Anya was trying to ease her mind with reading. The only reading material she had was her tome, filled with all the stories she'd written over the years. Seeing as she had authored and re-read this book many times, it was mind-numbing for her, but it least she wasn't constantly worrying about Tara. At the very least, she could take pride in her improvement. Her first story's were, honestly, god-awful. Nothing but a cluster of mistakes, wish-fulfilment and nonsensical story lines that simply never went any where.
It was these terrible stories that Anya focused on, seeing as that was where her Lyra-related writings were located. As time went on, Anya developed new characters with varying qualities to expand her power's influence, but her first stories all seemed to revolve around the Daidouji's antics and misadventures..
Lyra was the nice, but stern and strict 'mother' of one particular story. Her very first one, in fact, when Anya first realised her power. She smiled slightly at the memory of Lyra falling asleep after a few lines, and Anya had been so upset, thinking Lyra hated the story...
"Here." Anya jumped at the voice, and quickly snapped her book shut as she glanced at the speaker. It was Alice, holding out a cup of warm tea.
"Oh, thanks..." Anya took the cup and placed it by her side. Alice gazed analytically at the girl, wondering if she was all right. She looked like things were weighing heavily upon her mind. Which was perfectly understandable.
"That's an interesting book," Alice commented, nodding at the tome. "Doesn't look like your typical story book, either."
Anya glanced shyly at her book. "Oh, uh... it's not... it's mine."
"Oh, you write?"
"No. Well, yeah... but it's like, uh..."
Alice smiled gently at the nervous girl. "Not a confident writer? You shouldn't worry, I doubt you're that bad."
Anya merely mumbled something unintelligible, and sipped her drink, eye gazing downwards.
Alice planted herself by the girl's side, who glanced at her uneasily. She had a feeling about what the doll girl was going to ask...
"If you don't mind, may I look over it?" Alice asked, keeping her gaze on Shujiko and Rena, who were busy conversing over something that had Rena looking apologetic. "I need something to keep me from going insane with boredom."
"Oh, uh... no." Anya muttered, and Alice gave her a sideways glance. Anya nearly cringed, despite there being no malice in Alice's eyes.
"That's a shame." Alice sighed eventually, looking upwards, where Shangai was interacting with two of the Daidouji's fairies. It looked like Shangai was bugging the hell out of them too, funnily enough.
Not wanting to come across as rude, Anya told the doll-master, "I - my stories suck anyway, so I don't really need to be told that... and..."
"They suck? Hey, I know Marisa wouldn't stop laughing at what she saw in there, but would you really consider her opinion 'informed'?" Reimu asked as she passed the two, a broom in hand. It looked like she was going to busy herself mindlessly sweeping the leafless patio.
Alice smirked slightly at that. "I have to agree with her. Marisa may read a lot, but her ideas of compelling characters are people with no motivation, fire power, and reckless abandon."
"Anya, just let her see it, already!" Rena called over, taking notice of the conversation. "Just show her the back of the book if you're that self-conscious!"
Anya's face was glowing now, not liking the pressure she felt was forced upon her. Even amongst her family, Anya never let them read beyond certain points. Especially Tara. Who knew what she would think if she came across that story...
"Uh..." Anya flipped to one of the last pages of her tome, her mind failing to accurately pin point a suitable story, eventually choosing one at random and nervously handing the book to Alice, who smiled gently as she took it.
"'The Triangle of Pain'," Alice read aloud, and Anya made desperate hushing gestures.
"Please, don't read it out loud!" Anya begged, glancing around the shrine, where everyone had apparently taken an interest in her.
Alice glanced at the onlookers as well, and rose to her feet, indicating that Anya should follow suit.
"Let's read and review in private, then." Alice invited, leading her into Reimu's vacant room.
Genji watched the girls leave, a thoughtful expression on his face. When the door was closed, he said, "It's odd. When I first saw that girl, she acted like she was some sort of all-powerful deity. Now she can barely speak a straight sentence."
"That's Anya for ya." Rena sighed, a faint smile on her face. "If she feels in control, she damn well acts in control. Otherwise, she's either quiet or demonstrating the ultimate meekness."
Feeling the power of her attack rush towards her target, Meira was compelled to laugh maniacally. It was nothing like the strength she had before! Those black spellcards... they were magnicifent. Surely, they were more than enough to rival Hakurei!
When the lights faded, Meira inspected the damage. She frowned in confusion when she saw that her opponent was still alive, albeit struggling to stand upright. She was clutching at her forehead, grimacing in pain, while the witch and scythe-wielding girl were fussing over her well being.
"I didn't think you would be able to survive that," Meira noted, sheathing her blade. "Did you block it?"
"Yep," Tara replied, and Meira was irked to see that she started grinning, despite her pain. "It was a simple matter too. You aren't nearly as strong as you think you are."
Meira glared coldly at her fellow swordswoman, resisting the mounting urge to cut her to ribbons. "Is that so? You don't look too good after clashing with my might. Perhaps you should re-evaluate your observation?"
