Episode 12: Taboo

"Is everything in place?" Reimu stood on the steps of Myouren Temple in a state of calm that surprised even herself. The Compact had chosen to draw the battle here to maximize what advantages they had, as well as limit the possible damage to more populated areas. Still, I can't imagine Byakuren is looking forward to this.

Whatever reservations the living saint might have had were not showing on her face, however. "Everything, and everyone, is in the appropriate place and ready." Byakuren paused for a moment to gather her thoughts. "I must say, this is an ambitious plan, Reimu."

"I know, but a straight-up shootout with Yukari could last days, hell, weeks. We can't afford to spend that long, not with the Incubators still on the loose."

"I hope you're not banking on Sanae forgiving you for that bit." replied Byakuren, switching gears.

"I'm not expecting it. All I expect is for her to do her duty." Reimu frowned. "Sanae, I need you to take Aya and some of the other swift fliers and go hunt down any of the Incubators and their minions who might be still in Gensokyo." Reimu had said when the two shrine maidens met the previous evening. Sanae flinched, then went white with anger. "I can read between the lines as well as anyone, you know." had been the other shrine maiden's reply. "Why are you keeping me out of the fight?" Reimu gathered herself and bluntly stated her aims: "If the worst should happen, if I should fall, you are the only one who can maintain the Border." Reimu pulled a letter from her vestments, but Sanae still had more to say. "If it's such a big deal, why not just stay back at the Mansion and let Remilia fawn over you some more, instead of cutting me out?" Reimu grimaced, but not because of the jab at her relationship. "Because I will be damned straight to hell if I let anyone else risk themselves on my behalf if I am not there to share in the burden. I do apologize for asking you to do this." Reimu handed over the letter. "This contains instructions on how summon and bind the Yin-Yang Orb. Genji can tell you more, should you need it, as can Mima." Sanae had taken the letter and tucked it way, then turned her back on Reimu. "Just so you know, I will be offering up prayers to Kanako-sama for your safety, but only because I don't want your damn job, okay?" Reimu had said "thank you", but it was to an empty space, for Sanae had left as soon as she was done speaking.

The clatter of sandals on stone pulled Reimu from her reverie. Toyosatomimi no Miko was there, still serving as Byakuren's second. Miko's own subordinates were with Shou and Murasa aboard the Palanquin, standing off from the battle with the noncombatants aboard. "She's coming," said the taoist, who looked a bit unsettled.

"Are you sure, Taishi-chan?"

"Ohh yeah, unless you know anyone else capable of imagining such . . . anatomically implausible violence?" replied Miko with a shiver.

"Sounds like Yukari, that's for sure." Reimu drew out an ofuda, this one enchanted to carry her words to matching charms in the possession of the others involved. "Stand ready, everyone. Our guest of honor is on her way."


"Well, she's on her way." Charlotte looked over at Cirno, who was leaning against the wall. "You sure you're okay with this, being held out of the initial attack?"

"Oh yeah, I mean we gotta give Yukari some chance, right? Cuz Eye'm the strongest in the whole world, it just wouldn't be a fair fight!" Cirno crossed her arms and gave a self-satisfied nod, which drew a derisive snort from Charlotte. "Yeah, okay, even I don't believe that line of bull. It's not important though, because whatever Reimu told me to do, I'd be here instead, making sure you're doing alright."

"Thanks . . . I think." Charlotte sighed, and then Cirno sighed back. This drew a glare from the peach-haired girl, but then she sighed again, only this time Charlotte let her breath run through a down-up-down lilt . . . which Cirno copied a moment later. A grin broke out on Charlotte's face and she tried to put together an even more complex arrangement, but giggles made it impossible to focus and soon both girls were laughing at the situation in a maniac manner.

"I mean it though, I wanna be your friend and I wanna help." Cirno flicked her Soul Gem seal. "This thing shows me how to hurt people, and I see a bunch'a ways I could break you to pieces. Stupid thing doesn't show me how fix anything, nooo, that would be too useful." said the ice fairy through an exaggerated pout. "But I can try to help, if you'll let me."

"I suppose . . . I just don't know what to do. It's like, I don't know what I want for myself, but I feel the bleed-over from Kyōko and Sayaka and it sounds so good, what they do with each other, I feel like I'm missing out." Charlotte paused to see if Cirno was understanding what she was saying, and the peach-haired girl got a thump on the head for her troubles.

