One advantage to explosions - they usually did a good job eliminating something
One disadvantage to explosions - they made very dangerous point-blank techniques.
Yuuka brushed off her damaged clothing, wondering if she overdid it ever so slightly. Did she really need to put so much power into that blast? Now she'd gone and damaged her clothes! Her hair must be a mess as well… Oh well, Elly was pretty damn excellent when it came to mending things, so that was just fine.
The flower youkai glanced at the prone, winged figure lying several feet away, unmoving. Didn't look like she was conscious, so her blast did the job it was supposed to. Goodie. Now then, time to do even worse to the rude maid from earlier…
"Owie~ That was sooooo dangerous!" Gengetsu exclaimed cheerfully, sitting up and rubbing her head. She still grinned like a carefree child as she glanced at a bemused Yuuka. "You're pretty crazy!"
"Yes, I get that a lot." Yuuka nodded, wondering how Gengetsu could have shrugged off the blast like she herself had. Sure, the demon was tough, but…
With an excited giggle, Gengetsu leaned to her feet, wings fluttering for no real reason. Ignoring her own dishevelled appearance, the demon instead found Yuuka to be far more important. "Are you okay? With a blast at that range, I figured you woulda burned your own face off~!"
"I'm not a naïve little girl with no idea of my own limits." Yuuka informed her with a tight smile. "I'm more concerned with the fact that you seem to have sustained no damage."
Gengetsu's wide smile reached Cheshire-levels. "Don't be! I'm far too strong to be damaged by any random youkai~!"
"…A 'random youkai'?" Yuuka repeated, the air surrounding her suddenly becoming chilled and thick, as if her mere presence was poisoning the air. "Oh dear, you really have no idea who Yuuka Kazami is, do you?"
Gengetsu shook her head cheerfully.
"Let me tell you, then." Yuuka said coldly, slowly stepping closer to the demon. "Yuuka Kazami is known to many as the origin of all evil. The mistress of everything that lurks in the dark. The queen of the damned. And a cute flower girl, but mostly bad stuff." Yuuka informed.
Gengetsu nodded, listening intently.
"For as long as mankind has existed, I have been there. Feeding from their fears and desires, I have shaped many of the myths and legends that frighten children to this very day!" Yuuka declared, stepping ever closer to the angelic-looking girl. "I have had countless millennia to refine my technique! There is no one who can deliver fear as well as I!"
Yuuka, now within arms range of the demon, suddenly gripped Gengetsu's throat and hoisted her into the air, fingers digging tightly into her throat. "Yuuka Kazami is no mere 'youkai'! Yuuka Kazami is the most powerful entity that currently lives!"
Gengetsu didn't struggle or reply. Instead, with that smile never leaving her face, she raised both arms outward, the landscape changing within an instant.
Suddenly, Yuuka found herself in the middle of a ruined town, pillars of smoke all that remained from what appeared to be a devastating attack. After a quick cursory glance, she returned her gaze to the captive demon. "And what you are doing is…?"
"S-stay back!"
Yuuka glanced over her shoulder, seeing a young boy fleeing from something. Now where had he come from…? Well, what did it matter? This was nothing more than an illusion, after all. Whatever Gengetsu was trying to do was not going to work.
The boy noticed the flower youkai and froze, eyes wide with terror. "N-no! You were just- get away from me!"
Yuuka ignored him and simply threw Gengetsu to the ground.
"This is a sad attempt at reversing a situation, you know." Yuuka informed her, planting a foot on Gengetsu's stomach to prevent her from getting back to her feet. "If you're trying to make me look like a monster, I already am one."
"Oh, I know~!" Gengetsu grinned. "I'm just showing you my power! Remember, I control nightmares!"
The flower youkai grunted in response, glancing at the boy who continued to stare fearfully at them.
"You're the base of many nightmares, I noticed!" Gengetsu continued, "About… huh, sixty three billion, two million and three hundred thousand, six hundred and twenty nine nightmares. That's… that's a world record."
