[X] Screw them. Push through the opening between the lead car and the side one.

ROW ROW FIGHT THE POWA

[X] Screw them. Push through the opening between the lead car and the side one.

boxing us in to take an exit into another ambush? i think not.

[X] Screw them. Push through the opening between the lead car and the side one.

Something tells me that they - whoever "they" are - has deduced our target, and has seen more than a few people wander to their dooms. It's entirely possible that they're being forceful only because they need to - we're kind of driving a tank.

My theory involves their attempts at getting us to join their organization in an attempt to further their plan for fixing the black hole, not having the knowledge that we do about our compatriots.

My theory says "Fuck them."
[X] Screw them. Push through the opening between the lead car and the side one.

Man, a loudspeaker and a microphone would be awesome right about now. Can't blame Nitori for not adding one though.

Maybe the road up ahead is out because shit is so fucked near the black hole. Did people think of that? Maybe there is horrible danger ahead and we could heed their warnings without being captured.

sigh.

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage.

>>6491

Honk in Morse code? A bit of a longshot though, between possible knowledge and language barriers.

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage

Seconding this, they'll be persistentt otherwise.

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage
Better than nothing.

[ ] Screw them. Push through the opening between the lead car and the side one.

It's not like we're going to approach the black hole without knowing we're getting close to it first, it can't just suddenly loom up at us from the crest of a hill, so screw them.

Unless this is our SECOND chance to see the scene that the writefag desperately wants us to see that we skipped last time.

Nah.

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage

X] Screw them. Push through the opening between the lead car and the side one.

[x] Stop in the middle of the road. If they want to talk, they'll do it on our terms.
[x] Have Nitori ready the optical camouflage

Science is all about curiosity.

[x] Screw them. Push through the opening between the lead car and the side one.

“Screw this,” You say to Nitori, “We're going to punch through. Everyone, hold on.”

“Oh?” She smirks. “Decided not to play it passive?”

You shrug. “I doubt they've got anything important to say.”

You crank the wheel hard to the side, aiming for the gap between the lead car and the one directly to your side. It's quite effective; the two trucks you manage to bump spin out in a spectacular fashion, with the two that were behind you becoming tangled up in the mess. They're definitely out of commission, though you've still got no idea what they were trying to pull.

The remainder of the trip is incredibly uneventful. You fill up with gas a few times along the way, using the gas cans you brought with you. The engine is surprisingly efficient for such a heavy vehicle.

During one of your stops, you do manage to confirm that the colors of the landscape are, indeed, changing. They're becoming... dim. Less vivid. The side of the road is painted in grays instead of greens as you near Geneva, they sky becoming gray even though it's quite obviously clear. Every nerve in your body seems to be urging against going on, but you have to. Gensokyo depends on it.

None of you are really comfortable with it. The black hole must be doing this, but you can't for the life of you figure out why. Neither can Nitori.

You run out of gas completely near the outskirts of Geneva. You know this area well, since you've lived and worked here for years. There's a gas station near your current location so you all decide to walk, carrying the empty gas cans you've got in the back. The pumps don't work. The power seems to be out here, as well.

“Heh.”

Nitori turns around to face you. All of you are outside the car now, taking a break from sitting so long.

“Power's out?” Nitori asks. “I don't hear the pump going.”

“Yeah... the power's out.”

Geneva is much more quiet than Munich was; not even gunfire takes up the silence filling the air. Depressing. To think that you had at least some part in this.

...well, you're close enough now that you could just walk if needed. Fly, even. It's only a couple of miles to CERN, anyway.

[ ] Continue onward via flight.
[ ] Continue onward via foot.
[ ] Figure out a way to pump the gas out manually.

[ ] Figure out a way to pump the gas out manually.

Still too dangerous to proceed via foot or flight.

[ ] Continue onward via flight.

Get there fast. Don't waste time pumping gas. Also, it's not like anyone else is there, right?

[x] Figure out a way to pump the gas out manually.

Hell if that fails you could always

[x] Take off a tank from a nearby car and pour out the gas.

The oni could freaking hold up up for you.

I'm still trying to work out how you could pull out the gas from the reservoir below with items on hand.

[x] Take off a tank from a nearby car and pour out the gas.

Waiting now.

Till then, we enlighten with suppa science!

[X] find rubber hose and siphon gas directly out of the master tank

quick version.

>>6512
I'm afraid that won't work. Unless we got the receiving gas bin lower than the reservoir tank (which is likely under 7 feet of cement) we'd have to fight gravity the whole way. We could prime it for some pressure, but I don't know how Suika or Nitori feel about getting a mouth full of gasoline.

[X] Continue onward via flight.
Kill that black hole and go back to Gensokyo!

>>6513

>fight gravity

>Suika

Suggest this idea, but mention the problem of gravity. Maybe Suika will catch on?

Quasi-metagaming~

[X] find rubber hose and siphon gas directly out of the master tank

Use the Science, Bill!

[x] Try siphoning some gas in, but dilute it heavily with Suika's inexhaustible supply of high purity ethanol.

A month of this will destroy your engine. It'll run fine for a day or two, though. I think most new EU cars are ethanol-gasoline ready anyway.

>>6515
Technically Suika controls density. Gravitational pull from the mini black holes she makes is just a byproduct of their incredible density. There are so many things that could go wrong with using a black hole or super condensing a combustible fuel that its almost not funny. Almost.

Who knows, maybe Klay will be nice about it. He seems like a pretty nice guy with a secret vendetta against us all

We have two scientists with engineering experience (or vice-versa) at hand. We should be able to figure something out right about now.

[+] Get Nitori to help you figure out a way to pump the gas out manually.
[+] Keep open the possibility of siphoning the tanks of any abandoned vehicles nearby.

[X] Continue onward via flight.
We can do this faster than we can fill up the car that'll become useless the moment we get to the 'hole.

Before I forget to mention this at a crucial time... since this story started in-universe on Sept 10, followed by a few days... Suika IS going to attend this years Oktoberfest, right?

[†] Continue onward via flight.

Sorry about no updates today, three of my classes decided to hit me with a giant load of homework. I should resume tomorrow.

[X] Continue onward via flight.

close enough to the objective that there's little chance anything will stop an Oni

...or not. That took way too long. Updates for sure tomorrow, though. I apologize for the wait.

[x] Figure out a way to pump the gas out manually.

No... you'd like to get some gas. There's no reason to abandon your bullet-proof shelter, if you can help it. The underground tank probably has some left in it, and if that fails, you could go find another vehicle to siphon it from.

You sigh. The silence around the area is heavy, and you feel almost wrong somehow by breaking it. “Well, this sort of sucks. The tank is pretty far underground...”

“Is it?” Nitori asks. “How do we get to it?”

“It's somewhere around here.” You say, motioning around. “Let's go---”

A bolt of lightning streaks across the sky, although it's distinctly purple. The thunder follows almost immediately, the sharp cracking sound filling your ears. The bolt struck somewhere close.

“Geeze,” Suika asks, still walking around aimlessly with Takiko, “What's up with the weather today?”

You sigh. “Honestly, I've got no idea.”

