The Library of MotK 47 ~ Magical Librarian Squad 5-1

[OkashiiKisei]

Man.  This multiverses Iji me must be book starved.  Otherwise I would have slept with his mother.

And you'd be sappin' Arashi's inventions.

[Chaore]

Spoiler:

But that's not really Solais

:ohdear:

Still counts.

[Solais]

Indeed, if it would been me, you would have already got a sword through your bunny ears. :V

Never try to punch a calm person.

[Esifex]

And you know what's hilarious?

I had no idea there was this kind of tension between the two of you  :V
It was just supposed to be impatient Chaore being impatient with a hella-short temper :getdown:

[Chaore]

It was just supposed to be impatient Chaore being impatient with a hella-short temper :getdown:

...so pretty much just me. :V

This explains so much about me wow.

[Esifex]

Musical accompaniment! Be on the lookout for the link. If YouTube isn't being obnoxious and takes forever to buffer, it should flow nicely with the following scenes. In fact, if you so desire, skip down, open the link, and pause it before you start reading, and when you get to the link, Alt+Tab over and start the song up. Then, enjoy!

Roukan vs Ryuu
Drake Skirmisher

With the Administration Grimoire in one hand, and the other upraised as though conducting an unseen orchestra, Esi guided every acquired book into a spot on the shelves, arranged alphabetically by author then title. The Grimoire made a handy focus for telekinesis, a talent Esi ordinarily lacked.

No longer needing it, she snapped it shut and dispelled it, sending a ghostly image of it to the first slot in the wall-shelves.

The telepath's body was getting weary ? despite drawing on the reserves of power granted by the Cursed Tome's absorption into her mind, and the Administration Grimoire, Esi was only a lesser youkai, and lacked the raw physical resilience of others. Flying, something that Esi's body and being rebelled against with all their respective mights, was incredibly draining, as well.

Perhaps Tylt could provide that stoicism, the unwavering resolve.

Ryuu, standing at a loose guard alongside the faux reception desk, stretched her wings out and shook them slightly.

Since removing the psychological lock on her powers, Ryuu's Drake aspects were developing, quickly. From behind, it appeared that the wings were the only things affected, but nearly all of her skin had taken a scaled sheen to it, and her muscle structure was doubling and tripling in bulk and definition. Her wings had grown from comically small to absurdly large, nearly as thick at their leading edges as her arms, more than proportionally large enough to carry her without any magical aid. Her legs, typically hidden under a flowing skirt and bloomers, had simply shredded through the clothing as the scales along the front of her legs became spiked and pointed. Only the dark pink color of her central body mass, and her hat, told anyone looking directly at her head-on that she was Ryuu.

She was a fine bodyguard, and she would stand watch while Esi's body recovered from her exertions.

Esi sank into the stone throne behind the desk and fell immediately into a deep slumber, and the smoky-light writing behind her began to shine fiercely.


Roukan stopped short and jumped back aggressively. Sakana barely managed to sidestep her withdrawal, and brought her harpoon up to point to ward off whatever had caused Roukan to retreat.

?What are you doing, get back here! It straightens out, who knows who's looking down that hallway!? Roukan whispered in a hiss.

Sakana shot a glance further ahead; indeed, it was a long hallway. Before she'd even settled fully into her combat stance, she ducked back with Roukan.

?Well, then, what do you propose we do?? Sakana whispered back, expecting some outlandish answer.

?We should go back up and wait in the Library. We know how deep this goes and what to expect if we come back, right??

Sakana blinked. Really? Really, reality? Are you doing this to screw with me? If so, I'm sorry for whatever I did. Now can something please go how I expect it to go, soon? ?Right. But give me a second, I'm going to get a little closer and see if there's anything up ahead. Be ready to run if necessary ? and let go of my tuna.?

?But a tuna floating next to you is likely to give you away. Besides, I like it.?

?Yes, but it's my tuna. I don't like it when people play with my tuna.?

?So learn to share.?

Sakana sighed and rolled her eyes. You could've waited till after we left before you started letting things go how I figure they will, you know? Thanks a bunch, reality.

She took off, hovering up above the ground and rolling over to present her belly to the ceiling of the tunnel, and began to 'crawl' her way forward, holding her spear to her chest.

As she drew closer to the threshold, she could faintly make out details of the room beyond. What I'd give for some torches lining this place...

No sooner had she thought it than brackets burst from the wall, with classic tar-and-pitch torches mounted in them, burning gently. Handy. Wait, did I do that?

The dancing light sent shadows skittering up and down the hallway, and luckily Sakana blended in enough with the ceiling that the wavering shadows helped conceal her, rather than give her away.

Or, at least, they would've helped conceal her, if she weren't trying to hide from a telepath and a small dragon.

A strange keening sounded from the room ahead of her, and she squinted to pierce the dim lighting. The torches, originally a quaint idea, were now ruining her night-sight, making it harder for her to see down the tunnel entirely.

Unfortunately, she couldn't make anything out before Ryuu came charging through the archway, wings unfurling over her and pushing back to kick the small drake forward. She was glaring up at the ceiling, directly at Sakana.

Sakana pushed off the rock and let gravity start working on her again, and fell away just as Ryuu belched out a blue-green fireball. Fisherwoman and fireball passed each other without incident, but the fireball took offense to the roof trying to block it and responded by exploding in a rather rude fashion.

The shockwave from the blast forced Sakana to drop completely to the ground for a moment, and she barely had a chance to bring her harpoon to bear before Ryuu was charging her.

Hesitant to harm the girl, who was in fact a friend and a patron of the Library, Sakana dropped the point of the harpoon before Ryuu had a chance to run herself upon it, and twisted the spear sideways, intent on ramming the shaft into her face.

