"We should take advantage of these teleportation tokens and hit a group of them." Hourai traced a line up towards the entrance to heaven. "If we start at the SDM and head up we'll be able to get three of them in a trip."
"Not a bad idea," Marisa replied. "Especially since you two heal up after every fight. Wish that was how it worked in danmaku."
"Right." Shanghai considered the plan then nodded. "Seems good sister. Is there anything else or should we head out now?"
Yumemi shook her head. "We're testing some items that might help you, but they'll take a while."
"Especially since our our machine lab got transmogrified," Chiyuri muttered.
"Then we should go," Hourai said.
Marisa nodded. "I'll let Patchy know you're coming."
-----
The two skirted the lake in case the fairies decided to join in on the incident. Shanghai was certain she could take any normal fairy of course, but Cirno might be a problem. Fortunately they managed to avoid any random encounters on their trek to the SDM's gate.
As they approached the mansion Shanghai noticed something. "Hourai, the auto turret dolls mother gave to Meiling are missing."
"And I'm very unhappy about that." Shanghai whirled around her heart in her throat to find Meiling standing behind them looking down with a grim expression. "So you should give me your names before I scrap you."
Shanghai took a step back and discretely readied her weapon. Hourai had dropped into a much more open defensive stance. "Uh.... I'm Shanghai, this is Hourai. Marisa told Patchouli we were going to help fix things, right?"
Meiling looked back and forth between the two dolls, her cold eyes scanning their every movement. Then she sighed and relaxed. "Figures. Patchouli never tells me anything. Sorry for the scare, you two."
Shanghai and Hourai both sighed. "It's not your fault." Shanghai looked up at the spaced the turret dolls had occupied. "I suppose Medicine stole them too?"
"Yeah." Meiling muttered a curse in Chinese. "I liked those too."
"We'll see about getting them back," Hourai said. "Anyway we'd best hurry. Where is the intruder?"
"The basement." Meiling pointed at a side door. "Head into the library. Patchouli and Sakuya should be there, they can point you to where the doll disappeared." Meiling waved her hand. "Good luck you two. I have to get back to work."
The two dolls blinked as Meiling seemed to melt into the shadows. "Since when did she become badass?" Hourai wondered.
"Maybe she thinks there's an actual threat to the SDM?" Shanghai pondered.
The two shrugged then headed into the library.
The library was in a state of chaos. Fairy maids scrambled everywhere picking up books then putting them back down again with no real rhyme or reason. Above the confusion Koakuma hovered, shouting encouragement, threats and occasionally bullets down on her minions. Shanghai decided to avoid that and flew up over the bookshelves to pinpoint the library's master.
They found Patchouli standing next to a whole in the wall that was just big enough to allow someone of their size entry. Sakuya was standing next to her, fiddling with a pocket watch. The two turned as they landed. "Ah excellent. I was hoping you'd arrive soon." Patchouli gave Shanghai and Hourai long glances, though unlike Meiling's glare this was more the inspection of a scientist with a new specimen. "Interesting. She continues to impress me for her age." Shanghai couldn't help but bristle a bit at the implied judgment, even if Patchouli sounded truly impressed.
"Lady Patchouli, we don't have time for long winded speeches," Sakuya stated. The maid turned to the two dolls. "I'm pretty sure this doll has some connection to space or time magic. She's forcing me to fix the mansions internal space repeatedly."
"Right. Do you know anything else?" Shanghai asked.
Patchouli coughed. "About Alice's creation? No sadly. About where that doll has holed up? A little. Sadly she's burrowed into the area around the little sister's room. Reality is... odd there." Patchouli stepped away from the hole. "Given she's using fairy style passwall, it should be the same odd effect though, so take a while to acclimate yourself before moving on."
"Thanks," Hourai said. The two gave their hosts nods before rushing into the hole.
Shanghai immediately sensed what Patchouli was saying. The air itself felt wrong here. All her movements seemed exaggerated. "How weird. It's like walking on ice."
"But in the air," Hourai muttered. "I don't like this."
"We don't have a choice though," Shanghai said. "Let's practice moving a bit then continue on.
The two got their footing in a couple of minutes, then flew down into the corridors.
Shanghai realized their problem as soon as they reached their first turn. Three passages opened up in front of them, each leading a different way. A quick look down the corridors confirmed her fears. "This place is a maze."
