1000W X 30D (28) - Flipped Script

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This is it - including this one, there are 3 chapters left! Make every choice count! And sorry for taking so long - college summer program applications got to me.

As usual, thanks to the Creative Community server, thanks to u/LeeCloud27 for letting us finish this, and thanks to everyone else, especially u/Brick-Stonesonn! Let’s go!

Previously… You knew your openings would be short, albeit frequent- but you still didn’t know how you could possibly locate the cranes in time, every time. But at the very least, you had a few ideas. The best of which were…

…to try and jumpscare Nue or Seija yourself. Without flight, without any way of jumpscaring them in a way that would work, and without any idea what a “jumpscare” would even entail. As danmaku lit up your surroundings like fireworks, you started running to circle behind Nue… well, as best as you could, at least. “Xenoa, wait-” Sanae began, but you were already too far to hear. This is the worst idea ever, you thought as you ran. If I shoot, she’ll know. If I get hit, she’ll know. And I still don’t have a- Suddenly, you stopped. You remembered a certain Spell Card you’d used previously, and sure enough, it was still in your pocket. If Yuugi could knock her lights out, this had better be able to as well, you thought. After a bit more running, you found yourself right behind Nue- assuming that even was her. Her danmaku seemed to be much less dense from where you were, and the others were still pressuring her enough to keep her completely unaware. It’s been long enough already, her nonspell should time out any second now… you thought. But do I just go for it? Would activating her Spell Card snap her back to- “Nue Sign 「Danmaku Chimera!」” Nue suddenly shouted. There’s my answer! “Kiwami Sign 「Essence Of Metal Bar!」” you declared. “Wait, what do you mean METAL-”

Before Nue could finish her sentence, a giant metal pipe suddenly flew into one of the walls at Mach 0.2. The sound and shockwave alone sent you, Nue, and everybody else straight to the ground… and took a few cranes on the ceiling with it. Four of them flew into your pocket- 871 collected, 129 left. “I got her!” you shouted to the others. “Nice!” Yuugi shouted back. “Get back when you can, I’ll-” And just as quickly as the metal pipe had slammed into the wall, it flew backwards and disappeared. You tried finding Nue, but just like the pipe, she was gone. “...oh.” “Forgetting someone?” a voice shouted from above. “Snake Sign 「Bind Snake Come On!」” “That’s- that’s MY Spell Card!” Sanae protested. “How did you even- wait, that’s the IMPOSSIBLE one!” “If I could cheat my way out of it, why can’t you?” You looked up, and sure enough, stunning Nue had revealed Seija. Crap, crap, crap… Isn’t this from ISC? You thought. How are we even supposed to deal with it? I’ve used up my one Spell Card, and there’s no way we could time it out… CAN we even cheat? This is just- Before you could figure anything out, a literal WALL of red lasers appeared on all sides. Ah. Right, there’s a gap in the mi- “And since we’ve broken one rule, why not break another?” Seija continued. “Reverse Sign 「Evil In The Mirror!」” As Seija finished her sentence, you felt a sense of unease- whether it was from Nue’s ability, Seija’s, or your own fatigue, you didn’t know. If I remember correctly, that Spell Card should be easy… but I swear there was something more to it! If she wanted to toy with us, she’d probably throw something harder… unless… Suddenly, a wave of heat interrupted your thoughts- by sheer luck, you’d barely grazed past a wall of red lasers. You’d even forgotten to start shooting down the Spell Card! Right, I can’t worry about that when my life’s on the line here… Tick… tock… tick… tock… …and I’d REALLY appreciate it if I didn’t have a CONSTANT reminder for the time limit! As you grazed through another wall of red lasers, you saw Seija start charging energy. This was the first time you’d even heard of someone using multiple Spell Cards in a row; whatever was about to happen was probably uncharted territory for Gensokyo itself. You started sprinting back to Yuugi and the others, hoping you could find a way out of the incoming mess. It didn’t matter whether you broke the Spell Card Rules or not. I just need SOMETHING…! Something to keep up with a rulebreak- wait, THAT’S IT! “Sanae! How do we even cheat!?” you asked. “Scratch that- how does SEIJA even cheat?” “All we have is Aya’s camera!” Sanae shouted back. “Hang o-” Before Sanae could finish her sentence, she suddenly flew directly into the ground- and, as if someone else was controlling you, you suddenly started running backwards. What is going on!? Am… am I possessed!? Or did Nue… no… you thought. Nue couldn’t have done anything… Mizuchi!? But she’s not even here! Then it has to be- And then, right as a talisman hit you, so did the realization: Seija had reversed your perception of direction. Oh, boy.

