EPILOGUE: Peaceful Romancer

One Week Later...

"Zzzz...zzz...znrk-" Robo's eyes blinked twice as he awoke from the strangest of dreams. His mind is a blur as to where he is or what the time of day was. His internal systems rebooted momentarily, as if he is powering on for the first time. He moved his shoulders, waist, and legs. It felt a bit loose and disoriented when he moved them around for some reason. Scratching his head, he looked around. The walls looked familiar, the pictures on the wall and the bookshelf looked familiar, the sofa and plant seemed to ring bells. The person sitting on the sofa reading the newspaper and the piles of paper strewn on his desk looked all too familiar. The chair...?

"Had a good nap?" the person reading the newspaper asked. Robo blinked curiously at him.

"Was I dreaming the whole time?" he asked in a dazed tone, stretching his arms out with a yawn.

"Dreaming what?" the man flipped a page.

"I dreamt I was a shrine maiden." Robo looked at his hands, flexing his fingers about. "And then there was this old talking turtle and this crazy witch and everyone was out to get me. Then we went to this huge mansion where I fought someone's maid and I met a vampire."

"A vampire, huh?"

"But it wasn't one of those vampires, no..." Robo seemed inebriated, unaware of the nonsense he's spouting. "She wore a funny hat and dress and had bat wings and talked about how someone spilled tea on her dress."

"You didn't happen to fall down a rabbit hole into Wonderland in the midst of that, did you?"

"Heheh...very funny." there wasn't a tinge of sarcasm in Robo's voice.

"The witch yelled at me for being a jerk after that." Robo looked up, as if the ceiling fan was of interest. "I don't know what I did to deserve that."

"Real interesting..." the man flipped another page.

"But the next thing I knew, I was fighting alongside another Robo against some insane old lady in frilly clothes who wielded a signpost and..." his voice trailed off mid-sentence, suddenly realizing what he was saying. His internal clock said it was close to noon on a Sunday. "How long was I out?"

"A week."

"Ah." Robo looked down on his desk. "So I'm back to normal now, huh?"

"You bet."

"Where'd the shrine maiden go?"

"Bernard got them back through the Vampire Dimension portal."

"He...what...?"

"Apparently he stuck a paper charm in between the laser, and it caused her and that fox girl to disappear back to their own dimension."

"I see..." Robo scratched his chin. "Come to think of it, he still hasn't figured out how that diamond reacted with that non-Xenon laser."

"I doubt we'll ever know."

"That's the beauty of science, Jenkins." Robo leaned back on his chair, his head resting on his hands. "Know the unknown."

"You made that up on the spot."

"So did not..." he looked down on the unfinished pile festering on his table, sighing.

"Guess it's back to work." Jenkins mused.

"Yep. Back to work."

In the other side of the compound, Bernard walked in circles around a small lab room with a clipboard on hand, his white lab coat swishing past as his footsteps echoed across the smooth, white surface of the floor. His brows arched in a rather intense manner as he tried to examine the contents written. After a few more rounds, he fell back down a nearby chair, dropping the clipboard on the table, sighing in disappointment.

"Man, it's so boring around here..." he said to himself.

"What's so boring?"

"Waugh...!" Bernard stumbled to the ground, startled by the voice of his new guest. When he looked up, a girl in a similar lab coat stood by the door frame, her long-flowing auburn hair tied back with a black garter band. "Ada! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Sneak up?" Ada raised an eyebrow. "I knocked twice before I came in."

"Y-you did, huh?" Bernard brushed himself as he stood up. A day after the exhibition, the Action Scientists returned from their day-off, repopulating the small island as things got a bit more lively again in the halls.

"Let's see what you've got here..." Ada snatched the clipboard on the table. After momentarily skimming through the page, she started to snicker a bit.

"Is...is this a sudoku puzzle?" she said, holding in her amusement. "You're worked up over a sudoku puzzle?"

"I'm bored outta my mind, ok?" Bernard explained. "Ever since that incident happened while you guys were gone, there hasn't been much going on here due to the exhibition."

"Oh, you mean that incident when Robo had a gender swap and spoke Japanese?"

"Who told you it was a gender swap?" Bernard frowned at the rumour.

