Chapter 10
Plans

"I still question this," Akora said as she, Liri, and Sirena approached the village. "It would be better to kill her and be done with all of this."

"Except that we wouldn't be," Liri said. "Sirena isn't the real danger here. Not every problem can be solved so easily. Just trust me, Akora; this is the best option."

"I will take your word for it, then."

"Thank you," Liri said. And it would work; that seemed certain. After all, humans and youkai uniting against Mephilia was what the story wanted, and Sirena's cooperation would ensure that.

The village sentries spotted them as they neared, and a fairly sizable crowd gathered to meet them at the edge of the village, many of them armed in the same way the mob had been. And they weren't in a good mood. They were brandishing their weapons, and there were many hateful and hostile cries directed at Liri and especially Akora.

Sirena – Ren, rather; she had again assumed her human guise – stepped forward. "Stand down. These two... they mean no harm."

More noise from the crowd, eventually cut off by a shout as Keine arrived on the scene. "QUIET!"

The crowd was rowdy and agitated, but Keine had mastered the 'stern teacher' approach, and they quieted down quite quickly. "Thank you," Keine said, then turned to Ren and the others. "Ren. And Liri, and... I don't know you. Ren, what happened? Where are the others?"

"Those... those monsters," Sirena said. "Not youkai; those Twisted things. They... they attacked, and... and..."

Sirena was putting on a good show, but this wasn't a surprise; after all, she'd been fooling the entire village for quite some time. Even Keine had no idea there was anything more to it. "Ren?"

"...Everyone else is dead. The Twisted killed them all. Kiro, Harui, everyone. They... would have killed me, too, but... these two," she indicated Liri and Akora, "saved me."

More cries from the villagers. "What?" "Youkai saved you?" "That's impossible!" "That can't be right!" But Liri noted the fact that those most hostile and disbelieving responses were coming from the same few people. There was a general murmur from the crowd, and some exclamations of surprise, but the strongest hostility was only coming from those few people. Which made sense; doubtless most of those with stronger feelings of hatred had been among the mob. Still, there was enough general distrust and tension among humans in general that they wouldn't just take the word of a youkai, not even 'just' a magician. But hopefully hearing it from one of their own (or someone they thought was one of them, at least) would be enough.

"It's true," Sirena said. "I... wouldn't be alive if not for these two. Those monsters, they... they killed everyone else. These two barely managed to save even just me."

One human stepped forward, looking not at Sirena but rather at the two youkai. "Bullshit. Do you think we don't know what this is? You're holding her hostage, forcing her to say these things. Trying to get us to trust you and make it easier for you to kill us all."

Sirena was doing an excellent job portraying Ren's barely-suppressed emotions, and at that moment she did just as good a job of showing them bursting out. "And just what the hell hold could they possibly have over me? The man I loved is dead! Those fucking monsters killed him? What the hell could anyone have over me now? My own life? You think I'd care if they killed me now? At least that way our souls could find each other in the Netherworld! But no, I stayed alive! I'm only here now so I can atone for my mistakes! Do you understand that? I'm the one who found a target for that mob, I'm the reason they were out there! Because I thought I'd found the youkai responsible for last night's killing! They were there because of my mistake! Kiro's dead, and it's my fault! And for what? We were all wrong! Sure, we knew the Twisted were a threat, but we couldn't stop looking for the youkai we were so certain were behind them. We were so occupied staring into the shadows that we completely ignored the real danger right in front of us! And you're still doing it! You still don't realize it's the Twisted that are the real enemy, and I will not accept that. Kiro had to die for me to realize our – my – mistake, and if we don't realize it, then..." Sirena started to cry, "...then he died for nothing."

The crowd was mostly silenced by Sirena's outburst. And the outburst seemed to have the desired effect, as well. Ren's feelings for Kiro weren't a revelation – their relationship had been something of an open secret – but this just made her words more effective. Because the people knew of her feeling for Kiro, they understood where she was coming from. Sirena had intended to use that relationship to emphasize her betrayal, but it was working just as well to calm the flames as it would have to fan them.

Still, though, not everyone was going to be convinced. "There has to be someone behind the Twisted," one woman said. "Those things aren't natural; someone had to make them. Somewhere, there is at least a youkai behind all of this."

There was a general murmur of agreement from the crowd, but then one voice rang out above the rest. "No."

Sanae arrived at the village to find quite a commotion just outside it. A crowd was gathered around three people, one of whom, to Sanae's surprise, was Liri. The eagle youkai Akora was there, too, along with a human Sanae didn't recognize. Soon, she drew close enough to hear what was being said. Looks like I was right. Things have come to a head.

"There has to be someone behind the Twisted," a woman said. "Those things aren't natural; someone had to make them. Somewhere, there is at least a youkai behind all of this."

Of course they think that, Sanae thought. And it was indeed no surprise that they were blaming youkai for the Twisted. After all, anti-youkai sentiment was at a high point, so of course they would blame anything bad on youkai. And even if it was just one youkai, they would attribute it to all youkai. Sanae knew how that worked; she'd seen it clearly enough even just in the outside world, before coming to Gensokyo. And so she decided to take a chance.

Right, then. Time to play the odds.

"No," Sanae said as she landed between Liri and the villagers. "Not a youkai. A god. Mephilia, an evil god defeated and sealed away a thousand years ago. But now she's back, and she means to exact vengeance through Gensokyo's destruction. She is the one behind the Twisted. And soon, she will awaken, and we will be faced with her full force. And the only way we can survive is to unite against her."

