Chapter 10
Coil
The sun was beginning to rise as Eirin and I reached our destination. One of the rabbit guards stepped forward as we approached Eientei's main entrance. "Lady Eirin, Tewi asked me to relay that 'Cirno's group' left a couple hours ago."
"Oh?" Eirin said. "I wasn't expecting Rin to let Mystia out quite that soon."
"I think Tewi pulled rank."
"I see. Okay, I need you to head into the forest the way I came from, and quickly. Find Kaguya and Mokou-and no, you don't have to worry about getting caught in the crossfire. Tell Mokou that Cirno and Rumia left a couple hours ago, and that I did as we discussed. She'll know what you mean. Go."
"Yes, ma'am!" The rabbit took off into the forest at high speed.
"That looks dangerous," I said, "flying through the forest that quickly."
"It's a lot easier than it looks," Eirin said. "Kaguya and I just happen to prefer walking through it to flying through it. Anyways, if we're going to make any progress, then I'll need to take a look at you. Come."
"Aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!"
It hurt. It hurt, but Cirno had to keep going. She knew that. It was too late to change her mind now. It hurt even when she did nothing. When she used her power, the pain was extreme. She always kept going as long as she could, but the pain always overwhelmed her before long. So she would take a break, then do it again.
Rumia, of course, was also in pain. "Aaaaaaooooowwwwwwuuuuuugggggg." Her pain was probably worse, since she was the one the coil was placed on.
"Aaaaaaahhhhh!"
The pain overwhelmed Cirno, and she fell to the ground, breathing heavily. "I don't think it'll be much longer," Rumia said. "Come on, Cirno. You can do it. Just a little more, and it'll all be over."
Daiyousei exited the small room Wriggle was using and walked over to Mystia. "Okay, Wriggle's really starting to weird me out."
"What do you mean?" Mystia asked.
"Um… well, how about you just go see for yourself?"
"Okay, whatever." Mystia got up and entered the room. Then she saw Wriggle and stopped dead in her tracks. "Um…"
Wriggle was floating about a foot off the floor, and looked like she was in some sort of trance. She was faintly glowing, too. And then there were the insects. There were many of them all over her body, and they were all glowing brightly. Some were of the larger-than-normal variety unique to Gensokyo. Especially noticeable were the… centipedes, or millipedes, or whatever. The wormy-things.
Mystia just stood and stared. Before long, the glow faded, Wriggle returned to the ground and opened her eyes, and the insects crawled and flew out the window, which Mystia saw was open. "Um, Wriggle? What was that?"
"I have empowered them," Wriggle said. "They will serve as my attendants-and don't you dare make the pun; I made sure there were no ants for precisely that reason."
"Um…"
"What? Did it look strange, or something?"
"Um, yeah," Mystia said. "That, plus I've never seen you do anything like it before."
"That's because I haven't," Wriggle said, taking a seat. She motioned for Mystia to sit. "It's something else that's new."
Mystia sat next to Wriggle. Her wings didn't get in the way of sitting to nearly the same extent as Cirno's; she didn't need a stool like the ice fairy did. "You're just full of surprises, then."
"Hey, I'm just learning about these things, too."
"So how do you discover that you can do something like that?"
Wriggle thought for a moment. "It… well, it just happens. I'm not really sure how to describe it. Claiming Her power had far greater effects than I'd expected."
"What's it like, anyways?"
"You know," Wriggle said, "I've never liked it when people say they can't describe something, but… well, I really do have absolutely no idea how to describe it."
"You can describe parts of it, surely."
"Yeah. I guess the easiest bit to describe is simply having more power. You've improved your own abilities; you know what it feels like to expand what you can do. This is the same thing, just to a much greater extent."
"'Turned up to eleven', as Kaguya's fond of saying."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"No idea."
"Anyways," Wriggle continued, "you should at least be able to get close to an idea of what that's like, but you'll probably still be far short of the reality. It's not just having the power. It's… well, when I faced that demon yesterday, just after claiming the power, I knew I would win. I knew that it was perfectly capable of killing me, but I knew that if I didn't get careless, I would win. The same was true against Marisa, although she wouldn't have killed me. It's the same idea, though. Before, I would've been going 'oh, shit' at the thought of fighting her, but now, when I faced her, I knew I could do it. I knew I could take her."
"Are you sure that's part of the power? Sounds to me like overconfidence."
"It's only overconfidence if it's beyond your abilities," Wriggle said. "I know my limits. I'm not completely sure what they are yet, but I know them."
"Um…"
"Yeah, that doesn't even make sense to me, but it's the best way I can think of to describe it. I'm not yet aware of everything that's now within my abilities, but I do know whether or not I am capable of doing something. When faced with an opponent, I know if I can win. And when I know that I can win, I also know just how badly I could potentially lose. It's not overconfidence, just confidence. And… well, the power doesn't actually affect who I am. It's not causing the feeling of confidence; the confidence is mine. The power lets me know what I can do. And I really don't think I'm explaining this very well."
"Well enough," Mystia said. "I think I've got the general idea."
"Then yes, it's good enough. But even that isn't the hardest thing about this to explain. That would be the… well, I'm not really sure what to call it. It's kind of an… expanded awareness, I guess."
"Oh, like how you said you don't have to focus to sense or command insects now?"
"Yeah, that's part of it, but not all of it. It's like… well, actually, I doubt there's anything else like it. It's… okay, I really don't want to do some clichéd 'it's incredible' thing, but I really can't think of anything better. There really is-" she fired a burst of danmaku through the window without even pausing, "-nothing like it."
