~Beyond the Border~ > Rumia's Party Games

RPG - Waking Up From the Dream (Story Archive - Day 1 and Morning of Day 2)

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Gappy:
Hakurei Shrine, Day 1, 2.23 PM, 3 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"Uwaaaah!" A large pile of china flew and crashed into the tatami, followed by the young miko carrying said pile as yet another tremor shook the hill and the shrine. Thankfully, the miko didn't join the ceramic shards on the floor as she was caught by the waist from behind just in time. "...m-my favourite cup....my rice bowl..." She murmured sadly as she hung limply over the remains of her cup and bowl.

"You can't seriously be thinking of bringing those with you, right?" Mitaka sighed, still holding the miko by her waist. He couldn't help but feel a pang of sympathy for the poor miko, previously his saviour, currently benefactor and friend.

"But...but..." Hakurei Reimu, the miko in question, faltered. But it didn't have to be said. Mitaka understood. Reimu is a shrine maiden of a shrine that could hardly qualify as one, lacking the worshipers necessary for a shrine's continued existence. As a result, the donation box was always as empty as Yuyuko's stomach. Poverty had, for a long while, been her only companion. Thus why every little possession she had, no matter how trivial, meant the world to her. Mitaka knew for a fact that the cup that now lay in pieces on the floor was a gift she got from the Chuu road.

"It's all right..." Mitaka said, soothingly, as he raised the trembling miko to her feet. This shrine maiden, who had always so defiantly stood up to any challenge, no matter how great, how ridiculously impossible, how terrifyingly daunting, for the sake of complete strangers, was now shaking like a leaf in grief and despair in his arms. "It's all right..."

"It's not all right!" Reimu snapped in a sudden burst of anger, pushing Mitaka's arm away and walking away into a corner. "It's not all right..." she repeated, a little more quietly.

Mitaka remained silent. There wasn't much time left, but if he tried to argue now, there'd be no end to it. Listening to her worries may be a better choice for now.

"...this is my home...." She began. "...I was born here....brought up here....I'm a Shrine Maiden of the Hakurei Shrine...." She said, as if trying to hold onto something that was rapidly slipping away. It was, in fact, slipping away. Being the miko of this shrine is her identity, who she is...without it she'd be lost, stripped of her identity. "...It's the duty of the Hakurei shrine maiden to resolve disasters....to protect Gensokyo and everyone in it....but this...this..." She fell to her knees, shuddering violently.

"...." Mitaka sat down behind her, held her close, and whispered in her ear "You can let it out. You can cry. It's all right."

As if an invincible, insurmountable dam broke asunder, tears burst out of the miko's eyes, exploding into sobs as she buried her face in his shoulder. Mitaka held her tight, as if she was a fragile piece of china that would break if he ever let go.

"You are protecting Gensokyo." Mitaka finally said as firmly as he can. "Gensokyo has hope for restoration as long as you and the others escape. But if you stay here, all hope will be lost."

"So be strong and hold your head high. You're doing your duty. And you're doing great. It takes courage to go through with this, and you've already gone beyond what any Hakurei shrine maiden has ever done." Mitaka said, encouragingly, as he gazed into the teary chestnut brown eyes of the miko in his arms. "Now, put on your usual determined look. The others will be here soon and you have to inspire confidence! If you don't, who will? You're not expecting Suika or Ruukoto to look courageous and defiant, are you?"

Reimu suddenly chuckled. "I can count on Suika to look drunk." She blurted, choking back tears. "Yes, you're right, I have to get my act together."

"Good girl." Mitaka nodded approvingly, ruffling the miko's hair, earning him a look of mock-disapproval.

"Ruukoto! Prepare to pack up the donation box!" Reimu called out as she got up.

".....you're not serious, are you...?" Mitaka facepalmed. "Now..." He sighed, looking out at the stormy sky outside. "I hope the others are doing better..."


Hakugyokorou, Day 1, ???? PM, 3 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier[/b]

"Yuyuko, I know you're used to having Youmu around, but frankly, we don't have time to wait for her." Sho shouted exasperatedly at his wife.

"But I'm hungryyyyy. And she has all the food packed." Yuyuko whined.

Sho rolled his eyes in irritation. "Look, I have some stuff stashed away, IF we really need it. But you aren't getting ANY right now. I know perfectly well that you don't actually need it. I can deal with your appetite under normal circumstances. In fact, I even find it amusing. But right now, our first concern is getting out of here as quickly as possible. There's no time for games. I want you to take this seriously. Please. For both our sakes."

The whine dropped from Yuyuko's voice "Alright, I realize that was foolish. But I haven't had to take anything seriously in a long time. It's almost like a completely new experience..."

Sho smiled. "If you need encouragement, just remember, it's probably easier for you than it is for Yukari. And don't worry. That statement tells me you're already doing fine. Now lets get out of here before things get any worse."


SDM, Day 1, ???? PM, 3 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier


Zei stared out of the window out of boredom, seeing if there was anything interesting going to happen. "..this day sucks.", he said to himself.

Flandre didn't seem to care, but noticed part of the Hakurei Border falling apart, and saw a crying Miko from a nearby shrine.

She then instantly ran out of the basement and walked up to me. Zei noticed her and asked, "..something wrong? Hungry again?", he jokingly asked.

"No, it's not that.", she said and pointed towards the window.

Zei took a look at the window, "..there's nothing to worry ab-- HOLY SHIT. The border's falling apart?!", he asked. "Damnit, we need to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible.", he said.

Flandre agreed with him and went down towards the basement to gather her stuff. "BY THE WAY, don't take all of your "toys(somehow, Flan destroys stuff A LOT.)" with you. They're gonna be burnt TWICE MORE than going to Former Hell.", Zei warned her.

She sighed and only took her lavatein with her. She asked him, "..that's good enough right? What about the memories?"

Zei reassured her while petting her head, "..Memories? Eh...just take the memories you make in the past and present. Those memories are as much of importance than what will happen in the future."

Flandre didn't say anything and went to check on everyone else. Zei walked away and stood by the front door, leading towards outside of SDM. "..if you're ready to go to the Hakurei Border, talk to me. I'll be waiting.", he said.



Hakurei Shrine, Day 1, 3.01 PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"No, no, we can't bring that with us!" Mitaka flailed his arms wildly at Suika who was trying to uproot the Shrine's gateway.

"It won't budges anyways." Suika sighed. "I'm out of shape."

"Ruukoto! I already said this before, we're not bringing the....." Mikata suddenly faltered. "Ok, ok, we can bring that donation box....just help me pry Reimu off the box and we can try and put it on a wagon."

"How does it look, Mima-san? Yukari sent out the message hours ago. Where is everyone?" Mitaka walked over to the top of the shrine steps. The lack of any incoming flying silhouettes was worrying him. Then again, the sky was too overcast to see anything.

"We'll leave, with or without them." Mima said, rather coldly, without taking her gaze off the cold skies. "It doesn't matter...as long as even one of us survives, we can still restore Gensokyo with those memories."

"We still dont' know the cause of the disaster." Mitaka said. "There's no guarantee we'll be able to do much once we reach the outside world. The more people we get out there, the better our chances."

"Still, there's a limited number of you outsiders to support us who venture out there." Mima said.

"Yeah, we can't save everyone." Mitaka gritted his teeth. "....if only we were stronger, we'd be able to support more of you..."

"That's ok." Mima said. "For now, just take care of her." She nodded over at Reimu, who was holding onto the donation box as if it were her life, despite Ruukoto's earnest protests. "If you can do that, it's more than enough. She will have a lot to learn about the outside world...but we can depend on her....I surely hope we can depend on you."

"...that's almost angelic, coming from you." Mitaka said with a look of mock surprise.

"It's all about survival, after all." Mima shrugged. "Now, hurry up and get all that junk and that sad miko to the border."


SDM, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Taihou was cleaning up at the front balcony facing towards the garden. He saw Flandre and Zei holding hands and rushing towards the front gates of the mansion yard.

"Where are they going in such a hurry" he said to himself.

Before he could shout and ask where they were going, they already dissapeared trough the gates. Taihou kept staring at the horizon in front of him noticing a strange distortion in the sky. The air looked like it was twisting, bending the trees beyond it and aswell as the clouds and the sky.

Sakuya entered the balcony, dressed in her usual maid outfit but with extra ribbons around the skirt.

"Where is lady Flandre and Zei-san?" she asked.

Taihou didn't reply. Sakuya folded her arms putting up an annoyed face.

"Hey Taihou, I asked you something. Are you.."

Taihou interrupted her: "Sakuya, what is that strange distortion in the sky?"

"What distortion?"

He pointed towards the weird bending sky. Sakuya stepped a bit closer.

"I have no idea. What is it?" she said: "Maybe the Mistress knows more. Lets ask her."

They both left the front balcony walking quickly towards the mainhall where Mistress Remilia Scarlet is located. She is the Queen of the Night and head of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

. . . .

SDM, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Zei noticed Sakuya calling out after both him and Flandre.

"..shouldn't we stop and head  back towards SDM?", he asked.

Flandre didn't notice and kept on running. "...I said, shouldn't we HEAD BACK?", he forced Flandre to stop and started to run back towards the Mansion.

Flandre whined and said, "..but something bad will happen!". Zei didn't notice and walked back into the mainhall.

"Sorry guys, didn't hear you. What do you need?", he asked.

Scarlet Devil Mansion, Day 1, 3.10 PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Just as Taihou and Sakuya reached the mainhall, a tremor ran through the entire mansion, shaking everything from the foundation up. The stained-glass windows cracked under the strain, before giving in and exploding inwards, showering the mansion's head maid and butler with glass.

"...another invasion?" Sakuya murmured.

As if in answer, the stone floor cracked before the two before giving away into a gaping chasm. The two fought hard to stay upright as the mansion shuddered violently. A chandelier above swung like a deadly pendulum before crashing into the ground and disappearing into the chasm, clattering noisily in its descent before disappearing into the abyss.

