Ugh, I really hoped that I'd be able to get this chapter out sooner, but things always find a way to ruin plans. Stress, burnout, co-writing for another fic, new content for the games I play, those "I know what I'm going to write but I don't know how to write it" moments, and work. I've been especially busy thanks to the primary elections, since I worked as an election assistant.

I had to wake up early in the morning, take a commute that's about forty-five minutes, and then do my shift. And by the time I got home, I was mentally exhausted and couldn't focus enough to work on my stories. The only time I had to write was on the weekends, and that's where the other things I mentioned came in. And after the primaries ended, I finally had time to work on the chapter, but burnout hit me AGAIN. But now it's finally here.

On to answering a couple reviews.

Tangerine Paint: I know this isn't a review, but it would be pretty cool if there were some sort of spinoff/intermission where Reisen meets a warrior bunny tribe... if they still exist.

Oh, the Gensokyo bnuuies and Warrior Bunnies will meet…

Fyrefly1998: I thought Yukari saying to spare the humans but kill all the monsters was strange. I wouldn't expect it to be the other way around, to be clear, but for the Youkai of Gensokyo to discriminate against non-human races seems unlikely. Most of the legions' 'monster auxiliaries' are, after all, enslaved non-human sapients.

Remember how the Empire sent just one legion through the second Gate to Gensokyo? Essentially, they sent the orcs as pure brute force to gain a foothold. And it's been canonically established in GATE that they're feral and dimwitted, meaning they're just barely sapient and trying to get them to change sides was pointless.

A friendly reminder that I still haven't decided yet on which appearance Zorzal should have: light novel, manga, or anime. Here's a quick description for each one.

Light novel – shoulder-length white hair, classic "pretty boy who's actually a piece of shit" trope

Manga – short blonde hair, looks like a typical Roman officer

Anime – I'm pretty sure most of us know this one (blonde and looks like a douche)

So please, vote on this before Zorzal finally shows up. Poll's up in my profile page. As an incentive to vote, each option has some unique dialogue from the Touhou characters that'll happen. Whichever one happens depending on which one wins.

As for Myuute, I decided to just go with her manga appearance since it's the one I prefer. No idea why the anime turned her into a teenager when she's an adult in the manga.

And it's obvious that the Yukari 2 and Sanae 1 choices won, so there isn't much of a need to do the poll anymore, I guess. Besides, the diet begins next chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Touhou Project or GATE.

Everyone was silent as Hisoutensoku rose to its full height. Standing nearly four times taller than the walls of Italica, it gave off a terrifying aura to those who saw it. With a might step forwards, it stepped right in front of the east entrance to Italica, blocking the bandits outside from breaking in. In addition, the bandits already inside were now trapped, unable to escape. With this new factor, the battle to defend Italica took yet another turn.

Near Hisoutensoku's foot, Kyouko landed and took a deep breath. 'Focus,' she thought, 'Sanae is paying me a bag of rum balls to do this.' Her eyes snapping open, a look of intense focus in them, she channeled her energy to her throat, opened her mouth, and let it loose.

Among the bandits, a siren named Myuute tensed as she felt a buildup of magic nearby. As she looked around, her eyes locked on to a green-haired dog demihuman in a brown dress standing guard in front of Italica's gates. The petite girl reared back her head and took a deep breath as the buildup of magic coming from her increased.

"Watch out!" Myuute quickly shouted, "The girl at the gate is preparing a spell!" She braced herself, ready to block or dodge. The bandits around her followed her lead, getting close together and huddling behind shields. Though such a formation would protect them from most spells, it would not be effective against what came next.

"FUS RO DAH!"

Myuute recoiled harshly, clutching at her ears in agony as they bled, the girl's voice having been impossibly loud. Around her, the army stumbled as well, in pain from the auditory attack. However, upon sensing danger, she managed to throw herself out of the way at the last second. Her ears still ringing, Myuute looked up and watched in shock as a visible (to her, anyways) wall of air erupted from the dog demihuman's mouth upon saying the last word, mercilessly tearing through the bandit army and scattering them everywhere, with several unfortunate men getting obliterated into a fine mist upon contact or dying upon having a bad landing. "What…" she gasped, "What was that?"

