Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.
"Son of a… bitch…" Max said as he laid on a marble floor while his vision spun. "The hell am I?"
"Where are 'we' is the question. But before answering that, could you please let go of me?" Remilia said.
Max's vision slowly returned to normal and with his vision corrected, he could see that Remilia laid on top of him with her face awfully close to his as he had his arms wrapped around her tightly. "Ah Jeezus Christ!" Max yelled as he panicked, shoving Remilia off of him then scurrying to his feet. She landed on her butt with a loud thud.
"Ouch… Thank you…" Remilia said as she rubbed her sore behind.
"Shit! Where are we?" Max said as he looked around him hastily. What he saw was endless aisles of book shelves in every direction, including up. "What the flying fuck is this?"
"It would appear to be some sort of library."
"No shit Sherlock." Max said. He then noticed the hand Remilia held out to him as she sat on the floor.
"If you have time to be an ass then you have time to help a girl to her feet."
"Oh Jeezus Christ…" Max mumbled as he grabbed Remilia's hand then roughly pulling her up to her feet.
"What kind of manners were you brought up with?" Remilia asked as she brushed dirt off of herself.
"I was luring Russians soldiers into ambushes when I was ten. That's the kind of manners I was brought up with."
"I see. Looks like I will need to teach you some real manners when we get back."
"I got better things to do then waste my time with you."
"Like what?"
"Well I was thinking about taking my frustrations out on your little dream world like I was originally going to do, but of course that was before everyone in Gensokyo and their grandmothers knew I existed. You people already helped me better control my powers so I don't need you for that."
"And with that power you need to help us destroy whatever horrors are coming. Another reason why we need to hurry back to Gensokyo. The man in yellow might appear while we are gone."
Max sighed. "You still think he can get to our world? I told you that ain't possible. He's stuck in a dead dimension. Even if he was trying to get to our world we would definitely know about it."
"I know what I saw. Do not underestimate my powers to see fate."
"You could be wrong you know."
"I know that more than anyone. I just want to make sure you have the resolve you say you have to destroy that man in yellow. Your victory is Gensokyo's victory. I will not allow you to fail. Too much is at stake."
"Bitch, please." Max said as he turned around and began walking down one of the aisles.
Remilia sighed then began following Max. "You really are the stubborn one."
"And you have a way too much trust in me. What makes you think I won't turn on you after I defeat the bastard?"
"You aren't that kind of person. I saw that clearly back at my mansion."
"Weak moment. Nothing more."
"Perhaps. You also remind me of someone. If you were more mature you would be just like him."
"Uh huh… And who would that be?"
"My father."
"Your father?" Max said with a slight hint of surprise in his voice.
"I never mentioned this to anyone other than my dear sister before, but my father didn't start out as a noble vampire. On the contrary, he was lower than even the human peasants of the time."
"No shit?"
"It's true. Of course he refused to be a primitive vampire, so he decided to change that. It came with its hardships as most quests for greatness do. Many fellow vampires made it their sole purpose in their immortal lives to make sure my father would never reach the top of vampire society. It was one obstacle after another. He was just as stubborn as you, always pushing forward even when it seemed futile, but at times he would lose hope. Even a great vampire like him had to have someone to push him every so often."
"Who?"
"My mother, of course."
"I get what you're saying, but I'll say it once again, I don't need your help."
"I believe you say that only to keep me and anyone else who wants to help away because you are afraid they may suffer if you were to fail."
"Believe what you want. I don't care."
"I see my father's quest similar to yours. At times you may find yourself falling into despair. Even now I think you doubt it even possible to defeat the man in yellow and yet you still continue on. I admire that. I have hit many road blocks myself, thinking it pointless to keep trying. That feeling came back when I saw my sister driven insane because of your power."
"Funny… I was thinking about how you remind me of Kay not too long ago."
"Really?" Remilia said with a surprised look. She then formed a cocky grin. "I take it she had quite the amount of charisma?"
"She was a complete and total bitch that didn't know when to shut her mouth." Max said casually, causing Remilia's grin to disappear.
"I see… Perhaps that was a trait you liked? Certainly you weren't attracted to just her looks."
