Nicolas Notes: Not much to say here except that I'm alone and that an earthquake just struck my school. You know, boring stuff, heh. Oh yeah I'll just put this here.

Disclaimer: I do not own Touhou or any other Touhou related materials, and yes, this is an unedited chapter, pre- read only by yours truly!

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CHAPTER 11: Infiltration

Year: 2005

10:26 Post-meridian

Scarlet Devil Mansion, Guest Room, Gensokyo

Rook didn't remember much before passing out. One thing that he did know was the fact that he was captured. He recognized his room to be one of the spares among those scattered around the mansion. He sat on his bed with his back against the wall, staring at the space that housed a desk with an oval mirror. The only thing that added color to the view was a lone potted plant sitting beside the mirror.

Aside from the dark wood of the desk, the white fabric of his bed, and the blue vase which held the plant, everything was painted scarlet. Yes, even the door.

He had woken up some time ago with his back burning with pain. When he had felt the pain, Rook reflexively reached for his back shoulder, and on it was a fresh bandage. Another was patched on his left side, and only did he realize that he lost his shirt and coat. After few minutes of searching, he found them neatly folded on top of the desk, though he also found out that he was still weak on the knees. He had to grab the support of a chair to prevent himself from collapsing.

Apparently the Price seemed to have done its thing while he was asleep, saving him minutes of pain if he were conscious. His body was still sore however. Since then he had been doing nothing but stare at the opposite wall. He could heal a bit faster if he had his vials, and he can probably defend himself for some time until his power came back with his pistol. The only problem was that his belt bag was nowhere to be found. It also appeared that his knife was taken, so he was utterly defenceless at the moment.

Rook would have devoted the last ten minutes on searching for them if he didn't feel so weak at the moment. Allowing himself anymore physical labour could affect his chances of fighting back. All he could do now was rest, and think of a plan on getting out of here and retrieving his inventory.

One whim, Rook grabbed the only pillow beside him and took its cover. Crumpling the white fabric, he threw it at the glass window to his left.

He wasn't surprised to see the casing to burst into flames. Watching the burning remains of the pillow's casing, he then grabbed the pillow itself and tossed it towards the door. Now instead of burning, the pillow exploded sending white feathers to litter the room.

He was now officially in a pickle.

Patchouli was in her right mind to set up wards and curses on possible escape routes. Rook didn't know if the magician used her most powerful entrapment spells to imprison him here, but the Human was willing to try it out. One thing he had to learn first is getting out without burning or exploding into oblivion. Rook wasn't taking his chances in turning into mist and exiting by the gap below the door for risk of being torn apart atom by atom.

Then again, why should he hurry? True that the incident needs to be resolved, but he can do that at any given time. For now he wanted to feel at home, despite the hostile intentions of the mansion's inhabitants towards him. He had to be patient, tackling one problem at a time and finding a solution for them. He just needed to relax for a bit. Rook closed his eyes and began to think anew. Asking Yukari for help was an option, though he doubted that the Border Youkai will help him since he has gotten himself in trouble, the woman loved seeing him in trouble and she won't hesitate on making things on his end much worse than it already was. Ran probably had more chances of getting him out of his current situation, but the stupid vixen was too 'busy' tending to her sleepy master.

He wondered what was taking Reimu so long. She should have resolved this a few days ago and yet why did it appear that she didn't exist? Her tardiness was something he was going to lecture her about later. The girl was getting too careless... And then there was Marisa.

Rook frowned at the thought of the human witch. It has been five years since Mima's sealing, he wondered if the Witch had already forgiven him. Probably not, judging from the flaming hate in her eyes the last time Rook saw her, it'll be a long time before she would go out of her way to bust him out now. Besides, he had no means of contacting her. Usually, Reimu and Marisa would team up together to resolve and incident, however looking back to the last time Rook saw them together, and they weren't really in the best of terms. If Reimu happened to be working alone this time then no wonder the incident was still on. And now Rook had to think about the damage he had done to the two's friendship.

Rook opened his eyes half way as he said, "How rude of me for not acknowledging your presence, Miss Maid. Please excuse my impudence."

A woman in her late twenties stood before the closed door, holding a silver tray filled with pastries and tea as she dipped her head low. "Not at all, Mister Rook. Old habits tend to die hard, I hope you are enjoying your stay," said the woman in cold monotone. It was as if she rehearsed the very words that she was going to say, and it also seemed that she was forcing herself on performing this task. But despite all of this, the woman showed none of it and simply placed the tray at the desk and poured some hot tea into a cup.

"So... It's a habit of your popping out of nowhere unannounced?" asked Rook, shrugging his shoulders, "No wonder this place gets so little visitors."

