Disclaimer: I do not have rights to any part of the Touhou franchise.

I am…

The Dragon of Gensokyo.

At least, that was what I thought I am… The entity which every creature in the land holds sacred, to which every creature pledges their faith and credits the origin of its power. The one supposedly behind the blooming of every flower, the shaping of the earth, the birth and destruction of souls…

…

What is this powerlessness? What if I'm nothing but a hoax, and I'm not really the Dragon at all?

Now, I'm trapped in this world that belongs to someone else, helpless against her will.

Against anyone's will.

Today, I have learned a valuable lesson. Anyone who worships the Dragon, anyone who calls upon my so-called power… has a reason to do so. And that reason is none other than…

Selfishness.

A concept all too easy to understand. After all, everyone has something they desire.

Be it Kaguya… or Mokou… even Reimu and Yukari are no different.

…

But what about me?

What is it…

That I need most?

Mugen opened her eyes.

For the past few minutes, she had been sitting cross-legged inside Kaguya Houraisan's hidden chamber. While she was meditating, a newcomer had entered. Mugen could immediately tell she was another Lunarian, by the pattern of mana flow surrounding her.

"I'm going to have to try something I've never done before," whispered Eirin Yagokoro. She was seated across from her companion, resting her palm against the rim of a large jug. Kaguya was doing the same.

"As long as it helps," responded Kaguya calmly, but quietly, in fear of giving away their position.

Eirin placed three fingers of her other hand on the right side of her lower chest, motioning Kaguya to do the same. "Your liver is the core of your immortality. The organ in which the essence of the Hourai Elixir is stored. We will try our best to use it to our advantage. A mixing vat would be the perfect container in which to combine this with our spell."

Eirin started mumbling incantations. Kaguya, however, looked confused.

"Are you suggesting using our immortality against those Lunarians? Their goal is to deport us back, not to kill us, remember? …" Kaguya stopped and thought hard about her situation. Then she slowly nodded. "Ahh… I understand now. How sneaky of you."

It had already been quite a few times that Mugen was largely ignored by those around her. But for the first time, there seemed to be no reason to hold back.

"Um…"

Both heads turned.

"If you're going to hold me here for company, you might as well try not to ignore me. I think that only defeats the whole purpose. So, would you mind telling me what's going on?"

The two pairs of eyes blinked a few times at first. Finally, Eirin smirked. "You don't seem to understand… captives like you do not usually have things going their way."

Kaguya held up a hand. "No, she's right. My apologies for not informing you earlier." She paused, as if thinking of the best way to put it. "The fact is, Lunarians are waging war against Gensokyo to steal all the sake in our secret underground storage. What we're doing is actually very simple. We're trying to find the fastest possible way to drink it all before they get their hands on it. Would you like to help?"

Mugen clenched her teeth in disgust. "That sounds like a lie."

"Of course it was," confirmed Kaguya. Then, she pouted. "But I was hoping you'd play along… Ah, time to get back to work."

Reimu Hakurei and Suika Ibuki sat leaning against each other near the entrance of Eientei. The looks on their faces gave the impression that they were holding a competition to see which of them appeared more bored than the other. Surrounding them was an army of angry-looking moon rabbits standing on guard position with their rifles at the ready.

It wasn't before long before the shrine maiden got the icebreaker going.

"Hey, aren't any of you getting tired watching us?" asked Reimu.

"It's only been a minute," said one of the rabbits, presumably the leader. "Our master told us that if any of you made a move, we're supposed to attack."

Reimu sighed and massaged her eyes. "If that was a minute, I don't think I'll live to see daytime…"

"You're from the far side of the moon, is that right?" asked Suika. "I've heard stories about you. Hey, is it true? That a single day on the Lunar Capital lasts as long as a month?"

The rabbit leader gave it some thought. "Hm, that should make sense. Our world rotates on its axis once a month. Since one side of the moon is lit up for half a month while the other side stays dark, it's kind of hard to keep track of time."

"No wonder you guys can't tell a minute from an hour…" Reimu grumbled.

"Careful," warned the rabbit. "If you misbehave, I'm going to tell my master about you."

Suika pouted. "Oh, that's right! Speaking of which, there was a certain ghost and a half-ghost that came here with us."

The moon rabbits' attention was now drawn to the oni. Reimu started to give Suika a look that meant, "Stop it with the mischief," but she gave up and merely nodded in agreement.

"And you know," Suika continued. "They were sneaking into the mansion while we were fighting with your master, and they're trying to rescue the Dragon before your masters get to it first, and also they're definitely trying to bring it back to Yukari so it can be safe with us. Got it?"

Suika looked over at Reimu, who had been half-mindedly nodding the whole time. The moon rabbits looked at one another, and the seconds ticked by, without a word from either party.

