Paradise Lost: Daughter of Gensokyo

by Maziodyne

Chapter 8: A Regular Burglar

Author's Note:

Chapter 8 is finally here! Woo! Though, I haven't necessarily gotten over my writer's block yet: I just managed to finish this while slogging through said writer's block. I've already got an idea for chapter ⑨- cough cough I mean, chapter 9, but it might take some time for me to finish it due to the writer's block.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

I'm staring out the front window of Rainbow Dash's house, looking at nothing in particular. It's still early morning. Rainbow Dash's pet turtle, Tank, is nearby, hovering lazily. I was a bit surprised when I first saw him, but I got over the shock quickly. When I told Rainbow Dash about Reimu's turtle, Genjii, who has the ability to fly naturally, her jealousy was obvious, but I could tell that it was overshadowed by her pride for Tank. I had made a mental note to ask her at some point why she was so fond of Tank. I begin thinking about the past two days. Yesterday was, well, crazy. Literally. The day before that, I met someone who seems to be in a situation similar to mine. His name was Valentine. I find myself wondering if I'll meet Valentine again, as well as if there are any other people like Valentine and I here in Equestria. I jump when a sudden knock at the door interrupts my thoughts. I move to the door, wondering who would be knocking this early. My confusion quickly becomes surprise when I open the door to see Patchouli standing - or rather floating - there. I consider the fact that Patchouli highly dislikes going outside - especially on sunny days like today - and immediately come to the conclusion that she must be here so early for a very urgent reason.

“There's been a burglary at my library,” she says simply, her tone and expression making it clear that she's very angry about it.

I'm taken aback. “Huh? Why would you report that here?”

“Sakuya and the shrine maiden are both in Gensokyo still, and I don't get along with the doll maker very well. Therefore, you are the only Gensokian I can go to for help.”

I consider the implications of what Patchouli just said. I immediately come to the conclusion that Marisa must have 'borrowed' some books. I knew that would happen sooner or later considering the reputation Marisa had back in Gensokyo. “So you want me to get your books back from Marisa?”

“Please.”

I sigh. “Alright. They do belong to you after all.” I make my way to Shanghai, who's napping on the small side table next to the window and nudge her lightly. “Time to wake up.”

Shanghai is awake in a matter of seconds, before she takes her spot on my right shoulder. “Where are we going?”

I grin as I answer in a lighthearted tone, “seems we're going to be resolving an 'incident' today.”

Stepping outside, I notice that Patchouli already left. Shrugging, I decide I'll just get right to finding Marisa. I know that she's already built herself a house in the Everfree Forest, so I decide that going there first would be my best bet.

I reach the forest quickly. After flying through the forest for a few minutes - flight is much faster than walking - I stop as I encounter a familiar - but unexpected - figure, who is facing away from me.

She is somewhat short, with light blue hair and dark blue eyes. She's wearing a short-sleeved, white shirt under a dark blue, shoulder-strap dress. She has white, knee-high socks; simple, brown shoes; a red ribbon around her neck, and a turquoise ribbon in her hair. She has wings on her back made up of large ice crystals. I already know who this is: it's the Ice Fairy, Cirno. Everyone in Gensokyo knows Cirno: she's the strongest Fairy in Gensokyo after all.

“There aren't many Fairies around all of a sudden,” she says. “What's going on?”

Even though her question wasn't directed at me, I still begin to think of how to phrase my answer in a way she would understand. While I'm thinking, I decide to grab her attention first. “Excuse me?”

Cirno turns to look at me. With a thoughtful expression, she says, “you look kind of familiar, but… do I know you?”

Sighing, I answer, “I believe we've met before. Does the name Alexandria sound familiar?”

She thinks for almost a minute, repeating my name to herself before her face lights up with realization and she says, “oh yeah! You're the half-human that's a lot nicer than people think, right?”

“Yes… that's me,” I say, slightly exasperated.

She then seems to remember something. “Why can't I find any other Fairies?”

I think about how to explain the situation to her for a few moments. I decide to just tell it to her straight. “Well, it's because you're not in Gensokyo anymore.”

