Chapter 1
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Many women would be nervous about approaching an unknown man, especially in the middle of the woods with nobody else around. I was not. If he had harmful intentions, he would find that targeting me was a mistake. But the middle-aged man I was approaching did not, I belived, have harmful intentions.

"Good day to you," the man said as we met on the trail, him on the way out and myself on the way in. "Visiting the shrine, I take it."

"I am. I assume you've done the same thing."

"I have," he said. "I like to come here every couple of weeks or so. It's… relaxing, being out here. Away from the big cities."

"Understandable," I said. "I've never been comfortable in the cities, myself."

"Many people feel that way. But there's more to it for me, I think. The mikos… well, I've always felt like they still have something most people have lost. A… connection with the world around them, perhaps. A lot of them haven't 'modernized' to nearly the same extent as much of the world. And they still live among nature. And they also have a certain… spirituality, I think. A sense of the greatness of the universe unimpeded by the 'faith' that causes so much trouble."

"I think the world could use more faith, actually."

The man laughed. "We've got too much faith as it is. Religion is the greatest cause of human violence. It's been that way all throughout history."

"That is not what I mean by faith," I said. "I am not talking about belief in some almighty god-an idea that's always seemed ridiculous to me, anyways. I've always favored a so-called 'polytheistic' view myself. But even then, I am not talking about believing in gods. I'm talking about confidence, about trust. To have faith in someone is to trust them completely. But more important is having faith in yourself."

"I don't know if I'd call that 'faith', but whatever you call it, you may be right. Although confidence can be… problematic."

"Not proper confidence. Overconfidence, absolute self-assurance, those can be bad, but true, actual confidence is not."

"I suppose not," the man said. "Well, I won't keep you any longer. It was nice meeting you." He started away, then turned back to me. "I never got your name, did I? I'm Junpei Usami. May I have your name?"

"Call me Orphan."

I awoke in the middle of the woods. My clothing was ripped and torn in many places, my body was beaten, and I was in pain. But most important is the fact that when I awoke, I had no memory.

That was five years ago, and it remains the oldest memory I have. I've had no memory loss since then, but everything before is a total blank. I don't know who I am. I don't know where I lived. I don't know how I've lived. I don't know my name. Finding myself a girl with no past, I took the name Orphan.

On that day five years ago, I was found by a group of campers. They offered to let me come with them, but I declined. The pain had faded by then, and what true injuries I'd had were healing rapidly, healing at a rate that I now know is much faster than normal-although I am hardly 'normal'. Anyways, I thanked them for their offer, but I declined it and left on my own. I had no need for the trappings of 'civilization'; what little I need, I get from the land.

I actually ran into one of those campers a few days ago. He did indeed recognize me, and told me I'd become a 'fine-looking young woman'-which, even if it's true, does not concern me. Anyways, I wasn't surprised that the man recognized me even though we'd only met that one time. By now, I've gotten used to people remembering me. Even people who only caught sight of me for an instant tend to recognize me. I think it's the hat.

I was wearing the hat when I woke up in the woods five years ago; it was the only thing I was wearing that wasn't damaged in some way. Whenever I think about it, I get the sense that it's… important to me, that it means something to me. I think it was a gift, something I was given by someone I was close to. Some part of me remembers that it's important to me. And the hat is not the only thing from which I've felt vague remnants of memories. I have a similar, though different, feeling in regards to the power I have.

I am the only one who knows of my power. The campers saw minor examples of it, and did not recognize that I was actually doing anything. But from that, I realized that such abilities are not 'normal'. And experiences since then only served to confirm this. There may be others in the world with such powers, but if so, they keep their powers as secret as I keep mine.

Living in the wilderness, I had very little worry of people stumbling upon me-and if they did, I could feel them coming, feel them walking upon the land. Even if someone did come, I would know they were coming. Such solitude didn't really bother me; besides, it did have its advantages. I was able to use my power without worry that someone would see me doing so. I would know someone was coming well before they could get close enough to witness it.

