| ~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library |
| Dream's End |
| (1/5) > >> |
| Iced Fairy:
Yumemi sighed as she traced her hand along the side of the Trans Dimensional Hyperspace Vessel. It was cool and smooth to the touch, the very slight curvature of the hull just barely noticeable. Once this ship had been the centerpiece of her dreams. With the research she?d acquired from the journey across dimensions she had planned to revolutionize science. No, it was something more than that. She?d planned to revolutionize the world. Magic would have changed everything. The one inescapable truth of science was that everything will end. The laws of thermodynamics hung over reality like the Sword of Damocles. But the power of magic, the power to break rules, would have surpassed that. It could be the salvation of her universe. And it was also going to be her legacy. Her reason to be. But it had failed. Not the experiment. No, that had worked better than she could have imagined. She?d gained a massive amount of information about magic, and a whole bunch of other things. She?d grown as a woman and a scientist. But the results? The results had been killed by those terrible words, ?Not properly scientific.? With six more years under her belt she could understand the academy?s first few refusals. Her original paper was honestly garbage, filled with speculation and lacking in strong data. It should have been sent back, though they could have done a better job pointing out what she needed to fix. But as she worked more and more at the proposal, as she returned to Gensoukyo time and time again to collect more and more data, her findings had become near irrefutable. The only flaw in her results were the difficulty of replication, but if they wanted to they could go over and ask a magician themselves. She leaned her head against the cold metal hull. The academy just wasn?t interested. Even after she?d gone so far as to rip the word magic out of the papers, they just didn?t care. It didn?t fit the old theories, and until Yumemi could walk into the academy and blast them all in the face with spells of her own, there was damn little she could do to change their minds. In fact even that probably wouldn?t work. ?You okay there, Yumemi?? Yumemi tried to force a smile before looking up. ?It?s alright Yuri,? she replied. ?Yuri? frowned but kept her peace. Her world?s Chiyuri would have probably pressed the issue, but the Chiyuri from Gensoukyo still was a little hesitant to try to cheer her up when it came to Yumemi?s issues with the academy. Even after they?d been dating for two years. To be fair the sudden shift had been fairly confusing for the Chiyuri from Gensoukyo. She?d had to deal with learning how to live in a completely different world, while at the same time developing a completely new persona. The two Chiyuris had fought for a full week over which one would be the older sister, and then for another two days on who would take the nickname. Yuri here had accepted her name almost completely, but there had been many incidents as she?d acclimatized. As Yumemi reflected on the past the girl in the red kerchiefed sailor uniform walked behind Yumemi and started massaging her shoulders. Yumemi sighed and relaxed as Yuri slowly kneaded her tense muscles while giving the status report. ?Well we?ve got all the supplies on the ship. We can make a full four month voyage even without supplies. The other me says all the other systems are good too.? ?Mmmm.? Yumemi let out a deep breath and leaned back against Yuri. ?Good.? She tried to turn her thoughts forward, towards her journey. ?Why don?t you let me just show off my magic to the academy anyway?? Yuri asked. ?I mean, yeah there?ll be a police investigation but I did stow away. And you?ll be a famous researcher then too. There?s no way you?ll get in trouble.? Yumemi frowned and turned to face Yuri. ?That won?t work. Your powers are the creation of light based attacks and localized telekinesis. Something we can duplicate perfectly here with our technology, as your other self can demonstrate. The academy will just assume we?re hiding the generators. And then I?ll be in prison and you?ll be deported.? Yuri winced. ?Sorry. It?s just...? ?I know.? Yumemi sighed and hugged Chiyuri. Chiyuri stood limply for a bit, then returned Yumemi?s hug with a rib bruising intensity. They?d all become frustrated by the system by now, but there wasn?t anything they could do. Yet. ?Oi!? The two women started at the harsh voice. Yumemi turned to see her world?s Chiyuri glowering down at them. ?While I?m sure it?s great fun for you to feel up the professor, we?re on a schedule here, and damned if I?m going to be doing all the work. I?m not a paid post doc anymore.? Yumemi chuckled as Yuri shouted back, ?It?s not like there?s really any more preparations to do. If you?re jealous you should just stop whining and join me.? Chiyuri blushed at her counterpart?s retort. That was one of the differences between the two. The girl from Gensoukyo was one to speak her mind in all things, and was far less obsessed with propriety. Chiyuri pouted for a moment, then shrugged. ?Fine.? Yumemi had just enough time to yelp in shock before Chiyuri leaped into the air and caught her in a flying tackle. She fell backwards, catching the other Yuri with her flailing. There was a confusion of arms and legs, and Yumemi found herself on the floor with both Chiyuris lying on her chest. After a moment?s recovery she put her arms around the two. ?Well, if you insist.? She couldn?t help but smirk as they both blushed crimson. She was probably blushing herself, but not nearly as bad as her two lovers. Yumemi held them a bit longer before letting them go so they could stand up. She laughed again when they both offered her a hand up, but she took them up on the offer. She?d been around the two long enough to realize their embarrassment was more the fact that they were in ?public? then any real issue. ?Well, it?s good to see you?ve recovered some of your humor,? Yuri said with a roll of her eyes. ?So, what?s our goal for this little trip anyway?? Chiyuri asked as she straightened her cap. ?Why?d we need three months worth of supplies and crafting materials to boot? Don?t tell me we?re going to be collecting wildlife or something.? Yumemi flinched. She?d been avoiding this conversation for a while. But given the way the two Chiyuris were staring at her reaction she couldn?t hide anymore. She sat down and hung her head. ?We?re going there until we find something magical that can be commoditized or mass produced.? She looked over at her