Marisa continued her flight towards the village, filled to the brim with purpose. The sun continued to set lower in the sky. The forest was silent, as if no one dared cross the witch's path. And yet...
"
Oof!"
Marisa flew straight into some kind of invisible mesh or web, being violently shot backwards and barely managing to regain her balance in midair. She examined the obstruction, finding a billowing net composed of strands of pure magic, tapering down to a single point. "
What... what is this? It's not a web."
Oh no... not her.
Who is it?
A moment later, Marisa spotted the source of the obstacle. It was none other than Alice Margatroid, hovering motionlessly, staring intently at Marisa. She was surrounded by several animate dolls and all of them looked ready for action at a moment's notice.
Marisa stared at Alice as the puppeteer moved to hover in front of her, a ferocious scowl on her face. "I don't know who you are, but I'm giving you exactly one warning. Get your filthy, darkened claws out of Marisa's soul right now!"
Dammit. What good is this disguise, anyways?
One of her specialties is magic of the soul. Yer delusional if you thought ya could hide from her.
"
Hehe. Or else what?"
Alice stared at Marisa, the dilation of her pupils her only movement.
"
Hah! You don't even have the g- aaaaaggghhhh!"
Ahhhh!
Inside her mind, Marisa felt as if she was being split in two.
Alice's hands curled tightly around the translucent strings connecting them that had suddenly faded into appearance, as she yanked them back. "Or else I separate you two by force, then tear your spirit to
bloody shreds, you insipid parasite!"
Marisa fell to the ground in a crumpled heap. The weight of having Chara ripped from her soul by Alice had taken its toll. She couldn't stand. She could barely move.
Ha...ha...! That's... Alice... for ya!
Chara was bound tightly within Alice's illusory threads, barely able to move. He struggled vigorously against his bonds.
Alice tightened her hold on Chara. "Give up! You've already lost."
Chara stopped struggling and smiled defiantly at Alice. Gathering all of his willpower, he strained for one monumental exertion. With a sound like that of a string of firecrackers, the bonds holding Chara ripped open like a zipper. Chara was free and unbound.
Alice looked shaken as she landed on the ground, examining her own hands. Small trickles of blood ran down her fingers. Chara, clearly unfazed by Alice's prior act of defiance, merely stood and smiled. He brandished his knife menacingly as he slowly walked towards Alice.
"
You've made a terrible mistake in separating me from Marisa. Now-"
Alice, not allowing Chara to finish speaking, sent forth her dolls into a formation surrounding him. Each of the dolls began charging a beam of magic. Chara swung his knife in a large arc, creating a brilliant wave of energy hurtling outwards at massive speed. With that one swing, all of the dolls surrounding him exploded in a brilliant flash of light.
"
-your death is assured."
Marisa could only look on in horror as Chara slowly approached Alice. His murderous intent was visible for all to see. Alice, however, remained stone-faced as she quickly summoned a massive array of dolls, each brandishing lances and mirrored shields. She herself took on the visage of a commander of a mighty army.
Chara threw his knife directly at Alice. Before it could reach Alice, though, one of the dolls intercepted the knife, causing it to embed into the doll's shield before the doll violently exploded.
"
Impressive!" Chara grinned. "
There are few that can actually stop that attack. Lets see how you-"
Alice's doll army advanced on Chara at great speed while the puppeteer lifted off of the ground in a steady hover.
"
Oh, that's just not fair!"
Several dolls approached from either side of Chara, while two more charged in from the front. In unison, all of the dolls converged upon his position, lances bared and shields readied.
Chara smirked before briefly transforming into a glowing ball of energy, dancing between the wave of dolls and Alice. As he rematerialized, knife in hand, he swung his knife in a vertical arc, completely severing all of the threads controlling the dolls. The dolls fell lifelessly to the ground.
As Chara turned to face Alice, he was hit directly by a blinding beam of red light. The ground beneath Chara's feet cracked and deformed under the weight of the blast. His composure remained, though, as he smiled throughout it all. Other than singing his shirt, he was relatively unfazed by the attack.
Alice's eyes widened for a moment as she began to comprehend just what Chara was capable of, before sending several dolls forth to intercept a narrow beam of energy headed towards her. Upon impact, a blinding flash and a deafening crack filled the area.
Dammit!
When the smoke cleared, Chara was nowhere to be found. Alice quickly scanned the area, frantically looking for him, when she spotted Marisa hovering on her broom before her. Alice's look of apprehension was apparent. Chara was in possession of Marisa once more.
"
You are indeed a worthy adversary." Marisa frowned momentarily before replacing it with a grin. "
I cannot hope to defeat you without the ability to fly... So I will use this vessel to her utmost potential!"
Hey, what are her weaknesses?
Not... not Alice.
