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.

75. Thicker Than Water

Thicker than Water

Though Alice Margatroid's refusal had been discouraging, Sakuya still had a mansion to run.

She continued on with her duties as always, seeing to the mansion's upkeep, ensuring that the fairy maids were doing their jobs, checking in to make sure that Meiling was awake, checking in that everything was being kept clean and tidy.

And when all that was done, the time came to bring the Mistress her breakfast.

Retrieving a jar of blood from the storage, Sakuya headed into the kitchen. Once there, she gathered all the ingredients she needed, from the flour to the eggs to the blueberries to the baking powder and so on. From there, she prepared the batter, substituting the milk with blood, and poured it into four sizzling circles on a hot skillet. A few flips, and she had a small stack of blueberry blood pancakes.

From there, she readied the tea, filled a pitcher with a mixture of blood and cream, a small bowl with cubes of blood-infused sugar, and arranged everything on a serving tray. Once everything was ready, she headed for Remilia's quarters.

Back when things had been…acceptable, Remilia's customary time of awakening had been seven in the evening, and now that things were absolutely unacceptable, Sakura still insisted on adhering to the old schedule, so as to give her mistress some semblance of normalcy. When Flandre had first been captured, giving Remilia her space had only allowed her to devolve so rapidly that she had nearly destroyed herself in grief. Not this time. This time, Sakuya was going to ensure Remilia's emotional, mental, and physical wellbeing, even if the vampire herself didn't agree.

As she always did, she rapped her knuckles against the door so as to let Remilia know that she was coming, and entered the darkened room.

"Good evening, Mistress," she said to the massive bed and the closed coffin that sat upon the covers. Setting the tray down on the small table across from the bed, she went over to throw open the heavy curtains, letting in the moonlight.

Remilia didn't rise. But then, she rarely did.

Sighing, Sakuya went over to Remilia's coffin. "The time has come to wake," she said, opening the lid. "Now get up. Breakfast is-"

Remilia was not in her coffin. However, Reginald, her stuffed bat, was, lying upon the padded silk lining.

And across Reginald's forehead was a smear of blood. Remilia's blood.

Sakuya stiffened. The spells that she used to monitor Remilia's emotional state were, of course, bound to her Mistress's blood. Tricking them was extremely difficult, as they would degrade rapidly after being disconnected to her unliving body.

But it seemed that Remilia had found a way. She had taken a sample of her own blood while in a neutral emotional state and bound it to Reginald.

But how? She had to have known that it wouldn't last long, a few minutes at most!

Wait, that meant that this had to have been done recently! And there was no way Remilia could have harmed herself yet. If she had, then everyone in the mansion would know immediately, redirection or no redirection.

Squeezing her hands into fists, Sakuya closed her eyes and mentally touched the binding. It had indeed been redirected into the smear of blood, but now that she knew what to look for, she was able to see where the connections had been forcibly changed. And once she saw that, she was able to infuse her will into the spell, instructing it to reconnect to the mother source, which was Remilia herself.

When she did, she was almost overwhelmed by the wave of grief, guilt, and utter relief that surged through her, a sure sign that Remilia was mere moments away from ending her own existence.

No!

Sakuya shot out of the room like a comet, flying out faster than she had ever gone. As she did, she forced her will into the walls of the Scarlet Devil Mansion, which had already been warped by her power and reinforced with Patchouli Knowledge's magic. Without her pocketwatch, reforming it took every ounce of power she had, but she did it, tearing open a tunnel through walls, floors, ceilings, and rooms, creating a straight shot down to the basement.

The tunnel when straight to Flandre's old room, a mess of fine furniture and toys, all of them destroyed long before the younger Scarlet sister had been taken. And just as she had been informed, Remilia was there, standing atop the ruins of Flandre's bed, stark naked, arms spread wide and legs pressed tightly together, eyes squeezed shut, a smile of utter bliss on her face.

And on the floor, a broken wooden post, its tip jagged and sharpened, stuck straight up.

"Goodbye Flandre," Remilia murmured. "I wish I could have seen you again."

And with that, she let herself fall.

Sakuya slammed into her before gravity could full seize hold. Her momentum carried them both into the smashed wreckage of Flandre's bed, driving Remilia roughly against the shattered headboard.

"What?" Remilia gasped. And when she saw Sakuya staring down at her, she screamed.

"NO!" she cried, and attacked, beating at Sakuya with her fists.

Despite her small size, Remilia was far stronger than Sakuya could ever hope to be without becoming a vampire herself, and unlike the last time Remilia had succumbed to despair, Sakuya had not allowed her to let herself wither away, so she had lost none of that power.

But Sakuya was quite capable of dealing with monsters stronger than her.

The first couple of hits landed and they hurt, but before Remilia's fists could come down again Sakuya had turned Remilia around, snatched up Flandre's torn and molding sheet, and managed to bind Remilia in a way that turned her strength against her, preventing her from lashing out.

"Mistress, no," Sakuya whispered as she held onto Remilia. "Stop. Please."

Remilia cried and cursed and screamed and thrashed, ordering Sakuya to release her, ordering Sakuya to kill her herself, threatening to bring down her unholy wrath upon Sakuya's head unless she obeyed, in the grand, dramatic fashion that vampires were so fond of.

Sakuya ignored the verbal abuse and just held Remilia in place, letting her work her rage and grief out.

Finally, as it had every time in the past, Remilia finally stopped fighting and collapsed in Sakuya's arms.

"Why?" she sobbed. "Why can't you just let me die? I can't go on like this! I can't continue without them!"

"You can," Sakuya said, holding Remilia's trembling form tight. "You must!"

"But why?" Remilia spat. "What is the point? My best friend was murdered! My sister abandoned me! What reason do I have to live on when there is nothing but empty regret and loneliness in my future?"

"Because there are still those that rely on you! I rely on you, as does Meiling, as does Koakuma, as does Reimu! We have lost so much already, we can't lose you too!"

Remilia continued to cry. "But I can't do this anymore! I have nothing to look forward to, nothing to live for without them!"

Gritting her teeth, Sakuya tightened her hold. "Mistress, listen to me. I will find Flandre. I will bring her back. I told you already, I have already discovered a way to locate her, so it is only a matter of time. You must be here to greet her!"

"But what if she doesn't want to come back? What if she still rejects me?"

Which was actually a very good point. After all, it had been Sakuya that Flandre had expressed her desire to not go home to. But Sakuya wasn't going to let that stop her. Rin Satsuki or no Rin Satsuki, Flandre would be made to understand. "What if she does," Sakuya countered, "and you're not here to welcome her?"

"But…But I've treated her so poorly! Look at this place! Look where I made her live! How can I even look at her after all that?"

"Or," Sakuya said, "how can you make it up to her if you're dead? How can you earn forgiveness if you take the coward's path?"

Sakuya's words were harsh, and it tore out her heart to say them, but they needed to be said. And since Remilia had no counter but instead merely buried her face in her hands and wept harder, she knew that they were working.

Unfortunately, there was a part she had left unspoken. Because though she had just admonished her mistress for wanting to give up, Sakuya knew full well how she felt. If this went on much longer, she too would be looking toward a blade through the heart with more than a little amount of longing.

…

It was a long way from the Saltlick Sea all the way back to Hakurei Shrine. Under normal circumstances, Reimu's patrol route would loop past the sea about two-thirds of the way through and she'd be back at the shrine some three or four hours later, depending on how many problems she uncovered that she needed to solve.

Reimu didn't have three or four hours, so the rest of the loop could wait. She made the trip in forty minutes, and she would have gotten there faster, had not some redheaded youkai with a baton, one who looked an awful lot like a shrunken-down Hong Meiling, not decided to ambush her about halfway there, all the while ranting about how she was going to avenge some kind of slight. It honestly happened all the time. Reimu could not be expected to remember every youkai she had ever exterminated, but they always remembered her. She supposed that she would one day encounter that same vengeful youkai again sometime in the future, and she probably wouldn't be able to remember her then either.

At any rate, she came in sight of the Hakurei Shrine long before she would normally, and as she approached, she saw three…no, four? Eh, three and a half. She saw three and a half people waiting for her.

The first was Reimu's friend and family mentor Genji. The elderly turtle was sitting on the shrine's porch, his long, white beard spilling down the steps.

The second was Reisen Udongein, Reimu's…friend? Roommate? Assistant? Helper? Political refugee? Indentured servant? Whatever she was, Reisen was doing what she often did while worried, which was to pace and forth on the shrine's lawn, both her fingers and her ears anxiously wringing themselves into knots.

The third was Alice Margatroid, the reason that Reimu had cut her patrol short. She was standing perfectly still at the foot of the shrine steps, her arms folded, her countenance dark and angry.

The half was the little doll Shanghai, who was aimlessly floating this way and that over the lawn, likely her own way of fidgeting.

Reimu winced. This was a volatile situation she was flying into, and no mistake.

