~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore
MegaDoll X
Iced Fairy:
--- Quote from: Esifex on October 13, 2011, 06:53:07 AM ---I love you for making Meiling's lackadaisical attitude more of a cover than a reality <3
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It's more she's lazy because there's no threat. Why obsess over guarding against vampire hunters if no one actually hunts vampires?
--- Quote ---Suigintou is that you?
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I admit 'Gin might have been a minor influence, though I figured poor Germelshausen has even more issues.
--- Quote ---Of course, if they repair poor little Germel, they're gonna have to get her a much better watch, one more like Sakuya's.
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The watches those two carry are decoration rather then magical devices. Sakuya's power is innate, and Germel is a magical device herself. But believe me Alice is working on a solution.
As a side note, since only fish would probably know this, Germelshausen is a mythical cursed town that only surfaces for one day every one hundred years.
Alfred F. Jones:
--- Quote from: Iced Fairy on October 13, 2011, 07:50:23 PM ---As a side note, since only fish would probably know this, Germelshausen is a mythical cursed town that only surfaces for one day every one hundred years.
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And then it got adapted into an incredibly fun musical!
Hanzo K.:
Well, i figured that since Germel's watch stopped, that it was the key to it all.
Like, a regulator that helped keep the time magic working right.
Y'know, like a Limiter Program that keeps machinery and computers from overtaxing their systems/parts/etc.
Esifex:
--- Quote from: Hanzo K. on October 13, 2011, 08:16:37 PM ---Well, i figured that since Germel's watch stopped, that it was the key to it all.
Like, a regulator that helped keep the time magic working right.
Y'know, like a Limiter Program that keeps machinery and computers from overtaxing their systems/parts/etc.
--- End quote ---
So, you could say that Germal was... overclocked?
GROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAN
wait I mean YEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAH
Iced Fairy:
When the two emerged from the maze Sakuya was waiting for them. "Thank you both for your assistance. I'm sure Alice would be proud of you. Would you like some tea before you go?"
Shanghai shook her head. "No. I think we should keep moving."
"I see." Sakuya paused for a moment. "Very well. Good luck on your quest."
"Thanks," Hourai said as they walked out.
"Just remember, sometimes someone's fate can't be changed," Sakuya said softly as they passed.
They skirted the walls to avoid Koakuma's continued chaotic efforts to reorganize the library and quickly flew out to the lake's edge. Shanghai shook herself to try to focus, then called Marisa. "So the next one is in kappa territory?"
"Yeah. Though you'll want to meet up with Nitori first," Marisa replied.
"So where is Nitori's place? The mountain youkai don't usually let people up."
"And how are we going to evade the Tengu?" Hourai asked.
"Well I imagine Koishi will help you with the Tengu." The two dolls jumped as Koishi waved at them. How long had she been there? "As for where Nitori is? My bet is she's at the waterfall because it's the biggest landmark. She's bright but she keeps forgetting I found her house already."
"You'd think that someone would remember grand theft," Shanghai muttered. She coughed then continued. "Anything else?"
Marisa sighed. "Komachi's dropped by and is whining up a storm, but it's nothing critical. Heck I think Yumemi's pumping her for info so take your time."
"Right." Shanghai closed the connection. "Then we go to the waterfall."
Hourai nodded. "Let's hurry."
The two followed the various waterways up from the lake to the massive waterfall that was the deliminator between kappa territory and tengu territory, though the two had relaxed that boundary somewhat recently.
"Oh good you two showed up!"
Nitori appeared with a splash, her kappa dress shedding water like a duck. "That's great. I just finished up the charms that should let you move and fight underwater."
Shanghai looked around for the equipment. "So where is it?"
"Right here." Nitori held up two bracelets. "I'd been working on these for a while to help humans swim, but I never got the breathing part right. Since you two don't need to breathe I just had to fix up the base enchantments and add some waterproofing."
"Thanks." Shanghai took the kappa accessory and put it on. It quickly resized to her wrist with an odd whirring, but Shanghai didn't feel any different.
"Are you sure this works?" Hourai asked glancing at her own bracelet.
"Certain!" Nitori paused. "Well mostly certain. Anyway if anything goes wrong when we dive, I'll be right there to help you. So let's get a move on!" With that the kappa dived under the surface again.
Shanghai looked down, then shrugged at her sister and dived after. Being a little wet wouldn't kill her.
The water felt cool as she plunged into the depths. Her sight quickly adjusted to the change in light, and while she felt wet, she didn't feel the water seeping into her body. She opened her mouth to congratulate Nitori, but only a stream of bubbles came out. Another stream of bubbles came from behind her, and she looked to see Hourai giving Nitori a dark look.
