Chapter 7 - The Stronghold of Desperate Choices
The Next Day - Day 4
-3rd Person POV- (Eientei, past midnight...)
„I WILL MAKE YOU REGRET EVER BEING BORN!"
The girl with long white hair screamed at the one with long black hair, before hurling a fireball at her with many more following quickly after. Mokou was furious, no, she was far more than that. Kaguya knew that fact simply by looking at the girl enveloped in flames, which burned brighter than ever before as far as she could recall.
She was excited. Finally some REAL fun for once. Mokou was starting to care less and less about killing each other, which made Kaguya more and more bored. But because she found a way to trigger Mokou to the point a volcanic eruption would appear as a mere joke in comparison, she was laughing maniacally out of pure joy, getting to enjoy a real fight with Mokou as both try to kill each other yet again.
„Huhuhu! You will need to be able to hit me first!"
Kaguya taunted, not attacking back just yet, but dodging, just to pull Mokou to her limits until she could commit a genocide on a whim.
„YOU BITCH!"
Having had enough of her tomfoolery, Mokou launched herself right into Kaguya while being fully engulfed in flames, which were hot enough to melt tungsten in not even a mere second.
Kaguya had enough fun teasing her around, and now switched up to kill Mokou in the most satisfying way she could think of. As the Mokourite approached her, she charged right into it while charging a large colourful orb in front of her, and just before both of them were to make contact, she released the orb and dodge, expecting Mokou to get obliterated.
However, even if enraged, Mokou wasn't foolish. She hurled all the fire around her right into the orb last second and dropped to the ground as a huge explosion occurred.
„Expected nothing less from you, Mokou. Now, shall we continue~?"
Kaguya said, as she dusted herself off from all the dust and ash, which was sent everywhere around them. The explosion was so large that multiple bamboo tress nearby were turned into memories while the more lucky ones were only broken and lied on the ground, scattered everywhere where the fire didn't get to burn them.
Mokou managed to calm down a bit, telling herself that letting herself be controlled by her rage is exactly what Kaguya wants. Nonetheless, she still wanted to rip Kaguya into multiple pieces and scatter them all around Gensokyo until she would be revived, due to her immortality.
Mokou charged at Kaguya and engaged into a fist fight, of course, Mokou did set her fists on fire, which means getting hit by them would result in third degree burns.
Kaguya didn't mind, however, as she either dodged the incoming fire fists or blocked them with her own fists, covered in magical essence, which would reduce the pain of receiving a fire one.
Kaguya went in for a gut punch, but Mokou was quick to block that with both her hands and tried to swipe Kaguya's legs with her own leg. That quickly failed, as Kaguya jumped over Mokou while Mokou still clung to her right hand, resulting in Kaguya slamming Mokou onto the ground.
But before Kaguya was able to open her mouth to even think about saying a single word, Mokou, still holding onto her right hand, threw her to the ground as well.
After freeing her hand from Mokou's clutch, since Mokou rolled to dodge colourful orbs which Kaguya shot with her left hand, Kaguya quickly managed to roll to the side as Mokou threw several fireballs at her as payback.
Both quickly stood up and once more started shooting everything they had to offer at each other while also dodging each other's incoming bullets, before once more, engaging in hand to hand combat.
„Oh, Mokou, this is so fun! I never saw you so determined to kill me!" Kaguya cheered, dodging a right hand hook from Mokou. Before getting grabbed by Mokou's left hand and getting her arm twisted.
„I'm not just going to kill you, I'm going to remove you from the surface of this world!" Mokou stated, slowly twisting Kaguya's right arm while her left one was busy blocking Mokou's right one from doing something similar.
„Trying to kill me, and only me, in any way possible I can allow..." Mokou slowly said, as Kaguya started to have tears slide down her perfect, but currently dirty, face. The pain she was receiving from her arm getting twisted far beyond what should be allowed started to slowly hurt a lot more than one would ever want it to.
„But the moment... you dare hurt a dear friend of mine... is the moment... you will learn to regret for the rest of your pathetic life!"
As Mokou screamed the last part, she was ready to rip out her arm, but Kaguya managed to kick Mokou away with both her legs when she jumped, falling to the ground while holding her hurting arm.
Mokou was quick to jump back onto her feet and rush towards Kaguya, but Kaguya too, was ready to go for a second round.
They exchanged a few hits, while also damaging their clothing even further. Mokou managed to hit Kaguya with a fireball directly to the back, sending her rolling on the ground. But as Mokou ran after her, planning to jump and break her spine with her elbow, Kaguya quickly turned around and retaliated with both her legs, kicking into Mokou mid fall as she was flung backwards, but was quick to stand up just as Kaguya.
„Mokou, you must be mistaken. I never hurt your friend! ...Well, not directly, that is..."
Kaguya said, cleaning her bleeding nose with her torn sleeve while smiling at Mokou, who, immediately got less angry, but more confused.
„What the hell do you mean by that? If you mean that Eirin made whatever you used to poison Keine with, then it changes nothing. Since I already am well aware that Eirin would be the only one with enough brain cells to make something like that around here." Mokou huffed, preparing to engage into combat once more.
However, Kaguya fired off several lasers along with plenty of colourful orbs to ruin anyone's day, which forced Mokou to not only dodge the lasers, but counter attack the unavoidable orbs with her own bullets, that being fireballs to quickly make room as she got closer and closer to sucker punching Kaguya.
Kaguya, however, went ahead and threw herself onto the ground with her back, which resulted in Mokou missing her target by a hair.
Unfortunately for Mokou, Kaguya wasn't done just yet. As Mokou missed, and before Kaguya fully fell, she grabbed the exposed arm and...
*CRACK*
„AAGH! BITCH!"
...managed to twist it hard enough to break a bone in it.
This came at a cost, as Mokou immediately kicked Kaguya in the chin while Kaguya attempted to quickly stand up and back off.
She did managed to back off, but not the way she desired to.
Mokou now had a broken bone in her arm, but that would quickly regenerate.
