Tales of Gensokyo

[Flygon King]

Tales of Gensokyo

Prologue

The Netherworld. One could consider it to be purgatory. It was the world where phantoms and restless spirits judged unfit for either Hell or Heaven rested. The sky was dark, and a cold wind blew through the final resting place of ghosts. Within the Netherworld was a shrine, and seated at the edge of it was a beautiful woman. She had short, pink hair with a blue mob cap over it, and wore a light blue-and-white kimono. Surrounding her were several formless spirits, which she seemed to ignore as she looked out over the garden around the shrine, or more precisely, at the giant, gnarled, dead cherry tree which loomed above everything else in the Netherworld.

“Yuyuko-sama. Your guest has arrived!” a voice called out to her from behind. The Ghost Princess got up, and walked out to where the voice had originated. In the deepest chamber of the shrine, she saw her assistant, the half-ghost, half human Youmu, and seated across from her on a mat was the guest. Yuyuko smiled as she sat down next to Youmu, the swordsman/gardener of the Netherworld making room for her master.

“It’s so nice of you to visit me at this time. Would you like some sake, or some fried fish?” Yuyuko asked.

Her guest shook her head. “I’ve already eaten, but thank you. I’ve noticed that there’s been a recent surge of odd creatures entering into Gensokyo recently. Violent, nasty little monsters that only want to kill, and have some very bad blood. I believe the outside world calls them Xenacrophs or something like that.”

“That doesn’t seem too good.” Yuyuko commented in an almost ditzful way, before adding, “You think that perhaps they’re coming from here? I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary…”

“Yes, I was thinking that, but hearing your word on it does help me out abit. However, the choices that are left for me to search are not very good.”

“Oh? Please tell me then.”

Her guest sighed. “I know for a fact that these creatures don’t exist at all in the real world. They’re only monsters that the humans have made up for their own entertainment, so that rules out the outside world. I don’t see any reason why Kanako would make something so horribly brutish, which leaves only the Underworld, and I trust Persephone too much for her to try this kind of thing out. In other words…”

“You think it’s Makai?” Yuyuko injected.

Her guest chuckled. Yuyuko may seem like a child who was unaware of their actions, like how eating a sapient sparrow youkai wasn’t acceptable, but she was much smater than she looked. “Yes, I do think that Makai’s behind this. However, a certain someone’s not going to like me being there, and things would get very ugly, really fast…”

“So what are you going to do?” Yuyuko asked her old friend, while Youmo, who had left before, now came back in with a cup of tea for the Ghostly Princess.”

“I’m going to get some unlikely outside help. Reimu’s not interested in going down to Makai, but I’m certain that I can bring in some fellows that would deal with the situation. I already have them pinned down, so I can begin it as soon as I leave…”

Yuyuko smirked, holding up her favorite fan to her face. “I knew you came here for more than just to see if the Netherworld had any involvement in this… Alright then, let us begin this, then. I want to see just what kind of misadventures the outsiders you have in mind will get into…”

[Flygon King]

Chapter 1: Gone Away to the Fairyland

Katsu looked out over the warming Arizona landscape. It was the last day of Winter, and the temperature was already warming up. The man of age 19 groaned, then closed the window. While he was of Japanese descent, hence his name, his family had moved to Arizona, and he now lived here in his own house. It was nice here, with hot summers and cold winters helping to contribute to his training. He looked off to the side of the room, where his books and spells lay. These were the reason why he hadn’t left his home for the last few days. In this world of scientific reasoning and logic, learning magic was more or less a taboo, and Katsu wanted to master the 4 elements. It had taken him weeks to gather up the resources, and it was now almost to fruitation. He flexed his hand, and wind whirled around it, before dissipating when he clenched his fist. Within 4 days, he now knew how to control 3 of the elements… but Fire was proving to be a different story…

A sharp ringing of the doorbell caught him off-guard. The fit young man panicked, and tried to put everything away as the doorbell kept ringing. Who was it that wanted him right now? He had told his boss that he’d be on vacation for a few weeks, and his parents didn’t know where he lived. Most likely it was his friends.

Moving as fast as he could, he dashed down the stairs, his brownish-black hair blowing backward as he finally stopped and opened the door.

“Katsu! It’s me, Sagi-shi!” A young girl who was roughly half his height screamed as she shot past the stunned boy. She had hair of the same color as him, blue eyes of the same color, and wore blue jeans and a white shirt. Her mouth raced off like a motor: “I’ve waited so long to see you again, older brother! Mama and Papa were worried sick about you. Let me take you back and-“

“SHUT UP!” Katsu shouted, silencing the girl as he pointed at her. “First of all, who are you?”

“Don’t you recognize me? I’m your sister-“

“First of all, your eyes are the wrong color to be my younger sister. Secondly, she’d call me “Bro” instead of my actual name, and third and most importantly…” Here, Katsu leaned in close till his eyes were inches from the girl’s. “My sister has been dead for 3 years. She fell into a Gorilla exhibit at the zoo, and the big male there, Mist, he tore her apart and licked her mutilated fingers…”

The girl stared right back at Katsu, then burst into laughter, at first, it sounded like normal laughter for a 7 year old, but then the voice deepened, till it was that of a mature woman laughing, causing Katsu to back up. The strange girl locked her eyes on his, and they seemed to glow under her gaze. “Your no fun are you? I was hoping you’d buy that for a little bit longer, but alas, such is the difference between you and others I troll.”

“Who are you, and what business do you have with me?” Katsu demanded, which only caused the girl to laugh even more.

“I? You may call me Auntie Yakumo. And as for my business with you… I have a special proposition just for you. I need your help for a few days, maybe even a week.”

“Fat chance lady!” Katsu growled, eyes burning. Just who did this woman think she was, barging into his house, pretending to be his little sister who had been dead for years, and then have the audacity to ask for HIS help? “You want help, go to some cult who worships freaks like you-“

At that moment, the girl seemed to vanish, then reappear behind him, a closed umbrella pointed at his back. “Don’t worry, I’ve already arranged everything for you. Your parents, friends, and anyone else who knows you think you’ve died in a freak accident involved with your magic studies, meaning there’s nothing stopping me from just taking you with me. I hope you have a fine time across the border…”

Before Katsu could say anything, the ground beneath him gave away, and the next thing he knew, he was falling through a dark abyss. Massive, unblinking eyes gazed at him from all over, and disembodied hands reached for him, clawed at him. There seemed to be no end to the odd gap in space and time.

He was far too frightened out of his mind to scream, though he knew two things for certain…

One, was that he was heading farther and farther away from his home, and that second, that girl would pay for 20 different kinds of Hell if he got the chance…

[Flygon King]

Chapter 2: Wind God Girl

Katsu tried to stop himself from falling. He tried to use what magic he knew to slow his descent, but nothing was happening. For whatever reason, the odd dimension he was in prevented him from using his magic.

And then, to his shock, he was out of it!

Above him, he could see the gap that led into the odd space he had been in close up, and he tried to twist to see where he was now...

CRAAAASH!

Dust swirled all around him. The young man groaned as he rose up to his feet. For some odd reason, he didn;t hurt that much despite the impact. Whatever he had landed on definitely had softened up his crash into the ground. He looked down to see what he had landed on, then froze.

He had crashed into a young woman upon impact, and he had a class A look at her white panties.

Quickly he turned his gaze away as the woman got up. “P-p-please forgive me! I’m sorry, miss!” He said, knowing the pain that was to follow…

“Oh don’t sweat it. After what I’ve done, I guess this sort of thing was deserved.” He heard the woman say, Her voice seemed quite pleasant, though a tad immature.

He turned around. Now that she was standing up, he had a much more normal view of her. She was around his height, and wore a white blouse and an unusually short black skirt, both which had brown leaf-prints. Her black hair was slightly longer than Katsu’s own, but was still rather short. In one hand, she carried a journal, and around her neck was a camera. A slightly mischievous smile spread across her face as she opened the notebook and began jotting down notes. “Wait a second, so you’re not mad about me-“

“Nope, and that’s for both you crashing into me, and you getting a look at my panties.” The girl said, before pointing upward. “So I take it you’re not from around here, are you?”

Katsu looked around himself for the first time, and noticed just how beautiful the land around him was. They were both standing in a rolling grassland, the wind blowing slightly, causing the grass to wave around. Off in the distance, a massive mountain rose up into the clouds, the top hidden by the clouds. To his left and right, the grassland tapered down into several villages, but from what he could see, the building were more Japanese than anything else. Just where was this place he was in?

He told the girl what had happened to him. Once he finished, she sighed, and muttered in a voice he couldn’t hear, “I had a feeling this was the damn gap hag’s fault…”.

“Um, did you say something?”

The girl quickly responded while shaking her head, “Nothing special, just cursing the local deity of this place… Seeing as you’re an outsider, I guess I should explain this to you. Welcome to Gensokyo, a world separated from the outside world you come from. Here, things that you thought impossible or unable to exist are living and breathing.”

Katsu blinked as he tried to make sense of what the girl had told him. A separate dimension, where the impossible was possible? Why did he suddenly feel like shouting, “That’s the way Team Dai-Gurren rolls!” He shook his head. As he had thought… Now he was in this weird, yet oddly attractive place… Here he was, away from home thanks to some creepy person, and he was standing in an alternate dimension with a pretty lady. He didn't know wherever to curl up in a corner and cry or to try to take this all into stride. He went with the latter. “Um, my name’s Katsu. What’s yours?” He asked.

The girl smirked, then began to spin her journal around on one finger. “The name’s Aya Shameimaru. I’m a journalist tengu that runs the Bunbunmaru Newspaper.”

“Wait a second. You’re a Tengu? But aren’t your kind supposed to be these ugly, long-nosed monsters that scare people?” Katsu asked. He was surprising himself by how accepting he was of this odd phenomenon.

Aya winked at him, a gesture that slightly creeped him out. “You know, stereotyping one’s race like that isn’t advisable here. One wrong word could kill you.” Aya said, before slapping herself outside the head. “ Aw crap, I forgot about the other newcomers.”

“Wait, you said more newcomers?”

“Yeah. I noticed a few things falling out of the sky from these dark gaps, and I was on my way to observe one near the shrine when you-“

“ A shrine? What kind of shrine?”

“You know, you ask a lot of questions for a newcomer. I like you, kid.” Aya said, before pointing to a tall hill several miles away. “ There’s a shrine just past that hill. The girl who runs it might be able to take you back home.”

“Really? Thank you, thank you!” Katsu shouted as he shook Aya’s hand, before the tengu pulled away.

“It’s no problem. Would you like a ride there? I can carry you?”

“Um…”

Katsu barely had a chance to say anything more as Aya grabbed his hand and threw him onto her back. The young man was about to object to this, when everything around him suddenly moved like a bur. No, it was Aya that was moving like a blur, flying just above the ground, the hill rapidly growing in size. Never had he thought that any living creature could fly so fast, but this friendly tengu had proven him wrong…

However, he vowed never to fly on an airplane once he got back to his own world…

[Flygon King]

Chapter 3: Eternal Shrine Maiden

Once they were at the top of the hill, Aya slowed down to a stop. Katsu slipped off her back, gasping for breath. As he lay there on the ground, the sounds of a commotion reached both his and Aya’s ears. The sounds of shouting and cursing were evident. Both turned to the direction of the sounds.

They were now right infront of a large shrine. The grounds were relatively clean, but aside from the sounds coming from behind it, it seemed like there was no one there. Katsu got up onto his feet and looked at the donation box out front. It was completely empty.

“Leave this to me.” Aya said as she strolled up to the sliding door of the shrine. She knocked once.

“Who is it?” A tired voice asked. Aya opened up the door. Katsu was surprised to see just how barren the inside for the shrine looked. Aside from the covered table in the middle, the room was empty. Seated by the table on her knees was a shrine maiden, in red and white attire. Her long black hair was tied up, and she had on detached sleeves, exposing her rather good-looking armpits. She had a rod in her hand, with white paper dangling from it. On her head was a red ribbon. “Oh, if it isn’t the tengu…” She yawned, her eyes needing desperate rest. “While you’re here, could you quiet down the fairies out back? They’re being too noisy…”

Aya sighed. “Reimu… Oh fine. We’ll see what on earth all this noise is about… on one condition.”

“And what might that be?” The miko asked, trying desperately to drown out the noise around her.