I felt that exploring my power, mastering it, might give me some clue as to who I am. So I did so. And although such powers are unknown to 'normal' humans, there was something in human society that aided me in doing so. The practice of what is known as 'martial arts' is well-known throughout the world, but it is commonly misunderstood. Popular culture often portrays it as merely methods of unarmed combat, but there is much, much more to it than that-although I won't deny that the combat techniques are useful to know, but I'll get into that later. Anyways, what drew my attention to the martial arts was the emphasis on self-discipline.

I don't know if I can explain this is a manner that 'normal' humans can understand; what I did in pursuit of the mastery of my power, and in fact much related to my power, is completely outside of 'normal' human understanding. It did, I can say, involve going deep within myself, although what I mean by that is undoubtedly lost on 'normal' humans. Anyways, that is where the self-discipline comes in. I could not have succeeded without it.

Although I was able to develop and master my abilities, it became clear as I progressed that doing so was not likely to aid me in figuring out who I am. I did not let this stop me from achieving mastery of my power, but as I went along, I became increasingly certain that although I did have power before, the power I had then is different from the power I have now. I don't know why such a thing would be true-although I would assume it's related to whatever happened to me- but I am certain of it.

At this point, you are most likely wondering what power I have. I don't know what power I had before, but as for the power I have now, well, I am… attuned to the energies of the world, of the land and the sea. To what many 'normal' humans would call 'energies of nature', although the level of inaccuracy of that description is high. Anyways, I am able to harness and control these energies. Popular culture might call my abilities 'earth-based' or 'nature-based', but again, although such terms have basic levels of accuracy, they are by no means true descriptions. But I do not know how to describe it any better, and what I've said should give you a sufficient idea of my abilities. I am also capable of flight, which doesn't seem to fit with the other abilities, but it also does not give me the sense of difference the rest of my power does, so it may be an ability carried over from my forgotten past.. Anyways, that describes my power as well as I think I can do so, so let's move on.

I said earlier that I would get back to the martial arts training. In many countries, most, if not all, martial arts are lumped together under the name 'karate'. However, the school I studied in, Robukai, actually is a school of karate. I don't know about other schools, but the instruction I received in the Robukai school included both unarmed and armed training. The weapon I trained with is called a bo, which is essentially just a simple pole; we used wooden ones in training, but the one I have for myself is different. It may not even be correct to say I have it, for it is with me only when I need it; I form it from the energies of the earth.

What I learned as a student of Robukai taught me how to fight in the manner of normal humans, but as you already know, I am not 'normal'. The techniques are still effective, I think; they are simply meant for normal human limits, which I do not share. I am faster, stronger, quicker to react, more flexible, and more resilient than normal humans. Thus, I have expanded on my instruction on my own time, adapting what I learned to my own limits. Being able to fight in that manner, both under human limits and my actual limits, is a useful skill, but the training, as mentioned before, was also about discipline.

Anyways, mastering my powers failed to provide any clues as to who I am, but I was not without another direction to go in. The world felt… wrong to me. Powers of any kind seemed completely absent from the world, that and everything else termed 'magical' relegated to fiction. This was something that always gave me a sense of… well, as though something was wrong, as though the world I used to know was different, was… separate. As though the things humans said didn't exist simply didn't exist in the world they knew, but in… well, another world. So I began examining the myths, the legends. I am currently traveling the country, seeking out places that seem to have connections with legends of other worlds. The shrine that is my current destination is one of them. I do not know what significance it may have, but upon speaking with the miko there, I hope to learn more.

I sang to myself as I approached the shrine.

"Why do we,
Seek to live,
What is it makes life worth living?

Those who live,
Satisfied,
What makes them want to keep living?

What have they,
Found in life?
What is it gives their life meaning?
What have they found within their lives?

Those who live,
Satisfied,
Have found a spark in their lives.
If one mas-
-ters the spark,
One has a life worth living.

Love is the spark in our lives.
Love is the spark of our hearts.
One who can master the spark will have a life worth living.
Love is the spark in our minds.
Love is the spark of our souls.
One who can master the spark will have a life worth living.
Love is the ma~aster's spark.

The song is something that just… came to me one day. It gives me a sense of familiarity; it's likely another fragment of my lost memory. It's actually one of several such songs. There is more to this song, but I trailed off as I arrived at my destination.

