Seraphina stretched her stiff limbs, cracked her neck, and stepped into her soft jade coloured slippers. As she lifted herself slowly off the lush quilt tucked neatly into her bed she eyed the rising sun. She knew she hadn't woken incredibly early due to the sharp glare glinting through the glass of the window to her right. She decided to venture into the kitchen for some breakfast.
As she slid groggily through the single hallway connecting all the rooms in the lower hull a familiar smell flooded her senses. It was a thick, rich smell, belonging to only one possible candidate. Though her mouth watered with the scent thick in her lungs, heaving and relieving the aromatic taste, her mind shot out warnings to her stomach as if trying to cry out that something was wrong with the scent. Overwhelmed by the empowering smell, Seraphina found herself ignoring her gut instinct and followed the aroma slowly down the hall, trying to place the heavenly scent. She was half way to the kitchen, which seemed to be the source of the smell, when she felt a sharp nudge at her side, curving her frame away from the prod; her eyes caught a flicker of long brown hair flying in the wind as it rushed by her. When she regained her senses Seraphina was able to asses the situation properly. The thing that had bumped into her had actually been Sarra, who was still in her yellow and pink polka dotted pyjamas, her brown hair, the only thing Seraphina was able to see when she rushed past her, was not in its usual low pony tail, but swept across her back, free and flowing to her mid-back. What alarmed Seraphina was not Sarra's unusual night wear choice, but that she was running head-long down the hall. As she reached for the door to the kitchen, Seraphina's mind finally clicked together. She understood why the intoxicating smell had unsettled her, and why Sarra was bolting for the kitchen. As she realized this, she found her own self running for the door, a large knot twisting in her stomach.
As she took a hard left into the kitchen, she was both relieved and angered by the scene before her. Sarra was stopped three feet from the door, her mind comprehending what was before her.
Mizuki sat in a wooden chair in front of a small round table, Vasilisa on the other side. They had obviously been in mid conversation but were stopped by sarras' sudden appearance. Mizuki was staring at her, a startled expression on her face. Vasilisa was sipping at a dark liquid, the exact liquid that produced the aroma that led the girls standing at the door to the kitchen.
When she was finally able to understand what was going on, Sarra let out a frightened shriek.
"What do you think you're doing?" Seraphina shouted shortly after. "Do you know what could happen by making that?"
Mizuki followed the line Seraphina's finger was pointing to, finding herself staring bewildered at her mug. "Coffee?" She asked, confused. "Do you want some? I can make some more." She motioned to move, but Seraphina stopped her.
"No! You must not make ANY more coffee! You have already endangered us once! No more! Where did you even find that?"
Mizuki looked confused. "I packed some before we left. I imagined some people would want some, actually, I thought you liked coffee." She thought, taking another sip from her steaming cup.
"I do! But not when it puts us in danger!" Seaphina cried, thrashing her hands in the air angrily.
"We're being careful!" Mizuki responded, hurt.
"It's not a matter of that! If even one drop gets on Komurin, it could go crazy!" Sarra repressed the memories of the other four Komurin.
"Relax." Mizuki smiled, lifting her coffee to her lips, pressing the rim to them and then tipping her head back, gulping down the hot liquid. A stream escaped down her chin but before it could hit the ground Mizuki swept it up with her arm, rubbing it against her skirt to dispose of any evidence. She then stuck her finger in the mug and swirled it around, collecting all the excess coffee, ensuring no particles would cause Komurin to flip. As an extra precaution, Mizuki threw the mug out the window just in case.
After Mizuki settled herself comfortably back in her chair, Seraphina and Sarra proceeded to glare at Vaislisa's coffee.
"No way in hell." Vasilisa said calmly, wrapping her hands around the mug protectively. "I'm not going to rush my morning coffee. It's all that keeps me awake through the day."
Seraphina was about to protest when she was rudely shoved aside by a half asleep Alexandreina. "I smell coffee." She thought, sniffing the air and wandering over to Vasilisa, now the only proof of the coffee's existence. She grabbed the coffee from Vasilisa's clamped hands, putting up a fuss for the last cup. As she finally acquired the beverage, shoving Vasilisa away with a bare foot, she gulped the cup back quickly, wiping her mouth with the sleeve of her pink night gown and throwing the mug in the sink.
