"I don't agree with Ran sealing Rumia like that, without explaining why." Marisa complained.
Everyone else nodded, but also agreed there was nothing they could do, as Rumia just sat inside the cube that the barriers formed.
"So... are we going to get Alice?" Youmu asked. "I haven't faced Shinki, I don't know if we can even win."
"... I'd still win." Yuuka said defiantly.
"No way are we handin' Alice over! She's never said she wanted to go home!" Marisa protested.
"You don't know Shinki like me." Byakuren said. "We will all certainly die, we have no option. I'll go and get Alice."
"I'll fight you and stop you then!" Marisa shouted.
Byakuren looked at Marisa, giving off a feeling that even Rumia in her seal could feel, that made Marisa gulp. "I'm not playing around Marisa. I will use force to save everyone from Shinki. I know what she can do."
"That won't be necessary." said a voice, which everyone looked towards.
Rumia recognized Alice. She had seen her a few times, going to the Scarlet Mansion to borrow books from Patchouli. They were on good terms, as long as Rumia and the others didn't annoy her too much. The puppeteer floated in the air, Shanghai, Hourai, and even Golaith all deployed around her.
However, there was one other thing.
"Alice... your Grimoire..." Marisa said.
Alice's Grimoire was open.
"I know you want to fight Shinki. Especially you Marisa." Alice said, sniffing, and wiping her eyes.
"However, I know what Shinki will do. You can't stop her. There is no way to stop her. She will kill you all. I do not want to go back, but I value you all above my selfish wishes." Alice said, tears running down her face.
"Alice... if you don't want to go we'll fight to stop Shi..." Marisa began.
"NO! I can't allow you to fight her! I'll fight you if I have to! I'm not going to let you all throw your lives away for me!" Alice demanded. "I'm serious! I've even unsealed my Grimore!"
"Why's that book a big deal?" Kogasa asked.
"It's filled with magic given to me by Shinki directly." Alice says.
"Using that magic ten years ago, she was winning against me, Reimu, Marisa and a fourth person." Yuuka says. "I can only imagine she's got stronger. That said, I'm stronger too... and I might actually cut loose."
Sakuya remained quiet.
"I'm not gonna let you give yourself away Alice! I'll knock you out if I have to!" Marisa said, before firing some lasers at Alice, who responded by fireing beams from Shanghai and Hourai, canceling out Marisa's attack.
"It sounds like a good fight, this Shinki, I don't want you to ruin it!" Yuugi says, before forming shackles around Alice, tieing her hands, and making her dolls go limp.
"Fire and Earth Sign: Volcanic Fury." Alice simply said, as her Grimoire's pages flicked, and then the book turned to face Yuugi, before it unleashed a massive stream of molten rock at the Oni, who actually dodged instead of taking that attack.
"Light and Darkness: Dispel." Alice said, the book turning again, and releasing the shackles on her.
"Ugh, I remember that book. The Grimoire of Alice, the Seven-Colored Magician. It has magic of every element inside it, as wll as the shades of Light and Darkness." Marisa says. "In truth, when using her Grimoire from Shinki, she makes Patchouli look like an amateur."
"Ya'know Alice, Shinki may be a god, but Okku's got the power of one too!" Rin says, before nudging Okku. "Give her a display Okku!"
"OK! Mega Flare!" Utusho declared, before firing a huge sphere of fire, like a sun, from her metal arm.
Alice's Grimoire turned to multiple pages, stopping and starting again, a flash every time it stopped.
"Chain Magic; Drowing Malestrome" Alice said, before what seemed like several sources of water spells put out Utusho's attack, spiralling around the orb of flame.
"I don't want to fight you guys! But do you honestly think you can fight Shinki if you can't beat me?" Alice says, tears streaming down her face.
Rumia pushed against Ran's barrier, and fired some lasers at it, but nothing happened. Meanwhile, Youmu moved in to slash at Alice's book, but the Golaith doll parried the Half-Ghost's attack, knocking Youmu flying... and one of her swords slashed Ran's barrier, ripping one side apart.
"Uh?" Rumia said, as she left the barrier.
"Hah, seems like Ran's barriers are not among the things that my Roukanken cannot cut." Youmu says, getting back up.
"Is that so?~" Rumia asks, before adding, "I got an idea! I can make an opening for someone to shut Alice's book!"
"Then I'll help. What are you gonna do?" Youmu says.
"I'll make her unable to see, cover her head in darkness. Even if it only lasts a second, that's long enough for you to close her book, right?" Rumia says.
"Yes, I'm fast enough." Youmu says.
Rumia nods, and waits for an opening, which comes when Suika forms and then throws a large boulder at Alice, and Alice uses Golaith to smash it. Ruia flies in, and forms a sphere of darkness around Alice's head. Her Grimoire turns to face Alice's face, turning it's pages, before Youmu slams both covers with the hilt of each sword, and closes the buckle. However, Alice's three strongest dolls all position to counter-attack Youmu.
"Love Sign! Master Spark!" Marisa cries, before Alice gets blindsided by a huge, roaring ray of rainbow light, sending her flying to the ground, and making all three dolls stop moving just before they hit Youmu.
Alice's Grimoire had a sigil on the latch, which glowed, and Youmu tested it.
"Seems like this thing takes a while to open. Makes sense, I've never seen Alice use this before." Youmu says.