"You can't fool us," the rabbit leader finally said. "Are you just trying to make us panic? My master told us all about the tricks you might use." Then she happily added, "Besides… There's no such thing as a half-ghost."

"A what…?""Captain Reisen's right. No way." "Of course not." "Earth creatures trying to trick us... how dare they!" The rest of the rabbits seemed to be in agreement.

"Ha-ha! Tricked you!" Suika taunted.

Reimu could not help letting a smirk escape her face.

So Suika's trying to have some fun. That was risky, but these moon rabbits are more gullible than I thought. Well, anything's better than a few more hours of boredom.

It was all quiet in the halls of Eientei.

Reisen Udongein Inaba stood at a corner of the hallway, her back pressed firmly against the wall. The hallways were dimly lit by magic to allow her to see through to their ends. At the moment, however, Reisen was in no mood to keep a watchful eye. For the moment, she fidgeting around, deeply lost in thought.

"No, even my abilities are no match for the Watatsuki's," she muttered. "And then there's the question of how to address them… Emissaries of the moon? Lunar commanders? 'Masters?'" She sighed in exasperation. "I can't do this after all. I never expected to see them again."

"That would be… truly, a shame."

Reisen jumped. "…Who's there?" Reisen peered down the halls, seeing no one.

"When you decide to leave behind your poor friends, expecting to never meet them again would be your biggest mistake," chuckled Watatsuki no Toyohime. Her transparent image floating in the hallway was slowly solidifying. "If there is a possibility, even the slightest… We are guaranteed to meet again, whether through a distant dream, or through a chance encounter much like this one."

"M…Master!" gasped Reisen. "I mean, Toyohime! How have you been?"

"Lovely," responded Toyohime. "And you too, Reisen. As lovely as always, it seems. You're still that unsure, hesitating pet I've known for so long. How charming!" Toyohime twirled around in delight. "Please, do feel free to address me as 'Master.' It's not too late to come back. Either way… This Gensokyo is not going to last much longer, so it looks like you don't have much of a choice, do you?"

Reisen stared wordlessly at her former master for a few seconds. Then, she settled back and smiled. "Fair enough… I don't mind calling you 'Master.' But…" Reisen swallowed hard. "There's no way I'm going back. Running away from the moon and protecting the Mistress are probably… the dumbest things I could have done. But at least they were actual choices that I made!"

"Hmm, this is why we Lunarians stress discipline so much. Especially in our army," said Toyohime. "You… can be the perfect example. The example of what happens when a pet is given a bit too much space. Wouldn't that be such an honor?"

Reisen could feel anger seeping in. "Well, what good has your entire rabbit army done?" she sighed. "See, they're just as useless as I remember. There's no way I could have decided anything on my own back on the moon after all…"

Reisen had barely finished her sentence when her surroundings suddenly became dim.

"Very well…"

"Wha-?"

Before long, everything had descended into darkness. The lunar rabbit felt a nearby presence grow stronger. Except it was not a nearby presence.

"M-Master?" She looked around, but nothing greeted her eyes. "No…" Although she couldn't see, Reisen could feel her knees buckle as she held her pressed her hands against her head.

Insanity. The feeling that Reisen should be all too familiar with, had just been delivered to her on a whole new level. She had somehow lost control of her own powers of insanity. Instead, she seemed to be made to use her own powers on herself. But despite bearing the full brunt of her powers, Reisen found herself barely managing to keep her mind level.

Reisen… Look how strong you've become. I am very proud of you.

The voice did not seem to come from one place, but rather from all places. The meaning of Toyohime's words seemed to burn themselves into Reisen's mind. Resistance was useless, Reisen vaguely realized. Both her perceptions and her thoughts were now under the complete control of another mind.

"It… can't…" Even constructing a thought now took immense effort. "How did… Master… inside my mind?"

Reisen, my dear… How unlike you to underestimate me. Before I get on with my business, there is one thing I'd like to talk about…

Reisen… how much do you know about the concept of probability?

We Lunarians like to draw from the power of the Dragons. There is one important thing we've learned from them. We are of their kind, after all.

You see, probability… is the basis for all magic. It is the answer to all questions. Even a bit of control over it… is a devastating ability.

The living mind, Reisen… It is extremely volatile. It's subject to even the tiniest effects of probability. You, with your ability, should understand that of all things, isn't that right?

But not even YOUR mind is spared.

…And that is why I'm going to change it.

Don't worry. In no time… you will be on your knees, pleading to go back with us.

Reisen didn't waste a second. Up until now, she had been gathering all her remaining consciousness, before finally arriving at a single thought, her last ditch attempt to escape.

"'Red-Eyed Hypnosis.'"

"Deadly Dance 'Law of Mortality—Dead Butterfly.'"

