Crawling through the tunnel system, the party reached the Princess' room in a relatively short amount of time.
They sat in the tunnel right before it…
"Alright, wiseguys…" Tewi turns to the three behind her. "Hold up ju~st a second…"
Tewi takes a small plate from somewhere in her pants. It has a picture of herself on it.
Hikari blinked. 'Where was that stored?'
She tossed it into the faintly illuminated room.
Blablam!
The disc was shattered into many pieces by a shotgun spread of technicolor bullets.
"...Come on out!" The girl inside calls out.
Tewi steps out. "I bring people. Don't shoot 'em if you can."
...Hikari steps out, slightly wary.
A pink-clad woman with long black hair brings her sci-fi shotgun up to aim at her…
"Oh. So it's not a rabbit, huh…"
Her gun went back to a neutral position, pointed towards the floor.
'Another lunatic.' Hikari was getting tired of meeting loonies.
In the back of the room was a brightly lit screen, the only light the room had at the moment.
Tewi looked around in the darkness. "...Any particular reason yer wallowing around in the dark, o~r…?"
She glares at her. "Dude, you know zombies are attracted to light and noise. Of all the people in this clinic, you should know this. It's like, zombie one-oh-one."
'Hmm.' Hikari didn't know about that.
Tewi shrugged, sighing. "Alright, Kaguya…"
She turns to the three. "This is Kaguya by the way. She's a freak."
Kaguya glares at her again. "Do you want me to shoot you?"
Tewi grins. "Try me, sister!"
Osamu has a sudden urge to test the ability of his shield…
Osamu tried PSI Shield α!
Tewi was protected by the psychic shield!
Blablam!
The shotgun bullets were slowed as they entered the pale blue shield, Tewi dodging them matrix-style.
...Once they all pass, Tewi gives her a thumbs up. "Born lucky, baby!"
Osamu grinned sheepishly. "...I dunno why I did that. I just did."
Kaguya flips her off. "Fucking hacker…"
Lowering her gun, she goes up to Hikari. "She cheated, right, Reimu?"
'You idiot.' Hikari glared at her.
…
"O~h, that's right! She had a kid. I forgot..." Kaguya nodded to herself, remembering. "...What do they call you? Reimu Junior?"
'...' Hikari was contemplating assaulting the lunar princess.
"I'm calling you-"
Marigold sensed the rising rage of Hikari, moving to intercept the conversation. "H-hey, uh, about that gun…"
Kaguya instantly shifted topics with her. "Oh, this thing? It's a SPAS-L. It's pretty bad ass, and it relies off the user's mana, so you never have to reload."
Hikari sighed. 'I'm not a very big fan of this girl…'
Osamu walked over to the illuminated monitor. On it was a page that read 'One-hundred And One Ways to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse'.
...Osamu stared at the keyboard and mouse, wondering how to work the machine.
Hikari looked back to Tewi, only to find Tewi had conveniently evacuated the premises. There was a note left behind on the wall next to the entrance…
"How's this gun look to you?" Marigold took out her Air Rifle.
Kaguya raised a brow. "Never seen anything like that. What's it called?"
Marigold paused. "...Uhh~... Air Rifle?"
Kaguya gestured for her to go on. "Yeah, like, what's it called?"
Hikari examined the note left by Tewi.
"Hey guys,
Meet me after you fix the zombie problem or something. I'm bored of escorting you and you got Kaguya now, just point and she'll shoot, trust me.
Sincerely,
Tewi Inaba."
Hikari looked at it dryly. 'She would.'
Marigold furrowed her brows. "Umm…"
Kaguya rose a brow. "...You don't know the name of your own fucking gun?"
"I-It's a M18A1 Claymore!" Marigold blurted on reflex.
…
"Pffft… Hahahaha~!" Kaguya clutched her stomach, laughing. "S-sure it is!"
She puts her arm around Marigold's shoulder, sighing. "Good one. You know zombies are weak to headshots right?"
Marigold nods. She'd figured as much.
"Good. How's that gun work? It looks like it's either an assault rifle or a semi-sniper or something…"
Marigold thinks for a moment. "...Well, it's filled with chip bags, so~..."
Kaguya snorts. "Sniper it is, then. Got any Dew in that backpack of yours?"
"Dew?" Marigold questions.
"You know. Mountain Dew. Stuff of the gods?" Kaguya turns her around and starts going through her bag… "...You got a fuckin' pistol in here, too? Du~de, swee~t…"
Marigold was uncomfortable. "Y-you know, I'd rather you didn't-"
Kaguya takes out the metal cylinder. "Du~de…"
...She flips it over, noticing it's empty.
"...What the fuck?" She drops it to the floor, chuckling. "Why were you carrying an empty can on you?"
"Reasons." Marigold argues.
"...O~kay." Kaguya nods her head, satisfied.
Osamu figured out how to use the arrow keys to scroll the page. Most of the English is unknown to him, though. "Does this thing come in Japanese?"
Kaguya looks over to him. "Hey, don't touch that!"
Marigold bends down and picks the can back up while Kaguya is preoccupied with defending her computer. She stares at the can, then looks around the room…
'This place looks pretty well worn.' Hikari looks around the room as well, noticing various details that are a little difficult to make out in the darkness, like the plethora of green cans and chip bags along one wall of the room. A large, inactive screen sits at one of the other walls, multiple devices seemingly plugged into it.
'I'm burnt out on future chips…' Hikari eyes the chips somewhat warily.
Marigold goes up to Kaguya's desk and plucks some sort of spray can off of it. Kaguya doesn't notice, far more concerned by Osamu's frantic key pressing.
"Look, I've got this! I heard a story from a bard about sci-fi keypads once!" Osamu justifies his flailing.
"It's a keyboard, you moron!" Kaguya tries to pull him away from the computer, but he holds onto the keyboard.
'For the love of…'
Hikari walks up and yanks the keyboard from Osamu's arms, sending both him and Kaguya whirling back into the wall of chips and cans.
'Oh, boy…'
Hikari cringes slightly at the sudden abrasive noise of bags being crushed, and the thuds of drink cans bouncing against the floor.
"...W-w-" ...Hikari clears her throat. "Ahem. Well, then…"
'Totally natural.'
...Looking over to Marigold, she sees her pouring both the fizzy drink and the chips into the can of spray.
Hikari is also hit by a powerful, perfume-esque odor coming from the open can.
"Ech…"
Marigold winces from the pungent odor, as well. Hastily jamming chips into the can, she twists the bottle's spray cap back on.
Marigold has obtained Magical Defense Reducer Spray!
'She's made a weapon of mass destruction, to be sure. My only question is 'why'.'
...She gives it a good shake, the sound of crunching chips coming from the can.
Kaguya darts up from the pile of snacks that buried her. "Get the hell out of- ugh…!" She plugs her nose from the scent, fanning the air.
Hikari walks up to her. "Do you know anything about magical places?"
'Surely the best time to ask this. I might as well, because right now we're just screwing around.'
Kaguya unplugs her nose, scrunching her face. "W-what the hell do you mean, 'know anything about magical places'? What does that even mean?"
'...I suppose I should be a little more specific.'
"Um…" Hikari's not sure how to get more specific. "You know. It's magical."
Kaguya nods. "Yeah. Seems legit. Totally."
Marigold gives her latest invention a hard look that lies somewhere between 'disgust' and 'satisfaction'. "...Not my uh, best creation…"
Osamu climbs from the chip bags and cans next, rubbing his head. "What was that for!?"
'Alright… I should probably explain everything. Both to see if Kaguya's really worth talking to, and to tell Marigold about the whole sanctuary business.'
Hikari clears her throat. "Ahem…"
...Everyone looks at her.
...Hikari clears her throat again. "A-ahem…"
"Yes, yes, get on with it." Kaguya folds her arms as well as she can with a large sci-fi shotgun… which is not very.
"Right… So, me and Osamu, and you, Marigold, uhh- we have to find these 'sanctuary' things. They're typically considered magical places, or at the very least, weird places. It's to save the world, or something."
Hikari nods to wrap up her few sentences.
"They're awesome places!" Osamu pipes in. "Like, you'll know 'em when you see 'em!"
Marigold smiles at the implication of adventure.
Kaguya nodded. "...Well, there is a weird place nearby. It's kinda been there only in recent years, but no one fucks with it 'cause it's a really weird place."
'There we go. She actually knows something afterall.' Hikari smiles.
"Could you lead us to it?" Hikari requests.
