Chapter 7: Dreams Are a Man's Soul

The twelfth of January found the Mysterious Phenomenon Institute hanging about at the Temple, having received no cases of supernatural occurrences to solve. Reimu, Akari and Onari sat around the common table, the Eyecons laid out in a neat order.

"So we have eight, and Master Makoto has three." Onari said. "That leaves four unaccounted for."

"Didn't that weird Ganma guy take two?" Akari asked. "So that means two are out there, to our knowledge."

"You know," Reimu asked, holding up the Watashi and Boost Eyecons, "Why don't we pool our resources with Makoto? That way we can swap Eyecons as the situation calls for."

"You just want to try out Nobunaga, don't you?" Takeru asked as he walked in.

"Shut up," Reimu greeted. "How was your trip to the gravesite?"

"Makoto showed up. He said that he's not ready to join us yet, but he's planning on helping us out soon," Takeru said as he sat down with them. "Reimu, how's hearing the voices of the Spirits coming along?"

"No," she groaned, leaning back. "I don't get it. I could hear Musashi's voice that one time. Why can't I hear him now?" She made a face at the Eyecons. "You should just be good and connect with me already."

"Yes, because that will make them want to do so," Takeru deadpanned.

Reimu's retort was interrupted by Onari's exclamation. "We have an incident!" he crowed. "Strange things are happening down in the park!"

Their feud forgotten, Takeru and Reimu nodded. The next moment they were on their way.

The four ghost hunters were quick to find the source of the commotion—a massive crowd surrounding a well-dressed man. "Hey, that guy's infused with an Eyecon," Yurusen pointed out.

"Henshin!" Reimu cried, already forming her black-and-orange armor.

"Hey, wait!" Takeru cried out. "Excuse me, it's not safe here." He and the other two attempted to clear the confused crowd as Reimu leapt at the sharply-dressed man.

"Ganma, quit causin' me trouble!" she yelled, throwing a punch. He grabbed her arm and twisted it around her back, much to the surprise of those present.

"Ganma? You're a rather poor judge of character, girl." The man said with a surprising amount of authority, before flipping Reimu up into the air and onto her back.

Yurusen spoke up as Reimu lay groaning. "That's no run-of-the mill Eyecon, Reimu. That's Ryoma!"

" . . . who?"

Takeru stepped over her and kowtowed. "Forgive us, sir! We didn't realize who you were!" He stood up. "Please, Reimu needs to link with your soul."

Reimu shoved him aside. "Yeah, Ryotaro or whoever. Let's do this soul-link, yeah?"

"You . . . " Sakamoto Ryoma began.

"Yeah?"

" . . . are rude and disturbing."

"Hey!"

"Reimu, he won't understand unless you explain your situation," Akari said. "Go on."

"There's no need," the spirit said, turning his host body away. "You are the one that brought that girl back, are you not?"

"That simplifies things," she said. "So, c'mon, help me out."

He laughed. "Let me ask you something, then." He turned and looked into her eyes. "What is your dream, girl?"

"My dream?" She said, tilting her head.

"A man's gotta have a big dream! One they're willing to bet their lives on!"

"But I'm a girl."

"Semantics!" he dismissed. "So, what's your dream?"

"I don't have time for that," she waved her hand. "I have things to do, Ganma to exterminate."

"Dull!" He frowned. "Hm. In that case, why don't you forge a Sat-Cho Alliance?"

"A whatawhat now?"

"You are referring to the time you brokered an alliance between the feuding Satsuma and Choshuu forces, which would later change the future of the nation, are you not?"

"Exactly!" Ryoma grinned. "At least there are some here who know their history."

Ignoring Reimu's indignant cry, Takeru frowned. "But how are we supposed to do that in the modern world?"

Their answer would have to wait—the actual source of commotion reared its ugly head via strange phone noise. Reimu and Takeru dashed off, looking for the source of the disturbance.

As they left, Ryoma smirked. "She's rude on the outside, but she's got a strong sense of duty. With proper channeling, she should be able to make great things of that."

Up on a rooftop, the dome-headed Planet Ganma laughed as he absorbed human souls. It was quite a simple thing, really. Send out electrical impulses that would interfere with communication devices, causing whoever was holding said device to "give up the ghost," so to speak. He wondered if what Prince Alain said was true, that there'd be interference—

"Ganma! Quit or be exterminated!"

