Look to the Eastern Sky
Book One of the Clockwork Devils
Written by Achariyth
In the blink of an eye, Patchouli Knowledge's world went dark. The witch sighed, rolled her eyes, and set her book down on the table before her. "Cut it out, Koa."
The demoness giggled as she removed two exquisitely manicured hands from her mistress's eyes. "Hey," Koakuma purred, setting her hands on the witch's shoulders.
"What do you want?" Patchouli said, picking up her book. She traced the lined on the page until she found where she had left off.
"I'm bored," Koakuma sang. "You doing anything interesting?"
"I'm reading about ley lines," Patchouli answered without looking up from the book. "You know, instantaneous travel between places of power. Places with names ending in 'ley?'"
"I said 'interesting,'" Koakuma sighed, throwing her arms around her mistress's shoulders. She reached down and plucked the book from Patchouli's grasp. The book clattered on the floor.
"Watch the hands," Patchouli snapped, swatting the succubus's hands off of her chest. "Magic travel, Koa, just think of it. Although we might need to find places that end in 'rei' or 're-'"
"Boring," Koakuma whined. She leaned over the witch's shoulder, making sure to press her breasts against Patchouli's back. Picking up a nearby book, she skimmed a page and squealed. "Oh, read this instead!"
"Put that down!" the witch commanded. Bright read flooded her cheeks.
"Anastasia and the Kildar. Good choice," Koakuma said, thrusting the book into her hands. The succubus whispered into her master's ear. "Oh, my. You have been a bad girl, and you like it."
The librarian swatted her assistant's book away. "Don't you have something to do?"
"An adorable farmer's boy, if I have the evening free," Koakuma purred.
"I need you to reorganize the East Wing with than new system we created," Patchouli said, slipping out of her servant's embrace.
Koakuma's face fell. "But that'll take all night-"
"LOOK OUT!" an accented voice bellowed as the library doors crashed open.
"Kyuu!"
Patchouli and Koakuma both swore before overturning the table in front of them and dropping behind it. As the library doors erupted into splinters, Meiling vaulted over the table.
"I want my sister," Flandre Scarlet wailed as she stepped inside the library.
"I wish Sakuya was here to deal with this," Koakuma said, shuddering against Patchouli.
"I wish Remilia was here," Patchouli said. She turned towards the gatekeeper. "Are you okay, Meiling?"
The green-clad Chinese youkai moved her arm gingerly. "Good enough for now, but I don't think I can play with her any longer without having to see Eirin afterwards."
"Kyuu!"
"Run!" Meiling shouted, pushing Koakuma and Patchouli to their feet. The girls dashed behind a towering bookshelf, dodging flying table shards.
"Don't let her touch my books," Patchouli panted, grabbing Meiling's shoulders and shaking the dragon girl.
"Little Mistress," Koakuma called out from behind Patchouli.
"Koa-Koa? I want my sister!" Flandre wailed.
"The Mistress is visiting Reimu. She wants you to behave until she comes back," Koakuma answered, cringing.
"I want to see her now!" the child vampire said, stomping her foot.
"If you're good-"
"I don't want to be good, I want Remilia!" A petulant foot stomp accompanied each of Flandre's last three words
"Quick, think of something!" Koakuma hissed, squeezing Patchouli and Meiling's shoulders.
"Xiao meimei, if you're good, you can see Mokou," Meiling called out, using her nickname, little sister, for Flandre. She peered around the bookshelf's corner.
Flandre's wailing stopped. The vampire's eyes matched the shine of her crystal wings. "Mokou-Mokou?"
"This had better work," Patchouli whispered.
"Trust me for once," Meiling snapped. She stuck her head out into the aisle; a worn smile brightening her face. "Will you be good?"
"For an hour?" Flandre said, hopefully. A wide smile brightened the lesser Scarlet Devil's face.
"Until your sister returns," Meiling insisted.
"But-"
"Mokou won't want to see you if you've been bad."
"Alright," Flandre said, pouting. "I'll be good. For Mokou-Mokou."
Patchouli slumped against the bookshelf, sighing in relief.
Chapter 3 - Eye of the Storm
If the world was how it should be,
Maybe I could get some sleep…
-"Oh My God," Jars of Clay
An eye blinked in the darkness between worlds as did another. Myriad eyes blinked in turn, looking like stars twinkling in some eldritch firmament. But stars did not stare back when you look at them…
Alice joined the group hurrying between Yukari's portals. Some things even her mother's home could not prepare her for. Fortunately, the second portal dropped her onto the green hills at the edge of Gensokyo's boundary. However, as Alice watched the impressive armored figure barking commands, she knew she had traded one unsettling gaze for another.
