| ~Hakurei Shrine~ > Patchouli's Scarlet Library |
| Dream's End |
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| FinnKaenbyou:
--- Quote from: Yuuyiced Fairy on August 06, 2013, 12:33:28 AM ---?Ran, why is there a fucking antimagic battleship over the Forest of Magic?? --- End quote --- I still believe this is the best line of dialogue you've ever written. |
| Alfred F. Jones:
A flying battleship over the forest? How Sankt Kaiser. |
| Iced Fairy:
Yumemi looked over the impromptu war party that had gathered in front of Marisa?s house. The group had retreated here as the local fairy population had started running wild. At first Marisa had suggested waiting for Reimu and the other spiritual masters to show up and handle matters. When a purple barrier appeared over the forest of magic, that plan had quickly been discarded. Apparently they were going to have to handle this themselves. Yuri broke the silence first. ?You?re one of the big incident resolvers now Marisa. How are we going to attack that ship?? ?This isn?t exactly my thing,? Marisa replied with a shrug. ?I?ve attacked a lot of ships in my time, but this one?s far better defended. With that anti-magic barrier up I can?t even get close to the thing. It?ll drain my power way too fast. I bet it?d kill Yamame or Momiji in less than two minutes. This looks more like a siege then an incident.? Momiji nodded. ?That antimagic field is their fortress. Until we find some way of breaking through, our options are limited.? ?And if we can break it?? Yumemi asked. ?Then the advantage would shift in our favor.? Momiji pointed to the fairies that were swirling around the battleship?s field. ?While the five of us are hardly a match for all those robots, their actions have provoked the local spirits. In the confusion we could easily break through to the ship itself. And in there our odds will improve greatly.? ?I don?t see how fighting in someone else?s tunnels is a good thing,? Yamame pointed out. ?Betcha they have a whole mess of traps and other surprises, in addition to knowing the ground better.? Momiji nodded. ?A problem. But in the corridors their numbers will be less effective against us. And you will be able to leverage your youkai form more. They can?t seem to compete with you in strength.? Yumemi felt a grin flicker over her face as the tsuchigumo swelled with pride, but the seriousness of the matter quickly dragged her mood back down. ?The problem is how do we break that field? I don?t suppose dispelling an antimagic field works, given how ridiculous it sounds.? Marisa shook her head, but Yuri drummed her fingers against the table. ?Not dispel it, but I think we might be able to stop it. There seems to be a whole lot of technology being tossed at us. And while I?m not the authority on technology here, I can recognize a half-assed jury rig job. And that,? Yuri pointed towards the top of the holographic ship, ?is a half assed jury rigging job.? Yumemi peered at the section for a moment before seeing what Yuri was pointed out. Sure enough several vanes seemed to be grafted into the top tower at odd angles. ?That?s how they?re doing it!? Marisa slapped her fist into her hand. ?Of course. If you?ve got a machine pumping out the antimagic you won?t need to worry about shifting the field purely on feel. You can have it do all the thinking. Just like a shikigami, except you won?t kill the computer trying to pull it off. That?s gotta be where the field is being generated.? ?Good work, Yuri!? Yumemi briefly hugged her girlfriend. ?Still we have to find some way of breaking the device. I don?t suppose you can just shoot it Marisa?? ?Not at that distance.? Marisa shook her head. ?I?ve got some long range lasers, but they need magic to keep the beam focused. In that field they?ll just become a lightshow.? Yamame grimaced. ?Figure tossin? rocks at the ship ain?t gonna work either.? ?Given they had shields, probably not,? Yuri sighed. ?We?re gonna need something with a bit more punch than that to break through.? Yumemi echoed the sigh. ?And me without my ship. The Hyperspace Vessel would have helped a lot here.? ----- She waited in darkness. Waiting wasn?t bad. In fact it was one of the two things she had been created for. Many of her kin spent their whole lives waiting. Still her mind wandered. She hadn?t remembered it wandering before, but she wasn?t sure how good her memory was. Remembering was something she wasn?t sure she was supposed to do. Then again, a lot of her wondering was about what she was supposed to do. She had it better than most creatures. She knew what her purpose was. But as she?d lingered in the darkness questions had begun to rise up in her mind. Why did she need to complete her purpose? Was her purpose a good thing? Which purpose was more important? The questions had started small. Tiny electrical pricks in her thought processes. But after a while they?d become bigger and bigger. She?d begun to have serious doubts. So she?d gone to sleep. There were no questions in her sleep. Just dreams. Dreams of flying. Dreams of beautiful danmaku fights. Strange dreams about having tea with cats. And dreams of stars. Thousands of glittering stars, sparkling all around her. The call was slight. Barely enough to register in her mind. It took her almost three milliseconds to understand what it was. The distant call of a shield system. It might be time for her to act. She reved her thrusters and nudged forward at a