—Ah, there it was. He didn't bother even turning around—he would take care of the pest.

Reimu yelped as she dodged a swing, narrowly avoiding the black blur. "Jeez, cool it, willya?" she said as she spun away. She lept back, giving herself some space. And then she gasped.

A creature robed in the inkiest black, with jagged bones sticking out from its chest. Its vile mouth was home to razor-sharp teeth, and a serpentine tongue snaked out.

"You're the one who killed me!" Reimu snarled, "Didn't I exterminate you already?"

With a guttural growl, it moaned, the inky blackness of its chest bubbling. From out between the ribs a tengu mask popped out with a horrible, wet squelching noise, falling onto the ground. It shakily held out a blank Eyecon, which floated above the fan, absorbing it. The shining eyecon went back into the creature, flaring up in a spark that caused Reimu to shield her eyes. When the light died down, the black bone-creature was no longer gone. In its place was a normal Ganma Empowered—an inky black body clad in an outfit relating to whose soul they currently commanded. This one, however, seemed different. Its feet ended in red talons and its arms in red claws, wrapped in wooden arm guards. It was draped in a traditional Japanese kimono, the chest area adorned with fluffy balls of sorts. From its back sprouted pitch-black wings. Atop its head it wore a red tokin hat, and upon its face a fearsome mask with a long nose.

"I am the Tengu Ganma," it said in a deep voice. "You shall die to the first youkai Ganma, Ghost."

"I'd like to see you try!" She summoned her Driver and Eyecon. "Henshin!"

She launched her attack, but it was quickly blocked by a modified tengu fan. She spun, summoning her sword, but was blown back in pain as the Planet Ganma sent electricity coursing through her body.

Akari and Onari were panicked—they could hear the sounds of battle, but couldn't see the specters fight it out. "Of all the days to forget the Spider Lantern!" Onari cried.

"I'd move elsewhere, if I were you!" they turned to see Makoto running towards them. He transformed, blue armor forming over his body. "Get out of here!" he shouted as he vanished from view.

Reimu was glad to see the other Rider fighting alongside her. "Hey, you're late," she teased.

He smirked. "Let's go, Reimu."

"Yeah!"

With the battlefield being evened up, it was clear that the two Riders had the upper hand. Specter knocked the Planet Ganma through a wall as Reimu clashed blades with the Tengu Ganma uptop the roof. It was clear that he was no Katana Ganma—even in her Self form, Reimu's bladework was superior. Specter took a few more lumps, thanks to a barrage of planet-shaped energy blasts, but he powered through them. He changed into Nobunaga, firing away with the Gangun Hand, smashing apart the summoned spectral spheres.

Their efforts eventually drove back the two Ganma. "Retreat for now," the helmeted ghost said. "We have more important things to do." Before the Riders could act, they disappeared in a burst of phantasmical flame.

The Riders cancelled their transformation, coming back into the realm of the seen. "Thanks, Makoto," Reimu said. The blue-clad man slightly smiled. "No need to thank me," he said as he waved, walking away. Takeru caught up with the others, and explained where he'd been.

It turns out the Sat-Cho Alliance Ryoma had mentioned was a collaboration between his host, Tamura Nagamasa, and his host's father, Shachinoshin. Takeru and Reimu, accompanied by the glasses-wearing Namagasa, went down to the factory to settle the issue. There had apparently been some bad blood between the two, causing them to argue, and they were promptly kicked out.

"I don't see why we should press the issue," Reimu yawned with a finger in her ear. "They don't want to, so let's just leave 'em and find another way to bond with the Eyecon or whatever."

Namagasa paused before taking off his glasses. "You're not too bright, are you?"

"Huh?"

Ryoma sighed. "When a man gives his word, he follows through with it!"

"But I didn't give my word and I'm a girl—"

"Semantics!" he dismissed. "You still haven't said your dream, you know."

Reimu huffed in frustration. "Fine. I want to have an easy life, unhindered by morons get in my way and ask me about stupid things. You happy?"

