Author Topic: A New World, Book 3 - Complete -  (Read 82291 times)

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #30 on: April 19, 2011, 04:43:50 PM »
"If love can destroy, can hatred save?"

Mima snarled softly as the impact of her staff against the Lunarian's sword sent them both reeling.  She was having a hard time keeping form.  It had been over a century since she materialized, and she felt detached, even given the amount of magic that kassha was pouring into her.

She inhaled, her ?breath? allowing her to refocus on her opponent.  She saw the woman moving the fingers of her left hand in familiar patterns and felt a spike of disdain.  ?Do you think such a weak exorcism can banish me??  She swiftly recited the spell she'd developed so many years ago to counter such magics.

?Evil spirit disperse!? the woman yelled, thrusting her hand forward as she finished her banishing ritual.

Mima blinked so the flash wouldn't blind her.  When she opened her eyes she smiled at her opponents dumbfounded expression.  She pointed at the ringed orb over her head that was slowly pulsing with corrupted lifeforce ripped from the trees around them.  ?Now it's my turn.  Orreries Sun!?

A wave of her staff sent four spinning orbs at the woman.  As her target jumped back they merged together and exploded in a terrific blast.  Deadly splinters of wood from the trees sliced through her form, but mere wood wasn't anything that could hurt her anymore.  She did check behind her to make sure her summoner was still alive.

The kassha had grabbed hold of the little shrine maiden and was shielding her, both with magic and her own body.  The sight made the knife in her back itch, so she looked away.  She had someone to kill after all.

The woman had retreated to the treeline.  Mima could smell the blood flowing from her wounds, only matched by the smoke from the burning shrine.

Mima felt odd as she remembered that this was the Hakurei shrine.  She looked at her opponent with new feelings of amusement and disgust.  ?Did someone finally set up a rival shrine?  They kill your youkai lover?  Or did you just have a bad fortune??

?Shut up ghost, don't bring me down to the level of these humans.  I am a Lunarian!  I am Uenaga Itaka,?  The woman  snarled.  ?They were in our way so we eliminated them.  Just like I'll eliminate you!?  Itaka pointed and then the world turned into whiteness and pain.

Mima screamed as the lightning coursed through her undead form.

Fortunately when the power stopped so did the pain.  She had no body to wound after all.  Gripping her staff she swung it down as hard as she could while teleporting towards the woman.  Her hands shuddered with the impact against Itaka's sword.

?I despise you,? Mima hissed in the woman's disgustingly perfect face.

?As if I care about the jealousy of a human ghost,? Itaka managed to grunt before gasping in pain.  Mima felt a ripple of sadistic joy as her pressure forced Itaka onto the woman's wounded foot. 

?Human?  Human??  Mima sneered.  ?I smell your blood.  I can sense your heartbeat.  You're just as human as all the others!?  The dark sphere behind her began to pulse faster.

?You humans.  You always point at someone and say, 'They're different.  I'm the real human.  They're just a mistake.  They wear the wrong clothes.  Say the wrong things.  Use the wrong type of magic!'?  She slammed her left hand down on her staff and was rewarded with another grunt of pain.  ?You think that giving yourself a fancy name and hiding away makes you scum any different!?  You are the same as the bastards that murdered me!  And you murdered the family of one of the two humans that treated me like I had a right to exist!  You humans are trash!?

?Shut up!?  Itaka screamed as she pushed herself upright.  ?I'm not a filthy human!  I- AM- PURE!?

Mima's eyes opened wide in shock as she was slowly pushed back.  Then her hatred flowed through her again.  ?YOU- ARE- TRASH!?

Mima pushed as hard as she could, but Itaka wouldn't budge.  They stood there, fighting each other, whispering spells, counterspells and curses.

Then suddenly the air went cold and Itaka screamed.  The Lunarian tumbled backwards as eight gaki ripped into the flesh of her stomach.  The sudden loss of opposition made Mima stumble forward.

Itaka yelled out a word of power and the blood she shed exploded into pure energy, banishing the ghosts.  But she was open.

Mima pointed at the woman and sent a cascade of stars at her.  Most of the barrage slammed into the woman's front, and those that didn't ricocheted into her sides and back.  The woman's strained wards collapsed.

Mima hesitated as Itaka slumped.  Her foe was down, but something was wrong.  She felt that her summoner was distracted.  She turned to check on the kassha and the girl.

Just as the the young miko grabbed the bloody knife in her back and slid it free.

There was a short strained cry as Mima whirled around.  And then the girl was standing over the body of the Lunarian, her white top stained with the blood pumping out of the fallen woman's jugular.

Mima slowly floated between the young girl and the corpse before removing the knife from the dead bodies throat.  She then turned to face the miko who was still staring at the ground.

?I'm sorry.  I should have asked before pulling out the knife,? the girl said.

Mima simply shook her head.  She wasn't sure how to respond.

Orin walked up behind the girl and pulled her into an embrace again.  Mima wanted to yell at the kassha, but the magician realized that the Lunarian's final attack must have dazed the necromancer cat via backlash.  There was nothing to be done.

They'd just have to deal with the consequences.

?Hitomi!  Kanon!?

Mima looked up to see someone very familiar rush to the back of the shrine, frantically looking about.  Then the woman froze.  ?Mima??

?Marisa.?  The ghost floated back and gestured to the two bodies and the young girl.  ?The fight here is over.?

Marisa blanched at the sight of the bodies, then dropped to her knees.  ?Dammit.?  The magician pounded her fist into the ground.  ?Dammit!  Fuck!  Fuck!  FUCK!?

Marisa slammed her fist into the ground again, then slowly rose to her feet.

Orin's ears swept back as she lifted her head.  ?I'm sorry sis.  I couldn't make it in time.  I ran over as soon as I heard.  But the elevator is broken these days, and well....?

?No.  I should have ignored Hitomi and warded the damn place.  I should have dragged her back to the mansion.  I...  I knew I should have....? Marisa finally looked at the young miko.  ?I'm sorry.?

?It wasn't your fault,? Kanon replied in a dead voice.

Orin looked at Marisa, as she smoothed the young girl's hair.  ?I'm gonna to take her back home.  The girls will keep her safe.?  Orin turned Kanon so she could look the young girl in the eyes.  ?You're a miko so the Reiuji Shrine will give you shelter, for as long as you need it.  Auntie Orin promises, okay?

Kanon stared up at the kassha for long moment, before bursting into tears.  Mima could only turn away from the piercing wails of the child.  She floated away, as Marisa moved to help comfort the girl.

She stared down at the bloody knife that matched the one that had taken her life so long ago.  ?Was I so different when I was human?? she asked quietly.  But she couldn't answer that any more.

The knife disintegrated, returning to the fading memories of her long dead grudges.

Sighing she returned to where the living were discussing their fates.  Kanon's crying had become simple sniffles now, though Orin was still holding her close.  Marisa had turned away.  Mima could tell her former apprentice was brooding, something the girl rarely did in public.

?Marisa's gonna go back to the war,? Orin said as she slowly helped Kanon rise to her feet.  ?I'll be taking the girl to safety, at least until the war is over.?  Orin gave the undead magician a questioning look.  ?My summoning is gonna be over soon sis.  You okay with me wandering off??

?I'm no second rate spirit.  My magic will sustain me until I choose to leave," Mima replied.  She looked over towards the fallen forms.  "I'll look after the bodies until the Shinigami come."

Orin's eye's turned dark.  ?Just the one sis.  I'll be taking that one.?  The kassha pointed towards the fallen Lunarian.

Mima looked at Marisa, but the living magician didn't move, so she shrugged.  ?Safe trip home.?

?Take care sis.?  Orin tossed the body into her cart, took Kanon by the hand then headed back into the trees.  As they left, Mima floated to stand behind her former student.

Marisa was staring at the fire that was slowly dying as the shrine was consumed.  Mima saw the young magician force her fists to unclench.

After a few moments she said, ?Tell me Marisa, how do you feel about these Lunarians??

Marisa was silent.

?Do you hate them??

There was another moment of silence.  Then Marisa replied.  ?Yes.?

?I want to smash every one of the bastards here on the Earth.  If I have to I'll burn their damned Lunar Capitol off the face of the Moon with my Hakkero.?  Marisa took another ragged breath. 

Mima closed her eyes.

?Why??

Marisa stiffened at the question.  A question a young girl who wanted to become a magician had once asked her vengeful ghostly mentor.

A question that had never been answered.

Mima nodded her head mournfully and placed a hand on the young magician's shoulder.

?I have nothing left to teach you, my apprentice.?

Marisa reached up and took her hand.  Mima closed her eyes and allowed herself to feel the warmth of her student's emotions.  Then she let the cold shroud of death cover her once more.

?Farewell.  Marisa.?

?Goodbye.  Mima.?
« Last Edit: April 20, 2011, 12:31:02 AM by Iced Fairy »

Alfred F. Jones

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #31 on: April 19, 2011, 06:00:42 PM »
?Shut up!?  Itaka screamed as she pushed herself upright.  ?I'm not a filthy human!  I- AM- PURE!?

Mima's eyes opened wide in shock as she was slowly pushed back.  Then her hatred flowed through her again.  ?YOU- ARE- TRASH!?
I can't remember the last time I ever cheered this hard for Mima.

.... agh, war and its 'casualties'. :(

Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #32 on: April 19, 2011, 10:52:40 PM »
?I'm sorry.  I should have asked before pulling out the knife,? the girl said.

Mima simply shook her head.  She wasn't sure how to respond.

Orin walked up behind the girl and pulled her into an embrace again.  Mima wanted to yell at the kassha, but the magician realized that the Lunarian's final attack must have dazed the necromancer cat via backlash.  There was nothing to be done.

They'd just have to deal with the consequences.

Mima was epic, and that's oddly thoughtful of Kanon; she's got a good heart. Still, so young and already she's watched her mother die, then killed the one responsible. Yeah, there will be consequences. For Marisa, too; she probably wouldn't have let Orin carry Itaka away before. it'll be interesting to see what she gets up to; heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned. Hopefully Alice is all right. Also, you probably meant Shinigami near the end there.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #33 on: April 20, 2011, 02:28:17 AM »
Also, you probably meant Shinigami near the end there.
Need to add that to my spellcheck.  I had Shikigami in from the earlier chapters....

And you need not worry about Alice.  Her part in this tragedy is mostly over.

Something that caught my eye and reminded me of things here.

Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #34 on: April 20, 2011, 03:57:12 PM »
I'm speechless, I just love your writing Iced.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #35 on: April 25, 2011, 05:28:06 AM »
Ichirin did her best to ignore the stares of the humans as she scribbled sutras all along the walls.  Most of them were outsiders after all, and they were unused to such obvious displays of magic.  Unzan was getting a fair number of stares as well.  Kyoko's ears received some looks, but people had gotten used to those far more quickly.

Still the fact that so many of these outsiders had willingly placed their lives in the care of the temple's occupants was a sign of how much the outside world had changed.

She finished up the final verse, and nodded as the words blended into the wood that made up the palanquin ship.  ?What ward should I put up next Unzan??

Unzan's soft reply was interrupted by a violent shock.  The wards all flared brilliant blue as something shattered on them.  Then they slowly died down.

Except the one that guarded against fire.

The people below started to shout amongst each other.  Ichirin could feel panic starting to build.  She quickly moved over the entrance, and opened her arms to get everyone's attention.  ?There's no need to worry everyone!  Unzan and I will keep you all safe.?  The nyuudo moved to hold up the roof to add credibility to her words. 

?Yep!  So long as you stay in here the wards will keep you safe from the crossfire,? Kyouko echoed cheerily.  ?Don't worry about a thing.?

The panic quickly subsided, though families started bunching together.

?Now we just have to hope Murasa can take care of the fire,? Ichirin whispered softly.  Kyouko nodded in reply.

She flew back up to the walls.  She needed to start strengthening the wards again.

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

The four members of the temple leaped from their positions into the sky as a bolt of energy flew over the temple, then exploded, raining down liquid fire.

?Fuck!? shouted Murasa as the magical blast set the roof aflame.

Byakuren quietly sympathized with the statement.  The attack was some kind of magical napalm.  Even if there was no other fuel it would burn on its own.  It would have to be extinguished somehow.

Shou immediately took charge.  ?Murasa, keep it from spreading!  Your water powers can do that no matter what spell it is.  Nazrin, form a conventional bucket brigade.  Keep it away from any fuel!?

With that the new goddess leaped down from the heavens, Byakuren quickly following.  She raised her spear, and lighting crashed from the clear sky at her command.

There standing in the shattered clearing created by the electrical blast was a woman.  Byakuren could immediately see the near transparent walls of magic warding the woman from harm.  ?Shou, be careful.  She's well protected.?

Shou held out her hands and a spray of her twisting lasers fired out.  ?That doesn't matter.  She will pay for daring to attack a shrine filled with innocents!?

?Hmph!  You declared war on us, youkai,? the woman replied.  Byakuren watched as the deadly rain of lasers struck the woman, then vanished into nothingness as the woman's wards absorbed the killing power.  ?Now reap the rewards of your defiance.?  The woman again raised her hands and threw a ball of magical flame into the air.

This was what Byakuren was waiting for.  Time seemed to slow as she entered her casting trance.  She reached out towards the spell with her own power, trying to rip it apart and unmake it.  Counterspelling wasn't in favor in Gensoukyo, but among magicians it was an common and effective tactic.

It was almost too easy to get a grip on the outer lines of energy.  Byakuren ignored them and moved on.  Those must be the shrapnel part.  If she removed them, the spell would just regenerate them.  Her target was the core of the arcane attack.

She prodded and poked against the core of the energy, trying to work her way inside it.  This magic seemed to have a strange feel however.  It shifted wrong to her mind.  At first she attributed it to the oddities of Lunarian magic, but then she caught a glimpse of the inner workings.  This was magitech!  She didn't know how to cancel magic that was being run by a soulless device.

Time began advancing normally once again as her eyes snapped open.  ?Shou, I can't dispel it!?  She dodged to the side quickly as the shot exploded above the two and rained down fire again.  The scattered trees below turned into torches.

?Ahahaha!  Couldn't you dodge it all, 'goddess'??

Byakuren quickly turned to where Shou had been.  Her friend had dodged to the side as well, but there was a patch of the napalm burning on her left hand.