"You dummy! That's it, that's what you're so worried about?! Jeez, for a moment I thought you were talking about love or something important!"

"I- I was! You jerk!" Cirno rolled her eyes.

"No, you're talking about lust! That's something different entirely."

"And how would you know?!"

"Well, duh! Look around! How many incredibly awesome fairies do you see in the area, huh?"

"Uh, none." replied Charlotte, who wasn't so upset as to let an opening like that slip away.

"Arrgh! Everybody's gotta be funny. Okay, lemme put it this way; full-bodied corporeal fey like me, and Dai, are rare, because you gotta survive for like 50 years before you get the full upgrade. When that happens, the whatchamacallit which conjures our bodies plugs a buncha knowledge into our heads, important bits like 'oh, ya gotta eat now or your body will disintegrate'. They need to update the program a bit though, let all the noobs know that Marisa frickin' Kirisame and her frickin' Master Spark hurt like hell! But where was I . . . oh yeah! One of the things you learn when you get your body is if there's a funny feeling in here," Cirno poked her belly for emphasis. "It means you're hungry, but if it's down a bit lower, that means you're, er, hungry, for uh, something else." Charlotte rolled her eyes and made a "spit it out already!" motion, which only increased the ice fairy's embarrassment. "But anyway, that's a body thing, and love is a brain thing. I mean, I love all my gang, I'd take a Master Spark to the face for any of em, unless they deserved it, cause no way am I eating one of those for fun. But I'm not, er, interested in them like that. Uh, you okay in there? You looked a little zoned."

"Nah, I was just wishing we came with all the answers pre-programmed like that."

"Meh, so you have to find stuff out the hard way. Least nobody's trying to use you to keep stuff cool in summer. If I hear 'hey, Nineball, hold this for me!' one more time, I'm gonna scream."

"Okay, point," replied Charlotte. "Could be worse though."

"And how's that?" replied Cirno, with a frown.

"You could be Yukari."

"Ha! If I was her, I wouldn't be stupid enough to get me on her badside!"

"Uh, sure." Charlotte replied as she tried to untie that sentence enough for it to make sense.


"I take it you have come to surrender yourself peacefully and repent for your misdeeds then?" Reimu pumped amplification into her voice as she called out to Yukari as the Youkai of the Borders passed through the temple gate. A cheap trick, but I'm not doing it for her.

"Give. Her. Back." Yukari strode forward without so much as a hitch in her step from Reimu's words, the eye of a storm of anger.

"You know what? Since you've been such an intractable bitch, no! The only way you're seeing Ran anytime soon is when I throw you in the adjacent cell to hers."

"And with what army do you plan on accomplishing that task?" Yukari called back. Reimu's eyes flashed with malice, and for a reply she held up an ofuda and ignited the magic within, shooting a firework into the sky. That was the signal for Byakuren to reveal herself from behind the pillars fronting the temple, along with Miko. And the signal also meant it was time for Marisa to drop her camouflage spell so that she and Alice and Kyōko and Sayaka and Mami could step up. And then Patchouli dropped her own ward of invisibility, and Remilia and Sakuya and Madoka and Homura took their positions. The temple gate closed with a boom! and Suika and Yuugi let the handles fall, the two Oni grinning from ear to ear.

BGM: O-Life Japan - Ishyuu Gensokyou – "Necrofantasia"

"Quite the rabble you have assembled here. Am I supposed to be impressed? I would have expected you to at least be able to dredge up one or two reprehensible monsters from your misbegotten past to actually challenge me."

"Reprehensible? My word! Such a foul tongue, young lady!" Yukari's eyes widened with what could almost be fear as Yuuka strolled onto the field, idly twirling her parasol. "You never call, you never write, and now this! 'Reprehensible'? 'Monster'? I'm beginning to think you don't love me anymore!" After a sour moment, Yukari began to laugh, but without mirth.

"Oh, you think yourself so clever. But there is a flaw in your plan, Reimu." The Border Youkai summoned gaps all across the pavilion so that she could speak directly into each combatant's ears. "You know me, and you know the rumors of my power. Let me assure you they are as but a paper kite as compared to the form of a dragon. Who among you is willing to die for the likes of Miko, of Yuuka or the Outsiders? Leave now and I may be generous enough to let you live."

