==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====
'...!' Marigold's muscles tensed. 'That aura she has about her… If there was anything I both saw as amusing and fear-inducing as a child, it'd be her.'
Inside the throne room sat Remilia Scarlet, lazily twirling a wine glass around with her right hand, leaning back in her throne.
Her eyes met Marigold's.
Hikari and Osamu walked into the room, slowly advancing forward. The latter grinned. "...Who's this?"
'Uh?' Marigold wasn't sure what Osamu was getting at. Hikari turned to him, unsure herself.
Remilia glances at him.
"I was expecting this Scarlet Devil lady. Who're you, her daughter?" Osamu chuckles. "Hey, hey Hikari, I think we found someone even more unfitting of their role than you."
Hikari furrowed her brows, and drew her gohei back.
Whack!
"S-sorry, sorry! I was kidding! Da~ng!" Osamu rubbed his head. "So~rry…"
Remilia looked back at Marigold. "...Well met, Marigold."
'...Hi.' Marigold waves at her awkwardly.
"I see you've brought me the Hakurei disciple…" Remilia glanced at Hikari. "...And an idiot." She then glanced at Osamu. "I won't ask about the latter, but I will reward you for saving me the trouble."
'What does she mean?' "M-mistress…" Marigold begins, "I was wondering if you noticed… anything strange recently."
'I still feel super weird calling her mistress. It's not a word I can picture coming out of my own mouth…'
Remilia grinned. "Well… I guess you could say that. A few days ago… I started hungering again. Not for blood; you would know as well as anyone that I'm quite a light drinker, and I get more than enough from my food and beverage. I began hungering for human blood. Fresher blood."
Slowly nodding, Marigold processes the information. 'I'm not sure whether or not she's actually affected…'
"...Considering Reimu would never let me harm the human village without anything short of a public hanging… I believe I'll just send her a message." Remilia's eyes switched to Hikari. "I believe leaving an impact on the beloved daughter is more than enough of a statement to reassert my power in the eyes of the Hakurei."
Hikari readied her gohei. "I think you're threatening me."
'Just maybe. She's affected, I think. She isn't normally so… downright sinister, even if she tries to be.'
"Oh, no, no…" Remilia waves her hand. "I'm simply making a proposition."
"A stupid one." Osamu elaborates.
Remilia shoots him a brief glance, before turning back to Hikari. "Seeing as you have no chance of eluding me, this deep in my own manor, little Hikari, I have an offer for you. Allow me to feast on your blood… or I will be forced to spill it."
Hikari stares at her. "...I'd like a third option."
Remilia raises a brow. "It is not a matter of negotiation, Hakurei."
"What if I happen to spill your blood?" Hikari grins. "Do we just call the whole thing off, or…?"
…
"Ever the confident one. Such is to be expected of the daughter of Reimu Hakurei." Remilia smirks. "I'd like to see you try. Marigold, to my side."
Marigold pauses. "U-uhm…"
'I'd really rather not.'
Remilia glares at her. "...Now is not the time for petty teenage disobedience. You are to serve me, without question. Such is the contract of living under my roof. You are to engage in battle on my behalf."
"...I-I'm fighting for Hikari." Marigold takes a stance. "She's my friend!"
…
Remilia simply holds her glare, letting silence set in.
'...Yeah, she's pissed.'
"...Hahahaha…" Remilia lets out a laugh. "Hohohoho! Hahahahaha~!"
'Very pissed.'
"Y-you defy me? For friendship!?" Remilia mirthfully exclaims. "You've lived for a mere seventeen years, and you honestly think you can talk to me about friendship!?" Her mirth dissolves into rage on a dime.
"...Y-ye-...yeah." Marigold decides. "Yeah, I do."
...Remilia twirls her wine glass around, and takes a moment to sip from it.
…
"Aa~h…" She takes a breath afterward. "...So you shall fight for the Hakurei, I presume?"
Marigold nods.
"...So it shall be. Fight for them, then… and die for their arrogance."
The vampire twirls the glass around once more, before tossing it aside.
...Crack!
"Fufufu!" Remilia haughtily laughs, as a pillar of light envelopes her. It fades moments later, and she's no longer seen on the chair.
"Oh, crap!" Osamu jumped. "That laugh came from everywhere!"
'...And?' Marigold was used to it. 'Mis- I mean, Remilia did similar sound tricks when I was younger. Kinda makes it all the more jarring that I'm fighting her now.'
The pillar of light reforms, and Remilia is ten feet away from Hikari.
She holds out a wing away from Hikari, and fires three fireballs towards her.
"W-woah…!"
Hikari attempts to crouch, only to get hit in the face by one.
Marigold's eyes widen. "H-Hikari!"
'A-already!? No!'
Hikari stumbles back, clutching her face.
Hikari tried Healing α!
Her head's flames was extinguished, revealing charred hair and smoke.
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
"O-oh- hhnnh…" Hikari moaned and hissed in pain. "...S-sometimes I w-wished one of you guys could heal…"
"Trust me, I wish I could." Osamu agreed. "I mean, badass magic, but still."
"You haven't had the best relationship with fire recently, have you?" Marigold commented.
Hikari grinned.
'There we go.'
Remilia disinterestedly stared from her position, a pillar of light enveloping her again.
Osamu grimaced. "What now…?"
"She's just moving." Marigold noted. "That pillar of light thing's a teleportation spell or something."
"Oh." Osamu nodded. "...Wait, she can fuckin' teleport!? Holy shit!"
'...Well, she's a vampire. What did you expect?'
"Fufufu…" Remilia's laugh echoed throughout the room, as her pillar of light reformed right behind Marigold.
'W-woah! Personal space, Remilia!'
Remilia glared down at Marigold, extending her wing back once more, firing three fireballs towards Marigold.
'T-this better work…!' Marigold crouched and shot at the lowest fireball.
Klack!
The danmaku bullet met it, and the two canceled one another out in a small burst of fire and mana.
The two remaining ones passed over Marigold's head.
"A-ah…" Marigold gaped at the sensation of heat.
Hikari leaped towards Remilia from behind.
Whack! Whack!
Before she could get any additional hits, a pillar of light enveloped Remilia and whisked her away.
"...Cheap." Hikari complained.
"Fufufu…"
Remilia appeared right next to her throne. She extended her wing behind her, and shot three more fireballs.
The distance allowed all three party members to navigate out of harm's way.
Osamu grinned. "Where the hell was that one goin'?"
Remilia didn't respond to his jeer.
...To which, he glared at her. "...Say somethin', you stupid bat brat!"
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
Thwaa~sh!
The bolt struck Remilia, lightning coursing up and down her body, but she didn't even so much as react to the sensation of the electricity.
Thwaa~sh!
The bolt struck one of the nearby candles, extinguishing it and sending parts clattering across the floor.
"Holy shit." Osamu's eyes went wide. "Did… did she just eat it? Did she just eat an entire lightning bolt like it was nothing?"
"People weren't kidding about her power…" Marigold thought back to all of the mentions of the vampire's power, throughout her life, and throughout this adventure she was on.
'Even so, I think she'd do more than shoot three little fireballs, if she has that much stamina…'
Remilia teleported once again, a pillar of light protecting her. "Fufufu…"
"Is teleporting really that fun?" Hikari questions aloud.
"Pfft. I know, right? She's havin' a fuckin' field day, just hoppin' all over the place. There's something called walking, ears for eyes!" Osamu mocks the vampire.
Remilia appears again on the far side of the room.
"Here's real power!" Remilia roars, extending both her wings. "Dark Inferno!"
Two large balls of molten rock generate from her wings, and shoot towards the party.
"A-ah…!" Hikari ducks under one as it nears her, and as the second one nears, she shoots into the air like a cat. "Woah!"
'Uhm…' "Hikari, your ribbon!"
'It's on fire!'
Hikari felt her head, and retracted her hand.
Hikari tried Healing α!
…
However, she wasn't on fire, her ribbon was.
"I got it!" Osamu calls out.
Osamu tried PK Hydro α!
A bubble of water floats towards Hikari, and she jumps into it.
Spla~sh!
...Hikari parts her hair from her eyes.
Bam! Boom!
The lava balls struck the other end of the room, exploding against the wall. Strangely, there were only char marks.
"Fufufu…" Remilia laughed as she, once again, teleported away in a pillar of light.
"...That's really starting to piss me off!" Osamu glared, looking around the room wildly for the person he's trying to glare at.
The vampire appeared again, in between all three teenagers. She paused, then turned towards Hikari, opening her wings again.
Klack! Klack!
Marigold's bullets thunked against her head, but didn't seem to do anything.
Osamu tried Offense Up α!
"C'mere…!" Osamu stomped towards her.
Hikari readied herself, and Remilia shot three more smaller fireballs towards her. "Hup!"
With dexterity, Hikari barely grazed the top fireball, avoiding getting stricken or lit on fire. She counter-attacked by bringing her gohei down on Remilia's head.
Bam!
Gravity power accented her strike well, but it still didn't make Remilia flinch.
Hikari grimaced at this fact.
