~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
Thought's End & Embodiement of Dreams (2nd Ignition)
Valesta:
Lunarian capital, Tsuki no Miyako?
Many feet below the surface of the moon, Yumemi Okazaki rides an elevator down to the lowest basement of her research complex. She steps out into a room filled with large cylinders, each giving off a light blue glow, the only thing illuminating the room. Within a few of the cylinders, people, human and moon rabbit alike, float naked in suspended animation; Research subjects under the effect of astral projection.
Yumemi walks through aisles lined with cylinders on both sides to one cylinder in particular, marked with the serial number, A7P02. Within it floats a tall moon rabbit with red hair that had extended down past her feet, a result of the flow of time.
Yumemi stares at the subject within, ?So this is her? the subject that may have warped reality itself?? Yumemi suppresses a laugh, ?Hmhmhm? I can?t wait to meet the spirit I released. To think it would be a result of MY experiment! To think I let something so? extraordinary escape my notice. Tomorrow night, the night of a full moon, I will have my answers?? She releases a sigh, ?Too bad I still have the remainder of today. It?s going to be a loooooong day??
Back above the surface, in one of the lunar city?s residential complexes, Rika, busy at her computer, hears a knock on her room?s door, ?Come in.?
Meira enters the room with her arms crossed in front of her, ?Hello, Rika. Have you found what I?m after??
?Um? Hi, Meira,? greets Rika shyly, ?This is about that? um? background information regarding Master Konpaku, right??
?Indeed. Have you found it??
Rika nods her head, ?Yes! I found it. Um? I have some good news and bad news??
?Hm?? Meira cocks an eyebrow.
?Um? The good news is that I wasn?t caught, so you can keep your head? But? um? the bad news is that? to avoid being caught? I had to log out while I was gathering the information, so I only got bits and pieces??
?That?s fine,? says Meira, ?Just as long as I have enough to work with.?
??? Rika hands Meira a few sheets of paper with the information she gathered.
Meira takes the papers and reads through them, ?Hm? So his first student goes by the name, Youmu Konpaku. ?Konpaku,? huh? Must be a relative? ? Eh? His DAUGHTER??
Rika smiles, ?He doesn?t seem like the type that would have children??
Meira ignores Rika?s comment and continues reading ?? ? ? ? ? ? ? Okay. This is good. Nice work, Rika.?
?Thanks!? responds Rika happily.
Meira tucks the papers into her pocket and leaves the room.
In the imperial palace throne room, Yorihime reports the results of a previous battle with Earth?s forces to the empress, ?? In conclusion, Mo_ Er, Your Imperial Majesty, our ambush was a complete success. The enemy force was completely annihilated and we suffered no losses.?
?Very well done,? says Lunariya, ?I was right to place you in charge of that force. I expect nothing less from a former student of Dr. Yagokoro. Keep going as you were and I will be most pleased.?
Yorihime?s otherwise deadpanned expression slightly lightens, ?Of? of course, Your Majesty!?
?Keep me informed. You are dismissed.?
However, before Yorihime can respond to the empress? words, a gap opens between them and Kotohime steps out, ?Mother! It?s me!?
??? There is a long silence between the three of them.
Finally, the empress speaks, ?Koto? What did you just do? How are you here? The moon is not full yet??
Kotohime explains excitedly, ?I got an AWESOME power! It allows me to go from one realm to the next, full moon or not! I got it from this really mean old lady, who tried to beat me up, but I beat her up instead and threw her in the dungeon!?
?Um? I? I see??
?Koto, how is Toyo doing?? asks Yorihime, only to be completely ignored.
?I?m going to go back to that Netherworld, but I thought I?d come and visit you. Thank you for giving me control of that place! It was the BEST birthday present EVER!?
?Anything for you, Koto. Also? it doesn?t have to be right away, but do you think you could have our researchers look into that power you obtained? It would be a great boon indeed if every Lunarian citizen were to have that power.?