A voice could be heard from outside. "Ow! What was that for?"
"Hi, Tewi," Wriggle said, not even turning around. "Forgot that I can see through the eyes of insects, didn't you?"
Tewi jumped in through the window. "Um, yeah. Anyways, disposal successful. The books are at Marisa's house now. If Patchouli looks into it that hard, she'll conclude that Marisa faked the decoy bit so she'd be ignored."
"Right," Wriggle said. "Let's head back out to the main room. I think Cirno and Rumia are almost done, and Dai'll want to hear what's happening."
"There's not much we can do to even slow it down at this point," Byakuren said. "Unless Netese is an idiot, she'll have things set up to, at the very least, slow you down enough that it won't matter."
"So I'd need to get to Netese."
"And we both know she's not dumb enough to come herself. She'll send someone she can afford to lose."
"But not someone from the bottom," Alice said. "Whoever she sends in her place will be someone she can trust in that role. The lower ones will make up the force this person leads, and they'll be ready for a trap. Which, of course, is where you come in."
"Yes. But although what we gain from that may help, it will not be enough. We have to get Gensokyo to stand united against them."
"Which will be a problem, given that three different parties are currently attempting to unite Gensokyo under them."
"We don't need a unified Gensokyo," Byakuren said. "We only need Gensokyo to stand united against a common threat. We need to speak to those three parties and get them to cooperate."
"Yeah, good luck with that."
"The only problem I foresee is Remilia; the other two will likely be more cooperative."
"Yeah," Alice said, "but one problem's enough. We don't have time to deal with her."
"I will speak to the other two first," Byakuren said. "If we go to Remilia as a group, even she will see reason."
"Just make sure you're back here in time," Alice said.
"That will not be a problem." Byakuren got to her feet. "I should get going immediately. I think I'll speak to Kaguya first, then head to the mountain from Eientei."
"You realize we're basically screwed no matter how well this goes, right?"
"I know," Byakuren said. "Even if everything goes perfectly, it'll take a miracle to pull this off."
Eirin had me lying on a table in one of her 'examination rooms'. She had another with her, a rabbit she called 'Udonge' but had introduced as Reisen. Eirin was now explaining just what she was going to be doing. "…but none of that will mean anything without stimulus. I can't find something that isn't there, no matter how well I look."
"And that's Reisen's job, I assume," I said.
"Correct. Udonge is able to stimulate the minds of others. She will be stimulating yours in accordance with the procedure, and I will collect and examine the results. The objective is to… well, you wouldn't understand the accurate explanation. The simplified and not-really-accurate-but-close-enough version is that the objective is to locate your lost memories. This is merely the first step, and will not actually lead to you recalling anything."
"How long does the entire procedure take?"
"It varies," Eirin said, "but the usual range is one week to a month, depending on how much has been forgotten. I will know within the day if the procedure can help you, though. I will need a few hours to go over the results of the examination, and then I will know."
"The exam itself will take about half an hour," Reisen added.
"That much I have no objection to," I said. "I'm not sure if I want to remain here long enough for the entire procedure, though."
"Again, there's a good chance it wouldn't work, anyways. You can make that decision if I find that it can help you."
"Good point," I said.
"You'll be conscious throughout the exam," Reisen said, "but ironically enough, you should not expect to have a clear memory of it. Your thoughts will be… unclear. Don't worry, though; there won't be any actual damage. Are you ready?"
"Yes."
"Then let's get started," Eirin said.
Given name: Reisen. Family name: Udongein. Profession name: Inaba.
I have kept my full name despite having left the moon behind. I have developed beyond it, and were I still on the moon, would likely have received a second profession name, but I am still Inaba. I may no longer be with the Lunarian military, but I am still Inaba. I am merely in someone else's service now.
I knew the name Eirin Yagokoro, of course; every Lunarian and lunar rabbit knows who she is. Even many of her older procedures are still in use, and many of her vaccines and cures are still famous, particularly her cure for the Plague. It's also common knowledge that long ago, she had gone into hiding on Earth alongside the missing princess, Kaguya. I never expected to go to Earth, but I did, and it happened because Earth came to us.
The humans called it 'Apollo', among other things. Apparently, the missions were presented to the public as exploratory in nature. But they were not. Most humans believe the moon to be lifeless, but a few knew the truth. They also knew of magic, something that has been largely absent from their world for centuries. And their Apollo missions were made with this fully in mind. Apollo was not a scientific program. It was a military program. The humans attacked us.
The first Apollo mission was the most successful, and my unit was one of those that were wiped out. I had some medical training, but I was not a field medic. I was expected to be on the front lines, fighting, but I was also expected to give immediate emergency treatment to the wounded when possible, and was often among those who moved the wounded back behind the front lines for the field medics. Others carried the bodies; my job was to provide immediate care to keep them alive until they got to a true field medic. I was performing that duty when the line fell.
The survivors-mostly field medics or those such as myself-scattered, and we were not the only ones. Some just ran, some tried to hook up with other units, whatever. I was too frightened to pay much attention to what others were doing. Until I came upon a small group with a strange device.
The device was an experimental teleportation unit, linked to another such unit within the city's military base. We decided to use it to escape and get to the Lunarian commanders with the news that our line had fallen. It worked for the first three, but when I passed through, the device malfunctioned, and I ended up somewhere else.
Lunar rabbits share a telepathic connection with each other-although I found this connection to be much more difficult than usual and require much greater conscious effort on my part-so I knew the progress of the battle on the moon. I knew that word had indeed gotten to where it needed to be, and the invaders had eventually been repulsed. With the battle won, my attention turned to myself. I was in a forest of bamboo, and I began to explore it.
