"Heeeelp!" the voice cried again, echoing throughout... wherever Rumia and the others were. No-one spoke, there was just resolution.
The metal tunnel kept going down, through the mountain, until it reached a large, circular room, with five branching paths. There was also some sort of large screen, which flickered into life.
The sight made Rumia's blood boil instantly, however, it was even worse for Mystia. The screen showed Daiyousei in a cage, only just large enough for her. She seemed to have been beaten, and there were... things... attached to her.
"Help..." she groaned weakly.
"Isn't it amazing? I'm not able to kill fairies off for good yet, but I can sure make them suffer at least as I find out how to kill one off for good!" a voice said. The voice sounded proud of it's work, outside of the camera's view.
Mystia snapped, and flew at the screen. Animal youkai all have a hidden beast within them, when they snap, even the calmest goes utterly wild. The night sparrow flew at the screen, and started scratching it with her talons, screeching.
"When I find you I don't care what Reimu says! I'll gut you and rip you to shreds with my own claws! I'll mess you up so badly even your own mother wouldn't recognize you! Actually, who am I kidding?! You're such a bastard you were probobly adopted so she wouldn't recognize you anyway!"
Laughter came from all around, and the display on the screen changed to a face. The face looked no older than someone who was twelve. Her brown hair tied into twin ponytails, each with a red ribbon on the end. Although her lower half wasn't visible, she wore a white shirt, with a purple short ribbon around her collar.
"Oh my, the animal is angry! This is why you can't trust youkai! They can always... snap and then what happens? They rip you up and eat you for supper!" the girl said. She didn't seem the slightest bit scared.
By this point, Wriggle had grabbed Mystia, and pulled her away from the screen. However, Rumia could tell Wriggle wanted a piece of Rika too.
Rika was quiet for a moment, before she chuckled.
"Oh man! Is that you Rikako? I've not seen you since you ran off when you discovered my little project! I guess since you're with a bunch of youkai and youkai sympathizers like that Shrine Maiden and that Witch, that you're decided to go against me." Rika said.
"Youkai Sympathizers?" Reimu asked.
"Yes! I attacked your shrine ten years ago because of it! You see, youkai are a danger to humans, they always have been, and always will be. My goal is nothing less than the complete genocide of youkai for the survival of humans in Gensokyo, no the World! Who's to say when the youkai get strong, they won't go back to the Human World outside, after all." Rika said.
"That's not it. You have another objective as well, Rika." Rikako said.
"Oh, you know about that one too?" the mad woman said, looking surprised. "OK, I also want to use my technology after I've killed all the youkai to rule over the humans too. But that's just a little side goal, and the humans would want me protecting them after I've saved them all from the youkai scourge."
"... You make me sick." Reimu said. "Genocide? Even Yuuka only jokes about that!"
"... She's joking?" Wriggle asks, getting a dope slap from Rumia.
"Youkai and humans can get along perfectly well! Look at me and Alice ~ze!" Marisa said.
"Yes. I've not eaten Marisa." Alice said calmly.
"Because you've not had the chance, or your suppressing your nature. But everyone slips. I don't want to risk of a slip. I don't want to be backstabbed when humans begin to trust your kind." Rika said.
"Science is for the good of everyone! It's not to be used as a weapon of Genocide!" Nitori shouted.
"Hijiri's goal is the exact opposite of yours. Even if I'm not part of the Temple, I cannot let you achieve your goals!" Nazrin said.
Rika just laughed again, a mocking laugh.
"Just talking to you savage creatures makes me feel like I'm going to vomit. Oh god. It's so funny. The youkai I can understand, but you Reimu, and Marisa, are sad, deluded individuals." Rika said.
"... Guys. I'm gonna give you permission to kill this one. If you don't, I probobly will." Reimu said, grating her teeth. "People like this shouldn't exist."
"Well, there are five paths, as you can see. However, four of them are fail-safes loaded with explosive traps! Only one of them will lead to me... if you wanna stop me, the best way is to split up. 4/5ths of you will die! Or will you take the risk that all of you will live for a 4/5ths chance that you all die? Not that it matters. All of you will die anyway." Rika said.
"Guys. Let me go first. Alone. Maybe I can talk some sense into her." Rikako said. "I also have some idea how her brain works. I have a good idea which path is the safe one."
"We can't let you go! She's nuts! She'll kill you!" Nitori said.
"Probobly. But I should have stood up to her all those years ago. Besides, there's something I want to confirm. Despite not seeing her for all of those years... she looks the same age." Rikako said.
