Imperfect Metamorphosis

by TakerFoxx

It's the first day of spring, and Cirno and her friends are once again up to no good! But after stealing a strange box from Marisa's house, they soon find themselves over their heads as they discover some things are meant to remain locked up.

37. All the Right Reasons

All the Right Reasons

Rika Asakura pushed aside the swinging double-doors that separated the living quarters that she shared with her sister from the Asakura Science Facility's cavernous workshop. None of the lights were on, and as it was still early morning, there wasn't much in the way of natural light coming in through the windows. Still, Rika marched forward, making her way around the piles of metal plating, unconnected wires and loose gears as surely as if the sun were directly overhead. She kept going until she found one shadow that stood apart from the others, slumped against the wall and hidden behind the hulk of their current project. A half-empty bottle of liquor sat nearby. Rika smirked. It had never taken much to get Rikako staggering drunk.

Rika toed her sister's side with her foot. "Hey. Wake up."

Rikako started. Her glasses had become cockeyed in her sleep, and she hastened to straighten them. "Oh! Um, huh?" she slurred groggily.

Rika snapped her fingers, and the lights of the workshop powered on.

"Gah!" Rikako cried as she lurched back and covered her eyes. "Bloody hell, Rika!"

Rika motioned with her hand and the lights dimmed to half-strength.

"Better?" she said. "Great. Get up. We've got to get moving."

"What?" Rikako grabbed a nearby support beam and staggered to her feet. "Why?"

"Because Rin Satsuki's surfaced, that's why."

Whatever last vestiges of sleepiness had still been clinging to Rikako vanished in an instant, and her hangover seemed to stop bothering her. "Wait," she gasped. "Rin? They found her?"

"Kind've. She showed up at the Ancient City yesterday-"

"Wait, you mean the capital of the Underground?"

Rika glowered. "No, the capital of bloody Fairy Land."

"The fairies have their own capital?" Rikako asked, realizing half-a-second too late that Rika was being sarcastic.

"Okay, okay, no hitting!" she said quickly as Rika cocked her fist. "Sorry! But whatever was she doing there?"

"Don't know," Rika said coldly. "She must've forgotten to tell me. But she was there all right. Caused on hell of a ruckus, and popped above ground soon after." Rika rolled her eyes. "Of course, a bunch of bloody fools decided to give chase, but she gave them the slip and dropped out of sight. But there's a real good chance she's still hiding near the Youkai Mountain."

"And that's where we're going now, right?"

Rika walked over to the many-legged metallic monstrosity that took up a good fourth of the workshop. Turning to face her sister, she banged the thing's carapace with her fist. Power whined as the thing turned on. Gears turned, joints groaned and smoke belched out of its exhaust ports as it lurched onto its legs and heaved its massive body into the air.

"Yes," Rika said. "That's where we're going right now."

...

It was in the wee hours of the morning, and mist lay heavy on the Untrodden Valley.

The woman who occasionally called herself Hunter strode over the smooth stones of the riverbank, heading toward the garage of the Kappa engineer Nitori Kawashiro. She yawned every few steps. Whatever it was that the Kappa wanted had better be worth forcing her to come down so early. She was not accustomed to rising before the sun, and saw no reason why anyone else should be either.

A buzzing fly zigzagged its way after her. Instead of swatting it away, Hunter opened her hood enough to let the small insect in, where it clung to a lock of her curly red hair, next to her ear.

"Okay, you're here," it said in a tiny voice. "Is it too late for me to convince you that this is probably a bad idea?"

"Yes," Hunter said shortly. "If you're not going to help me, then that's your choice. But I'm going through with this."

"But why? You've heard the reports. This thing can kill youkai. Why take the risk?"

"Everything worth doing comes with risk," Hunter answered. "Besides, it's not like I'm doing it for me. Just think of what the Temple could do with even half that bounty!"

The fly buzzed angrily. "What, are you stupid? Do you really think we're hurting that bad for money? Have you seen the sort of support we're getting?"

"Plenty for the day-to-day stuff, sure. But with the sort of projects she's got planned, we're going to need a whole lot more."

"And do you honestly think this is the way she'll want to get that money?" the tiny insect demanded. "Through bounty hunting for Yuuka Kazami?"

"She doesn't have to know," Hunter said. "We get anonymous donations all the time. This will just be an unusually large one."

"And have you so soon forgotten that she's also looking for this same girl, but in hopes of turning her around and curing her of her affliction? Wouldn't handing the girl over to a known monster run contrary to her intentions?"

Hunter paused. She was now standing on the stony beach that held the entrance to Nitori's garage. She took a deep breath and spoke low but clearly.

"Yes, I know. That's another reason why it's important that I do this."

"What?"

"I love her," Hunter said with a shrug. "She saved me from…everything. We don't always agree, but I owe her everything. Which is why I can't let her anywhere near this Rin Satsuki. If Satsuki can kill youkai, she can't allow her anywhere near the Temple." She started moving again. "It's for their own good. Better Yuuka Kazami deal with that beast than let it…" She couldn't finish the sentence.

There was a noticeable pause, and then the fly spoke again. "And if you get yourself killed, how do you think that'll affect her? Or if Yuuka betrays you, as she is wont to do?"

"Then…" Hunter said slowly. "Then it will be me that accepts those consequences, instead of her."

"How very…noble of you," the fly buzzed in an irritated tone.

"Besides, it may not come to that," Hunter said with a small smile. "And it's sure to be fun. Come on, we used to go on adventures all the time."

"Name one where we risked actual death."

Hunter shrugged. "Well, if you want to back out now, I'll understand. Of course, with no one watching my back, the odds of my untimely death will only increase. And you wouldn't want to have that on your conscience, would you?"

"Oh, stop it," the fly snapped, its wings flurring angrily. "You know I'm not going to abandon you now. I'm just hoping I can stop you from doing something extremely stupid."

"It's only stupid if it doesn't work. Now, if there are no further complaints, I think we'd better see what our Kappa friend wants."

The fly buzzed her ear but complained no further. Hunter smirked and continued down the riverbank toward a pile of water-smoothed stones, in which a circular steel hatch was set. She knelt down and banged her knuckles against the metal plating.

The sound of her knock echoed through the space below. A pause followed, and then she heard the sound of someone scampering up a ladder. There was a metallic clank, and the hatch opened to allow Nitori's blue-haired head to pop out.

"Oi!" the Kappa engineer said. "Dere yous is! Lates!"

"My apologies," Hunter said icily. "I shall strive for punctuality in all my future Five AM appointments."

"Never be mindings dat nows!" Nitori said impatiently. Her head popped back inside. "Be following I's nows! And closer doors after yous!"

Hunter did, descending a steel ladder down a narrow concrete tunnel. As she passed from one rung to the next, the fly whispered nervously, "I don't like this. What if it's a trap?"

"Hush," Hunter said out of the side of her mouth. "It's a Kappa. It's not their style."

"What be dats now?" Nitori called from somewhere below.

"Nothing," Hunter said hastily. Credit where credit was due, Nitori had sharp ears. "So, where exactly are we…"

Her voice trailed off. The tunnel opened up, revealing Nitori's garage.

It was a large natural cave, carved from the solid rock by years of water erosion. A cold looking lake covered the entirety of the floor, which was fed by a small waterfall along one wall. A small jetty was set up along one side of the lake, mooring two bizarre watercraft and something that Hunter recognized as a one-man submersible.

The garage itself took up the space between the lake and the stony ceiling. A haphazard network of metal catwalks, platforms and ramps connected together. It reminded Hunter a bit of Center Tree, only with less shops and more engineering tools, pieces of unfinished projects and instruments whose purpose she could only guess. Grey wires of every size crisscrossed everywhere, and bright electricity crackled loudly over the antennae of some sort of dial-covered generator suspended on one wall, sending blue sparks into the lake below.

"Oh my, this is neat," the fly tittered. "Quick Robin, to the Kappacave!"

Hunter frowned. "Huh?"

"Never mind."

Hunter shrugged. She followed Nitori up and down ramps, across catwalks and over platforms until they reached the largest platform. It looked like this was the center of Nitori's operations. The end of the platform ended a few feet away from the wall and was taken up by a crazy looking control panel. Hunter wondered if all those blinking buttons and oversized levers actually did anything or if the Kappa just had them there for show.

Then her eyes fell upon a nearby worktable. She recognized its contents instantly. "Hey," she said, pointing. "Those are the same kind of guns you delivered to Eientei."

"Uh-huh," Nitori said as she sat down on a rolling chair in front of the control panel and started playing with the controls. "Only bester. Does notes help lotsies!"

"Glad to hear it. Is that what you called me here to see?"

"Nope!" Nitori gave the ground a hard shove with her boot, rolled down the entire length of the control panel and stopped in front of a large level that took up an entire section by itself. She gripped it with both hands and yanked it down. "Wanters showing yous dis!"

The electricity sparking out of the generator suddenly flared up threefold, making Hunter flinch in surprise. Then something a loud clunk echoed through the chamber as something very large started to move.

It was then that she realized what she had assumed to be steel plating covering the nearby wall was actually a twenty-foot door. And, as machinery groaned and gears turned, it was now opening.

"Oh, my sweet Buddha," the fly said in awe when they saw what was standing beyond. Hunter was in full agreement. Her maroon eyes opened wide and her jaw hung slack as she stared in amazement.

Nitori swiveled around in her seat to grin at her partner. "Well?" she said in smug satisfaction. "Not bad, eh? Just finishers scrippying it yesterdays!"

Still staring, Hunter slowly nodded. Nitori was quite correct. Not bad at all.

"That'll do, Kappa," she said in approval. "That'll do."

...

Marisa lay back, reclining on one elbow while holding her cup of tea with the other hand. "I gotta admit, Reddie, I was starting to think you were spending all this time just dicking around, ze."

Reimu, who was sitting on her knees on the other side of the kotatsuin, raised an irritated eyebrow. "Yeah? And why's that?"

"Dunno," Marisa said with a lazy shrug. She rolled onto her back. "'Cause I wasn't around to motivate your lazy ass. Or something."

After they had reconciled and finished hunting for Marisa's spell ingredients the day before, Marisa had insisted that she accompany Reimu back to the shrine. Of course, the shrine maiden hadn't exactly been enthusiastic about the idea, partially because Yukari's barrier was still in place and she knew that Marisa would tease her mercilessly about it (which she had), but mainly because Reisen was still staying at the shrine. In addition to providing Marisa with a treasure trove of mocking material, Reimu was a little uneasy with letting the witch in on her current activities. While she trusted Marisa not to blab, the witch was notoriously reckless. And Reimu's operation was so delicate that one stupid mistake could send it crashing down around her ears.

But Mima already knew, which was far more dangerous. And she had to start trusting Marisa again sometime. So in the end, she had brought her back to the shrine, showed her the rabbit, and told her what she was trying to do.

It had taken Marisa almost half-an-hour to stop laughing, and she still hadn't stopped questioning Reimu about the sort of "positions" she had explored with Reisen and wondering why Reimu hadn't invited her to the wedding.

Reimu wanted to hit her. So she did.

Still, once she had calmed down a little, their conversation had become a little more serious. To Reimu's surprise, Marisa wasn't at all bothered by what Reimu was trying to do.

"Eh, it's not like you can help it," she had said with a shrug. "It's your nature."

"What's that supposed to mean?" had been Reimu's indignant response.

"Come on, Reddie. You may be a cranky, selfish lazy-ass-"

"So are you!"

"Just the middle bit," Marisa had said with a smirk. "But still. You do have a really bad hero complex. Sure, you bitch up a storm every time you gotta go outta your way to help someone, but you still do it, ze. It's who you are."

Reimu had no idea if she should feel flattered or offended. Her mind went with the former while her instincts edged toward the latter, so she had quickly changed the subject: namely, how Marisa herself felt about possibly pitching in to help someone who, during their last encounter, had spat her own Master Spark back into her face, especially with the threat of again bringing Yukari's wrath down upon her once again.