Tara lowered her hand, maintaining her almost condescending smirk. "That shouldn't be necessary. All I have to worry about is that weird spellcard you used. And I get the feeling that isn't even yours."
"...What are you implying?" Meira asked, a dangerous edge to her voice.
"Nothing. I'm outright saying it," Tara replied, "You're only hope of beating me depends upon a power source that doesn't belong to you."
Feeling her rage growing rapidly, Meira snarled and swung her blade, quickly unsheathing it and sending lightning fast bullets at that infuriating woman. She was surprised to see the bullets seemingly bounce of nothing and drop to the ground, where they disappeared.
"Tara, you okay?" Marisa asked with thinly veiled concern. "I thought the laser show would've addled your head, ze!"
"Eh, it doesn't even sting." Tara shrugged, although truthfully, a headache remained. Thankfully, Meira's Iai-launched bullets were too weak to even register in her mind, so blocking those weren't a problem. But if she had any more of those high-powered attacks in reserve...
Elly stepped forward, scythe at the ready. "C'mon, let's just beat her up now! We can't waste any time on some idiot!"
"What was that?" Meira growled.
"I'll defeat her in one strike," Tara promised, sheathing her own blade. "In the meantime, please stay back."
Elly gave Tara an uneasy glance, before reluctantly stepping aside. Marisa opened her mouth to protest, but Tara seemed to have foreseen her protestations, as she said, "Please, just leave it to me. There's no need to waste your time with the likes of her."
With an angered cry, Meira pulled another spellcard from her pocket, giving it a quick glance before glaring hatefully at the group.
"I have had it with your insults! I'll show you that my strength is far beyond yours!" the mad swordsman roared.
The dark spellcard began to glow ominously as it dissipated, and Tara stepped forward, her sword still sheathed.
"Hey! She's gonna pull something big! Stop her!" Marisa yelled. Seeing that Tara was in no hurry to prevent the attack, Marisa gave an exasperated growl an tried to rush forward, only to find herself repelled.
"The hell...? Hey! You're supposed to use a barrier against her!" Marisa yelled. Elly raised her hand and tried to push forward, finding her movements restricted as well.
What is she playing at? Why doesn't she want our help? Elly wondered, biting her lip thoughtfully. Glancing at the frustrated witch, Elly said, "Hey, you might as well shut up. She's not listening."
Marisa did shut up, but she still kept up her attempts to find a way past the barrier without breaking it (and potentially Tara's mind) down.
"I''ll kill you, those friends of yours, and then I'll slaughter Hakurei!" Meira growled, her eyes displaying the madness that was engulfing her. A sadistic grin spread across her face. "And maybe I'll kill whoever else is there too. Any supporters of that little freak!"
Tara glared coldly at Meira as she stepped forward. When she spoke, the air seemed to freeze with the cold, venomous tone she used.
"It's bad enough that you wish to kill Reimu over what I assume is a laughably trivial matter," Tara said, noting how angered it made Meira. "But, to kill her 'supporters?' One; you mean 'friends', and two..."
"Blah blah blah," Meira interrupted with forced calm. "Let's skip straight to the bloodshed!"
Meira sword began to glow a dark, violet/black colour, and seemed to slowly expand in length, until it was towering above Meira at twelve feet.
Keeping the blade pointed to the sky, Meira spoke, "I'll show you my true power! Blade of Ragnarok!"
Swinging her empowered sword, Tara watched the dark blade fall upon her. A second before impact, it struck Tara's barrier, and another wave of pain washed over her mind, almost causing Tara to collapse to her knees when she cried out. Those spellcards Meira was using were incredibly powerful, but Tara refused to falter. How could she ever defend her loved ones if this was all it took to defeat her, after all?
Staggering forward, Tara advanced slowly towards Meira, who watched with surprise painting her features as she struggled against the barrier. The Ragnarok spell was slowly shrinking in length, and the darkness that engulfed the blade was slowly fading. If she couldn't pierce that barrier in time...
Marisa noted that the barrier keeping her from advancing was weakening, and cursed loudly at Tara, continuing with, "Stop the bull crap and let me smash her face in! Why do you wanna die so badly?"
Tara smirked slightly at that, ignoring the waves of pain in her head as she slowly reached for her sword. No, she didn't want to die, and Tara knew she wouldn't die here. Even if this power her opponent wielded was granted by that Artimus person, at the end of the day Meira was incapable of fully utilising these spells. She could sense the killing potential of the attacks, but the power behind them was sorely lacking.
"As I was saying before..." Tara growled, while Meira seemed to be frozen now, wondering if Tara was some sort of monstrously powerful creature, as opposed to an insolent youkai. "Two; any kind of threat directed at my Mistress, or Anya, or anyone welcomed in our household..."
Tara drew her sword, keeping the blade at her side and pointed away from Meira, her pain-filled eyes glowing with disdain and pity.
