Bits and Pieces

For the second time in less than twelve hours, Wriggle found herself flying around and looking for someone. But on this occasion, she really, really didn't want to find them.

The Garden of the Sun spread in every direction, coating the earth in a sea of green, yellow and brown. The flowers seemed to be perpetually in bloom. Their leaves never fell, their petals never wilted and even though they were no longer budding their faces continued to follow the sun. This continued throughout the year, with the frost of winter never daring to intrude upon the boundaries of the field.

While the field wasn't officially a no-fly zone, it was treated as such. Everyone, youkai, fairies and humans alike, gave the area a very wide berth. Stories were told of those unlucky saps who had accidentally wandered into the realm of Yuuka Kazami. The stories were never pleasant, but they were almost always true. Wriggle knew that better than anyone. Some years back, she had spent an entire summer in Yuuka's care. It was not an experience she would easily forget, no matter how many times she had banged her head against a rock afterward.

One more flyby, and I'm gone, Wriggle thought to herself. She had already been up and down the field twice, and so far there had been no sign of Yuuka at all. A small glimmer of hope ignited. Perhaps she was away at her mansion. If that were the case, then there was nothing Wriggle could do. Yuuka disliked trespassers in her field, and she disliked visitors to her mansion even more, at least ones she had not personally invited. Not even Wriggle, who could claim some "familiarity" with the insane youkai, would dare break that rule.

Wriggle circled around one more time and sighed in relief. There was no indication that Yuuka was around. What a shame. Well, she would just have to explain that to Cirno. She had tried, after all. Certainly Cirno would understand that. It was no fault of hers.

Suddenly, something long, sinuous and godsdamned fast whipped into the air. Wriggle had barely enough time to register its presence before it slammed right into her body and sent her careening to the ground. A moment later, she was lying senseless in the dirt, surrounded by sunflowers that had somehow turned their dials down toward her, almost as if they were staring.

A booted foot jabbed itself under Wriggle's stomach and flipped her over onto her back. Her mind still whirling from the impact, Wriggle lay with her limbs sprawled in all directions, trying to make sense of the blurry shapes above her. One humanoid shape in particular seemed to tug at her attention, though she wasn't sure why. It probably had something to do with those two red eyes leering down at her.

A warm, long-fingered hand reached down to stroke Wriggle's cheek. "Wriggle!" an off-kilter voice exclaimed. "You came to visit me!"

Then something grabbed Wriggle by the leg and started dragging her through the dirt. Enough of Wriggle's mind cleared to allow for a single observation.

Aw nuts.

…

Realistically speaking, leaving valuable objects out in the open overnight was a really stupid idea. Especially in a place like Gensokyo, where creatures both nocturnal and of questionable morality were known to wander. Even in the safer areas such as the Autumnal Forest were not entirely free from those with sticky fingers.

Mystia knew this, of course. And she really wasn't expecting to find much left of her cart when she returned to the spot where she had set up shop the night before. In fact, she would have considered it lucky if the cart itself was all that was left.

What she didn't expect was to see a pile of smoldering pieces of broken beams and torn fabric in its place.

She stood next to the wreck that had been her cart, staring down at its remains. On a purely logical level, she knew that it wasn't that great of a loss. Even with the funds she was contributing to Cirno's plan, there was still more than enough left over to rebuild. She could probably get back to full operating condition in less than a month, now that she knew what she had to do. And it wouldn't be too hard to re-attract customers. All things considered, this wasn't any great loss.

But still…it had been her cart. Her most prized possession. She had spent night after night in that cart, cooking and serving her special recipes for literally decades. It had almost felt like an extension of herself, one of the few places she felt truly comfortable. And now, seeing it torn apart and burned, it just felt wrong.

"Wow," Daiyousei whispered. She crouched next to the pile of smoking ember and tentatively poked at them with a stick. "The whole thing is gone."

Mystia repressed the biting reply that rose up in her mind. "Looks like," she said. "I guess someone must have upset the grill. That'll teach me to leave hot coals unattended."

"Looks like they took all your stuff too." Daiyousei picked up a torn rag with the tip of her stick. "I don't see any of the utensils or the seasonings or much anything."

"Yeah, that's really not unexpected." Mystia took a deep breath. "Say, Dai? Would'ja mind giving me a few minutes?"

"Huh? Oh…Uh, o-okay…"

"Nothing personal. It's just that I need to behave very oddly for a while and I don't think you want to watch."

"Oddly? What do you…" Daiyousei caught the look in Mystia's eyes. "Oh. Um, okay. I'll, uh, be over there…"

Hitching up her skirt, the young fairy bolted, putting a safe distance between her and Mystia and the ruins of Mystia's livelihood.

"Fifty-three years," Mystia muttered. She turned over a piece of timber with her foot. "Fifty-three years I've tended that stand. Built it myself, got it all prettied up, oiled it when it squeaked, fixed it when it broke, and they go and burn it down in one. Effing. Night!"

She snatched up the piece of timber and started smashing against the rest of the pile in time with her ranting. "The whole effing thing! Gone! Well, just wait until I'm back in business! I won't just stop at taking their money! No, now I'm gonna take them for everything they have! I'll empty their strongboxes, snatch their mothers' silver, release their all livestock, burn down their barns, steal their children and feed chocolate to their dogs! When I'm done with them there won't be a human race anymore! When I'm done I'll…huh?"

Mystia suddenly found her fury restrained when something grabbed her arm, preventing her from striking further. She looked down to see a tearful Daiyousei grabbing at her elbow with both arms.

"No Mysty!" the little fairy cried. "Don't go crazy and become evil! I don't wanna lose you too!"

"Huh?" Mystia brought her arm up, lifting up the distressed fairy along with it. "What are you talking about? I'm not going to become evil."

"B-but you w-w-were s-saying you were going t-t-to destroy all humans! I-I thought…"

Mystia sighed, her anger dissipating. She shook her arm once, dropping Daiyousei to the ground. "Jeez Dai, I'm not going really going to go on a murderous rampage, okay? Have some faith in me."

"Y-you're not?"

"No, I'm not. I was just upset and needed to blow off some steam. Stop taking things so literally." Mystia offered her hand.

"Oh." Daiyousei allowed herself to be pulled to her feet. "Sorry."

"S'okay. Everything's been weird."

"Yeah." The ice fairy cast a long look at the smoldering wreckage. "Hey, Mystia? Do you really think it's true? What Cirno said about what Yukari said about how Rumia used to be evil?"

"That?" Mystia pulled off her cap and scratched her head. "I have no idea," she admitted. "I mean, it does sound like a load of crock. I mean, it's Rumia. I know she tries to make herself seem all big and scary, but…you know how she is."

"Comes off looking pathetic, huh?"

"Exactly. Still…" Mystia frowned. "She is the only one of us who had no idea where she came from. And Yukari was really worried when she heard it was her who got…" Mystia tripped over the next word. She took a deep breath and said, "Um, that it was her in trouble. So…maybe. I don't know."

"But what if it is?"

Mystia shuddered. Just thinking about it made her feel uncomfortable. "Then…well, let's just focus on getting her back and worry about it later."

"Okay…But what if-"

"Hey! What do you two think you're doing?"

Mystia and Daiyousei whirled around to see three humans approaching, two men and a woman. They were all wearing black robes and carrying quarterstaffs, the standard uniform of one of the forest's patrols.

"It's them, it's gotta be!" one of the men shouted to his companions. "The ones who burnt that cart down!"

"Huh?" Mystia found herself utterly befuddled by the accusation. "It's my cart! Why would I-"

She suddenly found herself being dragged into the air by a panicked Daiyousei. "Fly, Mysty! There's no way they'll listen to you!"

Mystia took one look at the expressions on the humans' faces and found herself agreeing, though it rankled her to flee and make herself appear guilty. Still, better part of valor and all that. She turned away and started flying as fast as she could.

