Magical Misdirectional Madventures of Marisa

[Phlegeth]

It's been a week since Flandre and Meiling moved in with Reimu.  Everyone was getting on with their normal lives.

?Think Keine's gonna be mad that we didn't go to school yesterday?? Cirno asked walking down the street.

?Not at all, if any thing she'll be mad about the four days you didn't go before that,? Murasa laughed.

?Seriously, what do you two do?? Wriggled asked.

?I was playing on the lake and forgot.?

?And what about you?? she pointed at Rumia.

?What about me?  What are we talking about??  Wriggle and Murasa sighed.

?Heeeey!  You guys!? someone shouted from down the street.  The looked up and saw Chen and Daiyousei running towards them.

?What's wrong?? Wriggle asked.

?The school's gone!? Chen yelled.

?What?? they all ran down the street to Keine's house.  And sure enough, there was an empty lot.  Mystia was standing in front of it looking around.  They all ran down to meet her.

?What happened?? she asked when they reached her.  ?Where's the school??

?I'unno?? Rumia shrugged.

Chapter 27
The Missing School (1)

They stared at the empty lot.  There was a nice imprint where the house use to stand.  Murasa walked onto the imprint and ran her hands through the dirt.  ?Hrmm, she stood up and looked around.  It's like the school just took off.?

?How could that happen?? Wriggle asked.

?Maybe Marisa stole it,? Rumia chimed in.

?Why would she steal it?  And how for that matter?? Murasa said looking around.

?And if it was her, someone would have heard something.  She's not quiet,? Wriggle said watching Murasa.  Murasa flew up to take a better look.  She was looking for any other imprints or disturbances.  But everything was fine.  None of the bamboo behind her house was messed up and there were no other imprints of any kind to be found.

?See anything?? Wriggle asked.

?Nothing,? she stared up at the sky and started walking.

?Where are we going?? Rumia asked.

?To talk to Marisa.?

?I was right??

?No, but it's better than nothing.  And this seems like something she'd jump in to,? Murasa continued walking.

?The magic forest is that way,? Chen said pointed.

?Oh, right.  I forgot,? she said laughed sheepishly and they went to the magic forest.

* * *

Meanwhile in Kourindou, Marisa was spinning around in a chair she found.

?Stop, spinning like that.  You're going to break it,? he groaned.

?It's not gonna break.  It was built to spiiiiiin,? she said.

?You know you still owe me for your last visit,? he sighed.

?And you know I don't carry moneeeeey,? she spun faster.  ?A little dizzy,?  She tried to stop but ended up making the chair roll backwards.  ?Whoa!? she said when it stopped.

?I'm going to have to restock again,? he said grabbing his face watching Marisa.  To his surprise she stood up and opened the door and walked out.  She left the door wide open and he watched her leave.  She went down the street to Alice's store and open the door.  Alice walked outside her shop with a confused look.

Marisa walked back and sat down in the chair.  She rolled it front of the door and turned her back to it.  She rolled up to the counter and put her feet on it and pushed off.  She flew outside and off the small steps.  She hit the pathway and kept going.  She went across the street and hit the porch of the house across the street.

She flipped backwards and the back of the chair was torn off.  She hit the back of her head on the door leaving a big dent in it.  The owner of the house opened the door and looked down at the witch.  She let out a small moan after seeing who it was.  Alice just shook her head before going back inside and closing the door.

?Look at what you did to my door!? the owner shouted.  ?There's dent the size of your head in it!?

?Yea, no charge,? she smiled and started limping away.

?'No charge?'? the owner repeated.  ?Who the hell would pay to have their door dented??

?Yea, no charge,? she repeated limping to Alice's shop.

?Whatever,? the owner said and slammed the door.

?Well you broke it,? Morichika said walking outside.

?Not from spinning,? she stopped.

?Why did you stop?? he asked.  She stared at Alice's shop with a glazed over face.  Alice looked up and saw her.  She walked outside with a concerned look.

?Hello?? she waved her hand in front of her face.

?Hello,? she answered.

?Do you know where you are??

?Not from spinning!? she burst out laughing.

?I'm taking her back to Eirin's,? Alice said grabbing Marisa at the waist, ?I think she has a concussion.?