"Alice doesn't want to use the magic in that book. That way she can never admit defeat, since she was holding back." Marisa explains. "That and she prefers using her dolls too."
The book flew over to Alice, who was on the ground, sobbing. Marisa went over to her, but Yuuka stopped her, and look in her eyes.
"I think we need to have a little... chat... about that last move you used, Kirisame." Yuuka cooned.
Marisa gulped. She forgot Yuuka was there.
Rumia and the others went over to Alice, as Yuuka dragged Marisa away.
"What will it take for you to listen to me!" she says, punching the ground. "Shinki will kill all of you!"
"She won't." Sanae says. "Besides, you're forgetting one thing. You've not told her how you feel."
Alice remains quiet for a few moments, before she speaks slowly. "Shinki is a God. She is used to getting whatever she wants. She will not understand."
At this point, Reimu and Ran re-emerge, and Ran looks angry.
"Who broke her out of the seal?!" Ran says, preparing to form another, along with Reimu.
"Rumia cannot be near Shinki!" Reimu says.
"W-Why?!" Rumia asks.
"It's better you don't know!" Reimu insists.
"She just helped stop Alice from giving up!" Marisa says, coming back from wherever Yuuka dragged her, with Yuuka. "She was usin' her Grimoire and all! We need her to help!" Marisa looked a little pale, and was rubbing her side.
"She can't help!" Ran says. "You don't know who she really is!"
Byakuren suddenly flew past Reimu and Ran, and formed a barrier, which stopped about ten blades from hitting the two.
"You were watching the whole time. I found it odd that Shinki showed up without you, Yumeko." Byakuren says.
There is no answer.
"I know you too well Yumeko. Shinki left you here to watch us. You phased in, unseen. Upon seeing we have no intention to hand Alice over, you attacked Reimu and Ran just then, when they were distracted by Rumia."
A green outline of a woman appeared in the air, behind Byakuren, and Byakuren swung around, her fist passing through. The green outline moving around and away a little, out of Byakuren's reach, before the green-outline changed into a maid.
The maid looked older than Sakuya, and was larger as well. She wore red, instead of blue, and her eyes were cold and emotionless. Her long, blonde hair flowed down her back, and she held a small sword in each hand.
"Yumeko. The Doll of Misery, Maid of Shinki herself." Byakuren said.
"Byakuren Hijiri. Sealed in Hokkai for 1,000 years, learning various magics from Shinki, because she got bored and saw potential in you." Yumeko says, cold, and emotionless. "How I have wanted the excuse to kill you for 1,000 years... but there are too many of you here."
Byakuren looked serious. "You think I'll let you get away, and assassinate us one by one? Report back to Shinki?"
The monk flew at Yumeko at tremendous speed, and punched through her, however, Yumeko had turned into a green outline, and then vanished altogether.
"Be on guard everyone. Yumeko has the ability to manipulate space and dimensions. Her powers are limited unless she's using them on herself, but she can still do things like pull you closer, or make you misjudge distances. She also can phase in and out of dimensions, and teleport. She's very elusive."
"... Sounds like me. We're both maids, we both like bladed weapons. I control time, she manipulates space." Sakuya says.
"Wait, Sakuya, you can manipulate time! If Yumeko can manipulate space, you should be able to cancel each other's powers out, space and time are intertwined! Come with me Sakuya, we'll stop Yumeko!" Byakuren says.
With that, Sakuya grabs Byakuren, holding a pocket watch in her other hand, and the pair vanish, Sakuya having stopped time to move with Byakuren.
Ran waits for a few moments, before she turns back to Rumia, who now was surrounded by Mystia, Wriggle, Cirno and Kogasa.
"We still need to seal her away. I actually think transporting her to the Gap Dimension is the best course of action. Yukari can decide what to tell her."
"But... why?!" Mystia protested.
"There are some things better left unknown!" Ran says, before a gap opens below Rumia, and she falls in.
A land of dark purple, filled with red eyes looking around. That is where Rumia found herself.
There was no-one around, except a woman in purple, facing away from Rumia. She held a parasoul, and had long, flowing blonde hair. She was an older woman in appearance than most in Gensokyo.
Rumia had never met her, but everyone knew who this figure was.
"Yukari." Rumia said.
Sakuya suddenly stopped moving through frozen time, abruptly, and looked around stunned.
"That's odd. I didn't run out of time, or cancel the Time Stop." Sakuya says.
"I told you, you and Yumeko should be able to cancel each others powers out. Be on guard, she should be around here, probobly hidden." Byakuren said.
Sakuya held up her watch, and attempted to freeze time again, and Yumeko appeared, looking deadpan and emotionless.
"Well well, this maid can manipulate time to disrupt my space and dimensional phasing." Yumeko says calmly. "You seem to have brought along someone troublesome Hijiri... but you should have brought along everyone else if you wish to have even a chance of victory against me... you know that."
"I'm not too sure about that Yumeko, from what I've seen before, you rely heavily on your phasing." Byakuren replies.
"That's because it is the most elegant way of fighting, and the quickest way for me to dispatch others. It does not mean I cannot fight without it, and besides, that maid has to react to cancel my abilities, a split second may be all I need to create an opening, or evade a fatal attack." Yumeko said.
"Enough talk." Sakuya said, vanishing, and appearing about 50cm away from Yumeko, a knife in each hand. "You are working for someone who threatens my mistress... just die!"