No-one Ending – Anton decides to side with no-one, and resolve it himself.
-Anton Drevov's POV- (Human Village, two hours before disaster strikes…)
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„…You know what? No. I'm not doing this."
Everyone appeared stunned, except Johann.
„…What do you mean, my Vozhd?"
Mr. A was starting to get slowly irritated, but I was about to tell all of them that I had enough.
„I'm not playing this stupid "make a choice" game with you. All this time, it feels like I never did anything by myself other than cause trouble. I always had to rely on someone to drag me out of the hole I myself have dug. Not anymore."
Taking in a deep breath as I close my eyes, I release it and slowly open my eyes before speaking once more.
„I caused this mess. So I am going to be the one to carry the responsibility for it. Whether I succeed or fail… doesn't matter. Its time I fight this war of mine with my own two hands, not a strangers ones."
Silence fills the room, my little speech seemed to stun everyone, possibly even Johann.
Mennini was surprised a little, but I could feel that he still was slightly disappointed.
Mr. A was angry about it, but too, mostly just disappointed while also thinking about something.
Johann to my surprise, seemed impressed more than anything else.
„I understand if you feel disappointed by this. I understand if you worry about the war and everything going on. But, I promise you. I will fix this. Somehow…"
…
…
„What a joke… I better go tell my members to go prepare for the worst."
Mr. A shook his head and turned around to walk away.
He seemed to have calmed down, I won't blame him if he hates me now.
„Anton, I respect your dedication by trying to help everyone by being the one to fix your own mess… However, this just sadly won't be enough."
I understood what Mennini meant. One single person couldn't fix such a problem all alone.
…
And he was right.
I knew I wouldn't be able to fix it. But I also knew that regardless who I would have sided with, I doubt much would have changed.
This is not because I hope to achieve victory by myself. This is because I hope that only I will be punished.
If I get the blame all on myself, then maybe everyone else… Mennini, Johann…even Mr. A… could be spared.
That's the least I can do to try and fix things. …It's also the only thing I can do at the moment.
„I'm going to try and talk things out when someone arrives or attacks. Maybe I can help in a way, if that's okay."
Deciding that I would stay silent as I turned around to look at the map of Gensokyo, I could only hear footsteps slowly moving away from behind me after a short while.
Now I am all alone…
„Impressive. Truly Impressive."
Oh…?
Right, Johann never left.
I turn to face Johann and once more, see his eerie smile.
„Aren't you disappointed, Johann? Why do you seem impressed?"
Johann simply laughed, before coming closer to me.
„You have the guts to stand your ground and risk your own life for the others without any help. What is not impressive in there? Do tell me."
Before I managed to say anything else, Johann continues.
„Of course, this doesn't mean I will stay here with you. I have something to do, if you could excuse me."
„That's alright, Johann. We have to enjoy this silence while we still can. For I fear the war will eventually end up at our gates as the skies turn dark from smoke when it all burns down…"
„Now, now. No need to be so melancholic, dear Vozhd! Here, why don't you take this?"
I look towards what Johann is handing me, only to realize…
„A revolver? Isn't this one the one Mennini had?"
„Is it? Here I have a second one. Both which I have nabbed from Mr. A when he was stunned and thinking about something deeply."
So Johann stole the revolvers from Mr. A, who stole them from Mennini, and now is giving me one for good luck? I… Well, I guess I might as well take it since both Mr. A and Mennini already left.
„Now I must leave you, perhaps if you live to see the next sunrise, we might eventually meet once more. For now, this is farewell, dear Vozhd."
Being a bit confused on why Johann had to say a simple goodbye in such a way, I only nod and watch the last person depart from the room and building.
…
…
Here I stand, all alone. Slowly realizing, that I was just trying to make myself feel better by taking the hit of blame. I do not know if I can do anything to fix all of this. Be it by stopping the war, winning the war, losing the war and having to hope the casualties won't be high. All I know is, that I can try my best to stand my ground and try to convince everyone that the only one to deserve punishment is me, and solely me.
…
Perhaps that's it. Perhaps all I need to do is just fight as if everyone was against me, maybe then everyone else can avoid facing disaster while only I myself will be doomed.
I do not know if this is the "fate" that vampire spoke off, but if it is… then I hope I can resist it just to spite her. Just to prove, that nobody is bound by something that cannot be changed by one's own actions.
…
I hope I can save the villagers. I may not have the confidence in myself, but I firmly believe I can somehow do it. If I can avoid causing any more harm to any villager, I shall call it a victory, even if I lose.
…
…
I hope everyone can forgive the villagers for this. They are not to blame, only I am.
-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 a cat like youkai which had two tails. She only attacked because Reimu accidently stepped on one of her two tails. It was so sudden. There was no complaining and neither did Reimu seem bothered with attempting to apologize or anything in that regard. Safe to say, that even a slight misunderstanding was quickly resolved with bullets rather than communications.
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, lowering it down to the ground.
„As well as that maid and the two Outsiders from earlier." Said the second guard with the firearm, slowly raising it onto the group.
„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.
„…" The second guard appeared to know what they were ordered, but wasn't sure how to act if someone like the Hakurei shrine maiden were to come by.
Which she did. So the second guard decided to go for it when she didn't expect it.
„Ugh, just let us in or-." Reimu said, as she was slightly raising her gohei, before she immediately dashed to her right.
*DUT DUT DUT*
The guard with the firearm suddenly opened fire at them. This scared the guard with the spear, who promptly stumbled backwards onto the ground.
Mike grabbed 17 and threw himself to the ground with him. As pretending to be dead was probably the best choice they had at the moment.
The guard with the firearm tried his best to hit the shrine maiden, but kept missing.
And before the guard realized what has happened, Reimu had already knocked the weapon out of his hands, leaving him bare handed.