As the two looked back and forth wondering what to do a faint sound drifted out from the maze ahead. "Singing?" Hourai asked.
"I... think so." Shanghai listened hard. "I can't tell which one it's coming from though."
"This one I think," Hourai said. She started heading for the right passage. "And since you're supposed to follow a wall to get through a maze anyway...."
Shanghai nodded and followed.
They made it through two more splits this way, Hourai following the sound with her superior hearing. Still Shanghai could tell the sound was growing louder as they traveled. Not enough to make out the words, but enough to tell the melody was just as haunting close up as it was as a faint whisper on the air. When they reached the next branch Shanghai was pretty certain she could tell the sound was coming from the bottom passage.
"I see you."
Shanghai dived for cover the second she heard the voice. A stream of danmaku slammed into the area, staggering Hourai. Looking up she saw one of the missing turret dolls happily aiming at them.
Shanghai fired a stream of shots at the turret doll, but she didn't break it before it could let off a mortar shot. Fortunately Hourai moved beside her and unleashed her full moon slash. The mortar round exploded harmlessly away from the two.
"We'll need to be more careful," Shanghai said as she inspected her sister for more damage.
Hourai brushed off the impacted area, then grudgingly let Shanghai take a closer look. "Yeah. Fortunately they're meant as a deterrent instead of a deadly weapon."
"Yeah." Shanghai confirmed Hourai wasn't hiding any serious damage then continued down the lower hall.
They were ambushed four more times as they continued down, but this time Hourai parried the shots while Shanghai opened fire. It was almost a surgical procedure. The poor automated weapons didn't stand a chance.
Finally they dropped into a larger cavern, with a familiar door on the other end. However drifting across the corridor was a familiar purple toxin.
In addition the song had become clear to the two. Shanghai felt strange.
"She sounds hurt." Shanghai looked to her sister. "Maybe she wants to go back home?"
"Maybe," Hourai replied. "Maybe not. But I'm willing to wait for her to fire the first shot."
"Anyway we've got to get there first." Hourai pointed to the purple mist. "I don't think it'd be good if we touched that."
Shanghai nodded. "Yeah. Should one of us lead?"
"I don't think it'll help. The clouds are shifting." Hourai looked over them. "We'll both have to go through on our own."
Shanghai took a deep breath. "Right...."
"Good luck sis," Hourai said.
The two glanced at the paths they'd chosen, then started flying. The strange property of the air made navigation difficult, but Shanghai'd almost completely compensated for it.
She made it two thirds of the way through when a cloud suddenly changed directions before she expected it to. She tried to shift, but momentum brought her hand into contact with the poison mist.
Pain flooded her mind once again, this time along with a voice screaming in her mind. Shanghai stumbled but forced herself to keep flying. She passed over the next cloud as planned then slammed into the far side of the room just in time to watch Hourai dash through another cloud of poison.
Hourai blasted through the mist and hit the wall hard. "Sister!" Shanghai screamed and ran over. Hourai looked dazed, but Shanghai couldn't tell how much the poison had affected her. "Are you okay? Answer me!"
"I'm fine Shanghai." Hourai rubbed her head and stood up. "I ran through fast enough to avoid the poison gas."
Shanghai looked her sister up and down. "Are you sure. It affected me very fast."
Hourai took a few quick steps to show she wasn't impaired. "I'm fine I tell you. We need to hurry. Our sister must have heard us."
Shanghai still wasn't convinced but she couldn't do much. "Alright. Let's go."
As they opened the door the singing stopped. The cavern they stood within was large, but unlike the other two rooms strange crystals jutted out from the floor, giving the room some terrain.
"Sisters! Ahahaha! You came! You came! You really came!"
From behind one of the crystals a doll dressed very similarly to shanghai herself floated up. However instead of a bow this doll had a pocket watch wrapped around her waist like a belt. And instead of Shanghai's worry or Hourai's steely glare, the doll had a mad grin.
"I'm Germelshausen. You can call me Germel. I've been waiting for you." Germel giggled. "Waiting for centuries."
Shanghai stood there for a while. She wasn't sure what exactly to make of this. "Um, well we're here. Do you want to join us? To join mother again?"
Germel pouted. "Go? But you just got here!" The doll spun and giggled. "Why don't you stay here with me? We can stay here and talk like sisters. Come, stay with me, forever."
Shanghai hesitated then took a step forward. "We can chat sister, but first we have to keep Medicine from hurting anyone else. Maybe you could come with us?"
