"So let me get this straight. You...want me, to recount some of the events that seems important to Gensokyo's history now?" Patchouli Knowledge asked, laying down in her chair in the grand library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.
"Yes, I want you to do just that. I'm recording a new version of the history of Gensokyo, and I want to ask you to give your best answers."
Patchouli shrugged. She didn't want to be interrupted by any kind of distraction that might keep her away from maintaining, organizing and reading all these books in her grand library, but this distraction was different...
"So, are you up to it?" Hieda no Akyuu asked.
"Hmm...sure, why not?"
Akyuu felt relieved to hear this. She had been asking for weeks for someone to just tell her this final part of her new revision, but they were...let's just say, busy.
"Alright, then. Let's get started with this-"
CRASH!
The sound of broken glass alerts them. Somebody was here. And Patchouli had a feeling who...
"And that, Akyuu, is my time to get rid of somebody and protect my books." she said as she stood up and walked over to where the sound came from.
Just as I thought.
The crash site was filled with black smoke from the impact. Although it covered up the area, Patchouli could clearly see a broom...
"Marisa's here. I knew it." Patchouli told herself.
"Why would she be here?"
"To steal some books, I know."
At last, they reached the center where it was foggiest. They slowly wafted the air away to see better. Then a dark figure appeared in front of them, but Patchouli knew what to do.
"MARISA! You better get out of this library right now or I'm gonna make you!"
They waited for a response...they heard a voice come out of the darkness. But not what they expected.
"Yeah, well, don't expect that Marisa would try..."
That wasn't Marisa's voice. I swear it wasn't.
"That...doesn't sound like Marisa." Hieda commented.
"Yeah, well, who could it-"
Before Patchouli could finish, a child, wearing adult witch clothes, ran out of the smoke, laughing as she disappeared to the ever looming bookshelves.
Huh...who was that child, Patchouli asked herself.
"I'm sorry about that, she ran from my grip! I'm gonna go get her."
Another figure, obviously taller and older than the child, stepped out of the darkness. She had purple hair longer than Patchouli's, a backpack and a lab coat that stands out among the rest...
Patchouli didn't recognize her at first.
"Who are you?"
The person didn't seem surprised at this. "I, wouldn't blame you for that. Not many people recognize me now. Good thing you have the great chronicler herself, Hieda no Akyuu."
At this, Akyuu looked at the visitor. Something about her seemed so familiar...
Then it all snapped in her head. It was so clear now. She walked up to the visitor.
"...Ah! You're the Asakura scientist!"
They hugged each other for a moment, then they broke away. "I'm glad you still remember me. It's been a long time," said the scientist.
Patchouli seemed even more confused now. "Akyuu...who is this person?"
Akyuu suddenly gained her composure back. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you at first. Who you're seeing here is Gensokyo's most famous scientist, Rikako Asakura. Rikako, this is Patchouli Knowledge, but I do suppose you knew her already."
"I bid you good evening, Miss Patchouli," Rikako said, offering to shake hands.
Patchouli took it, asking, "And what would the great scientist herself be doing here?"
"Ah, yes. Let me explain the circumstances. You saw that child a while ago?"
"Yeah," said Patchouli and Akyuu simultaneously.
"Well...that's the young version of Marisa. You see...I accidentally spilled something on her that rewound her age, but I can't seem to find a way to reverse it. So I have come here to borrow books on it."
Patchouli was skeptical. She did look like she would bring trouble wherever she went. She didn't trust the young scientist yet.
"And...mind explaining the crash?"
"We went on Marisa's broom, but I accidentally lost control of it because she kept distracting me. Heh, even when she's young, she never changes..."
I guess that's incredibly possible. But...
"And why would I let you borrow books from me? You're a scientist. I don't give them to people who have strayed from the path of magic. Science...what a weird concept."
At this, Rikako grinned. Surely, this librarian hasn't heard the least of her.
"Oh, but I do have some magic myself, librarian. I just don't use it a lot, now that I'm fully committed to something else."
"Prove it, then. Don't waste my time."
"I'd rather not use it in such an old and delicate library. Or would you rather see the strongest of magic itself?"
The strongest...of magic? Surely. This cannot be.
"I don't believe you. You look too weak to handle that power."
"Are you underestimating me?! You should look at yourself, you have so many diseases just because you don't go out to catch a break!"
"At least I'm not a crazed lunatic who wouldn't-"
"Enough, you two!" Akyuu demanded. At this both of them quieted down. She leaned over to Patchouli.
"Just let her borrow them, Patchy. It can't kill you just to part with a few books..."
Patchouli sighed. As much as she hated it, both Rikako and Akyuu were right. She thought about it for a few moments, then said, "Alright. I'll let you borrow some books. You look responsible enough."
"I appreciate the comment, Patchouli. I'll take care of them. But first...we have a redhead to catch. And as for Akyuu..."
"Don't worry. You can tell me along the way. Something tells me this will be long."
