IT'S ALIIIIIIIIIIVE! Yes. You are reading correctly! I finally managed to finish the new chapter of Touhou Rider Reimu. I was swamped with work and games that I could barely get 2 lines a day for this one but it has finally come together! Please enjoy!
...
My transformation ended with my buckle disappearing in a flash of light. I was glad that it did as my attire for this world was a warm winter coat and pants with snow boots and warm gloves. I looked around the immediate area but I couldn't find anything aside from snow, rocks, a gloomy gray overcast, dead trees and more snow.
Letty would have liked this place...I thought before starting to walk around to see if I can find some shelter and figure out where I was. I soon found a conveniently placed cave that was carved into a cliff face, it was still cold inside but it protected me from the unrelenting snowfall outside. It was like Sapporo in the dead of winter out there. I took out Akyu's scroll to see if it can give me any information about the world I just ended up in.
"Perfect Cherry Blossom?" I read out the title on the scroll that shows what this world is known as. I looked outside and saw the heavy snowfall that showed no sign of stopping.
Kind of an ironic name for this world when you look at its current state... I thought of the biting cold outside before I started reading about what happened in this incident.
Gensokyo had been experiencing a winter far longer than usual, I say far longer because there were snow storms in the middle of May. Because of this, three heroines decided to investigate the mysterious events on their own. Reimu went out because she was simply tired of being cold for so damn long. Marisa went out because she found a cherry blossom petal near her house she she figured that spring was happening somewhere else instead. The third heroine to go out and investigate was none other than the Scarlet Devil Mansion's Head Maid: Izayoi Sakuya. She went out because the mansion's supplies were running low and she wanted to end winter before they go empty.
"So Sakuya joins in on this one huh?" I said as I wondered if I would meet her here too, and if she'll be an ally or a foe. I sighed as I continued to read the boss list of this world. I was surprised that the first fight was against the Ice Fairy Cirno and Letty Whiterock. The heroine you picked manages to defeat both of them in short order but it was speculated that Letty was holding back or was weakened at the time.
I can believe that. I know full well what she's capable of if she goes all out. I thought back to Eiki's world and the Letty that we fought there. I shook my head and focused on the rest of the entries. The heroine of your choice then wanders to a Youkai village called Mayohiga where she encounters and fights the Nekomata, Chen. The heroine moves on and runs into a puppeteer named Alice who was also looking around for leads to what happened to Gensokyo's spring. Instead of working together, the heroine and Alice decide to duke it out instead, with the heroine winning of course.
A sudden cloud of cherry blossom petals blowing in the same direction leads the heroine to the cause of the problem but not before being confronted by Lily White who announces the arrival of spring by firing danmaku at the heroine.
Lily...White? Wasn't she the one I fought before? I though back once again to Eiki's world where I fought Lily Black. Were they the same person or not? I decided to leave it at that for now and continued reading. The next ones to face the heroine were the Prismriver Sisters, them I know very well already. They were guarding the gateway to the Netherworld, which was where all the cherry blossom petals blew into. Using advanced deductive skills, the heroine concluded that the missing spring was in the netherworld and thereby began to throw down the gauntlet, defeating The Phantom Ensemble and entering the boundary to the afterlife. After climbing an impossibly long staircase, defeating hostile specters along the way, the heroine is confronted by the Half-Ghost Youmu who was the one who stole the essence of spring in the first place under the orders of her mistress. Apparently, they were trying to make a giant cherry blossom tree bloom completely for some reason and they think that stealing Gensokyo's spring would do the trick. Naturally, this pissed off the chosen heroine and she proceeds to teach Youmu the value of manners towards the other residents of the realm.
At the end of the long trail, the heroine ends up in front of the gigantic cherry blossom tree which was named Saigyou Ayakashi. She quickly encounters the one who started this whole thing, Yuyuko, who was the administrator of the afterlife. Yuyuko explains that she wanted to free a certain soul that was trapped under the tree which was why she needed the essence of spring. At this point, the heroine has had enough of all this and just figures that defeating Yuyuko will end this whole ordeal. She does so but, after defeating Yuyuko, the Saigyou Ayakashi starts to die and temporarily unleashes the trapped soul inside...which was Yuyuko's all along. The heroine had to endure a sudden uncontrollable blitz by the possessed Yuyuko before the soul was resealed back in the tree.
"Well...can't say I'm surprised." I said as I found such a fantastical tale to be standard by now, I must be building up a tolerance to this sort of thing. I saw that there were still some things left on the scroll and I started to read the remaining entries.
After a few days, the heroine receives a request from Yuyuko who had just finished restoring spring back to Gensokyo. Apparently, to facilitate the whole spring stealing fiasco, the boundary between Gensokyo and the Netherworld was weakened by the powerful Border Youkai Yukari. Yuyuko asks that the heroine to talk to Yukari and get the boundary back to normal before anything else happens. The heroine agrees of course and sets off to the location that Yuyuko specified. She was once again confronted by Chen who suddenly decides to try to kick the heroine's ass again...and fails. However, this draws out a very angry and particularly powerful Kitsune named Ran. Turns out that Chen was her Shikigami and she was none too pleased to see that you just laid the smackdown on her. A fierce battle raged between the heroine and Ran but the heroine eventually prevailed and asks Ran about Yukari. The Kitsune explains that she herself was actually the Shikigami of Yukari and promises to talk to her mistress about Yuyuko's request and goes off to their home where Yukari was.