„I ask one last time, let u-"
Reimu was saying, before the disarmed guard attempted to punch her square into her face. This failed as Reimu bend backwards to avoid the incoming fist.
She grabbed his outstretched arm, and threw him behind her. The guard was quickly flying through the air until he landed onto the ground, and decided to just remain there, in order to not get beaten up any further.
„Uhhh… I had no part in this. Here… let me open the gate for you." The guard with the spear said. Sweating bullets as he made his way towards the gate and opened it.
„Here you go… Please don't beat anyone else up." The guard with the spear said, as he looked at the one beaten up guard on the ground.
Without another word, the group entered the Human Village.
…
„I have no idea why you did what you did, but hey, at least you tried…" The first guard said.
„…I don't think I will ever be able to see the shrine miko again without peeing myself…" The second guard answered.
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 attack the villagers, 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 some villagers wearing robes which had the words of some kind of society painted on it, 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 wish to surrender and… well… perhaps talk things out…?" 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 questioned, unsure if this was genuine or a possible trap.
„I don't want any more trouble to be caused, and uhhh… I think the Vozhd wouldn't want more trouble either. I… I'm sorry, for all the trouble which came to be… I hope you can forgive us, but mostly Anton for all that had happened." Mennini spoke truthfully, believing that perhaps redemption was possible. If not… at least he can claim he gave it his best shit.
He tried to do what was right in his mind and convince the shrine maiden along with her silver haired friend behind her that they should likely try and talk things out peacefully so that no more lives are endangered.
„I see. Very well, you can start by telling us where this Anton is." Reimu said, she was glad that this guy was willing to help and make this whole thing easier for her. After all, if he was going to tell them where the main troublemaker was, that would spare a significant amount of time.
„Thank you, uhhh, well, if you go into the direction I came from, you should be able to g-"
*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 an easier job, but alas, the world was against her and forced her to do everything once more.
„Was he? Hmm… I don't remember a coward to be with us, besides, he was going to make this boring, wasn't he? Spoiling where the rabbit had hid the Easter eggs is simply unheard of." Johann said, confusing both Reimu and Sakuya with the last sentence.
„After all, if the lapdog has contracted a terrible disease, why not put it out of its misery?" Johann pointed out, making sure they realized no one was messing around anymore.
„Hm. Well, I suggest you step aside. Or do wish to end up as the one on the ground?" Reimu said, as she slowly stepped forward.
„Oh, your attempt at a threat is pathetic. After all… if you were truly capable of killing me, why not do it right away?"
…
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.
…
…
Nobody appeared to have noticed someone sneakily grabbing the revolver, before running off into the direction of the HQ.
(Human Village, one hour and twenty 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.
„*gasp* The only act of mercy… *gasp* will be me putting you… *gasp* and… you, to rest.."
Both Mike and 17 stand on guard as Takeo appeared in front of them, holding a revolver and pointing it at them, while also gasping for air as he had seemingly just ran a long distance in a quick motion.
Once Takeo managed to calm down, he then proceeded to glare at 17, for he has already met him during the night, and was aware that the both of them most likely are against him and the village.
„Pal, no need to open fire now, ight? Let's all just calm down… take another breather or two, even…" Mike said, holding his hands in front of him, with 17 doing the same.
„No need? I believe putting both of you to rest… would be the best choice." Take said, making sure he always had the revolver pointed at one of them, despite being a bit exhausted.
„You don't have to, pal. We just go down on the ground, and you can tie us up, y'know?" Mike was saying, as he was slowly lowering to the ground, with his hands reaching for the dusty ground as well.
„You can't get out of this one, I'm afraid… Sorry, but this is for the best." Takeo said, before he slowly started to place his finger on the trigger, to put pressure on the trigger.
„…I too am afraid, but not sorry." Mike stated, as he was touching the dusty ground with his hands.
„Wh-" Takeo stopped his motion for a single moment, to grasp what Mike meant, only to receive the answer the most unexpected way.
Mike was quick to grab a handful of dirt and sand from the dried out street and hurl it into the air right into Takeo's face.
„AHH!"
Before Takeo even managed to pull the trigger, he accidently dropped the revolver whilst placing both his hands on his face, trying to rub the filth from his eyes so he could see once more. Once he managed to open his eyes, however, it was already a bit too late.
„So? Ya still believe that putting to "rest" bit to be for the best? Because I certainly can show you what I think of it."
Due to dropping the revolver, Mike was quick to snatch it up. Now, Mike was the one who was pointing it right at Takeo. Takeo didn't show any signs of concern or fear, however. He merely went around Mike and 17 in silence, keeping his distance. After a short while, he turned around and began to run down the street.
Mike took aim, and was about to release a bullet right into his head. But, he stopped himself and lowered the revolver at the last moment, deciding it was not worth it.
„…Let's get a move on."
Mike said, before both he and 17 continued moving.
„Okay… nobody seems to be down here… Perhaps upstairs…?" Mike questioned.
After only a short while, the both of them arrived inside and slowly looked around making sure to not get jumped by anyone as they searched through the entire ground floor. After finding no trace of anyone around, both of them went upstairs and heard sounds coming out of a room in front of them.
„Good. I think he is in this room. On three."
„One."
„Two…"
*BANG*
Out of nowhere, a loud sound suddenly forced Mike to break through the door, taking the majority of the wall with him. 17 on the other hand, stumbled backwards down the stairs.
As Mike regained his sight, he quickly stood up, only to see a figure standing on the opposite side of the room, revolver in hand which was emitting a slight trail of smoke.
It was…
The Vozhd!
„Next time, do consider being a bit… smarter, per say. I could even hear you rummaging around down below." Anton said, pointing the revolver at Mike.
Mike wasted no time and pointed the revolver he took from Takeo at Anton. Mike seemed surprised that Anton hasn't tried to stop him from doing so by shooting him yet again.
