Having finally dispatched Yuyuko, Flandre rushed forwards as fast as her legs would carry her. Though she would never admit the fact out loud, the battle had been quite a challenging affair and had left her feeling drained of energy. Her body was sore and tense from exertion and a strange, fluttering feeling persisted within her spirit which was probably a consequence of battling through Yuyuko's black hole of the netherworld.
Her skin still tingled from that violation but she couldn't allow herself even a moments rest as her companions might just need her help. The black, towering shelves and the large expanses between them all looked the same to Flandre as she turned yet another identical looking corner to find nobody waiting for her. Only the dusty items resting on the shelves themselves gave any indication that she was even in another part of the shop and she didn't have the time to carefully examine each and every single piece.
Only the sounds of her tapping footsteps filled the air as she ran down the expanse. A fact which was deeply concerning. Flandre had definitely heard the pitch of a blizzard and other sounds of winter was a good indication that Cirno and Letty had run into some form of trouble while she had been engaged in her hair raising duel, however, since then the shop had fallen as silent as a tome. Coupled with the strange new presence she had felt and Flandre had plenty of reason to suspect the worst.
The newcomer, if indeed it was a physical being at all, held an extremely weird presence in the material world. Like it somehow existed in multiple plains of existence at once. Even stranger than Yuyuko's otherworldly feeling.
Ran is still out there somewhere. Could it belong to her? Possibly.
Her wings were only glowing faintly as her spiritual self had been severely drained. The usually bright and vibrant colours had been dulled dramatically. Usually when she was in a stressful situation such as this, her wings and eyes glowed like a lively rainbow. This Flandre however looked to have clouds covering up her splendor. Still, she still had plenty of fight left within her and pushed herself onward.
She cursed under her breath as yet another empty and uneventful passageway greeted her. Her slender fists clenched with frustration. Why couldn't her impeccable senses detect even the slightest sign of life? It felt like the air around the shop had grown colder all of a sudden and was heavy with an undercurrent of magic, like someone had thrown a giant shroud over the entire building. Or was that just her imagination?
Flandre was surprised to find herself breathing heavily and stopped for a very moment to gather her thoughts. When a vampire stalked in the night, it was sometimes beneficial to remain still and motionless as you trusted your many heightened senses to guide you. Allow your prey to exert themselves while you remained calm and composed. Flandre closed her eyes, focused her mind and listened.
Trust in yourself while remaining calm and dignified.
That was a favorite saying of Remilia's which Flandre repeated to herself to aid her concentration. Simply thinking of her beloved sister made her feel more relaxed and at peace in this stressful situation. She painted a mental picture which ignored the physical, the ordinary, the mundane. Instead, a world of glowing, rippling lines and blotches of shimmering whiteness filled her vision. It was like stepping into an electrified, alternate reality. Some of the items resting on the overlooking shelves held weak, mystical energies.
Flandre ignored them since they were most likely magically infused trinkets or pendants. She couldn't feel the familiar, cold signatures of Letty or Cirno nor anyone else for that matter. This deep into the shop, there should have been no place that could escape her extended senses but she could even detect the merest trace of life. She sighed.
No, wait. There is definitely something still here, and nearby at that.
Flandre blinked, her red eyes flashing with purpose as she speedily turned around and glanced up to her left.
There!
There was something hovering in midair. Something narrow that was blacker than night and rippled on the edge of reality. It looked like someone had cut out a narrow section of sky with a rusty pair of scissors. It twisted, never content to remain in a single from but remained somewhat narrow.
Bright red ribbons were attached to either end, which seemed incredibly out of place on such a curious oddity. As her eyes focused, Flandre noticed unsettling, white circular objects within the tear. With a shock she realized that they were large, unblinking eyeballs and all of them were watching her intently, as if possessed by a single mind or purpose.
Flandre saw a flash of movement within the rent, something other than the floating eyeballs. After which, the red ribbons swallowed up the length of the tear as if someone was sewing fabric back together. Then it blinked out of existence altogether like it was never there. Flandre frowned. She had only seen it for a few seconds. No sooner had she set eyes upon it, then it had disappeared. It felt like whoever had been responsible for the portal, if indeed that's what it was, hadn't wanted to be seen.