Kaguya was now missing a few teeth and her face suddenly didn't look so pretty, but that too, was only temporary.
„Auu... tht husrt yu knwt..."
Kaguya said, as she snapped her dislocated jaw back where it belonged.
„Good. That was my intention."
Mokou said, snapping her arm the right way, while waiting for the broken bone to fix itself.
„...Yes, Eirin made the poison, that is true." Kaguya spoke once more after her mouth regenerated back enough for her to be heard audibly.
„However, I was not the one who used it on your friend. ...Even though I would have loved to!"
„Shut up! If it wasn't you and you aren't messing with me, then who did it? Who else would have wanted me to suffer, if not you!?" Mokou inquired, calling bullshit. Since she knew very well that Kaguya would pull anything just to be able to hurt, fight or kill her. Every day, whenever she got bored.
„Well, what if you just simply weren't accounted for?"
...
...
Mokou relaxed her arms and was deeply confused.
„...I was not the one this was aimed at? What? That doesn't make any se-"
As Mokou was saying, in her confusion she failed to notice that Kaguya slowly came closer and once close enough, sucker punched her into several bamboo stalks, which still managed to stand behind Mokou. However, not anymore.
As Mokou was on the ground, Kaguya came closer and kneeled down next to her.
„Think Mokou, think!"
„Why else would someone want to poison Keine?"
...
...
Suddenly, it clicked.
The bad feeling she was feeling all this time. It finally made sense.
„...so that the Human Village losses its guardian!" Mokou exclaimed, shocked by her own words as she found it hard to believe.
„Bingo~!"
Kaguya clapped her hands together, before she stopped kneeling and stood up, walking away from Mokou who too, slowly stood up, making distance between the two.
„Kaguya, tell me who did it! Tell me who wanted that poison to be made! Now!"
Mokou wanted to know what bastard to incinerate from the inside out. However...
„In order to have me tell you who it was, you are going to have to kill me first~!"
Kaguya said, once more preparing for yet another round of fighting.
„You idiotic neet... fine! I'll tear your head off if that gets you to spill the beans! ...Also, if Keine doesn't g-"
„Do not worry. Eirin is going to get your friend back in shape in no time. Now, let's have some fun, shall we~?"
As the night goes on, it almost looks like the sun is out as the day has come, but only in the bamboo forest, simply because, the fiery phoenix and bright moon continue fighting until only one of them is able to stand.
(Human Village, two minutes after Aya fled the scene...)
Although the guards and SHA/SHS members have been taught to be able to operate the firearms, which many of them received, they have yet to master the way of aim. Due to this, Aya managed to escape Mr. A's clutches and while seemingly slowed down, it wouldn't take long for the fastest being in Gensokyo to get the news around. They would need to be very fortunate to have more than one hour before the cat gets out of the bag.
„You useless, utter, fools...!"
But that had to wait, for now, the fanatical members tried to help their leader get back in shape after being sent flying by an unexpected kick right into his chest. Knocking most of the air out of his lungs, leaving him choking and in pain on the ground as he rolled around for a good minute, before he managed to recover.
Still, in quite the pain. A kick as fast and powerful as it was will not heal right away, after all.
„It was of utmost importance that she either gets captured or killed! Now I will need to adjust the plan!"
Mr. A was cursing all around, feeling nothing but pain until a few members stabilized him so he doesn't fall over again and he tells them to head towards the HQ with him.
„To hell with it all! I will get that rotten tengu's head on my wall! Be it the last thing I do! ...No, I have an even better idea..."
Mr. A smiled, his smile turning wicked and filled with utmost insanity. The members of his, which carried him, only nodded as they too, smiled ear to ear, expecting to only hear great wisdom from their leader.
...
...
Meanwhile, Mennini was looking everywhere around his room for a certain item. Or better said, TWO certain items.
„I swear I left those revolvers on the table... just where did they go... did I place them somewhere else...? No... Someone must have taken them. Best I figure out who, and fast."
Mennini had an idea of who could have probably taken them. After all, he saw who entered the building right before he departed. But he feared the answer as to why.
Mennini once more made his way into the meeting room, where everyone usually is gathered.
To his disappointment, nobody was there...
...
But not for long.
„F-Fuck..." Mennini said, spooked by the person which appeared, when he turned around to leave the room.
As Anton was now standing in the doorway, slowly walking towards one of the tables and sitting down on a chair next to it, behind him was a hand drawn map of Gensokyo, which may or may not be accurate.
Only taking a slight glance, Mennini could easily tell that something was bothering Anton. He seemed... a bit out of his mind. At first, Mennini thought this wasn't anything new, but he soon realized that Anton seemed more... sad... than anything else.
As Mennini was about to ask what's wrong, he instead tensed up after hearing loud footsteps coming towards the room and someone mumbling angrily out loud to someone else.
Behold, Mr. A entered the room and was still, very angry, but able to walk on his own again as the pain slightly subdued.
„My Vozhd, I bring horrendous news! The slippery tengu reporter managed to get away, and is likely on its way to inform its friends about what was going on here!" Mr. A informed, walking towards Anton and standing next to his left side.
„How..." Anton asked, placing a hand on his head. His head was slowly starting to pulsate from stress more and more. Stress which started to make him paranoid ever since that forsaken dinner with the vampire. It was only building up in volume due to everything happening so quickly.
„We were about to kill her, but alas, she managed to catch me off guard. However, not all hope is lost! I can assure you, that she was hit several times, and if we are lucky, she might even die from blood loss!" Mr. A claimed, justifying the possibility of it all not being in vein.
„And if not...?" Anton questioned, not sure whether he even truly wanted to know the answer.
„Well-"
As Mr. A tried to explain the brilliant idea he had, one last person entered the room.
It was a person in brown, wearing not only a brown fedora, but also round glasses.
It was the person who seemed to have disappeared ever since coming back with the weapon cart.
Johann.
„Oh, hello Johann." Mennini politely greeted, noticing a sudden tense silence filling the room.
„Greetings, Mennini." Johann replied.