Her eyes opened fully once the coffee set in and she lifted her foot from its resting place on Vaislisa's head. "Now what were you guys talking about?" She asked, grabbing a chair and plopping herself in it.
"I guess it doesn't really matter now." Sarra sighed, grabbing another chair.
"Well that was unsettling." Seraphina grunted, collapsing into her own chair.
The girls conversed, soon accompanied by a groggy and starved Eas. What they were not aware of, was the thin stream of coffee oozing out of Vasilisa's mug and into the drain.
After the girls were finished with their breakfast; two batches of Sarra's specialty chocolate chip pancakes with warm bread rolls, they decided to replace their colourful night attires for their newly washed uniforms. They still had about two days left but they were already getting antsy. Komui seemed like he had taken an all nighter in case anything went wrong, and also because of the work that had been dumped on them since the deaths of the six exorcists and others as well as keeping in firm contact with the Asia branch head, Bak.
The girls greeted the receiver with groggy faces, asking him if there was anything new going on, and confirming the time it would take to get there. They decided to refrain from telling him about the coffee incident. Afterwards, the girls split up to do their own activities. Vasilisa went back to sleep promptly after the small amount of coffee in her system had worn out. Sarra was finishing cleaning up the kitchen and was contemplating what to make for lunch. Mizuki and Seraphina decided on a game of pool in the small games room. Eas and Alexandreina had received an energy burst since breakfast and were running around the deck wearing scrubbers on their feet and playing tag with the soapy bubbles spread out on the wet floor.
The series of events that followed the brusque morning was set off by a series of flags. The first flag was something small, something no one would suspect. The ones to fallow, however, were no small matter.
As was said, the first flag was little out of the ordinary, a slip up of the controls. The mechanical hands assigned to the over all cleaning of the ship grabbed Alexandreina, instead of the mop sitting beside her, and began scrubbing the floor with her feet; luckily she was still wearing the scrubbers so it wasn't a big deal. After a quick slash of her innocence, the dismounted hand rushed away. Eas was on her back in a fit of laughter, though Alexandreina was not pleased. "Get some damn glasses!" She screamed in the direction the hand took off in.
The second flag was a slightly bigger matter, only slightly more of a worry.
Sarra kneaded the dough for the noodles, stretching it and scrunching it until it was ready to be pressed into the long thin chunk of noodle. The creamy red sauce sat beside the glass dish. Cheese and ground beef waited to be added with the mixture. When it was ready, Sarra set the first layer of noodle in the dish, adding the sauce, sprinkling some cheese and spreading the meat over the first layer. Then she repeated the process until it was complete. The stove was at a comfortable 400*, perfect for cooking the lasagne. With her thick over gloves, she mounted the dish onto the single rack in the middle of the stove and shut the door, setting a small manual timer. She put away everything on the counter and took out some chilled pie crust and a bag off apples. When she turned to get the cinnamon, however, the red of the stove froze her. As she knelt down to look into the small window she was nearly blinded. The flames engulfed the inside of the stove with menace, the lasagne completely concealed in the raging inferno. Sarra shrieked at the mini hell and ran for a bucket of water. Just as she reached the sink, however, the Oven instantly cooled, the red diminishing almost instantly and the flames no longer viewable. After opening the windows, Sarra carefully opened the door to the stove, the steam thick and suffocating, billowing out the window and towards the sky. The glass dish had either shattered of melted, regardless, it was nowhere in sight. All that was left of the lasagne was a small black lump in the middle of the charred rack. Sarra cocked her head in confusion. After a few minutes of wonder, she decided to make something that didn't involve the oven.
The third flag, however, was the one that truly alerted the girls. This mishap, was not just one, but a series of unanimous events that defined the disturbing reality.
As the girls got bored, Mizuki decided to cancel the tournament, which had lasted the first part of the day. Gradually, she made her way to the deck and to the receiver to talk with Komui. He had been taking a break from the microphone since his lack of sleep was getting the better of him, so Mizuki didn't expect him to respond. And she was right. When she called to him, there was no reply. Instead, though, there was a static like sound emanating from it. Mizuki cocked her head at the sound and listened closer. There was a crack in the static every thirteen seconds where she could hear a muffled male voice. It sounded like the frequency was bad.
"Hey Komui, if you can hear me, it looks like the reception in this spot is bad! We'll talk once it's gone!" She hollered.