Just like before, the pain hit fast- and hard. It wasn’t as bad as the first time you were hit, but it was still enough to drop you to the ground. The world was spinning, your ears were ringing, your knees were shaking, and yet, you weren’t losing consciousness. In fact, you were gaining focus. “You REALLY think you’re funny, huh!?” you heard someone shout. As you got up, you turned to see Sanae and Yuugi completely unscathed. In fact, Yuugi looked like she was out for blood. “Breaking the Spell Card Rules? THAT’S how you wanna play!?” she continued. “Oh, you’re gonna find out what happens when you f-” “Large Ring「Hello Forgotten World!」” someone else shouted. “Kogasa!?” A barrage wouldn’t be sufficient to describe what Kogasa suddenly unleashed. It was more like a torrent of bullets, shredding through Seija’s danmaku like it was paper. But instead of sending you straight back to the ground, the bullets harmlessly passed through you. Kogasa seemed to be smiling- probably from how stunned you were at the sudden save. “Xenoa!” Sanae called. “Hang in there, I’ll get us in the air!” Sanae swooped in, then hugged you. She winked. “Ready?” Before you could answer, the two of you were already far up the air. Sanae started shooting at Seija. You started shooting too, but with Sanae’s dodging and weaving, both your eyes and your stomach spun to a torrent. It made it hard to think. Crap…! There’s got to be a faster way to get the cranes… We can’t just keep fighting those two just to reveal them for a few seconds! And, as if she had read your thoughts, Seija started shooting paper cranes alongside the TWO Spell Cards she was already using. Well, as best as she could while Yuugi was practically jumping her. Haha, real funny… WE DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS!!! Where’s Nue so I can- “What?!” Sanae shouted, jaw dropped as her eyes stared above. You looked up and saw that pair of unforgettable black-feathered Tengu wings. -wait. AYA! She probably has all the cranes by now! Sanae flew closer to her, and you saw her wincing in pain, clutching her hand. By the looks of it, she’d taken a direct hit at extremely high speeds- high enough that her fan had a hole through the middle. A few cranes she was holding unceremoniously flew into your pocket- 886 collected. “AYA!? What happened!? Are you okay?” Sanae asked. “I saw a crane, and I went for it,” Aya replied. “Well… I think you know the rest.” Sanae’s eyes widened. “...I can probably clear out some of her danmaku, but… yeah, I’m never gonna try that again. Those two- they were probably swapping all the cranes around, and every few seconds I’d get slammed into a wall, and-” Suddenly, Aya took out her camera, erasing a stray crane that was about to hit you. “-well, there was also that,” Aya continued. This… just turned from bad to disastrous. How the hell are we supposed to… The moment you thought that, you saw Seija and Nue grinning at you. A possibility brought chills up your spine. From disguising the stone cherries as cranes… random rocks as cranes… even the danmaku bullets as cranes… it made you question: How likely is it that not all of their cranes are here? What if they’re deliberately letting us get bits of cranes here and there, so we don’t immediately give up? What if they’re just messing with us? Just look at those grins! TIck… Tock… Tick… Tock… Argh! I get it! There’s no time to be frustrated! You turned to Aya. Once again, you started shooting your now-familiar danmaku at Seija, all while Yuugi continued jumping her. They’ve got to get tired at some point from all this nonsense… Seija’s Spell Cards eventually ended. You instantly felt like you’d regained your sense of normal direction as Seija’s danmaku erased itself. Sanae flew back over to Yuugi, Aya, and Kogasa.

