Destiny

In her dreams, Cirno was killing. With her bare hands, she'd chop people up, cut them down, and stab into their very hearts. She does so mechanically, like she knows nothing else. As she does, a man stands behind her; the king that dies on the hill. He directs her, lonely and mad, as if his emotions have all but left him. But if there's one thing, it's that Cirno knows she cares about him. She worries, knowing what he's doing is wrong, but she can do nothing but what she's told. The king continues as if knowing, wanting, that he's sowing the seeds of his own destruction. He isn't reached by Cirno's worries.

Waking with a fright, Cirno falls out of the bed and face first into the carpet. There she stays for a moment, counting her miseries, then picks herself up. Familiar to the scene of waking up in unfamiliar places, the blue-haired former-fairy realizes that this is one of those instances. White walls, white carpet, (from which she fell) a white bed, and a lonely white sofa all in a large room. There's carpet and a proper bed, so this must be a western-style house. There's the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Marisa's (but she has hardwood floors), Alice's, and the Palace of the Earth Spirits, but this is none of those places. Where exactly is she?

Maybe more to the point, how did she get here? Her memory's a little fuzzy, so maybe if she walks around a bit she'll remember.

And as a matter of fact, she's naked. That only happens when she sneaks into Reimu's sake or Remilia's wine. That might help explain the memory loss, but she doesn't have the headache that normally accompanies it. Her head is crystal clear, at least in terms of hangovers. What's more, she's clean. She certainly doesn't stink of booze, so did she brush her teeth and bathe beforehand? She's never done that before, but maybe because she's now a responsible adult of this she's capable.

Even Cirno has a hard time believing that.

Nevertheless, she can't sit around naked in a strange bedroom forever. Actually, she can't see a way out at all. Everything is white and there doesn't appear to be doors anywhere. That or they blend into the wall so well she won't be able to tell otherwise unless she gets close. At least she could do something about her current state of attire. Wrapping the blankets around her and tying them in knots to keep from falling, she makes a sort of dress. Dai-chan is good at this sort of thing, but Cirno looks like a child trying to imitate a toga party. Half her butt's even hanging out. Realizing this will never be her strong suit, the woman leaves it as is and wanders around.

On closer inspection, Cirno finds outlines of what might be doors, but there's no handle or knob. Instead, there's a kind of panel that somehow should open it. She's a bit afraid to touch it, but there doesn't seem to be any other thing she can do. So she does.

There's an angry sounding "buzz" and nothing else happens. Did she do it wrong? Touching it again, the same thing happens. Next she hits a few times. A compartment slides out from underneath it. She isn't exactly sure what it is, but it looks like a hole for a key. If that's true, Cirno has just the trick!

It's something she's learned to do very well back when she was an Ice Fairy. First create the basic shape from ice, them make the rises and ridges like a normal key. Keep experimenting until the lock turns. Cirno's an expert at this! Aligning herself carefully, she first forms the basic shape of a key...

Her sword completely destroys the panel, the door sliding open as a result.

Well, she did break the lock over half the time when she tried to make a key. But that's funny, she could have sworn she had the proper shape in her mind, not that of a sword. Oh well.

There's no use crying about it now; she broke it. Moving along, she peeks outside and finds an open hallway. This is encouraging because there were two other doors (which she assumed led to a bathroom and closet). It'd be bad if she had to repeat this process thrice over.

In the hall there's only one way to go. Avoiding her sword that's sticking out of the other end of the wall, she continues down her only path where she finds another door. Will she have to do that key thing again? However, when she touches the panel, this time the door opens on it's own. Did she learn some kind of new trick, or have the doors come to fear her and let her go wherever she wants? Poor bullied doors.

On the other side there lies naught but another door, but the panel on it looks different. Actually, upon stepping inside the room, she finds two men standing just outside it's path. Were they guards? They're wearing white armor and have batons on their hips, so that must be the case. They barely even look at the woman as she peeks her head through the door. They're like statues.

"Excuse, me," she asks, "can you tell me where I am?"

