2/24

I made my way up to the shrine, where both Reimu and Marisa were waiting for me, heating up under the kotatsu and munching on oranges.

"Good morning," I said. "I trust you two are doing well?"

"As well as we can on a cold day," Reimu said.

"How's Dr. Maruki?" I asked. "The main shrine isn't very warm, after all."

"Like I'd care that much," Reimu said. "He's got a lamp, and some quilts. Alice insisted that he have warm clothes, too, so she knitted him some heavy clothes and robes and had me give them to him. He mostly spends his time writing, exercising, and sleeping, when he's not doing chores for me or bathing. It's a pain; usually I go to bed right after bathing, but now I have to go get him and wait for him to finish while I stand outside in my bedrobe in the freezing cold."

"Reimu's got a nice bath, too," Marisa added. "The shrine sits on a natural hot spring, which is bolstered by the Geyser Center, which is required to provide the shrine with hot water and power for no charge per Yukari's orders. It's really nice when I come over and the two of us bathe together, washin' each other's backs. I've heard guys are a bit more private and hands-off, dunno why."

"Probably because of those things," Reimu said bluntly. "Honestly, I don't know how all you men put up with it. It must be super uncomfortable having it between your legs, sitting on it all the time, and especially every time it-"

"Er, yes, right," I said, cutting her off. "More importantly, the task at hand."

"Oh, right." Reimu finished her orange. "First we go ask Kanako, then Utsuho." She sighed. "Man, I wish I didn't have to do this, I really don't like either of them at all, so I try to get out of meeting them when I can."

"Well, we gotta do it for the mission, Rei," Marisa said. She got up, threw on her boots and jacket, then looked at us and said, "c'mon, the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can bust Megumu's ass."

"Precisely." I got my own jacket on, and we made our way outside. On the other side of the courtyard, we saw Sanae in front of the branch shrine, inspecting it.

"Oh, perfect timing," Reimu said. She walked out in front of us. "Hey, Sanae, can I talk to you for a moment?"

Sanae turned around. "Oh, good morning Reimu! I'm just checking the branch shrine!"

"I can see that," Reimu said, with some irritation.

"And before you ask," Sanae reached into her satchel and pulled out a note. "This week's report, just like usual."

"Actually, I won't need it this time," Reimu told her. "We would like to go talk to Kanako personally."

Sanae stepped back in surprise. "Eh? You wanna go meet Kanako-sama in person? Even though we're a rival shrine?"

"Official Hakurei Shrine maiden business," Reimu explained. "And if you don't mind, I'm bringing these two with me."

Sanae looked at all of us, seemingly with apprehension. "Er, is there an incident? I mean, both of you at the same time, and you're bringing him with you too!"

Marisa looked at me, then looked back at Sanae. "Well, you could say we're trainin' 'im to be an incident resolver, just like us. So, that's why we're all goin'."

Sanae studied us, then snapped her fingers. "Ah, right! Reimu said you can use spell cards now! How could I forget?" She collected the money from the box - I swore I could see Reimu grimacing as she did so - then hurried down the shrine steps and off in the direction of the Myouren Temple, while we followed closely behind.

A while later, we arrived at the ropeway's lower station. Sanae stood by the control box while we touched down.

"We ain't simply flyin' up?" Marisa asked.

"Well, I just thought Akechi-san would like to see our ropeway!" Sanae smiled. "It's how villagers reach our shrine, and we're very proud of it!"

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure," Reimu dismissed. "You're not gonna mention the kappa and tengu money and labor spent on it? You call my place a youkai shrine, and yet you rely on them as well to get business."

Sanae simply ignored her. And, quite frankly, the beaming, expectant smile on her face was hard to say no to, even for someone like myself. "Don't mind if I take a ride," I said, bowing and putting my hand to my chest.

Sanae stammered back, blushing. "WHAT THE- omygodomygodomygod, I…" She then pointed at me, with stars in her eyes. "You're like one of those bishounen guys from one of my old comics! Seriously! That smooth voice, your tall stature, your overwhelming aura of politeness and grace…"

I groaned. Vietnam-esque memories of those fangirls came rushing right back at me.

