Dusty steel walls, gray as dark thunderclouds on the eve of a storm. Furniture almost nonexistant, with only a tiny wooden dresser, a tiny wooden nightstand, and a tiny wooden bed to call her own. Decorations? Perish the thought! The walls were as barren as the far stretches of Jurgana. All she had were the bland, verbrose books about other countries in Mondor and their history, and the few picture books she borrowed from other nobles, on the rare occasion she was let out of her room.
These books were her only company most of the time. Only the stories of girls with fairy godparents to weave them dresses to go to the ball and sweep the prince off his feet, of tiny girls the size of one's thumb escaping arranged marriage after arranged marriage and riding on the back of a bluejay through the sky to find someone just right for her, and of heroes of all shapes and sizes teaming up to take down an evil sorcerer could ease the troubles in the young girl's heart. She often imagined herself as one of these heroes and acted out the part all on her lonesome. Sometimes the guards would come by and tell her to pipe down, but she would always pick up her one man play once they were far enough away. When you had no friends, you just had to make up your own, and play the role for them.
Not that her father liked any of this, of course. Thought that she should just be seen, not heard. "Princesses shouldn't get any fanciful ideas about the outside world," he always said in that voice that reminded her of three cellos playing deep notes in unison. "Princesses should just do as they are told."
Shiela Cunningham then had to sit in her room, day by day, doing nothing but reading the boring books her father ordered her to.
Then, the news broke out. She overheard the guards panicking about the downfall of several small time nobles: Baron Jack, Count Christopher, Viscountess Yulana... all of them falling like dominos at the hand of a particular person.
"Him and his bloody sword and scepter tore 'em to pieces!"
"Yeah, he didn't know the definition of mercy, not one bit. Wasn't he the one who brought down the Clockwork Count?"
"If I remember right, yes. Stubborn man, he is. Princess Petra's got her eye on him, fer sure..."
Her curiosity knew no bounds, and it only grew when her father went to the princess a few years later for factory arrangements and a truce. She remembered wandering around the halls, searching every nook and cranny and greeting every new face along the way. Everybody seemed to be absorbed into their own thing, talking about an impressive ball that they just had to prepare for! Nobody really had time to talk to her, and she was getting lost within the giant maze of a castle. Almost broke down and cried...
Until she heard the distinct jingling of bells.
Shiela turned towards it and saw a jester-capped man, with a sword and a scepter and a cape. He looked like one of the heroes from her picture books! She stared at him, unsure of how to greet him, until she forced the words out of her mouth.
"Um... excuse me!"
The jingling stopped as the man turned to her.
"Yes?"
Thump, thump. Her heart pounded hard against her chest.
"Are you... are you like... um..."
The words jumbled up as she stammered, but the man was really patient. He even knelt down beside her, head tilted to the side!
"You're one of those hero guys, right?" she finally managed to say after several minutes of her words tripping over themselves like a stampede of animals. "With swords and staves and magic, right? You look like you beat up a dragon! Or two dragons! Or... or.. or maybe even an evil sorcerer that can turn into SEVEN dragons!"
The man let out a small chuckle and smiled. "Some might consider me one, for felling someone they deemed evil," he replied. "Others might paint me as a villain. Depends on perspective, you see. Sadly, I don't remember slaying any dragons, but I did defeat an evil sorcerer... Perhaps two."
"Oh my god this is so cool I'm meeting an actual hero oh my god can I hold your staff thingy or your sword or something oh my gooood"
The next few moments were the most memorable, as the man allowed her to hold a sword and a scepter. She was even invited to his room so he could teach her a little magic! It was possibly the happiest moment in her life.
Of course, when she was inevitibly called over to return to her father and go back home, she couldn't help but cry.
"But I don't want to go back home!" she said. "It's too boring and I'll be stuck in that room again and Daddy won't like me doing anything fun because he's a big poopyhead!"
"But Your Highness," pleaded the maid, "if you don't, he will be rather... angry, yes! Very, very angry! You must go before his patience runs out!"
"But I just made a friend and he's a hero and he's so-"
She sniffled back her tears before she grumbled, "Fine, I'll go back..."
The little princess almost left without a goodbye, with the maid dragging her right out. However, both were stopped when the friendly man said, "Hold a moment, if you could."
The maid stared at him as if he were crazy. "But Sir Hansel, her father beckons-"
"I shall handle him myself, and give him my apologies for holding his daughter back. It won't take but a moment, anyhow." He then turned towards the little princess and asked, "Your father keeps you in your room all day, with no company at all?"
Shiela nodded her tiny little head.
"Not even the company of guards? Or other nobles?"
"Nope. Dad says I don't need friends. Or company. He didn't change his mind even when mom told him it wasn't good for me."
"Hmmm." Hansel put a hand on his chin, deep in thought. "How puzzling. I don't see any reason why a king would isolate his daughter so, if she is set to rule..." He rushed into his room and fetched a pen and paper, then scribbled down something before handing it to the little princess. "If he denies you company," he said, "then perhaps letters will do instead? Writing always helps get feelings on paper, and it is a nice way to stay in touch with people from far away lands. If you ever feel lonely, you can try sending a letter to me. I'd be more than happy to send a letter back!"
She stared at the paper like he gave her solid gold.
"R-really? I can write to you and stuff?"
"I don't see why not. Besides, it does no good to have to keep all of your feelings to yourself."
Her smile was bright enough to light a room as she replied, "Then I'll write letters EVERY week and we'll be best friends! Hero buddies! The very best hero buddies! I mean..." She looked down at the floor again, foot drawing circles in the ground. Then she looked up with sparkling eyes and said, "I wanna be a hero, too! Someone people can look up to and stuff!"
Hansel smiled back before heading to his desk and pulling one more thing out to hand to the princess: a star-shaped brooch, with a bright pink gem in the middle.
"Then consider this a gift, from one hero to another. It was a good luck charm for one of my good friends. I hope it will serve you well, your Highness."
"Just call me Shiela! It's better than calling me that. Unless you're in front of Daddy or something. Daddy is strict with that sort of stuff!"
Yes, she remembered that day like it was yesterday. And she remembered writing letters that she would sneak out of her room to deliver to the post office... and sneak out to retrieve responses, too! Every letter was fun to read and full of advice only an experienced hero could give.
And now... freed from her cage by the aid of Princess Sonika...
---------------------------------------
She maaaaay have went a little overboard.
Sparks flew from the robots, with more holes in their chasis than a slice of swiss cheese. The clockwork roks were nicely shish-kabobbed onto her spear, sputtering clouds of smoke once she pulled them off. Cyborg nobles groaned in pain, bumps and bruises visible all over their skin just as well as dents all over their machinery.
"Whoops!" Shiela Quartz said all too late at the giant mess she made around a noble's factory. "Belinda might not like this; I think I broke too many things."
Just as she said that, some of the other machinery, once used to manufacture gunblades and laser spears and other odd weaponry, exploded and caught fire.
"Guess she can't really use this unless she fixes it up. Maybe I shouldn't have rained holy comets everywhere?"
The girl began to dust her dress and armor off, wiping away some of the oil that got on her. She also adjusted the winged hairband she kept in her hair, her idiot hair flopping in the wind, withering when the smoke became thicker from everything simply giving up the ghost.
As she turned away to leave, Shiela said to herself, "Either way, at least it was good exercise! Now, lets see if I can convince Count Evans stop putting out sludge in the rivers, and maybe I'll end up with a big enough reward that I can really go to Vegas to meet all sorts of cool heroes!"
And as she did, she cluched her star-shaped brooch tightly in her hand, hoping her greatest wish would come true.
Tuesday, March 31, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
Tiny Sparks of Light
"Cassandra."
"Yes? Speak up, and it is Queen Cassandra to you, you little runt!'