Genouskyo guide. ?Since apparently it?s hard to mass produce magic, we?ll probably be looking for an energy source instead. Or some other service item. Which are apparently difficult to acquire.? The two Chiyuris blinked at her in tandem before both exclaiming, ?WHAAAT?!? Yumemi sighed as the two leaned over her. ?How will this help with the academy? They ignored all your previous samples!? ?I?m not going back to the academy.? Yumemi slumped and looked down at her hands. Saying it hurt more than she thought it would. ?We can?t win. It?s obvious now. They aren?t even looking at my submissions. I?m ?Crazy Yumemi.? Why look at the facts?? She felt her nails start digging into the palms of her hands so she forced herself to cross her arms. ?So we have to try something different. Make magic a household commodity. Rub the academy?s noses in it until they?re forced to look at the results and admit they don?t have a damn clue how it works!? Yuri just grimaced, but her old postgrad immediately set into her. ?But you hate industry! You complained for weeks every time you looked for grant funding, and you despise sacrificing research for profit! Not to mention how much time running a business takes. How are you going to continue your theoretical work if you?re running a company?? Yumemi frowned. ?Well if I hire someone-? ?Ha!? Yumemi winced as Chiyuri jabbed a finger into her chest. ?I?m sorry boss, but you hate letting anyone else run the show. There?s no way you wouldn?t meddle. Besides you don?t have the money to hire someone, which means you?re CEO and marketing while me and myself do all the real work.? Yuri nodded in agreement. ?Ugh.? Yumemi spun away from the glares. ?Look this is the only idea I have left, okay! It?s this or give up on my life?s research. Unless one of you has a better idea? Because I?m not going to just give up.? She wasn?t going to let her dream die. She heard some shuffling behind her, then a hand fell on each of her shoulders. ?If this is what you want, boss, we?ll back you to the end.? Chiyuri said. ?We?ll find something. Somehow,? Yuri added. Yumemi smiled. ?Thank you.? She whirled around to face them. ?Now let?s get ready. We have a long voyage ahead.? ----------- Yumemi found herself smiling as she leaned back in her captain?s chair. In front of her both the Chiyuris sat in front of their own consoles, while a viewscreen took up the front of the space. She wasn?t sure why designing the control room like a movie starship made dimensional travel work better, but it did, and it was all sorts of fun. The mission might be bleak, but the journey was going to be something else. ?Status report,? she snapped out. She loved every chance she got to use her command voice. Chiyuri typed out a few commands. ?Power at full. Dimensional pathways are clear. Supplies are secured properly.? Yuri poked at her own screen. ?I?ve only got sixteen more mines to clear out.? Yumemi nodded. ?Good. Begin final jump calculations.? One of the oddities that they?d run across was that both Chiyuris had to be at identical workstations equidistant from Yumemi?s chair. This hadn?t been required the first time they?d made the jump, but that was before their lovely stowaway had disrupted the energy balance between the worlds. Yumemi had no real idea why her command deck?s feng shui helped fix that energy unbalance, but it worked, and that was good enough for lab work. Especially since her thesis had nothing to do with it. ?So are we ready?? she asked. Both Chiyuris gave a thumbs up. ?Ready!? ?Good.? Yumemi stood and thrust her arm forward for dramatic effect. ?Then Launch!? There was a beep as Chiyuri pressed a button and the mild tingling feeling of dimensional transit washed over Yumemi. Sadly that was all the change. Crossing into parallel worlds was disappointingly dull. There wasn?t even a light show outside for her to look at. They had to program up a screensaver instead. Yumemi sat down and waited. Fortunately, the transit wouldn?t take long. A chime rang through the craft. ?Halfway point,? Yumemi remarked. They?d crossed over from their universe. Now they just had to materialize in Gensoukyo. Sirens blared and the room turned red. Yumemi had just enough time to leap to her feet before the walls rent asunder with the scream of steel. ?Someone?s in the same space!? screamed Chiyuri. And then the grey void of interdimensional space swallowed her up. ----------- Yumemi groaned. Her head throbbed in pain, drowning out her body?s muted scream of agony. She considered getting up and finding some painkillers, but she was tired and cold. It?d be better to just pull up the covers and go back to sleep, right? She tried reaching for the covers, but all she found was more pain from her arm. Maybe Chiyuri?d stolen it? Or maybe Yuri? She groaned again, then forced herself to roll away from the thorn bush on the right so she could grope for the blanket, but her hand only fell upon cold earth. Sighing she kept reaching for the blankets, each failure forcing her further and further from the blessed realm of sleep and recovery. An accursed rustling from nearby only pushed her further towards wakefulness. With a final groan Yumemi gave in and opened her eyes. The forest around her was near black, with only a few scattered fires and the eyes of some beast to give any sort of light. Sobriety hit her like a brick. Yumemi remembered the accident. She wasn?t in bed. Those eyes in the bushes were real. She needed to defend herself. Fast. ?Yaaaah!? Yumemi yelled at the creature while raising her hands and triggering her devices. A Shield of David formed before her and flew at the startled creature. There was the hiss of power striking youkai flesh, then a pained cry and frantic rustling as the creature ran away. Yumemi winced as pain flooded into her body again. Seeing the threat had passed she gingerly pulled out her pocket lantern and started checking her injuries. Her quick inspection showed she didn?t have any broken bones, though she?d want an xray on her little toe just to be sure. Her cuts and scrapes were mostly mild too. Whatever had happened, the ship?s automatic systems had shielded her from the worst of the incident. She still felt terrible though. That done she held up her glowing ball of light and started checking her surroundings. The forest around her was a twisted thicket, completely unlike anything at home. A few mushroom rings told her she?d ended up in the Forest of Magic in Gensoukyo. That was good, she was in the right dimension at least. ?Chiyuri?!? she called out for her assistants. Hopefully they?d landed somewhere near