Morning at the Hakurei Shrine. Reimu finds Rika sleeping alone on the living room’s floor with a folded letter beside her. Reimu quietly picks up the letter and reads “dear Hakurei maiden, please take care of Rika-sis while I return. Hatate.” Reimu looks behind the letter, checking to see if there is anything else, and after inspecting the empty side, she places it back on the ground and faces Rika. She gently places a hand on her cheeks and says “you just came back from the mansion, just to end up sleeping like a log. What a naughty maid you are.” She looks around the shrine and remembers Rika, before she came back from her home looking like an angel, mopping the floors and saying “careful, I just mopped. It’s really slippery”, then slipping herself and falling on her back after a quick yelp. Reimu giggles, then looks at the sleeping maid and whispers “to think I’m this attached to you. Please, just wake up already.” She stares at Rika, hoping she’ll suddenly wake up, then there’s a light thud coming from the back doors of the shrine that gets Reimu’s full attention. She quietly gets up from the ground and slowly walks to the door, asking “who’s out there?” There’s no answer, so she readies some amulets and as soon as she opens the sliding doors, she finds Kimi Hong sleeping while kneeling right in front of the door. Reimu stares with curiosity as she hides her amulets from sight and asks “Kimi, what are you doing sleeping there?” Kimi opens her eyes and raises her head to stare at Reimu with her angry eyes, not even yawning or stretching, then says “you said you wanted to tell me something?” Reimu stares back with surprise, then blinks twice and asks “you waited there all night just for that?” Kimi nods and says “it must be important, so it’s alright if I have to wait.” Reimu sighs, narrowing her left eye while scratching the back of her head, then says “come on, I’ll make us something to eat. We’ll speak over breakfast.” After preparing and serving breakfast, Kimi hesitantly picks her bowl of soup and slowly eats away. Reimu takes a sip from her bowl, then softly says “I know you are hurt for many reasons, and your eyes, they tell me you want to go back there.” Kimi’s pupils shrink the moment Reimu says this, then takes a loud gulp and says “y-yes. That place there is a paradise for me! I don’t understand why must I be here, when I was so happy over there!” Reimu closes her eyes and shakes her head lightly, then says “I cannot answer that question for you. I can only tell you there’s a reason you returned.” Kimi lightly punches the table with her right fist and says “but why!? I don’t understand! Ail and that dragon guardian tell me I can return, but only after I am done here.” Tears escape Kimi, though her eyes seem to be filled with rage as she says “they say I have a soul, and that I must find it. But I’m a shadow! That’s not easy for me!” Reimu sighs and replies “then let us help you. When I first saw you, I knew you were different from those other shadows. You’ve always had a soul, but you have to let us help you find it.” Kimi takes a few angry breaths, then says “the only reason I don’t kill and eat the humans is because of my respect toward you. I don’t care about others, and for all I care, everyone here can drop dead! But you! What is it about you that makes me feel like I shouldn’t think that way, that I should help others instead!?” Reimu stands up and smiles, then says “you can kill me, you know. Right now, I won’t fight back. Just turn into a dragon and take a good bite.” Kimi’s left pupil glows scarlet and her teeth turn jagged, but when she looks at Reimu’s face, she stops and simply looks back outside. Reimu smiles, then says “you see? You do have a soul, and it can speak to you.” Kimi continues to look away, feeling a small pain in her heart. She knows the moment Reimu dies, she can be free of her pledge, but something inside her prevents her from killing the human she respects so much. She suddenly stands up and says “I’m going back to the lake. Please call me if you need anything.” Reimu smiles and says “sure. And you can come back here, if you ever feel the need.” Kimi nods while looking away, then flies out of the shrine and heads on to the Misty Lake.
