Touhou - Revolution in Retrospect (IC)

[Merilan]

Koakuma led Mokou to the library in relatively short order, humming all along the way. So cheerful and refreshing, compared to the quiet mrrpiness of the rest of the Fairy Maids! She gestured with one hand to go, "Here we are! The Grand Library, Voile! Everyone should just be right inside..."

Within the library, there was a sudden flash -- and Patchouli sensed it at the same time Alice did; a capital-M Magician had just entered the library, somewhere to the east wing. Marisa felt much the same thing, just less precisely -- a big bundle of magic just made its way inside.

The east wing where Nitori was -- she nearly bumped into someone who just appeared in a flash of sparkling lights in front of her! "Oh? What a curious pile of sentient books I've encountered," spoke the other person; she looked... familiar, in a way. Dressed in all white, with black buttons and lace and ribbons befitting that of a grand magician, and a poomfly big white hat with black frills underneath. "I wonder if it will tell me what I need to know?"

[Ascension]

"My library is perfectly well-organized!" Patchouli huffs, her pride wounded by Meiling's comment... and even moreso by the random stacks of books around her reading desk that put the lie to her claim. "(Not that I'd expect you to understand my system)."

Very few indeed would understand Patchouli's cataloguing, as she has found Dewey's Decimals to be woefully inadequate in their coverage of magic tomes, and has developed her own (sometimes improvised) classification plans in response to the outside world's lack, but there truly is a method to it all. She's confident she would be able to locate whatever book might be necessary in a matter of minutes... if only she knew where to look. If she could examine that black crystal, for instance...

"Anyway, it's usually not hard to tell when there are rats scurrying about," she continues to bluster, "They make so much-"

At that very moment, she feels the intruding presence of a powerful Magician.

"...noise... And there's one now."

But who? The usual suspect is standing right in front of her, along with one or two of the other contenders. Who else might be making an unannounced visit?

"Stay here. And keep an eye on the... magpie," she tells the others, with a special glare for the black-white. The last thing she needs is for all of them to go off and get into mischief of their own while she's checking on the latest threat to her library. "I'll investigate this."

She straightens her cap determinedly and sets off toward the east wing, flying at a pace that's fast for someone in her health...

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou nods as she enters the library, walking through even though flying would be faster. After all, catching on fire in the middle of an area full of flammables was just asking to anger a certain asthmatic. Still, the immortal traveled at a brisk pace with her hands in her pockets.

"Hey, I'm looking for a Magician and a witch, I was told they would be here!" Mokou called out. This place was huge, so searching them out might take forever for someone who had no idea how the library was laid out!

[Stelas]

"... honestly, who is it now?" she mutters under her breath; Patchouli suddenly upping her game to defend her territory is broadly expected, but something about it doesn't sit well with the other Magician, who folds her arms as several of her dolls wing down to her from offscreen. "I'm going with you. It doesn't-- exactly seem safe for people to investigate on their own, these days."

So saying, she's glanced to Marisa with one of those come-along-then stares as she lifts up into the air, and begins to pick up speed in a forwards direction. "Besides, I suppose we're responsible for pulling the gate guard away from the gate."

[Luceid]

Poor Nitori, it'd almost behoove Marisa to be a bit of a better guide for her if she weren't beset on all sides by an arms race of excitement (and if the Kappa hadn't invisibly snuck in to help herself to a few volumes). As it is, her makeshift seat bobs gently in the air as its owner makes a show of puffing out her cheeks in mock annoyance. "Oh, no way, you two don't get t'leave me in the dust just 'cause I'm bein' extra polite today! I already let one cool hint slip through my hands!"

With that remark, the magician smacks her broom on the base of the bristles and, still sitting sideways on it, is hurled into the air after Patchouli and Alice. It's not like Marisa doesn't trust Gensokyo's resident doll-based weapons system to handle herself, but it's hard not to leap into action with even the pretense of an invitation dangling. "Besides, uh, it's easier to keep me from pinchin' anything of yours if I'm right here with you two, right?" the would-be witch tries to ask casually, a hand on the brim of her hat.

