This is the Cirno News Network with a breaking news story. Again from our intrepid reporters in Detroit City, there have been rumors of various hauntings within many parts of the old city. Nowadays mostly occupied by the destitute that still cling to the city, instead of moving towards the new city or towards the countryside, many various parlors where once the wine and liquor flowed are said to have been visited by something out of this world. However, we call into doubt these claims, as the various reports are due in from residents who let the beer and whiskey flow themselves. More on this if anything reliable develops.

Thank you, and enjoy the show. This has been THE STRONGEST! Now back to your irregularly scheduled fic.

Touhoumon: Gray Version

Chapter 10: Lunatic Asylum

Our detainment continued on for quite a long time, the minutes ticking by as we were held at gunpoint, not giving us the slightest chance to leave. Eventually, the crowd of rabbits in front of us parted as two more walked through.

At least, it appeared to be two more. Instead, it was merely one rabbit following behind a woman who simply looked human. While I merely glanced at her in confusion, the invectives that Nitori released at the sight of her made me worry a great deal. Said human, or at least I presumed, walked up to his, before staring down at us.

A small smirk graced her face as did as such. Chuckling under her breath, she pulled a fan out of her pocket and raised it to her face. "My, now isn't this such a surprise… Two humans and two youkai, making it all this way? I wonder why they did as such…" Turning to her rabbit companion, she softly asked, "Reisen… Please go through their pockets. Maybe we can find out why they are here."

The tall rabbit stepped forward, kneeling down beside each of us in turn, divesting us of every possession we had. After going through our backpacks, shocking herself on something in Nitori's, she finally made her way to mine. Digging through the various pieces of equipment and food I still had within, she let out a soft gasp.

The next thing I knew, a small sack filled with six balls was being removed from me, and handed over to the possible human somewhat reluctantly.

She peered inside the sack, before her grin spread even wider. "Most interesting." One of her fingers trailed down into it, before she pulled it back out as if she had been burned. "If that is the case… Reisen, take the youkai to their cells. Pay special attention to the kappa. Do the same with the female. As for the male human… I wish to have words with him."

Before she had even finished my sister and my friends were grabbed under the armpits and frog-marched away at gunpoint. Instinctively, I tried to rise to my feet, but cold steel against the barrel of my neck reminded me of the position I was in. I felt my hands begin to shake as they were taken away, until I could just barely see that red headwing peeking over the tops of the crow, before it too disappeared.

The girl just shook her head and spoke in that odd tongue to the rabbit behind me. With a grunt, said rabbit poked me in the small of the back with his rifle, forcing me to my feet. After a few more prods, and I found myself marching forward, following after the girl with the fan.

We passed in silence as we marched along the streets, shining softly with that same glow that the base had been constructed out of. The structures around us were just as foreign, even if they were older… Most were made of an odd wood, from what I could tell. Nothing like that grew on Earth. A quick glance upward reminded me that I wasn't quite on my home planet anymore.

Eventually, I found myself being lead to a boardwalk, stretching out past the cityscape and over a calm sea. Suddenly, the girl stopped, nearly causing me to run into her. With another bark of moonspeak, the guards behind me stiffened, and stepped away. It was one small relief as the barrel of the weapon was removed from my neck.

I waited for the girl to say something, but she seemed content to just stare across the water, fingers playing with the bag. Eventually, she looked back at me, folding her fan back into place. "So? Are you going to say anything?

With a quick shake of my head, I gave her my answer. At that, she snorted. "How appropriate. A pitiful human manages to make his way into my city, and he doesn't even have a reason for it. Tell me, now, why go to such lengths? I'd love to hear the explanation that you'd attempt to give me…"

I snorted, and looked away. "It's nothing too convoluted. I'm just looking for the ones responsible for the deaths of my parents."

At that, she raised one of eyebrows. "I still don't quite follow how that brings you here, exactly…" With a grand sigh, she turned to the edge of the boardwalk and leaned over the rail. "I'm not psychic, after all. At least, not with humans… There's no mountain and sea to bend in your mind, after all."

Not taking one step to follow her, I shook my head. "The factories, where the humans had their souls extracted. I search for the one that is responsible."

A light of recognition flickered in her eyes as she smiled. "Ah, so you're a survivor? Interesting… Our pets must be getting sloppy." With a glance at her bag, the grin widened. "Or perhaps there is another reason. Do tell how you got your hands on these."

"My father bought them. At a store." The honest to goodness truth, and not one lick of any useful information. Not that I knew any more than that. "Are you saying that those humans that work for you are your pets?"

Annoyed at my dodge, my own question sent her off laughing. "Oh, no! Of course not. The best word that you might have for it is employee, but that is assuming we intend to pay them when they've done their duty." She gave me a cold smile, sending chills down my spine. "Not, the pets I refer to are the clones. Quite lovely little creatures, aren't they?"

She must mean the monsters by that. But, don't they belong to the humans who capture them? "How can that be? Don't they only follow the orders of the ones who… use the balls on them?" I suppose catch them would work there, but it just didn't want to roll off my tongue.

She clucked her tongue at my assumption. "Hardly. But then again, you know so little… Just as humans should know little."

This was starting to get somewhat grating. Clenching my fists, I took a step towards her. "Well, perhaps you'd like to fill this human in a bit. Perhaps then he could understand."

The girl raised a finger to her lips, seeming to think over it for a moment. But just as quickly she dropped it, shaking her head exaggeratedly. "I don't think I will. Not yet, at least. I suppose I can give you a bit of leniency, as you seem to be one of the more progressive humans I've met." At her words, she began to fiddle with the bag again.