„Mike!? Are you alright!?" 17 screamed from the bottom of the stairs.
„17, go outside and wait for me there. It's too dangerous for you in here." Mike responded, keeping his eye on Anton, in case he tries anything.
„What!? No way! I-" 17 tried to protest, but was quickly interrupted.
„Just do as I say and go!" Mike shouted, not wanting to be distracted for any longer.
…
Silence ensued as 17 presumably went to wait outside while Mike and Anton stared at each other. No one was making any major movement, yet both were visibly anxious about who would be the first to break the bone chilling silence.
…
„Tell me, what brings you here?" Anton was the one to break the silence, asking a simple, yet suspicious question.
„…You must be joking. I came here to put an end to this nonsense, you madman!" Mike responded shortly after.
„Truly? What nonsense do you wish to end, then?" Anton asked. He seemed confident, Mike could clearly tell. This was making Mike a bit uncomfortable as it could mean that Anton had a trick up his sleeve or anything similar to it.
„I don't know, the fucking suicidal war for starters!? All of you are idiots for st-" Mike was giving his answer, but was interrupted by Anton.
„I. And only I. Started this war. Everyone else just did so despite not wanting to." Anton claimed, trying to ensure that only he would receive the blame.
„Why… Just, why then!? It makes no sense to do something so reckless!" Mike exclaimed, confused on why Anton would do such a thing.
„It's simple. You yourself know the answer, but refuse to acknowledge it." Anton stated.
This sentence got Mike curious. Just what did Anton mean by that?
„You see… I have a dream." Anton suddenly said, lowering the revolver while holding up his other arm and clenching his hand into a fist.
…
„…what?" Confused even more, Mike too, lowered the revolver in his hands and stared at Anton.
„Although my memory seems to be lacking certain points in time at the moment, I do remember the reason as to why I became a politician in the first place."
Anton began a long monologue, which Mike listened to with utmost curiosity.
„The people all around me were in danger. The government has long forgotten the prosperity of the people. Every day, I recall seeing people hunger in the streets. Being afraid that soon they might die of disease or poverty. Yet, what did the people in charge do? Nothing. They only laughed as they filled their pockets with blood money."
„One day, I decided I wanted things to change. I wanted people to be able to follow their dreams! Every person, has a dream. Sometimes, we just don't know what this dream entails. For me, I always dreamed to be a helpful person, who would help the people in need! In the end, I became a politician to try and help… yet I cannot remember if I managed to help anyone…"
„But now? Now, I have the chance to truly prove once and for all, that I truly care! That I truly only mean the best! Surely, you must agree. After all…"
Anton then looks down from the ceiling right into Mike's eyes and points at him.
„I am helping the villagers get rid of their only threat! The youkai menace!"
Mike remained silent.
„Say, why don't you join me instead? You too, are determined to help these villagers, no?"
Anton then threw the revolver away and approached Mike, with his hand outstretched towards him.
„What do you say, friend?" Anton said, a sincere smile forming on his face.
…
„I was wrong…" Mike suddenly spoke up, before throwing the revolver he held with both hands to the side.
„Am I finally getting through?" Anton said enthusiastically, seeing as Mike was approaching him.
„You're not mad…"
As Mike said that, he grabbed his hand and shook it. Soon after, he went for a hug. Anton, a bit surprised by the action, hugged back and petted his upper back with his one free hand, as the other was still shaking Mike's hand.
…
„You're batshit insane!"
„Huh!?"
Suddenly Mike grabbed Anton tightly, before charging with him into the back wall, slamming him against it.
Mike attempted to hit him in the face with his left fist, but before it made contact Anton managed to catch it with his left hand. Afterwards, Mike had no chance to do anything else, as Anton slammed his own head against Mike's forehead, knocking Mike off of him and making him stumble all the way to the opposite side of the room.
„Why did you do that!?" Anton shouted, angered by what Mike had done only seconds ago.
„Why!? You ask me WHY!? Don't play stupid, Anton! We both know you only want to use me to fuel your ego! You're not doing this for the people, no… You're doing all of this for power! For your own self gain!" Mike was quick to state his deduction of what Anton's true intentions were.
Anton seemed hurt, as he shook his head and quickly responded.
„Making the mother of all assumptions here, Mack! Can't fret over every misconception!"
„Not when people die, right?! Your decision to try and run this village has only resulted in countless deaths! And also, it's "Mike" not "Mack" !"
„You still don't get it…" Anton said, as he slightly laughed while closing his eyes for a few seconds, before opening them again.
Mike certainly didn't like where this was going.
„A few villagers died, fine. But it was for the greater good! Once all of this is over, no humans will ever have to die for no reason again! Just take a look outside for once! I have heard and seen with my own two eyes how these villagers suffer under these youkai! If we don't deal with them now, countless more people will die over time!"
„If we purge the youkai, humanity will thrive once more here in Gensokyo! No more pointless deaths, no more suffering…"
„We will achieve paradise!"
Anton finished, and Mike quickly continued.
„You deluded buffoon! These people lived in peace for years! All of the recent troubles began the moment you came around! If anyone has to be purged to protect these villagers… it would need to be you!"
…
„Heh… that's funny…" Anton suddenly said, in a low and sad voice. He tried hard to make it seem like he was the only one at fault. Making sure to pretend the same hatred towards youkai as Mr. A, to make it seem more believable. Yet in the end, instead of making it seem like he was the one to blame… he started to realize that perhaps, he truly was the one, and only one, to be blamed. He who caused this whole mess.
„…?" Mike didn't say anything, as he waited once more for Anton to speak up.
„Standing here, I realize. You are just like me… trying to protect those in need."
„But who's to judge between you and I? When only one, can protect them all.
„What if we see who is left to stand and be the one to claim the role of protector?"
Mike was starting to sweat. He knew Anton was suggesting something, but didn't fully understand what yet.
