That day, around dusk, the denizens of Gensokyo may have cast a casual glance upward to see a certain shrine maiden soaring overhead, clamping on her flimsy white bathrobe as she hurtled toward Scarlet Devil Mansion.
As Reimu flew, the mystery unraveled in her mind like a fraying rope. Okay. So she wants to open the barrier on the night of the festival. She hatches a plan. After I'm totally smashed, she steals my stuff. (Gods, I hope that's all she did to me.) Wearing my clothes, she tries the Barrier Dance. Doesn't work—a portal opens elsewhere. People, Outsiders, pass through. Get slaughtered. She lies low while waiting for second chance. And she gets one. Stupid idiot, I practically GAVE it to her.
She suppressed a shiver. No thanks to her current state of undress, her nether regions weren't appreciating these altitudes.
She alighted outside the gate, at the edge of the mansion's magic barrier. She paused. There was a peculiar rustling in the bushes. To her horror, it was Suika, gnawing on a strip of raw leather.
"My shoe!" Reimu exclaimed. She barely stopped herself from snatching it away. Deep breath—"Suika," she said sweetly, "where did you get that?"
Suika looked over, a bright brass buckle peeking out the corner of her mouth. Through a mouthful of shoe, she replied: "Offa there." She pointed to the trail that snaked up toward the mansion. As the last sunlight slunk away, mystic mist seeped up from the grounds, shrouding the house in forbidding gloom.
Reimu gulped. A wave of unwelcome nostalgia swept over her. Here I go again.
"Carry on, then." Like Reimu was strong enough to stop her. Although…
"Suika?"
"Yeth?"
"If I don't come back within an hour, I'll need you to go get help. Find Sanae, and take her to Hakurei Shrine. And tell her I said this: the ritual must be stopped. That's all. Can you do that for me?"
The oni bobbed her head. "Mm'kay."
Though she shuddered to leave her life in Suika's clawed paws, she knew no other choice. Reimu rose into the air and sped off for the front entrance.
Gate guard Meiling stood at her post—or rather, leaned back against it, arms folded, head down. A sizable snot bubble swelled and subsided from her nostrils.
When Reimu rocketed toward the gate, Meiling suddenly snapped to attention. Her eyes bulged. Yelping helplessly, she ducked out of the way. Reimu flashed past, bowling her over and showing the world Meiling's wonderful pink bloomers.
Briefly, Reimu wondered if she should apologize. Scrapping that notion, she glided up the path to the mansion. Through the flowers, up the steps—with a shout, she burst in the front door.
Someone was expecting her.
The head maid stood alone in the dark hall, a candlestick in hand.
"S-S-Sakuya!" Reimu cried, panting. "Have you let anyone into the mansion? Please, you've got to tell me! More lives are in danger!"
The maid leveled her glazed gaze. She said nothing.
"Listen to me, Sakuya. We need—"
A metallic glint sliced through the air and stuck in the door with a thunk. Reimu peered at it out of the corner of her eye. A blade quivered in the wood.
Sakuya glared. "None shall pass." A pocketwatch hung from her hand on a silver chain. Reimu turned to run—of its own accord, the door slammed shut. It wouldn't open.
"Sakuya," Reimu said slowly, "you don't want to do this…"
The candlestick clattered to the floor. The room plunged into darkness.
Suddenly, Sakuya's hands were filled with knives. They gleamed in the scant moonlight. An instant later, the knives flew at Reimu.
She darted aside—the flying blades thudded into the wall.
Time froze. More knives appeared in Sakuya's fingers. "I'm sorry, but you cannot pass," she repeated. "My mistress has commanded it." She flung them all at once.
Reimu dipped behind a pillar—a line of knives chipped at the stone, nipping at her heels.
She risked a peek out. A flying blade grazed her face—she recoiled. It drew a thin red line on her cheek and a dribble of blood from her skin. Reimu gritted her teeth. Gathering her courage, she leaped out to stand square with her opponent.
When she glimpsed her chance, Sakuya charged, clutching a fistful of knives.
But Reimu was ready. She kicked out, sending her wooden sandals flying into Sakuya's face. The maid deflected the petty projectiles—they disintegrated into dust. But it distracted her long enough.
One murmured incantation later, the Yin-Yang orbs materialized.
Shock registered on Sakuya's face. She leapt back.
Reimu counterattacked. Her orbs spewed a barrage of brilliant bright red bullets. Matched with Sakuya's speed, each one missed. Behind her, energy-bullets shattered a vase, splattered a marble bust of Vlad Tepes, and spattered molten candlewax all over a vintage Velázquez.
