Yukari Quest, continued... Again?!

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"So, what has happened here lately?"
>With the sheer amount of people and drama between them, best get that clear before we inadvertently step on a landmine.

>"Lately? A fair amount, I suppose."
>"That other tengu has settled down somewhat. She's eating, at the very least, and she seems to talk to Hatate a bit."
>"That girl you brought along has been with Yuuko for the most part. The two seem to really like each other, for the most part. She still keeps whatever room she's in pretty dark though."
>"The professor has just been doing her thing. These days, I can't keep up with everything she does."
>"Rin has been looking pretty upset, lately. She likes to hang around near Okuu. She says she's fine, but..."
>"Aya's health hasn't changed much. She wants to try walking unassisted again tomorrow."
>"I... haven't been doing much, really. Just keeping the place in order, I guess."
>There certainly are an odd assortment of people here, each with their own issues. You hope not to add to any of them.

>_

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Wait, wasn't Nitori going to try something new with that border device thing?
>"Nitori had a device she was using to try and restore Gensokyo. Based on my advice, she was going to attempt to modify it. Have there been any results on that front?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Wait, wasn't Nitori going to try something new with that border device thing?
>"Nitori had a device she was using to try and restore Gensokyo. Based on my advice, she was going to attempt to modify it. Have there been any results on that front?"

>She was, as far as you remember.
>"As far as I can tell, she was done with that. Of course, I could just be horribly wrong."

>_

[Darkoda]

>That's something to investigate.
>Eat before the salad wilts
>"Things really have been moving here. Hopefully they'll all be resolved for the better."
>Back to the border; we regained some power after fixing up the Netherworld. Dealing with the gods clearly changed something since we could - albeit at considerable cost - open two borders in under an hour.
>Is the Great Border tied to us in anyway?
>Is it possible that the border somehow drained us in order to stabilize itself? It would explain why we were able to leave when Nitori's machine gave it a partial patch.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>That's something to investigate.
>Eat before the salad wilts
>"Things really have been moving here. Hopefully they'll all be resolved for the better."
>Back to the border; we regained some power after fixing up the Netherworld. Dealing with the gods clearly changed something since we could - albeit at considerable cost - open two borders in under an hour.
>Is the Great Border tied to us in anyway?
>Is it possible that the border somehow drained us in order to stabilize itself? It would explain why we were able to leave when Nitori's machine gave it a partial patch.

>Indeed.
>You begin eating your salad, though you doubt that it would begin wilting in the immediate future.
>"Yeah, it's been busy. Doesn't feel like I'm doing much, though..."
>Fuuko gets up and begins taking her plate back into the kitchen.
>"Well, I'm done eating. Got to get started on cleaning up the mess in there. Just leave that there when you're done and I'll get it later. See you around, I guess."
>Indeed. It seems as though you're regaining fragments of your abilities with each tear you close.
>Quite intricately.
>That could be a possible explanation.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"Being a voice of reason and keeping things stable helps as well. Never underestimate the value of someone who will stop you from doing something insane."
>Elaboration on the border being tied to us. If we figure this out ourselves, we don't need to trouble Byakuren more than once.
>Besides Higan, do we know of any other cracks?
>Can we sense these cracks since we made the border and all?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Being a voice of reason and keeping things stable helps as well. Never underestimate the value of someone who will stop you from doing something insane."
>Elaboration on the border being tied to us. If we figure this out ourselves, we don't need to trouble Byakuren more than once.
>Besides Higan, do we know of any other cracks?
>Can we sense these cracks since we made the border and all?

>"I guess."
>Fuuko disappears into the kitchen.
>The border is an extension of yourself. Something that large and complex required a bit of your very essence to create.
>There are many tears visible running through the skies.
>You cannot. It is rather unnerving.

>_

[Darkoda]

>So its safe to say that if anything happens to us, the border will eventually break?
>Either way, it appears that fixing the border is connected to fixing ourselves.
>We'll just have to start with the major cracks we know about and work our way down.
>On that note, what became of the SDM after Reimu nuked their mansion?
>Cirno lived at the Misty Lake too; well there's our next destination after Higan and the underground.
>Finish eating and go find Nitori. Ask Fuuko where Nitori and Rumia are.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>So its safe to say that if anything happens to us, the border will eventually break?
>Either way, it appears that fixing the border is connected to fixing ourselves.
>We'll just have to start with the major cracks we know about and work our way down.
>On that note, what became of the SDM after Reimu nuked their mansion?
>Cirno lived at the Misty Lake too; well there's our next destination after Higan and the underground.
>Finish eating and go find Nitori. Ask Fuuko where Nitori and Rumia are.