"Whoops, forgot to test that part," Nitori laughed weakly then shrugged. "Still you can use your radios right?"
Shanghai sighed then called on the magical radio within her. "Yeah, that will have to do."
"I suppose this is good for twenty minutes work," Hourai grudgingly agreed.
Nitori looked them over. "So how's the movement? You think you can fight?"
Shanghai floated around a bit, getting her bearings. "Yeah. It's easy to fly about."
"And I think I should be good to go," Hourai said taking a few sword swings.
Nitori smiled broadly. "Cool! Well then let's go wrap up this little incident." The kappa turned and swam downstream, making a turn along a small tributary. Shanghai and Hourai swam after her.
A few bends later the found themselves in front of an underwater cave with three other kappa in front of it, guarding the area. They turned at Nitori's arrival. "Oh hey! Are those the dolls that were coming to help?"
Shanghai waved as the three drifted closer. "Yep," Nitori answered for them.
"They're so cute!"
Shanghai felt herself grabbed and hugged tightly to the kappa's bosom. Shanghai did her best to free herself, but all she accomplished was confirming that Nitori was... smaller then most kappa despite her size.
Finally the kappa girl let her go. Shanghai dashed backwards before any of the other girls could grab her, but they seemed to have gone for Hourai. Her sister was readjusting her bow and giving the giggling kappa her most fearsome look. "We should hurry before they decide to keep us as pets," Shanghai sent over the radio.
Hourai nodded in return and the two scurried into the underwater tunnels. "Have fun storming the castle," Nitori called out as they left.
The cavern descended rapidly for a bit, then evened out. Just as the two were getting there bearings a giant frog hopped in front of them, its bulging eyes glowing red.
"Looks like this isn't going to be as easy as the last runs," Hourai remarked as she dashed forward.
The frog responded to the attack by spitting dozens of smaller frogs at them. Shanghai quickly swapped her weapon to the leaf shield and summoned the power. The small amphibians were quickly slapped aside by the swirling cloud of leaves. Shanghai tossed the cloud forward, but Hourai had already cut through to take out the main frog.
Hourai shrugged her shoulders and readied her blade. "Well just have to press through. We beat those bats right?"
"Right." Shanghai followed after her sister further into the depths.
They ran into two more frogs that they dispatched with similar methods, then cut their way through some odd crabs. Shanghai found herself being forced to shoot the shells off, so Hourai could get in a lethal cut. It was difficult, and the two both got some cuts and scratches, but they pushed through.
After the next drop Hourai held up her hand. "Somethings wrong. I think there are currents here." Shanghai couldn't feel them, but she trusted her other sister's senses. She looked around. If there were currents there was probably either a foe or a trap around.
She quickly saw the danger. "Hourai, mines."
Sitting in the water above them, blending into the ceiling, were several head sized mines. Looking closely the purple poison that had rattled her so badly earlier were visible on the spikes sticking out of the mines. If they hit one, there'd be no way to escape the blast radius before it went off.
"Good catch. We'll have to be extra careful." Hourai said.
The two continued on, staying away from any dark shadows that might conceal more traps.
Just then a light appeared in front of them, cutting through the darkness. The two looked at each other. "This has to be a trap."
Sure enough out of the light burst three crayfish like creatures. Shanghai switched to her metal blades and cut through two, while Hourai caught the third in a rolling slash that sank into the center of the light. There was a monstrous scream and the light faded as an angler fish creature fled into the depths. Hourai stopped her spin and looked about. "That was a strange ambush."
"Yeah," Shanghai replied.
"Hey you two," Chiyuri's voice popped up. "We're picking up another hidden passage. You might wanna look for it."
Shanghai looked around the murky waters. "Hrm. It's kinda hard to see down here. And I'd hate to find a mine instead of a passage."
"Ah!" Hourai perked up and slowly floated towards the ceiling. "Of course, the mines must be there to keep us away from there." Shanghai warily floated up after her sister.
Sure enough there was a passage through the mines, just big enough for one doll to fit through at a time. Hourai led the way, Shanghai following behind her sister until the passageway opened up enough for both to swim side by side.
After a few minutes moving through the clear water they reached an air pocket. The two jumped up to find an open room with a ribbon tied in a bow lying on the ground. As they approached a projection of Mother appeared again before them.
The apparition looked perhaps more downcast then before. "Shanghai, I know it's wrong of me to ask you to kill your sisters like this. I wish there was another way, but I'm not strong enough to find it."
Shanghai's gut clenched at the same time as Mother's fists. "I promise you though, I'll do my best to rebuild them. After all you are my precious children." Alice took a deep breath then looked up.
"This bow should allow you to store weapon energy as time passes, meaning you won't have to focus on charging your buster. I hope it serves you well."