Bah! You're useless!
Alice raised her hands towards Marisa once more, the illusory threads rapidly advancing upon Marisa's location.
"
No you don't!" Marisa quickly severed the threads before they could reach her. "
I will not fall for that a second time."
Alice winced as she looked at her hands once more, now covered in blood, before giving Marisa a cold stare.
Alice sighed in resignation. "Very well."
Alice spotted one of the knives upon the ground and quickly retrieved it with an ethereal thread. Marisa continued to press the attack, launching wave after wave of beams at the magician, each being intercepted by another doll.
With incredible dexterity, Alice summoned forth a strange red doll and embedded the knife deep within it before muttering an incomprehensible incantation.
She's up to something. What is she doing?
Marisa pulled out her knife and slashed in direction of Alice. The mirrored shields took the brunt of the wave of energy coming towards Alice, but a small amount still hit its mark, leaving visible cuts through the gaps in her defense.
Marisa made to swing a second time...
*Shink* One of the dolls that Marisa had severed Alice's connection with earlier had just landed a swipe on Marisa's back. Marisa quickly backed away from it, destroying the doll with another flick of her wrist.
She's pretty good. Perhaps I underestimated her.
As Marisa turned to face the magician again, she found herself faced with a dozen dolls firing magical bullets towards her.
Marisa made to dodge the onslaught, dancing wildly on her broom between each opening and launching a blast towards the attacking dolls when the opportunity presented itself.
Nine dolls left. Marisa flew high in the sky to avoid a particularly dense barrage.
Seven dolls left. Marisa ducked under a curtain of bullets than narrowly missed her head.
Five dolls left. Marisa found the dolls on all sides of her, firing in a wide spread. Trapped, Marisa shifted into spirit form once more, giving her more room to maneuver and escape her predicament. She bobbed and weaved erratically until she neared one of the dolls. She quickly reverted forms and slashed the nearest doll, detonating it, before simultaneously firing four more lasers at each of the remaining dolls.
"
Gah!" Marisa quickly summoned a barrier immediately after she was hit by a bright red beam of light. Marisa's outfit was singed, but she didn't seem visibly damaged by the attack.
What IS she playing at? Yeah that hurt, but it's not going to stop me and she knows it.
Marisa launched a volley of lasers towards the magician. Alice did not have any dolls prepared to block, so she instead took to dodging the beams and keeping her distance.
Marisa continued to launch beams. Instinctively, as Alice's attention shifted to a spot behind her, she shifted into spiritual form to dodge another doll from behind, detonating it after it harmlessly passed by with her knife.
Without hesitation, Marisa hurled her knife towards Alice. It's aim was true. Alice seemed to be distracted from her failed feint; but before it could connect, Alice placed the red doll, hanging by a noose, between the knife and herself.
"
Ghk!"
Marisa made a gut wrenching sound of agony before doubling over, gasping for breath between clenched teeth.
What happened? I don't feel anything.
M-my own... attack.
Hot damn. Didn't think she could pull off a sympathetic connection in the middle of a fight...
Marisa's eyes burned bright crimson, her voice raspy. "
Hah... hah... hah... You... will pay dearly... for that."
Marisa sloppily muttered an incantation. Her eyes shone even brighter as they took on a yet more sinister air.
Wha... hey! That's my spell! You can't just steal my spells!
Marisa's speed had increased greatly. She took to the sky above Alice and began circling the magician below. She pulled out her Mini-Hakkero and began charging it. While it was charging, with her free hand, she began firing white hot stars to surround her target.
Alice took to dodging the glowing stars while summoning forth more dolls to help defend herself. The pattern of stars wasn't terribly dense, but Marisa's rapidly changing position complicated the maneuver.
A blinding beam of light erupted forth from Marisa's position.
Alice narrowly dodged the beam, but Marisa started to drag it towards her. Beneath the combatants, the Forest was erased wherever the beam hit below, as a massive furrow was carved throughout the woodland. Dense plumes of dust and smoke began to rise up, obscuring sight-lines, as the forest started to blaze. Alice looked shaken as she was forced through the stars to escape the monstrous beam, clipping one of them on the way. Her dolls were not nearly as lucky, destroyed by the dozen from the intense heat.
Then the next beam came. Alice barely managed to avoid it, but lost the last of her dolls in the process. She managed to avoid the stars by quickly heading towards the forest floor, firing a blast of her own at the ground.
As the third beam came, she once more tried to dodge it, but her luck had run out, as in avoiding the beam, she came face to face with one of Marisa's impossibly hot stars. Alice barely managed to put up a magical shield in time, as the backlash spiked her into the ground with great speed.
Marisa glared down at the fractured remains of the Forest of Magic, as Alice shakily clawed her way out of the furrow she had dug in the ground.