"I don't think that will be necessary," came a quiet voice in reply and now Yukari did show worry as Komachi stepped into view, her scythe singing as it cleaved the air itself. "You see, the Yama has put me in charge of clean-up here, and should I happen to drag your sorry ass to Hell first and take the scenic route, so that the girls have time to reclaim their mortal lives before I get back, well, the Yama already thinks I'm a slacker and won't make quota."

"For too long have you sown the winds with discord, Yukari." Reimu intoned, letting her foe's own gaps carry her words to all involved. "Today you reap the whirlwind."

BGM: 0:57

The first blow was struck by Yukari, who enlarged one of her speaking gaps and burst out next to Reimu, releasing a storm of danmaku from both hands. The plan was to avoid torrent of fire which certainly had to have landed where she had been standing and get in close enough that no one would risk taking shots and hitting their own, so Yukari was somewhat surprised when first off, she heard no great quantity of fire from behind, and then Reimu exploded into a crimson mist when the bullets landed.

Ofuda slapped into place from three different angles and then Yukari recognized the magical signature of Taboo ~ Four in One. The charms limited Yukari's ability to shift past the boundaries of her nature, which started a cold trickle of fear down the Border Youkai's spine, then she was bound into immobility by Mami's ribbons as they entwined her limbs. There came the hackles-raising sound of the Hakkero charging, and Yukari resigned herself to receiving the killing light of the Master Spark without any way to mitigate the damage. She steeled herself for the blow, and Marisa delivered, pouring a full measure of hate into her shot. But it was a testament to just how badly the Border Compact had vexed Yukari that she was unable to figure out what was bothering her so greatly about the specific situation until the hellglare ended and Yukari saw Yuuka in double standing before her. The damage from a single shot hadn't been nearly enough to disorient Yukari that badly, which could only mean one thing. Oh no . . . Yukari gritted her teeth as the originator of the Master Spark put her unique flourish on the spell and caught the Border Youkai in two beams at once. That hit jarred something loose in Yukari's brain so that even as her flesh was crying out in protest of the damage, her mind was reassessing the situation. Yukari managed to get a ward in place just before all three Reimu clones piled on with their own copies of the infamous spell, spearing her from every axis. Priorities, Yukari, remember your priorities! The ofuda had mostly burned off in the sixfold blast, which gave the Border Youkai a chance to become a vapor rather than a solid and escape her fate for a moment.

Yukari snapped back to solidity among Alice's team, but the danmaku was already falling by the time the Border Youkai could ready a Spellcard. Accepting the hits with a growl, Yukari snapped off Barrier "Curse of Dreams and Reality", which set the magicians to scattering, but more importantly it provided cover for her real cast, a finely tuned scryer spell which even the likes of Mima would be hard-pressed to detect. And now, for that annoying little early-warning detector! Yukari locked her glare upon Miko, who was standing on the steps with eyes closed and an accusing finger thrust unerringly at the Border Youkai. However, any thoughts Yukari had of taking Miko to task ended as a lightning-edged blade punched through her belly.

"You, again?" snarled the Border Youkai as she took hold of Sayaka's blade in one hand, and gathered a fistful of hellfire in the other.

"No, me!" answered Kyōko, just before her spearhead crossed Yukari's wrist, removing the appendage and its' deadly payload. Yukari roared in rage and gapped out of the vicinity just before Alice could wrap her in angelhair wire to complete the job.

"Oh, bloody hell!" Miko cried out in warning and called up a ward of her own as a gap split open before her. The Border Youkai bore down on her foremost vexation, but that was a mistake, as Yukari discovered when she walked straight into a Light Magic ~ Star Maelstrom. The overlapping layers of explosions rattled Yukari some, but she was still able to snap out a Double Black Death Butterfly Card, only to have it bombed to hell and gone by Byakuren. This momentary reversal gave Miko a chance to jump in, Shichi-Sei Ken flashing through the air hungry for blood. The weeping slices in her flesh were annoying to Yukari, but then Miko lit up her Light Sign ~ Guze Flash, and Yukari decided it was time to leave the vicinity. Once again she opened a gap and looked to the nightmare realm of staring eyes for refuge.

Byakuren threw out a disjunction and blew the newly-opened gap shut, and was rewarded with the sound of Yukari crying out in pain as Miko's Spellcard took effect. The Taoist princess' triumph was short-lived however, as Yukari unleashed a broad-spectrum sampler of her whole arsenal of spellwork, and Miko had to sacrifice her followup Spellcard to bomb out of the sudden assault. Before any of the girls on the shrine steps could regroup, Yukari was gone again through another gap.