Sakuya seethed. With a degree of fury she reserved for vandals and art critics, Sakuya pulled a second set of knives from her apron. They arced in front of her, aligning in a deadly array. She spat in disdain, as if to say, "Eat this!"
The maid's blades shot out in circles. Every second, new flowers of flying knives blossomed in the darkness, popping up from different parts of the room. Reimu strained to keep up. With her time-stopping watch, Sakuya flashed instantly from point to point. She whirled and twirled, skirts swirling. She was untouchable.
Left—behind—far right—no, the left! The images blurred. Reimu's head hurt. Heart hammering, she sprayed a stream of crimson bullets into the center of the hall. Some struck steel, deflecting flying knives and sending them spiraling into corners. Others further damaged the house. None hit home.
With a sound like splitting silk, a knife nicked her ear. Wet warmth trickled down her neck. Reimu pressed back against the pillar, gasping for air. She had to end this.
There came a lull in the storm. Reimu seized her opportunity—she sprinted for the closest corridor.
Sakuya loomed in the doorway, eyes glowing and glowering.
Reimu retreated. Weaving to avoid more knives, she raced for the next exit. No good. And the next—Sakuya blocked the way.
"Give up," sighed the maid. "This isn't even your fight. Go home."
I want to. That's the problem. But—
Reimu dashed out into the open. Taking flight, she soared toward the ceiling. She went on the offensive. Crimson bullets hailed upon the hall from above…and they hit everything but Sakuya. Pots exploded, furniture splintered, and the stately stained-glass windows by the door disappeared with a euphonious crash-tinkle-tinkle.
"Have fun cleaning that up!"
At that, Sakuya snapped. "No flying in the house!"
Reimu flitted around the ceiling like a lost moth. For added insult to her opponent, she stuck out her tongue. The retorting torrent of knives nearly stuck her to the ceiling.
Reimu settled on top of the crystal chandelier.
"Aha! It's awfully dustyup here! Sakuya, you're fired!"
Roaring with rage, Sakuya let loose her whole arsenal. Reimu ducked down just in time.
Knives rained up. And amid the swarm, one lone blade slit the slender cord—down came the chandelier. It tumbled down in a single movement, a silent moment. Then it smashed on the floor with a deafening crash, releasing a cloud of crackling glass shrapnel.
Sakuya shielded her face with her hands. When the shards settled, she stood stock-still. In stupefied horror, she mouthed, "What will Mistress do to me?"
Reimu swooped down, startling Sakuya. She grinned.
"Catch."
The qi-bomb exploded magnificently. Blinding light flooded the hall and drowned out Sakuya's scream. What a noise! The blast ripped paintings off the wall. Wallpaper blackened and curled. Any intact glass soon fragmented into a million glittering pieces.
Sakuya crumpled in defeat.
Dress tattered, skin smeared with soot, mouth twitching—the maid was a mess. Briefly, Reimu was sorry she'd gotten so serious. Then the cuts on her face twinged. Serves her right, she decided.
Sakuya's eyes fluttered open. Her hands clenched. Reimu nearly knocked her out again, but Sakuya spoke before she could.
"I'm sorry," she said softly. "You're right. I never wanted a fight. But Lady Rem—"
"I know," Reimu replied. "You rest."
"Look…in the cellar. They're…there."
Reimu thanked her. Careful to float her bare feet over the glass-strewn floor, she ventured deep into the mansion to find her killer.
The cellar reeked of rats, mold, and rusty tools of torture. Reimu summoned a shining ball of energy in her hand. It shed some light on the dark, dank dungeon. As she descended the slick stone steps, she heard a gasp in the corner. She turned to look.
And saw her culprit.
"Alice."
The girl whirled around, face twisted in fear. She wore the uniform of a shrine maiden. Even now, she was pulling on one of the long white socks. No point, since she had only one shoe.
Alice stiffened and stood on guard. She clasped her grimoire under one arm and grasped Reimu's gohai in the other.
Reimu allowed herself a smile. Everything fit together.
"So it wasyou," she said. "You've been spying on me. With your dolls! Now I understand. You staked out the shrine. You copied my dance, opened the gate." She shook with rage. "You…butchered those people!"
Alice pursed her lips. A wan smile cracked her mask of indifference. It was as good as a confession.
Wait. No. She's behind me, isn't she?
Little feet in little shoes clacked on the cellar steps.