>Others may be able to maintain it for a long time to come, but yes, it would break down eventually.
>It appears to be that way.
>You suppose that that will have to do as a plan for now.
>You haven't checked.
>You suppose that there would be no harm in checking that place out.
>You finish eating and quickly head into the kitchen to ask Fuuko about Nitori and Rumia's whereabouts.
>"The professor is in the lowest level again. As for that girl, I'm not entirely sure. She's bound to be somewhere with Yuuko."
>You thank Fuuko before you head off to the lowest level of the laboratory once more. You find Nitori sitting on a chair in the main room, reading over a large looking report.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"Hello again~ How goes things?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Hello again~ How goes things?"

>"Hey."
>Nitori barely looks up as she returns your greeting.
>Nitori quickly flips through a few more pages before getting up and placing the papers she was reading on her chair.
>"Well, I've got some good news for you. Unfortunatly, it leads into some bad news as well."

>_

[Darkoda]

>"That seems to be a common occurrence recently. What happened?"
>Can't be any worse then recent events.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"That seems to be a common occurrence recently. What happened?"
>Can't be any worse then recent events.

>"Well, that machine I showed you a while ago. It works."
>"Thing is, there's a problem. There's something else out there affecting the border."
>Or so you hope, anyway.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Well...okay something affecting the border that we don't know about is quite bad.
>"...That is remarkably bad news. The border is linked to me; it shouldn't be possible for something to affect it without my knowledge."
>"Do you have any idea where the interference is coming from?"
>Unlikely, but it would be nice if we knew exactly where we needed to go to fix things.
>Even in our current condition, something with enough power to affect our border can't stay hidden from us forever.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Well...okay something affecting the border that we don't know about is quite bad.
>"...That is remarkably bad news. The border is linked to me; it shouldn't be possible for something to affect it without my knowledge."
>"Do you have any idea where the interference is coming from?"
>Unlikely, but it would be nice if we knew exactly where we needed to go to fix things.
>Even in our current condition, something with enough power to affect our border can't stay hidden from us forever.

>Indeed.
>"I'll take your word for that."
>"Yeah. You know the mansion near the Hakurei shrine? That's where the source is."
>Oh, how nice it is to have information.

>_

[Darkoda]

>.....Our life sucks something fierce, doesn't it?
>"Well I would have had to deal with her antics eventually, though I hoped that Reimu of all people would know better."
>What is the whole story behind the Hakurei and maintaining the border? Would it really break if anything happened to Reimu?
>What exactly was our relationship with Reimu?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>.....Our life sucks something fierce, doesn't it?
>"Well I would have had to deal with her antics eventually, though I hoped that Reimu of all people would know better."
>What is the whole story behind the Hakurei and maintaining the border? Would it really break if anything happened to Reimu?
>What exactly was our relationship with Reimu?

>You certainly haven't been having the best of luck, lately.
>"Guess that time will be sooner rather than later. Good riddance, too. Tell me when you plan to meet her, I'll try to have something fun ready by then."
>The Hakurei dedicate their efforts towards maintaining the border so that you can focus your efforts on other matters.
>As long as you continued to maintain the border, it would not break.
>Reimu was a close friend of yours. Even if she expressed dislike of it, she would still act on most of your whims."

>_

[Shadoweh]

> We're not in any condition to deal with Reimu as we are.. but the more of these rifts we fix ourselves, the stronger we get and the more supporters we have.
> "The time will come, but there are many things to do first. I'll want more on my side to face her if she's gone this far."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> We're not in any condition to deal with Reimu as we are.. but the more of these rifts we fix ourselves, the stronger we get and the more supporters we have.
> "The time will come, but there are many things to do first. I'll want more on my side to face her if she's gone this far."

>You certainly don't think that you're in any state to deal with Reimu. However, it is true that you are gaining strength with every tear you close.
>You are also gathering more friends who may be willing to help.
>"Of course. Going into these things unprepared can only lead to bad things. Just give me a heads up when you're good to go."