Sure enough, when she saw Reimu approach, Alice dropped her arms to her sides, her hands bunched up into fists. Oh boy, this was going to be rough.

"Hey, sorry," Reimu panted as she came down for a landing. "I got here as quick as I-"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Alice demanded.

Reimu winced again. She was already tired from spending most of the day on patrol, as well as her hurried flight back, and dealing with someone else's emotional family issues was completely outside of her wheelhouse, so there was no way this was going to go well. "Alice, look-"

"You knew! You knew what Yuuka Kazami did to my mother! You knew that she was sick; you knew that she was dying!"

Over Alice's shoulder, Reimu saw Reisen hastily rush over to Shanghai and murmur something in the little doll's ear. She then led the girl back to the house, no doubt so that she wouldn't have to see her mother in such a state.

"Alice, I didn't mean to hide anything from you, but-"

"You knew that she had been poisoned by Marisa's mordite blade! You knew, didn't you? Tell me I'm wrong!"

This, Reimu thought grimly, will not go well. Sighing, she walked past the fuming Alice and plopped down on the shrine steps next to Genji's beard. The elderly reptile shot her a sympathetic look, but said nothing. Probably for the best.

"You're right," Reimu said. "I knew. Ran Yakumo told me right after the battle."

Alice's eyes were glistening with angry tears. "Then why did you hide it from me, Reimu? Why would you keep something like that to yourself?"

"Well, because I-"

"Don't get angry with her," Genji murmured out of the corner of his mouth. "Be sympathetic."

"I am being sympathetic," Reimu hissed through clenched teeth. But she took a deep breath, slowly released it, and tried again.

"Alice. Look. I am very sorry I didn't tell you, but it wasn't…it wasn't something I did on purpose. What happened to Shinki was just one of the terrible things Ran told me all in one go. She also told me about what happened to Patchouli Knowledge. She told me that Mima was a villain again. She told me that the Dragons had been tricked into annihilating dozens of Underworlders. She told me that Rin Satsuki and Flandre Scarlet were apparently on the loose together, and might go on a rampage any day now." Now Reimu's own hands were curling into trembling fists of their own. "I'm sorry, okay? But there was just so much going on, and Remilia was breaking down right next to me, so i-it just flew out of my head."

The shade of red covering Alice's face darkened even further, and it looked like she was about to start screaming again. But instead she bit down on her lower lip, squeezed her eyes shut, and forced out a sound like an overheating teakettle.

Finally she released the last of her air she was holding in with a frustrated sigh. Reimu braced herself, but while Alice still looked very upset, she at least didn't seem like she wanted to rend Reimu limb from limb.

Sighing, Alice let her shoulders relax a little. Then she walked up to the steps. Reimu stiffened, but Alice didn't attack or even yell at her. Instead, she just plopped down on the steps as well, Genji's beard between them, slumped her shoulders, and stared blankly out at the horizon.

"Sariel contacted me," she said, her voice hoarse. "It told me everything. It told me that Shinki's been struggling with mordite poisoning ever since the Garden of the Sun. It told me that she's not getting better."

Reimu winced. "D-Did it say if she's going to make it? Can she even die?"

"Neither of us knows," Alice said, still staring straight ahead. "This is an unprecedented situation. She still retains enough of her Angelic Grace to fight off the poison, but she's been Fallen for so long that her mortal qualities are just as intrinsic to her as her Angelic parts."

"Right," Reimu sighed.

Alice wiped her eyes. "It's so strange. My immortal mother, whom I no longer speak with because she forced immortality on me so she wouldn't have to watch me die, now might be the one I watch die instead, and before I came even close to what would have been the end of my mortal lifespan! How bitterly ironic."

Reimu hesitated for a moment, wondering if the question she wanted to ask was really appropriate, and then decided to just ask it. "Um, Alice? If you two don't like each other, then why…?"

The look Alice shot her made Reimu regret asking something so personal. "Because she's my mother, Reimu! She's the woman that raised me! Do you have any idea what it's like to hear that your mother is dying?"

Genji visibly winced.

Her stomach clenching up, Reimu said, "Uh, yeah. When my mom died."

"Then you know what it's like!"

Reimu decided to drop the subject.

A heavy silence passed, and then Alice said, "So what should I do?"

"Wait," Reimu said. "You're asking me?"

Alice sighed. "Reimu, I do not regret not seeking out a social life, but it has left me with few options in the vanishingly rare occasion that I need someone else's advice, and on that short list, you are one of the few with adequate intelligence to be worth listening to. So yes, I am asking you?"

"Er…" Reimu wasn't sure how to take that. "Thanks, I guess?"

"It was not a compliment, it was a statement of fact," Alice said brusquely. "And you still haven't answered my question."

"Well…" Reimu shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe…go and visit? Isn't that what people usually do when their parents are sick?"

Alice snorted. "Visit her? Really? After all that she-"

"Oh, hold on!" Reimu crankily interrupted. "Look, if you're still so mad at her that you don't want to see her, then fine! That's your business. But don't come yelling at me for not keeping you informed of every bad thing that happens to her! Either you care about her or you don't!"

Alice shot a furious scowl at her.

"Oh, don't give me that look! You wanted advice, so I gave it! Either work your issues out or don't, but stop bothering me with them!"

Alice held the glare a little while longer, and then her face began to soften. She turned away.

"I've learned a lot from raising Shanghai," she said at last.

Reimu tilted her head.

"Having her in my life has been fulfilling in ways I never even knew needed fulfilling. It has helped fill holes and heal wounds that I didn't even know I had." Alice swallowed noisily. "But there are other aspects as well. Namely, the fear. The fear of making a mistake. The fear of leaving her in danger. The fear of protecting her too much and causing her to hate me. The fear of protecting her too little and leading her to harm." She shook her head. "I do not excuse what my mother made me endure, but I…have to admit, over the last few weeks, I find myself, at least on some level, understanding the fear that led her to do it."

Reimu nodded. "She didn't want to lose you."

"No," Alice agreed. "She did not."

"She's been alive for so long, so growing attached to a mortal, well…"

"Compared to her, my natural lifespan would pass in the blink of an eye, yes," Alice said. Then she scowled. "But that still doesn't excuse-"

She cut herself off before giving in to another angry rant. Reimu thought it best to not comment.

The two girls sat quietly together, looking out at the sky. It was late afternoon, and though the Sun had yet to set, it was nearly the edge of the horizon. The day was soon to die.

"I was so afraid that I would lose Marisa," Alice said at last.

Reimu's throat tightened.

"She was so reckless! Something was bound to kill her sooner or later, if she didn't end up killing herself! And I was right, something did! But even if Yuuka Kazami hadn't murdered her, even if she lived her full, natural lifespan, she would still die one day, and I would be all alone!"

"So you tried to capture the secret of immortality," Reimu whispered.

"Yes. Or at least, one she would find palatable, as she had already rejected what was available. And I told myself that I wasn't the same as Shinki, as she would have the choice to refuse! But…" Alice exhaled, slowly and heavily. "…I never gave much thought to what I would have done had she refused. It seemed…it seemed a non-issue."

The two girls sat in silence again.

Genji, who had been growing increasingly more uncomfortable the more raw the conversation got, glanced awkwardly at Reimu, and then at Alice. Then with muttered, "Pardon me," he slowly backed away from the porch into the shrine, dragging his long beard up the steps, before rising up into the air and flying out the back so as to get away from all the drama.

When he was gone, Alice said, "I should see her."

"Um, okay," Reimu said.

"This may be our last time to talk. I have to give her the chance, have to give her-" Alice sighed. "Reimu, I know you don't like being asked favors, but I must ask-"

"You want me to look after Shanghai for you," Reimu finished for her.

Alice nodded. "If this…this was a simple reconciliation, then I perhaps would bring her to meet her grandmother. But I do not know the full extent of Shinki's condition, nor do I know the situation I am heading toward. Besides, Makai is no place for a child. I ought to know."

Reimu breathed out. "Um, yeah. Sure. I mean, this shrine gathers strays all the time, so what's one more?"

Alice smiled a little at that. "Thank you, my friend."

Reimu stared.

"I just made it very weird, didn't I?" Alice said after a beat.

"Extremely. Don't say it like that again."

"Agreed. Then I appreciate your assistance. Was that better?"

"Immeasurably. Far better. Yes."

Sighing, Alice stood up. "Well, I'd better explain things to Shanghai. No matter what, she's not going to understand, but I can at least-"

"Oh, fuck me!"

Reimu and Alice paused. Then, in perfect synchronization, they both turned toward the shrine. The voice had been Genji's.

The harried turtle came floating up to the pair a moment later. "Sorry to interrupt yer heart-to-heart ladies. And sure, the little tyke can stay for a bit, me and the rabbit'll look after her. But Reimu won't."

Reimu arched an eyebrow. "Any reason why not?"

"Because you're again needed elsewhere. I just got a tip from one of my sources that some shit jus' went down near the Youkai Mountain, and yer gonna wanna get over there quick!"