Could that have something to do with the possible disappearances? I'm extremely confident that I would have at least sensed Cirno by now. Familiar presences are always the easiest to detect, so where is she? All I've found is some floating, eyeball infested apparition. Maybe it has something to do with it? Maybe it chopped her up into shaved ice and devoured the icy fairy?
"I know you're out there somewhere," she challenged. That wasn't entirely true of course, but Flandre was sick of running around aimlessly and decided to try to bluff her way to the truth. Sometimes a shot in the dark was preferable to endless indecision.
"Come out, now! Show yourself and stop wasting my time."
Flandre's words bounced off the tall, imposing looking shelves and off into the unseen distance. She waited anxiously for a response while she carefully kept a careful watch on the immediate space around her.
The atmosphere was tense and filled with uncertainty. The shadowy shelves could be hiding any number of hidden threats. Flandre kept glancing down at the floor nervously as she had flashbacks to Yuyuko's hungry, pale spirits as they materialized through the floorboards.
The hairs on the back of Flandre's neck were prickling upwards in anticipation. A dull tearing sound made her jump inside her skin as she spun around to confront the potential danger. It was the same oddity as before but this time it was located on the ground and was uncomfortably close to Flandre. The tearing made was barely audible but what little you could actually hear gave off the same effect as sharp claws across a chalk board.
It became evident that it was indeed some kind of dimensional portal as a mysterious looking woman causally walked into reality as if it were no more impressive than opening a door. The red ribbons extended the rift make the transition as smooth as possible. That same limitless void of shifting blackness was the backdrop to this newcomer's grand entrance. Flandre wanted to look somewhere else, anywhere else that wasn't infested with sinister, floating eyeballs but she forced herself to stare into the abyss. If trouble was coming, then she would not shy away from it.
"Hello there," greeted the woman cheerfully. Her carefree attitude and arrogant smile suggested that she wasn't worried or threatened in the slightest by Flandre's presence. That irked the vampire a little.
Another one who thinks that they are untouchable. Well...
"Congratulations on detecting me and defeating Yuyuko. I'm so very glad to meet you, little vampire. I must apologise for my friend's wanton actions. She knows that I prefer usage of danmaku over overt violence but some people just cannot be helped. You're not hurt are you?"
The mysterious woman stood tall and resolute, like nothing on this plain of existence could possibly faze her. She wore a silky smooth, frilly white dress with a sharp looking purple robe attached to the front that was decorated at the bottom by a striking flame motif that crawled up to her midriff. Her long blonde hair flowed around her in many tendrils that were bound at the end by extravagant red ribbons.
Her pure white hat was tied neatly around it's length by a thin thread of red. That ribbon was tied around the front in a kind of double loop. An expensive and elegant looking parasol was clutched in one hand. She had a beautiful figure and had the air of someone knowledgeable, like a fairy tail queen. She seemed curious of Flandre and studied the vampire with her deep, purple eyes.
Flandre shook her head. She decided to just be blunt since she didn't feel energetic enough to engage in the kind of wordplay she suspected this being wanted.
Some people just enjoy hearing themselves speak far too much.
"Listen. If you're planning on causing me trouble, then be warned by the example I made of Yuyuko. If you're looking to avenge her, then just say so because all I want to do is find my friends and leave, peacefully if at all possible. Return to wherever it is you came from and we'll get along fine."
"Oh? That's unfortunate as your friends are currently within my care."
Flandre narrowed her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. I invited them over to my residence and they just couldn't find it in themselves to refuse me. I can be very persuasive."
"Oh, is that so?" Flandre replied. Her irritation was growing by the second. "It seems that your trying to aggravate me for some reason. Well, it's working. You might think me weak after my recent activities but that would be a grave mistake. Why don't you just tell me what you want and why you were spying on me?"
The newcomer ran a finger through one of her golden strands of long hair and twirled her parasol absentmindedly. "Well, after such a spectacular battle, I was curious to see what you were like. You certainly have a flair for the dramatic. Tell me, do you know who I am?"
Flandre frowned. "No. Should I?"
The lady who stood before Flandre smiled in amusement. "I don't usually have to introduce myself, but my name is Yakumo Yukari."
