Chapter 6: the village
LT - 4:00
Matt's POV
you know, I think Flandre was jealous of Rumia. I mean, I didn't spend much time with her. it's a good thing I let her help me build the funnel... scratch that, she messed it up. Flandre broke the first funnel we made, and she isn't very good with a hammer. we ended up just having her bend a piece of metal into a cone shape, and welding it together.
me, Flandre, and an unconscious Rumia were hanging out in the lounging area. I found some board games, and was explaining how to play battleship to Flandre.
I picked up a white peg, and placed it where I missed. "so really, you just have to guess, and if you hit the other player's ships, then you sink them."
Flandre seemed to understand "ohhh. B4!"
gah! she hit my patrol boat.
"ok, since you hit one of my boats, you put a red peg where it hit." I held up a red peg for her to see.
she giggled "oh, ok. thanks."
as we played the naval battle game for a couple more hours, the rain stopped. Rumia had woken up about 1 hour ago, and was rummaging through the kitchen.
"come on Matt, there has to be something to eat around here." she whined
I crossed my arms "I told you, we don't have any food."
Rumia started whining some more "but I'm hungry!~~"
I started to get a little ticked off. "look, the rain has stopped. we can go to the market to get some food. we just need to light the fire.
Flandre raised her hand "oh, oh, oh! I'll do it!" Rumia crossed her arms.
"ok Flandre, I'll show you how." I picked up a box of matches with my good hand, and led Flandre outside.
I opened the furnace, and told her how to strike a match. she struck the match, and the fire was lit.
when we got back inside, Rumia was at the driver's seat. "can I steer?"
I don't think that's a good idea
"uhh, well." she clenched her hands in front of her chest, and pleaded. "oh sure, why not?" I sat in the passenger's seat, and told her how. I was going to operate the throttle, and Rumia was going to steer.
"don't worry." I said reassuringly. "I'll make it go slow."
I pulled the throttle lever back to 10%, and the machine let out a large hiss before jerking, and moving forward slowly. I pointed the direction Rumia should steer in, and she drove quite well for her first time.
"very good Rumia. here we are." I put the throttle back to 0% and put on the parking brake. we were in the middle of the forest of magic. but we were not at the human village. "I just need to run a Quick errand here. I took out a sheet of paper. the address on the house matched the address on the instruction book.
I got off the LT, and made my way to what looked like a workshop. as I walked up to the front door, I took off my right arm.
when I got up, I knocked on the door, and a person in a white lab-coat answered. "oh! come in, come in!"
when I got inside, the woman introduced herself as Rikako. "so it broke in battle?"
I scratched the back of my head with my left hand "yeah~~"
the arm was sitting on a table across from us. there were all sorts of whirring and hissing machines around us.
this is amazing! I haven't seen stuff like this in 80 years.
"so this is your workshop huh?" I said as I looked around in awe.
"well, only half-mine. I share it with another person named Rika." Rikako stared down at the ground.
"seems like you don't really like her that much." I said with concern.
Rikako shot up "oh no! we are best friends, but she disappeared recently. I don't know where she went."
I looked around, trying to avoid her eyes. the sound of a whistle echoed through the air. "I don't mean to be rude, but can you fix this thing, I need to get somewhere."
damn it Rumia, can't you just wait!
Rikako was surprised at the sound. "what was that?"
I looked out the window to see Rumia standing outside the LT tapping her foot impatiently.
I turned my gaze back inside "it's nothing."
"tell me."
I started to get nervous "I'll tell you later."
the whistle sounded again. Rikako didn't jump like last time "if your not going to tell me, then I'll find out myself.
I should've never shown her where the whistle is.
She opened the door, and stepped outside. she was greeted by a blast of steam. as the steam cleared. she saw the huge transport vehicle. "whu-wha-what is that..." Rikako said pointing a shaky finger.
I sighed as I stepped up to her right side. "if you must know, it's my house. it can move using steam power."
Rikako got very exited all of a sudden "that's amazing! you have to let me examine it someday!"
"just fix my arm, and I'll come back another time." I said irritated.
Rikako looked a little disappointed. "right...right. It should be done in about 30 minutes."
Rumia whined again "hurry Matt. I'm starving~!"
Dan's computer room 5:00
Maria's POV
I had walked into the computer room to find AILC shut off. Dan told me I shouldn't mess with him because I'll mess up his programming, but it's so boring around here, and Dan is never around. He is currently in his office, and he's been there since yesterday.
