Rebuild of Touhou
2.0: Awaken in the (Blinding) Light
The scene was one of impressive chaos outside of Human Town-3. Just yesterday night an unknown person had engaged the Angel Rumia. It was morning now, and the inhabitants of Human Town-3 had awoken to find that they were still alive. Having spent most of the day cowering hidden in underground shelters; they emerged to find the morning sun still shone upon a completely intact city. The shield was still up; every house was as complete as it had been the day before when the call had been made to take shelter in the nearest bunker. Curious and concerned civilians streamed to the outside to survey the aftermath of the fateful battle.
On the scene, wreckage and rubble were strewn about like scattered marbles. The path had been gouged multiple times by something sharp; blood stained the path and grass in long streaks that stretched from a fallen light pole to a large crater that had been blasted into the ground beside the path. BIRD officials were already there; several stretchers were there with them. Four were covered with thick sheets; the fifth was being covered as the crowd began to congregate around the area.
"Please, please step back." Sakuya held her hands out to rebuff the crowd as it tried to inch closer to the stretchers for a look at their occupants. They had been there the whole night; trying to make sense of the chaos that had ensued and recover their assets before the public could figure anything out. The surly crowd milled about and tried to push against her; she held firm and kept them from getting too close. "Patchy, can we clear out yet?"
"If you're willing to leave the scene a wreck; then sure."
"We can leave that to the daily workers- it's important that we get all of these casualties back to base before they get unstable." The crowd grew more anxious at this; Sakuya now had to physically push people back from the stretchers as the crowd began to surge against her. "Hurry up, before this crowd goes mad- hey!" A flash under her shoulder; a short girl in a pink dress and cap with light blue hair had managed to duck under Sakuya's outstretched arm and was now running for the stretchers. "Stop!"
Remilia Scarlet ran for the stretchers because her sister had gone missing during the call to take shelter the previous night. Remilia had been five when her sister Flandre had been born; had been eight when their mother and father had taken notice of Flandre's inability to develop communication skills or connect with other children. Diagnostics taken by their doctors confirmed that Flandre had autism. Her distraught parents had few options during the panic of post-Impact Gensokyo; no programs for such a child existed in the turmoil of the day. They had kept her home; tried to provide for her special needs as best they could and live a peaceful life.
Remilia had memories of caring for Flandre while her parents tried to find steady work in the chaos of the day. Once one of the richest families in Gensokyo as the vampire possessors of the Scarlet Mansion, all these properties had been stripped from them by the disaster that was the Second Impact; they had been reduced to near-poverty and forced at times to scavenge for their own food. While her parents were out Remilia often did her best to care for her troubled sister; who often lashed out violently for no apparent reason at some times. They developed a close bond; Remilia began to see herself as Flandre's confidante and only friend; and as a result grew extremely protective of her younger sister.
By the time that Remilia hit the age of thirteen things were beginning to look up. The family had managed to stabilize itself financially once more; their father had a governmental job and they could put decent meals of actual fresh blood on the table once more. He received a promotion and they got a decent doctor for Flandre and she began to wrest her way from being in a state of crippling introversion to living life as a normal human being. Remilia was able to go to school; they got a homely condominium in Human Town-3. Like many at the time; the Scarlet family began to think that the worst was behind them.
And then an unforeseen disaster had struck. Remilia remembered it, clear as day; as having occurred just under a year ago, a month following her birthday in February. It had been an ordinary day by all accounts; her father was out and Flandre was in the kitchen making drawings. Remilia had been listening to music, as she always did while waiting for their mother to get home from her daily groceries. Nothing unusual in that; nor in the fact that Remilia had fallen asleep while waiting. Not unusual was that she had awaken six hours later. What was unusual was that their mother still wasn't there.
Flandre had been over the bed; eyes tearing as she shook her sister to wakefulness. She had shouted something about their mother; what exactly it was Remilia could never recall, it always played to fast for her to make out the words. They had run out: searched the house, alerted their father, alerted the authorities. Four hours of frantic search turned up nothing. For two days notices went up around the neighborhood. But their mother was never seen again.
The search had been called off. And nothing had ever been the same since. Their father was cold, distant; spent much on alcohol and often wasn't home. Flandre scared off her doctor; went back to her unsociable self. Remilia could only watch helplessly as her family life fell apart. She kept going to school but turned away all her old friends and remained shut up within herself; mourning her mother and reminiscing on old memories. Ironically the only thing she could think about her mother was that she missed her mother's cooking. She had always had a great hand and turning simple blood into all variety of delicious meals. Remilia couldn't remember any more. Or perhaps she didn't want to.