here. The twisted trees and underbrush limited her field of vision, but with luck they?d be able to hear her. ?Yuri?!? she yelled again as she started a slow circuit. She didn?t want to move too far, but if they were unconscious she needed to find them before anything else did. She pushed her way through some of the less prickly underbrush then froze at the sight of the clearing in front of her. The Trans Dimensional Hyperspace Vessel sat in a field of splinters. Or at least about half of it did. The generators that filled its interior lay like broken columns among bits of furniture and basic appliances from the living area. The walls had splintered into fragments scattered about randomly. Yumemi just stood there for a minute in shock. Without the Hyperspace Vessel they were stuck. ?What if one of the Chiyuris is stuck in there?? The thought turned to action. Yumemi dashed into the wreckage. Cursing and swearing at the pain she started lifting up fallen debris and pushing over some of the rubble in her way. ?Chiyuri! Are you here?!? She had to find them! ?Whoa! Looks like you?ve gotta problem here.? Yumemi looked up to see a familiar witch hovering over her. The woman, Marisa was a fair bit older of course, but that getup and voice was utterly unmistakable. Marisa gave her the same appraising look. ?Oh hey! You?re the person who tried to kidnap me for research awhile back. Well the one who tried to kidnap me for magic research, not for human research. Anyway~!? The witch girl dropped down next to her. ?Seems like you had a bit of a crash. Need a hand?? ?Yes!? Yumemi dashed over to the magician. ?Can you search for people? The Chiyuris might be somewhere near here.? ?Chiyuris? Plural?? Marisa raised an eyebrow, then shrugged. ?Well whatever. I?ve been looking to test this spell out. Let?s see, borrow a bit of blood from you and-? Yumemi yelped in pain as Marisa dabbed her fingers across a scrape on Yumemi?s arm. The magician drew her finger through the air while whispering in a harsh tongue, then the magician was suffused in red light. The aura around Marisa pulsed twice, like a heartbeat, then rolled off her in a wave. Yumemi felt a chill as the crimson shockwave passed her, then it was gone. ?Knew stealing some of Remi?s spells would come in handy,? Marisa said with a self satisfied nod. Yumemi shifted back and forth as the witch closed her eyes and pondered things. ?Well I can?t sense any other humans near here. Makes sense though since someone blasted teleportation magic all over the place. Kinda surprised you?re still here.? ?Damn! I have to go find them!? Yumemi painfully hopped into the air, stumbled as her movement turned to a weak hovering. ?Shit! Without the ship?s generators active I can?t even fly right!? ?Whoa whoa whoa!? Marisa dropped down to sit in front of her. ?You shouldn?t be going anywhere in that shape. I know you?re worried about your friends, but chances are if they aren?t in the forest they?re pretty safe. Especially if they?re like the gal you were with earlier and she brought along her totally awesome laser pistol.? ?That?s-? Yumemi gritted her teeth in frustration. She hurt, she was worried, she was cold and she was bone tired. Worst of all she really couldn?t do a damn thing. Marisa patted her broom. ?Come on. I?ll let you borrow a cot or something. We can talk about what you owe me later.? Yumemi hesitated again. She didn?t want to accept she was powerless. Her friends could be in danger. Going off to sleep would be abandoning them. Marisa rolled her eyes. ?Look, if it makes you feel any better I can start working up a spell to make sure they aren?t dead or dying. If they?re in trouble I?ll wake you up and drag you all over Gensoukyo if you want.? The magician?s words entered Yumemi?s mind, but they just seemed to bounce around without meaning for a while. Visions of an endless search through the hills and valleys of Gensoukyo slowly swirled through her mind, starting and restarting time and time again, yet never leading anywhere. She started planning out exactly how she would search, the items and resources she?d need, the different places they could be, and the various ways to accept the offer she?d just been given. Time and time and time and time again. A spasm of pain from her abused limbs knocked her out of her reverie. She nodded to the witch. ?Thank you.? Gingerly she sat down on the magicians broom, then held on tight to the staff as Marisa rose into the air. ?You look really banged up there, so I?ll take it a little slower then normal,? Marisa said as they began to slowly move forward. Yumemi nodded, then turned her thoughts inwards again. She needed to find both Chiyuris and repair her ship now. Those were the only real things that mattered. Rather she needed to get back to wherever she was going and get a good night?s sleep, preferably in a real bed since she?d need to start in early in the morning if she wanted to get the ship back together. Generators like the ones she had in her ship didn?t just grow on trees after all, and she was going to have to work overtime with Chiyuri to calibrate them to the proper settings so she could find Chiyuri.... As her mind spiraled towards darkness, Yumemi fell into a fitful sleep. |
| Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
OK, this had me chortling. :3c |
| Iced Fairy:
Yuri awoke in darkness. She sat up, then swore as her back complained. She felt like she?d gotten a full course shrine maiden beating. Something had gone wrong with the transit, and given her background she didn?t have a clue what. Sometimes being the magician in a technical world was a real pain. Now she was stuck in the dark with no idea what to do. After a few seconds she slapped her forehead. Too many years pretending she wasn?t a mage had made her dense. With a snap of her fingers she summoned an orb of light to get an idea on what happened. As she fed magic into the spell its soft glow spread, revealing an unworked stone floor. As the light brightened with no ceiling or walls in sight Yuri realized she was within a massive cave. The floor was littered with bits of ship, but most of it was wood and nails, not the futuristic metals Yumemi?s ship used. Yuri was beginning to suspect things had gone very poorly. ?Yumemi! Sis!? Yuri yelled out into the darkness. The words cut through the silence, but there was no reply. She immediately cursed herself for her mistake. Gensoukyo wasn?t that deadly, but the caves below weren?t safe at all. She?d kept herself in something resembling fighting trim with stolen military simulators, but it wasn?t up to the level of real