Ryuu reached out, lunging forward and grasping for the harpoon, and Sakana pirouetted away from her clawed hands and swung the back end of the harpoon into Ryuu's chin.

The harpoon bounced off the scales that had replaced Ryuu's skin, and it dropped down a scant few inches before Ryuu's momentum carried her forwards into the butt of the spear once again. The impact nearly caused Sakana to drop the harpoon; her hands were stinging from the vibrations caused by the impact with the spiked crest that made up Ryuu's jawline, and she wasn't expecting the rebound.

Ryuu squealed as the taller woman held her ground, and collapsed across the spear, bouncing away from Sakana as she lashed out and punched at Ryuu, still grasping the harpoon.

Before Sakana could follow up with another swing of the harpoon, Ryuu kicked off the ground and flipped clear over the fisherwoman, turning around in mid-air.

The drake's wings snapped open, and she hunched over as she prepared to take a deep breath. Sakana recoiled in alarm as she spotted the flames licking out from the sides of Ryuu's mouth, and made to dive away, but never got the chance.

Something smashed into her side, a small blur drawing blue contrails through the air. Sakana was swept aside as Ryuu unleashed another blue-green fireball, though now aimed upwards at the ceiling once more, for some reason.

Sakana tumbled over and landed in a heap, feeling the pressure in her side release almost instantly.

Hovering above her, feet aglow with blue light, was Roukan, still wielding the tuna as a saber. She kicked her foot experimentally and scoffed. ?Damn, sure hurts to kick someone in the face when you're moving that fast. Hang on, Sakana Tuna-tan! It's my turn!?

Roukan leaned forward in mid-air, and the blue light she was standing in flared brightly and she dashed back into Ryuu.

The drake responded by swinging a steely-strong claw through the air, in an attempt to gut the smaller Librarian, but Roukan easily flipped up and over the slash, and brought the tuna-saber around to catch Ryuu's wing. The impact made Ryuu curl the wing in instinctively, then screech and unfurl it to its fullest again. The waves of heat radiating off her wings was visible even in the dim light, never mind easily felt in the confined tunnel.

?Sensitive sides, huh? Strange for a dragon to be weak to heat!? Roukan crowed, hovering upside-down over Ryuu before corkscrewing her legs around each other and flipping over upright. ?But that's not my concern, is it? Mystic Arts of the Spanish Inquisition ? Surprise Attack!?

Ryuu attempted to swing her wings together and pin Roukan between them, but the Librarian had vanished in a blur of blue light. The clap from the wings striking each other signaled Roukan's reappearance, directly behind the drake. She held the tuna over sideways, and brought her other palm to the tail of the fish as well, and punched forward with both fists into Ryuu's back.

The drake stumbled forward, wings spasming and twitching as they tried to fan themselves off, causing Ryuu to slip further off-balance. ?Oh, dammit!? Roukan exclaimed, shaking her fists out. ?She's hard! What the hell??

Ryuu lashed out and punched her claws into the wall in front of her to stand herself upright, then whirled around and whipped towards Roukan with her still-hot wings once again. Roukan bent over backwards and ducked under it, and dropped her hands to the floor directly beneath her shoulders. Her feet, still cloaked in the luminescent blue light, locked in line with the rest of Roukan's body, and she pushed off as hard as she could, launching directly into Ryuu's chest.

The drake braced herself against the kick, but didn't expect Roukan to also add her flight magic to the blow, and was driven back into the wall. Her wings folded forward as they were forced against the stone, and Ryuu convulsed once before snatching at Roukan's legs.

Roukan twisted at the knees, scissoring her legs open and drawing herself closer to Ryuu. Just as Ryuu managed to close one claw around her shin, Roukan brought the tuna-saber down firmly upon her head.

?Bang, bang, Maxwell's Silver Albacore!?

Roukan cartwheeled away from Ryuu, having freed her leg and further disorienting the drake. As she came back upright, she pulled a pose, by switching the tuna-saber to a reverse-handed grip and pointing that same arm at Ryuu. ?Besides, these legs belong to Ruro! She'd kill me if she found out I'd let someone else hold them!? Sakana blinked in surprise at the declaration.

Ryuu didn't seem to have a comeback for this, and instead sunk into a defensive stance, glaring up at the Librarian. Roukan smirked, and tapped the tuna against her thigh. ?Come on now, don't tell me that's all you've got??

Ryuu narrowed her eyes, and her wings flared out once again. Rather than lunge towards Roukan, though, she launched herself back towards the archway she'd come out of. Her clawed feet dug deep furrows through the stone as she stopped herself, and the look in her eyes was pure unbridled rage.

Her wingtips were hidden behind the archway, and the waves of heat roiling off them seemed to be nearly as thick as water. Tongues of blue-green flame ? not red, this time ? licked out past her lips, and her small hat flash-incinerated from the radiant heat.

Roukan blinked as she stood completely upright, caught off-guard. ?Oh, shit.?

Sakana lunged forward from her place along the wall and grabbed Roukan by the shoulders, and forced her down. ?My turn. Stay down!?

Sakana wasn't just a fisherwoman, she was a youkai. The tuna-half was evidence enough of that. Youkai are, by their nature, much stronger and sturdier than the average human. Not only was she not just a fisherwoman, and not just a youkai, but she was also a Librarian ? one of the Head Librarians, at that. Despite all these advantages over the average, mortal human, she still wasn't certain of her capability to withstand pure dragon-flame, reputed to be so hot and fierce it didn't have a true flame, and was just unbridled heat. But she was quite certain of the link between her, the Librarians, and the Library. She knew that if push came to shove, and she had the time to experiment with the necessary magics, she could've drafted up a spell powered by the Library itself that would extend its protection not just upon the books within, but the Librarians, as well.