That had sent Marisa thinking. "Well," she said at last. "Not gonna lie, the last time I ran into Satsuki, we didn't exactly part on the best of terms, you know what I mean? And seeing how all this shit is all her fault, I'm not really overflowing with fond feelings for the little twerp…"

Reimu folded her arms. "Weren't you the one going on about how that fight with Yuuka Kazami was the best day you ever had?"

"Huh." That had made the young witch brighten. "You know, you're right. Guess I owe her one after all! And hey, if you can forgive her for killing your foot and busting up your ribs, then who am I to complain?" Then her face had quickly darkened into a scowl. "Just promise me you're not going to add her to your collection, ze."

"Uh, collection?"

"Yes! All those nutcases you beat up and can't seem to get rid of later! I don't wanna come by to see you having tea with the blob!"

"Ah. And according to your definition, wouldn't that same collection include yourself?"

"Exactly!" Marisa had said, punching Reimu in the arm. She waggled her eyebrows and tilted her head toward Reisen, who had cringed at the attention. "The display case is getting too crowded as it is!"

That had been last night. It was now morning, and the three of them, Reimu, Marisa and Reisen, were sitting around the kotatsuin. Reisen had prepared a sort of porridge flavored with peach slices for breakfast. She called it "oatmeal." It wasn't bad at all, though Reimu had noted that it was fortunate that Suika had yet to return. The oni race's relationship with peaches was a bit on the antagonistic side.

In response to Marisa's claim of laziness, Reimu scowled and said, "Well, that's self-centered. Did you just expect me to sit around on my hands and wait for you to get back?"

"Yeah."

"Why?"

Reimu and Marisa's heads swiveled toward Reisen, who had been the one who had spoken. The Lunarian rabbit had remained silent while the two had bickered, to the point where Reimu had almost forgotten that she was even there.

"What d'ya mean, 'why'?" Marisa demanded, clearly unused to being interrupted while making fun of Reimu. "Because she's a cranky, selfish lazy-ass, ze!"

"But she's not!" Reisen blurted, her face stricken. "She's already managed to convince three of the most important people in Gensokyo to help!"

Marisa let out a dismissive snort. "Hate to break this to you, but me and the turtle ain't that important. I mean, I should be, but still…"

"I'm not talking about you two! I mean people like Byakuren Hijiri-"

"Ha! She'd claw through a pile of poop if you told her some poor fairy was buried there."

"-and Kanako Yasaka-"

"Is that right?" Marisa sat up and leaned over the heated table. "No surprises there, seeing how Reimu's dating her shrine maiden."

"I am not!" Reimu shouted.

"Right, right, sorry." Marisa coughed into her fist. "Dated her shrine maiden. Don't want to make you look unfaithful in front of your blushing bride."

"What's wrong with you?" Reisen cried. She sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "Reimu's putting her rep-reputation and…and her life on the line to help me, and all you can d-d-do is make f-fun of her!"

"Whoa, okay!" Reimu said, quickly rising to her feet before Marisa could retort. "Both of you, calm down! Marisa, shut up. She's going through enough right now, and aggravating her isn't going to help anything!"

Marisa looked like she wanted to say something snappy in return, but instead she just shrugged, saluted and said, "Yassuh."

"As for you," Reimu said, turning her attention to Reisen. "Sorry, I know you're not…used to her, but she really doesn't mean any harm. Seriously, she's like this all the time. This is just how we talk, and I usually give as good as I get."

"Or so I let you believe," Marisa said under her breath.

Reimu ignored her. "But either way, Reisen does have a point. There's enough people at each other's throats right now as it is. So can we at least keep it out of my shrine?"

Marisa shrugged. "Eh, fair enough. Sorry about that, Cottontail. I'll go easy on you from now on, ze."

Reisen looked down and nodded. "I…Okay."

She stood suddenly, mumbled something about seeing if Genji wanted any breakfast and quickly went out into the shrine grounds. The other two stared after her.

"Uh…" Marisa said slowly. "I thought Genji doesn't like to wake up before noon."

"He doesn't," Reimu said.

"Ah….huh," Marisa said. She shook her head. "Wow. I didn't I was going that hard on her."

"You weren't," Reimu assured her. Then she reconsidered. "Well, maybe not for you, but you do take some getting used to."

"No arguments here. And I wouldn't have it any other way." Marisa's trademark grin, always lopsided and slightly maniacal, returned to twist her features. "Makes me memorable." She leaned back and propped her feet up on the kotatsuin. One arm went under her head while she traced pictures in the air with the other. "I just hope that Cottontail can harden up a bit. If this sorta thing's gonna keep happening every time we go at it, we're gonna get nothing done."

Reimu quirked up her right eyebrow. She sat down, leaned over the table and folded her arms over its surface. "I wouldn't be so flip if I were you," she said with a small smile. "I didn't tell you what she did to Eirin Yagokoro before she ran away."

A noticeable moment passed without Marisa saying anything. Then the young witch quickly scrambled back to a sitting position. "Waitaminute, you serious?" she gibed, a look of absolute delight on her face. "Reisen actually fought her, or attacked her, or something?"

"Or something," Reimu said with a confirming nod.

Marisa cackled loudly, making Reimu wince back. "Oh, this I gotta hear, ze! Tell me, tell me!"

"You know how she can control waves, like light waves or…or…"

"Radio waves?" Marisa suggested. "Microwaves? Electromagnetic waves?"

"Sure, sure," Reimu said, even though she barely recognized those words. "But more importantly, brain waves?"

Marisa's eyebrows shot up. "Wait, are you saying she…"

Reaching up with one finger, Reimu touched the lower eyelid of her right eye and pulled it down. "Fried her brain," she said in an ominous voice. "Made the good doctor fall to the floor and start babbling nonsense." Her smile evolved into a nasty grin. "And she could do the same to you if you don't let up."

But to her disappointment, Marisa was less than impressed. "Big deal, I'm insane already," she said, shrugging one shoulder. "She'll just make me more of what I am already, ze."

"Er, you may have a point there," Reimu sighed. She stood up. "But still, I'd better go find her."

Marisa eyed her in suspicion. "Since when did you start caring-"

Reimu shifted her sleeve, sending a single ofuda charm into hands and, from there in a single smooth movement, at Marisa's face.

"Ow!" Marisa yelped as she clutched at her nose. "Okay! Point freaking taken! Talk about overreacting!"

Reimu smiled but didn't answer. She headed for the door, leaving a disgruntled Marisa grumbling to herself behind

Outside, the grass was still wet from dew, but the morning sun was difficult to discern through the light of the barrier. Reimu cast a surly glare at the pink-and-purple field of energy that surrounded the entirety of the shrine grounds and the connecting cherry grove. While she was, on some level, grateful for the protection that it provided, and while she was aware that the barrier was advanced enough to permit air, sunlight and warmth through while keeping out more bothersome weather, it was becoming a major pain. It didn't matter that she could enter and leave at will, she wanted it gone.

Unfortunately, so long as the crises were active and Yukari remained out of reach, she was stuck with the damned thing. Reimu gave it one last dirt look and went to go look for Reisen.

She didn't need to go far. Reisen was sitting under the big cherry tree that sat near the edge of Genji's pond, her knees drawn up. She was staring out at the still waters. It didn't look like she was crying just yet, though she was visibly upset.

Reimu walked up to her and sat down. "Hey," she said. "You okay?"

Reisen didn't look at her, though she did nod.

After a moment of hesitation, Reimu said, "Look, I know Marisa's a little…Okay, a lot rough around the edges, but ninety percent of what she says isn't serious. And like I said, me and her always give each other a hard time. She just sorta forgot you were there and carried on like always."

"I know, I know," Reisen said quickly. She stretched out her legs and leaned back on her hands. "Don't worry. It…just frustrated me. I mean, you're dealing with so much by helping me, and all she could do was crack-wise…" She took in a shuddering breath and slowly let it out.

Reimu studied the rabbit's face. Was it her imagination, or were Reisen's features even more careworn than before? Granted, the harder life would thin out those cheeks, but didn't account for the deep purple bags that sat under her wet eyes. "Uh, Reisen? You sure you're okay?"

That made Reisen chuckle, though not in humor. "Noticed, did you?" she said, turning toward Reimu with a bitter smile. "And yes, I am doing all right. Mostly."

"Mostly?"

Reisen sighed. "Well, okay. So I really haven't been getting much sleep lately. I guess it's got me on edge."

"Ah," Reimu said with a knowing nod. "Worried sick about Rin. Got it."

"Well, that, and…" Reisen shook her head. "I don't know. It's just, in the last week or so, I've started having bad dreams."

Reimu blinked but didn't say anything. She just watched Reisen's face and waited.

"About when this all began, when Eirin…changed her. And after, when I was stuck inside her and she was losing her mind." Reisen swallowed and looked away. "I had a really bad one last night," she said. "About when she, uh, she melted. It's just been bugging me all morning."

"Oh," Reimu said. "Well, I can certainly understand that. But you do know that I'm doing everything I can to find her, so-"

"I know," Reisen said. "I just feel so useless. I mean, don't get me wrong. I appreciate you taking me in more than I can say! But I just wish I could be out there too."

Reimu grimaced, partly because she had expected that this conversation would be coming sooner or later and partly because she knew exactly how Reisen felt. Hadn't she expressed the same feelings to Genji, the day this mess had started? "Reisen, I…Look, I understand how you feel, I really do, but having you leave the barrier is a really, really bad idea. Eirin-"

"I know, I know!" Reisen said. "Genji told me yesterday, about how Eirin called off the Eientei Guard but probably hired sneaky mercenaries."

"I…Oh. Well, he's right."

"I know!" Reisen said again. "I get it! I get why I can't leave." She stared down at the pond again. "I just wish it was otherwise, that's all."

Reimu let a half-smile touch her lips. She patted Reisen on the back. "I get you. Just hang in there. She'll turn up soon."

Reisen gave her a sidelong glance. She returned the smile and nodded her thanks.

"Come on," Reimu said, standing. "Marisa's still back there, and I don't want to give her any more ammunition."

In fact, as soon as they reentered the shrine's living quarters, Marisa sat up straight with a familiar grin and opened her mouth.

"No," Reimu said, pointing. "Whatever you're about to say, don't. Remember your promise."

Marisa rolled her eyes but complied. Reimu and Reisen sat back down to finish their breakfasts.

A heavy silence sat over them, until Marisa said at last, "So…who's number three?"

Reimu blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Not you, her." Marisa turned to Reisen. "You said that Armpits here got three really important people helping her, but only named two." She lifted her cup of tea to her lips. "Who's number three, ze?"

Reimu blinked in confusion. That's right, Reisen had said that, and she herself was curious about the answer. As far as she knew, Byakuren and Kanako formed the rest of her little conspiracy. Maybe she meant Suwako? The frog-goddess was fairly important in her own right.

Wait. Reimu frowned. She couldn't possibly mean…

"Oh, uh, that's right." Reisen brushed a few stray strands of lavender hair out of her face. "Your…You know, your boss. Mima."

Marisa's body lurched forward as she spewed tea across the kotatsuin. Reimu winced as she was sprayed with the lukewarm liquid.

For her part, Marisa was not at all concerned with the mess she had made. "Wha-what?" she gasped, tea still dripping out of her mouth. "Mima? For real? But…but she never said anything about it!"

"That because she's not in on it," Reimu said testily. She picked up a rag and started drying herself off, though not before favoring each of her breakfast guests with a glare in turn.

Reisen scratched her head. "But…I thought you said…"

"I said that she had offered to help if we helped save Marisa from Yukari!" Reimu tilted her head in the young witch's direction. "And we all know how well that went down."

"She said that?" Marisa said, her eyes still wide with shock.

"Is that really such a big surprise? And wipe your mouth, you're drooling."

As Marisa hastily cleaned off her chin, Reimu continued. "She said she'll talk to me about it once she comes back, but until then her participation is a big fat 'maybe'. Heck, I'm surprised she's still open to discuss it." She frowned as something else came to mind. "Though come to think about it, don't get your hopes up about Kanako being a big help either."