"But despite this, the Mistress wishes to be a good host to her guests," the woman paused for a moment and ceased enough tea for Rook's cup, "And a vicious monster to intruders."

"Heh, I should be glad that I'm of the former than the latter," said Rook accepting his tea. He blew on it once too make sure it wasn't too hot.

"Is... That so?" The woman observed Rook with a critical eye as he gazed at his tea, "Oh don't worry, it is not poisoned if that's what you're thinking."

Rook gave her a weird look, "What made you think that I thought it was poisoned? Well, I'm not that paranoid unlike a certain resident here. Oh, so it's my turn to be given the weird look? Please excuse me, I was just engaging myself in a monologue, don't mind me. Though... I can tell that this is a well made tea just by looking at it."

The woman tilted her head slightly to the side, "Drinking it with your eyes?"

"Yes, one must appreciate the tea by first observing it, but make sure not to observe it for too long for the tea will get cold," explained Rook, rotating his hand a bit causing the tea to spin in his cup. "Geez, I sound like an old man." He then took a sip of his tea before turning his gaze at the woman, "The last time I saw you, you were only a few feet shorter, but look at you now a fine young woman you've become. And the tea's great by the way, Remi must be proud to have a servant such you, Miss...?"

Rook put emphasis on the 's', hinting that he was asking for her name. The woman straightened and set her jaw while saying, "Sakuya, Izayoi Sakuya." Sakuya curtsied respectfully before continuing, "I believe we have fought before."

"We have, and you were still a little girl back then," replied Rook with a kind smile.

"Actually I was already at my one hundred and twelfth year at that time," said Sakuya, standing by the shadows though her blue eyes seemed to glow faintly. Her silver hair in perfect contrast with the shadow as the light bounced of it. "Appearances can be deceiving; I suppose you already know this?"

"You're..."

"Human, as far as I can tell. I have been in service of the Scarlet Devil since eighty years ago when I built a name for myself," cut off Sakuya, Rook didn't look particularly bothered by it.

"Hmph, I won't be asking you how then, but does the term 'Whitechapel' mean anything to you?" questioned Rook, his face coloured with polite curiosity. He sipped his tea once more, only to find that his cup was empty. It seemed like he had already drank his fill.

"No," Sakuya stiffly replied. When Sakuya finally came into view, her outfit became more distinct. She wore a pint striped suit, its midnight black and snow white colour scheme went nicely with her pale complexion. Two black leather gloves occupied her hands, while she wore a black skirt below her. A pair of thigh highs wrapped themselves upon the woman's well toned legs as a single maid headband sat on her silver hair.

A woman of such majestic appearance worthy of being a vampire's servant. This woman radiated an aura of nobility around her that a normal person would have lost their breath at the sight of her. Rook however was anything but a normal person. Sure he has seen his fair share of beauties himself, so this wasn't anything new to him. He merely raised an eyebrow, and the meaning of it would be clear that he was impressed.

"The Mistress would like to meet you tonight at midnight. Word has travelled that only wished to talk to her, and she has found it interesting enough to seize her attention, "continued Sakuya as she took Rook's cup away and placed it on her tray.

"So 'interesting' huh? Makes me sound I'm not worth her time," commented Rook as he scratched his cheek.

"Actually, you're not worth anyone's time. Especially mine," admitted Sakuya, giving Rook a blank look. The Human only ignored this and sighed.

"Well at least you're honest."

"You flatter me, but it will only get you nowhere."

There was a pregnant pause before Rook said, "So that's it? No death threats, black mail, scorn, hate, mockery or any of the usual rituals 'Butlers of the Big Boss' do?"

"I am a maid, kind sir. And no, I don't see any reason to expend my efforts on something so...trivial," replied Sakuya in the same elegant manner as before, "Though leaving with an honest reply will be enough to satisfy me."

"Unlike some people here with the nerve to set up a combustible curse on the window and a blasting spell at the door," said Rook apparently irritated.

"Lady Patchouli has her reasons, and I have no right to question her for I am but a lowly maid," said Sakuya as she got ready to leave, "It was strange for her to see her that way..."

"How? Did she say anything regarding my fate?" asked Rook, his eyes narrowed as he threaded the topic of his hated enemy.

Sakuya had her hand on the door's handle. "She has nothing to do with what will happen to you, that is up to the Mistress to decide. But to answer your first question... I have never seen Lady Patchouli with large amounts of glee on her face. I have a feeling that tonight will be very interesting..."

She pulled the wooden door open and closed it once more the moment she was outside, leaving Rook to stare at the door alone.