Instead, she tapped into the category-and-indexing directory, the guide to where everything in the Library should be held, and crafted a new entry.

_{LIBRARIANS ? Reception}

She clutched Roukan as tightly as she could, sandwiching her own tuna-half between the Librarians, and forced the directory to update itself and relocate the local examples of LIBRARIANS to their proper places.

There was a brief moment of inertia, accompanied by the sensation of heat - which scared the hell out of Sakana - before suddenly they were in cooler air.

And floating upside-down over the reception desk. Instinctively, Sakana had taken to flight as soon as she no longer felt the stone under her feet, and mentally thanked herself for doing so as she reoriented.

She let Roukan go and sank to the ground, collapsing her in reception-desk chair.

?Well, we definitely found Ryuu. That means that either she's taken to nesting underground as a dragon, or Esi's down there, too. And let go of my tuna.?

Roukan obligingly released the floating fish and clambered atop the desk and lay down. ?Yeah. Yeah, we found her.?

[FinnKaenbyou]

Mystic Arts of the Spanish Inquisition ? Surprise Attack!

My brain melted into a pile of goop and all that remained of it was the echoing sound of the words HOLY SHIT in my ears.

Stupid Dragon types being strong against Water. And just about everything else, in fact. :<

[Sana]

This is why cool kids use ice type B)

[Esifex]

The heat weakness isn't really implied to be a weakness for Ryuu, or Drakes in general - it's mostly meant to show, that's just how fucking hot she's making the fire. So hot, even a Drake can't stand it.

[Esifex]

So I figure, if I'm not really using my laptop that much anymore, I should really post what I've got of the story from it to the thread so I can move on to typing on my tower.


Chaore and Tyltalis alighted on the ground in front of the main door of the Library.

?Something happened,? Chaore stated. She blinked. ?Of course something happened. Sakana isn't one for destructive redecorating, and Roukan isn't capable of blowing stuff up.?

Tylt just nodded, and stepped forward, probing at the wrecked door with an open palm. ?There's soot, and char. Ryuu??

?I'm not sure. When she left with Esi after attacking me, she spat the tiny little fireball that we're used to seeing come from her. Then again, even though she's Esi's friend, she wouldn't normally go along with her when something is so obviously wrong. Especially not while spitting fire at Librarians. Maybe something is going wrong with Ryuu, as well??

The two Librarians easily floated through the hole blasted into the door and dropped to the tile. Bits of the door were littered about, mixed with the occasional book.

?What the hell happened?? Chaore muttered. She was about to step towards the reception desk when a blur of motion caught her eye, and she tensed up, expecting Esi to leap out at her.

Instead, a feather quill stabbed itself into the ground a few yards in front of her feet, and promptly fell over.

?Who goes there? Aw, hell, forget it. I didn't even get it close to her feet. And look, it didn't even dig into the ground!?

Chaore lightly prodded the quill with her foot as she stepped past it. ?It's a feather quill, Roukan. It's not going to stick into marble tiles. Why the fortified guard post act? And what's with all the mess??

Sakana stood up from behind the desk and stretched out, before sinking back down and sitting properly in her chair. ?Esi happened, of course. She was on her way out with a bunch of the books, and we intercepted her here at the door. Roukan almost stopped her, too, but Ryuu was waiting outside and blasted the door, letting Esi out. We think Esi is doing something to Ryuu to change her ? we followed after them shortly and ended up having a little scuffle with Ryuu, and she looks more like a dragon now than a dragon-youkai.?

?That explains the soot on the door, and on you, Fisherwoman.? Tylt pantomimed patting her sleeve off while looking pointedly at Sakana. The Head Librarian looked down at her sleeves, and shrugged boredly.

?Eh. I imagine they'll just get burnt again before the day is out.?

Chaore looked back out through the hole in the door. ?Any sign of Ruro, yet??

?Not yet. She doesn't like to fly that much, remember.? Sakana propped her feet up on the reception desk and clasped her hands behind her head. ?And she'll likely have Erebus with her, too.?

Roukan shuddered. ?Blegh. Not so fond of being around Erebus. It gives me the creeps.?

?You mean 'she', right??

?No. I asked it, Erebus said its gender changes at whim. How do you know it'll be with Ruro??

Chaore chuckled. ?Has Ruro ever not gotten what she set her mind towards getting??

Roukan paused and considered, then nodded casually. ?Good point. I'm hungry.?

?What about the cupcake before we all left?? Tylt asked.

?That was a cupcake. And like, five hours ago or somethin'.?

Sakana snorted. ?Less than an hour and a half.?

?Yeah well whatever. I had to use a lot of magic, I'm low on mana. Gimme food.?

Chaore and Sakana glanced at each other, and simultaneously shook their heads.

?You're the Head Librarian, the welfare and health of the Librarians is your responsibility.?

?I'm terrible with kids.?

?And you think I'm not??

?Kids love magic tricks. Pull yourself out of your hat. You do it all the time.?

?You just don't want to move, bein' all comfy with your feet up on the desk. Ruro's gonna kill you if she sees you like that, you know. You should probably get up.?

?Desk was torched by Ryuu, needs to repaired anyways. A few shoe-prints won't hurt it any.?

They paused in their little tirade and glanced about. Roukan and Tylt were both missing.

?Guess that takes care of that, then, huh??

?Sure does. Besides, I'm a fisherwoman and a Librarian, not a babysitter.?


?There will be blood.?

Erebus choked off a laugh by snapping her sharp teeth together into a wicked grin. ?I think it adds a little flavor to the door. Possibly a 'smoked brisket' flavor, from the looks of it.?

Ruro was frozen in place, staring up at the hole in the grand double-door entryway to the Library, jaw dropped.