"So that pretty much covers it huh?" I asked to no one in particular as I reached the end of this world's entry. I put the scroll back in my pocket and went out to the entrance of the cave. The snowfall finally let up and it wasn't as cold as before so I decided to suck it up and went out into the unknown to see what I can find. As always, there was no way that this world would follow what the scroll said but at least I know who I'm likely to encounter here.
"Plus, I need to find that sneaky thief and get some answers!" I adamantly said while walking in the snow, the thought of kicking Marisa's ass for that cheap shot in Imperishable Night's world motivating me even further.
...
After the longest walk I have ever had in snow, I found myself in front of a very familiar set of stairs. It was the uphill stairway leading to the Hakurei Shrine. I wasn't able to go to the Hakurei Shrine in the previous world because of the rather hectic events that transpired so it was nice to see some semblance of consistency again. I started climbing the stairs, which was a lot harder than when I did it in Satori's world because of the cold and snow. I was around two-thirds of the way up when I heard the sharp noise of metal clashing over and over again followed by low rumbling noises which seemed to be caused by an impact.
"A fight already? And just when I was getting really tired too..." I said before sighing and summoning by buckle and booklet. I quickly put the buckle on and took out Reimu's card when I heard the clashing sounds start to pick up in higher frequency.
TOUHOU RIDE!
I started to run up the stairs before closing the handles, I had to see who's fighting up there!
HAKUREI REIMU!
I started to leap over the stairs to get to the top faster, gohei in hand in case things turn ugly. I made my final jump and cleared the last of the stairs and beyond, making my landing on the shrine's main Torii Gate. I quickly looked around and clouds of steam moving around the shrine, evaporated snow most likely. Two figures suddenly jumped up at each other and started to trade slashes from sword and claw. The girl with the swords was someone I already read about and vaguely recognize from my dream.
A girl with short silver hair that had a black ribbon on it and she was wearing a green a white dress, she was wielding two swords of different length. The swords were a standard Katana and a Wakizashi in her right and left hand respectively. Something I didn't notice before in my dream was that there was something floating around her. It was a giant translucent white...blob thing, like a ghost or something.
Youmu was trading furious but well placed blows with someone I just read about as well...and one I wouldn't be able to forget from my dream too.
A blond haired woman wearing a two-pointed hat, which covered her fox ears. She was wearing a blue and white dress, blue was covering the front with intricate symbols on it. She had long puffy sleeves that hid her sharp clawed hands. The most eye-catching thing about her were her nine, large, white-tipped yellow tails. The power of a Kitsune is defined by how many tails it has, with nine as the limit. That means that this Kitsune is one who has achieved the highest form and power her kind can attain.
Ran and Youmu continued their flurry of attacks in mid-air, the former managing to somehow pressure the smaller girl into a defensive exchange. I didn't know why they were fighting or who was in the good and in the bad in this situation so I decided to jump in neutral and figure things out from there. What's the worse that could happen?
I took out my booklet and took out an attack card. I jumped down from the Torii Gate and headed into the shrine grounds while putting the card in the buckle.
ATTACK RIDE!
I jumped up to the tiled rooftop of the shrine, nearly slipping off because of my sandals on the snow, and scoped out the situation. Looked like Ran was winning as Youmu's katana was currently stuck to the ground and was barely able to stand while pointing her wakizashi at the kitsune who was smiling and flexing her claws. I still had no idea which side I should take so I figured that I should keep them both alive for now until further developments. With that mindset, I closed the handles and crouched down.
THOUSANDFOLD FIST!
The buckle's manly voice managed to get both their attentions as they immediately turned to where I was. I said 'was' because I was already in mid air, torii gate knuckles materializing in my hands, and winding back for a right straight aimed at Ran's face. The ancient youkai expertly took my right fist into her right palm and pulled me closer as she sidestepped away from the attack and gave me a left handed backhand to the face from under my right arm. The force of the backhand was like a brick wall getting smashed in my face. It stopped me cold and left me hanging in mid-air for half a second, which was more than enough time for Ran to adjust her positioning and give me a heel kick right in the sternum, which sent me sailing into a wall. The whole thing lasted less than five seconds from my jump to my subsequent crash.
"Well...that could have gone better..." I said as I pushed the rubble off me. I made a mental note to never try an attack that simple against Ran ever again. I saw that the kitsune had turned her attention back to Youmu who used my attack as a chance to strike at her foe. It was the right thing to do as far as combat sense goes, striking the moment your opponent lowers their guard, but the enemy was just too skilled to be able to defeat with just a wakizashi and a tired body. Ran was easily managing to avoid and parry Youmu's weakened but focused attacks. The youkai ended the exchange by grabbing the short sword with her large left hand, blood dripping from the wound that it caused her, and pulling Youmu closer to her like what she did to me.
"You will never have her back!" Ran told the half-ghost with a tone of finality before giving her a headbutt. The force made Youmu release her otherwise vice-like grip on her weapon. Ran used the recoil on the younger girl's head to easily grab her neck and lift her off the ground. She tossed the, now useless, wakizashi away and focused on the prey she had just caught. I raised my left hand and fired some needles at Ran, in a naive attempt at getting a lucky shot in, who just swiped them away with her left claw.
"I don't know who you are or why you are interfering, but try to do so again and I will kill you." Ran stated plain and simple without even looking at me.