danmaku fights. Still if either of them were near she had to find them. Carefully she searched the edges of the cavern she was in. It looked big enough to store a small flotilla, and given the trash piles scattered about it looked like someone had actually kept a boat here. There was a small pool of water from a spring, and a hole in the ceiling that looked like it led up towards other caves. The sight of water awoke Yuri?s thirst. Carefully she headed over to the pool. The water was cool to the touch and it soothed her dry throat nicely. She wondered how long she?d been unconscious as she drank again. Obviously not too long since she was only mildly hungry. That was good. It meant she had more time to try to find her friends and get to the village. She circled the cavern again but nothing new came to her eyes. She wished once again she understood more of the physics behind her travel, but unfortunately she wasn?t as good a student as her other self. If she?d paid more attention maybe she?d have some idea how she?d ended up underground. Then again given some of Yumemi?s rants about things not making sense, maybe she?d be just as clueless. Well sitting around and moping wasn?t really the Gensoukyo way. When kids were afraid of the dark they learned how to summon light. And since there was only one way out, that was the way she was going to go. She hopped upwards, and her magic kicked in and started taking her the rest of the way towards the one hole in the cavern. Years of flying had made the action almost as natural as walking to her. The cave she entered into was different from the rough stone she?d previously been in. It was around ten feet in diameter, and very cold. More importantly the smoothed floor immediately told her it was a lava tube,unsurprising given she was probably below Youkai Mountain. That also meant there probably was an exit somewhere. Yuri smiled and began flying up the steep tunnel. The lava tube continued on for some time, twisting and turning but never opening up into any other tunnels. On one hand that meant she couldn?t get lost. On the other hand it was pretty dull. And if the tunnel had collapsed at any point she?d be in trouble. Finally, about thirty minutes later, she found herself at a split where two tunnels broke into the lava tube. The resulting intersection had five exits excluding the one she?d came from. She looked around trying to figure out which one was most likely to lead out, but sadly none of them were well marked. Still there might be some clues. She floated over to the left side to check that in more detail. The stone here was less smooth than the lava tunnel, but still easy to navigate. It looked like the tunnels might have been carved in fact. Yuri frowned at the thought of what could have created such large tunnels. Whatever it was she didn?t want to meet it. Hopefully it was already gone to better pastures. There was a tapping of stone against stone and a shift of movement out of the corner of her eye. She whirled to face the possible threat, then she froze. A giant spider leg poked through the hole, the massive digit tapping away at the surrounding stone. Yuri began shivering as a second leg joined it. It couldn?t be possible right? This was just a bad dream right? There really wasn?t a... The massive spider scuttled to fill the hole, its giant eyes as big as Yuri?s head, its body like a moving boulder. Its pincers gnashed in front of her, each sharp mandible glistening with poison. As its eyes locked on her it froze, just like the wolf spiders in her home did before they jumped. Yuri did the only rational thing. She screamed, shut her eyes, and shot as many magic lasers as she could at the creature. There was a hiss, then a massive roar that transformed into a pained high pitched shriek. Yuri opened her eyes slowly to see what the damage was. To her surprise a small woman lay stunned where the massive spider once had rested. The woman?s dress was torn on one side, and there was a burn mark on her arm. Yuri felt a pang of guilt at the damage she?d caused. If the youkai reverted to a human form when hurt it probably was one of the less dangerous types. And she?d just barged into the youkai?s house and shot it. Still, it had appeared as a giant spider. She felt her reaction was kinda reasonable. Yuri shrugged. These things happened. More importantly there was a good chance the woman knew a way out. She knelt down and shook the woman?s uninjured shoulder. ?Hey, you alright?? The spider girl?s eyes focused and unfocused a few times before finally fully opening. ?AAAAAAHH!? she screamed as she started trying to scramble away. Yuri quickly grabbed hold of the woman?s shoulder before she could escape. ?Hey! Wait a second now! I?m sorry I reacted a little hastily but I-ah-ah-ACHOO!? Yuri?s body shivered as the massive sneeze rocked her body. For some reason she started feeling dizzy too. ?Look I just need to get ou-ACHOO!? ?Lemme go ya crazy woman!? The spider girl said as she struggled. ?I swear I?ll give ya more than a cold if ya try to seal me!? ?It was an ac-ACHOO! Accident!? Yuri did her best to keep her grip. ?I?m sorry! I didn?t mean to hurt you. Just let me talk this out.? The woman?s struggles weakened a bit, but her glare was still accusatory. ?Ya burned off one a my legs!? ?Achoo!? Yuri sniffed to try to keep her sneezing under control. ?Look I thought you were just a normal giant spider. I didn?t know you were a friendly youkai. I?m just looking to talk a-CHOO, a bit.? She actually wasn?t sure the woman was a friendly youkai now, but she was pretty confident the woman wasn?t going to eat her. ?Sure.? the woman drawled. ?You ain?t gonna trick Yamame Kurodani so easily. We tsuchigumo have heard that story before. It?s all ?we?re your pals? and ?let?s be reasonable? and then ya get stabbed in the stomach during the singing.? Yuri blew her nose again before standing back. ?Look I just want to find my friends and get out. Heck I?m not even sure if my friends are down here. We didn?t mean to end up in the underground. We were aiming for the village when the teleport screwed up.? Yamame?s eyes narrowed, but the tsuchigumo didn?t run. ?Who the heck are ya anyway? And how?d your screw up drop ya down here?? ?Chiyuri Kitashirakawa, call me Yuri.? She held out her hand to shake, then dropped it when she remembered that was the custom in the other universe. ?Uh, anyway I?m from the village, but I went to, uh, the outside world for a while.? Well, an outside world anyway. She figured Yamame wouldn?t believe in alternate universes. ?I came back with my twin sis and our boss to