"She's toying with us," snarled Reimu as she watched Yukari appear from another gap to assault Remilia's team. Homura answered the newest wave of danmaku with actual bullets, and yet again the Border Youkai began the dance of give-a-little, take-a-little, neither taking any significant hits nor managing to drop any of her attackers.

"Indeed," replied Byakuren. "Almost as if she were buying time for something."

"Yep," said Reimu back.

"Easy for you to say!" snapped Miko, clutching her side where one shot in the barrage had been less of a graze and more of a punch straight in the abdomen. "That bloody well hurt."

"Taishi-chan, did the Way of Tao do away with such nuggets of wisdom as 'do not stand directly in the path of an enraged youkai' while I was in exile?" Miko's only reply was a sour look as Byakuren delivered her gentle barb. Reimu shook her head.

"Heads up, everyone, looks like Phase 2 is about to begin!" called the shrine maiden, setting one of her contingencies in motion.


Yukari let loose a bestial growl as she burned her way clear of a tangle of thorny rose branches. Why bother with pyromancy when you can just manipulate the Border of Flammability and let nature take its' course? The Border Youkai would have felt much better if she could set fire to Homura's arsenal in the same way, but the black-haired Puella Magi wasn't obliging. The injuries to her physical form were annoying but no more than that so far; besides being able to manipulate her physical construction in many ways, Yukari was still a very long-lived youkai, with all the toughness that came with and an exceptionally skilled magician for her age. There was no doubt in Yukari's mind that she could handle any three of her opponents at once, four on a good day. Of course, Reimu would have to bring seventeen fighters to the battle. Hasn't that girl ever heard of a fair fight?! Out of nowhere, Yukari's scryer returned, bearing good news. A nasty grin spread across the Border Youkai's lips, and this time when she stepped through her gap, Yukari did not reappear anywhere on the current battlefield.

When Myourin Temple was originally constructed, there had been no provision for a dungeon. This fact drew objections from both Murasa and Shou, with the former summing up the problem as "Well, what in fucking hellfire are we going to do when we run into a real hardcase? Your options right now are kill 'em or put 'em up in the guest house. You won't go for the first and I sure as hellfire won't accept the latter!" The emergence of Toyosatomimi no Miko and her gang looked like it might reopen that argument, but Byakuren and Miko had come to an . . . agreement, albeit one which was not popular among the lieutenants of Myourin Temple. Shou in fact had made a habit of sitting outside Byakuren's door and sharpening her glaive all through the night as a warning. However, with the current crisis, Miko had been able to buy herself a bit of a reprieve; her old mausoleum was virtually impregnable, and between her wards, Byakuren's wards, and a couple of dirty tricks wired up by Alice and Patchouli, the building was deemed suitable for imprisoning Ran Yakumo.

No guarantee had been made as to the structure's withstanding a jailbreak from the outside, however. And so the current jailor in the mausoleum, Tatara Kogasa, found herself face-to-face with Yukari Yakumo in an extraordinarially bad mood. The karakasa was showing a good deal of terror as she fingered the ofuda which let her communicate with the rest of the team. Fortunately, Yukari had eyes only for the figure behind the cage of steel. Ran was sitting on the floor of her cell, looking glum.

"Hey, what'd'ya think you're doing? You're not allowed in here!" Cirno shouted from the doorway. Yukari turned with deliberate slowness to face the icy intruder.

"Do you really think you can stop me, little fool?"

"You think you can survive me stopping you, ya ugly old hag?" Cirno shot Yukari the one-finger salute as she called out her Soul Gem and transformed.

"Just try and stop me," replied the Border Youkai as she ripped the cage asunder.

"Actually, she doesn't have to," replied Ran. Horror clutched at Yukari's heart as she watched her Shinigami start to . . . melt before her. The shape of the kitsune seemed to slump and shrink, and Ran's tails began to thrash and twist themselves into an asymmetrical pattern. Unidentified ~ Purple Mirror exploded into Yukari's face.

BGM: Syrufit - White Clear - "Back Door"

"Oh, by the way, supriiise!" shouted Kogasa as she piled danmaku into the shocked Border Youkai. Yukari shrieked with unquenchable rage and tore at the imposter with claws and spellfire both. Nue parried the first murderous swipe with her trident and then . . . Yukari didn't get a second, as Charlotte's yo-yo wound around the Border Youkai's center and she was yanked backward. Charlotte spun Yukari around as she unwound her weapon and then the Border Youkai met a jelly-roll face first. The gooey confection was humiliating, but Yukari didn't notice, as Cirno rammed an icy broadsword deep into her gut.