Seveal months later life had settled into a new routine. A law was passed that required all students of proper age to attend public school; so Remilia would struggle every day to force Flandre to attend their local elementary building. Eventually Flandre was able to grow comfortable and even made a friend or two; though she was still irate and prone to bursting into her old rages at home. Their father managed to get a hold of himself and went back to work; often coming home early to cook for the three and try to maintain a cheery attitude at home. Remilia made a friend at school in martial arts enthusiast Hong 'China' Meiling. And then life once more was back to normal.
So it was natural for Remilia to have been wrought by worry when not seeing her sister amongst those who had piled into the shelter closest into their house. Flandre was easily distracted; sometimes she could blithely ignore obvious danger if it wasn't obvious to her. The danger was broadcast with a relatively monotone and quiet alarm; Flandre could easily have discounted the warning and wandered off on her own. Remilia had spent a sleepless night pacing the shelter worrying over her younger sister. She reached the nearest stretcher; the one still being covered. She knocked away the paramedics and tossed the cover away.
Blonde hair with a round pink hat drawn tight by red bow over it. Red eyes; only common to a vampire. Red dress with pink sleeves. Colorful artificial wings affixed to her back which Remilia had made for her during her fifth birthday. It was Flandre alright. She was clearly unconscious; an arm was bent at an unnatural angle and her clothes were stained with blood. Remilia carefully sniffed at the stains. It was Flandre's own blood. Remilia dropped to her knees, gulped heavily and took deep breaths as she tried to remain collected. She had already lost one- she didn't want to lose another. One of the paramedics she had thrown aside timidly approached her; she whirled around on her and asked:
"Flandre. Is Flandre going to be alright?" She caught the paramedic's shoulders and rattled her slightly. The paramedic nodded hastily; Remilia breathed a sigh of relief. "How is she? Why did this happen to my sister?"
"Your sister had the misfortune to be caught outside when our forces engaged the Angel." Sakuya had given up on keeping the crowd at bay and they now surged forth around the meido to survey the bodies for themselves. "Start moving the bodies." The paramedics saluted and began to wheel the stretchers away before the public could get a good look at any of the persons being treated. They moved the four covered bodies and were ready to move Flandre before Remilia put a firm hand on the stretcher and held it fast.
"You still haven't elaborated."
"Please," Sakuya held up her hands as a gesture of peace. "Your sister needs medical attention. A lamp post fell on her side- she has two cracked ribs and a broken arm- I'm sure you understand the urgency here." Remilia relinquished Flandre and the paramedics began to move her into the city. Remilia looked after the stretcher for a second before turning back to Sakuya.
"Tell me." Remilia examined the girl's maid uniform; noted the tears and burns that indicated combat. She was obviously from some military unit; given that this was Human Town-3 it was more likely than not BIRD. "Please. I know some stuff will be classified; but I have to know." She clasped her hands together; bore her eyes deep into Sakuya's own. Sakuya blinked; nodded before breaking eye contact. She spoke with a heavy voice:
"The battle, which must remain classified by BIRD protocol; nearly ended in disaster for our forces. We only barely survived; but one of our pilots was thrown against said lamp post and critically injured. It fell- I'm sure you can figure out the rest." Remilia nodded slowly; Sakuya turned back to her and offered her an apologetic shrug. "I'm sorry about this; rest assured that your sister will be given full treatment and should quickly recover."
"Yeah..." Remilia glanced around the ruined path where crowds were now examining the damages dealt in earnest. She glanced into the distance; hoping to catch a glimpse of Flandre. She saw nothing; the stretcher was already gone. "And just who exactly would that pilot be?"
"That I can't say."
Alice awoke in a cold sweat. She bolted up and looked about her; eyes frenzied as she remembered the battle, half expecting to see Rumia still standing over her. There was nothing, nobody. The room was clean white; bare except for the bed that Alice had been laid into. Alice rubbed her eyes, checked again; still she found that she was alone and safe. She sighed; dropped back into her bed as sudden wariness overcame her.
She remained like that for a minute before figuring that it would be best to find out what exactly had happened after she had been knocked out. Alice pulled herself out of bed; rubbing her eyes, she made her way over to a window and pulled open it's drapes. Bright light streamed forth; Alice shut her eyes against their intensity and moved away, irritated by the pain. It was already morning; so Alice assumed that she must have spent the night in this hospital. She felt no pain; whoever had recovered her had done a thorough job. Alice made her way over to the room's door and made her exit.