There was something about that tone of voice that made me want to ask, "…What do you mean by that?"

"Just by how you're already adapting to the changing times. When the Moon sweeps down upon the Earth, and overtakes its pitiful residents, everything will change for you." Her grin widened as she spoke. "Every one of them will be below those that are their betters. Below Lunarians. I'm merely glad to see that there are some humans that are attempting to earn themselves a higher position in the brave new world yet to come."

At least that answered what the girl was. Still, if I'm understanding her right… "You're planning to invade the planet?"

She clapped her hands together, dancing from one foot to the next. "Yes, the human does understand. Perhaps this one has some mental capacity, after all. More than it takes to fling poo." With a flourish of her fan, she continued, her singsong voice beginning to mock me. "After all, why shouldn't we? You've regressed centuries in so long, and lost so many. It's ripe for the picking, like a fresh peach."

I growled once, before looking down, holding my forehead in my hand. "But there has to be a reason… More than that there."

"Of course there is! But I've told enough as it is. After all, you are as much a pet owner as I am. I feel that some courtesy must be extended, after all."

A hiss passed from my lips at the implied insult. "Tokiko is not some sort of pet! She's-"

"What? They're not free, and they belong to you. Just as both of my little Reisen's belong to me." Finally, she let the laughter drop to the voice as her eyes flashed. "Then again, there might be another word that is better, and that you're familiar with, human. Tell me, are your slaves treating you well?"

"Why, you…" I took another few steps closer, until she raised the fan towards me. "It's nothing like that! Not in the slightest!"

"Really, is it? Then what are they? They're bound to you just as well as if they had collars, and a rope in your hands." She darted around behind me, whispers floating on the still air. "Why else would she follow your every order, even if it's something that she would otherwise refuse?"

My eyes widened as I spun around. "It's-"

"Because you refuse to admit it?" She disappeared again, appearing on the side of the boardwalk, perched on the edge. "Conviction like that is rare. I know when we offered them to our human employees that it did not take them long to jump at the chance. Having a creature forced to do all your bidding for you? It must be terrible…" Her face cracked at that. "Sorry; even I can't keep a straight face."

Once more she vanished, only to appear behind me once again, soft breath hitting the nape of my neck. "You mean to tell me that you haven't been tempted? All it would take is one word, and down on her knees she would be."

Immediately, I threw my head back in an attempt to hit her, but she dodged out of the way too quickly for me to be successful. "I would never do such a thing. She's my friend, not a belonging."

"Really? Then what of the other youkai? Is she a belonging, and only the first one special?" The lunarian stopped in front of me, smile still on her face. "But I believe you've enough to think on right now. Perhaps after the invasion, I'll give you to some noble, along with the rest of your slaves. After all, it would be the best way to treat such a forward-thinking human…"

As she walked past me, she whispered softly enough that only I could hear it. "Perhaps I'll keep all of you for myself. That would be fun, yes?" At that, she dropped the bag in my hands and kept walking. "Just keep that as a reminder of what I said."

My fury simmered as she walked away, wishing that I were able to bore a hole in the girl's back. But I could do nothing as the guards returned and grabbed me by the arm, marching me away to a containment cell. But as I made my way through the shining streets, I couldn't help but let the doubt creep through my mind.

The cell that I was tossed in was oddly spacious, considering what I knew of the jails back at home. However large it was, though, I found my eyes slipping, searching for any one point to concentrate on. They eventually slid over the featureless room until I found two familiar forms sitting on floor at the end of the room.

I gave a sigh of relief as I moved to check on them both, making sure they hadn't been injured. My sister had no injuries that were apparent, and she waved me off as she stared back at the entrance. With a sigh, I moved on to my little birdie, who was also staring listlessly at nothing in particular.

Kneeling by her, I raised a hand to place on her shoulder. But, the words of the lunarian still on my mind, I staid my hand. What if even touching her… I had to shake my head to stop the thought, for I didn't want to go down that road. Softly, I did my best to ask, "Tokiko, are you ok? Where's Nitori?"

For a few seconds I thought that she never heard me as she continued to stare out the door. However, before I attempted to ask again, she replied. "Yeah, I suppose. As good as being locked up can be." She blinked and angled her head towards me. "She was separated from us. Probably locking her up in a place she can't get out of."

I sighed, and dropped m hand into my heads. "We bit off more than we could chew, and now we're paying the price. And things are even worse than I expected."

Sighing, she gazed back up at the ceiling. "What now? Are they going to come and shoot us at dawn?" A snort passed her lips as her headwing fluttered from side to side. "I've had them trying to for long enough…"

"No. We'll probably be given to some noble as a pet." I neglected to mention exactly which one of them was interested in it. "But that's not the worst part. From what I can tell, they are the ones behind everything that's happened, and are planning to take over the planet."

Joy took that moment to say, "Great. That sounds somewhat ridiculous." As the word left her mouth, she chuckled lightly and shook her head. "But here we are on the Moon, apparently. And being held prisoner by rabbits. I think the situation has gotten ridiculous enough."

"It has." Tokiko still stared at the ceiling, idly waving her headwing around. "But I don't see the difference. Either way, I'm bound to somebody. So, I don't see the big deal."

"Tokiko… " I fell from where I was sitting, placing myself instead on the ground next to her. "Don't be like that, please. I'll get you out of this. I promised you, didn't I?"

Looking back down, she tilted her head, judging me. I felt myself begin to shiver at the gaze. It had been so long since she had looked at me so coldly. However, her lips did eventually turn up, just the slightest. "You did, didn't you. Not that a promise can get us out of this cell."