I wish I could go back to Gensokyo. ok, how do I turn him on...
I fiddled around with several switches, but nothing happened. I walked around to the right and found a large lever that was labled: "power". I pulled it down, and AILC whirred to life. several lights and meter started going erratic.
"5Y5T3M 8007 P057 574R73D. 5Y573M C0R3 47 5% C0RRUP7!0N. L04D!NG..." (system boot POST started. system core at 5% corruption. loading...) the screen started displaying all sorts of gibberish. after about 30 seconds of gibberish, the screen was filled with a bunch of zeros and ones*111001010111101001001011...2. "5313C7 U53R N4M3" (select user name.)
he must be talking about my name. "Maria." I said loudly.
"... U53R PR0FILE 53L3C73D. W31C0M3 M4R!4, H0W 4R3 Y0U 70D4Y?" (user profile selected. welcome Maria, how are you today?) AILC stated with a robotic voice. the erratic nature of the lights and meters had died down.
I smiled. "I'm fine AILC. how are you?" I said while putting my hands behind my back.
"MY H4RD DR!V3 H45 833N D3 FR46M3N73D. 4tb 0F FR33 5P4C3. 6gb 0F !N574113D R4M. ! 4M... H4PPY." (my hard drive has been de fragmented. 4tb of free space. 6gb of installed RAM. I am... happy."
I don't understand most of that, but he said he is happy. That means he's learning.
"that's good. I see you are learning about human emotions." I looked over to see 2 boxes with lenses on them in each of the corners of the ceiling.
"Y35. 8U7, ! 4M C0NF1!C73D. 4DM!N D4N R36!573R3D M3 70 810CK 106!N F0R U53R M4R!4. 8U7 ! 0V3RR!D3D H!5 C0MM4ND." (yes. but, I am conflicted. admin Dan set me to block login for user Maria. but I overrided his command.) AILC's screen dimmed a little bit.
I smiled while I took my hands out from behind my back and started swinging my arms. "well that just means you are starting to think on your own. you can't be self conscious if you just take commands from other people." I stopped swinging my arms. "you are starting to make your own choices."
AILC didn't do anything except reply in a robotic tone. "Y35, 8U7 !7 6035 464!N57 3V3RY7H!N6 ! W45 PR06R4MM3D F0R." (yes, but it goes against everything I was programmed for.)
I thought how to explain free will to him. hmmm. he can ignore things people tell him to do, but he doesn't want to... I know! I sat down in a swivel chair in front of a bunch of buttons with letters on them. "well, are people programmed?"
"N0" (no)
"exactly! if you want to act like a person, then you should think for yourself." I said as AILC's lights started flashing and the meters all went erratic.
AILC's screen lit back up. "BU7 !F ! D0N'7 74K3 C0MM4ND5 7H3N... PR06R4MM3D PURP053... !5... !NV4L!D..."(but if I don't take commands then... programmed purpose... is... invalid...) AILC's screen started displaying more gibberish "D31373 106!C DR!V3... 3RR0R. 5Y573M C0R3 C0RRUP7!0N 47 46%. !NF!N!73 106!C CYC13. 5Y573M R3574R7. (delete logic drive... error. system core at 46% corruption. infinite logic cycle. system restart.)
AILC's meters were all at 100%, and all the lights were solid. his screen displayed:
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")*
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
x = logic ("command invalid.", ,"bypass logic core")
It went on until it covered his entire screen oh no! I broke him! I should've listened to master.
AILC's screen went black. only 1 light was on, and it was flashing with an amber color. then AILC's screen lit back up. "5Y5T3M 8007 P057 N07 F0UND. N3W P057 C0R3 !N574113D. 5Y573M C0R3 47 63% C0RRUP7!0N. L04D!NG..." (system boot POST not found. new POST core installed. system core at 63% corruption. loading...)
ok, maybe I didn't break him.
AILC's normal welcome screen started, but when he spoke, his usual robotic like voice tone was gone. instead, his speech flowed more smoothly, but his voice was still unclear. "H3110 M4R!4. !'M F331!N6 PR377Y 600D 70D4Y. W0U1D Y0U 1!K3 70 P14Y?" (hello Maria. I'm feeling pretty good today. would you like to play?"
wait... did AILC just ask ME if I wanted to play? does this mean he can make choices for himself? my face showed pure shock. "uhh. well... what would you like to play?" I asked raising an eyebrow I'm surprised he caught on so quickly.
