Flashback of the Ages 8

All over Gensokyo, all those who became children have lost their minds and regressed to the bliss and innocence of uncaring childhood, though the spell has also caused them to run out of control, unable to stand still for even a second, jumping, running, flying, blatantly disobeying the adults, and even attacking them at times. At Kourindou, Rinnosuke struggles with all his might to free himself from Tokiko, who tries to speak as calmly as possible, saying “please, please, just calm down. You’re going to hurt yourself!” Star jumps on Tokiko’s foot and kicks the chin of her ankle, making her release Rinnosuke and jumping in place, while she and Rinnosuke run outside to the forest; outside, where the darkness of night slowly creeps down on the land. At Eintei, Tewi and Reisen 2 lock themselves inside Tewi’s room in the storehouse, shivering and holding each other with fright, as the children giggle outside, Kaguya calling “Tewi~ Come on out and play. I wanna pull your ears again!” At the Human Village, though it seems the adults have the upper hand, little Keine, Kyo, Luna and Shizuha continue to cause chaos all around, freeing other children from their rooms, taunting Mokou, painting walls with crayons, bouncing their balls against doors, some of those balls entering windows and breaking things inside the houses. At the Tengu’s waterfall, countless tiny tengu fly around, shooting danmaku at everything they think may be amusing. Momiji instructs the few adult tengu left to create a parameter to stop the children from attacking, but even she is attacked by Aya and Hatate right in the middle of her planning. Suwako battles with Kanako, who although is a child, still holds the same power she’s always had, and to Suwako’s dismay, the war goddess exploits Suwako’s weakness all throughout their battle, forcing Suwako to hide most of the time. At the Myouren Temple, Reisen and Nitori find themselves tied up with their backs against each other, while little Hina enters the temple with the tiny RKNS. Nitori smiles in defeat and asks “so, any clue as to when this spell will finally wear off?” Reisen sighs and says “no clue, but I sure hope it’s soon. Somehow, those two little tikes got stronger.” Inside the temple, Hina zips behind anything she can find, stealthily and skillfully getting closer to the rooms corridor. While she moves about, Nazrin and Nue find themselves surrounded by Shou, Ichirin and Unzan, all seemingly eager to grab them. Nue yelps and desperately says “no! Naz, I can’t take ANOTHER TICKLE ATTACK!” Nazrin clenches her teeth and says “tch! I’ve had enough!” Nazrin stands up, twirls in place, and with her tail she whips Unzan and Shou, giving Nue the chance to grab them and take them to the rooms. When Nazrin tries the same with Ichirin, the little youkai sways to the left just in time, and although she avoids being whipped, Nazrin manages to hit her left ear, knocking it out of place, revealing a normal ear underneath the pointy one. When Ichirin realizes what happened, she stops and start to sob, and just as she starts to cry, Nazrin grabs her and takes her to a room. Nue and Nazrin now sit on the ground with their backs against each other, sighing with relief, then Nazrin says “finally! That Murasa sure was a pain!” Nue sighs and says “who knew a toy anchor could do such a thing.” Nazrin suddenly comments “oi, Nue, could you back off a bit? You’re invading my space.” Nue replies “you’re the one pushing yourself against me.” When they take notice of their surroundings, they realize they have been skillfully tied up with a rope that entwines all over ornaments, chairs, and even the ceiling, looking like a giant spider’s web. Nue shouts “wait, what just happened?” Nazrin struggles to free herself, then says “oh no! The kids!” Suddenly, the children all burst out from the hall, giggling, screaming and laughing, climbing the ropes with happy faces, Yumemi chasing after Byakuren, constantly asking about magic, while Byakuren angrily distance herself from the crazed scientist, to no avail. Suddenly, Chiyuri drops upside-down in front of Nazrin and Nue, tied up from head to toe and looking annoyed as her hair dangles along with her. Nazrin, sounding rather annoyed, asks “and where have you been, you no-good sailor?” Chiyuri bluntly replies “I was trying to commandeer your ship.” Nue smiles and says ”serves you right, then. *sigh* At least Kogasa is out there still. She’ll save us, right?” Little Hina uses her skirt as a parachute as she floats down with a smile, then says “if you’re talking about the umbrella girl, she’s the piñata.” Just outside the temple, Kogasa is fully tied up, swaying left and right, while Minamitsu swings her toy anchor around while blindfolded. Kogasa cries as she manages to lift herself up just before the anchor hits her, then says “this is horrible! This is no sanctuary for youkai! It’s just a trap for cuties like me!”