"Get them!" one of the humans called.

"What, are you kidding?" the woman snapped back. "There's no way we'll catch them. Besides, what if they're just leading us into an ambush?"

Mystia rolled her eyes. "Leading them into an ambush," she muttered. "Do we look like the ambushing type?"

Daiyousei shot her an odd look. "Um, yes? We do it all the time?"

"Point." Mystia glanced over her shoulder. Fortunately, the humans had deigned to not pursue and were instead occupied with disposing of the cart's remains. Even though having them touch it ignited her rage anew, she was at least collected enough to understand that pressing the issue would end…poorly.

When the two had put enough distance between them and the patrol, they stopped to rest next to the lake that sat at the foot of the Youkai Mountains.

"Whew," Mystia said. She wiped the sweat from her forehead. "That was close."

She glanced down at Daiyousei for an agreement and saw that the ice fairy was coughing so hard that she couldn't even take a breath.

"Jeez Dai, take it easy." Mystia started thumping the ice fairy on the back. "You should be used to this sort of thing by now."

"Jus…Just gimme a sec…" Daiyousei wheezed. She took in a shuddering breath and forced herself to slowly exhale.

"S-sorry," she said as soon as she could. "J-j-just got a little f-freaked. I'm okay."

"You sure?"

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." Daiyousei coughed one more time. "Let's just g-go home."

"Sure." Mystia inhaled a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Cirno and Chen could probably use some help with those fliers of theirs anyway." She took the timid fairy by the hand. "C'mon kid, let's head back."

…

Her tongue sticking out of one corner of her mouth, Cirno brow furrowed as she concentrated. Drawing was never her strong suit. She just didn't have the patience for it. Little doodles and the occasional acts of vandalism, sure. But sketching the same picture over and over again…well, it got to be a little trying after awhile.

And to top it off, her black crayon was starting to run out. She had been through two already, and their supplies stretch only so far.

She pressed down to complete an arm when her fingers slipped. The tip jammed down and broke off to go tumbling over the piles of parchment they had spread over the cavern floor.

"Aw, damn it!" Cirno swore. She crumpled up the smudged flier and threw it in a corner. Then she tore off the crayon's wrapping and grabbed a blank sheet to begin anew.

"Hey, Cirno?"

Cirno looked up to see Chen staring at her. The catgirl had her own stack of papers that she was working on, though she had made much more progress than the ice fairy. More than four times worth, actually.

"What?" Cirno snapped.

Chen held up the paper she was working on. "I don't think this looks right. Does this look right?"

On the yellow sheet was a smiling stick figure with a triangle covering the lower half of the torso, indicating a skirt, and something not dissimilar to a stick in one hand.

"What? No, no, no!" Cirno snatched the paper out of her hand. "This is all wrong! I showed you what it's supposed to look like, didn't I? Like this!"

She held up one of her own drawings. It was more-or-less identical to Chen's, except instead of a smile the mouth was turned down in a pointy-toothed grimace.

"See? It's evil, remember? Evil things don't smile!"

Chen took both of the papers and held them up, side-by-side. "Ohhhhh," she said. "Gotcha. See, I thought there was something wrong, but I wasn't sure what it was, but I didn't wanna ask in case there really wasn't anything wrong and I would just end up bothering you when you're all busy with your stack."

"Well, it's wrong, so…" Cirno's eyes widened when she saw the rest of Chen's stack. "Oh, come on! Don't tell me they're all like that!"

"Nah, don't worry." Chen spat in her hands and rubbed her palms together. "I gots this."

Her hands started moving at a blurring rate as she grabbed one paper after another, scribbling scowls over smiles. Dumbstruck, Cirno could only stare as Chen tore through the stack at a dizzying rate.

Biting her lip, she stole a glance at her own discouragingly small pile of completed fliers. Making sure Chen wasn't looking, she took about two-thirds of her blank sheets and discretely moved them over to Chen's side.

"Hey, Cirno?"

"Ah!" Cirno flinched and the papers flew out of her hand. "What? I didn't do anything! I was just making sure we were using the same kind of paper, I swear!"

"Huh?" Chen, as it turned out, hadn't even looked up until that moment. "What're talking about?"

"Uhhhh, nothing, nothing!" Cirno said hastily. "What's up?"

Chen shrugged. "What's all this about Wriggle gonna be seeing the sunflower psycho? Because Ran says she's a really bad person who likes to hurt people for fun and if I ever go near her field or if I don't do my chores or go to bed on time she'll come and take me away in her picnic basket and pull out all my fur and use to make a nice summer hat except I don't think she really likes hats because if she wanted a hat wouldn't she have gotten herself one by now because I'm pretty sure they're not that expensive and if she has a big mansion she probably has a lot of money like Mystia does and oh yeah is Mystia really that rich because I was thinking that if there's any left over after this she could take us on vacation somewhere nice except I kinda been everywhere by now it sucks that Gensokyo's small like that have you ever been anywhere I haven't?"

Cirno blinked.

"Oh, and I was wondering if we could take a break soon because my hands're starting to cramp from all this drawing even though I really like drawing except Yukari said that if I draw on the walls one more time she's going to stuff me into a bag and throw me down a well and I can't tell if she's serious or not because I think she's joking but sometimes it sounds like she's being serious…"

…

"…trail disappeared when she went into the Dragonfire Canyon," reported Mima. Or rather, her disembodied head, which was now floating half a foot above Yukari's table. "There's been the odd sighting here and there, but nothing conclusive. Sounds like she's sticking to rocky areas and avoiding plant life entirely."

Yukari sighed as she slouched back in her chair. "That complicates things. With all the caves and winding trails in that canyon, she now has hundreds of hiding places at her disposal."

"Not to mention the fact that the canyon is practically on the Saltlick Sea's doorstep," Mima agreed. "All she has to do is do her best rock impression and she's off the radar."

"And thus does the situation delve further into downtown FUBAR," Yukari muttered. "The incident has barely reached its third day and already I long for the wars of years past. At least they had the graciousness to come looking for me."

"Yes, having the immortal killer come looking for you would certainly make the situation better," Mima said brightly. "That way, you can have her slash up the other side as well. You want to be symmetrical, don't you?"

"Enough of your lip, spirit," Yukari glowered. "I am not in the mood."

"Oh, take it ea-"

Yukari held up a finger, cutting her off. "Finish that sentence, and I swear I will solidify that astral projection of yours and punt it down the stairs."

Mima tsked. "I liked you better when you weren't so whiny. See you tomorrow, Oh Great Grumpy One."

With that, her projection dissolved away, leaving little green sparks that floated down to the table before fizzing out.

Yukari pushed her chair back and stood to her feet. The burn had completely healed and the only remnants of the taint remaining was a prickling line of purple-pink. Still, her mood hadn't improved much the last couple of days.

It was this whole Ringleader business. She hated meeting with them, especially for the purpose of dealing with emergencies. There was no denying that they probably could come up with an effective strategy once they finally got down to it, but the hours of bickering beforehand were going to be aggravating. She remembered when she had met with the then-current incarnation of the group to discuss the impeding invasion of the Lunarian capital some centuries prior. Although the war itself had been fun, it had taken them a solid week to come to any sort of agreement. And that had been just about a straightforward invasion. The internal politics involved with this one were going to be…unpleasant, to say the least.

"Yukari?"

And then there was that.

Yukari barely glanced at her nine-tailed Shikigami. "Yes, what is it?"

"She's still missing. Chen, I mean. I've checked all the usual places, talked to all her friends, and no one has seen her."

"Yes, I know."

"You know?" Ran exploded. "That's all you can say? She's still out there with that monster, and you're not even-"

"Ran, remember what I said about speaking to me disrespectfully," Yukari said. Her voice did not rise above a disinterested monotone.

