One Random Sukima 9

It's been two days since the incident of the Random Sukima. Reports from Ail and Momiji inform that Yuka and Kyo have already been chewed on by the wandering gap. Fortunately, both were quite disgusting to the Random Sukima, so it just spat them back out almost immediately. All attempts to stop it have been unsuccessful, as it escapes as fast as it comes by and attacks. Reimu has a a very bad feeling about all this, but thankfully, all that's happened are those random bite-and-chew attacks for now.

Morning at the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Remilia is just about to go to bed, and Meiling takes her post in front of the gates. A tree rustles violently to her right and Meiling stances ready to defend the gates, shouting "who's there!? Show yourself this instant!" The trees stop moving, then there's a bloody scream by the lake. Meiling tries to look ahead, saying "that's Cirno!" From behind her, the Random Sukima opens it's mouth wide and gobbles Meiling, chewing on her with a content "mm-mm-MMM" then smacks it's lips after swallowing her, sending her straight onto one of the mansion's stoves, making her scream in pain as she lands on a recently used grill. She runs around holding her butt in pain, then one of the fairy maid splashes her with a pail of dirty water, making her smile sigh in relief as her butt sizzles, cooling down in the process. Remilia, unaware of what's happening around her mansion, sleeps contently in her bed, covering herself with her pink blankets, slowly drifting to a deep and peaceful sleep. The Random Sukima appears in her room without making a sound. It hovers close to her, smiling with is jagged teeth bare, then, in an instant, it gobbles her and start chewing on her, saying "hmm... hmm??" Using it's tongue, wrapping it around Remilia, it shakes her, trying to make her wings fall off as she screams at the top of her lungs "SAKUYA~~~!!!!" Quickly, Sakuya enters Remilia's room and finds the Sukima with half of Remilia's body in it's mouth, sucking on her like a lollipop, while Remilia swings her legs around, desperately trying to find a way to escape. Sakuya shouts "let go of my lady, you FREAK! MEILI~NG!" Sakuya pulls on her mistress' legs, trying with all her might to pull her out, again shouting "MEILI~NG!!! I NEED YOUR HELP!" Sakuya manages to pull Remilia's wings free, which she starts to flap wildly, knocking Sakuya back and flying around the room aimlessly, knocking lamps, portraits and knocking down the curtains, trying to free her head from the Sukima. Meiling finally arrives full of cuts, her butt still sizzling, looks at the mess and shouts "YOU~!!!" She grabs the Sukima's teeth and forces them open, freeing Remilia from it's grasp. Meiling clenches her teeth as the forcefully struggles to tear it apart, but the Sukima makes a violent thrust forward, gobbling her again, smiling contently as it chews on her for a second time, then gulps and disappears just like that. Sakuya looks around, shouting Meiling's name, getting no response. Remilia trembles as she tries to keep her cool, saying "se-search the entire mansion! I-I want her FOUND!" Sakuya says "on it... my lady, are you ok?" Remilia stares at Sakuya, and unconsciously she runs to her, bawling "I was so scared~ Waaaaaahhhh!!!!" then hugs Sakuya tightly. Sakuya gets a nosebleed, and with a smile on her face, brushing her mistress' hair with her fingers, she says "there, there, my lady, you're safe now."

