Slowly, over the course of what felt like an hour, the cave reaches a sharp downward incline. The three girls with me have no problems floating down the slope, but it's very steep for me.

In any case. We are going further downward. As we do, I notice the wind begin to die.

"Wind's gone… we must be getting close." I note.

"Yep. Right this way." Yamame says from behind.

Downward we go. There is nothing but darkness ahead. My flashlight is the only thing lighting the way.

Until… I begin to see a bridge.

Here we are.

Ahead is an extremely wide bridge. It has crimson wooden rails, and is made of very old looking wood boards. Along the rails are dim candle-lit lanterns that illuminate the bridge. It's a rather simple looking bridge overall.

As I get a little closer I can make out a quiet, almost ghostly, current of water below.

No telling how deep that is. I guess we'll have to cross… but where is the guardian?

I shine my flashlight around, but see no signs of life.

"Where is she?" Cirno asks.

"She's probably somewhere nearer the other side. It might not look like it, but this is a very long bridge." Yamame explains.

Looking into the distance I see she is right. The lights on the railing go on all the way into the distant darkness until they disappear.

I guess we just cross and see what happens? Oh man… I hate not having a plan…

I sigh and turn to the three girls. "Well… Let's get going."

Yamame takes a step back. "Um."

Right… she doesn't want to fight right now. "You stay here Yamame. We'll… er… I guess we'll come get you when it's over."

She nods. "Ok. Thank you."

Down to three again. Well… here we go.

I turn around and lead Cirno and Letty toward the bridge. The boards creak slightly as we all step onto it.

Hm. No attacks. She must be far off. I guess we just keep going, and if nothing happens we come back for Yamame.

The three of us begin to trek across the bridge.

After a few seconds Cirno begins to talk.

"So Letty, just how are you planning on delivering winter to the underground anyways? I didn't think you had enough magic power to do something like that." Cirno asks.

I find this an odd place to have a conversation, but say nothing about it.

Letty laughs a bit. "Ah, but I have a special trick with me this time. I've been working on a little spell during this trip down here. With this little preparation of mine, I should be able to bring about the required changes for a good winter."

Cirno says nothing. It seems that was all of her curiosity.

Or so I think. She soon comes up with a reply. "Do you think I could do that? That would be cool."

Letty disagrees right away. "Of course not. Cirno, you know fairies can't concentrate their magic together."

Ouch. That was a little harsh Letty.

Cirno mutters something.

"Hm?" Letty inquires.

Cirno raises her voice. "I said you're stupid! Stupid stupid! Stupid snow youkai and your high 'n mighty attitude. You're just like those goddesses sometimes, you know that?"

Whoa! What the hell just happened to that conversation?

Letty scoffs. "At least I'm not some puny fairy."

Cirno stops moving. "Puny? Grrr… why do you have be so… so… proud, Letty? Why do you have to be so… tall and beautiful and… have such pretty snow magic… and be so smart? Why can't I? Oh…"

Letty stops as well. "You little idiot… you don't think that I… want to be… small and cute… and have strong ice magic… and be so carefree like that? I really… can't stand… you."

Something is seriously wrong. This conversation is going off on some bizarre tangent. I turn around.

"Hey, whatever you two are…" I trail off.

I immediately notice something really is wrong. Letty's bluish eyes are now a burning green fire. Cirno's crystal fairy eyes are no longer clear glass orbs, but smoky green emeralds.

The two girls stare deeply into each other. Half angry, half lusting. I don't know what is happening to them.

What is going on? Green? Dark magic?

I soon decide connecting my dark magic with the influence the two girls are under to be wrong. My magic doesn't go inside people on random like that, and it's only green colored in its initial state when I cast; and it's a darker green.

Not my magic. But what?

I don't have to guess to much longer though. I soon hear a mature sounding, woman's voice.

"I'm surprised. You are unaffected."

The enemy approaches.

I instantly whirl back around to see someone heading this way.

She's a young woman, maybe nineteen or eighteen by appearance. She is wearing a decorative dress, made of brown overlaid on purple with white silk crossing the short skirt and chest. Her arms are covered by with light pink armguards, exposing her hands and the sickly neon green magic dripping from them. Behind her messy hair are two fiery green eyes, glaring me down.

I can feel some kind of madness escaping from her eyes. There is something distinctly wrong with this girl. I can't help but feel a bit of terror as she heads this way.

I clear my throat. "You must be the-"

"Parsee is fine." She swiftly replies.

I remain calm and continue. "Parsee then. We're-"

"Get off my bridge. Now."

Not in a talking mood…

Take the initiative. A fight is inevitable.