"Yes, I am very good at what I do." Yuuka sighed impatiently. "Now, what is your point?"
Heedless of the dangerous tone in Yuuka's voice, the cheerful demon continued, "Well, you know how this is a dream world? And anything can happen in a dream?"
"Yes?" Yuuka sighed once more, then flinched as a sword sprung from her chest.
Blinking, she stared at the bloody blade, wondering just how in the hell that had gotten there. Craning her neck, she saw the boy from earlier held a blade and had stabbed her back. He still maintained that fearful look in his eye, but also some form of determination.
"This dream is over five hundred years old." Gengetsu noted happily. "But like every other dream, it contained the dreamer's wishes! Ever since you did whatever it was to this boy's life, he's dreamed of nothing but slaying the vile demon!"
Yuuka turned to look at the dream-boy, his grip instantly slackening from the sword as he stumbled away. Currently ignoring the sword, Yuuka stepped toward him, a cold look in her eye.
"Oh my, you'll kill him?" Gengetsu asked curiously, smiling as she sat up and tilted her head. "Haven't you ruined his life enough? Must you desecrate his dreams as well?"
Yuuka flicked the boy's head, he dissipated. The village disappeared.
"You control nightmares, huh?" Yuuka muttered to herself, placing a hand to her chest. The sword was gone, but the wound and blood remained. Not that she would be deeply affected, but if it had pierced her heart…
"Nightmares are nothing more than illusions, in the end." Yuuka shrugged, turning to face the demon once more. "And there is no illusion that can…"
Yuuka's gaze almost solidified the air with ice.
"Something wrong?" Gengetsu asked innocently, as the bloodied, battered and almost unrecognisable bodies of Kurumi and Elly swung from their tethered positions of a towering tree branch, directly behind Gengetsu.
Yuuka's grip on the umbrella tightened, her knuckles white. "What is this?"
"Ah, this?" the angel giggled, her tone carrying a hint of maniacal glee. "As you know, I control nightmares! To create the best bad dream for everything, I prey on their fears, hidden deep within their hearts!"
Gengetsu's eyes were wide, unblinking, almost doll-like. "No matter how black, shrivelled and devoid of morals one's heart may be, everyone has something they fear! Who would have thought you'd fear for the safety of your cute little servants~?"
"…Illusions will not affect me." Yuuka snarled, all pretences of patience gone.
Gengetsu's grin somehow became even wider, colder. "Is that so? In that case, will you care more if I tell you that Mumu will deliver unto those two, this very fate you see in your scariest dreams?"
The tree and the girls disappeared, leaving Gengetsu and Yuuka alone. "Those two have annoyed my dearest sister, and they will be punished. Much like how you will be for invading our home and assaulting me!"
"…You didn't seem like the type to hold a grudge." Yuuka noted, slowly walking towards the demon. Gengetsu laughed as her hands glowed with raw magic.
"Oh, I don't have a grudge at all!" Gengetsu explained cheerfully. "Mumu just really, really hates outsiders~! I'm just a mindless enforcer!"
Yuuka smiled coldly. "Just a shame you chose the wrong profession. Now, move aside or die where you stand."
"Ah, the gallant knight plans to rescue her endangered princesses~!" Gengetsu sighed, clasping her glowing hands together. "How sweet~ but I don't deal with fairy tales!"
And with that, Gengetsu threw her ball of pure power.
"You do realise that if we take a third right, we'll return to the fifth crossroad we passed, right?" Elly noted impatiently as Kurumi tried to persuade the gatekeeper to keep following. She wasn't having too much luck.
"Yeah, and?"
"Why didn't we just take a left if we were gonna go in that direction then!" Elly asked with no shortage of exasperation on her injured face. The blood had long since dried and her nose was recovering well enough, but youkai still had limits to how fast they could heal. Also, that had been quite the beating she'd taken from Mugetsu earlier, so the servant was hardly at peak condition.
"It's a maze! These things are disorientating!" Kurumi defensively snapped back. Elly snorted, then grimaced at the dull throb of pain that sent across her face.