"She was the only one who ever gave a damn about me."
"There were many in Gensokyo that showed some care. I am sure they would be upset if something were to happen to you."
"Those people trust strangers way too damn much."
"Perhaps. If you were to stay in Gensokyo, you would quickly learn that it is okay to be a little open. I learned that myself when I first started living there. Don't let the pains of your past get in the way of making friends."
"No idea what you're talking about."
"You try not to show it, but you scorn the world. I can see it." Remilia said. Max said nothing as he continued down the unusually long aisle. She sighed then walked behind Max in silence. After about ten minutes, she broke the silence. "Have any idea where we are yet?"
"I'm beginning to get an idea…" Max said. "Let's just keep walking for a bit longer before I come to any conclusions." After about twenty minutes and with no end to the aisle, Max spoke. "Shit… Well we're still in our universe, just not the right world."
"Are you sure?" Remilia asked.
"Yeah. This is the Great Library of… bah what's the name? It's on the tip of my tongue."
"Whatever the name is, if this isn't our world then let us leave immediately."
"If only it was that simple…"
"Just focus this time. You have nothing but books to worry about so creating a portal that will lead us home should be easy."
"Wrong. Making a portal in this library would be a very bad idea. We need to leave before I try creating anything."
"Why is that?"
"Just trust me and stay close. Who knows what is lurking behind these books shelves… or with in the books themselves…" Max said.
Max and Remilia continued their way down the seemingly endless aisle. After about a half hour, they came to the end of the aisle and to an area that had many tables with piles of books on them. In some of the seats sat visitors of the library. Most, if not all, wore hoods to conceal their faces.
"People?" Remilia asked.
"Maybe…" Max said. "Don't go talking to any of them. Let's just concentrate on getting the hell out of here." He said before he began to look down each of the other aisles as he searched for signs for an exit.
Remilia assisted Max and started to search for clues in finding an exit to the strange library. She listened to the sounds of moving paper and whispers around her as she scouted the area. She was about to give up and return to Max's side when her attention was taken by a single book on one of the tables. Giving in to curiosity, she went over to the book and stared at the featureless cover. She hesitated to touch it, but her body seemed to move on its own as it picked the book up then opened it. What she found in the book was nothing, to the very literal sense of the word. She was completely baffled by the nothingness that she was looking at and quickly tried to close the book, but suddenly a strong force began to pull her into the nothingness.
"W-What?" Remilia said as she started to panic. She dropped the book to the floor, being brought to her knees in the process. She quickly braced herself by pushing up from the floor as she was being sucked into the book head first. "Max! Max!" She called out as she drew closer to the nothingness, but the sound of her voice was sucked into the book. "Damn it all! I am going to meet my end because of a stupid book!" She thought as her cap was sucked into the nothingness. Max quickly appeared and closed the book, causing her to fall backwards and hit the back of her head off of one of the tables. "Ouch!" She cried out.
"I forgot to tell you before." Max said as he glared at Remilia angrily. "Do NOT open any of these books." He took the book then shoved it into one of the book shelves. "That was more than likely some sort of prison book. You would have been trapped in their forever if you were sucked into it. I wouldn't have been able to get you out." He sighed in relief before noticing the others in the library staring at him. "Oops… Sorry…" He said after realizing how loud he just was. The others quietly returned to their reading.
Feeling a little embarrassed, Remilia was about to get up from the floor when she saw Max's extended hand. She stared at it in surprise for a moment before smiling then taking the hand that was offered to her.
"What you smiling about?" Max asked as he roughly pulled Remilia to her feet.
"You're catching on. Slowly, but surely." Remilia said.
Max sighed then started to look around. "If what I know about this place is true, it could be impossible to find the exit by normal means."
"Alright. Then how do we find it then?" Remilia asked.
"Maybe I could be of some assistance?" One of the other visitors of the library said as he walked up to Max and Remilia. He wore dark gray robes with a hood that covered his entire face save for his chin.
Max took notice of the man's exposed chin before speaking. "Yeah. Just point us towards the exit." He said. "At least he looks human…" The man pointed to his left. "Thanks." Max said then began walking in that direction, but stopped once the man pointed to his right. The man then began to point in every direction he could.
