Insert Beatdown of a Different Kind Here (part 2 of 3)

"Do you have any information on their location, Mr. 'Bodyguard'?" Cerebrum asked in an impatient tone. She was staring at the city below out of a massive window. Behind her, the cloaked figure materialized out of nowhere.

"Nothing definitive, but I've been hearing from my network of spies that there are some people from out of town who are looking for former residents of Gensokyo. I believe that might be them." His voice still held its monotonous edge.

The sue frowned as she thought aloud, "Why look for residents of that unnatural place? Shouldn't they be looking for me? I am their true target, aren't I?"

"I can't begin to hazard a guess, ma'am," said the cloaked man stoically.

"Of course you can't. You weren't assigned to me because of your brains," Cerebrum snapped back. She moved away from the window and swept towards the nearest refidgerator she had. Before opening it, she reached into a pocket and pulled out a deck of intricate cards. "Maybe I'll have to demonstrate to them just who they're dealing with."

-

Hong Meiling was practically on cloud nine as she made her way over to a group of hobos in an alley she knew. When they heard her approach, they all looked at her and were surprised by the happy expression on her face. She greeted them merrily, performing some flips to close the distance between them. The hobos applauded after she stopped.

"Well, someone's full of energy today," the apparently "leader" of the group spoke up. "What's the reason for it?"

Meiling responded with a smile, "I've found some employment! Two people I met are looking for former residents of Gensokyo and I told them that I could help."

"That's wonderful, but I'm assuming that there's more to this visit than you just informing us of your situation."

"That's why you're the leader...Yeah, you're right about that. I was hoping that you guys could help out."

The leader looked at the other vagrants, who all nodded. When he turned back to Hong Meiling and nodded, she immediately hugged him.

-

Kyle and Aster were at a fast food place, waiting on Meiling. Aster had more interest in her manga as her food was barely touched, while Kyle was eating enough for a small army because of his abundant use of Accelerator. As he was finishing up, however, the Mood Music Maker started playing and it wasn't a song he wanted to hear. He knew the song and he knew the character that the song went with, however it wasn't truly the theme song of the character. Even as he listened, images from when he first learned of the song played through his head; images of a middle age woman with ice blue hair in a mostly blue and white dress whose time had stopped years ago.

Aster looked up from her manga when the song started playing and saw the sad and shocked look on Kyle's face. That got her attention; she never saw him with a sad expression before.

"What's this song?" she asked, almost hesitantly.

Kyle closed his eyes for a moment as he wrestled with his emotions. When he opened them again, he spoke, "It translates to Cirno's Advanced Math Class... Excuse me."

He got up and headed outside, leaving his Mood Music Maker with Aster. Since it was an item connected to him, he could track it if he got lost. As for why he didn't take it with him to look for the character the song was for, he figured that he wouldn't need it. She easily stood out in a crowd with how she looked. Exiting the fast food place, he looked around the street for his target. He spotted her some ways down on the other side of the street. Considering her bright blue colors and the shards of ice that floated along behind her, you'd have to be blind to miss her.

Of course he chased after her, pushing his way through the uncaring throng of people as they scurried about their daily lives. Because he would seriously hurt anyone he touched as a result of the incredible speed he moved at, he couldn't use his Accelerator to close the distance so in his hurry, he ignored stop signs and traffic to get to her. After following her for several minutes, he managed to get close enough to say.

"Cirno!"

She stopped walking and turned to see who had called her name. It took her by surprise when she saw that it wasn't someone she knew.

"Who are you?" She asked as Kyle caught up. Kyle held up a finger to indicate a need for a moment as he tried to catch his breath.

"My name's Kyle," he said when he had recovered a bit. "I'm tracking down former Gensokyo residents."

"Gensokyo?" Cirno reacted by turning the rest of her to face Kyle with a shocked look on her face. They had stopped walking in front of an alleyway, the rest of the world could have disappeared for all the attention the two of them gave it. Cirno's face took on a look of utter sadness. "Oh, what I'd give to be able to go back there... I haven't felt right since I left."

Kyle stood there silently, not knowing what to say to the grown up ice fairy. After a few moments, Cirno sighed before saying, "Anyway, why are you looking for former Gensokyo residents?"

Giving himself a moment to answer, Kyle replied, "Well, to some degree, it's Yukari's plan. The rest, I wanted to meet you. You and Hong Meiling are my favorite Gensokyo girls...but to see you in states like this..."

Cirno puzzled on that a bit, "Yukari...Yakumo? What kind of plan does the Mistress of Boundaries have that requires Gensokyo residents?"

Kyle shrugged in response, "I don't know, she didn't tell me...If I remember correctly, her exact words were, 'With what I have in mind, They'll all want in on it'. All I can assume is that the plan will involve vengeance on the person responsible for removing the Gensokyo barrier."

"So that's why your looking to round up all the unnatural beings that made their nest in an isolated daydream. I might as well not have shown up to give this demonstration," came a disembodied voice came out. Out of nowhere appeared Cerebrum. All passing pedestrians avoided walking into her, but she might as well have not been there at all for all they noticed a woman suddenly materializing out of thin air. Kyle could immediately tell that she was dangerous, his body reacting by placing himself in front of Cirno.

Cerebrum saw this display and scoffed, "I have no interest in unnatural bugs. The only reason I'm here is to give you a warning." She pulled an intricate card out of a pocket. Kyle could figure out what she was going to do, so he turned on his heel to pick up Cirno before heading down the alley. However, he hadn't even been running for a minute when he hit a deadend. Before he could turn around to look for another path, he heard Cirno gasp as Cerebrum stepped in the way. Gently setting her down, he turned to face the Sue while pulling the Omni-weapon out from where he put it on his suit.

The Sue's expression was unreadable as Kyle held up his hand to point the sphere at her. A few seconds passed. With the speed of a bullet, a spike-like tendril shot out of the sphere towards the Sue. A clang of metal on metal rang out in the empty alleyway as the cloaked figure placed himself between the tendril and the Sue. The figure's hand was also raised...and it too held a metal sphere as that was what blocked the attack. Unlike Kyle's Omni-weapon, this one was about 6 inches in diameter and was a gunmetal grey color. The bodyguard stepped aside as the spike retracted.

"Well, you aren't making this warning easy. Looks like you want to get hurt." The Sue casually spoke. She held up the card, which started glowing. "Perfection Sign: Blades of the Divine!"

Kyle had only a nanosecond to react as swarms of spinning, ethereal scimitars burst from the card. The Omni-weapon's metal spread out in a half-dome in an attempt to block the oncoming cutters. Unfortunately for Kyle, the blades were truly ethereal, bypassing the Omni-weapon to slash across his body.