Meanwhile, Ail arrives at the Misty Lake and looks around, saying to himself "it's close." He looks to the mansion when he hears Sakuya shouting Meiling's name over and over, however, another sight gets his full attention. He sees a small pair of bare feet and some blood on the floor next to them. When he gets closer, he notices it's a fairy, and upon further examination, he realizes it's Daiyousei. Ail gasps in horror upon this realization and tries to get close, but Cirno gets in his way, aggressively shooting icicles at Ail, shouting "get BACK! I won't let you hurt Dai-chan again!!!" Cirno looks very agitated and looks at Ail with such fury in her eyes, he can't help but feel a certain degree of fear. He asks "wait, Cirno, what are you talking about? I just got here!" Cirno fires a few more icicles, aiming at Ail's chest with deadly accuracy. Ail jumps away just as Cirno builds up, and fires a big enough icicle to really cause major harm. Ail shouts "Cirno, calm down! Cirno, we have to save Daiyou-" Cirno grabs a spell card and shouts "Hail Sign- Hail Storm!" Around Cirno, many icicle form up in straight lines, then scatter around aimlessly. They all come down hard and fast, making it impossible for Ail to get close to her. Ail manages to duck and dodge all the tiny icicles and sees a chance to attack, however, he is left awestruck by the next wave of her attack. The icicles have grown in size, making them as large as trees. Ail exclaims "she's really mad!" To his luck, the icicles are so large, they collapse on each other, shattering into smaller pieces. Ail looks under Cirno and says "I'm sorry" Using his right hand, the symbol of Pandemonium on his bracelet glowing light-blue as he raises his arm, then causes the water under Cirno to rise and capture her, canceling her spell, then, using his hand, he guides the water to place Cirno on the edge of the lake, then the frog symbol starts glowing green and a pair of hands made of stone hold the little ice fairy down. She grunts as she struggles to break free, but she can barely move. Ail calmly says "I need to get Daiyousei to the doctor now." Cirno shouts "no, don't you dare go near her!" Ail stares at her curiously, then shrugs as he walks toward Daiyousei. Cirno shouts "don't you DARE! I'm warning you!" Cirno starts to cry now, shouting "no, don't! Leave Dai-chan alone! Dai-chan! Dai-chan, run away!!!" Immediately, Ail notices a blade wound across Daiyousei's abdomen and arm. The cut is not too deep, but she needs medicine. Ail grabs her, then walks to Cirno with Daiyousei in his arms. Cirno cries as she continues to struggle for her freedom, then Ail shouts "CALM DOWN!" Cirno opens her tear-filled eyes and notices Daiyousei safely on Ail's arms. Cirno cries "why did you hurt Dai-chan!?" Ail sighs and says "I have Daiyousei in my hands. If you attack me, you'll hurt her too. Now, I'm going to let you go, and you and me are taking her to Eirin, alright?" Cirno sniffles, then nods, immediately getting free from the stone hands. She stares quietly as Ail opens a gap to Eirin's clinic, then says "come, let's not waste anymore time." Cirno follows Ail into the gap, while two pair of dangerous looking eyes stare on from a distance, hiding under the shadows.

At the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu enjoys breakfast and tea with Rika by her side, and Mima, who keeps hovering just above the table, picking anything she wants. Rika feels elated, sharing a wonderful and tranquil morning with her mistress, all spoiled the second Mima says "heads-up!" A gap opens up on the ceiling, and out comes Meiling, crashing on her face just a few feet away from the table. Rika springs up worried while Reimu and Mima continue their meal, uninterested about Meiling at all. The gate guard is covered in drool and is full of cuts all over her body. She looks around as Rika says "oh my goodness! Are you ok!?" Meiling looks to Rika and says "oh, you must be miss Rika. Nice meeting you, I'm Meiling Hong. I'm the gate keeper at my mistress' mansion!" Before Rika says another word, Meiling shouts in surprise "AAHHH! That weird mouth sent me all the way here!? I have to go back!" Before she can rush back to the mansion, Reimu, who is now just beside Meiling, grabs her shoulder and says "whoa there, explain yourself." Meiling turns to Reimu as Rika offers her some tea, which she nervously drinks in one gulp and says "this big mouth with jagged teeth came to the mansion. It ate me and tried to eat the mistress too. I tried to tear it apart, but he ate me again, then sent me here." Reimu's expression changes to a very serious look and says "this is not good. That thing is still running lose." Meiling asks "what do you mean?" Reimu asks "did Ail go to the mansion?" Meiling shakes her head lightly and says "there was some commotion by the lake... maybe it was him." Silence takes over the shrine as Reimu, Rika and Mima look at each other. Meiling chuckles nervously while scratching the back of her head and says "er, look, I really got to go. Sakuya might need my help, ok?" Reimu nods, then Meiling flies away as fast as she can. Rika asks "lady Reimu, what is it?" Reimu says "I have a terrible feeling about all this." From the skies, a familiar voice shouts "oy~! Reimu~!" Reimu opens her eyes wide, and hiding her excitement, she says "that's... Marisa!" Rika is able to notice, and even feel some of her mistress' excitement, but keeps quiet about it.