When there was prejudice against a certain group, the negative aspects or actions of an individual were attributed to the entire group. But gods were not such a group, and so the humans of the village would see the actions of an evil god as solely her own, not reflective of gods as a whole. As such, Sanae hoped that by saying Mephilia was a god, she could draw the villagers' animosity away from youkai and towards Mephilia without drawing it towards gods as a whole. And given how stories like this one worked, the claim that Mephilia was a god was probably even true.

There was more noise from the crowd, which clearly wasn't quite convinced. But then Keine stepped forward and turned to face them. "What she says is true. I have witnessed it for myself." Which wasn't completely true, but she had been there during the attack on the village, when Mephilia had first revealed herself through that one particular Twisted. "We didn't understand then what it meant, but Sanae is right. We cannot face this threat alone."

"The only way we can win against this threat," Sanae said, "is to stand together! To face it not as humans and youkai, but as the people of Gensokyo! We stand together, or we fall. I choose to stand; what of you?"

Now the woman with Liri spoke. "I made the mistake of blaming Youkai for an evil god's actions, but it's not too late to correct this mistake. I know where I stand; where do you stand?"

Murmurs from the crowd, but then those murmurs built up. And though there were voices that objected, it was clear where the crowd as a whole stood. "Yes!" Sasnae said. "We will all stand together against Mephilia, and as one, we will cast her out!"

"I guess I came at the perfect time," Sanae said.

Liri and Sanae were in Keine's house, although Keine wasn't there. She'd left to go speak with the villagers; although Sirena and Sanae seemed to have won them over, getting them to accept uniting with youkai wasn't quite that simple. But after what Sirena and Sanae'd had to say, Keine was confident it would happen.

"Of course you did," Liri said. Because the story needed you to. "Sanae, I... I figured it out. This will sound crazy, but I think this is all happening because of the story, that-"

"That the story itself is causing these events" Sanae said. "I figured it out as well. And it's not just this incident, either, is it?"

"No," Liri said, "it's not. There's a cycle of stories, each incident just another story in the cycle."

"A cycle that ensures Gensokyo's survival but also that Gensokyo will repeatedly face danger."

"You figured that part out, too. That's good, because... well, because of Luna. She told me to asked myself if the safety is worth the price, and... no. I don't believe it is. And I think Luna intends to do something about it."

"And you think she's right? Even though Gensokyo's already faced several incidents that could have destroyed it and will almost certainly face others in the future, with or without any story's influence?"

"Gensokyo," Liri said, "is home to more than a few exceptionally powerful individuals, all of whom have a vested interest in its survival. Do you really think someone like Yukari wouldn't intervene if necessary?"

'Yukari can't intervene," Sanae said. "The story won't allow it. The 'powers that be' never act directly. We have to face the enemy ourselves; they can't do it for us." Wait, but she's saying... "But if the story's influence was gone, then... yes, Yukari would certainly do something about it."

"And she's hardly the only one. No, Gensokyo will endure. It doesn't need these stories, and we don't need the suffering that comes about as a result of them."

"So you mean to aid Luna, then."

"I do," Liri said. "I won't make any final decisions until I know what she intends to do, but yes, I believe she's right. And if we can pull it off, we won't have to worry about another story showing up in the future."

"Which sounds great," Sanae said, "but first we have to survive this one, and I don't think that'll be easy. We need some sort of a plan. The good news is, I think I have one. Liri, we know where all five seals are. With that information, is it possible to predict where Mephilia would appear when all of them are broken?"

"Hmm... I believe so, yes. Although I think Patchouli would be better suited to make that determination than I would."

"That's fine. So, then, what we'll do is follow how this works in the stories. The Twisted will attack not in smaller groups as they have until now, but as an army. They will attack here, attack the village, and no matter what we do, we won't be able to defeat the army. But what we can do is hold it off long enough for a group of us to reach and defeat Mephilia herself, and her defeat will also put an end to her army of Twisted."

"The first thing we need to do," Sanae said, "is evacuate most of the youkai settlements. The Twisted will be attacking not just this village, but any they can find. We've developed a way to conceal villages, but we only have enough units to hide half a dozen. We'll concentrate the weaker youkai in those villages. Those strong enough to fight, however, will gather here in the human village. We can't hide this one; the Twisted will attack it no matter what we do."

"Why can't we hide it?" Keine said.

"Because they'll come anyways." Because that's how the story works. "Just trust me on this one, all right? They'll come for the human village no matter what we do, so it's the place to make our stand."

Keine's house, still. Sanae was there, and Keine, and Reisen, and Liri was still present as well. "I hope you don't expect us to evacuate Eintei," Reisen said. "I don't think the earth rabbits would be willing."

"I'm not too worried about Eintei," Sanae said. "You guys can defend yourselves. Although if you can spare anyone, we'd welcome the aid."

"I'll see what I can do."

"I say we do it," Kaguya said. "We don't need every rabbit to defend Eientei; we can send some to the village."

"Yes," Eirin said, "but in the end it's not our decision. Tewi, what do you say?"

For once, the leader of the earth rabbits was completely serious. "Gensokyo is our home. We'll do whatever we can to protect it."