Ran nodded. She took in a deep, shuddering breath and slowly let it out. "You're right, I'm sorry. But still, Chen is in danger. Please, aren't you concerned at all?"

Yukari's eyes flicked upward. "Yes, but I don't believe Chen is any real danger. We've managed to track Satsuki to the Drangonfire Canyon, well away from Chen's usual haunts."

It was evident that Ran was trying very hard to remain calm, but the strain was showing on her face. "But what if it already got her?" she protested. "Chen just disappeared during the battle. What if it absorbed her or…"

"She didn't."

"Yes, but how do you know?"

Yukari considered chastising her again, but decided against it. "First of all, if Chen had been killed or even hurt, both of us would know instantly. Even if that wasn't the case, no body was discovered, even though Satsuki's been employing Shadow Youkai tactics, tactics that always leave a body."

"Okay, but-"

"Furthermore, if you'll remember from the reports, Satsuki ignored all the rabbits and went straight for Kaguya Houraisan and Fujiwara no Mokou, despite the fact that the Eientei bunnies would have been easy pickings. It's clear that she's only interested in absorbing people with power, and Chen simply wouldn't attract her attention. The most likely answer is that she left the forest without ever encountering Satsuki and is now pouting in one of her little holes, dwelling on how mean we've been. She'll return when she's ready."

Ran didn't look entirely convinced, but Yukari's words had reassured her somewhat. "I don't know, Yukari. I'd still rather she was here, where I know she'd be safe."

Yukari allowed herself a small smile. "Understandable. She does mean a great deal to you. But don't forget that she is capable of looking after herself. And that the odds greatly favor her safe return."

Ran let out a sighing breath. "I know, but still…" She shook her head. "Well, one thing's for sure: she's in for the scolding of her life for making me worry."

"That we can both agree on. Now, if there's nothing else…"

Ran inclined her head. "Of course. I'll just ready myself for tomorrow."

Yukari watched Ran leave. Her cold tone aside, she did understand the fox's distress. Ran was a natural worrywart when it came to Chen, and the situation at hand was only making things worse. Another reason why they needed to have Satsuki disposed with as soon as possible.

However, the conversation had brought to mind another problem Yukari needed to deal with. Unlike the others, this was one she was going to take great pleasure in solving. There were too many loose cannons running around as it was. It was time to take the biggest one off the board. It had served its purpose anyway.

She returned to her table and sat back down. Leaning forward, she folded her hands in the praying position and closed her eyes as she thought. Then she opened them again and flicked one wrist.

A form came into view above the table, that of a brown-haired young woman wearing a long-sleeved purple robe. She appeared to be sitting at a table of her own, examining a jeweled pendant with the trained eyes of an antique collector. She didn't seem to notice that she was being watched.

Yukari brought her fist to her mouth and loudly cleared her throat.

The woman jumped in her seat and the pendant flew from her hands. She grabbed at it, but it slipped from her fingers to bounce along the unseen floor. Then she turned in Yukari's direction. Her eyes widened when she saw who was contacting her.

"Yukari Yakumo, ma'am!" the woman said as she leapt to her feet. She snapped into a smart salute. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you would be calling!"

"Neither did I, until a moment ago," Yukari said, nodding her greeting. "Good to see you, Princess Kotohime. Or should I say, Captain?"

"The same. I assume you have a task for me?"

"Indeed. In your vocation as an officer of the law, actually. I'm authorizing an arrest warrant. The suspect in question will be attending an emergency meeting of the Ringleaders tomorrow, at the Court of Conflict in the Ruined City. I expect the arrest to take place after the meeting's conclusion. I'll take steps to personally ensure that it goes as smoothly as possible. However, I expect you to keep all of this confidential until then, and as low-key as you can during the actual arrest. There is a related situation that I do not want escalating beyond my control."

"Of course," Kotohime said with a nod. "What are the charges?"

"Theft, reckless behavior, endangering civilians through gross misconduct, and helping unleash a particularly destructive monstrosity. Which would be the situation I just spoke about."

Kotohime's eyes widened. "I…see. And the suspect's name?"

Yukari's lips parted in a genuine smile of pleasure. Mima was probably going to hate her for this, but that was just too damned bad.

"Marisa Kirisame."

…

"So are you looking forward tomorrow?" Alice asked. She lobbed the leather ball she was holding over to Marisa, who was standing a few feet away. "I mean, it doesn't really seem like your scene. A bunch of people sitting around talking for hour after hour…Sounds like the sort of thing that would have you gnawing off your own leg."

Marisa caught the ball as it passed over her head and shrugged. "Eh, I dunno. I'm sorta curious about how things go. Mima said it's a good place to go see a bunch of important people act like absolute fools, ze. Who knows? It might be fun."

"Just keep telling yourself that after the first couple hours. When your butt starts to ache and you need to use the restroom and that same stupid person who's been up there forever just won't shut up…"

The two of them were hanging out in one of the many small meadows that dotted the Forest of Magic. Marisa had just gotten done filling Alice in about her trip to the Scarlet Devil Mansion from the previous day, and the conversation had eventually turned to the posse Yukari was going to be gathering to hunt Satsuki down.

Truth be told, Marisa was actually impressed at how well Alice had taken the whole situation. Usually having murderously insane running loose would cause most people to at least break a sweat. But upon being told, Alice had simply shrugged and said something to the effect of, "Wow, sucks to be you." Marisa had wondered if she would be nearly so composed if it was her precious doll collection being threatened.

"Asshat." Marisa threw the ball back. "I was trying to be positive about the whole thing. You're always telling me not to be so grumpy. So why you gotta go be so negative, ze?"

Alice grabbed the ball with both hands. "What you call negative I just call being realistic. Seriously, when you get back, I'll be in for an earful about how bored you were." She tossed it back underhanded.

"Weak," Marisa said. "C'mon, put some effort into it. Like this!"

Marisa drew her arm back and hurled the ball with all her might. It sailed straight and true and a good fifteen feet above Alice's head. The puppet-master didn't even bother leaping up after it. She just watched as it flew over her and into the forest beyond.

Marisa was disappointed. "You're not gonna go after it?"

Alice brushed off her dress. "I fail to see why, since it seems all you're concerned about is showing off. At any rate, I need to get back home. I left some concoctions stewing that should be ready soon."

"You're no fun," Marisa said.

The two of them walked away from the meadow, leaving the ball where it was. It was no big loss. Marisa was reasonably sure she could dig up at least four more in her house if she bothered to look.

"Though you know is bothering me?" Marisa said as they entered the shade.

"No, but it's a moot point anyway, as you're going to insist on telling me regardless of my answer."

"All of the members are gonna be taking along someone as a retainer. Sorta like an assistant, I guess. To take notes and fetch glasses of water." Marisa frowned. "And Reimu's going as Mima's."

"So?"

"So? What do you mean, so? I was Mima's apprentice, remember? Her prodigy! I'm the one she taught most of her tricks to, the one who swore to devote my life in her service!"

"And look how long that lasted."

Marisa whacked the back of Alice's head. "Shut it, I graduated. Point it, I'm way more qualified to act as Mima's retainer than the Almighty Queen of the Bare Armpits. So why does she get the job?"

Alice pushed away a low-hanging branch from their path. "Isn't Mima going as Hakurei shrine's representative? If so, how exactly are you more qualified than the shrine's actual shrine maiden? The amount of significance you have for the shrine ranks in at exactly zero."

"Hey, I have plenty of significance, ze! I'm Reimu's best buddy, remember?"

"I see. So being the close companion of the shrine maiden makes you more qualified than the shrine maiden herself." Alice rolled her eyes. "Marisa, has anyone told you how wonderfully amusing your logic system is?"