Great...finally someone in this world who can calmly think in the middle of a fight and she's an enemy. I thought as I finally freed myself from the rubble. I managed to get back on my feet and summoned my gohei and took up a stance. Ran was still ignored me while smiling at Youmu and whispering things I couldn't hear at this distance. I guess she still doesn't see me as a threat, I should change that. I pulled out Reimu's final attack card and pulled at the handles while slowly moving behind Ran. I put the card in and dashed at her.
FINAL ATTACK RIDE!
The buckle said as I jumped up in the air. The voice from the buckle made Ran turn back to be and look up as I closed the handles.
RE-RE-REIMU!
The multi-colored orbs infused themselves in my right foot as I dived down at Ran at an amazing velocity. I was certain that I had her...until she sighed and rolled her eyes. She then did something I never expected, ever!
"She just threw Youmu at me..." I muttered as the unconscious half-ghost hurtled straight at my final attack.
"Crap!" I said, immediately dispelling Reimu's final attack, just in time to catch Youmu in my arms. I suddenly felt an intense amount of bloodlust from behind me before I suddenly felt like the whole world fell on my back. Youmu and I quickly crashed back to the ground, making a small crater on impact.
The world was spinning...
I couldn't figure out what was up from down...
All I could understand was that I just got hit hard...
I couldn't see...
Everything looked like a washed out painting...
I heard footsteps coming closer...
A garbled voice...Ran's I think...
Then I felt a sharp pain on my stomach before I had a sense of weightlessness, which was abruptly replaced with more pain on my body...
Then...darkness...
...
I opened my eyes and was greeted with pain wracking by whole body. Good, that means I was still alive. I tried to get up but found that I couldn't even move anymore. I did notice a few things though:
My transformation was gone.
I was in a room and not dying in the middle of the Hakurei Shrine.
I was lying on something that feels like a really old sofa instead of the ground, being buried in a pile of snow.
It was dark but there was some light flickering.
I could feel the heat from a fireplace nearby.
I noticed the scent of old books.
I can hear a girl humming a tune that was...somewhat familiar to me.
I know I've heard it from one of uncle's games a few years ago...a mix of haunting creepiness and solemn melancholy.
What did he call it again? Doll...something...
Doll Maker? Doll Maker of...Bucre-
"Ah...you're awake." A soft, feminine voice broke my train of thought. It was the same voice that was humming that tune a moment ago. I couldn't see her though, too weak to even turn my head huh?
The girl's face suddenly peered above my face. The lighting was dim but I could still make out her face and I noticed a small...fairy? It was too dark to make it out clearly but it was wearing a red dress, with a red ribbon in her hair and was floating near the girl's head. Said girl blinked a few times before touching my head with her hand, making face come closer to mine.
"Aaaahhh...!" I gasped...well, as much a gasp as I could in my current state. I recognized this girl. It took me a while to remember but she was in the closing stages of my dream. I only saw her for a few seconds but I was certain of it.
Upon closer inspection, she had dark blue eyes and blond hair that had a red ribbon. She pulled away so I could see that she was wearing a blue and white short sleeved dress with pink ribbons, she also held a black book that was wrapped in red leather straps with a brass lock in front.
"Well, your fever is gone at the very least. Shanghai, fetch the spellbook on my desk please." The girl said to the floating fairy who bowed and went off to wherever it needed to go.
"Can you speak?" The girl said to me while standing up. The fairy came back with a large hardbound book she held over her head with her tiny arms. It looked quite heavy so I wondered how it managed to stay airborne while carrying such a thing.
"Who...ah...wha...nghh..." I was trying to ask her who she was and what I was doing here but that was all that came out of my mouth. The girl nodded to me and took the book the fairy was carrying, replacing it with the locked book she was holding.
"Considerable frame damage and shock along with prolonged exposure to extreme cold rendered most functions -aside from basic life support and comprehension- completely impaired. Even speech is...challenging for the subject." The girl muttered to herself while she flipped through the pages of the large book in her hands, occasionally stopping to read a full page while humming.
"Ah...this will do nicely." The girl said with a faint smile before back at me with a serious expression.
"Now, I'm about to do some fairly complex recovery magic. Try not to move...not that you could anyway." The girl said as she held out a hand at me and a small magic circle appeared. My body was suddenly wrapped in a warm green glow. For a few moments nothing happened and I thought that I was being given some sort of healing magic...then I was assaulted with so much pain that I almost passed out. My back arched as every inch of my body suddenly started hurting more than I though was ever possible. I opened my mouth wide as I tried to scream but no sound came out. The girl noticed this and blinked a few times in wonder.
"Oh right, forcing nerves to re-fuse together would be quite the painful experience wouldn't it?" She said nonchalantly before I finally blacked out from the amount of pain I was subjected to.
...
I awoke to a sense of deja vu when I opened my eyes, the same scene but much brighter. The glow and warmth from the fireplace was gone, replaced by gentle rays of sunlight coming from a window. I slowly sat up to see if that girl from before was still he-wait.
"I can...move?" I said as I adjusted my sitting position and looked at my hands, making sure that my fingers still work. I looked down and noticed that I'm...
"Completely naked..." I muttered to myself as I looked at my exposed form.
"Very astute observational skills you have there." The same girl from last night said as she came into the room with a tray of food in her hands. I immediately covered up my chest with my arms as she walked towards me.
"Please...you don't have anything to hide from me anymore. Why do you think you're in that state in the first place?" The girl said as she walked towards me. I finally realized who she was after getting a better look at her.
"Alice Margatroid..." I said, Alice suddenly stopped as soon as I spoke her name.
