Chapter 11

Remnants of a Past Existence

Alice pushed through a sideways door, which slammed shut behind her, and fell to the ground of a surprisingly normal room, at least, where the layout was concerned. The inhabitants of the room, however, gave Alice pause, or rather, one particular inhabitant. "R-Reimu?" Alice said. Standing at the forefront of the group was a short girl, one a little on the heavy side, who had purple hair.
"Alice, I presume. You've changed a lot since you decided that none of us were important enough to live." Reimu said.
Alice blanched. "I-I-"
"So this is her, huh?" a brown-haired girl with a wrench said.
"The one that damned us all?" a horned woman with black hair said, drawing a sword.
Alice tried to stammer out a response.
"No. You don't get to talk. This is all that's left of our world, the one you destroyed. Not even a quarter of us made it, and it's your fault. So, no, you don't get to speak." A purple-haired woman wearing a labcoat said, while gesturing at the group of seven people in the room.
A red-haired woman with a baton rolled her eyes. "I know she screwed up, but… how old did you say she was again, shrine maiden? At the time she cast that spell, I mean." she said.
Reimu winced, then said "Seven, I think. But still, she killed everyone. I can't let that go unpunished. And she cast it again. Not that long ago, either." She folded her arms, her face stern once more.
A blond vampire said "And I guess she's gotten better at magic since then, too. There was only one survivor of that, and she's been huddled in the corner ever since. Hasn't said a word." The vampire gestured to the seventh person in the room, who was sitting in the corner. She had silver hair and was wearing a maid's uniform.

"S-Sakuya?" Alice said.
"Oh, and she recognizes the girl, too." the girl with the wrench said.
"A friend of yours? Maybe now you know exactly what you did." the woman with the sword said.
Upon hearing her name, Sakuya looked up. "Alice? D-do you know what happened?" she said.
"We already told you. She cast a spell that tore apart the universe and put a new one in its place. That's why you're here, and why no one else you know made it." the purple-haired woman said.
"Is that true, Alice?" Sakuya said.
Alice said "I… I had to... Ma-"
"You didn't have to do shit." the vampire said. "In fact, you know what you-"
A knife buried itself in the wall, between the vampire's chest and her left arm. "Let her talk. I trust her." Sakuya said. The vampire glared at her, but stayed silent.
"M-Marisa, Patchouli, Meiling, Flandre, Remilia… Reimu, even… They were all dead. All of them. I had to do it, or Gensokyo would have fallen apart… I… I didn't know that it would do this…" Alice said.
"I see… Thank you, then." Sakuya said. She turned to the rest of the group. "I don't know what happened the first time, but it's clear to me that this most recent occurrence was a necessary evil. Hence, if you are planning on killing her, I will do my best to stop you. The past matters not, only the present and the her most recent acts, it is clear that Alice is mature and capable enough to handle the magic she has." Sakuya said, walking over to Alice's side. Shanghai floated to Sakuya's shoulder from behind Alice, holding a lance towards the opposite group.

"You're seriously on her side? She just said she killed everybody you knew!" the girl with the wrench said.
"No, I know exactly what killed everyone in the mansion. It wasn't her fault. The rest of the world, maybe, but… Do you know what it's like to owe your entire existence to someone? I would willingly give my life, or anyone else's, for Mistress Remilia or Mistress Flandre. Even for Lady Patchouli. If all of them were dead? I wouldn't think twice about destroying the world to bring them back. And if Reimu was dead as well, then it is as she said. You, your name is Hakurei as well, yes? Then you should know exactly what happens when you die, if there is no one else to watch the border." Sakuya said.
Reimu winced. "I… can't deny that… If… Fine. I'll sit this out. I'm not going to do anything on either side. If you guys still wanna go at her, be my guest." Reimu said, turning toward the rest of her group.
"I never thought that this was a good idea in the first place." the girl with the baton said, leaning against a wall.

The woman with the sword said "I'm not letting her off easy. Know the name of she who will cut you down. I am Konngara. I will be your end."
"Rika! And I'm gonna beat you 'til you scream!" the girl with the wrench said, smacking said wrench against her opposite palm.
The purple-haired girl got out a pistol and said "Rikako Asakura. Goodbye, Alice."
The vampire said "I'm Kurumi, and your blood will be delicious!"
Sakuya rolled her eyes and said "Are we really going to do this? You were complaining about how few of you there are. Do you truly wish to decrease that already small number?" She pulled out a few knives and her stopwatch.
The girl with the baton said "Yeah. Rika, Rikako? I really don't know what you think you're going to do. I mean, at least if Kurumi or Konngara bite it, they'll come back. Now, you're clearly not human anymore, having survived with no food or water for who knows how many years, but do you really want to test and see if you'll reincarnate?"
"Shut up, Orange." Rika said.
"No, she's right. All I have is this pistol, which wouldn't even work on a youkai, and you've got, what, a wrench? As much as I'd rather not, it would be best if we sit this one out." Rikako said, dropping the pistol and leaning her head against the wall furthest from Alice and Sakuya.
Rika said "Fine! I'll just go bash my head against a wall, or something!" before throwing her wrench at the wall and stomping over to the corner.
Kurumi turned towards the two former humans and said "Cowards." She turned back to Alice and Sakuya. She seemed somewhat nervous, likely due to her dwindling number of allies. "There's no way I'm backing down." she said.
"Your loss." Sakuya said. Knives surrounded the vampire, and she was quickly dispatched.
"A coward's tactic." Konngara said.
"A winner's strategy." Sakuya said.

Sakuya repeated her maneuver against the swordswoman, who spun in a circle, deflecting all the knives. Konngara and Sakuya kept trading blows, as Alice sent a small doll into the fray. Noticing the doll, Sakuya smirked and hopped backwards.
"Are you afraid, maid?" Konngara said. Sakuya simply pointed at the ground beneath the swordswoman's feet. "Do you truly think I will fall for such a che-" Konngara's statement was interrupted by the explosion caused by the doll. Konngara was sent flying into the air, and Sakuya finished off the woman with a barrage of knives.

Alice turned to the others in the room and said "I deeply apologize for my actions as a child, and beg your forgiveness."
Orange said "Already done. Kids are dumb, that's why they shouldn't have access to that kind of power in the first place."
Reimu said "As much as I want to punch you… It really wasn't your fault. You didn't know what you were doing, so punishing you so harshly would be out of line."
"After having a few moments to cool my head, I find myself agreeing with Reimu and Orange. I apologize for my earlier hostility." Rikako said. Rika pointedly said nothing, and just glared at Alice.

Alice looked back up at the door she had entered, concerned as to why Yumeko and the rest hadn't followed her in, only to find that the door was gone.
"Yeah, it doesn't really seem like you'll be able to head back out that way. The only door out of here doesn't open, either." Orange said, gesturing towards said door with her baton.
"So, we're stuck?" Alice said.
"Yeah, that's pretty much the gist of it." Orange said.