Mennini Ending – Anton decides to side with Giovanni Mennini.
-Anton Drevov's POV- (Human Village, two hours before disaster strikes…)
...
...
...
„…Mennini!"
After I had exclaimed out loud who I picked, I immediately could tell from their reactions who felt what.
Mennini was surprised at first, but quickly started laughing out of joy.
Mr. A was at first shocked, now I can see him fuming with rage.
Johann… is just standing there. Menacingly… If I may add.
Why did I go with Mennini? Mennini always appeared to me as the cautious person who tried his best to get things done without the need to draw blood. At this time of day, in this situation we currently are trapped, I think he would be the best person to rely on fixing this mess.
The mess I have caused… Regardless, if Mennini truly believes that we can get out of this alive if we stop things now and try to talk things out, then I am willing to give it a shot.
It doesn't matter if the youkai exist or not, we already caused more damage to this land then any youkai would… I just hope I can be forgiven…
„A-Anton… I knew you weren't a bad person! I know this decision must have been hard for you, but don't worry! I will go try and contact someone which could help us stop this, right away!"
After Mennini said this, happy that he was wrong about me being a… bad person… he ran off to try and start calming things down.
…Am I truly not a bad person? No. I might have had good intentions at first… but the power got to my head and… and now we stand here, in the middle of a crumbling palace, with little hope of salvation.
Unless Mennini can somehow manage to save us.
Until then and even after then, I can never again look at myself in the mirror, and claim to be a good person. A man of the people.
„I can't believe what I just witnessed! Surely, I must have been deceived by a youkai lurking around! What the hell do you think you're doing!?"
Mr. A yelled, coming closer to me as he stared at me with hatred filled eyes.
„All you had to do was do as I say! I am a native to this land, you idiotic Outsider!"
Enough. I will not allow a warmongering asshole talk to me like that. I am still, the Vozhd of this village.
„Listen here. First off, you address me, as the Vozhd. Got it? Secondly, if you raise your voice at me one more time, it won't end well for you. Lastly, I made my choice. Now follow it and do as I say."
…
…
…?
Mr. A started to slowly chuckle until he started to full on laugh.
Looking around the room, I also noticed the absence of Johann. Where the hell did he venture off to again?
„Ooooh… Anton, Anton, Anton… Poor little Anton…"
Mr. A started to send chills down my spine, making me feel like something bad is going to happen. Just what is he doing?
„What did I just say!? Yo-"
„Anton. It was fun, I must say. I truly enjoyed your company."
…?
„…What do you mean?"
„You see, I did say I had a trick up my sleeve. However, what I didn't mention is that I had a trick up my sleeve for every situation you could think off. Even the situation if the "Vozhd" became an obstacle."
For every situation? An obstacle? What is h- !
…
…
„…T-The revolver… that belongs to Mennini!"
„Not anymore. I took the chance to lend both of them. After all, little Mennini would never come to use them, would he? That youkai hugging bastard."
„Mr. A, put the revolver d-"
„Or what? Are you holding the second revolver? I don't think so. You could have had it, but I think my adopted son is more deserving of it."
…
„Mr. A, why? Why are you doing this? Have you planned this all along!? Where we just assets to you!?"
„Precisely."
…Huh?
„I had a plan from the very start. Even before you Outsiders arrived. However, when I heard about how you fought off that youkai attack, and that speech you gave, oh my! I was impressed, truly, I was."
So Mr. A already had a plan…
„I sensed potential and even an opportunity for my plan to go as smoothly as it could! I changed it up a little and decided to play with you to ensure more people start to hate the youkai and would join me to try and get rid of them for good!"
Wait…
„Mr. A, there is one big flaw here. These people are loyal to me! Only your fanatical members are loyal to you, no one else!"
„Are you sure about that?"
Mr. A began to laugh, still keeping the revolver pointed at me while I had my arms up.
„Anton, please. I thought about everything. I won't deny that a few guards truly are loyal to you, since they respect you a lot, but why else do you think I wanted them "specifically" to go fight the tengu at Youkai Mountain? To have them out of the way if plans changed all of a sudden. Which they did, hehe."
„Heh, okay. Let's say… I, Mr. A, were to have my members, who are all native villagers, tell every other villager, that you, the Vozhd, an Outsider, decided to flee and beg the youkai for mercy, while they slaughter the village populace. …Tell me, what do you think would happen? Do you think they would remain loyal to you? Or do you believe that they would come after you to tear you apart? I think we both know the answer."
…Shit. He was prepared to backstab me. I should have known. Of course, even if that was a lie by Mr. A, the villagers would believe it. Since Mr. A is one of them, while I was only here for not even a week!
„But what about you, Mr. A? Why wouldn't they tear you up too? After all, you yourself helped me get rid of un-loyal people! Wouldn't they want you gone too?"
„Ah ah aaaah~! This whole thing was smeared under your name. I was just doing as you ordered, after all."
He has me trapped. This is it…
„Not to mention… I don't like killing humans, so I didn't kill them myself. However, I AM willing to kill other humans, such as Outsiders, if they get in the way or don't do as I say…"
„Please, reconsider…"
I beg, closing my eyes as Mr. A raised the revolver.
„Mr. Drevov, please. I am no youkai."
Opening an eye, I stare at Mr. A, shortly after, he speaks up once more.
„I will count to ten. Once I count to ten, I will have every single member of mine tell every single villager of your betrayal and how you sold out and fled the village. Furthermore, once I count to ten, you are free to be killed by me, any member of mine, any other villager, anyone you can think off."
„…W-What!?"
„So, you better start running, since ten seconds will pass quickly. The information will travel around in about an hour of time, so you better be gone from the village grounds and outskirts until then."
Mr. A says, smiling to me as he quickly looks over to one of the village gates outside the window from afar.
„H-Hold on! You can't do that!"
„One."
„Wait! Let's talk about this like grown men!"
„Two."
„N-No! P-Please? Pretty Pl-Please!?"
„Three."
Moving past Mr. A, he follows me with the revolver at all times. He's certainly not stupid enough to be in reach of me. Making sure I couldn't swipe away the revolver without risking that I get shot in the head.
„Four."