"No one, I swear." Ada defended herself. "I just overheard it the other day. I think it was Koa who said it."

"Well, that's Koa to you." Bernard said, sighing again.

"Say, you don't think ol' Sleeping Beauty's got his kiss yet, has he?"

"Probably not." Bernard shook his head.

"Hey, why don't we go check his office now?" Ada declared. "You said you've got nothing to do, right? I have didly-squat."

"Sounds good to me." Bernard shrugged and went for the door, followed by Ada, who laid the sudoku puzzle back down on the table.

『I gotcha now, ya jerk!』 Marisa leapt into the air from her broom, delivering a jump kick straight into the Hakurei shrine's open living room, aiming towards the back of Reimu's head. Without flinching, Reimu tilted to the right, causing the witch to miss her target entirely. She careened across the room and crashed into a rice paper door, bringing it down with her as she tumbled into the floor of the interior.

『You're paying for that.』 Reimu said, taking a sip from her cup of tea. Ever since her return from the strange outside world, she began to embrace her life as a shrine maiden a bit more, realizing that if something like that were to happen again, she would never be able to drink her favourite cup of tea again.

『Oww...that really smarts!』 Marisa clutched at the back of her head as she stood up, dusting off her pointed hat before putting over her head again.

『For the sixth time, I'm not the person you think I am.』 Reimu said, staring blankly at Marisa.

『Damn, so does that mean...』

『Unless he pulls some sorta dimensional stunt, he won't be back here anytime soon.』

『Aww...』

『You know, I never bothered asking, but why do you want him back so badly?』

『Heh, well, you know...』 the witch sat next to Reimu, grinning her usual grin. 『I thought Robo was fun to be with.』 her eyes suddenly lit up with an idea. 『Hey! How about if you-』

『No.』

『Pretty pleeease...?』

『You're asking me to weaken the border just to let your little friend in. Do you know how dangerous and selfish that is?』

『Eeh...I see your point.』 her bright face dimmed, crestfallen.

『Why don't you go bother Patchouli? You're always stealing her books, right?』

『Mmm...I dunno...』 Marisa crossed her arms. 『The mansion's still kinda undergoing repairs after my recent invasion with him, so I doubt she wants to see me right now.』

『I see.』 Reimu took another drink, nibbling on a rice cracker afterward. Marisa is awfully quiet for some reason, she thought. A few minutes had passed. Suddenly, someone knocked at the front of the mansion.

『Hello? Anybody home?』 a young woman's voice echoed through the shrine's halls. It sounded like a certain Lunarian.

『Well that's a strange coincidence.』 Reimu said, standing up to meet the unexpected guest. Down the front steps of the shrine building, a young woman with long, braided silver hair stood, waiting patiently.

『Oh, hello...』 she greeted with a proper smile. 『You must be that stupid youkai from a week ago.』

『Who're you calling a stupid youkai?』 Reimu asked, instantly displeased and confused at the comment the woman made. The woman in turn placed the fingertips of a flat palm on her lip to contain her laughter.

『I was just making a little joke, that's all.』 the woman said. 『I see that you've made good use of that sword, didn't you?』

『Huh? What sword? W-what the hell's supposed to mean?』 Reimu gave her a perplexed look.

『Nothing, nothing. Just thought I'd drop by.』 she turned to look into the distance of the courtyard, noticing the dusty donation box sitting next to her. The faded old wood showed year after year of lack of use. Taking a quick sigh, she took out a small money sack from her dress pocket and took out a paper bill from it, dropping it in between the top flaps. It made a faint, fluttering sound as it dropped to the bottom. She swung the rope holding a prayer bell, and it rung clearly throughout. She smiled at the shrine maiden as she paid her respects with two claps sounding from her hands.