Before long, I encountered a group of rabbits. Not lunar rabbits, of course; Earth rabbits. When I told them I was a lunar rabbit, they decided to bring me to someone. This did not surprise me. What did was hearing this person's name: Eirin. The rabbits brought me to a place they called 'Eientei', and took me to Eirin. And it was indeed Eirin Yagokoro.
Eirin told me about Gensokyo, where I was. I communicated information about my current location to my superiors-with great effort; the difficulty in using the telepathic connection was no doubt due to my being in Gensokyo-although I left out the fact that it was Eirin who had told me. Through a relay, the Lunarian who'd been in charge of my division authorized my departure from service on the grounds that I was unable to return.
I wouldn't have mentioned Eirin at all, but she came right out and told me to. She had multiple breakthroughs she wanted to communicate to the Lunarian people, and thanks to my presence, she was able to do so despite being in Gensokyo. And she has me continue to do so whenever she makes a new breakthrough.
I became Eirin's student in the art of medicine. I recognize that I will never be close to her level of genius, but I can learn how to do the job, and I have. I have graduated, as it were, from being her student to being her assistant.
We did have a scare at one point. I was informed via the telepathic connection that a party was coming to Earth to return me to the moon. I was never informed as to why, and I decided that I did not want to leave. Eirin took means to prevent the lunar party from reaching Earth, only to have it rather forcibly pointed out by various residents of Gensokyo that Gensokyo was already separate from Earth. I was rather thoroughly beaten myself, despite my best efforts, as were Eirin and Princess Kaguya. But, fortunately, there were no hard feelings.
As a result of that incident, Eientei's existence, previously known only by a few outside of the forest, became common knowledge. We started up a medical clinic, and have provided necessary care for many.
Current events are… disturbing. Kaguya believes the demon attacks are the first strike in an invasion, and I have to agree with her. Kaguya's been trying to unite Gensokyo under her to face it, but this… hasn't been going well. I can only hope that a solution presents itself in time.
"Look, Kaguya," Mokou said, "we've been enemies for a good 1,300 years. I don't care how I feel about you; that's not going to go away in a single night, no matter what I do."
"Of course not," Kaguya said. "That's why we'll still be seeing each other a lot. That 'purge' helped, I'm sure, but yes, there's a lot to work through. Even if we have resolved the key issue."
"I still haven't forgiven you for that," Mokou said. "Eventually, maybe, but not yet."
"But we've settled that issue."
"Yes," Mokou said. "It's like I said: I still can't forgive you, but since I have completed your challenge, it no longer needs to come between us. And… we'll work out the rest in time. After all, we do have as much time as we need."
"Is it going to come between us in the meantime?"
"I don't think so," Mokou said. "I don't think-"
The rabbit came into the clearing at high speed, barely avoiding colliding with Kaguya. "Oh, there you are. Mokou, Eirin says that- wait, um… you're not…"
"Later," Kaguya said. "Deliver your message."
The rabbit composed herself. "Uh, yes, ma'am!" She turned to Mokou. "Mokou, Eirin told me to deliver the message that Cirno and Rumia left a couple hours ago. She said she did as you discussed."
"Oh," Mokou said. "I thought she expected that to take longer. Right, well, thank you."
"You're welcome," the rabbit said as she took off back towards Eientei.
Mokou turned to Kaguya. "Okay, I know we're kind of in the middle of something here, but this is important."
"How so? I've heard about Cirno's bunch-I'm a fan of her friend Mystia's cooking. What are they doing that could be important?"
"If you want to know now, then you'll have to come with me. Odds are Cirno and Rumia are heading back to Misty Lake, and if they're reacting as expected, then I need to get there as quickly as I can."
"It's… barely holding together," Rumia managed to get out through the pain. "Just… a little… more."
"O-okay," Cirno said. "I'll… try. Three… Two… One… Zero. Aaaaaaahhhhh!" The pain intensified again as Cirno began to fire a continuous blast of ice. Rumia was right; she could feel it. The coil was about to break. Just a little more. "Just… a little… more. Just… a lit-ah!" Cirno and Rumia were blown apart as it happened.
The coil was broken.
Images.
Words.
Names.
…Memories?
Cirno tried to clear her head, but it didn't really work. She tried looking around, only to find that she couldn't see anything. Not in the way of it being pitch black, but in the way of there being nothing to see. Doesn't even feel like I'm seeing. What's going on here? Wait, and where'd the pain go? And where's- "Rumia? Rumia! Are you here? Can you hear me?"
There was no reply. Dammit, what the hell is this? What's going on he- wait, what's that?
The object hadn't been there a moment ago; Cirno was certain of that. She walked over and examined it. Wait, that's- that's Rumia's ribbon! "Rumia? Rumia! Rumia, are you-what the heck?"
The ribbon started to glow. What the- what's going on? Is this really supposed to be Rumia's-wait, the glow's fading. And as the glow faded, the ribbon… came apart. Then it vanished, leaving behind what looked like a small, glowing ball of light. Wait, what? What is this?
Cirno reached out and touched the light, and then…
Rumia couldn't see anything. Not because of darkness-she was familiar with that-but because there was nothing to see. Wait, what's that?
The object stood out by virtue of being the only thing in sight. Rumia went over to get a better look at it. Wait, that's my ribbon! Her hand went up to her head. Wait, no, the ribbon's still there. But then what's this one? She picked it up. It looks just like mine. Wait, is it… no, it's not glowing. Not all of it, at least. Is there something in here?