She saw the flash of recognition appear across Flandre's face and nodded approvingly. "Good, it seems that you have at least heard of me. I decided to reveal myself to you in order to make you an offer. I will reunite you with your companions and forgive you for all your interfering actions if you agree to do me a little favor in return."
Flandre didn't like Yukari's condescending tone one bit. "Are you suggesting that I owe you an apology? That's ridiculous! Utterly ridiculous! For starters, your friend attacked me with the very real desire to end my life. She chased me and endangered my friends and tried to steal one of my precious possessions. And you expect me to apologise? Bah. You should be the one to apologise for all the hardships you have caused me."
Yukari tutted disapprovingly but the wry smile never left her lips. She sighed and pursed her lips in consideration. "You're a brave one, aren't you, little vampire? But maybe that bravery is born from ignorance, rather than strength. Well, no matter. Why don't we have a duel to decide matters? If you win, I'll abase myself and kneel in front of you in humble atonement. I'll even return your companions completely unharmed. But If I win, then you must do me a little favor? Does that sound appealing?"
Flandre grinned. She was excited at the prospect of testing herself against someone so famous despite feeling weakened from the whole ordeal beforehand. Letty seemed quite fearful of her and Flandre was determined to find out why. Still, if she wanted to help her friends, then this seemed to be the best way to do it.
"Oh, that sounds very appealing. If you insist on challenging me, then I guess I have no choice but to accept."
Yukari's smile widened and she held up smooth, well manicured hand to signify the beginning of the contest. "Excellent. Then let us begin, Flandre Scarlet."
Flandre blinked, dumbfounded. It felt like someone had just slapped her across the face with a wet blanket. Her forehead suddenly felt extremely hot and flustered. "W-what, what did you just call me?"
"Why, you're Flandre Scarlet correct?" Yukari replied mockingly. It was very clear from her tone of voice and sly smile that she was enjoying every single moment of this theatre. "Judging from your reaction, I haven't made a mistake. It's those wonderful wings of yours. I'd recognize those beautiful crystals anywhere."
Flandre stared incredulously at her opponent while she mentally did her best to calm down her racing heart. Could she be a mind reader or wild some kind of dark magic?
"I've never met you before in my entire life. How do you know me?"
"Well, Flandre. I often watch over Reimu whenever an incident is occurring, just to make sure everything is running smoothly. Well, that and if truth be told, I enjoy witnessing the spectacle of nefarious plans being foiled along with the climatic battles that ensue. Old gods and new, celestial beings, mysterious objects and tragic tales. For someone who has lived as long as I, Reimu's incidents provide endless hours of entertainment. I remember all the trouble at the Scarlet devil mansion. That was certainly one of my more memorable evenings."
Yukari winked at Flandre with those last few words and let them hang in the air. The longer the silence went on the more weight those words gained and the more uncomfortable Flandre became, which was probably Yukari's goal in the first place. Letty did mention something about the gap demon, as she put it, being somewhat of a trickster. Flandre had only been in her presence for a few moments and already she believed Letty's impression. Yukari's bemused demeanor and her subtle threats painted her as a manipulator.
And I'm playing right into her hands. Well, actions speak louder than words. So she knows my name? So what?
Flandre let out a breath and opened a dark, shifting portal of her own. It flowed like shadowy water and droplets floated away as they lost purchase in the physical realm. Her creamy arm disappeared into the gloom and started to pull out her trusted weapon, Lavateinn. The slight weight felt comforting in her hand, like a trusted friend was watching over her. The surface of Lavateinn gleamed with barely restrained power. Yukari looked on curiously.
"Well, none of that matters, right? We have a duel to commence." Flandre limbered up her arm and flexed her powers by letting a crackle of shining lightening climb along the length of her demonic looking blade. Her blonde hair rippled under the invisible waves.
Yukari clicked her fingers like a gunshot before the race. "Fine, Flandre. Let us begin our duel. My opening gambit is blackmail. Submit to me or I will reveal the fact to your beloved sister that you have left the mansion without permission."
Once again, Flandre felt like the rug had been pulled out from under her. Like she was in perpetual free fall after being shoved off a cliff.
