David Foxfire Presents:
Touhou Lost Word: Cherries Wild
Episode 002
A serialization of the events and storyline depicted in Touhou Lost Word, by Team Shanghai Alice, Good Smile Company, and NextNinja
Caution! Spoilers Ahead: The storyline follows along with the game, in some places word for word, with some embellishments involved. If you don't wish to have the game spoiled, do not proceed any further.
This is a fan-work, and as such is relegated under the Fair Use Laws of the United States Copyright Code as well as the policies set by Team Shanghai Alice. Because of this, this document is available free of charge. All commercial use of this story is strictly prohibited.
While David has took as many steps as possible to keep this series as unoffensive and acceptable by general audiences, it is impossible to account for everyone. Especially when you consider that one of the characters here, even though she's not written as a Mary Sue, isan Original Character who is in a classic Isekai scenario. That alone causes people to get triggered. Therefore, it can be assumed that this work may be an effective tool in offending the easily offended, so if you're one of them, do us all a favor and use the Back button on your browser now without reading anything beyond this point. Thank you and God Bless.
All Touhou related material is © Team Shanghai Alice
All material related to Touhou Lost Word is © Team Shanghai Alice, Good Smile Company, and NextNinja
The Amber Merichello character and the Penumaria setting, with all characters, locations, and items therein, are © David "David Foxfire" Gonterman.
Special Thanks go to:
Phantom Gardener (Advice)
Eagleeye2809 (feedback)
Anyone who shows their support or assistance or even as much as says a good word to this project may have their name listed here. Anyone who even offers corrections to spelling and grammatical errors, suggestions for improvements, and critiques that do not go toxic will also be listed here, as I show proper credits.
Edition Log
Edition 1: Dated 7 Aug 21, Initial Release
Edition 2: Dated 8 Aug 21, Added Marisa to the Dramatis Personae
Edition 3: Dated 13 Aug 21, Added the use of a piece of copper wire for Amber's using the Message Cantrip.
Edition 4: Dated 12 Sep 21, Replaced 'Ouji-sama' with 'Oujou-sama,' due to a correction in the Japanese term.
Edition 5: Dated 21 Sep 21, Made a correction in the Indicia
Dramatis Personae
Suika Ibuki: A perpetually-drunk oni known to freeload at the Hakurei Shrine.
Sakuya Izayoi: Head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion and Remilia Scarlet's constant companion and loyal servant.
Patchouli Knowledge: Magician and Librarian of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Currently doing quiet research about these Seal Crystals.
Marisa Kirisame: Human ('Ordinary') Magician and Reimu's best friend. Tagged along when Reimu escorted Amber to the Hakurei Shrine.
Kochiya Sanae: Shrine Maiden of the Moriya Shrine and frenemy of Hakurei Reimu. Originally from the Outside World, she was taken in by the deities of the Moriya Shrine when they noticed that she could become one of them.
Hakurei Reimu: The Hakurei Shrine Maiden and primary Incident Resolver. She partners with Amber for the Seal Crystal Incident.
Amber Merichello: A magician from Penumaria, a Western Fantasy variant of Gensokyo. She was spirited there from the Outside World where she learned magic. By the time she discovered a Seal Crystal that ferried her to Gensokyo, she has long since called Penumaria home. Not wishing to leave without resolving the Seal Crystal Incident, she partnered with Hakurei Reimu. (Note: Amber takes the place of the Player Character in the game.)
Remilia Scarlet: Vampire Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. She expects Hakurei Reimu to pay her a visit about these Seal Crystals. She along with Hakurei Reimu created the Spell Card Battle Rules before starting the Red Mist Incident chronicled in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil.
Yukari Yakumo: One of if not the most powerful Youkai in Gensokyo. Known for controlling inter-dimensional rifts known as 'gaps,' she is known as 'The Gap Youkai.' She drops in from time to time to Hakurei Reimu.
Kanako Yasaka: One of the two goddesses in the Moriya Shrine. Her transporting the shrine to the top of Youkai Mountain was the beginning of the Mountain of Faith Incident.
Chapter 2
Day 1: Early Afternoon
Scarlet Devil Mansion
"Reference the Fourth Torii from the shrine, Oujou-sama. Then pan up." A tall woman with silver hair and a blue short-skirted maid's uniform made sure that the umbrella was there to get the setting sun off the blue haired girl in a pink dress held binoculars as she scanned the distance.
"I see them, Sakuya," the girl said through a mouth that had a single fang. Pointed ears twitched and red eyes lit up. "There's Reimu and Marisa. With one other. The one in purple?"
"That must be her."
Patchouli returned to the Scarlet Devil Mansion with reports of what Remilia Scarlet thought was yet another fanboy Otaku from the Outside World, but then the magician told her the rest of the story. She knew about other fantasy realms like Gensokyo, and a few people from the Outside World can sell her on Western-style variants of Gensokyo. She can even be sold on some alternate Gensokyos having danmaku magic and Spell cards. But this Penumaria; this is new to her. She liked that. It sparked her interest enough to wake up early, take a dip in sunblock with an SPF in the five digits, and kept under a parasol to keep away from the direct contact with the setting sun to see this Amber Merichello for herself.
"Tee hee hee, and I thought that tonight's going to be boring, Sakuya. I'm glad I'm proven wrong."
"Of course, Oujou-sama."
"Is she related to the blue blocks we found yesterday?"
"From what Patchy told me, yes. One of those blocks must have brought her here."
"That, or that Gap Hag Yukari thought that ferrying someone here would make for a good joke. Again." Remilia's bat wings fluttered a bit, as if it sensed the girl in the pajamas-like dress enter the patio. "Ah, Patchouli. I've found this Amber Merichello you talked about. Reimu has her, for now."
Patchouli had to pause a bit to use her inhaler. "As I expected, Remilia-sama. If there's anyone who's going to address these crystals, the Hakurei Miko would be tops on my list."
"Is it true that this Amber knows danmaku magic?"
"Only spread and focus shots, Lady Remilia," Patchouli said. "No spell cards yet. She might want to learn more about them." She chuckled. "She actually asked for a library card."
Remilia had to laugh. "She's already above Marisa Kirisame in my eyes because of that."
"At least she asked."
"So tell me, how is she on the Elegance Scale."
"She's no dullard, thank the Gods. Someone actually taught her some grace. Even though, she's still rough around the edges, compared to you, of course."
Remilia rubbed her chin. "Hmmm…Something I can work on." Her crimson eyes glowed a bit which accompanied that haughty smile on her lips.
"I don't think you should do her like you'd do an otaku, Remilia-sama. I have a feeling she's here for a reason."
"True, but a part-time position in exchange of that Library Card shouldn't be out of the question, should it?"
Patchouli thought about it for a second. "It shouldn't, Remilia. Wouldn't you agree, Sakuya."
Sakuya pondered it as well, her brow furrowed. "Every now and then I could use someone who actually has some class to help out. You could only do so much with these…ugh…otaku." The disgust she showed left little to the imagination.
Remilia noticed her head maid grit her teeth and clench her fist. "That last one still troubles you, Sakuya?"
"That one actually thought I was his…gaaah…I hate to even say the term."
"Wifu?"
"Thank you, Patchouli Knowledge. If Flan didn't show up and fed on him, I would've reduced the cad into a nice fine mist. Reimu would think we're started another incident before I'm done."
"I was wondering why my sister wasn't hungry. Did she take him into the dungeon?"