"I know. But we'll think of something."

Finally having gotten her out of her stupor, the three of us began to share all that we knew. The two hadn't seen anything in particular, as all of the halls seemed identical to them. But I had plenty to share from earlier.

The biggest question at the moment was why did she give them back? If they were the ones behind the capturing of the various monsters, then why did she simply not take them from me? That would have been my two youkai on her side.

It didn't take very long for a slot in the door to open, and a tray to slide in with some food. At least, I supposed it was. Whoever was in charge of feeding us had apparently decided we needed more than gruel, and had actually delivered meat. If one could call odd worm-shaped things meat.

Feeling my stomach churn, I handed off the bowl to Tokiko, who began to slurp down the contents happily. Settling with a piece of bread, I spotted something lining the bottom of the tray. An old newspaper, talking about the mobilization plans.

Realizing what was written on the paper, I yanked it out from beneath the rest of the food, my eyes scanning the page. After the first three times I glanced over it, I sighed and shook my head. There was no indication of any particulars that I needed to know. The whole thing was a bunch of propaganda about how the lunarians would drive the drivel on the surface of the Earth into the sea, so that they may set up shining cities across the globe for all their people to live in. Wit ha shrug, I handed it off to sister, hoping that perhaps she might have more luck then I did in finding useful information.

Before I could take a sip of the stale water, I felt a tap on my shoulder blades. Looking back, I saw sister standing there, holding the paper towards me. "Gray. You say that you can read this?"

Well, I never quite said that much, but I could. Shrugging, I replied, "Yes. Why do you ask? I was hoping you might find-"

"So, when are you going to explain to me how you learned to read a foreign language?" She gave me no time to think as she continued. "You did the same thing earlier, at the base. You could tell what every room lead to, when we only saw scratches."

Staring at her, I slowly shook my head. "I've no idea. It only looked like English to me."

"Hrm." Showing it to Tokiko, she asked, "Tokiko, can you read this paper?"

"Mrph!" Swallowing her food, she explained. "Yeah, I can. It's an old form of Japanese kanji… Or it may have been one point. A lot of it looks not quite right."

"And yet, you can read it?"

A quick nod was what she received as Tokiko grabbed another bowl. "Naturally. I've not got any great powers, like most youkai have. I can just read anything that I want to. It does help when I find a book that's not in my native tongue."

Even I could follow where sister was going with this argument. "You're saying that I can read other languages now since Tokiko can?"

Sister tapped her lips, eyes switching from one to another. "That is exactly what I am arguing. After all, you two are bound together, are you not?" She glanced down at the sack by my side. "And those things are obviously magic, so there's nothing that can disprove it. But on that note… I want you to try something."

Rising to my feet, I asked, "What, exactly?"

I felt the hairs on my neck raise as she grinned. "Punch the door."

"You've got to be kidding me. I couldn't be that-" And that was the key thing. I wasn't strong enough. But whom did we know that could pull trains with her bare hands? "Nitori is, though. So, perhaps…" Glancing at Tokiko, who had finished eating and also stood up, watching me intently, I shrugged. "Oh well. What's the worst that can happen?"

With that thought in mind, I pulled back my fist, and launched it into the door. Said door did not budge one inch, and I nearly had to bite my tongue from crying out at the spike of pain that surged through my fingers.

Waving my hand to and fro, I looked back at sister. "I don't think that worked particularly well." As if that wasn't obvious enough.

She just shook her head, face falling into her perpetual frown. "Not quite that way. Nitori doesn't crush anything with an errant twitch, so there might be more to it. Try again."

Sighing, whispering an apology to my hand, I tried once more. But still the effect was the same. Behind me, sister began to whisper to me. "Just remember, if we can't get out, we won't be able to pay them back for what they did to mom and dad. Pay them back for all they've done to us, and plan to do."

My eyes narrowed, but still, the door wouldn't budge, no matter how hard my bloody fists slammed into the metal structure. After a few more tries, I let my hands fall to my sides, trying to ignore the screeching pain that was enveloping them.

Sister, however, didn't seem to be finished. One last whisper came, from right behind me. "You won't be able to keep your promise."

I stilled, my heart seemingly stopping for a moment as that thought process. With a guttural growl, I once more threw my fist at the door, bidding it to move or I would move it. And this time, the door gave way.

It wasn't that large of a dent, but it was progress. Sucking in some air, I continued my fight against an inanimate object, and began to win as it kept buckling Slowly but sure, gaps began to appear about where it met the wall, until the metal screeched with one last punch and fell to the floor.

Standing there, huffing quietly, I turned back to sister and glowered. "That was low right there." A fleeting thought in my mind was to visit upon her what I had just given the door, but that madness was quickly driven from my head.

However, any anger that I had slid off Joy as if she were ice. "Good, then. We need to get out of here, and the sooner, the better." Still, as she walked past me and out of the cell. I swore that I saw the ghost of a smile. "How easily we are replaced…"

Moving to exit from the cell, I turned back to Tokiko, who was still standing there. Offering her my hand, I asked, "Are you coming?"

She snapped out of whatever trance we had been and tittered, wings fluttering by her side. 'I-I suppose. Let's go find Nitori." Taking the offered hand, we began to make our way out of the hall, right behind sister.

Oddly enough, there were no guards that we came across for the first hallway. Turning at the first intersection, we began to pick up the pace, afraid that we would be found out. Our fears were founded, as at the end of the hallway, a tall rabbit appeared. Spotting us, it said something to someone at its side, before running straight at us.

