Aftermath

[Clownpiece]

“Think that’s the last of them?” Reimu’s voice rang through the otherwise disturbingly silent forest. She stood tall, almost proud, amongst the many, many mangled darkling corpses that littered the ground around them. While they rampaged, they had been twisted, menacing monsters, but now that death had taken them, they seemed to be little more than warped beasts, burnt and skewered with far too many needles. Though even the warm glow of the early morning daylight didn’t make them seem any less grim. 

“I haven’t heard any more...” Clownpiece answered tiredly, her body aching with new wounds, and her eyes straining against the soft light spilling through the canopy. It wasn’t like that observation helped to any reasonable degree, as her senses were just as normal as the miko’s. Still, it never hurt to have a second opinion. Her response faded away to nothing, dispersing through the trees around, and for a few brief moments, the unnatural silence took hold again.

“Hah, finally,” the shrine maiden sighed, her shoulders slumping and her demeanor becoming casual once again. With a flick of her wrist, the sealing needles in her hand disappeared.

“Um...” The white-clad fairy began hesitantly, eyes scanning nervously over the corpses scattered around her feet.

“What now?” The star-spangled fairy took over, nudging one of the bodies with her foot to make sure it was dead.

“Well I wanna head back to the shrine and relax. But...” she paused for a moment. “I should probably check up on the village. Make sure they’re doing okay.”

“You don’t need our help for that, do you?” Clownpiece asked, making it very obvious she’d rather go home and sleep. Reimu turned to regard the two fairies, one dressed in red, white, and blue, and the other clad in white. For a few moments, she stayed silent, as if deciding whether she should force them to come along.

“Nah,” she finally said, shrugging. “You’d find a way to mess everything up, anyway. Probably by setting something on fire.”

“Come on!” The blonde girl responded indignantly. “Who doesn’t love a good fire?”

“Fires are nice, when it’s not your stuff that’s burning.” Reimu shot back, glaring at the yellow-haired fairy. “Which is the bit you seem to have an issue with.”

“Hmph...” Clownpiece sighed unhappily, detritus crinkling beneath her feet as she slowly lifted her weight off of it and into the air. “See you back at the shrine, then.”

“Sure.” Reimu said simply, also lifting into the air, preparing to fly off in the other direction. “Oh! And if that doctor guy looks fine, send him back to the village. Or carry him. We’re probably gonna need him.”

“Fine!” The hell fairy called back as she took off towards the shrine.

---

A soft, wooden thunk sounded beneath Clownpiece’s feet as she gently touched down on the shrine entrance, almost overshadowed by the welcoming sounds of nature. It was a far cry from the ominous silence that had pervaded the forest in the wake of the darkling attacks. Birds chirped, leaves rustled, and even the wind itself seemed to feel friendlier. It was certainly a welcome change.

A light thump sounded from off to the hell fairy’s side, which she instinctively turned to face, as her brown-haired friend landed next to her. Unable to learn it sooner, due to her being nearly killed by Yuuka, Clownpiece had only learned about the fairy’s name during their fight against the twisted monsters. Liberty Belle was what she called herself, and Clownpiece felt closer to the fairy for knowing it. Old wood creaked beneath the fairies’ light tread as they made their way inside.

“I’m home!” The star-spangled fairy called out as she forced the worn-out door open with a clatter, her voice echoing through the almost empty shrine. Truth be told, she was hoping for a response from the doctor. It’d at least mean she wouldn’t need to deal with him, and could just foist him off on Liberty and make her carry him back to the village. Of course it wasn’t that simple. The old human still lay, unconscious, where they left him, covered by the blanket Reimu had tossed on him before they’d left, and surrounded by dried blood that had yet to be cleaned. Clownpiece sighed tiredly.

“I... I can clean up the blood,” Liberty timidly volunteered after a moment, floor creaking as she stepped towards one of the supply closets.

“Yeah, do that...” The blonde hell fairy said, trailing off. She may have just wanted to sit down and rest, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t dread the boredom that was about to come. “I’ll heal him, I guess.”

[Clownpiece]

A weak groan rose up from the villager lying at Clownpiece’s knees. The hell fairy opened up her eyes and lifted her hands away from his body, a small, hopeful feeling blooming in her chest. He’d been in pretty bad shape ever since he got to the shrine. The only signs of life he’d given off for the longest time had been the occasional blood-filled cough, so things were looking up if he made the sound of his own volition.

“Hi...?” She asked, shifting in place and trying to bring feeling back to her legs. Her question was only met by another weak groan from the doctor, this time couple with a small shake. “You awake yet?” She continued, cautiously prodding him in the side. With a surprising amount of strength despite his near-death experience, the doctor loudly rolled onto his side, away from the fairy. “Is that a yes?”

“...Where...” he mumbled weakly after a few moments. “...Am I?”

“The Hakurei Shrine.” Clownpiece answered unhelpfully.

“...Where...?”

“I don’t know...” she trailed off, thinking. “Somewhere in the middle of the woods?” Her tone was questioning for a moment, before she regained her usual pep. “You got hurt pretty bad when those things invaded. Yuuka brought you here so one of us could fix you up.”

“...Who?” He carefully sat up, dazed confusion slowly leaving his voice.  “What...?”