"Common sense is a virtue, just think for two seconds on where we're going, and this won't be too hard to solve." Elly argued with forced calm. As nice as it would be to beat the annoying, insolent whiner of a vampire, the scythe-wielding girl had decided that escaping the lunatic demon's trap was just a teensy bit more important. Just a little
Kurumi merely huffed and crossed her arms, "Very well, Elly the Genius, what's your solution?"
Elly didn't answer immediately. Truthfully, she had no idea either, but there had to be some sort of solution… wait, it was so simple!
"The outer walls!" Elly suddenly proclaimed, banging the end of her bladed weapon on the tiled floor below. "We just follow that wall until we reach the exit!"
Kurumi blinked, opened her mouth to speak, nothing came out. She repeated this for several seconds before finally saying, "…Are you really Elly? The one I knew wouldn't come up with such an obvious, yet logical conclusion."
"I can make your death look like an accident." Elly threatened coldly. "But yes, I came up with I-"
"No, wait, we're supposed to find the centre." Kurumi sighed in realisation. "Crap. Well, guess you're idea becomes stupid."
Elly swallowed her venomous retort, and instead said with a shaking voice laden with restrained anger, "Well, at least I have a method of moving around this maze! You can keep turning right all you want, but I'm gonna find an exit!"
And with that, Elly turned and flew off, leaving the vampire behind.
"…H-hey…" Kurumi said in mild disbelief. "We can't… you're… I saved your life, you ungrateful little hussy!" she yelled after the retreating figure. "Don't just leave me stranded in the middle of a goddamned maze!"
No reply came as Elly rounded a corner, and Kurumi's expression went from surprised to utterly furious. Then just a little scared.
…Stay calm, Kurumi… just stay calm… the vampire chanted to herself. It's okay, all you did was lose extra baggage. Lady Kazami will understand it's all Elly's fault if she gets hurt, right? And I can't be held accountable if Mugetsu finds her…
Wait, didn't I attack Mugetsu to save that stupid servant?
Kurumi bolted after Elly. Since Kurumi had effectively signed her death warrant and personally handed it to her executioner with a smile, she might as well go down with the cause of it.
Almost bouncing off of a wall, Kurumi zoomed off in the corridor's new direction, almost missing the tattered servant leaning against the wall back on ground level.
"Elly!" Kurumi braked to a halt, then descended. "What the hell? Don't just run off like that!"
Elly scowled, arms folded and glaring at the floor. The scythe rested against her shoulder.
"We have to work together to get outta here before Mugetsu gets bored of us!" Kurumi pressed on. "We'll use your stupid method if we have to, but can we please not keep fighting?"
The servant mumbled something.
"Huh?"
Elly sighed and spoke up. "I know, I'm sorry, okay?"
Kurumi was surprised Elly had apologised. She was at a loss for words. "Uh… s'okay, I guess…"
Elly glared at the vampire.
"…Oh, right. Um…" Wow, this was hard to say. "…S…s-sorry…"
Elly merely nodded. For once, neither of them were making snide remarks to each other. The amount of self-restraint this must have taken would have no doubt used up all of their will power to do so.
"…And I'm not a hussy." Elly muttered, unfolding her arms and walking further inside. Kurumi opened her mouth to reply, decided her earlier apology covered that insult as well, and merely followed quickly.
For a while, neither of them spoke, Kurumi simply following Elly as she herself followed whichever direction her chosen wall led. It felt like an eternity until something happened to break up the tedium.
The two girls came to a stop at the sight they beheld upon turning yet another corner. There, lying beaten and broken on the ground thirty feet away was…
"Master!" Elly cried, launching into flight immediately and speeding to her master's side. She didn't listen to Kurumi's yells, intent on helping only her injured master. How the hell could that demon have-
Something grabbed her ankle just as the ends of her hair seemed to frazzle at something in the air. Her nose throbbed as her body was pulled back, and the servant saw Kurumi clinging to her leg, a scowl on her face.