Reimu slapped a palm across her own face. Weeks of absolutely nothing, and now everything was happening all at once. Again. It never rains, but…

She glanced over to Reimu. "Go talk to your kid," she said. "And give your instructions to Reisen."

"Are you sure?" Alice said. "If I can help-"

Reimu irritably shooed her off. Raising her hands, Alice headed toward the house.

When she was gone, Reimu said in a low voice, "Okay, give me the bad news."

Genji shook his head. "Well, my source-"

"Who is what, exactly?"

"A frog."

Reimu blinked. "Suwako?"

"No, not a frog goddess, a frog."

"A frog youkai?"

Genji glowered. "No, she's a godsstinkin' frog. Jus' a frog, okay?"

"Okay," Reimu said. "Just checking."

"Anyway, she says that everyone's all in a big fuss since a couple gods got murdered."

Reimu felt her chest clench up. Mortals getting murdered was part of her job description, but it happened all the time, and wouldn't require her immediate attention. Now gods being slain, well, since that literally shouldn't be possible, that would most definitely be cause for concern.

"Yeah, and that's not all," Genji said grimly. "From what I can tell, it was one of yer girls that did it."

"One of my…" Reimu repeated blankly. What was he talking about?

Then she got it. "Oh no, not Flandre!"

"Nope, didn't seem to be her MO."

"Rin, then?"

"Wrong again. From the sound of it, it was the bad one."

"The bad…" Then Reimu inhaled sharply. "Oh, shit," she hissed.

"Yup. From what I was told, the Shadow Youkai's back. And she's pissed."

…

If Heaven was a place on Earth, then Hell must be as well.

And it was, a place of torment and grim justice, a place where the wicked were repaid for their deeds in life, where the irredeemable were shown the pain that they caused, where monsters were bound, where all bad things would one day end up. It was essentially Gensokyo's spiritual garbage heap, the final destination for its evil. No one wanted to go there.

But right next to it, though not entirely separate, was Makai, the land of demons.

Ruled over by a Fallen Angel of Death, one of the generals of Lucifer the Morningstar itself, Makai was a land of darkness and fire, of searing light and freezing ice, of hardships and toil. It was not for the weak nor the faint of heart, and those who dwelt there were counted among the strongest of Gensokyo.

But it wasn't Hell. It wasn't specifically a place of torment, and beauty, kindness, compassion, and love did exist there, in its own form. It was just a little rough around the edges.

And it was where Alice Margatroid had grown up.

Nobody knew where she had come from originally or who her family was. Shinki had claimed to have found her wandering the blood fields as a toddler and had taken her in, and say what you will about Shinki, but she was no liar.

And Alice had never really cared where she had come from. If her parents had been so incompetent as to let a Human child wander the world of demons on her own, then why should she seek out their identities? Despite whatever terms they might be on, Shinki was her mother, Sariel her extended family, and the great fortress of Pandemonium her childhood home.

But that didn't make it a place she ever wanted to return to.

And yet, here she was, approaching its front gates, off to see her estrange Fallen Angel of a mother.

Strange how life worked out.

There were actually several gates to Makai, and they rarely stayed in one place. Furthermore, only a scant few were actually accessible to mortals. Alice didn't care. She always knew where they lay and how to get to them. And they would always be open to her.

The one that she now approached was located in the clouds. It was a great, curving, segmented wall, rimmed with red spikes, made of some unearthly material. Its surface shimmered and writhed, as if some great tentacled beast were imprisoned within the substance of its construction, one constantly fighting to get out.

Alice glanced up at it in contempt. Demons rarely displayed any sense of taste.

She approached the gate, and as she did, the clouds surrounding the gate suddenly shivered. A person-sized column of cloud rose up in front of Alice, congealing and forming themselves into the shape of a woman.

Alice found herself staring at demon-woman, one who had one hand resting on the hilt scabbarded at her side, sulfurous eyes glowering. She was wearing a flaming robe, and her long, purple hair flowed free.

"Halt!" the gatekeeper snapped, holding up her other hand, palm forward. "State your business, mortal!"

Alice quirked an eyebrow. Could it be that she actually was not recognized? Well, she had been gone for a while, and she didn't recognize this particular demon, so it could very well be. "Excuse me, are you new?" she said.

The demon's glower grew darker. "That is none of your concern," she snapped. "You are trespassing on the sovereign lands of Makai, so you must either state your name and business, or I shall-"

"Wait, hold on," Alice said, looking the demon up and down. "You used to be Human, didn't you?"

Demons came in all shapes and sizes. Some were merely especially tough youkai, others were dark spirits from other realms, still others were born from twisted energies.

And then you had the ones formed from mortals, deceased spirits not wicked enough to be damned to Hell nor pure enough to ascend to the Afterlife, and thus decided to take their chances with a second life that was rougher, meaner, but noticeably more preferable than eternal damnation.

Alice had never cared for that sort. They always seemed to have something to prove.

Sure enough, the gatekeeper wavered. "H-How did you know?" she stammered, dropping her hand.

Alice sighed. "You can always tell. Now-"

"I was the daughter of a cursed family, born into the line of Tsukito, who was once a mighty and revered samurai, but ended up bringing unforgiveable shame upon all his line when cowardice compelled him to abandon his master to die."

Alice stared. She had commented on the woman's probable origin. She did not recall asking her for her life story.

"To my eternal regret, I carried on his cursed legacy. I sought to redeem my family's name, to replace our reputation of fear and cowardice with one of honor and bravery, but I was not brave, and I was not honorable. Time and time again I ran away, fearful of those stronger than me, until I was little better than a common criminal, debasing myself just to earn enough to live on."

"How splendid," Alice said. "Now-"

"But then I was faced with a terror greater than any I had faced before, one that I had no hope of standing against. I wanted to run, as I had done so many times before, but then an evil voice spoke to me, mocking me for my weakness, seeking to tear me down."

"Oh, did it now? Well, that sounds very unfortunate, but-"

"But rather than break my spirit, it instead filled me with new purpose and determination, motivating me to find my courage and strike at the monsters threatening the lives of my former enemies!"

"How gallant, but I really-"

"However, it ended up costing me my life, and I fully expected to be sent to Hell for my life of cowardice and petty crime. But the Yamaxanadu had mercy upon me. She told me that my last show of courage had redeemed me and my bloodline, and restore our honor! I was to be allowed into the Netherworld, to rest with the souls of Gensokyo's heroes."

To be honest, Alice was starting to wish that the gate guard had been more hostile and less chatty. At least then she would be straight to the point. "And I'm happy for you, I really am, but-"

"But I chose instead to come here, to the land of demons. It did not seem right that a single dying act would make up for generations of failure. At least here, I am able to work toward building a new legacy for my family, and though we never will have honor in Gensokyo, perhaps one day we will be respected in Makai, which would be more than we could ever have hoped for." Her face resolute and determined, the gate guard thumped a fist against her own chest.

Alice…stared. For a long time. "That…was very inspiring," she said at last. "I am happy that things seem to be working out. But if you're done, I really do have places to be." She floated forward.

The demon blinked, and then, as if she had just remembered that she was supposed to be intimidating strangers instead of regaling them with her tale, she swept her blade out of its sheath right at Alice, stopping mere centimeters from her throat.

Alice paused. She glanced down at the length of steel nearly pressing against her skin and rolled her eyes.

"Are we really doing this?" she said. "Because I quite frankly do not have the time."

The demon was gritting her teeth in frustration. "State your name," she said. "And your business. Or I will cut you from gullet to gut."

Sighing, Alice floated back away from the place and placed her hand on its tip. "Oh, very well," she said, moving the sword away from her. "My name is Alice Margatroid, and I am here on family business."

As she spoke, she carefully studied the woman's face for any sort of reaction. If this gatekeeper was indeed new, then it was possible that she would not know of Alice or her relationship with Makai's ruler. But if she did…

Sure enough, as soon as Alice spoke her name, the woman froze in place, her burning pupils constricting.

Alice waited for her to finish processing things. Sometimes it took a while.

"Alice?" she said at last. "The Alice? Alice Margatroid?"

"The one and the same." Despite everything, Alice couldn't keep the smug little smirk from forming. "Now tell me: as a former Human and current Demon, is your reaction based upon knowing my reputation above or below?"

"Ah, er, well, to be honest, it's both," the gatekeeper admitted.

"Oh really!"

The gatekeeper slowly nodded her head. "Your…exploits are, were, are quite, um, infamous in Gensokyo. The Puppet Master of the Forest of Magic. Your involvement with…numerous deadly incidents, your friendship with…multiple persons of importance, it's hard to find someone you doesn't know your name!"

Alice beamed. "Oh, you charmer."

"But since coming here, I have also learned that…" The gatekeeper winced. "Learned that…"

"Yes?" Alice said primly.