Sakuya nodded. "I made sure he's chained up as well. I stopped time around him, so he'll still be there when you get to him. You can do whatever you wish on him. Or just leave him for Meiling."
Remilia pondered for a few moments while watching the Miko and two Magicians (Amber almost looks like Marisa's twin in this light.) float down to the shrine. "Let's leave that option open, Sakuya. But right now," Remilia handed the binoculars to someone she didn't even notice until right now and turned to face Sakuya. "Prepare the throne room. Reimu's going to eventually do her 'usual suspect crawl,' and she'll have this Amber Merichello in tow. I want to give our new player a proper first impression."
"Of course, Oujou-sama." Sakuya said as she made sure that the Scarlet Devil had enough shade until she made it inside. Only then did she turn to this man in the tuxedo with the binoculars. His waist was considerably smaller than when he was found by Remilia. She couldn't tell who he was, nor should she care. She might even just forget his name that was on a badge after she made him leave her sight. The uniform made sure that he wouldn't be remembered that much, with the slicked back hair and the mask over his eyes and nose. It was Remilia's idea to make them as indistinct as possible. They shouldn't be allowed to even be anywhere near the spotlight that belonged to her Oujou-sama and her alone. "Come with me," she told him without as much of a tone of acknowledgment to the former Otaku who dutifully followed her without as much as a peep.
The Hakurei Shrine, Gensokyo
Amber proved to be a friendly sort, willing to make idle chit chat while she's flying with Reimu and Marisa. She talked about how she was taken in by this elderly witch named Nalladrie as her apprentice, learning magic form her. "Most of the spells I cast would be common in my world, if they're not so common here."
"The Mage Armor and Shield," Marisa said. "That's something very few Magicians here know of. Just Patchy and myself."
Both Marisa and Reimu noticed the tone and inflection in her voice. It sounded familiar, an American accent, Midwestern. They noticed it before. But so far everything she said about Penumaria and this Nalladrie has been truthful, or at least they think so. And she does know magic, which ensures that Amber isn't making things up. Both of them looked at each other as if volumes of information was passing between their brains. There's more to Amber than what she's showing.
Amber nodded. "Once I got a hand on casting spells, I decided to really get to know every bit and step and intricacy behind each of these spells I learned. It's like taking some piece of Outside World technology apart and putting it back together. Eventually I figured out how to tweak these spells and customize them into different effects. I can make one single Fire Bolt cantrip into about five or more different elements."
Marisa whistled.
Reimu showed interest as well, but there was something pinging at her. She does believe Amber about the magic, but something's a bit…it's her voice…that accent of hers…it was a bit too familiar.
"And then there's Magic Missile. When I found out how to turn three bolts into a dozen, I knew I had something special. Imagine the shock of some bandit, Youkai, or other bad guy gets when they see me expecting some cheap spells and then the next thing they knew, I was making them dance when I go out spitting bullets en masse." Amber made gun signs with her hands. "Bwabababababababababa!"
The other two had to laugh at that as they float over the series of toriis going up a hill, with stairs going through them, which lead to a simple Shinto Shrine who has seen better days, surrounded by cherry trees and a lush lawn. There is a storage warehouse behind the shrine proper, a large donation box, or rather a box that is made large by relative to the shrine itself, a series of practice dummies off to one side, and what looked at first like a child sleeping on the roof, but when Amber floated closer on the way down, she could see two rounded horns jutting out of her dirty blonde hair, and a trio of weights on chains to her wrists and a large lock of her hair, and what looked like a blue squash at first but it was really some sort of Eastern-styled canteen that the definitely-not-a-child was drinking from. Amber realized that this figure was 'definitely not a child' because she was close enough to notice the faint smell of inebriation form her.
The horned girl yawned, scratched her rump over her skirt, and rolled to a sitting position. "Ya back, Reimu. We got moah sake…and I know I'm not drunk enough to see two Marisas."
"No, Suika, you're not seeing double," Reimu said as she touched the tiled ground with barely a tap of her shoe. "I went to the Forest of Magic to get some answers about those blue cubes and got something more than what I bargained for."
"Oh? You found a new friend," Suika said with a giggle as she vaulted over the roof and landed on three points with a crack and a cloud of dust, smoke, and alcohol breath. "Oh, now that I'm closer to ya, I can tell you're different. Yer dress is purple an' you've got stars and moons on your hat."
Amber just chuckled. "Yeah, I was hoping people will know the difference."
"This is Amber Merichello, Suika," Marisa said. "A magician from some strange realm named Penumaria. It's one of those alternate Gensokyos I sometimes talk about."
"Oh?" Suika mused as she moved closer to Amber. She took her time on the name, so if trying to remember it. "Am-ber Mer-i-chel-lo, eh? Welcome to the Hakurei Shrine. Dere's th donation box over there if you wanna put a coin in. I'm Suika Ibuki. I'm an oni."
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out with the horns," Amber replied as she hunched down to get to the oni's eye level. Suika only went up to Amber's chest. "Reimu…warned me about Onis like you."
"Oh, I'm sure you know about oni, right, since you're a magician…are you really a magician, though?" Suika tilted her head and had an expression one shows when something just isn't right.
"Well," Amber said as she snapped her finger and created some sparks form her fingers. That made Suika look on wide eyed. "I think this would convince you." She then flicked out some star-shaped danmaku with her fingers. Not too much and not at full speed. Just a couple bullets to show what she could do.
"Wow! So, you can do danmaku!" She giggled. I'd like to see you do more!" She then stepped closer to Amber and looked her right in the eye. "You don't look like much of a drinker. You don't usually go to parties."
"Wait til you see me bring out my wagon," Amber replied, betraying a gulp.
Suika smiled. "Does that wagon have any delicious snacks to go with sake?"
Amber smiled. "I can whip something up."
Suika chuckled. "Normally I wouldn't be interested in someone new who ain't a drinker. But…there's just something about you." She paused. "You're not holding anything special, are you?"
Amber just shrugged. "How would I know, I just dropped into Gensokyo from my hometown of Oakroot."
"Oakroot, eh? Would this Oakroot be in Indiana? Or is it Illinois, or Kentucky, or some other state around there. Don't know much about the Midwest of America."
Amber turned white as a sheet.
Suika let out a devilish smile. "You have a Hoosier American accent. I never forget an accent. There's something you're not telling us, I could tell. Oni can always tell when someone's hiding something."
Marisa and Reimu looked at each other.
"I recognized the accent all right," Marisa whispered to Reimu.
"Chill out, Marisa," Reimu reprimanded in a return whisper. "There's gotta be an explanation. No Otaku ever could spit out a single bullet, let alone true danmaku."
"You probably know of the guy who always drops in from time to time. He leaves behind sake and a nice big sack of coin in Reimu's donation box. I think you know him. His name's ZUN, and he makes all those cool video games whatever that is…"
For the briefest of instances, Amber's eyes lit up. "You mean he actually comes…" And then she realized what she just done. "Crap."
"Busted!" Marisa exclaimed with a finger pointing right at Amber as if she were in a court trial. "I knew you were hiding that part."
Suika just gave a smile one made when they knew they've done a good job.
"Marisa, please!" Reimu scolded as she opened the donation box to pick up the sack of jingling coins. "It's clear that Amber is not an Otaku, even if she is originally from the Outside World. Let's hear her out before we do anything to her." She then turned to Amber. "You've gotta excuse us here, Amber, but we had some bad experience with Otaku from the Outside World. And I really appreciate you not coming off as one of them."
Amber didn't know what she was feeling was shock, fear, embarrassment of dread. "I was hoping I wasn't, Reimu-san."