"Ha ha, hilarious. I was talking about Mima. I don't care what she's representing. I should be the one going with her."

Alice smirked. She turned and grabbed Marisa's nose between her thumb and index finger. "Aw, is widdle Marisa jealous of the mean, nasty shrine maiden?"

Marisa's eyes drooped half-closed. She drew her fist back. "You like having all your teeth?"

Alice released Marisa's nose with a laugh. "Oh, stop complaining. Besides, you'll be there anyway. I'm sure Reimu would be willing to pass notes for you under the table."

"Shut it," Marisa grumbled. "And I'm just going as a, ugh, 'witness'." She made the appropriate quote signs with her finger. "Not even as a consultant. Bet they'll just ignore me and any idea I have."

"Everyone does that anyway. Seriously though, don't take it personally. I'll bet Reimu doesn't even want to go."

"Sure she doesn't," Marisa muttered. "At least they'll take her seriously. Me and Mima were the only ones to actually take Satsuki down while she was busy getting her ass kicked. And yet it's still all about the shrine maiden. Damn girl seems to be the only one anyone cares about."

…

Reimu stuck her foot into the air and tried to wiggle her toes. The best she got was a twitch.

She sighed and let her leg fall back to the sleeping mat. Well, it was an improvement at least. The deep purple-black color her foot and lower leg had taken over the last couple days had faded to a pale lavender. Feeling was also starting to return, though it took a great deal of pressure. All things considered, it was better than it had been. According to Yukari, she should be right as rain by tomorrow.

Just in time for the meeting of the Ringleaders.

Reimu wasn't sure how she felt about that. She knew of the Ringleaders' existence, of course. At least, Genji had mentioned that the various movers and shakers of Gensokyo would meet every half-century or so to accomplish absolutely nothing, but she had never really given it much thought. It had sounded like boring grown-up stuff to her at the time, and even now her opinion hadn't improved any. Politics had never interested her.

But now, seeing how she would actually be attending an emergency meeting as Mima's retainer, she had to admit she was a little interested as to what would happen. Based upon Yukari's admittedly short description of what she could expect, it sounded like there was going to be a lot of shouting and insulting. So long as you had a good seat and weren't actually required to participate, there were worse ways to spend a day. Since the whole meeting was called just to figure out how to squash a single person, something that everybody did all the time anyway, she didn't see the whole thing lasting very long anyway.

It did feel a little funny though, seeing how she was now technically acting as the assistant to her former arch-enemy. Reimu would be lying if she said that she didn't find it grating. After all, she had been the one to defeat Mima, hadn't she? While she didn't currently harbor the ghost any ill will, she couldn't help but feel that if anyone were to be declared the official representative of Hakurei shrine, it should be someone who was officially connected to the shrine. Mima just simply hung around so much that she was the "closest" thing the place had to a deity. In Reimu's eyes, that was not enough to qualify her for an official appointment.

Then again, it did mean that she didn't have to bother with the actual politics aspect, even if they only met every fifty years. So she supposed she should be grateful for that at least.

Still…to be considered in the same league as someone like Kanako or Kaguya…Sure, she could beat them up any day of the week, but there was something to be said for being respected as an authority figure. Keeping the local youkai and fairies in line didn't really compare.

Reimu's internal musings were interrupted when she noticed something moving outside the shrine. She blinked pushed herself up on her elbows. It was humanoid, so it couldn't be Genji. A worshipper, maybe? Now that would just be ironic. Her shrine saw so little in the way of business that having no one besides her friends come to visit was almost to be expected. But then, as soon as she was injured and unable to make the best of impressions, someone had to show up.

Then again, Satsuki was still on the loose. Reimu's eyes narrowed and flicked her fingers. A handful of ofuda appeared in her grasp.

Then she noticed that Yukari's ridiculously large barrier was still in place and let herself relax. As strong as Satsuki was, no one was going to get through one of Yukari's barrier that wasn't supposed to be there. It was more likely to be one of those silly fairies who lived in the cherry grove.

Then again, Satsuki had outwitted Yukari once before…

All of Reimu's caution melted away when the newcomer turned, revealing two crooked horns sprouting from either side of its head. Relief surged through her system as she pushed herself to her feet and limped out of the shrine as quickly as she could.

"Suika!" she called as she hopped down the steps. "Hey, you're okay!"

It was indeed the little oni. The last time Reimu had seen her, she had been unconscious and breathing shallowly, with purple splotches of the taint dotting her skin like bruises. She was in much better shape now. The taint had mostly faded away and her skin was a much healthier color. And, of course, she was awake and walking. That in itself spoke of massive improvement.

Still, there was something a bit off about the oni. Something about the way she moved. Reimu didn't especially care, of course. She was just glad to have her back.

Suika smiled as Reimu threw her arms around her. "Reimu, good to see you," she said, patting the shrine maiden lightly on the back.

"Jeez, is that all you can say? We both almost died, you know." Reimu knelt down on one knee. "Now, hold still and let me look at you."

Suika pulled back when Reimu touched her horns. "Hey, no touching! C'mon, I'm fine, okay? Don't make this weird."

"You sure?" Reimu said as she cocked her head. "'Cause there's something a bit…off about you."

Suika grimaced. "Well, um, I think I know what that is." She shrugged. "I think I'm sober."

Reimu fell backward onto her behind. "You're what?" she gasped.

In answer, Suika hefted the bag she was carrying. She gave it a slight shake, rattling its contents. "My gourd got all smashed up when I was fighting the ESP," she muttered darkly. "And the sake bug got squished."

"The ES what?"

"Satsuki. It's what…Never mind. Point is, it's smashed. And as it turns out, an enchantment that produces a never ending supply of sake doesn't work so well when you smash the container it's been cast on. And to top it off, those idiots at Eientei are so damned stingy with their alcohol that I swear that Kaguya must be some kind of teetotaler." Suika dropped the bag. She sighed and slumped her shoulders.

Reimu wasn't sure if she should comfort Suika or start laughing. Considering that the oni had come to closest to actually defeating Satsuki without knowing about how to overcome her absorbent nature, she decided to go for the former.

"I'm, uh, sorry about that," she said. It sounded lame, even to her ears. "Can it be fixed?"

"Pretty sure, but it'll take awhile. And with everything that's going on, I'm not holding my breath. And in the meantime…" Suika twitched and grabbed her horned head. "Damn it, how do you people stand living like this?"

Despite her friend's distress, Reimu was fascinated. "What's it like for you?"

"Well, for one thing, everything's so bright it's hurting my eyes. Everyone talks way too fast and way too loud. And the color's all wrong! The world is looking fucking weird! Hey listen, I'm dying here. You got anything?"

Reimu pushed herself back to her feet. "Anything of what?"

"Anything! Sake, wine, beer, anything!"

Reimu's heart fell, but she nodded. "Yeah, there should be a few bottles in the storehouse."

"What a relief. 'Scuse me, I need to go force the world to make sense. Good thing the oni don't get hangovers, because otherwise I'd probably have killed you by now."

Reimu watched Suika as she stumbled over toward the storehouse. Well, there went everything she had been saving. She saw it lasting ten minutes, tops.

Despite herself, she couldn't help but wonder what had happened when Suika had sobered up. Eirin's people probably had their hands full when the oni had woken up thirsty. In that, Reimu didn't envy them. Not that she had before. All things considered, Eientei was in quite a rough patch, and she didn't think the events of the next few days would make things any better.

…

"Given Kaguya's extended leave of absence, I will be acting in her place at tomorrow's meeting," Eirin was saying. "In addition, I will also be attending as an official witness, consultant and quite possibly defendant."