"Well," Kaguya said, "there you have it! Eirin, it sounds like it's time to dust off those defense plans we came up with. Get everything ready, and then if we have some extra rabbits, send some to the village."

"Yes, Princess," Eirin said.

"The underground is a similar situation," Sanae said. "The palace and the oni are more than capable of defending themselves, but we could certainly use anyone they can spare."

"Leave that one to me," Liri said. "I'll talk to Enkara."

"Who?"

"She's sort of the oni's envoy to the surface. Informally, of course; the oni aren't exactly big on formalities. And she also happens to be a friend of mine. I'm surprised you don't know her, as much business as you do with the underground."

"We don't really have any contact with the oni," Sanae said. "We work with the Palace of Earth Spirits directly."

"Ah, of course. Perhaps you should be the one to speak with Satori, then, but you can leave the oni to me.

"Damn," Enkara said, "this has gotten serious."

"It has indeed," Liri said. "You can understand why we'd want help from the oni."

"Obviously, yeah. And sure, I'd say we can send a few your way. I'll see if I can get Yuugi to come up, too; might be a good one to bring with you against Mephilia. Suika'd help, too, though she might be better at the village just stomping on the enemy army. But sure, we'll help. Might want to have some sake ready, though. The good stuff, too."

"I'd imagine that can be arranged."

"Then I'll speak with Satori," Sanae said.

"You're right," Satori said. "A lot of that is hard to believe. But those parts don't matter. The Twisted are real, and Mephilia is real. That's what matters. I'm afraid I don't have anything to contribute to the defense of the village, however. Ah, but you're not here for that. You're asking the oni for help with that part. You've come to me because... yes, that makes sense. You'd like Okuu's help against Mephilia. I'm... hesitant to put her in danger, but then I recognize that, given how much power she has, there's a limit to how much danger she'd be in. And I would be accompanying her, anyways. Very well. I'll ask her if she's willing to help."

Sanae hadn't said a single word. Even now, she didn't even have a chance to thank Satori. "You're welcome," Satori said.

"The tengu and kappa villages will be among those we hide," Sanae said. "That way, we won't have to worry about defending them and we can concentrate all of our forces in the human village."

"Youkai forces," Keine said, "here in the village."

"This will be the main focus of the Twisted's attack, regardless of what we do. It's the only logical place to make our stand, and this will take all of us, human and youkai. Will that be a problem?"

"It might," Keine said, "Anti-youkai sentiment isn't going to just disappear just because of one speech, but... they'll be here to help us defend ourselves against annihilation. I think I can sell that. Especially with Ren pushing for it, too. She wasn't one of the worst, but she was still on the forefront of anti-youkai sentiment; having her advocating cooperation should have a significant effect."

Of course, it also helped that the worst of the anti-youkai crowd were dead, having been in the mob. Nobody said it, but nobody really needed to.

"Are you planning," Keine went on, "to shelter anyone in the village? Because that may be a bit of a harder sell."

"We won't be bringing any non-combatants here," Sanae said, "no. In fact, ideally we'd evacuate the villagers to one of the hidden villages, but I doubt they'd be willing."

"Indeed," Keine said. "Even outside of any hostility toward youkai, they simply wouldn't want to leave. This is their home, after all. In fact, I think more than a few will be willing to fight with you in its defense."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sanae said, "because I suspect we'll need all the help we can get. This attack is going to be fierce, and it will take everything we have to hold it off."

"'Hold it off'?" Keine said. "Not win?"

"That's not how this works. The source of the Twisted is Mephilia; as long as she lives, defeating them is impossible. They'll just keep coming. In order to win, we have to defeat her."

"Then why not just go straight for her, before her army of Twisted can attack?"

"It's... complicated," Liri said, "but the short version is that it wouldn't work, as we won't be able to get at her until the attack begins." She knew the truth, of course, that the reason a preemptive strike wouldn't succeed was because that simply wasn't how the stories worked. But rather than trying to convince Keine of the whole 'story' aspect, Liri and Sanae had decided not to mention that part.

"Just trust us," Sanae said. "We wouldn't be putting the village at risk if there was any way to avoid it."

"...All right," Keine said. "So your forces will hold off the Twisted army while you go after Mephilia."

Sanae nodded. "While the battle is ongoing, I'll lead a smaller group against Mephilia. It won't be easy, so we'll need as many powerful individuals as we can get. So if you know of anyone, it would be a good idea to ask for their help."

"I do know someone," Liri said, "and I think Alraune will be more than willing to help. And... she may know someone else who fits our needs."

"Alraune," Yuuka said. "I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."

"Things are coming to a head," Alraune said. "In just a couple days, the real attack will start, but apparently once it does, Mephilia will be vulnerable. So while the mountain's forces – and anyone else's they can get – are engaging the Twisted army, a smaller force is going to attack Mephilia directly. Apparently, killing Mephilia will also destroy the Twisted, or at least that's what Sanae says."

"I can see it," Yuuka said. "The Twisted are unnatural, are abominations. Such monstrosities can't exist on their own. If Mephilia is their creator, then she is also what sustains their existence. Remove that sustenance, and yes, they may very well cease to exist."

"And even if they don't," Alraune said, "killing Mephilia will prevent the creation of any more of them. Either way, taking her out is the key."

"And you want my aid."

"Sanae's going to lead a strike against Mephilia, and she wants as many powerful individuals as she can get."