"What?" Reisen sounded alarmed. "Why?"

Reimu shrugged. "She's always had major reservations about Rin. She was ready to drop out altogether until Suwako convinced her not to. And remember how I told you that she said I had to enlist Mima and your ex-boss first? I don't know about you, but I don't see either of those happening any time soon."

"Huh?" Marisa said. "What're you talking about?"

"Exactly what I said. She wants me to somehow bring Eirin Yagokoro aboard, though I have no freaking idea how I'm going to manage that."

"Why? I mean, it's not impossible. And if…" Marisa glanced at Reisen and understanding washed over her face. "Oooooh. Right."

Reisen looked down and sighed.

"But you said she also wants to make sure Mima stays in?" Marisa pressed.

Reimu suddenly felt uncomfortable. She remembered how horrible she had felt upon considering using Marisa as a means of bringing Mima back aboard. "Uh, yeah, she did say something like that…"

"Then what are you worried about?" Marisa demanded, throwing her hands in the air. "Let me worry about the ghost!"

"No, wait!" Reimu said. "You don't have to…"

"Why not?" Marisa demanded. "I'm probably the only person in the world she'll listen to, ze. I can convince her!"

"I know! I just…uh…" Reimu's cheeks suddenly felt very hot, and she was having difficulty meeting Marisa's eyes. She muttered the rest of the sentence under her breath.

"I'm sorry, what?" Marisa said.

Reimu muttered again.

"Yeah, still can't hear any of that. How about you, Cottontail? I mean, you've got those ginormous ears and all."

"They don't work that way, Marisa."

Reimu took a deep breath and said, quite clearly, "I don't want to make it seem like I made up with you just so you'll talk to Mima for me."

Marisa stared at her. Then she started laughing. "Seriously? That's what you're worried about?"

"So what if I am?" Reimu said with a scowl. "I'm just getting a little sick of people manipulating their friends to get what they want. I don't want to do it either."

"Well, did you?" Marisa pressed. "Get back with me just to get at Mima I mean."

"No!"

"Well, there yah go, ze." Marisa shook her head in disgust. "Seriously, Reddie. I'm trying to do you a favor here. Don't make everything about your messed up feelings."

"Okay, okay," Reimu muttered. "Sorry."

Marisa cupped her hand around her ear. "Still not hearing you right, could you repeat that?"

"Go and boil your head."

As Marisa laughed, Reisen said, "But are you sure you can do it? I mean, I don't know that much about her, but it doesn't sound like she's the sort of person who'll do something she doesn't want to, no matter who was asking."

"You forget who convinced her to fight Yuuka Kazami with me," Marisa snickered. "And it ain't gonna be that hard. Watch this."

Taking a deep breath, Marisa bellowed, "Hey MIMA! GOTTA TALK TO YOU!"

"Of course, dear," said a silky smooth voice. "What's on your mind?"

Both Reimu and Reisen lurched back, the latter letting out a cry of surprise. The green-haired spirit was now in their midst, floating directly above the kotatsuin. One arm was resting on the elbow of the other, which in turn was reaching up so she could tap her cheek with her index finger. A wry smile of amusement sat on her lips.

"What?" Reisen said, her mind clouded by shock. "Huh? How did…Out of nowhere…Huh?"

Reimu's eyes flitted from one magician to the other. "Wha-what was that? Do you got some sort of weird spell that, I don't know, makes it so you can always hear each other?"

Marisa and Mima chuckled at that. Reimu found herself disturbed by how similar their laughs were. "Good heavens, no," Mima said. "Marisa values her continued independence far too much to allow me to get away with anything like that. But I do like to keep track with what happens at my shrine."

So that was how Mima had known about Reisen. Reimu felt a surge of indignation rise up within her. "You've got spying spells set up here? In my freaking home? I don't remember saying you could do that! And the hell? Your shrine? Bull! It's not yours, it's mine!"

"I think you'll find that my seat among the Ringleaders says otherwise," Mima said in an idle tone. "But relax. No harm intended. It's just that news travels so slowly around here, and I wished to be informed should anything important pop up."

Reimu gaped. "But…it's my shrine! And you never told me!" She turned her attention to Marisa. "And you knew about this?"

"Uh, yeah?" Marisa said. "You didn't?"

Reimu opened her mouth to start yelling again, but Reisen suddenly grabbed her by the bicep. "Please, not now," she whispered. Reimu shot her a dirty look but settled for a grudging nod.

"Fine," she said. "Later then. But trust me on this, there will be a later."

"Isn't there always?" Mima said, sounding not concerned in the slightest. "But we digress. After all, my, ahem, intrusive habits aren't the reason I was summoned here. Marisa dear, I believe you said you had something you wanted to say?"

"As if you didn't already-" Reimu started to say, but stopped when Reisen's fingers tightened on her arm. She bit back her anger and waited.

As for Marisa, she was wholly at ease with the task at hand. "Yup. Would'ja mind terribly helping them out with their crazy plan to save the psychotic blob of death that eats people? Because I think they'd really appreciate it."

"I'm sure they would," Mima said. She spread her hands. "But I must admit, I find myself without an adequate reason why I should do anything. After all, they did not live up to their end of the bargain."

Marisa snorted. "Yeah, and I didn't want them to, remember?"

"Which is all well and good, but the point remains. What reason do I have to contribute to such a foolhardy exercise?"

Marisa's answer came without hesitation. "Because it's interesting, challenging, experimental, lets you play with magics that you haven't experimented with yet, lets you get a firsthand look at what makes that Satsuki kid tick, and gives you one hell of an opportunity to make a whole lot of people look stupid without them being about to do anything about it, ze. Oh yeah, and you've got nothing else going on right now."

"Ah, those are some excellent reasons," Mima said as her face brightened. She turned to Reimu. "I must say, while I do not hold the same feelings of altruism that drive your own involvement, I am always up for a new challenge. And Marisa is right, I really don't have anything better to do right now." She shrugged and smiled. "All right, I'm in."

"You…you are?" Reimu said suspiciously.

"But of course! Why would I have said so were it otherwise? We can discuss the exact nature of my involvement another time. For now, there are certain customs that must be observed."

"Huh?"

"Why, I speak of your lovely guest, of course," Mima said, motioning to the Lunarian rabbit who clutched at Reimu's arm. "And one whom I have not had the pleasure of being formally introduced to. Come now, Reimu. Mind your manners."

Reimu's dark eyes flitted from Mima to Reisen. "Remember what I said," she hissed to the trembling rabbit. "Let me do the talking." She cleared her throat and said, "Uh, well. Mima, this is Reisen of Eientei. She's the one who raised Rin Satsuki and the person who asked me to help the little nutcase out. She's also going to be staying with us for the time being due to…domestic problems, which, by the way, you are not to take advantage of like you usually do. Reisen, this is-"

"Madam Mima," the spirit finished for her. "Evil Spirit of Makai, Grand Sorceress of the now defunct Order of the Poison Sky, former High Warlord of the Serpentine Marauders, retired Mistress of the Fortress of Silence, ex-mentor to this little scamp here," she playfully ruffled Marisa's hair, making the young witch cringe in embarrassment, "and current representative of Hakurei Shrine on the court of Yukari Yakumo. My dear Reisen Udongeinin Inaba, it is an absolute pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."

And, before Reimu could stop her, Mima swept up Reisen's hand with her own and pressed her lips to its back.

…

As soon as she realized what was happening, Reisen jerked her hand back with a cry of alarm. She stumbled back half-a-step, and when she looked up again, she was no longer in the shrine.

She stood atop a stone tower, several hundred feet high. Above, the night sky, clearer than any she had ever seen in Gensokyo, stretched like a canopy of black silk embroidered with tiny diamonds. She had not seen so many stars since leaving the Moon, and seeing the Milky Way Galaxy once again naked above her brought it all back with a thrilling sense of shock. It felt like tearing the scab off a wound that she had forgotten she had. And the pain was glorious.

As Reisen stared slack-jawed at the beautiful scene above her, a soft voice said, "It's lovely, isn't it? And before you ask, you're still in Gensokyo, more-or-less. I just enjoyed an unobstructed view of my…future prospects."

With yet another shock Reisen realized that she was not alone. Mima was there, sitting on the far wall. What was more, she was alive. Or at least, she had a physical body, one that was clad with a poison-green robe adorned with silver jewelry. A staff topped with a golden crescent moon was held in her right hand. But other than that, the sapphire blue eyes, the emerald green hair and the tall cap decorated with a golden sun were all the same.

Mima laughed in response to Reisen's staring. "Surprised? Don't be. Though I haven't worn this body for a time long forgotten by most, I at least still remember. It is good to remember where you came from, I think."

She slipped down from the wall and walked over to Reisen, the tresses of her long robe trailing behind her. "Welcome to the top of the Fortress of Silence," she said as she approached. "Don't read too much into the name, I just thought it sounded ambiguously ominous at the time."

Reisen found her voice. "This?" she squeaked. "This is…your home?"

"Once," Mima said. She looked up to the sky, her face will with longing. "A long time ago. And a fine home it was, with everything an ambitious young conqueror could want. I was sorry to see it go."

"What? But…" Reisen shook her head and tried to recover her wits. "But, if it's gone, then where…"

"A memory," Mima said, looking down. "The actual fortress was destroyed over six hundred years ago, and what little remains is sealed up underground. No, this is the Fortress as I knew it. I still come here, at times, to think." She pressed a hand against her right leg. "And remember."

When Reisen didn't answer, Mima said, "A bit of a nasty surprise, I would imagine. Coming here, seeing me like this. I hope you'll forgive my bringing you here so abruptly, but I wanted to speak to you in private, without…outside influences and interferences."

Reisen swallowed. "You mean Reimu?"

"Reimu, Marisa, Genji, Yukari, and anyone who might drop in unexpectedly," Mima said. "Oh, don't worry. They won't notice we're gone, because we haven't left. This is all taking place in my head, free from the boundaries of time. When it is over, I shall remove my lips from your hand and mock Reimu as she tries to lecture me, with no one the wiser."

"We're in your head?" Reisen said in horror. "But-"

Mima waved off her protests. "I am well aware of your history of spending time in other people's minds. I assure you, this is far from the same thing as being imprisoned within the fractured psyche of your wayward prodigy. This is to serve the purpose of giving us space to talk, nothing else. You need fear no harm while you're here."

"But…"

"If you believe me to be speaking a falsehood, something that I fully understand, perhaps this will set your mind at ease: I, Madam Mima, holder of all those titles that I just told you, do swear by the things that I hold most dear, by my name, my reputation, my power and the life of my ward Marisa Kirisame, that my purposes for bringing you here are exactly as I have told you, and will visit upon you no harm, be it physical, mental or spiritual. We shall talk, nothing more, and you will be released back to your body at our conversation's conclusion, alive and well."

Despite the sorceress's vow, Reisen was far from reassured. "And why do you even want to talk to me?" she said, careful to keep a fair distance between her and Mima. "Especially in secret?"

"You do realize that if I wanted to hurt you, a few extra feet would mean nothing, right?" Mima snickered. "And as for why I would want to exchange a few private words with you, I'm actually somewhat surprised by the question. My dear child, have you any idea what you have done?"

Reisen blinked. What was she talking about? Did she mean attacking Eirin and running away? True, that was pretty bad, but it had been out of desperation, and Eirin had fully recovered from what she had heard.

"It seems that you do not," Mima said. "Or at least, you do not fully grasp the enormity of your actions."

"What-"

"Reisen, I am going to ask you some questions, and I want an honest answer to each one. They do not have to be correct, but I do want to know your true feelings on these matters. Understand?"

Apprehension welled up inside of Reisen, but she nodded. What else could she do?

"First," Mima said. "I want to know who you believe to be the most evil person currently walking Gensokyo. And," she said as Reisen opened her mouth to ask a question, "the term 'walking' is simply metaphorical. No actual leg movement is necessary. To be active within Gensokyo's borders is enough. Furthermore, you may use the commonly accepted definition of the word 'evil', should you wish." After a brief pause, she added, "This is not a trick question. I am not planning on manipulating any of the meanings to the words I used. Simply answer as honestly as you can. Who do you believe is the most evil person currently active within Gensokyo?"

