The group Cortana had sent off to tackle the Lord of Games were well and truly on their way by now, with very little conversation between the members.
It was a powerful group alright, from the walking bioweapon, Alex Mercer, to the master ninjas, Ryu Hayabusa and Kasumi, and everyone in between, it was a formidable force.
Walking across empty plains was the worst. It felt like something was missing, like the world hadn't finished loading yet or something. It wasn't too far until they reached a forest, which was visible on the horizon, but they still had a short distance to go before that.
Even still, the wind was only the second loudest noise on the plains, with the loudest being Alex Mercer. He was whistling to himself, clearly not taking anything seriously. As far as he was concerned, he wouldn't even need to break a sweat against the L.O.G.
But his attitude was poisonous. The other Elite were already making comments behind his back, and it was his well earned reputation as the most cocky bastard in the entire world that had earned those comments. Not like he gave a shit. Only reason he was here anyway was...why was he here? Probably because he thought all the other guys were assholes. Ultratech, Dr. West, L.O.G., he wanted a challenge to test himself, and what better test than to go up against a few completely unlikeable assholes?
There was an ironic joke there, but it flew over his head.
"Hey, buddy." It was Terror Mask. The mask on Rick Taylor's face had already proven it had a mind of its own, and, hiding behind his almost unstoppable host body, wasn't afraid to speak up. "I'm sorry if I'm interrupting your little recital there sweetheart, but if you could shut the fuck up for five seconds, I think we'd all really appreciate that."
Rick still hadn't turned to face Alex, as he was ahead of the former scientist, and wanted to keep walking. But Alex wouldn't have that, grabbing Rick's shoulder and getting him to face him.
"Y'know, you'd really wanna take that mask off your face. Makes you a whole lot more punchable Rick." Alex taunted.
"Mask, don't taunt him!" Rick growled at his creepy face guard. "I don't want any trouble."
Terror Mask scoffed. "Look at him, fucking show off. Strutting that ego everywhere he goes, we don't stand a chance unless he tones it the fuck down."
Alex clearly took great offense to that remark, and was already retalliating. "I've got this 'ego', as you put it, 'cause I know I'm pretty fuckin' good. Where the hell would you be without that hockey mask? You barely even stand a chance with me, so you on your own? Not a chance in hell!"
"And none of you will have any chance if you don't stop bickering!"
All of them turned to the one who said that.
It was Shovel Knight.
Indeed, the legendary Knight could speak. It wasn't the first time he'd shown the Elite that he could speak either. No, he had previously apologized to Cuphead and Mugman, as well as Spelunker, but that was it. He seemed very aprehensive about opening his mouth.
Dovahkiin could sympathize. She had been more talkative since joining the Elite, sure, but she understood the burden of lone heroes. Keeping up the tough image in any way they could, even it meant not speaking.
What went through his head? It was hard to say. He was never even seen without his armour, so for all she knew, he might not even have had a head. But sooner or later, she would get him to open up.
It was dusk in Gensokyo. The residents of the human village were just getting ready to head home for the night, including at the library.
Monika was usually the last one in the library, primarily because she slept there. No one questioned it, they just allowed her to do it. Usually she stayed up a little later than dusk, writing and reading, but tonight, things were different. She couldn't afford to sleep now anyway, unless she wanted to end up like the majority of people in the village tonight.
"Ugh, where did I put the keys?" One woman was still struggling to get into her home. Aside from that, almost everyone else in the village had found their way indoors. "No, wait..." She paused for a moment, remembering where the keys were.
"...he has them. I swear, everytime he says he'll be home early, he always goes off poisoning himself with that wretched drink!" She fumed, enraged at her husband's fondness for alcohol. The sky had already darkened, with the stars and the moon providing the only light for the outdoors. The woman couldn't appreciate it though, focusing more on the cold wind that passed through the village.
"Grrrrrrr..."
The woman turned to the sudden noise which was akin to a lion when it had cornered its prey. "Shinji?" The woman called out. She didn't need any answer to confirm it was her husband. She'd recognize that drunken frame anywhere. Even though he was a small distance away too, he smelled awful, like his skin was decaying. He must have been drinking until it came out of his ears or something for it to be this bad.