"By the Sky Goddess, Private Kaede, I told you to report to Lady Yakumo, not bring half of Gensokyo here to sightsee," Sergeant Momiji Inubashiri snarled, before turning to her newcomers. "Lie down, the lot of you, or else I'll knock you down. The enemy's on the other side of this hill, and I don't have time to herd lost sheep.
"Private Kaede, for your sins, you're now responsible for Lady Yakumo's safety. If she causes any problems, I want you to stuff her through one of her damned portals." The subordinate wolf soldier paled at the thought.
Next to Alice, Princess Yorihime dropped into a prone position. She examined the position, cover, and attentiveness of the wolf soldiers. "Earthshine, a proper sergeant at last. Pity she's youkai. I could use a real sergeant major."
"I don't know you. Who are you?" Momiji spun around and demanded. She flashed a glare at Alice, who knelt. The puppeteer sure her head did not crest the hill. She refused to lie down. Aya had slipped through the portal too, and Alice did not want her lingerie choice plastered all over the Bunbunmaru. Even without her camera, Aya's poison pen would still wreak havoc.
"Duxessa Bellorum Luna Watatsuki, Think general," Princess Yorihime said, identifying herself as the War Leader of the Moon.
Momiji swore under her breath. "Foreign brass." By her tone, Alice could tell that the wolf sergeant was tempted to field strip the first two letters from "brass." The doll master looked around, hoping to see Yukari's reaction. Instead, she watched as Yuyuko faded away with a wave.
"Don't mind me, Sergeant. I will not interfere with your squad," Yorihime said, creeping to the hill's crest.
"Good. Don't be a dumbass. Keep low. If you can't, I'll sit on you myself," Momiji growled. Next to her, Yukari appeared, sitting atop a tear in space like a spectator watching baseball. A parasol shaded the boundary youkai.
"Let me be the one to start interplanetary incidents." Yukari sighed before growing stern. "Report."
Momiji saluted, fist to chest. "We have one unknown warrior probing the outskirts of the barrier for the past hour. Currently on the far side of the hill, he is in cloth armor of foreign-make, probably reinforced. He appears to be destroying cairn stones with an ornate mace whenever he comes across them."
The Hakurei barrier consisted of a mixture of human and youkai magic. Cairn stones were rough-hewn stone monuments that served as anchors for the human magic. The stones sained the ground, allowing the magic to force a barrier like air forces a bubble in liquid.
Yukari whistled. "That's one way to destroy the barrier. Not very efficient, though."
"Efficient or not, he's heading towards the Hakurei shrine. He can do more damage there," Momiji continued. Yukari remained unfazed by the sergeant's glare.
"He can pass through there," Alice whispered, cringing. She did not want to crawl back to her mother begging for a place to call home.
"I can strengthen the barrier, but I need those cairn stones," Reimu said, her brow furled in thought.
Momiji's ears twitched. She dove to the ground. "Everyone, down!"
Alice winced, shielding her face as a bolt of actinic flame slammed into a cairn, vaporizing it. A wave of heat hit her face, as the doll maker blinked away purple afterimages. More bolts slammed into the hillside, sending the earth heaving. Soil and rock rained down around Alice and the others.
Various yells and curses were muffled, but one was loudest. "What in the seven hells is that?" Yukari snapped, poking her head out from a portal.
"Something new," Momiji said. "I want accountability, right now! Include the gawkers and drink water while you're at it. That heat's bad."
She waited as the reports filtered in from her soldiers. No casualties, thank the War Goddess, but more than a few of the tengu, youkai, and humans were rattled.
"With our guests and that heat, we're low on water, and if we eat one of those blasts, we don't have enough supplies for proper first aid. Begging your pardon, Lady Eirin," Private Kaede said. A slight cringe crept past her military bearing.
"None taken. In my opinion, first aid won't be an issue. Finding enough parts for a proper funeral, on the other hand-" Eirin said. The Lunarian physician patted down her pockets, removing medical supplies wherever she found them.
"Not on my watch. You are all leaving. Come back, if you must, when you're ready to fight," Momiji snapped. She flashed a complicated set of hand signals, and the wolf soldiers surrounded Kaguya's guests.
"Don't push it, Momiji, Reimu's been grouchy lately. You know how she gets," Marisa said conspiratorially. She took a step away from a stern faced tengu, one arm pushing Alice behind her. The tengu stepped into the space the witch left.
"Hey!" Reimu protested.
Yukari sighed as she widened her portal so that four could walk abreast. "She's right-"
"You're not helping either," the shrine maiden snapped, glaring at the boundary youkai.
