Maidens of the Kaleidoscope
~Beyond the Border~ => Rumia's Party Games => Mystia's Stored Games => Topic started by: Hello Purvis on September 13, 2010, 08:38:53 AM
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>You are Maribel Hearn, and the world is wrong. Or rather, you're in the wrong world!
>Having woken up in a strange room, you've discovered you are in the middle of a world called Gensokyo, and you've finally discovered another world that you've always knew existed.
>You grew up in Japan, living a fairly normal life. Still, you always had a strong instinct that there was more to the world than you could see. You studied psychology in college, and met your best friend there, a woman named Renko. The two of you shared a passion for the supernatural (extranormal, Renko called it, to make it sound more legitimate). In pursuing that passion, the two of you followed your instincts and moved to small island nation called Gensokyo. From there, then memories of the past half year fuzzy. You remember running a modestly successful detective agency and numerous attempts to find supernatural activity. You remember a woman named Utsuho being a prominent influence on your life in the last few days before you woke up here, but you can't remember a lot about it. You remember, though, that she helped you prove the supernatural exists beyond the shadow of a doubt!
>You have been wandering throughout Gensokyo! You've learned some of the basics of flight, danmaku, time-stopping and barrier magic, and you're on cloud nine! Utsuho and Yuugi are in a doomed rivalry for Parsee's love, you have nudged them toward polyamory, and into a kind of peace. You visited Komachi and got her back to work on Reimu's behalf! You have assisted Murasa at the underground clinic on Byakuren's behalf, which involved cleaning up vomit buckets and dealing with a racist old oni. Byakuren has agreed to consider enhancing your natural magical abilities if you gather the necessary ingredients. You have planted flowers for Yuka! You have discovered where all the maids at Scarlet Devil Mansion have gone! You've been chased by a mob of faeries! You have befriend Tokiko, and helped her get used to society and not eating animals raw. You have engaged in a few fact finding missions on Utsuho's behalf. You have found, bickered with, worried over, and slept with Renko Usami. You have earned the enmity of Alice Margatroid. You have begun trying to fulfill Sanae's dream, and healing the rift between Utsuho and Kanako. You've had a frightening trip into Hakugyokuro! You are having a serious internal debate over whether or not to seek out becoming a youkai. You've met Yukari, and gotten a very indecent proposal. You have quietly helped and supported Renko in invading Scarlet Devil Mansion. You are now technically a homeowner!
>You are now have a standoff with Alice in the wake of Renko's successful invasion of Scarlet Devil Mansion.
> "Well, if that's the way things are going to be, then...I understand."
> Go back inside through the door, taking Renko with us.
> Once we get a few feet inside, whisper to Renko: "Go look for Patchouli. I'll hold her off."
>You step backwards into the door, and whisper to Renko.
>"Got it," she says, as Alice enters the Foyer.
>_
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> Face Alice, if we aren't already.
> Position ourselves between her and Renko.
> "It's true. I'm sorry for how yesterday played out. But not sorry enough to let anyone loot this place."
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> Face Alice, if we aren't already.
> Position ourselves between her and Renko.
> "It's true. I'm sorry for how yesterday played out. But not sorry enough to let anyone loot this place."
>You are facing Alice. Renko breaks away from you, as you interpose yourself between her and Alice.
>"You're not?" asks Alice. "Praytell, how?"
>_
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> Ignoring Renko, Alice and ourselves, is the foyer otherwise clear of people?
> "Words are preferable. But I don't think they're going to work, so...by any means necessary."
> How easily is our inventory accessed?
> How did the Oil of Vibration work again?
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>"Well, I'd like to be able to convince you that it isn't right to steal from people like this, and have you leave of your own accord. But that isn't likely to happen, is it?"
>"Otherwise, I can stand in front of you until you feel like doing something spiteful. I think it would be a shame if it came to that, though."
>Quickly survey nearby terrain. What doors, corridors, and other obstacles are there?
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> Ignoring Renko, Alice and ourselves, is the foyer otherwise clear of people?
> "Words are preferable. But I don't think they're going to work, so...by any means necessary."
> How easily is our inventory accessed?
> How did the Oil of Vibration work again?
>"Well, I'd like to be able to convince you that it isn't right to steal from people like this, and have you leave of your own accord. But that isn't likely to happen, is it?"
>"Otherwise, I can stand in front of you until you feel like doing something spiteful. I think it would be a shame if it came to that, though."
>Quickly survey nearby terrain. What doors, corridors, and other obstacles are there?
>You do have Remilia, who is unconscious on the floor off to the side. But aside from that, it is just the three of you.
>You have to dig items out of your messenger bag. You have it fairly well organized, though.
>You smear the oil on something, and if it is enough it will vibrate. Rinnosuke said there should be enough to affect something up to 125 kg.
>"Very well," Alice says, as she raises her hand and sends a stream of danmaku at you!
>You do not have time to survey the terrain in detail!
>_
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>Sidestep the danmaku
>Don't return fire just yet, unless she fires at us again once we're out of the way
>How high are the ceilings here? Are they large enough for that giant doll we saw on her lawn earlier?
>And if we have a moment to breath, get a rough idea of corridors and doors and such around us
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>Sidestep the danmaku
>Don't return fire just yet, unless she fires at us again once we're out of the way
>How high are the ceilings here? Are they large enough for that giant doll we saw on her lawn earlier?
>And if we have a moment to breath, get a rough idea of corridors and doors and such around us
>You sidestep it, and find the stream keeps following you!
>"Fan out!" says Alice, as dolls following her start to spread around.
>The ceiling is pretty high, it may accommodate that doll.
>Renko makes a run for it, heading for the library. "Stop her," Alice says calmly.
>You don't have enough time to look around, but you know there is a hall to the west and to the east; the doors to the west hall are open."
>_
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>Keep ourself between Alice and Renko
>Continue to sidestep. If it looks like we're being forced towards a wall, use a burst of flight to get over the stream and onto the other side of it
>If dolls break off towards Renko, fire on them
>Otherwise, launch a burst of danmaku towards Alice
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>Keep ourself between Alice and Renko
>Continue to sidestep. If it looks like we're being forced towards a wall, use a burst of flight to get over the stream and onto the other side of it
>If dolls break off towards Renko, fire on them
>Otherwise, launch a burst of danmaku towards Alice
>You cannot get between Renko and Alice; her stream is forcing you aside.
>You keep moving sideways, rather quickly, as Alice keeps up the stream until you're close to a wall, then drops it and fires toward Renko. The dolls fire at her as well as she flees toward the library.
>You shoot toward the nearest doll, knocking it out of the air with a line of danmaku.
>_
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>Try to interpose ourself again, as best we can
>Fire a cloud of danmaku towards Alice. Try to aim the shots from an angle such that we could hit a doll or two in the process.
>Did Renko seem to get hit? Or, at least, did we hear her get hit?
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>Try to interpose ourself again, as best we can
>Fire a cloud of danmaku towards Alice. Try to aim the shots from an angle such that we could hit a doll or two in the process.
>Did Renko seem to get hit? Or, at least, did we hear her get hit?
>You race back over to interpose yourself between Alice and Renko; firing a cloud of shots at her along the way. The bracelet's power flows through you, and you create a rather sizable cloud! Alice has to abandon her attack on Renko to dodge around it. One of the dolls gets struck by a rogue shot from the cloud, and staggers.
>You don't think Renko's been hit, at least from sounds.
>_
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>Quickly shoot the staggered doll
>Then launch another cloud towards Alice, again aiming to hit a doll in the process
>"You've already hurt her enough. I'm not going to let you hurt her any further."
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>Quickly shoot the staggered doll
>Then launch another cloud towards Alice, again aiming to hit a doll in the process
>"You've already hurt her enough. I'm not going to let you hurt her any further."
>You shoot a quick bullet at the staggered doll, and knock her down.
>As you send another cloud toward Alice, she stands still, and steps through it, dodging around the shots inside; then fires another stream, the one toward Renko. Busy opening the library door, she doesn't notice it and is hit in the back, yelping as she tumbles into the room. "Damn, still conscious," Alice says, ignoring your words.
>_
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>Fire again at Alice. Make it more dense this time.
>Be ready to sidestep the stream if necessary.
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>Fire again at Alice. Make it more dense this time.
>Be ready to sidestep the stream if necessary.
>You fire another cloud at Alice; this one more dense. She takes to the air and flies around it while saying, "Focus on Maribel."
>_
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>Is she headed towards Renko?
>If so, don't let her get past us. Move to keep ourself between Alice and the library.
>Launch a few concentrated streams at nearby dolls if they try to hem in our movement. Otherwise, a burst at Alice herself.
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>Is she headed towards Renko?
>If so, don't let her get past us. Move to keep ourself between Alice and the library.
>Launch a few concentrated streams at nearby dolls if they try to hem in our movement. Otherwise, a burst at Alice herself.
>She dodged toward the library, but you don't think she is actually going for it, as she turns and sends a wave of blue and green bullets toward you; while the dolls fire small bursts in your general direction.
>You fire on the nearest doll, taking it down, but you also notice the first one you shot down is back up again.
>_
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>If they can recover themselves, it's probably not worth taking them down...
>Try to find a gap in where the doll's fire converges and shift away from Alice's waves towards it. Try to move away, towards the library in the process.
>Launch another larger cloud at Alice, followed quickly by a more directed stream to take advantage of her (hopefully) somewhat hampered movement in the cloud
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> Inventory (If we have to, from memory)
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>Turn up BGM.
>Try the love confession strategy on Alice
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> If Alice actively moves towards Renko, Za Warudo and get in her way. If we can even do that.
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> If Alice actively moves towards Renko, Za Warudo and get in her way. If we can even do that.
>Don't use our time stop yet. We may only get a single shot for several minutes, and there are better ways to capitalize on it
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> Mentally curse not having time stopped post-bracelet to test how long we get.
> How long were we able to hold it the last time we did it? A few seconds?
Current thinking on best plan of action is to use time stop in conjunction with the vibralube. Unless we think we can throw the bottle at Alice and hope it explodes on contact with her, I can't imagine how we're going to get close enough to her to get it on her otherwise.
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Yeah, I was planning to use timestop with the oil of vibration. But remember we still need to get it out of our bag, open it and all, and our timestop is only a firm 3 seconds. We can't count on it being longer. We're going to have to already have the oil in hand and at the ready, and hopefully already be at close range. What I was hoping for was at least a little distraction from Patchy or others before we pull that trick out. Currently, Alice isn't being too serious towards us because she doesn't consider us a threat. I imagine even a winded and injured Patchy would get more of her attention, and we could use that moment to do it.
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That sounds like it could work, yes.
EDIT: What are we going to aim for? Dumping it on her head, trying to actually rub it into her hands, etc.
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Oil of Vibration. Alice's face. Make it happen.
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I think if we had to pick a single part, I'd say hands. I have no idea how much of the rest of the body this will transmit to.
For that matter, we don't even know how viscous it is. Do we need to spend time rubbing it in, or can we just pour it? Will rubbing it in cause our own hands to start shaking? I very much would have liked to test its properties earlier, but that wasn't really feasible having a limited quantity of it like this.
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>If they can recover themselves, it's probably not worth taking them down...
>Try to find a gap in where the doll's fire converges and shift away from Alice's waves towards it. Try to move away, towards the library in the process.
>Launch another larger cloud at Alice, followed quickly by a more directed stream to take advantage of her (hopefully) somewhat hampered movement in the cloud
>That does seem to be a problem...
>You look toward the dolls' shots for a moment, and see that they don't look too bad on their own, not too much worse than the things Plum Blossom. Unfortunately, they aren't all firing at once, with minimizes gaps. You move away from the wave toward the library, setting yourself between Alice and it, and find that the blue shots and green shots are moving in different directions from Alice. It will not be a matter of just slipping between the columns, it seems.
>You fire at Alice again, sending out a larger cloud with a couple dozen bullets in it. She lets the cloud flow around her, as she prepares another set of blue and green shots. You are about to follow up with a stream of your own when her wave catches up to you.
> Inventory (If we have to, from memory)
>Having checked your inventory recently, you remember it well.
>Your Inventory Contains
>Mop Hat (Worn as Hat)
>Red Robe
>White Hakama
>Branch
>Floating Stone
>Ingredient List
>Ring of Rhythm
>Starlight Incantation Slip.
>Purple Messenger Bag
>Blue Silk Flower
>65☼
>Silver Rabbit Figurine
>Purple Dress
>Wound Sign: Pain Flow Endlessly. (Captured)
>Kakashi Spirit News
>Frilly Dark Dress
>Oil of Vibration
>Green Yo-yo
>Bolt of Silk
>Dirty Bowl
>Sanzu River Water
>Essence of the Netherworld
>Mushroom Bracelet
>White Dress (Worn as Clothing)
>Turn up BGM.
>Try the love confession strategy on Alice
>You don't have time for this!
>Yukari shanks you!
> If Alice actively moves towards Renko, Za Warudo and get in her way. If we can even do that.
>Don't use our time stop yet. We may only get a single shot for several minutes, and there are better ways to capitalize on it
>She doesn't seem to be chasing after Renko.
> Mentally curse not having time stopped post-bracelet to test how long we get.
> How long were we able to hold it the last time we did it? A few seconds?
>It might not have been a bad idea to test out a lot of things with that. Oh well, the things we do for love.
>Three seconds.
>_
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OH! Bolt of Silk!
I've got it. ZA WARUDO, close to melee range, oil of vibration, then bolt of silk over her face. From there, pummel her til she's unconscious.
Fuck danmaku.
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>Back up a little and focus on dodging around the blue and green waves
>Fire another quick burst when we have room and concentration to do so
OH! Bolt of Silk!
I've got it. ZA WARUDO, close to melee range, oil of vibration, then bolt of silk over her face. From there, pummel her til she's unconscious.
Fuck danmaku.
While that sounds great, that's a lot to get done in 3 seconds. I'm still in favor of buying time first, and hoping for an external distraction to help with this.
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These are not mutually exclusive, UK. Comparably ruthless would be to use timestop to hug her from behind and latch on while shooting danmaku into her stomach at three millimeters.
... that or it could make a decent gift for her if it's left unharmed. Maybe.
>What sort of container is the Oil of Vibration in?
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One other trick I feel I ought to remind people we can do is get a temporarily larger power boost from the bracelet. Marisa mentioned if we opened ourselves up to it, and let us flow into it, rather than vice versa, we could pump out a much larger burst at the cost of our own fatigue. Sadly, we hadn't tested this earlier (at the time we got the bracelet, I didn't want to risk exhausting ourselves right before the battle. Turned out we had many more hours than that, but by that point I'd forgotten about >.>)
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>Back up a little and focus on dodging around the blue and green waves
>Fire another quick burst when we have room and concentration to do so
>You back away to give yourself more room, and try to slip between the waves. It's difficult to concentrate on both sides at once, but you do so. At least, until you feel a burst of pain in your shoulder when one of her doll's shots clip you.
>What sort of container is the Oil of Vibration in?
>It is a glass vial; you could see the contents swirling inside.
>_
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>Grit teeth and don't let the pain distract us from the larger shots in front of us
>Spare a quick burst of danmaku towards any dolls that are flanking us, or otherwise at an angle that makes them difficult to read while concentrating on Alice
>If there are no dolls in such a position at the moment, fire at Alice
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You do realize once she's blinded we can pummel her at will, making it progressively harder for her to defend, meaning 3 seconds isn't as much a problem.
But yeah, shooting her in the gut might work too.
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>Grit teeth and don't let the pain distract us from the larger shots in front of us
>Spare a quick burst of danmaku towards any dolls that are flanking us, or otherwise at an angle that makes them difficult to read while concentrating on Alice
>If there are no dolls in such a position at the moment, fire at Alice
>You grit your teeth and ignore the flash of pain. Thankfully, it seems to be receding into a dull ache.
>Most of the dolls are flanking you; they spread out into position while Renko was retreating to the library.
>_
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>Are we in a hallway or an open space?
>Are there doorways nearby we could slip into, to reduce the ability to us to be flanked?
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Actually, if Alice can summon danmaku out of thin air, hug from behind might not work very well - she'll just have to aim for her own back, essentially, and Mary wouldn't be very mobile.
On the other hand, using it for a sudden approach to mini-Master Spark her in the face at that range could work.
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I agree. Byakuren essentially said we only need to use our hands to shoot from because we're new at this. And even if we DID succeed in immobilizing ourself and Alice at the same time, there's a ton of dolls left to shoot at us unhindered.
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>Are we in a hallway or an open space?
>Are there doorways nearby we could slip into, to reduce the ability to us to be flanked?
>You are in the foyer of Scarlet Devil Mansion. It's fairly open.
>You have the door to the Library open behind you, and there are doors to the west wing are open to your left and ahead. The latter would require you to get past Alice.
>_
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>Try to back up a little, and shift out of direct line to the library
>Fire a cloud of danmaku towards some dolls that are flanking us at the sharpest angle (ie: the hardest to see from where we are)
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>Try to back up a little, and shift out of direct line to the library
>Fire a cloud of danmaku towards some dolls that are flanking us at the sharpest angle (ie: the hardest to see from where we are)
>You back up a little and move directly away from the library, trying to keep the doll's shots in mind.
>There are five of them currently active, while the rest seem to be waiting just outside the front door. You aim a cloud at one that is to your right and little behind you, and are pleased to see it knock the doll out of the air.
>The next wave of blue and green shots are upon you, and Alice is already creating a third.
>_
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>Try to evade the incoming wave. Shift away as needbe to assist with this.
>Try to keep an eye on the dolls as best we can, although they get lower priority than the larger waves
>Launch a faster burst at Alice if we have a spare moment
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>Try to evade the incoming wave. Shift away as needbe to assist with this.
>Try to keep an eye on the dolls as best we can, although they get lower priority than the larger waves
>Launch a faster burst at Alice if we have a spare moment
>You do your best to work your way through the colorful shots and the dolls' attacks, but it is difficult and you find are quickly being forced under the balcony and against the southern wall.
>You find a moment to counterattack, and launch a small but speedy burst at Alice, she moves aside, but one shot clips her in the arm. She doesn't seem to be especially perturbed by it.
>_
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Try to close in on her, No, this isn't a parser command, just a voice suggestion.
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Making some familiars might help with UK's suggestion, should we go through with it.
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>Do we have room to actually fly up onto the balcony? Or are we already underneath it?
>Either way, try to shift such that we aren't close to being pinned against a wall. Try to open up room to maneuver upwards if possible. Even if this means moving closer for a moment.
>Fire another similar burst at Alice if we get the chance.
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>Do we have room to actually fly up onto the balcony? Or are we already underneath it?
>Either way, try to shift such that we aren't close to being pinned against a wall. Try to open up room to maneuver upwards if possible. Even if this means moving closer for a moment.
>Fire another similar burst at Alice if we get the chance.
>You are just underneath the balcony, you might be able to fly up and maneuver around the edge onto it if you do it quickly.
>You can try to circle around Alice, but this would put dolls at you back. You have a brief bit of respite to move as the wave passes you by, which you take.
>You try for another burst like before; Alice seems to predict this and floats away from it easily.
>_
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>Try to quickly get up to the balcony
>What doors / exists are there on this level?
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>Try to quickly get up to the balcony
>What doors / exists are there on this level?
>You take this moment to fly up to the balcony!
>There is a large set of double doors behind you. These lead up the clock tower, if you recall properly.
>Alice hovers up to your level, as her third wave passes below you harmlessly. "It's time for the rest of you to come in," she says.
>The mass of dolls outside start to walk through the door.
>_
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You're gonna wanna Za Warudo soon and take her out
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>Where do the dolls seem to be heading?
>Roughly how many of them are there?
>Were there any other rooms, or branches on the way up to the clock tower that we recall? Or just a lot of stairs?
You're gonna wanna Za Warudo soon and take her out
I was really, really hoping for an outside distraction before using that.... I'm surprised we haven't heard SOMETHING already, since Renko made it into the library
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Well, either way, maneuvering closer to her before popping it would be optimal. The more time she has the better position she'll create for herself.
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>Where do the dolls seem to be heading?
>Roughly how many of them are there?
>Were there any other rooms, or branches on the way up to the clock tower that we recall? Or just a lot of stairs?
>They are coming inside, and seem to be massing by the door.
>There are a couple dozen, you're certain. But the majority of them are busy carrying that burlap sack.
>No other rooms, but you passed a couple doors you think lead to other floors on the other wings.
>_
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I was thinking we could just stall for a while, but if she's going to bring the Goliath Doll out, we may not have the time to stay on the defensive. Although I'm not entirely certain she's just bringing that in to use against us considering it seems like... overkill at the moment. Maybe she just wants to stop wasting time?
Other options: retreat through the door behind us. That will provide cover for a while, and make it less likely for the dolls to be able to flank us. However, at that point, Alice may simply ignore us and go about her original objective. Although that may give us a chance to get a few items at the ready and follow her. Or perhaps not. And if she wants something from the library and that's where we meet her, we may be able to position the confrontation in a location where we will have at least some backup.
Really, this all depends on how fixated Alice is on us right now, and where her ultimate objective here lies.
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>How much are we being shot at on the balcony?
If not much, I STRONGLY suggest withdrawing the bolt and oil, a dash and then Za warudo right before we run into a bullet, as close as we can to her, and then oiling her hands and wrapping the bolt around her face. By that time time should resume, in which case we shoot as much danmaku as possible into her gut and beat her up if that's not enough. I mean punch her in the face til she drops.
Hell, smash her head with the yoyo til she goes unconscious.
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>How much are we being shot at on the balcony?
>At this point, none. You expect this to change very very soon.
>_
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The issue is that I can't see 3 seconds being long enough to do both things. It seems barely long enough to do one of them.
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If there are no objections, I'm doing what I said, ok?
> Withdraw the bolt of silk and oil of vibration
> Open ourselves to the artifact's power
> Dash at her as fast as we can
> As soon as we are close to getting hit with a bullet of any sort, stop time
> Dash her after time is stopped, pour the oil on her hands quickly
> Wrap the bolt of silk around her head.
> Shoot as much danmaku as we can into her gut at point blank range
> If that doesn't drop her, start punching her in the face.
@Draco: We're doing the oil first then. And plus, we SHOULD be able to get more than 3 seconds with our power up. At least I'm hoping for it. This is an all or nothing attack really. If you want to stop it, feel free to countermand me.
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Oh, right
> Unravel the silk bolt and unscrew the vibration cap RIGHT before stopping time.
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> As soon as we are close to getting hit with a bullet of any sort, stop time
>If it's just a small doll bullet, or something we can easily shift around, and we're not yet extremely close to Alice, just shift around it. Save the time stop for something that would be harder to dodge, or when we're closer
>When pouring the oil, if there's any left after a decent quantity is on her hands and the oil isn't too viscous for this, splash the rest of the vial across her face or torso.
@Draco: We're doing the oil first then. And plus, we SHOULD be able to get more than 3 seconds with our power up. At least I'm hoping for it. This is an all or nothing attack really. If you want to stop it, feel free to countermand me.
Here's hoping that the power boost actually affects this. I'm rather concerned that it doesn't.
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Sakuya said "when we get stronger". I think that any power boost will do it. Thanks for fixing my commands, would have been bad to waste it early.
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> How breakable does the oil's vial seem to be?
> Quests.
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Breaking it is a BAD IDEA! It'll splash back on us. I considered this.
Also, why would you check quests in the middle of combat? That's silly!
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> Actually, is there a chandelier in the foyer? If its large enough, we might be able to sever it and it could act as a distraction as well as maybe taking out a couple of dolls. Even if it isn't large, it might still serve as a decent distraction.
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Seems like too much. It'll make us lose a little element of surprise I think.
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We should also probably try to avoid unnecessary collateral damage, especially expensive collateral damage.
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If there are no objections, I'm doing what I said, ok?
> Withdraw the bolt of silk and oil of vibration
> Open ourselves to the artifact's power
> Dash at her as fast as we can
> As soon as we are close to getting hit with a bullet of any sort, stop time
> Dash her after time is stopped, pour the oil on her hands quickly
> Wrap the bolt of silk around her head.
> Shoot as much danmaku as we can into her gut at point blank range
> If that doesn't drop her, start punching her in the face.
>You unroll the silk. During this time, Alice fills the air with another wave of blue bullets, then a wave of red ones, and finishes off with a wave of green, while the dolls that have been assisting her move to get a better angle at you, adding their shots to the air as well.
>When pouring the oil, if there's any left after a decent quantity is on her hands and the oil isn't too viscous for this, splash the rest of the vial across her face or torso.
>You've not actually checked it, but it seems to have a viscosity akin to vegetable oil.
> How breakable does the oil's vial seem to be?
> Quests.
>It's fairly thick. You'd need to hurl it against something stone to break it.
>Your Quests are:
>Escape from Eastern Wonderland?
>At some point, you should probably try to go home. Right? Maybe not?
>Love is a Battlefield
>Your friend Utsuho in a bitter rivalry with Yuugi for the heart of Parsee Mizuhashi. You've managed to help them approach another solution, now it's just a matter of getting Utsuho and Yuugi together for the long run.
>Maximum Charge Maribel Hearn
>Byakuren has offered to cast a spell to enhance your innate magic potential, if you gather the ingredients and prove yourself worthy. You've completed it, but...now you're having doubts. Maybe there's something else to be gotten for all that legwork?
>Clinic Catastophe
>Byakuren asked you to help Murasa run the clinic, and to make sure Murasa is doing her job. Kisume's bucket appeared there, but how?
>Bellow away!
>The town blacksmith's bellows are missing! She thinks they were stolen by faeries.
>Coy, is she?
>Utsuho has asked you to find Koishi, and try to help make amends. Kanako says she seems to be following you at least some of the time.
>Counter Invasion!
>Alice is raiding the SDM after Renko successfully raided it!
> Actually, is there a chandelier in the foyer? If its large enough, we might be able to sever it and it could act as a distraction as well as maybe taking out a couple of dolls. Even if it isn't large, it might still serve as a decent distraction.
>There is a mid-sized one hanging from the ceiling, high enough that it wouldn't get in the way of normal flight.
>_
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>Dammit
> Can we micrododge closer?
-
>Plot using a Hannibal Lecture to make Alice break down.
>Can't do much in danmaku, can we?
-
>Plot Hannibal Lecturing Alice into tears.
>Or perhaps save our mental energy for plans more likely to work.
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http://i874.photobucket.com/albums/ab310/arrancar47/NoFunAllowed.jpg
<_< >_>
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>Dammit
> Can we micrododge closer?
>Indeed.
>You could try, but you don't feel especially confident.
>Plot using a Hannibal Lecture to make Alice break down.
>Can't do much in danmaku, can we?
>WRF are this shit mastake?
>You aren't sure, you've not really tried much since you obtained your Mushroom Bracelet, but it's certainly let you make markedly more danmaku than before. You don't think Alice would have even missed a beat against some of your old attacks.
>_
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>If we don't feel we can dodge the incoming fire, quickly open the door behind us, get through, and close it after us before the bullets can reach us.
>After impact, open it a crack to see what Alice and the dolls are doing
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>If we don't feel we can dodge the incoming fire, quickly open the door behind us, get through, and close it after us before the bullets can reach us.
>After impact, open it a crack to see what Alice and the dolls are doing
>You may be able to dodge through it, you aren't sure. You are sure you wouldn't be able to just fly through it.
>_
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>Quickly open the door behind us, get through, and close it after us before the bullets can reach us.
>After impact, open it a crack to see what Alice and the dolls are doing
-
>Quickly open the door behind us, get through, and close it after us before the bullets can reach us.
