Hikari rose from bed…
'What time is it?'
Instinctively glancing towards the nearest source of light, both to condemn it and gauge the time, she paused.
'...Still dusk?' She rubbed her eyes. '...Oh, right. Kappa place, fake windows. I forgot…'
Slipping on her wooden sandals, she looked around at the party…
'Everyone's still asleep.' She noted.
Lifting her gohei, she examined the rather stark bend in the midst of it, and winced.
'...I'm not sure if this thing works, anymore.'
...She swung it around a bit.
Snap!
The upper part of the gohei snapped right off.
Hikari's eyes widened. 'Oh. That's… bad.'
...She proceeded to the room's exit, and went outside.
On the outside, the hallway was dim, and the clanks of metal could be heard down the length of it.
'Weird place.'
...Hikari began walking down the hallway. She glanced at the doors along the sides, not feeling inclined to look into the few that had tiny window ports.
Only a moment later, her decision to not glance paid off, and one of the tiny windows exploded.
Bam!
Glass flew out into the wall on the opposite end of the hall. Hikari froze at the sound, and looked towards it…
'Things are going boom. This is not the nicest place.'
Eventually, Hikari had decided she went far enough into the hallway.
'I've walked for minutes, and this hallway doesn't seem to end.'
She had considered asking Nitori to fix her gohei, but she wasn't entirely certain where she could find her, and she certainly wasn't brave enough to open the doors.
'Exploding is not on my agenda for today. At least, not right away, nor alone. But, where could I immediately get a new gohei from…?'
She could always return to her mother, she considered. '...That's an easy way of doing it, though, and it wouldn't be as good as the last gohei I had unless I got it re-enchanted.'
She snapped her fingers. 'I know exactly where to go, actually!'
...She turned to the hallway she came from, and began sprinting down it.
'Faster, faster, faster…'
Before long-
Hikari tried Teleport α!
KraKoo~m!
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
KraKoo~m!
Hikari skidded to a stop in front of the Moriya Shrine. Quickly, she swung open the front door.
Kanako and Suwako eyed her curiously.
The taller goddess began speaking. "...What was-"
"Hi." Hikari loudly introduced herself, walking through the shrine until she got to the opposite door. "Bye."
Click. She left through the opposite door.
…
Kanako sighed. "Oh, alright, then."
Suwako snickered.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Hikari barged into Sanae's room.
Sanae wasn't paying any attention, however.
"No, no, go to the left!" She yelled abruptly.
Hikari flinched from the sudden shout. "What's gotten into you…?"
"Defuse the C4! C'mo~n…!" Sanae leaned over her keyboard, staring at the screen desperately.
...Hikari stared at her dryly. "Hello?"
Whatever Sanae was doing, she couldn't hear Hikari.
…
Hikari moved over to her, and gingerly removed the ear muffs.
"Ha-hyaa~?" Sanae shot backwards, tipping the chair over and knocking down Hikari. along with herself. The 'ear muffs' clattered against the floor nearby.
'Ugh… chairs do not go well with guts.' Hikari noted.
"Hnnh…" Sanae moaned, clumsily rolling from her chair and landing on her stomach. "Wha-what happened…?"
Hikari sat up, looking at her. "Me."
"O-oh, Hikari!" She smiles, albeit forced. "I thought you left just yesterday…?"
"I did." Hikari told her. "Unfortunately, my party was wiped out by a rather mean band of generic wolfmen."
Sanae gasped, cupping her hands over her mouth. "Wha- re- really!? That's… horrible!"
Hikari instantly half-regretted her joke. '...I didn't expect her to freak out.'
Abruptly, Sanae pulled Hikari into a hug. "I-I'm so sorry!"
"...It-it's alright?" Hikari was now feeling very awkward.
The two sat silently in the hug, before Sanae broke it, looking to the floor with a sorrowful expression.
"...I actually need something." Hikari smiled.
Sanae shot up. "Y-yes! Anything!"
"A new gohei." Hikari held up her old one, which was snapped in two.
Sanae's jaw dropped. "What co-could have… Right away, Hikari! I'll make you the bes- well… a good gohei."
'...That last part makes me question my judgement.'
Sanae leaves the room, and Hikari follows.
After only two doors, they arrived at a ritual room in the backrooms of the shrine.
"Here we are!" Sanae beamed. "This is where I do all the blessing things!"
'Mom always did it in the main room… or wherever there was room, basically. All you need is papers and chalk…'
...Hikari paused, and mulled over her sentence. 'B-by 'did it', I mean… nevermind…'
Sanae began laying out candles, and small, blue, paper talismans.
'...This is new, though. She probably does things differently from my mother…'
As the miko laid out the talismans, she glanced at Hikari. "...Sorry if my form is really bad. I'm still getting the hang of these rituals and stuff. I'm also looking for a good substitute for amulets, 'cause I figured that was kinda Reimu's thing, and um…" She trailed off, sensing that she was rambling.
Hikari stared at her vainly.
'It's going to take a miracle for this to actually turn out well.'
After a few moments, a circle was set up. Sanae sat in the center, as it began glowing a soft blue, as she crafted a new gohei from a dark brown stick, and using some talisman paper.
"This… isn't quite how it's supposed to be done…" Sanae furrows her brows, but smiles. "I think it'll still work."
'That talisman paper's going to screw everything up.' Hikari frowned. 'I might just go to Mom's after this…'
After Sanae crafted the gohei, she let the ambient holy energy flow into it, applying the strengthening and the holy attributes. Streaks of light softly flowed from the candles and talismans along the border of the circle she'd laid out.
The finished gohei… didn't look any different.
Sanae smiled apprehensively. "Well… It'll do, I-"
The border of the enchantment circle suddenly shot to life with vibrant, rainbow-colored, energy.
"A-ah!?" Sanae stood up, glancing around in surprise.
Beams from the candles suddenly shot forth, connecting with the gohei.
Sanae, mystified, watched the gohei glow brightly.
Once the beams ended, the gohei was left with a vibrant, rainbow sheen throughout, and the talisman paper was lit up.
"...W-wow…" With an intent stare on the gohei, Sanae swung it around a bit. "...C-can I keep it?"
"No." Hikari walked up to her, and plucked it from her hand.
'W-woah…' Hikari felt energy travel from the gohei, into her.
Hikari obtained Miracle Gohei!
...Hikari swung it around. Small after images of rainbow energy were left in the air as she did so.
'Awesome!' She grinned like a kid on christmas morning. 'So this is the power of miracles…'
"Awwh…" Sanae pouted. "That was the best one I made yet, though… I-I'll trade you my old one!" She held up her gohei, which had a flat paper on it, as opposed to the zigzag design she tried to replicate with the talisman paper.
"...No, thanks." Hikari shook her head. "Not my style."
With that, Hikari began to move out of the room. "Thanks for the gohei."
Sanae watched her go, looking conflicted.
Hikari moved through the main room of the shrine.
Kanako was standing, waiting for her. "If you think you can just walk into our shrine-"
"Hi." Hikari began moving past her.
Surprised, the wind goddess moved to grapple her, but Hikari ran past her. Applying wind to herself, Hikari began running from the front door of the shrine.
"Get back here!" Kanako began flying after her.
"B-bye!" Hikari managed, gradually picking up speed.
Bounding down the mountain path, she began thinking of the dim hall her friends would likely be in…
"Oo~h?" Kanako flew up behind her. "Impressive application of wind magic… for a rookie."
Hikari didn't pay her any mind.
The wind goddess smirked. "However, I'm going to have to put a stop to this, Hakurei. I need to have a word with you."
Hikari continued accelerating, still ignoring her.
"...I said-"
Hikari tried Teleport α!
KraKoo~m!
Flinching, Kanako scanned the area for the miko. She then let a small squall of wind flow outward from her, searching the entire mountain's surface for her…
"...Gone?" She was bemused. "...Hakurei are mysterious, indeed."