"Curiouser and curiouser..." She said as she put the tray down in the nearby table. The little fairy who was with her last night flew next to her and gave the strapped book back. The 'fairy' was actually a small doll that only looked like a fairy, I guess it fits with the whole puppet master deal.
"I trust that you have recovered enough, yes?" Alice asked me as she handed me a plate that had a loaf of buttered bread.
"Yes, thank you very much for helping me." I said as I took the plate and started eating, not really minding my lack of clothing anymore. The room was completely silent as I consumed the bread. Alice was just watching me while the doll, Shanghai, carried a cup of warm tea to me.
It just had to be tea again huh? I thought, as this was becoming quite the standard drink for me throughout my journey. I finished eating and Alice had her other dolls fly in and help Shanghai with the cleanup. The other dolls were wearing a blue version of what Shanghai was wearing but seemed less detailed and a bit smaller too.
"So I'm guessing that you want some answers huh?" I initiated the conversation to get the explanations over with but Alice suddenly stood up and started walking away.
"The bath should be ready now. I'd rather have a detailed discussion with you after you have cleaned up and are...clothed." Alice said before walking out of the room, my face flushed because of her words.
...
After I had my bath and got my clothes back on, I walked into a room where Alice was busy reading from a large book. I noticed that there were parchments on the walls with detailed designs for several kinds of dolls and accessories for them. There were also several unfinished dolls scattered around the room atop tables and shelves, making this place her workshop I guess.
"Please, be seated. I will be with you shortly." Alice said as she continued reading from a really big book. I grabbed a nearby stool and sat down next to her. I took a glance on what she was reading but it was written in some form of gibberish that I couldn't hope to understand. The only think I could recognize was that there was a detailed diagram of the human body on the page she was reading.
"What is..." I started when Alice suddenly closed the book and set it aside. She seemed to be the type who would always want to do things at her own pace.
"A living doll. My ultimate goal..." She said as she fixed up her ribbon and dress before facing me again.
"Now then, as you seem to already know, my name is Alice Margatroid." Alice formally introduced herself while holding out her hand to me.
"Umm...yes. My name is Aozaki Tama. It's nice to meet you." I returned the introduction and took her hand.
"With formalities over with, I would like a detailed explanation of what you were doing at the abandoned shrine, that seemed to have been the site of a recent battle, and the reasons why you seem to know my identity." Said my interrogator for the day.
"Right. Well, it's kind of a long story..." I started to say but I stopped as I saw Alice glaring at me.
"...but it should answer all of your questions about me so..." I said as I started my explanation of who I was, what I was doing here, and what was happening to the different worlds.
...
"Quite the interesting hypothesis on why winter has yet to give way to spring. And the concept of parallel worlds, different versions of Gensokyo...most intriguing." Alice muttered as she mulled over my story up to this point.
"And the reason why you were so severely injured when I found you was because you interfered with a battle between a guardian of the netherworld and the shikigami of the border youkai at the abandoned shrine." She said to confirm her comprehension of what I had said.
"Yeah...about that. Why were you in the vicinity of the Hakurei Shrine at that time anyway?" I asked as The Forest of Magic where she lives in is a bit far from the shrine. It couldn't have been just a coincidence.
"The shrine's guardians were called the Hakurei huh...and yes, there was a reason why I was there at the time." Alice said as she stood up and walked over to a nearby desk. She took out a sheet of paper that was hidden under another book and showed it to me. There was something written on it but, as usual, it looked like gibberish to me.
"Sorry, but I can't understand the language on this paper." I admitted while handing back the sheet of paper to Alice. She took it back and read the message written on it.
Go to the abandoned shrine on the hill to the west.
There, you will find a clue to the truth about the winter...and about this world.
And hurry! Your clue might end up dead if you take too long.
-An Ordinary Magician
"Ordinary...Magician..." I repeated in growing irritation. Even I knew who that was. 'An Ordinary Magician' is what uncle used to call Marisa Kirisame. Just what is that girl planning?
"Tama? Are you alright? So you still feel ill?" Alice asked me in slight concern when I froze after she told me the contents of the letter.
"Wha-no...it's nothing. What's with that letter anyway?" I moved the subject back to the letter.
"Yes. I just came back from trying to find what food there was left in the forest and I saw that letter nailed to my front door." Alice said while shaking her head.
"Must have been a pretty weird occurrence..." I said and she nodded in agreement.
"I honestly thought that someone was just so bored in this winter that they would resort to something so...juvenile." Alice said, her voice growing sharper as she went on.
"That was what I thought at first. But the contents of the letter was to specific to be a silly prank. Something at the back of my mind kept telling me that I should at least see what for myself whether this was a prank or not." She said before putting the letter back on the table.
"And that's where you found me and here we are..." I wrapped up the summary of events.
"Yes. From what you explained, the battle between the half-ghost and the kitsune resulted in the loss of the half-ghost. However, the original point of this world was that spring could not happen because the essence needed for it was being absorbed into the netherworld. If we follow that logic..." Alice said as she stood up and walked out of the room.
Going to the netherworld would be out best bet to figure things out since the essence of spring wouldn't have anywhere else to go. I thought as I stood up and followed Alice to the main living room.
"Shanghai, fetch my cloak and gather the other dolls. We're going out on a little excursion." The puppet master said to her doll who gave a small bow before moving on to a different part of the house. Their interactions make me wonder if the dolls can actually communicate with Alice or if it was just an act and she was just essentially talking to herself. I decided to leave that alone since it might make her mad if I try to point it out.
...
