[IC] - All the World's a Game

[Remilia Scarlet]

Somewhere in south Auvergne - France

---

Screams filled the air as men, women, and children all ran alike. They screamed of the devil. They screamed of horrors. With their small town being located in the rural region of south Auvergne, towns and help were few and far between. They had heard rumors and stories of this horror that ransacked their small village. Newspapers and telephone calls whispered of a great devil that would appear to terrorize the French countryside.

One boy trotted at a pace while holding onto his mother. The mother had hurt her back earlier in the year and was still recovering. The boy, clad in a white shirt and creme colored overalls, ran slightly ahead of his mother who wore a light mint-green dress. Running on a small side-road paved with cobble with single-story white stone walls lining both sides, the boy and mother had tried taking a less traveled route out of the town and to safety. Both mother and son ran with terror filling their eyes. They could hear the screams of those who had been unfortunate enough to be intercepted by the devil that rampaged through the town.
He knew that he and his mother had to get out of the town and to safety as quickly as possible.


*** "Mother, how are you doing?" The boy nervously asked as the mother half-ran, half-limped behind him. Her back was not treating her well.

*** "I'll be fine, Matthieu." The mother replied to the son. "We must get out of here!"


Nodding, the son turned back towards the front and continued down the cobble road, never letting his mother too far behind him. Though he hadn't noticed it earlier, he suddenly realized that many of the screams had stopped and what screams he could here were more of terror rather than pain. This worried him. Turning back to his mother, he spoke.


*** "Mother, perhaps we should try hiding in one of these buildings? I don't seem to hear any new victims crying out. The devil could be close or perhaps have gone." The boy hurriedly suggested. Regardless of what was actually happening, the boy did not feel safe outside.


The mother came to a stop as she caught her breath. Thinking of the option, she nodded her head in agreement with her son's suggestion. The boy trotted forward to an intersection of alleyways that was not far ahead of him. Peering out to both sides, he noticed a door that was left ajar along the left path. Whoever had inhabited the place must have left in a hurry. Turning back to his mother, he waved her forward and pointed towards the door.


*** "Mother, I think we can hide in there for now until things calm down. All this running can't be good for your back." The son informed.

*** "Alright, Matthieu. We'll rest in there." The mother obliged as she started walking towards the door.


As the mother neared the door, Matthieu noticed something. What was that smell? There was a faint metallic tang in the air that he had not noticed earlier. It reminded him of something. What was it, though? Matthieu wrought his brain for an answer as he started towards the door to follow his mother.


*** "Ou vas-tu?" A girl's soft voice called out from behind him.


Matthieu froze. The town was small. There weren't more than a thousand people in the entirety of the town and he for certain knew all the kids that lived in this town. He didn't recognize the voice. At that moment, the mother, wondering where her son was, stepped outside the door to check for him. She screamed.

Matthieu couldn't scream. He wouldn't have screamed if he could have anyway. He was too shocked. It hadn't felt like much, but looking down, he realized what that metallic smell filling the air was. It was blood. And now, the once weak scent was a sharp scent. It was his own blood. Sticking out of his chest was the tip of a large spear of some metallic material he had never seen before. This was strange. He had been wearing a white shirt and creme overalls just a moment ago. Why were they all red?

Those were Matthieu's last thoughts as the metallic spear retracted, leaving a gaping hole where his lungs and heart once had been.

The mother slumped down on the door that still was left ajar. Though she had never seen the figure that stood behind her son's limp and bloodied body, she knew exactly who that figure was. It was the devil. A small figure with red eyes ablaze with some magical power, she was no human. Her dress was caked with dried blood as well as splattered with the blood of new victims. Perhaps the dress had once been a different color. It didn't matter now. For all the mother saw before the spear once again thrust forward was a petite female devil clad in a scarlet red dress.

[Jaeyjay]

The man brought the items to the counter and looks up, waiting for a response.

"Wow, the man accepted that insane price above $1000. I never knew simple information can sell for so much. Capitalism, ho~!" Recette thought to herself, astonished. "I feel a bit bad for him for having to pay so much. Hmm... I know! I haven't had company in a while. I wonder if he wouldn't mind staying in the guest room."