learn some more magic, but something went kinda wrong and I ended up here.? She smiled. ?So if you could I?d be grateful if you helped me out here.? ?And why should I help someone who just blasts innocent spiders?? Yamame groused. Yuri sneezed again. ?Look, how was I supposed to know you were friendly? This is the underground where all the dangerous youkai live. If you?d been hostile you could eaten me within seconds right? We humans have to be a little worried about that with such powerful youkai like tsuchigumo wandering around, even if you?re a nice girl.? ?Hmph! Humans are the ones who keep picking fights with us.? Yamame snorted and turned her head away, but Yuri could tell her words had appealed to the youkai?s pride. ?Well... I suppose I am a nice gal. And some a the more dangerous youkai round here woulda hurt you if you?d been a bit slower.? Yamame stood and dusted herself off. To Yuri?s great relief the congestion in her nose faded as well. ?Alright, I?ll help ya out. But you owe me big for this. And for my leg. I?m gonna have to spend a day in this form to grow it back ya know!? Yuri bowed low to the woman. Best to keep her new friend happy. ?If we get out and meet up with my friends I?m sure we can find you something that you can?t get anywhere in Gensoukyo.? Yamame raised an eyebrow at that. ?Really? Can ya get humans with mental issues? They?re nice and spicy. Er, dead ones of course. Or ones ya don?t like...? ?Uh, I think we?ll have to get something a little more exotic actually,? Yuri replied while forcing a grin. Even friendly youkai were still youkai. ?Anyway first we gotta get to the surface and find them.? ?Alright then. Just follow me.? The tsuchigumo turned and began heading up a passage. ?Oh and no funny business, ya hear?!? Yuri smiled and shook her head. ?Of course not.? Well it seemed things were looking up. Though she had to wonder how anyone so trusting as Yamame could survive down here in the caverns. --- Yumemi groaned as light hit her eyes. She?d been fighting wakefulness for some time, but the sun had finally become bright enough to keep her from sleep. With a final arm thrash she opened her eyes. The room around her was unfamiliar. The walls were painted wood, and archaic shutters covered the foggy windows. Chairs and small tables were scattered around the room, and every surface was buried in junk. She was on a plush couch that had obviously been stolen from somewhere, because it didn?t have nearly as much dust on it as everything else. As she looked around she remembered the events of last night and sat up. This was apparently Marisa?s house, and it fit the little kleptomaniac well. There was a tiny bit of order in that most of the piles were sorted by type, but beyond that the place was a disaster zone. ?Oh hey, you?re awake!? Yumemi turned to see Marisa walk in from what looked to be a study. ?I ran the rounds this morning. No one?s seen anything, but I haven?t managed to pump the mountain folk for info. And Komachi hasn?t ferried anyone so they?re probably just a little bit lost.? Yumemi nodded. ?Thank you for your help.? She stood up and dusted off her dress. ?I guess I?ll have to start looking myself.? She bit her lip as her stomach rumbled its dissent. She?d never been good about missing meals, even when she was in the midst of a research frenzy. Marisa laughed at her embarrassment. ?Why don?t you have breakfast before doing something dumb like trying to wander Gensoukyo by foot?? Yumemi sighed. ?I suppose that would be reasonable.? She didn?t really want to be reasonable right now, but considering what she was planning would take a good amount of her concentration she really needed to eat. ?I?ll see what I can scrounge up around the house then,? Marisa said. ?Of course you owe me for this too.? ?Of course,? Yumemi replied as she shook her head. It was a good thing the little magician was easily distracted by scraps, otherwise Yumemi?d be worried about Marisa stealing something vital as ?payment.? Still she had to admit Marisa?d been helpful so far. Maybe the magician would be able to give her a hand with the plan that she?d finished refining. As Marisa began rummaging around in her kitchen Yumemi took a closer look around the witch?s house. She quickly decided the piles of junk were dangerous and best kept at a distance. Instead she picked up one of the books lying around and flipped it open. Almost immediately the strange diagrams and notations inside made her head begin to swim. Yumemi frowned and stared harder. She?d figured out more complex formula then this... ?Whoa whoa whoa!? Yumemi reeled in confusion as the book was snatched out of her hands. ?You shouldn?t just be reading random grimoires.? She looked up to see Marisa frowning down at her. ?Tomes beyond your power level only give you a headache. Especially Patchy?s.? Marisa sighed. ?How is that possible? It?s just a formula,? Yumemi protested. ?Math can?t kill people. Well okay math alone can?t kill people.? Marisa shrugged. ?Never really figured it out myself. Well okay, Patchy traps hers so Flandre doesn?t get into the harder grimoires, but even then powerful magic just seems to keep people out.? ?That?s ridiculous.? Yumemi glared at the offending book. She would learn its little secrets one day. Oh yes. But for now she needed less mentally damaging reading. ?Is this book safe at least?? she asked as she pulled out what looked to be a picture album. Marisa smiled weakly. ?Yeah that should be fine. If you?re done before I finish up, the manga should be safe too.? The magician turned back to the kitchen to tend the stove again. Yumemi sighed and started flipping through the book. Her annoyance was short lived. The book actually turned out to be a scrapbook of newspaper clippings with dates and locations in the margins. Yumemi was somewhat fuzzy about geography even in her own world, so she?d never really gotten a feel for the landscape of Gensoukyo. The articles were mildly amusing too, even though they were pretty much tabloid quality. Marisa?s commentary on what the breaking news actually was provided an excellent counterpoint to the writing itself. She wondered if Yuri would have enjoyed seeing what her fellows were up to. Her hands gripped the book tightly. She hoped that she?d be able to ask Yuri that question soon. She forced herself to focus on the book again and not her situation. Zombies were interesting, right? She finished that article quickly then flipped to the next. Then she froze. There. That was what she needed. ?Marisa!? She stood to find her host. ?I?m almost done, almost done.? The witch poked