„After all, when our guard is down…"
Mike suddenly noticed Anton's gaze fixed on the revolver he threw away earlier. Right away, Mike looked at the second one he threw away shortly after Anton did. Seemingly understanding, that Anton was challenging Mike into a stand-off where only the most determined out of the two of them would come out on top.
„I'll think well both agree…" Anton continued as both he and Mike waited for the other to try and attempt making a move.
…
„…that to be violent is our destiny!"
As Anton was mid-sentence, he lunged for the revolver close to him, while Mike did the same with the other one.
Both managed to get a hold of a revolver each and soon started opening fire, taking cover behind anything which could provide it. Such as two tables which were soon knocked over to act as a barrier made out of wood.
It was an anxious start, as both were nearly hit already and both were sweating far more bullets than actually shooting real bullets.
However, before anything else could happen, they both heard something rapidly approaching them. Then suddenly, the wall on Anton's right and Mike's left blew open. A giant laser send a person crashing into the opposite site of the now missing wall, before disappearing. After the dust and ash settled down, only the ash and rubble covered body remained, which slowly stood up.
…
„J-Johann…?"
(Human Village, outside the HQ. Moments before Mike and Anton started talking…)
17 was waiting outside as Mike told him to. He was worried about what might be going on inside at the moment, as no gun shots were heard and he could only faintly hear someone talking after a while.
Trying to listen in, he quickly heard something else, which made him take a step back.
He only let out a gasp of shock, as the blade of a sword appeared right where his head was not a second ago. He could clearly see the reflection of his fear as he starred at the blade part of the sword.
He stood frozen, but immediately unfroze the moment the blade was pulled out. Turning to face the one who tried to jab the sword right into his head was no one else but…
Takeo.
„Y-You!?" 17 asked in shock.
„You." Takeo responded, before swinging at 17.
17 quickly bend backwards to barely dodge the swing before jumping back to get some distance between him and Takeo.
„I thought you ran away!" 17 exclaimed.
„Retreating and running away seem the same, but are not. After your friend took away the small weapon I have grabbed from the ground earlier, I had no choice but to go grab my sword. A sword, made out of the most expensive material. A gift, from the man who gave me hope."
Takeo explained, before once more trying to slash 17.
17 back stepped and managed to avoid certain demise yet again, before continuing to talk.
„Why do this!? What did I do to you!?" 17 asked, confused on why Takeo seemed to target him.
Takeo suddenly stopped his attack and spoke.
„Why should I explain anything to you? Not only are you about to die, you will also never understand the pain of losing your world to creatures, which have taken everything from you which you held dear to your heart."
17 didn't understand, as he made a questioning expression. Takeo wasn't surprised, merely sighing, he resumed his attack. Only this time, 17 was prepared.
As Takeo went to strike 17 once more, this time 17 blocked the strike with the small knife he had been carrying around for quite some time now. The knife, which once belonged to Paul Garmith.
„Nice knife… Sadly, it stands no chance against a warrior's blade." Takeo spat, before sending several strikes, each barely blocked by 17 who was trying his best to hold onto the knife.
„Stop, please! I… I don't want to hurt you!" 17 begged, as his hands started to hurt from trying to hold onto the knife which was receiving strike after strike, as 17 was slowly trying to back away, but to no avail. As Takeo was slowly following behind step by step, not leaving even the smallest room for 17 to recover.
„Hurt me? The only one about to get hurt is you, …you…" Takeo said, before stopping for a moment.
„17… 17 is my name. Takeo, s-"
17 quickly dashed to the side as Takeo used a lot of strength to slam the sword downwards onto the spot where 17 stood.
„What a ridiculous name!" Takeo shouted, before turning towards 17.
„Hey, I don't think the name "Takeo" sounds any better!"
17 at that very moment, saw his life flash by, as he threw himself to the ground to avoid a large and quick slash.
„You pathetic wretch! I was reborn and this name was gifted to me by the man who I swore to do anything for! The name Takeo is the name of a true warrior! A hero for the people in the need of a defender! What kind of meaning is your name supposed to have!?"
Takeo was angry, he wasn't going to have the name gifted upon him insulted.
„…You really wish to know?"
This question suddenly made Takeo stop just for a moment. 17 had to act quickly, before he would resume his relentless attacks.
„My name means something many of us find hard to accomplish. It means to let go of the past and find inner peace. For if we can never free ourselves from the past, we are doomed to be trapped in endless wrath and anger. I don't think Paul knew about this meaning when he suggested to call me 17, but I think it was fated to be that way."
…
It was only then that 17 noticed a tear drop to the ground.
„Takeo… are you-"
In just a second, 17 managed to block one more strike from Takeo, before he screamed.
„SHUT UP! SHUT UP AND DIE!"
As 17 prepared for another strike, he failed to notice the clenched fist coming from him in the corner of his eye. Taking it in full force, he was knocked against the wall of the building, but didn't break through it.
17 only managed to look up as the sun blinded him, and all he saw was the outline of Takeo who was holding up the sword, ready to strike.
…
…
But the strike never came.
„Takeo…?"
„Shut up! You don't even realize that I have been playing with you all this time. If I wanted to, I could have killed you in one quick swipe. I am a trained warrior, you on the other hand, are not." Takeo remarked, still not striking.
„Then, why do you hesitate to kill me?" 17 asked, trying to not sound worried about the fact that at any second, he could be very dead.
…
…
„HAAAGH!"
Suddenly, Takeo decided to finally strike. 17 only managed to close his eyes, as he heard a loud whoosh like sound around him.
„Heya, hope ya don't mind me borrowing ya for a while, ze!"
After hearing this voice, 17 opened his eyes, only to notice he was no longer on the ground, but in the air. Apparently, Marisa snatched him just before Takeo sliced him in half.