"The price of these items is $12.24. About the lodgings, there is a small motel about two blocks dowm the street which costs about $20 dollars a night. There is a more secure hotel five blocks further down which costs about $70 dollars a night. If you don't mind, I also have a small guest room upstairs, though it will be very cramped and uncomfortable for someone of your stature. I wouldn't mind the company and you can stay here for free." Recette responds.

[Remilia Scarlet]

Recette's Armory - Manhattan - United States

---

Without a word, Snake pulled out his wallet and wrote out a check for the required amount. He pondered his lodging options that Recette had offered him. Without exactly the largest sum of money available to him, he figured taking the free lodging, regardless of comfort level, was the best choice. At the very least it offered him a roof and privacy.


*** "I think I'll take you up on the offer of free lodging." Snake finally replied as he put the check down in front of Recette. With a small smile, Snake added "I owe you one."


Somewhere in south Auvergne - France

---

Adrenaline coursed through her veins. She felt the high of killing once again. What a sweet feeling. The girl pulled the spear out from the chest of the mother with a sickening squelch as the internal organs and skin of the feeble human were ripped upon the movement.

What a sweet feeling. What a sweet smell.

She wiped the blade of her finely crafted spear on the untainted parts of the mother's shirt and jumped with inhuman power to land on the rooftop of the small buildings surrounding the alley. The devil scanned the surroundings. Perhaps she'd killed enough for today. After all, she couldn't kill everyone right away. One had to enjoy pleasure slowly. Tastefully. Refined.

The devil shifted her shoulders as she brought out the great black wings that she had kept folded behind her back. Being in open space on top of the roof, she spread her wings to the fullness of their spans and in one elegant motion, pushed off from the rooftop and flew upwards. The earth shrunk beneath her as she flew up gracefully at high speeds. Within seconds, the town was nothing but a mere series of specks on the rolling green pastures and fields that surrounded the area.

Remilia looked around her as she slowed herself, having ascended to a satisfactory altitude.

It had been a year now since she had somehow been transported from the comforts of her luxurious Scarlet Devil Mansion and had woken up on the floor of some unknown forest. Had it really been a year already? It felt much shorter to Remilia. She had completely forgotten how exhilarating it was to rip the flesh of a human to pieces much like how a chef would slice a fish to make fillet. The thoughts made Remilia hungry. Though she had once again picked up the pleasures of killing humans about half a year ago, she had not reacquired her taste for human blood. No. Having been spoiled in the SDM with the luxuries of high life had given Remilia a taste for fine foods like a rare cooked piece of premier steak or perhaps a tender rib roast lathered in Sakuya's specialty sauce.

Sakuya... That was a name Remilia still thought of often. Though it had been a year, Remilia knew nothing of what had happened to the rest of her friends. Where had Reimu gone? Where was her favorite book worm, Patchouli? Her sister, though perhaps for the better, was nowhere to be found either.

Where was this place anyway? Remilia had figured enough out that she was somewhere in France, but not having ever bothered to learn of the Outside World's geography, she only knew of the place in name. Thankfully, her tongue hadn't slipped and she still remembered the language well. Going back all the years before she had been transported to Gensokyo, she remembered having lived in an area similar to where she flew above now. A towering scarlet mansion in the middle of serene plains. No human dared come close, knowing full well what horrors dwelled within its walls. The humans back then would cower at night for that was when the devil struck.

Remilia missed that sense of power. The knowledge that the weak would tremble at the meer mention of her name gave her a unique sense of strength.

Currently, Remilia flew above a long patch of tall grass with mountains visible in the far distance. The nameless town she had attacked was simply an unfortunate victim of coincidence. Not knowing the details of the surrounding area, Remilia did not strike with plans. Having been living mostly a nomadic life, she knew not of when or where she might come across a human settlement.

Night would soon fall. Though she had not known how to take care of herself when first being transported to this outside world, she had, over time, learned how to make herself makeshift shelters and correctly acquire food without obliterating it completely. She flew down upon spotting a small herd of wild sheep grazing on the plains. She remembered some of her first attempts at killing prey for food. She had learned quickly that danmaku, though it did occasionally cook the prey upon impact, would generally obliterate too much of the meat to leave any significant portions of edible parts. Another one of her endeavors had taught her that though it worked slightly better, slamming into an animal, causing it to fly several hundred feet away into a crumpled mess of bones and meat, though did tenderize the meat well, would also cause too much shattered bones in the meat to make the effort worth the cost.

