Back inside the house, the two magicians were still discussing the box and Marisa?s unorthodox and possibly unethical means of acquiring it.
?I swear karma?s got such a hard-on for you,? Alice muttered. ?So?how do you open it? I don?t see a keyhole or anything??
?Ah, its password locked,? Marisa said, carelessly waving off the mention of something so mundane as a keyhole. ?She does this with all her stuff. Just type in the right phrase on the crystals and pop goes the lid, ze!?
?Great,? Alice groaned. ?How are we supposed to figure that out??
?Are you kidding?? Marisa laughed. ?She uses the same password for everything. You?d think she?d learn after the fourth or fifth-?
A sudden knock at the door interrupted them. Marisa and Alice exchanged a confused look.
?The hell?? Marisa muttered as she made her way towards the door. ?You?d think living in the godsdamned Forest of Magic would keep people away, ze.?
She grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open. To her surprise, there was nobody there. She squinted in confusion and looked up, to the left, to the right, and finally down. It was then that she noticed a very nervous looking Daiyousei standing on her porch, looking down at the ground.
?Huh?? Marisa said. ?Oh, it?s Whatshernamesei, Cirno?s friend. What do you want??
The small ice fairy blushed furiously. She started fidgeting by pressing the tips of her index fingers together over and over as she tried to think of what to say.
?Um?um?um??
Marisa?s already thin patience was evaporating quickly. ?Um? Um? Um?? she repeated, making a ?Let?s move this along? gesture with her hand.
Unbeknownst to Marisa and Alice but beknownst to Daiyousei, the rest of Team Nine slipped in through the window and swooped down towards the crystal chest. Cirno, catching Daiyousei?s eye, gave her friend an encouraging wink.
Daiyousei steeled herself and blurted out, ?Um?I heard noises!?
Alice scratched her head. ?You heard??
?Noises?? Marisa finished for her.
?Yes!?
Inside, each of Daiyousei?s friends gathered to a corner of the chest and, working together, lifted it off the ground. Cirno looked over her shoulder to see a floating Shanghai staring at her. The ice fairy grinned conspiratorially and pressed her finger to her lips. Shanghai mimicked the gesture and watched as the four young pranksters slowly moved the chest towards the window.
Unfortunately, Marisa had begun to pull the door shut.
?Yeah, I would talk to your shrink about that??
Daiyousei started to panic. Her friends were in the process of trying to fit the chest through the window and would surely be seen. ?I mean here!? she shouted. ?I heard?crashing and yelling! And I?wanted to see?if everything was okay??
Marisa blinked. ?Huh? Is that it?? She rolled her eyes and allowed herself a luxurious sigh. ?Kid, it was nothing, okay? Alice here was just looking for her damned book and making a mess.?
Her companion glared daggers at her. ?Making a mess??
?So thanks for the concern,? Marisa finished, ?but there?s nothing to see. Now scram.
?Um?Um??
Finally her friends turned the chest sideways and got it through. Cirno shot her a thumbs-up and they disappeared into the forest.
Finally. It was time to wrap things up.
?I?m very sorry for intruding!?
Daiyousei bowed low and shot off as fast as her wings would carry her. Startled by her sudden departure, Marisa and Alice stared as she flew over the house and disappeared.
?Well, huh,? Marisa muttered.
?That was weird,? Alice agreed.
Marisa nodded. ?Makes me kinda suspicious, you know??
?How so??
Marisa turned back into the house, closing the door behind her.
?She?s part of Cirno?s little gang of idiots,? she explained. ?Anything that has one of them acting weirder than normal usually means that they?re??
Her eyes fell upon the pile of linen Alice had been digging through.
??up to??
The pile of linen that was now conspicuously bereft of a certain lavender quartz box.
Marisa grabbed her head as she screamed, ?WHAT?! Where?s the box, ze?!?
Behind her, Alice crossed her arms and smirked. ?And that would be the karma I was talking about earlier.?
Marisa began to freak out. Her house turned into a virtual whirlwind of motion as she desperately tried to find the chest. Items flew every which way as their master, so previously disproving of Alice?s own method of searching, began to toss them aside without heed of where they may fall.
?What?where?it?s gotta? ?Marisa stopped her search to pump her fists at the roof. ?Cirno! It had to be Cirno!?
?You?re sure of that?? Alice said.
?Of course I?m sure! Who else would use that little green-haired punk? Ohhh, I just got fooled by Cirno! That little twerp and her stupid friends stole my box!?
?You mean the same box you stole from Patchouli??
?Shut up! And you!?
Marisa whirled around to jab a finger at the still-hovering Shanghai.
?You backstabbing piece of firewood! Why didn?t you try to warn me?? she demanded.