„...Johann... where the fuck have you been." Anton harshly barked while lightly slamming his hand on the table.
„Not to worry, dear Vozhd. I have merely taken a glance at objects of interest. But here I am now, ready to commence forth with whatever is next at hand!" Johann replied once more.
Anton squirmed his eyes and raised one of his eyebrows as he starred at Johann.
Something was slightly more eerie about him than normally. Which, is worrisome. Since Johann had an irritating presence ever since he laid eyes on him. Now it seemed... different... more, terrific.
Anton shook his head and decided it was likely due to that smile he has at the moment. After all, it was the first time Anton or Mennini have seen Johann smile.
Mr. A started to lose his patience as he spoke up.
„Take a seat for all I care, you too, corner boy, and hear me out!"
Mr. A raised his voice as he told both Johann and Mennini to gather around and let him speak.
„We only have a few hours at most before we likely get attacked by angry youkai."
Mr. A explained.
„Which is why, I think we need to discuss how to proceed. Luckily, I know just how." Mr. A stated, smiling with his teeth showing.
„Before they come to us, WE come to THEM!"
...
...
„What do you mean by that?" Mennini looked straight into Mr. A's eyes, expecting him to state exactly what he means.
„I say, before that tengu gets the chance to warn all the other tengu... we declare war at the tengu and surprise attack the Youkai Mountain!" Mr. A exclaimed, laughing while pointing at the mountain as it was drawn on the map.
„Have you gone completely insane!? That's suicide!" Mennini yelled as he stood up, slamming his hands onto the table.
„Everyone we send into the attack will certainly die!" Mennini explained, trying to bring some rationality into this room.
„That is not entirely true, Mennini!"
Johann, who now stood on Anton's right side spoke up, stating his own opinion. His eerie smile unchanging.
„With these lethal weapons, the tengu stand no chance! All that is required is that we only send the best of the best into the attack! The less skilful ones will remain to guard the village! After all, the best defence is offense, wouldn't you agree?" Johann explained, staring at Mennini which send shivers down Mennini's spine.
„Ha! See? Even Johann gets it. Now, my Vozhd. As you can tell, both I and Johann agree that striking first is certainly the best thing to do!" Mr. A explained, as he turned around to walk towards the map.
„This is madness! There doesn't need to be more blood spilled than it already had! Don't you get it!?" Mennini intervened, but was ignored by Mr. A.
„Here, if we send our most capable men to attack from this side, we are most certainly going to catch them by surprise! This is fool proof! Everything has been working out flawlessly until now, and it will even now! I will not allow a single failure, determine the outcome!" Mr. A spoke, slowly getting angry as he clutched his chest, still feeling the aftermath of that kick, while indicating waypoints on the map with his free hand.
„Ant-My Vozhd. With all due respect, you cannot be even considering this as a valid option! You have to agree that by doing this, we would only be making things worse!" Mennini explained, looking at Anton.
Anton had his head down, looking at the floor. Possibly thinking everything trough while also listening to the debate turned argument which was still ongoing.
„Mennini, you are an utter fool! It doesn't matter if we attack or not! There will be a war whether we like it or not! I am merely suggesting that we strike first before they can even properly prepare, to give us an advantageous head start!" Mr. A yelled at Mennini, grinding his teeth afterwards.
„Mennini, there is no way out of this loop! We must resort to violence!" Johann chirped in, his smile becoming more and more irritating for not only Mennini.
„Have you lost all reason and common sense!? If it is true that war cannot be avoided, we could still try to negotiate and-" Mennini tried to use logic, however, it failed.
„Common sense doesn't exist here in Gensokyo! Not until the youkai threat is eliminated!" Mr. A barked back, not letting himself be bested in this heated argument.
„What nonsense! Just-" Mennini spoke, but was interrupted.
„-better to try an-" Mr. A spoke but was interrupted.
„-sense, not this-" Mennini.
„-what so ever! Even-" Mr. A.
„-mayhem while-" Mennini.
„-has to come-" Mr. A.
„-people will die so-" Mennini.
„-everything is as-" Mr. A.
„-this is amusing! I must-" Johann.
„-we let i-" Mennini.
„ENOUGH! SILENCE! SHUT UUUUUUUUUUUUUP!"
Everyone suddenly went silent as Anton stood up and slammed the table, while yelling at the top of his lungs. Likely being heard even outside by the guards who were finishing up everything as was ordered of them to do.
...
...
Anton was exhausted and he knew very well that he wasn't going to get any sleep for at least the next two days.
„My Vozhd, the decision lies upon you. You decide if we attack first or not." Mr. A spoke calmly. He no longer smiled nor was fuming. Neither was Mennini, who was breathing heavily, but was too shocked to speak up, at least until Anton decides.
Johann, still smiling, just silently waited as he stood on Anton's right side.
...
Anton knew this decision would impact the future significantly. But he also knew that the outcome would be the same. So in the end, he decided to do what would make the most sense to him.
After all, it all started because of his fears, so he will take responsibility for it and for all what may come because of it.
Anton looked into everyone's eyes, before finally stating his answer.
Anton has decided.
...
...
...
...
...
„Prepare the most capable of our people. We are going to war against the tengu threat."
-Aya Shameimaru's POV- (Forest of Magic, two hours before sun rise...)
„C'mon you stupid leg! I need to make haste! Grr! Why does this hurt so much!?"
This is a nightmare! When I complained about the lack of scoop, I didn't want to be suddenly choked with the amount of scoop at once! Worst of all, I can't even see all the ongoing events because there is just way too much to see and hear for even me! This is horrible!
Next time, I rather try looking harder for scoop than wish for something to occur...
„A-Ahh! Careful now!"
Nearly tripped! Flying is soooo much better than running through these woods! Can't even call it running, because of my wounded leg...
Okay Aya... calm down... recall the events and what you are going to do now.
A cart filled with strange weapons was brought from the direction of the bamboo forest... Ha! I bet that means that Eientei is involved in this!
Next... Two of the Outsiders started training the villagers as how to use them...