"Shinji, get over here with the keys this instant!"
"Grrrroooorrrr..."
"And stop making those noises!" She reprimanded him.
Shinji didn't take too kindly to the harsh words, and began to shamble towards his wife, growling and groaning all the way. It was this that finally let his wife know something was wrong.
The last and final hint was when he let out a deafening roar, before pouncing on his wife, who was now nothing more than his next meal.
The Microsoft Elite that had been sent to Gensokyo were currently in a small forest outside the village. It was night, with the moon partly covered by the clouds, and a wind blowing in causing the leaves on the trees to rustle.
"Alright, you two seem to know more about this place than we do, so what can we expect?" Cole asked Reimu and Marisa. "Well, the village should be safe, for a while anyway. The guardian of the village, Keine Kamishirasawa, should be able to hide it for now."
Cole nodded. "What does she look like?" Reimu thought. Honestly, it had been a while since she had seen Keine, but she could remember some things.
"Umm...let's see. Long silver hair, blue eyes, usually wears this funny hat, usually wears a dark blue dress, that is, if we see her. She can erase the village from existence entirely if she feels the village is threatened."
"Well then, why are we here?" Tank asked. "Seems like this place is in perfectly safe hands." Reimu shrugged. "Maybe those Ultratech guys, or any of those creeps working with them figured out a way get through."
"Fair point." Tank conceded. "Okay, everyone know what it is they're doing?"
"Steve and I are staying back to build up a shelter for the people to stay in in case something happens." Terrarian informed him.
"That leaves everyone else to go into the village." Tank looked around, seeing no reason why not. "Wait." Cole stopped him and took him aside. "Not everyone." He said. "Why aren't you going?" Tank asked. Cole shook his head. "Oh no, I'll be going alright, it's just Madotsuki. I'm not sure she'll be..."
Tank looked over at the young Japanese girl. She looked very tired, always on the verge of dozing off. Not her fault, but clearly she had something wrong.
"To be honest I just don't trust Green Heart when she sends children like this out into life threatening situations like this, I hope you'll understand."
Tank nodded. "Very well. I see your point, and yeah, she'd probably be better staying here."
Cole went over to Madotsuki and knelt down to her level. "Madotsuki, we're gonna have you stay here for now, is that alright?"
She didn't even give a worded response, opting to drowsily nod to the question.
"Hey wait, is that-Shit, it is!" Tank was pointing to the sky. "What is it?" Steve asked. "Smell the air!" Tank ordered, which Steve obliged to. "It's like...something's burning..."
"The village!" Richtofen realized, rushing off ahead of everyone else. "I hear screams, we better hurry up!" Tank warned, being followed by Nikolai and Takeo.
Reimu began to fly while Marisa mounted her broom and took off to the village, leaving the two creators alone with Madotsuki.
Before long, Steve and Terrarian were busy preparing shelters for the residents of Gensokyo, hoping to have a place where they could direct those that had to be evacuated. The two were using their crafting skills to create the shelter, while the rest of the team went off to the village.
The shelter was made of wood, and was little more than a large hollow cube. Terrarian had done most of that, until Steve had come back with some resources of his own.
Steve paused and thought for a moment. I like the outside, but it could use a little touch inside, don't you think?"
Terrarian shrugged. "I guess. But what could we do?" Steve went inside. "I think we could light it up a little better. The torches are fine for basic stuff, but I think it could use something better."
The Terrarian and Steve both had the unusual ability to store materials and items in a mysterious hammerspace where they could then take out the items at any time for their use. The space was limited, but it was still incredible. Terrarian mostly used his space for storing weapons, which he had plenty of, but Steve's far more creative personality shone through when you saw that nearly all of his space was taken up by building materials.
Steve took out a mysterious material that was a caramel shade with plenty of bright yellow spots. Once placed, hanging from the top near the middle of the shelter, the block illuminated the whole building. "It's called glowstone." Steve explained. "I used to use this stuff all the time back in my home world, way safer and more effective than torches." Terrarian took all of it in as Steve gave more advice, like how iron doors were very effective and practical, how you could easily make a bed from a few pieces of wood and some wool, all in under five minutes.