What, what, what? What kind of duel is this? Trickery! This is such shameless behaviour!
Flandre's grip tightened around the hilt of her sparkling weapon. She felt outraged and snapped her sharp teeth together in a threatening manner. At that moment, all the fatigue evaporated from her system as anger overtook her.
"Such cowardice! Have you no pride? Resorting to such underhanded methods!"
"Oh? Is slicing somebody to ribbons somehow better than using your mind to overcome an opponent?" Yukari inquired as she arched an eyebrow inquisitively. "I'm a very prideful person, Flandre, and do not intend to lose this duel. In fact ensuring your victory before a single spell has been cast should be admired. You should be able to use all your facets in a duel. We never did agree to specified rules, remember?"
"I remember you well, Flandre Scarlet. The troublesome, often unbalanced little sister; the dark little secret hidden away from sight. There is no way that Remilia would have given you permission to leave the mansion unattended, or at all for the matter and yet here you are, standing before me. Oh, it seems that you dislike me speaking about your family. Did I speak out of turn? Just to crush the fleeting hope that you could defeat me before I reveal what I know, I have instructed my loyal Shikigami Ran to carry out my will in the unlikely event that I do not return. Well, what say you, vampire? Will you submit peacefully?"
Flandre's shoulders slumped a little as some of the fiery energy that had fueled her anger rapidly escaped her body. She wasn't stupid and wasn't blinded enough by rage to forget her deepest, soul crushing fear; that her sister would stop loving her. That nightmare might become a reality if she were to find out that her younger sister disobeyed her by breaking her confinement. Yukari had been right as Flandre had hoped to pacify this particular threat with her otherworldly strength but it seemed that little thread of hope had been cruelly cut.
Still, Flandre was determined not to utter the words "I submit." That would be utterly humiliating and would shatter her pride beyond repair. Sure, she had very rarely lost danmaku duels in the past but she had never actually given in voluntarily. If you were to look at Flandre from the outside, you would see almost no hints of her self doubt and internal dilemma.
She wouldn't sweeten things by appearing weak and indecisive. Flandre took a page out of her sister's book and took the momentary setback with calm composure and dignity. Just a slight frown and an irritated flicker at the corner of her mouth could be seen if you were really looking out for it.
"So," Flandre asked as she dismissed Lavateinn. It shimmered before fizzling out of existence in a black cloud. "What particular favor did you have in mind? I won't do anything demeaning."
Yukari seemed pleased with the vampire's decision and twirled her parasol in celebration. "Don't worry, Flandre," she said cheerfully. "You have placed yourself in safe hands. Oh, we will have such fun working together."
Yukari gestured with one hand and a portal ripped itself into the material realm. That same, faint tearing sound as before made Flandre feel like a dentist was scraping her teeth with some unpleasant looking metal implement. It gave her a sense of unease. First the red ribbons appeared and gradually pulled and pulled until the dimensional rift had widened enough to allow safe passage into whatever alternative world it had opened.
Yukari pointed towards the portal with her parasol. "Follow me, Flandre." When she noticed Flandre's predictable hesitation, she smiled invitingly and beckoned her onward. Like a mother leading her child across the road, she held out a welcoming hand.
"Don't worry, this boundary is completely harmless and will carry us to our destination. You can hold my hand if want."
Flandre frowned at this show of blatant disrespect. "I'm not worried at all. If you really did observe me, then you'd know that."
Yukari smiled again and walked right into the portal, or boundary as she called it. It didn't swallow her up and spit out the bones, nor did it rip her apart like entering a black hole. The only disturbance to the tranquil, black surface was a slight ripple as Yukumo Yukari took her first steps into the boundary. Well, that, and the floating eyeballs that watched her with intense scrutiny but she didn't pay them any heed and calmly walked inside the portal until she disappeared from sight.
Flandre didn't loose sight of her blackmailer immediately. It looked like the impenetrable blackness parted without resistance before her and then gently swept in behind her which gave the effect of a shifting, solid mass like jelly. But it couldn't have been solid because it was transparent. Flandre could see the floating eyeballs after all and other oddities that she couldn't identify such as sudden flashes of colour that wouldn't exist on any normal painters pallet. The whole affair was frankly quite scary but fascinating at the same time. Like setting something on fire, danger was often exciting.