"Oh my, scared little Scientist wants to face up to the music!" Rika taunted, as Rikako walked right under the screen, into the path there, and vanished from view.
There was no explosion. Everyone waited for one for five minuites, until Reimu spoke up.
"It's probobly safe. Let's catch up to her! There's no way that madwoman is gonna listen to reason!" Reimu said.
"Yeah!" everyone cried, flying after Reimu and Genji.
Then, just after they had all entered the tunnel, there was a distant sound. A bang. The tunnel was not that long, it was just angled so the end wasn't visible.
Rikako was laying there, in a pool of blood, clutching a wound.
"Ugh... she didn't even speak to me... she just... shot me... with some weapon that slipped through the border." Rikako groaned.
"What should we do?" Alice said. "With a wound like that she'll bleed to death."
"I'll take her to Eirin. I'm not that good at fighting anyway." Nazrin said, before adding, "I can staunch the wound too with some of my equipment, hold the blood in better."
"Careful... she ran off to... activate some... secret weapon... and there's an automated tank in the next room to buy her time." Rikako said. "She said she's harnessed the reactor..."
"Stop talking." Rumia said. "We'll take care of this. In fact, I'll end this in a couple of seconds. I've had enough of this."
Rumia reached for her ribbon, but her hand was pushed away. She heard Yukari's voice inside her head.
"Oh yeah, I probobly shoulda mentioned this. You can only take that thing off when you're about to die. I left the 'about to die' thing as a failsafe so the seal didn't kill you. You'll feel it when you can take it off~"
"Damnit Yukari, you had to go and make things difficult." Rumia muttered.
"What did Yukari do?" Reimu asked.
"She's not letting me take off the ribbon and end this." Rumia said.
"Of course not! The risk is too big!" Marisa commented. "She may deserve whatever your evil self would do to her, but then she'd probobly kill all of us too!"
Just as Marisa spoke, the wall in front of the group parted, and a large, floating tank, covered in ivy, was revealed.
"Behold! The Flower Tank Mk II!" Rika's voice echoed, from who-knows where. "It's got experimental anti-danmaku plating! How are you gonna blow it up this time, eh, Reimu?"
Reimu launched a large barrage of danmaku at the tank, and, indeed, there was no damage at all.
"This is the thing that attacked the Kappa village!" Nitori said.
A large tube at the front of the tank began collecting energy, and glowing red, before Rika's voice cried "Flamethrower, go! Melt them all!"
"Not if I can help it!" Nitori cried, pulling a hose of some sort from her backpack, which sprayed out a massive amount of water, blocking the flames which spewed from the tank."
"Shift Change! Laser Barrage!" Rika's voice chanted, almost mockingly, as suddenly instead of fire, from the tank's cylinder shot a powerful laser, which ripped through Nitori's high-pressure water, and almost pierced through the kappa if not for Alice's swift actions.
Two dolls, that Rumia had never seen before, formed what looked almost like a gap between them.
"Artic and Antartic: Power Polarity." Alice said, as suddenly a barrage of smaller beams came from the mirror-like thing formed between the two dolls, although it accomplished no damage on the tank.
"Not seen those two since Makai. I thought Yuuka broke them." Marisa said.
"She did. Shinki helped fix them when she visited." Alice commented.
"Wait, Shinki's visiting?!" Reimu shouted in surprise, before the tank launched a barrage of projectiles from various small ports.
"Ah I'm getting bored of this. Let's just end this. Full power main cannon." Rika's voice rung.
Marisa smirked. "Comin' at us with full power eh? I can't turn down a challenge like that. How 'bout we test just how resiliant that armor is to magic in general."
"Marisa, we need to save our energy..." Alice said to the witch.
"I don't mind tireing myself out so we all aren't tired Alice. Now get behind me." Marisa commanded, with Alice actually doing as she said, and everyone else took the hint.
The tank's main cannon began to spin, sparks danceing along it, a loud humm as a glow formed deep within the tube.
Marisa stood with her Hakkero pointed, muttering tenderly to it. It too as collecting a massive amount of energy.
The tank unleashed a massive blast of white light, crackling with lightling.
But Marisa was faster.
"Burning Love: Full-Power Master Spark!" Marisa cried, as she fired a beam that surpassed even her Final Spark in size and sound. The roar deafened Rumia and the others, and the sheer force sent everyone flying back, including Marisa. Everything faded to white.