Reimu set Sanae down in the courtyard of the Shrine. Parting her hair, she held her cheek with tenderness. It was cold.
"… I… remember, Reimu."
"We're here, don't talk so much."
Sanae slowly turned her head and opened her eyes. As she looked upon Moriya Shrine, tears began to trickle down her cheeks. "… We made it…"
Turning back to Reimu, she closed her eyes as a faint smile brightened her pale complexion. "Reimu… let me tell you the rest that I remember…"
"…Sanae…"
"I awoke after being knocked unconscious to a horrible sight…"
As she picked herself up off the ground, the mansion was in ruins, bodies lay strewn everywhere, and the cries of the dying filled the air.
"Wha… What is going on…?" As Sanae got to her feet, pain shooting through her battered body, something landed with a wet thud beside her. A mutilated youkai, hardly distinguishable anymore, tumbled to a slow stop. It had a white frilly dress with two thin red ribbons and… a torn… parasol.
"Y-Yukari?!" Sanae gasped as she looked upon the remains of the powerful youkai. "Even you…"
"Guh!" Another body sailed through the air and out into the courtyard.
Demonic growls and yells shook what was left of the destroyed mansion.
Yuyuko and Youmu were running away from the fighting and called out to Sanae. They were both badly injured.
"Sanae! We have to get out of here!"
"Youmu! Yuyuko! What's going on?"
"No time, let's go-"
Another demonic cry shook the earth and pierced the air.
"Ahh!" Sanae clasped her hands over her ears and grimaced in pain.
"Let's go!" yelled Youmu. It seemed as if Yuyuko could not speak anymore. A glaze covered her eyes, life seeming to be gone.
Once they escaped the ruined mansion and made it out to the courtyard, Sanae was finally able to see the extent of the destruction.
Bodies lay everywhere, the sky was stained blood-red, and the earth scorched. The corpses of friends, youkai and human alike, covered the landscape.
Sanae felt tears run down her face as she ran between the dead, hoping desperately for life. Nitori, Byakuren, Okuu, Satori, Reisen, Meiling, Cirno, Nue, Miko, Tenshi, Alice, Letty, the Prismriver Sisters, and even Kaguya and Mokou-their bodies shriveled and torn from blood loss and violence, were among the dead.
Reimu was lying on the ground next to Marisa. Sanae hurriedly checked to see if they were still alive. Marisa was already… but Reimu had only been knocked unconscious. She didn't appear to have any serious wounds and must have been thrown out of the mansion earlier.
Youmu was supporting Yuyuko and helping her get as far from the mansion as possible. Sanae grabbed Reimu and slowly lifted her to her feet, proceeding to follow suit.
A battle was raging in the sky above the mansion. Two small figures were clashing with one taller foe; power emanating from the battle with such intensity that normal youkai would have been obliterated instantly if they were exposed to any of it.
All of a sudden one of the smaller figures hurtled down towards the ground in a ball of flame. It was headed straight for Youmu and Yuyuko.
As Sanae cried out, the last she saw of Youmu turning with a blank look disappeared in a fiery explosion. She was knocked back and fell to the ground with Reimu.
"Flandre! Nooo!" The voice of Remilia cried out in angst from the battle above, now one on one. "Damn You! How can you be so strong now?"
The demon replied calmly. "I once called you master, coming in an instant at your beck and call. I loved you and thought that if anything happened, you would be there for me. But you weren't."
"I told you! We tried everything, but it was too late. All that we could do was put off the inevitable... and now…"
"Remilia… the medicine didn't work and now… every single servant of yours is dead. Including your own sister."
"…"
"You understand what this means."
Remilia was silent for a moment longer before she spoke. "…yes. I know. But… I…"
"Remilia. This is the end. The end of everything. The end of Gensokyo."
A tear ran down her cheek and dropped onto Gungnir. "For these crimes against my house and of Gensokyo itself… I must take action against you. For these crimes, you shall die and be erased from history so a tragedy of this scale can never occur again."
"Taking the place of that judge I see. Naturally, since I killed her too."
Remilia pointed Gungnir at her foe. "Enough talk."
"Hm hm, you're right. Let's finish this."
"… For this day to have come… prepare yourself!"
"Die Remilia Scarlet!"
"Sakuyaaa!"
They clashed for the final time, master and servant, in a battle that decided the fate of Gensokyo. A great white light exploded from them, blowing Sanae and Reimu away. Sanae was impaled against a tree through her abdomen, the pain and force nearly knocking her unconscious. Reimu was thrown beside her, but landed safely.
Sanae could see Remilia and Sakuya on the ground. They were locked in a struggle.
"… Remilia… I am sorry."
"S-Sakuya?!"
"I don't have much time left, but it's enough for you to end this."
"How…?"
"I've always been here, waiting for a chance when I could overcome Dracula's control. But I don't have long before…"
She grimaced in pain as her power weakened.
"! Sakuya!"
"Remilia… master… please do it… finish this… for me…"
"Sakuya… I love you so much."
"Yes M'lady. I… too."
Sakuya closed her eyes and let go of Remilia, waiting for the final blow.
"Sakuya… when I drive this stake into your heart, we're both going to die. The power inside of you that will be released will destroy me as well."
A tear ran down Sakuya's face. "M'lady, then let us go together…"
Remilia grasped the wooden stake tightly and fought back tears. "Then…this is it! Sakuya!"
"… M'lady…"
As the stake pierced her heart, Sakuya's eyes opened and she looked upon Remilia. Holding each other tightly for the last time, both Sakuya and Remilia disappeared in a great white light.
Sanae passed out as the light enveloped everything.
Reimu sat beside the dying Sanae.
