Reimu couldn't believe it. She could feel her brain literally starting to break into pieces.

Gone were not only her best friend but also now her entire place of residence and work! Her home, belongings, her friends, her wife and her donation box had been taken! Reimu started to babble some nonsense out of her growing madness as she held her head in agony. She looked towards the sky but couldn't see anything besides a thick collection of clouds. Who could have done this? And how so fast? She had only been gone a hour! Its moments like this she almost wished that Yukari would just appear and toy with her before giving some decent advice. But she's gone. And so is her best friend Yuyuko! Man, Youmu is going to be pissed…

What's her next plan? Reimu paced around the crater where her shrine used to remain. Who can help her? Most of the people that could help her had been taken for their 'information'…wait, is that why they were taken? This is what it all lead to? The abduction of her home? She then let out a long and wavering groan into the sky, echoing into the forest.

Okay, okay. Reimu tried to take as many breaths as possible to calm herself. She could still get some help. While Sanae is out due to her becoming a huge jerk, Sakuya might be more approachable. While Patchouli might be missing, Sakuya wouldn't be as affected. Besides…Sakuya might also be able to arrange for Reimu to live in a guest room until they could find and reclaim the shrine. But that lead Reimu to a crossroads. She had some pocket money on her so she could afford a night in a inn. So, spend money or survive a night at the place called the Scarlet Devil Mansion?

Reimu flew off in the direction of the red mansion.

She landed in front of the gate. As usual, Mei-Ling stood to the left pillar, her eyes shut and snoring. Reimu shook her head. You think by now the people running the mansion would have chosen someone not sleep-deprived to watch the gate to the place. Or at least Mei-Ling would have tried to fix her problem to salvage her reputation.

Reimu went over to the open the door only for a hand to stop her. "Hold on." Mei-Ling spoke with her eyes still closed. "You think I'm sleeping? Geez, you're gullible."

"I…ummm…" Reimu choked out.

"Relax." Mei-Ling broke her hold. "You look like you seen a entire legion of ghosts. The grim reaper got lazy again?" Mei-Ling added with a small laugh.

"No, but I need to see Sakuya." Reimu asked. "It's important…not as important as Gensokyo exploding, but it's important. Please?" Reimu patted her hands together.

Mei-ling shrugged. "Sure, as long as you don't steal anything." Mei-Ling patted the gate and it swung open. Reimu quickly ran in, without even waving good-bye to Mei-Ling. Mei-Ling huffed and went back to sleep. "Jerk." Mei-Ling mused under her breath.

Reimu went through the front door and walked right into the red-carpeted foyer. But there seemed to be a layer of dust covering everything, from the stair banisters, to the paintings of Remilia, even on the decorative tables on the sides of the stairs; a obvious place where a maid would dust first. Looks like Sakuya had gotten lazy. Reimu took a right and headed in the direction of the library. She figured it would be a good place to start. Sakuya could anywhere, but Reimu figured she would run into someone at the library. Patchouli might be gone, but someone had to take care of her library. The last time Patchouli went on a vacation and came back to find her library dusty…it didn't end well for anyone nearby. Even Marisa couldn't escape in time.

The library still kept it quiet and foreboding atmosphere even with it's caretaker gone. Reimu had the sense that if she touched even one of the books on the shelves, she might get a good read out of it in exchange for a few of her fingers. Hopefully her stay here wouldn't be long, she hate to actually consider the exchange if she got bored.

It didn't take her long to run into Patchouli's assistant, the red haired devil. "Koakuma?" Reimu asked. "Sorry to bother you, but do know where Sakuya is?"

"…with Lady Remiliia in her room." Koakuma wheezed out. Getting a good look at the youkai's face, she clearly looked to be a bit drained. She appeared to be twice as old as she should be. Reimu almost expected for Koakuma to attack and drain her blood or at least tell her to beat it, but Koakuma went about her business ordering books on the shelves.

Reimu remembered the way to the master's room. Up two flights of stairs and straight onto the back of the house. The hall leading to the room had it the worst. Dust piles lined the area between the carpet to the wall all the way down the hall. Paint started to peel down the walls and a painting of Remilia laid on the floor with a big noticeable gash going down the left side of the portrait. The doors leading into the room proper looked fine, but Reimu recognized that someone had to recently rehinge the door.

