To clarify, you can pick up to FOUR characters, but each must be from a different group listed.

[X] Ran
Knowledgeable about the outside world.
[X] Meiling
Combat skills that aren't a result of her hax.
[X] Nitori
Engineering skills.
[X] Eirin
GRABBIN' PEELS

The choice should be obvious

>>26598

This one.

[X] Eirin
[X] Sanae
[X] Youmu
[X] Mokou

Eirin is a leader with great skills, intellegence, and some weapon skill. Sanae would have a good amount of general outside knowledge and likely some amount of luck based on her miracle powers. Youmu is level headed and knows how to fight and cook. Mokou is immortal and fairly experienced/skilled, so she can be useful in any number of ways.

[X] Eirin
[X] Sanae
[X] Nitori
[X] Mokou

Trading Youmu's offensive power for Nitori versatility.

[X] Eirin
[X] Sanae
[X] Nitori
[X] Mokou

Dood.

[X] Eirin
[X] Sanae
[X] Nitori
[X] Mokou

This will work.

[X] Eirin
[X] Sanae
[X] Koishi
[X] Parsee

[X] Eirin
[X] Sanae
[X] Youmu
[X] Meiling
Medicine, Knoweldge, Skills with weapons, skills without.

[X] Eirin
[X] Sanae
[X] Youmu
[X] Nue

[x] Kanako
[x] Utsuho
[x] Nue
[x] Nitori

I have absolutely no idea why I picked these 4. They're not even my favorite characters.

Let's see what the vote count is...

Eirin - 9
Sanae - 7
Nitori - 5
Mokou - 4
Youmu - 3
Meiling - 2
Nue - 2
Ran - 1
Parsee - 1
Kanako - 1
Utsuho - 1
Koishi - 1

Eirin's pretty much confirmed for the team now. I'll leave the voting open for a while longer.

>>26617
Did you count >>26602?

Also, it surprises me that more people aren't voting for Meiling, the one Touhou for whom depowering probably wouldn't be that big of a deal. Also, Eirin and Mokou on the same team?

I'm >>26598, but I could get behind an Eirin-Sanae-Nitori-Meiling team.

>>26617
If Eirin's pretty much a sure win already, I'll just vote for the other 3.

[X] Meiling
[X] Nitori
[X] Sanae

>>26618

I missed counting the Meiling and Nitori vote from that, thanks.


Eirin - 9
Sanae - 8
Nitori - 7
Mokou - 4
Meiling - 4
Youmu - 3
Nue - 2
Ran - 1
Parsee - 1
Kanako - 1
Utsuho - 1
Koishi - 1

[x] Sanae
[x] Youmu
[x] Mokou

Confirming Sanae, two more to go. Eientei and Moriya Shrine character can no longer be selected.

[Eirin - 9]
[Sanae - 9]
Nitori - 7
Mokou - 5
Meiling - 4
Youmu - 4
Nue - 2
Ran - 1
Parsee - 1
Utsuho - 1
Koishi - 1

[X] Meiling
[X] Nitori
[X] Sanae

Yeah Meiling's strength, skill and toughness aren't dependent on race or power. And that's not counting whatever other skills she might know.

>>26618
I doubt Eirin or Mokou have personal reasons to fight one another. Eirin will likely be doing things for results, fighting with an immortal is going to be counter productive.

>>26651
Also canonically, Mokou has no problem with the rest of Eientei, and often helps people get there and helps out lost rabbits as well.

But I wonder how well immortality works now considering all things.

[X] Meiling
[X] Youmu

Two capable attackers, adding to Eirin's and Sanae's brains.

>>26661
Most likely it either doesn't work anymore, or it takes a very long time for her to come back.

[X] Nitori
In case something needs fixing.
[X] Youmu
I'd rather have the fighter who can cook well.

The team will be decided tomorrow, new votes or no.

[X] Youmu

Her abilities are more skill-based, plus she's at least half human...so she's more or less held on to her powers.