Kaguya pump her shotgun.
Chi-chick!
Kaguya grins. "Let's rock."
==== GENSOYKOBOUND ====
Hikari sighs as they step into the hallway.
"Alright, where do we go-"
"Fucking zombies!" Kaguya gives her battle cry as she runs into combat. A few zombies are shambling down the hall ahead.
Blablam!
Pi~chun!
Chi-chick!
Blablam!
Pi~chun!
"Yeeaa~h! Fuck you!"
Kaguya charges down the hallway, indiscriminately pulling her trigger finger at anything that moves, and occasionally on things that didn't move.
Before long, she was out of sight, having taken a turn down a different hall.
…
"Okay, then." Hikari nods acceptingly.
'She was a bit of an ass anyway…'
Osamu clapped his hands together. "Whelp, guess we're just followin' the trail of destruction, then…"
After a few halls worth of destruction were traced, the three found themselves at the front door of the complex again. Kaguya was hiding behind a desk, her shotgun sliding around on the top of it, held by one arm.
Hikari held out an arm to stop her party members from continuing.
"...She'll probably shoot." Marigold observed.
"Mmm…" Hikari looked around for something to throw, and took a vase from one of the nearby tables.
She tosses it-
Blablam!
Shatter!
The vase parts scatter across the floor…
"...You coulda just called out for me." Kaguya sighs. "That was still cool anyway, though."
Hikari shrugged.
Moving to the front sliding doors, Kaguya simply kicked the glass parts of them open, even though they opened just fine.
Shatter!
"Alright, look…" Kaguya looks into the bamboo woods outside. "If you uh… actually, it'll be easier if I just draw you a map."
She feels around on her dress, and takes out some strange two-screened device. "Here…"
She takes out a small plastic stick and draws on the lower screen.
"There."
She gives the device to Marigold. "Map's on the lower screen."
Marigold squints at it. The screen is almost entirely illegible scribbles…
"Just take a right from this door, do a loop-de-loop once you go past the clearing with the four short bamboo poles, and like… if you don't see a waterfall, you did it wrong. Don't ask why there's a waterfall, this forest is fuckin' weird."
She turns to Hikari. "Tell Reimu she owes me like, fifty-thousand yen for that 3DSXL."
Hikari blinks. "...You're rather rude for a princess, don't you think?"
'She sounds a lot like Mokou for some reason.'
Kaguya's gaze lowers. "You're a little inexperienced to be a Hakurei miko, don't you think? S'what I thought. 'Sides, it's a zombie apocalypse. I don't really give a shit about being proper right now."
'That's nice.' Hikari was ready to inflict violence.
...Osamu leans over Marigold's shoulder, looking at the device's screen himself. "These screen things are freakin' weird."
The moaning of zombies is heard nearby again.
Kaguya springs into action, firing at them.
Blablam!
Pi-pi-pi~chun!
"Oh, baby, a triple!" She pumps her fist in the air.
"...Let's just get out of here." Hikari walks for the sliding doors out of the clinic.
Marigold and Osamu follow, eyes focused on the map device.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====
Trailing behind the Hakurei miko, Marigold stares into the map device…
'She seems a little ticked from that unruly princess.' Marigold observed. 'The people of the clinic don't seem very compassionate as a whole.'
Despite it being day, the density of the bamboo made the atmosphere the atmosphere dark and curious.
...Hikari paused. "...Uhm, could you lead? You have the map and all."
'...She means me? Oh.'
Marigold gingerly steps forward. At the very least, they had been going right as Kaguya suggested.
She saw the bamboo poles coming up.
"...Now we gotta, uh…"
Marigold furrowed her brows at the map. 'Kaguya said 'loop-de-loop', this looks more like taking four left turns… I thought she meant a spiral or something.'
"Follow me…"
Marigold looked ahead, and saw something small dart behind a bush.
'Uh?'
As they passed the bush, Marigold turned and looked around it. There was an odd trail in the snow, appearing as if something'd been dragged. Such a trail couldn't have been left by normal animals.
"...I think we got youkai or something. Look over there." Marigold pointed at the trail in the snow.
Hikari stared at said steps. "...What? I don't see anything…"
"The trail." Marigold stressed.
...Hikari's eyes widen in realization. "Ooo~h, right. Huh."
Osamu stretched. "Aa~h, no sweat. Me and Hikari know how to kick some youkai ass already."
...Snow fell from atop a branch. Marigold looked up and saw a small orb retract itself from the base of the branch, hiding behind the tree.
The snow landed on Osamu.
"Oof- hey!"
Hikari giggled.
They take a left turn.
'We're probably going to get jumped by gremlins or something.' Marigold's imagination slightly freaked herself out.
They took another left.
'...I still don't know how this works either.'
They took another left.
"Where the hell are we going?" Osamu questions.
"Home." Marigold absently provides.
"...Oh."
She wasn't exactly wrong, but she didn't know that.
They took the fourth left.
They now stood aside a river, and up ahead was a waterfall.
"Where the fuck did that come from!?" Osamu pointed at it.
Hikari blinked at it.
Marigold looked up from the map device.
'I didn't even hear the water until we rounded the fourth left!'
"Wha~t…" Marigold voiced her confusion.
…
Marigold narrows her eyes, small figures darting up the side of one of the stone walls to the right.
She draws her Air Gun. "We got company, guys."
Hikari jerks her head back. "Really?"
…
The nearby bushes rustle violently.
"W-what!?" Hikari was taken by surprise, drawing her gohei hastily at the sudden noise.
Fwooo~sh!
A jet of flames shoots from the bush, lighting it on fire.
"What the fuck!?" Osamu back away from the flames.
Klack! Klack!
Marigold fires into the flames.
…
A wheeled, stone square with a flamethrower atop it drove out of the miniature bonfire.
'A machine?'
Hikari ran up to the side of it.
Thunk!
The whack made it shake.
Marigold assessed her current stock of weapons…
'...I really have nothing to deal with a machine, do I? Especially not some stone thing like this...'
Osamu grins. "Piece of cake!"
Osamu tries PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
Rapid freezing and thawing rattled the device violently…
Kra~ck!
The arctic blast blew the wheels off.
Fwoo~m!
Osamu frantically fell out of the way off the fire stream, and crawled away in the snow.
The machine was now completely immobile.
Fwooo~m!
It shot fire into the air, hitting nothing.
...Marigold went around the side, and saw the flamethrower was attached to a small plastic box on the back by some large cords.
"Stand back, everyone!" Marigold stepped back from the device herself.
Hikari stepped away, and Osamu crawled like the wind to catch up with Marigold.
Klack!
It strikes the plastic box.
Kaboo~m!
The stone device explodes into a pillar of flames, the stone body of the machine twirling into the air, before landing in the nearby river.
Sploosh!
Marigold lowered her gun… 'In retrospect, I could've salvaged those parts. Oh, well.'
Osamu grinned. "Hell, yeah! That thing just got blown the fuck up!"
Hikari gingerly stepped over the charred ground where the machine was. "...So, where next?"
Marigold shrugs. "The map just leads us to this waterfall."
Hikari rolls her eyes. "Of course it would… We should probably just wander aimlessly until we find something, then."
'Why does everything in this forest need to be a huge, sprawling maze?'
There wasn't much space to wander aimlessly, however. Between the jagged cliffside to the right and the river to the left, the three were forced down a linear path.
Ahead, a few zombie fairies shambled out from behind trees.
Klack! Klack! Klack!
Pi-Pi-Pi~chun!
Nevermind, there weren't any zombie fairies to speak of.
To the right, there was an open cave entrance against the jagged cliffside.
Hikari looked to her party members, then walked inside.
Wordlessly, the other party members followed.
"Dark ass cave…" Osamu focused, and conjured a fireball in his hands as best he could.
Maybe not so wordlessly...
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====
Moments into the cave, everyone was thinking of light sources. Marigold held up the map device, Osamu had his fireball, and Hikari…
'...I'll just stand between them.'
They rounded a corner, and the exit to the cave was actually right there.
...Osamu shot his fireball into the wall.
Poof.
"So much for that…" Osamu sulked.
'Guess it didn't matter anyway.' Hikari was somewhat pleased.
Exiting the cave, they found themselves in a small valley.
Marigold looked up at the walls, finding nothing interesting.
'More strange geometry. This forest is an incident in and of itself.'
The three continued… until they reached a town, of some description.
...Hikari blinked.
'What.'
