first... you won't get to play with me anymore. Don't you want to play with something?"

[Are you freaking insane? Oh, at least you bought time. Can't have you dying, you know.] Mystia screamed mentally. She regained her breath, and with much effort, was able to get off the ground and in the air again. Vante, however, remained on the ground.

Once again, Flandre was stopped. She gave serious thought to this. "...you are a human, right? Otherwise you wouldn't be wearing that armor thingy. They said there would be a human and another. Oh goody! The last humans I played with were FUN! I hope you are, too!"

Before Flandre swung the sword, Vante raised his hands up, like an almost sign of surrender. "Wait! Don't you wonder what would happen if neither of us fought?"

[You're really funny, you know that?]

[What's so funny? And when did you get back up there?]

"Yeah! It's gonna be boring! And I want fun!" Flandre pouted, "Oh, stop talking already! You're distracting me!"

Yet again, Flandre was stopped from swinging Laevateinn when Mystia shouted.

"Oh, Flandre~!" Breathing in a lot of air, she prepared to scream. "You want a singing contest? It's not fair that only you get to pass a scream as a song, is it now?"

The vampire looked on, visibly amused.

[Don't do it! I'm getting close!]

[Yeah, right.]

Vante wanted so hard to find a desk and slam his head onto it forever. The only suitable replacement was the pavement, but that didn't look comfortable. Every other thing he could head-desk with was made of either concrete, brick, or steel.

Although, it did tempt him when Mystia screamed.

(OOC: I have invoked Mystia's catchphrase! Waaaaaaaaait!)

[Sonae]

Mokou sighs and scratches her head as she slowly gets to her feet. She looks at Cirno with a slight frown.
"Well, if it isn't Chi, did ya eat something bad ta get like that?" She says with a taunting tone.
Cirno pouts. "I didn't eat anything bad" She shouts in protest. Despite her body having changed, she still has that childish mentality of hers. She then grins widely. "You must be jealous now that I've got a better body than you!" She says as she sticks out her tongue.
Mokou lets out a laugh and smirks. "Just because ya got bigger breasts doesn't mean ya can beat me" Her smirks turning into a grin as she withdraws a hand from her pocket.
Cirno smiles confidently. "Oh but I can!" She grins, preparing herself for battle.
Mokou lets out another doubtful laugh, her grin widening. "Ey Chi..."
Cirno lowers her guard, giving Mokou a questioning look.
Mokou raises her eyes, her sharp gaze aiming straight at Cirno. "Didn't Okuu teach you not to play with fire?" She says, her flaming wings erupting from her back.
Cirno pouts for a second then retorts. "Let?s see if you'll be laughin when you're nothing but a big ice cube!" The fairy shouts as she pulls out a card. "Cold Sign! Insta-Freeze Beam!" As she shouts a string of ice flies towards Mokou.
Mokou grins widely. She swings her arm diagonally into the air, a wall of fire bursting up in front of her. As the two opposites meet, they clash in a burst of steam. Water falls to the floor, steam eagerly rising from it. Mokou is standing there, without even the slightest scratch.

Cirno takes a step back, looking afraid for a moment. She clenches her teeth. "Try this on for size!" She shouts as she pulls out another card.
"Frost Sign! Frost Columns!" She shouts pushing cold air at the floor.
The floor quickly refreezes, turning into large spikes.
Mokou grins as the ice rampages towards her.  She leaps backwards a split second before an ice shard jumps up at her stomach. As she lands another attempts to pierce her stomach. With a swift flaming swing of her arm the ice is shattered, the top of the pillar drips with water as it begins to melt.
Cirno grins widely as she pulls out another card, raising it high above her head.
Mokou's eyes sharpen, and she catches a glimpse of the words on the card. Her eyes widen. Shit! She grinds her boots against the wet floor, leaping forward with as much force as she could. With a mighty flap of her wings she speeds towards Cirno as fast as possible.
"Great Crushe-!" She shouts as she swings her arms downward. Mokou rams her with all he strength. As Cirno's arms near the ground, the entire area where Mokou had been completely freezes over into a solid mass of ice. The two girls hit the wall outside the room at maximum force, smashing clear through the wall as if it were made of sand. Cirno goes flying, landing a few dozen meters from the collision site in a shroud of dust and dirt. Dusty smoke rises from the building, debris crumbling and falling to the ground below. Mokou is in the air, as if she were standing on some invisible platform, her wings ablaze and her body unscathed.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mokou spots Mystia and Vante, sending them a sideways glance. As she raises her gaze to their enemy her eyes widen. There is Flandre, no, was Flandre. All that hovered there now was a pure abomination.
"Vante!" She shouts as loud as she could to get his attention. "Don't let yer guard down! Ever! She can destroy ya with a flick o' 'er wrists!"
The second Mokou had finished shouting a lance of ice flew her way. Mokou jolted around, barely catching the jagged object before it had pierced her chest. Flames burst from her hand, eating away at the ice. She gripped down on the shrinking icicle, shattering it to small pieces.

"...Ice Sign! Icicle Machine Gun!"
A blue light flashed from within the dust cloud, and within seconds, a barrage of ice spears came flying at Mokou.
The immortal clicked her tongue in annoyance as she began weaving through the ice shards. She whipped out a red card and began to recite its name. "Hourai!"
Just then, the ice fairy burst from the floating dust and sped towards the immortal.
"South Wind, Clear Sky!" Mokou shouted, clenching her teeth between words. The fairy didn't halt however, and continued approaching at a dangerous speed. Finally, Mokou finished declaring the spell.
"Fujiyama Volcano!"
Flaming danmaku rained down on Cirno, explosives detonating left and right.
However, the fairy didn't stop. She flew at Mokou with a sadistic grin plastered across her face. And when she got close enough, she shouted.
"Ice Sign! Sword Freezer!"
As Cirno held out her hands, a sword of ice materialized in her grasp. She spun round an initiated a chain of spinning slashes on the immortal, who didn't get the chance to escape from the flurry of blows. Mokou's clothing right through to her skin was sliced, from her right shoulder all the way to her hip. As Cirno finished the combo she stopped her sword just below Mokou's shoulder.  She gazed at the shaking immortal and thrust her sword into Mokou's body. Mokou grimaced, holding in a shout of pain. She opened her eyes and gazed at Cirno?s face, which was covered by a devilish grin. Mokou's wings flickered before disappearing to nothingness. Cirno laughed and pushed the immortal away, sending her plummeting towards the earth.

Below, Mystia and Flandre were firing massive barrages of danmaku at each other, unaware of Mokou falling towards them.
Mokou grimaced and attempted to warn Mystia, but no voice came out of her. Shit...!
Cirno grinned, pulling out yet another card. Her body glowed faintly with white light as she charged up for her impending assault.
Fortunately, Vante noticed and shouted to Mystia.
But it was too late.
"Cold Body! Super Ice Kick!"
Cirno dove towards Mokou with a spinning, downward kick.
Mystia spun around, Mokou's body slammed into her, and Cirno's kick drilled them into the ground.

Dust leapt into the air, making one's vision blurry and even unable to see the outcome.
Cirno laughed from where she hovered in the air, her ice wings fluttering wildly to keep her aloft. "That's more like it!" She said loudly, praising herself for her skills.