...Suwako poked her head out from under a nearby rock. "Was it everything you expected, and more?"
Kanako scowled at her.
She grinned back.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
KraKoo~m!
Hikari found herself in the dark halls of Nitori's labs once again. She tried to skid to a stop, but the metal proved a weirder substance than she thought, and she slid to her butt.
"Oof…"
...Looking around, she was at a loss.
'Dim lighting, along with all these halls looking the same, really doesn't help…'
One of the doors ahead opened, and Nitori rushed out, holding a gun of some description.
Vrrrrr~!
She shot a laser into the room she came from.
"Gwaa~rgh!"
Eyes widening, Nitori slammed the door shut.
…
Boom!
The door bulged.
…
"...Phew." Nitori backed up, and leaned against the wall on the opposite side of the hall. Looking around, she noticed Hikari. "...A-ah! What are you doing outside the room?"
"Exploring." Hikari shrugged.
'Not really, because it'd be a terrible idea here.'
"You really shouldn't." Nitori frowns. "I'd feel really guilty if something blew you up…"
'I'd feel really dead if something blew me up.' Hikari mentally countered. 'There's a slight difference in severity, here…'
"Are you lost?" Nitori asks. "Here, I'll lead you back to the room…"
Following behind, they eventually arrived back at the bedroom. Nitori opened the door, and walked inside…
Osamu was jumping on one of the beds, Hiyori was meditating on one, and Marigold seemed to have taken one of the windows off the wall and was examining the dim lights on the other side.
"..." Nitori smiled awkwardly. "I see you're all awake…"
Osamu's attention was suddenly garnered. "Hikari! Where the hell've you been?"
Hikari held up her glowing, new gohei.
His eyes light up. "Dude, sweet!"
Marigold trots over from her project nearby. "That looks pretty potent. Where'd you get that from?"
"I would figure the kappa made it." Hiyori guessed.
Hikari shook her head. "I teleported back to the Moriya Shrine, and had Sanae make me a new gohei. I told her you all died gruesomely, so she was happy to help."
Osamu guffawed. "Aa~hahahaha~!"
"...Thanks for the vote of confidence." Marigold scoffed.
Hiyori shook her head. "I don't entirely approve of that, but I suppose nothing can be done, now."
'Lighten up, you.' Hikari didn't feel like it was worth commenting on.
Soon, there was silence. Nitori sensed it, and capitalized.
"...Do you guys wanna go now, or do you wanna see some of my stuff?" She tilted her head.
"Yeah- uhm… no." Osamu declined.
Marigold glanced at him. "...Sorry about him. I would be-"
"Let's not." Hikari decided.
'That scene I just saw convinced me that there's nothing I need to see here.'
Hiyori didn't comment, indifferent.
Nitori shrugged. "That's all right. I'll show you guys my latest stuff next time you come by!"
'I'm not sure what to make of that.'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
The elevator ride up was a lot slower.
"So…" Nitori began conversation, sensing more silence. "Do you do any incident solving yet, friend?"
Hikari blinked. "...Technically."
Nitori nodded. "...Well, I might have a job for you, then…"
The elevator hit the surface... and all around the party was the tattered remains of robots, along with puddles of oil and other magical fluids.
Osamu's jaw dropped.
Hiyori's eyes widened slightly. "...It seems there was a battle up here."
"Yea~h…" Marigold walked off the elevator, and gingerly scanned the wreckage around them. "Uhm…"
Nitori pulled out a watch from one of her pockets, and put it on. She pressed a few buttons, and a large shovel extended from it. Then, she began scooping some of the fallen robots out of the way.
'Oh, okay.'
"We had visitors and stuff, last night." Nitori begins, "My sentries made short work of them, but da~ng. You guys shoulda been up and with me when I watched the cameras. It was like one of those world war things I heard the outside has!"
'That's reassuring…'
"They all came fro~m…" Nitori pauses, and point to the right. "About around that way. Tengu are supposed to be dealing with it, but, you know…" She raises a hand, and tilts it back and forth. "You might wanna check it out. These sentries only have so many rounds."
"Definitely." Hikari nods. "Let's go, guys."
She began moving in the direction Nitori gave.
Nitori tilted her head. "...Already? Didn't you guys just wake up?"
Osamu paused, slowly grinning. "...When ya put it like that…"
Hiyori began pulling him by his robe. "We'll be alright. Fare travels, Nitori."
"You too!" Nitori smiles as she waves back, the party departing for the woods ahead.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Hikari and her party kept a low profile as they progressed into the woods.
"Tapdancing fuck monkeys." Osamu gaped at the chaos before them.
Autumn leaves and clumps of snow caked the ground, accompanied by-
Boom!
-exploding robot parts, and the blood of enraged tengu patrol guards.
"Aim!"
A decorated tengu guard, clad in multiple shields, held his arm out. Lasers flew at him from nearby UFOs, but he simply stood and took it.
Agile crow tengu darted from behind trees, aiming their bows at the impending machines.
The arrows whirled through the air, and stuck into the sides of multiple whirling robots and flying saucers. A few whirled to the floor, exploding on contact. Afterward, wolf tengu descended from above, and engaged the remaining robots with their swords.
Hiyori, however, was more offput by Osamu's crude expression. "Genuinely…"
"Look…" Marigold pointed to the sky.
A band of pink saucers flew in from seemingly nowhere, flanking the tengu guards.
The decorated tengu captain grinned. "They're flanking us, men! Send out the signal!"
A few archers with ribbons around their arms aimed up at the sky, and sent glowing arrows straight up, which promptly exploded into harmless blasts of magic in the sky.
Then, a group of tengu archers and swordsmen flew in from the woods below and engaged the incoming flank party, flanking them.
To their dismay, even more soaring discs came from the clouds above, flanking the flank party who was supposed to flank the flanking team.
"We got triple flanked! Damn it!" The captain grimaced, tightening his fists.
"...Let's not get involved in that." Hikari quietly looks to her party.
"Agreed…" Marigold nods.
"I don't know what just happened... but I think we should get the fuck up outta here." Osamu fearfully watched the chaotic battle commence, devolving into a mix of explosions and blood splatters.
Carefully minding their steps, the four progress through the brush towards the general direction the robots came from…
The bushes shimmered violently in front of them. A tengu landed in it, knocked from the air.
"Oh, damn!" Osamu freezes. "Du~de… That almost hit us!"
A quick glance-over revealed the blonde tengu had seen better days, deep gashes running along her entire body, the light in her hazel eyes fading.
"U-uhk…" She let out a gurgle, jaw shaking.
Hikari looks slightly concerned. "...I don't think she's okay."
Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!
Over the course of a minute, the tengu guard began looking more awake, and alert. "Hwaa~h…"
She sat up, and looked around. She looked at the party…
...Hikari gave her an awkward smile.
She furrowed her brows. "What… are you four doing here? This-"
"We healed you." Marigold interrupted her.
She blinked. "...Fr-from what?"
Marigold pointed up.
The tengu looked up, and her eyes were filled with the ongoing battle. "O-oh, shit! The fight! I can't believe I forgot! What was I even doing…?"
She shot up from the brush, moving to engage again.
"...I don't think she remembered getting hit and falling." Marigold stared curiously as the tengu left.
Hiyori shrugged. "She must have suppressed it."
'That's probably not very good. Especially if she gets shot up and actually dies, this time.' Hikari sighs. 'There's not a lot I can do about a battle this massive, though…'
Continuing, the party eventually escapes the sounds and visuals of active combat, using the woods to traverse the path ahead, as well as avoid the incoming robots waves.
"So many…" Marigold marveled. "Where did all of these resources come from?"
'...That's a good question.'
Exploration coupled with darting around mounds of dirt-caked mud eventually delivered the party to the outer walls of a large, metallic facility.
"...Here we are." Hikari sighs.