Yuuka chuckled. "Even me? She must be desperate."

"Well, I don't think she knows it's you I'm talking to, but yes, I think she'll take anyone she can get. I'll be accompanying her; what about you?"

"Hmm..." Yuuka thought for a moment, then, "I will not be joining you."

"Yuuka, this is serious. If we don't win this fight, Gensokyo is-"

Yuuka cut her off. "I never said I wouldn't fight. The Twisted are abominations, and as their creator, Mephilia's very existence is an affront to nature. Make no mistake, Alraune; I absolutely mean to kill her. I simply won't be joining Sanae's group to do so. It would be foolish to show all one's cards at the beginning; after all, one must save something in case of need."

"All right, then," Sanae said. "It sounds as though we all have work to do, so let's get moving."

After speaking with Enkara and Alraune, Liri had another matter to attend to.

Liri arrived at the location Luna'd specified to find the mysterious youkai engaged in battle., Luna's opponent was a youkai Liri hadn't seen before, but she still had a pretty good guess as to who it was. That must be that 'Herald' person who's been breaking the seals.

Herald, whose powers appeared to be darkness-based, was putting up a good fight, but Luna clearly had the upper hand, and so Herald soon turned to flee. Liri, anticipating this, threw up a quick barrier in Herald's path, and though Herald easily broke through the hastily-constructed barrier, it delayed her long enough for Luna to catch her and finish her off.

Luna returned to the ground as Liri entered the clearing. "I appreciate the assistance."

"That was Herald, I take it?"

"Indeed," Luna said. "She encountered your barrier at the remaining seal, but, not knowing of you, she believed I was responsible for it. She wanted to force me to open it."

"I see," Liri said. "Not that it matters. The seal will fail anyways, and there's no way to stop it. The story will continue regardless of what we do."

"Indeed. Herald's role was complete; at this point, she was nothing but a loose end. Her death changes nothing." Luna paused for a moment, then, "So... you've figured it out, then."

Liri nodded. "What's happening is the result of a storyline from the outside world imposing itself upon Gensokyo. And it's not the first time this has happened."

"That's right. Gensokyo exists as the outside world's fantasy, which means it's connected to the outside by fantasy. And that fantasy influences Gensokyo. When one incident ends, another will eventually begin. A cycle of stories. And... you understand, too, why I did not simply tell you this, am I correct?"

"Because of how crazy it sounds, I would imagine. If you'd told me outright, I wouldn't have accepted it right away. Though I think I would have eventually. I'd have thought about it, realized that it fits when no other explanation does."

"Perhaps," Luna said, "but I would rather not take such a chance. If I had just told you, it would have been hard to believe, maybe even impossible. But by simply giving you the pieces, you were much more likely to accept the picture they formed. After all, it's easy to dismiss an insane truth someone tells you but much harder to dismiss it when you've seen the pieces and put them together yourself."

"Which I did. Sanae, too. But I do still have one question: why give me the pieces at all?"

"The cycle ensures Gensokyo's survival," Luna said, "but it does so at a cost. The people who suffer or die, the damage caused, that is the cycle's price. The cycle guarantees survival, but also death. Do you believe this price to be worth said safety?"

"No," Liri said. "We don't need the cycle's protection."

"Are you certain? Gensokyo is home to some exceptionally dangerous individuals, many of whom could easily destroy it if they wanted to. It is the cycle's existence that ensures they do not. Without it, we would no longer have that guarantee of survival."

"I'll tell you the same thing I told Sanae," Liri said. "Gensokyo is home to many extremely powerful individuals, all of whom have a vested interest in its survival. Even if someone does decide to destroy it, or take actions that would put it at risk, do you really think someone like Yukari would simply stand by and let it happen?"

"Yukari can't do everything. What if she's not able to stop it?"

"Then others will join the effort. Even someone such as Yuuka; despite what people say about her, she would not want Gensokyo's end. And there's a friend of mine who's just as powerful who would also intervene. Or Makai's goddess, Shinki; Gensokyo's destruction would affect Makai as well, and besides, her daughter resides in Gensokyo. Hell, Gensokyo's destruction would disrupt the order of life enough that even the yama would likely intervene to stop it."

"And you're willing to bet Gensokyo's existence on that?"

"Gensokyo will endure."

"Good," Luna said. "I'm glad to hear you say that, because I agree. Which brings us to your question. The reason I gave you the pieces, Liri, was because I want your assistance in bringing the cycle to an end."

"I see. Although I'm not sure what you would need me for. You're exceptionally powerful yourself; I don't think I could add much to that."

"It's not about power. What needs doing, you're more than strong enough to do it yourself. In fact, given your greater skill with magic, you'll do a better job than I could. But the real reason I want your aid is because doing this properly requires multiple people. Preferably three, though two would be sufficient. I'm powerful enough that I likely could manage it on my own, but it would be a brute-force solution that could very well cause damage. I would have done it myself anyways, but I found it likely the story would bring to me someone who could help, if only she could be convinced to do so."

"I do believe the cycle should be broken," Liri said, "so yes, I will assist you. But tell me, how exactly do you intend to do this?"

"Gensokyo and the outside world are connected, and it is this connection that allows the outside world's stories to influence us, that traps us in the cycle of stories. If we break that connection, the cycle will end. It will not completely separate us from the outside world – Gensokyo will always be where magic and forgotten beings go, and the worlds will still be close enough for people and objects from the outside to fall into Gensokyo – but it will prevent the sort of direct influence we have now."