-

Everyone watching the monitor gasped as the blades plowed into Kyle continuously. Though no damage appeared outside of his body, though his body was tensed and his teeth were grit, so it was obvious to anyone looking at him that he was in pain. They could see Cirno cowering behind him, his body preventing the blades from harming her.

"Why haven't we gone to help yet!" Adrian yelled at the people on monitor duty.

One of them spoke up, "I don't know what's going on. Every time we connect a plothole to that world, it directs to Gensokyo. It's not even registering the city."

"What the heck is going on!" Adrian muttered as he focused on the screen. All the people there could do was watch until the stream of ethereal cutters stopped. They watched as the Onmi-weapon's shield retracted and Kyle collapsed.

-

"Painful, isn't it." Cerebrum taunted at the fallen Agent. "It's good for you that my warning card can't kill a person. After all, it doesn't really cut them, it just makes their body feel as if they were getting sliced apart. So it basically fills them with pain until they wish they were dead!"

She started laughing as she and her bodyguard walked away. Cirno looked on in fright as Kyle just lay there. Slowly, she crawled over to him. In a hushed whisper, she asked.

"Are you alright! Please, say something!" Her pleading seemed to work as he started moving.

"Note to self; ethereal blades hurt." Kyle muttered as he pushed himself to a sitting position. He took a few deep breaths and then he turned his head to look at Cirno. "None of them got you?"

She shook her head. He sighed in relief as she looked at him curiously.

"You felt the entire time of that Spell Card. How were you able to withstand it? You didn't even scream!"

He remained silent for several moments. Then he turned to face her fully, "It was painful, but I've had some experience with levels of pain like that before. For instance, I have a transformation that restructures my whole body to degrees that human bodies aren't supposed to go. That barrage probably felt worse, but I can't really compare them as they both hurt like heck."

It took some effort, but Kyle managed to stand up...barely. He almost fell down again, but Cirno caught him. Kyle gave her a weak smile.

"I'm both glad and annoyed that you don't have your powers now." Cirno gave him a strange look before he continued, "Glad because if you did have them, I'd be freezing right now. Annoyed because your ice powers would ease the aches left by that Spell Card."

Cirno sighed at the reminder that she was currently as helpless as the next human compared to the power she just witnessed. She carried him down the alley back to the main street, where Kyle told Cirno to take him to the nearby fast food place.

-

"Adrian...Is what Kyle said true? About his, what was it, Soul Form transformation?" asked Marcus, who had entered around the time of Cerebrum's Spell Card. Adrian answered with a flashback.

FLASHBACK

After Kyle had recovered from his trip into the Samurai Pizza Cats fandom, Phoenixia and the Leaders met with him in the medical ward. When he asked why, they told him that they wanted to test how the Soul Form affected him compared to the Heaven and Earth, Worldly Secret Art. Kyle shrugged, saying his energy levels were lower than usual due to just recovering so his Soul Form wouldn't be that much bigger than he was and thus it wouldn't be the even near the same level as the mission. They told him that it didn't matter, tests at smaller power could be used to estimate things at a higher power. Kyle took off all his clothes, which earned a quip from Phoenixia about him never doing that for her, and braced himself like he did during the mission.

Valerie was present, as it was the MEDICAL WARD, to make sure that he wouldn't be in any danger. When the process started, she screamed for all of three seconds before passing out. That was the first sign of all the changes that happen when he shifts. The next one was Kyle himself screaming. Apparently, in his still weakened state, he couldn't keep himself from screaming either. It was a dreadful, partially human scream as his vocal cords were also changing. It was shortly cut off as his body was changing from a humanoid one to that of his Soul Image. Sounds of bones shifting and cracking could be heard throughout this. After about a minute of this, the transformation was complete and then Kyle promptly collapsed into unconsciousness, his form not changing back.

END FLASHBACK

Everyone in the room was shivering from the flashback imagery and sounds. Marcus finally managed to say, "Well, that explains why I didn't see him the day he was supposed to be released."

Adrian merely nodded before saying, "He has a whole list of Dangerous Forbidden Techniques and they all take their toll on him. Sooner or later."

-

Aster was starting to worry. Between the unexpected sadness in Kyle's eyes and his sudden rushing off, Aster wasn't sure he was alright. That worrying was added to by Hong Meiling, though most likely not for the same reasons. When Cirno appeared while doing her best to keep Kyle standing, the Fae and former gate guardian rushed over to help. They quickly got him over to a chair before asking him what happened. Cirno explained about the Sue appearing and hitting him with a minute long Spell Card. As her explanation was winding down, Kyle suddenly shot out both hands and accessed his Astral Vault. He pulled out a pill bottle for aches and pains and something to wash it down with. He popped a couple of pills before chugging most of the drink in one breath.

Setting the drink down and returning the bottle of pills, Kyle finally spoke up, if a bit tiredly, "There's something confusing me."

He looked at the others, who were giving him their attention, and said, "Instead of trying to actually take me out, the Sue just used the attack as a warning."

"A warning of what?" was Aster's question.

Kyle, Hong Meiling and Cirno could only shake their heads as they couldn't see the answer to that question.

-


"Here, this is my apartment. It's not much, but it's home," were Cirno's words as she brought Hong Meiling and the Agents in. It was rather non-descript and empty, the living room where they first come in only having a plain blue couch in front of a relatively small TV. Behind the couch is a counter that leads straight into the one person kitchen. On the inside wall close to the kitchen is two doors; one leading to the bathroom while the other leads to the bedroom with a small stand between them. A picture was hung above it on the wall, with enough glare from nearby light to hide the image it contains. Opposite the inside wall, on the other side of the kitchen, was a sliding glass door to a balcony.

Hong Meiling was in awe, as she hadn't had a place to live since the Scarlet Devil Mansion was abandoned. Aster immediately grabbed the TV remote and started looking for some anime to watch. Kyle facepalmed at the Fae before walking over to the kitchen. That's when the picture caught his eye, the glare from the light hiding its content from the audience's eyes. As he looked at this picture, he got this smile on his face as he started chuckling. The former ice fairy glanced over, from listening to Aster grump about the lack of anime on the TV, at the male Agent to see what he found funny. She was surprised to see him staring at her picture. Almost in a daze, she practically floated over to him.

Kyle heard her approach, so he looked over at her. He was still chuckling a bit as he pointed to the picture and said, "You has a bucket!"

The glare hiding it from the audience was gone and in its place was a picture of four children with variable degrees of happiness on their faces. Two were immediately identifiable as a young Cirno and Wriggle. The other two were a blonde girl in a black dress with a ribbon in her hair while the other one had pinkish hair with small wings on her back in a brown dress. Just as Kyle had said, the Cirno in the picture had a metal bucket on her head. The combination of seeing the picture, Kyle's comment and chuckling caused Cirno herself joined in.