Rika serves more tea as Marisa exclaims "well, what a surprise! So now you have a new maid, ze!" Rika bows and says "I serve only my lady Reimu." Marisa smiles mischievously while chuckling and flapping her hand in the air, saying "yeah, yeah, yeah. Rika, come over here for a second." Rika gets closer to Marisa, who wraps her arms around Rika's neck and whispers something to her ear, making her blush and blow steam off her ears. Reimu looks on curiously, knowing Marisa, she knew that witch was up to no good again. Marisa lets go of Rika, happily saying "and that's why she wears those detached sleeves." Rika's lips wiggle as she grabs her apron and twists it in her hands, still blushing and blowing off steam from her hears. In a flash, Reimu strikes Marisa on the head with her fist, angrily asking "what did you tell her!?" Rika smiles and says "my lady, please allow me. Reimu says "ok. Just remember this is a friend." Rika winks and says "playfully, then." With a smile on her face, Rika smacks Marisa's back with the open palm of her hand with such force, Marisa yelps as she's lunged forward to the floor. Reimu sips on her tea and says "I thought you said playfully." Rika scratches the back of her head while smiling and saying "guess I don't know my own strength." Marisa stays on the floor for some time, her arms and legs twitching in pain, as Mima says "I'm going to Maribel's. See you later!" Reimu asks "Marisa, I haven't seen you around for some time... you even left Maribel and Renko's housewarming party quite early. Where have you been?" Marisa stretches her back, making a loud cracking sound that makes even Rika wince, then says "oh... I was busy, ze!" Reimu asks in a curious undertone "busy? With what?" Marisa pulls out a piece of paper and places it in front of Reimu's face, saying "ta-dah~!" Reimu stares at it a little annoyed and says "it's just a doodle of you and me." Marisa blushes and pulls back the paper, hiding it under her hat and saying "whoops... wrong paper... heheh." She rummages through her apron for a while, then says "THIS!" Marisa presents another piece of paper with a much better drawing of a beautiful land, plentiful on resources and seemingly spacious. Marisa smirks as she shows this to Reimu and says "what if I told you I have found the gate into another, much more beautiful, plentiful, AND safe paradise?" Reimu gasps in horror and says "Marisa! Where did you-?!" Marisa quickly replies "stumbled upon this information in one of Patchy's books. Reimu, we could all go there. You, me, Rika, Ail, ALL of our friends. Even the villagers. That place has EVERYTHING for everyone!" Before Reimu answers, a silver washtub falls on Marisa's head, causing her to clench her teeth, standing where she is. Rika grabs the washtub and happily says "time to wash the clothes, my lady!" Reimu replies "oh, go ahead."

At Patchouli's library, Koakuma crouches on the floor, holding her head and trembling violently. Patchouli looks on casually, and calmly says "that's odd. I though this Metal Sign - Washtub Rain spell would work... oh well, thank you Koakuma." Koakuma takes a breath of relief, quickly composing herself. Patchouli turns to Renko and says "see? Even someone as experienced as me has some trouble, but that doesn't stop me from trying and believing, right?" Renko sighs and says "I will try my best, miss Patchouli." In a fraction of a second, the Random Sukima pops behind Renko and quickly gobbles her up, chewing on her, then spitting her back out with a "BLECH!" then quickly disappears. Patchouli checks on Renko, hiding the feeling of worry and casually asking "are you alright, Renko?" Renko's eyes spin as she says "I saw that carousel. It was big and chewy!" Patchouli smiles and says "she's fine." From a few bookshelves away, Shinki shrieks, then a loud and disturbing gulping sound echoes all over the library, then silence. Koakuma says "that sounded like lady Shinki." Patchouli replies "Koa, I'll be leaving to the Hakurei Shrine, but before that, I need you to find me a special book." Koakuma stares at her mistress with the outmost attention, awaiting for her orders.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Reimu takes Marisa's drawing and furiously rips is to shreds, then says "Marisa, this is VERY irresponsible of you!" Marisa stares back awestruck and asks "w-what are you saying?" Reimu says "if you try to open a gate from this chaotic paradise to THAT paradise, you'll only cause trouble, and I WILL have to seal you for it!" Marisa sighs and says "fine, fine... I won't try it." Marisa hides her face under her hat, then Reimu says "I'm sorry, Marisa. I didn't mean to snap at you like that. Just be more careful next time, alright?" Marisa lifts her head with a smile and says "alright... er, Reimu, I wanted to ask you something." Reimu says "yes, what is it?" Marisa asks "will you marry me?" A yin-yang orb comes flying straight to Marisa's cheek while Reimu calmly sips on her tea and says "please stop being so weird." Marisa rubs her face, still smiling, then says "right, sorry. The thing is, I was trying to find a cooling spell for my house, so it can stay cool during summer, but~!" At the Forest of Magic, Alice stands in shock, right in front of Marisa's completely frozen house, encased inside a giant glacier. Back at the Hakurei shrine, Marisa finishes saying "...and so, I was wondering if I could sleep here for a couple of days, while my house thaws out. That is... if it's ok with you." Marisa waits to hear Reimu's usual "go back home", but to her surprise, Reimu sighs and smiles as she says "alright, but just for a few days. And do donate from time to time, alright?" Marisa stares back at Reimu quite surprised, then nods without thinking. Reimu smiles back and says "Rika." In an instant, Rika rushes to Reimu, bowing to her, placing her right arm on her abdomen, saying "what is it, my lady!" Reimu says "Marisa will be staying over for a few nights. See that we can accommodate her properly." Rika bows once more and says "as you wish, my lady!" then rushes away, taking Marisa's black clothes away and replacing them with Reimu's old shrine maiden outfit, all in the blink of an eye. Marisa blushes and shouts "how did you do that!?" Rika smiles, winks and waves her finger, saying "it's a s-e-c-r-e-t" then rushes away to clean Marisa's clothes. Reimu chuckles, then takes another sip of tea, while Marisa continues to blush, inspecting herself thoroughly.