Aya gestured over to Katsu, who moved up beside her. “This guy fell in from the outside world. He needs to get back.”

Reimu looked closely at Katsu, who wasn’t liking the way she was looking at him. She shrugged. “Fine, but first, deal with the situation out back, okay?”

The tengu took a deep breath, then headed out the back door, with Katsu following her. She opened it up, and what Katsu and her saw was a really bizzare scene.

There was a small pond out behind the shrine, and a large tree was growing on the other end. Floating above the surface of the water were three female fairies. One looked surprisingly like Reimu, one had long blue hair and blue clothing, and the third had short brown hair with brown clothing. But it was the 4th being that was there, and the one that the fairies were flying circles around while throwing insults at that caught both Aya and Katsu’s attention.

To Aya, she had no reference as to just what this thing was, but Katsu atleast had a few references. The being looked like a mixture of a T-Rex, a gorilla, and a Stegosaurus. It was 12 feet tall, with olive green skin, emerald eyes, and rhino-like horns protuding from its snout. The arms were muscular and long, like a gorilla’s, but ended with sharp-curving talons. Rocky armor covered most of his body, and the tail had several spikes coming out from it. No matter how he tried to look at it, Katsu could only think of it as the most bizzare being he had ever seen.

And it had an Australian accent.

“You bitty little punies, let me crush you between my big meaty hands!” It shouted at the three fairies, who merely shouted back insults and flung energy blasts at it. The creature tried to grab at them, but everytime he got close, the fairies flew out of reach, laughing their heads off as they did so. Both Aya and Katsu could see that this was not going to end anytime soon…

Unless they interviened.

“Alright, the party’s over!” Katsu shouted at the top of his lungs. At that moment, all 4 combatants ceased their actions and turned to see the human and the tengu there. “ Now that I have your attention-“

A thundering roar from the odd dinosaur mix silenced him. “No mortal tells the mighty Berzerker what to do!” it howled, before charging. The ground shook as it barreled right for Katsu, who was paralyzed with fear. Aya, however, wasn’t, and was ready to dive in and save him…

…When a gigantic turtle surfaced from the pond and bowled Berzerker over like a bowling pin.

It was the largest terrapin Katsu had ever seen. It was twice as large as Berzerker, and it had countless scars and scratches over its shell. The wrinkled skin on it left no doubt as to the great age of the reptile. But most surprising to Katsu, was that the turtle was hovering in the air, just a few feet off the ground.

“When someone tells you to stop what you’re doing, you listen to them!” The turtle snapped at the dinosaurian mixture, who was stumbling onto his feet. “You and that constant racket you’ve caused have been driving me mad. You better thank that boy he silenced you before I did.”

Berzerker was back up, and was ready to put the turtle on his endangered list when the massive terrapin pocked eyes with him. All the fight seemed to drain out the violent being, for he began to step back out of fear. Katsu didn’t really know what was going on, but it was apparent that this turtle was someone he shouldn’t mess with.

The turtle then spun around, and now had the fairies locked on. “As for you three, you helped provoke the brute into action. Miss Hakurei was nice enough to let you three live in that tree over there, but you reward her with your mischievous pranks and actions! I want you three out of my sight this instance, before I decide to have some fairy pie, understand?”

They needed no further words. At once, the three mischievous fairies were off like a rocket, and off into the three they lived in.

The turtle sighed, then turned to Katsu and Aya. “I must thank you two for showing up to take care of the situation. All that squabbling and fighting was driving me nuts.”

Aya patted the turtle on the head. “It’s no big deal, Genji. Reimu told us to stop the noise, and we were only here to help this fellow get back to his world.” The tengu said.

Genji narrowed his eyes. “Is that so? Well then, what might be your name, young man, and what’s your story?” the turtle asked Katsu. Katsu told him the story, and once he had finished, Genji began muttering under his breath. Katsu was certain he could have heard him murmur, “Damn gap hag. What do you have planned this time?” With that, he turned back to Katsu. “Well it’s a pleasure to meet such a nice and hard-working man as you are, Katsu. Sorry for the circumstances of your arrival.”

“So I’m not the only one who got warped from their home, boy.”

The voice came from Berzerker, who had calmed down from his earlier outrage. Everyone turned to the odd being. “Let me guess, a strange woman brought you here as well?” Katsu asked him.

The T-rex nodded. “Aye. I’m a rough born fighter, who lives for the fight, for the violence, for the kill. I was in Australia, searching for the rare Megalania, when this woman appeared out of nowhere. Just here apperance made me want to pound her head in, but when I got close, I fell into some weird dimension and ended up here, with those puny cowards taunting me…”

Genji rubbed his head with a flipper. “You are lucky that you got deposited right behind the Shrine. Other warped visitors end up in… less than favorable area. But first…”

The turtle floated away from them and went over to the back of the shrine. He banged the door once. It opened, and Reimu found herself starring at a very pissed off turtle.

“Oh hi there, Genji… Are you hun-“

“No, I am not hungry, you lazy shrine maiden!” He snapped. The tone in his voice caused Reimu to fall onto her back. From behind the turtle, Katsu and co. could sense the power aura of the turtle forming. “I have raised the entire Hakurei line for over 800 years to preserve the peace in Japan, then here in Gensokyo, but what do I get from the last member of the Hakurei line, the pinnacle of all my hard work? A lazy miko who’d rather sleep all day and let two passerby’s do her work when there’s an incident right in her own backyard then walk 5 feet and tell a bunch of rowdy fools to shut up. I did not work 8oo years to get such a lazy person!”

“But Genji, I-“

“Don’t give me that crap, missie. Sure, you solved the Scarlet Mist incident, sure you solved the neverending winter incident, sure you solved the imperishable night incident, sure you solved the incident down in the former Hell of Blazing Fires and whatnot, but all of those involved you waiting until the situation was at it’s most dire until you finally got off your lazy ass and got to work. When will you realize to take action ASAP?!”

Reimu was taken aback. Sure, Genji had beratted her time and time again on her laziness, but this was the angriest he had even been about the issue. She looked down at the floor and groaned, “Yes, grandpa.”

Genji snorted. “Didn’t I tell you not to call me by that name? Now, why don’t we allow our guests to come inside and tell you their plight?”

Reimu sighed, then sat down behind the table as Katsu and Aya came in and sat down at other ends of the table, with Berzerker standing outside. The two outsiders told the shrine maiden of what had happened to them, and when they finished, she began banging her head on the table, each bang emphasizing each word she spoke: “GOD… DAMN… YOU… YUKARI!”

Katsu seemed confused. “Who’s this Yukari person?” he asked.

Reimu looked at him with a funny look. “That would be the name of the gap hag who brought you here. She’s also the person who controls boundaries. Now if you excuse me, I’ll be getting you two your tickets home.”

Katsu and Berzerker watched as Reimu entered into a gap that opened up behind her. 5 minutes later, she came out of the same gap with a bag in her hands.

“I have good news and bad news for you two.”

“What’s the bad news?” Aya asked, jotting down notes on her notebook.

Reimu pointed her rod at both Katsu and Berzerker. “ The gap hag won’t allow you two to leave Gensokyo. Just letting you two walk across the barrier is out of the question, since the universes both of you come from aren’t the outside world, and the damn gap hag told me to tell you to search for the other outsiders she brought over. Apparently she has some plan that involves you two and more, but she ain’t telling me about it.”

Katsu was at a loss for words. He wanted to get home, to see his family, his friends, and his fellow workers. Being denied that was like a stab through his soul. Trying to keep himself uplifted, he asked, “What’s the good news?”

Reimu plopped the bag down on the table. It opened up, revealing several things Katsu immediately recognized. “The good news is that she decided to let you keep a few things she forgot to bring over. I don’t know what most of these are, but she said she’ll charge them up for you every now and them when you’re asleep, whatever that means…”

Katsu grabbed the I-pod and DS from the table and put them into his pocket, along with the headphones. He atleast felt a tiny bit happy now…

“So, we must find the others who dropped into this place, but how will we find them?” The T-rex asked.

Aya was quick to respond. “Reimu, would it be alright if we slept here for tonight. It’s getting really late, and we need some sleep.”

The shrine maiden glared at Aya. “Alright. You 3 can spend the night here, but I expect you all to help clean up the Shrine in the morning and, if I dare catch you taking pictures around here, there’s going to be tengu stew for dinner tommorow, understand?”

That night, as everyone else was fast asleep in different rooms of the shrine, Aya was at work, taking whatever pictures she could, and compiling her resources, before she shot off into the night sky…

_________________________________________________________________

Elsewhere, in a different , dark dimension, a single eye peered out before him . “So, she has decided to betray me, right?” a voice rumbled through the darkness.

Infront of the eye, a white haired woman wearing a black cloak and large glasses nodded. “Yes, Lord Akuro. Mima has escaped from here after we told her of our plans. It appears that she has connections to Gensokyo, connections we weren’t aware of.”

“So be it. She has helped us greatly, but we still have need of her. Fiore, go and get Ravenstorm. He will be needed to track her down.”

Fiore took a step back, wanting to protest. Ravenstorm was a brutal, nightmarish demon who didn’t care about anything around him, only bloodshed. But knowing better than to object to her lord, Fiore took off, leaving Akuro alone… or so she thought.

“ Genesect!” Akuro called out.

From the darkness, two blood-red light flashed on. “What need have you of me, master?” a mechanical voice whined from all over.

Akruo’s one eye narrowed. “Go down to Makai, and oversee the production line. Make certain there are no problems occuring…”

[Flygon King]

Chapter 4: The Capital City of Flowers in the Sky

The first day of spring had arrived with the sun rising above the horizon, casting a golden hue across the land. From the Forest of Magic to the Youkai Mountain, and from the Human Village to the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, the sun’s presence brought the promise of a warm, lovely day.

It also brought something that anyone who had lived in Gensokyo for over a year loathed and hated with a passion… Lily White.

“IT’S SPRIIIIIING!” the fairy shouted at the top of her lungs as she flew over the landscape. Flowers and other plants bloomed in her wake, and spring came wherever she went. Thus was her deep connection with the warming season. Her shouts went far and wide, making those who had forgotten to use earplugs try their hardest to drown out the noise, while those who did still cursed themselves for not using bigger ones. The fairy flew on, bringing spring to Gensokyo and discomfort and aching ears to everyone else, and danmaku barrages to those who tried to shoot her down…

Until she noticed the Hakurei shrine off in the distance.

To her surprise, the shrine seemed sleepy. Normally, the shrine maiden would be up and about by this time, but there were no doors open, no windows open, and she could hear the snores of the people inside as she drew near. A frown spread across Lily’s face. Here she was, wanting people to wake up and enjoy the lovely spring she had brought to them, and what was the local shrine maiden doing? Sleeping through a beautiful morning! But not if Lily had anything to say about it…

__________________

Katsu was fast asleep in the room Reimu had set aside for him. He snored loudly, unaware of the door creeking open. He was dreaming, and he saw in his dreams a beautiful city above the clouds. He was floating up toward it, and around him cherry blossoms flustered their colors. He could hear singing, and it was all gorgeous to him.

“Is this… heaven?” he murmured in his sleep, enjoying his dream.

“Wrong... It's SPRING ! NYAHAHAHABLABLABLHHHH”A childish voice rang though his ears.

Katsu’s eyes shot open and he sat up. Floating infront of him was a fairy in a white dress and hat, with green eyes, long blonde hair, and a pair of white wings. She stuck her tongue out at him. “It’s a wonderful spring morning, so get your rear in gear and head on out!” She shouted, her voice scratching Katsu’s ear drums.

Before he could do anything, Reimu appeared in the doorway, her rod in hand as she glared at the fairy. “I thought I heard your voice blasting around here. Get out Lily. OUT, NOW!” She shouted. The Fairy of Spring shot off, not wanting to deal with an angry Shrine Maiden.

Reimu sighed. “ I guess I forgot to tell you about Lily. That fairy’s always a pain in the side at this time of year…”

Behind Reimu, another door opened up, and Aya’s head poked out. Both Katsu and Reimu turned and gasped in horror. The tengu’s hair was a complete mess, and large bags hung under her eyelids. It was as if she hadn’t gotten an ounce of sleep the whole night, which was the case. “Would both you assholes shut the f*ck up? Can’t a bi*ch get some shut eye?” Aya groaned, then shut the door.