"I meant Sergeant Inubashiri is right," Yukari groaned. "We don't have a plan, so now's not the time to start fighting."
"Plans, who needs them?" Marisa said, juggling her elemental reactor. The wolf in front of her tensed, clutching the hilt of a wide scimitar. "I've got, what, a dozen incidents solved through improvisation and applied violence." She sighed as Alice reached over and plucked the octagonal box from her hands.
"Because you let me do all the work," Reimu snapped.
"Regardless, it's time to go," Yukari said. "Portal's closing." The portal behind her shrank slightly.
The wolf sergeant motioned at Sanae to draw closer. "Priestess, before you go, can you give us your blessing?"
"Momiji, you know how embarrassed I get," Sanae said, avoiding Reimu's glare. As Marisa and Alice walked past, she shifted nervously. The two magicians stopped in their tracks just outside the portal. "They should look to Kanako and Suwako."
"You are the only person here that can speak on behalf of both goddesses," Momiji insisted politely.
"What about me?" Reimu snarled, her hands resting on her hips.
"When Lord Tenma converted to the Moreya, we all did. The blessing would mean more coming from one who is actually a priestess of the Moreya and not one who serves all gods. We soldiers are a superstitious lot," Momiji explained. She waved her hand so as to shoo Marisa through the portal.
"I don't know any war blessings," Sanae said in hushed tones.
"How about, 'kick his ass?'" Marisa said, smirking. "It's short, sweet, and to the point." Alice rolled her eyes.
"Get!" Sanae yelled, pushing Marisa through Yukari's portal.
"I always liked 'en touto nika,' Reimu said. In this sign, conquer. "But you Moreya don't have a distinctive emblem."
"You're not helping either," Sanae said, pursing her lips. She sighed and turned towards Momiji and her squad, raising her arms upward and outward. "In the name of Kanako of the Eight Hills, be as quick as serpents. In the name of Suwako of the Mountain, let you wills be as steel. May the Earth shield you, the West Wind preserve you, the South Wind hide you, and the North Wind drive your enemies before you."
"So shall it be," Momiji intoned, echoed by her squad. Sanae lowered her hands and bowed.
"A little wordy there, O Beloved of the Wind," Reimu said, walking past the Newbie Goddess of the Mountain.
"Bite me."
"Do I look like Remila?" Reimu said. She pulled on Alice's arm as she stepped into the portal.
Alice stepped back into Eternity Manor's great hall. Youkai, rabbits, and humans clustered around an unconscious lop-eared hare, while another pair of rabbits huddled shivering in a corner.
Eirin held a wet squirming bundle of black fur and red lacquered claws at arm's length. Thrusting the yowling mess at Ran, she snarled, "I believe this is yours."
A black streak shot from the doctor's hand, spiraling around Ran once before diving into her luxurious tails. A cat stuck its head out from between two tails, hissing and clawing at the air in from of Eirin.
Yorihime rushed to the fallen hare, cradling the girl in her arms. "What happened?"
"She said she wanted to know what moon bunny tasted like, and then she, she licked her neck," one of the shivering rabbits wailed.
Ran licked her lips at the thought, as she looked Reisen Udongein Inaba up and down. Shivering, the moon hare grabbed a grain hammer and glared at the fox.
"Oh dear, Yukari, you'll need to have that talk with Chen," Yuyuko purred, covering her mouth with a fan. "Make sure you tell her all about the Mystias and Wriggles."
Yorihime and Eirin turned to Yukari, glaring and sputtering dire curses.
The boundary youkai held her hand up. Addressing the Lunarian royalty, she asked, "Would this help?"
An eye blinked in the darkness growing beneath Ran's feet. With a resigned sigh, Ran fell through the portal. As Chen shrieked, the fox youkai yelped. "Watch the tails!" The portal closed with the second blink of the eye.
"Can we get back to the matter at hand?" Reimu asked, shaking her head.
"Udonge, please take your namesake and the others to the clinic," Eirin said. "If Princess Yorihime wishes, she may accompany you. I believe the rest of her brief is no longer needed."
"Of course, Your Grace," Reisen said, dropping the hammer and guiding the shaking rabbits out of the room. Yorihime followed, carrying her own personal Reisen. Eirin winced at Reisen's honorific.
"Anyway," Reimu said. "What are we going to do?"
"If it wasn't for Yukari and Aya, we wouldn't have to do anything," Remila said, glaring at the boundary youkai. The effect was lost, as it made the vampire girl look like she was stamping her foot at her babysitter for not giving her cake. "Thanks for bringing that here, girls."
