Chapter 4.2 - Zero Hour

Zero Hour
Black&#9733;Rock Shooter was driving eastwards, towards Maldon. Apart from the car's headlights, the area was in complete darkness with no moonlight to see anything beyond the stretch of road ahead. Even though the national curfew time of eight in the afternoon had passed, rendering the country's road network almost completely devoid of activity, Black decided it would be safer to drive within the speed limit. Wild animals tend not to pay attention to enforced curfews. She glanced in her rear-view mirror to see the clearly lit Atlas holding up what could be described as a huge but smooth pebble. Then she realised that Atlas was making his way southwards, covering a massive distance with each stride. She frowned.

Black brought her mobile to her ear, keeping her right hand on the wheel. "Miku," she stated, activating the voice dial.

The call was immediately answered. "Black?" asked Miku, "Something you need?"

"I know it's against British law to make a phone call while driving but I have to ask, where is Atlas heading?"

"Sahara. Since we have the moon, we might as well use the resources it supplies for our African industries."

Black instinctively rose an eyebrow, "... Is that really a good idea?"

"We've lost a lot of power after losing the moon. Most of our older facilities use tidal power. At moment we have to work as best we can with what we have. Don't worry, he's going round Spain so there's little risk in any damage to our mainland facilities."

Black slowed the car to a halt, "That's not what I meant. Taking the moon into Africa... Wouldn't North High have a problem with that? And going round Spain would put Gensokyo on high alert."

"I don't think that's a problem. Both Gensokyo and North High can see we successfully dealt with what was thrown at us. They'll stay inside their barriers."

Leaving the car engine running and the headlights on full power, Black stepped out the car, keeping the phone to her ear, "I think it's a big problem. North High obviously have something planned for us and Gensokyo wouldn't just ignore the dropping of the moon. What this event has shown is that the Sonic Barrier is penetrable, that North High can drop whatever they want into Yamaha whenever they want." She walked in front of the car to a small crater in the middle of the road and stopped at two metal halves of a capsule, illuminated by the headlights. "We need to prepare for war."

"You don't suppose North High and Yamaha are working together, do you?" suggested Yakumo Ran who was stood at the door to the traditional but stylish meeting room, one of the many in the Pentagon.

"Possible," nodded Yakumo Yukari with her eyes closed, slipping further back into the chair she was sitting on, "North High spaceships were firing at the moon before it went through the Sonic Barrier. Maybe Yamaha need it for something." Yukari, the War Minister for Gensokyo, was a Youkai and was considered the most powerful out the Touhou cast.

"But then couldn't North High drop the moon on themselves and just pass it to Yamaha?" asked Yakumo Chen, stood on the opposite side of the door to Ran.

Yukari yawned loudly, "Thinking this hard is making my head hurt. It's winter. I should be hibernating."

Reimu suddenly walked into the room, followed by Marisa, "Your hibernation is the last thing we need." The two sat down at the meeting table. Yukari just sighed at their arrival, opening a single eye. "An incident is taking form," continued Reimu, "Whether North High and Yamaha are at war or if they've allied against us, it's not something we should ignore. We need to observe and make sure we can hold our ground. If they've found a way to break through our Barrier then we're pretty much done for."

"But first things first," added Marisa, "Aya's reported that Atlas is making his way southwards with the moon towards the Ivory Coast. It's really shrunk in size, to around the size of a city but we really don't know what they plan to do with it."

"Yukari," requested Reimu, "I'd like you to assemble a powerful task force to stay near the Barrier when Atlas approaches. Just to make sure he doesn't do anything funny."

"Fine," mumbled Yukari, clearly uninterested.

"... I'll give you permission to use the Temple," added Reimu with a stern look.

Yukari jumped to her feet with intense determination, "I'll get started right away!" Marisa gave a wholehearted laugh.

Reimu sighed, "Look. This is serious. If the Barrier comes down Gensokyo will be absorbed by North High."

Yukari slipped back into her chair, "But isn't the Hakurei Barrier impenetrable?" she asked with a hint of sarcasm, "There's no way anyone could break through it."

"But isn't Yukari the most powerful being in Gensokyo?" retorted Reimu, "There's no way anyone could defeat her."

"...I- I was going easy on you," Yukari pouted.

"As much as you feel safe behind the Barrier, it's undeniable that North High and Yamaha are on the move." Reimu stood up. "We need to prepare for war."

"Haha!" laughed Haruhi, "I knew Solace would be fine."

"No, you didn't," murmured Kyon on the opposite side of the holodesk. Of course, Haruhi heard this but she chose to ignore it.