"Er, yes, but, uh... I have news."
"What kind? And I said speak up, dammit!"
The little imp held out a golden blob... and what looked like a recorder. The tiny fairy took a closer look, only for a familiar mug to appear on screen.
"Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuurpiiiiiise~" came the cheerful voice of Gluttony, as he stood in front of his manor with a ton of prinnies, Sophia, and a silver-feathered birdlady, who seemed to be chanting something quietly to herself. "Long time no see, Miss Snooty Whinyface! How's life treating you, hmmm?"
She grabbed the thing and hissed, "You little bitch! You went and killed Pestus and betrayed us! You're the worst goddamn servant there is! I hope you're calling so you can apologize and-"
"Kiss the grimy excuse for feet you have? Oh, please. I'm far too dignified for that! Besides, you're not exactly my type. So sorry~"
"You....!"
Gluttony cackled a little, apparently enjoying how many shades of red Cassie could turn in under a minute before he continued, "Well, I'm going to let you in on something! I caught wind of your little plans to go to Vegas and stir the pot, thinking you're worth more than the dirt I stand on! And that's so adorable, thinking that you're actually better than you really are! Using everybody else as tools for your little game of 'Pretend!'
But you know... You can just give up this stupid game. Might do your complexion good! Oh, and you'll get to live a few extra years. Kobberitis is a very contageous disease, and kills most wicked people within 6 months or less!"
Like a child who was just told they got grounded, Cassandra yelled, "They're nothing! YOU'RE NOTHING! I'll show you, I'll show them, I'll show everyone that I. MEAN. BUSINESS. You'll see... You'll ALL see!"
"All I see is a whiny baby who needs a itty bitty bottle and a nap~" Gluttony retorted gleefully. "Buuuut if you insist..."
The grin Gluttony gave her was nearly enough to make Cassandra pop a blood vessel.
"I'll see you there, ready for war~"
And in a flash of light, the manor... and the ground it sat on... was gone.
And apparently, so was Cassandra's temper, as she cursed loud enough to wake the dead.
------------------------------------
"Feckin feckin FECK"
"Belinda, swearing isn't gonna get you anywhere-"
"Shut it, Juan! You see that hot mess out there? Da's gone completely mad! His army's slaughterin' his own people and marchin towards us! Hansel's locked 'imself up in his room again and Janet went to go find this Troy spirit in Princess Petra's castle! And we haven't heard a peep from Horus and Arawen! Things are goin' to shit and war's basically at our doorstep!
Feck, I need a drink!"
"I know how you feel, but now's not the time to lose our heads. We have to think this through carefully, and try to reduce casualties."
"I know that! I got me elites handlin the situation and everything!"
"Then what's bothering you?"
"I... I..."
"...It's because this isn't like your dad at all, is it?"
"...Yeah. That's not me da. Me da's been tryin' hard not to be an ass, like all the others who were Monarch. Tryin' hard to resist. But maybe... maybe he's losin his touch. Maybe he's turnin' like all the others. Maybe he's turnin' into a mad king...
...Maybe he's not even a man anymore. Just a dead body in a suit of armor tellin' 'im what to do.
I want to help him, Juan, but dammit... what if I go there and he's not me da anymore?!? What if all this stallin' has been for absolute shit?!?"
"I can't claim to know everything, 'linda... but we won't know unless we try. We have to try. If we don't try... how can we know?"
"Yeah... yer right. Only time can tell... and even if he's gone... It'd be a goddamn good excuse to get rid of that Monarch once and for goddamn all.
Where's Shiela, by the way? Thought the little valkrie was with ya."
"Er... Well, she said something about possibly going to Vegas, and trying to get the Kobbers to help soon. Not sure if she'll be staying there for the year, but hey, I don't mind."
"She does know it's on a different planet, right? How is she gonna pay fer the tickets?"
"...
...I think I can hear my wallet crying."
"Won't be just yer wallet cryin' once ya see how expensive space travel can get!"
---------------------------------------
"Riiiiingabel!"
The handsome mercenary turned his head towards his white-haired companion, rushing towards him at top speed.
"Riiiingabel! I found a nice appartment for us here in Vegas, and it's really nice! Well, more like hotel room to rent out, but you know! It's right where the Kobbers are gonna be, and I'm gonna be filming there-"
"My, my! Do slow down; you almost seem like you're about to explode from excitement!"
"Well, who wouldn't? The Kobbers are here, it looks nice, there's a donut shop down the street..."
"-And many beautiful women, it looks like!"
Kevin was not particularly impressed by how fast Ringabel's eyes were moving from one pretty lady to the next. Nor was he impressd when Ringabel embrassed himself like the girlfriend he never had.
"Oh, so many wonderful women: busty, curvy, short, tall... And one of them might become mine~"
"Might have to work hard for that, Ringabel. It will probably be easy for you, since you're a mercenary! I read that the Kobbers go on lots of adventures, and some of them get paid well for their efforts! Oh, and did you know that they beat up a planet last year? I think someone caught it on tape! Want me to show you?"
"Ah, er, perhaps? It might do well to know who'll I be working with."
"You're saying that because you wanna look at all the cute girls!"
"Ah, you see right through me! As expected of you, dear! But enough of that; shall we go out for a midnight stroll?"
"Ringabel, it's eight. But sure, sounds like fun! But can we pay a visit to the Stop 'n Shop? I'm getting kinda hungry..."
-------------------------------
"Bro."
"Yes?"
"You know what we gotta do?"
"Nope."
"SEND OUT THEM GRADUATION INVITATIONS HOMIE! WE 'BOUT TO HAVE A KOBBER PARTY UP IN MAY AWWWW YEAH
SAMMY GONNA ROCK THAT CAP 'N GOWN AND THEY GONNA CRY CUZ THEIR LIL SAMMY GETTIN ALL GROWN UP
THEN
I'MMA BE HANDLIN' THE ARCAAAADE BROOO!
WATCH OUT, VEGAS! SAMMY'S COMMIN FOR YA, WITH HER BOIS MIKE 'N SOL!"
"I think you're way too excited for this, Sammy."
"You're just jealous because you can't come, Carlos."
"I'm fine not dealing with this year's craziness, thanks."
---------------------------
"Reimu?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I ask you something?"
"I'm listening."
"Why in the world are we in a SUSHI BAR?!?"
"Because shut up, Kaito. The fish is not going to eat you, by the way."
"But th-their eyes... their mouth... their... EVERYTHING!"
"Oh shut up and eat your food, dammit."
Thursday, March 12, 2015
Golden Concerto, Stage 2
Touhou 14.7: Eastern Towers of Avarice ~ Golden Concerto
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Stage 2: City Streets Bathed in Gold
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The kaiju looked at us with hollow eyes.
Does avarice make us empty inside?
---------------------------------
It stared at them with a hungry look.
Reimu glared right at it, pulling out her gohei and watching its movements closely. Kaito seemed to be doing the same, but underneath the confident facade, the shrine maiden could see the slightest twitch of his hand. Not surprised; this monster was bigger than some of the other things they faced, and it was hard to keep a poker face when a kaiju was right in front of you.
"What the fuck is up with that thing?" Reimu asked nobody in particular. "Why did it decide to come here, of all places?"
"How should I know?" replied the thief indignantly. "It's not like I invited it here!" He took a breath and calmed himself before he continued, "Either way, it's looking at us. We need to find a way to distract him away from the building. I don't want anyone getting hurt."
"Good thing I know how to fight. Unlike you."
"H-hey!"
Reimu winked at him before taking flight, soaring from the top of the building and floating near the monster. The imps below seemed to draw bows, eager to shoot her down. Idiots. Probably didn't know that a best thing a Gensokyoite has is their uncanny dodging ability. The minute those arrows go flying, she'll be kicking them into next tuesday. The big guy, on the other hand... He's huge. And if there's anything she knew about huge things, they have the tendency to punch you and shoot eye lasers at you and take forever to deal with.
