[IC Board] All the World's a Game - Season II

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo | Day

"Sure.", Takoizu said as she walked over to the projector and switched the projector's connection over to her helmet laying on the table.

"If you have any questions as I go, feel free to ask them.", Takoizu calmly said to Yukari as the projector turned on.

"Well, As you all know, I'm from a future where everyone is dead. Besides Mokou, Kaguya, and Eirin, I am the only one left from Gensokyo after an Arcanopulsate anti-magic bomb was dropped on Gensokyo, killing everything within its radius.", Takoizu said as the projector showed a schematic of the bomb.

"Now, before I continue further, I should tell you what happened before the bomb fell. You see, The ACO is a double-division organization; WRAITH, and PALADIN. WRAITH wants to remove our abilities and make us human, while PALADIN wants to simply use, then eradicate us. Well, The ACO considered us to be the greatest threat, due to everyone in Gensokyo helping in the fight against The Devourer. Somehow, they got a hold of blueprints for an Arcanopulsate reactor, the same one used in a device called 'The Extractor'.", Takoizu said as the projector showed a picture of a prototype Arcanopulsate reactor in a testing lab.

"They were originally going to use it as a power source for a special device at their disposal, but when they saw that they were losing the war, they weaponized the reactor and killed everyone. Before that, they tried to use a fusion bomb, but Dad stopped it. This was the only thing we found after the fusion bomb exploded in the ACO's missile base.", Takoizu said as she pulled the badly burned M6D Magnum Pistol out from a gap and showed it to Yukari.

[wonderweiss]

Yakumo Estate
_________________________

Otori didn't even look up.

"Oh hey, you, you guys catch up, I'll continue in a few......."

He just suddenly stopped.

[Cucoo5]

Michigan - Detroit

"Ufufufu~ I see you~" Lisa said loudly as she actually switched back to her rifle and loaded a purple cartridge into her gun. She then took aim. "Fufufufu~ Don't be shy~ Lisa won't bite~"

---

Banished Library

With the second furnace lit, the tiles once more shifted in a different pattern.
"Aye, there we go." Kenway said as he started to look about the new configuration.
"Right, I'll go and quickly jot down this new set-up...just a moment..." Shulk went back up to the catwalk and worked his way around, jotting notes of the positions like last time. "And...there." Shulk was back and he placed his notebook on the rail. "This is the configuration with the second furnace lit."



"Alright, so we can see how both set-ups look...now what does it tell us about this puzzle?" Kenway asked.

[NeoFox]

Michigan - Detroit

As Lisa took aim at the figure in the fire the figure then disappeared in a blur.

X heard Lisa speak about finding the target or something... he quickly turned to Lisa with his X-Buster ready. As we began to turn to the direction Lisa was aiming X felt a sharp pain in his back. Almost like something was cutting into his back. "AGH!!!" He screamed in pain as he looked over his head. What he saw was what appeared to be a Reploid with a reaper motif wielding a beam scythe. "Behind us!" X yelled as he turned around, and fired his X-Buster at the Reploid. However the Reploid only deflected the X-Buster shot towards the sky.

"Oh come on now... why so quick to attack? I didn't even get to introduce myself!" The Reploid said with a sinister grin as he jumped back, he then placed his foot on the helmet of one of X, and Lisa's fallen squad members.




"The name's Prometheus... and today... I will be sending you to the scrapyard!" Prometheus said as he disappeared once more. Ready to prepare his next attack.

[Cucoo5]

Michigan - Detroit

"Mmm~ And you said I was reckless~ Ufufufu~ Ahhh so Prometheus wants to play~? Ok! Lisa loaded another grenade-like shell into her riffle and held it at the ready. "Lisa is ready~!"

Lisa had already planned out her next move in her mind. "He seems to like to try to attack from behind, and likes to use close-range attacks~ Ufufufu he doesn't know that rangers are the best! When he appears, I'll sidestep his attack and fire off this straight above him, then he's all mine~"

[NeoFox]

Michigan - Detroit

After Prometheus disappeared X put his guard up once again. "Be careful Lisa. You may be strong, but this guy... there's something about him that just screams power..." He said as Prometheus appeared high in the air above the group.