?If you want, I'll barbeque the book that's responsible for this before you eat it. Come on, nothing to be gained by standing around staring at it.?

Sakana was still at the reception desk, sitting patiently in her chair. As Ruro stepped through the door, she stood up and waved the Head Librarian over.

?Yes, there's a reason there's a giant hole blasted into the door and wood-chips all over the floor in here. Come to the lounge; Roukan and I will explain what happened while everyone was away. Chaore and Tylt are already there waiting for us.?


Roukan had commandeered a chair and was standing atop it, eagerly pantomiming the fight between her and Ryuu with her hands.

?And so apparently she uses her wings to dissipate the heat after spraying fire, and since she's more like a drake now, her fire gets super-hot! So hot even that she can't stand touching her wings to her side. Found that out when I flipped up over and was all like WHAM! with the Tuna Saber, and made her fold her wing in. So anyways, we apparently got her to Phase II of the boss fight, but I ran out of combo points and Sakana had to get us out of there. I didn't know you could teleport, Sakana. Anyways, we got back here and we were like, waaaaaay tired, and I think I leveled up, and then Tylt and Chaore came back and told us they couldn't convince Solais to join us, which is a mega-bummer, but then I got hungry and came up here with Tylt. Tylt is really good at cooking, by the way, thank you Tyltalis. That's when Ruro and Erebus ? hi, Erebus ? came in, and that's what happened since you left. More or less.?

Chaore snickered. ?Seems like more rather than less. You've got very expressive hands. Anyways, Ruro ? Sakana, too ? now that we know where Esi is hiding, what do we do??

Sakana sighed. ?Much as I'd rather not, considering what we just went through, the only obvious choice is to march on down to her little cave and see what we can do. Having Erebus along should help matters out, too.?

Erebus shook her head. ?I won't argue that, but to be frank with you, I'm not entirely certain that's an Eldritch tome. I've heard of Eldritch books that make you lose your mind, but never one that just takes it from you. If this is a big one, you may have to write that Librarian off. There's a good chance that it may have completely obliterated her.?

?Perhaps, but I'm inclined to argue that. Esi is a telepath; 'minds' are her whole schtick. If anyone has a chance at fending off an attack like that, it'd be her. Besides, she's one of my Librarians. I don't assign Librarians on a whim ? there's always a reason.?

Chaore smirked. ?Aw, thanks Ruro, we love you, too.?

Roukan dropped down to sit in the seat properly, and stared up at Chaore. ?She only hired you for your sex-appeal. Duh.?

?Well, obviously,? Chaore deadpanned.

Erebus looked back and forth between the exchange, and scoffed. ?Wow. I'm gonna gag. Can we get this over with??

Ruro gripped the hilt of Paradiso, causing the entire sheath to rise up behind her against her thigh. ?Of course. Let's go get my Librarian back.?

[OkashiiKisei]

I just love Rou's RPG style description of what happened. So cute~

And Ruro's love for her librarians made go d'awww~ :3 Even if Chaore was only added for her sex appeal.

[Marokuu]

God, every time I start reading these fics I imagine myself just sitting on/behind/in a bookcase just watching everything playing out, eventually folding a pair of wings across my face to keep in Rou induced squeals.

Then when stuff stops happening I fly off to Rumias' and waste some time watching the shenanigans in there until that dies down. Rinse and repeat :V

[Esifex]

A team divided

It's still Esi. There's no reason to even think otherwise.

Absolute power, twisted

We can fix this - I just need to get the Grimoire back from her, and it'll be fine!

The many facets of a mind fractured

What about my right to life? Huh?! Did you stop to think about that, first?

An entirely new world, full of strangely familiar faces

That? That's the Alabaster Seraph. And I'm the Guardian Against Rage.

What Makes a Librarian

So yeah a whole lot of stuff has been happening lately, including my grandfather passing away, and I've lost a lot of my motivation to write. However, it looks like unfinished stories is becoming a pattern of mine, and I don't like that - and on top of that, I feel like writing is something that I really should do, all things considered.

Keep an eye out for an update, soon.

[OkashiiKisei]

So the story will continue after all?

Sweetums~

[Solais]

WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE! Someone posted in this thread? Is this even possible! Yes it is! Hurray!

[Esifex]

The absolute worst part about it, though, is that now that I'm trying to get the steam going again on this, the YouTube account that I was linking to constantly for the music I'll be using got shut down. Rargh!

[Dead Princess Sakana]

Seeing Esi post here reminded me of something. There's a story I was planning to write quite a while ago, but that will most likely never be finished. However, I did write down a sizable start, and I've decided I may as well share it here (people hanging around on #scarlet-library may already know about it).

FIrst though, let me provide context, how this idea came to be:

Sep 04 14:54:54 <Sakana>   Yeah, we can totally imagine Ruro swinging around a sword at the wedding XD
Sep 04 14:55:03 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   "I am so awesome I brought a sword to my wedding. "
Sep 04 14:55:08 <Sakana>   "You may now ki--duel the bride" :V
Sep 04 14:55:36 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   Duel the bride?
Sep 04 14:55:41 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   That would be wonderful~~~~~~~~~~
Sep 04 14:55:50 <Blackraptor>   "You may now attempt to subdue the bride."
Sep 04 14:56:05 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   Sakana, you know exactly how to get me all romantic~
Sep 04 14:56:12 <Sakana>   But of course~ :3
Sep 04 14:56:19 *   Sakura-Rurouni fantasizes about kickass wedding duel *_*
Sep 04 14:56:48 <Anthony>   that does sound awesome
Sep 04 14:57:03 <Sakana>   Now how to work that into fiction, hmm.... :3
Sep 04 14:57:16 <Blackraptor>   "Will you take *insert name here* to be your bride?" "I do!" *sword clashing sounds*
Sep 04 14:57:29 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   Oh my god please keep going
Sep 04 14:57:31 <Landonpeanut>   I can totally imagine that...........
Sep 04 14:57:32 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   *__*
Sep 04 14:58:45 <Blackraptor>   "I now pronounce you--" *ducks away* "Man and wife." *ducks away* "You may now...continue what you are doing." *more sword clashing sounds* *ending theme starts playing*
Sep 04 14:59:02 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   We shou-- oh god
Sep 04 14:59:04 *   Sakura-Rurouni faints
Sep 04 14:59:19 <Matsurin-Sunrise>   The bouquet will have a sword in it D:
Sep 04 14:59:25 *   Landonpeanut rolls off his bed.
Sep 04 14:59:33 <Sakana>   Amen, and En Guarde
Sep 04 14:59:33 <Matsurin-Sunrise>   Ruro will throw it and end up impaling someone
Sep 04 14:59:41 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   What is with that "D:"
Sep 04 14:59:47 <Matsurin-Sunrise>   The impaled will be the next to get married!
Sep 04 14:59:53 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   It should be "The bouquet will have a sword in it "
Sep 04 15:00:01 <Sakana>   No, it will be caught by someone more worthy, Matsuri, and he will duel the undeserving groom
Sep 04 15:00:05 <Sakana>   For honor and love
Sep 04 15:00:07 <Matsurin-Sunrise>   Ok ok fine The bouquet will have a sword in it
Sep 04 15:00:16 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   FUCK YEAH
Sep 04 15:00:36 <Blackraptor>   No...the bouqet...will be DOZENS OF SWORDS!!!
Sep 04 15:00:39 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   Oh god if I ever write a wedding scene in Touhou fic, a swordfight will be involved
Sep 04 15:00:47 <@Sakura-Rurouni>   Possibly more than one
Sep 04 15:01:41 <Matsurin-Sunrise>   Sparks will fly in the battle for the bride. Bridesmaids will bleed, and the best man will be decapitated.

Added to that was the constant battle of Gappy and Ruro over who is the manliest man of manly manliness (don't ask), and after gaining approval from the main involved parties, the following was written. Enjoy~

~ Sakura Wedding - Bloody Cherry Blossoms ~

Slowly the girl walked through the rain of cherry blossoms that the wind blew from the trees to both sides of her path. Her feet only lightly touched the ground beneath her, which was covered in blooming flowers.

She was wearing a beautiful white wedding dress. However, the front of the skirt had been shortened in a way that made her bare thighs visible between the edge of the skirt and the stockings she was wearing.
The girl was carrying a small basket filled to the brim with strawberries, and a white rose had been tied into her long blonde hair.
However, something was off about her. She was clearly dressed as a bride, and she was most definitely on her way to the church that lay at the end of the path lined by cherry trees. But her eyes showed none of the light one would expect from a girl soon to be married.
The girl raised her hand to touch the slim collar that was lying tight around her neck, then she sighed. In her eyes was a mix of annoyance and sadness. Of course she had often dreamed of  marriage in her life, but she certainly hadn?t expected things to go like that.
For a second the idea of running away crossed her mind, but the collar would prevent it. 'She' had thought of that possibility, of course. So the girl would have no chance of doing anything else than to play along, for the time being.

She walked on, and as she reached the church, the large doors immediately opened in front of her. Inside she could see the vast interior of the church, which had been decorated with flowers and strawberries. With a quick glance around she could tell that a large number of guests had gathered to watch the events about to unfold.
And there, in front of the altar, stood her eternal rival, the one that would soon be called her ?husband? if she didn?t do something quickly.

?Ah well, nothing will happen if I just stand here?, she thought, then took a step forward.

The moment her feet touched the red carpet laid out on the floor, Tengukami, the organist, started playing a march for the bride. For a moment, she wondered how he could play in such a way on an organ, then she noticed that she was trying to apply logic, a fatal flaw if one was living in this world.

?Here, take this, Gappy.?, she was distracted by a voice from the side.

She hadn?t noticed the four flower girls that had opened the door for her and were waiting for her to walk to the altar now. One of them, a girl with glasses and a ferret on her shoulder, was holding out a bouquet to her.

?Ah, thank you Matsuri.... wait, what is that??, she asked as she accepted the bouquet.

Matsuri laughed lightly.

?What else did you expect from her??, she asked the bride.

?I... guess you are right...?, Gappy sighed before she turned back and started walking along the carpet.

The bouquet she had just been handed was certainly not what one would call normal. While it consisted mainly of flowers, as would be expected, its center was special: The flowers were arranged around a slim sword. And knowing her, this was the real deal, not just some prop for show.

Two of the flower girls, Matsuri and her sister Nobu, were walking in front of Gappy and were spreading seemingly endless amounts of cherry blossoms on the carpet from the small baskets they were carrying. Behind her, Trancehime and Ana were throwing handfuls of the blossoms into the air to make them rain down on Gappy and the guests. For a second, she wondered whether the basket she carried had the same ability. An endless supply of strawberries didn?t sound like such a bad deal. She quickly pushed the idea aside and took quick glances around to make out the situation.

She didn?t even know most of the guests, but she could make out some familiar faces. Arashi and Acidus were waving at her from their seats. So did Sango, the dolphin youkai, whose back-fin was clearly visible. She was so excited she was phweeing uncontrollably, but Sumire, an officer of Shikieikei, held her down when she tried to jump up and run over to the bride.
In another direction, Gappy could make out several visitors from the realm of Gensokyo. Byakuren, Shikieiki, Yumemi and the Komeiji-sisters had followed the invitation to the wedding. However, something about them seemed odd. They appeared to be very tense, whispering to one another.
In the front row, Gappy spotted two strange figures. While most of the guests were dressed formally, appropriate for the event, those two were wearing hooded capes that stood out in contrast against everyone else. Gappy felt the sudden urge to make her face meet with her palm as she saw the fluffy white wings that sprouted from one of the figures? back, and the pink hair that was clearly visible beneath the other?s hood.