“You know. Yuuka. The green-haired lady,” the hell fairy said, pushing to her feet. The sensation of a thousand needles danced across her legs as feeling slowly began to return to them. Rather than risk her numb legs giving out beneath her, she lifted into the air, hovering a few inches off the ground, and stretched. “She brought you here, I fixed you up.” Her voice strained as she stretched her back. “Y’know, you’re pretty lucky. I’m surprised Yuuka thought to save you, Since you let us down before. She totally could have let you bleed out in the village.”

“Village...” The doctor mumbled. Clownpiece could almost hear the gears in his head turning. “Wait! What happened!” He slowly turned to face the hellspawn, his lively tone providing an amusing juxtaposition to his sore movements. “I-I remember these.... Things flooding in. What happened?”

“Don’t know,” the fairy answered, floating back a few feet and touching down gently. “Things attacked, people died. We drove ‘em back though, and since Reimu’s still out helping the village and Yuuka and Cirno are tracking down the culprit, there shouldn’t be any more attacks. Nothing to worry about!”

“I have to...” He tried stumbling to his feet, only for his still-tired body to give out and send him sprawling. A suppressed snort escaped Clownpiece as she held back her laughter. “I have to get back...” He took on a defeated tone, still laid out.

“Sure...” she said, still suppressing a giggle as she stepped over to the table where her torch lay and picked it up. With weapon in hand, she concentrated, trying her hand at the same thing she did when fighting Yuuka and the weird dragon guy. A hellish pyre sprang forth from the floorboards, chewing hungrily at the wooden walkway. A white blur flew out of the magical inferno and straight at the nearby wall.

CRACK

Liberty’s head bounced off the wall, quickly followed by the rest of her, and she collapsed in a heap on the ground. Next to her, the infernal pyre fizzled out, leaving only scorched flooring in its wake. 

“...You.... You okay?” Clownpiece asked between giggles, slowly making her way over to her fallen comrade.

“Give me... some... warning...” The brown-haired fairy muttered in a dazed tone, simply lying on the ground in defeat.

“Maybe~” she sang, before leaning down to help Liberty to her feet. “Anyway I’ve got a job for you.”

“Nope! I was having fun!” Her request was shot down before she even had a chance to say it, and without a moment of hesitation, the white clad fairy turned to skip off. Clownpiece grabbed hold of her hand before she could and swept her torch across her eyes in one swift motion. Liberty's gaze seemed to shift as the lunacy, a special blend of pride and energy in this case, took hold.

“Cirno carried an entire person to the village in less than half an hour,” the star-spangled fairy began with a tone that talked up her friend. “Bet you can’t do better.”

“Can too!” The slightly-maddened fairy objected in an unusually indignant voice.

“Prove it.” Clownpiece responded, smug grin plastering her face. Without so much as another word, Liberty pushed past her, roughly hoisted the man over her shoulder with lunatic strength, much to his chagrin, and raced off. She reached the sliding door, and just as Clownpiece was about to offer to open it for her, she lifted one leg up, and promptly kicked it open. Wood splintered with a powerful crack, and the hell fairy’s face fell. Before she knew it, Liberty had taken off into the day, leaving behind Clownpiece, standing ramrod straight and staring slack-jawed at the destroyed shrine door.

It took a few moments for her to fully process what had just transpired. The rusty cogs in her mind slowly kicked into gear, and she soon realized what horrible fate awaited her should Reimu find out about this. She immediately sprang to action, hopping forward with a panicked gait. Fixing a door wouldn’t be that difficult. Right?

[Clownpiece]

Clownpiece wrestled awkwardly with the wooden door, unsteadily hefting it one way, then another, her body trembling with the strain as she desperately tried to jam it back into the frame. No matter how she twisted, turned, and shook the door, as long as it was guided by her panicked hand, it just didn’t fit. There was undoubtedly some rational thought hidden somewhere in the back of her mind, a little voice telling her she could just fix it with omnilium. The very same way she patched up Liberty, or the human doctor. Of course, that logical voice was completely drowned out by the pure panic screaming in her head. There wasn’t time for her to sit down and do it that way. Nevermind that it’d been nearly an hour by now and would have taken half as long had she done it the right way; Reimu could be back any second, and if it wasn’t haphazardly jammed back in place by then-

THOCK

A single, wooden arrow embedded itself in the shrine door, narrowly missing the hell fairy as she twisted erratically out of the way in her panicked daze. A short gust of wind brushed past her cheek, and just like that, instinct kicked in. The little progress she’d made, the single corner of the door back in the frame, was immediately torn asunder as she ripped it right back out. The fairy’s tiny frame wobbled to the side as she spun around, putting the makeshift shield between her and her unknown assailant. Just in time too, as another arrow lodged itself into the wood.

The heat of hell itself welled up inside the fairy, and a third arrow tore a ragged hole in the paper just to her right. Clownpiece ducked down to the side instinctively, peering through the newly-created opening. Her eye scoured the distant forest, and quickly spotted the vague, concealed movements of her attackers. She raised her right hand up, pressing it against the paper door and...