At the Sanzu River, Rumia, Flandre and Agava, having done their jobs and earned a little bit of money for themselves, walk toward the Human Village, Flandre saying "I think I'll buy something nice for myself." Agava places her arms behind her head, resting it on them and says "bah, money's useless. I wonder why humans give so much importance to it?" Rumia smiles and asks "you've been killing humans all this time and don't know?" Agava blushes and says "th-that's all behind me now!" Rumia surrounds herself in darkness while saying "is that so~?" Agava sighs,and then, something pulls Flandre back. The Random Sukima chews on Flandre, leaving her legs outside it's mouth, Flandre waving them around as wildly and as fast as she can, hoping to get away. The sight makes Agava laugh so much, she starts to cry and roll on the ground, holding her belly while doing so. The Sukima opens it's mouth for a second, and Flandre tries to get away, shouting "kyaa~~! Someone help me~!!" and losing her hat on the ground as well. This makes Agava laugh even harder, while Rumia flies around, saying "I'll save you!" but continues to crash on to trees. Agava continues to laugh, saying "I can't- I can't stop, HAHAHAHAAHAHA! I'm-I'm gonna explode, WAHAHAHAHAHA!" Finally, the Random Sukima spits Flandre out with a "BLECH!" Agava tries to stand up, holding herself up with her hands and knees, but when she sees that, she loses strength on her arms, trying to hold her laughter, but failing miserably, falling back on the floor and rolling around while laughing hard. Flandre is angry, her face red with rage. She stomps to Agava, who stops laughing for a moment, stares at the drool-covered, tattered-clothed and cut Flandre, then laughs some more. Flandre growls, grabs the laughing shadow youkai and says "let's see how YOU like it" then grabs the Random Sukima and forces Agava into it's mouth. The Sukima frowns the second Agava touches it's tongue, but Flandre scowls dangerously and shouts "CHEW, YOU ****** MOUTH FROM HELL!!!" Flandre's curse causes all sorts of youkai to run away from the area, crying and covering their ears, even some tough-looking ones, while Rumia, who is still inside her darkness, bumps on another three says "potty-mouth is ba~ck!" The Sukima chews on Agava, looking as though it might throw up at first, but then says "hmmm!" and continues to chew casually, then spits her back out, saying "bu~lech!" then disappears. Agava is covered in drool and cuts, her eyes spinning around as she tries to compose herself. Flandre stares triumphantly and says "how does it FEEL, huh!?" Agava drops to the ground, saying "uuu~, I saw my tricycle..." Rumia crashes hard against the same tree as before, and dizzily says "is that so~?"

Meanwhile, at Shiki's court room. Shikieiki starts calling back the misplaced souls, telling Komachi "well, let's start fixing the damage." Komachi smiles and says "look, Shiki-sama, maybe our replacements did a magnificent job, and you won't even have to..." Komachi's words stop dead on their tracks as legions of souls come marching from hell and heaven, making a mountain of misplaced souls inside the court room. Shiki looks quite annoyed toward Komachi, and forcing a dark smile, she says "you were saying?" Komachi giggles nervously and says "I'll go get us some coffee, Shiki-sama..." Shiki sighs and says "don't forget the sugar."