"Hey, fuckhead!"
Good, the thing actually understood her, turning towards her instead of eying the building like it was dinner. She started to notice a few things, though. Namely, the fact that it was growing larger and absorbing the cars around it. She didn't have time to worry, though. She took out a demon-dispelling tag and hurled it at the kaiju, hoping that would at least help distract him.
Turns out... that tag was a lot more effective than she gave it credit for. The beast was howling in pain, and now the imps were shooting at her. Those bows could only have so much ammo, though, so she weaved through them like a storm of danmaku. If she could 'time them out', then they'd be completely harmless.
It helped that Kaito was shooting them down one by one with his Card Gun. Not that Reimu asked for his help at all. Hell, if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be here dealing with it. Ah well, too late for that now.
Now to hope that Sukuna actually got out of there safely....
-------------------------------
"Hum de dum duuum, hum de dum duuuum~"
Inspector Nakamori opened his eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of them. It wasn't the first time Kaitou Kid had hit him with a sleep bomb, and it certainly wasn't the last. Sneaky devil; if only he had the chance to strangle the truth out of him-
"Woooow! The Blue Behemoth is so pretty!"
Things slowly came into focus, and he saw a tiny little... what was that? A mouse? A person? No, it couldn't be; people couldn't be that tiny! The thing was looking at him, though. He didn't have the Blue Behemoth...
He opened checked his hands and there it was: the blue gemstone that pulsed in the light. He didn't remember getting this... Maybe he did strangle Kaitou Kid after all?
Nakamori stood up and adjusted his tie before he boasted, "Well, of course! I was the one who kept it safe from Kaitou Kid! Thanks to my efforts, the jewel is safe! Hahahaha!"
The inchling stared up at him with childlike wonder. "Then you must be a real hero, stopping the bad guy!" she said with a smile. "So cool... I wanna be like you one day!"
"Well, I, uh..." Was he dreaming? He was dreaming, wasn't he? That... that thing was talking to him and called him a hero. Could she even become a police inspector?
Good thing he didn't have to think about it too long, as a security officer ran in and said, panic in his voice, "Inspector Nakamori! There's a golden kaiju outside! We're being told to evacuate right now, in case it attacks!"
"What?! That can't be right!" Nakamori stomped over to the closest window, grumbling to himself. "Kaiju only exist in the TouHou produced movies, not in real-"
His face turned several shades of white upon seeing a giant, golden arm and a storm of arrows flying up into the skies.
"Sir?"
"...Help me evacuate the rest of my men! We're leaving and informing the other police officers about this incident!" Nakamori then turned back and said, "And YOU are coming with us, you little-"
He stared blankly at the spot he thought the inchling was. She wasn't there anymore, nor anywhere else in the room.
...Maybe he needed to get his head checked sooner than he thought.
----------------------------------------------
The imps trembled before the shrine maiden, who had exhausted their ammo by dodging each and every arrow. Fearful were they, as they could see the wrath of god behind those eyes. They held their breath as she approached, praying that their death would be quick and painless.
Unfortunately for them, mercy was not a word in Reimu's dictionary.
That left only the massive, golden kaiju that stared down at her. She looked up, meeting his empty look for a moment before she struck, barraging him with talismans. It roared in pain and swiped down towards her, leaving a glob of gold where it hit. Reimu dodged just in time, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge the next punch. Before she could react, it held up its remaining hand and slammed it down, gold coins raining from the skies like they were fired out of a gun. It was difficult to dodge them all without damage: the spread was too fast, and there were simply way too many.
Kaito saw this and prepared to toss a smoke bomb, but he heard the yells of people below and turned his attention away. People were starting to fight over this gold, strangling and punching each other for cash raining from the heavens. He could see the glint of greed in their eyes, hypnotized by the money that could vault them towards better lives.
The same greed that he heard devoured the hearts of three villains on Ardea, a three way tango for riches.
The same greed that those seeking the Pandora Gem had, eager to take as many lives and gems possible to find it, eager for immortality.
He did not hesitate a bit to toss that smoke bomb in the kaiju's face, shooting a barrage of cards in his eyes. The gold coins were more spread out for the next wave, allowing Reimu to weave through them and counter with her own barrage of danmaku. Kaito was almost tempted to join the fray for good when something tugged at his ear.
"Bad thief, bad thief!" a tiny voice said. "You shouldn't steal things, okay!"
"Owowowowo, yes, I get it, cut it out!" he yelped, turning towards the source.
It was a really tiny person, no more than an inch tall. "Hi! I'm Sukuna!" she introduced herself. "I'm the one who returned the Blue Behemoth! We're gonna be best friends forever!
...Well, as long as you're nice to Reimu. Reimu is a very nice person."
"Except when she's beating the bloody crap out of demons, it looks like," Kaito said bluntly, his cape suddenly turning into a hang glider as he got a running start. "Time for us to take our leave!"
"But why? Can't you fight?" asked the little inchling, tilting her head to the side.
Before he lept off and took flight, he pointed towards the people below. "Even if I can fight, I really don't like the idea of roping innocents into our mess. I'd rather lure him away to, say, wherever you and Reimu live."
Sukuna stared for a moment before smiling at him.
"That sounds like a good plan, actually! Maybe Tenshi will be less bored if we give her something to punch?" She then turned towards Reimu and yelled out, "Reeeei! We have a plaaaan!"
Reimu may have responded, but it was drowned out by the monsterous groan of the golden kaiju as the cards were ripped out from his eyes and solid bricks of gold fell from the sky now, landing gently in front of police officers. Soon enough, Reimu had more than just gold coints to worry about: coins may hurt, but bullets could kill her if they hit her in the chest.
Goddamn monster must have bought them out with... whatever the hell that was, Reimu thought as the monster also absorbed a car on the parking lot and shot the entire thing at her from his body, not giving her a chance to dodge. She was slammed into a building, car alarm blaring, coughing out blood. I don't have the ability to tank any of this... And I can't do this alone!
Seeing Reimu in trouble, Kaito aimed his card gun and fired at the officers, trying to divert their attention away from her. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work: their eyes, glowin gold, were still focused on the shrine maiden, even as she slipped away from the car and took flight into the night sky, following after Kaito.
"I heard you had a plan," she stated. "Let's hear it."
"Not even a hello or anything to your friend? Cold."
"You're no friend to me."
"I was talking about Sukuna, idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot, you dumbass who got nailed with community service?"
"Well, I'm not the one flying around with a few broken bones, now am I?"
"Excuse me?" the princess pipped up, confused. "You guys need to stop, because one, that's not very nice, and two, we need to find a way out of this! So tell us the plan!"
Kaito grumbled something under his breath as the wind lifted him higher. He turned back and saw the kaiju and his new gang of police officers following after them. Perfect. He then grinned at Reimu and said, "We should take him to your home! I mean, it isn't far from here if you managed to get here within a day, right? And Sukuna mentioned something about Tenshi being there!"
Reimu gave Sukuna a disapproving look, although the inchling just continued to smile innocently. "Go on," the shrine maiden said.
"So the plan's simple: We hit him just enough to drag him over to your home, then we can launch a counterattack there, where we may have a few more allies behind us. Of course, someone's going to have to warn them that they're getting company."
"As if it would be that hard to warn them when we get there, Kaito. Seriously, we're really good at finding incidents and doing something about them. Unless you're the incident causer. Either way, it's probably a better idea than toughing out the internal injuries. I'm not full blown kobber material."
Kaito sighed dramatically before taking aim with his card gun again. "If only the Kobbers heard about this... They'd be on it faster than a dog can chase a stick!"