Yeah… no choice… If I don't do something she's going to force me off her bridge.

Without saying another word, I summon Nightmare and rush at her. I power up the scythe and prepare to unleash an energy blade at her. She's only a few seconds run away from me at this range. I hope the deceptively long reaching attack will catch her off guard.

Unfortunately, it doesn't. Parsee seems to expect the attack. She flies straight up over my attack right as I swing at her. As she passes over me, I hear the sound of magic being cast.

Damn it!

I throw myself sideways in a blind, but successful dodge. Danmaku pounds the wood bridge next to me as I move.

I quickly rise up with Shredder now summoned in my hand and turn to aim at Parsee.

Yet, I hold fire. Standing right next to Parsee is Cirno and Letty; seemingly possessed by magic. The two winter girls continuously mutter something while Parsee speaks to me. I have no choice but to wait, or risk hitting my friends.

"Such pretty lady friends you have. I'm jealous." Parsee says with no emotion.

She reaches over and pets the side of Cirno's face with her magic infused hand. More of her strange power soaks into Cirno as she does.

"Uwah! So jealous!" Cirno chokes out while she trembles in place.

Then, she goes to Letty and does the same.

"I… I'm so j-jealous… of everything!" Letty stutters.

Parsee speaks idly. "Jealousy… It's all I have. That and this stupid bridge. No one crosses this bridge to see me… I have no friends."

She then turns and shoots a glare at me. "Yet you have friends. You can resist my jealousy. You have the surface. You have… so many… nice things. I'm jealous. So jealous! Jealous!"

This girl is insane. I think to myself.

You will have to confront her on your own. Those two are useless in this state. I can protect your mind from this influence, but you will not be able to use your allies here.

Grrr… fine. I guess I'll have to find some way to get Cirno and Letty out of the way so I can focus on Parsee. If I beat her, then maybe that'll break the spell they're under. There is no telling what she's doing with them… but I can't wait around for them to move.

I lower my pistol and summon Fiend. Blade in hand, I advance to the three girls. "Let them go Parsee! Let's just make this between you and me!"

She shakes her head no. "No. Such pretty girls make me jealous too. I'll make them suffer the same fate as me. Soon, you will feel my pain too."

With that, Parsee fires her danmaku at me. With a single wave of her hands, she sends forth a sweeping blast of arrow-like bullets. The blast sends bullets in every direction around her. Cirno and Letty are also in the way, but they successfully move out of the attack.

Good, they moved. You're mine now!

I run straight towards Parsee and bring her into sword range. I swing sideways at her, but she expertly ducks under it and retreats back out of range.

Damn. She's quick. "Get back here!"

I begin to advance towards her again, but something else happens. A stream of icicles flies down at me, forcing me a step back.

I quickly glance up to see Cirno floating over the bridge… attacking me.

"Cirno! What are you doing?" I angrily shout.

"Knight… I'm jealous." She replies.

Her expression is flat. Her eyes are blinded by jealousy magic. She's out of control now.

Damn… I'm going to have to fight her too? I can't possibly-

Before I can even finish, something plows into Cirno and knocks her over. Letty.

The two struggle in the air, clawing and punching each other. The two curse each other as they fight; screaming and shouting about how jealous they are.

Hmph. Jealousy is such a pointlessly destructive emotion. You'd best hurry servant, or they will destroy each other.

I waste no time and return focus to Parsee. She out another radial blast of danmaku as I approach again.

The pattern in her attack is predictable though. I easily slip through the wave of magical shots and approach again.

But I soon am stopped by yet another interruption. I feel Letty grab me from behind. There is a faint whirling sound as she gathers an icy wind and starts to freeze me.

"L-Letty. Y-you're going t-t-t-to k-kill me!" I choke out from her freezing grasp.

She holds me still, hugging my sword arm. "Knight. Who do you think you are? Looking at other women like that? Are you trying to make me jealous? What could you possibly see in that blond-haired bridge dweller? Hm?"

What the? "Letty, do you even hear what you are saying? You don't feel that way about me at all! Wake up!"

Letty does not. She continues to freeze me. Ice and snow form on the heels of my boots, rooting me to the ground. She intends to freeze me to death.

Parsee approaches me with wicked intent in her eyes. Or rather, approaches Letty. "Such a close relationship you must have… it makes me jealous."

"Wait, you don't believe-"

Suddenly Letty is knocked off. A concentrated blast from Parsee sends Letty flying backwards. Parsee then approaches me and grabs me by the throat. She raises a hand back and slaps me hard across the face, drawing blood as she rakes her long nails across my face and under my eyes. She rapidly slashes at me with her hand, back and forth, in a long and ruthless punishment. More blood continues to seep out from my face and throat as she claws away, knocking me senseless.