Noon at Eirin's Clinic. Ail comes out of the clinic with Daiyousei on his hands while Eirin gives him some instructions. "So it'll be for the best if she stays near someone that can care for her and give her the medicine, at least for tonight." says Eirin as Ail, carrying Daiyousei, and followed by Cirno, enter through one of his gaps. Ail looks at Eirin and says "thanks, I'll remember that. But now you keep your eyes peeled for that self-conscious gap, you hear me?" Eirin nods, then says "I can take care of myself, so don't you worry!" Ail silently nods, then closes his gap. Eirin sighs as she crosses her arms around her abdomen, then glares toward the mansion and summons her bow and arrows. Inside the mansion, Reisen finishes her bath and heads straight to her room, avoiding the usual trap of a bucket of dirty water above the door. She sighs as the water falls and says "Tewi, you should find someone else, once in a while." Reisen enters her room, then a loud snap, followed by her screaming in pain makes Tewi come out of Kaguya's room, looking quite content with herself. Reisen pulls a mouse-trap from her aching tail, which throbs as soon as she frees it. She rubs her tail and with a tears in her eyes and a force smile, she says "this is what I get for lowering my guard." From outside, Kaguya casually asks Tewi "Inaba, don't you feel that strange tremor?" Tewi, with a mischievous smile, shrugs and says "perhaps you need some of my brand of tea!" From under her skirt, Tewi pulls a large glass mug of beer and starts drinking it, placing on hand on her waist. "KYAAAAAHHH~~!!!" She stops drinking and looks in shock toward Reisen's room where the screams of horror come from. Kaguya casually says "Inaba, you really should give her a break sometimes." Tewi calmly says "but I didn't leave anything else in there, this time." Eirin comes inside, pointing her arrows around, looking very agitated. She shouts "LOOK ALIVE!!" Both Kaguya and Tewi get ready for a battle. There is a loud gulp and a raspy "mmm-MMM~~!" from inside Reisen's room. Eirin says, in a strict tone "keep you eyes open. It could be anywhere, you hear me!?" Kaguya asks "what? What are you talking about!" Eirin opens her mouth, but before she can explain, the Random Sukima pops just above her and gobbles her up entirely, chewing her slowly. Kaguya shouts "Inaba, out of the way!" Tewi jumps outside of the house as Kaguya prepares a concentrated blast of magic, but stops when the Sukima frowns and gets a little red. It's lip starts to wriggle around, then very suddenly, is screams, spitting out Eirin along with fire from it's mouth. As soon as Eirin falls on the floor, Kaguya unleashes a barrage of thick blue bullets, all exploding once they reach the Sukima, heavily damaging it and making it retreat as quickly as it came. Kaguya asks "what did you do to it!?" Eirin says "seems... I was a bit too spicy for it... princess." Eirin looks around, then worriedly asks "where is Udonge!?"

At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail places Daiyousei in a futon, gives her Eirin's medicine, then goes straight to Reimu and Rika, both sitting on the shrine's porch, calmly drinking some tea, Rika feeling elated of being with her mistress in such a tranquil moment again. Ail sighs and says "thanks for keeping Daiyousei here." Reimu calmly says "don't mention it." then looks at Cirno and says "she's very agitated. She insists you did that to her little friend." Ail nods and sighs, then says "I don't know, Reimu, but I think you are right. Something is not right here. That thing keeps gobbling up our friends, but it seems as though nothing else happens... but I can't shake that feeling that-" Reimu continues for him "it's all too simple. Yes. When something seems to be too simple, it will probably progress into a nightmare." Marisa shouts "look out, Ail!" Cirno gets free from Marisa and rushes straight toward Ail, clenching her teeth and shooting icicles at him, then flies straight to Daiyousei, saying "I'm here Dai-chan. He won't touch you again!" She glares furiously at Ail, so Ail backs away, getting out of the shrine as quickly as possible, in order to avoid fighting her again. Marisa gets closer and says "I've never seen her this agitated before, ze!" Ail says "you should have seen her spell. She went insane!" Rika asks "my lady, what's the matter?" Over at the Misty Lake, the Random Sukima, it's mouth in flames and damaged, desperately whimpers and whines, then gets inside the lake, gulping insane amounts of water. At the same time, over at the shrine, Reimu says "Ail... what if this Sukima is making copies of us?" Ail replies "Reimu, that's very dangerous thinking there." Marisa shouts "whoa, whoa there, Reimu! That's impossible! Maybe Cirno is right, and Ail DID attack Daiyousei, then faked helping her." Ail smiles nervously and says "that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard." Marisa bumps her forehead on Ail's and asks "where were you lat night, then!?" Ail stares back and calmly replies "I was chasing that THING out of the village after it chewed on Kyo!" Marisa ponder, then says "crap, you have witnesses then." Reimu, in a serious undertone, says "guys, this is serious. Look, Cirno's an idiot, but she seems very sure of what she saw, and is acting very aggressively toward Ail, and Ail says Daiyousei was hurt by blades, and we all know Ail doesn't use those. Maybe..." They all look up toward the darkening sky when they hear Aya calling "REIMU~~!" At the same time, the Sukima, having drunk half of the lake's water, rises up looking refreshed and renewed, belches loudly, then disappears. At the shrine, a gap opens up, making a sound like Yukari's. Reimu, followed by Rika, quickly take to the air and gallons and gallons of water come pouring from the gap, washing Ail and Marisa all the way down the shrine stairs. They manage to hold on to the stairs, halfway down, spitting water, then watching as the large wave splashes over the human village, then continues it's way to the Youkai Forest.