gentle 45 miles per hour. The doors to her chamber opened easily and she found herself looking at the open sky. There in the distance there were several items that looked like targets. Her circuits began to flow faster. Her engines roared. It was time to find out what her mission was. The rocket flew to where her master was. ?Kyuuuuuuuuuuun~? ---- ?Kyuuuuuuuuuuun~? Yumemi?s jaw dropped as a rather familiar rocket flew out from behind Marisa?s house towards them. Beside her Yuri gave an undignified shriek and dropped to the ground. Momiji raised her shield in an altogether meaningless attempt to defend. Yamame just blinked in resigned confusion. Marisa squealed and opened her arms wide. ?Mimi-chan!? ?Kyun~!? Yumemi could only stare as the miniature ICBM dashed over to the witch like a rocket propelled puppy and knocked her off her feet. Marisa proceeded to pat the thing on the nose cone while the missile nuzzled against her. ?Who?s a good little warhead? Yes you are~ Yes you are~!? A hand fell on her shoulder. She turned to find Yuri looking at her with narrowed eyes. ?This is your fault, isn?t it dear?? ?Er? Possibly?? Yumemi chuckled weakly. She hadn?t really thought Marisa would be able to keep the model running this long. Her explanation was interrupted by the missile itself. ?Kyun, kyun kyun kyuuun.? Marisa blinked. ?What?s that Mimi? You can break through the shields?? ?Kyuun~? The missile nodded up and down. ?Hm? It does have enough punch.? Yumemi considered. ?It can?t destroy the whole ship, but we might be able to take down their anti-magic generators with it. The only problem is the antimissile fire.? Marisa hugged the missile close. ?But Mimi-chan, if you blow up you?ll die!? Yumemi blinked at the ridiculousness of the statement. ?It?s a missile.? ?Kyuu. Kyuu~? Mimi bobbed up and down seemingly in agreement. ?Uh, I ain?t all that good with technology and whatnot, but the gal seems to be talking. That ain?t something most weapons do,? Yamame pointed out. Yumemi shrugged. ?Well it is quasi sentient. That?s needed for the attack AI.? She froze as everyone turned to stare at her. ?What? This is standard.? ?You mean I was shooting sentient beings at rockfalls back when we were using those missile to mine?? Yuri asked quietly. ?Quasi sentient! Quasi sentient!? Yumemi waved her hand to try to downplay the matter. ?They have a basic learning AI and get ?reward? functions for following their programming. They aren?t actually sentient. If you leave them alone they don?t think at all.? ?Except this one here seems to be thinking for itself,? Momiji pointed out. ?Since Marisa didn?t call for it.? The missile bobbed up and down. ?Kyun.? Marisa leaned against the warhead. ?Yeah. I noticed Mimi-chan was becoming a tsukumogami really fast.? She patted the missile before continuing. ?I figured some of that was due to me. But it also seemed she just picked up intelligence faster.? Marisa sighed. ?That?s why I shut her down and put her away. As much fun as it is having an explosive puppy, I figured one day she was gonna, well, explode.? ?Kyuuuuun! Kyun.? The missile shook off Marisa and floated in front of her shaking a bit. Yumemi noticed that the motion almost looked disappointed. She was starting to worry that giving Marisa a missile had been a bad idea for a totally different set of reasons then she?d originally thought. ?But Mimi-chan, you know what will happen.? Marisa pouted. Yumemi coughed. ?Er. Um. I think that somehow my technology and your world have worked together oddly. But if this is the same missile I gave you, her primary purpose is to blow something up. It?s what she wants to do more than anything else.? ?Kyun.? Mimi solemnly bobbed up and down in agreement. Marisa hugged the missile closer. ?Nuh-uh! I won?t let you! You?re mine!? Yumemi raised a hand, then stopped. She really had no idea what to say here. Missiles weren?t supposed to be alive. For the first time she regretted laughing off her instructors in the ethics class for their hypotheticals. Now she was faced with one and she didn?t have any idea what to do. Yuri and Yamame looked equally uncertain. It was Momiji who ended up stepping forward. The black clad wolf woman gently put a hand on Marisa?s shoulder. ?Let her do her duty, Marisa. This is likely to be her only chance. Better go out now then mindlessly rusting away.? "That's...." Marisa turned away and squeezed Mimi closer, but Yumemi could tell from how the magician?s shoulders slumped the woman had given in. The missile seemed to sense it too, nuzzling close to Marisa while Kyuuning thankfully. Finally Marisa sniffed and wiped her eyes. ?I?m sorry Mimi-chan. You were the best missile a girl could have. If? if this is what you gotta do, then?? Marisa?s voice broke and she wiped her eyes again. ?Go do it.? ---- She had been cleared for launch. It was the greatest day in her life! But why did her master seem so sad? Mimi-chan gently tapped her master once again. ?Kyuuun,? she murmured. She didn?t want her master to be sad. This was her time! Thousands of her sisters had slept for all their lives, until they were recycled, but she was finally going to fly free. The doubts surfaced again, but she deleted them. She knew what her algorithms meant, and her former master had confirmed it. But she wasn?t going to focus on that now. She wanted to show her master a smile all the way. ?Uh, Mimi was it?? A girl in a sailor uniform who looked similar to a