『It's the thought that counts.』 she said. Reimu sighed. She can't really tell whether the woman in front of her was really being sincere, or being her usual, patronizing self. 『Say, I heard that vampire is having a bit of trouble with repairs after a certain invasion of her mansion.』

『Well, it's been a week now.』 Reimu replied. 『Shouldn't they be just about done with it now?』

『I'm not sure.』 Eirin said. 『I haven't been down to the village for a while now. Come to think of it, I wasn't sure who the invader was. The details weren't clear.』

『I'm sure that stupid tengu knows who it is.』 Reimu advised the Lunarian, hands on her waist. 『Why don't you go ask her?』

『Ask me? The culprit is right in front of you!』 a gust of wind blew throughout the courtyard and a cloud of dust pelted against the faces of the two. Eirin immediately shielded her face while Reimu accidentally sucked up some of the debris, coughing in a rather un-ladylike fashion as the black wings of a tengu appeared in the distance. Aya Shameimaru appeared from within the cloud, striking a pose with her oversized maple leaf fan.

『Speaking of the devil.』 Eirin said, smiling all the while.

『Do not be deceived!』 Aya cried, pointing an accusatory finger at the shrine maiden. 『That shrine maiden is no shrine maiden, but a shapeshifting male youkai! Step away from that pervert right this instant!』

『Now, now...』 the Lunarian walked up to the tengu. 『I'm sure this is just a case of mistaken identity. Right, Reimu?』

『That's the most lamebrained accusation I've ever heard of.』 Reimu added, nodding. The tengu fumed, still eyeing the shrine maiden with suspicion.

『I have my eye on you.』 she said. 『Don't you think about pulling a fast one on me.』 summoning a large cloud of dust, she flapped her wings and vanished into the air, zooming westward at high velocities. Eirin sighed at her sudden departure.

『Well, that's unfortunate.』 she said. 『I was going to ask her about the mansion incident.』

"How do you think they're doing right now?" Robo thought aloud as he put his pen down. The past few minutes was filled with deafening silence, and it annoyed him to no end. Somewhere in between his thoughts, he wanted Jenkins to do something interesting for once, like juggle stuff from out of the blue. That would be pretty hilarious, he thought.

"They?"

"Y'know...them." Robo answered, as if expecting the Action Scientist to remember.

"The heck would I know?" Jenkins replied dully, flipping another page in his newspaper.

"Man, you're boring sometimes." Robo leaned back, causing the chair to give way a little.

"What, you want me to juggle stuff for you?"

"Eeh?" Robo flinched, tilting his head slowly towards him.

"Something wrong?"

"N-nothing, nothing!" Robo scratched his head, laughing his way out of the situation.

"You're easy to read, like a book." the Action Scientist said. With a sigh, he put down the newspaper and stood up from the couch. "I'll be around the hall if you need me."

"Bye."

"Hey, Jenkins." Ada greeted as the Action Scientist walked past her and Bernard. Jenkins raises a hand and gives a short wave as he strolled past.

"Seemed like in a hurry..." Bernard quipped. When he turned around to face the direction to Robo's office. In the far distance of the hall, a small distortion was occuring on a blank wall, discolouring and warping its dimensions.

『Hey, Patchouli!』 Reimu cried, throwing the double doors open into the humongous library of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Behind the shrine maiden was the maid, Sakuya, who, more or less, allowed her inside the mansion despite her still lingering suspicions of Reimu's identity.

『Well, at least the two mistresses are still asleep...』 she thought to herself as she escorted both Reimu and Marisa, who seemed to be cowering behind her.

『Please don't cause any trouble.』 Sakuya implored. 『We just repaired the damage you just did to the mansion a week ago.』

『Whaddya mean I was the one who wrecked this big-ass mansion?』 Reimu scoffed. 『I wasn't even around here to begin with last week.』

『If it weren't for the fact that it wasn't the real Reimu who came by last week, you would be owing us money for the damage...』 Sakuya muttered under her breath.

『What was that?』

『Nothing.』

『Good! Now where is that reclusive old hag?』 the three girls walked past the vast aisle of bookshelves, seemingly pristine and untouched as if a battle never occured in the library. It seemed as if the events that transpired a week ago had never happened to begin with.

『What's her problem?』 the maid whispered to Marisa.