You begin searching, Nitori sticking close to you. She seems a bit shaken by the bolt.

“Ah, here it is...”

The tank is before you. You manage to get the top off, but it's very deep... like it should be. You can't really see the bottom.

“Well, here it is,” You say, motioning to the hole in the ground. “Our unreachable gas.”

Nitori gets down to look at the hole. “Hmm... is this worth it? I could build a pump or something, but it would take an hour or two.” Nitori sighs. “If this was water, I could just move it out...”

“Hmm...”

You both take a seat around the hole, thinking. A siphon wouldn't really work, unless you knocked a hole in the ground to stand in. Suika could maybe make a natural pump by making some super-dense object to use. Nitori could always make that pump, too... though you're not sure what she's got in mind.

Of course, you could also go loot some other vehicles. You haven't seen any, but there's got to be some abandoned vehicles around somewhere. Either way, you'd have to go find a hose somewhere.

[ ] Have Nitori make her pump.
[ ] Go find Suika.
[ ] Go find an abandoned vehicle.
[ ] Screw it. The vehicle isn't that important.

[†] Have Nitori make her pump.
[†] Go find Suika.

Is it possible for Suika to use her density manipulation to gather the gas from underground?

[x] Go find an abandoned vehicle.

Making a pump would take to long, and I'm not crazy about the lightning right now.

Having Suika use her density powers on a combustible liquid near a large black hole strikes me a bad idea.

If you wanted to, you could get a bunch of buckets, and have a parade of mini suikas simply fly down and fill them up. Lets assume its a 1.5 gallon bucket and the car holds 30 gallons. That's 15 trips. Just make sure the buckets are small enough to get down the hole, you shine light down, and Suika holds her breath so the fumes don't get to her. Maybe tie a safety line to Suika and/or bucket.

However we only have the gas canister and not the car with us at the moment. If it works well, we could fill up a can, run back to load the car with it, and then drive the car to the station to finish filling it up.

Alternatively, just have Suika break/tear the concrete away to expose the tank. Hopefully we won't rupture it in the process.

In before we have some unexpected guests while we are separated and exposed.

[x] Go find an abandoned vehicle.

[x] Go find an abandoned vehicle.
[x] Have Suika spread out to prevent sneak attacks.

[x] Go find an abandoned vehicle.

[x] Go find an abandoned vehicle.

“Haaaa... this isn't going to work. We're going to have to find something else.”

“Yeah.” Nitori looks over to you. “So, what're we going to do? Just go on ahead?”

You crack your knuckles. “I think it's time for some looting. We'll need a rubber hose, and an abandon car with gas.”

“But we don't have a hose...”

She's right. And the nearest place that you can think of to get one would be a store halfway across town. Although, another idea comes to mind...

“We could just pour the gas out.” Standing, you add. “Let's go find Suika.”

The four of you manage to find a suitable vehicle nearby and... pour the gas out into one of your gas cans by having Suika tip the thing on it's side. A bit of it spills, but you manage to get three or four gallons out. More than enough to get you to where you're going. You all make it back to the Nitorimobile, fill it up, and... pause. There's another flash of lightning, and another sharp crack. You gaze upward... the sky has changed. It's darker than before.

“It looks like a storm's brewing...”

There is no change in the ambient light, though... that's probably why you missed it. There's another bolt, and another... they're all off in the east, in the direction of your destination. Deep purple is still the dominant color, although occasionally a deep blue one shows up.

“Hey, we goin' or what?” Suika asks, sounding a bit impatient. “I'm not afraid of lightning.”

[ ] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.
[ ] Watch it for a while, try to make sense of the situation.
[ ] You're not afraid of lightning, either. Proceed.

[x] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.

BLOWOUT

[x] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.

[x] You're not afraid of lightning, either. Proceed.

Onward in our large metal conductor that probably lacks insulation!

[x] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.

[ ] This isn't normal. We'd better take care of the black hole ASAP.
[µ] You're not afraid of lightning, either. Proceed.

>>6551

Eh, probably depends on the construction. I'm pretty sure our little vehicle can serve as a decent mobile Faraday cage. Just make sure you're not touching anything that conducts to the outside.

>>6555

Like I said : Faraday Cage. Since I'm far too lazy to bring up a reputable source, you're stuck with the first thing I found on Google, which is the wikipedia article : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Faraday_cage

No suprise, they give cars and lightning as an example.

Basically if the lightning can't pass through the car to the ground (since rubber tires separate and insulate us from it) we'll be fine as long as we aren't touching any metal connected to the frame. Might want to check the undercarriage of the tank to make sure we don't have anything hang low.

Electronics are going to get fried though. But hell, it was going to happen sooner or later.

ONWARD!

[x] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.

We can't let the Nitorimobile get fried by this weird lightning. It relies completely on delicate monitors and cameras for visibility.

[ ] This isn't normal. We'd better take care of the black hole ASAP.
[ ] You're not afraid of lightning, either. Proceed.

[x] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.

>Electronics are going to get fried though.
You mean like those monitors we're using to make sure we don't drive ourselves off a cliff?

[X] Watch it for a while, try to make sense of the situation.

Personally, I love watching thunderstorms.

>>6561
[X] Watch it for a while, try to make sense of the situation.


I agree with Tetro, besides have you forgotten?

This is SCIENCE in action! How could Bill do any less than stand and observe?

>>6557

The lightning already passes through some miles of air. Why would tires stop the lightning from hitting the ground? It could just pass a few inches of air again. Besides, being able to ground the charge is a good thing, as long as you're not doing it with your own body.

Here, article w/ picture :

http://www.weatherimagery.com/blog/rubber-tires-protect-lightning/

Also, I vote for :

[x] Pressing onward in someone else's metal-framed car. If all this is indeed caused by the black hole, it wouldn't get any better.

By the way, how is the black hole staying up anyway? I'd more or less expect it to go into the Earth's core without much resistance, through a bit depending on it's momentum, and osciallate back and forth sucking up mass as it goes.

Maybe it has a notable charge and is being held up by keeping a signficant amount of the same type of charge under it? In that case, what do you think would happen if massive charge-equalization events were going about everywhere?

[88 mph] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.
[88 mph] Enter a trace to calculate on how to utilize the power of SCIENCE to harness the potential of 1.21 Gigawatts of electricity to be your aid instead of an obstacle.

The Nitorimobile is about to be upgraded into a hybrid.

[x] This isn't normal. Take shelter somewhere.

“You might not be, and I love lightning, but...” You sigh. “It's not safe to travel in. The Nitorimobile probably doesn't have electric shielding around the various cameras and things, either. A direct hit by one of those bolts would render all the monitors useless.”


“He's right...” Nitori sighs. “I didn't see the need at the time. Lightning wasn't a big threat.” Then, she smiles. “But... the Nitorimobile?”

“Oh, I've been calling it that mentally for a while.”

Nitori laughs. “Hmm... I've been calling it the Juggernaut, myself. How about you, Suika? Takiko?”

“I didn't have a name for it,” Suika admits, “But I guess if I had to pick, I'd choose---”

A flash of lightning and subsequent crack of thunder interrupt her speech.