Watatsuki no Yorihime leapt from side to side of the Eientei hallway, dodging and slashing at pale globes of varying energy types. Once in a while, a cut through the air made by Yorihime's enchanted blade made its way to Yuyuko, who winced a little upon being hit.

"You can move, and you can cut… but there will always be more," cooed Yuyuko Saigyouji as she unleashed barrage after barrage.

"I am barely trying," retorted Yorihime as she paused after the barrage stopped. "From what I understand, you are supposed to be a team of ghost, and half-ghost, who are sent here to fight us?"

"Why, to stop you from stealing the Dragon dish. Having a fair banquet is a perfectly fine reason for battle."

Yorihime sighed in exasperation. "In other words, more of Yukari's pets. Now, why is it that I don't see…"

The question she was asking was answered by her own instinct, which brought her sword over her head and behind her back to block a certain half-ghost's slash to the neck. Their swords locked.

"Go, Yuyuko-sama. I will hold her off."

Yorihime leapt forward with her sword, spinning around. Then she lunged, slamming into Youmu Konpaku's blade, hard. The half-ghost skittered backwards.

"Go, Youmu! Go, Youmu! I'm counting on you!" Yuyuko cheered. She had decided to put off danmaku for the moment, as they would only hinder her servant's movements. "I'd rather stay here and cheer you on."

"Roukanken?" Yorihime muttered, keeping their swords locked. "And also your movements… even when they're simply pathetic, why do they somehow remind me of someone?"

"Think all you want," Youmu said. "But just so you know, you're not getting anywhere near the Dragon." She mustered enough energy to move the Lunarian's blade just slightly enough to trick her into countering, allowing her to attempt a clean disengage.

Taken by surprise, Yorihime staggered back and almost lost her footing in the process. "Interesting…" She looked up and brandished her sword. "This fighting style…"

Her eyes widened.

"Can it be? Are you really…?"

The Lunarian's lips started to purse, but after a while, she was no longer able to stifle her laughter. It wasn't long before she was in hysterics.

"Konpaku!" she breathed. "Konpaku's your lineage, right?" She paused to catch her breath. "So you're the disciple that old joke was talking about?"

"Oh my," exclaimed Yuyuko.

"…You've met Youki-sama?" asked Youmu.

"I barely recall anything. It's been a long time, and I didn't give it much thought since he was way under my league." Yorihime's face took on a new shade of seriousness. "But since I know who you are, there's nothing else to know. The Dragon I've been looking for, it's just down this hallway."

"Youmu," said Yuyuko softly. "Here's where it really begins. Be careful."

"Yes, milady." Youmu tightened her grasp on her sword as she stepped closer to the middle of the hallway.

Yorihime brandished hers. "If you continue to try stopping me, I'll have to show you how serious I can really get."

Youmu pulled out a small slip of paper and aggressively thrust it in front of her, activating it. "Hell God Sword 'God's Flashing Slash as Karma Gust!'"

Youmu's sword glowed a bright blue hue, loaded with danmaku ammo that was ready to be released. The half-ghost floated in midair, readying her attack.

"O, godly spirit. Kami of the seas and storms, Susanoo…" Yorihime began her incantation. "Grant unto me the mighty blade, Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi (*)."

Her current sword glowed a blinding white, then it morphed into a much larger broadsword that gave a dim blue glow.

"Everything comes down to this attack," Youmu observed. "I must make it count."

Then, the half-ghost seemed to move at lightning speed towards her opponent, her blade cutting through the air and releasing a giant barrage of red danmaku bullets. On the other end of the field, Yorihime stood at one place while she swung slowly, her blade completing its curve gracefully just as Youmu flew right by her.

"I've been waiting," said Toyohime. She then noticed a few injuries sustained by her sister. "And it looks like for good reason too. So, what happened?"

"My apologies," said Yorihime as she arrived by her sister's side. "Yukari had much stronger pets than I'd expected. But they were taken care of." Her gaze was drawn to the figure that lay on the floor. "Hey, is this…?"

"Yes, she is our Reisen," sighed Toyohime. "How sad indeed to see her in a state like this. But in the end, she was the one who decided to break her own mind rather than be convinced to rejoin us. But let's deal with her after we have the Dragon in our hands, shall we?"

"That should be no trouble, right?"

"I hope you haven't forgotten them…" reminded Toyohime. "That is, the rest of our old friends left here on Earth."

"…I see."

Toyohime felt the smooth texture of a nearby decorated sliding door. "No worries. For beyond this door… lies the solution to all problems. …In this world, at least."

*Ama-no-Murakumo-no-Tsurugi is a legendary sword said to be wielded by the god Susanoo, who found the sword inside the tail of a monster he battled.

A/N: Eek. Maybe I shouldn't be flooding characters with too much emotion. That seems a little un-canon. Now that I think about it, all the characters in the games don't have a care in the world. Well, almost everyone… Not that it's a bad thing. XD