Their chuckling lasted for a little while, Aster ignored them after an initial glance in their direction while Meiling joined the Fae on the couch. When they finally got their chuckles under control again, Cirno gave the male Agent a smile and said, "Thanks, it had been a long time since I was able to do that. The world I seem to live in doesn't allow for it."

"I know what that's like." Came Kyle's reply. Just then, Kyle's Music Maker turned on. An otherworldly rock song started playing. Kind of surprisingly, as soon as the song started playing, Hong Meiling hopped off the couch with an angry look on her face.

"Lunar Clock - Luna Dial... That flat-chested maid!" She immediately rushed to and opened up the balcony door. Meiling paused for a moment, seemingly searching for something, before just jumping right off. Everyone rushed over to see if she was alright, only to see her rapidly making her way down the street towards a vague blue-dressed person. The visor Kyle used earlier dropped out of another hole for him to use. In augmented reality, he could see the person clearly; dressed in a blue maids outfit with her silver hair in braids.

"Sakuya Izayoi! Head maid of the Scarlet Devil Mansion! A regular knife nut that can manipulate time." The visor disappeared into its hole. Without looking at her, he said, "Aster, please stay here while I go after them. I'll need you here in case I get lost."

Before she could ask for what he meant, he leapt over the rail himself. As he chased after Meiling, Aster stood there in a typical anime sulk.

"Mou, I can understand why he left me at that burger place, but why's he running off after that China girl? He'll have to give me a dozen boxes of Pocky to make it up to me!"

Cirno looked at the Society Fae curiously, "You're a fairy, aren't you?"

Aster's expression didn't change as she turned her head away from the former Ice Fairy and stated, "I'm not a 'fairy', I'm a Fae!"

-

Marcus had settled in to watch the mission proceed with Adrian and the others on monitor duty. They were watching the scene above when Marcus asked, "Wait, why did Kyle say that he needed Aster there if he got lost?"

Ben, having been forced to sit down and watch some monitors without listening to his music, thought for a moment before continuing that line of thinking. "Yeah, according to the monitor I was watching, he could track down the Mood Music Maker because of its ties to his emotional state. While he took it with him there, couldn't he have left something else that he could track?"

As the Librarian was the only one present that knew the most about Kyle's abilities, Adrian answered, "While it is possible for Kyle to track energy, there are certain limits to it. First, he has to be aware that the energy is there in the first place and it has to be non-living. For example, drawing energy out of a streetlight is much easier than trying to determine where power cables are underneath the street. Also, even if he is aware of where energy is, if he is out of sight of this energy and then loses track of it somehow, he won't be able to find it again."

Marcus took that as his cue to continue the questioning, "But that doesn't explain why he would be able to track Aster's energy. How does he do that?"

Adrian's expression darkened as the answer to that came from the time that Pseudo-Tash had temporarily turned the Society against him, "How many of you were here when Pseudo-Tash had switched places with Real Tash?" He waited for the hands to show before continuing. "When Pseudo-Tash had convinced everyone that I had attacked the 'real' Tash, Kyle had activated the first stage of his Heaven and Earth, Worldly Secret Art out of rage. While he later came up to me and apologized, he also admitted, in his own words, that triggering the Art like that was an absolutely moronic thing to do as control is required to keep from burning out too quickly. Since it was stage one, the loss was minute. Anyway, as he had explained it to me, even though it was just stage one, the Art allowed him to sense the unique energy tags of everyone within a certain distance of his epicenter. Once he acquires those tags, he can focus on them if they're within the same fandom."

Ben was a bit overwhelmed by the implications of this, but another question popped into his mind, "Does that mean he also acquired Pseudo-Tash's energy tag?"

The Librarian nodded, "I had asked him that as well. He confirmed it and then said the Sue's tag made him feel like he was mildly, but constantly, sick. It'll probably only stop once she's dead or prohibited."

Marcus spoke up once more, "So, he constantly knows where all of these tags are?"

"Only when he consciously focuses on them. From what he told me, it's like being in the same room as a person who is rooms away. I had asked him how that works for the Sue tag and his reply was, 'Like being in the same room as someone who constantly has to be the center of attention'...Don't worry, his sanity is closely monitored now."

All the people on monitor duty sat there in silence before Ben said, "The more you know."

-

Well, this is a pain! Kyle thought as he finally caught up with Hong Meiling and Sakuya Izayoi. They were currently standing in the hallway of a somewhat rundown apartment complex. Well, Hong Meiling and Kyle were standing. When the former gate tender had reached Sakuya, she straight out punched her. That's the scene Kyle came across, Sakuya on the ground, rubbing a fresh bruise on her face with wide eyes while Hong Meiling panted from both the run and her anger as she stood in a "I just punched you" pose.

"Ho-Hong Meiling?" The maid sputtered in utter surprise and shock. Her tone definitely didn't sit well with the former guard.

"What? Surprised that I'm still alive? You human pencilboard!" Hong Meiling seethed as she towered over the maid. "My life has practically been Hell since that spoiled brat vampire fired me just before leaving! I considered you my only friend in that thankless job, but even you left me to rot!"

Sakuya finally snapped out of her shock and stood up, indignity apparent as she verbally retaliated, "It's not my fault you were left behind! I would have taken you, but I wasn't told what would happen to the rest of the staff! Lady Remilia only told me to take Lady Flandre and run! So don't take what you've been through out on me, I've had my own hell to deal with!"

They broke into an argument that looked like they were about to come to blows. Kyle got tired of it after a minute or two, so he placed himself between them with his hands up in a stopping gesture.

"That's enough, ladies. This argument is pointless." At that moment, the apartment they were standing in front of opened and out came a young woman. She wore a short red dress, with a pink shirt underneath a red vest and had a pink mop hat on her head. Out of her back was a pair of metal rods with various colors of prism shards hanging from them, making them look like small wings.

"You're all being too noisy!" She snapped in a voice that sounded half tired and half ticked off. Kyle recognized her immediately, as did Hong Meiling. Flandre Scarlet, younger sister to Remilia Scarlet. Her eyes focused entirely on the blue-dressed maid. "Sakuya, is it time to eat yet?"

"Flandre!" Hong Meiling gasped in surprise. She was looking over the vampire's older self as if she hadn't expected such a change. For her part, Flandre gave Meiling a once over too before recognition showed in her eyes.

"You're that gatekeeper Sis had hired to guard the front gate. Hong Meiling, wasn't it?" When the Chinese Youkai nodded, the vampire looked over at the male Agent. She tilted her head a bit before straightening out and saying, "And who's this?"

Hong Meiling cleared her throat before introducing him, "This is my current employer, Kyle. He works for this group that comes to worlds like ours and takes care of problems that changes them from what they had been."

"That sounds about right." Kyle remarked with a thinking expression on his face.

-

Back at Cirno's apartment, Aster and Cirno were having a conversation. They were sitting on the couch, Cirno at the right end and Aster on the left.