?I think you have a cute cushion,? she pinched Alice's butt.

?She seems fine to me,? Morichika said, ?but I guess just to be safe.?  He waved them good bye.

* * *

?A concussion?? Eirin asked.

?She hit her head pretty hard,? Alice explained.

?I should stock up on potions before fighting the boss,? Marisa said looking at Eirin's shelves.

?Hrmm,? Eirin said staring at Marisa.  ?There's obviously something wrong with her.  We lack the technology of the outside world, but there is something I can do.  It'll take a while.?

?Take as long as you need,? Alice said, ?I'm no expert but concussion can't be good.?

?Cute cushion!? Marisa yelled.

?I'm be back a few hours,? Alice said.

?Don't worry, if it goes well she can leave on her own,? Eirin said.

?'If?'?

?Again don't worry.  It might not be a concussion.?

Alice had an uneasy expression, but left anyway.  As she was leaving, Wriggle and Mystia came up Eientei.  ?Where's Marisa?  Something's happened!?

[Phlegeth]

Earlier that day, Murasa and her classmates were walking through the Magic Forest.

?So what is Marisa going to do?? Rumia asked.

?You know, beat up some people and find the school at the last minute,? Murasa shrugged.

?Yea, that?s the way to do it,? Wriggle rolled her eyes.

?Hey guys,? Mokou yelled from the forest.  ?Why aren?t you all in school??

?Uhh?umm, it was stolen,? Daiyousei explained.  Mokou stood there for a second with a blank expression on her face.

?What?? she asked.

?The school is gone,? Murasa tried to explain.  ?It?s not there, just a big empty lot.  We came to find Marisa.?

?You think she took it??

?No, but she?s our best bet at finding it.?

?Ah, that whole catch a thief with a thief thing, huh??

?Uh, yeah, that?s why,? Murasa looked around nervously.

?So was it Keine?s idea??

?Actually we didn?t see Keine.?

Again, Mokou stood there in silence, before yelling out ?What!? and flying off.

?Now what?  Mokou could probably find the school on her own,? Wriggle said.

?Not a good idea for whoever took the school, we better find Marisa and them first.?

The group continued into the forest and stopped at Alice?s house.

?Why are we here?? Murasa asked.

?Because Marisa has been shacking up here the past couple of weeks,? Cirno said.

?Hrmm,? Murasa looked around and peered in the windows, ?doesn?t look like anyone is home.?

?Maybe we should go to her doll shop then?? Wriggle suggested.

?Hey, where?s Utsuho?? Cirno asked looking around.

?Do you think she?s back at school waiting on us?? Daiyousei asked.

?Come on, let?s go!? Cirno grabbed Daiyousei and they flew back to where the school used to be.

?I guess you?re with me,? Murasa said and they went off to the human village.

Chapter 28
The Missing School (2)

At the school lot, Mokou and Utsuho were both waiting on them.  Utsuho had a scared look on her face and Mokou was trying to comfort her.

?I lost the school!  I?m always misplacing things and Miss Satori is always yelling at me to keep my room clean but I never listen!  And I now I?ve lost the school!?

?Calm down, calm down!  I keep telling you, you didn?t lose the school!? Mokou yelled at her.

?I?m always losing things!  I?ve lost my school, my friends, my teacher, my homework??  Mokou put her hand over her mouth.

?Quiet before I lose my mind,? she sighed.  ?No one is lost, see.?  She pointed with her free hand at Cirno and Diayousei flying at them.

?Well, the teacher is lost,? Cirno said and Utsuho started bawling.

?Hey, Cirno come here for a second,? Mokou motioned for to come over.  Cirno nodded and walked over and Mokou smacked her in the back of the head.  ?Idiot, I almost had her calmed down!?

?Hey, Utsuho calm down.  We?re going to get the school and our teacher back,? Daiyousei said rubbing her back.

?And we?re going to beat up whoever took her!? Mokou clinched her fist.  Utsuho looked up at her with admiration and her tears stopped.

?Yea, let?s beat them up!? she jumped up excitedly.  She suddenly stopped and looked around, ?who are we going to beat up??

?That,? Mokou looked around, ?we don?t know.?