"And you'll use your power of cycles to break that connection. I still don't see where I come in."

"The connection is what results in the cycle," Luna said, "but it is not part of any cycle itself, so it is outside the influence of my power of cycles. In order to sever the connection, we will need to break its flow. Once we do that, the connection will collapse. Even just for an instant will be enough. It is, however, a fairly strong flow, hard to stop. And simply putting a barrier in the way won't work, anyways; the connection would simply flow around it. Nor, obviously, can we just redirect the flow; we have to actually break it. Can you tell me, then, how to do such a thing?"

"Block it and redirect it," Liri said. "Construct a shaped barrier in the flow. Get it to flow around and out, then a concave bend. Think of it... well, say you have a stream of water. Put a cone in that stream, and the water will flow down it. Then, have sort of a bowl-shaped ring around the bottom of the cone, though not quite a bowl; bowls are meant to contain, whereas what we're doing here is directing the flow back upwards. Make it a smooth, wide curve, so the water flows smoothly along it and launches back up. Now, water will, of course, arc back downward, but en energy flow would not. Of course, the barrier wouldn't actually be that shape, but it gives you a decent idea of how the barrier would work."

"And that," Luna said, "is why your aid is so appreciated. I couldn't craft a shaped barrier myself; I would have had to essentially push the stream back onto itself."

"That... could certainly go wrong. And cause problems even if it succeeded, the energy bleed alone would be more than capable of doing significant damage."

"Which is why I'm glad to be able to do it your way."

"As am I. And you're right; my way does require at least two people. The barrier will have to be constructed in two parts and combined while already in the stream. If I tried to build it as one piece, the energy would catch in the bowl as it's built. I'll have to make the cone and inner half of the bowl as one piece, and the outer half as another piece, and then combine them. So, yes, I'll need a second person, someone to hold one piece in place while I craft the other. The stream could flow around either piece easily, so they wouldn't be damaged until combined. If the stream is as strong as you say, then once they're combined and taking the force rather than letting it flow around them, the construct will likely only last a few moments, but a few moments will be enough."

"Then I shall secure the first piece in place while you craft the other."

"Wouldn't have to be you," Liri said. "I'll make the cone piece first. The energy will flow around it, so it won't be hit by any. It'd be like a stick in a river; all that's needed is someone to hold it from getting swept away in the flow. Won;t take a lot of power. I even know a fairy who could probably do it, although she is unusually strong for a fairy."

"Perhaps you should bring her, then, or someone else who could do it. It never hurts to have a backup, after all."

"True enough. Now, where is this 'stream'?"

"That," Luna said, "is the hard part. To reach it, we will have to pass into the space between gensokyo and the outside world, which will require us to slip outside the cycle of existence. I am capable of this, but there's only one place in Gensokyo where it can be done. A place where the cycle of life is at its peak, its greatest transition. We will have to make our entrance into the space between worlds from directly above the Sanzu River."

"...Oh. And... how? Only the Yama or a shinigami's ferry can cross the river. Anyone else will fail, their souls lost forever in the river."

"The river is where living becomes dead, where souls pass into the afterlife. It plays a key role in the cycle of life and death. As such, my power of cycles enables me to suppress its effects long enough for us to reach its middle, where we will slip outside of its cycle and into the space between worlds. But this is not without danger. As soon as we pass over the river, the soulless evil spirits trapped there will attack. We may also draw the shinigami's attention, though unless one happens to be in just the right place when we begin, I doubt any will reach us before we pass between worlds. But we will certainly encounter the evil spirits, so be prepared to fight them off."

"All right. When do we go?"

"When the story reaches its climax," Luna said. "That is when it will be vulnerable, so that is when we must strike."

They were on the ground, two of them. Two Twisted, heading straight for the 'convoy', as it was being called, though it was no such thing. Just the youkai of various villages making their way to one of the designated safe areas, the villages in which right now the kappa were setting up their new camouflage system.

Momiji didn't give the Twisted any chance to see her coming. She swooped down, hit the ground running, and cut through them both. One strike wasn't enough to kill them, of course, but though they tried to fight back, they were no match for Momiji's speed, strength, and skill, and the wolf tengu made short work of them.

Momiji looked around, seeing that her companions had taken care of their targets as well. "Good work. Let's rejoin the others." Her companions nodded, and the three of them rejoined the escort formation around the convoy.

In preparation for the anticipated battle, youkai were being evacuated from most villages and gathered in a half-dozen designated 'safe zones', villages the kappa were going to conceal. On the mountain, that meant the tengu and kappa villages; outside off the mountain, that meant one of four villages spaced throughout Gensokyo, chosen for being spread throughout Gensokyo such that nobody had too far to go to reach one. And the villages weren't the only places people were gathering, either. Some made their way to the Myouren Temple, trusting Byakuren and her disciples to protect them, and many youkai in the bamboo forest were seeking shelter in Eientei. And many aquatic youkai were heading for the Misty Lake, where Sanae was certain they'd be safe. "I have it on good authority," the maiden had said, "that the mermaid princess is more than capable of protecting the lake and anyone within it."