Letting Tokiko go, I dug my hand into the wall, pulling out a small chunk of metal. I don't think that I could be quite as accurate as I am with one of the balls, but it was good enough for me. Once she was in good throwing distance, I pulled back and lit it rip. At the same time, Tokiko was summoning what magic she had, sending it straight towards the rabbit.

Amazingly enough, the rabbit danced around every shot as if it were as easy as breathing. Nothing came close as she leapt into the air and spun about, never losing her speed as she came close. Oddly enough, she had no weapon, and she was not raising her finger in order to return fire with her own magic. Not questioning our good fortune, I dug into the ground once more in an attempt to take her down.

Before I could, though, she was upon us. Sister could do little more than watch carefully as we stood in a stalemate. Both Tokiko and I were ready for a second barrage, assuming we could hit the rabbit. Before we could say anything, though, she spoke. "Please, stop. I'm here to help you."

Eying her carefully, I asked, "Alright, that's nice… How can I believe you, though?"

She sighed, her eyes and ears darting around, searching for anything nearby. "You can't. But to be quick about it, I am Reisen Udongein Inaba, the former, former pet of two of the three Watatsuki sisters, Toyohime and Yorihime. I returned to the Moon on the behest of Eiren Yagokoro to keep an eye on their plans. I can't explain much more, but we need to move. You'll just have to trust me."

I sighed, as the names flew over my head. "I don't know who any of them are… But I suppose that lunarian from earlier is one of them. Still, how do we know you're not leading us into a trap? And where is our other friend?"

"At the moment? Carrying all of your crap." Behind the rabbit, a kappa finally caught up to her and forced her way past her, lugging a few familiar items in her arms. "Not that it's that much, but I don't exactly have room in my backpack for much more."

The only thing I could do at first was to blink, before laughing to myself. I suppose that's one way to do it. Good to see you Nitori."

"Good to see you too, I suppose. Even if it's your fault for us being in here." At this, she shot me a smug grin. "I could have simply busted down the halls, after all."

I couldn't help the burning that began to spread in my ears. Rubbing the back of my neck, I replied, "True. But then, we wouldn't exactly know what we needed to worry about. We didn't come into this expecting to be fighting an entire army."

At that, the rabbit frowned. "That would be especially foolhardy. The Lunar Defense Corps has been training for the past decade and a half. They are prepared to fight the humans now. It's only been because of my efforts, along with Yorihime's reluctance, that has prevented the attack from already happening."

Looking at Nitori, I waited for her to tell me whether or not she really did think we could trust her. At the slow nod, I sighed. "Fine, we'll follow your lead. But could you explain to us what's been going on?"

"I can, yes." She glanced at Nitori, still holding everything. "You might want to get your stuff, though. Things might be a bit dicey until we reach the vault."

As she spoke, Nitori offered to me my old shotgun. Ruefully, I took it, checking every inch of it for damage. Finding none, I took the offered pouch and began to slide shells back into the magazine, before also putting one in the chamber. Noticing the complete lack of any pack, I asked, "Didn't want to bring the packs along?"

She shook her head at that as she handed sister her knife and Tokiko her one book. "No. They stank pretty badly with that garbage they had been in. It's probably what let the rabbits find us earlier." Suddenly, she grinned. "We did set them up just in case we need a… diversion."

Reisen shook her head at that. "But did you have to force the Udonge trees to go through that? Even if they are supposed to detect impurity… perhaps that is a bit much?"

I think I answered for all of us when I said, "Nah." Retrieving my coin purse from Nitori and dropping it in my pocket, I took hold of the sack in one hand and the shotgun in the other. "But let's get going now, shall we?"

Receiving affirmation from everyone, Reisen began to walk back the way she came, ears darting to and fro as she attempted to hear anyone coming. "By the way… How did you manage to get out of the cell?"

That would be a fun answer to give right there. But before I could reply, I heard Tokiko say, somewhat smugly, "He punched it down, with his bare hands."

That got the rabbit's attention, making her stumble as we neared the corner. "H-how? The doors on the cells are made of lunar steel. They should be impenetrable to most species of youkai, much less humans."

Not really wanting to give the real answer, I shrugged. "Perhaps you need to get new doors, then." But even though that flippant statement seemed to satisfy the rattled rabbit, Nitori still watched me with a keen eye, before shrugging it off and following the rabbit.

As we made our way through the complex, Reisen eventually calmed down and began to explain. "It began after the cleansing, as it is called up here. The leaders of the Moon started to debate over whether we could claim a piece of the Earth itself for their own. While the moon is not getting crowded, there was a desire to show the humans who really is in charge. Most everyone still remembers the Lunar War, when humanity attacked us."

This was certainly fantastical, but I suppose I could clarify later. We needed to know what was happening now. "But what is their plan? Why have they gone through all that effort? The factories, the balls… All of it?"

Looking away, the rabbit's ears drooped for the first time. "Those were all suggestions that I made. Or rather, suggestions that grew from the ones I gave. As the de facto voice of Eiren, even though the two Watatsuki's here have me as their pet, I was a voice of caution. We both know that the humans would put up a long, drawn out fight. And even if our loyalty is to the moon first and foremost, we know that a fight against the humans was going to be long and drawn out."

Quickly continuing as we stared at her, she explained. "It was twofold, really. Once it became apparent how many clones were in existence, they saw it as a new resource to take advantage of. So, they created the balls, as you call them. They are miniaturized portal devices, partly made of Earth, and partly of Moon. As Toyohime, among others, can bridge the gap between the two, they were able to send clones from one to the other… Of course, that was after they were bound to serve the moon."

