Chapter Text
Goro
I felt fear. Despite being backed up by several powerful individuals, I’m sure they all felt the same.
Especially since I now knew I was on the wrong end of a youkai extermination.
Reimu floated in the air, yin-yang orbs spinning around her, with an aura of pure, concentrated murder surrounding her. “You all. Surrender the darkness youkai, and no one else gets hurt.”
Marisa stepped forward. “The Hell are ‘ya thinkin’, Rei?! She ain’t done anythin’ wrong, you’re just lookin’ to kill-”
“I DON’T NEED TO HEAR A GODDAMN THING COME OUT OF YOUR MOUTH, BITCH!!” Reimu roared, sending an orb rocketing toward Marisa which the latter narrowly dodged. “Youkai extermination is my duty! No one can prevent me from doing it!”
I drew my pistol, ready to fight. “It seems you’re not willing to reason. I will not let another innocent life be taken, even if it means facing my friend.”
Reimu glared at me. “You… Of all people, I thought you would understand… but I guess that’s too much to ask, from a damn dirty youkai!” She fired up a magic circle, then sent a barrage of amulets my way, which I had to jump, weave and bend my way around. One amulet came close to hitting me, and I felt a burning sensation as it did.
Marisa looked at the amulets. “sh*t, these are extermination amulets! You’re toast if these hit you!”
“I see,” I nodded. “So she’s not bound by spell card rules.” I turned to Eirin and Reisen, who were guarding Rumia. “Shoot to kill.”
Reisen’s eyes widened. “Wh-what?! Are you serious?!? Do you have any idea what will happen if we kill her?!?”
“Is she not trying to unjustly murder us right now?” I asked. “Because I would say it is justified.”
Eirin drew her bow. “He has a point, Reisen.” She took aim. “Forgive me, Yukari-dono.” The arrow rocketed down the hallway, followed by many others, which Reimu dodged and weaved around while retaliating with needles. I used a skill card to dampen her reflexes, but that barely slowed her down. All around, amulets flew, needles pierced, and she proved almost impossible to hit, let alone strike down. Finally, just as she closed the distance, the room bent and distorted, there was a flash, and she found herself alone and disoriented.
“Huh? What? Where’d ‘ya go?!?”
We escaped the mansion out the front, where Seiran and Ringo were hunkering down in the bushes. “Phew,” Marisa said. “I remember the Endless Night when you did that to keep us from finding the princess. Never thought you’d use it to get our asses outta the fire.”
“Don’t mention it,” Reisen said. She looked over at the others. “You two need to get out of here. Go straight to the Village, we’ll rendezvous later.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Seiran said, her and Ringo taking the chance to escape.
“Now what?” I asked. “Reimu will emerge from there at any moment.”
“I’ve contacted the others, they’re on their way,” Marisa said. “Even Reimu won’t be able to overcome that level of firepower.”
“Let’s hope so,” I said, drawing my weapon again. “Because here she comes.”
The front doors exploded outward, and Reimu barreled out, ready to draw blood. “RUMIA, YOU SMUG SLIME, YOU’RE NOT GETTING AWAY THIS TIME!!!”
I looked at Rumia. “What did you do, if anything?”
“I… I dunno-”
A needle pierced the ground next to us. “EEP!” Reflexively, she shrouded the area in darkness. It was cold, and impossible to see anything.
I can sense youkai you know, came a threatening voice. Come out, come out, wherever you are…
I felt chills. For the first time in a long time, I feared for my life. There was a predator here, one who couldn’t be stopped, coming straight for my ass. I held the gun out, arms shaking, knowing I was probably fighting a losing battle. I held the trigger, behind which was the safest place right now, bracing myself for what would happen next.
I felt a presence. I heard a breath. I turned around-
*FWOOM*
The darkness dissipated, and right in front of me, a bright, rainbow-colored laser blasted from one side to the other, blowing wind every which-way. Once it died down, I saw Reimu off to the side, covered in dirt and scorch marks, while Marisa was on the other side, lowering her Mini-Hakkero. Rumia was hiding behind her, shaking in fear.
Reimu got back up and glared at Marisa. “Stop interfering with my mission, dammit! I have to exterminate all the youkai, and everyone protecting them!”