The party scans the walls, and see various catwalks and paths on the upper portions. Additionally, they sight numerous doors and windows along the ground floor…
"We have options." Marigold announces.
"We're gonna bring back the big bang disaster!" Osamu cracks his knuckles. "Screw robots!"
'...How can we bring it back, if it never existed to begin with?'
"...Should we just walk into a side door?" Marigold considers.
Hikari shrugs. "We could try."
'We might as well. I'm having flashbacks to when I had to break into the school…'
That course of action was what they did. Until, of course, they reached the side door, and discovered it was locked.
'We have ways of dealing with locked doors, now…'
Hikari struck the solid, metal door with her glowing gohei.
Bo~ng!
...Marigold just gave her a strained scoff.
Hikari shrugged.
Hiyori walked up to the door, and knocked on it.
Osamu chuckled. "Dude, they're fuckin' robots. They're not just gonna open up 'cause you rang the doorbell. Actually…"
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
Hikari froze. As great as the welling strength felt... "No. We're not doing that."
He folded his arms.
Hiyori punched the door.
Bam!
...It vibrated, and a dent was left.
Hiyori blinked. "...Stronger than I anticipated."
Bam! Bam! Boom!
After enough abuse, she punched a hole in the metal door. However, it was only big enough for her arm, so she began to expand it. She used her arms to rip and tear into it, stretching the gap…
"Hrrgh…" She grunted. "Wh-what is this made out of…?"
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
Suddenly, the task got far easier, and her arms pushed the metal out of the way with more ease than before.
"...Ah. Thanks." She recognized Osamu's effort.
"That's what they call magic, baby! Yea~h!" He pumped his fist in the air.
Hikari gingerly steps inside, and looks around…
The door lead to an empty, but expansive, store room. Crates, cranes, and other such objects littered the factory floor, not currently in use. The noise of mechanical activity, and the hefty push and pull of machines could be heard coming from beyond the far wall, however.
To the party, though, this all may as well have been pretty decor.
"Du~de…" Osamu looked around, smiling. "Do you think they store giant meats in here!?"
Hiyori grinned. "...To rephrase your statement from earlier, 'they're robots'."
"Not just robots." Marigold held up a finger. "'Fucking' robots, as it were. Pardon my french, but… that would explain many things."
'Pffft…' Hikari can't help but grin, herself.
Inside the factory, the four move aimlessly through the walkways and aisles of the seemingly abandoned storeroom.
'Seemingly. Also, I wouldn't exactly call it 'abandoned'...'
Cardboard boxes fell from around a corner, and a whirling robot revealed itself.
"VeeHeerVeeeHeerr…" The machine whirred, spinning in place.
'One of these things...'
The torso and treads of the robot spun independently of each other. Its arms moved up and down haphazardly.
"...Tactical." Marigold noted. "I'm sure we'll have trouble."
Both arms lifted, and two lasers were fired from each, directed at the party.
Hikari, having anticipated she'd be targeted, promptly moved out of the way, the laser grazing her loosely.
'I've gotten better at getting out of the way of those beams. It's not hard, when your main focus is not getting brutally impaled.'
Hiyori's eyes widened at the immediate display, when another laser was shot towards her, striking her in the gut.
"H-hhh…" Hiyori hissed, gritting her teeth.
Within a moment, the laser burned right through her stomach, leaving a gaping hole as it dispersed, charred flesh surrounding the gap.
Hikari's eyes widened. 'Wo-woah!'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
Hiyori slowly fell to her knees, as her wound and inner stomach regenerated itself, gritting her teeth hard enough for the party to hear.
Osamu took offense to the robot's harassment of the party.
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
A box, somewhere in parts unknown, was completely annihilated.
Thwaa~sh!
The robot was struck by the bolt, and fizzled out, the lights on its head going dim.
"No disassembly required!" Osamu struck a pose.
Marigold put a hand on Hiyori's shoulder. "Are… you okay?"
Hiyori nods. "Yes… I was taken by surprise, is all."
'Famous last words.' Hikari kept that comment to herself, however. 'That's what a lot of warriors might say the moment after they die.'
…
'I've read books.' Hikari tried to justify her mental comment.
Overhead, large pink saucers materialized in the room's airspace. A shimmering effect slowly dissipated from the metal, hinting at some form of cloaking technology.
Faint, blue, psychic power shields were present around each of the saucers, as well.
Hikari stared up at the three saucers. "That's… not very good."
"Ho~h, shit…!" Osamu grinned up at them sheepishly. "How the fuck do they even fit in here?"
Then, the party was bombarded by lasers from above.
"Take cover!" Marigold shrilled, running for some boxes herself, diving behind them.
'Wh-where!?'
Hikari's thigh was pierced by a laser, there being too many for her to dodge. "Ha- aa~h…"
'Tsss… That sti~ngs so bad…!'
Osamu got pelted by two lasers, sending him to the floor.
"Ack-!" Thud.
Hiyori moved to follow Marigold's example, getting clipped in the arm as she does so. She doesn't react much, however.
After nearing some crates, she turned, and decided to go on the offense.
Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKoo~...
The icicles were all repelled by the psychic power shield, for the most part. The magic energy shot back towards Hiyori, who tried to dodge it, but it pierced her anyway.
"Hngh!"
She was sent stumbling into the boxes behind her.
'O-Osamu…?'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
...Osamu sat up, his back caked in blood. "Holy fuck! Dude there's fuckin' lasers! Shit!"
He scrambled backwards, looking for more boxes.
Marigold judged her options, unsure of how to proceed, since more of her weapons did magical damage.
She paused, and pulled out the Electric Projector.
"If this doesn't work…" She stares intently at it, as she turns the dial mid way and aims it up at the large saucers.
On activation, arrows of electricity soar towards the shield of one. The shield flickers from each impact, before it eventually falls from the concentrated electric disruption.
However, Marigold is forced to take cover as the saucers fire another storm of lasers downward.
She winces at the many, many pinging noises echoing from her metal crate cover.
Hiyori lifts one of the large metal crates, and uses it to deflect incoming lasers.
Hikari, however, wasn't so lucky, caught out in the open. She found her chest pierced, twice. "Gh-fuaagh!"
Hikari fell over onto the floor, crippling pain forcing her eyes to water.
'Nh-no…!'
Once the barrage ended, Hiyori furrowed her brows, throwing the crate aside.
Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!
...Hikari sat up, wiping the tears from her eyes, as she glanced at Osamu, who was once again lying on the floor.
"Egh…" Hikari backpedalled on all four limbs, and focused on Osamu...
Hikari tried Lifeup γ!
In a flash, Osamu was up again, running in the opposite direction. "Get me the hell outta here!"
'Everything hurts…' Hikari was having a bad day.
He passed Marigold and Hiyori, the former pulling him behind cover.
Hiyori tried PK Fire ß!
Fwoo~m!
The unprotected saucer was enveloped by flames. After a few moments, it began drifting to the floor, before it slowly ceased spinning.
'Th-that seems to have worked…'
Hikari got up from the floor, and began making her way to the cover, herself.
Marigold popped out from the cover to fire more electric arrows at the saucers. In moments, another shield was down.
Osamu grinned. "Y'should call that the Shield Killer! Du~de!"
Marigold stared at him dryly. "...You just nearly died twice, and that's what you have to say?"
Hikari joined them behind the cover, breathing deeply.
Marigold turned to her. "...Are you okay?"
Hikari smiled. "No."
"...I wouldn't be, either." The magi scratched her cheek.
High-class UFO C tried PSI Shield α!
High-class UFO B was protected by the pale blue, psychic shield!
Hiyori narrowed her eyes, realizing she missed her chance to cast again.
Once more, a barrage of lasers was thrown at the party. This time, however, everyone had respectable cover. Hiyori still defended herself the manual way with another nearby crate.