At that, I had to stop her spiel, even as she frantically pulled us down another corridor. "So, you're saying that every monster that has been taken away by the balls has been straight to the moon? To be used as…?"

"Shock troops, terror weapon… Whatever is necessary. It saves lunar lives, and it kills the impure. They couldn't resist it." Finally, we exited the building as she said, "It doesn't hurt that you're practically paying them to do the job."

I glanced at sister, just shaking my head the whole time. "Fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. So, the whole thing with the factories was…?"

"A distraction. Some of the clones are not particularly useful in combat. The human ones, especially. So, they were to be used in… Other ways." Reisen glanced back at us, before looking about the street. "We should need that distraction about now, Nitori."

Mouth set in a thin line, the kappa reached into her pocket and fingered a switch. After a few sparse moments, a crack echoed across the distance, flashing high in the sky. The slightest smirk graced her face at the results. "Good. That should keep them occupied for a while."

We waited for a few moments, hiding in the shadows as rabbits ran in every direction, along with the occasional lunarian. Once the streets finally became chaotic enough, we made our move. Dashing across the stereo, we made our way through an alleyway, and then another, never stopping the whole time. Eventually, we made our way towards a rather impressive building, standing nearly two or three stories above every other one. The doors on the front seemed to be polished metal, even as they shined with that ubiquitous glow all the same.

Once checking to make sure there were no soldiers in sight, we slipped inside the building, cracking open the tall doors just enough to make it through. The interior of the building was oddly dark, having none of the glow that we had become accustomed too. As my eyes adjusted, I felt Tokiko grabbing me and pulling me along, as Nitori did the same for my sister. Neither of the two, nor Reisen, seemed to have much trouble with the dark.

"As I was saying…" The voice echoed loudly in the quiet room, causing her to raise her hands to her mouth and speaking even more quietly. "As I was saying, those factories that you are referring to were an idea provided by Toyohime after a… suggestion by me."

Realization hitting me, I shot forward, grabbing the rabbit by the shirt and lifting her into the air. "It was your fault?"

"Quiet!" Hissing at me, her fast speech began to run together as she tried to explain herself. "It'snotasifI wanted to dothat. Buttheyweregettingreadyto start the invasion. I had todosomething to slow them down, somethinganythingIdidn'tcare." Her pleading eyes sought mine, and I felt the back of my mind twist, causing me to drop her. Even though she was free, she did not scurry away. Ears still twitching, she kept speaking. "Alwayshadtomake hard decisions. Eitherwaypeopledie, nochoice, nochoice. Hadtomakechoice to save most… Choicethatgivesyourplanet a chance."

I snorted, watching her closely. "And why would I believe any of that? Why would you go out of your way to help us?"

Not meeting me in the eyes, she looked over my shoulder. "I left the corps myself for a reason. I couldn't quite handle what decisions I've had to make. And to be perfectly frank, I'd rather be down on Earth with Dr. Yagokoro making medicine than be here, but I don't have the luxury of picking my fights." With that, she walked past us, into a side wing.

Following her, I heard the door shut behind me, cutting off all light. I immediately unslung my gun in case the worst was to happen. Lights immediately sprang into life above us, seemingly unnatural compared to all of the others we had seen here. Behind us, she remarked, "This is your way off the moon. One that isn't guarded or disconnected."

Turning to look at the middle of the room, I heard my sister nearly scoff. Wondering what it was she nearly was laughing over, I found my own eyes widening incredulously at the sight before us.

An enormous train stood before us, gleaming brass on jet black.

Shaking my head, I wondered how exactly we could take this train back to Earth, much less why it was even on the moon in the first place. I couldn't quite see any railways, and the whole idea of a steam locomotive just seemed out of place from what I've seen.

I didn't even bother to voice my skepticism, as I began to walk back down the train. Nitori was busy arguing with Reisen over something, but I didn't pay attention to it as they spoke.

Looking at the train, it was a wonder it even existed. Each side had twelve drive wheels, far as I could tell, with each set of three powered by their own piston. And for that matter, each wheel was at least eight feet tall. Not that I could have an accurate measurement at the moment. Still, the entire thing was enormous, with the top of the boiler at least twenty-five feet above the ground.

The strangest thing was how clean the engine look. I suppose that since I was used to older engines that were kept running constantly, patched only as necessary, but this one had clean lines. Not a single pipe had an ugly patch, or a bypass bolted to it. The pistons were amazingly simple too, not a great complicated mess. Again, odd, since this should be a relatively new steam engine, so why doesn't it have the more complicated pistons?

But it was a very good looking train overall. Even the rivets, instead of looking like a rough, rusty joiner used to hold the parts together, were in good enough shape to actually stand out, with their edges rimmed with brass. Whoever built this seemed to have done it out of love as much as anything, as she was quite the good looking train. Eyes slipping over the bell, I couldn't help but think that she was mighty tall and handsome.

"Wait a tic." It couldn't be… Not by a long shot. That was a legend. It couldn't exist. "But youkai don't exist either…" Not waiting one more moment, I took off towards the rear of the train proper, finally approaching the cab of the train. As I looked up at the driver's window, I sought out the name of the train, in case it had one. And once I saw it, I couldn't help but to burst out laughing. "Sister! Come here! You have to see this…"

At my words, she came running over, forgoing her typical gliding movement for the sake of speed. As she came closer, she asked, "What is it, brother?"

Giving her an odd grin, I couldn't help but shake my head as I spoke. "Would you say that this train is might tall and handsome? And I'll have you know that she's known quite well by all."