『I have no idea.』 Marisa said, her voice somewhat fearful. 『Her mood suddenly changed when she came back into the shrine with that Lunarian, ze.』

『Which Lunarian?』

『The medicine lady.』

『Oh, her.』 Sakuya frowned slightly at the witch's unusual behaviour. 『By the way, why are you cowering like that?』

『Huh?』 the witch caught herself in the act and stood upright, her chest sticking out as she laughed it off. 『Now why was I doing that? Heheheh...』

『You two are acting very strangely today.』 the maid said, sighing. Further down the aisle was a wider space, blockaded by other bookshelves that acted as walls around it. A number of tables formed a square around a large recliner. On the tables were various amounts of books, some opened and some closed. Books filled with page upon page of notes and diagrams and strange languages scribbled on them littered the surface. There was a sound of rustling by the recliner, prompting Sakuya to say something.

『Lady Patchouli.』 the maid said. 『You have guests.』

『I see.』 the magician, barely visible, said amidst the mess. 『I heard Reimu from about a mile away, so I was expecting her. I'm guessing Marisa is with her?』 at the point when the magician mentioned Marisa's name, the witch grasped at the maid's skirt, shaking her head as if telling her not to discern her presence.

『Why yes, she is.』 Sakuya replied promptly, smiling and ignoring the witch's resulting look of disdain.

『Good. Please bring me some tea.』 Patchouli ordered. 『Make it jasmine with a hint of sugar. Bring me a larger teacup, for I'm feeling rather parched.』

『Understood, my lady.』 Sakuya quickly turned around and left. All that was left in the room was the magician, Reimu, and Marisa, who continued to tremble at her presence.

『So, what brings you to the Voile?』 Patchouli asked, directing her query at the shrine maiden. 『The mistress of the house will not be pleased with your presence here.』

『Like I care.』 Reimu waved it off with a lazy hand. 『Anyways, that weird old bag up at Eientei wanted me to check up on you guys.』

『Which weird old bag?』 Patchouli raised an eyebrow at her. 『There are two of them.』

『The one with the curealls.』 Reimu grew a bit annoyed after always having to specify which Lunarian is which. 『Geez, do I have to tell you what she looks like?』

『If I feel like it.』 the magician stood up, levitating over the table and landing in front of the two. Marisa flinched in her presence.

『H-Hi there...』 Marisa greeted with a hasty wave of her hand.

『Planning on stealing my books again?』 Patchouli asked coldly.

『N-Nope, not in a while...after what happened last week.』 the witch said, giggling nervously. Silence ensued for a moment.

『Boo!』

"Eyaah!" the witch fell on her bottom. Her face flushed with red as she looked up to see the magician giggling to herself, her eyes a deep shade of purple.

『The heck did you do that for, ze?』 the witch complained as she slowly got up.

『You looked so terrified when you saw me, so I just had to take advantage of it.』 Patchouli explained, rather monotonously, but with a hint of emotion. 『You're probably still upset about that book, aren't you?』

『It's not like I'm THAT upset about bringing it back, strictly speaking, but...』 the witch withdrew after a sudden outburst. 『...yes.』

『Huh? What book?』 Reimu said, puzzled.

『Forget about it.』 Patchouli said, shaking her head. 『She won't give it back.』

『I see...but I have this other one right...here...』 Marisa rummaged into her dress pocket, but apparently, what she was looking for ended up being a pocket of air. Patchouli raised an eyebrow of suspicion at the witch. 『Where the heck...did it go?』 she continued to reach for her pockets, but in the end, there was nothing inside. 『Weird...I could've sworn it was in my pocket before I came into the mansion.』

『You sure you're not pulling a fast one at me?』

『Of course not! Why the heck would I mention it in the first place anyway, da ze?』

『...Yukari.』 Patchouli muttered as she heaved a sigh.

『What about her?』

『You haven't forgotten that she uses a multitude of strange borders, have you?』

『...I see where you're going with this now!』 Marisa's face lit up as she realized what Patchouli was implying. 『Dammit...should've known!』 she cursed under her breath immediately afterward.