>After impact, open it a crack to see what Alice and the dolls are doing
>You decide that forethought is the better part of valor, and head through the doors.
>You dash through them and slam them shut just in time to hear several bullets thump against them.
>Opening it a crack, you see Alice looking at the door with a raised eyebrow. Then she smiles.
>_
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>Smiles from her are not good in the context
>Or maybe she honestly thinks we're running in fear? That might work to our favor if she thinks we're ready to call it quits
>Keep watching for a moment to see what she does
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>Smiles from her are not good in the context
>Or maybe she honestly thinks we're running in fear? That might work to our favor if she thinks we're ready to call it quits
>Keep watching for a moment to see what she does
>You watch her.
>She watches you watching her, still grinning, then raises a hand in your direction.
>_
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>Does she look like she's getting ready to fire again?
>If we can't really see much else other than her, open the door a little wider, but be prepared to shut it again quickly if necessary
-
If we're going to do this tactical-like, entering stealth mode by losing her attention and then circling around to ambush her might be the most effective route. If nothing else, getting a doll alone gives a chance to look for a more permanent way to disable them - if all else fails, use fire.
Of course, that runs a lot of risks from her offense as well, but...
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>Does she look like she's getting ready to fire again?
>If we can't really see much else other than her, open the door a little wider, but be prepared to shut it again quickly if necessary
>It certainly does!
>But, she's not doing it, just grinning at you.
>You try to have a look at what else is going on, an-Oh crap there is a doll right on the other side of the door crack!
>_
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>Slam the door and get the heck away for it! Behind cover, if there's any
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>Slam the door and get the heck away for it! Behind cover, if there's any
>You slam the door closed and scramble away!
>The closest thing to cover would be going up a couple flights of stairs until you have one between yourself and the door. You do this, putting you on the third flight from the bottom, with the door below you and under the the staircase.
>Nothing immediately bad seems to happen.
>_
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>Do the doors open inward or outward, from our current location?
-
>Do the doors open inward or outward, from our current location?
>Inward.
>_
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>Give it another moment or two.
>Can we hear anything outside?
-
>Give it another moment or two.
>Can we hear anything outside?
>You wait a couple more moments, and still nothing.
>You cannot hear anything, but you're also about a floor up from where you were at the moment.
>_
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>Wait another moment
>If there is no further sign of activity, take out the floating stone and throw it at the door
>Wait a moment to see if there's any response
-
(worst case situation we could go down and try to get alice to run into flan, but that's probably a very terrible idea and we shouldn't do it)
(like "marisa, remi, sakuya, etc want our head on a plate terrible)
-
>Wait another moment
>If there is no further sign of activity, take out the floating stone and throw it at the door
>Wait a moment to see if there's any response
>You wait a little longer, then take the floating stone out.
>The door is below you. There is a staircase in the way.
>_
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>Move to where we can expect to hit it, and do so
>Duck back into cover right afterwards
-
>Move to where we can expect to hit it, and do so
>Duck back into cover right afterwards
>You move to the edge and toss the stone. It displace a curious property of not really arcing or curving, instead flying straight forward. It hits the door with a little knock.
>You duck back behind the stairs.
>Nothing seems to happen.
>_
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Draco, please explain what you are intending to accomplish with this.
-
>Did the clock tower have roof access from what we could see when we went up here earlier?
Draco, please explain what you are intending to accomplish with this.
I'm concerned there is an exploding (or multiple exploding) dolls next to the door. I was hoping there might be a chance that proximity or motion or impact might result in some of them being triggered (if it seemed we might be next to the door)
-
Since when does Mary have any reason to expect exploding dolls? :V Panicing for fear of point-blank danmaku after retreating is plausible, but I'm not sure that idea's come up yet.
We aren't going to be of any use slowing her down unless we're actually interfering in a meaningful way, even if it's not by direct means. And we need to have an eye on her to know when to back up Patchouli, or whoever else remains in good enough shape to help with her.
EDIT: Oh yeah - Alice seems to be striking me as the paranoid/ruthless sort, so no, I wouldn't put it past her to bring out Goliath just for insurance, even if Mary's the only remotely viable threat in the mansion.
... wait. Koakuma's still standing, isn't she?
... awwwww shit.
-
My original hope in stepping in here is that she would either just stall (which benefits us) or come up after us (which allows us to get in melee range)
But enough time has passed now that we really need to do something else.
>What sort of handle mechanism does the door have?
-
I'd, uh, like to raise the concern that we've left Alice a clear path to the library, and she's probably already taken advantage of it.
-
>Did the clock tower have roof access from what we could see when we went up here earlier?
>You believe so. There was that balcony that Remilia used, at least.
>_
-
I'd, uh, like to raise the concern that we've left Alice a clear path to the library, and she's probably already taken advantage of it.
I'm well aware of that, especially now that this much time has passed.
I'm leaning towards quickly flying out the outside exit and coming back in the front. We avoid any traps or dolls left by the door, and stand a decent chance of coming up behind her. Of course, this also takes more time than just coming back out the door. Other's thoughts?
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Yeah, I was gonna say the wisest tactical move would be to flank her to snipe and harass until we can either ambush her close enough for the oil or rustle up some backup - but again, with Alice being ruthless, she might have already gone to kidnap Renko for insurance instead.
Not the best plan :V
Actually, I'm not sure she'd have trapped the door - that doesn't seem like her style, and after Mary ran away odds are good Alice is confident that sheer strength will be enough to intimidate her without having to resort to traps (especially if she brings out Goliath to bolster that). Dolls will be watching it, certainly, but they'll be watching the front door, too.
>Are we aware of any other routes to the library?
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Well, by 'trap' I meant dolls. Even the non-exploding type. But you think she's still leave a bunch by the front entrance as well? She called in the ones that she left their earlier, so she would have had to set some back in anticipation of us (or someone) taking that route in.
-
To be fair, she might not have as many by the entrance, and they're likely not as prepared for a fight. But with a doll army like that she'll have eyes everywhere.
Which we don't, when we need information about what the hell's going on, and fast. I can buy hit-and-run, but this isn't accomplishing anything.
>Are there any open windows that would make it easy to get out unexpectedly and loop around to the front?
-
To be fair, she might not have as many by the entrance, and they're likely not as prepared for a fight. But with a doll army like that she'll have eyes everywhere.
Which we don't, when we need information about what the hell's going on, and fast. I can buy hit-and-run, but this isn't accomplishing anything.
>Are there any open windows that would make it easy to get out unexpectedly and loop around to the front?
>There are no open windows, but there are a couple facing northward that seem like they should be able to swing open.
-
My vote is for going through the windows and swinging around, unless anyone else has some objections to raise?
-
My vote as well.
-
I'm leaning towards just charging back in, even though I should probably be on the fence about it - while I usually like being a little sneaky about combat strategy, subtlety goes out the window when you're actively trying to be a distraction to stall for time or protect something important by making yourself a bigger nuisance. Even those 10 or 20 seconds to loop around are significant. But Alice is hard enough to take on even terms, let alone when she's expecting us...
-
I suspect (/hope) Patchy will still provide at least a momentary obstacle to Alice, if she tries to raid the library.
Worst comes to worst, we can probably still catch Alice on the way out, but I doubt she'll have gotten what she's come for that quickly.
-
Assuming Renko gets to Patchouli before Alice gets to her, of course.
-
But Renko already made it in the library. And Patchy was probably already in there anyway.
-
And assuming Sakuya left the windows unlocked while expecting an attack.
>Try the nearest window, see if it opens easily.
-
>Approximately how much time has passed since we closed the door?
-
>Try the nearest window, see if it opens easily.
>You test the one of windows, and find that the panes swing open on two sets of hinges easily. You should be able to climb out without problems.
>_
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>Climb out and circle around to the front entrance. Stay close to the wall and keep an eye out for whoever might see you in the meantime.
>If there's no one significant/conscious around, try to approach the front door from above and see if there are any dolls keeping watch there to ambush.
>In either case, get the Oil of Vibration more readily accessible, since we're currently unmolested anyway.
>Would Byakuren's branch still help us at this point? We should really return that...
-
>About how much time passed since we shut the door and took cover the second time?
>We still have the partially unrolled bolt of silk ready, correct?
-
I wouldn't bother with the silk, really. It's not good
bondage material for combat.
-
Well, I think UK's original idea was to just wrap it around her face after using the vibration oil during the time stop. And if we have time to do it, I imagine it would be a pain to remove with wildly trembling hands.
-
Yeah, blinding her really only works to our advantage, which is why I got the silk in the first place.
-
>Climb out and circle around to the front entrance. Stay close to the wall and keep an eye out for whoever might see you in the meantime.
>If there's no one significant/conscious around, try to approach the front door from above and see if there are any dolls keeping watch there to ambush.
>In either case, get the Oil of Vibration more readily accessible, since we're currently unmolested anyway.
>Would Byakuren's branch still help us at this point? We should really return that...
>You climb out and fly around the house, keeping close to the wall or roof as appropriate. There doesn't seem to be anyone of note on the grounds.
>You approach the front door, and see a doll by it. Unfortunately, she sees you as well, and darts off.
>You get the the Oil of Vibration as ready as you can without fear of spilling it, though you may want to be careful.
>You don't think so.
>About how much time passed since we shut the door and took cover the second time?
>We still have the partially unrolled bolt of silk ready, correct?
>You aren't sure, about a minute.
>It is completely unrolled and in your off hand at the moment.
>_
-
I wonder if the silk would be a good way to apply the oil...
That said, I need to sleep at a decent hour, so I guess I'll leave the rest of this to you guys, at least for now. Guerrilla warfare!
-
>Approximately how many feet of cloth do we think we have?
>Is the vial of oil uncorked or something? Is so, and the cork is not difficult to remove, put it back on. We may need to dodge things with it in our hands
>Since we've been spotted, step up the speed and fly towards the front door.
>Quickly survey the inside
-
>Try and snipe the doll before it reports, if no others are in immediate sight.
Worth a shot.
-
>Approximately how many feet of cloth do we think we have?
>Is the vial of oil uncorked or something? Is so, and the cork is not difficult to remove, put it back on. We may need to dodge things with it in our hands
>Since we've been spotted, step up the speed and fly towards the front door.
>Quickly survey the inside
>Try and snipe the doll before it reports, if no others are in immediate sight.
>You have a couple yards worth of silk; enough to make an ersatz cloak or ghost costume.
>It is not uncorked, but the cork is loose enough now to flick it off with your thumb.
>You speed up and head back through the front door. You see the doll who spotted you flying for the west wing. You hit her with a line of speedy shots, and drop her to the ground. You notice there are several other dolls here as well, a couple watching the door you fled through, and two flanking the entrance to the library, which is still half open. They begin to fire on you.
>_
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>Dash towards the library, shifting out of the way of the shots
>Fire on the dolls flanking the library as we approach
-
Suggestion to ignore the two guarding the door we went through and beeline for the library door, taking the two flanking it out.
I'll leave you imaginative combatant-types to sort out the details. :V
EDIT: Oh. Well!
-
>Dash towards the library, shifting out of the way of the shots
>Fire on the dolls flanking the library as we approach
>You dash toward the library, moving around the thankfully sparse shots the dolls are firing at you.
>You shoot at the two dolls guarding the door, striking down one as the other dives out of the way.
>Flying into the library, and find a flurry of shots coming at you!
>_
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>Can we identify the source of the shots?
>Quickly dash back out. Preferably around the corner of the door
-
> Emit a cry of surprise as we dash back out.
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>Can we identify the source of the shots?
>Quickly dash back out. Preferably around the corner of the door
> Emit a cry of surprise as we dash back out.
>They are coming from ahead, You think it's Patchouli shooting at you?
>You give a lovely squawk of of surprise as you try to come to a halt in midair.
>Reversing your momentum, you dash back outside just ahead of the shots and around the door. The bullets fly past you. Then the doll that dived away from your initial barrage looks at you, before getting to its knees and raising its hands in your direction.
>_
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>Shoot the doll
>"Patchouli! I'm trying to help! I'm not with Alice, I swear it! None of this was supposed to happen this way!"
>"I tried to fight her but got cornered. I think she's run off to the west wing. She wants to steal something, I don't know what."
-
>Shoot the doll
>"Patchouli! I'm trying to help! I'm not with Alice, I swear it! None of this was supposed to happen this way!"
>"I tried to fight her but got cornered. I think she's run off to the west wing. She wants to steal something, I don't know what."
>You shoot the doll, but not before she sends a wave of bullets at you.
>You start to explain things, before hearing a, "Sorry!"
>_
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>Move out of the way of the bullets
>Tentatively poke our head in the door again
-
>Move out of the way of the bullets
>Tentatively poke our head in the door again
>You move out of the way of the fallen doll's bullets; thankfully it isn't too hard, though you are certain the other two are probably coming for you now.
>Looking through the door, you see Patchouli standing there, leaning on a chair, and tersely gesturing for you to come inside.
>_
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>Quickly move inside
>Glance around for Renko
>If we don't see her: "Where's Renko?"
>"Did Alice come this way already? Do you know what she's after?"
-
>Quickly move inside
>Glance around for Renko
>If we don't see her: "Where's Renko?"
>"Did Alice come this way already? Do you know what she's after?"
>You head inside, and toward Patchouli.
>You look around, and see Renko sitting in one of the seats, resting. She looks toward you with obvious concern on her face.
>"No and no," says Patchouli. "Either she does not care about the library, or it simply isn't a priority for her right now."
>_
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> "Well, she wants something from here. I think she's in the west wing. Anything she'd want that's that way?"
-
>"I think she's in the west wing somewhere. One of the dolls she left as a lookout ran that way when I entered, although I shot it before it got very far."
>"This may sound silly to you, but I don't intend to just sit here and let her get what she came for after the circumstances that have enabled her to do it."
-
> "Well, she wants something from here. I think she's in the west wing. Anything she'd want that's that way?"
>"I think she's in the west wing somewhere. One of the dolls she left as a lookout ran that way when I entered, although I shot it before it got very far."
>"This may sound silly to you, but I don't intend to just sit here and let her get what she came for after the circumstances that have enabled her to do it."
>"That's where the galleries are, but there's nothing exceptional over there... Valuable, but not exceptional"
>"I would be doing battle with her right now," says Patchouli, "If someone hadn't rushed with with approximately two hundred or so faeries. As it stands, I had to send Petite to slow her down."
>_
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>"Alice was watching and waiting to take advantage of these circumstances all along. I'm going back out there. I don't care how lousy my odds may be; I can't leave things as they are after what's happened."
>"Are you in any shape to fight at all? I... think I may have a way to disable her, if I can get close. Or at least significantly impede her."
-
>"Alice was watching and waiting to take advantage of these circumstances all along. I'm going back out there. I don't care how lousy my odds may be; I can't leave things as they are after what's happened."
>"Are you in any shape to fight at all? I... think I may have a way to disable her, if I can get close. Or at least significantly impede her."
>"Good," says Patchouli. "And no. I couldn't take another hit right now."
>_
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>"Then I guess I'm on my own, aren't I? I'd best hurry..."
>"Before I go, though, I don't suppose you might have anything around here I could borrow that you think might help in stopping her? I think I could use every advantage I can get given the odds I'm going up against."
-
>"Then I guess I'm on my own, aren't I? I'd best hurry..."
>"Before I go, though, I don't suppose you might have anything around here I could borrow that you think might help in stopping her? I think I could use every advantage I can get given the odds I'm going up against."
>"What am I, chopper liver?" asks Renko.
>"Not that you could use effectively," says Patchouli. "Well, except for a handful of charred legos I keep around for sentimental purposes..."
>_
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> Oh, parser, you are an absolute card.
> "Renko, are you really okay to go?"
-
>"I... didn't think you had much left in you either, Renko. I didn't want to push you too hard."
-
> Oh, parser, you are an absolute card.
> "Renko, are you really okay to go?"
>A series of punchcards~
>"Probably not," says Renko, "but you need back-up, right? And it is my fault."
>"I... didn't think you had much left in you either, Renko. I didn't want to push you too hard."
>"It's just danmaku, right?"
>_
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>"If you think you have it in you, I could use all the help I can get, Renko. But promise me you're not just putting on a brave face for my sake."
-
>"If you think you have it in you, I could use all the help I can get, Renko. But promise me you're not just putting on a brave face for my sake."
>"I dunno which I'm doing," she says, as she gets to her feet, "But it's my fault too."
>_
-
>"Well, then let's go put an end to it."
>To Patchouli: "I'll do everything in my power to stop her. I promise."
>Carefully exit the library, keeping an eye out for nearby dolls
>If they've all run off, head towards the west wing
-
>"Well, then let's go put an end to it."
>To Patchouli: "I'll do everything in my power to stop her. I promise."
>Carefully exit the library, keeping an eye out for nearby dolls
>If they've all run off, head towards the west wing
>Renko nods, and walks over to join you.
>She nods. "I expect you will. You seem the type to do that kind of thing."
>You exit the library, and don't see any dolls. It seems they've moved on. Alice definitely knows. You can see the doll you shot earlier while coming in starting to stir
>Moving on toward the west wing, you see a number of dolls in the hallway. They raise their hands as you enter.
>_
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>Raise their hands to fire?
>If it appears so, shift aside from incoming fire
>Launch a few quick streams of danmaku at them in response
>Try to keep moving forward as we take out the dolls
-
>Raise their hands to fire?
>If it appears so, shift aside from incoming fire
>Launch a few quick streams of danmaku at them in response
>Try to keep moving forward as we take out the dolls
>Very much so.
>You shift to the side, and oh dear that is a whole lot of danmaku filling up the hall.
>You launch a quick stream, and it is lost in the wave of bullets coming your way.
>You don't think you can move forward for long.
>_
-
>Dodge as best we can
>Keep up fire on the dolls
>About how many do there appear to be?
-
>Dodge as best we can
>Keep up fire on the dolls
>About how many do there appear to be?
>You try to dodge and return fire, when Renko grabs you and literally drags you away from the door frame.
>"Don't stand in front of that!" she says while wincing, as dozens upon dozens of shots go past you through the door, many brushing uncomfortably close.
>You think that there were about more than a dozen, but probably less than two dozen.
>_
-
>....what door frame? Weren't we in a hallway?
>Poke our head around the edge of the door frame long enough to take a quick shot or two at individual dolls, and then retreat back to cover between shots, giving time for their own fire to pass
>Assuming they don't swarm us and we're succeeding in taking some out this way, keep it up
-
>....what door frame? Weren't we in a hallway?
>Poke our head around the edge of the door frame long enough to take a quick shot or two at individual dolls, and then retreat back to cover between shots, giving time for their own fire to pass
>Assuming they don't swarm us and we're succeeding in taking some out this way, keep it up
>You didn't get more than a step inside before the dolls started shooting.
>You poke your head out and snipe at them. You see a few detaching from the main group and approaching you. The rest send another wave of danmaku your way.
>You also notice that there are three sets of double doors on the south side of the hallway; the middle set are open.
>_
>_
-
>Fire on the approaching ones
>Move back out of the way for the next danmaku wave to pass
>Are all of the dolls between us and those doors?
-
>Fire on the approaching ones
>Move back out of the way for the next danmaku wave to pass
>Are all of the dolls between us and those doors?
>You fire on the approaching dolls, but they are small targets, and rather quick when they're not fleeing in a straight line; you manage to hit one of the seven coming for you.
>Ducking behind the door, another wave of danmaku passes. "Getting on the other side," says Renko.
>Not all of them are between you and it, but a good number are.
>_
-
>"Go. I'll cover you."
>Lean out of cover and fire medium sized clouds of danmaku, grapeshot style. Aim generally towards targets, but worry less about hitting anything in particular than hitting something.
>Once more shots are about to reach us, move back to cover.
-
>"Go. I'll cover you."
>Lean out of cover and fire medium sized clouds of danmaku, grapeshot style. Aim generally towards targets, but worry less about hitting anything in particular than hitting something.
>Once more shots are about to reach us, move back to cover.
>She nods, and darts across as next wave of fire flies past.
>You send a couple of medium-sized clouds toward the encroaching dolls. You manage to hit a couple of them, causing them to stagger. You also notice a few shouts fly from the open doors. Stray bullets?
>You hear some shots behind you.
>_
-
>Turn, while moving out of line of the hall
>Identify source of the shots behind us
>Move to dodge out of the way of these
>If the source is more dolls, fire on them
-
>Turn, while moving out of line of the hall
>Identify source of the shots behind us
>Move to dodge out of the way of these
>If the source is more dolls, fire on them
>You turn and move, as a line of shots flies just past you, making your arm tingle, and hits the wall.
>You see that doll that was stirring in the foyer when you passed through. She is sitting up and aiming at you.
>You fire on her, but she flops out of the way, landing on her belly and taking to the air.
>_
-
>Fire on her again. Something fast.
>"We're really going to have to pick up the pace, Renko, if we're going to get these down before they all just come back up again."
-
>Fire on her again. Something fast.
>"We're really going to have to pick up the pace, Renko, if we're going to get these down before they all just come back up again."
>You shoot at the doll again; sending short, speeding line at her that drops her back down.
>You start to warn Renko, but she cries "Incoming!" and moves back against the door.
>_
-
>Take her advice and scramble to cover
>Once danmaku wave passes, peak around corner and try to take another doll or two out
>How many more are between us and the door?
-
>Take her advice and scramble to cover
>Once danmaku wave passes, peak around corner and try to take another doll or two out
>How many more are between us and the door?
>You duck around the door, another wave of danmaku flies through the door. You move to shoot, but find more shots coming at you from an angle! It seems a couple of those dolls that we approaching have hugged the wall and are at an angle to shoot your despite your cover!
>_
-
>Take aim at them and fire, while retreating further along the wall away from the door, so that line-of-fire to these dolls is again blocked
>"Renko, can you see how many of them there are out there, between us and those doors?"
-
>Take aim at them and fire, while retreating further along the wall away from the door, so that line-of-fire to these dolls is again blocked
>"Renko, can you see how many of them there are out there, between us and those doors?"
>You fire on the encroaching dolls, while backing away hitting one of them and sending her to the ground.
>"Enough!" Renko says as she fires into hall, then quickly draws back as the ones sniping at you shoot at her.
>_
-
>"I'm worried we won't be able to get through them as quickly as they get up again."
>Lean away from the wall to expose a line of fire to the other encroaching dolls and blast some of them
>About how far down the corridor were the open doors?
-
>"I'm worried we won't be able to get through them as quickly as they get up again."
>Lean away from the wall to expose a line of fire to the other encroaching dolls and blast some of them
>About how far down the corridor were the open doors?
>"Maybe we're not hitting them hard enough? Faeries are like that."
>You lean from the wall, and shoot at the encroaching dolls; taking down another one and drawing back before they can counter. There should only be one left now
>About halfway down the hall.
>_
-
>Attempt to take out the next encroaching doll through the same method
>Then turn to each currently incapacitated doll (that we can see, or shift to see without opening ourselves to hall fire) in the sequence we disabled them, and shoot them each several times again for good measure.
-
>Attempt to take out the next encroaching doll through the same method
>Then turn to each currently incapacitated doll (that we can see, or shift to see without opening ourselves to hall fire) in the sequence we disabled them, and shoot them each several times again for good measure.
>You lean forward, and hit the next and presumably last of the encroaching dolls. She goes falls down, and it doesn't seem like there's any more there.
>You have a pretty clear shot at the three dolls that are in the room; you see one of them is stirring; she stops when you shoot her; the other two don't react to your shots, but better to be safe than sorry.
>_
-
>Peek around the corner
>Estimate remaining dolls between here and the open doors
>Launch a few grapeshot clouds at any clustered dolls. If no such clusters are to be found, fire something more concentrated
-
>Peek around the corner
>Estimate remaining dolls between here and the open doors
>Launch a few grapeshot clouds at any clustered dolls. If no such clusters are to be found, fire something more concentrated
>You peak around the corner, and see the doll forces have split into two groups, keeping close to the walls and approaching quickly. There's about eight of them on each side.
>You shoot a couple medium clusters before they retaliate; then draw back. A few of their shots come uncomfortably close despite your cover; their new position gives them a wider range.
>_
>_
-
>"Renko, the rest of them are coming this way, along the wall. Got anything left in you for your side?"
>If they're close to the wall, that should make their positions easier to target without exposing ourselves. Lean out ever so slightly, and send as much fire along the edge of the walls as we can.
-
>"Renko, the rest of them are coming this way, along the wall. Got anything left in you for your side?"
>If they're close to the wall, that should make their positions easier to target without exposing ourselves. Lean out ever so slightly, and send as much fire along the edge of the walls as we can.
>"Yeah, I can see both sides pretty easy," says Renko. "Want me to focus on my side or yours?"
>You lean forward enough to take advantage of additional cover, and fire a few shots and draw back before the dolls' counterattack reaches you.
>"To the air," says comes the voice of Alice down the hall.
>_
-
>"Focus on yours."
>Lean around the corner and look upwards, to see if the dolls have ascended, per the order
>Can we see Alice? If so, what does she appear to be doing?
>Fire a few more shots along our side while we're exposed, and then retreat to cover again
-
>"Focus on yours."
>Lean around the corner and look upwards, to see if the dolls have ascended, per the order
>Can we see Alice? If so, what does she appear to be doing?
>Fire a few more shots along our side while we're exposed, and then retreat to cover again
>"Got it," Renko says, "But it just got worse."
>You lean around the corner, and see Alice standing in the hall, just outside the door, looking in your direction. The dolls have indeed taken to the air, which will make it harder to take them out. You fire a few more shots, regardless, but have no luck.
>"You're pretty persistent," says Alice, "That's a good trait for a magician."
>_
-
>"I said that I didn't intend to let you exploit Renko's efforts like this to steal whatever you wanted. I meant it. I'm not prepared to give up just because you're more powerful than I am. I'm aware of the difference in our skill and experience. This isn't something done out of naivety, but determination."
-
>"I said that I didn't intend to let you exploit Renko's efforts like this to steal whatever you wanted. I meant it. I'm not prepared to give up just because you're more powerful than I am. I'm aware of the difference in our skill and experience. This isn't something done out of naivety, but determination."
>"The difference is about the same, all told," says Alice.
>_
-
>"Naivety only lasts until the true odds are demonstrated the hard way. Determination looks at the odds... and keeps on going."
>Assuming the theoretical situation of no oncoming fire, how long would it take us to reach Alice from here at top speed?
-
>"Naivety only lasts until the true odds are demonstrated the hard way. Determination looks at the odds... and keeps on going."
>Assuming the theoretical situation of no oncoming fire, how long would it take us to reach Alice from here at top speed?
>"So you say," says Alice.
>Probably a couple seconds.
>_
-
>"Have you gotten what you came for already, then?"
-
>"Have you gotten what you came for already, then?"
>"It'll take me a little time to empty the gallery," says Alice. "What did you expect?"
>_
-
>"You're emptying the entire gallery?"
>"I take it Petite has already been taken care of, then?"
-
>"You're emptying the entire gallery?"
>"I take it Petite has already been taken care of, then?"
>"Is that surprising? And yes, Petite is resting peacefully. Why did you think I left you alone for so long?
>Renko looks toward you, questions in her eyes.
>_
-
>"Well, you could have been busy doing whatever else it was in there you were doing. I suppose you plan to come out and knock me out now, too, so you can get back to your looting?"
>Lean back out of view of the hallway if we haven't already
>Float up along the wall without making noise or revealing ourselves
>Nod to Renko, gesture for her to follow suit
-
>"Well, you could have been busy doing whatever else it was in there you were doing. I suppose you plan to come out and knock me out now, too, so you can get back to your looting?"