As the dust cleared Mokou could be seen standing unstably above Mystia, gasping for air. She grabbed hold of the sword stuck into her body, and began melting it away with ease. She glared at Cirno.
The ice fairy was stunned, left speechless by Mokou's durability.
Mokou reached into her pocket, still breathing heavily. After a few deep breaths, she managed to declare the spell.
"Phoenix Rebirth!"
In the next moment, giant wings of fire spread from Mokou's back. With only a single great flap, Mokou sped into the sky, ramming right into Cirno and dragging her up into the sky. Flames spread in all directions during her take off, but faded within seconds. Fire wrapped itself around her body, like a meteor falling into the atmosphere.

Cirno was flung into the air by the force of the collision. She landed on the roof, her body and clothes burned slightly and scrapes on her limbs. She shot an intense glare at Mokou.
Mokou wasn't grinning anymore. Now she was frowning, her eyes serious. She pulled out another card.
Cirno hurriedly got to her feet and prepared herself for the assault.
Mokou closed her eyes, inhaling deeply. As she reopened them, she declared her spellcard.
"Everlasting. Phoenix's Tail" She says as she holds out her arms, her wings spread out as well.
A wave of fire forms before her, and within seconds it falls towards Cirno.
Cirno's eyes widen in fear of the coming threat. She quickly pulls out a card and shouts.
"Freeze Sign! Perfect Freeze!"
Within an instant, the wave of fire is engulfed in ice.
The startled Mokou jumps back to avoid being frozen. She clenches her teeth and grins irritatedly. "...I see you still had tricks up yer sleeve..." She says gazing at Cirno.
Her wings, despite having been melted at least slightly, have returned to their original size, if not bigger than they were before. Her clothes are a little burnt and dirty, but nothing is too severely damaged. Her legs seem to be slightly encased in ice.
Mokou's eyes widen for a moment, then a grin slides across her face.
"Uuuu...! Why can't you just be a good birdy and freeze already!?" Cirno shouts as she shoots out a small barrage of icicles at Mokou.
Mokou easily swats them away, still grinning. "If ya wanna freeze this bird ya better take to the skies you ⑨!" Mokou shouts tauntingly.
Cirno shakes in anger. "Don't call me a ⑨!!!" She yells, shooting off another, somewhat larger barrage.
Mokou grins as she easily avoids the icicles, mocking Cirno even more.
The fairy takes off flying at her while shooting icicles. Mokou turns and heads upwards, flying higher and higher into the sky, till both of them vanish into the clouds.

---

The two combatants swam through the sea of clouds at an unbelievable speed. Mokou swerved and turned, trying to mislead the fairy in the wrong direction, but Cirno kept herself focused on her target.
Mokou glanced back at Cirno for a second without turning her head or stopping. She grinned and turned her gaze upwards. At that moment fire swirled behind her, and with a single giant flap of her fiery wings, she shot off through the clouds ahead.
Cirno slowed to a stop as fire was blown towards her. She shielded her eyes with her arm and held her breath for a moment. After the flames had dissipated, she looked to where Mokou had been.
The immortal was gone, no traces of her remained.
Cirno glanced around quickly, then made an annoyed ?tch? sound as she confirmed the girl was no where in sight.

?Forgiveness! Honest Man?s Death!?
Cirno turned her face towards the shout, eyes wide.
In the next moment a large laser blew through the clouds, clearing them away instantly. Cirno barely got out of its path. She swiftly took flight heading higher in the sky. Due to the laser, she could now clearly see her target, and she headed right for her.
Just then, Mokou?s wings spread, from them streams of bullets shot towards Cirno.
Cirno halted her advance immediately, grazing the bullets in from of her for a split second. The streams had created a cage, and she was trapped in it. Next a spray of aimed danmaku came down on the fairy.
Cirno clenched her teeth and held out her hands. Her body began to glow with a faint light, as if she was charging something.
As the wave of danmaku approached, she let out a short battle cry, a shield of ice forming in front of her. As the danmaku collided with the frozen wall, they too froze, creating a chain effect of icy bullets. Mokou grinned.
Just then a laser swung down towards Cirno?s makeshift shield. Cirno?s eyes widened, but it was too late.
The laser slammed into the ice wall, shattering it. Sharp ice chunks flew at Cirno and lodged themselves into her cold flesh. She grimaced at the pain, falling slightly. Blood began to ooze from her wounds slowly, freezing soon after. The fairy panted as she began to pull the shards out of her flesh. She let out a scream of pain as she forcefully ripped them out of her slowly freezing wounds. Finally she had removed the final shard. Her whole body trembled as she panted heavily.

Mokou frowned. ?Ya had enough already? And I was just getting started??
Cirno clenched her fist in anger, her wings growing slightly.
Mokou frowned and prepared herself for the oncoming assault.
With a flash she raced towards Mokou, ice firing from her wings.
Mokou danced around the ice swiftly, occasionally grazing a bullet that flew a little too close to her.
Cirno flew upwards, finally reaching the same height Mokou was at. She took her chance and whipped out another spellcard.
?Blowing Ice! Ice Tornado!?
The wind began to pick up with an icy chill. Mokou readied herself, her fire wings blazing vigourously.
Cirno raised her arms up to the sky, a small storm raging in her hands. She grinned as the violent winds summoned into a freezing tornado.
Mokou quickly pulled out a card and recited its name.
?Exalted Personage! Advice of St. Germain!?
As she swings her arm, waves of fire shoot out from her body. They sizzle and turn to steam as they met the cold ice of the tornado. Those below believe the apocalypse is upon them.
As the waves of fire vanish, ice spears fly at Mokou with deadly speed. However, as they are about to hit their mark, the immortal vanishes, appearing some where else in the vast sky, restarting the process again.

As the tornado dissipates, the two combatants stand their ground in the sky, both visibly worn from the fierce battle. Mokou is first to speak.
?Hah?hah?ya give up yet?? she asks between breaths.
?Ha?.I?ll be done when you?re frozen solid?!? Cirno retorts.
Mokou grins pulling out another spellcard. ?Let?s finish this up then!?
Cirno does the same. ?I can?t wait to tell all the other fairies that I froze a phoenix!?
?Let?s see ya try!? Mokou shouts, her wings burning intensely.
?Hail Sign! Hailstorm!?
The ice fairy began firing wave after wave of bullets which flew in all directions.
?Deathless! Xu Fu?s Dimension!?
A field spread out from the immortal?s body, illuminating the paths where talismans would soon form.
Cirno watched, wide eyed as the field expanded all around her making her feel slightly trapped. She shook the thoughts away and focused her attention back on Mokou.
Mokou Dodged the bullets one after another as they flew at her in a complex set of angled columns. Red danmaku shot from the center of the pattern, acting as another static cage. From her body she shot a small aimed stream of bullets that slowly floated towards Cirno.
Then, the talismans began to collapse, inward and outward.
Cirno?s heart skipped a beat as she nervously flew through the first outward moving wave. He large wings were hit by danmaku due to their size. The ice crystals began to crack and dent with each blow. The fairy clenched her teeth and glared towards Mokou who was smirking confidently. She shot out more angled columns of danmaku, all the while swerving through the collapsing net of danmaku. After one wave would fall, another would reappear in its place. Mokou grinned as she watched the fairy stumble around in her cage.
Then, more fields spread out, this time vertically. They soon started firing masses of talismans in each vertical direction.
Cirno panicked. This was more than she?d ever handled before, and it was evident that she couldn?t take much more. Danmaku constantly collided with her icy wings, corroding them. She could feel tinges of pain run through her body. She clenched her teeth in an attempt to ignore the pain, but it persisted.
Her balance seemed to falter with each impact, draining her concentration even more. Eventually, her limbs began to take hits as well. Pain racked her body, tears forming in her eyes. Finally, she let out a cry of pain. Her spellcard ended, forcing the bullets to vanish completely.