"Go away shrine maiden." A chilling voice called out from inside the room. "I'm in no mood to deal with you today."

"I'm here to see Sakuya." Reimu asked.

"She's not available." The voice sneered out. "You will remove yourself from the premises immediately."

"Let me make a offer then." Reimu sighed. She had figured that she would have to convince them to help her. "Just let me talk with Sakuya. It's important."

"You have five minutes." The voice boomed. "Then…you'll leave."

A click resounded from the door. Reimu took it as a signal to enter the room, which she did so with a slow and steady pace. The usual dark room had a more silent aura to it, one so strong that Reimu felt she was stepping into the void itself. At the far end of the room laid two figures sitting in the shadows; one lying in a disheveled bed and the other one standing over the figure in the bed. "It's not polite to stare." The figure in the bed coughed out, despite Reimu having only taken one look at her.

"What happened?" Reimu asked, actually feeling a bit worried about Remilia.

"Do." Remilia in bed barked, as a shadowy aura formed around her. "Not. Discuss. It."

"I will explain outside, away from your ears Mistress." Sakuya said as she stepped up and into some light. Sakuya looked drained as well, not as much as Koakuma but still noticeable. The stretched skin on her face made her look twenty years older. "Follow me, Shrine Maiden." Sakuya beckoned and went out the room, with Reimu joining her.

"What happened?" Reimu asked as soon as Sakuya closed the door behind them.

"The vanishing of Maiden Patchouli left a impact on the mistress." Sakuya started to explain. "We tried our best to keep her happy and content, but she continued to become more and more depressed. And as she became melancholy…it spread to us." Sakuya sighed. "She started to drain us, as you can tell." Sakuya rolled up a sleeve to show that her arms had little muscle and fat on them. Looked like a twig. "I'm not too versed on vampire biology…but I believe that Mistress Remilia has extended a powerful aura around the mansion."

"So it's not safe to live here." Reimu sighed.

"Live here?" Sakuya asked as she turned her head. "I'm guessing something has happened to the Hakurei Shrine…again."

"Someone has taken it." Reimu breathed out. "Literally plucked it right out of the ground. I come here either to live or to get help in recovering my home." Reimu held out a hand. "Can I ask you for your assistance in helping me find my shrine? Looks like you're pretty busy…"

"No, I need to get out." Sakuya coughed out. "Remilia will be fine."

Reimu felt a bit off-put. The old Sakuya would never leave the mansion unless someone or something threatened the mansion or generally annoyed Mistress Remilia. And for the most part, Sakuya didn't do much socialization and would be generally defined as a workaholic. And now…she's more than happy to join up with Reimu to investigate a incident.

"Alright…" Reimu got out. "I'll fill you in…and the good news is that it might mean Patchouli's return!"

"That would be nice." Sakuya grumbled as she checked over one of her knives. "So, what's going on?"

Reimu breathed out. "It's a long story…"

"Like how many chapters?"

"Twenty-plus…I can skip a few chapters as they're fillers to develop characters and do some world-building. That…and I wasn't present for a lot of things…"

"The details. Just the details."

As Reimu and Sakuya walked out the mansion, it left Remilia alone in her room to brew to herself. Remilia overheard everything, from the things mentioned outside her door to as far as the outside gate. So…Patchouli was taken for the information she could have provided? It seems that the spectral mistress Yuyuko provided the answers to everything…then why hasn't she been taken? How come she knew what happened and yet still got to exist?

The vampire growled. Her teeth had become so sharp and long she had to be careful and not bite her own lip. Remilia wanted to not only drink the blood of the man responsible but to drain their very soul and leave them as a dead dry husk. No! She would first torture them. Slowly. Tear out one finger and then a toe at a time. Stick a needle in the stubs. Then she would bite into the villian's hands and feet and rip them off. Stick one of Sakuya's knives into those stubs. Proceed to the face: rip out nose, pluck out one eye to force-feed it, sow one side of the mouth shut, and! And!

The things she would do to the being that dared to kidnap her wife!