“This ain’t like ‘ya, Rei!” Marisa shouted. “Snap out of it! You’re supposed to balance Gensokyo, not commit genocide!”
“Grr, I don’t need you to lecture me!” Reimu snarled. “In fact, I don’t need you at all!” She lunged toward Marisa at high speed, reaching out her hand to grab Marisa’s neck. I quickly pulled Marisa aside, leaving Reimu to grab the air above Rumia’s head.
…or, rather, she grabbed the ribbon on her head, and in one swift motion, tore it off.
Reimu stood there, looking at the ribbon in her hand… which, on closer inspection, was actually an amulet.
Her eyes widened, and her yin-yang orbs fell to the ground.
“...oh sh*t.”
Almost immediately, Rumia writhed in pain, collapsed to the ground, and moaned as her body started to melt into a puddle of darkness on the ground, which expanded, forcing us all to back away. The sky darkened to an early night, wind whipped everywhere, and the Moon seemed to grow impossibly large, filling the sky and casting a sickly green hue.
“What’s goin’ on?!” Marisa shouted, struggling to keep her hat on.
“IT’S… RUMIA’S TRUE FORM!” Reimu replied. “HER TRUE FORM SEALED BY THAT AMULET!”
Her “true” form? What kind of monster was she, if she had the power to change the scene this drastically?
Suddenly, we manifested our Metaverse attire. Somehow, Rumia was causing a cognitive distortion simply by existing.
“Wha- HUH? Why the Hell are we in these?!?” Marisa exclaimed.
Eirin looked at us, completely bewildered. “What are those outfits for?”
I looked up at her. “For when sh*t hits the fan.”
We looked back up, and saw the shadowy blob reconfiguring itself into the shape of an angel, one with black, feathered wings, a tabard, armor, dress, a sword, the whole archangel accompaniment. This figure, Rumia’s true form, had long, flowing blonde hair, and a face obscured by a mask divided into four colors: red, yellow, green and blue, with a hole through which her left eye could be seen.
Based on the confiscated Kirijo documents and accounts of the Full Moon Shadows, this horror before me could only be described as Arcana Temperance.
“WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?!?!” Marisa yelled.
I drew my knife. “It doesn’t matter. Here she comes!” Arcana Temperance lunged and swung at us, and all four of us responded in kind. Eirin stood in her spot, seemingly blank-minded, trying to process what she was seeing.
“Moon… full moon… shadow… full moon shadow…”
“Master!” Reisen scrambled to block an attack meant for her, pushing Arcana Temperance back.
“Grr… I won’t let you!” She ripped off her mask and held out her arms. “It’s time to let ‘er rip!” She sent Jack toward Temperance, who tore into her body, only for her to shrug off the blow.
“Jesus, how tough is that thing?!” Marisa said.
“Probably very tough,” I replied. “The others should be here soon. Let’s just hold the line until then.”
“Are you sayin’ all we can do is shoot it until it dies???”
“Unfortunately, yes,” I nodded. “Shoot it until it dies.”
“Ehh…” We continued to battle her. After a short while, Temperance revealed her first real technique: changing the moon’s phase to full. Shortly after that, she let loose with a devastating sword slash, severely wounding Reimu and forcing Marisa to heal her.
“Geh!” Reimu grunted. “That thing’s strong!”
I looked at the moon. “The effect of the moon must be powering up her attacks.”
“Is that so, eh?” Reisen rubbed her chin, then evilly grinned. “Then, guess I’ll just have to copy it!” She commanded another attack. “Getsu-ei!” Jack lunged forward and used the very same attack against Temperance, this time with more effect.
“Bullseye!” Reisen chanted.
Upon recovering, Temperance raised her sword in the air and cast down Ziodyne at Reimu, only for Reimu to seemingly reflect the attack back, not that it did anything to Temperance.
“This… this is where my fear of lightning came from,” Reimu muttered. “That day… my memories all blurred together…”
“What are ‘ya sayin’, Seraph?!” Marisa bellowed.