“Geeze. We should get going.” You say, motioning to the car. “I know just the place to hide out.”

You all pile into the car.

The location you've got in mind is... your home. It's an apartment that's not very far away, and your parking spot should be empty. Not that you really drove much... but you did go in to work that day via vehicle. Not that you'd have trouble finding a space in the garage, anyway.

“Red Bear,” Suika says from the back seat, as you're getting on your ear protection. “That's what I'd call it. It's pretty big, like a bear... but it's also kinda red, too. It's dark red, maybe a little orange, but still...”

It is sort of rusty.

“Cool. How about you, Takiko?”

Takiko hands her notepad to Nitori. She's written a lot, it seems... most of the paper is used up.

Nitori looks it over for a few seconds before saying anything. “It says 'Metal Slug'. Cool name.”


“It does look like a slug,” You say, donning your ear protection. “Well, whatever it's called... engage!”

It starts with a little difficulty, but not much. The short trip is uneventful, although all the electricity crackling through the air causes the monitors to flicker a few times. You pull the vehicle to safety in the underground parking garage. It takes up more than one space, but that's fine; most of the spaces are empty.

“So, what's this place?” Suika asks as you all pile out of the car. You switch on the flashlight you aquired in Munich to light the way; the power is still out.

“It's where I lived before I came to Gensokyo. Many of the people that worked at CERN also lived here. There was a bus stop right outside that would take us in to work.” You sigh. “I wonder what happened to those guys. Maybe they got out, somehow.”

The four of you make your way upstairs to your apartment. You don't really have your keys, so you ask Suika to open it for you. Inside... it's fairly dark. Lightning courses through the sky now, casting a strange strobe-light show on the walls of your apartment.

“Well... take a seat.” You say, motioning around. “It's not much, but... we can wait here 'till the storm passes.”

Suika takes a seat near the window, facing the lightning. Takiko joins her... while Nitori sets to work looking around your kitchen and living room at random electronics, making many 'hmm's and 'oh's.

[ ] Go explain some of the things to her.
[ ] Watch the lightning.
[ ] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.

{X} Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.

[X] Watch the lightning.

Its romantic and beautiful because its so deadly~

I'm surprised they didn't name the car Metal Gear!

[x] Go explain some of the things to her.
[x] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.
[x] Grab some whiskey from your secret stash for Suika and some crayons for Takiko.

Everyone has some whiskey on reserve.

[x] Go explain some of the things to her.
[x] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.
[x] Grab some whiskey from your secret stash for Suika and some crayons for Takiko.

[x] Go explain some of the things to her.
[x] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.
[x] Grab some whiskey from your secret stash for Suika and some crayons for Takiko.

Don't miss out!

[X] Go explain some of the things to her.
[X] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.
[X] Grab some whiskey from your secret stash for Suika and some crayons for Takiko.

Johnny Daniels~

I'm not so sure that we should be sitting around through this. If the storm and strange weather is being caused by the black hole then it will only get worse as time passes.

[†] Go explain some of the things to her.
[†] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.
[†] Grab some whiskey from your secret stash for Suika and some crayons for Takiko.

[d] Go explain some of the things to her.
[a] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.
[z] Grab some whiskey from your secret stash for Suika and some crayons for Takiko.
[e] Oh, and a new notepad for her, as well.

>>6577

It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it.
It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fiinnnneeeeee.

Yeah, I kinda agree with you as well.

>>6577
It's been a while since the hardons collided, hasn't it? It shouldn't get worse too quickly. There might be an ebb and flow to this phenomenon.

[x] Go explain some of the things to her.
[x] Grab anything you'd want to keep from the apartment.
[x] Grab some whiskey from your secret stash for Suika and some crayons for Takiko.

“Enjoying my living room?” You ask, coming up from behind Nitori. “I can explain anything you don't get.”

“Actually... I'd like to figure these things out on my own,” She says cheerfully, turning around. “It's no fun if you tell me.”

“Fair enough.” You motion to the bedroom. “I was going to pack some of my things, anyway.”

“I'll ask you if I don't get something, OK?”

“Good luck.” You say, winking at her. “Some of it's pretty obscure.”

With that, you turn around and make for the bedroom. The first thing you grab is your suitcase... the large one, the one you use to go overseas for weeks at a time. The clothes you found in Gensokyo were good an all, but they were not yours. This alarm clock, too, and your laptop, and that whiskey from your stash...

“Hey, Bill!” Suika yells from the living room, breaking your attention from the packing trance. “There's some strange car driving around outside!”

You peek out the bedroom window, but... it's in a terrible position. You can't see the street very well from the window, so you completely miss whatever Suika was talking about. It's the first vehicle that any of you have spotted in town, though, so you go out to the living room to talk to Suika, leaving your mostly packed suitcase on the bed.

“Is it still out there?” You ask, making for the window.

“Nah... it was driving away pretty fast,” Suika says, not looking back to you. You take a peek out the window anyway, for no particular reason. She continues. “It was going the way we came from, too. And the back was all messed up, like something had crushed it...”

“Weird,” You say, still looking around. They sky seems to be getting less... hostile. The lightning flashes are calming a bit. “Anything else strange about it?”

“Not really.”

“How fast was it going?” Maybe you'd be able to catch up with it. If they were driving away from the black hole, maybe they'd have some information...

“Pretty fast.” Suika cranes her head to get slightly closer to the window. “Hey... it looks like the storm is clearing up.”

She's right. The darkness is gone, and the lightning has subsided for the most part.

“Also strange,” You say, bringing your hand to your mouth in a thoughtful gesture. “I wonder if it's a coincidence?”

“So, does that mean we can leave?” Suika asks, obviously not keen on sticking around the apartment for longer than needed. “We were waiting for the storm, right?”

[ ] “I've still got a few more things to grab, now that we're here.”
[ ] “If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.”

<whatever the winning vote is>
+
[x] Grab a notepad or two or three for Takiko, plus another few pens

[x] “If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.”

don't forget your stuff, but don't get weighed down with too much either.

>>6586
Listen to this man!

[†] “If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.”

>>6584

In other news, the LHC is going to be down for 2 months, hopefully.
If not, its off during winter to save $.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[x] “If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.”

[ ] “I've still got a few more things to grab, now that we're here.”

Grab a save point.

[+] Grab anything that looks useful, plus some pens and notepads for Takiko
[+] “If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.”

{X} Grab anything that looks useful, plus some pens and notepads for Takiko
{X} “If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.”

Maybe an update later today, I don't know. Homework is getting in the way again.

[x] “If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.”

“If Nitori's ready, then yeah. We can get out of here.” You make sure to say the first part loud enough that Nitori can hear you. “Let's finish this.”

“Oh, don't wait for me,” You hear Nitori say before she appears from your study. “This stuff isn't all that interesting. I've seen most of it before.”

“All right, I'll meet you three down in the garage. I'm going to go grab my suitcase.”

With that, you disappear into your bedroom, zip up and grab what you've got packed in your suitcase, and head for the door. On the way out, you run across the cup of pens and nearby notepads you've got stashed near the door. Pocketing them, you exit your apartment. Really, after the last few days, this place doesn't even feel much like home. You'll be glad to get back to the cave.