?Okay? But not now. Well, I?m going back. Thanks again, Mother!? Kotohime and the empress share a brief hug, and then the princess opens a gap and leaves.
??? Yorihime watched the entire exchange.
Lunariya glances at Yorihime, ?Third Princess, Watatsuki no Yorihime. I believe I had dismissed you.?
?Um? I?m sor_ I mean, my apologies, Your Majesty. I shall take my leave.? Yorihime walks toward the room?s entrance, her fist tightly clenched.
?Just what is going on?? demands Sakuya to Mai, as she and Alice face off, ?You?re supposed to be like sisters? aren?t you??
Alice says, ?Mai, if you were so distressed over what happened, why didn?t you do something sooner??
Mai?s eyes narrow at Alice, ?I must have seriously overestimated your intellect if you are asking such a stupid question. It was because you were still human at the time. It was back when you possessed the ultimate power of magic, not that pathetic ?doll manipulation? you have now. Like everyone, save Mother, I was afraid of you.?
??? Shinki and Yuki stand silently.
Mai continues, ?However, now you are a demon, and you had lost your old powers. Those powers and your humanity are now confined to your grimoire, am I right? You are not the threat you once were? but that doesn?t erase your crime, Alice! It?s time for you to face justice!? Mai extends her arm and a sword of ice materializes. At the same time, two large demonic wings extend from Mai?s back.
?I understand you,? responds Alice, ?But don?t think I am just going to let you take me without a fight. Human or demon, that has not changed about me!?
Mai smiles deviously, ?I wouldn?t have it any other way. Get ready, Alice!?
?I suppose you are set on this?? A couple dolls, armed with two lances each, materialize in front of Alice.
?Yaaaaaaaa!? Mai charges at Alice, the distance between them quickly closing.
In response, Alice sends the dolls flying toward Mai, like missiles. The demon twists her body to dodge one, then cuts through the other. A third doll, armed with a large shield, appears in front of Alice at the last second and blocks Mai?s sword, shattering it. The doll flies out of the way as Alice delivers an unrefined kick to the vulnerable Mai, which still manages to be effective, due to the momentum. Mai is sent reeling, but she quickly regains her balance and holds her ground as three small daggers of ice appear in her hand, which she quickly throws one by one. Alice dodges the first, but Mai throws the second while the puppeteer is off-balance, which catches her in the thigh. Mai throws the third, aimed at Alice?s head, but she manages to move to the side in time, the dagger grazing her cheek. Blood trickles down, which Alice then wipes off.
Mai smiles, ?It looks like the new and anti-improved Alice still has enough fight in her??
Alice responds, ?I?m not as powerful as I used to be, but be assured that you will not get the better of me.?
?Don?t take me lightly,? says Mai, ?Just because you hang out with that weak and retarded ice user, don?t go thinking we all are that pathetic.?
?She is not weak and reta_? Alice gasps, ?Wait! How did you know about_?
??Cirno,? was it?? interrupts Mai, ?You never realized, in all your years in Gensokyo, that we kept a secretive eye on you? I guess we did our job well, then. Even after what you did, apparently, we still consider you a sister, and we, myself excluded, worry about you. We know what you eat, who you like, who you hate, what you?ve done. Mother often tells us these things as bedtime stories.?
??? Alice, now feeling like prey, is at a loss for words.
The battle continues as Yuki, a contemplative Shinki, and a perplexed Sakuya watch on.
Four dolls appear in front of Alice, which fire off a rainbow-colored barrage of magical bullets. However, it proves ineffective as Mai uses her wide wingspan to shield herself from the attack. Mai counters with a spellcard, ?Cocytus: Frozen Wave!? Mai releases a blast of freezing air in the direction of Alice and the dolls. Alice shields herself with magic and holds her ground, resulting in just her arms being covered by a thin coat of frost. However, the dolls become encased in ice and fall to the ground. One of the fallen dolls levitates off the ground and flies into Mai?s hand.