* * *

Back at the human village, Murasa was talking Rinnosuke about what happened.

?Wriggle, you and Mystia go find Marisa and Alice.  Rumia and Chen come with me.  I?m going to get my ship.  It?ll be a lot easier to find and drag to school back if I had it,? she turned to Mystia and Wriggle, ?You two got that?  After you find Marisa and Alice, go find Cirno and the rest and get them to find me and my ship and we?ll  go from there.?  They nodded and flew off.

?Is this okay?? Chen asked.  ?I think I should get permission from Ran.?

?If you want,? Murasa sighed.  ?But we?re going to go on ahead.?

?Can I go with Chen?  Ran makes the best fried tofu!? Rumia started drooling and went off before she could answer.

?I better go before she eats all our food,? Chen bowed and left.

Murasa sighed and flew back to the temple.  She looked around for a little bit before yelling.  ?SHOU!  SHOOOOUUUU!?

?What is it?? she said coming out of the temple.  ?Why are you being so loud??

?Where?s my ship, Shou?? Murasa asked.

?Isn?t it where you parked it??

?If it was there would I be asking?? she sighed, ?Where?s Nue??

?She went with Byakuren and Ichirin this morning.  It?s just me and Nazrin.?  Like on cue, Nazrin came out to see what was going on.

?Why, what happened?? she asked.

?The school is missing!?

?What?? they said in unison.

?How is that even possible!? Nazrin yelled.

?What?s everyone shouting about?? Ichirin said coming up the steps to the temple.

?The school and my ship are gone!?  Murasa explained, ?Where?s Nue??

?I don?t know, she was gone before we got up,? Ichirin explained.

?But I saw Nue go with you and Byakuren this morning.  She was riding piggy back on you and everything,? Shou said.

?What is that girl up too?? Murasa said.

* * *

Back at the school lot; Alice, Mystia, and Wriggle joined Mokou, Utsuho, Cirno, and Daiyousei.  They saw the ship approaching from over the horizon.

?Come on, she came to pick us up!? Wriggle said and they all flew up and boarded the ship.

[Phlegeth]

Byakuren listened to the whole story before she spoke up.  ?Ichirin,? she looked over at her, ?I want you and Unzan to go to the doctor's and get Marisa.  Murasa, you stay here with us.?

?What?  But, my ship!?

?That's why I want you to stay.  I know you and I don't want you doing something in the heat of the moment you might regret.?

Murasa looked down at the ground and nodded, ?I understand.?  She sulked back into the temple.  Ichirin nodded and flew off towards Eientei.

?What about us?? Shou asked.

?I want you to stay here,? she turned towards the tiny dot of Ichirin, ?I have a bad feeling that Nue isn't the one in charge this time.?

Chapter 29
The Missing School (3)

Alice and Mokou's group landed on the ship.  ?Heeeeey!  Murasa!  Come out!?  Cirno shouted.  They were met with silence.  ?Oley oley oxen free!?  This time, there was a dull mechanical noise.

?Get down!? Alice shouted and grabbed Cirno and pushed her to the ground.  A green beam of light flew over them.

?Recalculating...? a monotonous voice said.  The looked up and a small egg shaped device started hovering towards them.  Alice stood up and faced it.  ?You have made an error in judgment.?

?Hmph,? she responded and threw up her hand and a shanghai doll latched onto the bottom of the device before exploding.

?You have made an error in judgment,? it responded in the tone.

?I got it!?  Utsuho yelled and shot the thing with her third leg.  The thing took the hit and teetered for a couple of seconds.

?Subject Utsuho,? it turned to face Utsuho.  ?Calculating.  Acquiring this specimen it would raise the success rate of the experiment by 17.6%.  It is not outside my abilities to acquire you.  Switching to offense mode.?

?What does that mean?? Utsuho asked.

?Leave,? Mokou responded.

?What!?? she yelled.

?Leave all of you!  Alice and I will handle this!?

?But we can fight!? Utsuho and Cirno said at the same time.

?It's not going to fight using the spell card rules.  And it's not going to fight fair.  It wants to take you!? Mokou yelled.  ?Now leave!?