"Let go!" Elly growled, trying to kick herself free. "Get off, my master needs m-"
"That isn't Kazami!" Kurumi yelled back, struggling to hold onto the flailing girl. "It's a trick!"
Elly paused. "…What…?"
"Can't you feel it?" Kurumi asked. "You nearly flew right into a trap, you brain-dead moron!"
Confused, the servant turned her gaze towards her Master. The bloody figure raised its head to stare at them lifelessly, and just a few feet between them and Yuuka- no, this thing…
"An electric field?" Elly muttered. She could sense it now, the powerful magic that his in plain sight.
"I think there's enough power in it to kill even a youkai." Kurumi growled, tentatively letting the servant go.
Suddenly, the figure threw back its head and laughed. The duo leaped back, startled and ready to flee. Well, Elly was opting to fight whatever dared take the guise of her precious master, but still.
The laughter came to a sudden stop as the figure stared at them again. It spoke with an annoyingly familiar voice. "Not bad for a low-class vampire! Looks like you'll need a tiny bit of effort to fool!"
"Mugetsu?" Kurumi asked.
The fake Yuuka grinned. "But Curls there… hm, looks like she's as stupid as she is weak. To be honest, I think you'll have a much easier time escaping without the liability, Fangs."
Elly raised her scythe. "Say that to my face, you bitch!"
"Nah, wouldn't want to make you cry!" The fake Yuuka laughed, causing Elly's blood to boil.
"Stay calm…" Kurumi urged, though she herself was far from it. The vampire couldn't tell if this was Mugetsu in disguise, or talking through some sort of puppet or anything, To the fake Yuuka, Kurumi asked, "So what now? Do we turn back or what?"
"Oh, don't worry, you can pass by here now!" Mugetsu assured them. "But remember: Stick with Little Miss Dumbass and you will end up dying!"
With a final chuckle, the figure just… faded. Both could sense that the magic field just ahead had disappeared as well, but neither moved.
Slowly, Elly began to lower her scythe, until her shoulders slumped. She was staring at the floor again.
"…Come on." Kurumi finally said, flying onwards.
"…I'm not a burden." Elly growled, and the vampire turned back. "I'm not! I'm Master's servant… I… I'm not useless!"
"Never said you were?" Kurumi nervously replied. This was just great, now Mugetsu had went and screwed with Elly's head. Kurumi really didn't need to deal with a paranoid, scythe-wielding maniac right now.
Elly turned her glare to Kurumi. "I know you're thinking it! Every other time you have no problem saying stuff like that!"
"Does it matter?" Kurumi growled in frustration. "Do you really give a crap about what I think of you? We need to help each other out of this mess, okay?"
"Won't you make it out much quicker without me?" Elly asked angrily. "Am I just holding you back?"
"You're the one I'm following, remember?" The vampire snapped back. "And for the record, I trust you way more than I trust a demon who's out to kill both of us!"
Elly opened her mouth to reply, but found she had nothing to say. Slowly, she closed her mouth, the anger fading from her face. Kurumi watched, her own annoyance fading as she watched the servant move from anger to… helplessness?"
"…L-let's go." Elly suggested wearily. She slowly floated onwards, past the speechless vampire.
It was nice to know that, no matter how strong the enemy's attack was, there was a way to avoid it. In Yuuka's case, her trusty umbrella sustained not even a scratch as it blocked Gengetsu's attack.
Of course, Yuuka was still blown back by the sheer force, but she herself had taken no damage, and she recovered quickly enough to kick at Gengetsu while the winged demon tried to take advantage of Yuuka's uncontrolled flight.
Unfortunately, Gengetsu had grabbed Yuuka's leg and, with a playful twirl in the air, threw Yuuka to the ground. As Yuuka smashed through the blue tiles that made up the floor, the winged demon unleashed a barrage of energy upon the fallen youkai, overwhelming Yuuka with her frightening offensive power.
Remaining in her position in the sky, the demon in white beamed at the damage below. The tiles had been obliterated, leaving a large, cracked hole that seemed to lead nowhere, much like the featureless sky. Yuuka herself remained suspended just below the floor, an arm raised to protect her face from the volley. Removing this arm, Yuuka's crimson eyes glared back at Gengetsu.