Rumia began untying the ribbon, and as she did so, the glow intensified. She untied the ribbon completely, and… What the-?
There was nothing within the ribbon. Nothing that was glowing. Just the glow. A glow that didn't seem to have any source.
Rumia reached out and touched the glow, and then…
Cirno had an image of… is that supposed to be me? No, that's definitely not me. She kinda looks like me, though. Who is she? Why does she feel so… familiar? It's not just that she looks like me. There's more here than that.
More images flashed through her mind, and- wait, that's Rumia! And indeed it was. She looked a bit different, but she was clearly Rumia. She was in many of the images; she and the unknown woman were fighting. And fighting a lot, it looks like.
Voices came.
'I oppose; that is in my nature.'
That's Rumia's voice! Cirno realized. Sounds a bit different, but that's clearly her.
'She is far too dangerous…'
A different voice. That woman, maybe?
There was more from that voice.
'Rumia is a youkai.'
'…extremely powerful…'
'…violent and destructive seemingly at random…'
Next was Rumia's voice again. 'You know you can't kill me.'
A third voice was next, one Cirno found familiar but couldn't quite place. "…that's…sealing her away within herself?'
The woman's voice again. 'Once the coil is complete, a new personality will arise…'
She placed the coil! Cirno realized.
Still the woman's voice. '…it will remain intact indefinitely.'
'That Rumia will be an innocent, and I will not kill her.'
More images. Another battle between the woman and Rumia, with someone else occasionally visible in the distance, watching. The woman's voice continued over the images. 'I will have to place eight different seals…anchor them to a ninth.'
The images continued. The battle ended with the woman getting a sword through her chest. Except that there was a fairy. A fairy that looked like- holy shit, I think that's me!
The woman did something to the fairy. Then the fairy did something to Rumia's ribbon. And there was the woman's voice again. 'Ninth Seal!' What was that? Cirno wondered. Did she, like, take control of the might-be-me fairy?
Rumia attacked the woman one more time as the fairy did that… 'ninth seal' thing. All three fell to the ground. And then…
More images, but different. Wait, are these… wait, they are my memories! That fairy is me! But who's the woman?
More images came. More words came. And then an understanding came. She died while controlling me-no, it wasn't me yet, was it? That fairy died along with the woman. And all that somehow changed her into me. And-
Power. A lot of power, seemingly from nowhere. This is what she had in that fairy! The power that made me, that's in me! But why didn't I feel it until break…ing the coil. Did she die while making it? She did, didn't she? That made things weird, didn't it? The power she connected to the coil went into me, but somehow got locked away in the process!
Cirno wasn't really sure where all of this was coming from, or even if she had truly figured things out or if the answers had come into her head like the rest, or maybe a combination of the two. But she knew, somehow, that her conclusions were correct.
The rush of images continued, until…
That's me, Rumia thought. I look different, but that's definitely me.
Rumia's experience was similar to Cirno's. Images flashed through her head, and she heard voices. But what she saw and heard were different.
'Opposite.'
'Negate.'
An image of a building, then the building in ruins. 'Creation and destruction, opposite.'
An image of people, followed by an image of them dead. 'Life and death, opposite.'
Images of someone saving people's lives, then images of… herself… killing them. 'Protector and destroyer, opposite.'
They kept coming. Then they changed. They weren't about opposites now. It was… My life? But that can't be me. That can't be me! I don't even remember any of this! And who's that woman? She kind of looks a little like Cirno.
Sealed away.
That thought wasn't Rumia's. She couldn't tell where the thought had come from, but it wasn't hers. Wait, is it that… crazy-me's?
More came, and along with it an understanding. That woman and… other-Rumia had been enemies. Other-Rumia was a youkai of opposition, and she and that woman were opposites. In response to other-Rumia's seemingly-unpredictable violence, she had fought other-Rumia many times over their long, long lives. Until one day, the woman didn't fight to kill other-Rumia. The woman instead placed seals on her, a coil. Locking other-me away. And without her, a new Rumia-me-developed. But this isn't another person. This is just… remnants of her.
More came. Other-Rumia had killed the woman as the coil was being completed. Something must have gone wrong and damaged other-me instead of just locking her away. This is what's left. And then there was the fairy, which looked a lot like Cirno. The woman used the fairy to complete the coil, and was still within the fairy when she died. That's why it's in Cirno! Some of the woman stayed in that fairy when she died! Killed the fairy and made a new one! But where has that part of the woman been-wait, the coil. It went screwy. The part of that woman must've gotten sealed, too!
The rush of images continued, until…
"They're both unconscious," Wriggle said, "but they're still alive."
"Oh, man," Daiyousei said, "are they gonna be all right?"
"I told you, Dai," Mystia said. "Eirin knows what she's doing. If she thinks they can break the coil and come out all right, then they can."
"I hope you're right."
"Um, guys?" Wriggle said. "Something weird just happened."
Cirno picked herself up off the ground and looked around. The lake. That must have all been in my head. It was real, though. I can still feel it. Okay, now where's Ru-oh, no.
Rumia was there, and she was also getting up. But she was different. She looked different. That's the old Rumia!
Rumia got to her feet and looked around. The lake. That was all in my head, then. As I thought. Still real, though.
Rumia spotted Cirno, who was likewise picking herself up. Except… What the- that's Cirno? She looks… different, shit. Closer to what that woman looked like. Shit, more of her mind must have survived than other-me's did. That's not Cirno anymore. But…
There isn't anywhere for Cirno to have gone. She must still be in there somewhere. She has to be.