“Note to self… never mess with a sleepy tengu.” Katsu said to himself…

_________________

A few hours later, everyone was gathered around the table in the main room. Aya, no longer resembling the long-lost sister of Lady Gaga, put the newspaper down infront of Katsu. “So, how do you like it? I labored all night to make that baby and spread it all over.” She grinned.

Katsu did a quick scan of the paper and paled. He did a double-take at Aya. This… this was-

He decided to read it outloud for Reimu, Genji, and Berzerker to hear.

“Another Incident In the Midst?

For many Gensokyo residents, the previous day seemed like a normal, ordinary day. But what they didn’t notice, was the work of the resident gap hag, Yukari Yakumo. The youkai had apparently been busy gapping as many people over the barrier as she could, for not just one, but several new arrivals came falling from the sky. One was the lovable sex maniac Katsu, who got a lovely view of this reporter’s panties upon impact. He came crashing in along with the brutal monster of a bygone age, Berzerker, a being that looks more like one of Eirin’s failed experiments than a real creature. Both are currently staying at the lazy miko’s place. No reason as of yet is known why these two have been brought over, except that Yukari has plans for both of them. All attempts to communicate with her have led to failure. We will bring in more news as information unfolds.”

Katsu tossed the newspaper into Aya’s face. “Lovable sex maniac? Failed experiment? Where the hell are you coming up with this bogus? Is this your idea of revenge for the accidental glimpse? “

Aya let out a short laugh. “People won’t read a newspaper if there isn’t something to grip their interest, so I did what needed to be done.”

Flames flickered in Katsu’s eyes as he jabbed his finger into Aya’s collarbone. “Reimu told me you didn’t have any friends, and now I know why that’s the case. You make up such horrible things about people just to get more views for your damn newspaper?” he shouted.

“Whoa whoa, calm down there. I gotta make a living you know, and the more interesting the story, the better.”

“Katsu’s right. You should reedit your story and apologise to him right now.” Genji noted.

Reimu nodded in agreement, as did Berzerker, who pounded his fists against each other. “Apologize to the young man, or you’re going ot end up amongst the hippies on my endangered list.” He growled.

Aya gulped once, then looked back at Katsu. “Sorry.” Was all she said, as she put the paper away. “I didn’t think you’d take it that badly… I’ll go change it to the truth…”

This time it was Katsu who sighed. “It’s no big deal. Just, don’t do that again. People don’t like it when lies are presented as facts.”

This brought a smile to Aya’s face. It looked like she was about to cry, when Reimu interrupted her. “Now that this issue’s settled with, I have some better news for you all. I contacted Yukari during the night, and she said that you should start looking off to the east, toward the Bamboo Forest.”

Katsu sat up, as did Berzerker and Aya. “Well if that’s where we have to go, then so we will. Thank you for letting us stay the night.” He said, and with that, he and his two friends set off out the door and to the east.

Back at the Shrine, Reimu realized something. “Wait, they didn’t clean up around here! Those lazy-“

A whack outside the head from Genji silenced her, and the two watched the trio head off, into the wind of Gensokyo…

___________________________

Fiore stopped where she was. It was pitch black all over in the dark dimension. Ravenstorm should be around here somewhe-

“So Akuro sent you to get me, did he?” A cold, chilling voice crept down her back. She felt something sharp at her back, and instictively dropped to her knees. “What purpose have you for me?” the voice asked.

Fiore’s response was filled with fear. “L-l-l-lord Akuro w-ww-wishes for you to h-h-help me go and t-t-ttrack down a certain spirit. Her name is m-m-mima.”

The sharpness on her back faded, and two red eyes stared at her from infront, burning into her skull. “If that is the case, then you are lucky that Sin Ravenstorm has spared your life, and agreed to help you.”

_________________________________

Back in Gensokyo, or more precisely, at the Youkai Mountain, the Goddess of the mountain, Kanako, watched through her telescope as the three heroes made their way toward the Bamboo Forest. She was a very tall, imposing figure with short blue hair, a rather elaborate red shirt with a mirror on her chest, a long black skirt with a red flower print hem, dark red eyes, and what appeared to be a gigantic twisted rope circle behind her that had strange papers dangling from it.

“What is your game, Yukari? What are you up to?” She whispered to herself, before calling out behind her, “ Korai, come here!”

A small figure emerged from behind a bush. He had 4 wings of leather, a halo hovering above his head, and amulets dangling from the wings. His short black hair was a ruffled mess, and he had a black robe on. “ Yes, Master Kanako?” The figure timidly asked.

The Goddess’s strong hands grabbed him by the waist and hoisted him to eye-level with the powerful deity. “I want you to do a little favor for me. You see, there’s two kids and a dinosaur…”

_______________________________________

In a parallel dimension, a pair of eyes opened up and looked around. Good, they were gone. The figure groaned as he seemed to vanish into a hole behind himself. His injuries were grave, and he knew he needed rest, but he had business to do.

If he wanted to get done what was needed, then he’d have to avoid a direct path to hell. Oh no, a detour would be necessary. Revenge and a rescue operation were now underway…

[Flygon King]

Chapter 5: Poison Body

“How much farther is it until the freaking Bamboo Forest?” Katsu groaned, his legs wearing out beneath him. It was 2 hours later, and after travelling in what Katsu hoped was a straight line, they was no sign of the forest at all, just rolling grasslands and the occasional youkai that gave the group of three a wide berth.

“It’s just up ahead.” Aya yelled down at him and Berzerker. She was lying high above their heads, and had a pristine view of the land. “ It’s beyond that field and hill up ahead.”

“Good. I can already taste our new casualties-erm I mean members.” Berzerker growled, the dinosaur cracking his fingers.

Sure enough, there was a large field ahead of them, composed entirely of beautiful white plants. As the group drew near them, Katsu noticed that the flowers were massive, towering above his head, though only reaching Berzerker’s neck. Above, Aya stopped. Both Berzerker and Katsu stopped, wondering what was wrong.

“ Is something the matter, crow girl?” Berzerker asked.

“ There’s something about this field… something that’s gnawing at the back of my head, but I don’t know what it is…”

Katsu, however, seemed glued to something else. A pair of silvery eyes was staring out at him from the flowers. The plants rustled, and out walked a young girl, shorter than Aya by a good foot. She had blonde hair and wore a dark purple shirt and a long red skirt, and had a red ribbon on her head. Katsu couldn’t help but feel like there was something off about her, something human, yet not quite human…

“ Young boy, would you like to try something for me?” She asked, her voice childish, yet containing an odd sense of malevolence. Katsu didn’t realize it, but it was as though he were captivated by the voice, stuck in a trance as he reached out to her, oblivious to the purple mist surrounding the girl…

At that moment, realization struck Aya like a bolt of lightning.

“Katsu, get out of there!” She shouted! With that shout, the trance was broken, and Katsu leapt back, horrified by the purple mist before him.

“What’s the matter, child? Are you too afraid of my poison to become my latest test subject?” The creepy girl chuckled, as what appeared to be a doll dressed in her image floated from behind her. “Then again, I wouldn’t be surprised if you knew of the deadly effects of the poison of the Suzuran flower. It’s such a shame that my trance-inducing poison was broken so easilly…”

Katsu was on high alert now. He took as step back as the girl took a step toward him… only for Berzerker to move between them, the Australian Rex cracking his neck as he swung a fist at the girl…

“Berzerker, wait, don’t!”

But Aya’s warning came too late. Berzerker’s fist nailed the girl across the face, and she went sprawling into the field of flowers. The Rex chuckled… until he noticed a horrible pain on his hand. He looked, and saw to his horror that the flesh and armor there was being eaten away, revealing the muscle and bone below. “What kind of damn magic is this?” He said, trying to stop his hand from dissolving.

“That girl is Medicine Melancholy, a doll that was left in this field for over a hundred years.” Aya spoke as she came down to her two companions. “ She gained sentience and became a youkai that has control over poison. The small doll you see flying behind her is the real deal; The larger body…” Here, Aya froze, trying hard to find the right words to say, but unable to do so.

“ That body is just a platform I use to have full control of my powers .” The voice of Medicine hissed as she emerged from the field, a large bruise on her cheek that she was rubbing, while she pointed a finger at Katsu. “Humans like you don’t deserve to live. You’re all the same borish, annoying simpletons that live only as play toys for my kind!” She growled, as the ground underneath her spewed out toxic mist, which she directed at the three. “You will all die for trespassing upon my field!”

Before the toxin could reach them, it was dispersed by the wind Aya blew from her wings, in time to allow Katsu and Berzerker to react. No use trying to talk sense into this maniac! Katsu raised his hands up, drawing water from the ground, before swinging it at Medicine. The water, turning razor-sharp, would have sliced through Medicine had she not reacted quickly and rolled out of the way…

And right into a giant boulder hurled by Berzerker. The rock came down upon her, pinning her underneath it.

“Now stay down before I crush you beneath by bear hands!” Berzerker snorted. But as he turned away, the massive boulder that had crushed the girl ripped apart, revealing a panting, pissed off, and messy-haired Melancholy, who glared at them with anger-filled eyes.

“You fools… YOU WILL ALL DIE!” She screamed, as a massive twister of poisonous gas and water spiraled up from underneath her and was sent right for Aya, Berzerker, and Katsu. Both Aya and Berzeker were shocked still by the towering sight of the twister…

But Katsu, eyes flaring with the spirit of battle, was not going to give in.

The dragon marking on his shoulder began to glow, as flames spiraled from his arms, and into the misty twister. The twin flames shot right through the twister and engulfed Medicine and the doll behind her, the Master of Poison screaming in pain as she was swallowed by the resulting explosion caused by the poisons on her body being lighten aflame by Katsu’s fire.

Suddenly, the flames ended, the dragon marking faded, and Katsu collapsed onto his back. Berzerker and Aya got back onto their feet. Rain was now falling from the sky, drowning out the fires that had overtaken the field fileld with the Lily of the Valley. Medicine staggered out of the field, her clothes burning, and the small doll that was behind her likewise nearly burnt to a crisp. “This isn’t over yet.” She rasped, smoke churning from her lungs. “ I’ll hunt you all down and use your bodily fluids as poison, you hear me!”

Then, she collapsed on her face.

Aya looked at Katsu, who seemed to be all right, and Berzerker, who was now ignoring his injured hand. “That… could have gone a lot worse.” She noted, before looking back at Katsu. “What… was that you did back there?”

Katsu looked back at her. “I dunno. I’ve tried so hard to master the use of fire, but I can only seem to use it when needed the most. As for the dragon marking, I had that since I was a child…”

Berzerker tapped the still body of Medicine, almost oblivious to his finger dissolving. “That was a fight? What the hell? There wasn’t enough manliness in this fight for me! I’ve taken on damn hippies who packed more of a punch than this doll did.”

Aya let out a sigh of relief. “Well, the Bamboo Forest should be just up ahead.” She said, and with that, the three continued off past the field and the hill, leaving behind the unconcious Medicine Melancholy.

_________________

Elsewhere, Korai was hopelessly lost. Due to him not being a being native to Gensokyo, he had no clue where he was. He was lost in a giant forest of bamboo, and every piece of it looked the same.

“ Great, here I am, stuck in this stupid forest, and I have no idea where to go. How am I supposed to track anyone like this?” Korai groaned, the entity unaware of Fiore and Ravenstorm appearing behind him.

“So you’re lost too, aren’t you?” Fiore asked him, causing the timid being to turn around in fright. There were two people here. One of them was a white-haired girl in a black robe, and the other was a tall teenaged kid with short black hair, whitish skin, a red shirt with a skull on it, and black pants and shoes.

“Yes, I’m afraid I am. Who might you two be?” Korai asked, the demon-human hybrid feeling very nervous, especially with the red eyes of Ravenstorm piercing through him.

“My name is Fiore,” the woman responded, before pointing to her partner. “And this is Ravenstorm. We’re both looking for a rebellious green-haired spirit in blue garb. And who might you be?”

“My name…” Here, Korai paused. Should he tell the truth, or do as Kanako had instructed him?

In the end, he went with the direct orders of the Goddess of the Mountain.

“My name is Flygon King.” Korai lied, sweat running down his face. Instantly, Ravenstorm was upon him, eyeing him as he sniffed him suspiciously.