"Still kicking?" she giggled, sounding absolutely delighted. "You really are a tough youkai!"
"And you're a troubling pest." Yuuka replied, floating upward and setting herself down onto the ground. Although she didn't show it, she had taken a fair amount of damage from that barrage. Her clothing was frayed, and Yuuka was stooping forward just slightly. Gengetsu noticed.
"Looks like I have the upper hand~" The demon cheered, allowing herself a twirl of celebration. "Tell me, Yuyu, how do you plan to reverse the situation?"
Yuuka's lips curled into a smile. Then she began to chuckle. Then she bellowed her laughter, the sound of a mad woman filling the realm. Gengetsu watched eagerly, wondering what Yuuka had found so funny. Oh, a disagreement about the situation, right?
"I disagree with your assessment of the situation at hand." Yuuka said, once her laughter had finally died down. Shouldering her umbrella, the flower youkai continued, "Tell me, what makes you think you have an advantage?"
"…Lotsa things!" Gengetsu exclaimed, the began counting the points on her fingers with a cheerful expression. "Like my superior fire power, my having the high ground, I've taken less damage, and… well, because I say so~!"
Yuuka merely smirked.
"…Do you have a secret technique?" Gengetsu asked curiously. "Oh, oh! Is it a forbidden magic? A reality-warping skill? Can it rend dreams asunder?"
"Maybe!" Yuuka replied teasingly. "But I'd rather not waste them on you~!"
Gengetsu looked mildly surprised. "Eh? But remember when I showed you those nightmarish scenes? I thought you wanted to kill me!"
Yuuka smiled sweetly. "Yet."
"'Yet'?"
"I want to drag out your pain and despair." Yuuka elaborated conversationally. "I will make you beg for death before I even get creative with my punishments. Then, I'll turn you into my personal little toy, with no will of your own. You will become a thing, which I may dispose of at a second's notice."With dramatic flair, Yuuka raised her umbrella, and pointed it towards Gengetsu. "And you're getting the lenient sentence! If your sister has truly harmed my servants, she'll beg for your treatment!"
Gengetsu was silent, staring at the flower youkai below with that open-mouthed smile of hers. She had completely frozen as this threat was taken in, and then Gengetsu began to cheer and whoop.
"Yes! Yes! Yes yes yes!" She cried, twirling and dancing maniacally. "That's what I wanna hear! Genuine threats! Malice! The pure sadistic madness!"
Ending her celebrations, Gengetsu sropped to Yuuka's level, an excited glint in her eyes. "Tell me Yuyu, do you think you can scare the goddess of nightmares?"
Yuuka merely scoffed. "A goddess, now? How pretentious."
Swinging her umbrella, a powerful bolt of magic suddenly ripped through the air, barely avoided by Gengetsu.
As the demon leapt to the side, Yuuka rushed forward, swinging a hand towards the demon. Latching onto Gengetsu's face, the flower youkai proceeded to continually smash her head onto the floor, erasing entire chunks of it with each strike.
After a dozen or so strikes like that, Yuuka gathered magic into her hand, searing Gengetsu's unprotected strength with the strength of her magic. Gengetsu didn't make any screams of pain throughout this, but Yuuka had come to expect that.
"Dead yet?" Yuuka asked the burning demon, and opted to throw her into the air instead of waiting for an answer. As Gengetsu began to fall back downward limply, Yuuka stepped to the side, gripped her umbrella in both hands, and raised it over her shoulder, taking aim.
Once Gengetsu had fallen far enough, Yuuka swung.
Colliding heavily the body, Yuuka sent it sprawling towards the huge walls that had sprung up in the distance earlier with a resounding thud. With the way Gengetsu flailed wildly, one would think she was dead. Well… Yuuka knew better than to think that of someone who could actually inflict damage to her. It was far more likely that Gengetsu hadn't even felt a thing, and was merely playing along.