"Members of the army that marched to invade the lands on the other side of the Gates, only to turn to banditry! Heed my words!" Everyone's attention shifted to a green-haired girl standing on the golden giant's shoulder. Glaring defiantly down at the bandit army, she declared, "It's time for you to pay. This…" She waved her arm around, gesturing to the carnage around Italica. "Is your Judgement Day!"

The bandits shifted, their trepidation and fear turning into anger at the girl's words.

Undaunted, the girl continued, "You turned to sinful vice, and now-"

A dragon rider flew towards the girl, roaring in fury as he prepared to thrust his spear. "Don't you dare talk down to us, bitch! Let's see you try to act all high and mighty after we-" Hisoutensoku instantly grabbed the dragon knight, halting him in his advance. The bandit's spear stopped short, with the girl watching coldly as the weapon slipped out of his grasp and fell to the ground below.

Shaking her head, Sanae snapped her fingers, signaling Nitori and the kappa inside to finish the job. Hisoutensoku started to squeeze tightly, causing both dragon and rider to scream in pain. A moment later, a sickening crunch echoed through the air, and Hisoutensoku dropped a compressed clump of flesh and metal to the ground.

Taking a deep breath, Sanae finished, "It's time to pay the price."

And then the bandits only knew chaos. The golden giant released a latch from its gauntlet, from which several pillar-shaped metal constructs dropped. Upon landing on the ground, they burst open, releasing waves of noxious fumes that caused the bandits to stumble as they choked for air. Next, the demihumans they had been fighting against suddenly appeared on the walls, throwing down torches. The moment the torches came in contact with the gas, everything burst into flames. Bandits stumbled about, shouting in pain as the flames flashed over their bodies only to disappear just as quickly as they appeared.

A pink-haired bird demi-human girl clad in a brown dress landed on top of the walls, calmly monitoring the battlefield. A moment later, she burst into song, letting out a melodic trill that sent spikes of agonizing pain through the bandits' head, sending them into a wild frenzy.

"Attack!" ordered Remilia, leaping down to the ground. "Spare only those who surrender!" Leading the charge of both Gensokyo's forces and Pina's knights, she ran ahead, unhesitatingly impaling the first bandit she saw. "No mercy to those who continue to fight!"

Regaining the upper hand and will to fight, the soldiers retaliated with renewed vigor. With the aid of the youkai and the JSDF, they succeeded in pushing the bandits away from Italica. In a matter of minutes, half of the bandits had been routed, with only those who surrendered as survivors.

"Do not falter!" ordered Grey as he swiftly kicked a bandit in the stomach, following with a swipe that left the man without a head. Without stopping his momentum, he picked up a stray shield and used it to block a sword strike, deflecting the attack and leaving the bandit open to attack. "The battle isn't over yet!"

Within the walls of the city, Rory Mercury, Apostle of Emroy, laughed in glee as she swung her massive halberd around, brutally eviscerating the surrounding bandits. Back-to-back with Kuribayashi, she mercilessly struck down anyone in her way. "Yes, show me more!" she cried, charging towards the bandit leader.

However, Mayumi was faster and reached him first. Pulling the man out of the way of Rory's halberd, she slammed him into the ground with enough force to knock him out. Calmly, Mayumi explained, "Keep him alive for now. He needs to see the consequences of his actions."

Pausing, Rory raised an eyebrow and replied, "Oh? So you're going to break him by forcing him to look at the corpses of his men before killing him?" She looked at the haniwa inquisitively, not judging, but at the same time not showing any hints of what she thought.

Mayumi answered, "Something like that, but not exactly." Ignoring Kuribayashi's look of shock, she elaborated, "We simply wish to know one thing from him before deciding his fate." Suddenly, she drew her bow and quickly shot a bandit who tried to run away, nailing him in the back and likely severing his spine. "However, this should wait until the battle is over."

Kuribayashi was about to respond when a shadow loomed over her. Jumping out of the way, she yelped when the remains of a dragon and its rider landed where she just was. "What the hell was that?" Looking up, she saw the giant golden mecha swinging a morning star around and batting the aerial enemies. "Hey, watch where you're aiming!" she snapped, "You almost got me crushed!"

"Sorry!" called Sanae from inside Hisoutensoku, waving in apology. "I'll make sure to aim at the horizon!" Kicking at a group of bandits that gathered to attack the giant mech's leg, she returned to the task at hand. "Hey, don't mess with the paint job!" Stomping around a few more times to be thorough, she continued, "Now where was I?"