"That you are the daughter of the Queen herself," the gatekeeper said. "Her Infernal Majesty. And th-that you, um, that you-"

"That she and I are currently on the outs and haven't spoken for several years?" Alice said in a cheery time. "That is correct! But I am here now, and I wish to see my mother. So, whatever you can do to speed that along, I would appreciate it."

The gatekeeper blinked.

Then she looked down and realized, to her horror, that her blade was still drawn and pointed at her ruler's child. She hastily yanked it back and slammed it into its sheath.

"Thank you!" Alice said.

Trembling, the gatekeeper lifted a hand to her ear. Fire erupted around her palm, and when it cleared, she was holding something that looked like a burning rectangle.

"Hello, it's Meira, at the Cloud Gate," the gatekeeper said. "And…I know I'm not supposed to contact you unless it's an emergency, but this is very important! No, you don't understand, there's someone here who-I know it's my job to drive off pests, but this isn't just some-"

Sighing, Alice reached over and plucked the rectangle of fire from Meira's hand and held it to her own ear. "Hello, to whom am I speaking?"

"Who is this?" demanded the surly voice on the other line.

"Alice Margatroid. Who are you?"

Silence.

"Well, when you've found your tongue, tell whoever you need to that the daughter of Her Infernal Majesty, Queen Shinki herself, is at the Cloud Gate and wishes to go speak to her mother. So please stop wasting my time, your time, and the time of your diligent guard here and make the proper arrangements. Could you do that for me?"

"Y-Yes, your, um, your Excellency."

Alice beamed. It had been a long time since she had been addressed like that.

"Here you go," Alice said, handing the burning rectangle back to the gobsmacked Meira. "Thank you for your time. Now, I'll be on my way."

As if to punctuate her point, the great writhing wall shivered, and then split down the middle, a brightly burning orange line searing its way down. Before it reached the bottom, more orange lines cut their way through the wall, both vertically and horizontally, forming a square grid pattern over its entire surface.

Once the wall had been divided into squares, it shivered again, and then the square all slid inward, starting with the ones in the middle and moving out. From there they swept to the left and the right, revealing a yawning portal to another world, one that glowed with a hellish light.

The smoke of Makai poured out.

Alice took one last breath of Gensokyo's fresh air. And then she flew inside.

Immediately she was struck by what felt like a nearly solid wall of heat and smoke. The temperature shot up several degrees, causing her skin to break out into sweat, which evaporated almost immediately. The inside of her mouth went dry, leaving her with the taste of ash on her tongue. Her eyes dried as well, leaving them itching.

But, paradoxically, it was also bitterly cold. Not on the outside, but deep within her bones, causing her to shiver violently.

Ah, right, Alice thought as the gate closed behind her. I forgot. This is why I never visit.

She waved her hand, and a tingle swept over her skin, a field of fresh air less than a centimeter thick forming around her body. And just like that, she could breathe normally again.

Good gods, it was no wonder that the demons kept trying to get into Gensokyo.

Now that she could open her eyes without them stinging painfully, Alice surveyed the scene before her.

Yup. Just as bleak as she remembered.

Though it had been early evening in Gensokyo, it was apparently in the dead of night in Makai. The sky was as black as pitch but was not at all peaceful. Always shrouded by thick clouds of ash, even in the darkness it rolled and writhed.

And the land below was likewise cloaked in blackness, but there the dark was broken up by burning spears of red flame. In Makai, something was always burning nearby.

However, there was movement far in the distance. Something was coming toward her, a dark shape, barely indistinguishable against the night sky. Alice frowned and squinted her eyes, trying to make it out.

But almost as soon as she focused on it than it was upon her. It swooped around at the last second and came to a stop in the air before her.

It was a carriage, one that was sleek, black, and somewhat chitinous, as if it had been carved from the carapace of some large insect. Reined to the front were several winged…things, things that seemed part bat, part mosquito, and part locust. There was no driver.

Though she hadn't gotten out much as a child, Alice had still made a point to learn as much about Makai as possible when she had been under Shinki's wardship. Even so, these were new.

The side of the carriage shivered, and then simply peeled out, its wall opening like the mandibles of an enormous insect.

Alice shivered. Well, it would seem that she was expected.

She floated into the ugly carriage, and as she did, it closed itself up sealing her inside. She sat down in the seat provided, which fortunately was at least cushioned, and not by flesh, which was a very real possibility.

In response to some unheard signal, the creatures bearing the carriage along shrieked out and took off, hauling Alice behind them. She was off.

…

The scene of the crime that Genji sent Reimu to was a dwelling nestled within the roots of a great oak tree, sitting on the banks of the river that cut through the Untrodden Valley, near the Youkai Mountain.

Reimu wasn't sure what was waiting for her when she arrived, but given that she had been sent for instead of coming across the situation on her own, it stood to reason that others were already investigating the scene. This supposition was proven correct when, as the location came into view, she found it abuzz with activity.

The place was swarming with men and women of several species wearing the black uniforms of the GPF. Working with them were many members of the Hakurou Tengu. Given that the tree sat near where the Tengu territory met the Wilds, it made sense that representatives of both territories would get involved.

But it was the tree itself that drew the majority of Reimu's attention. It looked like it had once been gnarled and twisted, but still hard, strong, and healthy. Now it was only gnarled and twisted. The whole tree had shriveled, its brown bark turned greyish-black and its girth shrunken down. The branches were now drooping like limp noodles, and the trunk was slumping down to one side.

Reimu's heart had already sunken down into her gut, but now it managed to sink a little bit lower. The taint.

Speaking together were two people that Reimu was very familiar with. Kotohime, Captain of the GPF, was talking with Momiji Inubashiri, Captain of the Hakurou Tengu. Given the nature of her job, Reimu had ended up running into both on a number of occasions, and while she was pretty certain that neither of them really cared all that much for her, she at least considered them among the Good Guys. She altered her course to head right for them.

Momiji noticed her first, her pointed ears twitching as she approached. She must have told Kotohime that Reimu was coming, as they both turned toward her as she swooped down for a landing.

"Hakurei Shrine Maiden," Kotohime greeted her with a polite nod of acknowledgement. "Thank you for coming."

"Hey," Reimu said breathlessly. "Sorry I wasn't here earlier."

"Not at all. Your responsibilities make you a little harder to get ahold of than most, I understand." A very tactful way of stating things, but Reimu noted the twinge of frostiness in her tone.

Though Reimu had known Kotohime since she had been little more than a child, she still wasn't sure where she stood with the older woman. The first time she had run into Kotohime, the black sheep of the Sonozika family had been…less than mentally stable. Actually, she had been kind of nuts, and Reimu had just written her off as just another one of Gensokyo's weirdoes.

But since then, Yukari Yakumo had done something to her brain to fix whatever it was that was wrong with her, and now Reimu was running into her more often than she would like. Sure, the GPF did make her job easier by putting down most minor problems so she didn't have to deal with them, and sure they were pretty fair for the most part, but she tended to see things a little differently than they, and had ended up bumping heads with them on more than one occasion. Furthermore, her relationship with Kotohime Sonozika seemed to reflect the condition of her relationship with Yukari. When she and Yukari were getting along, then Kotohime seemed to like her more. And when they were on the outs, she got the feeling that Kotohime was merely tolerating her out of professional courtesy.

As was currently the case.

As for Momiji, things were simpler. Reimu was a close personal friend of Momiji's goddesses, and that was all she needed to know.

"So," Reimu said. "I heard that we got a possible Shadow Youkai attack."

Kotohime glanced at the blackened, shriveled tree. "It seems to fit the MO," she said. "Unless there's some other renegade monster that shrivels living tissue up with a touch."

Reimu nodded. "Who are the victims?"

"The Aki sisters," Momiji said hoarsely. "And Hina Kagiyama."

Reimu frowned. "Okay, so, those names ring a bell, but…"

"The sisters were a pair of autumn goddesses," Momiji said. "Hina was a curse goddess. The three of them live…were living together here."

Suddenly Reimu had an image in her mind, that of a pair of blonde sisters wearing golds and browns. As for Hina, the first word that came to mind was "spin."

"Okay, I think I've met them once or twice," Reimu said. "Did…Hina spin around a lot?"

"Yes. She, ah, did that to gather curses so they wouldn't hurt-" Momiji's voice got thick, and she had to take a deep breath. "Forgive me. I often saw them when on patrol. They were…never the most prominent of deities, but…but very likeable. They were good neighbors."

Kotohime silently laid a sympathetic hand on Momiji's shoulder.

Momiji hesitated, and then nodded her thanks. "Anyway, one of my patrols found their home like this and sent out the word."

"Right," Reimu breathed. "So, have you already looked inside?"

"Yes," Kotohime said. "Obviously. We found one corpse, identity unknown." She nodded to where a few Tengu were standing around a white sheet covered a person-shaped bundle. "It was badly shriveled, so we haven't been able to determine its identity."

Reimu frowned. "Wait, if you only found one body, how do you know that they're all dead?"

