Patchouli and Marisa stood dumbfounded. Just like Alice, they were able to tell that someone had broken in without having to go inside. Upon entering, the two were just as shocked as Alice was to see the mess inside.
"Did a kid break in or something?" asked Marisa.
"Lady Patchouli-san! Someone has eaten part of your food!" yelled Koakuma.
Marisa and Patchouli quickly ran over to the dining table and checked their dishes.
"Someone ate part of my stew!" yelled Marisa.
"Someone ate part of my frozen food!" yelled Patchouli.
"Ara~. What happened to Alice's food?" asked Yuuka.
"Shh!"
Alice was trying to get her friends to quiet down but they didn't seem to care.
"She ate all of it," answered Alice in a hushed voice.
"SHE?" asked the rest of the party.
"Yes. It's a little girl and she's-"
"Our chairs!" exclaimed Koakuma.
Everyone rushed to Koakuma's location and quickly discovered the mess Medicine had made in the living room while trying to reach Alice's dolls.
"Someone used my chair," said Marisa.
"Same thing with mine," added Patchouli. "Whoever did this is gonna receive the punishment of their lifetime."
Koakuma eagerly nodded while Yuuka inspected the damage.
"Alice, is that your chair?"
Yuuka pointed at what remained of Alice's doll chair.
Alice nodded again.
"She was trying to get Shanghai and Hourai with our chairs," commented Alice.
"Where is she?" asked Marisa.
Alice shushed her and beckoned them to follow.
"This mess and situation is not far off from the one that left my house in that sorry state," commented Yuuka. "What are the chances this is the same person?"
Upon entering the bedrooms, Marisa and Patchouli rushed to their respective beds to check for evidence.
"Someone tried to sleep in my bed," commented Marisa. "Boy, this girl you're talking about Alice made a real mess."
"I'm surprised you can tell that someone tampered with your resting area," commented Yuuka. "Your bed is so messy that anyone could have slept in without being noticed."
"Hey! Every person has their ways and my bed isn't that messy!"
Meanwhile Patchouli and Koakuma were inspecting their bed. Unlike Marisa's which was very messy, Patchouli's was "well-kept" and organized.
"What's this brown stain?" asked Koakuma.
"Looks like someone not only tried to sleep in my bed but also had an accident in it as well," commented Patchouli. "Alice, do you have any spare sheets?"
"Patchouli, that's mud," answered Alice. "I should have some in the attic. I'll check later."
"Alice, how's your bed?" asked Yuuka.
Alice gave them the quiet signal once again as she moved aside to reveal Medicine Melancholy sleeping peacefully in her bed while hugging both Shanghai and Hourai.
"Wait! Is that the girl?" asked Marisa.
Alice shushed her once again before nodding.
"She's asleep in my bed," answered Alice in a hushed voice. "I don't know if she's a human or youkai but she seems to have taken a liking to my dolls and come here to wait out the storm."
Just then Medicine began to stir and wake up from her sleep. To her surprise she was no longer alone and was now being watched by three magicians and a strong youkai. There was nowhere left to run and the storm was still raging outside. She quickly pulled the blankets over her head and curled up into a ball while hugging both of Alice's dolls.
"Not anymore," commented Patchouli. She readied a spell and so did Marisa.
Medicine knew what was coming and prepared for the worst except, it never came. Peering out of a tiny hole from her covers, she saw that the black and white witch and purple pajama magician had put away their spells while the other blonde hair magician talked with them. She could barely make out what they were saying but upon seeing the green haired youkai, she quickly closed the hole. She knew who that youkai was and had been on the receiving end of her wrath quite recently. She was now hoping that she wouldn't remember her and leave.
After telling her friends to not attack her, Alice went over to her bed and gently stroked the lump under the blankets.
"It's okay. You can come out now. They aren't gonna hurt you."
Alice continued to stroke Medicine in hopes of coaxing her out. Soon enough, the little doll youkai came out of the blankets and Alice picked her up.
"Wait a minute," realized Marisa. "I recognize that girl. Her name's Medicine Melancholy and she's a doll youkai who can control poison."
Everyone except Medicine turned to Marisa.
"You know this girl?" asked Patchouli.
"Yeah. Last time, she fought me in hopes of achieving 'doll liberation' only for me to blast her away with a Master Spark," answered Marisa. "I have no clue as to what she's doing here but all I know is that her poison is so strong, just coming into her surroundings is dangerous while touching her is suicidal."
Alice looked at her arms and the tsukumogami. Despite Marisa's claims, her arms were still fine and as far as any of them were concerned, there was no poison surrounding her.
"I'm still fine so maybe she's learned to control her poison abilities. If not, then perhaps Eirin managed to temporarily take away her abilities," commented Alice.
"I remember her now," said Yuuka. "She not only managed to hurt me in our fight but she's also the same person who broke into my house and created that enormous mess."
Yuuka pulled out her umbrella. Instinctively, Medicine clung onto Alice and hid her face on Alice's chest.
"Thanks for finding her, it's time for her to get what's coming."
Before Yuuka could do anything though, Alice shielded Medicine with her body.
"Yuuka, she's still a child. It's not right to be this harsh towards children," protested Alice. "Let me talk to her and I'll make sure this won't happen again."
Yuuka put away her umbrella.
"Alright Alice. The four of us will wait for you downstairs. Join us when you're ready."
As soon as Marisa, Patchouli, Koakuma, and Yuuka left the room, Alice set Medicine down on her bed.
"Medicine, please tell me what happened before you came here. I'm going to help you."
The tsukumogami looked at the doll maker and started her tale.