Over thirty minutes have gone by ever since Sakuya's visit. Rook had finally recovered and decided on what tactics he should apply during his escape. Obviously enough he will need stealth, but the only way he could get out of the room was the complete opposite of that. He was going to blow the wall to pieces using his power, therefore causing a lot of noise and alarm if discovered. He had no choice and time had pushed him to the extreme.

Though his expression at the time was calm, his mind was a raging storm of doubts and uncertainty. The only clear thing in his mind was his plan, so he had to focus on that. Years on the job of putting your life on the line for a certain number of reasons made Rook learn to keep his cool. He had approximately fifteen minutes or more before someone discovered the mess he made on the wall. By then he would've have recovered his inventory and weapons before heading to one of his secret passage ways to hide.

The Magician's tracking spells will be all over the mansion, scouring every nook and cranny for any sign of Rook's presence. At that time the mansion will be locked down and every living would be alert on flushing him out. But before they can even organize themselves he should be able to sneak his way to Remilia's room and confront her there.

He knew of the maid's power over Time, but if all were to go smoothly then there was nothing to worry about. He will be at Remilia's room before they could even find him. The vampire herself on the other hand was another thing. Rook knew of what she was capable of and underestimating her for even a second will be his downfall. One way or another, he won't be able to get out of here without a fight, so he decided that he would have finished his fight with Remilia as soon as possible before the cavalry arrives.

Not exactly a foolproof plan, but it was all he had.

Stretching his arms in front him while tightening his gloves, Rook muttered to himself, "Well, let's get the ball rolling..."

He closed his eyes as he raised his right palm towards the wall. The familiar tingling sensation of electricity coursing through his arm at great speed almost caused him to smile. Rook opened his eyes and at the same moment a bolt shot out from his palm and collided with its target. Surprisingly enough, the wall didn't explode. Instead the electricity crackled against its surface before fading away.

Rook released a heavy sigh. Of course the Magician was going to expect this, maybe his encounter with Cirno made him lose a couple brain points.

The human then looked up in surprise as the smooth surface began to crumble and collapse into sand, creating a large whole on the wall. No sounds from an explosion, meaning that chances of people checking the place out for disturbances were at a minimum! Rook was in an advantage.

As much as he wanted to celebrate he was under time limit. Rook glanced to his left, then to his right. Sprinting across the hall he reached a solid wall. Placing a hand over a hidden area, his fingers began to crackle blue electricity. The wall groaned as it began to move, revealing a torch lit passage way made of cold gray stones. Rook dared to glance one last time over his shoulder before disappearing into the passage.

Let the games begin.

She was walking around the perimeter, seizing up the mansion's splendor It was nothing compared to her old home, but nevertheless this was the second mansion she has seen her entire life. If her pawn were to complete his task then everything will be smooth sailing from then on. Still, that didn't mean that she wouldn't assist him in reaching his goal.

There was another magician in this mansion, and allowing it to obstruct her piece in anyway would only make his task difficult. First she and the other mage had to face off.

The woman knelt down and ran her fingers along the dirt. Dust accumulating in her fingers, the woman simply blew them away. But something else was happening. The tiny particles began to multiply and started to adopt a dark pink color Soon in it became a thick veil like fog. A breeze blew by causing the woman's dark brown robes to dance in the air, and yet the fog merely floated as if nothing happened.

The woman breathed in a shaky breath before saying, "Rin? Are you there?"

The mist like substance shimmered yet made no noise. Soon an image of a straw haired girl with a large red ribbon and a sunny smiling face showed up from deep within the fog. The girl was somehow between the ages of twelve to fourteen and seemed like she was kneeling behind a bush. When she noticed the woman, her smile suddenly lit up as she said, "Yup, about time you called."

The woman let out a sigh of relief, "Okay, so are you ready? Did you put them exactly where I told you?"

"Yes! And you know what? That invisibility spell of your rocks! That maid didn't see a thing when I bumped into her!" said Rin with a mischievous smile on her face, "I guess you're right about one thing, this whole place is stuffed with security spells. Good thing you managed to counter them with the wards you put around me."

"Or else this whole operation will be for nothing," replied the woman curtly, "Now the dolls will activate in less than five minutes and will be only active for about three hours. One if we're unlucky, so until those things activate you better get out of there and let the hero handle the rest. If you don't get out of there now then you won't be able to fly and risk the chances of being captured."

Rin had just finished tying what looked like a tiny human figurine to a small iron post that stuck out the roof before asking, "Hey Al, why are we doing this again?"

"We've been through this Rin, I told you its part of my plan," answered the woman.

"I want to see mother again..." muttered Rin as she pulled her rope hard and made sure that the human figurine was in place. She turned to the woman's direction and gave her the thumbs up, "All set!"