After a few seconds, Yukari could no longer be seen for whatever reason. The boundary remained open but didn't look very warm and inviting from Flandre's perceptive. It looked like something that should be sealed away or avoided like an unnatural disaster. With the temptress gone, Flandre allowed her controlled expression to return to normal, namely one of worry. Was she really going to step into the monster's mouth, and willingly at that? It seemed suicidal.
Yukari was unharmed, but she would be, would she? Well, if I don't enter the boundary, then what else do I do? My friends are supposedly in there somewhere, perhaps even taken hostage.
Flandre walked up to the shifting portal and tentatively stuck her index finger into it's center. The black surface rippled and besides a slight drop in temperature, nothing else happened. She pulled back her finger and was relieved to find that it hadn't been bitten off and devoured by demons hiding just beyond reality.
The eyeballs watched Flandre's every move but she didn't even meet their gaze. This close, Flandre could see that it really did resemble a dark mirror. The other side looked like restrained chaos with the brief storms of colour in the deep-seated darkness but was otherwise strangely devoid of activity.
Well, thinking about it isn't going to get me anywhere.
Flandre took a deep breath and with as much confidence as she could manage, she carefully stepped into the boundary while trying her best to imitate Yukari's posture and footing. Inside, her vision was severely impaired. Some things in the distance could be seen, however sometimes when she turned her head, nothing but darkness filled her eyesight.
It wasn't darkness in the traditional sense, but the kind that a vampires eyes couldn't piece. And yet, she could still see ever present eyeballs without fail. A fact that she wasn't grateful for even in the slightest. They blinked and their pupils widened whenever she made the mistake of meeting their dreary gaze.
It was cold but not enough to be uncomfortable. The only sound was a constant dull humming like the pressure one would hear while inside a submarine. Every step Flandre took only served to unnerve her further. There was no ground to speak of so every step was in itself, a leap of faith. The vampire felt weightless and everything had a lack of purchase to it. Looking down gave her a sense of vertigo as the flooring was just another mostly featureless expanse of black space.
"Hello," she whispered, simply to help herself stay sane. The word didn't echo at all and was sniffled out in an instant. Sound apparently didn't carry in this place. Flandre's heart rate increased with every step and sweat trickled down her brow. She cursed at the voices inside her head that taunted her about never being able to escape this place and how foolish she had been for entering it in the first place. Mostly because those voices were her own insecurities, her own mental weaknesses.
Then, Flandre took another step, just like any other and then suddenly she found herself plummeting downwards for no discernable reason. She screamed in panic and tried to sink her claws into something but it was like trying to grasp vapor.
Flandre tried to control her decent by flying but she couldn't even tell which direction was up and down anymore, assuming such concepts even existed in this dimension. It was all a spinning blur that sped before her eyes alarmingly fast. An inescapable death spiral.
Flandre snarled in rage at the nearest floating eye and used it as a vessel for all the fear and anger that had been thrust upon her. Her hand sparkled with power, the light immediately swallowed up by the oppressive atmosphere. Whether or not her shot hit it's mark or made any difference at all was lost on Flandre as she twisted and turned down this invisible tunnel.
She couldn't even gauge how fast she was falling. Everything felt the same and different at the same time. Her own sense of wrongness only intensified as time went on. If this wasn't limbo or purgatory then it was a pretty good imitation of it.
Flandre gasped as she saw light at the end of the tunnel. Not the kind of light you might see in a near death experience, but physical, bright heavenly light that bathed Flandre in welcoming brilliance. She had never felt so happy or relieved and wanted nothing more than to escape this hellish, endless eclipse once and for all.
She outstretched her arms as the white glow enveloped her surroundings and served to lift her spirit. A serine feeling spread throughout her as she fell right into the center of the flashing beacon and then all that disappeared as she emerged back into reality like a slap across the face.
All the weight returned to her form and she stumbled and fell forwards onto her hands and knees. Flandre gasped for fresh air that wasn't tainted by the bleak atmosphere of the boundary. She felt dirty and tainted and wanted to take a long smoothing shoulder to purge her body of impurities. She rubbed her hands together. Flandre didn't feel particularly cold but the simple, familiar gesture made her feel a little better.
