"Hsshh..."
The sounds of Keine's breathing rattled in her ears. She gripped the elevator cable for support as she descended, aiming her flashlight into the depths below. Pieces of the shattered lift drifted through the shaft like fish, scraping roughly at her sides. She brushed them aside with the back of her hand, refusing to let them slow her down.
Before long she was back in the lower levels, swimming through the coiling tunnels of the mine. They'd been confusing enough the first time she used them, but now they were more labyrinthine than ever. She could hardly keep track of which way was up, never mind any other direction. Was she retracting her steps, or did all these passages look the same? She had no idea.
Come on, Nakari. Where are you hiding?
Keine placed herself in the canary's shoes. Nakari knew every inch of these tunnels, so she'd know the best place to hide from the rising water. She'd flee to the highest point in the mine she could. But how was Keine meant to follow when she had no idea where she was going?
"Mm?"
Amongst the tunnel's debris, something shone the light of Keine's torch back at her. Pulling closer, she found a glimmering crystal resting on the floor. She picked it up, turning it over to examine it from all angles.
Isn't this part of Nakari's collection?
She aimed her flashlight further down the passageway. Sure enough, there was another sparkling light amongst the rubble. Nakari's favourite crystals were scattered throughout the mine, charting her path like a trail of breadcrumbs. Keine wasn't sure if it was deliberate or if the bird had dropped them by accident, but it hardly mattered. Now she had a lead to follow.
Please, hang in there just a little longer!
As she followed the trail of brilliant stones, the walls began to shudder around her. The wooden pillars holding up the passage whined as the water pressure pushed them beyond their limits. It wouldn't be long before they gave in altogether, triggering a full-blown collapse of the mineshaft. She swam as fast as her legs could carry her, sucking down thirsty gulps of air from her mouthpiece.
Thunk. Thunk. Thunk.
A new sound rose up amongst the creaks and howls of the earth. It was the sound of metal smacking against rock, hammering with loud and frantic swings. Keine followed the noise until it led her upwards, into a shaft that hadn't finished flooding yet. She waded through the passageway, the water lapping at her waist as it continued to rise.
"NAKARI!"
She spat out the rebreather, yelling down the corridor hard enough to burn her throat. The hammering only stopped for an instant, then started again with twice the intensity. Keine pushed harder, her blood burning up with stress and adrenaline.
Finally, at the end of the shaft, she found what she'd been searching for. Nakari was slamming her pickaxe into the far wall, knocking down more rocks with every swing. Her whole body was trembling, her wings weighed down by the water soaking through her feathers.
"Nakari!" Keine couldn't hide her relief. "You're alive!"
Nakari started at Keine's voice. She turned around, her puffed up eyes brimming with tears. "M...Miss Keine? How did you-"
"I'll explain later." Keine grabbed the youkai by the shoulder. "We need to get out of here before the whole cave falls apart."
"B-But how?" Nakari's trembling worsened. "There's so much water everywhere and I can't swim and it's so cold and scary and I can't I can't I can't-!"
Keine winced. She hadn't realised how severe the canary's phobia really was.
"Shhh." Keine wrapped the girl up in a deep and intimate hug. "It's okay, Nakari. It's going to be okay."
Nakari sniffled. "B-But-"
"I'll protect you, alright?" The hakutaku kept her voice calm and gentle in spite of the water lapping at her chest. "Nothing's going to lay a finger on you while I'm here. That's a promise."
Nakari's mouth bobbed open and shut. "You...you mean it?"
Keine smiled. "I've never lied to you before, have I?"
The canary looked ready to cry again, but this time she managed to swallow down her tears. She let her pickaxe fall into the water, clutching at Keine's wrist with all her might.
"Good," Keine said as she held up the spare mouthpiece. "Now put this on, and whatever happens don't let go of my hand."
Nakari nodded, using her free hand to bite down on the rebreather. Keine recovered her own just before the water engulfed them completely, consuming what was left of the air pocket. She watched the canary carefully, making sure the girl was breathing comfortably before anything else. Nakari was still shuddering, but her chest was rising and falling as it should have.
Next she pulled the canary through the tunnel – gently to start with, then faster once Nakari was following her. The bird wasn't much of a swimmer, her legs flapping about in wild and reckless kicks. Keine had to slow down a little to avoid leaving her behind.
Once they were out, all that was left was to retrace the path they'd taken. Again Keine used the fallen crystals as a reference, leading Nakari back towards the elevator shaft. Her rebreather let off a shrill beep, warning her that her air supply was running low. That wouldn't matter, she thought to herself. They were close now, and all it would take was-
"Hyuummm!?"
Nakari squealed as the walls around them shook violently. The support beams shattered under the pressure, and a hail of rocks descended from the ceiling.
The cave-in had begun.
Look out!
Keine pulled Nakari out of the path of a falling boulder. She cut a route through the crumbling tunnel, banking on her years of danmaku experience. Nakari squeezed her hand for dear life, a flurry of smaller rocks battering at the canary's helmet. If they moved fast enough, maybe they'd make it out before-
!
Keine looked up to see a massive bolder that had been hiding in her blind spot. There was no time for her to dodge, and it was aiming right for her skull. She braced herself for the impact, only to be pushed to the side.
"HMMMMMMMF!"
At the last moment, Nakari shoved Keine out of the way of the rock. It crashed into the canary's helmet, sending shockwaves through her slender frame. She managed a pained yelp before passing out, the rebreather dropping from her lips and vanishing amongst the rubble.