The halls were sterile; devoid of life and lit with extremely bright synthetic lights. Alice made her way down the corridor; examining herself she noted that nobody had changed her clothes from the previous night. There were gashes and bloodstains; Alice wondered which of them were hers and which the Angels. She tried to recall what had happened the previous night; the appearance of a dull throbbing in her head told her that it was best left alone. She continued to move down the corridor until she came by an open door. As she passed it; idle curiosity made her chance a look into the room.
A girl was pulling herself out of bed. Alice stopped; noticing something familiar about her. Blonde hair; robotic expression. Alice suddenly remembered that this was the leader of BIRD Division-2; Medicine Melancholy; though she was wearing a nightgown instead of her standard battle garb. She hesitated for a second; then entered the room.
"Miss Melancholy!" Medicine looked up at the noise; Alice held a hand up in greeting. Medicine acknowledged the greeting with a nod and got to her feet. She crossed the room and extended a hand to Alice, who took it warmly. "I'm glad to see that you are still well- I was concerned after I saw that bomb go off in the forest."
"I got away in time- I was only moderately injured." Alice nodded as Medicine indicated her arms, where the skin was reddish and blistered. "Second degree- they hurt like hell but I'm good otherwise." Medicine made her way back to her bed where a small trunk had been set up; pulled out a set of clothes and gestured for Alice to close the door. Alice did so as Medicine began to change; still speaking, "I should be back in action in two weeks- though I'll need to find a new bunch to lead around." Alice gave Medicine a questioning look; Medicine nodded. "My company was in the thick of that mess. I'm not yet sure; but I think they're all dead."
Alice grimaced as she turned away to give Medicine privacy. "How horrible."
Medicine shrugged; removed her nightgown and began to dress. "I was sort of expecting something like that. They were only human after all- versus an Angel it's no wonder they got thrashed." She tied a red bow into her hair.
"That's a bit pessimistic; don't you think?"
"Not really, no. Humans aren't meant to do that kind of thing." Medicine pulled a book from her trunk; tossed it to Alice who turned in time to catch it. Alice glanced at the cover; it was a paperback entitled 'The World as Will and Representation'. Alice looked at the book; glanced at Medicine, now fully dressed in a dark red blouse and lighter shaded skirt. Civilian clothing; which sort of surprised Alice.
"What exactly is this thing about?"
"The idea of human will. How the drive of a man leads him to live life as he does." Medicine gestured for the book; Alice nodded and gave it back. As Medicine returned the book to it's place in her trunk; Alice suddenly realized something.
"Miss Melancholy?" Medicine grunted. "Why do you keep referring to humans in the third person?" Due to the power-loss that most youkai had suffered following Second Impact; even non-humans in Gensokyo now fell under the blanket term of humanity. "Aren't you a human or youkai yourself?" Medicine sighed, motioned for Alice to come closer. Alice did so; raised an eyebrow as Medicine began to remove the blouse that she had just finished putting on.
"Miss Morichika; while what you are about to see is theoretically not a secret, I ask that you not tell anybody about it." Alice nodded assuredly at Medicine; she pulled the blouse off. Alice gasped; eyes widening at the sight. A metallic band gleaned in the light; running down her back from the nape of her neck to her waist and presumably beyond. Smaller bands branched off from this strip; they wrapped around her from back to front, coolly glinting in the light of the room. Alice looked to Medicine for a conformation; she nodded. "I refer to humans in the third person because I myself am not one. I am a machine- more accurately a doll; since I was actually developed as one of the prototypes for Shanghai. That was before they figured out that full sentience was a bad idea."
"So you were made by BIRD?" Alice got as close an examination of the bands as she could without making it awkward. Medicine nodded; gestured with her hand for Alice to step away. Alice complied and Medicine redressed.
"That's why I work for them; I was a failed version of Shanghai but at the same time I was to sentient for them to dispose of in good conscience." Medicine began to make for the door of the ward with Alice following behind. "Thus they kept me and made me into one of their solders." Medicine held the door open for Alice; she stepped out and was followed by Medicine who quietly shut the door behind them. "And that's my life's story." Medicine smiled ruefully.
"I'm sorry." Alice offered the apology to Medicine.
"Don't be. It wasn't your fault." Medicine and Alice continued down the hospital corridor. "I blame nobody but myself- unlike humans I'm willing to face the consequences of my actions. I could end it at anytime. I could jump off the Pyramid and that would be that." They were at an elevator now; Medicine called it with the button and the doors slid open. Alice made to join her but Medicine shook her head; instead gesturing for Alice to continue following the corridor. "But I don't. My will is too strong for me to die." Medicine offered Alice a smile for a split second before the doors sealed.