『If you don't mind me asking, what was inside that book?』

『Hmm...you might laugh if I told you.』

『You seemed eager to tell me just a moment ago.』

『Ok, ok, fine.』 Marisa sighed. 『It was filled with unfinished mathematical calculations.』

『So I see...』

『I couldn't really read the notes inside. It wasn't in Japanese.』 Marisa thought aloud as she spoke. 『It was supposed to be for a special friend of mine.』

『Special friend?』 Reimu realized whom the witch was talking about, eyeing her. 『Don't tell me...』

『Yeah, yeah, it's him...so what?』 Marisa put her hands on her waist, facing the shrine maiden. 『It was his to begin with. But since "you-know-who" has it...』

『Hmm...now you just mentioned your little friend...』 the magician flew over to her pile of books as both girls caught her attention, picking up a half-opened green hardcover. Flipping through it, she cleared her throat. 『Reimu, do you happen to recall getting angry and suddenly feeling a strong burst of energy right afterward?』

『Huh?』 though taken aback by her question, Reimu answered anyway. 『I get angry all the time, but then come to think of it...I was so pissed off last week, I was able to break through a border Yukari made out of some sort of magic cube.』

『Ahh...now that explains everything...』 Patchouli seemed to lighten up, her dead monotone gaining emotion and her face blooming with vitality.

『Explains what?』 Reimu pronounced her words more clearly, in annoyance. 『Can anyone please make sense?』

『Lady Patchouli. Your tea.』 Sakuya returned, carrying a porcelain teapot and some cups.

『Fascinating. Just in time.』 Patchouli smiled. 『We can talk over some tea. Fancy some?』

"Dang...so you're finally awake?" Ada complained. She and Bernard sat at the corner of Robo's office, reclined on the sofa as Robo carried on with his work.

"Yep. Never thought sleeping actally felt that good." Robo said. "Still is a waste of time, though."

"I'll say..." Bernard added, gazing down on the ground.

"That's only 'cause you're taking on too many projects, smart guy." Ada said, facing him. "You should really take a break for once."

"Now why would Mr. Fischer want a break?" Robo asked. "Come to think of it, I did ask you to take a vacation once or twice, and the next day you're still here."

"Well, it would help if I didn't waste too much of my time doing nothing." Bernard replied with uncertainty, scratching his head. "But after all the crazy stuff that happened last week, maybe I should since I'm starting to see things now."

"Yeah...I had no idea you can speak Japanese!" Ada added.

"Uhh...yeah, don't anyone else?" Robo said, his eyes darting between her and his work. Ada noticed the strange behaviour and gave out a smarmy grin.

"Robo, you don't happen to be keeping a secret, are you?" she asked him.

"Oh don't be ridiculous. I only started learning it so we can get in touch with our...Japanese affiliate. Yeah..." Robo answered hesitantly.

『A Japanese affiliate? Oh, how interesting!』 a young woman's voice echoed throughout the small room, startling the three of them. It followed with repressed laughter. The room fell silent, as neither of the three stirred.

"Hey...did anyone tell secretaryname to send a guy to check our vents?" Robo said. Both the Action Scientists shook their heads.

"It's not the vents." Bernard said. "That voice sounds famili-Aaugh!" something warped inches from where Bernard was. Time and space pinched to form an oddly-shaped portal, in a shape of a lip adorned with ribbons at both ends. Inside, many disembodied eyes gaped at Bernard as he shook in horror. The portal shrunk into nothingness and in its former place, a young lady in gaudy clothes stood perfectly still, a large frilly parasol held onto her shoulder. An intimidating, uneasy, yet strange presence stirred as the lady strolled around the room, looking at the furnishings.

『Hmm...such a tacky place. It's so...foreign, and it lacks substance.』 Yukari said. 『I daresay this palace of yours needs more...feng shui.』

"Bernard, Ada," Robo said, glaring at the lady that was in front of him. "I think you two should go get the Lightning Guns. I'll deal with her from here."

『Leaving so soon?』 Yukari glanced at the fleeing Action Scientists, prompting her to seal the door momentarily, causing them to crash into the door head on and bounce back to the sofa, sitting down. 『I only came for a visit. Don't you miss me?』

『Until you pay for the damages? No, not very soon.』 Robo said, glaring at the youkai.

"Who the heck's that lady?" Ada whispered. Bernard shook, intimidated by her close presence. "I mean, she looks weird, rather than intimidating, to be honest."

"You haven't seen what she's capable of..." Bernard replied, prolonging his words in forboding.

『I could rob a bank for you, if you want.』 the purple devil said, smiling a very ominous smile.