?Just what are those two up to now...?, she thought.

Suddenly, she stopped. She looked at the strange pair she had just passed. One of them was a young slender man who she had almost mistaken for a girl. She had seen him before, his name was Lloyd, and he was known for being one of the ?moe-est? beings in this world. He noticed her looking at him and immediately started to blush furiously.

?Seems the rumours are true?, Gappy thought to herself as she let out a small giggle.

Then she looked at the girl next to Lloyd. It was a young woman sitting in a wheelchair, which was unusual enough in itself. She looked pale and sickly, yet her long white hair gave her an aura of elegance. Gappy was very sure she had never seen her before, she would certainly remember a girl like that. The girl looked up and smiled calmly at Gappy.

?It is a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gappy. You look wonderful?, she said.

?Uhm, excuse me, but you are? I don?t think we met before... or did we??

?We did not, in fact, as I have just recently arrived here.My name is Amaryllis, but please call me Ami.?, she continued and ended with another bright smile.

?Ah, I see. Nice to meet you as well.?, Gappy responded before she turned back towards the front of the church.

She had avoided it all the time, but now she finally looked to the altar in front of her. She could see a number of girls lined up next to it, dressed in dresses that resembled hers, but were far less fancy. They all had the same short skirts though, which allowed free view of the girls? legs. She knew them all, they were the Librarians who were taking care of the written works of this world. And there, directly in front of the altar, wearing an elegant black tuxedo, stood their leader, the one Gappy called rival, and the groom for the wedding that was about to take place: Sakura Rurouni.

Or rather, she should have been standing. Right now though, she was leaning onto the altar with one arm, swooning heavily while she tried to catch the blood spurting from her nose with her free hand.

?So... beautiful...?, she stammered. ?You make such a wonderful bride, Gappy.?

Gappy remained indifferent. Seeing as it was this girl that had brought her into the current situation, she had no intention of accepting the compliment. Of course, it was partially Gappy?s fault as well. She had known about Ruro?s intentions to add literally every living being in this world to her harem, and when she had shown up one afternoon grinning happily with a bunch of strawberries, Gappy should have been careful. The next thing she remembered was waking up with the collar around her neck that prevented her from getting away from Ruro, and being forced into the preparations for this absurd wedding.

Slowly, Gappy took the last few steps towards the altar, before she stopped right next to Ruro, who had caught herself again. Despite the way she truly felt, or maybe exactly because of it, she showed a bright smile as she turned to Ruro.

?Oh my, it seems you are not in the best physical condition today, my dear. You would not suddenly have gotten sick, would you? Maybe you should rest instead of doing something as stressful as a wedding, don?t you think??

?Please, Gappy, do not worry about me. I am certainly in perfect condition for this event. But what about you? You seem a bit? uncomfortable.?, Ruro answered with a grin.

?Uncomfortable? I have no idea what you are talking about, darling. I do not see why I should feel uncomfortable at all after being kidnapped, robbed off my freedom, put into a rather revealing dress and forced into a wedding.? She looked at her hands. ?And on that note, you seem to have rather unique tastes with the bouquet as well.?

?Don?t be concerned, the dress and the bouquet fit you perfectly.?

Ruro drooled a bit as she looked at the bride again now that she had come closer.

?I can only second this statement, Miss Rurouni?, someone said from behind Ruro.

The person took a step forward and Gappy recognized him as Duke Helepolis, self-proclaimed most charismatic person in the world. His face showed no changes as he looked up and down the bride and groom, but Gappy could see his hand twitch in a groping motion for a second before he noticed it and suppressed the involuntary movement.

?Thank you for the compliment, Duke. You seem to be as energetic as usual.?, Gappy greeted the man.

?I certainly am, Miss Gappy. How could I not be, when two such squeezab-- wonderful people are about to get married.?, he responded.

?May I ask why you are not with the other guests??, Gappy asked.

?That is because I chose him to be the best man for our joining in eternal love. And him as well?, Ruro responded in Helepolis? stead and pointed behind Gappy.

As the girl turned around, she could see another man coming out of the shadows beyond the altar. He was dressed formally just like all the other guests and moved with the elegance of a person of high standing. What made him memorable though was the eye- patch he wore over his right eye.
There were a number of rumours floating around about the truth behind this, but none of them were ever confirmed. Some said it was just an accessory and his eyes were just fine, others claimed he lost it in a fight (the stories ranged from making the responsible party a feral dragon, to attributing the injury to an angry kitten), and then there were those that believed that it sealed away powers that could bring unspeakable harm if the patch was ever taken off.

?Lord Serpentarius, I should have known you would have a hand in this, shouldn?t I? This could very well be taken as treason, you are aware of that??, she asked, the smile on her face getting even brighter.

Serpentarius stopped his steps, but he did not lose his cool.

?Now, now, Gappy. Surely there is no reason to get so worked up over this. It is hard to imagine anyone could have gotten you into this situation if you had tried to refuse with all your might. You let it happen, even if it might have been unconsciously. Just accept the events, you might even grow to like them?, he told the girl.

?I will not forget this, Serp.?, Gappy sighed.

?I would not want you to forget?, the man responded with a smirk. ?Anyway, we are keeping the guests waiting. I think it would be in everyone?s best interest to begin the ceremony.?