Sister gazed at me for a moment, before her eyes widened. "You're kidding me…"

Nearly chuckling again, I kept talking, voice nearly breaking into song. "You might say, she's a regular combination…" Pointing at the nameplate, I finally answered. "Of the Wabash Cannonball."

Tokiko was fluttering about the train as she took in every inch of it, not quite believing that one of the legends she had read about in her book was sitting right before her eyes. To be honest, I could barely believe it myself. But I suppose it did make sense. A legendary train that jumped into space after arriving at its destination before it left? That might be a bit exaggerated, but here it was, sitting in front of us.

Our resident kappa had immediately set up shop in the cab, analyzing each and every valve imaginable. I wouldn't have the slightest clue how to operate it, but she seemed quite at home testing each and every switch and lever. The only one that seemed important to myself at the moment was the one that pointed to our four stops along its main line. Detroit, Dublin, Moscow, and Sydney. It was quite a ways from home, but that destination should be fine. Besides, we still need to warn people of what was coming… Perhaps that city would have the ability to spread the word, at least by the newspaper.

The only problem was that there was no coal to burn. Nor was there any wood readily available in this stone building. What little there was in artifacts would not have been able to power it to any degree. However, the kappa did have her own solution.

"It's quite simple. Remember what I did to catch you from your fall?" As she explained, I just nodded, waiting for her to get to the point. "Since I can manipulate water, it's no trouble to fill up the tender and boiler. But since we don't have enough fuel…" Placing her hand on the boiler, she closed her eyes. "I just have to vibrate the water molecules fast enough to heat it up. Give us enough time, and there will be steam."

As sure as she said it, steam began pouring out of the smokestack not even five minutes later. Still unable to believe what was happening in front of us, I shook my head and prepared to board. At least, until I heard a cough from behind me.

Turning back, I found the rabbit standing in front of me, looking down at the ground. Tapping my foot, I waited until she finally spoke. "There's something I need you to do, once you get back to Earth."

Sighing, I shook my head. "What is it? Some other errand? I've still got questions of my own."

She laughed weakly, before stepping forward. "I am aware. And it is an errand, an important one. And I might answer one of those questions in the process."

As she fell silent for a few seconds, I took that as my opportunity to ask her, "So, why exactly did the lunarian let me keep the balls?"

Softly, she tried to clarify. "That Lunarian was Toyohime. One of the three moon princesses that share the name Watatsuki. And quite dangerous." Blinking, she digressed on to her next point. "That's not your answer, though. We were not the ones that made those balls."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "So, you're saying that there's a third party involved in this whole ordeal? Or is it a copycat?"

Tilting her head to the side, Reisen hummed. "It could be either. But none of the ones who could create that would go rogue, for any reason I could think of. And there is but one youkai on Earth that I would say is capable of creating a similar object."

To my side, Tokiko fluttered to the ground, listening closely to what she was saying. "Do you mean the youkai of borders?"

She nodded shortly, ears bobbing. "Yes. Yukari. Who has been missing for quite a while."

I crossed my arms, thinking over what she said. "She wouldn't have gone missing about fifteen years ago, would she?"

"Exactly."

Well, that was definitely not coincidental at all. "But that still doesn't answer why she let me keep them."

The rabbit just shook her head. "She didn't consider you to be a true threat. Besides, the dangerous one was the kappa, as the ibis could be kept under control relatively easily. No offense meant." Tokiko shrugged, not saying anything. "Not to mention that she was unable to touch them, as you saw. She informed me later that it was as if she putting her skin on hot iron. Whoever made them didn't want certain people using the balls."

I sighed, before going back over the conversation. "So, you want us to seek out this Yukari, because she for some reason created the balls I've used to bond Tokiko and Nitori… But where would she be."

Reisen and Tokiko glanced at each other for a second, before shrugging. "Gensokyo."

Well, off to the Orient, then. At least we may get some answers. "I think we need to be going now, though. Need to warn as many people as we can. And besides, shouldn't someone have figured out you were missing by now?"

At that, the rabbit grinned. "I have trained my replacement well over the past decade. But yes, you should get going now. Before any of us are found out."

As I nodded to her and turned away, she called out one last time. "And human, tell your sister to seek out the Luna Dial. I would have provided it to her, had the last owner remembered to return it after her death."

That was just more prattle about stuff I knew nothing about. Still, I nodded once more. "Do I want to know how she died?"

"As far as I know, she was destroyed by a power even fate could not protect against. Either way, if she wants it, it is in the possession of the mistress of the Scarlet Mansion. I've said enough though. Good luck." With that, the rabbit sprang away, slipping out the side door through which we had entered earlier.

Watching her go, I shook my head. "Good luck to you, I suppose." Crossing over to the engine once again, I climbed up and into the cab where everyone was waiting for me. Satisfied that we were finally leaving this rock, I turned to Nitori. "Ready whenever you are. I just hope we don't need tracks where we're going."

The kappa grinned and looked back at me. "Oh, we need tracks alright. But if I understand how the magic on this thing works…" Reaching next to the destination dial, she pulled a small lever down. The moment she did, the wheels began to glow with a soft blue light. Leaning out of the train, I was able to spot glowing blue rails extending out from the front of the train and towards the wall, curving slightly as they went.

Smiling bright, she grabbed a large lever next to her and pulled it down. I nearly fell from my seat as the train lurched forward, the pistons grinding as they moved the wheels for the first time since who knows when. The remaining carriages jerked behind us as we slowly began to move. "Alright, at least the old girl's still running."