Mokou held up her hand slightly, the talismans ceased forming and eventually all faded away. The red danmaku had stopped, and the sky was now clear of bullets. Mokou slowly floated down to Cirno?s level, frowning in a disappointed manner. She didn?t speak she just gazed at the exhausted fairy.

Cirno gasped for air, sweat dripping from her face. She was worn, both physically and mentally. Her body was wounded, her clothes were torn, and her wings were on the verge of shattering due to the countless cracks that reached deep into their icy cores. Bruises and burns blemished her soft skin. Ice slowly crept up her legs in a thick covering.
As her breathing slowed, she clenched her teeth, her body shaking with anger. Her wings began to grow, repairing themselves in the process. Sharp edges were created at the tips of her icy wings, turning them into weapons. Ice covered her feet to her thighs, still creeping upwards towards the rest of her body. Finally, she looked up towards Mokou.
Her eyes were colorless, just like the ice that forged her deadly wings.

An uneasy feeling began to appear in Mokou?s mind. Something wasn?t right here. Cirno was only a fairy. Even if she was exceptionally strong for her kind, she still wouldn?t be able to fight on par with Mokou, who was an exceptionally strong, not to mention immortal, human. Then Mokou spotted it.

The cracks inside Cirno?s wings oozed pure black essence. Void, nothingness, Chaos.
Shit! Mokou clenched her teeth. So Chaos got her?fuck?! Mokou?s wings flickered, glowing brighter. ?So that?s what was wrong with Flandre? Mokou?s expression was full of hatred for this creature called Chaos. If it has the Scarlet Devil?s sister? She opened her eyes wide, realizing what that meant. Fuck! I need to finish this?!
She turned her attention back to Cirno who was nearly finished recovering. The immortal pulled out another card and shouted its name.
?Hourai Doll!?
Another field expanded outward, enclosing the space the two of them were in. The fires of Mokou?s wings intensified.
Two translucent circles began forming strings of bullets which flew towards Cirno only seconds later.
Cirno?s wings were completely repaired now, and her body began to glow faintly. Just as the bullets met at her location, she vanished from sight. Mokou jolted back, turning to look for her. But she wasn?t in sight. Shit Mokou clicked her tongue in irritation and she initiated the next phase of her spellcard.
Yellow bullet circles shot out from the immortal?s body. She glanced around trying to find Cirno. Finally she spotted her in the upper corner of the field, farthest from Mokou.
Mokou swiftly put her arms forward, aiming for Cirno. She activated the third and final phase of her spell.
An aimed stream of arrow shaped bullets flew towards Cirno.
The fairy didn?t move at all.
Mokou gave a small smile as she told her mind this was the end of the battle.

She was wrong.

Cirno grinned widely, her eyes still hidden due to her now long hair. She had a card ready.
Mokou?s eyes widened. Shit!
Cirno raised her head, her eyes now visible.
What was supposed to be white was now ink black, what was supposed to be colored was white, and her pupils were nothing more than a sharp line with black entrancing rings echoing out from it.
The black ooze starts to seep through the ice, contaminating it slowly. The black mass is now oozing out of the cracks, drops falling through the clouds sparsely. She declares her spellcard.
?Freeze Sign! Minus K!?
The ice fairy shot out three ice crystals. Within a second, they exploded, sending danmaku forward. After the first exploded, Cirno began firing them rapidly, creating a thick wall of frozen danmaku.
Mokou made another annoyed sound and flew towards Cirno in a somewhat curved line.
The ice fairy jumped around, laughing all the while. The ice crystals trailed after Mokou, creating a flurry of danmaku behind her.
Mokou clicked her tongue in annoyance. Damn fairy? She thought as she glanced back at the mass of bullets behind her. As she turned her gaze back to where Cirno was, her eyes widened.
Cirno was gone.
Mokou didn?t even get a chance to acknowledge this as she heard a voice in front of her.
?Got?cha?
Mokou turns to see Cirno with a smug grin on her face. Between her and the fairy was an ice crystal.
SHIT!
The crystal explodes in front of Mokou, at point blank range.

Mokou?s body falls from the sky. Her wings are gone, as if they were just an illusion. Gravity pulls down on her unmoving body. Within seconds, the immortal?s body disappears into the clouds.
Cirno lets out a triumphant laugh as she watches Mokou fall. ?I did it! I won! I really beat her!? Cirno says, an overjoyed smile on her face. ?I beat the immortal fire bird!? Cirno cheers loudly, a sense of euphoria emanating throughout her entire body.



Cirno?s eyes widened, all traces of joy vanishing immediately.
She could feel it. A sharp gaze from a set of crimson eyes. It pierced through her very soul, and she could feel it in her heart.
Ice.
However, it wasn?t the same kind that Cirno could make with her ability to manipulate cold air. This was different.
This was fear.

Cirno?s body was illuminated, but not with the white glow of before.
This glow was crimson, and much stronger and vibrant than the previous glow. It shone vigourously around her.
Countless familiars began forming beside Cirno. After a few seconds, they?d spew forth purple bullets that wandered through the sky aimlessly. Cirno weaved in and out of the bullets with little difficulty. She grins.
?Is that it?! This is soooo easy!? She shouts.
No response.
Then, the second wave started.
Familiar after familiar was spawned, with no end. After a few moments, they shot five pointed shots, one aiming for Cirno?s position.
The Ice fairy made an annoyed ??tch? sound again as her wings began to receive more punishment. More cracks formed into their icy structure, the black ooze creeping into them and dripping out more and more with each escape route.
As the second phase came to an end, Cirno gasped for air. Unfortunately, the possessing glow wouldn?t relent, and instead, began to place large explosives around the fairy. She barely managed to escape each blast, danmaku just grazing her at the last second before she sped away.
Eventually, the final phase began.
The final phase mixed the first and third waves together, making familiars that not only exploded, but also release slow moving bullets that floated off into the sky as they pleased. Cirno could feel her heart race as she neared the end of the spell.
And with a flash of light, all the danmaku vanished. Cirno gazed around, trying to find the one responsible for that last attack. Out of the corner of her eye she spotted something, colored red and white. She turned to face it.

There standing far above her was Mokou. Her expression was dead serious, devoid of positive emotions. She had both of her hands in her pockets, not moving, as if she was standing on the air herself. Her gaze fixated on Cirno, those crimson eyes of hers seeming to see right through into the fairy?s very soul. Her wings were gone, not even a wisp of fire around her body. She didn?t speak.
Cirno glared at Mokou, clenching her fists as tight as she could. Her body shook with anger. ?Why?Why won?t you just?? She muttered, her head lowering slightly. She suddenly lifted her head and shouted at the immortal. ?Why won?t you just die already?!?
Cirno?s wings expanded, the blades of ice shining brightly despite the sun not being visible. The ice on her limbs became thicker, now covering her stomach. The oozing black had ceased squeezing through the cracks in her wings. It too had frozen over, just like the blood that had leaked from her wounds. Her eyes started to blend, the black creeping in on the white, staining its frost like tone.