We stepped outside after having lunch and saw that it was around midday. We started walking towards the direction where the gate to the netherworld was supposed to be. Hopefully, we'd make it before dark or at least find some shelter on the way there. We came out of the forest of magic which was at the top of a slope that overlooked a good portion of Gensokyo.
"Wow..." I exclaimed. Dead frozen or not, seeing the scenery covered in a blanket of white was something to behold.
"Come. We must not waste any time." Alice beckoned me from my admiration while walking away, seven dolls floating around her like bodyguards.
We managed to get to a clearing when I saw a lone figure standing in the distance. My eyes grew wide when I saw what that person was wearing. It was a red hooded windbreaker and blue winter pants. It looked like that person was also wearing gloves and boots too. I couldn't make out the face since he or she was wearing a baseball cap that was tilted down to cover the eyes.
Even Alice knew that this person wasn't any ordinary resident of Gensokyo. The odd clothes and the fact that he or she was now standing in our way. Her dolls moved into defensive positions to cover their master and myself. I made sure that I was ready to put on my buckle in a heartbeat in case that this was another of Sanae's attacks.
"Well, it's good to see you didn't freeze to death...ze..." A somewhat rough female voice came from the person in front of us.
That voice...
That verbal tic...
It can't be...
"Marisa...?" I hesitantly asked the figure before us. The girl in front of us took off her cap and broke into a wide grin.
"Yes...and no. Don't you remember me~?" The girl playfully asked. She looked like she was around my age. She had short messy black hair, black eyes and a stupid grin that made her look like she was out to cause some trouble.
"Nope. Sorry. Never seen you before in my life." I said while shrugging.
"What? You're kidding me right? That can't be true!" The girl said in shock. Not that it bothered me or Alice a lot though.
"Don't you remember! Gamers! I asked you for a copy of Phantasmagoria or Flower View before this whole freaking mess started!" She exclaimed while waving her arms around.
"Ah..." I suddenly remembered who she was. Yeah, we did meet the day when my whole life suddenly spiraled out of control.
"So you remember now right? Right?" The girl asked expectantly. I nodded in response and she broke into a big smile.
"Yeah. Sorry I didn't recognize you. I was thinking about something when we first met and well...things happened." I explained why I forgot her halfheartedly.
"Hey! Don't worry about it~! By the way, we never got each others' names right? I'm Kawazoe Aoko~" She said while pointing to herself.
"Aozaki Tama." I replied. I then noticed that Alice was with me so I decided to introduce her too.
"Oh...and this is-"
"Alice Margatroid, I know." Aoko cut me off as she slowly started walking towards us.
"Does everyone know who I am?" Alice said in mild annoyance while her dolls maneuvered to a more open formation.
"Probably just the two of us. I was the one who gave you that letter...and the fact that I'm a really big Touhou fan." Aoko said proudly.
"Right...but why such the roundabout method. You could have just told her where I was...or you could have even helped me!" I said as I remembered the state I was when I blacked out before.
"Sorry..." Aoko said while putting her right hand behind her. I suddenly had a very bad feeling about this.
"...it was the only way to get Alice out in the open like this." Aoko confirmed my fear as she revealed that gun in her hand. I suddenly remembered that this was the same girl that ambushed me and stole Kaguya's Dragon Jewel. Aoko flicked her left hand and produced a card similar to the ones I have but that one had the five-point star symbol.
"Looks like your friend isn't here to help us on our quest." Alice said as she placed he dolls back into defensive formation. Their small swords, lances and shields at the ready.
"She's not my friend..." I clarified as I summoned my buckle and put it on, taking out Reimu's card as well.
"You know...I would have liked it better if I was the one chosen to be Reimu but..." Aoko placed the card she was holding into a slot at the side of her gun and pulled at the handle on the underside.
TOUHOU RIDE!
"...I don't mind being the one with the best offensive shot type in most of the games." Aoko said as she pointed her gun skyward. I clicked my tongue before opening up the handles and placing Reimu's card in.
TOUHOU RIDE!
"This should be fun." Aoko said smiling before squeezing the trigger and me closing the handles at the same time.
KIRISAME MARISA!
HAKUREI REIMU!
It was kind of weird hearing the same voice saying two different things at the same time. Aoko's transformation was different from mine. Instead of ten monochrome version of herself, there were three silhouettes of her that were colored red, blue and green respectively. The silhouettes darted around her before converging all at once at her and she was bathed in light. Our transformations took around the same time to finish.
"I nearly forgot. You're a thief. Give back Kaguya's Dragon Jewel!" I said as I pointed my gohei at her.
"How rude! I'm not a thief! I'm an avid collector! ~ze." Aoko said while pouting...her 'ze' felt a bit forced though.
"Whatever the case, you are outnumbered. You should realize where you stand, Kawazoe Aoko!" Alice said as she was at her limit as well.
"Outnumbered? I don't know about that. ~ze" Aoko said nonchalantly as she lowered her gun, the black cape she was wearing slightly covered her hands. She then put her hands together and I heard a very familiar clicking sound.
Crap! What's she going to do? I thought as I prepared for a transformation, an Attach Ride or even a Final Attack Ride. Aoko finally pulled at the handle so I can at least find out what she's up to.
TOUHOU RIDE!
"A transformation!" I yelled before Marisa looked up to me before blinking a few times.
"Transformation? Silly Reimu~! Marisa can't transform! ~ze." She said cheerfully, much to my confusion. If it wasn't a transformation then...
PATCHOULI KNOWLEDGE!
