A/N: Geez, really?! I am SERIOUSLY being slow at writing! The last chapter was in 2015, and now it's 2016! Damn, I really lost interest in writing as of late. My most recent previous upload as of this chapter was for my Purity and Taint fic, and that was in September! Sheez! Well, let's see if I retain my interest and get these unfinished fics off life support.
I've also fixed some of chapter 23's more glaring flaws.
That is all, enjoy.
-Tested Insanity-
The main room of the Magic Research Center was tense again. Pop had been gone again for the last ten minutes,
"But why do you have to go!?" the still-ghostly Hana cried, "Shadow Isabelle!"
"Because I still have business to attend to," the Shadow, Shadow Isabelle replied, strictly, "Sure, I would love to stick around and make sure Light Pop stays safe, but I'm afraid I'm needed elsewhere."
The Shadow of the villainous Spanish Witch proceeded toward the door. She seemed to take her time, and she repeatedly fought to not look back. It was clear she did not want to head out despite her duties. In the end, she opted to offer one more shot at conversation by finally giving in and looking back.
"Are you really going to be punished if you go against either of those two's wishes?" Majo Toron asked, clutching her chin and being concerned.
"Yes. Shadow Tourbillon is still more than capable of taking me on in her current state, and Kada remains dangerous." Shadow Isabelle turned back toward the door and walked out after saying, "If you need me, I'll be counting the bodies."
With those words, she was gone.
"Too many things have happened," Majo Toron said, gravely. Hana nodded before returning to the others, who would most certainly remain portraits until the Ghostifier was captured.
Another door flew off its hinges.
Pop trudged inside the room, taking no heed to the shattered glass and scattered fragments that threatened to tear through her boots and cut her up. In fact, the damage seemed to help. She shook her head.
"Why…?" Pop asked, dazed, "Why did I suffer? Why do I hurt myself? Ehehehehe…!" The red Ojamajo's remaining eye twitched, and her lips curled into a nigh-manic grin. "What am I thinking?!" A hole appeared in the wall. A combined Light, Dark, and Sky blast was the sudden culprit. The brief flash revealed the room was still intact otherwise, including the piano. "That's right…this is the music room!"
The young girl's manic expression softened and returned to a more normal state. She eyed the piano, and allowed tears to well up. Collapsing to her knees, the tortured child released the Vac-Drive's nozzle.
"I…I guess I can…for old times' sake," Pop said, tearing up.
With that, the red Ojamajo got onto the piano's bench and began trying her hand at the piano. She had been taking lessons for quite some time, starting about midway through her older sister's second year as an apprentice. It had taken tremendous effort, but she and Doremi were able to convince their mother to let her play the piano despite the latter's misgivings. Hand shaking, Pop pressed her fingers to the keys…
…and found the music coming out awkwardly. It wasn't the instrument's fault; Pop was pressing the wrong keys at the wrong time. Her blood ran cold. How could she not be able to play? She hadn't quit playing whatsoever, and she even practiced several times a week. Why was she-?
Pop began to giggle even as her hands pressed the keys awkwardly. Then she stopped playing altogether. Tears poured from her eyes as her laughter intensified. She stood up, and she grinned.
The piano fell to the ground in numerous, perfectly sliced pieces. Pop had channeled the Darkness power held within the Vac-Drive into a blade.
"I am more damaged than I thought, eheheheehee…" the red Ojamajo mused, chortling, "Am I insane?! AM I?!" Pop instantly began slashing away at everything nearby, punctuating ever destroyed object with, "WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! WHY?! AHAHAHAAHAAAHAAHAAAAHA!"
Had she paid any attention, she would have noticed the floor give way above the far end of the room, close to the door. She would have noticed a ramp leading upstairs, and she would have noticed a peeking set of eyes. By the time she could've spotted them, they were gone.
"Oh, well, look-look at that," Pop said, deranged, "I've really outdamaged myself this time! Haa haahaa… Let's see what's UP THERE, SHALL WE?!"
"Well, that's the last of that!" Shadow Aiko called, throwing a bucketful of rocks and debris into the large mouth that led to passage beneath the courtyard well.
"Finally!" Shadow Hazuki replied, satisfied. She bent backward and relaxed at the sound of her back popping. "That is definitely more work than I am used to!"
Shadow Hana and Shadow Pop sat, back to back, catching the breaths. "So…why didn't we simply use magic…again?" asked Shadow Pop.
"Because that thing's magic might have seeped in here?" Shadow Doremi replied. She hung the portrait containing Doremi back on the wall and frowned. "No one could survive a battle against that monster, not even –I'm pretty sure- Light Queen in that Upgraded Super Witch Form!"