Meanwhile, just a short distance away, Zei and Flandre had just cleared the mainhall's doors before the east wing of the mansion crumbled and imploded just ahead of them, as if sucked into the ground. The rest of the mansion still stood in courageous defiance of the earthquake, but it didn't seem as if they would for long.

"....it wasn't me..." Flandre said. "...you saw me, Zei-niisan, it wasn't me, right?"
SDM, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"Of course it wasn't you. That could be Aya's fault but she's not here yet.", Zei said.

He noticed the tremor and casted a spellcard that returned it towards the orignal point.

"..yeah, another invasion.", he said to Sakuya. "We need to get everything we need and meet at the Hakurei Border.", he told everyone that he saw in the mainhall.

Flandre agreed and said, "..Zei-niisan is right. We need to get out of here before..", she sniffled, "...before we all die."

"DON'T THINK LIKE THAT.", Zei said to her and held her close to him, "..it's going to be ok. No one will be hurt.", he reassured her.

Gappy:
Scarlet Devil Mansion, Day 1, 3.10 PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier


Due to the sudden event we quickly stepped back. Half of the mansion was gone while only few thin walls were standing.

Sakuyas eyes turned small as she started shouting: "The mistress! Where is the Mistress!? She was still inside!"

She tried to dash towards the rubble and derbri when Taihou quickly helt her arm.

"Let go of me Taihou!" violently she tried to break lose.

"Sakuya! Get a grip of yourself! You can't just go near the imploded Mansion."

Tears filled her eyes when she realised nothing can be done. She dropped her self on her knees punching the ground and screaming. Her hands started bleeding. Taihou held both her hands and pressed her against him.

"We can't stay here Sakuya. It seems the Border is in danger. We have to get out of here!"

"Not without the Mistress. We can't just leave her here!" Tears just flow from her eyes.

Taihou carefully looked at Zei-san: "Zei-san, what do we do?"


Scarlet Devil Mansion, Day 1, 3.10 PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Zei walked ahead of Taihou and Sakuya and look at the imploded mansion, Clear Sign "Return of Past Time"

All parts of debris disappeared into thin air, leaving only a small part of the imploded Mansion and the Mistress herself.

"...get her and leave. And by the way..", Zei coughed up a bit of blood, "...your welcome.", he fell down onto the ground.

Flandre caught him at the last second. She looked at the passed-out Zei then looked back at both Taihou and Sakuya.

Tears filled her eyes, she couldn't ask any questions at all.

Hakurei Shrine, Day 1, 3.17 PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"Good, one rucksack a person, that's the way." Mitaka nodded with approval at Suika and Ruukoto's preparations for their departure.

"Reimu?" Mitaka looked around....and couldn't help but sigh in despair at the sight of the poor miko attempting to uproot the donation box once more. Their attempts at attaching wheels to it had ended in utter failure, mostly due to one simple fact that everyone overlooked....it was part of the shrine and was permanently fixed to the floor. "Look, there are plenty of donation boxes in the outside world. You hardly have to aim. And they're all emptier than yours, if that's even possible. Yes, the outside world is THAT good with donation boxes."

"But this is MY donation box! HNNNNGH!!!" Reimu heaved, before falling backwards in exhaustion. "....I'm not leaving..." She suddenly said.

"....Reimu...." Mitaka began. "Move!"

"No, I said, I'm not leaving!" Reimu said stubbornly.

"No, I mean, MOVE!" Mitaka began running forwards.

"NO! NEVER!" Reimu anchored herself onto the donation box once more for dear life.

"REIMU!" Mitaka leapt forwards and tackled the stubborn miko around the waist. They rolled across the porch and into the courtyard. Just then, the shrine exploded outwards as a tornado funnel descended right on top of it, dropping the air pressure around it to near zero. Mitaka gasped for air as debris rained around them before grabbing Reimu bodily and leaping into a convenient water well for cover.

The roar was deafening, even more so in the well thanks to its accoustics. But as soon as they landed in the water, all sound was dampened to a dull roar.

After what felt like an eternity, the two broke the surface of the water. The roar sounded comfortingly distant now. It seemed like the tornado had passed. "RUUKOTO!" Mitaka shouted.

"Umm...yes...?" Ruukoto hesitantly popped her head over the rim of the well. "Are you both ok, Mitaka-san? Lady Reimu?"

"Yeah, but we'll be even better once you help us out."

Before long the group was standing together in the courtyard, facing the remains of what was once the great Hakurei Shrine. It was just a pile of debris now...at least a pile of whatever the freak tornado had left behind.

Reimu was shellshocked. She had witnessed her shrine destroyed 4 times before, at the very least, but never to this extent. Mitaka could only hold her steady in silence, not sure that anything he can say could bring the trembling miko any degree of comfort. All he could do was be there for her to lean on.

He looked around behind him. The rest of Gensokyo wasn't fairing any better. The Misty Lake was bubbling violently, letting off velvet-thick steam. The Youkai Mountain was spewing out a thick column of smoke, threatening an imminent explosion of Biblical proportions. The tornado that had descended on their hill was now ripping through the Forest of Magic....or whatever was left of it in the wake of that earthquake. And the Bamboo forest was....on fire? The thick wall of smoke rising from it was a good clue. It won't be long before it spreads to the Forest of Magic.

"....let's hope the others will get out safely..." Mitaka said. The others nodded silently in agreement, speechless at the scene of utter chaos before them. There was nothing they could do but pray and wait for the others...

Somewhere in Gensokyo, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Sumire strained her eyes at the horizon. Even from this far up Youkai Mountain, it was impossible to see what Aya saw. Biting her lip, she turned back to her.

"Sorry," Sumire mumbled sheepishly. "I don't see anything."

Aya sighed impatiently, and jumped down from her tree branch to where Sumire stood. "Humans. I keep forgetting you can only see so far. Well, Scarlet Devil Mansion has collapsed, it seems. Not surprising, really. It was pretty old."

Sumire looked at Aya in disbelief. "How can you be so nonchalant about it? Someone down there could be hurt!"

Aya chuckled. "You're new around here alright. Trust me, the residents of Scarlet Devil Mansion have been through worse than this. They're fine, I'm sure." Aya paused, gazing out towards the horizon. Sumire recognized that expression on her face at once - that look of a story brewing. "Still ... it might be a good idea to go and check. There's no telling what-"

Her words were cut off by a sudden violent rumbling beneath them. Sumire was caught off balance, and fell. Trees began to tilt in their soil, rocks tumbling down the hill. Aya quickly took Sumire up in her arms, and flew over the tree tops.

"Must be an earthquake," yelled Aya over the din, and then smiled "This is shaping up to be an eventful day! The next issue's going to be one exciting read, that's for sure."

Sumire couldn't help but smile herself. Typical Aya, even in a dangerous earthquake, she thinks of what's best for her paper. Yet what bothered Sumire was that this earthquake didn't seem to be subsiding - the rumbling continued as trees fell over, large swaths of earthen debris slid down the side of the mountain like water. If anything, the quake was getting louder. Sumire looked up at Aya, her dark red eyes flashing, taking in the scene. Her hands full of Sumire, she couldn't take pictures or notes, and Sumire realized that must be frustrating for a journalist.

"Say, Aya. Why don't we head to the bottom of the mountain so you can take some photos, eh?"

But it was then that a deafening boom threw them both through the air. Tumbling end over end, Sumire could no longer feel hands on her. Sky and earth spun around her in an incoherent blur, and she felt herself beginning to fall. It was as if time had slowed down. So this is what it's like to die, thought Sumire. These will be my last moments. Not panic, but utter calm filled her as the realization of her fate appeared before her in the form of the valley floor, rushing up to meet her with great speed. Sumire closed her eyes.

She felt something strike her from the side with great force, knocking the wind out of her, as she slowly began to rise. Sumire opened her eyes and saw the back of Aya's legs as they flew up quickly. It took her a second or two to realize she was slung over Aya's shoulder like a sack of flour. She almost wanted to weep with relief.

Aya took a slow, spiral descent to the valley floor, setting Sumire down on her back. Sumire looked up at Aya, the shock of what had almost happened only now dawning on her. She looked up at Aya's face smiling down at her, those large red eyes, vibrant, full of life and humor. Right now it was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen.

"I'm alright," Sumire managed. "Thank you for-"

Aya looked up and gasped audibly. Her face paled for an instant. Shaking hands fumbled for her camera, as she zipped up in the air. Sumire rolled over slowly, her ribs aching from Aya's impact, and saw it: an enormous plume of black smoke rose from the top of Youkai Mountain, blotting out a swath of the sky. Turning her head, she saw the distant figure of Aya, zipping from one angle to the next, snapping photos. Sumire wished she had that kind of resolve, because the only thing she was feeling now was a deep, instinctual fear. One she could not attribute solely to the discovery that Youkai Mountain was actually a volcano, nor to the dread she felt when she wondered what had become of the goddess who called the mountain top her home.

Something else was at work here. Every instinct screamed it.

Aya dropped back down to Sumire, as she unsteadily got herself onto her feet. They looked at each other for a moment, then back up at the smokey plume.

"What do you think?" asked Sumire.

"I think we'd better get to Scarlet Devil Mansion," said Aya with uncharacteristic seriousness. "And fast."

SDM, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Zei woke up with a confused look, seeing part of the SDM destroyed.

He got up and looked towards the front gate, "...goddammit. If we don't get out of here, we're all gonna fall into a never ending abyss. Taihou, make sure the Mistress is safe and get her to a safe area, but not near the Hakurei Border. Anywhere is fine, as long as its near the Hakurei Shrine."

He then look at Flandre with a questioned look, "Flan-chan, if you said it wasn't you, then do you know who causing this disaster?", he asked.

Flandre looked as if she had a hard time comprehending one of Cirno's questions, "...I don't know. We just found out today.", she sadly said, lowering her head.

"..aw come on, Flan. Don't be like that.", Zei lifted her head up and reassured her, "Every thing's going to be ok as long as we get everything and everyone that we know across the  border before the barrier falls apart."