Reisen thought hard. She reviewed the names of all the monsters she had read about, all matter of goblins and ghouls and youkai and spirits, but none of them seemed to fit. She thought of the few villains she had encountered during her time since her arrival, but none of them really fit either. After all, while she certainly resented Eirin for what she had done to Rin and her methods of dealing with the consequences, she did not think of her former master as evil. Yukari Yakumo, while dangerous, was more of a highly zealous opposing force. And despite everything she had heard of Yuuka Kazami, she had no personal history with the notorious youkai. Any feelings toward her were all second and third-hand.

She almost named Mima herself as her answer. After all, that would be the most logical answer. Her own knowledge of Mima's history was spotty at best, but based upon what Reimu had told her, the spirit had once been a villain of the worst sort, and had never truly repented her past sins. But then, she was faced with the same problem with naming Yuuka Kazami. Sure, Reisen had been told that Mima was evil and dangerous, but she had never witnessed it for herself. Mima had done no harm to her or anyone she cared about, and most of her villainous acts had either been done before Reisen had been exiled to Gensokyo or occurred somewhere where they could not affect her. While she did not doubt what she had been told in the slightest, the question had been quite specific: Reisen was to name the person that she personally felt was the most evil, not who was the most logical choice.

And then, she remembered intense heat, burning lavender eyes, and mocking laughter. She remembered Tewi falling to the ground, clutching a disgusting black wound as she writhed in pain. She remembered Princess Kaguya and Fujiwara no Mokou screaming in silence as their bodies dissolved. She remembered being struck to the ground as fear paralyzed her. She remembered being convinced that her life was about to end as a horrifically twisted blade being held above her head. And she remembered whose body this person had stolen in order to inflict so much misery.

And, as all these memories came rushing back to her, she knew there was only one way she could answer.

"The Shadow Youkai," she said softly. "That's my answer. The Shadow Youkai is the most evil."

Mima raised a single elegant eyebrow and nodded in approval. "Ah, an excellent answer. For, though she shares this country with many a monster, myself included, she, out of all of us, is perhaps the only without any redeeming features to speak of. After all, Yuuka Kazami does have her set of principles, twisted as they are. I have people I care about and have willingly done things that many would see as noble. But she?" She held up her left hand. Green fire hissed into existence above the palm, which quickly changed shape and color, forming itself into the hideous form that Reisen remembered briefly glimpsing during the Ringleader meeting, a form that had been torn from the memories of a dead man. That of the Shadow Youkai. "The beast who delights in slaughter for slaughter's sake and is driven by nothing except her desire to kill? And is, in many ways, responsible for the seek-and-destroy order that has been sent against your prodigy? Yes, you have answered correctly on two counts."

Reisen blinked in surprise. "Two?"

"Indeed." Mima closed her hand, banishing the horrible image. "Your answer was both honest and correct. She is the person whom you have the most cause to consider a monster, and, by any objective set of guidelines, she is currently the most evil person, the most blackhearted fiend, the one with the most corrupted soul to be found within the length and breadth of Gensokyo. Well done."

Reisen felt a small flurry of relief, but didn't let herself relax. After all, Mima had said there would be more questions.

"And now for the second question," Mima said. "The same rules apply. Who do you believe to be the most deadliest person within Gensokyo?"

That question took Reisen by surprise. Deadliest? Wasn't that also the Shadow Youkai? Reisen was pretty sure it should be. But was that really the true answer? After all, the Shadow Youkai was, when it came down to it, just a killing machine. And death was far from the worst thing that could happen to someone, or the most damaging.

And then, with a feeling of dread, Reisen realized the answer. She did not want to say it, but Mima had demanded honesty.

"Rin," she whispered. "Rin is the most deadly."

Mima again raised her eyebrow, but this time there was no smile. "Rin? As if in, Rin Satsuki? The focal point of this enterprise?"

Reisen averted her gaze. She wrapped her arms around herself and nodded.

"Hmmm, well. That is a good answer. And judging by your face, though you hate yourself for it, it is also an honest one, which is exactly what I requested. But ultimately incorrect."

"What?" Reisen said, her head snapping back up.

"There is no doubt that poor little Rin is very deadly. In fact, I would rank her in the top five, a list that includes such characters as the aforementioned Shadow Youkai, Yuuka Kazami and our very own Yukari Yakumo. But does she sit in the number one position? No, I'm afraid she does not."

"I…Uh…" Reisen felt hopelessly lost. What was Mima getting at?

"Rin is limited by her temperament, and she currently has everyone and their ancestors hunting her down. She will be found sooner or later, and when that happens the havoc she can wreak is limited before she is brought down. The same applies to Yuuka Kazami and the Shadow Youkai. Should either of those two decide that the time has come for a rampage, the fallout will leave hundreds, if not thousands dead and the land tortured and scarred. But in the end, Gensokyo will survive to lick its wounds and recover, and those two will no longer be in it. Yukari can erase this country with a thought, and she certainly has no compulsions about sacrificing others to achieve her aims. But again, she is limited by her very nature, and can no more willing act against this land she loves than Reimu has walking unaided through walls!"

"Then who-"

"Reisen, what do you know about me? My history? You've spent some weeks in the ancestral home of my former arch-nemeses, so you must have learned something?"

"Er…" Reisen pushed her hair back as she thought. "I know you used to be some kind of…evil sorceress…"

"'Used to be'?" Mima repeated, her tone gentle but mocking.

Reisen's knees started knocking against each other. "Well, I mean even…I mean…"

"Calm down, child. My promise stands. I will not be offended by your answers. Speak clearly and honestly."

Reisen swallowed and nodded. "Reimu told me how you used to do evil things all the time, like trying to poison the Humans' farms or corrupt fairies and turn them into living bombs. And she said that her family was always fighting to stop you."

"Eh, a bit of an understated version of our long and violent history together, but not inaccurate. Continue."

"Uh, I also know that you tried to take over Makai once-"

"Yes." Mima smiled at the memory. "And I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for that meddling shrine maiden."

"-and that you were kind of a big name during the Magician's War-"

"'Kind of'?" Mima said, her brow rising. She shook her head. "My dear, that is not only a gross understatement, it's damned near an insult."

"I'm sorry!" Reisen blurted out in panic "I didn't mean-"

"I know you didn't, which is why you still draw breath. But I feel compelled to set the story straight: I was not a 'big name' in the Magician's War." Mima's emerald eyes glittered. "I bloody well started the whole thing."

Reisen had absolutely no idea what to say.

"It's amazing really, to read now in history books about events that I participated in first-hand. So often I shake my head at how skewed the accounts had become, that the whole ordeal was a simple matter of one group of spellcasters desiring to bring Gensokyo under their thumb, and the rest of the country's magicians allying against them. One might as well claim that Yukari once led the youkai against your former home out of a genuine desire to conquer the Lunarians."

Reisen, who was at least familiar with that, or at least the Lunarian recounting of it, was surprised. "She didn't?"

"Goodness, no. If she had, she wouldn't have lost, now would she? As for myself, my aim had nothing to do with the desire for territory. The war itself was what mattered. I, after all, had debts needed to repay to…certain benefactors of mine. And blood is a currency that never falls out of use."

The magnitude of what Mima was telling her descended upon Reisen like a crushing weight. "Wait," she gasped, taking a step back. "You…you mean the war, all those people…"

Mima shrugged. "Everything comes with a price, and I had made some very expensive purchases. Fortunately, skullduggery is a game I have long mastered. It wasn't hard, really. Simply a few dropped words over tea with certain persons of influence, the odd bribery, a whisper or two in the ears of their enemies, and before you knew it, war. Of course I had to ally myself with one of the sides to ensure it kept going long enough to satisfy my patronages, but seeing how much fun the whole thing turned out to be, it really was a win-win for me."

Reisen was considering throwing herself from the top of the tower just to escape this monster's company when she remembered everything Reimu had told her about Mima.

"You're lying," she said before she had time to choose more tactful words.

Mima actually stiffened. "Excuse me?"

Realizing how blunt she had been, Reisen winced and backpedaled. "I'm sorry, that came out-"

"You misunderstand me, I do not take offense," Mima said, her voice tinged with wonder. "Straightforward accusations of deceitfulness are nothing I am not used to. I am simply…surprised to hear them from you. Usually they come from those who know me well. But still, I ask that you continue."

Reisen inhaled through her teeth. No choice now. "Well, I may not know you, not personally. But I've been at the shrine for a few weeks now, and Reimu-"

"Told you that I was a liar, a cheat, a manipulator of hearts and twister of words?" Mima filled in for her, her lips twisting into the smirk she felt most comfortable wearing.

"Well, yeah," Reisen admitted. "She said that I shouldn't trust you or believe anything you say." Then, with a small jolt of fear, she remembered something additional. "In fact, she didn't want me to talk to you at all, at least not before…Oh crap…"

Mima raised an imaginary glass in a mocking toast to Reimu's precautions. "And she was wise to insist as much. Unfortunately, should I wish to speak to someone without interference, there is little she, or anyone else for that matter, can do about it. And you are quite justified in your suspicions. I might very well be lying. The war might have been nothing more than a greedy grab for power, and my defeat at the hands of my inferiors might have been genuine. But how are you to tell which parts are true and which are fabricated? If nothing else, it only further illustrates the point I am about to make."

"What point is that?" Reisen asked.

"Simply this: given everything I've done, everything I'm capable of, and everything I've tried to accomplish, you would think I would be drained of my power and sealed up in the deepest reaches of Hell!"

Mima spread her arms, and above the stars started to spin around the tower's apex at a dizzying rate. "And yet, here I am, without my followers and fortress, to be certain, but with full command of my powers. Unrestricted and unbound, and, most importantly, with no small measure of control over Hakurei Shrine and its maiden. Eight fruitless centuries of trying to remove the thorn that is the Hakurei family from my side, and all it took was playing nice for a few years for Yukari to hand me what I fought so long to obtain, simply because it was convenient! Why, if I were of a mind, I could float right up to Reimu, the only surviving Hakurei, wish her a good morning, and blow her head right off! With a thought I could reduce the shine to nothing more than a crater and a memory. And, before anyone else has time to stop me, I could use the knowledge I've gained by taking advantage of my newfound access to the Great Barrier's linchpin and speak a spell that will bring it crashing down on everyone's heads!"

"So no," Mima said as Reisen stared in horror. "Rin Satsuki is not the most deadly. I am."

Reisen was already afraid. But now the ice water in her veins froze solid. She couldn't speak. She couldn't move. She could barely breathe. All she could do was stand stock-still and pray.

Then Mima laughed. "Oh, relax. Just because I can do something does not mean I will. My retirement was genuine, I assure you. I am simply illustrating a point, one that so many people seem to have forgotten. You would think that Yukari out of all people would know better, but despite her zealousness and ruthless nature, it sometimes seems like she has difficulty remembering anything past sixty years. Why, I wouldn't be surprised to find Yuuka Kazami herself living at this very same shrine sometime in the far future, sipping tea with Reimu's descendant!"

"But I've nattered enough on that," Mima said. She lowered her arms, and the stars came to rest. "And you have one more question to answer. Tell me Reisen, whom do you believe to be the most dangerous person in Gensokyo?"

Now Reisen was completely confused. Wasn't that the same thing as deadly? Hadn't Mima just named herself as the answer?

"No, they're not the same," Mima said, almost as if she had read Reisen's thoughts. "Deadly implies ability to cause harm, whereas dangerous concerns an active tendency to do so. A fully trained magician who has a strong sense of self-control and morality is certainly deadly, but not necessarily dangerous. But while a madman with a knife is not capable of the same kind of destruction as a magician, he certainly is far more dangerous. But I agree that the phrasing is somewhat confusing, so let's simplify things: who do you fear the most?"