"You can save the squeeing for later," Reimu dismissed. "Let's just start heading up. I don't have all day."

"Oh, right." Sanae motioned me into the car, hit a button on the box, and quickly got inside herself, before the machinery came to life, the gears began to crank, and the ropes holding the car pulled it forward and lifted it up into the air along the mountainside, with Reimu and Marisa floating alongside it.

I looked around at my surroundings. I hadn't been on many cable cars in my life, so it was a novel experience gazing out at the snow-covered valley, passing through the low, wispy clouds surrounding the mountain's peak, witnessing the sea of mountain peaks which seemed to stretch on forever into the horizon. Although, I was subject to a little acrophobia as well, as I wasn't entirely certain I could trust this rope car built with somewhat primitive technology and held together, almost assuredly, by duct tape, magic and prayers, even though I knew I could simply catch myself in midair in the event that it failed.

"Do the villagers ever become fearful riding on this?" I asked.

Sanae shrugged. "I mean, yeah, it was a bit of a tough sell at first, and the older residents still refuse to ride it. But others think it's an awesome experience, and many ride up just to take a look at Gensokyo from the top of the mountain. The only price we charge is praying at our shrine before we let them back down, and most people leave donations." She looked at Reimu. "Too bad your shrine can't benefit from something like this."

Reimu crossed her arms. "Well, at least people don't have to rely on a rickety contraption not snapping and sending them down into the ravine in order to reach it."

"Then why do you get less donations?" Sanae asked. "Face it: our shrine is just more popular than yours because it's not a 'youkai shrine.' Besides, our branch shrine means people can pray to us without using the ropeway."

"Like you're one to talk," Reimu retorted. "Aren't most of your followers kappa and tengu?"

"Maybe, but they don't haunt our shrine and have parties there whenever they want. I wouldn't allow it, I would exterminate them!"

"That's…" Reimu paused, unable to come up with a good response at that moment.

"See? I'm right! And that makes me the best incident resolver in Gensokyo! I bet I could solve the incident you three are working on right noooOOOOOAAAHHHH!"

Reimu poked one of Sanae's breasts with her gohei. "Like I said, there's no major incidents right now, unless you count these things. They definitely seem like an incident to me."

Sanae backed up and started crying out, "idiot! Lecher!"

I sighed and rolled my eyes, hoping the rest of the trip wouldn't be like this. "Are they always like this?" I asked Marisa.

"I mean, they're rival mikos, whaddya expect?" she shrugged.

After a, shall we say, entertaining fifteen-minute ride up to the top, the car arrived at the summit station, which sat on the shore of a completely frozen lake, had a path running to the main shrine, and which featured what appeared to be primitively-fashioned oxygen bottles, no doubt because of the altitude. The temperature at the summit was absolutely frigid; Sanae explained to me that, if not for the two goddesses' magic, it would be lethally cold at the summit during the winter. I made sure to pace myself, knowing that altitude sickness would sneak up on me if I wasn't careful.

Leading us up the stone steps beneath the torii, the Moriya Shrine came into view. It was remarkably similar to the Suwa Grand Shrine in appearance, which perhaps came as no surprise seeing as how this shrine once sat at the shore of Lake Suwa before being ripped away and dropped here in Gensokyo, as Sanae explained. The lake was, in fact, once a part of Lake Suwa and bore the same name, and she also claimed that Take-Minakata was sealed away somewhere beneath the shrine.

Coming to the door, we kicked off the snow, went inside, and hung up our coats. The inside was quite toasty, and bright lights lit up the place.

"Kanako-sama, Suwako-sama, I'm back!" Sanae called out.

A woman with purple hair, a red shirt, black skirt and a mirror on her chest then came out. "Ah, Sanae, welcome back!" She walked across the room towards us. "Well, this is a rare sight: Reimu here at our shrine, much less with Marisa at her side. Did an incident occur, I wonder?"

Reimu shook her head. "Not really, although we are here for a reason, obviously."

The woman nodded, then looked over at me. "And, I haven't seen you before. I am Kanako Yasaka, one of the kami at this shrine."