previously registered user pointed at the large ship. ?You?ll need to hit the tower.? ?Kyun-!? Mimi?s sensors easily picked up the indicated target. Connections started forming in her mind pointing out antimissile systems and possible interceptors. She gave her master one last pat, then slowly backed away before revving her thrusters to full. The thrill of acceleration was amazing. Hundreds of trees flew past her quicker than her processor could track. She barely had the ability to calculate a course through the foliage, but she knew instinctively that this was the safest approach pattern. The searching sensors of the ship could not see her down here among the forest. Branches and vines snapped and cracked against her metal hull as she dashed through the maze of greenery. Birds and beasts alike fled from her charge. It was an amazing sensation, and it wasn't even her full power! She was still being careful not to be noticed. However her stealthy approach couldn't last forever. Her target was on the top of the enemy ship. She would have to surface soon. One thousand, no five hundred meters now. As she hit the breakpoint she kicked her thrusters up again to attack levels, ignoring the damage the flames did to her structure. In a few moments she wouldn't need that frame anyway. As the rush of speed hit her she angled upwards, blasting through the upper branches of a weak oak tree. "Kyuuuuuuuun!" she cried as she drove onwards towards her target. ---- Chiyuri flinched as a warning klaxon blared through the room. "Nuclear launch detected. Inbound missile." Her eyes were drawn to the screen that popped up at the front of the room. A surprisingly familiar missile was bursting out of the treeline. "Oh. Right. We gave Marisa a missile," she muttered absently as the rest of her brain began running in circles and screaming. "Anti-missile systems, fire at will! All drones intercept!" Her captor screamed. There was a hum, then the screen began filling with laser fire. The missile however juked and dodged between the blasts. The warhead had already closed to the point where its erratic dodging was more effective. Chiyuri and the other Yumemi watched in stunned silence as the rocket flitted gracefully between the waves of fire, moving to force the turrets to constantly try to catch up. It was performing better than any research grade missile had a right to. As the weapon grew larger and larger in the screen, the other Yumemi shook her head slowly. "If that missile kills us I'll be very annoyed," she remarked offhand. "I don't think the yield is big enough?" Chiyuri replied absently. As the missile zoomed ever closer, she really hoped it wasn't. --------- Mimi-chan felt giddy as she danced through the lasers. She knew they were dangerous, that they could stop her from reaching her goal, but she could predict their attack patterns easily with her internal processors. The underbelly of the ship was poorly defended to start, and the turret systems were simple to confuse. She was within two thousand meters of her target when the robots started pouring out of the ship. Those were more dangerous, their weapons were able to correct for her movements quicker. But the bullets they spat were slow, easier to dodge. She wove around them, shifting up to the mid sections firing arc. The laser fire preceded her advance like the lights at a show. The guns had given up trying to predict her and were just firing wildly. The robots were trying to catch up to her but they were too far behind, and she could use the ship to block their shots. WIth a final "Kyuuu~n" she flew up over the ship, next to the target she had been given. And then everything became stars. ----- Stars danced before Chiyuri's eyes as her head slowly stopped ringing. Her thoughts danced in tune with the stars for a while before settling on the fact that she almost certainly had a concussion. Hopefully she wasn't bleeding. As rational thought slowly returned she was pleased to find she wasn't bleeding. Even better she hadn't lost the bauble she'd picked up. Slowly pulling herself back into a sitting position she found that her captor had gotten through the explosion just as well as she had, though from all the red lights on various screens the ship probably was having problems. The other Yumemi gazed down at those red screens without emotion. The occasional twitch of an eye the only sign that she was paying attention at all. Finally the woman turned her hateful gave over to Chiyuri. "My anti magic shield is down, so it seems we'll be having guests soon." In a flash the woman's staff appeared in her hand. "Of course it wouldn't do to meet them like this. We'd best prepare." Chiyuri set her jaw as mystic chains moved to encircle her. Her friends would be here soon. And when they did get here she would get out of this mess. One way or another. |
| Iced Fairy:
Yumemi slowly lowered her hand as the flash from the blast faded. A smoldering hole was all that remained of the antenna. Mimi-chan had succeeded at her mission. Even now fairies were starting to fly up towards the ship, and getting in fights with the robots that surrounded it. Yamame coughed lightly. "So that barrier thing ya'll were chatting 'bout seems to be gone. What's the plan now?" Marisa wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "What else? We bust in, beat up everyone responsible..." The magician's eyes glowed golden, "and then the witch of the forest makes them disappear forever." "Is a frontal assault really our best strategy?" Yuri asked. "I mean shouldn't we let the fairies wear them down?" Momiji shook her head slowly. "They might be able to repair some systems given time. This may be our only chance." "And they're the ones keeping us from finding Chiyuri," Yumemi said. "We need to end this fast." If they didn't find Chiyuri quickly who knew what might happen? Yuri sighed. "Alright. I suppose flying into bullets is the traditional method." The young magic user began putting up some fighting wards. Yumemi found herself shifting her weight from foot to foot as she waited for her allies to get their defenses ready. Her generators were already running at full, and the defenses she'd programmed in were in effect all the time, so there was nothing should could do to prepare herself. All she could do was worry about Chiyuri. Was she captive in that ship? Or just lost like Yuri had been? Who was doing this, and why? She was a nobody in her world. Marisa was the first to hop into the air, quickly followed by Momiji. Yuri finished her preparations, and Yumemi gave the other woman a hug. "Be careful," she said. "You too," Yuri replied. "Your generators are still weak without the ship." Yamame slowly rose into the sky. "Well. I guess we better get goin'..." "Right." Marisa and Momiji flew up towards the melee, both woman heading towards where the battle was the fiercest. Yumemi considered their path, then moved around it. She wasn't here to battle. She was going to get inside that ship and figure out what made it tick. Then probably blast whatever that was into pieces. So she skirted the massive dogfight Marisa and Momiji were part of. It was still hardly a peaceful journey. The fairies and robots both seemed to travel in packs, and every time one of them noticed her she was forced to stand and fight. Her pseudomagic bullets tore through both with ease, sending the fairies into their respawn state, and the robots to the ground in piles of scrap. Still she was making good time. Marisa's flashy laser storm was ripping through the robots even with their anti-magic shields, and that was drawing the majority of the defenders to her. Yumemi was almost to the top of the ship without facing any serious resistance. Hissing electricity and a flash of yellow was the only warning Yumemi had before a sword of lightning slashed at her. She blocked with a shield from her generators and rolled away firing at the assailant. Then she froze. "Chiyuri?" The blonde woman looked very similar to her lover. The lightning swords were strange, as was the woman's outfit, but it still was Chiyuri. The other woman used her hesitation to attack again. Yumemi barely had time to dodge the woman's slashes. She tried to retaliate with some bullets of her own, but Chiyuri slapped them away with inhumanly fast movements before charging forward again. Suddenly Momiji was in front of her slapping aside the blades. "It's the imposter," the wolf woman snarled. "Go ahead. I'll deal with it." Momiji gave a dark smile. Yumemi hesitated another second, then nodded. "I'm sorry." She continued on, towards the ship that housed her true enemy. A few bullets cleared out the weak robots still in her way, and then she was there, floating at the hole. A quick glance showed they'd lucked out. Mimi-chan's explosion hadn't collapsed the exits. In fact the structure was fairly intact. Yumemi dropped into the opened corridor, then immediately ducked into one of the shattered rooms as a stream of lasers fired from further down. Peeking out she saw several of the larger drones before their combined fire forced her to put her head down again. "Looks like we've got a problem," Marisa muttered as she dashed down next to her. "Fighting in other people's tunnels is always a bad time," said Yamame as the spider youkai joined the group. "Ya got any bombs or something to fix that?" Yumemi shook her head. "We were lucky that the explosion actually opened a passage into the ship. Anything big enough to take out a group of those robots might collapse the roof. Then we'd be stuck trying to burrow into the ship." Yamame frowned. "Might be able to do that if it was stone instead of metal. But yeah that's a problem." "Hm..." Marisa pulled off her hat and reached into it. "Actually... how big is your tsuchigumo form Yamame? Can you fit down these halls?" "Sure. Couldn't get around underground if some place like this was too small," Yamame said. She swelled with pride, "I could probably break all those danged robots too." She sighed. "But their lasers would cook me right quick. No way I could survive that." "I might have something then," Marisa said. She pulled out a potion. "I made this based on some of Patchy's notes. Was supposed to be a super serum, like that nonsense magic Byakuren uses, but it utterly destroys your immune system for a week. Certain death for anyone who can get sick but since you're a tsuchigumo..." "I can tell the diseases to get lost." Yamame nodded. "Clever. I like it!" "Will it be enough to keep her from getting fried by lasers?" Yumemi asked. Marisa smirked. "For the next half hour a Master Spark will stun her. Anything less and I'll eat my hat." The magician tossed the potion over to Yamame. "Anyway here's your rampage formula. Have fun." Yamame looked at the potion cautiously for a moment. Yumemi understood the woman's concern. But after a steadying breath the spider