'So many lasers…'
Once the light show ended, Hiyori looked down at her crate, and threw it up at the remaining discs.
Cla~ng!
The stricken UFO wobbled in the air.
Hikari paused. '...That gives me an idea.'
Marigold dropped the power shield of high-class UFO C with sustained fire from her Shield Killer.
Running up to the team oni, Hikari made a request. "You. Toss me at them."
Hiyori blinked. "...That's implausible."
'Ugh…'
Hikari glared. "I can take it!"
Taken aback by the reserved girl's outburst, Hiyori blinks again. "...As you wish, then…"
She lifted Hikari carefully, the miko's bottom resting in her palm. Then, she tossed her upward.
"A-aah!" Hikari channeled what wind she could to control her flight path up towards the slow saucers, and eventually landed on the top of one.
The lasers began again, but none of them were able to aim at Hikari.
Unable to grab any boxes in time, Hiyori ended up getting pelted in the side by two lasers.
"Guaagh!"
She fell into the pile of crates.
"Oh, shit…!" Osamu hit the crate he was propped up against. "These damn things…"
Hikari, kneeling atop a saucer, began to give it her all.
Clo~ng! Bo~ng! Cla~ng!
The gohei seemingly didn't do a terrible amount of damage outside of denting, at first. Then-
SMAAAA~SH!
The saucer's top exploded on impact, sending Hikari flying.
"Waah!"
Hikari fell onto a catwalk, striking the rail with her back.
"Eckh!"
'O-ooww…'
...She stumbled forward, and grabbed the other rail.
'This sucks…'
Back with the party, Marigold aimed her Shield Killer at the last remaining saucer, stripping it of its shield.
Osamu edged as close as he could get to the edge of the cover, and glared up at the saucer. "Let's see how you like being frozen!"
Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!
KaKaKa~...
The snowflake pattern of ice crystals formed once again, encasing part of the UFO.
Blam!
It was stricken by a raw blast of frosty air and ice magic, but the UFO merely wobbled in response.
"...Apparently a little." Osamu sighed.
Hiyori stumbled up to their cover, her side bleeding. "Wh-what are these attacks…?"
Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!
Her side began healing, but she felt somewhat more fatigued than before.
"Fuckin' sci-fi laser bullshit!" Osamu cursed.
Hiyori pushed the top crate of the cover off, and prepared her attack.
Hiyori tried PK Fire α!
Fwoom.
A small waft of flames erupted atop the UFO. It slowly spread, stripping it of its various processes, before it slowly hovered off into a wall.
Bam!
It exited through the wall, before exploding somewhere outside. The previously dim room was now filled with sunlight.
…
Marigold sighed. "That was… messy."
Hiyori examined her gi, and frowned at the new streams of blood on it. "Quite."
...Osamu furrowed his brows. "Where's Hikari?"
On cue, Hikari slid from one of the nearby stacks of crates, sitting on one to ride down. Although, considering the steep nature of the cube-like stacks of crates-
Thud.
-it was more like she fell down. She sat atop a crate, regardless.
"...I'm back."
Hiyori sighed. "I was worried that I would have gotten you hurt, by doing that."
"Me too." Hikari stepped off the crate. "It worked, at least…"
After that debacle, the party was on the move, again. The four teenagers- actually…
Hikari turned to Hiyori as they walked down the marginally quieter aisles of the large store room. "How old are you?"
...Caught off-guard, Hiyori paused. "...I believe… one-thousand and five, or so."
'...Oh. Okay.'
"Pffft…" Osamu glanced at Hiyori incredulously. "One thousand and five!? Dude, you're like, old enough to be my dad's dad's… dad's dad! My grand dad!"
'...She's probably many centuries older than just your, uh, grandfather…'
Hiyori stared at him. "...How did human age work, again? Rather… how old are you?"
Osamu beamed. "I'm like, eighteen…! Dude, we could take you to a history museum and be like-"
"Seventeen." Marigold answered, giving Osamu a dry stare.
Hikari spoke. "Eighteen."
…
"You're all as old as infants…" Hiyori considers, vaguely surprised. "...When does old age set in?"
Marigold supplies her the information. "About sixty or seventy, for humans. From what I know, anyway. I shouldn't quite have that problem, as a mage."
The party found a door out of the room, and it opened easily enough. They proceeded into a hallway…
"Wait, how old do mages live to?" Osamu was suddenly curious.
Marigold tilted her head… "I'm… not sure, to be honest. One of my mother's is one hundred or so, I believe… but my other ones are in their forties."
"Hold on, hold on, hold on…" Osamu held up his hands. "Who's a hundred, now!?"
'You can't say we don't have variety.'
Before long, the party arrived at a ramp, one of which went down.
Way down.
'Way, way down…'
The diagonal hallway went downwards at a forty degree angle for an expansive distance. The hall itself, a rather mundane white color.
"What the hell…" Osamu glares down the immense linear path. "Who's idea was this stupid hallway?"
"Aliens." Hikari decides.
He paused. "Well… You'd think they'd make less insane hallways."
"Aliens." Marigold declares.
Finally, he rolled his eyes. "Aliens probably need good architecture, too!"
'I somehow doubt that…'
Before the party, two flashes of bright, artificial light stop their progression.
"Speaking of aliens…" Marigold mutters.
Two tall grey figures stand before the party, their pitch-black helmets perfectly reflecting the four's curious stares.
Hikari recognized them. 'Those things… they're like that strange figure the other evening.'
She'd never forget the evening she had a talking, magic-slinging pet bee that saved her from a giant metal man-youkai thing.
'I remember them being robots… I think. Their insides glow, and stuff.'
"State_your_purpose." The rightmost being monotoned loudly.
Hiyori levelly stares at it. "We've come to put an end to this."
The two humanoids turned their heads, to face one another. Then, they looked out at the party again. "Hakurei_detected. We_thank_you_for_your_cooperation."
'Um?'
The two ends of the hall light up, forcefields preventing entry and exit.
Then, a section of walling opened up at the hall's halfway point. From it, a giant, round robot waddled out.
The party stared at it as it slowly waddled up the ramp in an attempt to approach them.
Grey Figure A tried Teleport Ω!
Grey Figure B tried Teleport Ω!
The two humanoids vanished in blue light, a trail of smaller blue lights continuing down the hall, past the robot.
…
"Nice robot." Osamu snarks.
The robot continues to waddle towards the party, slowly.
…
After a moment, it fired a single laser towards Hikari, who was taken by surprise.
The flesh of her lower torso singed from the low power laser.
"Hgh…" She flailed her limbs as she moved away from the beam. "Ouuwhh…"
Hiyori tried Lifeup α!
Hikari felt better quickly, her burns reversing.
"Hmmm…" Hiyori hummed in a displeased manner, then drew a canteen from her gi. Popping the top off, she chugged it down.
Marigold aimed her NF Burst Gun at the robot, and fired.
Pat-patter-pat-pat-patter!
The robot lost its footing, and began rolling backwards, down towards the lower force field.
Marigold blinked. "...Oh."
"Haa~h…" Hiyori finished her canteen of water. "There we are."
The robot reached the end of the ramp, and collided with the force field.
BOOM
After an ear-piercingly loud blast, which made the party collectively jump, an immense surge of flames rushed up the shaft, towards the party.
'Woah woah woah…!' Hikari blanched at the sight, shielding herself with her arms.
"Woa-aaahhh~!" Osamu began screaming.
Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!
The party was protected by the pale blue, psychic shield!
...It didn't necessarily do a lot to protect them from the oncoming flames, however, but every little bit helps.
Fwoom!
'Haa~h…' Hikari let her mouth open, emitting a strained breath, as the flames finally died down. The blast was brief, at the very least.
"Wh-why even…?" Marigold stuttered, clothes singed.
"Fuck. Me~. Dude…" Osamu brushed himself off. "That robot went nuclear on our asses…"
Proceeding down the ramp, the grey, suited figures appeared once again.