Yukari snarled and gapped off the supremely sharp blade- or tried to. What she got instead was a piercing headache. Perhaps I have underestimated the lengths to which my foes are willing to go, mused the Youkai of the Border as she tasted the jelly on her face for the first time, although she already knew what she would find. There was only one herb in all of Gensokyo that could interfere with her powers so, and only one place it could grow. When I am finished here, the Garden of the Sun shall be reduced to a desert of glass! But first, these fools!

Of all her foes, Yukari focused first on Nue. The surprise attacks might have hurt, but Cirno and Kogasa were low-caliber youkai, and Charlotte was just an Outsider. To credit them otherwise would be a breach of the fundamental order of things! Reimu might have rebelled, but the rules of the world itself do not simply lapse on their own! Fury flew from Yukari's hands, reaching out to strike down the chimerical youkai who had tricked her. Such was her rage that Yukari at the deception that Yukari didn't even pause when Charlotte stepped in front of her. Nue aimed a taunting grin at Yukari as she blocked and bombed off all the Border Youkai's attacks, even as Charlotte whirled her yo-yo in a tight arc, the topaz head humming louder and louder with every pass.

"Hey, bitch! Catch!" Yukari turned in a rage as Charlotte called her out, and then the Puella Magi let her yo-yo fly free, and the crackling gemstone hit Yukari like an enraged dragon god. Okay, so perhaps I have misjudged this one, thought the Border Youkai as she peeled herself out of the imprint she had left in the wall. No matter, that one can die like any other flesh. However, Yukari found her vengeance stalled by a massive, slimy tongue smacking her across the face as she turned towards battle once more. Standing athwart her was Kogasa, and though the karakasa trembled with fear, she refused to back down as the Border Youkai rounded upon her.

"And what false treasure has Reimu offered you to buy your loyalty, little thing? You know you will not live long enough to earn it."

"I serve at the pleasure of Lady Hijiri, who is my liege. She rewards faithfulness with loyalty and respect, and for that I would die a dozen times over. You have no hold over me, you beast!"

"We shall see," was Yukari's only reply. Killing light gathered in the hand of the Border Youkai, and as she reached out to deliver the fatal blow, Yukari saw no terror in her victim's mismatched eyes, only resolve. Gods damn them for making me do this! Yukari swore as she cast her attack. The raging energies crashed home . . . into a barrier of ice. At the same times, fangs sunk into Yukari's throat and injected a venom which sent chill numbness throughout the Border Youkai's limbs. Nue kept her serpentine appendage extended to hold Yukari in place.

"Get her!" snarled Nue, who was shaking with anger. "(You want to fight like a bully? Then die like a bitch!)" hissed the serpent into Yukari's ear. Charlotte raised her arms, priming the dispensers up her sleeves to unleash hell, while a halo of rime formed over Cirno's head as she hefted a needle-sharp icicle spear. No! This will not be my fate!

Before either girl could attack, a sudden tsunami rose up in the confines of the catacomb, blasting both Puella Magi back and washing away the poison shacking Yukari's powers. The Border Youkai took the opportunity to retreat to the surface. The courtyard of Myourin Temple would serve as well as any location to bring this conflict to conclusion.

"No more tricks, and no more games. Let's finish this!" Yukari called out as Reimu stepped into the courtyard. The shrine maiden nodded and drew a Spellcard, which in turn caused Yukari to raise a barrier. Instead of an attack, however, the card drew the fighters from the mausoleum to Reimu's side.

BGM: 2:53

Fascinating, fascinating, fascinating!

Yukari opened up with every bit of spellcraft that could be expected from a youkai with more than a millennium's practice at her craft and then she followed the deluge of danmaku with Xanadu of Straight and Curve. Suddenly the fighters for the Compact were forced to set their feet to the dance of evasion, and do it well, for none called a tune like Yukari Yakumo.

Just a little bit further in the forest / There I'll make flowers blossom!