"… that's it…"
"Sanae…"
A moment lingered for a long time before the dying girl reached up and removed her hairpiece. "Reimu… take this… It will guide you to where you need to go…"
Reimu took the hairpiece and held it in her hand. The cute frog design was Sanae's special ornament, given to her the day she met Suwako and Kanako.
"Are you sure?"
"… I don't have… much time left. Soon… I will join… Lady Suwako and Lady Kanako…" Her eyes looked to the sky.
Reimu fought back the tears. Even if she was her adversary, this… this…
"…Sanae…"
"I'm done. Good…bye… Reimu…"
Sanae's breathing slowly stopped and she lay still. Her eyes gazed towards the sky, a look of contentment frozen on her face.
"… Sanae…" She couldn't stop them. The tears came, flowing down her cheeks and onto the hair piece. Reimu wept, the weight of losing everyone finally sinking in. She wept, and wept, and wept.
Sanae's body began to dematerialize and transformed into flower petals.
Reimu wiped away her tears and watched as her adversary, no, her friend, was blown into the sky. She could almost see her with Suwako and Kanako up above as the wind swept the petals away.
"…Sanae… What now?" Reimu held the hairpiece in her hand.
She could fell Gensokyo beginning to disappear. The power and life of the youkai extinguished, there was nothing holding it together anymore.
It was over. All the tears shed here… lost forever. Reimu looked at the hairpiece again.
Suddenly, it began to glow.
"Wha-What?!"
Power emanated from it and enveloped her. As she looked around in surprise, Gensokyo began to fade away. The scorched trees, barren earth, and Moriya Shrine, began to fade into nothingness.
"What's going on? Ah!" As everything faded away, Reimu was being blinded by the light coming from the hairpiece. She was able to see Moriya Shrine fading away before her own consciousness disappeared.
"BZZZZ! BZZZZ!"
A piercing sound woke the girl from her slumber.
"Ah! Oh…"
She looked around and realized she was at home in her bed. The alarm clock was going off.
"Geez…"
Getting up, she smacked the clock, shutting it off, and began to tidy up.
"Just another day at school…" she thought.
But then something hit her. She looked in the mirror at herself, a wave of memories coming back.
"No… I…"
Opening a drawer, she pulled out her favorite hairpiece. It had a cute frog design on it.
"Wait a minute… Sanae!"
Everything came rushing back. Her memories of Gensokyo returned.
"My name… is… Reimu. Hakurei Reimu…"
As she remembered, a knock came from downstairs. Hurrying down, she opened the door and gasped in surprise.
"Hey Reimu! Are you ready to yet?"
"S-S-Sanae!"
The green miko stood in front of her, alive and well, but she was dressed in a school uniform.
"Uh…yeah. It's me. Are you okay Reimu?"
Reimu couldn't believe it. "Y-Yeah. Sorry. I had a… a crazy dream last night."
"Oh? Was I in it?"
"…yeah. Everybody was."
As Reimu said this, she felt the knowledge of a new world take hold in her. She knew everything about this place as if she had lived here all her life.
She lived on Earth, in a place called Japan, in the city of Tokyo. She was a high school student.
Reimu understood everything about this world. What Sanae had said in Gensokyo…
"Reimu… you finally remembered, didn't you?"
Reimu was taken aback. "You remember too?"
Sanae smiled warmly. "I was really scared back then that we would never see each other again. But everyone is really here."
Reimu felt a tear run down her cheek. "But how?"
Sanae reached out and wiped the tear away. "Remember? The Human World was always connected to Gensokyo."
Sanae twirled around and pointed outside. "And this is the Human World!"
"Did you know anything when you got here?"
She shook her head. "We were like you. We knew how to live here instinctively, but our memoires of Gensokyo slowly came back. Y'know, you're the last one to remember."
"How long has it been?"
"We've all been here for just a week. But it's as if we already existed in this world while we existed in Gensokyo."
Reimu smiled happily. The Human World. Of course we would come here.
"Anyway, hurry up and get dressed already! We're gonna be late!"
Reimu realized that it was Monday and quickly ran back upstairs. She put on her uniform and brushed her hair, grabbing the frog hairpiece and her schoolbag before heading downstairs again.
"Here, it's yours."
Sanae saw the hairpiece and took it from Reimu. "With this, we've all come back together now." She put it in her hair. "C'mon, let's go. I'll tell you more along the way."
"Okay."
They began towards school, passing people and other students. Once in a while, Reimu saw a familiar face ahead of them.
A question nagged at her. "Hey, Sanae?"
"Yes, Reimu?"
"Can we… can we still use magic? Like in Gensokyo?"
"Gensokyo has become a part of this world."
"Um…"
"Which means, yes. Everything you could do then, you can do now."
"Really?" Reimu began to hover, but Sanae stopped her one inch off the ground.
"Idiot! We have to hide our powers here. The humans here aren't the same as the ones in Gensokyo."
"Oh, okay."
"But don't worry, all your powers are still here. Of interesting note, do you remember Nue?"
"Well, yes."
"She's been flying around recklessly. The humans have been trying to catch her and they call her a UFO."
"Ah, haha."
"When we get to school, you'll see everyone."
"But, will I ever get a chance to use my power again?"
Sanae nodded. "At night, the monsters and evil youkai reappear in the city. That is the time when we must perform our sacred duties. But aside from that, we have a special club at school we started. It's a club that secretly allows us to use magic and stuff."
Reimu happily nodded as she listened. There was so much to see and do now that she remembered everything.
As they got through the main gate, Reimu nearly cried. Gathered in front of her and all around were the inhabitants of Gensokyo. Even Remilia and Sakuya were there. She saw many familiar faces, but today was different.
Sanae explained everything to everyone and a feeling of camaraderie that seemed to have died with Gensokyo floated in the air. Reimu happily laughed with everyone as they went to class. This place was to be their new Gensokyo.