Reisen nodded once. They two of them were sitting in Eirin's office on either side of the desk. Eirin herself really shouldn't even be up and about in Reisen's professional opinion, but the Lunarian doctor was accustomed to doing as she pleased. The Lunarian nobility did have amazing recuperative abilities after all, and she herself had devised several ways to patch broken bodies back together over years, many of which she was now using to herself. In addition she was currently heavily hopped up on painkillers and adrenaline shots, though Reisen was worried about the long-term effect that many drugs would have on her system.

Of course, Eirin frankly did not give a damn. As far as she was concerned, failed or not Rin was still her project, and she would have a direct say how the operation proceeded.

"Furthermore, given your close involvement with the experiment and the subject, you will be accompanying me as my retainer," Eirin continued. "Tewi's healed enough to take over Eientei's operation, at least for the duration of the meeting. Not saying you haven't done surprisingly well, but Tewi never had much involvement with the Satsuki Incident, so she wouldn't be especially qualified to sit in on the meeting."

Reisen nodded again.

"I doubt you will catch any fire for what happened, but you will still likely be called upon to speak. If that happens, do not divulge any more information than is strictly requested. No personal opinions, no observations, no deviations beyond the letter of the question. Eientei's authority and reputation are about to take a massive hit, and we need to salvage the situation the best we can, understand?"

"Yes," Reisen said obediently.

"Good." Eirin's chair squeaked as she leaned back and crossed her legs. She steepled her fingers and said, "Now, is there anything you would like to say to me?"

Reisen started. "I…um, what?"

"Reisen, we are about to participate in an operation geared toward disposing of a being who was, for all intents and purposes, your adopted daughter. An adopted daughter who is in her current predicament thanks to my experiments." A ghost of a smile tugged at Eirin's lips. "Surely you must have something to say about that."

Reisen blinked. "Wait, you want me to…criticize you?"

Eirin sniffed. "Obviously not. But I'd rather not deal with the long-term effects of deep-seated resentment and the division of loyalties. We need to present a unified front to the outsiders, and if that is to be possible, I would rather have the air cleared as soon as possible. So, please. That little speech you've been practicing for the last couple days. I assure you, there will be no negative repercussions for speaking your mind."

Completely taken back by this unexpected request, Reisen struggled to put her thoughts in order. It was true, there was a particularly epic rant that she had been imagining unleashing on her mentor even as she tried to preserve her life, one which touched on points such as Eirin's original disdain for Rin's presence, the way she callously abused the girl's trust for personal profit and thus had broken her mind and ruined her life, her inhumane way of disposing of Rin afterward, the long years of imprisonment and her present treatment of Rin as nothing more than a problem.

Reisen wanted to tell her all that, she really did, but instead what she ended up blurting out was, "U-uh, are they going to hurt her?"

Eirin pressed her fingertips to her forehead and sighed. "That's it? Really? Typical." She shrugged and said, "Almost certainly. In fact, I do believe this whole caper will most likely end in Rin's death."

Reisen felt her insides squirm. "But that's not fair. This wasn't her fault."

"Oh, I agree," Eirin said. "The 'By reason of insanity' might actually hold up in court. However, this is not a criminal trial. Furthermore, as I must belatedly inform you, the world is not a very fair place. Rin's personal responsibility in this matter is secondary at best. What does matter is that she is now obviously psychotic and in possession of far too much power. In fact, I'm told she tried to kill you. And was reportedly enjoying the attempt."

"Well, yes," Reisen admitted with a shudder. "But she stopped."

"And underwent a sudden personality change in the process? Reisen, I did read the report. If anything, this new revelation is even more disturbing than what we previously feared. If she's switching from Rin the poor abused victim who just wants to be everyone's friend to Rin the sociopathic killer who'd rip out your intestines while singing a merry tune at the drop of a hat, then we may have no choice but to put her down, for her sake as well as ours."

"You'd like that, wouldn't you?" Reisen muttered before she could take it back. When she realized what she had said, she blushed and clapped her hands over her mouth.

Eirin raised her eyebrows. "Interesting. Do elaborate."

"Never mind," Reisen whispered. She clutched the sides of her seat and turned away.

In response, Eirin reached over to grab Reisen by the chin and force her head around until she was looking her mentor in the eye. Even in her weakened state, Eirin's grip was still horribly strong.

"No, no, no," Eirin chided. "I told you speak your mind, didn't I? Finish that statement."

She released Reisen's face and sat back in her chair. When Reisen didn't immediately comply, Eirin spread her hands in a "Please continue" gesture.

Reisen took a very deep breath, thought screw it and said. "Y-you'd like for them to try to kill Rin, wouldn't you? You're just so godsdamned worried about saving face that you want for them to focus on how terrible she's become and not think about who made her that way. She thought the world of you, and you turned her into a monster!"

Her breath was coming out in ragged pants. Angry tears stung her eyes. "And now all you can think of is getting other people to clean up your mess without blaming you for it. Hasn't anyone thought of what she must be going through? How terrified she must be? Doesn't anyone want to help her at all?"

Inwardly, Reisen was bracing herself for some kind of retaliation. Promise or no, Eirin wasn't one to take criticism lightly, especially from a subordinate. But instead, Eirin merely said, "I tried just that, but I was interrupted. And given all that's happened, I don't think she would be much inclined to speak to us."

"As I said, Rin may be a victim on some level, but she is still dangerously unstable. And furthermore, she is loose in Gensokyo. How would you like for her to stumble upon some human family out on a picnic? Or how about children playing in the woods? Are you really willing to sacrifice their lives for hers?"

Reisen didn't have an answer for that.

"I see. Well, you'd better make up your mind then. Because the last thing you need is indecisiveness. The day may very well come where you're forced to decide between Rin's life and the life of an innocent. It very well might be Gensokyo itself at stake. If it helps to cast me as the villain of this piece, go right ahead. But don't let that delude you from seeing the situation as it is. Understand?"

When Reisen didn't immediately answer, Eirin said again with greater emphasis, "Understand?"

"Yes," Reisen mumbled.

Eirin arched one eyebrow. "Yes what?"

"Yes…Ma'am."

"Good. Now, don't you feel better getting that off your chest?"

"I suppose."

"Very good." Eirin's brow furrowed together. "Oh, just so there's no confusion, this was a one-time privilege. Don't presume to speak to me so frankly in the future."

Reisen nodded.

"And now, in regards to-"

There was a sudden knock at the door. "Mistress Yagokoro, we found it!"

Eirin sighed. "Always interruptions. Reisen, could you get that?"

Reisen silently rose from her chair and walked over to open the door. Commander Utada marched in and saluted.

"Sorry to interrupt, but we've finally managed to locate the Jeweled Branch of Hourai."

"Oh?" Eirin's eyebrows rose. "That is good news! Is it in serviceable shape, at least?"

"Er, mostly. The lower third has been splintered, and one of the stones seems to have been crushed by a piece of masonry."

"Typical. Well, it could have been worse," Eirin muttered. She took a deep breath and rose to her feet. "At least it's fixable. Take me to it."

Utada stiffened and saluted again. "Yes sir!"

The two of them left the room without another word, leaving Reisen still standing alone by the door.

…

Koakuma opened the door to the sitting room with her behind, careful not to upset the tray of tea and cookies she was carrying.

"I'm sorry to make you wait, ladies," she said as she set the tray down at the table where the mansion's guests were waiting. She began pouring tea for the two. "Miss Izayoi is still in congress with the Mistress. If you would prefer to leave and come back at another time…"

"Yeah, you can forget that," Rika Asakura said. She grabbed one of the bat-shaped cookies and bit off the head. "Did'ja mention the part where there's lives are on the line here? Ours and hers?"

"We do not wish to hurry her, but this is something of an emergency," Rikako added. She started spooning sugar into her teacup.

Koakuma nodded. "I understand. She is aware of the situation and will be with you shortly." She started backing towards the door. "Again, I apologize for the wait."