"And I am Goro Akechi," I said back. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kanako-sama."

Kanako then paused, looking at me for a second, then continued, "ohoho, you're that strapping young man Sanae here keeps telling us about! She won't stop talking about you!"

I sighed. "I'm sure."

Marisa stepped forward. "You could say we're trainin' this guy to help resolve incidents. Today is a small one: we wanna check somethin' out in the boilers, and we just need your permission and Utsuho's to do it."

"The boilers… oh, you mean the Geyser Center! Utsuho hasn't told me about anything wrong, but then again she can be a bit of a scatterbrain sometimes." She pulled out an iPhone and dialed a number. After a moment, she spoke, "hello? Yes Utsuho, this is Kanako. I have guests here who want to speak to you. Can you please meet them at the Geyser Center entrance? …excellent. Yes, I'll let you finish. It'll take them a while to head down there anyway. ...uh-huh, yes. Thank you. …you too, have a good day." She clicked the phone off and turned to us. "She'll meet you in a half-hour. I don't suppose you think you'll have enough time for tea?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so, but I will definitely come back and visit sometime."

"Please do!" Sanae said. "By the way, where is Suwako-sama?"

"She said she had something to do away from the Shrine today," Kanako said. "She should be back by evening."

"Okay, want me to get started on dinner? I thawed out a huge pork butt for the three of us!"

Reimu groaned. "Wish I could afford pork butt," she grumbled.

"Like you need it," Marisa said. "Yours is bigger and rounder than any po-"

"YES SAY THAT AGAIN I DARE 'YE!" Reimu yelled as she smacked Marisa repeatedly with her gohei.

We flew back down to the base of the mountain, to the Geyser Center door next to the cave entrance. We stood and waited in the cold while we waited for Utsuho to come meet us.

"What kind of person is Utsuho like?" I asked.

"Birdbrain," Reimu said. "Complete birdbrain. How she manages to keep this complicated nuclear shit working and not blow up the whole damn mountain is a mystery."

"Eh, I think she's alright," Marisa said. "Bit of a simpleton, but she's a wiz at nuclear stuff. I've been meanin' to ask her if she could help me study reactions so I could advance my magic theory."

"Aren't science and magic mutually exclusive, though?" I asked.

"Not necessarily," Marisa replied. "If you ask me, I think magic is a scientific field itself, since magic is a form of energy, after all."

The door then opened, revealing a girl about my height with a green skirt, a white shirt with what looked like a red eye in the center, long, black hair, a pair of folded black raven's wings on her back and wearing a safety vest and green hardhat with "foreman" printed on it while holding a clipboard.

"Добро пожаловать," she greeted.

Reimu tilted her head. "...in Japanese, please?"

"Okuu said welcome," Utsuho replied in a thick, Slavic accent. "Kanako-sama said you all would be coming?"

"Yes, correct," I said.

Utsuho looked at me. "You. Okuu has not seen you before."

"Ah, yes, sorry. My name is Goro Akechi. How do you do?"

"Okuu is good. Name is Utsuho Reiuji, but you can call me Okuu."

I smiled. "A pleasure to meet you, Reuji-san."

"Just call me Okuu," Utsuho insisted. She then turned around, back into the door. "Come. We meet in main corridor."

"Of course," I said. We followed her inside, before coming to a large cavern with what seemed to be a giant sun in the center, floating above an impossibly deep pit with energy streaming up into it, while streams of energy branched off of the top in different directions. Kappa employees and scientists encircled it, fiddling with holographic screens, computers and electronics and writing on clipboards. Pipes and wires lined the cave walls, rising far above and piercing into the cave ceiling.

"Welcome to Geyser Center," Utsuho said. "Is big and powerful place, giving mountain heat and power."

"I can see that," Marisa said. "Can't believe I haven't been inside since that incident several years back."

"I think it's quite amazing as well," I commented. "I could never have imagined that this level of technology existed anywhere on Earth, much less here in Gensokyo."

"Okuu is proud of Geyser Center," Utsuho said. "Is place that uses nuclear fusion to boil water, spinning turbines, making electricity and powering hot springs."

