Chapter 21 – Precise Museum (& Library)
Amitie's POV
"GAH! Ami why is this game so hard?!" Ally asked in a fit of rage.
"It's not hard. You just suck at it."
"Hmph. Says you!"
It was the day after the celebration party. Raffina and Lidelle stayed the night over because it was super late by the time the party ended last night. And right now, Ally and I were playing a video game on the Super Famicom, Lidelle was making breakfast, Mom was still asleep, and Raffina was sitting next to me watching us play.
And based on the confused look on her face, I can tell that she isn't a gamer.
"Uh…Amitie. What game is this?" She asked.
"Only one of the best games ever made: ChuChu Rocket!" I answered with glee.
"What?" I think the name alone made Raffina even more confused.
"Seriously? You've never heard of ChuChu Rocket? It's a puzzle game."
"That cheats." Ally added.
"Again, Ally. You just suck at it."
"Whatever." She pouted.
"ChuChu Rocket? Isn't that a Dreamcast game?" Lidelle asked from the kitchen.
"Yeah, it is." I said. "But Lemres made some kinks to the Super Famicom and now we have games from other consoles on here. Super Famicom, Genesis, Saturn, Dreamcast, N64, GameCube, Wii. We even got a few arcade games on here. All for free, too!"
"Uh, guys. That's extremely illegal."
"Oh, come on. Those big companies aren't gonna notice."
"Yeah, but…"
"Hey, look. Mario Kart Arcade GP DX is finished downloading." Ally said while looking at the TV.
"Mario Kart Arcade GP DX?! Hell yeah! I call first play!" Lidelle grew extremely excited.
Looks like someone doesn't care about what's legal anymore.
"Anyway." I turned my attention back to Raffina. "It's a puzzle game where you have to guide these space mice called ChuChus to their rocket by changing the direction of the arrows."
"I see." Raffina said.
"All while avoiding the KapuKapu."
"The what?"
"They're space cats that try to eat them."
"Amitie…this is a weird game."
"Ha! If you think my game is weird, then you haven't seen Ally's favorite game!"
"What game is that?"
"Space Harrier." Ally answered. "It's a game where you fly around in a jetpack and shoot enemies and objects while avoiding enemy fire and other hazards."
…
…
…
Raffina looked more confused now than when I explained ChuChu Rocket to her.
"You don't play video games, do you?" Ally asked her.
"No. Not really."
"Figures as much."
"Hey, guys. Breakfast is ready." Lidelle called out to us from the kitchen.
"Yay, food!" Ally cheered.
"Mom. Mom, wake up. Time to eat." I said while shaking her body.
"H-Huh? O-Oh. Thanks for *yawn* waking me up, Ami."
"Why was it easy for me to wake you up this time but the others took 15 minutes?"
"Because food."
…
"You know. Coming from you, that makes sense." I said with an exasperated look.
Lidelle soon joined us while carrying a tray filled with plates, cups, and a TON of food. Waffles and pancakes, bacon, eggs, tons and tons of biscuits. It was like I was in an IHOP or something.
"Woah! Look at all this food! It looks SOOO good!" I said.
"Yeah, even I gotta admit. This looks amazing." Mom said.
"Wow! I didn't know you can cook, Lidelle!" Ally said as she was fixing her plate.
"Yeah, well it's one of the requirements of being a shrine maiden, so I had to learn at a young age." Lidelle said.
"Wait, Lidelle…YOU'RE A SHRINE MAIDEN?!"
"Ally…don't talk with your mouth full." I said, wiping the food particles off the table.
"Well, kinda. There's this shrine at the edge of town that's specifically for demons, devils, and other creatures of Hell. And since I'm the Demonic Princess, I've gotta look after it. It's a lot of work. Especially in December." Lidelle then shoved three whole pancakes, two pieces of bacon, and a spoonful of scrambled eggs in her mouth.
Geez. Slow down, girl.
"Right. Because of Christmas and New Year's, right?" Raffina asked.
Lidelle did a slight nod, confirming that Raffina was right.
"Man. Despite being a 15-year-old, you sure have it tough, Lidelle." Mom said. "Wish I can work that hard."
"You can, Mom. You just sometimes refuse to do so."
"Hey! Being an adult is hard!"
"I'll give you that. But you don't even try sometimes."
"Hmph. Well, excuuuse me." Mom pouted like a child.
So not proving her point.
"Didn't you just finish writing a light novel, Melody?" Lidelle asked.