Mokou was unfazed, her expression unchanging. She just stared at the fairy, as if in a trance. Without a word, she removed her hand from her pocket and raised her arm, a spellcard in her grasp.
?Hourai. Mizunoe no Ura no Shimako and Five-Coloured Turtles?
A tremendous mass of danmaku shot from Mokou?s hand. Five two way streams of danmaku flew out in many colors. Yellow to the left, blue to the right, black beside yellow, red beside blue, and white in the front, aiming right for Cirno.
Cirno could feel her body freeze with fear. This was by far the most dense card she had ever seen, and it was terrifying. She swallowed her fear and pulled out her final card. She closed her eyes and focused her energy. She inhaled deeply, and exhaled slowly. The she opened her eyes, full of determination.
?Frozen Sign! Freeze Atmosphere!?

With that, she declared her final spell. The area around her body lowered in temperature, emitting a mist of white. A halo of light appeared around her body, shining with brilliance. Her wings had expanded to a ridiculous size, their edges dulled slightly by the addition of more and more ice. If any normal person saw her now, they?d believe she was an angel of ice sent from heaven.
Mokou?s expression faltered for a second with uneasiness. She regained her composure almost instantly, eyes still fixated on the enemy in front of her. Danmaku closed in on Cirno.
Cirno grinned widely. With one flap of those giant wings, she sped towards Mokou recklessly.
Mokou looked confused for a second, stepping back a bit. However, she didn?t allow her guard to go down and kept firing, her bullets tracing the fairy?s movements.
As Cirno approached the bullets, she swiftly sidestepped them, grazing as many bullets as she could. As the bullets came near her, they instantly froze.
Mokou?s eyes widened and she stepped back once more. She clenched her teeth and glared at the oncoming fairy.
Cirno?s grin became wider as she watched Mokou?s reactions. She was closing in on the immortal, and fast at that. The immortal who had nowhere to run to.
Mokou?s expression began to show signs of fear. She was panicking. Cirno would soon reach her, and with nowhere to hide, she would be frozen solid.
Cirno could feel the adrenaline rush through her body. Her heart pounded with excitement. She was going to win. She was going to defeat the strongest human in all of Gensokyo. She was going to win, and take one more step closer to the title of the Strongest in all of Gensokyo. A sense of unbelievable happiness filled her soul till it felt as if it would burst. Her wings gave another mighty flap.



A wide grin spread across Mokou?s face. Her eyes shone with satisfaction.
Cirno?s eyes widened, not understanding why the immortal reacted like that.
But then it hit her.
Her body halted to a stop.
Cirno?s lip trembled, not believing it. Slowly she turned and looked back.
Her entire body was encased in thick, solid ice.
She stared in disbelief. She couldn?t move even a finger. The only thing she could move was her head. The rest was frozen solid.
Mokou lets out a loud laugh.
?Hahahaha! I can?t believe you fell for it!? She shouted, holding her stomach and wiping a tear from her eye. ?That was perfect! Amazing! Brilliant!!? She said mockingly, still laughing. As her fit of laughter came to an end, she regained her breath and grinned.
Cirno just stared at her wide-eyed, unable to say anything. Her lip trembled uncontrollably.
Amongst the ice was a deposit of danmaku that had frozen.
Unaware of it, her spellcard caused the ice on her body to act as a net for danmaku, and it worked flawlessly. Tears began to well up in the fairy?s eyes.
The battle was over.
And she had lost.

Cirno lowered her head, tears streaming down her face. Then, gravity activated, and her coffin of ice began to fall to the ground.
?Woah there!? Mokou said as she appeared below Cirno, catching her before she plummeted to the earth.
?It?ll be bad fer both o? us if ya break inta tiny little pieces like that!? She said, grinning widely. Slowly, the two floated downward, through the clouds, and towards the earth.
The entire time, Mokou didn?t create even the slightest flame, ensuring that the ice wouldn?t melt.
Eventually, Mokou landed on the ground, a little ways away from the battle between Vante, Mystia and Flandre.
She carefully placed the frozen fairy on the ground.
Cirno?s tears fell from her face, staining the dusty ground before turning to ice.
?Now ya stay ther and be a good girl ya hear?? She laughed at the fairy?s pitiful state.
With that wide grin still on her face, she turned to the battle taking place before her.

[日巫子]

((I'm sorry, I'm horrible at writing fight scenes.))

Hirenko made a small choking sound as Rin clamped down on her neck.  She couldn?t breathe, and it hurt.  She heard Rumia shouting something, but it didn?t matter...She realized that in her hand was still the Shadow Blade.  Feeling her throat closing up she knew she had no time, and in the spur of the moment slashed the blade upwards.  It cleaved right through Rin?s arm once again, severing it from the rest of her body and releasing Hirenko?s neck from the death grip.  Without hesitating she pulled back the sword and plunged it into Rin?s stomach, the blade easily passing through her and coming out the other side.

?No thank you.?  Hirenko retracted the blade and slashed at Rin again.  Skip.  Rin was behind her again, and swung her scythe at the girl?s torso with her remaining arm.  Hirenko stepped back, holding out the Shadow Blade to block it.  The scythe missed the blade and instead sliced a long gash across Hirenko?s arm and shoulder.  Hirenko stepped back, biting her lip as she hissed in pain.

?Hey, don?t do anything stupid!? Rumia called out to Hirenko as she dashed forward.  Rin turned, allowing Hirenko to dart out of the way.  Rin was only to be met by Rumia cutting her in half.

[Aya Squawkermaru]

(OOC: You and me both. Also, I don't see how I'm going to control Nanaya if she's like this, but whatever.)

Newan panted, struggling to stand up. The knives in his chest hurt, hurt like nothing before. His experience with the previous maid was a constant, throbbing pain; this was sharp, overbearing. The pain was everything; he could barely even think about standing up. Nanaya was frozen. Nazrin was failing to stand up, as the knifes in her legs made standing too painful. Damn it... What the hell can I do? I suck with this sword, that maid can stop time, and she throws knives. I should just give up now...

Coward.

Newan was shocked. Wait... but I thought we-

Even if our consciousnesses merged, we still both have control over our mind. You obviously don't know what you're doing. I'm taking over.

But... you're just a kid...

A kid who likes hurting people. Newan gulped, then a cool grin spread across his face. ?You're hitting me a lot, but don't you know that it's supposed to be the other way around?? The grin suddenly turned sadistic. ?Come on, I'll show you what pain really is.?

?You talk pretty big for someone in your position.? Sakuya readied more knives.  Knives flew out, reflecting off of walls. Newan looked around, and found what he was looking for.He made a dash for an opening, as the area he had just been in filled with knives. He grazed his way to the maid, only for her to timeskip to the other end of the hallway. He let out an exasperated sigh. ?Oh come on, don't be like that.?

He then blinked in surprise as the remaining knifes disappeared. ?Oh? Giving up??

Sakuya raised a card above her head. Newan couldn't help but gulp; her expression was serious, more serious than it had been the whole fight. She calmly declared her card, the grace and elegance of a maid showing in her voice. ?Void. Inflation Square.?

Newan looked around the room as it filled with knives. Knives, knives, and more knives, everywhere, aimed in every direction. A circle of red knives formed around him. Then, it hit him. His sword. He wouldn't be able to deflect every knife; he didn't have nearly the speed or coordination for that. But if he could just make an opening...