All right, that explanation helped. But still, the answer remained the same. "It's you," Reisen said. "It…it has to be. You just told me what sort of person you are, and how you can destroy Gensokyo if you felt like it. So it makes sense-"

Mima's eyes flashed and she slammed the butte of her staff to the ground. A noise like a thunderclap slammed into Reisen's eardrums, doubling her over. A split-second later, she was bowled over by a wave of force that shot out from Mima in all directions.

"Sense!" Mima roared. "It makes sense? Did I ask you what made sense, what was the most logical answer? No, I did not! I asked for your true feelings, what you instinctively believed! You have just met me and only hold the most rudimentary knowledge of my deeds, hardly enough to make me the person you fear the most!"

Coughing, Reisen tried to rise to her feet. "I'm sorry, I-"

Another shockwave knocked her over.

"Honestly child," Mima continued, "if you truly believed that I were the most dangerous being in Gensokyo, you would be tripping over yourself to get away as warm urine poured down your leg, if you weren't paralyzed with fear!"

Reisen cowered, bracing herself for another attack. But when it didn't come, she raised her trembling head to see Mima watching her, disappoint filling her sapphire eyes.

"Get up," Mima said irritably.

Reisen did so, raising herself up on weak arms and stumbling to her feet.

"Now, let's try this again: who is the most dangerous person in Gensokyo?" Mima said.

Reisen took in a deep breath to steady her nerves and said, "E-Eirin," she said, her mouth feeling like cotton. "It's Eirin."

"That's better," Mima said grudgingly. "And a good answer it is. After all, she is in many ways just as ruthless as Yukari, and acts as your closest opponent in this enterprise. Furthermore, with Yukari currently on the bench, Eirin's intelligence and skill makes her the most likely to upset your attempts to rescue your sweet little girl, and the desperation forced upon her by recent events have made her dangerous indeed. But it's a bit too late for that answer, I'm afraid. You should have answered honestly from the beginning, instead of trying to think of the answer that I would have agreed with."

Reisen said nothing in response. She just stood still with her head bowed.

"Furthermore, if we examine the question again from an objective standpoint, you would be incorrect yet again. It's true, my current position leaves me free to do a great deal of damage in a short amount of time, and I certainly possess the temperament of someone who would actually do such a thing, but just because I am capable of bring the Barrier down does mean I will! And just because I can sell you and your allies out does not mean that I will. Remember my analogy of the magician and the madman?"

"But aren't you both?" Reisen said before she could stop herself. When she realized what she had said, she clapped both hands over her mouth and braced herself to be knocked over.

But Mima just laughed. "There are those who might say so. But you are missing the point. You are correct in judging me dangerous. You are correct in fearing me. But Marisa was right: I have nothing going on at the moment, no plots or schemes to occupy my time. I am not currently active, therefore I cannot be the most dangerous. Therefore, that title must fall to someone who is active, someone who is now working towards a dangerous goal and has seen a surprising amount of success, someone who is the most likely upset the fragile peace that current hold Gensokyo together and tear it like a spiderweb."

When Reisen didn't immediately produce a name, Mima smiled and said, "Isn't it obvious, Lunarian? The most dangerous person in Gensokyo is you."

…

Deep Within

Violet-tinted branches moved as Rin's physical hand pushed them aside. "I think they're gone," Rin told Rumia, who was sitting next to her and resting her chin on her fist, watching the screen.

"Is that so," Rumia muttered. She sighed and moved her head from one fist to the other. "Well, hip-hip-hooray, we dodged a gang of fairies. Freedom must be right around the corner."

"Cut me some slack, I'm doing the best I can here," Rin snapped. "And hey, I got the death field thing under control, didn't I?"

"Okay, okay, you did good there," Rumia admitted. "But we can't hide under a bush forever. In fact, I'm still scratching my head and wondering why we haven't gone underground again."

The last few hours had been nothing short of harrowing. Ever since Rin had been knocked off course by that oni and redirected back to the surface, their bad luck had become downright awful. First they had scared the wits out of a couple of mosquito youkai and had been scared in turn, and then, upon diving back toward the ground, they had come face-to-face with a mad hermit who had immediately given chase, which in turn had driven them right into a caravan of traders heading toward the Youkai Market, and things had continued to deteriorate from there.

But now, it seemed that they had managed to evade their pursuers. Which meant it was time to decide what to do next.

Rin scowled at the question. "Because every time we go underground, we end up running into a cave of people who hurt me or run off to find other people who hurt me!"

"So we've been a little unlucky-"

"A little!"

"Okay, so our luck sucks," Rumia amended. "That doesn't mean that every square inch of the Underground is cave infested. Besides, if that chase means anything, it's that there's even more people up here who want to hurt you!

Her words were starting to have an effect, but Rin still looked troubled. "Look, you don't have to dig to the center of the Earth or anything," Rumia pressed. "Just corkscrew down like ten feet and stay there. If you keep filling the hole in behind you like you always do, we should be fine."

"All right," Rin muttered, her shoulders slumping. "I'll give it a shot."

The now familiar sight of dissolving dirt filled the screen, and Rumia allowed herself to relax a little bit. While she was not looking forward to the monotonous boredom that came with hiding with Rin, it was better than the blind panic that happened when they were caught.

Unfortunately, her expected hours of uninterrupted tedium were never realized, because Rin got no further than seven feet down before suddenly bursting into open space.

This time, Rin managed to catch herself before she fell too far and swung up to cling to the ceiling. The cave they had found themselves was only about eleven feet high and eight feet across, though its length stretched out of sight in both directions, making it more of a corridor.

And every inch of the floor was covered with four-foot slugs that squirmed and wriggled over each other. The walls were coated with their slime.

Rin and Rumia stared at the disgusting scene, their minds linked by a single thought: why did this keep happening?

And then Rumia had a sickening thought. "Rin, look at the hole," she whispered.

"What hole?" Rin said. "What are…Oh, right."

The view shifted upward, toward the hole in the ceiling that Rin had left in her wake. And, just as Rumia had feared, all of the dissolved earth was now pouring out of it, into the mass of slimy bodies.

As soon as the silt hit their backs, the slugs panicked and tried to crawl out of the way. But as they were surrounded and, in many cases, covered by dozens of their fellows, this set off a chain reaction as a virtual shockwave of mucus-covered bodies spread out from the falling earth, causing mass confusion.

To the slugs' credit, they were able to reorganize themselves with surprising quickness. Then, as one, they turned what passed for their faces up toward where Rin was clinging, their antennae stretched out and reaching.

"Rin," Rumia said, slowly so as to control her nausea. "Why are we still here? Move it!"

"Why?" Rin said. "They're slugs. What are theyOW!"

Immediately Rin's physical body found itself under attack as the slugs spewed balls of grey-green acidic mucus at her, which clung to her body and burned the surrounding ceiling.

"They sneeze acid!" Rin cried. She clawed at her arms, as if that would get the stuff off her physical body. "Why do they sneeze acid?"

Rumia smacked the back of Rin's head. "Because you never learn, you idiot! Everything in this country is dangerous! Now, move!"

This time Rin had no problem with obeying, but again Rumia's relief was short-lived.

"NO!" she screamed, grabbing Rin's shoulders and spinning her around so that they were face-to-face. "Down! Not up!"

"But there's slugs!"

"So? Set yourself on fire and burn through them!"

"But what if they're sentient?"

"They're! Freaking! SLUGS!"

As Rumia and Rin struggled, they forgot to pay attention to where they were going. As such, they didn't notice that they were already above the clouds until a rough voice from the outside shouted, "Hey! Careful, you almost hit us!"

Rin and Rumia stopped fighting. They turned toward the screen to see three Humans and two squirrel youkai hovering nearby, all of them wearing loose black uniforms.

Their leader, one of the squirrel youkai, was glaring at them with her arms folded across her chest. "Slow down!" she shouted. "This place is hard enough to patrol without you speed demons zipping every which way!"

Reimu and Rin exchange a look, disbelief written all over their faces. Really? Did this person just mistake them for a random passerby? Was it really going to be that easy?

"What do I do?" Rin whispered, forgetting that she didn't need to.

"Play along," Rumia said. "Don't tip them off to who you really are."

Rin nodded. She cleared her throat and turned toward the screen.

She said, "Sorry about that…uh…"

"Officer," Rumia hissed.

"Officer," Rin repeated, nodding her thanks. "I'll watch where I'm going."

The GPF officer still looked upset, but she sighed and said, "Okay, fine. Just be careful next…What? What?"

That last part was directed toward one of the Humans, who was frantically tugging on her sleeve. Rumia's heart fell as the Human leaned over to whisper in the squirrel's ear, his eyes wide and full of dread as they remained fixated on Rin.

"Sheriff," he whispered, unaware that Rin could hear him. "Isn't that-"

To Rin's credit, she didn't need Rumia to tell her what to do this time. She thrust her hands at the GPF patrol and the screen exploded with flashes of light as she unleashed a spray of multicolored sparks. Less than a second later, before the patrol finished swooping out of the way, Rin was already speeding off in the other direction, tearing through the clouds as fast as her stolen energy would take her.

…

"M-me?" Reisen stuttered, her brain locked up in shock. "But…I can't be…"

"I assure you, you are," Mima said. The sorceress held her staff into the air and released it. It floated in place, and Mima walked over to lay a hand on Reisen's shoulder. "It's just that no one but me has figured it out."

Mima's hand was unnaturally cold. Reisen jerked out of her grasp and said, "But how is that possible?"

"Hmmm, a very good question. Let's examine the situation, shall we?" Mima turned and started to pace around the tower's circumference, speaking as she walked. "To begin, what is you ultimate goal?"

"My…what?"

"Did I misspeak, rabbit? Stutter? Why are you doing all of this?"

Reisen gaped at her. "Don't you already know? Weren't you listening to us all those weeks?"

"Humor me, please."

"I want to save Rin!" Reisen yelled. "That's it! I just want to get her back, to fix her, to make her normal again!"

"And then the two of you will go off together and spend the rest of your lives in peace, I presume?" Mima asked, motioning dramatically in the air. "Live happily ever after, or the closest equivalent?"

"Of course!"

"Despite the fact that thanks to Eirin Yagokoro's experiments, her long period of isolation, the extreme abuse she has suffered and the fact that she's got a superpowered homicidal sociopath lurking somewhere in her head, Rin is still insanely dangerous, yes? Every second she runs free, countless lives teeter on the brink, all thanks to her imperfect metamorphosis!"

Reisen closed her eyes and gritted her teeth. There it was, the biggest problem with her agenda. "I'll…we'll find a way," she said at last. "There's a way, and we'll find it."

"And you'll do just about anything to achieve your goal, will you not?"

"I…uh…" Reisen faltered. While there was no denying that her quest to rescue her surrogate daughter was causing her to make choices and do things that she would have never considered otherwise, but there were still a great many things that she was certain that she couldn't be capable of.

Then again, at the start of the year, she had been certain that she was incapable of using her power on Eirin…

"Don't bother answering," Mima said. She was now standing directly across from Reisen, on the other end of the tower's roof. She turned to face the rabbit. "Despite your hesitation, your actions against your master have proved as much. Which is precisely why you're so dangerous."

"But I didn't mean to!" Reisen blurted. "It just sort of happened!"

"Did it now? And what of pulling Reimu aside and asking for her help? Did that, as you say, 'just sort of happen'?"

"Of course not! But what does that have to do with anything?"

"She still doesn't see," Mima said with a sad shake of her head. "My dear, it's like this: despite the fact that Rin Satsuki is now Public Enemy Number One, or at least she was at the time, you sought to undermine the entire campaign to bring her down, endangering everyone in the process!"

"I didn't!" Reisen protested, her cheeks growing hot. "I only-"

"Don't be ridiculous, of course you did. Certainly, putting everyone in danger was an unintended consequence, but you had to be aware that it would happen, correct? And yet you did it anyway."

The lump in Reisen's throat grew larger, making it difficult to speak. Was Mima right? Was she really no better than the likes of Eirin or Yukari, just with different goals?