"So, before Gensokyo lost it's magic, you had power over ice?" Aster asked with a bit of awe in her voice.

"That's correct," Cirno answered with a giggle. "Back then, I used to say 'I am the strongest.' In many ways, it was true. I was the strongest fairy in Gensokyo. Heck, if I was actually fighting at my best and not acting like the child I looked like, I could even give some of the stronger Youkai a run for their money."

"'Acting like the child you looked like'? You mean, you were so powerful while just a kid?" Aster looked at the older woman with surprise and respect.

Cirno just laughed at both the look and question. After getting herself under control, she responded, "No, nothing like that. While I don't recall my age as a Fairy, I do remember being well over sixty years old. It was just, because I was a Fairy, I had the appearance, personality, and temperament of a child. Because of all that, I was usually treated as an idiot by any of the more mature residents that passed by my house."

Aster adopted an understanding look as she sat there. When the images of certain people popped into her head for reasons she couldn't think of, she asked, "Did you have anyone you looked up to?"

Cirno sighed as a smiling face came to the forefront of her memories. Tears welled up as she spoke "Yes. Her name was Letty Whiterock. As the Spirit of Winter, I looked up to her as she had control over the cold that only came with maturity and experience. To Fairies like me, she was as close to a mother figure as we could get. I miss her."

-

At Cerebrum's penthouse, the Sue was having a drink of wine while her bodyguard stood back a bit. After taking a sip, she questioned the cloaked man over her shoulder, "Have you found out if my warning stuck to that Society guy?"

"Not yet," came the monotone reply. "My network of spies has lost track of them. It seems like I'll have to expand it again."

The Sue stared into her wineglass in thought before saying, "As long as he was protecting that unnatural creature, I could have killed him easily. However, that man is responsible for the deaths of two dear friends of mine. If he hasn't gone back to that Library in shame, then I'm going to give him a death so brutal that anyone else from that Society won't even think to look in the direction of this fandom!"

Almost like it was for emphasis, she threw her wineglass into the fireplace and caused the flames to flare up from the alcohol.

-

Once again with Kyle's group, the explanations had finished. Hong Meiling wasn't furious at Sakuya anymore, plus the maid and vampire understood Kyle's mission and Yukari's request. When it started getting late, Kyle remembered that Aster and Cirno were waiting for him and Hong Meiling to get back. Sakuya then asked if there was a way for them to keep in contact. Kyle thought about it and then said that the best he could do at the moment was giving them each one of the cards he gave Wriggle. After an explanation about being able to track the cards that would just bog the plot down, Kyle and Meiling headed back to Cirno's apartment.

As soon as Aster saw him again, however, she stormed up to him and demanded a dozen boxes of Pocky to make up for him leaving her behind. With a sigh, Kyle responded, "How about I give you one box for every day that we're here and then give you the rest when we return to the Library...Deal?"

"Why should I accept such an agreement?" Aster countered with her hands on her hips. By this time, Hong Meiling had gone into the bedroom to lie down.

"Because giving you a dozen boxes right now would hinder your arms as well as put you at risk for a major sugar high which would interfere with the mission and get us both yelled at." Kyle got out in one breath.

Aster seemed to consider this for a moment before saying, somewhat reluctantly, "Fine, but only so I won't get in trouble."

With that acknowledgement, Kyle nodded and pulled a box of strawberry Pocky out of his Astral Vault. Aster immediately snatched it and walked away. Kyle sighed before sitting down on the couch. Cirno had watched the exchange from the kitchen as she was making dinner. From over the counter, she spoke, "She's a good girl, but quite the handful."

"Don't get me started on the kinds of trouble she makes at HQ," Kyle replied warily. He let his body relax into the padding before continuing, "Eh, this has been quite a day for me. I'll be very sore in the morning."

Cirno was silent as she was putting the finishing touches on dinner before it goes into the oven. After she set a timer, she went over and sat down by the tired Agent. It took a minute or so, but she finally spoke up.

"I have to thank you for protecting me from that spell card," the former Fairy's tone turned reflective as she continued. "It's been the first act of kindness I've had in a long time. Just the fact that my presence has been acknowledged as more than an employee or coworker has given me hope for what may come."

A faint, tired smile crossed Kyle's face as he replied, "As long as they are not forgotten by the minds of others, the living and dead have worth."

Cirno looked at Kyle with a bit of confusion, "I don't quite get what you said. Were you trying to cheer me up?"

Kyle weakly chuckled, "Yeah. It's not often that I show that kind of side."

Cirno gave him a small smile in response and said, "Thank you, then. You have no idea how much having someone to talk to helps me."

He probably would have made a comment about that, but he was letting his tiredness carry him away. The former fairy just let him rest. After all, he did shield her from the ethereal blades when she wasn't the target.

-

Meanwhile, the monotone bodyguard was doing his best to hold back rage. Now that Hong Meiling had agreed to serve Kyle and got her homeless friends to assist her, he was having trouble getting the homeless to serve as his eyes and ears in the city. Apparently helping her out was a bigger reward to them than the money the cloaked figure offered them. Though he scowled underneath the hood of his cloak, he did nothing except walk away.

As he walked back towards his employer's penthouse, he pulled out his sphere and gazed at it. An unseen smile crossed his mouth before he started talking to himself.

"I cannot wait for the word to strike. Killing him will prove the superiority of the Sues. After all, that is my new purpose in life."

A humorless chuckle could be heard from him as he deftly maneuvered through the crowded street and into his mistress's building.

Insert Beatdown of a Different Kind Here (part 1 of 3)

This story starts off with the Society Agent Kyle laying in his room, listening to one particular song. The fact that he has been listening to this song on repeat for over an hour doesn't bother him at all. It had a mystical sound to it, which he loved. It was during one of the countless replays that Kyle heard a knock on his door. With a bit of annoyance that someone was interrupting, he sat up, paused his music and then said.

"You can come in."

His door opened and Aster came in. For a moment, she looked around his room. After all, it's rare for anyone but the leaders to come to Kyle's room for any reason. It was relatively empty save for Kyle's bed, a desk, which only held some notebooks and the stand for his Omni-weapon, and an empty trashcan. There was a closest, which was empty as he kept everything in his Astral Vault. When Kyle cleared his throat, Aster snapped her attention to him.

"Umm... That song you were listening to just now. It was Sora's Folktale, right?"

Kyle gave her a surprised glance before replying, "You know your anime. That was obscure enough that I didn't expect any other member of the Society to know it."

Aster gave him a grin as she responded, "Don't underestimate my knowledge of anime and manga kyaa~!"

He shrugged, "I guess not. So, you only wanted to ask me about the song?"

She kinda looked towards the ceiling in a thinking gesture. With a clap of realization, she said, "Oh yeah!...I've been wanting to talk with you about that power of yours."

