Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.
"I knew it. I fucking new it. From the moment we entered this forest, I knew we would get lost." Max said as he, Remilia, Marisa and Alice wondered the bamboo forest.
"The name 'Bamboo Forest of the Lost' wasn't enough of an indication?" Alice said, staying as far from Max as she could.
"How was I supposed to know the name was being literal?" Max said.
"You really aren't that bright now are you?" Alice asked in a mocking tone.
"Ass smack attack!" Max exclaimed as he went to slap Alice's behind, but she quickly dodged.
"Try again and I'll tie your hands with puppet strings tightly enough to turn them purple."
"Give it a rest. You two have done nothing but fight since we left the mansion." Remilia said as she scouted the area with her eyes.
"I think it makes for great entertainment, ze." Marisa said as she stretched her arms back. "What's he at now? Three for five?"
"That was his sixth attempt." Remilia said.
"Oh. So they're even now?" Marisa said.
Remilia stopped then rubbed her forehead as she became agitated. "Let us worry about finding Eientei instead of how many times Max has managed to touch Alice's ass."
"Are you sure just us four will be enough? Shouldn't we at least get Reimu? Who knows what horrors that moon princess might have summoned?" Alice asked while being careful not to let Max get too close to her.
"If she isn't at Eientei already then she might be busy elsewhere. She might be dealing with a horror that could have sprung up somewhere else." Remilia said while trying to decide on a direction to go.
"You do know the source of this incident is right here and trying to touch my butt as we speak?" Alice said.
"For the umpteenth time I ain't the only one who could be attracting those things." Max said. "From what that nurse looking woman said, it sounds like we have some cultists who are calling them. So blame them. Not me."
"Oh I blame you. I blame you for everything that has happened since you stepped foot in Gensokyo. Do not think for one second that I have forgiven you for trapping me in that nightmare. Don't think that I ever will either." Alice said as she glared menacingly at Max.
"Sounds like someone wants to go back to that nightmare." Max said as he grinned and cracked his knuckles.
"You two can settle your little feud after we have dealt with these so called cultists." Remilia said.
"Want me to cool them off?" Marisa asked of Remilia as she pulled a wooden, octagonal shaped object out from under her hat.
"No. Save that for when we find those cultists. I am sure we will need it…" Remilia said.
"What's that?" Max asked as he stared at the wooden object Marisa held.
"Oh? You wanna know what this is, ze?" Marisa asked as she juggled the wooden object.
"That's why I asked…"
"This here is my Hakkero and it has tons of magical power in it. I use it to power my Master Spark and blow stuff up."
"Oh really? So you need some trinket to power your attacks? Would suck if you lost it then." Max said after quickly losing interest in the Hakkero.
"It never leaves my side. Ever, ze." Marisa said confidently. She then eyed Max's chest and grinned. "Now that I've shown you my Hakkero you gotta show me your medallion." She said as pulled up Max's shirt.
"I don't remember making that deal." Max said as he pushed his shirt back down.
"There is nothing special about that medallion of his, Marisa. It's only his source of power…" Alice said sarcastically.
"Really? Oh now I gotta see it!" Marisa said before pulling Max's shirt back up then trying to pull off his medallion.
"Will you stop that?" Max said as he swatted Marisa's hands away. "It ain't my source of power."
"What? How is it not?" Alice asked as she became confused.
"It did contain a lot of power in it, but when I first put it on, it all transferred into me. Though it still contains a bit of that power so I can't just throw it away. So yeah…" Max said.
"Oh I see. So you really are more like those horrors than human?" Alice said with a smirk.
Max grabbed a hold of Alice's shirt collar with his hand then glared at her angrily. "Congratulations. You just pissed me off."
Alice kicked Max in the stomach to knock him back a bit then jumped backwards. She then opened her grimoire. "It takes too much energy to even tolerate your presence. I'm putting an end to this right now."
"Fine. Not like we needed yuh. The only thing you are good for is your body anyways." Max said as he got into his fighting stance.
"When did they become such good friends?" Marisa asked of Remilia, who simply ignored her.