"Sure you do," Rika muttered darkly. "It'll probably be midnight by the time…Oh Christ, Rikako, are you trying to sweeten that tea or form it into a solid? And what's with these cookies, they taste like sausage…"

Koakuma hustled out of the room as quickly as she could, shutting the door and cutting off Rika's voice.

"Dear gods, those two give me the creeps," she muttered. She straightened her suit and made her way back through the mansion until she reached the staircase to the second floor.

Patchouli's current intern, Tokiko, was waiting for her at the foot. The ibis youkai looked uncomfortable. Then again, the Mistress was in an unpleasant mood. Everyone was uncomfortable as a result.

"Well, they're certainly not going anywhere," Koakuma muttered. "Just our luck. I don't suppose she's shown any sign of finishing?"

Tokiko shook her head miserably. "No, they're still in her study. I couldn't hear much, but it didn't sound good. Does she normally get like this?"

"Not usually, and this is the first I've seen her become angry at those two." Koakuma sat down on the steps next to her. "But she has been known to lose her temper on occasion. Believe me when I say interrupting her is a very bad idea."

"How bad?"

Koakuma shot her a look. "You know those cookies I just took to the humans?"

"Yeah, what about th-Ohhhh…"

"Exactly. When something like this happens the best thing is to just keep your head down and ride it out. Trying to interfere will just get you sent to very bad places."

…

Click-click-click

Remilia Scarlet's fingernail, carefully filed and trimmed to a perfect point, clicked out a rhythm on the top of her desk as she reread the summons that had been given to Sakuya and Patchouli the day before.

"…formally ordered to appear…" she muttered as her eyes skimmed the lines written in Yukari's near-perfect handwriting. "…address accusations of actions of a grievous nature…participation in experiments of morally questionable nature…crimes against the natural order of things…"

She dipped the paper low so she could look over it toward the two figures kneeling in front of the desk. "'Natural order of things'? Does such a thing exist in Gensokyo? It's so hard to tell sometimes."

She sighed and neatly refolded the paper. "Still, all things considered it would be rude not to show up, wouldn't you think so? After all, these are some very serious accusations here. It would certainly not look good if we were to ignore them, don't you two agree?"

"Yesh Mishtreth," Sakuya responded through a swollen mouth. Patchouli simply winced and nodded.

"Well good!" Remilia slapped her palms down against the desk's marble surface, making them flinch. She stood to her feet. "I'm so glad we were able to come to an agreement. And it's important for us all to be all on the same page, wouldn't you say so?" She walked around the desk and squatted down in front of them. "So very important."

She reached out with her hands, brushing her fingertips along both their cheeks. Patchouli started trembling at the touch, but Sakuya endured without reaction.

"After all, I'd oh so very upset to find out that we're not on the same page." She pressed her nails under their chins, forcing their chins up so that they were looking her in the eyes. She smiled sweetly, baring her fangs. "So very upset indeed."

"It would be such an awful thing to find that my two dearest friends in the whole wide world were sneaking around behind my back and cutting me out of the loop," Remilia purred. "So very upsetting. And do you know what would be even more upsetting? Hmmm? Do you?"

The sides of her smile fell. "To discover that my baby sister was somehow convinced to go along with it, without my permission and without my knowledge. Now, if that were to happen, why I don't know what I would have to do. So, it probably shouldn't happen. Well, don't you agree?"

Sakuya nodded obediently. "Yesh Mishtreth. I undershand."

"Y-y-yessss…" Patchouli squeaked out.

Remilia's smile returned. She kissed them both on the cheek. "So glad you see things my way. Now, clean yourselves up. I believe you have guests to entertain."

With that, she left them where they were. She heard Patchouli's shaking arms give out from under her, but paid the collapsing magician no heed as she left her study.

Feeling absolutely no compulsion to hurry at all, Remilia descended the staircase, her fingers lightly touching the banister. Patchouli's pet demon and some bird that Remilia didn't recognize were sitting at the bottom, talking.

"…and then there was this one time where a human thought he could earn a name for himself by staking the Mistress. Three days and enough chemicals to eat through iron and we still couldn't get him out of the wallEEP!"

Koakuma immediately shot to her feet when she saw Remilia approaching. The bird followed suit, hiding behind the demon's legs. Remilia paused to look at them.

"M-M-Mistress Remilia!" Koakuma said as she tried to stand at attention without shaking. "W-w-why, what a-"

Remilia ignored her stammering. "Your master and Sakuya have both been disciplined and are upstairs. They may require assistance standing. But you two wouldn't mind helping them, would you?"

Koakuma forced a shaky grin. "Of c-course not, Mistress! Right away!"

With that, she bolted up the stairs, dragging the bird along with her. Remilia watched them go for about a second before continuing on her way.

Despite her current anger with her chief maid, having Sakuya Izayoi as an employee did come with a great number of advantages. One of them was that the interior of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was as large as Remilia wanted it. The place was a virtual labyrinth of twisting corridors, rooms of every shape and size and seemingly endless staircases. Beyond giving her enough space to hold her things and confusing the hell out of property appraisers, it also had the advantage of confusing intruders who were unfamiliar with the mansion's layout, one Marisa Kirisame notwithstanding. Of course, Remilia knew every turn like the bite of her fang.

It was through these corridors that she marched on, her path as certain as a bullet's flight. She made turn after turn, passing through door after door, descending ever deeper into the heart of the mansion.

Finally she stood before a single door. Unlike the ornate red-and-gold designs of the mansion's other doorways, this was a crude dull iron. Over fifteen different locks of various sizes sealed the door shut along one end, and steel chains crisscrossed over the front. The message was clear: this door was not to be touched.

Remilia ran her hand down the door's side and concentrated. Someone could wear down a thousand hacksaws on the chains and try every key in the world on the locks and it would do them no good. The door would only open to the deliberate touch of a select few. It had to be that way. Very few could open the door and survive.

Fortunately for her, Remilia was one of those people. At her touch, the chains shook and snapped loose from their supports to fall in a heap at her feet. The locks began popping, slipping and twisting open, starting with the top and ending at the bottom. The door slid open on its rusty hinges.

Like the rest of the building, the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion was much different than the counterparts found in more mundane dwellings. Its design smacked closer to a network of catacombs than an underground storage area, with musty hallways and cracked and stained walls. Large chunks of stone had been torn out in areas, and broken furniture, toys, and once living creatures were scattered across the floors. The place smelled of mildew, decay and, oddly enough, brimstone. And the only lighting was from a series of heavily melted candles that inadequately bathed the area in a sickly green glow.

"Oh, Flandre darling!" Remilia called, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Flandre, where are you hiding?"

Silence.

Remilia sighed as she continued deeper into the basement, careful to close the door behind her. "Flandre, let's not play this game, please. Come on out, your sister needs to speak with you."

This time, there was an answer. A tittering of laughter, high-pitched and definitely not sane, trickled out of the shadows. It seemed to come from no particular direction, but instead echoed from all around. To the uninitiated, the effect would be very chilling.

Then laughter ceased, and then the voice of a young girl began singing.

"Apples and honey.
The jam in the tea is apricot.
I threw the silver
Teaspoon against the wall.

Hurry up, let's play.
Dolls never say anything.
They just try to sing
The one song they know."

Remilia rolled her eyes. "That's enough Flandre. Now, stop messing around and-"

"Boo!"

Squeaking in surprise, Remilia jumped back when a shadow suddenly swung down to grin into her face. Pleased that it had gotten the reaction that it had, the shadow began swaying back and forth as it cackled in delight.

Remilia immediately composed herself. "Now that," she sniffed, "was not funny."

"Was too! Got you, Remi!"

"Yes, I'm sure you're very pleased with yourself. Now, stop swinging back and forth like a monkey and come down."