Karuisuwa, Outside World, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Renko stopped on the sidewalk, with a serious look on her face. It was a normal, albeit busy, day in town, and people were rushing to get home and relax for the weekend.

"What's wrong?" Sanasan asked.

Renko looked at him. "...Do you ever have that feeling?" She asked. "You know, that feeling that today just isn't going to be a good day?"

"You mean like when you wake up from the best nap you've ever had and you realize you have an exam you haven't studied for in an hour?" Sanasan smirked.

Renko smiled. "Sort of. The feeling I'm talking about is a bit more serious than worrying about a test though. I mean the feeling like....something's going to go wrong with the subway train, or a plane you're about to board is going to crash."

Sanasan pondered for a moment. "Well....I understand what you mean, but that seems a little paranoid, doesn't it? I mean, stuff like that almost never happens to most people."

"....You know, you're right. I'm probably just worrying too much."

"Don't worry about it," Sanasan reassured her. "I'm sure today is going to be an ordinary day, just like every other day."

SDM, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Kojiro was running towards the SDM master room to fetch his friend Remilia, passing many of his friends from before and telling them where to go to meet up once they are ready to depart from this world he reaches her room to see that she is peeking out of the window.


Remi: *turns to him* ah your here finally....The Border is failing miserably. It will soon collapse and all of us inhabitants will perish with it.
Koji: Yeah i know but that's if we stay here. We better get goin Remi come on *calm*. It may be hard but I'd like to share a link with you.
Remi: !! what?! do you realize the strain it'll be on you if we share a link? I'll be like a parasite on your soul! I don't want to be dependant on a human!
Koji: yeah i know Remilia however if you stay here you WILL die along with the border and this world. I'll take the risk of the strain if it helps keep you alive. Even Flandre is going with my buddy Zei, Flandre may take a lot mroe energy but she's at least willin to give it a try.
Remi:.........
Koji: Even if it breaks me-well i won't know until i try it but i won't fail you, there are many outsiders that came in to help take as many residents with them to the outside world, some will have to be sacrificed....for now, until we get all the collective memories back together and restore Gensokyo.

*giant tremor*

Both: gahh!! *falls to floor*
Koji: This is bad we have to escape now! *scoops up Remilia in his arms*
Remi: no! let me go-
Koji: we're going to live through this dammit! I never thought the Scarlet Devil was such a cowardly child!
Remi:....ugh....*stops resisting*
*using some psychic abilities to carry her clothes above and behind him*
Koji:..............*runs back out to meet everyone else*....I won't let it end for you Remi. i want you to live too even if your the Queen of the Night. You too deserve a good life like everyone else.

Gappy:
SDM, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier


When the debris and rubble was lifted and dissapeared we saw the Mistress and Kojiros holding eachother tight. Kojiros was injured both on his head and body. He was shielding the Mistress with his entire life.

"Kojiros! Are you allright?" Taihou shouted.

Sakuya was totally shocked from the incidents because she held both her hands in front of her mouth. Kojiros slowly looked up. A small stream of blood was flowing from his head down his cheeks on his cloths. He tried to get up slowly holding the Mistress. They could see his legs shaking but with all his might he stood up.

"I..I a-am allright"

Taihou quickly looked at Zei who was being held in Flandre's arms. He kept coughing little bits of blood which was not a good sign. The spell he used was too much of a strain on his body.

At that moment a blast occured creating an opening in the middle of the collapsed mansion. Rock, earth and pieces of debris exploded and dissapeared.

"Geez, you lots are really a pain in the bottom" said a calm but chilly voice from the center of the explosion. "I was in the middle of reading a book you know? Didn't I told you not to make such ruckus?"

Everybody was shocked and stunned. It was Patchouli Knowledge and her helper Koakuma. They were totally unharmed and healthy.

"Patchouli-sama, the library is totally secured"
"Good work Koakuma, Marisa is already a pain for my dissapearing books."

Patchouli started analysing the situation by looking at the injured people.

"I see, I see. This is an annoyin situation" she mumbled.

Taihou was shocked to see her unharmed and couldn't resist to ask ofcourse: "Patchouli-san, how did you managed to survive this unharmed?"

Patchouli folded her arms "Do you think I am stupid or something, Taihou? That is kind of rude."

"No no, not at all my lady, I am just curious. My apologies."

She walked over to Kojiros starting to release a strange light from her hands. They lighted up in blue and green mixed colours. Then she placed her hands on Kojiros injuries. It seems it was a healing spell. The wounds started healing and the bleeding stopped.

"I sensed already a disturbance" she continued. "The strange bending and twisting air you see is coming from the Hakurei Shrine."

"Hakurei shrine?" Taihou asked.

"Yes, the border is collapsing."

Everbody's eyes widened and they all said together: "WHAT?!"

"When I sensed the disturbance I quickly casted a spell on my library to protect it from any damage. Koakuma started collecting a few important books I might need if I didn't manage to save the library."

Patchouli stood up and walked towards Zei who was still coughing and now started shivering. Again her hands lighted up and placed them on Zei's lungs.

"So it wasn't Flandre at all?" Taihou asked.

"Ofcourse not you silly. Else even my spell couldn't save the library"

Flandre put up a grumphy face: "See I told you!"

Patchouli focussed her eyes on Sakuya who was still frozen like a statue staring at the mansion.

"Sakuya! Snap out of it!" The shouting of Patchouli obviously helped. Sakuya's eyes turned back to normal. Because of the intense events she barely could stand on her feet. Taihou put his arms around her to comfort.

"Sakuya, everything is allright. The Mistress is safe and everybody else aswell."

"T-the mansion. . " she stuttered.

"The mansion is not the only place that will be lost" said Patchouli "Eientei, Hakugyoukuro, Kourindou, Moriya, Makai... All this places are in chaos. The disturbance in the border has a wide effect. And if the border falls, so will Gensokyo along with all locations."

"What is causing it? And how can we fix it?" Taihou asked.

She raised her hands: "I don't know. All we have to do now is get to the Hakurei Shrine."

"But Zei said, the Mistress should be kept away from the shrine."

Patchouli started thinking deep. "Yes, bringing the currently injured and exhausted Remilia would be bad idea. Also because it is day time. We will have to hang out near the shrine untill the sun goes down. After that Remilia will rapidly recover."

"Let's go then"

Taihou took Sakuya's hand, Kojiros was relatively recovered and took the Mistress on his back. Zei was still a bit weakened but enough to stand on his feets. Putting his arm around Flandre for support we started walking towards the Hakurei Shrine. A true disastrious scenario this was.

Human Village, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Life in Gensokyo was awesome.

Kappatech free wireless and electricity at the human village was incredible. Visiting, let alone living in, a fantasy world of your dreams was inconceivable. Learning basic utility magic for making food, and heading towards further hygiene and comfort spells, was enough to make you need to sit down if you weren't already.

Was.

The wireless went out two days ago. Irritating, but it happens sometimes. Decent excuse to actually do some magic studies and do something about covering rent. It wasn't back the next day, and the electricity died in the afternoon.

God DAMNIT.

And after that, there was a small earthquake. Another. Worrisome. This definitely seemed like an Incident in the making; the villagers didn't find it normal, either. Everyone was nervous.

I tried to keep calm. This seemed to be a little more actively intrusive than the other Incidents I've heard of, but if they're any indication, Reimu and Marisa would be on it soon enough. Just gotta endure it a bit... right?

Lacking anything worth doing, I slept early that night. Tremors woke me up several times. I wondered if Keine was doing anything about it.

I got up in the actual morning, for once, and went outside after having breakfast and checking the electricity again. (No dice, obviously.)

The sky looked... wrong. I'm not entirely sure how to describe it - there was an overcast haze, which wasn't TOO unusual, but the Great Hakurei Barrier behind it... didn't look right. Had it been too long since I looked at it last? Did something big change that I hadn't noticed?

A larger earthquake left my face in the dirt.

And where the FUCK is Armpits?!

Screw it. This is getting out of hand, and it's pissing me off.

I put together a "backpack" and packed up my necessities - laptop, associated electronics, bundled in a change of clothes... make that two, earthquakes are being a bitch - some snacks, and the meager bit of cash I had handy. Maybe she was holding out for donations, come to think of it. Crazy bitch... no, she wouldn't for something this severe. There had to be a better reason.

There'd BETTER be.

I left for the Hakurei Shrine.

-----

The trip there was less eventful than I expected. I had anticipated having to deal with a few fairies (tricky, but not too difficult), but not many actually showed up. Most seemed to be too busy panicking in general to pester that one guy wandering through, even as I approached the bottom of the stairs to the shrine.

That just worried me more. Incidents were supposed to mean fairies acting up and attacking people MORE than usual, right? So why...

My worries were interrupted by a horrible cracking sound from behind me. I turned to see the familiar silhouette of the Scarlet Devil Mansion split in half, with a trail of 'smoke' from the rubble rising into the sky.

... my heart is beating incredibly fast... I must be experiencing absolute terror...

I ran up the stairs, two at a time.

-----

I had to catch my breath twice. It probably would have been more, but I was spurred on rather effectively by seeing Youkai Mountain become Youkai Volcano, and watching a large collection of ceiling tiles fly over the stairs I was climbing - from the direction of a freak tornado on top of the Hakurei Shrine.

Maybe I'm not as out of shape as I thought.

I climbed the last of the stairs to the shrine entrance and leaned on the entry arch, panting heavily. Reimu was sobbing on the shrine grounds, alongside that guy I'd heard she'd married. Didn't know anything about him. The rest of the usual shrine crew was around, looking very distraught.

Jeremy Nezu took a deep breath, and stood up straight. "Okay," he nearly yelled, "Would anyone like to explain what the HELL is going on here?!"

Hakurei Shrine, Day 1, 3.27 PM, Roughly 2 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

(OOC: Hope I manage to keep you in-character, E-mouse)

"Would anyone like to explain what the HELL is going on here?!"

