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.

39. Do You Know Your Enemy?

Do You Know Your Enemy?

Reisen sat cross-legged on her sleeping mat, Rin's diary sitting on her lap. She had been staring at the moldy old book ever since Reimu, Marisa, and Mima had left, trying to work up the nerve to open its frayed cover.

One would think that, given Mima's promise of a cure and her suggestion that a clue might be found within Rin's recorded thoughts, Reisen would be tripping over herself to dive into the diary's contents. But thus far, her reluctance was holding fast. Part of the problem was that the last time she had read the diary she had learned things about Rin's feelings that she would have been happier not knowing. But her main obstacle was that she was all too aware of the fact that her protectors were out chasing Rin down, fighting against all of Yuuka Kazami's bounty hunters, Yukari Yakumo's agents, and Rin's own distrust and mental instability. Lives were teetering on the brink, lives of people she knew and cared for, lives that were in danger partially due to her own actions. And she was stuck here, unable to do a damned thing about it. The worry and frustration made focusing on anything else aggravatingly difficult.

Reisen took a deep breath. Well, nothing gained by doing nothing. She slowly opened the cover and turned the yellow pages until she found the part where she had left off.

I can't believe we've got such a stupid teacher. Ms. Lightfoot is so dumb and unfair! Just because I know more and told her so doesn't mean she had to-

Reisen skipped ahead a few entries.

Why are we working for that idiot princess again? Why do we even call her a princess? Okay, making herself immortal and trying to take over the moon was pretty cool, but now all she does is sit around and do nothing! Unless she's fighting that crazy lady from the forest. I don't really get where she came from, but-

A few more pages flipped by.

ARRRGGGHHH! Reisen is so FRUSTRATING! She keeps bugging me and asking about stuff that's not her stupid BUSINESS! I don't get why Dr. Yagokoro even hired her! I mean, Dr. Yagokoro is so smart and strong and really, really cool, you know? But Reisen is so clumsy and kinda useless at-

Reisen flinched and looked away from the book. Is this all there was of Rin? Endless arrogant whining and insulting the people who had gone out of her way to help her? If so, why was Reisen risking so much to help her?

The very thought filled her with shame. Of course she wasn't going to turn her back on Rin just because the little Kirin had gone through a bratty phase.

At least she hoped it had just been a phase…

Reisen started flipping through pages, giving the entries only the briefest of glances. It was more of the same. Not every single one was a declaration of arrogance and resentment, but enough of them were. While Rin had to be commended for her dedication to the diary, Reisen was starting to wish that her onetime ward had just abandoned it.

And then, when she was almost halfway through, things changed.

She came across an entry that stood out. The ink was newer, less faded. The handwriting, while definitely still Rin's, was noticeably neater. Reisen checked the date and compare it to the previous entry. There was a gap of almost four years.

The entry read: Okay, wow. I almost forgot about this thing! I remember I used to write in it all the time, but after awhile I just stopped, I guess. I found it in Tewi's room, believe it or not. No, I don't want to know how it got there. Actually, I kinda wish I hadn't found it. I'm reading through all the stuff I wrote, and ug, I was such a little jerk! Did I really whine that much? If so, I really wish someone discovers time travel, so I can go back in time and slap myself! I guess now I know why Tewi never liked me, if she's read all this. Still mad at her for stealing it though.

Reisen felt a great weight leave her shoulders. She let out a small, nervous laugh. So it had just been a phase after all, one that she had grown out of. Encouraged, she continued on.

Anyway, I guess I should probably just get this out of the way. I'M SORRY EVERYBODY! I'M SORRY I WAS SO STUPID! THANKS FOR NOT LETTING THE FAIRIES CARRY ME OFF! Especially Reisen. Ug, I can't believe I said all that stuff about her.

Reisen's smile perked up.

Anyway, now that that's out of the way, I guess I should catch up, huh? I mean, it's been like four years, you know? I'm still living at Eientei, no big shock there. But I have gotten to go outside of the forest a couple times. Don't tell anyone, but a couple months ago me and Reisen sneaked out to go to the Winter Solstice festival. That was pretty cool. We got kicked out, but it was still pretty cool. I'll tell you about it later.

But the funny thing was, until a few weeks ago, my life was pretty much the same as it was when I last wrote in this thing. I mean, I don't go to that school anymore, but still, no big change. But you know how I always wanted to become a nurse and work for Dr. Yagokoro?

WELL, GUESS WHAT!

Reisen's smile disappeared. Oh no…

…

Humming to herself, Elly pushed a trolley laden with plates through the mansion's hallways. The roots, shoots, and vines that normally covered the floor hastily removed themselves from her way, either by retracting between the stones or slithering over to the walls, so as to give the trolley's wheels a smooth journey. That was another thing Elly loved about her life in Yuuka Kazami's employ. Even the houseplants were considerate.

The renegade Shinigami had to admit, things were looking up. Though her master's grievous injuries had frightened and agitated her to no end, Yuuka's recovery had gone splendidly. The extended period of bed rest had done her good, and her mutilated soul was mending up nicely. She was now well enough to take long walks through the fields and tend to her gardens, even if she still required the use of a cane. Of course, she would never be whole until the fragment currently held by their enemies was recovered, but Yuuka was nothing short of confident that it would soon be in her possession once again.

In the meantime, Elly was more than happy to oversee every step of Yuuka's recovery, from fixing her meals (but of course, she did that anyway), to helping her dress in the morning and undress at night, to faithfully standing ready with the loofah when she had her baths, and even readying and delivering one the Tulip Room's residents whenever Yuuka was of the mood. After all, such activities were good for the body and the soul, and her master needed to be healed in both. So long as she was able, Elly would not see her master denied any of her customary pleasures. Of course, that last bit was usually done either late at night or when Yuuka's guests were playing in the field. While Elly was getting along better with them than she had been, there were some things they were best left ignorant of, and Elly did not relish the idea of answering the awkward questions that would follow.

But the chore of the moment was innocent enough. Having just served lunch to her master's guests, Elly was now bringing Yuuka her meal. Yuuka preferred to share her meals with her guests, but she had a tendency to oversleep, and at times wouldn't rise until noon. Elly was fine with letting her slumber, but Yuuka had insisted that she not be allowed to miss both breakfast and lunch, and so if she was not already up and about by midday, Elly was to wake her.

She approached the door to Yuuka's bedroom. As usual, the wall vines wrapped themselves around the handles and pulled the door open for her, allowing her to push the trolley right in.

"Good day, Master!" Elly said cheerfully as she entered the sunlit room. "Lunch time! You'll love what we have today: fillet of trout, seasoned with…"

Her announcement of the day's menu trailed to a stop when she saw the giant bed that sat in the center of the room. It was empty.

"Master?" Elly said, tilting her head to one side. Had Yuuka already risen and wandered off without her knowing? But that didn't make any sense. Elly was always informed the exact moment her master wanted to get out of bed. How else would she be ready with her daily outfit?

"Master, are you here?" she said, walking around the bed. "I brought you your lunch." She stood still for a moment, listening. But there was nothing to hear. "Master?"

Then something nudged her shoulder. Her heart rising, Elly spun around, but was disappointed to see that it was just one of the vines, curling down from the ceiling. However, held tightly between two leaves at the tip was a note.

Frowning, Elly accepted the note and read it. Then she read it again, in the mad hope that she had somewhere misinterpreted its message. It read:

Dearest Elly,

I apologize for leaving so suddenly, but I have just learned of an ongoing situation that I simply cannot miss. Please forgive me for not informing you, but time is of the essence, and I did not wish to wake you.

Do not worry about me, I will be fine. I have already made sure that no one will recognize me. I will be just another face in the crowd, if not an exceptionally attractive one, if I do say so myself! And I assure you, I have no intention of stepping on anybody's toes or challenging anyone to duels. This is a simple sightseeing excursion, nothing more.

Oh, and please do not let the girls know that I am gone, especially Cirno. I love the dear child, but she is headstrong to a fault, and will likely insist on following.

xoxoxoxoxo

-Yuuka

Elly's face drained of blood, and she quickly sat down on the side of the bed. Yuuka, gone? And Elly had been up since six, so it had to have been in the very early morning. What was she thinking, going out in her state? And with so many dangerous people out there.

"Why didn't anyone tell me about this?" she demanded of the room's plants. "How could you just let her go off, and not tell me? She's in danger! Don't you care for her? At all?"

She stood up angrily and marched toward the door. Her first stop was her room to retrieve her scythe. From there, into the Wilds of Gensokyo. Any incident large enough to draw Yuuka's attention would be easy to find, and from there Yuuka's energy signature would draw her like a moth to flame. Elly was going to find her, and find her quickly.

Then she felt a second touch to her shoulder and turned around. It was the vine again, with a second note to offer her.

Elly gaped at it, and then tore the note from its grasp.

Come now dear, no need to go storming off after me. I already told you that I plan on being careful. I appreciate your concern, but please have some faith in my abilities! I'll return soon enough.

Also, don't be harsh on my bedside attendants. They are only following my instructions.

"This is madness!" Elly shrieked as she tore up the note. "What does she think she's doing? She can't just take off without telling me, not in her condition!" She whirled around, ready to go off anyway. "She needs me. I'll show her, she needs me!"

Then the vine curled around her to present her with a third, this one already unfolded for her to read.

No Elly, no.

Sit.

Stay.

Elly made a noise not unlike a singing teakettle. She tried to form words, but her mouth had forgotten their shapes.

Then she spun on her heel, stomped over to Yuuka's bed, and sat down with her legs crossed and arms folded. So Yuuka wanted to stay put and wait? Fine. She would follow her orders to the letter, and not move from this spot until Yuuka returned home.

But as angry as Elly was, she could help but wonder: what in the world could be so important that Yuuka would risk exposing herself to witness?

…

"I don't get it," Reimu said as the smiling Yukari approached. "What is she doing here?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Rin muttered darkly. "Besides, she just said it."

"I get that, but last time I checked, she was still beat up too bad to leave her house!"

Rin's head jerked back. "Wait, she what? When did this happen?"

"Not important," Reimu said quickly. "Okay, I'm going to try to talk to her. Just…hang back, and don't do anything stupid."

"If you say so. But if she so much as throws a rock at me, I'm gone."

Unsure if she should take that as an encouraging sign, Reimu cautiously put herself between Yukari and Rin.

"Uh, hey there, Yukari," she said, holding her palms up. "You're looking…a hell of a lot better."

Yukari's smile wavered, but recovered. "Thank you. Now, please evacuate the scene. We'll take it from here."

"Uh, yeah. About that." Reimu took a deep breath. "Yukari, we need to talk."

"Talk?" The slightest of frown furrowed the elder youkai's brow. "Can't it wait? I need to secure Rin Satsuki before…she escapes."

Reimu swallowed. "Uh, yeah. See, that's what we need to talk about." She glanced over her shoulder at Rin. The mutated Kirin looked ready to leap away at a moment's notice, but seemed to be willing to give Reimu a chance.

"Later," Yukari said firmly.

"No," Reimu said. "Now."

Yukari's golden eyes flashed. "You dare talk back to Yukari Yakumo? Little Human, I could melt the blood in your veins!"

Reimu frowned. When did Yukari start using such cheesy lines?

"Try it," Rin said. "We'll see who melts who."

"Shut up, Rin," Reimu hissed. To Yukari, she said. "Okay, I know you just got over a long…illness. Or something. But seriously, let's…just calm down, and try talking this out. Rin's not the danger you think she is."

Yukari looked dumbfounded. She exchanged a look with Ran, who looked just as perplexed.

"You and I both know this thing has gotten way out of hand," Reimu continued. "And attacking Rin now is just going to make things worse. She's willing to cooperate if you give her a chance." Then she leaned over to Rin and mumbled out of the corner of her mouth, "You're willing to cooperate, right?"

"That really depends on if anyone else tries to hurt me."

Close enough. Reimu looked back to Yukari. "I know you're obsessed with protecting Gensokyo, but maybe there's a way to do it that doesn't involve stuffing people down dragon throats. Come on, at least give it a chance?"

"Uh…" Yukari scratched her head. She turned to whisper in Ran's ear. The kitsune whispered something back to her.

Rin nudged Reimu, which sent shivers up the shrine maiden's back. "Just so you know," the Kirin said in a low voice, "Miss Yakumo's saying that this wasn't part of the plan, whatever that is, and the fox is telling her to improvise."

"Huh?" Reimu said, looking up from her inspection of the place where Rin had touched her. No sign of the taint, thank the gods. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Rin shrugged.

"Of…of course!" Yukari said suddenly. "That's…why I came, you know! We, er, found a way to, uh, make her normal again! That's…that's what she wants, right?"

Now it was Reimu's turn to stare in bemusement. The wheels started turning in her head, and she started putting pieces together.

"Hey Yukari?" she said at last.

"Ah, yes?"

Reimu's eyes narrowed. "A few weeks ago, right after you had that interview with Hatate Himekaidou, I showed up at your home to yell at you about something. What was it?"

"Yell?" Yukari repeated, looking ever the more confused. "At me?"

"Yes. And then you showed me something. What was it?"

"I…Is this really the time?"

Then Yukari and Ran both leapt back to avoid being hit by the explosive ofuda charms Reimu had hurled at them. Her right arm outstretched, Reimu rose into the air, her Ying-Yang Orbs circling her. An aura of red energy surrounded her, and her eyes glowed white.

She said, "You two have exactly three seconds to tell me who the hell you are before I introduce you to a world of pain. And if I don't like your answer, I might do it anyway."

…

"Well, full credit to the shrine maiden," Mima muttered as she peered through her opera glasses. "For all her shortcomings, she does possess a sharp mind. And I see she had improved her oratory skills. Though her speeches always did sound more convincing when she's been pissed off, but I suppose that's true of everyone. Still, she does need to learn self-control. Going all out like that on a couple of con artists is nothing but wasteful." She glanced up at Kanako. "Ah, may I ask that you stop doing that? It's very distracting."

Kanako was disinclined to listen. A barrier of pale green energy had sprung up along the cliff's edge, preventing her from rushing in and taking control of the situation. Kanako hurled her will at the barrier, trying to crack through. Though the goddess's strength was substantial, even moreso while she was on the Youkai Mountain, the barrier's substance shifted and moved in response to her attacks, reinforcing itself whenever she struck.

"What do you think you're doing?" Kanako demanded as she hurled another handful of energy. "This can't stop me, not here."

The next blow actually made Mima wince in pain. "Ouch. And I'm aware, I'm just making a point. Please don't interfere, or I'll be forced to…dissuade you."

"Let me go, Mima. I don't care how powerful you are, you do not want to get into a fight with me."

"No. I told you before, you rushing in will just make things worse. Let the girls handle this for now. This is their job, after all. And they are doing admirably thus far. I'll let you in if I feel you're needed."

"You can't-"

"Oh, calm down," Mima said, turning her attention back to the field. "I'm still acting as their guardian angel. And if it's your reputation that's nettling you, you can relax on that end as well. As far as your loyal subjects are concerned, they just see you standing on the cliff edge with your arms folded, overseeing the whole debacle."

Kanako glanced over her shoulder to see the tell-tale wavering of the air, like rising heat, signifying the backside of an illusion. "Since when do you care about my reputation?"

"I'm playing for the home team now, remember? And while I do admit that you're only moments away from breaking through that barrier, might I ask that you change your mind? Little Rin Satsuki looks skittish enough as it is. You don't want to spook the poor thing"

Kanako glared daggers at the spirit, but she backed down. "You may be playing for the home team, but you never said which home. Or whose."

"That does seem to be the question of the hour," Mima agreed. "Or it would be, if it weren't for the drama going on down below. In fact," she said, her eyes narrowing as she noticed three figures moving toward Reimu, Rin, and the two imposters, "I'd say things are about to get…explosive."

…

"How dare you!" cried the person wearing Yukari's face as she stumbled back. "I'll…I'll exile you to the Outside World! You'll never see Gensokyo again!"

"Drop the act," Reimu said. "Yukari's a lot of things, but unbearably cheesy isn't one of them. And she sure as hell isn't such a bad liar."

"Wait, what's going on?" Rin said, looking startled. "That's not Yukari Yakumo?"