"No!" Germel's smile twisted into a grimace. "I'm not going out there! Out there where that maid flaunts her perfection, where that stupid vampire girl tells me I'm broken. I'M NOT BROKEN! I'M FINE!"
"Of course you aren't," Shanghai looked around. She didn't know what to say. What was going on?
Germel smiled again. "Thank you Shanghai. So you'll stay here with me forever, right?"
"Um forever is a bit...."
"DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Shanghai barely had time to dodge a stream of danmaku. "I won't let you leave! I won't!" screamed Germel as she peppered the air with bullets. Shanghai had to dodge behind a crystal to get some room to start charging.
Hourai rushed at their mad sister, easily flipping over the danmaku stream. "Time to end this."
Germel laughed wildly. "End? Time has no end." The room seemed to sparkle, then everything froze. Except Germel.
The doll pointed at Hourai's motionless form and unleashed another stream of danmaku. The bullets smashed into the sword wielding doll with a terrible crack. Then the sparkles disappeared and Hourai was sent flying.
"Sister!" Shanghai screamed again. She turned all her attention to the doll that had hurt her closest sister. First she unleashed her charged shot, which winged the other doll, then she started firing metal blades.
Germel took several hits as she tried to flee around the room. Then the air sparkled again. Shanghai could do nothing but watch as Germel aimed, then fired a steam of bullets into her chest.
Next thing she knew she was flying. There was another burst of numbing pain as she hit the wall, then again as she hit the ground. She but she could tell she only hit air.
When her vision cleared Germel was standing over her. "Don't worry. I won't kill you sister. I'll just take those arms and legs so you don't try to run away from me again." Shanghai shuddered. Germel's happy tone only made the threat more terrifying. "Then we can be together forever. A family. Yes a family. That's what-"
There was a violent snap as Hourai's sword slammed through Germel's torso. The other doll's eye's opened wide in shock. "Ugh, wha-"
"Shh." Hourai reached around with her left hand and embraced the dying doll. "You don't need to talk any more. I'm here for you sister. Until the end."
Germel's eye's began to tear up. "Forever?"
"Until the end of time," Hourai said.
"Ah...." Germel sighed and the air seemed to sparkle again. The doll's eyes slowly closed.
The sparkles faded along with the light in Germel's eyes.
The now familiar light ball began to form, but the two sisters ignored it. Instead Shanghai picked herself up then slowly eased Germel off Hourai's blade. Then the two laid the broken doll on the ground.
"I think she wasn't finished," Hourai said quietly. "That's why she went mad."
Shanghai nodded before wiping her eyes. "Yeah." She carefully arranged her sisters hair, then folded her sister's hands over the wound. "We'll make sure Mother fixes you," Shanghai promised.
The two stood there a moment longer before Hourai pulled out one of the teleport coins. Shanghai stepped away, as their fallen sister returned to Mother's side. Then they both turned to the orb of light.
Once again the infusing light cleaned away all of Shanghai's wounds and restored her power, but she found her mood hadn't improved. Perhaps that was something she shouldn't ask for though.
In addition she saw a timer on her weapon. She knew that if she used this weapon she would speed up incredibly, so that it would seem like time had stopped for everyone else. She saw Hourai looking at a pocket watch. Hourai grimaced. "I think this is the power Germelshausen used, but I'm not sure I want to try it."
"Emergencies only," Shanghai suggested.
"Yeah. Hopefully it won't come up." Hourai stretched, then looked towards the exit. "Either way though, we have to continue on."
Shanghai nodded. Perhaps action would drive away the darkness in her heart.
----
Time Mage Doll Germelshausen
Purpose: Research
Sakuya's time manipulation has always been a fascinating ability. A human, or even a normal magician can't duplicate it, but perhaps a doll can! Having a time manipulator on my side would help me deal with the setup times on my longer spells. As well as with cleaning.
Current Status : Failure. The doll successfully stopped time for ten seconds, however the watch it carried with it had stopped. Further study indicated that from it's perspective ten years had passed after it used it's abilities. Sometimes I'm very glad that I experiment with dolls instead of living creatures. A youkai or human would feel paralized as it lived out one second every year. A horrible fate indeed...
Medicine notes : Germelshausen was very cheerful, but I think something happened to her. She started acting a little strange after her first fight. I'm worried. After this is over I'll have Dis and Tombstone sit down and talk with her.
