Foreword: This story has been cross-posted with the Spacebattles thread I posted there. The updates will not be constant due to Real Life works.

One thing that I have to keep in mind is that 100% approval rating doesn't exist, so I won't try to write a story that can please everyone. I'll write the story and the plot the way I like. The criticism is all right as long as it's within reason. And please, discuss things like a gentleman with no swearing if possible.

Disclaimers: Touhou project and Worms belong to their respective owners.

Synopsis:Taylor Hebert, once again, get locked in her locker as per the classic and overused scene. But unlike other Alternate Power fanfic, she died for real. Now her soul was flung back across space and time to the Land of Demon in an alternate universe far far away, where she accepted a deal for a second chance at life in exchange for eternal servitude under the Goddess of said Demon Land. Now, She has to learn how to become a Perfect and Elegant Maid from her sword-throwing senior while dealing with shenanigans that will befall the land of non-human on regular basis, while looking for some closure of her previous life's death, the problem just has to get said Goddess to agree first.

Maid of the Pandemonium

Chapter 1

[Agreement…]

[Traject…]

[Error… Host cease function…]

[Reconstruction…]

[Error, reconstruction failed…]

[Relocation protocol initiate… Executing…]

The first thing Taylor Hebert noticed when her consciousness returned was the feeling of weightlessness and darkness that surrounded her. No matter how she tried to swing her arms or kick her legs, she felt that she wasn't moving anywhere, or rather, she couldn't feel her appendages at all, which added further to the panic in her mind.

'Where am I? What happened?'

As soon as the questions sprung up, the headache assaulted her as memories flooded back in full, while her intangible mouth opens wide to let out a soundless scream.

…Emma…. Sophia… Madison…

…Betrayal… Bullies… Locker… Smell… Bugs… No Way Out…

"-There, there, let it out… child… do not keep all those feeling bottle up…-"

Her metaphorical eyes couldn't see, her ears couldn't hear, but somehow, the strange, womanly voice registered directly in her mind, which made her shut her mouth in surprise and flailed around futilely for a moment while trying to ask the mysterious voice questions.

"-I wish I could explain more, child, you being here piqued my interest as much as well…-"

Taylor confused by that statement, but before she could inquire further, the voice in her head cut her off, laced with the seriousness that made the content chilled her even more.

"-…To be specific, a soul cannot exist in the physical world without a body, most should've lost their sense of self, disperse into nothingness when left alone this long.-"

"I… died?" The dreaded question came to the forefront of her mind. Which brought the memory of the last moment of her life before 'waking up' here up yet again to hammer it home. Despite not being a religious person, Taylor's gut feeling, for some unexplainable reason, was all but screaming at her that what the voice told her was the truth.

"-Normally, souls that left expired bodies should be taken to proper afterlife jurisdiction, but in your case, it's a bit complicated…-"

"Complicated?" despite the distress of learning that she died, Taylor wondered if incompetency is a defining trait of bureaucracy, as it seems even in afterlife, hell, heaven, or wherever she's going to end up going soon was not so much different than Winslow staffs judging by where this conversation is going.

"-Indeed, your soul has jumped too far away from your home universe, you see. So you kind of do not exactly exist in this part of afterlife registration and left to wander the world, for now.-"

The voice caught Taylor off-guard; she didn't expect that explanation at all. But who could blame her? No religion on Earth Bet ever taught anyone that each alternate world has its afterlife realm after all.

Taylor wondered if that was a good or bad thing; on one hand it seems that she was essentially an illegal immigrant from Earth Bet, landed on some alternate world after she died, so she was flying under the radar of Grim Reaper or Hades or whoever in charge of the afterlife as they didn't know she existed at the moment. But on the other hand, she doubted that they'd be pleased when they eventually noticed her. She wondered what the punishment would be.