He only needed to shoot once to get the kaiju's attention. Just once in the middle of the forehead. The roar of anger was a good sign, as was the kaiju running after them. Reimu led the way, dodging the hail of vaulable items being flung haphazardly around her. Kaito had worse luck, but Sukuna was conjuring knives and danmaku to counter them all on her own.
"Oh, so you know how to use those, too?" he asked her as she pulled out a tiny little hammer.
Sukuna smiled at him and replied, "Of course! Everybody in Gensokyo does! It's how we do battle and stuff! Without killing anyone and stuff!"
"Put in place because a certain SOMEONE nearly kicked my ass," Reimu added with a bit of bitterness as she grazed past a few bikes and a china cabinet.
"So I'll protect you, Mr. Thief! And I'll protect Reimu, too!"
Kaito would have rolled his eyes, but Sukuna wasn't fast enough to protect both of them from a barrage of toy dolls. He yelped as his hang glider went out of control, nearly crashing into a building before it somehow corrected itself and soared without his help controlling it. He didn't question it, though; he just kept the kaiju's attention on them with Reimu's help.
It felt like an eternity before they reached the place Reimu claimed to live: A ragged old shrine in the middle of Tokyo. People passed by it with nary a second thought. As Kaito and Reimu landed on the ground, the thief wondered how Reimu even survived in a place like this.
She casually walked up the steps, although her breath became more and more unsteady as she got closer and closer to the shrine. Blood was dripping down the side of her lips. When she reached the top, she walked towards the gate and leaned against it, catching her breath as her companions caught up.
Sukuna asked her in a worried voice, "Reimu, are you alright? You seem really, really tired!"
"Can't say I'm surprised; suffering internal injuries, aren't you?" Kaito asked, putting his card gun away for the moment.
"I've dealt with worse," grumbled the shrine maiden. "Like death. But enough talk: where's Mr. Ugly Kaiju?
Kaito listened out for the loud, thunderous footsteps and replied, "Not too far. In fact-"
THUMP. The kaiju stopped in front of the shrine, much bigger than before. Cars and bikes and jewelry seemed to be making up a large part of his body, in addition to all that golden muck. The look in his eyes was as hungry as ever, yearning for more.
Reimu stared at him. She knew that look. It was the look she always wore when she looked in the mirror after staring at an empty donation box. It was the look Marisa had when she stumbled across Patchy's libary. The look Kanako had in her eyes when there was an entire mountain of faith to reap from Gensokyo, with little regard for anyone else.
"Greed," was the name that escaped her lips as the monster came ever closer. The golden monster that once lurked in her heart... Or maybe, it still did. Maybe that's why she could sympathize, even a little bit.
He drew ever closer...
And when he finally lunged, seeking to engulf all of them and make them as empty as he was, she grabbed Kaito and Sukuna, flying backwards through the barrier. And where she went, the monster followed...
-------------------
Once, I built a tower of avarice in my heart
But soon enough, it would all fall apart...
---------------------------------
It stared at them with a hungry look.
Reimu glared right at it, pulling out her gohei and watching its movements closely. Kaito seemed to be doing the same, but underneath the confident facade, the shrine maiden could see the slightest twitch of his hand. Not surprised; this monster was bigger than some of the other things they faced, and it was hard to keep a poker face when a kaiju was right in front of you.
"What the fuck is up with that thing?" Reimu asked nobody in particular. "Why did it decide to come here, of all places?"
"How should I know?" replied the thief indignantly. "It's not like I invited it here!" He took a breath and calmed himself before he continued, "Either way, it's looking at us. We need to find a way to distract him away from the building. I don't want anyone getting hurt."
"Good thing I know how to fight. Unlike you."
"H-hey!"
Reimu winked at him before taking flight, soaring from the top of the building and floating near the monster. The imps below seemed to draw bows, eager to shoot her down. Idiots. Probably didn't know that a best thing a Gensokyoite has is their uncanny dodging ability. The minute those arrows go flying, she'll be kicking them into next tuesday. The big guy, on the other hand... He's huge. And if there's anything she knew about huge things, they have the tendency to punch you and shoot eye lasers at you and take forever to deal with.
"Hey, fuckhead!"
Good, the thing actually understood her, turning towards her instead of eying the building like it was dinner. She started to notice a few things, though. Namely, the fact that it was growing larger and absorbing the cars around it. She didn't have time to worry, though. She took out a demon-dispelling tag and hurled it at the kaiju, hoping that would at least help distract him.
Turns out... that tag was a lot more effective than she gave it credit for. The beast was howling in pain, and now the imps were shooting at her. Those bows could only have so much ammo, though, so she weaved through them like a storm of danmaku. If she could 'time them out', then they'd be completely harmless.
It helped that Kaito was shooting them down one by one with his Card Gun. Not that Reimu asked for his help at all. Hell, if it wasn't for him, she wouldn't be here dealing with it. Ah well, too late for that now.
Now to hope that Sukuna actually got out of there safely....
-------------------------------
"Hum de dum duuum, hum de dum duuuum~"
Inspector Nakamori opened his eyes, trying to rub the sleep out of them. It wasn't the first time Kaitou Kid had hit him with a sleep bomb, and it certainly wasn't the last. Sneaky devil; if only he had the chance to strangle the truth out of him-
"Woooow! The Blue Behemoth is so pretty!"
Things slowly came into focus, and he saw a tiny little... what was that? A mouse? A person? No, it couldn't be; people couldn't be that tiny! The thing was looking at him, though. He didn't have the Blue Behemoth...
He opened checked his hands and there it was: the blue gemstone that pulsed in the light. He didn't remember getting this... Maybe he did strangle Kaitou Kid after all?
Nakamori stood up and adjusted his tie before he boasted, "Well, of course! I was the one who kept it safe from Kaitou Kid! Thanks to my efforts, the jewel is safe! Hahahaha!"
The inchling stared up at him with childlike wonder. "Then you must be a real hero, stopping the bad guy!" she said with a smile. "So cool... I wanna be like you one day!"
"Well, I, uh..." Was he dreaming? He was dreaming, wasn't he? That... that thing was talking to him and called him a hero. Could she even become a police inspector?
Good thing he didn't have to think about it too long, as a security officer ran in and said, panic in his voice, "Inspector Nakamori! There's a golden kaiju outside! We're being told to evacuate right now, in case it attacks!"
"What?! That can't be right!" Nakamori stomped over to the closest window, grumbling to himself. "Kaiju only exist in the TouHou produced movies, not in real-"
His face turned several shades of white upon seeing a giant, golden arm and a storm of arrows flying up into the skies.
"Sir?"
"...Help me evacuate the rest of my men! We're leaving and informing the other police officers about this incident!" Nakamori then turned back and said, "And YOU are coming with us, you little-"
He stared blankly at the spot he thought the inchling was. She wasn't there anymore, nor anywhere else in the room.
...Maybe he needed to get his head checked sooner than he thought.
----------------------------------------------
The imps trembled before the shrine maiden, who had exhausted their ammo by dodging each and every arrow. Fearful were they, as they could see the wrath of god behind those eyes. They held their breath as she approached, praying that their death would be quick and painless.
Unfortunately for them, mercy was not a word in Reimu's dictionary.
That left only the massive, golden kaiju that stared down at her. She looked up, meeting his empty look for a moment before she struck, barraging him with talismans. It roared in pain and swiped down towards her, leaving a glob of gold where it hit. Reimu dodged just in time, but she wasn't fast enough to dodge the next punch. Before she could react, it held up its remaining hand and slammed it down, gold coins raining from the skies like they were fired out of a gun. It was difficult to dodge them all without damage: the spread was too fast, and there were simply way too many.