She speaks in a low threatening tone as she scratches my face again. "You have nerve bringing your lover across my bridge… Knight."

Unfortunately for her, my sword arm is free from Letty now. I regain a bit of sense as she slows down to talk. Blinded by her own jealous rage, she does not notice my sword coming down on her. I throw my weight into a strong overhand slash that casts her to the ground.

I waste not a second. I quickly twist my leg sideways a bit and slide out of the icy restraint on my foot. I do the same for the other and free myself completely.

Parsee has already gotten up though. She takes a few steps away from me. It's negligible distance for me though. I lower myself and leap forward at her, stabbing forward with my sword.

Parsee anticipates this, and steps aside. I fly just a short distance past her before landing and skidding to a halt. I instantly spin around to attack her again, but am stopped again. Someone grabs me from behind once more.

Not Letty or Cirno though. They are fighting each other again. It's someone else.

I look down to see two brown sleeves wrapping around my chest.

"Y… Yamame? What are you-"

One hand rises up and clamps my mouth shut. In a low whisper, the spider youkai speaks into my ear. "Knight… I'm jealous of you."

No… no way! She got Yamame to? From all the way over there?

It wasn't that far you fool.

I don't want to argue the exact distance with him and let it go. Somehow, Yamame is here now, also driven mad by Parsee's jealousy. Another part of Parsee's plan to stop us it seems.

Yamame leans into me with all of her weight, knocking the both of us down. Yamame lands on top of me, hands still on my chest. With a burning green twinkle in her eye, she quickly draws magic with her hands across the chest armor on my jacket and around my arms. She weaves her magic into a sticky web that binds me in place. Yamame takes only a few seconds to loosely tie me and my arms to the bridge.

"I want to live on the surface like you do. So how about you stay in the underground and I'll be the surface dweller? No one will know the difference, right? Hehe." She says with a barely suppressed giggle.

That's just… stupid. Now I know that this jealousy is causing them to make things up. There's no way Yamame is this childish… right?

Focus!

Right! Ugh… come on, focus! I need a spell.

I open my mouth to recite 'Furious Rebuke', hoping the shockwave spell will break these restraints, but Yamame places a hand over my mouth again. "Ah ah now. This is our little secret!"

Cirno's voice rises up over the sounds of the chaotic fighting. "Hey! There is a lot to like about the underground! So much it makes me jealous! So don't make fun of it Yamame!"

Cirno swoops down and tackles Yamame with her ice magic and the weight of her body. Yamame topples over, separating me from her silencing hand.

"Furious Rebuke!"

The radial shockwave comes from above my chest where my hand is. Raw hammering force rips the web to shreds, and frees me once more.

I quickly get up. It takes me a few seconds to find Parsee, but I soon notice her floating off the side of the bridge evading Letty's danmaku. I summon Deceiver to try and pick her off, but Cirno quickly flies in between me and her and shoots ice orbs at me in her confusion.

I duck sideways and avoid it. I then stand up and take a few steps back. The fight looks like a lightshow as blasts, bolts, and beams fly in all directions.

This is no good. It's just a massive free for all! I can't get any hits off when I'm constantly getting blindsided. What's more, three of the people fighting here are friends! We're all going to kill ourselves before we can even begin to think about fighting Parsee. Everyone's gone nuts! Oh this is bad bad bad! Fuck!

What will you do then? Arcane quietly inquires.

I don't even know-

You must restore sense to this fight so you can direct your attacks. You must overcome this madness to win.

I take a deep breath and think quickly. Right. I need to get everyone back on track. Maybe there is some way to turn this jealousy back on Parsee. Maybe I can… er… hm… well… maybe… try to do something like that? No, that would be suicide. Or would it? I would be taking a bit of risk. Hell, I would be taking a huge risk. This could either be a great success or an idiotic mistake. But…

I look over and see Cirno land an icicle shot against Letty. Letty's barrier makes a cracking noise as it takes damage.

I need to stop this right now. Ok… here we go!

I move from the outermost edge of the fight towards Parsee. She is facing away from me, firing danmaku at the other three from a standing position. She's been dominating the fray this whole time, but now, I'm going to turn that around.

Unarmed, I grab Parsee with both hands on her shoulders and turn her around. Temporarily trapped by my grip, she struggles to break free. I have just a second before she blasts me down.

Oh… this is going to sound weird. No holding back now! One, two and-

"Parsee, I love you."

Three.

I lay my trap. A four word phrase that leaves Parsee wide-eyed and shocked. She's now practically limp in my hands.

