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.

65. Fires of the Sun, Part 2

Fires of the Sun, Part 2

Despite her long and violent career as a monster hunter and her even longer, somewhat less violent but far more memorable career as the personal maid to a notorious vampire, Sakuya could only count three distinct instances in which she had been convinced that she was about to die.

Oh, there had been plenty of times in which she knew that she could die. Most of her life had been dangerous, and despite her skills and certain other talents, she was still but mortal. And there had been many moments in which she had plunged headlong into danger knowing full well that she was probably going to die. But despite all the dangers she had faced and all the beasts she had slain, there were but three moments that stuck in Sakuya's memory in which she had stared into the Void and thought, "This is it. My luck has finally run out. It's all over for me."

The first had taken place early in her hunting career. Her first couple of jobs had gone rather well, and being young and still somewhat naïve, Sakuya had started to become a little cocky. This had led her to accept a contract to eliminate an unknown reality devouring horror that had made its lair deep within the bowels of a black asteroid. It had not gone well. As it turned out, the whole thing had been a scam, as her "clients" had actually been the creature's devoted cultists who were contracting various hunters and mercenaries as a way to send food to their eldritch deity. Sakuya was the first to come back alive, though not even she could really explain how, given that there was a strange three-day gap in her memory that began with the creature wrapping its feathery tendrils around her limbs before opening its toothy maw to receive her and ended with her clawing her way to the Moon's surface. Needless to say, she had not been successful in destroying the creature. But she still took her payment from her dishonest employers, as well as their lives.

The second time had been some years later, when she had been hired to rescue a girl that had been kidnapped by yet another demon-worshipping cult and was due to be sacrificed. In that, she was successful, and the girl had been returned to her family alive and well, albeit a bit shaken up. But things had still gone a little sour, and Sakuya had ended up being the one tied to the blood-slicked altar to have her intestines ripped out. Interesting to note is that was also the day that she discovered her innate power over time and space, which would go on to serve her quite well once she got it under control. She just wished that it had decided to surface a wee bit earlier in the sacrificial ceremony.

The third time had been when Remilia Scarlet had become entranced with the beautiful monster hunter that had snuck into her home to destroy her and decided to turn her into her personal maid. Unfortunately she had inadequately explained her intentions to Sakuya at the time, and admittedly did have rather unique ideas when it came to the hiring process. Things eventually worked out for the better on that front, though it did take a while for Sakuya to break her new habit of scratching the right side of her neck.

By the time Sakuya Izayoi ended up being suspended by her neck from the roof of Yuuka Kazami's mansion by an overly powerful and notoriously unstable renegade who had ample reason to hate her, she had lived for far too long and had seen too much for this to convince her of her impending demise. But she had to admit, had it happened to her a few decades earlier, it might have made the list.

"Rin," she said, speaking calmly, clearly, and as loud as she could through her constricting throat. "Please, listen to me. We are-"

The hand around her neck suddenly squeezed a bit tighter, cutting off most of Sakuya's air. "Listen to you?" Rin Satsuki said in equal parts amusement, anger, and disbelief. "You want me to listen to you? Heh. That's rich." She lifted her other hand and brought it close to Sakuya's eyes. As the maid watched, the index finger elongated and narrowed out, becoming a stabbing spike. "Give me one good reason, Sakuya Izayoi. Just give me one good reason."

Blood started to pound in Sakuya's ears, though not loud enough to drown out the din below her. Though she couldn't see what was happening, apparently her companions were taking great exception to their leader's peril but were having some sort of disagreement about how to deal with it. She appreciated the concern, though was a bit worried that their idea of rescue might be more harmful than the peril itself. She had to act quickly. "Here to…" she forced out through what little room her throat had left. "Help you. Please…"

"Help me? Rin cocked her head to one side and grinned, displaying some very sharp teeth that didn't quite match up to any of her known hostages. "You wanna…help me? Huh. Interesting."

The next thing Sakuya knew, the two of them were plunging to the floor, Rin's hand still wrapped around her neck. There was a brief blur, then several voices cried out in alarm. She distinctly heard a female voice scream in terror, only for it to be suddenly cut off.

Then she was swung around and her back slammed into the wall. She tried to gasp in pain and surprise, but didn't have the breath to even do that. The whole thing had happened so quickly that if it weren't for her finely sharpened sense of her surroundings, it would have seemed like the two of them had been teleported. Which…was kind of ironic, considering how many times she had had that same effect on people who had angered her.

She then noticed that she had also picked up a strangle-mate. Rin had plucked Patchouli up from the ground and was now holding her aloft by the neck as well. The magician was taking it with considerably less grace than Sakuya was. In fact, judging by how her legs were kicking and how her hands were desperately clawing at Rin's wrist while she choked, she was on the verge of panic. Electricity and flame shot from her hands to run up Rin's arm, but her captor didn't even notice. It would seem that the large amount of Patchouli's magic that she had absorbed years ago during her first rampage still rendered her immune to her power.

"HELP ME?" Rin roared as she shoved the two higher against the stone wall. "You say you wanna HELP me? After all you did to me, you think I'm gonna believe…Oh, no you don't."

What followed wasn't nearly the most disturbing thing Sakuya had ever seen, but it was so unexpected that it still elicited a short jolt of shock. Rin's head twisted around a full one-hundred eighty degrees on her neck to glare at Sakuya's allies, who were rushing to her and Patchouli's defense. It did so with a rather sickening squishing sound, though the mutated Kirin didn't seem at all distressed by the impossibility of it. In fact, as Sakuya watched Patchouli's futile attempts to free herself, she finally took note that Rin's fingers were quite literally wrapped around their necks, in that they had stretched out like tentacles to form several loops around her suffocating captives. It would seem that their one-time test subject had picked up some interesting tricks.

"Back off," Rin snapped to Meiling, Koakuma, and Satori's pets. "This has nothing to do with you."

A wall of flame shot up out of the ground and surrounded the three of them, forming a protective alcove. That done, Rin's head completed its rotation so that she was once again facing her captives.

"Back to business," Rin said, then she dropped Sakuya and Patchouli to the floor.

Sakuya tried to inhale deeply, but the heat from the flame was making that difficult. Poor Patchouli was in far worse shape though. She had breathing problems enough already, and had completely passed out.

As for Rin, she glowered down at the targets of her hate, the wall of fire darkening her shape into a demonic looking silhouette. "You've got some nerve," she said. "Pretending to want to help me. Bet you had some big ol' speech prepared, to get me all trusting and off my guard." Her eyes were burning caves, distinguishable from the fire only because of the dark shape of her face. They narrowed then in suspicion.

Suddenly her six malformed Nue wings reared back. The three curving, arrow-tipped ones melted and reformed to become a matching set to the ones shaped like scythes. All six lunged forward and impaled themselves into the wall around Sakuya and Patchouli, forming a cage as Rin crouched down on her haunches.

"Is this just another hallucination from the pain?" she demanded. She grabbed Sakuya's chin and squeezed hard enough to leave bruises. "Feels real, but so did the others, you know? Maybe you're just another one of Yuuka's tricks, sent to torment me." Then her lips parted in a wide, rictus grin. "Well, it ain't gonna work."

Then as Sakuya watched in horror, Rin's mouth continued to open wider and wider, her lower jaw dropping lower than any sort of skeletal structure would have allowed. And in the dark cave of her throat, light started to appear, a distant red glow that grew brighter and brighter until it became a hot flame, ready to shoot forth and roast her hated enemies to the bone.

As bad shape as she was in, Patchouli would survive. Probably. She was a youkai, after all, though Sakuya was admittedly hazy on the effects Phoenix Fire had on a youkai's natural regeneration. She, however, was in the process of adding a fourth entry to her list.

Then a calm, mechanical voice spoke over the roar of the flames. "Warning. Extreme temperatures detected. Would you like to activate flame suppression functions?"

"YES!" Sakuya heard Utsuho Reiuji scream. "SAVE THEM!"

"Acknowledged."

The next thing Sakuya knew, the wall of fire wavered like a curtain and was drawn into some kind of vortex. It cleared away, leaving a veil of smoke in its wake, though Sakuya could still see the flames being sucked into the end of that metallic cylinder that Utsuho Reiuji always wore over her arm. Flaps popped open along its sides and released the ambient heat in jets of steam that had to be hot enough to melt iron.

Suddenly deprived of her flesh-searing barrier, Rin Satsuki froze in place. The burning light died in her mouth, and she started to rise and turn around. However, before she could she suddenly found the back of her robe seized by a rather upset Hong Meiling.

Rin Satsuki was hauled off the wall and spun around to meet Meiling's fist. Her face lost shape as Meiling's knuckles pressed into her nose and deformed into rather horrific looking mess. Not one to waste time or movement, Meiling drew her arm back to strike again.

Unfortunately, her first punch hadn't dazed Rin as much as she would have liked. Before she could ruin Rin's patchwork face even further, the mutated Kirin jerked out of the way, causing Meiling's fist to sail harmlessly by. Rin seized her arm as it passed and used her momentum to throw her to the ground.

By then, Sakuya had recovered enough to stand, even if she did have to brace her back to the wall to do so. One hand holding her damaged throat, she took an unsteady step forward, eyes narrowing as she studied the brawl taking place for the best time to make a decisive strike.

"Patchy!" Koakuma cried as she rushed to her unconscious master's side. "Patchouli? Come on, wake up. Patchouli!"

"She's fine, just unconscious," Sakuya rasped out. "Focus on-"

Then she had to duck to avoid being hit by a flying fish woman.