The Hakurei crew...or at least those who weren't grieving over the loss of their home, turned around to face the new stranger who had appeared at the top of the stairs asked. He radiated an intense, calculating calm, which contrasted heavily with the torn world behind him. Mitaka recognized him to be one of the outsiders who had moved into Gensokyo lately. He decided that this stranger may prove helpful in the outside world.

"Got it in one." Mitaka replied, with as much composure as he could manage. "HELL is going on. But what sort of Hell, we don't have a clue. Yukari said that the best bet is to get the heck out of Dodge and hope we can restore Gensokyo later from the outside."

"Ok, Armpits, how much to save the world?" The stranger asked.

"In case you haven't notice, the shrine isn't exactly in business at the moment." Mitaka replied, a little snappily. "No donation box, you see."

"Hasn't stopped her in the past." The stranger shrugged. "Or should I go trek back down to the Forest of Magic and tell Marisa there's a rare bit of treasure in it for her this time?"

"No need." A voice said from behind.

The stranger turned around just in time to see a winged figure touch down lightly on the cracked stone walkway, the strong beating of its wings kicking up the dust on the ground. Another figure detached itself from the first. The smoke from the downdraft cleared to reveal the two as Aya and an outsider girl who had been hanging out with Aya lately.

"...no need?" The first stranger repeated. "What do you mean?"

"Well, I wanted to keep this for my article but....oh, all right, that black-white witch's house was decimated in that earthquake. I doubt you'll find her there." Aya said. "If anything, she's probably either salvaging her stuff and taking it somewhere safe or off looting."

"Aya, I thought we were going to the SDM?" The girl who had arrived with Aya asked.

"Quick detour. I think there's a better scoop waiting here." Aya explained. "I wanted to get the Hakurei Shrine Maiden's comment on this disaster. Ah, there you are, Reimu!" She strode up towards the miko. Reimu had made a valiant attempt at making herself seem more presentable at the sudden arrival of newcomers. Even those who knew she had been shedding tears a mere second ago wouldn't be able to believe it was the same girl who was now standing there, radiating a reasurring calm.

"Aya, hasn't Yukari told you yet?" Reimu began.

"What? What has that gap youkai have to do with all this?" Aya's eyes suddenly lit up. "Oooh....is this her doing?! Tell me more!" a notebook and a pen had magically appeared in her hands and was already in mid-scribble.

"....you haven't heard from her?" Reimu looked thoughtful for a moment. "That means something has gone wrong. Yukari would have gone to you first. You're the fastest, you'd have been able to spread the news further.....that means something happened to Yukari."

"...you mean..." The girl who had arrived with Aya began. "...Yukari had gone out to warn everyone about this?"

"Yes. Hours ago." Mima nodded. "The fact that nobody has turned up....it all makes sense now."

"Tch..." Reimu gritted her teeth. "Mitaka, take everyone to the border's limits. Aya, you're coming with me."

"We have barely 2 hours left, my Lady!" Ruukoto protested.

"Look, won't anyone explain what's happening?!" The male stranger shouted in frustration at having been ignored.

"....it would be nice to spare a few moments for an explanation..." The stranger girl also added.

"Ok, err...." Mitaka began, looking between the two.

"Jeremy." The male stranger supplied impatiently.

"Sumire." The girl said.

"Ok, I'm Mitaka. Proper introductions later. For now, know this, we're leaving Gensokyo for the outside world."

"You're abandoning Gensokyo?!" Sumire gasped, before a flurry of wings grabbed her immediate attention. "A-Aya!" She gasped as her companion was preparing to take off with the miko.

"Reimu? I never said I agreed to the plan!" Mitaka shouted after the shrine maiden.

"Don't leave me here!" Sumire protested, not liking the prospect of being left behind with complete strangers.

"Oh, fine..." Aya nodded, grabbing her by the waist as she ascended. "But hold onto your head...." She grinned brightly as she began preparations for supersonic flight.

"I'll be back in time for the departure!" Reimu shouted back. "Just get as many people as you can to the border!" Reimu shouted back at Mitaka. "Remember, you always said, 'we need to do what we can!'. This is what I can do now, Taka-kun! You should do what you can as well! Ok, first stop, Hakugyokorou!"

And with that, the two figures zoomed off into the darkening sky, leaving behind a protesting Mitaka, an irritated Jeremy, and a bunch of other worried faces.

Mitaka swore quietly to himself as he kicked away a piece of debris.

"So, what's the plan now....in case you're feeling like sharing?" Jeremy asked.

"....we head to the border." Mitaka sighed. "Yukari already tore an opening and Reimu has left protective charms to keep the path open. The moment the barrier collapses, the opening will connect to the outside world. Then we'll have our chance..."

"And where is that?" Jeremy asked.

"The hill behind the shrine." Mitaka said. "A bit of a climb, but we'll make it within 10 minutes."

"....books..." Jeremy murmured.

"What?" Mitaka asked, a little irritated at the random reply.

"...books..." Jeremy repeated.

Mitaka followed his gaze....and his jaw dropped at what he saw.

...up there, in the sky, was a swarm of books, all flapping in unison, trailing across the sky like a paper-mache snake. And atop it was....

"Land ahoy!" Meirin called out.

"....you're too loud..." Patchouli muttered from behind a bright magical circle. "This takes a lot of concentration, you know."

"Look, Zei-niisan, I didn't set anything on fire, did I? Have I been a good girl?" Flandre tugged on Zei's sleeves for his approval.

"Yes, yes, you're a good girl, Flandre." Zei, whose injuries seemed to have recovered completely, ruffled her her hair, earning him a happy little giggle from the girl.

Meanwhile, Remilia, who was sitting just behind them, wasn't looking anywhere as happy as her little sister. In fact, she seemed downright despondent at owing her life to some human. "....h-how is he doing...?" She murmured under her breath, as if not wanting anyone to know that she was showing concern.

"He's recovering. The spell seemed to have worked, my lady." Koakuma said. "He and Taihou-san will be up and about again within minutes. But they shouldn't strain themselves for a while."

"...." Remilia nodded in acknowledgedment, and said no more as they reached the shrine grounds.

The books all flew off and piled themselves neatly on the ground after the SDM crew aliighted. Ruukoto and Mitaka ran down to help Taihou and Kojiros down.

"G-get R-Remilia...out of the sun..." Kojiros breathed, grabbing Mitaka's sleeve. "That's...more...important...."

"Well, there isn't much sun to speak of." Mitaka said, reassuringly, impressed with the man's show of chivalry. "But if it'll make you feel better, we'll get her to the treeline."

Higan, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Higan wasn't any more spared than the rest of gensokyo the Sanzu no Kawa had burst it banks in what seemed like a bibical flood.


Alex hated losing his training grounds for the last 2 months out of the 6 he's been in gensokyo since he arrived after falling asleep one day after years of wandering has a vagabond martial artist who style was a mix of all kinds of arts seemly both real world ones and styles that wouldn't exist in the world we live in.

He didn't just do physcial training but mental and Spirit training as well if it wasn't for the last two he wouldn't had last has he still does what he liked to do for has long has he could remember that was being a free wandering soul people without some kind of power tend to eather be suck in the human villages of gensokyo or Snacks for the few youkai who still indulge in eating a human when they can get away with it.


Of course getting Keine to let him wander by himself took quite a while and Keine was persistant to the point of deloying her famous head butt which caught him off guard.

Eventually she let him go seeing how he would eventually skip town anyways but not before teaching him the basics of Gensokyo such has the spell card duel system and of course the staple of anyone who can do it basic self defense Danmaku which was a intresting addtion to his martial art stile.

Gensokyos non human majority was fair more intresting and more fun of a challange.

He settled long the the banks of the Sanzu no Kawa because it was a nice quiet place perfect for meditation and all that and of course its cute shinigami and the various fairys but the main object was a certain fairy bigger than all the rest with cute carrot shade long hair and a lovey smile and a nice personality she called herself Lily Black She claims she a twin of Lily White A fairy who became a embodment of spring because she didn't want the job so her twin was picked instead.

Alex and her slowly became friends over danmaku sparing matchs she won quite few because Alex wasn't quite used to really dense clouds but evenually he got her pattern down enough to sly give her smootch on the cheek.

Eventually one thing led to another and they started serious dating and *ahem* a month ago.

Kinda awkward since Lily Black while cleary a adult woman in figure and is Big and Tall for fairy kind is shorter than most 13 year old girls. a few gave them looks when seeing them make out but quickly passed it off as ok when the relized what lily is

However days before the Sanzu no Kawa flood funky things started happening namely the Yama and her shinigami started appearing less and less and they even saw souls leaving the river.

When it burst its banks they fled the area and soon found about the other disasters.


"Man whats going on in this land it like hell is opening up"

Alex lamemts on these events

"I don't know but its scary.." Lily Black meekly says

Alex holds Lily black tightly and smiles.

"don't worry what ever happens i will never leave your side as long has i can move i will be there."

"thank you dear say maybe we sould head to the one of the shrines" Lily says suggestively

Alex nods "probably a good idea chances are people are gathering there to pray for hope for explations for these dire events."

With that they take off in direct of the Hakurei shrine along the way the see the destruction across gensokyo.

Alex and lily gasp a the destruction across gensokyo and make haste to the hakurei shrine apon arrival. Alex asks "Does anyone Have a Clue Whats going on like Why has the Sanzu no Kawa burst its banks in what was a flood of bibical portions?, hell we weren't even bothered getting here its like even the lowest youkai know that something is making shit hit the fan here."

Alex looks Round and sees a bunch of people gathered there asides from the usual hakurei shrine crowd and notices the sky doesn't even look right anymore.

Gappy:
Subteranean Cave, Bridge into the world below, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 2.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Rocks and dust pelted the subterranean land as Gensokyo was rocked by another tremor, all of it an effect of the boundary's instability. There were only a few hours until the Hakurei boundary became too unstable and collapsed, taking all the residents of the realm with it.

