SBS Time!
InabaRabbit: By the way, was Eiki's dead lover Komachi?
Game2002: I do not do and am against same-gender love relationships, so no.
The World Walker: What was your reaction to Robin and Lucina being announced for Smash 4 along with CAPTAIN FALCON!
Game2002: I welcome most characters to the roster! Just wish Lucina was more different from Marth, though…
Please note that all characters in this parallel universe wear contemporary clothing that have color schemes similar to their canon clothing. Feel free to let your imaginations run wild!
Chapter 2
Explanations
After being surprised by the appearance of their older selves, Reimu, Marisa, and Kana were led by them into a different room that resembled a meeting room in the way that it had a table in the center and a projector screen hanging on one of the walls.
When those three stepped into the room, they were surprised again, because sitting at the table was someone they were familiar with, and that person was also surprised. "Sanae!" said Reimu.
"It's you!" said the green-haired wind priestess.
"You're the one from our world, right?" Marisa asked her.
Sanae nodded. "Yes, I'm the same one from your world, assuming you are the one from where I come from. I was sweeping outside the Moriya Shrine when suddenly I found myself in a city that looks like Tokyo. This older-looking Marisa met me not too long after that and brought me here."
"I brought her here as well," said the older Reimu. "Unfortunately, dimension-hopping technology is still too advanced to make using current technology, and we couldn't bring you people to designated locations directly, so you ended up in different parts of Tokyo."
"Tokyo? The capital of Japan?" asked Reimu.
"Yes," the older one said with a nod. "The Resistance Base is located somewhere underneath Tokyo. We had to escape from Gensokyo after the Supreme Leader branded us criminals, and we've been hiding here ever since while spying on her and most things going on outside."
Everyone except Sekibanki sat down at the table, and then Reimu said, "Now that we're here, would you mind explaining to us what this is all about?"
"May I interest you in some coffee?" asked a different voice. They turned and saw a green-haired maid standing at the door.
"Ruukoto?!" Reimu said in surprise.
"That's my Ruukoto," the older Reimu told her, and then she turned to Ruukoto. "Please put them on the table."
"Yes, Miss Reimu!" said the robot maid before placing the tray of coffee cups she was holding in her hands onto the center of the table. "I'll be at your service whenever you need me!"
"Just give me a call, and I will give her a call!" a feminine, computerized voice suddenly said.
"It's that voice again," said Kana.
"I'll get to that later," said the older Reimu. "It seems that Ran is still looking for your Youmu and Sakuya, but I think let's just go ahead and start anyway."
As soon as she said that, the door opened, and a blonde woman with nine fox tails came in. "Miss Hakurei," she said. "I have found the two girls you asked me to look for."
"Good, let them in," the older Reimu told her. The blonde woman stepped aside and let Youmu and Sakuya inside.
"Reimu! Marisa! Sanae!" Youmu said in surprise when she saw those three.
"So the two of you were brought here as well?" asked Reimu.
"Actually, we weren't planning on bringing over your Sakuya," said the older Reimu. "She was simply in the way when your Youmu got transported here. The same goes for your Kana."
After Youmu and Sakuya sat down, the older Reimu said, "All that's left is your Yukari, but we have yet to find out where she is."
"What?! Our Yukari is here too?!" asked Marisa in surprise.
The older Reimu nodded. "Yes, we brought her here as well, and one of our members is still looking for her. Let's start discussing things anyway and fill in on her when she arrives."
"Good, explanations at last!" Reimu said before taking a sip of her coffee.
The older Reimu took a deep breath and then said, "All right, this may be hard for you to accept. You are in a parallel universe. It means a world that contains, for the most part, the same people and locations as another one, but there are differences that may either be big or small. The difference between our world and your world is, as you can see, really big."
"So it's like that… I was thinking that this was either five years into the future or an alternate universe," said Marisa. "We've been to another universe before, so that concept is no surprise to us."
"You did?" asked the older Marisa.
"Yeah, I don't mind sharing with you guys!" said Marisa.
"That can be saved for some other time," Reimu said to her. "I want to hear more about what's happening now."
"Unlike your world," continued parallel Reimu, "demons, deities, and everything supernatural coexist with normal humans and their society, so unlike your Gensokyo, ours is not isolated and hidden from the rest of the world. Here, magic and science go hand in hand and benefit each other. As a result, we are able to invent things that are more advanced than the technology of your world."