"Yeah. Oh, that reminds me. I've got to meet up with the publisher today."
"Really, again? That's the third time this week." I said.
"It's not just writing the book, Ami. There's revising and editing, the cover design, illustrations, final thoughts. It's a lot of work."
"I see. Who is this publisher guy, anyway?"
"Don't really know his name all that well. But he's this weird-looking teddy bear with cloud-like wings and a monocle. Always yelling too."
"Oh, hey! That's Akuma!" Raffina suddenly said.
"Akuma? Who's that?" I asked.
"He runs the library and museum here in Primp. And technically, Melody, he's more of a demon than a teddy bear."
"No way, seriously?! A demon lives in this town?!" Ally shouted, this time with an empty mouth.
"Yep. He's pretty much the only demon here. Well, besides Popoi and apparently Lidelle."
"*giggle* Still can't believe it, I see." Lidelle said.
"Don't tease me." Raffina retorted.
"OMG! I SOOO want to meet him! Melody, please take me with you!"
"Uh…I'm not so sure."
"It's okay, Melody. Lidelle and I already know him. So, he'll be fine with it if we all came along."
"Well…if you say so, then alright."
"Alright!" Ally cheered as she snarfed down her food like a wild animal. She then got up and headed for the bathroom.
"I'll be ready in a sec. My stomach is killing me. Holy molasses. I've gotta…"
"Ally, just go!" I yelled. Ally then slammed the door shut. The rest us sat there with an uncomfortable look on our faces as we heard her really struggling in there.
"Aw, geez. Poor Ally." Raffina said.
"That bathroom's going to be smelling for days." Mom said.
"If she's not going to eat her food, then I'll eat it for her." Lidelle said as she started grabbing stuff from Ally's plate.
Seriously! Is there a black hole in that demonic body of hers?!
After Ally grossed out everyone at breakfast, we got in the car and headed for the library, or was it the museum? I completely forgot what this place is.
"It's both a library and a museum." Raffina said when I asked her where we were going.
"It's both? Wow, this Akuma guy sounds like he's really smart."
"He really is. He knows about everything and everyone. Nothing really gets past him."
"So…he knows about that?"
"That?" At first, Raffina didn't know what I was talking about. But when I pointed to my head, she figured it out almost immediately.
"Oh. You mean your hat, huh?" She asked. And I silently nodded. Confirming her suspicions.
It's been a while since either one of us brought this up. But around the time I first moved to Primp, we found this thing called the Red Puyo Hat. It was a hat that held strange and unnerving powers. Powers that were often unexplainable, too.
Soon after we found it, we learned from Amira that there are actually 5 of these hats. With their locations being unknown to everyone. I wanted to find them all and managed to convince Raffina and Lidelle to help me out.
Little did I know, attempting to do so would be the biggest mistake of my life.
Because soon after, the Red Puyo Hat started showing its true power, almost killing me in the process. But apparently, I wasn't the only one suffering. Tarutaru, an old classmate of ours, had the Blue Puyo Hat in his family for generations. And Raffina borrowed it to go look for me. But it ended up almost killing her too.
Luckily, the two of us were rescued by Yu and Rei. Twin ghosts who had the Purple Puyo Hat locked up due to its deadly powers. They also locked up the Red and Blue Puyo Hats for that same reason.
We're both entirely grateful for them saving our lives, but we haven't seen them since that day.
I wonder what they're up to…
"You think Akuma may know something about them?" I asked.
"Well, it's impossible to think that he wouldn't. The real question is will he tells us?"
Neither one of us said anything for the remainder of the drive there. The thoughts of our near-death experiences were a real mood killer.
When we got to the library/museum, I was quite amazed by the place. The building itself looked big from the outside, but inside was a whole different story.
"Woah! This place is huge!" I said while being completely astounded by what I was seeing. The museum part of the building was the first thing we saw as we went inside. There were tons of statues and paintings and stuff. Makes me wonder how this Akuma guy got all this stuff.
"Hey, Amitie! It's this way!" Raffina called out to me.
"Huh? Ah! Coming!" I said, trying to catch up with everyone.
We soon entered the library part of the building, which was just as big as the museum. We were surrounded by what felt like millions of books. Thinking of all the possible knowledge that's inside these books is starting to hurt my mind.
"Wowie. There are so many books here. How can anyone read so many?" I asked.
"Klug's done it once." Raffina said.
"What?! You mean every single book?!"
"It sounds unbelievable. But he actually did it."
"He waved a certificate in our faces as proof." Lidelle added.