"Good, now hurry back here, you have three minutes left and remember to put on the spell again once you're in the air," with that, the woman's final image of Rin was her jumping off the roof. Her white dress-like blouse billowing as she flew and faded into the scenery. From her point of view, the woman saw through the image that the human figurine was glowing a bright shade of orange before releasing the light similar to that of a laser beam.

The woman waved a hand across the mist and it quickly dissipated taking the image with it. She quickly turned her way towards the forest behind her and began to pace back and forth.

The ward that I've placed on the dolls will disrupt any kind of magical flow within the mansion's area, but there's a probability that traces of magical energy will bypass the wards and allow the magician within to counter. My wards aren't exactly the strongest in existence and are only temporary, nevertheless they're all I have so he'll have to make do, The woman allowed herself a silent contemplation on her actions, If I help him now, then I would be able to further my plans. Everything will start here... Hmph, but I have to be careful there aren't exactly many people that I can trust save for Rin. The girl is too naive to go against me or to hide anything...

She then turned her gaze towards the mansion, You're truly an interesting person to gather this much attention. I hope my investment in you will come to fruition; otherwise I won't be risking Rin's life like this...

"Here!" announced a disembodied voice followed by the sound of someone landing on their feet. Rin came into view as she ran towards the hooded woman and quickly tugged at the latter's sleeve, "Hey Al! Aren't you going to watch? Look the lights are all pretty!"

As childish as the girl seemed and how annoying her voice sounded, the woman couldn't help herself but smile. Maybe she felt a bit nostalgic at Rin's innocence. No matter, she then fixed her gaze to the area where Rin was pointing and watched as her creation unravelled.

Directly above the mansion, a thin network of orange lines that connected with each other similar to that of a giant spider's web. The sources of these lines were mostly located a few feet from the mansion's red brick walls, while a handful of them seemed to be on the roof itself.

The woman smiled as the first step to her plan was a success. Now that the introduction was over, this little helping hand should keep it in place. Not to mention that little something that she had in store should she ever meet the man again.

She gave Rin a pat on the shoulder and said, "Time to go, we're no longer needed here."

The girl on the other hand didn't seem to agree and pouted as she said, "Come on, Al! This should be a good show, why do we have to go when the good part is about to start?"

"Hmm, maybe because the coming battle will be destructive enough to obliterate everything on and around this island," replied the woman innocently.

It took the girl a couple of seconds to register her words before saying, "Oh, okay then. Let's go, I don't want to get fried before my time arrives."

With that Rin shuffled her way deeper into the forest and eventually exiting to the island's shores. The woman watched as the girl went on ahead as she took one last glance at the mansion behind her. Hmph, don't make me regret this, Chess Piece. I hope this will prove as a fruitful investment on my part.

The woman spun around and went to follow Rin into the woods.

"Hey have you heard of the intruder earlier?"

"Yeah, those under Miss Meiling's command all saw the battle; they said that she got hit by some spell that made her cry."

"There's also word that a mean youkai was helping the intruder. One thing's for sure was that he wasn't strong enough to take Miss Meiling on his own."

Two black and white fashioned fairy maids hovered across the halls with their transparent wings. One fairy had short light green hair that hung just above her shoulder. She seemed to be having trouble lifting her stack of towels while beating her wings as hard as she can to stay afloat. The other fairy was more fortunate for she only carried a single wicker basket containing various brands of shampoo and perfumes. Her green hair which was tied into twin-tails on either side of her head was so long that they were touching the floor.

The two of them were discussing the previous events that had happened a few hours ago. Apparently they were one of the few fairies that witnessed the Chief Maid bring in the intruder shortly after he had entered the mansion. For the remainder of the mist's release all mansion personnel, save for a few handpicked individuals, were all to remain within the east wing of the mansion. However with their natures being fairies, a few of the staff dared ventured outside their areas and unfortunately crossed paths with the Head Maid, dragging a body behind her.

These two happened to be one of the unlucky ones who were at the scene and were ordered to do something else while their co-workers healed the stab wounds the intruder received. They knew better than to question their Chief Maid's actions but the closest thing they could guess was that it was orders from the Mistress herself. A couple their friends never looked the same as they exited the Mistress' room to deliver the orders for the Chief Maid.

"Well whatever, at least from what Miss Sakuya told us, we'll be having our own rooms after this! It feels like a promotion already!" said the short green haired fairy, designated as fairy number one.

"Hey, since we both got ourselves caught we'll be sharing rooms! Don't act all excited yet because it's not like we're having own rooms. I still don't get privacy with another person around," replied the long teal haired fairy with her hair tied into twin-tails, designated as fairy number two.

"Hmm, maybe the only reason you want privacy is because you keep on wanting to do weird stuff?" said fairy number one with a sly smile on her face. This prompted the second fairy to blush and sputter on her words.