"Nuclear fusion," I remarked. "If I recall, human scientists have not yet been able to harness fusion efficiently, only fission."

"Human scientists simple and stupid, like sheep in field on stormy day. Only Okuu knows how to use nuclear fusion."

"That's quite a statement coming from you," Reimu snided. "You talk big about nuclear physics, but if I recall you fell right into a yamawaro's Ponzi scheme even though it was incredibly obvious it was a Ponzi scheme, and you wanted to bathe the surface in hellfire because you live in Former Hell and think Former Hell is the perfect place to live."

"Okuu come from cold place, so Okuu wanted to make surface hot place," Utsuho said.

"Yes, but you don't have to go from one extreme to the other, is what I'm saying," Reimu said.

"Didn't you fall for a Ponzi scheme when trying to raise money for the Shrine once, though?" Marisa asked her.

"Shut up."

I decided to cut in. "The reason we're here is to investigate one of the boilers on the mountain."

"You want to investigate boilers?" Utsuho asked.

"Yes," I nodded.

"...is good timing," she said.

"H-huh?" all three of us said, surprised.

"Geyser Center is connected to Former Hell, and regulates flames and uses them to help power reactors," Utsuho explained. "Evil spirits infest place, like roaches in old building, messing up controls, shutting pipes and shorting electronics like naughty kids. Lately, one spirit has run amok in Boiler 29NE, which provides hot water for main bathhouse in Tengu City."

I turned to Reimu and Marisa. "That's exactly the place we want to go," I said.

"Indeed," Reimu nodded.

I turned back to Utsuho. "I'm sorry to hear that. Would you like us to help?"

"Okuu can't find spirit to save her life," she said. "If you can find spirit and get rid of it, Okuu will make it worth your while."

"How so?" I asked.

"Okuu will find way to give Akechi-san power," she said. "Okuu hears Outsiders don't do well without electricity."

I considered Utsuho's offer. Certainly, being an Outsider, having electricity again was a tempting prospect. I wasn't too sure what I would actually do with it, with no access to TV or Internet, although I could probably use it to take hot baths once more. Since we needed to access that boiler anyway to infiltrate the fortress, I decided it was simply to keep an eye out for the evil spirit and dispatch it somehow.

"I accept your offer," I said.

"Then, is deal," Utsuho said, offering your hand. "You get rid of spirit, Okuu give you power. You do good job, Okuu give you other things if you bring Okuu other spirits for Okuu to eat."

"Er, eat? " I asked.

"Hell ravens and other youkai like her consume evil spirits" Reimu explained.

I considered this for a moment, a person who could eat evil spirits, before taking her hand and shaking it to seal the deal, so that we could access the boiler, and so that I could establish what I hoped would be a productive relationship. "I'll do my best."

"'Ya really sure you wanna make a deal like this without either Kanako or Satori knowin'?" Marisa asked Utsuho.

"Okuu reactor boss," Utsuho said. "Okuu make rules, Okuu offer Akechi-san job."

Marisa shrugged. "Well, can't argue with that, I guess."

I am thou, thou art I. Thou hast acquired a new vow.

It shall become the wings of rebellion that breaketh thy chains of captivity.

With the birth of the Sun Persona, I have obtained the winds of blessing that shall lead to freedom and new power…


2/25

The next day, we arrived at the Geyser Center as a group. The plan was for Mamiko to act as Aya's bodyguard, while the rest of us explored the fortress and fought shadows as normal. I also had my own plan in mind for getting her to awaken a Persona, but for now I kept it to myself.

I swiped the keycard Utsuho had given me to get inside, and we made our way in. A kappa employee met us in the central cavern; she explained that all visitors were required to wear a hardhat as well as a special device, which happened to be another of Nitori's inventions, which cast an invisible field that repelled radioactive particles and wavelengths. Most everyone else expressed awe at the sheer size of the Geyser Center and its technology, but I reminded them all that we were on a mission, and we could go on a tour later. For now, we headed straight for Boiler 29NE, whose location Utsuho had shown us as well. My keycard also worked on 29NE's door, and one by one, we filed inside.