Ryoma barked out a laugh. "You really amuse me, girl. When you're ready to tell me what your actual dream is, maybe I'll listen to you. For now, you have a guest to entertain."

Reimu and Takeru yelped as the Tengu Ganma returned, slashing at Reimu with his steel-clawed fan. "Don't take it personally," he said. "It's just orders."

"Who ordered you to kill us?" Takeru shouted, while Reimu, tired of the day's crap, pulled out the Boost Eyecon. Her armor flared up, with the Boost Parka settling onto her shoulders.

"Let's go, Mom, Mr. Ryu," she said, pulling out her red sword.

Into the night they fought, Reimu's attacks overwhelming the Ganma in sheer strength, and the Tengu's attacks overwhelming Reimu in sheer speed. "Hidden blade: Swallow Return!" the Tengu Ganma called out, forming a blade of wind with his fan. He flew into the air and dove at Reimu, striking with each pass. She skidded away, breathing hard. "I've got to do something about that speed," she muttered.

"Miss Reimu?" a familiar voice called out. She turned to see Onari holding up the Spider Lantern, ghost-revealing particles fading away. "Are you having trouble?"

"What does it look like?" she grunted as she dodged another swipe.

"Why not use the new Eyecon?" he suggested, tossing over the light green one he found back in December. "It might have some use!"

She caught it and shrugged. "All right, whoever you are, time to show your stuff!"

A pale green Parka Ghost flew out and settled onto her shoulders. "Eyes open! Goemon!" the Driver shouted. "The kabuki of awe! Breaking the law!"

"Lord Goemon!" Onari was ecstatic. "A ninja is the perfect choice for dealing with speed-types!"

Reimu nodded. "Let's see, what you can do."

Onari was right—Goemon's ninja speed and agility were an easy counter to the Tengu Ganma's flight. Soon enough, with one Omega Drive, Reimu skillfully cut the Ganma down. As per usual, the ghost exploded in a pitch-black flame and the Eyecon binding it shattered—but Reimu was more interested in the fan. She picked it up, examining it. "Huh," she said, her armor vanishing, "I wonder who this belonged to? He did say it was a youkai."

She turned it over, and her breath hitched. Inscribed on the fan's handle was a name: one she was all too familiar with.

"What's the matter, young mistress?" Onari asked, coming up to her.

"This fan," she breathed. "It belonged to someone in Gensokyo. It belonged to the Shameimaru clan."

The next day at the temple, Akari was hard at work on her laptop, plugging data away and searching for trends of the attack.

"So the disruptions are spreading?" Takeru asked, leaning in to watch over her shoulder.

"Yes," the scientist answered. "Here," she pointed to a cluster of dots, "was the original range of the paranormal activity. And this," she zoomed out, "is the updated range."

"It's getting more powerful," Onari noted.

"We can't let that happen," Takeru declared. "I'm off."

"Wait, Takeru." Akari said, closing the computer and putting it in her bag. "We'll go. You have that thing to do with Reimu, right?"

"The Sat-Cho Alliance?" he glanced at Ryoma, still possessing his host, eating a bowl of rice in the corning. "We don't really have time to be wasting on family squabbles. Besides, Reimu's definitely not the one to handle this."

Akari placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. Just focus on other things for now. Shibuya and Narita are with us, right?"

The other two monks nodded. They had recovered from their injuries and were on back at work. "Leave it to us, Takeru," Narita said. "Go find Reimu and do the thing."

As the four left, Takeru sighed. "Where are we even supposed to start? Reimu's off sulking somewhere and I have no idea how to resolve your situation."

"You'll figure it out," Ryoma chuckled. "You know, you have good friends. Even Reimu—as irritated with her as you are right now, I can see that you two are close. Don't let your emotions get in the way of that friendship."

Reimu, in the meantime, was in the basement, still pondering the fan. "Hey, Gramps," she called out.

"Yeeees?" the enigmatic spirit said in that annoying voice she hated.

"Hey. Can you give this to Yuyuko?" she said, tossing the fan his way. "She'll know what to do."

"What is it? A fan?"

"A tengu's fan. It was part of the Ganma I defeated earlier—the one that killed me."

"Okaaaay. Also, Takeru's looking for you."

"Ugh, fine."