Hiroko panted as she ran to the bridge where she knew Parsee would be at. She had been aboveground until the first earthquake hit, and concerned for her waifu's safety, she went back to the underground. Never mind the fact that the place could cave in at any moment, there's no use for common sense in Gensokyo.[1]

Avoiding more falling debris, she saw the bridge, and Parsee in the middle of it. Stones fell, hitting her, but the bridge princess made no attempt to dodge them.

"Hey! Whatcha standing there for?" she bellowed. Parsee turned around.

"Hiroko?! Why're you still around? It's dangerous!"

"I should be the one saying that. You were just standing around getting hit!"

"Well, that..." she bit her lip. "That's because I have to stay and watch over the bridge. That's what I am, and what I'm supposed to do."

"Even at the cost of your life? Look, it's only a matter of time before this place starts caving in, and it's quite a distance from the aboveground. If we want to be safe, we better start going NOW!"

"I-I don't know..." Parsee mumbled. "To be concerned for me that much...I'm jealous."

Just then, a hell raven flew past them, dropping a letter. Hiroko caught it, and saw that it was addressed to Parsee by the Palace of Earth Spirits. She opened it, and the two of them read it together:

CHIREIDEN
Palace of Earth Spirits, Underground City, Gensokyo

Dear Ms Parsee Mizuhashi,

As the governing body of the subterranean, the Palace of Earth Spirits has a responsibility to its citizens. As you may or may not know, the Hakurei boundary has become unstable, and the condition of the boundary deteriorates with each second. It may be a matter of time before it collapses.

Henceforth, the Palace of Earth Spirits releases all that are in its employment, and grants all permission to move freely from the underground to the aboveground and vice versa.

Ms Mizuhashi, that means you, too, are free to move from your bridge. I know that you have someone special to you, and I await seeing you again at the Hakurei shrine.

Yours sincerely,
SATORI KOMEIJI
LADY OF THE PALACE OF EARTH SPIRITS

"Where's the Hakurei shrine?" Parsee looked up, confused.

"Don't worry, I know the way. Let's go already!" Hiroko tugged on Parsee's arm.

And went they did.


Path leading to the Great Hakurei Border, Day 1, 3.47 PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"So....let me get this straight...." Alex murmured. "Gensokyo's border is about to collapse and there's no hope of saving anyone...other than the few that us outsiders can support?"

"Essentially." Mitaka nodded. To the casual observer, the party that was now making its way towards the border's limit was odd to say the least. There were a group of girls in frilly dresses, two maids, with a few men, two of whom were on floating stretches, with a flock of flapping books coming up the rear.

"So now we're leaving Gensokyo..." Alex said. "....Lily, are you sure your sister didn't overdo the spring greetings?"

"...I'm sure earthquakes and floods aren't part of her repertoire, if that's what you're asking." Lily Black raised an eyebrow.

"The path's damaged." Jeremy observed as they came upon an expanse of path that had obviously been disturbed quite a bit. The upturned trees surrouding the path were a good clue.

"So? Not like some avalanche has cut us off, right?" Mitaka said, walking on.

"No, I mean, if the path's damaged like that then the ground might be...." Jeremy began, but too late....Mitaka had stepped out into the open path. There was a soft crunch as his foot made contact with a loose bit of earth before....

...BOOM...

Where Mitaka was, there was now a gushing geyser....

"It wasn't me, Zei-niisan." Flandre said innocently. "I didn't make the funny man go boom."

"Yes, yes, good girl, Flandre." Zei said approvingly.

"Sakuya. Meirin." Remilia snapped a finger.

"Yes, my lady." Sakuya said, opening an umbrella over Remilia to shield her from the running boiling water. Meirin, however, was a step late. Zei had shielded Flandre with the top he had been wearing.

Meanwhile, behind them, Patchouli and Koakuma had set up a defensive barrier to protect their books.

"R-Remi..." Kojiros moaned from his make-shift stretcher.

"Shhh, be quiet." Remilia hushed him. "Hurry up and recover. We might need that stretcher for that idiot when he returns." She said, looking up at the small dot that was Mitaka who was now silhouetted against the cracked sky.

"Meirin, run across to clear a path for us." Remilia ordered.

"Wh-what?!" Meirin gasped. "I-I'll die!"

"Would you rather die here?" Sakuya asked sweetly, brandishing a set of knives.

"HIIIEEEEEE!" Meirin ran.

And she ran.

And she ran some more....

Geysers exploded in her wake, creating many pillars of boiling water that only missed her by inches.

"Hey, that particular geyser sent something up." Taihou observed.

"...other than water, you mean?" Sakuya asked.

"Looks like a...." Koakuma began.

"A bird!" Flandre shouted, judging by the fact that the silhouettes had their arms extended.

"A....helicopter?" Patchouli murmured, judging by the fact that said silhouettes were spinning.

"No, it's a jealous bridge princess and her outsider companion." Alex said with precision.

"Eh?"

Parsee did a mid-air twirl before landing lightly on the ground. She reached out, grabbed the falling Hiroko in her arms, and set her down gracefully. "...I'm jealous. I want to be the one caught in someone else's arms...." Parsee sighed.

BANG!

A human-shaped crater had appeared just a short distance away from them. Smoke rose from it. The others took great care not to get too close, in case the idiocy was contagious.

"....I'm jealous too. I wish there was someone to catch ME!" A voice came from inside the crater.

"He's alive. Nothing to see here folks." Jeremy said, waving them on across the safe path that Meirin's sacrifice had provided.

Path leading to the Great Hakurei Border, Day 1, 3.52 PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"That was...strange, to say the least, coming up from a geyser." Hiroko said, gaining her bearings. She looked down into the crater. It looked pretty deep. "Are you alright?" she called down.

"...I just fell a few hundred metres from the sky. Do you think I'm alright?!" the man snapped. "Give me a hand, it's hard enough getting out when your body is not broken to bits or something."

Hiroko knelt beside the crater and pulled him up. He looked significantly worse for the wear, but he could at least walk.

"Well? What's the plan?" Parsee asked.

"We will be leaving Gensokyo through an opening in the Hakurei boundary." Patchouli answered. "With the boundary weak as it is, it should be easy."

"Aren't you going to do anything about Gensokyo?" demanded Hiroko.

"We don't have the luxury of the time. I estimate that the boundary will fully collapse in a hour and a half, and we do not know the cause of this crisis. The best way would be to retreat to the outside world, and plan our actions accordingly from there."

Faced with Patchouli's reply, Hiroko couldn't come up with a suitable response. "I see..." was the only thing she could say.

The party then resumed their voyage towards the Boundary.

Path leading to the Great Hakurei Border, Day 1, 3.47 PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"...the FUCK was that about?!", Zei said, pissed off with what just happened.

"New people had walked in, there was a gusher that was originally where Mitaka was that just came out of nowhere and "tried" to kill him, SDM's falling apart, Hakurei Barrier falling apart, Parsee and her partner falling down RIGHT out of the blue, a crater where a Human was, and you know what I don't get?", he said with an annoyed look, "It may be off-topic but it has been bothering me for quite a while but..", he shot a look a Flandre, "I don't get that she keep calling me "Zei-niisan" instead of some other name that I see the unfortunate humans being called before they meet their doom by her.", he finished.

Everyone didn't seem to care except for Flandre, which was surprised by his rant, and Mitaka, which was leading the group towards the Boundary.

Zei sighed and looked away, "...guess I overdid the rant a bit.", he said to himself.

Flandre was still looking at him, "..gomenasai..", was all she could say at the time.

He then looked back at Flandre's apology, "...sorry for? Saying that it wasn't you? Of course it wasn't. Neither you, nor Yukari, NOR EVEN MEIMU, could cause this castatophe without some point of origin or some unknown Spellcard.", he explained, "...but I guess I could accept it.", he then holds her hand in response, "BUT, you should stay with me and the group at all times until this crisis is OVER for good.", he ended.

Flandre didn't seem to care, she just smiled and continued towards the pathway to the Boundary.


Moriya Shrine, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

'' Myon-sama, Myon-sama! The borders! They are..''

'' Breaking down, I know. ''

'' Well, what are we going to do.. '', Suwako asked.

'' We wait, why would we have to do anything~ Just let Reimu handle this >_> '', Myon muttered.

'' Kerooo... ''


Path leading to the Great Hakurei Border, Day 1, 3:47 PM, Roughly 1.2 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier


Koji: .....you idiot *talking to Zei* she looks up to you. not often a human comes by and likes her of all people. *climbs out of stretcher*......ugh....d-dammit....was not prepared for that
Sakuya: sir! you shouldn't get up until you fully recover!

Kojiro: no worries...my head took a lot of damage back there so it was hard to recover myself but thanks to Patchy that was sped up and i used my own mana to finish up the recovery

Remilia:...........

Kojiro: glad to see everyone is safe *sighs distraught* *helps Mitaka out of the crater* We're gonna have to be extra careful man, in a mere few hours all will end here.

Continuing to walk over geysers and evading a landslide the border was finally in site, the outsiders were talking about the outside world and how different it was from Gensokyo and how they hope to restore the realm ASAP. Remilia was still not happy about havin her existance going to be bound to a human. Even if he's a friend, she listened carefully though but showed no happiness in it whatsoever.
Kojiro:........

Koji noticed her as they walked but kept silent. It must be hard to be able to "tell the future" but don't have any power or enough power to change fate in a favorable position. No matter what she did there was no way she could save her mansion, much less Gensokyo's state. This pained him a little but her moreso.
He placed his hand on her shoulder as they walked and said nothing. She merely glanced at him and said nothing in return. 
Kojiro: this is gonna be rough at first i know...but we will make it out safely, I promise it. I haven't broken a promise to you yet Remilia....and i don't intend to start now

Remilia: *looks at him and then looks at his chest which and arm which just 30-40 minutes ago protected her from being crushed to nothing*.........*turns away to hide her facial expression which showed guilt and empathy*

Pandemonium, Makai, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"Erm, what should I do?..." Came the perplexed voice of one Demonlord, his arms crossed over his chest in thought. There was something big going on in Gensokyo, and at first it he told himself 'Ah it wouldn't effect us, we're in another world, we'll be fine~' In fact he was so sure of himself he even went with is partner Shinki, ruler of Makai to tell the various paniced demons that everything was going to be okay.