Her usual confident smile is gone, her eyes look tired and filled with doubt, her right arm hurts like hell is inside of it, and yet, she stands firm as she faces the challenges ahead. Marisa stands at the entrance of the roaring cave in the rocky valley, holding on to Mima’s staff as tight as possible. A gust of wind from within the cave itself comes accompanied by roars that seem to come from deeper inside. Wriggle hides behind Marisa, trembling as she says “a-a-are you s-s-sure you wanna go?” Marisa closes her eyes and takes a step inside the cave and says “the magical pressure in here is strong. It’s crushing my body. But Mima is in there, and I’m not leaving her behind. Not like this.” Wriggle takes a deep breath and says “fine. I already said I’m coming with you, so there’s no backing out.” Marisa feels great relief after hearing that, however she won’t say a word about, and simply walks into the cave and says “come on. We’re wasting time.” Marisa and Wriggle bravely enter the cave, and are immediately swallowed up by the darkness inside. Inside the cave, a soothing green light illuminates everything, though some areas are still too dark. Marisa looks around and says “I knew it. That rock on the cave’s entrance is just like the ones I used to make that stupid gate.” Wriggle looks curiously and asks “what does that mean?” Marisa closes her eyes and says “this isn’t just a cave. We are actually in another world. We’re going to have to be extra careful.” Marisa starts walking deeper inside as Wriggle nods and walks close by, fear evident in her eyes. As they walk further in, the echo of Marisa’s and Wriggle’s steps on the rocky ground seems to get louder, then it sounds as though she’s just stepped into water. Marisa stops and looks to her feet, but the ground is too dark to see. Wriggle asks “is this some kind of trick?” Marisa taps her foot as she curiously looks to her feet, quick splashing sounds following each tap. Marisa stares at Wriggle and says “this... has to be some sort of spell. There’s no water there, and yet...” Wriggle holds her hands together, then generates a small light that illuminates Marisa’s feet. Wriggle and Marisa look with surprise, then Wriggle says “it’s just as you say. There’s no water, but it sounds like we’re splashing.” Marisa grabs Wriggle and pushes her away, shouting “LOOK OUT!” They both fall on the ground, making a very loud splash, and when they look up, they see a giant bat with furry black hair all over its body, red eyes and a set of giant fangs, screeching and trying to take a bite out of them. Wriggle cries “it wants to eat me!” Marisa grabs hold of Mima’s staff and says “stay behind me”, as she stands up and stances offensively, then continues “I can use some of Mima-sama’s power with this.” Wriggle shivers as she says “be c-careful.” The bat uses the dark spots on the cave to disappear momentarily, though its red eyes gives it away with ease. Marisa softly growls as she keeps pointing the crescent moon on Mima’s staff at the bat, waiting for it to make the first move. The bat screeches, then hides in darkness, this time it closing its eyes and keeping quiet. Marisa nervously looks around and asks “w-where is it?” The giant bat silently swoops down from behind them, yet Wiggle somehow manages to feel its presence and shouts “AHH! Behind us!” Without hesitating, Marisa swings Mima’s staff in the air and strikes the bat right on the face, making it squeal in pain as it rolls on the dark ground. Marisa asks “did that do it?” The bat jumps out of the ground behind them, but instead of attacking, it flies away, screeching with fright, turning on many green lights that reveal more of the cave to them, and showing them a long path to follow along sparkling rocky walls. Wriggle gasps with amazement and says “it’s so beautiful.” Marisa drops to the ground and holds her right arm, wincing in pain and clenching her teeth. Wriggle sighs and says “that’s one stubborn wound.” Marisa asks “what do you mean?” Wriggle replies “those herbs I mixed were supposed to have you fixed by now. But don’t worry, they are still doing their job.” Marisa takes a few deep breaths to get accustomed to the pain, then says “that’s just great. I’m useless after all.” Wriggle stares at Marisa with pity, but feels it would be a bad idea to try and comfort her, so instead she says “once the wound is completely healed, the bandages will slip off on their own, so just hold on for a little longer, and you’ll be just fine.” The pain in her arm subsides, so Marisa stares at the bandages for a while, then says “let’s go, Wriggle.”, then continues walking down the splashing path.
Noon at the Hakurei Shrine. Reimu finishes sweeping the grounds of dead leaves and dust and calmly walks back inside the shrine to check on Rika. She steps on to the porch and holds the sliding doors, but doesn’t open them. She stays like that for a little while, then smiles and says “well, well, so you finally came here. I was starting to wonder when would you get cocky enough to try.” Behind her stand three female vampires, one blonde and the other two, black haired, all showing off their beautiful, shapely bodies, wearling very light clothing. The blond vampire raises her hand and points at Reimu, and in a seductive tone of voice she says “we have come to kill you, Hakurei maiden.” The black haired vampire from the left says in a threatening tone “we will feast on your blood and take rule over Gensokyo!” Reimu’s smile turns to a rage-filled frown as her eyes hide under shadow, then asks “oh yeah? And which of you three will be the one in command?” All three vampires point at themselves with their thumbs, proudly saying “ME” at the same time. The blonde vampire turns around with a twisted rage-filled face and says “you two are going to learn your place!” In a flash, the blonde vampire strikes her companions with her claws, cutting off their necks, and without her knowledge, Reimu tosses a pair of amulets that stick to the severed heads, then the two black haired vampires, their heads and bodies, ignite in a purple flame, then turn to ashes. The blonde vampire’s face fills with terror when she realizes what just happened, and when she turns around, she has Reimu standing a mere 3 feet away from her, glaring back with murderous eyes as she asks “so, when exactly do you plan to... as you said, ‘feast on my blood’?” The vampire takes two steps back, then a hand grabs hold of the back of her head, then a man’s voice says “spirits, please purify this creature. Save its soul so it may rest in peace.” The vampire screams out loud and her body instantly turns to ashes. Reimu smiles and says “a holy spell, I see.” Ail stands next to Budou in front of Reimu, smiling and scratching the back of his head while saying “well, I learned quite a few things form the guardian dragon when I got into his body by mistake.” After saying that, he turns his smiling face to Budou and says “see? That’s another way to deal with these vampires.” Budou stares at Ail, then zips behind the bushes. There’s a lot of rustling for a moment, then a brunette vampire flies right out of the bushes, followed by Budou, whose eyes glow aquamarine. The little bat youkai screeches, releasing a paralyzing shockwave, then mixes her laser danmaku with her claws and slashes the vampire away, and in just seconds, the vampire bursts in red flames and slowly turns to ashes, screaming as she burns away. Budou stands next to the vampire’s ashes and asks “you were saying?” Ail and Reimu both smile nervously, then Ail sweats and manages to say “v-very good. You certainly showed her.” Budou giggles, her eyes turning back to violet, and while she does Ail whispers to Reimu’s ear, saying “that was a little scary.” Reimu quietly nods, then sighs and asks “want some tea?” Ail bows and says “thank you for the offer, but I only came to ask you something.” Reimu stares suspiciously, then Ail quickly adds “Nitori, Budou and I are going to free my family in the outside world.” Reimu places her hands on her hips while staring some more, then Ail sighs and says “the thing is, I spoke with Kanako and Suwako, and I want to know, why aren’t you going after Marisa?” Reimu’s face turns a bit pale, but she manages to keep calm while saying “the thing is, I’ve lost track of her. I don’t know where she is right now. Not even that rabid night sparrow knows where she is.” Ail tilts his confused head and asks “rabid... night? Are you alright?” Reimu smiles and says “you’ll meet him soon enough.” Ail blinks twice and says “I see.” The shrine doors open up, then Nitori walks out with an accomplished face and says “wow, the tengu were right. She’s in really bad shape. But don’t worry, I left her with a self-powered fan to keep her comfortable.” Inside the shrine, Rika lies in her futon with a very content expression, as a fan to her right gently blows cool air to her face. Back outside, Reimu sweats and asks “that thing won’t blow up, right?” Nitori flaps her hand in the air and says “relax, relax. I’ve already worked out all the bugs.” Reimu stares at Nitori with great concern, then the kappa sweats and says “I’m serious, it’ll work just fine!” Ail and Budou stare at each other, then she suddenly jumps on Ail’s arms and says “let’s go free gramma now!” Ail smiles back and says “good idea. Nitori, shall we?” Reimu asks “you’re not gonna go cause trouble right?” Ail casually replies “nah. I’m just going out there to perform for the cameras, is all.” Reimu stares at him and blinks twice, however, she decides to stay quiet.
Inside the cave, Marisa and Wriggle continue following the lighted path left behind by the giant bat. By now, every time they move it sounds as though they are neck-deep in water, yet they feel the ground underneath them as dry as when they first entered, and they movements aren’t hindered at all. Wriggle whispers “hey, miss Marisa, aren’t you afraid?” Marisa asks “about what?” Wriggle replies “well, even though there’s no water, I have a very bad feeling here. Like we could get swept by a strong current at any second.” Marisa clenches Mima’s staff tight and says “hold on to me and you should be fine.” Wriggle immediately wraps her arms around Marisa’s left arm, then asks “why are you being so nice to me now? I mean, if you are grateful I am here with you, just say so, but you being this nice is creeping me out.” Marisa chuckles, anxiety escaping her being as she does, then says “it’s because... I’m afraid of you guys.” Wriggle looks curiously at Marisa’s face as she continues “I’ve tried to keep myself strong ever since my magic got sealed, but the more time passes, the more I realize how weak I truly am.” Wriggle angrily says “you are not weak, miss witch. For a human, you are quite strong! You’re even treating a youkai like me as an equals.” Marisa quickly replies “because I’m so afraid of you right now. If you should decide to attack, what can I do to defend myself? And now, with this arm...” Wriggle stops while holding Marisa, making her stop to look into her eyes, then says “I promise, I will not attack you! I’m a youkai, not a human, so you can trust my promises.” Marisa stares into Wriggles determined eyes for a moment, then smiles and kneels down, but the moment her knee touches the ground, she and Wriggle finds themselves underwater, and being swept away by a school of glowing blue fish. They hold on to each other as tightly as they can without hurting each other, as the fish speed them all over the water, circling them all around, making them lose their bearings and then disappear, turning into ice, making them slide uncontrollably. The water suddenly dries up and Marisa shouts “HOLD ON!” Wriggle shouts back “WE’RE GOING DOWN!” When Marisa looks ahead, she notices they are sliding straight toward a large hole. Marisa shouts “hold on to the staff! Don’t let go!” The second Wriggle grabs Mima’s crescent staff, Marisa uses all her strength to stick the bottom of the staff on the ice, but her strength is not enough and they continue to slip, so Wriggle uses her youkai strength to help Marisa push that staff into the ice, then they start to slow down, until they suddenly stop, just before reaching the end of that trail. After a while, Wriggle opens her clenched eyes, then exclaims “miss Marisa, we’re alright!” Marisa suddenly lets go of the staff and curls into a ball, clenching her teeth and whimpering as she holds on to her right arm. Wriggle watches as some blood courses through the bandages, then says “maybe we should rest a little.” Marisa stops trembling, then says “I can’t do this. I just can’t do this. Any little thing that happens and this damned arm reacts like this!” Wriggle pats her head, unable to find comforting words for a human, then the soothing light in the cave dies out, leaving both in complete darkness. Wriggle hears a sob from Marisa, so she summons an orb of light to her hand and says “if you want to get out, we can always come back later with some help.” Marisa gulps, hiding the overwhelming sadness that fills her heart, then says “there’s no way to tell where we are right now, and even if we did, I don’t want to leave Mima behind!” Wriggle asks “then what should we do?”, and just like that, the ice underneath them melts away, and an eerie purple light illuminates another path for them, going straight through where the hole was just seconds ago, although now, instead of a giant hole, there is the bridge over a raging river. Wriggle and Marisa stare at the bridge, then look at each other, wondering if they should follow or not.