"They're up," Wriggle said, "and they've seen each oth-shit!"
Rumia focused, and the sword wielded by other-Rumia formed in her hand. That's part of the power that survived. Good. Hopefully enough remains for me to take her.
Cirno formed a sword of ice in her hand. Okay, old-Rumia, how much power do you still have? I'll have to hope I kept more than she did.
"They're going to fight," Wriggle said.
"What? Why?"
"I don't know, Dai," Wriggle said. "It may have something to do with the appearance changes, but I really don't know."
"Well, stop it! Get some bugs in there and knock them out!"
"I already tried," Wriggle said. "It didn't work. I don't know what's going on, but they're going to fight, and I can't st-what the hell?"
"What? What?"
"You know I've got views from insects all over the place going right now for practice purposes. Well, Kaguya and Mokou-not fighting, by the way-just flew past one. I'm taking views from other insects in the area, and… well, they're heading for Misty Lake."
"Tell me something, bitch," Rumia said. "Do you really think this is a fight you can win?" Yes, have to show confidence.
"I'm not losing to you," Cirno replied.
"Funny, that. I seem to remember you losing a previous fight."
"You can't kill me."
"Or can I?" Rumia said. "Negation. I remember negation. So what if you're a fairy now? I'll just negate your resurrection." Not that I even know if I can. I'm not sure how much of that ability remains. "So bring it on."
"They've started," Wriggle said.
They'd closed to weapon range, but this wasn't just a swordfight. While their swords clashed, Cirno and Rumia used their power in the attack. Their energies swirled around them as they fought; blasts and barriers, attacks and counters.
"Okay," Wriggle said, "how the hell are they doing that?"
Daiyousei, of course, was frantic. "What? What? What is it? What's happening?"
"Their power seems to have increased substantially. Potentially on the same order as my own; I'll need to see more to be sure."
"Wait," Tewi said, "so does that mean there was power or something inside the coil?"
"Yes. This may explain the failure to knock them out; their new power may be somehow protecting them from my poisons."
"Man," Mystia said, "just what's going on here?"
Cirno rocketed backwards, unleashing a storm of energy at Rumia. Rumia went straight through it, forming an energy barrier in front of her to protect herself.
Cirno formed an illusory copy of herself. She wasn't sure how, but somehow, she knew she could to it. And indeed she could. She and the illusion split up and came at Rumia from different directions.
Rumia blocked herself from sight. She knew she could, somehow. She wasn't really sure how it worked, but she was doing it.
Cirno, as well as her illusory duplicate, came to a halt. She looked around frantically. Where'd she go? Where is she? Where-
Rumia revealed her location when she attacked. Not knowing which Cirno was real, she fired at both of them.
Cirno barely managed to dodge in time, and let loose a barrage of ice as she once again closed in. Rumia met Cirno's charge head-on, but at the last second, she dropped to the ground and slid under Cirno, firing a blast that blew the fairy into the air.
"Yes," Wriggle said, "I think they are about at my level. Both of them; they're evenly matched."
"Damn it," Daiyousei said, "what the hell is wrong with them? Why are they fighting?"
"Where are Kaguya and Mokou?" Tewi asked.
"About halfway there."
"And Cirno and Rumia are still going at it." Daiyousei sighed. "Damn it, how long is this going to last for?"
Cirno fired a blast at Rumia. Rumia formed a barrier against it, only to see it pass through both the barrier and she herself harmlessly. An illu-shit! Cirno had used the illusory blast as a distraction, forming huge numbers of ice projectiles around Rumia. Rumia extended her barrier to form a protective sphere around herself. Cirno sent the projectiles at Rumia while simultaneously firing a continuous and not at all illusory blast.
Rumia struggled to maintain the barrier. Damn it! Cirno, we promised we'd stay together! Come on, Cirno! You have to be in there somewhere! You have to-ugh! The barrier wavered briefly, but Rumia forced it back together. Damn, I can't hold this much longer. I… I have to… do something. I can't give up. You're in there somewhere, Cirno. I know you're in there somewhere. I…
I'll get you back, Cirno. I won't let her win! Rumia dropped her barrier, and at the same time, she fired an extremely strong blast into the ground behind her at an angle, propelling herself rocketing through Cirno's blast and directly into the fairy. She took hold of Cirno and piledrove the fairy into the ground.
"It's over," Wriggle said. "Cirno's down. Rumia won."
"Um, but that's the better outcome, right?" Tewi said. "Cirno's a fairy. She can't truly die."
Wriggle said nothing. She hadn't shared the brief pre-battle conversation with the others. They didn't know about the 'negation' ability Rumia claimed to possess. They didn't know. Only Wriggle knew, and she watched through her insects, unable to affect the events she was seeing.
Cirno struggled to pick herself up, but failed. I'm sorry, she thought as Rumia stood over her, holding her blade to Cirno's throat. I tried, Rumia. I was here for you. I tried to get you back, but… I'm sorry, Rumia.
"Sorry, bitch," Rumia said, "but you lose."
"Fine," Cirno said. "Just… do it, then."
"Oh? And why would I do that?"
"Huh?"
"Have you not realized it yet? Huh. And here I thought it would be obvious. Well, whatever. I'm not going to kill you, bitch, but I can do a lot to hurt you. And I will, unless you give her back."
"What?"
"Don't play dumb. Or maybe you don't really remember. Well, that body belongs to someone else. It belongs to my friend, and we made a promise that I intend to keep. So give her back!"
"Wha- tha- y- Rumia?"
Wait. "Is… Cirno?"