FWOOM

A bright ball of hellfire burned up the washi in an instant, and seared a smoky arc through the sky, igniting all the grass beneath it as it travelled. It crossed over the clearing in an instant, incinerating a hole in the underbrush right where the movement had been. A resounding BOOM shook the foliage, exploding into vibrant, multicolored stars, and fire. Two green-clad bodies, engulfed in infernal flames, were thrown clear of the forest. Both of them hit the ground roughly, and immediately began to furiously roll about, trying their best to extinguish the fire licking at them.

Clownpiece roughly tossed the door to the side and rushed forward, even more panic rising up in her chest as she noticed the beginnings of the forest fire she may just have inadvertently birthed. Suddenly she didn't care all that much about the would-be assassins. If Reimu found about this, then she was dead, no ifs, ands, or buts. She halted in her tracks and, with a quick moment of concentration, called Liberty back. Fire and brimstone flared up in a small pyre, quickly fizzling out and revealing the white-clad fairy, who bore a rather baffled expression.

“Put out the fire!” Clownpiece ordered, already springing forward again. “No time to explain!” Perhaps spurned on by the urgency in the blonde’s voice, Liberty too rushed forward. Desperate, but nonetheless confused. Despite their specialization in burning things down rather than preventing things from burning down, the two managed to get the fire contained in short order. Thankfully, the hell fairy’s fireball hadn’t been overly huge, and thus the conflagration had been confined to a relatively small, easily covered area.

Once they were certain nothing was going to spontaneously re-combust, both fairies doubled over, panting. Not really from strain or the like, just from the sheer relief both of them felt in that moment. They were saved from Reimu’s wrath. For now, at least. Clownpiece straightened back up, casting a glance back over to where she had last seen her two assailants rolling about. Right where they’d been, only charred grass and ash remained. The fairy frowned. It would have been nice to imagine they both got burnt up into nothing, but something told her they’d manage to extinguish the flames and fled.

“Hey, Liberty?” she started, eyes following a faint, ashy path that lead into the woods.

“...Yeah?” her fellow fairy responded tiredly, grass crunching as she lowered herself to a sit.

“Wanna hunt down some humans?” A burning resolve sparked to life in the child’s heart. They'd made a grave mistake assaulting the shrine, and now she was going to show those two hell's way of doing things.

[Clownpiece]

Two vague, green shapes, stained black with ash and soot, stampeded desperately through the undergrowth. Sticks and leaves crunched loudly beneath their feet, all pretense of stealth thrown out the window. Their assassination attempt had failed, their target knew where they were, and all in all, they were in deep shit. The final recourse they had was running for their lives and hoping their pursuers lost track of them in this gigantic forest. With no sign of any chasing footsteps behind them, they had a moment of fleeting hope, thinking that just maybe they’d succeeded in their retreat. What they’d failed to remember in their panic was that the person they’d been hired to kill could fly.

A red, white, and blue blur slammed into first green-clad assassin, and the two forms tumbled together into a sickeningly colorful blur, foliage tearing up beneath their combined momentum. The second assassin let out a garbled shout, combining a swear with his friend’s name as he skipped to a halt. His hand shot to his back, where his bow was holstered, but was swiftly stopped short as a heavy weight slammed against his head. Shockwaves shuddered up Liberty’s legs as her flying kick connected. The would-be killer just collapsed, his body giving out beneath him.

THUNK

From Liberty’s right came a solid, wooden sound as Clownpiece beaned the first assassin upside the head with her torch. Silence fell over the forest, broken only by the quiet, pained groaning of the second assassin, who was slowly getting acclimated to his newfound concussion. The star-spangled fairy slowly rose to her feet, standing over the unconscious body of the first assassin, before quietly stepping over him and towards the slightly-more conscious second.

Vague irritation faintly scratched at the back of the white-clad fairy’s mind as the camouflaged man squirmed groggily. A small urge to step over and kick him while he was down bugged her, lasting for only a few moments before suddenly a fog lifted from her head.

“Um...” she started, eyes timidly hopping between the assassin and her friend.

“Why?” Clownpiece spoke a single word, looming over him as menacingly as a fairy could manage. Rather than give an answer, the man moaned and rolled onto his stomach, trying desperately to crawl away. “Fine, if you don’t want to speak willingly...” A dark tone Liberty had never heard her use before entered the young fae’s voice. She reached down, latching onto the man’s shoulder with her free hand, before flipping him onto his back and straddling him, pinning him to the ground. Her right hand raised to the sky, the lunatic light of her torch glowing even brighter than before.

Liberty instinctively knew she should look away; it had brought nothing but trouble no matter where it was waved, but she found her eyes strangely affixed to it. A powerful want, no, need, to watch that light. The light was beautiful, enchanting. She would give her life to protect that vivid glow.

“Why did you attack us?” the light asked in a gentle, honey-drip tone. She savored the light’s smooth voice. For it to be speaking to her, of all people.

“But I didn’t?” Liberty responded, a dazed note to her voice.

“Oh, should have told you to look away first, sorry,” the light spoke casually, sounding suspiciously like Clownpiece. The flame’s hypnotizing sparkle faded away, and suddenly the fairy pitched forward, planting herself face-first onto the detritus. For a moment, she simply laid there, a strange feeling of emptiness inside her chest, and a much more normal feeling of dirt and leaves clinging to her face. She took in a deep breath, the earthy scent of the forest floor filling her nostrils, before she wriggled her hands beneath her and slowly pushed out of the dirt.