Kyle's expression got serious when she said that. Shifting himself and straightening up, he asked, "Which power are you talking about here?"

"Umm...the one you used when you dissolved that misaimed fireball."

-

FLASHBACK

Aster was in the middle of reading a manga...don't ask which one, it's not important to the story. Anyway, she wasn't paying the usual chaos of the Library any attention until she heard someone shout.

"LOOK OUT!"

Not knowing who that was directed at, she looked up for a moment. There was Kyle in his usual leisure wear, (sandals, sweatpants and a t-shirt), with a sports drink in his hand while eating some jerky. He also heard the shout, turning to face it with some jerky hanging out of his mouth. That's when both Kyle and Aster saw it, a fireball about the size of his chest heading in his direction. Kyle just gave it a blank stare as it sped towards him. However, just as it was getting close, he seemed to concentrate for a moment and then the fireball shrunk to nothing. Aster seemed surprised, but then turned back to her manga without a second thought.

END FLASHBACK

-

Kyle blinked as the flashback faded. Aster looked at him expectantly. Massaging his forehead for a moment, he asked, "Anything specific that you want to know? I have a hard time explaining without specifics."

Aster took a moment to think and then said, "How does it compare to my powers?"

Kyle had a facefault for a moment before he started massaging his forehead again. Flinging both arms outward, he accessed his Astral Vault, pulling out a bottle of headache medicine and a sports drink. He popped a couple of pills into his mouth and then drank all of the drink in one breath. With that done, he returned the medicine and threw empty sports drink into the trashcan, which vanished as soon as it entered. Aster just watched Kyle throughout this.

Taking a few deep breaths, Kyle spoke up, "I'm not completely sure how my Energy Manipulation powers stack against your Elemental abilities because I don't know how they work in comparison. My power comes from the understanding of different types of energy and how they work. For all I know, your power could use energy that I don't even know exists."

"I see," Aster said, kind of disappointed. Then she perked up, clapped her hands and said, "If you know of the energy I control, maybe you could use it too!"

Kyle shook his head, "I have to do more than just know of it. I have to understand it. Recorded types of energy are easy to understand because they have already been studied. This includes types like Ki and Chakra. If I wanted to, I could use those, but I choose not to and instead just use my understanding to defend against them."

Aster seemed kind of dumbfounded, no surprise there, taking a moment before she responded, "I don't understand. If you can use those energies, then why don't you?"

"Personal choice for one thing. Not wanting to be a Stu is another. Power may be as versatile as the imagination of the user, but it's the user's will that keeps that power in check," Kyle stated sagely.

"Huh?" Aster was confused. She just stood there for a few moments in thought before she continued, "I don't get it."

Sighing in resignation, Kyle unpaused the song, laying down and letting it soak into his mind once more while remaining aware of an extra person in his room. To her credit, Aster stood there silently listening to the song and watching its effect on Kyle. Other than his eyes remaining open, you couldn't tell he was awake by looking at him. Of course, this is the Anti-Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society. Not even Kyle's room stays so peaceful for long. The song was starting another playthrough when Kyle's communicator started beeping.

Growling in annoyance, Kyle paused the song again and answered with a snippy, "Yes?"

"Well, someone's grouchy today," Adrian's voice came out of the communicator.

"Sorry, everyone seems to want to intrude on my music right now. How can I help?" Kyle apologized to the leader. Adrian's voice came through the communicator again.

"I know you've been restless recently. What, with the downtime you had since your last mission and Tash ordering you to slow down your training during it. Anyway, since it's been awhile, I've found a mission for you. All you need is a partner and whatever preparations you think you might need to do and then you're set to go."

Aster heard this and started bouncing on her heels, repeatedly shouting, "I'll go, I'll go!"

Kyle facepalmed for a moment before saying into his com-unit, "As much as I think this decision will annoy me later, I'll not waste any time looking and just take Aster with me."

He could almost hear sympathy in the reply as Aster went from shouting 'I'll go' to 'Yay!', "Alright then, glad that's out of the way. Your target fandom is called Touhou. Be careful, we've been getting some weird readings, though they haven't been listed as anything dangerous. How much time do you think you need for preparation?"

"Depending on Aster, all I should need is a quick meal before I go. I learned my lesson from my Street Fighter mission; never go on a mission without eating first."

-

Kyle and Aster exited a portal and found themselves on the border of a relatively normal looking forest. While they couldn't really identify the types of trees, the trees themselves weren't very tall so there was plenty of sunlight to see with. Kyle crossed his arms and thought aloud as Aster decided to take in some sights.

"Let's see, forest of normalish trees inside the Touhou Fandom. The only place that comes to mind is the Forest of Magic. Thankfully, we weren't put inside that forest. It has a reputation of being very unpleasent to even prepared intruders. Let's not go there unless we direly have to. Alright, Aster?...Aster?" Kyle stopped his thinking and looked around, not seeing the fae Society member. Just before he could have an 'Oh Crap' moment, he heard her call out.

"Kyle-kun, I've found a deserted building. Come quick, come quick!" With a quick facepalm, he headed in the direction he heard Aster's voice. Upon getting close enough to see the building in question clearly, Kyle paused in shock. It was an older style Japanese building with only one story and a wooden door on the front. Along the outside of the building, one could see various odds and ends that were common to most people; a kayak, a street sign, a refrigerator, several tires, the list goes on. Kyle knew instantly what this place was and who it belonged to.

"I don't think anyone's here. I've tried knocking and calling out to someone, but I haven't gotten an answer." Aster seemingly popped up right beside the still paused Kyle. Kyle snapped back to reality and flinched a little in surprise. Taking a breath, Kyle calmed himself and then walked up to the door. Trying the handle and finding it locked, Kyle said in a loud voice.

"Rinnosuke, you here? Rinnosuke?" When there was no response after a minute or so, Kyle pounded on the door for a moment or two. Of course, that was similar to what Aster said she did, but Kyle kind of hoped that the owner would respond to his name before trying force. Still, nobody came to the door and Kyle was getting annoyed. Deciding that he had enough of waiting, he took out his Omni-weapon from his Astral Vault. Of course, most people, including Aster, would think that he'd bust down the door or destroy it in some way. Instead, Kyle held the Omni-weapon over the keyhole and then turned it. He heard a click, prompting him to put his Omni-weapon away.

With a sense of confidence, Kyle grasped the doorhandle and opened the door. Aster was surprised, though that shouldn't be so surprising. Anyway, the door opened on rusty hinges, creaking as sunlight entered the building once more. In the newfound light, even more odds and ends like the ones outside were on display. One thing was also clear with the light; nobody had been in this place for a long time. The place was dusty and small animals fled at the intrusion. Kyle was suspicious about the state of the place. After all, he knew this fandom and he wouldn't believe that the owner of the building would just up and leave.