[X] Mokou

Fairly level-headed, can make things BURN rather easily, knows Eirin and gets along with her. Plus her powers are still intact.

>>26692
>can make things BURN rather easily

Not anymore, everybody has their powers greatly limited here.

>>26693
>their powers greatly limited

If we ever need a lighter for molotovs, all Mokou's got to do is snap her fingers, or maybe she can focus enough of her ability to create a mini-acetylene torch to burn openings on sealed metal doors as well as welding.

>>26695
Tell that to Ash of "Army of Darkness" he did plenty of zombie punching. And you forget how Meiling isn't reliant on any particular quirk for her abilities. (She'd be less nerfed than Tengu or Oni)

No love for Hatate?

>>26697
Those were non-infectious zombies created via necromancy, not the shambling dead created by a transmittable virus.

>>26700
They can turn people via biting, and if a Ki-boosted punch can wipe out the upper half, no risk of infection.

While with Mokou without her most of her immortality and fire powers (as bad as you guys are saying), she's closer to a mere human with mere survival skills.

>>26699
She's be really useless in such a case.

>>26699

Way too new. People are still getting used to her.

>>26700

Well, given the inspiration for this story, the characters can be presumed to be immune or at least carriers.
>>26697

Those zombies were a little different from L4D zombies, being more demon-possessed corpses than sick people. Still, you bring up a good point and remind me that these aren't typical movie zombies.

[X] Meiling.

We need another combat-focused woman. Melee is pretty important in L4D2, and Meiling's kung-fu fighting would likely make her versatile in that regard.

[x] Mokou.

Even a little bit of fire is indispensable for Tanks and crowd control. Greatly weakened is still usable.

Votes are closed. There is a three-way tie for the fourth team member. This will be dealt with...

Confirmed Team:
Eirin
Sanae
Nitori

Ties(all with 7 votes each):
Mokou
Meiling
Youmu

[ ] Mokou

Gee, I wonder why I'm voting like this. Hurrr.

>>26710
Hooray

>character choice thread
>no story after nearly two weeks
This seems... familiar, somehow. If only I could remember wh--

>>22082
>Discord of Unilateral Origin ~ Character Selections
>Grilled Chicken!knpZoUeiT2
>09/09/13

...Oh.

"...and that's the team I have chosen," declared Reimu as she brought a hand down upon the table to emphasize her point. The four people she had named fell under scrutinizing eyes as they grouped together in front of the table across from Reimu. Eirin, Mokou, Nitori and Sanae all sat in a row before Reimu.

Reimu looked at each of the four in turn, before focusing on Sanae. The green-haired priestess fluttered for a brief second before matching Reimu's uncharacteristically intense gaze.

"Sanae. I'm assigning you to be team leader." Reimu said this in a clear voice so that everyone in the room was able to hear. Sanae for her part pulled back in surprise.

"What, wait, why me? Miss Eirin has clearly more wisdom and experience than I-"
"Yes, she does. And I expect her to back you up with her knowledge and skills as best she can. But you should know yourself why I'm picking you for this Sanae. And it's not because of miracles."

Sanae was silent, but she responded with a meek nod after a few moments. Reimu turned to the other three members. "I trust this is alright with you? Support Sanae for this mission to the best of your abilities."

Eirin, Nitori and Mokou all responded affirmatively. In the back of the room, Remilia let out a small sigh at the proceedings, as she murmured to herself. "I was hoping Reimu would have chosen Sakuya or Meiling for this. Maybe if we end up sending a second team I could insist on it, but this will do for now."

Reimu got up to her feet again as she looked around the room at everyone assembled. "The mission shall begin tomorrow at noon! Make sure all preparations are ready by then, and pack supplies and necessary equipment for our strike team! Yukari and I will open the gap to the outside world in front of the Shrine."

Yukari shut her fan and tapped it across her palm as she followed up to Reimu's instructions. "Everyone, please head home now and prepare for tomorrow."