"I will show no mercy in your punishment. Zanmato!"
Tara suddenly lunged forward, reaching Meira before she could shake of her stupor and defend with her mostly de-powered blade.
Tara seemed to rush straight past Meira, twirling her body to strike with her sword as she did. At first, Marisa and Elly thought she had cut through Meira, but they saw no wounds.
Sheathing her blade for the last time, Tara muttered, "Devil's Sword Swing."
As if responding to her words, Meira suddenly felt a surge of power flow through her body, filling her entire being with a sense of absolute power and tranquillity.
What... is this? Meira wondered, feeling as if her mind were cleared, her thoughts no longer tainted by whisperings of 'power' and 'vengeance'. Did she strengthen me?
And as soon as that thought crossed her mind, Meira's chest felt constricted, and she wheezed painfully as that feeling of power seemed to seep away.
Confused and frightened, Meira fell to her knees, no strength left in her legs to support her. Finally feeling the barrier give way, Marisa rushed forward, with Elly close behind.
"Tara! What'd you do?" Marisa asked, watching as Meira panted and gasped, as if struggling for air. Her consciousness was also fading quickly, her struggles slowing and weakening.
"She'll live," Tara sighed, falling to a sitting position as she massaged her temples. "I simply cut her access to any kind of magic energy. She won't even be able to fire Danmaku Bullets."
Marisa blinked in awe at that. "Wait... you can... cut magic?"
"I guess..." Tara mumbled.
Looking at Meira again, who seemed to be winning the struggle to breathe properly, Marisa said, "Wow... so, any reason why you never used it against us way back when?"
When the throbbing in Tara's head calmed ever so slightly, the barrier maiden replied, "I'm not exactly sure... I don't like using it, since there's no guarantee you can recover your connection to magic, and there are several life forms that depend upon that connection. I assume your master did, too."
"Probably..." Marisa replied.
"And yet, even though I was defending my mistress, it never even crossed my mind to use it," Tara sighed. "Well, I'm glad I didn't, at any rate."
Noticing that Meira finally fainted, Marisa waited a moment before asking, "Okay... then, the more important question: What the hell are you playing at, ze?"
Tara winced at the outburst, while Elly replied, "Shouldn't you ask the more important question first?" While stooping down to search Meira.
Ignoring the gate keeper, Marisa continued, "There's three of us and one of her! Why not just team up and beat her before she can actually hurt one of us? What if she broke your brain, smashing your shields like that!"
"You worry too much..." Tara sighed. "She was nowhere near strong enough to win."
"You were struggling, and you know it!" Marisa pressed, crouching next to Tara to roughly poke her chest. "Spill it! What's up with you?"
Batting Marisa's hand away, Tara turned her gaze away from the witch. "... I need to prove myself."
"What?"
"Lyra's gone," Tara said, her voice bitter. "I'm the only one left to look after the others. But how can I if I'm weak?"
Blinking in surprise, Marisa said uncertainly, "Uh, I never said that you're weak-"
"I couldn't stop you from entering the mansion, could I?" Tara interrupted.
"You were up against Miss Mima, ze! Stopping her is like stalling a god; you just can't do it!" Marisa protested.
"Regardless, there's still many people out there that are far stronger than me," Tara sighed. "I need to get stronger as soon as possible. Even if it means fighting Artimus' friends by myself."
Marisa gazed at Tara, shocked. She never expected Tara to act like that! The way the barrier maiden was going, she may as well kill herself, because picking a fight with anyone related to Artimus was bound to end badly at some point.
However, before Marisa could argue further, a voice from above called, "Halt and cease all actions, potential perps!"
With the voice being vaguely familiar, Marisa, Tara and Elly glanced upwards to see a woman wearing thick, flowing, purple robes decorated with red floral markings descend from the sky, a whistle strung from her neck, and long, scarlet hair, tied into a ponytail with a yellow bow, and wearing a weird, blue hat with a black bill and silver crest upon the front.
With a sweeping gaze, the girl took in the scene: A blonde girl talking to a jewel-headed woman, with another blonde girl apparently checking out an unconscious red-head.
"Uh, who the hell are you again?" Marisa asked the newcomer.
Smiling brightly, the girl introduced herself. "Don't you know? I am Princess-Constable Kotohime! Gensokyo's finest and only police force!"
Tara and Elly stared quizzically at the girl, while Marisa merely sighed. "Oh. Right. The loony."
"Loony? Who's the loony?" Kotohime asked indignantly, and pointed at Meira. "You're the guys who beat her up, right? That's barbaric, and a crime!"
"Uh... she's the bad guy," Marisa pointed out, resisting the urge to whack the girl with her broom. "She was throwing bullets and stuff all over the place, and we stopped her."
Kotohime glanced at Meira thoughtfully, her eyes darting back to Marisa. "Is that so? Do you have proof? Witnesses?"
Tara raised her hand, looking rather bemused. "Um... I'm a witness? And Elly too."