That was the last number I heard him say. Afterwards, I was already running like crazy. In one second, I was outside the building. I kept running and running towards the village exit. I saw the many villagers, SHA/SHS members and guards look at me with confusion as I ran past them.
They were trying their best to fortify the village and protect each other, while I was running away from them, leaving them to die…
I am too afraid. Too afraid and scared to stay and risk dying by the hands of those who trusted me. Soon, instead of staring at me. They would be chasing after me.
I'm sorry, my friends, people and everyone who believed in me… I am nothing, but a failure…
I should never have become the leader of this village… I should never have listened to my greedy desires and dreams of power… I should have just tried and leave this nightmare of a world…
…
I hope you can save these villagers, Mennini. I hope I haven't doomed you too.
You always did everything I wanted you to do and despite not agreeing with it, never did you try and kill me like Mr. A did just now. I hope you… I hope, I… I hope…
…
…
I hope you can forgive me for this, and everything ever since we all fell on top of each other.
-3rd Person POV- (Human Village Outskirts, one hour and forty-five minutes before disaster strikes…)
„Get ready, we're about five minutes away from the village." Reimu said, her warning mostly aimed at the two Outsiders who decided to join in to help take down Anton.
„Finally! I was starting to get sick from these fairies and youkai blocking our way like four times! What the hell is their problem!?" Mike complained, agitated by the rough journey they had gone through.
While the group of four was making haste to arrive to the village by foot, they were slowed down by many fairies getting in the way to cause a bit of mischief, along with a few other individuals who had a bone to pick with at least one person from the group.
„Hell, that ice fairy almost beheaded me with an ice ball! A fuckin' ball made out of pure ice!" Mike stated.
„Stop complaining, I took care of her and her friends as quickly as they came." Reimu rolled her eyes, getting annoyed from the comments.
„Well, yes. I am grateful for that. Issue is, we wouldn't have had to deal with her if a certain someone here wouldn't have thrown a knife at her in the first place a few days prior!"
Mike said, slightly glancing at Sakuya, which was giving him a piercing gaze.
„That annoying fairy would still have attacked us, for a different reason. Best to remove her quickly without a second thought." Sakuya answered, keeping her perfect composure intact.
„Oh really? Then why didn't you do anythin'? You were expecting us to take care of the problem or what?" Mike inquired, as Sakuya didn't throw a single knife at anything until now. Merely dodging and slicing the occasional fairy if it tried to tackle her in any way.
„Yes."
…
…
Suddenly, everyone stopped moving, including Reimu, who turned to look at Sakuya, tilting her head slightly.
„Excuse me? What does that exactly mean?"
„As I have said, Lady Remilia tasked me to accompany you. However, she also stated that I shall only observe and not involve myself in anything unless I need to defend myself." Sakuya answered.
…
„Great. That means I am going to have to do everything again, as always." Reimu stated with a deadpanned expression.
They resumed their walk while Mike kept recalling the other encounters with youkai such as an insect type of youkai, which only attacked them because Mike accidently stepped on a grasshopper, which he didn't even notice jumped right under his foot.
Eventually, they finally arrived in front on the village. Now, they had to get past two guards guarding it. One carried a spear, while the other carried one of the firearms.
„Halt! State your bu- Oh. It's the shrine maiden." Said the guard with the spear.
„As well as that maid and the two Outsiders from earlier." Said the second guard with the firearm, holding it to his chest.
„Open the gate. I need to have a word with a certain Vozhd guy or whatever he is called." Reimu states, not in the mood to wait.
„Uhhh… what were we meant to do if someone comes around?" Asked the first guard, glancing over to the second guard.
„I heard were supposed to let them in to try and have things talked out?" The second guard appeared to be conflicted with that to do.
„Ugh, just let us in or I will let myself in." Reimu said, raising her gohei.
Both guards look at each other, before giving in and letting them inside.
As the Incident Resolvers got inside, Mike spoke out.
„Alright, you go and restore order or whatever, we go and try finding Anton and beat him up. C'mon, 17."
„On it!"
„What? Wai- Oh dammit!"
Before Reimu managed to stop the two Outsiders, they have already ran off into an alleyway along the walls of the village.
„As long as they don't start a fight, they shouldn't face much harm in this village. Despite the circumstances." Sakuya said, standing behind Reimu with her hands crossed.
„As long as they don't get in the way…" Reimu exhaled, before going down the road deeper into the village itself.
As the both of them walked down the road, they noticed that the village market streets appeared empty, they only saw the occasional villager or two along with a few guards placing down defensive measures in fear that they might soon get attacked by youkai.
Soon, they arrived near the village centre. The HQ was close by, however, they soon saw someone approaching them.
Reimu immediately prepared a fighting stance once she realized that it was one of the Outsiders which were causing the trouble in this village, but that wasn't needed as the approaching Outsider was signalling that he wasn't here to fight, but discuss.
„Don't hurt me! I don't want to fight, I merely wish to speak about… well… everything which went wrong." Mennini said, as he was ten meters in front of them. Keeping his distance just in case.
„What? You want to surrender and get away scot free?" Reimu humoured herself, believing this to be likely just a trap set up for them.
„…Actually, yes! That's exactly it!"
…
„Huh…? Even the Vozhd guy?"
„Even the Vozhd guy! We talked and, he actually decided to put a stop on all of this! Isn't that great!? He actually had a change of heart and decided to try and stop the fire before it grew out of hand!" Mennini was happy to have been able to sort things out peacefully.
„Ah, great. That means I don't have to actually do much." Reimu smiled, relieved that everything seems to be sorting itself out. All she needed to do now was just have an eye on everything in case someone decided to go out of line and ruin it all.
„I'll go inform Anton! I can't wa-"
*BANG*
…!?
Reimu's reflexes didn't fail her, as she shifted her body to the left side, narrowly avoiding a bullet which almost hit her in the neck.
She looked in front of her and was shocked to see something she didn't expect to happen. She wasn't sure if she could believe her own two eyes, but the gasp she heard from Sakuya confirmed her fears.
Mennini wasn't the one who shot the bullet at Reimu, rather, someone shot the bullet THROUGH Mennini's head.