Shanghai sighed as the vision faded. Hourai moved forward again. "Want me to help you with the bow?"
Shanghai nodded. "Please." She closed her eyes as Hourai swapped her hair accessories. At least with this upgrade she didn't feel like she was stealing from her sister. Hourai didn't have any use for a gun upgrade.
When Hourai finished she turned and hugged her sister. "Thanks."
Hourai nodded. "No problem."
They headed further on, dropping into another pool that led to a familiar looking door. The two readied their weapons, then swam in.
"So you've finally come! The prototypes!"
The doll that swam up from the depths was unlike Shanghai or any of her other sisters. From the waist up she was similar, but from the waist down she had a fishes tail, like a mermaid of legend. An odd design, but not crippling for someone who could fly. Her hair was cut short, and she held a spear gun in her hands.
"You've beaten some of our sisters I bet. Well that all ends here!" The doll made a sweeping gesture with her arm. "I Atlantis will redeem our honor and defeat you both! I'll prove that I'm the strongest combat doll in all Gensoukyo!"
Shanghai hoped her radio could reach their sister. "Wait! What's the point of fighting! Why do you need to defeat us?"
"You've killed three of our sisters and you need to ask?" Atlantis sneered. "I know you're trying to beat us all to get to Master Melancholy. And when I defeat you two she'll know that I'm the greatest doll under her command! The others won't constantly be babying me or worrying that I can't hold my own, no snickering about my abilities. I'll get the respect I deserve! That's reason enough for me to fight."
"Now defend yourself!" Atlantis spun in the water, sending three bubbles towards Hourai and shanghai. The bubbles traveled through an odd sinuous pattern, but moved slowly. Shanghai saw Hourai back up, wary of a trap. However she decided to take the direct route and fired a metal blade straight at the bubble heading towards her.
To her surprise the blade went straight through the bubble, leaving both unaffected. Atlantis herself easily spun out of the way of the saw. "Ahahaha! My bubbles can't be broken by any weapon! Now take this!" Atlantis lowered her trident and fired off three spear darts.
Shanghai leaped above the shots. Then she froze. Above her were a host of mines. Fortunately she hadn't gotten caught in a current, but she was still too close for comfort. "Hourai, be careful!"
"Right!" Hourai kept to the middle of the room, dashing between the bubbles and spear shots. While Atlantis herself was nimble, her attacks were slow and predictable. Hourai easily chased the other doll around the room.
Once Shanghai recovered she began adding her own fire to the mix. She kept her dodges minimal, while laying down a steady stream of metal blades.
It was almost sad how one sided the barrage was. Now that they'd seen the trick there was no danger from the danmaku. All Atlantis could do was keep dodging. "Give it up! You can't beat us like this," Shanghai called out.
Atlantis responded only "No! I'm one of Medicine's lieutenants! I'm a fighter like my sisters! I won't just surrender! I won't back down! I'll stop you here before you kill anyone else!"
"How are you going to do that? Your attacks aren't fast enough," Hourai said calmly as she continued pursuit.
"Shut up!" Atlantis screamed before launching an even more desperate barrage. This time the cloud of bubbles and spears was almost dangerous, but Shanghai could still easily figure out the gaps in the attack before it reached her.
In the end the maverick doll could only fail.
Hourai swept over a bubble with a diving cut that neatly severed the mermaid doll in two. Atlantis' eyes opened wide in shock. "Augh!"
"No! No... I had to win. I'm not useless. I can fight sisters...." The broken doll started sinking further into the depths. "I can... fight. I'm one of you... I can protect... Medicine... sisters... help me...."
Shanghai caught her torso just as the doll fell still. Hourai swam over with the tail.
This time the sphere didn't even bother forming. It simply flew into the two waiting dolls.
When it cleared Shanghai realized she could fire bubbles just like Atlantis. She looked over at Hourai who simply shook her head. "I don't think she was built for combat." Hourai said.
Shanghai nodded. "Let's send her home. Next time we'll be able to defend her."
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Underwater Exploration Doll Atlantis
Purpose: Exploration
Atlantis is designed to aid others in moving about underwater. Her invincible bubbles offer no protection from weapons, but a constant supply of air and easy movement for any people who need to breathe. Unfortunately her abilities come at the cost of armor. When I get a working model I should build some spares and defense dolls for them. Some underwater youkai are dangerous. Fortunately Atlantis is very fast.
Medicine notes: Atlantis really wants to help, but she's always getting in over her head. She needs to learn to stick to her strengths. The other dolls try to help her, but she can get really headstrong.
Fortunately she should be pretty safe underwater. There's not much that can get to her there. After I win, I'll see about getting her better training, and helping teach her when to run.