He looked over to Ruro, whose eyes began to shine at the thought of what was to happen now. She nodded a few times before turning to the altar, where another man had appeared. He was the most important person in this wedding, just after the bride and groom. He was the one who should speak the vows that the pair would have to submit on and which should seal their eternal bond. The man that now stood before the crowd was Kilgamayan, the priest for this occasion.
The guests stared.
Silence filled the room.
Then Helepolis was the first to speak again.

?Kilga?. This appearance is very uncharismatic??

?I have no idea what you mean. This is what a priest wears, right??

?That which you are wearing indeed is, however, you seem to miss something. Where are your pants??

Kilga looked confused for a moment, then he looked down, seeing his lower body only clad in a pair of shorts.

?Oh, right. I was in the middle of trying on that skirt I made. Working on a new costume and all, you know? Thought I would use the time productively since you were wasting so much time talking. Anyway, can we get this over with now? I?d like to get back to work.?

He looked over to Ruro, who nodded in agreement. Helepolis and Serpentarius signalled their readiness as well, and Gappy was not given a choice anyway.

?Looks like we?re all set then. Ammy, the music please.?, he told the organist sitting on the balcony high above the altar.

The atmosphere in the church changed the moment the music started. The guest?s idle chatter quickly died as all of them focused on the events at the front. The flowergirls threw a last handful of petals into the air that slowly rained down on the pair at the altar, then stepped to the sides?.

-------------------------------------

And that's as far as this ever got. You can probably guess that this was going to be one hell of a chaotic mess and not to be taken in any way seriously. Maybe one day more will see the light, but it's more likely that it will stay as is.

[Esifex]

This needs to be concluded :getdown:
Wasn't this part of the inspiration for that? Special attention should be drawn to the bouquet.

[Solais]

Haha, this must continue! I like how some people were described as men, I always worried about the man-woman ratio in this "world" even if I chose to be the opposite sex. I really laughed at Kilga.

[Kasu]

This has to be one of the most amusing things I've ever read. :3

A continuation to this could only make this more awesome~

[Esifex]

Dammit Kasu!
You posted and I wasted five minutes refreshing just to watch your signature change. Then I ended up getting Satori smirking at me like four times in a row and it was like SHE PLANNED THIS

[Kasu]

Dammit Kasu!
You posted and I wasted five minutes refreshing just to watch your signature change. Then I ended up getting Satori smirking at me like four times in a row and it was like SHE PLANNED THIS

:3

[Dead Princess Sakana]

You guys are trying to kill me, aren't you? Alright alright, I won't write it off just yet, gonna keep this open for the possibility of continuation. I got an amount of notes on the further progress after all. But it's not gonna be soon at least  :3

[Alfred F. Jones]

This needs to be concluded :getdown:
Wasn't this part of the inspiration for that? Special attention should be drawn to the bouquet.

Actually, it was this (Special attention should also be drawn to the bouquet). Note the comments.

[Esifex]

Actually, it was this (Special attention should also be drawn to the bouquet). Note the comments.

Pffffffffffffffffffffffffffffft :getdown:

[Dead Princess Sakana]

Actually, it was this (Special attention should also be drawn to the bouquet). Note the comments.

Eh yes, the pic that started it all 

[OkashiiKisei]

I agree that this really should be continued. The chaos still has to begin!

[Esifex]

After much ado!

Dragon Blade

Ryuu stood by the archway leading into the Subterranean Library, impassively watching Esi's body twitch and spasm in the throne. Her current orders were to protect, and so protect she did. When the intruders disappeared before her inferno even reached them, she knew they'd escaped – but her orders were to protect, not pursue.

As such, she stayed underground with the unconscious Librarian, and watched, unknowing as to what was happening in the mind of the body just ten yards away from her.


“It doesn't even look natural, anymore. When we first got here? It was all rocky. Like it was a real cave-thingy sticking out of the ground. Now look at it – it's all smooth and stuff.” Roukan ran a hand along the gaping maw of the cavern, peering at it. “It's almost like you can see it getting smoother.”

“We're not here for an archeology lesson. That can wait, Rou. C'mon.” Chaore prodded the travel-sized Librarian, urging her into the cave. “We'll take point. You've been down here already, and I can etherealize in case anything happens.”

Ruro nodded to herself. Even with all the havoc the Tome had caused, her Librarians were still on top of their game – a little off-center, but still on top. “Erebus, come with me. I want you close – any feedback on this thing, I want it as soon as it occurs to you.”

As Roukan and Chaore sank away from the daylight, descending into the cave, Sakana and Tyltalis stepped up to either side of it. “How do you wanna do this, boss? If Erebus is right, that might not be Esi anymore down there. Hell, for all we know, if it IS an Eldritch Tome, she may not even be a humanoid youkai anymore –”

“It's Esi. There's no reason to even think otherwise. We going to go down there, find her, and bring her back, no matter what hell we have to drag her through.” Ruro set her jaw, staring down into the darkness.

“You got it, boss.” Sakana tipped her head in a miniature bow, then stepped into the cave herself. “I just hope you're as right as you sound.”

Erebus smirked as she followed after the fisherwoman.


Esi sat bolt-upright and shrieked. Ryuu dropped into a crouch, flaring her claws out.

After a second of panting heavily, Esi turned her too-wide eyes to the drake. “Ryuu... they're coming, they approach. Stop them, send them back, don't let them get to me!”

Ryuu nodded, and with a blast of wind from her wings, bolted down the torchlit-hallway.


“We're coming up on the hallway where we ran into Ryuu. Be careful – if you see her flare her wings out, she's about to spit fire. The color of the flame visible in her mouth for a split second before she spits it will tell you how hot it'll be.”