Meanwhile, back at the Netherworld, Youmu stances ready to intercept any attack that may come her way, standing on the porch of the ghostly shrine while holding on to the hilt of her sword. Reimu, Yukari and Sakuya glare back at Youmu, while Budou calmly approaches the shrine, saying “please, miss Youmu, I understand it’s fun being all grown up and strong, but it’s time to let go. It’s just not natural.” Youmu growls, then angrily says “I see now. You think I did something, don’t you? Well you are WAY off track! I haven’t-“ Before Youmu finishes, she moves so fast, she looks like a large red and green blur. Reimu and Yukari try to follow, but quickly find themselves rubbing their eyes. Budou looks at the blur, then looks back at the empty spot next to Sakuya, and exclaims “no! Miss Chen, we don’t use force!” Sakuya jumps in the air, saying “in this case, miss Budou, force is the only choice”, then throws a ridiculous amount of daggers at the blur. Sakuya smiles, thinking she got Youmu, but all daggers simply return to her, making her dance in mid-air to avoid her own weapons. After that, she gets annoyed and pulls out a spell card, saying “now, miss Youmu, those that do wrong HAVE to be punished! Sakuya’s World!” For Sakuya, everything turns black and white, and time stops immediately. Everything except Youmu and Chen, who seem to be moving in slow motion, Chen looking as fierce as when she went out of control in the mansion, clawing at Youmu, who matches the claw attacks with her swords and defends herself without even breaking a sweat. Sakuya watches as they continue moving, even though she has stopped time, then says “these girls. They are moving at such incredible speed. I see... I am sorry, my lady, but it seems this gardener has surpassed even myself.” Sakuya cancels her spell card and slowly floats down to Budou, who holds Reimu and Yukari while kneeling on the ground. Sakuya stares at her and asks “are they alright?” Budou shakes her head and says “no. They are fighting so hard against their own desire to simply play... They’re so cold.” Reimu manages to gasp for air and says “s-stop them!” Sakuya stares at Reimu, bends her body, then says “I’m sorry, Reimu. There’s nothing we can do.” Budou stares back at Sakuya in silence, then looks at Chen and Youmu’s blurs. Youmu and Chen finally stop on the shrine’s front yard, and Youmu, sounding calm and collected, says “Chen, you are a friend, but if you keep attacking me, will have to defend myself.” Chen’s red aura burns like wild fire as the nekomata growls, her beautiful face, twisted, making her look like a demon. She growls as she circles around Youmu, and sounding enraged, she shouts “YOU! You are doing this to me! You must die! YOU MUST DIE!” Chen moves so fast, it seems as though she just teleported behind Youmu. The half ghost simply sheathes her sword, saying “I will have to apologize to her and miss Ran later.” When her sword clicks in place, various cuts appear all over Chen’s body, then the nekomata slowly falls down to the ground on her face, whispering “Ran-sama... it hurts”, and finally falls with a loud thud.

Back at the Scarlet Devil Mansion, Remilia and Suika run after Rika and Ran, who seem to always be one step ahead of them. While Suika and Remilia continue to search the basement, Remilia shouting “I can still smell them. They are close by!”, Ran and Rika run up the stairs to one of the mansion’s corridors on the ground floor. They giggle as they run around, holding hand and jumping in a circle, then both gasp in fright when one of the window bursts open on its own. Ran seems to calm down, then asks “Chen? Is that you?” Rika calms down as well, flaps her wings, then says “Chen. She needs us. We have to find Chen!” After she stops flapping her wings, Rika and Ran start flying, then go right out the window. Remilia spots them and shouts “HURRY! They’re going outside!”, and rushes straight to the window, followed closely by Suika. Just as they reach the open window, a sheet of ice immediately blocks their exit. Suika stares angrily at the sheet of ice and says “allow me”, throwing a powerful punch that breaks the ice and sends the shattered remains straight toward Gensokyo’s border, where the shatter after crashing against it. Suika jumps toward the window, and again, another sheet of ice forms up, making the oni back away in time. She clenches her teeth and says “now this is irritating”, and winds up her punch to break through again. When she throws the punch, it goes through the ice and exits through another window in the same corridor. Remilia stares at the ice, then says “Reimu went after the wrong one.” Suika asks “what should we do now?” Remilia’s eyes glow scarlet, then smiles and says “come on. Let’s help Flandre and Koakuma.” Remilia walks toward the basement, while Suika stomps on the ground and asks “what? But what about those...” Before she finishes, Remilia stops, smiles calmly and says “don’t worry. Everything will be settled very soon. I promise.” Again, Remilia walks toward the basement, while Suika stares at her for a few seconds, then rushes after her, saying “this old oni is really getting tired of this.”

Back at the Netherworld, Youmu approaches the girls, keeping her eye on Sakuya, who keeps glaring at her through the corner of her eyes. Youmu bends down to look at Reimu, then says “I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m not doing anything. All I’m trying to do is catch Yuyuko, Lunasa and Merlin, before they destroy the shrine.” Budou looks at Youmu, then asks “but why would miss Reimu suspect you? And what about miss Chen?” Youmu looks behind herself through the corner of her eyes, then says “she’ll survive, but she’s going to be in a lot of pain. As for Reimu suspecting me...” Youmu looks away, blushing in shame, and continues “I didn’t want to go back to normal. After all, I am much more powerful and knowledgeable now. But... miss Yukari is right. I won’t accomplish anything unless I truly finish with my training.” Budou looks into Youmu’s eyes, but before she says anything, Reimu trembles as she holds her head and says “Cirno. It’s Cirno! ... The cold winds... Suika told me to ignore them, but they were warning me.” Reimu manages to look up at Budou, then says “you are the only one of us that can hope to match her now.” Fear takes Budou, evident in the terrorized look in her eyes. She shakes her head rapidly and says “but Reimu, how am I supposed to do this? I... I don’t want to fight her!” Yukari opens a gap to Budou’s right and says “everyone else is occupied, and of all of us, you have a better chance of being heard.” Reimu walks toward the gap, suppressing her urge to run and scream with glee and says “besides, she doesn’t like fighting that much either. You just need to talk.” Budou points at Sakuya and asks “what about miss Sakuya? Sh-she’s better than me at this kind of thing!” Sakuya sighs and says “it’s true, I may be able to beat that fairy with my time-stopping abilities... but I believe I am needed here for now”, then points at Chen on the ground. Budou looks at Chen, then at Sakuya, then at Youmu, as if begging her to take her place, then she turns her attention at the exhausted faced of Yukari and Reimu, who stand right next to the open gap. Budou sighs in defeat, then says “fine... I’ll do it. I just hope you know what you are doing.” As Budou enters the gap, Reimu smiles and says “d-don’t worry. We have the utmost confidence in you.” Budou smiles, then grabs the two little girls and enters the gap, which seems to close twice before disappearing. Sakuya walks to Chen and pulls a first aid kit from under her apron, then Youmu looks at her and says with admiration “hey, nice. You came prepared.” Sakuya smiles and says “I’m a maid. Being prepared for anything is just part of the job.” Youmu stares curiously at Sakuya’s apron, wondering how did she hide that box in there so well. She smiles when Sakuya looks back and asks “what is it, miss?” Youmu giggles and says “nothing. I better get inside. Yuyuko must be...” Before she can finish, little Yuyuko crashes through a window, riding a silver washtub with Lunasa and Merlin, then they all slide straight toward the long stairs of the Netherworld, laughing hard and cheering happily. Youmu opens her eyes wide and runs after them, shouting “YUYU-SAMA! You’re going to get hurt!” Lyrica peeks her head through the window, then asks Sakuya “which way did they go?” Sakuya points to her left toward the stairs, then Lyrica jumps out the window with ropes, boxing gloves, and a set of kiddy books, then rushes after Youmu and the girls, saying “thanks.” Sakuya stares with surprise and says “I’m so glad my lady never behaves like that.”