"Auto_defense_failure_detected." The right-most one communicated again. "Commencing_manual_operation."
Hikari glared at them. 'After that last stunt, I've already had it up to here with these things…'
She ran towards them, making sure to approach from the side.
Hiyori decided to take the other side, unwilling to let Hikari engage the enemy in melee combat on her own.
Grey Figure B tried PSI Shield α!
Grey Figure A was protected by a pale blue psychic shield!
"Magi_identified. Commencing_mana_transfer."
Grey Figure A tried PSI Magnet α!
Blue and purple rectangles shot along the floor to Marigold, and ran up her body. They then traveled back to the grey figure.
...Marigold blinked. "...I'm not sure what that did, but I don't think I like it."
Osamu perked up, remembering something. "Dude! I can do that too!"
"...Oh, yea~h…" Marigold remembered it, too. "It's a mana stealing thing, isn't it?"
It was then, that Osamu realized what the enemy was doing. "...Oh, shit! They're tryin'a take all your magic!"
"...That's a bad thing?" Marigold half-smirked.
Osamu tried PSI Magnet α!
The rectangles stole the mana back from Grey Figure A, and brought it to Osamu.
"Yeah, fuck you." Osamu gave it the middle finger.
...The figure, in response, shot two lasers at him from each arm. His psychic shield slowed them enough to barely graze them.
"...You missed, asshole!" Osamu grinned.
Hikari and Hiyori, now having sufficiently flanked the two grey figures, turned to attack.
Hikari brought her Miracle Gohei against the inner knee of one.
Thunk.
…
'That… was underwhelming. What are these things made out of…?'
Hiyori moved to punch the other one in the back-
Grey Figure B tried Teleport Ω!
-promptly hitting nothing.
"Tch…" Hiyori scowled. "Teleportation?"
"Close_combat_is_unauthorized_against_target_class_Hakurei_X_4." The figure responded, now behind Marigold and Osamu.
"Du-wah!?" Osamu flailed his limbs, whirling around. "The fuck?"
Marigold aimed her NF Burst Gun at it, and opened fire.
The bullets pelted the figure's body, doing little. Then, she focused on the figure's head, the bullets leaving glowing marks on its helmet.
"Zzzsspph!"
The figure lethargically moved its arms.
Grey Figure B tried Teleport Ω!
It appeared behind Hikari and Hiyori, who noticed right away due to the blue trail of light that traced its movement.
Hiyori stared at it, judging whether or not to attempt engaging it again…
Hikari decided to experiment again, however.
'This should work…!'
Hikari leaped onto the back of the tall grey figure she attempted to attack previously, and used its rigid body to leap towards the other one, brandishing her gohei in the air.
"Hya~h!"
SMAAAA~SH!
The helmet's black screen cracked open, revealing what Hikari could only describe as machinery inside.
'...It looks like a slot, or something.' She wasn't sure what to make of that, either.
"Zzzsshhshshph!"
The static-like noise emitted from the figure again. Hiyori assumed it meant some variation of panic, so she moved to punch it.
SMAAAA~SH!
A solid blow to the torso crumpled the figure, the clattering of machinery a contrast to the organic way the body lurched to the floor.
The remaining figure held a featureless arm to the air, and with a small flash of light, obtained a pill from parts unknown.
"Combat_status_critical." The figure reported.
Osamu nodded, pleased. "You bet it's fuckin' critical. Your buddy's dead, dude."
The figure held the pill vaguely near where a mouth would have been on its face. A few streams of electricity met it, and then the pill was no more.
Grey Figure A is now immune to critical hits!
'These things… what exactly are they? I know it's a weird time to truly question it, but…'
It was at that moment the ceiling above the rampway fell inwards.
Bam!
The party backed away from the rubble, which fell near the grey figure. The grey figure didn't react to the resulting dust and debris at all, barring the subtle shifting of its head.
"There you are…!"
The battered, and somewhat singed figure of Momiji stood, her expression furious.
Hikari blinked. '...This place didn't look particularly easy to get into. From the front, anyway.'
The wolf tengu warily eyed the grey figure for a moment, before glaring at it. "...Who are you supposed to be, as well? Do you manage this eyesore?"
The figure spoke. "We_are_the_Star_Men."
…
'That's nice.'
"Answer my second question." Momiji demanded.
"We_are_the_Starmen."
She snarled. "Don't play stupid with me! Are you the leader, here!?"
"Classified." The Starman spoke.
Fed up with its responses, Momiji attacked at blurring speeds.
Swish-swish-swoosh!
Each slash pierced the sleek, grey suit, exposing very little but inner machinery. The machinery was damaged as well, parts dropping off from each impact.
"Zzzssspphh!"
Starman tried Teleport Ω!
It traveled further down the hall, past Hikari and Hiyori.
"You're not getting away that easily!" Momiji growled.
She leaped over the two girls, then soared at the Starman.
It began raising its arms, into a guarding position, but the lethargic control of its limbs didn't do it any favors.
Shi~ng!
Thunk!
...Momiji lodged her blade in the helmet of the Starman.
"Zzsshhhh…"
Electricity cackled for a few moments, and then ceased. The Starman stopped moving.
...A few moments of staring confirmed to the tengu that the being was dead. As dead as something mechanical could be, in any case.
She leapt up, and retrieved her sword. Her glare settled on the party. Specifically, at Hiyori.
"You have a lot of nerve, oni. I had thought your species was against cheap tricks."
Hiyori frowned. "I never said I wanted to fight you, either."
Momiji scoffed. "An oni, without a thirst for battle? You're a liar, too, then…"
"I've taken up Buddhism." Hiyori argued.
...
The wolf tengu stepped forward at a slow pace. "Do you know what hell I've been through just to get my unit here? To be the only team who could make it past the seemingly endless waves of… machines?"
She stopped, still a fair distance away. "After all of that, I find you here, somehow. And you have the utter gall to tell me jokes."
…
"Y'know there was a back entrance, right?" Osamu piped up. "With a, uh… hole. That we left… in… it?"
He trailed off, noticing Momiji begin stepping towards them again, holding her blade ready.
Hiyori sighed.
The tengu began power walking. "You…"
Reluctantly, Hiyori brought her hands together…
"Don't you mess with me!" Momiji barked, dashing towards the party.
The oni cracked her knuckles.
The tengu quickly closed the distance between herself and the oni. Her focus was not on the other party members in the slightest, at this moment.
Except maybe Osamu, but she didn't prioritize him, at any rate.
Hiyori shielded her face with her arms, uncaring of the rest of her body. Momiji let loose a flurry of slashes upon reaching her.
Swish-swish-swoosh!
Slices were left on Hiyori's arms, but she didn't pay them much mind.
Momiji grinned, and readied for a lunge. "This is the end!"
'...It seems a little early to be saying that, even.' Hikari tilted her head. 'You hardly even hurt her with the first attack.'
Hiyori sidestepped, and moved to grab the blade, but Momiji retracted it too fast.
"Hmph…" The white wolf tengu grimaced. "Again."
Hikari tensed, but promptly relaxed.
'Wait for it…'
Marigold glanced at Hikari. "Should… we do something? This seems pretty personal."
Osamu shrugged. "I dunno."
Swish-swish-swoosh!
Three slashes went for Hiyori's face again, and once more she blocked with both arms, receiving gashes. To an oni, however, gashes were flesh wounds.
Momiji readied to jab again. "Now!"
Hikari tried Shield α!
Hiyori was protected by the shield of light!
Momiji's jab was sidestepped again. This time, however, she was also slowed by the shield's field, allowing for Hiyori to grab the blade, and rip it from the tengu's hands with one swift pull.
"Wh-what…!?" Momiji bared her teeth. "How!?"
...She attempted to grapple it from Hiyori, which was a lost cause. The oni pushed her away, and grabbed both ends of the sword…
Realizing exactly what she was doing, Momiji had an adrenaline rush. "Don't you dare!"