You lug the suitcase down the stairs and into the garage, carrying the flashlight needed to see in your free hand.

“Shall we be off, my dears?” You ask in a fairly faked accent. “Our destination is at hand.”

You open the door to the Nitorimobile, and start re-arranging things in the back to make room for your suitcase.

Nitori starts talking to you as you do. “You know, I was thinking... maybe the lightning was a defense mechanism? Suika did say the car was coming from that direction...”

“Hm. It could be.” You continue fiddling with the water bottles in the back. You ended up buying more than needed, but it's fine. “Black holes don't usually have defense mechanisms. But, they also don't usually turn the entire area monochrome. Anything's possible.”

You cringe. As a scientist... you never imagined you'd say such words. But, right now, it's actually true.

“Yeah... we should be careful,” Nitori says, sounding a little worried.

“Right.” The stack of objects is perfect. “Well, everyone in. We're going to go take this thing out.”

“Yeah! Let's go save the world!” Suika cheers, sounding way too enthusiastic. It must be nice to be nearly invincible.

The vehicle starts up with no trouble, and you take off down the desolate street. About a mile from CERN, you can begin to see the black hole looming in the distance.. or rather, the effects of it. Light seems to be bending around a point about the size of a two-story building, a point floating above a crater. CERN is... simply gone. The entire complex has been devoured.

“So, Suika... how close do you need to be?” You ask, motioning to the frontal monitors. “That's our target.”

You're not sure how close you're going to be able to get the vehicle. The road leading in, as well as the ground that the road was on, is gone. The soil also looks moist, and fairly muddy.

“Pretty close.” She says from the back seat, shrugging. “For that, I'd have to be almost underneath it. It's pretty big.”

“Let's press on, then.”

You continue driving, and reach the end of the road fairly quickly. The sky responds to your nearing of the point in space, it seems, and darkens... looking much like it did before. Nitori might be right. It does almost seem like the black hole itself doesn't want you here...

[ ] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.
[ ] Do some off-roading.
[ ] Write-in.

[x]Get out and fly.

I get this feeling the Nitorimobile will fall if we chance it against that black hole.

[†] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.

[ ] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.

[%] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.

How exactly are we going to get close to the black hole without being pulled in? Tie ourselves to the ground?

[x] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.
[x] Ability- Ribbon + The Fused Crystal Shards

[x] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.

The car was to help us get through the anarchy in the city, it's just a hindrance now.

Should we have Takiko stay in the car? She isn't getting any screen time anyway, apparently.

[µ] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.

>>6603
Fuck yes.

Klaymen is a faget

>>6607
oh u

[x]Get out and fly.

>>6607

Damn it, YAF. You're not supposed to make me smile outside of your story. Only facepalm.

Updates tomorrow. The homework, it never ends. I did get most of it out of the way today, though.

>>6610

>The homework, it never ends.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkJfejGIIVs&fmt=18

Epileptic Tree time:

The Templars are being led by the surviving CERN scientists. They've realized that, somehow, the black hole is at least semi-sentient and reacts violently to human presence. They've also realized that the governments of the world would just as soon put the entire area under a bell jar and leave it, so they recruited some like-minded military types, a handful of civilians, and started up their very own militia. Their aim is to keep the general area relatively disturbance-free while the scientists try and figure out a way to solve the problem; the light show and the speeding car earlier were the fruits of their latest failure.

http://www.popsci.com/stuart-fox/article/2008-09/lhc-lays-down-keels-over

NOOOOOooooooo....... whole year now?

[x] Get out. Fly the rest of the way.

You shut off the engine and set your ear protection on the dash. “Well... I guess this is the end of the line. We'll be flying from here.”

Nitori breaths a sigh of relief. “I thought for sure you were going to try to drive into that mess.”

You grin. “I was thinking about it, but...”

“Well, the Juggernaut isn't designed for driving in that kind of thing. I'm glad you didn't.”

The four of you disembark, leaving the safety of your metal cage to venture out into the storm.

You stretch, letting out a loud and audible groan. “Well, you can take point, Suika. I'll follow.”

“Ok! Takiko,” Suika says, looking towards the fairy, “You've got my back.”

The little fairy nods and flies up to Suika, grabbing on to her neck. Suika takes to the air, then motions for you to follow.

“Move out!”

You look towards Nitori, who's still gazing at the storm uneasily.

“That's our cue.” You offer your hand to her, which she takes. “Come on.”

You two take flight, hand in hand, a little ways behind Suika. There's no real need to catch up.

Your boxed-away thoughts do not like this situation at all. Logically, you should be feeling the black hole from here; it should not be just... sitting there like that. Logically, more than this should be consumed. You could figure out the reason, if only---

*CRACK*

More lightning. The storm is kicking into electric mode now, hurling more bolts all over the surrounding area. Nitori squeezes your hand tighter.

“I... are you sure this is safe?”

“Oh, definitely not.” You say, shrugging. “But the odds of being struck directly are fairly low.”

“Hey!” Suika yells between bolts, “Who's that?”

You look down to where she's pointing. Down in the crater, only a few hundred feet or so from being directly beneath the black hole, is some sort of white spot. You can't really make out what it is at this distance.

Nitori fills you in. “It's... well, it looks like a person.”

[ ] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”
[ ] “It's none of our business. We can go look after we save the world.”
[ ] Have Suika go on ahead while you and Nitori check it out.

[ ] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”
My black-hole-tan! I predicted her existence threads back! Anyways, I feel a bit sad for the writan faggot, he obviously wanted us to have a face-to-face confrontation with the templar(?) guys, probably to have some plot exposition. Too bad reasonable action (Don't go with the weird guys with guns.) won.

[ ] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

[ ] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

Hell why not.

[Q] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

[ ] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

[X] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

"Why not. I didn't wanna die alone anyway."

[x] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

Could it be... Frank? I forgot what happened to him.

I know who it is!

"About time you showed up, Bill."

>>6622

PATCHY DOES NOT HAVE WEAK WRISTS.

>>6622

You are implying that Half-Life's story can't be told in 60 seconds?

Clearly, it's not Barney.

>>6623
>strongwilledyoungwoman.png
>young

Okay, yeah, that whole naming images completely wrong thing, but I still raged a little.

>>6625
She's young for her age.

[†] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

>>6624
>You are implying that Half-Life's story can't be told in 60 seconds?
Funny you should say that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slRsexrhbG8

>>6629

That was what I was referencing

thatsthejoke.jpg


UPDATES WHERE

[x] “Weird. Let's go check it out.”

“That's weird.” You raise your voice so that this next bit reaches Suika. “Let's go check it out.”

Suika nods, and starts heading lower. You continue following her. As you get closer, you can sort of make out the figure. Amongst the mud, on an island in the middle of the shallow pool of water covering the bottom of the crater, lies a girl. A girl dressed in a simple black dress, something similar to Takiko's, is lying there. She looks to be sleeping. Her black hair is spread out in the mud, giving her a very strange appearency. All of you land near her; oddly enough, you still can't feel the effects of the black hole.

“Should we... ah, wake her up?” Nitori asks, looking at the strange girl a bit cautiously.