Night at the world outside of Gensokyo. Ayalina finishes preparing dinner, but before she can set everything, a man and woman in black suits inspect every single dinner plate, down to the last cup that will be used. Ayalina growls with fury and says “won’t you stop that? Like he could be hiding inside plates!” The man snorts and the woman angrily says “you know what this is. We’ll make sure you can’t support that delinquent in any way at all!” Suddenly, Ail’s sister shouts “MOM! DAD! Ail’s on TV!!” Ayalina, and the agents rush out of the kitchen and run straight to the living room, meeting with Ail’s father already there with his daughter and looking into the television. Ail stands in the middle of a large yellow stage inside an abandoned warehouse, expanding his arms and saying with glee “people of the city, don’t bother changing the channel, as I have hijacked all the station’s satellites, so you can all witness the magnificence of real-life special effects! Yes, you heard me right! Not 3-D, but REAL-LIFE! HAHAHA~” The female agent picks up her cell phone and almost immediately says “chief... yeah, the very same warehouse where he disappeared!” Ayalina looks to the agents with the corner of her eyes and smirks. At the abandoned warehouse, Budou fires some weak lasers at Ail, while Nitori works the camera and some added special effects, while Ail touches Budou’s lasers, showing the camera how he interacts with the “special effects”. After some time passes, and Ail gets tired of showing off, he turns to the camera and says “ladies and gentlemen, if you thought that was amazing, then wait until you see what I got in store for you!” Nitori and Budou stop what they are doing, and while Nitori sets up a strange machine with colorful buttons, Budou heads straight toward one of Ail’s open gaps and waits. Ail says “watch now, as I burn myself alive with purple fire, yet no harm will come to me! Yes, that’s right. I’ll burn myself alive and walk out like nothing’s ever happened. Here... I... GO!” The moment Ail says “go”, Nitori presses a sequence of buttons, then Ail gets surrounded by purple flames, though in reality, he’s behind the flames, which cover the camera while Nitori places an exact replica of Ail in the middle. Ail himself starts shouting “w-wait... WAIT! NO, this isn’t supposed to... ARGH~!!” On the TV, it looks as though Ail is being engulfed by the purple flames as he runs around in despair, screaming as his body is rapidly consumed by the fire. The agents panic, and the male agent says “dammit! This is what we wanted to avoid!” Ail’s sister and father panic and scream, as if trying to help Ail through the TV, while Ayalina continues to smirk and thinks “that’s my boy. Just like his mother.” Suddenly, she realizes the agents are looking at her, so she frowns and continues to stare at the TV. She suddenly starts to tremble and cry, then shouts “NO~! My baby! My son, somebody save my son!!” She rushes to the television and starts punching it hard, then the agents rush to her, the female screaming “lady! Missis Leuch, calm down! There’s nothing you can do!” As they pull her away from the television, she kicks and cries, calling for her son, while everyone else tries to calm her down, even though the entire family wants to join in the despair. The sun is rising from the east, the abandoned warehouse is no more than a pile of ashes, the polices surrounding the area as firefighters inspect everything. News reporters swarm all over Ayalina and her family as they leave the police station after they identified Ail’s “body”, which is completely burned up, except for the face. By the time is sun is up, Ayalina and her family reach the house, the reporters long gone, the agents far away, and peace slowly being restored to their lives. The family quietly celebrates, holding their hands and jumping in a circle, then Ail, Budou and Nitori walk out of the living room, Ail saying “and now, the people should leave you alone.” Ayalina rushes to Ail and gives him a kiss on the cheek, a bone-crushing hug, then a knock on the head while saying “you really scared us back there.” Ail chuckles and says “I’m sorry, but it was the only way to make it truly convincing.” His father and sister force a hug on Ail, then let him go to say hi to Nitori and Budou, who try their best not to shy away. Ail approaches his mother and says “well, I’m now dead. Mom, dad, sis, I asked Reimu, and she agreed. If you guys want to move into Gensokyo, we can make arrangements to...” Ail’s sister immediately says “and miss my TV shows and concerts? Forget it!” His father adds “it makes me glad to know you thought about us, but really, we’ve grown accustomed to this life, and we are very comfortable here.” Ayalina gives Ail another bone-crushing hug, this time cutting off his breath for a moment, then releases him and says “I have to stay here, for my family, and my darling husband. It’s true I’ll outlive them both, but in the meantime, I have to stay.” Ail coughs as he recovers his breath, then walks to Budou and Nitori, who holds the family’s TV in her hands, along with some other gadgets and says “Nitori, I told you. After we get back, you can have the gadgets.” Nitori drops the items on the ground and with a sad face she says “aww, I wanted to take these apart.” Ail’s sister exclaims “ACK! My CD player! You little imp!” Nitori cries “I’m a kappa!” Ail turns around to face his family and says “somehow I knew you guys wouldn’t want to come, but it’s alright. We must all live life as we see fit.” Ayalina nods, then says “I’ll try to visit you more often, but please, you could also write some more, and you could visit occasionally too.” Ail chuckles nervously and says “er, right! Don’t worry, mom, dad, sis. I’ll write more often.” Budou adds “as for visiting, he’s only allowed to do so under my supervision!” Ail’s sister chuckles mischievously and says “and the little daughter holds the key.” Nitori gasps and holds on to the key on her chest and says “no way! She can’t have it.” After a quick laugh, Ail says “it’s time to go back. I’ll see you guys later, ok?” Ail’s family nods, then Ail opens up a gap to the Hakurei Shrine, and after entering, Nitori, Budou and Ail himself, turn around and bow to the family, Budou saying “I’ll take care of papa for you!” Ayalina giggles, while Ail’s father and sister laugh heartily, then. After the gap closes, Ayalina says “well, time to have a quiet breakfast for once!”