Mennini… was missing the right side of his head, as it was deformed and blood was gushing out of him as his body swayed for a few moments. Before at last, he fell to the ground.
As Reimu looked up from the bleeding body, she saw the person who had shot Mennini and almost her as well.
The revolver the person was holding was still emitting a bit of smoke after being fired.
The person holding the revolver was…
Johann.
„What a splendorous morning, isn't that right, ladies?" Johann smiled at the two individuals as he put the gun down to his side, holding onto it.
„You idiot, you do realize that guy was with you, right?" Reimu said, shaking her head in disappointment. She was THIS close to have little to no work to do, and now, it seemed like she had to once more take care of everything.
„Was he? Hmm… I don't remember anyone ever giving up, besides him." Johann lied, knowing very well what was going to happen.
„After all, why would the lapdog be sent to arrange peace, and not the one in charge?" Johann pointed out, making sure that they believe the Vozhd never desired for peace.
„I see. Well, step aside then. Or do you want to receive a smack or two?" Reimu said, as she slowly stepped forward.
„Oh, I believe you must be mistaken. After all… when did I ever give you permission to pass?"
…
Reimu now understood.
This was no simple Outsider anymore.
Johann threw the revolver away, as he slowly floated upwards. Engulfed in a shadowy aura, his eyes were glowing red behind the glass of his round glasses. A smile which became inhuman was sending shivers to anyone around. Expect Reimu and Sakuya.
This was a youkai.
A youkai who was asking to be exterminated for not only killing an Outsider, which could be excused, but for likely killing other villagers. Which was a death sentence.
„Ugh, you darn fool. Fine, let's get this over with. I quickly exterminate you and beat up the guy in charge and have this madness end at once." Reimu exclaimed, slowly floating up herself as she pointed her gohei at Johann.
„Come. Come, and prove to me just how powerful you are!" Johan cackled, before getting into a fighting stance himself.
A magical battle was about to begin.
(Human Village, one hour and twenty-five minutes before disaster…)
Meanwhile, Mike and 17 managed to get to the opposite side and were closing in on the HQ, where they expect Anton to be hiding like the coward which he is. At least, that's what Mike believes to be the case.
Mike pops his head out to check the corner, after not seeing anything, he turns to face 17 and speaks.
„Alright. The coast is clear, let's go beat that madman up."
„Yeah, but… we won't kill him, right?" 17 asked, not feeling up to the idea of taking anyone's life.
„Nah, we just bruise him and maybe pop a bone or two. Just make him regret being an idiot and killing people. Hell, killing him would be more of an act of mercy, now that I think about it…" Mike thought to himself. It was either him dying or having him regret for a long time.
Both of them managed to get inside the building via an open window from the side. They must have been lucky that nobody ran into them while they were sneaking about outside.
Now inside, they slowly checked around. It was only when they heard movement coming from above, when they both looked at each other as they agreed, that Anton must be above them.
Slowly sneaking upstairs, Mike asks 17 a simple, yet important question.
„You still have that knife on you, right?" Mike whispers, being fully serious as he started to feel the tense feeling in the air.
„Uh-huh." 17 was quick to let Mike know that he had it in case worst came to worst.
„Good. I think he is in this room. On three."
„One."
„Two…"
…
„and three!"
As Mike yelled three, he kicked the sliding door frame in, which resulted in half the wall collapsing in front of them and revealing the room to them.
Inside the room stood a person who, surprised by the sudden interruption, turned to face them.
It was…
Mr. A.
„…Who the hell are you two supposed to be?" Mr. A appeared confused. He wasn't expecting two strangers he never seen or heard before break into the room.
„We… could say the exact same thing to you. We were actually expecting Anton to be here, not… whoever you are." Mike said, feeling a bit awkward.
„Oh, are you now? How about I help deliver a message of his?"
„17, take cover!"
*BANG*
Mr. A suddenly pulled out a revolver and tried to shoot Mike. Mike was quick to act and tackle 17 with him behind a wooden crate.
„Eh, how do I am with this…" Mr. A mumbled to himself, not fully understanding how these revolvers are supposed to be handled.
To his misfortune, Mike overheard that, and was quickly coming up with a plan.
„J-Just don't come any closer! We have n-nothing to defend ourselves!"
„Oh, really? How unfortunate. Maybe next time, don't come breaking into someone's h- AAAARGHAAA!"
As Mr. A was talking, he was also coming closer to get a better aim.
While that was happening, Mike quickly took the knife from 17 and prepared to try and throw it.
Once Mr. A was close enough, he quickly tried to throw it at him. Since Mr. A doesn't have the best reaction time or maybe simply isn't trigger happy. He wasn't fast enough to fire a round into Mike, before Mike managed to throw the knife.
„Argh, you littl- Uff! G-Get off of me!"
The knife managed to graze his shoulder which was holding the gun, distracting him enough so that Mike managed to jump out from behind the wooden crate and attempted to try and disarm Mr. A.
„Not until I get that gun from you!"
*BANG*
As Mike and Mr. A were fighting for the upper hand on who gets to have full control over the revolver, Mr. A was accidentally shooting bullets all around one by one.
*BANG*
*BANG*
After the fourth shot, Mike managed to grab the revolver and fling it out of Mr. A's hand.
„Ha! N-"
Mr. A wasn't happy about it, and head-butted Mike with the back off his head, forcing him to let go off the gun as it slid to the other side of the room.
Mr. A tried to make a run for it, however, Mike was having none of this.
„No fucking way, get over here!"
„A-AAAH! PUT ME DOWN! PUT ME DOWN!"
Mike grabbed Mr. A by the shoulders and managed to hold him above the ground for a few seconds, before he started to lose grip.
„SURE!"
Mike yelled as he threw Mr. A on one of the tables, breaking the table in the process.
After that was done, Mike kneeled down to the ground. Exhausted from the fight.
Mr. A slowly managed to get back up. But as Mike was about to stand up, he heard a lot of screaming and yelling coming from outside, approaching the building they were in.
„What's all this noise about?" Mike asked.
„Mike, I… I think you should take a look outside…"
„…What is…?"