In answer, the doll lifted her finger to her lips and made a shushing sound. Marisa stared at her in disbelief, and then her face began to grow a deep shade of red, edging on purple. Veins throbbed in her forehead and her fists were clenched so tightly that her knuckles conducted a symphony of pops.
For a moment nothing happened. Then a thunderous boom shook the house and rippled outwards to the surrounding forest. The door to Marisa?s house slammed open, and she tore out into the air. She was balancing on her broom, with one hand grasping the tip of the handle and the other clenched tightly around a metal octagon-shaped amulet, which was now beginning to glow a blinding white. Her purple face was twisted into a grimace of rage. Anyone who knew anything about Marisa knew that when she looked like that, everyone in a thirty-mile radius should probably evacuate.
Behind her, Alice wandered out of the house to watch her go.
?Hmmm, should I follow her or should I let her handle it?? she wondered out loud. She turned to her ever-present miniature companion. ?What do you think Shanghai??
Shanghai repeated the shushing gesture.
Alice shrugged. ?Good point. None of my business.? She took to the air and flew off in the opposite direction. ?I wonder what Medicine?s doing today??
***
Successful capers were hard to come by these days. When the overwhelming majority of people worth playing tricks on were either A) smarter than you and B) capable of turning you into a greasy little smear, it meant that the pranksters of Gensokyo often had to be content with targeting the small fry, such as Lily White. Therefore, having successfully pulled the wool over the eyes of the Mad With herself and gotten away to brag about it was cause for celebration.
And celebration was certainly in the air. Cirno?s gang jabbered and laughed as they rushed away through the forest, carrying the crystal chest with. Cirno herself was in the lead, with Wriggle and Mystia handling the chest behind her. Daiyousei and Rumia floated in the rear, though Daiyousei looked like she was having trouble holding in her breakfast.
?Woohoo!? Cirno shouted. She pumped her fist in the air. ?Mission accomplished!?
?That went even better than I thought it would!? Wriggle added.
?Victory, victory, we have victory!? Mystia sang. Then, in her normal voice, she added, ?And nice work Dai! Best distraction ever!
?R-really??
Rumia flew up to the nervous ice fairy and put on arm around her shoulder.
?Sure!? she said encouragingly. ?You did a great job!?
Daiyousei managed a weak smile. ?T-th-thanks!?
Cirno grinned. ?No doubt about it!? She spun in the air and struck a victory pose. ?Another win for Team Ni-?
?MASTER FREAKING SPARK!?
A blazing pillar of white light tore through the gang?s flight formation. Caught totally off guard, Cirno and her friends were knocked in every which direction by the force of the blast. The chest itself was knocked free from their grasp and was sent sliding down a dew-slick hillside to crash into a mulberry bush.
Unfortunately there was no time to go after it, nor was anything even considering it. The arrival of a furious Marisa who?s out for your blood will do that to almost anyone. As soon as Cirno managed to pull herself off the ground, every bit of her attention was sucked up by the fearsome sight of the fast approaching witch.
A thousand things went through Cirno?s head, none of them fully capable of conveying how the situation made her feel. Her mind went numb, and the only thing she was able to say was, ?Oh wow, she looks pissed.?
Wriggle was suddenly at her side. ?You think?? the firefly screamed. ?Scatter!?
A moment later everyone was in the air and fleeing for their lives as the ground beneath them simply ceased to exist. Had they the time to reflect, they would have probably experienced an odd sense of d?j? vu, as the situation almost completely mirrored the chase with Lily White. Except this time, there was no laughing. There were no taunts. There were only screams and pleas for mercy.
?WAH! Watch out! You almost hit me!?
?Dammit, that was too close!?
?Oh jeez, oh jeez, not good, not good, not good!?
?I?m sorry, I?m sorry, I?m sorry!!! Ahhh!!! Please don?t kill me!?
?Whoa!? Cirno banked hard to avoid being pasted. The blast intended for her demolished a bed of poppies instead. She growled and whirled to face Marisa. ?Okay, that?s it! Let?s end this!?
For all her faults, Cirno was certainly no coward. She intended to challenge Marisa directly, an action tantamount to suicide in many circles. But this was a matter of reputation and pride. Marisa had assaulted her gang, now she had to pay the price.
Cirno placed herself directly in Marisa?s path, her fist raised in defiance. ?I?ll show you who?s the stro-
She never got the chance. A beam of pure white hit her directly in the face and she was propelled backwards through two groves of tree, a patch of overgrown yellow-spotted mushrooms, and a very surprised hive of bees before coming to rest at the roots of an old cedar that was made of sterner stuff than its neighbors.