"Dragging that thing here wasn't my plan. If Aya wouldn't harass anything that moves with her camera," Yukari began, flashing cold eyes at the Tengu of the Wind.
"Just follow orders, Ma'am," Aya said, smirking. "I'm not going down alone, and you're not making this stick to me. My feathers are as Teflon."
"Whatever. That creature followed you and you know it," Remila said, crossing her arms. "Now, what I want to know is why I should stick my neck out and risk my friends and servants to clean up Yukari's mess?"
"Surely the fate of the Scarlet Devil Mansion-" Yukari said rolling her eyes.
"You've got to try better than that. The mansion moves according to my whims," Remila said. "And I assure you, if the barrier falls, the mansion is gone. I've always wanted to visit the Kingdom of Prester John. So, tell me again, why should the Scarlet Devil help you?"
"Trade on the lives of humans, and I swear both of you will learn that I still remember what garlic and stakes are for," Reimu said, glaring with her arms crossed underneath her breasts. Sakuya started towards the shrine maiden, and then froze in mid-step.
"Hey, Sweet Sixteen, I'd calm right on down," Marisa said, smiling as she pressing her elemental furnace into the small of Sakuya's back. "Touch metal or time and you'll get one hell of a sunburn. Nothing personal-"
Sakuya glared at the witch as she raised her hands away from her knives. "Youmu, please don't be rash."
Youmu removed her blade from Marisa's throat and sheathed her sword. The witch gulped, settling back to the floor as she stopped trying to grow taller. "I used the back of my blade, I promise."
"That goes for you too, Alice," Sakuya said, glaring at the puppeteer.
Youmu turned her head, and blanched when she saw a tower of Shanghai dolls. The highest one smiled, waving as she dropped a giant mallet to the ground. Alice shrugged when Youmu glared at her.
"Godsdammit!" Eirin swore. Her bow and quarrel appeared in her hands. "This was supposed to be under a flag of truce!" She spun around red-faced as she heard the sounds of bickering in another part of the room.
"And the answer is still 'why?'" Remila said.
"Some of us can't run," Reimu said. Her glare passed in turn from Kaguya to Remila, Yuyuko, and Sanae, before settling on Alice. "My home is here. I have no other to flee to."
"Are you saying some of us don't love Gensokyo?" Sanae growled, stopping to confront the shrine maiden.
"That's it!" Eirin said, stamping her foot as she pulled the bow's string back. "Take a fifteen minute break. Calm down and cool off before I start carving off pieces for Rumia."
As the room emptied in a hurry, Alice thought for certain she heard a childish voice call, "Is that so?"
"And now the real business begins," Alice murmured as she and Marisa walked outside into the courtyard.
"How so?" Marisa said, looking around.
"Watch," the puppeteer said, pointing to the opposite side of the courtyard. "Do you see Yuyuko talking to Sakuya and Youmu?"
"So?" Marisa shrugged. "That's not exactly odd."
"Without Youmu blushing beet-red?" Alice said, shaking her head. "My guess is that Yukari's using Yuyuko as a go between to secure Remilia's support. That way, no one loses face."
"And Reimu doesn't flip her lid? Think they're trading in humans?" Marisa asked.
Alice thought for a moment and shook her head. "Yuyuko wouldn't be a party to that. My guess is that Yukari will open a portal to a blood bank for Remila. The Scarlets get food without Flandre associating blood with humans, Yukari gets her support without humans getting attacked, and Reimu will never know."
Marisa blinked, her mouth distorting into a moue of disgust. "A blood bank? Sounds barbarous."
Alice sighed, rolling her eyes. "I'll explain later, but it's nowhere near as bad as it seems. Except for a vampire making withdrawals. But my point is that this is when the deals really happen."
Marisa peered around a corner. She smiled and held her arm out to block Alice's path. "Look at this. Sneaky-like."
Alice snuck a glance around the corner. Sanae and Kogasa sat ever so close beneath a purple umbrella. The karakasa spoke and both girls laughed freely.
"So, do you think the rumors are true?" Alice asked in a low voice. "You know, about Sanae, Kogasa, and the alcohol?"
Marisa smirked. "Oh, I hope so."
Sanae saw her goddess, both child and great-grandmother, and paled. She stood up, scolding Kogasa vigorously. The karakasa had the good grace to look chagrined, but the twinkle in her blue eye put the lie to her pose. Alice could see Sanae's slight wave as Suwako dragged the priestess away.
"Wanna bet Suwako's first match for you would be small, blue, and mischievous?" Marisa said, turning away from the corner.