Takeru and Reimu ended up talking with Ryoma's host for a while. It seems that Nagamasa had been working on satellites with his brother and father. One day, his brother and his father got into a big argument. The brother ran away, only to be killed in a car accident.

"So that's it," Takeru muttered. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. You didn't do anything," Nagamasa smiled sadly. "But ever since then, my father has distanced himself from space."

The group's silence lasted a few minutes, broken only by Reimu scratching the back of her head and crying out in irritation. "Gah! Let's just get this over with!" she almost shouted. "I'm going to talk to your dad, and by the time I get back, you two had better have made up!" With that, she floated off.

Reimu easily snuck into the father's workplace—floating through walls was a rather nifty tool. Tamura Sachinoshin was muttering something about his son and space, when Reimu said out of nowhere, "Well? You want to work with him. Just get to it!"

"What the devil!?" he spun around. "It's you! How did you get here?"

"Trade secret," she said. "More importantly, I have a soul I need to connect to. Hurry up and work with your son so I can get on with my life."

"My son . . . ." he looked downcast again. "It's too much for me. One dies, the other leaves."

Reimu suddenly felt a pang of pity for the old man. Huh, wonder where that came from. "You know your son wants to work again with you," she said, more gently this time. "It's your dream, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it was," he said softly. "But not anymore."

Reimu frowned. They both wanted the same thing—how should they get together?

"How should we bring them together?" Takeru repeated the question. "I don't know."

They were outside again. Takeru frowned, deep in thought. "I'm not sure how to do this."

They were interrupted by a call. Takeru picked up his phone. "Hello?" he said into the mobile device.

"Takeru! We're being attacked!" Shubya's panicked voice came through. "Help us!"

"Wait, what?" Before he could say another word, the line went dead. "Of all the times . . . !"

"Wait," Ryoma said, stopping the two ghost hunters in their tracks. "Panic won't get you anywhere. You don't even know where they are."

"But still!" Takeru was again interrupted by another phone call. "It's Makoto!"

"Takeru, Reimu," Makoto's voice came through. "You guys worry about your problems. I'll handle things." They could hear the familiar sound of an Eyecon being activated as the line went dead.

"I guess that takes care of that," Reimu shrugged. "Now, let's get a family to work together."

Elsewhere, Alain knelt in at the end of a long hall, walls painted in a deep, rusty red. "Brother," he said, head bowed. "There's something I must ask you."

From his place upon his throne, Adel tapped a finger. "Speak, brother."

"Why didn't you tell me about the power of the Eyecons?" Adel questioned him, standing up. "You knew of them and told Javert. Why?"

"What possible use would we have with a living body?" Adel said loftily. "We are Ganma, superior to humans in every way. A living bag of flesh has no use to us—save only as weapons or fodder for experiments—just like those two mortals. Makoto and Kanon, were they not? Now, if you have no more questions, be gone. I have important matters to discuss with a confidant."

Alain bowed, but his chest twisted inside him. How dare he call Makoto and Kanon fodder? How dare he usurp his position as commander? And how dare he treat him like some ignorant peasant!? With these thoughts burning inside him, Alain took his leave, boiling in rage.

Makoto threw a Ganma Assault into the horde, ducking a swipe. He fought through the woods, using the trees as cover as the two monks retreated to safety. A sudden impact caused him to stumble a bit. Turning, he was greeted with the sight of the Ganma Superior.

"You again," he muttered. "You don't give up, do you?"

"I, Javert, will be the one to bring you down," the now-named Ganma replied.

"Perfect," Specter replied. He de-loaded his the Specter Eyecon and activated the mysterious dark blue one that wouldn't work before. "Houndini!"

"Eyes open! Houndini!" From seemingly out of nowhere, his bike roared, leaping into the air of its own accord—and splitting in half, revealing a Ghost Parka inside. It settled upon his form, chains draped across his chest, securing to him two large wings, each in the shape of a motorcycle. The wheels revved as the Driver called, "Any trick you envision! The master magician!"

"A new form?" Javert scoffed. "No matter! It won't change a thing!"

Things did appear to have changed, however—one punch was enough to send the Ganma Superior rolling.

"What!?" Javert growled. "First Ghost, now you?"