It's a shame that it wasn't,everything in Gensokyo was going to hell, so to speak, that included Makai as well...Irony is only funny if it didn't come back to bite YOU in the ass. Which it most certainly did to Mr. Demonlord. Then again he had a nasty habit of jinxing things...

"Hmhm, for one you should finish packing before leaving."

Pichu glanced from his shoulder to see the figure of Shinki entering the room. He then looked to his suitcase which was pretty much harboured the same empty space it had a while ago. "Oh, yeah right..." Pichu said his mind pretty much a mess from over-thinking things. He rose from his seat and began tossing in what he deemed 'essentials'. "So you all packed up and ready to move out?" He asked to the goddess that still stood in the room's doorway.

"That I have, I also made sure to have Yumeko make and pack enough food for the trip." Shinki commented.

"Ara~ Yumeko-chan always makes the best of snacks doesn't she?" Pichu mused to Shinki who nodded in agreement as she smiled.

There was then a silence that followed close after, and the both of them knew why. There was a reason they were leaving Makai, Gensokyo's borders were crumbling Makai at first would not have been affected but it would seem that was not the case. Soon everything in Makai, a world forged from the hands of Shinki herself, will be destroyed.

"...S'hard to believe Makai's going down along with Gensokyo isn't it? Just the other day, we told everyone not to worry..." Pichu said as he tied down his bag and made sure he had everything. That computer would have to stay...Shinki told him to leave behind anyhow.

"Yes, seeing as to how I too believed that it would be safe," Shinki replied looking from out of the window. "Having the things you make destroyed is never an easy thing to put out of mind, especially if one of said things happens to be living creatures..."

Pichu remained silent having nothing to really add at that point. He always knew he and Shinki had their differences in each other, for one he was still a human (although he had theorized he would become a demon in time) and Shinki was a goddess and the 'mother' of Makai all beings in this realm having been born from herself. Even if Makai wasn't her creation it would still be a tough decision to just up and leave everyone behind...

"What do you think will happen to those who can not leave Makai in time?..." Shinki suddenly asked breaking the silence that was between them, her face still looking out of the window as she spoke.

"I don't know, I suppose they'll just...disappear...I try not to think about it, to be honest." Pichu answered his voice drenched in uncertainty. "We probably shouldn't dwell on that, I'm sure everyone will make it out of her just fine."

"Yes, I...probably should have more faith in the well being of my subjects." Shinki chuckled nervoursly and forcing a smile. "Let us go, we can leave through border space and perhaps maybe then we can find a means of escape from this dreadful situation." Shinki concluded and proceeded to take her leave

"Right behind you~" Pichu said as he followed behind Shinki before glancing at his computer.

"Leave that dreadful thing where it is..." Shinki said a hint of animosity in her voice.

"You still mad about that-"

"Yes. Now leave it."

"Okay, okay..."


Path leading to the Great Hakurei Border, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Zei snapped a look a Koji, "...well. You think I'm an idiot huh? I tried to return the damn tremor to it's original point but it was no good and ended up injuring me as well.", he explained, "First time being at SDM was few wees ago, and the day after was when I first met Flandre, but that doesn't matter. Not only I care about her, but I care about every, single, living Human/Youkai/Vamp/etc. that I know as of this time. Just worry about your sake and I'll worry about my sake.", he sighed and mumbled, "...having a vamp being bound to you is not that easy. 'specially if she's either the Scarlet Devil or Crimson Devil.."

Zei stopped and casted a barrier that surrounded everyone that's here. "Should last us the whole time we're in Gensokyo and part of the outside world. At least 3 hours.", he said.

Zei looked at Remilia, not sure if she's ok or not, "...something wrong, Mistress? Caught guilty of something you didn't do? Do you not want him to protect you at all costs? Do you ACTUALLY want to die alone?", he asked then continued walking.

On the other hand, Flandre tugged on his sleeves in disapproval, "Zei-niisan... that wasn't nice.", she sadly said.

"..I know. I was just asking.", Zei said, feeling a bit of guilt towards what he said.

Path leading to the Great Hakurei Border, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Taihou slowly opened his eyes and seem to have regain senses. When he tried to get up he looked aroud noticing he was floating on some kind of stretcher. Sakuya noticed Taihou waking up, because she was walking right behind the Mistress and next to the stretcher.

"How are you feeling my dear?" she asked while she placed her hand on Taihou's cheek.

"S-Sakuya." he paused for a moment. "I was sleeping?"

"Yes, ever since you collapsed when we left the mansion. You were acting very strange back there Taihou."

Taihou couldn't quite understand it, he raised his eyebrows "Strange? What do you mean?"

Sakuya looked at her Mistress who gestured a 'yes' with her head.

"Well, you suddenly started screaming and dropping yourself on the floor making weird movements. As you were in pain. Kojiros and Zei tried to refrain you because you started violently throwing random danmaku. Eventually the Patchouli used a small weak spell to knock you out." 

Taihou couldn't understand it all and kept looking suprised at Sakuya. "Did I. . "

"You didn't seriously injured anyone, but it was troublesome, Taihou" Patchouli interrupted. "You should rest. Sakuya was nursing you the whole time you know. Don't act stupid by getting up like Zei and Kojiro did."

Zei and Kojiro felt insulted and starting making angry gestures: "Be quiet you bookworm!"

"Yea! Patchouli-san, you are to harsh!" Zei added. "You bookworm!"

A spark occured from Patchouli's eyes. Suddenly a small series of fireballs emerged from her fingers and assaulted the bottoms of Kojiro and Zei.

"ITA ITA ITA ITA, hot hot hot" they both were running in circles because their rears were on fire. "Water! Water!"

Remilia and Koakuma had to secretly laugh a bit at the look of Kojiro and Zei. Afterall it was quite amusing.

"Oh, you want water?" Patchouli asked sarcasticly.

"No wai. .! " a sudden mini waterfall flushed from the top of their heads soaking them entirely wet. Their rears were no longer on fire but the water was quite cold as they started shivering.

Taihou couldn't quite enjoy the situation because seemed to be in pain. He lay back down on the stretcher staring at the sky which was no longer blue as usual but turned dark with a red glow.

"Patchouli-sama"

"What is it Taihou."

"How long untill we transfer towards the real world?"

"I don't know. We heared from others who are at the shrine that the passage way is being created. It seems Reimu is performing some magic to stabilise it. The Hakurei border though is running more and more instable. I think about one hour untill whole Gensokyo falls apart. What more troublesome is how our powers will react in the real world.

Path leading to the Great Hakurei Border, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Alex pondered on why Gensokyo is for the most part seemly literal falling apart at the seams has he stares now almost blood red skys of gensokyo but he just can't shake a feeling.

"Something powerful is at work here....Something on Par with Yukari's Power to be able to basicly cause Gensokyo barrier to fail but we know that Yukari isn't behind it."

"How so" says anyone in ear shot.

"This Feeling i'm getting is diffrent From Yukari's it feels like it only has ill intent where Yukari only does things for her amusement worse of all is the feeling i think in fact that it's just taunting us by giving us just time to vacate gensokyo without being able to save everyone."

Gappy:
Hakugyokorou, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Before Yuyuko and Sho headed out of Hakugyokurou towards the nearest method of escaping Gensokyo's imminant fate, Sho stopped to talk to Youmu.

"Youmu, I expect to meet up with you on the other side of the border. It's alright if you don't. But if I find out you've died, I'll consider you as having failed in your duty to my wife. And that means I will hunt down whatever is left of you, bring you back and have you apologize. Do you understand?"

Youmu shivered. "Y-yes..."

Sho smiled. "Relax, I'm sure you'll survive. Just finish packing quickly and hurry. We'll meet you later. Now I'd better go."

Path to the Border, Day 1, ???? PM, Roughly 1.5 hours until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

Lily Black look worryed "sis hope you get out..."

Alex had a hearty laugh "relax i'm sure she'll do so she may be bit less serious than you but i'm sure she will be"

Alex then said under his breath "I hope so..."

Alex then ponders about the fates of those who can't escape gensokyo like outsiders at various human villages who will not be able to make it to a way out of gensokyo before the border gives out for good and Keine who would unless seriously convinced would stick with them too the bitter end.

Then his thoughts turn towards the Yama and her Shinigami underling he hopes that they will make it out as well Yama may be annoying but she really cares for people and dispite her shinigami being Lazyer than some of the outsiders he knew before being put in gensokyo she was a nice person.

"hurry people SS Gensokyo doesn't have much time left before she goes under" he mutters under his breath.

"Say aside from here is there any other way out of Gensokyo?" Alex questions mostly in the hope that as the great hakurei barrier goes it will weaken enough to allow some of the ones who don't have time to come here to get out.


The border, Day 1, 4.26 PM, Roughly 1 hour until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

"Say aside from here is there any other way out of Gensokyo?" Alex asked as the party finally reached the border limits. Zei and Kojiro were still nursing their burnt backsides. Thankfully, a change of pants was available amongst the myriad of supplies they had brought along.

"I'm not sure." Mitaka answered. "To be honest, there's so little that we do know." An uncomfortable silence fell. Nobody wanted to ask the question, dreading the answer. Only the roar of the destruction of Gensokyo and the crackle of the collapsing barrier filled the air. Everyone stood silent, bathed in the unearthly glow of the crackling barrier. A huge gaping crack lie in the middle of it, kept open by a myriad of paper charms. It was to be their gateway to freedom.

"What about everyone else? Everyone who....can't escape?" Lily Black finally asked the question everyone had dreaded.

"I wish there was a way." Mitaka sighed. "But we can only bring out those who we can support with mana. The others....they won't die, I think. Once we restore Gensokyo from the outside, they'll be restored with it."

"...." Alex nodded in silent understanding. It was a sad prospect, but there was slight glimmer of hope.

"Lady Patchouli, it's 1 hour until the border reaches its critical point." Koakuma reported.