…Well, Yuuka would change that attitude soon enough, but for now, she really should make sure Elly and Kurumi were okay. Probably behind that giant wall… maybe fooling around with Gengetsu hadn't been a smart idea…
Yuuka flew for the towering, white wall in the distance, taking note of whatever injuries she had. It looked like the worst injury she'd sustained was the sword through the chest, but the wound was already closing up nicely… yeah, looked like Gengetsu hadn't made any lasting injuries-
"Open your eyes!" someone screamed from below, and Yuuka immediately halted her flight and jumped back, barely avoiding the thing that flew upwards.
The winged demon had returned, an aurora of energy fading from her body as she recovered from the uppercut. She smiled as cheerfully as ever.
"Aw, I missed! And you looked like you were spaced out, Yuyu!"
"…Could have sworn I knocked you further than that." Yuuka sighed. This really was a bother… under other circumstances, Yuuka might have enjoyed a little brawl with this demon, but seeing as she not only threatened her servant's lives, but was actively preventing Yuuka from saving those same lives… well, it was hard to really enjoy herself here.
"Ahahaha~!" Gengetsu's laugh bellowed across the realm, hands on hips as her back arched. "You have to try harder, Yuyu! I'm nigh invulnerable in this place! If you wanna save your little girls, you have to become a demon and fight me like one!"
Yuuka narrowed her crimson eyes. "You think you can handle something like that, Gengetsu?"
"Can't see why I can't~!" the demon replied cheerfully. She glanced at Yuuka with those wide eyes of hers. "Besides, if you don't fight your very best, Mumu's gonna get your servants and…oh, who knows what she'll do? Eat them? Torture them? Cripple? Maim? Eradicate? Make them her toys? Pets? Furniture? Of, the possibilities!"
Yuuka didn't reply for several moments, as she felt that if she opened her mouth to reply, all she could yell would be incoherent rage. Gengetsu as trying to stir her emotions, make her act stupidly - or in her words, 'demonic'.
"That's a rather disproportionate retribution for the three of us merely setting foot here." Yuuka finally noted with a cold voice. "And what, exactly, did those two do to warrant such acts?"
"They pissed off Mumu! Didn't I mention that before?" Gengetsu pointed out with a tilt of her head. "They made her angry, so they'll suffer for it! Your punishment can be handled my me!"
Yuuka, again, was silent as she glared at the demon. So that's how it was, huh…? These sisters were quite possibly even more insane than Yuuka herself. Huh, what were the odds? And now that Yuuka had went and underestimated them, Elly and Kurumi were…
"Release those two." Yuuka demanded. "Whatever punishments your sister wants to administer, she can try and inflict them upon me instead! Those two are innocent!"
Again, Gengetsu laughed, but this was far more derogatory than random happiness. It was… mocking, full of contempt.
"So now the monster thinks it is a mother!" Gengetsu scoffed cheerfully. "Running to protect its younglings~! Well, that's both sweet and disappointing! Yuyu, if you settle down with a couple'a kids, will you stop creating nightmares for me to distribute? Will you become a… a… a boring little woman who does nothing but watch her children play in peace?"
"…That… doesn't sound like a bad life." Yuuka smirked. "I don't know when or why I started caring about those little scamps, but I do. And now I'm gonna have to go all Mama Bear on your demonic asses."
Yuuka's eyes flashed a brilliant red as her smirk become a stretched, foreboding grin. "Oh, but don't you worry, Gengen. I'll show you a nightmare. A nightmare that will snap your mind back to sanity. Will that satisfy you?"
Gengetsu's eyes filled with tears of joy. "You… you called me 'Gengen'! You really do like me!"
Moved by Yuuka's oh-so-affectionate nickname, Gengetsu sighed blissfully, holding her hands to her chest. "Oh, Yuyu, I knew you liked me! We just click so well, y'know? Ah~ I didn't think I could love anyone other than Mumu~! Do you think we'll get married?"
"In your dreams."
"Then we're already married!" Gengetsu cheered. "Let's go for our honeymoon! I know just the place!"