“Oh, I'm not sleeping,” The girl says, not opening her eyes, “Just concentrating. It's hard to concentrate with all the thunder, you know?”

“I'd bet it is,” You say, laughing. “What're you doing here? This is hardly a place for a little girl...”

There's something odd about her. Something wrong.

“Oh, but isn't she a little girl?” The strange girl asks, motioning to Suika... still, without opening her eyes.

“Hey, I'm an Oni!” Suika says, sounding a bit taken back.

“So, why aren't you guys running away?” The girl asks, ignoring Suika's outburst. “The lightning usually scares people away.”

“We're here to get rid of the black hole,” Suika says quickly, not allowing for you to come up with some witty retort. “And lightning isn't scary.”

“Get rid of it? So, you're not like those other guys...” She sighs. “They worship it. Me.”

She stands up, and opens her eyes. The term “black hole” immediately springs to mind... they're simply holes in her skull. No color, no gloss... nothing. Just blackness. She looks directly at you, causing the hairs on the back of your neck to stand on end.

“I don't really get it, so I try to keep them away. They're weird." Then, she shrugs. "Although, you're pretty weird too. You can fly.”

“Hey, to be fair, we're all weird, here." Chuckling, you add, "You're the one with gaping holes for eyes.”

She smiles. “Yep. All of us are pretty weird." Her eyes close again. "It was nice meeting you, but... I don't think you should stick around. Not if you want to get rid of the black hole, anyway. You should give up.”

“Why's that?”

“I'll stop you. I don't really have a choice. If you get rid of it, you'll destroy me.” Her smile fades a little bit. “I don't want to die.”

You look to Nitori, then Suika. Both look pretty tense. They seem to be waiting for you to make a move. You sigh. This isn't a good situation.

[ ] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.
[ ] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[ ] Three vs. one? Take her out, then go for the black hole.
[ ] Have Suika make for the black hole, while you and Nitori hold her off.
[ ] Write-in.

[X] There must be a way out of this. Think about it. Open the Box.
Thinking tiems.

[x] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

{X} There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

[X] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

Hey, if she can control the black hole and just make it stop screwing with the border (and any adverse effects on the outside world), everything's peachy, right?

[ ] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

Time to unlock that superpowered mind of ours.

[x] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

Well, thinking is what we do best.

[†] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

We have the power of science! Think it!

[Q] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

Bring blackholeloli to Gensokyo?

>>6639
That is what I thought.

[x] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

Our number of friends will increase.

[X] There must be a way out of this. Think about it. Open the Box.

If ever there was a time to use our powers...

>[ ] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.
You all know that this is almost certainly the option to activate wacky freaky youkai legbrain powers, right?

>>6631
Is anyone else imagining the loli to look like Backbeard-tan?

>>6643
Yep! I'm hoping Anon loses his sanity and does something horrible.

>>6644
Also yes.

>>6643
Yes. But we've snapped out of it before.

[x] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.

Remember the black hole cage idea a bit back? Gravity is actually a rather weak force. Use the force of electromagnetics (ie, just build normally) to form a hollow solid construct around the black hole, remembering to charge the black hole and some insulated blocks on the inside of the cage. Just don't shake it around too much.

If the loli doesn't need to be close to the black hole portion, then you might just try shooting the black hole part into space.

I also still maintain my Suika + Drunken Festival in a Country Famous for Beers Idea as well. Airports and Mad Max do not make for a good first impression of the Outside.

I recall in Subterranean Animism how they explained Utsuho's attaining the power of nuclear fusion being perfect for Gensokyo, since that's a technology so far off from the modern day outside the Border that it's like a dream.

If controlled nuclear fusion is a "dream-like" power, a stable, non-destructive, non-collapsing black hole should be, too.

[+] There must be a way out of this. Think about it.
[+] But warn the others you're going to access that spark of creativity, first.

[x] There must be a way out of this situation. Think about it.

There has to be a way to save everyone. Fighting against the unknown isn't your style; instead, it must be understood. There's a way to save this unique force of nature, Gensokyo, AND the world... but you've got to find it, first. The doors to your thoughts open up, flooding you with knowledge about the current problem.

Your world clouds over. Sensory information is unimportant now; the less distraction, the faster the answer will reveal itself.

Soon, you're swimming in blissful awareness of everything. The odd structure of the universe, and the way that a black hole could possibly exist while not affecting reality... it all makes sense. It's an effect brought on by Yukari.

...Bill.

The old theory about white holes and black holes was nearly correct, it seems. Gensokyo happened to be this one's white hole. Although Yukari took care of the leak by patching it, she did not take care of the multidimensional pressure that all this mass is creating. By not having an exit, the black hole's first priority is to form a new one. It'll keep pushing until it does. Normally, it wouldn't make sense, but it's running on Gensokyo logic.

...Bill!

The intelligence? That springs from the belief that this thing's “worshipers” produce. The little girl, too, is probably a side effect of that. A personification of the hole itself. It's how Suika and Nitori were produced; belief in old superstitions. This one just ended up with a weird form.

... is he alright?

But... the solution. The solution is a difficult one; you'd have to point the white hole somewhere else, as well as move the end here somewhere else to prevent it from consuming the planet. The latter is easy. The former? In Gensokyo it wouldn't be incredibly difficult, but in the real world? It's most likely impossible. But...

... you feel a slight pressure on your shoulder, messing with your train of thought. You lose all kinds of information about such a journey to the disruption. It's obvious you're not thinking hard enough.

...
...
...

...it's possible. Possible to move the distant end. But it would require travel that only Yukari could pull off, and she's stuck taking care of the border. No, there must be a solution. A solution that you could pull off right here, right now. You simply need to think deeper. There's always a solution...

...
...
...

...and you never emerge from that train of thought. Suika, Nitori, and Takiko did their part in taking care of the black hole, reducing the density to the point where it didn't exist. By the time Yukari managed to gap the four of you back, there was nothing that could be done.

You were locked in a cycle of searching searching for something that could not be found for the rest of your life... not that it went on for very long. The portion of your brain responsible for keeping your heart beating was eventually recruited to help.

RECURSION END
[ ] Back 1 choice.
[ ] Back x choice(s).

==============================================
If this seems too out there, I apologize... I'm tired. And keep in mind that I wrote this before I read >>6648 , so his sub-option is not included.

Uh. Okay. I figured that if we ever needed that power it would be here, but...

[X] Back one choice.
[X] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

[x] Back one choice.
[x] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

[X] Back one choice.
[X] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

sounds good

>>6649

WHY SO DEEP IN THOUGHT END?

[X] Back one choice.
[X] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

>>6649
...huh

[X] Back one choice.
[X] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

[X] Back one choice.
[X] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

Awesome.

[X] Back one choice.
[X] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

Well, darn.

[X] Back one choice.
[X] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

we sure suck at thinking

[†] Back one choice.
[†] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

>>6659
The strength of the science is with us though...

[x] Back 1 choice(s).
[x] Query the Black Hole Girl on how much influence she has over the black hole. Perhaps she can help resolve the issue.

You're not exactly sure how this whole situation works, but maybe this person could help.