“Huh?” Cirno says, very confused, “I don't get it. How am I not in Gensokyo anymore?”

“I… don't know how you got here, but I do know that 'here' isn't in Gensokyo,” I answer.

Cirno starts to get very frustrated as she responds, “you aren't making any sense! What do you mean 'here' isn't in Gensokyo!? Is this a riddle!? I hate riddles! I can never understand them!”

I try to calm her down. “It's not a-”

Cirno cuts me off, clearly beyond reasoning with at this point. “You're making fun of me, aren't you!? I, the strongest, will teach you a lesson for making fun of me! I'll cryo-freeze you together with some English beef!!”

With that, Cirno begins to shoot a large amount of ice shards at me. Despite being a Fairy, there are quite a lot of ice shards and they're packed together with surprising density. “Don't worry, you focus on dodging. I'll handle the shooting,” Shanghai reassures me as she begins shooting her small bolts of electricity from my shoulder.

However, I'm caught by surprise when I watch Shanghai's bullets get frozen solid when they come into contact with Cirno's ice bullets. “Shanghai, wait,” I say to her, “your bullets are just getting frozen by Cirno's bullets.”

As Shanghai stops shooting, Cirno laughs. “Of course they are!” Cirno says, matter-of-factly, “there's nothing I, the strongest, can't freeze!”

At this point, I'm beginning to wonder if I've somehow gotten in over my head, but then Cirno draws my attention as she speaks back up. “But you've been dodging all my bullets. I think I'll have to end up using my most powerful attack to finish you off!” I barely have any time to think about what she means before she uses a Spellcard.

Ice Sign「Icicle Fall」

I'm caught completely off guard as a near-literal blizzard of ice shards comes in from the sides. I try to weave between the bullets, but I don't think ahead far enough and find myself walled in.

Pichuuu~n

As the bullets vanish, I find myself surprised by the fact that I lost to a Fairy. Cirno, however, has a beaming smile on her face. “Ha ha ha ha! And that's why you don't mess with the strongest!”

I sigh as I speak to Cirno. “I will admit that you're much stronger than I was expecting.” Cirno's smile widens at this. I continue, “and I'm sorry for confusing you. But I really need to get past, so do you mind if I continue forward?”

Cirno considers what I said for a few moments. Finally, she says, “well… you did apologize, so I guess it's okay.”

I sigh in relief. “Thanks Cirno.” With that, I continue deeper into the forest towards Marisa's house. But I know that Cirno is stuck here in Equestria, and that someone will eventually have to explain that to her. I decide that I'll ask Patchouli to try explaining it to Cirno once I get the books back from Marisa.

It doesn't take long to get to Marisa's house. Once there, I knock on the door.

“Yeah, I'm comin',” Marisa says from inside. After waiting a few moments, the door opens while Marisa says to herself, “strange to have a visitor all the way out here.” She then notices who's outside her door, and a large smile spreads across her face. “Well, if it isn't Alex. You here for a rematch?”

“Actually,” I begin, “I'm here to recover the books that were stolen from Patchouli.”

The smile drops off Marisa's face. “Wha…? She figured that out quickly.” Marisa looks at me as she continues, “I'm guessin' Patchy put you up to this?”

I nod as I say, “the books belong to Patchouli. Her interests just so happen to align with what I believe: stealing is wrong.”

Marisa grins slightly as she answers, “hey, I'm only borrowin' them. Patchy'll live longer than me, so she gets the books back once I kick the bucket.”

I narrow my eyes at Marisa. “It's not borrowing. 'Borrowing' requires that the party being borrowed from gives consent. Patchouli did not give you consent, so it can't be 'borrowing'. You stole the books Marisa. I'd like for you to return them now.”

Marisa frowns at me. After a few moments, her frown is replaced by a large, mischievous smile. “So you are here for a rematch.”

“What?” I say, confused. “I thought I told you I was here to retrieve Patchouli's books.”