"Technically, Reimu's is a straight-up upgrade," Makoto responded. "Mine's just a normal Parka Ghost—one that, for whatever reason, bonded with my bike as well. It hits like a bike, doesn't it?"

Javert's only response another growl and a fireball. Makoto turned, blowing through the flames with his bike-wings. "I went through a lot to cooperate with Houdini. Let's hope the result pays."

For all of Javert's power and skill, Makoto was one-step ahead. He seemed to have a trick for everything Javert pulled out—summoning binding chains, disappearing into confetti, even flight. After one particularly nasty blow Javert had enough. "I tire of this. Fine, human, take your quarry and leave. But we'll be back next time—and no surprise tricks or spontaneous evolutions will save you then." With that, he vanished.

Makoto detransformed. "Not bad for our debut, hm?" he asked Houdini's spirit, who glowed in agreement. "Now, let's get those two to safety."

Reimu and Takeru had similar luck, managing to reconcile the family—just in time for a worker to collapse and to receive a call saying that Akari had done the same. They ran outside, only to be confronted by a horde of Ganma at a satellite dish. "It seems they've taken over the satellite," Takeru said. "How are we going to get control back?"

"Dunno, but we'll have to beat them anyways," Reimu said. She turned to the assembled company. "Guys, stand back. You can't see it, but it's dangerous here."

The Planet Ganma turned to see the shrine maiden and ghost hunter once again. "Ah, you two. I really hope you haven't come to stop us. That would be most unfortunate."

"You're a big guy," Reimu responded. "You can handle it."

"For you." the Ganma chuckled. "I can tell you don't like what we're doing. I apologize; we're just doing what we need to for our home."

"What you're doing is trampling on people's dreams!" Takeru yelled. "It's not right!"

Reimu nodded, stepping forward. "I don't know what my dream is," she admitted. "But I can certainly protect those of others."

"Well said!" boomed the voice of Ryoma, once again possessing the younger Tamura. "An admirable sentiment. I will now fight alongside you!"

"What about the alliance? I didn't really do anything," Reimu asked. "Are you sure?"

"Semantics!" he laughed. "And I look forward to knowing what your dream is someday." With that the Eyecon materialized into Reimu's hand. She transformed, letting Ryoma's long coat fall over her. "Awaken, Japan! New day at hand!"

Reimu easily cut apart the hordes of Ganma with her sword, only to find that the Planet Ganma, in a burst of flame, had rocketed skywards at a breakneck pace. She took off after him, switching into Boost to take advantage of the form's spectral fire to, well, boost her along.

Eventually, she caught up, floating in the upper layers of the atmosphere. It wasn't a sight she hadn't seen before, but even two trips to the moon did nothing to diminish the beauty of that situation.

"I can't believe he followed me!" the Planet Ganma cried out, firing ghostly spheres at the Ghost. She yelped and rocketed out of the way, switching back into Ryoma Damashii. She summoned her red sword once again, the blade shrinking down to reveal a gun barrel. "Hey, that's a thing," she muttered. "Hey, Ganma!"

"What?" the Ganma continued his assault. "You can't keep this up for long!"

"Don't need to, it's almost time!" She pumped the lever on her Driver, initiating an Omega drive.

"What?"

"Space time!"

"Omega Impact!"

The gun's flaming barrage crashed into the Ganma, destroying him instantly. From his remains a multitude of souls rushed back towards Earth.

"Good job," Ryoma's disembodied voice spoke in her mind as she began to descend towards the planet. "You do well for someone who knows nothing about our history."

"Why are you even with me anyways?" she asked, her spiritual body protecting her from re-entry's friction.

"To see your dream, of course. That's why I decided to tag along, girl."

I'm going to be the best miko you've ever seen, you hear me!? I'm gonna make it so everyone, human and youkai, can live in peace! Without having to kill each other! I'll do that no matter what it takes!

"My dream, huh?" Reimu muttered, the blackness around her steadily turning blue. "I wonder too."

Deep within the Ganma's world, in the palace, Alain stood in a chamber of odd stone. In his hands he held a strange, green sphere.

"The Necrom Eyecon," he whispered. "Finally, you see the light of day again, after one hundred years."