Through the combined work of the JSDF and Gensokyo's forces, the remaining bandits who refused to surrender were completely wiped out in a matter of minutes. Without any willpower to fight back or resist, those who surrendered were quickly taken prisoner.

Watching the soldiers finally relax and get rest, Remilia smiled and turned back to Italica. Walking in and approaching Pina, she said, "Well then, it seems the attack is over. What do you intend to do now?"

Blinking in surprise, Pina was taken aback. "I... ah… What I intend to do?" A second later, she shook her head to clear her stupor. "Right, I have something in mind!" Clearing her throat, she explained, "For now, the first order of business is to review the aftermath of the battle. We need to count how many injured and dead we have, as well as ensure the prisoners are properly secured so that they have no chance of escaping to cause more trouble."

"A wise decision," said Rory as she approached the two. "However, I must insist that the leader of the bandits is handed over to my jurisdiction. His actions fall into Lord Emroy's domain, and as such it is my duty as his Apostle to judge this man."

Before Pina could protest, Remilia calmly interrupted, "Of course, Lady Mercury. As the Apostle of a god, you hold the highest authority here. With that said, however, we do wish to speak with this man first."

Shaking her head, Rory replied, "There is no need to refer to me with that much authority. You may simply call me Rory. And I do with to speak with their leader as well. Shall we speak more outside the wall? I'd rather we have privacy."

Realizing what was about to happen, Pina quickly excused herself. "If that is the case, I shall leave you to your business. I will check on the others for now." Turning around, she walked away, heading towards the sector that had been cleared to treat the injured.

Dragging the bandit leader through Italica's gates and out of the city, Mayumi forced the man to look at the corpses of his fellow bandits. Walking up to him and planting Gungnir firmly in the ground, Remilia removed her helmet to look at the man clearly. "Well?" she asked, "What do you think? We helped you get what you wanted. Isn't it beautiful?" Perking up, Rory looked at her with interest, wondering what the vampire's intentions were.

Scowling, the man snarled, "Don't you dare mock me! Do you have any idea who I am? I'll kill you!" He tried to get up and shake Mayumi off, only for her to push him back down on his knees. "Gah! Let go!"

Feigning confusion, Remilia asked, "What do you mean? Isn't this what you wanted? Why are you-" Cutting herself off, she smiled and spoke tauntingly. "Oh, so that's what you wanted. You didn't just want death and bloodshed. You wanted the deaths and bloodshed of weaklings who can't fight back!"

Clearing her throat, Rory finally spoke up. "Well?" she asked, "What do you have to say for yourself?" She stared at him inquisitively, raising an eyebrow as she waited for an answer.

Smiling confidently, the man unashamedly declared, "I have done nothing wrong! It was all in the name of Lord Emroy! He is the god of death and violence, and his teachings state that killing is not a sin. For all the blood I spilled, he will welcome me into the heavens with open arms!"

Shaking her head, Rory chuckled in amusement. "True, Emroy's teachings state that the act of killing in itself is not a sin, that it is neither good or bad." Tightening her grip on her halberd, she continued speaking, cutting off the bandit leader to deny his perceived victory. "As such, it becomes so much more important why the kill happened. A mother who kills to protect her infant child, a soldier who kills his country's enemies for the sake of his home, and a bandit who kills out of desire to survive are all forgiven, as those have meaning and intent behind them."

Realizing where Rory was going, Remilia's eyes lit up. "But what about you?" she asked, looking down at the man as her grin grew in size. "What about your kills? How will they be judged?"

Rory continued, "You and your men may have killed, yes, but you cannot be forgiven. Your slaughter had no goal, no dignity or pride. There was only a desire for bloodshed. Are you so lost in your zealotry that you are incapable of comprehending this?"

Faltering, the bandit leader instinctively responded, "What do you mean? I killed in Emroy's name! That alone makes my kills worthy!"

Sighing, Rory corrected the man. "As I said, Emroy does not believe that the kill in itself is a sin. He instead looks to the intent behind the kill. What the killer feels, what they think, what it is they hoped to achieve, how they act after the deed… Those are what Emroy wants to see; he savors those experiences. As for killing for the sake of killing or without meaning? He finds it bland, barbaric, and even boring."