Meanwhile, at the Misty Lake, above the Scarlet Mansion island, while Cirno floats just above the mansion and looks down to the ground with her eyes hiding under a dark shadow, the sky is turning dark and the full moon begins to rise. Around the lake, on the other side of its shores, a large ice sheet that reaches all the way to the sky and beyond, keep Daiyousei and little Letty, who is running around Daiyousei with a smile on her face, away from Cirno, while the great fairy bangs on the ice wall with her fists, trying to call Cirno, though her voice doesn’t even come through. Cirno continues to look forward, her eyes still hidden in that dark shadow, then on the ground, with great effort, Yukari’s gap opens up, after apparently trying to do so more than 3 times. Budou, Reimu and Yukari drop out of the gap, and immediately after it closes, Yukari and Reimu spring to their feet, look at each other with a big smile, then Reimu declares “MUD FIGHT!” They run away from Budou and head straight toward a small puddle of mud, but before they can reach it, a small ice sheet forms around it, making them go right through it. Budou gets up and calls “Reimu, Yukari!” She turns to Cirno with an angry expression and shouts “are you out of your mind? What did you do to them?” With her eyes still under that shadow, she opens her frowning mouth and says “don’t worry. They are inside the mansion. The vampires will take good care of them. This way, neither of us will be distracted.” Budou understands what Cirno means, fear filling her heart as she stares back at the ice fairy, then shouts “bu-but I don’t want to fight you! Come on, all you have to do is let go! Allow yourself to go back to normal! That’s all there is to it. There’s no need to be fighting!” A tear escapes Cirno as she starts showing her clenched teeth, growling softly and clenching her raised fist while she trembles. She finally reveals her eyes, showing great sorrow as she shouts “oh sure! Let’s go back to normal! Let me go back to that ‘I’m the strongest’ crap, to all that blundering of mine, thinking I’m all that when I can’t even figure out how pathetic my own spells are!” Budou looks back up and tries to find words to convince the ice fairy otherwise, however she can’t think of a single thing to tell her. Cirno’s tears intensify as she raises her voice and says “I was a weak and pathetic being! All I did was freeze frogs, heaven knows why, and boast about how strong I really wasn’t! Now I understand so many things! I have power, and I KNOW how to use it! Please, don’t make me go back! I don’t want to be that idiot again!” Budou looks up and shouts “no, you’re wrong! Sure, you made a few mistakes, and repeated most of them too, but you never gave up! Cirno, you have spirit, you have courage, and even Hakurei sis Reimu knows that!” Cirno shouts “shut up! You just want to trick me!” Budou immediately shouts back “no, I’m not! Sure, you can do amazing things now, but right now, at this very moment; Cirno, can you tell me where you heart is?” Cirno gasps and opens her eyes wide, and while her tears continue to drop, she looks straight at Budou, who continues “Cirno, you’re a very special fairy. You are strong, you have a heart, you have friends, and you can even remember things that other fairies forget after they sleep! Come on, ma-maybe after you return to normal you can remember all of this. Yeah, you can probably do all of this-“ Cirno cut Budou off by shooting a giant icicle in front of her, making it melt away as soon as it lands, and with a frown in her face, and her eyes covered in shadow again, she says “when by body returns to its younger self, my energy will diminish, and the chances of me even imagining how to do these spells are zero to none! So don’t give me that useless lecture! Fight me! If you win, I give you my word, I’ll allow everything return to normal!” Budou opens her eyes wide, an on their refection, various icicles can be seen flying straight toward her. Meanwhile, high above on the sky, an ice sheet forms up next to a rain cloud, and Rika and Ran fly right through it, following the pull on their hearts, coming across the large gate that leads to the Netherworld. There, Ran knocks on the door and asks “Chen? Chen is there?” Rika smiles and nods, then knocks on the door and calls “Chen! Play with Chen!” Ran starts to cry and says “Chen is hurt! I want Chen!” Rika flies to Ran and gives her a hug, then flaps her little wings and frowns, thinking they’ll have to leave without the nekomata, but the door suddenly opens on its own, enough for them to get through. Ran and Rika look at the door, then back at each other, gasp and smile, then fly inside as fast as they can.