Sticking out her tongue, Flandre Scarlet flipped around and landed in front of her sister. Like Remilia, she appeared to be a Human girl of about ten years of age, with adorable dimpled cheeks and tousled blond hair. She wore a red dress tied at the throat with a yellow ascot and a pink mop-cap sat on her head. But again, there were a number of things that would immediately identify her as being inhuman, among those being the scarlet eyes and pointed fangs that she had in common with her sister. But even more noticeable was her wings: instead of the leathery bat-like membranes that stretched between Remilia's wingtips, Flandre instead had a series of different colored crystals hanging from her wire-like span. No one was sure how she had come to be in possession of such a wingspan, whether it was by some sort of strange vampiric mutation or if they were of artificial design. And of course, no one could work up the courage to ask her.

Remilia of course found none of this to be unusual. What did catch her eye was that Flandre's wings seemed to have acquired a new set of decorations. She frowned in disapproval.

"Flandre, what are those rodents doing there?" she asked.

Flandre giggled. "I made some new friends!" She proudly spread her bizarre wings, displaying the fact that she had a rat hanging from each crystal, tied tightly in place by the tail. "I took them flying with me!"

Most of the rats were obviously very dead, if not outright mutilated. Two of them still twitched weakly, but if they had not expired already they were well on their way.

"Now Flandre, what did I tell you about mistreating living creatures," Remilia chided her.

Flandre's face fell and her wings wilted. "But we were just playing!" she whined.

"Flandre…"

With a sigh, Flandre stared down at her shoes as she recited, "'Living things aren't toys and shouldn't be treated as such'," she muttered. "'Because they break easy and can't be fixed'."

"Very good. Now, please get rid of those. It's unsanitary."

"Okay…" Flandre said reluctantly. The crystals suddenly flared up, illuminating the surrounding area in a flashing kaleidoscope. It was all very pretty, but the effect was ruined when each and every one of the rats burst into flames. They blackened and shriveled until their tails gave way, sending them tumbling to the floor like falling stars where they continued to burn to ash.

"Very good," Remilia approved. "Now then, how would you like to go on a field trip?"

Flandre perked up immediately. "Field trip? You mean, outside?"

"I do indeed."

Flandre cheered her delight. "Hooray!" she cried as she leapt up to throw her arms around Remilia's neck. "Thank you, Remi!"

Remilia staggered back but regained her footing. "You're quite welcome. We'll be going out tomorrow. There are some very important and very stupid people that I need to upset. And you get to help."

Flandre nuzzled her sister's neck. "And will there be cookies afterward? And cake, and games?"

"Oh, there will be games," Remilia purred as she affectionately ran her fingers through Flandre's hair. "There will be plenty of games."

…

Deep Within

Rumia winced as pins and needles erupted all over her head. "Ow! Stop it!" She pulled away from Rin's grasp and started scratching furiously.

"Knock it off," Rin said crossly. She grabbed Rumia's head again and pressed in with her fingertips. "This is hard enough without you squirming all over the place."

"But it itches!"

"Of course it itches! I'm digging through your deepest, oldest memories. Did'ja expect it to feel like a massage? Now, hold still already."

Bristling with annoyance, Rumia tried to keep from fidgeting as Rin poked in deeper. But with the prickles that kept dancing all over her skull, it was almost impossible.

Then a sharp pain jabbed its way through her mind. Rumia yanked herself way away from Rin and fell to the ground, clutching her head.

"Ow, ow, ow," she muttered. "The hell did you just do?"

Rin just looked confused. "What do you mean? What happened?"

"What happened? It just felt like you were driving a spike through my eye, that's what happened!"

"Huh. That's weird. Here, let me take a look?"

"No way! You'll probably give me brain cancer or something!"

Rin rolled her eyes. "You don't have a physical brain anymore, dork. The worst that can happen is that I accidentally poke the wrong place and you go mad."

"That's supposed to make me feel better?" Rumia demanded.

"Um…Good point. But still, I need to look at that."

"Forget it," Rumia said. She crossed her arms and glowered. "No more mind probe for you."

A flash of irritation washed over Rin's face. "Rumia, do you think that I couldn't make you do it if I wanted to?" She inclined her head in the direction of Kaguya and Mokou, who still hung suspended without their mouths.

Rumia blinked. A slight shiver ran down her spine and she wordlessly crawled back to sit down in front of Rin again.

"Thanks," Rin muttered as she touched Rin's hair with her fingers. Then she said, "Um, sorry about threatening you. It's just we need to figure this out, and this is our only lead, so…"

Rumia sat still and said nothing.

With a sigh Rin pushed hard. Once again, red hot agony drove through Rumia's mind, only this time it was worst. Rumia screamed and reflexively pushed Rin away.

"Wow, yeah, I felt it that time," Rin said. "Um, are you…okay?"

"Gimme a second," Rumia groaned. She was still seeing stars. "What was that?"

Rin scratched her head. "Erm, well I've never really tried this before, but it feels like you've got some major repressed memories there."

"Huh?" Rumia stopped rubbing her forehead. "What's that?"

"Well, you know if something really, really bad or scary happens to somebody and they don't want to remember it anymore? So their mind pushes down deeper and deeper until they forget that anything ever happened?"

"I guess…"

"That's what repressed memories are. The memory's so bad that your mind just blocks it out. Only problem is, it never really goes away and can really mess up a person's life without them even knowing it."

Rumia frowned. "So…you're saying something terrible happened to me, something I just plain don't remember?"

"Could be. Probably. I'll have to dig them out to make sure."

"And would that…hurt?"

"Well, yeah," Rin admitted. "I mean, it if hurt that much for me to just touch them…"

Rumia was starting to grow sick of this place and all of its weird metaphysical metaphors.

"Do we have to do it now?"

Rin stared down at her hands. "I'd rather we did it as soon as possible. Get it over with, you know? But I did promise not to hurt you…" She bit her lip. The whole thing looked like it was confusing her.

An uncomfortable silence passed between them. Then Rin rose to her feet.

"I guess we'll figure something out," she muttered. She started pacing back and forth, a troubled look on her face.

"Um, right." Rumia grimaced. She quickly changed the subject. "So have you figured out what to do with them?"

Rin paused and sighed. "No, I haven't."

"Maybe we should just let them go," Rumia suggested. "Knock them out and run before they wake up."

"Maybe. Kinda hard to give up immortality, though. I don't wanna get blown up again, and neither do you." She glowered over to her two hanging captives, who just glared right back. "Maybe I should take away their eyes. All their staring is bugging me out."

The fact that Rin immediately thought up that solution instead of simply turning them around made Rumia shudder. "Ugh, please don't. They're already like something out of my nightmares."

Rin shrugged. "Okay, if you like having their eyes following you every…" She paused in mid-sentence. Her eyes blinked at Rumia, darted over to Kaguya and Mokou and then back to Rumia. Then she jumped up and clapped her hands. "That's it! Rumia, you're a genius!"

"Uh, is that so? How?"

"Your nightmares! That's how we'll fix it!"

"…what?"

Rin didn't answer. Instead she pointed a finger at the two rivals. "Rock-a-go-bye-bye!" she shouted.

Immediately Kaguya and Mokou's forms began to blur and melt away. Rumia stared in shock as they literally faded away like smoke.

"What did you do?" Rumia demanded.

Rin grinned. "I put them to sleep," she said proudly.

"What? I thought you said we can't sleep here."

"We can't!"

Rumia closed her eyes and groaned. "Rin, please start making sense before my brain throttles itself."

"I just told you, you don't have-"

"Rin!"

"Okay, okay. What I did was trigger that part of the mind that makes dreams. So even though they're not physically here, they still have a conscious mind. So they must have a subconscious one too! So that means I can make them start dreaming! It keeps them entertained, and I don't have to send them into the dark to get rid of them."