Alice remained there for a second, unsure of what to do next. She then figured that it would be easiest to follow Medicine's instructions and made her way down the corridor. As she walked she reflected on what Medicine had said about her will. Medicine's monotone and usually unreadable expressions made it difficult for Alice to tell just how seriously Medicine was affected by her unusual condition. It was still troubling Alice when she entered the hospital lobby.
A large expanse of empty benches were arranged into rows in the room. There were several sets of elevators set into the wall opposite; a clock set into the wall above them read noon. Alice looked around the room; there was nobody there. Thinking that Medicine had probably wanted the elevator to herself; Alice made for the elevator bank. She was about to call for one when one of the elevators rung and the door slid open. Alice turned to see who had arrived; Tenshi stepped out.
Mother and daughter considered each other in silence. Alice shifted on her feet uncomfortably; she was still confused by her previous outburst. Tenshi crossed her arms; motioned with her head for Alice to sit down. Alice wearily approached the nearest bench and tentatively sat down; keeping an eye on Tenshi as she did so. Tenshi remained in place; arms crossed as she coldly considered Alice.
"I've been sent to debrief you." Alice inclined her head slightly; Tenshi continued. "The battle with Angel Rumia did culminate in your victory at 2359 last night. You were moderately injured during the battle and recovered by BIRD for recuperation." Tenshi sniffed. "You are up; which means that you have made a full recovery."
"I feel fine; thanks for asking," Alice responded with a hint of dryness.
"I didn't ask."
"I noticed." Alice held her eyes evenly with Tenshi's own; they remained deadlocked for several minutes before Alice eventually broke off. She continued in as neutral a tone as she could manage, "Was anybody else hurt in the process?"
"A civilian by the name of Flandre Scarlet. She suffered from multiple broken ribs and a broken arm and is still being treated." Alice looked down slightly at this; hurting anybody besides the Angel had never been her intention. She had felt the innate power in Shanghai while wielding her; like crackling energy that made her fingers tremble at the marionette's controls. She prayed that this Flandre hadn't been hurt too severely. "You managed to minimize civilian casualties despite the less than favorable circumstances."
"Minimize?" The callous manner in which Tenshi talked about the commoners as if their lives meant nothing disturbed Alice. "Nobody should have been hurt." Alice looked up at Tenshi once more. "So is that it then?"
"No. We will need you for further operations; as the Angels seem to be bearing down on us in their entirety now that we have killed one of their number." Alice sighed.
"Sure enough," Alice dryly responded as she began to pull herself up from her seat. "So I'll be staying on BIRD premises I assume?"
"Yes."
"Well then, lets go." Tenshi cocked her head and raised her eyebrows in confusion; Alice pressed on. "If I'm going to be staying at BIRD and working with you all then I'm going to be living with you, right?" Tenshi shook her head:
"I said nothing of the sort. I only said that you would be staying with BIRD- I did not mention anything about your living arrangements." Now it was Alice's turn to be confused; she ran a hand through her hair and began to speak:
"But I assumed that-"
"Whatever your assumptions are; they are wrong." Tenshi was already turning away; she had already called the elevator. "I will not be dwelling with you; I have already made inquiries and we have determined that you will stay with Miss Sakuya Izayoi." The elevator door rolled open; Tenshi stepped into it and hit the button for another floor. Alice remained there in silence up until the last second. As the elevator rung once more to confirm it's destination; Alice cried out:
"Why?" Their gazes met once more as the elevator door began to slide shut. Time seemed to slow as mother and daughter considered one another. Tenshi's response floated out just as the elevator door sealed shut.
"Because I don't want to deal with you." Tenshi was gone. Alice stood there; the sound of the elevator noisily rattling away faded out. Her blood was boiling once more; Alice clenched her fists and struggled to remain calm. "Because I don't want to deal with you." Tenshi's words echoed through her head; she tried to cast them from her mind to no avail. Her mother didn't care. They were finally reunited after many years and she didn't even give a damn. Alice gritted her teeth; weathered the desire to break something. She slumped into the nearest seat, taking deep breaths as she mastered her sudden temper.
"So be it," Alice whispered, for her own benefit more than anything else. "I'll do this on my own then." Alice considered leaving; for a second the thought of departing Human Town-3 and leaving all of it behind appealed to her. And then a different girl's words shot through her memory:
"My will is too strong for me to die." Medicine's own statement led Alice to reconsider. She could run away. Or she could stay here and deal with her problems. Alice sighed heavily; tapped lightly against the bench as she considered the proper course of action. After awhile; Alice slowly got up and called an elevator. She left for her destination.
