I really like this story and the premise.
So here, have an omake - plot bunny. Flandre isn't the only nosey brat in Touhou. Three Fairies with penchant of slipping where they are not welcome found the strange 'doors' and decided to see, where they lead ...
Adventure Begins
"Say, when was it, we visited the Manor lastly?" a small girl, no taller then a fife year old but with body of at least ten year old human child asked. She was bored, again, and was trying to device a way to entertain herself. Pranking Reimu, sneaking into Marisa's home, searching for treasures, all that they did this summer several times. Even flying around with the Mad Fairy started to grow old by now. The whimsical blue eyed strawberry haired girl then remembered, they actually didn't visited one location for month! Not after the Maid forced them to clean after the feast before kicking them out. Literally.
"Do you think that's a good idea?" a blonde girl with red eyes looked up from her issue of Bunbunsmaru newspaper. She, like her companions, was a legend, sadly known to few. A Fairy who can read, and the only inhabitant of the Gensokyo who not only read but also SUBSCRIBED to the Aya's somewhat dubious paper. (Marisa laughed her ass of when she found out who the most - only - devoted reader was). She was also lot more cautious than her friends although she liked adventure as much as they do (she felt someone has to protest against her friend's funny ideas).
"Oh my," the last girl in the house snickered. "Are we up for the hide and seek game with the Maid again? She did won the last time." The innocent smiling beauty with raven hair and golden eyes was the most level-headed from the trio but also the most mischievous. Some thought she was the most intelligent but that was not true. She WAS the wisest of them ( it was the blonde who was the most knowledgeable, book wise at least), and, besides her power, was Legendary as the only Fairy with a common sense.
"Of course we are!" the strawberry Fairy straightened, taking what she thought was an imposing pose. She would be right, if she wasn't too short for it. "We are best in hide and seek! Even Reimu can't find us if we are careful!" (sadly they were careless more often than not). "Come on! There has to be a treasure in the mansion somewhere! It's so big! And you heard, what Marisa said yesterday?"
They did. Marisa was once again boasting about her last heists and mentioned that the Voile library was a 'treasure chest'. While the trio has somewhat warped look on what 'treasure' was - they valued old moon flag equally with the chip of sapphire they found during one of their 'adventures' (their most guarded and revered treasure was actually the old coffee grinder), they always seek for more.
"Besides, what they could do to us?"
It was not, as if they could be killed, well, not permanently.
"Oh my! New treasure? That sounds exciting!"
"We will show them, we are not to be underestimated!"
"I heard they went to Moon once. Perhaps they brought piece of it back!"
"SO LET'S GO!"
***
"Ouch Sunny. Don't poke me!"
"Stop bickering you two!"
"Sorry Star! And why are we whispering? No one will hear us, as long as my power is up!"
"Dunno, Luna. You started it!"
"Ouch!"
"Owwie!"
"Quick, here, Sunny!"
"Should warn me there was a maid flying toward us, Star!"
'What did I hit?' a girl around the trio's height was left sitting in the middle of the corridor, rubbing her forehead. 'No matter, I hope the flowers are alright. Oh, I am sitting on them? Whaaa!' the winged maid fled in fright, leaving the ruined flowers where they fell down.
"That was funny."
"Says you, Star," a strawberry pigtailed Sunny materialised in an alcove, still rubbing her own forehead, the two other fairies besides her, snickering. "Star, where is the room with the maid's clothes?! And warn us, if someone gets too close for a change!"
"Of course, Sunny," the raven haired beauty snickered. "Right, follow me, you two. We are almost there, and there is no one there too!"
"We should grab some accessories this time too," the last girl, the blonde Luna, proposed. "I bet, that was how we were caught last time. All maids carry those things all the time, and we didn't."
(Nice guess Luna, but it was actually, that you three are slightly too powerful to be common maids.)
Soon the trio was 'disguised' in the Scarlet manor's maid's uniforms, 'armed' with accessories, like Star's feather duster, Luna's glass tray or Sunny's mop. Truth was, the other Fairies they encountered from now on didn't give them second glance, being 'equipped' equally. They made it to the library when ...
"Hey! You three! While you are here, help me with the mess!" they ran into the first obstacle during this adventure. A demonic Familiar known as Koakuma caught them when they entered the room of their interest. She deviously roped them to work!
Luckily their association with the Oni Miko and the adventure they had here last time prepared them to handle the challenge!