They didn't appear as fast or dangerous when I was watching them practice shooting... I guess I underestimated the swiftness and power of these weapons, huh...
Yeah, and then suddenly people went mad as I was planning to leave and start working on the latest batch! I decided to stay and observe more until... until humans killed humans without remorse! Something must have influenced them to do such things! Certainly an ongoing incident!
That's why I need to warn Reimu!
In case she doesn't know about it already, I need to inform her before these crazy humans try to do something foolish!
„Ayaya... I can't be far from the... shrine anymore, right...?"
Uhhh... I feel slightly dizzy... Maybe if I just...
No. I need to hurry! Oooooo! The next batch will have so much, the whole of Gensokyo will yearn to read my newspaper! But that will only be the case if I keep going!
„Haaa...Haaa... I think, if I try to fly now... I should be safe..."
...
„AUGHA!"
I tried to fly up into the air, but quickly lost balance and almost fell face first to the ground. However, I managed to stop myself while carefully landing on the ground once more.
„Grrr! What now!? I can't hold myself in the air! This night just keeps getting better and better!"
...
...
„...Wait, what time even is it?"
Looking at the sky, I couldn't see clearly due to the density of the forest and there were hardly any gaps between the tree crowns to expose the star covered sky.
I limped my way a bit further until I managed to get to a lesser dense area and tried once more.
„...The moon is soon to be gone. Which means the sun isn't far from coming!"
This is bad! If I take any longer, I fear things might get only worse and worse!
„... Even if I drop dead on the spot... I have to give it my all!"
Deciding to ignore the pain, mostly from my screaming leg, which demanded me to lay down and rest, I boosted myself forwards as I sprinted and flew as much as I could past the many trees, which stood in my path directly to the Hakurei shrine!
„...Any...moment...!"
Keep pushing... keep pushing... kee- AHA!
Finally, I arrived at the shrine...
Now all I need to do is... is...
...
...
„Climb... the stairs... *sniff*"
...
„Ayayaya... let's get this over with..."
-3rd Person POV- (SDM, one hour until sun rise...)
As times passed tick by tick, a certain vampire was watching the landscape from the comfort of her mansion through a large window.
She knew very well that something was happening at the moment. However, she didn't care much about it to interfere herself.
Even then, the sun was almost ready to take a peek and shower Gensokyo in its warmth and light the way for anyone in need of guidance for many wandering around in the dark.
„Sakuya."
Just as the word left Remilia's mouth, the maid appeared to her side, slightly standing behind her in silence, awaiting an order from her, whatever it may be. Remilia knew that Sakuya would do anything she desired of her to do.
„I want you to go to the Hakurei shrine and accompany Reimu."
„As you wish." Sakuya bowed.
„Wait."
As Sakuya was ready to leave, she stopped any actions and waited until Remilia told her otherwise.
„It is likely you will go to the Human Village. I do not want you to do anything other than observe as everything unfolds and inform me about everything which occurred, once you return."
„Understood." Sakuya nodded.
Remilia suddenly grew a smirk before saying.
„Also, do not use your ability. You may defend yourself if you are to be attacked, but in any other case, just stand by and do not interfere."
„Yes, it will be done." Sakuya once more, bowed, before asking a question.
„Is there anything else you require, milady?"
„No, that is all. Now, hurry and arrive at the shrine before Reimu leaves. I will soon go to my room for the day, so you mustn't worry of me needing anything until you return. I already talked with Flandre, so you mustn't worry about her either."
With that, the maid, Sakuya, leaves the room and makes her way towards the shrine.
...
...
„Anton, Anton... you have already done as you were fated to do... do you still believe that you can change the full outcome? I shall have Sakuya inform me of your final fate. We shall see if you manage to overpower the strings of fate, holding you afloat above the ground." Remilia smiled, interested at what the end result will be.
After a while, she walks away, heading for her room to rest as the sky was starting to turn brighter from behind the mountains.
(Hakurei shrine, thirty minutes until sun rise...)
...
The shrine grounds were in complete silence. At least, that would appear on first glance. If you were to come closer and take a listen, you would be able to hear three soft breathing individuals inside the shrine...
*SNOOOORE*
...Except one individual, which snored so loud, it's a miracle everyone else was able to sleep at all. The individual in question was also lying down as if fallen straight out of a chair while drunk. Only the witch hat was covering her face, but even then, her drool slowly claimed more and more of the floor. Soon to establish an empire in the name of Marisa.
Other than that, everyone else was sleeping quite peacefully. Reimu was under her kotatsu while Mike and 17 were sleeping in sleeping bags in the guest room.
It truly was a peaceful night at the Hakurei shrine.
...
...
But as the night was coming to an end, so was the calming atmosphere.
Up the stairs, a limping individual was slowly making its way towards the shrine as it finally reached the top of the many stairs, which it had to climb.
„...r-rei...mu..."
Still exhausted and hurt, the person got closer and closer to the shrine until at last, the entrance was reached and in range.
Sliding the door open, Aya, wasted no time to look for anyone present. She felt a wave of relief befall her as she spotted Reimu under the kotatsu right in front of her.
Limping her tired body towards her, she soon felt too exhausted and collapsed right on top of the kotatsu, waking the sleeping shrine maiden right away.
„H-Huh...? What is...? Who...?"
Slowly rising up to sit, she cleaned her confused eyes for a solid five seconds before focusing on the uninvited visitor currently heavily breathing on top of her sacred kotatsu, which she couldn't live without.
„...Wait, Aya? What are you doing here? And... W-Why are you bleeding?!"
Reimu was questioning the sudden intrusion caused by the crow tengu until she noticed that she was seemingly bleeding from her leg as well as from slight scratches and wounds from her upper body.
„Just what happened to you to get that messed up? Did someone you angered with your interviews finally catch you?"
As Reimu started speaking louder, she woke up both 17 and Mike who already stood up and just entered the main room where everyone was wide awake... except Marisa. Marisa, who was in the very same room as Reimu, was still sleeping soundly in the back.