In ten seconds the glitch happened again and she could hear Komui yelling something, " Kom…Not…..It….Stat….Means….Bad!"
The words confused Mizuki. "I'm sorry, I can't understand! What's bad?"
She listened for four seconds before the glitch reappeared, Komui's voice clearer than it had ever been. "Komurin is messing with the controls! He's the one that created the interference! He's Coru…." The line went dead, Komui's' voice, The static, it all went silent. Mizuki ran through the information Komui had given her in her head.
"But other than that, Komurin hasn't done anything unusual, that I know of." Mizuki whipped around suddenly, a large knot in her stomach. The others! She thought as she scanned the deck. Alexandreina and Eas seemed to have moved down stairs. She needed to warn them, or at the very least ask them if anything weird happened to them.
Seraphina stretched out onto the small couch in the games room, wondering what to do next. The game had ended in a tie, and Mizuki had left her to see if anything was new with Komui. She contemplated helping Sarra with lunch, but knowing her, she'd decline, wanting to sharpen her skills on her own, and frankly, she knew she really couldn't cook, so it was better if she left the food to the professionals. Vasilisa was in her room, either sleeping or reading, neither needed company. She thought about reading herself, but she didn't think she could do it while on the sea. Her next thought was to see what Alexandreina and Eas were doing. That idea seemed plausible, perhaps they could assist her in her boredom, or at least join her. She grabbed the chair, lifting herself up and stumbled to the open door. She stepped into the hall, the silence some what eerie. A large crack sounded above the deck and she wondered if Mizuki had slipped on the deck and cracked her head. It seemed likely. As she passed one of the bed rooms, the door creaked open. She turned to it, confused. The wind. It's the wind doing this. She thought, rubbing her chilled arms. As she continued, she noticed the broom closet door was open. "Alexandreina and Eas must be cleaning up; they need to learn how to close a door!" She walked swiftly to the door, grabbing hold of the knob and slamming it. The door shook, then rebounded open again. "What the heck?" She cried out, annoyed now. She peered into the closet, looking for something that might be in the way of the door. She was disgusted by the tangled mess of cleaning supplies, mounds of brooms, and mops, stacks of buckets, it was a catastrophe. The object blocking the doorway was a broom. Its limp stem splayed across the left corner of the doorway. She sighed, bending down to grab the broom. As she did so, the broom seemed to move, sliding to the right corner. Seraphina wondered if the ship was rocking. She reached out her hand once more, this time to the right corner. Yet again, just as she was about to grab it, the Broom slid again, this time to the center. Angered now, Seraphina rolled up her sleeves and placed her hands on both sides of the broom, giving it no way to escape. Slowly, she slid her hands closer until they were right beside the broom. When they were in position, she lunged, cupping her hands over the long handle. As she did this, the broom flew up, knocking her hands away and flying into her forehead. As it escaped down the hall, its bristles trailing behind it. Seraphina sat up, rubbing the round red mark on her forehead. She looked back as the broom bustled up the stairs, scampering away. The shock was clouding her mind, or maybe it was the hard smack to her forehead, regardless, she wasn't thinking straight, and had no time to control what came next. Out of the closet all the mops and buckets and brooms rushed out, stampeding like a bunch of scared horses, parting around Seraphina. The last of the mops stopped beside her, allowing her to understand one thing; the cleaning supplies were alive, and kicking. Shakily, she stood up, reaching for the broom, wondering whether it was just a figment of her imagination. Before her fingers could brush the thin wood, the door slammed into her back, knocking her into the closet, and closing behind her. The darkness was a weird welcoming as her eyes blurred and her thoughts drifted.