The inside of the boiler was fairly unremarkable, at least as far as industrial areas went. There were pipes, tanks and pressure gauges all over the place. Signs and placards warning of radiation hazards on panels and doors. Above us, a trap door which Aya theorized led down here from the bathhouse's maintenance closet.

"Alright," I said. "Once I say the keywords, we'll enter the Metaverse."

"Right." Marisa handed Aya a handful of medicine, tea and food. "Since you're a youkai, you'll be cut off from the Outside's magic the second we enter. I know you're fast, but you gotta take it easy in there, and eat these when you get tired. And don't try to fight anything; let us do it for you."

"Er, understood," Aya said.

"Good." I said the keywords, and the world twisted and distorted.

When things settled down, we found ourselves in some kind of storage closet, with a table in the center and trash and props strewn about.

"What's this place?" Aya asked. "Weren't we just in the boiler room?"

"We were, but now we're in Megumu's fortress," I explained.

Nitori looked at her PDA, then said, "and it looks like we spawned right into a safe room."

"A 'safe room?' What's that?" Aya asked again.

"It's a hole in the ruler's cognition where we can safely retreat to, and where we can quickly jump to other safe rooms we find," I explained.

"A… hole in the…" Aya slumped over. "...I don't get it."

"It will make more sense as we go along," Youmu said.

"Indeed. Also, do not forget to call us by our codenames," I said.

"Remind me again what those are?" Aya asked once more.

"Right. I'm Crow."

"Starburst."

"Seraph."

"Fury."

"Doktor."

"Bull."

"Priest."

Aya took a moment to think, then nodded. "Okay. I think I can remember those." She took out her notebook and jotted our codenames down. "If nothing else, I can use my trusty notebook to take down anything so I don't forget it!"

"You brought that thing in here with you?" Reimu asked.

"I mean, I take it everywhere," Aya said. "I use it to gather material for articles."

"Just remember we have to keep our activities secret," Nitori reminded her.

"I know, I know," Aya affirmed.

"Alright," I said. "Are we ready? Let's head out."

We emerged from the safe room into a narrow, brightly-lit hallway with tile floors. Further down was a set of glass windows, with doors on them leading into a central atrium. We decided to go check it out. As a group, we encircled Aya, with Mamiko keeping closest to her, ready to repel any threats. None presented themselves, at least for the moment, but we knew we had to remain vigilant.

Emerging out into the atrium, we were greeted with a grandiose display: wide and tall, with a mural on the ceiling depicting dozens of crow tengu standing at attention to their leader, Megumu. The walls and the floor were all perfectly-cut marble with a huge maple leaf insignia sprawled across the floor, there was a black granite reception desk with the same insignia emblazoned on the front, skywalks criss-crossing above us which seemed to almost float in midair, and off to the side, an alcove lined with elevators, surely leading further up into the fortress.

Marisa whistled as she marveled at the scene around us. "Daaaamn… this Megumu chick's got good taste, I'll give her that."

Aya looked up and around. "So, this place… this is her twisted view of Tengu society, isn't it?"

"That's correct," I said. "This structure is how she envisions Tengu City…"

"Welcome," came a voice over the PA system.

Instantly, we all drew our weapons. "Who said that?" I exclaimed.

One of the elevators opened up. Out stepped a sharply-dressed woman, Shadow Megumu, flanked by two buff shadow guards wielding batons. She walked toward us, stopping in front of the reception desk and turning to face us.

"So…" Reimu said. "You must be Iizunamaru."

"Indeed," Shadow Megumu said. "I am Megumu Iizunamaru. I am the owner and CEO of this company, as you can see. And you… you must be the famous Hakurei Shrine maiden, responsible for enforcing Gensokyo's order, or so I've been told."

"Yeah… and I'm here to resolve an incident."

Shadow Megumu chuckled. "I see no incident to resolve here. I am merely carrying out my duties as this company's CEO, ensuring prosperity endures in this city. At my company, I believe only the most successful and enterprising individuals should be rewarded for their hard work, talents and loyalty. After all, it wouldn't make sense if everyone were given the chance to advance, would it? Everyone has their place in the system, whether they be a peon, a secretary or a manager. My place just so happens to be the conductor."