?Cirno,? Daiyousei said, putting her hand on her friend's shoulder.  ?We should leave.?

?But Keine,? Cirno protested.

?I will get Keine back!?  Mokou proclaimed and pointed at the thing, ?You hear that!  I'm taking Keine back from you!?

?Chance of success less than 10%.?

?We've confirmed one thing,? Alice said holding up a finger, ?Keine is on this ship.?

?You can leave Keine to us!?  Mokou yelled.

?But--? Utsuho started.

?LEAVE!?

?Fine!? Utsuho yelled and flew away pouting.

?Be careful,? Daiyousei said and she and the others flew after Utsuho.

?Subject Utsuho lost.  Hostility detected.  Staying in Offense Mode.?

* * *

At Eientei; Eirin, Meiling, and Ichirin were talking.  ?Her brain is fine now, relatively speaking.?

?Hey!  What's that suppose to mean??  Marisa yelled from inside the house.  ?And why is Meiling here??

?I came to think Eirin for taking care of me, of course,? Meiling said.

?Unlike some people, she has manners.?  She stared at Marisa walking towards the exit, ?I gave you enough drugs to knock a horse out.  How are you still up??

?Heh, I built up an immunity!?

?Hrmm, building up an immunity like that is nothing to brag about,? she sighed.

?I've got a message for you,? Ichirin said.  ?Alice left to get on this ship to search for Eirin and the school.?

?What??

?That's all the information you need.  Anyway I'm leaving now,? she turned around and was about to fly away with something in the woods caught her eye.  ?Nue??  She ran into the woods.  Eirin looked where she was running.

?Reisen!  Prepare a bed!?  Eirin yelled and ran to Ichirin.  They looked down, it was Nue alright.  She was badly beat up and bleeding.

?Nue!  NUE!  What happened?? Ichirin yelled.

?Yelling won't help.  If you want to help, help me put her to bed.?  Ichirin nodded and grabbed one of Nue's arms and Eirin grabbed another.

?Don't...? Nue whispered.  ?don't go...on...thisip...the...ship...?

?What about the ship?? Marisa yelled.

?Stop yelling at the patient!? Eirin said sternly.

?Stay away...?

?Save your energy,? Eirin said.  Nue shook her head.

?Stay away from the ship!? she managed to say before passing out.

?Great, dealing with an unconscious patient is annoying,? Eirin sighed.  ?Reisen take that arm and lead the way.?  Reisen took the arm Ichirin was carrying and they went inside.

Marisa grabbed her hat and a broom inside the house.

?Where do you think you're going??  Meiling said.

?Like you have to ask, the ship.  Alice is up there!?  Marisa said and jumped on the broom.

?I owe you and Alice for helping Flandre.  I'm going too!?  Meiling said.

?Wait!?  Ichirin said.  ?I'm going too!?

?What!?? everyone in the house said in unison.

?Whatever did that to Nue is up there too!  You're going to need all the help you can get!?

?Right,? Eirin said.  ?Tewi, go with them.?

?What?? Tewi responded.

?Go with them.  They are going to need all the help they can get.  A little luck won't hurt either.  Just make sure they come back in better shape than her.?

?Alright,? Tewi nodded and Eirin came up and whispered in her ear.

?Also you are the best person to make sure they get what's coming to them.  I know you don't need my permission, but you have it.  Go all out.?  Tewi nodded and caught up with the rest of them and the four of them flew towards the ship.

[ArteShy]

I love this story!

[CrucialTwinz]

So. Never click shiny story links in sigs again.

Ok, now that that is outa the way, I can't wait for more, haha.

[Phlegeth]

?So, got a plan?? Alice asked Mokou.

?Heh,? she smirked and jabbed her thumb at the machine, ?yea.  Kick it's ass!?

?You will find that I am lacking in a rectum,? it responded.

The two girls looked at each other.  Mokou through her arms in air and shook her head.  ?I guess there's no chance of witty banter with this one.?

?Shame, I use that time to think up plans,? Alice said with a  bored expression on her face.  ?Return Inanimateness!?  She quickly produced a doll and threw it at the machine.  It exploded and the machine appeared unharmed.

?You...? Mokou looking at the humming machine, ?could have used that time.?