As Hikari leapt away from Remilia, the water that soaked her earlier splashed off of her, and came in contact with Remilia, who subtly scrunched her face.
'...O~h! I'm an idiot!' Marigold felt like hitting herself. "Osamu…"
He punches Remilia in the back of the head, achieving nothing.
"Fufufu…" Once again, she disappears in a pillar of light, leaving Osamu to rub his eyes.
"Lousy, good for nothing, bat-faced…" He mumbles as he rubs his eyes.
'...I'm starting to feel like he's developing a thing against vampires.'
"Use water on her, Osamu." Marigold emphasizes.
...Osamu turns to her, furrowing his brows. "You ain't helpin', you know!"
"Seriously, vampires are weak to water." Marigold instructs him. "Trust me on this."
He rolled his eyes. "How the hell'd you know?"
Marigold grinned. "I don't know, I may have happened to live here for many years?"
...Remilia appears again near her throne.
"Oh. Right." Osamu nods slowly. "...Well, I hope this works, then…"
Remilia spreads a wing, readying to shoot more fireballs…
Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!
A shuriken of water spirals in front of Remilia. She shoots her fireballs into it, which get extinguished immediately, as the water spritzes out toward her.
"Egh…!" Remilia winces. "F-foolish… a-and futile!"
Hastily, she teleports away, and not a moment later re-appears about ten feet away from the whirling water shuriken, backpedaling away from it.
"How'd'you like that, bat bitch!?" Osamu grins widely. "How's my super soaker nine-thousand treatin' you!?"
"Insolent little…!" Remilia openly shows her anger, now, glaring at him. "You are but an annoyance!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!
"Hydro storm!" Osamu posed dramatically, pointing his finger straight up in the air.
The shuriken formed right over Remilia, who gritted her teeth under the spray of water.
"G-guh…"
She dropped to her knees, soaked.
'...Note to self: vampire's aren't just weak against water. They're really weak against water.'
Osamu pumped his fist. "Yeah! I fuckin' did it! I beat up a stupid vampire brat!"
The water shurikens ended, leaving a soggy Remilia in their wake. Osamu marched up to her with his head high, smiling down at her. "Who's the annoyance now!? Show the big man some respect, here!"
...Remilia looks up at him, glaring.
Red mist begins swirling around her, and she shakily stands up again.
Osamu steps back. "Hey, hey, hey, don't make me break out the big bad water spells again!"
...Remilia throws her arms outwards, and the water quickly leaves her body, becoming a thinner, scarlet mist, which promptly traveled to the ceiling and vanished. The red mist that circulated around her body guided it.
"Playtime's over! Giygas, grant… me… power!"
The mist violently writhes around her body, and Remilia floats into the air. "Hahahah! The weaknesses of vampires no longer binds me, mortals!"
"Thanks for the tip." Marigold comments, holding her rifle up. "Now we know to change strategies."
Osamu flails his limbs, rapidly backpedaling away from the vampire. "Ooo~h, fuck that! Fuck that! So~ fuck that!"
Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!
A shuriken of water formed over Remilia again, but this time, the water didn't even reach her, the fog-like mist acting as a repellant, converting it into lighter mist. Quickly, the red snuffed out the water shuriken.
...Marigold scoffed at Osamu.
He turned to her, and grinned sheepishly. "...She coulda been bluffin'!"
Remilia looked down at Marigold as she ascended. "Die, Knowledge!"
'Well, now that's just rude.'
Remilia vanished from the air, no pillar of light to indicate her teleportation.
'What…'
Remilia appeared right in front of her. Marigold's eyes widened, and she leaped to the side. The vampire shot an arm forward, extending her claws and managing to slash Marigold's arm.
"How dare you…"
Before Marigold had time to properly look at Remilia, she vanished again. Marigold began running in a random direction, feeling wind rip by her as the mistress missed her fully this time.
"Keep on forgetting…!"
'Please stop please stop please stop…!'
Wind ripped across her from the opposite direction, the clawed jab missing.
"Who you serve!"
"Oh, shit!" Osamu uselessly yelled, jaw dropping at the scene. "She's gonna get her… and then she's gonna get me! Oh my go~d!"
"Marigold!" Hikari gritted her teeth. "Just hang on!"
Marigold winced, her legs beginning to ache "Help me, you idio-! Ah…!"
Marigold froze as Remilia's claw just barely punctured her back's flesh.
"You useless…"
Remilia vanished, and then was right in front of Marigold.
"Failure of a mage!"
Remilia jabbed forward, puncturing Marigold's stomach.
'Aaaa~h!'
She opened her mouth to scream, but couldn't find the air.
...Remilia slowly retracted her bloody arm. "...Damn you, for troubling me."
She pushed Marigold away, who fell to the floor, a hole in her chest.
'M-mom…' Marigold's eyes blinked, slowly beginning to close. 'A-all of you… I-I'm sorry...'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====
Hikari's eyes were wide, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she stared at the scene.
'Attack or heal? Attack or heal? Attack or heal…!?'
She saw the hole in Marigold's chest as she fell.
'Heal!'
Hikari tried Lifeup ß!
...The wound in Marigold's chest began healing.
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
Whether or not that actually added to anything is yet to be seen, because the wound is still healing.
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
She could stop now.
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
Seriously.
"Th-thank God…" Hikari breathed deeply. "She'll be alright…"
'Please be okay…'
Osamu looked at her. "Dude, chill the heck out. You're like, shaking. Dude…"
Remilia walked towards Hikari, not bothering to look at the fallen magician. "She's dead, Hakurei. Just as dead as you will soon be. I advise you to reconsider your previous decline of my generous offer."
…
Hikari glares at her, tears streaming down the corner of her eyes. "N-no…"
'Screw my voice.'
Remilia's expression didn't change. "...Hmm? I didn't hear-"
"No~!" Hikari yelled. "...I'm a shrine maiden… to exterminate youkai like you!"
"Oh?" Remilia grins. "Then show me what you've got, Hakurei. This time, I shall not hold back. I expect you to do the same."
Hikari focuses on herself.
'I need to get stronger… One hit from her, and I'm going to die. I-I know…'
Hikari tried Shield ß!
Hikari was protected by the power shield of light!
"...Defensive spells. Hmm. Well, it was nice knowing you." Remilia dismissively addressed her. "Divine Spear, Spear the Gungnir!"
The air began rippling, as an immense spear of scarlet energy formed in Remilia's hand, growing ever larger.
"Du~de…" Osamu gaped. "That's going straight up our ass, you know that, right?"
...Hikari snorted. 'I shouldn't laugh at that right now, but seriously… do you not truly fear anything, Osamu?'
"Behold, Hakurei! Now is the time of your demise!" Remilia gloated, holding her spear menacingly. "And I'll have you know… that I never miss."
'There has to be something I can do…'
Hikari tried Hypnosis α!
Remilia never even noticed the ripples of energy.
Osamu tried PSI Shield Σ!
Marigold was protected by the psychic shield!
Osamu was protected by the psychic shield!
Hikari, already having a shield, did not receive protection.
"Brace your bumholes!" Osamu shouted, running to a far corner of the room.
'This better work…!'
Hikari tried PK Flash α!
Remilia started crying!
"What is this…?" Remilia scrunched her face a few times. "Tears? Pfft… hahaha~!"
She paused, taking in the sound of her own laughter. "Y-you make a better comedian than an exterminator! What even is this!?"
'...I tried.' Hikari braced herself for impact…
Hikari tried Shield ß!
Her shield of light got stronger!
Remilia sighed. "...Well, I've had my fun."
With that, she tossed the spear of energy at Hikari.
Hikari watched with wide eyes as the shot that, she thought she could dodge and graze, readjusted itself to hit her dead-center.
Boom!
"Aaaaa~h!"
Hikari was sent flying by the impact, a matter the shield had a part in. The spear continued into the floor, piercing it and leaving a hole. Hikari landed ten feet away, on her back.
'E-everything hurts…' She began having flashbacks to the start of her adventure, where she received grievous injuries on a routine basis.
Light traveled from her power shield, and flew back at Remilia, bombarding her.
...Remilia only flinched slightly from each hit. "...If you wish to trade blows with someone of my caliber, Hakurei, I advise you to hit far harder. Those strikes are only but a fraction of my own… so unless you start dodging, you might start dying."
Osamu tried PK Thunder ß!
"Leave them alone, you bat-hole… asshole… yeah…!" Osamu botched his attempt at a pun.
Thwaa~sh!
Remilia took the lightning bolt like a boss. Probably because she was a boss.
Thwaa~sh!
The throne fell victim to the bolt, getting singed black.
"Pesky vermin." Remilia gazed down at him.
"...Hi." Osamu sheepishly waved to her.
"Well met." Remilia scoffed. "Begone."
Osamu tried PK Freeze ß!
KaKa-KaKaKling!
The pattern of ice rapidly froze and thawed around Remilia's figure.
Kra~ck!
The final blast of ice revealed her, after which she indicated no signs of being affected.
"...Thank you. I was in need of a refreshment." Remilia grinned.
"Fuck yo~u." Osamu stuck up his middle finger.