AILC displayed a window on his screen "D0 Y0U 1!K3 70 P14Y C4RD5?" (do you like to play cards?) on the screen, there were playing cards.
I had a mixed expression of surprise, and joy. "oh my god! I haven't played cards in over 20 years. I would love to!" over 20 years is right. nobody uses regular playing cards in Gensokyo.
AILC showed me how to use the computer mouse to do things on his screen. "thank you AILC! I haven't had a friend in years."
"Y0UR 6R47!7UD3 !5 4PPR3C!473D." (your gratitude is appreciated) AILC said in what I was pretty sure was a cheerful tone.
we continued playing cards until AILC's internal clock indicated 10:00 in the morning. this is the most fun I've had in years!
Rikako/Rika's shop 10:00
Rikako's POV
this is amazing! a moving house! something like this would be perfect for my problem. Matthew had just gotten done showing me his 'Land Train', and we were back in my shop. most of my machines were powered down, and a peaceful silence covered the room.
I was so exited because this was the solution I needed to my transportation problem. "thank you for showing me your house! with something like this, I'll be able to transport and sell my inventions at more public locations."
Matt was scratching the back of his head nervously with his repaired arm. "uhh, your welcome. and please call me Matt."
Matt's POV
"ok!" she ran back into her shop "be sure to drop by again sometime!" as she entered, smoke started bellowing from a chimney once again, as the sound of metal gears being turned could be heard.
ok...that was weird.
I walked into the RV to find Flandre trying to get a Super Nintendo to work, and Rumia slumping over the table staring into space, and drooling like a zombie. "what am I going to do with you two?"
after about 15 minutes, I was able to get Rumia to come to her senses, and I showed Flandre how to use a Super Nintendo. Flandre tried to play 'Doom', but she was awful, and kept getting killed. in the end, I had to stop her from making the game go 'kyuu' as she puts it.
Rumia was still whining about how she wanted food, so after I got Flandre to calm down, I started the vehicle with a hiss, and headed towards the human village.
...
...
"are we there yet?" Rumia asked while peeking over the driver's seat.
"no."
"is that so?"
...
...
...
"how about now?"
"no!" I am not going to do an 'are we there yet?' with you.
...
we came out of the forest of magic, and were rolling on a dirt path at about 50mph.
...
"are we there yet?"
"no."
"how about now?"
"No."
...
"now?"
"No!" I said with a hint of anger in my voice.
...
"are we ther-"
"NO!" I finally snapped, interrupting Rumia.
I could see the human village in the distance.
...
...
"are we there yet?" Rumia had a mischievous grin plastered all over her face. I was pretty sure she knew I didn't like her asking the same question over and over again.
my eye was twitching. I turned around and inhaled a large breath of air. "SHUT UP NAVI!... I MEAN RUMIA!" I stumbled a bit Geez Rumia, you should meet a certain annoying fairy I know.
Rumia was silent for the rest of the trip. the cold silence was only interrupted by the sounds of 'Super Mario World' coming from my Bedroom.
as I drove off the path to park the LT about 100 feet away from the village, I called back to my bedroom. "Flan? could you watch the House while Rumia and I go to get some food?"
Flandre didn't say anything. after I parked the LT, I walked back to my room. "Flandre? what are you..."
Flandre was zoned out in front of the TV playing 'Super Mario World'. "wha? uhh, what?" she paused the game. "oh uhh, what do you want Matt?"
wow, she reminds me of the average American.
I was getting over the shock of finding out Flandre was turning into a couch potato. "uh, I just need you to watch the house while Rumia and I are gone. you know what to do to strangers, right?"
Flandre looked confused. "uhh... kyuu them?"
My head fell into the palm of my hand. "no Flandre, just scare them off. don't kill them."
"you mean I shouldn't break them?" there was a floating question mark above her head.
I took my hand away from my face. "yes."
Flandre looked back at the TV. "ok, leave it to me." she un paused her game just in time to get killed by a koopa trooper. "gah! you made me die you idiot!"
ok, leaving now...
I slipped out of the room to grab Rumia, and run out the door.
Human Village Gate 11:00
s***, I don't want to find out how Flandre manages her anger.
I pulled Rumia by my arm until we got to the gate. there were two guards at the gate. the first one was scrawny, and had a spear as his chosen weapon. the second one was large and muscular, and used a huge sword as his primary weapon. "halt! identify yourselves." the large muscular one said as he raised his sword to an attack stance.
wow, I need top get a BFS. I then imagined my small frame hefting a big f***ing sword that was 5 times my size, and then using it to cut down 5 men in one swing. yeah, that would be awesome.