Prometheus looked down at the two below him. "I have no intention on fighting you girl! The one I want is the Blue Bomber!" Prometheus yelled as he performed a downward slice with his scythe as he descended down upon the two. Upon hearing Prometheus yelling X looked up and saw Prometheus closing in. "Lisa he's above us!" X yelled as he dashed out of the way, all the while charging up his X-Buster. As Prometheus landed on the ground, he quickly stopped his attack before charging straight for X and only X. He did not care about Lisa whatsoever... he only seemed to care about fighting X... something Lisa could use to her advantage.

As Prometheus charged towards X, X fired a charged shot from his X-Buster. However Prometheus simply blocked the attack with his beam scythe, stopping in his tracks in the process.

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo | Day

"Ok.", Takoizu said, putting the gun away and not paying attention to Otori.

She then continued her story to Yukari.

"After their failure at the missile base, PALADIN decided to use more extreme measures, and after a few days, they developed the Arcanopulsate anti-magic bomb. Many of the Characters tried to stop it, but they were soon killed before they could stop the launch... You were one of them. You died in this house, while you were trying to plan for the counter-assault. As soon as the bomb exploded, every inhabitant of Gensokyo, save for the "Houraians" and Ran, Chen, and I, died as their life force was sucked away and as their bodied burned to ash. The only reason we survived was because you had created a sort of safe haven in the basement, where the bomb couldn't reach. Within a matter of minutes, Gensokyo turned from the green land you know now, to this.", Takoizu said as the projector showed a video from Takoizu's perspective.

In the video, everything was grey. The ground was covered in ash, the trees were reduced to blackened husks, and even the sky looked as if it were dead. The Yakumo household was to the side, badly burned and barely standing. It was constantly raining ashes, due to the wind picking them up and dispersing them in an endless cycle.




Meanwhile, John noticed that Otori froze in pace, as if he was a robot. Confused, John silently walked over to Otori and waved his hand in front of Otori's face, trying to get a response.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Okay... A question." Yukari's face darkened. "You say you come here in the past to stop the ACO or whatever... But do you really think you can prevent their plan?"

"It's like watching my younger self. Always heading forward thinking that you have a plan. But if they could defeat everyone in Gensokyo with a fell swoop, then what can you do, at their prime?"

Yukari took a sip and continued. "Go back if you're so naïve like that. Your plan needs to be formulated better. It needs to take in unknown variables. What if they already know of your actions and have built the counter? What if you yourself can be taken down by the Arcanopulsate Reactor? If you can't come up with a better plan, I cannot help you."

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo | Day

"I know I can kill them in their prime. That's why I'm here, to teach you how to kill them.", Takoizu calmly said to Yukari.

"I've been planning this for a cumulative total of 2 years, all while focusing. For you, two years probably would be the normal two years, but for me, because of me being able to see things in slow motion, 2 years was the equivalent of 6,000 years. In a sense, I have been planning this for six.. thousand years, calculating every variable and figuring out what every one of my actions could bring. I have created countless plans within plans, up to the point where I felt like I would go insane, but I still managed to formulate them. For example, simply me being here will accelerate the ACO's progress. They will eventually find out about me because of their many connections and WRAITH's expertise in espionage, and because of that, they will get ideas. They will try and replicate second-generation Characters, and because of their failure in that, they will accelerate the timeline and resort to creating almost exact replicas of The Devouer, of the exact same one you fought during the Devourer Incident."

"To be honest, the only thing I have not factored in is Jack, Otori and Shikieiki's son. Granted, I tricked him into thinking that he killed me, allowing me extra time to plan for him, but as of yet, he is that one variable that needs to be dealt with. He can not be reasoned with, and given what he did to me, and his insane ideology, he must be killed. I let him kill me before, but next time, I will need to kill him if I want my plan to succeed without any risks.", Takoizu explained.

"I've spent a lifetime planning out their destruction. They will die before they ever see us disappear, before they ever destroy the planet, and before they ever kill you, dad, or anyone else.", Takoizu finished, barely retaining her calm demeanor near the end of her explanation.

It was clear that Takoizu was absorbed in this entire plan, and that despite her calm demeanor, she felt strongly for what she was doing. She was determined, and was completely devoted to her cause.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Are you sure you thought about everything?" Yukari asked with a smug. "For example... Like this?"