"No, it's not," Reimu growled. "Yukari would never introduce herself with such a lame line. She would never get caught off guard for that long. And she sure as hell wouldn't be beaten back so easily by me." She pulled out a glowing spellcard. "Which means I need to exterminate a bitch."

She muttered a quick prayer and released the spellcard. It hovered in the air, ready to activate and clean house.

But alas, someone else sought to interfere. Again.

"Look out!" Rin cried as she suddenly grabbed Reimu and pulled her back. Taken by surprise, Reimu's concentration broke and the spellcard burst into sparks, unactivated.

Reimu was about to demand an explanation, but it was unneeded. A flying rocket shot right through the space she had just inhabited. It kept going until it hit the hunched body of Nitori's Hisoutensoku, where it burst into flashes of green and red.

"Fireworks?" Reimu said as she shoved Rin off her and scrambled to her feet. All around, more of the rockets were sailing by and bursting into color. "We're being attacked by fireworks? Has the world gone completely insane?"

If for no other reason than to grant her an answer, a rocket exploded only a few meters away, showering her with white hot sparks.

…

Sunny grinned as her troops bombarded the competition with artillery. Sure, the other hunters had brought along all kinds of weapons: swords, spears, and giant robots. But they were all falling in the face of her gang's superior firepower.

Though Lunar's power prevented her from shouting her orders, they were not needed. Lunar and Star continued launch rocket after rocket. By now, their victory was assured.

Sunny couldn't help but jump up and down in delight. This was going to work! They were going to be the ones to collect the bounty, and become filthy stinking rich! And oh yeah, saving Rumia was great too. But all that money! It made her feel dizzy just thinking about it.

Then she felt someone tug on her arm. She looked to see Star grabbing at her in a state of distress.

Sunny frowned. Why'd you stop? she mouthed. Keep firing!

Either Star could not read lips or she couldn't be bothered to try. She just kept pulling on Sunny's sleeve and gesturing toward the competition.

Stop it! Sunny snapped, or at least tried to. She yanked her sleeve away. Get back to-

Star grabbed Sunny's head with her hands and forced it around.

Sunny might have fought back, but then she saw what Star was so upset about. Specifically, she started to recognize a few of the faces of those they were attacking. And, despite her natural fairy cockiness, she realized just how outclassed they were.

Stop! she cried without sound at Lunar, who had not noticed her companions' distress. Instead, she lit the fuse of another firework.

Panicked, Sunny tackled Lunar and tried to grab at the firework before it could off of. But all she managed to accomplish was knock it sideways and send it shooting off at a high-angle.

…

"Hmmm," Mima said. She motioned with her fingers and muttered a word.

…

"What is this?" Rin cried. She ducked as the fireworks and firecrackers exploded around them. "Some kind of celebration?"

"If it is, then they've picked a hell of a place to have a party," Reimu answered as she held up a shield charm. "Nah, more than likely it's just more idiots." She glanced at the Kirin. "You're, ah, not about to freak out and run away again, are you?"

"Not immediately, no," Rin said, her tone flat. "But hey, the day is young."

"I guess that'll have to do," Reimu muttered. She watched at the imposters ducked and dodged the sparkling ordinance. First order of business, take those two out. Then she was going to find the idiot with the colorful explosives and end their celebration.

She then noticed one rocket flying off into the sky, far above its fellows. Some kind of misfire, perhaps? Or a signal?

But as it turned it, it didn't matter. A flat, green disk appeared in the rocket's path. The rocket struck the disk and was knocked back to the ground.

At that moment, the faux Yukari was pulling herself to her feet. She looked around, presumably searching for any incoming rockets.

She should have looked up. The stray rocket struck her in the head and exploded. Awash in blue flame, the faux Yukari screamed and fell to her knees.

It was then that Reimu was treated to a bizarre spectacle. As the faux Yukari lurched forward, she left a series of afterimages in her wake, each one only lasting about a second, giving off the illusion that she was moving in slow motion. At the same time, her features seemed to literally boil and change, allowing another face to appear beneath the one she wore, one that looked like-

"YOU!" Reimu roared. She leapt into the air and shot off toward the imposter. Her Ying-Yang Orbs erupted with ordinance, showering the faux Yukari and the still recovering faux Ran with a curtain of bullets. They were driven back by the assault, their disguises crumbling in the wake of Reimu's fury.

As it was already falling to pieces, the faux Yukari's went first. Her features and costume melted and shifted, returning to their original shape. When they were done, they were no longer that of Yukari Yakumo. They weren't even the cloak-wearing, freckle-faced woman by the name of Hunter. Rather, they were that of a woman with short, raven hair wearing a black dress that ended just below her hips. Her eyes, however, were still the same dull maroon color of Hunter's.

And sprouting from her back were a truly bizarre set of wings, composed of curving blades and waving tentacles in blue and red.

"You idiot!" Reimu yelled as she continued to shower Nue Houjou with danmaku. "Do you have any idea what you could've done? Do you have any idea what's going on here?"

"Leave her alone, Missy," said that earthy voice from before. Reimu glanced over to see the faux Ran rising to her feet. "This here scrap don't concern the likes of-"

She might have said more, but that was when a blue beam of light struck where she was standing, sending up an explosion of dirt and scorched grass. When it was cleared, she was gone.

"Er, what?" Reimu said. That had been no firework. And it had come from above, rather than from the side.

She looked up to see the Hisoutensoku staring down at her. Though its master had long evacuated, its eyes were once again glowing bright. Though not with the pink of before, but sapphire blue.

It turned its head to focus on Nue, who was just starting to rise. Another blast shot from its eyes, and the shape-changing youkai disintegrated.

Reimu gaped as the Hisoutensoku slowly rose to its massive feet, sending its shadow to cover the valley. It released its hold on the Strutter, which likewise laboriously moved its gigantic body around until it supported itself on its legs once again. One of the rocket silos on its abdomen opened up and fired. Reimu flinched, certain that she was the target. However, the rocket sailed right past her, heading for a point several meters away.

…

Lunar gaped in confusion as Sunny shook her in desperation. What? she mouthed. What's wrong with you?

Sunny babbled wordlessly, but Lunar couldn't make out any of it. Of course, she herself was to blame for that. Realizing this, she released the blanket she had used to dampen all nearby sound.

Her tongue freed, Sunny cried, "Stop shooting! That's Reimu and Yukari Yakumo over there!"

"Whhaaaaat?" Lunar said, her eyes boggling.

"Yes! They'll blow us up if they-"

"Too late," Star deadpanned. The other two fairies turned to see something whistling their way.

…

"Oh," Reimu said as a spectacular display of red, blue, green, and white exploded where the rocket hit. "That's where it was going."

Its job done, the metallic spider lurched its way over her, blotting out the sun as it passed overhead. Despite all the trouble it and its creators had given her, she had to admit that she was impressed. It was quite the sight.

And she couldn't help but notice that its crushed eye, which had once glowed red, now shared the same brilliant blue as the Hisoutensoku.

"What's going on?" Rin said as she stumbled her way over to Reimu. "What are they doing?"

The giant spider stopped when it had passed fully overhead. The Hisoutensoku took position at the opposite end. Both of the robots had their backs at the two girls, and their weapons were primed and ready to destroy all intruders.

Pleased that Rin hadn't run away, Reimu said, "I think…they're on our side now."

…

"How did you do that?" Kanako whispered as she stared at the two behemoths. "To move something so huge…Not even you should have that much power!"

"I don't," Mima said. "And if I were relying on telekinesis alone, I couldn't move them like that for more than maybe about thirty seconds." She gestured toward the valley. "Fortunately, I don't have to. Everything needed to make them do what I want is already there. A few commands through their circuits and into their AI's, a few magical conduits to replace those ruined by the battle, smooth out the joints that had been damaged, and now we have ourselves a couple of ready-made guards to ensure that our girls remain undisturbed." She flashed a self-satisfied smile at the goddess. "Work smarter, not harder, that's my motto."

Kanako shook her head in amazement. "You know, I don't know you as well as the others do, but right now? I'm starting to see why everyone's so afraid of you."

…

"Okay," Rin said as she looked from one robot to the next. "What just happened? Do you know what just happened? Because I'd really like to know what just happened."

"Still trying to figure that out," Reimu muttered as she shaded her eyes and looked to the sky, as if the culprit might suddenly dive into their midst. "Someone's decided to give us a hand, but as to who…"

She heard the tramp of feet and looked down to see Marisa and Sanae heading their way. Marisa was trailing a couple of glowing yellow threads from her fingers, which in turn were wrapped around the wrists of the Asakura sisters, who were stumbling and cursing as they tried to keep up. Dressed in a rubbery, skintight outfit, Nitori Kawashiro jogged after Sanae, apparently of her free will.

Well, she had been right about who was responsible for the robots. And while the Asakuras looked like the impact had roughed them up, they seemed to be in good shape. Reimu allowed herself the smallest twinges of relief. Once again, they had managed to avoid any real casualties. Also, she wouldn't have the chance to chew the Asakuras out if they had died.

"Hey Reddie!" Marisa called as they approached. "We got your robo-warriors, ze! Did'ja find the blob girl?"

"Yeah, she did," Rin said, stepping into view. "Let's see, you would be the witch who shot me with that giant laser, unloaded an entire armory of spells on me when I tried to get away, and then tried to incinerate me with that lightning fire."

Marisa blinked. "So, I guess you remember me." She looked Rin Satsuki up and down. "Well, not gonna lie, Gooey. You've caused a hella lotta trouble, but that body you've got there? It's pretty badass."

Rin was taken back by the surprise compliment. "Uh, thanks? I think."

"Hey!" Rika Asakura snapped, drawing everyone's attention. "Play catch-up some other time!" She held up her wrist, still bound by Marisa's magical tether. "Like after you've let us go! What are we, your pet dogs?"

Marisa gave the thread a hard tug, making the Asakuras stumble. "Dunno about the pet part, but you're definitely a couple bitches. 'Sides, you sure you wanna call attention to yourself? I mean, considering the company."

Rika looked around at the faces staring at her. Then she noticed Rin and realized what Marisa meant.

"Oh," she said, the blood draining from her face. "Ah, Rin. Er, long time no see."

"Longer for me than you, I think," Rin responded. "Still not long enough though."

"Er, I guess you have a point." Rika swallowed and glanced to her sister. For her part, Rikako's knees were knocking against each other, and she looked like she was having trouble remaining upright. "And, uh, just for the record, you do realize we were barely involved in the, the experiment. The one that made you like that. Seriously, it wasn't our fault. You get that, right?"

"Were you not?" Rin said, scratching the bottom of her throat. "I seem to remember it…differently."

"I'm serious!" Rika said. "They just borrowed a bunch of equipment from us! Eirin Yagokoro and that pajama-wearing magician did most of it! We were just…kind of there!"

"Oh? And what about the part where you wanted to stick me full of electrodes?"

Rika frowned. "Wait, what? No we didn't."

"Yes you did!" Rin said, her ghastly voice rising to a near shriek. "'To test my limits,' you said! Why are you lying?"

The Asakura sisters exchanged a bewildered look. "No, no we never did anything like that."

"Okay, okay!" Reimu said, cutting in before the disagreement devolved into violence. "Not the time for this! Really! Marisa? Sanae? Good job. Now, can you take those three morons out of here before this turns into another free-for-all?"

"Hey den!" Nitori said indignantly, entering the conversation for the first time. "Not callings for! I is having a...IK?" She looked to Sanae.

"IQ," Sanae supplied for her.

"Right! I has IQ of three hunners an'-"

"What's wrong with a free-for-all?" Marisa said, cutting Nitori off. Then, when Reimu glared, she held up her free hand and grinned. "Kidding! Kidding!" She gave the thread another tug. "Come on, Frankenweenies. Let's go find someplace to sit tight until we can have you arrested properly, ze."

Marisa and Sanae left, taking their wards with them. Nitori followed willingly, if not a bit sulkily. The Asakuras, however, hung back to yell at Reimu.

"Yukari Yakumo will hear about this!" Rika threatened. "We were going to capture Satsuki for her, not the bounty! And we'll make sure she'll hear about how you got in the way!"

Reimu stared. "Are you even sane? Shouldn't you be locked up someplace with lots of padding?"

Marisa rolled her eyes and pulled Rika after her. "C'mon kids, enough of that. Play nice, and I'll give you some special tips about how to survive in prison! Lesson one: the soap, and why a steady grip is absolutely necessary."

Finally Reimu and Rin were alone. The shrine maiden eyed the Kirin nervously, wondering how she was supposed to proceed from here. But it was Rin who initiated the conversation.

"You have some weird friends," she said.

Reimu blinked. "Who, Rika? She's not my friend."

"Actually, I meant the witch." Rin glanced up at the robots, who still silently stood guard. "And I suppose we have that one ghost, Mima, to thank for the twenty-foot bodyguards?"

Reimu glanced up. "Probably. I mean, I can't say for sure, but it seems like something she'd do. Besides, their eyes are the same color as hers now, which I guess would be kind of like her signature."

"I hear she has some others. Such as treachery, deceit, and violence, based on what Rumia's told me."

"Well, yeah," Reimu said with a sigh. "But I don't think she'll-"

"Miss Hakurei, can I ask you something?"

"…uh, sure."

Rin's lavender eyes looked down at the ground. The robots' battle had reduced it into uneven mounds of dirt and uprooted grass. "Did Reisen really go to you for help?"

Well, that question was easy enough to answer. "Yes."

"Why?"

Reimu frowned. "Uh, 'scuse me?"

"Why would she still care about? The last time I saw her, I almost killed her."

Oh yeah. That. "I thought that was the Shadow Youkai."

"So? I thought everything was assuming that we were one and the same, you know?"

"Oh, get over yourself," Reimu said irritably. "She loves you, you jackass. Hell, she even freaking walked out on Eirin Yagokoro to go look for you."

Rin's eyes widened, but she regained her composure. "I don't see her here."

"That's because I don't let her out of the shrine! Eirin's looking for her too, so it's not safe! But believe me, she's done nothing but yammer at me to let her join in the search too. So please, please, please, do us both a favor and drop the super-cynicism. I. Am trying. To freaking help you!"

To Rin's credit, Reimu's words did make her wince. "I…Sorry. I'm sorry. It's just…I don't know. I'm not real used to people actually going out of their way…"

Reimu took a deep breath. "Okay, I get that. But seeing how I'm doing the best I can, and seeing how we really don't have a lot of time…"

"All right, all right. You're right. But, you see, the thing is…" Rin put her wickedly sharp hands on her hips and let out a bitter laugh. "Even if you're being completely sincere, what…Uh, please don't take this the wrong way and think I'm ungrateful, but what can you do?"

Reimu felt an involuntary twitch take control of her right eyebrow. "Whatever do you mean?" she said, hoping that her voice would remain under control.

"Do you have a cure? For me, I mean. Can you make me normal again?"

And there it was, the single biggest problem with this whole endeavor. Because all the good feelings, cooperation, and love didn't amount to anything if they couldn't find a way to return Rin to her former state. It didn't matter if Yukari herself were to declare Rin to be the blessed child of Gensokyo and swear that no one would ever harm her again. She was still going to have to give up those she had devoured, again dooming her to the hell of personal oblivion.

When Reimu didn't answer, Rin's stolen lips curled up. "Thought so."

"Hey, just because I'm not carrying one around in my freaking pocket doesn't mean we can't find one," Reimu said. While she couldn't exactly blame Rin for her passive-aggressive attitude, it was starting to get on her nerves. "I mean, I've got two supremely powerful sorceresses working with me, one who will move heaven, earth, and hell to find a way to turn you back to normal, and the other practically wrote the book on cheating with magic-"

"Practically?" Marisa's voice shouted from someplace out of sight. "Try literally! And it weren't just one, either! She's had eight-seven of those things published, ze!"

"Shut up, Marisa!" Reimu shouted back.

"Well, if you're going talk about how cool my mentor is, then get your godsdamned facts right!"

"Shut up, Marisa!"

Rin scratched her head. "How have you two not killed each other by now?"

"If I think of a good answer, I'll let you know," Reimu growled. "But anyway, yeah, we've got Mima and Byakuren Hijiri, who are some major A-listers in the magic field. We also got two big-time goddesses-"

"Which ones? This place is crawling with them."