"The first time is always the worst," came a polite sounding voice.
Flandre opened her eyes and rapidly pushed herself to her feet. She felt vulnerable and pathetic and didn't want anyone to liken her to a common beggar. The voice had belonged to the nine tailed fox Ran who stood in front of a large wooden gate. Her expression was one of duty and her tone of voice was businesslike and utterly professional. Flandre didn't detect any malice or deceit, unlike with Yukari. If Ran held any animosity towards Flandre for striking her earlier, than she hid it with practiced ease.
"Welcome to my master's home," said Ran. "Mistress Yukari is expecting you."
Flandre stared at Ran for a moment while she gathered herself together. The Kitsune had intelligent golden eyes that matched her warm looking, golden tails. She had apparently changed into clean clothing as the scorch marks were no longer present around her stomach. Ran patiently waited for the vampire but something in her expression suggested that Flandre probably shouldn't hang around for too long.
For the first time, Flandre fully took in her surrounds. Behind Ran stood a large, oriental looking home that was comprised mostly of intricately carved wood and walls of bamboo with not a single stone or brown brick in sight. It had thin, folding doors and long bamboo walkways. Compact towers looked down on the tiled roof and gave the house the religious look of a temple of worship. Talismans and paper charms were tied to various places with string but didn't move due to the lack of wind. Flandre could faintly hear the soft patter of falling water from somewhere within the building's grounds.
Besides the house, the rest of the area was a featureless, white void of nothingness. Flandre hadn't noticed before because her eyes had been closed shut, but the very ground she stood on was the purest shade of white she had ever seen.
No trees, no wildlife, no nothing. Worst of all, it had no texture to it. Picture a sheet of paper or a blank canvas and you'd have this place. It felt like the exact opposite of the boundary, only even more lonely and desolate. If it wasn't for the house, then this vast expanse of space would have been completely empty in every sense of the word.
"What is this place?" Flandre breathed. The surreal nature of this location made her momentarily forget that she wasn't totally alone.
"Lady Yukari doesn't like to be unduly bothered. This is her own, personal space that no intruder could ever hope to find," Ran answered before beckoning her onward with a baggy, sleeved hand.
"Please, come this way. Your friends are waiting safely within the household."
Ran opened the main gate and looked at Flandre expectantly. The vampire didn't need any more motivation and took her first steps inside the Yakumo household. Ran closed the doors behind her which groaned with the weight. Flandre felt uneasy exposing her back but kept her ears open for any signs of trouble.
The inside was strikingly different to the Scarlet devil mansion. The walls were made up of handcrafted, wooden paneling that gleamed with a smooth finish. Various paintings adorned the walls, many of them portraits. Many of them Flandre didn't recognized but a few of them wore the same red and white miko outfit that was almost identical to Reimu's. Another one was a somber looking Yuyuko resting under a breathtaking sakura tree at full bloom.
Sliding doors were spaced at various intervals on both sides of the corridor. Burning incense candles filled the passageway with exotic fragrances that ruffled the nose. They passed an open door that lead out into a garden that was rich with greenery and colour.
Beautiful, well maintained flowerbeds were expertly arranged in dazzling displays that demanded attention and a miniature waterfall constantly sent a cascade of rippling water down a series of rocks and into a spacious pond. Ran didn't say a word so Flandre peered at the garden while she could but kept on walking.
Flandre was starting to grow weary of the constant walking but finally Ran called a halt to the proceedings and indicated a sliding door that looked like any other and remained annoyingly silent until Flandre walked up towards it. Then she unceremoniously shoved Flandre inside and quickly closed the sliding doors. Flandre stumbled inside and looked beside her angrily while clenching her fists tightly at this sudden rudeness.
"Ah, welcome to my home," said Yakumo Yukari who was reclining in a comfy looking chair. "I'm very much glad that you made it here safely."
There was one other occupied chair who's occupant smiled up at Flandre with undisguised cheerful delight. Someone who couldn't possibly have been casually pouring herself another generous refilling of sake like nothing had ever happened.
"Boo" said Yuyuko.