Hikari stood after a few moments of recooperation… "A-alright…"
Remilia blinked. "Oh, you're still fit, Hakurei? Then, let us continue."
'All I've got is this… It-it better do something, anything…'
Hikari tried PK Fantasy ß!
The technicolor barrage of pain began once again.
Fizzle!
Remilia smirked as the particles neared her, but winced once they struck her and echoed through her body.
Fizzle!
She used her arms to futily guard against the next wave of colored projectiles.
Hikari shot her left arm forward,
FwOwOwOw!
A polygon of technicolor, psychic energy flew into Remilia, launching her into the wall.
Bam!
Hikari shot her right arm forward.
FwOwOwOw!
Remilia grimaced, and moved out of the way of the polygon, which continued into the wall and beyond.
Hikari focused on Remilia…
'Now!'
Bwaa~sh!
A point-blank blast of psychic energy struck Remilia.
"Aaaaaa~h!" Remilia screamed in agony.
'Y-yes!'
…
Hikari dropped to her knees, her eyes growing heavier.
'N-no…!'
...Remilia floated down in front of Hikari, and grinned. "...That was a rather fitting attack, Hikari. Unfortunately, it means nothing, to me."
Osamu shook his head. "I don't believe it!"
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: MARIGOLD'S VIEW ====
'So-so much… pain…'
"-unately, it means nothing, to me."
"I don't believe it!"
'...W-what…?'
...Marigold moved her head to get a look at the back of Remilia approaching Hikari.
Remilia moved to grapple Hikari, only for the power shield to push Hikari back.
"A-ah, ooh…" Hikari intelligently commented on that turn of events.
A small light bullet shot from the shield and hit Remilia in the face, like a slap.
"...Petty." Remilia rubbed her cheek.
Marigold slowly rolled over, and pulled off her backpack.
'S-sorry, you two, but this is probably for the best…'
From her backpack, she drew the Counter-PSI Device.
Remilia tried to grapple Hikari again, only for the same turn of events to transpire.
"Hakurei, there is nothing you can do right. You can't even surrender and let me drink your blood properly!" Remilia voiced her frustration.
Marigold played with the settings on the Counter-PSI Device box…
Phhsshhh-zz',;.';,';.';',;.';,.,'.;...
Hikari fainted, her shield flickering out.
Osamu groaned. "D-dude, I think I'm gettin' a tumor… or-or some… thing…"
Remilia froze immediately, before a look of horror spread across her face. "M-my ears…"
...She dropped to her knees. "Ouch ouch ouch ouch…!"
The red mist around her dissipated, becoming scrambled as if diced by invisible lines, before fading out as they spread out from Remilia.
...Marigold stood, and raised her Air Gun, and aimed it at Remilia.
'This is for my friends.'
Klack!
'This is for me.'
Klack!
'This is for making me call you 'mistress'.'
Klack!
'...And this is just because.'
Klack!
...Remilia didn't acknowledge any of the bullets anyway, more caught up in the butchering of her sense of hearing.
She began scratching at her own ears. "Stop, stop, stop! What the hell!?"
"Ugh…" Marigold groaned. She got up, neared one of the puddles of water on the carpeted floor, and began trying to find a way to get the water from the carpet to her…
Osamu sat down, struggling to concentrate.
'Oh, I know.'
Marigold moved to the unconscious Hikari, and took off her ribbon. Then, she went up to Remilia, who was flailing her head around.
'This… incessant… racket…" She gritted her teeth. "Whom have I pissed off to deserve this…!?"
Marigold pressed the wet ribbon to Remilia's forehead, only to be launched back when Remilia flailed her limbs at her.
Thud.
"Ouch." Marigold summarized.
'...Not my brightest idea…'
...Marigold moved back to the Counter-PSI Device.
'I guess I have no choice but to turn this off.'
So she does.
';,.';,.';.';zz-phhsshhh…
...Osamu stands up. "Wow. Like, ouch. Why…?"
...He notices Hikari unconscious. "Oh, damn…!"
Remilia shakes her head. "...That sucked. Also, what the hell am I even doing?"
She looks down at the unconscious Hikari. "...What happened to her? Stupid question, I suppose, but I kinda blacked out after that whole water thing."
...She turned to the other two. "Oh, good, you're still here. Thought I was talking to myself for a moment. How did you go about freeing me of that infliction, anyway…?"
Marigold's eyes shot to Osamu. "Osamu! Water shuriken, now!"
He nods. "R-right!"
Remilia's eyes widened. "W-wait, what…!?"
Osamu tried PK Hydro ß!
A shuriken of water formed over Remilia. She flew up to dodge anything incoming, but only ended up flying into it as she tried to evade it.
"Aaaauu~gh!" Remilia wails, getting flung back by the water.
Thud.
…
"Did… did we do it?" Osamu questioned. "...I-I'm fuckin' tired, man…"
"...We… we did it…" Marigold smiled. She then dropped to her knees. "We… did it…"
Thud.
Osamu blinked. "Oh… that's not good. I-I gotta get them-"
He tripped upon trying to move, falling on his stomach.
Thud.
"...On second thought, I'll just lie here… it's soft…" Osamu decides, letting exhaustion take him.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
Sakuya returned from her short vacation. She only left a few days ago, but after a brief trip around Gensokyo, with time-stops galore, she found that she literally had nowhere to really go that interested her.
That, and she didn't really know what to do with a week off.
Upon arrival to the mansion, she had noticed Meiling gone, along with the fairy maids who persisted the halls.
Further investigation lead her to her mistress' throne room, where she saw an unconscious, soggy vampire lying on the carpeted floor, a look of horror frozen on her face.
She saw the form of Hikari Hakurei wedged in a small dent in the floor, for whatever reason.
The resident descendant of the Knowledge family, among others, was lying next to a blood puddle, with blood caking her entire back but no visible wounds.
There was also just some dude in filthy robes sleeping on the carpet.
…
Sakuya sighed. "Two days… This is two days."
Then, the manor shook.
Boom!
...Explosions echoed from below.
"Two. Days."
…
Sakuya walked up to Remilia's charred throne, and sat down in it, relaxing.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
"Mmm… hnnh…"
Marigold slowly opened her eyes…
'...I don't wanna get up. Maybe I can just dream a little more...'
She turns over, and catches a face full of Hikari hair.
'Oh.'
…
'I guess I should get up, now. That completely blew away my lingering phase…'
Slowly, Marigold scooted away, and clambered out of the bed.
'Back in the barracks, again, it seems. I didn't think I'd be seeing it again so soon...'
She once again found herself in the 'fairy barracks', although there was a distinct lack of fairies. Light shone in through the one window near Marigold's bed.
'There's usually at least a few maids sleeping here...'
Restlessly, she walked down the length of the room, noting that Osamu was placed in an adjacent bed. Various other beds were shifted to angles, flipped over, or broken, reflecting the previous chaos. The side of the room Marigold and her friends were placed on was completely spotless by comparison.
'The difference is like night and day…'
She turned back to the window, only to see a figure standing before her.
"W-woah!" Marigold reaches for her gun, only to realize her backpack and rifle weren't on her at the moment.
...The maid before her sighed. "...I seem to have startled you. My apologies."
'Oh. It's just the chief maid…'
Then, Marigold froze.
"...H-how do I know you're okay?" Her voice shook, still tired.
Sakuya blinked. "...However do you mean?"
'Hmm. Uhh…'
"Desire to kill shrine maidens?" Marigold bluntly stated.
"...Not anymore than usual, no." Sakuya tilted her head. "Should that be any different?"
'...I think she's okay.' Marigold knew the various occasions where Marisa would 'visit', more so for books than anything else. Sometimes Reimu would be with her, though she'd always try to do things in a more negotiative matter.
It didn't stop her from ending up going on a danmaku-slinging rampage when negotiations broke down, though.
'Good times. It taught me a lot of really neat hide-and-seek places, that's for sure.'
Sakuya looked at the two sleeping teenagers. "Speaking of violence, would you mind filling me in on what exactly happened yesterday?"
'...Yesterday?'
Marigold blinked. "Why do you want to know?"
"Considering the mistress was lying in a cold, wet puddle, and your mother was unconscious on the library floor with numerous signs of struggle, I think it's within my place to be curious." Sakuya argued. "...Not to mention the destruction among the bedrooms. The fairies are still unkempt, as well."
…
"Well, then." Marigold nodded. "I guess I'll tell you what I know."
Sakuya stared at her, expectantly.
"It seems like everyone has this… thing, against Hikari." Marigold began. "They also don't seem to act quite like they should. Aside from the penchant for brutal murder, that is. My mother didn't use any spell cards when we fought, and mis- Remilia… was pretty convincing, but still seemed pretty weird."
'Nope, not calling her 'mistress'. Not anymore.'
...Sakuya processed this information. "I see. Is there any sort of red mist involved?"
"Y-yes, actually." Marigold was surprised. "How do you know?"
"...The little mistress." Sakuya let the implication speak for itself.
Speak, it did. "...Oh." Marigold blanched.