The laboratories of BIRD were extensive; occupying a massive labyrinthine underground section of the Pyramid. They were fully equipped with the latest machinery available; banks of supercomputers served to control the entire facility and provide the raw power needed to make the science happen. Hundreds of humans and youkai were on site at all hours of the day; meticulously testing and retesting all variety of 'outside' technology being considered for development. From anything as mundane as artificial blood to supply the impoverished vampire population to the top secret BIRD projects such as Wadjet; it was all done here in the laboratories of Shrine Pyramid.
Yumemi Okazaki stood on a catwalk placed just above a large water tank occupying one of the laboratory levels. A redhead wearing a similarly colored dress and cape; she was the mysterious inhabitant of another dimension who had come to Gensokyo in the name of science shortly before the devastation of Second Impact. Now trapped in Gensokyo; Yumemei had rapidly adapted and carved a niche for herself as a technician; her ability to build complex machinery that most natives of Gensokyo didn't understand made her an important asset for BIRD. Yumemei bent to the surface of the water, face only inches from her own reflection. She peered into the depths of the tank for something.
And reeled back when Patchouli emerged from the water directly below her. Water splashed everywhere; Yumemi squealed as her clothes were dampened by the sprays of liquid. Patchouli smiled cruelly as best she could through her breather; climbed onto the catwalk as an outraged Yumemi told her off.
"Now was that really necessary?" Patchouli straightened out and pulled off her scuba equipment. "You got me soaked; now how the hell am I supposed to walk around with my clothes in this condition?"
"Don't ask me," Patchouli casually responded as she began to walk away. Yumemi glared after Patchouli and began to trail her as she continued to rant:
"Honestly Patchouli, you are sometimes so difficult; you know that right? I'm a reasonably nice person, I don't as much of you right?" Patchouli shrugged noncommittally; they reached a stairwell wrapping around the tank and began to descend. "What's that supposed to mean? I'm nothing but nice to you- you're the one who harasses me all the time!" Patchouli sped up; Yumemi made after her. They eventually reached the base of the tank; where a rack had been set up and Patchouli's clothes hung. Patchouli took a towel from the rack and began to dry herself as Yumemi caught up. "I mean; why do you feel the need to harass me so much?" Yumemi froze; at this Patchouli drew close. Their faces were next to each other; Patchouli wore a thick, knowing smile:
"Because it's fun. Isn't that obvious?" Patchouli drew away again; Yumemi was somewhere between having a nosebleed or having a heart attack and was flushing. Patchouli dressed in silence; hung her school swimsuit to dry and proceeded onwards into the laboratory proper. Yumemi followed after her, still somewhat lightheaded. When she finally recovered; she coughed slightly and forced her voice to a polite monotone as she spoke:
"So erm... what's the progress on the Yin-Yang Orbs?" Patchouli turned at a bank of monitors; sat herself at the nearest one and observed the readout with a slight smile still playing at the edges of her mouth.
"They are almost ready for usage. I would give it another week before the 0th Children can operate it- though whether she does it up to her recovery rate; of course." Patchouli indicated a data table displayed at one corner of the screen. "Our upgrades did well; we moved operation time from five to six minutes." Yumemi leaned over Patchouli and observed the effect for herself; murmuring in appreciation of the fact. "I'm thinking that we should take the time to upgrade Shanghai with this as well."
"It would be a useful addition to the weapon yes," Yumemi agreed as she considered the rest of the readout. "What about the Second? Shouldn't we tell the development team to add this upgrade as well?"
"I was thinking that as well," Patchouli rolled out a keyboard from the table and began to input something. "I'll make a note to tell them the next time I'm over there."
"What about the 2nd Children? Have they already found her?"
"I wouldn't know. That's more Sakuya's field than mine." Patchouli yawned; rolled the keyboard back into place and shut off the monitor. She was wheeling her chair around to face Yumemi when she spotted something in the corner of her eye. She turned to get a better glance. "And speak of the devil; there she is now."
Sakuya was being led along to them by Chiyuri Kitashirakawa; Yumemi's fifteen year old blonde assistant dressed in a sailors uniform. Sakuya caught Patchouli's gaze and nodded. Chiyuri continued to lead Sakuya along until the four were in proximity; she tapped her employer on the shoulder and pointed Sakuya out to her when Yumemi turned to acknowledge her assistant.
"Sakuya Izayoi has been looking for you madame." Yumemi nodded in thanks; gestured for Chiyuri to leave them. Chiyuri complied and ran off; leaving the three women to talk amongst themselves.