The shrine was fairly unremarkable; it was little different from other shrines I'd seen. It was well-maintained, though, and in good shape despite its apparent age. It did, however, seem in some way familiar, although also... wrong, I guess. The woman who emerged to greet me looked about in her twenties, and I could tell by looking at her that she kept herself in just as good a shape as her shrine. There was nothing familiar about her, though.

The miko bowed as I came to a stop in front of her. "Another visitor," she said. "Welcome. I am Yua Hakurei, and this is the Hakurei Shrine."

I don't know where the thought came from, but I blurted it out without thinking. "Not the real one."

"Excuse me?"

"I-I'm sorry," I said. "I don't- I apologize. I don't know where that came from. I saw the shrine and heard its name, and the thought just… came to me."

She was still upset, I could tell, but she forced it back. Mostly, at least. "Just who are you?"

"I am Orphan," I said. "I apologize for upsetting you, but… well, I have come here for a reason, and that sudden thought may indicate that I'm on the right track."

"Please explain, then."

I nodded. "I have lost my memory. I am searching for the past I have forgotten, and my search has led me here. I think this place has some relevance."

Yua was calming down visibly. "I see. Well, I'm not sure what relevance my shrine could have. Unless… you said this shrine wasn't 'the real one'."

"Please don't hold that against me. I-"

"That is far from the worst thing that has been said to me. Do not worry. It did upset me to hear that, but I am not truly offended by it. In fact, it may be something of a clue."

"What do you mean?"

"There is a legend," she said.

"Legends interest me," I said. "Please, tell me more about this legend."

"Certainly. It is a story of a land of magic existing in ages past. The exact stories vary, of course, but they have in common the idea of this land of magic becoming separated from the rest of the world, the reasons for which of course vary greatly between versions of the story. But this land is always separated from the world. It is said that the one remaining point of connection between our world and the land of magic is a shrine. Specifically, this shrine. The Hakurei Shrine.

"The legend says that the Hakurei Shrine was used in the formation of the border separating the land of magic from our world. It is said to anchor the border on both sides. Most versions of the story have the original shrine remaining in the land of magic, the shrine in this world merely a copy."

"I see." What she said fit perfectly with my own conclusions. I had found other stories of a separate land of magic, and had thought that perhaps such a land might truly exist. The idea did… feel correct to me. Perhaps some of those legends were more true than people thought. And this one provided me with a potential point of access.

"It is just a legend," Yua said. "It's not true. I wonder, though, if your thought that this shrine is not the real one came from that legend."

"Maybe," I said. "I would assume, however, that there are people who believe the legend is true."

"Of course there are. Every story, every legend, every figure of myth has those who think it real. It doesn't matter what it is; there will always be people who believe. In fact, the man who was just here, Junpei-you may have met him on the road-was telling me about this village where a friend of his lives. It seems the people there tell of a… frog-lady, or snake-lady, or something like that. She's said to be a god, and apparently, the people there believe in her almost universally. And I understand there are a few other villages with similar belief in her. Even today, there are people who believe such things."

"I know," I said. "I'm one of them."

"Oh! I-I'm sorry."

"Think nothing of it," I said. "Consider us even in potentially offensive statements."

She laughed. "I guess you're right. Anyways, is your business here concluded, then?"

Unbeknownst to her, I had been… feeling out the area, examining it with my sense of the magical. And there was substantial energy of some kind centered at the shrine. So I did still have business here. If this shrine was the point of connection, if the energy I felt was the barrier, then it was possible that I could cross it, cross to this other world. A world that, I somehow knew, held the answers I sought. But my business with Yua was concluded, and I didn't want witnesses to any attempt to cross the border anyways. "It is," I said, dropping a few coins in the donation box. "Thank you for your time, but I'll be going now."

Cirno was the strongest, and she knew it. Just because most people didn't accept it didn't mean it wasn't true. Sure, she'd been beaten before, even killed-although as a fairy, that meant very little. But that didn't mean she wasn't the strongest. Even the strongest could lose. But this… this was different.