Nervously the pair of guards glance at one another, unsure of what to do. However, they decline to respond, again facing forward and moving no more. Realizing this will get her nowhere, Cirno heads in the only direction she can, straight ahead.

This strange panel has a clearly visible button. Pressing it, nothing happens. Will she have to "pick" the lock again. Then again, it didn't give that "buzz" the other did before. Maybe she didn't do it right. Cirno presses it again.

Nearly immediately the door opens. Surprising her a little, she's proud that she's learned how to do it now. But inside is only a small room, about the size of a closet. Will it really be alright if she goes in there? Well, this whole place has been nothing but hallways and doors, and seeing as how this is the only way to go and there's guards, this room must lead somewhere.

Cirno enters. As she does, the doors slide closed behind her. For all intensive purposes, she's now stuck. Did she walk into a trap? Those guards must be laughing themselves silly right now. Well, all she can do is try to figure this out.

Looking around, she sees nothing out of the ordinary. Should she turn around and go back? That maybe for the best. But when she does she realizes there's another panel with buttons again. Unlike the other on the other side of the door, there are more than just one. This is interesting! Deciding on which button to push, she chooses the middle one.

The door opens, revealing the hall and the guards from whence she came. Okay, so they weren't laughing. Proud of herself, she decides to push another button. A few seconds pass and the door closes. Then something weird happens; it feels as if the room is moving. This is amazing! There isn't anything like this in Gensokyo! This room must take you different places depending on which button you push! Cirno's so smart that she's figured it out!

Sure enough, when the door opens after a few seconds, the room ahead of her has changed. Peeking her head through, she finds a large empty room. There's a bunch of chairs and picture frames where the image actually moves inside. Cirno thinks she remembers seeing something like that in Kourindou. Other than that there isn't anything interesting. She doesn't leave the moving room.

Back inside, Cirno studies the panel. There's three buttons she could push. In the middle is the room that led to the bedroom, and underneath was this picture room. As the room moved, Cirno had the faint sensation of falling. Does this room move up and down? That would mean the highest button leads her to the highest floor. That must mean the lowest button led her to the lowest floor.

"A lift," the words flow from underneath her breath as if the whisper of some kind of spirit. Cirno remembers that word, but not from where. Her words continue as if not of her will, "They would chase me out when I..."

But they end there. Shaking her head, thinking about half-dreams won't get her anywhere. Hitting the final button, the top button, she heads for the highest floor.

Opening at what Cirno expects to be the top floor, she's greeted by what appears to be a dressing room. There are racks from which multiple outfits are hung, mirrored booths for styling hair and makeup, and plenty of cosmetics and other personal hygiene products. Cirno's a bit curious as to why the lift leads directly here, but whatever. Dragging around this blanket was becoming tiring.

Sifting through the outfits, quickly does she come to discover that most of these clothes are for men. Not that it particularly bothers her, but since Cirno's got this new body it'd be a shame not to show it off a bit. Still, a lot of the outfits look very complicated to adorn. She'd just look silly if she put something on the wrong way. It's worse than when she tried to put on her own kimono the time she went to the Hakurei Festival with Daiyousei!

All of these are too complicated for her. Most are robes with very intricate and pretty designs, laced with gold and other precious accents. Cirno wouldn't look pretty in something so fancy. A little upset at herself, she looks through the clothes at a quicker pace.

Completely out of place with the rest of the wardrobe, there's a dress meant for a woman. This must have been placed here by mistake. Unlike the others of clear Japanese origin, this dress has a Southern Asian design. Perhaps a gift? There's a long white skirt, and white and gold upper garment which leaves the shoulders and much of the back exposed. It doesn't appear much different than when she's currently wearing, but there's much less fabric and it looks easy to slip in and out of. Plus it's a real outfit. She's made her choice.

It takes Cirno only a couple of seconds to change. Wrapping up the blanket, she tosses it on top of the clothing rack and seeks her next destination.