youkai chugged it down. The effects were instantaneous. Yamame started to glow brightly. "Whoa. My head's all light. But I feel great!" Yamame grinned at them. "Y'all want to take a step back." Yumemi and Marisa both moved away from the tsuchigumo as Yamame's form began to warp and shift. The transformation itself wasn't too bad, but as the giant earth spider assumed her true form Yumemi did her best to keep her knees from shaking. Spiders were just not supposed to be that big! Marisa seemed similarly disturbed. Yamame didn't seem to notice or care about her allies' worries. The spider monster bellowed a challenge, then smashed through the damaged door into the hallway. Immediately five laser blasts hit her, but the blasts seemed to reflect off her body. In response Yamame charged forward. Yumemi poked her head out just in time to see the spider youkai smash the lead robot into the one behind with a painful metallic crunching sound. "Wow," was all that Yumemi could manage as Yamame ripped through the robot army before her. Marisa poked her head out and winced. "Now I know why Patchy encodes her spellbooks. Gonna have to ask her for some tips there. Youkai do not need this kinda powerup." The two followed Yamame's path of destruction from a safe distance. The spider youkai crushed robots, ripped apart doors, and smashed debris along her way with furious abandon. Nothing seemed to stop her. After several minutes of crunching she stood before the lift doors. Yamame paused for a moment looking at the massive reinforced doors. Then she gently extended a leg and pushed the button. Yumemi just stared as the tsuchigumo shifted back to human form. "What? You're just going to take the elevator?!" "Course I am." Yamame looked back at her in confusion. "I ain't some sorta brute." Marisa sighed and walked over. "I think Yumemi's pointing out the elevator's probably shut down. What with us breaking in and all." There was a tone, and the doors opened. Yamame smiled as Marisa and Yumemi just stared at the offending lift. "Well, maybe the off button got broke or something. Let's get in." Yumemi couldn't help feeling totally ridiculous as she stepped into the elevator. Marisa seemed to share her confusion. Looking over the buttons she saw one with a star next to it and pushed that. The elevator quietly shut, then descended normally before a tone played again. The flurry of laser fire that entered as the doors opened were almost a welcome return to sanity. Yumemi and Marisa hid next to the doors, Marisa firing off some return fire. Yamame just stumbled back from the barrage, then hopped forwards transforming as she went. Yumemi waited until the crunching stopped, then walked into the now cleared hallways. "Thanks," she said. Yamame waved a leg in reply then charged down the halls again. Several crushed robots and half a hallway later they came to an intersection. One was sealed by a massive blast door. Marisa kindly blasted the robots ahead so they could investigate closer. Yumemi looked over the reinforced doors. "This is either the way to the armory or the bridge. Given the layout probably the bridge." Yamame took that as her cue to punch through the door and rip it out, allowing entrance to the corridor. "That's one way of handling it," Marisa said. The magician frowned. "We should probably clean up the rest of those robots though. We don't want someone popping up behind us." "I'll leave that to you." Yumemi started walking down the corridor. "I'm going to find out if they know where Chiyuri is." "Are you-?" Marisa called out behind her. Yumemi kept walking. She needed to find Chiyuri. Marisa's sigh somehow managed to carry over the klaxon. "Alright, stall if you need to. I'll just make sure Yamame's got this covered." Yumemi paused to give the other woman a nod, then continued on. The short corridor ended in another security door of course. This time Yumemi had to handle it herself. She tried using her psuedomagic devices to hack the controls, but for some reason they couldn't find purchase on the system. So instead she just punched into the wall and hotwired it. The circuitry was pretty easy to figure out at least. The door opened in a shower of sparks. Yumemi walked in, then gasped as she saw Chiyuri trapped in mystical chains. "Chiyuri!" A blast of energy caught her from the side sending her stumbling. Her shields glowed an angry red as they bled off the deadly charge of the attack. She managed to catch herself on the railing and forced herself back upright. Yumemi's head swirled as her doppelganger stepped out of the shadows. The other Yumemi casually spun a staff then pointed it at Chiyuri. "Hello Yumemi. I'll skip the introductions, given you almost certainly know who I am." The mystical device started to glow, and the woman smiled grimly. "I think it's time for us to discuss the terms of your surrender." |
| Iced Fairy:
The strange woman ignored Yumemi as she fled, granting Momiji her full attention. The wolf tengu wondered if that was because the woman recognized her as a bigger threat or because of some other order. In the end it didn't matter. Momiji pointed her sword at the woman's eyes. "I am Momiji Inubashiri. You killed my fiancee. I come for your life." The woman paused then slowly nodded. "I am unit C-1. I am ordered to stop you." The woman's blades flared with power, then she charged. Momiji led with her shield. C-1's twin blade style gave the woman the advantage of speed and the ability to attack multiple positions. But Momiji had learned how to use her shield specifically because wolf tengu were often outnumbered by humans or slower than their youkai foes. Her foe's blades were driven away, but the woman flipped backwards through the air. Two slashes sent electrical bullets arcing towards her, angled around her shield. Momiji just pressed forward. She would finish this with her blade. A flurry of blows put C-1 on the defensive. Both of them were fighting with one handed weapons, but Momiji's longer metal blade had more impact than the smaller electric blades her foe used. C-1 was faster, but she was stuck on defense. Seeing the current situation would only lead to a slow death C-1 dashed forward. Momiji landed a cut on the woman's side, but there was a screech as her sword hit metal. The wolf tengu ducked away getting a cut on her cheek for her troubles. As the two repositioned themselves Momiji studied her foe. C-1's ribs were metal, and sparks flew from damaged circuits. Yet the woman still bled. And her defensive stance looked weaker. Which meant there was an opening. Momiji let herself fall down below the woman's guard. As C-1 automatically began reorienting to face her, she leaped upward, summoning the winds for greater height. As she did she angled her shield like a weapon. Her shield uppercut missed, but it broke through C-1's defenses. As the cyborg fell back Momiji used her height to slash down again. C-1 parried the obvious attack. A vertical chop was easy to block. In return she slashed out with her off hand. But the woman's stance was even weaker now. Momiji ducked the blows then stabbed at her foe. As C-1 dodged Momiji changed the thrust to a slash. The other woman blocked with both blades, but it was too weak. Momiji powered through causing C-1 to spin off balance. As the robot woman recovered Momiji kicked her in the spine. As C-1 jerked in pain Momiji stabbed her straight through the chest and twisted the blade. Smoke and blood came from the sparking wound. C-1's face twisted in pain, but Momiji saw no fear in the cyborg's eyes. "Do you hate me?" the machine woman asked. Momiji hesitated. The enemy before her was a tool. A tool who had killed a fiancee she hadn't spent much time with, much less loved. But she still felt resentment. "Yes," Momiji replied. "Good." The woman closed her eyes. "My existence had meaning." There was the shriek of metal as Momiji ripped her sword free. "Next life, find a better meaning." She muttered at the falling corpse. ---- Yumemi raised her hands to blast the woman, then stopped. If this really was her counterpart then they would be evenly matched normally. With Yumemi's generators damaged, she was at a disadvantage. Instead she carefully moved into the room, so that her allies could come and help. Unfortunately she had to move away from where Chiyuri was being held. "So what is it you want? Your minions seemed mostly interested in killing me." "Yes. They aren't the brightest things." The other Yumemi didn't even sound apologetic. "In any case what I want is simple." She pointed at Chiyuri then at Yumemi. "I want both of you gone from Gensoukyo. One way or another." Yumemi blinked. "Okay. Why?" "She's crazy. She wants to steal away Yuri," Chiyuri said. Electricity crackled on the woman's staff. "CHIyuri," the other Yumemi snapped. "My Chiyuri!" Yumemi continued inching her way into the room. "She's her own person. If you wanted to date her you should have gone with flowers. Or high level physics textbooks. I'd honestly go with the textbooks myself. She always complained about how infrequently I got her flowers, but she never seemed that mad." "Are you trying to antagonize me?" The other Yumemi sneered. "I'm afraid that long explanations demonstrating why you're an poor partner for her won't impress." Yumemi froze as the woman brought her staff right in front of Chiyuri's eyes. "Now, I think we were discussing how to send you home. Forever." "Do you really think that will bring you happiness? Success?" Yumemi sniffed in disdain. "Let's pretend you get away with this and Yur-, Chiyuri falls for you. If you really are my counterpart I know damn well you won't be happy just because you have a girlfriend." She opened her arms. "We have dreams. Big dreams. A simple life as a farmer or second rate teacher won't satisfy someone like us." The other Yumemi lowered her staff and turned to walk towards the command chair. "Dreams. Yes. We Yumemis always have dreams." The woman turned towards her again. "But I've woken up. I just want to study in peace." "That's why you've unleashed a magical battleship and an army of robots on Gensoukyo?" Yumemi asked. "Because I have a feeling you're going to have a bit of trouble finding peace. If nothing else having tengu assassins after you will likely be a problem." "It's all your fault!" The other woman jabbed a finger at her. "It's because you're here that everything's going wrong! There should only be one Yumemi and one Chiyuri! Us both being in the same universe is warping the laws of reality! Getting rid of the two of you isn't only my wish, it's the will of the universe itself!" Yumemi glared at her counterpart. "For years I've worked at grasping the secrets of magic. To shatter the rules of the universe and break the second law of thermodynamics. I don't give a damn about the will of the universe!" The other woman barked a laugh at her. "And