"You weren't, that's why I like you. You can tell us more about how you got to this Oakroot from there. Just don't be too disappointed at how the Hakurei Shrine is right now," Reimu sighed as she guided the two magicians around the back. "I do make an effort to make it not look like it's falling apart."
]]]============[[[
The Hakurei Shrine has seen worse days. If its current state, it could be considered as...livable. A thick mat to crash on, a small dresser and wardrobe, a workable kitchen with a wood-burning stove. To Amber's surprise, there was a refrigerator powered by solar cells mounted on the roof. An outhouse is outside, as well as a well, and there was a short path to a nearby waterfall with enough privacy to bathe in.
The main room, accessible from the back, was a spacious room with one of those low kotatsu tables with cushions all around, folded on a corner is a blanket meant to attach to the table for colder days and an electric heater. The solar cells keep a battery charged enough for the heater to work. It was summer, though, so the blanket and heater weren't needed. That left plenty of room for one Shrine Maiden, two Magicians, and an Oni. On the table where the three cubes Amber, Marisa, and Reimu found so far, plus three more that Suika somehow found.
"So, instead of going from the Outside World to Gensokyo, you found yourself in this Penumaria instead," Reimu said as she drunk her tea from a tall bamboo cup. "And you got taken in by your grandmother, Nalladrie, who taught you how to be a magician."
"Nice to know you chose apprenticeship, Amber-san," Marisa added. "I heard of liches who are still paying off their academy loans."
"Exactly," Amber replied. "I didn't even know Gensokyo even existed for reals until I found myself stumbling into Alice's place." She looked down and breathed in and out. "I take it you get a lot of people from the Outside World?"
Both Reimu and Marisa groaned.
"You wouldn't even know," Suika said.
"The Great Hakurei Barrier, what I'm supposed to be keeping, isn't one hundred percent perfect," Reimu said.
"Show me something that is one hundred percent perfect, Reimu-san," Amber said, "and I'll show you someone who's either lying or have very low standards."
"99.99 percent of the time it managed to keep Gensokyo and the Outside World separate from each other, but there are places where the barrier is weak," Reimu said, "which makes it easy for someone to just stumble over here."
"That's how ZUN drops in," Marisa replied. "At first I thought that Gap Youkai ferried him here, but there was a nearby shrine where he lived where he can cross over after drinking enough booze."
"He always drops in a big donation every time he shows up, or else I'd be shoving a Fantasy Seal up his drunken arse. Daily." Reimu leaned back. "Normally, if I find someone from the Outside World, I take them here so I can send them back home. But some end up living here for the rest of their lives. There's a whole village where most of them live."
"And then there's the fanboys of The Touhou Project," Amber said, rolling her eyes. "…and they find themselves in Gensokyo and think they've died and gone to heaven."
Both Reimu and Marisa belted out a "YES!"
"And all of Gensokyo joins in the chorus," Suika added.
Amber rubbed her head. "I don't want to ask you two how many of these fanboys come to you thinking that they've finally found..."
"Too. Many." Reimu said.
"At first I actually liked having fanboys orbiting around me," Marisa said. "But when you run into the fifth one in a month, it gets annoying. They don't last long, Amber, believe me. If the youkai don't kill them, their would-be 'wifu' most certainly will. Which I'm glad you're not one of them, Amber."
"Yeah, from what I've gathered, you'd rather become like us than be with us," Reimu added. "I really would like it if you could do danmaku."
"Thanks," Amber replied. "I was hoping that you two would appreciate the homage I'm trying to make. I'll admit it now: Back when I was in the Outside World, I was an avid Touhou Project player. I played them all the time, especially when I was having problems with life. School problems, I got myself expelled twice. Had my best friend end herself over a cult. Nearly got into trouble by someone else's rumors. Too many people thought I was a problem child when in fact the only problem with me is that I don't suffer fools kindly." She turned to Reimu with a soft smile. "Those games carried me through some very tough times. They have a special place in my heart even now because of that." She leaned back and sighed. "When I found myself becoming Grandma Nalladrie's apprentice, the first thing I thought of was to use my magic to at least emulate, if not duplicate what you guys do. To become a Touhou character of my own right, even if it is in another realm." She smiled. "I'd be an honor to be able to do that. I hope I can learn some things while I'm here and bring it home with me."
At this time, Amber heard a whisper over her ear. "I'm sure you will, Lady Amber Merichello."
The Misty Lake, near the Scarlet Devil Mansion
"Wait a sec, what was that?" a fairy with icy wings blue hair, blue dress, and the attitude that she had more brawn than brains stopped freezing that frog to turn toward the Hakurei Shrine.
"It sounded like some unearthly scream, Cirno-chan," a green-haired fairy with gossamer wings said as she fluttered next to her fairy friend. "But I didn't see any humans wondering around near a youkai."
"Harumph!" the first fairy, Cirno, put her hands on her hips. "I could tell by the tone and tenor of the scream, I can easily guess that Yukari Yakumo's up to her old tricks again."
"You mean gapping in right behind someone to give them a fright?"
"That's right, Daiyousei."
The green-haired fairy, Daiyousei, giggled. "Are you sure that old hag has no fairy in her?"
"Who knows," Cirno said. "But I would never think of doing that cheap shot from behind. Not with how strong I am."
Inside the Hakurei Shrine
"Hey there, Yukari," Marisa said, without a hint of surprise.
Reimu just showed indignation. "Please don't give my guest a heart attack, you Gap Youkai!"
"Wha..what?!" The scream managed to startle Suika out of her drunken stupor, but she just said, "Oh, it's you, crazy umbrella lady. Gapping behind people to jump-scare them again, I see." And she went back to her sake gord. "You need some serious help."
Amber turned around to glare at the long blond-haired woman in a purple dress and a mob cap, holding an umbrella with one hand, and fanning herself with the other. She managed to be standing inside a dimensional tear barely kept in place with two ribbons with spooky looking eyes inside.
While to the other three beings in the room, Yukari Yakumo appearing unannounced without so much as a knock happened so often that they're actually not even impressed. But to Amber Merichello, it almost made her jump out of her skin.
But then again, Yukari did 'gap in' right behind Amber's back.
"Oh, I just heard that we have another visitor," Yukari said, "but instead of some Otaku weeb who might just be dead within six hours, we have someone who actually knows something. Oh, don't glare at me like that, young lady, your face will get stuck that way."
"This is Amber Merichello, a magician from a realm known as Penumaria," Reimu said in introduction. "This is that hag I should have warned you about, Amber, the Gap Youkai, Yakumo Yukari."
"You never say anything nice about me, Reimu." Yukari pouted as she fanned her face, looking over at the table where the six blocks are, guarded in a way by the now drunk-sleeping oni. "But at least, you're already started to collect and investigate the Seal Crystals. Right on form, I must say."
"So you gave them a name?" Reimu asked, arms crossed.
"Yes," Yukari answered. "They have something sealed inside, so I'm calling them Seal Crystals."
Amber and Marisa just shrugged at each other.
"There's actually something inside these cubes, how did you…" Reimu corrected herself. "No, no, no, it's fine, don't tell me. I've just started investigating them, but they seem to be everywhere."
"There was even one in my home," Amber replied. "And that's in..."
"Another realm that is a western fantasy take on Gensokyo," Yukari interjected, "with a magic system of its own to boot. I noticed the Vancian style casting you have, Amber."
Amber had to blink. "You've…been in my world?"