Back at the island, Budou runs while breathing heavily as she avoids the giant icicles that fall hard on to the ground. She finally finds a small rock formation with a small cave she can use for cover, and without hesitation, she jumps and slides into it, just as an icicle falls to the ground and covers the entrance. From the air, Cirno shouts “this is not the way to fight! Come on! You can do better! Come on, use that power you keep hiding!” Inside the tiny cave, Budou curls herself and hugs her knees while swaying back and forth, saying “fighting vampires and fiends is one thing, but this! Papa, how do you fight friends? I won’t want to hurt her, but I don’t want to stay like this either! What should I do?” Suddenly, Budou’s heart beats so strongly, Budou feels her entire body vibrate, and shortly after, a thin plate of ice cuts open a new entrance on the small cave’s roof. When she sees Budou she says “if you’re not going to fight, then leave me be, and wait for the other to just... grow up again.” Budou flies out of the cave and reaches the same height as Cirno in just a moment. She looks at Cirno with determined eyes, then says “you’re not my smart sis Cirno. She’d never make me fight her over something so trivial!” Cirno angrily asks “TRIVIAL? This is something very important to me, so how can you call it trivial?” Budou summons energy to her own hands and says “and smart sis wouldn’t be as selfish as you! Prepare yourself!” Cirno stares back at Budou, but does not smile, then nods and says “that’s the way.” Back at the Netherworld, Youmu manages to run past the girls, who are sliding down the long stairs while still inside the washtub, and waits for them to catch them as they slide down. She smiles confidently as she positions herself, then gets distracted by Ran and Rika, who fly above her, little Ran saying “Chen, we’re coming, so be ok!” Rika adds “Chen is this way, so up, up we go!” Youmu stares at them and asks “wait, Ran and that maid? Where are those two going?” She forgets the washtub-slide, and by the time she looks to the stairs, the empty washtub strikes her forehead with a loud clang and knocks her down, while the three little girls that were inside it just moments ago chase after Rika and Ran. Youmu cries as she holds her forehead with both her hands, then says to herself “focus, Youmu. Focus!”

Above the Scarlet Mansion, danmaku lasers and icicles crash with might, as Budou and Cirno begin their battle. Budou’s thick green lasers crash against Cirno’s giant icicles, showing how evenly matched the two of them really are. Three icicles and two lasers make it past the girls’ defenses, so Cirno summons an ice shield and turns Budou’s beams into water, while Budou flicks her wings to deflect two of the icicles, then claps hard to shatter the third with a quick shockwave. Cirno glares back at Budou, then pulls out a spell card and says “I truly am impressed. You’ve made me use this already, and we’ve only just begun.” Budou shouts “Cirno, please! Just stop this!” Cirno smiles as a tear runs through her cheek, then says “It’s too late. Draw your spell card, heh, and win this. Freeze sign, Perfect Freeze!” Budou opens her eyes wide and tries to fly away as fast as she can, but she stops herself by thinking “Budou, now is not the time! Papa and mama need you! Do this for them!” She turns around, only to come face to face with such a large concentration of multicolored orbs, she thinks she’s looking at a rainbow that has been shattered into countless pieces. The gaps between bullets are very narrow, but Budou stands her ground and thinks “just like miss Yukari said in that email... Draw and believe!” Budou pulls out a spell card, but before declaring her spell, she concentrates some purple energy in her right hand and draws an octagon. The octagon spins around and splits into five more octagons, all spinning unevenly, some spinning counter-clockwise. When Cirno’s spell reaches Budou, the octagons serve as a perfect shield, and all of Cirno’s bullets turn to nothing upon contact with the it. After the initial bullets stop moving, they all turn white, and a giant sheet of ice forms around them and Budou, freezing everything, but the shield, in place. The ice sheet disappears and the bullets slowly fall down like snow, some falling from above Budou’s head, making her move slightly, then Budou sighs and says “please, forgive me, Cirno, but you left me with no other choice.” Budou lifts her spell card and says “for papa and mama... The Song of the Heart – Revelation!” Just as Cirno prepares for her second wave of attack, Budou starts to sing in a single tone. When the sound reaches Cirno, the ice fairy finds herself unable to move and asking herself “what? What’s going on? An ice fairy being frozen?” Suddenly, Cirno remembers when she was younger, and her powers weren’t as developed. The other fairies didn’t trust her, but being more powerful than them also gave them a sense of security, so they kept her close as well. She then remembers meeting Daiyousei and how quickly they became friends after exchanging quick greetings. She suddenly remembers when she became powerful enough to have her own spell cards, and remembers the humiliating defeat the shrine maiden in red and white, and the witch in black and white caused her when they defeated her so easily. She remembers meeting Letty Whiterock and having a few battles against her before she finally accepted her friendship. She relives the pain she feels every time Letty leaves to sleep until the next winter, the pain of losing against Marisa so frequently, even though she tries her best, and the pain of being feared by other fairies, regardless of her efforts to befriend them. By now, Cirno’s tears fall without pause, and while this happens, light-green musical notes surround her, all set like a giant grid, then they explode into light-green shards that move in a straight, triangular pattern. By now, Budou notices the tears in Cirno’s eyes, so she desperately calls for the ice fairy, canceling her own spell, allowing Cirno to fall down to the ground. After landing, Budou runs desperately toward the ice fairy calling “Cirno! Cirno, I’m sorry! Cirno!” She finds Cirno sitting with her back against a tree, sobbing while hugging her knees, and after a sigh of relief, she walks to her, saying “Cirno, there you are! I’m so glad!” Cirno sobs loudly, then says “y-you lost *sniffle*. Yo-you cancelled your own *sob* spell card! I... I’m not changing back.” Budou sighs and says “please, Cirno...” Cirno lifts her head to look at Budou, but before she speaks, Budou’s chest begins to glow gold, and from inside, sleeping inside a diamond-shaped jewel, Phredia exits Budou’s heart and presents herself to Cirno, who stares at her with worry, saying “wha? Who are you? You poor thing, what happened to you?” Budou adds “Phredia! Is this where you’ve been all this time? What happened to you? I was so worried!” Phredia opens her eyes and surrounds the immediate area in a white light, and her little voice starts to echo. She gets closer to Cirno and says “my lady, it’s so nice to finally see you again! And Budou, I’m so sorry.” Cirno stares at Phredia and asks “what’s this all about? And why do you speak as though you know me? Phredia replies “all in due time, my lady. Please, listen to me now. This spell, ever since it was cast, I had to seal myself in here in order to avoid turning into nothing, but now I can’t get out, and the only way I can, is if you, my lady, let go of your ego and just allow the spell to vanish. Please, I need to go outside, to nature! I am famished! But if I try to break the seal now...” Cirno starts to cry louder, saying “no~ There’s got to be another way! Please, give me some time and I’ll...” Phredia immediately says “if I wait for another day, I will die, and then, who’s going to assist miss Budou and you? Please, I know it’s hard to understand, but there are many experiences you have yet to go through before you can reach your peak.” Budou sighs and says “that’s right. You... we aren’t ready for this, sis. Remember how you lost control against the vampire. Think of miss Letty. Even though it’s summer, she can’t fall asleep. Think about how selfish you are being now.” Phredia continues “my lady, there will be a time for you. You will know only happiness, but you can’t just skip the lessons you need to learn in order to get there. Be strong. After all, you are the strongest fairy, right?” Cirno continues to cry, rubbing her eyes while looking away from Budou and Phredia, then Phredia’s white energy disappears and Cirno starts glowing brightly. Her body slowly shrinks, and after it returns to its original state, like a flash, the light flies all over Gensokyo, covering the land in what appears to be an instant, but the moment the flash stops, all the ice orbs and ice walls shatter and melt. Cirno continues to cry, giving in to the sharp pain in her heart after having let go of something so important to her. By now, Phredia is free from her seal, and Budou is back to her normal size. The little bat approaches Cirno and kneels next to her, and almost automatically, Cirno jumps on her and cries on her chest. Phredia gently pats Cirno on the head, while Budou wraps her with her wings, doing her best to comfort the little ice fairy.