In answer, Reimu stuck her thumb in the direction of the Youkai Mountain, behind the Hisoutensoku. "The ones that run that."

"What, the robot?" Rin said in bewilderment. "I thought that belonged to that Kappa!"

"Argh! No, you carnivorous copy-cat! I mean the Youkai freaking Mountain! I mean Kanako Yasaka and Suwako Moriya! You do know who they are, right?"

"She should!" Sanae shouted, from the same direction Marisa's voice had come from. "She only dug a flaming trench through their front yard this morning!"

Reimu's fingernails were starting to dig into her palms. "Shut. UP! Sanae!"

"Actually, I mean our front yard, and guess who's going to have to clean up that-"

"Okay, maybe we stop teasing the Armpit Queen now, ze," Marisa's voice cut in. "She's staring to use that voice."

"I cannot believe we were captured by these…these children!" Rikako put in.

"Just for that, I'm not telling you where Kotohime hides the smokes," Marisa said.

Rin buried her face in her hands. "Miss Hakurei? You probably mean well, and if you really got all those people on your side, I really do appreciate it. But this really isn't filling me with confidence, you know?"

Reimu found herself in complete agreement. "Marisa! Sanae! Please, take those three and get out of earshot! Trying to have a very important conversation here!"

"Fine, fine. Come on, Mossy. Let's go have picnic somewhere else."

Once she was sure that her companions had left, Reimu sighed and said, "Sorry about that. Please don't take those two as an example of the rest of us. The others are way more mature, promise." Then she frowned. "Well, except for Mima. But she at least knows when to take things seriously."

"I guess. Though to be honest, they really remind me a lot of Tewi." Rin walked over to a mound of dirt and sat down. She stared down at her talons. "Okay, let's just assume what you told me is correct, that you managed to get all those powerful and influential people together. And let's assume I take you up on your offer. What would happen next?"

"Next?" Reimu stared at her, not sure what the Kirin was getting at. "Well, we would take you some place safe, and then we would get to work fixing you."

Rin nodded. "And I suppose I would have to let Kaguya Houraisan and Fujiwara no Mokou go right away, right?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, come on Rin. Even if you can use everyone trying to kill you as an excuse to keep them for now, holding onto them after is just…well, wrong."

"No, I get that. But what about Rumia? Are you going to force her out of me too?"

…

Deep Within

Rumia sucked in a sharp breath. The conversation Rin was having with Reimu, which was always worrisome enough as it was, had just taken a very uncomfortable turn. "Uh, Rin?" she said. "You did promise to let me go when things were safe for us, you remember saying that?"

"I do," Rin said. "I'm just…trying to straighten out a few details, 'kay?"

"Okay," Rumia said, still feeling uncertain. "Just so you know, we may be getting along better, but that doesn't mean I wanna stay in here forever, all right?"

"Yes, I get that."

…

Reimu frowned. "Uh, sorry. Did you say something?"

"I said that out loud?" Rin said, looking surprised.

"Well, you kinda mumbled."

"Whoops. Sorry, I was talking to Rumia."

"Ah." Reimu's eyes narrowed. "And what did she say?"

"She just reminded me of some promises I made."

"And…what promises would that be?"

"To let her go, once it was safe to do so." Rin cocked her head. "And…seeing how you're staring at me all suspicious-like, you're still worried that I'm talking to the evil Rumia, aren't you?"

Reimu sucked in air through her teeth. "Well…"

"And that's the biggest problem we have. Even if you're really being sincere, you still can't guarantee that something horrible won't happen to Rumia once I let her go, and I promised her that I wouldn't let her go until it was safe."

Which was a fair point, Reimu had to admit. While she had no problem believing that Rin hadn't jumped into the deep end of the evil pool, Rumia was a different matter entirely. Despite everything she had told Kanako and Byakuren, and been told in return, and despite everything she had promised Reisen, continuing the "Save Rin Satsuki" operation just wasn't worth it if it meant potentially freeing the Shadow Youkai.

Of course, if what Rin had said about there now being a separation between Rumia Past and Rumia Present was true, then maybe it wasn't a problem. They could just kill one and release the other. Unless, of course, the two were still connected somehow. Which, given their luck, was entirely possible. And Shinki had never said that drawing Azrael's essence back into its sword would leave the host unharmed.

Suddenly, Reimu found herself sympathizing with Yukari's way of thinking. If this was the sort of thing she had to deal with every time a problem like this arose, than it was no wonder that she so often took the simplest path.

No, she reprimanded herself. I am not going to start thinking like that. I am not going become Yukari.

"Okay, fine," she said, doing her best to keep her voice calm and steady. "But come on, Rin. If you want to prove that she's innocent, do you really think running around and getting into fights with everyone is going to help?"

Rin's lavender eyes flared up, and Reimu realized that she had made a mistake. "I'm not picking fights with anyone! It's everyone that keeps picking fights with me!"

…

The bounty hunter strode forward, legs moving briskly through the wild grass, sword unsheathed in her right hand. A razor-sharp ring of steel was clutched in the other, her fingers wrapped tightly to the leather grip. Her eyes, already weary from her long search, were now glowering with determination.

Based upon what she had heard, her destination was the valley right over the hills she was now approaching. Judging from the scarring the land had taken, she had arrived late to the party. Fortunately such things were easy to salvage. All she had to do was mop up the remaining party-goers, who would already have been weakened, and claim the prize for herself. That was, of course, assuming that the prize was still up for grabs. But even that would be a temporary inconvenience.

Unfortunately, doing so meant pushing her way past the small crowd of curious spectators that was now being herded away by several Tengu, all of whom were holding naked scimitars. From the look of things, entry to the valley was in the process of being denied.

Her lip curled. No. She had been searching the length and breadth of Gensokyo for weeks. She was not going to be stopped by these fools.

Deciding not to bother with the crowd at all, the bounty hunter leapt into the air and flew toward the hills. Predictably, this drew the attention of one of the Tengu, who was in the process of arguing with a stooped old woman whose head was covered by a shawl. The Tengu looked startled by the sudden display of boldness, but he recovered quickly and moved to intercept.

"Wait, stop!" the Tengu called. "You can't go in there!"

Of course, he was ignored. Who was he to tell her what to do?

She kept going, until the idiotic Tengu continued down his path of stupidity by zipping around and putting himself in her way.

"All right, stop right there," he said. "This valley has been quarantined by order of goddess Kanako Yasaka, may her miracles be praised! Entry is forbidden!"

The bounty hunter's response was a contemptuous scowl. "Insolent whelp," she snapped. "You dare tell me where to go? Do you have any idea who I am?"

Rather than cowing as he was supposed to, the Tengu simply scowled right back. "I don't care if you're Yukari Yakumo herself. No one goes in."

"Like I'd let someone like you stand between me and my bounty! Get out of my way, or I'll-"

"Ah, excuse me?"

The two of them turned to see the old woman approaching, hobbling on her copper cane. Despite her stoop, she was surprisingly tall. "Am I to understand that this young lady is one of those bounty hunters I've heard so much about?"

"What's it to you?" came the bounty hunter's reply.

"Well, it's just that, as I understand it, if you are seeking a bounty, and the bounty in question is within that valley, than there is little this fine young man can do to stop you." There was a small blue flower pinned to the old woman's blouse, right over the heart. "At least, not legally."

The Tengu's cheeks flushed. "It doesn't matter who's in there or why," he said. "This area is sealed off. No one goes in, and that's-"

"Ah, no."

There was a sudden flash of green light, and the bounty hunter flinched back in surprise. When she opened her eyes again, the Tengu was gone.

The old woman looked around. "Hmmm, doesn't look like any of the others noticed. All right, sweetie. Go right-"

A moment later the tip of the bounty hunter's burning sword was only a few inches away from the old woman's shrouded face. But rather than be perturbed by the threat, the old woman simply sighed and said, "Ah. Well, I guess this is happening now."

"What did you just do?" the bounty hunter demanded. "Answer quickly, or-"

"Oh, untwist your panties," the old woman said. And, to the bounty hunter's complete shock, she put her hand on the sword's tip and moved it away from her face. "I was just lending a friendly hand. No need to overreact."

The bounty hunter was unconvinced. "Who are you?" she demanded, snapping the sword back into place. "And be warned: I have no patience for people who waste my time."

The old woman cocked her head to one side. Within the shroud's folds, her face was hidden by shadows, but the bounty hunter could see that she had one eye the color of blood, while the other was covered by an eyepatch. "Oh, no one of importance, I assure you. I just saw the fun and figured I'd come take a closer look. Please, don't waste any more time with little old me. I'm sure you have more importance things to do."

Which was true enough. The bounty hunter withdrew her sword, but wasn't content to leave without giving one final warning. "Watch yourself, decrepit one. Do not get in my way."

"I wouldn't dream of it," the old woman said. She sat down on the side of the hill and made herself comfortable. "I'll just stay here, safely out of the way. Toodles. And good hunting."

Mumbling to herself, the bounty hunter turned away and continued into the valley, this time unchallenged.

She hesitated when she saw the two metal colossi standing with their backs to each other. While she had expected the competition to bring along their fair share of firepower, that was just a wee bit ridiculous, even by Gensokyo's standards.

However, they didn't seem to be doing anything threatening at the moment. They just stood there, almost as if they were guarding something.

She grinned. Well, at least she didn't have to search anymore. Now the only things she had to do was figure out how to make the grab.

…

"You know, I really don't see this going anywhere," Mima said. She sighed and turned her gaze toward Kanako, who was pacing back-and-forth behind the green barrier. "Feel like tagging yourself in?"

Kanako stopped her restless movement. "What?"

"You pride yourself on cutting through crap, getting to the bottom line, and seeing things the way they are, right? Miss Divine Realist and all that?"

There was a short pause, and then Kanako said in a guarded tone, "Yes."

"Good. Because I feel this conversation could use a little of that."

Mima held up her right hand, and her barrier was sucked into her palm in the form of a vortex. "Go and give the frustrated shrine maiden a hand, won't you? Just keep a hold on your temper, try not to scare Satsuki too badly, and put off disciplining your own girl until later."

Although she was visibly bristling at being treated like a subordinate, Kanako obeyed. She stepped off the ledge and flew down toward where Reimu and Satsuki were conversing.

Mima resumed her observations of the proceedings. While she didn't really expect Kanako Yasaka to be the one to talk sense into Satsuki, one really didn't know until it was tried. She just hoped that she wouldn't have to go back to the shrine and retrieve the rabbit. Having to fall back on last resort tactics had never sat well with her, and while bringing in Reisen was a shot in the dark. On the one hand, the Lunarian did actually stand the best chance of convincing Satsuki to cooperate. On the other, Satsuki's mental state was so fragmented that Mima had no real idea how she would react to having such a large piece from her past presented to her. While the spirit certainly enjoyed volatile situations, she preferred to be the one causing them to other people's inconvenience, rather than being the one inconvenienced.

And speaking of which…

Mima's attention momentarily diverted from the conversion attempt to a spot near the edge of the valley. There, she saw yet another person entering the scene, striding purposefully through the grass. Her mouth pressed itself into a straight line. Well, all things considered, the newcomer's appearance shouldn't come as that great of a surprise. After all, such complications seemed to be the rule rather than the exception these days. But even so, her presence was most unwelcome.

She glanced over to the Strutter and smiled.

…

Deep Within

"Why can't people just leave me alone?"Rin demanded. "I don't wanna hurt anyone, but everyone keeps trying to hurt me! If they won't shoot at me I won't shoot back!"

Rumia sat behind her, her legs crossed with her elbows resting on her thighs and her chin sitting in her hands. Now that the conversation was no longer about her, she felt no particular need to intervene. As far as she was concerned, they had reached game over. Now the only thing to do was wait until people stopped shouting and the inevitable end arrived.

On the screen, she saw that Reimu's hand had started to develop a noticeable twitch. The shrine maiden squeezed it into a tight fist and took a deep breath. "Because," she said. "As far as everyone knows, you're a dangerous lunatic who'd just as soon eat somebody as look at them! And running around scaring the crap out of people isn't going to help that!"

"But I'm not doing it on purpose, that's what I keep trying to tell you!"Rin said, throwing her hands into the air. Rumia idly wondered if her physical body had made the same motion. "Every time someone finds me, all I try to do is get away! But no, they won't let me, they just have to chase me in circles and call their friends to join in!" She turnedto Rumia. "Can you believe this? She's acting like it's all my fault!"

Rumia shrugged. "So do you, whenever you get mopey."

"Yeah, but I didn't meant, I mean I don't, not the shooting and…Shut up!"

"Whatever."

That set the Kirin girl off. "Don't you 'whatever' me!" she screamed. "I'm trying to save your whatevering butt here! You know, if it weren't for you, I would be out of this already!"

Rumia idly wondered what in the hell Rin was talking about, but decided that the answer was probably not worth the effort of asking. "Is that so." She shrugged. "Okay, that's cool."

The vein's in Rin's neck looked like they were about to explode, but once again, their conversation was cut short as other matters took precedence.

…

Reimu took a reflexive step backwards. "Uh, okay," she said as Kanako strode towards where she and Rin were talking. "Should have figured you were going to show up sooner or later." She swallowed. "Look, I don't do anything…angry right now. This wasn't-"

"I know very well what is going on here, Reimu," Kanako said heatedly. She swung her finger up at the Youkai Mountain. "I was up there, watching and listening to the whole thing."

"Oh," Reimu said. She glanced to Rin, who, thankfully, had still not fled. On the contrary, Rin was looking at Kanako with an expression of befuddled curiosity on her borrowed face. "Right, okay." She looked up at the two silent guardians, standing protectively over them. "Just for the record, the robots aren't our fault. And come to think of it, those fireworks weren't either."

"Yes, I know," Kanako said. "And rest assured, I'll take care of those responsible for this…mess…in due time. But for now, I think we can put off assigning blame and meriting out punishments until we've addressed a more important situation. Namely, you."

Reimu blinked in surprise and briefly wondered what she had done, but then saw that Kanako was addressing Rin. The elder goddess had turned to face the prodigal youkai, her arms folded over the reflective charm she always wore and with furious scowl on her face. Reimu winced. Wonderful, more angry people.

"Hey, take it easy on her," she said in a low voice. "I'm trying to work things out, and shouting isn't going to help."

"I am aware, thank you," Kanako replied. "That's why I'm here, to give you a much-needed hand."

Reimu frowned. "Really? You walked to the edge of your mountain, saw a giant metal man and a giant metal spider standing guard over me and one really scary looking character, and your first impulse was to fly down and join the conversation?"

"Actually, my first impulse was to call down thunder and lightning to shock everyone unconscious and let the Hatanka sort out the mess later, but Mima, ah," Kanako coughed into her fist, ''talked' me out of it."

Reimu's right eye twitched, but she kept her cool. So, Mima was present after all. That was no surprise. Despite her so-called 'retirement,' the spirit still adored violence and chaos, especially when she could manipulate it to her benefit from the sidelines. And taking control of the two monolithic combatants was certainly something she would do. While she appreciated the assistance, Reimu made a mental note to make sure that by the time this day was over, both of the robots had been rendered unusable by anyone. Mima was a fine person to have on your side, but you didn't want controlling anything of this caliber.

But that would have to wait until the current crisis had been dealt with. Reimu turned to Rin, who was watching Kanako with wary eyes, and said to her, "Hey Rin, you know who this person is, right?"

A few seconds passed in which Rin did not move, and Reimu wondered if she was conversing with Rumia, however that worked. But then the fugitive said, "You're that lady whose house I landed in front of this morning."

"Yes," Kanako said. "I am. My name is Kanako Yasaka. I understand that Reimu has already mentioned me."

There was another strange pause, and then Rin said, "Yes. You're the goddess of the Youkai Mountain."

"And much of the surrounding area," Kanako said. "And, as Reimu mentioned, one of her aforementioned allies, believe it or not." A small smile twisted her lips. "Yes, child, her campaign to save you rather than let Yukari Yakumo severely reduce your continued existence does exist."