“Why so afraid? We mean you no harm. Infact, why don’t you join us? We could help each other out of this forest…” Fiore stated, yanking on the chain around Ravenstorm’s throat, dragging him back to her side. After a few resentful looks, he was back under her control.

“Um, I guess that would be nice.” He stammered. So far, he was surprised that everything was going as Kanako had told him.

“Well, with that settled, let’s get a move on then, Flygon King.” Fiore commanded, and took a step off in what she hoped was the right direction…

Only to fall into a dark pit, along with Ravenstorm and Korai, all three landing upon each other in a heap.

Above the pit, two pairs of mischievious eyes peeered from the shadows.

“I do say, that was a nice trap you did there, Zhost.”

“Oh don’t give me all the credit, Seyah. You put it there while those three were chatting. I’m shocked they didn’t even notice you.”

“Well, that’s the last time I turn myself into a bush. So many itchy places… gah! Now, why don’t you say we head off and continue our little business?”

“You know, fellow tricksters like us need to stick together…”

[Flygon King]

Chapter 6: Onigashima in the Fairyland

After the fight against Medicine, Aya had been telling Katsu and Berzerker, but mostly Katsu, about how things worked in Gensokyo. Primarily, there was a system to fighting called the Spellcard Rules, where opponents would use spellcards created by themselves to do battle against each other. These cards would shoot out styalized projectiles called Danmaku, which were non-lethal. This system was made by Reimu several years back, primarily as a way for her to resolve incidents without bloodshed, and also as a backdoor for her to continue her laziness. This system, it turned out, was prevalent through all of Gensokyo, and even in a few realms outside of it, like in the Netherworld and in Makai. It allowed for even the weakest of sentient beings to settle issues with powerful foes fairly.

“Unfortunately, making spellcards requires time, a week or two to be more precise, and judging from what Yukari told you when she gapped you here, we don’t have a week to make Spellcards for you two.”

“So, we have to fight with fists?” Berzerker grinned, the Australian Rex’s tail twitching.

“Yes, and whatever else you two have up your sleeves, like Katsu’s magic. But this means things will be very dangerous. Without the Spellcard Rules in place, youkai are free to go full-power if they want. And believe me when I say this, there are those here who won’t hold anything back against two newcomers like you.” Aya said.

Katsu sighed. “Then we’re just going to have to deal with that, won’t we? Wait, isn’t that…”

Ahead of them, a giant forest of bamboo rose up from the horizon. Infront of the great bamboo forest, was a booth, and three people were standing behind it. Above the booth was a green sign that said, “The Mirage Magician’s Mega-Mushrooms!”

“Hello, hello! Welcome to our humble booth!” One of the three people called out. From what Katsu could see, the three booth-keepers were of differing heights. The one that had just spoken was of middle-height, roughly 5ft 9, and was dressed entirely in black robes. The tallest of the three was likewise in black robes, and was a few inches taller. The shortest one was only a inch shorter than the middle one, and wore a brown cloak. In one hand, the person held out a few red mushrooms.

Aya landed on the ground and picked a mushroom, eyeing it curiously. “Odd, I don’t remember any booth like this being here.” She said to herself, before asking the keepers, “Hey! What are these mushrooms supposed to do?”

The tallest one snickered, and Katsu could see for a brief second beneath the hood an almost feline smile, a smile that screamed, “I’m superior to you and I know it.” He walked toward the Tengu. “Oh don’t worry, missie. You’re planning on heading into the Bamboo Forest of the Lost? These mushrooms have the amazing ability to make all who eat them able to make their way through with ease.”

Berzerker took a mushroom from the middle-sized guy and sniffed it. As he was about to plop it into his mouth, Aya grabbed it from him. “Hold it. Let me test these, just to make sure they aren’t poisonous… If either of you three people happen to be lying…” She took a bite out of both mushrooms. To her surprise, they tasted surprisingly good.

It was only when she swallowed that the third figure spoke. “Hope you like me magic ‘shrooms, ze!”

It was a female voice, and Aya recognized it only too late. Before she could respond, her entire body hurled itself into the ground, shivering uncontrollably. Both Katsu and Berzerker were at her side instantly, trying to help her. Pain gripped Aya’s entire body as it began to expand against her will. Her legs thickened and her rear grew until her panties were completely exposed. Her chest expanded as the buttons on her shirt ripped apart, revealing her white bra struggling to contain her now wonderfully endowed chest. Skin stretched and muscles expanded, until she finally stopped growing.

Meanwhile, the two male figures were snickering and laughing at the thing, trying hard to fight the nosebleeds coming. “This is pure gold. I never expected a prank this simple to actually work.” The taller one giggled.

“Aye, Seyah, tis a beautiful thing to see in a man’s life. Something like this would have been impossible to do back in my world. Now Marisa…” The shorter of the two turned to thank the third being…who had now vanished.

The two starred at where she had been only moments before, then looked up just in time to see her flying off on a broom. “Sorry boys, I don’t hang around for da cleanup. You’re on your own, ze!” She shouted down at them as she sped off into the horizon.

Both Zhost and Seyah looked at each other, then gulped when they turned around, seeing Berzerker and Katsu glaring at them, the former’s hands glowing with kinetic energy, the latter’s arms aflame and dragon marking alight, but it was Aya who was the most pissed off, her fists cletched tight…

______________________________________

30 minutes and a nightmarish beatdown later, both the tricksters were being restrained by Berzerker, their faces bloated and bleeding. “Wook, we’re sowwy for doing that to you, wissie. We had no cwue what the swoom would do. We were onwy following orders…” the taller of the two cried, the pain he was feeling unbearable.

The shorter one nodded, his speech less impaired than his pal’s. “We’re not from around here. A crazy lady warped both of us into this world, then we ran into that witch who flew away. She told us that if we followed her orders, she’d get us a ticket out of here!”

If looks could kill, then the glare Aya gave both of them would have made Chuck Norris piss his pants. “Apologies aren’t going to fix this. Thank to both of you I now look like a… I don’t even want to say it! I can’t show myself back at the Youkai Mountain like this! What are both of your names?”

The shorter one said, “Zhost.”, and the taller one said, “Sen'oj Ay Seyah, though you can call me Seyah.”.

Aya gritted her teeth. With her new taller and more… immodest appearance, she now felt like a fool, falling for such an easy trick. No matter, She knew where the third trickster was… and who she was. She’d deal with her later. As for these two… She was no Oni, but she could sense the honesty of their words. Plus, it was dawning unto her and Katsu and these were the other two party members that would join them. After all, they also had been victims of being tricked by Yukari.

However, punishment was still needed.

“Alright you two. I’ll have Berzerker here keep both of you in his line of sight, so no funny business. It’s getting late, and I know a place in this bamboo maze that’ll let us stay the night.”

The two nodded, then were pushed along by the manly Rex, who grunted, “I’ll tear both of you with my bear hands if I sense any trickery from you…”

Behind Berzerker, Katsu tried to comfort Aya. “Well, you don’t look too bad now. You actually look quite nice.”

Aya blushed. She was now taller than Katsu, to the pint that he only reached her lower neck. “Thanks. I wish I could get some better clothes, but… I guess this is Yukari’s way of payback for the story.”

Katsu put his arm around her back. She actually DID look very stunning now, even if she looked like a hooker. “Don’t worry, we’ll fix this mess up…”

_______________________________________


Elsewhere in the bamboo forest, Fiore was getting frustrated. Despite Ravenstorm’s reputation of being a tracker, the demon was leading them in circles. She had even marked a few of the bamboo shoots, and sure enough, they were passing them again and again. They were hopelessly lost.

“This is stupid! We’ve been going around and around in circles!” Fiore screamed, kicking her foot against something. It resounded with the sound of moving liquid.

Korai was immediately upon it, and the half devil-half human hybrid unearthed what appeared to be a gourd, over a foot long and filled with liquid.

“Eh, what’s in there?” Fiore asked as Korai popped the top off and took a sip of what was inside. Immediately, his face relaxed, and red began to fill it.

“It’s sake, the most delicious sake I’ve ever had.” Korai drunkenly hiccupped, passing off a sip to Fiore. The demon took a sip, and she too fell under its influence, as did Ravenstorm when he took a sip.

“You know, I own s pocky factory in Tokyo.” Korai swaggered as he took another sip, his eyes glazing over. Soon, all three were drunk like crazy, and swaying back and forth, with each of them telling outrageous lies, like Korai saying he had no spleen, or Ravenstorm having a girlfriend…

“Hey! That’s my gourd! Give it back!” A voice called out to them. Fiore turned and saw a small girl half her height, with horns coming out of her head. There were chains of her arms and legs that were broken, and odd geometric shapes were attached to them.

“Go f*ck yourself, kiddie. What’s a child like you want with sake like this?” Fiore hiccupped, falling onto her back. Both Ravenstorm and Korai burst into laughter with her, laughing too hard to notice Suika Ibuki, one of the 4 former Oni Generals, aka one of the 4 Devas of the mountain, swell up to a towering 30 feet in height, her clothes growing with her, then bring her mountain-shattering fist down upon them until it was too late…

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

[Flygon King]

Chapter 7: Flight of the Moon ~ Lunatic Immortals, Part 1

The sound of the boom reached the ears of our protagonists in seconds, and the earth quaked and trembled, nearly sending Katsu and Berzerker toppling over. Everyone except Aya seemed concerned about what was going on.

“What was that?” Katsu asked nervously as the quaking ceased.

Aya shrugged. “Judging from the ominous mushroom cloud rising up above the bamboo, and how close that was, Most likely it was a certain Oni that lives here in Gensokyo. Best to not head over there.”

Seyah chuckled, his speech no longer hindered by his injuries. “Oni, eh? I’d love to meet up with them and see who is the better drinker- OUCH!”

Berzerker yanked his tail spikes from Seyah’s back. “I told you no trickery, bigot. Anymore ruckus from you, and I’ll expose you to so much manliness that if you don’t react within 5 seconds, I’ll send you a certificate stating YOU DO NOT EXIST!” The Australian Rex roared into both Seyah and Zhost’s faces.

Aya was quick to grab Berzerker’s leg and drag him away from the two. “Now Berzerker, they’re not the enemy. When someone clearly tried to attack us, then you pound them to bits.” She then turned to the two tricksters. “Let’s pretend the incident back there never happened, okay? I’ve cooled down, and I promise that we will not harm you, so long as both of you behave…”

Zhost was quick to take the offer, as was Seyah, both of them agreeing whole-heartedly. Katsu, however, noticed something odd about them. With Zhost, he seemed to fade away slightly whenever he touched a shadowy, like he was a- Well, it actually made sense, considering his name. With Seyah, on the other hand, he seemed to change ever so slightly constantly. His eyebrows thickened and thinned, he grew slightly taller and shorter, his eyes changed colors… It was becoming increasingly clear that neither were human.

Seyah noticed Katsu staring at him, for he turned to him and said, “Now now, it’s rude to state at someone, especially a shape-shifting spirit like me. This here isn’t really my true form… but I like it enough to be in it quite often.”

“Oh… That makes a lot of sense.” Katsu muttered under his breath… Then he saw something out of the corner of his eye. Behind several bamboo shoots, was a girl, around the same height that Medicine had been, only with short brown hair, two bunny ears, a rabbit tail, and a white dress. Katsu blinked, and when he looked for her again, she was gone.

“We’re getting close to the spot.” Aya commented, snapping Katsu back to reality. “If any of you see a rabbit youkai, do not attack her. That’s Tewi, the earth rabbit that lives here. She may seem harmless and cute, but she controls luck, and has lived for over 7000 years… She’s nigh untouchable, believe me.”

This came as a shock to most of the crew, who began to grumble, especially Berzerker. “What do you mean, untouchable? No rabbit’s harder to kill than any damn hippy, so I’ll drive her luck right down her throat!”

“I would most personally love to see you try.” A new voice came out from ahead of them.

Suddenly, the bamboo forest gave way to a clearing, and before the group was a massive bamboo mansion of Japanese design. A sign hung out infront of it saying, “Eientei Clinic.”, and standing beside the sign, and before the now still group, was a lovely woman with long, black hair that dragged out behind her. She had on robes of the finest quality that covered her up completely aside from her head. Beside her was the rabbit girl that Katsu had seen.

Aya struck out her hand. “It is nice to see you, Kaguya. Where is Eirin?”

