Dimension Lock Cataclysm: Hangyaku-Hen 1

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First, there was silence. A feeling like a great, cozy darkness was drawn upon you, like a heavy, but reassuring blanket.

Then, there was a feeling of anger from within. The comfort and security of it all felt wrong, somehow. And that pissed you off.

Finally, from that anger, there was... there was...

IRON

HEART
SURGE!!!


The veil lifts from your senses and you find yourself right where you remember, in the Scarlet Devil Mansion's vast library, holding Yukari's Astral Seed tight. There is no sign of the corrupted Avatar, or any of the others you were with. Indeed, where there was commotion in the halls, there is only silence now. The full moon outside casts an eerie light over the library, highlighting just how devoid of life it is.

As nonsensical as it sounds, it feels as if someone tried to cut your story short before you instinctively lashed out with denial.

You notice that your Dynamic Sorcery is gone and your mind no longer buzzes with Psionics. In addition, you must have gone through yet another minor regeneration during that blackout. Perhaps all these "respecs" are the result of a regeneration fueled by that Infinity Stone? You feel as though you've used up all the residual energy from that transformation, so this must be your last and final expression.

The Yukari crystal intrudes upon your thoughts. "Well, 'chief.' It looks like we're almost, but not quite, merged with the Outside World... I don't know how to explain it, but it feels like... a swimmer coming up for air and running into a icesheet? Yeah, that sounds about right. You might have noticed that magic has equalized with the Outside World's lack of that somewhat. I would guess high-powered magic no longer functions, though supernatural powers are by no means gone, this 'spells' trouble... don't look at me that way, I'm growing a new body thanks to YOUR magic, your humor probably rubbed off on me a little."

((WELL. It's happening NOW. Rodie won a wager with me, and also found an amusing and epic explanation for causing the game to suddenly exist: The game's hiatus is a condition affecting his character... so using Iron Heart Surge would end that condition. Truth be told I was disappointed at the lack of actual Gensokyo-ing around and was hankering for some of that, so this works for me. We'll start with Rodie, and Remilia (played by SimirrorofShadows (I'll give you her stats or you can extrapolate them yourself,) and we'll seed in the rest of you as the story progresses. Meanwhile New Earth Story is happening so also stay tuned for that!))

Rodie
"Hm. Just what WAS that... thing... that happened? I've never felt so suffocated in my life! I wanted to move, scream, anything, but I couldn't."
Yukari
"I don't know. I really don't, sorry. It completely towered over my senses and cut them off... like someone was writing 'The End...?' on the story of my life. I don't suppose you can do your thing where you store me on the Temporal Energy Plane so I can have a body without waiting 30 days in realtime, can you? Sigh. You were much more useful with magic."
"And you were more useful with limbs and a smoking hot MILF body, but I'm not being the judgey Jason here, Yukey. Where we stand, we basically declared war on Gensokyo, then promptly lost our biggest ace in the hole: phenomenal cosmic power. And now you're in an itty-bitty living space because that beats the hell out of dying or fading away."

Rodie takes out his knife, frets with it a bit, then transmutes it into a rudimentary katana. "I'm gonna be honest. This form? Not the 'Warlord' you needed me to be. But maybe that's what we need right now. The magic went to my head a bit, made me violent... drove my friends into despair. But without it... I can think clearly. I remember the things I've learned, the things I've worked so hard to achieve, how to turn a bad situation into victory, the truest expression of myself! Cogito ergo tyranni infestus sum, I think, therefore, I am DANGEROUS! Yukari..." 

Rodie sheathes the katana, Youmu's teachings reaching his hand freely once again. "We're gonna need an army. Yuyuko made it clear there's people working behind the shadows to make Gensokyo their own personal plaything. We're going to take this world back, purchase back the dawn, reclaim our destiny, however you want to dress it up for the history books. I don't care. I'm doing this for them. For Simirror, for Rose, for Icy, for Joe, for Reimu, for you..."

Rodie's gaze falls outside, towards the Youkai Mountain, where so long ago he, Joe, Corey, and Yukari made a fateful decision that would set all these events in motion. The moon glinted in his eyes.

"The time has come to forge a new reality engine."

~~

Dimension Lock Cataclysm

Rebellion Chapter

~~

Rodie looks around the room, row-by-row. "That's weird. Why would everyone just disappear? Who was moving the pieces around the board while we were... indisposed?"

He unconsciously pockets a book. The contents don't matter, but having access to a steady supply of paper, thus vegetable material, would serve a transmuter well. He tears off the corner of a page and turns it into an apple. 