>_

[Darkoda]

>Oh Reimu, just what made you decide to go overlord on everyone?
>"Of course. Can't have a proper party without a crowd after all."
>Speaking of, wonder where Suika got off to? Do we really see her putting up with dictator Reimu?
>Anyway, off to find Rumia. We know she's likely with Yuuko but that doesn't help much.
>Ask Nitori if she knows where either of them are. If she doesn't, start with Rumia's room and work our way down.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Oh Reimu, just what made you decide to go overlord on everyone?
>"Of course. Can't have a proper party without a crowd after all."
>Speaking of, wonder where Suika got off to? Do we really see her putting up with dictator Reimu?
>Anyway, off to find Rumia. We know she's likely with Yuuko but that doesn't help much.
>Ask Nitori if she knows where either of them are. If she doesn't, start with Rumia's room and work our way down.

>You certainly would like to know the answer to this question.
>"Maybe we can finally have things go back to normal once this entire ordeal is over. That would be nice..."
>You know that Suika usually hangs around the Hakurei shrine or her piece of land in heaven. She couldn't possibly be working with Reimu... could she?
>You ask Nitori where you could find Rumia.
>"Hmm? I think she was wandering around the second floor with Aya and Yuuko."
>You thank Nitori as you take your leave and move the second floor. You look around for a bit, quickly checking rooms as you do so.
>You come across a rather strange room, filled with plants. It doesn't look like any other part of the lab, in fact you doubt that you could tell that this room was part of the lab if you didn't know better. The room does seem a bit darker than it should be, though.
>Inside, you see Rumia gnawing on some large fruit.

>_

[Darkoda]

>They made a greenhouse in the lab? Well they need to get food from somewhere
>Well at least Rumia seems to be normal.
>"Hey there Rumia."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>They made a greenhouse in the lab? Well they need to get food from somewhere
>Well at least Rumia seems to be normal.
>"Hey there Rumia."

>Vegetables don't stay fresh for long, after all.
>That's a plus.
>Rumia looks towards you and you see a smile grow on her face as she sees you.
>"Hey!"
>Rumia begins to run up to you.
>Behind her, you can hear the voices of Hatate, Aya, and Yuuko growing louder. They also seem to be walking towards you, though you can't exactly see them as Rumia is making the area you are standing in rather dark.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Scoop her up into a hug.
>"You seem to be having fun here."
>And her legs have healed up if she's running about.
>Is Rumia back to her normal levels of keeping things dark?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Scoop her up into a hug.
>"You seem to be having fun here."
>And her legs have healed up if she's running about.
>Is Rumia back to her normal levels of keeping things dark?

>Making sure that you allocate ample strength and give yourself enough time to process everything, you hug Rumia when she is within reach.
>"It's not scary at all."
>They certainly appear to have.
>She seems to be doing it more out of habit now. Or so you hope, anyway.
>"Hello!"
>Yuuko greets you from behind Rumia, even if you can't see her.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Do we normally have better night vision than this?
>"Hello to you too. I hear that you've become good friends with Rumia."
>If the others don't sound like they're fairly close to us already, take a couple of steps towards them so we can see.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Do we normally have better night vision than this?
>"Hello to you too. I hear that you've become good friends with Rumia."
>If the others don't sound like they're fairly close to us already, take a couple of steps towards them so we can see.

>Somewhat. Though Rumia's darkness has some unique properties to it that you haven't investigated.
>"Yeah, she's a really good girl. Aren't you, Rumia? Though can you make it a bit brighter so that we can see?"
>"Mhmm."
>The darkness recedes to the point where it only seems as though your part of the room is a little dim.
>You see that Rumia appears to be carrying a pomegranate. You see that Yuuko and Aya also have one, and Hatate is behing Aya, pushing her wheelchair along.
>"You're okay!"
>Rumia squeezes you more tightly.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Well not particularly, but she doesn't need to know that.
>"It will take more than that to keep me down for long."
>Wheelchair bound Aya? That's just wrong.
>"What have you been up to the past few days?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Well not particularly, but she doesn't need to know that.
>"It will take more than that to keep me down for long."
>Wheelchair bound Aya? That's just wrong.
>"What have you been up to the past few days?"

>You'd rather not cause her undue worry.
>"What happened to you?"
>Rumia tilts her head curiously.
>It doesn't fit her image at all.
>"Yuuko has been really nice, she's been showing me all sorts of new things that aren't scary at all. Like these."
>Rumia shows you the pomegranate she's been eating.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"I just overdid things a bit and needed to sleep it off~"
>As good a time as any to ask then
>"Since you're enjoying yourself, how would you like to live here with Yuuko?"