When he was done, the shelter looked much better. It was still a shelter, but it looked like it could have possibly coped with the amount of people it was going to receive.
"Well, it's all done!" Steve looked on proudly at his project. "Hope we get good use out of it, eh?"
The Terrarian nodded. "I hope so." Then he remembered. Madotsuki. "You think we should put the child in one of the beds?" he asked. Steve nodded. "Yeah, poor kid looks sick."
Terrarian agreed, but she always looked that way. Did she have a condition? If so, what qualifications did she have to be in the Microsoft Elite?
Gensokyo's human village was completely unprepared for the assault. Reimu was the most shocked of the group, having seen the usually peaceful village being torn apart in front of her eyes. It was like doomsday, some houses were on fire, people screaming and running everywhere like headless chickens and most hauntingly of all, them being chased by their former friends and family.
One man was running away from his former children, only to trip and then get dogpiled as the savages tore into his back, though there were a few residents fighting back with a little success.
"Shit, we're late!" Tank swore, rushing into action, opening fire on the undead masses with his MG08, managing to aim for, and hit the head with every single shot.
Richtofen, Nikolai and Takeo soon joined him, with Cole rushing off to help some wounded people, leaving just Reimu and Marisa standing there without much of an idea what to do.
"Keine Kamishirasawa!" Reimu clicked her fingers. "Something must be wrong, she would never have allowed this to happen!"
The Shrine Maiden grabbed Marisa's hand and ran through the hordes, using her Gohei to blast Ofuda at the undead, which worked very effectively.
Reimu's enthusiasm never wavered, like she compltely believed that there was no way that Keine could possibly be dead, until she saw it for herself.
The human village guardian was sprawled out amongst bodies in the street, crawling around, looking for something or someone that might help.
Keine had been bitten more than a few times, bleeding from her arms, legs and torso.
Reimu gasped. "Keine!"
Keine coughed weakly. "The Shadowman...he got me. Made me sick...I couldn't protect anyone, and I got bitten..."
She coughed up some blood while Reimu's eyes began to fill up with tears. This could not be happening. No way, not someone like Keine Kamishirasawa. There had to be a reason for all of this.
"What about everyone else we know?" Marisa shook Keine, in shock at what she was seeing.
"Sendai Shirou...he started acting strange. I had to kill him. Marisa...your father left. He said he was going back..." She coughed again before continuing. "Hieda no Akyuu, and Kosuzu Motoori are still...in there. Help them."
Reimu nodded, wiping away the tears. "Is there anything else we can do for you?"
Keine nodded. She weakly raised her arm, and pointed at Reimu's Gohei. "I don't want to turn. I have seen what happens...kill me." Reimu shook her head. "I can't!"
"Reimu, please!"
It took some convincing, bit Reimu eventually ended the suffering of Keine, crying more after it with Marisa trying to console her. She stopped crying soon enough, but she could not calm down. It seemed like after that point, the only thing Reimu wanted to do was what Keine told her.
Hieda and Kosuzu were found easily and escorted out of the village by Reimu and Marisa, who quickly returned to killing zombies, Reimu hoping to just let off steam, completely shellshocked by the events that had happened on this day.
Earlier that day
The Shadowman raised his hands, and with them, a block of Element 115. The substance which his entire war hinged off, a glowing blue similar to a swimming pool at night, relaxing to the eye. All he had to do was leave it somewhere in the village, and it wouldn't be long before at least one person found it, and the infection spread like wildfire.
For now though, the Shadowman had no real business sticking around. He had been asked by ARIA to look at something, and he knew where to find it.
The place he was supposed to go was near a rather nice flower field, very well maintained, clearly done by someone with a lot of time and passion.
But that wasn't his concern. He was more focused on the woman who was lying on the ground next to a tree stump with a dried up pool of blood underneath her.