Yer... in for it... now.
Hmm? What else can she do?
Answer me!
...no? Then I'll remove this ...distraction.
Marisa began charging the Hakkero, maintaining a close eye on Alice as she stood up on shaky legs, her hands going to the large pouch hanging from her belt.
Whatever her trick is, it'll be irrelevant when she evaporates, along with everything else in this forest!
The blast was immense, soaring forward like an unstoppable engine of destruction. And yet, that unstoppable force, met an immovable object. A massive collision took place, as streams of multicolored light shot outwards in all directions like streamers, before resolving themselves into a single figure.
"The wind cannot overturn a mountain.
Temptation cannot touch the man
Who is awake, strong and humble,
Who masters himself and minds the law!"
Byakuren Hijiri hovered between the two magicians, and while scraped and slightly bloodied, she was not significantly injured.
Her tone was sardonic. "Have you considered that violence might
not be the answer?"
Why must they always interrupt?
"
How are you still breathing?!" Marisa let out a brief growl. "
No matter, the next one will be even stronger."
"Alice, we must prepare to leave to where he cannot follow." Byakuren said just before deflecting another beam sky high with a mighty kick. "I will keep the fallen child preoccupied until you are ready. There is no chance of victory, and only a small window for escape."
"But-"
"This is no time for debate. There will be plenty of time for that later."
Alice nodded in resignation as she retrieved a locked tome and made to retrieve the key concealed within her person.
Byakuren focused her full attention towards Marisa and entered a guarded stance high above the ground.
Marisa shook with tension. "
You are an annoying pest! It's time to end this."
Marisa stowed her Mini Hakkero as she raced towards Byakuren, brandishing her knife. Marisa slashed the air before her, sending forth intense waves of energy at blinding speed... but as fast as they were, they were not fast enough to hit their mark. Byakuren easily dodged them and prepared for Marisa's next attack.
Still advancing, Marisa let loose three more massive swipes. Each one missed as the monk's impressive speed and agility outmaneuvered her.
Alright, you want to do this the hard way? Fine.
Marisa stopped her advance and raised both hands towards Byakuren. A moment later, Marisa was rapidly firing lasers from each hand, fencing in her target. More and more lasers surrounded the monk until she was trapped.
Marisa let slip a grin as she aimed her steadily increasing barrage of beams at Byakuren. Wave after wave of beams hit their mark, but the monk maintained her composure, blocking the brunt of the assault until-
Marisa leapt off her broom and grabbed it with one hand to narrowly avoid her own attack from taking her head clean off. Byakuren had deflected it with a mighty punch.
"I'm ready!" Alice called to Byakuren.
In a flash, Byakuren was beside the young magician, and before Marisa could respond, the two dashed through the terrifyingly brilliant portal that Alice had created.
The portal began to close.
"
Get back here! I'm not finished with you yet!"
What?
Loading...
What's going on?
Girls do their best now and are p͘repar͝ing.̶ ̡Pl͠è҉̧à̢͝s̢̛é͝/̢̀b̸͘e҉g͠o҉̶͝n͜e̢/̷̷̢b̷̛͝ęg̸̕͢o̴̡ǹ̨̛́͘e̷̸̴̢̨ ͭ͂̂͐͘͝w̸̡̢̦̟̰̥͈̯̲͘ǫ̵̷̨͕̜͕͇͟ŗ̨̻͕̥̀͘͟m̵̠̘̙̲̗̖̗̫̲͖̲̲͘͢͟/̶̵̸̧̭̙͎̥̖̤͓̼͖̠͖//̵̛͘u͏̸̷̡̀n̸̨ţ̸̶͢i̧l҉́̕͢͝ t̵͠h̢͏͝èy̴̧ ̸a̵̢r̷͏e͏͏ ͜r͝e͏a̸͝d̛͝y͘͝th̵ey̕ ̀are͡ re͞ády
* File Loaded *
Marisa blinked, dumbfounded.
What the hell?! Explain this to me!
Huh? Explain what? You reset time with that freaky ability of yours. What are ya talkin' about?
Marisa headed to the point where she expected to find Alice... but she wasn't there! The forest remained empty and silent, even as Marisa examined the area in detail.
"
Where did she go?" Marisa scowled. "
She can't possibly know that I'm coming for her."
The maid was one thing, but I swear, if this keeps happening...
"So
you're the one responsible for the deaths of Sakuya and Remilia." A new voice spoke. "That's quite an impressive achievement."
Marisa spun around to face the voice, coming from where she was certain no-one had been a moment before, and was greeted by a beautiful red-haired woman carrying a scythe. The visage virtually screamed 'Grim Reaper', and was undoubtedly Komachi Onozuka, shinigami and right hand of the Yama of Gensokyo.
That's more like it!