her head out of the kitchen. ?Don?t rush me.? Yumemi ignored the woman and held up the scrapbook. ?This. The radio tower. Is it still around?? Marisa blinked at the picture for a few moments. ?The fairy shrine? Yeah it?s still up, but it?s covered in weeds and vines. Why are you asking?? ?Good. We?ll need to go there first.? Yumemi smiled and closed the book. For once things were looking up. Marisa raised an eyebrow then cursed as something in the kitchen hissed. As she fled to save the meal she called back, ?Fine but you better explain everything on the flight over!? --- Yumemi could barely keep herself still on the witch?s broom. Her body still had bruises and scrapes, but she almost forgot the pain. Pain was nothing compared to her pressing need for action. She had the tools to finally DO something, and she wanted it done now! ?So, you said you were going to explain?? Marisa called back over the rush of the wind. Yumemi smirked. ?I didn?t say anything.? As the broom began to slow she quickly added, ?But I?ll explain anyway. I need the wire that should be around the tower. Just a small amount of copper wire.? ?Why do you need something like that? I?m not a technical genius, but I?m pretty sure you need more then some metal string to get your high tech devices working,? Marisa said. ?I admit it?s going to be a rather crude jury rigging, but the dimensional power generators should still be active.? Yumemi tightened her grip on the broom as they started to descend. ?With some wiring I should be able to hotwire four or five together to form a cluster again. That should give me access to my personal power generators, as well as allow me to signal other power generators. Like the ones the Chiyuris have.? ?I see. So you?ll be able to fly on your own, and do some tracking. Makes sense.? Marisa nodded as they broke through the tree cover. ?Well then, hopefully the fairies haven?t stolen what you?re looking for.? Yumemi?s reply was forgotten as they entered the radio tower?s clearing. It had apparently changed a lot since the newspaper photo. Greenery hung around it like a layer of clothes. Flowering vines twisted around its body, and saplings sprouted at its base. There were a few points on the tower that looked like they had plants actually growing out of the metal. And strangest of all the bits of the metal structure that were still visible looked shiny and polished, though it was obvious no one had tended to it. The foot of the tower held another mystery. A crude altar of stones had been piled up, then forgotten. Discarded toys littered the area around it, many of them rusted cans on ropes, though there were a decent number of whistles, noisemakers and even a vuvuzela laying around. ?Offerings from the fairies,? Marisa said as she hopped off. ?They also leave food and coins, but then they forget they?re worshiping the tower and take the stuff again.? The magician chuckled. ?Still, there are always more believers waiting to remember the place, so the god here?s gotta be kinda happy.? ?There?s a god here?? Yumemi looked at the tower suspiciously. It was very impressive yes, but claiming the tower was some sort of deity seemed a little far fetched. ?What can it do?? Marisa shrugged. ?I dunno. It?s a fairy god. But hey, the fairies ask it to help communicate between friends right? Seems like a good god to ask for a hand finding people who are lost.? With that Marisa clapped her hands twice and bowed to the tower. Yumemi looked over the structure again. There was undeniably something different about the place, perhaps something even magical, but the idea of gods was always something fuzzy to her. Still she awkwardly clapped followed Marisa?s example and bowed to the radio tower. She could use the help anyway. With that done she began to look near the base of the tower. To her delight the cabinet was both present and easy to find. ?Excellent.? As she began looking around for a suitable branch to break into the cabinet Marisa sat down on a nearby stump. ?So who?re these ?Chiyuris? you?ve been going on about now. I remember the gal with the laser pistol that threatened to shoot me a while back but I?m pretty sure she was only one person.? Yumemi laughed weakly at that. ?Well, um, do you know anything about parallel worlds?? Marisa nodded sagely. ?I know they exist and the outside world loves ?em!? ?Right.? Yumemi picked up a stick and started using it as a crowbar. ?Well. The simplest explanation would be that your universe had someone almost exactly like my Chiyuri, including the same name, except she uses magic instead of science.? Yumemi cursed as the stick broke and started to look around for another. ?That seems... kinda unlikely.? Marisa looked up at the sky. ?You?re saying there?s a me without magic in your world somewhere?? ?Maybe.? Yumemi picked up another candidate stick. ?There wasn?t a Yumemi in this world it seems though, so it?s probably somewhat random.? She grunted then smiled as the hinges on the box snapped. ?There!? The box fell open, revealing two coils of wire. ?Well, that was easy. Looks like the god smiled on you.? Marisa hopped to her feet. ?Anyway so if this theory is true how does it relate to your little search?? ?It doesn?t really matter if you believe the theory,? Yumemi said picking up the wires. ?It?s true either way. The Chiyuri from this world found us on one of our return trips and stowed away on our ship. She?s been with us ever since.? ?That sounds like it could get real confusing real fast. Though I guess Yuki and Mai managed to do it with a house full of devils,? Marisa noted as she set her broom to hovering again. ?So I guess the next stop is the remains of your ship?? ?Please.? Yumemi quickly walked over and hopped on the broom. Marisa jumped on in front of her and soon they were speeding through the air again. As the trees passed below her mind turned to what she needed to do. Starting with the three bank network would be best. Then she could move to five. Four would be nice, but resetting the wiring would be an issue. Her mind filled with numbers and diagrams. ?Alright, we?re here,? Marisa said as she parked the broom. Yumemi nodded her thanks then leaped down. It was time to get to work. The scene of the crash was as bad as she?d feared, but fortunately no worse. There were thirteen generators here, and on quick inspection eight of them had survived the crash intact. Yumemi wasn?t too surprised. They were designed for rough impacts after all. First she picked one of the upright generators and turned it on with the emergency control panel. As the machine came to life with a soft hum