'O~n the bright side, she's weaker, ri~ght…?'
The mansion shook. A crooked lamp tipped over nearby.
Sakuya grimaced. "...I would speak more, but it seems my presence is needed again. Your mother and the mistress reside in the throne room, and they fare well."
With that, she abruptly vanished.
'...Always the warm one.'
Marigold looked at her friends, again, debating whether or not to wake them.
'In a place this big, I might as well.'
She considered flipping the bed over…
'I wouldn't be any different from the fairies, then, would I?'
…
She then flipped the bed over. Or, at least, tried.
"Hnnnh…!" She shakily lifted Osamu's mattress, only successfully rolling him to the edge and off it, by tilting it at a forty five degree angle.
Thud.
She put the mattress back down, and exhaled.
'Team muscle, I am not.'
To her disappointment, however, Osamu was still sound asleep.
'Alright, where's my rifle?'
She looked to the dresser, and saw her backpack and Air Gun rested atop it and against it, respectively.
Clutching the Air Gun, she marched back up to Osamu.
"Wake up. This is your last chance." Marigold futilely announced to the sleeping man.
He snored in defiance.
She took aim.
Klack!
With the sudden flailing of limbs, Osamu was awake, clutching the sides of both beds as he scrambled to his feet, eyes wide and mouth agape.
"A-aah, hey! I'm too beautiful to die!" He guarded his face.
Marigold sighed. "...Good morning, you."
...Hesitantly, Osamu dropped his guard. "...Geez. What's the big idea, huh? You coulda just like, nudged me, y'know."
'You lie.'
...They both turned to look at the sleeping Hikari.
Osamu and Marigold turned to look at each other.
"You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" Osamu grinned.
Marigold grinned back. "Maybe."
They both gathered around the side of Hikari's bed, and began lifting. Half-hearted efforts rendered a sixty degree angle, but Hikari impossibly retained attachment to the mattress.
One final push was all that was needed for gravity to do the rest. The bed moved forward on its own, Hikari both rolling onto the floor, then getting smooshed by the bed.
"A-ah!" Hikari awoke with a jolt, squirming immediately.
"Pffft… hahaha~!" Osamu laughed merrily. "Wakey wakey, eggs 'n' bakey!"
Marigold both giggled at Hikari's predicament, and scoffed at Osamu's own expression of amusement.
'Eggs 'n' bakey.'
"W-what…?" Hikari eventually fought the angry mattress off her back, and used the bed frame to support herself as she climbed to her feet, visibly thrown off-balance by her retained drowsiness.
Osamu attempted to contain his laughter, but failed. "Fwahahaha~!"
Marigold grinned, then noticed that Hikari had recovered something from the floor…
Her gohei smacked against her other, open hand, resting in it.
...Marigold slowly backed away from the mirthful Osamu, smiling sheepishly.
"-Hahahaha~!"
Hikari walked around the bed frame, reaching Osamu.
Whack!
"Haha-aaa~h!" Osamu shielded himself. "D-dude, no! Haha-ouch!"
Thwack!
As he rubbed his new bruises, Hikari looked at Marigold.
'...Oh no.'
She closed the distance between herself and Marigold with a brisk powerwalk.
"...Hi-Hikari, I know it looked- how it looked like, but-"
Whack!
"I-I'm innocent, I tell you! Hikari~!"
Thwack!
'Waaa~h!'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
After the momentary morning ruckus, Marigold directed her party members back to the throne room of the manor, albeit with some trial and error hallway navigation.
"So why the hell're we goin' back here?" Osamu wondered aloud. "You got a death wish, or somethin'?"
She was also accompanied by the complaints of a disgruntled human mage.
"Almost everyone's fine now, except for the fairy maids." Marigold explained to him. "We should be able to get some valuable information from them. Maybe."
'I also kinda sorta wanna know if my mother's okay after that sound thrashing. Besides, if I know anything about Sakuya, she should have that… situation completely under control.'
She wasn't in a big fat hurry to encounter what lied beneath.
The three approached the oversized door to the throne room, which didn't open on its own this time.
Marigold went to push it open.
…
'Why's it have to be a big door?' She mentally complained. 'Vampiric ego, more like it…'
She eventually pushed it open enough for a human body to slip through.
"...You know, you coulda just let me do it." Osamu commented.
Hikari grins. "Because you and doors have agreed before."
"Hey- hey… hey. I coulda handled this door. I think." He grins back.
'I'm sure you could have. It's better than Hikari just demolishing the door with brute force, at any rate.'
Inside, Remilia and Patchouli sat at a tea table, a small white one, which wasn't in the room previously.
"...It's the guests of the hour, I see." Remilia greets from her seat, a half-smirk upon her face.
Patchouli looks over at them, tiredly.
'Yeah, they're okay.'
"Why don't you join us?" Remilia proposes. "We're having a spot of tea, you see."
Marigold shrugged, nodding.
"Sure." Hikari accepted.
Osamu looked conflicted.
The three teenagers moved to the two open seats. Marigold took one, and Hikari used her gohei to push Osamu away from the last one.
...He looked around. "Yeah, I didn't wanna drink from dinky little teacups at this tiny ass table, anyway." He folded his arms.
Remilia blinked. "...I could simply have another chair fetched for you, if-"
"Nah, no, it's cool." He nodded.
"...If you insist." She shrugged, and went to drink from her teacup.
...Marigold looked at her mother. Her mother stared back, dryly.
"Do, uh… you feel alright?" Marigold asked.
'She's normally a little more naggy.'
"My everything aches." Patchouli expressed. "I want to go to bed. No thanks to you three..."
Hikari took notice of her discomfort.
Hikari tried Healing α!
...Patchouli blinked. "H-huh. I suddenly feel… about as bad as usual."
Marigold wasn't sure what to make of that.
"Speaking of you three…" Remilia sat her hands on the tea table. "What exactly was that showing, the other night?"
'Day.' Marigold corrected.
"Violence." Hikari summarized.
"...I see." Remilia stared at her dryly. "Could… could you elaborate? Those powers were like nothing a Hakurei miko would normally display, if my sources are correct..."
Hikari raised a brow. "What are these sources?"
"My source being that I had my ass handed to me by one." Remilia soundly stated. "...That, and Patchy, but I already had a hunch the Hakurei lineage was supposed to exhibit… similar powers. Not the crazy crash-bang-boom sort- well…" She paused. "My point being, yours were curious."
Hikari nods. "...Okay, then."
…
"...Are you not intrigued?" Remilia fished for a response.
"Kinda." Hikari admitted. "I don't know why you care, though."
"Merely making an observation, is all. Discussion." Remilia sighed. "...You're new to this whole 'talking' thing, aren't you?"
"Only as new as you are to minding your own business." Hikari countered.
Osamu took the moment to break his silence. Loudly. "Ooo~h, damn, dude! Shots fired! Shots fucking fired!"
…
Everyone stared at him.
"...What?" He looked around at everyone.
Patchouli rubbed her temples. "Could you be any louder?"
He paused. "...Do you want me to be?"
Patchouli glared at him.
"...No?" He guessed.
"It's a no. I'd prefer you dead, but I'll have to settle with 'no'."
Osamu snorted incredulously at the severity of her response.
'Aa~h, that venomous sarcasm.'
Remilia proceeded to prevent silence from settling in. "So! I don't remember the finer details, Marigold, but I saw that you had a weapon of some sort…?"
Patchouli looked at her, interested.
Nodding, Marigold lifted her rifle- making sure not to point it at anyone's face, of course. "I call it the 'Air Gun'. It shoots a high velocity danmaku bullet, powered by a wind stone."
"Elegant name. From where does it derive its mana from, exactly?" Patchouli presses.
"A block of wood, with lots and lots of mana just crammed into it." Marigold grins.
Patchouli's brow twitches. "And you created this block, by…?"
Marigold shook her head. "It was a complimentary item from some second hand shop in the village. I had it made on request, specifically for this gun. It kinda used fairy fingers before, but that wasn't exactly a reliable source of ammunition..."
"Fairy fingers." Patchouli deadpanned.
"...Fairy fingers." Marigold confirms.
Patchouli processed this information. "Your innovative tendencies are as strong as ever, I see. Though, I take it you still are unable to utilize any of your personal mana pool in your experiments?"
"...Yeah." Marigold nods. "I've had to find ways around it."
Patchouli says no more, resting her arms upon the table and interlocking her hands.
The manor shook, again.
Osamu looked around. "...Did anyone else just feel that?"
"No." Marigold immediately replied. "No one else felt that. You're losing it."
"You mean I haven't already lost it?" He grinned.
Marigold shakes her head. "No."
"...Oh." Osamu had nothing for that, unfortunately.
Remilia took a deep breath. "My sister seems to be under the spell of that terrible affliction that caused my rude, yet elegant behavior the other day. Except, she's… not taking to it as well as I."
"I'd like to argue that it was just rude." Marigold spoke up. "You called me by my last name and told me to die."
"Yes- well, I don't seem to remember that." Remilia hastily spoke up, receiving a curious glance from Patchouli. "Anyway-"
The manor shook again, the vibrations reflected in the tea.
