We return to your previously scheduled Marisa Origin Story.
Chapter 3:Benny Hill Ain't Got Nothin' on me! or Alice in Dollywood Wonderland!
In a large clearing in front of a house in the Magical forest were several groups of very similar looking dolls. They almost looked like real girls but had very subtle stitching in places. They are about a half-foot high with a blue dress, an apron a bow in the front and a bow tying their hair in the back. Each one seemed to have it's own personality, and they all hung out in groups of around four of five. Some were playing miniature instruments, some were telling each other jokes, some were drinking from miniature cups of tea.
On the porch of the house were two chairs, a table with several more dolls buzzing around sweeping, dusting and doing various other things. In one of the chairs was a rather bored looking girl with short blond hair wearing a blue dress with a red ribbon belt, a red bow and headband and blue eyes named Alice sewing several pieces of cloth and fabric together to make another doll. Two dolls on the table watched her sew while sitting very quietly on their knees. About 10 minutes passed before Alice set the doll down on the table. Alice tired a red ribbon to the front of the doll in a bow shape. The doll stood up in a robot manner and was at attention.
"Raise your left arm." Alice said to the doll. The doll extended it's left arm and held it there without hesitation. "Now lower your left arm, put your hand on your nose, hop three times and spin in two circles." The doll did so without skipping a beat. It took every command Alice threw at it without ever asking why. Alice nodded and tied the second ribbon to the back of the dolls head. The doll dropped it's robotic expression and suddenly looked quite tired and started clinging to one of the arms of the other dolls on the table.
"Welcome to life, 782."
782 nodded sheepishly and rubbed it's head against the arm of the other doll, "Thank you."
Alice looked at the other doll she was leaning against, "You're taking this quite well 35."
The other doll rubbed the head of 782, "Shes cute, I guess I'm just picky sometimes. She doesn't get on my nerves like that damn 16."
Alice sighed, "Ah..ya 16. Shes just..."
Before Alice could finish her thought she noticed a long haired blond girl walking across the clearing. All of the other dolls stopped what they were doing and watched her as she walked, as well as Alice and the dolls on the porch. Marisa felt chills down her spine as that many eyes stared at her. This didn't exactly feel like a very inviting environment. Alice took another sip of her tea as Marisa approached her.
"Hi!" shouted Marisa as she sat in the chair across from Alice. "Reimu sent me here, told me you could sew some cloths that wouldn't get torn or something like that, man this place is kinda weird huh? You look like a go-"
"
Shut up!" screamed Alice as she stood up. "You just barged into my yard, sat on my chair without asking, scared the crap out of all my Shanghai, and then you have the gall to ask me to sew you cloths?!" Alice was fuming, she grabbed Marisa out of the chair and weakly tossed her toward the yard, though it was really more of a tossing motion as Marisa didn't go to far and was still on her feet afterwards. "Who the hell do you think you are?!"
Alice held her hands out with her fingers spread. Silver rings appeared on each finger with strings attached that connected to the Shanghai around her. She moved her fingers into various positions that seemed to tell each doll where to go. She made a formation of 10 shanghai in the shape of two triangles. The shanghai floated in the air in their formation, they were all now holding weapons of various shapes and sizes, some of them even bigger then the shanghai them selves. The most common weapon was a silver drill shaped polearm.
Marisa took a few steps back into the clearing. "So while your still in a good mood," she yelled smirking. " I thought I might as well ask, how 'bout them cloths, ze?"
One of the dolls with a polearm flew at Marisa. She quickly waved her hand holding in the Hakkero in front of her and then to her side forming her shield. The doll hit the shield and bounced off. Marisa was prepared this time. She had charged her Hakkero with mushrooms, her magic was stronger and she knew she wouldn't go down as easily as last time. She spun her Hakkero in the air and grabbed it waving it in front of her twice shooting two blue beams at Alice. The Shanghai around her quickly blocked the shots and the other Shanghai charged toward Marisa.