Mima started her trek around the tower again, making her way toward Reisen. "But of course you couldn't do it on your own, now could you? You needed help, someone with power and connections. Of course it couldn't be Eirin. Her thoughts on the matter had no doubt been made clear by then. So you sought someone else out. You went to Reimu. Why?"

"Because…" Reisen said, choking the words out. "…because…I thought…"

"You thought that, thanks to the fact that she was a shrine maiden, a mortal and in possession of no real political power to speak of, you would be able to speak to her on more equal footing than if you had approached Kanako or Shinki, correct? And given her reputation as someone who helps people, if in somewhat of a rough manner, you believed that she might give ear to your pleas."

"What's…what's wrong with that?"

"Nothing. But it is significant. You see, you didn't just approach Reimu Hakurei, the crabby shrine maiden who lives in perpetual poverty and solves problems. You approached the Hakurei Shrine Maiden, an office that has diplomatic immunity written all over it! Thanks to what she is, and the fact that she really doesn't give a shit, she can and does speak to anyone about anything whenever she damned well feels like it. And because no one of among the Ringleaders would dare touch her, she gets away with it too!"

Mima completed her circle of the tower's top. She now paced around Reisen, who was doing her best not to move.

"And thanks to who, and what, she is, Hakurei Shrine now stands united with Moriya Shrine and Myouren Temple! The three most important places of worship within Gensokyo, one old; one new…well, new to this country at least; and one restored, have put aside their rivalries and have joined forces in a mad scheme that puts their very people in danger of death and their leaders of being sacked by Yukari, should she ever find out! You've gotten the guardian of the barrier, two ancient and powerful goddess and one of the most powerful mages the world has ever seen to ally with you; and all with their respective abilities, influential powers, and vast resources…well, two of them at least…now at your disposal! Well done!"

Reisen felt like vomiting.

"But that's not all," Mima continued. She stopped in front of Reisen and favored her with a warm smile. "When it became apparent that Eirin had become a serious threat to your plans, you attacked her and ran off to seek sanctuary where she couldn't get you. Never mind that Eientei's influence among the rabbit tribes was already in precarious state thanks to the loss of Kaguya Houraisan and the now common knowledge that Eirin had created the monster that made it all happen. But now that you've openly defied her and left her weakened and defeated, I wouldn't be surprised if the tribal leaders are already considering giving her the boot!"

"Tewi wouldn't let them," Reisen said weakly.

"Oh?" Mima raised an eyebrow. "Is she that trustworthy and loyal then?"

Without waiting for an answer, Mima spun around and headed back to where her staff was floating. "Regardless of your intentions, the fact remains: you have united three important political powers in a reckless quest and heavily destabilized a fourth. And yet, despite all this, very few people are paying attention to you. Byakuren and Kanako are more focused on Reimu as their leader, whereas Eirin seeks you primarily because she doesn't want you to do something incredibly stupid. Simply by acting, you are breaking apart the fragile alliances Yukari has forced left and right, and I don't believe you have any intention of stopping."

Mima snatched her staff out of the air and, twirling it like a showman's cane, she turned to again face Reisen. "And to top it all off, you are incurring the services of the most deadliest being in Gensokyo. You have sought the services of Madam Mima and gained them, all without trying." Her teeth flashed as she grinned. "So, to answer your question, I wanted to speak with you in private because, unlike those fools running about willy-nilly trying to backstab and manipulate each other for whatever reason, I am not about to underestimate you, Reisen Udongein Inaba. You are overlooked, you are moving, and you are dangerous. And, to me, that makes you interesting! So, that is the real reason I am throwing my lot with you."

Mima again tapped the stones with the butte of her staff. Reisen cried out in fear and covered her eyes as the tower collapsed under her, its dark stones crashing against each other as they tumbled in a tumultuous avalanche. But instead of falling with them, she felt nothing at all, save for the sudden loss of the cool stone beneath her feet.

Peeking out from behind her fingers, Reisen gasped when she saw that she and Mima were now hurtling up through the atmosphere, though she felt no wind tear at her body. Their speed increased, and soon they had left the atmosphere, passed by the Moon (had she managed to catch a glimpse of the Lunarian Capital, even if it had been only for a millisecond?) and were soon traveling through the inky black of space. The stars dashed past, forming a dazzling corridor of speeding lines of light.

"And now, we come to the most important question of all," Mima said, completely without concern for their extraordinary surroundings. Leaning in close, she murmured, "Do you want me?"

Reisen, who had been watching the passing stars with equal measures fascination and terror, jerked her head up at the question. "Wait, what?"

"Well, okay, so maybe that came off as a little too seductive," Mima laughed. "But the question still stands. You now know more about me than you did an hour ago. You know what I am, what I've done…well, enough of it to go on, at least. You know the sort of person I am. Not exactly trustworthy, to be honest. A bit on the deceitful side, at least that's what others say. And very, very dangerous."

"But still," she continued, "I am perhaps the most valuable ally you stand to gain, outside of Reimu herself. You may or may not know this, but I've forgotten more about magic than most master magicians will ever learn, and I have a perfect memory."

Their extraterrestrial journey came to a halt. For a moment they floated there, among the stars.

And then the universe rushed at them. Reisen cowered as the stars, planets, black holes, asteroids, novae and every other celestial body imaginable burned their way past her. And yet, though she could practically feel the heat of their passage, they grew no larger to her eye. The tiny pinpricks of lights remained just as small as they came together and gathered over Mima's outstretched hand.

Soon the entirety of the universe had compressed into a single brightly glowing sphere the size of a grapefruit. It hovered above Mima's hand, the only light to be found in the endless sea of black in which they stood. Reisen was reminded uncomfortably of the dark world deep within Rin's mind.

"I have created more spells than I can be bothered to find names form," Mima murmured, her voice low but strong. "I have fought the very laws of existence and brought them to heel. I have bended reality to my will and made it look easy. I can be a most useful ally, Reisen. If anyone stands a chance of breaking Rin Satsuki free of the prison of her own mutated body, it's me. But is it worth the risk, to throw in your lot with mine? Chose now, and wisely."

Reisen slowly stood to her feet. She swallowed back the lump in her throat and forced her body to stop shaking.

For what felt like eternity, no one spoke. Youkai and sorceress stood still in the void, watching each other through the light of the universe. Reisen's crimson eyes bored into Mima's azure gaze, and vice-versa. Mima smiled as she waited for the answer.

Finally, Reisen made her decision. "Yes," she said.

Mima tilted her head to one side. "Oh, you do?" The smile on her lips twisted into a cruel sneer. "But then, everyone does, in the end."

"And no."

With that answer, Reisen realized that she had accomplished something very few before her had: she had surprised Mima. The sorceress blinked and jerked her head back. "Excuse me? Yes…and no? Dear, I'm afraid you cannot give both answers. It's either one or the other."

"And why not?" Reisen challenged. Something seemed to spring alive within her, a fire that fed off her fear and fueled her determination. As it did, she could swear that she heard a voice whisper in her ear:

Forget the big speeches and the light show. Forget about being impressed and afraid. This is a test. She don't care about whether you want her or not. She just wants to know how you'll answer. So now it's your turn. Impress her. Do something she ain't expectin'.

Heartened by this, Reisen said, "Why does it have to be one or the other? Yes or no? Positive or negative, black and white? I thought I was just trying to do the right thing, but you just got done telling me how much damage I'm causing because of it. You've tried to murder Reimu's ancestors multiple times, but she still tolerates your presence."

"Is there a point in all this?" Mima asked.

"Yes. It's…it's that nothing in this is cut-and-dried. Nothing is simple or easily categorized. Everyone has their reasons for taking the side they have, and they all think they're in the right. There are more shades of grey in this mess than that swill they used to feed us back in the Lunarian Army! So why should my answer be any different?"

Reisen straightened her spine and pointed one finger at Mima. "If you can do half of that stuff you just said, then yes, I do want you as an ally. I want your power; I want your knowledge, your experience. I want Mima the sorceress. But I don't want Mima the snake. I don't want Mima the liar, or the traitor. Things are so dangerous right now that I just can't risk having someone like you around."

"So there's my answer. Yes, and no."

Mima stared at her in amazement. "Well, that was…an interesting answer. And, perhaps, the only correct one you could have given." Her smile slowly returned. "I knew I had made the right choice. My dear, congratulations. You have just successfully incurred the services of Madam Mima, with nothing lost in return except a few grey hairs. You should be proud of yourself, there are few who could say the same."

A sickening feeling moved in Reisen's stomach. "Uh…Wait, I wasn't-"

"Too bad, you've got it. Now, the only question is, what are you going to do with it?" Mima laughed. "Don't worry, you don't have to answer all at once. Sleep on it, talk it over with your other allies. Just don't underestimate the resources you have just gained. Because believe me, they are formidable."

"In fact," Mima said as she drew the glowing sphere closer to her face and regarded it with curious eyes, "I think I'll let you have a bit of a freebie, a something I figured out while nursing Marisa back to health: there is a way to cure Rin, one that has nothing to do with me, or Eirin, or even you. Something everyone seemed to miss, and yet has been sitting in front of their noses all this time!"

Mima's words hit Reisen's brain like a thunderbolt. Her legs gave out from under her and she fell back onto her butt. "W-W-WHAT?" she choked. "A cure? You have one?"

"I just said that I didn't," Mima said, clicking her tongue in disappointment. "But rest assured, one does exist."

"Then…then what? Tell me!"

"Ah, no. That would be telling, and your quest to restore Rin is yours. I must only assist, not solve it for you." Mima smiled at Reisen's stricken expression. "But don't worry. It's not hard to figure out, once you've given it some thought. The answer requires you to look back, into your memories. And there, I think, you will find what you seek, among the answers and questions."

"But…" Reisen whimpered.

"Think about it," Mima said. "Consider my words. And while you're at it, you might want to take another crack at that diary you've been avoiding."

"Huh?" Reisen scampered to her feet. "Rin's diary? It has the answer?"

"Who knows?" Mima said, shrugging. "I haven't read it myself. But, if nothing else, it might nudge your mind in the right direction."

Reisen let her head fall and frowned. She had not opened Rin's diary ever since coming here, unwilling to have her memories tarnished by evidence of Rin's past brattiness.

"Give it some thought," Mima said again. "I'm sure it will come to you." She sighed. "Though I should probably tell you now that if you don't want me to upset the delicate balance of schemes you're setting up, you are not to tell Reimu, or anyone else for that matter, of this time we've just spent together. As far as they're concerned, I kissed the back of your hand as a form of silly mischief, nothing more. Understand?"

Reisen grimaced. She did not like the thought of concealing secrets from Reimu. She did not like it one bit, especially since such secrets had a tendency to backfire spectacularly.

But what choice did she have? "I understand," she said softly.

"Good," Mima said. "Now, let us return to the world of the living."

With that, she squeezed her hand around the sphere, extinguishing the light and plunging them into darkness.

…

"Hey!" Reimu yelped. She grabbed Reisen's arm and wretched it away from Mima's lips. "The hell are you doing?"

Mima looked offended. "Hey now!" she said as she straightened up. "That was uncalled for."

"Like I care! What are you trying to pull?" Reimu demanded as she wrestled the dumbstruck rabbit away.

Marisa stood half to her feet. "Jeez, calm down Reddie! Mima just said that she wants to help you. Show a little respect, will yah?"

Reimu ignored her. She turned her attention to Reisen, who appeared to be lost in a daze. "Reisen, you all right?" she said.

"Of course she's all right," Mima grumbled. "I am capable of greeting someone without putting a hex of them, you know."

"That doesn't mean you won't!" Reimu grabbed the back of Reisen's hand and examined it carefully. Mima's lips had left a wet imprint, which Reimu rubbed at furiously with her sleeve.

Mima sighed. "Reimu, while your concern is flattering, I should point out that had I wished to cast a spell on her, I would hardly need to kiss her to do it. And even if I did, wiping off a bit of saliva would not cancel it out."

"Seriously, chill out," Marisa added. "She's just messing with you. You do make it pretty easy."