…

Deep Within

Had Rumia not been in the state of mind she was now, Rin's demeanor might have scared her. The Kirin was staring at the newly-arrived goddess with a strange sort of intensity, but the look on her face was completely neutral. Any intentions were masked. She might have been about to attack Kanako Yasaka or kiss her for all Rumia could tell.

Rumia couldn't care which way it went, she just wished that Rin would make up her mind and choose. Attack, and it didn't matter how much resilience Rin's borrowed power gave her. It would be over in fairly short order, and the nightmare would end. Kiss, and…the exact same thing would happen, actually, though it would be a whole lot funnier.

But if Rin were to accept Reimu Hakurei's offer, then there were three things that would happen. The first was that it would turn out to be some sort of massive trick and she and Rin would be executed in short order. The second was that the offer of help turned out to be legitimate, and in time Rumia would walk away a free youkai. The third was that the offer was legitimate, but only insofar as Rin was concerned, and only Rumia would end up being executed. As all three paths also led to the end of the nightmare, Rumia had no objections.

Of course, there did exist the possibility that they would be captured and end up sealed away together instead of executed. Now that was a terrible thought to contemplate.

"Hey. Rumia," Rin said, not taking her eyes off the screen.

"Yo?"

"You live around here, right?"

Rumia shrugged. "Once upon a time."

"Is that really Kanako Yasaka?"

"Probably," Rumia said. "But then, we did have that faker pretending to be Miss Yukari. Still, I'd say that's probably her, yeah."

"Huh." Rin pondered this for a moment longer, and then she giggled. "Think I should ask her about that magazine article?"

It was such an unexpected question that Rumia wondered if she had heard Rin correctly. Then, speaking slowly, she asked, "What in the hell are you talking about?"

"You know! Back in Eirin's bamboo clinic? In the waiting room? There was that magazine, remember?" Rin giggled again. "About how she caught her shrine maiden in bed with that other goddess? I've been kind of curious about that, so do you think I should ask her?"

If Rumia had needed further proof that Rin had completely flipped her lid, she did no longer. She opened her mouth to tell her that no, asking the angry goddess about bullshit sex scandals from the tabloids was not a good idea, and if they wanted to get out of this alive than putting a lid on the crazy was within their best interests. But then she remembered how tired she was of the whole running thing.

"Sure," she said. "Go for it."

Rin glanced at her over her shoulder. "Wait, really?"

"Why the hell not?"

"You're not going to yell at me for having such a stupidly…uh, stupid idea?"

Rumia grinned. "No. I think it's a great idea. Ask if she'll act it out for us too."

Rin frowned. "Rumia, are you okay?"

Rumia's hands fell into her lap. They squeezed themselves into fists. "Oh, yes," she said. "I'm doing just dandy. How's your day been?"

"Horrible. Why?"

With a sigh, Rumia fell onto her back. "Rin. Please stop talking to me and go back to talking to the really powerful people outside, okay?"

…

"What is she doing?" Kanako whispered to Reimu. "When she goes blank like that. Why does she take so long to respond?"

"I think she's talking to Rumia," Reimu whispered back. "And before you freak out, which you are so don't try to deny it, I mean the little stupid one, not the Shadow Youkai. You know, the one you don't give an asp's tail about?"

"Interesting," Kanako mused. "To have a fully separate consciousness contained within your mind. You know, if it weren't for the disastrous sequence of events surrounding her, Rin Satsuki would make for a fascinating-"

"Shhh!" Reimu quickly stuck a finger in front of her lips. "Ix-nay on udying-stay er-hay! Or anything sciencey for that matter. She has really good hearing, and I don't want her to freak."

Kanako's eyes flitted to the dangerous-looking figure standing stock-still not five meters away. "Ah, point taken." She cleared her throat and spoke in a louder voice, "Miss Satsuki?"

Rin's head jerked up and her eyes refocused. It was kind of eerie, to be honest. There was little in the way of natural movement, almost as if she were the miniaturized cousin of the two robots.

"If you are willing to listen, there are a few things I need to tell you."

A slight frown passed over Rin's face, this time looking a bit more natural. "Uh, sure."

Kanako nodded. Whether she was conscious of it or not, she had situated herself in the center of the space between the two colossi. Which made a bit of sense. As a major deity, she would be used to being in the center of attention whenever she had something important to say.

"Now, it is true that the majority of Gensokyo has been turned against you," Kanako began. "Thanks to the fallout from the battle at Eientei to the panic over the unleashing of the Shadow Youkai to Yuuka Kazami's bounty, most everyone, from the lowliest fairy to the greatest divinities, such as myself, have been told by authority, press, and rumor alike to treat you as a highly dangerous and unstable individual, perhaps even outright evil, someone to be feared and destroyed with extreme haste."

Reimu felt a sarcastic remark try to force its way out of her mouth and had to bite it back. Fortunately, Rin didn't seem to have the same reflexive wit she did, and left the obvious responses of "Oh, really? I had not noticed" or "You know, I do believe you're right" unspoken.

"But even so," Kanako continued, "despite Yukari Yakumo's attempts to paint you as someone beyond saving, there are those, such as Reimu here, who do not believe that your current condition is curable only through death. As for myself, though I remain dubious of their chances of success, I must admit that the 'Attack, attack, attack' strategy currently being employed by your detractors is only making the situation worse. Furthermore, none of us are at all comfortable with 'Guilty until proven dead' mindset so many people seem to have. To that end-"

"Ah, I really hate to interrupt, especially when you look like you're gathering steam, but things are about to get a little dicey," Mima's voice said without warning. It seemed to come from everywhere, with no identifiable point of origin.

Kanako's head snapped up. "Dicey? How?"

"Oh, nobody important. Just another annoying bounty hunter with absolutely no skills at stealth. Not to worry, I'll take care of her. Just giving you a bit of a head's up, so you don't panic."

"Is that Mima?" Rin said, her burning eyes suspiciously searching the skies.

"Indeed it is! Hello again, Rin. Don't mind me, I'm just keeping an eye on things."

"Okay, but remember we're trying to keep things as non-violent as possible," Reimu said. "No fatalities!"

"Not to worry, she's immortal anyway. I'll just chase her off. Carry on."

With that, the giant spider's weight shifted, its legs groaning. It turned a bit to the left and fired a barrage of rockets.

…

His hands shoved into the pockets of his ragged trousers, his bowler pulled down low over his brow, and his trembling teeth bared in frustration, Tony marched away from the valley with no intention of stopping. Behind, Meira followed, trying to dissuade him.

"We can still win!" she said as she limped as quickly as she could. "Come on, don't give up now! It's just a setback!"

In response, Tony rolled his bulbous eyes to the heavens and stuck his grimy fingers in his ears.

The two of them were covered with minor burns, soot, and bits of charred plastic. Though the firework attack hadn't been especially dangerous, it had been painful and incredibly humiliating. After they had managed to flee out of range of their unseen attackers, Tony had decided right there and then that he had enough. To hell with the bounty. The job was cursed.

Unfortunately, Meira did not share his views. And though she had twisted her ankle dodging a spray of lime-green sparkles, she still hopped along, refusing to admit that they were ridiculously out of their league.

"So they got in a lucky shot! They're just a bunch of teenagers! We can take them!"

Tony glanced over his shoulder at the two giant robots and started laughing. He kept walking, laughing as he went.

That of course set the already unhinged Meira off even more. "Don't laugh at me!" she cried and she hopped her way after him. "Don't you dare laugh at me! I'm sick of people laughing at me! Everyone's always laughing and never taking me seriously just because I'm not a coward who-"

Tony's patience with his partner finally ran out. He turned around, ready to tell her what he thought of her self-esteem problems and where she could stick her stupidity.

He got as far as opening his mouth when he noticed that his chest now felt incredibly hot. In fact, it was almost burning, and hurt quite a lot. He glanced down and saw, to his surprise, that a six-inch burning rainbow was now protruding out of his breastbone. Huh. Now where had that come from?

He looked up to see Meira staring at him in shock. Or rather, at something behind him. He wanted to ask her what, but the rainbow suddenly retracted.

The next thing he knew, he was lying in the grass, staring at his own body, which was standing over him. But that didn't make a lick of sense. How could his own body be standing over him, when it was supposed to be attached to him? And why didn't it have a head? And who was that rather attractive looking young lady standing behind him, holding a colorful sword like she had just-

Oh.

Well, wasn't that just a bag of tits?

…

Meira stumbled back. Her injured foot twisted under her, and she fell onto her butt.

The blue-haired woman that had just decapitated Tony kicked his dissolving body aside and pointed her rainbow sword at the fallen samurai. "You there!" she said. "Peasant! I understand that the criminal Rin Satuki is near. Tell me where she is!"

Her voice was shrill and contemptuous, the voice of an aristocrat bloated on her own self-importance. Meira was not especially fond of aristocrats, but it was hard to criticize one that was pointing a flaming blade at your throat.

"Do not try my patience, you little dirt-licker," the woman said. "I asked you a question, and I demand an answer! Where is my quarry?"

Meira's brow furrowed in bewilderment. Did this woman truly not notice the two metal monsters standing in the center of the valley?

"I said answer me!" the woman shrieked, spittle flying everywhere. "Is she underground? Do those robots have her? Or did she-"

The rest of her words were swallowed up by a sudden burst of heat and force. Meira was sent tumbling several meters through the grass. Then she laid still, her eyes unfocused, her head ringing, and her ears near deafened.

That had been another explosive attack, that much was obvious. But that had been no firework. Rather, it had been something much, much stronger.

Meira waited until the disorientation cleared enough for her to start thinking about getting up. From there, she tried to sit up, but found that she had forgotten how. The ground just refused to stop moving, and the no matter where she looked, her eyes would start drifting to the left or the right.

Instead, she settled for rolling onto her stomach. Even with her mind in such a mess, she could make out the aristocrat, who was thrashing on her side not too far away, her hands clutching at her face and her legs kicking uncontrollably. Though Meira still couldn't hear worth a damn, she got the impression that the aristocrat was screaming.

Her face. That explosive had hit the blue-haired aristocrat right in the face.

Meira stared at her for a moment longer. Then she slowly flopped onto her back and watched at the clouds. They were very relaxing, so peaceful and calm. Nothing like the people beneath. Tony would call them a bunch of silly buggers. Where was he anyway? He would find this all to be hilarious. Meira started giggling. She could just see the look on his ugly face now.

…

Back at her place along the valley's edge, the old woman winced. "Hmmm, well. I'll have to grant full points for ingenuity I suppose," she mused to herself. "But that just isn't fair at all. They're not even giving the hunters a chance. No, we can't have that."

She glanced at the ground and started to move her hand in slow circles over the grass. "No, we cannot have that at all."

…

"…in short, this madness must stop. Every second it continues, things continue to spiral further out of control, and everyone is placed into jeopardy. It is a miracle that no permanent casualties have been directly resulted from your actions, and as an expert in the field of miracles, I can attest that this cannot be counted on to continue."

Reimu sat with her back against the one of the Stutter's legs, her own legs drawn up in front of her. She watched as Kanako laid her case out to Rin. Reimu had to admit that the serpent goddess was doing a much better job than she had, even if the speech was a bit on the wordy side. But Rin was listening, which was the important thing.

"It's not my fault," Rin growled. "I don't want all this to happen. I don't want anyone to get hurt. I just want to be left alone. But no one will!"

"I am not assigning blame," Kanako replied. "The truly guilty ones are obvious. But that does not change the fact that, intentional or no, destruction and chaos follow in your wake. And if allowed to continue unabated, it will only grow worse."

"Tell them that! All those jerks who keep shooting me, or punching me, or stabbing me with stuff! I'm totally on board with the whole peace and love thing, but they just won't stop!"

"Impossible," Kanako said. "This is Gensokyo, where rash impulsiveness is the common currency and good sense does not see equal exchange. The bounty alone has ensured that there will always be at least someone trying to hunt you down, and even if that fails, Yuuka Kazami is nothing but persistent. Furthermore, on the other side, Yukari Yakumo believes you a dangerous threat, which means she will never stop hunting you."

"But I'm not! All those places that got trashed were because someone else just jumped me out of nowhere and I had to defend myself, you know?"

"Then, for faith's sake, stop allowing yourself to be put in a position to be jumped! Your current status in the public's mind is that of a dangerous fugitive, and unless that is changed, you will continue to be pursued! And Gensokyo is not a large place. It is only so long before you run out of places to run!"

"And how am I supposed to do that?" Rin demanded. "Take out an ad in the newspapers? Something like, 'Hey, I'm not so bad! Please stop attacking me, and we can all be friends'!"

"By cooperating with us," Kanako said. "Do the math, girl. We have the reputation of Byakuren Hijiri, the influence and resources of my shrine, the extensive magical knowledge of Mima, and the sanctuary provided by Reimu's shrine. If we cannot dissuade the majority of your hunters and ward of the rest while actually, than whom else can? And with our combined power and knowledge, who else has a chance of restoring you to normal and giving you your life back?"

Reimu nodded and quietly applauded. That was pretty much most of her arguments, summed up much better than she ever could. Maybe this had a chance after all.

"Hey, Mima," she said in a low voice. "You still there?"

"Mmmm-hmmm," the spirit's voice buzzed in her ear. "What's up?"

"How are we looking?"

"Oh, so far so good. No immediate threats."

Reimu glanced at Rin. She hadn't answered Kanako, though she hadn't flipped out either. Rather, she seemed to be caught up in some kind of internal debate, likely a literal one. "That's good to hear. What about that rocket you just sent off? Did it do its job?"

"Oh yes," Mima said. There was a smugness to her voice that raised Reimu's suspicions. "Very well."

"Okay." Reimu frowned. "Ah, and who was it aimed at anyway? You said they were immortal. Anyone we know?"

"Eh, I suppose you can say that. I wouldn't say you know know this person, not on a personal basis. But yes, you have met and are on a first name basis, as much as it must infuriate her."

Now Reimu was growing very worried. "Mima, who did you just blow up?"

"No one."

"Oh, so they ran off?"

"No. It hit them in the face, and they are now on the ground, writhing in pain. I can show you if you like. It's actually pretty funny."

Reimu's stomach plunged into ice water. "Mima, who did you just hit with a rocket?"

"Oh, no one of importance. Just Tenshi Hinanai."

Reimu sat up straight. "Wait, what?"

"Why, is this a problem?" Mima asked, sounding innocent.

"I think so, yes!" Reimu snapped. "I mean, it's freaking Tenshi! Her parents rule Heaven, and she has it in for me already! What was she even doing here? And what is it with you and hitting people in the face with missiles today?"

"Based upon how thoroughly she had armed herself and the fact that she had just cut off the head of your tarantula friend, I'd say the same thing as everyone else," Mima said. "But if she cannot take a crippling explosion to the face, than she has no business playing the game. And I use the tools I have available to me. Tomorrow, I might be using flying daggers and spiked maces, depending on how the day goes."

"That's not the point! She-" Reimu glanced to her left. Kanako and Rin were staring at her, probably wondering what all the commotion was about. She grimaced, quickly excused herself, and retreated further into the Strutter's shadow.

"Look, I told you, I don't want people getting hurt if we can help it," Reimu said once she was (hopefully) out of earshot. "We're supposed to be the good guys here. And before you start laughing, things are bad enough without Heaven's bratty princess making trouble for us. I don't like Tenshi at all, but that doesn't mean I think blowing her face off is a good idea!"

"Oh, relax," Mima said. "She's a Celestial, however undeserving. And they're a hardy bunch. Nothing permanently harmed but her pride, which, as I'm sure you'll agree, could stand to have a few pounds shaved off."

"I'm not talking about what she can take, I'm talking about her getting pissed off and running to whine to her parents! Who will, in turn, go whine to Yukari! Who will start wondering what the robots where doing here in the first place, and I don't want her to even know about any of this!"

Mima tsked. "Reimu, please. Naiveté does not suit you. Do you think Yukari has not already been made aware of the marathon Rin has been running over Gensokyo? The girl already rampaged over one Gensokyian capital and bumped into another. Do you honestly believe that something of this magnitude has somehow escaped her attention, regardless of her condition? Just like you told the Kirin, you're working with borrowed time here."

Reimu's stomach clenched up.

"Oh, and by the way, it would be a good idea to hurry."