"You're not going to let me forget that, are you?" Alice sighed.
"Nope. And it'd be a shame too," Marisa said, grinning.
"Why's that?" Alice asked guardedly.
"I like Kogasa, and I'd hate to run her off. Besides, how do you think Sanae would react?"
"Anyway, so why do you think no one's tried to deal with us?" Alice said, changing the subject hurriedly.
"Okay, suit yourself," Marisa said, leading Alice away from the corner. "Everyone knows that I'll rush in where angels fear to tread if it means leaving Reimu's shadow. Sure, this guy might be a real bastard, but I faced Yukari in her wrath and made her stand down."
"My pet witch is getting full of herself," Reimu said, walking up to the two girls.
"Without your Hakurei blood, you'd beg me to show you a tenth of what I know," Marisa said, staring down her long time rival.
"Marisa-" Alice said placing a hand on the witch's shoulder.
"Perhaps," Reimu shrugged. She sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Really, I could use a friendly duel right now, but Eirin's on the warpath."
"More Rumia snack threats?" Alice asked.
Reimu shook her head. "I wish. She said she'd spike my drink with aphrodisiacs and lock me in a room with Aya and her new camera."
Alice and Marisa turned green. "I hope Aya doesn't find out."
"With any luck, she's gone to extort sympathy from Rinnosuke," Alice said, crossing her fingers behind her back.
"I'm not counting on it," Reimu said, pointing to where Aya crouched behind a bush. She winced and scurried away.
Marisa and Alice continued through the courtyard. Passing by Remila Scarlet walking alone with a parasol in her hands, they heard the vampiress speak. "All this charisma and nothing to show for it. I can't even sparkle like those new-fangled vampires."
"We could try lighting you on fire," Marisa said. Alice slammed her elbow into Marisa's side.
"Where did you get that idea from?" Remila said, aghast.
"From a book. Harbinger's Monster Guide." Marisa said, wincing. Whether it was through pain or distaste for the infamous book, Alice could not tell. "I gave that one back, though."
Remila paled. "That wouldn't be the one with the horned happy face?
"Yes. Patchouli has some interesting books in her library," the witch said, shaking her head.
"Certainly. Remind me to burn a few," Remilia said, as she hurried away.
"Well, I'm surprised," Alice said, a sly grin on her face.
"That I got the best of a vampire?" Marisa flashed a winning grin.
"That you gave a book back to Patchouli," Alice laughed.
"It had a chapter on how to kill witches. Can you imagine killing something as cute and adorable as me?" Marisa asked, preening before the doll maker.
"That depends. Stolen anything else from me lately?" Alice said, glowering at the witch. She tapped an open palm with two fingers from her other hand.
Alice found herself pushed off balance by an unseen force. Marisa doubled over with a gasp, and then spun by herself towards the nearest wall. Out of nowhere, a silver-haired maid appeared and grabbed the witch by the shoulders.
"If you ever breathe another word about burning Milady ever again," Sakuya hissed, pushing Marisa against the wall. "We'll have ourselves a nice bonfire with you at the center. Savvy?"
Marisa grabbed the maid's arm and squeezed. "Down, bitch. Come for me and you'll get nothing but tears."
Alice tried to stand to Marisa's defense, but she found herself straining to move. Looking down, the puppet master saw knives pinning her dress and her sleeves to the ground. Next to her, knives also pinned her Shanghai doll in a similar way.
A knife materialized in Sakuya's hand, fanning into many in front of Marisa's eyes before becoming one again. "Just as long as you get my point-"
"Can it, Sweet Sixteen, before I tell your mistress that you slipped your leash again." Marisa's foot lashed out, only to be caught by the maid.
"Just remember, come after the Mistress, and I'll show you how the West deals with your kind. 'Suffer not,' little witch. 'Suffer not,'" Sakuya said, ramming Marisa's leg back into the wall. The maid's knee then slammed into the witch's leg.
"Heel," Marisa said, her smile flashing too many teeth. "I'm not going to roast your precious Remilia. Patchi wouldn't lend me her books then."
"That's Patchouli's decision. However, if you do decide to come through the front door for once, let me offer you the full hospitality of the mansion. Maybe the Lady will have you for dinner," Sakuya said, letting Marisa go before vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Alice fell over as the knives pinning her hem disappeared. One moment, the cut clothing hung loosely, and then in the next, her clothes were completely whole once more. A reputation for elegance placed certain obligations on the maid.
"You alright?" Marisa asked, walking to Alice with only the occasional stumble. Sakuya had wrenched the witch's leg before she left.
"Sure. What about yourself?" Alice said, steadying the witch.