Patchouli? I wondered. Then came yet another surprise from this world.
KAMISHIRASAWA KEINE!
"What?" I yellled out as Aoko pointed her gun at us.
"Get 'em! ~ze." Aoko yelled before pulling the trigger. The same three-colored silhouettes came out of the gun but this time, there were two of them. They finally converged together to form none other than the people the gun declared beforehand. Standing between us and Aoko were Patchouli and Keine. They opened their eyes but it didn't seem like they were conscious. It was like their eyes were empty...soulless. Just like...
"Meiling..." I said out loud.
"Ding dong~! I was wondering when you would notice who bailed you out at the end of Phantasmagoria of Flower View. ~ze." Aoko said smugly.
"Why are you doing all of this?" I asked. If she had that kind of power. If she was watching me all along. Why the hell didn't she ever show herself? Why didn't she help me?
"Why? Simple! I'm in Gensokyo...Gen! So! Kyo! As Kirisame f-ing Marisa! I can use all of her trademark moves AND I can summon copies of characters too...~ze!" Aoko yelled out. Her fangasm nearly making her forget that annoying verbal tic.
"And what does Marisa do? She creatively 'borrows'! And why not do the original proud and start snagging stuff too? ~ze." She said proudly. That's some really freaky logic. Then again, I'm not a fan girl.
"Enough talk! Let's dance! ~ze!" Aoko said as she pointed her gun at...Alice?
"Look ou-" I was cut off by a sudden white laser that nearly grazed me. I looked back to the source and saw that it was the Keine copy's. The Patchouli copy suddenly started to levitate while five large stones orbited around her. Looks like I'll have to deal with these two before I can get to Aoko.
I dashed towards the copies. I had to end this fast and help Alice. I decided to go after Keine first since she seemed to be the biggest threat. I struck her with my gohei, which she blocked with her arm. I was expecting that as I dematerialized the gohei and grabbed onto the arm that blocked it. I adjusted myself and gave the copy Keine a good old shoulder throw. She landed on her back with a dull thud before I followed up with a swift kick to her head, sending her flying a short distance.
"They're not so tough afterall." I said in a mix of disappointment and relief.
ATTACK RIDE!
The sudden declaration made me look back to where Alice and Marisa were fighting...big mistake.
NON-DIRECTIONAL LASER!
I was suddenly struck in the back with a sweeping laser. I was hit a few more times, knocking me to the ground. Looks like it wasn't a single beam that hit me too. I looked up and saw the copy Patchouli hovering above me, the stones that were orbiting her gave off faint glows from the attack she did.
I knew I forgot something.
...
Alice sent out three of her dolls, the ones with lances, to intercept the charging Aoko who suddenly stopped in her tracks and fired at the oncoming dolls. The three small dolls scattered to avoid the attack and resumed their charge at Aoko but from different directions this time. The black-clad magician didn't miss a beat as she centered herself and started barely dodging the dolls that kept darting at her like angry hornets. Aoko was expertly dancing around to avoid any real contact but the dolls were getting closer and closer to hitting the mark. It would only be a matter of time before Alice could find just the right timing to be able to hit her.
"Can't have that! ~ze!" Aoko said, flicking her left wrist to produce another card. She literally had to hold on to her hat to prevent it from being skewered by a doll that zipped above her head. She spun around another attack and put the card she had in the slot on the side of her gun.
ATTACK RIDE!
"Think fast! ~ze!" Aoko said as she pointed her gun straight at Alice and pulled the trigger.
ORRERY'S SUN!
Four small orbs suddenly appeared around the barrel of the gun. The orbs, along with both barrels of the gun, started glowing before six laser beams screamed towards the puppeteer. Alice remained calm and called out her four remaining dolls to block the beams. Shanghai was in the middle with a shield in its left hand and a sword on its right. The other three dolls had larger shields that were held with both hands. The dolls formed a phalanx in front of their master and blocked the beams, giving Alice enough time to move out of the way.
"Such a naive attack won't be able to harm m-Ahhh!" Alice's rebuttal was cut short as she was hit on her left arm with one of the beams from Aoko's attack which came from an odd angle. The orbs that the attack ride summoned were freely floating around the battlefield. Confuse and attack at full power, standard Kirisame Marisa tactics...if this was a regular danmaku battle of course.
The real aim of Aoko was not to beat Alice in a duel. It was to steal her grimoire, the book said to have Alice's true power sealed within. It is doubtful that Aoko was after it to wreak havoc though, much like her motivation to steal an impossible request. The grimoire came loose from Alice's grasp during the last attack and Aoko made sure that she was at the right place at the right time to snatch it away.
"Too easy! ~ze!" Aoko yelled as she dove towards the book on the snow.
"SHANGHAI!" Alice yelled out as she kept dodging the beams that came from Marisa's attack ride. The red doll immediately came between Aoko and the grimoire and brandished its sword and shield.
"Out of the way! ~ze!" Aoko said as she tried to smack away the small doll with her gun. Much to her surprise, Shanghai managed to not only block the haphazard attack, it also stopped Aoko's forward momentum entirely. The red doll was protecting itself with its sword and shield as it struggled to keep The Ordinary Magician at bay.
"You shall not have that grimoire...not while I still breathe." Alice's voice could be heard coming from Shanghai, which creeped out Aoko a bit. She then felt a chill coming from Alice's direction and noticed that she couldn't hear the beams coming from her orbs anymore. The attack ride had already ended and Aoko was starting to have a bad feeling about her opponent.