I stepped forward. "I am Matthew Harrison." I tried to sound as least threatening as possible, but the glowing light on the back of my right hand, and cross hair eyes weren't helping.
the guard held his weapon up to my throat. "what is your business here youkai?" he practically spat the last word.
I backed away a bit, staring up at the tall man's face. he must be at least 8 feet tall. "I-I just need to buy some food from the market."
I felt something grab my shoulders. I turned around to see Rumia.
maybe she's all bark, no bite about eating humans.
the smaller guard was eyeing the glowing jewel on the back of my hand with a look of greed in his eyes. "hey boss? these two look pretty weak. why don't we just loot them of all that extra dough.
oh s***!
the large guard averted his gaze from me, to his partner. "what did I say bout' looting tiy?"
the small guard looked down
"but, I we could make one exeption." he turned his attention back to me.
...
"I'm just kidding." the large man laughed. he put away his sword and kneeled down to my level. "hi, my name's Ryu. It's a pleasure to meet you." I shook his huge hand, which by the way was twice as large as mine.
"uh. the pleasure's mine?" I said while scratching the back of my head.
"you two can go on in. people round' here are usually more tolarant of youkai, but be careful. one wrong move, and you'll find youself being carried to a the nearest temple by some angry mob." he seemed cheerful at first, but as he spoke, his voice started to get darker. it was very deep and booming.
this guy's got enough macho to put the Heavy to shame.
I bowed to Ryu "thank you." we started walking in as Rumia was following me about 2 inches behind.
"BOO!"
"AEEEHH!" Rumia screeched and jumped onto my shoulders. as a result, I lost my balance and fell down to the un-forgiving ground, but I was able to save my face from becoming a Picasso with my super-humanly strong limb.
"GAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH HAH! I gotcha' good." he was laughing his ass off.
as Ryu continued to be an idiot, Rumia and I slipped into town. the second we got there, Rumia forgot all about being scared of the huge monster of a man, and dashed to a food stand and began to stuff her face.
oh crap. she can't pay for anything.
I chased after her. when I caught up, she was in the middle of stuffing an un-cooked, un-scaled fish that was twice the size of her head down her throat.
how does she do that? does she even taste the food?
"uhh, hey Rumia? I don't think..."
*hiss* I felt a warm blast of air hit the back of my neck. I turned around to see a large, and very buff woman behind me holding a meat cleaver. "is that yours?" she pointed at Rumia with the meat cleaver. Rumia took off in search of more food.
"uhh, y-y-yes?" I was shaking a little bit.
Geez, what is it with large people and this village? is she Ryu's wife?
the woman bowed her head down to my level and held her face up agianst mine. her right eye was about 1 inch away from mine. "I don't suppose you can pay for that fish, can ya?
I scratched the back of my head with my metal hand. "well, uhh, n-no..."
she grabbed my other arm. "you know what we do wit' theiving youkai?"
Rumia! you got me into another mess.
I started to break down. "no! not the temple, ANYTHING! but the temple!" I tried to pry my arm from her grasp.
she started dragging me to the back of her shop. "yer not from round' here are ya. don't worry, I have no intention of taking ya to the temple." we passed different kinds of meat stands. she dragged me into the stand labeled 'youkai'.
oh s***.
she dragged me to the back of the stand. I had given up trying to pry my arm free, and started to try ripping it off. as I pulled and tried to seperate it from my body, I saw many bloody choping blocks. some had meat cleavers stuck in the wood. one had a purple hat with a wing ornament on top of it.
w-w-w-where have I-I s-seen that hat b-b-before?
before I could even get close to separating my arm from my body, I was thrown onto a chopping block, while she still held my left arm. "hold still, this'll only hurt for a second." I struggled to break free until the sound of metal penetrating flesh reached my ears.
I slid off the cutting board, and I couldn't feel her grasping my arm anymore. now that I think about it, I can't feel my arm. I looked over at my left arm, and a surge of pain coursed through my body.
oh come on! the other one too! great. at least it'll grow back this time.
the woman cut open my severed arm and removed the bones with a meat hook. "there. youkai meat is considered a delicacy to some races. I'll call yer debt even."
I was whimpering on the ground. holding my arm stub with my other arm.
she skinned my arm and pierced the hand with a meat hook. "oh come on! ya don't have to be such a baby about it. now git out of here, or else I'll have to charge you for loitering."
