| ~Hakurei Shrine~ > Kosuzu's Grand Bookstore |
| A New World, Book 3 - Complete - |
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| Iced Fairy:
Alice sped towards the shrine, following Marisa. They were pushing the limits of their flying speed, fighting against the wind. Alice's vision could barely make out the trees before they passed them. Fortunately the two of them knew the path to the shrine almost by heart. They'd flown and fought here for over 300 years. Which is why neither of them hit anything when a series of bullets from the ground forced them to dodge out of the way. As soon as she sensed the foreign magic, Alice rolled left and spun in a circle, sending two suicide dolls towards where their attacker was. Marisa finished her roll to the right and added her own magical napalm mix to the attack. The trees below burst into flames with a boom. Alice winced at the sudden light shift, but forced her eyes to stay open even as they teared up. Two figures escaped from the explosions; one male, one female, magical shields glowing brightly. Before she'd even consciously confirmed they were Lunarians, Alice's dolls began firing at them. The pair split in response, the man drawing a sword and lunging for her, while the woman unleashed a barrage of lasers against Marisa. Alice sent another three dolls out in front of her with a flick of her wrist. She didn't have a clue how to fight with a sword, but the dolls knew on some level. She felt a brief pang of loss as the man cut the first doll down but the doll's 'sisters' avenged her, sending the man on the defensive with their perfectly coordinated cuts. He fell back to get room for a counter attack, but another flick of the wrist sent five dolls wielding lances charging into the fray. Trusting that her lovely creations had her foe occupied, Alice turned to check on Marisa. As Alice watched Marisa executed one of her standard reckless charges, spinning through her opponent's laser field, while somehow avoiding the deadly beams. As she did Marisa released two lasers of her own, but the focused light seemed to curve away from her target. Alice felt her worry grow. Obviously the woman knew how to bend light away from her. That took out a lot of Marisa's normal arsenal. The sudden feeling emptiness that accompanied her sword dolls dying forced Alice to return her attention to her own opponent. He had dodged the lancer dolls and was making his way back towards her. She swore softly and allowed two more suicide dolls to attack the man, while rearranging her shooting dolls to provide a blistering crossfire. Alice hated fighting like this. She loved her dolls, even those built only to self destruct, and a battle like this chewed through them far too quickly. She couldn't even be proud of the results her dolls gave. There was no beauty in her attacks, nor glory in the outcome. There would just be a shattered body and a pile of broken dolls. Nothing more. She took a good look at her foe, and anger spread through her heart. The only thing she could depend on was that her enemies were scum. She didn't have the same connection Marisa did to the shrine, but she respected the Hakurei family. They were going to make the Lunarians pay for involving the Hakurei in this mess. She felt the magic in the area swirl around her foe as he started a spell, and sent her dolls in a corkscrew attack pattern with a vicious pull on her strings. He broke the spell to escape the attack and retreated again, still keeping himself between her and the burning shrine. ?You heartless bitch! Dragon Meteor!? Alice jumped backwards as Marisa's scream ripped through the air. The world turned white and a sound somewhere between a whine and a roar drowned out everything else. The shockwave sent her tumbling through the air, like a drunk in an earthquake. When she could control her movements again she flew back up to where her wife was sitting and snarling at the two Lunarians. Alice watched them take up defensive positions again. Alice took a deep breath and tried to think about the fight calmly. Trying to power through was Marisa's thing. She was supposed to be tactical. What were the Lanarians doing, and how could she stop them? 'They're stalling for time. They must expect reinforcements if they hold long enough,' Alice realized. Alice grabbed Marisa's shoulders. ?I'll finish up here. You go ahead.? ?But,? Marisa looked at her with shocked eyes. ?There's no way you can...? Marisa's eye's opened even wider when Alice flipped open her Grimoire. ?It's time I taught these Lunarians why transformed Magicians are the most powerful youkai in existence.? Marisa nodded. ?I'll be back for you as soon as I'm done.? Alice's heart was warmed by the confidence in Marisa's statement. The Lunarian woman threw a spell at Alice, possibly out of pique for being ignored. Alice of course dodged it casually. The man simply said, ?As much as I'd love to punish you for your arrogance neither of you can get past us.? Marisa laughed darkly and pulled the brim of her hat up. ?Challenge accepted.? Alice started as Marisa pecked her on the cheek, then flipped her broom around to point in the opposite direction of the shrine. ?I'll be back in a jiffy.? Marisa whispered two words, ?Gateless Gate,? then accelerated on her broom. The two Lunarians blinked as Marisa seemed to run away, then vanished. The man tried a teleport trace, but got nothing. Which made sense. After all Marisa hadn't teleported. Technically. Alice smirked at the two. Then she closed her eyes and called to her Grimoire. She felt the power reach out to her. The power within the book that had been bottled up for such a long time. A power infused with a thousand myths and legends from all of history. It came slowly at first, like a stream at the start of spring, as the first thaw touched it. At first it crept along, finding old channels overgrown, and new channels awaiting its touch. Soon though the power started overflowing, as the barriers Alice had put up broke down one after the other. The book once again was free to suffuse her being with its magic, a river of power that surged throughout her soul like a second pulse. She opened her eyes and flung out her hand on instinct. She cried out the words of the Thunders, and the magical blast her opponents had been forming while she'd been summoning her power shattered into a thousand