Tiny structures made of rusty barrel drums dotted the snowy floor of the indent in the world. Ladders lined some of the walls, but didn't seem to go anywhere useful.
Marigold raised a brow. "...I think this is what they call a 'landfill'."
Osamu snorts. "No foolin'?"
...A tiny, round being slides from one of the barrel drum homes.
"Take it easy!"
It's a yukkuri, in the likeliness of Reimu.
'...I'm not sure what to make of that. I wasn't sure when I was younger, and I'm still not sure to this day.'
Osamu tilted his head. "...So, uh… just what the hell is that?"
Marigold stepped towards it. "It's a yukkuri."
"...Bless you?" Osamu was still confused.
"Living pastry." Marigold answered. "They haven't been so common in recent years, but I heard awhile ago they were really big vermin."
Osamu nodded. "How big we talkin'? Like, person big?"
Marigold sighed. "I meant there was a lot of them, not that they were actually big."
"...Oh."
The yukkuri hopped back into its abode.
...Intrigued, Hikari goes to follow it inside. Crouching, she slowly edges her way into the hut…
...It's bigger on the inside, but not by much. Osamu and Marigold follow, noticing Hikari seemingly disappear once she got inside.
On the wall was a very tiny ladder that lead to some little black device with a cord.
'Is this a ladder made for ants?' It was so small that Hikari could probably run her finger down it and just tear off every step bar with ease.
The Reimu yukkuri stared into space. "Do want easy slumber?"
'Uh?'
"...I guess?" Hikari wasn't sure what that meant.
The Reimu yukkuri looked at her. "Take it easy!"
…
Thud.
The entire party fell asleep.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Everyone awoke just as abruptly.
Osamu flailed his limbs, as well as he was able to, anyway. "What the fuck!?"
Marigold struggles back against his flailing limbs, everyone growing uncomfortable in the cramped space inside the barrel drum house.
Hikari crawls for the exit-
"Oof…"
-and successfully lands on the floor outside the house.
'Surprisingly good sleep, but I'm super stiff…'
Osamu threw himself from the barrel house, landing next to Hikari.
"Oof!"
...Marigold carefully stepped out, stepping around her fallen comrades.
The Reimu yukkuri hopped out. "Sleep easy?"
Osamu sticks his middle finger up. "No. Fuck get. Gaa~h…" He reaches for his back, caressing it gently.
Hikari tried Healing α!
Her morning stiffness disappeared!
She stood and stretched.
"Aa~h…"
Osamu noticed the sudden limberness she had obtained. "How the hell'd you sleep so well?"
Hikari tried Healing α!
Osamu's morning stiffness disappeared!
...Standing up, he heard his back crack about five times in rapid succession.
"Hoho~ly crap…"
Marigold cracked her neck a bit, but seemed fine otherwise.
...Looking around, Hikari observed that the entire 'village' was filled with yukkuri.
'...Kaguya wasn't entirely wrong, but this place doesn't seem to be a sanctuary…' Hikari felt none of the familiar magical presence here, and didn't see anything of particular worth.
A yukkuri Marisa hops up to Marigold. "Easy welcomes to Easy Town!"
"...I don't know about this place, Hikari." Marigold was resisting the urge to punt it.
Looking to the sky, Hikari realizes they're at the exact same time of day again. 'Did we even sleep, or did a whole day pass?'
Osamu got up, dusting himself of snow and assorted dust. He took a look around. "...Gensokyo's a scary place, du~de…"
Hikari walked through the 'village' casually, her friends trailing behind her. Various yukkuri hopped from their homes to look at them, all having uncanny resemblances of people they've met and others whom they haven't.
There was another cave at the edge of the valley, and the party went into it.
Inside was some fairy-style yukkuri, and by some miracle, torches on the walls to light the cave.
'How did those even get up there?' Yukkuri couldn't have put those torches up, yet they were burning as if they were new.
The fairy yukkuri made themselves scarce, leaving a lone Reimu-type sitting thoughtfully.
It looked up at the party, and just stared at them.
"...Hey." Hikari began the enthralling discussion.
The yukkuri took a moment. "...T-take it easy."
'...That came out kinda weird. Is this one alright?'
"...Are you okay?" Hikari questioned it. 'Might as well try to make friends with the populace. Maybe they know something that the princess didn't, by some miracle.'
It stared at Hikari again for a moment before replying. "...H-Hikari frustrated easy. Home under easy attack."
Hikari froze.
'...That's not a Reimu type at all…!'
Osamu grinned. "Hehey, it's you!"
"Easy attack." Marigold echoed, liking the word combination.
"Easy attack…" The Hikari-type echoed back.
"B-by who?" Hikari inquired.
"Mean yukkuri and super easy fairies and-and-and easy flame machines!" The Hikari type began jiggling violently. "Take it ea~sy!"
It began hopping around, tiny technicolor sparks emitting from where it lands.
FizzleFizzleFizzle!
'Definitely a me-type…' Hikari was slightly unnerved.
Hikari looked to her friends. "...Yeah, uh, I don't know about this place either."
Marigold grinned.
Osamu took the interrogative initiative, for a change. "So uh, mini Hikari, you know where the bad guys are?"
The Hikari-type stopped bouncing around for a moment, becoming recluse again. "...Y-yeah. Behind waterfall, easy password need."
'Easy password.'
"...Wait easy minutes, for three. Open, door will. Take it easy!"
'Sounds good, I guess.'
The three moved to leave-
"But wait, easy!" The Hikari-type leaped into the air and came back down. "Must not say anything easy. All easy time."
"Right. Right. Gotcha…" Hikari acknowledged the message, moving quickly to leave.
Outside, a large Alice-type was sitting at the entrance to the village, it's back to the party.
Marigold blinked. "I-is that…"
Hikari nods. "Looks like an Alice type."
...Suddenly, Hikari facepalms. 'I just realized I forgot the medicine! Ugh… I guess I can get it on the return trip, but it's gonna really bother me now…'
Fwooom!
Two flame machines drive in through the village's entrance path.
"Uwoo~h!" The Alice yukkuri yelled the sound of war, before, performing a great leap in place.
Thu~mp…
The ground shook as it landed.
Oversized sewing needles shot from the ground, making a path towards the flame machines.
ShinkShink, ShinkShink…
The ear-piercing screech of needles forcibly colliding with stone is heard.
'O-oww…' Hikari idly raised her hands to her ears after the fact.
"Shit, man…" Osamu covered his quicker, but still too late.
Marigold just winced at the noise.
The flame machines were flipped over, on the side and on the back, respectively.
Fwooo~m!
The didn't stop them from continuing to fire at nothing, though. The needles retracted into the Earth.
The Alice yukkuri stared at the machines, unsure what to do next. It proceeded to just hop away.
Fwooo~m!
"...Should we do something about that?" Hikari ran the idea over with her peers.
"...We should." Osamu shook his head.
Marigold agreed with him. "...But we're not."
Hikari nodded. "Fine by me." 'Don't really wanna see what an explosion would do to the local populace…'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
They arrived at the waterfall…
"...Who's going in first?" Hikari asks.
'It's not gonna be me.'
Osamu shrugs. "Ah, whatever. A little water never killed anyone!"
He walked into the waterfall, and the force of the water pushed him back into the creek and onto some jagged rocks.
"Oof…" He got up, brushing himself off. "Now my robe's all soggy. Damn…"
Sharp pebbles fell from the back of his slightly scuffed mage robe.
'How thick is that thing?' Hikari thought for sure he would at least be surprised by how sharp the riverbed was.
He hugged himself. "It's co~ld, too!"
...While he tried to conjure a wimpy fireball, Marigold examined the waterfall…
"We could just go around the water- or try. We'd get wetter, but we wouldn't be blown back…"
Hikari withheld her feedback on that idea, making a strained face in contemplation. 'I don't know about that...'
Marigold agreed with her. "I don't really like that idea either, but-"
"I got one!" Osamu stood and wrapped his arm around both their shoulders. "Why don't you do that wind thing, Hikari? Like, just power us up and we all run at once!"
'...How did I forget about that?' Hikari nodded. "That sounds like a plan…"
"Wind thing?" Marigold questioned.
Hikari lifted Osamu's arm off her. "I'll have to be the one in the center to make this work well."
He stepped back. "Oh, right, right…"
They rearranged each other, and now Hikari was the one with hands on both party member's shoulders.
"Okay… We should probably go back to the edge of the creek bed. Get a running start, you know?"
Osamu nodded. "Yeah, yeah…"
They backed up awkwardly, stepping back at different paces and almost falling over on the uneven river bed.