The long-haired girl laughed. “She is out shopping at the human village with Reisen. I am here with Tewi, and I see that you have brought guests. May I ask, what happened to you-“

“Please don’t ask. It’s a long story that includes why I brought these outsiders.” Aya then turned to Katsu and co. “Friends, this here is Kaguya, the caretaker and main resident of Eientei. She and those who she live with run the clinic here and provide medicine for all in Gensokyo.”

Katsu was about to ask Kaguya a question, when, almost like she had read his mind, spoke out, “Though I may appear to be completely human, I am actually neither human, or Youkai. I am actually the banished princess of the Lunarians.”

For once, both Katsu and Berzerker’s jaws dropped to their knees, as did Zhost and Seyah.

“A lunarian? You mean like an alien?” Zhost asked, his mind boggled.

“And not just an alien, but one from the moon?” Katsu injected. “But I though mankind had-“

“Oh yes, mankind has landed on the moon, and planted their flag there.” Kaguya noted. “But, it would seem like they’ve hidden the information on the war between them and the Lunarians from you. Then again, few here even in Gensokyo know of the Lunarian war. Seeing as you all plan on staying the night here, I can tell you more information on it if you’d like…”


Upon entering the mansion, everyone was amazed by what they saw. Even with the massive size on the outside, the inside was far, far bigger than it looked, hallways streaching in every direction imaginable. Treasures of every kind imaginable were kept in various places, like the robe of a fire rat and the necklace of a dragon. As she led the group around, Kaguya explained that many of the treasures here were from her days as the princess of the Lunarians. The Lunarians, she explained, were a highly advanced race of humanoid aliens that lived very long lifespans. She explained each and every treasure to them, answering questions one at a time. Numerous rabbit youkai, all of them female, were tending to the mansion grounds.

“Um, if you are a Lunarian Princess, then why were you banished?” Seyah cut off Kaguya while she was explaining to the group her powers of manipulating eternity.

The Lunarian Princess looked into the spirit’s eyes. For a moment, Katsu thought he noticed a look of suspicion in them, but it faded away. “I am banished here, because I took of the Hourai Elixer, a potion that gives you immortality.”

“So the lunarians didn’t like you taking of an invincibility drink?” Berzerker asked.

Kaguya shook her head. “The Hourai Elixer is much more than that. It is a potion that not only causes the drinker to become immortal, but also eternal. My temporal existence has now become one where I have always existed, and always will. In other words, my existence became independent of even the concept of reality. I am truly invincible. For my crime, I was banished to Japan over a thousand years ago… “

Katsu was stunned silent. An elixir that made someone completely invincible? It sounded amazing. He glanced over at Berzerker, who was grinning like a 3-year old child. It didn’t take a genius to figure out what he was thinking…

And Kaguya knew it as well. “If you want the elixir, then I’m afraid I cannot give it to you. Even I have no clue as to where it is, and that is for the better. Were it still around, maniacs and villans would use it for their own benefit… like Mima.”

Aya’s eyes widened when the name came out of the immortal’s mouth like the forbidden fruit. Zhost looked at her, an eyebrow rasied. “Uh, whose this Mima person? Is he some sort of super-villan?”

The eyes of the immortal burned into the back of Zhost’s mind. She leaned in close, the candles lighting up the mansion flickering wildly. “Mima was worse than any villan you can think of. She was an evil spirit who wanted nothing more than the complete rule of Gensokyo under her thumb. I watched on during those 800 years she terrorized Japan, and then Gensokyo. She waged a genocidal war against both youkai and humans, a war that wiped out many species, including the Kirin. The situation became so dire, that the Hakurei line was created solely to destroy Mima, but all who rose against her were slain mercilessly. But several years ago, Reimu Hakurei fought against her, and defeated her… twice. The second time, a change seemed to come over Mima. She went from being that could put even Yukari on the ropes to a freeloader who pestered Reimu. Since then, she has only been seen a few times, but her infamy for the main mastermind behind the Magicians War is more prevalent than her turn of sides…

Everyone was stone silent, especially Seyah, who , as Katsu noticed, seemed to not be very interested in the situation, but as he was about to ask why, Tewi came bounding in, gasping for breath.

“Kaguya, we have found three people unconscious not too far outside the clinic. We have brought them in and they are currently resting on the beds. They’re quite badly injured, like they had a run in with a sober Oni… ”

“Thank you for notifying me of that, Tewi. Now then, shall we go in and take a look at our recovering guests?” She asked the group…

_____________________________________

Groans of pain came out of the main recovery room. Korai had taken the worst of the hit, and all of him bar his head was bandaged up. Fiore’s leg and arm were broken, and she had a few cracked ribs. Ravenstorm, on the other hand, only had a fractured skull and was awake. He sniffed once, and a demonic smile spread across his face, his teeth turning into those of shark’s.

“Target is near. Preparing to retrieve now…”

Meanwhile, flying above the Bamboo Forest was a giant bird composed entirely of flames, gliding slowly toward Eientei…

[Flygon King]

Chapter 8: Flight of the Moon~ Immortal Lunatics, Part 2

Back within the Dark Realm, AKuro was fast asleep, the single eye closed. In this state, few would dare come to trouble him, unless the news was urgent.

However, in this case, it was urgent.

“Lord Akuro, I have news for you!” The voice of Genesect reached the slumbering deity, who woke up grumpily.

“What is it that you wish to report to me at this time? Have the trackers located Mima?”

Genesect appeared from the darkness, then bowed low. “Yes, sir. We just received a message from Ravenstorm saying he has located the spirit and is ready to capture. However…”

“What is troubling you, Genesect? Speak out, before I force it from you…”

The cyborg insect backed up a step. “Well, my lord, our sources have picked up the life signature of two Legendaries entering into Gensokyo.. How they got in is a mystery, but one of them has been identified as Zekrom.”

The eye in the darkness looked elsewhere. “So what? What do two other legendaries have to do with this? They shouldn’t be too much of a problem…”

Gensect twittled his nonexistent thumbs nervously. “But, it seems that project K was detected Kyurem’s life energy as well, and has-"

Genesect was silenced as the single eye widened, and a blast of demonic wind blew him over. “NOOO! PROJECT K IS NOT PERFECTED YET! BRING HIM BACK NOW!” Akuro roared, his iris growing wider and wider. “HE MUST NOT RUIN THE PLAN!!!”

____________

Kaguya stopped infront of the infirmary room. She turned around to address the group with her, but as she opened her mouth, The door exploded into millions of fragments. Kaguya whirled around in time to see Ravenstorm walk out of the room, a sword in his hands, twin bat-like wings spread from his back, and a long demonic tail swishing back and forth.
“What is the meaning of this? Why aren’t you rest-“ The rest of what she had to say was cut off by a quick jab to the neck, putting her asleep. Katsu tightened his fists as the demon walked past the sleeping immortal toward them.

“I am here only for the spirit. The rest of you step aside, or I will terminate each and every one of you.” Ravenstorm spoke, his voice deep and twisted, like if it was underwater.

Seyah raised an eyebrow. “Um, do I know you by any chance? I don’t think I’ve seen your ugly mug anywhere around here.”
“Who are you and what do you want with us?” Katsu snarled, his temper rising. He didn’t like this person one bit, and he had a feeling a fight was coming.

“I am Sin Ravenstorm, a denizen of the Dark Realm. I am here to retrieve the trickster spirit that is in your group. Now if you please, STAND ASIDE.” He stepped forward…

And received a massive fist from Berzerker, knocking him through a wall and out into the bamboo forest. “No one messes with MY prisoners until the day Saxton Hale comes to take me home!” The Australian Rex bellowed.

Aya raised an eyebrow. “Um, whose Saxton Hale?” She asked.

“No time for questions. That thing’s here for me for some reason, and I don’t want it trailing me anymore…” Seyah reminded them, tapping his foot. Everyone looked at him, then out in the gapping hole in the wall, then nodded before heading out. As they went out, no one noticed Korai watching them from a crack in the door, the little guy’s body healing itself at a remarkable rate…

Out in the bamboo forest, the local rabbit Youkai were fleeing in terror as Ravenstorm pulled himself back up. He wiped his arm across his lower lip, and paled at what he saw.

He was bleeding, and bleeding badly.

No one had ever managed to hurt him like that before, but this seemed only to piss him off. Snarling in anger, he charged at the heroes, his sword ready to slice things apart.

However, he was horribly outclassed.

Aya, who was the first to reach him, easily dodged his first sword swing, flew behind him, and kicked him forward, right into Seyah, who had transformed his right hand into a sledgehammer. The shapeshifter smashed it right into Ravenstorm’s face, bringing out a cry of pain from the demon. Ravenstorm staggered back, unknowingly right into Berzerker, who grabbed him from behind the head, and flung him into the air. There, Katsu drew up a sphere of water, then shaping it into a high-pressured stream, blasted it around the falling Ravenstorm and into his back, literally grinding him into the earth, until it ended, leaving the demon knocked out…. All the while Zhost stood back and watched, sipping on a smoothie he somehow obtained.

“Wait… that was seriously it? This is pathetic! Doll put up more of a fight than he did! This whole universe lacks manliness!” Berzerker shouted, beating his chest. “I demand a challenge!”

Aya nodded. “I for one agree with you. I was expecting this guy to be more difficult, but he murdered him… not literally, of course.”

Katsu was about to agree, when he noticed something in the sky. He pointed toward it. “Hey, what’s that?”
The other 4 turned to where he was pointing, then scrambled to get out of the way as a black figure crashed into the ground. Dust was thrown up from the impact, obscuring everyone’s vision. Aya began to beat her wings, dispelling the dustcloud…

And when she did, everyone gasped at what they saw.

Where there was been a large black figure, there was now a small orb of the same color, but it was what was standing ontop of it, with a clawed foot perched on the tiny sphere, that drew everyone’s attention. It was a bipedal being that was horizontal with the ground, and blue in color. Most of it was covered in ice, especially the largish head and tail. The wings on its back were incredibly small, and had two yellow dots on them. It was unmistakably draconic, and yet, Katsu noticed that for some reason, it seemed… incomplete. At first, it didn’t seem to notice them, as it stepped off the orb. Several moment sof silenced followed, with it staring at the orb.

“What… the Hell… Is that thing?” Aya finally asked, breaking the silence.

Immediately, the beast whirled around, its yellow eyes locking onto her. Though its mouth didn’t move, its voice was clearly heard. “I am Kyurem, greatest of all dragons in existence, and servant to the Dark Lord Akuro.” Here, it looked at Ravenstorm’s body, then around at everyone else. “I see that you have taken down a friend of Akuro’s… As that, you must be an enemy of his, and an enemy of the Dark Lord is an enemy of mine!”

Katsu stepped back. He didn’t like the chill this thing was giving off, and it seemed to have the voice of Norio Wakamoto. That in and of itself was reason for him to be weary of fighting it. But before he could do anything, Berzerker killed any chance of a peaceful outcome by chuckling. “You talk big for an ugly lizard, and I don’t care who this “Akuro” guy is, but We’ll be glad to beat you down to a pulp as well, especially with my damn bear hands.”

Kyurem let out some chuckling as well, stepping back ever so slowly. “So you wish to have your life terminated, then? So be it! Lord Akuro will not have to deal with you troubling fools ruining his plans for this place!” The dragon hissed as purple lines of energy flowed from his wings and contacted the orb, drawing it toward him. The orb’s energy flowed into Kyurem, and as the orb itself faded, electricity began to crackle from the oddly shaped tail. Everyone covered their eyes as Kyurem was swallowed up in the electricity. Then, it faded away…

…revealing a monster.

Kyurem was still there, but he now looked vastly different. He now was a hulking figure that stood erect. Parts of the dragon’s body were black in color now, and it was obvious now that it had fused with whatever the black being had been. His once tiny arms were now massive and bulky, even moreso than Berzerker’s. The tail now resembled a generator, and tubes ran from the creature’s back into the tail, which was blowing blue and releasing electricity.

cue battle music

Both Aya, Katsu, and Zhost were taken aback, terrified in their place. Never had they seen anything like this before, but to Katsu atleast, it looked vaguely similar for some reason…

Seyah and Berzerker, however, had no such fright issues.