"Pick one." The man said.
"Uhm… Okay… Let me change my question." Max said while getting irritated. "Where is the nearest exit?"
"Nearest?" The man said. He then started to laugh, irritating Max even more. "There is no concept of distance here my earthly boy."
"Earthly?" Remilia said.
"Boy?" Max said as he grew more angered.
"It is quite easy to tell that you two are from Earth" The man said. "A male human and a," The man moved his hood covered face close to Remilia's face, causing her to take a step back in reaction. "Female vampire…"
Max softly pushed the man away from Remilia. "Right… Mind telling us how to get out of this library?"
"Before I tell you, could you tell me your names? And possibly humor me by telling me exactly how a teenage human and a not-even-a-millennium-old vampire got here in the first place?" The man said, causing Max and Remilia to wince at his words.
"I am Remilia Scarlet and this here is Max." Remilia said in a polite tone. "And yours?"
"You vampires… Always being noble and dignified when in the light. But of course we both know that's not the case in the darkness." The man said. "You may call me Joseph."
"Humph. I see that you are knowledgeable of vampires. You are from Earth as well, I take it?" Remilia said.
"Indeed I am, young miss." Joseph said. "How does that world fair? I have not been there since the break out of the Great War."
"In the past five hundred years that I have been alive, the world hasn't changed all that much." Remilia said while looking rather disappointed.
"Wait a god damn minute." Max said "The Great War? You mean World War One? It's been almost a century since then." He said while looking bewildered. "Just how old are you?"
"World War One?" Joseph said. He then burst out laughing. "Those damn fools. So much for the 'war to end all wars' eh?" He chuckled for a bit before speaking again. "Not as long as the young vampire here I will say." He said. "Now, if you may, please tell me how you came to be here."
"Opened a portal. Ended up here. Now, where is the nearest exit?" Max said hastily.
"You opened an extradimensional portal and then blindly went through it?" Joseph burst into another laugh. "I would have thought the vampire would at least be the one to know better than to blindly create extradimensional gateways. You both are equally foolish it seems."
"We didn't have much of a choice at the time." Remilia said while trying to not look as angered as she was.
"I see. Where were you before coming here then?" Joseph asked, seemingly already knowing the answer.
"The center of the universe. Now about that exit…" Max said.
Joseph went into yet another fit of laughter. "I won't bother asking how you got there or how you even managed to survive." He said while still laughing.
"We seemed to have amused you quite enough. So please, tell us how to leave this place." Remilia said.
"Are you even sure you want to leave the general safety of this library?" Joseph asked.
It took Max a few seconds to realize that the question was aimed at him. "What do you mean?" He asked.
Joseph smirked under his hood. "You know why…" He said. "I am in a similar predicament as you."
Max went to speak, but was beaten by Remilia. "How so?" She asked.
"During one of my foolish dabblings in alien magic, I had become marked for a particular cosmic horror that is only known as the Hunting Hound. So now if I leave a magically concealed area, I risk being spotted by the Hound and being devoured." Joseph said. "But it would seem that you have it worse." He said to Max with a light chuckle.
"How do you know about my situation?" Max asked.
"I can see it. I can see your aura just as those who would devour you do. An aura that attracts the horrors that crawl between the stars. And more specifically… the Slaves of Unreason from the Void."
"How is that possible?" Max asked.
Joseph stood in silence for a moment. He then pulled his hood back to reveal his face. Both Max and Remilia paled as they became sick from the sight. Joseph's eyes had been replaced with eyes of another creature. The alien eyes consisted of dark swirling blues and grays. Big red veins could be seen sprouting from the edge of the eyes and across his face.
"Holy shit…" Max said as he covered his mouth.
"I would have preferred a pair from a horror from the Void, but they would have been quite the chore to get, not that these ones weren't, mind you." Joseph said with a creepy smile.
"I bet…" Max said while trying not to look directly into Joseph's eyes.