"I believe you had a question for Sakuya, Yumemi?" Yumemi nodded and turned to Sakuya.
"Yes, Miss Izayoi. I asked Patchouli here if she knew the status of the 2nd Children." Patchouli fiddled with her cap as Yumemi indicated her. "She didn't; she told me that you would know, however."
"I do." Sakuya nodded at Yumemi; gestured for Patchouli to bring up another model on the screens. "It's still confidential information; all I can say is that we have found the 2nd Children and she is in training." Yumemi nodded in thanks; Sakuya acknowledged the nod and pointed to the screen where the model of another weapon had been brought up. "This will be her as of yet unnamed weapon." Yumemi examined the model; the weapon took the shape of a simple straw broom.
"I'm thinking of calling it the Broom of the System." Patchouli examined the model with a careful eye. "We have a ways to go on this one; but I think it won't be too long before we're done with it. And I'll be sure to get that upgrade onto this one before they finish it up." Yumemi nodded; Sakuya raised an eyebrow in confusion. "I added a minute to their operation time by changing the medium in which the magic supply is stored."
"I see." Sakuya nodded in comprehension. "That's a nice feature you've added; it will help us greatly against the Angels."
"Speaking of the Angels; Sakuya, you were the one who volunteered to take in the 0th Children since she's staying on site now?" Patchouli kept her back to Sakuya as she asked; pulling out the keyboard once more and making minute corrections to the depicted model.
"Yeah," Sakuya looked at her wristwatch; it read one in the evening. "Tenshi herself was sent to debrief Alice and give her the living arrangements."
"Hm." Patchouli added her upgrade to the model and examined the results. "I didn't think Tenshi would bother herself with matters such as that. Did you see Alice's diagnostic before the battle with Rumia? She was peeved at something and I don't think it was the upcoming battle." Patchouli murmured to herself; adjusted some values while still speaking. "Tenshi and Alice seem to have some issues between themselves; which might explain why Tenshi refused to take Alice in herself." Sakuya nodded; she had been thinking the same thing:
"Yeah. Well, I'll just try my best to give Alice a good home- especially seeing as how it's indirectly our fault that her actual home has been destroyed." Patchouli and Yumemi chuckled at this. "Being a teenager is always a tumultuous time after all."
"We've all been there, yes." Yumemi spoke up now. "Technically, in terms of Gensokyo time I'm actually still there; but of course I've long passed that within my biologic clock." Patchouli turned off the computer and turned to face Sakuya. As she did a distant elevator opened and Chiyuri stepped from it; leading Alice towards them. Patchouli motioned to her peers; when they questioned her she silently pointed out the approaching girls, who had already closed the gap by that time.
"This girl's looking for Miss Izayoi," Chiyuri indicated Alice as she said this. Sakuya nodded and then smiled at Alice; who returned the gesture warmly.
"Miss Izayoi!"
"Please, you live under my roof now. Call me Sakuya." Alice nodded and Sakuya smiled warmly at her. "I'm glad you're alright; you gave the lot of us quite a scare during that battle with Rumia yesterday."
"About that," Alice interjected. "What exactly happened yesterday?" Sakuya shook her head; glanced at her wristwatch and pointed out the nearest elevator.
"We need to get going- I have field matters to attend to and we have to get you settled at home." Sakuya started for the elevator; Alice following close behind. Chiyuri started towards the elevator to open it for their sake; Patchouli and Yumemi watched the lot of them draw away.
"Do you think Sakuya will be able to deal with her Patchouli?" Patchouli shrugged; still watching them walking away.
"That remains to be seen. A person is always on their best behavior immediately upon meeting a stranger." Patchouli stood; nodded towards the elevators which they had already disappeared through. It was her unspoken manner of inviting Yumemi out to drink; Yumemi started towards the elevators to show her agreement. "Their true self will not see the light until they are intimately comfortable with the other." Patchouli followed in Yumemi's wake.
Yumemi spoke as they walked, "Patchouli, I have a question." Patchouli murmured something in response. "Why are all the women of Gensokyo prone to unnecessary philosophical musing and metaphor?" Patchouli chuckled in response to this.
"Anyone born before Second Impact is used to a lazy, carefree life where they had the time for deep and useless analysis of the meaning of life and the universe." They reached the elevator; Patchouli touched the button to call it forth. "We're just taking up their tendencies- albeit with less of that carefree nature."
Sakuya and Alice arrived home at 9:00; give or take. Alice had originally been exited by the prospect of following Sakuya around on the job; but found that most of Sakuya's 'field work' was going from place to place and signing documents. Following a relatively boring period of waiting outside doors for Sakuya to emerge and bring them to their next destination, which had taken up until nightfall; they had picked up food from a nearby market and proceeded to Sakuya's condominium; on the fourth floor of a modern block.