The voice, again, detected her thought, and so chimed in "-You're worrying too much, child. Shinigami… I mean Grim Reapers, are busy cleaning up the mortal world at the moment. And they'll have their hands full for a while since my realm isn't strongly connected to them, the only way they'll know of you quickly is I inform the celestials in charge…-"

Taylor couldn't help but noticed some displeasure in the mysterious voice regarding 'souls spilling over' but before she could give it any more thought, the voice continued "-Of course, I'm displeased, but then again, immortals are few and far between, sometimes disaster strikes, but as the world is still quite forgiving, it's not a thing that happens frequently… sorry for my rambling.-"

Taylor recoiled at the voice of displeasure before the voice reassured her "-I'm not angry at you, child, you have no control over where you'll end up after death after all, but now…-"

The voice 'straightened' herself and spoke up more seriously "-We've had enough chitchat; So let's get down to business, child. Since you're not native to this realm nor from the mortal realm of this universe, I can bring you back to life without repercussion from the local celestial.-"

That gave Taylor a pause and commented in her mind "I sense a 'but' here."

"-Perceptive, while I'm intrigued by your home dimension's so-called Parahuman and many things, that's irrelevant here, what is relevant is that you'll become a denizen of my realm, my world, no superheroes or supervillains here, and you also cannot go home again for a long, long time…-"

Before Taylor could voice her complaints, the voice interrupted her "-I knew what you're thinking; I'm separating you from living family that you care about, but not receiving any care back.-" that hurt, but surprise drowned out her anger and fear at the voice taking a peek at her memory, and of course, the voice knows it too and her voice seemed to take on a more gentle tone "-But your body should effectively beyond salvage by now, so I fear that you returning there would only make thing worse, assuming that I can find the exact dimension to return you to before you're snatched up by celestials here.-"

Taylor kind of forgot that alternate dimension were a thing since the discovery of Earth Aleph, and that there were more alternate dimensions than she could shake a stick at if those professors on TV shows were to be believed. Still, she was skeptical that if the owner of this mysterious voice could communicate with souls and resurrect the dead, why could she not find her home? It should be a child's play for being of such power after all.

"-For your information; searching for the dimension your Earth Bet and all its iterations reside in isn't the same power set as bestowing life or creation of new realm, child.-"

And of course, the voice reminded Taylor yet again that she was still inside her mind, or her soul, and hear everything she thought. Though she was surprisingly calm at the implication of the voice's claims. Was it another perk of being dead or having a godlike being inside her head?

"-Goddess, dear child, but that's beside the point.-" the voice that chided her filled with mirth "-Your suspicion does your credits, given what I saw in your memories, but now this's not the time. Another important thing I have to inform you is; if I resurrect you, you'll be bound to my servitude forever. Your soul will be mine, and in return, I shall grant you the chance to live the life you had been deprived of once more.-"

"Why?" Taylor asked "Why are you asking that? Why not simply resurrect me?" 'without my input and forcing me to obey you forever' was the question she left unsaid.

"-You deserve a choice, child…-" The voice replied without hesitation, but with a tinge of sadness as if moved by misery that was Taylor's life "-especially when the only way to help you without backlash coming back to bite both of us down the line is putting you under my servitude as a form of resurrection. That's the least I can do. Tell me when you have make up your mind, child.-"

The voice then went silent, giving her time to think, or so Taylor thought. Thus she began to ponder her options or lack thereof.

Dying and moving on to the afterlife wouldn't even let her see her mother, as they were on different Earth and thus, different afterlife realms from what the voice told her. She'd still be alone… again… until the cycle of death and rebirth took her to wherever the celestials deemed fit for her deeds during her short 15 years life, erasing her memories to create a blank slate, a fresh start. Hey, her family had never been religious didn't mean she never read a Bible or other Holy texts that talked about the cycle of death, rebirth or enlightenment after all.

But another option was to take up the voice's offer and bind herself to the voice's servitude forever, which again, would not let her see her dad or loved ones again, provided that something didn't happen to him while she stuck here, as she didn't know how much time has passed since she died. Months? years? decades?

Steeling herself, Taylor uttered her decision, "I want to live again." When the voice didn't reply, she repeated, "Dying now mean there's nothing left. Even if you cannot return me to Earth Bet, even when your only way of bringing me back to life involves me becoming your slave, I'm still alive and will be able to create new memories, new life."