“Let’s try this again~” Clownpiece sang from somewhere above her. With those magic words, suddenly everything came flooding back to mind, and without missing a beat, the dust-covered fairy launched herself forward.

“Bring it baaaack!” Liberty cried as she tackled her friend to the ground.

“What are you-” Clownpiece’s shout was cut short as her back hit the dirt.

“What did you do with iiiit!” She asked vaguely, using all her strength to try and wrestle the blonde to a halt.

“I’ll tell you later!” Clownpiece choked out, wrapping her arms around the maddened fairy and prying her off with ease. “Right now...” She said, rising to her feet, barely keeping her balance as Liberty writhed in her grip. “I’m...” she carefully managed to flip the tantruming fae over in her arms. “Busy!” With one last shout, she unleashed a perfectly executed german suplex on the hapless fairy. Liberty’s vision spun as she was flung up and around, before being expertly dashed head-first against the ground. Stars flitted through the girl’s eyes, and suddenly she found herself tumbling into a limp heap in the detritus. The world spun and raced around her, mashing together in one big green blur with some vague, word-sounding noises in the background. After a solid minute of pure confusion, Liberty’s bearing’s began to return to her, helped in part by a small hand gently slapping her cheek.

“W-what’s....” she slurred, not fully comprehending the world.

“I’ve gotta go help a friend.” A vague, tri-colored figure said. Presumably Clownpiece. “You can sort this assassin business out. I believe in you~”

“W-what? Why?” she mumbled slowly rising to a sit.

“Think about how proud the light will be!” The star-spangled fairy floated back a few meters. A small aching stirred in the girl’s heart. The fog over her head lifted, and suddenly she had a goal. Liberty sprang to her feet, all trace of her earlier daze gone.

“You got it!” she cheered, and for just a moment, she thought she saw Clownpiece’s grin turn cruel.

“Great! Have fun~” she sang, quickly rising up and disappearing into the canopy. With a self-confident smile, the white-clad fairy turned down and looked over the two men at her feet, both still as death. Suddenly she wasn’t sure what to do with them. Even her friend hadn’t gotten them to speak, and she was much stronger. Maybe she could drag one over to the village? Ask them if they knew about this person? That sounded about right. And she was strong enough to carry a person! She’d done it not more than a few hours earlier. She skipped over to what she guessed was the lighter of the two, humming a little tune.

[Clownpiece]

Somewhere in the back of Liberty’s mind, she realized how futile of an effort this was, how dumb of a task this was. Leaves and sticks crunched beneath her feet, two or so steps followed by a noticeable dragging noise, stopping again as she needed to take a break and catch her breath. Her tiny arms felt like jelly at this point, her small frame heaved with deep breaths. A light, burning sensation was slowly beginning to seep into her sore hands, as she grasped onto the black outfit of the still-unconscious assassin she was tasked with dragging back to the village.

It wasn’t fair. Why was she the one who had to drag this half-dead man over to the village? Why couldn’t Clownpiece do it? And where had all that strength she’d known previously gone? The little hell fairy interspersed her thoughts with another few, dragging steps. The forest thicket was impermeable, she couldn’t see far enough, she couldn’t gauge how far she’d traveled, how much longer until she reached the villa.

If she had taken her mind off of complaining and taken more than a moment to actually consider the situation, Liberty probably would have realized that this was a horrible idea. A little girl, her size, her strength, simply showing up in town, dragging a would-be assassin behind her probably wouldn’t be taken too well. Especially if it turned out that they had sent him for some nebulous reason. Like disturbing the peace. Such a thing probably wouldn’t turn out well for her in the least.

Of course, such a feat was far beyond her, so she simply continued on, her legs slowly turning to jelly, her palms slowly being rubbed raw. Time slowly dragged on, her arrhythmic footsteps the only method to tell how long this was taking her. To someone young and impatient like Liberty, it felt like an eternity. It was only through sheer determination that she actually found the will to keep going. She absolutely had to prove to Clownpiece that she could do this. Else she’d never see that wonderful light again.

And finally, that determination paid off. Faintly, in the distance, the white-clad little girl could see a parting in the trees. The orange light of sunset pierced through the summer leaves, and the dying bustle of the villa echoed into the forest. A vibrant grin crossed Liberty’s face; she was so close. The fairy stepped forward enthusiastically, starting up with a renewed vigor now that her task was nearing its end. Or so she thought, at least.

Halfway through her second step, a strong hand grabbed hold of the collar of her dress, right at the back of the neck, and the small girl was wrenched right up into the air. Her weak grip was no match for the sheer strength she was lifted with, and the unconscious assassin slipped from her grip. In an instant, she was fighting and flailing with all her might.

“Put me down!” Liberty yelled between gasping, worn-out breaths, struggling, kicking, and trying to turn. Anything to let her hit or at the very least see her assailant. No such luck, whoever it was, they were holding her out at arm’s length. Her weak hands wrapped around the thick, muscled arm holding her up, trying to pull herself free from it, once again to no avail. They were far stronger than her. For her last resort, the little fairy pushed off their arm, trying to wiggle her head into her dress and slip free. They held her collar far too tightly for that.