Alexandreina wiped the sweat from her brow as she slipped the scrubbers off her feet, the bristles full of left over bubbles. Eas was slumped against the wall. They had just finished the great hall and it had left them worn and tired. The floor sparkled magnificently and that left the girls proud. As they rested, they discussed how fun it will be to find the others, and kick some Akuma butt. Alexandreina explained to her what defeating Akuma is like, elaborating her tales to make them even more exiting. When their energy returned to them, they decided to play a game of tag on the wet floors. They skidded around, smashing into walls and falling on their butts trying to tag each other. Alexandreina nearly sent one of the tables flying when she dove into it trying to avoid a graceful stab of Eas's hand. The table let out a groan when it was fully seated again, and the girls laughed. Eas launched herself at Alexandreina again, this time cornering her against the table, and launched her hand towards her. Alexandreina closed her eyes as the hand drove for her chest, giggling the entire time. She waited a few moments, wondering when she would be tagged. Finally, after a few seconds, she opened her eyes, wondering why Eas hadn't tagged her. What she saw confused her. It looked as though she was seeing Eas from behind bars. Tall wooden pillars rose to eye level, connected by a large chunk of wood which had an intricate design carved into it. Eas's face looked equally confused, and shocked. In unison, they traced their way down the thin pillars until it intersected with another large chunk of wood, though this time it was connected at the edge by the pillars, creating a sort of seat like thing. Below four wooden limbs stretched out in accordance to the floor.
"When'd a chair get there?" Alexandreina asked, mystified.
"I don't know, but I think my hands stuck." Eas replied, tugging at her arm. Between the middle bars, her outstretched hand wriggled, trying to get free. "I don't know how I got it in so easily! I didn't even feel it pass through, but now it feels impossible to get out! It's like the bars shrunk as soon as my hand passed through!" Eas was frustrated now, using the chairs seat as leverage and pulling with all her might. If she had pulled any farther it looked like she may have been able to dislocate her arm.
"Here, let me help." Alexandreina said, pushing on her hand while Eas pulled. No luck.
"What am I going to do?" Eas cried, straddling the chair. Alexandreina shook her head. "How on earth did you get it in there?"
"I don't know!" Eas whimpered, exhausted by the effort she had displayed.
Alexandreina grabbed another chair and sat in it, tapping her fingers on her chin. "What if we used butter, or grease? You might be able to slide it out that way!"
Eas shrugged her shoulders. "If you think it will get me free." She whispered, totally defeated.
Alexandreina thought a second then slapped her hands together with emphasis. "I know! I'll just use my innocence to cut you loose!"
Eas perked up. "You can do that?"
"Sure! I can cut almost anything with that thing! I'll even use it when I'm cutting something up for supper sometimes! It's good when your traveling, like your own little pocket knife, only without the hassle of carrying it!"
Eas nodded in delight. "That sounds great! Hurry up and cut me free!"
Alexandreina nodded and held out her arm. "Innocence, Activ…" The chair she was sitting in spun around, making Alexandreina fall to the floor. Alexandreina sat up, completely in shock. "What the hell was that?" She asked staring at the unmoving chair.
Eas looked at her. "What? I didn't see anything. Why are you on the floor? Help me out already!"
"Yeah," Alexandreina said in a wavering voice. She stood herself up, eyeing the chair carefully, and walked over to Eas. "Ok, don't move, alright? I don't want to accidentally cut you in half instead!" Eas gulped. "Alright then," Alexandreina took one last look at the chair, and then began her activation once more. "Innocence, A…" Alexandreina flew into the table, her breath knocked out, and her head bleeding from being smashed into the table with such force. Eas gasped ten seconds later, after she could finally understand what had happened. The chair Alexandreina had been eyeing was still in the same place it had been, but another chair from half way across the room was now pinning Alexandreina, unconscious and bleeding, to the table.
"Ally!" Eas shouted, to worn to shout her full name, besides, she didn't have the time. She got up off the chair and raced towards Alexandreina, only to be stopped full throttle by the very chair she had been sitting on. Instead of falling over and being dragged with her, the chair stood seemingly bolted to the floor. Eas's eyebrows furrowed, confused and frustrated. "Damn chair! Move!" She screamed, tugging at it. No movement. Eas kicked it. No movement. She smashed her other fist into the bars of the chair only to find it stuck like the other. She struggled awkwardly, trying to free herself. "That's it!" She screamed. "I'm calling on my innocence!" The chair shook at this, unbolting itself and flying backwards, knocking Eas onto the seat. Like with Alexandreina, it slid rapidly across the floor and into a table, smashing Eas's back into the edge of the table. "Ouch, Damnit! That hurt!" She cried, leaning foreword so the table wouldn't dig any further into her back. "Teddy you idiot! Where are you?!"