And then the seekers began to hit home, but not on flesh. Fat, smiling sunflowers burst up from the flagstones to swallow whole the lethal spells. Yukari gritted her teeth and sliced open a gap behind the one she knew was responsible for countering her assault, and once there the Border Youkai lit up a firestorm which engulfed Yuuka and her favored flowers. The youkai gardener's body burned merrily in the flames, but that only revealed it to be a clone, and the plants used to create the ruse gave off a nauseating stink that muddled the Border Youkai's mind. Before Yukari could consider her next move, though, she herself was engulfed in flames.

"If you're gonna do a thing, you gotta do it right!" Mokou lit a cigarette off the blazing mass of Yukari's hair, and then she launched a thundering roundhouse kick which knocked the Border Youkai insensate for just a moment. "Like this! South Wind, Clear Sky, FUJIYAMA VOLCANO!"

Just a moment's battle, a roadside tragedy

Worry took root in Yukari's heart once more, and this time she could not easily send it away. She still had plenty of spellpower to repair her body and maintain an offense, and careful manipulation of the boundaries of her physical form had let her siphon off a good deal of Mokou's Spellcard, much as a lesser magician might graze the edges of a barrage for a desperate refreshment. The problem was that had hurt. None of the attacks so far had been cast according to the dueling code, and that meant they could and eventually would become lethal. Worse, Yukari had reflexively attempted to gap out of the attack only to find herself barred from leaving the courtyard, by a power she recognized as the Hakurei Yin-Yang Orb. That meant something that actually shocked Yukari as the implications tumbled into place: Reimu is trying to kill me! And at this rate, she might even succeed! Well, fair is fair then. The Border Youkai stepped outside time until she could work out a way to implement the plan which had popped into her mind, and also to let her body take on a less charbroiled texture.

The border of then and now burst open to release Yukari directly upon her foremost foe, claws and spells reaching out to vent her fury. Reimu was aware of the attack and raised her defenses, but Yukari was turned away first by a strike of such swiftness it was almost beyond the comprehension of either fighter.

"Y-you! Traitorous wench! I will destroy you for this!" Yukari aimed an accusatory finger as she shouted, but if Youmu was concerned, it didn't show on her face. Instead, the half-phantom cleared her katana of Yukari's blood with a flick of her wrist and drew out her wakazashi.

"Apparently you have spent too much time around your brainless slaves, for you have mistaken me for someone who is obliged to follow your commands. Worry not, for my Hakurouken can cut out that confusion, along with your festering black heart!" A barrier formed just in time to keep Youmu's short blade from doing just that, but even then the force of the strike drove Yukari back. The ancient youkai let her barrier fall and counterstuck with a furious salvo of danmaku, but that was only a smokescreen while she created a new kind of barrier around her body.

All of the tricks everyone uses

That one, this one, give me them all!

A veritable hailstorm of power rained down upon Yukari, bullets of every color and description, and even some actual bits of hot flying metal reached out to blast the Border Youkai, who grimly plowed through the storm to attack someone, anyone. When the curtain of fire parted for just a moment, Yukari sighted in upon Marisa. As good a target as any, that one! thought Yukari as she reached out and loosed hell upon the young witch. Boundary Between Wave and Particle was countered by Return Inanimateness, and then Marisa and Alice shared a knowing grin.

Blades and bullets sought out Yukari's flesh as Reimu directed all her fighters in a renewed assault, but Yukari remained focused upon the two smirking magicians. The look which Alice and Marisa shared said that they knew a very funny joke, and that Yukari was to be the butt of it. It was not a look which Yukari liked to permit anyone but herself to have. Parallel gestures drew out two slivers which at last Yukari understood to be fragments of a Spellcard. The realization sent a spike of adrenaline into her spine as two voices became one.

"Binary Sign ~ Unmerciful Malice!" rocked the courtyard, and Yukari's eyes went wide as she tried to track the hundreds of projectiles bearing down upon her. All their fury arrived at once, and the explosion blotted out the Border Youkai entirely.

It's not enough! Not enough!

Give me more, more, more . . .

Laughter, hideous and broken, echoed from within the incendiary cloud. The explosions hadn't ended, but instead remained in place, a throbbing, smoking mass of destruction as Yukari stepped forth. Her shadow reached across the courtyard in the hellish light, lapping at the feet of the combatants.

"Bloody hellfire, just die already, you miserable bitch!" Miko snarled, edging her sword for another attack. Indeed, Yukari felt ready to do just that. She was running entirely on stolen energy and banked anger, but that didn't matter, for her last gambit was now in play. Where her shadow touched the feet of those Yukari wished to fight, the world rippled and consumed them, throwing the targets into a bruise-hued simulacrum of the courtyard.