Max and Alice stood their ground as they waited for the other to make a move. They both were about to attack when the suddenly heard something. They both, along with Remilia and Marisa, looked up into the sky as they heard a whistling sound. They suddenly spotted a large fireball heading towards them.
"Hit the deck, ze!" Marisa yelled before diving to the ground, followed by Max and Alice. Remilia remained standing, paying no attention to the incoming fireball.
The fireball landed with a bang in between where Max and Alice were standing, setting the area on fire. Max, Marisa and Alice quickly got up while staying on guard.
"What the hell?" Max said as he surveyed the scorched ground.
"What the hell indeed." A girl said as she appeared in sight.
"Mokou?" Max said.
"Yo." Mokou said while giving a rather flamboyant two finger salute. "I take it y'all going to that bitch's place?" Mokou asked.
"That is correct." Remilia said. "I was hoping we would run into you."
"Lost, eh? Ain't surprised. Well I'll take you there. Could use the help in stringing Kaguya up naked."
"Kaguya? Ain't that the one you told me was the biggest whore in Gensokyo or something?" Max asked.
"That's not the only thing I said, but yeah, that's her." Mokou said. "So I here you were the one who drove the Human Village insane, me included, though I still targeted the right person even while I was out of my mind. I was surprised to hear that the gap youkai wanted you dead. Something about destroying Gensokyo or something."
"Yeah. No idea what her beef is…" Max said.
"Uh huh… Well I really can't see you trying to destroy Gensokyo, so don't worry about me trying to kill yuh. I just ask that you don't drive the Human Village insane again. You caused a lot of problems for Keine, whom you might want to stay away from until she's in better moods…" Mokou said.
"Keine? Oh… her…" Max said as he suddenly felt a headache.
"Sorry to ruin your reunion, but we have a mad princess to find." Remilia said.
"Yeah. Follow me. I got a bone to pick with her. Not just for me, but for Keine and the village as well." Mokou said.
"What do you mean?" Alice asked.
"It seems her servants have been kidnapping some of the villagers lately. No clue why, but I'm gonna find out." Mokou said.
Max and Remilia looked at one another with worried expressions on their faces. "Oh, fucking hell…" Max said as he pinched the bridge of his nose.
"What?" Mokou said.
"The crazy bitch is going to try and sacrifice them." Max said.
"What?" Marisa, Alice and Mokou exclaimed at the same time.
"Yeah… Probably to summon horrors into our world too…" Max said.
"Horrors? What you talking about?" Mokou asked.
"Yeah let's not waste time explaining. Just be prepared to see things that could break your mind. You too Marisa. There are more hideous looking things than that one you saw in the library. And Alice, unless you plan on sucking my dick later, you can just go ahead and die for all I care." Max said. Alice clenched her book angrily while resisting the temptation to hit him with it as Mokou and Marisa covered their mouths as they tried not to laugh.
"Oh, Max. This is why we need to have a night of drinking again." Mokou said as she patted Max's back. "I don't think I could get tired of the crazy things you say."
"Mokou, if you may, please lead the way." Remilia said.
"Alright. Stay close and don't trail behind." Mokou said as she began walking with the rest of the group right behind her.
The group remained silent as Mokou lead them deeper into the bamboo forest, listening carefully for any unusual sounds. A chilling wind ran through the bamboo with an eerie sound while the sky remained pitch black and oppressing, giving the forest a haunted feel to it.
"Could these cultists have anything to do with the black sky by any chance?" Remilia asked of Max.
"Probably." Max said.
"Cultists? Mind filling me in?" Mokou asked.
"It would seem that Kaguya has gone insane, along with her servants. We believe they may have something to do with the recent horrors making their way into our world. " Remilia said.
"I knew she was loony, but even she wouldn't cause direct harm to the Human Village." Mokou said.
"What could have caused her to go all wacky?" Marisa asked.
"Who knows, but we're going to find out." Max said.
Marisa shrugged her shoulders. She then turned to notice that Alice had stopped and was looking at something. "Hey Alice! What yuh look'n at, ze?" She said as she ran up next to Alice. Alice turned around then fell to her knees, covering her mouth as she began to cough. "Yikes! You alright?" Marisa asked.