The last time Meiling had fought Rin Satsuki, the little blob of goo had gotten a little caught up with playing with her opponent, which had allowed the weaker, slower, but more determined Chinese martial artist to gain the upper hand and end things at a decisive moment. This time, Rin wasn't interested in playing. Meiling was already reeling back, clutching at what seemed to be a broken jaw. The big, spiky-haired dog youkai charged Rin head on, intending to run her to the ground. Apparently no one had informed him of the depressingly low success rate that tactic had on the girl, as she was able to side-step him with ease. However, rather than trip, toss, or push him, Rin instead snared him with four sticky tendrils that shot out of her back to adhere to his, stopping his momentum cold. She then hurled him back against the far wall hard enough to crack it.

Rin Kaenbyou and the goat man were next. The first popped out five sharp claws out of her fingers and heated them up until they glowed, while the other merely swung his axe down at Rin Satsuki with enough force to cleave stone.

This…went as well as would be expected.

As the goat curled up on the ground and moaned in pain, Rin Satsuki wrapped her fingers over the face of the redheaded Kasha and lifted her up. She grinned as the slashes on her cheek closed up and disappeared.

"I have no idea who you are," she said to the struggling feline. "But if you're working with those bags of crap then I'd say you're probably-"

"STOP!"

Rin cut her monologue off in mid-sentence and looked to see the barrel of Utsuho's metal cylinder pointed directly at her face. Utsuho stood in the center of the room, legs spread apart, back straight, wings lifted high, with the arm covered by the cylinder pointed straight at Rin Satsuki's face. Four of the cylinder's eight sides had opened up and spread out like thin shields, and end of the barrel was glowing bright yellow. Sakuya had to admit, she cut an impressive figure, which was probably why Rin froze in place rather than leap forward and tear her to shreds, which she probably could have done without much difficultly.

Still, Utsuho's arms were trembling, as was her lower lip. Despite her power and intimidating appearance, the girl just didn't have a fighter's spirit. But she wasn't running.

"Rin," she said slowly as Rin Satsuki gave her a calculating look over. "Rin Satsuki, right? I've heard of you."

There was a nail-biting pause, and then Rin growled, "Really can't say the same. Who the hell are you?"

"Hello," Utsuho said, her voice trembling just a bit. "M-My name is Utsuho Reiuji. Um, look, I don't know a whole lot about you, but I've still heard things. Stories and whispers and stuff. And Orin…she's the person whose face you're sort of squeezing right now, well, she told me some more."

"Oh?" Rin said, sounding rather unimpressed. "Let me guess. They told you about what a monster I am, how dangerous I am, and how I'm likely to just go completely bonkers and kill everyone, didn't they?"

Utsuho swallowed and nodded. "Sort of. But look, people think I'm pretty dumb. And maybe I am. But I can sometimes read over the lines-"

"Between the lines," Rin corrected, though without much sarcasm. She didn't seem very afraid of Utsuho or the glowing ball at the tip of the cylinder pointed at her face, but she was at least listening.

"Right. Thanks. I can read between the lines, and Orin heard your story once and told it to me, so I can tell that there's more than what people are saying."

Rin frowned. "My story?"

"Yes," Utsuho said, this time without her voice breaking. It seemed that the longer she talked, the more confidence she gained. "You were…you were just a little girl once, right? And someone really powerful and cool looking showed up one day and said that if you did what they said, you would also become really, really powerful and be able to do a lot of cool things and help a lot of people, right? But then it went all wrong, and you got really angry and went a little crazy. And they locked you up in a dark place. Because they were scared of you, right? And it didn't matter how much you cried and said that you were sorry, nobody came to save, and you were left all alone."

Time seemed to slow to stop. Even Sakuya, who often deliberately caused that very effect as part of her job, could feel the effect Utsuho's words were having on the room. Her allies, wounded and healthy alike, had stopped moving, all of them listening and watching intently. It seemed that the whole world was holding its breath, waiting for Rin's reaction.

As for Rin, she was staring at Utsuho with something quite like shock. Her eyes had gone wide as saucers, while the black pupils had shrunk to pinpricks. But beyond that her face was a marble mask, and her body had gone as still as a statue.

Seconds ticked by, though it felt longer. Minutes. Hours, days, and years. Entire civilizations rose up, formed empires, and crumbled away to dust as they waited for Gensokyo's newest but possibly most notorious renegade to make her move.

Finally she spoke, and when she did it sounded like each one of her four voices had been roughened with sandpaper. "How did you know all that?"

"Because the same thing happened to me too," Utsuho said. "See, I know I'm, uh, bigger now, taller and all that. But I was once the little one, and almost everyone kept picking on me. Then one day, I met, well, a goddess. And she showed me the body of a dead god, and told me that if I managed to swallow him, I would become so strong that no one would dare push me around anymore. Not only that, I could use my power to help everyone, and they would all love me."

Though she still hadn't dare to move, Sakuya could see one or two of Satori's pets glancing uncomfortably away then.

"But it didn't really work out like that," Utsuho continued. "I mean, I did it…even if I'm still not really sure how, but I got the power like she said. Except…" She sighed. "Except it wasn't wonderful at all. It was awful. It made me feel all sick and angry and wrong inside. And all I could think about were how much everyone had hurt me, and the more I thought about it, the angrier I got. Soon I didn't care about helping people anymore. I didn't want to help people anymore. I just wanted to hurt them back."

A frown creased Rin's porcelain brow. Her eyes shot over to Sakuya, and then to Patchouli, who, thanks to Koakuma's murmured ministrations, was just starting to come to.

"I almost went too far. A lot of people were calling me a monster, and I don't blame them. Because I wanted to become a monster. But fortunately, I had some people that wouldn't let me, people that refused to give up on me. Some of them were strangers, but some were friends that had stuck by me even when I was a weak little birdbrain." Utsuho pointed to Rin Kaenbyou, who had stopped kicking and scratching but still looked rather uncomfortable dangling in the air with Rin Satsuki's hand covering her face. "That's Orin, and she risked everything to try to bring me back. And it worked. She helped make the madness go away. But people are still scared of me. I'm not allowed to go out without someone coming with me. Even at home, people avoid me. They don't pick on me anymore, but I kind of wish they would sometimes, because at least they would look at me. Being scary sucks, you know? But you know what? It's okay. Because I still have some friends that stick by me. Orin's one, and Satori, and a few others. And that…makes it easier."

Then the glowing sphere of destruction slowly faded away. There was a loud mechanical clanking sound, and the barrel of the cylinder retracted, its flaps sliding back into place. Utsuho slowly lowered her arm, though her gaze remained fixed on Rin's eyes. "But you never really had anyone like that, did you? No one was willing to stick up for you, even though it wasn't your fault. That's why you're still angry. Can't say I blame you."

Rin's lips slowly parted, baring her teeth. For a brief moment Sakuya tensed up, preparing herself for another attack. But instead of leaping for the Hell-Raven's throat, Rin simply breathed in deeply through her clenched teeth and slowly let it out. "There was someone," she said hoarsely. "But no one listened to her. No one ever did, and it just got her in trouble."

A flash of Reisen Udongein's tear-streaked face passed through Sakuya's memory. During Rin Satsuki's trial the rabbit girl had been absolutely distraught, and had all but begged Eirin Yagokoro and Kaguya Houraisan to reconsider and grant Rin mercy, who by then had been returned to a harmless lump of goop. Sakuya remembered writing her hysteria off as being due to lingering trauma from the ordeal she had just suffered. Lunarian rabbits had always been on the flighty side, which was why she had preferred to avoid them back when she lived on the Moon, and interacting with Reisen Udongein had done nothing to change that perception.

But witnessing Remilia's emotional decay following her sister's loss made Sakuya reconsider. And she would be lying if she didn't admit that there had been a few times since in which she had kept time frozen twice as long as normal just to catch some sleep. Maybe if they had actually listened to Reisen's pleas back then, things might have been different.

"Well, I want to listen." Suddenly there was a loud whirring, followed by a series of clicks. The metal cylinder seemed to unfasten itself from Utsuho's arm. She pulled it off like a glove and gently set it aside. Then, though her now bare arm was shaking, she slowly raised it up and held her arm out to Rin Satsuki. "Please. I don't want to fight you. I, uh, actually don't want to fight anyone, but sometimes I do have to fight the bad guys. And I don't think you're a bad guy. Are you?"

"You know, sometimes I wonder, I really do," Rin murmured.

"Then don't be. Please, Miss Satsuki. Let my friend go?"

Rin Satsuki grimaced. She looked up at the redheaded Kasha still hanging in her grasp, who it should be noted had stopped struggling, though it looked like she still wanted to. Maybe she had decided to trust Utsuho and not do anything to distract from her friend's speech. Maybe she had realized that fighting Satsuki was pointless, and being lifted up by the face was at least better than getting torn to shred or absorbed. Either way, she dangled aloft, her feline ears erect in distress while her eyes stared down at Satsuki through the latter's fingers.

Then with a resigned sigh, Satsuki said, "I still don't really know who you are. But you are way too nice to be hanging out with those jerks." Then she slowly lowered Rin Kaenbyou to the ground and released her face. The Kasha stumbled back, gasping for air.

"Well, there you go," Rin Satsuki said to Utsuho as she rushed over to help her friend. "Though I'd be careful if I were you. That's not the first time I've heard that speech, and things don't usually turn out well for people who try to help me."

"Okay…" Utsuho said, looking a little unsure of what to do with that.

Then, even though she knew that adding her voice to the discussion was a tremendous gamble, Sakuya finally spoke. "But you are no friend of Yuuka Kazami, are you?"

The unfortunate things about gambles is that they rarely pay off. Indeed, it seemed that reminding Rin Satsuki that two of the people she hated the most were still in the room was a mistake, as the uncertainly immediately evaporated from her face and her attention snapped toward Sakuya with renewed fury. "Oh, hell no. But you I'm not so sure of. After all, didn't you sell me to her?"