“Ah, that was getting boring anyway…” Seija commented. “It’s no fun if you guys can just read my danmaku and dodge through it!” “No… fun!?” you asked. “You’re- wait. WHAT’RE YOU DOING!?” “You’ll see for yourself!” a familiar voice replied. You turned to see that Nue had suddenly appeared out of thin air, floating next to Sejia. Your heart skipped a beat. If your guess was right, this was impossible to deal with. “NO! YOU AREN’T! There’s got to be someone- Reimu- Ori-” “Unidentified「Azure Stasis!」” Before you could finish your thought, Seija and Nue started shooting again- reminding you that you’d probably have a better chance of finding ALL the cranes blindfolded than trying that and coming out unscathed. The Spell Cards you’d seen so far were like fireworks shows- beautiful, with distinct, meaningful patterns. Not this. Seija and Nue’s danmaku for their Spell Card looked more like colorful TV static. Aside from the bullets being UFOs, you couldn’t make out a single distinct pattern- and neither could Sanae, by the looks of it. There was no rhyme or reason to the chaos- just a flood of bullets aimed at who-knows-where in who-knows-what speeds, probably rotating and curving randomly as well. For all I know, they could just be randomly shooting! You thought. They’re not even trying to hide it anymore- this isn’t even a Spell Card! All we can do is- Suddenly, light flashed; dissipating a row of bullets. Then a gust of wind blew away some more. “I got you guys, just keep shooting Nue!” Aya said, taking pictures, waving her broken fan. But after a few seconds, Nue and Seija stopped shooting. Or rather, it looked like they had. You instantly realized what they’d done. “That’s… IT!?” Yuugi shouted, flying closer to Nue. “All that talk and you gas out like THAT!?” “Yuugi, they’re still shooting!” “NOT SO TOUGH NOW, ARE Y-” Before Yuugi could finish her sentence, she suddenly collapsed to the ground- confirming your suspicions. I’m done, you thought. They want to throw the Spell Card Rules out the window just to see us suffer? Alright, then! “Kiwami Sign 「Essence Of Metal Bar!」” you declared. Again, a giant metal pipe flew out of nowhere at alarming speed. Let’s see how well you can hide the cranes when you’re- “NOPE!” Seija shouted. With a single flick of her wrist, she sent the pipe flying back at the wall before it could hit her. CLANG!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Whether it was from the sheer force of the shockwave, an invisible bullet, or both, you and Sanae were sent flying again. Your ears were ringing, the world was spinning, and without even colliding into any danmaku, you felt like you’d been hit by a baseball bat at full force. Worst of all, you were falling. “And just for good measure…” Seija continued, flicking her wrist again, pointing up. And the world turned. The stone cherries-turned cranes started falling toward the ceiling, the mess of colors and bullets and gravity and Seija turning your heads more than Seija could turn the world. You couldn’t see anything, only Yuugi's vague silhouette punching bullets away. Tick… Tock… Tick… Tock… The only thing keeping you conscious was that same clock again- the one you’d been sick of for the entire day. You turned, and could barely see Aya, Sanae, and Kogasa landing far away, winded if not downright knocked out. And even if they weren’t, what were you supposed to do? Find the cranes? They probably didn’t even have them all here, as some sort of punchline to a sick joke. You struggled to come up with some way to salvage the situation- danmaku, calling for help, begging for mercy, parrying the danmaku, asking Ori for a rocket launcher, rolling the Die of Miracles… Rolling the Die of Miracles. It was a blind gamble at best. But it was all you had left. From the very start, it was the one thing differentiating you from everyone else in Gensokyo. It was the die that had summoned Hatate, the die that sent you flying halfway across Gensokyo, and for all you knew, the die that could save your life here. “What’s wrong?” Seija laughed. “Can’t handle a flip of the script?” So, summoning the last of your strength, you stood up, turned to Seija, and knew exactly what you had to do…

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