Upon touching down on the ground about a dozen yards away from the herd, Remilia found a small pebble and picked it up. With some practice, it was amazing how accurately one could flick an object so small, so powerfully. Holding the pebble between her left thumb and middle finger, she cocked her right hand's middle finger against the front of the right thumb. Closing one eye and sticking out her tongue, Remilia flicked the pebble into and through the temple of one of the sheep.

[Major Mario]

Mima's Antique Shop - Tokyo, Japan - ((@Mima, / Yuuka, Ren, MC ))

---

"Yeah, you too," Leon said in response.

Despite all that was going wrong in the world and in Leon's personal life, he was still a friendly and respectful man. Maybe a bit of an ass at times, but what man wasn't? He nodded and placed the waving-cat statuette in a pocket of his leather jacket. He didn't really believe in there being good luck or anything like it, but for some reason, the statue did carry with it a sense of comfort and nimbleness, as if he felt more in-tune with his surroundings. It reminded him of the trinkets that a certain woman in red dropped off for him every now and then.

Ah yes, Ada Wong. The once reporter turned agent had never ceased to be a thorn in Leon's side. But, as he thought about it, he did not mind the thorn. Connected to it was the slender stem and the blooming rose. Being double-crossed time and time again could be forgiven, as the woman always helped him out in the end. It made him appreciate the cat trinket even more. His thoughts drifted away from his work and his melancholy and towards the lovesick officer he once was. Perhaps Ada would like this, he thought, only if I found her.

He sent another glance towards the shop owner before noticing the approaching party of three people. Instantly, Leon took a step back. The green-haired girl looked intimidating, but the creature and the armored soldier next to her were more than a little concerning. Those were some claws that the creature sported, and it didn't look like it was peaceful creature. The soldier looked worse, as the armor and weaponry he was carrying made it known that he was not here to buy a set of plates. However, Leon relaxed a bit when he recognized the soldier as the one who joined up with the local police force. Perhaps he knew what was up with the sirens outside.

"Afternoon," he grunted. He looked towards the soldier. "Hey, aren't you that soldier from the Halo games? You joined up with the police force here, I've heard."

[Jaeyjay]

Back of Recette's Armory - Manhattan - United States

---

Recette led the man through a door in the back of the shop and up a small flight of stairs. They come into the living room, which was a small open space. The living room was furnished with leather couches, a dangling chandelier in the center of the ceiling, and a fur carpet. On the left side, there were two large TV screens. One was an actual TV for recreational use, while the other one was filled with many live feeds of security cameras in and outside the shop. There was a small kitchen and dining area on the right. At the back, there was a small hallway which led to the various other rooms of the appartment.

"There's the bathroom on the right in that hallway. My room is the one at the far back. The guest room is on the left in the hallway." Recette informed the new guest. "By the way, I don't think I have properly introduced myself. I'm Recette Lemongrass," Recette said with a curtsy. "What is your name? Also, if you don't mind telling, why exactly are you here?"

[Katrix]

Antique shop - Tokyo - Japan

Aqua walked up to the store as the other walked in. As she walked towards the building she thought about what magic she should use if she had to escape from the area.
("A stop type spell would be the simplest solution tough if it wasn't to dangerous a confuse spell could do too. If there comes something heavy tough a gravity type spell could do the trick") .
In the end however she just went with a simple barrier. It was easy to do and could let her explain the situation if something happened.

When she looked into the window she could see all sort's of things.
("This is one unique place. Maybe the shopkeeper have heard anything about Ven or Terra in addition to knowing what have been going on")
She continued to the front door and walked inn.

[S121]

Antique Shop - Tokyo - Japan


"Hey, aren't you that soldier from the Halo games? You joined up with the police force here, I've heard."

John's mind flashed back to when he first came out of his game...

...He opened his eyes as the flash of light dimmed away. In front of him was a huge structure, a communications tower perhaps. His on board HUD was littered with unknown targets.
He looked around and saw... things, perhaps aliens? There were many surrounding him, looking just as confused as he was.
Some were running out of range while others, started fighting. As he tried to make sense of the situation, a storm of shots echoed in the distance.