And suddenly the two were in some form of apocalyptic land. Smoke completely blotted out the sky, hiding the scorched and razed earth from the view of the sun. It was clear no life existed in this scenario. Well, aside from Yuuka and Gengetsu.
"…Is this your idea of a honeymoon?" Yuuka asked with a raised eyebrow? Sunbathing during the world's dying throes?"
"Ahaha~ No, no!" Gengetsu chuckled. "I just thought this was a suitable battlefield to express our love! Each blow will carry the feelings in our heart and let them be known!"
Yuuka rolled her eyes and sighed. So on top of everything else, Gengetsu had spontaneously decided to fall in love. Yuuka could not recall ever meeting anyone so troublesome… well, she really would have to try and make this quick; she'd messed around too much already…
…Kurumi found this situation rather awkward.
Following the dejected-looking servant just ahead, the vampire didn't need a second guess to determine why Elly seemed so down now. But… couldn't she just shrug it off, already? She was taking Mugetsu's words way too close to heart, and as much as Kurumi disliked the annoying, selfish, bratty child of a servant, the blonde vampire found she hated Depressed Elly just a bit more.
…Only because it was less funny, though. No other reasons whatsoever.
Things had been relatively quiet since that near-death trap in the maze. All they'd really seen was a ball of floating light, but they'd backed off and tried to circle around it with an alternate route. Granted, they'd probably end up going in the complete opposite direction because of all these nonsensical twists and turns, but it was better than dealing with that demon's traps.
…Damn it, stop being so damn sulky! Kurumi mentally screamed at Elly's back. At this rate, the vampire would have to pick a fight with her, just to get back into a familiar environment. But then some stupid illusion thing would probably sneak up during their argument and try to mind-game them into a full-scare war against each other. And if Mugetsu was watching their every move somehow… ugh, Kurumi was going to swear off paying back debts from now on. She might as well be exchanging the method of her death!
But still, Elly had to be told something… she couldn't have a depressed ally leading her to hopeful safety, because… well, Kurumi had no faith Elly could manage that in her current state of mind. Ugh, stupid, weak-minded, silly, weak… stupid girl.
While Kurumi struggled to find the right words to say, the path they walked led to a more open, room-like area. Cautiously, the approached, seeing nothing that could jump at them in any second.
"…Should we pass through?" Kurumi eventually asked, stopping at the 'entrance' to this wider path way. Just up ahead, the path seem to return to the normal width, making this particular area seem… important, somehow. Kurumi could just tell Mugetsu was planning on something. But what?
Elly merely gave the area a sweeping glance and continued onward, muttering, "It's either that or wander aimlessly until we see a normal corridor. Let's just go."
Reluctantly, Kurumi followed. And immediately regretted it.
As soon as the two had moved towards the centre of the wider hallway, the exits were immediately sealed with more indestructible walls. Stopping in surprise, the servant and the vampire glanced at the walls, hoping to find something that would let them leave.
"…Son of a bitch!" Kurumi growled, gripping the sides of her head tightly. "I just knew something like this would happen! God-freakin'-damn it!"
Elly, for her part, didn't seem to be breaking down, though her gaze had become icy as she surveyed their prison. She briefly considered the futile notion of trying to break down the walls.
And then that chillingly familiar laughter filled the maze.
"Feeling scared yet?" Mugetsu taunted them. "Well, not to worry, to escape you just have to do a simple act! Now… which one to do it…"
"…Not liking the sound of this…" Kurumi muttered, lowering her hands. Knowing her luck, Mugetsu was going to make them act like best friends or something equally sadistic and cruel.
"Hm… cowardly vampire! You can do it!" Mugetsu decided, and Kurumi snapped her eyes pward, as if she would find the demonic maid there.
"Cowardly?"
A giggle. "Yep, coward! Your friend might be a weak little dumb ass, but at least she was willing to fight me! But that's beside the point…"
Before the two girls, there was a flash of bright light. They leaped back, ready to attack whatever had appeared, but what they saw was rather surprising.