Inside the dark cave, Marisa and Wriggle have lost the track of time, as well as their bearings inside the cave. They have been following the eerily lit bride for quite a long time, however, neither feel fatigue or hunger. Marisa suddenly feels a vibration on the floor and asks “hey, Wriggle... do you feel that?” Wriggle looks at Marisa with curiosity, then says “it feels like... the bridge is shaking.” The raging river below the bride seems to fall down a large hole, and when Marisa looks back, she gasps and screams “RUN!!” Wriggle starts running, though doesn’t know why, until she looks back and sees the bridge breaking and falling down the hole, faster than they can run. Wriggle yelps then clenches her eyes, pushing herself to run faster, then shouts “oh no! I can’t fly!” Marisa shouts “just run! Come on!” They pant as they try to run faster, however the bridge keeps collapsing faster than they can run and quickly catches up to them. Wriggle falls first, shouting “Marisa, help~!” Marisa shouts “wait, don’t go!”, then lets herself fall along with the bug youkai. Marisa grabs Wriggle’s arm with her left arm, while holding on to Mima’s staff with her right, then shouts “try to fly!” Wriggle clenches her eyes and tries to impulse herself, then shouts “I can’t! My magic’s being drained!” Both girls scream as they continue to fall down the long, dark hole, Marisa shouting “REIMU!” At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu wakes up with a gasp and exclaims “Marisa! I know where she is!” Without even thinking of changing herself, she rushes out of the shrine while wearing her sleeping clothes, but before she is able to reach the sliding doors to exit, she bumps on to Shikieiki, who appears out of nowhere and says “well, aren’t you in a hurry.” Reimu exclaims “Marisa needs my help! I know where she is!” Shikieiki lifts both hands, revealing her burned hand is now completely healed, signaling Reimu to stay still as she says “Reimu, you can’t help her now. You’ll only get in her way.” Reimu springs up to her feet and exclaims “I’m not just some weakling, you know that!” Shikieiki raises her voice as she says “that is not what I meant, Reimu!” Reimu gasps, then calms down. Shikieiki sighs and calmly says “look, you know where she is, and you know well enough, if you set foot in there, there is little chance you’ll come out alive.” Reimu stares at Shikieiki and says “I know, but I can’t just leave her like that. Not after...” Shikieiki sighs again, then says “I already sent help her way. Just have faith in your friend. She’ll come back alive, you’ll see.” Reimu drops to her knees and asks “then what the hell am I supposed to do?” Shikieiki approaches Reimu and places a hand on her shoulder, then says “just have faith in your friend. Right now, you have to focus on that girl over there.” Shikieiki points at Rika, making Reimu’s face fill with confusion, then asks “what do you mean?” Shikieiki smiles and says “Rika is going to help Marisa seal that gate for us.” Reimu stares at Shikieiki with wonderment in her eyes, then looks back at Rika and says “she used a pretty powerful spell, and just like Ail, she overexerted herself and ended up twice as hurt.” Shikieiki stares at Reimu with a very serious look, then says “don’t forget, that these things all happen for a reason. Don’t fall into despair again, Reimu. Before this all ends, Marisa will need you. After all, you are her most important friend.” Reimu stares at Shikieiki for a while, then sighs and says “fine. I’ll stay here and care for her. But if something happens to Marisa, I’m holding you responsible.” Shikieiki sweats and says “w-well, what little faith you have. And to speak to me, a yama, in such manner.” Reimu chuckles and says “relax, relax. I was just joking.” From outside, Ail, Budou and Nitori look inside the shrine through a small crack in the sliding doors. Reimu smiles, and in a dangerously happy tone she says “I can see you three over there, so either come inside or go home!”