The knives closed in on him. He dashed forward, slashing with the flat end of the sword. He dashed forward, managing to dodge the red knives that had been at the other end of the circle. He moved through the knives, slowly making his way to Sakuya. He grinned, as he was finally close enough. ?Game's over.? He brought a slash across, aiming for her chest.

[CrowCakes]

"Mokoooou! Even now, you're still sabotaging my plans?" the enraged night bird shouted. Shaking dust and dirt off herself, she looked up at the flying vampire, who was looking at them in confusion.

Vante was, not surprisingly, alarmed. If the spellcard rules still applied here, they could win. But after seeing Flandre's intense attacks, he started doubting that chance. Looking to his left, he saw Mokou approaching.

Flandre's eyes switched from the human to the bird to the immortal over and over. Whatever patience she had left snapped because of indecision and, of course, anger.

"Stop! Stop moving and wait for your turn! You know what, I'll just play with all of you at the same time!" Tightening her grip on Laevateinn, Flandre dragged it through the sky and aimed it at the bird, intent on catching Mystia with it. Layers of white bullets were left in its wake. Mystia, who was no longer flying, beat her wings as she glided across the ground, the flaming blade only inches away from her.

[Vante, get help or I'll get fried by that crazy girl! I can feel the sword's heat already!

[Hm, try to get her down. I'll go ask Mokou.]

There were other panicky words in the bird's message, but they quickly drowned themselves out. Nevertheless, Vante ran towards the immortal. "Mokou, we need help. I can't do anything unless Flandre comes down, and Mystia's about to get fried alive if this keeps up."

[Sonae]

Mokou grins, hands in her pockets once more. "Natta problem" She says with confidence.
Mokou begins to walk over to the battle casually. "Eyyyyyyyyy Flan-duuuurrrrrr" She calls with a bored expression. "Why you playing with that boring ol' bird?" She looks at the flaming weapon chasing Mystia and grins widely. She glances back to make sure Cirno is still trapped in her ice coffin. After reassuring herself that Cirno wouldn't get out anytime soon due to her body's cold temperature not allowing the ice to melt, she turns back to Flandre.
"So Flandre, I heard yer so strong they wont let you outside of da mansion" She shouts to her casually.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

"Right," Aesera said, "that was interesting. Kanako, crush her. If cutting her head open didn't kill her, then I'm not taking any chances."

As Kanako brought her pillars down on Rin, Aesera went over to Hirenko and examined her injury. "Doesn't look too bad. Hold still."

Aesera removed her first-aid kit from her pack and went to work. "I know what I'm doing," she said. "Don't worry. It's not bad, anyways. It may hurt, but that's all. There's no telling where Rhiseza is right now-she's one of us, and she has healing abilities-but fortunately, the worst this'll do is give you some pain, so her assistance isn't really necessary."

When she finished her work, Aesera put the first-aid kit away. "Right. Next step, get back to the normal world. This looks different, but it may be a similar effect to one we saw yesterday, in which case just moving far enough away should be enough to get out. And don't worry about the damage. If this does work the same way, then we're not actually in the normal world, and any damage or casualties that happened here didn't actually happen.

"Right, let's get back to normal reality. Then we'll come back here for the rest of your meal, Rumia. And Kanako, as soon as we're out, contact the others. We'll assume that anyone you can't reach is also in battle. I don't know that we'll be able to intervene-that may be the purpose of the whole separation-from-reality thing-but we should at least take a headcount. then we get back to the original plan: get Hirenko, Renko, and Maribel to an advantageous location."

"You don't think this was the attack?" Kanako asked.

"No," Aesera said, "I don't. I think this was an attack on the embodiments, not Hirenko and her friends, probably meant to weaken us before the real attack. That's still to come, so we need to be sure we're ready for it."

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Still waiting on a few people. Mainly Orphea and Sampson. Will type once I reach home~

[CrowCakes]

Now, Flandre was losing it. She swung Laevateinn in the direction of Mokou's voice, diverting all the chaos of her spellcard to the immortal.

"Stop butting in!" Her voice was a mix of a young girl's and a more aged, demonic tone.

Mystia descended, the pressure of dodging released from her. Watching the vampire and immortal engage in combat, she couldn't help but smile. It was still fun to treat Mokou's troubles as entertainment.

"I have an idea," Vante went over to Mystia, planting his scythe lightly onto the ground. "Maybe, you could come from below her," he pointed to Flandre, "and surprise her, and probably hinder her flight. She might fall if that happens."

"Er, about that," Mystia's face shifted into a look of hesitation, "Remember what I said about Flandre being a secret? Yeah, the reason why lots of people are afraid of her is that she can destroy anything her eyes get a hold of. If I attacked her like that, she could attack me in the same way, except I become a dead parrot. Did anyone tell you that?"

Vante sighed. "I forgot about that. Then that means only Mokou can get her to get back down."

"Die already! I wanna see blood!" Flandre's scream rang out as she fought with Mokou.

"There's also that," Mystia pointed out, "She's hungry for blood, and unless she's as stupid as we saw she was, we ain't gonna get her down anytime soon."

After a considerable amount of time passed as they thought, Mystia was the first to come up with another idea.

"Did you ever think of running away?"

"No. What are you thinking of?" Vante took off his glasses, which had miraculously survived the previous encounter, rubbed his eyes, and put the glasses back on.

"I'm thinking of running away, making her chase us, and sneaking on her from behind. I'm faster than you, so I'll run ahead of you. I'll hide for a bit, then you two will-"

"'Two'? You mean Mokou, too?"

"Yep! If Flandre gets too caught up with chasing you, she'll forget all about me, and when she stops, I'll knock her out!"

"It sounds good, but what if she doesn't forget? Considering that, why not blind her instead? If what you said was correct, then she can't instantly kill anyone if she can't see."

"Wow, I didn't think of that. So, we should get Flandre down, then blind her, then knock her out. Okay, everything's gonna be fi-"

Before Mystia could finish her statement, Flandre stopped her assault with Laevateinn.

"Woops, I forgot I could play with all of you at the same time!" Drawing a spellcard, she giggled. "Taboo, Four of a Kind!"

"-ne. Oh snap, that didn't sound nice."

"Just sing for now," Vante moved in front of the bird and readied his scythe. "I'll stay here and keep an eye on you."

"Ooh, that's brave. You won't last a second in danmaku. Well, at least you won't die. One tip: always look for openings, and try and squeeze through them."