"I get worse from China when she catches me," Marisa said, shrugging. She flexed her leg and winced. "I actually get along quite well with Sakuya, whenever she's not doing the attack dog thing."
"Liar," the puppeteer said, rolling her eyes,
"Never me. Nothing but the unvarnished truth here," the witch said, giggling. She pulled herself tight against Alice.
Alice looked back and sighed. The Reisen called Udonge waved her arms overhead, and the stragglers in the courtyard began returning to the manor.
Mokou rested on her stomach behind a tree. All it took to slip away from Kaguya's rabbit retainers was a small, discrete flame set against the ropes binding her. Disappearing in the crash and bustle while the barrier cairn stones were destroyed proved to be easy. If Kaguya expected her to stick her neck out for anything that her cousin was involved with…
Using her arms, she pushed herself forward just far enough that her eyes passed the tree. The invader was hidden from sight, but she could see Momiji's squad crouching in their hiding places, all eleven of them.
Mokou slid back behind the tree and froze. Eleven? There should be twelve.
"Your woodcraft isn't bad, for a human." Heavy weights on the small of her back and on her neck crushed Mokou into the dirt. The immortal woman felt hot breath snarling in her ear. "I thought I told everyone to leave."
With effort, Mokou turned her head to the side, spitting dirt and leaves. "And stay at the Moonbitch family reunion? Hell, no."
Momiji eased her knee off of her captive's neck. "If I let you go, I'm not going to get rid of you, am I?"
"Not even death would stop me," Mokou said, pushing up against the weight in her back.
The wolf sergeant stood up, freeing the duchess. Reaching down, she pulled Mokou to her feet. "You're serious. Pity. Well, consider yourself conscripted for the duration." Mokou shrugged. As if the tengu could do anything more but inconvenience someone cursed with serial immortality…
"Sergeant, you need to see this," a tengu soldier said. Unlike Momiji, she did not bear a shield.
"What's wrong?" Momiji's eyes narrowed as she helped Mokou to her feet.
"I'm no boundary magician, Sergeant, but I found something that doesn't look right."
"Show me," Momiji said. Pointing to Mokou, she continued. "You're coming too."
"Boundaries aren't my forte. You should get Reimu," Mokou said. She stayed next to the sergeant as she truly had nothing better to do.
"You're the only red-white I have," Momiji said, using the common nickname given to the Hakurei shrine maiden for her distinctly colored garb. The duchess just happened to share the same colors. She followed the soldier as she led them toward the barrier.
As Mokou neared the barrier, it gave everything an amber hue. However, at chest level, the hue faded into a two-meter iris of true color. The opening pulsed as energies inside the boundary flowed about.
"This is it?" she asked. "Don't people and things come through the barrier all the time?"
"I've scouted this area for years," Momiji said, shaking her head. She slipped her hand through the hole. Unlike normal, there was no resistance as she pushed through Gensokyo's boundary with Japan. "Even when stuff passes through, this still looks whole."
The wolf soldier pointed towards the Djinn, who still made his way along the outside. "There goes another one."
As stone screeched against stone and rock crumbled, another smaller iris opened, ten meters away from the first.
"It's like fabric slowly tearing when it's stretched too tight," the soldier muttered.
Mokou watched as Momiji knelt, closing her eyes in meditation. The wolf tengu sighed. The phoenix girl said, "You're going to attack, aren't you?"
"Not here. Outside, at a time and place of my choosing. Not that he's give me much of either," Momiji said, standing up. Turning towards her subordinate, she commanded, "Rally the girls and fall in on me."
"So what do you have in mind?" Mokou said after the soldier nodded and ran off.
"Besides dying in bed surrounded by all the young males panting for me?" Momiji said. "A linear ambush outside the barrier. We'll see if we can down him or drive him off."
Mokou winced as she recalled the fire and tremors the Djinn created. "This is going to be unpleasant."
"I don't see any other choice. The boundary's already under strain, and he keeps attacking the cairns. The longer we wait, the more likely we'll fight to our disadvantage. My orders are pretty clear on this."
Mokou shrugged. "Didn't say I disagreed. So, where do you want me?"
Momiji sighed. "Anywhere but here, actually. You're not a trained soldier and you have no self-preservation-"
"I have no need for it," Mokou said, shrugging. "It's almost more fun that way."
"Quite. But if you're staying with the group, you're coming with me," Momiji said as her squad assembled. She flashed a toothy, predatory grin. "Lady Fujiwara, you've got the nastiest spell cards in this group; you get to kick this furball wide open."