"…Me?" Elly asked warily, seeing her double staring blankly in their direction.
"Uh-huh. This is a really simple one." Mugetsu explained with a hint of excitement. "Vamps over there just has to kill it."
The pair was silent, exchanging confused glances. "…Come again? I'm doing what?"
"Killing it!" Mugetsu repeated excitedly. "I noticed that you two don't seem like the best of friends, so I thought I'd be nice and give ya an outlet! Just kill the doll, it won't fight back!"
Kurumi opened and closed her mouth in surprise, trying to form words. Nothing came. Mugetsu seemed to have fallen silent for now, as well. The real Elly stared at her lifeless copy, simply standing there and watching them blankly.
"…The hell is she thinking?" Kurumi wondered aloud. "W-what's she trying to do?"
Elly didn't answer, merely watching her ally with eyes as lifeless as the dolls. Hands balled into fists, Kurumi's expression became more and more disgusted, the pieces falling into place.
"I can't believe this… that's what she's doing…" Kurumi growled. "That… evil… sick… Hey! Mugetsu! I'm gonna do it, ya hear!"
No reply. The vampire wondered if Mugetsu was ignoring her, just to see them squirm a bit more.
"…Why won't you?" Elly asked curiously. "It's our way out. It should be easy."
Kurumi shook her head, turning her back on the lifeless Elly copy. "No… it's all a mind game. Again. I know exactly what that insane freak wants."
The servant titled her head.
"Can't you see it?" Kurumi asked in exasperation. "She knows what we're like! Mugetsu wants to exploit that! If I kill your clone right now, what would that make you think?"
"…Nothing." Elly replied. The vampire groaned.
"Don't give me that! I know what you'd think!" The vampire glanced at the clone once more, her expression dark. "You'll start to think that if I can kill something that looks exactly like you without a second's thought, I can do the same to you! You won't trust me! Then the fights escalate and we kill each other long before we ever get the hell out of here!"
Elly looked surprised at this explanation, as if she hadn't thought that far. And… well, she hadn't. She was too busy trying to return to her master's side to worry about implications at the moment. But… what Kurumi said made sense. Elly was likely to begin thinking like that… but…
"Well… just kill it." Elly stated. "It's only so we can escape, anyway…"
"…Don't want to." Kurumi huffed, walking to the wall that' sealed the way they came and leaned against it. "I'm not playing into that demon's hands!"
Elly sighed, turning to face her clone. "Then I'll do it."
"That opens up a whole new avenue of implications, never mind what Mugetsu might do." Kurumi groaned. "She wanted me to do it. If you do it, I bet she'll flood the place with lava or something…"
Elly bit her lower lip, wondering if angering Mugetsu was a risk worth taking. In the end, she decided it was just too risky, and with a defeated sigh, shuffled to Kurumi's side, where she simply slipped to the ground.
"…So we're stuck here?" Elly asked in deadpan.
"Only until we think of something…" Kurumi sighed, joining Elly on the ground. In any other situation, being stuck with Elly in a locked room - two of them, at that! - would've been akin to mental torture. Now, however, she had two lifeless idiots with no real chance of arguing to while away the time. Joy.
In addition, to make matters worse, their only real chance of getting out alive was busy doing… uh… something. Where the hell was Yuuka? If Mugetsu was busy screwing around with them here, then… what was Yuuka blowing up earlier?
Oh, god there is two of her… Kurumi realised in horror. If she wasn't so busy being so frightened at the chance of their survival, she'd be busy raging at the reason they had even come here.
Ah, finally, the next chapter. Hopefully Gengetsu should seem less Flandre-like, now that she's showing her true depravity a little bit more.
I imagine this should take another chapter or two to finish, depending on how long some scenes go, as well as what else may end up added/cut. Fairly short story overall, maybe, but still better than forcing it all into a one-shot thing, I guess. Hope y'all enjoy.
Oh, as for Touhou Hearts... well, I'd love to finish it, but issues with my own writing have kind of stalled it, sorry.