“Only you, huh?” A calm, feminine voice sounded off from just behind Liberty, vaguely off to the side. It wasn’t close enough to be the person she was trying to pull herself free from. “I figured more of you would have been indignant over that....”

“Let me go!” The only response from the fairy was petulant demands that she be released, no effort to try and find out what this woman was talking about. Her struggling was swiftly growing weaker and weaker, she’d already worn herself just dragging the unconscious man this far.
“I figured at least the miko would have gotten involved. She seemed like the meddlesome type....” The level voice continued on, a note of disappointment to it, not seeming to notice the fae’s frantic struggles. “Maybe that other fairy, she seemed to be a lot stronger.... Oh well,” she sighed noticeably. “I suppose she’ll do just fine. Proceed as planned.”

A large hand closed over Liberty’s mouth, strange scent on it, and the world went black.

[Clownpiece]

Slowly, the veil of fog seeming to shroud Liberty’s mind lifted away, her consciousness gradually coming back to her. Her small mouth opened as wide as it could go, a sleepy yawn escaping from her as she came to. How long had she been napping? She vaguely wondered past the haze. However long it had been, it wasn’t long enough. Just five more minutes.... Obstinately screwing her eyes shut, she rolled over, hoping to get into a more comfortable position.

Only to immediately smash her head against something. A very loud, very surprised squeak escape her as her forehead bounced off the corner of some obstacle, and in an instant, she was rolling back over. The small girl curled up into a tight ball, clutching at the new bruise on her head. She writhed a little bit, tears welling up in her eyes as she tried to suppress the pain, hoping it’d subside soon. If she hadn’t been awake before, and she sure as hell hadn’t, then she was now.

She whimpered lightly, the stinging in her forehead beginning to fade away far too slowly. Her chest heaved with deep breaths as she continued to brace herself against the pain, trying like hell not to cry. Finally, when it was suppressed enough for her to actually function properly, she cracked open her eyes. Peering through the gap between her arms as she still clutched her head, she tried to get a bearing on her situation. She could see tatami spread in front of her, a low table just above her head. That was all it took for her to jump to her first conclusion.

This wasn’t Clownpiece’s little room below the shrine.

Through the jumbled haze of her mind, vague memories began to surface. Dragging an unconscious man through the forest, a bright, beautiful light, being jumped just before the village....

She’d been abducted! Liberty immediately leaped to her feet, ready to start swinging. Sure, she’d just been lifted and bagged the first time, but this time. She could totally take them on this time, she was ready! Of course, said leap was cut short in an instant as the back of her head absolutely slammed against the table she’d been half-under. White flashed through her vision, the entire table jumping with a loud clatter from the sheer force behind that impact, and just like that the hell fairy hit the ground again, nose first this time.

She curled up into a tight ball with a loud cry of pain, more tears gathering in her eyes. She clutched at her nose, rolling over back and forth, groaning as she tried to get her bearings yet again. A faint, composed laugh drifted to the fairy’s ears over her groans of pain. That must have been the person who grabbed her! Liberty really wanted to roll over, hop to her feet, and give her a piece of her mind. Unfortunately, she was in far too much pain to even think about doing that and was content to simply nurse her wounds on the ground, maybe roll over out from under the table so she didn’t jump up and repeat the process again.

“Having fun?” That same voice from before asked, her tone betraying amusement in spite of her apparent composure. Too busy trying to hold back the tears, Liberty didn’t answer that question, instead slowly rolling her way across the tatami mat until she was certain she was out from under the table.

Eventually, the hurt faded away to bearable levels, and the hell fairy cautiously lifted herself off the ground, rising into a kneel. She moved slowly, deliberately, making absolutely certain she wasn’t about to bash her head against anything else. Finally, Liberty was kneeling upright, and she cracked her eyes open through the pain. She found herself staring at a middle-aged woman dressed in a very regal and floral kimono, with her black hair done up in a fancy bun, kneeling on a cushion across from her. Was this the person who’d grabbed her?

“W-Wait!” Suddenly the white-clad child leaped to her feet, black and red wings fluttering behind her. “Who are you and where am I!” She demanded, hovering an inch off the ground and pointing childishly at the high-class woman. In an instant, a strong hand delivered quite a firm chop to the back of the fairy’s head. More ‘punishment’ and less ‘assault’ but Liberty knew what it meant and immediately fell back to a respectful kneel. The lady simply giggled politely, amused by the little fairy.

“Haruko Shirogane,” she introduced herself with a level tone and a light bow. “I brought you here, into my home, due to some rather pressing concerns.... Presumably, you are aware of the assassins sent to kill you, considering we found you dragging one into town?”

“Wait you were the one who sent them!?” Liberty’s voice rose to nearly a shout in her excitement, though she stayed planted in her seat, shifting a bit.

“Unruly little...” a gruff voice sounded from behind her, floor creaking as whoever had disciplined her last took a step forward. That was immediately stopped as Lady Shirogane casually lifted up a hand, an unspoken signal to stop.