Sarra hummed lightly as she prepared the chilled shrimp and salad. There was nothing warm since the incident had possibly scared her out of ever using an oven again. As she ventured over to the sink she wiped the sweat from her brow; the kitchen was still hot. She turned the cold water tap, placing her hands under it and waiting for the refreshing stream. It didn't come. She turned the tap to full, but still nothing happened. Sarra was beginning to get frustrated with the faulty appliances. She flipped her head under the tap, looking to see if there was anything clotting it or something. The dark hole was empty of any blockers, and water. She listened intently, but heard nothing. "What the heck?" She mumbled to herself, sticking her finger into the opening. Suddenly, she felt an incredible pressure on her finger. She cocked her head, pulling her finger out of the tap. The blast from the tap was so powerful it knocked her right into the sink, her legs dangling over the edge. The water began building up in the sink as Sarra's head pressed firm against the drain, constantly pressured by the blasts of cold water. She struggled, trying to move her head from the water, but it was to strong. Instead, she used her legs to kick the tap to the side, releasing her. Sarra dropped to the ground, gasping. She was completely drenched in the icy cool water. Turning to the sink she was astonished to see it looked normal. Besides the fact that the tap was facing the wrong way, there was no water in sight. The sink was completely drained, and the tap was no longer running. Sarra collapsed in a chair, still out of breath and now completely awe struck. "What is going on here?" She thought. To be safe, she decided to ditch the kitchen and find the others. She grabbed the shrimp and salad bowl on her way out, hoping that would be enough to satisfy the girls. A sharp pain in her hand stopped her. She looked down at the hand that was holding the salad. A dark red was spreading from it. Quickly, she realized it was blood. The pain came back, sharper this time, like something was piercing the skin. This time she dropped the bowl, which shattered on contact with the floor, spraying glass across the premises. Sarra analyzed her hand, ignoring the glass. There were five small puncture wounds on the inside of her hand. They formed a cresant shape which oddly reminded her of teeth. "What is this?" She asked, shocked. "How the heck did this get here?"
As she looked over her now dripping hand, a dark shadow loomed behind her. The sudden obstruction of light shocked Sarra, who naively turned to meet a six foot stack of plates in the shape of a human, it's cake dished hands holding pitchforks made of utensils. Sarra shrieked at the sight and backed away towards the door. The plate person swung its fork at her forcing her to duck away from the doorway. It pressed her back further until it was completely blocking her only chance of escape. As her last resort she let out a loud shriek. The fork launched itself at her throat and she fell backwards into a frozen darkness.
Mizuki ran towards the door to the stairs, wishing frantically that nothing had happened to the others yet. They needed to get off the boat. As she got to the door, she heard a distinct rumbling. "What the?" She asked, feeling the tremors under her feet. She reached for the doorknob, her hand shaking from the force of the tremors. Before she got to the knob, however, the door burst open of its own accord, knocking Mizuki backwards. "Huh?" She asked, stunned. The rumbling sounded louder now that the door was open, no, it sounded louder because it was coming towards her. Quickly, she activated her innocence, stringing her bow and pointing it towards the door. What she saw caught her off guard. She was expecting something a bit more menacing. A hoard of cleaning supplies ambushed the deck, spilling out like water. Mizuki held her stance, not sure what to do. Once she was completely surrounded, the rumbling dimmed. "What is this about?" She asked, looking around at the supplies. "You're actually planning on defeating me with a couple of mops and brooms?" She felt silly talking to cleaning supplies, even if they were being controlled. "Whatever. Just don't lame me if I destroy everything!" Her arrow glowed a bright green as she prepared to attack. "Let's bowl!" She cheered, letting go. The Arrow cut through the air with substantial speed, striking two of the brooms and knocking down another six. The fight was on. She strung four more arrows. "Fifth bow, striking pulse!" She aimed them to the sky, launching them into the clouds. A second later the arrows were back, with greater speed than ever, each aimed at a different part of the mob. The resulting tremors of the landings were like loud heart beats, an initial blow, and