"Kyle-kun! I think something's watching us!" Aster was facing away from the entrance of the building, looking this way and that as she tried to find whoever was spying. Turning around, Kyle took a few seconds to look. After a moment, he concentrated and out of a hole in his Astral Vault, came a transparent green visor with a line leading back to the hole. He took off his glasses and put the visor in their place.

"Eh, Kyle-kun...What is that?" Aster said as she saw him with the visor over his eyes. She could see lines and text through the transparent surface.

"It's a personal HUD that lets me see in Augmented Reality by a connection to a computer system I keep in my Astral Vault," was his reply to her question. The visor was scanning as Kyle looked one way and then the other for this spy that Aster thought she felt.

"What's Augmented Reality? I don't understand," said Aster, obviously confused. Kyle closed his eyes for a moment as he felt a headache coming on.

"Alright then. This visor lets me see things that normal eyes can't. That's as simple as I can get it." After that, Kyle fell quiet as his visor continued scanning. Aster got a look of comprehension from this new information. Kyle's visor finally locked onto something to his right just as Aster shouted.

"Kyle-kun, over there!" He turned in response to both and saw what could only be described as a portal. Unlike the holes into Kyle's Astral Vault, which only appear black if visible, this portal showed a completely different location. On the other side of it was a woman that Kyle would describe as tall, meaning taller than him. She had long blonde hair with a pink mop hat on her head. Her clothing consisted of a dress that was combination of eastern and western styles plus oriental socks and shoes. Kyle recognized her instantly.

"Yukari Yakumo, the youkai mistress of boundaries," Kyle stated the person's identity to Aster as he let the visor return to his Astral Vault and placed his glasses back on his face. With a clear smile on her face, the woman on the other side of the spatial opening started waving for them to come to her. He was a bit weary of her, but Kyle wanted to know what was going on so he walked towards the portal. Aster followed behind him and then Kyle stopped them both short of entering.

"I'm assuming you can hear me through there. Yukari, what has happened to Rinnosuke? He's not in his shop."

Yukari frowned and sighed before she responded, "That Mary Sue you two are after dissolved the Gensokyo boundary. I can feel her power still lingering and until something can be done about it, I can't use my power while over there. Shortly after the boundary vanished, everything mythical faded from Gensokyo. There was no longer any distinction between humans, youkai, and everything else that lived here except for appearances."

Kyle crossed his arms as he said, "Wait a minute. The only way I can think of for a Sue to dissolve the Gensokyo barrier would be getting the better of you and that would mean defeating you in battle. That or she's more powerful than you are and I doubt even a Sue could be THAT powerful."

"It's nice to know that you think so highly of me," Yukari smiled at the implied complement. She sighed again as she continued, "Well, Spell Card Battles are a fair way to fight in Gensokyo, so it's not too big a stretch for me to lose. I was weak for just a moment after the battle was over and she took that chance to use a spell to send me to another dimension and then place a seal on Gensokyo to prevent me from returning long enough to fulfill her purpose. That's what I get for being lazy."

Kyle uncrossed his arms as the logic of that set in. Then something she had said just a moment ago hit him, "Wait, how'd you know we were after the Mary Sue that did this?"

She giggled, "You're familiar with my power, so it shouldn't be surprising that I know of the Anti-Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society. Isn't that right, Kyle?"

He nodded his head in concession to that. Kyle knew that Yukari could manipulate any boundary she wanted, both physical and metaphysical ones. Heck, one of her best spell cards was called the Boundary of Life and Death.

After a few moments, Kyle spoke up, "So, you were waiting for us? Why is that?"

Yukari frowned, "Though I can't use my power over there, I can still manipulate physical boundaries to and from its places. Thus, until that Sue is dealt with, I'll have to rely on the two of you."

Kyle facepalmed, "How is that different from how you normally handle problems within Gensokyo? You're always manipulating others to handle the dirty work for you."

"I'll admit to that... however, this time, I do it out of necessity. Look, I know it's your job to track down and capture Sues and Stus, but you'll find it much easier if you let me help you."

Kyle sighed in resignation as he had to admit that she had a point. After a moment, he asked, "What are you going to have us do?"

"First I will send you to the city where the Sue resides, " Yukari explained as a portal appeared a few feet away from Kyle and Aster. Through it, they could see a sprawling city with several skyscrapers. "Then, I want you to gather as many of the residents of Gensokyo that you know of as you can find. With what I have in mind, they'll all want in on it."

She paused, giving Kyle a look that asked if he understood. When he nodded, she continued, "Be careful, as that portal is the closest I can get to the city with my power. The sue's power may even affect you two when you get there."

Taking a moment, Kyle pulled the Omni-weapon out of his Astral Vault and then slid it into his outfit. Yukari quirked an eyebrow when she noticed that the Omni-weapon didn't produce a bulge where it was placed. With that done, Kyle moved towards the portal to the city with Aster following behind with a slightly confused look on her face. Before he entered though, Yukari spoke up one last time.

"One more thing. I added a temporary feature to that music device of yours, which'll help in finding the others. If you get close to one, their theme song will start playing."

Kyle turned around sharply and burst out, "WHAT! You tampered with my Mood Music Maker?"

Yukari giggled at the outburst, "It's just a temporary function and it won't interfere with it other than when you're close to a Gensokyo resident. Hmm, Mood Music Maker isn't really a creative name, is it?"

Kyle frowned as he turned back to the portal, "It wasn't meant to be creative, just descriptive."

Yukari watched as the agents entered the portal, which closed behind them. After a moment, she sighed, "I miss Ran and Chen... I've never felt helpless before. Now, I can only hope that they can do the job."



In the tallest skyscraper in the city, which could rival the former World Trade Center in size, of course, was the Sue that Kyle and Aster were after. She was about as tall as Tash, with platinum blonde hair and wearing a beige business suit. Her personal office was also her apartment, taking up the last five floors of the building. It was full of the most expensive furniture you could imagine as well as at least three refridgerators per floor, full of the most expensive drinks you can think of. Apparently, the term, excess, means nothing to this Sue. Currently, she had just finished a business transaction heavily in her favor and was rewarding her "effort" with a few bottles of white wine in a darkened room where the only source of light was a contained fireplace.

As she was celebrating, a cloaked figure appeared behind her and cleared his throat. When the Sue looked at him, he spoke in a monotone, "We have detected two Agents of the Anti-Cliche and Mary Sue Elimination Society, Miss Cerebrum Cerebellum Medulla Oblongata."

The Sue turned back to her wine almost dismissively, but then her voice, charming and deadly, asked, "Which ones?"

"Kyle Griswold and Aster Selene, ma'am," came the monotonous reply. Cerebrum spit out the wine she had taken a drink off and crushed the wineglass in her hand.

"Two of their most powerful Agents. Aster's too much of an idiot to be any trouble for you, but with the one who took down Deary and Kaylee..."