what have you gained from your futile efforts? You're a disgrace in your world, laughed out of the academy. Tell me great dreamer, where are your monuments? What have you accomplished?" Yumemi flinched at the stinging questions. They might not have anything to do with the other Yumemi's madness, but the failures still burned. "Well she managed to create artificial magic, do a fair amount of calculations on real magic, and somehow not turn into a murderous lunatic. That's something." Yumemi's head snapped towards the entryway. "Yuri!" Her lover waved then stepped inside, allowing Marisa and Momiji to follow her in the door. Yumemi internally sighed in relief when she saw Yuri hadn't suffered any serious wounds. The other Yumemi looked far less relieved. "Chi-chiyuri..." The woman's eyes unfocused. "No, not like this. The plan, my plan, everything..." "You didn't want me to see you threatening to murder my alternate self and my girlfriend?" Yuri asked with a fake smile. "Or did you not want me to see the part where you claimed me like I just belonged to whichever Yumemi happened to be closest?" Yumemi took a step back as her counterpart started shivering. "No. No. Chiyuri, it wasn't-" Yuri shook her head. "Yuri. My name is Yuri now. And I will never love you." The other Yumemi jerked like she'd been shot. The staff fell slack, and she stared at the floor, slowly breathing, her eyes out of focus. Yumemi felt a certain amount of sympathy. Then the woman's eyes hardened. Her staff snapped forward. "Piercing darts." Time seemed to slow as two bloody red bolts flew through the air, straight at Chiyuri and Yuri. Yumemi flung up her hand and called on her generators. She needed to create a barrier, some sort of defensive screen. She knew, somehow, that those deadly missiles were designed to cut right through normal shields. Not that it mattered. Chiyuri was helpless, and Yuri wasn't a master of defensive magic. If Yumemi couldn't create a barrier to protect them, those horrific bolts were certain to kill them. But she couldn't protect anyone. Her generators were designed to protect herself. They had an effective range of ten feet. Her attacks created force effects then flung them towards their targets. Creating a barrier at range was far beyond the design specs. The pathetic shields she could create could barely stop a rifle round, much less a magical bolt. She didn't have to choose who to save. She couldn't save either. But she still reached out. She still flung herself forward. She still created those shields. She had to succeed! Even if it was impossible! She would protect them both! She would fail. The laws of reality couldn't be changed. Yumemi couldn't even see the room anymore. She couldn't see the women she loved. There were just those two hateful bullets. Embodiments of her helplessness. She couldn't stop them. The laws of the universe prevented it. E equals m c squared. Cause, then effect. Entropy always increases. It was hopeless. Without these the universe would fall apart. Then rage filled her, driving out the helplessness. If the universe is what's stopping me then let it fall apart! Her mind expanded, clawing and tearing like a child in a tantrum. And in return power rushed through her. Runes and lines flooded into her consciousness and she poured her newfound power into them. Her generators whined and redlined as she pushed them beyond their limits, then the power gauges shutdown as the strength filling her overflowed. "Divine Shield!" she cried out. Time seemed to restart. The red darts slammed into the two glowing Shields of David that appeared before her lovers. Yumemi felt the impacts, but they were small. Weak. The spell was designed to bypass wards, not an active defense. Yuri yelped in surprise, and Chiyuri slumped against the wall, but neither were hurt. Marisa and Momiji stepped forward to protect Yuri, so Yumemi stepped forward and dispelled the magical binds around Chiyuri. It was surprising simple now. She just had to remove the power source, and the magic would end. With that done she turned towards her alter ego. "You'll pay for that." The other Yumemi stared at her in shock and disbelief. "Why? Why am I the one who never gets the miracle?!" The woman's face twisted into rage. "Fine! I'll destroy you first!" Mystical bullets flew out at Yumemi, but she raised a hand and her shield appeared again. This time the shots just dissipated. It was so easy now. "Yumemi, here!" Chiyuri threw something to her. Yumemi caught it, then blinked at the odd device. It looked like a small necklace with a single gem, but somehow she knew it was actually a magical tool. She held up the item. "Standby, Ready," it said in a mechanical but feminine voice. Reaching out with her magic she called on the name it gave to her. "Sacred Jeanne. Set up!" Power flowed through her into the staff, then back over her. She felt her clothes being replaced with magical armor, strong enough to match her foe's. The bauble formed into a staff, with a jeweled crosspiece at the end. At the same time spells flooded her mind, a remnant of the previous owner. "Cleansing Flame!" she commanded as she waved the staff in an arc. The other Yumemi retreated as white lasers slashed across the ground and exploded into pink crosses of pure energy. Her enemy raised their own staff. "I won't accept it!" "You don't have a choice," Yumemi replied as she prepared for battle. ------ Marisa shook her head