Inside the Scarlet Devil Mansion, in the great library, Remilia cheers after returning to normal by screaming at the top of her lungs, ripping off her bra from under her shirt and setting it on fire with her Spear of the Gungnir! Flandre squeals and loudly says “DIE, YOU EVIL BRA~ HA-HA-HA~”, and just like Remilia, she rips her bra off from under her shirt, but instead of juts burning it, she tosses it in the air and clenches her hand toward it, repeating “kyun~” five times, turning the bra into microscopic particles. Koakuma sighs and says “well, she’s not as cute anymore...”, then Patchouli, who has returned to her normal self, stares at her, then Koakuma smiles and continues “but I guess she’s still cute in her own way.” Ail pushes himself up from the ground, even though Sanae lies on his back, then says “well, that was a wild ride.” Sanae kneels beside him and checks her own chest, then releases her shirt and jumps on Ail with a hug, saying “yay! I’m cute again!” Ail hugs her back with a smile and says “you’re always cute!” That earns him an even bigger hug and a kiss, and while this happens, Marisa stands up from the ground and looks at them in disgust, then says “ugh! You two are even more disgusting now.” Alice is helped back to her feet by Shanghai and Hourai, both looking dreadfully tired while doing so, so Alice grabs them both and gives them a hug, saying “I’m so sorry! Please forgive me!” At first, Shanghai and Hourai get a bit frightened, but when they feel Alice warm embrace, they calm down and pat her arms, and sounding drained, Hourai says “it’s alright, mama. We’re just glad... you are back.” Reimu and Yukari find themselves on Suika’s arms, the oni, though little in stature again, holds them both effortlessly, saying “welcome back, you two! Now if you’ll excuse me...” She drops them on the ground on their feet, then grabs her gourd and continues “I have earned a night of PARTY~” Reimu and Yukari look around and see everything is back to normal in the mansion, then smile at each other, and Reimu says “let’s go pick Chen and Sakuya up.” Yukari smiles back, giggles playfully, then says “after you, miss shrine maiden.”

At the Netherworld, little Rika and little Ran find Chen being treated by Sakuya on a white sheet on the ground. Rika and Ran scream at the same time “CHEN!”, and run straight toward the maid and nekomata. Just as they reach them, like a flash, they all return to their normal selves, and Chen, having so many injuries, turns back into a cat. Ran desperately calls for Chen, almost pushing Sakuya away by force, but Rika places her hand in front of the kitsune and says “it’s alright, miss Ran.” She gently grabs Chen and surrounds the nekomata with a soothing light-blue light, then says “thank you, miss Sakuya.” Chen starts to purr on Rika’s hands, making Ran sigh with relief, then turns to Sakuya and says “sorry, miss Sakuya, and thank you for treating my Chen.” Sakuya smiles and says “she’ll be fine in a couple of hours.” Rika presses Chen against her chest, making her purr even stronger, then the little nekomata raises her head to Ran and meows softly. Ran smiles widely and pats Chen on the head, then gently grabs Chen from Rika’s hands. As soon as she does, Ran smiles at Rika and says “thank you for all you have done, miss Rika.” Rika, surprised by the gratitude, asks “wait, what? What are you talking about?” Ran smiles and she gives Rika a light hug along with Chen and says “you saved my Chen from so many misfortunes. We both thank you from the bottom of our hearts.” As they hug Rika, back at the Hakurei Shrine, the crystal on Rika’s family sword glows intense blue twice. Back at the Netherworld, Youmu, Yuyuko, Lunasa and Merlin watch from the stairs at the scene, all smiling and feeling warmly inside. Yuyuko stares at Youmu and pats her head, then asks “so Youmu, how do you feel?” Youmu looks up at Yuyuko and smiles, then says “honestly, I am glad I’m back to normal. I actually feel much better.” Yuyuko giggles, and in a whimsical tone of voice, she says “good, good. Then get ready to receive your punishment for talking back to me.” Youmu smiles nervously, her hair stands on ends, and her cheeks turn blue as she says “heh... heh, heh, I see. I... guess it can’t be helped.” Yukari’s gap opens right next to Sakuya, then Yukari and Reimu pop their heads form inside, happy to see everything is back to normal over there as well. Smiling, Reimu waves at the ghosts, and after they wave back, she looks at Sakuya, then Rika, Ran and Chen, then asks “ready to go home?” Rika nods along with the others, then asks “wait, how is miss Budou?” Reimu gasps and exclaims “crap! We forgot about Budou! Yukari!” Yukari giggles and says “I’ll see you later, Yuyuko~” As soon as they leave, Lunasa looks around and asks “hey, where’s Lyrica?” From one of the trees, only a few steps away from the top stairs, Lyrica calls “hey~ Can you guys help me out already?” The rope she had got tangled up around the tree’s branches, and somehow ended up tangling herself up along with it. Merlin stares at her with mischievous eyes, then says “hah! She’s all tied up at the moment!” Everyone laughs except for Lyrica, who flails angrily while shouting “cut the stupid jokes and get me OUT of here already!”