Roukan lowered herself into a ready stance, brandishing Sakana's tuna-half in a middle guard, and Ruro couldn't resist grinning at the girl. Sakana, however, blinked in surprise. “How did you get – oh, nevermind.”

“Ryuu is a drake youkai. She can take a fair amount of a beating, but that also means she won't go down easily. According to Roukan and Sakana, she's developing thick, chitinous scale plating, and has claws in lieu of hands. Be careful, Librarians. I don't want to have to set up a triage wing in the Library. Don't get yourselves gutted.” Ruro drew Paradiso reverently, taking it up in a two-handed grip.

Erebus smirked. “Yes, do be careful. If you die, I'll kill you.” The multiple mouths decorating the tentacles milling about her head grinned wickedly. “Just so no one feels unnecessarily heroic, you don't need to protect me. I can take full care of myself, and I guarantee it'll take a lot more to put me down than one of you lot.”

“Well then, let's kick the hornet's nest.” Chaore pulled one of the torches off the wall, and with a mighty heave, flung it down to the end of spiral ramp.

Before it hit the ground, a crimson fireball flashed past it, smashing itself on the ground and incinerating the torch.

“She's ready for us. That's fine, I'm ready for her, too.” Chaore's top-hat blinked out of existence, and she lowered herself into a crouch. “I'm gonna be good for about two or three seconds of shielding, tops, and when it breaks, I'm gonna go all-out with some beam-spam. After my first volley, I'm going ethereal, so use my distraction as best you can. Ready, Rou?”

Roukan nodded, and lifted up into the air again, riding on the orbs of blue light. “Whenever you're ready. I'm gonna dash in as quick as I can, get alongside her, so she has to turn. If she stays at range, this hallway is gonna funnel every bit of fire she can fling right at us.”

Erebus leaned over and muttered into Ruro's ear. “I didn't know organizing books required a tactical battle-sense. Where did you find these people?”

“My secret. Are you planning to help us fight, or just spectate? If you're going to fight, understand that I want you to be non-lethal. I don't like having my neighbors and patrons damaged beyond repair.”

“She's a drake, she'll be fine. Especially with me here.”

Ruro didn't realize that it wasn't Erebus speaking with another voice until the Abomination recoiled in surprise and looked around. She glanced over her shoulder and spotted the Dragon of Mangekyou, Hime.

Dragon of Mangekyou, Hermit of the Six Blades, and also rival in swordsplay to Ruro. She almost instinctively brought Paradiso up into a guard, but stopped when Hime waved her off.

“I'll deal with Ryuu. I've been sensing her draconic powers manifesting for a while, but haven't been able to actually find her until I saw you lot come down here. Stand back and I'll get her locked down. I'll bring her to the Library and wait for you there – I know something's happening to force these changes in her, and I'm more than certain that you're down here to get to the source of it. I do believe that the lot of you will be able to resolve this; please don't betray my trust.”

Erebus sniggered at Hime, putting a falsetto to her words. “Please don't betray my trust, neener neener neener. Oh, please. If you can get the Drake out of our way, do it. We'll handle the psychic.”

“The psychic? Ah, I see – you're missing one of the Librarians. The incident revolves around her? Ah, tell me later, when you've won.”

Ruro nodded at the humanform dragon. “Of course. If you'd be so kind as to remove the last obstacle from our path?”

“But of course. Essence of Shielding. I invoke the full power and form of the Cunei Claymore.”

A rust-colored rectangular slab of metal materialized in front of Hime, who took the handle with both hands. “Pardon me,” she said to Chaore and Roukan as she stepped around them.

Hime set her shoulders, exhaled, then vanished from the spiral ramp into the final hallway proper.

Chaore and Roukan glanced at each other, then jumped when they heard Ryuu's screech and the roar of flames. Roukan slipped down the last remnants of the spiral ramp, despite Sakana's grunt of alarm and aborted command to stay put, just in time to see Hime dash straight through a massive gout of fire, parting it and scorching the walls before running the zweihander through Ryuu.

Roukan blanched. “That sword... it didn't have a point on it, and she still stabbed it into Ryuu. What the hell...”

Hime turned, swinging the drake around on the blade like she was weightless, and slammed the end of the zweihander into the wall, keeping Ryuu pinned to it. The drake scratched and clawed at Hime, but to no effect, and any flames she tried to spit petered out almost immediately.

Ryuu began to spasm, twitching and flinching on the blade, and she slowly began to slip back into a more humanoid form, shrinking in size and losing the chitin and scaled crests adorning her Draconic body.

Once she'd returned to the short more-human-than-drake form the Librarians were familiar with, she finally stopped struggling and slumped over the blade, motionless. Hime pulled the end of the blade out of the wall, and gingerly picked Ryuu's body up and slung it over her shoulder, leaving the Cunei Claymore in her.

“Alright, Librarians. The stage is yours. I'll keep Ryuu unconscious and waiting in the Library until you return.”

As the Librarians moved into the hallway, Ruro nodded to Hime on her way past. “Thanks. I owe you one.”

Hime held up her free hand, palm out. “Of course not. Ryuu is a drake; dragons take care of their own. She would've regretted what she would've done if this didn't stop soon enough.”

“I see. Thank you, nonetheless.”

Hime bowed her head, and proceeded up the spiral ramp, vanishing from sight.

Sakana pulled another torch off the wall and held it high, taking the lead. The archway at the far end of the hallway was just barely visible, and through it, only the faintest light could be seen.

“Alright, gang. Everyone ready?”

[FinnKaenbyou]

trance why you killsteal ;_;

[OkashiiKisei]

Things are starting to get interesting~ I'm looking forward to the upcoming battles!

trance why you killsteal ;_;

Cuz Trance needs the EXP.