War Command ~Doll's War~
Alice's voice echoed in the field. Aoko looked back to where the puppeteer was but her vision was blocked by dolls a lot of dolls...no less than fifty of the blue dolls. Each of them carried either a sword, a shield, or a lance.
"Aww nuts...~ze..." Aoko said as she looked at the massive wall of dolls. She then saw Shanghai fly into the mass, the grimoire in its hands. It then came out soon afterwards and floated at the very front and center of the little legion.
Fool me once...shame on me...
Fool me twice...
Alice's voice was coming from each and every one of the dolls, making the whole thing even more intimidating. Aoko jumped back to gain some distance and pulled out another card before...
...Never again...
...The dolls attack.
...
FINAL ATTACK RIDE!
My buckle declared as I dodged another combination of lasers by copy Keine and fire, earth, water, wind and lighting from copy Patchouli. It was pretty obvious that the sleepy looking magician was the bigger threat as I leaped over gouts of flame. I saw copy Keine trying to flank me so I fired needles at her to keep the copy in check. She dodged the attack but was slow to recover like the first time I attacked her with my gohei. I took the chance and closed the handles while still running towards the copy Patchouli.
RE-RE-REIMU!
I immediately left the ground as the multi-colored orbs appeared around me. I aimed a kick right at the copy Patchouli and dived in, the orbs fusing to my right foot for the attack. I was about four meters away from the copy Patchouli when copy Keine suddenly appeared in front of me and fired lasers from her hands right at me.
"That won't stop me!" I yelled out as my kick broke through the beams and hit copy Keine, the final attack causing an explosion. I covered my eyes as I broke out of the subsequent cloud of smoke and fire?right into a jet of water by the copy Patchouli.
"Ghaaaah!" I screamed as I was thrown back by the pressure of the water. I hit the ground hard and rolled a few feet but I managed to recover fast enough and got back on my feet...just in time to see copy Patchouli flying towards me at an incredible speed.
Must be a wind spell! I thought as I opened the handles and put in the card I just pulled out. I had to dance my way around a crisscrossing stream of fire and water from my flanks before a bolt of lightning grazed my right ear.
"Stop that!" I yelled out at the copy Patchouli who just kept up its attack without a care in the world and was still closing in on me. I dashed to the side to get some distance between us before putting the card in.
ATTACK RIDE!
I had to stop the onslaught brought on by copy Patchouli's elemental attacks and I knew that Duplex Barrier wouldn't be enough to stop everything so with that in mind, I kept baiting the copy to come closer as I close the handles.
PERMANENT BORDER!
The copy Patchouli showed an expression that could barely be considered as surprise as she fell into the same trap as the speedy Aya did. The bounded field froze all movement of the one trapped inside, leaving the occupant completely helpless. I took out a card and looked at the copy. It showed a calm and uncaring expression, like it wasn't even feeling anything from being bounded like that.
"An emotionless copy huh?" I said in while giving the copy Patchouli a bitter smile.
ATTACK RIDE!
"I'm getting my answers after this." I steeled myself before closing the handles.
YOUKAI BUSTER!
I lifted my hands up and aimed my palms right at the copy. I grit my teeth before letting the attack run its course. Talismans fired from both my hands like machine guns and peppered the defenseless copy who didn't even flinch or cry out as the attack ride destroyed her.
I breathed a sigh of relief as the bounded field disappeared without a trace now that its occupant was no more.
FINAL ATTACK RIDE!
"What? No!" I immediately looked towards the source of the declaration. There was only one other person who can do that and it was Aoko?who was currently Marisa. I saw an unbelievable number of dolls moments away from swallowing the black magician in a wave of swords, shields and lances. Alice was behind the mass with her left hand extended towards the dolls while her right was holding onto her grimoire which was glowing ice blue. I also noticed that Alice's eyes were glowing blue and her face was contorted in anger. Whatever Aoko did, it was enough to really piss Alice off.
Said perpetrator was bending backwards while aiming her gun right in the middle of the wave of death a few centimeters in front of her. What's more?she was smiling.
MA-MA-MARISA!
"Nooooo! Aliiiice!" I screamed but it was too late. Even someone like me, who was rather unfamiliar with Touhou, has heard what Kirisame Marisa's strongest attack was. I started running towards the two of them as Aoko was finally engulfed by the wave.
One second, a bright light came from gaps within the mass of dolls.
Two seconds, the light became exponentially brighter.
Three seconds, the dolls were gone.
Four seconds, Alice was swallowed in a gigantic beam of light with an expression of shock despite her ice blue glowing eyes.
Five seconds, the beam was still there.
Six?
Seven?
Eight?
Nine?
Ten seconds, the beam finally dissipates. Alice was lying unconscious in the snow, her dolls either vaporized or torn to shreds from the force of the blast. Shanghai was the only doll intact but was missing both her arms and one of her legs.
"Master?Spark?~ze..." I barely heard Aoko say as she lowered her gun and straightened out herself. I noticed that she was heaving after that attack. It must have taken a lot out of her or she was just freaked out because of the close call she just had.
Wait! This isn't the time to worry about that! I thought before running straight to where Alice was.
"Alice! Alice! Wake up!" I yelled at her while wiping the soot from her face. She looked like she was sleeping but her battered clothes and a graveyard of dolls surrounding her say otherwise.
"Don't worry~! Alice won't die from just that, she's a youkai after all. Though she probably won't wake up for a while?~ze." Aoko said while calmly walking towards us.