The assembly dispersed as people shuffled out of the Shrine. Eirin and Mokou left together with Kaguya, and Nitori fell in with Kanako, Sanae and Suwako. However, Reimu caught up behind them and took hold of Sanae's arm.

"Sanae, I want to talk to you for a bit. Alone, please," she asked, looking from Sanae over to Kanako. The war goddess nodded her silent allowance, before herding off Suwako and Nitori down the shrine steps.

"Follow me."

Sanae did as Reimu asked, trailing after the red-white miko around the back of the shrine's main building, and then down a lightly-tread dirt path that soon opened up to the shore of a small, yet pristine lake. Sanae could see a large turtle resting on the far side of the water. The two shrine maidens stood by the side of the lake as the sun was just beginning to set, painting the sky a bright orange.

"Sanae... you remember when we teamed up to hunt for the treasure ship, right?"
"It wasn't too long ago, Reimu, but yes I remember."
"And of course you remember when you first came to Gensokyo, and I kicked your and Kanako's asses across town, right?"
"Er, Reimu..." Sanae's face twitched at having to remember that whole escapade.
"And remember that whole thing with the kappa's giant robot thing?"
"Reimu, why are you bringing up these..."
"Sanae, in a very short amount of time, you and I have gone through a lot together. I haven't known you as long as I have Sakuya, and definitely nowhere as long as Marisa. But I want you to know that I consider you my friend, and I trust you."
Sanae looked over at Reimu, forcing a bit of a laugh to try and ease the tension. "Reimu, I know that, we've been friends since after-"
"Sanae, it's because you're my friend and that I trust you, that I'm going to say what I'm going to say now."
Only now did Sanae actually look at Reimu. The other girl, a bit shorter than Sanae in stature, was staring down at their reflections in the water closest to the shore; a slight ripple formed across it as the wind picked up, distorting their mirrored images.

"I'm scared, Sanae. Really scared. Terrified, even. Gensokyo is in real trouble, and for once I can't... I can't do anything to help her. I'm stuck here so I can keep the Border maintained so Gensokyo stays in one piece. There's something terrible going on outside, and I have no way to do anything about it. Sure, I put on a tough face and tried to be this strong, decisive kind of leader during the meeting, but that's not me. But, that's all I can do now."

By now, Reimu's voice was growing shaky. "Ha, haha... it's so ironic. The one time when I'm really the strongest person in Gensokyo is the one time I'm powerless to really do anything. That's why..."

Reimu looked up from the water to face Sanae, eye to eye. Sanae's throat was dry as a prune as she could see the glistening in Reimu's eyes; the other girl was valiantly trying to control her emotions, but losing the fight.

"Promise me, Sanae. Promise me that you'll do whatever you can, anything, to save Gensokyo."
"Reimu..."

Sanae balled her hands into fists, then unclenched them. The next few moments became blurry, as Sanae suddenly reached out to embrace Reimu, to console her friend as she said in a soft, but iron-willed voice: "I promise. I promise, Reimu."

No one else was around to hear Reimu cry.

I hate that feeling of helplessness when needed the most. I hate it very much as well Reimu...

Everyone was gathered at the Shrine the next day at the appointed time. The various inhabitants of Gensokyo looked on as the four members of the strike team were assembled in the courtyard in front of the main shrine. Reimu and Yukari were both standing in front of the building facing the team.

Various crow-tengu reporters were observing from the crowd, jotting down notes and taking snapshots of the proceedings. Aya and Hatate were among them, both paying rapt attention to the most important subjects.

"This is heavy stuff... bigger than anything I've ever reported on," quipped Hatate, to which Aya rested a hand on her colleague-slash-rival's shoulder.

"And it's going to be even even bigger when they come back after saving the world!" Aya said, her tone too perky for the overall mood. Hatate, who was crouched down as she took another picture with her cameraphone, looked up at Aya with raised eyebrows.