Shou blinked then looked down at her hand.  ?Oh.  That's why it's warm.  I thought you'd gotten a near miss.?  Shou contemptuously flicked her hand to get the magical flames off.  ?I know you worry about me Byakuren, but you don't need to tell me to dodge if the flames don't burn.?

Byakuren stared at Shou in awe.  She'd known Shou was strong.  That's why she'd chosen the woman to be an avatar of Vaiśravana.  But to ignore flames that could make evergreens instantly combust was far far beyond her previous power. 

As the halo around Shou began to expand, Byakuren realized her shock and the Lunarian's fear must be feeding Shou faith.  ?I would explain to you all the sins you are committing with your vile acts, but I'd be wasting my time.?  Shou gestured past the woman.  ?Your strength isn't enough even to defeat my old youkai self.  Much less Byakuren and I together.  You're a sacrificial pawn, sent here to delay my attack on more dangerous fighters.?

?S-shut up!? the woman yelled.  ?Do you think I led off with my strongest spell??

Shou shook her head.  ?Do you think it matters??

Byakuren narrowed her eyes at that.  Shou was obviously provoking the woman.  Which meant Shou wasn't as quite as confident as she seemed.  The tiger youkai was trying to draw attention away from Byakuren, so she could use her more potent spells.

Byakuren's biggest weakness was her devotion to ritual.  Her strongest long ranged attack spells all took time to fire off.  And she'd need a strong spell to break the Lunarian's barrier. 

To understand was to act for the Buddhist nun.  She began chanting one of her focused attack spells, doing her best to hide the lotus pattern that formed from the energy.  She'd have to hope Shou could hold out.

The Lunarian raised her hands.  ?Let's try a real attack spell then!?  Byakuren blinked as a wave of electricity crackled upwards.

Then shattered against an invisible globe as Shou raised her spear.  ?You think to test Bishamonten with lightning??

Byakuren opened her eyes fully as she completed her own spell.  The energy lotus bloomed around her, and she focused that power into seven lasers.  The Lunarian dodged to the side, but some of the beams still washed over her.

To no effect.

The woman's attention snapped back to Byakuren.  ?That won't work!?  Byakuren sidesteped as the Lunarian tossed another napalm sphere directly at her then took to the air.  Now it would be even harder to get a focused attack off.

Byakuren sighed.  She'd hoped to have a strong position to negotiate from, but it seemed that wasn't going to happen.  ?This fight is meaningless,? Byakuren said to the Lunarian.  ?There's no one on the Earth who can threaten the moon.  Why do you seek conflict here??

?You assassinated our representatives.  That's good enough reason to get rid of you.  Besides you and the humans are just- ouph!?  The Lunarian's words were cut off as Shou's spear knocked her back a few paces.

The weapon turned to light, then reformed in Shou's outstretched hand.  ?We killed no one.  Your people are responsible for their deaths, as any fool could see.  You seek excuses for your deeds, not justice.?

?Why should I listen to the words of a youkai??

Byakuren nodded.  ?Shou.  You can go ahead now.?

?Eh??  Both the other fighters looked at her in confusion.

?I've figured out how to defeat this woman.  You don't need to worry about me anymore.?  Byakuren smiled at her former student.  ?Go on ahead.  After all, she's only here to slow you down.  We shouldn't let that happen.?

?But Byakuren...? Shou had such a conflicted look on her face.  Byakuren couldn't help but chuckle.

She regretted the impulse when their opponent took it personally.  ?You insolent bitch!?  Byakuren dashed quickly to the side as her opponent raised her hands.  The summoned lightning crackled off harmlessly into the sky.

Fortunately her quick dodge seemed to placate Shou's worries.  ?Alright.  Be safe Byakuren.?  The new goddess hovered a bit higher, then dove below the tree line while running towards where Maribel, Ran and Renko were.

Byakuren turned back towards the Lunarian.  ?My apologies for appearing to ignore you, but I wanted to speak to you one on one.?

The woman looked at her in confusion.  Byakuren had to admit it was strange when someone went from fighting to talking politely.  Even she had difficulty switching out of fight mode.  ?I wanted you to think on what your leaders have done.  If this was about your emissaries, why are you not attacking Eientei?  You know that they hold themselves apart from the rest of the world.  Why do they seek war with humanity?  Think on this.?

The woman paused and frowned.  ?That's somewhat odd.?

?But why should I care what happens to impure beings, much less listen to their conspiracy theories??

The Lunarian formed another fireball.  ?You're good at dodging my attacks, but your friends seem to be having trouble with my flames.  I wonder how long it'll take before it eats through your wards??  With a casual toss she threw it over the temple again.

Murasa and Nazrin immediately scrambled away from their firefighting attempts as liquid fire once again rained down on the temple roof.  As soon as the attack finished they scrambled back, though Murasa paused to shout, ?Dammit!  We were almost done!  Go light yourself on fire you crazy murderous bint!?

Byakuren took a deep breath.  It wasn't a problem yet. She was sure Ichrin could hold for another half hour with that much flame.  But if the woman kept targeting the temple instead of her, or if the lunarian changed spells....

?I warn you.  I've seen the weakness of your shield.  I don't want to hurt you, but if you continue to threaten innocents... 'The Buddha only forgives three times.'?

Byakuren saw a new spell begin to form around her foe.  ?And I've seen the weakness in your shield as well.  Let's see who ends up begging for forgiveness,? the Lunarian replied.

?Very well.  Grit your teeth.? Byakuren said simply.

Then she called on her true power and attacked.

She felt the temperature around her decrease for a brief moment as her opponent's spell went off.  But by then she was already flying in front of her target.

She felt her hand break with her uppercut as it slammed into a shield stronger then a wall of iron.  But just like iron the shield bent and shifted to absorb her blow, driving it's unyielding power into her opponent's gut.  Her enemy had designed a shield that was perfect for dispelling magic, but poor at deflecting kinetic energy. 

The Lunarian folded around the blow, and vomited up blood.  Then the impact sent the woman flying into the  sky.

Byakuren waited until the sonic boom from her first burst of speed reached her before flying behind the Lunarian.  This time she clasped her hands together and brought them down in a overhead spike.  Her broken hand twinged with pain, but she didn't think she had suffered any more injuries.

This time she started moving as soon as the hit was over.  She reached the ground just in time to catch the Lunarian with a flip kick that sent her foe into a parabolic arc.  She wasn't certain if she broke a toe with that attack, but she was certain she felt one of the Lunarian's bones break.

The Lunarian landed with a crash in the clearing Shou had created with her first attack.  Byakuren was pleased to see she'd missed the rocks and stumps still around.  She whispered a quick prayer to start her own wounds healing, then floated over to the fallen woman.

Byakuren nodded in approval as she reached her opponent.  The final impact had knocked the woman unconscious.  The Buddhist nun quickly checked her foe's injuries.  Five broken ribs, dislocated shoulders, minor internal bleeding, and the broken pelvic bone that had finished the fight.

Byakuren looked back towards the temple roof.  ?Are you okay Nazrin?  Murasa??

?Some of my poor mice got burned!? Nazrin called back.

Murasa poured water on another patch of flame before adding.  ?The fires are dying though!  I think knocking the bitch out stopped their fuel or something.?

?Good!  I'll be up there in a moment.?

Byakuren then turned back to her prisoner and started sealing the woman's magical powers.  The one nice thing about fighting humans was that you could properly hold them prisoner without locking them away in horrible places.

As she began her work she prayed, ?Good luck Shou.?

Hopefully her old friend wouldn't need it.

=============

?Dammit!?

Mokou swore as an explosion rang out from the south of the city.  She immediately began running towards the blast.  Something had gone wrong.  Very very wrong.  And Keine was in the middle of it.

All around her villagers were popping out of their huts and starting to flee as well, though most were going in the opposite direction.  One group turned to her.

?Ms Mokou!  What's going on??

She spared them a quick glance.  ?Someone's attacking the village.  They're just here to cause a fuss, so take everyone to the farmlands outside!  Me and Keine will handle the rest!?

?I fear you will not, Fujiwara no Mokou.?

Mokou stopped dead in her tracks and turned towards the voice.  There, standing in the light of the full moon, was a young man in robes that might have been fashionable in the days of her childhood.  His shoulder length hair was as white as her own, and he carried a sword and some other devices.  Mokou could sense power flowing around him as well.

The young man briefly took his eyes off her to address the villagers.  ?I'm here only to deal with the one poisoned with the Hourai Elixir.  You should take her advice and run.  I have no desire for any other living beings to be harmed by our battle.?

Mokou jerked her head to get the family moving again.  As they ran off she responded, ?How nice of you.  Your friend down south doesn't seem to be quite as polite.  I thought you 'pure' beings didn't need to care about us ordinary humans.?

The young man nodded.  ?True.  But just because we do not have to hold ourselves to such high standards doesn't mean it is not a good thing to do so.?  He pulled out a strange device.  ?Besides, as I said, I am here to deal with you.  I have no interest in war.  My mission is solely to prevent those who have taken the Hourai Elixir from becoming a long term danger to the natural cycles of the world.?

?Hm... Then why are you bothing me instead of the princess?  This is all her fault anyway,?  Mokou muttered.

The man frowned.  ?Princess Kaguya was made exempt, for some reason.?  His tone indicated he didn't like it, which earned him a few points in Mokou's mind.  ?I wish to appeal this ruling, but that can wait for later.  Besides she has more guardians.  And you're far more dangerous.?

Mokou looked behind her to make sure the villagers were clear before turning back to the man.  ?Dangerous?  Yeah, you're right about that.?

?Kaguya?  I don't know what keeps her going.  Bitch never gives me a straight answer.  But me?  For almost 1500 years I woke up every morning with one goal.  To utterly destroy Kaguya Houraisan.  Why?  Because she insulted a man who abandoned me when I was a child.  For 1500 years, that was my only reason for existence.?

?Now things are different.  I have a friend.  Someone who understands me.  I even have someone who kinda counts as family.?  She cracked her knuckles.  ?And I don't intend to lose them.?

The man raised an eyebrow at that.  ?Are you trying to threaten me??

Mokou took a step forward and flames erupted around her body.  ?I'm saying that if Keine gets hurt because of this stupid delay I will hunt you and your people to the ends of existence.  I am Fujiwara no Mokou.  I can't be stopped.  I can't die.  And the only place you can escape my wrath is in the embrace of death!?

The young man shook his head.  ?I think not.  For I, Jeo Hanli, will be sealing you away.?

Mokou rushed forward as the man leveled the device at her.  She was expecting to be frozen, burnt or otherwise shot by it, but instead it just released a strange gas.  She coughed violently as the sweet smell entered her lungs.

The young man nodded.  ?The gas will paralyze you, allowing me to finish the seal.?

Mokou coughed once more, then rushed out of the cloud swinging.  ?Sorry.  Eirin already used that on me.  I've developed an immunity.?

Jeo seemed shocked, but he quickly flipped over Mokou's headlong charge.  ?Eirin wouldn't have been stupid enough to use all the anti-Hourai weapons on you.  I'll just have to keep trying!?

?Like I'll let you!?  Mokou reversed her direction and lunged at the man again.  She wished she could use her ranged magic, but throwing fire inside a wooden city was stupid.

The Lunarian hopped back again, firing out two more gas canisters.  The first one made Mokou gag, even though she held her breath, but the second one was ineffectual.  She forced herself to keep moving through the gas by trying to remember when Eirin had used them on her last.  She idly guessed the first one was the gas that made her vomit out her stomach.  Literally.

She took a deep breath when she passed through the clouds, then cried out as she hit a magical binding face first.  Cords of raw energy wrapped around her then pulled taunt, digging into her flesh as they held her still.  She swore.  This was going to inconvenience her greatly.

She struggled against the magical bindings briefly to make sure they were strong enough to actually hold her.  As she started her opponent started up a chant.  Mokou couldn't recognize any of the words, but she felt lethargy start creeping over her.  ?Fuck!?

She took another deep breath and closed her eyes.  This was going to hurt.

With a thought, she detonated the explosive charms sewn into her pants.

The first two blasts hurt the worst, considering they were right over her femoral arteries.  The wounds there were fatal of course, her blood would pour out within the minute, but the secondary explosions made sure she didn't regenerate too fast and sent her into a pleasant state of shock.

Then she died.

Well she should have died.  As her body scattered itself into a bunch of small chunks all over the village, the laws of reality noticed that her body and soul were no longer in concordance, and reset her body to its correct 'alive' state to fix the paradox.  The Hourai Elixer was perfect in design.  It didn't just prevent death.  It made her existence one of the rules that allowed the universe to function.

But for one brief nanosecond she was dead.  Torn to pieces.  And the binding spell noticed there was nothing left to bind and faded out.

Mokou forced herself to keep standing, even though every nerve in her body decided to finish telling her brain that it had just been ripped apart and exposed to the burning air.  All at the same time.  The pain was excruciating, but Mokou was almost used to it.  She didn't have time to whimper.  She had to move forward.

Mokou was swinging as she approached the stunned Lunarian.  Her fist hurt as it slammed into his defenses, but they collapsed quickly.  He obviously hadn't expected to be hit.  They did give him enough time to fall on his ass though, which meant the blow only clipped his head and drew blood instead of slamming right through it.  Mokou raised her hand to fix that mistake as Jeo fumbled for another device.  He fired it into her stomach, but the impacts were miniscule.  She swung down.

Then jerked backwards and screamed as electricity ripped through her body.

It hurt.  It didn't hurt as much as blowing up did.  But it hurt.  And more importantly she couldn't control her body at all.  Her nerves sputtered and jerked to the current pouring through the prongs in her flesh.  She couldn't act at all.

Jeo stood.  His face was solemn, but he was breathing heavily.  ?You are far too strong.  Eirin was a fool to leave you unsealed.?  He shook his head.  ?I wish I didn't have to use this method, but you can't build up a tolerance to electrical shock.?

?I don't know if you can even hear me, but if you can I hope it gives you some solace that I won't be fighting this Keine person.  And that Kaguya will soon be sealed next to you.?

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

Mokou's mind was a black haze of pain and impotence.

The pain she was used to.  She'd been in so much pain before that her body had simply refused to stand.  This was close to that, but not quite there.

Her weakness however infuriated her.

She was an unwanted child.  She'd been granted her father's name, but only as a stopgap measure until someone more worthy came along.  He ignored her in every other way.