"Don't?don't come?any?closer." I barely managed to say without looking while I pointed my gohei at her. I was still looking at Alice's face but I was about to burst into tears. I didn't make it. I couldn't even protect the person that nursed me back to health.
"Heey~! Take it easy! ~ze!" Aoko casually said as she kept walking towards us. I finally turned to her, making her stop in her tracks. Her smile was gone, probably because of what my own expression looked like.
"You?I won't let you get away with this." I said as I look straight at Aoko's eyes while standing back up.
"Oh? And do you think that you can even stop me? ~ze." Aoko said in the most serious tone I have heard her use. The two of us just stood there, unmoving as a light snowfall started. The gloomy sky, the dead trees and cold of the snow surrounding us was a stark contrast to what I was feeling in me. I was on fire. I was mad. I wasn't about to take any more either. We both took out cards at the same time and put them in place.
ATTACK RIDE!
ATTACK RIDE!
I dashed straight at Aoko before closing the handles. She tried to raise her gun towards me for her attack but she walked too close before this exchange started so I was able to get my attack off first.
THOUSANDFOLD FIST!
The Torii Gate Knuckle Dusters materialized on my hands immediately after the attack ride was declared, just in time to smack Aoko's gun to the side as she pulled the trigger.
STARDUST FALL!
An incredible number of rainbow-colored star bullets suddenly started firing from Aoko's gun. It was lucky that I managed to deflect the attack before it started or I would be having a hard time now. The attack looked like my Youkai Buster but was more spread out instead of a concentrated stream. Aoko's attack was just a passing thought as I focused back on her.
"Why you..! ZE-aagh!" Aoko's yell was cut short when I grabbed her should to pull her closer and gave her a head butt right in the face. Looks like the simple attack I saw Ran do to Youmu was pretty effective. I kept my rhythm by pulling my right fist back as Aoko was still reeling from the head butt.
"This?is for Alice!" I said before putting all my weight into a right straight, a small magic circle appearing on the knuckle. I was sure that I had her right in her chest when she suddenly blocked the knuckle out of nowhere with a broom. The impromptu shield managed to take the brunt of the attack but the force was still enough to make Aoko fly across the clearing and crash into the trees in the distance.
"Haaa..haa..haa..haa.." I was getting tired from all the sudden fighting and the calm after sending Aoko flying made my fatigue catch up to me. I was about to go back to check on Alice when bursts of star bullets suddenly shot out from the direction where Aoko crashed to.
"I knew it wasn't going to be that easy!" I said in frustration as I narrowly dodged the accurate projectiles, some I even had to block using the Torii Knuckles. I suddenly heard a noise comparable to a zooming rocket in the distance and there I saw Aoko riding on the broom she whipped out of nowhere.
"We're not done yet! ~ze!" Aoko said as she rode the flying broom like some sort of hover board. She was crouched down, her left hand holding onto the tip of the broom's handle while aiming her gun at me with her right hand and taking burst shots.
She was coming at me fast and gun blazing. I tightened my grip on the Torii Knuckles as I charged at her. I can finish this in one shot if I can get a clean punch in. I shrugged off the star bullets with the knuckles as the two of us came closer and closer.
"There!" I yelled as I hopped a short distance to get both my feet together on the ground. I crouched with my right fist wound back, and then I leaped forward like a spring. I closed the gap between us in an instant and pushed my fist forward for a clean hit at?nothing.
"Wha??" I said in surprise as Aoko managed to perform a barrel roll at the last moment to avoid my attack. I looked up to see her directly above me, upside down but still crouched on her broom?and her gun aimed right at me.
"Check. ~ze." Aoko quietly said as she pulls the trigger, then?
"Aaahh!"
"Augh!"
A green explosion suddenly interrupted our duel, hitting us from up in the air while we were too busy fighting. I went sprawling on the snowy ground. That explosion hurt a lot more than the star bullets would have. I looked around and say Aoko some distance away, trying to get her bearings.
"I've had enough of this?" I heard a familiar voice coming from the sky. I looked up and saw none other than Kotiya Sanae.
"You?why do you keep attacking me?" I asked her while standing back up. I summoned my gohei since the attack ride already ended after I got hit with Sanae's attack.
"Why? You have the gall to ask me why?" Sanae screamed at me, her face showing immense anger, before holding out her hand towards me. A green magic circle appeared and something like a cannon shot came from it. A frog-shaped projectile came out of it, something the size of a soccer ball, careened towards me. I instinctively smacked it with my gohei, which was a bad move.
"Gaaaaaaah!" I screamed as the frog detonated like a bomb right in front of me. I got blasted backwards and landed close to where Aoko was. She was on one knee and was having a hard time trying to stand up. I was kind of amazed that her hat was still in place. I looked back at Sanae, who was glaring at Aoko.
"To think that I would get a chance to kill the demon and the thieving black witch. The gods certainly smile on me this day." Sanae said with a sickening smile. I was still on my back and couldn't even sit up while Aoko was trying to get a card in her gun but kept missing the slot because she was shaking so much.
"At last?the end." Sanae declared proudly as she spread her arms to the side and a large five-pointed star magic circle appeared behind her. Small ripples appeared from the circle as a very large number of frog projectiles surfaced from it. If all of those things hit as hard as the one before then?we're done for.
"Die!" Sanae declared as the frogs were launched at us. We had no escape.
...
One tiny tid-bit. The origins of Tama's and Aoko's names should be pretty obvious now. If you don't get it, try to mix up their names and see what comes up.