„Marisa, we need to help Mike! He is likely currently fighting Anton inside the building I was just around!" 17 informed, hoping that Mike didn't bite the bullet yet.
„Hehe, ironically that's also the same building I shot that one youkai into…" Marisa quickly sweat dropped before turning the broom around and flying back towards the building.
As they returned, Takeo was already gone. Leaving no trace behind, except for a single tear, which was already drying up.
„Ya know, after I saw you almost be sliced in two… I decided to let Reimu handle the rest while I get ya to safety. But if ya reaaaaly want to, we can crash in from the other side and finish this!" Marisa said, excited that she has an excuse to return to the scene of action.
„…Let's do it!"
(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.
„Hey! Someone's approaching! Open fire!" Said a member of the SHA/SHS, who stood up after sitting down to look at the approaching threat.
„Why? That's just that weird girl, Marisa. I know her father quite well, why should I attempt to shoot her down? She'll likely just blow us up instead…" The guard who was manning the turret answered. He clearly wasn't going to shoot her.
So the SHA/SHS member pushed him off the platform.
Luckily, the guard only got knocked out from the fall and only slightly bruised a few spots, so the damage was minimal. Now, however, the SHA/SHS member was manning the gun, and now the turret was starting to take aim at the flying kleptomaniac.
*TRRR DUNDUNDUNDUNDUN-*
The bullets flew fast, but Marissa expected to be shot at once more. She swung left and right, did a U-turn and even a barrel roll to avoid many of the flying projectiles. After avoiding them for a good minute or two, she decided to dive down right into the turret.
The fanatical SHA/SHS member started to sweat as Marisa suddenly was so close, he could see her smirk as she dodged one last bullet, and dropped a flask right at the fanatic's feet.
„Ah, shi-"
Were the last words before a rather large explosion occurred, which destroyed both the turret and platform.
Marisa didn't waste any further time, flying away from the explosion she caused without looking back. As she flew height above the village, looking for Reimu, she quickly spotted a person fly high up into the air as well. She decided to investigate and as she approached, she was quick to realize that the person was fighting with Reimu!
She quickly grabbed a particular item from under her witch hat, and flew closer as she began charging a large laser we all know and love…
(Human Village, one hour and thirty minutes before disaster…)
While Marisa was avoiding bullets, 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 decided to rise higher up in the air to avoid a sudden burst from Reimu, which possibly could have hit him if he went down to the ground to dodge it.
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 further down the street until colliding with a building, breaking through the wall.
„Ha! Didn't expect that, did ya!?" Marisa yelled as she pointed towards the direction the figure was sent flying.
Both Reimu and Sakuya flew up towards the ordinary magician as they waited for the dust to clear out.
„You certainly never fail to appear out of nowhere, Marisa." Reimu said, as she pursued after Johann into the direction he was master sparked to.
„Hehe, well, I'm always ready to kick some ass, da ze!" Marisa said, joining Reimu and following after her to help.
Sakuya quickly flew after them to continue her observation for Lady Remilia.
As they arrived, Marisa noticed a familiar face down below. Back against the wall and someone about to cut the familiar face in half.
Not on my watch, ze! Is what Marisa thought, before speeding downwards to save no one else, other than 17.
Just in the nick of time, she managed to grab 17 out of danger, and flew away a fair distance.
„Heya, hope ya don't mind me borrowing ya for a while, ze!"
Meanwhile, the dust and ash finally settled inside the room where Johann was blasted into.
„J-Johann…?"
Anton questioned having no idea what had just happened. Mike was no different, as he too failed to grasp just what he witnessed. It was only after Reimu made her presence known by entering the building via the missing wall as well as Sakuya who quickly went to stand in a corner and continue observing the flow of events, did he get a slight idea as to what might have happened.
„Wait, that fucker here is Johann!?" Mike suddenly yelled as he noticed Johann throwing dark purplish flame like projectiles at Reimu, who dodged them with ease.
„Impossible. The real Johann would be unable to do something like this. This… This must be a youkai disguised as Johann! I cannot see how else this could be explained!" Anton responded to the question Mike uttered in shock, more than anything else.
„Possession, perhaps? Is that a possibility?" Mike asked, looking at Anton as both he and Anton were seemingly ignored by Reimu and Johann, who kept shooting bullets at each other while also dodging them in the air.
„Hmm. Could be. Regardless, I wish to continue our own battle here. After all, your fight is with me." Anton smirked, pointing the revolver at Mike once more.
„Bring it!" Mike smirked back, accepting to resume their battle once more.
Echoes of gunshots and explosions could be heard in the distance, the closer one went, the clearer the sounds were. Marisa and 17 were about to add on to the sounds emitting all around the village, as they were about to make their surprise entry.
Johann just dodged yet another group of projectiles and gushed out a few more of his own at Reimu, when suddenly…
„SURPRISE, DA ZEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
The wall behind him blew open, and something collided with him with full force. It was Marisa and 17, which didn't expect to hit anyone actually. Due to this, Johann was sent flying outside from the very same direction he was sent flying inside. While both Marisa and 17 crash landed and slid across the floor right next to Sakuya's feet.
„...You are one crazy human, I will give you that." Sakuya said, looking at the black and white witch on the ground in front of her, emotionless.
Reimu was about to follow after Johann who was yeeted back outside, when suddenly…
„Ha! Nice o-"
*BANG*
Everyone suddenly turned to look at Mike.
„Gah!" Mike shook his hand as the revolver he held onto was shoot from his hands while he was distracted by the sudden arrival of both Marisa and 17.
„It appears I have won this duel. I am sorry, but you have been given a chance and you refused already, and I do not want to annoy you by giving you the same offer twice."
Anton spoke, as he aimed the revolver he held in his hands at Mike, before pressing the trigger.
„MIKE!" 17 screamed, expecting the worse to happen.