"Actually, that last one was us."
Remilia descended into the darkness, lantern in one hand and Flandre by the collar in the other. "If you must know, last night Flan got frightfully famished. So I let her outside. To our delight, food just dropped out of the sky. It was even slightly alive when we got there." She paused. "Oh! I know that look. Don't judge me. I was going to clean up after, but then you showed up."
Remilia stalked toward her victim, a greedy gleam in her eyes.
The lantern flickered.
Alice shuffled over to stand behind Remilia.
Outnumbered, Reimu held up her hands to surrender. "You got me. Well played."
Remilia chuckled darkly. "Give up? Not enough." She grabbed Reimu's offered hands. She wrenched Reimu's arms above her head, slammed her against the wall, and clamped shackles to her wrists. Reimu dangled limp as a watch on a chain.
Reimu inhaled sharply as the cold steel bit into her wrist. It felt like a thousand tiny jaws gnawing on her bones, lapping up her blood, sapping the very heat from her flesh. She flinched, twisted, swung languidly. A few hot tears squeezed from her eyes.
Remilia grinned, a flash of fangs. "You like that? They're anti-magic manacles. With those, even you would be weak as an insect." She stood on tiptoe and whispered into her ear. "Look at you, human. A pathetic creature of meat and bone, panting and sweating as you run through my corridors. How could you challenge a perfect immortal vampire?"
I can't scream. I mustn't. Reimu clenched her teeth, chewed her tongue, anything to keep her head together.
Well, since everybody's in such a talky mood and I'm near my death, I'll try.
"Alice," said Reimu carefully, "why? What do you want from beyond the gate? Why would you—"
She fell silent.
Alice's eyes flooded. "I want to go home."
Her answer was a mere whisper. To Reimu, the truth sounded loud as thunder.
"Ah. So that's how it is."
Fighting back years of fears and tears, Alice cried, "And why shouldn't I? I've lived my whole life here. All my life, trapped in this crazy fantasyland! I was human once. I was, but I gave that up. I had to, to survive." She wiped her eyes. Grief gave way to defiance. "Not anymore. I'm going back. To the human world—to where I belong!"
Alice cracked open the musty tome. Living black squiggles writhed inside. Leafing through the pages, Alice settled her finger on the appropriate passage. "Here: 'The Barrier Dance—ceremonial duty of the keeper of Hakurei Shrine, established 1884. To reinforce the border, the shrine maiden dances daily at the dimensional intersection. She acts in secret so that none may interrupt her sacred office.'"
The book shut with a puff of dust.
"When I read that, I thought…what if I reversed the dance? What would happen? Would the barrier break down? Could something—someone—pass through?"
Reimu froze. Hollow horror thumped in her chest. She lunged at Alice; the chains yanked her back. "NO!" she screamed. "No! How could you even THINK that?! You fool! Never mind a few dead bodies—you'll kill us ALL!"
Alice cringed. Remilia merely laughed. "Hush, child!" she snapped. "You'll only tire yourself out."
She wanted to cry. She really did. But she couldn't find the strength.
Chains clinked. Not Reimu's. Instead, Flandre warily approached the strange girl hanging on the wall. As she shifted her weight, her prismatic wings tinkled. She sniffed the air. A wild smile split her face. She tasted Reimu's toes, tugged at the robe with her teeth—Reimu squawked in protest—and uncurled upward to stand eye-to-eye.
Now nose-to-nose, Flandre's gaze burned blood-red. Reimu couldn't maintain eye contact; she rattled her chains, but weakly. A small, chilly hand rested on her shoulder. In the back of her mind, Reimu wished she could fix her slipping neckline.
A fat red tongue lolled from Flandre's mouth. She licked her lips, and then she licked Reimu's. Though Reimu struggled, the smaller girl was stronger. The vampire kissed the drops of blood from Reimu's cheek. Then she sucked a steady stream from the nick on her ear. Reimu moaned…
"I should go," Alice murmured, sensing the mood.
"You probably should."
"I appreciate your hospitality. You took me in when no one else would."
Remilia nodded. "You fed Flan. That makes us friends forever."
While the others chatted, Reimu thrashed against the deathly embrace. She pulled away, twisting her neck, and spat in Flandre's face. The feral child shrank back. She scampered back to her sister's side, quavering.
"Alice," rasped Reimu, "what about Marisa? Will you just leave her behind?"
A sad, odd expression overshadowed Alice. "I don't know what you mean," said Alice. "Marisa understands me better than anyone. She'll know why I left."