"We don't," Momiji said. "But the taint has overcome the entire dwelling. We only found one thing that was definitely a corpse. There are several other…mounds that might be the other two."

Reimu swallowed. "Ah. I see." She glanced back to the tree. "Mind if I take a look around?" The question was a courtesy. Reimu's family had complete jurisdiction in these kinds of situations, no matter where they happened, but nothing was lost in being polite.

"Certainly," Momiji said. "We'll be here if you have any questions." Kotohime hesitated, but then nodded her permission as well.

First Reimu went over to the sheet-covered body. The Tengu surrounding it straightened as she approached.

"Hey there," she said. "Mind if I take a look?"

"Certainly, Ma'am," said a young wolf Tengu. He knelt down and pulled the sheet away.

Reimu had seen plenty of corpses in her time, many in terrible shape, and this wasn't the worst she had ever seen. But it was certainly horrible in a new way. It looked more like handmade child's doll made from sticks and twine, badly burnt and blown up to Human-size. That, or a rotten scarecrow.

It was vaguely shaped like a person, but so blackened that any features were impossible to make out any identifiable traits. The flesh had been withered down into a black, vaguely person-shaped mass; the limbs little more than sticks; the head a black skull covered with a thin, flaky crust.

There was no question of it. This had been the work of the Shadow Youkai.

Reimu swallowed but she didn't look away. Instead, she knelt down for a closer look.

The corpse's belly had sunken in, its guts shriveled away to almost nothing. The dried skin laid tight against the rib cage, which seemed to be bending inward, as if the taint had softened the hard ribs.

Reimu then looked up at the face. Most of the…parts were still there, but if it weren't for their location it would be impossible to tell what they once were. The nose, ears, and eyes were little more than black lumps. The jaw was hanging open, attached by only a few remaining ligaments, the teeth now looking like dried raisins. The hair had all fallen out entirely.

Then Reimu noticed something interesting. Vile, disgusting, and horrible, but still interesting. The fingers on the left hand looked like dried sticks, but at least they were still identifiable as fingers.

However, the entire right hand and half of the forearm had withered down into a tiny, limp lump, the fingers shrunken down to a fraction of their original size and tangled around themselves.

Huh.

"What's up with her hand?" Reimu said, pointing. "Why's it more shriveled than the rest?"

"We don't know, Ma'am," the Tengu said. "We found her like this."

"Hmmm. And where was she found?"

"In the kitchen."

Reimu looked back to the blackened tree. "Is it safe to go in?"

"As far as we can tell, but you have to wear this."

He held up a black cloth facemask.

"The black stuff flakes something awful, and you probably don't want to breathe it," the Tengu explained.

"Good idea." Reimu accepted the facemask with a nod of thanks and slipped it over her mouth and nose.

"And these," he said, giving her a pair of cloth gloves and a pair of Kappa goggles.

"Um…sure." Reimu pulled the gloves on and slipped the goggles over her face.

"And these," he said, holding up a pair of thick black boots.

Reimu raised an eyebrow.

"You don't want to walk around barefoot," he explained.

And that was the only explanation Reimu needed. She hastily sat down and pulled the boots over her bare feet and strapped them tight. Standing up made her feet awkwardly tall, and she had to reorient her balance, but it was better than the alternatives.

…

It was a long road back to Pandemonium.

Makai operated under similar rules as Heaven, the Afterlife, and even Gensokyo itself, in that its overall dimensions didn't much care about geography. It was as large as it needed to be.

And as it turned out, it needed to be pretty damned large.

Makai's total landmass was unknown to anyone living in Gensokyo. Relations were always frosty between the neighboring realms, and nobody living topside never cared enough to actually ask questions, and no one below certainly wasn't going to just volunteer information. However, as someone who had lived significant amount of times in both, Alice could confirm for anyone who cared that Makai was at least half again as large as Gensokyo. Granted, Gensokyo was much prettier and had more areas of note than Makai, but its overall size was impressive.

But it did make getting around something of a pain.

Alice's carriage thundered through piping hot fields of lava and frozen forests filled with trees of ice. It passed over fields of blooded thorns and through canyons of bone. And all the while, Alice sat in place, staring straight ahead, wondering what was waiting for her when she returned home.

When she did, it was nothing that she recognized.

When Alice had left Pandemonium, it had been a structure of prismatic green crystals. Now it was more classically demonic, with walls of black stone, jutting towers like knife-blades, and glowing red cracks running through the whole of the dismal structure.

Clearly, Shinki had taken their estrangement hard.

The chariot thundered across the courtyard, swinging around to come to a stop in front of the path leading up to the great toothed entrance. Lining the path to either side were demons wearing purple robes with black iron breastplates. Each one had a sheathed sword at their side, and was gripping the hilt in waiting.

Alice couldn't keep from gulping.

The door to her carriage curled open. Alice took a deep breath and stepped out.

Immediately the demons drew their swords, the blades wrapped with violet flames. They all held their swords upward and inward, forming an arch of steel and flame.

Demons. They certainly were dramatic, if nothing else.

Alice hastily passed between the two rows guards and hurried over to the towering door.

As she approached, she heard the grinding of gears and the clanking of chain, and the doors swung out to admit her.

On the other side of the door was her mother's sibling, warden, and closest companion, Sariel, Arch-Angel of Death in Exile.

Standing nearly three meters in height, Sariel was a being of ethereal beauty and ineffable presence. Its ankle-length silver hair shimmered with a blue tint at every movement. Its androgynous face was one of porcelain perfection. And its six feathered wings seemed to bend the air around them, creating a shimmering effect that was dizzying to look at.

It. A strange choice to describe one's self. Growing up, Alice hadn't question Sariel's choice of personal descriptors, but as she had grown older she had come to wonder why Sariel chose a pronoun for itself that seemed so…dehumanizing. True, gendered pronouns were entirely a mortal thing, so it made sense that it would shun them. Still, why had it not chosen something more neutral such as they and them, which were largely preferred by those with no singular gender identity?

In time though, Alice had come to understand. "It" might be a terrible thing to call another person, but it was also the default designator for that which was not understood, and Sariel was beyond any mortal description. It was singularly itself, and no language could hope to describe its description with a few paltry words. As such, it deferred to the default, comfortable in being utterly inexplicable, unbothered by the mortal lenses and perceptions.

Alice paused. It had been just as long since the last time she had seen her aunt/uncle as she had seen her mother. And unsurprisingly, the exiled Angel was largely unchanged.

"Greetings, my niece," Sariel said graciously. "I am pleased to see you again."

"Thank you," Alice said, her tone nothing but polite. "Though from your perspective, I might as well have just stepped out for a brief stroll around the block, I suppose."

"Your absence made the time pass more slowly."

Although Alice knew that there was no offense intended in Sariel's words, her left eyelid twitched regardless. Deciding to skip the pleasantries, Alice instead moved right to the point.

"How is she?" Alice said in a low voice.

Sariel…paused, and that in itself was worrying.

"Poorly," it said at last. "She is rarely lucid, and is in constant pain."

Alice swallowed. "Th-Then why ask me to come? If she won't even recognize me, what good will me being here do?"

It was then that the control Sariel had over its face slipped just a little, and Alice saw a brief glimpse, ever so small, of immeasurable pain in its eternal eyes.

"My niece, I…am running out of options," it said. "I have exhausted all known treatments, and have begun delving into many unorthodox ones. And the more she slips away, the harder it becomes. If I can just manage to bring her back to sanity, even for a little bit, perhaps I can find the key, but…"

"You think she'll come back if I'm there?" Alice asked skeptically. That seemed like a real longshot to her.

"As I said, I am left with few routes to take," Sariel said, spreading its hands. "If nothing else, perhaps having you here will give her some measure of peace."

Alice blinked. "You really think she's going to die," she said. It wasn't a question.

"I have been preparing myself for that possibility."

"Oh."

Sariel led Alice into the citadel. As they walked, Alice noted that not only had Pandemonium's construction changed, but its layout as well. She remembered nothing about the dark hallways and spiked walls that she saw.

"This…It's, uh, different," Alice noted.

"Yes," Sariel said. "She changed it after you left. Personally, I preferred it the other way, but it is her house."

"So I gathered. Um, listen: hypothetically, if she does, ah, die, then what does that entail?"

"Metaphysically or politically?"

"Metaphysically. I couldn't care less about the politics."

Sariel smiled a little. "I see that much hasn't changed. Unfortunately, as I told you earlier, this situation is unprecedented. Angels have had their physical bodies destroyed before, but there is no recorded case of an Angel perishing after gaining some measure of mortality. It could be that she will simply cease to exist once her body expires. Or perhaps her Angelic Grace will ascend back to the Silver City and be reborn."

"So she might end up going home after all, huh? And all she had to do was die."

"There is a bitter irony to it, yes. Especially if we had known such a thing was possible beforehand, she would have, in all likelihood, ended her own life centuries ago."

