pika318/Magi_Axi_Junn: Yes, I know I said Ruin would be writing this, but she's in the middle of an exam period, and I'm trying to take a break from writing Kuroko no Basuke fanfics. I'm just writing this until she's done with her exams.
For those who have not read the post in the Fanfiction thread in SH Kingdom, this is going to be a Sound Horizon X Umineko was a random idea Ruin had one day after realising that both Sound Horizon and Umineko had interesting witches, and it somehow snowballed into this idea, and the witches were no longer the main theme.
Anyway, I hope Sound Horizon and Umineko fans would be able to enjoy this fanfic. An additional note, Revo will not be known as Revo in this fic, but as Heika. That's because to us, Heika is a fictional character while Revo is real.
Disclaimer: Sound Horizon belongs to Revo and Umineko belongs to 07th Expansion.
Chapter 1: Missing
"Mmm-!" Violette let out a sigh of satisfaction as she stretched, standing out on the balcony. Today was a nice day, with no harsh winds, and she could feel the faint warmth of sunlight.
"Okay! It's time to wake up Monsieur!" She said to no one in particular. It was her turn today to do so today, while Hortense busied herself with cleaning up the house or preparing treats, amongst other duties they rotated with one another.
Cheerfully, she skipped up the steps to the second floor, quickly reaching the room which had the star and moon symbol engraved on it. That was her destination. Slowly, she opened the door and tiptoed into the room. Then she closed the door quietly behind here, and glanced at the bed. There was when she got her first surprise of the day.
There weren't any signs of a person in the bed. The blankets were messed up, but they were totally flat, showing that there wasn't anyone underneath them.
Quickly, she walked up to the bed and pulled the blankets away, just to make sure. And sure enough, there wasn't anyone at all.
"Huh? Did Monsieur get up already?" Violette asked herself.
Leaving the room, she met up with Hortense in the corridor.
"Violette, is Monsieur up already?" Hortense asked.
"He's not in his bed. Did you see him anywhere?" Violette replied, her tone puzzled.
"I didn't. I'm sure we would have heard him if he's up though…"
"Let's search for him then." Violette suggested.
"I just hope he's not playing hide and seek this early in the morning." Hortense said with a sigh.
One hour later
"There's no sign of him, Hortense." Violette reported, worried.
"He shouldn't be able to leave the house, so where could he have gone?"
"But we searched everywhere…"
Suddenly, both the dolls heard a voice from outside.
"Hey! Is anyone home? Herr Hiver, Violette, Hortense?"
Both of them rushed to the balcony, and in the snow landscape outside, they saw Ido-ko.
"Ido-ko? What are you doing here?" Violette asked.
"Have any of you seen Herr Märchen?" Ido-ko asked, panting. Clearly, she had run all the way here.
"No, we have not. Why do you ask?" Hortense replied, puzzled by the question.
"Meru wasn't around when I woke up!" The high pitched voice said. That was when Violette and Hortense noticed that Ido-ko was carrying someone, namely Elise.
"Woke up? But we don't sleep, Elise." Violette stated.
"That's the problem! I actually fell asleep, or at least lost consciousness all of a sudden, and when I came to my senses, Meru was gone! And I can't sense him anywhere!"
Violette and Hortense looked at one another. First their Monsieur disappears, then Märchen. Something strange is going on here.
"For now, why don't you come in? We'll be able to talk better inside. We'll meet you downstairs." Hortense proposed. Just as she said that, an outline of a door appeared below the balcony, swinging outwards.
Soon, the four of them were seated at the table, a cup of hot tea for Ido-ko. She had taken a sip to warm herself up, but now it was forgotten.
"Are you sure Monsieur Märchen hasn't simply gone somewhere without telling you?" Hortense asked.
"Meru will never go anywhere without me!" Elise insisted. By this time, anyone could tell that the small doll was close to tears.
"Also, that's not the only problem… when Elise came to me and told me that she didn't know where Herr Märchen was, I went to look for Vati since he might know about Herr Märchen's whereabouts, but I couldn't find him as well."
"Could it be that Heika asked them to go to his castle? Violette suggested. "After all, Monsieur can't leave this house unless Heika allows it. It could be the same for Monsieur Märchen and Idofried."
"Hmm…? You mean Herr Hiver is not here as well?" Ido-ko asked as she looked around.
"No, Monsieur is not here." Violette replied.