"He waved it? In your faces?" Ally asked.
"This was when he was still a jerkish asshole." Raffina claimed.
"I see."
Eventually, we spotted a desk with a huge lamp above it. Sitting in it was, as to how Mom described it, a weird-looking teddy bear with cloud-like wings and a monocle. He looked like a wise, old elder. Someone you could look up to, I mean.
"Hey, Akuma. I'm here." Mom said, getting his attention from the book he was reading.
"Melody! You are late, KUMA!" Akuma said…or yelled. To be honest, I can't really tell.
"Well, sorry. I've would've been here earlier if this place wasn't so big."
"Hm. You do have a point, KUMA!"
"Hey, Akuma." Raffina said.
"Good morning, Mr. Akuma." Lidelle greeted with a bow.
"Raffina. Lidelle. Long time no see, KUMA! I hear you will be going to high school in September. Congratulations, KUMA!"
"Thank you." They both said.
"Oh hey, Akuma. This is my daughter, Amitie." Mom said as she wrapped her arm around me.
"H-Hi. Nice to meet you, Akuma." I said nervously.
"No need to be nervous. The feeling is mutual, KUMA!"
"Oh. Okay then."
"And this girl right here is Ally Nakano. She's Ami's childhood friend."
"Woah…I'm really standing in front of an ACTUAL demon! So cool! I've got to take a picture of this! Ayumi is not going to believe this!" Ally said.
"Please. No cell phone use in the library, KUMA!"
"Oh. Then can I take one in the museum?"
"No cell phone use in the museum either, KUMA!"
"Then how about outside?"
"I don't like my photo taken, MA, KUMA, KUMAAAA!"
"*sigh* Damn it."
"And besides, KUMA! Ayumi wouldn't be all that interested, KUMA!"
"Huh? How would you know?" Ally and I asked.
"You both are friends with a girl named Ayumi Katabuki, correct?"
"Yeah, why?"
"She is my granddaughter! MA, KUMA, KUMAAAA!"
"Wait, seriously?!" Ally yelled.
"Wowie. Never would've thought that Ayumi would have a demon for a grandfather. Is there anyone else?" I asked.
"Her mother, AKA my daughter, is only half demon. Ayumi herself is 100% human. Though, she is currently training to become much like her mother, KUMA!"
"Woah…" We both said.
I am SO calling Ayumi tonight!
"Anyway, Akuma." Raffina took over the conversation. "Amitie and Ally will be joining us at the high school. And… there's something about her and I that you should know…"
"You and Amitie are in a relationship with each other, am I right?" Akuma asked. The response took Raffina off guard.
"Y-Yeah. H-How did you know?" She stuttered.
"Well, I am a wise and knowledgeable demon from the depths of hell. I know all that happens in this town, KUMA!"
"Wowie…" I said.
"That, and Amira told me everything the day she found out."
"Goddamnit, Amira!" Raffina yelled in a fit of rage.
"Melody. We still have work to do on your light novel. You kids feel free to look around, KUMA!"
"I should be done in an hour or two. Not long at all." Mom added.
"Alright. Later, Mom." I said. The four of us then went off to look around the library for something to do.
Raffina's POV
"Geez, this library is HUGE! Probably the biggest I've ever been to!" Amitie said after a few minutes of walking.
"Yeah, no kidding. You think they have any manga here?" Ally asked.
"Probably." Lidelle said. "Though, I've never been able to find any. So I just end up buying them online."
"Huh? Lidelle, you read that stuff?" I asked.
"Yeah. You don't?"
"No, not really."
"Geez, Raffina. You don't play video games, you don't read manga…do you even watch anime? Ally asked.
"I don't really understand all of that stuff."
"Oh, my God. You're straight up girly!"
"How does me not playing video games, reading manga, or watching anime make me girly?!"
"Well, both boys and girls enjoy something that's targeting the opposite gender. The fact that you only do girl things makes you extremely girly." Lidelle said.
"I'm not girly, though!"
"Oh hey, Lidelle. Since you play video games, maybe you can help us settle this argument Ami and I are having." Ally said. Completely ignoring me.
"What argument?"
"Of the two choices, which game is better? ChuChu Rocket or Space Harrier? It's the second one, right?"
"What? No way! Space Harrier has too much stuff going on! It's too hard!" Amitie said.
"And ChuChu Rocket doesn't? I can't tell you how many times I got a game over because of freaking Cat Mania! It's infuriating!"
"What do think, Lidelle?"