The thing crashed into her, sending her sailing into the ground. She picked herself up and formed a spear of ice, tossing it at the enemy. It pierced into the thing's arm, but the creature simply pulled it out and tossed it aside, seemingly ignoring the wound remaining in its arm. And the other such wounds it had sustained.

Cirno's next spear hit it right in the chest. But even then, there seemed to be no effect, and the thing just pulled it out. And then Cirno sent another spear into the exact same place, penetrating deeper. Which seemed to work, as the beast howled in pain. "Not so tough now, are you?" Cirno said.

The beast didn't remove the spear as it had the others. It left it in as it charged at Cirno. Cirno sent more spears at it, but none had any effect, and the thing left them in, denying Cirno the opportunity for another shot that might penetrate deep enough to harm it. Cirno aimed for the eyes next, but as it had earlier in the fight, the beast held its arm up in front of its face, taking the spears.

As the beast drew closer, Cirno tried freezing it completely, but she'd already tried that, too, and as before, the creature simply broke free of the ice. Cirno froze it again. She sent spears toward its eyes as it broke free, hoping that it would be too distracted to block them in time. And it was.

The creature screamed in pain, but it didn't stop moving. What the hell is up with this thing? Cirno thought. It's not even flailing around blindly! Does it even need its eyes? What the hell is this thing?

Cirno attempted to block the thing's path with a wall of ice, but it simply crashed right through. And then Cirno was out of time. The beast picked her up and slammed her into the ground. And slammed her into the ground again. And again. And again.

As her senses faded, Cirno felt herself let go, and felt herself hit the ground. She heard the monster screaming, and saw it aflame. And then there was nothing.

Alice didn't get many visitors. This was in large part because she lived in the Forest of Magic. Aside from herself and a few other magicians, the only inhabitants of the forest were numerous lesser youkai, and Alice had no interest in them, nor them in her. About the only person who normally came by was Marisa. But today was different. Today, Alice was expecting a different visitor.

Alice entered the front hall upon hearing the 'doll door' she'd installed swing shut. It was, of course, the doll she'd had keeping watch-London Theta, currently. "Your guest is approaching," the doll reported.

"Good," Alice said. "Return to your post."

As London Theta went back outside, Alice made her way into her 'workshop'; it was really just another room of her house, but it was the room in which she did her work. Right now, she had eight dolls lying in a circle, spaced apart enough that full-sized people could have fit without difficulty.

Alice had many dolls, but these were special. They'd always been; they were the first of each 'line'. Starting with the northernmost doll and proceeding clockwise, they were: London, the scout, fast and with good sensory capabilities; Holland, the shield, designed for durability; Copenhagen, the physical combat model; Hourai, the magical combat model; Moscow, the stealth model, designed primarily to avoid detection; Nogales, the 'worker' model and the one Alice had the most dolls of; and Guadalupe, the 'house worker' model. The eighth, Shanghai, the all-purpose model, was even more special. There was only one Shanghai, and for a long time, Alice had been attempting to make her alive. So far, her efforts had all met with failure, but she was about to try something new. Something that should have a very good chance of working not just on Shanghai, but on the seven 'originals' as well. She just had to secure the cooperation of one person. And that person's arrival was imminent.

Alice returned to the front door and stepped outside. She waited on the front step as her guest approached. The guest reminded Alice in many ways of her dolls, but this was to be expected, as the guest was herself a doll. Medicine Melancholy, the 'Little Sweet Poison', as she was called, accompanied as always by a doll floating alongside her. Thrown away onto the Nameless Hill, she had eventually become a youkai. She was a doll that had come to life. She was human-sized, although very much on the small side for a human (her companion doll, on the other hand, was a smaller size, more ordinary for a doll). It would, however, have made her a very large doll. Many though that she simply had been a large doll, perhaps used by a ventriloquist (although she'd have been unusually large even for that), or maybe a model for children's clothing or something, which would also account for her childish appearance. But others, Alice among them, believed something else.

"Thank you for coming," Alice said.

Medicine's tone was hostile. "You said you wanted my help. Why should I give it to you?"