"Didn't I say not to trail behind?" Mokou asked.
"I've seen some messed up stuff in my life… but this is all kinds of fucked up…" Max said as he noticed what Alice was looking at.
"What is it?" Remilia asked. "Oh… my… Looks like the ones who didn't go insane were 'disposed' of."
"What? Where?" Mokou asked. Max pointed at what at first looked like a tree among all of the bamboo. She paled and gasped in horror as she saw what Max was pointing at. Marisa covered her mouth as she became sick from the sight.
What they saw was a large number of mutilated, naked bodies of what looked like small girls. Their bodies were stacked and pinned together to form a tree looking structure. Most of the bodies were horribly disfigured in some kind of way. Some had their chests pulled out to reveal their bloody insides while others looked as if their skin was peeled off.
"I'm seriously going to kill whoever this Kaguya is." Max said. "They even put rabbit ears on them. What the fuck kind of insane weirdos would do that?"
"Those are real rabbit ears. These are, excuse me, were the rabbit servants of that moon princess." Remilia said.
"Bunny people? Oh now I'm really going to kill the bitch." Max said as he clenched his fists in anger.
"Killing her is easy. It's getting her to stay dead that's the hard part…" Mokou said.
"What do you mean?" Max asked.
"Kaguya is immortal. She won't stay dead long after you manage to kill her." Mokou said.
"She's immortal?" Max asked.
"That's what I said and so am I so you don't have to worry about me dyeing either." Mokou said.
"Well here's something you should know… These things from beyond couldn't give a flying fuck if you're immortal or not. The bigger and stronger ones are capable of tearing your soul out and devouring it, leaving you in a state of perpetual misery for as long as the thing exists. Even if the thing were to be miraculously destroyed, your soul would have been shattered long before then. So, for your sake, don't die at all." Max said.
"Oh… Well… bummer…" Mokou said.
"Those things are that scary, huh?" Marisa asked.
"If you want to bail out, now's your chance. I wouldn't blame you if you do." Max said.
"Then what? Let you fight those things by yourself?" Mokou asked.
"I planned to from the very beginning." Max said.
"Hell no! I want to spark the bastards, ze!" Marisa exclaimed while gripping her Hakkero.
"No way am I letting my drinking partner fight whatever those things are alone." Mokou said.
"You're all retarded, you know that?" Max said, wiping Marisa's and Mokou's confident expressions from their faces. "You have barely begun to see the true horrors of existence and yet you already think you can help me fight the unstoppable."
"The unstoppable you say? Yet you still try to fight them?" Remilia asked.
"I told you before that I don't give up easily." Max said.
"And neither do we, Max. So trust us to assist you against any of these things that manage to make their way here, just as we trust you to do the same." Remilia said. "You can have more hope even in your situation."
"Hope? Heh… I like to think that still exists…" Max said while wearing a gloomy expression.
"Don't look so depressed, ze." Marisa said as she wrapped her arm around Max's shoulder. "No one can look depressed while I'm around!"
"I'll… give them some dignity and burn their corpses." Mokou said. She then walked up to the tree of corpses with a fireball ready in her hands. She then stopped in horror as she noticed that one of the rabbit girls was still alive. The rabbit girl had her jaw ripped off and her chest ripped open, exposing her still beating heart. "F-Forgive me…" Mokou said.
"She doesn't want your empathy, just a merciful end. Now do it." Remilia said after noticing the rabbit girl as well.
Mokou nodded then threw her fireball, setting fire to the entire tree of corpses and killing the rabbit girl. The group watched as the fire burned for a moment before continuing their way to Eientei. They walked for about a half an hour before they suddenly heard movements through the bamboo. The group stopped without saying a word. Marisa pulled out some of Alice's dolls out from under her hat and returned them while Max and Mokou cracked their knuckles. Remilia readied her claws as Alice prepared her dolls. The group stood their ground as they waited for the incoming attack. As expected, the mad rabbits of Eientei appeared from the darkness and attacked the group.