"Rumia?"
Rumia unformed her sword and fell to her knees. "Cirno, are you all right?"
"Is that… really… you…, Rumia?"
"Yes. I'm still here, Cirno."
"I… I thought you were… I thought the old you had…"
Wait, is she saying that- "Cirno, that was you the whole time?"
"Wait… you… are you… were… was…," Cirno managed to take a sitting position. "Rumia, was that… you… all along?"
"Oh, god. And I was ready to- Cirno, I- I- I- I- I- I- I-"
"Thought the… same thing… I did. It's… okay, Rumia. I'll… forgive you."
"Me, too," Rumia said, and the pair embraced.
"Well, then," Wriggle said. "I think those two have, um, settled their differences."
"Okay, hold on," Dai said. "What the heck happened, anyways?"
"More than could be seen or heard, I think." Wriggle said. "It looks like each of them thought the other was actually someone else, likely because of whatever all happened when they broke the coil. I'd guess something went on inside their heads, but we'll have to ask them about it."
"What about Kaguya?" Tewi asked.
"Still following Mokou, who's still heading towards the lake."
"I'm going," Dai said.
Tewi leapt to her feet. "Me, too."
"We'll all go," Wriggle said. She opened the door and stepped outside. Insects suddenly began landing on her, those that did not fly crawling up her legs.
"Okay," Mystia said, "um, Wriggle? What are you doing?"
"I told you," Wriggle said, "they are to serve as my attendants. They can hardly do so if they do not remain with me. Now come on, let's go."
Kaguya and Mokou peered out from behind the brush to see Cirno and Rumia lying on the ground next to each other. And…
"Um, Mokou?" Kaguya said at a whisper. "Is it my imagination, or does it look like they just… um…"
"It's not just you," Mokou whispered back. "I think they did. But… well, there are signs of combat here. I think they had a fight first."
"Well, they say the best part is making up afterwards. I'd like to see for myself, though."
"Yeah, not ready for that yet. Let's just worry about them right now."
"Fine. So what're we looking at here, anyways? Some sort of sealed-evil-in-a-can? A superpowered evil side? Was this an I-know-you're-in-there-somewhere fight?"
"Um, I have no idea what you just said."
"Oh. Yeah, of course. Um, I-"
"Later," Mokou said. "You stay here; I'm going to go talk to them."
Cirno and Rumia got to their feet as someone approached. "Who are you?" Cirno asked. Rumia, on the other hand, recognized her. "Hey, you're that lady who told me my name!"
"Ah," the woman said, "so you remember that. I am Fujiwara no Mokou."
"You're here for a reason," Rumia said. "This isn't a coincidence, is it?"
"That's correct. I'm here because I know what's been happening to the two of you. I was hoping to be watching when you two broke the coil, but that, unfortunately, didn't happen."
"Why would that be important?"
"Because there was a range of possible outcomes," Mokou explained. "Have you both figured out that you used to be different people?"
"Yeah," Cirno said. "Why, did you know us back then?"
"Not Rumia, no, but I was friends with her opponent, Nolana. Rumia, what memories do you have of your past?"
"You mean from before the coil?" Mokou nodded. "Nothing definite, but… well, it's hard to figure out specifics, but I think I was… violent. But at the same time, I think I remember instances of saving people, helping people."
"That's accurate. You were, to my understanding, a youkai of opposition. You acted as the opposite of whoever you happened to meet. If you met a violent person, you were peaceful. If you met a peaceful person, you were violent."
"Opposition? That's… kinda odd-sounding."
"What about me?" Cirno asked.
"Your situation is… different."
"Yeah, I already got that much. Who was that woman?"
"Her name was Nolana. She was Rumia's opponent. The two of them were precisely evenly matched, and any battle between them would always end in a draw. Until I became part of the equation. I couldn't help in battle-their level of power was extremely far above even mine-but I was able to do something else. Nolana had me hold together the seals she used to form the coil while she fought Rumia and placed them. But for the final one, the ninth, she had to get close enough to touch Rumia, and she could not."
"That's when other-me gave her a sword through the chest, isn't it?" Rumia said.
"Yes, although that didn't kill her. Nolana did… well, something. It looked like she took control of a fairy, but I don't know how that's possible. But she used the fairy to get close and place the last seal. Rumia took Nolana out at the last minute, just as the coil was formed."
"Which really messed things up," Rumia said. "Other-me's mind and power were damaged as the coil formed around them, and some of Nolana's mind and power got trapped within the fairy. Oh, and the fairy essentially died, becoming a different fairy entirely."
"Yeah," Cirno said. "Me."
"I've been keeping something of an eye on the two of you," Mokou said. "I'm the one who drove off that first demon that attacked you, Cirno. And when the second demon attacked and Rumia was suddenly in pain, I was able to figure out what was happening. I didn't know what would happen when the coil broke, but I found it most likely that the remnants of Nolana's and the old Rumia's minds were not significant enough for personality retention and thus your current selves would remain dominant. And it would seem that I was correct. As for what you'll gain from their power, well, I'm not as certain there, but my best guess is that you can expect a significant strengthening of your existing abilities. I don't think you'll get the same powers they had, even at a lower level, although you may be able to do certain specific things."
"Like illusions," Cirno said. "Or Rumia's disappearing trick."
"Ah, so you've already had that happen. Well, aside from things like that, I'd assume you're simply at a much higher level of power than you were before breaking the coil, although I'm not sure how much higher, or even if that'll be the actual effect."
"Um, question," Rumia said. "Why didn't you tell us any of this?"