Tossing her shield aside and baring her claws, she threw herself at Hiyori. Hiyori turned around, and let her back take the beastly attack.
Then, she bent the sword in half. It took only a few seconds.
...Hiyori blinked. "...Not made out of adamantite, it seems. Come to think of it, I've never seen it, either. This has to be steel, or something. I thought this would've taken longer."
She tosses the sword aside, and it bounces down the ramp slightly before coming to a stop.
Momiji paused, watching it clatter.
"...Y-you…"
'...You know, I feel like an idiot, now.'
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
Energy rippled around the wolf tengu, but she merely shook it off.
'Oh.'
...Momiji threw herself at Hiyori again, but was quickly dissuaded by a few powerful pushes.
"Tch… I-I can't fight on, like this…" Momiji shook her head. "...This isn't over."
With that, the tengu fled through the hole she made in the ceiling.
…
Hiyori sighed.
"...Well." Marigold began walking forward. "That happened."
"...Is it really so implausible?" Hiyori wondered.
Marigold faced her. "Hmm?"
"That an oni could be peaceful?"
...Marigold shrugged. "Ee~h… It goes against most things I've heard about them, but I don't see why not. I go against a lot of things people've heard about mages."
Osamu points a thumb to his chest, smirking. "And I'm-"
Hikari cuts him off. "I think the same could be said about all of us."
Osamu deflates, giving her a flat stare.
'I think we've had enough moments where we reflected on the fact that we're all weirdoes. It should be kinda obvious by now.'
The party pressed onward to the end of the hall, where a forcefield still stood.
Marigold brought out her Shield Killer, and tried it. The arrows of electricity were merely absorbed by the field.
"Hmph…" Marigold was displeased.
Hikari eyed the bars on the sides of the door. "...Osamu."
His attention was snagged. "You rang?"
"Do you think you can freeze those?" Hikari pointed at the bar, where the energy seemed to emit from.
Osamu shrugged. "Lemme try…"
Osamu tried PK Freeze γ!
KaKaKa~...
The snowflake pattern of ice formed in front of the bar.
Blam!
...Some of the bar was frozen, but it didn't do much. The field was simply interrupted in a few places, creating gaps too small to fit through.
'Hmm…' Hikari walked up to it, and struck the frozen bits.
Once they broke, the bar began sparking, light coursing through it. Hikari backed away…
FwZap!
The bar short circuited, the energy in it destabilized. The other bar stayed on, but the force field itself flickered out.
Marigold grinned. "Science."
'The science of destroying things, to be exact.'
The party continued into the room ahead, and got a good eyeful of it…
Ladders, ledges, and platforms. Everywhere.
Osamu's jaw dropped. "...Du~de."
Hikari shook her head. 'They've discovered our one true weakness. Ladders.'
"How big is this place!?" Marigold was taken aback.
...The party got to work navigating the maze of jagged architecture, machinery, and pristine purple floor tiles.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
It was hours later, that the party escaped that 'room'.
"G-get in, get in!" Hikari held a hefty, yet smoothly hinged steel door open.
"Nope, nope, nope!" Osamu threw himself inside, while Hiyori dragged in a frazzled Marigold, whose legs were limp.
The horde of round robots outside began striking each other with lasers.
Hikari swung the door shut, and began running.
'Go, go go go…!'
…
The resulting roar drowned out the party's hearing.
Osamu looked around the room, an incredulous grin creeping up his face. He spoke, but his words were lost.
'If I could hear him, I'm sure he'd be saying something stupid right now…'
Hiyori laid Marigold down on the floor, who just stared up at the ceiling dryly.
Hiyori tried Lifeup ß!
…
Marigold sat up, and lifted one of her limp legs with her arms, and shook her head.
'Uhm…'
Hikari tried Lifeup γ!
…
Marigold's legs began twitching, and within the minute, she managed to stumble to her feet. She smiled, and made an 'okay' sign with her fingers.
...The roar of noise finally died down.
'I hope we're not deaf after that…'
Hikari's ears were still ringing.
Hiyori spoke, but Hikari didn't hear anything.
'...Am-am I actually deaf?'
Osamu stuck a finger in his ear, and twisted it.
Marigold looked around at the other two, and shrugged.
Hiyori tilted her head, and said more words.
...Hikari sighed. "We're deaf." She tells Hiyori.
...Hiyori says one word, one that was easy enough for Hikari to make out.
"Oh."
Hikari tried Healing ß!
...The ringing lessened.
"Speak again." Hikari requested.
"C- -ar m-?" Hiyori asked.
...Hikari sighed, again. 'Ugh… There's probably a third tier to that ability, but I have a feeling it's going to be costly…'
It was, however, better than being deaf, she felt.
Hikari tried Healing γ!
The ringing stopped, and she blinked.
Hiyori spoke again. "Can you hear me?"
...Hikari gave a half-smile. "Crystal. That healing, though… it really takes a lot out of me."
Hiyori tilted her head. "I could probably do it…"
"Do you have the third tier yet?" Hikari inquired.
...Hiyori looked puzzled. "Tiers? There was a method to this sort of thing?"
'...That's real nice.'
Hikari tried Healing γ!
"Hi." Hikari waves.
Marigold blinked. "...Thank goodness. I was afraid we didn't have anything, for that one…"
'I'm getting tired…'
Hikari tried Healing γ!
"H-hey…" Hikari waved at Osamu.
Osamu blinked, and stared at his hands. "...Knew it. Only took you like, a minute to cure me. Swee~t."
'...Why were you staring at your hands? Your ears were the-... whatever.'
Exhausted, Hikari sighs.
...It was now, that the party got to take a good look around the dark room. As a whole, the room is featureless, but in the middle sits a large protrusion that extends to the back wall. It's a sharp rectangular platform, which rose from the floor. The platform was short enough to be climbed up onto, however.
"...So's this just another one of them empty rooms?" Osamu hazarded. "...I mean, I can dig it."
"There's actually a door, over there." Hiyori points atop the platform which was home to a door which sat upon the back wall.
"Cool, cool…" Osamu begins climbing up the platform…
Two flashes of blue light appear, and Osamu falls from the platform's side in surprise. "Woah!"
Two tall figures stood, one with a bright, golden suit. The other's suit was grey, but had spikes, seemingly without rhyme or reason to their positioning.
'Starmen…' Hikari narrowed her eyes. 'There wasn't much but generic spinny bots and those exploding maniacs on the way here. We did face an occasional Starman, though, but they usually weren't a big problem.'
She examined their suits. '...I don't know if different colored suits means anything, though.'
"Starman_Deluxe_reporting. Hakurei_obtained." The spiky one spoke.
'I don't feel like being obtained today, thank you.'
"...A little early, to be saying things like that." Marigold props her hands on her hips. "It'd do you things good to know the concept of risk versus reward."
The yellow one communicated next. "Oh,_we_do! If_our_calculations_are_correct,_then_our_objectives_have_just_been_complete~d."
'That yellow one seems more life-like.' Hikari noted. '...I feel like the one I saw back then was life-like, too.'
"What would those objectives be?" Hiyori furrowed her brows at the tall, suited Starmen.
"Annihilation_of_the_chosen_one." Starman Deluxe stated. "Parameter_ordered_by_entity_zero-zero-zero-zero-zero:_Master_Giygas."
"...He_means_you." The yellow Starman pointed at Hikari.
"...I figured." Hikari huffed.
...A blue, psychic power shield formed around the two Starmen.
Osamu rolled his eyes. "Well, two can play this whole objective-shmejective game!"
Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!
The party was protected by pale blue psychic shields!
"Uhhh- breaker breaker! Zero one thirteen! Over!" Osamu danced in place.
Marigold snorts. "That's- that's not even how it goes…"
Starman Deluxe raised its spiky arms, and aimed at the party, firing two intense beams. The shields slowed the beams enough to allow for grazes from Marigold and Hikari.
Marigold aimed her Shield Killer at it. "That's not going to work!"
The arrows of electricity stripped it of its power shield.
"Starman_Super_reporting. They're_hostile,_send_backup_immediately!" Starman Super, the one clad in yellow, called for backup.
Another stock-standard Starman appears in the room to assist the two.
"They're callin' for more!" Osamu glares at the yellow one. "Let's fuck 'em up!"
Hiyori moves to engage the Starman Super, but before she even got ready to attack, it evaded.
Starman Super tried Teleport Ω!
It moved across the room.
...Hiyori, then, tries to go for the one that just arrived next to it.
Starman tried Teleport Ω!
"...How irritating." She turned to the regular Starman, which was now also across the room.
Hiyori tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKoo…
A pattern of icicles formed outside its suit, freezing and thawing rapidly.
Kra~ck!
The final blast clears the icicles from the Starman, exposing various deformities that occurred in the suit.
"Temperature_status_critical. Commencing_homeostasis."
The Starman didn't do anything, visibly.
Starman Super turned to it. "Operation_homeostasis_cancel. I've_got_something_better…"
Starman Super tried Healing Ω!
"Temperature_status_normal." It reports.
'It seems like they have some kind of healing ability of their own…'
Marigold turns, and fires arrows of electricity at Starman Super. Quickly, the power shield is destroyed.
"Power_shield_failure_detected." Starman Super acknowledges the absence of defenses.
Starman Super tried PSI Shield ß!
Starman Super was protected by the blue psychic power shield!
While it generated, Hiyori threw herself at the figure, and punched it in the thigh.
"Zzssphh…" Starman Super jitters from the impact, before standing straight again. Energy rippled around it, and Hiyori was slowly pushed away.
"Now_zzzspph_now…" Sparks shoot from the spot Hiyori struck. "We_can't-can't_have_tha-that…"
Marigold focuses fire on the shield again. Promptly, a beam from the Starman Deluxe strikes her from behind. "Huu~aaagh!"
The shield falls, and she drops to her knees.
"Enough with the fuckin' shields!" Osamu threw his arms into the air.
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
The bolt struck the Starman Super, forcing all the reflective materials on its body to shatter.
Thwaa~sh!
Another bolt struck the Starman Deluxe, which seemingly wasn't nearly as affected by the attack.
Bam!
Starman Super exploded, electricity bouncing to the ceiling.
Hikari stared at Marigold tiredly.
'Uu~gh…'
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
...Marigold sat up from her lying position on the floor. "Th-thanks…" She gave her thanks to no one in particular, unsure of who healed her.
Starman tried Teleport Ω!
Despite being unprovoked, it moved across the room.
'I just want to sleep, now…'
Marigold pulled out her NF Burst Gun, and fired at the Starman Deluxe. Unlike her previous attack on the regular Starman, the bullets simply fizzled out on impact.
"Hmph…" Marigold frowned.
"Commencing_attack." Starman Deluxe announced.
Osamu stared at it dryly. "What else could you be doin'? Countin' the floor tiles?"
Starman Deluxe tried PK Starstorm α!
Before the party knew it, the entire room was alight like a danmaku duel.
Vibrant, yellow stars poured in from seemingly nowhere, homing in on the party members. Other, white stars, simply crashed into the ground, and shook the room.
'Wo-wooa~h!'
Hikari brought up her gohei to defend herself, but they passed through it and struck her.
"Aa-aa~gh!"
Osamu attempted running from them, but they struck him in the back.
"Holy shi~t!"
Marigold dropped her gun, but was stricken before she could attempt running.
"Haa~hh!"
Hiyori attempted to punch the incoming stars, which didn't work out very well, either.
"Guh…"
With the series of non-elemental, colorful explosions said and done, the party was in a state of disrepair.
'It hurts, it hurts, it hurts…' Hikari whimpered, lying on the floor, her body jittering and convulsing from the raw mana wracking through it.
Sitting up from the floor, Marigold dusted herself off. "...Th-that was… certainly something."
"Oo~h…" Osamu began to stand again, wobbling. "We-we're supposed to fight that…?"
Hikari and Hiyori both lethargically clambered to their own feet, bodies still shaking from the force of the magical energy.
'I-I just want to go home…' Hikari was mentally drained from the day's events.
...Hiyori sloppily ran at the Starman Deluxe.
Starman Deluxe tried Teleport Ω!
It appeared on the other side of the room. Marigold slid off her backpack…
"This sh-should do it..." From the backpack, she drew a Big Bottle Rocket. Kneeling, she began twisting the cap on the bottom…
Hiyori turned, and began running at the Starman Deluxe again. She stumbled and tripped, but got back up just as quickly.
The bottle rocket flies from Marigold's arms, spiralling towards the Starman Deluxe.
Fwwssshh- Boom!
The blast of danmaku forces the party to shield themselves. Hiyori, however, runs through it, closing in on the Starman Deluxe.
Osamu cheered. "Yeah! Fuck 'em- oof!" A danmaku bullet beaned him in the head.
Osamu tried Defense Down α!
The expanding burst of star-shaped danmaku spread to reveal the Starman Deluxe, cackling with magical energy coursing across its suit.
Hiyori leapt through the remaining danmaku, and punched it in the face.
"Zzsspphshhpshhh-"
Boom!
Hiyori was thrown back by the blast, rolling across the floor back towards the party.
Osamu clapped. "Yea~h! Screw those star people!"
...His clapping slowed as he turned to face the remaining, regular Starman.
The party stared at it, as well.
…
Starman tried Teleport Ω!
With a flash of blue light, the Starman teleported out of the room.
...Hikari let out a sigh of relief.
'Thank goodness that's over… I think. If that wasn't the leader, I'll eat my ribbon.'
"S'what I thought." Osamu nodded, grinning.
Marigold stretched her neck, cracking it slightly. "...I think that was it. We still need to shut this place down, though."
'Come to think of it, we didn't see any assembly lines, or anything. We certainly heard them, though…'
...The party moved to the room's door. Hikari attempted to swing it open again, but it was stuck.
"Welded." Marigold observed, grinning ironically. "...That blast probably did it."
"We could always teleport." Hiyori suggested.
'Oh, yeah. I can't believe I almost forgot that.'
Banging was heard at the door.
"...I heard talking in there! Open up!"
It was the voice of that tengu captain from before. "By the orders of Lord Tenma, this facility is being shut down! Hey, get out here!"
Bang, bang, bang.
"...Let's just teleport." Hiyori decided.
"Ye-yeah…" Hikari managed.
Everyone forms a conga-line behind Hiyori.
Hiyori tried Teleport ß!
The group begins to slide along the floor in a circle, Hiyori's mana dragging herself around the room, with the party in tow. They very quickly sped up to blinding speed.
KraKoo~m!
...Bang, bang, bang!
"We're busting in, then! In three, two…!"
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
KraKoo~m!
Touching down in the kappa village, the party skidded to a hall. Hiyori once again stomped into the floor, and the others just squished into her.
'Oof…'
...They all peeled themselves from each other's backs.
Marigold stretched. "Aa~h… Th-that magic left me so stiff…"
"I know, right?" Osamu articulated his limbs, frowning. "Stuff's annoying. What even was that…?"
'I'm tired, and sad.' Hikari sighed, her worn expression scanning the party.
Hiyori panned her head around, observing the party. With a solemn expression, she folded her arms.
…
'Hngh…'
"That was my fault."
The three turned to Hiyori.
"It was my fault that we had such difficulty with the enemy facility." Hiyori declared. "...If I am to serve by your side against an unknown threat, I am going to need to prepare."
'Wh-what…?'
Osamu tilted his head. "...What's that mean?"
"I have to go. I need to train." She explains. "If I'm not my sharpest in the coming weeks, I feel, then more might be in peril than just myself. I cannot allow that to happen."
Marigold immediately got defensive. "What? But- you're so powerful as it is! And what if- what if another factory pops up, or something?"
Hiyori shook her head. "If I was powerful enough, the three of you wouldn't have gotten bombarded nearly the entire time. I also doubt anything major could crop up in the short time period I will be away. It will only be days to a week at the most, I feel."
'...What kind of training only takes a week?'
With that, Hiyori began walking off. "I'm going underground. Don't worry- I'll find you three. I swear on it."
Hiyori tried Teleport ß!
She began spinning around, and as the diameter of her circle widened-
KraKoo~m!
She was gone.
…
"...We~ll, that's just great." Osamu folds his arms. "Hottest girl- oni person, ever, and she jets! What a bummer…"
Marigold shrugs. "Mmm. She's coming back, though."
He rolls his eyes. "Please. That's what they all say."
'...About who, oni? Wait… yeah, she's an oni. Osamu's just being stupid, again, then.'
Marigold picked up on that, too. "...She's an oni. Oni live up to their promises."
"Says who?" Osamu turns to her.
"...Says the oni." Marigold shrugs. "...And, by extension, my mother, who taught me about oni."
He relented. "Oh. Well. Okay."
'Good job.'
…
"What do you guys say we find a nice bench to sleep on tonight?" Osamu grinned, rubbing his hands together.
He turned to Hikari, who looked very drained.
"...Geesh. Whose funeral is it?" He rose an eyebrow. "Yer not lookin' so hot, Hikari."
'Ah…'
"I-I suppose I wouldn't be…" She admitted, giving a half-smile.
Marigold was puzzled. "...Over what, exactly? Is it about Hiyori?"
Osamu nodded. "Oh, you bet it's about Hiyori. Why wouldn't-"
"I just… really want to go home." Hikari stared at the floor.
'Did I really say that out loud…?' She blushed, as well. 'Oh, no…'
…
Marigold kicks Osamu in the shin.
He clutches it. "Yeeooo~wch! What the hell's that for!?"
Marigold sighs. "I need to have a word with you. Alone."
She brings her arm around Osamu's neck, and pulls him away from Hikari, a few feet away.
"What's the big deal!?" Osamu speaks in a hushed tone.
"Quiet." Marigold brings a finger to her lip. "Look- I think I know what's wrong with Hikari…"
Osamu pauses at the latter information.
"...I think she's homesick." Marigold diagnoses.
Osamu jerks his head back. "Homesick? That's a thing?"
Marigold stares at him dryly. "I've had it, before. It's hard to explain. I mean, I don't get it so much, now, bu~t…" She glances back at Hikari, who had decided the clouds were very interesting today.
"...She's been on this adventure longer than the both of us have." Marigold stated.
Osamu paused. "...But we've been there before?"
"We didn't stay there awhile." Marigold countered. "Hardly a day, in full. What she probably needs is just a day to unwind."
...He nods. "I guess so. That'd be sweet."
The two broke, and approached Hikari again.
"...Hey." Hikari glances at them.
'What were they talking about…?'
"He~y!" Osamu smiles widely. "Boy, I sure wish I could see the Hakurei Shrine again! I would love to go there and spend my time- uh, drinking- the soda! Yeah!"
…
Marigold elbowed him.
"Would you knock that off!?" He snapped, recoiling from the jab.
Ignoring him, Marigold continued. "We think you need to take a day, Hikari." She decided. "While Hiyori uses this time to train, we should use this time to get ready, too."
'...That's not a bad idea, I guess.' Hikari nods in agreeance.
…
"We goin' now?" Osamu looks between the two girls.
"Yes." Hikari eagerly steps to the middle of the path. "...Everyone, hang onto me. We're doing this the old fashioned way."
Marigold grins. "Oh, boy. Knee splints, here we come."
The two teenagers move up next to her, and she positions her arms around their shoulders. Eying the path ahead, she decides it's clear enough.
'I'm sure the kappa will steer clear.'
...She hopes, at least.
"...Three." Hikari began.
The others readied, tensing themselves up.
"Two."
Wind whirled around the party.
"...Go!"
The party broke into a sprint. A very lopsided, awkward sprint, but still a sprint.
'Hey hey hey…' Hikari had to apply force to her left arm, to keep Osamu from falling behind.
"Bridge!" Marigold cautioned with a shout.
The party swerved slightly to meet the uneven bridge. Eventually, they came to a downhill…
'Here we go…'
The party quickly accelerated, their sprint quickly turning into unfortunate sliding.
'A-aah!'
Hikari tried Teleport α!
KraKoo~m!
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
END OF CHAPTER 17
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: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess. Now with less sideboob!
Misc: Royal Red Ribbon - A ribbon made with rich materials, with a floral pattern.
-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, ß - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry. Higher tiers increase chances, and introduce possibilities of fainting or dispel.
Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.
Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.
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.
Teleport α - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however.
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: Dated Village Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Now actually looks navy blue, instead of black!
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, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.
PK Hydro α, β, γ - 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, γ - 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, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.
PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.
Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.
Defense Down α - Throw the enemy off their game. Makes them slightly more vulnerable to physical attacks.
β-β-β-β
Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child
-Inventory-
Weapon: Microwave Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Constructed with a controlled flame crystal and metal parts, it fires a beam of sustained microwave energy that cooks biological foes alive. Fire-elemental at its core, it's also very inefficient against machines.
Arms: Nothing
Body: Custom Adventure Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provides slight defense against magical and psychic attacks. Now allows freer movement with a shorter skirt, and a more flexible material.
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?
Electric Projector - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Fires electrical projectiles, of unknown power.
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. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.
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.
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.
Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.
Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.
Charm of Sleep - Grants immunity to sleep while equipped. Can be equipped to Arms or Misc.
-Skills-
Teleprompter - Except with chalk boards.
Pinches the Cheeks of Fluffles - I can't blame her, dude. They're sniffable.
Is Surrounded by Idiots - Maybe… maybe…
Super Smart Genius Person Science Girl - Not a Cirno!
Bumpable - Like, right?
Is A 3D Printer - Actually, are magicians technically 3D printers? It'd make sense...
β-β-β-β
Fighter: Hiyori Hashimoto, the Buddhist Oni
-Inventory-
Weapon: Fisticuffs!
Arms: Shackle of Devas - The first of the four treasures held by the Devas of the Mountain. Grants immunity to sleep-inducing magic. Grants fifty percent resistance to wind and thunder magic.
Body: Runed Gi - Enchanted to not get blown away by battle damage.
Misc: Nothing
-Skills-
PK Fire α, ß - Creates an igniting blast of flames at the target's location. Most impact comes with 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.
Shield α, ß, Σ - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage. Highest tier applies a basic shield to the entire party.
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.
Teleport α, ß - Allows instant transport to the general location of an area remembered by oneself or one's party members. Requires a long, fast run-up to execute, however. Higher tier is largely automatic and requires little room to execute.
Martial Arts - Skilled in hand-to-hand combat.
β-β-β-β
Author's Note:
well this was one of those trudgeon-along kinda chapters; mostly 'cause i didn't feel particularly inspired at all for most of it and was somewhat disinterested by the general setting this area offered, but i felt it fitting regardless
definitely something that'd be better to watch or play than read (or at least write) in my opinion
i suppose my main gripe for this chapter is that a majority of the combat doesn't come off quite so novel or interesting; just kinda generic-ish, this being a random enemy base and all and not a particularly grueling one or anything; the bit with momiji was a breath of fresh air though
it might be because there's no fresh characters thrown into anything for awhile, and the combat isn't so meaningful to the party as a whole
i dunno
part of me going slow is also SUMMER. it MAKES A MAN LAZY. i've got NO EXCUSES THERE.
fee~d me…
…feedback, that is!
as always, see you all next time!