Medicine's attitude was to be expected, as she wanted the emancipation of dolls, and the fact that she was the only known doll with a will didn't seem to mean anything to her. Naturally, she considered the doll-controlling Alice an enemy. But Alice was not going to let that get in the way this time. And she had something to offer that she expected to secure Medicine's cooperation.

"You have a goal," Alice said. "You wish for the freedom of dolls. The problem is that dolls do not think, yourself being the only known exception. Even my dolls are mere automatons. They may seem alive, but this is only an illusion; they can act without specific direction, but that can only do so according to my instructions. It is literally impossible for them, or any other doll besides yourself, to be 'free'."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I've heard all that before. Is this going to be anything but a waste of my time?"

"If you wish for dolls to be free, they must first be alive as you are. I have long been trying to make a doll that is truly alive, and I believe you can help. And dolls that are alive can be free."

"Okay," Medicine said, "what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that with your help, I believe I can make dolls that are truly alive."

"And what do I get out of this?"

"Dolls that are alive are dolls that can become free. Aiding me in reaching my goal will bring you one step closer to yours."

A mature individual might have wanted a promise of something specific, but Medicine's appearance wasn't the only thing childish about her, and telling her it would help her get what she wanted was enough. "What help do you want?"

"Come in, and I will explain."

Alice led Medicine into her workshop. "Observe these eight dolls," Alice said, indicating the dolls on the floor. "I have many dolls, but these eight are special. These dolls are the first I made of their respective types, except for this one; I have made no others of her type. But they are special in another way as well. Are you familiar with the so-called 'Subterranean Animism' incident? Geysers, hot springs, evil spirits, and all that?"

"Not really. All I know is that something happened underground but the shrine maiden and the witch stopped it."

"That's good enough. The miko Reimu and the witch Marisa did not go underground without aid. Yukari enchanted four of Reimu's yin-yang orbs in a manner that allowed her to channel some of her power through them. Marisa had similar aid from me. I had Yukari enchant eight of my dolls such that I could channel my power through them, and I sent them with Marisa. I sent one of each type, as I did not know what capabilities she might require. These eight dolls here are the ones Yukari enchanted."

"So, what, you have greater control over them?"

"I can already take complete control of any of my dolls," Alice said. "What Yukari did only allowed me to send my power through them."

"Why do I need to know this?"

"I have a question for you, Medicine. A question about that little doll that follows you around, that you are never seen separately from. Is that doll you? Is that doll what you were before becoming a youkai?"

"Um… yes."

"Just like the umbrella girl," Alice said. "As I thought. In becoming a youkai, you grew a new body. Excellent."

"Is that all you needed me for? Just that question?"

"Actually," Alice said, "what I need you to do is lie down next to your old self in the middle of my dolls. You will notice that I have prepared magic runes there. Those runes will allow me to take an… 'image', let's call it, of your energy. If I then channel that image through these eight dolls in the manner Yukari's enchantment makes possible, I believe that it will replicate your own coming to life in each of them."

Medicine had to think about that for a moment. "So… if I lie on those runes, you can make these dolls come alive?"

"It is not certain," Alice said, "but I believe so, yes."

Medicine thought for a moment. "And it won't hurt me?"

"You'll probably feel strange for an instant, but that's all. There will be no other effect on you. That much I am certain of."

One more pause for thought. "Then I'll do it," Medicine said.

"Good," Alice said. "Thank you." And it was good. If this worked, she would have brought not only Shanghai to life, but the other seven, too. And one thing she hadn't told Medicine was that in addition to channeling the image into the dolls, she planned to impress it into a spellcard, allowing her to reproduce it as desired.

Alice was closer to her goal than she'd ever been, and not a moment too soon. Alice needed more than automatons. She needed to make dolls that were alive, and more of them than just Shanghai. She had something she needed to do, something she couldn't tell anyone else-not now-but something she couldn't do alone. Her dolls could give her the help she needed, but only if they were alive. So she had to make them alive, because what she needed to do was too important to fail.

Awareness returned.