Yukari just fanned her face, giving her the kind of smile a fox would make when she's has mischievous intentions in her mind. "Maybe."
"Don't expect a clear answer from her, Amber," Marisa muttered.
"At first I thought there were more than I expected," Yukari said, "Or perhaps they are replenishing themselves…but to hear of one in another realm…this is more serious than we first thought. Not to mention dangerous, too. Especially if one of them appears in the Outside World." Yukari didn't give anyone time to feel their mouth going dry. "Amber, I take it that you came here when you were figuring out how to open the Seal Crystal you have?"
"I was still figuring out what it was at the time, but I tried twisting it like a puzzle cube." She shrugged. "I could think of worse things to do with something I just found.
Yukari sucked in air through her lips. "Ouch, at least you fared better than me. When I tried to figure one of them out…boom! It exploded."
Reimu and Marisa let out a gasp.
"Whatever it was inside just busted right out of the crystal and streaked into the forest, near Alice's house." Yukari said that with such a carefree voice it was as if she accidentally makes things explode all the time.
"Why would you do something that that?!" Reimu scolded. "Of course, it'd be dangerous!"
"Oh, and I should've said whoever, because I remember sensing that it was indeed…well…at first I thought it was human, but there was a very strong magical energy, like a magician or someone."
"Wait a sec," Marisa said. "Something human just popped out of there and went straight for the forest…"
"That would've been me," Amber replied.
"Apparently so, Amber. All because of these curious little crystals."
"Right." Amber picked up one to hand to Yukari, who turned it around in her hand.
"I'm just theorizing here," Yukari pondered, "but it seems that the two crystals we toyed with connected to each other and formed a portal…a 'gap,' as we call it here. Each of these crystals must have such a gap compressed inside it, but I wouldn't know if they're dimensional rifts, a pocket to store something, a beacon for some alien, or anything else." She paused, and then glanced to Reimu. "Before you ask, Reimu, no, I had no part in making them. They're a mystery even for me."
"I knew you were going to say that," Reimu said. "But if you could get to Penumaria, would you be able to bring Amber back…"
"That would unfortunately take some time…"
What happened next surprised Amber. She knows about the Message cantrip, and she uses it often to keep Nalladrie in the loop. But she didn't expect Yukari to use it.
"Fascinating. I detect a link between you and this Nalladrie, your master. A link I know all too well. This might be a key in finding out a way to get you back home when the time comes. I'll explain later."
As Amber blinked a couple times, her hand reached into a pouch without Reimu and Marisa knowing and pulled out a short length of copper wire. She placed it under her finger as she taped he head with it. With the material component in place, she was able to send out a Message of her own. "Okay."
…this isn't like taking someone in and out of the Outside world. This is, in theory, between two Gensokyos."
"But it can be done, you Gap Hag," Reimu scolded, hands on her hips. "The Scarlet Devil Mansion, the Moriya Shrine, how your shenanigan brought Amber-kun here, need I say more?"
"You see what we youkai have to deal with, Amber," Yukari griped while fanning her face. "Even when she's not shoving danmaku so far up your rump you could taste…"
Reimu snarled, "I Beg Your Pardon!?"
"She has nothing nice to say to anyone."
"You can be able to make a gap back to my world, "Amber replied, "but you just need to know where Penumaria is first, am I correct, Lady Yakumo?"
"See, Reimu," Yukari interjected as she turned to Reimu, "she knows how to respectfully address someone." Reimu growled. "I'm sure I can do that once I do, but I have the suspicion…" Yukari looked up and down Amber. "…that you don't intend to go back anytime soon."
Amber shook her head. "There's something you should know about me: When I stumble into an incident, I won't back away from it. Even if I didn't start it, or if I suffer a setback, I stick to it until I see it through." Amber gave a nod, with a glint of determination in her eyes. "I'm here because of these Seal Crystals, and I'm here for the bottom of them, no matter what."
Yukari gave Amber a slight smile of approval. She delivered another Message to Amber. "I take it this Grandmother Nalladrie you talked about might be worried about you, no, will be worried about you. Once I locate Penumaria, I'll go to her and give her word over what happened to you."
Amber had to tilt her head, enough for Reimu and Amber to notice. That copper wire was still palmed in her hand, so she once again used Message. "Are you a friend with Grammy?'
Yukari gave her a sly smile. "Maybe."
"I knew you'd say that. If you can tell her I'm all right, I'd appreciate it.'
Yukari gave her a wink. 'Of course.'
Amber gave her a smile then turned to Reimu and Marisa. "We could focus more on figuring out more about these Seal Crystals first." She slipped the copper wire back in the pouch and picked up one of the Crystals. "Yukari tried to do something, no doubt to break the seal?"
Yukari shook her head. "At the time, I was just playing around with it, I didn't know what it was then."
Reimu and Marisa rolled their eyes.
"…But the Hakurei Shrine is in a dimensional barrier of its own, within the greater Great Hakurei Barrier. A barrier within a barrier if you think about it."
"There's a joke here, but I don't know what," Amber mused.
Reimu picked up a Seal Crystal. "Maybe that would be of some help if we can figure out these crystals, or at least, keep them from exploding."
"I'll tell you what little I know, Reimu. Maybe you can do a ritual to, either open them safely, or stabilize them so they won't explode."
Reimu stared at the cube she's holding. "I think I can try something with my Ofuda."
"Mind if I watch?" Amber said as she reached into her bad and pulled out the journal she bought earlier before she got spirited to Gensokyo. "An incident this important, I'd like to keep adequate notes."
Reimu turned to Marisa, who just shrugged. "I would've done the same thing."
Reimu then turned to Amber and nodded. But then she blinked, remembering something. "Oh, Amber? Can you promise me one thing?"
"What is it?"
"I wouldn't mind you mentioning Oakroot, but I have to ask you to keep any mention of the Outside World to just the two of us. Especially ZUN and the Touhou Project. For..." She snorted. "…obvious reasons."
Amber nodded as she followed Reimu to the shrine part of the shrine. "Something I had no intention to do anyway. Penumaria's my home now. Whatever's happening there is...of no concern to me."
Reimu noticed the sigh Amber gave, but dismissed it for now.
]]]============[[[
The altar was as humble and spartan as the shrine itself. It resembled a cabinet with a double door inside it. There was various sticks of incense and a cup (for a ball of rice) in one drawer, and in a shelf underneath, there was a major stack of ofuda, one of which Amber put in her journal. "Part of my studies in magic actually involves studying divine practices, such as what you'd be doing," she said. "Sometimes in my world, it's possible for an arcane caster—a magician like me—to emulate something a divine caster can do—such as a Shrine Maiden—and vice versa. I did it with a spell most Paladins use so I can summon a horse to pull a wagon. I don't know if that's possible here in Gensokyo, and I usually take any experiments I make to a space that won't have much collateral damage."
Reimu chuckled. "I take it you seen things blow up in your face on occasion."
"Happens to every magician I know," Marisa added.
Amber set the cubes in a row on the alter, and then stepped back so that the Hakurei Shrine Maiden could do her work. Reimu dutifully placed an ofuda on each of the seal crystals with the care and precision of someone who have done this constantly. She then took a stick of incense…
"Soookaaa, I didn't bring a match with me."
"Here," Amber snapped her fingers and created a flame on her fingertip.
"Arigato."
"Prestidigitation is your friend."
And with it lit the Maiden did her prayer, with the incense in her hands.