Cursing herself for not having realized this earlier, Reimu turned and rushed back toward the clearing. She got halfway there when the ground shifted, tripping her and sending her sprawling onto her face. Gagging and spitting out dirt, Reimu tried to rise, only to get knocked down again. What in the world?

She turned her head to one side and immediately identified the problem. The Strutter's legs were moving, and the disturbances were close enough to put her off her balance.

"Mima!" she said as she stumbled her way to her feet. "Quit it with the spider! You keep knocking me over!"

Mima didn't answer.

"Mima?"

"Reimu, what is the matter?" Kanako called over to her. "Why is the spider moving? Are we under attack?"

Reimu managed to stumble her way out of the Strutter's shadow. "Hell if I know! It just started moving! And Mima won't answer when I-"

There was a sudden clunking noise.

"Look out!" Rin cried for the second time that day.

The next thing Reimu knew, Rin had slammed right into her with a flying tackle, knocking her over and driving the air from her lungs. Less than a second later, an explosion destroyed the place where she had been standing.

Gasping, Reimu tried to speak. "Wh-wha…"

Then Kanako's hands reached down to pull both her and Rin to their feet. "Move it, ladies! The spider's gone hostile."

If for no other reason than to punctuate her point, two more rockets sailed out of the Strutter's carapace and zeroed in on their location. Kanako threw both palms up, and both rockets exploded in the air.

"I thought you said the ghost was on our side!" Rin said as the three of them broke into a stumbling run and leapt into flight. "Why is she attacking us?"

Reimu shook her head. She had been thinking the same thing. "I don't know! But fly now, figure it out-"

A sudden shockwave cut her off, and the three of them were sent tumbling head-over-heels. Reimu flailed as her body skipped like a stone over water before slamming into a small bush. Fighting off the disorientation, she shoved her way out and stumbled to her feet, though a stitch in her side make it a difficult task.

Rin was already standing about nine meters away, looking none worse for the wear, if not a little bewildered. As for Kanako…

Reimu inhaled through her teeth. From the look of things, Kanako had been the Strutter's target, and had taken a rocket right to the back. She lay facedown in the grass, with a sizeable scorch mark between her shoulder blades. And directly above her, the Strutter was coming to a stop, its eye focusing on the fallen goddess.

"Rin!" Reimu screamed as she lurched forward, one hand holding her side, the other pulling out a spellcard.

The Kirin's head snapped up. "Huh?"

"Help her, before it-"

Her words came too late. The Strutter unleashed a barrage of rockets, all focused on Kanako's prone form.

"No!" Reimu cried as she tried to fire the spellcard off, but the area of impact had already been pulverized, and the Strutter was turning its attention to her.

…

"Reimu? Can you hear me?" Mima frowned and tried again. "Something's gone wrong with the Strutter. It's acting independently of my commands."

There was no indication that the shrine maiden had even heard her. Down in the valley, the Strutter was still moving. Slowly, but it was moving. In fact, it was laboriously turning around. Mima tried to send a command to the Hisoutensoku, only to find that her control of the Kappa machine was blocked as well.

"Oh, this isn't good," Mima muttered. She glanced up at the floating bubble, the one that had allowed Kanako to see what she saw. The image within was now blinking and falling apart into static. Mima watched as it struggled futilely to restore itself only to fail completely when the bubble winked out of existence.

No, not good at all.

"Marisa, how about you?" Mima muttered. "Hello, this is the Spirit in the Sky, calling anyone worth talking to. Buggy's misbehaving, and Tin Man's stopped listening. Plus, my eye's gone blind. Can you see the problem from your end? Over."

That was when the fireworks began again, only this time without her leave. She saw three tiny figures fly frantically through the clearing as the Strutter continued to fire. A moment later, things took a turn for the worse, and only two remained.

Mima's eyes narrowed. Well, that ruled out this being a glitch. And given the amount of interference her abilities were experiencing, it did not take a genius to figure out who was responsible. It was ironic, in a way. Here they had been worried that one incredibly powerful and ruthless woman would show up to cause problems that they had completely forgotten to watch out for her opposite number.

"Well, look who's crawled out of her hole," Mima said to herself as she slipped from the small ledge she had been sitting on. "Let's see about putting her back in it and filling it in."

…

Sanae sat on the rotting trunk of a fallen tree, her eyes gazing longingly at the two shining behemoths that acted as silent sentries. She had seen many strange things since coming to Gensokyo, many wonderful, many horrifying, many awe-inspiring, many terrible, and many just plain weird things. But she had never dreamed that Gensokyo would gift her with a close encounter with gigantic mecha, and this was a country that had given her the ability to fly almost immediately upon arrival! Sanae loved robots. Of course, who didn't? But even so, she had been entranced by the monsters ever since she had been a little girl. She had grown up watching them engage in magnificent battles. All of that power, and yet they were completely subservient to the tiny Humans that piloted them. How could you watch something like that and not want one of your own?

Which was the reason that having been sent away was so frustrating. The robots were right there! She wanted a closer look. Those scant few seconds inside the Hisoutensoku's cockpit had been a slice of paradise for her, as short as they had been. She wanted to get in closer, to inspect both robots up close. She wanted to touch their armor, climb around their joints, and inspect their weapon ports. But most of all, she wanted to get back into the Hisoutensoku's cockpit and strap herself into the apparatus that Nitori had been suspended in. Just one joyride, that was all she asked.

"A pox! A pox, I say! A pox upon you and the bones of your unmourned ancestors!"

Sanae glanced over her shoulder and sighed. Well, taking the Hisoutensoku for a spin wouldn't be happening any time soon, as in addition to being sent off by the eternally cranky Reimu, the suit that she needed to pilot the thing was currently being worn by a sulky Kappa, who was angrily shouting insults at the Asakura sisters in her native language while they waited to be formally arrested, or whatever it was that Kanako was going to do to them. And by then, the Hisoutensoku would be out of reach.

"May your bones rot within your skin and your noses fall off to be gnawed upon by diseased vermin!"

The Asakuras ignored her. In all likelihood they couldn't even understand what she was saying. Kappa was a difficult tongue to master.

Lying on her back in the grass near the mad scientists, Marisa hummed to herself as she painted fleeting images in the sky with one sparking finger. Sanae couldn't understand how she could be so calm. Just earlier she had been almost as excited about the robots as Sanae, but now she seemed to be perfectly content to just lie around and wait.

"May your flesh fester with boils and your veins fill with maggots! May your eyeballs fall out and your ears bleed wax-"

"Will you shut up already?" Sanae snapped at Nitori. "You're starting to gross me out."

"My opus has been wrested from its rightful master and my plans lie in ruins! Allow me at least this small comfort!"

"Then be less disgusting about it!" Sanae rolled her eyes and she turned back toward the robots. "Jeez, thanks for making me regret learning your-"

The Strutter was moving.

Sanae leapt to her feet. "Hey!" she shouted at the Asakuras. "Your thingy is moving!"

The Human sisters blinked at her. "Huh?" Rika said.

Whoops, wrong language. "Your thingy!" she said in Gensokyian Japanese. "Your robot, the Strutter! It's turning around. Is it supposed to be doing that?"

"How the bloody hell should we know?" Rika demanded. "Your sodding witch-ghost is the one pulling the strings now. Go ask her!"

Marisa glanced up. "Hey, is something happening?" she said as she sat up.

"I don't know yet," Sanae said. "Maybe it's just going to drive off another bounty hunter."

Then she got a look at the Strutter's eye. Mima's sapphire blue was gone, and it burned red once again.

"Uh, its eye is back to normal," Sanae said. "I don't think this is a good thing."

There was a short pause, and then everyone scampered over to where she was sitting.

"That's not normal," Rikako said, pushing her glasses up her nose. "The color is correct, certainly, but it was nowhere near that bright."

"So what, did it get hijacked again?" Marisa said. "Or did it suddenly become intelligent? Because that would be kinda cool, ze."

"Typical Human engineering," Nitori muttered. "Always problems unforeseen. No foresight whatsoever."

"The hell did you just squeak?" Marisa asked.

Before Nitori or Sanae could answer, they heard shouting. Sanae turned to see what the problem was, but then a pain like an icicle being jabbed through her eye drove her to her knees.

…

"Get back!" Reimu screamed as she flew toward her huddled allies and their prisoners. "Run! Fly! Get out of here!"

Rin was close behind, and the two of them were fleeing the robot as fast as they could. After nearly having her head taken off by a rocket and watching Kanako taken down, Reimu had come to two possible explanations: either Mima was now trying to murder her via oversized mechanized monster, or the Strutter had gone rogue. Instinct went with the latter, but cold logic warned her not to dismiss the former.

At any rate, she wasn't about to stick around to investigate, resulting in the three of them fleeing with the Strutter pursuing in its deceptively quick lumbering manner.

Marisa, Nitori, and the Asakuras looked dumbstruck when they saw what was happening. Sanae was doubled over and clutching at her face, no doubt suffering psychic aftershock from what had happened to Kanako. Reimu could tell in an instant that there was no way she would be able to recover in time.

"Rin!" she shouted over her shoulder. "Grab Sanae…the green-haired one and get her out of here!"

Rin glanced at the green-haired shrine maiden, saw the problem, and nodded. She swooped down toward the group. Misinterpreting her intentions, Rika, Rikako, and Nitori cried out and dove out of the way, but she ignored them and snatched Sanae up in her arms.

"I said fly!" Reimu said to the gawking others as they passed overhead. "Now! Go!"

She and Rin passed right over them. Reimu looked over her shoulder and saw, to her relief, that the other four were rushing to follow. Further behind, the Strutter continued strutting along, firing off rockets at the fleeing women.

Being the fastest, Marisa was the first to catch up to Reimu. "What the exploding hell is going on, ze?" she said as she crouched over her broomstick. "I thought it was our monstrosity now!"

"I don't know! It just started attacking, and Mima isn't answering my calls!"

"And this surprises you?" came Rika's screechy voice from near the near. "It's Madam bloody Mima! Of course she would-"

"HEADS UP!" Rikako cried.

Surprising no one, the source of her alarm was the Strutter, which had decided that continuing to rely on its rockets was a waste of time and it was now time to change strategies. Flame and smoke belched out of two ports, one attached to each of the places where the foremost legs attached to the body, and two jets of liquid fire spewed forward.

Reimu and party banked hard to avoid being roasted alive, but rather than aiming straight for them, the streams curved around the group on both sides to meet at a spot about ten meters ahead, cutting off their route. Reimu tried to shoot straight up, but an arcing stream of fire quickly discouraged her of that idea.

"Okay, not good," Reimu said as she landed. "Really not good."

"You think?" Rika gasped. The brown-haired mechanic was already sweating heavily. She fanned herself with both hands in a futile attempt to cool down.

Reimu found herself echoing Rika's sentiments. The heat was overwhelming. Already she was starting to feel dizzy.

"This is insane," Marisa said as she took off her hat and used it wipe her brow. "If this keeps up, we're gonna have to start stripping just to keep conscious. Reimu, you start."

"Erm, guys?" Nitori said in a weak voice. "I is not feelings all that…"

The Kappa slid to the ground and fell onto her side.

Rikako fell to her knees, though she at least retained consciousness. "Told you the flamethrowers were a bad idea," she growled at her sister. Rika, who was now sitting on her butt, didn't possess the energy to respond, though she did muster up an impressive glower.

Not surprisingly, the only one unaffected by the heat was Rin herself. "Why did you even put them on?" she said to the Asakuras. "You know I'm fireproof, right?"

Rikako muttered something. Marisa glowered at Rin and said, "Well…good for…you. I don't…suppose…you can…fireproof us…too?"

"No, but I can do one better."

And then the earth shook with tremors. The Strutter had arrived. Those still capable looked up to see it looming over the wall of fire, its single eye burning visible through the smoke.

Unconcerned, Rin gently placed Sanae down and strode forward. Red energy flickered over her forearms to collect around her hands. The Strutter noticed and focused its gaze on her. Though it had no visible mouth, it still roared, a deep, mechanical challenge.

In answer, Rin stuck her hands into the wall of flame. The instant she did so, the barrier opened to either side of the group, the flames retracting like two lit fuses. Reimu, who was dangerously close to unconsciousness herself, watched through half-lidded eyes as Rin gathered the fire and created something that looked like a miniature sun in her hands.

Then the Kirin returned the fire to its rightful owner. The Strutter was suddenly lit up as the flames hit it right in its cracked eyes and washed all over its body before snuffing out.

There was a short pause, and then Rin said, "Uh, it's fireproof too, isn't it?"

Reimu wanted to laugh, but though the sudden rush of cooler air revived her some, all she could manage was a weak cough. The irony of it was hilarious. There they were, so close to finally convincing Rin to cooperate, to finally pull of their miracle, only to be brought down by a deranged machine. If there was any consolation, at least she had one hell of a story to tell Yuyuko upon arrival at the Netherworld.

…

The spider loomed overhead. Even if it was a dumb machine, it looked hungry. Had it jaws, it would no doubt be opening them wide in anticipation.

Rin glanced around. Everyone else was either unconscious due to heat exhaustion or well on their way. She wondered exactly what kind of chemical mix the Asakuras had put into that liquid fire to make everyone pass out so quickly. Whatever it was, it probably made napalm look like a campfire.

And they had intended to use it on her. Even if her acquisition of Fujiwara no Mokou meant that it would be a futile gesture, they had still intended to use that stuff on her.

Rin's mouth tightened, but she pushed away the anger rising within her. There were more pressing concerns at the moment. She could worry about straightening out her issues with those two after the spider had been dealt with.

Uh, you're not planning on tackling that thing by yourself, are you? she heard Rumia say, from deep within that place they shared within her mind. Because last time, that didn't go so well.

Rin ignored her. She took stock of the powers offensive powers she had available to her: Phoenix Fire, Super Death and Its Tentaclely Friends, and Whatever the Heck that Rainbow Stuff Princess Kaguya Used Was. All in all, nothing especially useful against a threat of this caliber. She still had her strength though. Maybe hitting it really hard would work.

The pupil of the spider's eye narrowed as it focused on her. All over its body, weapon ports were sliding open. Rin swallowed. It looked like she was about to find out.

And then the spider lurched to one side and screamed, a horrible sound like sheet metal being torn in half. At first Rin didn't understand why, but then a green thunderbolt slammed into the spider's side, knocking it further off balance, and she understood.

A third bolt followed, and then a fourth. Soon the spider was under attacked by an emerald lightning storm. Rin watched in horrified fascination as it slowly crumpled under the assault, its screaming becoming more and more faint. Finally the lightning stopped. The spider's eye gave one final twitch before dimming out completely.

Oh, wow, she heard Rumia say. When did you learn how to do that?

Rin didn't bother correcting her, as she was just as stunned as Rumia. Had she done that? It was true, she was learning new things about herself fairly frequently as of late, but this?

"To answer the question you are no doubt asking yourself, no, that was not you," said an annoyed voice from behind Rin.

Rin turned around and felt an icy flush of fear. Madam Mima floated behind her, amongst the slumping bodies. She had one hand resting on the crux of the opposite elbow, and the other hand was tapping against her chin.

"Yes, me, hello again," she said. "As you've no doubt noticed, I don't appreciate other people taking away my toys. Now, if you're done gawking, I could use your help moving these poor souls someplace safe. I'm afraid the situation is far more complicated than a simple rebellious clockwork arachnid."

…

Even after its murderers had departed, the Strutter remained motionless. Its circuits had fried, its joints were melted, and most of its internal workings had been reduced to scrap. Mima's attacks had thoroughly killed it.

However, it had died in a world where death did not exist as an absolute. And its benefactor was not known for her respect of death.

All around its massive, broken body, tiny shoots appeared out of the ground, little tendrils of green that pressed and wormed their way around the bronze hulk. Then, once they found the seams, they slithered right in.

In time they were joined by more, and soon the Strutter's corpse was being swarmed by thousands of green stalks that penetrated it from every point of entry. They wormed their way through its innards, tearing away the melted circuits and ruined gears, to be replaced by the tendrils themselves. And all over the Strutter's exoskeleton, a thick layer of moss and was growing. Buds formed and opened, covering its abdomen with flowers.