then the after effect. This demolished nearly half the crowd. "How'd you like that?" Mizuki laughed maniacally. A thick fog interrupted her. The dusters were shaking off all the dust essentially creating a thick grey fog. "Ah." Mizuki understood. So that's how their going to do it. She thought. Their going to attack behind a glass wall, so it will be harder for me to pick them off. That's smart. She chuckled. "But not that smart!" She strung ten arrows to her bow. "Sixth bow, tracker!" The arrows spun off into different directions. Explosions sounded from nine points around her. She looked up, confused. "Are you guys running away? Where's the tenth explosion?" A hot sensation seared her back, sending her flying forwards. Sprawled out on the ground, she understood. Tricky little buggers, their using my own attacks against me, they must have figured out which ones were being tagged, and used the tenth one as a suicide bomber. Damn, it's like their getting smarter! As she got to her feet, she grabbed her bow again, dragging it back into position. Before she was able to fire another set, however, a blunt pain in her stomach made her stumble backwards and loose her grip again on her bow. Rubbing her stomach, she positioned her bow again, ready to string another arrow. This time, the blow was to the back of her head. It must have been a bucket because it covered a thick part of her head. "Come on! Stop that!" She cried out, rubbing her head. "I know what you're trying to do! You're trying to stop me from stringing my bow! Well it won't work!" She aligned her bow, and drew her arrows, despite the constant attacks. "Second bow, Fire!" As the arrows soared through the air, they caught fire to all those around them, infecting nearly all of them. "Ha! All of you should burn rather well, I bet!" Mizuki smiled, triumphant. The searing to her backside reminded her not. They were using the fire to scald her as they withered away. "Oh great!" She shouted, angrily rubbing the small second degree burn on her lower back. "I've got some real problems!" She ducked as a flaming bucket whizzed past her. "Something tells me their not the ones that will give up easily." She sighed.
The scream wasn't loud, but it was enough to pull her from her peaceful slumber. Vasilisa growled at the sound that had woken her. She slipped into her uniform and stumbled out the door. She managed to muster a yawn as she walked sleepily down the hall. The kitchen was closest; she wanted a glass of water, so she chose to go there first. When she entered the kitchen, she expected Sarra to be making, or finishing lunch. Instead all that was there was a broken bowl which lettuce strewn everywhere and an otherwise empty kitchen. "Sarra?" She mumbled, rubbing her eyes. The glass crunched beneath her feet as she grabbed a glass from the cupboard and ventured over to the sink. The tap the turned the wrong way, which unsettled her. She turned it around and filled up a glass of cold water. As she leaned against the counter, a ghostly moaning echoed through the kitchen, raising the hair on the back of Vasilisa's neck. The moaning soon turned into a muffled yelping. She looked around, unsettled. The yelping became an inconsistent banging. Carefully, Vasilisa turned to the direction of the sounds, opening cupboards and drawers along the way. Finally only the ice box was left. Carefully, she lifted the lid, silently invocating her innocence. What she found in the freezer was definitely not meat and fish. Their eyes connected, surprise filling them. Sarra's shaking frame crowded the fish and beef, her entire body blue, her clothes stiff with frost.
"Oh my god, are you ok?" Vasilisa asked her, carefully pulling Sarra from the box.
"I,I,I, T,thinnnnk, s,so" Sarra stuttered, her purple lips trembling fiercely.
Vasilisa looked at her worriedly. "How'd you end up in there?" She finally asked.
Sarra laughed brokenly. "T,t,the s,sh,ship I,I,is mmalfunctionning."
Vasilisa nodded, understanding. "So the coffee really does screw this thing over, but I thought we got rid of all of it."
Sarra shook her head and pointed a shaking hand at the sink.
"You yeah, I forgot the cup Alexandreina threw in the sink, she must not have drained it completely. Damn. So where's the others?"
Sarra shrugged. "I,I d,d,don't knnnowww."
"That's not good. We'd better find them." She stared down at Sarra, her body shaking like a wet noodle. "But first, we need to get you some blankets."
After Sarra was out of her uniform and had three blankets wrapped around her, they set off to find the others.
"H,how aare we g,going to f,find themm?" Sarra asked her stutter calming with her chattering teeth.
"I have a technique if we really need it, but for now, how about we just look around. There aren't many places they can be."
Sarra nodded.