She'd had no control over her life until the day she'd decided to run away.  To kill the woman who had spurned the only thing she and her mother had ever wanted.

She hated being powerless.

*Keine*

The name rolled into Mokou's mind.  She could see Keine, standing and looking around while worried.  ?Mokou, where are you??

Mokou wanted to reply, but her mouth wouldn't obey.

*Kaguya*

That name too created a figure in her mind.  Kaguya was lazing about, ?I wonder where that girl went to??

Mokou tried to scream her name at the woman so the damned Princess would never forget it, but her tongue wouldn't move.

Keine continued looking around, ?Mokou... did you abandon me?  Did I do something wrong??

Why do you keep following me?  Why don't you let me be?

?Well whatever.  I was getting bored with her antics anyway,? Kaguya turned away.

How could you forget me?  You're everything to me?

?Mokou!  I didn't mean to upset you!  Please, help me!  I need you!?

I love you.  But you'll leave me.

?Eirin!  Find me a new playmate.  One that won't just wander off and abandon me.?

I hate you.  I want to be with you for eternity.

Mokou tried to reach out.  To scream at them.  Her soul burned with need.  She didn't know which one she should reach for.  She didn't know if she felt insane love or mad hatred.

But she needed to move and the world was pain and fire and it hurt and she wished she could die and the world was pain and fire and Keine needed her and the world was pain and fire and Kaguya was still alive and the world was pain and fire and she needed to help and the world was pain and fire and pain and fire pain and fire.

...

And if the world was fire, then she would burn

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

Jeo sighed, then started his sealing chant once again.  He needed to do this quickly.

He took a deep breath, then froze.  The woman... Mokou, was smoldering.  At first he wondered if the modified taser was malfunctioning.  Then there was a rush of heat and he fell down once again as flames erupted all along Mokou's back.

He stared in shock as the immortal's hand slowly began to twitch towards the prongs.  ?How....  How?!?

With a fierce scream the flames turned bright blue melting the prongs and conducting wire into useless slag, then lighting the metal itself.  The useless device shorted out, and Mokou stood up to her full height, as the electrical shock faded away.

Jeo could only stare.  It wasn't possible for a human.  Even a human empowered with the Hourai Elixir.  It just wasn't possible.  ?Who are you?  What are you?!?

Mokou turned towards him with burning eyes.  ?Keeeeeeyyyyyyaaaaaaaa!?  The flames around the woman warped into the form of a Phoenix crying it's rage.

It wasn't human.  It couldn't have ever been human.

Jeo didn't utter a single word.  He just clawed himself to his feet and ran into the darkness.

The flames around Mokou died a second later and she collapsed to her knees.  She was in massive pain, and her body was refusing to continue.

Mokou forced a grin and ignored it.  Electrical pain faded fast. She'd be moving normally soon enough.

Wisps of the madness that had consumed her tried to force themselves into her mind, but she was good at repression too.  She just focused all her existence on her goal.  If that obsession was also madness, well she was used to it.

She pushed herself up to her feet again and staggered another three steps before collapsing.  Then she rose and continued her halting march South.

She had to help Keine after all.

Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #36 on: April 25, 2011, 06:24:47 AM »
I think you really caught the essences of Mokou's and Byakuren's personalities, their parts were incredibly well written. Thanks for the awesome 2AM read! <3

Alfred F. Jones

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #37 on: April 25, 2011, 02:31:16 PM »
oh my god Byakuren :* :* :*

Updates to this fic are the best thing to wake up to. :D

Kips McKipzerson

  • I never did learn
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #38 on: April 25, 2011, 05:15:10 PM »
That...
Was just amazing.  You manage to just make the scene oh-so vivid. I really cant even describe how amazing that was.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #39 on: April 26, 2011, 01:13:13 AM »
i feel a vague sense of accomplishment having maybe an perhapsfluence on it
Ah yes.  A thanks are due to Rou for proofreading as always, and a thanks to Anathe here for giving me hints on how to show someone losing their mind.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #40 on: April 30, 2011, 07:25:06 PM »
A man cannot sleep under the same sky, that shelters his father's killer.

Lord Roun entered the staircase with great caution.

He knew his targets were in the basement.  His power of direction sense was flawless.  But the route his senses were telling him to take made no sense.

He was already on edge because of the sudden attack that had hit his group.  He'd been waiting for the requisite fifteen minutes to pass before leading his assault, but then the trees had started exploding around him.  They'd been forced to rush into the mansion to avoid being peppered with shrapnel.

And the mansion greeted them with heavy silence.  The halls were small and claustrophobic, but totally empty.  The rooms were vast and open, and also empty.  The mansion seemed more like the home of a ghost then a vampire.  He was waiting for the other shoe to drop.

?Be wary,? he repeated to his retainers, before turning back to the stairway leading to darkness.

He took his time descending, testing every stair for traps.  There were none, but that only increased his worry.  He wanted to just fly down the center of the spiraling stairs, but that was sure to be warded.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity he reached the bottom.  There before him was the basement door.  It seemed to waver and shift in the light.  His objective was through there.

As he started inspecting the door for traps, it rippled.  Across it's surface letters of blood began to form.

?Through me is the way to people lost
All hope abandon, ye who enter here.?


Roun narrowed his eyes.  ?Oh dear.  The melodrama.?

Still the threat was something of a relief.  What you didn't see was always more fearsome then what was truely there.  He began looking to see if there were more dangerous spells on the door, when it suddenly opened.

And then he realized what was wrong.

?You are in a maze of twisting corridors, all alike,? giggled a chilling childlike voice.  ?Don't get lost now.?

Roun nodded.  Now it all fell into place.  ?They've twisted space here.  If we get separated it's over.  Everyone stay together.  I can lead us through.?

?Yes lord,? his bodyguard said.  His other retainers nodded in agreement.

That said he turned back towards the maze and carefully entered it.

The voice had been right about one thing, the passages were twisty and all alike.  The only features were the wall lights and an occasional carpet.  If it weren't for his direction sense he would have been certain he was walking in circles.  He imagined most other forces that had reached here would have been heartened by the threats after the long silence and rushed in to the maze, leading to certain doom.

However people who were paying attention and sticking together would be just fine.  Now he merely needed to navigate the maze.

The journey was just starting to get boring, when a woman in Chinese garb casually walked out in front of the group.

Roun foolishly hesitated.  Fortunately his retainers were much quicker to attack.  A blast of raw chi joined a typical fireball and bullet spray as they attacked the devil before them.

The woman's eyes widened in surprise, but she didn't hesitate in holding up her hand in a guard position.  His retainers' attacks froze in place, lost in the void of infinite space the woman conjured up.  ?She's the source of the spell,? he called out.  ?Use attacks that ignore distance!?

In response the woman casually flipped out a knife and tossed it at him.  He blinked then jumped back in fright as the knife appeared right in front of him.  Roun raised his hands hoping the blade couldn't break his normal defenses.

Then Zhang was standing in front of him, grasping the knife firmly by the flat.  Roun sighed in relief.  He knew picking the young martial artist as a retainer was a wise choice.

The woman nodded, then yelled out something in a dialect of Chinese Roun had never heard.  ?What is she saying?? he asked quickly.

Zhang for the first time ignored Roun's question.  Instead he snapped back in the same strange dialect.

The pink haired woman sneered, then ran away down a side corridor.  Roun was briefly pleased, but then Zhang took off after her.  ?Wait, you fool!  If you get separated we'll never be able to meet up again!?

The young man ignored him completely.  He just ran down the corridor, then turned to follow the woman.

Roun ran to the corridor's branch himself, but it was too late.  The twisting passages had already reformed to separate the two groups.

?My Lord, should we search for him??

Roun shook his head.  ?No.  He is lost.  We'll just have to hurry and hope that our foes waste time killing him while we finish off their allies.?

-------

Huian smiled as she led the fool deeper and deeper into the maze.  Technically she should lead the bastard back to where the mistress was.  That was the original plan anyway.

But this fight?  This fight was personal.  The mistress would understand.  In fact she'd specifically told Huian to have fun.

And there was nothing as fun as righting an ancient wrong.

Finally she reached her goal.  One of the killing grounds.  She ran to the other side and prepared for her opponent to arrive.  It was a small room, just big enough for her to use her full techniques, while being too small for long ranged attacks to be that effective.

Of course it wouldn't help against this opponent.

The man ran in quickly after her, then stopped when he saw she was no longer fleeing.  He quickly assumed a fighting stance, before asking in the ancient dialect of the school, ?You!  Are you Meiling, the traitor??

She took her own fighting stance.  ?No.  I am the last master of the Dim Mak school, Izayoi Huian, daughter of Hong Meiling.?

?I see.  So she had a child, in defiance of the masters,? the Lunarian said with scorn.  ?She was to pass the teachings down to a rightful heir, not continue her rebellion.  Grandfather was correct.  Teaching a woman the assassin's arts was a fool's endeavor.  She was no match for the Yin forces she was supposed to control.?

?Defiance?  Hah,? Huian sneered.  ?She followed all of your master's stupid rules.  She married only a human who defeated her in combat.  She taught me only because she couldn't have a son.  And she never revealed to anyone the true power she possessed.?

?That doesn't change the fact that she was overwhelmed by the dark power,? the man pointed at her.  ?As your youkai tainted blood shows.?

Huian couldn't help chuckle at that.  ?My blood was hardly tainted.  I became a pure youkai when mastering the techniques, just as my mother did before me.  Though I have advanced beyond the skills of your masters.?

?So you say,?  He moved to a more defensive stance.  ?If you truly are a student of the way, then you will surrender to me, first student of the masters.  If you do so, then we may show you mercy as a fellow student.?

Huian snorted and casually warped space to steal the boy's own knives.  Then she tossed them and called on her power again to have them score his cheeks.  ?I owe your masters nothing.  My mother served them once, but I serve only the house of Scarlet.?  She focused her chi, and a darkness formed around her hands.  ?I was born in the year and hour of the dragon, on the day of wood.  I am the ultimate assassin.  No one has mastered the forces of Yin more then I.  I shall defeat you and prove my mother's style superior.?

The man's eyes widened, then he wiped the blood away from his cheeks.  ?You talk too much woman.  I am Zhang Luchan, grandson of Zhang Sanfeng.  I will cleanse the taint of youkai blood from our school.?  He sneered.  ?Unless you plan to cheat your way to victory with your magic??

Huian returned the sneer.  ?I shall let you strike me two times before I kill you.  One for each cut.?

?Let my first blow show you the weakness of your style!  Let us see your Yin mastery keep up with Yang's range!?  Zhang let lose a loud cry to gather his chi, then let loose a powerful rainbow chi blast.  One that Huian knew would track her if she tried to dodge.

Instead she called upon her powers, and let the universe flow with them.  The Yin energy in her hands acted like a vacuum for the Yang energy in the world around her.  The darkness around her hands was surrounded by a rainbow mist that turned into lines of energy as she spun.

Her Rainbow Hurricane sent her opponent's chi blast ricocheting into the walls.  Once again they faced each other.  ?What was that about weakness?? she asked.  He simply frowned in return.

The two martial artists sprang forward and clashed.  Huian kept to her word, sticking to blocks and dodges as she tried to find a weak shot of Zhang's to let through.

Fighting like this, between hand to hand masters, was very different from danmaku.  A single punch could be followed up by a block, a grab, a break, and a secondary strike, all within seconds.  There was no thought of individual strikes or overlying patterns in attack.  Only a concept of style.

Her opponent started the match with poking attacks.  His blows struck quickly at her pressure points, trying to end the match before it began.  She replied by changing her stances repeatedly to avoid his strikes and keeping her arms in tight for quick parries.

In order to force her to make a mistake he started adding piercing attacks.  Strong foot stomps, straight punches and elbows all designed to stun her and break her guard so he could strike a deadly point.  She began adding foot blocks and more active dodges to her defense, bending away from his attacks, and weakening his stances.

Suddenly he switched two of his attacks mid blow.  Huian winced as he struck her.  The strikes were shallow, but she was certain he'd targeted some pressure point.  And in a moment her thoughts were confirmed.  ?I see, that's why you could get away with shallow strikes.  You've sealed my magic.?

?Indeed,? the man said.  ?Youkai have no honor.  If I am to defeat you I need to remove your advantages before you feel threatened.?

?Hmph.  Well it will be harder to get back to my mistress after your death, but Dinah's power is maintaining the spell at this point.?  She smirked.  ?And those were your two hits.?

She sprang into action, jumping up, then bouncing off the ceiling to slam into her foes guard.  Zhang retreated against her crushing style; powerful kicks, sweeps and punches that smashed muscles and made bones ring.  He tried to switch into the flowing counter style to wield her own energy against her, but she added feints and short range energy strikes to her moves, the mystifying bludgeoning style.

?You can't keep this up forever,? he shouted at her during a brief respite as she set up room for her next jumping kick.  ?You will wear out.?

?I'm a youkai.  You'll drop first,? she replied before doing a short hop and sweeping.  Her opponent was forced to leap over her.

She regained her stance and threw a driving kick at him, but he rushed right past it, clashed his arm into hers and struck her with a headbutt.  As she fell back he continued his assault.  The driving overrun style.  It was denounced by many other schools as being crude and meaningless, since it relied on moving to near grappling range and simply hurting one's foe, but any true fighter knew how to use it properly.

Huian found herself being pushed back.  Zhang was too close for her feints and strong blows.  She had to rely on a retreating defense and some driving techniques of her own to keep from being overwhelmed.

A mutual headbutt sent them both reeling back.  ?I'll heal faster then you,? she said when her head cleared.

?I'm stronger,? he replied.  ?And given my mastery of Yang chi, I heal these type of wounds faster.  You will fall!?  Once again he rushed in.

But this time Huian saw an opening.  ?Haaaah!?  She dashed forward herself and unleashed a barrage of kicks that slammed into her foes left arm and torso.

Then she felt a finger stab into her right side.  She collapsed into a backwards roll, then attempted to assess the damage.

Her foe was standing back with a smug expression on his face.  That was bad.  ?Hmph.  All this talk of being a master of Dim Mak and you forget the basics of pressure points when in a serious fight.  How pathetic.?

?My strike has disrupted your chi pathways.  If you're lucky the resulting internal damage will destroy your heart and death will be swift.  If not your body will slowly collapse, leaving you helpless before my attacks.?