Marisa's smile widens as she answers, “yeah, but do you really expect me to give 'em up, just like that?”

Realizing what Marisa is implying, I let out a heavy, exasperated sigh. “I don't know why I didn't see this coming,” I say out loud.

Marisa looks very pleased with herself. “He he! That's right! If you want the books that badly, you'll haffta beat me!” Marisa's expression becomes more mischievous as she adds, “and this time, I won't allow you to win by Timeout.”

Marisa steps outside and closes the door behind her, while I put some distance between us. Marisa turns to me with a grin still plastered on her face. “Also, we're in the middle of nowhere, so there's little risk of collateral damage. So no arena border either.”

With that, Marisa begins to shoot at me. I dodge the admittedly simple pattern. I know that Marisa's trying to wear me out, saving her complex patterns for later. I look at Shanghai and nod. Marisa doesn't know that Shanghai can shoot for me, so she thinks she's got me beat by banning Timeout. But Shanghai and I are going to give her a little surprise.

Shanghai waits a few moments, then suddenly releases a volley of bolts at Marisa. We caught Marisa off guard, just as planned but…

“Whoa!” Marisa exclaims as she barely manages to sidestep the volley. “Well, that's a surprise. You've learned how to shoot and dodge at the same time. Ah well, as long as you can't hit me, that won't help you anyway! But it looks like I'm gonna haffta get serious.” With that, Marisa begins shooting again, using more complex patterns. Shanghai shoots at Marisa in the typical fashion, our element of surprise lost. I give Shanghai a few pointers, such as leading her shots, and using 'bait bullets' to chase Marisa where Shanghai wants her to be.

Shanghai takes my advice and is quick to learn how to use it - at least somewhat - effectively, however Marisa avoids most of Shanghai's bullets anyway due to having more experience. We continue shooting at each other, making little progress towards hitting each other for quite a while.

Eventually, Marisa sighs in exasperation and stops shooting. “This is goin' nowhere,” she says. “I think it's about time I go all in and end this now.” Marisa then pulls out her Mini-Hakkero. She whispers a spell into it and points it at me.

Marisa grins as the Mini-Hakkero charges up. “I've been experimentin', and I've managed to get rid of the guide line. Good luck dodgin' this!” My eyes widen at this. I shake my head and focus on watching the Mini-Hakkero. The glow from inside intensifies as it charges up, and I attempt to use the intensity of the glow to estimate when it will fire. I wait, and then at what I believe to be the last second, I move to the side as quickly as I can, and-

Love Sign「Master Spark」

Pichuuu~n

“What was that for!?”

The beam had barely missed my focus point… but apparently, poor Cirno had been right behind me, and she took the full force of the beam.

“I haven't even done anything to you recently!” Cirno shouts at Marisa, clearly furious. Cirno then rushes Marisa - who is still stunned with surprise - and then whacks the back of Marisa's head while shouting, “you bully!!”

“Ow!”

This causes the Mini-Hakkero to get flung out of Marisa's hand, and it lands at my feet. During the fight, I realized that I would get worn out long before Shanghai would be able to hit Marisa enough times. I decide that retrieving Patchouli's books is my first priority, meaning I need to beat Marisa however I can. With that decision, I pick up the Mini-Hakkero.

At this point, Cirno storms off. Marisa rubs the back of her head. I think quickly, knowing I need to do something with the Mini-Hakkero fast if I'm going to win. I don't know what spell Marisa uses, so I can't just hit her with a Master Spark. Panicking, I just do the first thing that comes to mind: I whisper my generic lightning spell into the Mini-Hakkero, then point it at Marisa.

The front of the Mini-Hakkero begins crackling with electricity, which finally catches Marisa's attention. Her eyes widen as she realizes what I'm holding, but the shock seems to keep her frozen in place. The intensity of the crackling electricity increases quickly. Just when the crackling electricity becomes so intense that I'm expecting the Mini-Hakkero to explode…

Lightning Sign「Mighty Thunderbolt」

A massive - and I mean massive - 2-foot-thick lightning bolt fires from the Mini-Hakkero right at Marisa.