Taking a glance outside, Mike saw how the village was suddenly in flames. Fire has broken out and was starting to consume the village houses one by one. If the fire isn't put out quickly, then soon nothing will remain of the once peaceful village.
„What the hell is going on…?"
„Heh…"
Turning to face Mr. A, both Mike and 17 noticed him smiling as blood slowly dropped from Mr. A's mouth.
„…I made sure that the village goes berserk… just in case I needed a way to escape… hehehe…"
…
„You disgusting piece of shi-"
Mike was about to charge at Mr. A, when suddenly, villagers appeared from the same hole in the wall which Mike and 17 caused.
„L-Look what they did to me! They betrayed us, just like the Vozhd, Anton!"
„…he what?"
Mike was confused, however, he quickly realized why Mr. A said what he said.
He quickly turned around and blocked one villager trying to punch him with his hands.
He noticed 17 was also being attacked, as he was trying to avoid receiving a beating like Mike.
„Calm down! We aren't doing anythin'! Don't fight back 17, just block until these people get it!" Mike shouted, letting 17 know not to stir the rowdy villagers any further.
After a five minutes of attempted punches and kicks, the few villagers which busted in here calmed down. Maybe it was because Mike was constantly telling them to back off. Maybe because both Mike and 17 weren't fighting back at all. Or maybe… maybe it was because these villagers got tired from their attempts to get revenge on the "apparent" traitors.
Mike, looked behind him. However, there was no trace of Mr. A.
The guy must have left as soon as the villagers attacked! Mike concluded.
„Ight, I have no clue what's going on anymore, but we have to help and stop this fire from spreading! Fast!" Mike yelled pushing himself past the villagers.
„Y-Yeah!" One villager agreed after he realized the bigger threat at the moment.
All of them left soon after, with one villager helping 17 get back on his feet as they quickly left the building, which too, was starting to catch on fire.
Just how did the village suddenly catch fire?
(Human Village, one hour and fifty minutes before disaster…)
After Mr. A got rid of Anton, he hurried to meet up with Takeo.
„Father, what's the matter? You seem distressed." Takeo was quick to notice that something was wrong.
„Change of plans. Her-"
Mr. A tried to grab the second revolver to give it to Takeo, but it appeared to have vaporized into thin air, as Mr. A failed to find it on him.
„What is it?" Takeo asked, confused on what was happening.
„Never mind. Takeo, listen. I need you to tell the others and have them warn the villagers that the Vozhd betrayed us." Mr. A quickly said, trying to make haste.
„He betrayed us!? Yes, it shall be done!" Takeo was quick to do as requested.
„Good. But wait, one more thing. Take this, and throw it into the main storage." Mr. A said, handing Takeo a lit torch which he grabbed along the way.
„A torch…? But… if I do that, the village is going to starve! The fire will consume it all!"
„That's the idea."
…
Takeo was stunned, he didn't expect the man he looked up to, to resolve to such drastic measures. He had to ask why, otherwise he wouldn't be able to bring himself to commit such an act.
„But… but why, father?"
„Takeo. Do as I say. This will cause enough of a distraction for all of us to escape without being seen if worst comes to worst. Those who are not part of my society are forsaken regardless of what we do. Now, go do it or you are done for."
After threatening Takeo, Mr. A hurried to get back into the HQ and grab everything important.
Takeo only stood in place for a few seconds, before looking down onto the ground.
This is for the man who showed me kindness. The man, who saved me from damnation. Takeo said to himself, before running towards the main storage, where most of the village food stockpiles are located.
(Human Village, one hour and thirty-five minutes before disaster…)
Marisa was on her way back to the village, flying as fast as she could with her broom.
„Almost there! I can already see the village from afar, da ze!" Marisa said to herself, pushing herself against the wind to get there quickly.
Marisa managed to go around the battlefield going on at the Youkai Mountain, she saw the situation was stable but she had to hurry. After all, she didn't have much time to spare.
As Marisa was descending down, a guard operating a large machine gun mounted on a platform last night close to the village walls spotted her.
He recognized the flying individual as Marisa, and decided not to fire at her.
Marisa was looking around the village from above, trying to spot Reimu. But as she was doing so, she spotted something else which caught her attention.
„Huh? Is that building on fire?"
Marisa noticed smoke coming out of a storage building, she quickly decided to go investigate.
As she descended down upon the ground, she noticed someone standing nearby the building which by now, she could tell was truly on fire.
„Heya! What are ya doing here?" Marisa inquired.
The man quickly spun around, shock on his visage was present without a single doubt.
„T-The storage was set ablaze! We must do something to stop the fire!"
The man explained, stuttering a bit as he spoke.
Marisa didn't say anything else, she quickly rushed inside to see how the situation was for herself before she attempted to do anything in her power to put an end to the fiery threat which could potentially spread.
However, unknown to her, the man who spoke to her was the one who started the fire. Takeo wasted no further time to get away, but before that, he made sure to lock Marisa inside the storage, by closing the door shut and blocking the entrance while Marisa was distracted with the fire.
„Huh? Why did the door close!?"
Marisa was shocked, two minutes must have passed before she noticed that she was locked in.
„Woah!"
Marisa jumped to the right as a wooden piece of the structure fell from the ceiling. The fire had too much resources to keep itself alive.
Marisa decided she will need to ensure that it doesn't spread from this building to any other building nearby instead, as the situation looked dire.
Wasting no more time, she tried to kick the door open. But after it proved useless, she instead decided to shoot danmaku at the door, blasting it open within a second.
Once the path was cleared, she rushed out only to notice that the fire has already started to get out of hand.
„This… this is bad…"
She noticed some villagers running around, panicking, while the braver ones tried their best to keep the flames at bay and safe whatever they could.
Marisa felt sick to her stomach, she needed to find Reimu and sort this out this instant. Fast.
She jumped on top of her broom and flew around town, once she reached a wrecked looking area, she found not only Reimu and Sakuya, but also someone else fighting them.
She didn't even stop to think about it, before she decided to join in with her most well-known weapon of choice, her mini hakkero.
(Human Village, one hour and thirty-five minutes before disaster…)
While Marisa was pre-occupied, a magical battle begun.