Through the next door she is not met with the the same plain white hallways, but a red carpeted walkway. The same with the rest of the interior. There is much red, black, and gold decorating the path, leading to a vast open room. For the first time the air feels different. It's fresher. That large room must be open-air. Cirno's finally made it outside. With a less cautious pace than before, she pushes forward.

Right before exiting the hall into the large room, a door she just passed opens on it's own. Suddenly feeling like she's just got caught trespassing within the Hakurei Shrine, she freezes. Carefully she turns to see behind her. It's another of those white rooms, but there's an odd glow from inside.

"Enter," commands an authoritative voice, startling the bejesus out of Cirno.

Like a child scolded by an adult, she rushes inside.

Cirno's met with with many of the "moving pictures" she saw before. Displayed are many of the white hallways, some familiar and some not. One of them shows the two guards she met before, and another the outside of the bedroom she exited, her sword of ice sticking out of the wall with the occasional sparks flying.

"I would have rather been there when you awakened," it's a man sitting in a chair, his back to his guest, "but you recovered after only a couple of hours. It's truly remarkable."

Turning in his chair, it's a face Cirno can't believe she forgot. What's more, she remembers everything that's taken her to this point. Fighting the Watatsuki Sisters, heading to the moon, fighting the lunar army, and facing the man at the very pinnacle, Lord Tsukuyomi.

Cirno goes into a heightened state of alert, taking a stance that mimics Meiling's martial arts, though looking kind of silly, "What do you want?"

"Reparations for a start," he's looking at some flat device in his hand; it's about the size of a book. "1 dead, 11 missing, 67 injured, property damage equaling roughly," he pauses, "I doubt this number would mean anything to you." He tosses the device on the nearby counter-top. For the first time since her arrival, Tsukuyomi looks Cirno in the eyes.

The woman's will falters. Not by the oppressiveness of Tsukuyomi's glare, but at the words he spoke, "1 dead, 11 missing." That's 12 people she's killed. A sin and crime too great to simply be left alone. She faces Tsukuyomi again, this time her gaze even.

"Shouldn't I be in a jail cell, or something?"

Still not removing himself from the chair, Tsukuyomi folds his hands before him, "I doubt we have the means to restrain you, aside from my direct intervention of course. The place where you are in most harm, and my people in least danger, is right next to my side." As if he amuses himself, he chuckles under his breath. Turning in his chair again, he faces the monitors and presses a button on the device. "You certainly are an oddity."

The image slightly changes. Recorded is the time from not long ago, when Cirno was wandering through the halls. She sees her journey replayed before her, except for when she awoke in the bedroom and changed in the dressing room.

"You were watching me?"

"I tried not to stray too far so I could react the moment you tried to stir trouble again, but you awoke much quicker than I anticipated. Although, I expected you to try and wreck everything in sight once again. Instead you wandered around like a lose little child. It was amusing."

In the dressing room there were many clothes of exquisite designs and rich colors, but what Tsukuyomi's wearing right now is simple and white. Just like that bedroom.

"You kept me in your room."

"I was right, you are intelligent. My room should have held you as well as any other cell, yet you managed to find your way out, learning more and more about technology you shouldn't have ever seen before. I imagine any other Earthling, or at least a resident of Gensokyo, would have been too troubled to get any further."

That she came from Gensokyo must have been simple to deduce considering the results of her seemingly random attack.

"My friends escaped?"

"Indeed they did. I issued the order to start pulling soldiers off of you and ignore the obvious diversion, but when I decided to go out myself I should have known they would have been distracted. They only managed to recapture a very small portion of the runaways."

So their mission must have been a success, "How many got away?"

"It's far too early to get an accurate count, but we estimate around 1800 rabbits have fled to the Earth, with about 600 in custody or executed."

Toyohime's estimates were off. Still a majority percentage of the rabbits were saved. Cirno actually managed to do it; save a great many of lives. Have her contributions made the world a slightly brighter place? Tears spills from her eyes as she's overjoyed.

"Why am I still alive?" she asks perhaps the most dreary thing in the most cheerful voice.