"Bullshit!" Aya shouted. "You're just using the caste system to move your cronies up and leave everyone else in the dregs!"

Megumu groaned. "Oh. Aya. Why did you feel the need to come here?"

"I'm here to call you out on your shit!" she proclaimed. "You're rigging the system to keep people who deserve to move up from doing so! Such as myself!"

Shadow Megumu paused, staring at us, then chuckled again. "Heh… well, you're right about one thing. I did, ah, heavily suggest the caste system to the higher-ups, if you get my drift. Those guys have been nothing more than useful idiots for me." She put one foot forward. "Of course, I never sought the position myself. It's so much more satisfying being the boots on the ground and personally seeing my goals through, than to just be some enigmatic, mysterious figurehead lurking in the background. It's just what was necessary to make the Tengu great again, attain the level of power and influence we used to command so long ago." She glared at Aya. "And, of course, I had to do something to keep you repressed, too."

Aya stepped back in shock. "Wha- you mean… what do you-"

"I've loathed you with every ounce of my body since the two of us were children," Shadow Megumu snarled. "You goody two-shoes bitch, always more popular with the others than I was, always dismissing me!"

Aya glared and shot back, "that was a long time ago! It means nothing now! We're both adults, and old, powerful Tengu at that!"

Shadow Megumu shook her head. "It didn't stop when we were kids, though. I hated you and everything you had that I didn't. Faster. Stronger. More beautiful. It just pissed me off so much." She looked down and smiled. "But there was one thing I had, and that was my smooth talking, which I used to curry favor with the ruling elite and compel them to impose the caste system, which I could manipulate however I liked to move up whoever I wanted and repress the others. Crow Tengu, Wolf Tengu, Long-Nosed, it didn't matter. All that mattered was that I outflanked you, got my revenge, and am now leading the way to leading a great society-"

Aya charged forward and slugged Shadow Megumu in the face, knocking her down to the ground and leaving her with a black eye. Almost immediately, the shadow guards bore down on her, pinning her down to the ground holding their weapons to her face, but still, she remained defiant, looking up and forward at her adversary.

"So… all this was just some complicated revenge gambit, keeping me down because of your jealousy and dragging down countless others who had nothing to do with it to justify it? Are you seriously admitting that you will sink that low just to 'win' some petty grudge from long ago?" She chuckled, and we watched as the guards continued to hold her down, with Shadow Megumu wrenching herself up and leering at her. "I know I was a bit of a 'queen bee' back then, but still…"


"...you never saw your past behavior as having left lasting repercussions."

Suddenly, the world turned black, I found myself standing, and a voice came from somewhere.

"W-who was that?" I asked, looking around.

A figure, who looked just like me but with glowing yellow eyes, then popped down, hanging upside-down in midair. "I am you."

"M-me?"

"Indeed," she said. "The hidden self buried deep within. The embodiment of your regrets, and also the fires of truth and justice left to smolder for so long, without a chance to roar into a mighty flame." She turned herself upright and landed in front of me. "You hate to admit it, but you hide from the truth, the doubts you harbor from the past, the consequences they have since allowed to blossom. You bury yourself in work, either as guard captain or by writing that trashy tabloid of a paper, hoping to forget and deny that you had just as much a hand in creating this situation, this curse inflicted upon all of Tengu society, as her. These same doubts also prevent you from doing something to fix it. After all, it doesn't make sense to fix a problem you pretend doesn't exist, does it not?"