"Y-y-you take that back! I can't believe that you're listening to those weird rumors!" hissed fairy number two in an angry tone, yet continued on floating to wherever they were headed despite being frustrated and flustered. "Some friend you are, hmph!"

"Uh, but we're sisters and—"

"I don't care, now shut up or else I'll put this leek in your mouth and stuff it down your throat!" cut off the second fairy. They made their way towards a corner as the first fairy mumbled something about the first's weird fantasies.

"Anyway, that intruder will probably serve as the Mistress' meal. You know how she likes the daring types who are stupid enough to raid her mansion," continued the second fairy as her friend/sister listened. "Still it's weird; usually Miss Sakuya would kill them there on the spot but to go out of her way to heal him, something must be up! I think we should investigate!"

"That's a bad idea on so many levels," muttered the first, but then her face broke into a grin, "And that's why I like it! But then our promotion... Nah, it should be fine besides... Oh maybe it is bad idea that...Shoot, something of that degree won't even... But then we'd lose our rooms and we'll be back in the dorms—"

A thud indicated an object falling to the ground, followed by a shriek that filled the hallways. The second fairy grabbed the second by her shoulders, causing the latter to drop her towels, and shook her friend with all her fairy might. "Wake up man! This is serious! It's like that covert operation we had when we raided Miss Sakuya's wardrobe! PANTIES, SIS, PANTIES!"

"And you're saying that this investigation would likely fail like that one?" asked the first fairy through her dazed state. The second fairy released her and sent a slap across her face.

With an anxious, and poorly hidden perverted intentions, Fairy number two replied with a hint of desperation in her voice, "No! And I'm saying that it's totally worth the risk! Maybe we can nab ourselves the Mistress' undergarments while we're at it! I know its suicide but it's for the greater good, sis!"

"You're not really making any sense but okay," said the first fairy, shaking her head to regain her bearings, "Maybe we should wait for our pink haired friend. What was her name? Tuna? I mean, she's supposed to be the brains of the Fairy Maid Brigade, maybe she ought to know how we're gonna start."

"We don't have time and we can't miss this opportunity! We're the only ones here and there's no one to stand in our way while we investigate! We can't have her getting in our way if we mess up! Besides, you know what Miss Sakuya said, 'No one is allowed to interact with anyone other than their partner'. Unfortunately for, 'Mackerel' was it? She was sent off alone with the intruder's stuff. And you know how she hates to be alone," said Fairy number two, "The no good well endowed fairy, getting all the cool stuff from the intruder, hmph!"

Bingo...

"Eh? Hey what heck is with this mist?" the first fairy came to a halt and examined the thin veil of white mist that hovered around them.

Her friend glanced back at her and slowly floated her way next to her. "Maybe it leaked from the windows and somehow got in? You know how the Mistress loves to play the overkill card that it sometimes backfires on the mansion."

The first fairy was suspicious at first before quickly dismissing it. How short their attention spans are. "Yeah, maybe you're right. Hey, maybe if Miss Sakuya is tending to the intruder, we can search her room for clues! You know her wardrobe."

The second fairy raised her eyebrows, her confused expression slowly turning into a mischievous one. "Girl, you're gonna get ourselves killed one day."

"Hey we'll regenerate," replied Fairy number one as she and her friend hi fived each other. Without another word, the two of them zipped into the corridor, the items they dropped earlier left scattered on the scarlet carpet.

The mist hung there for a few seconds as if watching them go before suddenly gathering to form the shape of a humanoid finger. Gray gave way to a brown coat, pants, blonde hair, and ash colored eyes. Soon enough, Rook was on his feet staring at the corridor in which the fairy maids had taken. He now had a target and a goal, now it was time to bust some heads.

The best he can guess is that eight minutes had gone by, so he assumed that he had enough time to retrieve his inventory from the fairy maid that had them before making his way to Remilia. That is if things went his way, but seeing that he was playing against a genius elitist of a magus and a highly egoistic mistress of fate, it meant that he was going to improvise. A lot.

He broke into a sprint while headed to the opposite direction the fairies took. Paintings and antique lighting flew by as he ran, the halls were five times larger than the last time he was here, and he certainly didn't build the roof with a height of a four storey building. The mansion was only three stories, yet the immense size of the hallways was near unbelievable. Still, despite being so high up, the golden wrought chandelier still managed to illuminate the corridors with bright golden light while the antique lightings that hung from the wall chased away the remaining shadows with radiance. This however wasn't bright enough to vanquish a vampire so all was well since it served no purpose than clearing the way.

