Restoration of the Killing Stone

Restoration of the Killing Stone (Plotsys ID: 33)
Summary
When the legendary fox spirit Tamamo-no-Mae was hunted down and killed on the orders of Emperor Konoe, it was said that her body was transformed into the Sessho-Seki, the "Life-Destroying Stone," which exuded a mist that killed any human who drew near. Eventually, the Killing Stone was destroyed, although legends differ as to who was responsible. Some sources say that a Buddhist monk interceded with Tamamo-no-Mae's ghost and persuaded her to move on; other tellings claim that a samurai was able to close in and shatter the stone. Either way, the Killing Stone was shattered and its curse was lifted ... But now, with new information as to the legend of Tamamo-no-Mae, the criminal syndicate Ouma has begun searching for the surviving pieces of the Killing Stone. Towards this end, Ouma has reached out to the Confederacy, seeking assistance in countering the likely interference of not only Shinra, but other members of the Union. Who will find the pieces of the Killing Stone - and what will Ouma do when they get their hands on it?
Base Info
TP Scale:	Minor
TP Runner(s):	707
Attached Theme:	Namco X Capcom-1
Other Contacts:	Reiji Arisu
Target Audience:	Everyone
Genre & Tone:	Supernatural scavenger hunt

Events So Far

Last November, during an exhibition of Hokusai's work, there was a Confederate incursion at the Museum of National History in Tokyo-52605; during the clean-up, museum staff discovered that several pages of Hokusai's Otogizoshi - a collection of myths and folklore - had been stolen, specifically the pages retelling the legend of Tamamo-no-Mae. There were no leads towards finding the missing pages, though, and both Shinra and the museum's staff eventually turned their attention back to business as usual.

Almost a year later, Ouma sent a message to the Confederacy, inviting representatives to meet with them. Those who answered the invitation (Adele Rozenbach's "gargoyle" Alexander, the hunter Kirikou and his twins Thunder and Fire, ninja Yari Takane, the Chaos Sorceror Ixqor "Alpharius" Nathrach, the Robot Master Metal Man, and a Wo-class Abyssal aircraft carrier) were conducted to the warehouse where Lord Sutoku, a great tengu, welcomed them and exchanged questions and answers.

Ouma's initial plan for the reconstructed Killing Stone was to wipe out Tokyo; however, between Wo, Yari, and a local nekomata, Sutoku was persuaded that a more limited display of the Stone's destructive power would be in order. A formal proposal was written up, to be conveyed to Confederate high command by Yari, and Ouma began preparing to secure the first section of the Killing Stone - somewhere in Nasu, where the Stone originally marked the place of Tamamo-no-Mae's death.

It just so happened that at the same time as Ouma and their Confederate allies moved to procure the first piece, Shinra agents Reiji Arisu and Xiaomu were taking hard-earned time off for a hot-spring vacation, a trip which coincided with a few of their Union friends and allies. Xiaomu was particularly fond of the inn they were going to - it was located on a strong natural ley line, which empowered the spring with extra supernatural energy and made it an excellent place for youkai (and humans) to recuperate from injury or illness. Unfortunately, that ley line had become tainted by the negative power of the Killing Stone fragment, forcing the Union group to trace their way up the ley line ... and by the time they got there, the first fragment was already gone, taken by the Confederate group. It was enough to put Shinra on alert, though, particularly given increased youkai activity elsewhere.

One of those locations was Aokigahara, the "forest of death" infamous for the number of suicides committed there, and widely reputed to be heavily haunted as well. Shinra and Ouma both called for support at about the same time, leading to a throwdown in the forest between Union and Confederate Elites; the Union came out with the upper hand, and Shinra laid claim to the fragment which had come to rest in a dangerously-cold ice cave. Another fragment was located off the coast of Wakayama; the legendary youkai Nurarihyon had staked out a mansion near the shore, located on a ley line which would help locate the fragment itself, and Nurarihyon's "hospitality" meant that the Confederacy had a considerable head start - plus, Shinra wanted to evict the home-stealing youkai on general principle, so that the house's mortal owners could get back to life as usual. Between Shinra's focus on Nurarihyon and Ouma's Confederate allies knowing just where to find the fragment, it wound up in Ouma's hands.

That left one piece hidden somewhere in (or under) Tokyo, but Lord Sutoku decided to launch a massive youkai uprising, ostensibly led by Ouma's forces. Fortunately for Shinra, the same tanuki who had stolen the Otogizoshi pages saw fit to steal them back from Ouma and hand them back to Xiaomu, providing a badly-needed clue on exactly where to search. While Ouma's youkai paraded through the streets of Tokyo and were confronted by Mel, Hravn, and Vivio, Xiaomu led Reiji and Reina through the sewers to Ginza ward, only to be intercepted by Metal Man and a force of robotic drone-soldiers. In the end, Ouma's "victory" turned into a resounding defeat, and despite injuries all around, Shinra's agents and allies collected two more fragments: the one beneath Ginza, and one that Ouma had chosen to carry through the streets in a portable festival shrine.

The last piece wound up in Confederate hands, stolen away by Yari Takane as a bargaining chip: a means to ensure that the Confederacy could still gain some benefit from the chain of events. Yari and a couple of her allies found a small cave in the northeast of Tokyo (technically in the suburbs, just outside the city line), and the search led Xiaomu, Reiji, and their allies into an almost-trap. It was meant to get attention rather than kill or injure the Union Elites, and negotiations ensued. Ultimately, the final piece was returned to Shinra in exchange for a promise of amnesty for Ouma's rank-and-file members, and arrangements for a Confederate embassy in Tokyo-52605.