Rumia tried to wrap her mind around that one. "Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean, you've done it before, right?"

"Nope!" Rin answered cheerfully. "But it's just a dream. Don't worry so much, they'll be fine."

…

Once upon the time, Yuuka Kazami had resided in the world of dreams. There, she had garnered a reputation as one of the place's most dangerous and unstable denizens, fueling rumors that she wasn't a youkai but a nightmare given flesh. It was said that she would randomly wander into the minds of sleeping children who didn't behave. Said children would then be scarred for life, if they woke up at all.

Since then, Yuuka had relocated to Gensokyo, citing that it made caring for her beloved sunflowers easier. And so the entirely of the dream world breathed a collective sigh of relief while the inhabitants of Genoskyo hid under their beds, praying that they wouldn't attract her attention.

During the move, Yuuka had brought her mansion with her. The building itself was an engineering marvel. Most of the stone floor had been torn up to allow Yuuka's flowers space to grow. How they received enough sun to grow indoors was the source of much speculation. The answer was a complicated one, with such details as strategically placed skylights, windows, mirrors and, when all else failed, magical assistance. But when one really got down to it, it all worked for one reason: because Yuuka wanted it to. And what Yuuka Kazami wanted to happen in her domain happened. It was simple as that.

And so Wriggle found herself sitting motionless at a round tea-table on the mansion's sundeck. A spotless white linen cloth covered the table, and a moss green umbrella speared through the center. A silver tea set sat on the table's surface. At first glance, it seemed to be a rather lovely scene, but that fact that Yuuka Kazami was smiling at Wriggle from across the table ended any pleasantness for Wriggle.

"Wriggle, my honeybee, my sweet biscuit," Yuuka said happily. "I'm just so glad you came by." She picked up the teapot and carefully filled one of the cups. "I've missed you ever so much. Where have you been all this time? Didn't you miss me too?"

Wriggle's face was still smarting where Yuuka's sunflower had smacked her. "Um, yeah. It's, uh, good to see you again, Yuuka."

Yuuka smiled as she pushed the cup toward the young firefly. "Oh, you have no idea. Things have been just so lonely here, with no one but my babies and Elly to keep me company. And while I do love them so, they're not much for conversation or…playtime."

Wriggle gulped nervously. She hastily snatched up the teacup and brought it to her lips before Yuuka noticed.

She paused before taking a sip. "Uh, Yuuka? Is this…"

"Oh, don't worry yourself," Yuuka laughed. "It's only sunflower water. I wouldn't dream of poisoning my little nightlight."

Wriggle grimaced. She carefully set the cup back down. Perhaps it wasn't poisoned, but Yuuka wasn't above spiking it with certain substances that would lower one's guard. And inhibitions.

"So now, what brings my Wriggle here?" Yuuka asked. "Because it couldn't have been to just to see little old me."

Wriggle forced a grin. "Uh, what makes you say-"

Yuuka reached over to lay one hand on Wriggle cheek. The firefly froze in her seat. For one thing, Yuuka's touch could go any number of ways, very few of them survivable. For another, Yuuka apparently did not need to lean over to reach. Wriggle was pretty sure her arm had not been quite that long a moment ago. It was…disconcerting.

The smile had left Yuuka's face. "Oh, Wriggle, Wriggle, Wriggle, please don't insult my intelligence," she chided. "I'm thrilled to see you, I really am, but as much as it pains me so say so, I just cannot seem to make myself believe that you would come by on a social visit." A flashing gleam appeared in her eye. "Though if I am wrong, I certainly wouldn't say no to…discussing old times."

Wriggle's eyes popped wide open when Yuuka withdrew her hand. In her fingers was a black leather collar. A silver tag hung from the collar, bearing Wriggle's name.

"Yaahhh!" Wriggle cried as she leapt back. "I, uh, I d-do need to ask you something…"

"Really now. Please, continue."

Wriggle forced herself to remain calm, though she couldn't keep herself from speaking too fast. "Well, as it so happens, one of my friends is in really big trouble, and we got a plan to help her. Only problem is that we might make some people mad, and really, really need some help if that happens." She swallowed noisily. "So, um, if you're interested of course, but if you could…help…us out?"

Yuuka sighed heavily, dashing Wriggle's hopes to pieces. "Oh Wriggle, my moonflower, you know how deeply I love you. But honestly, trying to mix me into your friends' little games? Come now, what do you take me for?"

Yuuka suddenly slammed her palms on the table, rattling the cups and silverware. "Especially," she snarled, "since you ran out on me years ago, leaving me all alone and breaking my tender heart! And now you expect me to help you in some stupid, childish scheme? Are you out of your fucking mind, you godsdamned immature little cockroach? Have you forgotten who I am?"

Screw this, I'm outta here. Wriggle turned to flee, but found that her path to be blocked. Yuuka's sunflowers had nearly doubled in size and were looming overhead, their dials staring down at her. There was little doubt that any attempt to leave would be dealt with harshly.

Shaking with absolute terror, Wriggle turned to see that she was now standing in Yuuka's shadow. The flower youkai was standing over, displeasure written all over her face.

"Now, that won't do," Yuuka whispered. "No, no, that won't do at all."

She reached down with one curled hand to the cowering girl, who was now fully convinced that, youkai immortality or no, she was not going to survive the next few minutes.

Then, likely fueled by adrenaline, inspiration struck. "It's Yukari!" Wriggle screamed.

Yuuka's hand paused. She cocked her head in curiosity. "What?"

"It's Yukari! She's the one we need protection from!"

"Yukari?" Yuuka withdrew her hand. "How so?"

Summarizing the best she could and doing everything in her power to keep from babbling, Wriggle told her off Rumia's plight and Yukari's involvement. Admittedly, she didn't know much, but apparently that didn't matter. As she spoke, Yuuka's frown gave way to a happy smile.

"Rumia?" she said, clasping her hand excitedly. "Rumia? And the chaos, and Yukari's involved! Ah…The Shadow Youkai! Oh, this is going to be good!"

Then she stooped down. Wriggle cried out and closed her eyes, but instead of tearing her head off Yuuka merely scooped the firefly up in her arms, where she was cradled like a baby.

"Oh, my lovely, you should have said so!" Yuuka cooed as she playfully poked Wriggle on the nose. "Of course I'll help you and your darling little friends! Anything for my sweet, sweet Wriggle."

"Thanks," Wriggle squeaked. While she was glad that her life seemed to be no longer in danger, being held by Yuuka was not a preferable turn of events.

And even if she had managed to secure the flower youaki's help, Wriggle couldn't believe that it would do her or her friends any good. In fact, she was starting to believe that they had just made the mistake of their lives.

…

I'm probably enjoying writing for the crazies a little too much. Though in my defense, it was late at night and I was strung out on caffeine when I did Remilia and Yuuka's bits.

Anyway, I'll admit that despite its length, this chapter was originally intended to be filler. A sort of way to do a role call before everyone goes back to making Rin's life miserable. Still, there are some very important plot bits introduced here, ones that only came to mind during the actual writing. I just hope they don't start running together and making a mess. Because you know, lots and lots of characters.

Speaking of which, I'm a little unsure of what to do with poor Kaguya and Mokou, who really haven't been getting much attention as of late. I wanted to devote a few chapters to their experiences in the dream land Rin sent them to in a sort of mini-arc, but given how many plotlines I've got going already, it might slow things down too much and just mess up the stride of things. So instead what I might do is write an entirely separate story for them as a spinoff, though obviously it won't be updated as much as the main story. Probably only every two-to-three weeks or so. What would you guys prefer?

And if anyone's confused about why Ran hasn't found Chen yet, Ran doesn't know about Team Nineball's hideout. I know it's kind of a weak explanation, but hey, it serves.

And bonus points to anyone who knows what song Flandre is singing.

Until next time, everyone!