She soon hardens again though. Even angrier than before. My act didn't last long.

"You dare make light of those words to me? I'll kill you Knight." She growls.

It is a charade, but I have to keep it going. I notice the fighting has simultaneously stopped. I think I made the right move.

"With…er… with all my heart." I nervously stammer out. Even acting, it's not easy for me to say that to a complete stranger. I couldn't feel more awkward.

Parsee is furious now. She grabs me with both hands on my throat. "Ugh! You've got to be joking! How dare you try me with such an act! That was pathetic! I'm going to gut you and throw your rotting corpse in the river!"

Then, success.

Yamame, Cirno, and Letty all form a line behind Parsee. Blinded by Parsee's own magic, they three girls direct their jealous anger towards Parsee and the fake affection I'm giving her.

Yamame pulls Parsee out of my grasp. I let her go.

Yamame shakes a confused Parsee in her grip. "Hey! What makes you so special? How could Knight possibly like you? It makes me jealous even thinking about it! Ugh!"

Cirno pounces on the bridge maiden from behind. "Knight is such an idiot! How could he even think of saying that to you? It makes me so jealous!"

Letty reaches over the other two and starts choking her. "Gah I'm so jealous! How did this stupid little bridge lurker get confessed to before me! Aaaah! I can't stand it! I'm going to bury you right now!"

Parsee is trapped as my three allies begin to beat her down. They madly kick, stomp, punch, and claw at Parsee in a rage of jealousy. Parsee being powered by jealousy only fuels their anger. Not wanting to break the charade, I stand back and let them have at her.

The three girls push Parsee around and brutally clobber her in rage. She is easily overpowered by the three of them and is unable to escape their blind wrath.

After a few moments, Letty pushes Parsee to the ground. The three of them then take aim and fire burst of danmaku right at her; pummeling her. Taking heavy fire from three opponents, the bridge maiden cries out in pain.

Her own magic has undone her. She is finished.

Clever. You did more than well in subverting this youkai's possessive magic. It is a shame you did not get to claim any of that suffering for me, but knowing you, you would die before taking action against these 'friends'.

Yeah, but I'm sure not wanting to die for anything on purpose. If I've learned anything in Gensokyo, it's that everything has a fix. If I play my cards right, then I can get through anything. And let's not forget i'm not here to bring you suffering. Any fight I don't have is a victory for me and a loss for you.

Such insolence. You are my servant whether you resist or not. You will understand soon enough.

In a few seconds, her barrier shatters from the intense punishment. At the same time, the jealousy leaves the three girls. Their eyes clear and they wake up. They all stop firing as soon as they see the broken Parsee on the ground before them.

Cirno staggers about a bit, hurting and confused. "Ow. My head. What happened?"

Letty does the same. "Ugh…"

Yamame looks about, more confused than the rest. "What? Why am I on the bridge? Did I fight?"

Whew… everything is ok.

I take a deep breath and begin explaining. "Sorry I couldn't help you guys any sooner. Parsee here poisoned you with jealousy magic. You all attacked me and each other, and I had to trick you back into fighting Parsee."

They look down at the defeated Parsee. Her dress is ripped and torn, and her entire body is bruised and bloody. She lies on the ground and remains completely silent.

Then, slowly, they begin to remember.

Cirno looks over at Letty. "I… hit… you? Oh geez. That was so uncool of me Letty. I'm sorry. Really sorry. You're my friend; I would never do something like that for real. I didn't mean any of those things. Really really sorry Letty."

"Ah! I got sick with jealousy all the way over there? This bridge maiden is unbelievable! I wasn't even her enemy and she pulled me in! I'm not forgiving you for that Parsee! I hope you fall in the river and drown!" Yamame shouts at the fallen girl, angry and somewhat embarrassed.

It is Letty who is really embarrassed though, so much so she begins to turn red. "Ugh… I made such a fool out of myself. I was like a jealous lovelorn school girl! U-um… Knight? Don't get the wrong idea or anything. I mean I like you as a friend that is, but I don't…"

I laugh a bit. I'm actually gladdened she doesn't feel that way. That would have easily been the most awkward way to confess to someone.

"It's fine. None of you were yourselves. This doesn't say anything about your character. I'm just glad I didn't have to hurt any of you. Now let's just pretend that never happened. " I say to the three in hopes of calming them down.

They agree and calm down a bit.

I step past Parsee. "Well, in the end, you three defeated Parsee. Good work you guys. Sorry you had to get dragged into this Yamame, but you still helped in the end."

She groans. "Yeah, but now that I've used more energy I'm super hungry now! Ugh, can we hurry? I don't want to stick around this bridge any longer. And I need to eeeeeat!"