Suddenly a blue holographic ball appeared at the head of the table, "There are noticeable military movements within the Yamaha Kingdom, Empress," it said with a female and clearly synthetic voice.

"Thanks, EDI," nodded Haruhi, "Tell us more." EDI, which stood for Enhanced Defence Intelligence, was the artificial intelligence of the Normandy SR-2.

"Yamaha forces are amassing close our Asian border, though noticeably not near our African border. We have also noted the transferral of Rin and the Stray Posse to Canada. Whether they are being transferred to help with Teto and the UTAU's recent exploits there or to reinforce the American border is debatable. Atlas is moving south with the moon towards the Ivory Coast. His planned destination is not obvious."

"Would it be possible for Yamaha to invade us?" asked Itsuki, "Say with some portable Sonic Barriers?"

"I have not observed such technology. With what we have seen with the Sonic Barrier, it is not a viable method. It would rip apart anything close by, including their own ranged attacks. The current Sonic Barrier benefits from being very thick, several miles in all places apart from where it meets the Hakurei Barrier. As we have shown, given a projectile big enough and fast enough, we can pass it through the Barrier. A small personal barrier would not be able to protect from tank shells."

"The Vocaloids would never be smart enough to-" began Haruhi.

"Excuse me, Empress," interrupted EDI, "I am getting abnormal movements from Gensokyo. It appears Yukari has summoned a gathering in the Ivory Coast, with the aid of her portal-like ability. Also, Cirno is currently crossing the Atlantic towards the Ivory Coast, carrying a girl on her back."

"We can ignore Cirno. Who's in the gathering?" requested Haruhi, leaning forward over the desk.

"Hakurei Reimu, Kirisame Marisa, Yakumo Yukari, Remilia Scarlet, Flandre Scarlet, Ibuki Suika, Konpaku Youmu, Hinanai Tenshi, Reisen Udongein Inaba, Onozuka Komachi, Kawashiro Nitori and Shameimaru Aya." Their images appeared across the holodesk.

"This is not an invasion force," pointed out Yuki, in her usual monotonic voice, "Considering how small the group is and seeing that the majority come from different households, the only exception being the Scarlet sisters, it is more fitting to call it a scouting force. It is also missing some of the more powerful of the Touhou cast including Yuuka and Yuugi."

"Also, there appears to movement in the Sand Canyon," continued EDI.

"The Sand Canyon? Didn't they build a temple on it?" asked Itsuki.

"I thought they filled the Grand Canyon with sand to make it a holiday destination," commented Haruhi, "Isn't Hawaii their capital?"

"Transmitting live visual feed," stated EDI. The profiles disappeared from the holodesk to be replaced by a three dimensional full colour hologram of the Chinese style temple surrounded by sand in all directions. The floor of the temple was sliding open, revealing that there was no sand underneath. Instead, a massive cylinder slowly rose above ground level, tilted upwards before extending, showing itself to be the barrel of a huge artillery cannon. There was silence at the table as the cannon turned.

It was only when it came to a stop when Haruhi spoke up, "What is that?"

"Based on its style and concept, it appears to be a Temple of Gaia," explained EDI, "If this is true, its shells are capable of creating earthquakes."

Kyon put a hand on his waist, "Haruhi, didn't you say that Gensokyo was technologically backwards?" he asked sarcastically.

"Wasn't Touhou stuck in the past?" growled Haruhi, "It wasn't long ago when they found out how to use film cameras."

"That would be true if you only considered Touhou as part as Gensokyo," clarified Yuki, "However, Gensokyo also consists of some of the world's most renowned scientists such as the Fantastic Four, Tony Stark and Professor Utonium."

"If Gensokyo can create something like that, I fear what Yamaha could make," added Itsuki, "Ignoring the Vocaloids own technological knowledge, they have scientists like Doctor Doom, Jimmy Neutron and Dexter. Didn't they recently finish a cold fusion plant that could power their entire African territory by itself?"

Haruhi turned to look at Mikuru who took a step back in instinctive fear, "What's the cannon pointing at?" Despite where she was looking, it was obvious it was not a question for Mikuru.

"It appears to be following Atlas," answered EDI, "However, Atlas is many times outside its range based off the Temple's source. In fact, Atlas would have to enter American mainland territory to be close enough to hit."

Haruhi turned back to the table, clearly relieved, "Oh, so it's fine then."

Kyon frowned, "It's not fine." Haruhi made her way to the room's only door. As the door slid open automatically, Kyon called out, "Haruhi, where are you going?"

Haruhi stopped in her tracks, followed by a rumbling sound. She turned round with her hand on her stomach. "We need to prepare for dinner."

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