Then joints creaked as the now formerly deceased Strutter's legs reoriented themselves. Its foliage-covered body was once again heaved into the air, dropping pieces of dirt and moss. The green tendrils squirmed along its underside like a colony of maggots.

Once it was fully upright again, the cracked and blackened eye of the Sigma started flickering, once, twice, and then came alive. The fires once again burned, a perfect imitation of another eye of the same color, whose owner sat not two kilometers away, watching with gleeful amusement.

…

Nue Houjo sat on a mossy boulder. Unusual for her, she had not bothered to clothe herself with any sort of disguise, not even that of her most recent alias of Hunter. She didn't see any point.

After being blasted to scattered bits, she had taken care to stay a safe distance from the action. She was confident in her abilities, sometimes even reckless, but with the Hisoutensoku no longer on her side, even she saw the wisdom hanging back until the situation had changed.

And change it had. Apparently the Hisoutensoku wasn't the only robot with authority issues. Nue had watched as the Hisoutensoku's eight-legged opponent chased Reimu Hakurei and her friends off before cutting them off with a circle of fire.

And then things had gotten very interesting. Apparently Rin Satsuki could do some very interesting things with fire, even more than that extremely painful gout Nue had been sprayed with earlier. And then there had been green ghost with the lightning bolts. Nue didn't recognize her, but if she could take down that spider so easily, than she was a true force to be reckoned with.

Nue frowned as she leaned forward. The ghost and Rin were gathering up the fallen bodies of Reimu's allies and carrying them away. Why the ghost, who was obviously a sorceress of some kind, didn't simply magic them away was beyond her. And instead of leaving the valley, they were simply relocating to the other side. Another mystery.

But not as strange as the one taking place overhead. The weather was changing. Clouds were forming from nowhere, and were gathering over the valley. That couldn't be good.

She heard someone approach and turned to see another youkai join her, this one a brown-haired woman of shorter stature than Nue herself but with a fuller figure. She wore a pair of round spectacles, a brown skirt, and an open black vest over a white shirt. Most noticeable were the two raccoon-like ears that stuck out of her tangled hair and the large matching striped tail that bobbed behind her when she walked. Her name was Mamizou Futatsuiwa, and she and Nue had been friends for a long time.

As a Tanuki, Mamizou possessed the same shifting powers as Nue did, though she didn't use them as often. Still, they certainly came in handy she needed to act as Nue's backup. Most people didn't even notice her until it was too late.

"Well?" Nue said as Mamizou approached.

Mamizou shrugged. "Not looking good. Can't say for sure, but I would feel very foolish if those clouds don't mean that there's something very nasty surrounding the valley, keeping us in."

"Yeah? You wanna fly straight out and check?"

Mamizou grinned. "Don't need to. You remember all those fireworks and shit we got hit with earlier?"

"Yeah," Nue said, frowning. "So?"

"So I found the idiots that set them off." Mamizou laughed. "Turns out it was just a bunch of stupid fairies that got their asses blown up right after we did." She pointed her left index finger downward and twirled it around. "I found them running around in circles, going absolutely nuts with panic."

"Again I unto thee: so?"

"So I convinced them that they should cut their losses and run." Mamizou pointed toward the horizon. "And now we're going to find out if it's safe to leave or not."

Nue turned to see three tiny figures flying away. She watched as the fairy trio fled the valley as fast as their little wings could carry them. They passed over the hills that bordered the valley.

The next thing she knew, there was a blinding green flash. Nue winced back and shielded her eyes with her arm. When she looked again, the fairies were gone, and not in the manner of someone who had successfully gotten away. They were simply gone.

"Whelp, that clears that up," Mamizou said. "Someone don't much care for the idea of us leaving. Any idea who or why?"

Nue shook her head. "Nope. And between that, the spider, and that lightning-slinging ghost, I'm starting to think we may be a bit underinformed."

"Yah think?" Mamizou shook her head. "And I'd hate to say 'I told you so,' but-"

"Then don't," Nue said shortly. She looked back toward Reimu Hakurei's little gang. "But whatever the hell's going on, those guys are at the center of it."

Mamizou let out a dismissive snort. "Right. And exactly what do you suggest we be doing about that? I sure hope it don't involve tangling with 'em again, 'cause I'm thinking we might be just a little outclassed."

"It doesn't. We do what we do best. Get out of sight, keep an eye on things, learn more."

"And then?"

"That depends on what we learn," Nue said. She stood and picked up two small, silvery rectangles that had been sitting next to her. A quick flick of her wrist, and they snapped open, becoming a pair of sleek pistols. "But I for one don't fancy walking any further unprepared."

Mamizou might have had a response, but they were interrupted by the sound of roaring, from something very large.

…

Get up.

Tenshi's body jerked, and lay still. Her mind was lost, wandering somewhere along the boundary of unconsciousness as she tried to find a way in. It would be a far preferable state to the blinding agony of wakefulness or the torturous hallucinations that had pursued her into the realm of pain-filled madness.

She could see them now, horrible phantasms that danced around her, wearing the faces of a dozen different people, all of which she hated: her parents, Yukari Yakumo, Reimu Hakurei, Suika Ibuki, even her on-again/off-again friend Iku Nagae. They laughed at her in their taunting voices, telling her that she'll never be able to amount to anything on her own, that she was doomed to always fail, always lose, to live forever in the shadow of her so-called betters.

Get up, girl. I won't tell you again.

And with that, the hallucinations vanished, and Tenshi's mind emerged fully from the misty haze. She regretted it immediately, as the fiery anguish that consumed the ruin her face had become returned in full.

"AHHHHH!" she half moaned, half gurgled.

And then her face was sprayed with some kind of mist. Whatever it was, it did the trick. The pain cooled immediately, more effective than any healing salve. Tenshi stopped writhing and remained still, letting the sweet relief wash over her.

The mist stopped, and Tenshi sat up. She tried to open her eyes, but they didn't seem to be working right. Everything was all milky white and blurry, making it impossible to distinguish individual shapes.

"Wha…what?" she said, her voice a harsh croak. This wasn't right. She couldn't be blinded. Even if her Celestial body meant that they'll eventually grow back, she was helpless in the meantime.

Hmmm, that's unfortunate. Please sit still for a moment, and keep your eyes open.

The mist returned, and Tenshi was only too glad to let it do its job. But then it hit her damaged eyes and stung furiously.

"Ow!" she rasped, slapping a hand over her face. "What do you think you're doing, you incompetent-"

Something wrapped around her waist and tightened. Control yourself, girl. If you want your sight back, than hold your tongue and sit still.

Despite her ravaged condition, Tenshi found the lack of respect rankling. "Who do you think you are?" she said. "Do you have any idea who I am?"

Shut your fucking mouth and do as I say, you delusional little worm, or I'll tear the rest of your face off and use it for a hanky!

Shocked dumb by the voice's sudden savagery, Tenshi obeyed. What else could she do?

That's much better. Now, this will sting a bit.

The mist sprayed Tenshi's eyes yet again, and though it felt like her cornea was being jabbed by a thousand tiny needles, she bit her tongue and did her best not to move. Over time, the stinging sensation decreased and her vision cleared up. The fog went away, and the colors and shapes of the valley sharpened into focus.

Finally the constant spray ceased, and Tenshi blinked and rubbed her eyes. She looked around for the person responsible, but there was no one there.

A shuffling sound came from down below. Tenshi looked down and, to her astonishment, caught a brief glance of a small plant covered with purple pods being drawn into the earth. But before she could question the oddness of it all, the voice returned, even if there was no body to accompany it.

There now, isn't that better? Now, you'll find your equipment scattered about, but nothing outside of, oh, I'd say about a five meter radius. Please rearm yourself quickly. There are certain things that have been set in motion, and you need to be ready for them.

Though she was thankful for the return of her sight, Tenshi was still irritated that someone who didn't even have the nerve to reveal themselves was ordering her around like some common servant.

"Now look, I don't know who you are or where you got the idea that I am just going to march to your beat, but I am not someone to be ordered around and-"

The thing around her waist tightened again, this time painfully so. Tenshi looked down and stiffened when she saw that a filthy brown root had wrapped itself around her.

You're not very quick on the uptake, are you? And in case it wasn't clear already, I'm not giving you a choice here. You committed yourself to taking part in this bounty hunt, so you are going to see it through. Do as I say, and you may very well walk away from this as the winner. But question me again, or indulge in another insufferable outburst of rudeness or ingratitude, and they won't find enough of you to fill a thimble. The root squeezed tighter still, making Tenshi gasp. Am I understood?

…

"Wake up."

A blast of cold air hit Reimu in the face, reviving her. She yelled and scrambled into a sitting position.

She had woken up in a small copse of pine trees. Marisa and the Asakuras were sitting in a small circle, looking somewhat worse for the wear. Sanae huddled a bit further from the group, staring at the needle-covered ground, still in a state of shock. Rin was standing off by herself, near the group but not as part of it. And in the center of the circle…

"Mima?" Reimu said. She looked around as she tried to put the pieces together in her mind. "What the hell just happened? Your spider tried to barbeque us!"

"'Her' spider?" Rikako said snippily.

"Finders keepers, love," Mima said. She sighed. "Unfortunately, that rule seems to apply to everyone. In short, somebody decided to hijack the Strutter from my control and play merry havoc with the telepathy in this area, forcing me to directly intervene. Good thing I did, too. You all were well on your way to becoming this afternoon's lunch special." She smirked. "No, no need to thank me. I was glad to help."

"I wasn't doing so bad," Rin said.

"No, you were not. My compliments, that trick with the fire was resourceful and quite impressive." Mima shrugged. "Unfortunately, it was also useless, at least insofar as an offensive attack is concerned."

"I wasn't done yet!"

"Not to be contrary, but you were. That thing was designed specially to counter you." Mima indicated the five Humans. "And I couldn't risk letting these little darlings get caught in the crossfire, especially when they were so helpless to defend themselves." She glanced them over. "Well, three of them, at least. I doubt anyone would be especially devastated had Tweedledum and Tweedledee been lost."

Marisa, who was well versed in Outside World literature, started snickering. Even Sanae managed to crack a smile. The Asakura sisters, however, just looked confused.

"Huh?" Rikako said. "Tweedlewho? Who are you talking about?"

She was ignored. "But as you're no doubt about to tell me to get things back on track, I regret that I am obligated to tell you that we are in a world of trouble," Mima said. "And yes, I include myself in that assessment."

Reimu swallowed. "Well, crap. I'm guessing it has something to do with the person who hijacked the Strutter?"

"It has everything to do with her. To begin, look up.

Reimu did, and got a genuine shock. While the weather had been relatively clear not thirty minutes ago, the sky was now filled with clouds: long, thin ones that chased each other in a spiral and formed a cone over the valley. Flickers of blue light flashed from within the clouds.

"Impressive, is it not?" Mima said wryly. "And I need not tell you that it does not respond well to invaders. Some of Rin's prospective hunters tried to flee not too long ago. They were disintegrated as they tried to pass over the hills." She glanced at Reimu. "Not to worry, they were nonhuman. But it does tell us that trying to leave by sky is highly ill-advised."

Reimu couldn't think of a thing to say. Well, actually, she did, but couldn't decide which question to ask first, so she decided to remain silent and let Mima continue.

"No doubt you're still wondering as to who the culprit is." Mima sniffed. "I figured that out moments after realizing that the Strutter was no longer under my command, and our ability to communicate over long distances had been dampened. But even if those two unfortunate events hadn't tipped me off, recent developments certainly provided us with a signature."

"What, the clouds?" Reimu said.

"Those, and something else. Walk with me, please."

Mima floated to the edge of the copse. Reimu hesitated, and then stood up. But instead of following Mima, she went over to where Sanae was huddling.

"Hey," she said gently as she approached. "You okay?"

Sanae looked up. Her hair was still drenched with sweat, and her face was pale and haggard. "No, not really," she said.

Reimu winced and nodded. She searched her mind, trying to find a tactful way to word her next question. Finding none, she just came out and said it. "Uh, Kanako. Is she…"

"Shouldn't be," Sanae said, licking her cracked lips. "Can't just kill a goddess with that much faith, not so close to her shrine. Be like killing a fairy. She should be back by now, but…" Her voice trailed off and her eyes dipped downward again.

"Okay," Reimu said. "Do you know why?"

Sanae coughed into her fist but said nothing. It was Marisa who answered for her. "I think you'd better go talk to Mima, Reddie. Trust me, you're gonna wanna hear what she has to say, ze."

Reimu slowly nodded. Then she glanced at Rin. "Are you-"

Rin waved off her concerns. "I'm not going anywhere. Go talk to the ghost."

"Okay. Okay." Reimu glanced one more time at Sanae and quickly ran after Mima.

"It's hard, isn't it?" Mima said as Reimu caught up to her. "For a shrine maiden to lose her goddess so abruptly, and in such a violent manner, it's tough on her, given the empathetic connection they share, even if it is temporary." The right edge of her lip curled up. "Thankfully, that is a trauma you'll never have to risk experiencing."

Even though she was well-used to Mima's constant jabs, Reimu was in no mood to tolerate them today. "Mima," she said, warning in her voice.

Ignoring the shrine maiden's anger as she usually did, Mima looked up at the sky and said, "No doubt you're now wondering why Kanako has yet to grace us with her presence. After all, an attack like that, while debilitating, should have done nothing more than slow her down. Not to mention the Kappa engineer."

"Nitori?" Reimu thought back. Now that Mima mentioned it, Nitori had been absent from the gathering Reimu had just left.

"Indeed. Unfortunately for her, Kappa fare very poorly in intense heat, and she expired before I could reach you. Now, as with Kanako, this should only be a temporary determent, but unfortunately they both are being kept from resurrecting by the same force."

"It's the clouds, isn't it?" Reimu said. "They're keeping them from coming back."

Mima looked pleased. "Very close. Actually, it's not the clouds themselves, but what they're concealing. No doubt you've noticed those flashes of blue light."

Reimu nodded.

"This is not the first time I've encountered such a phenomenon. In short, freefloating magical energies have been disrupted. Long range communications are being blocked, shields and barriers are dampened, magical attacks that do not directly originate from their caster are blocked, and, though I had not noticed this the last time, any immortal unlucky enough to be reduced to life energies is stuck in limbo until the source of the disturbance is gone."

"What is it then?" Reimu asked. "Those blue lights? What are they?"

"A flower," came the prompt answer. "To be specific, a rather nasty one known as a Mykr's Siren. Several of them, to be exact."

This new information hit Reimu with the force of a thunderbolt. Dread welled up inside of her, and she took a step back. "You can't mean…"

"Furthermore, more has been accomplished than simply sealing us in and playing merry havoc with our abilities. You might want to take a look at the valley itself."

The unusual clouds aside, the valley looked much the same as it had before. Near the center, she could see the Hisoutensoku standing in place, guarding a conversation that was long over. Beyond that, there was no movement to be seen.

"Look to the right," Mima said, almost as if she had read Reimu's thoughts. "See there? In front of that hill, the one with all the wildflowers?"

Reimu squinted. Now that Mima had pointed it out, there did seem to be something moving, but as it was the same color as the hill, so it was difficult to make out.

Then it turned in her direction, allowing her to see its eye, and she understood.

"I thought you killed it!" Reimu said.

"Yes, well, the funny thing about dead machines is that they are extremely easy to revive," Mima said. She shook her head and sighed. "Especially when the one doing the reviving seems to have a shrub for every occasion. For one so dedicated to the rules, she really does prefer to ignore the ones she finds inconvenient. A trait I find admirable, actually, even if it is directed toward my humble self."

"You specifically?" Reimu said wryly. At any rate, she didn't need Mima to give her any more clues. It was now obvious who they were dealing with. "And I thought she had been taken out of the game. Didn't Yukari smack her down something awful?"

Mima kept watching the Strutter as it continued trekking its way along the valley's perimeter. The look on the spirit's face reminded Reimu of a hawk watching a rabbit from a far distance, measuring it for the kill. "That was weeks ago, Reimu. Her kind does not stay down for long. And I truly doubt she is here in person. If she were, she would likely have announced herself by now."

Reimu, who fell under no one's definition of a coward, felt fear stick its icy fingers into her spine. "Her control extends that far?"