"Will they really do it though? This is like an incident of epic portions, know what I mean?"
"It's that or believing the alternative, Hatate. Positive thinking has always gotten me through the tough spots, and I'm certain this will work out the same."

Eirin and Mokou set down a icebox-sized container between themselves. Eirin then popped the latch, and cold air hissed out from under the lid as it opened. Reimu eyed the box's contents as Eirin reached inside, and asked, "Eirin, are those what I think they are?"

Eirin shook her head as she withdrew something from the box that made Sanae gasp in surprise. It was an old World War II-era rifle, the kind that Sanae had only seen in movies or games.

Eirin explained as she assembled the peripheral parts of the rifle, including the scope and stock. "No, Reimu, these aren't Lunarian-grade weapons. It would be disastrous in a very different scale if we somehow lost a Lunarian weapon on the outside and humans found it. Instead, I brought some things from the collection of very human-made weapons I have secretly stored at Eientei. I never thought I would need to bring them out, but this is the right sort of occasion. They're rather outdated compared to what the outside world has now, but they should suffice."

The rifle wasn't the only weapon in the container: three handguns, a pump-action shotgun, and several frag grenades also came out as Eirin assembled her gear. Eirin herself was clad in her usual red and blue dress, but with what Sanae could recognize as a protective vest and various paddings on her shoulders, arms and hips. Probably bulletproof too, Sanae thought.

To her right, Sanae could hear Nitori rummaging through her bag as well. She was on friendly terms with Nitori(compared to how Moriya Shrine had shaky relations with the rest of the kappa) so she knew the blue-haired girl would bring a lot of gear. Of course, that didn't mean Sanae knew what any of Nitori's stuff was as she went through a verbal checklist.

"Hey, Kappa!" called out Eirin, to which Nitori turned towards her just in time to catch the shotgun that Eirin tossed to her. "I'm sure you can figure out how to use that." Nitori for her part grinned as she made the motion of pumping the barrel.

Eirin then turned to Sanae and held out one of the handguns; it was one of the two pistols among the handguns, the third of which Sanae recognized as a revolver. "I don't suppose you've ever fired a gun before, Sanae."

"N-no, I've never used one before. I've only seen them in movies and games."

Eirin handed her the holster for the gun as she said, "Trial of fire then. This gun is a .22 caliber Ruger Standard; I think you can handle it fine with some practice. Just follow my instructions and you'll manage. Wear this around your waist and keep the gun in there. Don't pull it out unless absolutely necessary. If we get into anything rough, try to leave things to myself, Mokou and the kappa."

Sanae complied, wrapping the strap of the holster around her waist and putting the gun inside. For her part, Mokou took the revolver, and also held what looked like a submachinegun in her left hand. An Uzi, Sanae remembered the name. The fiery immortal girl wore her usual outfit, but with brown cross-tie boots and a large cloth over her shoulders that looked suspiciously like a poncho.

Eirin looped the strap of the rifle over her shoulder, clipped a half-dozen grenades to her vest and holstered the second pistol which seemed a different model than the one Sanae had, before extracting the last weapon from the box. It was Eirin's personal shortbow, and honestly Sanae hadn't expected to see it after the arsenal Eirin had already passed around.

After noticing Sanae's quizzical gaze, Eirin said, "As much firepower as these all are, I am still most comfortable with the bow. And unlike steel bullets, I don't run out of arrows."

Standing up, Eirin looked like a bizarre cross of a nurse and Rambo to Sanae's eye. Shaking her head of the image, she looked over to Reimu, who began to speak.

"All ready? There's one more thing I need to give you guys."

Reimu gave Yukari a look, who for her part snapped her fingers: Ran, who was standing off to Yukari's left, walked over with a case in her hands. Opening the lid, she held the case out towards Sanae and the others. Sanae recognized the items immediately.

"Cellphones!?"