“No, else you’d already be dead.” Though she spoke calmly, there was subtle threat hidden in her voice. “Admittedly I was aware of them, thanks to various... sources, but they are from a neighboring village, not here.” Liberty fidgeted, looking like she was about ready to leap to her feet, but was swiftly interrupted by the Lady. “And no, before you ask, there was nothing we could do ahead of time. I’m assuming they attacked that... shrine of yours?” She enquired, her brown eyes peering closely at the fairy. Pouting at the fact that she was being kept quiet, Liberty simply fidgeted and nodded.

“I figured. According to your Miko friend. Reimu Hakurei?” Shirogane asked, making sure she got the name right. The hell fairy nodded again, still staying petulantly silent. “According to her, that shrine was conjured up no more than a few days ago. We haven’t been able to visit it nor work out a walkable path. I’m sure you’re aware there’s a lot of forest to cover, and walking through is not nearly as fast as flying. There was nothing we could have done.”

Liberty continued shifting awkwardly, trying to keep her legs from going numb, and not entirely satisfied with her answer.
“Anyway, moving onto the crux of the matter. I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought you here....”

“Yes?” The hell fairy finally broke her silence now that something actually intriguing was brought up. It had escaped her mind for a little bit, but now that Lady Shirogane brought it up, she remembered her question.

“I have an important task that can only be completed by someone not related to the village.” Her composed face cracked into an almost smug grin. “It would involve burning something down. Are you interested?”

In an instant, Liberty’s eyes lit up, she leaned forward eagerly, all pretense of being angry gone.

“I’ll take that as a yes~” the Lady chuckled softly. “I’ll assume you don’t want the nitty-gritty of it, so here’s all you need to know....”

The hell fairy leaned towards Shirogane excitedly, almost crawling forward on her hands and knees, enthusiastically nodding along to every instruction she was given....

[Clownpiece]

A cute giggle cut through the forest, soft, nearly silent, barely audible over the rustling of leaves and the chirping of birds. Twigs snapped and foliage whispered as it was brushed aside. A dirty, white dress and large black and red wings could easily be made out through the thick underbrush, the hell fairy wasn’t exactly sneaky in the slightest. Of course, she didn’t actually need to be all that stealthy. Even if the people she was stalking saw her, they wouldn’t assume that it was actually a big deal. After all, she was just a simple, mischievous fairy, following some pranking targets until she had a chance to strike. 

Liberty’s wings fluttered excitedly, even if that didn’t actually do anything for her ability to fly or generally move. Her heart pounded, she felt just like one of the heroes in her favorite plays. It was exciting to play the part of the scrappy young hellspawn, trying to take on the supposedly undefeatable army of demon-slayers! Despite how serious the matter probably was, the little fairy couldn’t help but see it through a childish lense.

Up ahead, she could faintly see her targets. A procession of rival humans, from another village, according to Lady Shirogane. In the midst of a group was a cart covered by a tarp of some sort, being slowly drawn through the difficult terrain by a horse. While the woodland around here wasn’t nearly as dense as closer to the shrine, they were still having a difficult time traversing it. But if they were carrying supplies, it may have been the only option. One man sat atop his seat on the cart, occasionally flicking and pulling the reins of his brown steed. Surrounding those vital supplies were six soldiers clad in a metal armor she’d never seen before, not Greek, Roman, nor Japanese, three on each side. Each carried a spear in their hands, had a sword strapped to their left hip, a quiver on their left, and a bow on their back. They were very well prepared.

Liberty crept closer through the underbrush just as unsubtly as ever, trailing them from behind. Despite how loud she was being, for someone trying to be sneaky, they didn’t seem to notice her. Perhaps it was the squeaky wheel of the cart doing it. Or maybe they did hear her and just didn’t think she was a threat? The hell fairy pouted. She’d show them who wasn’t a threat....

In about an hour, when they actually reached their destination. Wherever that actually was.... The distinct crinkling of paper could be heard as Liberty retrieved a parchment from within her dress; the orders that the Lady had provided her. She peered closely at it again, reading ever so slowly. Apparently a camp of some sort? Lady Shirogane had mentioned that they were gearing up for an attack? Something about the darklings that her and Clownpiece may or may not have attracted. She didn’t really understand all the details....

Voices cut through the sparse trees, drawing the fairy’s attention back away from her instructions. In her distraction, the caravan had managed to sneak away from her, but she could still tell vaguely where they were. They must have found the camp! Liberty shoved the paper back into her pocket, working her hands under her, ready to leap back up, run over and find them again. She hadn’t even managed to push herself off the ground when she felt someone grab hold of the back of her collar and wrench her up into the air yet again.

“Stooop! You’re gonna stretch the collaaaar!” This time the fairy’s complaints were much milder, her struggling rather half-hearted. She could already tell she wouldn’t be able to escape. Nevertheless, she at least put up a token effort, small hands shooting up to grab hold of the wrist that had lifted her up. They closed around an arm smaller than she’d expected, but armored about the same. She couldn’t feel any skin, only the cold metal of her assailant’s gauntlets.

“I’ve captured her!” Another feminine voice called back into the forest, casual, as though this was business as usual. The only response back she got was a generic acknowledgment, it seemed they were confident she could handle it. Once that brief conversation was over, whoever was holding her turned her attention back to the fairy. “Who sent you?” Her voice was stern, rough, straight to the point. Once she was certain that Liberty was done struggling, she swung her off to the side, turning her enough that she could look her in the eyes. The small, brown-haired child hesitantly turned her head to face her, seeming to curl up a bit as she did so. This lady was too intense....