『Yeah, that's really nice of you, but I've got enough trouble to deal with.』 Robo complimented sarcastically, pretending to slide back the sleeve of his shirt to look at an imaginary watch. 『Visiting time is almost done. Now, what else do you need before I call the deathray on you?』

『Well, I've got this really nice book from your secret admirer back in Gensokyo.』 Yukari said, as flirtatious as ever. 『Shall I read it to you?』

Book? What book? the robot thought, glaring quizzically at Yukari. After all that had happened, he completely forgot about the whole "book exchange" phenomenon. At that point, Robo didn't think any different about some flimsy book of math notes than a book of spells.

『Oh? You don't remember Marisa? How sad... this will break her heart.』 the youkai said, pouting in a mocking way and pretending to sob. In a flash, her mood suddenly swung over a spectrum, and her easygoing, mocking demeanor became a dull, impatient, and serious one.

『But enough talk...』 she said in a broadly flat tone. 『Here. Have your damn book.』 she threw it at the robot, its spine nailing him between the eyes.

"Oww!" the force wasn't hard enough to topple him, but he certainly winced and moved his head back in reaction to the sharp signal of pain that rang through his system. The book fell flat on his table, still closed.

『Well then, I'm off.』 she said nastily, turning her back, groaning about pains. Grumbling, she tore open another portal in space and lunged through it as it consumed her, vanishing. Awkward silence ensued as Robo rubbed at the small dent the book caused on his forehead. There was a knock on the door after a while, breaking the silence.

"Robo?" Jenkins' voice could be heard muffled through the hard wood. "I got a visitor." the door opened, and an impact could be heard. A large, furry humanoid creature lay sprawled on the carpet, startling Ada as its arms and legs squirmed helplessly. Her nine tails covered most of her body and her ears started to twitch inside her charm-covered dual-tasseled bonnet. Ran dozed on the carpet, drooling.

"Great, as if I ain't got enough weirdos to visit me in one day." Robo said, sighing.

『...so that's what it was...』 Marisa said, contemplating as she rubbed her chin. 『Wait, can you explain it to me again?』

『That's the third time I repeated myself...』 Patchouli groaned, sighing. She gripped at her teacup, which was half-empty with jasmine tea.

『Geez, I'm sorry. It's just that your explanations are so hard to understand when it involved the alignment of moons and starts.』 Marisa said stubbornly. 『That sort of thing is not my department. Nope, no way.』

『I...never said anything about the alignment of moons and stars. Are you even listening to me?』 the wizard glared at the witch, annoyed.

『Yeaaa-no.』 Marisa fidgeted uncomfortably, admitting it.

『Well then listen up, ya pinhead. I'm on my third cup of tea already...』 Reimu said, acting more un-ladylike than usual. Patchouli cleared her throat.

『Right, so as I was saying...for the fourth time.』 the wizard began. 『The transmigration of souls was anything but successful. You two were able to move your bodies at will, as well as command talents and skills that the other had previous, along with your own. However, it is different from possession in that it is not a complete one. Your living embodiments were so fragile in that new body, that an intermediate-level exorcism spell could finish either of you off.』

『Ah! I get it now!』 Marisa exclaimed. 『So that field you used against Robo was an exorcism field? And, hey...aren't exorcisms Reimu's job?』

『It is her job...』 Patchouli said, taking a glance at Reimu. 『However, like I said, the spell was of a lesser strength than Reimu's divine powers, and is something I borrowed from using the power of sun and moon.』

『I'm still not sure how getting pissed off managed to break the spell that Yukari threw at me.』 Reimu said, gulping her tea.

『So you also weren't listening to me...』 the wizard sighed exasperatedly.