"...We sure this is gonna work?" Marigold questioned, skeptical.
"Well- no." Osamu summarized. "But it could."
...A generic wolfman youkai took this moment to emerge from the nearby woods at the creek side. "Well, well, well… If we haven't some-"
"Tasty humans?" Osamu guessed.
"Delectable magicians?" Marigold added.
'This youkai has no idea what's about to happen to him…'
The youkai glared. "...You mockin' me? Are you fuckin' serious? I'll eat you whole!"
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
Rapid freezing and thawing of an ice pattern occurred, locking the youkai in place.
"Wha-ha-hat the-"
Kra~ck!
The arctic blast left portions of the youkai's limbs frozen, leaving him with only one arm and leg operable.
"...I can still fight!" He awkwardly maneuvers his frozen leg along the creekside, slowly but steadily making his way to the party.
"...Should we just ignore him?" Hikari wondered.
"I said… I can still fight!" He took his free arm and punched his leg, breaking it free. "You stupid humans… and…"
He gave Marigold a funny glance. "Youkai, apparently. A weak one, I'm sure."
...Marigold lifts her Air Rifle.
Klack!
"Pftuh…" His head flipped back, thrown by the force of the danmaku pellet. He dropped to his knees, and passed out.
"Headshot." Marigold smiles.
"Dude just got fuckin' owned." Osamu nodded in satisfaction.
Hikari snorted. 'As expected.'
...They got back into position.
"Alright. Everyone ready?"
Osamu nodded. "Let's get a move on!"
Marigold confirmed. "As I'll ever be."
'...Alright…'
Everyone shivered slightly from a passing winter breeze.
Hikari channeled her wind, having it buff everyone.
"Now!"
They all bolted at irregular paces, something the wind only amplified. The wonky four-legged run style had them tripping over themselves at breakneck speed the whole way, but they eventually charged to the waterfall and burst through the current with the wind's guidance.
Sploosh!
They slid to a halt on the other side.
"...Uugh…" Hikari groaned from the floor. 'In retrospect, we should've done a congo line instead…'
Osamu stood up. "That was sick! We gotta do that again sometime!"
Marigold glared at him. "Not any time soon. It's really freaking cold…" Marigold had had enough of cold weather for one lifetime.
A few feet past them was a metal door. A wall with a small indent was next to it…
...Hikari knocked on the door, bringing her finger to her lips to hush her teammates.
"Sshh…"
Osamu shuts up, and Marigold withholds further comment.
…
The indent in the wall slides open, eyes staring out. "Easy password?"
…
Hikari twiddled her thumbs, and turned to her friends, who were looking equally bored already.
'Three minutes, it said?'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Hikari and company were scribbling on the cave wall with some white stones near the entrance to the cave. They were pretty hard to actually draw with, so the most someone actually wrote was a very crude "S.O.S." by Osamu, and various illegible scribbles.
The yukkuri manning the door finally was satisfied. "Easy entry…"
The large metal door slid open. The party eagerly charged inside…
Beyond the metal door lied halls of metal and floors of steel. The ceiling was just rock, though. Hikari's sandals clicked against the metal tile floors.
'What is this place…?'
She turned to the yukkuri that let her in…
...but it apparently wasn't any yukkuri she'd ever seen.
'More importantly, what is that?'
The three looked at the malformed blob of paste and dough, random colors of hair and eyes decorating it. The 'normal' eyes she'd seen before were just two brown eyes of its pressed up against the glass of the eyehole.
It slid down a ramp to meet them. As opposed to the female voice it spoke in before, it was a lot more gruff now. "What!? I thought you were one of them stupid yukkuri! Hyonk, hyonk, hyonk!"
"...What the fuck." Osamu shook his head at the thing.
"...Looks like you're just some stupid humans instead! Hyonk. Hey, why dontcha get outta here? This is no place for outsiders! Hyonk!"
...Hikari readies her gohei.
"...I'm technically a youkai, you know." Marigold aims at it.
"Youkai? Human? They'll all be pasty goo like us when Master Giygas is through with them! Hyonk!"
'There's that name again. Giygas…' Hikari at least had a name for the person who was seriously out to ruin her day, now.
The goo creature slowly began flowing towards them…
Klack!
It wriggled and writhed from the impact, a few of the eyes near the point of impact closing and dissipating.
"Haaaugh!" A cry of mixed pitches and voices came from the blob. "Gurrarh…" It growled.
'I wonder…'
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
Energy rippled around the goo…
…
Nothing happened at all, seemingly.
"I'll fry 'em!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaaa~sh!
A random section of walling was struck, the electricity dissipating uselessly into the metal and neutralizing.
"...Or not." Osamu scratched the back of his head.
The goo flowed up to his feet, and stuck to his shoes.
...Osamu started stomping it, which just made it splash about. "Hey, what's the big idea? You gonna get my shoes wet, or what?"
The eyes of the goo flash auburn, and Osamu is lit on fire.
"Holy shit!" Osamu roars, running out of the goo and around the room. "I'm on fucking fire!"
'Oh, no!' Hikari's face hardened. 'How can I put it out…?'
The goo flowed towards Marigold, who had little choice but to draw her Stun Gun.
Zzazazat…
It buzzed to life.
"Hyonk! Hyonk!"
...Marigold crouched casually, and stuck the prongs in the liquid body of the yukkuri amalgamation.
Zazazazzap!
"Hyao-!" It barked, suddenly getting cut off.
…
Ssss…
The goo began sizzling, all the eyes gone. Nothing was left but a flesh-colored splat on the floor, reminiscent of pancake mix.
Marigold retracted the prongs, turning off the Stun Gun.
Hikari tried Healing α!
Osamu's burns healed, but the fire continued!
"Oh, shit! Fu~ck! That hu~rts!" Osamu coarsely wailed, the pain igniting anew.
'N-no! Stop burning!'
Hikari tried Healing ß!
A glow shined over Osamu, and like that, the fire was gone.
...He was still burnt, though.
Marigold looked up at Osamu, and gasped. "W-woah…" The left side of his face was completely burnt off, it seemed.
'...I can fix this.' Hikari shook the shock from herself. 'I haven't healed something quite that bad yet… but I think I could!'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
…
Osamu's face slowly shifted and grew back as he squirmed. Other burns on his body healed, as well.
...He felt his face. "Oh, thank fuck. Anything but the face, I mean, shit, man. Well, almost anything."
Marigold blinked.
Hikari sighed in relief. "...T-that went better than expected."
Osamu nodded. "Yeah. I thought I was dead, but it turns out I'm not! Lucky me, huh?"
Hikari snorted.
"...Are we just going to ignore the fact she just somehow healed your face?" Marigold brought up.
Osamu shrugged. "Phenomenal psychic powers? Look, alls I know is that we're getting crazy awesome psychic abilities to uh…"
"Stop Giygas." Hikari fills in the blank.
"Stop guy gas? What?" Osamu scratches his head.
"...No, like-" Hikari sighs. "In short: someone who's trying really hard to ruin our days."
"This guy's gas sounds like an asshole." Osamu comments. "Is it a guy named gas, o~r…?"
Hikari snorted, shaking her head. "Nevermind that."
Marigold paused. "...Why don't I have psychic powers?"
"...Do you need 'em? Last I checked, you can shoot people in the face." Osamu argued. "...I mean, I'll be level with you here: I'd trade my psychic magic for the ability to shoot people in the face, and I really wanna be a spellslinger."
...Marigold smiled. "Yeah, you're right. Guns really are more fun."
'That's to be debated. Guns really aren't as versatile as magic, depending…'
…
Hikari looks around the facility. "Big place, huh?"
Marigold nods. "Kinda."
...Two more blobs of eyes, hair, and various yukkuri featured flowed onto the scene. "Humans! Hyonk hyonk! What's the password?" "Yeah, what's the password?"
'...Do we have to wait for three minutes, or~...'
"Not talkin', hyonk?" "Not talkin'!?"
The three prepared for more combat.
"Let's hyonk them up!" "Hyonk!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
Bam!
Zazaazt…
One of the blobs was reduced to a pile of charred paste.
One began flowing near Hikari, but Marigold walked up to it and turned on her Stun Gun.
Zztztzt…
She kneeled, and poked it with the Stun Gun.
Zazazzap!
"Geyohh…"
…
Marigold removed the prongs of the Stun Gun from the mush of the deceased blob monster.