Tsukuyomi doesn't immediately respond. Sitting in his chair, he watches the lovely figure of the woman crying tears of happiness. Nothing displayed on those monitors could ever be this beautiful.

"That certainly is the question," Tsukuyomi states after Cirno's calmed. "Against the combined might of my reservist army, the efforts of the suppression squad, and my very own purification. There are so many instances where you should have died, yet you prevailed. Having you suddenly faint before me, it certainly wasn't a fitting end to someone of your caliber. So, if the question you really mean to ask is why haven't I killed you, the answer is because I'm intrigued. Actually, because I'm very intrigued."

Cirno doesn't know what to make of his suggestive tone. Tsukuyomi reaches for his terminal and again pressing a button. When he does, all the images on the monitors change. No longer depicted are the plain white hallways, but images of a woman. The resemblances to Cirno are uncanny, but it's a different person. This woman has longer hair, bigger proportions, and seems to be taller. Actually,

"Sister?"

Tsukuyomi catches this, but he pays it very little significance.

"Lir, Ninianne, Tauthe, such are the names this woman is known by. About half a month ago she caused a great disturbance on Earth; causing such destruction we even noticed it from up here. Since then I've placed major resources into discovering this woman's identity. Though far from complete, I have a better understanding of who and what she really is."

"That's Sister!" Cirno shouts.

"She goes by another name, in fact it's her original name. Cirno."

Cirno hesitates.

Tsukuyomi continues, "That name was the most difficult to discover. Throughout history she's made her appearances, the Mysterious Blue Woman. Moses parting the Red Sea, the fall of the Mayan Empire, the sinking of Atlantis, and let's not forget the rule of King Arthur. She's appeared several times throughout human history, if not as a major contributor then a bystander. History records her presences through the ages, but never her origin. She's even depicted in the oldest hieroglyph known to man. I myself can recite which year by the human standard I came into being, but this woman predates all that. It's as if she's always existed, far beyond the age of creation and the dawn of man. She might even be the very spirit of planet Earth itself, but that's probably just wild speculation. What we know is that she's old. Ancient."

Cirno doesn't know what to say.

Noting this, Tsukuyomi hits the button again, "Do you recognize these people?"

Of course she does, "Erin, Remi, Flan-chan, Marisa, Reimu, Yukari, Okuu, and the Classy Lady."

Pressing the button again, the screens show a very different scene. It's dark, obviously night, and signs of battle are clear. Filtered to the point it could clearly be seen in the dark, the image depicts the before mentioned youkai and humans (minus the Classy Lady) fighting against one individual. That individual is the Ancient, Cirno.

"What is this?" Cirno yells, terrified of what's played before her.

Calmly Tsukuyomi answers, "It's what took place about three weeks ago. Are you telling me you don't recognize this night? Is that not," he quickly glances at the display, "the Scarlet Devil Mansion?"

"It is, but that can't be possible! I don't remember anything like that!"

"Interesting. Then you may want to pay extra close attention right here."

Suddenly Ancient Cirno stops moving, and is cut in half by Flandre.

"Aaaaaaaaa!" Cirno screams, covering her head and turning away from the monitors.

Realizing how upsetting it is to her, Tsukuyomi quickly interrupts the playback.

The woman's breathing is rapid and erratic, just like before when she lost consciousness. He didn't want her fainting again, so he offered her that one comfort. Gradually she gets herself back under control.

"Why are you showing me this?" tears are dripping off her cheeks.

Tsukuyomi waits, calculating his answer, "I'm sorry, I was under the impression that you already knew all this. You must have come to the moon with Watatsuki no Toyohime, so I assumed you were at the Scarlet Devil Mansion at the time of the attack. I assumed since you have a relationship with that place, you would have known that it's masters most recently killed Cirno. That Remilia Scarlet must truly be a Devil if she enslaves the very close relative of someone she's just killed, what's more that she does so without their knowledge."

"What happened? Why were they fighting Sister?"