Reisen wakes up, feeling heavy and in pain. She narrowly opens her eyes and sees purple flowers all around her. She tries to breath, but feels asphyxiated. She thinks "poison field!" and tries to get up, but can't move a muscle, then she collapses, taking one last deep desperate breath. Soon after, something pulls her away, slowly taking her back to safety. At the Hakurei Shrine, Aya, her face filled with worry, goes straight to Reimu and says "you're not going to believe me when I tell you this!" Marisa and Ail, wet and waiting for their clothes to dry on them, and Cirno, still next to Daiyousei, listen carefully to Aya, who gives Reimu various pictures. Aya says "I took those that night when that thing came to life." Reimu looks at the dark pictures, all showing shadows of Ail, Suwako, Reimu, and Yukari. Some are too dark, but others show enough light to see it is them. Reimu gasps as she sees her face, looking on with ill-intent and a wicked smile. Aya says "that night, I thought I saw something strange at the sunflower fields. At first I though nothing of it... but I followed my gut instincts and kept looking around, but nothing. Later, I went back home, developed my pictures, and then I found this." Aya gives Reimu one last picture; the second shot she took from the oath ceremony group. Reimu scans the picture with great interest and gasps when she notices a gap opening in the distance and dropping Yukari away, but at the same time, Reimu see's Yukari being chewed in the picture. Reimu says "this... Then it's true. That thing is making copies of all it eats." Back at the Nameless Hill, Reisen lies on her back, away from the poisonous flowers, moaning as she wakes up once more. She opens her eyes and srpings up, looking surprised. A familiar voice says "shh, shh. Please, don't be scared. I'm here to help you." Reisen, awestruck, says "this must be the poison." The voice replies "Reisen, listen to me. I am real, I want to help you, really!" Reisen continues to stare toward the familiar voice's source, unable to say anything. At the Hakurei Shrine, Ail says "this explains why Cirno though it was me. It must have been my copy that did that to Daiyousei!" Cirno exclaims "I would have noticed if it was fake. At was Ail! It had his scent!" Aya says "so did all those copies I followed. Their scent is the same as the originals." Cirno stares at Ail for a moment, but says nothing. Ail, then says "Reimu, you understand, they also have ill intent, right?" Reimu replies "but for what reason, I wonder...?" Back at the nameless hill, Reisen kneels , listening to the familiar voice that says "she treats you like a slave, punishes you for stupid reasons, and even injures you and makes FUN of you when that little black rabbit gets you with one of her pranks! I can help you get the respect you deserve... What do you say?" A hand gets close to Reisen. She stares at it for some time, then gently takes the hand, looks up and smiles at herself, or rather, a darker haired copy of herself, wearing a brown blouse, instead of a white shirt, no tie and the top button is unbuttoned.

Back at the Hakurei Shrine, Marisa grabs Cirno by her shoulders and mischievously says "Cirno, don't you have anything to say to Ail, daze?" Cirno lowers her head, feeling quite ashamed of herself and says "I'm... sorry Ail." Ail smiles and says "it's alright, Cirno. You were protecting your friend, so I understand how you felt." Cirno lifts her head with a smile on her face, then quickly turns to Daiyousei when the weakened fairy calls for her. Aya, sounding very worried, says "I'm going to write a story about this, Reimu. Everyone should know!" Reimu nods and says "you spread the word as fast as you can. Ail, go to the Moriya's and make sure to let them know. Rika, go get Maribel at the village then head to Remilia's Mansion, tells her what's going on and..." Reimu gasps, making everyone stare at her, then she says "that thing got Remilia and swallowed Meiling twice!" Marisa says "then let ME go to the mansion. I can handle Remilia, and the possible twin Meilings if they happen to come by!" Reimu smiles and nods, then says "alright then, Rika you come with me to..." From the stairs comes Eirin, Tewi and Kaguya. Reimu stares at Eirin and says "so... it got you too." Eirin asks "you haven't seen Udonge around here by any chance?" Reimu stares at Eirin and says "this is worse than I though. I'll make a list of who's been bitten so far. Everyone else, spread out, spread the word, and keep and eye open!" Ail is the first to leave through one of his gaps, then Marisa on her broom, and before Reimu and Rika head inside, Yukari pops by and says "Reimu, Rika, Aya... So glad I got you in time." She floats inside the gap, getting closer to Reimu, positioning herself right behind her and playing with her hair as she says "someone's been opening gaps all over. It's been quite busy for me and Ran today; tell me, is Ail around here?" Reimu signals Aya to leave, and as soon as she does, she smirks and says "I'm afraid the one opening gaps is you, Yukari." Yukari stops playing with Reimu's hair and stares at her quite curiously. Reimu turns to face her with a smirk on her face, then Yukari opens her fan to cover her mouth and says "I see. That thing did more than just taste greatness." Reimu says "Yukari, do me a favor and find out who else has been bitten." Yukari asks over her fan "why, darling? What are you planning?" Reimu says "knowing who's been bitten might give us an idea of what we're up against here." Yukari smile, closes her fan, then says "I see you're using you head for once." Rika, in a threatening undertone, says "watch it~!" Yukari chuckles, then disappears inside her gap. Inside the shrine, Eirin takes care of Daiyousei, while Kaguya looks around while holding Tewi on her lap. Eirin gets up, dusts her hands, then says "Reimu, if Udonge comes over here, could you tell her I'm waiting for her return?" Reimu nods, then quietly, Kaguya gets up, letting go of Tewi, then as they leave, Eirin says "tell her... I'm worried about her." Reimu looks surprised at Eirin, as they all leave back to their mansion.