Both charged the beast, the former transforming into a certain atomic reptile while the latter has his fist readied.
With a simple snort, Kyurem slapped with of them away, the forcfe of the blow sending them flying into bamboo shoots.
Now with more rage and anger fueling him than fear, Katsu’s marking began to glow, and twin pillars of fire shot from his arms at the beast. No one harmed his friends like that and got away with it! In response, the ice monster opened his mouth, and a beam of ice shot out…

…and froze over the flames, before nailing Katsu in the chest.

Eye widened with surprise and pain, the boy was frozen at the spot, completely covered in Ice.
Aya gasped at the state Katsu was in, then turned to Kyurem, her teeth gritted. “You… BITCH!” She screamed, before flying right toward the monster… who froze her as well with a second Ice Beam.

Both Berzerker and Seyah, groaning in pain, rose back up just in time to see Zhost frozen in place as well. Both gritted their teeth in rage and anger. For Berzerker, it was seeing one o fhis prisoners being frozen up, wheras for Seyah, it was seeing his friend be turned into a popsicle. Nonetheless, they both attacked, Seyah firing an atomic ray at Kyurem, and Berzerker using the opportunity to try to get close to Kyurem.

The beam struck the ice being across the face, but aside from pissing him off, it did nothing. Kyurem whirled around and fired an ice beam right at Seyah, freezing him as well. He began to chuckle, when he felt what seemed to be the results of a stick poking him in the stomach. He looked down, and saw Berzerker was punching him as often and hard as possible.
Needless to say, it had no effect on him.

As Berzerker threw yet another punch, the icy dragfon caught it in one hand, and squeezed. Bones began to crack, and Berzekrer roared in pain as his hand was reduced to mulch. A powerful punch to his stomach sent him reeling over in pain. Never had he experienced anything this powerful before… Just what WAS this monster?

His moaning was silenced by a swift Ice Beam. Now with all 5 heroes frozen solid, Kyurem burst into a dark, maniacle laughter. “So these were what were causing you so much trouble, Ravenstorm? How pathetic.” He chuckled as he saw the demon finally wake up, only for Ravenstorm’s face to freeze with fear. Kyurem starred at him, until Ravenstorm went over to where Seyah was frozen solid. He studied him long and hard, seeing through the skin, through the muscle, into his very DNA structure. After a minute, he turned away.

“DNA match is only 70%. He is as close to Mima as any other spirit. He is not the intended target.” Ravenstorm begrudgingly admitted.

Kyurem snorted as he noticed Korai starring at him from behind a bamboo shoot. “Well well, I see you managed to pick up a midget for your team, Ravenstorm. Come here, I have use for you…” The embodiment of Absence ordered. At once, Korai, shivering with fear and cold, came before Kyurem. “Good. I sense you have power, little one. Demonstratge what it is to me by using it on the frozen people here, understand?” He snapped, banging his fists into the floor to emphasize the point.

Korai, at this point to afraid to ask questions, went into the middle of the frozen figures, and held his hands out. Just follow Kanako’s instructions… Just follow Kanako’s instructions. He mentally told himself over and over as the oxygen in the 5 victim’s bodies began to be extracted. If left unchecked, he could have killed them within seconds, and Kyurem, seeing this, smirked.

It was then, however, that the giant flaming bird overhead that had been watching this all occur decided to intervene. Diving down toward the ground like a meteor, it plummeted down and struck the ground where Korai was, no tonly sending the servant of Kanako flying, but releashing a wave of heat that melted the ice, and sent Kyurem toppling onto his head, as well as Ravenstorm and Fiore, who had just gotten out of the building.

Releashed from their icy prisons, the 5 heroes fell to the ground, gasping for air and shivering. Katsu was the first to look up, and notice that, where the flaming bird had been, there was now a tall girl, one with red pants, a light brown button-up shirt that seemed to be discolored as if It had been burnt, and very long white hair that reached down to the ground. Purple paper charms covered her pants and were tied into her hair. Katsu noticed that there was a flaming aura around her, one that took on the form of phoenix wings. “So it seems that Kaguya’s as pathetic as ever, being knocked out in one attack.” She chuckled, turning her back to Katsu.

“W-w-wait, who are you?” Katsu weakly asked, his whole body shivering uncontrollably.

The girl cracked her knuckles and popped her neck. “Name’s Mokou, Now if you excuse me, I have to deal with Frosty the Snowdragon so he doesn’t do anymore harm to the forest…”

[Flygon King]

Intedum? What interdum? There was never anything here... Kero...

[Flygon King]

CHAPTER 9: Flight of the Moon~Immortal Lunatics, Part 3

The Bamboo forest was eerily quiet. On one end of the clearing was the white haired girl Mokou, and on the other, the rising form of Kyurem, the fearsome dragon shaking off dirt and debris. He narrowed his eyes at the sight of the woman, and of the freed heroes. “A woman dares try to oppose me? How futile...” The beast rumbled as he reared his head back, icy air forming around him, as he then stepped forward, a beam of pure ice firing out from his mouth and at Mokou...

Who responded with a jet of flames from her hands.

The two beams didn’t even collide, as the flames dispersed the ice away, then engulfed the stunned Kyurem in a raging inferno. “You know, I might not have fought a dragon before, but from what I can tell, your a lot weaker than the norm...” She snarked, stuffing her hands down into her pockets as the ice dragon froze the flames around him, his eyes glarring at the woman before him.

“You dare make a mockery of the mighty god of boundaries?! You shall suffer my wrath for daring to oppose the Staff of Lord Akuro!”

With that, Kyurem charged full-speed toward the immortal, the ground shaking underneath his bulk. Mokou leaned back, ready to give the dragon a true taste of power...

Until a shower of ranbow-colored energy bullets rained down between them, cutting off the charge.

Cue Battle Music

Mokou whirled around, and her eyebrows furrowed when she saw the Lunarian Pincess, Kaguya, recovered from her attack, hovering above, the snickering alien floated down beside her fellow immortal. “Your not needed here, Mokou. I can handle this by myself.”

“Says the weakling who got her ass handed to her by one attack.” Mokou retorted, glaring at Kaguya. “I could handle these clowns with my hands in my pants.”

Meanwhile, as the immortals bickered and spat at one another, Fiore, Korai, and Ravenstorm were standing back, dumbfounded. “Ravenstorm, what does the scouter say about their power level?” Fiore asked.

The other demon took the scouter off his face and into his hand. “IT’S OVER 9000!” He howled, crushing it in his hands.

“WHAT, 900-”

Korai didn’t get the chance to complete the meme, as a single fireball from Mokou sent him flying off into the horizon. The other two turned their attention back to the two immortals, who were now once more engaged with Kyurem in battle. With a howl for blood, they both rushed into combat to aid the dragon...

Only to get tossed aside and off into the horizon as well upon entry.

“Um, are you sure we should just sit back and watch?” Katsu asked Aya, who nodded while taking pictures.

“Oh yes. Those two are strong enough to handle themselves. Notice anything about how they’re fighting?”

Katsu took a closer look. He saw that Kaguya and Mokou were both fighting the dragon, effortlessly evading his attacks while-

!!!

“They’re also fighting each other!” He realized! Sure enough, both were circling around the beast, launching phoenix-shaped fireballs and rainbow energy bullets respectfully at each other... with Kyurem caught in the crossfires.

“ Indeed. Such is their will to kill one another.” Aya noted.

“ENOUGH!” Kyurem roared as he swung his fist right into Mokou’s stomach, taking her off-guard. The fist went right through, blood splattering everywhere as her eyes locked into a state of surprise and fear. “Hehehe... That should teach you to mess with me-”

And then, a blinding light flashed around, and when it was gone, Mokou was there, the injury gone as well.

‘Surprised? Don’t be.. I’m immortal like my friend here.” She taunted as she kicked the beast in the stomach, the force of it sending him reeling, the air knocked out of his lungs. With that, both Kaguy aand Mokou began to charge up their energy for final attack... until a dark cloud of raw energy passed overhead. When it faded, the body of Kyurem was gone along with it...

“So... that was quick.” Mokou cracked her knucles, before she began to walk away.”

“Hey! Thank you for helping us out! Where are you going?” Katsu shouted off to her, causing Mokou to stop and turn her head.

“I don’t stick around with that weakling princess... I came here to kill her, but my bloodlust was satisfied already...So I’m off to to the human village... Smell ya later, Princess.” She sneared as she crouched down, then took off into the sky, leaving the group behind... along with Kaguya, who sighed.

“That Mokou... Ugh. Anyways, We better head inside and fix up the place. Those fools did a number to the building...”

Both Katsu and Aya nodded in agreement, and while Berzerker was ranting and raving on how Zhost and Seyah had kept him back from the fight and how he was stronger than some “hulk” guy, they went back inside... unaware of a pair of eyes watching them.

“This be no good, no good at all! I better inform Cirno of this... we have to be on our prepardness!”

______________

It was now the middle of the night, and everyone had fallen asleep. Eirin and Reisen had come back from their shopping, and Zhost had completely flipped when he saw both. The former was a hot lunarian doctor with long white hair, and the other... an even hotter lunarian rabbit with a DANGEROUSLY short mini-skirt. It took the combined effort of Berzerker and Aya to beat him into unconciousness to preserve their virginity, though both made show that they were capable of protecting themselves, especially with Reisen’s ability to manipulate waves of every kind, especially brain waves and light waves...

And now, Katsu was fast asleep, sharing the room he was in with Aya, on her behalf. They both slept in different futons, but still-

His eyes snapped open. He could hear someone in the room, steps on the wood flooring... and the I-pod under his pillow was moving, almost as if-

He sat up and whirled around.. and found himself face to face with a Kitsune... a 9-tailed fox.

She looked like a human, an unusually tall human, even taller than Aya, and with a bigger bust. Her 9 giant fluffy fox tails swayed in the air, matching her short blonde hair and yellow eyes. The top of her head was adorned with a light pink two-tailed hat with many amulets on it, and she wore a blue and light purple dress with a blue print on the front.

“I aplologize for the intrusion... I was jsut going to charge up your I-pod for you...” She spoke, her voice unusually sweet and pleasant for a woman of her stature. It was almost as if a goddess were speaking.

“Really, because I don’t recall random foxes sneaking into rooms to charge up my stuff.” Katsu retorted, before quickly apologizing himself. What was he thinking? Retorting back to a Kitsune, which were among the most powerful youkai in japanese mythology? He wouldn’t even stand a ghost fo a cha- “Um, by chance, you wouldn’t happen to be Yukari Yakumo, would you?” He asked, recallnig Reimu’s words.

The fox laughed. “Oh heavens no. I’m not her... I am the shikigami of a powerful master. As such, my powers far exceed those of any youkai you've ever seen... Not to mention those of humans. Or dogs." She spoke with authority. To Katsu, it suddenly became obvious that she was referring to Yukari herself... which caused his face to pale in horror. If this fox, a powerful Kitsune, was merely her familiar... He didn’t wan to know how powerful Yukari was...

“Really then? That’s... nice to know... By the way, what’s your name?” He asked, finding it hard to keep his eyes off her wonderfully endowed chest.

The fox bowed once more. “My name is Ran Yakumo... And let me guess, you wish to know the reasons behind what has occurred thus far?”

This caught Katsu by surprise, and he looked up at her eyes... They held an air of wisdom about them, the kind that Genji seemed to give off, only moreso. This was most certainly a wise, old fox. “Um, yes... What was that beast, and what’s the deal with that phoenix girl?”

Ran chuckled once more. “The monster you saw back there was a beast from another dimension, a god called Kyurem... He desires an entire world to himself a world where he can do as he so pleases... By chance, you wouldn’t happen to play a certain game franchise, now would you?’

Those words caused Katsu to finally realize why that ice dragon seemed so familiar... It was a Pokemon... If there was ever a time he wanted to slap himself, it would have been then and there.

“As for the phoenix... You heard Kaguya’s past... Well, when she was on earth, a number of suiters came to her, wanting to marry her. Among them was Mokou’s own father. He, like the others, tried to take Kaguya’s hand, but she refused, ordering him to complete 5 impossible tasks... to retrieve 5 items from all the corners of the world. No one had ever done it before, and Mokou’s father wouldn’t dare try... so he obtained 5 fakes to try and dupe the princess... but in reality, she had all 5 of the actual items on her, so she called out his bluff, and humiliated him before everyone there. He commited suicide in shame, as did the rest of his family... except Mokou. Consumed by rage and desiring revenge, she stole the Hourai Elixer and consumed it, becoming immortal herself. For hundreds of years, Mokou was ostricized from society, leading her to hate her newfound immortality. The only relief she got from it was when she relocated Kaguya here in Gensokyo... and their fued is the only thing keeping her will going now. She has few friends, one of them being the teacher in the Human Village... she blames Kaguya for her troubles, and even after a thousand years, her grudge against her hasn’t died down... she cannot kill her, for she too is immortal, but she herself cannot end her own misery... “

“That’s... depressing.” Katsu murmured.