"Neither." Lidelle said almost instantly.
"Huh?!"
"While both games are fun to play, neither one of them are better than good ol Mario Kart."
"Mario Kart?!" Amitie shouted.
"You're comparing Space Harrier to something a simple as Mario Kart?!" Ally asked.
"Hey! Mario Kart is NOT simple! There are these techniques and ultra shortcuts. Managing your items for the whole race. It's something only skilled Mario Kart Masters know about. Like myself."
"Oh, please!" Both girls said while rolling their eyes.
"Hmph. Fine. Don't believe me? Once we get back to Amitie's, I'll wipe the floor with you both. Then you won't mess with a Mario Kart Legend like me."
"You are SO on!"
Throughout their entire argument, I had no idea what they were talking out. I've never been so confused in my entire life.
"Uh…guys. What are you talking about?" I asked.
…
…
…
"So girly." Lidelle and Ally said under their breaths.
"I'M NOT GIRLY!"
"Don't be upset, Raffina. I enjoy your girliness." Amitie said while hugging me.
"But I'm not…Aw, forget it." I said, giving up on this whole "girly" thing.
We eventually got ourselves deeper inside the library, at least I think we're still in the library. We were walking through a dark and hazy hallway that had fewer books and more…junk. And it wasn't normal junk either. Something about this junk seemed…strange.
"H-Hey, guys? Wh-Where are we?" Lidelle asked while feeling uneasy.
"I'm not sure. I'm actually kinda scared right now." Ally said.
"Hey, Raffina. I have a bad feeling about this place." Amitie said while holding my arm for comfort.
"Yeah, me too. I just hope we can find some help around here." I said.
"Yu rang for some help?"
When we heard that mysterious fifth voice, we stopped walking and were frozen stiff in fear.
"Wh-What the hell?! Wh-Who said that?!" Ally asked in a panicked voice.
The rest of us didn't answer because we were too scared to speak. I felt a presence getting closer to us. It kept getting closer and closer until…
"SURPRISE! AN ATTACK FROM BEHIND!"
"From behind."
"*loud screams of fear*" We all screamed from the top of our lungs. But seconds later, I recognized the voices and nudged Amitie to get her to turn around with me.
Needless to say, she was happy at what she saw.
"Yu! Rei!" She yelled in excitement.
"Hiya, Amitie and Raffina. Scared ya real good just now, didn't we?" Yu asked.
"Yeah, you two got us good." I said.
"Awesome!"
"Yay." Rei added.
I turned around to see Lidelle and Ally still scared, but now also with looks of confusion.
"Oh. Right. Lidelle, Ally, these are our friends Yu and Rei. We met them back in January."
"January? Wasn't that during the whole Puyo Hat madness?" Lidelle asked.
"Puyo Hat madness? What's a Puyo Hat, and why was it madness?" Ally asked.
"Oh right, Ally. You don't really know what happened to me. Well, you see…"
Amitie then explained to Ally everything that happened 2 months before she moved here. At one point, Amitie almost began to cry. I held her tight and said it was okay. She gave me a kiss on the cheek and continued the explanation.
"…And that's basically it." She said, ending the story.
"W-Wow. I-I never knew that you went through such hell, Ami." Ally said. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"I-I didn't want you to worry."
"Ami, I'm your best friend. I'm supposed to worry when stuff like that happens."
"Th-Thanks, Ally." Amitie said while trying to hold back her tears. Ally then turned to look at Yu and Rei.
"So, it was you two who rescued Ami, huh?" She asked. "Well then, thank you both for saving my best friend's life. Name's Ally Nakano, by the way."
"No problemo, Ally. The name's Yu. This is my twin brother, Rei. Rei, say hi."
"Hi." Rei said.
"He's a bit shy, but he's fun once you get to know him."
"I see."
"Come on, Lidelle. Introduce yourself." I said.
"H-Huh? Oh, right. Uh…I'm Lidelle Namanari. Nice to meet you two." She said.
"Same here, Lidelle." Yu said while giving a peace sign. Then went silent as she repeated the name in her head. "Wait, Namanari? As in the Demon King Namanari?"
"Yes. He's my father."
"So, you're…NO WAY! We're actually meeting the Demonic Princess of the Royal Family of Hell! isn't this exciting, Rei?!"
"It is." Rei said. Showing no real emotion on his face. But you kinda expect that from him.
"*giggle* Thank you. Always glad to meet a fan."
This happens a lot? She has FANS?!