Kaito saw this and prepared to toss a smoke bomb, but he heard the yells of people below and turned his attention away. People were starting to fight over this gold, strangling and punching each other for cash raining from the heavens. He could see the glint of greed in their eyes, hypnotized by the money that could vault them towards better lives.
The same greed that he heard devoured the hearts of three villains on Ardea, a three way tango for riches.
The same greed that those seeking the Pandora Gem had, eager to take as many lives and gems possible to find it, eager for immortality.
He did not hesitate a bit to toss that smoke bomb in the kaiju's face, shooting a barrage of cards in his eyes. The gold coins were more spread out for the next wave, allowing Reimu to weave through them and counter with her own barrage of danmaku. Kaito was almost tempted to join the fray for good when something tugged at his ear.
"Bad thief, bad thief!" a tiny voice said. "You shouldn't steal things, okay!"
"Owowowowo, yes, I get it, cut it out!" he yelped, turning towards the source.
It was a really tiny person, no more than an inch tall. "Hi! I'm Sukuna!" she introduced herself. "I'm the one who returned the Blue Behemoth! We're gonna be best friends forever!
...Well, as long as you're nice to Reimu. Reimu is a very nice person."
"Except when she's beating the bloody crap out of demons, it looks like," Kaito said bluntly, his cape suddenly turning into a hang glider as he got a running start. "Time for us to take our leave!"
"But why? Can't you fight?" asked the little inchling, tilting her head to the side.
Before he lept off and took flight, he pointed towards the people below. "Even if I can fight, I really don't like the idea of roping innocents into our mess. I'd rather lure him away to, say, wherever you and Reimu live."
Sukuna stared for a moment before smiling at him.
"That sounds like a good plan, actually! Maybe Tenshi will be less bored if we give her something to punch?" She then turned towards Reimu and yelled out, "Reeeei! We have a plaaaan!"
Reimu may have responded, but it was drowned out by the monsterous groan of the golden kaiju as the cards were ripped out from his eyes and solid bricks of gold fell from the sky now, landing gently in front of police officers. Soon enough, Reimu had more than just gold coints to worry about: coins may hurt, but bullets could kill her if they hit her in the chest.
Goddamn monster must have bought them out with... whatever the hell that was, Reimu thought as the monster also absorbed a car on the parking lot and shot the entire thing at her from his body, not giving her a chance to dodge. She was slammed into a building, car alarm blaring, coughing out blood. I don't have the ability to tank any of this... And I can't do this alone!
Seeing Reimu in trouble, Kaito aimed his card gun and fired at the officers, trying to divert their attention away from her. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to work: their eyes, glowin gold, were still focused on the shrine maiden, even as she slipped away from the car and took flight into the night sky, following after Kaito.
"I heard you had a plan," she stated. "Let's hear it."
"Not even a hello or anything to your friend? Cold."
"You're no friend to me."
"I was talking about Sukuna, idiot!"
"Who are you calling an idiot, you dumbass who got nailed with community service?"
"Well, I'm not the one flying around with a few broken bones, now am I?"
"Excuse me?" the princess pipped up, confused. "You guys need to stop, because one, that's not very nice, and two, we need to find a way out of this! So tell us the plan!"
Kaito grumbled something under his breath as the wind lifted him higher. He turned back and saw the kaiju and his new gang of police officers following after them. Perfect. He then grinned at Reimu and said, "We should take him to your home! I mean, it isn't far from here if you managed to get here within a day, right? And Sukuna mentioned something about Tenshi being there!"
Reimu gave Sukuna a disapproving look, although the inchling just continued to smile innocently. "Go on," the shrine maiden said.
"So the plan's simple: We hit him just enough to drag him over to your home, then we can launch a counterattack there, where we may have a few more allies behind us. Of course, someone's going to have to warn them that they're getting company."
"As if it would be that hard to warn them when we get there, Kaito. Seriously, we're really good at finding incidents and doing something about them. Unless you're the incident causer. Either way, it's probably a better idea than toughing out the internal injuries. I'm not full blown kobber material."
Kaito sighed dramatically before taking aim with his card gun again. "If only the Kobbers heard about this... They'd be on it faster than a dog can chase a stick!"
He only needed to shoot once to get the kaiju's attention. Just once in the middle of the forehead. The roar of anger was a good sign, as was the kaiju running after them. Reimu led the way, dodging the hail of vaulable items being flung haphazardly around her. Kaito had worse luck, but Sukuna was conjuring knives and danmaku to counter them all on her own.
"Oh, so you know how to use those, too?" he asked her as she pulled out a tiny little hammer.
Sukuna smiled at him and replied, "Of course! Everybody in Gensokyo does! It's how we do battle and stuff! Without killing anyone and stuff!"
"Put in place because a certain SOMEONE nearly kicked my ass," Reimu added with a bit of bitterness as she grazed past a few bikes and a china cabinet.
"So I'll protect you, Mr. Thief! And I'll protect Reimu, too!"
Kaito would have rolled his eyes, but Sukuna wasn't fast enough to protect both of them from a barrage of toy dolls. He yelped as his hang glider went out of control, nearly crashing into a building before it somehow corrected itself and soared without his help controlling it. He didn't question it, though; he just kept the kaiju's attention on them with Reimu's help.
It felt like an eternity before they reached the place Reimu claimed to live: A ragged old shrine in the middle of Tokyo. People passed by it with nary a second thought. As Kaito and Reimu landed on the ground, the thief wondered how Reimu even survived in a place like this.
She casually walked up the steps, although her breath became more and more unsteady as she got closer and closer to the shrine. Blood was dripping down the side of her lips. When she reached the top, she walked towards the gate and leaned against it, catching her breath as her companions caught up.
Sukuna asked her in a worried voice, "Reimu, are you alright? You seem really, really tired!"
"Can't say I'm surprised; suffering internal injuries, aren't you?" Kaito asked, putting his card gun away for the moment.
"I've dealt with worse," grumbled the shrine maiden. "Like death. But enough talk: where's Mr. Ugly Kaiju?
Kaito listened out for the loud, thunderous footsteps and replied, "Not too far. In fact-"
THUMP. The kaiju stopped in front of the shrine, much bigger than before. Cars and bikes and jewelry seemed to be making up a large part of his body, in addition to all that golden muck. The look in his eyes was as hungry as ever, yearning for more.
Reimu stared at him. She knew that look. It was the look she always wore when she looked in the mirror after staring at an empty donation box. It was the look Marisa had when she stumbled across Patchy's libary. The look Kanako had in her eyes when there was an entire mountain of faith to reap from Gensokyo, with little regard for anyone else.
"Greed," was the name that escaped her lips as the monster came ever closer. The golden monster that once lurked in her heart... Or maybe, it still did. Maybe that's why she could sympathize, even a little bit.
He drew ever closer...
And when he finally lunged, seeking to engulf all of them and make them as empty as he was, she grabbed Kaito and Sukuna, flying backwards through the barrier. And where she went, the monster followed...
-------------------
Once, I built a tower of avarice in my heart
But soon enough, it would all fall apart...
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Wicked Flight
The fog in the crystal ball swirled about, twisting into familiar and unfamiliar faces. The tiny little girl on her throne nearly bounced out of her seat with a glee only a toddler could share as she watched events unfold.
"Perfect, just perfect~!" she squealed, clasping her hands together. "Already those idiots who killed Pestus are just drawing trouble like moths to a flame!"
"Oh yes, with the eternal feud against World Creature Wars and Zoofights Corp bound to flare up once more?" a haughty voice said from the girl's side. "Of course, they'll tear each other apart like paper. And that isn't even considering the other more... barbaric sorts they'll have to face. All driven by greed, desire for power, their pride..."