Huian tried to ignore his gloating and figure out which point he'd hit.  After a few seconds she nodded, then struck herself on her left thigh, wincing at the pain.  As blood trickled out she turned to him and smirked.  ?You're a fool.  I've already shown you that I can use the innate chi of the universe to balance my own chi.  Why did you think I couldn't fix an imbalance created by a wound??

She shrugged and pushed herself to her feet.  ?I suggest you learn how to do that yourself.  And quickly.  Because otherwise you'll die in two minutes.?

?What?? the man stepped back and entered a defensive stance, then winced as the wounds on his arms and torso throbbed.  ?Wait, the brain points?  But you only did closed fist strikes!  How??

?Did you think summoning that Yin energy was just for show??  Huian shook her head sadly.  ?With the power of destructive chi I can focus the damage my blows inflict in any way I wish.  I've been hitting the pressure points on your arms and legs throughout this fight.  That kick to your chest was merely the final blow.?

?Dammit, I won't lose to you!? Zhang jumped forward, his fists moving faster then before.  ?I will-?  His voice cut out mid yell and his eyes crossed.  Then he stumbled, fell and lay still.  Huian knew that he'd suffered a massive fatal stroke from her attacks.

?Looks like I miscounted,? she remarked to no one in particular.  She considered the body a little longer before moving on.  He was dead, and the matter was settled.

Her vengeance complete she turned and headed back into her maze.  Without the ability to alter the paths it would take her some time to get back to where Dinah was, but that shouldn't be a problem.  After all her foes would be lost in addition to having to deal with the maze.

Alfred F. Jones

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  • y de la lucha que hizo por Madrid
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #41 on: May 01, 2011, 06:49:08 AM »
After all her foes would be lost in addition to having to deal with the maze.


Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #42 on: May 06, 2011, 08:10:58 PM »
Maribel silently watched as her friend inspect the knife Ran handed her back carefully before Renko sheathed it.  ?So this will cut through magical shields?  Why don't more people use it??

?It's a Yakumo trick,? Ran responded.  ?You have to use an existing weapon.  And it fades quickly.  Yukari used it back when she got human warriors to do her work for her.?

She handed the man a sword.  ?This blade and this blade alone can harm the oni.  Use it well, samurai.?

Maribel shook her head to clear the strange daydream away.  ?Did she do that a lot??

?Yukari never did anything herself if she could get someone else to do it for her,? Ran replied simply.  ?Then again I only knew her as a Shikigami, so she might have been more active before then.  But to me she was always the chess master.?

?Another thing you don't have in common, eh Mary?? Renko said with a weak smile.

Maribel tried to smile at Renko, but she couldn't keep it up.  She turned her attention back to Ran.  ?Do you think she could have planned out all this?  Are we still being manipulated??

?No,? Ran said.  Then she shrugged.  ?Okay, perhaps she could have seen the war coming, but she couldn't have gotten all the details.  She was not omniscient or omnipotent, no matter what she claimed.    She thought at speeds even I am envious of, but I could always figure out her logic given enough time.?

?I see.?  Maribel went back to looking over the treeline.  After a few moments she noticed Renko had silently moved next to her.  ?Yes??

Renko's hand gently squeezed her shoulders.  ?Maribel, are you okay??

Maribel stiffened a little.  ?Yeah.?

Renko just stood there.  Finally Maribel sighed.  ?It's just... I....?  She shook her head.  ?It's hard to explain.  I hate them.  They killed my parents.  They killed so many other people.?  Maribel hugged herself.  ?But these feelings of rage.  They feel... inhuman.  I sometimes don't feel like I'm myself.?

Maribel felt Renko's arms move from her shoulders to embrace her.  ?You're still you, Mary.  No matter how strange the world becomes, you're still you.?

?How can you know?? Maribel asked.  ?How can you tell what's me and what's not me??

?I trust my eyes.?

Maribel sighed, but she still smiled.  ?The same eyes that made you 5 minutes late to lunch??

Renko buried her face in Maribel's hair.  ?Hey I just wasn't looking.  It's not my fault I lose track of time.?

There was a light cough from Ran.  ?I'm sorry but we're probably surrounded right now, so it would be wise to pay attention.?  The fox youkai actually did sound somewhat sorry, but the words broke the two out of their reverie.  They sheepishly returned to looking over the treeline.

Still Maribel felt a little better as Renko took her hand.

Now if only she could calm the seed of anger that seemed buried in her heart....

?Any word from Chen?? Renko asked.

?Yuka apparently came out and got in a fight with one of the Lunarians.  That's something of a good sign.  It's hard to get constant feedback.  She's trying to stay hidden,? Ran's ears twitched as she mentally reached out to her shikigami again.

Maribel's heart flip flopped when the kitsune's face paled.  ?They've attacked the village.  Keine didn't hide it in time.?

Maribel had already ripped open the gap.  She was starting to think about where she should end the portal when Ran waved her hands and dispelled it.  ?You can't go there!  If we go there the village will turn into a bigger battlefield!  We have to hope Mokou and Keine can handle it.?

?So what are we supposed to do?!? Maribel flung her free hand into the air.  ?Wasn't the Lunarian's leader supposed to send troops to hunt us specifically?  Where are they?  What if his plan is to send everyone to attack the village while we sit here being useless!??

?That would be incredibly stupid,? Ran snapped.  ?The only thing that matters in the village militarily is Mokou.  Unless we foolishly run into their trap!?

?This whole invasion is stupid!  I'm not important militarily either!?  Maribel shouted.  ?We can't just sit around and wait for everyone else to die!?

?Wait!?

Maribel and Ran both turned to look at Renko.  Renko held up her right hand.  ?Mary's right.  We have to do something.  But it has to be something that messes up the Lunarian's plans.  So why not this??

Renko chanted a few quick words and pointed at the sky.  A second later a flare shot up from her hand, illuminating the whole valley.  As it reached the height of its arc it exploded into thousands of tiny stars that swooped artfully through the air to form a sentence.  All across the valley everyone could look up and see the words ?Suck it, moonbitches,? written in the heavens.

After a pause Ran said simply.  ?Well I believe that will draw attention.  Marisa's work??

?Yeah, but Dinah gave it to me,? Renko looked mildly embarrassed.  ?Er, anyway that might get some Lunarians to go off plan, but it'll also draw them all here.  We'd better head elsewhere.?

?A smart plan.  Too bad we found you first.?

Maribel whirled to find two men standing at the edge of the tree line.  She immediately leaped into the air as the two Lunarians opened up with magic and what appeared to be laser fire.  The ground exploded under their withering assault.

Maribel flew backwards to get out of the dust cloud.  As she did she saw Ran slam into the man on the left.  A blue globe of energy formed between the two with an electrical crackle and the Lunarian began back-peddling.

Then Renko sailed out of the dust cloud, clutching her new Hakkero.  ?Stardust Memory!? her friend cried, causing streams of star bullets to cascade towards the man followed by two huge star shaped bullets.  Maribel finally gathered enough of her wits to remember that she was supposed to be shooting too.  After all, the danmaku she'd been training in was easy to call up and could still knock someone out.

?Flying Insect Nest,? she whispered pointing at the Lunarian.  In response several gaps opened up and began discharging lasers.

The Lunarian they were shooting at of course didn't stick around to get hit.  He immediately took to the air as well, his shield absorbing the few bullets he didn't dodge.  He began firing his laser rapidly at Renko, while summoning up another spell that sent two homing orbs at Maribel.  Maribel dodged through the air doing her best to avoid the persistent hunters.  Her spell kept shooting on its own, but she couldn't focus any more fire at the man.

As Maribel ducked around another two orbiting attack spells she silently forgave Ran for all the danmaku exercises the kitsune had put her through.  If it weren't for that she'd have probably already been hit.  Right now she wasn't doing great, but she was still alive, and her spellcard was still going despite her lack of focus.

Renko still seemed to be doing better then her though.  Probably because Renko had learned a whole bunch of shield spells, while Maribel only knew how to dodge and redirect attacks.  Maribel saw at least two more of the ridiculously oversized star bullets and once Renko shot off a laser the size of her torso.  Sadly none of them connected.

Maribel ducked under the homing shots once again, trying to think of a way to help Renko.  She was considering switching to a weaker but more confusing spell when there was a sudden flash.

The next thing Maribel knew she was lying on the ground thirty feet away from where she started.  She head was ringing and she felt something dripping onto her ear. 

Renko was still attacking the man, though Maribel noticed her friend was being dangerously aggressive.  Ran and her opponent seemed to be busy destroying the forest over to the side.  Then Maribel realized that the liquid she was trying to brush off her ear was blood.

She must have gotten hit and used her gaps to escape.  And she wondered if it was a bad sign that she still didn't feel much pain.  Still she was able to pull herself to her feet.  If she could stand, she couldn't be hurt that badly right?

That thought flashed through her head seconds before a fusillade of laser fire smashed into Renko and knocked her to the ground.

Once again Maribel felt like she wasn't in control of her body.  This time however she saw her actions and understood them.

There was a point in space where a lot of debris was.  Debris that was moving very fast.  So she could put one gap there to catch it, and one to release it at another point.  There were a lot of minor details to worry about, like relative speeds and angles.  But for some reason she was confident she could work around them.

Maribel snapped back in control of her body just as the gap opened.  There was a flash.  What seemed like a moment of calm.

Then the explosion knocked her back to the ground.

She lay there until her head stopped ringing quite as badly, then stood up slowly.  Her heart lightened considerably when she saw Renko standing up slowly as well.  Her friends clothes were a little dirty but there were no visible tears.  A second later Ran flew out of the forest, giving the all clear sign.

Renko gave Maribel a weak grin then her eyes widened and she flew over quickly.  ?Mary, are you alright?  You're bleeding.?

Maribel lightly dabbed at the blood.  ?I think I'm alright.  It just hurts.?  She frowned.  ?And my hat's gone.?

?Next time aim that at the air.  It's safer that way.?

She looked over to find Ran hovering next to her.  The kitsune reached out and muttered a quick incantation.  The ringing in her head slowly faded.  ?Thanks.  And I don't know exactly what I did.  It just came to me.?

Ran frowned.  ?Hm...  I thought I told you that spell.  Well, we can worry about that later.?

?Yeah, we need to get out of here quickly,? Renko said.  ?I think we've drawn a lot of attention.?

Ran nodded.  ?My opponent teleported away when you splattered that other man across the landscape.  They know we're still alive.?

?Splattered??  Maribel felt the ringing in her ears start up again.

She looked over towards the small smoldering crater on the ground where the Lunarian had been standing.  As she stared at the place her eyes came to rest on an arm lying there, her eyes unwillingly followed the arm up to the torso.

And then she saw that there was only half a torso still there.

Maribel whimpered at covered her eyes with her hands.  She heard Ran curse then tell Renko not to look.  She felt Renko's arms embrace her.  But she didn't understand those events.  All she could see was the charred body to her despite her eyes being shut.

Her arms were suddenly yanked down and Ran's yellow eyes stared into hers.  ?Don't close your eyes.  Focus on the battlefield.  Watch the sky for us.?

Maribel nodded shakily then stared into the air.  It helped.  A little.

?We have to leave.  Now.  Renko, keep an eye on Maribel.  I'll take lead.?

Renko gently took Maribel's hand and started following Ran into the dark forest.  Maribel flew after her friend, but her mind was spinning in circles. 

I killed him.

You killed a murderer.

I don't even feel bad about it.

He deserved to die.

This war is just senseless violence. 

They killed my parents.  This is about justice.

The two voices spun round and round in her mind.

And the worst thing was, she wasn't sure which one was her voice.

Alfred F. Jones

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #43 on: May 06, 2011, 08:43:52 PM »
Oh, Maribel. :ohdear: Internal conflict like that will be... interesting.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #44 on: May 13, 2011, 03:31:21 PM »
Forgive me for being shorter then normal.  My projects are beginning to stack and I don't want to lose my buffer all at once.

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

Suika casually reformed herself from mist, then punched through the wall of the giant mansion.  The gate guard had looked like he might be a fun fight, but she was really more curious about why Yukari had given her the order to assassinate someone.  Especially since she knew Suika would refuse.

Technically of course she should be helping the battle elsewhere, but this war was already lost.  With their technology the Lunarians were too strong.  Easily the equal of the lesser Oni, and Oni were the strongest race.  The Lunarians had stronger magic too.  She might as well satisfy her curiosity.

Rabbits scattered from the courtyard at Suika's entrance.  Fortunately there didn't seem to be any guards back here.  Kinda weird.  In front of her was one of the Lunarian's fake shoji screens that were as hard as iron.  Suika of course punched through that too.

The room she'd just broken into was a good sized office.  The surprised man sitting there had apparently been smart enough to grab a naginata when the battle broke out.  He quickly jumped to his feat and leveled it at her.  ?Begone from my house impure one, if you wish to continue your sad existance.?

Suika looked the man over carefully.  ?Hmmm...  So you're the man Yukari wanted me to assassinate.  Weird.  You don't look that threatening.?

?You're an assassin?  You won't find me easy prey!?  The man stepped back and pulled out one of the strange lunarian weapons.

Suika didn't pay it much mind though.  It was easy to dodge attacks with her powers.  ?Nah.  No true Oni would stoop to being a hitman.  A deva's got pride ya know.  I just was curious why Yukari wanted you dead.  You don't look too impressive.?

?Not impressive?  I am the head of the Tachibana family, the largest clan on the moon.  My family alone is greater then all the nations of your Earth.?  The man fired a shot at her.  ?You are nothing to me.?

Suika casually ducked and smiled at the man's words.  ?Hm...  Ya really shouldn't be so arrogant.  Us Oni really like to challenge people who are arrogant.  And then I'd be doing Yukari's dirty work for her.  We wouldn't want that would we??


?Hey, why are we out here in the middle of nowhere?  I thought you were going to fight!?

Suika snapped out of her reverie to grin up at the angry Celestial.  ?You don't like it you can go out on your own Tenshi.  It's not like the youkai will complain.?

?Psh.  Like I could do that after you gave me that speech,? Tenshi muttered.  She slumped into a chair she'd pulled from one of the shattered office buildings surrounding the park Suika had chosen as her battleground.  ?How am I supposed to ignore something that would make an Oni act all cryptic??