Alice had no response to that.

In time they came to another large door set in a deep depression in the wall, one with sharp edges and horned corners.

Sariel laid a hand on the doorhandle. Then, before it opened the door to Shinki's chambers, it hesitated.

"My niece," it said. "I want you to understand something. I understand that you remember your mother in a certain manner. I also understand that your bad feelings toward her might have…colored those memories in your mind, altering them from reality. But nevertheless, you still remember her in a certain way."

Sariel paused for several heavy moments before continuing on to the next part. "What you are about to see is radically different from both what you remember and how she actually was. What you are about to see will shock, disturb, and trouble you. Whatever defenses you can gather to yourself, I would recommend employing them now."

Alice scowled. "Are you trying to talk me out of this?"

"Stubbornness. Good. Yes, that has always been mortals' best defense to the metaphysically incomprehensible." And with that, Sariel swung the door open.

The room was large. It was mostly empty. It was mostly dark. And it stank!

Even in the dim light Alice could see that there was little in the room. The walls were bare, there was no decorations and little furniture. The only thing of any real note was a large violet canopy bed that sat in the exact center of the room, onto which a golden light was shining. The source of the light was a cluster of rough, faceted stones that were slowly swirling around each other near the ceiling, like a miniature asteroid field.

Philosopher's stone, Alice thought. The go-to cure for when immortals had ailments of the soul.

And in the bed was Shinki.

Or at least, Alice presumed that it was Shinki.

There was a humanoid figure lying in the bed, one wearing a simple filmy gown. Her limbs were weak, withered things with bulging purple veins. The flesh of her face was shrunken against her skull, all of her hair gone. Her eyes were closed, but she was not resting. Instead, she was twitching, trembling, and writhing in the throes of delirium, moaning slightly.

And superimposed over the entirety of the bed was…something. It was like an afterimage, an optical illusion, something that didn't look entirely real but once noticed could not be ignored. There was little in the way of any identifiable shape, but it seemed to Alice's eyes to be made up of several constantly spinning giant rings, all curled around each other, held aloft by six ethereal wings.

"What on Earth…?" Alice whispered.

Sariel hovered behind her. "As I said, there is currently a war going on within her mortal shell. The mordite poisoning is trying to destroy her body, while her Angelic Grace is trying to save it, and the struggle is exhausting them both."

"B-But this…"

"I know, my niece."

Alice wanted to leave. She had expected an ailing, emaciated Shinki. That at least would have been bearable. But this…

And yet she found herself walking forward, moving toward the bed and the thing that shivered upon it. She kept walking until she was standing right beside it.

Ignoring the manifestation of Shinki's Angelic Grace, Alice looked down at what remained of Shinki's physical body. She licked her lips and said, "M-Mother?"

There was no response, no indication that Shinki was even aware of her.

"Mother, it's me. It's Alice. I've come."

Still nothing.

"Sariel told me that you were hurt. It told me that you were…ailing. So I…" The words died in Alice's throat. So she what? What could she say?

"Mother? Can you hear me?"

Alice reached out a hand toward Shinki's trembling form, but paused. What good would touching her do? She had no special powers for this, nothing that would heal an Angel.

Sighing, she withdrew her hand.

Suddenly, Shinki's eyes snapped open. They were the color and consistency of runny egg yolks.

Then her withered arm snapped up, her brittle fingers closing around Alice's wrist. "A…" she croaked. "Aliiiii…"

Alice screamed and yanked her arm away. To her shock, it worked. Shinki's grip broke immediately.

Sariel was there half-a-second later. "Sibling, no!" it cried, reaching out to intercede. "It is…" Then it saw that Alice had already freed herself. "Oh."

Alice stood back, staring as she rubbed her wrist. Shinki was continuing to squirm and moan, reaching out to her with trembling arms. "She was as weak as a child," she said.

Sariel knelt down next to Shinki, hands laid gently on its sibling. "Calm yourself, my sibling," it murmured. "Alice is here. She has come to see you." Then it raised its head to look to Alice. "Her strength is all but spent, all of her power devoted to fighting the mordite."

And that scared Alice more than anything. Despite their differences, Shinki was still one of the most powerful beings in Gensokyo, greater than even Yukari Yakumo. She ought to be strong enough to break oni bones without a second thought. Alice ought not have been able to escape her grasp.

Shinki continued to thrash and moan, trying to fight off Sariel. "Alllliiiiiiizzzzzz," she cried, milky grey tears forming around her ruined eyes. "Aaaaalllllleeeeeeeezzzzz…."

Though part of her very much wanted to run, she instead found herself approaching the bed and the piteous creature lying upon it. She looked down on the wreckage of her mother, whom she had spent so many years resenting.

It was strange. There once was a time when she would have felt nothing but spiteful satisfaction at the news of Shinki's downfall. And yet, as she gazed upon the swiftly deteriorating ruin she had become, she felt none of that. No resentment, no bitterness, no satisfaction.

"Can she be saved?" Alice said.

Sariel paused, and then let out a very humanlike sigh. "I thought so at first," it said, stroking its fingers over Shinki's flaking forehead. "There are many treatments for such woundings of the soul. I had philosopher's stone, Phoenix down, even scrapings from the True Cross, but nothing worked."

"So you're just giving up?"

"Never. But as I have said, I am running out of ideas."

Alice thought about that. Angels were many things, and they knew many things, things that mortals could not know, things that mortal were incapable of knowing. So when Sariel said that it had almost exhausted all possible cures for Shinki's condition, she believed it.

But Angels were also very limited by their function. Yes, they were in possession of vast troves of knowledge, but they did not have the creative and adaptive nature of mortals. They could not easily take a problem, look at it sideways, turn it inside out, and come up with some form of madness that should not work, but works anyway. They were enforcers of the way things are, not the innovators of how they could be.

That was the realm of mortals. And though she did have immortality forced upon her, Alice's mind was still that of a mortal.

"I'll find a way," Alice said, and there was little else that she had ever said that she meant more.

Sariel looked up at her. "Do you know of a possible solution?"

"No," Alice said. And in that moment, she made a decision. "But I know where to find one."

…

The Tengu guarding the entrance to the home nestled in the blackened roots silently made way for Reimu as she approached. Reimu walked up to the open doorway and…hesitated.

Once upon the time, the entrance had been a simple wooden door covering a large hole burrowing into the ground. Tree roots were a popular place for youkai, fairies, and other creatures to make their homes, so there was nothing out of the ordinary here.

Or at least there hadn't been…

Now that the tree had been completely consumed by the taint of death, now that all life had been sucked from the tree, leaving it blackened, shriveled husk of its former self, the tunnel leading downward didn't look so much like the entrance to a comfortable home as it did like the yawning throat of Death itself, a defiled tomb, a crypt of the corrupt.

Shivering, Reimu held out her hand, palm upward. Her Ying-Yang Orb appeared over her palm, shrunk down to the size of a cueball. It lit up with a shining white light and shot to hover just over her shoulder. Now that she at least had some light, Reimu stepped inside.

She regretted it as soon as her foot came down. The ground was somehow both disgustingly spongy and dry and flaky. The sole of her foot sank down a little under a centimeter, and then the ground cracked.

Now very thankful for the boots, Reimu made her way inside.

Her feelings of revulsion only grew the further in she went. The taint had consumed not only the trees roots growing through the walls and ceiling, but also the very earth itself, sucking all life out and turning it into tightly packed black ash. Even the air felt wrong. It was far too cold, but not in the way one might expect from an underground dwelling. It was like the heat had just been sucked out, as had all the moisture.

Even with the mask and goggles in place, Reimu still felt a dry cough forming. Her exposed skin felt dry and itchy.

But the scariest thing was the smell. With so much death, she had half-expected the smell to be full of the stench of rot, of decay. Instead, it just smelled dry and musty, like an ancient tomb excavated from the sands of the desert instead of a mausoleum of fresh corpses.

There was one tiny blackened root dangling from the ceiling. Reimu reached up and prodded it with one finger. The root bent slightly at her touch, and then snapped off, exploding into dust as soon as it hit the ground.

Great.

There were still several Hakurou Tengu and GPF officers milling about, wearing the same protective clothing Reimu was, with shining electrical lights strapped to their shoulders as they moved around in the dead home. A few paused when they saw her, some of them obviously wondering who this trespasser was and how she had gotten in, but when they saw her Ying-Yang Orb they backed off, though more than one didn't look happy about it.

Reimu moved forward, ignoring the unfriendly looks she was getting and focusing on her surroundings. Anything made from organic material like wood had been consumed by the taint. A few household objects made from things like stone or metal were still intact, but then she saw a clay vase that had been shattered, tendrils of taint reaching up from the floor into the jagged shards.

A couple of Tengu were standing before what looked like a framed oil painting on one wall, shining their lights on it. Reimu paused as she passed by.