*BANG*
…
…
„…Huh?" Mike, who had his eyes closed since he was sure to be dead by now, suddenly opened his eyes once more. Only to see someone standing in front of him.
It was…
Reimu…?
Coming in clutch, Reimu used the time Anton was talking to quickly jump in front of Mike and create a barrier which blocked the shot from Anton.
„…What is…?" Anton not believing what he saw, opened fire at the barrier, each bullet failing to pass through it.
„Reimu you… you saved me… but why? I thought you sai-" Mike was asking, before being quickly interrupted by the answer.
„That I wasn't going to save you if it came down to it? Don't think of me as heartless, you know. I just wanted to try and change your mind so you wouldn't willingly expose yourself to danger."
After saying that, she quickly jumped into the air and sent a single danmaku bullet at Anton, which hit the top of the gun.
The force from it was too great for Anton to hold onto it, and it quickly slipped out of his sweating hands. Anton was well aware that he had mere seconds to make a run for it at this very moment.
…
Which he took to heart, and made a run for it.
He quickly ran to the missing wall and attempted to safely jump down from the height he was faced with. Managing to just barely land on the ground with only pain flowing through his legs, he quickly tried to flee the scene when he heard someone shout behind him.
„Not one more step, Anton."
Anton came to a stop, as he slowly turned around to face whoever spoke out.
It was Mike, who followed after him but with a revolver to ensure his words held weight to them.
„Yup, don't think ya gonna get very far, ze!"
Marisa said, descending to the ground behind Anton.
„Ugh, thanks to you, that friend of yours managed to get away… But you certainly aren't."
Reimu stated, pointing her purification rod at Anton as she appeared from Anton's right side.
„Yeah! This is the end of the road, Anton! Give up and no one will be hurt!"
Lastly, it was 17 along with Sakuya close behind him, appearing on Anton's left side.
Anton was surrounded and he knew that he had a zero percent possibility of getting out of this mess. Alas, he didn't care. For it seems like he succeeded with his plan on putting all the blame on him.
With a small smile of relief, Anton raised his hands above him and spoke, facing Mike.
„It appears my plans have been foiled. Everyone else who I forced to do as I say must have taken the chance to run away or surrender. What other choice do I have but surrendering myself? In the end, I guess it has to be this way…"
„…No. Anton, stop trying to make it seem you are the only one to blame." Mike suddenly said, shocking Anton in the process.
„W-What…? What are you saying!? I am solely responsible for everything!" Anton shouted, starting to sweat.
Mike merely shook his head as he lowered the revolver to his side.
„There is no way you alone did all of this. I can tell you are merely trying to feign innocence on everyone else but yourself. You want to go out as a noble sacrifice, isn't that it?" Mike stated.
…
…
Silence prevailed for a solid minute before Anton weakly spoke.
„…How? How do you even want to imagine, knowing such a thing?"
„Simple. You thought you were the one in charge, but in reality, you never even saw the full picture, did you? No, you just wanted to protect everyone else by paying for your mistakes, isn't that it?"
Mike only smiled in satisfaction ad Anton's head lowering to face the ground confirmed his theory.
„It's true… I realized far too late that I have gone down the wrong path… Still, please… just punish me, and let the villagers be in peace, they never wanted all of this to go this way…" Defeated, Anton submitted and asked for mercy for everyone else involved.
„I fear this can't be possible." Reimu suddenly exclaimed.
„One of your friends was killed by another, who also became a youkai. While I may agree to let the villagers in peace, your one last friend who still remains alive I cannot let get away without being exterminated."
…
„K…Killed…? Who… Wait, Mennini said he would try and talk things out… You're not telling me that…?"
„It appears to have been that person you have in mind. Believe me, I wasn't happy either." Reimu said, sighing once more.
„…Dammit, why Mennini…" Mike mumbled under his breath. He believed Mennini to be the most sane person from the bunch. He didn't have the courage like everyone else, but he had brains in exchange.
„But what about-" Anton was about to ask on the condition of another person which wasn't even mentioned, before new faces arrived at the scene.
„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.
„Yea! Reimu or Mike can explain everythin' to yall! In the meantime, imma go to Youkai Mountain and make sure that the fighting there comes to a halt! …Hold on, lemme borrow that!"
Marisa exclaimed and quickly flew in and nabbed Anton's cap, getting some evidence to prove that the Vozhd has been defeated for everyone at Youkai Mountain.
Before Anton had even the chance to complain, Marisa was already far off on her way towards Youkai Mountain.
„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.
„Long story short, an Outsider caused a lot of ruckus and decided it was a good idea to attack the tengu. Still, apparently there was more things going on then what we are aware of at the moment. So, that Outsider here who caused this mess cannot be solely blamed for everything." Reimu vaguely explained, and pointed at Anton using her chin.
„Hmm. I see. I will make sure to have a long talk with him." Keine said, starring daggers at Anton.
Safe to say, Anton, despite being tired, wasn't going to sleep tonight yet again. Not to mention, it's likely he almost wetted his pants from the stare alone. …For some odd reason, he even felt the sensation of a headache you get from a blunt strike to the head forming. Perhaps it was from before, when he slammed his head against Mike's to knock him off of him.
„That reminds me, where were you all this time Keine? I believe something like this shouldn't have had happened on your watch." Reimu questioned, looking at Keine while crossing her arms.
„Oh, I was apparently poisoned. This left me in a pretty bad shape and I was forced to remain in Mokou's house for the past few days. I only started feeling better once Miss Eirin gave me something to drink, but I still need a week or two to fully recover I think…" Keine explained, before putting a hand on her face.
„Yeah, Eientei was involved in this mess." Mokou quickly informed. Reimu only rolled her eyes, as she wasn't surprised to this revelation.
„But that's not it. Apparently someone was planning all of this from the start."