The rabbit girls fired a barrage of danmaku at the group, causing them to scatter. Remilia rushed into a group of rabbits and slashed them with her extended nails. Mokou pelted the rabbits with her fireballs while Alice had her puppets attack with their own danmaku. Max used his telekinetic power to smash the rabbits into one another.
"Out of the way!" Marisa yelled as she held her Hakkero in both of her hands. Mokou and Alice quickly took cover.
"Wait. What?" Max said as he slammed the heads of two of the girls together, knocking them out cold.
"Watch it!" Remilia said as she pulled Max out of Marisa's field of vision.
"Master Spark!" Marisa yelled, firing off a huge, colorful beam out from her hands and into the crowd of rabbits.
"Holy hell!" Max exclaimed as he covered his eyes from the blinding light the beam gave off.
After a few moments, the entire land in front of Marisa was left scorched, along with a large number of the rabbits. The rabbits that remained standing began to panic.
One of the rabbits clicked her teeth in disapproval. "Shoot… We must protect the princess and her master plan at all costs." She then signaled the other rabbits. "Call them. They will hold them off long enough for the ritual to be completed."
"Call them?" Max said with a worried expression.
The rabbits placed two of their fingers in their mouths then blew, making a whistling sound. The rabbits timed their whistling to make a dark and sinister tune that caused the resolve of Max and the others to waver.
"Oh shit…" Max said. "Prepare yourselves!"
Suddenly, all around Max and the others, a large number of lesser horrors materialized into existence. Mokou, Marisa and Alice gaped in horror at the beings.
"What… the hell…spiders? No… they're…" Mokou said as she began to shiver in terror.
"Don't sit there trying to figure out what they are! Destroy them!" Max commanded. The entire swarm of lesser horrors charged for Max as his power quickly grabbed their attention. "Damn it all!" He yelled as he quickly formed a sword and began slashing at the incoming horrors.
"Move it move it move it!" Marisa cried out as she prepared to fire another Master Spark.
"No! We need to distribute these things amongst us. Share the kills." Max said.
"Huh? But why?" Marisa asked.
"You'll understand once you kill one." Remilia said before impaling one of the horrors with her spear.
"Shit… I get it…" Mokou said after incinerating a few of the horrors. "I never thought I would ever feel the painful sensation of being on fire ever again…"
"Damn…" Marisa said as she put her Hakkero away. "Alright then. Let's boogie!"
It didn't take the group long to dispose of the horrors, but not after being inflicted with the same pain they themselves dealt.
"Damn it…" Mokou said as she panted. "What the hell were those things?"
"Whatever they are, they don't belong here." Alice said.
"At least they didn't call one of the bigger ones of those kind." Remilia said.
"Look at the ground! Look at the fucking ground!" Max yelled franticly. Everyone quickly did as he commanded, observing the ground as if they were looking for something.
"What are we looking for?" Marisa asked.
"It seems that I spoke too soon…" Remilia said.
"Yup…" Max said.
"Well I don't have anything to worry about." Remilia said in a slightly cocky tone. She then looked up to see one of the larger and more terrifying horrors floating above them. She quickly looked back down as she began to cough up small amounts of blood. "What? But the last time I couldn't make out their form."
"Ha ha, ze." Marisa said.
"Shut it!" Remilia yelled.
"You were just lucky the last time." Max said.
"Why isn't it attacking?" Alice asked as she resisted the urge to look up.
"It's waiting for us to look at it. That's how they get you. They catch you off guard then break your mind with its impossible form." Max said.
"Then how the hell do we fight it?" Mokou asked as she too fought the temptation to look up.
"Blind of course." Marisa said. "This should be fun…"
"Not quite. If we plan on fighting these things then we are just going to have to get used to seeing them." Remilia said. She then forced herself to look up at the vile creature that lingered above them. "I… envy these things… To be able to cause such fear with just its form…" She said as she fought against her own body as it tried to turn away from the horror.
"You're stupid. I am convinced now that you are stupid." Max said.
"Like hell am I going to let myself be beat by the brat." Marisa said. She then looked up at the creature, catching only a small glimpse of it before quickly looking back down as she began to freak out. "What? What? What is that?" She said in a panic.