The cloaked man chuckled monotonously before replying, "I think you forget that I was equipped to handle him. His power and weaponry will mean nothing when facing me."

When he had said this, what light in the room reached into his cloak and glinted off of a barely visible metal ball.

-


Kyle and Aster found themselves several miles outside the city on a stretch of highway. Like in most movies with such a scene, the road was almost completely empty save a car or two passing by every few minutes. Kyle scowled at the distance to the city as he didn't know if Aster would allow him to carry her like he did with Tash in his previous mission. Aster was scowling the distance as well, but probably for a different reason... I don't know what it is, I'm not an omniscient narrator. Anyway, Kyle let his eyes wander from the city and then spotted a payphone at a nearby rest stop. Giving Aster a quick tap on the shoulder, Kyle rushed over to the payphone with an idea in mind.

He had picked up the receiver and was sliding his special paycard into a slot for phone cards when Aster came up behind him and asked, "Who are you calling, Kyle-kun?"

"A precaution," Kyle responded as he rapidly dialed a series of numbers. Aster merely gave him a strange look as he waited for the call to go through. When he heard someone pick up, he gestured for Aster to remain quiet.

"Hello... This is Kyle... Sorry, this isn't a social call... Yes... Touhou... As a precautionary measure... Who's available? ...Ouch," Kyle got a pained expression on his face for a brief moment. "Tell her that I may call upon her within the next few days... Alright... Standard fare then?... That right?... Just make sure she's informed... Oh, he just got back?... Tell both of them then... Yes, yes, standard fare all around... HE SAID WHAT!? ...Once I'm done with this, I'm personally coming over there and beating him up and about the head with a hard, blunt object... I don't care that he's currently catatonic! ...He'll still feel it when he comes back... Alright, alright, I'll calm down... Thanks for the sentiment... Alright, I'll let you do that in my place... I almost feel sorry for him then... See you later... Bye."

Kyle hung up the receiver with a sigh. Aster stepped out of the way as Kyle walked away from the payphone.

"Kyle-kun, who were you talking to?" She inquired. Kyle looked at her over at her before replying.

"A group I call on if I think I'll need their help for trouble. I'll tell you more about it if I have to summon one of them." He faced the city, sighing as he tried to mentally figure the distance. After a moment, he knelt down and motioned for Aster. "Normally, I'd be against something like this, but it'll be faster if I carry you."

For her part, Aster merely nodded and climbed on. She was secured in place as Kyle stood up. Taking a deep breath at the additional weight, Kyle started running and then activated his Accelerator. They shot off, blurring as Kyle raced towards the city. Aster was enjoying it, apparently, as she was screaming with excitement in Kyle's ear. By the time Kyle stopped running, they were within the city limits and just outside of a nice park. Just then, music started playing from somewhere on Kyle. Aster climbed off so Kyle could pull out his Mood Music Maker.

"Kyle-kun, what's that song?" Aster asked as Kyle looked at the device.

"Shunshun Shuugetsu~Mooned Insect. It's the theme song of Wriggle Nightbug. She's around here somewhere." He replied as he stared at the park.

"Then let's just find her," Aster spoke as she walked into the park. Agreeing with a nod, Kyle followed after. While walking along, they came across a children's playground.

"Mama, you look tired." Kyle and Aster looked over at a green haired little boy standing in front of his green haired mother, who was sitting down on a bench. The strangest thing about their hair, yes even more strange than the fact that it's green, is that two tiny spots of hair stuck up like insect antennae. Kyle recognized it almost immediately.

"Wriggle Nightbug?" He asked as he approached the bench. The kid and his mother looked at him.

"My maiden name is Nightbug, yes. I haven't been called that in years. So who are you and how do you know me?" The woman asked. Kyle took a moment to think about the answer so he could compare his knowledge of Touhou to what he was seeing.

"My name is Kyle and I'm familiar with Gensokyo," He replied. The Wriggle that he knew from Touhou was a Firefly Youkai who could control any insect at whim. She looked like a child and dressed boyishly, making it easy to mistake her gender. This Wriggle, however, was much different. Her appearance had definitely matured, her feminine figure easy to see through her shirt and jeans.

"Ge..Gensokyo?" She had a look of surprise on her face, but it quickly gave way as a look of sadness sprung up. "It's been... so long. All my friends... I miss them."

Then she started crying. She put her head in her hands and wept.

"Mama, please don't cry. Please." Her child said as he gave her a hug. Wriggle hugged him back as she continued to cry. After several minutes, she stopped crying and let her child go. Her sadness was still evident on her face when she turned back to the Agents.

"I'm sorry about that," she said.

"I should be the one apologizing. I didn't mean to bring up any painful memories," was Kyle's response. He sat down on the bench while Aster walked over to the playground.

"It's alright, you had no way of knowing," Wriggle answered with a shake of her head. Her child saw that the two adults were going to chat, so he followed Aster's lead and headed towards the playground.

"If you don't mind my asking, what happened to you after Gensokyo faded?" Kyle's voice was as calm as he could make it. Wriggle turned her eyes forward and waited a few moments before speaking.

"I was so confused. My powers were gone and I was no different than any normal human. My friends and I would still meet relatively often, but eventually those meetings became few and far between until we just stopped meeting altogether. When that happened, I just started wandering and I ended up here, in this city. After what seemed like years of trying to adjust to living like a human, I met the man who eventually became my husband. I've basically been a housewife after my first child was born...I love my children, but many times, I wish I could be back in Gensokyo with my friends again."

Kyle listened and deeply empathized with her. Several faces passed before his eyes, faces of people he used to hang out with, but separated from for various reasons. His eyes closed for a few moments and then opened them with a decisive look on his face. Standing up, he flicked a wrist and a piece of paper appeared in his hand. Turning to Wriggle, he held it out for her to take.

"Here, I'll let you have one of these." She took it, looked at it for a moment and then looked up at him. He continued, "Keep that with you and we'll be able to stay in touch while I'm in this city. I'm staying for a few days on business. Since it involves Gensokyo, I'll keep you informed."

Wriggle stood up and turned to the Agent, holding the paper to give it back, "I appreciate the thought, but I've given up on Gensokyo. It won't return and I accept that."

Shaking his head, Kyle pushed her hand back and replied, "Keep it anyway. If only so I have a way to reach you when I can prove that there's still hope for Gensokyo."

Sighing at his insistence, Wriggle merely nodded in acceptance and went towards the playground to get her child so they could go home. Shortly thereafter, Aster came back and gave Kyle a curious look. From aways off, Wriggle was escorting her child home when she turned back to look at Kyle and Aster. She saw Aster piggy-back on Kyle and then both of them seemed to just blur out of existence. Her child looked at his mother as she seemed frozen in time. Only one thought crossed her mind as she snapped back to reality.