As they had traveled Alice had noted how easy it was for Sakuya to talk to people she was sure were complete strangers to both of them. She would pull up to them; ask for directions or even just engage them in idle conversation. Alice could only manage a timid 'hello' to them while Sakuya chatted them up as if it were nothing. Alice supposed that it was something you learned naturally when living in the city; and wondered if she would end up like that at some point in the future. She was still fixated on that up to the point when Sakuya had the key to the house ready- it had been a very long internal monologue- and had opened the door.
Alice was pleased and somewhat awestruck by the interior. Though a bit bare, it was thoughtfully done; with light colors, cream walls and birch furniture. A kotatsu table covered with a purely white sheet sat dormant in the center of the room. A mini-fridge sat in a corner. There were two sliding doors; Alice assumed that one was the bedroom and the other the bathroom. Sakuya was seemingly reading Alice's mind; for she said after placing their food on top of the fridge:
"Yes, I only have a one bedroom condo. I didn't expect to be getting a new inhabitant; sorry." Sakuya motioned to the closer of the two doors. "You'll be sleeping in there; I've got a spare futon that I can use to sleep in here." Alice shook her head; reflexively she declined the offer:
"Oh no Miss Izayoi; I couldn't do that to you." Alice motioned to a random corner of the room. "I'll take the futon; you can sleep in the room-"
"Please Alice, call me by my first name," Sakuya interjected. "And I'm going to insist that you take the bedroom." Alice started to protest; Sakuya continued over her, "Because I go to work early, it would be more convenient for both of us if I was in this room so I could leave without waking up either of us." Alice quieted at this; finding no logical reason to argue anymore, she merely nodded in thanks. Sakuya acknowledged the nod with a warm smile. "Lets get ready for bed now then."
"Bed?" Sakuya motioned Alice towards the bathroom; she remained still. "But didn't you promise to tell me what happened yesterday?"
"I'm sorry Sakuya, but I need to get some rest. I was up all last night and I have a conference at 5:00 tomorrow." Sakuya yawned at this; with a firm hand pulled Alice towards the bathroom. She deposited Alice at the door; Alice opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it and simply did as she was told.
After they had had both taken a hot shower and readied for bed, Alice found it hard to sleep. Sakuya had drifted off to sleep moments after laying on the futon; Alice on the other hand remained awake for some time after plopping down in her new bed. An unfamiliar ceiling. Alice remembered the portrait of her father; realized that it would have been destroyed in the detonation of the Evil-Sealing Circle. Alice was saddened by this; though she could recall her father's features by memory now, the portrait had significance to her. It was the only relic that held any portion of her father; with it gone it was if he had been erased from all of Gensokyo. With this depressing thought; Alice continued to stare at the unfamiliar ceiling. Her thoughts drifted about. Unfamiliar ceiling to her father. Her father to the unfamiliar ceiling.
Both gave way to the Beast.
Rumia stood once again; foot raised as she had the previous night. Alice wondered where she was; she then looked carefully and saw that Rumia was standing in her menacing position over Alice. Alice could only watch confused; as Rumia threatened to kill her. Or was it really her? Alice wondered where the her observing the battle was; she looked around. Sakuya and Patchouli were there; along with many unfamiliar faces. They seemed to be in a 'control room' of sorts; where the lot of them were watching the battle unfold, horror-struck as they were watching what would have been Alice's apparent impending demise. Nobody noticed the observer Alice; she assumed that they probably couldn't. She turned back to the screen.
"We've got to get somebody out there!" Sakuya slammed a fist onto the console before her; voice cracking with shrill concern.
"We can't, we can't!" Patchouli shook her head; looked helplessly from readout to console to video feed. "There's nothing we can do." Sakuya was aghast; she turned slowly to the feed:
"So... so we can't do anything-" Rumia's foot was descending. The congregation could only watch in silent horror.
And then another foot descended. One of the younger girls screamed; assuming that Alice had been killed. The rest were only stunned by what they saw. Something had come to Alice's rescue. Shanghai hovered in the air; leg extended with foot holding Rumia's in place. The marionette's controls were still. The master of the marionette was unconscious. But Shanghai was still moving. Mouth was agape; eyes focused with a supernatural intensity onto the Angel. Shanghai was just a doll; but somehow it's face still projected the appearance of bestial rage. The Alice observing the scene actually took a step back, startled; she noticed then that the readout reading 'energy remaining' had vanished.