"The gate still looks too unstable to pass. We'll have to wait a bit more." Patchouli sighed.

"We can destroy the barrier ourselves, can't we?" Mima asked, suddenly appearing behind them. "That way, the gate will open of its own accord."

"And destroy Gensokyo and everyone else who may be making their way here as we speak?!" Hiroko gasped. "How can you suggest such a thing?!"

"All I'm saying that, if push comes to shove, survival should be our highest priority." Mima said. "Even if we must sacrifice everyone in Gensokyo, even ourselves, we must get at least one survivor across the border. As long as even a sliver of Gensokyo's memories lives on, Gensokyo has hope."

"....." Everyone fell silent. It was true, in a practical sense. But nobody could swallow it, not without killing off their humanity.

"....we can wait, right? We're in no hurry, and this spot looks safe enough to wait." Kojiros finally said, breaking the uncomfortable silence.

"Yeah, we don't have to destroy the barrier ourselves. We'll just wait until it gives away on its own. More people might turn up in the mean time." Hiroko nodded in agreement.

"So we should set about securing the area then." Taihou said, getting up from his stretcher.

"D-dear!" Sakuya gasped. "You shouldn't be getting up yet!"

But before Taihou could reply, a voice boomed across the clearing. "I'm pleased...." It said. There was a certain vicious tone to the voice, one brimming with sadistic pleasure.

"Huh?" The party all looked around the clearing, looking for the source of the disembodied voice.

"You all actually came, like rats trying to escape a sinking ship, with hope that you might actually find refuge outside..." The voice continued, seemingly enjoying their confusion.

"Who are you?! Answer!" Remilia demanded.

"I love it....I love that false hope...it was worth not crushing you all in one instant..." The voice went on, ignoring Remilia's demand. "Ah, hope...how fascinating...with it you all build your own racks and turn the wheels of your own volition, drawing out your deaths further with each futile cycle...."

"You're toying with us?! With Gensokyo?!" Alex demanded.

"Do you know how many people will die today?! How many people have to lie in fear, having no hope for survival?!" Hiroko shouted.

"Yes, despair! Watch your bright, shining hope turn into infinitely dark despair!" The voice laughed with merciless mirth.

"....ok, let us play a game then." The voice echoed with malicious glee. A strange glowing miasma began to seep out of the ground around them. They hovered in mid-air for a moment before slowly gathering together to form what looked like small, child-sized humanoid silhouettes. There were at least hundreds, if not thousands, extending far into the depths of the forest around them, swaying unsteadily, as if ready to pounce at the slightest notice. "If you can defend the gate until it stabilizes then you may do as you wish and escape....but if even one of these children reach the gate...you will all perish here, in this prison of your own making..."

"You seriously think these....these cretins might stop us?!" Remilia suddenly burst out laughing. "As long as we're in Gensokyo, such rabble is nothing to us! Sakuya!"

"Yes, my lady. THE WORLD!" Sakuya roared, extending her arms.

....there was a slight bluish white spark of energy...and then nothing...

"Wh-what?" Sakuya gasped, looking down at the palm of her hands in surprise.

"...tch...SPEAR THE GUNGNIR!" Remilia roared, rearing one arm back. Yet again, another feeble reddish pink spark, which merely died away into nothingness.

"ROYAL FLARE!" Patchouli called out, desperately...to no avail.

In turn everyone in the clearing tested their respective powers, but with little to no effect.

"....this can't be...." Parsee gazed in shock at her shaking palms. "We're...."

"Without Gensokyo's spring of mana, you're all mere fragile existences, nothing, even less than humans! Who is the rabble now, Queen of the Night?! I now have full control over the spring....and, really, the destruction of Gensokyo is just an unfortunate by-product of my plans. Your demise is just a small, insignificant consequence of a scheme that will alter all existence! Still, you have amused me greatly...if it's any consolation, consider that your life's achievement!" The voice's laughter echoed, before dying away in the air.

"No....we're doomed...." Koakuma fell to her knees, shaking in despair. As if on cue, the demonic apparitions slowly approached, swaying madly as they did so.

"...is this is...?" Parsee murmured.

"We should've destroyed the barrier while we had the chance!" Mima gritted her teeth.

"It isn't over yet!" Alex roared, taking on a martial arts stance. "We still have our fists! We'll fight!"

"....that's right. We decided to wait!" Taihou shouted. "And wait we shall! For the ones left behind, we will not fall!"

"....As long as we stand here and not let a single one of them through, there is still hope for survival, even for those who are still trying to get here!" Kojiros rooted his feet into the ground before the oncoming hordes.

"Parsee, we're not dying! Not here!" Hiroko encouraged her companion. "Too much lies on our shoulders."

"Yeah....we carry more than our own lives. We carry the memories of Gensokyo! So we can't fail here!" Zei roared. "You hear me, whoever you are?! We're not despairing! Not yet! It'll take more than a a lot of smoke and mirrors to take us down!

"Even if Gensokyo is dead... even if it no longer exists... on my back, and in my heart, it will continue to live on! Ore wa ore da! What the hell do you think I am?!" Jeremy shouted.

"Here." Mitaka threw a dozen or so sharpened blades and metal rods onto the ground around them. "Save your fists for last. Remember! We're fighting to survive! Dying is not an option here! Many of you are strangers to me, but I swear that I will fight as if each and every one of you are my brethren! Watch out for each other....and we may survive this!"

And then all hell broke loose....

Meanwhile, a little way off the in the forest, about 10 minutes later...

"...ouch, ouch..." Reimu muttered, rubbing a sore spot on her back where she had struck a rather inconveniently-placed log. Thankfully, the rest of her landed on some soft brambles and bracken.

"Who's not dead?!" Aya's voice rang out from a nearby bush. "Sound off!"

"I'm....not...I think...." Sumire called out.

"Wait a sec, let me check!" Pichu called out from atop a high branch. "Yep, I'm not missing any limbs!" He and Shinki had bumped into Reimu, Sumire and Aya's party just as they left Hakugyokorou with Sho and Yuyuko. "And Shinki's in the tree next to me!"

"A little help won't go amiss..." Shinki sighed, squriming helplessly as she hung by a torn piece of her dress.

"Goddesses don't die!" Suwako shouted indignantly from a human-shaped crater on the forest floor.

"...that's because they land on unfortunate humans...." Myon muttered from underneath her. Myon and Suwako had joined the party when they stopped by the Youkai Mountain to alert the inhabitants about the barrier's collapse. Sanae and Kanako had decided to alert the rest of the mountain but told them to go on and get the message to the rest of Gensokyo.

After making a whirlwind tour of Gensokyo, the party finally found themselves flying at high speed towards the barrier's limits.....

....before finding themselves flying towards the ground at an even higher speed....

"....what happened?" Sumire asked as the party slowly picked itself out of the surrounding greenery and gathered together.

"Our flying abilities sort of....gave out, at the same time..." Pichu said.

"No really, Sherlock." Sho sighed. "Well, I suppose we now walk."

"...no, we run. We have little time left." Reimu said. "Come."

"I really hope the others make it...." Sumire said as they began jogging after the shrine maiden, dodging low-hanging branches and leaping over low-lying bushes. "But what if it wasn't just us who lost our flying skills?"

".....that means everyone else will have to run for the barrier limits...." Pichu said, grimly. "Not good...."

"...if only Yukari had succeeded..." Yuyuko sighed.

"She must have her own problems." Sho said. "We're alive now. That's what matters."

"Wh-what's that?!" Suwako suddenly gasped as they came upon the clearing surrounding the gateway. Hordes upon hordes of small, glowing silhouettes were throwing themselves at a small party that was now barely holding up.

"That's Taka-kun!" Reimu gasped. "We have to help them!"

"They must be after the gateway." Shinki noted darkly. "We'll have to remove them. Who knows what they plan to do to our gateway."

"Homing Amulet!" Reimu shouted, throwing a wad of paper charms....

....which merely flapped and blew away in the wind....

"..." Reimu looked down at the palm of her hand in bewilderment.

"Phantasmal Butterflies!" Yuyuko called out to her butterflies of death....only to have the coarse wind howl in reply.

In panic, everyone else tested out their powers, but to no avail.

"....wow, now I know what it feels like to be 6 inches high...." Aya murmured.

"...what'll we do?" Yuyuko asked, uncertain.

"....we fight." Pichu said, matter-of-factly.

"With what?" Suwako gasped at the seemingly ludicrous idea.

"With whatever you can find." Sho said. "Heck, use your fists."

"Toss one of those little critters at another if you have to. Just do as much damage as you can." Myon said.

"....you're right. If we don't try, we won't get anywhere at all. We must try and get to the gate with everyone else."

"Everyone, ready? LET'S RUMBLE! BANZAAAAI!!!" Pichu roared. And the small party charged out into the fray.

The border, Day 1, 4.26 PM, Roughly 1 hour until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

-Jeremy Nezu-

I was silent for a long time, as we walked to the exit of the Border. The thought... almost guarantee of its destruction was utterly shocking, despite all the evidence. And... and if Reimu and Yukari had given up on it, then that would have been deadly on its own...

I had to focus just on putting one foot in front of the other, head down, silent. I noticed I was starving, and conjured up a small snack - I guess that explained why I was being such an asshole earlier. I'll have to apologize to Reimu if... when I get the chance.

Some freak events dug up a few more major players in Gensokyo, and their... significant others. I was still too stunned to care at that point.

But... I had to do something. There were... problems. Questions. Solutions. Alternatives.

Loopholes.

I needed... some way to organize it. I had ideas... I just needed to make note of them. I thought of firing up Word on my laptop, but the battery sucks and we were moving and there's no electricity anyway. So how would I...

"Paper. I need paper."

I tried to ignore the argument that sprung up among the SDM members, and faced Patchouli.

"Patchouli. I need a pencil and paper. ... no, make that a small notebook."

She blinked once, slowly. "Why?"

"To take notes on better ways to save Gensokyo."

-----

HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?