Amber just stayed back and watched it happen. She still doesn't know how the divinity works here. She tried to remember whatever or not there is any deities in this shrine, or if the Great Hakurei Barrier was made by nature-based means. Shinto wasn't a religion often practiced back home in Oakroot. And then there's the possibility of her offending a god here. That wouldn't do. She's just grateful that she was able to draw in…
The ofuda started to glow bright, and then jump up from where they stuck on the seal crystals only to dissipate into stardust. Then the seal crystals started to shudder.
"Head's up," Marisa cried.
"That's just like how the one I had…" Yukari commented. From the doorway this time. She knew enough not be in the line of fire.
"Uh oh, Reimu, they're…" Amber said as she leaned forward.
"Watch out!" Reimu held out an arm between Amber and the altar.
But instead of exploding, the cubes that made up these Seal Crystals just popped apart with an audible pak! The pieces hovered a bit and then started to spin around, faster and faster, until it flashed a blinding white.
It faded as soon as it appeared, leaving everyone in the room blinking their vision back into focus. Everything in the room was where it should be, the alter is unharmed. Except, no seal crystals.
"Oh my," Yukari exclaimed. "That was an interesting effect, but at least it didn't explode."
Reimu just sighed. "I should be grateful that the shrine didn't blow up…again…are you all right Amber?" She then turned toward the outlander magician and her eyes went wide.
Amber had in her hand a set of five tall cards, thick and sturdy, with a back side that looked like a Japanese Ofuda, but instead of Kanji, it was some strange language Reimu didn't know.
"I managed to blink just in time," Marisa said. "Something flew out of those crystals and into Amber's hand. One of them went in that notebook she had."
"I didn't do anything, people," Amber said, as if to protest, "I was just sitting…"
Amber saw the glow of the cards fade away, revealing its contents and leaving everyone dumbfounded.
"Amber," Yukari said. "They look like…spell cards."
]]]============[[[
Back at the table, the five cards were laid side by side. All five of them had the word 'Easy' on the top and each had their own distinctive artwork. On the bottom is the name of the card, in three languages: The native Japanese, Common which Amber knows, and English, from the Outside World. Marisa tilted one of the cards and found out that the artwork can animate. "Whoa, someone really worked all night on these cards."
"For the record, the writing on the back is Elvish script. I'll translate it." Amber picked up a card and flipped it on its back: "Opportunities of time vouchsafed by Heaven and advantages of situation afforded by the Earth are not equal to the union arising from the accord of Men." She put it back down face up. "Whatever that means."
Three of them had an Emerald border:
A circle of yin-yang balls that glowed in multiple colors, creating a circle of rainbow colors. The card is named "Spirit Sign: Fantasy Seal."
A wide blast of light coming out of some point. It resembled too much like something that could come out of a Hakkero. In fact, the name gives it all away: "Love Sign: Master Spark."
A long spear with bat wings from it. It looked like it was made out of blood. The name is "Divine Spear: Spear the Gungnir."
Two of them had a Silver Border:
A Five-pointed Star made of danmaku: "Esoterica: Gray Thaumaturgy."
And a set of interlocking spirals that go up to a point and then morphs into a pattern of rows of danmaku. It looked like the bullets shoot out of the center for a certain distance and then slow down: "Large Ring: Hello Forgotten World"
"There are three kinds of Spell Cards, Amber," Reimu said as she looked the cards over. "Attack Cards, which are used like bombs. That's my Fantasy Seal."
"And my Master Spark," Marisa added. "Both Fantasy Seal and Master Spark. You off to a good start-kaze!"
"The second kind of Spell Card is Defense Cards," Reimu continued. "When I set up the spell card system battle, I have is to that the person defending have a deck of these cards, such as Grey Thaumaturgy and Hello Forgotten World. Something tells me that you're going to be needing more than two."
"Maybe we can get more as we crack open more Seal Crystals," Amber added, looking over to Yukari, who was just staring at the cards, scratching her chin.
Marisa scratched her chin. "There's one more kind of spell cards, which we don't have yet: Last Word Cards. These are the ultimate attacks, only to be used as a last resort. You'll need to have a deck that has a series of these defense cards, I'd suggest alternating between weaker and stronger cards, and then have the Last Word on top."
"Weaker and Stronger," Amber mused, scratching her chin. "Could that have anything to do with this 'Easy' on top of these cards?"
"Could be," Marisa replied. "I heard of card games or Gatcha games, and often there's rarity involved. The higher rarity, the more powerful the card..."
"And if I remember right," Amber said. "Touhou games have a series of difficulty settings: Easy, Normal, Hard and Lunatic. I can also put in 'Extra,' if that's possible."
"We've set up a Spell Card system to settle disputes without seriously hurting anyone for some time now," Reimu said, "We found out the hard way that some youkai would rip apart the fabric of reality if they die and…" She chuckled. "I'm the one controlling the Great Hakurei Barrier. It's what the Hakurei Miko does. If I get wacked, the Barrier goes with me, and that would spell disaster, not just to Gensokyo, but to the Outside World as well."
"Gensokyo, if you recall Amber, is a place where youkai can live in…relative peace," Yukari added. "Youkai, Kami, Tengu, Kappa, they found themselves fading away due to the technological advancements and the vanishing of Faith in the Outside World. They were getting desperate, attacking humans who would in turn seek out to slaughter them. The Hakurei Barrier was made to stop that. If that drops and everyone here finds themselves in the modern world…I don't think I need to tell you the rest, Amber?"
Amber blinked for a couple times. It has been a long time since she stepped foot in the outside world, enough for it to be radically changed since the day she left it. "I don't know…and I don't wanna know. I'd just assume it'll be Bad and just leave it at that."
"There's one thing about Spell Card Battles though," Reimu said as she picked up the five cards. "Usually, we end up creating our spell cards. Many of the 'usual suspects' sometimes spend all night designing new spell cards and improving them, making them more powerful and," she tilted her head, "harder to dodge."
"And here I am getting them from these crystals as if they're a pack of game cards," Amber said. "Maybe I should keep track of what these crystals give me. Good thing I got this journal, I…"
Amber opened the journal she thought she'd keep notes in, but when she did.
"What the, the ofuda moved. It's sticking out like it's a bookmark…I don't remember writing this…"
"Oh, I just remembered, my apologies, Amber," Yukari spoke up. "In all the excitement over these spell cards I forgot. With that sixth seal cube, when it opened, I detected an energy making a beeline toward that journal of yours and somehow entered it. Maybe this is the result."
From the front page to the ofuda bookmark, there were the beginning of several stories, each with a detailed drawing. A small block of text appeared underneath them:
The first page had a picture of Reimu:
Reimu Hakurei, the current shrine maiden at Hakurei Shrine. She lives at Hakurei Shrine in Gensokyo. She is an unusual girl with a mysterious air to her that attracts all around her, humans and youkai alike. Since she doesn't get many offerings at the shrine, you can see her flying all around Gensokyo as she resolves incidents for a living.
The next page had a picture of Marisa:
Marisa Kirisame, an unconventional but ordinary magician living in the Forest of Magic. She makes a living exterminating youkai, which puts her in competition with Reimu. She also likes to collect rare and magic items.
The third page had a picture Amber didn't know yet, a girl with an umbrella that had a tongue.
"That's Kogasa Tatara, Amber," Reimu said. "She's a youkai who has this annoying habit of jump scaring people." She glared at Yukari. "Fortunately she's more annoying than scary. What does the book say about it?"