"Not very combative things, are they?" Hikari thinks aloud.
"Not very. Electricity doesn't seem to agree with them." Marigold observes.
Looking around, Hikari doesn't see any way around the facility from their current platform. Trailing along the edge of it, she notices a thin ladder of sorts against the one part of the platform without railing.
She moves to it, and starts to climb down it.
"Did the ladder have to be like, hidden?" Osamu voiced a shared complaint.
Hikari neared the bottom, but was forced to pause.
Fwooo~m!
One of the flame machines came out from nowhere, and began blocking the lower part of the metal ladder by shooting a stream of flames at it.
"Hey, Marigold!" Hikari called up to her teammate.
"Y-yeah?" Marigold was trying to find a way to fit her gun into her backpack so she could use the ladder…
"Can you shoot the explodey bit of that machine from up there?" Hikari requested.
She looked down, unable to see the box… but she saw the cord to the box.
"I... I think so!" Marigold raised her gun, and aimed as well as she was able to from the top of the ladder…
Klack!
Thunk. It hit the stone uselessly.
"Dang it…" Marigold aimed again.
Klack!
The danmaku bullet struck the plastic and rubber cord, piercing it and igniting the fuel inside. The flame dispensary began burning itself, and then the box did.
Kaboo~m!
The block of stone was sent sky high, the flame thrower demolished with it. The block soared off into some abyss that was off the rails of the lower platform.
...The ladder was probably still hot, though.
'I should just be able to do this…'
Hikari drops off the ladder, and uses a brief burst of wind to lessen the impact.
Clack!
She winces as her legs impact with the floor.
'Could've been more graceful, but…'
"Hey, Hikari! Catch me!"
Hikari looks up to see Osamu falling towards her.
"U-uhm…!" She tries her best-
Thud.
"Aaagh!" Osamu lands on his arm. "Fuck! I think I broke it!"
Hikari sighs.
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
Osamu winced as he felt his arm shifting. "A-aack! Gee~z…"
...He moved his arm around. "Good as new!"
Marigold stared down warily. "H-hey, Hikari?"
Hikari looks up.
"Could you catch my gun for me? I can't really carry it safely, and I need to climb down…"
Hikari holds up her arms. Marigold tosses the Air Gun down, and Hikari catches it.
Marigold took a deep breath, and went to climb down…
...only for the weight of her backpack to throw her off it after an awkward movement.
"A-aaaa~h!" Marigold screamed, reaching her arms out for the ladder.
She landed on her bum.
Thud!
"Ooo~uch!" Marigold yelled, eyes tearing. "O-oooww…" She slumped against her backpack, moving her legs in a futile attempt to divert the pain.
Hikari sighed again. "Honestly…"
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
...Marigold suddenly felt somewhat better. She tried to stand, but fell over again, a piercing pain in her hip preventing her. "A-ah…"
Hikari blinked. 'Was that not enough?'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
…
"T-there we go…" Marigold stands up and takes a few practice steps. "...Wow." She wipes the tears from her eyes. "...Never again."
"It's gonna happen again." Hikari assures her. 'Hopefully not soon. The advanced healing thing drains more from me than the basic one…'
Marigold looks vaguely worried, but Osamu waves it off. "Aah, you'll get used to it."
'I'm still not used to it when it happens to me. I usually just end up forgetting just how painful it is to experience some of these things…' Hikari thought back to the times she got impaled or shot by lasers, and shuddered.
A metal door slides open, two more goo creatures flowing out.
"Hyonk hyonk! It's the chosen!"
"Hyonk 'em good!"
Osamu turned to them. "You guys are fucking annoying."
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
The rapid freezing and thawing threw bits of the rightmost blob all over the place, scrambling its body.
Kra~ck!
It was frozen solid by the arctic blast.
...Marigold gingerly stepped to the other one, and drew her Stun Gun. Like the other times, she poked the goo monster.
Zazazazzap!
"Hyaao~!"
…
Ssss…
Hikari approached the solidified one, and brought her gohei up over her head…
SMAAAA~SH!
The creature was shattered into a million little icy pieces, effectively killed.
'Good riddance. No one'd miss something like that anyway.' Hikari was sure of it.
After that event, the three continued through the open door and progressed through the facility. More blob monsters appeared occasionally, but they were swiftly dealt with by either electric or frosty means.
Eventually, however, they reached a locked metal door.
'Hmmm…'
It was one of the larger, olden styled locks for some indiscernible reason.
Marigold tried shooting it.
Klack!
…
Nothing happened.
Hikari swung at the door itself.
Bo~ng!
"Thick…" Hikari felt the strength of the metal in her gohei.
Marigold snapped her fingers, and pulled out…
Hikari wasn't sure what it was she pulled out. It was made of swing, metal plating, and white foam.
Marigold stuck it in the lock.
Cli-Cli-Click!
The door swung open.
"Dude- how'd you do that!?" Osamu asked in amazement.
"...It's a device that opens doors, especially when you have a bad key." Marigold explains. "...I guess you could call it a Bad Key Machine."
'More like a skeleton key…' Hikari observed.
"...It only works on older, simpler locks, though." Marigold added. "That's why I couldn't make use of it before."
A booming sound came from the depths of the room ahead.
"Hyoo~nk!"
...The three looked into the room.
Marigold brought out her Stun Gun, and flipped it on.
Zzztztzt…
The three stepped in…
Directly ahead, they saw nothing, but when they looked to the left…
"Holy. Crap." Osamu's jaw dropped.
It was a large, person-sized blob of yukkuri features, akin to the smaller ones.
"It's the worms Master Giygas told me about!" The blob jiggled in glee. "So I was right to sit in front of the power room! Hehehehyo~nk!"
'Power room, huh?'
The blob began wriggling, slowly approaching the three. "Move over, 'cause the great Byorg is in town, and these're my parts!"
Blobs separated from Byorg, flowing away independently.
'...Let's just get this over with.'
Hikari tried PK Fantasy α!
Fizzle!
The dark facility was suddenly lit alight by a barrage of hypnotically bright colors.
Fizzle!
Colors echoed off the walls, filling the room with vibrance.
Hikari focused on Byorg.
Bwaa~sh!
All the smaller blobs were reduced to paste, crushed against the floor. Gyorg jiggled violently…
"Hyonk! Hyonk…" It seemed shaken, but not stirred. "Bet you can't do that again! Haha-hyonk!"
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
The rapid freezing and thawing was barely visible in the blob's mass.
Kla~ng!
The arctic blast turned it into a slow slush, chunks of ice forcing it to slow down…
"Hy-o-..." It flowed around the icy bits, slowed noticeably. "This… nothing!"
It shot one of the icy bits out from itself, smacking Hikari in the face.
"Pftuh…!" Hikari was thrown back, the ice chunk bouncing off her face and leaving her with a bloody nose.
Osamu shielded his face as another ice chunk shot out, doing the same. He stumbled back from the force, but stood standing.
Marigold invented a new strategy called 'ducking', which allowed her to avoid the oncoming ice chunk entirely.
'O-ouch…' Hikari brought her hand to her face, and wiped the blood from her upper lip. 'I-I'm bleeding?'
Marigold reached into her pocket, and took out the Magical Defense Reducer Spray.
"Grenade!"
She takes the can, and tosses it at Gyorg.
It gets absorbed by the pasty goo…
"Hyonk! Grenades!? You think you can blow me up!? I eat grenades for breakfast!" Gyorg boasts. However…
...in moments, Gyorg discovers the contents of the can after dissolving it open.
"W-what is this…? Eeaa~gh…"
Gyorg's Magical Defense fell drastically!
"S-stupid humans… what kind of food do you eat!?" The mass writhed in displeasure.
Hikari stood back up. 'I should hold back a bit, I guess… I already feel pretty drained.'
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
The freezing and thawing violently mixed Gyorg's body around, bits splashing across the room.
Kla~ng!
The arctic blast froze most of Gyorg this time, leaving only some of the inner goo safe.
Marigold drew her Air Gun. "Open it up for me, Hikari!"
'Guess I'm going in, then…!'
Hikari charged in, and whacked at the ice.
Thwack!
Crack…
Thwack!
Cr-crack…
Thwack!
Cra~ck!
The ice broke open, Gyorg on the inside and far smaller.
Klack! Klack! Klack!
"Hy-oh-hach! Oough…"
Splatters of paste flew out of the opening as Marigold stepped closer, pumping it with rounds.
Klack! Klack! Klack!