Calm, Sakuya told herself. Just remain calm. "Yes, and that was a horrible mistake, but one made out of desperation rather than malice." Well, she was in for it already. Might as well keep rolling. "You see, Yuuka had already taken something precious from us, our mistress Remilia Scarlet's younger sister-"

"Flandre?" Rin Satsuki said, the anger and suspicion evaporating from her face as a look of horror and worry rushed in to replace it. She started to turn away, apparently completely forgetting about her grudge entirely. "Oh gods, Flandre. Rumia. Cirno. I have to help them!"

Sakuya's heart leapt up into her throat. She had taken yet another gamble, and somehow ended up with snake-eyes and a perfect twelve at the same time. "You know Flandre?" she whispered.

Satsuki stopped. "Yeah," she said, then she turned back around to glower at Sakuya with fresh venom. "Probably better than you ever did."

"Wha-" Patchouli suddenly sputtered. Apparently that little nugget had pierced through her post-unconscious haze and revived her completely. She sat and tried to voice some sort of question or protest, but almost passed out again from the coughing fit that ensued, leading Koakuma to hastily help her with her medicine. As for Sakuya, her tongue had retreated to the back of her mouth while her heart plunged deep into her bowels, where it immediately started pumping a strange mixture of ice water and bile into her veins. She was not a social creature by any means, but she knew how to read people.

Rin Satsuki had met Flandre. Rin Satsuki was friends with Flandre. Years ago, when Flandre had been unleashed to stop Satsuki's first rampage, it had been as a last resort: trying to use one unstable and unstoppable monster to defeat another. Many had feared that even if Flandre were capable of stopping Satsuki, they might have ended up trading one peril for another. Thankfully that had not been the case, but the thought that two of Gensokyo's most dangerous beings might actually befriend one another caused visions of blood-streaked holocausts and Remilia's distraught face to compete for the most horrific outcome.

As Sakuya stood frozen in horror, she was once again saved by the simple mind of Utsuho Reiuji, who had decided to ignore the terrible implications of what Rin had just said or, as was more likely, simply didn't understand them. "Then can you please help us?" she said. "We lost someone too. Our master, Satori Komejii. Have you seen her?"

Satsuki shook her head. "Er, no. Sorry, I don't know that name."

Then the big dog, who had been hovering in the back ever since recovering from his rough introduction to the wall, pushed his way past Sakuya and said, "She's, like, this tall," he said, holding his dismembered stump a little under a meter and a half from the ground. Satsuki wrinkled her nose. Seeing this, he quickly switched arms. "And she's got short dark pink hair, and these golden wires coming out of her head that have a big eyeball hanging from them."

The billy-goat leaped forward to butt in as well. "She's real quiet, but has a sort of gentle kindness about her."

"She's always knows what you need," added the fish. "And takes real great care of-"

"Er, guys?" said the blonde cat. "I don't mean to break this up, but…problem?"

Everyone turned toward her. The cat was pointing toward the door with a look of distress on her face. It would seem that in the course of their battle and the lengthy conversation that had followed, the plants that they had cleared had been replaced three times over by their brethren, which were now thickly clustering around the entrance like a leaf-covered hoard of invaders. Thus far, none had crossed over the threshold. Maybe it was the residual power of faith keeping them at bay. Such things were known to happen. Maybe Rin Satsuki made them nervous. Hell, maybe they had been as entranced by Utsuho's valiant efforts to reach out to Satsuki as everyone else had been. But whatever the reason, fair to say it wouldn't be long before one of them poked a tuber over the line.

Satsuki glanced at the deadly garden and her eyes narrowed. Then she thrust an open palm at the door.

The hallway erupted in flames. Sakuya could almost hear the plants screaming in pain as they were devoured by the blaze. Even she had to flinch back and hold up a hand to shield herself from the heat.

Satsuki kept up the fire for a full five seconds, which was more than enough time to disintegrate anything that might have been outside of the room. When she lowered her hand, there was nothing outside but black soot.

Sakuya's hands clenched. "If Flandre was anywhere near all that," she said, "then I don't care how indestructible you are. I will take you apart over and over until you stop coming back."

"She wasn't," Satsuki said, sounding wholly unimpressed by the threat. "I would've known if she was." Then she scanned the room with wary eyes. "All right, guys. You got my attention. Now talk."

…

Yukari Yakumo hovered high in the sky, seated upon a narrow gap that had been shaped in the form of a sling. She leaned slightly back, heedless of the tremendous fall behind her, legs crossed and hands folded in her lap as she gazed down at the spectacular display of destruction going on below.

She had to admit, though motivating the Dragons to take action was often like rolling boulders uphill with a twig, the lizards knew their work. Even though none of those five so-called "warriors" had ever likely even seen battle, they were making short work of Yuuka's garden. What had been a place of terrible beauty only minutes before would soon become a second Blasted Lands, a pit of dust and ash.

Again.

Despite that being exactly what Yukari wanted, she found herself somewhat troubled. How many times had she been in that same position, floating high above the ground while a piece of her country was torn apart by her hand? There had been a fair few of them, all of them necessary, but all of them regrettable, especially given how easily they could have been avoided.

Minerva's high-walled city had been the first. That one had been the easiest, but had also hurt the worst. Yukari's one-time protégé had underestimated her mentor, and had insufficiently prepared for her wrath. Yukari had ripped the city to pieces, casting its towers down while pulling its foundations up out of the earth, and all of the magic of its defenders would not save them. The mortals were buried there still, while the souls of the youkai had been scattered to the four winds. Some had fled, and Yukari hadn't bothered to chase them. They had learned the lesson of fear, and it would keep for some time.

As for Minerva herself, well, she had proven unteachable. Yukari had kept to herself for a long time after that one.

The Fortress of Silence, that had been another one. It was sort of funny in hindsight, how quickly the small threats grew. Like Minerva, Mima had taken her time becoming the villain she would later be known as. Yukari remembered hearing the odd rumor of a rogue enchantress spreading mischief here and there, but hadn't been bothered. Mima's name had been among a few dozen other minor troublemakers that wandered her country, and Gensokyo was at its heart a shelter for troublemakers. Let the small people deal with such insignificant problems in their own way.

And then, almost without warning, Mima had no longer seemed insignificant.

The war had been the first of its kind, and thankfully the last, at least thus far. It had seemed that a full fifth of Gensokyo's population had rallied under the banner of the Poison Sky, and Yukari and her fellow defenders had needed to cut their way through a fifth of those to strike at the Fortress of Silence itself. That time, she had felt little remorse about laying to waste all those who stood against her, and when the earth itself had opened up to swallow the fortress whole, she had felt nothing but grim satisfaction.

Those two instances stood out the most clearly in her mind, but they were far from the only times she had reddened Gensokyo's soil. When she had finally succeeded in enacting the spellcard policy, it had felt like a tremendous burden had lifted from her shoulders. Sure, the new rules were absurd, but hers were an absurd people, and they seemed to enjoy the new form of combat. Perhaps now, she had thought, Gensokyo's time as a dark and savage land were done.

That had been a little less than twenty years ago. And here she was, ready to spill blood once again.

Well, at least this time the blood she meant to spill would not be missed, and she had been able to act before things had gotten too dire. Yuuka had but five deaths to her name since this mess had started. And while some might argue that that was five deaths too many, it wasn't bad in the grand scheme of things. Mima had claimed a few dozen before she really started to pick up steam.

No, the true casualty in this encounter was going to be the land itself. When the Dragons' work was done, Yukari doubted that anything would be able to grow there again. Maybe one day some semblance of life might be restored to the blackened patch that had once been the Garden of the Sun, but even if she were to excavate all the dead soil and have it replaced with fresh and fertile earth, some things still lingered, things beyond the material. Besides, after this, she didn't think that she could trust anything green that came out of that ground. Maybe it was best if it remained dead.

Though speaking of which, it certainly seemed that the land was doing a good job in resisting its violent death. Frowning, Yukari leaned forward and took a closer look. Dragonfire was scorching leaf, root, and branch, but the fires weren't spreading as they should be. In fact, save for the black streaks that marked where the flames slashed across the ground, the devastation seemed remarkably well-contained. And the fires were being quenched far too quickly.

"She's resisting," Shinki said. The Fallen Angel had flown over to hover close to Yukari, all six of her mighty violet wings spread out around her.

"This surprises you?" Yukari said, not taking her eyes off the attack.

"No, but her tardiness does. I had expected to be greeted with poisonous thorns and bloodthirsty buds, not an open door that she only now struggles to close."

Yukari shrugged as if it were no matter, but the truth was she was surprised as well. Even at the end, Yuuka's behavior continued to defy reason. "All the better for us. Maybe we caught her during her mid-afternoon nap."

Shinki shot her a sharp look. "Weren't you the one saying that we shouldn't take her lightly? If she is as dangerous as you claim, I'd say her lack of reaction is cause for-"

Suddenly all five Dragons swooped high into the sky in a manner similar to a flock of startled pigeons. At the same time, Yukari felt a deep hum in her teeth and a warm dryness in the back of her throat. She immediately turned her full attention to what was happening beneath her.

She sensed it before she saw it. The Dragons hadn't been startled away from the garden, they had been pushed. She could feel the invisible geyser of Yuuka's will shoving up from the garden, as hot and sickening as a thick jungle's air. Just being near it made her feel feverish.

She glanced over to Shinki. Like her, the Fallen Angel seemed ill at ease, which was good. It was about time that she came off her heavenly perch and started taking this matter seriously. "We seem to have waked her," Yukari said. Shinki shot her an irritated look, but said nothing.

Now that they finally had Yuuka's attention, it seemed that she was coming out to greet them with bells on. The garden itself was rolling like waves upon a turbulent sea, the fields and groves rising up and down as rolls of earth passed by. It was like there was some great beast lying imprisoned just beneath the soil that was struggling to pull itself free.