Rook reduced his speed as he came across another corridor. Apparently, he can hear from the distance the sound of fluttering wings rebounding along the wall. Judging by the beat of the wings, the maids were coming in fast. Rook ran to the nearest wall and placed his palm on it. As if searching for something, Rook touched every surface of the wall as if searching for a switch or something. Then he remembered. He gave the wall a frustrated kick and it immediately groaned as it moved aside.

The wall managed to seal itself just in time for a trio of fairy maids chattered in hushed tones. Rook knew that using that corridor would be the end of him because of the abominable groaning of the walls. Maybe he should have applied oil in them to minimize the noise.

Nevertheless, the Human faced the darkness and plunged in without hesitation. Rook can hear his footsteps tapping against the cold gray stone, if he were outside, the noises would have alerted every fairy in the mansion, though it was good thing that he had these passage ways sound proofed. Anyhow, these passages were connected from one end to another, leading one to a completely random place from the area they came from. The mansion was already similar to a maze before the 'change' Rook noticed; he couldn't help but wonder if the mansion somehow evolved.

His thoughts aside, Rook continued to run until he reached a dead end. Rook placed a sparking palm on the wall before giving it another kick. The wall made another noise, similar to a stone scraping against stone as it moved out of the way.

Rook stepped outside once more to find himself in a hallway again. However, it seemed like the place was a whole lot different. Checking if the coast was clear, Rook then travelled to the direction on his right while the wall sealed itself once more behind him.

Ten minutes. He assumed that he would have gotten to Remilia's room by fifteen. Biting back a curse, Rook made his way towards a brown double door. Slowly, he his hand on the doorknob and peeked behind the doors. What he saw was a large array of kitchen wares and cooking utensils. A red bricked stove was lit as the sound of water met his ears. Rook dared dip his head further just to see a fairy with purple hair cleaning dirty dishes on the sink.

Kitchen, so I'm in the west wing. Good, he thought before pulling his head out and glance to his right again, I'm going straight, after that will be a fork leading back to either the entrance hall or the armoury. So I go right again, then our little fairy will be there...

With that thought pegged in his mind, Rook began to run once more.

It was strange, how Patchouli made an effort on keeping him in and yet made no extra precautions in case he got out. Just what was she playing at, it made no sense at all. And what was with Remilia playing along with her? This was her mansion and yet why would she put this place on lock down instead of having hordes of fairies patrol the corridors. Rook lifted his head and glanced up ahead, only to will his body to explode into a fine layer of mist.

Moments later, a white haired fairy maid was looking around with a curious expression on her face. The sound of her fluttering gossamer wings bouncing off the hall. "Huh? I could've sworn I heard footsteps. Weird. Okay that's it, no more coffee during overtime..."

The fairy mumbled to herself as she went down the path Rook came from. Rook didn't want to risk another encounter, so he allowed himself to drift towards his destination in his mist form. A large white door soon came into view, and so has a pink haired fairy locking the door behind her as she turned to leave.

This fairy was roughly the same size as Daiyousei yet had longer and silkier hair with the pale shade of pink. The fairy twisted her key before pocketing it in her apron. "Just be friends~ All we got to do is just be friends~ Time to say good bye, hm, hm, hmm," she sang while heading down the hallway.

His stuff was nowhere to be seen. Meaning that he was too late. Change of plans, he had to steal the keys back, and just in time for him to turn back into his human form too. Rook felt a sharp jab of pain erupt from somewhere within him, signalling that he was on his limit with his mist form. Slowly descending to the scarlet carpet, Rook regained his human form as he casually caught with the fairy in a light jog.

"Uh excuse me can I ask a question," he asked.

The fairy spun around in alarm, but was too late when Rook cupped her mouth with his left hand while he poked her forehead with his right. He wasn't exactly rough as he did so, but he still had to send a bit of electricity into her head to knock her out. A muffled squeal and the fairy was down.

Rook caught her and lifted her like a fireman would do to a person. When he reached the armory's door, he gently placed her beside it and took the keys from her apron. Inserting the key and turning it, the Human entered through the door and into a musty old room filled with ancient tools of war.

A number of the Scarlet's treasures were placed here, ranging from war trophies, scrolls, deeds, property, weapons, and jewelleries. But what caught Rook's attention was the small assortment of items stacked in the middle of the room. He slowly went towards his items and knelt down. None of them appeared to have been tampered with, so he figured that they were safe to use. He quickly took his belt bag and wrapped it across his waist. With a click of the belt's lock, he unzipped one compartment and reached in for a vial of Earth's Blood and drank it.