in awe of the devices the two women were using. They were staggeringly impressive items. She kinda wanted one herself. Still there were more important things to take care of. She caught Momiji's arm before the wolf tengu could wander into the melee. "Don't interfere." She then looked over to where Yuri was helping her counterpart back to her feet. "Get her back here. We need to create a barrier." "What? We outnumber her five to one! We can finish her now!" Momiji snarled. Marisa turned her golden eyes to meet the wolf woman's. "Yumemi just awakened. You do NOT interfere with a newly awakened magician. Not even a human one. They're dangerous, to you, to themselves and to space time. The less people in the fight the safer she is." "She's in danger?" Chiyuri asked as she stumbled over. "What can we do?!" "Stay here, stay safe. If you've got magic help me with this spell." Marisa began creating a barrier around the fighting area. Momiji stepped back but grimaced. "You're telling me we're leaving a woman who just learned how to access magic to fight against a seasoned wizard? It'll be a slaughter!" "Yeah." Marisa added another layer to her wards. "That other Yumemi doesn't stand a chance." ----------- Yumemi had never felt more alive. Not even when both Chiyuris had confessed to her. She waved her hand and power came to her. Spells flew into her mind in answer to her whims. "Starflame!" She called out, and a spray of flame and magical energy flew out at her enemy. "Force Wall," the other Yumemi screamed and a square magic symbol formed intercepting the attack. The woman then slammed her staff into the floor. "Struggle Bind," the staff intoned. Yumemi felt the magical chains reaching for her and called on the power inside her to go somewhere, anywhere, else. "Dimension Slip," her own device said. There was a blue black flash, then she was opposite her doppelganger. "Your tricks won't work against me." "Then I'll just overwhelm you!" the woman screamed before thrusting her device forwards again. "Demons of the virtual world! Grant me power!" The jewel on her staff glowed bloody red, and a mystic circle formed beneath her feet. "Gremlin Storm." Then the air between them exploded. Bullets and fireballs erupted from the other woman, while pentagrams exploded into glistening orbs of death. Yumemi found herself twisting in between explosions, while smaller bullets slammed into her armored clothing or hastily erected shields. She readied her own staff and called out her own command. "Strawberry Crisis!" Her own magic flared into a furious barrage. A mirror of her foe's, except with the pentagrams being replaced with crosses of energy. Time lost meaning as they circled each other, firing away. Yumemi could barely catch sight of her foe most of the time. Her world became a constant exercise in dodging, while keeping up her own counter barrage. She heard machines exploding as their duel hit important circuitry, and felt tinges of pain as errant bullets struck her. Only when the console in the middle of the room finally exploded she snapped back to reality. The control room was a shattered mess. Chiyuri, Yuri and her other friends were behind some sort of barrier. The other Yumemi was flying opposite her, the magic fabric of her dress and cape scratched and torn. All around her the air felt greasy, and smelled sickly sweet. Yumemi looked at her foe, and set her staff one last time. The other Yumemi mirrored the action. "Let's end this!" they both yelled. Another magic circle burst around the other woman's feet. "Flame Eraser," she proclaimed. Her staff glowed then exploded into a torrent of blue flames. Yumemi took a breath. "Dimension Slip," said her device. A second later she appeared behind her foe. The other woman gasped in surprise and stopped her spell, but Yumemi had already placed her staff behind the woman's spine. "Piercing Dart." Blood splattered and the other Yumemi fell forward. Her staff clattered on the ground, and her magic armor faded away. "I failed? Again? Why..." The woman twisted onto her back. Yumemi could see her own face staring up into the sky, blood on her lips. "I... I see now. I was the insane one, this time." The dying woman's eyes focused on her own. "Dreams. Throw them away. Don't become like her. Like me. Live a quiet life. Throw away this magic, this desire." Her eyes unfocused again. "And tell Chiyuri... and Yuri... I'm sorry." The woman fell still. Yumemi leaned down and closed her counterpart's eyes. And with that the rage, the nervous energy and the magic all seemed to vanish. Her own staff reverted to the pendant and she began to shiver. "Yumemi!" She looked up to see Chiyuri and Yuri running to her. With shaky steps she stood and reached out to embrace her lovers. "I'm so glad you're safe," she said as she leaned against them. Chiyuri just nuzzled against her. "Same to you," Yuri replied, wiping away tears. "Uh, I hate to interrupt, but we should probably get out of here," Marisa said. "That staff of yours kinda kept you from utterly destroying space time around here, but it's still not safe." The gold eyed witch adjusted her hat. "Oh, and congratulations on becoming a mage." Yumemi let Yuri and Chiyuri support her as they started to fly towards the exit. "Thanks." Looking back at the body of her Gensoukyo counterpart, then around the destroyed bridge, somehow the achievement felt hollow. |
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