Alice strode into the center of the cellar, where she would have space to dance. She caressed her dress. "Such power you have," she whispered, flexing her fingers. "If only you used it. You could do anything, you know. If nothing else, you could be rich!"
"Alice. You stole my clothes, thinking they would make you a shrine maiden. You took my weapons, thinking they would make you powerful. And now you're going to steal my dance, thinking it can get you what you want. You're wrong. It's more than things, money, and power. That paper-studded stick?—keep it. Money?—you should check my donations box sometime. Power?—oh, please. The only power in those clothes is what you put into them."
Alice laughed. "Maybe I should show you."
As Reimu and the vampire sisters watched, Alice danced. Reimu recognized the steps. It felt…wrong. Very wrong. Yet Alice flowed through the movements easily as Reimu would. How much she must have practiced!
"I can only open the gate from the Shrine," said Alice, "but from here, I can create a rift and hop through it. It's all in this book—higher dimensions, quantum entanglement, real creepy stuff. I can teleport. Within the Hakurei Border, I can go anywhere I want!"
A warm light enveloped Alice. To Reimu's utter astonishment, Alice laughed and smiled. "Tell everyone I said goodbye," Alice said sadly. "Of course, some I'll miss more than others."
She blinked out of sight—vanished.
Reimu gawked. Alice actually breached the barrier. Before, she'd believed it, but now she'd seen it. And it terrified her.
"Let me go," Reimu begged. "Please! You don't know what you're doing!"
Remilia chuckled. "I rather believe I do."
"If Alice dances where the borders meet, the dimensions will meld and blend. Gensokyo will be absorbed into the outside world. It'll kill us all!"
"Oh, is that it?" Remilia stretched and yawned. "All this exposition is making me sleepy. Flan, let's play. You can have the shrine maiden."
With a jump for joy, Flandre circled around her sister, spewing excited gibberish.
Remilia understood. "Oho? You want a chase? All right, I'll let you out, and we'll let her run. She won't get far. They never do." She patted the pockets of her frilly dress. She paused. "Now where did I leave that key…?"
When all else failed, she threw back her head and screamed like a spoiled brat. "SAKUYA! YOUR MISTRESS HAS NEED OF YOU!"
Nothing happened. Water dripped somewhere, as it always does in such cellars.
Sakuya was most likely out cold. But Remilia didn't handle insubordination well. She stamped her feet and had a terrible tantrum. Finally…"CHINA!" she screeched. "GET DOWN HERE THIS INSTANT!"
There was another painfully long pause.
Gentle footfalls drifted down. A small voice squeaked as she treaded around the hall's untidiness. Soon enough, those same steps passed the cellar door and tapped down the stairs. A red-haired head peeped into the black.
"You called for me, mistress?"
"China, you were half a minute late! That is unacceptable. You have twenty hours' remedial guard duty, starting tomorrow."
Meiling stammered, "But I already—"
"Do not question me!" Remilia's narrow brows furrowed. She gestured to her sister, who now salivated with anticipation. "Unlock Flan. Do the prisoner next. We're going to play tag."
When she noticed Reimu, Meiling squeaked again. Innumerable questions died half-formed on the tip of her tongue. Meiling had brought her here; Meiling had gotten her involved. Guilt clouded her face.
Reimu stared at the floor.
"China! Hurry up. The night is young, and you're slowing us down."
Hesitation slipped into Meiling's movements. Slowly, she doffed her cap to produce a rust-encrusted master key. Slowly, slowly, she plodded toward Reimu. Fear flitted behind her eyes. As she inserted the key in the lock, she leaned close to Reimu's ear. She whispered one word.
"Run."
The lock clinked. The shackles jangled down from her wrists. With her hands free, Reimu released a bright burst of energy, likely to incapacitate anyone whose eyes had adjusted to the dark—as it did.
While the Scarlet sisters shrieked in agony, Reimu dashed up the stairs.
"China, you imbecile! You've let her escape! Bring her back!"
A pointed hiss pierced the darkness. "I have a name. It's—"
"China! You obey me! Get her! Right now!"
"My name…is HONG MEILING!"
Radiant light, like a thousand splendid suns, erupted from the cellar. But Reimu didn't stick around to watch the fireworks. She shot out of the house and into the night, fast as a speeding bullet.
Alice is in danger. The shrine is in danger. The whole land is in danger. Worst of all, my J-O-B is in danger!
And as she left, from deep below the mansion drifted up one last scream.