It was a few feet away from where he stood, but it appeared there had been a very localized forest fire. Something had burned the nearby trees to the ground, but it wasn't any natural forest fire. The main hint at that was evident on a branch of a tree which was burning slowly, only having that one branch on fire. The Shadowman extinguished the flame, putting a stop to the slow burn. The flame was a bright blue colour, very unnatural indeed. Someone had clearly started the fire deliberately, with the intent to kill this woman.
As for the woman, it was kind of hars to see her amidst the charred remains of the nearby trees, but she wasn't completely invisible. Despite being covered in ash and soot from the burning from head to toe, it was her wounds that made her easy to spot. Her red plaid skirt and overcoat as well as her white blouse helped, though they were covered, it wasn't enough to completely shroud them. Her umbrella remained unharmed, propped against a tree stump a few feet away. A sizeable gash in her chest had been bleeding before the blood clotted, resulting in the ugly scab the Shadowman could see.
"This must be Yuuka Kazami..." He muttered. "I cannot fathom why ARIA would invest so much time and effort in a lost cause.
But whatever, it wasn't like he cared for the wellbeing of Yuuka. Just her usefulness.
The Shadowman smiled. "Regardless, my dear Yuuka, I will brin you where you are wanted, and...I'll see what happens."
"This way, this way!" Tank ushered the screaming crowds past him while providing cover fire, making sure not to hit any humans. Doing a phenomonal job at it too, as the settlement burned to the ground.
Nikolai and Cole had run off to help people in a burning building, thankfully having to deal with less zombies who either saw the fire as a threat or learned that it was.
There was a child hanging from where the stairs in the house might have been if they hadn't fallen down in a burning heap, looking completely terrified. To make matters worse, the roof was starting to cave in, and it completely caved in as Cole dragged the child down, throwing him across to Nikolai, giving the child a chance, but trapping Cole on the other side.
Nikolai emerged from the fires. "I think all the innocents have gone." He explained, firing a shot into a nearby flesh addict's head. "Though the detective was separated from me!"
"He'll be fine, but we didn't get all the civillians!" Tank countered. "Though we can't take much more, or else we're gonna run into somethine else!"
"We wait for Phelps to come back!" Takeo ordered. "Then we leave!"
Reimu and Marisa had little to say, just mowing down as many zombies as they could, getting the odd human to run for safety. Reimu was crying again about Keine, not that she was so attached to her or anything, but just that it came as such a shock to her. No one that powerful died like that. Without a fight. It just didn't add up.
Shovel Knight was the odd one out when it came to the group assigned to fight the Lord of Games. Really, Cortana should have sent a differing party out, but… Shovel Knight had already been on bad terms with Spelunker and Cuphead, even though he did try to apologize. Spelunker was silent about it, hard to make things certain, while Cuphead continued to act petty and aggressive to him, attempting fisticuffs with the knight.
Mugman accepted the apology at least, but the diminutive knight did get a few jabs for his unimpressive stature, as well as his odd choice of weaponry, though many respected his skill and dedication regardless.
Shovel Knight did break his code, and he felt awful about it. He'd understand if Cuphead was going to still be upset. But right now, he would have preferred looks of actual encouragement, rather than questioning.
The Jack of Blades doubted him, Doomguy kept forgetting he was around, the Terror Mask on Rick's face kept making fun of the "resident manlet", Ryu and Kasumi tried to be respectful at least, even if Shovel Knight stuck out.
But the Dovahkiin, even though she was a little intimidating at first glance, actually seemed to understand Shovel Knight. Fitting, since they were both warriors that had specialties. The Dovahkiin was a last of her kind, and specialized with powers born from a dragon, it almost seemed like she came from Shovel Knight's realm, with him even asking if she knew a Shield Knight. Sadly, she did not.
For now, they sat around the fire, preparing to take out the Lord of Games tomorrow. Everyone had fallen asleep except for them. Shovel Knight was going over his equipment, the Dovahkiin did the same. She noticed the locket amongst the many items in possession, and pointed at it. "Keepsake you have there?"
"Er, no. This is the Phase Locket! It grants powers of invincibility in combat, I bought it off of a merchant during my adventures." Come to think of it though, Shovel Knight never really checked the contents of the locket. He wasn't even certain how to open it at all, since it would usually just fumble around in his fingers, sometimes slipping out. The blue aura around it made it shine beautifully, and as Shovel Knight attempted to open it again out of curiosity, the Dovahkiin took it from him.