[Sonae]

Mokou easily side stepped the flaming sword. "Takin' me on with fire?" She says mockingly with a wide grin. "Are you stupid or somethin?"
Mokou easily dodged each swing of the weapon. Due to the sheer size of  the weapon, it wasn't a particularly quick or even useful melee weapon. So at close combat like this, it wasn't all that great.
Mokou's grinned widely as she jumped out of the way of each swing. "Come on, is that all you got!?" She shouted tauntingly.
With that Flandre made a large downward sweep along the ground. Laevatein swung smoothly through the air, disintegrating the dirt on the ground.
After the wave passed, Flandre eagerly looked for Mokou's corpse.
The immortal was no where in sight.
Flandre glanced around trying to find her. Then she felt a hand on her shoulder.
"Ya know...if you attack so straightforwardly...well, yer not too much different from all those other idiots out there."
Flandre spun around swinging Laevatein at the girl.
Mokou grinned, leaping to safety with a back flip.
Flandre was breathing slightly quick due to the frenzied swings of her weapon. She glared at Mokou.
As Mokou over hears Mystia and Vante's conversation, she joins in.
"Ya really can't read can ya?" She says with a low laugh.
[She can't destroy instantly ya birdbrain]
Flandre shouts, taking another swing at the red-white human before her. Mokou just barely leaps out of the way, in the process pulling out a card and shouting it's name.
"Hollow Giant! Woo!"
With that her flaming wings burst from her back, burning vibrantly. She glances back to Cirno, making sure she's not too close to the fairy. Satisfied, she turns back to Flandre, firing three strings of bullets in her direction. After a moment the bullets begin to spread in random directions.
Flandre gets more aggravated. Unable to use her Laevatein in this state she dispells the card, pulling out another to replace it.
As Flandre declares it, Mokou's expression becomes serious. She flies towards the girl as she begins to split into four.
"Knock out her clones! Don't give her a chance to retaliate!" Mokou shouts as she closes in on the vampire.
Flandre giggles, a burst of energy knocking the immortal back.
Mokou flips, landing on her feet, sliding across the ground to a stop. She fires multiple strings at the child, in an attemp to trap her.

[Orphea.Russ]

(Fffffff why do I have to get sick today)

Rhiseza strode up to the now immobile Patchouli, and with a cold glare snapped a chain at her. It wasn't especially painful, but it wasn't intended to be.
"Sorry, but I can't let you kill her."
She turned her attention to Youmu and healed her, though she remained unconscious for the time being.
"You are a very odd human."
"I would guess most humans are odd to you."
"Even so... A human with powers such as yours... Deserves some attention. Perhaps I will let you live, barely, to possibly determine the origin of it..."
"Y'know... as much as I would normally love to help you with that, I'm a busy woman. I have things to do."
Then the blackness around Patchouli dispersed.
"... Hmm. That was slightly difficult to get rid of. Now, to dispose of the both of you..."
Two of Rhiseza's chains lashed out, almost automatically, and wrapped around Patchouli's legs, and with a sharp movement and a loud *KRACK*, Patchouli fell to the ground.
"I really do feel bad about this. So instead I'll just leave you to fix yourself up while we do other more important things."
Rhiseza picked up Youmu, and started out towards the door. Or where the door was anyways.
"Water Sign, Princess Undine...!"
She pulled herself and Youmu to the floor immediately, narrowly avoiding the first part. When she looked back there was an insane amount of bluish orbs, and Patchouli was standing again. Odd, she could have sworn she'd snapped the bones... But that wasn't the issue. She wasn't going to be able to get around the wall of orbs with Youmu on her, but she couldn't just drop her either. So instead, she grit her teeth together in irritation and stood back up, her chains going to work, spinning around her to create a shield against Patchouli.
Fortunately, it was fairly effective against the orbs.
Unfortunately, it wasn't so effective against the beams, as Rhiseza discovered when the next one practically ignored her chains, and she barely managed to get out of the way.

(All I can think of right now. Yeah, I know, it's mind implodingly terrible.)

[Sampson]

With sudden clarity, Gale focused his energy on Koakuma, causing orbs of light to be launched at the demon.

"Wha--just great!" she said, attempting to dodge the bullets of light.  A few of them hit their target, but more importantly, the purple thread began to quiver.

Koakuma shot pitch-black needles at Gale, but he sent out, in turn, more light bullets.  He managed to roll to the side and avoid the flurry of needles, but even more bullets hit Koakuma this time and the thread broke.

"Oh...that wasn't very nice..."

"You tried to kill us!  What's so nice about that?"

"Uh, well..."  Koakuma looked around nervously.  "Uh...purple bullets!"  She shot a stream of purple energy from her hands, which ended up missing Gale and Orin completely, instead hitting some computers.

"They didn't explode?"

"You wanted them to?"

"Well..."

But before she could respond, Gale sent a burst of rather painful-looking shards of light at her.  She was pretty annoying.

[CrowCakes]

(OOC: Quotes are directed at other Touhous, while brackets are directed at Vante. I kinda messed up with that a while back.)

"Can you sing as well as I can?" Mystia asked back.

"Well, I did say it was hearsay. You can't blame me for that, can you?"

Vante, however, was not concerned with talking back but with the two Flandre clones now approaching them. They were in the exact hideous appearance as the original one. As they flew, they giggled so much that it scared Vante.

"What are you waiting for? Sing already!" Vante looked back at the night bird, who had only caught sight of the Flandre clones at that moment. At the first sight of attack, he would move right away.

"Oh, alright, alright. What for, anyway? It's not like we can outrun four of them."

"No, we're just going to make our work easier by blinding them."

Mystia did not ask any more questions. Huffing a bit, she prepared another batch of nightblinding magic.

"Oh, see the hazy moon rising over the banks,
Rows of cherry trees standing over the stream,
How I love the cherry blossoms in the moonlight!
How can I describe for you the night like in a dream?"

Four black orbs moved out as Mystia sung, advancing towards the four Flandres. Three hit their mark, but one Flandre spotted one, and with her hand aimed at the orb, destroyed it with her own magic.

"Oh, that reminds me! Vocal Sign, Howl of the Horned Owl!"

Rings of danmaku exploded, with Mystia at the epicenter. As the rings expanded, they reached their farthest point and started twisting towards the sides. They were still aimed at the two Flandre clones.

"Also, pro tip: kill them already, Vante."

Of course, he was never able to follow through with that as the Flandres began releasing their own rings of danmaku.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Koakuma swiped her hand, the shards of light being flung to the side. She was a demon, and in this manor, it was Light against Darkness. Either side could win. The eye on her chest glowed, projecting some red screen up in front of Koakuma. Gale begins to fire more light-projectiles, but as they hit the screen, it emits a clanging sound before the projectiles fade away. Her wings flap, even those on her ears do. Something's going to happen. She's getting... hyped?

The eye flares, much like how Utsuho's did. She flexes her arms, before smiling at Gale.

"You're mean, you know?" Gale is silent. "Oh, and you know how you wanted bullets to explode?" He freezes up.

Circular orbs begin to form around Koakuma's wrists, floating up and down her arms. They begin to flatten and project energy into the surroundings. It's becoming dark. So very dark. Gale looks behind him, to see the broken glass door before a black mist covers it up. He runs forward, but knocks into something and falls to the floor. There's no escape anymore. He hears Koakuma's laughter from all around him. Intimidating.

Purple needles begin to fly, illuminating the darkness. Gale can't even see his hands now. As the needles whizz past him, his body flares at moments just before the needles reach in range. A self-alert system in his body? Sweet. When the needles hit the black mist borders around gale, they get stuck there, giving off some light and continously firing purple balls. Gale snaps one off and throws them randomly in the darkness, making a clanging sound again.

The shield.

When a needle is snapped off, it stops firing purple balls too. And that wasn't the explosion that Gale actually thought would be like.
-

Flandre's clones immediately disappear, along with Flandre herself. Vante, Mystia and Mokou are just floating/standing there, with no enemies about. What's happening? And then, Mokou flinches. She knows this ability. That one where Flandre becomes invisible, and a big trail of danmaku will follow them all. Mokou opens her mouth to shout to Mystia and Vante, but something catches her eye. Something red.

Flandre's on the ground beside Cirno, kicking the ice around her lazily.

"Hey! Hey! Come up and let's play with them!"