Mokou rolled her eyes and pointed at the barrier. "While I would enjoy a fight with someone not named Kaguya for once, he's there and we're here. Unless you have a hotline to Yukari, how are we getting out?"
"At the Hakurei shrine," Momiji said, flashing hand signals. On her cues, the wolves spread out into a triangular wedge formation centered on Momiji and Mokou and aimed at the shrine. Another signal later, and the full formation took flight, Mokou scrambled to catch up.
Alice entered the great hall of Eternity Manor and shivered. The air itself had changed from the dry heat of argument to something colder.
"Do you feel it too?" she asked the Shanghai doll sitting on her shoulder. The doll nodded, casting furtive glances around the room.
Marisa shrugged. "Did you get too much sun?" The witch stared at Alice, and then shook her head at the reclusive magician. "No, wait; I forgot who I was talking to."
"Hush," Alice chided, glaring at the witch. The Shanghai doll pointed to a corner of the room. Since Eirin had yet to resume the meeting, the guests had dispersed into small clusters. Normally, Reimu and Yukari would flitter from group to group, sharing gossip and laughs, but the shrine maiden and youkai murmured together in a corner. Reimu sighed, wearing the rigid face of one hiding her emotions. "Something's up."
"Besides the incident?" Marisa said as they passed where Suwako still lectured Sanae. "I don't see why we're still here. Sure, I don't mind drinking Kaguya's tea, but all this talk isn't doing anything."
"'Out of his mouth go burning torches, and sparks of fire leap forth. Upon earth there is none his like that is made without fear,'" Sanae recited. Grateful for the interruption, she slipped away from her goddess. Suwako frowned at her priestess.
"Priestesses," Marisa said, shaking her head. "Always going mystical at the worst possible moment."
"Between Sanae's gloom and Reimu's secrets-" Alice began. Metal clanked against crystal pealing throughout the hall, interrupting her. The sudden edge in the room crept up her spine.
Eirin set the knife and the glass on the table, and then unlimbered an automatic crossbow from her back. Setting the crossbow's stock on the table with a meaty thunk, she smiled. "Let's begin. Everyone ready to be civil?" The apothecary flashed a predatory grin and sat down.
As others did likewise, Alice found her seat; her Shanghai doll settling from her perch on Alice's shoulder into the doll master's lap.
Eirin nodded to Reimu, who walked into the center of the hall. She closed her eyes, took a breath, and spoke. "The barrier's weakening."
"We know. We watched that thing attack cairn stones," Remila said.
Reimu shook her head. "No you don't, not like I do. Your senses aren't attuned."
The vampire scowled. "Humor me."
"It'd be easier to describe the color blue to the colorblind," Yukari said, hiding a smile behind her fan.
"The barrier's a cobbled together mix of human and youkai magic. This means that the various magics reinforce and interfere with each other in unknown and unplanned ways," Reimu said. "I don't know what effects removing the cairn anchors will have, only that there will be effects; and none of them good."
"How long do we have?" Youmu said, worried.
"A couple days. Nothing irreversible has happened yet. If we can get him to stop, we'll be fine," Reimu replied.
"Why not just open a portal and dump him on the other side of the world?" Alice asked.
"I'd open one to the core if I thought it would help," Yukari said. "Trust me, though, that'd be a bad idea."
"Riiight..." Remila drawled.
"Where did you want that new mountain range?" Yukari said, glaring over the top of an open fan.
"Enough. The important thing is that we decide what to do, which means we need to compile what we know," Suwako said.
"A mythical scourge of civilizations is flensing the Hakurei barrier?" Sakuya said.
"We should have asked Patchouli to look up the Djinn in her library," Marisa said. "She might have found myths that might have clues. Like maybe about that Ifrit."
"It's an idea, but I think we might not have the time. Remila, could you ask Patchouli for her assistance?" Reimu asked.
"Sure!" Remila said, beaming.
"Okay, short stuff, you've been riding me all day, but you roll over for Reimu?" Yukari set her fan down in front of her.
Remila shrugged. "She asked. You just assumed I'd help."
Reimu rolled her eyes. "Did anyone notice anything useful?"
"Whatever this is, it has never been alive," Yuyuko said.
Conversation stopped as the entire room turned towards the ghost queen.
"Lady Saigyouji, if I may ask how you know that?" Sanae asked.
"Well," Yuyuko drawled, squirming. "I kinda used my power?"
"Oh, Yuyu," Yukari groaned. "Why?"
"I thought it'd be better to end this fuss without anyone getting hurt," the Lady of the White Jade Tower sighed. "So while everyone was hiding with that wolf-girl's friends, I snuck out and invited him to the Jade Tower."