Suika stretched.  ?You shouldn't let yourself get caught by your curiosity like that.  It might get you in trouble.?

Tenshi looked at her suspiciously.  ?That's not something you'd normally say.?

Suika's retort was cut short when she felt her enemy arrive.  ?Hm...  Only one.  That's kinda a surprise.?  She turned towards where the presence was approaching from.  Beside her Tenshi sat up attentively.

The woman that entered the park wasn't exactly what Suika was expecting.

She was expecting the standard Lunarian, full of smug arrogance, and self-righteousness.  Perhaps even a little rage.  Instead she saw a woman staring at her surroundings like someone who'd killed their pet dog accidentally.  She wondered if this encounter was an accident.

But the naginata the woman held dispelled that notion.  She'd seen it before, a long time ago.

?Stay out of this Tenshi.?  Suika ignored the Celestial's stuttered reply and stepped towards the woman.  ?You're a long way from home.?

The Lunarian finally focused her gaze on Suika, and her stance changed instantly.  The womans shoulders lost their slump, and her eyes started burning with the desire to kill.  ?You are Suika Ibuki?? the woman snapped.

?That's right.?  Suika stretched her arms.  ?I suppose you're here to kill me??

The woman looked surprised for a second at Suika's casual reply, but she recovered fast.  ?I am Shoutoku Tachibana, daughter of Ihara Tachibana, the man you assassinated!  I have come for my revenge.?

Tenshi gaped at that.  ?Assassinate??

?Hm...  Well I did kill him.  I didn't mean to be an assassin, but well, Yukari set us up.?  Suika shrugged.  ?You know how curious I am, and the old man challenged me.  We Oni have our pride, you know.  I can't refuse a fair challenge.?  Suika looked at the woman again.  ?Even if it means killing someone out of my weight range.  That spear is pretty, but when I increase my size it won't even scratch me.?

?That doesn't matter.?  Shoutoku pointed at Suika.  ?You've already fallen victim to my power.  Your ability to grow and shrink violates conservation of mass.  My power is to make a rule unbreakable.  You'll find you are stuck in your current size.?

Suika blinked then realized the woman was correct.  At least, something was blocking her ability to shift sizes.  The little Oni frowned and cracked her knuckles.  ?Hm, it's only one of my skills, but that does make it more of a fight.  You would have done better if you'd left me guessing about your ability.  Do you think being a Lunarian means you need to give me some kind of handicap?  Don't underestimate the power of the Oni!?

Shoutoku looked down.  ?A Lunarian....?  Her grip on her naginata began to tremble.  ?I betrayed my people, murdered my allies....  I allowed millions to perish, and my actions here will doom countless more.?  She snapped her blade into an attack position.  ?All to get my revenge on you Suika Ibuki!  I no longer can call myself a Lunarian, but that's fine.  Because it means you can suffer more humiliation from dying at the hands of a pathetic human!?

Suika couldn't help but smile at the declaration.  ?Heh.  That kinda honesty is refreshing for a human,? Suika started spinning her right arm in a circle, calling upon her powers as she did.  A small rock pulled itself off the ground and flew to her hand.  Then another, and another.  Tenshi leaped into the sky as every piece of debris in the area started flying towards Suika's hand. Within seconds she was twirling around a boulder.  ?Let's see if you've got the strength to back it up!? she cried out as she tossed the missile at her foe.

?HAAA!? Shoutoko swung her polearm in an arc releasing a wave of magic energy.  The boulder cracked, then split in two.  The woman raced between the pieces swinging again towards the oni, only to have Suika block the blade with the manacle around her wrist.

?Hrm, not bad.  I felt that,? Suika said.  The oni swung her off hand in an uppercut that sent Shoutoku leaping away.  The woman flipped away again as the earth erupted from the force of the deva's will.  As she leaped a third time Shoutoku pulled out an orb from her sleeve and threw it.

Suika tossed out a fake black hole then retreated.  Then Shoutoku vanished.  Suika sensed the woman reappear behind her and spun around to block an overhead cut from the Lunarian.  Before Suika could counter Shoutoku reversed her swing and struck Suika in the stomach.

As the oni exhaled and skipped backwards to absorb the blow, her black hole ran out and the orb trapped inside exploded.  Suika cried out in shock as shrapnel ripped up her back.  It wasn't a serious injury, but she could feel blood.

She looked up and saw Shoutoku's wards slowly regenerating, as well as a slash across the woman's face.  The woman had been willing to get caught in her own explosion to make sure it hit Suika.

?You gotta lot of guts,? Suika gave the woman a respectful nod.  ?Now it's time I stopped holding back.?

Shoutoku returned to her guard position.  ?I'm ready.?

The earth trembled as Suika roared to the heavens.  A black orb slowly formed above the park, and as it did small rocks and pebbles started slowly flying towards it.  Soon the buildings surrounding the park began to twist and warp as the massive gravity well began drawing them in.

As the weakened buildings finally gave in the two combatants flew into the air, spear and fists clashing in brutal conflict as the broken ruins of humanity spun around them.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #45 on: May 18, 2011, 12:49:42 AM »
Eirin slipped out of the Bamboo Forest silently.  She felt some guilt at not telling Kaguya or Reisen she was leaving, but she didn't want to have to deal with goodbyes.  Hopefully they would be able to complain to her later.

She was pleased however that her one way teleporter was both working and undiscovered.  She disliked fighting as soon as she exited a teleport.  It was disorientating.

In addition, that meant the army surrounding Eientei was likely there for containment.  Or at least that's what it should mean.  While undoubtedly there would be obstacles in her path, she was confident no one who wasn't prepared for her could keep her from causing a lot of damage.

She carefully drew her bow and began hovering towards where her instruments had sensed a large number of teleports.  She preferred to use magic, but her people tended to have good magical defenses.  Spells to turn simple sword strikes and missiles were easy, but more complex physical protections were very difficult and rarely necessary.  It was far easier to leave that up to technology and spend your time developing magical countermeasures.  And normally Eirin would consider that a good strategy.

However all of the Lunarian's technology was either created by her, or had been tested by her.  She knew all their weak points.

She quickly reached the fringes of the bamboo forest, though you could hardly tell the difference from its center.  She'd have to break out her stealth gear soon when she reached the rolling hills.  It wouldn't keep her from being detected sadly.  Lunarian sensors currently beat Lunarian stealth tech.  But it would allow her to see her opponents before they shot her.

Suddenly one of her devices started humming.  An enemy was near.

?Come out Yagokoro Eirin!  I know you're there!?

Eirin sighed.  She knew that voice.  Of course since she wasn't a fool she checked her sensor before doing anything rash.  Fortunately, it said there was only one Lunarian nearby.  She wouldn't be overwhelmed.  Of course if she tried to escape her opponent would be smart enough to get more allies.  Confrontation had the best chance for success.  Thus she stepped out into a small clearing in the grove.  ?I thought you'd be smart enough to see through Lord Tenshou's lies Suri.  I'm disappointed to see I was wrong.?

There was a rustle as the woman stepped out into the clearing as well.  She bowed slightly, then flipped her long ponytail behind her.  ?Actually I believe it's far more likely that the Watatsuki's deaths were fake.  A ploy to get the Lunarians to flee our home without a fuss.  A surprisingly successful one at that.?

Eirin sighed and shook her head.  ?Your social math is terrible.  You always assume all players are rational.  In fact you're terrible with assumptions.  This is why you're really only the 4th best scientist on the moon, despite the rumors.?

Surprising the woman didn't explode in fury at her.  ?Hm...  I'd say I'm the best scientist now.  I admit though, I do want to prove it.?

?Ah, so you're doing this for yourself, instead of being Lord Tenshou's lapdog??

The woman laughed at Eirin's reply.  ?Don't be stupid.  Why would I deliberately sabotage the invasion?  In any case, I knew that I would end up facing you.?  She waved her hand and Eirin's magical wards collapsed.  ?After all, my power to banish magic makes me one of your most dangerous opponents.?

?Yes, it is a very irksome power.?  Eirin sighed at the wasted time and energy she'd spent on her spells.  She had to hope that her gambit would work, or she'd be at a disadvantage in this fight, despite all her knowledge.  ?I suppose now you're going to pull out that gun of yours and shoot me.?

Suri shook her head sadly.  ?I would enjoy that immensely.  However, it seems there's a flaw in the weapon.  It seems to violently explode under certain, very rare, circumstances.  A tiny design flaw.?  Suri looked Eirin straight in the eye.  ?Something that seems to afflict most of our technology.  All of which was designed or tested by you at some point.?

Eirin smiled briefly.  ?Indeed.  A faultless weapon is too dangerous to allow to exist.  Everything needs a weakness.  For example that shield you're using tends to ignore phasing weapons.?  Eirin rapidly drew the arrow she'd palmed and fired it.

It flew straight and true, a testament to Eirin's continued training.  The phasing enchantment also worked, allowing the arrow to pass through her foe's shield. 

Suri gasped and collapsed backwards as the shot punctured her lung and heart.

Eirin shook her head.  While she considered the words 'a senseless waste of life' to be self serving tripe, she did regret the need to kill the woman.

Still what was done was done.  She moved forward to collect her arrow.

Then she froze as Suri ripped the arrow out of her chest with a cry of pain and stood up.

?Fuck!  Dying hurts more then I imagined.?  The Lunarian inspected herself.  ?And my shirt is ruined, though there's no scar.  It seems the experiment was a success.?

Eirin shakily stepped back.  ?Don't tell me you took the Hourai Elixer?!?

?Ahahaha!  Of course not.?  Suri calmly readjusted her hair.  ?I have created something that is superior to the Hourai Elixer!  A potion that prevents traumatic death, while leaving natural death unchanged.?    She smiled.  ?Of course, as a Lunarian I need not fear natural death.?

?And with that I've finally broken free of your shadow.  That I get to be the one to dispense 'vengeance' on you for the 'murder of our emissaries' only makes it sweeter!?

Eirin sighed at that.  ?Wait, that's the potion that uses rosemary, mercury and and myrrh for the filter, correct.?

Suri stepped back in confusion.  ?Yes....?

?Oh, you fool.  You really need to test things better.? 

Eirin shook her head as she continued.  ?I created that Elixer first.  I just never used it because it is innately impure.  Now that you've drank it, you'll never be able to escape the taint of the earth.  You can't be killed, but you've renounced your status as a Lunarian.  You're just another human who will age and die.?

?You-  You're lying!?  Suri threw the arrow aside.  ?There's no way I could have made that mistake!  I tested it on a lesser moon rabbit.  The Hourai trees didn't react to her!?

?That's because their nature is of the moon, not the earth.?  Eirin shook her head.  ?You must have finished within the last three years, because otherwise you'd have noticed when the poor creature died from the poison you put into it's body.?

?NO!?  Suri shook her head.  ?No!  You're lying just to distract me while you work out a countermeasure!?  She raised her hands.  ?I'm going to kill you here and now, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!  Your magic and weapons can't save you Eirin Yagokoro!?

?My magic is useless yes, but my weapons are far from such,? Eirin replied as she drew another arrow.    ?All I have to do is hurt you so badly you can't move.?

Suri pointed and a batch of magic arrows formed around her.  ?You'll be dead before that happens.?

Eirin simply released her shot and jumped away from Suri's counter attack.  Sadly the other woman was probably right.  The chances Eirin could hurt the woman badly enough to keep her from moving without her magic was slim.

But Eirin wasn't going to give up.  The numerical odds had no meaning when battle was unavoidable.  She would either win, or die.

And she was going to do everything she could to win.
« Last Edit: May 18, 2011, 05:21:42 AM by Iced Fairy »

Alfred F. Jones

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  • y de la lucha que hizo por Madrid
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #46 on: May 18, 2011, 10:07:11 AM »
Shoutoku? Finally, a Lunaryan I don't have to despise right off the bat!
Seeing Eirin fight should be interesting, too.

Zelinko

  • The Wandering Mind
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #47 on: May 19, 2011, 03:23:08 PM »
You ever get one of those stories you see post one and realize about an hour later you've read up to the point it's at and still want more. Yea this is one of those stories.

Can't Wait to see more.

Of course I wonder if the tale of Razgriz will hold true
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Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #48 on: May 20, 2011, 05:17:10 PM »
Mystia's voice didn't falter as she desperately dodged and weaved through the air while the Lunarian filled it with deadly magical shrapnel.  To sing and to hunt were part of her very being, as natural to her as breathing.  It might be arrogant to sing the song of death to one so much stronger then her, but that was what she was.  Even if her attacks were no more dangerous then the pecks of a mockingbird were to an eagle, just like that mockingbird she wouldn't stop.

Fortunately the fires that the woman had been so eager to start had turned into a liability.  Mystia had learned the hard way that her night blindness could be defeated if her opponent knew some way of changing vision types.  But the  magic flames would make looking for heat or spiritual power a total waste.

Her voice reached a crescendo and her own magical attack manifested as small familiar spirits in the shape of birds that flew out away from her leaving magical shots in their wake.  A worthless attack compared to the night blindness she was inflicting but she wouldn't hold back anything in this hunt.

Still she had to admit the real danger in this fight came from Keine.  The Lunarian could track Mystia's voice to get an idea on where she was, but Keine was effectively invisible until she attacked, sending waves of magical magetama and swords at the opponent.  So far they'd all smashed into some shield, but Mystia could sense that protection was slowly fading under Keine's assault.

As this passed through her mind a mystical knife grazed one of her sensitive wings.  Mystia forced herself to sing a little louder to keep the shock from disrupting her melody.  When she recovered she dove and spun to check the damage.

The knife wound was superficial, but she saw her opponent setting up magical mines.  Ones that looked a lot like the Black White witches' anti air spell.  Mystia carefully calculated out what areas were safe, then soared into the air again.  Her heart and voice soared as the Lunarian's lasers shot past her into the infinite sky.  She wondered if she'd ever be able to match this performance.

As she turned around again she saw that Keine hadn't dodged as well as she had.  Probably because the Were-Hakutaku hadn't had an aerial view of the attack.  The Lunarian was trying to take advantage of that by blindly tossing as much magical death towards where she thought Keine was.  Sadly it looked like the woman was good at guessing because Keine was being forced back.

Mystia noticed the woman's back was wide open.  She dove again.