"Wow! Awesome!" commented Sanae. "The kappa from the science lab also integrate magic into their inventions, but for the most part, they prefer to use only scientific methods."
"Suggest them to put more magic into their stuff," Parallel Marisa told her. "Trust me; the results will be amazing-ze!"
"You say 'ze' as well! Guess some things are the same in both worlds-ze!" commented Marisa.
"Sure is-ze!" said parallel Marisa with a smile.
"Back on topic again…" said parallel Reimu. "Five years ago, the Seija of our world did something devastating. She sneaked into Gensokyo's science lab and got her hands on Hisou Tensoku, a supercomputer capable of controlling virtually any computer in the world."
"Controlling any computer in the world?! Wouldn't something like that be top secret government stuff?!" asked Sanae in surprise.
"True, which is why I only learned about it after scientists at the lab revealed what exactly Seija did," said parallel Reimu. "Kanako claims it was built for peaceful purposes, though honestly saying, I have a hard time buying the fact that a supercomputer that is capable of hacking into any computer in the world can be primary used for peaceful purposes…"
"Um… I don't think I get what you're saying…" said Youmu, confused at the concept of computers and hacking.
"Seija was able to use Hisou Tensoku to hack into various nuclear facilities in different parts of the world," continued parallel Reimu, ignoring Youmu's question. "Using that method, she was able to get those facilities to launch nuclear missiles, ten of them in total."
Hearing this, Sanae widened her eyes in shock.
"Ten cities around the world were destroyed that day… An uncountable number of lives were lost…" continued the older Reimu with sadness in her voice. "The world has never seen such a horrifying tragedy… It was the worst thing to have happened in the history of the world…"
"I… I can't believe it…!" said Youmu with a look of shock.
"Your Seija… really did that…?!" asked Sanae in disbelief.
"Ever since that day, Eiki became an entirely different person…" said the older Reimu. "No longer is she the benevolent judge and law enforcer people knew… She became, you can say, the dictator of absolute justice… She sees everything completely in black and white ever since…"
"Wait a minute… Does that mean the Supreme Leader you spoke of is actually Eiki herself?" asked Reimu.
Parallel Reimu nodded. "Yes, it's her."
"Wow… She's the ruler of this world now…?" said Marisa in disbelief.
"One reason she became like this was because she was tricked by Seija into launching the missiles," added parallel Reimu.
"Seija tricked her into launching them?" asked Youmu.
"Seija was on the run from the law enforcers led by Eiki that time," explained parallel Reimu. "She managed to hide from them for some time in the lab, and it wasn't until after she started the countdown to launching the missiles was she found by Eiki. When Eiki demanded to know how to deactivate the countdown, Seija tricked her into pressing the wrong button, which sped up the countdown. As a result, the missiles were launched, and they were unable to be stopped.
"As a result, Eiki felt responsible for causing this tragedy, so she, you can say, did all this to atone for what she did. After killing Seija out of rage, she overthrew all the governments in the world and then established herself as the ruler of the world.
"Lawbreakers of all kinds are executed on spot… There is no trial, mercy, or prison for them… Even the smallest violation is treated with capital punishment… For example: picking flowers you're not supposed to pick.
"You can get executed just for that?!" Marisa asked in shock.
"That reminds me… When we got here, we saw someone spitting onto the sidewalk and then getting killed by something invisible afterwards," said Reimu.
"He's likely killed by a security camera's built-in gun," said parallel Reimu. "They are designed to detect lawbreakers and kill them on spot."
"I assume that many people opposed her dictator-like rule of the world, right?" asked Sakuya.
"Indeed," said parallel Reimu with a nod. "People who oppose her are also treated as lawbreakers and are therefore executed. Some of the people I know were killed by Eiki because of this. You should know them, because they also exist in your world."
"Who?" asked Reimu.
"Kanako, Byakuren, Yuyuko, and Yukari," replied the other Reimu.
Hearing their names completely shocked the girls. "WHAT?! Mistress Kanako is dead in this world?! How come?! She's a goddess!" gasped Sanae.
"Mistress Yuyuko is dead as well?! But she's already dead in the first place!" said Youmu.