"That aura can only be made from someone who possesses a certain power... and I know of only one being that does…" Joseph said as he slowly walked up to Max. Max stood his ground as they nearly touched chests. Joseph began poking the medallion behind Max's shirt. "Are you sure you are who you say you are, young man?" He asked.
Max stared into the alien eyes of the man as they stared back into his. "Yeah. I am."
Joseph remained silent for a moment before speaking. "I see…" He said as he backed up out of Max's personal space.
"The one being you said… Is it perhaps a man who wears yellow tattered rags?" Remilia asked.
"You know of him? Heh… Yes he is the one I speak of." Joseph said. "Question is… Why do you know of him?"
"We believe he currently threatens to destroy our world." Remilia said.
"I see… I see…" Joseph said. He then looked at Max. "So you wish to defeat him? If you wish to do that, you better defeat yourself first."
"What's that supposed to me?" Max asked in an irritated tone.
"You wish to fight the one who can't be fought. You wish to defeat the undefeatable. You wish to destroy the indestructible. You wish to go against something that makes the earthly gods tremble in mindless fear. You won't be able to do any of those while you remain conflicted." Joseph said.
"Conflicted? I ain't conflicted." Max said.
"Oh but you are. The vampire notices it just as much as I do. You need to decide on who is your true enemy. The one in yellow… or those who took your precious Kay away." Joseph said, finishing his last words with a grin.
Max ran up to Joseph then grabbed him by his robe and lifted him into the air. "You wanna lose those eyes of yours?" Max asked.
"You certainly have the power to get revenge on them. So much power you can barely control it. So why don't you? Oh that's right… You don't because you know that if you were to lay your vengeance on them… you would lose yourself to insanity… and a wave of never ending madness and horrors would crush you and that pathetic little world. But you desire revenge more than anything… It is all you have left now after all… And you know… in that torn heart of yours… that you just can't get revenge against one of them no matter what you do… So who will be the ones to satisfy your lust for revenge?" Joseph said with a twisted grin. Max then threw him into one of the book shelves, knocking some of the books it contained out.
"I think we heard enough from you. So how about telling us how to get out of here?" Remilia said.
Joseph remained silent for a moment again before speaking. "You haven't told her about the one in yellow have you? What he is…?" He said as he stared at Max.
"She doesn't need to know about him." Max said.
"Indeed. When facing the horrors of existence, it would seem the ones who know the most are the ones who are at a disadvantage against them, but then again it is good to know enough so you would know when you are way over your head…" Joseph said as he rubbed his injured head. "After all… if she were to know the true nature of the one in yellow… she would probably jam a stake into her beloved little sister's heart then turn it on herself in order to escape the impending doom." He said then suddenly found a red spear pointed at his throat.
"I will not ask you again." Remilia said while keeping her anger concealed. "Tell us how we can exit this place."
"Sorry to be the one to tell you, but I don't know how to leave the Great Library." Joseph said.
"What?" Max and Remilia yelled.
"I haven't figured out how to leave here since I arrived. Not that I have been trying to leave. I am perfectly safe here as long as I do not upset the librarians." Joseph said while minding the spear pointed at his throat.
"It is men like you that I hate the most. You find yourself in an unfavorable situation and do nothing to try and change it." Remilia said as she started to poke Joseph's neck with her spear, drawing a little blood.
"Because I know it is futile. There is nothing that will change my fate. Just as there is nothing Max here can do to change his… and he knows it." Joseph said as he tried to move away from the spear.
"You're wrong!" Remilia shouted.
"Don't kill him. Let that Hound or whatever have him." Max said. Remilia glared at Joseph for a moment before pulling her spear away from him and nodding at Max.
"You say you made a portal to come here? I assume you did that, boy. You might want to learn how to create them correctly before trying again. You never know where you might end up. Just don't do it here. You wouldn't want to upset the librarians." Joseph said as he got up back on his feet and pulling his hood back over his face.
"Max, just open a portal back home here. We can't be wasting our time getting out of this bizarre library." Remilia said.
"Did you not just here me, little vampire? Breaking through the magic barrier and the veil here is strictly forbidden. I am surprised they didn't notice you when you first arrived." Joseph said.