Cirno remains silent inside her own ice cube, tears in her eyes.

"Hey! Why are you so weak? You're surposed to be more powerful since they told us to kill the humans!"

Cirno doesn't respond. Flandre's smile becomes a frown, and she punches the ice around Cirno. It slowly cracks and cracks. Mokou's in the air, her fist burning with flames. She charges forward at Flandre, who grabs her wrist before the fist can hit her face. Mokou's eyes go wide. A mistake she should'nt have made. A huge line of flames is brought up, almost slicing Mokou with her own element. Flandre still has that big flaming wand/sword of hers.

Mokou gets flung back, landing on her feet. The physical damage hurts, but being hit with fire would just accelerate her regeneration. Flandre smiles, and looks at the bird and Vante. She slams her fists together, those black tentacles over her arms beginning to vibrate. Soon enough, they split and fire off into all directions, Flandre gone again. A flash of light comes from above, Mystia being the first to be hit. A ball of blue rams into her back, pushing her to the ground.

She collides on Vante, who threw his scythe up at the last moment. The scythe connects with the blue ball, holding it back as he gets Mystia off him and moves away from the ball. Mokou flies up to them, her flaming wings beating constantly...

Cirno layed there, within the cracking ice cube. It would'nt melt because of she being inside it. But she had to go out. She had to prove that she was the strongest. She had to kill them. All of them. In her little prison, she whimpered. She was afraid, afraid that she could't do anything at all. But yet, she could. And she would. Because she was the Darkness.

The ice block cracked more. The cracks crept all over the cube, slowly breaking it apart. Darkness seeped out of the cracks, almost like dry ice. Tentacles began to spawn right around the cube. Cirno smiled. The ice shattered, and there stood, with the mature body, a little girl. And wings of burning frost.

A symphony of Frost and Flame.
-

Rin's body was brutally cut up, before being squashed into a pulp. She probably would'nt be able to get out of that. Or could she? Rumia stared at her body, thinking about the latter. She had the ability to change memories, essensially changing the past and all actions done. Could'nt she just remove them for even being bor-

Born.

Rumia blinked, before looking back at Rin. She began to stutter to herself, the Sword of AntiChrist beginning to tremble in her hands. Rumia was actually afraid of being unborn. But she was never born, either, right? And Rin was quite... dumb, to fall into obvious traps and maneuvers. The trembling stopped, but Rumia walked backwards, pushing Hirenko behind her. Her free hand grabbed Aesera's wrist, and pushed her back too. Something was stirring.

The pillars Kanako set down upon her were moving, no, more like vibrating. As if some tremendous energy was vibrating the earth itself. Rumia was the first one to react, charging forward, her blade ready. It's black steel sung. It hungered. The blade was sent in a stabbing motion, directly through the pillars, before it spun in Rumia's hands, slicing the torso of Rin. The blade soon stilled, landing in the middle of Rin's chest. But she wasn't dead. Rumia jumped back, waving her hand as the blade dislodged itself and flew back into her grasp.

"I've forgotten how to die. I'll show all of you the pain. The endless pain of memories." Rin's bloodied face looked up, and her body began standing in a grotesque manor. Her bones snapped endlessly  as her body began to take shape. Her head, split into half with scarlet just spewing down, just pulled itself up and stuck itself together. Her wounds were healing, but not healing like how a normal person would. Time was backtracking.

Rin's fully functional, recovering body was an abomination. One that Nature would never allow to exist, even in Gensokyo.

"God has forgotten about me. And he soon will forget all about you. Everyone will."

Shadows began to rise from the floor, they seem to come into shape by crumbling. Crumbling in reverse. As if a rock cracked all over and began to fall apart, being watched in reverse. There stood Mima. Brown and hollow. Lifeless. Rumia's eyes began to swirl. She was afraid. This was not the real Mima, but something more. And something less. Kanako stood at the side, filled with rage and... Fear? In front of her stood another lifeless creature. Suwako.

"You will die. You all will die and be forgotten by those you hold so dear..."
-

Patchouli's expressionless face is back once more, and she stops talking. Her limbs jolt with electricity. Her colourful dress glows and dims rhythmically. Her limbs sing with untold might. Water began to float in the air around her, and Patchouli herself began to be lifted up in the air by flames. White fire. She twists her hands and arms, all in a circular motion as a ball appears in the center of her hands, The ground in every direction of Patchouli begins to ignite in a circle, white flames bursting out of the ground, scorching the lands.

"Fire Water Sign..." Rhiseza runs forward, the chains on her body flaring darkness. She lunges, her clawed hand impacting Patchouli. But all i hits is a red, thin shield. There's a clanging sound and energy begins to wave around, showing the shield. It's covering her whole body, and there's a thin line going all the way back into the not-destroyed part of the school. Rhiseza has her head turned to see the line, and when she looks back, all she sees is light.

And a smiling Patchouli.

"Excalibur!"

An immense flash of light bursts all around the duo, coming from the ground. White flames break the ground entirely, forming long spikes in every direction. A long, spear-like object begins to burst from the middle of the fire. It reaches up and expands, before imploding into a gigantic sword piercing the ground, illuminated by white flames and the blade being made of orange water. As it soon fades, Rhiseza seems to be flying all the way across the land, before knocking into something really hot and falling to the floor.

Mokou.

Patchouli begins to slowly float towards the area, now in view.
(SO MIND-IMPLODINGLY FAIL RESPONCE HERE)
-

Alice questions Daiyousei, who has her back faced to them. Her head turns slightly, yawning. Alyssa stands behind Alice, gripping Mira. Shanghai and Hourai float cautiously closer to Daiyousei.

"You're not surposed to be here..."

Silence.

"...Daiyousei?"

Silence.

"Why are you here?!"

Daiyousei leaps back, only to be blocked by Shanghai and Hourai. Her

(WILL EDIT TO FILL UP. GOD PLAYING DOTS NOW)

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Well, shit. [Kanako, that's not Suwako.]

[I know, but...]

[Just hold it off. I have a plan.]

And it was a simple plan. And somewhat crazy, too, but crazy often was effective precicely because it was crazy.

Aesera took her lance in hand and charged Rin. And as she did, she did two other things. She focused on her weapon, trying to send as much energy as she could into it. And she also made another attempt to contact her other self. [Azeri, this would be a really good time for some divine intervention.]

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

(Continued)

Daiyousei was essentially cornered, being flanked and held back by dolls - which were actually really fast. Alice and Alyssa at her front, and Alyssa was especially confused. Daiyousei smiles, she isn't her normal self. Her wings vibrate at a constant speed, as if she was Wiggle, but enough about that. Her body was swirling. Something was happening.

"D-Daiyousei?"

Her smile just widens, her eyes turning black. Black and green.

Alice pulls Alyssa further back, her hands being thrust forward and ready. Dolls begin to surface from around the duo, almost as if they were a walking wall about to charge forward. In a flick of a finger, the dolls each equipped a lance along with a shield. Alice clenches both of her fists, blue energy beginning to seep into the lines connected to her fingers. They trail all the way to the dolls, before a blue armor appears over them. Much like how a Knight's armor would be like.

Daiyousei bursts upwards, spinning around as Shanghai and Hourai follow her up, trailing her movements. Green energy begins leaking out of her eyes, covering her body, engulfing it in a green mass. Kinda looks like moss. Before it forms.