"Like I said, we have technology that are more advanced than your world's due to the integration of magic and science, so Eiki was able to come up with inventions that are capable of killing those who are considered immortal, or at least put them in a death-like state," explained parallel Reimu. "She used a device on Kanako that kept her from receiving faiths, and because deities cannot exist without faiths, she quickly disappeared as a result. In Yuyuko's case, she was exorcised the same way one would exorcise evil spirits."
The girls could not believe what they heard. Never would they imagine that Eiki would be able to accomplish something like this…
"Luckily, I was prepared beforehand for something like this," said the computerized voice. "Even up till now, Eiki never realized that I'm still alive!"
The girls looked around the place, and Kana said, "It's that voice again…"
"Yukari knew that she would not be able to stand against an Eiki who doesn't hold back her power, so she had her mind and memory uploaded into a computer in case she had to confront her," explained parallel Reimu. "What you are hearing now is in fact Yukari herself, living on as an A.I."
Sanae was surprised to hear this, but the others were confused. "Yukari is now a computer A.I.?!" asked the wind priestess in disbelief.
"I sure am!" said the voice. "Because of this, I have obtained the ability to manipulate and hack into computers with ease! I do not have to worry about food, air, and other necessities as well! However, I do miss the beautiful body and face I use to have… The best I can do now is to create 3D or 2D images of myself on screens, but I don't think they have the same charm as my actual self…"
"So basically, Yukari's body is destroyed, but her mind is still alive," said Reimu.
"As long as you get the idea, yeah," replied parallel Reimu. "It was her idea that we look for parallel universe counterparts of ourselves. The real reason I brought you people here is because I need your DNAs to obtain something."
"Our DNAs?" asked Youmu curiously.
"To be precise, only Youmu and Sanae's," said parallel Reimu. "You see, Eiki was extremely well-prepared for anyone who would turn against her. She devised the creation of a suppressant that can prevent anyone from using their powers. Fearing that someone would use it against her, she genetically engineered herself in order to keep the suppressant from working on her.
"However, we were able to obtain the formula for both the suppressant and whatever she used to make herself immune to it, and using those, we were able to reverse engineer a special kind of suppressant that will work on her.
"Word somehow got out that we were coming up with a scheme to overthrow her, however, so in order to keep our suppressant from being taken by her, we separated it into two parts and hid them in different areas of Gensokyo, containing them inside special containers that will only open when exposed to my DNA and also Marisa, Sanae, and Youmu's.
"However, our Youmu is supporting Eiki, and our Sanae is too scared to oppose her, even though she doesn't agree with her, so we are afraid she won't cooperate with us. This is why I brought over your Youmu and Sanae."
"What about the both of us and our Yukari?" asked Marisa.
"We've been keeping watch on you people using a camera we sent to your world for some time already, and we concluded that the three of you would be of great help in helping us overthrow Eiki," replied parallel Reimu. "We need as many people as we can to go against her and her forces."
"Did you say this world's version of me is on Eiki's side?" Youmu asked parallel Reimu. "But Yuyuko was killed because she defied Eiki, so shouldn't my counterpart be against the latter as well?"
"Your family and relatives in this world were killed by one of the bombs that hit Kyoto of Japan, as they were there when that happened," explained parallel Reimu. "You were filled with grief and wanted to avenge them, and thus you agreed with Eiki that the only way to prevent tragedies like this from happening again is to have her rule the world. Even though our Yuyuko tried to convince her that this is wrong, she refused to listen. She didn't even shed a tear when Yuyuko was exorcised. She went as far as saying she doesn't deserve to live because of this."
Youmu's mouth was wide open upon hearing this. Never would she have thought that her counterpart would be like this… In fact, all the girls from the other Gensokyo could not believe what happened to this place.
After a few seconds of silence, Marisa said, "Are we the only ones in this together? Aren't there any more members?"
Suddenly, the door to the room opened, and a person stepped in. "Here's another one," said the person, Miko.
The girls brought over to this world were surprised at her appearance. "Miko is with us too?" asked Reimu as the saint took her seat at the table.
"Indeed, I am," said Miko. "As I have experience in ruling in the past, I do not agree with Eiki's way of using fear to rule the world. I am against her in every way. However, she has absolutely no idea about this, because in her eyes, I am a very trusted friend of hers."
"Miko's involvement with the Resistance is a complete secret. Only a few people who serve under her are aware of the truth," said parallel Reimu. "She is currently the mayor of Gensokyo."