Paste spattered her glasses from how close she got
"O-oohhh…"
Gyorg's once booming voice became a whisper.
Klack! Click, click…
…
Marigold's Air Gun was out of ammo.
Click, click, click…
"...I uh, I think it's dead." Osamu adds. "You can stop shooting… or trying to shoot."
Marigold steps back from the ice that once was Gyorg. "...E-eheheh…"
She took her glasses off, and polished them clean with the fabric of her long skirt.
Hikari walked around the ice and dead goo, going to the metal door. Pushing it open, she saw a cartoonishly large lever inside.
'...I think I know what to do from here.'
Hikari leaped up to grab the switch…
…
She found herself in the air, holding onto said switch.
'Uhh…'
"A little help in here?" Hikari called for her teammates.
Osamu and Marigold came in to see her hanging from the large lever.
"Pfft…" Osamu grinned at the sight. "...Alright, let me, uh…"
He looked up, getting a full view of Hikari's undergarments.
Marigold looked up as well, realizing what was going on.
"...Actually, I think it might be a few- Hey!"
Marigold pushed Osamu out of the way, and leaped to grab Hikari's ankles. The switch slowly budged, halfway off…
Osamu walked back up. "...Buzzkill."
'What are they going on about?'
Osamu grabbed Marigold's waist, and pulled the two down, the lever pulled fully to the 'off' position.
Doors slammed open throughout the facility.
"We're easy free!" "Take it easy!" "Easy freedom!"
The facility intercom had a warning go off.
"Warning._Warning._Terminal_power_supply_is_currently_not_in_operation._Production_of_siege_vehicles_to_cease._Conversion_of_yukkuri_to_cease._Warning._Warning…"
Osamu grinned. "I think we did it, guys!"
Marigold smiled. "Alright, let's get out of here!"
The three charge from the room and race across the lower level of the facility, various blobs of goo hurrying to attempt to stop the yukkuri, but failing without the aid of their siege contraptions to intimidate them.
Whenever they saw one of the three beings that invaded their facility, though, they knew to run the hell away.
...They eventually came to the ladder of ladders again.
"Alright…" Hikari sighed. "Let's not fall and break our legs this time, guys."
Osamu snorted. "You were supposed to catch me, y'know."
"I tried." Hikari defended herself. "The idea was stupid anyway. You coulda just jumped if you went down a few feet more."
Marigold was having different thoughts. She slipped her backpack off, and tried to find a way to fit the rifle into the main pouch.
She kinda did but didn't at the same time. The barrel was sticking out and it was only half-zipped shut, but she hoped it would hold.
Hikari looked over to her.
'Hopefully she doesn't fall this time…'
"Telecast_ 2. _has_crashed._Send_error_report_to_Microsoft?"
…
'Wait… Where are all the yukkuri going?' Hikari looked around, noticing none were using the ladder at all, not that they could, but…
'...Why does this place even have ladders!?' Hikari realized that ladders would have absolutely zero purpose in a facility of goo monsters.
Osamu tapped his shoe on the floor. "...Any day now. You plannin' on standing there forever, or what?"
Snapping from her thought, Hikari goes to climb the ladder. Osamu follows her.
...Gingerly, Marigold steps up the ladder slowly and purposefully.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Outside the stronghold, Hikari saw yukkuri fleeing from strange places.
'The facility probably had a lot more to it than we thought…'
Osamu squeezed the ends of his robe with his hands to wring out the water. "Guess we should go back, huh?"
Hikari paused. "Hmm… I think we should look around the yukkuri town a bit more. We didn't really get a good look at it earlier."
"What is there to look at?" Osamu turned to her. "We saved 'em and all, but…"
"We need to find the sanctuary location." Hikari restated their goal. "They should know something, especially now that we liberated them from harm."
...Osamu wanted to protest, but he relented. "Guess you're right. I kinda thought they wouldn't know anything."
Marigold readies her Pop Gun, considering her Air Gun is out of ammo.
Continuing through the caves they traveled previously, the three arrived at 'Easy Town'.
To say it needed some expanding now would be an understatement.
'What happened here!?'
After going through the entry valley way, the three saw a sea of yukkuri now inhabited the 'village'.
"Geez louise!" Osamu took a step back from the yukkuri horde.
Fwooo~m!
The two flame machines that were there before were still there, and still shooting. The yukkuri simply kept a cautionary circle around them.
'So much for blowing those things up now.' If they did it now, there'd probably be a myriad of casualties and an angry mob to deal with.
...Marigold hugged the wall and began progressing to the cave in the back of the valley. Hikari and Osamu did the same.
'Even though the yukkuri are only ankle high, I don't particularly feel like stomping through them only to accidentally kill one and enrage the whole crowd, or something.'
Eventually, they reached the back wall and the cave.
Inside was the tubby Alice yukkuri, among others.
"War over, easy…" It begins. "Friends. Take gift, easy."
It pushed a large gift box towards the party.
'...Never one to complain about free stuff.' Hikari rubs her hands together, and ravages the box.
Moments of tearing and ripping later, Hikari pulled the object from the gift…
'...A horn of some kind. I'm not surprised.' They were pretty primitive here, anyway.
Hikari obtained a Horn of Life!
"Use easy when times are not easy…" The Alice-type advised them. "Take it easy, Mary."
Marigold blinked at the yukkuri.
A wooden ladder dropped from the side of the room, a yukkuri with silver hair dropping from the new hole in the roof of the cave.
Hikari glanced at it. 'Looks like that maid I saw a few days ago…'
Marigold gave it a long stare, as Osamu began climbing the ladder.
"C'mon guys!" He called for them.
Hikari began climbing the ladder as Marigold looked at it carefully, cursing whoever decided that ladders would be a staple of this forest.
Reaching the top, they ended up on a ledge at the side of the valley.
'...I probably should've asked the big one about the sanctuary. I'm sure one of these other ones knows, though.'
There's not as many yukkuri on this ledge, but there's still plenty milling about.
Hikari approaches a fairy yukkuri. "Would you happen to know where I could find a magical place? Something close and weird, basically…"
The yukkuri looks up at her. "Take it easy, okay?"
…
Hikari shakes her head, walking away. She instead decides to go into the nearest drum building while her party members take the hint from her previous conversation and begin asking around as well.
Inside the building, Hikari has no idea what's going on.
'More strange devices with tiny ladders leading to them…'
...She looks down at a Marisa-type yukkuri.
"Welcome to easy shop! Easy buy! I can sell, too. Marisa-ze, do all for you! What can I easy?"
'Uuuhh…' "What's for sell, I guess?"
A metal latch in one of the barrels opened, and a selection of items came out. They included marbles, a slingshot, another one of those horns, a hair bow, a beanie, and a single peppermint.
'...Hmm.' Her eyes ran over the bow. 'It looks like a bad Christmas decoration. It'd be nice to give my attire some variety, though…'
She also saw the beanie. 'Osamu likes stupid hats, so he'll like this.'
Both the beanie and the bow had a lime green color scheme and had pictures of yukkuris printed on them.
She picked them up. "How much for both?"
The Marisa yukkuri smiled. "Three-thousand, six hundred, ninety easy!"
'Three and a half thousand yen, basically.'
Hikari dug up the money from her pockets, and placed it on the counter.
The Marisa hopped on it and seemingly absorbed it. "Take it easy, okay?"
Hikari nodded. "Sure. You too."
Leaving the store, she found Osamu and Marigold stacking barrel drums.
"What're you guys doing?" Hikari inquires, taking a moment to slip off her traditional Hakurei ribbon to attach the magnificently green one.
Hikari equipped Yukkuri Ribbon!
"Waitin' for you!" Osamu shot back. "I talked with that fat one, and she said that cave over there was where we had to go." He pointed to the cave dead ahead past the shop.
'...We probably would've gone there anyway.' Hikari realized.
"Some of these barrel drums actually have stuff in them." Marigold informs the party. "...Not very useful stuff, but uhm…"
She tipped over a nearby one, and various smashed up 'keyboards', as Kaguya had called them, poured out.
'Useful.' Hikari was unimpressed.
Osamu ran up to one, and bowled it over. Bright yellow objects clattered out, all of which were in the shape of guns.
Marigold's eyes lit up. "Oo~h!"
Moving over to the pile of guns, she sifted through them. Lifting a few up, she had discovered most had parts broken, and all of them didn't fire anything.
Lifting an oversized blue one that was reminiscent of a sniper rifle, Marigold aimed it into the sky…
Poof.
It shot a dart, which fell to the floor.