[banthesun]

"Kappapa-aaaaaargh!"

Being jolted out of her own little world by someone exploding onto the scene was more than enough to shock Nitori, and she dropped the pile of books she was holding as she jumped in surprise. She had a special trick for this kind of situation though...

Optical Camouflage!

...or, more accurately, it would have been her answer, had she not forgotten that she already had it turned on. Instead, the shroud of invisibility faded away, revealing the kappa looking up nervously at the new arrival. Nitori had to think fast!

"Uhhh... Ah, you've seen through my Optical Camouflage! You must have very good eyes! By chance are you a powerful youkai? I only wanted to look at the books!"

[Ascension]

Patchouli makes a show of frowning at her disobedient guests, but... she does feel a little better having backup. The newest visitor feels like a powerful presence, and... Well, given recent events, it seems as if the rules, written and unwritten, that regularly keep the mischief in Gensokyo exciting and entertaining rather than threatening and terrifying aren't as binding as they used to be.

"It's never easy to keep you from 'pinching' things," she mutters, "(Maybe I should chain the books to their shelves...)"

[Merilan]

Swish!

In one fell swoop, the books Nitori's dropped hang in midair, and then rearrange themselves onto a nearby desk in curt, polite fashion as the white-garbed stranger swept forward to steady the kappa. "Oh, there, there," she spoke in a very calm and endearing tone. "I did not mean to startle you, I am sorry."

She stepped back with a chuckle, as she saw Mokou fortunately head down the stairs at the same time Marisa, Alice, Patchouli and no doubt Meiling approach from the centre of the library. They could all see her at once, this stranger...

Well...

To say she's a stranger would be odd, given that her sense of garb was definitely familiar -- a long white dress, draped with a black apron with big laced buttons, and poofed shoulders... and a large witch's hat, coloured white with black trimmings underneath. Yes, she was in many respects An inverse of Marisa Kirisame.

"Good afternoon," she greeted jovially. "I am terribly sorry for bringing myself in uninvited, but, ah, how do I put it..." She put a finger to her lip. "I thought it would make a lovely first impression."

[Ascension]

Patchouli draws herself up short, startled by the newcomer's appearance. Some kind of... Nega-Marisa? What could... Wait!

She extends a frail arm to theoretically halt Marisa's progress, though of course the speedy magician could easily blow right past her regardless. Which is why, after the initial moment of shock, she attempts to explain herself.

"Wait! Don't get too close to her. I've read about something called antimatter in books from the outside world. If matter touches its opposite, both are annhiliated. The principles of magic demand it."

Could that be what happened to Reimu? Might she have encountered some kind of... white-red, philanthropic shrine maiden? And then if they touched...

[CecilHoshino]

While Meiling had been dragged away from her post as Gate Guard, she would redeem that lax by going to meet this new intruder, making sure to keep herself in between this strange new magician and the direct line to Remilia. This white clad magician's amicable demeanor certainly continued to put Meiling on edge.

The stranger's chuckle made Meiling let out a nervous laugh of her own, and she shrugged her shoulders. "I wish you would've asked to be invited. I don't have enough tea set out to accommodate you."

She wasn't quite sure what this woman's angle was...and, while she wasn't one to question Miss Patchouli's methods, she suspected it wasn't some sort of Marisa paradox. "She wouldn't put herself in such a position..." the guardian muses to herself.

[Stelas]

Alice doesn't display even half of Patchouli's composure, her mouth falling open in shock; you can just about hear the 'screech' from every part of her posture, be it in her thoughts suddenly wrenching to a halt or the way she nearly drops out of the air in a confused whirl of air. "--wh-- what kind of cosplay do you call that?!" she accuses, as around her Shanghai and a number of other dolls a-wa-wa-wa-wa around her head and try to maintain formation.

[banthesun]

"Antimatter?"

Nitori's head spun round in an instinctive reaction. She had to show her own knowledge on this topic! Fortunately, this let her notice that her companions had arrived as backup too!