"For thirteen hundred years have I watched over Gensokyo, and in return for my patronage, this place has given me the only thing from it I have asked; obedience. For me, but a handful of grains of sand have fallen in the time since you wretched fools started your little Incident, but no longer. Today, little pests, you shall die." For a dreadful moment, no one spoke. Yukari's words hung over the battlefield as a pall of smoke. The Puella Magi reached out through their empathic link to reinforce each other, seven hearts beating in concert to power a singular resolve.

BGM: Syrufit - Where is Love - "Kizu Kakushi"

"You forgot someone." Charlotte stepped forward, fists clenched. "Where's Cirno?"

"Oh, don't worry about the little aberration, I will deal with her soon enough." Yukari smirked as she drew a Spellcard.

"UNACCEPTABLE!" Charlotte exploded forward, pulling a Spellcard of her own and igniting it. "Fateful Bond ~ Yin and Yang!" the Puella Magi called out, and the spell's power lit a flaming orange aura about Charlotte as she charged. At the last moment, Yukari dodged aside, her superior smirk never leaving her face as the peach-haired girl blew past the Border Youkai impotently-

-and then a pair of icy-sharp swords burst through Yukari's flesh. Cirno then somersaulted in place and kicked Yukari off her blades. The Border Youkai stumbled for a step and then unleashed a blast of raw force to hurl her attackers away. Yukari turned to face the rest of the Puella Magi with raw hate in her eyes, and then all hell broke loose.

Kyōko was first into the fray, scorpion spear whirling and biting, and Yukari answered with cannon-blast sprays of danmaku, but the wily redhead just disappeared into the shots with a shout of "Rosso Fantasma!" ringing on the wind, and then suddenly the chain was wrapped around the Border Youkai and just as suddenly released, sending Yukari flying forward. There she met Sayaka's shield full on in the face, and the tremendous impact staggered Yukari. Within that momentary distraction Sayaka slashed her foe once, twice, and then spun completely around to wrack Yukari with another shield bash followed by a slash that would have completely removed the Border Youkai's head but for a timely bombing of Border of Motion and Stillness.

Then Yukari was through the first wave and advancing upon those she considered the weaker of her enemies. A tempest of flame rose about the feet of the Border Youkai, lashing out to drive back those who had attacked her already. Time came to a halt, but even then Yukari was not worried. She could not directly affect anything from within Homura's bubble of non-time, but the Border Youkai was fully aware of what happened around her. And it seems I won't even need to do anything but kill this little nuisance when I get out of here, mused Yukari as Homura lined up her shotgun.

But Yukari had made a mistake in dismissing the black-haired Puella Magi simply because Homura didn't attack directly with magic like the others. As cosmopolitan as she was, Yukari still didn't take Outside technology seriously, and so she caught completely by surprise as the brace of MRAP rounds from Homura's gun burrowed into the flesh of her arm and shoulder- and then that shoulder and the accompanying limb just disappeared as the charges detonated.

Shock blotted out Yukari's senses for a moment, and even after the restorative spells kicked in and banished the pain, she found she was unable to make her body respond to her commands. This turned out to be because of the thorny vines entangling her legs and torso.

"Why?" Madoka cried out. "What did we ever do to deserve death?"

"Just as the diner makes no apologies to the cattle, and the exterminator does ask permission from the vermin, neither shall I explain myself to you," spat Yukari for a reply.

"If that is so, then you deserve what happens next," replied Madoka. For just an instant the mask slipped, and Yukari could see the darkness lurking behind the border of Madoka's consciousness. A Spellcard appeared in Madoka's hand, and Yukari tried to brace herself for the impact, for she knew not who was powering the spell, the quiet and peaceful girl who stood before her, or the black spectre beneath who lusted for death and could know only the peace of the grave. "Terrible Weight ~ Swordbearer's Curse!" Madoka screamed.


"It's high time people started cooperating in this madhouse. Reimu has done an excellent job so far of converting her enemies into tea-and-biscuits pals, but we will need more in the future. There are powers both old and new that would move against us if given the chance, as you well know. This flare-up from the Outside is the perfect opportunity to get the youngsters united, give them something to work against."