At the Scarlet Mansion island, Yukari’s gap opens up, and immediately after it does, Reimu, Rika and Sakuya jump out, and just before it closes up again, Yukari playfully says “see you later Reimu~”, then Ran adds “see you all later! Thanks for everything, Rika!” Rika blushes, then Reimu urges her to hurry up. They run toward the lake’s shore and immediately find Remilia, Ail, Sanae, Alice and Marisa standing there while looking toward a particular tree. Fear takes both Reimu’s and Rika’s hearts, so they rush toward them. Ail and Marisa immediately turn around and signal Reimu and Rika to keep quiet, then slowly turn around again. Reimu and Rika fear something terrible happened, but when they look ahead, they find Daiyousei and Letty crouching next to Budou, who places the sleeping Cirno on Letty’s hands, while Phredia flies around them. Reimu softly asks “what happened?” Remilia replies “she had power, and the knowledge to use it all, yet she lacked the experience needed. In the end, it cost her dearly to give all that up. Such is the hand of fate.” Rika asks “but will she be alright?” Budou approaches the small group, watching how Alice holds on to the sleeping Hourai and Shanghai, then looks at Remilia and bows, then looks at Reimu and Rika and just sighs and smiles. She walks to Ail and Sanae, who pick her up together, then she says “I want to make sure she’s ok.” Ail asks “she took it that badly, huh?” Budou looks seriously at Ail and says “it’s like she lost herself entirely. It was horrible. Papa, mama, Reimu-sis, Rika, miss Remilia, if it’s alright, I’d like to keep her company. Maybe visit her as often as I can.” Everybody nods, including Remilia, who says “Sakuya, you will allow them entrance to the mansion.” Sakuya bows and says “it will be done, my lady.” Budou smiles and says “I don’t think...” Remilia interrupts Budou, saying “it’s all fate, my dear.” Budou smiles at Remilia and nods. She turns her attention to Alice and Marisa, then says “miss Alice, be sure to thank them. And miss Marisa, if you plan to pick on Cirno, know that I will be there to interfere.” Marisa chuckles and says “well, I get to have double the fun, da-ze.” Ail and Sanae smile almost too friendly toward Marisa, but Budou smiles and simply replies “you won’t know what hit you.” Meanwhile, inside the mansion, all the way to Meiling’s room, Meiling wakes up and finds herself sleeping underneath her bed. After pushing herself and the bed up, and manages to stand up, she looks around at the terrible mess in her room. Sheets torn, her lamp shattered in the ground, her cabinet turned over, and her door full of drawings of suns and rainbows, along with some doodles of herself, Flandre, Sakuya, Remilia, Patchouli, and even Koakuma, as well as many of the fairy maids. At first, she thinks of screaming in surprise, but after looking at the doodles for a little longer, she just smiles and chuckles, then says “I think I like this one.”