Johann, who has revealed to have become a youkai somehow, started sending waves after waves of dark purplish flame projectiles at Reimu.
Reimu was shooting her own danmaku at Johann, who dodged with ease.
However, so did Reimu. Both opponents had a hard time hitting each other, but it was clear to say if even one hit the other, it could result in a chain reaction.
Both Reimu and Johann kept their distance, they weren't going to engage into hand to hand combat without reason. While Johann had to fully rely on his own dodge skills for the most part, Reimu could always create a small barrier to shield herself, if only for a brief moment.
The dark purplish flames Johann was shooting appeared lethal, being hit by one could resume in severe burns. Reimu wasn't going to test that theory, she kept dodging and shooting, rarely grazing a flame or two.
Each time one of the two dodged, it resulted in more damage to the buildings around them. The dark purplish flames where burning on various spots, but it seemed they refused to expand. However, even then, the area around them proceeded to look more like an abandoned ruin, then a prosperous village.
Several minutes have already passed, as Sakuya waited in the back. She observed every little detail, for she needed the most accurate information she could obtain from this. After all, Lady Remilia would love to hear an exact description on how everything turned out to be.
Sakuya was standing far away enough to only occasionally be bothered by a stray bullet from either Reimu or Johann.
Johann and Reimu were flying up and down while trying to hit each other from head to toe, anywhere where it could prove to be a decisive hit. Unfortunately, both always managed to get close to hitting the other, but ultimately failing.
Johann created a wall of dark purplish flames and threw it at Reimu. The wall blocked every danmaku from Reimu as it flew towards her. Reimu decided to drop on the ground and duck under it, before leaping over several dark purplish flames right after.
Johann was impressed with the skill the shrine maiden proved. It was at this point Johann realized he might have to reconsider his approach. He landed on the ground to avoid a sudden burst from Reimu, which possibly could have hit him if he decided to instead rise higher up in the air.
After yet another miss, Reimu knew that this would take too long if she were to procced like this, so she decided to use her first spell card and possibly end this right now.
As she was holding one in-between her fingers, and did a spin in the air to dodge five flame bullets from Johann, she was about to call out her attack when suddenly…
„MAAAASTEEER SPAAAAAAAAARK!"
Both Reimu and Sakuya turned to face the direction where the scream came from. Johann did so as well, but instead of seeing a person, he saw a massive laser right in front of him.
The massive laser, at last, was the thing to hit Johann as he was sent flying right into the dragon statue. As the laser progressed to intensify, the statue it was being pushed on ended up being heavily damaged.
In the end, as the laser came to a stop. There was only silence around them.
A magical battle, came to an end.
„Ha! Didn't expect that, did ya!?" Marisa yelled as she pointed towards the figure laying on the ground, next to the dragon statue.
Reimu only shook her head with a smile, as she approached the downed Johann.
„Even if you aren't the one who made me have to deal with all of this today, I still will permanently exterminate you for the better balance of Gensokyo."
„…No …I ….Not after all this ti-" Johann tried to plea for mercy.
Reimu put a quick stop to this as she grabbed Johann by the neck and made him face her.
„And no, I am not sorry for this."
Reimu said coldly, before proceeding to kick Johann into the air above her, and ram her gohei straight through his head and down his torso while muttering something beneath her breath.
Johann screamed in agony, and exploded into millions of pieces, known to most as dust.
„W-Woah! Damn, Reimu! You actually eradicated that guy, ze!" Marisa was shocked by how nonchalantly she just killed that guy.
„Who was that guy anyhow?" Marisa asked, as she held her broom behind her back.
„No clue, but we have to deal with something else first." Reimu said, slowly continuing walking towards where she assumed the trouble maker would be.
„Right! Reimu, we gotta get that Vozhd guy fast! There is a fire spreading in the village!" Marisa suddenly exclaimed.
As a result, Reimu stopped in her step and gasped. A fire could never mean anything good.
„If that's the case, forget about the Vozhd guy, we have to put the fire out first!" Reimu changed her priorities as she started flying towards the rising smoke in the nearby distance, which she only now after being aware of an existing fire, noticed.
„No! Reimu, we have to get that guy or else things might get really nasty!" Marisa tried to convince Reimu otherwise, but Reimu was quick to act.
„If we don't put out that fire, there will be no village left! No village means no villagers! Now come and help me or go find that guy on your own while I handle the fire!"
Marisa, bit her lip. She wasn't sure which was more important. Taking down a guy which will stop the tengu from going into a rampage, or stop the fire to save the village so the villagers have a place to live in!
Both were important, but in the end, Marisa decided to follow her gut.
„…You're right Reimu. I handle the left side, you handle the right side!"
Marisa quickly jumped on her broom and flew into action.
Sakuya, satisfied with her observation for now, quickly flew to follow after Reimu.
(?, ? hour and ? minutes until…)
Anton was on the run. Running through the woods which once seemed full of life and colours, turned empty and dark for him. All he saw around him where eyes which weren't really there, judging him for his acts. All he heard where pleas for help, cries and screams all around him which weren't really there, pointed at him.
Anton was a mess. He was shaking and tears of his own slid down his face as he ran around the woods. He wanted it all to stop. But he was blaming himself for it all. He believed that no matter where he would go, he would be killed.
Anton was paranoid. He felt as if he was being both watched and followed, every time he looked back, he could swore he saw someone for a split second. He knew that if he stopped to run, he would soon be reduced to nothing but a bad memory.
But…
Alas, Anton couldn't run no more.
Collapsing onto the ground, he managed to get into a little clearing surrounded by many trees. In the middle was a single large stump, which seemed like it was calling to him. Telling him to come and take a seat to ease his aching mind.
Whether Anton imagined that or it was truly talking to him, he didn't care and decided to sit down and take a break.
As Anton was sitting down, he still couldn't get the worrisome thought out of his head. In his mind, everyone wanted him dead, and if he makes a single mistake, he will not be able to recover.
Anton was now all alone. Seated on a stump, he was silently lamenting over everything which has occurred over these past few days.
It was as if he had fallen into a coma. A coma disguised as a horrible nightmare he would need to wake up from if he ever wanted to return back to reality.