“Hey... do you have a name?” You ask. “It's going to be hard to carry on a conversation if I don't know your name.”

She looks confused, her brow wrinkling. “Those other guys call me 'God', but I don't think that's right.”

You smile. “I'll just refer to you with pronouns for the time being, then. Anyway, how much control do you have over... that?” You say, motioning to the impossible black hole. “You're threatening the world we come from with it.”

“So, you’re from that place?” She sounds irritated. “Do you know how frustrating it is to be stuck like this? Why’d you guys stop the other end?”

“Stuck like what?” You’ve honestly got no idea as to what she’s talking about.

“I can’t eat anymore because the other end is blocked,” She says with a perfectly straight face. A white hole, then? You thought that that theory was completely disproved. Maybe it is for black holes that exist in this reality only. And, if you’re understanding what she’s saying right, if the far end opens up... this end will, too.

“So...” You say, mumbling to yourself, “we’d have to move both ends. Simply moving this end wouldn’t work...”

“Who said I’d let you move either end?” The girl says, sounding a little angry. The sky darkens slightly at this. “I want to eat this place. I’ve only had a little bit, but... it’s delicious.”

“So, you wouldn’t cooperate, even if it would save both you and the world?”

“Why should I?” She asks, sounding very spoiled. “You guys couldn’t beat me.”

Great. She’s selfish, and a black hole. Although, it does sort of make sense that you’re not able to talk a massive gravity well from attracting things... even if it is a personification.

[ ] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[ ] Three vs. one? Take her out, then go for the black hole.
[ ] Have Suika make for the black hole, while you and Nitori hold her off.
[ ] Continue talking. You might be able to get through to her if you try hard enough.

[X] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
Fighting absurd with absurd, this can only work out perfectly.

[ ] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

Looks like we'll have to do this the Reimu way.

[Q] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

So our thought powers are amazing, but kill us when we use them? Darn.

[6666GET] Have Suika make for the black hole, while you and Nitori hold her off.

I personally think playtime's over.

[x] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[x] Whisper to Suika to make for the hole once you have her distracted.

[x] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

YOU GODDAMN LOLICON

[ ] Fucking rape that spoiled little bit-

Oh that's not an option? Ah...heh....uuuum....

[x] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[x] Whisper to Suika to make for the hole once you have her distracted.

[x] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[x] Whisper to Suika to make for the hole once you have her distracted.

I take THIS ONE

[x] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[x] Whisper to Suika to make for the hole once you have her distracted.

>>6668

Satori~n.

[x] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[x] Whisper to Suika to make for the hole once you have her distracted.

[X] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

[X] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

For fuck's sake, this is Danmaku. Everyone will end up having tea together afterward. We don't need to kill her, damn.

If we do decide to blatantly cheat/attempt to murder her by removing the black hole, can we at least stop short of killing her? I mean, we don't have to destroy the black hole, right? Just shrink it down, since it can no longer expand?

>>6674
The problem is, the only reason it can no longer expand is because Yukari is plugging the white hole. We're basically asking a personification of a black hole to stop being a black hole.

The only option that I can see as likely to succeed is to convince her to eat something else and leave Earth alone. Then Yukari can unplug the hole, and stuff will start appearing in Gensokyo like crazy.

This is Touhou, and the only way to convince anyone of anything is through danmaku.
Thus,
[+] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

>>6675 again.

Besides, if all else fails, Suika can forcibly un-densify her. Problem solved.

[X] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

Even if she refuses, we still have the fall-back. If we win and she agrees to calm down, we get a new Touhou. If we lose or we win but she reneges, there's Suika to back things up and we'd weaken her. I hope. Mind, pouring more energy into a black hole wouldn't make it weaker. You'd probably want her to expend her own energy while focusing on making your shots painful to make her THINK she's getting more damaged and to goad her into using up her energy instead.

>>6677
>Mind, pouring more energy into a black hole wouldn't make it weaker. You'd probably want her to expend her own energy while focusing on making your shots painful to make her THINK she's getting more damaged and to goad her into using up her energy instead.

Maybe we should explain Hawking radiation to her? Young youkai are supposed to be easy to fool; with our fancy scientific-sounding words, I'm sure we could convince her that know more about her than she does herself.

[X] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.
[X] Whisper to Suika to make for the hole once you have her distracted.

I believe this is known as "hedging our bets".

[x] Challenge her to a danmaku duel, after explaining the rules.

You sigh. “All right. Since you're obviously the strongest, how about we even the odds a little bit?” Trying to be as dramatic as possible, you point a finger at the little girl. “I challenge you to a danmaku duel!”

“A... what?” She asks. Well... you didn't expect for it to be universally understood. That would be a little too strange. “A duel?”

“It's a game that we play in the other world to settle arguments,” You start, “And the loser has to do what the winner says. Unless, of course, it's just for fun.”

“A game?” She sounds a little irritated. “But then you'd have the advantage, because I've never played before.”

“Actually, I've only played once.” You say, shrugging. “It's not really hard to do. You just take turns shooting energy bullets at one another until someone gets hit.”

She thinks about it for a minute. Looking to Nitori and Suika, they seem to be more at ease with this idea. You are, too. If this girl can do the sorts of things you think she can, her and Suika would be at a stalemate.

Eventually, the little girl comes up with an answer. “I want to see it, first,” She says, sounding confident in her non-committal answer. “Then I'll decide.”

“Ah, a demonstration? I think that can be arranged...” You look to Suika, and then to Nitori. “If you two don't mind.”

“I wouldn't mind, but... maybe only one of us should do it?” Nitori chimes in. “The shooting, that is. The other could just dodge.”

“No, I want to see a real danmaku duel,” The girl says, sounding positively spoiled. “It's not fair otherwise.”

Nitori is looking nervous again, taking glances at Suika at random. Could she be nervous of fighting her? She didn't seem to mind fighting Hina earlier, but...

[ ] “I guess it's fine. You two don't have a problem with that, right?”
[ ] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”
[ ] “You're pretty annoying. Having one shoot is a perfectly fine way of doing it.”

[ ] “I guess it's fine. You two don't have a problem with that, right?”

[ ] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

[Q] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

[ x ] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

[†] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

[x] “I guess it's fine. You two don't have a problem with that, right?”

[X] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

[+] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

When it's our turn to play, I suggest dipping into the ol' Youkai power just a little and making danmaku out of Hawking radiation.

[x] Why play DANMAKU when you can play MANMAKU?

>>6689

...nah.

[x] “Really, only one needs to shoot. The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

“Really, only one needs to shoot,” You say, much to Nitori's relief, “The combat goes in turns, anyway.”

The girl thinks about it. “Fine. It'll still show me everything I need to know, right?”

“Well, it should.” You laugh. “I don't know if you can shoot danmaku, but it sounds like most people of your power can.”

“Ah, great!” Suika says, looking at Nitori. “So, who's shooting?”

“If you don't mind,”Nitori responds, “I'd like to. Your danmaku is... painful.”

Suika looks a little taken back. “Really? No one else mentions it, but I guess that's fine.” She cracks her knuckles, her grin widening. “Any stakes?”

“I can't think of any...”