"You three are in luck, because my sister happens to be a margin less powerful under this spell's affliction, akin to how we were." Remilia elaborated.
"It's not a spell." Patchouli corrected.
Remilia turned to her, and put a finger over her lips for a moment. "On that note, I'd like to ask you three to aid Sakuya in dealing with my sister's affliction."
Hikari blinked. "Can't you solve that yourself?"
"As it turns out, simply beating her up does not, infact, make it better." Remilia resolves her inquiry. "We- Patchy tried a dispel, but it's apparently not a spell. Sakuya bested her earlier, but when she woke up she was both angry and hungry for miko flesh, again."
'Perhaps I should keep the Counter-PSI Device on hand, then…' Marigold wasn't eager to discover how much of Flandre's iconic 'kyuu' was sealed by the affliction.
"Should I feel uncomfortable?" Hikari questions.
"Yes." Remilia decided. "At least, when it comes to the 'everybody wanting you dead', bit."
After a few moments of silence and tea consumption, Hikari decided to get the ball rolling.
"That vampire's not gonna cure herself, I don't think." Hikari declared. She turned to Remilia… "She's a vampire, right?"
Remilia glared at her.
"...Alright, then."
Hikari got up, and moved to the door, which had closed itself at some point during the proceedings.
Marigold rose from her chair. "...H-Hikari, wait!"
Whack!
The door flew open with one strike, only opening about forty-five degrees.
'...Oh. She did less damage than I thought.'
Marigold sighed, anyway.
Osamu grinned. "Yeah, I agree. Fuck doors."
With that, the two followed Hikari out of the room, and down the hall.
…
Remilia sighed. "I never told them how to reach the basement."
"I'm sure Marigold knows." Patchouli references. "I'm still surprised she's actually fashioned together armaments. To be honest, I thought her locked to a strictly theoretical level of magical practice, and here she crafts technology that relies on it despite being unable to sense it. Truly remarkable, in some senses of the word."
...Remilia sipped from her tea.
"Patchy, you think too much."
Patchouli smirked. "I didn't get where I am by being impulsive."
"...Was that a subtle jab, or were you being genuine, there?" Remilia grinned back.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
After aimlessly following Hikari for a good few minutes, Marigold took the lead again. Once more, the halls lead them effortlessly to a cellar door.
'Here we are…' Marigold took a deep breath.
Osamu ran up to the cellar door, and flailed his limbs at it, producing the incessant racket of cheap tin doors getting bombarded.
'That is exactly what I didn't want to happen.'
Hikari walked up beside him, and readied her gohei. She brought it down on the cellar door.
Bam!
The door flew inside, clattering down the stairway.
"You guys are freaking brutes." Marigold pouts. "What did that door do to you?"
"It got in my way, that's what!" Osamu leered at the door. "I'm just showin' it what for!"
He proceeded to become aggressive with the final half of the cellar door, grabbing it and shaking it violently. Something within it snapped, and the rigid, locked position gave way to leaving the door limp.
...Osamu let go, and it swung inside, clattering loudly against the wall.
As the two teenagers marched in, Marigold grinned sheepishly. 'They might just be more destructive than the little vampire at this rate…'
She knew that wasn't true, though.
Walking to the bottom of the stairway, and into the first hallway, the party quickly found themselves at a crossroad.
Hikari looked all three ways, and decided to go right.
"Hey, hold on…" Marigold held out her arm, but Hikari continued anyway.
…
After a moment, Hikari came back from the left hallway. She paused when she saw Osamu and Marigold again.
"First time something like that happened…" Hikari gave a glance back to the leftmost hallway, mystified.
"Right…" Marigold sighed. "These hallways are special, you see…"
She thought back to the time she first learned the paths in and out of the cellar.
'It was pretty unforgettable, to be sure…'
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK ====
Marigold stepped down the dark cellar stairway, accompanied by a beige-haired fairy maid.
"I'm still not expecting good things, Rose." Marigold vainly stared at the fairy maid she followed.
"Nonsense!" Rose grinned widely. "Ya've been askin' 'round 'bout this here basement hall all day! It'd do ya some good to show ya my route 'n' answer a couple questions!"
'Your dialect being one of them…'
"I really just wanted to know what the specific route was. Everyone kinda agrees it's something like, uh… left-forward-back?"
Rose shakes her head. "Complete and utter bullshit. It's left-forward-back."
'...That's what I said.'
"Those maids, they don't know, they just don't, y'know?" Rose frowns. "They think it easy. They think it, my job, is easy! Coming down here and delivering the grubs and stuffs! Can you believe it!?"
Marigold smiled awkwardly in response. "Uh…"
"...A-anyway, this is about you, not me." Rose shakes her head. "Anymore questions before we start the trip, lad?"
Nodding, Marigold asks. "...Is she really as dangerous as people say? I mean, I talked with her a few times and even hung out with her once, but-"
"Ohoho~h…" Rose leaned closer to her, grinning, before her face fell serious. "You better believe it."
Marigold tilted her head.
"How do ya think I got this here eyepatch?" Rose pointed to her black eyepatch.
...Marigold grabbed it and lifted it up, revealing a perfectly fine eye underneath.
Rose flipped it back down. "Stop that. I hate it when people do that…"
"I still haven't found out why she's so supposedly dangerous." Marigold presses.
"Alright, look here…" Rose raises her arms to gesture. "This don't mean much to fairies like me- 'cause we revive after any horrible death and all that- but you happen to not be a fairy, if I remember correctly. You're one of them there, uh… funny magi fellows, aren't ya?"
Marigold wasn't sure how to feel about being described as a 'funny magi fellow'.
"Right, so, if she paints the walls if your blood, you might not come back." Rose nods at her own explanation.
Marigold scoffs. "Are you making her out to be some sort of crazed killer?"
The fairy maid sighs in frustration. "Look- it's like a- it's like an oni holdin' a glass 'a water. With one twitch of a muscle, kaboomaroo! The glass is bloody shattered, yeah? Well, the little mistress- she does that, too. Except with… your life, I guess?"
"Except with my life." Marigold skeptically echoes.
"Yeah. Like, she grabs the air, and then you're just dead. Yer gone. Kaput." Rose nods, an assured expression on her face. "S'just how it is."
Marigold wasn't really buying it. "Yeah, okay. Speaking of, how about you show me the way there, then? Well, walk me, at any rate, considering I already know the way..."
Rose rolled her eyes. "Ah, whatever. Don't come cryin' ta me when you're a puddle. Follow me."
They went left, and ended up back at the crossroads, except there wasn't a stairway up down one of them. They then went forward, and then went backwards.
'Here we are…'
The short walk left them in front of a dark door, light emanating from under it.
"There she is." Rose stared at the door. "...Well, there's yer path. Remember," She held up a finger. "Once you open this door, it's no goin' back. Point of no return, they call it? Somethin' like that. If you open it and run, well, you'll die!" She grinned as she finished her sentence.
Marigold stared at her. "...Is that a good thing, then?"
"Oh, no, no, I was just remembering my first time down here. I ran, yeah. And I died." At that, Rose nodded nostalgically. "I was the laughin' stock of the barracks for weeks. Or days. They kinda blend together."
'I'm sure they do…'
"Well, that's nice." Marigold casually comments as she walks towards the door.
...Rose jogged to catch up with her. "Wait wait wait, the hell're you doing!?"
"Going inside." Marigold described. "If I've come this far, I might as well talk with her."
"Lass…" Rose shook her head in disbelief, jaw dropping. "You don't know what you're doing! I-I didn't plan to die tonight, ya know! I've got a card game after this, and the girls'll be really pissed if I don't show up!"
"...Right."
Marigold walked up to the door, and opened it.
Rose gasped. "...!"
The door creaked open.
"...Hello?" A voice called from within.
"Hi." Marigold made herself known. "I found you."
Flandre stood up from some toys she had aside her bed. "You found me?"
Marigold nods.
"I've been found!" Flandre exclaims, smiling.
Rose shakily walks in, stepping cautiously.
Flandre watched her enter. "It's the funny pirate fairy! Hello!"
Freezing, Rose furrowed her brows. "...I'm not a pirate fairy. I'm a trained expert."
"Pirate fairy, pirate fairy!" Flandre cheered. "Ahoy, me bucko! Hahaha~!"
Rose facepalmed. "Geh…"
'...I don't see a lot of danger going on here.'
Skeptic once more, Marigold looked over at Rose, and decided to press her on it. "She really doesn't seem as dangerous as you make her out to be."
Rose looks back, eyes widening.
"I mean, I don't even get those comparisons you made earlier, with the oni and all that." Marigold finished. "...I suppose this isn't the time and place to question that, though."
She focuses on Rose again, who is now completely frozen.
'Hmm?'
Then, she looks at Flandre, who had also paused, staring at Marigold.
"...Oh, I suppose you're curious." Marigold scratches her cheek. "Well-"
Flandre's head jerks to the side as she focuses her eyes on Rose. "Are… are you saying bad things about me, pirate fairy?"