"But Heika isn't the type of person who would just summon them to the castle without any of us knowing." Hortense said. "Especially Monsieur, he's always so happy when he is able to see Heika."
"Perhaps we should go to the castle then." Ido-ko suggested.
"I want to see Meru soon…" Elise whined.
"Yes, we should go." Hortense agreed. "Come with us, there is a room here that connects directly to Heika's castle."
Ido-ko, carrying Elise, quickly followed the two dolls to the second floor, and at the end of the long corridor, both the dolls stopped.
"In here." Hortense said, pushing open a door which Ido-ko never noticed was there, seeing how well it blended with the surrounding walls.
As Ido-ko cautiously stepped into the room, the first thing is noticed was a large mirror. Or rather, it was the only thing she saw in the room. There was nothing else.
"Let's go." Violette said with some urgency as she simply stepped through the mirror. Now, only three people were left in the room.
"After you, Ido-ko, Elise." Hortense said.
Nodding, Ido-ko walked up to the mirror. Perhaps it was out of instinct, she shut her eyes as she took the step that would take her through the mirror. When she opened them, she found herself in a very familiar courtyard. The same one she stood in not long after she was created.
"We've arrived." Hortense said as she appeared behind Ido-ko.
"Ah…" Ido-ko said, unable to think of anything else to say. Scanning the courtyard, she soon saw a familiar figure walking quickly across the courtyard. Her red and brown hair, tied into two ponytails and her clothes, a figure hugging blouse with a short skirt and knee high stockings, made it easy to identify her.
"Is that Layla?" She asked.
"It appears to be so." Violette agreed, and approached the seemingly distressed girl.
"Layla!"
"Violette! What are you doing here?" Layla exclaimed, so concentrated on the path in front of her that she didn't notice the doll approach.
"Monsieur wasn't at home, so we thought he'll be at the castle. Are you here for the same reason?" Violette asked. Layla nodded at Violette's question, her face full of unease as she answered,
"Shaytan wasn't around this morning either, so I thought he'll be at the castle too. But now that I'm here, it just seems so strange. Shaytan would never go anywhere without telling me first…"
"I think we should go see Heika now. With all these mysterious things happening, I can't relax until I get some answers." Hortense said as she urged the whole company on.
"Yes, let's go." Layla agreed.
Crossing the courtyard, they climbed up the stairs and reached the door that would lead them to the interior of the castle. Pushing it open, they had only started to walk down the long corridor when they noticed that there was a small group in front of them. Even though it was daylight outside, it was quite dark inside the castle itself, so the figures were quite hard to make out. Only Layla, who had exceptional night vision due to the powers granted to her, was able to recognise the group.
"Misia! Mu, Phi!" She called out, grabbing the attention of the group in front. In response, the three of them turned around, and there was a look of surprise on Artemisia's face when she noticed the large group behind her.
"Layla, everyone!" She greeted as they approached. She had a worried look on her face, and it didn't take long for Hortense to arrive to her own conclusions.
"Are Elefseus and Thanatos missing?" She asked directly.
"Yes." Mu answered.
"How did you know?" Phi asked.
"Apparently, all the leaders from our Horizons are missing as well." Hortense answered.
"We were hoping that they're with Heika." Violette added.
"I see..." Artemisia answered as the whole company silently continuing their progress to Heika's study, lost in their own worries. It was only when they reached the stairs that would lead to the second floor, where his study was located when someone suddenly landed lightly in front of them. She was wearing a simple white and blue school uniform.
As the person looked up, her look of surprise mirrored the ones on some of their faces.
"What are all of you doing here?" Lucia asked.
"I believe we're here for the same reason you are, Lucia." Artemisia answered.
"I'm here to look for Dad. Mum said she couldn't find him anywhere, and Chronica had no idea where he went either." Lucia answered, even as a few words caught her attention.
"For the same reason… judging by what you're saying, there are more missing people, and seeing that it's all of you that are here, am I right to assume that all of Heika's representatives that are not accounted for?" Lucia deduced.
"That's right. Which is why we must go and ask Heika what in the world is going on." Layla said, her tone impatient.
That was when all of them heard a shout that rang through the castle, bringing more bad news which would soon bring chaos to the peaceful and quiet kingdom.
"Heika is missing!"
pika318/Magi_Axi_Junn: Okay, so this is a short first chapter which I know ended quite dramatically and expectedly. That's it for now and I hope all of you liked it enough to continue reading later.