Yukari produced and snapped open her fan, and held it up to her face as she responded, "Not mere cellphones, Sanae. I've modified them to communicate across the Border, so you can keep in touch with us during your mission. However, that particular feature is magically-powered, so we won't be able to stay in contact constantly. There's a display that tells you how much charge it has for cross-border communication. Otherwise, they work like regular cellphones, without the hassle of reception and phone companies. You can only call the other phones in that set, however."

So they're more like walkie-talkies then, figured Sanae as she took one of the phones and pocketed it. Eirin, Mokou and Nitori all took one as well. Ran walked back off to the side with the now-empty case as Yukari said, "Now, we shall open the gap. Please go through together and swiftly; the less time spent to hold it open, the sooner we should be able to gather the power to open a second gap for your return. Hakurei Shrine exists on the outside as well, and the gap will drop you in the exact same spot as you are right now. From there, I suggest following the road southeast until you reach the nearest city."

With that said, Reimu and Yukari began the incantation for the gap opening: normally Yukari would have been able to do so with the blink of an eye, but with their powers as weakened as they were, the gap youkai was now relying on Reimu to provide the magical power to fuel the opening. As telltale black and purple swirls of energy formed between Reimu and Yukari, Sanae looked back into the crowd where Suwako and Kanako were watching. Suwako gave an energetic wave, while Kanako, her arms crossed, nodded towards Sanae with a firm smile. Sanae smiled back confidently as she lightly brushed her fingers against the snake ornament in her hair.

Eirin and Mokou looked over to where Kaguya and Reisen were watching. Reisen had a depressed look on her face, while Kaguya seemed unreadable. Mokou was still for a few moments, before holding a fist out towards Kaguya, her thumb straight up in the air. Her eternal rival blinked a few times, before a knowing grin spread across her face and she returned the thumbs-up.

Nitori picked out the few friends she saw in the crowd and waved to them in turn: Marisa, Alice, Momiji, the Aki sisters, and Hina. They all responded in kind, and it made Nitori all the more fired up for the journey that was about to begin.

"All right, the gap is opening now! Be ready to jump through!"

In the next few seconds, the coalescing energies finally formed in the familiar shape of one of Yukari's infamous gaps. It was barely large enough to accommodate one person going through. The girls went through in single-file: Eirin first, followed by Mokou, Nitori, and finally Sanae. A moment later, the gap closed and all was quiet. Releasing a heavy sigh, Yukari dropped herself down to the ground, her eyes half-lidded as she stared off atr nothing. "That was even more exerting than the last gap I opened. It's making me feel so very tired..."

Ran walked over and helped Yukari back to her feet. "Reimu, I need to rest. Ran can help you with what needs to be done. Until then, pleas-..." The blonde gap demon couldn't finish her sentence, as fatigue enveloped her and she passed out in Ran's arms.

"I'll take her inside and put her to bed, Reimu. I'll be ready to do whatever you need done," said Ran as she pulled Yukari up into a bride carry and walked into the building's interior. The onlookers had begun to disperse, and Reimu herself sat down on the edge of the patio as she watched them leave.

"I'll pray for the best of luck to you all, Sanae."

So this is going to get one update per week?

Another story that barely got out of the starting gate and is already face down, on the ground, dead.

>>27560
The Author's just TERRIBLY lazy, even for a writefag.

Grilled Unagi, get your lazy ass back here.

What >>27772 said.
This story is quite interesting, with lots of promise.
It would be quite a shame for you to abandon it.

Like the last one...

Not abandoning this, and it's really not because I'm lazy. As I posted in my Doll Maker story, right now college and my projects/finals are taking up a lot of my time and energy. I do have a bit of the next part drawn up, so my plan is to try and squeeze in an update soon.

>>27832

Thank you for at least telling us.

Sanae dove out from where she had been crouched as the stream of spitter acid impacted on the ground next to her, spraying the area with the corrosive goo. She returned fire from where she was now lying on her side, her submachine gun blasting bullets into the face of the Spitter until it collapsed dead into a puddle of its own spit.