motes of light, its magic unmade. The two figures below her stared up at her in awe of her prowess, and she reveled in their shock and terror. She rapidly forced that feeling down though. Logically, Alice knew her advantage wasn't that great. She'd devoted most of her spells to non combat practices, and her combat spells mostly focused on her dolls. She only had a few spells that allowed her to attack directly, and most of those were easy to dodge. With one exception. Her foes of course weren't going to let her summon up that magic unopposed. The woman lowered her head and began a low chant. Electricity poured out of her hands and infused the man's blade, turning it into a crackling weapon of energy that would shatter most magical shields. Alice needed to buy some time. She out a small doll and tossed it forward to meet her foes. ?Semi Autonomous Goliath Doll.? The doll began expanding the moment it left her hand. It rapidly grew to twice the man's height and brought it's blades clashing down in defiance. The electrified blade climbed to meet the mighty blow and the forest was wracked with the shriek of arcing lightning as the three blades locked against each other. Still, Alice knew that wouldn't be enough. It was only out there to buy Alice time. Most people believed that Magician youkai have no unique traits. Sure they all know magic, but that's something any youkai (and many humans) can learn given enough time. This is wrong. Each magician youkai has one spell that no other living being, not even other magicians, can duplicate. One spell that defines them. The spell that made them a youkai or removed their aging. Patchouli had her Philosophers Stone, which could alter the very nature of souls. Marisa had created her Improbability Potion, which defied conventional logic. Byakuren had her 'Superhuman Byakuren' spell, which gave her powers far beyond mortal humans. And Alice had her Grimoire. The Grimoire of Alice. A book for her alone. A book that declared she was to be a legend. Alice called upon the artifact that had made her a youkai once again, asking it for more power. And it gladly answered, making the river of power overflow. Alice fought back the urge to laugh as raw energy coursed through her veins, and poured out of her eyes. She instead forced herself to focus on her spell. The Goliath doll was missing an arm, but it was still holding her foes off. They'd seen her begin her spell and were rushing to stop her. But it was too late. ?The sun shines on the battlefield It shines with furious might It does its best to shadows clear To make the future bright. And this is odd, because it is The middle of the night.? A blast of flame shot up from her grimoire, as bright as the sun in her improvised poem. Alice smiled even as the Goliath doll collapsed and continued her rhyme. ?The time has come, my foolish foes, To talk of many things Of wonder ? worlds ? and walruses Of dolls ? and of their strings. And if this world is really real, And what makes humans beings.? The book pulsed with energy and shot another bolt into the flame sitting above them. The ball of fire dropped down from the sky and exploded in a crimson wave. It washed over Alice, but she felt no heat, only a sudden weakness. The power that had flowed through her body was gone. All drained into that massive explosion. And when it faded her enemies were gone as well. After a few seconds the creatures of the forest decided the night's entertainment was over and began their cries again. The sounds of the crickets was proof of Alice's victory. Alice sighed deeply and allowed herself to drift down to the ground. Her body ached all over, and the book felt like lead in her hands. Overcharging herself with the Grimoire like that always left her weakened. She probably wouldn't be able to fight for the rest of the night. Still, she'd taken out two of the Lunarians, and Marisa was still fresh. Alice would just have to have faith in her friends and wait the rest of the battle out. When she reached the ground she took cover between two bushes next to a young tree that still had some leaves. To pass the time she flipped open her grimoire again. There on the pages, in a script only she could read, a new story was forming. A story of two soldiers thrown in a strange world from a harsh battle. As she watched them begin exploring their new world she wondered if they'd embrace their new existence as part of the book, or become a well placed pile of bones for the next 'Alice' to find. She was hoping for a pile of bones herself. But maybe they'd mature enough for her to change her mind. |
| Kasu:
That was a great chapter. I especially liked the nice spin on the Grmoire you included at the end. :3 |
| Alfred F. Jones:
THAT WAS TOTALLY WICKED .... yeah, very much looking forward to more awesome fighting like this. :munch: |
| KrackoCloud:
Aah! I just caught up! Alice is being very epic. I love her special ability, and I'm hoping we'll be able to see Marisa's in action sometime soon. |
| Iced Fairy:
--- Quote from: KrackoCloud on April 12, 2011, 04:48:37 AM ---Aah! I just caught up! --- End quote --- Congrats. And thanks for reading. --- Quote ---Alice is being very epic. I love her special ability, and I'm hoping we'll be able to see Marisa's in action sometime soon. --- End quote --- Actually you did. Sorta. Since if won't be making a larger appearence, I'll explain. My second fic was one where Marisa vowed to become immortal, without 'cheating' and just becoming a magician. Thus Marisa worked many sleepness nights, and in the end created a potion that would grant her immortality while being infinitely unlikely to make her a magician. It of course made her into a magician when she drank it, because that's what humans who are made immortal by magic become. Much to her annoyance. Since then however the universe has been paying off that karmic debt of unluck. Thus with concentration and focus, Marisa can succeed at doing things by performing the exact opposite of what she needed to do. Like say reaching the shrine by giving up and running away in the opposite direction. However the actual results are hard to accurately determine, so Marisa doesn't push her luck. It's fitting though that the most combat oriented magician's ultimate spell is best suited to out of combat purposes. |
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