Realizing the situation he was in, the bandit leader's eyes widened in horror. "No…" he uttered. "No! Wait! I'm sorry! I repent! I repe-" He tried to scramble away, only for Rory to raise her halberd and bring it down on him, ending his life.

"That takes care of this issue," chirped Rory as she swung her weapon, sending the corpse flying away to join the pile at the side of the road. Turning to Remilia and Mayumi, she continued, "And now we go back to the others and everyone starts talking after the prisoners are secured."

…

A few hours, everyone gathered in the main hall, where Colt and Pina sat upon the chair positioned in front of the banners. Clearing his throat, Colt announced, "Now that the worst is behind us, let us go over the terms Gensokyo and the Jayesdeef have settled on in regards to future proceedings."

Speaking up, Pina affirmed, "As representative of the Saderan Empire, I request that we be given possession of the prisoners." If she wanted to ensure the Empire's survival, she needed to act quickly and establish some amount of dominance. Much to her surprise, she was met with no resistance.

Shaking her head, Remilia replied, "Take them as you wish, we of Gensokyo have no need for them."

Nodding in agreement, Kengun added, "The JSDF accepts your terms. We understand that labor is needed to rebuild Italica, and only ask that you allow us to take in three to five prisoners to interrogate for information. We have no desire to interfere with local customs, but we would like for you to treat the prisoners in a humane manner at the very least."

Blinking in confusion, Hamilton echoed, "Hu… mane?"

Lelei spoke up and explained, "It means to treat one as though they were an acquaintance or friend." Unfortunately, this seemed to be the wrong thing to say.

Colt and Pina stiffened, their eyes narrowing slightly. Hamilton, on the other hand, did not hesitate to voice her anger. "How ludicrous! After what they have done, you want us to treat them as friends?! Friends do not break into peaceful villages to kill the men, rape the women and girls, enslave anyone they lay their hands on, and pillage everything in sight!"

Unflinching, Lelei simply stated, "Those are the JSDF's terms."

Taking the opportunity to gain control over the situation, Remilia decided to step in. "Friends is such a strong word," she drawled. "Count Formal, I believe that the accommodations you and the other soldiers received during your internment in Gensokyo would be a rather accurate reference for the treatment the JSDF requests you provide to the prisoners."

Slightly relaxing, Colt nodded. "I see. Very well. We will refrain from treating the prisoners with unnecessary force, and I will ensure that the prisoners receive the same treatment you gave the soldiers you took prisoner."

Calming down, Hamilton took a deep breath. "That settles the matter of the prisoners' treatment. Let us move on to what is to be done regarding the troops in Italica. It is to our understanding that the Jayesdeef will withdraw their soldiers after selecting up to five prisoners to take in for interrogation. But what of Gensokyo's forces?"

Standing straight, Remilia explained, "As part of the negotiation made between Italica and Gensokyo, our forces will remain as security to ensure the safety of Italica during reconstruction. In addition, we will also be selling goods from Gensokyo to aid in building up the economy so that Italica will be able to afford the resources required for said reconstruction."

Reluctantly, Hamilton nodded in understanding. "I see. Thank you for doing what we cannot. This concludes the negotiations regarding Italica." Turning around, she tidied the papers listing the contents of the discussion and handed them over to Colt and Pina.

Several minutes later, Pina returned to the quarters where the Rose Order was staying and collapsed into a chair in exhaustion. "So, how did the discussion go?" Looking up, she saw Grey walking over to her.

Straightening herself, Pina sighed, "The Jayesdeef took five prisoners and wanted us to handle any diplomatic delegation's security and expenses. They also requested a release from all trade taxes from Italica."

Humming, the elderly man pondered, "Those are small demands from a victor. What about that nation Gensokyo?"

Shaking her head, Pina exclaimed, "I can't even begin to predict what they're thinking!" Taking a deep breath to calm down, she explained, "Due to a lack of manpower from both Italica and the Empire's end, they will be sending their own soldiers to protect the city. In addition, they will be selling their goods to merchants, with half of the profit going to Italica's restoration and recovery."

Raising an eyebrow, Grey admitted, "That does sound rather suspicious. But to give them the benefit of doubt, perhaps it is an attempt to broker the beginning of a non-aggression treaty?"