Taylor paused for a moment, before saying, "And I believe that you're sincere in trying to help me, telling me all the consequences of bringing me back without lying or downplaying it. That… means a lot…" 'a lot better than Winslow staffs' empty promises' she noted in her mind.

The voice stayed silent as if contemplating the response. But finally, before she felt that all this was her mind playing tricks with her, the voice spoke up again "-You put thoughts in your decision, I can respect that. Very well… prepare yourself…-"

Taylor felt like cold winds has wrapped around her (corporeal) body, chilling her. Her mind slowly succumbed to the drowsiness creeping in while the mysterious voice intoned in a language she couldn't understand. Then, a blinding light engulfed her and she knew no more.

Taylor awoke with a gasp. Her lungs felt like they were on fire with the first few rasping breaths she took. Her throat felt raw and dry, preventing her from making any noise. Her limbs felt like they had tons of lead strapped to them and refused to lift. Her eyes filled with tears that made vision blur. And most importantly she felt like her body was on fire!

She didn't know how long she screamed before the pain faded; but once it did, she blinked tear in her eyes away. While she couldn't get up from whatever she was resting upon, at least she could finally see again;

Craning her stiffened neck slightly, Taylor took note of her surroundings; She was in some sort of room made of apparent crystal blue bricks. The room was bereft of any decoration and furniture save for some sort of bed made out of the same material as the wall she was lying on. On it was slowly fading lines of red light etched into the strange pattern that she couldn't discern due to position.

It took Taylor longer still before she could twitch her fingers, one by one, followed by lifting her arms shakily. The pain was completely gone by now, and she felt her strength returning by the minute. And soon, she finally sat up, surveying the place she was in.

The room she was in was as bare as her first saw, save for the strange… tomb-thing she was sitting on and the double door made out of crystalline material that glowed with faint green light behind her providing the light that barely lit up the room. Besides those, there was nothing to clue her in on her whereabouts, not even a piece of paper lying around.

And then Taylor noticed something she overlooked for the past few minutes of consciousness; first was a pair of glasses she wore were absent but didn't diminish her vision in the slightest. It was like whatever happened fixed her eyesight issue as well. Which allowed her to took in the second details from the reflective blue crystal floor when she looked down and saw her reflection;

Gone was her baggy, unassuming dark-colored hoodies and jeans, now she was wearing a black and white frilly maid outfit with sleeves that reached her wrists and skirts that covered half her lower legs. There was also a white frilly maid headband with side tie blue ribbons placed on her head and a metal collar with chain hanging a silvery cross-like object on her neck. And if the warm sensation of her legs didn't lie, then she'd find a pair of bloomers or a pair of rather puffy shorts under her skirt on top of those black leggings that reached her feet as well.

'At least my face and body still roughly the same shape.' She thought as brought her hands to touched various parts of her body and confirmed that she was still the same wide-mouth, rail-thin Taylor Hebert. However, her inspection was interrupted when the glowing door creaked open and the sound of footsteps draws her attention toward it and the newcomer.

"Ah, good, you're awake, just as Milady said you would." The newcomer turned out to be a rather young blonde-haired woman in red and white maid outfit contrasting Taylor's black and white. Her golden eyes fixed on Taylor's form with a calculating look, while her hands clasped over her apron as she approached.

Taylor got on her feet while nervously watching the blonde maid in red scrutinize her. Although the memories of her hell on Earth and useless authority in the past two years still fresh in her mind and subconsciously telling her to get away from here, Taylor tried her hardest to clamped down that thought; she was in an unfamiliar place with no way out except going past the blonde maid. She had no superpower, no equipment to rely upon, and while this place was relatively warm, nothing promise that outside will be the same.

"Miss Hebert, may I hold your hand please?"

Not to mention that this woman was polite and non-threatening. After staring at her golden eyes for a moment, Taylor reluctantly held out her hands and let the woman took it.

Faint blue glow enveloped two of them the instant Taylor's hand was in her grasp. Taylor almost panicked had the woman not whispered at her to calm down. But even then, she couldn't help but ask; "What is this?"

"It's a simple analysis spell, Miss Hebert." The woman replied with even tone, while not taking an eye off her hand.