Then all of a sudden, the waves stopped, and the Garden of the Sun lay still. Yukari quirked an eyebrow.

Then there came a deep, bass groan mixed with a sound like concrete slabs being ground against one another, and the earth broke apart. For a second Yukari thought that there really was some sort of guardian being held beneath the garden that was just now being unleashed, but a moment later she realized that she was off by just a bit.

There wasn't a monster under the Garden of the Sun.

The Garden of the Sun was the monster.

Huge chunks of dark earth, tangled roots, and massive boulders wove themselves together, forming a massive bipedal shape. Long, ape-like arms hung down to the ground with stony fingers that could crush a house. Flowers, trees, and grass clung to its back, their roots lengthening through the dirt, anchoring the bone-white stones together.

Between earthy shoulders covered with orange trees and rosebushes a hill of dark soil shoved its way up. Broken slabs of stone clacked into place, forming facial features. A mane of wild green grass sprouted from the back. Two impressions dug themselves out from the dirt, one forming a gaping, empty cavern, while the other covered itself with scarlet primroses. The giant reared itself up to its full height of over ten meters, its stony fists clenched and ready for violence.

Well, they had expected Yuuka to come out and meet them, and here she was. It really came as no surprise that she would do so in such an overly dramatic fashion.

Then there was a loud rumble, and from another part of the garden another giant roused itself, identical to the first. Moments later a third one appeared. Two more soon followed.

One of the Dragons, one with wings like glittering emeralds, righted himself and flew over to where Yukari was perched. The Ancient One has been roused, he told her without speaking. He needed only to look at her, and she understood. She is angry. Yukari noted that even he, a Dragon of the Mountain of Opals, sounded troubled by the prospect of having to face Yuuka. Though that might just be due to having to fight at all. Dragons were notorious for their disapproval of violence. Yukari found herself wishing that Gensokyo's Dragons had more in common with their western cousins. If they had been of that stock, then she wouldn't have had to beg to get them to fight. All they would have needed was an excuse.

"Indeed she is," Yukari said with a nod. "I think I shall give her a friendly wave. Have your brethren clear the skies for a few moments. It won't take long."

The Dragon "said" nothing, but it still soared higher. Moments later the others followed.

Once they were clear, Yukari called down, "Oh, Yuuka! A good morning to you!"

The middle giant's head snapped up in surprise, its eye of roses growing wide as it focused on the tiny woman hovering high above it. Yukari found herself amused that even a face of stone and soil could still twist in hatred.

"YOU!" the giant bellowed in Yuuka's voice, if Yuuka had spent a solid week gargling cement chips and had it amplified a hundred times over.

"Me," Yukari said cheerfully. "Hello, dear. Ready for round two?"

And then hundreds of gaps opened up around her, filling the sky with eyes. Yukari had just enough time to enjoy Yuuka's look of dismay before the tears in reality rained down fire and death.

…

Patchouli Knowledge was not having a good day.

She had known that taking part in this operation would be dangerous. She had known that she physically wasn't cut out for this sort of thing. She had known that there was a very real possibility that she could be hurt, and hurt badly. And whatever horrible torments her imagination had conjured up had still fallen far short of the actual thing. Namely, being strangled by Rin bloody Satsuki while surrounded by a wall of intensely hot flame. And all this after exerting herself far beyond anything she had done in years.

She was still slouching with her back against the wall while Koakuma tried to help her treat her damaged throat. It really did just figure that Satsuki's point of attack would be her greatest vulnerability. She had enough trouble breathing as it was.

"Okay, here," Koakuma said as she pressed an enchanted bandage to Patchouli's neck. There was a tingle as the magic went to work, followed by a sense of warm relief as her aching muscles loosened. It still hurt, but it was now easier to breathe. Coughing weakly, Patchouli nodded to her and turned her attention back to the maid's heroic but more than likely futile attempts to bring their personal little arch-nemesis into the fold.

Sakuya had just finished telling Satsuki about how Yukari Yakumo had changed her mind and now was focusing on saving the girl instead of defeating her, and that they now had a possible cure for her condition. Granted, given that time was now pressing, she had to make due with an extremely abbreviated version, but Patchouli doubted that even telling the story in full would have convinced Satsuki much. And predictably, she wasn't biting.

"You're lying," Satsuki hissed.

"I am not," Sakuya said, just a hint of impatience in her voice.

"Sure you are," Satsuki sneered. "C'mon, at least come up with better ones. Yukari Yakumo wants to help me? Give me a break."

Patchouli shook her head. She admired Sakuya for her valiant efforts, but in her opinion Satsuki was too far gone. Sighing, she let her head loll over to one side to check on the Undergrounders.

The pets of Satori Komejii were gathered in a tight little group, whispering amongst themselves. Judging by the sharp looks they were shooting Satsuki and the wall of fire blocking the entrance to the room, it was clear that none of them were at all happy about the situation. Patchouli frowned. There had better not be a mutiny taking place. The last thing they needed was for that crowd to suddenly turn on their allies. They had overstepped their bounds enough by insisting that the Hell-Raven be added to the roster at the last minute. Revolting outright would spell doom for the denizens of the Scarlet Devil Mansion.

Well, okay, so maybe bringing the Hell-Raven along had worked out in the end. For some reason, she had managed to get through to Satsuki when Patchouli would have thought it impossible. But no one had known that would happen.

Indeed, after a few growled arguments with Rin Kaenbyou, the big man with the short spiky hair and one remaining hand broke off from the conversation to insert himself into the debate between Sakuya and Satsuki. "This is pointless," he snapped as he stomped over. "We should be looking for Satori, not dicking around in here." He thrust his remaining index finger at Satsuki. "If that…thing hates Yuuka Kazami so much, I say we let her go after her and get back to work."

Patchouli tensed up, fearing that the insult would drive Satsuki back into violence. However, the freak didn't seem all that offended. In fact, she looked like she was amused by his gall. "You know, that's not a bad idea," she said, idly scratching her chin. Then her garnet eyes narrowed. "Except for the part where you'll go and snatch Flandre away behind my back."

That was another thing Patchouli was still trying to wrap her head around. Rin Satsuki and Flandre Scarlet were now…friends? Somehow she found that prospect more frightening than if they were mortal enemies. In her opinion, Satsuki befriending Flandre made it even less likely that they would save her than if she was actively trying to destroy the vampire.

"You mean save her," Sakuya gently corrected.

"I mean snatch her," Satsuki said. "You think I don't know how you treat her?"

The big man threw his arms into the air in exasperation. "You see? This is going nowhere."

Satsuki grinned ghoulishly at him. "You guys wanna leave, then leave. I don't have any problem with you. It's these creeps that I don't trust, you know?"

Then the Hell-Raven nervously cleared her throat. "Um, but wouldn't it make sense for us to stick together though? I mean, we all want to see Satori and Flandre saved, and-"

Satsuki held up an open palm, stopping her. "Okay, gotta back it up there. You're missing a few names. Satori, Flandre, sure. But also Rumia, Cirno, Mystia, Daiyousei, and Wriggle." Then she frowned. "Oh, and that girl with the rolling head, assuming she's still alive. And pretty much everyone else in those flowers." Then her frown deepened into an irritated scowl. "And maybe Elly. I guess."

Patchouli stared blankly. Those names did ring a very faint bell in the back of her memory. Rumia especially seemed important, but she still couldn't put faces to any of them.

Sakuya, however, inhaled sharply. Her memory was flawless, after all. "I'm sorry, but what are you talking about?" she demanded. "Cirno's gang is here?"

"Well, yeah," Satsuki said with a shrug. "They're my friends. They're all I got now."

Ah, right. That little gang of troublemakers that had started this whole debacle. Well, it did make a certain amount of sense that Satsuki would befriend them, given that she had them to thank for her freedom in the first place.

"I see," Sakuya said. Her face had resumed its normal frosty look, but Patchouli knew her well enough to tell when she was troubled. "And these flowers you speak of?"

Then the big dog growled again. "Oh, what does it matter? Help us or don't, I don't care. But drop the damned fire and let us get back to work!"

Everyone ignored him. "Yuuka's slaves," Satsuki said. "She's got a bunch of other kids stuck in these giant tulips."

Koakuma shivered a bit, and Meiling looked disgusted. Even Patchouli was more than a little bothered by that. So it would seem that the stories of Yuuka's revolting preferences had not been exaggerating.

"Ah," Sakuya said after a brief pause. "And you intend to free them."

"Hell yes."

Sakuya's expression didn't change, though her eyes narrowed dangerously. "And you intend to take Flandre with you as well."

Satsuki grinned. "Hell. Yes. Yeah, I'm with you with the getting her away from Yuuka part. But sticking her back into that dungeon?" The tips of knife-like teeth poked out from between her lips. "See there, that's where we disagree."

Taking a deep breath, Meiling stepped forward. "Look, I know it's terrible, but we've tried everything we could to fix Flandre, we really did. Patchouli tried all these spells-"

Meiling, you idiot, Patchouli thought as her chest seized up. She had been quite enjoying not having any attention directed toward her. As far as she was concerned, the less Satsuki was focused on her, the more likely she was going to escape this alive.

Sure enough, the first thing Satsuki did was to shoot Patchouli a vicious look. Then she threw her head back and let out a bark of laughter, which sounded downright eerie with her overlaid voices. "Patchouli? Tried? Ha, no wonder she's so screwed up!"

Patchouli's instincts told her to remain silent, and she did intend to do just that. Unfortunately, her mouth started moving before she could stop it. Her pride was directly connected to her tongue, and when the former was injured the latter spoke up. "Oh, and I suppose you could do better?" she snapped, and immediately cringed afterward.