The machine fired a laser and Mokou rushed over and pushed Alice out of the way.  It hit her in the back and she collapsed.

?M-Mokou!  Are you okay?? Alice looked over at the slumped over body.

?No worries,? she coughed, ?I've got spares.?  Her body became engulfed in flames and she sprang up and the flames followed her and appeared as wings behind her.  ?Now the fun starts.?

Chapter 30
The Voice of Reason

?How long is this going to take!? Marisa yelled out impatiently as the group flew to the ship.

?I know how you feel, but you have to be patient,? Ichirin said.

?And calm,? Meiling added.  ?Don't have your anger cloud your judgment.?

?Ugh, it feels like we've been flying for three months!? she yelled back.

?With any luck, we'll be there shortly,? Tewi said.

?With any luck, huh?? Marisa sighed.

?You're grouchy with out Alice,? Tewi said.

?Don't antagonize her so close to the destination,? Ichirin said coarsely.

?Speaking of which,? Meiling interupted, ?there it is!?  She pointed across the sky.  There was the ship floating in place.  As they approached the sounds of explosions could be heard.

?Come on,? Marisa yelled and sped up.

?Don't rush ahead!? Meiling yelled and ran after her.

?Huh,? Ichirin muttered to herself.

?It hasn't moved,? Tewi said, guessing what Ichirin was thinking.

?I wonder why,? Ichirin scratched her head.

?That's why I'm here, to figure out the hard stuff,? Tewi laughed and ran ahead.  Ichirin let out a sigh and ran up to them.

* * *

?I detect a high energy reading above this unit's location,? the machine said before receiving the blunt force of a Master Spark.  It knocked a hole in the floor of the ship and pushed the machine lower into the lower level.

Marisa and Meiling landed beside the hole and looked around.  The floor of the ship was covered in burn marks and tiny holes everywhere.

?Be careful,? Alice yelled, ?it has a high magic tolerance!?

Ichirin and Tewi landed behind them.  ?The ship...,? Ichirin looked around disheartened.  The machine suddenly erupted from the ground between the two groups.  It had a few scratches and splinters sticking out of it.  ?Another hole!?  Ichirin yelled.

?If I had emotion I would be angry,? the machine responded.

?Meiling, go punch it,? Tewi pointed.

?Do you really think--? Meiling started.

?No spell cards or abilities or anything.  Just punch it!? Tewi repeated. 

Meiling shrugged and stamped down hard with her foot and projected herself at the machine and pulled her arm back.

?This is strange,? the machine commented before Meiling connected and the machine cracked and fell apart.

?As I thought,? Tewi said looking at the shrapnel on the ground.

?What?? Marisa said walking to Tewi.  ?Steel is weak to dragons??

Tewi just stared at Marisa for a second before responding, ?no.  Who ever built this, didn't put any kind of physical resistance on it,? she bent down and picked up a piece of the outer shell, ?this is a special metal that is highly resilient to magic, but,? she snapped it half, ?even someone as weak as me could snap it in two.  Not to belittle what you did, Meiling.  None of us here could have done that,? she said.

?Huh,? Marisa said picking up a piece of the shell and stuffing it into her pocket.  ?I don't like things I can't blast through.?

?We should build the gate out of that stuff,? Meiling said.

?Everything in Gensokyo should be made out of that stuff,? Alice said.

The ship suddenly shook beneath them and they all staggered.  ?It started back up,? Tewi said.

?Well, let's go pay who ever stole this thing a visit,? Marisa said and jumped into the hole she made.

?There's a door,? Ichirin pointed.

?This way's faster!? Marisa yelled from below them.

?She's got a point,? Mokou said and followed after her, but Unzan caught her.

?No she doesn't,? she said calmly and bent over the hold, ?cause the captain's wheel is up here!?

The floor behind them burst open as a Master Spark and Marisa erupted from the ground.  Ichirin just stared in disbelief.

?You should have seen that coming,? Alice said and walked over to Marisa.  ?You're repairing these holes when it's over,? she whispered.

The group entered the interior of the ship.  It was oddly quiet.  ?At the top of those stairs,? Ichirin pointed to the end of the hallway.