Getting up to her knees, Sanae quickly looked around to gauge the situation: Mokou and Nitori were a dozen meters back down the alley cutting down a mob of zombies with combined shotgun and assault rifle fire. Eirin...

"Oh damn!"

Sanae lurched to her feet and made a mad dash for where Eirin was suspended two meters off the ground, a thick muscular tentacle wrapped around her neck and torso. The white-haired girl was grabbing at the tentacle with her hands, but the tight bind around her neck was making her unable to breath and she was losing strength. Aiming as carefully as she could, Sanae opened fire on the long muscle above Eirin's head: several bullets tore through the flesh, to the point where when Sanae jumped and grabbed the doctor's legs, the remaining bits of sinew simply snapped apart as the two women came crashing down on the pavement.

Ripping the tentacle away from around her neck, Eirin wheezed and gasped in air as Sanae helped remove the rest of the ensnaring flesh. Once they were both back on their feet, Eirin retrieved her sniper rifle from where it had fallen, and the two ran to group back up with Mokou and Nitori.

They arrived as Nitori blasted away the last of the common zombies.

"Everyone alright?" asked Mokou, turning around and seeing Sanae and Eirin arrive.

"A bit of a close call with the acid-spitter and tentacle-tongue, but all okay now," replied Sanae, looking back at the diminishing puddle of acid.

Nitori sagged her shoulders as she said, "We're running low on ammo... it's been three days already and everyone we've run into is a monster."

Sanae thought back on when they had arrived... the first day had been surprisingly uneventful. They had arrived through the gap to the outer world's Hakurei Shrine counterpart, and from there traveled on foot to the nearest town. There had been nary a soul or human sound in the trip there, and once upon arriving they found many homes and buildings left open, windows broken, and cars left in the middle of streets or crashed into things.

As it had been nightfall when they arrived in the town, the team had decided to lodge in one of the abandoned homes for the night. For caution, they had decided to rotate a guard to keep watch in case something happened. It was when Mokou was on guard duty while the others slept when the first zombies had appeared. They smashed through a window, and Mokou's instincts had told her they were dangerous and talking to them would have been useless.

That was the first encounter, and as the foursome traveled east to Tokyo on Sanae's suggestion, they ran into more of these twisted, mutated people. No attempt to communicate worked, and they didn't stop until killed. At the same time, they found bodies of regular humans, presumably killed by these zombie-like monstrosities.

For Sanae, she had thought pulling the trigger while her gun was aimed at a person would have been impossible... but instead, she was finding it all too easy to do so. Maybe it was because they looked just like zombies to her, she didn't know.

Now, the four were traveling on foot through another small town. Eirin had suggested finding a vehicle to take them all the way to Tokyo, but so far all the cars they found had either no gas or had been rendered unusable by zombies or something else entirely, they weren't certain.

The four continued down the street, staying on alert for the arrival of anymore zombies. Sanae kept a solid grip on the submachine gun she now had; they found it by the corpse of a young man who also had several pipebombs in a backpack. Now, Sanae carried both items with her.

At one point, they stopped to rest for a moment at a bus stop. Looking up at the bus sign, Sanae suddenly had an idea. The bus yard, surely at least one bus there might still be in working condition. At the very least, it seemed a better option than trying every abandoned car they came across.

There was a map of the city in the bus stop, and upon reading it Eirin noted they were actually rather close to the bus yard, which was next to the local transit center. All they had to do was follow this particular bus route until it returned to the transit center, and from there they could get to the bus yard.

Simple.

>>28588

Hooray for updates!

>Simple.

Hah

So, will the next update be a month from now?

Okay, honesty time. My apologies to those who liked this story idea, but I've lost any and all interest in writing it. Rather than leaving it to linger about, I finally decided it be best to come out and say this.

I'll still be writing Doll Maker, and maybe later start up a new idea I've had bouncing around in my brains.

>>29280

Called it.