..."There's still hope for Gensokyo". Please be right about that... please!

-

Several minutes later, Kyle and Aster were walking down a slummy street. Kyle was munching on some energy bars while Aster was walking alongside with a manga in her hand that was given to her by Kyle. Don't ask which manga it is, that's not important to the story. As they were passing an alley, Kyle's Music Maker started up again.

"Meiji Juushichi-nen no Shanhai Arisu, the theme song of Hong Meiling," Kyle spoke up, speaking the Japanese part a bit slower than the rest of the sentence, after listening to it for a few seconds. Aster looked up from her manga to give Kyle a look.

"You're pretty good with that, if a bit slow in actually speaking. Did you take Japanese classes?"

"Only for about a year or so in high school, but I'm also a big fan of several Anime." Kyle answered with a shrug. The music stopped while they were a couple meters away from the alley. Kyle stopped and had to put a hand on Aster's shoulder to keep her from going on without him. Aster looked up from her manga to watch him go back to the alley and hear the music start up again. "That Yukari is pretty clever. To keep us from having to do a lot of heavy searching, she made it like the game Hot n Cold."

Aster just shrugged as she sauntered back over. When she reunited with Kyle, they both strode into the dank backstreet. While about half way through, someone leaped out from behind a dumpster and put a knife to Kyle's back. Aster stopped walking but didn't look up from her manga as Kyle once again put his hand on her shoulder.

"Take out your wallets and drop them on the ground," came a female voice with a slight Chinese accent. Kyle turned his head as best he could to look at his attacker. She was a rather tall redheaded woman wearing a well cared for, if quite grungy, Chinese style dress. She wore a hat that matched her garb with a tarnished star on it. Kyle recognized her faster than he recognize Wriggle.

"H-Hong Meiling!" The moment those words left his mouth, the woman's eyes widened in surprise and then she lowered her knife.

"You know who I am...you even know my name... WHO ARE YOU?"

"My name is Kyle Griswold," was his response. He turned around to fully face her and Aster looked over at the woman before going back to her manga. "My current job is to restore Gensokyo."

"G-Gensokyo..." Hong Meiling breathlessly spoke. She collapsed onto her knees as the shock caught her in its grip. The knife fell effortlessly from her now limp fingers. At this point, her stomach chose to signal its hunger by growling, though she wasn't in a state to respond to it.

"Hey, are you ok? When was the last time you ate something?" Kyle questioned as he knelt down to check on her. Hong Meiling didn't seem to register the question for a few moments, but then she said.

"I... I think... about four days ago." Now, Hong Meiling is one of Kyle's favorite Touhou characters and to see her like this made him ticked. His face darkened to a scowl as he whipped an arm up and into his Astral Vault. Upon seeing this display, Hong Meiling almost fainted from the shock. When he pulled his arm out, he was holding...

"A b-b-b-baozi...!" Hong Meiling couldn't believe her eyes, weakly reaching up a hand to take it as Kyle was handing it to her. She stared at it for a second before taking a hesitant bite. As she chewed, it finally registered that it was real. Her lips smiled while she chewed, tears of joy welling up in her eyes. The sight of her joy melted Kyle's scowl almost instantly. Reaching into his Astral Vault again, he pulled out a plate of baozi and set it down in front of her. Meiling was taking her time with the first one, savoring each bite like it was the best one. When she finished it, she exclaimed, "Delicious! I haven't had food of my native land this good in years!"

-

Back at the Library Arcanium, Adrian was watching Kyle on the monitor, a precautionary measure since he was recovered from the Endless Abyss of the Night Sky. Currently, he was feeling a bit exasperated.

"He's been expanding his Astral Vault's stock again. I'll have to talk to him about that." At that moment, one of the members working at the massive computer spoke up.

"Sir, you'd better come take a look at this." Adrian quickly strode over to the Society member. "That reading we've been tracking within the Touhou fandom... it's getting stronger!"

Adrian frowned at the news, "the reading isn't of the Sue, that's already been checked." I've got a bad feeling about this, yet I get the feeling that Kyle and Aster can handle it. Whatever the case may be, I'll have a rescue team on standby... just in case.

-

Hong Meiling was finishing the last of the baozi as Aster bugged Kyle for another manga for her to read. Kyle sighed before he pulled one out of his Astral Vault and handed it to her, causing her to move away and start reading. Standing up with renewed energy, Hong Meiling bowed to Kyle for the meal.

"I'm in your debt for your assistance." Kyle waved it off and then replied.

"Anyway, can you tell me what happened to you after Gensokyo's barrier faded?" Hong Meiling sighed as she prepared to tell her story.

"It was many years ago. At the Scarlet Devil mansion, everything was chaotic. The fairy maids were in a state of panic because of their missing magic. I still stood at my post by the gate as it was my job to be the guard. I think my mistress, Remilia Scarlet, had a plan for dealing with this crisis, though I apparently wasn't included in her plan as the head maid, Sakuya Izayoi, had left in a hurry with Remilia's sister, Flandre. Remilia, herself, left the next day with the mansion's librarian, Patchouli Knowledge, in tow. She told me that all of the mansion staff had to fend for themselves. After that, I started wandering...getting work and food where I could get it, but it's been a lonely journey. Somehow, I ended up in this city and haven't been able to find a job to support myself since. I've only really survived this long because I met others who were in similar situations."

Kyle listened while doing his best to keep his temper down. As she finished speaking, Kyle made a decision. "Alright then. I'll hire you."

Hong Meiling snapped her head to look at Kyle in shock. It took a few moments for her voice to come out, "Y-you mean it? You'll employ me?"

Kyle rubbed the back of his head before replying, "Well, I don't really have money to pay you with, but I can give you food and stuff in compensation." He was caught off-guard as the Chinese youkai glomped him, taking him down while thrown off-balance. They got back up, Hong Meiling giddy like little kid at Christmas while Kyle could feel a headache coming on.

WIth a sigh, Kyle spoke again, "Well, this is a step in the right direction at least. Though, how am I going to find other previous residents of Gensokyo?"

The Chinese youkai paused at the question, but then she grinned and said, "I can help you with that. If you're looking for something, it pays to have friends in low places."

Kyle looked at her for a moment, "Those 'others' you mentioned before, right? You think it's possible that they'd know where other Gensokyo people are?"

She nodded, "One thing I noticed about Remilia and the others before they left is the fact that they looked the exact same without their powers. Having a network of friends like I do will make finding people from Gensokyo within the city limits easy. You can find useful things among the dredges and refuse of society."

The male Agent nodded in agreement to her last statement. "Classic 'diamond in the rough' scenario. Well, why are we sticking around here then? Let's get going!"

The gatekeeper youkai cheered as Kyle got Aster's attention. Within moments, they were out of the backstreet and on their way down the road.