?And no shortcuts,? Alice said, grabbing Marisa's wrist.

They cautiously walked to the end of the hallway.  ?I don't hear anything,? Tewi said.

?Isn't that a good thing?? Alice asked.

?I'm not sure,? she looked above her, ?I'm not even sure anyone is up there.?

?It's the only place to pilot the ship,? Ichirin explained.

?I doubt they could rig a remote control for this.  It could be a trap, but let's go,? Tewi said and the rest nodded.  They climbed the stairs and stood outside the door.  ?On the count of thr--?

?HEEEEYA!? Marisa yelled and kicked open the door.  She rolled in and on her knee had the Mini-Hakkero pointed straight ahead.

?What the hell?? Ichirin yelled.

?Shhhh, I don't think it heard us,? Marisa said looking straight ahead.  There was another machine hovering.  It was different than the first one.  It was a lot larger and wasn't spherical.  It was shaped like an upside down triangle, with the two top edged rounded out with appendages sticking out.  ?Meiling, go punch it.? She whispered and nudged her head towards it.

?That would be ill advised,? a voice came from it and it turned around.

?That voice...? Tewi muttered to herself.

?It's you!? Marisa yelled.

?You know her?? Tewi asked.

?Yea, it's her!  The person behind all of this!?

Tewi groaned, ?I...I know you're not stupid, but you...you say such idiotic things I have my doubts.?

?It is painful dealing with those of lower intelligence,? the person spoke.  ?I will erase them all.?

?What?? Marisa spoke sharply.

?The world I will create it a new using that woman's abilities.  This conversations would not happen.  None of these conversations would happen.  You would not happen.?

?Like hell she'd help you!? Mokou yelled.

?I have no intention of her helping me.  I will simply find and extract the gene I need and grow another one.?

?G...grow?  This is a living creature you're talking about!  H...how could you!? Ichirin yelled.

?You would not comprehend.  Those of lower intelligence never comprehend the great one's thinking.  It is impossible for them.  I will end this painful existence for them.?

?I don't like what you're saying,? Marisa said standing up.

?Of course I will be met with resistance.  But it matters not.  A small speed bump such as you will be no hindrance.?

?Don't underestimate us of lower intelligence!? Marisa yelled.

[MaxKnight]

This story...  This was the first one I read through in this forum and have been waiting... hoping to see an update for a couple of months now, but not wanting to bump an old thread I just left it be.  Needless to say, this makes me very happy.

This is actually inspirational, as now I feel like I should actually get back to work on all of my stories as well...

[Phlegeth]

Oh wow, thanks.  That means a lot, sincerely.  And sorry I had work and moving kind of got lazy as I was settled in over a month ago.

[Phlegeth]

What followed was a battle.  It was a normal battle, with one side victorious and the other less so.  None the less the battle was an important event.  It started a chain reaction that reshaped the foundation of Gensokyo.  Both figuratively and literally.  The battle itself was lost to history, but here's a recollection that was deemed mostly accurate.

Chapter 31
Of Lower Intelligence

Marisa walked towards the robot and turned her back to it and pointed her Mini-Hakkero at her teammates.

?Hey, what are you doing!?? Ichirin yelled.

?Back away,? Marisa said calmly.

?You've got to be kidding,? Mokou said and stood her ground.  Alice grabbed her by the should and pushed her out the door.

?You go find Keine!  And don't come back until after you've found her.  We might need the extra hands,? Alice yelled.  Mokou nodded and jumped down in the hole earlier made.

?I do not know what you are planning, but it will not work,? the robot said.

?Do you think that line as ever worked on me before?? Marisa smirked and fired her Mini-Hakkero and flew backwards into the robot.  They flew backwards into the wall.

?Is that the best you can--? it started but Meiling came up and punched it through the wall.  Meiling looked through the wall and smiled sheepishly back at Ichirin.

?I've all but given up at the point.  And the ship's not the most important thing right now,? she said.

Marisa got up and dusted her self off and peered down into the hole.  She looked back at her teammates, ?Hey, where's Tewi??  Everyone looked around and shrugged.

* * *

?Why are you following me?? Mokou asked.

?Following the immortal seemed like the better option,? Tewi said.

?Hmm,? Mokou groaned.