"I have no idea how long her reach is, but if she is indeed able to exert her control over plant life from such a distance, than perhaps we'd be better just packing out things, leaving her with the keys, and see if our western counterparts has a lenient immigration policy."

"You're not serious, are you?" Reimu said.

"Well, no, not really. All accounts agree that their policy is a bit on the stringent side. Though we might try our luck with the northern European mythology's little hidey-hole. I hear my old buddy Loki is running a smuggling business that might get us in."

"Mima! Forget the stupid jokes! I think we have more important things to worry about!" Reimu stuck her thumb at the Strutter. "And shouldn't we be getting out of sight before that thing spots us?"

Mima laughed, a sound like wind-chimes. "Reimu, we are dealing with someone whose very gimmick consists of exercising complete control over plant life. With that in mind, I don't think taking cover in a tree grove within a grass-filled field is going to hide her from her sight."

It took Reimu a couple of seconds to fully realize the sheer enormity of what Mima was telling her. She had never been slow on the uptake, but this was so big that her brain needed that extra time to wrap itself around the concept.

Gensokyo was a heavily wooded country. Forests rubbed shoulders with meadows and the civilized areas had gardens aplenty. In fact, the only place more-or-less free of plant life was the Blasted Lands, and they had already been proven to be an ineffective sanctuary.

They could be reached anywhere, at any time. Vines reaching down from the trees to wrap around their necks. Poison thorns shooting from nearby shrubs. Roots disturbing heavy stones to cause avalanches. Wildflowers emitting toxic fumes. There was literally no place that was safe. Reimu shot a suspicious glance at a nearby tree and took a few steps back. Then she noted the grass under her feet and jumped into the air and stayed there.

"Oh, stop being melodramatic," Mima said. She grabbed Reimu by the shoulder and shoved her back down. "If she were really going to do something so blasé, you all would be dead already. Besides, I don't think that's her intention." The ghost turned and floated back into the copse.

Reimu followed. "Then what is?" she demanded, taking extra care not to crush anything leafy underfoot. "Why the hell is she even interfering? I thought her beef was with Yukari!"

"Her 'beef,' you say?" Mima shook her head. "Reimu, she does not have 'beef' with anyone, not even Yukari. She challenged Yakumo for the same reason she is causing problems for us now; it's the same reason she does anything."

Reimu danced her way around a dandelion patch. "Let me guess: shits and giggles?"

"Precisely. This is a game, a challenge, not a declaration of war. And I think the rules are clear: we are to fight this new and improved Strutter. If we win, we are free to go."

"And if we lose?"

"Duh," Marisa said, walking to meet them. "I guess Mima showed you Chia Spider? Nasty piece of work, ain't it?"

"We've fought worse," Reimu said with a shrug.

Marisa laughed. "Reddie, I promise you this: you are so gonna regret those words in a few minutes."

"What's the problem?" Reimu said, her pride slightly chafed by Marisa's derision. "We've all fought that maniac before and won. And it's not even her this time! Besides, we've gone Rin 'The Plant Killer' Satsuki backing us up now, right?"

"Perhaps," Mima said, not really confirming anything. "Though I think we should speak with the others before anything is decided."

Marisa aside, everyone else was right where Reimu had left them. The Asakuras still sat nervously together, though they were no longer whispering; Sanae sat with her back against the tree, now watching the flashing lights in the sky; and Rin was still by herself, looking as awkward as ever.

Mima called to them. "Well, now that we've all been brought up to speed, the only thing to do now is decide on our course of action."

Surprising everyone, it was Rin who asked the first question. "Can't you just blast it like you did last time?" she said. "With the lightning bolts, I mean."

"An excellent point," Mima said, nodding in approval. "And yes, I can. But given who it is pulling the strings, my chances of success are…doubtful."

"So, what's the plan then?" Marisa said. "Same as last time?"

"That is the question," Mima agreed. She looked around at those gathered. "So to figure that out…Marisa? Reimu? Sanae? Rin?" She held out her right hand. "Come here, and touch my hand, please. One finger each."

"Huh?" Reimu looked at Marisa, eyes asking for answers, but the blonde witch simply walked over to her former mentor and placed her hand on Mima's index finger.

"What's going on?" Rin demanded. "What are you planning?"

"And why are we excluded?" Rika said, looking angry. "You're trying to cut us out!"

"Uh, yes?" Mima said, giving Rika a condescending look. "Be serious. You're only here because there are those among us who would prefer that you stay alive. That does not mean your input is wanted, or needed." Dismissively, she turned away from the infuriated inventor. "Chop, chop, ladies. We don't have all day."

"Come on Reddie," Marisa said with a smile as she beckoned. "Trust me, you're gonna love this."

Reimu hesitated a moment further, but relented. It was possible that Mima might betray her, Marisa would never backstab her like this.

Before her mind could come up with the obvious rebuttal, Reimu walked over and touched Mima's middle finger. Seeing this, Sanae got up and joined them, laying her hand on the spirit's pinky.

That left just one more.

"Rin?" Mima said. "Won't you join us?"

…

Deep Within

Rin swallowed noisily. She looked over to Rumia, who was trying very hard not to burst into hysterics from the ridiculousness of it all.

Madam freaking Mima, someone who occupied Rumia's top ten list of people to be avoided, was inviting them to a war council, one that contained at least two other people on that list, to decide how to defeat a rogue robot being controlled by a fourth person on that list. And through it all, they had to keep watching over their shoulders in case the number one person on that list showed up, which, as Rumia, understood, she was long overdue. Even youkai had a crazy limit, and Rumia had hit hers hours ago and had kept right on going.

"Rumia?" Rin said in a small voice. "Ah, suggestions?"

Rumia, who was grinning like a loony and did not care one bit about how it made her look, said, "You know something, Rin? I'm gonna level with you here. I'm just a youkai girl from the Wilds. I am so out of my depth here that it's a miracle I haven't gone as crazy as you are." She threw her hands up and let the laughter flow. "Go for it! Let's see what happens!"

Looking not the slightest bit reassured, Rin looked back to the waiting spirit. After a moment of hesitation, she directed her physical body to walk forward and touch a single talon to Mima's thumb.

And then things got a little crazier.

…

Reimu cried out as she stumbled back, tried over a cushion, and went sprawling. She didn't bother to get up and instead frantically looked around, her eyes wild and her mouth hanging open as her breathing threatened to turn into hyperventilation.

"Wha-wha-wha," she gaped, her voice little more than a squeak. "How did we get here?"

She was home.

Somehow, the five of them were now in the common room of Hakurei Shrine, which looked exactly the way she had left in, only sans Reisen. Sanae was likewise taken by surprise and had backed against the wall. Mima was floating over the kotatsuin as she usually did, with Marisa still touching her hand. The two spellcasters were watching the startled shrine maidens with looks of glee on their faces.

"Now that," Mima murmured as she withdrew her hand, "never gets old."

Reimu's befuddlement gave way to anger. "Look, I have had it up to here with-"

"How many times do I have to tell you to chillax, Reddie?" Marisa laughed. "Calm down, she didn't do nothing wrong."

"I don't care if she didn't, she still should've told me she was about to…And what the hell did you just do? I thought you couldn't teleport other people!"

"You're right, I can't," Mima said. "However, I can create a mock-up illusion from pieces of my memories, and bring other people into them, provided we have physical contact. Apologies for startling you, but your reaction was just too priceless to pass up."

Reimu cautiously stood to her feet. "So, this isn't real? We're not really back at the shrine?"

"No. If you want to get technical about it, you're actually still standing back at the copse, touching my hand. And before you ask, no, no actual time is passing." When Reimu again looked startled, Mima smirked in her usual condescending manner and said, "One of the nifty things about constructing mental illusions is that you get to experience them at the speed of thought."

"I…"

"Reimu, I don't mean to be rude, but while we have all the time we need, I really rather we skipped the Q and A session and got straight down to business. Especially since there are some introductions that need to be made."

Introductions? Who needed to be introduced? Reimu looked around the room. Marisa was reclining with her feet on the kotatsuin, and Sanae was edging her way away from Mima. And behind Mima, cowering near the door, was…

Reimu blinked when she saw not one, but two little girls.

The first she recognized only from the images Yukari had produced during the Ringleader meaning and a photograph Reisen had brought with her: a girl with a round face; round, blue eyes on a likewise round face; and short hair the color of wheat. She was dressed in a pink-and-red dress, and wore a large red ribbon in her hair with large cherry-shaped beads. And next to her was another blonde girl, this one a bit shorter with slightly longer hair. She wore a black vest over a white shirt and a black skirt. Her terrified eyes were bright red.

"Rumia?" Reimu blurted in surprise. "No way. Rumia?"

Marisa fell back. She rose quickly, her eyes also wide with surprise. "Holy shitknockers, now that's a face I never expected to see again!"

For her part, Mima looked quite pleased with herself. "And with good reason. To be honest, I myself was uncertain if this would work. But here we are!"

This news stunned Reimu more than anything thus far. "Wait, you didn't know that…Holy wow, Mima! Are you insane? What if it had been the-" She caught herself just in time. Sparing a second glance at Rin, she lowered her voice and said, "Uh, You-Know-What?"

"Had it been, she would not have been invited," Mima said, also in a low voice. "Give me some credit, shrine maiden. I do have some control over who I let in."

"And if she sensed you and attacked you? What then?"

"Then I would have broken contact and kicked them out, and we would have known who was really pulling the girl's strings. But that did not happen. Now, again, would it be too much to ask that you put your no doubt hereditary distrust of me on hold until we've dealt with the situation on hand?" Mima tilted her head over to Rin and Rumia. "Besides, this is their first social gathering since the first day of spring. Let's not forget our manners."

While Reimu was fully prepared to continue to rake Mima over the coals for taking such an insane risk and mocking her for raising protest, but the spirit did have a point. With everything that was going on, this was not the time. The interrogation would have to wait until later.

But there would be a later, that Reimu promised herself.

"Now that we've got that out of the way…" Mima turned to the two fugitives. "Come on, girls. It's okay. Unlike you two, we don't bite."

Rin and Rumia exchanged a look, and then, Rumia first and then Rin, they cautiously approached the kotatsuin.

"That's better," Mima said, nodding in approval. "Well now, Rumia. I for one echo my prodigy's sentiments. I did not expect to enjoy your company again."

"The same," Rumia said as she and Rin sat down, both of them looking like they were ready to bolt at the slightest sign of hostility. "How the hell is this even possible? I mean, I was in Rin's freaking mind!"

"And now she is in mine, or close enough anyway, and you were brought along for the ride. Oh, don't worry," Mima said in response to Rin's look of alarm. "It's nowhere on the level of what you do. The trademark is safe, I assure you."

"Uh, okay," Rin said. She sounded completely bewildered. "Whatever you say."

It occurred to Reimu that this was the first time she was hearing Rin's real voice. In contrast to that horrible, voice of Death she used in the physical world, her real voice was remarkably unremarkable: small, scared, the voice of a little girl.

Seeing her like this, instead of the terrifying body Rin had mashed together from her victims, Reimu was starting to understand why Reisen risked so much to protect her. She was still dangerous, but it was hard to think of her as a monster.

But was ever more mind-numbing was the fact that Rumia, her Rumia, or at least the one she knew, was not only still alive, but sitting right there. The implications were staggering. Even if the Shadow Youkai was still alive, having Rumia working with them meant...

Well, actually Reimu had no idea what it meant. But it did change things, hopefully for the better. With any luck, she would be able to find out how. With any luck...

"Sanae, dear, please join us," Mima said. After the green-haired shrine maiden did so, Mima continued, "Now, ladies. I understand that we all have some very unfortunate and bizarre history, but given what, and who, has just shown up, I think we can all agree that our mistrust can be put aside in favor of some aggressive pest control."

Marisa once again lay on her back and held up both fists, thumbs sticking up. Reimu and Sanae glanced as each other, as did Rin and Rumia, and they all nodded.

"Good. Now, this time I should give you prior warning. The scene is about to change again, in favor for something more practical. Please brace yourselves."

Reimu had only a split second to ready herself before the shrine faded away from all around her. To Mima's credit, it was a gradual process, though it still gave Reimu the creeps.

As the image of Hakurei Shrine melted away, it was replaced by a static representation of the same valley they had just been in (and, if Mima's explanation was to be believed, still were). The six of them were high in the sky, looking down.

"Now, here is the situation as we know it," Mima said. She gestured, and the image swirled and focused on the still form of the Strutter, which had been captured in mid-stomp. "Gensokyo's top troublemaker, one Yuuka Kazami, has decided to come the fuck out of nowhere and interrupt us while we were in the middle of negotations. Extremely rude of her, if you ask me, especially for someone who puts so much stock into good manners. At any rate, she had seized control of the Asakuras' Strutter and loaded it down with one of her gardens." The Strutter came closer still, giving them a good view of the strange herbal life that was now infesting its metal framework. "As both Marisa and I can attest to, there is not a single plant on that thing that does not do something nasty. And while turning it into a heap of scrap metal and dead leaves would not normally be out of the range of our combined abilities, Yuuka does not like to play fair."

As Mima spoke, the image of the Strutter started to rotate. "During our encounter with her, Yuuka proved to be extremely hard to hurt. She was easy to hit, certainly, but any damage was not lasting, and healed up almost instantly. We are going to assume that her pet here has similar, perhaps even identical, regenerative abilities."

"Furthermore," Mima said as the view suddenly swung up and focused on the sky, "There is this little problem. As I told all of you earlier, those clouds are hiding a kind of special flower that is dampening any sort of magic that does not directly originate from us. So yes, that means I cannot remotely control the Hisoutensoku anymore, and we also cannot call for help. It is also the reason why Kanako and Nitori have both neglected to join us."

"So we burn the flowers, and she doesn't block them anymore," Reimu said. "Sounds simple. Except, it's not, is it?"

"I'm afraid not," Mima said. "The last time around, Yuuka had hybridized them with a parasitic plant called a Leech Seed. I would not be surprised if she had now added others into the mix. We know there is something there blasting anyone who tries to leave out of the sky. Furthermore, like Yuuka herself, they regenerate quite quickly."

"So, we're trapped here then?" Sanae said. Her face, already pale from her recent excursions, drained even further. "She's got us trapped here so the Strutter can kill us?"

"It certainly seems that way, but I don't think so," Mima told her. "Given her nature, and the fact that she hasn't had the trees themselves reach down and pop your heads off, I'd say she is simply bored and looking for some entertainment. This valley isn't so much a death trap as it is an arena, one that we have been prevented from leaving until our task is done. And the Strutter isn't so much our executioner as it is our opponent."

Reimu scowled. "So, despite everything else we've already gone through, she decided just to barge in and force us to play her game for her sick amusement. You know, I already didn't like this woman, but now I think I kinda hate her."

"She does have that effect on people," Mima agreed. "But unfortunately, to leave, we need to play her game, and we need to win. A daunting task, I know, especially considering that we don't know what sort of trump cards she has hidden. But like all endeavors of this caliber, the only thing to do is to begin with a workable plan and prepare to improvise when it fails."

"You mean 'if,' right?" Sanae said. "I mean, it sounds like you're already expecting whatever we plan to, like, not work."

"Of course I do," Mima said. "How do you think I've lasted so long? We start off with one idea, based upon the information we have at our disposal, and in the process of its failure we learn something new, and react accordingly. Relying on one single plan of attack is nothing short of suicide."

Sanae frowned, clearly troubled. "Okay…And if we can't react in time?"

"Hey. Mossy." Marisa snapped her fingers. "Shut up with all the negativity, ze. It ain't helping."

"But-"

"Save your worrying for when the fun starts. Because then I'll guarantee you'll be too busy to let it bother you." The blonde witch turned to her former mentor. "So, what's Plan A then?"

"I am,"Rin said, standing up and taking a step forward.

Everyone turned to stare at her. To be truthful, Rin and Rumia had been so quiet during the conversation that Reimu had almost forgotten that she was there, and it was clear that the others had felt the same. With made her feel a bit foolish. After all, this whole operation was centered on Rin; she was the reason they were here at all, going through all this trouble. But now that they had, at least for the time being, convinced her to cooperate, other things had taken precedence, even if they shouldn't have.