"That I don't know," Tsukuyomi states flatly. "We of the moon do not watch and judge over the Earth. We are merely neighbors. If something catches our attention we'll pay attention, but other then that we do not care. If you wish to know the absolute truth of what I have shown you, you should ask those who are most close to you. But if they have not told you yet, maybe your relationship isn't as firm as you believe."

Cirno wants to yell at him and tell him he's wrong, but he's not. Remi and all of them are the ones who killed Sister? All this time she's been in the mansion, they've never said a word about it. And Daiyousei, did she know? How could she not? Hasn't she been working in the mansion even longer than herself and Rika?

"I haven't yet answered your question." Tsukuyomi repeats, "Why am I showing you this? First of all, I am very interested in this Sister, but I'm also interest in you. In fact, I was under the impression that this Cirno and you, Cirno, are the very same person."

"Sister is Sister," Cirno's voice is very weak, "and I am me."

"Perhaps. Maybe you were siblings, or mother and daughter, maybe even you are a clone. Perhaps in the end the exact relationship matters not. You and the ancient are very similar, but regardless, You are the one in front of me now. So You are the most important."

Those words echo in her mind, You are the most important. Cirno has heard that before.

"You survived my Purification, a feat capable by perhaps only myself. Until now, that is. Purification is exactly that, wiping out and extinguishing impure elements. Even the latest generation of pure-blooded Lunarians have some matter of impurity in them, though unlike earthlings it's the smallest possible fraction. That is true for everyone but me. Also is it true for you."

"Her body is comprised of 100% water," Patchouli's voices echoes from a memory, one she shouldn't remember but does, "she contains absolutely no impurities, it's 100% pure water."

Tsukuyomi continues, "I assume you were born on Earth, or at the least you live there, but you body closer resembles the ideal Lunarian, me. The more detailed I look into you, the more of a bond, a connection, a similarity, I find between us. I feel it was unavoidable that our paths would cross, that it be destiny that we meet one another."

Tsukuyomi stands from his chair, the first show of chivalry he's given to Cirno, "I can think of no other better suited to be my partner. I want you to be my wife."

Interpretations

Cirno sits atop the bed in the room provided to her. It's been a few hours since she left the company of Lord Tsukuyomi (ran away), yet her mind isn't the slightest bit clearer. If all that stuff about Sister, dying, and what happened three weeks ago wasn't enough, on top of all that he decided to propose to her! Cirno? Marriage? Was he serious?

Burying her head in the pillow, her face still feels hot like fire, even after all these hours. Never before had anyone expressed such feeling to Cirno, nor had she herself had those for another. She is an infant in the matters of love.

But here was the problem, Tsukuyomi didn't love her. She asked as much. His reply was,

"Love matters not. We are beings of near-equal standings. That is more than enough to be wed."

If it were a political marriage, then maybe that would be understandable. But it wasn't! All he wanted was her body. Cirno is "pure," whatever that was supposed to be. Only someone with complete arrogance would ever propose for such a selfish reason. He didn't care about her nor was there any benefits to having her as his wife; only did he suggest marriage because they were a match on some scale she doesn't understand.

A body of 100% pure water.

When exactly did she hear Patchouli say this? Whatever the case, it's no longer true. Cirno's body is now flesh and blood. However, if what Tsukuyomi says about Purification is true, she must still retain that attribute. It was the flesh and blood body that survived Purification, not her previous. Though the result might have been the same.

It's troubling. Much of Cirno has change, but almost an equal amount has remained the same. Has Cirno become a new or different person? Or is the answer something yet imagined? Everything is just so confusing! Cirno is having a difficult time making heads or tails of anything anymore!

So she has spent the previous hour or so in this room, completely closed off from everyone and enjoying perfect solitude.

And it was boring.

Cirno couldn't hope to achieve any sense of peace just moping away in a dark room. It's high time she get out and start doing something again.