Fortunately, Satsuki didn't immediately leap forward to tear the exhausted magician to pieces for her insolence. However, what she did do was sort of worse. "Yup," she said proudly. "Did, actually. First try even."

Several mewling sounds emitted from Patchouli's aching throat, the only response she found herself capable of. As for Sakuya, that was enough to crack her porcelain mask and have her actually stare in shock.

"What?" the maid all but whispered.

Satsuki's grin widened. Clearly enjoying herself, she walked over to kneel in front of Patchouli. The magician reflexively pressed herself up closer to the wall, but all the mutated freak did was say, "Did you know that Flandre has multiple personalities?"

Patchouli didn't, actually. Her attempts to delve into the mind of Remilia's mad sister had been…inconclusive, to say the least. "Uh, o-of course I…" she started to sputter, then changed to, "Well, I mean, it certainly fits, g-given her mood swings, and her…"

Satsuki laughed. "You had no idea."

"What exactly are you talking about?" Sakuya demanded.

"Flandre," Satsuki said. She rose up and turned to face the maid. "She's got like three different personas that she switches between. Well, four now, I guess. There's the Child, the Lunatic, the Vampire-"

Patchouli scowled. "Are you daft?" she said as she struggled to her feet. "Those aren't separate identities, those what she literally is! She is a vampiric child suffering from severe mental disorders!"

Satsuki shot her a contemptuous glance. "Yeah, and for some reason she can only be one at a time!"

"How do you know?" Sakuya said.

"I know because I looked."

Patchouli froze. She knew enough about Satsuki's abilities to realize that there was only one way she could have done that. "You absorbed her," she said, feeling the blood drain from her face.

Satsuki shrugged. "Only briefly. To keep her from killing everyone." A few moments ticked by, and she added, "Look, Yuuka just dropped her on us and she, well, you know what she does! It was all I could think of!" A few more horrified moments passed, and she growled, "Oh, like you would have done it differently!"

Sakuya pursed her lips. "And…you let her go?" she said, her tone implying that Satsuki damn well had better.

"Yeah," Satsuki said. "I absorbed her, saw that she was kinda super broken, and looked into her mind to find out why." Then she smirked. "Well, long story short, it went better than I thought it would, so I let her out and now we're friends."

"Moonlight preserve us…" Sakuya whispered. Patchouli exchanged an uneasy glance with Koakuma and Meiling, both of who looked to be of similar thoughts with the maid.

Ignoring the revulsion her words were eliciting, Rin said, "And I didn't even know what I was doing. She's a lot more stable now, you're welcome. Still definitely not right in the head, but hey, there's a lot of that going around."

"What was wrong with her?" Patchouli had to ask. What she was hearing was awful, yes, but after trying for so long she had to know. "What did you do? What did you find?"

"Oh, you know. Heavy trauma. Repressed memories. Fractured identity. An entire aspect of her psyche sealed away deep in her subconscious. The usual."

In no mood to put up with such cheek, Patchouli gritted her teeth and seethed out, "What. Did. You. Do?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Satsuki sneered.

That was it. Patchouli had officially stopped caring about whatever moral debt she might owe this little twerp. "Yes! Yes, I would! I tried so many times to crack that girl's mind, but her madness is unlike anything I've read about before! Her mind is literally labyrinthine, and every time I thought I was coming close to-"

Unfortunately her poor condition was unable to sustain her through her angry tirade, and her throat closed up on her. She fell back coughing, her chest feeling like it wanted to leap out of her chest. She cursed all those potions she had taken before being taken here. What good were they now?

Satsuki watched her without pity. "Right. So many times. Tell me: when, exactly, was the last time you gave it a shot, hmmm? I mean, if you were so concerned about her, you had't've been trying something new every other month, right?"

Patchouli glared at her, but said nothing. In truth, the last time she had given it a serious go had been long before Satsuki had even been born, but there was no way she was going to tell her that.

She didn't need to. "Yeah, I thought so," Satsuki snorted.

Inhaling deeply through her nose, Sakuya stepped forward to try again. "Rin, please," she said, her tone unusually humble. "Regardless of how you feel about us or how we've treated you and Flandre, believe when I say that this offer is genuine. Yukari Yakumo does wish to help you, as does everyone else she's connected to. We can cure your condition, as well as rid your mind of the Shadow Youkai. All you have to do-"

"The Shadow Youkai?" Satsuki laughed again. "Is that what you're so worried about? Man, you guys are behind the times! The Shadow Youkai's gone, I got rid of it! Maybe you noticed how your throats aren't all black and shriveled? Or hell, remember when I said that Yuuka had Rumia? Why in the world would I let her go if she still had a freaking Fallen Angel running around inside her?"

Patchouli froze. She touched her neck. True, it still hurt, but it wasn't consumed by the taint. Neither was Sakuya's. And come to think of it, Satsuki had mentioned Rumia being out and about before.

Patchouli only vaguely remembered the blonde-haired, red-eyed youkai girl that had worked for her for about a week a few years back. The little rodent had snuck into the Scarlet Devil Mansion's garden intending to steal apples, and in the process, had damaged some of Patchouli's personal property. In response, Sakuya had forced her to work off the debt, and since she had been all but useless in the library, Patchouli had put her to work guarding the place against Marisa's customary escapades. In that, she had proven to be surprisingly good at figuring out when and where the magician was going to strike. Of course she had been completely unable to do anything about it and Marisa had regularly gotten past her anyway, but credit where it was due. Looking back, Patchouli couldn't help but shiver at the thought of that annoying little wild youkai having a piece of the second most infamous Fallen Angel of all time locked away inside of her. That whole time Patchouli had been bossing her around, a little chunk of Azrael itself had been dwelling within her. It was very fortunate that Rumia herself had been ignorant, or else Patchouli likely wouldn't be here today.

However, if Rumia was once again free, that spelled nothing short of disaster. Patchouli was willing to accept that Satsuki believed that the two of them had been somehow cleansed. She didn't accept that she was right.

"You did," Sakuya said, her tone harsh with suspicion. "How?"

"Got help," Satsuki shrugged. "It hurt, but it worked."

"Who's help would that be, exactly?"

Satsuki glared, but said nothing.

"It was Yuuka, wasn't it?" Sakuya pressed.

Satsuki shrugged. "Something like that." Sakuya's silence spoke louder than words who have, so Satsuki added, "Hey, I hate the sadistic scumbag, but I trust her to look after her own skin. The Shadow Youkai was pretty much the only thing that scared her. And we were sort of on the same side at the time, or so I thought."

Suddenly a high, nasal voice started screeching. It was one of Satori's pets again, the redheaded cat that seemed to be in charge. And as the dog had been, she was completely fed up with the conversation. "Enough!" she hissed as she stomped over to place herself between Sakuya and Satsuki. That was brave of her, as either of them were more than capable of terminating her existence should she annoy them. "Enough, enough, enough! This has gone on far too long!" She thrust a sharp-clawed finger at Satsuki's face. "You. We don't care about you, so decide if you're going to help us or not. If yes, settle your spat later! If not, then get out of our way!"

Satsuki chuckled. "See, them I like." She glanced quickly to all of those gathered. "Okay guys, here's what's going to happen. You say Yukari Yakumo is here to kick Yuuka's butt. Well, I am A-Okay with that. And while they're busy tearing each other to pieces, I'm going to go save my friends, along with anyone else Yuuka's got locked up. I find your master, you can keep her, no problem. As for Flandre…"

"She will be coming home with us," Sakuya said coldly. "That is non-negotiable."

Satsuki folded her arms. "Tell you what. What say we save her first, and then let her decide? Or are you worried that she won't choose you?"

For this, she received cold glares from everyone from the Scarlet Devil Mansion. Even Meiling, the most even-tempered of the bunch, looked like she wanted to pound Satsuki into a smear of pasty goop.

Looking totally unconcerned, Satsuki lowered her voice and said, "Okay, let me rephrase: you can help me save her, or you can race me to her. And I'd like to just point out that I know this mansion way better than you do, and I don't have to worry about any of its nasty traps killing me. Got it?"

Sakuya took a deep breath, as if gathering all of her will. "Your terms are…acceptable. For now."

"Good to hear," Satsuki said.

"But we will talk later," Sakuya warned her.

"I'm looking forward to it. Because boy, I have a lot I want to get off my chest."

Satsuki then snapped her fingers, and the flames sealing off the room's entrance vanished, leaving a curtain of smoke and a ruined hallway in their way.

Patchouli took as deep of a breath as she was able. She coughed a little, but no blood came. Being trapped in this horrid room, choking on smoke while their fates danced along Rin Satsuki's treacherous fingers had been godsawful. But now that she was faced with reentering the halls and facing Yuuka Kazami's defenders again, she found herself wishing that the debate would last a little longer.

"All right, I've been looking forward to this," Satsuki grinned. She swept her hands toward the door in an "after you" gesture. "Let's go!"

I bet you have, you little wretch, Patchouli thought bitterly. She wondered exactly how Yukari Yakumo planned on convincing Satsuki of their good intentions. More than likely Yukari simply intended to bludgeon Satsuki senseless and operate on her after. All this talking was accomplishing nothing but wasting time.

Well, on the upside, at least Patchouli herself wasn't expected to take part in that ordeal. She needed only survive the battle and unleash Mima's revenge on her way out. Even though being able to take part in one of Madam Mima's masterstrokes was something she had often dreamed about, she couldn't wait until it was a proud memory rather than a miserable reality. Assuming she even survived (something that was becoming less and less sure by the minute), she was swearing off all field work for the rest of forever. She missed her library, and missed her books. And she missed Remilia.

But most of all she wished that Madam Mima was there with her. She could really use the spirit's help right about then.