"Yes, Sir, err Ma'am!" Sunny gave to Koakuma almost perfect salutation. The Fairies discarded their 'accessories' and grabbed random crate, statue or weapon someone heaped in front of a glowing door!
"Hey, just be careful with the souvenirs!" Koakuma called after the retreating Fairies. "Bring them to Remilia-ojou's quarters! And came back for the rest of it!"
Naturally they didn't drag them too far. Once out of sight, they discarded them rather carelessly. While pretty, and strange, the things were heavy and too large for them to drag them home. Besides ...
"Did you see them?" Star was giddy with glee. "They had to lead somewhere interesting!"
"Do you think, that's what Marisa was speaking about?" Luna wondered. So far, all they saw were books, and more books. On the other hand, the pile of
junk err treasure looked more promising. It was a shame most of those things were so heavy...
"You bet it was!" Sunny was bouncing excitedly. "There has to be treasure we can take home!" (no matter to whom it belonged originally)
"Sunny, make us invisible again! Luna activate your silence!" Star commanded them, her own power active. She waited a bit for Koakuma and tremendously powerful newcomer to move away. "The way is clear! Let's go!"
The portal rippled as the three Fairies ran through it. A figure in gown emerged around a corner only moments too late.
"Oh my!" the local Magician Patchouli Knowledge sighed when she read who and what came through. "I had a bad feeling about it." The signatures were weak, only slightly stronger than common human's ones, but she thought she recognised them. And she felt the nature of Gensokyo - change a little.
***
Do you know the itch when something is missing? Something small, almost insignificant, something you placed where it belonged and then forgot about it? Something still important but not worthy of your attention? Something you saw everyday, so when it went displaced you KNEW?
Well, than you know about a tenth of what Yukari Yakumo, the strongest Youkai of Gensokyo felt that day. Something went missing, and unlike the wayward miss Scarlet, this time, the missing magic was IMPORTANT. She simply couldn't pinpoint why. Irate, and insomnious for once, the Sage left her room for first time in weeks during the morning. She knew, she will be unable to sleep, worrying what went wrong THIS TIME.
'Nothing. NADA, nil, nix!' Reimu was lazing around her shrine. The Eientei Sage was brewing batch of headache medicine. Keine was whispering with Mokou about something, both looking like schoolgirls on a first date. Remilia was actually back. Cirno was sleeping in middle of her iceberg, open and vulnerable - again. Moryia trio were home, Sanae preparing lunch. Aya was ... complaining?
"Ayayay," the reporter murmured. "Where did she went? I deliver her papers everyday, and she isn't home! Three days in row!"
"She?" blonde and violet figure, sitting on a verge of her gap of thousand creepy eyes, interrupted Tengu's musing. Aya almost got heart stroke from the surprise.
"Whaa! What in Moriya holy panties!" the Tengu whirled to face whoever surprised her. "Damn it Yukari! I am not prepared to be ambushed in middle of the sky!"
"He, he," giggled the Boundary Youkai. "I am curious a little. Whom are you missing?"
'What is going on?' "Aya, ehe," the Tengu chuckled awkwardly. While curious what Yukari needed so much to actually seek the reporter out, Aya didn't want her devoted reader in trouble. "Small problem with my deliveries. The one to Luna Child were returned. Says, the recipient is out of reach. Went to see myself, and it is true - she isn't home anymore!"
"Luna Child? Fairy perhaps?" Yukari tilted her head. She never paid them more than a glance, the Fairies always around, and under her notice. They hang often on the verge of her vision, not eager to come too close to someone who can stomp them down more effectively than the Miko. She didn't approached them either, they too weak to be useful, Cirno the only exception because what she COULD became. She remembered the only time, she did approached the mentioned Fairy and stomped her and the Sapphire of Stars easily into the ground. She felt embarrassed that she did underestimated the Milk of Sun. She should know better with the Fairy's power than to use a lasers on her! Wait, the Pillars of Light are missing?! Her senses zeroed where the pins holding the hole in Barrier left behind by Reimu's lazy carelessness closed should be. They were not there!
It was almost relief to know what went wrong. It was nothing catastrophic, the hole healed nicely and continued to heal, even without the Fairies, but their absence left the small corner of Gensokyo vulnerable. Weakened. Not by much, but still...
"Tell me more, Aya," she gestured to the worried reporter. "Start with how do you even know those three Fairies. And better say all you know, trustfully. For your own sake..."
***
"You know, I should have closed them long time ago."