The painting looked like it had once been of the home's residents. There were two blonde girls dressed in autumnal colors, clearly sisters, with their arms around another girl with bright green hair tied into a braid at her color dressed in darker tones. All three were smiling happily.

But now it had been defiled, blobs of taint erupting from the wall behind it, consuming the frame and literally ripping their way through the painting itself. While there was little organic material to be consumed, the taint had still stretched its way over the goddesses' features. The green-haired goddess's visage had almost been consumed entirely by black, with the tendrils of corruption extending out from her to run the rest of the painting.

Shivering, Reimu moved on.

She came to the kitchen, in which there was little recognizable. She saw a few steel knives lined up on the counter, as well as a metal fruit basket hanging from the ceiling, filled with a shapeless black mass. One GPF officer was standing over the kitchen island, looking down.

Approaching her, Reimu said, "Was this where she was found?"

The GPF officer glanced up at her, frowned when she didn't recognize Reimu, frowned deeper when she did, and shrugged. "Figured you would show up sooner or later."

"And I did," Reimu said. "Was this the place."

The GPF officer nodded. "The body was lying right here, slumped on the floor," she said, pointing to the space right next to the island. "Given the prevalence of the taint in this room, this was probably the infection's origin place."

Reimu believed it. "So, the victim was killed first, and then the house itself was corrupted from this spot?"

"It's hard to tell, but that does seem to be the case."

"But that would imply that the perpetrator was already inside when it began infecting the place. Is there any sign of forced entry?"

"More of forced exit." The officer pointed upward.

Reimu looked. As the whole ceiling was a solid black, it was hard to make out details in the bright white light, but it seemed to her that the ceiling was weirdly twisted, cratering upward.

"Something blew their way out, straight up," the officer said. "The whole tree was infected on their way out, and their exit tunnel collapsed in on itself. But from the look of things, the house itself was already overrun at that point."

Reimu frowned. "Wait, did it just walk in?"

"No, the door was rotted, but still closed and locked. No sign any other entry, no windows broken from the outside."

"Then it just walked in and politely closed the door behind it? Why even go after the residents?"

The officer shrugged.

Reimu looked around. "That was one corpse, but three people lived here. Any sign of the other two?"

"None. We've found many unidentifiable lumps, but nothing that looks like it could have been a body."

Reimu left the pit of the dead with more questions and fewer answers.

Momiji had gone and Reimu couldn't see where, but Kotohime was still standing around. Reimu approached her.

The tall brunette shot Reimu a brief glance as Reimu approached and then looked back to the tree. "Find anything we missed?" she said without looking directly at the shrine maiden.

"Nothing you probably didn't already know," Reimu said. "One victim, one killer. Signs of a violent escape, none whatsoever of forced entry. Whoever did this got in quietly but left loudly."

"'Whoever did this, huh?" Kotohime said.

Reimu frowned. "Excuse me?"

"We know who did this," Kotohime said. "This is clearly the work of the Shadow Youkai. Who was, the last time I checked, consumed by your little charity case, Rin Satsuki."

Reimu stared. "Wait, you don't know?"

Now Reimu fully had Kotohime's attention. "I don't know what, Hakurei?"

"That…the Garden of the Sun! They didn't tell you what happened at the battle?"

Kotohime's brow knitted together. "The death of Yuuka Kazami, as planned. The kidnapping of Flandre Scarlet by Rin Satsuki. The deaths of numerous innocents by Dragonfire. The return to villainy by Madam Mima, your patron!"

Reimu stared. She really didn't know! The Shadow Youkai had presumably been exorcised out of Rin Satsuki, and Yukari hadn't bothered to tell her own peacekeeping organization!

Before Reimu could respond, a piercing scream of naked grief and pain cut through the air, drawing everyone's attention.

There was young blonde woman wearing a yellow dress with a black skirt, over which she had on a red apron, with a red hat decorated with a cluster of grapes. She was staring at the ruins of the tree in horror, clawing at her own face as she screamed.

Reimu recognized her. It was one of the sisters from the painting.

"That's Minoriko Aki!" Kotohime exclaimed. "She's alive!"

Minoriko, however, didn't seem relieved by her own survival. Instead, she had fallen to her knees and her hands curled into shaking claws as she continued to scream. "MY SISTER!" she wailed. "WHAT HAPPENED TO MY SISTER? WHERE IS SHE?"

Oh no. Reimu felt her heart sink, her throat thicken. Not this. No matter how many times she was faced with this situation, it never got easy.

Kotohime reacted immediately. "Get to her!" she said, motioning to a pair of nearby officers, and then two others. "And you and you! Obscure the body!"

The officers and Tengu both leapt into action, some rushing toward the distraught Minoriko while others put themselves between her and the body. Honestly, it just seemed to Reimu like a sure way to get her to look in that direction.

"IS THAT HER?" she cried. "SHE'S DEAD! I KNEW IT! I KNEW THIS WOULD HAPPEN!"

Oh man, this was not a place Reimu wanted to be. Dealing with distraught loved ones of victims was just not something she was good at, and often made things so much worse. Even the heavy losses she had suffered in her life hadn't given her much insight on how to handle things. It was just something she had no natural skill in.

But even so, she still needed information, and as grief-stricken as she was, Minoriko had it. Steeling herself, Reimu readied herself to approach her.

But then Minoriko made that unnecessary, and she suddenly surrendered everything Reimu wanted to know but did not want to hear. "IT'S HER!" she cried. "IT'S ALL HER FAULT! IT'S ALL RIN SATSUKI'S FAULT! SHE BROUGHT THAT MONSTER INTO OUR LIVES! SHE'S THE ONE THAT KILLED US! RIN SATSUKI KILLED MY SISTER AND MY FRIEND!"

Reimu felt utterly sick to her stomach. No. No, not this. Please, not this.

She looked over to Kotohime, who was staring right at Reimu, a flat look on her face, but the hollowness of her eyes expressing entire paragraphs of her thoughts, all of which could be condensed into a single, terrible sentence.

I told you so.

…

To give Sakuya Izayoi credit, anyone who saw her perform the remainder of her daily duties as Head Maid would not have known anything was wrong. She moved with perfect precision and professionalism, her face a cool mask of porcelain, with not the slightest quiver of her fingers to betray the turmoil she was feeling inside.

And when she made the journey back to her private office to finish up the day's paperwork, not a step was out of place, her movements as smooth, graceful, and efficient as always. Those she spoke to along the way had no reason to suspect that anything was wrong as she delivered instructions in her customary curt, yet thorough, manner.

Even after she entered her office and closed the door behind her, the mask stayed on, her movements perfectly controlled. She locked the door and touched a hand to one of the runes set in the onyx panel on the wall. A violet wave swept up the walls, cleansing the room of any residue magics and obliterating any convert means of surveillance. She truly did not expect anyone to be spying on her, but she was never anything but vigilant.

She then crossed the room to her desk, the heels of her hard shoes clacking a precise rhythm on the immaculately polished floor. Pulling the chair out from behind the black marble desk, she elegantly sat down, straightened out the ruffles of her uniform, and touched a finger to another rune set in the desk's surface. A green field briefly appeared over the walls, the ceiling, and the floor, indicating that no sound could leave the room without her expressed permission and ensuring that absolutely no one could be watching or listening in.

Now completely alone, Sakuya sat in place for a full five seconds, her posture perfect, her expression perfectly elegant in its neutrality, the very embodiment of cool professionalism.

It was only then that she collapsed.

Sakuya slumped forward onto the desk, burying her face in her arms as she cried, heavy sobs wracking her body. Too much, it was all too much. She was supposed to be the master of space and time, the beacon of perfect control in a world ruled by madness and mischief. So why then, why was she unable to stop everything from collapsing? The Scarlet Devil Mansion, her perfect realm of order and security, was imploding in on itself, the losses of Patchouli Knowledge and young mistress Flandre echoing through the cavernous halls, while its mistress, the sophisticated and charismatic lady Remilia Scarlet continued to unravel at an alarming rate, and Sakuya couldn't stop it!

Remilia's latest attempt to harm herself had been too close. Sakuya had gotten there with mere seconds to spare, and her lady's newfound ability to mask her emotional wellbeing from Sakuya's spells was incredibly alarming. Sakuya would have to exhibit even greater vigilance than before, perhaps even handing over her regular responsibilities to another so as to keep watch over her mistress at all times.

But there was literally no one else in the world who could take her place, and if she wasn't fulfilling her duties as Head Maid, the delicate upkeep of the mansion would collapse! But what good would having an efficiently running mansion do if it had no mistress? If Remilia succeeded in killing herself, then it would be all for nothing! The mansion, her duties, her very life would cease to have meaning, and it would all be over, all brought to an end in a single miserable, catastrophic failure.

She needed to be more vigilant. She needed to be more clever. She needed to be better. Clearly her performance had been insufficient. She had to find the areas where she was slipping and correct her errors.

The Mistress's life depended on it.

And then there was a knock at the door.