Cirno was on the ground. She tried to stand up, but she was unsteady and fell. Or would have, had someone not been there to catch her. Her vision was still blurry, but as she looked up at the one who'd caught her, her vision cleared enough for her to recognize the person. "Rumia."

"What happened?" Rumia asked, her concern for her friend clear in her voice.

Cirno's voice was still unsteady. "I was… attacked. Wh-why are you…

"I heard screams," Rumia said. "I got here as quickly as I could. Um, I saw a… thing running away. It was on fire. There were ice spears-melting-sticking out all over it. Was that the thing that attacked you?"

"Y-yes. I-I-I couldn't… hurt it. I only got… deep enough… once. It… killed me. R-Rumia. Did… did you see any… anyone else?"

"Anyone else? No, I didn't."

"Someone else… attacked it. Lit it on fire. I didn't… see who it was."

"Someone else? Trying to help you?"

Cirno had recovered enough to stand, so Rumia put her down. "I don't know," she said. "I was dying. I couldn't… see much, or hear much, or anything. But… what was that thing?"

"I don't know," Rumia said. "I don't have any idea. I only got a brief look at it, but… I've never seen anything like it."

"Then we have to find out. It might come back. Or it might attack you. Or one of the others. But I couldn't… I couldn't hurt it. What am I supposed to do if it does?"

"I don't know," Rumia said. "But… well, ice didn't work, but fire did, right? Let's get the others and stick together. Maybe one of us has something that can hurt it, too."

People called Rumia childish, but Cirno knew her well, and there was a smart little girl in there. "Okay," Cirno said. "Let's go."

"I'll do it. You still need to recover."

"I'm fine," Cirno said. In demonstration, she tried to leap into the air, but instead stumbled and fell flat on her face. "Ow."

"I'll get them, Cirno. I'll bring them here."

Cirno picked herself up. "No. I'm going too." She again tried to fly, and again fell.

Rumia picked her up. "Fine. I'll carry you, then."

"Th-thanks, Rumia."

"No problem."

I walked down the path a ways, then doubled back and returned to the shrine. I veered off into the woods and approached silently and unseen. I stopped short of the shrine itself, still in the woods; I should be able to do what I needed to from that position, and I was less likely to be seen.

I reached out with my power, making contact with the concentration of energy anchored at the shrine. It did seem to act as some sort of barrier, but there didn't seem to be anything it was enclosing. Which told me that Yua's legend was correct, that the 'land of magic' had been separated. It seemed as though it was no longer physically a part of this world, although it still had a connection. That connection, then, would have to be what the barrier was protecting.

I felt along the border, following it back to myself. I pushed against it with my power, and as I'd hoped, there was a visible distortion. It was a ways above me, but that, of course, was no problem. Focusing my power in front of me, I leapt into the air, straight towards the distortion. I collided with it.

I focused my power and pushed against the barrier with everything I had. The barrier was strong, and I couldn't break through, but I was, it seemed, causing some kind of disruption to it. It seemed to be distorting somehow, centered, of course, at the spot I was focusing my power on. So I pushed harder, and at the same time, moved in physically. The barrier fought me every instant of the way, but I was able to slowly push myself through it.

Once through to the other world, the force against me did not cease. I had, I was certain, made it to the other world, but I was not out of the barrier, as it of course existed on this side as well. So I continued through it, pushing with all my power.

By the time I made it through, I was completely exhausted. I fell to the ground and collapsed, fighting to stay conscious. And then I was able to make out someone-an adolescent male, it looked like-running towards me.

"Are you okay?" he said as he knelt down next to me.

I was so exhausted that I could barely speak. "Did… did I… make it? Am I… on… the other side?"

"The other side? Wait, you're from outside?"

There was my answer. "So I… did… make it." And then, unable to keep myself conscious any longer, I passed out.

Can you figure out who Orphan is before she does? And yes, she is a canon character, not an OC. Feel free to state your theories and reasoning in any reviews or anything; in fact, I encourage it.

Also, a note: I have never liked the idea of Gensokyo being seperated from the outside world in the 19th century, so as far as this story is concerned, Gensokyo has been seperate for several hundred years.

Anyways, here we go. Reviews are, of course, encouraged.

Enjoy the story.