The Deep Freeze: Day 2
Kogasa woke up the next morning near the Myouren Temple.
"It'll be a nice day of human scaring!" she thought as she left her warm hideout.
Her hideout was a small cave with a fireplace and some beds inside, and a small stone area outside with windows and some benches for relaxation. It had taken a while to build, but it was cozy and warm.
Kogasa took one step outside and slipped on some ice.
"AAAHHHH!" In one long slide, she slid all the way into the door of Miko's mausoleum. The entire graveyard was covered in ice, the frozen body of Miyako fallen on the ground, covered in layers of slippery ice.
"GYAAAAAAHHHH!" Kogasa screamed again as she saw the frozen zombie, then realized that it was still raining ice and that she'd be trapped if she didn't get out of the rain fast. She hurried over to the temple, using her umbrella as a shield.
Inside the temple, conditions were better. A warm fireplace blazed in the middle, radiating heat in the dark room as many Youkai and humans stood or sat nearby, warming themselves.
"Hi Kogasa!" Nazrin waved. "Come sit down!"
Kogasa quickly went over and sat down by the warm fire.
"…So this has been foretold, this freeze."
Kogasa looked up at the voice. Byakuren was nearby, reading ancient text on a mat.
"This is the freeze that foretold long ago… A freeze that occurs every 1500 years… During the latter phases, people staved, and Youkai devoured humans en masse… Driven by hunger, all turned to violent bloodshed in the search for food…"
Byakuren shuddered. She stood up and walked over to her crew's room.
Kogasa stood up. "Where are you going, Byakuren-sama?"
"Kogasa? Oh. I'm going to the Scarlet Devil Mansion to do some research in the library. Maybe I can find some useful information there."
"May I come?"
"Why certainly."
With that, Kogasa followed Byakuren towards the ship.
"Damn you!"
Marisa, hungry, held Cirno by the neck, mini-hakkero aimed at the ice fairy's frightened face.
"It's your fault that we can't leave without being frozen, right?"
"Let me go!"
Cirno coughed and gagged as Marisa tightened her grip around the ice fairy's neck, attempting to strangle her.
"Cirno!" Daiyousei huddled against a wall, terrified. Tears streamed from her eyes as the witch gripped tighter.
"Shhh. Don't make Marisa more mad."
Daiyousei cried as Alice sat down next to her.
Alice put a finger to her lips. "Just stay quiet."
"Eye told you that eye didn't do it!"
"Be quiet! Stupid fairy!"
Remilia watched the festivities from above, drinking her morning coffee.
"Oho. So the witch shows her sadistic side."
Sakuya refused to comment, and turned away.
Yamame shivered at the opening of the tunnel to the underground. Snow blasted in and she hugged her clothes tight to her body. The cold had permeated all the way down towards Old Hell. The tunnel floor was covered in a thin layer of ice, and it was getting unbearable inside it..
"Parsee, are you okay?"
The hashihime gave a cold look back, huddling in a small cave by the entrance.
"I'm really jealous. They have heat down in Old Hell. Those oni and those satori… Lucky them."
Yamame suddenly heard the sound of something collapsing.
"Must have been my imagination."
Yuugi coughed. The stream from above that supplied most of Old Hell's water was now filled with chunks of stone, dirt, and ice. Also, the flow was slowing down extremely quickly.
From a palace balcony in Chireiden, Satori looked towards the source of the stream.
"…This looks bad."
The source was blocked off by a cave-in, rocks and dirt freezing in newly formed ice. The remaining liquid water spread out from the rocks, freezing immediately.
"And there goes our water supply."
Koishi smiled, ignoring her sister's glare.
"…If this gets worse, we'll have to send someone up. We can't count on the shrine maiden or the witch." Satori said.
"Well, we have enough water stored away for three weeks, so we should be fine-"
Suddenly, a giant chunk of the ceiling began to crumble. Dirt and stone began to fall. With a massive crack, a chunk of the ceiling broke off, stone crumbling on the ground of Old Hell. Then more began to fall, larger rocks smashing the buildings and leveling them.
Suddenly, an earthshaking wrench caught everyone's attention. A massive chunk of rock dislodged and smashed into the ground with a thud, obliterating an area the size of the SDM.
Oni fled as more and more fell, smashing into the ground virulently. Finally, light was seen as an entire chunk of the ceiling fell.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!" Satori turned away, her third eye picking up signs of death and horror.
"Sister, don't worry."
The two waited for the crashing and destruction to stop. Then they opened their eyes and looked at the aftermath.
Indeed, only that one area had fallen. Not only that, the cause of the fall was revealed.
The ground that had fallen was covered in a sixteen-foot layer of ice, trees and massive boulders having fallen as well.
"…This is bad. The ice will spread across to where we are. And that measly amount of ice shouldn't have been able to cave in so much either. We're deep underground, after all." Koishi said.
"Rin Kaenbyou at your service!"
Orin arrived at the balcony where the two satori watched the action.
"Orin, get Okuu and exit this place. See what the cause is and stop it. Since Okuu has nuclear fusion, she should be fine. Now go."
"Understood, Satori-sama."
Gensokyo was now covered in a sixteen-foot layer of ice, and both snow, rain, and hail was still falling, adding to the uncomfortably large amount.
"KYAAAAAHHH! MY SHRINE!"