Some people believe that each item and object has its own spirit, and that spirit can become a youkai. Kogasa was originally an umbrella who was thrown away one day, lost and discarded, as it was blown away with the wind, that spirit grew angry over being abandoned. This anger grew to the point where the spirit formed a body of her own.
"Everything has a spirit in them," Amber mused. "That's Shinto for you. Too bad I've yet to find one in Penumaria."
The fourth page had a picture of a girl with short hair and a billowing puffy dress and holding a spear that looked like it was made of some liquid.
"Remilia Scarlet," Marisa said. "Mistress of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Snooty and haughty to a fault. She's also a vampire, but then again the page already tells ya-kaze."
Remilia Scarlet, also known as the Scarlet Devil, is a vampire living in the Scarlet Devil Mansion. As would be expected of a vampire, she drinks blood. But she seldom drinks to the point where the victim dies, or turns.
"I wonder if it's the same with Vampires here," Amber pondered. "In Penumaria, you don't become a Vampire if you get bit by one, even if you die because of it. The vampire has to turn you through a process they call 'Sending Across.' All I know is that it involves the victim drinking the vampire's blood."
And finally, the fifth page had another miko, but the dress was different from Reimu's, her hair was longer, with a snake wrapped around one lock.
"You'll run into her sooner or later," Reimu moaned. "Sanae Kochiya, shrine maiden of the Moriya Shrine, supposed Goddess of her own right, and occasional pain in the ass."
Sanae Kochiya came from the Outside World with a connection to a divine power long forgotten in her home. Feeling progressively detached from a world that has lost faith in gods, she found refuge in a faraway shrine where two goddesses reside: Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya. They took her in when they discovered that she could become a goddess herself.
"These pages are in my handwriting," Amber commented as it flipped pages, "but if I actually wrote and drew them, I would remember it." She counted pages again, and then again, and once more. "It's not just the writing, the pages themselves weren't there before, they got spliced into the book somehow."
"What a mysterious little book," Yukari mused. "And it looks like it has a place to store your spell cards, Amber. There's a pocket in the front cover."
"Let's see." Amber found the pocket and slid the cards inside. "Looks like it stretches too. That's good because I'd be needing a larger deck."
"I have a theory about what happened," Yukari added. "These Crystals contain a sample of the energies related to two things, both originating from Gensokyo. Spell Cards, and Stories. With each crystal you unseal, Amber, Reimu, it will release another card and add another bit of a story in your book."
"Kinda reminds me of a certain crow tengu I know," Marisa said, then added to Amber, "Aya Shameimaru. I'm sure you know her when you see her."
"As long as you do that ritual here in the Hakurei Shrine, you'll be able to unseal them safely. At least that's one mystery solved," Yukari said.
"And two more pop up in its place," Amber added as she flipped over to the back of the journal. "I'll still be using this to keep notes. Why did that crystal turn this into a chronicle instead of spitting out another spell card, and would it be the same as someone else successfully unsealed them?"
"Both, I'm afraid, is still a mystery," Yukari said. "But what we do know makes clear one thing: These Seal Crystals can be dangerous if they were to remain scattered. The seals become undone whenever they interact with any strong power, be it spiritual or magical. I'm also still convinced that they might be different for each person."
"Yeah, Amber here can make Spell Cards out of them," Marisa said, "When Yukari tried it, it went BOOM!"
Reimu added, "Who knows what else would come out of them. I'm sure there are others who want to try their luck with these things. They might end up creating another incident, which we don't need right this moment."
"Incidents within Incidents," Amber muttered. "That's not good."
"It might disrupt Gensokyo's equilibrium utterly," Yukari continued. "We have enough regular incidents as it is. Also, if Amber's presence here is of any indication, the Seal Crystal Incident is just just contained within Gensokyo! This could be a worst case scenario: The very first inter-dimensional incident."
Amber whistled and looked toward Reimu, who had a very concerned expression.
"The Hakurei Barrier was made to keep that from happening," Yukari finished, "but it only works with the Outside World. We didn't count on another Gensokyo entirely."
Marisa let out her textbook smile she makes when she about to solemnly swear that she's up to no good. "We just have to collect all the crystals, right? Sounds fun! I'll go looking for them, maybe touch back with others out and about. I'm sure that some people have already got a bunch. I'll bring 'im here so that you and Reimu can deal with them, Amber."
"And I'll be getting more Spell Cards as we crack this case, making me more useful in a danmaku battle."
Reimu stood up. "Whenever I run into an incident that I don't know much about, Amber, I always go around and touch base with, ahem, the usual suspects. I have a particular order in doing so, starting with the Scarlet Devil Mansion. We'll start later on tonight, after the sun sets."
"She's a vampire, right," Amber asked, "It makes perfect sense."
"We can figure out how to get these Spell Cards to work, and get you started on learning Spell Card battles during the time we're waiting."
"Well, now that I can see you three will be OK, I'm going to head off, if you get in trouble, let me know. I'll help if there's a gap nearby…heeheehee."
And with that, Yukari slid into a gap, making it disappear behind her.
Amber had to ask. "Uh, one question, Reimu, Marisa…how can we contact her?"
They both shrugged.
"That's the Gap Youkai for ya," Marisa said. "She says she'll help, but she's really leaving all the work for us."
"I can also set up a place for you here in the shrine if you wish," Reimu added.
"As much as I'd enjoy your hospitality, Reimu-san, I have a wagon that I use as a base camp. I was about to go on some questing anyway and was getting everything ready when the Seal Crystal happened."
Reimu raised an eyebrow. "I didn't see you bringing a whole wagon with you. Where'd you keep it?"
Amber merely pulled out that shoulder bag from behind her. It looked no bigger than a purse to the other two, and it had a colorful face on it. But then she put her hand in…then her whole arm!
"Whoa," Reimu said with a tilted head, "that bag's bigger on the inside."
Marisa, however, had stars in her eyes. "Is that a Bag of Holding?! I've heard of them but never seen one! Reimu, you can put practically everything you own in that and carry it around easy."
"Yeah, this is a hand-me-down from my Grammie. It's a whole lot better than a backpack, I tell ya. But you have to be careful with it. You don't want it to rip, tear, or have the inside cut, you'll lose everything in there. What you really don't want to do is put it inside any other extra-dimensional container or vice versa. It would be bad. Dividing by zero bad."
Marisa snapped her fingers. "Instant raging black hole?"
"You got it. Oh yeah, here it is." Amber pulled out the felt case and opened it up to reveal the bottle with the stagecoach. "Just uncork the bottle and say a command word and it'll pop right out."
"I've seen Alice having a couple of these. Fairy Bottles, she calls them. She keeps all her excess stored doll parts in there so that her house doesn't look creepy. Pretty understandable, given all the dolls she has."
"I'll look for a place to put it in a bit, but now…" Amber sets down the bottle and picks up Spell Cards. "Let's see if I can use these things. Always fun times."
]]]============[[[
The dirt field Reimu used for danmaku practice wasn't much, just half a basketball court size plot with a couple straw dummies to bat around. "I only use it to warm up before I start my day," Reimu said. "Every now and then I hear about someone making a more up to date facility." Marisa managed to flit away on her broom—no doubt doing her own investigation, hopefully she'll share her findings—and Suika returned to the roof so she can watch.
"I normally go anywhere where I can't hurt anyone by mistake or some abandoned shack that nobody would mind if it blew up. Amber faced the dummy and reached into the journal pocket. "I'll do your card for a test run, Reimu." Amber whipped out the card with two fingers. She pressed it against her head and concentrated. "Draw in the mana, release the power."