"We can handle a few librarians." Remilia said.
"Are you sure about that, miss?" Joseph said.
"He's right. I think the librarians here are not what you have in mind." Max said.
"So? Now is not the time for you to be cautious. Hurry up. Anywhere is better than being here with this freak." Remilia said.
"For fuck sake fine. I mean what's the worst the can happen?" Max said.
"Stop being a smartass and just do it." Remilia commanded.
"Fine, but let's do it away from these people… or things… No need to risk them getting in the way." Max said. Remilia nodded then they both made their way down one of the endless aisles.
"Take what pleasures you can before it's too late, boy! That world is doomed! Don't let the horrors take away your chance to have your revenge!" Joseph shouted. Max and Remilia continued on their way without looking back. "God speed, kid… God speed…" He said quietly before vanishing into thin air.
Max and Remilia walked side by side as they made their way down the aisle.
Remilia noticed Max making a glance at her before quickly looking back in front of him. "You have been sneaking peaks at me for the past five minutes. Do I have something on me or am I just that pretty?" She said.
"You look a lot better without that hat." Max said.
"Do I?" Remilia asked with a little redness in her cheeks.
"Yeah… That hat looked retarded as hell."
Remilia sighed. "It was a wonderful cap and it went well with my dress."
"Well whatever floats your bloat I guess."
"But perhaps you are right? Maybe it is time for a change in dressing habits and do away with the cap."
"I didn't suggest anything…"
"I am sure that would make you happy, right?" Remilia asked cheerfully.
"She ain't listening…" Max thought then sighed. "Yeah. Sure." He said with a small smile.
"Good. Now when we get back home, we need to find you a better set of clothes. Those ones look atrocious."
"I've been fighting in them…"
"I have plenty of clothe meant for men that need to be worn by an actual man. I am tired of having Sakuya wear them."
"Oh my god…" Max mumbled. "Alright. Whatever. Let's just worry about getting home for now."
"Good idea." Remilia said. "Are we far enough from those people yet?"
"Probably not, but let's try anyways. Just prepare yourself. It is going to take me longer than usual to open a portal since I got a powerful magical barrier to punch through and I am sure the librarians will not like it."
Remilia nodded at Max then formed a red spear. "Make it quick. I need to get out of this bloodied dress and into a nice, hot bath.
"Not the image I need right now…" Max said as his face reddened a little. He then began channeling his energy as he prepared to open a portal.
"Hey Max…" Remilia said.
"What is it?" Max asked as he tried to focus.
"About the man in yellow… Does his power come from the same god as yours does?" Remilia asked.
Max hesitated to answer. "You could say that…"
"I see…" Remilia said. "I was already worried about Max's power causing irreparable damage to Gensokyo, but it looks like we will be fighting someone with a far greater share of that power…"
Suddenly, the light around them started to dim. Dark and horrible groans could be heard from the distance and they only got louder and louder as Max continued to create a portal. Remilia looked around her cautiously as a cold shiver ran down here spine.
"What is that?" Remilia asked.
"I believe that would be the librarians…" Max said.
"How much longer?"
"Just a minute. This magic barrier is a bitch to punch a hole through."
The shadows made by the bookshelves began to twist and move as the groans drew closer. Movement could now be heard among the bookcases. The light faded to where only Max's power and Remilia's spear were the only sources of light.
"Even my vampire eyes can't pierce through this darkness…" Remilia thought. "Uh… Max? Mind hurrying up?"
"I am trying to do multiple things at once here. Punch through the barrier and make the portal go to where we want. Just hold them off for a little bit."
"How can I hold something back that I can't even see?"
"You not seeing them is an advantage…" Max said. He then finally succeeded in making a portal. "Alrighty then! Let's get the fuck out 'a here."
"About time." Remilia said as she returned to Max's side then waited for him to enter. "Well?" She said after a few seconds.
"We were lucky this time. We might not be so lucky again." Max said as he gazed into the black portal.
Remilia sighed. "We won't know until we try. Now get in there." She said before shoving Max into the portal.
"What the fu-" Max tried to speak as he stumbled into the dark portal, with Remilia following right behind him.