This was the second day; evacuations had begun the day before, as soon as Sanae had returned from the human village. Though the evacuees would likely be safe once they reached their destinations, Sanae had predicted some danger along the way. As such, multiple tengu squads had been dispatched as escorts, and Momiji's was not the first of them to have encountered the enemy. The Twisted had been continually harassing the evacuees, but it hadn't yet been anything more than that. Just small groups, easily fended off.

This particular batch of evacuees arrived at their destination without further incident, and Momiji addressed the team. "All right, Greentree's next. If everything's on schedule, they should be ready to leave by the time we get there. So let's move!"

"She's using the story against itself," Sanae said. "Clever."

This time, Liri had come to the mountain; Sanae was involved in preparations with the tengu and kappa, and so instead Liri had come to the shrine. "'Using the story against itself'?" she said. "What do you mean?"

"I think I've mentioned before that these stories often involve cycles, often a cycle of whatever evil being returning to the world. Such stories almost always involve finding a way to break this cycle. It's a normal thing for stories like this, and it sounds like Luna means to take advantage of that. She'll strike when the story would expect a cycle to be broken, and so the story won't resist her efforts. But instead of breaking a cycle within the story, she'll be breaking one outside the story."

"We will, actually," Liri said. "I'll be accompanying her in this endeavor; she could succeed on her own through brute force, but I can do it much more elegantly, and with much less chance of unintended consequences. It's not something I can do on my own – in the expected circumstances, I'll need a second person to hold something in place – but I won't be on my own. Luna will be there, and I may bring Tilea as well, just in case."

"All right," Sanae said. "I'll handle the battle, then, and you handle making sure something like this doesn't happen again."

"I don't really understand all that," Tilea said, "but sure, I'll help."

"You're sure?" Liri said.

"Of course! You wouldn't be doing anything bad. Besides, I may not be the sharpest... sharp... thing... in the... place... with a lot of sharp things, but I know these Twisted things are bad, and you're trying to get rid of what made them, right?"

Liri nodded. "That's right."

"That's good enough for me! I'll do whatever you need me to!"

"Glad to hear it, Tilea. Thanks."

"No problem!"

"You know it's the right choice," Kanako said. "Nobody in Gensokyo is better suited to lead our forces in this battle than Suwako and myself."

"It doesn't matter," Sanae said. "I can't... you can't..."

"I understand your concern."

"I don't," Mystia said. "Aren't we all going to be fighting anyways? Heck, I'd think the leaders would be safer. They stay back from the fighting, right? They couldn't lead too well if they were busy fighting."

"It's the story," Sanae said. "What we're doing is common in these stories, an army making a final stand while a smaller group goes for the win. And... they succeed, but... not without cost."

"She's concerned, Mystia," Kanako said, "that if we lead the battle, Suwako or myself, or both of us, will die. Will have to give our lives to keep the enemy at bay."

"...Oh," Mystia said.

"I don't want to lose you, Kanako," Sanae said. "You or Suwako. And if you do this, at least one of you almost certainly will. I... I can't let that happen. You can't do this."

"We can and we will," Kanako said. "Suwako and I have both been goddesses of war, Sanae. We have both led our peoples to victory many times throughout history. We alone in Gensokyo have commanded armies. And once more, the Goddesses of Moriya will see to it their people emerge triumphant from the coming battle."

"...I know," Sanae eventually said with reluctance. "I just... you know how it plays out. You know what'll happen to you."

"Don't be mistaken, Sanae," Kanako said. "We have no intention of dying. What the story wants doesn't matter; if it tries to take our lives, it will find us to be no easy prey. Even if the Twisted can kill us, gods do not die easily. And besides, the whole point of this is to defy the story, to break away from it; that will be Lyra's task, will it not? Have faith, Sanae; we do not intend to fall here."

"...Very well," Sanae said. "You are my god; I will do as you command."

"Oh, don't think like that. After all, you won't be our maiden for much longer. In fact, I suspect you will ascend during the battle with Mephilia."

Sanae thought about that. "Yes, that's a good point. I probably will. Gaining new power at a crucial moment is common in the stories. But I will always be loyal to you, Kanako. You and Suwako both."

"Perhaps, but you will not be our servant."

"Then we will be allies as gods."

"I imagine so. But first, we must survive this battle."

"Yes," Sanae said. "All right, then. I don't like it, but I will leave the defense to you. I'll trust you to keep the people of Gensokyo safe, and you can leave Mephilia to me."

They were ready by the next day, just two days after they made their plan, and Lyra and Tilea has just met up with Luna. "I've visited the seal," Lyra said. "It's degraded impossibly quickly; at this rate, it's likely to break in just an hour or two. Fortunately, everyone should be in position by then."

"There's no doubt they will be," Luna said. "The story will ensure it; in fact, I expect the seal will fail the instant Sanae's team arrives. They know where to go, I take it?"

Lyra nodded. "Patchouli and I analyzed the positioning of the seals to determine where Mephilia will appear. It won't just be in the middle of them; the forces involved are more complicated than that. They're positioned t resonance points, but those points are not evenly spaced from each other. That, and the irregular shape of the border, and many other things influence where the seals' energies converge most strongly, and that is the true location at which Mephilia is sealed. That is where she will appear."

"Good." Luna then turned to the other one present. "And you, you must be Tilea."

"Yep!" Tilea said. "You're... Luna, right? Huh, you kinda look like Cirno's friend... Rumia, that's her name." Lyra hadn't tried to explain that part to Tilea; the fairy wouldn't have understood anyways. Fortunately, Tilea moved on immediately. "Right, are we ready to go?"