Osamu snickered. "Pfft… nice find, there…"
Marigold glanced at him, then moved around the drum barrel. She planted the gun on the side of the barrel, using it as a makeshift workbench.
"I can fix this." Marigold states resolutely.
'Oh, boy.' Hikari reached into her pocket, pulling out that bag of goldfish snack crackers she bought many days ago. It was slightly soggy, but it seemed alright otherwise. 'Might as well.'
…
She took the moment to hand Osamu his hat, too. "Here. I know you like stupid hats, so have one."
He frowned. "Hey, I'll have you know this is a Holmes brand deerstalker-..." He looks over the beanie, lime green and plastered in yukkuri decals. "...O-oh. O~h. I, uh… I dunno what to say. The hell is this?"
She shrugged. "Variety." She gestured to her Yukkuri Ribbon…
"...Ah, whatever."
Osamu equipped the Yukkuri Beanie!
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====
Marigold twisted the edge of the barrel off, which revealed itself to be a cheap plastic component that really wasn't there for any reason.
'Might as well do away with that. Makes it too big to carry…' She pocketed it anyway.
...Pulling an orange trigger, a clip slid out of the gun. Marigold picked it up, and noticed very mangled up darts inside.
'...Is this a toy gun of some kind?' It didn't seem very useful otherwise, and it was brightly colored, but Marigold couldn't be sure.
She tried to open it up, but it didn't just pop open like the Air Gun did. 'Hmmm… It seems to be attached by screws of some sort. Really modern ones, by the looks of it…'
...She took out one of the thin metal plates she found.
'Knew this would come in handy. Well… more like hoped. Still.' She used it semi-efficiently to unscrew the side of the blaster. Removing it, inside was a variety of tubes.
'...Is it air operated? Maybe those tubes channel mana…' Regardless, Marigold had no idea how they worked, and they seemed way too complicated for their own good for her to bother with them to make a properly working gun.
'Out with those, then.'
She tore the tubes and pump bits from the gun, unscrewing where she needed to. She pocketed the mess of components in her backpack.
'Now…'
She took out her Pop Gun, and put it in the center, aligning the grip with the toy gun's grip. There was still some plastic inside in the way, so~...
Bam! Bam! Bam!
She bashed the Pop Gun into place, smashing some of the internal plastic to do so.
'Rather fragile, this thing…'
...She looked at the gun's grip, and decided it was ultimately unnecessary.
Bam! Bam!
Marigold smashed the grip off, allowing the Pop Gun's grip to be free.
'Now, for power…'
She looked to the nearby, useless armaments, and began smashing them against the ground.
Bam! Bam! Bam!
She tried smacking the drum with one. Bo~ng!
'...Maybe I should just unscrew them.' Smashing them wasn't terribly productive.
After a good few minutes of unscrewing random, larger broken toy guns, Marigold amassed a small army's worth of batteries of all sizes.
She stared at the plastic base… and just plopped all the batteries right in.
'Seems legit.' The idea was that the batteries going nuclear would supercharge the Pop Gun, due to the magical catalyst used inside it.
'If this goes well, this thing should shoot forever. If this goes bad, it explodes. I'm also hoping those cylinders and boxes do as they say on the labels...' She was referring to the batteries.
She took the other side of the plastic base, and aligned it in place. She screwed all the applicable screws back in- a few that went on the grip couldn't be replaced for obvious reasons.
She slid the clip back in, only to stop the batteries from falling out of the clip hole. 'Hopefully that doesn't interfere with anything. It shouldn't...'
...She took it out and tore the darts from it, and then reinserted it.
As she stood, her foot knocked a small stock aside.
'...Wait, was that what went on the end?' She was wondering what those pegs were for…
She lifted it and realized she needed a part of the grip to properly attach it.
'Screw that.' She discarded the stock. 'I'm just not going to bother. The Air Gun never did anything but vibrate, so the stock on that wasn't ever really needed. Pretty sure it's the same here…'
...She stood up, and aimed at a nearby barrel drum. Reconsidering, she aimed at the tipped over drum of keyboards.
'Time for a test fire…'
Marigold obtained and equipped the NF Burst Gun!
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====
Hikari and Osamu were halfway through the bag of goldfish snack crackers as they stared at the yukkuri mess below.
"...I see another Reimu type!" Osamu exclaims. "That's fifty eight!"
'Dang. I only found like, forty nine Marisa types so far…'
She was snapped from her thoughts by the sound of danmaku bullets firing.
PoPoPoPoPop!
Bo-bo-bo-bo-bo~ng!
"There we go…" Hikari turns around to see that Marigold has finished her latest weapon of mass destruction.
"'Bout time." Osamu gazes upon the blue and neon-orange burst rifle. "What's she called?"
Marigold looked over the side of the gun. It read "NERF Longstrike CS-6", but Marigold wasn't sure about a name as clunky as that…
"NF Burst Gun." Marigold decided. The NERF part seemed too important to leave out entirely, but to Marigold the rest was unneeded garbage. 'Burst Gun' was all the information someone needed.
'Sounds about right.' Hikari supposed.
Osamu nodded. "Pretty cool… I still have the same freakin' spells!"
'They're improving, though. As are mine.' Hikari noted.
Marigold shrugged.
Since the conversation was mostly dead, Hikari wrapped up the bag of snack crackers and considered pocketing it… "Actually, Marigold, could you hold onto this? It's less likely to spill out if it's in the pockets of that pack thing…"
Marigold nodded. "Help yourself." She turned around, exposing the backpack.
Hikari moved to it, unzipped a side slot, and stuffed the bag of goldfish in, zipping it up afterward.
"There we are. Let's go."
The three continued into the cave ahead…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The cave, like the last, was mostly empty. It lead to a section of bamboo forestry that was seemingly lighter and more shallow than the portions around Eientei, however, when the party attempted to stray from the linear path, the trees suddenly got thick to the point of being impassable.
Hikari was trying to prove that last sentence wrong.
Thwack!
Bamboo fell as Hikari swung it aside and even managed to cut some of it with the force of the gohei swipe. She had cut ten feet into the absolute wall of bamboo, and it showed no signs of stopping.
"...Maybe we should just follow the path?" Osamu jested.
Hikari groaned. "Fi~ne…"
'With a forest as weird as this, it's no wonder that the sanctuary would be nearby…'
They walked down the forest path eagerly, ready to locate the next area.
No one stopped to question why the wind wasn't blowing at all in the valley of trees. They did, however, question the fact the path was suspiciously clear of snow.
"So~, no snow. Couldn't get any more obvious than that, huh?" Osamu lampshaded.
They passed a small cluster of inconspicuously uniform and discolored bamboo stalks. Uniform in the way that they were not only the exact same color as one another, but they were also the exact same height. They appeared as if plastic, their neon yellow demeanor a far cry from the more natural browns and yellowish-greys of the surrounding bamboo.
"I guess. I've never really seen one of these so-called 'sanctuaries' before." Marigold reflected.
"Trust me, it's sick." Osamu assures her.
...They pass a few more neon yellow bamboo clusters.
Hikari pauses. "What kind of fertilizer do those stalks use?"
'I can't really ignore them anymore. They really stick out.'
The other two paused and looked at them.
… The stalks retracted into the Earth.
"What." Hikari blinked.
…
Woosh! Woosh! Woosh!
The dirt shot up from the floor as the bamboo seemed to shoot out of it. Humanoid but boxy figures composed entire of bundled, neon-yellow bamboo stood before the party.
Two tiny gaps at the top of what would constitute as the 'head' were open, clear water flowing out of them- but only at a trickle's pace.
Hikari readied her gohei. "They don't look friendly…!"
"You don't say?" Osamu waved his hands around, even though that didn't do anything.
Marigold raised her new gun, ready to put it to the test. She stared warily at the surprisingly limber bamboo humanoids.
…
They stared at one another for awhile.
"They fuckin' ninjas or somethin'?" Osamu asked.
Bamboo Ninja A tried Shield α!
Bamboo Ninja C was protected by the shield of light!
'I recognize that… Isn't that what I can do!?'
Bamboo Ninja B tried PK Hydro ß!
A bubble was sent in the party's direction, but they just moved away from it.
Splash!
Fwuuu~sh!
A whirling spiral of water was created in the air, getting the forest floor all wet.
The third Bamboo Ninja, going by the letter C for tracking purposes, leaps up onto the bamboo wall and then into the air, completely obscured by the day's light above.
PoPoPoPoPop!