The corridor was extra creepy now that basically anything could jump out and attack them. They had to stay in the middle of the hallway because the doors would slam into them if they were to close. They checked the games room first since it was on the same side as the kitchen. While they were in there, the door slammed and locked them in, and the games advanced towards them, firing pucks and pool balls, and other game accessories at them. Vasilisa blocked them from hitting Sarra, and then after making sure there was no one in the room, she let out a sonic blast which stunned the gadgets. Breaking down the door with her foot, she dragged Sarra to the dinning room. The door seemed to be barricaded shut so brute force seemed out of the question. Instead, Vasilisa was forced to use a sonic blast that shattered the door into splinters. What had been holding the door shut was not a bar or lock, but all the chairs in the room. They were now lying in splinters at their feet.
"Over there!" Sarra cried, pointing a shaking hand to the one lone table in the middle of the room. Alexandreina was still passed out, her head lying limp on the table. Eas looked exhausted from trying to get free, her forehead resting on the back of the chair. She bolted upright as soon as they broke through, and hope ignited in her eyes.
"Guys!" She called, to them, nearly crying. "Guys, please, we're stuck, and Alexandreina is still knocked out!"
"Don't worry." Vasilisa said, waving her hand. "We'll get you guys out of there right away."
The bars proved tough. Vasilisa's kicked did more damage to Eas's nerves than to the chair, and her voice would probably break Eas too. Finally, Eas noticed the suitcases in Sarra's hand. "Hey, is Teddy in there?" She asked, eyeing the cases.
Sarra nodded. "I made sure to pack him, along with anything else anyone had."
Eas grinned. "Can you get him for me? I think I might be able to get myself free with him. Sarra opened one of the suitcases. Among the clutter of coats and random junk, she pulled out a peeved Teddy.
"What's the deal with shoving me in that cramped case?!" He demanded, slapping Sarra whit a plush arm. "And you!" He jumped from her hands and bounced over to Eas. "What a great idea to lock me in your freaking room! You're supposed to have your innocence at all times!"
Eas groaned. "I don't want to have to deal with you at all times. I should have gotten Komui to sew your mouth shut!"
Teddy freaked. "Then I guess you don't want to be free?"
"Ok, ok, I'm sorry, just, please, we need to go." Eas apologized.
Teddy sighed. "Ok, but I'm not done with you!"
Eas shrugged. "You're never done talking. I honestly don't care, just hurry up and set me free."
"Then activate me, idiot."
"Oh yeah," Eas sighed, "Ok, Innocence, Activate!" A green glow erupted from Teddy, the Innocence glowing within him. "Plush saw!" Teddy's body transformed into a fuzzy-looking saw. "Ok, now cut me loose!" She cried. Teddy's body swiftly cut through all the bars in the chair, one half sliding to the floor. Eas cried out in happiness as she rubbed her soar cuffs.
After releasing Alexandreina, The girls bound down the hallway; Alexandreina slung across Vasilisa's back, Eas helping Sarra with the suitcases.
The only door on the other side was the closet. The girls stopped there, contemplating weather to go in.
"If anyone's stupid enough to get themselves stuck in a closet, they deserve to be there." Eas countered at the suggestion of checking it out.
A muffled banging came from the other side of the door along with a course of either profanity, or insults, it was hard to tell.
"Sounds like Seraphina." Vasilisa commented.
"Hmm, yup, she'd defiantly be stupid enough to get herself stuck in a place like that." Eas nodded. The screaming intensified. It looked like a mix of both insults, and profanity, and also maybe some sarcasm mixed in there.
"Someone open the door." Vasilisa urged.
"Do we have to?" Eas asked, but shut up after seeing Vasilisa's look. "Fine." Without warning, she slammed her foot into the door with all her might. The door rebounded fiercely by the force. They heard the thud before they were able to realize what happened. Seraphina had been standing at the door when Eas had kicked it in, which sent her flying too. "Oh, sorry, did I get you, too?" Eas smiled evilly.
Seraphina nearly decked her, but Eas used the Suitcase she was holding as protection.
"Alright, we've finished the bottom floor, now all we have to find is Mizuki, and she must be on the deck." Vasilisa sighed. "This is getting tedious."
As they walked up the stairs, Sarra noted something. "Isn't it a little odd that we haven't encountered any other troubles? It's like Komourin's called off his attack."
Seraphina shook her head. "Or maybe he's just focusing on a certain part."
And with that, they opened the door to a battlefield. The mist had partially cleared so it wasn't as hard to see what was around them. Mizuki stood in the middle of the deck, bruised and slightly burned. Her breath seemed labored.
"We've got to help her!" Sarra demanded.