For a few moments, there was silence. Then, Ran spoke up. “You will find your next ally in the human village as well... but if you wish to take revenge upon the one who changed Aya’s shape, then head to the Forest of Magic... you will find the culprit there.” She said, as she turned to leave...

“Wait! Where are you going?”

“I cannot stay any longer. I must do only as my master instructs me... A shikigami is only a tool for their master... nothing more, and nothing less... I do not question her choices, no matter how moral they are...Oh, and Berzerker... His end will come soon... I fear that the Netherworld will be his undoing...” And with that, a rift similar to the one Katsu had fallen into to enter Gensokyo opened up, and Ran entered it, taking the I-pod with her, the rift vanishing behind her.

Katsu flopped back onto his back, and groaned.Wait, was was that last bit she sa-

“Hey, dipshit? Who the f*ck do you think you are, trying to wake me up like that? Can’t a bitch get some shuteye, you prick? And whose was that wh*** you were speaking to?” An all-too familiar grumpy voice loomed over him...

The return of Gaga Aya....

___________________________________

Back in the Dark Dimension, Akuro’s sole eye opened up, revealing Genesect, Fiore, and Ravenstorm before him.

“Hmmm... so I take it Project K has been brought back and properly restrained??”

“Yes, my lord. He was nearly defeated when I came in and rescued him. The natives of this land are tougher than we thought.” Genesect hissed.

“Indeed... We must wait until he is complete before we can do as we wish.. Fiore, Ravenstorm, resume your search for Mima... I have business to conduct...”
____________________________

Ran sighed as she exited out of the rift, her surroundings pitch black. "Odd... I'm certain I directed that for home... So where is this?" She mused.

"Oh Ran, why don't you look around?"

All of a sudden, the Kitsune's eyesight was flooded with lights. Blinded for a few moments, she began to see just where she was...

On a stage, infront of thousands of demons of various kinds and shapes, and in a massive stadium, which she realized was in Hell, mainly from the fiery pillars jetting up out of the windows, and the heat she felt. At the front of the demonic audience, was Yukari, still in the same child's body she had used with Katsu, and besides her was a taller, far more mature-looking woman, with dark-tanned skin, white hair, and a very revealing outfit that left little to the imagination. Her hair was adorned with jewels, but these were power limiters...

She was having an audience with the ruler of all demonkind herself, Persephone.

'Why hello there, Master... and you too, Persephone. It's been some time." Ran bowed, showing her respect. Though she was of a higher power than Persephone was, the fox still showed her the respect she deserved. Persephone was a friend of Yukari's, though that didn't mean much in terms of treatment unless you were Yuyuko. But Persephone was more than just a friend... she saw Yukari as a role model, a figure to aspire to be like... and it was quite evident, as both were incredibly lazy.

Persephone yawned as she scratched her hair. "Why yes, it has been. Ran, I would like for you to meet my own familiar. She's a kitsune like yourself, but I only just got her..."

Ran turned to face the other side of the stage she was on, where she saw a woman, who indeed was a Kitsune as Persephone had said. Short blonde hair, much like her own, but that was where the diffrences ended. She had three red triangles on her forehead, and wore a black, skin-tight suit. Her stature was also notably smaller than her own, only at 6 feet or so.

And when she spoke, it wasn't calm, wise, and sweet... it was gruff, angry, and inexperienced. "So your name is Ran I hear." The other Kitsune said, before reaching her hand out. "The name's Mara, and I'm the second baddest devil around!"

Ran shook her hand. "I see that you are Persephone's shikigami. I know you will be a great tool for her indeed."

At this, Mara took a step back, a confused look on her face. "A tool? I'm not supposed to be some tool... I was given freedom, freedom to do as I please! I'm nobody's tool!" She shouted, stamping her foot.

"Now now, Mara-darling." Persephone chuckled. "I did say that you could have power beyond your wildest dreams... but you are still under my control. Did I not tell you that just a few hours ago when I gave you that power? You must do as I wish..." She smirked, then snapped her fingers.

At that moment, both Mara and Ran were consumed in a cloud of smoke. The former coughed as it began to fade...

Then looked down to see both of them wearing only their bras and panties, much to the joy and excitement of the demonic crowd.

While Ran tilted her head in slight confusion, Mara tried to cover herself up in her hands, her eyes bloodshot in the rage and anger that overtook her. "What the hell do you think your doing, you perverted hag?! I got my own damn rights!"

Both Yukari and Persephone giggled and laughed, before the latter spoke out. "Now Mara-darling, I just said you are my tool, and as such you do as I want. Now, I want both of you to sing out a song together for the boys here. Your all about to head off to fight up in Crigan's dimension, so I want them to leave on a happy note."

Mara gritted her teeth, electricity forming in her palms... This was disgraceful, absolutely horrible! But... she couldn't being herself to attack her new master... Why it was, she didn't know... But she had a feeling that if she tried to...

No! She didn't want to become a giant blob again! "Fine, I'll do it!"

"Good... Now, both of you take these microphones and sing your hearts out!" Yukari announced, her voice childish and immature, to fit her body. She threw a pair a microphones onto the stage, where both Mara and Ran caught them.

"As you command, Master." Ran bowed, while Mara was still none too pleased at all... especially with the lecherous demons eyeing both her and Ran...

She took a breath, pushing the thought to the depths of her mind, then began to sing. To her own surrpise, the voice she sung with was... it was beautiful, youthful, and powerful. With Ran catching onto the tune in an instant, both began to sing their lovely karaoke session to the denizens of the Underworld, while providing them a fanservicy show... such was the wish of the Queen and the trickster...

___________________________________________

Somewhere, at the base of a mountain, the unconcious form of Korai lay, countless bones broken, blood seeping from his mouth, unaware of a girl with a wheelbarrow looking down at him. Her hair was red in color, and styled into twin brades with black ribbons at the top and bottom. She wore a black decorated dress with green frills, and her eyes were dark red in color. Her twin cat ears twitched as the sky above tore and clapped, the downpour of rain not affecting her in the slightest, nor the spirits floating around her.

“A new corpse to bring down... There’s been quite the surplus of these hasn’t there?” She mew’d, picking up Korai’s body and dumping it on the whellbarrow, where several other corpses lay. As she whistled a tune to herself, the Kasha jogeed along, pushing her whellbarrow off into the dark storm, to take them where all corpses she got her hands on went...

The Hell of Blazing Fires...

[Flygon King]

CHAPTER 9.5: A Midnight Fairy Dance

Reimu looked out over the starry horizon. For the past few hours, she had been unable to sleep, and could only look out toward the distant Bamboo Forest. She reached back behind her and stuffed a rice ball into her mouth.

"You unable to sleep, reddie?" The gruff voice of Genji called out as the mammoth turtle blocked her view.

Reimu snuffled and rubbed her eyes. "Yeah. I could feel the energy coming from the Eientei. I just worry for those three... Genji, should I have gone out to see if they're doing alright?" She asked, unaware of what was going on behind her.

The old turtle cleared his throat. "Well, while I would normally be the one to advocate for more active services from you, in this case, leave them be. They're doing alright from what I can tell, and they're not too far away from the Forest of Magic, so they should be nearing Marisa's place soon." Here, he began to murmur to himself.

"Okay, what are you mumbling about? Answer me, now."

"Well... I have a very bad feeling that Yukari-"

And what Genji was going to continue on about was drowned out by Reimu's screaming, the Shrine Maiden's mouth covered in blisters and open sores. She had taken a second rice ball, and from the looks of it, something inside of it had caused the terrible reaction. "Water... water..." She gasped, whirling around to get to the nearest glass of H20.

Genji sighed. "I guess it can wait, then. I wish you luck on your search for Dihydrogen Monoxide, Lady Reimu." The old turtle wheezed out, followed by coughing as he lumbered back toward the pond...

Meanwhile, behind the shrine, a certain trio of mischivous fairies were trying as hard as possible to not burst out laughing, a plate of wasabi sauce in one of their hands and an injection tube on the plate as well...

_____________________________________________

In a diffrent corner of Gensokyo, Medicine Melancholy was upset, embittered, and very enraged. The living doll cursed and swore, marching along with her smaller identicle through a giant sunflower field. "Damn those outsiders... Damn all three of them!" She shouted, kicking a flower down. "No one has ever made that kind of a mockery of me before, no one! I am the master of poison, the greatest toxin-user in gensokyo, and yet... Those three... they will wish I had kileld them fast and painlessly when I'm done them... I'll-"

"You'll what, Melancholy?"

Medicine turned, surprised by the new voice. There was no one there. She kept turning, hoping to find the source of the voice... But there was no one there...

Only Sunflowers...

Wait... Sunflowers....

The doll's eyes widened with the horrible realization of the grave error she had made. In her fit of rage tha had lasted the entire day, she had unknowingly left her Suzuran field and stayed into the Garden of the Sun... Which could only mean...

Oh no...

Before she could run, the doll found herself wrapped up by the legs and hoisted up 7 or 8 feet into the air, her smaller doll counterpart also tangled up. The culprits were vines and roots, which were unaffected by the poison on her body. Medicine struggled and panicked, trying to free herself, swing to and fro...

Until she found herself face to face with the sole being in all of Gensokyo that she feared, complete with a pair of blood red eyes stabbing into her soul. Her heart stopped cold. Sweat and fear ran rampant across the doll's face. The only words she could mutter were "Mother of God."

"Medicine dear, how are you doing? It's been such a long time since we've seen each other." The being said in joyous pleasure, before pinching Medicine's cheek and tugging on the wood-turned flesh. "Tell me, what brings you to my lovely garden?"

Medicine gulped, though in the back of her mind a plan was beginning to come together. "Um... Y-y-y-you see... I need a l-l-l-little help with something..." The poisonous doll stammered.

The being took a step back, and twirled her parasol behind her, the figure's face fully illuminated in the moonlight. "Well then, tell Auntie Kazami all of your troubles... and I will see what I can do to help you, dear."

_____________________________________

In another area of Gensokyo, A meeting was underplace, a meeting shrouded in mist and hoods, a meeting deep underground, hidden away from the peering eyes of Gensokyo.

" I must admit, having the old lady give us these smoke machines and hoods was a good idea.. becuase i feel AWESOME!" one of the 5 figures announced. The other 4 nodded in agreement. "Now with that out of the way-"

A hissing sound fileld the air, as well as that of the gnashing of teeth and steel being torn apart. The leader of the meeting sighed. "Wriggle, the Xenipots are pissy again. Go and cheer them up."

The figure of the right stood up. "First of all, they're Xenomorphs, idiot, and second, they're designed to be killing machines, not happy lizards. Besides, I have them under control." The being called Wriggle retorted.

"Um, what it really a good idea to get those creatures?" A more soft-spoken voice floated out. "I don't think using such blood-thirsy beasts is a good id-"

"Daiyousei, Relax. This is one plan that I am sure won't backfire on us." The leader of the group exclaimed, putting her fist to her chest. "If it does somehow manage to backfire on us, I will eat my own wings."

"If you say so." A new voice called up. "If it does fail, I'm shoving Wriggle's old spiked collar up your sub-zero-"

"Ah, Rumia, thank you for reminding me... I have a special mission for you. You reported on seeing those humans and the tengu at the bamboo place? Well, i need for you to keep an eye on them at all times, understand?" The leader announced.

The person called Rumia banged her head on the table. "Ugh... if you wish, your royal dumbness..." She groaned, before heading off to leave...

When she was left, the leader of the group turned and held up a chocolate bar from her cloak. "Now, we really do need someone ot keep the Xenomets entertained..."

"Cirno, your a bloody moron." Wriggle smashed her face against the table as well... It was going to be a long meeting session...

[Flygon King]

Chapter 10: Burn in Violet, the Girl who Played with People’s Shapes.