Reimu shook her head, and got up, staring down Temperance. “You. I won’t allow you to bastardize and taint my memories any longer! The death of my mother… If it weren’t for you, it could have been prevented. But, it’s too late for that now!” She drew a spell card, just like Reisen did yesterday, flung it into the air, then her Persona Kikuri wreathed herself in flames and dashed toward Temperance, creating a cross shape and circle of flames imprisoning the monster, before Reimu jumped up, gohei above her head, and yelled, “Last Word: Exorcism by Fire!” She bore down, creating a fiery explosion which completely scorched Temperance and singed the surrounding bamboo trees.
I made note of what had happened: first Psionic Onslaught, then Exorcism by Fire. Both “Last Words.” Both spell card-powered, and both fueled by emotions. I also thought about Nitori’s far earlier “Forbidden Fruit Wave.” An unknown secret technique, a “super move” of sorts?
Whatever the case, the attack proved to be far from the “Last Word,” with Temperance simply using Diarahan on itself to recover from the attack. Next, she changed the moon phase, this time to a new moon. This had the effect of increasing her evasion, rather than her attack. She tried to attack Reisen, only for the attack to be parried by…
“...Master??”
The dust cleared, and Eirin stood, bow drawn, and with a determined expression.
“How could I succumb so easily to having my memory wiped?” she said. “Ever since the time when the Lunarians colonized the Moon, the rabbits spoke of a mother god whom they all worshiped as their ‘creator.’ For millennia, I researched this goddess, her nature, her influence on all living things. I remember it now: seven years ago, this goddess was called upon by all living things to end their suffering, only to be sealed, and the memories of all who perceived it hosed clean, leaving only blank spots where it used to be.” She stood up. “I kept it a secret from those fools, even lord Tsukiyomi. I didn’t want the prophecy of the Fall spreading like a virus, and yet, somehow, it did among humans, creating this wretched phenomenon, long thought to be put down, only to rise again.”
My eyes widened. “So, you knew about the Dark Hour?”
“Ever since long before it had that name,” Eirin replied. “My memory was stolen, my fears grew like a cancerous tumor, and I forgot my true aim and purpose in life. I became distorted. It took Reisen going into my mind and ripping that darkness out to realize.” She turned to Arcana Temperance. “And now, I, Eirin Yagokoro, the Brain of the Moon, shall seal you!” She summoned a Tarot card and chopped it with her hand, summoning a being similar to a sleep paralysis demon with a mask. “LAY WASTE TO THEM, ONEIROI!!!” This Persona of hers, Oneiroi, proved capable of some truly flammable techniques: Myriad Arrows, Akashic Arts, Debilitate, Divine Judgement, Megidolaon… name a powerful move, and this thing probably had it.
“Alright, payback time!” Marisa bellowed, as we all tore into Temperance. Forcing her on the backfoot, she resorted to stronger attacks, up to and including Thunder Reign, Megidolaon and Makougaon (though no curse attacks, which seemed odd as Rumia controlled darkness) on the magical side and a new move, Heaven’s Blade, on the physical side. Taking her down felt like fighting the Cyberdemon with a fish wrapped in a newspaper, but ever so slightly we weakened it.
As we pulled back for another round, Temperance prepared another swing, and we braced ourselves for it; however, it was interrupted by the sound of a car’s horn, and when she turned the…
…the Mona Van???
*SMASH*
Temperance was knocked to the ground by the vehicle, which swung around to reveal Byakuren ghost riding on the top of it, shooting her minigun at the dark angel and riddling her with bullets. Nitori was driving, and one by one the others rolled out of the back and started firing at Temperance as well, before Nitori herself jumped ship and allowed the car to revert to its normal form.
“Now THAT was some style!” Aya smiled.
“Mwehehe!” Morgana crossed his arms. “Never underestimate a true gentleman thief!”
I looked around. “The gang’s all here. Time to end this!” Pulling out a random card, I jumped up into the air, and attempted to use a “Last Word” of my own. Bond appeared behind me, then charged Arcana Temperance, knocking her around several times like a ping-pong ball as I took aim with my gun.
“Shaken, not Stirred.” I fired one superpowered bullet at her, which exploded and dealt massive damage; I used the chance to close in and, with one hand, tore off the mask, causing the monster to shriek like a banshee as the distortion on her body dissolved, before collapsing onto the ground. Once the darkness cleared, all that was left was an archangel with white wings and long, blonde hair who lay face-up on the ground.