Curiosity and dread filled Yukari as the scene unfolded before her. She recalled well those words; they had been her own, several months ago, when the Incident first began. Yukari had been speaking to Yuyuko, laying out her latest scheme to profit from a calamity which threatened her beloved Gensokyo. "I could almost commend that girl," muttered Yukari as she watched the tableau unfold before her. It seemed that Swordbearer's Curse was not simply another brute attack against flesh that was numb to all pain, but instead it called up her own transgressions to be used as a weapon against her. The spellcraft and insight which that implied impressed Yukari, but right now she hated Madoka more than she could recall ever hating anyone for hurting her so.

"And what would you have from me? I see the Yukari-who-needs-assistance sitting in front of me, not the Yukari who simply vents her frustrations in a suitable location." replied the memory-Yuyuko.

"What I need is for you to maneuver your ever-diligent assistant into joining the expedition, and have her keep watch in order so that things don't get out of hand. I want this to be another soft, friendly Incident, not poison any possible relationships with a new group of magicians who could be brought into the fold." Yukari could only look upon that forlorn wish with a wry grimace, considering the murderous wrath which had been vented upon her in the course of the day.

However, the Swordbearer's Curse was not yet done with Yukari, and it dredged up another memory, this of someone from so very long ago that she had yet to meet. "I'm sorry. I can't let you do this, Yukari." Anguish clenched the Border Youkai's heart as she recalled the words, spoken by one who called her "friend" and whom she had called "traitor". And yet, Yukari knew the pain she felt was not even the full measure of what lay in that cursed memory which was still to come. The name on the other woman's lips had been her true name, the one not yet spoken, that she would abandon in her quest of self-righteousness. Yukari had seen fit to utterly forsake that bond, going so far as even making her very name a repudiation of her old identity, the syllables rolling off the tongue high-low-high where as the former had been intoned low-high-low. Once upon a time that other name had sounded so perfect, even when rendered imperfectly upon the lips of the girl she would lose. The girl who had become the woman who thwarted her worst excess. A tragedy which was replayed once again this very day, as another with the same face had once again hardened her heart against Yukari Yakumo, and set herself athwart the Border Youkai's path.

The pain, the sorrow, the loss, the knowledge of her repeated failure shattered Yukari's heart as a heavy hand landing upon a delicate glass figurine. But what was left behind in the wake of that strike was more terrible than could be contemplated. As the Spellcard timed out, the once and future beast was released back into the world of the living. If I am to be punished for going astray, then so be it. You all shall suffer as have I! Malice flooded the empty place where Yukari's heart once lay and then turned to glee as she read the flaws in her foe's attack. Seizing upon the opportunity, Yukari reached out and crossed the borderline she had glimpsed earlier and ransacked the space beyond in search of a treasure most precious. Astral claws snuffed the flickering flame she found, and Madoka Kaname's body flopped to the ground, empty of life.

No, stay calm, don't panic, Nova's here, the Shinigami is on our side this time, this can be fixed, right? Homura tried desperately to reassure herself, to warm the infinitely cold void that had opened in her soul. Sorrow weighed her down, stole from the black-haired girl any hope of responding, and all she could do was look to her friends and hope they could turn back this disaster. Right?!

Nova was indeed the first to act. She spat a rapid-fire string of syllables with the vehemence of a curse, and a pillar of light sprung up around her, similar to the completion of a Soul Gem contract. But her eyes were empty and cold when the light ended, and this was no benign miracle she was working. Blood began to leak from her raised right hand as the flesh tore open, revealing a teardrop-shaped hole ringed with some of the cancerous ironwork the Puella Magi had come to expect from a Warlock.

"You say you have lived 1300 years, as though that were some sort of accomplishment." Even as Nova spoke, more tendrils of the iron corruption burrowed into her skin from where her Soul Gem brooch rode. "I have been here for twenty-five thousand years, contracting Humanity in service of a Project which has gone on since before this BALL OF SHIT even became a planet." Nova raised her hand so that Yukari was looking down a void as black as the Soul Gem which rode on Nova's chest. "And you know what? Everything I worked for, every. single. thing. which defined my existence turned out to be a lie. All I had left was a singular precious treasure. Which you have taken from me."

"FOR THIS YOU WILL DIE A THOUSAND THOUSAND DEATHS AND SUFFER EACH ONE IN AGONY!" Nova pounced upon Yukari. The Border Youkai raised her arms to defend herself, and where the void met Yukari's flesh the matter simply disappeared, leaving a terrible wound which would never, could never heal. Nova raised her hand for another strike-

-and the hourglass turned upon itself once again.