"Is she fighting, mops?" Vasilisa asked, squinting into the dust.
"Actually, it's an array of cleaning supplies. They stampeded by me when I looked inside." Seraphina replied. "Don't underestimate them."
"I can see that!" Sarra whimpered.
"We have no time for a fight, we've gotta get off of him!" Vasilisa contemplated for a minute before slapping her fist to her hand, a bright idea forming in her mind. "Ok! Here's how we're going to do this! Seraphina and I are going to go help Mizuki while you two take Alexandreina to the escape boat. Once you've got it ready, call us, we'll make our grand exit and be out of here!"
The group nodded, liking the idea. "Be safe." Eas and Sarra called out as the others joined Mizuki.
It didn't take long for the Boat to be ready. Sarra called out to them briefly after they went to fight. The girls emerged from the dust, each holding one of Mizuki's arms around their shoulders and dashing to the boat.
"Lower it! Lower it!" They screamed as the cleaners gained ground on them. Sarra and Eas slowly slackened the ropes until they were almost half way down the boat. Then, three pairs of feet came sailing overboard, flying through the air and hitting the boat with enough speed to snap both ropes and send it flying into the waters.
"You made us get soaked!" Eas growled, flipping her drenched bangs out of her face.
"But it worked, we made it!" Vasilisa laughed, exhilarated for once.
They rowed the boat further away from Komurin so nothing could try to jump on board like the others. They were discussing what to do with Komurin when he started shifting back into his normal form. The girls watched in shock and annoyance as the giant robot grew taller and taller until it stood on the water like Jesus, three stories above them.
"This is not good." Sarra cried.
"Don't worry; I know what we can do." Vasilisa had a disturbing smile on her face. She pushed through the girls to the passed out Alexandreina. She leaned down and whispered something in her ear. Alexandreina shot up, her eyes full of excitement. Before the girls could comprehend anything, Alexandreina was flying through the air, her innocence invocated, the long dagger pointed towards Komurin. As she landed on him, she ran her sword up his chest, the core, and then using it as a sword; she smashed it into Komurin, sending him into the sky, exploding in mid-air. Alexandreina fell back to the water, swimming back to the boat.
"That was amazing!" Eas cheered.
"How'd you get her to wake up?" Sarra asked, astonished.
Vasilisa helped Alexandreina onto the boat. "She's a bit like Komui. If you whisper into a sleeping Komui's ear that Lenalee is getting married, he will instantly wake up. All I have to do is whisper into Alexandreina's ear that there is an Akuma, and she will automatically go into fighting mode, though I wouldn't suggest doing that unless there really was an Akuma around."
The others shuddered. They could imagine what they'd have to pay for that.
"Well, now we have another two day trek, or more." Seraphina sighed
"Not exactly, while we were being attacked, Komui actually sped up to a speed faster than max, I'm not sure why, It was probably because his systems were so messed up. Anyways, we're probably almost there by now is what I'm trying to say." Mizuki smiled.
"Alright!" Alexandreina cheered as she wrung her messy pig tails out.
"OH!" Sarra exclaimed, noticing Alexandreina's drenched attire. "I forgot to tell you guys because of all the stuff that happened, but I found some new uniforms stashed in my closet and a note from Komui. Apparently they are more flexible, lighter, and more durable. It looks like we could do with a change of clothes anyways."
The girls nodded as Sarra opened the other suitcase to reveal their new attire. The new outfits were similar in colour, but their designs differed on the person, and the white designs changed from the blotches across the back and on the shoulders to crosses on the backs and shoulders. Some of the outfits changed, but mostly, they were similar. The twins' coats were almost identical, but the colour of Alexandreina's was reversed because of preference. Eas's had matures a little, the coat was smaller and she wore a short pleated skirt with long shorts and her boots. Her jacket was cut off after the shoulder but reconnected a little farther down with a loose sleeve. She also decided to pull her short hair back into low pig tails since it had grown long enough to do so. Sarra's jacket had grown a little longer and split down the middle. Seraphina's was still long but her pants were tighter, and her boots higher. Mizuki's was still almost identical to her old one.
They each tied a hooded cape around them as the misty island came into view.
"That place gives me the creeps." Sarra and Eas shuddered.
"It's the home of out Enemy's. What else do you think it would be?" Seraphina groaned.