?And besides, I'm really a non-combative type.  My forte is information gathering, so by following you I might learn a thing or two and sell them to Kaguya,? she grinned.

?Hmph, whatever it takes to even the playing ground between us,? she laughed.  The floor above shook violently.  ?Sounds like it's getting rough up there.  We better find Keine quickly and rejoin them.?

* * *

?So rushing in ass first didn't actually do anything,? Marisa said running out onto the deck of the ship.

?I told you,? the robot said nonchalantly.

?Shut up!? Marisa yelled.

The robot released many spherical orbs in the air around itself and exploded them.

?A smokescreen!? Alice shouted.

?I'm on it,? Ichirin yelled and summoned Unzan.  He took a deep breathe and blew the smoke away.

When the smoke cleared it was standing there, moving it's monitor back and forth in a rapid motion.  ?Meiling, it's blind!?  Alice shouted and pointed at the monitor.  She nodded and ran up and did her One Inch Punch, sending the monitor flying.

?What happened?? Marisa asked.

?I've heard about it from Nitori.  I think we confused it's programming.  When it put up the smokescreen, it probably switched to thermal vision or something, but when we took out the smokescreen a second later, it didn't know what to do.?

?So now what?? Marisa asked looked at the robot, who was standing there.

?I think,? the robot was opening turrets in all directions, ?we may have made it worse.?

* * *

Deep inside the ship, Mokou and Tewi came across a scary sight.  There was Keine standing there, not moving.  Tewi was looking around the room.  There was strange glyph on the ceiling, floor, and two walls.  ?I can recognize the basic shape in these glyphs from Eirin's books.  It's a time stasis field,? she said looking at Keine.  ?Well I guess when dealing with some who can eat history, this is how you do it.?

?Well that all good and everything, but how do we free her??

?Very carefully, we can't just waltz in and pick her up, we'd get stuck.  We need to disrupt the glyphs.?

?On it,? Mokou said and hit one of the walls with a glyph on it and flames burst out, catching the wall on fire.

?That's,? Tewi looking at the wall, ?one way, I guess.?

* * *

On the deck of the ship, the fight raged on.  The robot with out a monitor or any kind of guidance system was firing randomly.  And it was throwing up more iron balls, while these didn't produce a smokescreen, the made a more physical shield.  Marisa and Alice took to the skies, while Ichirin and Unzan where going for a more straight forward approach and Meiling was arching her attacks over the wall.  There was a loud noise from inside the ship and the whole thing shook violently.  Suddenly the robot stopped attacking and the iron balls fell to the ground.

?Huh,? Marisa landed beside it and kicked it for good measure.  When nothing happened, ?Yea, we won!?  And jammed her fist into the air.

?What about that loud noise,? Ichirin said looking below her feet.

?Ooh,? Alice said looking from above them, ?I think I can explain that.?

?What!?? Marisa yelled, ?I didn't hear you!?

?Is she getting smaller?? Meiling asked.

?We've got to get off the ship now!? Mokou yelled jumping out of the hole and carrying Keine and Tewi.

?Why??  Ichirin yelled.

?It's going down!? Mokou yelled.  ?No time to explain!?

?Fine, but later!? she pointed at Mokou and flew up.  They all watched from the sky as the ship crashed into the ground and erupted into a giant fireball.

* * *

Earlier in the time stasis room, the glyphs on the walls and ceiling have been burned off.

?How do we get rid of this one without hurting her?? Mokou asked.

?Same way, just very carefully,? Tewi said.

Mokou sighed and set out to burn of the glyph with precise control.

?It's getting hot,? Tewi said.

?Yea, there's fire in the middle of the room,? Mokou snarked.

?It's not from that,? Tewi let out a deep breathe and started looking around more.  ?I wonder what room is below us??

And just as if responding to a cue, the room they were in burst into flames.  Everyone was thrown against the wall.  Mokou got up rubbing her head and looking around.  She grabbed Keine and Tewi and made for the exit.

Unbeknownst to her, but the Engine Room was underneath them.  And it was rigged with a gas leak, the time stasis glyph acted as a cork, but still enough of it escaped for it to explode when someone tried to burn the glyph off.