Pina lamented, "I don't know. Perhaps it is, but the way Lady Remilia spoke reminded me a bit of Father. The time she chose to speak and the way she said her words were too convenient to be a coincidence. I cannot help but feel that it was a deliberate ploy to assert some amount of control and give her home the advantage in the situation."

Sighing, Grey stroked his chin. "Still, I'm surprised that Gensokyo will be sending in supplies of their own to provide food and medical treatment, while the Jayesdeef will be withdrawing all their troops."

The red-haired princess explained, "I was stunned as well. At first, I wondered what kind of magic Hamilton must have used to make Gensokyo and the Jayesdeef give up the rights of a natural victor, but I learned that the Jayesdeef did not wish to take up resources that could be provided to the people in need, and Gensokyo had already intended to aid in Italica's recovery since the start."

Piqued, Grey headed for the door. "In that case, I'll go talk to them. After all, we do need to thank them for providing medical treatment for Norma after he got injured."

Perking up, Pina quickly followed him. If anything, she needed the distraction to calm her down. Heading to the infirmary, she said, "I pray that Norma will make a full recovery. After all, such an injury to his arm could cause him to retire to a life as a civilian." A few minutes later, she quickened her pace and entered the infirmary as it came into sight.

"-nd by the time she finally realized the back of her dress was hiked up, everyone had already gotten an eyeful!" Norma laughed, sitting up in his cot as he used his uninjured arm to eat what seemed to be thin slices of meat, greens, and cheese between two cuts of bread.

Chuckling from his own cot, Kyori replied, "We've had incidents like that too. One such time was when Hatate, one of the tengu reporters – a reporter is a messenger who delivers news to the masses, if you will – woke up and realized she was late for a meeting, so she rushed out. However, she forgot to dress up for the day, and arrived to the meeting in her sleepwear. It should be noted that she sleeps only in her undergarments."

Laughing even harder, Norma exclaimed, "By the gods, that must have been quite the si-" He cut himself off when he saw Pina, quickly silencing himself and bowing his head. "Princess Pina, it is good to see you are well."

Shaking her head, Pina replied, "Norma, I'm glad to see that you are well enough to laugh and jest. We were worried about you." Turning to Kyori, she continued, "Sir Kyori, it is good to see that you are in high spirits as well. I sincerely hope that Norma hasn't been too much trouble."

Waving off the apology, Kyori responded, "It's fine. Sir Norma has been pleasant company. Truth be told, he'd probably get along quite well with the tengu."

Chuckling, Grey finally spoke up. "Based on that, I can guess that the tengu can be quite talkative and have a love for good alcohol."

Nodding, Kyori said, "True, though to be fair, a vast majority of the races in Gensokyo love good alcohol."

Smiling, Pina relaxed. If this could be taken as a sign, then perhaps negotiating with Gensokyo wouldn't be so difficult after all. At most, it would simply be a matter of procuring a large assortment of excellent wines to give as a gift.

Suddenly, Hamilton burst into the room. "Princess! It's terrible! I have bad news!" she wheezed, face red from running a long distance without rest. "Bozes has arrived, and she... she... she bro-" The girl broke down into coughs, gasping for air as she gratefully accepted the cup of water Grey gave her.

"Bozes is here? That's great news!" Pina exclaimed. Then she registered just exactly what Hamilton had said. Faltering, she asked, "But wait... what do you mean by bad news? What happened?"

Before Hamilton could answer, an armor-clad young woman with blonde hair done in drills marched into the room, her head held high in victory. "Princess Pina! I, Bozes Co Palesti, have arrived with the rest of the Rose Order of Knights to provide aid! And I have brought a prisoner we successfully captured!"

She threw someone to the ground, harshly kicking them over to reveal their face to everyone. Lying there, groaning in pain with his arms tied behind his back, was Youji Itami. He was badly beaten, his entire body covered in scrapes and bruises. Weakly, he coughed out blood as he rasped for breath.

Pina felt something inside her snap.

Fun fact: the original script for the Battle of Italica included Clownpiece and Parsee. Clownpiece would help Mystia drive the bandits insane while Parsee induced jealousy in them to make them turn on each other.

Please tell me what you think, review, constructive criticism appreciated, and NO flames. Keep your insults to yourself. They contribute nothing to the story (unless you're insulting characters that honestly deserve the burns).