As the card started to glow, Reimu could notice a breeze come in from all directions making Amber's skirt billow and her hair lift and sway.
Amber lifted the card high. "Spell Card!"
Reimu didn't expect Amber's version of the Fantasy Seal to be as powerful as hers, but she was impressed that she was able to summon those eight balls. Amber's balls had a series of interconnecting knots instead of yin-yang symbols. Later on, she'll find out that they were Celtic in style.
"Shinrei…Musou Fuuin!"
The eight orbs flew out as if launched, they hurl over to the dummy to explode on impact. Each one created a small fireball of colored light where it hit.
"Ha!" Amber exclaimed. "It works."
"Yatta!" Reimu pumped her fist.
"Not bad for a start, Reimu, I can only go up from there." Amber chuckled. "With more practice and more cards, I'll be able to really get good."
"You're being too modest, Amber."
"I'm trying to avoid the pitfall of being complacent. I know you can do it better than I right now."
"As an Otaku would say, hold my sake," Reimu said as she moved to where Amber stood, who stepped out of the way, and then back a couple more paces.
Reimu draw a card of her own. "The powers the lie with Hakurei…Release!" The card glowed. "Spell Card! Shinrei: Musou Fuuin!"
The orbs she flung out, in the more familiar yin-yang visuals, smacked with ten times the intensity. Amber had to leap and flip out of the way of the much larger fireballs.
"Whoa," Amber said with a wide smile, too thrilled to see a Fantasy Seal this close and not get hit by it. "That's amazing, Reimu-san."
"Meh," Reimu just said, nonchalantly so, while swinging her arm around. "I didn't put any umpth in it. Wait til you see me get serious."
Amber turned to her two Defense Cards. "I'm going to need more then these two, but I guess I should find out how they work."
"And I could use a bit of sparring to warm up anyway," Reimu said as she crossed over to the dummies and faced Amber. "Let's see if you can hit me with one of them."
Amber drew the Grey Thaumaturgy card and chuckled. "Prepare to dodge, duck, dip, dive, and dodge."
Reimu had to laugh. "I actually know the reference."
Moriya Shrine, on top of Youkai Mountain
Ever since the Moriya Shrine was transported from the Outside World into Gensokyo, the denizens there kept an eye on their primary rival, the Hakurei Shrine. In fact, they selected their location in the event that they had to do this. Kanako Yasaka, one of the two goddesses of the shrine, knew that they'd have a target on their rears the instant they step here, and Kanako was proven right when the shrine's presence started the 'Mountain of Faith' incident. It has since been eclipsed by other incidents, and a tentative truce has been made between the two shrines, but the cold rivalry still goes on.
The one thing that the Moriya Shrine has above the Hakurei Shrine, outside of literally having the high ground, is finances. Despite sketchy relations with the tengu who live there, they have come to an agreement, with a roadway that leads from the Human Village to the shrine, of which every inch of the road is meticulously watched and check-pointed. This brings humans as well as some youkai in Gensokyo to the Shrine, which means that their donation box gets filled easily. Unlike the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, who has to depend on that idiotic drunken video game designer…what's his name…it's not important…to keep her shrine from falling the rest of the way apart.
Because of this, and with some ingenuity of some humans who knew of Outside World technology, the shrine enjoys some amenities. Wind power, for starters; they have plenty of wind thanks to being on a mountain top. One follower came from the outside with a couple computers to boot. No, Gensokyo does not have the Internet—Thank The Gods!—but that didn't stop the Moriya Shrine from setting up a surveillance system. Including a telescopic camera mounted on a Torii aimed straight down to the Hakurei Shrine. And a dedicated touchscreen monitor where said camera pipes what it sees constantly.
This monitor is watched by a woman in an elaborate red and white dress with a mirror over her chest and a huge twisting rope circle behind and above her, with poofy blue hair, dark red eyes, and an air of divinity exuding from her.
"Reimu's warming up," she said as she watched them on the screen. "But who's that with her?"
"Someone's with the Hakurei Miko, Kanako-sama?" said a young woman in a flowing blue version of a Miko dress, with long green hair with a snake-like adornment on one lock of hair. "I would've expected Reimu to get ready to so the Usual Suspects Crawl with all these blue crystals appearing all over Gensokyo. It's clearly incident material."
"Wait a sec…look at this." Kanako reached over to the touch-screen monitor and used two fingers to make the camera zoom. It focused on the new girl, in a purple witch costume and an overly decorated hat. "At first, I thought Marisa wouldn't be caught dead dressed like that, but then I noticed that it's a totally different girl. I almost dismissed her as just another Otaku, but do you see what she's doing, Sanae?"
The shrine maiden, one Sanae Kochiya, gasped when she saw what was on the screen. "Is that…danmaku? Whoever this girl is, she's sparring with Reimu!"
An amused smile stretched on Kanako. "Looks like we have a new player to the game." She chuckled.
"Do you know her, Kanako-Sama?"
Kanako shook her head. "No, never seen her before, but it ties into a theory I have."
"The one about there being alternative Gensokyos?"
Kanako nodded. "And this girl must be from one such alternate."
"Do you think she could be a problem?"
"Don't know yet, Sanae-kun. But I'm sure that Reimu would have her in tow when she eventually gets to us. With all those blue cubes we keep finding, she's bound to start her usual checking out the usual suspects. Plenty of time for me to learn more about this…Amber is it? That's what I'm getting from reading Reimu's lips."
From this distance, Kanako can get a telescope to look down to the Hakurei Shrine—and have it hidden so that Reimu won't find it—and see what's going on there, but picking up sound from this distance is still out of the question.
Sanae looked at the screen intently. "She looks like a total novice when it comes to Danmaku. I don't think she'll be a…"
And that's when she saw Amber form a five-pointed star of Danmaku, which made five five-pointed stars, which streaked over to an aptly dodging Marisa.
"Sanae," Kanako said, her jaw hanging. "Was that what I think it is?"
"That's Esoterica: Gray Thaumaturgy…that's my spell card…"
Sanae just stood there, wide eyes in disbelief.
"…She's using my spell card..."
Her teeth clenched, her fists tightened, her brow lowered, and her voice raised.
"…She Borrow-Ze'd My Spell Card!"
The Moriya Shrine Maiden glared at Amber on the screen, eyes of a fire that brought a smile on Kanako's face.
"Let this Amber come, Kanako-sama! It's not enough that she had to dress like Marisa, she has to be a Spell Card Thief as well?! I'm going to have some words with this little rat!"
Hakurei Shrine
"I'll still help out about the shrine, Reimu, if you're wondering."
"I was hoping you would." Reimu looked at Suika, who was on the roof, scratching her rump. "Normally people just lounge around here."
Amber found a clearing and measured it with her thumb. "This looks like a good spot. And there's a path down that slope that I can roll it down."
"It winds around the main stairs." Reimu shrugged. "Sometimes we get a food cart visit us, and they appreciate having a ramp here. And I just noticed that there's people with wheelchairs over at the Human Village, so I needed to be accessible."
"Hopefully I won't block it, here goes. This bottle has a phrase command to work." Amber popped out the cork and aimed it at the open area. "Here me now from times immortal, send my wagon out from the portal!"
A cackling stream of light streaked out of the mouth of that bottle, landing on the grassy field before her. It formed a shape that grew and morphed into it looked like a silhouette of a wagon, and then the light faded to reveal a stagecoach wagon, ornate and colorful, with ribbons hanging off the sides and a wind chime tinkling in the breeze. It gave Reimu some gypsy vibes from what she read about the Outside World.