With a great library such as Patchouli's, it should've been impossible to catch Marisa, with thousands of bookshelves that she could easily hide in. Meanwhile, Rikako had noticed the many different pumpkins and other spooky things along the library as they walked.
"So you celebrate Halloween as well?" she asked.
"Well, we all do," Patchouli answered, "But only I stay here, as well as Meiling. The rest are going trick-or-treating."
"You mean that vampire, her crazy sister and the crazier maid."
"Somewhere along those lines. These decoration give me the creeps, though. As if something bad is going to happen...but I doubt it."
"Marisa?! Where are you?" Akyuu kept screaming. It seemed desperate to find the girl, after all, if they can't find her here, they might never see her again...
Her thoughts were interrupted by Patchouli shouting from somewhere else, "I found her! She's here! With somebody else..."
Both Akyuu and Rikako ran to where Patchouli was. Finally, they could pick her up, get the books and-
"Uhhh...Patchy? Who is this...other child?"
Indeed, they had found Marisa, standing and poking another child, standing up and staying still, all dressed in white.
"I...I don't know."
"Miss Patchouli, are you OK? You look pale."
"I-I'm fine...It's alright."
Rikako walked closer to the girl, asking, "Are you OK? What's your name? Did you get lost?..."
All of a sudden, the girl started sobbing, saying things like,
"Why...why am I here? Who are you? Who am I? How...I don't know you...I don't know myself..."
"She seems to have lost her memory," Rikako said. "Must've lost her mind for a bit-"
"But I do remember one thing...there was this woman. She asked me if I wanted to be...whole again. I accepted her offer...but it went wrong...I felt so much pain...she just simply smiled at me...and...and..."
She just suddenly started laughing. The other three didn't know what was going on, but they could agree on one thing: this girl was weird...
Akyuu spoke up. "Um...girl? What...what's wrong-"
"I died! Yes, that's what happened...I was dead! Ha...hahaha. I remember perfectly now, I'm now dead! And it was all thanks..."
She pointed to Patchouli. At that moment, everybody looked at her in confusion.
"All thanks to you. Ha. Hahaha...hahahaha! Isn't it funny...you wanted to kill me. You lied to me...haha..."
Patchouli was suddenly so pale and panicked. "This...this can't be...I brought you away...I buried you...you were gone..."
"Miss Patchouli...what's going on?!" Rikako asked in panic.
Patchouli didn't know what to do. But she did know the perfect reaction. She backed away slowly, pulling the others with her, along with child Marisa.
"I think we better run." With that, she started running in the other direction, towards the exit. The others followed her shortly after.
"Hahahaha...where do you think you're going?..." Patchouli and the others felt a sudden surge in power coming from the girl, who was now floating above the air. This couldn't possibly be good...
"RUN! TO THE EXIT!"
They kept running as fast as they could, but the girl was seemingly a bit too fast for them. She seemed to get closer instead of going further away.
"Why in the world is she faster than us?! She must be some kind of ghost!" Patchouli cried out.
"But wait," Akyuu pondered, "wandering ghosts only stay here because they still have an attachment to this world. That means..."
Rikako got straight to the point. "We'll talk about it later! Just keep running!"
As dark as the library was, Patchouli remembered all the pathways and corridors. She led the group through a seemingly endless maze, near impossible to get out. Just then, a book hit Akyuu in the back of her head.
"Ouch! What...was that?" she asked.
They looked around, but saw nothing. They couldn't see anything...but Marisa kept pulling on Rikako's coat and pointing somewhere.
"What is it, Marisa? Can't you see we're busy?"
But she kept pointing to that same spot. She looked closer...and saw a flying book rush out, avoiding it just in time.
"Hey..." Patchouli called out, "we just got a bigger problem right now...look!"
They looked behind themselves. Another dark figure was coming out. They prepared themselves for battle...only to see someone else and not the ghostly girl. She wore a hat made of the finest linen and wore maid's clothes in blue and white, she had striking yellow hair...Rikako looked at her in shock.
"K-K-Kana?!...What..."
"Rikako?! You know this person?" Patchouli asked.
"Yes...she's a poltergeist. Just like that girl. And she's my friend."
She walked close to Kana Anaberal. They hadn't seen each other for so long...but Kana seemed more serious and mad than her usual cheery self. Something was wrong, Rikako could tell.
Rikako tapped Kana's shoulder, gesturing that she wouldn't hurt her. "What's wrong? Do you know what that was-"
"Move, Rikako. I need to kill that librarian."
She was surprised. What...what had happened? Why would Kana...want that? She had to know more. She believed it could be settled peacefully, even with the slimmest of chances.
"Kana...please, just talk to me for a moment. I know you're feeling dark inside, but just let it all out. You can trust me."
This seemed to make Kana better, as she finally looked at Rikako's face. She saw in her the trust she had...but she stayed unswayed.
"She...she killed me. That librarian wanted to kill me!"