Taking a crisp bite, he frowns. "I hate apples. Why did I choose apple? HOY! Anybody here? Anyone want a bite? I'm talking about the apple, but I'm willing to be flexible if you're willing to be naked!"
You come across Remilia's stirring form under a pile of books.
Remilia
Remilia slowly pushed herself out from under the pile of books, grunting in frustration as they slid off of her.

"Hate to disappoint you, Rodie," she says, "but not only am I not hungry, I'm also fully clothed."  Shaking off her weariness, she took in the surroundings.  

"So...what happened?  Where is Simirror?"  She straightens out her misaligned hat, brushing the dust off her front as she steps forward, "I could not find my sister either.  Where are my servants?"  She shook her head thoroughly.  

"No, now is not the time to be standing around, asking questions.  Rodie, I am unsure as to what has happened.  While I can see the threads, one has turned black, and is almost completely gone from my sight.  There are many more...most likely your friends and allies, perhaps.  Everything has become so...scattered."

She gives her hand an experimental flex, to gauge her powers.  Gugnir forms in her hand, albeit not nearly as strong as usual.  "Hm, I've lost a small ounce of power," she mutters, "I'll be back up to snuff in no time, I wager."  She turns her attention back to Rodie.

"So...what now?"

Rodie
Rodie looks down. "Simirror... he gave into the despair, into the Silence. When we find him next we may be in for a fight. I think he trusted you and you running off grew his doubts... especially since it seems there's a conspiracy of sorts at play here. But, this time, it seems the Silence can be exorcised much easier than before. Icy was able to purify Meiling, and before it took an entire ritual... and that wasn't even a sure-thing. But one thing puzzles me."

Rodie motions for the two to walk off, and starts heading towards the great hall.

Rodie lifts the apple for another bite, stops himself when he remembers he doesn't like apples, and turns it into a peach. "This isn't the first time your mansion has been stop #1 on the Gensokyo disaster tour. It's always been like that. This time, though, your chief maid seemed convinced that not only did she watch you die, her only recourse was to work with the humans, even if that meant turning your mansion into their base of operations, your friend Patchouli seemed to be working with them too... and Meiling was taken by the darkness. Lets count our lucky stars that not all of them were taken but I fear for your sister... the last thing that came at us were twisted vampiric creatures, probably engineered from her essence..." Rodie pockets his peach pit and lifts a finger, making a point. "If they've figured out how to forcefully take her vampiric gift and apply it to their soldiers..."

Rodie stops. "Wait a damn minute. We were just in library, facing west, towards the youkai mountain."

Rodie grabs Remilia and pulls the two of them into cover. He looks out, alarmed.

"The moon doesn't rise in the west... It sets in the west. The evening was just beginning when we came here and it hasn't been long enough for a full night to pass... I think we've fallen into a trap and I think I know why we can't tell where our allies are."
Sure enough, you hear a rooster crow to signal the coming of the sun...
"Son of a lich" Rodie takes a sharp breath. "Yukari, what time is it? No, forget that... what DAY is it? Is it the same day as Sakuya's wedding?!"
"It's..." Yukari pauses. "Huh. Well, it's morning. Of the same day we came down to Gensokyo. Which means yes, tonight Sakuya gets married, and also Reimu is in her shrine, nursing those kids from the future, while the Silence bear down on her from all sides. More importantly... HOW is this possible!?!"
"Oh geez... we gotta get out of here. Fast. I can uh... uhm. Hm."

[Easily Distracted 3: Feminine Qualities]

It was at that moment, unclouded by the powerful haze of magic, that Rodie could feel and appreciate with his own senses how soft Remilia felt and how nice she smelt. He lost track of time as he stared. She was not full-figured enough for Rodie's tastes, but she had a deadly allure to her, and holding her was like holding silk laced with venom. He was keenly aware of how roughly he had grabbed her in his haste to drop to cover, but any regret over that melted like ice against his skin-

NO! Rodie shook his head and cleared his thoughts, moving her away perhaps a bit too roughly in an effort to overcome himself. Danger! Focus! She's Simirror's charge, and besides she's not your type! The undeath thing kinda puts a damper on sexual appeal anyway... though, come to think of it, her refined demeanor in times of stress was REALLY hot...

FOCUS.

"I think I can get us to Reimu, really fast. Hold on tight. Also, I think I just mentally compared you to silk laced with venom, so make of that what you will."