"We are," Luna said. "Let's get into position. Follow me."

"What do you mean, 'no'? This is our home! And you're telling us you won't let us fight in its defense?"

The force was assembled outside the human village, and, as expected, a number of the villagers wanted to join the fight.

"I won't permit you to throw your lives away," Kanako said. "That will be of no help to anyone."

"You don't think we can fight?" the man said. "I'm one of the village's best hunters! And you don't think I can hold my own in battle?"

"There are many skilled hunters here," Kanako said, "but a skilled hunter isn't necessarily a skilled fighter. And I think you know this. Do not compare this battle to hunting a youkai; you will find none of your typical advantages here. There are no traps, no ambushes, and these enemies cannot be weakened by seals or felled by poisons."

Another of the villagers spoke up. "I don't care! I'm not going to just stand by while my home is attacked! This is our home, and you think you can just tell us to do nothing for it?"

"You misunderstand," Kanako said. "You are not warriors; you have no place in a full-scale battle. But I would never think to order you to simply do nothing. There is a task, an important one, and I would leave this task to you."

"And what is this 'task'?" one of the villagers said.

"Simple. Our defensive line encircles the entire village, as the enemy will come from all directions. But no defense is perfect. The Twisted army will not penetrate our line, of that you have my word, but individual Twisted may well slip into the village, and their mindless hostility will draw them towards the people within. What would happen, then, if there was nobody within the village to defend them? We will not be able to; repelling the army will require our full attention. But someone has to, and it is this task I would leave to you. I would have you guard the people within this village so that we may focus on our fight. Do you accept?"

Silence at first, then murmurs of agreement. "I believe we do," a woman said.

"Good. Gather the villagers together into one location; that will make them easier to guard. The school, perhaps; I imagine you can fit them all within it. Then, with the knowledge of where the enemy will have to come, you can set your traps, ready your ambushes. Turn the situation to your advantage, as you would on a hunt. And guard your people well."

"We will. You can be sure of that."

"I am glad to hear it," Kanako said.

Alraune was there, and Akora. The oni Yuugi Hoshiguma was present as well. Utsuho Reuji was there, accompanied by Satori (who was currently off to the side, away from the rest of the group). Byakuren felt that her place was at the village, but Nue Houjuu was present in her place, Mamizou Futatsuiwa accompanying her. Fujiwara no Mokou was there, too, Keine having convinced her to join the group. And last was Alice Margatroid; Alice had been reluctant at first, but Sanae had convinced her to come along. Mephilia would likely be accompanied by Twisted, and with her dolls, Alice was an ideal choice to keep them at bay.

"All right," Sanae said, "you all know the plan, such as it is. We know where Mephilia will appear; our job is to take her out. You are among the strongest individuals in Gensokyo, but Mephilia will be stronger; it will take all of us to defeat her. Any questions?" There were none. "Good. Very well, then. Let's go."

"Stop being stupid, Dai!" Cirno said. "I'm the strongest, so I'm going to fight!"

Which, Daiyousei knew, was a bad idea; Cirno would only be getting herself killed. But she knew there was no way she'd ever convince Cirno of this. Fortunately, there was another way she could get Cirno to stay in the village.

"I don't care how strong you are," Daiyousei said. "You're just one person, and they have an army. They'll be fine without you. But what about here?"

Cirno'd been ready to object, but the question took her by surprise. "Huh?"

"It's only weaker youkai here. That kappa device is hiding this village from sight, but it can't stop a Twisted from just happening to wander in. And then what happens? There's no one here to stop it, nobody who can defend the youkai here. Nobody except you. They need you here, Cirno."

Cirno gave that a bit of thought, or at least the closest she could manage. "You know what? You're right. Okay, then! The people here have nothing to fear; I, Cirno, shall protect them!"

"Good," Daiyousei said. I don't know what you're doing right now, Mystia, but I'll do what you asked. I'll make sure Cirno and I survive. I promise.

Sirena was... conflicted.

Amidst all the activity in and around it, slipping out of the village unnoticed had been easy. And Sirena did not mean to return. Without the goal of inciting them against Youkai, she had no reason to remain. And nobody would question the disappearance of 'Ren'; she would simply be counted among the doubtlessly-numerous casualties. But Sirena did not know what to do next.

For a long time now, she'd been guided by her purpose, by the objective of inflaming tensions between humans and youkai. Her goal had been the dissolution of the danmaku system, but she had failed when she was defeated by Lyra, and without that goal, she was... lost.

Lyra had told her enough. After their fight, she'd mentioned the story, and on the way back to the village she'd explained the rest. Sirena wasn't sure if she believed it, but she knew Lyra believed it. But she wasn't obligated to aid Lyra; Lyra's demand had been for her to cease inflaming tensions and rally the villagers to join forces with youkai in order to oppose the Twisted, and she had done so. She did not need to join the fight against the Twisted herself, did not need to aid against this 'Mephilia'. But... what would she do?