"It doesn't just counter out it's opposite, it creates energy! Absolute energy! If we could harness that we could get free energy almost forever! The benefits would be amazing! Uhh, if it was a controlled reaction that is if not... Uh, Marisa, stay away from her! If they touch, it won't just them that will be annihilated! We all will be!"

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou grins as she hears the others shouting about this inverted doppelgänger in front of her. All this talk of annihilation was getting the immortal a bit excited. It'd been so long since something threatened that scale of danger for her!

"Hey, white-base, what do you go by? Unlike the others here, I'm not super worried about being torn apart by this antimatter stuff. I figure you haven't tried looting everything that isn't nailed down like your lookalike yet, so there's no need to get all shouty, you know? I'm Fujiwara no Mokou." The Hourai Elixir's protection afforded Mokou's devil may care attitude towards this and any other situation. Besides, being too excitable here is likely to lead to a danmaku battle, as most situations in Gensokyo did and the ashen-haired maiden doesn't want to to start lighting the library up with errant shots.

[Luceid]

In a flurry, everyone's shouting about a confusing stream of phenomenon involving antimatter, annihilations, and even Patchouli of all people is trying to physically bar Marisa's path! Toss in a dose of the uneasy, strange feeling that comes from seeing your reflection in a mirror out and about of its own free will... and the magician slams on the brakes. Which isn't as dramatic as it sounds, because she just kind of comes to a halt against the purple-haired magus's outstretched arm with the velocity and impact of a thrown pillow.

The look on Marisa's face says it all, before she can even open her mouth. She looks kind of dumbfounded... did she catch her body-double's suave act, too? It takes time for her to whip up a poker-face of a grin again. "E--eh, y'know, you didn't have to build a cheap replacement. I'd come and hang out anytime you wanted."

It doesn't exactly fall flat, but it's far from her best material. Besides, she has to address her doppelganger, too. Still seated upon the broom, the blonde carefully tips her hat backwards, that the brim might stay well clear of her field of view. "... I feel kinda dizzy just lookin', do I really look like that?"

[Ascension]

Even the velocity and impact of a thrown pillow is enough to bring a wince from Patchouli, and the fragile librarian wonders if she might not ought to reconsider this whole "becoming physically involved with an Incident" notion. Then Marisa's attempt at a quip distracts her from those thoughts, and brings color to her cheeks.

"I didn't build her!" she sputters, "If anyone around here has been building anyone it would've been Alice. Or maybe that Kappa! (Wait, when did that Kappa get here?)"

[Merilan]

The inverse Marisa just shook her head with a casual, nonchallant shrug and a grin. "Oya oya, what's all this talk about exploding?" She clucked her tongue and finger-gunned at Marisa, before saying, "The only thing that'd happen if me and black-white here touched would be sparks flyin'." Wow. Wow!

Done flirting with her other self, she adjusted her hat and leaned back a little, waving. "And, yes, where are my manners? My name is Asarim, an Extra-Ordinary Magician. The breathless kind, at your service." She picked her hat off and bowed a perfect facsimile of 45 degrees.

[Mokou-tan]

With Reimu gone, all kinds of interesting things are starting to happen. Magic rocks, inverted witches and... Wait, a Magician? That means she isn't human. Mokou keeps her smile up, still not wanting to start anything unless needed. The immortal remains in a relatively neutral position with her hands in her pockets, eyes fixed on Asarim.

"So, what brings you to Gensokyo, and more specifically this library, miss Magician? I'm a bit busy, but I figure I have a few minutes to lend a hand if able." As expected of the daughter of an old noble house, using feigned kindness to get information was probably one of the oldest trick out there. Though, to be fair, Mokou is a few centuries out of practice.

[Ascension]

This can't be a coincidence. Or a natural phenomenon.

Patchouli tugs Marisa's sleeve to get her attention, and gives her a serious look.

"Don't touch her," she repeats, despite, or, more truthfully, because of Asarim's assurance that the only explosions that would result would be metaphorical, "But don't let her steal anything either. Remember, if she takes anything, she won't die, so neither one of us will have the chance to get it back."