Remilia
Remilia initially intended to protest to being grabbed, but considering the possibility of something catching them, it was better to roll with it.  Besides, she was used to being carried around when she was drunk, she could certainly handle it sober.  She contemplated Rodie and Yukari's words, shaking her head.

"That doesn't make sense," she muttered, "the threads...hm."  She trails off for a moment into thought.  "So if we were to go to where 'we' are, would something be different?  What if...wait, wait, I remember something about this.  Yukari, remember HOW they got the silence under control?  What if there is some sort of failsafe in place?  Rodie, you did...something, and as a result things got thrown out of whack, ONLY to be reset to the beginning of that very day!"

"Rodie, do you think--" she trailed off sharply as she noticed Rodie's 'attention' had moved to less important current affairs.  She simply raised an eyebrow and sighed.  "Rodie, I may be charismatic, but firstly, there are more important things to do, and secondly, there. are. more. important. things. to. do."  She stood up straight and huffed when Rodie released her, shaking her head.

"If you're good and prepared now, let's get on with it."

Rodie
"Right! That we do. There will be time for you to be flustered later, first stop, let's find out if Reimu's natural hair color is still purple and if she still keeps her panties in the second drawer from the top like a weirdo!"

[Improbability Thief] me and Remi to the Hakurei Shrine.
In a blink, you and Remilia are at the Hakurei Shrine. It looks better than it did before when you came down from the ship... in fact, the entire world as you passed it didn't seem as dark or colorless. It's almost as if the Silence haven't taken a hold. The sun is beginning to peek thru the trees, and before you can even register it, a shaft of sunlight hits Remilia....

And nothing happens?
...
((LIVE SESSION DUMP))
Rodie 
"Remi. You have sunlight. Touching you... HOY! Reimu, you lazy slacker, it's 5 am! Time to get up!" Rodie, still carrying Remilia piggyback, opens the door to the shrine.
You open the door and it's dark inside. You hear breathing from Reimu's bed and see her sleeping form slumbering peacefully.
"She's sleeping. Well then."

Rodie lifts the sleeping Reimu and carries her outside. He finds the tallest tree he can and hangs her up by her panties [Dexterity Check = 41]. She doesn't stir or wake at all.