Marisa jumped out of the way of three Shanghai and rolled on the ground trying to stay on her feet, she wasn't really used to all this nimble movement. She blocked one Shaghai coming at her with her shield and side stepped another coming at her with a hammer. She elbowed the one coming at her with the hammer and it slammed into the ground.
"Look I really don't want to hurt you or your dolls, I just want some cloths!" Marisa pleaded. "I'll even work for them if I have to, god everyone here is so jumpy." 2 more Shanghai rushed toward Marisa. She dodged the first one to the left, and the second to the right. She grabbed the second one that charged her by the stomach and held it like a dart, she tried throwing it back at Alice but it stopped after about a half second and looked furious and started waving it's polearm furiously at Marisa.
"You big stupid meanie head dirty rotten dummy!" Yelled the shanghai that Marisa made upset as she hit Marisas hands that were guarding her head with the blunt part of the polearm. "How dare you touch me, you have no decency you big brutish...." she kept throwing insults at Marisa as Alice laughed her head off at the now quite amusing spectacle.
"Ahhh god I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't know you were so touchy, ze!" Marisa yelled back at the Shanghai as she ran for her life away from the doll swinging it's polearm unintelligibly in Marisa general direction. "Hey if you stop chasing me I'll.. um.. what do dolls like? I'll buy you a miniature crepe or something!"
"You think I can be bought?! You violated me you fat blond..." Alice sat back in her chair at the porch and sipped some more tea as she watched Marisa get chased around the clearing, all of the Shanghai around the yard were cheering the yelling Shanghai on. Alice began sewing some black fabric while watching the show. Marisa eventually got tired and passed out in the middle of Alice's clearing while being hit in the head with the blunt end of a drill shaped polearm.
When Marisa woke up the next morning on Alice's porch, she noticed some black cloths and a hat with the a white bow tied to it laying next to her. She also had one hell of a headache. "Oh man," Marisa put her hand on her face and rolled over onto her stomach, "I feel terrible."
"Good morning errand girl. I decided to knit your cloths after all, but your going to be paying me back for them by going to scarlet devil mansion to pick up more enchanted cloth and ribbons, a girl who spends her time in the library there does the enchantments and I need them picked up. It's a long way from here, so I thought I would have you do it since you seem to like barging into places you've never been before and demanding things."
"Oh boy I can't wait to walk all over Genoskyo and get my ass kicked again today, hooray!" Exclaimed Marisa as she stood up rubbing her head. She took the hat off the pile of cloths and put it on. She noticed a red ribbon laying on the rest of the cloths. "What's this?" asked Marisa as she started to put the rest of the cloths on in front of Alice as if it were nothing.
"The ribbons are what's tied to the Shanghai, it's a little extra payment for helping me out and putting on such a funny show last night." Alice said as she looked away from the now dressing Marisa. "The first ribbon is to make something follow your commands, it gives a previously inanimate object movement. The second ribbon gives it thoughts, emotions, reason. It essentially gives it a soul."
"That's neat, ze!" Marisa had finished dressing. She was now wearing a black dress with a white apron tied to the front covering the midriff, white puffy shirt underneath with short sleeves and a short black button down vest over that along with her new hat. The dress had white ruffles at the bottom. Marisa spun around in front of Alice. "How do I look?"
"Like a witch."
Alice called a Shanghai over to her and started explaining one final thing before Marisa set off. "This is Shanghai 16, it's going to accompanying you on your way to get the stuff. Shes there to sort of make sure you don't get lost or try to run away. Gensokyo is a big place so don't wander anywhere she doesn't say to go. The Shanghai have been here a lot longer then you, and this one in particular has been here for quite some time, so your to follow her orders got it."
"Loud and clear hime-sama, I will follow your and her every command hime-sama. How high should I jump hime-sama?" Marisa mumbled to her self as she walked back into the magical forest with Shanghai 16 on her shoulder.