…

The invaders filed out of the room that had held Rin Satsuki imprisoned, off to search for their loved ones. Behind them, the many articles of faith lay upon the ground, some broken, others whole, all of them now inert and forgotten. Which was for the best, as most of the deities they were meant to represent would have been horrified by the foul purpose that they had been forced to serve. Better to be broken and abandoned than defiled.

The room remained empty for a time, but then the air began to shimmer. A shape started to form, one of a humanoid woman in a long cloak and a pointed hat, with a long, smoky tail instead of legs. The shape filled with color, giving it form and substance.

Madam Mima looked down at the various religious icons and frowned. She had been trailing those she had deceived into coming here ever since dropping her guise and Yukari Yakumo, partially to ensure that the job was done, and partially to learn what she could before Yuuka's home was gone forever. And she had to admit, this was one very interesting development.

Reaching down, she plucked a silver medallion off the floor, this one etched with a shining Sun. She turned it over in her hands as she thought. This particular deity in question was actually someone of her acquaintance, and she knew for a fact that he would have been horrified to see his symbol used in such a manner. That didn't concern her though. What did was how it was being used and why.

"Hmmm," she said, jiggling the medallion in her hand. "Well now, Yuuka. What have you found?"

…

Things were happening too quickly, and Utsuho could barely keep up.

She didn't mean the running, though that was happening too quickly as well. When they had first stormed into Yuuka Kazami's mansion, they had needed to fight against the forest of her monstrous plants for every meter gained. And sure, all the fire they had been slinging around had made short work of them, but it still hadn't exactly been fast going.

Rin, it seemed, wasn't interested in going slow.

She didn't run through the halls, she flew, and the others had to fly as fast as they could to keep up. A wall of fire led the way, sweeping the halls clean of vines and flowers and leaving nothing but black in their wake. Given how often she was cooped up in her nuclear reactor, Utsuho didn't have much time for flying, and even with her great wings it was really hard to keep up, but she did the best she could.

She was doing better than some of the others though. The purple magician was lagging far behind the others, with her demon friend staying with her to help her along. At first Utsuho had just assumed that she was tired and a slow flyer, but the more she glanced back at them, the more convinced she became that they were keeping as far away from Rin as possible. According to Orin, they had been part of the group that had turned Rin into what she was, so it made sense that they would be scared of her.

But apparently Sakuya Izayoi, the scary maid, had also been part of that group, and she wasn't scared of Rin at all, despite nearly being killed by her. In fact, she was flying right at Rin's side, pleading with her.

"Please, Rin!" she said. "You have to see reason!"

"That's 'Miss Satsuki' to you," Rin growled. "You don't get to call me 'Rin.'"

"Miss Satsuki then," Sakuya said without protest. "But please, we still don't know where Flandre is. She's a vampire! And should your fire touch her-"

"You think I don't know that?" Rin snapped. "The second she's close, the fire goes. But she's not close."

"You don't know that," Sakuya said.

"Yes, I do. My senses are way sharper than yours will ever be."

Then Utsuho spoke up. "Then can you figure out where everyone's being kept? Smell them, maybe?"

Rin shook her head. "I can find the Tulip Room easy enough, but Yuuka never said where she was keeping Flandre. Only that it was someplace dark."

"Then maybe it's-"

Jun held up his hand. "Hang on," he said, slowly turning toward the windows. "Do you hear…" Utsuho looked. Outside, a bright light was starting to build.

Suddenly the tired magician shrieked out, "Get down!"

All of the windows suddenly shattered inward. Utsuho instinctively threw herself to the ground and covered her body with her wings. Sharp fragments of glass bounced over the feathers. It cut her in places, but better her wings than her body.

But what immediately followed was far worse.

Tiny white sparks shot through the windows. There had to have been hundreds of them. They cut through the air and splashed against the far wall, leaving hissing burns. And they cut through people more easily.

From beneath the shield of her wings, Utsuho heard the screams of those who had been too slow to heed the magician's warning. She wanted to close her eyes, but morbid curiosity got the better of her. Peeking out, she was horrified to see Clover standing before her. Or rather, most of Clover was standing before her. Most of her body from the waist up had been riddled with burning holes, her arms chewed completely off, and her head nothing more than a few fragments of skull, skin, and burning yellow hair. Still, she didn't fall, but continued to stand and shake as the sparks tore her apart.

Then the sparks stopped, as quickly as they had begun. Clover's body stood in place for what seemed like an impossibly long time. Then she started to fall. Her body dissolved into yellow mist before she hit the ground.

Utsuho lay still, staring in shock as the last vapors of Clover's soul evaporated into the air. She and the Kasha had never been especially close, but they were still family, after a sort.

Then she heard the laughter. Peeking out a bit further, she saw that Rin Satsuki had not also not moved in time and, like Clover, had her entire upper body chewed to pieces. Unlike Clover, it had done no lasting damage and was well on its way to regenerating fully back, even if there were still some very ugly looking holes all over her front.

However, that didn't seem to bother her one bit, as she stood in the middle of the hallway, pointing at the broken window while laughing like a crazy person. "That was Yukari," she giggled as she turned her ravaged neck to look at Sakuya Izayoi, who was crouching with her back to a pillar. "That was Yukari! Hey, you wanna try to tell me that she cares about me? She doesn't even care about you!"

Rather than respond, Sakuya merely shouted out, "Start crawling! We have to get away from the windows.

Steeling herself, Utsuho slunk down low and moved forward the best she could, though the broken glass made the path dangerous. Rin led the way, laughing as she continued to burn any bit of green that was still around.

They quickly came to a closed door. It had been burned and its hinges melted by the sparks, and a swift kick from Rin knocked it fully out of the way. Following Sakuya and Rin, Utsuho quickly scampered inside and collapsed back against a wall, panting.

The room looked like some kind of parlor, or at least it did before Rin had reduced it to burnt walls and piles of ash. Utsuho wiped an arm across her brow. Heat didn't bother her, but fear and shock were making her sweat. It made her feel sticky and gross.

"Roll call," Sakuya said as she stood to her shaky legs. "Who made it?"

"Me," Rin said with a nasty grin. "Despite your precious Yukari's best efforts."

"Us," coughed the tired magician, who was partially being supported by her leather wearing demon.

"Me," growled Jun as he wiped ash from his arm with his remaining hand.

"And me," said Nico. The fish woman did not look at all well. She was normally okay with heat, but wasn't immune to it like Utsuho was, and it looked like it was getting to her.

"Right," Sakuya said, looking around. "Who else? Meiling?"

There was no answer. Rin shook her head. "Your gate guard was closest to the windows. I think the glass got her before the sparks did."

The magician and the demon both jerked their heads toward her in shock. Sakuya's lips thinned out, but she said nothing.

Then Utsuho had a horrible thought. "Orin?" she said, looking around. "Did Orin make it?"

"No," Nico whispered. "I saw both her and Clover die." She giggled a little. "They, they just got all burnt up. We live in the fires of Hell and they still burned!"

Jun took a deep breath. "And I saw Brutus fall as well."

"That's half the team," Sakuya said slowly.

Utsuho found herself needing to sit down. She tried to lower herself slowly to the ashen ground, but her legs lost their strength halfway, and she fell hard the rest of the way. She didn't care. Orin couldn't be gone.

"Will they…come back?" she asked, almost pleading.

In answer, Rin just shook her head. "So long as there's any of those blue flowers, they won't. Back when Reimu and I fought Yuuka at the Youkai Mountain, not even that goddess could come back when they were around."

"Then we will have to clear them all out," Sakuya said calmly.

"Go right ahead," Rin said. There was another door at the other end of the room. Starting for it, Rin said, "I'm going after my friends. What you do with your time is up to you."

"But…but why would Yukari do that?" Utsuho said. Her wings were shaking, and she couldn't make them stop. "She knew we were in here. Why would she-"

Suddenly the door Rin was heading for swung open. Beyond stood a little girl. She looked maybe around ten years old, with curly blonde hair and blue eyes. She was wearing a simple yellow dress and brown boots. And in her hands she held a huge scythe with a wickedly sharp edge. Its pole had to be longer than she was tall.

Everyone froze in surprise, even the girl. She looked like she was terrified, though not from the fresh vines and deadly flowers that were curling in around her. Rather, her eyes were focused entirely on Rin. And judging by the way Rin was staring at her in turn, Utsuho got the feeling that they knew each other, and weren't at all happy by the chance meeting.

"Well," Rin said. "Okay, this now."

…

"Hmmm," Mima said, her brow furrowing. "That's not good."

"Oh?" Seiga responded between draws from her pipe. "I was under the impression that everything was going swimmingly. Danger, devastation, and your little dupes caught in the middle of it all."

"Yes, it is, but that is a problem." Mima motioned toward the glowing image of the Garden of the Sun that floated between them. In it, tiny representations of Yukari and her Angels and Dragons were doing battle with the giant Yuukas. Filling the air over the garden were hundreds of blue sparkles, representing Yuuka's latest batch of Mykr hybrids. Those had been expected, but what was new were the crisscrossing red lines forming a sort of misshapen cage over the area. "It seems Yukari has erected a soul net."

"A soul net?" Seiga said, peering in closer. "Well, that's clever. I suppose her strategy then is simply flatten the entire place, kill everything within, and pluck out the souls of anyone she might like after it's all over?"

"So it seems," Mima said as she steepled her fingers in front of her face. "Or at least, it's there as a fallback. Must have taken her some sleepless nights to put together though. Those things are not uncomplicated, and designing it to cover such a large area, one infest with Mykr's Sirens, and remain stable when so much magic, up to and including Dragonfire, is being slung around, well, that's not easy."

"Mmmm. To say nothing of the stumbling block it poses to you. Your little revenge ploy isn't worth much of those you sent to their deaths can be snatched from its grasp with such ease."