I thought about her words. It was so long ago, and yet it was crystal-clear: I was popular. The other kids loved me. She felt alone and like an outcast, had no friends, no supporting base. When I could have helped her when it mattered most, when I could have offered her my words of encouragement, I did, and said, nothing. No matter how you cut it, I bore just as much responsibility in creating this situation that has persisted for centuries as her. The two of us, our selfish actions combined, had burdened the Tengu for generations, had allowed Megumu's envy and animosity to metastasize into outright megalomania and hubris. And I… I was a weakling for…

"...no." I stamped my foot. "It does exist. And I can't believe it took me literally meeting the embodiment of my doubts for me to realize that. I'm a millennium-old Tengu, dammit. I should know better than anyone that past actions have future consequences, that things that happen as kids affect us for the rest of our lives. I was a fool and a coward for not helping Megumu when she needed it most, and look what happened! I… I can't allow this situation to persist any longer! I won't let this situation rip Tengu society apart, breed more distrust and infighting between the different Tengu, let injustice and corruption haunt us any longer!" I glared. "Now, give me your power!"

The other me crossed her arms, and smiled. "Hmhm. Alright." She faded into darkness, then, in a flash, a wave of pain hit my entire body, and I held my head as I staggered, grunted and squealed in pain.

"So, you have finally chosen to dispel the demons which prey upon the pious and righteous, who provoke us to tear into each other and foster mistrust in one another, convince us that there is no law except the law that the strongest and most deceitful come out on top? To take the hard path to the light, to the gates of Valhalla, knowing the monsters and danger standing in the way, goading you to give up and take the easy way down to Hel?" A pause, as I screamed and punched the ground, bloodying my fist, and a mask like a Valkyrie's formed from flames onto my face. "In that case, allow me to give you my strength, and be your guide."

I felt the mask's edges, and gritted my teeth as I started to painfully peel it away. "I am thou. Thou art I. Thou shalt be the huntress, who stalks by night, striking down evil like the wolf strikes down its prey!" At that moment, in one powerful pull, I tore the mask off, sprayed blood everywhere, and shrieked at the sky as blue flames erupted all around.


At that moment, a column of blue flames erupted, blowing the guards off of Aya and pushing us all back. When they died down, out emerged a spectral figure, like a viking straight out of an opera, with a horned helmet, long, braided hair and a dark face whose eyes glowed yellow. Then, out came Aya herself, dressed in a fur coat and a belt buckle, with sturdy boots, tights and a fur-trimmed skirt over which a curtain was draped on both sides, and in her hand, a spear.

She huffed and puffed, then looked up, turned around, and held out her gloved hand. "Heh… how about that? This power… this power that I harbored in me all along!"

"Whoa… check it out!" Nitori said in awe.

"She's just like one of those Vikings or somethin'!" Marisa said.

Shadow Megumu stepped back and grunted. "You defiant little…" She turned around, and held up her hand. "Guards, do your job! Eliminate these intruders!" The guards got up, turned to Aya, then quivered and turned into an Okuninushi and a Koppa Tengu respectively.

"I will not allow evil to win." She pointed her spear at them. "I'll hunt you down and knock you out, sure as the north winds! Am I right, Freydis?"

At that moment, at her master's command, Freydis unleashed a wave of green wind at the foes before they could even act; Magaru. This successfully knocked Okuninushi down, but the Koppa Tengu just laughed it off, before charging at Aya, who, in a single bound, jumped into the air and flipped over the shadow's head, landing on her feet right on top of the reception desk, then whipping out a scoped rifle and shooting the shadow in the head, knocking it down flat.

"Too slow!" she taunted. "You should know better than to charge the fastest, most nimble person in Gensokyo head-on!"

I smirked. "Looks like they're weak." I got out my knife. "Everyone, let's butcher these fuckers!" All at once, we unleashed a devastating All-Out Attack, leaving nothing but a giant puddle of blood where the shadows used to be afterward.

Once the short, effortless scuffle was over, Nitori whipped out her scanner. "What do you see, Doktor?" Reimu asked.

"It looks like we've got a lot of shadows coming this way!" she said.

I tilted my head at the door we came through. "We should hurry out of here, before we get swarmed." Everyone agreed, and we rushed out of the atrium and into the safe room right as scads of guards poured into the area. In the safe room, I feared we would be trapped, but luckily, a keyhole manifested over the meeting table, which I could shove my key into to get us out of there and back into the real world.


Once we were back in reality, we made our way out of the Geyser Center. Only once we were outside did we rest, with Aya struggling to keep herself standing.