"All right, but the proof? Can you prove, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you are all, in fact, telling the truth?" Kotohime enquired.
"... Just trust us, ze," Marisa growled. "Come on, you know I don't go around attacking people."
Kotohime raised an eyebrow at that. "Oh yeah? I seem to recall you attacking a rather large number of people about two years ago. You even turned your magic against me!"
"Because we were fighting over who got to see the space ship!" Marisa said in exasperation. "You didn't have a problem then, ze!"
As the witch and 'princess-constable' continued to bicker, Elly sidled up to Tara, asking quietly, "Hey, you're feeling okay right? You seemed to be in pain there."
"Just a headache, it'll pass," Tara replied. "Although, I kinda hope she goes away soon. I wanna go back to the shrine and sleep..."
Elly nodded as she watched the two girls argue. Marisa was certainly frustrated, while the police person was rather adamantly accusing Marisa of dark and evil intentions.
Finally, Marisa yelled, "You know what? Screw it, I don't care! Think what you want, I'm gonna go solve this whole damn mess, ze!"
Marisa marched away from Kotohime, who demanded that she return. When that order was ignored, Kotohime produced a spellcard, and Tara climbed to her feet, wincing at the pain in her head.
"Um, Miss... princess-constable," She spoke politely. "Please excuse my rude companion. She is shaken by the attack."
"Traitor..." Marisa muttered.
"I can assure you that we were acting in defence of the village," Tara continued, ignoring Marisa's comment. "That woman there was influenced by evil, although I suspect she should return to her normal state of mind."
Kotohime gave Tara a thoughtful look, staring into the woman's eyes. After several moments of unblinking eye contact, the princess-constable smiled brightly, cheerfully saying, "Okay! I'll bring this person in for questioning!"
Turning to the unconscious Meira, Kotohime held her spell card to the prone figure, muttering, "Winding-binding shackle wackles!"
Two silver chains snaked their way from the spell card, glowing a dull silver. One chain snaked around Meira's wrists, bringing them together before binding. The second did the same with her ankles.
"Is that really necessary?" Tara asked nervously.
"Standard procedure, ma'am," Kotohime responded cheerfully, effortlessly hoisting Meira over her shoulder. "Hey, you mind holding onto her sword for me? I don't have a place to put it, and you'd probably like it! Bye now!"
Without waiting for a response, Kotohime ascended and rushed off, perhaps to a neighbouring village or wherever the hell that person lived.
Tara glanced at the sword left lying where Meira once was. She certainly didn't want another sword, but there was no sense in leaving it where anyone could take it. Besides, it couldn't hurt to have a spare weapon...
Picking up the blade and its sheathe, she turned to Elly and Marisa, her eyes half lidded in an attempt to quell the pain in her head. "Okay, now what?"
"Well..." Elly produced a small, rectangular box from the neck of her dress. "I found this on her. I can sense..." The gate keeper's expression darkened slightly. "Him."
Marisa peered at the box with a frown, scratching at her chin thoughtfully. "Well, what do we wanna do? Destroy what's inside?"
"And hope it doesn't blow the whole area up?" Tara responded.
"Why not study the cards?" Elly suggested. "It'll give us a bigger idea of how his magic works."
Marisa nodded slowly. "Yeah, that's an option... And I think I know someone who could figure this stuff out pretty quickly, ze!"
Elly and Tara gave Marisa a quizzical look, who dramatically pointed in the direction of the forest. "To the Scarlet Devil Mansion we go!"
At said mansion, things were going pretty badly.
Meiling, having been tricked into potentially killing Patchouli, was unleashing her full, unbridled fury at the one at fault. Mion was being relentlessly bombarded by danmaku, and while dying wasn't a possibility, the pain was intense and never-ending. She cried out as bullet after bullet struck her defenceless body, with Meiling stepping closer and closer, her eyes glowing with rage and grief.
In her state of mind, Meiling didn't see Kat's return until she had a second to react. Halting her assault, Meiling brought her left arm around to swat Kat away, only to have the feral creature latch her teeth unto her arm.
Growling in pain, Meiling simply aimed a bone-breaking punch at Kat's face, who quickly let go positioned herself between Meiling and Mion, the gate keeper's blood coating Kat's teeth.
"Can't harm Mion!" Kat snarled. "Won't allow!"
"Is that so?" Meiling asked monotonously, stepping towards the wild creature, paying no attention to her wounded arm. "Well, I intend to harm her. I intend to utterly break that monster. Try and stop me, but you'll only suffer and beg for release."
Kat merely grinned at the threat. "Dangerous! Ideal opponent!"
At that moment, the two lunged for each other. Kat aimed a scratch at Meiling's face, who threw a powerful punch at her ribs. Both attacks collided, although Kat seemed far worse off. While Meiling had several scratches across her face, Kat was thrown backwards, a few bones broken. Despite this, she stood tall, grinning maniacally.