The rest of the remaining Shadow Ojamajos looked toward their de facto leader. It hadn't been that long ago when they were forced to work with their Light Halves, and this plan was something they themselves did not want to do. Recent events reinforced this viewpoint.
"Well," Shadow Hana began, starting up their map, "The mansion has changed a lot. Some places aren't accessible without blasting!" She pointed around. Two massive areas were blacked out completely. "Hey, wasn't this part blacked out, too?"
Shadow Hazuki leaned in close and got a close look for herself. "How should I know?" she replied, "I haven't been watching it!"
"Then Shadow Hana-chan and I will go investigate!" Shadow Pop spoke out, "There haven't been any familiars flying around lately, so it should be safe."
"Alright then," Shadow Doremi replied, "Just stay safe, both of you!"
The remaining Shadow Ojamajos were unnerved by how caring Shadow Doremi seemed now. Then again, a huge event in the past may have been the cause, and this was not the first time that night she had shown this much compassion.
On those thoughts, Shadow Hana and Shadow Pop vanished into the shadows to explore the open area of the mansion…
She floated around the room, hoping someone would show up in this ruined part of the mansion. Massive parts of it were cut off by the monstrous Witches, who had clearly expanded their labyrinths thanks to the massive damage sustained during Pop's battle against Walpurgisnacht. As a ghost very with little power left, it would be suicide to even think of leaving just this tiny space.
The collapse of the floor into the room below gave some hope. At least someone was here, and she was certain this person could be trusted. She peered down…and the madness was simply unfolding.
"Living me," the ghost, Ghost Pop, began, "What's happening to you? You're not a maniac! I know this! I'm a part of you!" Fearing she may have been heard, Ghost Pop slipped back.
Within the next few minutes, Pop had ascended the ramp. Reluctantly, Ghost Pop emerged from hiding; at least, what's left of her. She was no longer a full-blown copy of her still-living counterpart. Now, she was simply a chunk of spectral matter assuming the form of the pink-haired Ojamajo, glowing with a bright red radiance while being only twice the size of a Witch's fairy.
"I…I know why you're here," Ghost Pop began, "You…you want to finish what you started…before that monster cut you off. There won't be a struggle here; I'm at your mercy, and I can't do anything to you." The spectral fragment gave a sad and teary smile to Pop. "I give up. You beat me even at the height of my power…and then the Familiars destroyed Gomibako-kun's remains from within me and reduced me back to this.
"What I'm trying to say is…I want to reunite with you! I don't want to exist like a ghost anymore… I…I know I've done some horrible things! I just-!"
"Eheheeheheheeheheeeeehe! Do you ever shut up?!" The red Ojamajo burst out, aiming the nozzle straight at Ghost Pop, the power of Light activated. "I don't want to reunite with you! I want you deader than dead!"
"No!" Ghost Pop shouted, shaking her head and drifting back a little. "This isn't you! I know who you really are! I was torn out from you!" She looked her living counterpart and tried to piece together what was going on. What she saw of Pop's soul made her shudder. "Please! I'm a part of you! You're hurt! If you absorb me, you wounds will heal! Please! PLEASE!"
"I'm not hurt! Not ANYMORE!" With that, Pop began charging up for a blast of Light. "Goodbye, Ghost Me, and GOOD RIDDANCE!"
On that declaration, Pop shot of beam of Light directly at her ghostly fragment. Ghost Pop's tears ran freely; she was going to be completely destroyed, and Pop would remain irrevocably damaged for eternity. She closed her eyes…
"HOLD EVERYTHING!" shouted someone, loudly.
At the same time, a barrier conjured by what Pop could identify as Shadow Magic appeared before Ghost Pop and blocked the beam. Its source made itself apparent: Shadow Hana and Shadow Pop emerged from the shadows in the room. The former appeared worried and horrified at the scene and extended claws from jewels on her gloves accordingly. The latter seemed shocked and disappointed at what her Light Half was trying to do and had her poron turn into a pair of kukri knives as a precaution.
"Light Pop, please stop this!" Shadow Hana pleaded, "She's a part of you! You need her!"
"I don't understand!" Shadow Pop cried out, "Why are you acting like this? I know you better than anyone! This isn't you! You would never gleefully murder a helpless person!"
Pop simply smirked and chuckled dryly. "Oh how I've heard that line! But actually, I don't need her," she replied, "And you really don't know me as well as you think, Shadow Pop. Eheheeheeheheee!" Her expression softened, becoming tearful. "I've fallen so far…"
"That's not true, Light Pop!" Shadow Hana replied, concerned, "You're not-!"
Shadow Pop dove right for Shadow Hana and got her out of the way just in time to evade a Darkness blast. She had noticed a glint of madness in her Light Half's eyes and reacted in turn. Both ended up on the floor, and they turned to face a deranged Pop Harukaze bearing down on them. They exchanged looks and quickly launched a combined spell.