"TAAAANK!!!", a bald, thuggish looking man yelled at the top of his lungs.
John looked over to see a nightmarish sight. Standing at approximately 15 feet tall, was what looked like a Flood! "AAAAARRRRRRRRGHHHH!!!", the creature roared at John.
John pulled out his rifle as this massive behemoth of flesh charged towards him. Just as he had done for effectively killing hostiles, he fired at the head.
The Tank's head exploded into a mist of brains as the skull broke off into shards, piercing the flesh surrounding the missing head. The Tank doubled over and rolled towards John.
He simply jumped over the corpse and landed back to his previous position. "What the hell kind of gun is that!?", an old looking man asked him.
Judging by the clothes he was wearing, John concluded that the man must have been a war veteran.
"Not a weapon you would be familiar with."...

John snapped back into reality, almost forgetting that the man standing in front of him asked him a question.

"Yes. I did.....Who might you be?"

[Remilia Scarlet]

Back of Recette's Armory - Manhattan - United States

---

Snake looked around at the place of his new residence. Though Snake didn't intend on staying for a particularly extended length of time, he figured he should get to know the area well in case things went south.


*** "...why exactly are you here?" Recette asked with her curtsy.


Obliged to respond, Snake started on his eventful day and how he had come to becoming a target for this unnamed organization. Snake explained that the information he had just bought would surely aid him in his mission to figure out what was going on with this terrorist syndicate. Snake took care to explain that at this point, it was not necessarily out of any real desire to protect humans as their saviors or the like that made him embark on this mission. It was quite literally because Snake didn't enjoy having bullets constantly flying at him from behind corners and explosions waiting to happen in front of him. While explaining his situation, Snake thought back on his conversation with Adam, the chief detective. It still pissed Snake off how easily Adam had dismissed his case. Though after having found the information that the leads were false justified Adam's reaction in hindsight... Getting his mind off of the matter, Snake focused on explaining his situation.


*** "So yeah, that's how I ended up here." Snake finished.

*** "Quite the adventure, I see, Snake." Recette remarked as she put her hand on her chin.

*** "Indeed. Now not to be rude or the like, but would you mind if I took some time for myself to study the documents and information?" Snake asked. He meant what he said. He was simply eager to start digging through the files and recordings to find clues on the organization.

*** "By all means." Recette smiled as she went back to the front of the shop.


Snake grinned as he walked down the hallway towards his room.

Northern Auvergne - France

---

Remilia took a great slow yawn. It was early in the morning and she had just awoken. Not raising her body, she turned her head to the sides to look around her. She lay several meters up above the ground while nestled into a makeshift bed made from laying broken branches perpendicularly to the branches of the tree. Remilia looked down at herself.


*** "I really need to get a change of clothes soon." Remilia muttered to herself as she used her arms to lift her upper body upright.


The dress Remilia currently wore was the fifth one she had changed into since being teleported to the Outer World. Her first one had been ripped to tatters after she was attacked in her sleep by stray wolves at night. Though she herself had been unhurt, Remilia had taken to sleeping high above the ground since that incident. If Remilia remembered correctly, the current dress used to be a sky blue color and probably belonged to a young girl no more than 12. She couldn't be sure though. She had simply walked into the closet of a house that had been abandoned and taken whatever fit her well. It wouldn't have really mattered though, as the dress had been splattered in blood within a few days.

Sitting up, Remilia stretched her arms skyward as well as spread her wings and flapped them, sending great waves of gale. She picked up her Gungnir that she had shapeshifted into a metallic spear proportional to her, and jumped off of the branches, landing softly on the leaf covered forest floor with an elegant flap of her wings. She looked up into the canopy above her that shone rays of light down. It was ironic to her how serene and peaceful the place seemed, yet in the middle of it stood a vampiric devil that had probably killed over two hundred humans since coming to the Outer World. The world did some pretty funny things.

Remilia gripped the gungnir tightly, braced her body, then gave a great flap of her wings, sending her zipping through the forest at blinding speeds.

[WriggleRid3r]

(Typos, typos everywhere. Also, good afternoon people.)