“Er, um... Sh-Shi-” Suddenly Liberty clapped her hands over her mouth, brown eyes going wide. No! She wasn’t supposed to give a name! Not even to this very scary woman! Her eyes flicked over her assailant. She wore the same armor all the rest of them had, virtually indistinguishable, and she couldn’t see her face for the helmet. Though her sword was different, it was longer, more curved....

“Shi?” The swordswoman asked sternly, shaking the little fairy as though that would make an answer drop out of her pockets. “Who’s this ‘Shi?’”

“N-Not Shi! L-Lady, um....” Liberty couldn’t help but stutter nervously as she was rattled around. “M-Miss Reimu!” She came up with the best lie she could on the spot. Surely the miko wouldn’t mind. And if she did, well, she could handle it, right? The shaking stopped immediately.

“Reimu?” There was some subtle shift to her voice that the fairy could hear, but couldn’t tell what it meant. “Hakurei?”

“Y-Yes?” The little girl shifted timidly in her grasp.

“The Hakurei maiden sent you?” She said slowly, almost in a whisper, as though she didn’t want the others to hear her question.

“S-She did...” Liberty lied, curling up in a little ball in the air, trying to hide from the interrogation.

“Why?”

“Sh-She lives o-over there...” The fervor of her captor’s questions started to get to the little fairy, tears starting to well up in her eyes. “B-By the t-town you’re about to attack.” Her assailant suddenly fell deadly still, an eerie silence falling over the two. They both stayed there like that for a solid few seconds, before a heavy sigh escaped the armored swordswoman.

“Just my luck...” She mumbled, her grip on Liberty easing up until the fairy fell out of her grasp. Black and red wings fluttered, and the fairy caught herself midair. Righting herself until she faced her supposed enemy, she stared into the empty eye-holes in her helmet, all of her bravado suddenly returning. She straightened her back up, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Yeah, you better release me! I’m Clownpiece’s strongest ally! You don’t know who you’re messing with!” The little fairy spat useless threats, stupidly confident in the face of a foe who had just manhandled her.

“I do not have time for your silliness, fairy.” The soldier’s voice was, as usual, completely unamused. “Tell me, what is your goal?”

“Burn down the camp!” Liberty stated boldly, floating tall, almost looking down her nose at her interrogator. “That should disrupt your plans, according to Shi-, er... Miss Reimu.”

“I see....” She said slowly. Thanks to her helmet, the fairy couldn’t see her expression. “What is my name?”

At that question, the small girl simply stared blankly. A deep, heaving sigh escaped the swordswoman. Her free hand reached up, and she pried her helmet free, easing her head out of it and revealing a deep purple hair, long, but tied up to fit inside the helmet. She stared with a completely serious expression on her face.

“Tell me, what is my name?” She almost demanded. “And, failing that, tell me what your instructions say.”

“Um.....” Liberty quite obviously didn’t have an answer to that. Immediately, she started digging into her dress, digging around for the paper that held her orders on it. Her small hand darted out of her white outfit, and she unfolded a crumpled piece of parchment. Her brown eyes narrowed as she peered closely at it, reading it as quickly as her fairy brain could decipher. Every now and then, her eyes hopped up to look at the face of the purple-haired soldier, then back down to her orders. “Uh.... Don’t know?” It took a solid minute, but the little fairy finally admitted that she hadn’t the faintest clue who this woman was.

In an instant, the paper was ripped free from her hands. Fortunately, no tears appeared on it, and the soldier peered closely at it, making sure that what the fairy said was exactly correct. The ever-present frown on her face deepened and she squinted, leaning slightly closer. That wasn’t the gaze of someone having trouble reading, but rather one of someone who didn’t entirely believe it. Finally, she shoved the paper back into Liberty’s hands.

“Well, it seems you are not lying.” The swordswoman said gruffly. “I am not mentioned anywhere on there, nor is any other name. So you at least know of the Hakurei maiden.”

“Yeah! I do!” Liberty exclaimed boldly, fluttering in place. “In fact, I even live with her!”

“Is that so?” A small smirk appeared on her face. “Well, I may just have use for you then. I’m willing to cut a deal with you, fairy. How about it?”

“Hey! Is everything alright over there?” Suddenly one of the soldier’s from earlier yelled into the forest, interrupting their conversation for just a moment.

“It’s just a fairy!” The swordswoman called back. “I’m convincing her to leave us well alone!”

“Okay! I trust you’ve got it all under control!” His voice petered off, silence returning to the two.

“Now then, where were we?” She turned back towards the fairy.

“Something about a deal?” Liberty continued to speak boldly.

“Yes, that...” The soldier stared at Liberty with a completely stoic, no-nonsense expression. “My name is Meira. For the past year or so, I’ve made my home at the castle called Aldwood, just over yonder.” She nodded her head in the opposite direction of the shrine as she said so. “You said that the Hakurei Maiden lived down towards the villa over yon?”

“Yup!”

“And you need to stop this attack by any means necessary?” The woman she now knew as Meira asked, staring closely. “According to your note, it was ‘burning it all down?’”