"That it does," Mima agreed. "Fortunately, once noticed, such a thing is easily removed. One needs merely to directly target the anchors. And while I doubt that Yuuka will be observant enough to notice, I do have a woman on the ground to take care of it for me."

Seiga looked amused. "Your coughing devotee? I thought she was as much a target as the rest."

"No, not her." Mima's nose wrinkled. "Good gods, give me some credit. I wouldn't trust that girl to deliver my mail. She'd be like to have it framed."

"Then whom?"

At this, Mima smiled. "Why, me of course."

…

One of the giant Yuukas lay on its face in the dirt, unmoving. Shinki and two of the Dragons had managed to bring it down. The Dragons had bowed it with concentrated blasts of flame, setting the meadow on its head and back alit. And as it had tried to rise, the exiled headswoman of the Creator had stabbed her sword into the primrose patch of its eye.

That had done the trick, but they were far from done. The other giants were fighting on, keeping the great lizards at bay while the glowing blue dots muddled Yukari's head. Still, she continued to rain down death from above. Sooner or later Yuuka would break, and everything would burn.

And then a little bell went off in her head, informing her that the soul net was doing its job.

"Ah, there we are," Yukari said, feeling a rare measure of satisfaction. "Our first catch of the day."

She floated upward, to where the trapped spiritual energies were wriggling in the sky like a hooked fish. "Now, which one are you?" she muttered to herself as she reached out with her will to pluck them from the net. On a professional level, Satori was the more important choice, but part of her hoped that it was Flandre. It was small of her, yes, but maybe if she managed to save both of Reimu's charity cases…

In this she was let down. As soon as her mind touched a quivering bits of essence, she immediately saw that it was a youkai, and most definitely not a vampire. Pushing her disappointment aside, she plucked the soul from the web and brought it well outside of the influence of Yuuka's Mykr…things. "Ah, here we go," she said. "Welcome back to the fold, Satori…"

Then she frowned. No, wait, the soul was that now retaking mortal form didn't belong to Satori at all, not the one who bore the name or any member of the species. It was a youkai, yes, but not one of the one's she was expecting to find.

A sinking feeling built within her chest, and Yukari watched with wooden eyes as a completely different female form took shape in the air in front of her. Well, on the one hand, may not have been Satori herself, but it was close. It certainly was someone with close ties to Satori, but really had no business being dead. Or being anywhere near this place at all.

"Miss Kaenbyou," Yukari said as the redheaded Kasha jerked back in surprise, her feline ears sticking straight up. The elder youkai shook her head. "Well, I'd express shock, but honestly this is the sort of thing I've come to expect. What the hell are you doing here?"

Orin looked about wildly, no doubt trying to sort out how she had gotten from wherever she had been when she died to floating high above the earth. Then her attention focused on Yukari, and her confusion gave way to anger. "What am I doing here?" she hissed, baring her fangs. "You brought me here, remember?"

Oh, this wasn't good. "No, I did not," Yukari said wearily. Well, on the one hand, she had been expecting some other shoe to drop. Better that it happen now so she could add it to her to-do list.

"You did, and then you killed me! How the hell-"

"One moment," Yukari said, holding up a palm. Another soul had just gotten itself tangled in her net. Then, almost as soon as she had noticed, it was joined by two others, all of them youkai. "Excuse me while I sort out the rest of this no doubt disastrous complication."

A few moments later Orin had was joined by three others. Two of them Yukari recognized as being other members of Satori Komejii's humanoid menagerie, specifically Orin's fellow Kasha Clover and the big hulking and appropriately named goat man Brutus. The third was even more discouraging. She could only think of a few reasons why the Scarlet Devil Mansion's Chinese gate guard would be here, and none of them were good.

Predictably, the other three also regenerated into a state of shock, which quickly gave way to anger as soon as they saw Yukari. Within a matter of seconds all were trying to make their voices be heard, and were being quite loud about it.

"Silence!" Yukari snapped, and they obeyed. Not as if they had any choice in the matter. Sometimes, it paid to have the power to simply deactivate the voices of lesser beings. She pointed to Orin, the only one she had allowed to keep her tongue. "You. Explain, and do so quickly."

"Explain?" Orin said, her mouth gaping wide. "What is there to explain? You brought us here! To save Satori, and Remilia Scarlet's sister, remember?"

The big goat silently mouthed something angry and no doubt profane, the gist of which was to point out that Yukari's actions had also resulted in them being killed.

"No, I did not," Yukari repeated. "I haven't spoken to you since Koishi made her ill-advised practical joke." She glanced over to the stupefied Meiling. "And I certainly never said anything to you." Turning back to Orin, she said, "I have gone to great lengths to keep any and all mortals as far away from this operation as possible. In fact, I brought along Sariel itself to handle the rescue of the wayward members of your households. Why in the world would I want to include any of you, when past experiences have proved that doing so is, to be blunt, an incredibly bad idea?"

Orin stiffened, her eyes going wide. "You…didn't bring us here? But I don't understand, you came to us in person, and-"

"No, I did not," Yukari said for the third time. "But it seems that someone has gone to great lengths to make you believe that I had. Disguising one's form and voice is no difficult task, after all. So that just leaves us with who and why."

The gaggle of youkai she had plucked from her net all exchanged horrified glances, as the full realization of how thoroughly they had been suckered became clear to them. As for Yukari, while something like this wasn't all that unexpected, given how often she found herself falling prey to Murphy's Law. Already she was running through the list of possible suspects and motivations.

It was a short list, and one name in particular stood out. Yukari felt like an idiot.

"Mima," she said. "Of course." She sighed. "Of course it is. Why in the world would I take her at her word? It was a ruse. It's always a ruse."

"Madam Mima?" Orin said in confusion. "It was her? But why? Why would she want anything to do with us?"

"That is the question," Yukari said. "And it's easily answered with another. Tell me: does Mima have any reason, any at all, to hold a grudge against you or your master?"

Orin stared blankly at her. Then her eyes again went wide. Yukari was following the same trail of thought. After all, during the meeting that had preceded the battle at the Blasted Lands, Mima had gone out of her way to torment Satori in small and petty ways, claiming that it was payment for planting the idea of involving Marisa in Yukari's head. As for Meiling, well, her reasons for targeting that household were self-evident.

"Well," Yukari said. "This is certainly-"

Then it got worse.

Yukari's soul net shuddered at its base. The spells that anchored it around the Garden of the Sun were giving way. One by one, they snapped, setting off a chain reaction that spread throughout the rest of the net. Before Yukari could do anything, the whole thing fell to pieces and collapsed.

"Ah," she said, her eyes narrowing. It wasn't difficult to figure out who had done that either. If Mima had gone to such lengths to get these imbeciles trapped in the middle of the battle, then it stood to reason that she did so to get them caught in the crossfire, thereby hurting both Satori Komejii and Remilia Scarlet. It also stood to reason that since the soul net presented a significant obstacle to that plan, she would attack it as soon as it had saved the lives of her first casualties, as these four would no doubt have been lost had it not been in place.

Coincidence had foiled that part of her plan, but that didn't mean that she was done. After all, the soul net was now gone, and Yukari truly doubted that this small group were the only dupes that Mima had targeted.

"Who else?" Yukari demanded. "Who else did this false Yukari Yakumo shanghai into coming here? Tell me quickly!"

"Ah, ah," Orin stammered. "Er, uh, there's Utsuho. And Jun. And Nico. Oh, and Sakuya Izayoi, and she brought along the Scarlet Devil Mansion's magician and her demon familiar."

Utsuho. Well, that was yet another calamity waiting to happen, which was probably why she had been selected. Jun Yukari also remembered as the big dog youkai that had repeatedly made a point of getting into her face. Nico was…one of Satori's fishes. As for the other three, Sakuya Izayoi and Patchouli Knowledge also made perfect sense as targets, whereas Koakuma was probably just an extra thrown in on the side.

"Thank you," Yukari said. "I'll handle this problem. Stay far, far away from here until I do. And defend yourselves the best you can. You are still in danger."

"Wait, what are-"

Then Yukari dropped them into a gap.

Sending them to their homes was reckless, yes. After all, Mima would be tempted to go finish the job herself. But so be it. Yukari's attention was needed here.

"I heard."

Yukari turned. Sariel was floating nearby, its beautifully feather wings spread wide, a troubled look on its perfect face. "Madam Mima has reentered the game," it said.

"So it seems," Yukari agreed. "And she's out for revenge."

"This is ill news."

"No shit, Sherlock. And she destroyed my soul net. There's no way I can get another up in time. Anyone dies now, they stay gone."

Sariel tilted its head. "Then we best hurry, if we wish to find anything but corpses."

On that, Yukari was in full agreement. But saying the words and putting them into effect were two different things. And if Mima was involved, then Yukari found herself hoping that by the time they reached the mansion, all the Dragonfire would have burned away everything inside. Better ash and bones than anything that serpent would have left her to find.

Madam Mima was back. Gods preserve them all.

…

Elly's world was collapsing around her ears, and she couldn't stop it.

Yuuka's madness. Their "guests'" betrayal. The Dragons. And now, as she was just trying to gather her wits and at least try to rally a defense against monstrous, fire-breathing beasts of legend, yet another attack had come from below. Elly had scarcely recovered from her shock when the flowers had urgently informed her that a massive hole had been blasted up into one of the cellars and what seemed like an entire invading army had sprung forth to cut, slash, and burn their way through the very halls of Mugenkan, and would Elly be so kind as to hurry up and deal with the problem before every last flower in the mansion had been blasted to mulch?

And so she had had to focus herself the best she could and flew toward the source of the disturbance, all the while barking orders at the house plants. They needed reinforcements. They needed a possible escape route. They needed stronger defenses, they needed tougher plants, they needed Yuuka!