"The mayor of Gensokyo? Makes sense, considering the kind of person you are, I guess… Our Miko expressed the idea of being the ruler of our Gensokyo as well, but that never happened," said Reimu.
"I'm aware of that, because I've been looking up your world as well," said Miko.
"That reminds me…" said Marisa, and then she turned to Ran. "Yukari is sort of dead, and you're with us, so where's Chen?"
Ran lowered her head with a sad look when she was asked that, causing Marisa to ask if the nekomata was dead as well due to opposing Eiki.
"No," replied Ran. "She… joined Eiki…"
This surprised the girls. "Chen joined Eiki?! How come?!" asked Youmu.
"Like Eiki, she believes that it takes fear and power to secure peace, and after a harsh disagreement between the both of us, she ran away," explained Ran. "She contacted me the next day, saying that she was sorry for what happened and wanted Yukari and I to go and meet her. We did as she said, but found out that it was a trap… She lured us out so that Eiki and her forces could ambush us… Yukari helped me escape, but she did not make it herself…"
The girls were horrified once again by the thing they heard. The Chen they knew was mischievous and at times a bit rebellious, but she didn't look like someone who would betray her superiors. The Chen described to them shocked them beyond words. "This is unforgivable!" said Sakuya in an angry tone. "How dare she betrays the person she serves?! Even though she serves you, you still cared for her and provided her with her needs, and yet she repays kindness with cruelty?!"
By this point, Ran had a bit of tears running down the corner of her eyes. Yukari then said, "This tragedy was so big that it changed quite a few people… You can see what became of our Youmu and Chen… It really hurts me to think that betrayal and broken relationships would happen as a result…"
"That reminds me… What of the Scarlet Devil Mansion?" asked Marisa.
"It's still in Gensokyo," replied Miko. "Remilia and her entire household are some of the people who pledged loyalty to Eiki and wholeheartedly agree with her. Because I had to gain the trust of Eiki and not cause any suspicions, I made Remilia the second-in-command of Gensokyo. Whenever I'm out of town, she acts as the temporary mayor. My strict method of ruling while there is a façade to gain Eiki's trust, but Remilia actually takes pleasure in striking fear into the townsfolk."
"That actually does sound like something the mistress of my world would do as well," said Sakuya. "Whatever the case is, my loyalty lies only in the mistress of my world, so I will have no hesitation pointing my knife at her counterpart if I have to."
After that, parallel Reimu said, "I hope you understand everything now." The girls from the other world nodded. "And that is why… I need you people's help in bringing Eiki's reign to an end… once and for all!"
Located in the outskirts of Tokyo was a large and grand palace made almost entirely out of marble, so the architecture was mostly colored white, though in a majestic and attractive way.
Inside the highest floor of the palace, a woman with long, green hair wearing monarch-like clothing was sitting behind a desk, busy doing paperwork. While she was doing so, there was a knock at the door, so she told whoever was outside to come in.
The door opened, and a red-haired woman with two ponytails came in, looking rather excited. "Miss Shiki, you won't believe who we found!" said the woman.
Eiki, the green-haired woman, raised her head and said with interest, "Seeing that you are so excited, I assume that you finally found Reimu?"
"I wish…" said the woman, Komachi. "We actually found someone we never would expect to find! You may think I'm lying to you if I say who it is, so it's probably better that you come and see for yourself who we found."
"It better be worth my time," said Eiki sternly as she stood up and followed Komachi out of the room.
The grim reaper led her to the first floor of the castle, where they saw several soldiers standing around a blonde woman dressed in purple and bound in ropes. When the woman raised her head to look at Eiki, the latter was shocked. "Yu… Yukari?!"
"Hello there, judge of the dead," said Yukari with a light smile.
TO BE CONTINUED
GAME2002 EXTRA SHOW
What drives a person to perform an act of evil?
A man approaches a building.
What justifies an act of evil?
The man enters the building.
Can acts of evil even be justified?
The man looks at the people inside while breathing heavily.
When a man performs an act of evil, is he the one to blame?
The man reaches into his coat while trembling in anger.
Or is it the circumstance that led him to doing this the blame?
The man takes out a gun and screams in rage as he fires all over the place.
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SUPER SMASH BROS.
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TRUE FANS
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