Sirena understood the gravity of her actions. Many had died because of her, and countless more would have died had she succeeded. But she had never doubted her actions; preserving Gensokyo was more than worth that price. But she had failed, and people whose deaths would have helped preserve Gensokyo had now died for nothing. For Gensokyo's sake, Sirena truly did hope that Lyra was right, that conflict under the danmaku system was enough to preserve Gensokyo and that any danger was due to this 'cycle of stories', but either way, Sirena's own actions had been for nothing. She'd done terrible things without hesitation, certain in the thought that doing so would lead to Gensokyo's preservation. That would be her redemption, that the right outcome sometimes required the worst of actions. But now those actions had not let to Gensokyo's preservation; they had instead been for nothing.

Sirena had never regretted her actions. Even now, it wasn't what she'd done that she regretted, but that it hadn't worked. She had always been certain in her purpose of preserving Gensokyo, and that any actions taken towards that purpose were justified. But her defeat had instead rendered those actions meaningless.

Sirena didn't want to simply do nothing. She had always acted in what she'd believed – known – to be Gensokyo's best interests. But her efforts had amounted to nothing. And if Lyra was right, they hadn't even been of her own choosing, had they? If Lyra was right, it would mean that she had never been guided by purpose, that everything she'd done had been solely for the sake of some 'story', a conflict created for no reason but to be resolved. All those she'd killed, and for no reason but to create a division that existed for the sole purpose of being resolved. Her actions, the people she'd killed, nothing more than a plot point. Worse than useless.

Worse than useless.

"Everything looks good," Takeri said. "All units are green. Camouflage is running smoothly."

"Good," Nitori said.

The two of them were in the human village, in an unoccupied house the kappa had set up as sort of a command center for the coming battle. Takeri and Nitori had their own equipment set up as a central command station for the new camouflage systems. Systems were set up in six different villages, including the kappa and tengu villages, but the system was still new, so there was always the potential for unforeseen problems. There were technicians on site in each village, but Nitori and Takeri were the ones who knew the most about the system; others might not be as able to tell what was wrong. But there were only two of them, so they couldn't be in all six locations. Thus, their central command station.

"Well," Nitori said, "doesn't look like there's much to do here right now, so I'm going to go double-check some of the weapons."

"Everything's already been checked. We've got plenty of weapon techs here."

"Well, yes, but they're not me. What if they missed something?"

Oh, for- "Nitori, they're perfectly capable of doing this, and everything's been double-checked."

"Not by me. Just keep an eye on the systems; I know you can do that much on your own. Call me back immediately if anything goes wrong; you wouldn't know how to fix any of it yourself."

You are just one hell of an asshole sometimes, aren't you? And I'm pretty sure you don't even know it. "Sure," Takeri said. "I'll do that."

"Thank you. And, Takeri, I'm-"

For the love of- "Would you stop apologizing for Liora's death? It was not. Your. Fault. Okay?"

"It was my-"

"Just go," Takeri said.

"But-"

"I don't want to hear it, okay? Just go already!"

Nitori paused for a moment. "Fine," she said eventually. "But you need to stop lying to yourself." And then she exited the house.

Does she really not understand? Takeri thought. Can she not understand that it wasn't her fault?

But really, Takeri was pretty sure she knew the answer to that.

It was time; the enemy was coming.

"Well," Suwako said, "I guess we're as ready as we'll ever be. I have to say, I didn't think we'd be doing this again."

"Leading an army?" Kanako said.

"Yeah. Gensokyo's not exactly a war-torn land, you know. Lot of fighting among individuals or groups, but nothing more, and thanks to danmaku it's generally not dangerous fighting either."

"There's plenty of danger here."

"Yeah, but not from the fights themselves."

"True enough," Kanako said. Then, "I suppose I'll address our forces, then."

"Go ahead. You always were better at this part. Here."

Suwako raised a pillar of rock, lifting Kanako up above the force gathered around the village. Then she spoke, using the wind to carry her voice such that all present could hear her.

"People of Gensokyo!" Kanaso said. "You all know why we're here, and the enemy approaches, so I'll keep this brief.

"Today, we face an enemy unlike any Gensokyo has ever known. An army of mindless abominations approaches, of twisted creatures who know only unthinking hostility. Creatures created by an evil god, and for one purpose: wiping Gensokyo clean of life.

"I'm not going to give you false reassurances. I'm not going to say we'll all survive, because we won't. Many of you – many of us – will die in the coming battle. This is war, and in war there are casualties. Especially in a battle such as this. A battle against an enemy that cares not for its own survival, an enemy which exists in ever-growing numbers.

"As we speak, my shrine maiden is leading a force to strike at Mephilia herself. A force consisting of many of Gensokyo's most powerful individuals, with the goal of destroying Mephilia for good. A god Mephilia may be, but even she can be killed, and I have no doubt that Sanae and her force will succeed. Our task is to hold the Twisted at bay until they do.

"For many of you, there will come a point where our task seems impossible. The enemy will be present in overwhelming numbers, and no matter how many we destroy, more will come. And Sanae's battle will be hard-fought; as our battle drags on, you may come to believe she has lost. Many of you will fall into despair, will be convinced the only possible outcome is death.

"And you will be wrong.

"It doesn't matter how many of them come at us. It doesn't matter how long it takes. No matter what happens, Sanae will be victorious, and we will hold out until she is. No matter how numerous the enemy, no matter how long it takes. We. Will. HOLD!"

Cheers from all around, and then, as the cheers died down, Kanako said one more thing.

"Ready yourselves. The enemy approaches."

And here we are. Everything's set for the climax. So, yeah, the next chapter is the last. I hope I'll see you there.