Marigold fires wildly into the air.
Thunk! Thunk!
She hit something, alright.
The Bamboo Ninja fell from above, splashing in the large puddle. Water splashed across the battlefield, mostly in the direction of the party.
"Ugh!" Osamu seemed frustrated by the fact his robes got soggy again. "You fuckin'..."
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
Rapid freezing and thawing had no visible impact on Bamboo Ninja C.
Kla~ng!
The arctic blast solidified it, rendering it unable to move.
"Take that!" Osamu pumped his arm.
Bamboo Ninja B leaped across the entire hall of trees, sending shurikens of a natural sort at the party members.
"A-agh…" Marigold winces as one nicks her arm, drawing blood.
"Ouh- fuck! Shit!" Osamu swears up a storm as one hits him right in the leg, embedding itself.
Hikari flinches as one clips her gohei, nearly disarming her.
'They're so fast…!'
...She looked to the solidified one.
'This is my chance!'
Bamboo Ninja A tried Shield α!
Bamboo Ninja B was protected by the shield of light!
Hikari ran up to it and whacked it anyway.
Thunk…
Nothing happened.
'...Wow.' Now that she saw it from another perspective, that was a really cheap spell.
That also reminded her that she could cast it herself.
Hikari tried Shield α!
Osamu was protected by the shield of light!
"A little late for that, doncha think!?" Osamu tore the shuriken from his leg. "...Yeeoow~ch!"
Marigold aimed at the unshielded ninja.
PoPoPoPoPop!
It looked towards Marigold, and began trying to dodge matrix-style.
Thunk!
...One bullet hit it right at the end. It didn't do much of anything, but it did shatter the ninja's dignity.
Bamboo Ninja A's guts fell!
It shook a 'fist' at Marigold, then dashed towards her at breakneck speeds.
PoPoPo-
Whack!
"Aa~hh!"
-PoPop!
The ninja was forced to tank a few bullets as it slammed the magician aside. The remaining two bullets spiraled into the air above.
Marigold landed in the water. "Ugh…"
"Take this!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaa~sh!
Bamboo Ninja B was moving cautiously in the background, waiting for a critical moment to throw shurikens again…
Bam!
It struck the ninja, lighting it ablaze. It stumbled forward, its shield of light also shattered.
Hikari paused, trying to choose between attacking A or B…
Bamboo Ninja A turned towards her, so Hikari knew who to attack.
She readied herself, and the ninja whirled at her.
Klaa~ck!
The gohei struck a large bamboo arm.
Whack!
"Pftuu~h!" Hikari had the air knocked out of her by a blow to the torso.
"I got it!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder α!
Thwaaa~sh!
Bamboo Ninja B dodged out of the way of the lightning bolt.
"Wha- how!?" Osamu saw it happen, too.
Bamboo Ninja B tried PK Hydro ß!
The bubble flew over itself. It jumped up and uppercut it, causing it to explode in a torrent of water and put out the flames on itself.
Sploosh…
The resulting spiral of water soaked it.
Osamu grinned. "You're not dodgin' this one!"
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
The freezing and thawing rocked the body of the weakened Bamboo Ninja.
Kla~ng!
The blast of frosty air froze it solid.
Speaking of frozen things, Bamboo Ninja C started moving again…
Osamu turned to it, annoyed. "Jeez- just stay down already!"
Bamboo Ninja A turned to him.
"...I'm sorry?" Osamu smiles sheepishly at it.
Whack!
"Oof!"
Osamu flew against the bamboo wall.
PoPoPoPoPop!
Marigold drilled into the side of Bamboo Ninja A with sustained danmaku.
Patatatata! It pattered against the bamboo from the range it was fired. The bamboo composing its torso began breaking from the raw energy that pierced it…
Bamboo Ninja C moved lethargically towards Marigold. She turned at it, and fired at the head.
PoPoPoPoPop!
"Haaa~h!" Marigold roared.
Thu-thu-thu-thu-thunk!
The bamboo of the ninja's head began popping open and splitting…
Hikari shambled from the floor, and with a burst of wind, threw herself at the third Bamboo Ninja.
Woosh!
She brought her gohei down on its head.
SMAAAA~SH!
Bamboo shrapnel flew everywhere, a rain of water gushing out of the torso's top like a fountain.
Bamboo Ninja C stopped moving.
"Yeah!" Hikari cheered in the heat of the moment.
"Get me outta here!" Osamu was cornered by Bamboo Ninja A, flailing his limbs to defend himself from a series of jabs and punches.
PoPoPoPoPop!
Marigold applied the same strategy as before, and Hikari followed up.
It swung its arms wide to try and intercept Hikari, but it was too frazzled by the many targets to do anything efficiently. It missed Hikari.
SMAAAA~SH!
An explosion of bamboo and water came from the head of Bamboo Ninja A before it stopped moving.
…
All three turned to the figure of Bamboo Ninja B, who was frozen solid as a rock.
...Hikari walked up to it casually, and leaped onto its broad shoulder.
Whack!
…
Whack!
…
Kra~ck!
The icy head was shattered, rendering the third and final ninja deceased…
…
"Holy shit." Osamu sighed in relief. "The fuck was that?"
"Ninjas…" Marigold sat down, wincing as she did so. "Oof…"
Hikari shook her head. "...May~be we should go back and heal before we uh… go ahead."
Marigold tilts her head. "Why? Shouldn't we be close by now?"
Hikari nods. "Yeah. There's usually something tough at the end, too. The guys we just fought were supposed to be the weaklings, I think…"
Marigold paled. "What?"
…
"Yeah, let's come back tomorrow. Pretty sure things stay dead when they die, so uh…" Osamu agrees with Hikari's idea.
Stiffly and tiredly, the three get up and make a trek back to the yukkuri village…
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
END OF CHAPTER 7
Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise
-Inventory-
Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.
Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.
Body: Nothing
Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!
-Skills-
Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!
PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.
PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.
Hypnosis α - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes.
Shield α - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it.
Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.
Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.
Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.
β-β-β-β
Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage
-Inventory-
Weapon: Fisticuffs!
Arms: Nothing
Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!
Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!
-Skills-
PK Thunder α - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage.
PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.
PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.
Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.
Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.
PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.
PSI Shield α - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it.
β-β-β-β
Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child
-Inventory-
Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.
Arms: Nothing
Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.
Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.
Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.
Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…
Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!
Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.
Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?
Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.
Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Coagulated fairy fingers are currently the only viable mana-providing ammo for this weapon.
Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.
-Skills-
Nerfphiliac - One who abuses NERF guns, but at the same times mods them really well.
Ph. D in Falling Off Ladders - Turned out to be mildly hazardous to her health, so she changed her degree.
Has A Mechanical Canine - She wishes.
Can Finally Beat Contra - Ratta-tatta, ratta-banga, take-a-bullet-in-yer-dang-a-lang-a-bam!
Mergol is Ver' Good Sentry Woman - Knows the perfect places to put dispensers. Unfortunately, does not know what a dispenser is, or how to place one.
β-β-β-β
Author's Note:
I TYPED THE BULK OF THIS IN ONE DAY
sweet jesus fuck
just GOT UP
and was like
"today is a good day to do what has to be done by me"
and then i DID IT
...bamboo ninjas, yo. came up with them on the spot 'cause i was feeling creative and fuck RANBOOBS, what the hell even is a RANBOOB
fight probably went on a BIT TOO LONG but y'know, funsies. it was also a fight only possible because there were three party members!
didn't really like how i started the chapter the night before, but looking back it's not SO bad… i far much more appreciate how i write in the morning as opposed to the evening, but the bulk of the time i have to write in the evening anyway
sad times friend ahead
anyway, yukkuri ville
choice was either SATURNS or FLUFFLES, and my proofreader decided YUKKURI to END THE WAR
...and i was like "ye sounds good"
yukkuri turned out to be both dynamic and easy to work with
fluffles, in retrospect, would just be TOO CRAZY since they're little ELDRITCIHAN HORROR BEASTS and really more NEUTRAL than something like yukkuris…
and saturns are just kinda boring and the font things i'd have to do with them would drive me up the wall, so y'know, all's well end's well yo
started this writing session at 7 AM… and it is now 12 AM. (provided many breaks were taken of around thirty minutes, and dinner was like an hour so take what you will of that), i'm not THAT FREAKIN' LOONEY
today was good day
...and, as always, see you all next time!
PROOFREADER'S NOTE:
I take my payment for making him not put fluffles in this in blowjobs, thanks. Gender need not apply.