Barrier of Life and Death; The Netherworld
As the Guardians of the Sanctuary continued their trek through the Netherworld, they soon found themselves approaching an area where a thick mist covered the ground.
The thick mist isn't the only identifying feature of the area. As the mist only covered the ground, the Guardians can see that a giant door with a magic glyph on it stood before them, with four nearly similarly giant wooden pillars rising above the mist and standing in front of the door.
"This is very fancy... and excessive..." Reimu made a comment about the structure of the door.
"This tells you just what kind of place and people we might see behind it." Marisa made her own comment, then slowly glanced at Sakuya.
Sakuya made no comment, and simply nodded in response to Marisa's. The silver-haired maid know full well what the witch meant.
"Fanciness and excessiveness aside, don't this thing give y'all the creeps?" Marisa added with a shiver.
"After the Scarlet Mansion, I don't think anything else could give me 'the creeps'." Reimu said.
"Being a staff member of my mistress's mansion has gotten me desensitized to such an atmosphere." Sakuya said.
"Rrrrriiiight..." Marisa let her response drag out for a bit before turning her focus back on the giant door. "So, uh... How do we open this door?"
"Actually, that door doesn't open." A voice spoke out from behind the Guardians.
"We just fly over it~" Another voice spoke out from the same direction.
Reimu and Marisa sighed, as they could practically predict part of the conversation they'd soon be having with the two new arrivals. Sakuya knew what their sigh means by reading their body language.
The Guardians turned around to see who just walked right up to them from behind.
The two voices belonged to two girls who looked western. One has light brown hair and is in red clothes with a hat that has a star at its peak. The other has snow-white hair and is in pink clothes with a hat that has a sun at its peak.
The two girls also have a keyboard and a trumpet floating by their respective sides.
"Wait, you three aren't actually 'dead' dead, are you?" The red-clad brunette with the floating keyboard asked the Guardians.
Reimu and Marisa had no idea what to make of the red-clad brunette's asking about whether they are dead like it's a casual conversation. Sakuya, on the other hand, hardly made a reaction, having served under a vampire mistress for a long time.
"As a matter of fact, we are very much living, breathing individuals." Sakuya took it on her to answer the red-clad brunette for her fellow Guardians.
"Oh, you're all still alive!" The pink-clad girl exclaimed cheerily. "Looks like you're wrong, Ly!"
"First, that blondie with the dolls, and now..." The red-clad brunette said. "How are living people even getting into the Netherworld?"
"I have no idea!" The pink-clad girl said, again cheerily. "Maybe the nice ghost who hired us knows!"
Reimu and Marisa immediately placed their attention on the red-clad brunette mentioning Alice in passing, and the pink-clad girl mentioning being hired by a "nice ghost".
"You two were hired?" Reimu asked in an interrogative way.
"Lemme guess: to perform for a banquet?" Marisa added to the interrogation.
"Three of us, actually." The red-clad brunette corrected the Guardians. "But aye, me sisters and I were hired to perform for a banqu-"
"Merlin, Lyrica, what is with the holdup?" A third voice suddenly spoke out from behind the two girls.
"Oh, here she comes! Right on time!" The pink-clad girl said.
Walking up from behind the two girls is a blonde in black clothes of similar designs as the first two's, with a moon at the peak of her hat. She also has a violin floating by her side. For some reason, she looks gloomy and depressed.
"And who are these three people?" The third girl asked the first two. Her accent is just as comically thick as Alice's, albeit in a different way.
"We just came across them wondering how to get inside our employer's place." The red-clad brunette informed.
"They looked like nice people, though!" The pink-clad girl cheerily added.
"They want to get inside?" The black-clad blonde raised her eyebrows at that.
That was when Marisa stepped forward and proudly pointed a thumb at herself.
"Yeah! As the Guardians of the Sanctuary, we're here to find out who the heck is stealin' Spring away from Gensokyo!" The witch proudly proclaimed. "And we believe that your employer has somethin' to do with it!"
That... didn't seem to garner much attention from the three girls. The only response anyone made to Marisa's boisterous proclamation is Reimu face-palming.
"Guardians of the Sanctuary, you say?" The black-clad girl said dully.
"Sounds kind of nice!" The pink-clad girl said.
"Hey! I know now!" The red-clad brunette said in realization. "You're Marisa G Kirisame! The witch who helped defeat the invading vampire mistress by distracting her with a dance!"
In the background, Sakuya struggled to not chortle at being reminded of Remilia's embarrassing defeat.
"And you!" The red-clad brunette then pointed at Reimu. "You're Hakurei Reimu, the one who actually defeated the vampire mistress!"
Reimu reeled back in surprise, in an embarrassed way. "Th-th-" The shrine maiden struggled to come up with a response.
"Looks like we have a fan right here." Marisa noted.
The red-clad brunette then turned toward Sakuya. "And... who are you?"
Sakuya understands why the girl didn't recognize her. "My name is Izayoi Sakuya." She introduced herself. "The reason you don't know me is because I only joined the Guardians less than an hour ago."
"Oh, I see." The red-clad girl said. She then turned her attention back on Reimu and Marisa. "Can I have your autograph?"
The black-clad blonde suddenly raised a hand up to the side to gently shove the red-clad brunette away. "Behave yourself, Lyrica. If anyone here should be asking for an autograph from someone else, it should be them," She gestured at the Guardians, then back at herself and her compatriots. "from us." She finished.
"Autograph from you?" Marisa pointed out with a raised eyebrow. How dare the black-clad blonde speak of her and her best friend (and Sakuya) like that? "Who the Makai do you think you are?!"
"Oh, pardon me for not introducing ourselves first..." The black-clad blonde said.
Gloomy and Depressive Poltergeist Violinist
Lunasa Prismriver
"I am Lunasa Prismriver." The black-clad blonde introduced herself. She then gestured at the other two girls. "These are me younger sisters, Merlin and Lyrica."
Cheery and Maniacal Poltergeist Trumpeter
Merlin Prismriver
"Nice to meet you!" The pink-clad girl, Merlin, greeted cheerily. "Hope we don't get into treble! Hehe, get it? Treble!"
Mild Mannered Poltergeist Keyboardist
Lyrica Prismriver
"Hello." The red-clad brunette, Lyrica, greeted meekly. "It is me honor to meet the famed Guardians of the Sanctuary."
Lunasa then walked... no, floated ahead of her sisters, with her floating violin in tow.
"Together, we are the Phantom Ensemble."
After months of unwanted hiatus due to being busy with real life and then the accessibility issues with AO3 that came afterwards, we finally get to see the Prismriver Sisters! Yay!
In case you're wondering, the sisters saying "me" in place of "my" are intentional. That's because I headcanon the Prismriver Sisters as Irish, due to Lunasa sharing her name with an Irish band. That also means you are now imagining Lunasa with a comically thick Irish accent, much like how Alice has a comically thick British accent.
"And that, as they say, is that..."
Afterword ends here.