"Don't forget who actually stole Levian stuff!" snapped a tinny voice in the back of the room. "Because Greed and I did that, and we opened up another safe before he fucked off to nowhere! Honestly, why do you keep trusting Greed to do stuff? It's kind of stupid."
A soft voice, smooth and honeyed, piped up from the shadows. "He has his role to play in this, dear. His desire for material wealth will most definitely get stronger once he finds us in Vegas. Vegas might as well be absorbed completely the minute he gets here! It's simply a desire I can't even hope to copy, and Vegas has it in spades."
The tiny girl smirked. "The biggest mistake those idiots made is deciding to come to the original Sin City! They don't even realize it, do they? That sin only becomes stronger in the presence of more of it? Of course they don't! They won't even see us coming, with how much they're going to have to deal with!"
"I suppose that your plan involves taking advantage of the chaos reaped by others before slitting kobber throats one by one?"
"Or turning them against each other because they all have some sort of envy? Oooh, I love this~! I wanna do this!"
"If you want me to tempt them to go for their deepest, darkest desires... I'm your gal. I'm always ready to go all in. Of course, there is Wrath and Greed too, ready to smash through like a wrecking ball."
"Oh, taking advantage of them is just way too boring," said the tiny girl with a glare before her face twisted into that wicked, gleeful look. "Why not take advantage of people that they're familiar with? Then I get to see their stupid faces as they try to talk sense into them, and BOOM! Their so-called friend kills them without a second thought!"
"That's what I exist for, Cassandra," a voice grumbled. "You know, Envy and all? Green eyed monster?
By the way, shouldn't we be worried about Gluttony? He kind of, I don't know, killed all of us without a second thought a thousand years ago. And he's bound to get stronger, too, with all that goddamn food everybody will be serving him. He's on the completely wrong side!"
A staff was summoned to the little girl's side, black as the hearts of men, topped with a giant spade. And she could only continue to grin as lightning struck and lit up her face.
"Who cares?! I can turn him against his little friends when I need to. Don't bother worrying about him! What's more important...
We need to show these little peasants that in this game of power play, there's only ONE queen fit to stomp on the Neo-Kobbers, the Kobbers, and every other damn thing in the universe and declare her rightful rule!
AND THAT QUEEN... IS ME."
She could only cackle as her minions chanted, "All hail Fairy Queen of Sin, Cassandra!" They were joined by several other no-names that she had recruited over the years and after Pestus's death. She would not be deterred by Kobber power.
No... she would only grow stronger.
She'll make them BEG for mercy.
----------------------
Little fairy, little fairy,
Why hold so much hate in your heart?
Little fairy, little fairy,
It only shoves you and others apart.
Little fairy, little fairy,
Why do you envy me so?
Little fairy, little fairy
You command others, while I am set to sew.
Little fairy, tiny fairy,
You manipulate my dearest friends
Little fairy, wicked fairy
It's time for our story to end.
"Perfect, just perfect~!" she squealed, clasping her hands together. "Already those idiots who killed Pestus are just drawing trouble like moths to a flame!"
"Oh yes, with the eternal feud against World Creature Wars and Zoofights Corp bound to flare up once more?" a haughty voice said from the girl's side. "Of course, they'll tear each other apart like paper. And that isn't even considering the other more... barbaric sorts they'll have to face. All driven by greed, desire for power, their pride..."
"Don't forget who actually stole Levian stuff!" snapped a tinny voice in the back of the room. "Because Greed and I did that, and we opened up another safe before he fucked off to nowhere! Honestly, why do you keep trusting Greed to do stuff? It's kind of stupid."
A soft voice, smooth and honeyed, piped up from the shadows. "He has his role to play in this, dear. His desire for material wealth will most definitely get stronger once he finds us in Vegas. Vegas might as well be absorbed completely the minute he gets here! It's simply a desire I can't even hope to copy, and Vegas has it in spades."
The tiny girl smirked. "The biggest mistake those idiots made is deciding to come to the original Sin City! They don't even realize it, do they? That sin only becomes stronger in the presence of more of it? Of course they don't! They won't even see us coming, with how much they're going to have to deal with!"
"I suppose that your plan involves taking advantage of the chaos reaped by others before slitting kobber throats one by one?"
"Or turning them against each other because they all have some sort of envy? Oooh, I love this~! I wanna do this!"
"If you want me to tempt them to go for their deepest, darkest desires... I'm your gal. I'm always ready to go all in. Of course, there is Wrath and Greed too, ready to smash through like a wrecking ball."
"Oh, taking advantage of them is just way too boring," said the tiny girl with a glare before her face twisted into that wicked, gleeful look. "Why not take advantage of people that they're familiar with? Then I get to see their stupid faces as they try to talk sense into them, and BOOM! Their so-called friend kills them without a second thought!"
"That's what I exist for, Cassandra," a voice grumbled. "You know, Envy and all? Green eyed monster?
By the way, shouldn't we be worried about Gluttony? He kind of, I don't know, killed all of us without a second thought a thousand years ago. And he's bound to get stronger, too, with all that goddamn food everybody will be serving him. He's on the completely wrong side!"
A staff was summoned to the little girl's side, black as the hearts of men, topped with a giant spade. And she could only continue to grin as lightning struck and lit up her face.
"Who cares?! I can turn him against his little friends when I need to. Don't bother worrying about him! What's more important...
We need to show these little peasants that in this game of power play, there's only ONE queen fit to stomp on the Neo-Kobbers, the Kobbers, and every other damn thing in the universe and declare her rightful rule!
AND THAT QUEEN... IS ME."
She could only cackle as her minions chanted, "All hail Fairy Queen of Sin, Cassandra!" They were joined by several other no-names that she had recruited over the years and after Pestus's death. She would not be deterred by Kobber power.
No... she would only grow stronger.
She'll make them BEG for mercy.
----------------------
Little fairy, little fairy,
Why hold so much hate in your heart?
Little fairy, little fairy,
It only shoves you and others apart.
Little fairy, little fairy,
Why do you envy me so?
Little fairy, little fairy
You command others, while I am set to sew.
Little fairy, tiny fairy,
You manipulate my dearest friends
Little fairy, wicked fairy
It's time for our story to end.
Monday, March 2, 2015
Lord Puddington and the Most Important Meeting
"Ahem!"
The table was set. The most important people of all history had congregated at this table today. It was a very important day, and a very important meeting. In fact, it was so important, they tried inviting Lady Kogasa Yamamoto of Melodia. After several attempts, they had to settle for a skype call with the beauty and gem of the kingdom.
Everybody had their tea and their biscuits and cupcakes and all. Princess Parfait would have no less than the greatest of all finger foods at her table. Her godsister, Lady Elrich, was at her side, reading this magazine about overly muscled men and who managed to pin one down. Lady Elrich had such odd interests, but no matter! Lady Renais would have joined their ranks after a long day of sewing up a dress most fitting forhis darling Elise- er, his bethrothed, but she had to bow out and handle a few other things. So instead, there was Lord Dovernator (what an odd name!), who was happily pecking at his bowl of birdseed and paying little attention to anything else.
Yes, it was time for the meeting to begin.
"I have called you all here today because today is very important!" he said. "It is a day where friends meet up and enjoy tea together without worrying about the evils that lurk ahead! A time for relaxation! And I shall start off by asking you this...
How is your day?"
Lady Kogasa was the first to speak up, cheery and chipper as ever. "My day's going great~! I went and visited a very snowy place, and I had a lot of fun with snowball fights! I even got to meet the leader, and he's pretty big and gruff! He knows what's best for his kingdom, though!"
"Mine is going pretty good!" squeaked Princess Parfait as she nibbled on a cupcake. "I read through this cool as heck book about the Pandora War and went ahead and read this 'Whodunit' thingy and I was guessing that the butler did it, and guess what? THE BUTLER DID DO IT. Jerk. He had an attitude and I think Sophie could hear me yelling at a book."