At the Youkai Mountain, Momiji stretches out, readying herself for the day ahead. After stretching, she grabs her sword and shield, brandishes her sword, then safely sheathes it away on her back. She takes a step forward, then stops and sighs. Hatate flies from behind, cackling like a maniac and shouting “I’m sorry, miss, but there’s already enough competition as it is. I’m taking you out of the newspaper business, even if it’s the last thing I do.” Momiji face palms and says “but if it’s the last thing you’ll do, what good will that be FOR you?” Hatate stops in mid-air and stares at Momiji with confusion, then says “you know, I guess you’re right. I’ll just have to win, then.” Momiji stares at Hatate with bored eyes, then pulls out her sword, along with a spell card, then calmly says “Mountain Nomad, Expellee’s Canaan.” Momiji flies to the air and swings her blade around, expelling a tight, circular formation of yellow bullets that seem to grow in size as they move farther away from her, while she fires red bullets in rapid succession. Hatate pulls out her camera and a spell card and says “well, you cut right down to the chase. Continuous Shooting, Rapid Shot!” Hatate laughs as she takes rapid pictures, absorbing Momiji’s bullets with ease, and taking a few shots of Momiji herself while she’s at it. After getting close, Hatate unleashes a barrage for randomly-trailing petal bullets that catch Momiji by surprise, making her yelp and fall back to the ground. Hatate seems to jump in the air, tasting a quick victory, however, Momiji growls and says “if danmaku won’t help, I’ll have to try a more direct approach.” Momiji flies up to meet Hatate, whose spell card is still in effect, then swings her sword and unleashes a barrage of blue shard bullets, then waves her shield around herself and unleashes a lose, circular formation of blue orbs. Hatate smirks and says “seems you need a little more. Let’s go!” She takes many pictures in succession and gets close to Momiji, but before she unleashes her petal bullets, Momiji says “Dog Sign, Rabies Bite!” Hatate only has time to widen her eyes and whimper, as Momiji rushes forward, going between the bullets, then takes a powerful bite out of Hatate’s arm, swings her around the air, then tosses her away, making her scream “that really hurt, you mean dog~!” A vein pulsates on Momiji’s vein, then she shouts back “I’m a wolf! A WOLF!!!”
Lying on a cold white stone, Marisa wakes up to a snowstorm. As she gets up and looks around, she thinks she’s somewhere outside the cave, however she notices many rocky white walls and a white roof, then thinks “this is the cave. I can’t believe it. There is a snowstorm inside this cave.” Marisa looks around some more, finding Mima’s crescent moon staff next to her, then the realization hits her hard. Marisa jumps to her feet and frantically looks around and calls “Wriggle!? Wriggle, where are you!?” As she looks around, narrowing her eyes to avoid the burning cold from entering them, then thinks “this is no good. She’s a bug, and naturally weak against the cold. I need to find her, quick.” She looks around some more and calls “Wriggle, where the heck are you!?” She takes two steps forward and bumps something soft under a large pile of snow. Immediately she bends down, shouting “Wriggle!”, and digging through the snow, finding Wriggle just barely conscious and shivering violently. Marisa grabs the bug youkai and carries her on her back, then says “don’t you worry! I’ll get you out of here! Just hold on!” A white light reveals a snowy path that goes further inside the cave, yet there is no sign of the snow stopping at any moment. Marisa says out loud “what is it with this cave!? Stop snowing already! Come on, I already took a few steps!” The snow only gets stronger, making Marisa feel more desperate, looking around for anything warm, and right against the left-side wall she finds a small cave. She quickly walks toward it, holding Wriggle on her back and Mima’s staff on her right hand, saying “hold on, Wriggle. I found us a cave! I’ll get us a fire going and you’ll be just fine, you’ll see!” Marisa finally enters the small cave and immediately realizes it’s so dark, she can’t see her own nose in front of her. She touches around and places Wriggle on a flat surface, then says “don’t worry. I’ll think of something.” A light suddenly turns on to Marisa’s left, getting her attention. A small child-sized youkai, wearing a straw vest that covers down to its knees, a head that looks like a well-rounded stone, bulging yellow eyes, a long, thin nose, and yellow skin, holds a lit oil lantern and mumbles “stupid yama. Just because I stole some oil. Turns me to this.” He continues to mumble while rummaging through a stone box that lies next to a red wall, so Marisa cautiously approaches him and says “e-excuse me?” The little youkai quickly turns around and asks “wazzat? Who are you, miss human?” Marisa thinks of telling a lie, however, she is so distraught she bluntly replies “I’m Marisa, and this is Wriggle. She’s cold. Is there anything we can use to warm her up?” The creature smiles and pulls out broken pieces of lumber out of the stone box, grabs a bottle with oil and spreads it on the lumber, then snaps it’s thin fingers and shoots a small fireball that quickly ignites the lumber, making a warm fire. He smiles and says “bring her closer. This should help.” Marisa obediently grabs Wriggle and carries her near the fire, all while still holding Mima’s staff. The creature stares at the staff and says “humans and youkai from the outside shouldn’t be here. You’ll die.” Marisa quickly says “we are looking for a friend. Maybe you’ve seen her. She has long green hair, wears blue, and has a ghostly tail that looks like a giant shrimp.” The creature smiles, shakes his head, then turns around to rummage through his box again, mumbling “I’ll show that yama. Just need to find that ring.” Marisa asks “so... who are you, mister...?” The short youkai gets out of the box to look at Marisa, then smiles and says “I’m an Oil