A moment later she released her hold, while Taylor held her hand up to her eyes level and examined it before asking the woman "You're a healer cape? I mean, parahuman?"

"Cape? Parahuman?" the woman repeated, before shaking her head slightly "I know not what your definition of 'cape' or 'parahuman' means. Though from your tone, I guess it's not about an article of clothing or normal human, correct?" Seeing Taylor nodded, she continued "Then let me assure you that I'm exactly what you see; I'm a maid, serving Milady who resides in this Pandemonium Castle of Makai as its ruler; A position that you'll be sharing with me soon."

'She doesn't know about parahuman? Am I really in another alternate Earth?' Taylor mused inwardly before what the maid said hit her and she sputtered "Wait, what do you mean that I'm a maid?"

The maid arched her eyebrows "Did you not remember what Milady requested in exchange for saving your life?" seeing a confused look on Taylor's face, the maid smiled knowingly and asked; "You thought that was a dream, do you?"

"Eh, well…"

The maid didn't wait; she brought up her hands to stopped Taylor's murmuring and stated calmly, "You should meet with Milady first, so you can get answers directly while avoiding any misunderstanding that may occur."

Taylor opened her mouth as her thoughts came to a halt. Basic instinct, honed by mistrust, told her to escape yet again, and again that she told it to shut up; What was she's going to demand the maid? Release her? Bring her back to her dad? And how? While she was as tall as the maid, there was no way that she could beat this maid, not recognizing the term didn't excuse her from the fact that this maid was a parahuman and knew how to use her power.

"W… why can't you explain it to me?"

Even so, Taylor blurted out before she could control herself, and shrunk under the questioning gaze from the maid as if instinctively preparing for punishment that would never come.

The maid's gaze softened at the sight and replied, "Milady only told me that she agreed to saved you in exchange for your servitude to lessen the burden of mine. She didn't tell anything more, hence bringing you to meet her first."

"I… see…" Taylor replied, feeling emboldened, she asked further "What's your name?"

The maid in red widened her eyes as her head dipped slightly "Oh! How unbecoming of me to forget such basic tact! My name is Yumeko, please to meet you, Miss Hebert."

Her hand shot out again, prompting Taylor to shook it. As their hands released, the now identified Yumeko waved her right arm to the side causing the space to bend before a pair of gleaming silver boots seemingly made of actual silver came into existence out of thin air. She then pointed at Taylor's feet "Put this on, please, so we can get going."

As Taylor sat down "Why didn't you put it on me when I was sleeping?" Seeing the other blinked in confusion, she patted the white apron that was part of her maid uniform for emphasis "I mean, you bothered to put me in this uniform, why not the boots too?"

"Do you sleep with your boots on, Miss Hebert?"

Taylor was stunned for a moment before letting out a sigh and quietly put her new footwear on with Yumeko watching her with a puzzling look.

Once Taylor put her boots which reached as high as her mid-lower legs on, Yumeko silently made her way toward the exit, motioning her right hand as a sign for Taylor to follow her, to which she complied as there was nothing to do anyway.

'At least the boots weren't heavy.' Taylor thought.

The corridor they were in also built with the same blue crystal-like bricks as the room, keeping it alight by green-glowing crystals floating near the ceiling instead of electrical lamps. Taylor briefly wondered what kind of place this was to have such exotic construction materials before she gave up while ascending a stairwell that wouldn't look out of place in the Medieval castle.

'Maybe it's just another Tinker bull… huh!?'

As soon as Taylor was about to file the strangeness of the building she was in as another product of parahuman, she found a window that opened toward the sky filled with glowing red miasma. The dark landscape dotted sparsely with torch lights which probably from inhabitants of this land.

And the most damning evidence that made her theory of being inside some kind of parahuman secret base died in a pit when she poked her head out and looked upward, heedless of Yumeko's surprised at her sudden movement, and saw two glowing stars hanging in the sky in place of what should be the Moon.

Yumeko strode toward Taylor with no rush, seeing that she wasn't about to jump or run away. Once she placed herself next to Taylor and looked at what she was looking, her lips curved into knowing smile "So, I guess that should quench your doubt, Miss Hebert?"