"Excellent. And now we wait."
Rodie goes inside and fixes himself and Remilia a nice hot cup of tea from Reimu's supply, and helps himself to a snack. It's been a while since he's eaten.
Some time passes, and eventually your meditations are interrupted by a shrieking and not-at-all happy Reimu outside.
Try as she might, she cannot free herself.
Rodie steps outside, mug of tea firmly in hand. "Rise and shine, tulip! It's a beautiful day and we have incidents to solve!"
Rodie takes a long gulp of the warm tea and savors the sunrise.
Reimu is furious. "RODIE! When I get down from here, I'm going to stuff your incidents where the sun doesn't shine!"
"Temper, temper! You'll spoil your constitution, Reimu dear. By the way, realtalk? Your bedhair is gorgeous, why the fuck would you spend hours taming those locks?"
Reimu continues to struggle against the branch, even though she's attempting to fly, she's stuck. "Ow! When I- ow! get down there, I'm going to- ow!"
Rodie lifts a hand to his face to shield his eyes from the rising sun. "Careful now, you'll ruin your underwear! Though I am curious, in this iteration of Gensokyo, is your natural hair color still purple?"
Rodie sips his tea. "If you continue to struggle we'll find out soon enough."
Reimu goes slack, tired of hurting herself in her struggle. "Wait. What do you mean this 'iteration.'"
Rodie stares into his tea. It stares back. "Reimu, where do your memories end? What's the last big thing you remember happening?"
Reimu folds her arms and huffs. "Me, waking up stuck by my underwear in a tree while you drink my tea and eat my snacks."
"Before all that, I mean. Relating to me and the others. Come to think of it, where are Lady Danish and whatshisface? Grim Sunset?" Rodie scratches his chin.
"Who and who? The last thing I remember regarding you was you and some other folks heading off to some 'Wellspring of Hatred' and disappearing afterwards. There was an incident where people were getting fat and whatever you guys did put a stop to it."
Rodie raises an eyebrow. "Iiiiii-hinteresting. And I don't suppose you're interested in world domination?"
Reimu looks confused. "What? No! Why would I? That doesn't make sense, I already kind of own this place... at least, on paper."
Rodie munches on a rice cracker. "That makes sense."
Reimu puts her hands on her hips. "Rodie, what the hell is going on. I thought you were banned from entering Gensokyo ever again in the first place!"
Rodie shrugs. "Beats me. Ask Yukari. She's in my pocket."
The Yukari crystal glows bemusedly. "Hello Reimu, I see you're making friends with that tree. Oh my, it seems to be getting a little fresh with you! What a pervert."
Reimu's jaw drops. "What."
She double takes. "What?"
"...What."
((...After helping Reimu down...))
Reimu takes some of the tea. "Good to see little has changed with you even if you look somewhat different. Still gracing me with your appetite and your... unique brand of mischief."
Rodie runs a hand through his hair. "Yeah, well, the long hair and ponytail thing was getting old. And so am I, for that matter. I think I'm at least five or six years older than when we left for the Wellspring of Hatred. Long story, but teal-deer, facial hair happens." Rodie rubs his facial hair for emphasis. "New body too. The weirdest part is getting used to the new teeth."
Reimu sets down her mug. "Pity you never seem to ACTUALLY grow up."
Rodie scoffs. "I beg to differ. Responsibility is my middle name. Birth control is also my middle name."
Reimu sighs. "It's like it all never happened for you, isn't it? Did you really forget about it all so soon?"
"...Wait, what." Rodie chokes on his tea. "Are you talking about... the Silence, the war, everything?"
"Yes? That's exactly what I'm talking about."
Rodie gets up close and looks at Reimu intensely. "But, that's not something you're supposed to remember."
Reimu looks at you as if you handed her a live fish. "How the... how do you expect me to forget something like dying on the end of your blade? Yes, granted, the Silence took me and you had no choice, but that's not something I'm just going to walk away from! Unlike you apparently."
"Reimu, I've had years to think about it and deal with it. And I found the Silence are not as gone as we'd like them to be. Believe me, I couldn't forget Silencefall if I tried. We were duped. We never removed them from reality, we merely contained them, handed them to someone else on a nice neat platter."
Reimu looks at you intently for what seems like minutes. She sighs. "I know you well enough to know when you're lying. And I really really wish you were right now. Tell me everything."
Rodie tells Reimu everything that happened from his perspective, from the Wellspring to Holy Gensokyo back up to now.
By the time you finish, the tea is gone and Reimu is visibly disturbed.
"So, how do we know we're not in yet another illusionary layer of sorts?"
"We don't. That's what I intend to find out. Reimu. Show us the proof that we're in an actual reality. Something only you and I would know."
Reimu blinks. "What? I don't follow."
Rodie sighs. "I'm going to SO get in trouble for this... Reimu, there is one thing that those crafting this illusion wouldn't be able to know that we both do. And please, please PLEASE forgive me for this."
Rodie [Sleight of Hand]s Reimu's underwear away from her, and lifts her skirt.
Reimu shrieks and promptly freaks the hell out... but lo and behold, her natural hair color stands revealed as purple.
Rodie muses. "As I thought. This is no mere illusion. This is the real deal."
Yukari hums to herself. "Well well, Rodie, it seems for once your sexual obsessions have paid off. I know for a fact she had black hair down there during our time in the illusory worlds."
Rodie blinks. "Boy, there's a story there and I want details."
Reimu continues to flush unhealthy shades of red.
"WILL YOU LET GO OF MY SKIRT AND KINDLY GIVE ME MY PANTIES"
Rodie looks up, having put them on his head. "Aww but... soft."
"NOW."
"Okaaaay..."
Reimu stomps off to an adjacent room to get dressed again. Yukrystal glows and projects her thoughts into your head. "You know, if we're in the real world... that means whoever reset time on us manipulated the real world and not an illusion. I think you know what that means, Rodie."
"Yeah. They have access to a 'reality engine' themselves"
"Exactly. Though, I would guess it's more limited in nature."
"They weren't able to write us out... just move the pieces. And, why wouldn't they write a reality where the Silence have won?"
Yukrystal mentally shrugs. "It doesn't make a lot of sense. That's for sure."
Rodie strokes his beard. "Actually, it makes perfect sense. Think about it. We were onto them and their whole using the Silence thing. They can't mess with OUR memories. The one thing that's remained constant is the Avatar's perception of reality as it changes... so, in order to preserve the Silence... they were moved 'underground' in a manner of speaking."
"So, you're saying that because they know you and your friends are the biggest threat to the Silence, they simply put the Silence back in their cage... while they deal with you."
"Precisely."
"So what do you think is coming?"
"They still control and blackmail others. I wouldn't be surprised if we find ourselves up against some of the natives. They had practically the whole Scarlet Devil Mansion under their thumb."
Reimu returns. "So, what are you going to do? Now that I know all this, it's hard to stay out of it for long. The fact that there's someone or something out there controlling Gensokyo... my friends... like puppets pisses me off. And... it's not like it wouldn't show up at my doorstep if I chose to stay out of it. When you get involved, Rodie, it's EVERYONE's problem. You're like Gensokyo's personal omen of doom."
Rodie rubs the Yukrystal between his fingers. "First we go back to the Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's likely that if I woke up there, then the others are nearby as well. Does HATE still control it? I don't know if I asked."
The Yukrystal moans. "D-don't touch me like that."
Reimu shrugs. "I don't know what's going on in the village. The anti-youkai movement isn't exactly on good terms with me, though they seem reluctant to outright make a move against me."
Rodie continues to rub Yukari sensually. "Then, it's still a dangerous situation. We'll have to be clever this time. We'll need disguises, but I can only work that kind of thing on myself... Remilia sticks out like a sore thumb, and Reimu your face is too recognizable. We need to find someone good at disguises who can help us..."
Reimu thinks. "Perhaps Alice can tailor us some special clothing? Or Nitori may have some kind of device?"
She blinks. "Huh. I'm usually not this good at thinking so early."
Yukari butts in... "That'd be Rodie I think. He's got some kind of aura that helps us think more clearly."
"Yeah right, that'd be the day." Reimu scoffs.
Rodie taps his chin. "Nitori? I don't think so. They might catch on to illusory disguises, even if they're fortified with technology. We should go mundane as much as possible to avoid tripping anything."
Reimu slugs Rodie in the shoulder a little too hardly to be purely friendly. "Then it's settled. We go ask Alice."
Remilia
Remilia settles her cup down on the table.  "Before we leave, I wish to confirm something."  She steps up from where she's sitting and strides under the open sunlight.  "I am not so sure what exactly I am anymore."  She tries to flex her wings, attempting to confirm if she still has them.  It doesn't add up; if she can walk safely under the sunlight, either the sun itself is some sort of illusion or she is simply not a vampire anymore.  "We should be wary of the other residents of Gensokyo.  If I have shifted in form, then it is equally possible that others have as well."