Anton's final moments, remain to be known.
„Ight, everyone! That should be it! Hey, you! Go check those houses there in case someone was trapped when the ceiling collapsed in on them! If we act fast, we might save some more lives…"
Mike said, while helping other villagers carrying the burned rubble away.
It took roughly half an hour to extinguish the roaring flames which in the end, only managed to consume roughly ten percent of the village. Still, the damage done was massive and the resources and lives lost would haunt the villagers for the next few decades.
Both Reimu and Marisa ensure that the flames stopped spreading and that they would be dealt with. Sakuya with 17 helped many villagers calm down and get to safety, while Mike and several guards tried their best to rescue anyone and anything within the affected area.
The battle at Youkai Mountain came to an abrupt stop when a guard noticed smoke in the distance, coming from the Human Village. After informing everyone else, the attack ceased and the guards retreat back to the village to try and see what was going on and to protect their loved ones.
The only ones who remained fighting were the SHA/SHS members, who quickly got overwhelmed and were forced to retreat into the Youkai Forest, whether they still roam there or they hid somewhere is unknown.
After the fire was almost dealt with, Marisa told Reimu she would quickly go inform the tengu that while the one responsible for this little war is still on the loose, the villagers desire to end this conflict and ask for mercy.
Megumu informed Marisa that the tengu will forgive the villagers, since they cannot be fully blamed. However, she also asked that they would need to hand over the weaponry, so that the kappa might turn them into nothing more but molten ingots. Just for the sake of such incident not repeating any time soon. They would in exchange, provide food to the Human Village, since most of the stored food in the Human Village was consumed by flames.
The villagers were relieved and agreed to these demands, when Marisa returned with Aya, who had already recovered mostly and was only slightly bandaged. The villagers certainly learned a tough lesson this day.
The disaster has been avoided.
In the end, they all met up at the half burned HQ, which was the root of the incident. Mike was explaining how instead of Anton, they found a weird old man, who attacked them, when suddenly two new faces appeared amongst them.
„What the hell happened here!?"
„The village… Oh, Reimu! Could you explain what happened here while I was gone?"
It was Mokou and Keine who had just arrived at the scene. Mokou looked pissed while Keine seemed deeply saddened while also a bit confused.
„Ey, perfect timing! Mike was just explain about what happened to them!" Marisa chirped in to answer. However, this only made both Mokou and Keine even more confused.
„Mike? Who's that?" Mokou asked, tilting her head.
„Don't worry about that. Just one of two Outsiders which helped us deal with this incident." Reimu swayed her hand in the air. She didn't want to hear introductions at the moment. She was more curious about the whereabouts of a certain man.
„Ight, so as I was saying, instead of Anton, there was some shady looking man. Neither I nor 17 here ever saw this guy before, but I can tell you, he had to have been working with Anton. After all, he claimed that Anton betrayed the villagers. Whatever that was supposed to mean…" Mike was talking, until Mokou stopped him.
„Hold on, some old man? I think I know who that might be."
„You do? Well, I would like to know who that might be." Reimu said, placing her hands on her hips.
„After I killed Kaguya, she mentioned that someone who likes to go by the name of "Mr. A" was the one who planned everything out." Mokou stated.
„Mr. A…? Oh, now it makes sense." Everyone turned to Keine who seemed to immediately understand what was going on.
„That Mr. A is a stubborn man, he truly believes that in order to save humanity and restore balance and what not, the youkai threat must be removed from the surface of the world. He is the sole reason I made a deal with the child of Miare, to have a school build where I would then teach the importance of both human and youkai for Gensokyo's stability and existence." Keine explained.
„Wait… Now that you mentioned it, where IS Akyuu?" Reimu pondered.
…
…
„Oh no! I hope that they didn't ki-"
„Not to worry."
Keine was interrupted when a voice made its presence known behind her. Everyone turned around to come face to face with two more people joining this discussion.
„While everyone was distracted by the fire, the two men which Mr. A made watch over me ran off, giving me the chance to escape." Akyuu said, a collected smile on her face.
„Not to mention, even if they didn't run away, Sekibanki here would have gotten me out two minutes later." Akyuu explained.
„Yep, I planned to break her out the moment Reimu entered the village. But it seems like the problem solved itself on its own." Sekibanki said, smiling with relief.
„Well, even if this is over, I don't think this is the end." Marisa said, getting all the attention.
„We still need to find that Anton guy along with that Mr. A guy."
„Ayaya! Don't worry about that! Once I make the next headline, everyone will know who to look out for!"
After Marisa finished talking, Aya, who was silently writing things down in the back, joined in the moment she finished writing things down.
„Aya! You don't need to push yourself, you're still hurt!" Marisa said, with a smile. She knew exactly what Aya was going to reply with, after all.
„Heee!? You're kidding! I NEED to push myself now more than ever! This has been something unique! The Bunbunmaru will be in high demand and I cannot rest for the next whole week!"
Everyone laughed at that a bit, even Aya herself out of embarrassment, once she realized everyone knew she was going to react like that.
…
„It's still hard to believe that a regular villager planned all of this…"
The attention was now on 17, who still tried to make sense of how it would even work.
„I agree. After all, I didn't even know I was poisoned until Eirin explained it to me. …I still feel a bit woozy, but I should be okay in a few days…" Keine stated.
„Right. Mokou, you mentioned Kaguya told you that the Mr. A guy was behind it all? How did she know about that?" Reimu asked, wanting to hear the full story.
„Eh, long story, short. Mr A visited them and asked for a special kind of poison to be made. Along with these weapons, but that was weeks ago. So yeah, Eientei was involved in this. But I took care of that, so no need to visit it now." Mokou explained in a lax manner, not wanting to remember the events, since that would just sour her mood.
„I see. Hmm, well, even then… How did Mr. A know that these Outsiders would arrive?"
„He didn't."
After a moment of silence, everyone turned to look at the person who was walking with an umbrella towards them. The person had a cheerful smile on her face, but everyone could tell that that smile meant nothing good.
„Yukari…"
Reimu spoke, as she gripped her gohei with more strength.
„Yes, my dear Reimu~?"