Warnings given, Patchouli turns her back on both witches, ordinary and extraordinary.

"Give me just a minute."

She flies off into the stacks. She just can't ignore a question like Asarim while she's standing in the middle of her own library...

[Stelas]

"Wh-- what do you mean, I'd build a Marisa?!" Alice stammers as if she's never thought of the idea in her darkest moments, folding her arms and watching in abject confusion as Patchouli suddenly wings off in the opposite direction. "And-- where are you going-- ugh, honestly!" she huffs out as she turns back to Asarim... and to Marisa, her field of view automatically causing her to glance between the two and mentally compare them both. It's... uncanny, she has to admit, but you don't need an intuitive shrine maiden on your side to realize the suspicious timing of it all.

"... I see. It's nice to meet you... though I'm afraid I have to admit that I haven't heard of you," she notes quietly after a long pause - not least to try to centre herself after her outburst, but also to let her gaze bore holes into the girl in white. "Have you been a Magician long? I thought I was aware of everyone around here that had plans of that sort," she adds, with something of a faintly amused smirk in Marisa's direction.

[banthesun]

"Ah, I knew it! She doesn't smell the same as humans! Uh, no offense, I mean!" Nitori's preferences towards humans was clear, but she definitely didn't want to offend this new, potentially very powerful, Marisa.

If she wasn't antimatter, and wasn't human, Nitori didn't have much interest in this new girl, beyond plain old curiosity, so she held back, and let the other girls ask the questions.

[Luceid]

Looks like there's no helping it. Everyone is riding Marisa's ass about staying clear of this strange, inverted version of herself even after she's ground to a halt. Dutifully warned, and Patchouli having fled for the library's stacks, she folds her arms uncomfortably and tries to lean backwards onto thin air. You know, the way someone might recline on a particularly comfy couch. Not only is her doppelganger suave and well-spoken, but is apparently a capital-M Magician to boot.

"Well, I'm stayin' right over here. Patchouli'd throw a fit if some of those sparks went flyin' into the shelves and started a damn fire. Whatcha want with us, anyway?" it isn't unfriendly, but she's also not taking whatever bait Alice is throwing out about her still-mortal status. Someone hasn't had much luck on that front.

For all the ribbing she often doles out, the star-powered magician is absolutely taking Patchouli at her word, here. It's no secret the librarian is probably the brainiest of the lot, and if this really is the kind of thing she shouldn't try to bluff or blast her way out of, then... well...

[Merilan]

"I'll have you know I think I smell divine," Asarim answered in the plain, raising her eyebrows and rubbing her chin with a grin as she stared towards Marisa. "But today? Hmm. And here I was hoping I could just have a casual read of the abjuration section, perhaps skinny dip in the pool...? And I'm shocked that you've never heard of me."

She snapped her fingers, and a quartet of flowers simply blooms from the brim of her hat, before exploding further into an octet of doves. "This Extraordinary Magician of Passion... ah, however is it possible that my name slipped through your beauteous selves?"

[CecilHoshino]

Meiling is...flabbergasted. Asiram is most certainly like an open book, wearing her heart on her sleeve and not bothering to lie (or, at least, lie very convincingly). So, in a way, she's definitely a match to their own Marisa. But, despite her being so plain and open, Meiling can't seem to...read her. Even for a place as magical and full of surprises as Gensokyo, Asiram seems...out of this world. "Huh...it actually happened. The Hakurei Shrine Maiden goes missing, and reality starts turning upside down and going apart at the seams."

Clearing her head, and her throat, Meiling speaks up. "I'm afraid you put us in an awkward position. Even if you seem to know us, this seems to be our first time meeting you."

[banthesun]

"Divine? Oh, sorry my lady! I don't spend much time around gods, so I didn't recognise it! Uh, or celestials either, if that's what you meant." Nitori looked around nervously, and whispered, "Is the librarian back yet, I'm getting nervous..."

[Merilan]

Remilia wound up bobbling by Patchouli's side as she investigated, grumping a little as she glanced towards the poolside where most of the other people gathered. "I don't like it," she complained. "Something's terribly fishy about that Magician. I just know it!"