"Would you have believed me? And if you had, would you have been willing to break the coil?"
"Um… well, certainly more reluctant."
"I wanted it broken as soon as possible, so that I could more easily be present when it was-in case things went differently than I expected, I wanted to be there to do everything I could to… contain the situation. So I let you go to Eirin."
"You didn't want us to know what it was," Rumia realized, "just that it was there. You wanted us wondering what was within the coil so that we'd have an encouragement to break it."
Mokou nodded. "Right. Although I wasn't able to be here when you broke the coil anyways, so, well, I guess it's just a good thing my expectations were correct-although I wasn't expecting the physical change in you, Cirno. Rumia's doesn't surprise me-she looks like she did before the coil was placed-but I wasn't expecting yours. I guess unsealing Nolana's power within you altered your appearance such that it's closer to what she looked like."
"Whatever," Cirno said. "Thanks for the info. Um, our friends will probably be here soon. Is there anything else you have to say?"
"Um... no. I'll leave, then. If you have any questions, come find me, and I'll do my best to answer them. And if you can't find me, tell Eirin you're looking for me; she'll make sure I'm told."
"Got it," Rumia said. "Thanks."
Kaguya, of course, had heard everything. "You wanted Nolana's mind to have survived, didn't you?" she asked as the two of them headed back to the forest.
"I… well, yes. I didn't think it would happen, but… well, Nolana was a friend, and I haven't had many of those."
"And you saw a chance that she'd survived."
"Yes," Mokou said. "Intellectually, I think I knew it wasn't true, but… well, I wanted to be wrong."
"But you weren't."
"I wasn't," Mokou said. "It's as I expected. Fragments of Nolana's mind remain, it seems, but she's still Cirno. I explained things to her and Rumia, but she's not my friend."
"She didn't seem too grateful, either."
"Those two just went through a lot. I'll cut them some slack."
"Good point." A pause. "Um, I'm heading back home. Um, what are you going to do?"
"Eh, might as well go with you. I need to talk to Eirin, anyways."
There was commotion in the village square.
As Keine drew closer to the square, she was able to make out the tengu 'reporter' Aya. Oh, that's just great. What's she going on about this time?
"What are you doing here?" Keine asked as she approached Aya.
"Keine! What did the oni do?"
"Um… excuse me?"
"The oni! What did they do?"
"Okay," Keine said, "I have no idea what you're talking about. The only oni I've seen recently is Yuugi, who was here yester-"
"Yuugi? She's the one who did it? Did she have her with her? Had she hurt her?"
"Um… what?"
"Did she do anything to her?"
"Okay," Keine said, "I think you're asking if Yuugi had someone with her, and the answer is yes."
"She does have Orphan! Not good!"
"Hold on" Keine said, "how do you know about Orphan?"
"Nol at the Hakurei Shrine told me. Clever job by the oni, I have to say. I don't know what's happened to Reimu, but they're using her as a distraction. They even had me tricked into thinking the Reimu thing was the real story. They underestimated me, though. They didn't think I'd figure out their trick."
"Right," Keine said. "And you think the oni are up to something because…?"
"So glad you asked!" Aya reached into her bag and pulled out…
What the-? How did she fit a chalkboard in th- okay, dumb question in Gensokyo. There're about a million different ways that could be done. But... "Um, you keep a chalkboard in your bag?"
"Two," Aya said as she set the first one down and pulled out another, which she set down beside the first one.
"And you do this… why?"
"The truth must be revealed to all!"
Okay, that doesn't answer the question at all. Moving on. "And that truth is?"
"That the oni are going to attack."
Oooooo-kay. "And you've determined this… how?"
"Geez, you're gullible. You people really need to look harder, to ask more questions, to think."
"Yeah, there's really nobody who can, um, emulate your thought process."
"I'll spell it out for you, then."
Aya was a flurry of motion, drawing and writing things on the boards, as well placing pictures taken from her bag. When she was done, the boards were a nigh-indecipherable mess of words, drawings, and pictures. At the center of the first board was… That kind of looks like Orphan, Keine thought. "Aya, is that supposed to be Orphan?"
"Yes. That picture was taken the day she vanished. But where is she?"
"Eientei was her destination after leaving here," Keine said.
"A trick from the oni."
"Actually, Yuugi dropped Orphan off with me and left."
"Oh? Where'd she go?"
"Eientei, actually. She had a delivery to make."
"And you think it's just a coincidence that they went to the same place?"
"Um, yes."
"Well, you'd be wrong. If Orphan went there on her own, then she was tricked. Eientei's behind it. Think about it, Keine; what's Eientei been doing ever since people learned the place was there?"
"Treating the sick and injured? I really have no idea what you're getting at."
"Close, but you forgot a part of it."
"Um…"
"They're treating the sick and the injured for free."
"Right," Keine said.
"Well, think about it. How do they do that? They can't just be working for nothing. So where's the money coming from? Who's financing them?"
"Actually, I'm pretty sure they make a lot of what they need themselves."
"So? Maybe they don't have to buy much, but they have to pay the workers."
"You don't get how they run that place, do you? They don't do it like a business. The only thing they use money for is when they do need to get things from elsewhere."
"Wait, they don't use money? They don't pay for things like healthcare and food? It's just… provided? Damn, it's worse than I thought. They're going to turn Gensokyo socialist!"
"Um… what?"
"They're going to take over and take away choice! They'll make you get their healthcare, their food, their stuff. They'll take away the right to have spellcards. They'll-"
"What the hell are you going on about?"
