After the ridiculous battle with a huge tank in the Seiryuu Forest, the trio had taken a few more moments to get some more training in at the Crystal. They weren't sure if they really needed it, but while these battles were relatively easy, they figured a few extra fights while they were there to use the Crystal couldn't hurt. If anything, it would just make them that much stronger and ready for what would be awaiting them at the Shrine, in case the mikos were planning on back-stabbing them.

After their training, they began to head back towards the shrine, all three of their minds constantly in motion, thinking about this entire scenario. Something was definitely strange about everything that was happening. The mikos didn't even bother to tell them how these disappearances were happening, or how they were connected to the Red Queen, other than the fact that she doesn't yet exist in their universe. All they'd gotten so far were vague answers and had gotten sent out on some hunt for more of these mysterious crystals that seemed to be completely void of power. What were they really doing with them?

After getting through a hefty number of twists and turns, the trio passed the tablet that head the secret room, headed through the zig-zag tree path, and made it back to one of the first stone bridges they'd encountered in the forest. Right in the middle of the bridge, Tarou stopped, put his hands over on the ledge and looked down to the river. Water was flowing, and the wind was blowing his hair to the side, as well as the steeple of his hat. The other two stopped and joined him, trying to enjoy the breeze, but their minds were being too weighed down.

“Hitoshi, I must speak my mind on this” said Tarou, his concerns getting higher and higher. “I don't think we should give these crystals to the maidens at the shrine.” Hitoshi looked at his magic-using friend and gave him a friendly nod. He, too, shared this thought, but wanted to know more of what Tarou was thinking. “I know you do. I sort of feel the same way about all this. I'll ask anyways, though...why? It isn't as though we have any way to stop all the disappearances.”

Tarou had been collecting and forging together thoughts, both from Umi and from what they'd learned at the Shrine, making his own theories about what might have been going on as he spoke. “The only purpose these crystals can possibly have is to take some sort of power or force out of our world for the intent of sending it into another one; in this case, to the world of their goddess.” The idea sounded plausible. It would make sense. The mikos did tell them they were charging the crystals, and it went along with what they'd heard from Umi about power being taken from their world and sent to another.

Sei clenched onto the stone wall, a few of his knuckles cracking as he looked over towards Tarou, sharing his own thoughts on this, thinking about how the mikos told them the disappearances would come to a halt. “Wait just a minute. Once they have enough charged crystals to revive this bitch, they said there won't be anymore disappearances. At that point, they will have no more need for these crystals.”

Tarou agreed with what Sei was saying, furthering his own theories and his own confusion as he thought aloud, trying to sort all of this out. “Precisely. That could mean that the method of charging these crystals is directly related to the people who have disappeared. I can't say how, exactly, but--...” Hitoshi, understanding what Tarou was saying, tried to say it again, but in a simpler form. “They're taking some sort of power from the people who “disappear” and using it to bring their goddess into this world...”

Hitoshi paused for a moment, thinking about what he just said. Could the maidens actually be hurting the people, in order to bring the Red Queen into this world? If so, how are they hurting them, and are they still alright? They didn't know very much, but Hitoshi's blood was starting to pump, and he wanted answers. “That must be it! When we get back to the shrine, it's time we got some answers, and they'd better have a good explanation for all of this!”

With their newfound drive, they went onward, at a relatively quick pace, getting through the rest of the force, intent on finding on exactly what those mikos were up to, and why the people were disappearing, if disappearing was even the right word for what was going on. For all they knew, they were hurting, kidnapping, or killing the other people for this method of reviving the Red Queen. However, there was only one way to find out for sure. They came around the last corner of the forest and left, taking in a few provisions to build their energy, and headed straight for the shrine entrance.

As they re-entered the Shrine, they could see that the head count of that place had changed. All six of the mikos were turned, looking at that tablet at the back of the room, motionless. Directly in front of the tablet was that purple-robed woman from the top of the mountain, Lady Hosoki. As they approached them, coming to the large mat in the middle of the room, all seven of them turned around, almost in perfect synch with one another.

The trio stood there as Hosoki's purple eyes scanned them and got a smile on her face. “Excellent! You three have enough crystals to hold more than enough power for us to bring forth the Red Queen into this world! Now, if you will just hand them over...” This woman was expecting them to just hand these crystals over, just like that, and the three of them had no intentions of doing that. Not just yet, anyways.

They wanted some answers, and Hitoshi was boiling, ready to get too emotional for his own good, and throw out accusations. He raised his voice as he spoke back to her. “Wait just a minute, Hosoki, or whoever you are. I would like to know just what power you're charging these things with, and who you are acquiring it from!” The grin swiftly left the woman's face and she came back, with a tiny bit of attitude. “My, my...aren't we being a little pushy? Didn't I tell you before? It will all be clear, in time.”