>Lean back out of view of the hallway if we haven't already
>Float up along the wall without making noise or revealing ourselves
>Nod to Renko, gesture for her to follow suit
>"I'm just curious to see what plan you have in mind," says Alice.
>You've been leaning away for some time now, to avoid being shot at.
>You take to the air, and gesture for Renko to the same. She nods and follows suit.
>_
-
> How resonant do the halls appear to be? Do we think Alice would be able to tell we took flight simply by listening to where our voice was coming from, or does noise bounce around the walls too much?
-
Since I imagine things will pick up while I am here at work, I figure I should put an idea down, just to have extra options.
Since we seem to think max flight speed will get us to Alice in "a couple of seconds", I am wondering if we would be better off stopping time, getting behind her, locking her in a full nelson (our arms come up beneath hers from being and go back around behind her head, and our hands then lock together right behind her neck, at which point they push forward to exert pressure on her neck and head) and then having Renko shoot at her while she can't defend herself. Have Renko go at it until Alice is reasonably incapacitated, at which point we can dump the oil all over her.
This eliminates both the problem of having the time to uncork the bottle and being able to spread it on Alice without her struggling to get out of the way.
-
The problem with that, as I see it, is that there are still a significant number of dolls BEHIND Alice, I believe, and we'd be pretty much making ourselves a sitting duck if we were holding her in that position.
What I was sort of thinking is fire a few more rounds at the dolls, using changes in our vertical position from around the wall to make where to target or dodge from less obvious, and attempt to take out a few more dolls. Then, have Renko acts as a brief distraction to draw fire and charge immediately afterwards, hopefully being able to use the second lag time on all their shots moving to a different target to close, and THEN time stop and apply the oil.
Perhaps, after that, we could even quickly drag Alice into the room she's next to, and lock the door, keep the dolls from coming in after us?
-
> How resonant do the halls appear to be? Do we think Alice would be able to tell we took flight simply by listening to where our voice was coming from, or does noise bounce around the walls too much?
>You don't know. You think, if you don't move around a whole lot, that she ought not to expect.
-
>Get to approximately the same height as the dolls were at, when we saw them
>Point to Renko, then towards the corridor
>Hold up our other hand with three, two, then one fingers
>After the last finger, lean out just a tiny bit and launch barrages along the wall where the dolls were, last we saw. And hope Renko gets the message to do it at the same time
>As fire comes in, pull back
>"You'll just have to wait and see, I guess!"
-
>Get to approximately the same height as the dolls were at, when we saw them
>Point to Renko, then towards the corridor
>Hold up our other hand with three, two, then one fingers
>After the last finger, lean out just a tiny bit and launch barrages along the wall where the dolls were, last we saw. And hope Renko gets the message to do it at the same time
>As fire comes in, pull back
>"You'll just have to wait and see, I guess!"
>The dolls didn't have a single altitude they were at. But you try to approximate.
>You gesture at Renko. She nods.
>You lean out a just enough to target things in hall, and find things have changed. There's a force of dolls just a couple yards from the door, you have time to snap off a couple of unaimed shots before you have to pull back to avoid their attack.
>"Then lets remove the guesswork, shall we?"
>_
-
>Had Alice appeared to have moved at all?
>Rough count on how many dolls were near us
>Are there no many left near Alice herself, now?
-
>Had Alice appeared to have moved at all?
>Rough count on how many dolls were near us
>Are there no many left near Alice herself, now?
>She doesn't seem to have.
>There were six of them near you.
>You didn't see for sure, but it didn't seem that way.
>_
-
>If there were only six near the hall entrance, and didn't appear to be too many near Alice, do we have any idea where the others are? Or did we spot more in the corridor beyond those six next to us that were simply also not near Alice?
-
>If there were only six near the hall entrance, and didn't appear to be too many near Alice, do we have any idea where the others are? Or did we spot more in the corridor beyond those six next to us that were simply also not near Alice?
>You think you saw them along the edges of the hall. Being shot at isn't very conducive to noticing such details.
>_
-
>Slide aside from the entrance, along the wall just a little bit. Lower our height.
>Give the close group of dolls a few seconds to see if they peek around the corner
>Blast them the moment we see one
-
We didn't make nearly enough use of Patchouli.
If she's in good enough condition to fire off a swarm of danmaku like that, then even if she doesn't think she can take a hit or move much, she's still an effective artillery ambush. Only, it wouldn't be an ambush if she's still holed up in the library, since Alice already knows she's there. If we'd convinced her to move and stand guard somewhere unexpected to lure Alice to...
More likely, we really should have asked what she knew about how to deal with Alice, whether it's to get a legitimate excuse to guess at oiling her hands or otherwise. Maybe just to get a better idea of how to deal with her dolls in a more permanent fashion. (Physically crushing them, maybe?)
Alternatively, she could have snuck out to alert Marisa, if there's any reason to believe she would be willing to rush over and help.
What a waste...
Also, we really need to deal with Alice more than the dolls, unless we can get a very permanent way to trim their numbers significantly.
-
Well, I got the distinct impression from Patchouli that she wasn't interested in doing anything but sit there and hoping things work out. If you have a good idea, you realize we're still very close to the library, though, and could easily get back there.
As for the dolls, I'm hoping Renko's suggestion about shooting the dolls more will be enough to work.
Really, what I'm hoping to do is just thin the dolls enough so that we can dash past them to Alice and time stop. As long as only small groups are coming at us, we have more of an advantage than they do, and don't appear to be risking much.
-
>Slide aside from the entrance, along the wall just a little bit. Lower our height.
>Give the close group of dolls a few seconds to see if they peek around the corner
>Blast them the moment we see one
>You slide away from the entrance and give the dolls a couple seconds.
>The dolls do not peek around, they suddenly surge around, splitting into two groups at varying heights and firing upon sprays of bullets but a couple yards from you.
>_
-
>Did we not have a moment to even shoot them at all even though we were waiting for them with that purpose in mind?
>Dash backwards, and swing to the side. Try not to swing so wide that most of the corridor can see us, though
>Return fire. Wide coverage cloud. Follow up with directed stream to anything we stagger
-
If we want to stopdash and then use the oil rather than incapacitate, I think the best plan of action is just to uncork it and try to splatter it all over her face and chest. I very much worry about the time and meticulous care needed to get it on her hands first - they're smaller, nimbler targets than pretty much everything else we could aiming for. I do want to get some on her hands, but I think it will be far easier to do so if she's majorly distracted (or flat-out incapacitated) and thus less likely to be trying to get her hands away from us.
Of course, she could also do the deed for us by throwing her hands in front of her face in a faceguard reflex.
-
Proper faceguarding is done with (fore)arms, not hands.
... though that would probably still be enough.
-
>Did we not have a moment to even shoot them at all even though we were waiting for them with that purpose in mind?
>Dash backwards, and swing to the side. Try not to swing so wide that most of the corridor can see us, though
>Return fire. Wide coverage cloud. Follow up with directed stream to anything we stagger
>You can certainly shoot at them. Just they have come in a manner and formation that you did not anticipate, and also with danmaku blazing.
>You dash backward and swing to the side, avoiding much of the danmaku and sending out a wide cloud of shots. As you do, you notice these dolls seem to be connected to strings, leading into the hallway. You hit one of them, enough to make her stagger, but the others seem to weave through your shots without difficulty. You hear Renko yelp as you fire on the staggered doll. Alice steps into the doorway, the dolls' strings connected to her fingers.
>_
-
>Conjure giant hedge trimmers, cut all strings in the vicinity
>How close are we to Alice at this point, and how much dakka is in the way?
>Have these enstringed dolls been more effective or mobile than most of the others?
EDIT: Thought - Alice has given verbal orders. Whether this is her being schizophrenic or if the dolls actually respond to them is unclear, but vibrating her head/jaw might accomplish something. (I doubt it'll be very easy to think with your brainpan vibrating every which way, for that matter - hence the "Alice's face. Make it happen." suggestion.)
-
Face is a good target, too, if only for the inability to see straight afterwards. But her dolls have been reacting to things without any orders or her even being in the same room, so I doubt she NEEDS to speak for them to move about and do things. And yes, it's hard to tell if she's not just speaking to them 'just because'
I'd originally thought of suggesting that trembling legs would make it very difficult for her to even stand or dodge, but I realized that she could probably just float, and they wouldn't really be a handicap at all.
I'm not certain if it's only the surface that has had contact with the oil that will vibrate, or if it transmits past the point of contact somewhat. No way to know until we see it in action.
-
You know, splattering the stuff on the strings would probably incapacitate the dolls, and we wouldn't even need the time stop for it.
-
You know, splattering the stuff on the strings would probably incapacitate the dolls, and we wouldn't even need the time stop for it.
You try splattering stuff on something as small as a string, while it's moving, and you're being fired upon. Sure, we might get a little on it, maybe, but waste a lot of the oil in the process. And Alice is probably still more than a match for us in a direct battle WITHOUT any dolls. I think it's wasted if not used on her directly.
-
Agreed. Our best shot is a single turnaround surgical strike. Using up that much inefficiently while also giving away its purpose would be a bad idea.
Hope Renko's still standing.
-
>Conjure giant hedge trimmers, cut all strings in the vicinity
>How close are we to Alice at this point, and how much dakka is in the way?
>Have these enstringed dolls been more effective or mobile than most of the others?
>You have critfailed and shanked yourself!
>She is a few yards away; there is not that much fire between the two of you right this second. That is subject to change.
>Yes, they to be a lot more mobile.
>_
-
Sounds like the best opportunity we could ask for! Unless there are any objections...
-
I'm all for it.
-
Do eet!
-
Go for it.
-
>Deathbomb.
>Oil of Vibration. Alice's face. Make it happen.
>Step out of Time.
>Rush Alice.
>Smear some Oil of Vibration on one of her hands, then the other.
>Splash the rest towards her face.
>If we're still timestop-capable after that, get behind her and blast her in the back as soon as it ends.
-
>Open ourself to our bracelet for the power boost
>Stop time
>Dash as quickly towards Alice as we possibly can
>Flick the stopper off the vial, pour over each of her hands, then splash some more on her face and torso
>Quickly get behind Alice and unleash the biggest burst of danmaku at point-blank range as we can muster
>Smear some Oil of Vibration on one of her hands, then the other.
>Don't smear it in with our hands. That'll mess up OUR hands, too.
-
... fair point.
-
Don't we still have the bolt of silk out? If so why aren't we wrapping it around her face?
-
How do we propose to pour a bottle of oil while time is stopped?
-
I was pretty sure things we were still holding worked just fine, didn't they?
-
Splashing motion at her face from point-blank will work in either case, most likely. But yes, timestop tends to be a little flexible about stuff a time manipulator is holding/touching. Especially inanimate items. How far they can stray from that possession while still moving is ambiguous and part of the reason for the "smear" idea.
-
Well, projectiles at least can be thrown slightly away from ourselves, and retain their moment when the timestop ends. This is how Sakuya manages to set up knives during timestop that continue to fly afterwards. Even if the splash of oil doesn't get more than an inch out of the bottle, it should land on Alice the moment time resumes.
-
But 'pouring' onto her arms makes for both a smaller target and slower oil - much less reliable. Hence the distinction I used. :V Also, I'm not sure how much of the oil would escape the bottle in one 'splash,' so... oh, whatever.
-
True, I wasn't thinking about the consequences of timestop on the oil when I said pour. It just seemed a more accurate way to do it.
How about this:
>If the oil doesn't appear to pour freely out of the bottle onto her hands while time is stopped, just splash some of it out the vial onto them
-
>Deathbomb.
>Oil of Vibration. Alice's face. Make it happen.
>Step out of Time.
>Rush Alice.
>Smear some Oil of Vibration on one of her hands, then the other.
>Splash the rest towards her face.
>If we're still timestop-capable after that, get behind her and blast her in the back as soon as it ends.
>Open ourself to our bracelet for the power boost
>Stop time
>Dash as quickly towards Alice as we possibly can
>Flick the stopper off the vial, pour over each of her hands, then splash some more on her face and torso
>Quickly get behind Alice and unleash the biggest burst of danmaku at point-blank range as we can muster
>Don't smear it in with our hands. That'll mess up OUR hands, too.
>You are dead. Dead dead.
>You try to open yourself to the bracelet like Marisa said, Unfortunately, you aren't certain if it works, you have never tried it before.
>Time comes to a stop. You are very glad that Sakuya trained you how to do this right.
>You dash toward Alice grabbing an uncorking the vial, and a heartbeat passes.
>You pout out some of the liquid over her right hand. It slows as it plummets, quickly freezing in midair over your target. Another heartbeat passes, and you feel pressure begin to build up in your chest.
>You pour some over her left hand. It too stops in midair. A heartbeat passes. The pressure is making it hard to breathe.
>You splash what is left toward her torso and face, practically emptying the bottle. Another heartbeat passes, and you cannot hold it any longer. Time moves once again.
>The oil flies through the air, splashing onto Alice. She starts to say something, then the oil splashes her. She staggers back from surprise.
>_
-
>Quickly dash around behind her while she's stunned
>Danmaku to the back!
-
> If we still have the silk ready, wrap it around her face after blasting her in the back
-
> If we still have the silk ready, wrap it around her face after blasting her in the back
>If we do this, take care not to actually touch her face with our hands
>Take care not to let her hands touch us either, for that matter
-
> "Renko! Go for her!"
-
>Quickly dash around behind her while she's stunned
>Danmaku to the back!
>You try to dash around her, but the fact she is staggering back and there are puppet strings in the way make it a little difficult.
>The strings quickly take care of themselves as they tear from the dolls she was controlling.
> If we still have the silk ready, wrap it around her face after blasting her in the back
>You have kept it in hand and move to wrap it around her, when you realize the rest of the dolls in that hallway are still there. They take aim at you.
>If we do this, take care not to actually touch her face with our hands
>Take care not to let her hands touch us either, for that matter
> You take especial care not to touch her.
> "Renko! Go for her!"
>"What did you-" Renko shouts, then changes tone, "Gotta get these first!"
>_
-
> Shoot her in the gut
> Tackle her, pushing her and us prone.
-
>Note the line of fire of the dolls behind her
>Shift to the side, and try to get out of the way while still moving towards/past Alice.
>Fire at the dolls while moving
> Tackle her, pushing her and us prone.
>Don't do this. If there's oil over her face and torso, we'll almost certainly get some on ourself
-
I was aware of that. I think it's worth it at this point since dropping her still means we'll have her at our mercy, as long as we don't get it on our hands.
-
We can tackle her from behind with much less risk, both in terms of oil, and her facing AWAY from us, once we can maneuver there.
Although these dolls may still present a problem even if Alice herself is incapacitated like that.
-
If you can get behind her, it'd be better, yes. But good luck with that.
-
Frankly, if all these dolls are still going to be firing at us, being prone and semi-immobile while we restrain her is probably a bad idea, period.
-
Well, it's more the control of her.
Since we can use Alice as a shield if we have control of her.
-
Not if we're also shaking too hard to use her as a proper human shield.
-
Well, if our arms are fine we'd be ok. But getting behind her is optimal
-
Even if our arms are fine, you really want to try holding a full-sized wildly trembling person as a human shield? Who will probably still be mobile enough to TRY to resist us. Or shoot us. It's hard to miss at that range.
-
Shooting assumes she can concentrate. I think the vibration screws that up.
-
You can lash out without having to think about it. You just can't AIM while panicked or disoriented.
-
> Shoot her in the gut
> Tackle her, pushing her and us prone.
>Note the line of fire of the dolls behind her
>Shift to the side, and try to get out of the way while still moving towards/past Alice.
>Fire at the dolls while moving
>Don't do this. If there's oil over her face and torso, we'll almost certainly get some on ourself
>You shoot Alice in the gut as she stumbles back. She grunts in pain.
>The dolls are mostly aiming toward you, but you do note Alice has blocked off some of their aim.
>You move to the side and try to keep going as the dolls let bullets fly! Most of them go past you or above you, but there is a cloud of converging bullets coming at you.
>You also fire upon the dolls. At this distance, you are able to hit a couple of them.
>_
-
>Can we shift past the other incoming bullets while still moving forward towards Alice's back?
>Do so, if possible. Otherwise, focus on dodging without gaining ground.
>Fire at whichever dolls we have the best shot angle on
-
>Can we shift past the other incoming bullets while still moving forward towards Alice's back?
>Do so, if possible. Otherwise, focus on dodging without gaining ground.
>Fire at whichever dolls we have the best shot angle on
>You are able to shift forward and continue you momentum, still firing on the dolls. You hit a couple more, as more fire comes toward you, mainly streams and clouds of bullets.
>Alice manages to regain her footing as you slip around her.
>_
-
>At the angle fire is incoming, would we probably be safe if we hit the ground?
>If so, fire at Alice from behind, and then tackle her to the ground, taking care not to touch her hands
>Otherwise, shift out of the way of incoming fire as best we can, and then fire upon Alice
-
>At the angle fire is incoming, would we probably be safe if we hit the ground?
>If so, fire at Alice from behind, and then tackle her to the ground, taking care not to touch her hands
>Otherwise, shift out of the way of incoming fire as best we can, and then fire upon Alice
>You think so, for the moment.
>You hit the ground, as Alice looks over her shoulder toward you, and throws herself against the wall, as she starts to tremble violently. "H-hold them off-f!" she shouts.
>_
-
>Quickly get to our feet
>Access incoming fire
>Try to find a momentarily safe position and shift towards it
>Fire at Alice. Try to let our power flow into the bracelet again, in case we never did it correctly the last time.
-
>Quickly get to our feet
>Access incoming fire
>Try to find a momentarily safe position and shift towards it
>Fire at Alice. Try to let our power flow into the bracelet again, in case we never did it correctly the last time.
>Thankfully, you didn't tackle so hard that you landed flat on the floor and are easily able to regain your footing.
>Looking back toward the dolls, you see most of their prior shots are gong by you, while they are focusing new streams at you, as well as a couple dense clouds in your general direction.
>You fire at Alice, trying to let your power flow into the bracelet in the process. You think you might be missing some aspect of this, it doesn't feel any different than before.
>Regardless, you create an roughly cloud of danmaku and sent it flying at Alice. She moves aside, trying to dodge and move further down the hall, but she is trembling badly and it impedes her motions severely, allowing several of your shots to hit her.
>_
-
>Shift a little away from the streams, and put some more distance between us and the dolls to make the clouds easier to dodge
>Try to aim a longer stream of danmaku at Alice, taking advantage of her impaired mobility
-
> Do Alice's dolls seem more or less steady in their flight paths and actions?
-
>Shift a little away from the streams, and put some more distance between us and the dolls to make the clouds easier to dodge
>Try to aim a longer stream of danmaku at Alice, taking advantage of her impaired mobility
>You shift away from the streams, and the keep coming, shifting with you. You back away, which gives you enough time to judge the general direction of the clouds. Two of them you don't think you'll have to worry about. The other, you can either try to dodge around now, or wait for it to reach you and try to move through it.
>You aim a stream at Alice. She continues to back away from you as quickly as she can, holding the wall for support while trembling violently If you didn't know any better, you'd think she was very ill. She manages to move awya from your attack for a moment or two, before stumbling, having to catch herself, and taking several hits around her torso.
> Do Alice's dolls seem more or less steady in their flight paths and actions?
>You've noticed no loss of quality in their motions or their attacks.
>_
-
> How many dolls are visible? Are there scads of them or just a small amount, like four to six?
-
>And what is their general layout
-
> How many dolls are visible? Are there scads of them or just a small amount, like four to six?
>You estimate there are about sixteen to twenty of them.
>And what is their general layout
>They are still split into two roughly equal groups along the walls, most of them in the air.
>_
-
> Are any of them directly between ourselves and Alice at this point?
-
> Are any of them directly between ourselves and Alice at this point?
>Not yet, but she's going to reach them soon while staggering back from you.
>_
-
> Take out the Dirty Bowl.
> Make a beeline for Alice. Absorb all glancing blows, but dodge bullets that will make solid contact, preferably to the left or the right instead of backward.
> Smash the bowl over Alice's head as hard as we can.
-
> Take out the Dirty Bowl.
> Make a beeline for Alice. Absorb all glancing blows, but dodge bullets that will make solid contact, preferably to the left or the right instead of backward.
> Smash the bowl over Alice's head as hard as we can.
>You take out the Dirty Bowl and wield it with both hands. dropping the Length of Silk as it would get in the way of this maneuver.
>You do your best to make your wan through the shots; moving more or less directly through the cloud, making a beeline for Alice. Still, a few bullets glance past your arms and sides painfully, while one smacks into your ribs pretty firmly. You try to fight off the pain, and close in on the retreating magician. She pauses as you draw close, eying you in that last second or so. Then you bring the bowl down on her head.
>You feel it connect, but you do not really see the results as you feel something slam solidly into your torso! You feel the wind fly from you as you stagger back form the impact. You can see flashes of blue and black below you, and your mind dimly pieces together that she just kicked you with those heavy boots that she favors.
>Regain you balance, despite the fierce ache in your stomach and shoulder, you find that Alice has fallen to the ground from your attack and clutches her head. You also see that the dolls are flying at you while you fight to regain your breath.
>_
-
>Stagger away a little, as best we can
>Try to snipe a couple of the closer dolls
-
>Stagger away a little, as best we can
>Try to snipe a couple of the closer dolls
>You stagger back a bit more, and try to fire on some of the closer dolls. Your danmaku is not nearly so impressive as before, you can only manage a few of shots in your current breathless state. Still, it's likely a sign of improvement that you can shoot at all!
>You shoot one of the dolls, while bullets from behind fly past your right and hit a few more. Then they are on top of you.
>_
-
> Did the bullets from behind look familiar?
> How "on top of us" are they? Within grabbing distance?
-
>How literally on top of us are they? Do they seem to be trying to physically swarm us, or are they just at point-blank range?
-
> Did the bullets from behind look familiar?
> How "on top of us" are they? Within grabbing distance?
>You are reasonably certain they are Renko's.
>Yes.
>How literally on top of us are they? Do they seem to be trying to physically swarm us, or are they just at point-blank range?
>Both.
-
> Have the dolls encircled us or just come up on us as a wall?
> Are we left-handed or right-handed?
-
> Have the dolls encircled us or just come up on us as a wall?
> Are we left-handed or right-handed?
>The latter, though the former is likely to follow in short order.
>Right-handed.
-
> As quickly as we can, grab the left-most doll in range of our right arm with our right hand.
> Swing this doll as hard as we can from our left to our right, making a quick sweeping motion. Using the doll in our hand as a blunt object, club as many of the dolls in the wall in front of us as we can in that single sweep.
-
> As quickly as we can, grab the left-most doll in range of our right arm with our right hand.
> Swing this doll as hard as we can from our left to our right, making a quick sweeping motion. Using the doll in our hand as a blunt object, club as many of the dolls in the wall in front of us as we can in that single sweep.
>You grab a doll charging you from the left by her arm, before she can react, you swipe her toward the right and smack several of the others rushing at you! The force of your strike sends them flying, while giving the others that were charging at you pause.
>Unfortunately, this does not phase the ones that were simply closing to point back distance and firing. They unleash attacks freely; mostly at your lower body.
>Renko appears at your right, and starts firing at them.
>_
-
>Dash backwards and ascend.
>As we do, hurl the doll in our hands at the ones firing at us
>Fire back at them!
-
Sorry that we went for Commemorative Stein K.O. with something other than the yo-yo, UK, but the bowl seemed better suited for the job. :<
-
>Dash backwards and ascend.
>As we do, hurl the doll in our hands at the ones firing at us
>Fire back at them!
>You dash backward and ascend away from the barrage! Regardless, a few shots still hit you in the legs with painful shocks. You're starting to feel fairly tired.
>You try to throw the doll back at the attackers, but it doesn't work very well with the hold you current have on her, and she just flops through the air and takes a few bullets before falling to the ground.
>Renko shoots down a couple others, and diverts the attention of the group a bit. Between your maneuvers and her fire, you think you've taken out about half of them, though a few are only stunned for the moment.
>You shoot back at them, one of your standard unfocused clouds. At the same time, most of the remaining group focuses on you while a couple try to snipe Renko.
>_
-
>Shift out of the way of incoming fire
>Quickly tag the dolls that are only stunned, then switch fire back to the active dolls
>Tired or not, we've making progress!
>Spare a glace to Alice. How does she seem to be doing?
-
>Shift out of the way of incoming fire
>Quickly tag the dolls that are only stunned, then switch fire back to the active dolls
>Tired or not, we've making progress!
>Spare a glace to Alice. How does she seem to be doing?
>You shift away from the incoming fire, getting close to being in Renko's way in the process, and try to target the stunned dolls. It is diffcult to see with all the danmaku in the air, but you think you hit a couple, at least.
>You try not to lose heart, you're getting there!
>You look toward Alice for a brief second, and see her reach the open set of doors, which you presume leads to a gallery. "Retreat outside!" she cries, then slips through.
>The dolls start to move!
>_
>_
-
>Quickly pursue Alice. Maneuver past the dolls entirely, as best we can
>If Alice is still in sight, fire the quickest shots we can muster at her
>If not, and we can tag a couple dolls while we're moving, do so, but don't interrupt our pursuit to do so
-
>Quickly pursue Alice. Maneuver past the dolls entirely, as best we can
>If Alice is still in sight, fire the quickest shots we can muster at her
>If not, and we can tag a couple dolls while we're moving, do so, but don't interrupt our pursuit to do so
>You move to pursue Alice, firing a couple quick shots at her.
>One flies through the doorway, before she slams the doors shut, and the others collide into them harmlessly.
>The dolls seem to be ignoring you entirely, those that can still move, and fly at top speed for the foyer.
>_
-
>Quickly, try to open the doors before she can lock them
>If they are ALREADY locked: "Renko, go see if Patchouli has a key for these. Or knows where to get it."
-
>You reach the doors and try to open them! They are not locked!
>But when you put try to open them, you feel a good amount of force against them keeping you from doing so.
>"Hold still," you hear Alice stay on the other side of the door.
>_
-
>This force is holding both doors?
>Did Alice sound like she was talking to us, or another doll?
>If it sounded like it was directed to us, get away from the door.
>Otherwise: "Renko, give me a hand with this!"
>Pull on the doors together with as much force as we can muster
-
>This force is holding both doors?
>Did Alice sound like she was talking to us, or another doll?
>If it sounded like it was directed to us, get away from the door.
>Otherwise: "Renko, give me a hand with this!"
>Pull on the doors together with as much force as we can muster
>It seems to be.
>She didn't sound like she was shouting through the door at leas,it but it could be addressed either way.
>The doors open inward, pushing is the key!
>_
-
>"Give me a hand with this, Renko."
>Keep the handle in the open position and brace as much of our weight against the door as we can.
>If it's still not budging, try ramming it a little.
-
>"Give me a hand with this, Renko."
>Keep the handle in the open position and brace as much of our weight against the door as we can.
>If it's still not budging, try ramming it a little.
>"Right," says Renko, firing a few parting shots at the fleeing dolls.
>You keep the handle open, and put your weight against the door as you can. It definitely budges a bit, then the opposing force fights back.
>Renko joins you. The door gives a bit more.
>You notice there is still one doll left in the hall that is still moving. It was the one you used as a bludgeon. She's sitting against the wall and crying. Perhaps not exactly crying, as there's no sound, but her shoulders are heaving and she's covering her face with her hands.
>_
-
>Keep trying to force the door
>Feel strangely guilty about the doll, just the same...
-
>Keep trying to force the door
>Feel strangely guilty about the doll, just the same...
>You keep trying to force the door, even though you feel a bit like a jerk.