?How about a little experiment?? asks Mai. She examines the dolls characteristics, ?This is well-made! Something every girl would want as a childhood toy. Now? how would you respond if I did THIS?? Mai snaps one of the arms off of the doll, and then the other.
??? Alice?s eyes narrow at Mai.
Mai then drops the doll on the ground and crushes it under her foot.
?You??
Mai takes a brief glance at Alice?s demeanor, ?I see I made you kinda upset, yet you still seem to be in control. That?s a step up from the Alice that killed Luize.?
Sakuya asks Yuki, ?Who is she talking about??
After a brief hesitation, Yuki explains, ?Luize was another member of this sisterhood.?
??? Sakuya listens, briefly recalling the picture in Alice?s room.
?She and Mai were very close. She had a particular love for hiding peoples? belongings as practical jokes. Eventually, we took in Alice, she was human at the time and possessed unimaginable magical power. She was only eight at the time we took her in, and she could level an entire village with a spellcard??
?Alice? used to be THAT powerful?? Sakuya remembers the story Alice told Medicine Melancholy at the end of the Flower Incident.
?She was abandoned and homeless, so we took pity on her. As powerful as Alice used to be, Mother was stronger, still. However, her love of dolls was? abnormal. Unfortunately, Luize didn?t realize this until it was too late. She tried to take one of Alice?s dolls without asking. This greatly upset Alice, and? ? ?? Yuki hesitates for a long time, which is enough for Sakuya to figure out what she was trying to say.
Yuki continues, ?Alice was young and could not control her power very well. We understood this and forgave her? all of us, except Mai, as it turns out. I should have known, too. She hardly ever spoke since then. In fact, this is the most I?ve ever heard Mai talk since then??
?So that?s why Mai is calling Alice a murderer??
?Still?? begins Mai to Alice, ?My wrath continues! I will destroy you, Alice, and avenge Luize??
Yuki calls over to Shinki, ?Mother! Are you just going to let them do this? They could kill each other!?
?I? don?t know what to do?? says Shinki, ?It?s true it was an accident, but even so, it still destroyed Mai?s spirit. If I step in, Mai will continue to suffer, but??
Mai readies a spellcard, ?I?m done sizing you up, Alice! It?s time for you to feel the power I saved just for you!?
---
Happy 200 pages, EoD!
Well, I hope this was an enjoyable addition.
I was a little hesitent over the third moon scene in the throne room, as it was part of that installment that I deleted on the old forums, due to the poor reception, though I hope the different circumstances fixed things up. However, Lunariya will only have one more scene in the entire story.
I hope you liked the background I set up for Alice.
Gpop:
Nice to see you continue this! You have my full support!
That was interesting. The Alice background you set up reminds me Flandre, which I like quite a bit.
Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
You compare EVERYTHING to Flandre, Gpop :P
Anyway, Valesta, I'd like to comment on how much this story has improved from when you first started writing. Let's not mince words: it was kind of badly written. Still, though, you kept me up until 5 reading it last night (once it got to Embodiment of Dreams). Really interesting Gensokyo you got there. I think another mental improvement I made was when I stopped thinking of it as being based on Concealed the Conclusion. Also, "Spoiler: I AM GENSOKYO!" is the most badass line in the series.
Valesta:
Hey there.
It's almost been a full month since I last updated. I've been busy with other stuff lately and I don't have quite a lot of interest in Touhou nowadays. Obviously, it's hard to keep at a fanfic like that. Plus, my mind has been more geared toward a novel I started recently.
I figured it's only fair to those that follow this story to know what's going on. I'm going to be putting this on hold for the time being. No, I'm not giving up on this, but I don't have a lot of motivation right now. I'm sorry about this.
I'd like to thank everyone who had given their support up to this point. You guys are awesome.
Gpop:
Ah no worries. Take your time. It's not like you're being rushed to finish this.
Good luck on the novel!