Presser youkai. That’s all you need to know about me.” Marisa gasps and backs away, and noticing this, the creature says “don’t worry. I won’t harm you.” The snow outside suddenly subsides, however the cave entrance closes off, trapping Marisa and Wriggle inside, then the creature suddenly walks away and says “you two should get out. The master of this cave has found a mate, and he plans to have a wedding. You two should just head back up to the surface where it’s safe.” Before Marisa can ask some more questions, the creature walks right through a green wall, mumbling “that’s right. The ring is over there.” Marisa calls for him, rushing to the green wall, but a powerful energy pushes her back with great force, then she lands next to Wriggle, who is completely restored and looking down with worry, saying “miss Marisa, are you alright?” When Marisa opens her eyes again, she finds Wriggle looking at her with worry. The fire is gone, replaced by a tree, covered in a glowing lilac crystal. Marisa exclaims “Wriggle, you’re ok!” Wriggle extends her arm to help Marisa up, then says “it’s funny, but I thought I was freezing to death, then I suddenly wake up next to you and this tree, and find you mumbling in your sleep.” Marisa asks “and what about that oil presser youkai?” Wriggle looks around, rubbing her lower lip with her finger, then says “I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen anyone else, so I don’t know.” Marisa looks at Wriggle with confusion, then a soothing lime light reveals another path through the cave. Marisa stares bravely at it and says “come on. Mima needs us.” Wriggle smiles and says “right behind you.”
It’s night at the Hakurei Shrine, and while Ail and Nitori excitedly tell their tale about how the tricked the humans to Reimu, the shrine maiden is distracted while staring at her feet on the ground. Budou approaches Reimu and asks “Hakurei sis, what’s the matter? You want to go help miss Marisa, don’t you?” Reimu shakes her head, snapping out of her thoughts, then chuckles and says “i-it’s alright. Shikieiki said she was getting help for her, so it’s alright.” Reimu manages to pull a fake smile, though Budou isn’t fooled, staring at Reimu straight into her eyes, then says “if you really are this worried, we can take care of Rika for you, while you are gone.” Ail and Nitori suddenly complain about Reimu not listening, then Sanae reveals herself from the shrine’s kitchen, saying “you two take it easy, and Budou, don’t go making promises you aren’t sure you can keep.” Reimu softly says “it’s alright. Besides, even if you guys did that, I can’t disobey the yama.” For a moment, everybody stares at Reimu, then all sigh at the same time. The shrine remains quiet for a while, then Phredia suddenly flies out of Budou’s heart, flies straight to Reimu, then tries to pull her up. Reimu looks at Phredia and says “oh, little Phredia. Glad to see you’re alright.” Phredia pulls on Reimu some more, then Reimu giggles and says “it’s alright. I’m fine, I swear.” Phredia manages to pull Reimu hard enough to make her stand up, then takes her outside, leading her to the hot springs. Reimu says “alright, alright. Let me get some snacks, at least.” Budou calls “I’ll get them for you, but only if I can join.” Nitori adds “wait for me!” After the girls leave, Phredia peeks through the shrine’s entrance, flips her tiny thumb up, then winks after she slightly closes the door. Now Ail and Sanae are alone with the sleeping Rika, inside the shrine. At first, Sanae thinks of joining in with the other girls, but after seeing Phredia’s wink, she decides to stay. She sits next to Ail on the floor, but before she says anything, Ail says “I’m sorry I couldn’t go to your shrine today either, but Reimu really needed our support.” Sanae calmly says “it’s alright”, then stares at him and says “I see you’re back to your dark violet shirt, huh?” Ail giggles and nods, saying “I think I wore pink shirts long enough. I prefer dark colors, if that’s alright.” Sanae giggles and says “it’s alright...” They keep quiet for a while, then Ail says “hmm, I forgot to thank Koishi.” Sanae narrows her eyes and softly asks “why?” Ail calmly replies “she’s the one who taught me how to walk on water and how to use that morph ability.” By now, Sanae is face-to-face with Ail, then whispers “oh really?” Ail slowly closes his eyes along with Sanae, whispering back “yes, really.” From outside, looking through the small opening in the sliding door, Kanako whispers “whoa, she’s totally eating him up!” Suwako sighs, then whispers back “well, our little Sanae sure has grown up, and she’s so aggressive too.” Suwako and Kanako stare at each other, then Kanako whispers “you think they’ll do something?” Suwako shrugs, then they both look back inside. Ail and Sanae are gone, then Suwako whispers “hey, where did they go?” Kanako whispers back “I don’t know. I only looked away for a second.” From their right, Sanae says “well, enjoying the show, aren’t we?” From their left, Ail smiles and says “perhaps it’s time we gave the audience a sneak peek at the action scenes.” Kanako and Suwako’s faces turn blue as they try to back-crawl away from Ail and Sanae, both staring back at them with murderous smiles. Meanwhile, at the hot spring, Reimu contently sighs and says “I guess a little soak is all I needed.” Budou says “see? You didn’t have to get all sad and stuff.” Nitori tilts her hear, raising her ear, then asks “do you guys hear that?” Sanae walks next to the hot spring, holding Suwako and Kanako by the back of their necks and dragging them like large dolls, and with an angry smile on her face, she gently places the two goddesses in the water, then says “thank you for totally ruining the mood. As punishment, you two will be cooking for yourselves for a week!” Suwako and Kanako whine and nod, then Reimu says “ruined the... HEY, this is a shrine!” Sanae giggles and says “it’s ok. Nothing too violent happened.” Reimu’s face turns blue as she stares at Sanae, then says “ok, next time, I’m dragging you here with me.”