>The two of you slowly manage to wedge the door open a bit more. You can see a bit of Alice's back through the crack! As well, you can see that doll with the disturbing smile looking out at you through it.
>_
-
>While continuing to force the door, try to slip a little danmaku between the crack and into Alice's back
-
>While continuing to force the door, try to slip a little danmaku between the crack and into Alice's back
>You try to shoot Alice in the back. Unfortunately, this detracts your attention from keeping maximum force on the door, as you have to lift a hand to do so. The doll snakes her hand out, taking the shot before it hits Alice, and the door slips mostly closed again.
>"What're you doing?" Renko says.
>_
-
>Keep pushing. Redouble our force out of our frustration
>"The doll blocked the shot."
-
>Keep pushing. Redouble our force out of our frustration
>"The doll blocked the shot."
>"What shot?" says Renko.
>Something pushes back against you very powerfully, as the door closes the rest of the way. It no longer budges.
>_
-
>No longer budges at all? If it really seems entirely futile now, stop.
>"I tried to slip a shoot through the cracks at Alice. I figured that might distract her enough for us to get it open. But another doll intercepted it before it reached her."
>Whisper to Renko: "Renko, keep an eye on this door. If anything happens, come get me. I'm going to library, and then around the front. I just need you to see if she comes back out this way, ok?"
>Quickly head to the library
-
>No longer budges at all? If it really seems entirely futile now, stop.
>"I tried to slip a shoot through the cracks at Alice. I figured that might distract her enough for us to get it open. But another doll intercepted it before it reached her."
>Whisper to Renko: "Renko, keep an eye on this door. If anything happens, come get me. I'm going to library, and then around the front. I just need you to see if she comes back out this way, ok?"
>Quickly head to the library
>It doesn't budge. You stop, as does Renko.
>"Dang," she says, "We almost had it. And I'll let you know if she does."
>You return to the library. You find Patchouli sitting where you left her, looking a bit pale. "I don't like the look you're wearing," she says.
>_
-
>"Well, I got oil of vibration all over Alice and beat her in the head with a bowl... A bunch of dolls are disabled, and she had the rest of them retreat outside. But she's barricaded herself in the gallery. I think the giant doll is blocking the door. We can't budge it. Is there another way in? Mundane or otherwise."
-
>"Well, I got oil of vibration all over Alice and beat her in the head with a bowl... A bunch of dolls are disabled, and she had the rest of them retreat outside. But she's barricaded herself in the gallery. I think the giant doll is blocking the door. We can't budge it. Is there another way in? Mundane or otherwise."
>"Go to the other gallery," says Patchouli, "There's a side door that joins them. Is she in the east one or the middle one? Don't bother with the west door, it's leads to the dining room."
>_
-
>"The middle one. Thank you!"
>"Oh, do you know if her dolls can operate if she's unconscious? Despite not even being able to walk straight, none of them seemed to become any less coordinated. I'm... a little concerned about that giant one."
-
>"The middle one. Thank you!"
>"Oh, do you know if her dolls can operate if she's unconscious? Despite not even being able to walk straight, none of them seemed to become any less coordinated. I'm... a little concerned about that giant one."
>"They are independent," says Patchouli, "But they tend not to be aggressive without her. As for a giant one, this is the first I have heard of it." She shrugs. "A secret project, I suppose?"
-
>"Sort of secret, maybe. Although I did just see it out in front of her house the other day. Anyway, unless you have some last minute advice, I should get back."
>Assuming no last minute advice worth following up on, quickly return to where we left.
>Head to the eastmost door and motion for Renko to follow
>Open it cautiously, and be prepared for something lying in wait
>Assuming there is nothing immediately inside this gallery, enter.
-
>"Sort of secret, maybe. Although I did just see it out in front of her house the other day. Anyway, unless you have some last minute advice, I should get back."
>Assuming no last minute advice worth following up on, quickly return to where we left.
>Head to the eastmost door and motion for Renko to follow
>Open it cautiously, and be prepared for something lying in wait
>Assuming there is nothing immediately inside this gallery, enter.
>"Nothing you likely haven't already learned," says Patchouli.
>You dash back toward the western wing, and find nothing out of place. Renko watches the door from a distance, periodically glancing toward the weeping doll. She joins you as you enter the hall. "Nothing unusual from the door," says Renko.
>You open eastmost set of double doors, a find nothing unusual happens.
>Entering, you find the gallery is full of Asian art of all kinds. Much like the foyer, it is filled will wooden statues, folding screens, framed prints, and other such things. However, the artwork is not limited to just Japanese pieces. You can see Chinese paintings, Vietnamese three-color ceramics, and many other things you cannot begin to identify despite the art appreciation class you took. Of particular interest to you is a set of closed double doors against the western wall, leading into the other gallery.
>_
-
>Can we sense if our time stop has recharged without actually trying to use it?
>Indicate the doors to Renko, and get her to follow us over to them
>Try to open them a tiny crack as silently as we can, and peer through
-
>Can we sense if our time stop has recharged without actually trying to use it?
>Indicate the doors to Renko, and get her to follow us over to them
>Try to open them a tiny crack as silently as we can, and peer through
>No. This was a problem when you were practicing it yesterday.
>You approach the doors, Renko behind you.
>You try to open them gently; thankfully they are well maintained and do not squeal at all. But there is still a sound of the knob opening.
>Will you open the door as to give you a view of the north side of the gallery, the south side, or the middle?
>_
-
>Open them such that we can see the side of the gallery where the door to the hallway is.
>If there is nothing there that seems to take notice of us, shift our position to peer at the rest of the room in sequence.
-
>Open them such that we can see the side of the gallery where the door to the hallway is.
>If there is nothing there that seems to take notice of us, shift our position to peer at the rest of the room in sequence.
>You open them to get a glance at the doors to the western gallery. You can see a number of western style artworks through the crack, but the door is of more interest. You have a fairly clear view of it. All you can see is a doll in front of it, staggering and holding her head like she's dizzy.
>Checking the rest of the gallery, you see nothing threatening in the middle area. To the southern side, you see Alice in the corner. She is obscured by some of the artworks there, but she seems to be casting a spell of some sort. Another doll is in front of her, arms waving. You think it may be gesturing in your direction.
>_
-
> Does Alice appear free of the physical trauma we inflicted? No shaking, no head-rubbing, etc.?
-
>From what we can see, if the door was open, would we have a clear shot at Alice without hitting the artwork?
-
> Does Alice appear free of the physical trauma we inflicted? No shaking, no head-rubbing, etc.?
>She is certainly still beat up, but she doesn't seem to be trembling that badly. It's hard to tell from tis distance.
>From what we can see, if the door was open, would we have a clear shot at Alice without hitting the artwork?
>You don't feel especially confident in your chances to do that without hitting something.
>_
-
>Can we tell what she might be casting? Does anything appear to be happening in response to her actions?
>If we can't really tell, do the following:
>Nod to Renko
>Quickly open the door and rush towards Alice, angling for an open line of fire to her without collateral damage
-
>Can we tell what she might be casting? Does anything appear to be happening in response to her actions?
>If we can't really tell, do the following:
>Nod to Renko
>Quickly open the door and rush towards Alice, angling for an open line of fire to her without collateral damage
>You are some ways from being intelligent enough about magic to know what kind of spell she is casting by sight. But, you are able to make out a couple of details with more observation. You can see, just obscured by a stand with a bust on it, what looks like a closed black book floating in front of her. You also think you see something metallic on the floor, but it's hard to tell.
>_
-
>Either way, it's probably best not to let her finish what she's attempting
>Nod to Renko
>Quickly open the door and rush towards Alice, angling for an open line of fire to her without collateral damage
>Unless the spell is occupying so much of her focus that it doesn't look like she noticed our entrance: "Alice! What're you doing?"
-
>Either way, it's probably best not to let her finish what she's attempting
>Nod to Renko
>Quickly open the door and rush towards Alice, angling for an open line of fire to her without collateral damage
>Unless the spell is occupying so much of her focus that it doesn't look like she noticed our entrance: "Alice! What're you doing?"
>It's probably a bad thing.
>You nod to Renko, then burst into the gallery. Seeing the place has been arranged into aisles, you run toward the south end to open of a clear line of fire. As you do, the faerie that was hovering around her with arms flies in front of her; about a yard from her, with arms spread wide. You also see that the burlap sack she had the the dolls carrying has been opened. It's contents seem to be a great deal of clockwork rods and hinges and other such things. You recognize them quickly, you gave a handful of these to a faerie yesterday.
>"A test run," says Alice.
>_
-
>How close are we to Alice?
>How close are we to the bag?
>Aside from the doll in our way, do we a shot safe of collateral damage?
>If Alice fires at US, would she likely risk damaging things?
>"If you're after the stuff in here, do you really want to bring the fight in here and risk damaging it?"
-
Why don't you just shoot her?
Better to damage stuff rather than have it all stolen.
-
>How close are we to Alice?
>How close are we to the bag?
>Aside from the doll in our way, do we a shot safe of collateral damage?
>If Alice fires at US, would she likely risk damaging things?
>"If you're after the stuff in here, do you really want to bring the fight in here and risk damaging it?"
>You are about 20 feet away.
>It is about the same, though some of it has spread out as much as 15 feet away.
>You think you shouldn't hit anything.
>You look around. There's a fair chance that Alice might hit a painting near you.
>"Because it's better to bring back some of it rather than none of it," says Alice, as the book begins to float over the pile of clockwork junk.
>_
-
>Try to stop time again. Be ready to move quickly the moment this happens, if it does
>If this doesn't work, aim a quick blast at Alice as a feint. If the doll in front of her moves to intercept, immediately switch a more directed stream at the book
-
>Try to stop time again. Be ready to move quickly the moment this happens, if it does
>If this doesn't work, aim a quick blast at Alice as a feint. If the doll in front of her moves to intercept, immediately switch a more directed stream at the book
>You are unable to stop time.
>You aim a quick blast at Alice! As you expected, the doll moves to intercept the shot. You then switch over to a quick stream at the book as the doll takes the hit. The bullets fly at the book and hit! They don't seem to phase it very much.
>"It takes more than force to open the Grimoire," says Alice, as she lowers her trembling hands.
>Some of the metal scraps are starting to rise into the air.
>_
-
>The book is currently hovering a short distance away from Alice, over the scraps, right? And it moved to that position during the spell?
>Assuming so, dash towards the book while firing a few more shots at Alice to hopefully occupy the doll. Not enough to affect our momentum.
>Try to grab the book and hurl to the other side of the room, generally in Renko's direction (without being close enough to actually hit her in the process)
-
DO NOT GRAB THE BOOK!
>Belay all of that.
Byakuren said touching the Grimoire would turn us into a youkai.
I'm a retard :]
-
>What would happen if you danmaku'd the book?
-
DO NOT GRAB THE BOOK!
>Belay all of that.
Byakuren said touching the Grimoire would turn us into a youkai.
Actually, that was Reimu. And then she retracted that and said it would probably require opening the book. I didn't actually forget that she'd said that. I don't think there's a credible risk of it happening from touching it. In truth, all Reimu admitted afterward is that she suspected the book was involved with Alice becoming a youkai somehow.
>What would happen if you danmaku'd the book?
We just DID. It did nothing.
-
... oh. My bad then. Might still be a risk, though... eh. Sorry :ohdear:
-
>The book is currently hovering a short distance away from Alice, over the scraps, right? And it moved to that position during the spell?
>Assuming so, dash towards the book while firing a few more shots at Alice to hopefully occupy the doll. Not enough to affect our momentum.
>Try to grab the book and hurl to the other side of the room, generally in Renko's direction (without being close enough to actually hit her in the process)
>This is correct.
>You dash toward the book, firing a few more shots at Alice. "Stand down, Hourai," she says, as the doll starts to move to intercept your shots. Alice simply backs away from them.
>You find that dashing through the pile of metal would be just inviting yourself to trip, fall, and probably hurt yourself very badly. So you take to the air and grab the book! It is warm and tingly under your fingers.
>You turn and hurl it as had as you can in Renko's general direction! The book sails across the gallery, slowing to a stop a midair, rather like your Floating Stone did. The bits of gold and sliver clockwork that were already in the air move with it; while more lift from the pile to follow.
>_
-
>How close to Renko did the book get before it stopped?
-
>How close to Renko did the book get before it stopped?
>It is a couple yards from her and about three yards in the air. Renko just stares at it, whether she is amazed, confused, or both is hard to tell.
>_
-
>"Renko! Get that book out of the room! Close the door behind you!"
>Position ourselves to give Renko some cover, and fire at Alice
-
>"Renko! Get that book out of the room! Close the door behind you!"
>Position ourselves to give Renko some cover, and fire at Alice
>"Got it!" Renko says, flying up and grabbing the book, while dozens of parts from the pile lift up and begin to fly toward it.
>You fire at Alice, who calmly backsteps away.
>"Damn, this thing's heavy!" Renko shouts, as she starts for the door with the book in hand.
>"So, what are you hoping to achieve with this?" Alice asks.
>_
-
>"Isn't attempting to interrupt something you were planning to use against us reason enough?"
>Launch a small danmaku cloud at her, followed by a faster moving stream targeted at where we expect the most likely place for Alice to shift to is, based on her last movements
-
> "Renko, try to see if Patchouli can stop whatever that book is doing!"
> How far away are we from Alice?
If you can't shoot her, punch her.
-
> "Renko, try to see if Patchouli can stop whatever that book is doing!"
I was thinking that it wouldn't matter, actually. The metal parts aren't going to fly THROUGH the door to it
-
Yeah, just doing it just to be safe in case that doesn't work and the parts phase/break through the door.
-
I guess I was just worried we'd provoke Alice to try harder to stop us if we were going to get Patchy involved as opposed to being 'clueless' and therefore harmless. But I could easily just be being paranoid over here.
-
> "Renko, try to see if Patchouli can stop whatever that book is doing!"
> How far away are we from Alice?
>"Trying!" says Renko. You notice she is not flying nearly as fas she should be. The parts floating around the book are starting to join with others flying toward it.
>She is about five or six yards from you.
>"Isn't attempting to interrupt something you were planning to use against us reason enough?"
>Launch a small danmaku cloud at her, followed by a faster moving stream targeted at where we expect the most likely place for Alice to shift to is, based on her last movements
>"I meant more specifically," says Alice, as she steps around your cloud. "But I suppose that is fine. Though you may want to recommend she drop it before she gets hurt."
>You fire a stream behind her, given her prior habit of stepping back from your attacks, but she holds still this time as the cloud goes around her.
>_
>_
-
>How far is Renko from the door, now? How long do we think it will take her to reach it at the speed she's moving?
>Fly towards Alice. As we do, launch a direct stream at her. Try to shift it to follow her.
-
>How far is Renko from the door, now? How long do we think it will take her to reach it at the speed she's moving?
>Fly towards Alice. As we do, launch a direct stream at her. Try to shift it to follow her.
>She's about halfway there, and slowing down and more of the metal floats around the book. She turns around and starts to drag it.
>You fly toward Alice, firing upon her! She takes to the air, dodging left and out of the way of your stream by a fraction of a second.
>_
-
>Shift the stream to follow and continue to close on Alice
>"Are you pulling on that? Or can it just not get too far from you?"
-
>Shift the stream to follow and continue to close on Alice
>"Are you pulling on that? Or can it just not get too far from you?"
>You shift the stream to follow Alice, and she continues to move, circling part of the way around you. You're within a yard of her now!
>"Nothing so complicated," she says.
>_
-
> Can we tell if our time stop is 'recharged' or not?
-
No, we can't. Already been asked
Just try to use it, and then have a back up action.
-
>If attempting to stop time wouldn't interrupt our actions too much, try to do so.
>Assuming it does not work:
>"Then what?"
>Shift so that we're still generally between Alice and Renko
>Use our other hand to immediately switch the stream's position into directly where she's currently shifting to to avoid the first stream
>Set our altitude high enough to avoid Alice's own legs as we move in, and lash out to kick her
-
>If attempting to stop time wouldn't interrupt our actions too much, try to do so.
>Assuming it does not work:
>"Then what?"
>Shift so that we're still generally between Alice and Renko
>Use our other hand to immediately switch the stream's position into directly where she's currently shifting to to avoid the first stream
>Set our altitude high enough to avoid Alice's own legs as we move in, and lash out to kick her
>You try to stop time again. It doesn't seem to have recharged yet.
>"There's a reason it took most of my dolls to move all of that," says Alice.
>You move so that you're between her and Renko, and try to switch streams to your other hand. She changes directions, but not before one of the bullets clips her on the arm, drawing a wince from her.
>You try to flight high enough to avoid Alice's kicks, and find that she is ascending with you.
>_
-
>"But the metal isn't physically attached to the book."
>Keep following her with that stream. Try to move it in such a way that dodging to the side is preferable to backing up.
>Try to kick her from the side that she'd be forced to retreat to
>If we see her lash out in response, try to shift our body's orientation closer to 'lying on our stomach' than 'standing up in the air'. Essentially pulling our lower body back away from the blow while remaining close to her. ...unless she's targeting our upper body, that is.
-
>"But the metal isn't physically attached to the book."
>Keep following her with that stream. Try to move it in such a way that dodging to the side is preferable to backing up.
>Try to kick her from the side that she'd be forced to retreat to
>If we see her lash out in response, try to shift our body's orientation closer to 'lying on our stomach' than 'standing up in the air'. Essentially pulling our lower body back away from the blow while remaining close to her. ...unless she's targeting our upper body, that is.
>"Look again."
>You try to keep the stream on her. As you keep it up, the bullets are growing more and more sparse, and you're starting to wear yourself out.
>You are not sure you can kick and fire at the same time. Or at least, kick and not fire randomly all over the place.
>_
-
>Then drop the stream and kick in the position she's dodging towards
-
>Then drop the stream and kick in the position she's dodging towards
>You drop the stream and kick out at Alice! She moves back from the strike; you graze her a bit, but don't feel it connect solidly. "My, you're fond of that," she says.
>"Ow fuck!" Renko says.
>_
-
>Don't take our eyes off Alice.
>"Renko! If you can't make it, let it go. Don't get yourself cut up."
>Pause for a moment, to give ourself a breath to recharge, then shift both vertical and horizontal position quickly and launch a cloud at Alice
-
>Don't take our eyes off Alice.
>"Renko! If you can't make it, let it go. Don't get yourself cut up."
>Pause for a moment, to give ourself a breath to recharge, then shift both vertical and horizontal position quickly and launch a cloud at Alice
>You keep yours on the magician in front of you, as she continues to appraise you with an unreadable expression.
>"Way ahead of you, Mary! What now?"
>"I did warn you," says Alice. "If it makes you feel better, it doesn't look bad."
>You give yourself a moment to recharge. How do you want to move?
>_
-
>"What does it seem to be doing, Renko?"
>Shift aside to open to open a line of fire to Alice from where Renko seems to be and descend.
>Then fire as described above
>After the first blast, make a quick course correction with a slightly random vertical and lateral vector that continues to widen the angle between us and Renko and fire again
-
>"What does it seem to be doing, Renko?"
>Shift aside to open to open a line of fire to Alice from where Renko seems to be and descend.
>Then fire as described above
>After the first blast, make a quick course correction with a slightly random vertical and lateral vector that continues to widen the angle between us and Renko and fire again
>"Assembling," Renko says, "One of the bits got me. It looks like a robot!"
>You shift aside, and Alice does as well, suddenly darting around and past you. You fire your cloud, one of the shots catching her in the foot, but otherwise passing by harmlessly.
>_
-
>"Try to keep her from reaching it!"
>Turn around and pursue. Fire a little at her, as we can
>Spare a glance at the assembling pile
-
>Wow, magic and robots? Gensokyo has everything!
>Don't marvel for too long, though. :(
-
>
"Oh come on, it's THAT?! Didn't think you knew of that Alice."
> Hax and Timestop, shank Alice.
-
>"And blast it before it can assemble properly!"
>Watch Alice's expression. See what she thinks of that suggestion - a smirk means that probably wouldn't do much.
-
>"Try to keep her from reaching it!"
>Turn around and pursue. Fire a little at her, as we can
>Spare a glance at the assembling pile
>"Got it!" says Renko.
>You turn around and see Alice flying for the other side of the gallery. You pursue, firing at her. But she seems to have the foresight to move to and fro in no set pattern. Your shots do not connect.
>Not far from the doors to the next gallery, you can barely see the book anymore, as it is surrounded by metal. Parts are flying around it almost too fast to see, integrating themselves into the whole. It looks rather like a humanoid robot, though closer to Byakuren in height than anything human. Its body seems spindly and skeletal, which plates here and there that resemble armor. It is also missing several large chunks of tits torso and limbs.
>Wow, magic and robots? Gensokyo has everything!
>Don't marvel for too long, though. :(
>It's honestly pretty incredible-looking, were things not so dire you would marvel at it!
>Renko fires on Alice, but the magician moves aside easily from the attack.
>As you try to follow, you find the two dolls coming at you from the side.
> "Oh come on, it's THAT?! Didn't think you knew of that Alice."
> Hax and Timestop, shank Alice.
>You have no shanking tools. Boot to the head.
>"And blast it before it can assemble properly!"
>Watch Alice's expression. See what she thinks of that suggestion - a smirk means that probably wouldn't do much.
>"Pick one!" says Renko, as she fires at Alice again.
>You cannot see her expression.
>_
-
>"Focus on Alice! If she's down, this is over."
>Launch clouds at her as we pursue, their overall size based on the width of the area she's shifting position in. Unless she looks back to dodge, there a better chance that something will connect.
-
>"Focus on Alice! If she's down, this is over."
>Launch clouds at her as we pursue, their overall size based on the width of the area she's shifting position in. Unless she looks back to dodge, there a better chance that something will connect.
>You fire a wide cloud at Alice. To make it speedy enough to catch up with her, you can't put nearly as many bullets into it as you would like. Still, it's is enough that she has to look back for a moment, giving Renko time to send a burst her way. Alice is not able to dodge it in time, and you can see several of its bullets hit her.
>Then she flies over Renko, putting her back to the wall.
>The two dolls open fire on you, sending out speedy shots. in your general direction.
>_
-
>What is the rough position of each party in the room, relative to each other and the room itself?
-
>What is the rough position of each party in the room, relative to each other and the room itself?
>You are presently in the middle of the gallery, roughly. Alice has reached the east side, being a bit faster than you and having a head start. She is not far from the doors to the next gallery. Her construct is also close to the doors. Renko is a little ways from Alice, a bit to the northwest by a few yards. The dolls are to the north of you by several yards. Everyone save the construct is flying.
>_
-
>Ascend quickly, and shift south a little, but keep moving towards Alice
>Fire a similar attack to the previous one at her
-
>Ascend quickly, and shift south a little, but keep moving towards Alice
>Fire a similar attack to the previous one at her
>You ascend quickly, the dolls' bullets passing under you, and keep closing in on Alice. You fire another wide cloud at her. She barely budges from where she is to dodge around it.
>Instead, she reaches along her arm and seems to remove something from around it.
>_
-
>Barely budged, yet still dodged? Was our aim that lousy?
>Can we tell at all what she just removed?
-
It's probably a control device for the bot. CRUSHY SMASH! Or steal.
-
>Barely budged, yet still dodged? Was our aim that lousy?
>Can we tell at all what she just removed?
>Wide clouds are not very dense. So less your aim was lousy and more that flak-style attacks are not very good against targets that are no longer moving quickly.
>You don't know, but just from past experience, you suspect it may be more strings.
>_
-
>If she's no longer moving quickly, switch to more concentrated streams
>Did we use all of the oil of vibration? Or only almost all of it?
-
>If she's no longer moving quickly, switch to more concentrated streams
>Did we use all of the oil of vibration? Or only almost all of it?
>You switch to more concentrated streams again. They force Alice to do proper dodges, at least. Renko joins you, trying to cut off her escape from the other side, and forcing her to ascend.
>You think there is still a little left.
>_
-
>Maintain fire. Try to position our stream in such a way to try and force her towards Renko's
>Is the construct still assembling? How complete does it look?
>How close are we to Alice, and how close is she to the construct?
-
Careful about ignoring the dolls flanking us.
-
>Maintain fire. Try to position our stream in such a way to try and force her towards Renko's
>Is the construct still assembling? How complete does it look?
>How close are we to Alice, and how close is she to the construct?
>You maintain fire, trying to force her into Renko's attacks. You manage to cut off her routeof escape, whioch gives Renko a chance to hit her on the leg with a shot before she can chance course.
>There doesn't seem to be as many parts flying toward it now. On the other hand, it doesn't look that complete. It's missing its lower right arm, large sections of its torso, its right foot. It has a head now; of which a good third is simply not there; leaving only exposed parts. You can see the a corner of the book, behind its incomplete chest plating.
>You are about six yards for Alice, and she is perhaps two yards from the construct.
>_
-
>Toss a quick stream at the grimoire, through the opening in the chest
>Then launch another cloud at Alice. A little more dense than the last one
>Quick glance at the other dolls
-
>Toss a quick stream at the grimoire, through the opening in the chest
>Then launch another cloud at Alice. A little more dense than the last one
>Quick glance at the other dolls
>You fire a quick stream at the Grimoire though the opening. You hit it, but you don't see any damage in its wake.
>You then fire upon Alice, a more tighter, more dense cloud. She flies into it, trying to escape Renko's streams in the process.
>You glance around, and find the dolls are moving behind you.
>Alice flicks her hands toward the construct.
>_
-
>Swing to the side, trying to move towards an angle that would let us see the dolls and Alice at the same time.
>Strafe Alice as we do this
-
> Curse our inability to puncture the jet's tire before Sanae hopped in.
-
>Swing to the side, trying to move towards an angle that would let us see the dolls and Alice at the same time.
>Strafe Alice as we do this
>You circle to the side, strafing at Alice. Renko remains where she is, firing a dense cloud like your previous one>
>You strafe Alice. She moves, enough to avoid Renko's attacks, but not as much as before. A couple of your shots catch her in the side, causing her to recoil.
>"There!" she cries.
>_
-
>Continue to strafe while moving to a better viewing angle against all combatants.
>Be ready for the construct to do something extremely unpleasant in our general direction
-
>Continue to strafe while moving to a better viewing angle against all combatants.
>Be ready for the construct to do something extremely unpleasant in our general direction
>You keep going, putting yourself close to the wall. You keep firing
>Alice weaves out of the way, dropping down to the ground. As she does, yellowish light begins to shine from the construct's missing limbs and damaged parts, filling them. "Isn't it beautiful?" Alice says, grinning despite the damage she's taken.
>_
-
>Don't get too close to the wall
>"It looks quite... different than the rest of them."
>What kind of shape is Alice in, for that matter?
-
>Don't get too close to the wall
>"It looks quite... different than the rest of them."
>What kind of shape is Alice in, for that matter?
>You leave yourself some room.
>"Yes," she says. "It's not quite my handiwork, unfortunately. Perhaps some day. But I couldn't just ignore it. Sadly, some of it is beyond repair at this time, but we'll have that solved soon."
>Alice looks fairly beaten up by this point. You've shot her a fair amount of times, and that blow to the head was nasty, as well.
>_
-
>"And how're you planning to solve that?"
>"Also, don't you think something that hefty could cause a lot of collateral damage in a place like this?"
-
>"And how're you planning to solve that?"
>"Also, don't you think something that hefty could cause a lot of collateral damage in a place like this?"
>"Alas, research and development cost money," says Alice. "But...it won't be a problem soon."
>"When did you care about that?" asks Alice. "You've done most of the firing in here, haven't you?"