From the ceiling, a gap appeared. The gap spawned a giant octopus wait what?

A Kraken?

"Random variable always exist." Yukari winked at her daughter as the Kraken disappeared into the void. "There's no end to planning, my child. You do impress me. Technical calculation of 6000 years... But planning and executing is two different realm."

[wonderweiss]

Yakumo Estate
________________________

Otori jumped up.

"YES!!! AFTER 45 F*CKING YEARS! YOU! REX! ARE MY DINNER! F*CK YOU!!!"

He tossed his PSP into the air, caught it on the other hand and put it in his suit pocket.

"WOOOOO!!!!!"

Otori faced the others.

"... Uh... Sorry bout that... But anyways, she's right. Unaccounted factors do exist. You just fought one of them. I mean, he is basically your equivalent. Plus this is all a conglomeration of games, who knows what he'll find next? He might obtain the great sword of obliteration. And if he gets to the final level... Well... You're going to have to step your sh*t up. I still have yet to tell you about what exactly I mean."

He grabbed his USB.

"Whenever you're ready."



Misty Lake
_________________

Jack immediately turned around and got a perfect fix on the mysterious man's head.

"Who are you?"

[Cucoo5]

Misty Lake - Gensokyo

"Ah yes, then permit me to introduce myself. My name is Alvis." The man bowed slightly. "And your name is Jack, is it not?" Alvis's voice did not show any sign of reaction to Jack pointing a gun at him, nor did his body language.

---

Michigan - Detroit

"Big Mistake." In one smooth motion, Lisa fired the burst grenade skyward above Prometheus and then rolled forward and knelt with her rifle ready, firing a round at Prometheus, which emitted Photon energy as it struck him in the center of the chest, but causing no apparent damage. Then, she holstered the rifle and drew her two TMGs again and charge Prometheus ducking low, preparing for a kick to launch him into the air.

All of this happened in a matter of 2 seconds.

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo | Day

Takoizu couldn't help but smile at Yukari's sudden change in tone. That was one of the things Takoizu missed about her mother, her ability to surprise her no matter what. Her mother was right, no matter what, it was virtually impossible to fully predict the future. The best one could do was plan for possible outcomes.

"I do understand that there will always be variables that will pop up when I least expect it, just as there will always be risks. I only hope that more variables don't pop up as we go along.", Takoizu said to Yukari as she smiled.

"Besides, no amount of planning will ever help when it comes to trying to predict what you'll do next.", Takoizu said as her smile turned into a grin.


All of a sudden, Takoizu heard Otori yell and looked in his direction. He was right to an extent, but just how much of Jack was of Shikieiki and Otori? What did he add?

"Just what did you add to Jack that wasn't inherited from you and Shikieiki? Not only that, but why? It seems almost like you designed him to fight me.", Takoizu calmly said to Otori.



John listened to Takoizu and Yukari talk and couldn't help git give a little smile at them talking. To be honest, John still could barely wrap his mind around their child from the future coming back to the past, or at least seeing her grown up already. This very morning, he had no idea any of this would happen. Either way, John was happy that things were going well, and that Yukari seemed to be warming up to her.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"True. I am the epitome of random." Yukari shrugged. She suddenly got up and cracked her knuckles. "So you're my daughter from the future, huh? Let's see if you can live up to your standards."

[wonderweiss]

Yakumo Estate
____________________

"... He was designed to take down anyone who stood in the way of justice... Or at least what he believes is justice. He was made so that if he wanted to, he could single-handedly take down any major organization, the Neo-Yakuza, even. He was designed... Well, to fight me. Much like the way I... I can't. We have people of the past. I wouldn't want to spoil the series, now would I?" He said with a chuckle. "Imagine that. If these events all were researched deeply and turned into a movie, a tv show, even a game of its own. So are you finished with the projector? Because I need to talk to you all about Jack himself. He was the highlight of my life... A dark inked highlight."



Misty Lake
__________________

Jack still had the aim on the man.

"If you're trying to be friendly, then knowing my name right off the bat doesn't help. You must've heard from Takoizu. Well, I'm sorry to say, but she's not around anymore. She left me with no choice."