The person with the umbrella was none other than Yukari, the gap youkai and one of the sages of Gensokyo.
Yukari has dark golden eyes along with long blonde hair. She wears a deep purple dress, a pale pink mob cap with a thin red ribbon and smaller ribbons tied liberally on her accessories and the tips of her hair.
„You had a part in this, didn't you!? You better explain the meaning of all of this or I WILL exterminate you!" Reimu was pissed, if one couldn't tell.
Reimu knew that the gap youkai was somehow involved in this ever since she realized that there were Outsiders involved.
„You're accusations are going to make me cry, Reimu… Are you truly that heartless?" Yukari questioned, pretending to be hurt and about to cry.
Reimu only raised her gohei higher, and was prepared to strike Yukari if she doesn't start explaining the next moment she opens her mouth.
„…Yes, I did get these Outsiders into Gensokyo, but that's it. I didn't do anything else, I promise you that, Reimuuuu~!" Yukari said, still acting as if she didn't care one bit that everyone around her looked like they were about to rip her apart.
„But why, then? Why did you bring us here…?" 17 asked, as he stepped next to Mike.
„Mmmm… Why not tell you all? After all, the movie is about to end anyway." Yukari shrugged, before turning around and recalling everything which happened, how it happened, and why it happened.
„I was bored and was looking around what the denizens of Gensokyo were on about. That was, when I noticed a certain man, let's call him "Mr. A", was planning something which immediately caught my interest."
„That man planned a scheme which would rid the Human Village of its guardian as well as Village Chief. At the same time, he already send a few of his followers to provoke beast youkai to attack the Human Village, so that he has a chance to get more villagers to join his side and try to force youkai away from Gensokyo."
Yukari chuckled for a bit, before proceeding.
„It was such a silly, little plan. So I decided to play along and maybe teach the man a lesson along the way. This is when I decided I would randomly pick up a few humans from the Outside World and drop them in. To see what might happen. I cannot deny that it was much more interesting to observe!"
Reimu was quick to point fingers while everyone else was stunned by the sheer ridiculousness of Yukari.
„You almost destroyed Gensokyo by letting the villagers die!"
„Now, now, Reimu. One shouldn't point at people, you know? But no. I merely planned to teach the village a lesson, not wipe it out. If things would have gone a direction I don't like, I would have interfered. But now? I think things went fine! The villagers once more, fear the youkai as they should and won't try anything in the far coming future. I believe I have merely just done my job to keep the balance of Gensokyo intact. Wouldn't you agree, Reimu~?"
Reimu just shook her head. There was no point to argue with Yukari. Her way of thinking is impossible to understand and even when she explains something, it mostly isn't the whole truth, as she liked to withhold certain specks of information which she deems unimportant, despite it being a very important.
„So ya the one who got us into this world?" Sakuya stepped aside as Mike spoke out, who moved closer to the gap youkai.
„Why us? Why exactly did you pick us and not anyone else? And don't give me that random bullshit, please! That just stinks of lies!" Mike informed, yearning to know the truth as to why exactly they were brought here.
„Like I said. I picked you at random. But if you want me to be more precise, then so be it." Yukari said, turning around as she leaned closer to Mikes face, and an eerie smile slowly crawled on her face.
„I brought exactly six Outsiders into this world. Six Outsiders, who were in six different places and who were about to suffer six different accidents, per say."
„…Accidents…?" 17 asked.
„Oh, you don't remember about what happened before I send you here. Since that would certainly have changed the way you all behaved, and I didn't want that."
Yukari then cleared her throat as she recalled the past.
„Ahem, let me recall…"
„Paul Garmith, a soldier who was currently running on a training track trough a forest. He was about to be jumped by a bear after he accidently disturbed the bear by being too close to her offsprings."
„Giovanni Mennini, a military engineer who was about to be shot in the head by a stray bullet while he was overjoyed of achieving success with something he tinkered with."
„Johann von Hochmär, an occultist pretending to be a priest, who after swearing to have his revenge on the ones who doubted his theories, would be sliced in half after slipping and falling down from a great distance onto very thin and sharp railways, in an abandoned amusement park. …I still find it hard to not laugh at, fuhuhu!"
Reimu was not amused.
„Next we have you, Mike Victorn, a janitor who would have been crushed to death by a heavy crate falling on you, after you tried to get a hold of it and pull it out from the shelve above you."
Mike, paled a bit, as his memories seemingly returned after Yukari informed him of how he was going to die if not for Yukari taking him away.
„Then we have the star of the show, Anton Drevov, a politician who after calling for a change in society, rising up with many of those he convinced to fight for a safer and better world, would be executed either by bullet, or by hanging once his revolt, failed."
Afterwards, Yukari turned to face 17, who slowly backed away. Afraid to hear what was to come. It was almost as if he already knew.
„Lastly, we have someone who no longer yearned to exist. The desire to not exist was strong enough to scribble away his own name. It was so strong, that even his own will was severally weakened. Perhaps you recall hearing from someone that your "eye" seemed unusual? In any case, after losing someone you could have protected, you felt as if nothing made any more sense. In the end, you became the perfect candidate to take to Gensokyo."
There was silence as no one knew what to say.
„I won't be revealing anything about you, so fret not. Just know, that you still have to survive one last trial before you can break free from your past."
„Enough Yukari!" Reimu heard enough, and decided to step in before the gap youkai would try to do anything.
„Aww, you're no fun, Reimu~!" Yukari giggled, as she made a gap to take out her paper fan and cover her mouth with it.
„…Wait."
Mike suddenly spoke up.
„If ya got me here, ya can get me out of here, too, no?"
„Why, of course. But why would you want to leave? Don't you like it here?"
…
„Heh, that was a good joke. I'm gonna be honest, thought. I was thinking of staying here. Help these villagers get the village back in shape. But after having to fight with that Mr. A, I don't feel safe here. Probably would be a better idea to stick to my original goal of getting the hell outta here."
„So tell me then, do you want to stay or return to your world? I will only ask this once, so this is your only chance."
Mike quickly glanced at 17, as 17 looked away shortly after.