Being assigned a room, Cirno wasn't imprisoned. As a potential fiancee to the lunar king he wouldn't allow such indignity. However, she was currently in a vicarious position. While she carried the favor of Tsukuyomi, she did in fact attack the Lunar City, as well as kill a dozen of it's citizens. She made such a show of herself that just about everyone knew her face by now. She was allowed to roam free and see the city, but it was perhaps a very risky thing to do.

Well, if Cirno was anything, it wasn't cautious.

Pressing the panel to open the door, she finds a guard in white armor waiting outside. There's no way he would know when Cirno may have exited the room, so he must have been standing there for hours.

"Ma'am," his tone is stern and sharp, "I have been assigned as your escort. You are free to visit the city and enter up to any level 3 facility, but it is required that I be at your side at all times."

This soldier isn't exactly looking at Cirno, more through her. He gives the perception of someone very ridged, a lot like Tsukuyomi. Just by looks alone Cirno can tell that he's very powerful, and it'd be dangerous if she tried to do something drastic like escape him. Not that she'd want to. While her goal was righteous, Cirno's done some very bad things here on the moon. This is her punishment, and she's more than willing to submit.

"Okay," she offers no resistance. Cirno looks around, "Um, how do we get out of here?"

He points his arm, "This way Ma'am."

It's a long white hall with multiple rooms along the corridor. It's a lot like the interior of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, just without the flair. All these other rooms must be apartments, or something of the sort.

"I am here to provide any assistance you may require, Ma'am," he suddenly says. "I am versed in all mater of Lunar History, as well any geographical and logistical inquiries you might have."

Could he actually be a tour guide?

"Aren't you supposed to keep an eye on me?" Cirno asks.

"That is but one of my duties. Regularly I serve as the Royal Escort, which could require of me a varying of skills. More often than not I serve as a bodyguard, not a prison warden. Your situation is most unique, Ma'am."

At the lift, she can't decide what button to push.

Reading her mind, the escort speaks up, "Where would you like to visit, Ma'am?"

"I'm hungry," is the first thought that pops into her head.

"There are many restaurants within this sector. Is there a certain cuisine or atmosphere you desire?"

Cirno's reminded of the marketplace in the Human Village back in Gensokyo, a place she hasn't been since chased out by Keine-sensei and the grocer.

"I want to go to a lively place, kind of like a market."

"There's the Rabbit Ba-" realizing his mistake, he retracts himself, "there's a market in the lower-quarter." He pushes the button for her.

The first thought out of his mouth was about the rabbits, so he must have some ideas about the situation.

"What do you think about the order to kill the rabbits?" Cirno honestly asks, but she almost doesn't expect him to answer.

"It was the right think to do."

Hearing this, she suddenly becomes upset, "Why?"

"The rabbit have a telepathic link to one another. Having them fight on both sides of a battle would be unfair to them. Not only would they be turned against one another, but they couldn't truly be trusted on any side from fear of information being leaked. Having lost any other means to deal with their potential threat, it was necessary to remove them from the equation. Lord Tsukuyomi had no other choice but to eradicate them, if so that some of the rabbits may be free."

Cirno never thought of it in that way. If rabbits still resided on the moon, they'd be used to spy on the ones who went to Earth, and likewise would happen to those who were under Remilia's care. It's true, splitting up the rabbits would be the worse thing for them. But,

"Does it make it right to kill them all? Couldn't there have been another way?"

He pushes a button and stops the lift. They haven't arrived at their floor yet.

Looking directly into Cirno's eyes, "Ma'am, you were the alternative. The only other possible way to handle that situation was to exile them to Earth, but that option was lost with the defection of Toyohime-sama. So in it's place would have to be a rescue attempt, and thus Lord Tsukuyomi orchestrated the scenario. With Lunarian efficiency it would be possible to destroy the Rabbit race in as fast as an hour, so instead of even the regular army or the specialists, our Lord sent the poorly trained, disciplined, and less organized reservists to do the dirty work. It was all a gamble to see if the traitor would dare a rescue attempt. And you did."

Wait, that couldn't be true. So what exactly does that mean?

"Was he trying to help the rabbits, or was it some kind of trap?"