"See? You girls just can't handle fighting these things like I can. Just give up." Max said.
"He's right. Only a horror can fight a horror…" Alice said.
"Marisa, remind me to slap Alice's ass ten times by the end of the day." Max said.
"Roger, ze." Marisa said as she saluted while still looking at the ground and shivering.
"It lost its patience! It's coming!" Remilia yelled as she formed a spear.
In reaction, Max, Mokou, Marisa and Alice looked up at the thing as it quickly descended upon them. Mokou, Marisa and Alice started screaming in fear uncontrollably from the sight of the impossible being.
"Shit." Max said. "Remilia, take care of-" Max stopped mid sentence as he saw Remilia take off into the air after the horror. "Stupid! Fucking stupid I tell you!"
Remilia and the horror collided with one another and began to furiously slash at one another with their respective weapons, Remilia's spear against the horror's spider like appendages and tentacles. The horror let out its horrible shriek every time one of its appendages was cut off by her spear, causing blood to trickle from her ears and her vision to waver.
"You are going to need to try a little harder if you wish to see a great vampire tremble." Remilia said before spearing the horror in one of its black, cold eyes, causing it to shriek even louder. "You wish to feed off of my fear? I am sorry to disappoint you, but I have no fear to give." She said before slicing some of its fangs off.
Max watched in awe as Remilia relentlessly sliced at the horror, cutting off its limbs faster than it could regrow them. "Vampires… are… awesome…" He thought.
Remilia extended her nails then ruthlessly slashed the horror, its painful wail echoing through her mind. "The pain I cause you, I feel it too." She said as she jammed her spear into the thing. "It is not enough!" She violently twisted and turned her spear, wrecking the horrors insides. "I would tell you to go to hell, but I wish not for the damned to have to look upon your hideousness." She said before ripping out her spear from the horror. "If I wish to truly become a powerful vampire, the most feared creature throughout the world, I know now that I have much to overcome." She said. She then grabbed a hold of one of the horrors fangs, pulling the horror close to her face while smiling sadistically. "Let me assure you, I will not lose to the likes of you." She then pulled out a spell card. "Scarlet Sign: Red the Nightless Castle!" She called out, becoming engulfed in a cross shaped, red aura and burning away the horror. The burning red aura soon dissipated as the horrors death wail slowly vanished into the distance. Remilia let out a sigh of relief then slowly descended to the ground.
"Well I'm impressed." Max said as he walked up to Remilia.
"Are you now?" Remilia said before coughing a few times.
"Yeah. You vampires are pretty cool in my book." Max said as he patted Remilia's head.
"Cool is an understatement…" Remilia said as her cheeks reddened a little.
"Damn it damn it damn it!" Mokou exclaimed. "I can't believe I stood there like a scared little girl! Next time! Next time I'll burn every one of the bastards away!"
"Damn thing, it caught me off guard." Alice said as she stood up after having fallen to her knees in fear.
"The thing was beyond freaky. What excuse do you want me to say, ze?" Marisa said while still shaking a bit.
"Let us continue on to Eientei. It doesn't seem like there are any more of those rabbits or those horrors." Alice said.
"It looks as if you are mistaken." Remilia said.
The group looked to see a lone rabbit girl standing amongst the bamboo. The girl looked a little different from the others. She had black hair that reached her shoulders, dark, red eyes and rabbit ears that drooped to the sides. She wore a pink night gown and a necklace with a small carrot on it.
"Well aren't you the lucky ones?" The girl said. "It would seem that the princess has invited you all to join her in the listening of some grand music. You will except her invitation won't you? The girl smiled somewhat creepily.
"Tewi... Need I say more, ze?" Marisa said.
"Don't worry. I have no traps waiting for you. The princess wouldn't let me set them up…" Tewi said while looking a bit disappointed.
"I say we humor the crazed bitch." Mokou said.
"Agreed." Remilia said.
"Right this way then." Tewi said.
Tewi lead the way to Eientei with Max and the others following behind while keeping their guard up.
"Music, huh?" Max began to think. "Why don't I like the sound of that…?"