At my words, Tokiko gave me an odd look. "It's a contraption, not a female. Why are you calling it that?"

Sister leaned over to her, and whispered into her earhole. Tokiko's headwing fluttered about for a second, before extending fully in shock. "Really? That's why he does that?"

Not wanting to know the results of that conversation, I rolled my eyes and turned away. "Just shut up… And Nitori? Are we going to run through that wall?"

The kappa nodded shortly, causing me to shake my head and grip the train firmly. A few seconds later, the train met the wall, which crumbled in its glacial wake. Out onto the street we turned, the blue tracks extending forward into the distance.

Eying the rabbits fleeing from the train that had just emerged from one of their own buildings, I couldn't help but to grin. "I don't think this is something that you'd see every day, even on the moon."

"Not in the slightest." Walking over towards me, Tokiko nudged my arm. "Although, it's somewhat cathartic, after what we went through earlier. Hearing the lamentation of their women, and all that."

Chuckling, I kept an eye out for anything that might be a particular threat. There appeared to be the odd soldier that was standing along the streets, apparently having returned after dealing with our disturbance, but they did no more than stand there and gawk as the train slowly passed them by.

However, by the time the fifth car had passed them by, they recovered their senses and began to pursue us. Not wanting to fight on the roof of the train again, I urged Nitori onward. "Let's see if we can get going a bit faster. We don't want to be caught by the rabbits."

The kappa immediately lowered the throttle, sending the train lurching forward again. Steam began to pour out of the pistons as they pumped the wheels forward, very little rising out of the smokestack now. By the time that the train had started to approach thirty miles an hour, we had outrun any and all rabbits as we traveled down on of the city streets.

However, our good fortune didn't last long.

A blast rocked the train, nearly sending us flat onto the floor of the cab. Pulling myself back to my feet, I searched around for who attacked us. As the train rocked to the side again, I finally tilted my head up towards the sky, and spotted our assailant.

My stomach dropped as I recognized the lunarian who was attacking us. I raised my shotgun up towards her immediately, angling for a good shot, but she began to bob and weave, not staying still long enough. As I did that much, Tokiko flapped her wings and took to the sky, aiming straight at the princess.

As they began to dodge in the sky, shooting their magic at each other, I keep trying to get a clear shot. But with Tokiko up there, anything I shoot would likely hit her. Lowering the gun, I watched as the two fought, unable to do much of anything.

The whole while, Nitori had been accelerating the engine down the ethereal tracks. With sister and I hanging on, we could barely open our eyes for the wind whipping in our face. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the destination dial begin to glow softly. "Nitori! Have you figured out what that means?"

She shook her head, hat somehow staying on as the train huffed along. "No idea! But I think it's our ticket out of here! We just need to go faster!"

"Well, pour on the steam then!" Unnecessary statement made, I turned back to watch the battle, only to see as Toyohime withdrew that fan of hers once again. Raising it high, she slashed it downward towards Tokiko, who dodged out of the path of its arc.

However, everything below was not nearly so lucky. I could only watch in awe as the seventh railcar seemed to vanish, as if it were never there. Along with that went the street below, along with nearest storefronts. The cars trailing immediately began to derail, some falling into the new ditch created, while others jackknifed and launched into the nearby street. I couldn't help but wince at the twisted pile of steel and wood.

The one good thing about losing most of our train was that we now had very little weight to pull. The moment the cars had separated, the train lurched forward once more, accelerating more and more quickly.

Still, I couldn't give too much attention to the train. Instead, I looked back towards the sky, to where the lunarian had been moments before. No flying princess was within view; only an ibis remained in sight. An ibis flying straight at us, trying to shout over the noise of the engine.

Whatever Tokiko was trying to tell us, it couldn't be good. I spun my head about, trying to find the lunarian once again. After searching the skies, I was about to give it up for a lost job, before I saw movement out of the corner of my eye. Floating alongside next to the train was the girl, staring at me intensely. Tsking to herself, she shook her head, as if disappointed. She began to float ahead lazily, overtaking the train after a few seconds.

"She's going to do to the train what she did to that one car…" Shaking my head, I turned to Nitori. "Please, keep going, as fast as you can get this thing going." Somewhat necessary request given, I grabbed my ammo pouch and slung it on, before leaping up and pulling myself onto the top of the cab.

Giving thanks that there was nothing burning, and no smoke coming out of the stack, I ran forwards as best I could on the rocking train. Grabbing onto one of the pipes to steady myself, I hissed as my hand began to blister at the hot steam. It was of no matter. A burn on my palm is much preferred to being utterly destroyed.

A few more steps, though, and I reached the front of the train. This time steadying myself with the train's headlight, I squinted my eyes and peered out. All that I had to do now was to find her. Not that it was particularly hard, as she was floating not too far in front of the train, flying backwards as she gauged us. With another of her grand sighs, she began to raise her fan once again.

That was something I wasn't going to let fly. Not without a fight, at the very least. As she took her sweet time, I leveled my gun and fired with my free hand, hoping for the best.

The shot went wide, but just managed to clip the arm of the lunarian. She cringed, flinching as her hand immediately flew over to grab her arm. Taking the risk, I let go and pumped the gun, before leveling it again.

This time, I didn't miss.

Whatever the lunarians were, they didn't seem to be as tough as the youkai I had encountered. With a cry, Toyohime dropped out of the air, straight down onto the ground. And barely a second later, the train caught up with her. I couldn't help but to give a very relieved smile as I heard the thump of flesh hitting metal, leaning back into the lamp to rest a minute.