Rose's pupils contracted, and she held her hands up. "L-litt- I mean, Flandre- I can explain. You see-"
"I don't like it when people spread rumors about me." Flandre begins walking towards her. "It's just not fair, you know?"
"C-certainly!" Rose agrees hastily. "Real scumbag move, yeah? Totally!"
"I hate it when people lie to me." Flandre walked straight up to the fairy maid, looking up into her eyes. "You aren't lying to me, are you?"
"Nope! Not at all! Didn't say a word!" Rose grins. "They call me Honest, with a capital H! Pirate captain Honest, yes!"
Marigold sighed. "...You know, couldn't you just explain what you said to me, to her? Or… was it actually gossip?"
…
Flandre expressionlessly turns to Rose.
Rose's expression falls to a deadpan sort, as she looks over at Marigold. "...You daughter of a-"
BOOM
Pi~chun!
Marigold's eye widened as Rose suddenly exploded, becoming a raw blast of mana. A violent force expanded outward from the focal point of the explosion, throwing Marigold against a wall.
Thud.
'W-woa~h…!'
Flandre turned to Marigold. "You don't believe anything she said, right?"
'U-uhm…!'
"N-no…" Marigold smiled weakly. "She was… clearly wrong."
Flandre smiled. "I'm glad. It's mean when people gossip about each other."
'Duly noted.'
…
After a silent moment, Marigold stood up from the wallside…
"Do you wanna play with my toys with me?" Flandre offered. "I got a new batch just yesterday!"
'A… new batch.'
Suddenly, it made sense.
'This is why we cycle out toys. The chief's not throwing them out, they're… moved here.'
She decided to confirm her suspicions. "Flandre, where… what happened to your other toys?"
Flandre smiled sheepishly. "Eheh… I kinda got excited, and you know… they went 'kyuu'."
'Ah.'
…
Marigold stretched. "We~ll, I think I left one of my spell tomes… in the oven."
Flandre tilted her head. "...Why would you do that?"
"I don't know. It was a good idea at the time." Marigold moved to the door. "I gotta go get it out before it explodes, or something. Have a nice evening, Flandre."
Flandre was befuddled. "Oh… okay. Bye!"
The door clicked behind Marigold as she left. She slowly walked from the door…
'Left-forward-back to get in? That's, uh… forward-back-right? Right-back-forward?'
...She began sprinting forward, and wound up at the same intersection in front of Flandre's door.
'Right-back-forward, got it.'
With haste, she sprinted through the maze, and back up the stairs out of the cellar.
'...I can't believe I'm saying this, but that fairy maid's gossip was real. Everything… well, not everything, but a lot of what I heard… seems to be true.'
Except for that one she heard about Flandre being a lizardman in disguise. That one she wasn't so sure about.
Marigold closed the cellar doors.
"...Let's not do that, again. Not any time soon. Or ever."
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: FLASHBACK OVER ====
"...I wonder if that fairy maid's still around?" Marigold wonders aloud.
Osamu snaps his fingers in front of Marigold's face. "Hey, hey, Earth to magi. You've been spacin' out for like, twenty seconds now! Hikari's losin' her mind over there!"
He gestured to the halls before them, where Hikari continuously dashed down the same, incorrect, stretch of hallway, passing by them multiple times.
Marigold shook herself from her trip down memory lane. "A-ah… Hikari! Hikari!"
Hikari eventually begins to slow down, before stopping in front of the two.
"...As I was saying," Marigold resumes her pre-flashback explanation. "These halls are different. We have to follow a specific route, or they're just going to repeat for literally forever."
"Literally forever?" Hikari raises a brow."
"Literally forever." Marigold assures her. "...You can keep running, and running, and running… and you'll go nowhere."
"...Cool." Hikari grinned at the prospect.
"...Right." Marigold continued. "Anyway, I believe… the path was left-forward-back."
She began walking to the leftmost hall, as she had directed. The other party members follow her, and they quickly reach the hall prior to Flandre's room.
The manor shakes once more, the sounds of explosions imminent and loud.
"Holy crap." Osamu chuckles. "Seriously. Are we, like, fighting explosions themselves now, or something?"
"...Kinda." Marigold shrugged.
Osamu double-took. "Wait, what!?"
...A barrel on the side of the otherwise barren hall caught Marigold's attention.
'I don't remember that being there, though…'
...She walked up to it-
"What're ya doin'!?"
"A-ah!" Marigold flinched.
A fairy maid popped out! Specifically…
"Rose?" Marigold's brow rose.
"Ahoy, me bu- I mean… Hey!" Rose scratched her head awkwardly. "Are you gonna try and rip me limb from limb?"
"...No." Marigold decided. "Not unless you give us good reason to."
Rose grinned, and climbed from the barrel. "Aa~h… I knew this would happen. The other maids've finally succumbed to their base urges! It's just me and you, Mari! And… those guys." Rose examined the others.
"Hi." Hikari waved.
Osamu jerked his head back. "Whaddaya mean 'those guys'?"
Rose walked into the middle of the three. "And those vampires! Ohh, they've turned a blind eye, they have. It's us against the world!"
'She seems to be having fun with this…'
Rose grinned. "It's too bad for them that I've got a special secret weapon! Two of them, actually!"
"...Such as?" Marigold baited her.
"I've got a spell card!" Rose announced, and waited.
…
"...That's your cue to applaud me." Rose dryly added. "Among the idiots in this manor, that's kinda an accomplishment."
"Woo." Hikari unenthusiastically makes noise.
"...I also have this." Rose walks up to the barrel, and pulls out a cutlass.
Osamu snorted. "S'that a fuckin' sword?"
Marigold blinked. "Where did you find a cutlass in a mansion?"
"...Where did you find a bloody gun in a mansion?" Rose gestured to Marigold's Air Gun.
'I didn't necessarily find it, and it wasn't in the mansion, but uh…'
"...S'what I thought." Rose nodded. "...Say, uh, any of you seen the chief maid 'round here?"
A loud blast sounded from the room ahead, causing all four of the girls to jump. The hallway shook.
…
"'Cause the place is exploding, it is! Where's the big girl in charge when you need her!?" Rose yelled.
'Might as well let her find out.'
"...Well, we're going to go tame Flandre." Marigold informs her.
Rose's expression fell. "Mari, lass, no. She's gone from 'debatably a crazed killer' to 'actually a crazed killer'. To answer your question from earlier, that is."
'...That's actually some impressive memory for a fairy maid.'
"Don't worry. We're professionals." Hikari spoke up, holding up her gohei. "We solve problems."
Osamu nodded. "Yeah. We hit things really hard until they fall over. Professionally."
Rose scoffed. "You three, professionals? The day Mari here's a professional's gonna be the day I wear an eyepatch on both eyes!"
At that, Marigold grinned. "You'd be surprised."
'That reminds me…'
"How are you not affected?" Marigold questioned. "All the other fairies and youkai in the manor seem to be."
The hallway shook again, a loud blast sounding from the room ahead.
Everyone stumbled a bit from the impact.
…
"S'that answer yer question?" Rose proposed. "I actually was, for a bit, I think. I remember runnin' at the Flan-lass, and then I exploded. Repeatedly. When I stopped explodin', I was fine."
'Well, that implies good things for us, then.'
With a large vibration, and the sounds of crumbling stone, the entire party ended up crouching or sliding to the floor as they heard many rocks tumbling on the other side of the door.
…
"What the hell's goin' on out there!?" Osamu shouts. "It sounds like a fucking war!"
'Not just any war. A fucking war.' Marigold mentally jabs at Osamu's way with words.
"...Yeah, if only." Rose comments. "Whelp…" She raises her cutlass. "Time to put this baby to good use. If she doesn't explode, that is. I hope not, 'cause it's a really nice blade, too."
Marigold stands. "Well, we're not getting anything done by socializing. Let's go."
"Mmm." Hikari confirms.
They walked to the door, and Marigold swung it open.
On the inside, she saw nothing that reminded her of Flandre's room.
Jagged rock composed the walls, illustrating a tunnel straight from the door to outlying cellar hallway, which in turn was also reduced to a tunnel of jagged rock, as if traversed by an oversized earthworm that happened to be made of abstract geometry.
"...Wow." Marigold was speechless.
"Someone was busy." Hikari noted.
"...How big're we talkin'?" Osamu wondered. "'Cause if you say she's anywhere near that other vampire lady's size… I just won't believe you."
"Alright- make way, get outta the way!" Rose pushed her way past the three, barging into the jagged tunnel.
"Woaa~h, holy sledgehammers!" Rose gaped. "She can just do this!?"
The tunnel lead in a line that eventually went into daylight.
'...This might work to our advantage, actually.'
Marigold walked forward, carefully stepping over the jagged terrain. Osamu followed, and Hikari took her time even more so, since sandals were not very optimal footwear for jagged rocklands.
...Rose simply floated overhead. "...I dunno what you guys're doing, but I think it's a good idea to not walk on the spiky rocks."
"None of us can fly." Marigold kept it short for her.
"Oh." Rose nodded. "...Come again? I thought ya said you were professionals?"