Other Information

According to the tengu Lord Sutoku (based upon Hokusai's research compiled into the Otogizoshi), the pieces of the Killing Stone came to rest in four regions.

The first of those was Nasu, in Tochigi Prefecture, a region known for its natural hot springs. While the original site of the Sessho-Seki is purportedly marked by a monument, this may not correspond with the truth of the lost legend; Ouma supposedly has more detailed information.

The second location was Aokigahara, a dense forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji, also known in modern times as the "forest of death" for the many suicides which are committed there.

The third location was the least specific: Wakayama Prefecture, on the southern peninsula of Honshu (the main island of the Japanese archipelago).

The fourth and final location - not known directly to Hokusai or Sutoku, but deduced by Xiaomu after the pages' recovery - was in the Ginza district of Tokyo, near the spot where the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 sparked the biggest and most destructive fire.

Logs

Title	Date	Scene Summary
A Night At The Museum	November 15th, 2015	A visit to the Tokyo National Museum in their world leads Reiji, Xiaomu, and friends into battle against an unexpected threat.
Back At the Museum	November 23rd, 2015	While visiting the Tokyo National Museum to check on things, Xiaomu runs into Lina, who'd returned to the scene of the Confederate raid.
Inventory Complete	December 9th, 2015	Reiji, Xiaomu, and Konoe make a follow-up visit to the Tokyo National Museum, and find out exactly what was stolen during the Confederate attack. Some other secrets come to light as well.
Mission 0: Yo Ro Shi Ku	October 1st, 2016	It's been over a year and a half since Tokyo-52605 Unified, and Ouma is finally reaching out to the Confederacy. An invitation has been sent by Ouma; in response, a number of Confederate representatives have gone to a meeting of Ouma's members, to make introductions and work out the beginnings of a working relationship ...
Mission 1: The Nine Tails' Curse	October 8th, 2016	The Nasu region of Tochigi Prefecture is primarily known for two things. For most people, it's renowned for its natural sulfur hot springs, and that's what brings Reiji, Xiaomu, and some of their Union friends to the region - a hot-springs trip that's been long in the planning, and forestalled by many of the crises they've had to help deal with. But Nasu is also where Tamamo-no-Mae was finally hunted down and killed ... and when her body became the Sessho-Seki, the Killing Stone, her curse lingered for many years, as the stone took the lives of those mortals who touched it. Eventually the Stone was destroyed and the curse lifted - but Ouma has discovered that there's still a piece of it there: the first piece they need if they're going to resurrect that ancient and deadly curse.
Mission 2: The Forest of Death	October 15th, 2016	Aokigahara, a dense forest at the foot of Mt. Fuji's northwest slopes, is either famous or infamous for the number of suicides which are carried out there. Some people go so far as to say that the forest is haunted by the spirits of those who die there - whether by taking their own lives, or as a result of murder. And not all of the killers roaming Aokigahara are ghostly, or even of human origin. Ouma is scouring the Forest of Death for the second fragment of the Killing Stone, and they're calling in assistance from the Confederacy to boot; Shinra's agents can't deal with the combination alone, so they've requested Union support. Who will find the second piece of the Killing Stone ... and who will fall in the search for it?
Mission 3: Calamity of Land and Sea	October 29th, 2016	The 1707 Houei earthquake was the most powerful quake recorded in Japanese history; seismologists refer to it as a 'megathrust' earthquake, with multiple sections of an undersea faultline erupting almost simultaneously. Between the earthquake itself and the ensuing tsunami, it affected most of the main islands of Japan, and is additionally suspected of triggering the last known eruption of Mt. Fuji. But the legendary youkai Nurarihyon doesn't really care about ancient history. He's taken over a fairly luxurious estate in Wakayama, and a bunch of Ouma's members have been spotted in the area as well. They're looking for something, not just on land but underwater ... specifically, another fragment of the Killing Stone. Of course Shinra is going to get involved - if only because Nurarihyon is a jerk who takes over people's houses, but they can't let Ouma get another piece of the Killing Stone, either. And naturally, both sides will likely want whatever help they can get from the Confederacy and the Union, respectively ...
Mission 4: The Hour When Demons Pursue	November 5th, 2016	The struggle for the pieces of the Sessho-Seki, the legendary Killing Stone, has reached its climax. Three of the pieces have been found; the fourth is somewhere in Tokyo. And so is Ouma's target for the Killing Stone's use. Shinra needs all four pieces in order to neutralize Tamamo-no-Mae's ancient and deadly curse; Ouma just needs to bring them all together outside Shinra's control. What forces will be unleashed in the streets of Tokyo, and who will carry the day?
Mission 5: Bargaining Chip	November 21st, 2016	Ouma's plot to reassemble the Killing Stone and unleash its power has been thwarted, and three of the four fragments are now in Shinra's safekeeping. But Ouma's erstwhile allies in the Confederacy stole away the fourth fragment - and as long as it's out there, any attempts Shinra makes to exorcise the ancient curse and purify the fragments are subject to fail. They need the fourth piece ... But the Confederates have their own plans to enact before they're ready to give back what they see as a potentially useful weapon.

Cutscenes

Title	Date	Scene Summary
Missing Pages, Missing Pieces (Xiaomu)	November 4th, 2016	Documents thought lost are returned, and with them, Xiaomu finally has the clues she needs for Shinra to get a head start on finding the last piece of the Killing Stone.
The Tengu and the Fox	November 6th, 2016	In the wake of Ouma's failed attempt to gather the Killing Stone's fragments and launch their planned attack, Lord Sutoku rages at his underlings ... only to have somebody dash cold water on his rage.