"Let me be the judge of that," Reimu said coldly.

"What, that you make is easy? Sorry, but I'm kind of an expert on that subject, so I can say, with some authority, that-"

"Shut up," Reimu said, unwilling to play that game. She returned her attention to Reisen, who was still staring blankly at Mima. "Reisen? Hey, you still with us?"

Reisen glanced at her. "What?"

"Did she do anything to you?" Reimu demanded. "Do you feel any different?"

"Oh. Uh…" Reimu blinked. Her eyes refocused, though not all the way. "Yeah. Sorry, I'm fine. She just…took me by surprise." She managed a weak smile. "I'm fine."

Reimu was less than convince. "Uh-huh. And how do I know that she didn't program you to say that?"

Mima settled own on the kotatsuin, he tail spreading across the heated top. "My dear shrine maiden, you are not making me feel welcome. I am starting to rethink my decision to offer assistance. If you are bound and determined to question me every time I so much as scratch my cheek, perhaps I should just go off and find something else to do. Of course, by doing so, you'll lose the support of Moriya Shrine, leaving you with naught but Myouren Temple. A powerful ally, to be sure, but far from enough for your purposes."

Reimu grimaced. "All right, all right. Just know that I'm keeping an eye on you."

"And you are wise to do so. But even so, I really cannot blame you." Mima batted her eyes and blew the shrine maiden a kiss. "I am worth staring at, after all."

Marisa clapped a hand over her mouth as she snorted back laughter. Reimu found herself wishing that the witch were closer so that she could smack the back of her head without having to go through Mima.

"And now that that's settled," Mima said, clasping her hands in her lap. "There's something else that demands your attention."

Reimu felt her pulse quicken. This couldn't be good. "Yeah?" she said cautiously. "And what's that?"

"The fact that you and Marisa should be gone and out in the field already. After all, Rin Satsuki is currently on the run, and there are a whole lot of people going after her.

The other three occupants of the room could not have been more stunned if lightning had crashed right through the roof to set the kotatsuin on fire and a troupe of fairies had leapt out of the flames to perform the can-can. That at least could have been reasonably blamed on Marisa. But they had grown so accustomed to the idea that Rin Satsuki was laying low and they would have to go and find her that this news shocked them speechless.

Well, all of them except for Marisa of course. "Wh-wh-what?" she stuttered, her eyes looking ready to pop right out of her skull. "When did this happen?"

"Yesterday afternoon," Mima said. "Haven't you heard? She popped up in the Ancient City of all places and got into one hell of a fight with the locals before turning tail and heading back to the surface. When last I checked, she was last seen fleeing into the Great Youkai Forest earlier this morning and was still actively on the move."

A small but highly significant tidbit of information managed to squeeze past the mental blockade that the news had enforced on Reimu's mind. "Wait!" she said with a small gasp. "The Ancient City? Bu-but that's where Suika was!"

"And still is, if my information is correct," Mima told her. "Which, of course, it always is. And as I understand it, she was one of Satsuki's principle opponents."

A cold feeling of dread seeped into Reimu's stomach. "Is she-"

"She's fine. Or at least, alive and ambulatory. I don't know, I didn't bother to check in person. But she definitely survived."

Marisa let out a low whistle. "Damn, that's two-for-two. The next time I see the little goose-stepper, I'm buying her a drink."

Reisen chose that moment to break into the conversation. "Was anyone else hurt?" There was a distinct note of urgency in her voice.

"Oh, most certainly," Mima said amiably. Despite her professed loyalty to Reisen and Reimu's cause and promise to further their intentions, she was clearly enjoying the horror her words was creating. It was who she was. "There were even a couple of fatalities."

Reisen's face went white as a sheet.

"Fortunately for them, they so happened to be either youkai or fairies, and popped back into existence a few moments later. So no, no one was…permanently inconvenienced. But that doesn't change the fact that things down there are currently something of a wreck. So I'd hurry up and find her, if I were you. I understand that competition is fierce, and public opinion really isn't favoring her at the moment."

The witch and the shrine maiden stared dumbfounded at Mima for a few heartbeats longer. Then Reimu leapt up and scrambled into the next room, whereas Marisa held up her hand and summoned her broom to her grasp.

"See yah!" Marisa shouted, throwing open the door and sailing out of the shrine.

"Wait!" Reimu said as she darted after her, her spellcards clutched in her hand. "You need me to get past the barrier, you idiot!"

In short order they were gone, and Reisen was left alone with Mima. She eyed the spirit warily, expecting her to do something, perhaps continue their conversation or take her for another frightening trip through space. But instead, the spirit simply remained where she was, watching the open door that the two girls had just dashed through. She let out a low chuckle of amusement.

"Well, Marisa was right about one thing," Mima said. "Reimu does make it all too easy."

Reisen inhaled sharply. "Wait, you mean that was a lie?"

"Hmmm? Oh, you mean all that news about your prodigal? No, that was true enough. I was referring to in general."

With a sigh, Mima levitated herself back into the air, the shapeless green blob she had been resting on reforming itself back into a proper tail. "Well, I suppose I'd better go after them. This does, after all, promise to be highly entertaining, and I'd hate for them to perish due to some ill-time fireworks. I'm afraid we'll have to speak later, my dear."

"Um, yeah," Reisen said with a nervous swallow. "Look, I don't think-"

"Later," Mima repeated firmly. "If nothing else, the extra free time should allow you to catch up on your reading. I'll be sure to tell you all about the fun when we return."

"But you are going to bring Rin back with you, right?" Reisen pressed. "You're going to save her?"

"Capturing her is more likely at this point, truth to tell. And that's entirely up to Rin herself."

With that, Mima vanished from sight. No poof of smoke, no flash of light. One moment she was there, and the next Reisen was left sitting by herself, with nothing to do but wait. And worry. And pray.

…

If there was one thing that could be said about the denizens of the Ancient City that had nothing to do with brawling, alcohol and pointy purple hats, it was that they were a tight-knit community. Everyone knew each other, if not by name, then at least by face, and when something went wrong, the whole city pitched in to help.

Yesterday, something had gone horribly wrong. But in the time between the disaster and the following morning, the city was well on its way to a full recovery. The destruction in the bazaar had been completely cleared away, and the apartment building that Utsuho Reiuji had accidentally blown up had been extinguished of all flame and most of the radiation had been cleaned away. Before the day was over, everything that could be salvaged will have removed from the wreck and the rest of the building was well on its way to being demolished and cleared away to make room for its reconstruction.

In short, despite the pounding it had taken, the cleanup had gone exceptionally well. There was just one problem. While the bazaar had been destroyed by a known felon and thus everyone was prepared to put the blame solely upon Rin Satsuki's shoulders, the ball of radioactive fire had been fired, however inadvertently, by someone who wasn't even supposed to be in the city in the first place. And that same someone also so happened to be the personal pet of someone in authority. And that person in authority also so happened to be not especially popular with the local populace.

The aftermath was predictable.

Orin stood in front of the bridge that led to the Palace of Earth Spirits, speaking to the mayor, a tall oni with a full beard who had a habit of confusing newcomers when they learned that she was in fact a woman; the manager of the ruined apartment building in question, a short, portly man with a balding scalp and a thick mustache that might have been Human if it weren't for the fact that he had stubby horns and a pronged tail; and one the heroes of the day: the blacksmith, Yuugi Hoshiguma. No one there was happy at all, least of all Orin herself. The others had legitimate complaints to make and a convenient target to direct them to, whereas she had to just take it.

"Four!" the apartment's manager thundered, his voice impressively deep for such a diminutive man. "Four of my tenants, dead by radiation poisoning! And none of them were happy when they resurrected."

"I know, I understand," Orin said as calmly as she should, though it was taking every ounce of self-control to keep from tearing her own hair out. "And we will do everything-"

"Which is to say nothing of the damage sustained by the nearby buildings from the rubble," the mayor said, wringing her large-knuckled hands. "The insurance claims are coming in already, and the fact that no one from the Brawler's Guild is responsible has driven my poor confused secretary to stop drinking!"

"Yes, I know," Orin said. "I assure you, everyone who has suffered any sort of loss due to Utsuho's actions will be fully recompensed."

"And what of the damage to the market?" the mayor demanded. "Nearly every open-air shop was destroyed! That market is the center of our economy, and with it gone…"

Orin frowned. "Excuse me, but I was led to believe that Utsuho had nothing to do with that. In fact, as I understand it, that damage was caused by…by the Shadow Youkai."

"I never suggested differently!" the mayor said, her voice rising. "But the fact remains that our town is now suffering, and one can't help but notice that not only was the pet of our esteemed leader Satori Komeiji involved, but Ms. Komeiji herself is noticeably absent in this time of crisis!"

"Exactly!" said the short, horned man. "The one time we actually need her, and she decides that she has better things to do!"

Orin had to fight to keep the fear she was feeling from showing. "As I explained, Satori has been called away by Yukari Yakumo to serve as a consultant for the Shadow Youkai situation. When, and how, she returns is entirely up to Yukari. I've already contacted them and informed them about the attack. I have the promise of the Yakumo estate that relief will be sent."

Which was true enough, though it had been with Yukari's kitsune, Ran Yakumo, that Orin had spoken to. Ran had taken the news more-or-less as Orin had expected, with plenty of worry and no small amount of barely restrained fear. Orin hadn't gotten to see Yukari's reaction, but her imagination had provided the scene for her. She had no doubt that it had been…violent.

"And when will that be?" the mayor demanded.

"When they send it," Orin said. She couldn't keep her voice from acquiring a bit of an edge. "Look. I understand that you're upset, I really do. And you have every reason to be. But the problem is being dealt with-"

"By us!" the mayor roared. "What exactly are you doing?"

That made Orin wince, but she forced herself to continue. "We've already contacted Yukari for help, and Utsuho did her part to clean up the radiation. And you already have my word that all injured parties will be compensated. And seeing how you want no one from the Palace of Earth Spirits anywhere near the recovery efforts, what more do you want?"

"Oh, I'll tell you what I want," the mayor growled. She shoved herself up against Orin, forcing her to back away to avoid having her face buried in the woman's beard. "I want that bird put on a godsdamned leash. I want our so-called leader to do some actual leading. I want-"

And so on. Orin had to smile and apologize and endure nearly ten minutes more of abuse before the mayor and the manager decided that their time was better spent elsewhere. However, Yuugi Hoshiguma, who had remained silent for most of the conversation, lingered behind.

"Look," she said once the other two had left. "I know the kid didn't mean any harm. And I know she just wanted to help. But this sort of thing is exactly why we didn't want her coming near the town in the first place. Suika and I had things under control before she showed up, and we could've brought that thing down if she didn't get in the way."

Orin took a deep. "I get it," she seethed. "The point. It's been made. Over and over and over-"

"I know, simmer down. I'm not part of the anti-Satori brigade. I've got no real beef with the Komeiji family. But there are a lot of people that do, plenty of which who ain't real happy with Yukari Yakumo putting your boss in charge. The bird going crazy with power a few years ago didn't make things better, and neither is what just happened. Someone's going to do something about it, sooner or later.

The oni's words made Orin bristle. "Is that a threat?"

"No, it's a warning. I ain't gonna do anything, but someone will. And I think you've got problems enough without having to deal with an angry mob."

"Yeah, I know," Orin said, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly. "And thanks, I guess."

Yuugi looked over her shoulder and sighed. "Look, I need to get back. Just remember what I said. If you need me for…anything, you know where to find me."

"Like what?"

"You know. Anything."

With one final nod, Yuugi turned and flew back toward the city.

Once she was sure that no one else was going to come by to fill her ear with complaints, Orin turned and stormed back toward the palace. "Need her for anything, she says," the redheaded kasha muttered to herself. "What she means, 'You need to put a collar on that girl, and I've got one special made! And if you order now, I'll throw in this giant birdcage, half-off!'"