"I think I might have overdone the decorations," Amber mused as she opened the door on the side to show what was inside. "There's a bed on one end, a table to work on at the other. You can see storage shelves up on the ceiling. Books are inside the benches; under three locks and some wards may I add…"
"That's probably for Marisa," Reimu mused. "Talk about prepared."
(Hovering over the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Marisa just sneezed. "Dammit, Reimu, you talking bad about me to Amber, aren't'cha?")
"I have some storage of regents in weather-proofed chests on the roof and," Amber went to the back and lifted an awning. "A kitchen with an awning and mesh screens. I might need to pull water off that well for cooking and brewing." She then pulled down a ramp and wheeled something that resembled a cheap barbecue pit, only much sturdier. A small caldron on a frame, and I can use my Hakkero for a fire. You'll be seeing me making some needed brews."
"Heh, just like Marisa. You use mushrooms?"
"Find me a magician anywhere in any realm that doesn't use mushrooms? I have this to be like a portable camp, so that I can easily build up and break down." Amber then moved to the front of the wagon, above the door. "And then there's this, for when I have more people around me."
Amber pulled out a folding wooden palate in front of that door that eventually spread out to a ten-foot square, followed by another awning, which had a tarp on each side and in front which she tied up to form a tent. A tent with which she pulled out a round table and four chairs from some cleverly hidden panels on the wagon to set inside. "I can have people come in, have tea, tell fortunes, whatever."
"It's like a Kirisame Magic Shop on wheels," Reimu chuckled. "Whoever made this stagecoach was a total genius."
At this time, a snap of a camera shutter can be heard behind them.
Reimu sighed without even turning around to face who's coming, "Ugh, a noisy one came. Hey there, Aya."
Amber looked behind her to see what she thought was someone as tall as her, but then she realized that the shoes she was wearing had stilts. Black miniskirt with a white blouse with pens and a pocket-sized notebook in a pocket, small black feathered wings on her back, and a strange looking red box with streamers coming out of it atop of her short black hair.
"The pure and honest Aya Shameimaru thanks you for your support, Hakurei Miko" she proclaimed. "Here's your copy of the latest BunBunMaru Newspaper."
"Thanks," Reimu said without a tone of enthusiasm as she reaches behind her to grab it.
"Would you like to perform some extravagant incident resolution?" Aya leaned into Reimu's ears. "How about all those blue blocks that are appearing everywhere in Gensokyo?"
"Those blue blocks, you say?" Amber said as she asked for the paper. "It just so happens that I'm helping the Hakurei Shrine Maiden do just that."
"That's just excellent, Marisa," Aya said, nodding with her eyes closed. "Nice to know you're right on…" Then she opened it and saw who she was talking to. Then the other eye. Then she looked her up and down. "…you're not Marisa."
Amber smiled. "Neither are you."
"This is Amber Merichello, a magician from another world known as Penumaria, they're having the same problem with what we're calling Seal Crystals."
"Oh, that's excellent, you getting some help…"
That's when it hit her.
"…from a magician from another world? That isn't the Outside World!?" That's when she started snapping nearly a dozen pictures of Amber. "Whoa! An actual magician from another planet! This is the scoop of the century!"
Reimu didn't know what to moan more, Aya's tendency for exaggeration or Amber egging her on with posing to the pictures. She just tried to get the tengu back on track. "I take it that your latest issue's got some leads on Soul Crystals, right?"
"Oh, of course, the BunBunMaru Newspaper is invincible. No incident is too small for us to report on it."
"This paper's in the local language, oh well, that's what Comprehend Languages is for. Step into my office here, my winged friend, I'd like to compare notes with you. And since you've passing this paper all over creation, I'd like to let people know a bit about me. Who I am, what I'm doing here, reassuring people that I come in peace."
Reimu was shaking her head and her hand as if to stop her. "I don't think that's a good idea, Amber-kun. Aya tends to exaggerate things. She might make you appear like an American Comic Book Superhero."
Aya let out a gasp. "I would never do that, Reimu!"
"You did just that to that air-headed dimension jumper with those dousing rods, Aya. What's his name? Something something Houlen from something Mugenri something?"
Amber just looked over her shoulder as she turned to the tarp opening of the front tent. "As long as I don't have to worry about getting burned at the stake, I wouldn't mind the publicity." She turned to Aya. "I'll only ask that you put it on Page 2, Aya. Leave the Front Page for more important incidents."
"Got it," Aya said as she pulled out her pocket-sized notebook.
"Gods be with her," Reimu muttered, a bead of sweat large enough to fill an extra large cup from the combini in the Human Village appearing under her hair bow. "She knows not what she's doing."
End of Episode 2
Liner Notes: The story order.
Well, I did state that I would continue the story if there was enough interest, and I'm happy to report that there was. I didn't expect it to break fanfiction dot net, of course; being that it's the first time I ever posted there, and it's been what, 30 years I've been on the internet? 40? But I got enough feedback and comments to encourage me to go on. A little positive feedback goes a long way.
I'd like to add a section where I can post up answers to Frequently Asked Questions, bits of lore that make up their own wall of text, discussions on anything interesting going on and if I can get enough people interested in Amber enough to warrant writing her own story, even better. I know having a document here would be out of place. Fortunately, fanfiction dot net has a forum feature that I can have something set up for just that. You can access it at fanfiction dot net slash forum slash David-Foxfire-at-FanFiction-dot-net slash 233562 slash. But here's the first one to put in the FAQ file:
Q: How will the story follow the game, will it go through the Event and Extra Stories, or maybe even the Tower.
The story will follow, more or less, the events in the game. There will be, of course, differences. Amber's not amnesiac, and the Seal Crystals act different. They'd also be some added fluff inspired by other sources, such as animated series, other video games, graphic novels, and so on. To deter spoiling the game's recent events, I will let a month pass between the release of a chapter in the game and having it happen here. Of course, there's a lot of material already, so I won't have to worry about that now.
Here's the sequence of events: With the initial scene (Teatime as Usual?) taken care of, we'll continue on through the Prologue. I'd probably expand on this and take things in game order: Starting at the Scarlet Devil Mansion with the next episode, then going to Hakugyokurou, then Eientei, and finally the Moriya Shrine in Youkai Mountain. If I need to blow more time to make sure that my time limit remains clean, I'll have Amber visit other locations. She's definitely going to Kourindou and the Human Village.
After a day or so (so that Amber can acclimate herself to the local color. Yes, she's getting a kimono, stop crying,) she'll stumble into the first Lost Word Incident, Gensokyo Isle. I'll have the events take place in between the chapters so Phantom-Human Maid for a Day comes next, and then the Scarlet Devil Tower Incident, followed by Airsoft: Moon Rabbits vs Kappa and so on from there.
I'll be treating the Extra chapters like their own Incident, even though they're related to previous incidents. There's a good chance that I'll do Space War for Two, after that it's the next chapter and then the next event. (At this time, we know what it is, but the month time limit didn't pass yet, so they're not shown here.)
The Tower challenge event will be treated differently, and I'll tell you more when I…ahem…actually think the idea up.
Preview of Episode 3
"It is not with malice that I now have human servants, Lady Amber. These people came to me voluntarily, who wish to pay me tribute. Perhaps the same could be said of you, my dear, if what Patchy told me is of any portent. Hehehehehe…What is a human, magician, but a miserable little pile of secrets…er…I'd toss this, but Sakuya'd kill me."
Yeah. I go there. I did warn you this will offend the easily offended, did I?