Sakuya straightened up with a gasp. Who was it? Who dared? It surely couldn't be one of the staff. They would know better than to disturb her now! And it couldn't be Remilia! If Sakuya was needed at her mistress's side, then she would hardly need to go in person to Sakuya's office and knock at the door.

"Leave!" she snapped, her voice hoarse.

There was no response to her command, but the knocking continued: polite, but insistent.

Sighing, Sakuya went about composing herself. Nobody would be foolish enough to disturb her unless it was of vital importance. Or at least, it had better be of vital importance, or else Sakuya was going to see just how rusty her scalping skills were.

"Fine," she said once she was ready. "Enter."

The one at the door made no move to obey, and just continued knocking.

Sakuya blinked. Was she being ignored? Why didn't they-

And then she remembered. The soundproof spell was still up, so of course they couldn't hear her! Oh, this was bad, if she was forgetting something as obvious as that.

The knocking paused, and then she heard a voice call, "Sakuya Izayoi, I know you're in there! Answer me!"

It was Alice Margatroid's voice! Sakuya sat up a little straighter and tapped the rune on her desk, banishing the soundproofing. "Ah, o-of course!" she said. "You may come in!"

The doorhandle rattled a bit, and then Alice said, her voice quite exasperated, "It seems that I cannot!"

Sakuya blinked. Oh, right! The door was locked! Well, this was as revealing about her current state as it was distressing.

"Just a moment!" she called as she got up and hurried to the door. Inserting the key into the lock, she opened it to reveal the blonde magician, still wearing the altered hat of Marisa Kirisame.

Upon seeing Sakuya, Alice Margatroid blinked and tilted her head. "Sakuya?" she said. "Is this a bad time?"

Sakuya slowly breathed out. "That depends greatly on your reason for coming."

"Ah. I see."

"Come on, please." Sakuya stood to one side and closed the door once Alice had stepped inside.

The two women sat down on opposite ends of the desk. As they did, Sakuya employed every trick, every technique she knew to keep her face and voice neutral, so as to not betray the near manic desperation she felt.

"So," she said, clasping her hands in front of her. "How can I help you?"

Alice smoothed out the lap of her skirt. "Well, curiously enough, I feel that we might be able to help each other."

Oh please, oh please. Gods of Gensokyo, we have never seen eye-to-eye, but please give me this at least. "Oh?" Sakuya said, arching a single silver eyebrow.

"Yes. I am here in regards to your previous request that I take over the position as librarian of the Scarlet Devil Mansion. I wish to know if that offer remains open."

YES! "As a matter of fact, it is. Has something changed your mind?"

Alice clasped her own hands in her own manner. "I have just been made aware of a…situation, one that requires access to an exceptionally exhaustive collection of magical knowledge. And as you still are in need of an accomplished magician as a librarian, it seemed a logical path to take."

"I do not disagree," Sakuya murmured. However, though she was now breathing relief, her hackles were now being raised as well. "Though if I may inquire as to the nature of said situation…?"

"I really prefer not to say," Alice said. "A personal matter."

Sakuya slowly breathed in and out through her nose for a time. Though she absolutely did not want to give Alice Margatroid any reason to change her mind again, she also could not neglect her duties as the Scarlet Devil Mansion's primary protector. "Miss Margatroid, you do understand that as Head Maid, it is my responsibility to ensure that the mansion's denizens not become entangled in anything that might threaten security, especially when it comes to the potential misuse of the knowledge contained here."

Now it was Alice's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You mean," she said, "like when you and Patchouli Knowledge took part in the Rin Satsuki experiment behind your mistress's back?"

At any other time, the jab would have slid right off of Sakuya, but in her current state she could not keep the look of curdled disgust from her face. "All more the reason to take extra care that nothing of comparable danger occurs in the future," she said coolly.

"Ah, well. If you must know, someone of my…acquaintance has recently become stricken with an unprecedented malady, one magical in nature, and the resources I require are greater than what I currently have access to, so-"

And suddenly Sakuya understood. "I see," she said in a low, soft voice. "It is Shinki, is it not?"

Alice froze.

A small, humorless smile tugged at Sakuya's mouth. "Ah, that makes sense then. I take it you have reconsidered reconciliation?"

"How?" Alice whispered. "How?"

Now that some measure of control had been reestablished, Sakuya's mask of neutrality was much less strained. "Alice Margatroid, I remind you that I was actually at the battle in which Yuuka Kazami was killed. And while I was not actually present when your adopted mother was wounded, I was there in Hakurei Shrine when Reimu Hakurei was informed."

Alice continued to stare. "You knew. You. Knew. Reimu Hakurei also knew. And I assume your mistress knew as well?"

Sakuya's right hand curled ever so slightly. "Miss Margatroid, while I appreciate that that you no doubt have had an emotionally taxing day, I must remind you that at that time Remilia was being informed of Patchouli Knowledge's death and her younger sister's absconding with Rin Satsuki. If the news of Shinki's wounds even managed to register, they were swiftly forgotten in a tidal wave of grief. And as I was also dealing with the aftereffects of learning of Mima's deception, you will have to forgive us for not thinking to rush to inform a friend of a friend that their step-mother was injured."

Piping hot rage flashed across Alice's face, and she started to rise from her chair. "But that is-" Then she clamped her jaw shut, closed her eyes, and tilted her head back, her teeth audibly grinding together as she fought to regain control of her emotions. As someone also renowned for her emotional control pushed nearly to her own breaking point, Sakuya could empathize.

Then Alice breathed out a long sigh and sat back down again. "Of course," she muttered. "Of course. It would be silly to expect you to do so, considering the…circumstances."

"Thank you."

"But if we were to come to an agreement, you would have no objections to me employing the Scarlet Devil Mansion's resources in search of a…of a treatment?"

"So long as they do not get in the way of your duties," Sakuya said curtly. "Which, I must note, will not be taxing. Patchouli had an inordinate amount of downtime which she liked to fill with any number of projects and experiments, ones that she enjoyed near limitless funding for."

"I see," Alice murmured. "And what do those duties consist of, exactly?"

"The general upkeep of the library itself. Which does not include dusting, as there are spells woven into the shelves that take care of that. But the spells themselves will need to be maintained, and any buildup of rogue magical energy would require cleaning out. Also, as befitting of a librarian, should myself, the mistress, or any of the mistress's guests require assistance in locating a specific volume, you will of course help them."

Alice was nodding through most of Sakuya's explanation, but at that last part she looked somewhat pained. "Does this happen often?"

"No," Sakuya said. "The mistress is more of a collector than a consumer."

"Excellent. In that case, I have a few conditions of my own."

Sakuya tilted her head and waited.

"Firstly, I have no intention of moving into Miss Knowledge's quarters, nor any other suite of rooms you have available. My daughter was born in my house, and it is the only home she has ever known, so I have no intention of forcing her to move into someplace unfamiliar so soon."

Sakuya's brow knitted together. "The librarian is expected to dwell on the mansion premises," she said.

"And I intend to do just that," Alice answered. "Surely moving a single house is well within your capabilities."

That gave Sakuya pause. "That sounds…workable," she said. "However, if you wish for it to be incorporated into the mansion's construction, then I must remind you that the loss of my pocketwatch has severely limited my control over space and time."

"Oh, gods, no!" Alice looked horrified by the suggestion. "As if I would permit my house to…Never mind. But given the size of your gardens, there must be some out of the way area that it can be relocated to."

"Hmmm." Sakuya drummed her fingers on her desk. "Well, I admit that such an arrangement is not…ideal, but as a compromise I suppose it is acceptable."

"I am glad to hear it. We can sort out the specific details in time. I suppose you have a contract of some sort drawn up for me?"

In answer, Sakuya opened a drawer and withdrew a stack of papers. A heavy stack of papers.

"Feel free to review and amend them at your leisure," Sakuya said as Alice picked the first one up and scanned its contents. "Of course I'll will have to personally approve any amendments, but I feel you will find the terms satisfactory."

"They're certainly thorough, if nothing else," Alice said, placing the paper back down. "I assume we are done here?"

Sakuya nodded. "As soon as we've reached an agreement and you've signed the contract, I will make arrangements to have your house moved to an appropriate location." She held out her hand, and Alice accepted it. "Welcome to the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Miss Margatroid."

…

And that wraps up my weekly comeback tour. It's been a very long, crazy, and fun ride, but I'm looking forward to taking a break.

Which isn't to say that I'm going away again, only that things are going back to a "When it's ready" update schedule. Still, eight months and only missed like three weeks is pretty good, no?

Anyway, my work schedule is as follows: Imperfect Metamorphosis, Swiftly Descending Darkness, Resonance Days, Walpurgis Nights. If you're curious as to which story is being worked on, just check which was the last to update that will tell you.

And just a reminder, the Rumia-centric IM prequel Swiftly Descending Darkness is still going, and I'm pretty proud of it. So give it a look if you haven't already.

Until next time, everyone!