Mion, groaning and stiffly moving, got to her knees as she watched Kat fight. Her gaze turned to Meiling, who was exuding a threatening aura. Well, if she was driven to madness and grief, that should make her slightly easier to defeat, but Mion had no real options besides illusions right now, and she wasn't too confident of her ability to maintain one right now. It was incredibly draining, fooling that stupid gate keeper into smashing her own friend to near-death, and the storm of bullets from a moment ago hadn't left her in the greatest of shape. It was ironic how Yuuka Kazami was the easier fight, despite how clearly superior that woman was.
Meiling and Kat clashed once again. This time, Kat dodged Meiling's punch, and opted for headbutting the gate keeper's chin. Meiling threw her head back, but not much else. She lowered her gaze to Kat, suddenly gripping her in what looked like an embrace.
Surprised, Kat tried to wriggle free, but Meiling began to squeeze the monster, crushing her body slowly.
"Hey!" Mion yelled angrily, struggling to her feet. "Get off of my Kathy, you traitorous bitch!"
Meiling seemed to freeze, and flicked her gaze to Mion. "...'Traitorous', you said?"
"... Uh, yeah!" Mion replied, bracing herself for another ass-kicking.
Anger re-ignited in Meiling's eyes as the casually tossed Kat to the ground, where she gasped for breathe. Stomping towards the ribbon-clad girl, Meiling growled, "It's all because of you that Patchy's dying! How dare you call me that!"
"Maybe if you weren't the dumbest creature alive, you could have seen through such a basic illusion!" Mion goaded, and fresh fury erupted from Meiling as she roared and dashed forward, winding her arm back for an attack. The series of explosive sounds that arrived at that moment momentarily distracted Meiling, which was enough time for a recovered Kat to leap onto her back and lock her arm around the gate keeper's neck, growling furiously.
Artimus, hurry the fuck up! I can't keep up with her! Mion mentally pleaded.
Eyes wide with shock and confusion, Flandre stared at the still living Artimus, who had taken no damage whatsoever. Remilia wore a horrified expression, unable to understand why Flandre hadn't reduced him to atoms.
With her still-clenched fist shaking, Flandre snarled, "How? Why didn't you die?"
Artimus merely laughed playfully, gently moving Remilia out of the way as he advanced towards the blonde vampire.
Still staggering from the earlier hit, Remilia stumbled after Artimus, intent on stopping him by any means necessary. Almost dismissively, Artimus gave her another shove that sent her sprawling, his attention focused solely on the younger Scarlet sister.
Flandre shook her head furiously and peered. She could see it, the point of destruction his 'eye'... Flandre knew she had targeted it! Why didn't he blow up?
Flandre clenched her fist again, as if crushing the point, and another explosive sound resounded. And yet, Artimus was still unharmed.
"Come now, Flandre, that trick won't magically work if it failed the first time!" Artimus said lightly.
Flandre glared wildly at Artimus, trying to figure out what was wrong. Everything could be destroyed! Nothing was indestructible! Flandre Scarlet could reduce the world to space dust if she so wished, so why couldn't Artimus simply blow up?
"It doesn't take a genius to know what you're thinking," Artimus commented as he stepped closer. Flandre was forced to back away to maintain distance. "Since we'll be working together, I guess I can enlighten you about my kind."
Artimus came to a halt when something struck his back. With a casual glance, he saw Remilia's outstretched hand. She had launched danmaku in a desperate attempt to slow him down.
Remilia's gaze, however, wasn't on Artimus himself, but just beyond him, at Flandre. Remilia gave the smallest of nods, and when Artimus turned his gaze back at his target, was met with a storm of Flandre's danmaku.
Lazily protecting his face with one hand, Artimus did little else to defend. This worried Remilia, recalling how he easily countered her attack moments ago, and since Flandre couldn't destroy him...
Still, she wasn't about to give up. If Flandre's method didn't work, then Remilia would settle with brutalising the opponent until he was no longer recognisable.
With her strength returning, Remilia's spear seemed to warp back into her hands, and proceeded to rapidly thrust it into Artimus' back.
Artimus seemed to sense the attacks coming, as he quickly turned and began to evade the blows, practically ignoring the bullets hammering from behind. Remilia's frustration was evident, but she didn't falter in her attack.
"Now, Flan!"
The bullets stopped, although Remilia continued her attack, keeping Artimus busy with swift thrusts, wary of any sudden movements or counters.
"I admire that resolve of yours, Scarlet Devil," Artimus said conversationally. "Even knowing the futility, you continue to fight for your little sister."
"There's nothing futile about killing you!" Remilia retorted, and hopped back. A second later, a large fireball struck Artimus, engulfing him in flames.
Flandre, holding a slightly wonky-looking wand with a sharp, red tip, was smiling widely, watching the burning body of Artimus with glee. The wand began to glow brightly, and with a graceful swing, another fire ball struck Artimus, who collapsed to the ground silently.