I was shaken out of my reverie by a second thump from the front of the train. Peering down over the edge, I found myself goggling as the moon princess pulled herself up off of the cowcatcher, and onto the front of the boiler.

Fortunately, the fan seemed to have been lost during the impact, but that was not stopping her in the slightest. A vein on her forehead was twitching as she came closer, as an oddly vacant smile crossed her face. "So, the little slaver has come out to play? Pity… Of course, you know now that I'm going to have to take you for my own. You'll be so fun to break."

As she crawled closer, I shook my head. I reached down into my pouch, retrieving one shell from my collection. After inspecting it, I pulled the breach on the shotgun manually, before sliding it in. "I'd rather you not, if you must know. But then again, my opinion wouldn't factor in, would it? But I'll have you know one thing." I leaned in closer, sliding the breach shut as I did. "I'm going to go back to Earth, and I'm going to get everyone that I can ready. However I might… I will do it. And if you come down to my home, I'll kick your ass back to the Moon myself."

Before she could formulate a reply, I lowered the shotgun to her face. "Now, back on Earth, when we have to get rid of something, we usually just toss it in a pile, far from our eyes. There is, however, a more proper way to dispose of a piece of filth." Smirking at the snarl, I finished explaining. "And I hope that a dragon's breath will suffice."

Pulling the trigger, a gout of flame burst forth from the barrel of the gun, pouring over the suddenly shocked form of the moon bitch. I watched with grim satisfaction as it covered her, spreading quickly over the dress she was wearing. Quickly, I raised my shotgun up, spinning it with one hand before slamming the butt of the gun into her head.

"Now, get off my train."

Idly, I watched the flaming body fall to the ground, before bouncing into the distance before we sped onward. Once more leaning against the lamp, I rested as we were finally home free. However, my attention was soon diverted to a more pressing issue. Namely, there seemed to be a rather large mountain looming ahead of us, and the tracks were leading straight into it.

I know that this train is supposed to be strong, and we busted through a building earlier, but how does it expect to simply steam through a mountain? Having no one nearby to answer my question, I called back to the cab, hoping someone had an answer themselves. "Nitori! We're about to run into that mountain up ahead!"

Somehow, the kappa heard me, and peeked her head out the side of the window. Unfortunately though, I was not able to do the same, and whatever she shouted did not comfort me in the slightest. Still, as sister and Tokiko joined her in peering out the side, with no abject look of terror on their faces, I hoped they knew what they were doing.

As the mountain loomed closer, I felt sweat dripping down my back. Not that it particularly meant anything, as the boiler I was sitting on was hot enough as it was. The glowing tracks began to climb up the mountainside, rails and ties twisting together as they formed an arch. Finally realizing what it was becoming, I could barely open my mouth as we drove through the portal and into utter darkness.

The noise was hellishly loud as we moved through the new tunnel, my free hand rising to block one of my ears from the audible onslaught. As quickly as it began, however, it ended just as promptly. Barely seeing the pinprick of light approaching, we rocketed out of the tunnel, into a large expanse. Looking down, I saw that we were once again over water; however, instead of the unmoving water of the Moon, it was choppy.

Hope welling within me, I gazed up at the sky, past the tumultuous clouds as they gathered for a storm, and found the object I was searching for. The pale white of the moon, shining high above.

Giving a sigh of relief, I stood up, and began to climb back across the train as we sped to our next stop. The old Motor City… And hopefully, someone who could help us spread the word about the threat that was bearing down on us all.

A/N Phwewy, here's a whopper for you. If last chapter was just backstory and transitions, this one is the chapter where I finally unload all of the plot points on everyone. I hope that I've dribbled in enough little nuggets so that this makes sense. And now, I've plenty to talk about.

In backwards order, first, the Cannonball. That has been in the plans since day one. After all, if our main is from the U.S. of A., shouldn't he have something along those lines? Most importantly, this finally opens up the world to us, as we have our own means to travel, even if our destinations are a bit limited. As for why Moscow… That's the legend that I personally heard, and even if the Wiki says differently, I'm going with it.

Plus, if you have noticed, we have four destinations, and four balls left to fill.

Next up is Gray's empowering. Frankly, this one was a tough call. But I feel that it's the only way to keep him in the game, so to speak, as we progress towards the end. After all, if we keep getting more and more youkai, how are we going to have a human with a gun deal with them, unless I craft them so only a human with a gun can. It gives me a bit of wriggle room to write. As you can tell, I was tempted to do something similar for Joy. However, that would make everything too easy for the next couple of destinations, so I dropped that.

Next, the whole thing about what it means to be caught by a ball. What are the youkai? Are they pets? Slaves? Or is it not that harsh? I'm afraid that is one of the realities that had to be faced if I wrote this. After all, these aren't animals with superpowers. These are fully sentient beings, being bound against their will. And I avoided specifically using any word until this chapter, so as to let you think about it before I sprung it out. Give it some thought.

And finally, the lunarians and their plans. Without being too cliché, I felt that they would be the best villain, especially given the global stance I was taking. Plus, they are the only ones with the manpower to be truly threatening, while something that can still be fought against. (Compared to a singular lone youkai, such as Yuuka, Yukari, Orange, etc). And as for Toyohime, the only reason that everyone survived was because she was toying around. (Heh. Pun. Just noticed.) If she had wanted to, she could have simply blasted them away from above, without a care in the world.

Anyways, that's all for now. If there are any more questions/comments/criticisms/etc, please don't hesitate to ask! Digressing, please read and review as always, and until next time!