Rumia was unperturbed; extended a palm at Alice and fired a bullet. Shanghai twisted in place; a quick extension of it's own hand batted the pellet of glowing energy away from it's master where it diffused safely into the ground. Rumia growled; fired several more bullets. None hit their mark; Shanghai responded with a slash of it's blade. Rumia grunted; was sent staggering with a nasty strike across her face. Shanghai's foot now free; it proceeded to engage Rumia in earnest. Rumia could only retreat under the fury of the puppet; despite the size difference, Shanghai fought in such a frenzy that most of it's strikes couldn't even be seen- they moved too quickly to be picked up by the observing camera.
Shanghai's blade flew wildly; it struck the ground several times and left deep gouges carved into the path and surroundings. Rumia was wounded several more times; her clothes were gashed and blood flew freely onto the ground. Rumia upped the intensity of it's own attacks; managed to knock back Shanghai several times with bullets or punches- but the doll kept on attacking with it's inhuman tenacity. Rumia was bludgeoned by the hilt of Shanghai's razor; forced to drop to both knees before the doll. Shanghai was about to deal the final blow; when Rumia suddenly cried out.
It was an inhuman cry; prolonged in intensity and with an echoing effect. The nuclear symbol om her forehead grew with extreme intensity; Alice had to turn away and could only hear what happened next:
"The Angel... it's activating a spell card!" Patchouli said this; seemingly shocked out of her stunned silence by the event. "This is incredible- I've never seen one pushed to this extent before!" Though admittedly; she had never seen an Angel up to this point anyways. Alice chanced turning back; the light had faded away to a more manageable level.
From it's sleeve the Angel pulled a red card with gold trim; similar to the one that Alice had carried with Shanghai. It glowered in the darkness; emitting a malicious aura that bled away into the night. Rumia held it out; right in Shanghai's face. Shanghai ignored the card and tried to slash downwards. And she was met with a flurry of bullets to the face. The screen flashed red; the words 'Night Sign: Night Bird' flashed across the screen of the control room. Rumia zipped back and forth with her prior inhuman speed; throwing waves of bullets that intermingled and crisscrossed the battlefield. Shanghai tried to dodge; to no avail as it was thrown about by the impact of bullets.
The observing Alice thought that there was no way that Shanghai could survive the hail of bullets; remembered that she hadn't seen Shanghai since the battle yesterday. Perhaps Shanghai was actually destroyed; and somebody else was the one who rescued her? But then something happened to render Alice's hypothesis completely wrong. A stray bullet was speeding towards Alice. Shanghai forced itself in front of Alice; presumably to take the impact for her. But then it did something unexpected; it took the spell card that was still on Alice's person. And then that spell card began to glow.
"Shanghai- it's- it's activating the spell card!" Patchouli was pulling up sensors; seemingly unable to believe what was happening before her. They picked up the name of this one; 'Curse Eerily Luminous Shanghai Dolls' flashed over the alert of 'Night Bird'. Shanghai took a hold of Alice's discarded marionette's controls. It held them out before the field of bullets Rumia continued to fire. And for a second, nothing happened. But then each individual string came to life; writhing and coiling as if alive. Creatures began to spawn at the end of each string; small at first but then growing in size until they were each as large as Shanghai itself. Replica's; many of them in all different colors of the rainbow.
They flew about the battlefield; cutting through the bullets like knives through tissue paper. Rumia jumped; trying to get a last shot in at Alice. Shanghai replicas took a hold of Rumia's arms before she could fire; she tried to writhe out of their grasps. Before she could; more Shanghai replicas came up and impaled her indiscriminately with their razors. Rumia was flailing through the air now; bleeding from multiple stab wounds and being forced along by the replicas. For a finale the group plummeted to the Earth; with a deafening crash they slammed into the earth. Dust and dirt were kicked up; obscuring the camera.
When it finally cleared; the feed caught Rumia. She was in the middle of a crater; slowly being obscured by a rapidly growing pool of her own blood. Her symbol had faded away. On screen a diagnostic popped up; the Angel was read as 'deceased'. Shanghai had collapsed to the ground; face once again blank and inert. It's face haunted the observing Alice; the remainder of her sleep was filled with broken bodies and the eerie visage of her supposed 'doll'.
Alice eventually woke in another cold sweat. Morning filtered in through an open window. The light hurt in her eyes; but Alice was actually glad for it. The light banished her nightmares away; replaced them with comforting reality.
When Sakuya returned later that day; Alice finally questioned her about the previous night. Everything Sakuya said matched perfectly with Alice's dream.
Is anybody actually reading this?