~Dawn of Nightmares~

"Reimu! Reimu, come quick!" screamed Marisa, bursting into the shrine.

Reimu groaned and rubbed her eyes. "Ohh, I was having such a nice dream... What is it?"

"The Four Unseemly Spirits of the Last Word! Someone must've put the Stone of Vindication on the Tsune-Negai Altar and released them!" Marisa explained, shaking Reimu out of her slumber. "We have to do something!"

"The what put the stone of what on the what and we have to do what...?" said Reimu faintly.

"Come on!" Marisa hoiked Reimu up in a bridal carry and ran to her broom. "Yukari's holding them off, but we need as much help as we can get! You'll have to have breakfast later!"

Dark clouds were gathering around Youkai Mountain. Not just the usual grey clouds, these were a swirling, broiling mass of purple, crimson and indigo. Below the clouds, at the highest peak, four glowing figures danced their terrible dance.

"Who are these Unseemly Spirits anyway?" Reimu whispered to Marisa.

"They're bad news. Really bad. I don't know any more, maybe there's a book about them," Marisa whispered back.

At the head of a column of Incident-Resolvers at least a hundred strong, they flew to the peak of Youkai Mountain. Reimu's stomach rumbled all the way.

The spirits broke off their dancing and flew out to meet the approaching army, hovering side by side. One was dressed in red, one in yellow, one in green and one in blue. The air burned in the same colours where it touched them.

"Oh, 'ere comes trouble!" the yellow-clad spirit said, nudging her green sister. "Look, 'undreds of 'em! I was just thinkin' we needed a bit of exercise!"

"Shut up!" The green spirit thumped her on the head. "Listen well, Incident-Resolvers, you stand no chance against the four of us! We are the-"

"The Unseemly Spirits of the Last Word. We know," said Reimu, looking deeply unimpressed. "Whatever you are, you're outnumbered and outspellcarded, so you won't win!"

The yellow spirit scoffed. "What, like 'ow we didn't stand a chance against the most powerful youkai around? That went well for 'er!"

She pointed down at Yukari, who hung unconscious from a tall wooden crucifix with Chen and Ran huddled at her feet. A ripple of horror passed over the Incident-Resolvers.

"We battered her," the red spirit sneered. "With our feet mostly. You know, stomping, that kind of thing... As you do. What I'm trying to say is, you know, we all had a go jumping up and down on her-"

"Aaaargh, SHUT UP!" barked the green spirit. "We annihilated your one-horse gap demon just as we plan to annihilate this pathetic little mountain kingdom of yours! Prepare to die!"

"No!" shouted Sanae, raising her wand. "You prepare to die!" She threw out a barrage of blue stars. The glowing women stood firm (or perhaps floated firm), not even flinching as the bullets burst on their skin.

"That it?" asked the yellow spirit, wearing a satisfied smirk.

Sanae gulped.

"No," said Marisa, "this is! Let 'em have it, ladies!"

With a battle cry loud enough to shake the trees, the ranks of warriors unleashed their strongest spell-cards. Lightning, leaves, fire, icicles, stars, books, dogs, dolls and a million bullets went roaring towards the spirits.

Wisps of emerald smoke curled between the green spirit's fingers. She smiled. "Finally, a real challenge! Destroy them, my sisters!"

As one, the quartet cast their chromatic fire. Howling columns of red, yellow, green and blue blasted through the wall of spell-cards like it was nothing. The flames spread out and churned together in a maelstrom of colour as they advanced.

Some tried to run, some tried to protect themselves, but all the Incident-Resolvers ended up screaming in pain as the fire washed over them. Nitori fell on Chen, squashing her flat. When the fire blew away, only Reimu was still in the air, serene and untouched.

Reimu waved her wand in a slow, dreamlike fashion, sending waves of very real amulets towards the spirits.

Concern creased the red spirit's face. "That's not meant to happen. She- she's still there. Um, was that part of the, er, plan, or something?"

"You can't get her now!" a charred and battered Marisa shouted triumphantly. "That's Fantasy Nature, the technique Reimu uses to win any duel!"

"Pipe down! And you, grow a bloody spine!" the green spirit barked, thumping her red sister again. "It's just one shrine maiden! Try the lightning!"

Sulking a little, the red spirit zapped Reimu with a bolt of lightning. Reimu went rigid and let out a terrible scream, then she fell silent.

Marisa's heart stopped. "Oh, no... Reimu!"

"Oh, yes!" the green spirit crowed. "Not a bad shot, little sis!"

"She's older than you," said the yellow spirit.

"Don't care... Hm?" The green spirit's face darkened. "She's still moving... Idiot! You should've zapped her harder!"

With a groan, Reimu straighened up in the air and faced down her enemies.

"Hit 'er all at once," said the yellow spirit, readying her lighting. "We ain't takin' chances with this one."

Before the spirits could do anything, Reimu was enveloped in golden light. Three vast spheres materialised behind her, bearing symbols of the sun, the moon and a moustache.

"Zap 'er! For Pete's sake, zap 'er!" the yellow spirit cried. Her sisters obeyed, blasting Reimu with their lightning, but it washed over her golden skin and dress like a harmless trickle of water.

"My gods..." breathed Marisa. "A power beyond Fantasy Nature!"

"It's not possible! It's not possible!" the red spirit screamed, clinging to the blue spirit. The blue spirit promptly shoved her away.

Reimu's eyes shone with a vivid pink light, unblinking as she spoke. "Sunlight. Moonlight. Something called 'swift august male impetuousness'. By these sacred energies I am bound to exterminate whoever brings evil to this land, and I refuse to be defeated by the likes of you. I am Shin Hakurei Yumesenshi!"

Reimu advanced on them, burning golden streaks in the air as she twirled her purification rod. The Four Unseemly Spirits of the Last Word shared a worried look.

"Run?" the yellow spirit suggested.

The blue spirit nodded enthusiastically.

"RUN!" the red spirit screamed, grabbing her green-clad sister and cheesing it.

Far to the west, deep inside the Cave of Memory's Shadow, the Tsune-Negai Altar sat surrounded by dripping stalactites. There the culprit behind the Spirits' awakening showed her true face.

"Cir... Cirno?!" cried Reimu. "Why did you put the Stone of Vindication in the Tsune-Negai Altar?!"

"I wanted to see what would happen," said Cirno.

"Well..." Reimu took a deep breath. "Take it out?"

"TAKE IT OUT!" the other ninety-nine Incident-Resolvers chorused.

"Oh, all right..." Cirno grabbed the stone and pulled it out. "I really don't see what the big deal is."