Patchouli yelped and bounced in surprise. She was trying to divine what went through her Portals and in where direction when she got an unwelcome but feared visitor.
"Should order you to close them when the Vampire went through," Yukari continued, frowning at the offending holes in time and space. "No matter what you and Remilia wanted. You don't DESERVE them. You even can't guard them properly."
Patchouli was sweating nervously. While not furious, Yukari wasn't happy with her and others. "Can I help you, Yukari-sama?" she managed to cough out, nervously.
"Sadly no," frowned the Sage. "You have to hold them open as long as it is necessary. I would need to speak with ... Ah, here you are, Sakuya Izayoi, the Perfect Maid. Please, tell Remilia to come down here, I have a ... mission for you two."
***
"Damn it Yukari! I came back only three days ago and you want me to do WHAT?" Remilia stared at the Sage of Youkai.
"Yes, you heard me alright. I need from you to seek and capture three Fairies that ran away through those portals of yours," Yukari snickered lightly at the unbelieving stare Remilia and Sakuya gave her. "Patchouli Knowledge, you probably can feel it. Tell them, why!" 'And that is the least of it!'
"Ehm. Yukari-sama is speaking about Gensokyo being - diminished? The Fairies are embodiments of their powers. Perhaps ... Did you noticed the Sun hurting you less? Or the moon giving you less power now? The stars ... I tried divination right now. It was harder, they are silent. Normally, it is rather easy to get information on anything in the Gensokyo, but with Star Sapphire missing, even Tarots are ... less certain. Fairies are Gensokyo's magic, sort of. It is fascinating object of study. Did you know, there is a Fairy among our staff that gained power, no, was born from Sakuya's work? One that actually holds the Mansion's enlargements active for month?"
"Ehm!"
"Sorry, Yukari-sama. Shortly, the Gensokyo has four main sources of power - Youkai, Humans, Gods and Elementals, to whom Fairies belongs. Among them the Fairies has the strongest influence HOW the power is distributed, although their contribution to it is minimal. Do you remember the Perfect Cherry Blossom Incident? It was actually caused by the culprit capturing and kidnaping the Fairy Lily White."
"The Fairy Ojou-sama wanted me to capture so the Spring would come sooner?" Sakuya wondered and then recoiled under Remilia's glare while Yukari gave Remilia funny look.
"Yes, the one and the same," Patchouli gave Yukari nervous glance, but the Sage actually looked amused.
"Of course, the one behind that was... strong. It's HARD to capture and stay in hold of a Fairy. Captured Fairies ... die ... pretty quickly. And then are reborn somewhere in Gensokyo randomly - mostly mightily pissed at their captors," Yukari noted. "They can do a lot to get those who displeased them into many sorts of troubles. Luckily, they have short attention span and bad memory - most of them. There are exceptions, Lily, the Light Fairies and Cirno of all Fairies have the temper and the intelligence to stay cross with you for years - (although it is hard to tell in Cirno's case)."
"Fairies also have the capacity to turn both ways," Patchouli continued. "They start perfectly neutral, pure chaos tempered by laws of nature. Should they accumulate enough of fear or worship, they can turn into their respective Youkai or Goddesses."
"I would really like to know, where you learned this," Yukari mused, serious for once. "This should stay between the four of us."
Patchouli didn't tell. She would hate her friend to be in trouble for her openness and trust.
"No matter," Yukari dismissed the leak, "the Fairies of Light are currently on the Divine Path, partially thanks to Reimu. They are still pretty fickle and chaotic, but do you know they are immune to Reimu's Ying-yang orbs?"
She got their attention now.
"They hold rather prominent place among the Fairies and I have ... plans with them," Yukari was serious now. It didn't matter the plans were in range of millennia. She need them back, soon. "Your Portals caught their attention, as fickle as it is, and they used them. They are currently out there, with your sister, doing who knows what. And what they will go through will have a large effect on them, larger than her actions have on miss Flandre. They can turn away from their current path. They can ... mature in power quickly. They can speed their apotheosis even. I assure you, non of it would end without repercussions for Gensokyo and all of it inhabitants. So if you don't want to wake up in a world where the Hakurei shrine is renamed to the Three Pillars of Faith Shrine, find them! And quickly. I wish you good luck, you two." Yukari gave them mock bow, opened one of her gaps and vanished, leaving the task to capture the wayward Fairies in the hands of the Scarlet Mansion crew.
(The END - or no?)
Perhaps this could be another quest? Where are the Fairies and what are they up to? And what repercussions on them their actions have?