Her words caused Taylor to almost jump in surprise before she nodded at the blonde maid. That caused Yumeko to clapped her hand and asked "Well, with that out of the way, shall we proceed? We shouldn't let Milady wait too long."

With that, the rest of the journey in the castle became a quiet affair; Even when they passed through guards with non-human feature patrolling corridors while holding spears and wearing medieval armor, or tiny girls in maid dresses with translucent butterfly-like wings hauling cleaning equipment passing through.

"Those are fairies." Yumeko chimed in as if she knew what's on Taylor's mind when her green eyes wandered toward another group of 'fairies' that went down the nearby window. "They mostly pretend to do the cleaning anyway. So, the actual works, the critical work, would be done by us after I bring you up to speed."

Yumeko led Taylor to the upper floor, and finally came to a stop next to a massive pair of doors made of stone engraved with strange, glowing symbol not unlike hexagrams that wouldn't look out of place in a fantasy novel, and the weird part of that door was, there was no doorknob anywhere. Given the vibe this place gave her since she showed up here, Taylor wasn't surprised at all when Yumeko simply placed a hand on one of the doors, causing it to glowed briefly before it creaked open to reveal a large hall with red carpet lining at the entrance.

"Like magic fantasy fiction that was written before the age of parahuman…" Taylor murmured.

Yumeko who didn't catch what Taylor said spoke up again "All right, now, Miss Hebert, before we meet Milady, let me say this first," when Taylor turned toward the maid, she continued, "Milady is a kind master, so don't be rude to her. However, she also values honesty, if you have any grievances or complaints to tell, then do so, politely."

The narrowed golden eyes elicited a nod from the raven-haired girl. Satisfied, Yumeko then beckoned her to follow inside.

It was everything to be expected from a throne room in fantasy fictions; a circular hall with a small throne on the dais at the opposite end of the entrance and round meeting table in the middle. There was also a small door behind the throne, likely leading to the study or office of the ruler of this castle which was where Yumeko was leading Taylor.

"The council meeting won't start until the snow season has passed," Yumeko explained as Taylor glanced around the empty throne room while they were making their way across. "Worry not, I'll make sure to train you up to the task before then."

Once they were next to the final door, Yumeko placed her hand on the glowing symbol where the eyehole would be and then spoke; "Milady, I've brought Miss Hebert."

A pause, then a voice familiar to Taylor chimed from the door "-Come in then, Yumeko, you too, Miss Hebert.-"

Without further ado; the door slid up and revealed a cozy office with shelves filled with books and documents on both sides of the walls. The shelves were as high as ceiling a dozen meters up. At the end of said office sat a woman on her desk, seemingly reading something in her hands using the glowing crystal on her desk as a lamp, with the gloomy red miasma-filled sky visible from the glass window behind her.

At the sound of their footsteps, the woman placed her book on the table and stood up before walking, which allowed Taylor to see the woman clearly for the first time; she was, simply put, quite a beautiful young woman, judging by her face which was bereft of any wrinkle. Yet her white hair that ran straight down her back with small beads band-tied ponytail on the left side, and large silver eyes that gazed back at Taylor seemed to contrast to that assumption. Her simple ankle-length red dress with white trim covered her entire body with red shoes barely visible when she stepped forward, further enhanced the mysterious air around her. All in all, she'd fit more in a picture of old wizard or witch than an aspiring young magician, in Taylor's opinion.

Yumeko stood to the side and bowed at the white-haired woman, with Taylor taking a cue from her and bowed as she stopped next to her. And then, the white-haired woman spoke for the first time, with the same voice she heard in her dream.

"My name is Shinki, Miss Hebert. Allow me to welcome you to my realm." She then summoned a chair out of thin air with a snap of her fingers next to Taylor, then gestured at it. "Please take a seat, we have much to discuss, especially the contract you must fulfill."

Looking at the blonde-haired maid; Taylor found her nodded slightly, beckoning her to do as Shinki asked. So, she took the seat reluctantly while the woman in her dream smiled approvingly and returns to her desk…

'Hopefully, I'd make a good first impression for my job interview'