Feeling the healing effects working, he then took off his coat to put on his gun holster. His dagger glowed a faint red as he grasped it. Marisa was going to kill him if he lost it. Once he was ready, he grabbed the bundle of cloth Rumia had given him earlier and placed it within his pouch before exiting the room. He still had to do something about that knocked out fairy; maybe he can hide her in there for the time—

Rook stopped on his tacks as he came face to face with a familiar silver haired woman. Oh crap, you've got to be kidding—

Before he can even finish the thought, Sakuya's hand reached into her pocket by instinct pulling out a golden watch. Rook's mind clicked, and caught Sakuya by surprise as his foot connected with her right hand, sending the watch flying. The Maid wasted no time countering by delivering a high kick to Rook's head. The attack missed and Rook rose to meet Sakuya's knife with his pistol.

"How. Did. You. Get. Out?" she growled as she was overcome with a monstrous strength which pushed Rook into a wall.

"I'm not about to tell you!" snapped Rook as he gave Sakuya a kick to the gut. The Maid doubled over and fell.

Rook knelt down panting, before standing up again waving the Maid's pocket watch. "Catch me if you can, meido"

Sakuya shot him a venomous glare as he ran off. But then her glare melted into a smirk as she drew a purple crystal from the folds of her skirt. "He's headed your way; I'll make sure he gets there."

Thank you Sakuya, it means a lot to me.

"I will round up the patrols within the corridors, to make sure he arrives at the intended location. He doesn't seem to be the type to fight off large numbers of opponents."

Make sure he doesn't escape; he has to die by my hand before Remilia gets him.

"Understood."

Oh great, just great. Of all times I have to—ugh! Damn it all! Alright, so maybe stealth wasn't my strongest points but still! This is so damned unfair! *sigh* I had centuries to learn why life's so unfair yet the universe still manages to surprise me.

Rook's eyes opened as he let out a roar of frustration, sending a trail of sparks along the walls. For a moment, the walls seemed to have glowed blue before fading back into red. Rook caught sight of a white light on the wall and immediately went back to check on it.

A passage. Good, this is my ticket out of here—WHOA GOD DAMN IT!

Instead of sliding aside to let him through, the wall unceremoniously exploded in orange fire. Rook was tossed back into the opposite wall as his eyes glared at the symbol in which where his used to be. A magic circle which had the image of the sun and moon drawn across it met his gaze. It was obvious who was responsible with this.

Finally stepping up your game? He thought as he licked his dry lips. At the far end of the path he had come from, the sounds of shouting could be heard. They had found him. Nice try but you'll have to do better!

He pushed himself off the ground and resumed his escape.

...

His plan was torn and spitted on, and he had no idea how to escape from the mansion he built himself. Rook made a quick turn and found a stair case leading to the second floor. Glassed window panes raced past him as he travelled. Outside, he can see the vast expanse of the Misty Lake and the forest beyond. From there he can see the Youkai Mountains towering at the distance.

But this wasn't the time to admire the scenery. He had to move. Reaching the far end of the hall, another staircase appeared leading the way down. Behind him a horde of fluttering wings angrily made their way towards him with the intent to maim and hurt. Rook had no desire to be subjected to fairy oppression, so he leapt down the staircase four steps at a time. Once he reached the bottom of the stairs, he was met with the sight of the entrance hall.

Wrong way, he thought to himself and was about to head for the staircase leading to the throne room when a pillar of orange flame roared into life forming a wall. Crap...

Then all of the doors were locked shut with an audible click and from out of nowhere, water began to fill the entrance hall. An invisible force knocked Rook backwards, forcing him into the water. He found out that the water was rising too fast for his taste so he immediately waded to the front door and tried to force it open.

I could blast it open, he thought, but then I'll electrocute myself. And willing my body not to release a discharge is proving to be a pain... Damn it, I'm not going to drown here... Not now.

Soon the water was up to his neck and that his feet left the ground. He began to float. The flames from the pillars bathed the hall in orange light with the waters reflecting them. The water was rising about ten inches per second from an unknown source, so Rook guessed that it was magic. He swam towards the glass windows on either side of the entrance door and punched them hard. The result was more pain for his knuckles.

Gritting his teeth, he tapped the window once more and saw the tiny ripples of purple power move.

"Oh come on!" he yelled as he kept himself afloat, "I know you hate me but this is a low blow, even for you! Get your anemic face out here so we can settle this!"

There was no response except for the sudden increase of the water entering. The water had long gone reached the pillars of fire and it seemed that the flames refused to go out even when they were underwater. That actually didn't help much since the water was starting to get warm. Now that seeing that the flames were on the stairs leading to the second floor, the entire ground floor was now a pool filled with water.

If I don't move now I'll lose all of the remaining space I have for air, thought Rook, think, the only places I can go is through the doors and if I'm ever going through one I'll have only one chance to enter it. But how?!