“Ok, then. Good luck!” Suika says, leaping into the air. Takiko leaves her shoulder, sensing that it's probably not a good idea to remain there, and flies over to you. Nitori, too, enters the air.

You take a seat on the ground, folding your legs underneath you. It's not very comfortable. “Take a seat,” You say, looking back towards the little girl, “This can get pretty spectacular.”

“It sounds fun,” She says, most of her irriration gone. “It has a cool sounding name.”

On cue, the sky lights up with an opening salvo from Nitori. The contrast between the dark sky and the glowing blue orbs is quite wonderful. The attack pattern is the same opener she used the other day against Hina. Perhaps there's some sort of convention for that, too.

Glancing over, the little girl is looking on with delight. For you, it's sort of lost it's novelty, but it's still quite impressive. Takiko, too, is enjoying it. The three of you sit there watching the one-sided danmaku battle until it's end. Nitori eventually stops firing. Even you're not sure about this point. Is there some sort of spell card limit?

“It's over?” The girl asks, sounding disappointed. “Who won?”

“Suika, the one with the orange hair, I think,” You say, rubbing your chin. “She didn't get hit, so she wins.”

“So, you lose when you're hit?”

“Yeah. I'll have to ask them about that ending, though. I'm not sure what happened there.”

“Really?”

“Really.” You shrug. “Like I said, I've only played once before.”

Suika and Nitori land in unison, both looking visibly tired... although in different ways. Suika physically so, but Nitori seems to be mentally tired. Neither of them held back, it seems.

“That was... ha... a good match,” Suika says in-between breaths, “A real workout!”

“You... too.” Nitori says, not straining for breath but straining for words. She takes a seat on the ground. “I'm going to rest for a bit, if no one minds.”

Her posture falls again, to the point where she's eventually resting on the ground, using her intertwined hands as a makeshift buffer against the mud. Suika remains standing, toughing it out.

“So... who won? Why did it stop?” The new girl asks, sounding confused.

“You stop shooting when you're tired,” Nitori mumbles, obviously enjoying the rest. “If the other person is still flying, they win. I got tired, so I lost.”

“It's a little...” Suika wipes her brow, “... penalty, sort of. The person that goes first will probably get tired first, too, if it comes to that.”

“I think I get it,” The girl says, nodding sagely. “It looks like fun. I'm going to throw a few practice shots before we begin.”

Again, you shrug. It might be a better idea to try to catch her without any training, but you get the feeling she won't take no for an answer. “Let me know when you're ready to start.”

She nods, and levitates lazily into the air. You, Takiko, and Suika all watch, while Nitori rests. An idea comes to mind. A dirty, low, underhanded idea... but an idea none the less. You could attempt to have Suika target the black hole while you're taking part in the duel. You're not sure if she would, but...

[ ] It's worth a mention, at least.
[ ] Try to convince her that it's necessary.
[ ] Nah. Forget it.

[ ] Nah. Forget it

[X] Nah. Forget it.
Playing dirty will get us nowhere. Beside we want to do some befriending here.

[x] Tell Suika that if you don't win the danmaku fight, its up to her to diminish the black hole. She may not like it, but she'd be our only chance left.

[x] Nah. Forget it.

The girl seems to have warmed up to us now, so let's not ruin it with tricks.

>>6693

Does that mean instead of tea we'll be serving cucumbers at Nitori's cave?

[x] Nah. Forget it

Play fair.

[x] Nah. Forget it.

Oni are notorious for honoring competition and playing by the rules. No way Suika would agree to this, even if it was a good idea in the first place, which it's not.

[X] Try to convince her that it's necessary. They never agreed that the others couldn't do something else during the duel.

[X] Nah. Forget it.

[x] Tell Suika that if you don't win the danmaku fight, its up to her to diminish the black hole. She may not like it, but she'd be our only chance left.

Play by the rules--but since the world's at stake you better have a backup cheat.

[†] Tell Suika that if you don't win the danmaku fight, its up to her to diminish the black hole. She may not like it, but she'd be our only chance left.

Is anyone else thinking of this girl becoming a loli galacticus?


[ ] It's worth a mention, at least.

>>6703

Nope.
[x] Nah. Forget it.

[x] Nah. Forget it.

[x] Nah. Forget it.

Nah. That's a bit too underhanded, even for your tastes. Suika might not even agree, either. You go back to watching the girl try out her danmaku skills. Her style seems to be... strange. Lots of curving bullets following astronomical arcs, star fields, things like that. Eventually she stops, and motions for you to enter the air.

“Good luck,” Suika says, looking at you with a bit of uneasyness. “Don't lose, ok?”

“I don't plan on it,” You say, smiling.

Takiko leaves your shoulder and reaches into her handbag for her notepad, which seems to only have one or two pages left. You remember the stuff you picked up at home, and fish it out of your pocket.

“Here. You'll have to let me read all you wrote when we get back, ok?”

Takiko nods.

“...hey, Bill?” Nitori asks, opening her eyes. “Good luck.”

The motioning for you to enter the air grows more insistant, so you decide to obey. No sense making her sour.

“Thanks, Nitori, Suika.”

You fly up to meet the opponent. Her stance isn't a serious one; she seems to be amused by all of this. “Saying your goodbyes?”

“Oh, just so we're clear,” You say, laughing, “Danmaku is supposed to be non-lethal.”

“I already guessed that.” She says, looking a little smug. “It was a joke.”

Your face grows serious. “This one isn't just for fun. There are stakes this time around; the loser has to do what the winner says. That means anything.”

“Anything?” The girl asks, her face also growing serious.

“Anything. Would you like to go first, or should I?”

“Um...” Her face grows unsure., but then snaps back to it's former self. “You. You go first, so that way you'll get tired first!”

“Very well,” You say, reaching down to roll up your pant leg. Although it's incredibly awesome to shread clothes, doing so right now would just be silly. “Then, let's begin.”

[ ] Open up with something difficult. Overwhelm her before she gets the hang of dodging.
[ ] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.
[ ] Write-in.

[x] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

[ ] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

Not only do we want to conserve of strength but going all out in the begining will fuck up our mind again.

[ x ] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

[†] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

[ x ] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

Even if you don't lose your head from a high level attack, overwhelming her would allow her to cry "NOT FAIR" and then promptly kill you.

[X] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

[X] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

[X] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

[x] Start small and escalate. Pacing is a good idea.

Starting off small, with something you would be able to produce without much thought, would be best.

“Hydrocarbon Sign, ‘Neopentane’ !”

Your leg glows, unleashing the mock atoms much like before. It's more difficult to control now. The density seems to be a bit less, too, as it's proving difficult to track and control the mock atoms while still keeping your mind under control. This is an irritating handicap... you wish you had had a few days to train before heading out on this mission.

The fake explosion fills the sky, catching the black hole girl off guard. The spellcard is still impressive, even at it's limited output. She doesn't get hit, avoiding the storm of fake combustion through a series of movements. There's a relative safe spot, it seems, about 20 feet in front of you.

The card eventually times out, with the girl still unscathed. She floats there, waiting for more.

“It's your turn,” you say, reminding her.