Especially since having her on board lent itself to certain possibilities, ones that were only start to realize themselves in Reimu's mind.

"Rin, the hell are you talking about?" Rumia said. "You can't…Oh."

"You?" Sanae said, also dubious of Rin's assertion, as she looked the Kirin up and down with a critical eye. "How can-"

She stopped talking and her eyes widened as she got it, roughly at the same time Rumia had. Reimu glanced over to Marisa, who had a broad grin on her face. No doubt she had gotten it from the get-go.

Rin looked around at everyone. She seemed almost embarrassed to be at the center of attention. "Well, yeah," she said. "Maybe I have trouble with robots, but plants? I'm real good with plants."

"Well, you have a point there," Rumia admitted. "But still…I mean, this…" Then she sighed and sat back down. "You know what? Forget it. Go do what you want."

"Oh, fuck yes," Marisa said. Her right hand had developed a worrying twitch. "This is gonna be-"

"But wait a minute!" Reimu said. "This is way too easy! Yuuka has to know what you're capable of! She has to know what you can do! I mean, near everyone does by now. So there's no way she would dangle something Rin can destroy so easily without having something extremely nasty planned!"

A slow smile spread over the spirit's lips, one that practically dripped with maliciousness. "Oh, of that I have no doubt," Mima said. "In fact, I'm counting on it. I do recall mentioning the need for her to reveal her trump cards?"

Reimu exchanged a quick glance with everyone else. Then, one by one, they nodded.

"Which is exactly why we'll have a few prepared ourselves. Rin here is just what will get things started. Once the ball is rolling, that is when we'll be able to do some real damage."

"If we don't get damaged first," Reimu muttered. "Or am I the only one who remembers what she did to Yukari's whole godsdamned strike team?"

"You mean besides us?" Marisa said.

"The witch has a point, shrine maiden," Mima said. "Consider: despite being separated in the early moments of the fight, Marisa, the ghosts, and I were able to regroup and launch a successful counterattack that destroyed the Yuuka we fought, whereas the other teams were wiped out. Why is that?"

Reimu shrugged.

"One word: cooperation. We were able to operate as a unit, and thus we prevailed. The others were not, and so they were picked apart and were destroyed." Mima shrugged. "Okay, granted, we did have significantly more firepower than the others, but the point remains. We all here have our unique gifts and talents. And so long as we're able to work to our strengths to cover each other's weaknesses, we stand a very strong chance at countering whatever she has for us."

Marisa reached up to flick the brim of her hat. "Whelp, gotta be honest, I never expected to work with Gooey here, but hey, why the hell not?" She turned her smirking face toward Rin. "You ready to unleash some real hell, Creepypants?"

Rin looked at her. Then she held up her right hand, squeezed it into a fist, and smiled.

"Aw, yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Marisa laughed as she slapped Rin on the back. "I think we're gonna get along just fine! Hey, once you're all un-creepified, you wanna come by my place for a few days? Because I've got a lot ofHOLY SHIT, DID I JUST KILL MY HAND?"

Marisa leapt back and stared at the palm of her hand with terrified eyes, as if she expected it to be on fire.

"Uh…what are you…oh." Rin let out a small laugh. "Don't worry. I got that thing under control."

Marisa turned her gaze from her hand to Rin. Her eyes said that she didn't believe the Kirin one bit. "You sure?" she said. "My hand's not going to turn black and fall off, right?"

"Yes, Miss Kirisame, I'm sure. Maybe you've noticed how the grass isn't dying everywhere I go? Besides, even if I hadn't, I don't think it works like that in this place."

"Oh. Okay then." Marisa put her hand down and shrugged. "Then it's all good then."

Then Sanae raised her hand.

"Yes, Mossy," Mima said.

"I…that's not really my name." Sanae shot quick glare at Marisa and then said, "You said we were going to have a couple trump cards of our own, right?"

"Correct."

"Okay. Do you, like, know what they are, or are we going to make them up now?"

Mima steepled her fingers. "Oh, I am so glad you asked. And yes, I am working on an idea or two. Certainly, Yuuka cutting me off from some of my more interesting tricks is a problem, but like all problems, it just means we'll have to get creative. For example…"

The illusion of the valley suddenly pitched and swerved. Reimu had to avert her eyes to keep from getting nauseous. Fortunately, it didn't last long, and she saw that Mima was focusing on a single object. Specifically, the still standing figure of the Hisoutensoku.

"I for one don't believe that thing had worn out its usefulness, do you?" Mima said.

…

"Don't do it."

Reisen sat on her haunches, her shaking hands gripping Rin's diary, her upper body hunched over its pages as she relived the last few years of Rin's life. Granted, the girl was technically still alive, but it still came out to the same thing. After all, who in their right mind would call what she was experiencing right now "living"? Or those years trapped in Patchouli Knowledge's box? That was, at all, a simple continuation of existence, not life.

Tomorrow I'm beginning my nurse training. I mean the real stuff, not those tests. This is really going to happen! Oh my gods, I'm so excited! I can't wait! I mean, I'm actually going to be in there, working with Doctor Yagokoro and Reisen, helping people! This is what I was meant to do, I just know it!

Doctor Yagokoro is really excited too. I think this is the first time she's actually been interested in me. It's like, I'm that pile of rocks that she kept stubbing her toe on, when suddenly, she finds out that I'm really a gold mine! Okay, so that metaphor was really weird, but hey, if it means I don't have to do anymore self-defense training anymore, I'll take it!

Still, I am kinda nervous. We're also gonna start those tests she told me about. She said it wasn't going to be anything painful or scary, so that's okay. But what if it doesn't work like she thinks it does? What if I can't make this power do anything useful? Will she just kick me out? Fire me?

I won't let that happen! I swear, I'll do everything to make Doctor Yagokoro's experiment succeed!

At the time, Reisen had been worried too. After all, despite her incredible genius, Eirin had a bad habit of losing sight of things such as principles and morality when pursuing her experiments. And with Rin on the operating table, Reisen had gone to bed every night with visions of gory explosions dancing in her head, mingled with the image of Rin's poisoned face, dead and bloated.

Of course, what had actually happened ended up being far worse than anything her imagination could conjure up. Reisen was starting to develop a theory that real life was not directed by random chance and coincidence, but by some sort of sentient consciousness, one with a truly sick sense of humor.

I'm back from my first day!

Man, I'm just so wired right now! Okay, let's start with what I just finished. Doctor Yagokoro started testing me to see if I can really adapt and absorb energy. She had me sit still in this empty room and filled it with really, really, really low-level gamma rays. Okay, I admit, I was really scared, but I didn't feel a thing.

Anyway, Doctor Yagokoro says that she's pretty sure it was working, but I guess it takes awhile for it to really kick in. I guess that makes sense, and I'm glad that she's the one saying we should wait and be patient.

But anyway! Enough about that. Before all that, Doctor Yagokoro also showed me around the clinic and told me where every is and all the procedures for handling the tools. I already knew most of the stuff already from my classes, but even so, to actually be there in uniform was really exciting. I mean, not a whole lot actually happened. There's not a whole of people getting injured anyway, and Reisen said they have a lot of downtime. But I don't mind. I'm happy that I'm finally there, working with Doctor Yagokoro. I figure if I do good, she'll let me stick around even if the superpower thing doesn't work out, and become kinda like my teacher! I mean, she's only the coolest and smartest and most beautiful person in like the history of ever! Can you imagine what it'll be like if she starts teaching me all the stuff she knows? Who know, maybe one day I'll become a super-important doctor too!

So I guess it's like the whole thing with my powers. It doesn't what it is now, but what it can turn into is going to be so awesome!

"Don't do it," Reisen whispered again. She knew it was pointless, that the upcoming unfortunate events had already played out, but she couldn't help but try, as if the words could travel beyond the gap of time and change Rin's past.

I got to fix my first broken bone today! Well, not by myself, but I still did most of it! Sudo from Lord Shinzu's village lost a danmaku fight and crashed real hard, and Doctor Yagokoro let me set it and everything! And when it was over, she said that I done it perfectly! Yay!

Oh yeah, and she says that she thinks my adaptation is kicking in! She said that the gamma rays are getting absorbed right into my skin as soon as they hit me without doing anything bad. I gotta admit, I do feel a little more, I dunno, energized afterward? Doctor Yagokoro said that it's probably just a placebo effect though, and I shouldn't pay too much attention to it.

"Don't do it."

It's true! I can really adapt to energy! We've tried like a whole bunch of different kinds of light, and after a couple of days it's like my body just starts eating it. Doctor Yagokoro is really happy now, but she said that she doesn't want to move onto tougher stuff just yet, like danmaku, but I know I can do it! I don't care if it hurts, I need to do this!

"Don't do it."

Ladies and gentlemen, Doctor Yagokoro was right! I can even absorb danmaku now! But I think Doctor Yagokoro is getting worried, seeing how it does take me a couple days. She said she'll try to find a way to speed things up.

"Don't do it."

Okay, wow. Today was weird. We tried to see if I can absorb physical objects, and now I got little pieces of paper stuck halfway in my skin. I'm trying to suck them all the way in, but it's taking way too long. And it really itches. Like, "Woke up covered with ants" itches. But does this mean that, when I finally get real good at this, will I be able to absorb big things? I just hope I don't start getting hungry!

But speaking of which, Doctor Yagokoro thinks she's been able speed things up. See, turns out she knows some people outside of the forest, and they're supposed to be really smart. Not as smart as her, of course, but she thinks that if they work together, they'll be able to make some sort of super potion thingy that'll…

"Don't do it!"

This was torture, even worse than digging through Rin's thoughts when she had been a brat. Reisen had already lived through the experience once. She had already stood on the sidelines, fraught with worry, as Eirin had grown increasingly more impatient and escalated the experiment more and more. Reliving those same events through Rin's eyes, with full knowledge how they would turn out, was nearly unbearable.

She again took to giving the entries only the briefest of glances, flipping through page after page as the end came nearer. It felt wrong, in a way. After all, these had been Rin's final thoughts. She at least deserved to have them read in full. But Reisen just couldn't bring herself to slow down. It hurt too much.

And then she reached an entry headlined by a date she knew all too well. It read:

Well, I don't usually do these things in the morning, but I think I need to, just this one time.

Today's the big day. The elixir is ready to go. And if this works, Doctor Yagokoro's experiment will be a success. But if it doesn't…

I'm sorry, I don't know what's wrong with me. Of course it's going to work! She said it would, didn't she? And she's never wrong, so I have nothing to be worried about!

But I am worried. I'm kinda scared. No, way, forget that. I'm terrified! Not because I think it won't work, but I don't know what things will be like for me afterward. I mean, I'll be able to adapt to things in seconds! I'll be able to absorb things right away, instead of waiting a couple days for my body to get used to them. I know, it sounds really cool, but what if I can't turn it off? What if I start, I don't know, eating my bed when I'm sleeping? Doctor Yagokoro says I don't have to worry about that, that I'll still have complete control over my powers, so I guess I'm getting worked up for nothing. But I couldn't sleep at all last night.

Reisen couldn't sleep either. She kept getting up and walking around. I could hear her. I know she's never liked this experiment. I know she's just looking after me, and I hate making her worry, but I really hope she'll trust Doctor Yagokoro. I mean, she's only the person who created eternal life! She knows what she's doing!

Anyway, I'd better head over there. This is going to be strange. I hope I can write without accidentally eating you when it's over!

And that was that. She had gone to the specially insulated room Eirin had prepared and was administered the elixir immediately after. She never had the chance to write in her diary again.

Seconds ticked by and turned into minutes, but Reisen didn't put the diary down. She just kept staring at that last entry, the final will and testament of Rin Satsuki, before she had been turned into a non-person. She had done it, she had made it through, but what had she accomplished beyond tearing scabbed wounds open? Nothing.

Why had Mima told her to do this? There was nothing here that suggested any sort of cure. But perhaps that had been the spirit's intentions all along. If the stories were to be believed, than she was something of a sadist, especially in the realm of mental and emotional torment. Had she suggested that Reisen read through the diary simply for her personal amusement?

Reisen's throat constricted. She let herself fall back onto her backside and slumped over her knees. The sobs started small, nothing more than whimpers, but they grew in strength as Reisen's feelings of guilt, of anger, of frustration and helplessness came pouring out all at once. She hated herself for falling apart like this, but what could she do? Somewhere out there, Reimu Hakurei was trying to reach Rin and turn her around, but everyone else was bound and determined to prevent that from happening. And Reisen was powerless to do anything about it.

Finally, Reisen calmed down and let her body relax. She stretched out her legs and wiped her eyes with her sleeve. Then, with a sigh, she glanced back at the diary, which was still held in her right hand on the floor beside her.

Rin's final entry had flipped over during Reisen's emotional collapse, exposing the following page. Reisen blinked in surprise and brought it closer. Though there shouldn't have been anything further, there was still something written there

However, it had definitely not been put there by Rin. For one, the penmanship was different. Stronger, more precise. And for another, it wasn't even in the same language. Rin had made all of her entries in Gensokyian Japanese. This was Ancient Lunarian.

Her heart beating faster, Reisen quickly read the page. It wasn't much, just two lines. The first she recognized as a quote from Ehita no Verkahta, a philosopher who had enjoyed a minor but still fairly important position on the royal court during the Lunarian society's early days. It read:

"It is the burden of all heroes to one day run out of monsters to vanquish, after which they are doomed to fill their roles in attempting their prevention. And it is the burden of all monsters to believe themselves to be heroes, with the whole world as their unanimous persecutors."

The second line was not a quote, but a simple plea.

Forgive me.

Eirin had read this diary. Eirin had sifted through Rin's thoughts, had witnessed the final days of the girl she was to destroy.

Had she, like Reisen, also been struck with the full realization of what she had done? That small plea for forgiveness seemed to indicate as such. But then, why did she work so hard toward Rin's destruction? Was it all just as she had claimed earlier, a desire to put Rin out of her misery? Or had this moment been nothing more than a moment of weakness, a crack in the façade, before she had hardened her heart and returned to business as usual?

Reisen didn't know. Eirin Yagokoro's mind had been near impossible for her to gauge even before all this had gone down, and she wasn't about to make the attempt now. There was no denying that Eirin felt a great deal of responsibility towards Rin, but whether it was driven from actual remorse or from a desire to correct what she saw as a breathtaking failure Reisen could not judge.

She flipped through the diary's remaining pages but found nothing more. Then, at last, she closed it.

"Forgive you?" Reisen muttered as she stood up. Her legs, still a bit cramped, protested, but she was able to ignore them. "Well, let's just leave that up to your monster."

...

And...I'm back! Again.

Again, I'm really sorry about the wait, guys. The usual reasons apply: finals week hitting right after the update went up, and my computer going nuts about the same time and taking about two-and-a-half weeks to fix. Here is a request to the computer techs of the world: if you didn't actually fix the faulty part, don't send it back with a note claiming that you did.

But beyond that, this chapter's production was, as I'm sure many of you picked up on, rather troubled. In short, I hit major writer's block right around when Kanako joined Reimu and Rin's conversation. With this arc winding down, I knew how I wanted it to end, and I knew where it currently was, but I had one hell of a time trying to figure out how to connect the strands.

In the end, I use a technique that I learned from Stephen King: that is, if what you're writing isn't really going anywhere, have a man burst into the room and start shooting. In this case, Yuuka was my gunwoman. Unfortunately, this brought her off the bench a few chapters earlier than I would have liked. Personally, I would was preferred for her to stay back for a while longer, but I had hit the wall and she has a way of making things move, even if the result tends to be a bit cancerous. So yeah, I cheated. Apologies if it's obvious, but the chapter was late as it was, and I needed to do something to get the damned thing going. And now it's turning out to be kind of a mix between Sanctuary Denied and The Storm, and I'm not really sure how I feel about that. Ah well, everyone makes mistakes; so I guess the only thing to do would be to learn from all this and keep on moving.Of course, now that I explained that, that's going to be the only thing anyone wants to comment on. :P

Anyway, the current plan is to wrap up the mecha madness with the next chapter and the arc in the one after that, after which things will change gears.

Until next time, everyone!