Nakari!
Keine shook the canary by the shoulders in an attempt to rouse her. Nakari stayed motionless, a few errant bubbles dribbling from her lips. Keine pulled off her mouthpiece to hand it over, only to realise the beeping sounds coming from it had stopped.
We're out of air-!
Running on pure desperation, Keine pulled Nakari's body through the tunnel. They had to get out of here right this minute. The elevator shaft was right in front of them, and then they'd be home free.
Instead, all Keine found was a wall of boulders.
No…!
Her heart sank. There was no way she could dig through the rubble before she ran out of air. She was trapped.
"Mmf..."
Keine's chest heaved inwards as her body demanded another breath. Her only chance was to find a way through this barrier, but how? Her brain churned through thoughts at light speed, looking for anything that could save her.
The twinkle of something hidden in Nakari's pocket was the spark she needed.
Is that…?
Keine reached into the pocket, pulling out one last glittering stone. This one hadn't been part of Nakari's collection; it must have been a new one she'd discovered just before the flooding began. But in the end, it was just like the rest of the crystals – beautiful, but ultimately useless.
Unless Keine went back and revised the facts.
It's crazy, but it's my only hope…!
Focusing on the stone in her hand, Keine called upon her lineage as a hakutaku. She closed her eyes, a tapestry unfolding on the back of her eyelids. It was an intricate record of every moment of Gensokyo's history, overwhelming in size but unparalleled in beauty. She squeezed the stone in her hand, filling her thoughts with it, and the tapestry guided her to the patch of time she needed.
Then, with her other hand, she envisioned a new line running across the parchment. The stones, she commanded, had been laced with magical impurities from the beginning. Nothing noticeable to the naked eye, but if they were fed enough energy from outside…
Please let this work…!
Keine looked down at the crystal in her hand. There were yellow specks across its surface now, a sign the change had gone through as planned. She channelled the full moon's blessing, pushing its power into the stone. The lights grew brighter, then started bouncing around inside the stone like they had minds of their own. Keine kept on feeding it, adding more and more energy until the crystal couldn't take any more-
Now!
She tossed the stone into the barricade just as the lights became blinding. Moments later it erupted in a blast of magical energy, turning the pile of boulders into a fine dust.
"Hmmnnggbb-!"
Keine pushed herself through the opening before it could collapse again. Her chest was about to explode, her spent air forcing itself out of her nostrils. She pulled herself up the elevator shaft with one arm, dragging Nakari behind her with the other.
"PuHAAAAAAAAA-!"
Keine broke the surface with moments to spare, filling her starving lungs with much-needed oxygen. She wheezed out long, rattling coughs as the rush of adrenaline passed from her veins. Her arms were wrapped around Nakari's waist, holding the canary's head as high as her tired arms could manage.
"Haa, haaah..."
Once she'd caught her breath, Keine noticed a new rope rolling down from the top of the shaft. She grabbed onto it, and with a sudden jerk she was being lifted out of the water. The mechanism pulled her onto dry land, where an anxious Nitori was waiting for her.
"Holy shit, I can't believe you made it out of there!" The kappa placed her hand on Keine's shoulder. "Are you okay? How're you feeling?"
Keine sluggishly shook her head. Honestly, she felt worse than she'd ever felt before in her life. But it wasn't her that she was worried about.
"Na…" Her lips could barely form the words. "Nakari. She's..."
Nitori gasped, looking down at the motionless canary in Keine's arms. She pulled Nakari away, resting her on the ground and placing an ear against her chest.
"Dammit," the kappa cursed. "She's not breathing, and I'm barely getting a pulse."
She held Nakari's mouth open, checking for blockages before starting on mouth-to-mouth. Keine was too exhausted to offer any sort of assistance. All she could do was watch.
"Still nothing." Nitori's hands began to shake. "Come on, come on, come on..."
She kept up the process without skipping a beat. Pushing air into Nakari's lungs, then hammering her chest to restart her heart. Keine counted the minutes in her head, a cancerous despair trickling along the inside of her gut.
Just as she was about to give up hope, she saw Nakari's chest rise up on its own.
"Ghrrrkk-!"
The canary's eyes popped open, her pupils the size of pinheads. She curled up into a ball, heaving lungfuls of water across the floor of the cave.
"NAKARI!"
Keine stumbled over to the canary, engulfing her in a desperate hug. The girl's skin was unnaturally pale, and a faint blue tinge still hung on her lips. She looked like she was ready to drop dead – and a few moments ago, she had been.
"M...Miss...Keine…?" Nakari blinked rapidly, like her eyes hadn't quite turned on yet. "I'm glad you...turned out alright. I...don't think I can share any shinies with you today..."
"Oh, who cares about your silly shinies?!" Keine buried her face in Nakari's nape, tears rolling down her cheeks. "What matters right now is that you're alive, you idiot!"
"Nn?" Nakari's tiny bird-brain took a while to process the statement. "Mm...yeah. I guess that's...pretty important too."
They both went quite for a few minutes, recovering from the ordeal they'd just been through. It was Nakari who ended up breaking the silence.
"So, um..." She looked at the flooded elevator shaft with a heavy sigh. "Where exactly am I supposed to live now?"
"Ah." Keine swallowed. She'd been too caught up in the immediate danger to think about that. Luckily Nitori intervened before either of them had time to worry.
"I know where we can hole you up," she said. "Just give me a while to pull some strings..."