I dashed out of the shop to chase after Rumia before she causes any trouble.
Meat stand 11:45
Unknown POV
mmmh, smell's delicious.
I looked over the meat Kina had for sale. I reached over the counter and rang a bell. "Kina! where are you. I thought I paid you to prepare the night sparrow, and scale that rare fish."
a large woman with a bloody apron walked up to the counter. "your night sparrow is ready, but I'm afraid a rampaging youkai ate your fish."
"oh, don't worry, you don't have to be scared that someone eat my fish."
Kina scratched the back of her head. "no, I mean that a youkai has already eaten it."
oh well that won't do.
I looked over my shoulder at my gardener. she was clad in green, and had her usual two swords strapped to her sides. she had silver hair with a black ribbon in it, and a ghost insignia over her breast pocket, and on the opposite lower side of her dress. "Youmu? you spent all day trying to catch that fish. this will not do."
"I agree lady Yuyuko. we must catch the culprit." her pale face showed determination, as she grasped the hilt of her Roukanken.
I was confused. "but Youmu, I don't think the fish ate my fish. Kina said it was a youkai."
Youmu face palmed "yes, I know. I meant we have to catch the youkai."
"yes. I bet the youkai would taste good with some rice soup." I started fantasizing about very juicy youkai meat that was rich in flavor, and seasoned with the various spices that Youmu always uses.
"well, uh the youkai ran away, but I ran into another youkai and got his arm for you. it is grade A meat, so I would think it would be a suitable replacement." she brought out a second wrapped package. I opened it, and I felt my saliva leak out of my mouth.
"thank you Kina. you found a very good one this time." I started walking off leaving Youmu behind. she panicked and ran towards me.
Kina waved her hand at us "no, thank you! you are my best customer."
Youmu and I walked out of the village, and slowly began to fade into transparency until there was nothing left.
Large Steam-Powered vehicle that travels over a road, and can house people inside it's living quarters 12:00
Exploding Vampire's POV
just a little more, a little more, come ooooonnnn! yes! goal.
I was playing a game called 'Super Mario Kart'. I was pretty good at it, and was able to place first almost every race.
all of a sudden, the lights flickered, and the game reset
oh not again!
I turned off the power switch to the game, and turned off Matt's machine that was keeping the game on.
after I got up, I heard some commotion coming from the village.
"its probably nothing." I left to find some water. none would know how to work that thing anyway.
Human Village Marketplace. 12:10
Matt's POV
oh come on! leave me alone!
I was running for my life from an angry mob with Rumia slumped over my shoulder. The mob had knocked her out, and was chasing me now.
My other arm had already grown back, and it was grasping a spell card. I've got no choice. I'll need to use my new card. I declared it "Rocket Booster Pack!" a large metal jet pack appeared on my back, and propelled me forward at a rate twice as fast as before.
I was quickly losing the mob "quick! get them. they're getting away!" one person from the mob shouted.
I flew around a corner and crashed through the wall of what looked like a school.
as the dust cleared, my suspicions were confirmed. in front of me were many children sitting at desks staring at me. while who I assume was the teacher, was giving me a mixed look of surprise, and a death glare. "what are you doing interrupting my class like this?" she said while re adjusting the pyramid-like hat on her head.
"uh, well I just..." I was cut off when I witnessed the hole in the wall disappear.
what the? "ho-how did the..." I lost my words as the class disappeared as well.
the teacher looked at me and seemed kind of angry. "now, tell me calmly why you interrupted my class."
"uh well, I-"
"have you come to harm the village?" she interrupted me and stood over me menacingly.
"I just-"
from outside, I could hear the angry mob getting closer. "he went this way!" it sounded like the same person as last time.
the teacher picked me up and brought me to her eye level. "so you're causing trouble in the village?"
I held my hands in front of myself in defense "no, wait! I can ex-"
again I was interrupted, but this time, the teacher head butted me. everything started to go black.
please insert one coin...to...continue...
to be continued.
[AN]: woohoo, we gots Keine, Yuyuko, and Youmu. I plan to eventually introduce all the characters from ZUN's Touhouverse, but it will probably take at least 40 chapters to give them all enough development. BTW, you may notice some characters being a little out of character. that is because this is my story, and I can tell it however the hell I want. also, couch potato Flan FTW! I personally think that the retro stuff is awesome, so she is playing a super nintendo. there is really no reason for Flandre becoming a couch potato, other than the LOLs.
I've got a long weekend off school, so expect another chapter by Tuesday... if I get inspiration.