"At hitting things." Osamu corrected. "Flying costs extra."
"Oh, I see. I getcha, I getcha." Rose nods. "Yeah, I wouldn't have the money for that. Or any money at all, come to think of it."
...Osamu wasn't sure what to make of that.
The trek through the treacherously jagged tunnel proceeded slowly, with Rose very, very slowly floating to stay with the party, likely unappealed by the idea of rushing forward only to get brutalized by Flandre.
Before long, the party reached the end of the cave, gazing into the bright, snow-laden yard ahead…
Bam!
'More like knife-laden.'
"Raaagh!" Flandre roared.
Sakuya never stuck in one place for any longer than a second, constantly teleporting around and chucking barrages of knives towards Flandre. Those that stuck didn't stay stuck for long, and only left marks for about as long as it took for them to be removed.
Flandre staggered about in the sunlight, shielding herself from the oncoming knives, occasionally lashing out with an explosive beam.
...She turned, and noticed Hikari.
"H-Hakurei…" Flandre seethed. "Blood…"
Hikari frowned. "I can assure you my blood's not that tasty. Honestly."
Flandre wasn't exactly listening, however, sending a barrage of emerald orbs towards the party. Knives moved to intercept the majority of them, but a few still got near the party.
Rose ducked under one. "We're under fire! Everybody hit the deck!"
She dove into the snow.
Marigold aimed at Flandre.
Klack!
Nothing productive happened when the bullet hit her.
'As expected, she's nearly immune to damage, it seems.'
Red energy swirled around Flandre…
"Get ready." Hikari cautioned the party.
'It's that red fog again. Hopefully she's already on her second form…'
"Hraaa~gh!" Flandre throws her arms outward, arching her back as she glares into the sky. Green streaks of light raise from the snow under her, and soar into the sky.
Sakuya appears next to the party. "Move."
Then, she's gone.
'Thanks, for that. I wouldn't have known to dodge the enemy attacks otherwise.'
On closer inspection, the green streaks of light appeared to be coming back down.
Everyone scattered to move away from them, but no one really knew a good way to avoid them, similar to attempting to dodge a rain of arrows.
The bolts of light struck straight down into the snow, everyone grazed fairly closely.
"Aargh!" Osamu clutched his leg, green electricity running up it from being caught in one of the light beams. "I-I can't feel my fucking leg!"
Hikari tried Lifeup α!
"...Nevermind." He stepped a few times with it, to make sure it was fine again. "Let's beat her up before she does that again. I don't like getting bombarded by freakin' solar beams or whatever."
'They're not solar, they're… whatever element they are. Aagh.' Marigold mentally groaned at the technically incorrect elemental naming.
Rose had the same idea. "Alright! I'm'onna deck this vampire! Watch this!"
She floated into the air, and grinned down at Flandre. "This is for all those times you made me a fine fairy mist! Steel Sign, Blade's Dance!"
She arched her head back. "Hyaa~h!"
A spinning circle of gold, danmaku cutlasses formed around her. "Go!"
They all spun towards Flandre, who made no attempt to get out of the way.
All the bullets smoothly thunked into Flandre, but all it seemed to do was make her more angry.
She held her left arm up, and made a circle with her hand…
…
She hissed in annoyance. "Hhh… No, no, nooo~!"
With a fling of her arm, a line of explosions flew towards Rose.
Rose blinked. "Oh, bugge-"
Pi~chun!
'I can't say I didn't expect that. I should probably use that device, now…'
Marigold slid off her backpack, and pulled out the Counter-PSI Device.
Hikari looked over to her curiously, while Osamu was more focused on watching Flandre's movements.
Marigold began tuning the settings on it…
Phhsshhh-zz',;.';,';.';',;.';,.,'.;...
"...Ugh, no…" Hikari clutched her head.
"Oh, not now! Fuck, not now! Gaa~h…" Osamu clutched his.
…
Poof. Sakuya landed in the snow, an unthrown scatter of knives landing in it next to her.
Flandre gritted her teeth. "I-it hurts… A-aah…"
She threw her arm to the side, and sent a barrage of lava orbs towards the back wall.
Bam!
"It hu~rts!"
Flandre threw herself about in an attempt to mitigate the pain she was feeling from the high-pitched static the device emitted. Vampiric magic was randomly flung about, lines of light haphazardly shooting into the sky among random explosions and unaimed fireballs being launched.
The red mist that was around her began getting diced up again, as if being run through an invisible net. It dissipated shortly after.
"M-make it sto~p…" Flandre whined, falling to her knees and finally clutching her ears. "St-stop…"
'I should probably stop it, now…'
';,.';,.';.';zz-phhsshhh…
...Hikari came to, and gazed at the Counter-PSI Device.
Osamu shook himself back into focus. "...Dude, I think I need to see a doctor. I'm havin' like, mini-strokes or something."
...Sakuya rose from the snow, dusting herself off. "What… was that?"
Flandre paused. "...O-owhh…"
Somewhat frazzled, everyone pretty much readjusted themselves after the momentary headache.
Hikari walked up to Marigold. "...So that's where it came from."
'She knows.' Marigold nodded. "Yeah. I've learned to use it kinda carefully…"
"You had better." Hikari asserted. "That thing hurts, you know."
'Does it really?' Marigold blinked. "W-well… sorry."
Satisfied, Hikari stares back at the others.
Flandre walks up to the three calmly. Osamu's eyes widen.
"Oh, dude, oh du~de…!" He yell-whispers, only to be silent once Flandre finally reaches them.
"Hi." The vampire began. "...You're… Hikari, right?"
Hikari stepped up to her. "Hello. Yeah."
"Cool." Flandre nodded. "Some strange voices kept telling me to kill you. I thought it was funny, 'cause I never even met you yet! I thought I was regressing, too… but it was just some stupid red stuff." She frowned. "It was mean."
"Mmm. Someone's seriously out to ruin my day." Hikari agreed with her..
Flandre smiled. "I know, right? I feel the same way! Actually, I got something to show you, I think. I'm, like, a sanctuary guardian or something. I dunno what that means, though. The red stuff said so."
'Huh.'
Sakuya stood, stumbling forward. "W-wait! The mistress- sh-she's unsafe!"
Flandre turns to her. "No, I'm not, Sakuya. I think. Unsafe… wait, am I in danger, or am I the danger?"
In an attempt to fight further, Sakuya messily throws a barrage of daggers towards Flandre, who actually makes an attempt to dodge them, this time. Sakuya, then, flops over into the snow.
"A-ah…"
Poof.
Flandre stared down at her, concerned. "...That's no good, Sakuya. You're off your game, today."
...After a moment, she lifted up Sakuya. "I'll be right back, guys. Wait here, okay?"
She flew up and over the top of the manor, carrying Sakuya.
…
Osamu looked around, and hugged himself. "I just realized how stinkin' cold it was."
...Hikari hugged herself, too. "Thanks for reminding me temperature was a thing."
Marigold smiled. "It's a good thing I came prepared, then, huh?"
"Yeah, screw you." Osamu glared at her.
'Why is he cold in those robes, anyway?'
Flandre touched down in front of them. "Hello again! Alright, follow me. The weird place is this way."
She walked forward towards a section of wall. Along the wall, there was a crack in the lower portion. It was large enough for a human to fit in, and was shrouded in darkness.
Flandre walked into it, and actually bumped into the darkness.
She made a small frown, "Hey…" and proceeded to tap it. After a moment of contemplation, she punched it.
Cra~ck!
The darkness shattered, literally falling to the floor like glass, then dissipating.
Flandre smiled. "Alright! Let's go!"
...Hikari turned to Marigold, and Marigold turned to Hikari.
They both thought pretty much the same thing. 'Did she just punch out the darkness?'
...Hikari, however, shrugged it off.
Marigold furrowed her brows, gazing forward incredulously. 'That shouldn't be remotely possible!'
"Freakin', alright…" Osamu grins, going along with it.
They walked through the crack in the wall, leading to a small patch of dense forestry.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND: HIKARI'S VIEW ====
Hikari looked around the snowy wood, realizing that it was not only dense forestry, but it was very dense forestry.
'You could tell me that those trees were a palisade wall, and I'd believe you.'
"...This is definitely a natural feature of the environment." Marigold jeered.
Hikari's eyes locked onto the murky puddle in the middle of the snow.. It rippled softly, as a single drop of water fell in from the cloudy sky above, every few seconds. It sat in such a manner, that one might have questioned if the snow upon that spot of earth had simply melted away without reason, leaving a puddle in the dirt.
"...Yeah, it's weird, right?" Flandre smiled at it. "Kinda cool, too. I'd splash around in it, but, yeah…" She scratched her head sheepishly. "It wouldn't be a good idea."
Hikari walked up to it, and took out her sound stone.
'I'm not sure yet if it's actually a sanctuary of any sort, but it is weird…'
She pressed it against her forehead.
...
She heard a melody play.
A gentle breeze rolled through Giant Step, caressing the indent in the hill…
It then rolled through the crevice leading to Subconscious Steps, before whirling around and escaping into the sky above...