How does this mana sharing in the outside world work?
Does it have to be people that have been in Gensokyo? Would recruiting new ones after arrival help at all? New friends? MULTIPLE friends? Would we be able to make new links after leaving, if we take anyone out that doesn't have one?

What the hell is going to happen to everyone left in Gensokyo? Is there any way to get them back? Damnit...

Should Aya be inciting chaos to get as many people as possible here? How can we alert her to do so?

Where the fuck is Yukari?

Who would be most helpful in the outer world for restoring Gensokyo? The key is memory, right? Or is it ability to recreate it? Is it only for the outsider supporting, or the Gensokyo resident as well? Wouldn't a knowledgeable insider be more helpful with keeping or improving these memories either way?
If ability, bring Reimu and Yukari - the most powerful, and the ones that know the Boundary.
If memory, bring those that have been around a lot, or are highly informed about Gensokyo... Marisa? Keine? Akyu? Satori?

What outer world are we going to, anyway? I'm not sure if Maribel exists in mine, but it's most referred to by ZUN. If people there believe in Gensokyo, or come to believe in Gens

I noticed that everyone else had stopped walking, and looked up from my constant scribbling. Seems like we'd arrived at the border exit. I think I missed a bit of the conversation just after arriving.

Lily Black brought up one of my major concerns, all on her own.

"What about everyone else? Everyone who....can't escape?"

"I wish there was a way." Mitaka sighed. "But we can only bring out those who we can support with mana. The others....they won't die, I think. Once we restore Gensokyo from the outside, they'll be restored with it."

"That's a relief." I muttered, and scribbled over that question.

After a little bit, Mima suggested breaking the barrier right now and getting while the getting was good. No one seemed to be eager to follow. Even I wasn't, brutally practical as I am - risking 30 minutes in a decaying world with manageable natural disasters was well worth bringing probably an extra half-dozen residents of Gensokyo out with us.
Probably.

A booming, cruel voice from... nowhere rang out. "I'm pleased...."

I looked up. Around. Didn't think I'd end up hearing a faceless evil voice like this...

"You all actually came, like rats trying to escape a sinking ship, with hope that you might actually find refuge outside..."

A rather typical one, at that. But even if I could guess what it was going to say, we had no way to know what it was, or how to deal with it...

I clenched a hand on my makeshift backpack... and realized that, if my theories held any weight, my laptop could be as important to the restoration of Gensokyo as me.

"I love it....I love that false hope...it was worth not crushing you all in one instant..." The voice went on, over an objection by Remilia, "Ah, hope...how fascinating...with it you all build your own racks and turn the wheels of your own volition, drawing out your deaths further with each futile cycle...."

"Spirals do not only go downwards." I growled, under my breath. I knew where this was going. I needed to drop my backpack somewhere... by the border exit. Easier for someone else to get it out intact. I walked over to it, shaking slightly with indignation at the voice. Kefka, Anti-spiral, Odio... I couldn't decide which it was most like. I put the backpack down by the border.

"... okay, let us play a game, then!" the voice boomed. I turned to see a cloud of dark purple miasma surrounding the area, condensing into small, loosely humanoid figures.

"Ah, Heartless then." I quipped.

"If you can defend the gate until it stabilizes then you may do as you wish and escape....but if even one of these children reach the gate...you will all perish here, in this prison of your own making..."

So, a defensive fight... I wasn't so useful for that, the only combat-useful magic I'd come up with was best for causing confusion or running away... but I pulled a few blades of grass out of my pocket anyway.

Remilia laughed. I remembered that the most powerful players of Gensokyo were here alongside me... what was I so worried about?

Then Sakuya's time stop failed.

Now would be an appropriate time to panic, I realized. I tossed some grass at the ground, trying to transform it into a decoy... but it just bounced off the ground slightly.

Not good.

The bodiless voice cackled, as everyone went through with the panicking.

"Without Gensokyo's spring of mana, you're all mere fragile existences, nothing, even less than humans! Who is the rabble now, Queen of the Night?! I now have full control over the spring....and, really, the destruction of Gensokyo is just an unfortunate by-product of my plans."

Ah, that's another question answered.

"Your demise is just a small, insignificant consequence of a scheme that will alter all existence! Still, you have amused me greatly...if it's any consolation, consider that your life's achievement!"

So, this was a multidimensional affair...

Koakuma collapsed, shaking. The miasma critters started to shamble forward. We all cringed away from them, intimidated by the numbers, if nothing else.

Lily Black's boytoy, Alex or something, stepped forward defiantly. "It isn't over yet!" he roared, sliding into a martial arts stance, "We still have our fists! We'll fight!!"

In turn, the others recovered, each with their own short speech. I cracked a grin. So corny, and yet, my own came to mind so easily...

Reimu's beloved husband dumped a bunch of metal weapons onto the ground. I walked forward just enough to grab one - a long metal rod, though I wasn't certain how he'd managed to carry it all this way.

I stepped back towards the gate. It was what we needed to defend, after all, and someone needed to play goalkeeper. But on the way, I couldn't resist, grinning like the madman I am...

"Even if Gensokyo is dead... even if it no longer exists... on my back, and in my heart, it will continue to live on! Ore wa ore da! What the hell do you think I am?!"

The creatures rushed forward, faster than I would have expected. Everyone else leapt into the fray, beating and slicing them back with excellent skill and strength. I don't think I could manage that... oh Parsee, you card.

-----

I soon realized that there was a flaw in my plan. Namely, that while I was serving as an appropriate failsafe, I was also an idle pair of hands as long as everyone else was keeping the swarm under control. They were doing a good

job of it, and I hadn't even touched one yet. At least I'd chosen an appropriate weapon with good reach...

... I couldn't move too far, or it'd defeat the purpose of acting as a last line of defense. I'd have to find some way to be useful from where I was standing. That meant some sort of ranged attack. Without anything designed for it,

that would be... throwing stuff. There were still plenty of spare weapons left over in the abandoned pile, but they were a bit far away and rather heavy. Only the smaller knives would make decent throwing weapons, anyway. So I should find a closer source that...

Oh. Of course.

I bent over, grabbed a fair-sized rock off the ground, and flung it in a high arc over the frontlines of the battle. A splattery thud and twisted squeak made me grin.

I grabbed another rock, and shouted, "Don't forget you have more than your fists and weapons!"

-----

I made myself particularly useful managing to stop and throw back a handful of the shadow critters that snuck through the defense lines. Luckily, they were easy to knock down, and much lighter than their size would suggest (though, given their composition, that made sense).

Then a few managed to get close in quick succession. I got worried.

Thankfully, then the cavalry arrived, in the form of a kappa on an airship, her psychotic witch buddy, and Madame Tsundere.

Machine guns were alarmingly effective against our little opponents. This is not surprising, but very true.

I pumped a finger into the air. "SCIENCE!"

What was left of the battle was cut short by Sakuya's husband going more than slightly insane, somehow still pulling out a supernatural attack, and the disembodied voice giving up with surprising ease. Everyone's magic seemed to return.

... What the hell?

How did that even work?

Did he draw on some other power source? Do something to overcome it? Was there some sort of power siphon he managed to circumvent? That last one actually makes some sense, but the voice left too, maybe that was doing it instead...?

I shook my head, slowly. Well worth looking into, but not the immediate priority. I made a mental note to... try and make a drill during any pause in the action before we left Gensokyo...

"Hey, Nitori! Thanks for the save!" I called up at her contraption. She grinned, and waved back down.

I glanced at the others nearby. "... now, how much more time do we have, and does anyone have any idea where we could find Yukari?"

"... and... hang on." I retrieved the notes I'd taken from beneath my backpack, looked them over again. Looks like the only one that's still relevant would be the mana sharing mechanics.

So I asked about them. "Anyone know exactly how this 'mana sharing' we're going to be relying on works? Does it have to be people that have been in Gensokyo from outside, or would other outsiders help too?"

I mostly directed the question towards Reimu, as she'd probably know best. Or her husband, maybe, but I never got to ask along the way...

The border, Day 1, 4.26 PM, Roughly 1 hour until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

*draws his nodachi Monohoshizao, a very long katana from his back*

Koji:*talks to self* i'm glad my wounds healed up for this....was not expecting a mastermind to be behind this.....well koji...time to live up to that promise now!  *charges into battle staying nearby Remilia and the other girls to help ensure safety*......."Someone must really have some serious balls to want to take out Gensokyo even if its a side-effect to whatever the hell they are doing....They must be....some sort of god or something...tired of fighting gods for magots sake!... *continues to fight while thinking and protecting*

The border's limits, Day 1, 4.56 PM, Roughly 30 minutes until the collapse of the Great Hakurei Barrier

(OOC: This occured during the battle, right before Taihou finished it)

"BANZAAAAAIIII!" Something soared through the sky towards the fray before crashing into the ground, sending up a huge wave of dust and dirt into the air as it skid across the battlefield.

"EAT LEAAD!" Bullets ripped through the enemy ranks from a heavy machine gun mounted atop what looked like an airship that was now cruising through the hordes, trampling them deep into the ground under its pointed bow. Behind it was a very happy-looking kappa, laughing manically over the roar of the machine gun.

Some of the shadows tried to board the ship as it cruised on towards the gateway...but their attempts proved futile as well-aimed broom swipes blasted them off into the air like the bits of rubbish they were.

"ORA ORA ORAAAA!" A black white witch cackled as she swung the broom madly around her.

"No! Keep off!" Behind her, a girl in blue, white, and red bashed random shadows that the witch had missed with a heavy-looking leather-bound book.

"Taka-kun, out of the way!" Reimu shouted. Mitaka turned just in time to come face to face with the bow of the ship....just as it stopped an inch away from his nose. He blinked....before falling backwards on his backside, gibbering like a fool.

"Nice of you to join us." Reimu shouted up at Marisa, Alice, and Nitori. "You're late!"

"Nice of you to leave some for us ze. What? Didn't have enough of an appetite ze?" Marisa laughed back.

Just then, Taihou let out his burst of energy.

"...whoah...." Marisa murmured. "....does he take apprentices?" She asked around.

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