When Mokou mentioned that, Reimu immediately imagined a certain youkai with the ability to manipulated boundaries to be the one who planned it all. However, as Mokou continued, she was surprised to hear who it actually was.
„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.
„I was held hostage at my own house in a room with two followers of that "Mr. A" making sure that I couldn't escape. But Sekibanki here arrived to safe me. In short, we managed to escape with possibly only a scratch." Akyuu explained.
„Yep, I planned to break her out the moment Reimu entered the village. Distracted one of the two and then knocked both unconscious with Akyuu's help." Sekibanki said, smiling with relief.
„Well if what you are saying is true, then I guess we have an idea as to who actually planned all of this. Since, it certainly wasn't Anton. Or at the very least, not Anton alone." Mike pondered, as he explained his train of thought and tried to piece the pieces they had together.
„So then, it seems like Mr. A is our best guess. I wonder if he truly did plan out everything…" 17 spoke, as he too pondered on it.
„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? Why us?" Mike asked.
„Mmmm… Why not tell you all? After all, the movie is about to end anyway." Yukari shrugged, before looking at everyone 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.
„But was there any specific reason as to why you picked us specifically? I mean, there are a LOT of people to choose from… so why us exactly?" 17 asked, wanting to know the truth.
„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 for her face to be seen by all. An eerie smile slowly crawled on her face as she began to speak.
„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."
„…suffer accidents…?" Mike muttered, mostly to himself in disbelief.
„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.
Yukari then turned her eyes on Anton who was in a very uncomfortable position. Anton shivered right away from her gaze alone. Afterwards, Yukari turned to face 17, who backed away a step from the gap youkai. 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."
17 only nodded. He felt as if he was ready to overcome whatever he needed to. After all, he had gone so far. He wasn't going to throw it all away now.
„Know that this, might be the best outco-"
„Enough Yukari!" Reimu heard enough, and decided to step in before the gap youkai would try to do anything else.
„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.
„There are still many things I want you to explain. I can clearly see that you're not telling us something very, VERY important!" Reimu pressed on, convinced that Yukari was hiding something from them.
„Heya! What'd I miss?" Marisa suddenly exclaimed as she returned from Youkai Mountain, along with a certain crow tengu which was slightly bandaged.
Yukari took the little distraction as a chance to leave.
„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.
At the same moment, some guards appeared and looked over the scene on what was going on.
Akyuu was quick to respond and clear their confusion.
„Anton, the Vozhd, has committed crimes against the village and its inhabitants, and therefore shall be imprisoned. Keine, would you make sure that Anton is properly put behind bars, if it isn't much to ask?"
„No, not at all. Guards, grab Anton and follow after me."
The guards looked at Anton, as Anton looked back at them with confirmation in his eyes. The guards hesitated just for a moment, before proceeding to do as both Akyuu and Keine ordered.
Pulling him up, they started dragging him towards the place where he would be imprisoned for the while until the village decides his fate.
„Hey now, I can still walk on my own. You can hold onto me but don't need to drag me." Anton calmly spoke, the guards soon eased up and allowed him to properly walk.
Keine followed after them and Mokou quickly joined in to follow after Keine.
„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.
„*sigh* There are many documents to go through, I must help get everything back in order, so if you could excuse me. " Akyuu said, before bowing down and leaving for her place.
In the end, all who remained were Mike, 17, Marisa and Aya.
„Ayayaya… Seems like I missed most of the action here…" Slightly dejected, Aya was quick to perk up once more.
„Seems like I will have to get some interviews! Hey, you! Your name is Mike, right? Could you tell me about…"
What then proceeded was a series of long questions which seemed to never stop coming as more and more pages were scribbled full with words at a speed which seemed too fast for the naked eye.
After a few hours, things seemed to return to normal.
Thanks to Marisa, appearing at the Youkai Mountain with the Anton's cap in hand, the fighting was quick to stop as the humans soon decided to retreat. Some of Mr. A's followers who too decided to fight at the Youkai Mountain seemed to have long be gone, leaving before Marisa even showed up.
Megumu was pleased with the end results and informed Marisa that everything should be fine, as long as all the firearms are brought to them in order for them to be melted down by the kappa into nothing more but basic material. In exchange, the tengu would promise to ensure that no youkai with malicious intent would get into the Human Village any time soon.
The disaster has been avoided.
Mike decided to continue to remain in the village to help things get back to normal. After a while, the villagers even decided to make him the new village chief as thanks for freeing them from Anton's reign over them.
17 also remained and assists Mike and the villagers. Marisa would always visit both of them from time to time and all three of them ended up becoming good friends who always talked about ongoing stories from the Bunbunmaru newspapers Aya would always drop each time a new batch was ready.
17 seemed happy with how everything turned out to be. While he was saddened by the death of Mennini, he came to accept that in life, not everyone will remain forever. Some are simply fated to die sooner.
He wondered, if this was truly his fate.
Regardless, it seemed like everything came to an end…
…
…
…Or did it?
(?, one day after the incident…)
Mr. A was sitting in a room without any windows. He was currently writing a list of steps for the upcoming future. As he finished the next step, he heard a knock on the door.
„You may enter." Mr. A said, not even bothering to look up as to who entered.
„It's me, Takeo. I came to talk…"
The person who arrived was Takeo, yet Mr. A still didn't raise his head as he continued writing down the next step and checking it all over.
„…I wanted to ask about… about what we are supposed to do now. Many followers were lost and all those who remain know very well that we are currently on the run and have nowhere to go." Takeo explained the situation.
Mr. A remained silent, continuing to scribble down line after line.
„I figured we might try to-" Takeo attempted to give a suggestion, before he was interrupted by Mr. A.
„Takeo, be silent for now, will you? Don't you see that I am currently focusing on something important? If you don't have some immediate information, go on and leave."