Mike realized that 17 didn't want to go back. Maybe he didn't want to go back to his world from the very beginning. Mike wasn't sure what to think of it, but he knew that as long as that Mr. A guy was on the loose, he wouldn't be save to remain in this world.
„I want to go return to my world."
…
„Very well. Just be aware that you will forget about all of this, everything you experienced and everyone you met. It will all seem like a dream you once had, but cannot recall."
„Yukari… please… stop with this ridiculous act…" Reimu was face palming hard.
„Oh, shush, you! It's not like I can enjoy myself like this often!" Yukari pouted and looked over at Reimu, before once more looking at Mike.
„Here, step inside and you will be back where you were. The crate will already be on the floor, broken, so you don't have to worry about dying and it will feel like no time has passed at all. So go on, no need to be afraid."
Yukari said, as she opened a gap for Mike to enter.
Taking one last look around him, he mumbled something under his breath as his eyes landed on 17.
„I'm sorry…"
Before finally, stepping inside the gap which was filled with many eyes, staring at Mike as he ventured inside.
The gap then closed, and Mike, was gone.
„So, I must say, all of this was very amusing. But I think everyone of us has something to do. Bye Bye~ "
„YUKARI, YOU BETTER NOT LEA- AAAAAAAAAAAGH!"
Reimu stomped her feet before flying off. Presumably trying to find Yukari to beat her up.
„Since this seems to conclude this incident, I shall now leave you all. For I must return to Lady Remilia and inform her of how things concluded." Sakuya exclaimed, and was already walking away, back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
„Ayayaya, I need to go start setting everything up right now!" Aya informed, shortly before leaving only a dust cloud behind.
„*sigh* There are many documents to go through, could you assist me, Keine? Or would you prefer resting?" Akyuu asked, after remaining silent for most of the time during Yukari's presence.
„No, no. I should be good." Keine informed, following after Akyuu who already began walking away with Sekibanki in tow.
„Wait up! I want to make sure you don't get poisoned again!" Mokou yelled after them, running to catch up to them.
„Ha-ha, very funny…" Their voices as they talked slowly getting weaker as they got farther away.
In the end, all who remained by the half burned HQ was 17 and Marisa.
„Say, 17, right…? You decided to stay in Gensokyo but don't have anywhere to live, right?"
Marisa asked, as she noticed 17 still starring where Mike was last seen before entering the gap.
„Mmhm." 17 only let out a noise of confirmation, but that was enough for Marisa.
„Soooo… what about living at my place until you find a place of your own? I have a spare room you can use… if you can ignore the many piles of things I have stashed in it, hehe…" Marisa said, placing a hand on 17's shoulder, just like Mike always did.
17 turned around to face Marisa, and with a smile, agreed.
Without any further word, they both jumped on the Marisa's broom and went flying towards the Forest of Magic.
(Nearby Marisa's House, thirty minutes after Marisa left…)
-17's POV-
After Marisa brought me here, she told me to hurry inside to give me something which would help me. She made me drink a potion of some kind which would make me resistant against the air in the Forest of Magic, since it is apparently toxic to humans or something along those lines.
Afterwards she showed me around her house which had a lot of random items laying around everywhere. She certainly is a messy person, but at least she is kind enough to let me live with her until I manage to find a home of my own.
After we talked for a bit, she said she was going to go back to the village and just check and see if her father was alive, she didn't want to talk more into detail, but I didn't bother her and said it was fine.
She seemed happy that I wasn't prying into her family situation.
I can tell she has some family problems, but she still loves her family regardless.
Before Marisa left, she told me to go outside and stay nearby her house. When I asked why she told me that I should build up a better resistance against the air here by breathing the air in and out while the potion she gave me is helping with it.
As of now, I wander around the house and-
*rustle*
…
Something is making noises in that bush… I should maybe slowly walk back ins-
!
Suddenly, I feel someone grab me from behind and place something cold against my neck from the front.
„We meet again."
…that voice…. that's…
„T-Takeo…?"
„Glad you remember, but that won't help you now."
I could feel Takeo push the blade harder against my neck, a little more and…
„You see, don't take this personally. It is that friend of yours who needs to be blamed."
…Mike?
„Your friend hurt my father, the man who gave me hope. I wanted to take revenge and kill that fiend, but the gap youkai got him and now I cannot possibly reach him."
I was starting to feel sick, and sweat was pouring from my body.
„So I decided to hurt him a different way…"
Takeo then went closer to me to whisper something into my ear.
!
This was my chance to escape! This was my chance! I reached to grab…
…
…
I never retrieved the knife after it was thrown at Mr. A…
The moment I needed it most, I have forgotten about it and left it to rot…
Takeo's grip was too strong, I can't move my head or body. Only my arms, but without a weapon all I would accomplish…
„…by killing his friend instead."
*SLICE*
…
…
*thud*
…
I was unable to speak, as I was gasping for air. I felt so much… I was in so much distress… I couldn't even think…
I could only hear the footsteps of Takeo going away… I don't even know how he was able to breath in the air without any problem… I… I…
…
I am sorry…
I didn't want this to be the end…
I don't want Marisa to feel guilty for leaving me…
I didn't want to forget…
I don't…
I…
…
…
I have already lost my vision, and all I can hear is static like sounds around me.
I can feel my pitiful heart trying its best, but it won't do a lot for much longer.
All I desperately want to say, before I lose consciousness…
…
…
Is that I am happy to be the one to die instead of Mike.
Mennini Ending – The End
-People/Factions and their allegiance/opinion towards The Vozhd, Anton Drevov-
-Night of the Long Pikes Occurred--Mennini Choice-
Johann von Hochmär – HATE
Giovanni Mennini – HATE
Mr. A – HATE
Mr. A's followers (The SHA/SHS) – HATE (Loyal to Mr. A)
Takeo – HATE (Loyal to Mr. A)
Paul Garmith – HATE
Mike Victorn – HATE
17 – HATE (Friends with Mike)
Villagers – HATE
Loyalist Guards – HATE
Guards – HATE
Youkai – HATE
Kappa – HATE
Eientei – HATE
SDM – HATE
Tengu – HATE (war)
(They all hate me, I know that must be the truth…)
This is my nightmare...