And Yuuka wasn't there. She was out in the garden, defending it against the Dragons. Or rather, she was now the garden, fighting the Dragons. The details didn't matter. What did was that her attention was completely taken up by those damned beasts, and Elly was left alone to protect the house against the army.

Which was currently staring at her in the face.

She didn't recognize most of them, but they looked tough. There were also considerably fewer of them than she had been led to believe. To hear the flowers talk, there was hundreds of them rushing out to the slaughter. But she counted about seven. However, she knew full well how little numbers counted in Gensokyo. Yuuka was living testimony to that rule. Any one of these intruders could probably lay waste actual armies on their own.

But one of them she did know. The one at their front. Her appearance was slightly changed from the last time Elly had seen her like that, no doubt due to the removal of Rumia, but there was no mistaking that ghastly medley of features.

Seeing her, Rin Satsuki came to an abrupt stop, as did all the others. Her lips thinned out, and her black pupils shrank to pinpricks in the maroon sea of her eyes.

"You," Elly whimpered.

Rin nodded slowly. "Hello, Elly."

One of Rin's hooligans, a pale blue woman with green hair and great big bulging yellow eyes, looked at Elly and frowned. "Who is that?" he said gruffly.

Another, a dangerous looking woman wearing a pinstripe suit and a hooded cape, merely narrowed her eyes. "If I were to guess, I'd say that's Yuuka's Shinigami."

This pronouncement was met with dismay among the invaders. Nervous looks were exchanged, and a couple took a step back. At first Elly couldn't understand why. They had her outnumbered seven to one, and she was just a little girl. Sure, her scythe was intimidating enough, but most of them had deadly looking weapons of their own, and unlike her they looked like they were comfortable using them. So why…

Wait. Her scythe. That was right, most youkai were immortal. Death had no real hold over them, unless they happened to be killed by a small handful of very specific situations. And apparently, a Shinigami's scythe was one of them.

Heartened by this, Elly took a step forward and brandished her blade in what she hoped was a threatening manner. "Uh, yeah! That's right! I can kill you! So you better get out of here before I get really mad!"

"Not me," Rin said softly.

Elly froze.

A few seconds ticked by, and then Rin said, "Elly, look. I really don't have time to fight you. And Wriggle doesn't want me to hurt you, so I'm gonna make this quick." She started walking forward. "Where is Flandre?"

"And Satori!" said one of the invaders, a tall woman with black hair and wings. She held her hand a short height from the ground. "She's about this tall, and-"

"Quiet!" snapped a burly man with short, spiky blue hair.

Ignoring her companion's bickering, Rin continued to advance. "Where are they, Elly?" she demanded. "Where's our friends? Where's my friends?"

"Get away!" Elly screamed, swinging her scythe back and forth. "Stay back, I'm warning you!"

Rin wasn't so much as deterred by the razor-sharp blade. She kept moving forward, no doubt intending to let herself be cut. Why should she care? Elly couldn't really hurt her. "Where. Are. My. Friends?"

Then the dangerous looking woman in the hood started moving forward as well. "We're not interested in negotiating, young lady," she said. From her cape she pulled out four wicked looking silver knives, each one held by the tips between her fingers, ready to be thrown. Elly had no doubt that she knew how to hit a target. "Tell us where Flandre Scarlet may be found, and you might survive the day."

Elly didn't want to die. She really, really didn't want to die. Unfortunately, the odds of avoiding that were now rather slim. "Get back!" she screeched again.

Then she threw her scythe.

Aerodynamically speaking, scythes were not ideal throwing weapons. The half-moon crescent of the blades and the ungainliness of the handles meant that it was impossible for them to get a good spin going, and more often than not they would end up just falling to the ground at the feet of the thrower.

Of course, most scythes were simple farming tools, and not magical weapons wielded by a supernatural messenger of Death itself. And while Elly had long been expelled from her office, she had lost none of her power. The scythe shot off, spinning like a boomerang. Directed by Elly's will, it went straight through Rin's midsection and cut her in half.

The monstrous mutant didn't even fall. She simply stood in place until her body had finished knitting itself back together, which took less than five seconds. Then she scowled.

However, the scythe wasn't done. It continued on, heading for the rest of the invaders. The dangerous woman neatly spun her body right over it and rolled well out of the way. The others scattered as well, albeit with less grace as Elly sent it spinning after one target to the next.

"Get out!" she screamed as she held up her hand. Mosaic tiles ripped themselves off the floor and went hurtling after the invaders as well. As far as missiles went, they were considerably less lethal than the scythe, but they would hurt well enough. "Get out, get out, get-"

Then Rin's arm shot out like a rubber whip, and the pole of the scythe slapped against her palm. Her arm snapped back, and she held Elly's scythe with both hands as she sighed. "Okay. Hard way it is, then."

Elly gaped in horror. She tried to mentally yank the weapon away, but Rin's grip was too strong. "No," she moaned. "No, please-"

She turned to run, but Rin was already on her.

Elly doubled over as the pole of her own weapon smacked against her stomach, knocking the wind from her. Then a kick slammed into her back with all the force of a freight train, driving her to the ground so hard that it cracked the tiles. Had Elly not been a Shinigami, her spine would have been shattered to pieces. As it was, it still almost made her black out.

Then a foot was shoved under her stomach and pushed up, flipping her onto her back. That same foot then pressed down against her chest, and Elly found herself looking up at Rin. The monster held her scythe in her left hand, while her right was held loosely at her side. She gazed down at the trapped Shinigami with something not unlike pity.

"Sorry about this, Elly," Rin said. "But trust me. It's way better than the alternatives."

Then she reached down with her right hand. To Elly's horror, the color fled from the limb and its shape started to waver, leaving it transparent and formless. Rin was going to absorb her. She was going to become a captive in that demon's mind, much as Rumia had been. And unlike that little twerp, Elly had no doubt that Rin never, ever intended to let her go.

"NO!" Elly screamed, and she reached out with all the will she had left, begging for help.

And the mansion responded.

More tiles wretched themselves off the floor and came hurtling at Rin. They struck her grasping, gooey limb with their spinning sharp edges, slicing it in two. More hit her in the leg pinning Elly, cutting it enough to make her stagger. That was enough for the panicked Shinigami to wriggle out from under her weight and roll free.

More tiles hit Rin's other arm, cutting it deeply around the wrist. Of course, nothing Elly was doing was enough to really hurt her. Everything that was sliced would grow back within moments, and she doubted that Rin was even noticing the pain. But the cuts were enough to loosen her grip on the scythe.

Without absolutely nothing left to lose, Elly seized the pole with both hands and yanked as hard as she could. Had Rin been whole, it would have been a futile attempt, but her ravaged arm and hand had yet to start regenerating, and Elly was able to yank her weapon away, though the force of the pull caused her to tumble back in an untidy heap.

Rin looked at her in annoyance. Then, shaking her head, she started to walk towards the fallen Shinigami again.

Screaming, Elly threw her scythe again. This time, it cut Rin's neck in two. She didn't care. It sliced her arm off. It started growing back almost immediately. It cut through both of her legs. She barely even paused before her gooey body had sealed the wound enough for her to start walking again.

…

Hmmm. Well, opportunity knocks.

…

Again and again and again Elly cut Rin to pieces, but nothing she did stuck. Her regenerative powers were too strong, and the gelatinous nature of her body ensured that any cut didn't last long enough to become a problem. And Rin Satsuki kept coming.

This is it, Elly thought as Rin's shadow fell over her. It's all over.

Though she now knew it was hopeless, Elly directed her flying scythe to come back around for one last go, praying that it would at least slow Rin down, that somehow a miracle would happen.

Then the exact opposite occurred.

Her scythe was suddenly wretched away mid-flight and sent spinning off toward Rin's invaders. Again they scattered, but it didn't seem interested in them. Elly gasped and tried to regain control of it, but another will was present, one that was resisting her own.

No, this shouldn't be possible. Her command over her scythe was absolute! Elly tried again and again to exert her will, but the usurping power was, at least for a moment, stronger than hers, and the scythe continued on its course, leaving Elly unable to do anything as it swung around and cut right through the hard marble wall. Where it was going and who it was after, she had no idea. She just knew that it was doing so on its own, and nothing she tried would make it listen to her.

…

Panting and shaking, Patchouli sat with her back to the blackened wall and covered her head. In the room beyond, she could hear Satsuki doing battle with Yuuka's Shinigami. From the sound of it, she was winning.

Fine. That was fine. So long as they stayed there, well away from her. This was a mistake. She shouldn't even be here.

"Patchouli?" Koakuma said, kneeling next to her. She squeezed the magician's hand. "Are you having another attack?"

Patchouli shook her head. Why was she here? She was supposed to be the magical support, there to defend the others, but she couldn't even keep up. She was useless, she was tired, she was scared, and she wanted to go home.

Marisa wouldn't run.

Patchouli scowled. Gritting her teeth, she forced herself to her feet. No, she wasn't going to let this beat her. Marisa had faced Yuuka alone and hadn't fled. She hadn't huddled in a corner and whimpered. She had fought back with everything she had and by all reports left the green monster scarred. If she could do that, Patchouli could too. She was supposed to help, and help she would, and maybe then people would see-

Then she heard a sharp whistling sound. Patchouli looked up at the far door just in time to see something spinning her way, something sharp and flashing.

…

Mima looked down at the miniature Garden of the Sun, her face unreadable as a stone mask. Seiga did as well, silently drawing from her pipe. The hermit glanced up, eyebrows raised and questioning.

Finally Mima looked up as well, and she smiled. "That, I think, will stick."

…

Happy birthday to me.

Today I'm thirty.

…

I just killed off one of my favorite Touhou characters.

…

And now everyone hates me.

…

Until next time, everyone.