At the Forest of Magic, in Alice's house, Alice sits alone on her small dinning table, watching as Shanghai and Hourai float around her, looking at her with their lifeless eyes. Alice sighs and says "it's nice to have your company, you two... I just wish... I wish I could give you life... hear you speak, let you move on your own, think on your own. *sigh* I'm just dreaming, I guess..." A knock on her door disturbs her peace. Alice sighs and shouts "go away, I'm busy!" From behind the door, a sweet and motherly voice says "oh my, that's so rude. Sorry to have bothered you!" Outside is Shinki, looking dreadful, her clothes in tatters, full of cuts and bruises, her hair in a complete mess, and her face quite dirty. She thinks "oh well, I guess I can try going home" but before she turns around, the door quickly opens. Alice immediately exclaims "mom, what are you doing here!?" Shinki smiles and says "hi~! I didn't mean to bother you so I'll just be-" Alice desperately says "wait, wait, sorry mom, I though you were that annoying neighbor of mine!" Shinki looks around, sweats a little and scratches her cheeks, softly asking "err, neighbor?" Alice quickly pulls Shinki in, saying "come on in, mom! You look like a total mess, what happened to you!?" Shinki sits on the dinning table while Alice prepares her some dinner, helped by her two dolls. Shinki says "I don't know what happened exactly. I was reading a book, when I'm suddenly being chewed on, then, when I woke up, I was lost inside this forest!" Alice says "but why didn't you just fly?" While she smiles that angelical motherly smile of hers, Shinki's stomach grumbles loudly. She chuckles nervously and says "heh, well, after I woke up, I was REALLY hungry for some reason." Alice serves some rice and soup along with some baked potatoes, then, as she places them on the table, she says "well, eat up. I'll go and prepare your room." Shinki, holding the chopsticks in her mouth, stares at Alice for a moment and says "I don't wish to be a bother, deary." Before Alice answers, Shanghai flies in front of Alice and says "no trouble at all." Hourai adds "please stay with us, and play with miss Alice." Shinki giggles and says "aww, such sweet things." Alice stares at them, her eyes cast in a blue shadow, her lips wiggling around, then she stutters "th-the-the-they are ta-ta-talking!?" Shanghai gets closer, sweats and smiles nervously and bows as she says "we're sorry we took so long, but getting used to these bodies took a little longer than we though, heh heh... Right Hourai?" Hourai sits on the table, looking at her dark-blue dress and asks "can I get something in red?"

At Marisa's frozen house, Yuki wanders by, her stomach roaring with hunger, her eyes narrowly open, and drooling while thinking about food. She looks at the frozen house and thinks "this is Marisa's house... I wonder if she's home?" Without thinking twice about it, Yuki summons a fireball the size of her head, melts the ice to the door, opens it, and casually goes inside. Once in, she says "wow, it's so nice and cool here, but such a mess. How can she even walk in here?" She calls for Marisa, but there's no answer. Yuki continues to look around, until she finds Marisa's kitchen. Her eyes shine brightly at the sight of various sweets and comestibles. She wipes the drool off her mouth and says "I'm sure she won't mind if I take a few bites... right?" And so, the sound of loud chomping echoes all through the night, making all sort of creatures and fairies curious to the strange sounds coming from inside the still frozen house.