"THAT was a close call," Marisa wheezed.

"Indeed," Byakuren affirmed. "We were very close to being overrun."

Mamiko held Aya's back. "How are you feeling, Aya?"

"I… hah…" Aya gasped. "I feel like… I feel like I just got buried under an avalanche of Reimu's sealing amulets, except they're made of lead."

Reimu giggled. "I think it's hilarious that you're even able to make that comparison." She then came over, helped Aya stand up, then offered her tea. "Here. Marisa says this stuff really helps."

Aya took the tea and drank it. Byakuren also decided to recite a spell from her scroll to infuse Aya with energy. Within moments, she was able to fully stand up on her own power, shaking her legs, stretching her arms, and cracking her back and her neck. "Ooooohhhhh yeah, that feels so much better." She shook her arms out. "So… that's what having a Persona is like, huh?"

"Yup," Marisa said. "Guess that makes you a full member now."

"Intriguing," I noted. "A Norse-themed Persona. A hunter. Is that your ideal of a hero?"

Aya looked perplexed. "My… ideal of a hero?"

"Our Personas represent what each of us considers the ideal hero," Youmu explained. "Even if we weren't consciously aware of what that was before we awakened to them."

Aya thought for a moment. "A hero… I'm the captain of the guard, and I relentlessly hunt down anyone threatening the mountain. Maybe that's where it comes from." She smiled. "In any case, I'm glad I can now fully help you all out. And help to set Megumu right." She looked down. "Deep down, I realized I also made mistakes in the past that caused her to be like this. Now, though, I'm going to right the errors I made back then, and help set things right now, do what I should have done long ago."

"That's the spirit," I said. "Accepting your flaws and vowing to overcome them is the essence of accepting your shadow as part of yourself, awakening to your inner power."

Aya looked at the door. "So, what happens now?"

"The security level got very high right as we were escaping," I said. "We should wait at least a couple days for it to tone down before going back in. Right now, in the real world, Megumu is likely wracked with anxiety and paranoia. Infiltrating her fortress while she's in that state would endanger us and leave us open for a massive shadow ambush."

"So we should adjourn for now?" Mamiko asked.

"Indeed. We'll reconvene here on the 27th. Use that time to prepare for the infiltration. Craft weapons, make or gather medicine, hone your skills. We don't know what we will face when we explore the rest of the fortress."

"That sounds like a good idea," Byakuren said. "We're hosting a kung-fu tournament tomorrow, so I would not have been able to go anyway."

"I'll go catch up on gettin' Eirin herbs and stuff," Marisa said.

"I'll make more skill cards," Reimu said.

"And I'll make us some new weapons," Nitori said.

Youmu looked over at Mamiko. "Would you like to come to Hakugyoukoro tomorrow and train with me?"

"What… do you mean?" Mamiko asked.

"We can spar with one another, sharpen our technique," Youmu told her. "I can even teach you how to use spell cards."

Mamiko bowed. "That sounds like a wonderful idea. I am always up for combat training. I will caution you, I am no rookie warrior."

"Of course you aren't, but neither am I," Youmu replied, now sounding a little competitive.

I turned to Aya. "How about you? What will you do in the meantime?"

"Me? Well, I mean, I do have two jobs to keep up with. I'll probably keep an eye on Megumu and see if she's acting strange, but still try to act normal."

"That's for the best," I said. "Megumu will become suspicious if you do anything out of the ordinary, which will affect the fortress, as it is a representation of her mind." I bowed. "I'll use my spare time to craft tools and gather supplies. I'll give the signal on the 27th when we will return, so be ready for it."

"We will," the group said, as we dispersed. On my way back, I thought about how I had managed to convert Aya, a potential adversary and obstacle to our investigations, into a potent member of our team, and how our next opponent was one which she had a personal stake in setting right. Many members of my team had been recruited under those circumstances, as had most of the Phantom Thieves; indeed, I had a personal stake in setting Sae-san down the right path and getting revenge on Shido, so I was no different from any of them. I reckoned that people are more likely to start down the path of seeking justice when they themselves have an injustice that they wish to overcome.