"So what are you two doing here, anyway?" Amitie asked.
"Working." Rei answered.
"Huh? You two work here?" I asked.
"Indeedy!" Yu said cheerfully. "Akuma gave us the job last week. He said that in return, we keep the Puyo Hats in the museum where he can research their hidden powers."
"That sounds like a fair deal." Lidelle said.
"Right?! We get to make money! As ghosts! We'll be as rich as a ripped soul fresh from its body!"
"Yu. No one makes that compassion." Rei said.
"They don't? Oh, well."
She's just gonna push that aside like it's nothing?!
"So, what job do you guys do?" Ally asked.
"Well, we're supposed to organize all this junk so Akuma can reopen this part of the library. But even for a pair of ghosts like us, it's a rather difficult task."
"Well, we can help you guys out. Right, everyone?" Amitie asked us.
"Sure. I've got nothing better to do." I said.
"Me neither." Lidelle added.
"Consider it my thanks for saving Ami." Ally said.
"Awesome! Hey, Rei! We're going to get help with our work!" Yu said to her twin.
"Yay." Was all he said. I couldn't really tell if he was excited or upset that we were helping out. But like I said before, you kinda expect that from Rei.
Yu and Rei took us to the area they were working at, which was littered with weird junk. They told us that most of it was actual garbage. But if we found something that looked important, check it with them first.
Several minutes went by and the junk pile slowly but surely was getting smaller. We were about to call it a day and head back when Amitie found one last item.
"Hey, Yu. What about this thing?" She asked. "This thing" was a fancy-looking black mirror that somehow didn't break under all that clutter.
"Huh. I've actually never seen that thing before. It's not on the list of things to look for, either." Yu said.
"Hey, there's a hole at the top of the mirror." Lidelle said, noticing the dent.
"You think something goes there?" Ally asked.
"Probably." Rei answered.
We all decided to look for the missing part, which took about 10 minutes to find.
"Hey, guys. I think I found it." I said as I raised the thing in the air. It was a red and black diamond-like crystal with a smaller black orb inside of it.
"What IS that thing?" Ally asked.
"No idea. It's not on the list, either." Yu said.
"Well, if this and the mirror are not on the list…then maybe they go together." I said.
"Yeah, I guess."
I walked up to mirror with the crystal in hand and inserted it in the hole at the top. After doing so, the mirror was glowing as it started to float on its own. And then the glass inside the mirror started shifting back and forth on its own.
"Wh-What's happening?!" Lidelle asked while completely terrified.
"I-I don't know!" Ally said. Also completely terrified.
"R-Raffina! I'm scared!" Amitie said while clinging on to me.
"Don't worry, Amitie! I'll protect you!" I said, holding her tight in the process.
The mirror then began spewing dark red lighting bolts that broke through the roof of the building. Six of them in all. A huge crack began going down the middle of the mirror afterward.
The crack got bigger and bigger…until it eventually broke the entire mirror in half. A bright light engulfed the room and we covered our eyes to avoid getting blind.
"*scared scream* What's happening?!" Amitie yelled in fear.
When the light finally cleared up, no traces of the mirror was seen. Only the weird crystal was left. And it was resting next to a girl with orange hair, kinda like Ally's. She was wearing a blue and white dress with a white cloak over it. She was also wearing blue and white wrist bands and shoes. From the looks of it, they were her favorite colors. Yu went up to her and felt her head.
"H-Hey. Y-You okay?" She asked but got no response from the girl.
"H-Hey, guys. I-I think she's unconscious!" Yu said to us. "Quick! Lidelle and Ally, go get Akuma! Amitie, Raffina, help us carry her! There's a room with a bed nearby!"
"Right!" We all said. Lidelle and Ally went off to find Akuma and Melody while Amitie and I helped Yu and Rei carry the unconscious girl to the nearby room.
We don't know who this girl is, or why she came out of the mirror. Hopefully, she remembers everything that happened before coming here. Because she's going to have a lot of explaining to do when she wakes up.
If she wakes up that is.
Author's Note: Decided to save Arle's POV for the next chapter. As in the original Tsu, this chapter was way too long. Especially for a second chapter.
On an unrelated note, Dr. Mario World came out 2 days ago. And so far, it's rather fun. It's nice to have something on my phone to play other than Quest. The only problem I have with it is that everything is so expensive. 4,000 coins or 40 diamonds to even ATTEMPT to get a new character. That's insane! Especially since in Quest, all you need is 5 gems.
Anyway…thanks for reading. Later.