Ail arrives at the Moriya Shrine, and is immediately greeted by a pair of logs that try to strike him down, however, he activates a barrier with such force, the shock-wave knocks the logs away as if they were toothpicks. Ail says "no time for this!" From inside, Budou shouts "papa's ba~ck!" Ail approaches the shrine, and in an instant, Kanako is right in front of him, knocking her forehead against his, however, Ail doesn't even blink, and looking neutral, he says "save it, lady Yasaka. This is important!" Inside the shrine, Kanako holds Budou on her lap, Suwako stands next to Ail, staring at him with great curiosity as Sanae manages to sit as close as possible to him. Ail summarizes all that's happened so far, and after he's done explaining, Suwako says "I see." she turns to face Kanako and says "then our blessings failed after all." Budou curiously asks "blessings?" Kanako calmly says "yes, sweetie. See, after what happened that night, the yama asked me to spread my blessings around, for protection."
FLASHBACK
Kanako stands on the north side of a circled pentagram she drew on the ground with her magic. Facing south, she begins to chant in an ancient dialogue, the magic star reacting with a bright white light. Shortly after starting, Suwako and Sanae arrive, Suwako standing to the east side, Sanae standing to the west, all facing toward the center of the pentagram, then join Kanako's chanting. The circle lights up even more, sending a large pillar of light to the sky that spreads around all over Gensokyo. One of the pillars heads to the Garden of the Sun, while another goes straight to the Hakurei Shrine and the Human Village. Those two particular beams of light get corrupted by a dark-violet light; that light quickly spreading and going straight back to the source. Kanako shouts "LOOK OUT!" but the dark lights reach the pentagram, causing a large explosion that sends all three goddesses flying back and falling on their backs. Kanako gets up, shouting "is everyone alright!?" Sanae rubs her head and says "yeah... but lady Yasaka, what was that?" Suwako, looking very serious, says "someone with great magical abilities interfered, and whoever it was, he or she just beat three goddesses in one shot!" Kanako clenches her teeth, growling softly, then gets up and says "the good news is it only affected 20% of the blessing." Suwako stand up and says "it only takes a single spark to turn a blessing into a nightmare." Sanae gets up and notices the worried expression on both goddesses. She ponders for a moment, but keeps quiet, lifting her sights to look at the sky.
FLASHBACK OVER
Budou stares curiously at Kanako's frightened expression, then looks around and notices the gloomy atmosphere around, then says "don't look sad. The sparklies are with us. We can fix anything with them on our side!" Everyone looks at Budou curiously, then one by one, they start smiling, then Kanako rubs Budou's head very gently and says "thank you Budou. Yes, you're right. We can fix this, I am certain of it." Sanae adds "yes, that's right. We've all been through enough experiences, right? This is just another one of those experiences!" Suwako smiles, then says "this one will be a little different... but I'm sure, if we stick together, we'll be able to overcome it." Budou giggles and says "and with papa Ail with us, we can't lose! Right papa?" Ail chuckles as Budou gets off Kanako and flies straight to him, sitting on his lap and giggling as he rubs her head with his hand, then says "I'll do everything I can to help, that's for sure." He looks at Kanako with a smirk, then Kanako, staring back rather seriously, nods, then smirks back. Phredia comes from under Kanako's hair, looks around, and after noticing Budou's with Ail, she immediately flies straight to her, then get's on her shoulder, resting her head against Budou's ear.

At the SDM, the library is a battle zone. Marisa laughs as Patchouli's spells keep missing her, as well as Koakuma's attempts to slow her down with light danmaku barrages. "You should be thanking me for coming all the way here, just to give you Reimu's message, ze!" Patchouli replies "that's no reason to steal my books, you thieving witch!" Marisa replies "hey, it's borrowing. I'll return them, that's a promise!" Patchouli says "well return the ones you took already!" Marisa replies "I'm not done with the~m!" A piece of paper flies right in front of Marisa. She instinctively grabs it, then reads out loud "I am a heel." She looks down to the floor at Renko, who's laughing and pointing at her, then shouts "hey, that's not funny! What the-!?" The piece of paper glows yellow, and before Marisa can let it go, it explodes with great force, sending Marisa down to the floor, her clothes floating down slowly to the ground, along with her broom and the books she was trying to take. Patchouli stares with a neutral face and grabs a small piece of the paper and notices a part of a symbol, and sounding impressed, she says "alchemical clothe-shedding symbol... not bad. It seems you're learning something after all, miss Usami." Renko tips her hat while smirking and says "don't underestimate THIS girl." Renko's run over by a small metal vehicle being driven by Flandre, who shouts "out of my way, I'm driving here!" just as she runs over Renko. Patchouli stares for a moment, sighs, then says "Koa~, could you get the first aid kit again?" Koakuma replies "right away, miss Patchouli!" From behind one of the bookshelves, Marisa shouts "could you give my clothes back. It's really cold!" Patchouli smirks as she grabs Marisa's clothes in mid-air and says "leverage!"

To be continued...

Characters and scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Ail, Kyo, Agava, Budou and Phredia were created by Willie G.R.
Rika was created by Snapshot 2010
Some assistance by Snapshot 2010

NOV 7 2009
written by
Willie G.R.