„W-What is going on? What's all the sudden noise?" 17 inquired, rubbing his half opened eyes.
„Yea, the sun ain't comin' out for the next t- What the fuck happened to you...?"
Mike suddenly stopped and so did 17 behind him, as both managed to see someone hunched over on the kotatsu. It was still dark, but light enough to make out enough to see that the mentioned "someone" was hurt.
„R-Reimu... I... I need to... need..."
Aya started to speak, but was still too out of breath to be able to spit out coherent sentences.
„Aya, calm down, breath in and out and then slowly say what you need to say." Reimu spoke up and tried to calm Aya down, as her patience was slowly running out and she wanted to know why a beat up, bleeding and exhausted looking Aya was currently drenching her kotatsu in blood and sweat.
„...Reimu, the villagers are killing other villagers and may soon plan to kill all youkai for good!"
...
...
„...Could you repeat that? I must have misheard by how fast you mumbled this out."
Reimu said with an expressionless visage. She heard it just right, she merely wanted confirmation, in case she imagined it.
While Aya gathered her wits to say it out again and slower this time, Mike noticed the still sleeping and snoring Marisa in the back and decided to quickly march over to her and promptly shake her awake.
This proved fruitless.
*Bonk*
„Ow! Hey! What gives, ze!?"
So he resorted to violence.
This proved to do the trick, this time around. To no one's surprise.
Marisa quickly shifted her attention from Mike to the crow in the room and her expression changed from mildly annoyed to shocked and confused.
„Aya? What are you doing here, ze?"
„The Vozhd guy did something... they have shooting weapons which really, really hurt and the projectiles are REALLY fast! They killed several of their own and chased away youkai and I think they might soon attack youkai outside the village borders... oh, I feel dizzy again..."
...
...
After hearing it clearly, everyone was stunned to hear the news. Everyone, except Reimu. Reimu was expressionless on the outside, but was absolutely livid on the inside.
If she gets that Vozhd guy in her hands, she will break his legs and arms.
„That's it. I'm heading to the Human Village and removing this idiot from it. And if Yukari interferes, I will beat her up immediately without an ounce of mercy. I won't tolerate this scheme of hers any longer. This ends today." Reimu stated, before properly standing up and taking out her gohei.
„Indeed. This ends today."
Everyone except Aya, turned to the doorway leading to the outside to see someone standing there.
„Sakuya? What the hell are you doing here?" Marisa asked, getting more and more confused on what is going on all of a sudden.
„Lady Remilia tasked me to accompany you, Reimu, while you resolve this incident." Sakuya stated, her face remaining expressionless.
„Great. Shouldn't take long, I am going there right now." Reimu claimed, stretching her limbs and heading towards Sakuya.
„Wait! What about Aya?" Marisa questioned, making Reimu stop and turn to face her.
„What about her? Just carry her to Youkai Mountain and then join up with the rest of us." Reimu explained.
„Oh, aight, sure..." Marisa replied, figuring this would mean she would miss all the exciting parts and only do the boring escorting mission.
„Hang on! What about us? First let us return to our world!"
Mike suddenly went ahead and placed himself in front of Reimu, he wasn't going to let the only person who can make the way out for them, just barge out and away for the next few hours!
„You promised that you will do it tomorrow and the sun is just about out now, so go ahead and keep your promise!"
Reimu was having none of this and firmly gripped Mike by the shoulder and dragged him down to her eye level.
„People will potentially not only get badly hurt but die, and all you think about is leaving? I will help you leave once I am done beating up an idiot. The Human Village is more important than you, Outsiders."
After letting go, Mike side stepped and was scared from how intimidating Reimu can be, but was still angry.
However, this time for a different reason.
„Alright! Fine! The Vozhd guy was mentioned to be the root of all evil, no? I knew that shady politician was bad news from the get go! Anton is going to receive some first-hand judgement and I should have punched his nose in the moment I smelled bullshit coming from him!"
After stating that, Mike walked outside past Sakuya, who looked at him with suspicion, but remained silent.
„Heya, where ya going Mike?" Marisa asked as she rushed after him, with Aya already placed on the levitating broom right behind her.
„Ya guys are planning to go to the village and restore order, right? Well, I'm coming with you. Someone needs to knock some sense into Anton and that someone is going to be me!" Mike barked, pointing his thumb at his chest as he turned around to face everyone staring at him.
„No. You will wait here with your friend. If we take Aya as an example of the possible danger, Outsiders could easily be killed in an instant." Reimu stated, getting outside with everyone else.
„Don't care. It's partially my fault, too. If I had realized Anton would go this far sooner, I might have been able to put a stop to things, even if it would cost me my life." Mike firmly placed his foot down, refusing to step back away from his decision.
...
„Fine, be my guest. But do not think I will try to save you if you get in danger and are about to die." Reimu claimed, giving Mike one last chance to perhaps change his mind.
„Good. I wouldn't have wanted it any other way." Mike didn't budge.
„Aight, ya guys can continue to argue, but imma go and get this crow back into her nest, or she might fall unconscious soon. See ya, da ze!"
Marisa said before hopping on her broom and with Aya clinging to her the moment she sat down, they both were already flying into the direction of the Youkai Mountain.
„Mike, if you are going then... then so am I."
Everyone turned around to see 17 approach Mike.
„Ya don't have to, mate." Mike said, a smile slowly growing on his face. „But ya can bet ya ass that I am glad to be able to count on ya."
Afterwards, both Mike and 17 gave each other a high five and Reimu only face palmed and sighed, as Sakuya slightly chuckled to herself, if only for a moment.
„Why are all the Outsiders always suicidal...?" Reimu asked the question to herself, before shaking her head.
„Enough time wasted. We have to hurry now."
Reimu said, before starting to fly into the air.
„I would reconsider, if I was you."
Reimu turned around to look down at Sakuya.
„Ugh, what now?" Reimu was starting to get tired of this.
„From what I saw, it would appear Aya got this hurt because she was spotted while flying. She did claim these projectiles to be extremely fast, too. So it would seem sticking to the ground, would be a much safer choice. Not to mention, these Outsiders are unable to fly, but could prove useful if you were to arrive at the village with them at the same time."
...
„Just how long did you listen in on us before you decided to show yourself?" Reimu questioned, with an irritated facial expression.
„Long enough." Sakuya responded, a slight smile forming.
„...Okay! We go by foot! But if any of you say another word I will knock you out! Now go!"
Reimu landed on the ground and started heading towards the Human Village with Sakuya, Mike and 17 in tow. Since they were all clustered together on the ground, both Mike and 17 could relax and not worry about getting jumped by a youkai as the common youkai would tend to avoid getting into the shrine maidens path, even more so when an incident is going on and Reimu is more than just angry about it.
That is, if common sense would apply. Which means there will always be a few who will test their luck against a face-off with the shrine maiden. Not to mention, fairies usually become most active during incidents to stand in one's way, so they too, will prove to be of great annoyance.
-Marisa Kirisame's POV- (Youkai Mountain, sun rise...)
„Hang on tight, Aya! We're almost there, ze!"
Weeeee! If I hurry up, I might just make it in time to witness Reimu beat up that Vozhd guy! No way would I want to miss that!
I already entered tengu territory, so it shouldn't take long unt-
„Above us!"
„Woah!"
What is this!? Someone's shooting really fast projectiles at me!? Learn to aim first, then try agai-
*Graze*
*Graze*
„Woah!"
*Graze*
*Graze* *Graze*
„C-Calm down! There is no pattern! It's just a bunch of small, fast moving, pro- EEEEK!"
*Graze*
Deciding to get serious, I maneuvered my way past the bullets which were shot at me, barely grazing the ones which got close to me.
There were so many of them, without any organization! They weren't accurate but I feel like getting hit by even one of them could put me into worse shape than that cro-
„AYA!"
Realizing I still had a passenger behind me, I quickly attempted to crash land somewhere into the mountain. After avoiding more bullets, I managed to land somewhere safe.
„Heh, try to shoot me now, ze!"
„Halt! Do not move any further, human!"
...
After hearing voices behind me, I froze up a bit before they spoke up again.
„Wait, the thief? What are you doing here and...!"
„Hey! I'm no thief!" I reply. I don't steal! I just borrow things! They can take them back once I die!
„Shut up! Follow us, we have to get Aya some medical help."
After turning around, I noticed that it were other crow tengu. Understanding their worry about a fallen comrade, I went after them with Aya on my broom.
We soon arrived into a building with many tengu guards around it. Equipped with swords and crossbows alike.
Maaaaaan, just what is going on here?!
„You, quickly, get inside. We will treat her in the meantime."
Letting them grab Aya, they soon placed her on a makeshift ground bed and started bandaging up her wounds. It appears Aya also lost consciousness for a while now. Well, as annoying as Aya can be, I hope that she'll be fine.
Grabbing my broom in hand, I rushed inside to be greeted by two tengu, which I recognized.
„Yo! Hatate and some great tengu which name I forgot!"
„Really? Oh well, that's not important at the moment." says the great tengu, which I think was called...
„Megumu, should we assist the white wolf tengu in the defence now?"
...Megumu! Ha, I knew I would remember.
Turning my head to the side, I noticed a crow tengu guard asking somethin'.
„Not yet, Momiji claims that she has the situation under control. Just make sure none of the attackers manage to flank them or that the Kappa find out, we don't need anyone else to know about this conflict."
„Understood."
Hang on.
„Heeeey! What's even going on here!? When I was trying to drop off Aya here, I was getting shot at by some really speedy bullets, ze!"
„Exactly the problem. The Human Village villagers are attacking the youkai mountain."
...
...
„Ehhhh... what? Could you repeat that, Hatate?"
„The Huma-"
„We are under attack, that's all you need to know."
Megumu said, stopping Hatate in her tracks, before whispering something to her and turning to face me as she came closer to me.
„Marisa, listen. I need you to do something very important, okay?"
„Uhhh... sure, whatcha need?"
Megumu then places a hand on my shoulder. This is making me feel a bit tense, not gonna lie...
„I have strict orders from Tenma, so to explain it quick and swiftly..."
...
...
„We knew for a while that the humans were going to attack, so we prepared defensive measures and are trying to make sure no one gets hurt, so no pointless blood gets spilled..."
„Oh, that's nice!" What a relief, almost thought things were lookin' grim.
„...for now. Since, if the humans don't retreat in the next two hours or if they manage to kill too many tengu by surpassing the barricades, we are to engage in a more brutal and violent approach."
„That's less nice!" ...Oooookaaaay... maybe things aren't that bright either!
„So, Marisa, I want you to go to that Human Village you humans love so dearly and stop the attack by getting rid of that "Vozhd" guy, or I can promise you, things will NOT end up looking too nice for the future human population."
...Sheesh... She really needs to chill out a tad bit, she has a smile, but that smile promises death more than anythin' else...
„...A-Aight! Sure, Reimu is already likely on it, so I may as well just jump right in and help her get this over quickly!"
„Good. We will try our best to not hurt these humans, but I cannot promise anything if things don't improve. So you better hurry if you don't want to risk anything."
Without any further word or goodbyes, I rushed out and hoped on my broom. Aiming to go for the Human Village, but avoid the area which is currently a battlefield. As I fly around it, I notice figures fighting on the ground on several spots.
There were a few humans in armour, fighting with melee weapons an equal amount of wolf tengu.
It would appear that the wolf tengu are trying to just parry the humans melee attacks and possibly disarm them, rather than harm them.
There were also a few humans with weird weapons which...! Aha! So that's those things which shoot these bullets! But it appears they have trouble aiming the weapons at the fast moving tengu, which are either hiding behind barricades or dodge too well. Making it hard for the humans to be able to hit anything with these weapons.
„Ah, can't get distracted now, ze! The sooner I join in Reimu, the sooner disaster can be avoided!"
...
...
... I just hope you are okay, father...
-Anton Drevov's POV- (Human Village, two hours before disaster strikes...)
...
...
I never wanted to go this far with this... just... where did I go wrong...?
„My Vozhd, our most skilled guards have already arrived and are slowly managing to climb the mountain. The tengu resistance will surely not last long until it cracks and eventually shatters. We have, from what I heard, taken no casualties for now." informs Mr. A. Who is very happy with how things are going.
I guess that's good. We don't need to lose any more lives. Just hours ago I ordered people who didn't like me to be removed and for what reason? Just because I was paranoid that these few people would try to dispose of me? Now it's even worse than before! If this "tengu-human" war goes wrong, I am a dead man! Hell, I am already dead the moment that shrine maiden finds out what I did!
How was I so stupid...? I... I really should have put more thought into my actions...
I blame that stupid vampire child! It broke my confidence in my people! In... these peaceful people who never wanted this...
...Maybe, it's not too late. And if it is, maybe I can still salvage everything.
I just need to manage all my available people and resources and try my best to secure my place.
Because the last thing I am willing to do is surrender without a fight. Even if I would shake like a dog in the cold winter, I still wouldn't give up. Not now. Not after I have gotten this far.
„Truly, an interesting situation at hand. It amuses me greatly and I'm excited to see the end results." Says Johann, his eerie smile still hasn't departed.
It reminds me on how all of this began. Being dropped without any knowledge into the middle of nowhere and being lucky enough to not die on our way into this village.
I gained trust and managed to grasp the rule all for myself.
I still wonder to this day, how did the former village chief die all of a sudden the day we arrived?
Where did that weird building hat woman go, that she still hasn't come back? She was a teacher here, but now she is missing.
So many things which I yearn to know, but will never know the answer to. Even if I did, I would most likely forget it soon after...
„...Why are we doing this? What do we get from this? This is pointless!"
*SLAM*
Mennini suddenly slams the table and stands up.
„If we don't do anything, this will all come back to bite us! We have to stop this and apologize for what we did!"
„GRAAA!"
Suddenly, Mr. A emits a small roar as he turns around from the window and looks at Mennini.
„You! I had it with you! You are nothing but a nuisance! You always go against us, perhaps you are a traitor in disguise! Conspiring against the great Vozhd!"
Mennini is shocked by this blatant accusation, but barks back, not letting himself be pushed around anymore from the looks of things.
„Me!? If anyone is conspiring anything, it's most likely you! I bet my life that you were not only the one who killed the previous village chief, but you are also the one who is doing shady business behind everyone's back!"
I could clearly see Mr. A getting red from anger as he started yelling.
„You useless, youkai hugging, fool! You would rather have us be slaves to the youkai! The youkai menace must be extinguished if humanity wants to taste freedom here in Gensokyo!"
Mennini was quick to strike back.
„I don't want anyone to be a slave OR be killed! I just want peace for both sides! I may never have been into politics, or maybe even a good military engineer. Hell, to be honest, I could barely even call myself a regular engineer... But I know damn well that trying to solve things in a peaceful manner is not only easier, but also the best choice for everyone!"
Mr. A refused to back down.
„Oh, really? Well, go ahead! Go outside the village walls. See how long you can "peacefully" discuss with them so they don't eat you alive! You Outsiders are free meat for them, and they know it damn well! I want to protect even you!"
Mennini was at a loss of words.
Glancing from the two, I look at Johann to see him observing the situation with that eerie smile, which keeps making me anxious whenever I look at it.
„W-What? Protect us!? By striking the bee hive!? If we just stayed here, and somebody attacked or came by to check on us, we would have had a MUCH easier time explaining and proving our innocence in this... Hell, if there even is any innocence remaining..."
Mennini quickly added on before Mr. A managed to form his next set of lines.
„Also, who the hell is this Takeo?! Is he some kind of business partner of yours? Is he involved with all this? After all, he appeared out of nowhere!"
Mr. A pointed right between Mennini's eyes as he warned.
„Don't you dare accuse Takeo of anything! When all of you arrived, he was still returning from a difficult task I sent him to do! For I trust in Takeo's capabilities to help find an ancient artefact which I have been looking for!"
Mennini sneered and responded.
„Ancient artefact? Really? I find that hard to believe. And to send a single random guy at that!"
„Hold your tongue, you rat! Takeo isn't just some random guy, he is my adopted son! I know exactly what he is capable of and he proved his worth to me many times, years before you arrived! Don't you ever speak any evil about him!"
Mennini went silent for a moment, and that's when I took the chance to finally intervene once everyone got everything out of their system.
„Alright. That's enough. Both of you need to calm down. Right now."
Sure enough, everyone ca-
„No."
...
...
Turning to face Johann once more, I immediately raise both my eyebrows in surprise once I spot that Johann no longer is smiling, at all. Instead, he has a neutral expression plastered on his face.
„No...? What do you me-"
Mennini tried to ask but was interrupted as Johann spoke once more.
„I have observed long enough to figure out something..."
...
...
...
„Everyone's here opinions contradict each other."
Hmm, he isn't wrong.
Mennini believes in a more calm and peaceful solution.
Mr. A believes in the total extermination of youkai, and as a result paradise for humans.
Johann... I'm not really sure. He appears to have his own motives. But generally seems like a neutral between Mennini and Mr. A.
But just what is he planning to tell us with that?
My question would soon be answered. Deep down, I somehow knew that this is the moment I feared most.
„If we want things to possibly work out, the Vozhd will need to pick one of us to side with. It seems to be the only plausible option. The Vozhd needs ideas, and each of us have their own. This means, the Vozhd can choose which ones he deems either to his liking, or the better pick in this situation. After the Vozhd makes his choice, we would proceed with the direction of that very choice and try to achieve victory, prosperity and safety."
...
...
...
„...He's right. Ant- The Vozhd, has to pick between one of our ideas if we want to get anywhere."
Mennini, don't agre-
„Indeed. Our Vozhd certainly knows best, after all. Why didn't I think of it right away? Who are we to argue and try to prove ourselves against each other? When in the end, only the Vozhd has the final say."