"Invited him to his death, you mean," Reimu said, scowling.
"It sounds so cruel when you put it like that," Yuyuko said. He voice dripped with hurt, but the corner of a smile peeked out beyond the fan covering her lips. "He would have found the Jade Tower a good home, and my dear Youmu so needs a man's touch."
"Lady Yuyuko!" Youmu stammered, her cheeks reddening. She looked at Sakuya, who covered her giggles demurely with a free hand. Youmu sat down, shrinking in on herself, pouting. "Not you too, Sakuya."
"Youmu can rest easy, though. There was nothing there when I used my power, not even the ember left after death. I would have had better luck with stone or Alice's dolls"
Yuyuko turned towards Yukari, and dropped the fan to her lap. "Yukarin, I can't help you in this fight. You shall have the full support of the Jade Tower, as always, but I am afraid my power will be of no use. But I have been practicing my sword work." To Youmu's abject horror, the ghostly princess spun around the room, energetically swinging her closed in wide flourishes. "Guard, turn, parry, dodge, spin, and thrust!"
"No, thank you, Yuyu. But what about Youmu?" Yukari asked, sighing. The ghost queen was known for losing her sword bouts. Then again, she only dueled her suitors, and then, only for sexy forfeits…
Yuyuko shrugged, picking up her fan and tapping it against her right cheek. "You may ask her. My dear gardener is free to make her own choices."
"I will help," Youmu sighed. Alice could hear the girl mutter, "Even if my choice is not my own."
"So we're up against an animated artifact," Suwako interjected.
"Fully autonomous too," Alice said. "I'd love to study it." She hoped the construct might give new insight into creating autonomous, living dolls.
"Should we get Flandre?" Youmu asked.
Remilia paled. "She's still fragile, and I don't want her getting used to blowing things up. I'd rather not trade one monster for another."
"Why don't we draw it off?" Reisen asked. "If it spooks the moon, facing this Djinn head on sounds like a bad idea."
Yukari nodded. "Reimu and I could repair the barrier while you all do that."
"But-" Reimu said as her face fell.
"So we get a big group, grab it's attention, take it on a wild goose chase, and slip away in the confusion? " Marisa said, smiling. "I like it!"
"But I want to go too!" Reimu shouted.
"You're not going, Reimu," Yukari said.
Reimu's face fell. "What do you mean?"
"You're the barrier shrine maiden and you can channel people, well, gods and youkai at least. You'll need to channel Yukari to fully repair the barrier," Kaguya said.
"But Yorihime can do that just as well as I can!" Reimu protested.
Yorihime called out from the hallway. "This is not my fight, and I'd channel the Morningstar himself before Yukari."
Alice paled at the thought.
"Who's the Morningstar?" Marisa asked.
"Ask Koa sometime," Sakuya whispered.
Reimu pouted, slumping into a nearby chair. "Alright, I'll do my duty. So who all can we get to help?"
"What about the drunken oni?" Eirin said.
"That's redundant," Alice said, rolling her eyes.
"It certainly is," Reimu said, smiling. "Suika's in the Abandoned Wing of Hell, visiting Yuugi. I'm sure I could convince both of them to help. The gods know those two love a good scrap."
"Utsuho?" Yukari asked.
"Good gods, no," Sanae said, as Suwako scowled. "I'd like to be able to live here afterwards." The nuclear hell raven made for powerful artillery; she just had a nasty tendency to carelessly irradiate her surroundings.
"She's too important where she is," Suwako said, her hand darting out and slapping Sanae on the back of her head. "The reactor's a bit twitchy right now."
More names were bandied about, until one final instruction rang out:
Meet at the Hakurei shrine just before dusk.
As the meeting dispersed, Marisa pulled at Alice's shoulder. "C'mon, I've got something to show you before we go to the shrine."
Sergeant Momiji Inubashiri glanced behind her. Even with the addition of Lady Fujiwara, her soldiers still maintained good order as the squad made their way through the long flight to the Hakurei shrine. It spoke well of them, to her pride as a leader and a trainer.
In the corner of her eye, a cherry red fire bloomed on the far side of the shimmering barrier. Yet another anchor for the barrier obliterated. No doubt the Hakurei shrine maiden would know exactly what the flame portended; Momiji's job was simpler. Remove the threat to Gensokyo and Lord Tenma at all costs.
But the simple in battle was anything but, and the costs would be paid in blood by her squad. As she contemplated the foe that could melt stone and shake the hills, Momiji muttered an ancient soldier's prayer underneath her breath.
"For what we are about to receive, make us grateful."