“O-oh, right!” She closes her eyes, thinking for a moment. They snap open after a few seconds, a grin also appearing on her face. “Instability 'Gravitational Anomaly'!”

The girl's hands become engulfed in a black smoke of sorts, and she begins tossing things at you. They're strangely colored, dark shots; almost invisible. They also seem to have a significant pull to them. It's all you can do to keep your distance. The pattern seems easy to begin with, but eventually more normal shots are added. They, too, are effected by the near invisible shots. It's similar to your next spellcard, but subtly different, too.

You dodge through it none the less, timing out the card with a few near misses. It's different, being able to dodge with your whole body. Easier, yet more difficult, as you aren't able to track all of the bullets at once... like a normal person. Declaring right away might be a way to prevent your opponent from getting too much rest, so you do so.

In an effort to keep originality low, you decide to just go in the same order as before.

“Physics Sign, 'Gravity Well'.”

The excitement from your voice is gone because, well, it's not going to be as accurate of a depiction as it could be. It's going to lose much of it's beauty. The girl... doesn't seem pleased with your choice of an attack, once she realizes what's going on.

“What?” You shrug, grinning a slightly mischevious grin. “I invented this a few days ago.”

Your foe seems to be doing a wonderful job at dodging. Perhaps trying to win without thinking about the cards may not be possible... a grim notion, but a very possible one.

Your opponent seems to get the idea of declaring now, and starts her next attack almost immediately after yours.

“Fate 'Spaghettification'!”

Orbs start to launch around, appearing mostly harmless. The trouble starts a few seconds in, after the whole area is filled with them. At some point that you're not able to determine, the orbs elongate into long lines and accelerate. Due to the sheer volume of orbs bouncing around, it's impossible to keep track of all of their trajectory, much less which ones have been out longer and are likely to collapse.

A beam grazes your coat, singeing the bottom part. The smell of burnt cotton fills the air. This stuff certainly looks lethal. You're sweating. It's more tiring than you thought, moving around like this. It may not be possible to continue with your mind like this. The patterns are too high level---

Another shot smashes into the shoe on your metal leg, sending it heading downward in two flaming pieces. Another one shoots over your shoulder... they're even heading in from blind spots now. You look up and find an orb breaking apart, and aiming directly at your face. Before you can react...

... the card times out, and the shots all dissapate.

“Aw, why do we need time limits?” The girl says, her hands still flaming black. “I almost had you there!”

You've got to continue; there's no backing out of this now. You've got more than one spellcard left in you, as you weren't at the point of exhaustion before Reimu nailed you before.

[ ] Continue as you were. She has to be expending more energy than you. You can outlast her.
[ ] There's no way you'll win like this. Do whatever it takes to save both this world and your new home.
[ ] Try to last one more round, then decide.
[ ] Write-in.

[P] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

Show her that we're technically one of her fathers, and that we have to admonish her for her own good. It'll throw her off.

Maybe.

But seriously, she's technically our daughter, isn't she?

[x] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

[Q] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

'cause it sounds cool.

[x] Try to last one more round, then decide.
[x] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

There we go.

[x] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

No, Black Hole Loli, I AM your father.

[x] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

Uh..ok?

We are sorta her father, aren't we? Nice idea.

[x] Try to last one more round, then decide.
[x] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

Aww, and I liked “Physics Sign, 'Gravity Well'" (picture sort of related)

[x] Bio Sign: Thrombosis!

Initial lasers create a mesh grid to represent fibrin and keep her in place, and then orbs fly in randomly from every direction representing platelets, which she has to dodge in a small area. Could look pretty chaotic, especially if the orbs randomly stick to the lasers (fibrin).

we need something bigger than a black hole.

[x] Starting Sign: BIG BANG

or

[x] Obligatory Geek Reference Sign: TARDIS

>we need something bigger than a black hole.

How about an even bigger black hole?

[x] Supermassive Black Hole 「Spiral Nemesis」

>>6722
I don't get the vote/reference/whatever. Sage for probable stupidity on my part.

>>6733

"Halo" is the proposed new name for the LHC. "Start of Darkness" is because the LHC created the black hole. It's a simple name, but it sounds suitably dramatic.

Really, I just want to hit Black Hole Loli with a big "I am daddy, and you have been a bad girl" moment.

>>6734

Okay, now I get it.

[x] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

Halo 「Pay Bungie Studio Royalties」

[x] Halo 「Start of Darkness」

Sure, why the hell not. Remember to make it as FUN as possible - after all, if she destroys Earth, she wouldn't have anyone to danmaku with.

>>6734
I haven't been paying attention to the news lately. Thanks for the quick response.

NOVA recently had a special in which they showed that black holes can only engulf a specifically proportional amount of matter at a time. When they consume too much (or 'binge') they end up shooting out the excess matter at incredibly high speeds in opposite directions. Basically think of it as a whirlpool that shoots a powerful jet up and down while sucking in the water sideways.

So for the Halo card we could have danmaku shoot in from all direction towards the center (thus it shoots in from behind her for the sucker hit) creating a huge orb, which then sends out a powerful fast paced barrage of bolts while it spins.

Also, updates tomorrow in a new thread. I didn't realize it was this late.

>>6739

Sounds awesome!

>>19635

Could someone please delete this crap?

>>19643
Actually no, It's funny to see how retarded spammers are. You know its not like we have mods or anything!
aherp

Mannimarco casts reanimate!

No seriously, who FUCKING BUMPED THIS?
I THOUGHT IT WAS AN UPDATE.

>>19647

Spam bot. Unless you wanted to try someone's shady new drug (not Eirin's), there isn't anyone to blame here.

>>19647
>I THOUGHT IT WAS AN UPDATE.
This story is already complete.

Unrelated, but I approve of Nitori's choice of arms in the OP's pic.

Did someone ghost bump this again, or something?

>>20347
It was a spambot.

>>20755
Holy spam, Batman.

>>20756
That was the second one I saw. What is it about this thread that attracts spambots?

>>20758
Probably the SCIENCE! aspect.

Can someone get this thread deleted? Or dump a doujin so it passes autosage.

>>21470
I'll dump my favourite webcomics until it reaches autosage.

Clearly we need more doujins/webcomics to reach autosage.

Do you have any good 4koma to read?

>>21484
I can dump the Inaba manga, if you want.

>>21486
Anything works to make this thread rest in peace.

Let's start the ritual, shall we?

Dammit Firefox, why do you keep replacing "sage" by "esag"?

This is Reisen. She's a very nice person.

This is Eirin. You don't want to mess with her.

This is Reisen's forgotten job to bring medicines and test them.

I hope Reisen's training was complete. Disarming a mine is hard and difficult.

SHOW ME YOUR WAR FACE, REISEN!

You cannot kill an eternal, but you can break it. It's easy.

You won't notice something that's right under your nose.

But nobody care about the Eientei, right? Only the Watatsukis are interesting.

How sad, autosage is reached just before the moonhoney arrive.

And one more just to be totally sure that this thead is now autosaged.
And also because moonhoney.

>>21502
Forgot your sage. Nice job.

>>21517
Even if I don't sage, the thread is in autosage, so it's not bumped any more.