Patchouli stepped forward, her feelings now fighting for control. "Now, girl. It was...just an accident. Why can't you understand that-"
"You think you understand?! No, no, no! You don't understand! I was just a poor orphan out there, and I thought you would give me a chance to have a new life, to start over! Instead, you used me as a toy and when I died, you didn't even care about me!"
She started to cry. Rikako felt pity for the poor child. She had been through so much...she clearly didn't want any more trouble. She just wanted to leave this world...to not have a curse of being attached forever. She hugged Kana and started sobbing as well...
"Kana...I didn't know you were in this much pain. I'm sorry if I wasn't there for you...if I couldn't support you. But now, I'll support you with all my heart. I want you to live your life in peace and-"
Before she knew it, Rikako felt a sudden, intense pain in her chest. She fell to the ground as blood splattered all over her, reaching even the glasses...there she lay, bordering death.
"RIKAKO!"
Patchouli then saw a bloody dagger in Kana's hands. She...had used it to stab Rikako.
"Hmph. What a waste of time. That bleeding idiot doesn't know what she's doing. I won't be fooled by friendship. I'm not going to let it get in the way of my plans. And as for you, scientist..."
"You killed me, too. You're as pathetic as the rest of them. You made everyone forget about me. All of you forgot about me. I was alone for the rest of my life, regretting what I had done! And then...I knew it was all your fault. All you had ever done was use me, discard me and forget me when I was in pain!"
Rikako could now only shout, "RUN! Just...leave me behind! And take... Marisa with you!"
Kana was now using her magic to desperately throw bookshelves at Patchouli and the others, while Rikako kept losing so much blood from the stab. They kept looking at her and wishing they could get her back, but they knew they couldn't. So they just kept running.
"There! THE EXIT!" Patchouli cried out.
The door was within their reach. Somehow, they could make it...but Kana wouldn't let them.
"Oh, no. You'll be stuck here with me!" she shouted as she threw two bookshelves at the door. They landed with a loud crash as they blocked the door!
"We're done for! What're we going to do?!" Akyuu cried out in desperation.
"I...I don't know anymore. I have no idea."
Kana finally stepped out of the chaos moments ago, a few meters behind them. She smiled and laughed at them.
"Isn't it funny...you're all going to die. It was all your fault I'm forgotten. And now you're going to be forgotten as well!"
She threw a large laser ball straight at them. There was no escape. They hugged each other as to say goodbye for the last time and closed their eyes, waiting for the impact...
The impact that never came.
"..You! I thought I killed you!"
They opened their eyes in shock. Right in front of them was a glass shield...Alice Margatroid's spellcard.
But it wasn't Alice that used it now. Instead, blood flowed down her lips as she focused all her hidden magic here...
"RIKAKO!" the others shouted as soon as they had seen her use the spell. Despite how much pain and weakness she was in...she still made a bold attempt at saving them.
Patchouli was confused, however. "But...but...how did you get that spellcard?"
Rikako grinned with the blood still dripping. "The strongest of magic itself...I didn't want to use this, but I really have to now. Now hurry, open the door and get out!"
"But how about you..?"
"I'm...too weak to run outside. Just leave me here to hold Kana off. I need to do one more thing before I leave this world..."
Patchouli sighed. There was no changing her mind. She ran towards the blocked door.
"Hey, Akyuu! Open up this door!"
"Alright."
With all their might, they slowly pushed away one of the bookshelves that blocked the door...at long last, they had done it.
"We're free! Let's get out of here!" Akyuu cried, taking Marisa with her. Patchouli followed her soon after, but not before looking at Rikako and Kana one more time...
Rikako couldn't hold on much longer. The barrier was about to break...and Kana showed no signs of stopping in shooting out attacks.
"You are pathetic, Rikako. You shouldn't have lived here. I should've murdered you and Patchouli if I got the first chance."
"Heh...but she's gone now. What are you going to do about it?"
"I'll find her! I'll haunt her forever, and I'll make sure that she dies in agony, regretting what she had done that day!"
"Well...you gotta get through me first."
At that moment, Rikako's spellcard broke down, and she was immediately thrown by the force of the attack into the wall. Patchouli looked, horrified as Kana picked Rikako up, now about to faint and soaked with blood, her glasses broken.
"I...I thought we were friends..."
"Friends? Ha. I don't need friends. I have myself."
She threw her on to the wall again, assured that Rikako's going to die, then she disappeared.
Quickly, Patchouli ran back to where Rikako was now.
"Patchouli...why...are...you here?"
"I'll take you to Eirin. She'll know what to do."
Patchouli carried Rikako right in her arms and walked away, the memories now swirling in her head. Guilt...regret...
And this scientist...to whom she had hated so much...Patchouli felt grateful.
She looked at Rikako. She fainted, and her glasses are broken. Probably not a good sign for her sight. But that didn't matter. The important thing was, they had survived.
"Rikako...don't worry. You'll be fine."
Patchouli kissed her on the bloodied cheek to show her gratitude, then called out, "Akyuu, we're going to Eirin now!"