『I was, but I almost dozed off 'cause of your big words.』

『Alright, in layman's terms...』 Patchouli took another deep breath. 『Because your embodiments were unstable in your opposing bodies, a...side effect occured, in that, when I attempted to extract the automaton from your body, his emotions...surged, and, coupled with his strange sword, somehow broke my enchantment and amplified his powers.』

『Wait a sec...sword?』 Reimu was confused. 『If you're talking about my gohei, then-』

『It was a wooden sword of strange, ghostly power.』 Patchouli said. 『I did not get a good look at it, so I'm not sure what it is...at first, I did assume that it was Youmu's.』

『Hold that thought...a sword, huh?』 Reimu gave the word a thought, looking out the stained glass window in the distance. 『Come to think of it, Eirin mentioned one to me. I figured she was giving me one of those stupid mind bender tricks.』

『Hmm...』 the magician rubbed her chin. 『I wasn't aware that the Lunarians knew about Yukari's plot. Perhaps...she asked them beforehand about this little experiment of hers before she came to us.』

『So, yer tellin' me that it was the moon people that saved Robo?』 Marisa eyes brightened a little as she said the robot's name. 『Y'know, they're not as bad as I thought they were.』

『Somehow, that sword's side effect also transcended dimensions and affected you as well, Reimu.』 Patchouli continued. 『Whatever enchantment Yukari had thrown against you, I would assume it consisted of the same spell components as mine. What occured right afterwards, well...the least I could say is that you're finally Reimu in Gensokyo.』

『Yeah, I'd hate for that to happen again...』 Reimu said, sighing in relief. 『You know...teaming up with a big bucket of bolts like that guy wasn't really that bad. You think he's had his share of incidents in that world?』

『Why don't you read this and find out.』 the magician, without laying a finger, caused a small magazine to levitate from her pile of books, landing on the shrine maiden's lap. On the cover was the aforementioned robot, stading with his hands on his waist, seemingly beaming with pride. The headline said something along the lines of a new discovery in the field of theoretical physics...whatever that meant to either of them.

『As the first annual Tesladyne exhibition comes to a close,』 Reimu began reading. 『The leading expert in fringe science, Dr. Atomic Robo Tesla, has wonderful news to give out pertaining to our current understanding of the world as we see today. Speaking with him a number of days ago, he claims that an unknown source has helped him deduce some of the most baffling equations known in modern physics.』

『Read the next part.』 Patchouli coaxed.

『"An incident broke out the other day while we were doing our usual stuff with science," Robo told us. "It was weirder than usual, but when we came out of it unharmed, I just happened to have a book of equations with me and it was solved and everything. I can't say why or how."』

『That book he mentioned just now.』 Marisa said, gasping as she realized it. 『That didn't happen to be my book, was it?』

『He didn't say...』 Reimu replied, skimming through the text. 『But it might as well be, since right after he said something about "a flash of light on the coast not being a radiation blast or something, and should be of least concern." No doubt that was my spellcard he was talking about.』

『Eeh... That wasn't even a spellcard.』 Marisa quipped. 『You just glued two spellcards together to make a more potent one, then you gave it a lame name.』

『Shaddup, I couldn't think of a good one...』 the shrine maiden shrunk a bit after saying that. 『Also, he said something about two intruders that they took care of in the middle of the incident, followed by a quarantine and repair of their underground cells. That must be Yukari and that stupid shikigami.』

『So then...Yukari returned my book? Aww, that's so sweet of her...』 Marisa beamed at the thought of her admired robot receiving her calculations and being so happy that she finally did him a favour. 『What a happy ending. Now everything's back to normal again on both sides of the border.』

『Ugh, I'm bored already.』 Reimu said, slightly nauseated by her friend's off-character romantic babbling.

『Maybe you should go for a donation drive, 'cause you owe us big time for damages.』 Patchouli said flatly, finishing her tea.

『What was that? You wanna say that again?』 Reimu's temper suddenly went hot, slamming her teacup down on the side table as she glared at the magician.

『I think I'm gonna go now, toodles...』 Marisa quickly grabbed her room and sped off as the shrine maiden and magician squared off in a rather trivial battle at the mere mention of debt. Truly, Gensokyo was back to normal again.

Oh, but what about Yukari? Well, she went back to take a long nap, leaving Ran back in the outside world, locked up in an underground cell underneath Tesladyne. As she bawls and howls through the night, most of the staff did their best to stay away from the area, as the various forbidden specimens and prisoners moaned and complained of noise.

THE END

Note: Excuse the extremely long wait. Now this fic is done. Comment on what needs to be worked on, what you liked, what you didn't like. I would gladly appreciate any sort of criticism you might have on this first attempt at fanfiction, or attempt at proofreading, either by me or the guy this was dedicated to.