The expression on the Lunarian's face when she realized what Mystia was doing was beautiful.  Almost worth the loss of surprise.  As the woman spun to face her deadly voice Mystia angled in the opposite direction.  She passed the woman at chest level, her deadly claws raking along the woman's back.  Mystia felt a strong painful resistance, then a weaker resistance, and then she was past her foe.  A faint but sweet smell rose into the air from the blood that stained her claws.

Mystia rose in a sharp loop as the Lunarian attempted to exact retribution for the attack.  Bullets screamed through the air beneath her as she soared.

At the height of her ascent she found herself staring up at the full moon.

It hung in the sky, its power filtering through the air.  It seemed wrong that these people claimed it for their own.  The moon was part of the night, and the night was the domain of youkai.

The moment passed.  She righted herself to continue her assault.

And then she was falling.

Mystia didn't feel like she'd been hit.  Her flight magic just didn't seem to work anymore.  She tried to flap her wings to get altitude the normal way or to glide, but that didn't work either.  She panicked as she plunged towards a burning house.  Nothing seemed to work.  In the end all she could do was curl herself into a ball right before she hit.

Through sheer luck she crashed into a window.  The bamboo left only bruises as she snapped through them into the miniature hell that was the burning house.  Her song cut off as the smoke choked her lungs and the flames seared her wings and arms.

She hit the floor in a roll, and kept rolling, doing her best to keep any part of her body from lingering the flames long enough to catch.  She cried out in pain as she slammed into a table and bounced off into a chair, but she didn't let herself stop moving.  Her hands screamed in pain as she pushed herself off the floor and began running.

There were no convenient windows in the back, but the door looked like it had been damaged in the attack that had set the place ablaze.  Mystia sprinted for it and hit it with another rolling jump.  For a second she thought it might hold and send her bouncing back into the flames, but the cheap latch gave way and she tumbled out into a medium sized alleyway.

Mystia picked herself up and began a staggering run away from the burning building.  She was sore all over, and she could feel splinters sticking into her flesh, but she had to get moving.  She had to find some way to get back into the sky.

She'd made it five steps down the alleyway when the building exploded, knocking her back to the ground.

?Forget the stupid plan!  I'm not going to suffer this indignation one more second.?

Mystia pulled herself to her knees just in time to see the Lunarian woman float over the flames of the ruined house.  The woman's face was now covered in ash and sweat, and Mystia could see where her claws had left their mark.  She forced herself to stand as the Lunarian's face twisted in scorn and hatred.

?A night sparrow?  I knew it was a bird, but I was hoping for something mildly threatening.?  The woman began summoning up a spell.  ?Well whatever.  I've bound your wings little bird.  Don't worry though, I've left your voice so I can hear your screams!?

In response, Mystia took a shuddering breath, ignoring the smoke, and defiantly began her song again.

The Lunarian's spell was a wave of light that cut through the alleyway.  Mystia barely jumped to the side before it caught her.  The night sparrow began to advance on her blinded foe, when the earth itself exploded.

All the minor burns and splinters seemed to disappear when the rock shard stabbed into her.  The pain was maddening, expanding from her stomach to fill her body.  Her wings spasmed uncontrollably, striking the earthen spear that had pierced through her.

The magical earth faded, and Mystia slumped again to her knees.  She clasped her hand to the hole in her stomach, but the blood still flowed out.  She tried to breathe in, but pain shot through her torso.

?Get away from her you murderer!?

Mystia looked up to see Keine descending on the Lunarian, waves of deadly magic springing from the Were-Hakutaku's hands to smash into the woman's shields.  The Lunarian swore and returned the assualt.  The two spellcasters abandoning subtlety and tactics, each trying to overwhelm the other with raw power.

Mystia slowly and painfully managed to get herself sitting upright as the two clashed.  Finally Keine reached out and grabbed the woman.  ?This ends now!? Keine yelled out as she brought her head forward.  The Hakutaku's horns shattered the Lunarian's shield.

?Shut up!? the Lunarian screamed in defiance.  There was a flash of light as the woman activated a short range blast spell, and Keine staggered back, her own shield failing.

Mystia saw that Keine wouldn't be able to recover fast enough.  The Lunarian was already summoning up a quick attack to finish the half beast.  And if Keine died it was all over.

The deep breath she took in was pure pain.  Her voice was weak and warbling from her wounds and bad positioning.  But she ignored all that and forced her song out over the battlefield once again.

The woman shrieked in frustration as blindness covered her eyes once again.  ?You stupid bird!? The Lunarian whirled and flung the magical spear that formed at Mystia.

The weapon slammed into her left arm below the elbow, severing it in two.  Mystia felt the pain shoot through her again but she turned her shriek into part of her song, a wailing plea for strength and vengeance.  She was a youkai.  This wouldn't stop her.  Her foe had to be exhausted too, and the Lunarian's defenses were all but gone.  She only needed to sing a little longer.

The Lunarian tossed magic randomly behind her, stunning Keine again, then began advancing on Mystia.  There were no words this time.  Just a mask of hatred.

One that turned to shock as a figure strode through the flames of the ruined building.

Mystia stared in wonder as Mokou ignored the quick spell that ripped through her lungs.  Mokou didn't even flinch.  She instead looked over the scene the turned back to the Lunarian.

The immortal didn't bother with spells or fighting techniques.  She grabbed the woman by the arms before the Lunarian could flee, picked her up with a grunt, then whirled around fast enough to slam one of the burning house beams straight through the woman.

The Lunarian gasped and twitched.  Mokou glared at her, raised a hand, and set the woman on fire.

Mystia slumped back again.  She was hurt.  Hurt badly.  She wasn't sure how much damage an animal youkai like her could take and live.  She knew she could regenerate her arm, but her stomach was something else.  She'd lost a lot of blood too.

She blinked and found Mokou and Keine standing above her.  They looked worried.  That was strange, a human and a Hakutaku worrying over a predator like her.

Her pain lessened a bit, and she started to understand the words the two were saying.  ?Can't you make the wound go away??

Keine shook her head.  ?It's too recent, and the witnesses are too strong.  I can only hide the damage for a while.?

?Dammit!  Isn't there anything we can do!?? Mokou yelled.

Keine started.  ?Binding!  Of course!.  If we have Mystia bind herself to the village as a guardian spirit, she can heal.  The time outside of history will keep her body from getting worse, and....?

?No.?

Mystia managed a weak smile as the two turned towards her.  ?No,? she repeated.  Breathing was starting to hurt less, but she knew her time was running out.  She had to make sure they knew what she wanted.

Keine looked shocked.  ?But you'll die if you don't!?

Mokou held up a hand and looked her in the eyes.  Mystia saw pain and worry there.  She could see that the immortal really was only thinking of helping her, not trapping her for her own gain.  Mystia was a hunting youkai.  A curse on humanity.  But it made her happy to see someone, even a human, cared for her.

Finally Mokou nodded.  ?She's a youkai Keine.  This is what she wants.?  Mokou moved up to Mystia and gently took a hold of her.  ?Get the village out of here.  The farmlands too.  There's a chance more of those bastards will come by.?

Keine hesitated a moment more, then nodded with tears in her eyes.  The village turned dark and black, then slowly faded away, leaving a grassy field.  Mystia felt some relief as the wall behind her vanished, letting her poor wings finally get some air.  Mokou held her upright still, keeping her body from getting injured further.

She'd been tempted.  She knew being bound to the village as a spirit of vengeance wouldn't be bad.  Even if there were those who would insult her for not being human, there were those who would celebrate her for protecting them.  And those strange creatures like Keine who would stand alongside her.

But she was her own master.  She was a hunting youkai.  And she would never let herself be trapped in a cage, no matter how nice it was.

There was a flash of pain as Mokou lifted her up into the sky.  Mystia winced, then smiled.  She was happy the immortal understood her.  Her posture was right, and she was flying in the sky.

Mystia closed her eyes, took a painful ragged breath, and sang a song of freedom.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #49 on: May 20, 2011, 05:17:47 PM »

Zelinko

  • The Wandering Mind
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #50 on: May 20, 2011, 11:46:04 PM »
If you're going to go down... Go down with a bang. 

Even though she's gone they'll know what she did.   A little night sparrow who could have run and hide but decided to make a stand. 
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FinnKaenbyou

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #51 on: May 21, 2011, 12:33:17 AM »
I know you know my opinion on this story, Iced, but I have to say it anyway. Just because.

Mystiaaaaaaaaaaaaa ;_;

Kips McKipzerson

  • I never did learn
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #52 on: May 21, 2011, 02:53:22 AM »
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrhFhiv3m7I
I somehow knew that song was going to come. Honestly, Mystia went out like she should have; free as a bird.
Beautiful story, Keep it up iced.

Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #53 on: May 21, 2011, 04:54:08 AM »
The second casualty on the side of Gensokyo, and a testament to the strength and pride of youkai. I can't think of what to write; great job with this one, Iced!
« Last Edit: May 21, 2011, 09:48:28 AM by Immaterial Crow »

Crow's Dumping Ground of Art

"So I never have to worry what tomorrow will bring, because my faith is on solid rock; I am counting on God."

Grimarg

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #54 on: May 24, 2011, 02:51:35 PM »
Wow, just... Wow, this is awesome. Is it just me or Mystia has just pulled off a Kamina moment? I can't wait to see what's coming next

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #55 on: May 27, 2011, 05:04:23 AM »
It is good that war is so terrible, lest we become too fond of it.

The moon shone down brightly on the Misty Lake, creating a pure reflection in the waters.   

The reason for that of course was that Chamaka had no intention of letting some fairy sneak up on him and hit him.  Sure there was no chance anything a fairy threw at him would hurt, but it would make him look foolish.

And his mission tonight was to spread fear.

He'd already scared the fairies in the Forest of Magic enough such that they didn't dare reveal themselves.  Now he'd chased a trio of the smarter ones to this locale and was cleaning up this rat hole.

His eyes caught some more movement.  A curious fairy of leaves who apparently had missed the demise of its fellows was floating up from the banks of the lake.

Chamaka put his boredom and annoyance into a set of bullets and fired it at the creature.  Unsurprisingly it failed to dodge, probably figuring it would just die and be reborn like usual.  The horror that erupted on the little things face when the bullets hit was almost pathetic.  The little creature screamed its girlish scream and then disintegrated, leaving only a few dead leaves to float down.

?Hey!  What are you doing to my friends!??

Chamaka turned to find a small ice fairy trying to fly at him.  Strangely a wind fairy was trying to pull her away.  ?Cirno, this guy is too dangerous!  We have to run!?

The ice fairy shrugged her companion off.  ?No, Daiyousei.  This guy's the one messing up the lake.  He's been destroying our friends.  What would Letty think if I let this go!??  The fairy pointed at him.  ?Hey you!  I'll never forgive you for hurting us nature spirits!  Hold still so I can freeze you!?

Chamaka was surprised.  Loyalty wasn't one of these creatures' strong points.  Still he wasn't here for research.  With a wave of his hand he conjured the concept of extermination into the form of several knives.  The smaller fairy let out something that sounded almost like a sob and ran, but the ice fairy stayed put.  Chamaka launched his attack.  It made no attempt to dodge, it only raised its hands.

And then, seconds before the first blade hit the fairy, a wave of ice reached out from the creature and the blades froze solid.  Then they shattered.

Chamaka frowned at that.  ?Well.  That is novel.?

?Now it's my turn!? the fairy proclaimed, firing off some icicles at him.  Fortunately the spread was crudely aimed.  He took his time dodging the missiles in order to figure out how to bypass that peculiar defense.

After a moment he decided to try the obvious solution.  He concentrated his mind on the light of the sun, and focused it.  The fairy would have difficulty freezing this.  Holding up his hand he unleashed a laser.

?Wha!  That's cheating!? the little creature yelled as it tried to dodge the beam.  Unfortunately for it, there was no way to avoid the spell forever.

Suddenly there was a click and a bright flash.  His laser fizzled.

?Pure and Honest Reporter, Shameimaru Aya is on scene to report on the invasion!  Sir, could you please give your name for the article??

Chamaka dived backwards and tried to aim the laser he was summoning at the voice.  His vision cleared just enough to see a tengu standing there winding a camera when another photo shot went off.

This time he had enough presence of mind to blink.  When he opened his eyes there were two female tengu flanking the confused ice fairy.  The newest arrival seemed to be fiddling with a cell phone.  ?Don't worry about being properly quoted.  The Kakashi Spirit News is doing this as a joint interview with the Bunbunmaru News.  We pride ourselves on only using your own words to make you look like the jackass you are.?

Chamaka reinforced his aegis as he carefully inspected the two tengu.  The odds had suddenly shifted.  By a great deal.  He looked over their devices and nodded.  ?I see, so you've managed to create conceptual weaponry as well.  Impressive.?

?Huh?? The second tengu and the fairy looked confused at his statement.

Aya on the other hand narrowed her eyes.  ?I see, that's how you are able to kill fairies permanently.  You can give form to concepts and legends.  Since fairies are just personified concepts you can attack their life directly.?

?And your cameras draw upon the legend of photography stealing souls to drain that energy.? Chamaka replied.  ?Though it's far from perfect.  Still, as Tengu you must possess other skills as well.  You seem like opponents worthy of my full attention.?

?Hey!  I'm your opponent,? the little fairy called out.  The arrival of allies seemed to have emboldened it.

Chamaka ignored the creature for now.  The tengu were far more dangerous.  He needed to keep them trapped, so their speed couldn't be used against him.  He had faith in his aegis, but it was foolish to let your opponents gain an advantage.

He raised his hand and concentrated.  Above him in the air a horrific buzzing sound began.  The tengu and their fairy companion looked above him just in time to see the swords start forming and circling, like metal vultures.

?These swords represent the hatred and sorrow of every human that failed to reach their goals.?  Chamaka felt the blades straining at the leash, but he held off for a few more seconds.  ?They are relentless in their pursuit, and their desire to crush the hopes of others knows no bounds.?

He lowered his hand and the blades paused, then began to fall in a rain.  ?Let's see if your photography can capture this story.?

------

Aya gritted her teeth and floated just a little forward as the blades rushed towards her.  She resisted the urge to try to run through the wall of blades with a well timed camera shot.  While that might work, Hatate would be hard pressed to follow her, and Cirno would be doomed.