Surprised, he reached out to grab it back, about to object before she interrupted him. "Here," she muttered, opening the locket and staring at the contents inside. She glanced back at Shovel Knight, looking almost suspicious at him. "You bought this," she said, "is that true? Were you aware that the contents of the locket were still there?"
"Were they?" Shovel Knight had been under the impression that it was empty, and that he would give the locket to Shield Knight once he got it open and put something of his own inside, but he should have known better. The Dovahkiin handed it over, showing the inside, which was filled with even more shades of blue, a powerful aura, being contained within the locket, as well as something else.
The words "Seatlan" were inscribed inside, a name that Shovel Knight had heard once. Small pictures were also contained, of various past family members, no doubt sharing that surname. Shovel Knight then closed the locket, looking up at the Dovahkiin. "I swear upon my name, that I will return this to its rightful owner when I am finished with our quest! I will protect this locket with my life, as it had protected mine."
As he packed up the Phase Locket again, he stood there thinking it over. What happened to that boy with the boomerangs? Or anyone in the Valley?
"I hate to break this to you, but there is a high chance your land was invaded by the undead."
"Beings from the Lich Yard?" Shovel Knight questioned.
"No, something far more violent. That small army known as the Overwatch had lost their numbers, and I too, had witnessed many in a village suddenly stormed by the undead. It was like someone intentionally wanted to throw my land into ruin and get rid of me. But they had failed, as Cortana brought me to safety."
Shovel Knight's blood went cold. "How," he muttered, "how bad was it?"
"Many clans were overrun, kingdoms were not able to prepare themselves in time for the dead were too fast, villages stood no chance even if they tried." The Dovakiin explained. "My attempts… could do nothing. Their numbers grew too fast, even with all my strength, I was forced to retreat. A horrible, humiliating thing, but no choice was left."
No, Shield Knight surely had to be alright! She was fine, she had to be! As did everyone else! Propeller Knight, he must've been prepared with his Flying Machine maybe! Specter Knight could definitely handle it, Reize too! And the Black Knight, Polar Knight…
Why was he denying it!? No, they were all in danger! Even if they defended themselves well, the numbers were high, just like the Dovahkiin said.
"I must return as soon as possible! Please, tell Cortana to return me at once!" Standing up tall, Shovel Knight tried to leave, but the Dovahkiin grabbed him. "Release me! I must rescue everyone, the Phase Locket will aid me!"
"We cannot, right now, we must accomplish our goal in defeating the one who calls himself a Lord."
"This Lord can wait! I cannot lose Shield Knight again, not for good! I cannot forgive myself if she—"
Clobbering him over the head, the Dovahkiin knocked Shovel Knight out cold, watching him fall to her feet. She lifted him off of the ground with little problems, sighing in frustration. "Poor man," the Dovahkiin mumbled.
She had to admit, his dedication and heroics were admirable, possibly more than her own, considering he refused to give up so easily. It still hurt her, the fact that she had to turn around for the sake of her own life. She would have preferred going down with honor, thinking about it more.
Maybe this Shield Knight really was alive, with anyone else from the Valley that Shovel Knight came from, but if that wasn't the case… the Dovahkiin was going to try to be there for the smaller warrior. She wasn't going to lose anyone else she was meant to protect.
Cole had been separated from the group and left with only his Army 45. handgun. To say the least, he was kind of in trouble. But wait, there was a place...no. That couldn't be...no. He had to at least try, no matter how farfetched it was.
Cole ran from the burning wreck. There were still other people running around to draw the attention of the husks, so it somewhat helped widen his path. That wasn't much consolation though, as there were plenty of undead who would've loved to have taken a chunk out of his shoulder.
One of the undead ran directly in front of him, prompting Cole to kick him down and fire a shot through his skull, all while still running. Some of them shuffled after him, appearing to be in no real hurry, while others recognized the opportunity for food and gave chase, always just a few steps behind him. It didn't matter, he was so close to the library by now that all he needed to do, was run insids and slam the door, which was what happened. The zombie found it tough pounding on the door, allowing Cole some time to do what he needed to.