"No kidding. Your voice carries when you're pissed off, Lilah," Sophia pointed out. "Either way, my day is pretty uneventful. Just bought new clothes, read up on wrestling news, keeping an eye on the other sins, making sure Gluttony doesn't eat all the Zebra Cakes."
"I could just make more though, Sophie!"
"And then he'd eat more. He damn nearly bit my fingers off when I tried getting one. Greedy fuck."
"You shouldn't use such foul language around here!" said the organizer angrily. "I mean... it's appropriate sometimes, but we're having a meeting here and we're trying to keep it as polite as possible!
Also, don't talk bad about Xavier. He was just feeling a little peckish."
"Coo," agreed Dovernator before returning to his meal. Or at least, he thought he agreed. Hard to say. He always kept his deepest, darkest thoughts in that tiny little mind of his.
Sophia frowned. "I hardly call Gluttony the sort of person to be just peckish, but whatever."
"Cooooo."
"Don't you sass me!"
"Cooooooo!"
"Ahem!" All eyes turned to him once more. "All very respectible answers, and I am glad your days are going so well. As for me, I have just been doing what I do best: Keeping Lady Middleton company, eating as much as I like, and making sure Lord du LeVouse does not end up with a terrible case of Pica. Last time I allowed it, he nearly chewed his bedpost to a mere stump! And I cannot allow him to harm his digestive system any more than I already have!"
"Yikes, Pica's pretty dangerous!" Kogasa said, biting at her fingers. "I heard that some cats have Pica, and they tend to eat everything they can get their hands on! I hope your friend feels better!"
"That's why we have to give him milk and cookies at night!" the Princess insisted. "If he had milk and cookies, then he wouldn't have a reason to chew on some old bedpost thingy. Milk and cookies taste better than bedposts, anyway!"
"Not sure why I should care about Gluttony's well-being when I'm set to kill him."
"Coo?"
The lord sighed, "Blunt as ever, Lady Elrich. But I consider him a friend, and I would really appreciate it if you can handle him in such a way that does not involve... erm... murder.
Regardless! I think the tea cooled down long enough. Shall we enjoy ourselves and speak of happier things?"
All went smoothly, aside from Lady Elrich's blunt comment. Fun and smiles were shared by all, even though Lady Yamamoto could not enjoy their company in person. They spoke of Vegas and the open sea and a shopping day and all such wonderful things! Wonderful things he would love to join them for.
But... he was just a doll. And he had other, more important matters to attend to.
Soothing Lord du LeVouse's mind after chains of nightmares of death and that awful witch... Keeping Lady Middleton company, so that she did not cry of lonliness...
Maybe once those were taken care of... both he and Lady Middleton could join them? So that they both can value the company that Lord du LeVouse valued for three years, and throw open the doors of light when all they could see was shadow, locked within a room...
Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it?
At least for now... this meeting will do.
The table was set. The most important people of all history had congregated at this table today. It was a very important day, and a very important meeting. In fact, it was so important, they tried inviting Lady Kogasa Yamamoto of Melodia. After several attempts, they had to settle for a skype call with the beauty and gem of the kingdom.
Everybody had their tea and their biscuits and cupcakes and all. Princess Parfait would have no less than the greatest of all finger foods at her table. Her godsister, Lady Elrich, was at her side, reading this magazine about overly muscled men and who managed to pin one down. Lady Elrich had such odd interests, but no matter! Lady Renais would have joined their ranks after a long day of sewing up a dress most fitting for
Yes, it was time for the meeting to begin.
"I have called you all here today because today is very important!" he said. "It is a day where friends meet up and enjoy tea together without worrying about the evils that lurk ahead! A time for relaxation! And I shall start off by asking you this...
How is your day?"
Lady Kogasa was the first to speak up, cheery and chipper as ever. "My day's going great~! I went and visited a very snowy place, and I had a lot of fun with snowball fights! I even got to meet the leader, and he's pretty big and gruff! He knows what's best for his kingdom, though!"
"Mine is going pretty good!" squeaked Princess Parfait as she nibbled on a cupcake. "I read through this cool as heck book about the Pandora War and went ahead and read this 'Whodunit' thingy and I was guessing that the butler did it, and guess what? THE BUTLER DID DO IT. Jerk. He had an attitude and I think Sophie could hear me yelling at a book."
"No kidding. Your voice carries when you're pissed off, Lilah," Sophia pointed out. "Either way, my day is pretty uneventful. Just bought new clothes, read up on wrestling news, keeping an eye on the other sins, making sure Gluttony doesn't eat all the Zebra Cakes."
"I could just make more though, Sophie!"
"And then he'd eat more. He damn nearly bit my fingers off when I tried getting one. Greedy fuck."
"You shouldn't use such foul language around here!" said the organizer angrily. "I mean... it's appropriate sometimes, but we're having a meeting here and we're trying to keep it as polite as possible!
Also, don't talk bad about Xavier. He was just feeling a little peckish."
"Coo," agreed Dovernator before returning to his meal. Or at least, he thought he agreed. Hard to say. He always kept his deepest, darkest thoughts in that tiny little mind of his.
Sophia frowned. "I hardly call Gluttony the sort of person to be just peckish, but whatever."
"Cooooo."
"Don't you sass me!"
"Cooooooo!"
"Ahem!" All eyes turned to him once more. "All very respectible answers, and I am glad your days are going so well. As for me, I have just been doing what I do best: Keeping Lady Middleton company, eating as much as I like, and making sure Lord du LeVouse does not end up with a terrible case of Pica. Last time I allowed it, he nearly chewed his bedpost to a mere stump! And I cannot allow him to harm his digestive system any more than I already have!"
"Yikes, Pica's pretty dangerous!" Kogasa said, biting at her fingers. "I heard that some cats have Pica, and they tend to eat everything they can get their hands on! I hope your friend feels better!"
"That's why we have to give him milk and cookies at night!" the Princess insisted. "If he had milk and cookies, then he wouldn't have a reason to chew on some old bedpost thingy. Milk and cookies taste better than bedposts, anyway!"
"Not sure why I should care about Gluttony's well-being when I'm set to kill him."
"Coo?"
The lord sighed, "Blunt as ever, Lady Elrich. But I consider him a friend, and I would really appreciate it if you can handle him in such a way that does not involve... erm... murder.
Regardless! I think the tea cooled down long enough. Shall we enjoy ourselves and speak of happier things?"
All went smoothly, aside from Lady Elrich's blunt comment. Fun and smiles were shared by all, even though Lady Yamamoto could not enjoy their company in person. They spoke of Vegas and the open sea and a shopping day and all such wonderful things! Wonderful things he would love to join them for.
But... he was just a doll. And he had other, more important matters to attend to.
Soothing Lord du LeVouse's mind after chains of nightmares of death and that awful witch... Keeping Lady Middleton company, so that she did not cry of lonliness...
Maybe once those were taken care of... both he and Lady Middleton could join them? So that they both can value the company that Lord du LeVouse valued for three years, and throw open the doors of light when all they could see was shadow, locked within a room...
Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it?
At least for now... this meeting will do.
Tick Tock
SLAM.
A metal fist drove the steampunk man into a wall, waves of agony wracking his old brain. Another nearly hit the silver-haired woman, but she was too fast to catch. The man behind it all let out a mighty roar, thrusting out his palm to catch the speedy woman and slam her as he did with the steampunk man.
She cried out, "Your Majesty, do you not recognize us?! It is I, Arawen, one of your faithful knights! And Horus, too, is one of us! Do you not recognize us?!"