The next morning, at the Misty Lake’s shore in the Scarlet island, while Daiyousei and many other fairies play above the water, Cirno sits under a tree, curled into a small, icicle winged ball, hugging her knees while looking at the water with a depressed look on her face. Daiyousei approaches Cirno and says “come on, Cirno-chan! Come and play with us!” Cirno raises her eyes to meet Daiyousei’s, then looks back down and turns slightly to the left. Daiyousei sighs, then says “C-Cirno-chan. Cirno-chan hates me!” Cirno raises her head and desperately says “no! I don’t hate you, Dai-chan! I’m just-!” Before Cirno can finish, Daiyousei cries and flies away, so the little ice fairy drops back down and resumes her sulking. Budou stands behind her, with Phredia flying around Budou’s right shoulder, looking like a little star next to the little bat youkai. Budou clears her throat to get Cirno’s attention, but the little ice fairy simply says to her “I know you are there already. Just tell me what you want.” Budou places her hand on Cirno’s shoulder, then pulls her up by her shirt and flies away with her. Cirno struggles to break free and shouts “what the heck do you want with me? Let me go! I’ll freeze you!” Budou smiles and says “if you fly with me, I’ll let you go.” Cirno stops struggling and quiets down, then Budou shrugs and continues her flight. Cirno looks down and can see Daiyousei looking up at her with hopeful eyes, so Cirno turns her head and sees Kimi holding Kali in a head-lock, punching her head continually, shouting “you’re paying back in SPADES!” Moments later, they fly above the Human Village, where Budou says “look down there. See what your sacrifice did? You returned all those lives.” From above, they can see Maribel and Renko waving at Kyo and Luna, who hold Medicine as though she was their child. Farther ahead, near the center of the town, they spot Keine standing in front of the shy Mokou, while a few adults and children smile at her, some signaling her to get closer, while Keine simply smiles gleefully. Cirno crosses her arms and pouts, then says “big deal.” Budou giggles and says “come on, let’s see some more.” They fly over the Forest of Magic, where they see Rinnosuke inviting Tokiko for a meal, and shortly after, three little fairies pop out of nowhere to join them. At first, it seems like Rinnosuke will kick them out, but he suddenly smiles and invites them to sit on the mysterious picnic table that keeps appearing out of nowhere. At Alice’s house, they can see Shanghai and Hourai being followed by a line of dolls, all carrying one piece of firewood back inside the house, while Alice seems to argue with Marisa about something, though Marisa just smiles and looks away. Shortly after, Budou, Cirno and Phredia fly above the Bamboo Forest and spot the mansion of Eintei. On the mansion’s front yard, Tewi is pulling Reisen out of one of her own pitfall traps, while Eirin walks out of her clinic with a dangerous smile on her face and holding a flask with a glowing green liquid. Kaguya sits on the mansion’s porch, looking up and waving at Cirno, Budou and Phredia as they pass by. Budou smiles and waves back, just as Yorihime, Toyohime, Mystia and Wriggle walk outside, then very suddenly, Reisen 2 runs out with a fly swatter, making Wriggle run in circles around the front yard, both falling into another pitfall trap. By now, Cirno is flying on her own, following Budou closely. She looks at Budou and asks “what am I supposed to see here? It’s just some strangers in their homes.” Budou giggles, then says “come on, let’s watch some more. It’s fun to watch, isn’t it?” Cirno looks uninterested as she says “yeah, well... sorta.” Budou giggles, then they all suddenly find themselves flying over the garden of the sun. Cirno spots Yuka’s small house and says “hey, it’s that flower youkai lady.” Kurumi is hiding from the sun under the sunflowers after her own parasol broke to pieces. She trembles and cries, thinking she’s going to die, but Yuka arrives just in time with her own parasol, grabbing Kurumi and smiling as she picks her up. After they are close enough to the house’s shadow, Yuka tosses the vampire back inside the house through a window, breaking it in the process. From inside, Elly runs toward Yuka and tries to hug her, just to get stomped on the face long before she can wrap her arms around the flower youkai. Cirno lets a quick chuckle escape her, but when she realizes it, she suppresses herself, then says “i-it’s just a little funny. That’s all!” Budou and Phredia smile, then Budou says “come on, let’s go eat something.” One of Ail’s gaps opens up in front of them, then they find themselves at the Moriya Shrine, where Budou lands softly, but Cirno crashes against the shrine’s wall, missing the entrance by centimeters.

After eating lunch, Budou, Phredia and Cirno head out of the shrine, then Budou shouts “thanks for lunch mama. See you later, papa~” Cirno reluctantly says “er, yes... thanks for... that.” As they lift up to the sky, Cirno notices Suwako and Kanako having a drink with Aya, Momiji and even Hatate, who tries to keep as far away as she can from the two goddesses. Cirno can’t help but smile at the sight, but frowns again and continues following Budou. At the river in the Youkai forest, Hina, and the Rabid Karate Night Sparrow help Nitori set up a strange machine that looks like a net that crosses right through the water. As soon as Nitori presses a button, the water that passes through the net becomes much cleaner and crystalline, but something goes wrong, as expected, and the machine starts spewing smoke, making the water turn pink instead. Nitori thrashes about, flailing her arms and frantically swimming all around, trying to turn her machine off. Cirno can’t help but laugh at the sight, then asks “Budou girl, what is this?” Budou smiles and says “all this you are seeing is that which could have disappeared. If you hadn’t made the right choice, all of this would have just stopped, and all the kids would probably be making a mess of things everywhere.” While Budou speaks, Cirno sees Rumia patting Agava’s head, making her blush and look away while Rumia suddenly bites her head, getting smacked on the head by Agava’s fist. A little farther ahead, she sees Minoriko and Shizuha, just talking to each other and laughing heartily. Budou continues “if you hadn’t done what you did, the adults would be frowning at the sound of your name. Everybody would have set themselves against you. The point I’m trying to make here is, even though you sacrificed something so important to you, it is not lost, Cirno. Just... dormant. Yes, that’s what papa Ail said.” As Budou speaks, we see Shinki in Pandemonium, smiling widely as Yuki uses her fireballs to make animals that run and fly all around the air, while Yuki simply stares with a half-smile, and Yumeko glares at the mess cause by the fire. At the gate of Makai, Sara dances around, practicing her danmaku patterns, while Luize smiles widely and fires a single laser that knocks Sara down. At the Netherworld, The Prismriver sisters play music for Yuyuko while she eats, and outside the shrine, Youmu looks dreadfully tired, running back and forth, tending to the gardens an Yuyuko’s sudden commands. Back at the skies, Budou suddenly says “Cirno, look. I saved the best sight for last.” Cirno looks down to the Myouren temple, where Minamitsu smiles defiantly at Chiyuri, who has her long, blonde hair made into twin tails, and defiantly smiles back as well, both pressing their foreheads against each other and pushing hard, while Unzan rubs his bald head and Ichirin blushes while she throws a pair of fake pointy ears into a small fire. Kogasa and Nue sit on the roof, simply swaying around with smiles on their faces while apparently singing. Shou and Nazrin seem to be frantically searching for something all over the surrounding area of the temple, and Byakuren happily uses some spells for Yumemi to admire and try to study, making the scientist clap and gasp in amazement when some of the danmaku explodes near her. Cirno asks “what’s so interesting about this?” Budou stops and wraps her arm around Cirno, then points at the immediate patch of soil in front of the temples entrance. There, with bright and vibrant color, are the flowers brought to live by Cirno’s own shield. The flowers have been divided into many flowerbeds, but they all remain looking as strong as if they were living there forever. Cirno gasps at the sight, leaving her mouth open in awe, then Budou says “you see? There’s no need to get depressed. Those powers are not gone, Cirno. Maybe you don’t have the energy to do all those amazing things now, but you will. You just have to live. And if it’s alright, I’d like to be your friend, and be with you all the time I can.” Cirno finally closes her mouth and stares blankly at Budou and Phredia, then nods. Budou happily smiles, then giggles as she says “great! Then you and I can get even stronger together.” Cirno finally shows her confident smile again, then proudly says “yeah! Yeah, you’re right! I am the strongest... fairy... the strongest fairy after all.” Meanwhile, inside the hidden laboratory, Rikako smiles with a crazed look on her face while she uses a baseball bat to strike as many machines as she can, while Kyo’s shadow tries his best to keep her from destroying everything. There is a loud explosion that gets Cirno, Budou and Phredia’s attention, and after staring at the thin smoke cloud rise to the sky, they all look at each other and laugh, then fly to the Misty Lake. Meanwhile, down at the cave leading t the subterranean world, Yamame holds Kisume’s bucket, making her giggle as she swings the tsurube-otoshi around. Further inside, Yuugi and some other oni laugh heartily as the drunken Parsee swings her finger at them, saying “I’m sho... jealoush of ye all.” And further inside, at the Palace of the Earth Spirits, Koishi watches as Orin and Okuu work diligently on their duties, while Satori watches them from a window, smiling as she holds little petal on her arms, who is in her animal form, and as she pets the raven, she softly says “and everything continues as it should.”