The two sisters glanced at each other, blood lust evident in each of their eyes. As if knowing what the other was thinking, they each pierced their free hand with the tip of their respective weapons. The blood flowed from their palms and fell to the ground in slow, steady drips.
"Double Scarlet..." Remilai whispered, clenching her wounded hand.
"Rondo of Blood!" Flandre said in a cheery, sing-song voice, swinging her own injured hand towards Artimus. Remilia did the same, and a trail of blood seemed to fly from their hands, arcing unnaturally and striking Artimus like a whip. The blood continued to strike at his body as the flames quickly died down. Remilia quickly glided to Flandre's side, keeping a wary distance above Artimus as she passed. Even after all that, the vampire wasn't taking chances.
When the two sisters were together, they silently clasped their bleeding hands together, letting the blood mix. After a few seconds, they disengaged, pointing their palms at Artimus' remains.
"Scarlet Finish..." Remilia muttered.
"Sacred Blood Bath!" Flandre whooped, and a large, danmaku-like energy formed in each of their hands, growing rapidly larger. When the sphere's were roughly the size of their heads, both sisters fired. The bullets, upon striking Artimus, seemed to explode in a mess of blood, blowing Artimus back towards Flandre's room.
Remilia sighed and dropped her arm, resisting the urge to fall to the floor. That technique had been quite draining. Flandre was breathing slightly heavier than usual, but was in much better shape.
"We... we killed the Bad Man, right?" Flandre asked.
"We better have..." Remilia growled. "I don't how he stopped your power, but I guess brute force was enough."
A groaning sound came from Flandre's room, and both sisters froze, hoping that they both imagined it.
"Ugh... That's the last time I take a hit..." Artimus grumbled, slowly rising to his feet. He was a mess, with his clothing once again tattered, and his skin had boiled somewhat from the heat of the spells.
Remilia shook her head disbelievingly, unable to comprehend how he could have survived. No, she could maybe accept living through that assault. The real mystery was how he was already back on his feet. No one could recover that quick!
"Let's see... yep, it's still there." Artimus muttered, searching for something that he was probably carrying. Whatever it was, he still had it, and Remilia knew that whatever it was, she had to stop him, now.
"Flan, run." Remilia ordered, stepping forward with Gungnir in hand.
"Eh? No way! I wanna kill the Bad Man!" Flandre protested.
"You can't! Leave, before he hurts you!"
"Now now, I don't have any intentions of harming your sister!" Artimus said, sounding somewhat insulted at the accusation.
Stepping protectively in front of her sister, Remilia glared at the injured-yet-completely-fine monster before her. "How in the name of Tepes did you survive that?" What the hell are you?"
Artimus rubbed his burned chin thoughtfully, as if searching for the best explanation. "Hm... You're aware of the youkai 'hierarchy', right?"
"I am. What's your point?" Remilia said, while nudging Flandre with one of her wings, trying to tell her to leave. Flandre however, didn't seem to take the hint. She too, wanted to know why her absolute destruction was completely ineffective.
"Well, I was once 'top tier', as some say," Artimus continued, a reminiscent smile on his face. "Great power, an expansive reputation in the outside world... In fact, I believe I'm the source for that 'Spring-heeled Jack' fellow, but anyway..."
"Run, you idiot..." Remilia whispered, almost inaudibly, but Flandre still refused to budge.
Looking somewhat confused, Fladre asked, "But why can't you die? Are you a cheater?"
Artimus chuckled softly at that, before coughing. Patting his chest, he continued, "Right, well... the short version is: I evolved."
Seeing the confused look on both Scarlet's faces, he smiled a little wider at that. "I know, I was shocked at first, as well. I didn't think it was possible, short of attaining god-hood. But that's what happened. I've gained something akin to immortality. No... perhaps 'invulnerability' is the better term..."
Artimus glanced at Flandre, and pointed at the spot where his 'eye' would be. "However, I'm still not immune to your strength, Flandre. Which is why I utilised my own abilities," Artimus chuckled. "You know, 'chaos' is such a broad term. There so many examples of 'chaotic' nature that you could point to a simple mishap and declare how chatoic the natural flow of things has become."
"You're rambling," Remilia growled. "Get to the fucking point!"
"Language, young lady!" Artimus scolded lightly, "Well, if you want me to skip to the end..."
Artimus adopted a chilling sneer, made all the more sinister by his damaged features. With a low, arrogant sounding voice he said, "Flandre, since when where you under the impression that this was my true 'eye'?"
After the sisters stared blankly at Artimus for several seconds, he chuckled once again, all traces of menace erased in an instant. "Sorry, I've always wanted to use that line."
"I don't get it." Flandre stated, but Remilia had tensed, staring at Artimus with renewed horror.
"You... moved your 'eye'?" Remilia asked.
With a shake of his head, Artimus replied, "No no, weren't you listening? Chaos can define almost anything. For example, how organised would you be if your senses couldn't be trusted?"
My senses...? Remilia thought for a second, and came to an unsettling conclusion. "You're... an illusionist?"