So intent was she on her private ranting that Orin didn't realize that there was someone leaning next to the front door until she had grasped the handle. "Might not be a bad idea," said Jun, the Alpha of all the canines in Satori Komeiji's care. In his youkai form, he was lanky man with lean muscles, grey eyes and short, spiky pale blue hair. His left eyebrow was pierced with three small silver hoops and two pointed ears stuck up on either side of his head. He uncrossed his arms and stood up straight. "You ask me, she shoulda been put in a cage from day one."

Orin whirled to face him. "Back off, Jun," she hissed, baring her teeth. "You've been warned already."

He turned his head and spat. "And hey, looks like I was right," he said, ignoring her warning. "The bird goes out into town one time, and a building blows up. Yeah, but she's so cute and dumb, let's just sweep it under the rug and pretend nothing happened."

"Just keep talking, dog. Just give me an excuse."

"How long are planning on covering for her? When she blows up the palace and fries half the pets, are you gonna just keep-"

Orin lashed out, shoving on arm against Jun's throat and snatching his wrist with the other. He tried to push back, but Orin was stronger, and in short order she had him pressed up against the wall, his feet dangling bare centimeters from the ground.

"I've told you time and time again to keep your big, drooling mouth shut," Orin growled. "I'd start listening if I were you."

Despite the fact that he was literally backed against the wall, Jun still had a wolfish smile on his face. "All right," he said, his voice ragged and choked. "You're the boss. For now."

"Yeah, I am. So unless you're planning on challenging me right here and now, I'd suggest you tuck that stubby little tail of yours between your legs and go bury a bone or something."

"One day, Rin," Jun said as Orin released him. "One day you're gonna slip. And when that happens, all the zombie fairies in the world ain't gonna save you."

"But not today," Orin said, holding his gaze. She gave him a hard shove to the shoulder. "Go on, get."

Jun smiled. He brushed off his shoulder with a lazy flick of his fingers and sauntered off. Orin's eyes followed his every move. It wasn't until he was gone from her sight that she allowed herself to slump against the wall.

What a day. Not only was their charade of Satori still being in charge dangerously close to being blown, but the fragile chain of command that kept the pets in place was in danger of being shattered. This was far from the first time Jun had gotten into her face, and with Satori gone, he was getting bolder every day. She knew she could handle him should he decide to challenge her. She was stronger than he was, both in physical combat and danmaku. But he had a strong support base among the pets, and the last thing they needed was an internal power struggle.

But as much as she hated to admit it, as much as she disliked the arrogant butt-sniffer, he did have a point. Unintentionally or not, Utsuho had messed up in a big way. And Orin could cover for her, not this time.

Instead of returning to the Palace of Earth Spirits, Orin headed upward, flying over the turrets and spires, up through the spiral double-ramp and straight to the reactor's entrance. She went inside, navigating the steel corridors until she reached the reactor's heart, the huge, bowl-shaped room from which Utsuho exercised her control over the entire facility.

The Hell Raven was there, sitting near the bottom of the metal depression. Her back was to the door, and her arms were wrapped around her legs, which were drawn up under her chin. She was staring at her Third Leg, which was standing plugged into its slot at the room's center.

She hadn't reacted as Orin entered, though she had to have heard the noisy door open. Orin sighed and slid down to sit next to her.

Though Utsuho didn't react to her approach, when Orin reached her at the bottom she took a deep, shuddering breath and asked, "How bad is it?"

Orin hesitated, and said, "Pretty bad. The city's pissed off beyond belief, and Jun's getting uppity again. He all but said that he's going to challenge me soon. It's going to take everything we've got to keep them from finding out about Satori. Maybe more."

Utsuho groaned and grabbed her head with her hands. "Oh gods," she whimpered. "Orin, I'm so…I'm just so…"

"I know," Orin said, placing hand on Utsuho's shoulder. "But…but I can't let this go. You know that, right?"

Utsuho sniffed, swallowed noisily and gave a brief nod.

"This…this is too big. You knew you're not supposed to go anywhere near the city, and you did so anyway. I know you just wanted to break up the fight, but…Okuu, a whole building! And at a time where we're holding the Underground together by the skin of our teeth."

"I'll go," Utsuho whispered. "You're right. I'm too much trouble. I'll go, and…"

Orin's head jerked back in surprise. Is that what she was thinking? "What? No! Hot hells Okuu, just because I'm mad doesn't mean I'm going to kick you out!"

"Really?" Utsuho looked at her then, her eyes wet with tears.

"Of course not! I don't care what Jun says. So long as Satori's gone, I'm still in charge. And I say you're always going to be part of the family.

"Still," she said. "I am going to have to ask…Well, no. Not ask. I'm going to have to tell you to stay here. In the reactor. Until Satori comes back. I don't want you to enter the palace or go outside. At all. Do you understand?"

"I think so," Utsuho said, wiping her nose with her arm. "I'm grounded. Again." She managed a weak smile. "That's…not so bad."

"Maybe not now," Orin warned. "But it's mainly because I honestly can't think of anything else that I can stomach. And we still don't know when Satori's coming back. And when she does, well, I'll leave that decision up to her."

Utsuho winced, but she nodded again.

"Until then, I'll bring you your meals and visit you when I can, but it's going to be hard, what with everything that's happening. Just please promise me you'll obey. We can't have another accident, not now."

"Of course!" Utsuho said quickly. "Don't worry, I'll be good."

"I know," Orin sighed. "I know you will."

A short pause followed, and then Utsuho cleared her throat.

"Uh, Orin?"

"Yeah?"

"Satori…She's coming back, right? They're going to get her back, right? Yukari and Reimu and all the rest? They're going to beat Yuuka Kazami and save everyone, right?"

Orin did her best not to wince. The truth of the matter was that she had been harboring serious doubts about the success of that operation. While she knew that it was high on Yukari Yakumo's list of Things to Do, given what she had witnessed of Yuuka's capabilities she had no idea if anything on that list would ever be checked off.

Still, she couldn't let Utsuho see that. "Of course!" she said with as much enthusiasm as she could muster up. "What are you talking about? Yuuka's days are numbered, and Satori will be back to set everything straight before you know it. We just need to keep things in shape for her when she comes back, that's all."

Utsuho immediately looked cheered, and Orin couldn't help but shake her head in amazement. The Hell Raven was hands-down the most powerful being to be found within the Underground, but in so many ways she was still the same sweet, naïve girl whom Orin had saved from vampire bats so many decades ago and had followed the kasha around ever since. Even with her brief bout of insanity brought upon by her sudden power-up, her personality had remained more-or-less unchanged once she had been brought to her senses. Orin had dreaded that, expecting the madness to have left a permanent mark, but such had not been the case. Whether it was due to the impenetrable nature of Utsuho's simple but kind heart or some "cheating" done by Yukari Yakumo, Orin had never asked. She was simply grateful to have her friend back.

She put a hand on Utsuho's shoulder, and the Hell Raven instinctively leaned into her. They sat there, enjoying the spare moments of peace before Orin had to leave again.

…

Suika Ibuki sat down on a slab of stone and wiped her sweaty brow. Before her, the demolition of the devastated apartment building was nearing its end. Suika herself had just finished breaking up the cracked foundations and now watched as the others hauled the rubble away to be disposed of.

It had been some time since she had participated in real manual labor of this caliber. She had to admit, it felt good to stretch her muscles. Though she never really regretted her decision to leave the Ancient City to pursue a life of wandering, she was considering extending her stay, perhaps for another year or two. Reimu should be okay without her.

"Hey, short stuff," Yuugi said as she approached. The taller oni walked over the slab and sat down next to Suika.

Suika nodded to her. "How'd it go?"

"Oh, bad," Yuugi said with a shrug. "No surprises there. Satori Komeiji sure picked a hell of a bad time to be gone."

"Doesn't she always," Suika said with a scowl. "You'd think being a mind-reader she'd know better."

"Mind-reader doesn't mean the same thing as fortune-teller, little buddy. You think you can convince that gapping friend of yours to send her back?"

"Sure." Suika pressed her hands against the stone and pushed herself off. "Sometime after we've finished beating the ESP into a squishy little pulp."

Yuugi shook her horned head in disbelief. "The first time you fought that thing you actually fell over unconscious, something that has never happened during all our adventures. The second time, you got buried thirty under the city and it took you half-an-hour to dig your way back. And you're still looking for a third?"

"Is it still loose?"

"Well, yeah."

Suika threw her hands up. "Well, there you go! Go get our armor, and let's head up to the surface! If we hurry, we can catch it before it before those idiots topside get themselves digested!"

Yuugi threw her head back and let out a deep, belly laugh of delight. "Yes!" she cheered, slamming her fist against the slab and cracking half it off in the process. "All this time, and you're still the same Suika I know and love! All right, let's up there, find the ESP, and show her why you don't fuck with the Devas of the Mountain!"

Then she slipped the pack she was carrying from her shoulder. "First things first though," she said as she rummaged around inside. "I've got something here for you."

"Huh?" Suika tilted her head in confusion. "What?"

"This. The resin finally hardened last night, and the spells took hold." From within the sack Yuugi pulled out a very familiar object. Suika's heart leapt when she saw what it was.

It was her gourd, fully restored. There was not a crack to be seen. Not that it was the same. The paper charms that had once covered it were gone. In their place were numerous carvings and arcane symbols. But still, it was her gourd.

"Just like I promised," Yuugi said, holding it up for her to see. "Took a bloody long time to get the resin just right, but I got it in the end. Even found you a new sake bug, only this one's a bit more, shall we say, versatile than your last one. Alcohol bug would be more accurate, actually. And it's all thanks to these." She held it on its side and started pointing out the specific carvings. "See this? Honey mead. You know, like what those fellows with the horned helmets and the weaponized shouting used to make? And over here, this'll let it make that dark wine I've been stockpiling. Or if you just want good, old-fashioned beer, this will-"

Yuugi might have gone on, but that was when a tear-streaked Suika caught her in a bone-crushing hug that forced the air out of her lungs and came uncomfortably close to breaking her spine. She grimaced with pain but endured it as Suika bawled with gratitude.

...

Hey, hey, hey! Guess what day it is! That's right, it's Imperfect Metamorphosis' two-year anniversay!

=fireworks n' shit!=

I can't believe this story has lasted this long, but I damned glad it has. It's also hard to believe that a full year has passed since Revelations. But that's the current of time for you. It also means that neither Shinki or Sariel has so much as made an appearance in over a year, which kinda sucks. But hey, their time will come.

Anyway, I said I'd do something special for the occasion, so here we go. In addition to this update, the next chapter of Rhapsody of Subconscious Desire is now up as well. And, because we all need a little comedy to do with our drama, I also uploaded a rather...cracky one-shot as well. Do enjoy.

At the same time, I've got a bit of an announcement to make. Something else has also gone up, namely the first chapter of a Puella Magi Madoka Magica story called Resonance Days. This is my first non-Touhou work, I'm both nervous and excited. I hope some of you will check it out!

Anyway, about this chapter, the funny thing is that despite being the two-year anniversary chapter, the original plan was for it to be fairly short and fillerish, with no real purpose other than to bridge the gap between the craziness of the last chapter and the craziness of the next chapter. But then, even though Mima showed up. And then she started to speak.

Oh yeah. That was interesting.

But anyway, just keep in mind that Reisen is right. Mima is a liar. Therefore, anything she said, whether to answer her own questions or about her history should be taken with a grain of salt.

Also, on another note, while Orin's treatment of Jun may be harsh, given that, despite being a jerk, he did have a fair point, please keep in mind that despite being youkai with human-like traits, they are still animals. And beating the crap out of an upstart is simply the way pack leaders exert their authority.

Anyway, now that I've gotten so many updates up this month, I'm gonna need some recovery time. So let me just put a definite date for the next IM chapter: it will be up exactly one month from today, on the 19th of April. I should probably have another RD chapter up before then, as it's almost done, but don't expect anything Touhou related until then. Fortunately, now I figured out a way around that damned divider deleting glitch, I should be able to upload the edited chapters, which should resolve a lot of problems.

It's been a fun year, guys! Here's to another one.

Until next time, everyone!