Bee Cave, Texas
A guitar strumming from the sheriff's station. Beating sun. Tumbleweeds. This was the Texan life.
"Yo, Dell, we need your help on this." A Texan's call is a Texan's call. The peaceful life was interrupted as the man inside the sheriff's station came outside to take a look at the situation.

"You seeing this?" A cowboy with red shirt pointed at a broken machine. The only piece intact was a banner that said "Provisions".

"Damn, Dagnabit!" The man lifted his helmet and glanced at the cowboy. "I told you don't touch that darn thing."

Paris, France
Words of the massacre in South Auvergne reached the French Espionage Organization in Paris. The agents there were on high alert, and many of them were already on the move. A beautiful young women with flaming red-black hair stormed into the building with a stack of paper.
"It's confirmed." The woman started speaking to a mysterious man clad in red suit smoking cigarette in fluent french. "One of our agents, Camille, has been slain."
"Preposterous." The man responded, flickering his cigarette, bellowing out smoke, and throwing the butt into the trash can nearby. "Was there ever any doubt?"
"Non." The woman sighed. "What shall we do?"
"I do not know." The man pulled another cigarette from his pack. "But of course, the outcome will never really be a doubt."

(Quick update for another segway. Might not be able to make it till 8.)

[Major Mario]

Mima's Antique Shop - Tokyo, Japan - ((@Mima, / Yuuka, Ren, MC ))

---

Leon was a little perturbed by the soldier's silence. While he could not see through that visor, he knew that he was not being looked at. Did something grab at him? The agent took the opportunity to glance over at the green-haired girl with the parasol. She looked similar to the shop keeper in some way. Perhaps they knew each other or came from the same universe. The creature obviously did not come from the same world, however. Perhaps it was one of those Pokemon creatures that were scattered around the world these days. Leon remembered a news bulletin about the creatures, even chuckling sardonically when there were reports of people trying to train them.

He returned his attention to the solider. 117 was his name, or was it his designation? Either way, he had no problem with Leon. The man smiled.

"Name's Leon S. Kennedy. Used to work for the US government." Leon shrugged. "Now I'm just a desk jockey for SCAE. I'd shake your hand, but I'm afraid you'll crush it. No offense."

[S121]

Antique Shop - Tokyo - Japan


"Now I'm just a desk jockey for SCAE. I'd shake your hand, but I'm afraid you'll crush it. No offense."

John gave a slight nod to Leon, as if saying, "Understandable".

[Remilia Scarlet]

(Beautiful, Wriggle. I was intending on moving Remi up to Paris in a few posts xD)

South tip of the Centre region - France

---

Though she hadn't decided on it consciously, Remilia noticed that she seemed to have been travelling north a lot lately. Over the past year, she had mostly flown around in random directions, probably ending up going in circles, but this was the first time she had headed in a single direction for several days. Remilia wondered what had caused her to unknowingly choose to do this, but didn't ponder on it for long. While travelling over the past few days, Remilia had stumbled upon yet another village. It was more of a settlement than a village with only a couple dozen buildings, but regardless it had sufficed in supplying her a pink dress that was, to Remilia's delight, very similar to her original.

She currently flew at a low altitude in the evening sun. The air smelled of grass and flowers. It was a pleasant smell. She was following a small river that one could have argued to be just a large creek north. She had a full stomach, a new dress, and was overall in a good mood. Going solo wasn't so bad after all. Remilia continued flying north. She thought she saw something new approaching. Tall structures of metal and glass were visible far into the distance and the number of the black roads were increasing to the sides of her.

Remilia tightened her grip on her Gungnir. This was going to get interesting.

[Jaeyjay]

Outskirts of Paris

---

Unbeknownst to Remilia, the reason she was heading so much further north was not because of pure coincidence, but rather because of a planned psychological influence. After the first couple villages were attacked, it quickly became apparent that this was caused by a rampaging Character. After the murder of one of their agents, actions were taken by the French Espionage Organization to find out the true cause behind these events. By examining the surroundings and evidence left by the Character, it quickly became obvious that this Character was of the Vampire race. Knowing how vampires are near invincible when in their own surroundings, the organization decided to lure the Character into a trap. By depriving the surrounding area of the Character of livestock, except in the direction of Paris, the organization was able to psychologically influence the Character to move north.