Two circular shining black eyes appear atop the mass, before it starts to take shape. Having a thick, swirling lower body, and a huge, energy-covered torso. Two thin arms that expand into giant orbs serve as arms, and Daiyousei's head is now much like a ball of sorts. (DotA Enigma, XinXin)

Green energy flares all over, the floor bursting every few milliseconds, shooting beams upwards.
-

Newan delivers a swift slash to Sakuya's face and body all at the same time. Weird, didn't you only aim for h- The attack never connects, it seems you only whipped air apart. Where did she go?! He jumps back, noticing Nazrin still cringing on the floor, and Sakuya, standing and leaning on the frozen Nanaya.

"I wonder what would happen if I cut her up?" A chill goes down your spine. Sakuya notices the sudden change of expression on your face too.

"What? Why do you look so shocked? She your girl or something?" She's even beginning to speak unlike earlier. Sakuya brings one of her knives to Nanaya's face, making a small cut on her cheek. The wound appears, but there's no blood.

"Pity, it's not dripping scarlet. Remilia would like it so..." Sakuya's manor is speech has distorted from that more elegant and regal tone she once had. She brings the knife to Nanaya's eye, tracing her eyelid. She wouldn't...

"Oh yes, I would." Newan has enough of this, with anger replacing fear and shock, he runs forward. Lounging at Sakuya. Miss. The sword wavers on his backhand. He twists around, seeing Sakuya beside Nazrin.

"I'm over here." Newan runs forward, only to stop in his tracks as Sakuya kicks Nazrin up, basically just using her as a projectile. Newan catches her smoothly, and realises that the knives on her legs are gone. Nazrin makes a weak smile. "W-Well, than-nks" Newan opens his mouth to speak, but a flying knife comes from the side, making him have to slide to the side.

"Is it really time for you to talk to your girls?" Sakuya smiles. And Newan finally notices it. The area is entirely made of knives. "I manipulate space now too! The Corruption is greeeaaaaat..."

Newan's blade flares yellow. It's calling. For something... But what?

(You should try to channel energy to the blade constantly throughout your next fight scene post. Troublesome, I know~)

[Aya Squawkermaru]

Newan swore under his breath, before noticing the glow of his sword. He briefly thought back to the time he tried to use his energy to extend it. It may not have worked that time... But I'll be dead if I don't try again. Even if it doesn't do what I'm expecting... He moved into a battle stance. That doesn't matter. All that matters now is protecting them, and stopping the maid. He began trying to move his own energy into the sword. He didn't really know how, but he had a vague idea of how these things were supposed to work.

Sakuya yawned. "My, you're taking awhile. Time to speed things up, shall we?" Newan blinked in surprise. Time was suddenly moving faster. Things felt mostly the same, but he could tell. Blinking didn't take as long. Thinking didn't take as long. The knives didn't take as long. Wait, knives? Newan barely dodged a circle of knives flying at him. He ducked to the side to avoid another set of knives. Sakuya was moving back towards Nanaya, but Newan couldn't get close; he was too busy dodging the flurry of knives.  He was making stead progress towards Nanaya's position, but it wasn't fast enough to catch up before Sakuya arrived.

Then, he noticed something. Walls of knives were closing in on him. Knives from every direction, like a large star collapsing under its own gravity. And he was the center of that gravity. Then, time slowed to a snail's pace. "I want to make your death as painful as possible, of course. What's the fun if you don't feel the knives piercing your flesh?"

Newan glared at her, then looked to Nanaya. He could still see her past the curved wall of knives. He grimaced, and ran towards her. The knives were getting closer, but he no longer cared. He used the slowed time to his advantage; he hacked knives out of the way, while slowly moving back towards the center with the knives. Finally, he had an opening. Not a large one, but an opening nonetheless. He jumped through, angling his body forwards to minimize surface area. He felt the knives pierce bits of his legs and arms; it was excruciatingly painful. He felt each one moved through his skin, move through his veins. He felt every instant of pain. but he kept moving. He moved between Nanaya and Sakuya, panting. He held the sword before him. He had never felt more in-tune with it than  he did now. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Nazrin, trying to doge her own knives despite her injuries.

But he was too late. Sakuya was behind him. "My, you sure are forgetful. Too bad that you didn't die, but the ones you didn't move..." Newan turned to face her, then felt knives hitting his back. "Oh dear, did I do that?" A grin spread across her face. "You really should be more careful..." Newan swung his sword, but she was now behind Nanaya again.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

Well, shit. [Kanako, that's not Suwako.]

[I know, but...]

[Just hold it off. I have a plan.]

And it was a simple plan. And somewhat crazy, too, but crazy often was effective precicely because it was crazy.

Aesera took her lance in hand and charged Rin. And as she did, she did two other things. She focused on her weapon, trying to send as much energy as she could into it. And she also made another attempt to contact her other self. [Azeri, this would be a really good time for some divine intervention.]

Your plea for help goes unnoticed, all you hear in your mind is static. And it's beginning to hurt. Has something happened to Azeri? Why is there static in your connection? And then something strikes you. You've been calling for Azeri for over five minutes. Nobody has mad any movement. Not Rin, nor Kanako, or Hirenko and Rumia. They seem to be frozen in place.

The static is beginning to fade, and you see Hirenko's body fall to the floor, she clutching her ears tight, beginning to cry. The others have not moved. You run over to Hirenko and pull her up. What's happening?! You look into her eyes, seeming to beg from release.

"What's happening?!"

"THE VOICES. VOICES!!!! MAKE IT STOOOOP... Make... It... S-Stop"

Her shadow blade is pulsing on the floor, and the begin to hear whispers from it. But the voice you hear next shocks you more.

"Rinnosuke! What are you doing?!"

"Burning the world."

"...They've got you..."

"What use is saving the world when it is consumed by rage?"

"Gensokyo is a place is dreams!"

"And Insanity."

"Ins-sanity? Don't tell me th-"

Static returns. Hirnko is beginning to recover. No hear no whispers, but there is still no movement.
-

(Will do rest latur. Himiko and Guyumeton9 both reply to this.)

[日巫子]

All that was filling Hirenko's head were voices, voices, voices, and she wanted it to stop so badly.  She didn't quite register her legs weakening, or falling, but there was the horrible dizzying sensation, and it was some sort of miracle that she had not started shrieking as loud as humanly possible.  She was close to, but then she was suddenly on the floor, and someone had grabbed her by the shoulders and looked into her eyes, and she wanted to look away and the voices would not end and her hands were not doing anything.

She felt as though she was going to go insane; she couldn't even hear herself think.  Hirenko's breathing then started to slow, and her muscles relaxed.  She was then aware that her face was streaked with tears, but felt too paralyzed where she was, mortified, to dry them away.  The Shadow Blade lay forgotten on the floor as she looked away from Aesera and to the ceiling.  Still dizzy, but too exhausted to cry.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

Damn, Azeri's not responding. But something's happening. Is this Azeri's doing? Okay, doesn't matter. Take advantage of the situation.

Aesera formed her lance, two-pronged. She thrust it through Rin's neck and combined the tips, repeating this until Rin's head was completely severed. She picked up the head and carried it with her as she returned to the others. She faced Hirenko. "Hirenko, do you hear me? If so, then: snap the hell out of it!" She slapped Hirenko across the face, then kept shouting. And as she did, she also spoke to Kanako through the link, which there was a chance would be more effective than regular speech. [Kanako, do you hear me? Snap out of it!]