You open your eyes. Right before you is a giant towering spiral of darkness, a pillar of death rising up from a deathly landscape. There is an opening right before you, one you can see having no door to. When you look around, all you see is death in all directions. These are the Blasted Lands, an area in Gensokyo where nothing grows. It is an odd area for you to be in, but seeing as you have no other good choice, you enter into the giant pillar of swirling doom. Once you are in, the ground beneath you seems to begin to rise up, like an elevator of sorts. As you head up, all you hear is laughter echoing from above. At one point, you get a glimpse of the source of it: 4 children laughing and playing with one another in a room. However, you notice something about them that’s not quite right, but by then, your already going up beyond that point… and then, your at the top of the dark spire. It’s a flat, open area surrounded by dark, thunderous skies clashing and booming all around.

And in the middle of this surface, seated upon a twisted throne of pure dark energy, is a woman of horrifying presence. Deep crimson red eyes stare into yours, and her fingers are not adorned with nails, but hawk-like talons. Two giant, leathery wings extend from her back, and a long, tapering tail with an arrow-tip at the end flickers by her side. Her hair is long and golden, extending past her shoulders, and her body is like that of a goddess’s, were one a demonic entity from Hell. She wears a black vest and skirt that are FAR too small on her, and a white blouse under the vest She has all the right curves and figure to be a statuesque beauty, and as she stands, you see that she is, towering above you by a foot. She walks toward you, as a crystal ball rises up and forms out of the shadowy darkness of the floor. “Why hello there, dear sir.” The woman says, in a voice that seems more fitting for a 9 year old girl than a beautiful demon. “Please take a seat. We have much to discuss.” You look behind you, and sure enough, there is a chair shaped in the likes of a fallen angel for you to sit at. You take your seat, as the woman sits herself down in the throne that seems to have moved to where she is. “I apologize if this is all odd and crazy to you, but I assure you this is not a waste of your time, not at all. It's really rather unfortunate that we must meet after the fact, but before, I couldn't have this happen. If you would like, I can have Mystia bring us drinks. She makes some wicked good drinks.”

You nod, deciding it’s better to appease this odd woman than to deny her request. After tapping the throne twice, she turns her attention back to you. “Alright then. Now you may be wondering why you’re here, and who I am. Well, I could just tell you, but I prefer to give you the long and drawn out version of it. Believe me, it’s for the best. You got nothing else to do, either way. Now, let us see where this all begins.” The woman says as the crystal ball before you begins to become clear, revealing the scene before you…

_____________________________________

Gensokyo was a land filled with powerful beings. There were Oni that could flatten mountains with just their fingers, Celestials that changed the weather and summoned earthquakes with bored, youkai that every mortal and their grandmother feared with their life, and demons that could create entire dimensions for themselves… and then, there was Marisa Kirisame, the Ordinary Magician, who was flying through the Forest of Magic in the early morning and collecting mushrooms for her potions and spells. Unlike most witches, she wasn’t a youkai, but a human who had worked her way to become the second most powerful human in the region, just below Reimu herself. Unlike the perpetually lazy Shrine Maiden who didn’t bother training, the black and white witch was born a mere mortal, a sub-par human in every aspect. It had taken over a decade of hard work, perseverance, and determination to crawl her way up, but now, she was a one-woman army, a human witch who could take on the gods themselves and come out without a scratch. Her name had risen up in notoriety around Gensokyo, both for her ferocity and skill in battle… and for her thiefing skills. Many a fighter have found their treasures and loot stolen under their noses by the witch, and she had even managed to steal several spellcards from her adversaries. Not that she didn’t have her own… the attacks Marisa used were borderline illegal by the Spellcard Rules standard, and for very good reason.

“Hmmm, I need those certain shrooms for this new Spark I’m making, but they ain’t here. I could have sworn they were here yesterday.” Marisa muttered as she flew around on her broom. The Forest of Magic was a massive forest, much like the Bamboo Forest of the Lost, but unlike the latter, it was easy to make your way through without getting lost, due to the trails that had been made. Some of these had been made by the local fairies that lived in the forest, but a few were made by Marisa herself, though these were more or less going along preferred mushroom groves. Normally, the shrooms she needed would have been here, but either Marisa had forgotten which route had which shrooms, or-

“Missing something?” A voice called down from above. The witch looked upward… and her face paled as the tengu with the bag of mushrooms flew down to her eye level. “You know, it’s rather funny, the prank you pulled on me yesterday. I was just helping out these newcomers, and you give me a growth spurt. I always wanted to be top dog in news reporting, but not like that. So I thought last night, ‘why don’t I take your special mushrooms from you?’ You prank me, I prank you. Now we’re even… almost. ”

Marisa slowly put her broom in reverse as she reached into her pocket. “Now hold on a sec, crow-girl. I didn’t even know what that shroom would do to you. It was all Alice’s fault. She wanted me to go out and prank someone. Besides, I need those mushrooms back for my new spellcards, so if you would please”-

The witch’s words were cut short as Aya flew back, and Berzerker leapt in, arms raised as he tried to crush the witch under his bulk. What the Australian Rex failed to take into account, however, was Marisa’s enhanced reflexes. Being a witch who took what was basically her equivalent to drugs and steroids almost daily, she lived in a world where everyone else might as well have been slow-mo. So when Berzerker leapt out and tried to crush her, she easily flew to the side far sooner than anyone else in that scenario, allowing her to easily bypass him. With Berzerker landing where she had been moments ago, Marisa sneered as she flew up, a spellcard in her hands. “So it’s not enough to come after me yourself, but to bring thugs? That’s it, crowbitch, you and your gang are going down.” She exclaimed as she held her hand up, and the card began to glow.

And then, the forest was ablaze with lights and explosions.

____________________

“That girl” Your host sighs with a weak laugh thrown in, interrupting the events going on in the orb. “She just will not admit when she is in the wrong. Marisa Kirisame is a notorious liar who lies for the sake of lying.” You shift your gaze from the orb to the woman. “But that still doesn’t keep her from being crazy awesome. From the looks of things, yes she’s not a good person, but she is one of the heroes of Gensokyo. She’s stood up to power-hungry gods, demons, vampires, and aliens, and come out on top. She not only survived a fight against the most fearsome youkai ever, but also stole her signature attack. Some would even say she’s already a youkai from how powerful she is.” Here, the demonic-looking woman looks at you, and takes a deep breath. “I’m sorry for interrupting. However, that fight wasn’t just for those at the forest to see and try their damnest to survive…”

_________________________________-

It was another early morning for Reimu. Reaching her arms up and exposing her armpits to the world, she yawned and rolled out of the futon that served as her bed. Last night’s incident had been an annoyance for her, and she had gone to give the culprits of the “poisoned” riceballs a piece of her mind before going to sleep. Those fairies… they just never learned. As she took a glass of water, she looked out toward where she knew the group was, if only to wish them luck…

BOOOOOOOOOM.

The very ground beneath Reimu shook and she fell backwards, spilling the water all over herself. The shrine quaked, and for a moment, Reimu feared that it would collapse again, and then, it ended, the shrine still standing. Reimu let out an annoyed sigh. “I swear, if Tenshi’s behind this…”
And then, she saw it. Out where the Forest of Magic was. Flames and smoke were rising up in the distance. And then, what looked like a giant beam of flashing colors fired up into the sky, and the culprit for the earthquake became all too clear to Reimu. “GODDAMNIT MARISA!” Reimu shouted as she reached out and touched the Yin Yang orb on the shrine’s pedestal. Immediately, it split apart and formed into 4 smaller orbs that orbited around Reimu. With that, she took flight and headed right for the Forest of Magic. The hell are you doing, Marisa? Thinking she can just do whatever she wants and blow half of Gesnokyo into ashes? She thought to herself as she headed toward the rising smoke…

___________________________-

Meanwhile, the battle was already underway. Flames licked and consumed the trees as Marisa sent out another beam from her hakkero. Aya was quick to fly around it, and aimed a kick at Marisa, who pulled back on her broom at the last moment, letting Aya crash into Katsu, who had been coming in to attack from that direction. Pointing her finger up,Marisa fired numerous lasers from it which then curved downward and rained upon Katsu and co. Barzerker and Seyah, who was in the form of Rodan, shielded themselves from the onslaught, but Zhost was stuck with firing energy blasts to counter the lasers. The witch was simply too fast. Everytime someone got near enough to attack her, she simply flew out of the way and nailed them. Roaring out in rage, Berzerker leapt once more at Marisa, but yet again, this was in vain, as yet another beam fired from her hakkero and consumed the Australian Rex, sending him sprawling and smoking where he lay.

“Alright, enough is enough!” Aya shouted as she flew right for Marisa. This time, however, the witch speed off on her broom, and Aya flew after her, with Seyah also flying after the witch. The more grounded group members could only watch as the three figures clashed and fought high in the sky. They were moving so fast, it was hard to keep track of them. Aya tried to send a whirlwind at Marisa, but the witch simply rammed through it, and smashed into her. With a smirk on her face, she then flew in a tight loop, letting Seyah, who had been trying to ram her, ram instead into his comrade, letting the two of them plummet in a mess to the ground. Both of them groaned as they tried to pry themselves free. This was a disaster. None of them had even managed to land a hit on Marisa… and she was chewing them up and spitting them out. Kastu glared up at the witch, wind currents blowing around him as Marisa laughed down at them. Lifting her finger up once more, magic spiraled into the sky... and countless fireballs and stars raine down upon the forest. Flames and energy washed over the group as burning trees came crashing down, and the ground everywhere exploded, only being drowned out by Marisa's laughter as she cut off the armageddon from the heavens.

“You know, I’m starting to think your posy’s a little pathetic. I’m not even breaking a sweat here, ze, and I haven’t even brought out the big guns.” Marisa taunted from her position, putting her finger in her mouth, then on her ass with the sizzling sound effect. “Are you guys done letting me wail on ya, because I have better stuff to do.”

As usual, it was Berzerker who responded, chucking a burning tree at Marisa in anger, who swatted it out of the way with a slam of the broom. “That’s it. You picked a fight with the wrong man. Prepare to face Australian Justice!” He howled. His fists began to glow red, as did the rest of his body. “COME HERE AND FACE ME LIKE A MAN!” He roared.

Here, Marisa stood up on her broom and aimed her hakkero backwards. “Very poor choice of words, da-ze.” She chuckled… and then fired her hakkero. Aya immediately recognized what she was doing and shouted, “Get out of the way!”And sure enough, Marisa came hurtling down like a comet, riding on her own giant laser and hurtling toward Berzerker and Katsu. Kastu swung his arms forward, sending the wind gathered up as razor sharp edges toward the incoming threat, but she merely blasted through them…

And then, the unthinkable happened. Berzerker, holding his ground, caught the witch at the last moment. Aya couldn’t believe it. Marisa effing Kirisame, who was riding on her own Master Spark, was being held in place… but it wasn’t very well. The sheer force being exerted by the beam was slowly pushing Berzerker back, and he couldn’t do anything else without getting flattened and vaporized. “Hey, bitch, get out of the way!” Marisa shouted, trying to pump more juice into the lazer. But Berzerker would not budge, and didn’t even seem to feel it. He simply grinned madly, and then a single word slipped from his mouth….

“Gotcha”

From behind, Zhost came up and punched Marisa across the face. This caused her to let go of her hakkero, which cut off the beam instantly, and she fell onto the ground. For a moment, she lay there, then she got up, eyes burning. “This is just getting sta-“ She began, but a deep rumbling within her stomach haulted her and she kneeled over…

And vomited onto the ground. She collapsed onto her side, puke dribbling down her mouth. “Looks like someone took a few too many magic enhancements. We win, and you loose. Now change me back to normal.” Aya chuckled as she sat back. Berzerker, who still had the broom in his hands, threw it onto Marisa, bringing up a groan from the sick girl, while still grinning madly. Zhost and Seyah looked at each other, and gave themselves a high 5.

Katsu, though, wasn’t celebrating this victory. Rather, he seemed on the edge… there was something odd here… something very odd.. but what?

There was a rustle around them, and the next thing Katsu knew, he and everyone else were surrounded. Dolls… dozens of them armed with weapons floated all around them. Everyone but Marisa, who was too busy clearing her stomach, turned and prepared themselves as the dolls closed in, their weapons glistening amongst the flames…