Fluttering through the valley, it weaved through bamboo trees before circling around the Milky Well. It circled back around, and flowed right back out through the trees...
Smoothly floating over the crisp air of the Misty Lake, the wind swept past the walls of a western manor, before dipping into the trees just outside the walls to orbit Rainy Circle. It flowed out just as freely...
Becoming entrapped within the walls around Magnet Hill, the wind anxiously rebounded off the walls before escaping, flowing back over the Human Village...
...
…
...
A beat continued to play after the numerous notes, but no more actual music continued to be produced by the stone.
'They play in a set order, then. Have I somehow been finding them all in order…?' Hikari's brow rose as she stared at the Sound Stone. 'Whatever. This thing was weird to begin with…'
She glanced around the very clustered trees around the small clearing, then her eyes washed over the wall.
'...There was more to this little place. As in, there was another wall of trees right about there.' Hikari gazed at the brick wall. 'Not that it matters. A wall's a wall.'
Osamu stretched, taking in the relaxing sensation. "Ma~n, that feels good every time."
Marigold stared at the puddle. "...I take it this is the magic fixture that is the basis for this sanctuary?"
Hikari nods. "Yeah, basically. It's kinda been here, from what I know."
'Not that I know a lot about it other than its architecture and some of the events that took place here. By that, I mean many years of seemingly nothing.'
"...I see." Marigold nodded slowly. "There's no limit to ancient, mystical landmarks, are there?"
'Yeah, a mud puddle is kinda stretching it…'
Flandre tilts her head, grabbing onto her hat. "Woaa~h! Easy there, wind! My hat is not for flying!"
'...Well, I'd stick around, but it's cold, wet, and windy. Not a great place, even if it feels like home, somehow.'
Hikari turned around, and began to leave the sanctuary, navigating to the crack in the wall.
"H-hey!" Flandre called out to her. "Are you really just gonna leave it? It's magical, and stuff!"
"I kinda got what I needed from it." Hikari responded. "There's not much reason to stick around when it's this cold."
"...I guess so." Flandre admitted, frowning. "It's so weird, though…"
'Gensokyo is full of weird things.'
"About time. Dude, that wind just kicks my robe's ass. Not that nice magic wind, but the wind wind." Osamu complained.
And so the four departed from Rainy Circle, leaving behind the rather dim and cold environment of the sanctuary location, as they navigated back into the manor.
==== GENSOKYOBOUND ====
END OF CHAPTER 12
Protagonist: Hikari Hakurei, Disciple of Paradise
-Inventory-
Weapon: Magical Gohei - Ability to whack stuff really hard. Amplifies whacking power, too! Able to deal magical damage. Critical hits enabled.
Arms: Iconic Hakurei Arm Sleeves - Keeps arms warm. A Hakurei tradition. How they stay on is a Hakurei family secret.
Body: Combat Miko Outfit - A black leotard and hakama combination worn by the previous-previous Hakurei miko. Designed to be suitable for excessive physical activity and close combat, it slightly improves physical combat prowess.
Misc: Yukkuri Ribbon - Looks like a bad Christmas ornament. Lime green, with yukkuri decals!
-Skills-
Attack: Quickly! Swing your gohei at them for massive damage!
PK Fantasy α, β - Bombards the enemy with pain in the form of flashing colors. Deals magical damage. Heavy mental strain that increases with each tier.
PK Flash α - A bright flash that distributes very random status effects to enemies. Usually makes people cry.
Hypnosis α, Ω - Puts weak enemies to sleep for a short time. Works better on tired or exhausted foes. Can also be used in a far more costly form that works on multiple opponents.
Shield α, ß - Halves damage the target takes. Only works against physical attacks, and enough strikes, or powerful strikes, will dispel it. Higher tier turns it into a power-shield that protects even better and even reflects a fraction of protected damage.
Lifeup α, ß - Heals target a little. Higher tiers heal more grievous wounds, like bone fractures.
Healing α, ß - Heals basic status ailments. Higher tiers can cure more dire effects, like burning alive.
Ofuda Toss - Throw a holy ofuda that does massive holy elemental damage to youkai and dark elemental foes. Effect lessens the more holy the thing you're attacking is, to the point of healing holy things. Only works if you actually have ofuda, though.
β-β-β-β
Mage: Osamu Katsumi, the Wannabe Mage
-Inventory-
Weapon: Fisticuffs!
Arms: Nothing
Body: Worn Magician Robes - An old robe from the days when the village respected the medium of magic. Well past its due date, but still comfy!
Misc: Yukkuri Beanie - Resembles a really tacky tablecloth, made in the Yukkuri theme. Lime green and has tons of fun yukkuri decals!
-Skills-
PK Thunder α, ß - Very random thunder attack that deals limited damage. Higher tiers increase number of bolts, and sometimes power.
PK Hydro α, β - Gets everyone wet. Usefulness with PK Thunder and PK Freeze depends on whether you hit yourself or not! Creates whirling water spirals at higher tiers.
PK Freeze α, β - Generates ice crystals at the target's location. Medium damage and effect; may freeze some targets, especially wet ones.
Fireball - Manipulate mana to make a shoddy fireball. Low damage and effect.
Static Hands - Not a real spell. Result of a very undercharged PK Thunder that can accidentally go off.
PSI Telepathy α - Speak to friends you haven't met yet! Unstable connection and only works if they have the skill or are asleep.
PSI Shield α, Σ - Halves damage from magical and psychic attacks. Thunder spells fry it instantly, and harder blows dispel it. Second tier applies basic shield to entire party at higher mana expense.
PSI Magnet α - Costs no mana to use, and steals a very tiny amount of mana from the enemy. Enemy has to have mana in the first place for it to work, though.
Offense Up α - Get pissed! Boosts strength and confidence depending on caster's power and receiver's power.
β-β-β-β
Inventor: Marigold Knowledge, the Tri-Magi Love Child
-Inventory-
Weapon: NF Burst Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses a Pop Gun as the base, but amplifies its power with an array of random batteries jammed into the base with the Pop Gun. The more batteries, the better, but the typical yield is about five bullets per trigger. Spamming the trigger doesn't make it go any faster, unfortunately. Has no foreseeable ammo limit, and the batteries are only there for mana circulation, meaning their power is really inconsequential.
Arms: Nothing
Body: Custom Dress - A custom dress made by Alice. Provided slight defense against magical and psychic attacks.
Misc: Swirly Glasses - Lets Marigold not be blind.
Backpack - Allows extended inventory. Aged relic from the Kourindou.
Unnamed Lock Opening Device - Opens locks very precariously. Made with steel, burnt cloth, packaging peanuts, thumbtacks, string, and wooden wheels. Don't even ask…
Ruler - Lets you measure the world around you!
Protractor - Lets you find the angles of anything ever. Totally overpowered.
Deck of Cards - Allows Marigold to play Strip Poker with the party. Just kidding… or am I?
Stun Gun - Electrical device used to subdue harassers. Has settings ranging from Tickle Torture to Arse Blaster. Able to stun and inflict paralysis on certain foes. Deals electrical damage, and on the highest setting can fry shields, at the cost of temporarily shorting itself out.
Air Gun - A Marigold Knowledge invention. Uses air to propel moderately powered danmaku particles at high speeds. Bland, but efficient. Filled with foil chip bags to conduct the mana, and it is transmitted into a wind stone. Recently upgraded to draw mana from a simple wooden block filled with immense magic reserves, giving it virtually unlimited ammo.
Holmes Brand Designer Hat - Village swag! A retro village hat that ceased production ten years ago. Sells for a pretty penny nowadays, but it's pretty useless otherwise.
Slime Generator - A bulky box that shoots a small splat of slime. Doesn't seem good for much.
Counter-PSI Device - A weird device Marigold found from a flying saucer. Works in strange ways, and seems to disrupt everyone's concentration. Marigold is immune to its effects.
Broken Cylinder - Has a red crystal in the center, encased by clear plastic and steel. The purpose of it, however, is unknown.
Broken Barrels - Gun barrels, ready to go! Of variable broken sizes and made for minigun bullets, but probably fine otherwise. Made from steel.
-Skills-
Radio DJ - Apparently not very good at it.
Dubstep Composer - That, however, she is good at!
Vampire Discomforter - Truly a force to be reckoned with.
Has Not Used Her Ruler or Protractor Even Once - Probably deserves a medal for that.
100.1% Mansion Exploration - Aside from the cellar, anyway…
Might Be Able To Moonwalk Up Stairs Backwards - Or she might not.
β-β-β-β
Author's Note:
took my sweet time developing this one because video games and summer
once i get more bored with life and things, pace could increase… or not
but yeah, vampire fights!
...yeah i made them steal moves from dracula because it was COOL. also i've been playing a lot of castlevania recently
giygas nerfs affected people because he/it's controlling them in some way and doesn't know how to use them; also, a fully powered and right-minded remi, flandre, or patchouli could totally tear them apart right now unless they very explicitly went for cheesing strats, some of which wouldn't be viable to express in literature (and would probably only easily get them past a sane patchy)
SO YEAH
as always, see you all next time!