The soldier pauses for a moment, "I think it depended on how the Watatsuki's responded to the situation. Lord Tsukuyomi chose a slow extermination to draw them out. At the very least it was a multifaceted plan. If they chose to do nothing, the rabbits would lose faith in the sisters. If they chose to act, squads were ready to eliminate them at a moment's notice. However, something unexpected occurred; Earthlings immediately came to the rescue. At this development, Lord Tsukuyomi sent the Special Suppression Squad, a non-lethal riot solution. That might have been because he recognized that it was you who came."

"He couldn't have planned for that. That's too big of a coincidence."

He pushes the button to restart the lift, "He might say, 'It wasn't a coincidence, it was destiny,' but truthfully, we thought you were dead."

This is another thing Cirno found odd, "How did he know so much about me?"

"It's called Project A1, or Ancient One. A long dormant god suddenly showed activity three weeks ago. It's 'awakening' was so powerful it's power surge reached the moon. Maybe 12 hours later, the barrier surrounding your Gensokyo fell, revealing not only yourself, but the whereabouts of Kaguya-hime, a long sought-after exile. Of course Lord Tsukuyomi's interests were peeked. The readings we recorded were beyond our limits to measure, so an investigation was initiated. Such measures are taken every time something is identified as a potential threat. Similar studies have been done on Yakumo Yukari, Hakurei Reimu, Remilia Scarlet, Maribel Han, and Kazami Yuuka."

Cirno doesn't recognize those last two names.

"Once he realized it was you who invaded the moon, he took personal measures to capture you alive."

The lift opens, revealing a wide open floor with people moving about their way. There's more gray then white here.

"Might I lead the way, there are several vendors you may wish to visit."

Cirno had trouble wrapping her head around everything. From how the soldier sounds, it's as if Tsukuyomi's actions and intentions are in conflict. Maybe this is just the way this soldier is justifying the seemingly heinous acts, but she's finding it hard to say for certain. It's all over her head, but of one thing she is certain, it's that she shouldn't be taking everything at face value.

Walking through the plaza, the Earthling doesn't receive as much attention as she might have expected. Most Lunarian are keeping their heads down and going about their way. Dressed similarly to how Reisen does, they're nearly the polar opposite to how many do in Gensokyo. They don't look very comfortable. Many carry an expression similar to Patchouli's, where they're dedicated to one and only one thing. They don't even recognize the person who was wrecking their city not more than a few hours ago.

Lunch, or whatever meal this may be, was exquisite. Never before in her life has she tasted such fantastic food, and this was just something quick and cheap. The proper restaurants must be out of this world (pun intended) (Cirno giggled to herself). However, with food this good, how can the populace still be so dreary?

The soldier continued to answer all of her questions, but he had a tendency to ramble on about things she wouldn't understand, such as the materials extracted from the lunar surface, mining for meteorites and precious gasses, and the benefits of genetic modification over natural birth. He seemed slightly elated when speaking about Lunarian Progress, but stoic all the times else. Making the observation, Cirno felt as if Lunarian loved everything about their race and their home first, and themselves last. Everyone's priority should be themselves first and foremost, but it's opposite for the moon dwellers. That's no way to live.

"-and those gravity rings are preventing the foundation from collapsing-" a beep interrupts his current explanation. There's one of those terminals mounted on his arm. He's reading a message to him, "Lord Tsukuyomi is inviting you to dinner in three hours time. He requests that you be properly dressed for this occasion."

Cirno's long since noticed the amount of skin she's revealing is far more than anyone else. That's probably a bad thing.

"Well, if we have time I still want to-"

"I'm sorry," the escort interrupts, "we should depart immediately. It'll take that long to get you fully prepared."

"What?"

With this, Advent should now be longer than Legend. I'm still having trouble believing it. I remember all the painstaking hours researching and writing LotS, but here in the sequel I've just been whizzing by. Not to mention I'm only halfway through Act 10, and I still have Act 11, the conclusion. What's wrong with me? I know I'm way more lazy than this!

~Kyle Castorena