>_
-
>"I've been trying to be careful. I would rather not have fought in here at all, but you didn't seem prepared to politely move somewhere less fragile when I suggested it, and I'm hardly going to sit outside and wait for you to leave, either."
>"It's just that looks like it... could do a lot more damage than even that."
-
>"I've been trying to be careful. I would rather not have fought in here at all, but you didn't seem prepared to politely move somewhere less fragile when I suggested it, and I'm hardly going to sit outside and wait for you to leave, either."
>"It's just that looks like it... could do a lot more damage than even that."
>"You're welcome to leave," says Alice. "Or, we could do this."
>She takes to the air again, and so does the construct; emitting a blast of yellow energy from its back to suspend it in midair.
>_
-
>"I'm not leaving unless you leave first."
>Did this blast appear to have any effect on the nearby terrain / objects?
>Keep a close eye on the construct for any aggressive or unusual actions.
>Are the other two dolls doing anything?
-
>"I'm not leaving unless you leave first."
>Did this blast appear to have any effect on the nearby terrain / objects?
>Keep a close eye on the construct for any aggressive or unusual actions.
>Are the other two dolls doing anything?
>"Well, given some of the things you've done already, I suppose it's only proper for you not have much an expectation of decency from others, is it?" says Alice.
>You don't think it did. But, it also wasn't large-scale enough.
>It seems to be just a puppet.
>They are on the west side of the room, more or less behind Renko, but not doing anything.
>Renko herself seems to be content to let you finish, though she looks a little worried.
>"Hallway," says Alice, as she floats back into the eastern gallery, the construct miming the action.
>_
-
>Assuming she actually IS moving towards the hallway, follow along at a polite distance, and take no hostile action until we get there (or she does something first)
>As we move out, fall in next to Renko and whisper to her: "Think any of the fairies would have any interest in trying to help beat up something that's trying to beat you up?"
-
>Assuming she actually IS moving towards the hallway, follow along at a polite distance, and take no hostile action until we get there (or she does something first)
>As we move out, fall in next to Renko and whisper to her: "Think any of the fairies would have any interest in trying to help beat up something that's trying to beat you up?"
>You watch and she seems to be doing nothing strange, backing out into the hall.
>"Maybe," says Renko. "I'm kind of wondering where they are... The kitchen is just at the end of the hall, and they ought to be flying through there. But the doors were closed. And if they were trapped, you'd know about it.
>Renko shakes her head. "That's why she wanted all that stuff..."
>_
-
>"She can't have taken them all out in the minute or two she was out of sight, can she? Maybe you should run and check on them quickly."
>Wait... she was fighting someone in this room, right? We saw shots coming out of it. Can we see Petit's body anywhere?
-
>"She can't have taken them all out in the minute or two she was out of sight, can she? Maybe you should run and check on them quickly."
>Wait... she was fighting someone in this room, right? We saw shots coming out of it. Can we see Petit's body anywhere?
>"I don't think so..." says Renko. "And I'll check, if you think you can hold her off."
>Oh, that's right! You look around the western gallery a bit, and see Patchouli's bat-winged assistant lying on the ground not far from the doors.
>_
-
>"I'll do my best. Just be as quick as you can."
-
> "And, if you can, tell Patchouli that Alice has made some weird robot thing with her book. Describe it to her as best you can. Maybe she'll have an idea on how to take it down."
-
> "And, if you can, tell Patchouli that Alice has made some weird robot thing with her book. Describe it to her as best you can. Maybe she'll have an idea on how to take it down."
The library is in the opposite direction of the pantry, isn't it? We'll be closer to Patchouli than Renko will.
-
I don't think Alice is just going to stop and let us talk to Patchy, though.
-
Well, no, but I mean that she'd pretty much need to run past us entirely again to do so. Although I suppose you could just ask her to do it AFTER checking on the fairies. I'd say the fairies are a higher priority right now, of the two.
-
Well, if you think we can go to Patchy without attracting unpleasant attention from Alice, go for it. The fairies are in better combat shape, but Patchy is in better send-for-Marisa's-help shape, in case something serious needs to be done to this new robot thing.
-
>"I'll do my best. Just be as quick as you can."
>She nods. "I will."
> "And, if you can, tell Patchouli that Alice has made some weird robot thing with her book. Describe it to her as best you can. Maybe she'll have an idea on how to take it down."
>"I can try," she says."Which do you want me to do first?"
>_
-
> "Check on the fairies first."
-
> "Check on the fairies first."
>"You might have to buy me some time," says Renko, "But I'll get what help I can from them."
>_
-
>"Thanks. And I'll do my best to hold out."
-
> "Just check the pantry for them. If they're there, do your thing. If not, head to Patchy. We'll have to worry about them later."
-
>"Thanks. And I'll do my best to hold out."
> "Just check the pantry for them. If they're there, do your thing. If not, head to Patchy. We'll have to worry about them later."
>She nods. "Just...she's probably going to be in front of the door to the kitchen"
-
>Didn't Alice just exit through the middle door?
>That WAS the room we were in, right?
-
>Didn't Alice just exit through the middle door?
>That WAS the room we were in, right?
>She went into the Eastern gallery, which is the door that she was near. You have not really followed her in, but you watched her go through said gallery.
-
>"Ok, you go to Patchouli first, then, since there's a clear path. I'll try to draw her back towards the foyer so you can run past her afterward, ok?"
>Assuming affirmative, exit into the hallway from this gallery.
-
>"Ok, you go to Patchouli first, then, since there's a clear path. I'll try to draw her back towards the foyer so you can run past her afterward, ok?"
>Assuming affirmative, exit into the hallway from this gallery.
>She nods. "Got it."
>You exit, and find Alice waiting in the hall. She floats behind the construct, which stands firmly on the ground. It's head comes shy of the ceiling by a foot.
>_
-
>"Now that I think of it, Alice, you said that wasn't your handiwork. Whose was it?"
>How wide is the hallway itself compared to the construct? How much room is there to slip past it?
-
>"Now that I think of it, Alice, you said that wasn't your handiwork. Whose was it?"
>How wide is the hallway itself compared to the construct? How much room is there to slip past it?
>"That's an excellent question," she says. "The answer is, someone from outside. I am not certain who, alas. It's difficult to research. But I have gathered a few things on my own."
>It's wide enough it could probably reach anyone trying to slip by unless it was close to the wall, and the person trying to slip by was close the opposite wall. But, it does not fill that space with its bulk, one can walk by pretty easily.
>_
-
>"Oh? Like what? I'm curious."
>Did Renko follow us out?
-
>"Oh? Like what? I'm curious."
>Did Renko follow us out?
>Renko did follow you out. She's trying to sidle away.
>"I investigated where it was sealed. Very interesting...From what I was able to gather, it was created by a Vedic magician, I've yet to be able to trace exactly when he lived, but that's really not important. The important part is it's intricacy, it's beauty! Did you not see the exquisite craftsmanship of its parts? It must have been a life's work!"
-
>"The worksmanship is certainly very impressive. But... you said it was sealed. Why?"
>"And how did it end up in your possession afterwards?"
-
>"The worksmanship is certainly very impressive. But... you said it was sealed. Why?"
>"And how did it end up in your possession afterwards?"
>"It was powered by something forbidden," says Alice with a shrug. "As for how I got it, it got loose, and Reisen defeated it, then left the body. It's a stroke of luck I was able to see it at all. By the time I got to it, the faeries had stripped it half to pieces. I took what I could, of course, and have been trying to get the little nuisances to give me what they could find in exchange for cherry tarts and the like. Probably why they brought me Renko in the first place. She was all too happy to round what parts she could find."
>Renko, you note, has escaped now.
>"Unfortunately, some have been lost forever, and it's just not feasible to get everything the faeries took. So, replacements must be made. Replacements which are not cheap by any meaning of the word."
>_
-
>"No, I can imagine they mustn't be. Gensokyo itself seems rather lacking in the infrastructure for precise machining. Well, I suppose the kappa might have some, but they seem a little... imprecise in some ways."
>"Is that energy that's filling some of the gaps a temporary measure, then? Until you can make the actual metal parts to replace it?"
>"And is that book of yours essentially an integral part of it, as well? Or could it be assembled in the typical physical way, once the missing parts are replaced?"
-
>"No, I can imagine they mustn't be. Gensokyo itself seems rather lacking in the infrastructure for precise machining. Well, I suppose the kappa might have some, but they seem a little... imprecise in some ways."
>"Is that energy that's filling some of the gaps a temporary measure, then? Until you can make the actual metal parts to replace it?"
>"And is that book of yours essentially an integral part of it, as well? Or could it be assembled in the typical physical way, once the missing parts are replaced?"
>"Yes, and yes, a temporary measure. As for the Grimoire, it needs something to power it, now that the original source is gone. My usual techniques wouldn't affect it. It'll be a goal for the future. But for now, let us focus on today's goals..."
>_
-
>"Well, the curiosity is honest, even if I don't approve of how you're planning to raise the money for it. But I'm pretty sure we've already established that."
>"I guess that makes me a test subject of sorts, doesn't it? Well, I guess I'm going to get to see what it can do, one way or the other."
>Get ready to respond to sudden attacks
>How far away are Alice and the construct?
>How far away is the foyer from here?
-
>"Well, the curiosity is honest, even if I don't approve of how you're planning to raise the money for it. But I'm pretty sure we've already established that."
>"I guess that makes me a test subject of sorts, doesn't it? Well, I guess I'm going to get to see what it can do, one way or the other."
>Get ready to respond to sudden attacks
>How far away are Alice and the construct?
>How far away is the foyer from here?
>"You could think of yourself as such," says Alice, as she manipulates the construct forward.
>She is about 5 yards away, and closing quickly.
>The foyer is about 4 yards behind you.
>_
-
>Shift backward.
>Try to fire at Alice. Adjust our vertical and horizontal position to get a clearer shot at her around the construct.
-
>Shift backward.
>Try to fire at Alice. Adjust our vertical and horizontal position to get a clearer shot at her around the construct.
>You shift backward as the construct approaches. Despite being on the ground, it is fast enough to keep pace with your flight.
>You fire upon Alice, and she tugs on the construct's strings, causing it to shoot its hand out and intercept the bullets.
>If you intend to keep avoiding it, you'll be forced out into the foyer.
>_
-
>Then fall back to the foyer. We'll need the maneuvering room against something so large.
>Try to shift back and forth to the side as we fall back (assuming it does not impede our momentum too much), launching bullets at Alice from different angles. Let's see how fast she can make that construct block
-
>Then fall back to the foyer. We'll need the maneuvering room against something so large.
>Try to shift back and forth to the side as we fall back (assuming it does not impede our momentum too much), launching bullets at Alice from different angles. Let's see how fast she can make that construct block
>You fall back into the Foyer! The doors to the library are still wide open, as are the doors outside.
>Moving to and fro, you try to fire upon Alice from several angles. Sometimes she has the construct intercept them, other times she dodges them herself., while closing in.
>_
-
>Keep falling back. Try to maneuver so that the construct will be in view from the library, if someone were to look out the door
-
>Keep falling back. Try to maneuver so that the construct will be in view from the library, if someone were to look out the door
>You continue to fall back, and Alice continues to advance. You think that you may end up hitting the wall soon.
>_
-
>What is the rough position of ourselves, the construct and Alice, and the library doors, given the layout of the room?
-
>What is the rough position of ourselves, the construct and Alice, and the library doors, given the layout of the room?
>The library is to the south, on your left, about ten or twelve yards away. Alice and the construct are about 4 yards ahead of you, to the west. You are pretty sure you've traversed most of the room trying to get away from them.
>_
-
>As we back up, swing out to the north a bit to avoid being wedged against the wall
>Try firing a stream of danmaku at Alice with one hand. If the construct blocks it, try to direct a second stream at Alice with our other hand without immediately ending the first one.
-
>As we back up, swing out to the north a bit to avoid being wedged against the wall
>Try firing a stream of danmaku at Alice with one hand. If the construct blocks it, try to direct a second stream at Alice with our other hand without immediately ending the first one.
>You swing north a bit, giving you bit more time to back away before you end up in a corner.
>You fire a stream of danmaku; the construct blocks it. You fire a second stream! The construct blocks that one with its other hand. From Alice's grin, it seems she is enjoying herself. You also find that maintaining two streams at once is a bit difficult.
>_
-
>Try to move such that, by pursuing us, Alice's back is drawn in front of the open library doors
>How close is she to that position now?
>"Well, it's pretty solid, I'll give it that."
>Fire a few more times. Let her enjoy herself, and perhaps hopefully not be too alert to other things.
>Can we see anything, or more importantly anyONE in the library by looking at it? Try not to make it obvious we're looking that way.
-
>Try to move such that, by pursuing us, Alice's back is drawn in front of the open library doors
>How close is she to that position now?
>"Well, it's pretty solid, I'll give it that."
>Fire a few more times. Let her enjoy herself, and perhaps hopefully not be too alert to other things.
>Can we see anything, or more importantly anyONE in the library by looking at it? Try not to make it obvious we're looking that way.
>You try try to move that way, but it will draw you closer to it as a side result.
>You are pretty sure Alice and the construct are visible from the library now; there's a pretty good field of vision from there.
>"Of course," says Alice as you comment.
>Right now, you cannot see anyone in the library observing, but you are also flying, which limits your vision through door frames a bit.
>_
-
>
"Dang it, I knew I shoulda gotten the Thunder and Homing instead of the Fire and Homing! Was my best hope in the game too..."
> Alice mentioned Reisen dealt with this construct before, correct? Maybe we should speak with her about this after.
-
> Are those two dolls that were flanking us earlier still with us?
-
> "Dang it, I knew I shoulda gotten the Thunder and Homing instead of the Fire and Homing! Was my best hope in the game too..."
> Alice mentioned Reisen dealt with this construct before, correct? Maybe we should speak with her about this after.
>Maybe you'd like a win game button too, commie
>That might not be a bad idea, but maybe you should probably survive first.
> Are those two dolls that were flanking us earlier still with us?
>You don't immediately see them.
>_
-
> Is Alice still advancing on us?
> "So what of your dolls, now that you have this?"
-
> Is Alice still advancing on us?
> "So what of your dolls, now that you have this?"
>She is.
>"Come again?" she asks.
>_
-
> "This thing is obviously a lot sturdier and more powerful than a hand-sized doll. What are you going to do with your old dolls?"
-
>Keep backing up at a similar pace to the construct's advancing
>See if we can fire a stream of danmaku that curves, rather than moving straight. Try to guide it in a c-shaped path that arcs out around the construct's reach and back towards Alice
-
> "This thing is obviously a lot sturdier and more powerful than a hand-sized doll. What are you going to do with your old dolls?"
>"Are you suggesting I'd abandon them?" asks Alice, frowning.
>Keep backing up at a similar pace to the construct's advancing
>See if we can fire a stream of danmaku that curves, rather than moving straight. Try to guide it in a c-shaped path that arcs out around the construct's reach and back towards Alice
>You continue to back away, trying not to move too fast.
>You've never fired curving danmaku before. How do you intend to do it?
>_
-
>Try visualizing the desired path of bullets as we will them into being, in a similar way that we have been visualizing the pattern and spread of our shots.
-
>Try visualizing the desired path of bullets as we will them into being, in a similar way that we have been visualizing the pattern and spread of our shots.
>You've not really tried for anything like a pattern yet. The closest you've come is picturing cloud density. But, you think that ought to be enough to try something new.
>You concentrate on coaxing your bullets into a curving line. At first, it simply doesn't work. You try again, holding onto the image more strongly. A line of small bullets bursts from your hands, curving outward from you, then arcing inward toward Alice.
>Unfortunately, the attack goes wide by a yard or so and passes behind her, but still you feel a sense of accomplishment.
>_
-
>Keep trying to refine our aim with this. Switch between sides. Try not to make the angle of approach too predictable to Alice.
>Continue to withdraw until we start to get uncomfortably close to the opposite wall
-
> "Well, there were two flanking me earlier, and I don't see them now. And then there was the crying one in the hallway."
-
> "Well, there were two flanking me earlier, and I don't see them now. And then there was the crying one in the hallway."
>"Oh, those two are lurking in the hall," says Alice. "They know not to get in the way. As for the one crying, I didn't see her or anyone else when I came out."
>Keep trying to refine our aim with this. Switch between sides. Try not to make the angle of approach too predictable to Alice.
>Continue to withdraw until we start to get uncomfortably close to the opposite wall
>You keep trying to fire on Alice while talking. You think you're getting the hang of arching shots, but targeting them is difficult. As well, you find it harder to pour as many shots into them as you might like.
>You are quite certain the corner is drawing uncomfortably close, but yo would have to look behind you to be sure.
>_
-
>Can we still see no movement or anything from the library at this angle?
>How close are we to walls on either of our sides? If there is an opening to circle right or left around the construct, leaving more room behind us, try to take whichever seems roomier, as long as it wouldn't just drag the construct back in front of the western hallway again, or leave Alice directly facing the library.
>Since this probably requires us cutting across the construct's path a little, drop fire and put all our effort into speed until we're better positioned
-
>Can we still see no movement or anything from the library at this angle?
>How close are we to walls on either of our sides? If there is an opening to circle right or left around the construct, leaving more room behind us, try to take whichever seems roomier, as long as it wouldn't just drag the construct back in front of the western hallway again, or leave Alice directly facing the library.
>Since this probably requires us cutting across the construct's path a little, drop fire and put all our effort into speed until we're better positioned
>You cannot.
>You glance back. The Eastern wall is less than two yards away. The northern one is about four yards away.
>Mustering your speed, you try to circle north around Alice and the construct. Alice turns as you do, keeping the construct between you and her. The construct strikes out toward you, just barely missing your side. The speed of the attack confirms your suspicions, you cannot let this thing hit you!
>You have have a clear path to the front door, as well as one to the western wing.
>_
-
Throwing out the idea of making a familiar or two to fly around the construct. If it swipes at them, use that chance to maneuver further; if not, have them fire at Alice.
Just a thought.
-
>Shift our retreat back towards the west wing
>Try something different with our danmaku, again. Try sending a cloud at a trajectory above Alice's head (and out of range of the construct's arms) and try to will it to converge towards Alice once it's past the construct. Visualize this in a similar manner that we used to create curving danmaku
Throwing out the idea of making a familiar or two to fly around the construct. If it swipes at them, use that chance to maneuver further; if not, have them fire at Alice.
Just a thought.
I'm not sure we have enough control over our familiars to do this. Moreso, we still need to fetch the incantation and cast it to make them. I don't think we can take the time to do this now.
-
Well, let's assume we could stop time right now. What could we do with it?
We can go from their on what to do, cause our Mystic Arte/Time Stop can kick in again after a few minutes, which it has been(I hope), roughly.
-
Right now, we MIGHT have enough time to get past the construct and fire on Alice using our time stop. But I'd like to save it until we have a more pressing need to capitalize on it. We're going to be essentially backing ourselves into a corner with this maneuver, and we may need to stop time to get out again, if things go poorly. Remember, simply stalling for time also benefits us, at the moment.
-
>Shift our retreat back towards the west wing
>Try something different with our danmaku, again. Try sending a cloud at a trajectory above Alice's head (and out of range of the construct's arms) and try to will it to converge towards Alice once it's past the construct. Visualize this in a similar manner that we used to create curving danmaku
>You circle around and head back toward the west wing.
>Turning back to face Alice, you try something new. You create a cloud, trying to set it to converge toward Alice. You feel the energy drain form you as you fire a small cloud, barely more than a dozen small bullets and send it flying over the construct's head. It keeps going, past Alice, then flies apart in all directions. That might be dangerous, if not for the fact that there's only a few bullets, leaving many directions uncovered, and that the shots aren't very fast.
>"It was a valiant effort," says Alice, "But the cat and mouse is wearing a little thin."
>She pulls a few strings, and the construct raises its hand. Several arcs of danmaku swirl from its palms, filling the air and spiraling toward you in different directions. You think you can see columns among the arcs, but you aren't certain...
>_
-
>Quickly put as much as distance as we can between us and the bullets, while trying to read their paths closely. Continue to head towards the west wing corridor.
>Try to shift to a position to avoid both the arcs and the columns, as best we can
-
Crud... do or die, I pick do!
> "You speak like a victor, but this Chess match isn't as near to Checkmate as you would like to think."
> Start running through the danmaku, trying to dodge here and their "Leeeeerooooy-", Za Warudo if we can "Hi-Ougi!", and get past the Construct, to Alice, danmaku and pummel her.
> Assuming we manage the Time Stop, "Jeeeeenkins!" once Time goes back to normal.
> If we pull off all the above "Or rather, as near to Checkmate in your favor, as you thought.
> If the Time Stop doesn't kick in "Well, that sucks."
*reads Draco's post* Aren't we in a Dead End? If we are not, ignore my post.
-
Crud... do or die, I pick do!
> "You speak like a victor, but this Chess match isn't as near to Checkmate as you would like to think."
> Start running through the danmaku, trying to dodge here and their "Leeeeerooooy-", Za Warudo if we can "Hi-Ougi!", and get past the Construct, to Alice, danmaku and pummel her.
> Assuming we manage the Time Stop, "Jeeeeenkins!" once Time goes back to normal.
> If we pull off all the above "Or rather, as near to Checkmate in your favor, as you thought.
> If the Time Stop doesn't kick in "Well, that sucks."
*reads Draco's post* Aren't we in a Dead End? If we are not, ignore my post.
>Hold off on this for now
To the best of my knowledge, we still have that whole hallway behind us, and the pantry at the end of it, which I hope to reach.
Keep in mind, Renko will be firmly behind Alice if she comes out of the library again, and Alice may quite have forgotten for the moment that she's there
-
>Quickly put as much as distance as we can between us and the bullets, while trying to read their paths closely. Continue to head towards the west wing corridor.
>Try to shift to a position to avoid both the arcs and the columns, as best we can
>You back away quickly, trying to read the shots. There's a wave of red ones and a waves of blue, both fairly sizable spheres, come at you. They are arranged into columns of arcs, you think, it should be safe to move between them. But, the red and blue shots are not in sync, and when you reach the end of the closer red ones and the start of the blue, moving between them will be difficult.
>As you consider this, the construct adds more danmaku, a circle of red arrow-like bulelts which linger around it.
>_
-
>Continue to back away
>About how far into the corridor are we?
>Shift between the columns of red shots. Choose a gap that seems to have the most favorable opening between the red and blue shots
>Be ready to shift all our movement into adjusting ourselves from a gap in the red shots to a gap in the blue shots at the right time
-
> Does Alice still appear to be controlling the construct with her strings?
> If so, which hand is she using?
-
>Continue to back away
>About how far into the corridor are we?
>Shift between the columns of red shots. Choose a gap that seems to have the most favorable opening between the red and blue shots
>Be ready to shift all our movement into adjusting ourselves from a gap in the red shots to a gap in the blue shots at the right time
>You continue to back away.
>You've not quite reached the corridor again yet, but it is close.
>Moving between the red shots, you find yourself having to follow the arcs to the side a bit, letting the construct close the distance a bit.
>The disconnect between the red and blue series draws near. You watch them, preparing to shift yourself to accommodate the blue arcs. You see the perfect gap slip by you ahead, but moving backwards as you are, you cannot do much to take advantage.
>The changeover comes! The blue columns are not completely out of sync, but it is is still a tight fit; you brush against it painfully with the back of your hand in the process.
>The red arrowheads fall back toward the construct for a moment, then suddenly fly outward, forming their own curved columns and coming at you quickly!
>_
-
>Will the new columns reach us before the blue ones around us have passed?
>If they won't, continue to back off until the blue columns pass, then shift into a gap between the new columns
>If they will, can we find a gap between them and the blue columns around us to shift into? Take it, if so.
-
>Will the new columns reach us before the blue ones around us have passed?
>If they won't, continue to back off until the blue columns pass, then shift into a gap between the new columns
>If they will, can we find a gap between them and the blue columns around us to shift into? Take it, if so.
>They will.
>You try to slide between them, and find this wave of arrowheads favors the left, letting you move to the right side of column and stay relatively unharried until the columns pass
>You reach the West Wing corridor again; nearly slamming your back into the door frame after having to move away from those columns.
>_
-
>Adjust ourselves into the corridor and continue retreat
>If we have a moment's downtime and the required concentration will not hamper our retreat, fire another quick stream or two at Alice. Perhaps the construct's attempt to block will at least slow its offense ever so slightly
>Can we see the library doors at all from our current position?
-
>Adjust ourselves into the corridor and continue retreat
>If we have a moment's downtime and the required concentration will not hamper our retreat, fire another quick stream or two at Alice. Perhaps the construct's attempt to block will at least slow its offense ever so slightly
>Can we see the library doors at all from our current position?
>You slip into the corridor and fall back some more.
>You fire at Alice again, hoping to slow her down. You force her to dodge one of them, while the construct is able to stop the rest.
>You cannot see the library doors.
>"Do you even have a plan at this point?" asks Alice.
>_
-
>"I have at least three, actually. Feel free to guess, if you want."
>Keep moving back. Try to make it to the pantry doors.
>Keep up some distracting fire.
-
>"I have at least three, actually. Feel free to guess, if you want."
>Keep moving back. Try to make it to the pantry doors.
>Keep up some distracting fire.
>"If you say so," says Alice.
>You continue to move back, and soon pass by the doors to the east and west galleries. You see the two dolls peering out from the doors of the latter. You should be at the doors to the kitchen soon.
>You keep firing on Alice, but you're not really achieving much with streams, not while she has the construct, in any event. In turn, the construct spreads its arms and begins to fire a dozens of bullets that curve and arc in random directions, making them very difficult to read.
>_
-
>If we turned and dashed at the kitchen doors from here, do we think we could get inside before the bullets reached us?
-
>If we turned and dashed at the kitchen doors from here, do we think we could get inside before the bullets reached us?
>You don't think you could outrun all of them, but you'd outrun the majority. The problem being, you wouldn't be able to see the ones that would reach you.
>_
-
>How fast is our forward flight compared to our reverse flight?
>If we continued to fly in reverse, could we still reach the door before the bulk of the barrage was on us?
-
>How fast is our forward flight compared to our reverse flight?
>If we continued to fly in reverse, could we still reach the door before the bulk of the barrage was on us?
>It's significantly faster.
>Not a chance.
>_
-
>Turn and fly for the doors as fast as we can
>Keep our head looking back over our shoulder, as far as we can crane it (at least until we judge we're close enough to the door that we'd need to look forward to avoid ramming into it). Try to judge the bullets that are most likely to hit us, while we're moving, and attempt to angle out of their path without losing forward momentum appreciably.
>As we get almost upon the door, reach a hand out behind us and make a barrier (assuming the concentration required won't impede us). Maybe it'll absorb a stray shot while we can't look at it
>Open the doors and dive inside, closing them behind us as quickly as we can
-
>Turn and fly for the doors as fast as we can
>Keep our head looking back over our shoulder, as far as we can crane it (at least until we judge we're close enough to the door that we'd need to look forward to avoid ramming into it). Try to judge the bullets that are most likely to hit us, while we're moving, and attempt to angle out of their path without losing forward momentum appreciably.
>As we get almost upon the door, reach a hand out behind us and make a barrier (assuming the concentration required won't impede us). Maybe it'll absorb a stray shot while we can't look at it
>Open the doors and dive inside, closing them behind us as quickly as we can
>You turn and fly for the doors as fast as you can. You can hear the heavy footsteps of the construct over the hiss of the danmaku.
>You try to read the shots over your shoulder, and...it's simply too confusing. Bullets arc and and cross all over the place, the only thing they really have in common is that they've coming in your general direction. You bob and weave around a couple, before one strikes you in the sole of your foot with the force of a hammer blow! No wonder Alice wears such heavy boots!