Finally at the last second she back dashed away and took a snapshot.  The wide lens caught the first wave of swords and drained their energy away, quickly drawing the power to her camera.  She began winding furiously to set up her next shot.  ?Your turn.?

?Right!?  Hatate took over, moving forward to take her own picture of the swords raining down.  The other woman's camera cleared a slightly smaller swath.  It paid for its quick reload time with a smaller frame and no zoom.  Aya swore when she saw more distant blades still angling towards them.

?I've got it!? Cirno said charging forward.  Aya felt her tengu pride complain at needing aid from a fairy, but her camera was still winding.  The camera's anti danmaku feature took a lot of energy, and while their foe's 'conceptual weaponry' was apparently weak against the feature, it took even more power to banish then normal bullets.  She just hoped Cirno had enough energy to clear out a good chunk of them.

Cirno waited until the last second, then used her freezing trick again.  The swords surrounding the ice fairy froze with a crack.

Then a wave of frost that was almost faster then a tengu eye could follow ran through the blades, freezing them all solid.

The click of Aya's camera recharging brought her out of her stunned state.  Her camera couldn't clean out such a large swath, but it was a kappa tool, one that didn't use her full power.  It was possible that a fairy as strong as Cirno could beat its power while going all out.

She turned back towards the Lunarian.  She needed to take command of the fight.  Unfortunately he seemed like the type who enjoyed gloating and attacking at the same time.

Sure enough he raised his hands, and flames appeared in the sky.  ?Extinction class events leave scars in the consciousness of all life.?  Aya felt her blood run cold as the meteors above came into focus.  ?I don't know if this is really how the dinosaurs were wiped out, but it should be enough to be rid of you!?

?Climb!? Aya cried out as she flew towards the assault.  She began plotting a course between the rocks, and she hoped that Cirno and Hatate's danmaku skills would allow them to do the same.

Hatate was beside her seconds later.  ?This is insane!  How can he be this strong??

Cirno was right behind her.  ?Damn, using fire this early is cheating!?

?Stop whining and dodge!? Aya replied to the two.  Then she followed her own advice and broke off, preventing the man from targeting all three of them at once.

The first few seconds of the meteor rain was the worst.  She had no idea what how fast the rocks were moving, and if her camera could clear them out.  The first flaming rock singed her arm as she passed, and then two of the meteors in the second wave collided sending a wave of shrapnel at her.  She brought her camera up and snapped a photo, clearing those chunks up and dousing some of the flames. 

Now that she'd cleared a little more room Aya took a look around.  While the attack was brutally random, it wasn't too hard to dodge most of the time.  And all three of the youkai had an escape card they could play.  Most importantly, the rocks faded away before hitting the earth.  Either the Lunarian couldn't sustain the barrage that long, or he wasn't certain he'd survive the impact.  Either way, it was good to know that there were limits to their opponent's power.

Now it was time to counter attack.

Aya zipped between two meteors, dodged some lesser debris and then, with a swipe of her fan fired a massive wind gust at the Lunarian.  She smiled as the man's own rockfall got caught up in the attack.  ?All right, take this!?   

Then she swore as they all shattered on an invisible shield.

The man raised his hand and a mass of bullets formed.  ?Clever.  But my aegis can withstand any attack.  And I can reform it whenever it becomes weak.?

His bullets manifested themselves as the annoying seeking amulets the Hakurei used.  Aya quickly ducked behind one of the meteors for protection.  ?Cocky bastard, aren't you,? she muttered as she began considering her next plan of attack.

Her plans were interrupted by another wave of amulets.  ?Why couldn't you be completely arrogant and try to passively kill me?? Aya swore as she began weaving her way into the heart of the meteor attack, doing her best to skim just out of the flames reach of the larger meteors so they could provide her some cover.

A small fast rock smashed open one of the meteors in front of her, causing her to flinch.  She instinctively took a picture of the deadly rain coming at her then swore again when she realized she had a lot of winding to do.  She quickly retreated to where Hatate and Cirno were making their stand.

?I'm starting to change my mind about active interviews,? Hatate grumbled as her camera went off again.  ?Any bright ideas?  I'm getting frozen and roasted here.?

?Yeah all this fire sucks!  I want to freeze all the rocks!? Cirno complained.

?That's nice.  I want to not die!? Aya snarled.  ?And if we want that we'll need to find some way to get an advantage.?

?It seems that simply dropping rocks is a mistake.?  Their annoying foe called out.  ?Let's try something more direct.  Weapons tend to leave strong imprints on people's minds.  For example Gungnir, the All Father's spear that never misses seems to have lingering power even after humanity's fall.  Even in your minds.?

?Oh great, we're going to be killed because Remilia was pretentious about spell card names.?  Aya sighed.  At least her camera was wound.  ?We'll have to hope our cameras can stop it, Hatate.?

Hatate pulled her phone out.  ?You go first.  Yours has a zoom after all.?

?What about me?? Cirno protested.  The two tengu ignored her.

A brilliant flash of steel was the only warning Aya got of the spear's approach.  However years of photography training hadn't gone to waste.  She'd taken a snapshot of the weapon before she realized that their familiarity with Remilia's version of the Gungir had made the point crimson.  That strangely made her feel better.  Perhaps it was because she could beat Remilia.

Her camera shot visibly slowed the weapon.  It looked less like certain death, and more like the spear it was.  Hatate raised her camera phone and snapped her own picture.  The deadly aura faded more.

But the ancient god spear that was the core of the weapon kept hurtling straight towards Hatate's chest.

A streak of blue intercepted the spear.  The weapon slowed as it froze, then dropped out of the sky into Cirno's hand, where it shattered into pieces.

Aya was so shocked she barely remembered to dodge the meteors still raining down.  Hatate just let herself fall down about forty feet.

?Alright!  I'm all charged up now!? Cirno declared.  ?Let's freeze everything!  Perfect Freeze!?

A wave of bitter cold washed over Aya, setting her teeth to chattering.  Even more startling the flames around the meteors died down, then faded away as the rocks slowly froze.

For a moment everything was still.

Then the Lunarian's meteor rain shattered as one, the tiny harmless fragments of the once mighty storm falling down to the lake below.

?I'm the strongest!? Cirno said with pride.

Hatate was first to break the silence.  ?Holy shit.?

Aya had to agree.

?I don't have a clue how the hell you did that.  But I've decided to actively try to kill you as well,? the Lunarian said to the fairy.  ?I'd like to see an ice fairy try to shatter Excalibur.?

A glowing golden sword, more perfect then any blade Aya had seen before, materialized beside the Lunarian, then flew directly at the little fairy.

There was no way Cirno could handle that solo.  The two tengu both rushed forward to add their camera skills to the fray.

This time Hatate was first to get the shot.  Aya finished winding and fired off her own photo seconds later.  The golden glow around the weapon vanished, to once again be replaced by Cirno's frost.

The dream of the sword of promised victory shattered before the incarnation of ice.

Out of the corner of her eye Aya saw the Lunarian casting.  That had just been a diversion!  ?Dive!? She yelled.  The three youkai swooped down towards the lake, pursued by a massive laser of focused 'sunlight'.

As they reached the lake's surface Aya saw another laser sweeping towards them from the other direction.  There was no way all three of them could dodge both lasers if their foe had any competence.  She only had one trick left, and it was based on hearsay. 

Still it was better then nothing.

She turned and fired a barrage of dense but slow danmaku bullets between the Lunarian and the ice fairy.  ?Cirno, freeze these!?

?Okay!? Cirno, being Cirno, didn't hesitate.  Her power turned the danmaku into a hemisphere of ice.

Ice that disrupted and scattered the focused light that struck it.

?Hah!?  That interview with Marisa had been good information.  She'd been betting a lot on it.

?Tonbo-giri.?

Aya's eye's snapped up at the Lunarian's words.  He'd had another attack waiting!  Aya pulled up her camera to clear away the legendary spear, but there was only a whir when she pressed the button.  No charge!

Then it, like the other weapons that had come before it, turned blue and shattered.

?H~How?? She asked in awe.  There was no way Cirno should be able to continuously freeze things like that.

?W~w~what's up~p wi~wi~with that~t??  Hatate asked as the two tengu shivered.

Wait, why were they shivering?  Aya looked around, then yelped and flew about a hundred feet away from the fight.  Hatate was beside her in seconds.  ?Why are we running?? the younger tengu asked.

?Look at the lake,? came Aya's reply.

All of the combatants looked down towards the waters of the lake to see the surface slowly freezing, inch by inch, in a ragged circle around the icy fairy.

?That's impossible!? the Lunarian whispered.  ?You can't gain power from canceling attacks.?

Then Aya fully understood.

?Reisen was right.?

Aya raised her voice to carry across the lake.  ?You can't destroy energy.  It has to go somewhere.  So where does the energy Cirno removes when she freezes things go??

?It has to go inside of her.?

Aya looked the Lunarian in the eye as she continued.  ?Normally that doesn't mean much.  If it were heat energy Cirno would overheat and have to waste power cooling herself.  But your constructs don't use heat.  They're made entirely of conceptual energy, the same as fairies are made of.?

?Which means every attack she's frozen has made her stronger.?

?Just as you are the perfect enemy to fairies, fairies are the perfect enemy for you.  And what's worse, now that you know she can absorb your power, you can't help but unconsciously feed her with your fear.?  Aya stated.

?Nonsense!? the Lunarian retorted.  But the frozen circle around Cirno continued to expand.

Cirno looked up at the Lunarian.  ?You've killed a lot of my friends.  You Lunarians destroyed a lot of trees, and birds, and flowers, and even humans.  You've all hurt nature a lot.?  Cirno's voice was deadly serious.  ?I'm not the smartest fairy.  I know that.  But I also know we fairies are part of nature.?

?I don't know what purpose fairies serve.  But I'm going to protect this place.  I'm not going to let you hurt anything else!?

Aya stared at the fairy.  Was this a hidden depth that she'd never seen before during their occasional games?  Perhaps it had something to do with the massive power flowing through the fairy?  Or maybe Cirno had absorbed more then just the energy of the concepts that had been thrown about.

?Brave words.?  Power swirled around the Lunarian again.  ?Let me show you the cost of courage.  Death of the Light Brigade.?

The Lake seemed to explode with sound and fire.

From all sides cannonballs flew in at Cirno as their invisible launchers roared.  Aya thought she saw smaller bullets as well, but the gunpowder smoke obscured everything.  Cirno disappeared in the barrage, then there was a flash of blue as the fairy once again froze and absorbed the attack.  But the guns didn't stop.  Once again the tiny fairy vanished.

Aya was wondering if she'd made a mistake holding back when a rush of freezing wind once again swept over the battlefield.  She called upon her tengu strength to shrug off the cold.  Hatate gasped beside her.  ?She's frozen the whole lake!?

Sure enough the entire misty lake was covered in a light frost.  As were Aya's geta.

?Got anything else!?? Cirno called up to the Lunarian.

The man finally lost his cool.  His fancy outfit was covered in frost, and his breath was misting in the air.  ?Enough of this foolishness!  I can't be beaten by a simple ice fairy!  Let's see if you can handle the very concept of fire itself!?

?Attack now!  When his guard is weakened!?

Aya nodded and rushed towards the man.  She took a quick snapshot as she flew in, weakening his shield, and Hatate did the same.  She slammed into the remaining shield and bounced off, but Hatate's kick actually broke the thing.  Aya was about to cheer when she saw Hatate falling back, her momentum expended.

Then a green haired fairy appeared behind the shocked man and buried a shard of ice in his back.

The Lunarian gasped, but he kept charging his spell despite the lethal wound.  Aya swept her fan and sent a gust of wind to shatter the ice shard inside his body at the same time three icicles from Cirno sunk into the man's chest.  Somehow he kept his spell forming until Hatate righted herself and crushed his throat with a roundhouse kick.

The man's spell fizzled away and he plummeted through the sky to crash on the ice on the lack, sending cracks through its surface.  Aya nodded to herself when she saw the crack through the reflection of the moon.  Their part of the prophecy was complete.

?I thought you ran away, Daiyousei,? Cirno said to her fairy friend.  There was no condemnation in her tone, just confusion.

?Well, you know I'm not that good in a straight fight,? Daiyousei replied.  The little fairy hugged her friend.  ?I'm so glad you're safe though!?

Cirno allowed herself to be hugged for a while before drawing away.  ?Daiyousei, I gotta help our other friends.  These Lunarians are bad people.  Someone's gotta stop them.?

Daiyousei looked worried, but the fairy simply nodded and fluttered her wings.  ?You're really brave Cirno.  Just be careful, okay??

Cirno looked over at Hatate and Aya.  ?Are you two coming??

Hatate shivered and shook her head.  ?I think you might do better on your own.  We'll stay in reserve if you need us.?

?Yeah,? Aya agreed.  She didn't want to test if Cirno could accidentally freeze a tengu.

Cirno shrugged.  ?Alright.?  She flew off towards the shore opposite the forest of magic.  ?I better find Star so she can help me search!?

Aya rubbed her hands together to return the warmth to them.  She planned on following the fairy, just in case.  But at a much safer distance this time.

?Hey, Daiyousei, was it?? Hatate asked while turning towards the green haired fairy.  ?Why did you tell us to attack the guy??  Aya started when she realized the voice telling them to attack hadn't been Hatate's.  ?Did you think Cirno couldn't handle it??

?Fairies aren't supposed to be powerful.  Nature can be strong yes, but fairies like us aren't nature's strength.  We're nature's beauty and presence.  We're supposed to be weak and simple."  The fairy looked away.  "There are a few exceptions here and there.  Bent rules.  But no fairy is supposed to have the power Cirno now has.?  Daiyousei shook her head sadly.  ?You've seen already how she's changed.?

The little fairy looked directly at both the tengu.  ?I wasn't afraid she'd fail.?

?I was afraid she'd succeed.?

Aya shook her head to clear it.  She didn't have to understand it, she just had to write it.

She looked up at the moon, then down again at its broken and bloody reflection.

?Eh, served the jerk right,? she muttered to herself.

?Yeah,? Hatate said.  Then she punched something into her cellphone camera.  ?Well we'd better hurry up if we actually are giving Cirno backup.  At least then we'll have an excuse for letting her take the guy out.?

Aya smiled at that.  ?Yep!  'Lunarian defeated by fairies!  A joint investigation!'?