she felt her personal energy receivers begin to warm up. ?Excellent.? She nodded happily. Now she could use her own strength to move the other generators into position. ?Huh, so that?s the source of your magic power?? Yumemi jumped in surprise and spun around to find Marisa staring over her shoulder. ?Ah! Sorry for zoning out there. And no. This generator powers my devices, but there?s no magic involved. It?s all simple science.? ?No magic? Then how do you transmit the power?? Marisa looked over the device. ?You don?t have any wires or anything.? Yumemi looked over at the magician. ?Do you know about quantum entanglement?? Marisa blinked a few times. ?I know all of the words you used. Sorta.? ?Right.? Yumemi shook her head. ?Do you want a full lecture or should I just give you a textbook as part of the payment?? ?I?ll take the book!? Marisa replied immediately. Good, Yumemi thought. Explaining quantum mechanics to new students was a nightmare even if they had passed the prerequisite courses. With her recovered strength it was easy to lift the fallen generators that were nearby and set them up into a triangular formation. Yumemi chuckled a bit as she looked over her handiwork. If she had told anyone but a magician in this world the items weren?t magic they probably wouldn?t believe her. The polished blue metal ovaloids that formed the top of the generators looked like they came out of a swords and sorcery book, and her arrangement of them into a mini Stonehenge only added to the look. ?I think I?m starting to understand why the outside world likes this science stuff so much.? Yumemi blinked. She?d forgotten she wasn?t alone again. She turned to Marisa who was staring over the little array Yumemi was setting up. ?Why do you say that?? ?Well I mean, the cold and gray plastic stuff?s kinda meh, and that computer shikigami things a nightmare to order about, but stuff like this that can give power to just anyone?s pretty cool.? Marisa placed a hand on the generator as she walked around it. ?I?m kinda curious why you?re looking for our magic when you?ve got science like this. Magic requires a lot of effort, time and risk.? She tapped the generator then looked over at Yumemi. ?What are you looking for that these things can?t get you?? Yumemi sighed and looked over the machinery. ?Do you know the three laws of thermodynamics?? Marisa thought a bit. ?Uh, I think I only know two. Patchy?s books are only so recent, and getting the physics books away from Kourin and Kanako are a pain. But it?s about chemical reactions right? Can?t get more out of a potion then you put in, and you always lose a little.? ?Well that?s close.? Yumemi nodded. ?But it?s not limited to potion reactions.? Yumemi waved her arms to indicate the clearing. ?Everything follows those rules. Every blade of grass, every animal, every gust of air. Even the sun is slowly burning through it?s fuel. Our science has made it so we are incredibly energy efficient, mostly by relying on the waste heat of the sun, but its still not perfect. Nothing can truly last forever.? Marisa hopped backwards as Yumemi pointed at her. ?Except for magic! While my studies have shown magical power requires either mental or emotional intensity, they don?t require as much energy as they produce. You can actually create perpetual motion! With magic eternity is within our grasp. Unlocking magic?s secrets will be the greatest finding of all time.? A smile slowly spread across Marisa?s face. ?Magic will keep the world running, eh? Hah! And here everyone kept saying I?d destroy the world with my magic.? The witch stretched then sighed. ?But I don?t think it?ll be that easy. Kanako?s been after that damn generator for years now, and she?s only gotten so far. Magic?s not really easy to harness into something that works for everyone all the time.? Yumemi sighed and turned back to the task of wiring the generators. ?I?ve noticed. Yuri knows some basic spells, but she sadly hasn?t been able to teach either myself or my world?s Chiyuri how to cast them. Apparently my world is more inimical to magic then yours but she can still cast. It?s been frustrating. Especially given how well the pseudo magical systems worked.? ?Well it?s really hard for someone without a magical background to awaken to power.? Marisa sat down and returned to watching Yumemi?s work from a distance. ?Everyone in Gensoukyo has a pretty active magical history. Heck, I was mid range power wise around here before I really started learning the craft. If you don?t have magic in the bloodline you?re gonna have to push a lot harder.? Yumemi rolled that around in her head for a bit as she started hooking up the first two generators. At first it seemed somewhat insultingly complicated to her. She disliked the idea of magical bloodlines and whatnot. But as she reflected more and more it gained some legitimacy in her mind, so long as she considered it the equivalent of a muscle. After all you could train to increase your strength, but only so much. After she finished getting the unpowered generators synched she moved to hooking them into the powered device. ?So I guess getting everyone to be a magician is out. How about magical items? Something that could act as a battery perhaps?? ?That?s kinda tough too.? Marisa moved to inspect the wires Yumemi had just finished with. ?I?m pretty good with enchanting. Probably one of the best ignoring that cheater Eirin actually. But even with all my skill in creating fixed magical effects it?s really hard to make something that creates power. I can make you a hat that can survive some impressive amounts of fire, but not a flamethrower. Alice might know more, but she?s creating a soul and that complicates matters a lot. I don?t think you want sentient power generators.? Yumemi frowned. ?No. I?ve seen enough of that on the TV.? She sighed. It sounded like her search would be harder than she thought. She turned back to the wires. She could figure that out later. Right now she needed to get her scientific powers back and find her friends. And that was much more achievable. It took another hour of work wiring and calibrating, but finally the whole thing was set up. She switched on the generators and smiled as she felt her personal energy links kick up in response. With a mental command she started hovering. ?Excellent.? She pulled up the machine?s diagnostics and began a low level search. ?Now let?s see where the Chiyuris are.? Marisa peered over her shoulder as she typed in the commands to the generator?s interface. It was a simple triangulation method, but she had to manually program in where the generators