Tarou wasn't helping their emotional problem, at all, by showing more hostility towards these mikos, and the woman who'd claimed she was Lady Hosoki. “You have told us many things, but there is one thing I now know was a lie. You, miss, are not Lady Hosoki.” The woman in front of them responded, confirming their suspicions, with a wide grin on her face, of all things. “It sure took you long enough to figure that out. My name is Masako, and this shrine belongs to me. That old granny on top of the mountain put up quite a fight for someone so old.”

Sei immediately jumped into the conversation, starting to fume at hearing at what this Masako person had done. “What?! You killed her? Why?! What the hell are you trying to accomplish here?” Now, even Masako was losing her patience and starting to get testy. “I've told you enough times already! I'm going to bring the Red Queen into this world, and you three are going to help me! You can start by handing over all those crystals!” The woman was not only testy, but now she was demanding. This situation wasn't heading in a good direction.

Hitoshi didn't make the situation even better, making even more accusations of Masako, trying to act like he knew everything that was going on. “You aren't getting anything from us until you bring back all the people you've kidnapped! They didn't disappear, did they? You drained their life force and sent it to another world!” Masako immediately cooled and calmed herself down for a moment, thinking about what he'd said. “Life force? You're so naïve. You want the truth about this? Fine. I'll tell you.”

She, calmly, started speaking to them about what was really being taken, and why they need to charge these crystals. “The Red Queen's world is sub-atomic. It is much too small to be physically present here. What I'm using isn't life force, as you imagine, but Macroforce. Macroforce is the essence of size!” The woman's grin grew wider as they heard all of this. Tarou, especially, was in disbelief about this. Was it possibly to harness the essence of size? “Such a thing...that ca't be possible!” he said, shocked.

“Oh, it is!” replied Masako, that grin getting wider and wider, making the situation even creepier. For years, I have been collecting your classmates and draining them of their very size. I am able to capture their size energy, or Macroforce, within these crystals!” The three of them were fuming, but Sei was furious with her right now. “What gives you the right to do such a thing...and just what happened to all of them after you did this?”

Masako's grin calmed for a moment, but her explanation didn't get any prettier, or better. “Well, I could just take ALL of their size and shrink them into non-existence. However, I'm a nice person and wouldn't want to do that. I normally leave them with just a drop of size left. After it's done and over with, they're not bigger than ants!” The grim truth was being thrown out to the three of them and it was somewhat hard to even believe. Could those students still be on campus, somewhere, trying to survive down in the grass?

Hitoshi stepped forward again. “You mean...they never left? They've been back at the academy, shrunk and trying to survive? We're not going to let you get away with this any longer!” Hitoshi was tensing up, ready to reach for his weapon, at any time, to do what they all feared doing from the start, starting a fight with the people from the Shrine. Masako had a smug look on her face as she took in his threat. “Oh, we'll see about that. However, you have some crystals that I now require. By tomorrow, half of your academy will have their size in my hands!”

They weren't willing to hand over the crystals. Tarou thought of an idea that would instantly kill any chance this woman had of using the crystals to harm more students. “You're not getting these crystals! I intent to see it that they are all shattered and destroyed!” Tarou had already grabbed his staff, ready to fire off a few spells, at all time, to demolish all of the crystals they held. He had a serious expression on his face. However, so did Masako. “Oh, you're going to give them to me! Let me show you just how feeble your resistance is. Growth power, ACTIVATE!”

Of all the weird things to say, right? Wrong? Masako's claims about “Macroforce” were starting to take effect, and the three of them were in for a very rude awakening. The mikos all cleared the area as a bright and shining light enveloped Masako as she cast a spell on herself. Everything began to change now. The three of them slowly stepped back as they could see Masako changing, and in a very bad way. Bad for them, at least.
Her entire form was glowing and looked like it was changing, and becoming...larger! They could see her booted feet stretching out, covering more of the floor than it had been before, and the ceiling getting closer and closer to the top of her hat. Her grin was growing wider and wider as she grinned down at them, her entire body, clothes and all, towering above them, in the room. She laughed as her growth continued, amazing the three of them. The floor creaked under her movements, as if she were too much for it to take. Her foot moved slightly and they could almost feel a slight movement in the ground.

Her hair was starting to look thicker and thicker to them, as did every ounce of material in her clothing. They could see large seams in her robe as she grew larger and larger. They all clenched their weapons, slightly shaking at the very idea of this. When she'd finally stopped her growth, she tapped her foot, causing a loud thumping in the floor. As they peered up, they realized they were about to be in a fight with someone very, very big. They weren't even as tall as her knee anymore. Clenching their weapons, not willing to give up, they went into battle with this huge woman, known as Masako.