"Fall asleep!" Both Shadow Ojamajos commanded. Their spell rushed forward in a wave, but Pop simply flipped a switch on the Vac-Drive and the spell deflected harmlessly off the resulting barrier. The two gritted their teeth and muttered, "Shadow Mode…"
"I don't get you, Shadow Hana," Pop, said, giggling, "You're just as strong as Hana-chan, and maybe even stronger than Black Queen, and you can't even break through this? Why? Why? WHY?! WHY?! WHHHYYYY?! Hahaahahaahah!"
It was like seeing someone they knew get possessed by something equal parts evil and monstrous. Pop wasn't acting like the kind and independent yet arrogant small girl they knew her as; she was, as far as they were concerned, psychotic. The two Shadow Ojamajos had never been so aghast, both at the sight and at themselves. They relayed what they had seen to Shadow Doremi, Shadow Hazuki, and Shadow Aiko, warning them of this development in case they wouldn't get the chance ever again.
"You over there!" Shadow Pop called, looking toward the still-frightened Ghost Pop, "Run!"
"Huh? Wha-?!" Ghost Pop began, snapping out of her terror-induced stupor.
"RUN!"
Ghost Pop gave a quick nod and phased through the floor. Both Shadow Ojamajos could only hope she fled the mansion. However, now was not the time to worry about that; now was the time to worry about their own skins. Pop somehow managed to look equal parts livid and amused.
"Well, well, well," Pop began, "Heheheeheeeh…I was just going to torture you after killing that pathetic fragment, but I guess I'll just murder you two instead, how's that? Eh? HOW'S THAT?!"
"We won't lose to you!" Shadow Pop declared.
"And we will bring back the old you!" Shadow Hana added.
A mug shattered on the floor.
All three Shadow Ojamajos in the sanctum were utterly shocked at what Shadow Hana and Shadow Pop had relayed. Shadow Aiko took a step back and fell back, hitting the wall in her daze. Shadow Hazuki couldn't find the will to utter even one line of sarcasm. Shadow Doremi kneeled in front of Doremi's portrait and bashed her fist into the wall underneath it.
"What have we done…?!" Shadow Doremi demanded, not expecting any kind of response.
"We really messed the hell up, didn't we?!" Shadow Aiko retorted, clenching her fist.
Shadow Hazuki turned her poron into her scythe and cut herself on it. The self-inflicted pain snapped her out of her speechlessness. "I…I have no words!" she remarked.
"Then what do we do?! We can't just sit here on our lazy asses!"
"If we go out there, Light Pop will hunt us down and kill us," Shadow Doremi replied, "Then again, I…I really don't think we can stop her from reaching us!"
"Then I say we take the fight to her!"
"We're not going to rush in without some sort of plan," warned Shadow Hazuki, "Shadow Doremi-chan didn't think things through when she went to help the rest of use against our remaining ghostified Light Halves!"
"Hey!" Shadow Doremi griped.
Ignoring Shadow Doremi, Shadow Hazuki continued, "So, I have a plan!" On those words, the orange Shadow began relaying it to both of her fellows.
What was left of the room's windows was blown clean off their frames and onto what was left of the courtyard outside. Shadow Hana slid down from where she had been thrown into the wall. She had a large gash across her arm and her right glove was now resting on some rubble. She struggled to get up, but she found it difficult to balance on her left foot and sore she had twisted that ankle.
Her partner wasn't any better off, having been knocked down the ramp and into the music room below. Shadow Pop felt a number of wood splinters getting lodged into her back in addition to the gashes sustained to her thigh and lower arm. So far, she and Shadow Hana had been lucky, only sustaining injuries that they could easily if eventually heal from rather than the more life-threatening ones. They, however, feared it won't last much longer.
"Why do I have to torture you two?" Pop asked, walking up to Shadow Hana and pinning her foot across her throat, "I simply want to kill you, but you keep trying to stop me and getting tortured for it? Why?"
"Because…B-because this isn't you!" Shadow Hana replied, struggling, "We-!"
"Oh, how I've heard that line! SO. MANY. TIMES!"
"Shadow Hana-chan!" Shadow Pop called, climbing the ramp. She just made it and managed to get to her best friend's side before glaring at her Light Half. "We won't let you do this!"