Pichuuu~n

“Ack!” I drop the Mini-Hakkero when it sears my hand, the plants that it lands on smoking due to the heat.

Marisa comes over to me, completely covered by a thin layer of soot. She stops in front of me and stares at me for a moment, then she looks down at the smoking Mini-Hakkero before looking back to me. “Whoa,” is all she says.

After a few moments of silence, she speaks back up. “I don't know if that counts as cheatin'… but that was so awesome, I don't care. You can have the books.” She then enters her house. While I'm standing outside, waiting, I notice that the sun is starting to set. After a few minutes, Marisa comes back outside with a stack of about twelve books and gives them to me. I thank her and begin making my way to the Library of Knowledge.

Once there, I head inside and put the stack of books on the nearest table. Patchouli comes over to me. “That was faster than I was expecting.” She looks at all the book titles before standing up with a surprised expression on her face. “Not only are all the books from today's burglary here, but a few from past burglaries that happened in Gensokyo are here as well. I'm impressed.” I blink in surprise. The lightning bolt from the Mini-Hakkero earlier must have left quite the impression on Marisa. Patchouli speaks again. “I'm in your debt. If there is something you need from me, please ask and I'll accomplish it to the best of my ability.”

Remembering my thoughts from this morning after the encounter with Cirno, I speak up. “Actually, there is something that I'd like to ask of you.” When Patchouli nods, listening, I continue, “this morning, while traveling through the Everfree Forest towards the house that Marisa built for herself there, I encountered Cirno.” Patchouli's eyebrows rise slightly at the mention of Cirno. I continue, “she seemed very confused, and I tried explaining to her that she wasn't in Gensokyo anymore, but I guess the way I put it went over her head. Do you think you could try to get through to her?”

Patchouli sighs. “I did say 'something', which would imply that you could ask anything of me… I'll see what I can do, but considering that it is Cirno, I cannot promise anything.”

“That's fine,” I say, “I'll be happy as long as you can get her to understand that she's not in Gensokyo.”

Patchouli and I say goodbye to each other, then I return home. Rainbow Dash is waiting for me when I get home.

“So, what were you doing all day?” she asks me casually.

I blush slightly when I realize that I'd forgotten to tell her that I was leaving this morning. “Well, Marisa stole some of Patchouli's books, and Patchouli asked me to get them back,” I answer.

Rainbow Dash blinks at me, giving me a funny look before responding. “The way you say that makes it sound like it's no big deal. Stealing is wrong, I'm surprised you're being so dismissive about it.”

“Marisa was always 'borrowing' Patchouli's books back in Gensokyo,” I explain. “I'm more surprised that it took so long for Marisa to get back into the habit.” I chuckle a little before continuing, “I'm going to expect Marisa to 'borrow' from the Library of Knowledge at least once a week from now on.”

Rainbow Dash still looks a little skeptical as she answers, “well, it seems you got the books back just fine.”

I frown. “Actually, I'm way too out of practice. If I didn't get a lucky break like I did, I probably would have lost to Marisa. First thing tomorrow, I'm going to need to start practicing.” I smile again as I walk towards my room. “Anyway, it's late, so I'm heading to bed. Goodnight!”

“Goodnight!”

End of Chapter 8

Comments

[mattchilly]

First things first. Go team ⑨! Second is Marissa ever going to 'borrow' books from Twilight? Even if she doesn't this is another very enjoyable chapter! Can't wait for more.

[Maziodyne]

8201803
I wouldn't be surprised if Marisa does "borrow" books from Twilight. Might do something with that in a later chapter.

But poor Cirno, taking a Master Spark to the face.

[Ripping_Peak_326]

8202100
I wouldn't be surprised if Twilight had some kind of tracking, alarm, or stun spell on all her books. I think Marisa's reaction would be funny when the spell is tripped. Also I would think Patchouli would ask Twilight for help with placing spells on her books once she found out.

[Maziodyne]

8269078
That would make a lot of sense actually. I'll definitely be considering using that idea.