"Hi Cole, I was wondering whether or not you would get here!" Monika waved, cheerful as ever. "What brings you here?"
"Uhhh...police investigation." Cole lied, though Monika saw right through it, raising her eyebrow as if to say 'really?'.
"Well...alright, we're here to get you and everyone else out!" Cole explained. "Now, I think we should be moving!"
It was at that moment that a zombie broke through the wooden door, roaring as he took after Cole. Cole expertly shot him through the head and making a break for the door.
Cole ran out, Monika close behind as the undead focused their attention on the duo. Cole was under immense pressure every time he saw a corpse, knowing his ammo was limited, and one wrong turn would cost both him and Monika dearly.
Monika, on the other hand, seemed to enjoy the thrill.
It was Richtofen who first noticed Cole rushing back towards the main group, with Monika by his side.
"Now, go!" Richtofen yelled, attracting the attention of the other three, as they all waited just long enough for Cole and Monika to overtake them before running back to the shelter. The path back was mercifully easy to navigate, though they did have to shoot quite a few zombies who decided to follow them down the path.
When they finally arrived back at the shelter, the first thing the Elite did, with the exception of a sleeping Madotsuki, was discuss what went down.
"The guardian was killed?!" Steve was in shock. "I should have figured from the moment I heard screaming, but yeah."
Reimu was still in shock, and though she had stopped crying, she was visibly shaken by the events. "She said the Shadowman weakened her. I don't know how he could have done that though..."
"Ah..." Richtofen mused. "He's up to his old tricks." Reimu raised an eyebrow. "Old tricks?"
Richtofen nodded. "He will try to bend and break the mind of anyone he requires power from. It is how he got power from Maxis when he needed it, though it is usually far more effective against Guardians and Gods. It is the power of the dark aether at work." The others took note. "We gotta warn Yukari and Green Heart then." Steve realized. "Or else we're gonna be in a huge amount of trouble." The conversation went on, though it eventually faded as tiredness and hearing became issues.
There was a lot of talking going on, to be fair. Inside the shelter, there must've been at least 100 people, not including the Elite. The duo Reimu and Marisa brought in were talking to each other, and at this point, most of the other Elite were settling down for the night too, though some conversations still went on.
Monika turned to Cole. "So now what?" She asked. "I guess we're gonna have to take you all to Leanbox." Cole suggested. "Seems like it's the only safe place left now."
Monika showed genuine curiousity. "Ah. I've heard of such a place, but I haven't seen it or found any books in the library about it. Is it by chance where your new centre of operations is?" Cole nodded. "Yes, it's our new base, but believe me, it's far better than it sounds.
Monika shrugged. "I don't really know what it's like, but I'm looking forward to going!"
Marisa was kept awake. Not becauss the floor was hard, that didn't matter. Not because of the talking, she would have slept through that too. Not even because of the day's events, but because of what she was told at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It rang clearly in her mind, ever since she was told.
Marisa remembered quite well what Patchouli had said.
"Marisa, Remilia and Reimu already like each other."
Marisa's heart sank. "Wh-what?! That's not true!" She felt her fists clench up, feeling all kinds of emotions at once, but ultimately in denial.
"They've been seeing each other for the past few months now. This isn't really anything new." Patchouli continued.
Marisa bit her lip. She couldn't accept defeat. Not now anyway. Secondly, she was far too proud to simply 'give in'. Patchy definitely had bad blood with her, considering every time Marisa walked away from the mansion with a few books that didn't belong to her and she didn't ask for.
She would find out the truth. She could be better than Remilia anyway, that was something she knew.
Author's Note
And so with that chapter, Marisa finds her best friends lover, the undead attack Gensokyo, which proves to be very eventful, and Yuuka is found by the Shadowman. N.K. once again had some influence, this time with part of the Shovel Knight dialogue. I wasn't planning to have her involved this much, or, at all really, but what can I say? I know you read these, so I'm gonna just say it, that the one-shots are that good that I can't not use them!