Unknown to Marisa and Wriggle, who continue to walk though the lime-green path, two days have already passed, yet they still feel as though it’s only been a few hours since they entered the cave. The path stops right in front of a tall black wall, then Marisa comments “wait, a dead-end?” Wriggle sniffs around, then says “no, I think there’s more ahead. Maybe it’s a door.” Marisa and Wriggle place their hands all around the wall, but find nothing. Marisa sighs, about to suggest to turn around, but after she blinks her eyes, the entire path is gone, and she and Wriggle find themselves falling slowly to a lower level, lighted up by an unwelcoming red light. They softly land on their feet and look around. They spot a large gate with a soothing blue light inside, and immediately Marisa feels she needs to go there. When she take the first step, Wriggle holds on to her waist, covers her mouth, then points up. Sleeping on the ceiling, clinging on to their feet, are a large group of giant bats, all with large long fangs, some with black fur, others with brown hair, some having tails of monkeys, others having tails of dogs of cats, and one of them, the largest one of them all, has a long demonic tail that hangs close to the entrance to the next room, like a trap for any trespassers. Marisa gulps, then looks at Wriggle and signals her to move on. They move as quietly as they can while walking right under the sleeping bats, fear evident in their sweaty faces, knowing that the moment one of those creatures wakes up, they are dead. One of the bats screeches, making Marisa and Wriggle flinch and hold their heads, but the bat quickly falls asleep again, so they slowly compose themselves and try to quicken their pace while walking by as quietly as possible. Finally, they reach the other side, where the door lies open, then notice the demonic tail wriggles around, making it harder to get through. Wriggle looks at Marisa, then nods and jumps over the creature’s tail, landing softly on the other side. Marisa takes a quiet deep breath, then jumps over the tail, but when she lands, Mima’s staff hits the ground too hard, and the metallic noise from the staff immediately wakes the biggest bat up, making it screech loudly, waking up his subjects. The door begins to close, so Wriggle grabs Marisa and pushes her inside, making her fall on her seat and saying “GO! I’ll hold them off”, then summons countless bugs to surround her. Marisa shouts “WAIT! Let me help you!” Wriggle turns her head with a smile and says “I’m a lot tougher than you are right now. I’ll be fine.” Marisa gets up from the ground and shouts “no! let me help you! Come on!” Giant cockroaches fly in front of the closing door, preventing Marisa from going further, then Marisa watches as the giant bats all close in on Wriggle and all her bugs, opening their mouth menacingly, bearing their large, long fangs as they get even closer, then the door finally closes off. Marisa uses Mima’s staff to strike the door hard, shouting “Wriggle, open up! Wriggle! Let me help you! Let me help you!!” Marisa can’t hear anything through the thick wall and drops on her knees, sniffling and saying “I can’t... go on. I’ve, I’ve done it again. Reimu, Mima, Wriggle... Gensokyo. What a mess... What a mess!!” She tries to hold back her tears, but hear heart can’t take any more. All her hope is now lost, and a hidden sense of guilt has crept over her. She’s on the verge of breaking down, right there, under the depressing light of the blue room. Just before she breaks down to cry, a beam of light reaches her eyes, making her raise her head. At the end of a long, wide-open path between rocky formations, is Mima, floating in the air, trapped inside an orb that emanates a soothing crystal-blue light. Marisa stands up, holding Mima’s staff on her hands, then fills herself up with courage and after she sniffle and rubes her eyes wither left arm, she says “Mima-sama! I’ll save you now, so we can save Wriggle; get out of this damned cave together.” Marisa stands next to the entrance of the room, holding on to Mima’s staff as she stares ahead to where Mima is.
To be Continued...
Characters, Spell Cards and Scenarios belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Ail, Budou, Phredia, Kimi, the RKNS and Ayalina were created by Willie G.R.
Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010
MAY 08 2010
Written by
Willie G.R.
A/N:
14 hours. That’s all it took to write this chapter. I am actually amazed at myself, however I did have the chapter well-mapped inside my head, so it was easier to write. I already have the next chapter mapped out, so if I don’t get too distracted, I might finish it as fast, however it’s the weekend, so chances are I’ll be distracted by many things...
Again, thank you for showing your support and I hope you are all enjoying the read. Actually I am glad to know you are. It helps with my inspiration. Things seem to be settling more in Gensokyo; this “Touhouverse”. Let’s hope the pace keeps up, eh? See you next chapter if the spirits will allow, and take care.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment