Chapter 12
The Fury of the Future
SMASH! Alexis's fist collides with Yukari's chest, sending her flying. Rumia cowers in fear, almost saving her from a vicious kick by Alexis. Alexis's foot nicks the top of her head, knocking her down. Alexis proceeds to stomp on her stomach, knocking her out. It is at this point that everyone else starts reacting: The UNSRFGOU soldiers start shooting at the remaining five Gensokyoans; Reimu creates a barrier between the two sides; Ran, Chen, and Keine start shooting Danmaku at Alexis; Alex summons a pistol out of the air and shoots at Alexis. Alexis darts forward, ducking under all this, and shoulder-charges Reimu. However, she passes right through the shrine maiden who has floated away from reality.
Alex brings his bokkun down on the off-balance woman's head, sprawling her on the ground. The pistol in his hand transforms into a knife, which he stabs into Alexis's neck. The time-traveler's steel skin shatters said knife, and she grabs the man. She spins them both around so that he is the one on the ground, and is about to punch him when Keine hits her with a laser, disrupting her enough for Alex to push Alexis off of him with his feet. She jumps back after landing, and, spinning in the air, smashes her heel into the Keine's temple, knocking her far away. Alexis leaps to the side, narrowly avoiding Danmaku crossfire from Ran and Chen.
Alexis pulls out her pistol and shoots at Ran, who barely drops to the ground in time to avoid it. The shot, when it hits a tree far behind Ran, vaporizes several trees and leaves both a crater and mushroom cloud in its wake. The other outsider soldiers, who have busied themselves trying to find a way past Reimu's barrier, stop and stare. "Holy shit… was that a mini-nuke?" Battery says, his eyes wide. Alex, having changed the broken knife into a sniper rifle, shoots the gun out of Alexis's hand.
"I'm not going to be able to keep this up for much longer, guys!" Reimu says, exhausted from using Fantasy Heaven and keeping a barrier in place for so long. Alex shoots at Alexis again, this time aiming for her head. She drops, and then disappears, accompanied by a sonic boom. Chen screams, and then Alexis removes her hand from the shikigami's stomach. Chen falls to the ground, unconscious.
"NO!" Ran charges at Alexis, and there is a sickening crack as Ran's ribcage is shattered by Alexis's foot. Ran is knocked into Reimu's barrier, and collapses to the ground, bleeding.
"Dammit! Alex, you're going to have to protect me. I can't keep up this barrier and Fantasy Heaven, and I wouldn't be able to beat them all before Fantasy Heaven runs out!" Reimu says, become real again. Alex rushes over to her. Hearing the word protect gives him an idea, and instead of trying to create a real-world weapon, he changes his rifle into an invincible shield from a game he had played. Alexis lunges at Alex, trying to punch through the shield. Two screams resound as Alex's shoulder dislocates and Alexis's arm breaks. The whirring of machinery is heard as Alexis's arm rearranges itself into what can only be described as a chainsaw sword.
"What the hell happened to her arm?" Chaz says, not even bothering to look for a way past the supernatural wall Reimu has placed between the soldiers and their targets anymore.
"It makes sense. I imagine any soldier from so far in the future would be a cyborg. This likely also explains how she was able to hurt them by herself, despite telling us that we should not engage them in melee combat." Touko says, as Alex deflects a stab from the time-traveler. Touko has been fiddling with her gun ever since the barrier appeared.
"What exactly are you doing with that, anyway?" Gilgamesh asks her, as Alexis shatters Alex's kneecap, dropping him to the ground.
"Trying to find a way to increase the power, I imagine. Try to smash through that thing with one blast, no?" Mirielle says. Alex sweeps his shield sideways, knocking Alexis to the ground.
"Well? Any luck?" Battery says. From the ground, Alexis plants her foot on Alex's shield, and uses her leg to throw him into the air.
"Got it." Touko says, placing a panel she had earlier removed back on the rifle.
"Stand back, this may be dangerous." Touko says. Alex crashes into the barrier, but pushes off with his good leg and smashes his bokkun into the side of Alexis's head, knocking her back onto the ground. Touko shoots the boosted rifle. A massive laser impacts the barrier, shattering it. The gun, however, overloads, exploding and taking Touko's life with it.