The ceiling was closing in fast, he had to decide. There was only much time to resurface twice. Yukari, this'll be a good time to bail me out. With that final line of thought, Rook sucked in all of the air his lungs can take before diving down. Putting one arm over the other, Rook traveled to the door that was on his far right. The scenery underwater was all blue with a flash of orange from the still burning fires. He grasped at the doorknobs and pulled. As expected nothing happened. Rook decided to change tactics and shot the knob with his gun. The darts merely bounced off and slowly descended down into the deep.

Rook began to feel light headed and that his chest was tightening, it was then he decided to resurface. Gasping a lungful of air, Rook found out that the ceiling was just a few feet away. Cursing under his breath he dove once more. Using his knife would generate electricity, hastening his demise and his bullets were no use either. The door was magically locked and enhanced that it refused to break down from physical attacks.

Rook lifted his head to see that the water had filled the entire entrance hall with water. Either Rook drowned now or he'll get boiled by the heat, he'll still die.

'Take it and throw it on the ground if you're in big trouble. I think it'll help you', said Rumia's annoying voice. Rook blinked twice and reached into his belt bag, pulling the bundle of cloth from within. Underwater, Rook had a hard time forcing his hands to go faster when you were limited for a few seconds there until you needed to resurface. Once he had taken off the bundle's covers, he was surprised to see the small form of a human in his hands... Only that it wasn't a human but a doll.

Rook didn't have time to curse Rumia for tricking him or not, but he did have time to think, If the Hakurei Shrine does have a god, please let this work. He drew back his arm and threw the doll with all his might. The doll sailed from his hand, down into the door.

BOOM

The doll exploded upon impact in thick white smoke, the blast caused Rook to lose the remaining air in his lungs as he was pulled in. The water roared as it found a hole in which it can go in to, taking Rook with it. An glint of silver caught his eye as he watched it detach from his belt and disappear to god knows where. Once the Human was past the door's entrance it immediately closed itself shut, cutting the water off.

"That...Was nasty..." Rook spat out water from his mouth as he rose on all fours. His breathing was heavy as he struggled to regain his breath. Luck was at his side, yet he wondered on how long it will remain.

Rook was soaked and he felt the weight of the water pulling him down, yet he still forced himself on his feet. Leaning on the wall for support, he unsteadily made his way through the corridor in silence. That's...Going to be the last time I... Accept anything...from that... little snitch... he thought as his heavy footsteps filled the hall. It didn't seem that anyone was in there with him. Everything felt detached as if his mind was still swimming.

He shook his head vigorously to get rid of the strange feeling. Once this was all over, he didn't want to drink water for the rest of the following hours. He had enough of it for one day.

Soon the smooth surface of the wall was replaced by dull hard wood with a lot of bumps. Rook pushed himself away from the wood and allowed himself to collapse on the floor. Lifting his head up to see the door, a groan escaped his lips.

Of all places in this gods damned big mansion. Why did I end up here?! Rook slowly stood up as he glared at the 'Under Renovations' sign of an all too familiar door.

It was the door leading to the library.

Nicolas Notes: Alrighty then.

So I planned out to release this chapter during the weekends, but hey, I'm brimming with ideas! Can't say that I'll be able to update often as fast as my previous releases. Oh well, but life goes on, aye?

Now you're all wondering why I pulled an enigmatic character like Rin Satsuki into the mix, right? I have no idea, but she seems to fit Laevateinn's overall atmosphere. Assuming that I complete this series while keeping it together and putting as much common sense and logic into, I'll be able to give every single character mentioned a part of their own and their very own roles to play that will be vital to the ending.

'Sides I like Rin. No not the cat Rin, but the Kirin Rin... Damn it Koishi, stop messing with my brain.

Anyhow I am to admit that I am stumped at Laevateinn 16's current scene. The chapter's almost 15k and I'm expecting that no one (again) will be able to pre-read it other than myself. Oh well, more practice for me.

Moving on, yes I'm pulling some dangerous strings here with Rin and spitting canon in the face by adding a Mama and Papa Scarlet, but once again this is fanfiction. I just hope everything turns out well in the end, hm? Hehehehehe

Now to end this Author's notes please feel free to rate, review, and share your thoughts. Yes, I'm looking at you anonymous reader.

Again, this was an unedited chapter, constructive criticisms are appreciated but please don't go all blaze of glory on me. I'm kinda mushy. One last thing, I'm still looking for a pre-reader who can put up with 15k word chapters.

That's all and please enjoy Laevateinn to your heart's content. I'm gonna go back to the earlier chapters and start fixing those horrible, horrible, HORRIBLE mistakes. Gods, I look so stupid...

Uh yeah, heh. YAHOO~!