“That’s right!” Liberty announced without a care in the world. At that, Meira’s head fell a bit, a look of deep concentration crossing her face. Even a slight hum escaped her. Eventually, she lifted it up again, her deep purple eyes meeting the fairy’s brown ones.

“Do you know any long-ranged fire spells?” She asked.

“I do! I’ve got a super strong one I learned from the strongest fairy in hell!” The hell fairy seemed excited as she gushed about it, lowering from her haughty position floating just a bit above Meira, down a bit closer to the ground. “It’ll make quick work of any dumb old camp!”

“I will permit you one attack,” Meira emphasized the number, leaning closer, a very intimidating look crossing her face. Her voice dropped, probably so none of her comrades would hear her. “And it must not be towards anyone in the camp. Got it?”

“Ah... Got it!” Liberty didn’t really know what was going on, but she was going to seize this opportunity. One attack, just don’t hit anyone.

“One good hit should be enough to disrupt the attack.” The swordswoman stated, eying her seriously. “Afterwards, I should be able to... talk them out of initiating another one....” Her words were surprisingly ominous for one so serious. The little fairy simply nodded along eagerly, a menacing, if childish giggle rising up from behind her lips. This was it, this had been the moment she’d been so positively giddy for, after all....

"One last thing." Meira stopped her before either could walk off. "Your name?"

"Oh, um... Liberty Belle." The fairy answered, caught off guard by the question.

"A pleasure, Miss Belle." The swordswoman bowed politely, rising back up to face Liberty again. "I hope we get along in the future."

[Clownpiece]

Honestly?

Liberty had to admit she was more than a little bit disappointed. When she’d been thrust out on this mission, she figured it would have been full of fire and carnage! Death and destruction! She was the heroic little hellspawn, wasn’t she? Wasn’t she supposed to be the one single-handedly routing the human army and saving the day? Yet here she was, allowed no more than a single attack by one of the enemy generals apparently.

The purple-haired soldier that had apparently given her permission to hit once had already left, donning her helmet before returning to the camp she’d hailed from and leaving the little fairy to her own devices. Her voice echoed through the forest as she called back to her comrades, their boisterous cheers emanating from the camp. Now that Liberty actually had a moment to think about it, now that there wasn’t a scary lady all up in her face, why did the soldier think she’d just do as she said?

Well, whatever the reason was, she wasn’t going to! She was going to lay waste to that camp just like Lady Shirogane ordered! First things first, open with her strongest attack! Liberty took to the sky, white-clad figure quickly zipping through the trees. The voices quickly drew nearer and nearer, the dense woodland quickly becoming sparser and sparser. The impenetrable greens and browns gave away, revealing small cracks of silvers and whites, the color of tents and armor.

As soon as there was room for a Shooting Star, Liberty hit the ground, bare feet digging into the detritus as she skidded to a halt, bracing herself and holding her arm out. Aiming for the first big thing she saw, the little fairy began to conjure up the fires of hell itself. One great attack! No one left standing!

A brilliant conflagration exploded out from the brunette child’s palm, a beautiful, shimmering orange display that burned its way through the forest, igniting bark and leaves as it passed by. In an instant, the air was laden with the burning scent of smoke and brimstone, and was disturbed not a moment later by a tremendous bang. Screams and curses filled up the forest as the soldiers were all thrown into a panic. Music to a sadistic fairy’s ears....

Giggling cutely, the psychopathic little girl hurled herself forward, quickly flying and weaving through the last remaining stretch of forest between her and her goal. The infernal flames of hell began to well up in palm of her hands. She was going to show them all the true meaning of hell on earth! A white blur shot into the camp, almost unnoticed amidst all the panicking soldiers, desperate to get the fires quenched.

Almost.

She hadn’t even managed to get out the smallest lick of flame before a flash of silver and purple rocketed forward and intercepted her. A harsh, blunt pain erupted in the fairy’s throat before she’d even realized what was going on, quickly followed by a solid whack to the head. Her light body flew backward, her world spinning, her neck burning and bruising. A solid hit knocked all the breath right of her lungs as hit the ground. Hard. Blackness crept along the edges of her vision and, slowly, shakily, she sucked in another breath. Her throat burned, her head ached, and her muscles refused to move. An instant defeat.

Her tiny frame shook as she tried to force her arms under her chest, trying to push herself back to her feet. Black and red butterfly wings trembled, but still, the little girl couldn’t lift herself in the air. Nor did she want to, anymore. The cold steel of a sword pressed against the back of her neck, bringing with it a light, stinging pain. She couldn’t even think about moving anymore....

Voices rang in Liberty’s ear, but in her daze, she couldn’t tell what they were saying. Everything came out as a garbled mess. With all the blackness seeping into her vision, all the burning in her throat, she could feel her consciousness threatening to vanish, but somehow she managed to stay awake, though not quite lucid. 

She hardly noticed as she was wrenched to her feet by a sturdy hand. When rough ropes were tied around her hands and feet, she hardly batted an eye. Even as a bag was thrown over her head and she felt herself roughly lifted into the air, she didn’t seem to react. That had been one hell of a hit she took. It wasn’t until she had been unceremoniously tossed into a cart, which nearly immediately began jostling beneath her, that the consciousness she had so desperately been holding onto gave out.