I nod. "Yeah, we're done."

"Jealous…" Parsee whispers from below.

Surprised, I spin around to see her start to stand up.

She stands in place, swaying somewhat as she speaks "You've made me very jealous today… more than I care for… It's always just more jealousy for me… it's all I have…"

I feel somewhat saddened by her state though; broken and alone. She's jealous for a reason, and I certainly didn't do anything to help.

Arcane reads my thoughts as soon as I start to feel regret. You cannot do anything to help this soul. You cannot do anything to help this world. You are my servant, and you are only capable of suffering. Leave this fool and depart.

His harsh words aside, I still feel like I need to apologize. "Sorry for that Parsee. Maybe one day you won't have any more jealousy to worry about. I mean, once you reach the bottom you can only go up, right?"

She scoffs. "Ha. I doubt it. Now get off my bridge and leave me alone."

She is still unreasonably angry for someone who just got the crap kicked out of her. Still, I should leave her alone. No need to pick on her.

I turn away. "Come on, let's go. I don't think she's going to be bothering anyone any time soon."

Still slightly confused, my allies hesitantly agree. We all walk away from Parsee, who just walks over to the railing and sits against it. She looks much calmer. I would almost say a few hits did her some good.

Hmm. It is a cruel irony that you said that to her. A bridge maiden is a cursed spirit who eternally waits for a nonexistent lover. She has probably never heard those words before, and probably never will again. I wonder if she will resent you for the insult or thank you for the moment.

She seemed pretty touchy about that part. I bet that 'idiot drunkard' who pissed her off in the first place made some pass at her thinking she was just some lonely girl. I hope whoever decides they really do have feelings for her is ready. She certainly would be more than a handful with that jealousy of hers.

Don't get any funny ideas. You are my servant, body and soul. Love is below you.

What the hell are you talking about? I'm not looking for love Arcane! I'm trying to get rid of you! Now can we drop this topic? I mentally shout.

…

Talking about love with a powerful and seemingly omnipotent dark god is one of the weirdest conversations I could possibly have in my life, and I'm not having it.

As we walk, Letty asks a hesitant question. "So… how did you manage to… er… you know… get us to focus again? You kind of skipped around that part, and I can't quite-."

I barely suppress my irritation, and it seeps out in an angry tone. "Look, can we not talk about this? I'm sure really wouldn't care to know Letty."

Cirno laughs a bit. "Hehehe. What? What happened?"

I repeat myself. "You don't want to know."

Yamame jumps in as well. "Well then what was with that thing you said to her before we left? You seemed pretty friendly with her after all that."

I groan. "Damn it you guys, stop asking me. I don't want to think about it."

Cirno laughs again. Yamame giggles as well. At least those two get their spirit back pretty quickly. Letty has at least lightened up a bit, but she's probably going to be stuck with awkward feelings for a while still. I can't blame her really, Parsee made her say some embarrassing things.

But it's all behind us now. With a tired pace, the four of us approach the edge of the bridge.

This part of the underground is immense, as the darkness stretches endlessly in all directions. This must be a huge cave chamber.

Standing out in the darkness are the dim lights of a city. It's just a little longer till we get there.

I'm almost there…

You have done well so far, but your luck will run out down here. Prepare yourself for the worst of trials, servant.

I silently agree and press onward. Onward to the city. The former capital of hell itself.

A/N

Thank you again for reading my latest chapter.

I enjoy writing fight scenes focusing around Knight against other touhou characters, and I will have more of these to come, but I didn't want to do one of these with Parsee (yet). Although she is a stage two boss, I wanted her to be more of an obstacle than a real opponent this time. I also wanted to give some of my typical writing tools a break, and have twist on this fight in which Knight has to play a little mind game in order to win. I think this also better contributes my Parsee's character as a person who embodies everything about jealousy; so much so she defeats herself. I will admit, the end result of this effort makes me a little uneasy, but my other risks seem to have been successful, so I'm taking another.

Jealousy is a strange emotion. I've never been really jealous before, but I know someone who was. I know it sounds silly realistically, but jealousy can make people like this. It can make someone who is otherwise pleasant behave harshly to the person or object of their desires. It can make people lie, cheat, or self-destructive. Again, in real life it sounds silly to put it like that, but there are a lot of people who don't take being jealous well. In this crazy fantasy world, Parsee's jealousy is who she is. It is so great it becomes a madness. I wanted to portray some of that in that the jealousy is like a rage that causes the victims to attack each other.

Now, on to the city!

Thank you again for reading my latest chapter. The next will be ready soon.