?Now let's go make sure people will be around to read it.?

Hideki

  • ~La, la, la~
  • Texas Chensaw Massacre
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #56 on: May 27, 2011, 07:03:20 AM »
So in essence, Cirno, Hatate and Aya beat the ever-loving crap out of Archer?  It's interesting you teamed the three of them up, but then it seems kinda obvious in hindsight, especially with their bullet removing powers.  I couldn't stop this silly grin as I read it.

Badass bookworms

KrackoCloud

  • I don't mean to be greedy...
  • ... but white rice is my favorite food.
Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #57 on: May 27, 2011, 06:27:25 PM »
This is the most epic representation of Cirno I believe I've ever seen.

Iced Fairy

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #58 on: June 03, 2011, 03:34:19 AM »
Roun stared at the two doors.  One was built of metal, and inscribed with many old and damaged charms meant to seal the inhabitant of the room inside.  The other was simple hard wood.  And his senses told him both contained a terrifying power.

He turned to his magical specialist, ?Fukuko which one has the vampire??

The woman concentrated for a moment.  Then she pointed to the massive metal doors.  ?The vampire is beyond there.  However the other room has some great magical ritual going on in it.  Something much stronger then the maze surrounding us.  It seems like a summoning ritual....?

Roun thought over the matter quickly.  To leave a vampire at one's back was nothing less then suicide, especially a vampire who had the ability to destroy anything at will.  But to let a magician get off a summoning ritual was asking to horribly torn apart by creatures from beyond.  As much as he disliked the thought he'd have to split his forces.

?Miki and I will attack the vampire.  Fukuko and Shii, go stop the ritual.?  He looked his followers in the eyes one by one.  ?Don't get obsessed with victory, it's possible you got unlucky and your foes have a number advantage.  If you have to retreat, fall back to the other group.  Just don't fully disengage.?

?Yes Lord,? they all replied.

He nodded and set up next to the door, Miki opposite him.  The other two retainers ran to the end of the hallway.  He held up his hand, silently counting down from five, then kicked in the door.

The room was huge and the walls almost featureless.  Scattered about were odd crystals, broken furniture and rotting dolls.  In the center of the room was a obsidian throne where the tiny vampire with mad crystal wings sat drinking red liquid from a wine glass.  On either side of her stood a maid with blond hair, seemingly perfect twins.  The only other intact objects in the room were a picture at the far end, and an iron coffin in the far corner.

Roun immediately fired off a laser at the vampire.  The throne exploded as the monster scattered into bats, then reformed.  The two maids rushed forward, but were brought to a halt by a barrage of magical kunai from Miki.

?How rude,? the vampire said in a disturbingly childish voice.  ?You didn't chat.  You didn't give a one liner.  You didn't even look at the picture.  How disappointing.?

?Indeed mistress,? the maids said in perfect harmony.

At their words Roun's eyes unconsciously drifted to the painting.  At first it seemed like a normal painting of the crucifixion.  Then he saw the face of the man being crucified was twisted in pain and torment.

It was his own face.

?More cheap melodrama, monster??  He pulled out the magical artifact he'd been granted for this attack.  ?Let's end this now, before you embarrass yourself more.?

?It seems he didn't like it,? the maids said.

The device flew out of Roun's hand into the sky.  ?I wonder if you'll be so carefree under the sun's light?? he asked mockingly.

There was a flash from the device and it dropped to the ground.  The vampire looked depressingly unburnt.

The vampire giggled and clapped.  ?Good work Juri!  I knew your anti sunlight charm would work!?

Roun began to feel fear rising as the maids curtsied.  ?I'm glad to be of assistance to you mistress.  Most of the work was Patchouli's of course.?

?Well, now that that's done, I guess I'll just make you go Kyuu!? the vampire said with a giggle.

Roun couldn't help flinching away as the Vampire's eyes glowed with eldritch energy.  He'd been warned about the power of Flandre Scarlet.  This house had been investigated thoroughly after their solo assault on the moon.  He knew what she was capable of doing.

But he'd also been prepared for it.

Flandre held out her hand and reached about, then frowned.  ?Huh, you're hiding your eye.  Clever.?

?Attack now!  Focus on the vampire!? Roun called out, while drawing his own weapon. 

?As if I'd let you!? The maids called out, moving to flank Miki.  Roun hoped his assistant could either finish the duo off quickly or lend him some occasional support.  But right now he had to follow his own advice.

He attacked first, a shot from his weapon streaking straight towards the vampire's head.  In response she jumped up to the ceiling and dropped on his position with enough power to shatter the floor.  He flew into the room to avoid the attack, all the while firing his weapon and casting quick spells with his off hand.  Flandre simply laughed and swept the attacks aside with a massive sword of fire.  ?Your magic is no use against the sword that will consume the world.?

Roun continued his barrage.  It was useless, but it would at least keep the vampire off balance.  He could tell she was holding back, either to taunt him or because she was being cautious.  If she saw weakness he would be forced to run or die.

A sudden presence at his back forced him to duck in front of one of the crystals.  A barrage of bullets flew overhead from behind him.  Flandre giggled again.  ?Oh! Still alive?  I see how you Lunarians managed to beat big sister when she flew to the moon.?  She swung the flaming sword again and Roun rolled backward over the protrusion, the heat reaching for him like hungry claws.  ?But I'm a far more terrifying monster then she ever was!?

?So you admit you're a monster,? Roun snarled as he fought to gain distance.  ?The world has no need of your ilk any longer!?

Flandre pouted at him.  ?That's not fair.  You humans summoned us into being, calling us from nothing with your fear.  Because you needed to believe something, somewhere was responsible, that there was something you could defeat to make your fear go away.?

Roun found himself backed towards the corner.  He quickly activated one of the charms he carried and teleported back near the door before starting up his withering fire again.  ?We don't need that anymore.  We Lunarians have nothing to fear from things like you.?

?Ahahahaha!?  Flandre hovered in the air, her strange wings chiming.  ?Fool!  I am Flandre Scarlet.  I am the embodiment of the end of form.  You who have lost eternity, know that you have only fallen deeper under my influence!?

Roun snarled.  He knew the vampire was goading him, but there was only so much his pride could take.  He pulled out another magitech weapon from his robe and leveled it at Flandre.  ?We shall see vampire!?

Flandre laughed maniacally again.  ?That's the spirit!  Come at me with all your power!  Show me whether you are a man or a dog!?  She jumped up towards the ceiling and Roun began dodging again as they both stepped up their assault.

-------

Juri was careful, using her doll to draw attacks, while keeping an eye on her mistress.  While she loved her mistress dearly, Juri had enough analytical skill as a magician to know that Flandre had a terrible habit of holding back.  Flandre had spent so many years learning how to control her power, that now she had a tendency to control herself even when it wasn't prudent.  Admittedly as her natural vampiric bloodlust and arrogance kicked in that would all go out the window, but until then her mistress would be vulnerable.

That fit with Juri's attack technique fortunately.  She preferred to let silence and her 'twin' Juni unnerve her opponent before she drew close for the kill.  Proper misdirection required your opponent to get into a pattern.  The fact that Flandre outclassed the man enough to keep their battle separate was another boon.

She spun away from some laser fire, always pulling her doll to flank the opponent.  She didn't react differently if she was the target or the doll was.  She simply dodged and struck, alternating between sword slashes, knives and rainbow colored magic.  The broken floor made her mirrored dance more difficult, but Juri was practiced enough to turn that into an advantage.  The occational break in her circling made it look all the more real.

As she finished a spin she felt a slight tug.  She looked over to find that her doll had suffered a cut to the cheek from one of the Lunarian's spells.  She frowned.  ?Oh dear.?

?First blood,? the woman said coldly.

Juri sighed, then drew a knife and carefully traced the wound on both her and her doll's face.  The cold metal felt strange, and the cut stung as the blade passed, but soon she was a proper twin to her construct again.  She smiled at the woman's look of revulsion.  ?Hm?  You don't like my art??

The woman responded by shooting at her.  However the attack was more ragged then her previous strikes.  Good.  She was getting to her foe.

?Did you like the painting at least?  I made it personally.  I think it adds a lot to the room,? Juri said as she continued to circle, skipping over a ripped teddie bear.  She frowned at the woman's snarl.  ?Oh, too bad.  I put so much effort into it.  Just like the doll that's helping me attack you.?

?Doll??  The woman's stance weakened as she looked back and forth between the two.  ?Dolls that bleed??

?Of course.  If you use human flesh to make a doll it will bleed, right??

The woman froze in shock.  In that moment of weakness Juri struck.  She moved forward and slashed high, while her doll moved and slashed low.  She felt her blade strike the woman's shield and cut through.

But there was no resistance where her foe's body should be.  Flew back and up, as a flurry of laser shots cut through the area from the corner.  ?Reactive teleports.  You're better equipped then most.?

She paired up with her doll then rushed the woman, this time abandoning mirrored movements in favor of active dodging.  Her foe seemed to have a lot of devices, but little natural talent.  Juri could probably take the woman out one device at a time.

Assuming her foe didn't have anything in reserve.

Juri stopped her rush and unleashed a series of rainbow lasers at the Lunarian.  There was another flash as she burned through another one of her foe's reactive teleport wards.  This time Juri was ready and she quickly found and continued the assault on the woman.

?I'll tell you something interesting,? Juri said with a smirk as she continued her now unpredictable assault.  ?The picture shows the person you love the most.?

The Lunarian swore.  ?What?  Do you want some recognition that you're a sick twisted freak?  Or do you claim to be normal??

?I'm hurt.?  Juri accompanied her frown of dismay with a barrage of knives.  ?I'm just a simple artist.  If my medium focuses on sacrifice and suffering, so what?  How can you claim to be immortal but not understand my work??

?Humans know they live for eighty, ninety years if they are lucky.  Still they expect to die one day.  They know their fate, and can prepare."

"We immortals will always die in tragedy and sorrow.?  Juri's expression slipped.  ?There is no slow slipping away in the night for us.  No polite goodbyes to friends and relatives.  Just a terrible accident, or a sudden absence.?

?Hmph.  Maybe for you, but we Lunarians will live forever!?

?Oh?? Juri renewed her assault causing the woman to fall back.  ?I think you're going to die right now.?

Then a new power flooded over them and they both instinctively shuddered.  Juri knew immediately what it was.

Her mistress was no longer holding back.

Her foe's expression showed that she understood the battle had completely shifted in the earthlings favor.  The woman closed her eyes.  ?Activate offensive override.?

The atmosphere seemed to shift again.  Juri pulled back, placing her doll on defense as well.

The Lunarian's next attack was a quick step teleport followed by a mystical sword slash that sent Juri's doll tumbling backwards.  Juri rushed her foe from the side, but the Lunarian batted her sword aside with a backhand strike and sent her reeling backwards with another one.

The young magician felt pain as her mind registered the cut.  It seemed to go from her lower left rib to her chest, but it was shallow.  She was glad she inherited her mother's petite figure, because otherwise she'd be losing even more blood.

Her painful hazy ruminations were interrupted by her foe looming over her.  She decided it was time to steal from her opponent's playbook and teleport away.

She appeared along with her doll behind the iron coffin.  A good thing too, since her foe was standing over a crater in the floor.  Juri winced and started up curtain fire, alternating with her doll.

Her foe responded by pulling out a device and tossing it into the air.  Juri recognized it as the magical equivalent of a flash bang right before it went off.

This was her chance.

She closed her eyes and toss out a precast illusion spell right as the explosion occurred.  Then she had her doll stagger about like the spell had affected it, while she dropped limply to the ground.

Seconds later there was a tearing sound and a shower of blood as her doll was brutally chopped in two.

She jumped up from the ground, swinging her blade.  But somehow her foe jumped back away from the deadly surprise attack.  ?Out of tricks,? said the Lunarian coldly.

Juri shook her head.  ?One more.?  She drew her blade across the palm of her hand allowing her blood to drip down onto the coffin, where her dolls cold blood already lay.

The Lunarian lunged.  For one brief moment Juri thought her gamble had failed, and she would die here, failing her mistress and her family.

There was a horrendous shriek and bang as two small arms ripped through the coffin and grabbed the Lunarian.  The woman barely had time to gasp in surprise before a childlike blue haired figure tore through the coffin lid, opened her mouth wide, and bit into the Lunarian's neck with a sickening crack.

The room fell silent, save for the slurping and dripping sound of Remilia's first meal on awakening.

Finally Juri managed to look over at the man who had been fighting Flandre and smile through the pain of her wounds.  ?One should always remember; there are two devils in the Scarlet Devil Mansion.?

The man vanished as he teleported away.

Juri slumped against the wall, closed her eyes and called upon her healing spells.  She'd have to be more careful in any future battles.  Magician youkai could survive greater trauma then normal humans, but they still were weakened by blood loss.

When she opened her eyes she saw Flandre hovering over her.  She smiled up at her mistress.  ?Don't worry.  This will heal in a day.?

?Of course, you're my maid after all,? Flandre said with a smile.  She turned over to where her sister was standing.  ?Well you finally decided to wake up.  Why'd you wait until now?  300 years of moping not good enough for you??

Remi tossed the drained corpse to the floor and wiped at the blood that had spilled from her messy eating.  ?I've been trying to wake up for the past week!  Did you forget vampires need blood to wake from torpor in less then a month little sister?  If Juri hadn't doused me I'd still be there.?

?Forget?  You never tell me these things!?  Flandre yelled.  ?It's not my fault you're stupid.?

Juri coughed.  ?Mistress, I imagine the man who ran away is going to help those likely attacking my aunts and sister.?

Remilia sighed.  ?She's right.  Besides, this is obviously Patchouli's fault for not telling you.?

?Ah!  Good point.?  Flandre sprung forward and hugged her sister.  ?Well lets go kill the people breaking in and yell at her like old times!?

Remilia hugged Flandre back.  ?Yes.?  The two sisters' eyes both started to glow with a terrifying light.  ?Let's show them the power of the Scarlet family.?

Juri pushed herself to her feet.  The hunt was about to begin again.

Kasu

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Re: A New World, Book 3
« Reply #59 on: June 03, 2011, 10:00:20 PM »
Ah, so that's where Remilia was this whole time!  Nice to see she's back in the fray though.

Apparently, Thomas the Tank Engine isn't one to take crap from anyone.