Aya turned back to the chalkboards. "Look, look. See, Eientei's run by this woman, Kaguya. And what's she?" She drew an arrow from Kaguya to Eientei, and one to a drawing of the moon. "She's royalty. A princess from the moon. A princess who was exiled."
"She was forgiven for her crime and given a chance to return to the moon," Keine said. "She declined."
"A ruse, so that nobody would suspect her true purpose, suspect that she's still on their side. The entire exile is nothing but a ruse masking her true intent: the takeover of Gensokyo."
"What."
"You really think the Lunarians are satisfied with the moon? I've seen pictures." She pointed to an image of the lunar surface. "I know what that place looks like. Do you really think they'll just stay on the moon when there's a place like Gensokyo?"
What the hell is wrong with this woman? "Yes, Aya. Yes, I do."
"Because that's what they want you to think. They don't want anybody suspecting anything until they're ready to strike. Why do you think they were doing a military build-up? They just didn't think Earth would misinterpret their intent and attack. So without their built-up forces, they had to go to a back-up plan.
"Kaguya's original role was to provide intel on Gensokyo, but without their army, the Lunarians need her to build one up and strike from within."
This was making Keine's head hurt. "And this army is the oni?"
"Of course!" Aya drew an arrow between Kaguya and a picture of an oni. "They're stuck living in hell!" An arrow from the oni to a picture of the former hell. "They'll do anything to move back to the surface!" An arrow from the oni to a picture of the surface; specifically, the Youkai Mountain. "All Kaguya has to do is promise them a place to live up here. She probably plans to just let them go back to the mountain."
"And she somehow planned this with the oni while the underground was sealed."
"Of course not! That's why the attack hasn't happened yet! Kaguya couldn't build up the force she needs until access to the underground was reopened and the oni became available. Since then, the oni have been training an army in secret, and when they're ready, they'll attack! And now they have Orphan as a hostage!" An arrow from Kaguya to Orphan, and one from the oni to Orphan. "They can use her to force cooperation!"
There is so much wrong with that. "Aya, I don't think Kaguya's shown signs of plotting anything. She doesn't intend any harm."
"Yeah, well, the Nazis came into power because people thought the same thing about them."
"Wha-hu-what?" Keine knew about the Nazis thanks to outside-world history texts that had fallen through the border, but how did Aya- No, wait, the Moriya shrine came from the outside world just a few years ago. Either they had something about the Nazis or Aya learned it directly or indirectly from one of them. That must be it. "Um, I really don't think it's likely that Kaguya is Hitler."
"Of course she's not Hitler! She's just fooling people in the same way!"
"Right," Keine said. "You just go write your story, then. I'm going to go do something that doesn't make my head hurt."
Wriggle and the others landed in front of Rumia and Cirno. "There you are," Cirno said. "I thought you'd be here sooner. Or did you find a way to keep Dai from running off after us?"
"She tried," Wriggle said. "She didn't get very far. I kind of, well, anticipated her attempt."
"Right," Rumia said. "Wriggle, I assume you were watching. How much did you see? Do you have any questions?"
Wriggle shook her head. "No. Mokou answered all the questions I had. And I've filled the others in."
"Hold on," Cirno said, "you were watching? Um-"
"I didn't look during that part. I kept watch nearby, but I didn't look at you two until that was finished. I'm not a pervert."
"Hold on," Tewi said, "are you telling me they had-" She was cut-off mid-sentence as Cirno froze her, shattering the ice a couple seconds later. "Shutting up."
"Okay," Mystia said, "now what?"
"Let's head to Cirno's place," Dai said. "It's close."
"Well, okay," Cirno said, "but, um Wriggle?" She looked over all the insects still crawling all over Wriggle. "I don't really want so many bugs to come in."
"I can guarantee that they will not bother you," Wriggle said.
"Yeah, but, well..."
"Very well. I shall ensure that they remain outside."
"Thanks," Cirno said. "Okay, let's go."
"Ah, there you are," Eirin said as I entered her office. "Take a seat."
"I assume you have the results," I said as I sat down.
"That's correct. Unfortunately, I don't think there's much I can do for you. I'm certain that something of your memories remains, but the examination failed to produce any meaningful stimulus. This is not the first time I've seen that result, but it is quite unusual. I do, though, know what will likely stimulate what remains."
"And that is?"
"The same thing that's been stimulating them so far. Familiarity. The more familiar people, places, and situations you encounter, the more you will remember. I would recommend, then, that you continue searching for someone who knows who you are."
Disappointing, but not really unexpected. "Well, thank you for the effort."
"There is one more thing," Eirin said. "A clue not as to who you are, but as to what happened to you."
"Oh? And what would that be?"
"Traces," Eirin said, a hint of uncertainty in her voice. "Traces of… well, okay, what I found indicates something that shouldn't be possible-although I suppose I saw some impossibilities yesterday, too. Anyways, you are, of course, familiar with Gensokyo's barrier. I can say for certain now that whatever happened involved the barrier, and not just in the sense of you passing through it, because… well…
"Orphan, there are traces of the barrier within your mind."
Yes, I did just turn Aya into Glenn Beck. It sort of... came out that way when I was writing her scene with Keine, so I decided to take it and run with it. And I'm quite please with the result; that scene was a lot of fun. Also, if I don't see Aya start making Nazi comparisons in other stories, I will be very dissapointed.
As for the main focus of the chapter, the Cirno/Rumia thing, well, I always feel like my combat scenes are... bland. I put extra effort into this one, though, and I hope it came out all right.
And yes, Kaguya is now officially a troper.
And as always, reviews are appreciated.