?Cirno!? Daiyousei cried before having to dive to avoid being shot herself.
?And now for the rest of you!? Marisa shouted.
She flew into the air above the treetops. Her eyes began glowing with gathered energy. Circles of power began forming around her, each one containing an eight-point star. She raised her arms in the air, her fists crackling with lightning.
?NON-DIRECTIONAL LA-?
?Duhduh-duh-duhduh!?
?Huh??
Surprised, Marisa broke off from charging her spell to see a white bundle of fury coming directly at her.
?Spring power!?
Lily White fired one of her trademark barrages at Marisa. The witch was so taken back that she didn?t even think to dodge until she had already been struck. The force of the blast canceled her spell and knocked her right off the broom.
Above, Lily began ranting. ?First that gang of rude jerks and now you? Why can?t you people just enjoy Spring like you?re supposed to??
Marisa managed to grab the handle of her broom just in time. Holding her hat in one hand, she tried to pull herself back up.
?What? What the hell are you talking about, you stupid flying klaxon alarm?? she shouted back. ?I?m trying to??
It was then that she noticed that Lily?s blast had ripped a sizeable tear in her hat?s brim.
??you ripped my hat.?
Thunder shook the treetops and Lily was sent flying.
Marisa was now on her broom and furious beyond all reason. Play her for a fool, steal her box, shoot her in the face, all these she could forgive. But never, ever touch her hat!
?YOU RIPPED MY HAT!?
Her rage still burned as brightly as before, but now it was focused on Lily. For her part, Lily did not back down from the challenge, and the two were soon doing everything in their power to eliminate the other. Cirno?s friends took advantage of the distraction and hid as the sounds of destruction moved further and further away.
***
For the longest time nobody dared to move. Then, one by one, their heads popped out of their hiding places.
??Are they gone?? Mystia whispered. True to form, she had taken shelter in the branches of a gnarled old oak.
?I think so,? Rumia said. She was in the shadows of a large boulder. Nearby, Wriggle was creeping out of a patch of tall grass.
Mystia sighed in relief. She dropped down to the ground. ?That was way too close.? This statement was met with agreement.
That was when they heard Daiyousei cry ?Cirno!? Wriggle, Mystia and Rumia looked at each other and went to go investigate.
They found Daiyousei over by Cirno?s prone body. The blue-haired ice fairy had taken quite a beating. Her clothes were burnt, her skin was now a shade darker, her wings were lined with cracks that were just beginning to heal, and her entire body was covered with a fine layer of ash and dirt. Still, she was alive and awake, though the way her eyes refused to focus was worrisome.
Wriggle whistled between her teeth. ?Whoa, she got messed up pretty bad.?
Rumia waved a hand in front of Cirno?s face. There was no response.
?How?s she doing, Dai?? she asked.
Daiyousei shuddered. ?I d-don?t know. She?s p-p-pretty out of it.?
Cirno?s body suddenly began shaking. ??like a diamond shining in the sky?? she mumbled. Or perhaps wheezed would be more accurate. Her voice sounded like it had been strained through a rusty smokestack.
?Cirno!? Daiyousei cried. She grabbed her leader and began shaking her back and forth. ?Snap out of it!?
?Wahwahwahwah!? Cirno wailed as her brain rattled in her skull.
?Dai! That?s enough!? Mystia grabbed Daiyousei and forced her to release Cirno. Cirno, for her part, just pitched forward and landed on her face.
There was a groan, and then she muttered, ?Why do people keep hitting me in the face??
Everyone sighed with relief. ?Just one of those days,? Rumia said.
They all helped her up. Cirno was still a little shaky, but for the most part she looked all right. Annoyed and a bit dazed, but all right.
?Damn it, that hurt!? she complained. ?Why?d she do that for??
?I don?t know, maybe because we robbed her,? Wriggle said sarcastically.
?Yeah, but she didn?t have to take it so freaking personal! I don?t go around barbequing everyone who-? Her voice cut off as something horrible occurred to her. She looked around wildly. ?Wait, where?s the box?? she cried.
?Seriously?? Rumia asked. ?After all that??
Cirno stamped her foot and winced as pain shot up her ankle. ?Yes, seriously! I did not just take a Master Spark to the face for nothing!?
The others conceded the point.
?Um, I think we dropped it back there,? Mystia said, pointing.
?Fine! Let?s go?whoa,? Cirno said as she tried to fly, only to begin wobbling immediately.
Her friends tried to convince to slow down a bit, to wait until her wings were fully healed. But now that her mind was latched onto an idea, Cirno would have none of it. Finally, a compromise was struck. Rumia took one arm, Daiyousei the other, and together they helped her through the air.