We stood there for a moment, in silence, before Reimu slowly started walking up to Rumia. Reimu was shaking, each step coming slower than the last, before she was right before the angel.
“I… I…”
“What’s wrong?” Marisa asked.
Reimu fell to her knees, dropped her gohei, and wept softly. “That day… when she turned into that… when Yukari forcefully awakened my power… that’s when I…”
Morgana bounced up to her, and held her side. “Hey, don’t force yourself. I can tell you’ve been through a lot.”
“No… you all deserve to know…” She got up and faced us. “Rumia and my mother were good friends. She would come to the shrine and play with me, dote on me like a godmother, watch me grow and train… But then came a stormy night on a full moon, back when I was twelve. We stayed up late playing games, before Yukari barged in and proclaimed that Rumia had to die. We asked her why, all of a sudden, before Rumia got up and held her arms out. She revealed that she was a ‘piece’ of an appraiser of Death, and that it was her duty to fulfill the wish of all living things to die. At that moment, the sky turned green, she turned into that monster we fought just now, and simply said, ‘No hard feelings.’”
My eyes widened. “So… you’ve experienced the Dark Hour before?”
“Yes,” Reimu nodded. “Nothing worked against her. Not needles, not sealing amulets, anything. Me and Mother didn’t understand what was going on. That’s when Yukari did… something. She pointed her fan at me, which made me scream in pure agony as a being - Kikuri - appeared behind me, did battle with the monster, and managed to subdue it, before going berzerk and attempting to kill me. That’s when Mother pushed me away and then… and then…”
Marisa looked at her in shock. “... NO. So, ‘ya mean that-”
Reimu threw up her arms. “I KILLED HER! I’M MY MOTHER’S MURDERER!!!” She looked back down and absolutely bawled. “WHAT KIND OF sh*tTY DAUGHTER KILLS HER OWN MOM?!?”
All of us stood there, letting Reimu spill her emotions, out of fear she would lash out if we tried to comfort her.
“Er… that’s…” Morgana tried to say.
“I can’t even begin to imagine…” Byakuren said. “And you awakened to Kikuri before?”
Reimu sniffled. “Yeah. But… that’s not all. You see, I… I had a dream. Crow was there, Starburst was there, there was this… monster formed out of our fathers. Mine was shrouded in shadow, at first, before revealing itself to be… well, Ran with… guy parts.”
Everyone else jumped back. “Wh-wha-whaaaat???” Aya said, aghast.
Reimu paused for a second. “...yeah, and she taunted me about killing my mother. I remembered everything. When I woke up… I don’t know what made me do it, but I went to Ran and asked her a strange question. I asked her ‘Are you my father?’”
Youmu shook in place. “Ran-sama… no. No, no, nonono, you can’t be serious! It’s impossible! I mean, she-”
“Ran looked at me,” Reimu continued. “She looked at me in fear, before she took me into the back, where Chen couldn’t hear. There, she…” Reimu sighed. “She… well, she told me that Yukari couldn’t find any suitable men to marry to her, because my grandmother, she… she didn’t just swing one night with a man, she swung with an oni. So she was half-oni, and no one wanted to be with her. Desperate, and not willing to force my mom on a man, Yukari fiddled with some boundaries, and… and…” She started crying, as we…
…well…
Marisa appeared to shut down, turning into an expressionless husk incapable of processing this revelation. Morgana’s face was one of pure “what the f*ck?” Byakuren covered her hands with her mouth, her eyes wide. Miko’s head was tilted. Reisen’s eyes were blank. Nitori was the only one willing to comment: “...so, that means that…”
Reimu looked up and screamed. “I… AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” She screamed for a full minute, before bawling hysterically. “I’m a freak of nature! I’m barely a human! I can’t call myself a shrine maiden! Humans can’t look up to me! I’m more monster than person!” She looked at Rumia. “I have to exterminate all of them… if I don’t, what am I? I’m… *sniff* a failure of a Hakurei…” She knelt over, refusing to let us see her face, and continued to cry.