were since they?d been unceremoniously dumped outside of her ship. With a final smack on the enter key she finished her data entry. ?Alright. And with that...? The machine?s screen swirled a few times. Then a single message appeared. ?No signals found.? Yumemi?s body began to shake. This wasn?t happening. This couldn?t be happening. She had to find them! She needed to find them. She couldn?t fail again! She froze as Marisa?s hand landed on her shoulder. ?You said you could do better with five right? Let?s get started then.? The tension slowly started to flow out of Yumemi?s body. She found she could breathe again, which made her idly wonder when she?d stopped. After about a minute she slumped her shoulders and nodded. ?Right. Could you bring me the other spool of wire?? ---- Chiyuri yawned and flopped over. The bed seemed smaller than she was used to. They?d had to move to a larger bed ever since that one Christmas but this seemed like a twin and... She opened her eyes and realized immediately she wasn?t in her bed. The room here was different from the ship quarters she shared with her counterpart and Yumemi. It was set up almost like a warship, with two bunks on either wall and a locker in the middle. Unlike most warships the beds were actually soft. The room otherwise was fairly plain if well kept. Chiyuri stretched then headed towards the door. A ship like this meant there had to be some crew. She could speak with them and figure out what had happened. She frowned when the door failed to react to her approach. It was a sliding door, and obviously automated in some way, but it didn?t so much as twitch when she stepped in front of it. She tried tapping the door, but nothing happened. Annoyed she began looking for a sensor or intercom port. ?Hey, anyone listening in? I?m awake now!? She paced the room a couple of times searching in vain for a panel or something. ?Come on, it?s getting to be breakfast time. And there?s no bathroom in this thing.? She looked around one more time, then turned back towards the door. ?I hope we didn?t blunder into some group of time space police out looking for the other Chiyuri,? she muttered as she felt over the door for any kind of button or other switch. A few seconds into her search the door opened with a swish. Chiyuri yelped and flinched back, then her heart rose as she saw the person who?d opened the door. ?Yumemi! You?re here too? Great! Where are we?? Yumemi blinked a few times, then smiled and shook her head. ?I?m sorry, I think you have me confused with the woman from your dimension.? The woman bowed. ?My name is Yumemi Okazaki, of Gensoukyo Village, though I?ve spent most of the last decade in a different dimension. It?s a pleasure to meet you Chiyuri.? ?Wha? If you aren?t my Yumemi, how?d you know my name?? Chiyuri took a step back and reached for her laser pistol before realizing it wasn?t there. Talking to her other self had given her a healthy respect for Gensoukyo?s shapechangers. ?Ah well,? Yumemi coughed. ?During my travels I ran into the Yumemi of that dimension, as well as her assistant Chiyuri.? She smiled again. ?Seeing them together made me regret running off so early in life actually. But that?s another matter. Suffice to say that I?m well versed in alternate dimension theories, despite my origins here. In addition I?ve learned a lot more about technology during my stay in that world. So much so that I?ve found I have a hard time living without it. That?s one of the reasons I acquired this decommissioned scout ship before returning home.? Chiyuri blinked at that. It did seem somewhat more reasonable. She doubted most people around here would know how to reconstruct a spaceship interior. Then realization struck her. ?Hey! Your ship must have been the one that hit ours!? The other Yumemi grimaced. ?Well I would say you hit my ship, but yes. It?s not my fault, how could I have known someone else would be teleporting in at exactly the same time? Anyways, I caught you before you were sucked into null space, and the other people on your ship managed to land safely in Gensoukyo, but I fear both ships were damaged.? Yumemi sighed. ?Your ship suffered hull damage, and mine seems to be dimensionally dislocated. I can?t fully materialize for a couple of days.? Chiyuri looked away at that, then nodded. ?Makes sense. Looks like we just had some bad luck there. Good thing everyone came out okay.? She frowned. ?Are you going to be okay on supplies? We packed for a long trip, but you were coming home so...? ?Well, I don?t really have a house, or any money from home anymore, so I?m actually well stocked.? Yumemi took a step out into the hallway. ?Let me show you around this deck and then we can get some breakfast. I imagine you have to be hungry.? Now that the woman mentioned it Chiyuri realized she was. ?Thanks.? ?Don?t mention it.? Chiyuri followed as the woman headed out into the corridor. Her room was apparently at the front of the section. It was just as Chiyuri?d imagined, simple and efficient ship design. Doors at even points and a lift at the far end. The woman pointed across from the room Chiyuri?d been staying in. ?This is the head and washroom.? She pointed down at the other eleven doors along the hall. ?These are other quarters, so they?re fairly dull. I suppose if you want to move that?d be fine, but they?re all the same.? ?Nah it?s fine.? The other Yumemi led her to the lift and hit the call button. They stepped in as the doors opened and Yumemi hit the top button. ?There anyone else on the ship?? The other woman sighed. ?No, most of it is automated systems. Not many people were willing to head over to this dimension, and those that were willing demanded a little too much money.? She smiled. ?But at least that means the rec room is fairly open. That?s the floor just below the bridge and officers? quarters by the way.? ?I see.? Chiyuri nodded and continued listening as the other Yumemi started listing off what was on each floor, but one thing stuck in her mind. The elevator had eight decks. Even if that was all of them, wasn?t this a very big ?surplus scout vessel?? She resolved to play her hand close to her chest, at least until she was reunited with her friends. |
| Dizzy H. "Muffin" Muffin:
Had me giggling again! ... and then the final section had me lean forward with interest and go "... well, isn't that something" again ... |
| Alfred F. Jones:
I'm kinda surprised she doesn't trust Yumemi a little more, since she looks so much like 'her' Yumemi. I guess there's something off about her that Chiyuri feels? |
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