Mr. A, please, not you too!
„It appears everyone agrees to my suggestion. So, why don't we present our great idea on how to fix the current situation to the Vozhd, and have him make a choice now? Does anyone have a problem with that?"
Yes, I do!
„No, this is perfect."
„Finally, I can agree with you, Mr. Mennini."
...
„Very well, why doesn't Mennini go first, Mr. A second and me last?"
„Okay, well..."
I find myself unable to utter a single word or even sound. As I stand still and watch Mennini take in a deep breath before he starts telling his idea. This is exactly what I didn't want to happen. If I have to choose between one of them, the others will likely get angry, since they expect that they would be chosen instead!
This is the worst!
„We all know the situation is dire, and we need to find a solution to solve it as quickly as possible. Well, my solution is in trying to negotiate peace and resolve everything with words. If anyone comes by, let's say, the shrine maiden, we should try to talk things out and solve everything without any further blood spill. Best thing to happen would be if the peace talks would lead to a peaceful era, where youkai and human alike can live in peace and both sides don't need to attack each other anymore! That's sounds almost too perfect to be true, but, it's still worth the try."
After Mennini finished talking, I could see Mr. A shake his head. As if to say that such stupid thing would never happen. Johann, appeared to be content with it. But I cannot say for sure if that is the case.
„All done? Good. Let me explain how things will go..."
After Mennini went to stand next to Johann, Mr. A stepped forwards and began telling me his brilliant idea.
„The idea is simple, we keep attacking the Youkai Mountain. However, we prepare a second force to then attack from behind and surprise them! If anyone dares to attack us here in the village, we will respond with resistance never seen before! And if that isn't enough, I have one last trick, which we could use. But I believe that will not be needed. In the end, all we need to do is arm ourselves up and fight for the future of Gensokyo!"
After explaining how simple the plan of his is, Mr. A went back to switch places with Johann, as Johann slowly stepped forward.
Based on both Mennini's and Johann's expressions, I could tell that Mennini thought that the idea was complete bullshit, and that it doesn't follow any common sense or logic. Which, knowing how illogical this place is, is hard to judge whether he is right or wrong. Johann, seemed a little less content, I could only slightly tell.
„Well, let me make this quick."
Johann stared at me. Slowly, a smile started forming. A smile, which send shivers down my spine. This brown menace never ceases to make me sweat bullets. Be it because of this brown fedora or his round glasses. I don't know. I don't know anything anymore, I have sunk too deep...
„My idea is, that we wait it out. Let them come here. We can talk about a possible deal... and if they don't want to agree with us, we just slaughter them. For they will walk straight into a trap without even knowing about it. What trap, oh, you will find out soon enough... after all, the clock is ticking and time is running... The sun, as it appeared is slowly darkening, fading, falling away..."
...
...
Unsure what to think of it, I look at the rest and I think they too are absolutely baffled by what Johann was saying. Mennini looked confused about what Johann meant. Meanwhile, Mr. A seemed curious, but also... hesitant? Does Mr. A know something we don't?
Afterwards, Johann returned to stand next to Mr. A, who slightly moved closer to Mennini, away from Johann, and Mennini moved closer to the wall, away from Mr. A.
„So, who do you pick? We each gave our ideas, plans, whatever you desire to call it. Now, you have to pick which suits you more, or seems to be the best for the situation."
I considered my options and recalled everything each of them said in a careful manner in my mind.
Doesn't matter who I choose, I have a feeling someone is going to cause a fuss and ruin everything regardless. I just need to figure out who would be the best choice, regardless of the idea.
Then again, I also need to keep in mind that this choice will affect more than just trust, it will affect the whole future of this village and many lives!
The more time passed as I spend thinking about it, the more I noticed how everyone started to get more and more anxious, waiting for me to choose. I need to choose, but who...?
...
...
...
In the end, I knew I couldn't drag this on forever. So I took in one last deep breath, before all would break and come crashing down, and made my final choice.
...
...
„My choice is..."
Pick your choice
(NOTE: Each choice will have its own ending. You can go for the one you choose now or go from top to bottom. You can always vote which choice you would go for if you were in Anton's boots.)
Choice 1 - Mennini's Approach (Mennini Ending)
-Anton sides with Mennini and tries a peaceful approach.
-Mennini is happy that Anton had a change of heart.
-Mr. A is furious, grinding his teeth.
-Johann is indifferent(?).
Choice 2 - Mr. A's Approach (Mr. A Ending)
-Anton sides with Mr. A and tries a violent approach.
-Mennini is disgusted, but mostly just disappointed.
-Mr. A is satisfied with the choice, praising the Vozhd for his great wisdom.
-Johann is indifferent(?).
Choice 3 - Johann's Approach (Johann Ending)
-Anton sides with Johann and tries a... questionable approach.
-Mennini is confused, unsure about Johann.
-Mr. A is irritated, unsure what to think of it.
-Johann is... smiling.
Choice 4 - No-one. Anton's Own Approach (No-one Ending)
-Anton refuses to make a choice and tries to fix his own mistake on his own.
-Mennini is disappointed.
-Mr. A is disappointed.
-Johann is impressed.
...
...
...
-People/Factions and their allegiance/opinion towards The Vozhd, Anton Drevov-
-Night of the Long Pikes Occurred--Before the choice is made-
Johann von Hochmär - Loyal(?)
Giovanni Mennini - Loyal?
Mr. A - Somewhat Loyal
Mr. A's followers (The SHA/SHS) - Accepting (Loyal to Mr. A)
Takeo - Accepting (Loyal to Mr. A)
Paul Garmith - ?
Mike Victorn - Beyond furious
17 - Shocked (Friends with Mike)
Villagers - Scared
Loyalist Guards - Loyal (no matter what.)
Guards - Unsure
Youkai - Hostile
Kappa - Friendly (Unaware)
Eientei - Supportive
SDM - Indifferent
Tengu - Hostile (war)
(More factions will be added when the need arrives...)