>You try to make a barrier as you through open the kitchen doors, and just barely succeed at it. It actually succeeds in taking a shot before breaking. Another quickly whizzes by your ear, by your ear before you can open the door fully, leaving a burning pain in its wake.
>You dive into the kitchen and slam the doors behind you. Numerous bullets impact against the wood.
>Looking around, you can see several faeries looking at you in various states of surprise, as well as Renko. You estimate that you have a few seconds before the Construct follows you in.
>_
-
> "Renko, that thing's coming and it doesn't play around!"
-
>Which way do these doors open?
>Rough layout of the room. How much room is there to either side of the doors? Potential obstacles / cover
>"Renko, that thing'll be on top of us in a couple seconds. I can't land anything on Alice without it blocking it."
-
> "Renko, that thing's coming and it doesn't play around!"
>"Crap!" she says.
>Which way do these doors open?
>Rough layout of the room. How much room is there to either side of the doors? Potential obstacles / cover
>"Renko, that thing'll be on top of us in a couple seconds. I can't land anything on Alice without it blocking it."
>They open inward.
>There's a fair amount of room here, most of it to the north. The counters and such are all set into the walls. As well, you can see an open door against the north wall, and can glimpse many faeries within. Against the east wall is another doors, aside from the ones you just used.
>"Guess fighting it alone isn't gonna work, huh?" she says.
>_
-
>Get to the north of the doors, staying close to the wall, such that we'd be concealed by the door itself when it opens
>"We need to take out Alice herself. I don't think it can do anything on its own unless she's controlling it."
>"Any luck with the fairies?"
-
>Get to the north of the doors, staying close to the wall, such that we'd be concealed by the door itself when it opens
>"We need to take out Alice herself. I don't think it can do anything on its own unless she's controlling it."
>"Any luck with the fairies?"
>You move along the north wall.
>"Thank could do it," says Renko. "Patchouli also suggested tearing the book out of its chest.
>"So-" Renko starts, before the doors fly open, slamming again the walls. The Construct enters, and the faeries scream.
>_
-
>Can we see any frying pans or similar cookware hanging conveniently? Or anything else that could serve as a heavy bludgeon?
>Where in the room is Renko located?
-
>Can we see any frying pans or similar cookware hanging conveniently? Or anything else that could serve as a heavy bludgeon?
>Where in the room is Renko located?
>There are a few frying pans and the like in the kitchen.
>Renko is near the middle of the room, to the west a bit, not far from some open windows.
>_
-
>Are any of these close to us, though?
-
>Are any of these close to us, though?
>Not especially. Closer to you is a cabinet full of dishes.
>_
-
>Motion for Renko to get the fairies and bring them forward
>Find the nearest frying pan. Prefer one on our side of the room, and away from the door the construct entered through
>Go to retrieve it. Try to stay close to the wall until necessary, or until Alice enters and actually see us again
-
>Motion for Renko to get the fairies and bring them forward
>Find the nearest frying pan. Prefer one on our side of the room, and away from the door the construct entered through
>Go to retrieve it. Try to stay close to the wall until necessary, or until Alice enters and actually see us again
>This is a fairly complex thing to motion. How do you intend to do it?
>You have a second to glance around, and find one hanging from a hood over at the southeast corner of the room.
>_
-
>Point to Renko, then point to the congregation of fairies, then do a sweep/wave motion from the fairies over to where the construct is
>Go to retrieve the frying pan
-
>Point to Renko, then point to the congregation of fairies, then do a sweep/wave motion from the fairies over to where the construct is
>Go to retrieve the frying pan
>You make some quick gestures. You don't think Renko actually noticed it all, what with the construct entering. But she seems to get the gist of it, as she cries, "We must defend the pantry!"
>You move to retrieve the frying pan as Alice enters. At the same time, the faeries in the kitchen open fire on her.
>_
-
>Get frying pan
>Quickly turn around and be ready to dodge things
>If we see an opening on Alice, fire on her
-
>Get frying pan
>Quickly turn around and be ready to dodge things
>If we see an opening on Alice, fire on her
>You cross the room and obtain a rather sturdy-looking frying pan.
>Turning around, you see the room is filled with danmaku. The air around you is clear for now, but likely this won't remain true for long.
>Alice is presently letting the Construct taking most of the attacks, while guiding it to repeat the attack it used in the hallway.
>_
-
>Where are Alice and the construct positioned and facing? Is the construct directly in our path to Alice?
>How far away from us are they?
>Do any of the fairies seem to be trying to move around the construct to get at Alice? Or just firing blindly at it?
-
>Where are Alice and the construct positioned and facing? Is the construct directly in our path to Alice?
>How far away from us are they?
>Do any of the fairies seem to be trying to move around the construct to get at Alice? Or just firing blindly at it?
>They are currently close to the Northeast corner, very close to the doors. The construct is mostly between you and Alice.
>Then are more than ten yards away, you can't estimate it well.
>The faeries seem to be firing blindly. Renko is shouting orders, telling them to form up with her, but it doesn't seem to be working very well. A couple of them have been hit already.
>_
-
>Fly towards Alice. Try to use the fairies' fire as distraction, and approach from an angle as wide of the construct's fire and Alice's forward vision as possible
-
>Fly towards Alice. Try to use the fairies' fire as distraction, and approach from an angle as wide of the construct's fire and Alice's forward vision as possible
>You are able to close the game to about six yards before the fire gets too think for you to safely continue. You are also now in danger of being hit by stray fire from one side or another.
>_
-
>Weren't Renko and the fairies on the west side of the kitchen while we're on the east edge?
>How much fire is coming in our direction? Can we see a path at least a little closer if we dodge around?
-
>Weren't Renko and the fairies on the west side of the kitchen while we're on the east edge?
>How much fire is coming in our direction? Can we see a path at least a little closer if we dodge around?
>This is true. But neither side is really focusing their fire at the moment.
>There is a lot, coming from both sides. You may be able to find you way into it a little ways, but it would not be safe at all.
>_
-
>Is the fire dense enough that it would significantly impede our movement through it if time were stopped?
>And, assuming time were stopped, about how long would it take us to reach Alice at top speed from our current position?
-
>Is the fire dense enough that it would significantly impede our movement through it if time were stopped?
>And, assuming time were stopped, about how long would it take us to reach Alice at top speed from our current position?
>You...think you should be able to pick your way through it. If you time it right, you might even have a mostly clear path if you hug the wall. It would take two to three seconds at best to reach her.
>_
-
>Wait just a moment for a more optimal path
>Attempt to stop time
>If this works, take off for Alice as fast as we possibly can. Be willing to scrape by smaller shots rather than loose too much time to avoid them. Grin and bear it. This has to count
>Get up behind Alice, gripping the frying pan firmly with both hands
>Muster as much force as we possibly can, and swing the bottom of the frying pan against the back of her head like a baseball bat
-
>Wait just a moment for a more optimal path
>Attempt to stop time
>If this works, take off for Alice as fast as we possibly can. Be willing to scrape by smaller shots rather than loose too much time to avoid them. Grin and bear it. This has to count
>Get up behind Alice, gripping the frying pan firmly with both hands
>Muster as much force as we possibly can, and swing the bottom of the frying pan against the back of her head like a baseball bat
>You wait for it. Wait...wait... there!
>You try for it...and time comes to a stop.
>Runing as quickly as you can, you weave dash through the fire. Your eyes are on the goal up ahead.
>One heartbeat. Two heartbeats. You can feel the building. She's only a little ways away now.
>Alice is looking at you. When you froze time, she was watching you. Does she know? Could she have figured it out?
>Three heartbeats. It's getting difficult to resist the pressure. You can't breathe anymore.
>Slipping around the Construct, you reach Alice! Frozen in time, she still looks in your direction.
>_
-
>Shift to the side of Alice if we don't think we have time to get behind her. Just try not to be directly in front of her when time starts again.
>Firmly grip the frying pan and swing it against the side of her head as hard as we can (if we can't reach the back of it comfortably)
-
>Shift to the side of Alice if we don't think we have time to get behind her. Just try not to be directly in front of her when time starts again.
>Firmly grip the frying pan and swing it against the side of her head as hard as we can (if we can't reach the back of it comfortably)
>You shift to the side, and swing the frying pan at the side of Alice's head.
>Four heartbeats. You cannot hold it nay longer.
>Time moves once again.
>Alice's eyes shift in your direction. She stands to move. Then the frying pan connects with a resounding "clang!" Alice falls to the ground.
>There is a fair amount of fire around you, but the Construct seems to be deflecting most of it.
>_
-
>Does Alice seem to be knocked out, or just stunned?
>If she still seems to be trying to move, hit her again
>Try to stay away from her front, just in case
-
>Does Alice seem to be knocked out, or just stunned?
>If she still seems to be trying to move, hit her again
>Try to stay away from her front, just in case
>Her eyes closed, and she doesn't appear to be moving. You keep away from her front just in case.
>_
-
>Has the construct stopped doing anything?
>If so: "Guys, she's down! You can stop shooting!"
-
>Has the construct stopped doing anything?
>If so: "Guys, she's down! You can stop shooting!"
>It doesn't seem to be firing anymore. But, it is still moving. Swaying oddly from side to side. The feeling it gives as though it were stretching its back in a strange way.
>_
-
>Does it look like it might be about to fall apart without Alice's spell to keep it together?
>Or could it just be reacting under the fire it's still receiving?
>If it doesn't appear to be doing anything hostile, yell for Renko and the fairies to hold their fire
-
>Does it look like it might be about to fall apart without Alice's spell to keep it together?
>Or could it just be reacting under the fire it's still receiving?
>If it doesn't appear to be doing anything hostile, yell for Renko and the fairies to hold their fire
>It does not seem to be falling apart.
>You aren't sure if the shots are affecting it or not.
>All it is doing at the moment is swaying. You yell for the others to hold their fire. The shots slacken a bit, but do not stop.
>_
-
>"C'mon guys, stop it!"
>"Renko, get over to it and try to pull that book out!"
>Keep an eye on Alice. Be ready to hit her again if she does anything.
-
>"C'mon guys, stop it!"
>"Renko, get over to it and try to pull that book out!"
>Keep an eye on Alice. Be ready to hit her again if she does anything.
>You cry for them to stop. "Stop firing, already!" Renko cries. This seems to do it, the faeries that are left cease fire, save for one. Renko walks over to her.
>"Is that safe?" Renko asks, as she grabs the last faerie to stop her from firing.
>Alice does not stir.
>_
-
>"Well, Patchouli suggested it, didn't she? It doesn't seem to be falling apart, even though Alice is unconscious. I don't think it can attack without her controlling it. It didn't seem to, earlier."
>"Or you can come over here and keep an eye on her and I'll try it."
-
>"Well, Patchouli suggested it, didn't she? It doesn't seem to be falling apart, even though Alice is unconscious. I don't think it can attack without her controlling it. It didn't seem to, earlier."
>"Or you can come over here and keep an eye on her and I'll try it."
>"If it can still move, why can't still attack?" Renko asks, eying the Construct.
>The faeries leave, some heading into the pantry, others flying out the window.
>_
-
>The construct is just swaying in place, isn't it? It's not actually moving its legs or arms, is it?
>Can we see any strings still attached to it?
>"I didn't think it had any independent will, unlike Alice's other dolls."
-
>The construct is just swaying in place, isn't it? It's not actually moving its legs or arms, is it?
>Can we see any strings still attached to it?
>"I didn't think it had any independent will, unlike Alice's other dolls."
>It is. Although upon closer inspect, it is keeping it's arms steady, rather that letting them flop about.
>The strings are still attached, though a few have been pulled loose by Alice's untimely tumbled.
>"Why wouldn't it?" asks Renko, approaching you, but still giving it a wide berth. "Isn't that kind of her thing?"
>_
-
>"This thing is different. She recovered part of something that had been built by someone else. A long time ago, I think. She said it was powered by something forbidden and the her grimoire is serving as a replacement power source since her usual techniques wouldn't affect it. Patchouli said that her dolls are usually non-aggressive when Alice is unconscious in any event. Although... I can't blame you for not wanting to take chances with something that size."
>See if we can remove the strings. If not, ask Renko to bring us a knife, and cut them.
-
>"This thing is different. She recovered part of something that had been built by someone else. A long time ago, I think. She said it was powered by something forbidden and the her grimoire is serving as a replacement power source since her usual techniques wouldn't affect it. Patchouli said that her dolls are usually non-aggressive when Alice is unconscious in any event. Although... I can't blame you for not wanting to take chances with something that size."
>See if we can remove the strings. If not, ask Renko to bring us a knife, and cut them.
>"Yeah..." says Renko, frowning.
>How will you try to remove the strings?
>_
-
>Well, how are they actually attached to her hand? Some already came off, correct? How did they appear to do that?
-
>Well, how are they actually attached to her hand? Some already came off, correct? How did they appear to do that?
>Looking closely, you see that they are connected to her fingers by a series of ring-like cloth bands.
>You weren't paying attention to the strings while striking Alice, but you suspect some got ripped off from it with her fall.
>_
-
>Try to slide these bands off
-
>Try to slide these bands off
>You slide the bands off her fingers with ease.
>This seems to change nothing.
>_
-
>"Maybe you should go fetch Patchouli. Tell her Alice is down, but that we could use her expertise in dispelling whatever spell Alice has that's keeping that up. Maybe she'll know what to do."
-
>"Maybe you should go fetch Patchouli. Tell her Alice is down, but that we could use her expertise in dispelling whatever spell Alice has that's keeping that up. Maybe she'll know what to do."
>"Not until you get away from it," says Renko, watching the swaying Construct.
>_
-
>The construct isn't actually facing us, though, is it?
>If we're still in swinging range of it, though, take Alice and drag her further away. Ask for Renko's help with this if she's hard to manage. Then move Alice to a spot a safe distance away from the construct, but still in a position where we can watch the two of them (as well as flee out the door if it really does go berserk or something)
-
>The construct isn't actually facing us, though, is it?
>If we're still in swinging range of it, though, take Alice and drag her further away. Ask for Renko's help with this if she's hard to manage. Then move Alice to a spot a safe distance away from the construct, but still in a position where we can watch the two of them (as well as flee out the door if it really does go berserk or something)
>It is not.
>You most certainly are. You try to drag Alice away, but she is an adult woman, and you are not very strong. It takes Renko's assistance to move her away. Unfortunately, it is close to the door to the hallway, so fleeing that way will not be an option.
>You manage to get Alice to what you feel is a safe distance away.
>_
-
>"Ok, just hurry and fetch her as quickly as you can."
-
>"Ok, just hurry and fetch her as quickly as you can."
>Renko nods, and runs out the door.
>You are now alone with the Construct. It is still swaying.
>_
-
>Sit and wait patiently for Renko's return unless its posture or actions change
-
>Sit and wait patiently for Renko's return unless its posture or actions change
>You find a stool to sit on, and wait as faeries fly into the pantry from the open window, and back out, bearing some kind of food stuff.
>The Construct freezes in place, standing stock still.
>_
-
>Hopefully that's a good thing.... right?
>Continue to wait unless it does something more than standing still
-
>Hopefully that's a good thing.... right?
>Continue to wait unless it does something more than standing still
>You hope this is for the better and continue to wai-Oh god it's coming right for you!
>_
-
>Get out of the way! Try to head towards the library if we can, but if that route isn't open, take whatever path seems the safest from this position.
-
>Get out of the way! Try to head towards the library if we can, but if that route isn't open, take whatever path seems the safest from this position.
>You get out of the way, nearly tripping over the stool in the process. You feel its fist whiff past you, and hear the stool shatter.
>You don't bother to look back, you run for the door. A faerie screams, you think she emerged from the pantry.
>_
-
>Where's a Reisen when you need one? Seriously.
>Just keep going, as fast we can muster!
>After a moment, if we feel we've got some distance, or open area ahead of us, crane our head behind us and have a look. How fast is it moving?
-
>Where's a Reisen when you need one? Seriously.
>Just keep going, as fast we can muster!
>After a moment, if we feel we've got some distance, or open area ahead of us, crane our head behind us and have a look. How fast is it moving?
Probably getting a nooner.Goddamn rabbits.
>You just keep going!
>You head into the corridor, flying as fast as you can! You glance back, and see it is following you though the air, the golden energy filling the gaps in its body flaring brightly and the strings whipping behind it. It is moving fast enough to keep up with you, at least!
>You fly into the Foyer. The library doors and the front doors are both still open.
>_
-
>Try to yell as loudly as we can as we pass near the library: "Renko! Patchouli! It's gone berserk!"
>Fly outside
-
>Try to yell as loudly as we can as we pass near the library: "Renko! Patchouli! It's gone berserk!"
>Fly outside
>You yell as you pass through the Foyer, then head outside.
>_
-
>Get a little bit of distance out the door
>Have we gained on the construct? Has it gained on us?
-
>Get a little bit of distance out the door
>Have we gained on the construct? Has it gained on us?
>You fly straight ahead, toward the gates.
>Looking back, you see it is slowly gaining on you. Not much, as of yet, it is still several yards behind you, but definitely closer.
>_
-
>The window that we exited out of earlier, is it too small for the construct to fit through?
>Can we loop around to where it is without the construct catching up to us, even if it can close the distance somewhat?
-
>The window that we exited out of earlier, is it too small for the construct to fit through?
>Can we loop around to where it is without the construct catching up to us, even if it can close the distance somewhat?
>You think it is too small. You're not sure if you'd want to fly into the tower at full speed, though.
>You could, and it probably would close the distance a bit. How much depends on what you do.
>_
-
>Try to adjust our angle by increments, rather than quickly altering it and giving the construct the best chance to cut a more direct path to us and catch up. Sweep a wide arc back around to the tower window.
>As we get close, pull up speed just enough to get inside without crashing into it
>Once inside, quickly get away from the window and descend. Expect glass shards a moment later
-
>Try to adjust our angle by increments, rather than quickly altering it and giving the construct the best chance to cut a more direct path to us and catch up. Sweep a wide arc back around to the tower window.
>As we get close, pull up speed just enough to get inside without crashing into it
>Once inside, quickly get away from the window and descend. Expect glass shards a moment later
>You make a long, wide turn; trying to trick the Construct into following your path as much as possible. Your course takes over you over the lake, and over sections of forest, before returning you right back toward Scarlet Devil Mansion. You aim for the tower window. You keep going...trying to keep up your speed until the last minute... You hear danmaku fire, then plunge through the window, screeching to a halt and reflexively throwing up your hands and straightening out. as you enter the tower! Praised be you've been practicing your flight a lot!
>You descend quickly, but the expected impact never comes.
>_
-
>Danmaku fire?
>Tentatively ascend, keeping as much distance between ourselves and the window as we can, and look out
-
>Danmaku fire?
>Tentatively ascend, keeping as much distance between ourselves and the window as we can, and look out
>You are certain that is what you heard.
>With no sign of metallic death bearing down upon you, you tentatively ascend back up to the window. Looking through it, you see no sign of your pursuer, but you can hear more danmaku outside. Looking toward the ground, you can see it as well, though the slope of the roof prevents you from witnessing the source, you simply see it flying off into the distance.
>_
-
> Exit the tower and head towards the ground, near where the Danmaku is going by. Keep a safe distance though.
-
> In which direction was the construct flying?
> Was there anyone near it?
-
> Exit the tower and head towards the ground, near where the Danmaku is going by. Keep a safe distance though.
>How do you intend to exit?
> In which direction was the construct flying?
> Was there anyone near it?
>It was following you, so southward.
>Not that you knew of, but you were focused on trying to thread the needle the through that window, so you weren't paying that much attention to your surroundings.
>_
-
> Oh, you mean the DANMAKU was disappearing into the distance. I thought you meant the construct. Apologies.
-
> Let's exit the way we came in, the window, or did that need or speedy flying and such for that?
-
> Oh, you mean the DANMAKU was disappearing into the distance. I thought you meant the construct. Apologies.
>It happens, no worries.
> Let's exit the way we came in, the window, or did that need or speedy flying and such for that?
>You can fly out the window. Just there are multiple entrances and exits.
>You leave through the window. Down below, you can see Patchouli and Renko, darting and weaving around the Construct as it chases after them.
>_
-
> Is Meiling visible from our current position? She was knocked out outside, right?
-
> Is Meiling visible from our current position? She was knocked out outside, right?
>She was outside when defeated, and is still down outside the gate.
>_
-
> Start flying towards Meiling, while shooting towards the Construct.
> When we get to Meiling, start shaking her and such, trying to wake her up.
> "Meiling, we need a Tank for our Boss Fight! 3 Squishy Mages alone like me are screwed!"
-
> Start flying towards Meiling, while shooting towards the Construct.
> When we get to Meiling, start shaking her and such, trying to wake her up.
> "Meiling, we need a Tank for our Boss Fight! 3 Squishy Mages alone like me are screwed!"
>You fly toward Meiling, while firing a couple bullets at the Construct. It doesn't really seem to notice.
>You reach Meiling and find that she did not come out of that battle very well. She has burns and bruises and cuts pretty much everywhere. You shake her, but not to much effect.
>"Bitch, this vacation time for me," she snores.
>_
-
>
"I'll get Remi to give you a paid vacation if you help. It's that thing Reisen beat up!"
> Shake her a bit more.
> "Meiling! Wake up! Come on Meiling, we need you help!" "Tasui is attacking the SDM!"
-
>"Patchouli! Any other ideas how to deal with this thing?!"
-
> "I'll get Remi to give you a paid vacation if you help. It's that thing Reisen beat up!"
> Shake her a bit more.
> "Meiling! Wake up! Come on Meiling, we need you help!" "Tasui is attacking the SDM!"
>This post is like 50% crossed out. Man, what's up with that?
>You shake her a bit more and shout. Sadly, you don't seem to have any success in lecturing her out of unconsciousness.
>_
-
>"Patchouli! Any other ideas how to deal with this thing?!"
-
> Patchy suggested ripping the book out. Let's find out from her how feasible that really is.
-
>"Patchouli! Any other ideas how to deal with this thing?!"
>You call out to Patchouli.
>"Not immediately!" she cries, and she darts away from its fist.
> Patchy suggested ripping the book out. Let's find out from her how feasible that really is.
>You feel she is a bit busy.
>_
-
> Get in the fray is Renko and Meiling.
> Start shooting the Construct as much as we can. 3-on-1 wrecks most things, this guy is no different on Normal
> "Thanks for getting it off of me guys, let's finish it off quick."
> Watch what it does, but don't let up our assault.
-
> Get in the fray is Renko and Meiling.
> Start shooting the Construct as much as we can. 3-on-1 wrecks most things, this guy is no different on Normal
> "Thanks for getting it off of me guys, let's finish it off quick."
> Watch what it does, but don't let up our assault.
>You leave Meiling behind and join the fray!
>You open fire upon the Construct! It seems to be chasing after Renko and Patchouli, striking at whichever one is closer. You find your shots don't seem to be doing much to it's metallic form. Only Patchouli's shots, small beams akin to what she used during the invasion, seem to be doing anything to it.
>"I'd love to!" says Renko.
>_
-
> Open ourself to the Braclet, we and the braclet are one, it is an extension of us and we are an extension of it. "Come on... come on...
I'm right here... Skeith!"
> Try forming a Laser and use that on the Construct.
-
> Open ourself to the Braclet, we and the braclet are one, it is an extension of us and we are an extension of it. "Come on... come on... I'm right here... Skeith!"
> Try forming a Laser and use that on the Construct.
>You try to open yourself to the bracelet, and don't feel much of anything. Perhaps there is something you were missing?
>You attempt to form a laser; but visualizing it doesn't seem to achieve much.
>_
-
It seems to be chasing after Renko and Maribel,
>Question the temporary shift to third person. Or calling Patchouli "Maribel." Whichever one applies.
>If you can't form the laser, shoot some regular old danmaku.
-
> "Patchy! How do I open myself to a magical artifact? I'm trying but I'm missing something! Marisa made a magic bracelet for me!"
-
>Question the temporary shift to third person. Or calling Patchouli "Maribel." Whichever one applies.
>If you can't form the laser, shoot some regular old danmaku.
>I will turn this thread around...
>You got back to your regular shots. They don't seem to do much.
> "Patchy! How do I open myself to a magical artifact? I'm trying but I'm missing something! Marisa made a magic bracelet for me!"
>"What!" Patchouli shouts, as she backs away from the Construct. "You have to give it something of yourself!"
>_
-
>Yell: "Koishi! Are you still watching? We need some help!"
>Wait a moment
>"Hatate! That goes for you, too! This thing is genuinely dangerous!"
>"Patchouli, if Alice's spell is what's keeping that physically together, is there any way to cancel it?"
-
>Yell: "Koishi! Are you still watching? We need some help!"
>Wait a moment
>"Hatate! That goes for you, too! This thing is genuinely dangerous!"
>"Patchouli, if Alice's spell is what's keeping that physically together, is there any way to cancel it?"
>You yell for Koishi. You get no answer, at least, not until you're about to yell for Hatate, upon which you hear a voice close to your era, with a kind of airy quality. "It has no subconscious, I don't understand its mind at all. I can't help you..."
>You cry out for Hatate. "Don't worry, I'm getting everything!" she says.
>"That depends," Patchouli, "Did she use the book as a focus, or herself?"
>_
-
> "She said she used the book to power it, as the original power source was lost. If not for the light on it's chest, you would be able to she a corner of the book."
-
>To Hatate: "I didn't mean document it! I meant shoot it!"
>To Patchouli: "When she cast it, the book hovered out over the pile of metal parts, and gathered them onto itself. And appeared to be doing so quite independently of Alice while we tried to carry the book away and shoot her. I don't know whether the means the book was the focus or not."
-
>To Hatate: "I didn't mean document it! I meant shoot it!"
>To Patchouli: "When she cast it, the book hovered out over the pile of metal parts, and gathered them onto itself. And appeared to be doing so quite independently of Alice while we tried to carry the book away and shoot her. I don't know whether the means the book was the focus or not."
> "She said she used the book to power it, as the original power source was lost. If not for the light on it's chest, you would be able to she a corner of the book."
>"I vowed to stay uninvolved, remember!" Hatate cries back. You think it's coming from the direction of the fountain, to the west.
>"Then dispelling it will be no easy task," Patchouli says, "And certainly not something I could do on short notice! I did see the book, I've been trying to damage its armor enough to get to it.
>The Construct, about three yards away, looks toward you, and charges!
>_
-
> "You say that when people are in mortal danger, Hatate? Help us, and I might help advertise your newspaper. Nothing would help your sales like people knowing your a Hero!"
> Start running from the Construct, heading in the general direction of where we heard Hatate
-
>How far away is Marisa's place from here?
>"Why do you think this is still trying to crush us despite Alice being unconscious? It didn't seem to take any action until she connected her strings to it, originally."
>"How did Reisen stop this originally, anyway?"
-
> "You say that when people are in mortal danger, Hatate? Help us, and I might help advertise your newspaper. Nothing would help your sales like people knowing your a Hero!"
> Start running from the Construct, heading in the general direction of where we heard Hatate
>"You're doing fine, I'm sure!" says Hatate.
>You start running from the Construct and toward the fountain. It starts to follow, but seems to lose interest when Renko shoots it.
>How far away is Marisa's place from here?
>"Why do you think this is still trying to crush us despite Alice being unconscious? It didn't seem to take any action until she connected her strings to it, originally."
>"How did Reisen stop this originally, anyway?"
>It would take a few minutes to get there.
>"I suspect it's some echo of its old self," Patchouli cries.
>"She wrested away its original source of power, and did something to its mind!"