We… wow. For once, I had nothing to say. At least I was minimally brought into the world through “normal” means, if through shameful circ*mstances. Reimu… to realize that her existence was unnatural and a defiance of natural law, but also that she wasn’t what she thought she was… and unlike me, the nature of her role meant she couldn’t reconcile it so easily…
“...Rei…” Marisa said softly, tears running down her own face. All of us looked down somberly, sharing the pain our friend was going through.
“...Reimu.”
!
We looked up, Reimu included, and saw an ethereal figure which resembled Reimu’s mother Akari… or perhaps was Akari’s spirit.
“M-mom???” Reimu said in shock. “W-what are you doing here?! You’re not mad at me, are you?”
Akari smiled. “Of course not. Why would I be angry with my own daughter? You’ve made so many friends, touched so many lives, and kept Gensokyo safe for so long.”
“But… I mean… I killed you!” Reimu exclaimed. “How come you’re not haunting me or taking my soul to Hell or anything like that?!?”
Akari shook her head. “It couldn’t have been helped, the way it happened. You know Yukari is remorseful for it, too. All that matters is that you have taken up my stead, even better than I did. I couldn’t have trained you better. You’re a hard worker, and very strong too.”
Reimu looked down. “Even if you say that… I can’t really say I’m a human. I mean, mostly kitsune, some oni… and to top it all off, I…”
“Oi,” Marisa cut in. “So what?”
Reimu turned to her. “What do you mean ‘so what??”
“Think of it this way: you were mostly youkai when you were born, you were mostly youkai yesterday, tomorrow you’ll still be mostly youkai,” Marisa smiled. “You’re still the same Reimu, inside and out. You’ll just be a little more true to yourself from now on, is all.”
“She has a point,” I added. “You have gifts and abilities no one else has, and you’re stronger because of them.”
“Gensokyo wouldn’t be as peaceful as it is without you,” Aya said. “I mean, you can easily beat me, an old, powerful Tengu.”
“We will stand by your side and fight through thick and thin, I swear by my sword,” Youmu said.
“Because we’re a team,” Mamiko said.
“Because you’re Gensokyo’s defender,” Byakruen said.
“Because we all made a promise,” Nitori said.
“Because you are strong, and inspire the weak to fight for their own cause,” Miko said.
“And because the fight’s not over yet,” Reisen said, “so don’t give up now.” Eirin crossed her arms, and nodded in agreement.
Morgana smiled, then turned to Reimu. “See? Do these look like the kind of people who would abandon you for being a freak? I mean… take it from someone who knows what it’s like, realizing you aren’t what you thought you were, not having a sense of purpose, not feeling supported… but, I had my own team on my side, and that’s what friends are for: someone to lean on when you’re scared, cold, and weak. What I’m saying is, you’re never alone. Don’t push everyone away, just because you don’t think you’re worthy of their help.”
“Guys…” Reimu looked at us, and for the first time today, smiled. “Thank you.”
“Never forget: I will always be watching you, and will always be a part of you,” Akari said. “Fight on, Reimu. You’re a fine young woman now, and Gensokyo… no, the world faces dark times.” At that moment, Reimu’s mask suddenly turned into her Persona. The two entities moved closer, before turning into light and combining into one. After a brief flash, a new Persona, one with long, flowing hair, a highly stylized miko outfit with what looked like a black leotard underneath, a chiseled body, a metal mask, and a large gohei in one hand and a large, arm-mounted gun on the other appeared. Somehow, Akari’s spirit - or perhaps Reimu’s memory of her? - had fused with her Persona, to be born anew, and become part of her. This new Persona then disappeared, except for the mask - which floated down and rested on Reimu’s face, replacing her old, fan-shaped one. Also, her bat-like wing transformed, becoming a dark feathered wing mirroring the angelic one.
Once the scene finished playing out, the full moon disappeared, and the light of day returned. Morgana turned back into a cat, and our outfits returned to normal. It seemed that the distortion Rumia, or Arcana Temperance, had created ran out, leaving only the angel on the ground.
I looked at Eirin, straight in the eyes. “We need to talk.”
“Absolutely,” Eirin replied. “I think we all deserve to be on the same page.” She looked at Rumia. “Let’s stabilize her condition first. She will likely be a vital asset to us.”
“Yes, Master.” We went over and carried Rumia inside.