As she gasped for air, the mammoth of metal glared down at her. A giant staring down an ant. She could see the madness in his eyes, the one that took him every few months. The madness that drove him to become a monster in everyone's eyes. The madness that blinds him to all that he held dear, that swallowed up the kind man beneath...
"I suspect it is of no use now, as it was before," Horus grumbled as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. "He has never listened to us, no matter how hard we try, Arawen."
"But-"
She was forced to dodge yet another mighty blow, which left a hole in the ground where she once stood. Horus cursed under his breath as he rose his hands, black tendrils reaching out from his fingertips and binding the mammoth's arms. With a tug, the bindings held tight, preventing the rampaging king from using either of them as a punching bag. Didn't stop him from trashing about, knocking dressers and mirrors and pots all about, some of which clanged against Arawen's and Horus's armor.
The Monarch roared again like a rabid lion as more tendrils tied up his legs. Horus took this chance to grab Arawen and run, closing the door to give him another obstacle to slow his Majesty down.
"Seems like that wench is much angier that we lasted as long," said the steampunk man, his mask's eye slits shining in the light. "We are a much hardier sort than she took us for."
"But now she's throwing us off by doing this," Arawen added with a displeased grunt. "Two more months, and we could have requested help. Now, she might be forcing us to act earlier-"
" 'Forcing us?' You say that as if she has a gun to our head!" Horus snorted. "We're sticking to the plan, Arawen. Thats how our Majesty wanted us. We even have instructions for when things went awry! Did you ever doubt that he ever made plans in case something like this happened?"
"N-no," Arawen said meekly. "I was just worried. I see that my worry is misplaced, though."
"Can't blame you, since you were nearly splattered against a wall. Now, I believe he told us that we must keep Lady Kingston and Sir Rivendale alive at all costs, yes?"
"Indeed... but where can we take them? Would they even believe us? It is a touch bit too soon to dump them into Vegas..." Arawen added with a touch of disdain, "Much as I fear Janet would enjoy it."
Horus couldn't help but chuckle. "Aaaah, the joys of youth! Spending money like water from a fountain... I remember when I was a wee chick, gambling off my money and winning it back, twicefold... "
"Horus."
There was a certain glint in Horus's eyes as he spoke. Perhaps he had a grin underneath the creepy, plague doctor-esque mask.
"Hohoho, so sorry... But yes, let us send them as 'spies' to Belinda. They will most certainly join up with them and prepare for the inevitible war our Majesty will bring. Or, rather, that wench will bring. We will then trust Her Highness to handle everything else. After all, she does have her own personal Anubis and Bastet, does she not?"
"I suppose. And what shall we do?"
She could see the man hesitate in his step, his hand trembling as he clenched it into a fist.
"We must keep the other nobles in the dark. If they found out that our king was beserk..."
The silver haired woman's eyes narrowed like a hawk's.
"They would see this as an opportunity to strike, and throw the entire country of Mondor into disarray. Especially Prince Percy."
A pit formed in her stomach as the name rolled off her tongue, hatred clouding her mind. That damned prince, who used slaves as toys and tortured them until they were mad. The one who took away her friend and used her in all aspects until she was garbage to him and tossed into a furnace like all garbage did. That damned demon in human skin that made others watch as their loved ones died, like he did with Hansel... Damn him, damn him, damn that bloody bastard! He should rot in the DEEPEST pit in the Nether-
"Arawen, you're going to get quite a few wrinkles if you glare any harder at that wall."
She took a breath and sighed, releasing all the tension in her heart. They had reached Lady Kingston's room now, and it was almost time to put their plan to action.
The clocks seemed to tick ever louder, every tock a cautionary tale.
Just how much longer could they hold out for Baron Sonika before their counterattack could truly begin?
A metal fist drove the steampunk man into a wall, waves of agony wracking his old brain. Another nearly hit the silver-haired woman, but she was too fast to catch. The man behind it all let out a mighty roar, thrusting out his palm to catch the speedy woman and slam her as he did with the steampunk man.
She cried out, "Your Majesty, do you not recognize us?! It is I, Arawen, one of your faithful knights! And Horus, too, is one of us! Do you not recognize us?!"
As she gasped for air, the mammoth of metal glared down at her. A giant staring down an ant. She could see the madness in his eyes, the one that took him every few months. The madness that drove him to become a monster in everyone's eyes. The madness that blinds him to all that he held dear, that swallowed up the kind man beneath...
"I suspect it is of no use now, as it was before," Horus grumbled as he got to his feet and dusted himself off. "He has never listened to us, no matter how hard we try, Arawen."
"But-"
She was forced to dodge yet another mighty blow, which left a hole in the ground where she once stood. Horus cursed under his breath as he rose his hands, black tendrils reaching out from his fingertips and binding the mammoth's arms. With a tug, the bindings held tight, preventing the rampaging king from using either of them as a punching bag. Didn't stop him from trashing about, knocking dressers and mirrors and pots all about, some of which clanged against Arawen's and Horus's armor.
The Monarch roared again like a rabid lion as more tendrils tied up his legs. Horus took this chance to grab Arawen and run, closing the door to give him another obstacle to slow his Majesty down.
"Seems like that wench is much angier that we lasted as long," said the steampunk man, his mask's eye slits shining in the light. "We are a much hardier sort than she took us for."
"But now she's throwing us off by doing this," Arawen added with a displeased grunt. "Two more months, and we could have requested help. Now, she might be forcing us to act earlier-"
" 'Forcing us?' You say that as if she has a gun to our head!" Horus snorted. "We're sticking to the plan, Arawen. Thats how our Majesty wanted us. We even have instructions for when things went awry! Did you ever doubt that he ever made plans in case something like this happened?"
"N-no," Arawen said meekly. "I was just worried. I see that my worry is misplaced, though."
"Can't blame you, since you were nearly splattered against a wall. Now, I believe he told us that we must keep Lady Kingston and Sir Rivendale alive at all costs, yes?"
"Indeed... but where can we take them? Would they even believe us? It is a touch bit too soon to dump them into Vegas..." Arawen added with a touch of disdain, "Much as I fear Janet would enjoy it."
Horus couldn't help but chuckle. "Aaaah, the joys of youth! Spending money like water from a fountain... I remember when I was a wee chick, gambling off my money and winning it back, twicefold... "
"Horus."
There was a certain glint in Horus's eyes as he spoke. Perhaps he had a grin underneath the creepy, plague doctor-esque mask.
"Hohoho, so sorry... But yes, let us send them as 'spies' to Belinda. They will most certainly join up with them and prepare for the inevitible war our Majesty will bring. Or, rather, that wench will bring. We will then trust Her Highness to handle everything else. After all, she does have her own personal Anubis and Bastet, does she not?"
"I suppose. And what shall we do?"
She could see the man hesitate in his step, his hand trembling as he clenched it into a fist.
"We must keep the other nobles in the dark. If they found out that our king was beserk..."
The silver haired woman's eyes narrowed like a hawk's.
"They would see this as an opportunity to strike, and throw the entire country of Mondor into disarray. Especially Prince Percy."
A pit formed in her stomach as the name rolled off her tongue, hatred clouding her mind. That damned prince, who used slaves as toys and tortured them until they were mad. The one who took away her friend and used her in all aspects until she was garbage to him and tossed into a furnace like all garbage did. That damned demon in human skin that made others watch as their loved ones died, like he did with Hansel... Damn him, damn him, damn that bloody bastard! He should rot in the DEEPEST pit in the Nether-
"Arawen, you're going to get quite a few wrinkles if you glare any harder at that wall."
She took a breath and sighed, releasing all the tension in her heart. They had reached Lady Kingston's room now, and it was almost time to put their plan to action.
The clocks seemed to tick ever louder, every tock a cautionary tale.
Just how much longer could they hold out for Baron Sonika before their counterattack could truly begin?
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