"Almost!" Artimus said cheerfully. "I can be pretty much anything, really. Anything that can be defined as 'chaotic' falls under my jurisdiction, more or less."
"I see... 'Chaos Incarnate', are you?" Remilia said, forcing a leering smile on her face. "Well, it won't do you much good when I erase you utterly."
Artimus raised an eyebrow at that remark. "Oh? Didn't we just spend way too much time talking about how hopeless that is? Besides..."
Remilia blinked, and Artimus was gone. A sudden, immense pain erupted from the back of her head, and Flandre's screaming could be heard from a long distance. Had Flandre decided to flee?
Get out of here. Don't let him catch you! Remilia mentally ordered, her consciousness fading.
Artimus, who had seemingly warped behind the sisters, produced a black-coloured charm from within his ruined clothes. Before Flandre could feel around and bury Laevatein in his skull, Artimus had slapped the charm onto her neck.
Flandre froze up immediately, eyes wide and surprised. The charm began to crackle with blood red light, the charm seemingly sinking into her flesh. Flandre felt no pain, although her mind felt numb. Empty. Faces in her memories began to fade, becoming nothing more than blank faces with a name. A label.
"Sorry for that, Flandre, but I would rather have you on my side." Artimus said apologetically. He meant it too. Even though he could defend himself against Flandre's destructive power, she was still a powerful magic-wielder. Coupled with Remilia's formidable assault, Artimus had, for a brief moment, thought he was in trouble. It looked like there were more than two people to consider a threat, no matter how minor. Then again, those two were currently incapacitated in some form.
"Flandre? How are you, my dear?" Artimus asked the younger vampire, who slowly turned to face him with blank, emotionless eyes.
"I am battle ready, Artimus," Flandre replied. "What is your bidding?"
"Well, looks like it works fine," Artimus nodded approvingly. "Well, we might as well go. Mion and Kat'll be waiting."
The two walked through the basement, heading for the upper floors. After a few moments, Artimus asked, "Oh, by the way, can you last long under the sun?"
"Unknown. I have yet to venture out during daylight hours," Flandre replied automatically. "I can borrow Remilia Scarlet's umbrella to move during daylight hours."
"Good... We'll find some shade soon enough..." Artimus muttered. "And I'm going to need to rest. That was more draining than I thought!"
Son of a bitch... Sakuya cursed, panting heavily. Her shadow was proving to be quite the formidable opponent. Something that Sakuya would take some pride in, if it weren't for the fact that her mistresses could be in grave danger right now, and that damn shadow was hindering her!
The maid had sustained a few cuts to her face and arms, while her uniform was slightly frayed from a few close cuts, but she was still more or less fine. As for the shadow, it was impossible to say. It appeared to be panting as well, but there were no visible wounds from Sakuya's attacks, and the thing had no breathe to speak of.
The shadow lunged forward, a knife-shaped shadow in each hand. Sakuya stood her ground, met the attack and parried it with her own knives. That was another puzzling aspect. Why did this shadow have such a physical form? Every other sign pointed to it being nothing more than what it was: a shadow. How it was capable of physical interaction, never mind fighting, was just incomprehensible.
Sakuya quickly lunged forward with her own blades. Her shadow backed away swiftly, although the tips of Sakuya's knives managed to pierce the body. Not that it seemed to deter the maid's shadow from continuing the battle.
Do you even have a purpose?" Sakuya asked, leaping forward and swiping precisely with her weapons. "Do you have a reason to exist, huh? Can you really defy me?"
I better end this before I go insane... Sakuya thought grimly.
"So sorry about borrowing your shadow's allegiance. You can have it back now." An amused voice came from the door leading to the basement. Sakuya's blood froze over as she glanced to her side, seeing a disfigured Artimus standing there with...
"Flandre! Get away from him!" Sakuya screamed. Flandre didn't move, only staring blankly at the maid. "Flandre...?"
"Will I eliminate her?" Flandre asked monotonously, and Sakuya stared in horror. What had happened? Was Flandre being controlled?
Feeling fury growing within her, Sakuya lunged for Artimus, throwing one of her knives at him in order to free her hand. She grabbed for her Luna Dial, to stop the passage of time.
Sakuya's shadow made no move to intercept. Sakuya herself had apparently forgotten it was even an issue. There was a far bigger problem than a renegade shade, and Sakuya had to resolve it as quickly as possible.
The knife that Sakuya threw was deflected when Flandre extended her unusual, wire framed wing, the blade bouncing harmlessly from one of the crystals that hung from her frame. Sakuya flipped her watch open, but before she could apply the watch's effect, Artimus had moved, gripping her wrist tightly. When had he...?
"I am sorry to say this, but we have won," Artimus told her. "Your mistress is incapacitated, young Flandre has joined our cause, you cannot defeat me, and..."
Artimus glanced towards the mansion's entrance. "I would bet any amount of money Mion has the upper hand as well."