A small force on the outskirts of Paris prepared for the arrival of the Character in secrecy. Knowing that the enemy is of the Vampire race, they were all armed with items that were said to be the weaknesses of Vampires in various folklore. They all had cartridges filled with silver ammo and a silver short-sword just in case for melee encounters. They were not afraid of the impending doom, though. All of them were eager to get this over with, as they were much more afraid of having to deal with the continued preparation for this battle: 3 meals a day with garlic in all of them.

[Remilia Scarlet]

Outskirts of Bourges - Centre region - France

---

Remilia grinned and showed her sharp fangs as she heard the cries of men and women as she flew across the roads at lightning speeds. She could tell that she wasn't at the center of the city yet, but there were plenty of humans to toy with here. She flapped her wings twice and decelerated to a halt. She lifted her hands towards the sky.


*** "Heaven's Punishment: Star of David!!!"


A circle of danmaku appeared around Remilia in a circle, consisting of smaller circles. The circle shot outwards at incredulous speeds as they killed, maimed, and destroyed everything it touched. Houses caught on fire, cars exploded, screams were abruptly cut off. Remilia's face glowed at the sound of the destruction. This was better than any danmaku fight she had been in while in Gensokyo. It was like shooting fish in a barrel. She didn't even need to hold back and worry about legitimately injuring another friendly youkai or the like.

Remilia flew up and darted towards the center of the city. As she approached the tallest building, a giant cathedral, she could hear the sounds of sirens crying. To Remilia's surprise, she couldn't find too many humans or activity. She slowed down as she came up to the cathedral and stood on its highest point. It was at that moment that Remilia heard a loud explosion. With her quick reaction speed, she turned towards the origin of the sound. She was greeted by a large piece of metal that she watched fly towards her, hit her, and rip through her chest. Stunned, Remilia looked down at the giant hole now in her chest and slowly toppled over from the top point of the cathedral. What had just happened? What was that? She felt pain. Pain... It was something Remilia hadn't felt in a while.

It made her angry.

Remilia shape-shifted into her bat form, releasing dozens of small bats that flew off in every direction. One of them flew through an open window of the cathedral. Remilia suddenly crouched on a large cross that dangled from the ceiling, suspended halfway up the height of the cathedral. With her regenerating power, Remilia had been able to regenerate to her normal form, unscathed.

What was that? Remilia did not remember ever seeing or hearing of the humans being able to throw large metal objects, much less at that speed and power. Remilia passed her hand over her chest where there had been a hole earlier. She strained her ears. She could hear the shouts of the humans outside of the cathedral. There were a lot of them, somewhere around a hundred men or so. But what was that? It was a low rumbling sound unlike anything she had seen or heard before. Remilia formed a bat on the tip of her hand and sent it up and out the open window. Seeing what the bat saw, Remilia saw about a hundred men in similar dress. It was a strange mix of dark green and brown colors, making it difficult to see the individual outlines of each human. However, behind these humans Remilia spied something she had not seen before. It was a large metallic box with a rod sticking out the front. How peculiar it looked. However, Remi also noticed that the low rumbling sound seemed to be originating from the box. Was it alive? Suddenly, the upper half of the box moved. It rotate towards Remilia's bat. She saw that a human popped out from the box and pointed some sort of large black rod at her. Suddenly, the bat's vision went black as Remilia heard several small explosions.

Whatever the humans were doing, Remilia didn't like it. She kept in mind to keep an eye on the metallic box that seemed to have taken out her bat. Standing up, Remilia spread her wings and flew up, through the ceiling, and high above the humans. Regardless of what the humans had now, surely they couldn't match her when she was so high up. Remilia grinned. She looked down and went down in a dive as she sped up and went into free fall. She brought her wings close to her body to give her as much speed as possible.


*** "You've chosen the wrong target, humans." Remilia cackled.

*** "Hell Sign: Mountain of a Thousand Needles!!" Remilia screamed as she dove down on the humans along with the danmaku beside her.