Well... yes, everyone probably figured that out, Remilia.

[Mokou-tan]

Mokou thinks about how to best approach this situation further. This new Magician had to be from somewhere else, right? If she was, the rules of Gensokyo didn't strictly apply to her and, worse still, Reimu may have disappeared to another world. In that case...

"So, Asarim, where do you live? It'd be really hard to visit you later if I didn't know where to go." The immortal's tone was a bit flirty as she gave her target a little wink. It wasn't too bad an attempt for someone who hadn't had a date in a few centuries.

[Stelas]

The Magician-- well, the other one-- well, the other other one-- can't help but let out a slight 'geh' noise as her face screws up at the flirting, then whirls on one foot to be facing away from the newcomer with her arms solidly folded. She makes something of a show of huffing and puffing, trying to make out like her cheeks aren't aflame. "--just like that, you're suspicious! Since when have an anemic Magician and a vampire that can't cross running water ever had a need for a pool?" she points out, then looks back over one shoulder. "If you were truly used to the place, you'd know that well enough!"

"Besides, if the daughter of the God of Makai hasn't even heard of you..." she does try to keep up her fire, but it's fading fast as she realizes that magical signatures don't lie, rendering her second point kind of pointless and leaving her at rather of a loss as to how to be polite or logical about the whole thing. Oh, sure, lean on the family name when it's convenient for you, Alice, just don't ever call your mom or anything.

[Ascension]

"Not a traditional clone, to be sure," Patchouli mumbles, more or less in reply to Remilia, the curious conundrum helping her to forget that she's supposed to be too flustered to talk to the vampire. "She's not trying to be, or to replace, Marisa... she's more like a... reflection. Hm."

She pulls another volume off the shelf, leaving her teetering under the weight of an impressive stack of books on themes of duality... hot and cold, good and evil, peanut butter and jelly, possibly even something relevant to the situation at hand.

"Um... could you... ah!"

With her own arms about to fail under the strain, she desperately shoves the stack of books in the direction of the Scarlet Devil. Vampires have super-strength, right? That should totally end well.

"...we ought to rejoin the others," she says, and floats off in their direction, conspicuously pretending she didn't just almost bury Remi under an avalanche of paper. Her affected nonchalance might be more effective if she wasn't blushing from embarrassment.

(Not blushing as hard as she would be if she'd heard Asarim's comment about the pool, however. Wow.)

[Merilan]

Remilia certainly has super-strength, that part wasn't the problem ... ... it was the relative size to mass ratio of the tiny vampire to the mass stack of books. "G-gwah! Wait--" and then Remilia took the stack of books in hand, wobbling back and forth with tremendously precarious precision like she were in a comedy skit. Even when the Magician floated away, she was still dizzy-eyedly spinning to go, "Where do I even put theeeeeese--" Crash!

Moments later, a pair of bat wings poke out of the pile, and then a certain Devil's floomphy hat, then Remilia herself, grumbling as she followed -- almost too loyally! -- after Patche. But there's perhaps the barest hint of a smile, like she liked things coming back to near-normalcy for just a moment there.

Koakuma is rearranging books, please wait warmly...

[Luceid]

Everyone is casing Asarim out, in their own way. Methodical, or flustered, testing to see how the strange reflection of the magician might react. For the most part, Marisa seems convinced by now that doom is not exactly imminent. The whole situation is sketchy and a little unnerving, especially to her, but seems to be under some... kind of control.

So, Marisa hovers on down next to Nitori. Maybe out of some kind of need to be reassuring, since Patchouli is missing as she does her beleaguered best to zip back to the gang at large. "Y'know," she begins conversationally, letting Mokou engage Asarim for the time being, "There's room for two on the broom, if you're feelin' nervous with Patchii nosin' around her shelves away from us."

There's a pause. The blonde can't help but steal a glance at Mokou, and not just with her eyes, but with senses beyond the physical. She's getting nervous about that stone shard, and whether it's... doing anything.