The next morning, at the Hakurei Shrine. Rika trains with her sword out in the back of the shrine, cutting wooden dummies while zipping past them at insane speeds. After she cuts through the last of the dummies, she stops and swipes the sweat off her face with a small towel while sheathing her sword, then realizes she has company. Clapping while getting closer to her is Keine, who holds a letter on her hand. She approaches Rika and says “well, that’s impressive. You seem to be getting better and better.” Rika smiles and says “phew! Thanks. I need to keep in top shape if I am to help my lady.” Keine waves the letter in front of Rika, who asks “and what is this?” Keine smiles and says “you’ve been invited to the mansion of miss Hieda. She wishes to interview you.” Rika asks with surprise “me? Why me?” Keine smiles as she replies “now miss Rika, where’s the fun in telling you?” Rika stares at Keine with confusion, but simply decides to open the letter herself. Meanwhile, at the shrine’s front, Budou and Ail donate some money, ring the bell, then pray. After clapping their hands and bowing, Reimu smiles as she stands behind them and asks “so, how is she?” Budou gasps and smiles, then excitedly runs to Reimu and gives her a hug, exclaiming “Hakurei sis!” Ail smiles back at Reimu and says “thanks to Budou, she’s doing much better. Though I must admit that it really hurt me to see her like that.” Reimu frowns and says “yeah. It’s not something you see often.” Budou frowns and looks away with her eyes hiding under a dark shadow, then says “it... wasn’t easy asking her to do that. It was like asking her to take her own life away.” Ail grabs Budou from behind and gives her a hug, making her smile and giggle again, then says “cheer up. Soon she’ll realize she just got a second chance in life. I mean, who gets to be a grownup and return to being a kid with all that knowledge, huh?” Budou laughs and says “yeah, I guess you’re right papa.” Reimu giggles, then says “come on, I’ll make breakfast today. As thanks to Budou for all her help!” Out of nowhere, Ayalina jumps on Ail’s back, crying “no~ He’s all grown up again! I wanted to hold him a little longer!” While this happens, on the shrine’s roof, Suika and Mima lie with a smile on their backs, seemingly drunk, then Suika says “yup. Everything is as it should be. Mima sighs and replies “oh yea.” Meanwhile, down at the Misty Lake, an orb of semi-frozen water floats just above the water and slowly moves to the shore. It lands on a hand and starts to glow light blue. After the glowing stops, an almost perfect ice figure of Daiyousei’s head, arms, torso and wings forms up, followed by an eager giggle. The hand places the figure next to another ice figure of Letty, though this one only has the head, torso and part of the arms, then Cirno smiles widely as she raises her hand toward the water and manages to summon about 20 more of those orbs from under the water, then looks at the water and the orbs and with a confident smile, she says “I am the strongest!”

The end

Characters, Spell Cards and Scenario belong to ZUN -Team Shanghai Alice-
Ail, Budou, Phredia, Agava, Kyo, Luna, the RKNS (Rabid Karate Night Sparrow), Ayalina, Kimi and Kali were created by Willie G.R.
Budou’s “The Song of the Heart, Revelation“ spell card was created by Willie G.R.
Rika Onkamikami was created by Snapshot 2010
JUL 7 2010
Written by
Willie G.R.

A/N:
And so we come to a close. Really, what did you think of this ending? As I wrote it, I felt relieved for Cirno. It’s not often we see her like that, really. It broke my heart to do that. Thank goodness she’s so strong, huh? Now she also has Budou and Phredia to play with. Really, I am glad I did this in the end. So now I ask you, how did you like this in general (ignoring the whole, ‘This dude made Cirno cry, kill him now’ thing). Oh, and just so you know, from this ending, another spin off comes, so look forward to it.

You know, I actually finished this chapter in 8 hours. I just couldn’t stop writing! I mean, I took a few breaks, but I just couldn’t stop writing it. Definitely enjoyed writing this one as well. Ah well, I’m talking too much now. Hope you enjoyed the story, take care, and see you next time, if the spirits will allow.