Sakuya merely headbutted Artimus' chin, but that did nothing beyond hurt her skull. Grimacing with the pain, Sakuya used her free hand to plunge a knife into Artimus' arm, which also did nothing to loosen his grip.
"Will I destroy her?" Flandre asked.
"Well, if she tries to take you by force, you might as well," Artimus shrugged. "No need to exert yourself."
Casually, Artimus lifted Sakuya from the ground and flung her across the foyer, crashing the maid into a far wall, where she struggled to move.
"Let's go." Artimus and Flandre headed for the front doors, while Sakuya slowly rose to her shaking feet, barely able to stand, let alone pursue.
Flandre... Flandre! Please, come back...
By the entrance was a tall, vase-like container that held many different umbrella's that Remilia no doubt used for day time excursions. Artimus plucked one out at random and handed it to Flandre, who opened the umbrella as they stepped outside.
With a quick glance at the ongoing battle, Artimus said, "Oh. Oh my."
Things were a mess outside. He could see that the Mansion's librarian was critically injured, fighting an up hill battle with death itself. The gate keeper was fighting both Mion and Kat. Mion herself looked tired and ragged. It seemed like she got an unfavourable match up.
"Well, good thing I arrived when I did, eh?" Artimus chuckled. Flandre said nothing, merely analysing the battle, while carefully blocking the sun's rays with the umbrella.
As if sensing his approach, Meiling, Kat and Mion all glanced in his direction.
"Fucking finally!" Mion yelled, "End this bitch, already! I need to talk to you!"
"Language, young lady!" Artimus chastised playfully. Meiling stared, wide-eyed as Flandre followed Artimus, unable to understand why she was there. Wasn't she supposed to be hiding?
Ignoring Kat and Mion for now, Meiling turned to face the oncoming vampire. "Flandre? Get away from him! What are you doing?"
Flandre merely gazed lifelessly at Meiling for a moment, then at Mion and Kat. "Those are your supporters?"
"Yep."
"I don't feel a lot of power from them." Flandre observed flatly.
"What? Come over here and say that!" Mion roared, while Kat growled menacingly. Artimus sighed, wondering if there were going to be a lot of arguments over blunt honesty in the near future. Not that he minded, but if they got in the way in battle...
"Miss Meiling, was it?" Artimus addressed the confused gate keeper. "I'd advise against fighting. You're injured, you're friend is dying, and your maid and mistress aren't in the best of shape. Might as well count your losses."
Meiling blinked slowly at Artimus words, feeling rage engulf her mind once again. That bastard hurt Sakuya? Hurt lady Remilia? and he was kidnapping Flandre on top of that? No, she wouldn't allow it. It was her duty to protect everyone in the mansion, and she wasn't going to fuck up any more than she had already!
"Give her back!" Meiling roared, charging forward. Kat howled and made to pursue, but Artimus waved at her, indicating she should stay put. at the same time, Artimus placed his other hand on Flandre's shoulder to indicate her assistance was also unnecessary.
When Meiling was close enough, she aimed a punch for his face, which Artimus easily caught with his own fist. Momentarily surprised, Meiling tried to kick his ribs, but Artimus didn't seem to react to the blow.
"Like I said..." Artimus muttered, quickly striking Meiling's elbow, an audible crack rending the air, as well as Meiling's yelp of pain. "It's useless."
Artimus flicked the gate keeper's forehead, which sent her tumbling away, where she lay shuddering and gasping for breathe.
"And that, ladies, is a successful mission!" Artimus announced cheerfully, heading for the gates.
"Successful? Successful? I got the shit smashed out of me just so you could get a pet vampire!" Mion argued venomously. "She better be worth the trouble, because if not..."
"I am not a 'pet'." Flandre corrected automatically. "I am merely a tool to be used however Artimus sees fit."
Mion stared silently at Flandre for a few seconds, before turning to Kat and saying, "I think we should keep an eye on him, yeah? There's somethign sinister going on there."
Kat nodded vigorously, while Artimus merely chuckled.
"Oh, by the way, what in the name of hell happened to you? Did the vampires seriously give you trouble?" Mion asked, as if recalling a minor detail that she might as well hear an explanation for.
Another chuckle, and Artimus replied, "Ah, well... remind me not to deliberately take so many hits in he future. I'd forgotten that fairly strong opponents exist."
Meanwhile, Meiling struggled to her feet, ready to pursue the retreating enemies and rescue Flandre no matter what, but she was faced with a dilemma. How could she rescue Flandre if that guy had so easily defeated her? And there was Patchouli to save as well. She could be mere seconds from death...
It took a second for Meiling to reach a decision, although she felt horrible about it, even if it was the only viable option.
"I hope you can forgive me, Lady Remilia, Lady Flandre." Meiling muttered, staggering to Patchouli's side. The librarian was still choking for air, and didn't seem fully aware of her surroundings. Carefully scooping her up with her uninjured arm, Meiling marched inside, hoping that things hadn't been thoroughly blown to hell inside.