Reimu screamed as the roof of her shrine collapsed, crushing her donation box, her tea, and all of her snacks. A frozen Suika was buried in ice nearby, holding frozen sake as her figure lay on the ground.
"…I don't want to solve this…"
That's when she realized that there was a massive hole behind her lake.
"What the…"
Reimu gaped in awe as she looked down. She could see all of Old Hell, including Chireiden.
"Hi Reimu. I see that you're lazy as usual."
Reimu glared as Orin and Utsuho appeared behind her.
"You two. Why are you here?"
Orin grabbed her wheelbarrow and smashed Reimu over the head with it.
"You saw that gaping hole and are just ignoring it? We're here to fix the incident because you obviously aren't going to do anything about it. Okuu, let's go. We should go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion first and find out what's going on. Then we find the gods and see if it's their doing."
With that, Orin got onto Utsuho's back and they flew off.
"Wait! I don't have a place-"
Reimu coughed as she was KO'd by a falling iceball.
[Reimu Down. All of Gensokyo remaining except for a forgotten shrine maiden]
"I never expected to be using this shelter."
Reisen walked down the stairs, holding a candle as Kaguya and Tewi peeked into the dark tunnel.
"Udonge, it's for the best. And it's not a shelter. These are tunnels that go all the way to the Myouren Temple and the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Thank Tewi for those." Eirin said.
"What exactly are we doing this for?" Kaguya asked as she entered the pitch black underground area.
"We will go to the Scarlet Devil Mansion and research the cause of this incident."
The SDM was filled with guests that afternoon.
"Byakuren." Miko gave the nun an ugly look.
Miko turned away. "Don't get me wrong. I'm only here because this weather is abominable. I'd never come to a Youkai-infested mansion otherwise."
Byakuren looked away, ignoring Miko. "You're very stiff."
Kogasa walked around the main lobby, admiring the carpet.
"Time to find out how to stop this!"
Orin landed outside, Utsuho landing a few seconds later.
"Oh, a large gathering!" Orin said.
"You're letting in cold air. Enter and close the door." Patchouli said. "We'll begin speaking shortly."
"… So we will now share the results of our research."
Alice, Eirin, and Patchouli sat down at a table, Koakuma carrying a large stack of books.
"Here they are, Patchouli-sama."
With a small nod, Koakuma left.
"Let's see… Ahem. Alice, please deliver the opening."
"Yes. This freeze has been foretold in a prophecy. Although I would prefer to not believe in such things, it state that… 'A deadly cold shall fall upon Gensokyo, killing off all if nothing is done to stop it.'"
The entire room fell silent.
"So… we'll die?..." Marisa asked, shuddering, still pointing her mini-hakkero at Cirno's face.
"Please wait and do not make such reckless inferences. The text clearly states that three heroes will come out of this and will stop this. Unfortunately, none of the three are qualified yet all three are here." Eirin said.
"…They are a hell crow, an ice fairy, and a karakasa…"
Silence.
"Uhhh…" Reisen was about to speak when Miko walked out the door. "I'd rather commit suicide than depend on Youkai. And especially two of which are stupid to the point that a yukkuri is smarter than them. I won't listen to this any further. I knew that it was going to be useless to listen to some Youkai rambling. Futo, Tojiko, come."
As the three walked out, there was silence.
"Why Cirno?" Marisa prepared to fire a master spark at the fairy.
"Do not injure her. This is ancient text and it should be obeyed." Byakuren said, glaring at the witch.
"Tch." Marisa turned away. She dropped Cirno to the floor and went off to sulk in a corner.
Daiyousei dragged Cirno over to Orin and Utsuho.
"…She'd melt easily." Utsuho said. Orin couldn't help but nod.
"…" Kogasa was silent.
There was an awkward silence between the three heroes and their partners.
"Dinner is ready." Koakuma said, politely bowing to the five.
."Today's main course is baked pork with potatoes. We also have pasta with meat sauce. Thank you very much, Orin, for your assistance with the fire."
Sakuya politely nodded. Orin smiled back.
"It's my pleasure. I do worry about Satori-sama though…"
Byakuren sighed. "I'm sure that those two are fine. Now, let's eat. Today's dinner has been provided by rations from our temple, so please make sure to finish everything."
After the meal, Kogasa watched Utsuho and Cirno fight.
"Eye'm stronger! [Frost Sign] Frost Columns!"
"No, I'm stronger! [Atomic Fire] Nuclear Fusion!"
As the two prepared to fire their spellcards, Reisen walked over.
"Lunatic Red Eyes."
With one glance, the two crashed to the ground, leaving the building undamaged.
"Kogasa, right? I'll be accompanying you on your quest. I'm Reisen Udongein Inaba. We should better go and talk to the gods as soon as possible."
Kogasa nodded politely.
"Thank you. "
Orin also nodded.
"Thank you very much for offering to help us. It's a pleasure to meet the sanest person in Gensokyo, especially when we're paired with those two."
Orin smiled and chuckled.
"Oh, and you, fairy. Are you coming with us?" Orin asked.
Daiyousei nodded politely.
"I'll try to be of use. I can heal you, probably, but I can't fight very well."
Kogasa smiled.
"That's better than nothing. If you need to leave though, we'll get you somewhere safe and drop you off, so don't worry."
And so ended the second day of the Deep Freeze.
Feel free to R&R!