>_
-
>"How do I give it something of myself!?"
-
>"How do I give it something of myself!?"
> Change this to "How do I give the bracelet something of myself?" just to avoid confusion.
-
>"Do you know what she did to its mind? Would that be at all replicable by anyone else?"
-
>"How do I give it something of myself!?"
> Change this to "How do I give the bracelet something of myself?" just to avoid confusion.
>"It's like an incantation, but in reverse!"
>"Do you know what she did to its mind? Would that be at all replicable by anyone else?"
>"They were both connected to the power source," says Patchouli, dropping to the ground to avoid a swing from the Construct, "So I rather doubt it!"
>"Its mind is stirring, I don't know what it means," says that airy voice in your ear again. "Be careful"
>_
>
-
> "In reverse? You do know that makes no sense to me, right?"
> "Guys, somethings going on with it, be careful!"
> Start shooting at it to draw it's attention. Aggro-Calling FTW
-
>To Koishi: "If you can feel its mind, can you do anything to it? Get it to calm down, or stop for a moment, or something?"
-
>To Koishi: "If you can feel its mind, can you do anything to it? Get it to calm down, or stop for a moment, or something?"
Oh yeah, Koi-chan, forgot about her.
> "Koishi, if your here, I would absolutly love a bit of help. Pretty Please!"
-
> "In reverse? You do know that makes no sense to me, right?"
> "Guys, somethings going on with it, be careful!"
> Start shooting at it to draw it's attention. Aggro-Calling FTW
>"I don't see why not!" Patchouli shouts as she flies back from it.
>"Not seeing anything odd," Renko shouts from the opposite side of it. "What's up?"
>You start to fire on it, but it still seems more interested in Patchouli.
>To Koishi: "If you can feel its mind, can you do anything to it? Get it to calm down, or stop for a moment, or something?"
>"I don't think it'd be wise," says the voice, a little distant now, and oddly pleasant given the circumstances. "I don't know how it works at all..."
> "Koishi, if your here, I would absolutly love a bit of help. Pretty Please!"
>"Like what?"
>_
>_
-
>To Renko: "Apparently its mind is stirring. I don't know what that means, but I'm sure it can't be good, given the circumstances."
>To Koishi: "If you can't touch its mind, do you think you could at least fire at it? There's a book in the middle of it that's powering it, and we need to get at it."
-
hey we wanted to find koishi and talk with her, right? Perfect.
> "Oh, by the way, I've kind of been looking to speak with you, Koishi. After this whole ordeal is over, could you spare some time to talk?"
-
>To Renko: "Apparently its mind is stirring. I don't know what that means, but I'm sure it can't be good, given the circumstances."
>To Koishi: "If you can't touch its mind, do you think you could at least fire at it? There's a book in the middle of it that's powering it, and we need to get at it."
> "Oh, by the way, I've kind of been looking to speak with you, Koishi. After this whole ordeal is over, could you spare some time to talk?"
>"Got it!" Renko says.
>Before you can ask more of Koishi, the Construct extend a hand in your direction, and suddenly there is fast-moving danmaku coming at you!
>_
-
>Get out of the way! Shift sideways as quickly as we can, and put a little more distance between us if necessary.
>To Koishi: "If you can't touch its mind, do you think you could at least fire at it? There's a book in the middle of it that's powering it, and we need to get at it."
-
> "Oh, by the way, I've kind of been looking to speak with you, Koishi. After this whole ordeal is over, could you spare some time to talk?"
> Damn robots, always rising up against mankind/youkaikind/organics.
> Repeat this after we're out of immediate danger.
-
>Get out of the way! Shift sideways as quickly as we can, and put a little more distance between us if necessary.
>To Koishi: "If you can't touch its mind, do you think you could at least fire at it? There's a book in the middle of it that's powering it, and we need to get at it."
>You shift aside and back! The shots are fast and large, but thankfully it's just a burst of five largish shots. Still, it would be extremely easy for something that fast to catch you off guard.
>"My shots won't be very good," says Koishi, still sounding strangely cheerful. "Touching its mind would be a bad idea, and I need to do that."
> Damn robots, always rising up against mankind/youkaikind/organics.
> Repeat this after we're out of immediate danger.
>Oughta be some kind of law...
>"We'll see."
>_
-
>Try to position ourselves for a good shot on the opening in the armor near where the book should be
>Open ourselves to the bracelet. Give of ourself to it. Give it our love for Renko, our hopes for the future, our righteous anger towards Alice, and our conviction not to let anyone else be harmed here
>Fire! Give it everything we have. Concentrate it towards the book.
-
> If we manage to open ourself to the braclet, say "Hi-Ougi! Now... you... Die!" while shooting the construct with everything we got. "Die!" being said when the last shot hits.
-
>Try to position ourselves for a good shot on the opening in the armor near where the book should be
>Open ourselves to the bracelet. Give of ourself to it. Give it our love for Renko, our hopes for the future, our righteous anger towards Alice, and our conviction not to let anyone else be harmed here
>Fire! Give it everything we have. Concentrate it towards the book.
>You try to position yourself, but it's rather difficult. with the construct constantly moving about. You gather yourself, and try to channel aspects of yourself to the bracelet. You give it your newfound love, your hopes, your anger, your convictions. You feel the Mushroom Bracelet respond to this, and the feedback is...tremendous. It feels like something caught fire inside; it's painful, but not in a bad way.
>You focus this into an attack. Bullets swirl from your hands, hundreds of them, so dense that a faerie could not put her hand into it. They swirl at the Construct, striking it in the chest and causing it to stagger back and fall. You see some of its pieces fall loose under the onslaught.
>It ends as quickly as it begins. You feel a bit drained, like you had been running for past half hour.
> If we manage to open ourself to the braclet, say "Hi-Ougi! Now... you... Die!" while shooting the construct with everything we got. "Die!" being said when the last shot hits.
>You were way too overwhelmed to be thinking about speaking.
>_
-
>Try to collect ourselves
>Take a look at the construct. What shape does it seem to be in?
-
>Try to collect ourselves
>Take a look at the construct. What shape does it seem to be in?
>You're panting for breath, and swaying in midair. You try to gather your thoughts. It's hard to even focus on the situations anymore...
>You look at the construct. It's staggering to its feet. Its torso has definitely been damaged, and the golden energy making up its missing parts is flaring erratically.
>_
-
>Pray that someone else can capitalize on this
>Keep trying to gather ourselves
-
> Dratted thing had to fall, didn't it? Ground would be nice to rest on right about now.
> Float slowly away from the construct (backwards, assuming we are facing it) in an effort to put some distance between ourselves and it while it recovers.
-
>Pray that someone else can capitalize on this
>Keep trying to gather ourselves
>Renko and Patchouli are already firing on it. Renko is hardly doing anything to it, Patchouli seems to be inflicting a bit of damage.
>You try to catch your breath and steady yourself. Really, you just want to sit down for a bit.
>"Patchouli's not going to last much longer," says the airy, cheerful voice.
>_
-
>Get down to the ground
>Does the book seem to be exposed more fully, now?
-
>Get down to the ground
>Does the book seem to be exposed more fully, now?
>You land. It's certainly nice to have the ground to hold you up.
>It does seem to be a bit more exposed now. You don't know if you could yank it out now.
>_
-
>Does the construct appear to be moving again, yet? Or capable of taking any other aggressive actions at the moment?
>How far away from it are we?
>"Do you think it would just fall apart if the book could be removed?"
-
>Does the construct appear to be moving again, yet? Or capable of taking any other aggressive actions at the moment?
>How far away from it are we?
>"Do you think it would just fall apart if the book could be removed?"
>It is getting to its feet, so yes.
>You are about seven yards away.
>"I hope so!"
>_
-
>Assuming we could stop time at the moment, do we have enough breath left in us for a quick enough dash to the construct for the book? We can always collapse in a puddle of exhaustion afterwards
-
>Assuming we could stop time at the moment, do we have enough breath left in us for a quick enough dash to the construct for the book? We can always collapse in a puddle of exhaustion afterwards
>If you could stop time, you think you could push it.
-
>If you could stop time, you think you could push it.
>Close in on the construct a little, before it's in a position to take offensive action, but without getting too close
>Attempt to stop time.
>If this works, give it everything we've got to close the distance
>Grab the book and pull!
>If time doesn't stop, back off again a little.
-
>Close in on the construct a little, before it's in a position to take offensive action, but without getting too close
>Attempt to stop time.
>If this works, give it everything we've got to close the distance
>Grab the book and pull!
>If time doesn't stop, back off again a little.
>You close in, and try to freeze time. It does not work.
>You back away a little bit.
>_
-
> "Koishi, could you draw on someone else's mind to form bullets?"
-
> "Koishi, could you draw on someone else's mind to form bullets?"
>"If I were shooting at them," she says.
>The Construct stands, and it's coming for you!
>_
-
>Quickly take to the air and retreat.
-
>Quickly take to the air and retreat.
>You take the to air! So does it.
>Where will you retreat, and how?
-
>Head back towards the window on the chance that it's very, very angry with us after that, and won't be distracted by other targets.
>Fly facing forward, but look behind us. Does it seem any slower than it was earlier?
-
>Head back towards the window on the chance that it's very, very angry with us after that, and won't be distracted by other targets.
>Fly facing forward, but look behind us. Does it seem any slower than it was earlier?
>You fly back toward the clock tower window, fearing it might be very upset with you!
>You look back. It doesn't seem to be flying as quickly as before. This is a good thing, but not a good enough thing as you are still quite worn out and not flying at top speed yourself. It is gaining on you. But at least you won't have to worry about coming to a screeching halt upon getting in through the window.
>_
-
>Continue to fly in through the window and descend, unless the construct appears to break off pursuit before then. Make sure to look back in front of us before we attempt to enter
-
>Continue to fly in through the window and descend, unless the construct appears to break off pursuit before then. Make sure to look back in front of us before we attempt to enter
>It does not break off pursue this time, even though you can hear the others firing on it. In continues to close on you, as you close in on the clock tower.
>With it less than two yards away, you fly through the window without problems!
>_
-
>Descend and shift out of line of the window and the likely path that broken glass would fly in the event of an impact
>Glance back up in the direction of the window
-
>Descend and shift out of line of the window and the likely path that broken glass would fly in the event of an impact
>Glance back up in the direction of the window
>You descend and try to get out of the way of falling debris. You hear and enormous crash, and the sound of splintering wood. Glass and huge pieces of wood rain down from above.
>Looking up, you see the Construct's fist pull back through a sizable hole that it had punched into the wall by the window, and starts to climb through.
>_
-
>Quickly fly back out the front door of the mansion
>Glance back towards the construct when we can
-
>Quickly fly back out the front door of the mansion
>Glance back towards the construct when we can
>You make your way back to the front doors. Unfortunately, much of the gain in distance you made from the window impeding the Construct are lost as you open the doors to the Foyer.
>You fly through the Foyer, the Construct still chasing you, and out the front doors again.
>_
-
>Keep going a little bit more
>How much distance do we have between us and it, now?
-
>Keep going a little bit more
>How much distance do we have between us and it, now?
>You keep going!
>Glancing back, you can see it is about three yards behind you.
>You are definitely getting worn out.
-
>Make another attempt to stop time
>If it succeeds, spin around, and put every bit of energy we have into reaching that book
>Grab it and pull!
-
>Make another attempt to stop time
>If it succeeds, spin around, and put every bit of energy we have into reaching that book
>Grab it and pull!
>You try again, and still do not succeed. It cannot be too long, now, though.
>_
-
>Keep flying. Try to move past Renko and Patchouli at such an angle that the construct doesn't come right on top of them, but still gives them a good angle to fire at it. Maybe something can shake it off for a moment?
>"I... can't keep this up much longer!"
-
> Inventory.
-
>Keep flying. Try to move past Renko and Patchouli at such an angle that the construct doesn't come right on top of them, but still gives them a good angle to fire at it. Maybe something can shake it off for a moment?
>"I... can't keep this up much longer!"
>You are already passing by Renko and Patchouli, who have already taken the initiative to fire on it. You think you see some other fire from the direction of the fountain.
>"I hope you have a plan!" Renko shouts, as she starts to chase after it.
>"Oh my," comes that airy voice. "You've almost given it something kind of like an emotion."
>_
-
>Keep running
>To Renko: "Sorta. I just need a little more time!"
>To Koishi: "Is that... a good or a bad thing, from your perspective?"
>Glance towards the fountain. Who else is shooting at it?
-
> Oh good, we pissed it off. That's much better than what it was doing before! <_<
-
>Keep running
>To Renko: "Sorta. I just need a little more time!"
>To Koishi: "Is that... a good or a bad thing, from your perspective?"
>Glance towards the fountain. Who else is shooting at it?
>You keep running!
>"Okay!" says Renko, "I hope this is good, because it doesn't care what I'm doing to it!"
>"I have no idea! It's mind, as it were, still doesn't make any sense at all."
>You are pretty sure it's Hatate.
>_
-
> Oh good, we pissed it off. That's much better than what it was doing before! <_<
> "Patchouli! Take five!"
> To Koishi: "I guess the anger isn't enough for you to work with? This thing is something else."
-
> Inventory.
>Your Inventory Contains
>Mop Hat (Worn as Hat)
>Red Robe
>White Hakama
>Branch
>Ingredient List
>Ring of Rhythm
>Starlight Incantation Slip.
>Purple Messenger Bag
>Blue Silk Flower
>65☼
>Silver Rabbit Figurine
>Purple Dress
>Wound Sign: Pain Flow Endlessly. (Captured)
>Kakashi Spirit News
>Frilly Dark Dress
>Green Yo-yo
>Dirty Bowl
>Sanzu River Water
>Essence of the Netherworld
>Mushroom Bracelet
>White Dress (Worn as Clothing)
> Oh good, we pissed it off. That's much better than what it was doing before! <_<
> "Patchouli! Take five!"
> To Koishi: "I guess the anger isn't enough for you to work with? This thing is something else."
>"I suppose that's one way to look at it!" says the airy voice.
>You should back to Patchouli, but you don't think she heard, given the distance you've covered. She doesn't seem to be chasing anyways.
>"It doesn't have a real mind at all, there's no subconscious or anything like that. But doesn't it seem like it's learning?"
>_
-
> A capacity for learning? Combat situation learning? In a mindless object? Wait...
> "That actually sounds like just another one of Alice's dolls, really."
> Are we still moving in a straight line?
> Where are we headed?
> Who is currently chasing the construct?
-
> A capacity for learning? Combat situation learning? In a mindless object? Wait...
> "That actually sounds like just another one of Alice's dolls, really."
> Are we still moving in a straight line?
> Where are we headed?
> Who is currently chasing the construct?
>"A little bit," says the airy voice. "But the dolls are backwards, they don't feel things on their own."
>You are moving in a straight line; you're over the lake now and headed northward.
>Just Renko is chasing it, though it seems Koishi is tagging along.
>_
-
> So no Hatate? Shame.
> Make another attempt to stop time
> If it succeeds, spin around, and put every bit of energy we have into reaching that book
> Grab it and pull!
-
> So no Hatate? Shame.
> Make another attempt to stop time
> If it succeeds, spin around, and put every bit of energy we have into reaching that book
> Grab it and pull!
>You make another attempt, and time comes to a stop.
>You have to stop and reverse your momentum to reach it.. A heartbeat passes, then another. You begin to feel the pressure.
>You reach into the hole in its chest, and grab the book. You pull! A heartbeat passes.
>The book does not seem to want to come out. You feel it budge a little, shifting in your direction.
>_
-
> Come on, you! Pull harder! Pull for Renko! Pull for Patchouli! Pull for the fairies! Pull for the entire mansion! Pull for Hatate's story! Pull for all of Gensokyo! Pull to spite that stupid haughty bitch puppeteer! Pull, damnit!
-
> Come on, you! Pull harder! Pull for Renko! Pull for Patchouli! Pull for the fairies! Pull for the entire mansion! Pull for Hatate's story! Pull for all of Gensokyo! Pull to spite that stupid haughty bitch puppeteer! Pull, damnit!
>You throw everything into it! You pull and pull!
>Time moves once again.
>Suddenly you are jerked forward by the Construct's momentum! You grip onto the book, and it is pulled free!
>Renko flies right over you.
>The construct comes to a stop, noticing you're no longer ahead of it. It looks around, then it sees you. It makes a beeline for you again!
>_
-
> Fly straight down as fast as we can toward the lake, still holding onto the book.
> "Oh come the fuck on!"
-
> Fly straight down as fast as we can toward the lake, still holding onto the book.
> "Oh come the fuck on!"
>You fly straight down!
>You are rapidly running out of room before you reach the lake surface.
>Regardless, you voice your frustrations.
>_
-
> Do we have time (before hitting the water) to take a quick peek behind us to see how the construct is following us?
> If so, do so.
-
> Do we have time (before hitting the water) to take a quick peek behind us to see how the construct is following us?
> If so, do so.
>You do!
>It is following you more or less the same way it has in the past.
>_
-
> How confident are we in our ability to turn at full speed? Do we need a wide berth or can we turn on a dime?
-
> How confident are we in our ability to turn at full speed? Do we need a wide berth or can we turn on a dime?
>You need some space, but you think you've gotten better at that kind of thing since yesterday.
>_
-
> Keep diving down as fast as we can, getting closer and closer to the water. If we are not currently "facing" the construct, rotate ourselves so we are, using the length of our body as the axis of rotation (i.e. we could see it from our POV despite being upside-down). If the construct is directly above us, ignore this rotation.
> As soon as we get to a point where we feel getting any closer to the water would probably cause us to fall into it, pull up and start flying forward, which would then theoretically be away from the construct if it is not directly above us. If it is, then pull up and fly forward anyway and don't worry about positioning.
-
> Keep diving down as fast as we can, getting closer and closer to the water. If we are not currently "facing" the construct, rotate ourselves so we are, using the length of our body as the axis of rotation (i.e. we could see it from our POV despite being upside-down). If the construct is directly above us, ignore this rotation.
> As soon as we get to a point where we feel getting any closer to the water would probably cause us to fall into it, pull up and start flying forward, which would then theoretically be away from the construct if it is not directly above us. If it is, then pull up and fly forward anyway and don't worry about positioning.
>You are pretty much already much too close to the water. And it is above you anyways.
>You pull out of your dive, and begin flying toward one of the banks. You don't hear a splash behind you, suggesting it didn't go into the lake, either.
>_
-
> Spare a quick glance behind us to check in on the thing.
-
>Assuming it's still chasing us just fine, fly back to the mansion grounds and Patchouli
>"I got the book! Doesn't seem to have made a lot of difference at the moment..."
-
> Spare a quick glance behind us to check in on the thing.
>You check back behind you, and find it is chasing you still. Curiously, the golden energy is starting to fade away.
>Assuming it's still chasing us just fine, fly back to the mansion grounds and Patchouli
>"I got the book! Doesn't seem to have made a lot of difference at the moment..."
>You try to angle back toward the mansion grounds. As you do, you head an immense clatter behind you.
>_
-
>Look back again. Is it falling apart?
-
>Look back again. Is it falling apart?
>You look back, and find it has crashed to the ground, and doesn't really seem to have a coherent shape anymore.
>_
-
>Keep an eye on it for a moment.
>If it doesn't seem to be moving or doing anything else dangerous, and the energy around it has disappeared, fly back towards Renko
>"Oh god, is it over?"
-
>Keep an eye on it for a moment.
>If it doesn't seem to be moving or doing anything else dangerous, and the energy around it has disappeared, fly back towards Renko
>"Oh god, is it over?"
> Slow down while doing this. Come to a stop if it doesn't seem to be moving.
-
>Keep an eye on it for a moment.
>If it doesn't seem to be moving or doing anything else dangerous, and the energy around it has disappeared, fly back towards Renko
>"Oh god, is it over?"
> Slow down while doing this. Come to a stop if it doesn't seem to be moving.
>It is still moving. It's falling apart, but still trying to reach you. Watching it, you can see it trying to drag itself toward you. The energy is fizzling out.
>Even at this point, still furiously panting for breath, you can outrun it pretty easily.
>_
-
> "Jeez, Koishi, what's up with this thing?"
-
>Continue to keep a safe distance, look back at the construct, until it fully falls apart or comes to a stop
-
> "Jeez, Koishi, what's up with this thing?"
>"I think it wants to destroy you," comes the disembodied airy voice, sounding distant. "I think that's its only goal in life. Oh well."
>Continue to keep a safe distance, look back at the construct, until it fully falls apart or comes to a stop
>It continues to drag itself, parts flaking away, until it finally shudders to a stop, the rest of its body falling apart int a pile of rods and couplings and other such things, the last of the golden energy fading away.
>_
-
>Breathe a tentative sigh of relief
>Fly over to Renko
>"I... think it's over."
-
>Breathe a tentative sigh of relief
>Fly over to Renko
>"I... think it's over."
> First, to Koishi: "Well, that ain't very nice of it."
-
> First, to Koishi: "Well, that ain't very nice of it."
>"I can't say for sure at all," the voice replies, more distant now, "But I think that might be all it knew."
>Breathe a tentative sigh of relief
>Fly over to Renko
>"I... think it's over."
>A sign of relief is just the thing you need right now. It feels wonderful. And makes you realize that you need to lie down.
>You find that you don't need fly over to Renko, she arrives at you side.
>"Are you okay?" she asks, "It didn't get you, did it?"
>_
-
> To Renko: "I think so. It didn't get me that I noticed."
> To Koishi: "Wait, are you leaving?"
-
> To Renko: "I think so. It didn't get me that I noticed."
> To Koishi: "Wait, are you leaving?"
>"Good!" she exclaims, and hugs you.
>"What?"says Renko.
>"Too crowded." says the voice.
>_
-
>"Koishi, please. Okuu really wants to speak with you. It's important to her."
-
>"Koishi, please. Okuu really wants to speak with you. It's important to her."
>"What?" says Renko, as she lets you go; making it hard for you not to collapse from the sudden lack of support. "Did you hit your head or something?"
>"Maybe we'll talk when it isn't so crowded," Koishi answers.
>_
-
> "Sorry, Renko, but can you go check on Patchouli? I need a minute alone. Trust me."
-
> "Sorry, Renko, but can you go check on Patchouli? I need a minute alone. Trust me."
>"Only if you tell me what's going on," says Renko. "And, how'd you move like that?"
>_
-
>"Please, just trust me on this. I'll explain what I'm doing when I get back to the mansion. I just need to speak with someone."
-
>"Please, just trust me on this. I'll explain what I'm doing when I get back to the mansion. I just need to speak with someone."
>"I don't like it," says Renko, scowling.. "I especially don't like leaving you alone with that thing. But, okay. Just come back soon."
>She departs.
>_
-
>"Koishi, are you still here?"
>Assuming she responds: "Okuu really wants to see you again. It would mean a lot to her. I'm sure it would mean a lot to your sister, too."
-
>"Koishi, are you still here?"
>Assuming she responds: "Okuu really wants to see you again. It would mean a lot to her. I'm sure it would mean a lot to your sister, too."
>Koishi responds by appearing near the edge of the forest. She looks very much like the portrait you saw in the sitting room of the Palace of the Earth Spirits; a wide-brimmed hat and pale teal hair. She has a third eye, akin to Satori's, but you notice it is closed. As well, the cords, or are they veins, seem to connect to her ankles. She is smiling happily.
>"I never want to see Utsuho again," she says. "She is an enemy of the Komeiji family."
>_
-
>"I don't think Satori would think so. Okuu went to a lot of trouble to restore Satori's memories in the other world, so she could ask her whether she was truly happier there. Satori told her that she was content with the life she had here, and that it was time to set things back."
-
>"I don't think Satori would think so. Okuu went to a lot of trouble to restore Satori's memories in the other world, so she could ask her whether she was truly happier there. Satori told her that she was content with the life she had here, and that it was time to set things back."
>The smile never leaves Koishi's face. "Of course Satori would say that. She always says those kinds of things. My dear sister would never want to be a burden on anyone. Why do you think she hides, why do you think she only takes care of pets? She's too full of love to ever ask anything of anyone. She didn't think she was worthy of it."
>_
-
>"So you think Satori was simply lying to her? And you feel that the choices you'd make for her life are better than the ones she would choose for herself?"
>"As much as you've felt hurt by Okuu, she's felt hurt by what you've said in return. Maybe you find it hard to believe she truly cares, but I'm convinced she does."
-
>"So you think Satori was simply lying to her? And you feel that the choices you'd make for her life are better than the ones she would choose for herself?"
>"As much as you've felt hurt by Okuu, she's felt hurt by what you've said in return. Maybe you find it hard to believe she truly cares, but I'm convinced she does."
>"I think Satori is lying to herself, as well," says Koishi. "Wouldn't she make a lovely bodhisattva? And I know her life was better. I saw it. I saw her. So much happier, so much more able." She shakes her head, though the smile never leaves her lips.
>"I'm glad," says Koishi. "If I could, I would force her to bear a third eye for a month, so she could understand the how terribly she's betrayed us. Perhaps she cares, but not enough to restrain herself."
>_
-
>"She cares. She did what she did because she cares. Maybe it's just as hard for someone with a third eye to understand what it's like for someone who's never had that."
-
I'm going to bed, but I want to make sure this gets out just in case other people decide to jump in on this conversation.
Koishi is almost invariably going to say things that will piss you off. Hell, she might have already done so. If that happens, shrug it off. Let her be a jerk. Be the better woman. And for the love of God, do not start insulting or questioning her core moral system. She has been holding onto her beliefs for a bloody long time and the strength of those beliefs shot up like crazy thanks to the Gensokyo Isle incident. She will not take kindly to having her view directly challenged, and she has already demonstrated that she has a short ragequit fuse. Don't tell her she's wrong, show her she's wrong.
-
>"She cares. She did what she did because she cares. Maybe it's just as hard for someone with a third eye to understand what it's like for someone who's never had that."
>"She knew what she was doing," says Koishi. "She knew what it meant. I told her no, and she went on anyways. If she really thinks we're better off cursed, then I would never need to have an enemy."
>_
-
Also, it may be worth offering to give her a good mention for the purposes of Hatate's article. Koishi's main problem is that she couldn't stand being feared and hated. We can at least try to turn that around by putting in a good word for her in an article the entire countryside is going to want to read.
-
>"Is it a curse, to you? It's an honest question. I don't know what it's like. And I know I never really can, but if you could maybe help me understand why it's been that way to you?"
>"Also, there were... other issues with Gensokyo Isle's existence that you might not have realized. When it was created, it prevented the flow of dead souls from reaching the Higan. They'd been accumulating ever since Gensokyo was moved, and couldn't be fixed until it was returned."
-
>"Is it a curse, to you? It's an honest question. I don't know what it's like. And I know I never really can, but if you could maybe help me understand why it's been that way to you?"
>"Also, there were... other issues with Gensokyo Isle's existence that you might not have realized. When it was created, it prevented the flow of dead souls from reaching the Higan. They'd been accumulating ever since Gensokyo was moved, and couldn't be fixed until it was returned."
>"I know what you're feeling, right now," says Koishi. "I know things you're feeling that you don't even know that you're feeling. And I knew the same with your lover, as well. Even as I tell you this, I can feel your heart shy away from me, just a little. No, don't worry, I'm not angry with you. It's not your fault. No one can blame you for not wanting yourself exposed like that. No one does. But that's what it means to have a third eye. Those that know, inevitably, shun you. Those that do not know, you deceive. And, they will find out. It's impossible to hide forever, they'll figure it out when you know them just a little too well."
>"Kanako wasn't very concerned, nor was I."