With a malicious smirk, Pop began charging up a point-blank ranged blast that would surely one-shot both Shadows. Shadow Hana pulled Shadow Pop into a hug and closed her eyes. Shadow Pop eyed her Light Half carefully while returning the hug…right before unleashing another spell. This earned another smirk from the red Ojamajo; why would the Shadow use any kind of spell when it was completely and utterly useless-
The spell blew past Pop and grabbed a piece of debris. Before she knew what was going on, the spell yanked the debris back and slammed it right into the switch, changing it and causing an abrupt end to the elemental energy's charge up. It was replaced by a familiar suction, and both Shadows, still holding one another, were drawn in and trapped inside the Vac-Drive.
"W.H.A.T?!" Pop spoke out, eye twitching, "W…H…A…T?! T…H…E?!" There was a tremendous shout of anguish and disbelief. It shook the room and even caused pieces to flake off the ceiling. "WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE HELL?! WHAT THE HELL?!" The sheer force of her anger caused her to fall on her rump, and she giggled. "It's okay, it's okay. Those two are still out of my way. I-I-I-AHAAHAHAAHAAHAHAA!"
By chance, Pop noticed Shadow Hana's glove that had fallen off her during the fight. It still had its claws extended from the jewel.
"Oh, a souvenir! And this is really going to bite them! Heheheheee!"
The door that normally led out was blocked off by the hole to the music room, though Pop never took advantage of it in the past. Another hole on the other side led to the hallway outside. Putting on the glove, Pop took full advantage of it and left to explore the rest of the crumbling mansion.
The hallway was completely blocked off going to the left; immediate access to the nearby tea room was gone, but there was a hole leading straight into the antechamber, albeit with another slab of floor having fallen in and created another ramp leading further up. Conveniently, the top of that ramp had a door that had been clearly ripped off its hinges. Runes were appearing and disappearing on it at random intervals.
Virginia
"Another Witch it is, then?" Pop mused, cracking a smile. Throwing caution to the wind, she ascended the ramp and touched the knob. Another memory rush tore through her mind, but she didn't care at this point. "You'll do nicely…" she said, grinning maliciously.
In the sanctum's corner stood Shadow Aiko, polishing her poron-turned-hammer. Shadow Hazuki sat in her seat, doing the same with her poron-turned-scythe. Shadow Doremi kneeled in front of Doremi's portrait, facing the other two as she finished up with her poron-turned-bastard sword. All three sighed.
"If the loss of communication is anything to go by," Shadow Hazuki began.
"Then Shadow Hana-chan-" Shadow Aiko continued.
"And Shadow Pop-chan," Shadow Doremi added.
"Then they're both, best case scenario, inside that Vac-Drive," Shadow Hazuki concluded, "Better than the alternative."
The other two nodded in agreement. Even though Black Queen was more than capable of reviving fallen Shadows without risking her own life, they recalled that they weren't exactly on the best of terms with her right now. Shadow Hana and Shadow Pop would be at her mercy and would most definitely be punished for failure, and none of them wanted that. They frankly considered Shadow Momoko and Shadow Onpu to be the luckier ones; they are with the Light Witches and thus somewhat protected from Black Queen's wrath.
"So…I guess I'll track her down…first?" Shadow Aiko asked, gulping, "I am the toughest of us, and I can…?"
"I would rather us go together," Shadow Doremi interrupted, "So we-!"
"If we all go," Shadow Hazuki replied, "Then no one would be here on the off-chance Light Pop barges in and murders Light Doremi! It's a-"
"Um, Shadow Hazuki-chan?"
"-lose-lose situation: If we leave, we risk Light Doremi, and if we go after her one at a time, Light Pop will simply kill us one by one. And-"
"Shadow Hazuki-chan?"
"-going by what Shadow Hana-chan and Shadow Pop-chan were saying about the fight, I wouldn't risk the latter option."
"Shadow Hazuki-chan!"
"What is it, Shadow Doremi-chan?"
"Shadow Ai-chan's already left." Shadow Doremi pointed toward the now-open door and gulped.
Shadow Aiko was indeed nowhere in the sanctum. Feeling prompted to go after her, Shadow Hazuki immediately went straight out the door, leaving the pink Shadow to guard the area and Doremi's portrait. Shadow Doremi attempted to follow, but, remembering the orange Shadow's words, she decided against it. She could not risk Light Doremi's safety against Light Pop. Then again, there were other beings who would exploit her absence.
That much she was certain of…
A/N: The scene with the piano was originally supposed to be in the previous chapter, as was the scene where Shadow Isabelle said "If you need me, I'll be counting the bodies." Oh well, at least I got them in here, and I hope I addressed Pop's sudden slip into madness; if not, please elaborate.
I'm probably going to update this chapter for a while before getting back to Fusion Incident and Purity and Taint. Especially since a later chapter will have a MAJOR spoiler for the former story. I'll write the chapters, I just won't upload them until it wouldn't be a spoiler anymore.
I hope you've enjoyed it so far, but it is still that kind of fic.