After Mr. A spoke, Takeo lowered his head and prepared to leave.
„As you wish…"
As Takeo was about to leave, Mr. A spoke up.
„Wait."
Takeo turned around to look at Mr. A once more.
„Inform all of my members that we are going to be hiding for a while. I have a plan which will let us return and finish what we started, but it requires plenty of time and the right conditions." Mr. A informed.
„Very well." Takeo nodded, but before he could leave Mr. A continued.
„Also, I believe we may resume our search for artefacts of power, which would allow us to get rid of the youkai one way or another. We just need to make sure we truly, stay secretive about it. As if we never existed and anything we do never happened. Understood?"
Takeo firmly nodded, and went to share the message to all other followers.
…
…
„Good. Now, I shall wait for the right moment while everything continues. I believe the situation could have gone worse than it had. Still, just a minor inconvenience on the part of a stubborn person deciding to try and do it on his own. What a fool."
Mr. A smiled, before resuming his work.
Eventually, the SHA/SHS would make its return to free Gensokyo from the youkai tyranny.
(Human Village, one day after the incident …)
Anton was currently locked up in a cell. He was quite bored, but didn't complain as he could have been dead instead. He didn't manage to get any sleep as Keine did come back two hours later and gave him an earful. He felt ashamed for his actions, yet didn't try to talk back as he knew that he really did mess up.
„Anton."
Anton looked up to see a person standing outside his cell, looking down on him as he sat on the cold stone floor.
It was Mike.
„Yes, that would be me. What brings you here?" Anton asked, as he anxiously awaited what would happen.
„Anton, lemme get this straight to the point. Realistically, you should be fucking dead by now for everything you did." Mike wasn't joking around, Anton could tell. Anton merely responded with slightly nodding to Mike's words.
„But since I figure you likely didn't even have a hand in the majority of events… or you better hope you didn't… I find it wrong to have you executed for it, while two others got to live on by fleeing the scene." Mike stated, leaving Anton both in relief and confusion.
„So… what does this mean for me…? Do I get to live?" Anton asked.
„Yes and no. You will not be executed or harmed, no… but you will remain in this cell for the rest of time until something would dictate otherwise. Don't worry, I'll make sure you get both food and water." Mike responded.
…
„I… thank you…" Anton weakly smiled while looking down on the ground.
„Don't make me regret my decision of keeping you alive. Oh, and one more thing…" Mike said before remembering one last reason he came to see Anton.
„Me, Keine and Akyuu have a lot of questions still, so you are going to answer all of the given questions to you truthfully as well, you got that?"
„Yes, of course. Nothing but the truth as I recall it." Anton stated, nodding along the way.
„Good. Farewell for now." Mike said, before heading out to deal with other happenings.
„…Farewell…"
Anton weakly mumbled, before laying down and closing his eyes. At last, he could afford to sleep. For he would remain in this cell for a long time, and wouldn't have anything else to do but sleep, sleep and… sleep.
What sweet dreams would he dream?
(SDM, one day after the incident …)
Remilia was sitting down while reading the latest batch of the Bunbunmaru newspaper as well as holding a wine glass filled with blood in her right hand.
Taking a sip as she about finished reading the newspaper, Sakuya appeared next to her and placed down a pot with roses on the small table.
„Sakuya." Remilia spoke after she placed down the wine glass.
„Milady." Sakuya immediately turned around and was ready to do as Remilia ordered.
„Do you believe that Anton managed to escape his fate?"
Sakuya thought about it. Anton was imprisoned from what she learned, so under that fact, she answered.
„I believe no, Milady."
„Truly? I believe otherwise." Remilia disagreed, shocking Sakuya.
„Why, if I may inquire?" Sakuya asked.
„He managed to not only survive, but also accept the fact he lost. I foresaw that he would never accept defeat in any outcome, yet he seemingly did. Perhaps he truly yearned to prove me wrong." Remilia smiled.
Sakuya remained silent, but smiled at Remilia's good mood.
„Sakuya, if Anton ever gets out of his imprisonment, make sure that you bring him to me. I wish to see if he would care to try and prove me wrong a second time."
Sakuya only nodded, before disappearing to do other chores.
Remilia once more grabbed the wine glass to take another sip, but before she did, she spoke one last time.
„You interest me, Anton. May fate let us meet once more."
(?, one day after the incident …)
Somewhere far away in darkness, a certain man in brown was preparing something. In front of him was a table filled with various items and objects of any kind. As he was preparing and experimenting with everything he had available.
„In a month's time, I shall return more powerful than ever before. It was such a long time ago since I last had fun, after all…"
The man in brown spoke to himself.
„But this time, no… this time I will not be forgotten and sealed away… this time I will succeed and bring forth a thousand years of darkness upon mankind!"
He laughed out in joy.
„For this time…"
He turned around and walked down a long and old tunnel, before getting to the end of it and with a flick of his hand, the passage opened to the outside.
Only for a small, blond, hurt, child to appear in front. Waiting as she was told.
„…I have a companion to assist me."
No-one Ending – The End
-People/Factions and their allegiance/opinion towards The Vozhd, Anton Drevov-
-Night of the Long Pikes Occurred--No-one choice-
Johann von Hochmär – Neutral
Giovanni Mennini – ?
Mr. A – Indifferent
Mr. A's followers (The SHA/SHS) – Hostile (Loyal to Mr. A)
Takeo – Hostile (Loyal to Mr. A)
Paul Garmith – ?
Mike Victorn – Forgiving
17 – Forgiving (Friends with Mike)
Villagers – Angry
Loyalist Guards – Saddened
Guards – Indifferent
Youkai – Indifferent
Kappa – Indifferent
Eientei – Indifferent
SDM – Curious
Tengu – Slightly angry
(The fall of the Vozhd, as the Vozhd was never meant to be…)
The End...?