Aiming for the small bit of white road right in front of the cathedral's entrance, Remilia didn't bother slowing down. She tore straight through the earth, obliterating whatever was beneath her as well as destroying and upsetting the ground around her impact zone. She heard the cries of men above her as force and inertia caused her to come to a stop, a hundred feet below the earth. She quickly dusted herself off as she flew back up. She materialized her Gungnir into her hands as she flew out of the hole she had created, radiating a brilliant red aura that seemed to give the petite devil a fantastic glowing comet tail. She looked down at the destruction she had created. Men lay strewn across the ground like ragdolls with the few surviving running towards the cover of houses. Remilia laughed. She materialized spear shaped red danmaku and lunged them at the men running away, piercing every one of them through the back.

She could still hear a rumbling.

Remilia turned her head ever so slightly to face the box, who's large front rod had rotated around to face her. It seemed to be raising it to point it directly at her. Whatever it was, it didn't seem welcoming. Remilia darted towards the left as the tip of the rod bellowed out fire and another large metallic clump rushed out and tore through the air where Remilia had been a moment ago. It seemed that the humans had developed some form of artificial danmaku powerful enough to challenge her. However, it was slow and awkward compared to what Remilia could handle. She gripped her Gungnir tightly as she dove towards the tank. As she did so, the box had just finished rotating its rod towards her.

Remilia grinned wildly as she dive bombed the box, throwing her spear straight through the tip of the rod and turned, flying sharply up. She did so just in time to hear a huge explosion behind her. Turning around, she saw that the box was now on fire with it's rod split open like a banana peel discarded by the wayside. Remilia slowed down and turned around, gazing at the destruction she had just caused. There were pools of red everywhere with large debris littering the roads and collapsed houses for blocks. The explosion the box caused had burnt an area in front of the rod, seeing the smoke and charred ground below it.

Nothing moved.

Remilia flew down to investigate the destruction in finer detail. Walking up to the box first, she read along the side, AMX-56 Leclerc. Whatever this box was, it seemed to have a name. How strange of humans. The humans that lay dead all seemed to have black rods with handles on them wrapped around their bodies with a leather or plastic strap. Remilia picked one of them up. It was a strange object. Obviously metallic, the handle seemed to be located in a perfect location allowing her to put it up against her shoulder. The object reminded Remilia of one of the metal danmaku shooters that she vaguely remembered Reisen from Eientei using. Did she recall hearing Patchouli mentioning that it was a human invention? Wracking her brain for information, she suddenly remembered.

These things were called rifles. Because the humans lacked magic, they had created their own artificial danmakus to shoot one another with. If she remembered correctly, the Lunarians also seemed to use similar devices, though she couldn't remember clearly from the short time she had spent at the Moon.

These humans appeared to be much peskier than Remilia had first imagined. She would have to be more careful incase more of these boxes appeared. Even if she didn't like the humans, she did respect them for creating a device that could legitimately injure her. Looking north, she seemed to notice that the farther north she went, the more interesting things got. Her next move was clear.

Remilia ran her hand across her chest once more, feeling where the 120mm AP tank round had pierced through her heart earlier.

[Koishi]

Mima's Antique Shop-Japan

---

Mima herself glanced over at the other people in the shop, and this many people was quite surprising. There was the abnormally tall man in the suit of green armor, the odd bipedal fox, which Mima possibly thought was a youkai of sorts. Then Mima's eyes widened as she saw the green haired,plaid wearing youkai known as Yuuka Kazami.

"Yuuka, is that you?" Mima asked.

---

The Inventory-Somewhere in New York

---

Marisa sat down at the large poker table, people still getting there. Marisa leaned back in her chair, putting her feet up on the table. In another seat was an odd fellow, who was quite short, with a blue mustache and a large cowboy hat. His red eyes seemingly glowed as he messed with an odd raygun-like weapon.

"Hello there, pretty lady. Why is someone like you at a place like this?" the cowboy asked.

"Same as you, ze." Marisa replied.

The cowboy chuckled. "In it for the money, eh? Never as good as I had doing mercenary work."

"Figures. Mercenary work has had a boom, ze?" Marisa asked.

"Hell yeah. Just playing for kicks though. Name's Lonestar." he replied.

"Marisa Kirisame." The two then shook hands.

The host, who had earlier introduced himself as Sir Reginald Van Winslow came up to the table.

"I do hope you apologize for the other player's lateness, we've been having quite a few people getting lost down here." Winslow explained.

"It's fine, old man." Lonestar replied. "I'm going to get a drink."