Rodie
"That's... I still don't understand. If you're not a vampire, what are you? Do you still have your powers? Are you alive, then?"

Rodie shakes his head. "WELL. I suppose we're going to have to find out answers. But first, before we go..." Rodie stumbles, then braces himself against the shrine. "I really, really need a nap. It's been probably a full day or so since I've actually slept. Sorry, I'm no use to you all if I'm so tired. Reimu, I'm going to use your floor or something. Goodnight..."

TO BE CONTINUED...
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Rodie-the-Nightblade's avatar
Rodie-the-Nightblade
Rodie looks down. "Simirror... he gave into the despair, into the Silence. When we find him next we may be in for a fight. I think he trusted you and you running off grew his doubts... especially since it seems there's a conspiracy of sorts at play here. But, this time, it seems the Silence can be exorcised much easier than before. Icy was able to purify Meiling, and before it took an entire ritual... and that wasn't even a sure-thing. But one thing puzzles me."

Rodie motions for the two to walk off, and starts heading towards the great hall.

Rodie lifts the apple for another bite, stops himself when he remembers he doesn't like apples, and turns it into a peach. "This isn't the first time your mansion has been stop #1 on the Gensokyo disaster tour. It's always been like that. This time, though, your chief maid seemed convinced that not only did she watch you die, her only recourse was to work with the humans, even if that meant turning your mansion into their base of operations, your friend Patchouli seemed to be working with them too... and Meiling was taken by the darkness. Lets count our lucky stars that not all of them were taken but I fear for your sister... the last thing that came at us were twisted vampiric creatures, probably engineered from her essence..." Rodie pockets his peach pit and lifts a finger, making a point. "If they've figured out how to forcefully take her vampiric gift and apply it to their soldiers..."

Rodie stops. "Wait a damn minute. We were just in library, facing west, towards the youkai mountain." ((Pause for a "so?" from the peanut gallery))

Rodie grabs Remilia and pulls the two of them into cover. He looks out, alarmed.

"The moon doesn't rise in the west... It sets in the west. The evening was just beginning when we came here and it hasn't been long enough for a full night to pass... I think we've fallen into a trap and I think I know why we can't tell where our allies are."