>_
-
>"I haven't wanted to shun Satori. I admit that it's a bit... unsettling to realize that you're exposed to someone in that way. But that doesn't change the fact that she's a genuinely kind and caring person. It would be very cruel to shun a good person for something that is an inexorable part of their very nature. I would never want to do that. She doesn't deserve it. And I'm sad if that's what you feel has happened to you."
-
>"I haven't wanted to shun Satori. I admit that it's a bit... unsettling to realize that you're exposed to someone in that way. But that doesn't change the fact that she's a genuinely kind and caring person. It would be very cruel to shun a good person for something that is an inexorable part of their very nature. I would never want to do that. She doesn't deserve it. And I'm sad if that's what you feel has happened to you."
>"That's because you can leave," says Koishi, still smiling. "You can mentally prepare yourself before you see her, and you can leave when you can't stand it anymore. And because she won't find you. You won't run into her unexpectedly while traveling around. You won't find her when not prepared, and you are thinking things you don't want anyone to know. She won't visit you when you least expect it. It's easy for you to say you're alright with it, but only because you've been in control for the most part, because she has tried so hard not to be a nuisance about it. She doesn't deserve it. And Utsuho forced her, us, back into it."
>_
-
>"I still don't feel it would be right to hate someone for something like that, when they cannot stop themselves, and when there's no malicious intent. I'm sure I can't be the only one that feels that way."
>"But you feel that changing everything and everyone in the rest of Gensokyo so that you two could be free of this is equitable?"
-
>"I still don't feel it would be right to hate someone for something like that, when they cannot stop themselves, and when there's no malicious intent. I'm sure I can't be the only one that feels that way."
>"But you feel that changing everything and everyone in the rest of Gensokyo so that you two could be free of this is equitable?"
>"You say that, but you've not experienced it," says Koishi. "You may think that, but you wouldn't feel it for long. Trust me, I know. First you would be mildly annoyed, when it happened while you weren't prepared. Then it would bother you, more and more. Maybe you would try to endure, because you believe what you just said. But it would still gnaw upon you. You may not hate, but you would resent. And we'd know."
>She nods.
>_
-
>"And because your sister doesn't think it's equitable, you feel that she must by lying to herself?"
>"Is there no other way to be rid of it, if that's what you truly want? What was done to create Gensokyo Island clearly isn't an all or nothing deal. Okuu reclaimed her powers in a world where nearly no one else had them. That seems to imply that something like that could be applied on a more selective scale."
-
>"And because your sister doesn't think it's equitable, you feel that she must by lying to herself?"
>"Is there no other way to be rid of it, if that's what you truly want? What was done to create Gensokyo Island clearly isn't an all or nothing deal. Okuu reclaimed her powers in a world where nearly no one else had them. That seems to imply that something like that could be applied on a more selective scale."
>"You act like you know her better than I do." She shakes her head again. "She's lying because that's what she always does. She shoulders the burden herself, hiding away, trying not to be a problem to anyone."
>"And of course there is no other way. Don't you think I've tried?"
-
>"Sorry, I mean no disrespect. I'm honestly trying to understand. And I'm sure you have tried. But if the history of an entire land could be changed like that, why couldn't the history of one or two people in it?"
-
>"Sorry, I mean no disrespect. I'm honestly trying to understand. And I'm sure you have tried. But if the history of an entire land could be changed like that, why couldn't the history of one or two people in it?"
>"Partially, because I couldn't do it alone," says Koishi. "I needed their help, the gods. I needed to give them something to do it. And, partially, because it would change too much to just to that. It was easier, better, to start everything anew. Begin a new world rather than extensively rewrite the old one."
-
>"For that matter, why do you remember all of what happened? As best I knew, no one but the gods and the couple people who were there when history was set back have clear memories of that time."
>"Why do you feel that Okuu did it, anyway? From your own perspective?"
-
>"For that matter, why do you remember all of what happened? As best I knew, no one but the gods and the couple people who were there when history was set back have clear memories of that time."
>"Why do you feel that Okuu did it, anyway? From your own perspective?"
>"The subconscious is my playground," says Koishi. "I took care to make sure it wouldn't leave me."
>"Oh, probably a few reasons," says Koishi, still smiling. You thought it might have been an actual smile, once. "She was outraged, she was upset because people didn't have a say in taking away our curse and helping them as well. She thought that restoring everything would make everything better so strongly she chose to believe we would be happier this way."
-
>"And don't you think that some people are happier this way?"
-
>"And don't you think that some people are happier this way?"
>Koishi shrugs. "I don't think they were cursed nearly so badly there as Satori and I are here."
>_
-
> "So you knew that the flow of souls to Higan had been interrupted? If Kanako didn't seem concerned, it's because she didn't know."
-
> "Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive Utsuho? Regardless of if she was right or wrong with her actions, it just seems a bit sad if you both condemn each other for the rest of your lives."
-
Utsuho doesn't condemn Koishi, so you might want to modify that a little bit.
-
ah, good point.
> Change the above to: "Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive Utsuho? Regardless of if she was right or wrong with her actions, it just seems a bit sad if you just condemn her for the rest of your life."
-
> "Koishi, would you be even remotly willing to give Utsuho another chance? As you said, she thought things would be better if they were restored, and she said she wants to at least say sorry to you. Would you be willing to give her the chance, to say sorry? To make up for what you think was forcing the curse back on you? I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but Utsuho said that she wanted to make amends."
-
> "So you knew that the flow of souls to Higan had been interrupted? If Kanako didn't seem concerned, it's because she didn't know."
>"I suspected."
> Change the above to: "Do you think you'll ever be able to forgive Utsuho? Regardless of if she was right or wrong with her actions, it just seems a bit sad if you just condemn her for the rest of your life."
>"She certainly condemned me for the rest of mine."
> "Koishi, would you be even remotly willing to give Utsuho another chance? As you said, she thought things would be better if they were restored, and she said she wants to at least say sorry to you. Would you be willing to give her the chance, to say sorry? To make up for what you think was forcing the curse back on you? I'm sorry if I'm being rude, but Utsuho said that she wanted to make amends."
>"How exactly does she intend to make up for it if I gave her this chance?" asks Koishi, still wearing the smile. "I would be very interested to see exacting how she would make up for shackling me once again after tasting freedom."
>_
-
> "I don't honestly know what she intends. You would have to ask her or Satori. She must want to do something, though. She was pretty distressed over losing you, and she wasn't nearly as concerned about Kanako and her situation."
> Did Keine ever explain to Maribel about how fucking with history makes reality go wonky, or did only Utsuho hear about that?
-
>Did Satori ever say why Utsuho lives with her, or whether her pets ever become youkai? What do THEY think about having their minds read all the time, if they're used to it...?
There must be some way to block off or disable that power, if only sometimes... but how? And how much would it help, if Koishi's fear is of being hated?
And is she truly happy like this...?
-
Koishi's clearly not happy like this, else she wouldn't have tried to change the world. I've had a very strong feeling for a long time that Koishi helped Kanako for her own selfish, cowardly reasons and is only using her sister as a excuse/crutch (just as Kanako and Suwako used the happiness of others as an excuse/crutch), but I'm not about to confront her about it, and she can easily brush it off with "you don't know". She has nothing to prove to anyone.
-
Agreed on most counts, though it's likely that there is a little validity in those 'real' excuses as well. Just not nearly enough to fuck with Gensokyo and history so much, especially when there are alternatives (and/or if Sanae had been allowed one jet flight before the end, but them's the breaks). How did they pull it off, anyway?
I wonder... changing the history of someone is more trouble than it's worth, but wasn't there some earlier speculation about making someone not a youkai? If there were a way to end it or hide it without messing with time, then that might work better. It's the how that's the problem, and I don't have any clever ideas for how to do that... I'm not sure if Purvis' Yukari would be able to, and I can't think of any other usable routes offhand...
-
Kanako nipped a hakutaku soul from Eientei during the party Reisen organized and combined it with her power, Suwako's power, the Aki's powers and Koishi's subconscious manipulation to make one huge reset button. It apparently took them a ton of effort, which makes Keine's almost flippant reversal of everything all the more amusing.
-
> "I don't honestly know what she intends. You would have to ask her or Satori. She must want to do something, though. She was pretty distressed over losing you, and she wasn't nearly as concerned about Kanako and her situation."
> Did Keine ever explain to Maribel about how fucking with history makes reality go wonky, or did only Utsuho hear about that?
>"I'm not finding myself able to care about Utsuho anymore," says Koishi.
>She didn't really explain it, but there were definite implications of this.
>Did Satori ever say why Utsuho lives with her, or whether her pets ever become youkai? What do THEY think about having their minds read all the time, if they're used to it...?
>Not directly, but from what you could understand, the animals didn't seem to ming, given how they crowd around Satori.
>_
-
> "You wanted to know, that's how you'd find out. I wish I could be more of a help, but..."
> Shrug
> "Out of curiosity, if you suspected what was going on with the flow of souls being blocked, did you also suspect the magnitude of the damage to reality that alteration would apparently have caused, if allowed to persist?"
-
Koishi sure loves indulging in self-victimization and self-loathing. :wikipedia:
> Bitch gonna have to deal with it.
> Slowly lower shades onto our face.
> "Who says you can't be free? Having those type of powers doesn't mean you can't make friends or be social. Sure, some people may shun you based off of their own delusions, but that doesn't mean everyone will hate you. Maybe you should stop hiding yourself and just be yourself."
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Yes, and there is a reason I wrote this (http://www.shrinemaiden.org/forum/index.php/topic,7106.msg442781.html#msg442781). Our goal is not to win a moral victory over Koishi, our goal is to get her to reconsider Utsuho.
-
Yeah, I'm sure everyone knows we're not going to change her mind on this. We just want to try to get her forgiveness. Which doesn't seem to be happening at any rate. She's pretty pissed.
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A challenging obstacle is still not solved by getting mad at it. The only way to conquer Koishi is to play by her rules.
I don't think we've lost yet. I will only admit defeat when she ragequits again.
-
> "You wanted to know, that's how you'd find out. I wish I could be more of a help, but..."
> Shrug
> "Out of curiosity, if you suspected what was going on with the flow of souls being blocked, did you also suspect the magnitude of the damage to reality that alteration would apparently have caused, if allowed to persist?"
>"You'd think, if she had something in mind, she'd tell you.
>She frowns. "What are you talking about?"
> Bitch gonna have to deal with it.
> Slowly lower shades onto our face.
> "Who says you can't be free? Having those type of powers doesn't mean you can't make friends or be social. Sure, some people may shun you based off of their own delusions, but that doesn't mean everyone will hate you. Maybe you Should stop hiding yourself and just be yourself."
>Koishi stabs you in the eyes! "Go read a book, Motherfucker!"
>"You really don't know much about people, do you?" Koishi says.
>_
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> "I talked to the other person responsible for bringing Gensokyo back to the way it was. They said that the magnitude of the retcon magic you guys performed would do some pretty serious damage to history if left unchecked."
-
> "I talked to the other person responsible for bringing Gensokyo back to the way it was. They said that the magnitude of the retcon magic you guys performed would do some pretty serious damage to history if left unchecked."
>"Such as?"
>_
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Players are now hunting for exact words. Please wait warmly until they are ready.
-
Well, shit. I think the only exact words we got were at the end of Utsuho Quest, because I'm not finding anything. The closest we came was in our second visit to Keine, since we spent our third one talking to Mokou instead, and even then there were no details.
Guess we're winging this.
> "She didn't give me any details, sadly. Probably partly because I wouldn't understand them very well and partly because she just seems to want to move on. I just know from her that things would have gone seriously wrong if she hadn't undone the work. I guess, if you wanted details, you'd have to ask her. I'm sorry, I wish I could be more of a help."
-
> "She didn't give me any details, sadly. Probably partly because I wouldn't understand them very well and partly because she just seems to want to move on. I just know from her that things would have gone seriously wrong if she hadn't undone the work. I guess, if you wanted details, you'd have to ask her. I'm sorry, I wish I could be more of a help."
>"And did Utsuho know these details, I wonder, when decided to betray us? Or was it after the fact?"
>_
-
> "Based on the story she told, if she knew, I would guess she knew after the fact."
-
I'm not sure if Koishi strictly necessarily wants to be rid of her powers - the only reason she wants to be rid of them is because it makes her hated. Another solution would be to show her that there are people, even if only a few people, that love her regardless - and no one, mind-reader or not, can make everyone happy. To have that is about as healthy as most people are - and if you can see that loving person's true feelings, perhaps more sincere than any other.
So - why is Utsuho worried about her? Does Utsuho resent her, or her powers? Or was it only what she did to be rid of them?
Is Satori hiding away from the world, or does she have a solution for her condition? Is there any other way to show that Koishi's loved? Is there any way to suppress or disable Koishi's powers, without fucking with time?
And what was Koishi doing during Okuu Quest, again?
-
You are correct about Koishi, and it is true that applying a different band-aid still won't fix the main problem. In that vein, we should be working toward fixing the populace's fear and hatred of her, if not satori as a species. This is why I want to put in a good word for her in Hatate's article.
Utsuho still considers Koishi Aunt Koishi; at this point, she doesn't resent Koishi for anything. She wants Koishi back, because she's family. Everyone in the Komeiji family wants Koishi back, because she's family. If we need tangible evidence of that, Satori has expressed a wish to have Koishi over for dinner.
I think Satori is happy with things the way they are, if for no other reason than because she didn't take the same eye-closing path Koishi did. I imagine she spends her time alone/with pets because it's so practical - imagine if you had innate mind-reading abilities and you wandered into a group of fairies, for instance. It's amazing enough she can wander around a city full of inebriated muscleheads without her head liquefying.
Koishi's role in Utsuho Quest was very brief - she appeared near the end, after KanaSuwa got KTFOd, and she and Utsuho had a very short fight before she ragequit.
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> "Based on the story she told, if she knew, I would guess she knew after the fact."
>"So, things like that didn't even enter into her decision."
>_
-
> "To be honest, I don't even think the flow of souls stopping factored into her decision. She didn't mention it when she told me her story. But that's not where I was going with that."
> "The point is more that there are surely better ways to solve your dilemma and your sister's dilemma. Satori was very kind to me, and you have been both helpful to and remarkably patient with me. The fear and hatred that you feel from the populace is probably just rooted in ignorance. What if work was done to educate the people, instead of directly altering their memories?"
-
What if work was done to educate the people [about the satori]?
Assuming Koishi is content with this idea, perhaps we should bring this up with Nitori the next time we see her.
-
I suppose it could work with the kappa, though no immediate specific plan springs to my mind.
Getting Koishi's name out in Hatate's paper in a positive light is my current plan for a starting place.
-
> "To be honest, I don't even think the flow of souls stopping factored into her decision. She didn't mention it when she told me her story. But that's not where I was going with that."
> "The point is more that there are surely better ways to solve your dilemma and your sister's dilemma. Satori was very kind to me, and you have been both helpful to and remarkably patient with me. The fear and hatred that you feel from the populace is probably just rooted in ignorance. What if work was done to educate the people, instead of directly altering their memories?"
>"That fear is rooted in reality, you see," says Koishi. "It's not ignorance, it's simply the reality. We violate the sanctity of peoples' thoughts. It's what we are."
>_
-
> "Perhaps it is what you are, but it's not who you are, and therein lies the potential for change. Reading minds may not be something you or Satori can choose to do, but spilling all those secrets is something you can choose to do, and both of you have chosen not to. That counts for a lot."
-
> "Perhaps it is what you are, but it's not who you are, and therein lies the potential for change. Reading minds may not be something you or Satori can choose to do, but spilling all those secrets is something you can choose to do, and both of you have chosen not to. That counts for a lot."
>"It doesn't matter," says Koishi. "We still know. We still use that knowledge, it's not something to be ignored. And when we're around, and something you don't want us to know slips away, there is resentment, and it builds. I know."
>_
-
>"But if you avoid showing yourself to anyone on the surface, how many times have you even given these people a chance? To understand you, to see you as a person in your own right?"
>"And if you avoid people because you're certain they will resent you if you show yourself, how come you also avoid the people you know won't resent you for it? Your sister misses you, you know."
-
> "Neither you nor your sister have used my thoughts in my presence, near as I can tell. Maybe it has happened in the past? I don't know. I guess you do. Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes. What's important is how you deal with those mistakes. You don't let them get you down, you learn from them and do your best to make sure they don't happen again. Fall down seven times, get up eight."
-
>"But if you avoid showing yourself to anyone on the surface, how many times have you even given these people a chance? To understand you, to see you as a person in your own right?"
>"And if you avoid people because you're certain they will resent you if you show yourself, how come you also avoid the people you know won't resent you for it? Your sister misses you, you know."
>"I didn't always do this, you know. I tried. Why do you think i can speak from experience? And...I know she does. But I can't go back to that cage. Even if Utsuho wasn't there."
> "Neither you nor your sister have used my thoughts in my presence, near as I can tell. Maybe it has happened in the past? I don't know. I guess you do. Nobody's perfect, everyone makes mistakes. What's important is how you deal with those mistakes. You don't let them get you down, you learn from them and do your best to make sure they don't happen again. Fall down seven times, get up eight."
>"If I hadn't used what your inner feelings had told me," says Koishi, "I never would have revealed myself to you. And it's very easy for you to say all of those things. You don't have to live with it. You don't have to feel that moment of revulsion when someone had a thought they didn't want to share, and know the lingering resentment, the doubt. You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand."
>_
-
>"And so you prefer wandering alone and isolated to living with someone who cares for you? Why is it a cage? You can still come and go as you please, can't you? Utsuho aside, for the moment."
-
>"And so you prefer wandering alone and isolated to living with someone who cares for you? Why is it a cage? You can still come and go as you please, can't you? Utsuho aside, for the moment."
>"Because it depresses me to be there," says Koishi. "Don't you have places you simply can't abide being in?"
>She considers for a minute.
>"You'll never sleep in that room in your house, would you? And to make matters worse, the crowds..."
-
>"Well, what happened there happened a long time ago... It's no less safe because of it."
>"Does being around crowds still bother you? Even if they can't see you?"
-
>"Well, what happened there happened a long time ago... It's no less safe because of it."
>"Does being around crowds still bother you? Even if they can't see you?"
>"Now imagine living in a place like that," says Koishi. "I can't go back."
>"I can still feel them," she says. "A few are fine, but so many at once? It's a problem."
>_
-
>"Then what? Do you plan never to see Satori again, either?"
-
>"Then what? Do you plan never to see Satori again, either?"
>"I don't know," she says.
>_
-
>"But you would like, though, wouldn't you? Is being underground so repugnant to you that you couldn't even drop by briefly to visit? For her sake?"
-
>"But you would like, though, wouldn't you? Is being underground so repugnant to you that you couldn't even drop by briefly to visit? For her sake?"
>"If it were just her, then I might. But...not with that traitor there. I wish to never see her again, there least of all."
>_
-
I can only imagine the mindgames involved with one Satori trying to psych-counsel another.
That said, whether they can read one another or not, Satori is probably better suited to doing the dirty work of this than us. Arranging a way for them to meet, especially (semi)-regularly, would probably be one of the biggest helps possible.
-
> "Then...maybe we can arrange something here on the surface? Just you and her, to catch up, to talk things out."
Fake edit: welp,
-
>"Regardless of how much you may hate her, she still cares for you in a way that you seem to think is physically impossible for people whose hearts you can read."
>"But... if Okuu were elsewhere, would you consider it? Or perhaps Satori might be willing to meet with you up here, somewhere?"
-
>"Regardless of how much you may hate her, she still cares for you in a way that you seem to think is physically impossible for people whose hearts you can read."
>"But... if Okuu were elsewhere, would you consider it? Or perhaps Satori might be willing to meet with you up here, somewhere?"
>"If she still cares, then her actions most certainly say otherwise. She can try to tell herself she didn't curse us again as much as she likes. If she's convinced herself, then she's a fool as well as a traitor.
>"I...might."
> "Then...maybe we can arrange something here on the surface? Just you and her, to catch up, to talk things out."
>"Satori doesn't come to the surface," says Koishi. "Otherwise, you wouldn't be here talking on her behalf. She almost never leaves her cage."
>_
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>"I'm sure it's true she rarely leaves, but that mightn't mean she would never do so, if it were important enough."
>"If I go and speak with her, and try to arrange something, how would I find you again?"
-
>Satori DID say she wanted to have Koishi over for dinner sometime, right?
-
I don't know that she said it in exactly those words, but I think it's pretty clear that she misses her and would like to see her more often
-
>"I'm sure it's true she rarely leaves, but that mightn't mean she would never do so, if it were important enough."
>"If I go and speak with her, and try to arrange something, how would I find you again?"
>"...Maybe she would"
>"I can meet you anywhere," says Koishi.
>Satori DID say she wanted to have Koishi over for dinner sometime, right?
>You suspect she would if she hasn't.
>_
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>"I'll go speak with her. You just name a place you'd be comfortable with."
-
>"I'll go speak with her. You just name a place you'd be comfortable with."
>"I'll wait near the spring," says Koishi. "Is that fine?"
>_
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>"Yes, that's fine. I need to go talk with Renko and Patchouli about what happened with the construct, and once that's taken care of, I'll go to Satori. Ok?"
-
>"Yes, that's fine. I need to go talk with Renko and Patchouli about what happened with the construct, and once that's taken care of, I'll go to Satori. Ok?"
>She nods. "You really should give Renko a hug, she wasn't happy you ran her off to talk with me at all."
>_
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> "Oh, don't worry, she has one of those in her near future."
> "Also, I know you've shut yourself off to the possibility, but...would it be okay if I put in a good word for you in the article Hatate is going to write about what just happened here at the mansion?"
-
> "Oh, don't worry, she has one of those in her near future."
> "Also, I know you've shut yourself off to the possibility, but...would it be okay if I put in a good word for you in the article Hatate is going to write about what just happened here at the mansion?"
>She nods.
>"It would be better no one know about me," says Koishi, shaking her head.
>_
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>"Well, I can respect your wishes. I'll see you again by the spring, then."
>Return to the mansion.
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>"Well, I can respect your wishes. I'll see you again by the spring, then."
>Return to the mansion.
>She nods, and fades away.
>You return to the mansion, and find Patchouli and Renko there. You also see Alice laying near the front doors, still unconscious. Patchouli glances over as you approach. "You, the Grimoire. Now."
>"So what was that all about?" asks Renko.
>_
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>Hand the grimoire to Patchouli
>To Patchouli: "Why, specifically? The construct's already fallen apart."
>To Renko: "I'm sorry about that. I just had to speak with someone who didn't feel comfortable with other people being present. It's nothing personal, I promise. It's just how she is."
-
>Hug Renko. ={
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>Hand the grimoire to Patchouli
>To Patchouli: "Why, specifically? The construct's already fallen apart."
>To Renko: "I'm sorry about that. I just had to speak with someone who didn't feel comfortable with other people being present. It's nothing personal, I promise. It's just how she is."
>You give the Grimoire to Patchouli. "Because it is too dangerous for the likes of you," she says, as she kneels by Alice and places the book in her hands.
>"Yeah, well-" Renko begins.
>Hug Renko. ={
>"-fine." she finishes lamely.
>_
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>"Well, I wasn't doing anything with it. I wouldn't even know how."
>"And the remains of that thing really need to be disposed of safely, somehow. Apparently there was a consciousness in it that was... growing during the battle. I don't think anyone else should get the chance to replicate what happened here."
-
> Pat Renko on the back.
> Squeeze the hug a bit.
-
>"Well, I wasn't doing anything with it. I wouldn't even know how."
>"And the remains of that thing really need to be disposed of safely, somehow. Apparently there was a consciousness in it that was... growing during the battle. I don't think anyone else should get the chance to replicate what happened here."
>Patchouli nods. "Exactly."
>"I've been thinking about that," says Renko, still clinging to you. It's nice not to have to stand up on your own. You really have been doing that too much lately. "You think that's real gold and silver in that?"
>_
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>"I don't know, Renko."
>Squeeze some more. God it's good to have that all over with. Pity about Koishi's timing, but...
>"What... WAS that, anyway?"
-
>"I have no idea. It's possible. ...I'm not sure it would be safe to use that for any other purpose, though, it there's still some of... whatever that was lingering in it."
-
> "Yeah, I bet it is the real stuff."
"Looks like that one boss from that game I played."
> "Can I... sit down? I'm... tired..."
-
> "Can I... sit down? I'm... tired..."
> Change this to "Can we...sit down? I'm...tired..."
Come on, people that aren't Mus, pay Renko a little attention here.
-
>"I don't know, Renko."
>Squeeze some more. God it's good to have that all over with. Pity about Koishi's timing, but...
>"What... WAS that, anyway?"
>"I have no idea. It's possible. ...I'm not sure it would be safe to use that for any other purpose, though, it there's still some of... whatever that was lingering in it."
> "Yeah, I bet it is the real stuff." "Looks like that one boss from that game I played."
> "Can I... sit down? I'm... tired..."
> Change this to "Can we...sit down? I'm...tired..."
Come on, people that aren't Mus, pay Renko a little attention here.
>You aren't sure, but more and more, you become convinced of it. "Well, I've been thinking," says Renko, "That money, it's gotta come from somewhere, right? I'm thinking, maybe we could melt it and get it turned into something to start us out with?"
>You squeeze on Renko some more. Mmmm. "What it was is a long story," says Patchouli. "Let us summarize by saying it was the creation of a magician who was shunned by the world for speaking out against the gods to try to undermine the faith of his society by inflicting tragedy upon it.
>"I don't think the grass will mind," says Renko.
>_
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>Sit down
>"Well, where do you think this consciousness in it came from? Alice wasn't controlling it, and I'm sure it wasn't from the grimoire, either. If it was somehow in the material itself, would it be safe, even if made into another form?"
-
>Sit down
>"Well, where do you think this consciousness in it came from? Alice wasn't controlling it, and I'm sure it wasn't from the grimoire, either. If it was somehow in the material itself, would it be safe, even if made into another form?"
>You sit down. It feels so good. Renko does as well, you lean against her a bit.
>"Would it ever be safe?" asks Patchouli. "What would you recommend?"
>_
-
>"Well, I certainly don't understand the magic in it that would allow it to 'feel' anything. I have it on good authority that the anger in it was not just us anthropomorphizing. It really was angry, and trying to destroy because that was all it could think of. Do you have any idea if this could be... purged, somehow? Or would there always be this lurking in it, waiting until it had a form it could use to act upon it?"
-
> "Though, in thinking about it, Renko may not have a bad idea. Melting key parts of it down could keep it permanently out of commission. At the very least, it wouldn't be able to form into anything more than an amorphous blob."
-
>"Well, I certainly don't understand the magic in it that would allow it to 'feel' anything. I have it on good authority that the anger in it was not just us anthropomorphizing. It really was angry, and trying to destroy because that was all it could think of. Do you have any idea if this could be... purged, somehow? Or would there always be this lurking in it, waiting until it had a form it could use to act upon it?"
>"Alice would be the one to ask about this in particular," says Patchouli, "But I think a coin would be far enough removed from anything dangerous. That said, I'm not sure what could and could not be purged."
> "Though, in thinking about it, Renko may not have a bad idea. Melting key parts of it down could keep it permanently out of commission. At the very least, it wouldn't be able to form into anything more than an amorphous blob."
>Patchouli nods.
>_
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>"Yeah, I wouldn't mind asking Alice about this. I'd like to hope she never expected this to happen. What she's done was bad enough already."
>"Oh, and I'm, uh... sorry about the wall. I did try to keep the fighting away from the gallery itself, once Alice brought that thing out."
-
>Unless, of course, that blob started absorbing or melting things... how would we be able to guess that, though?
>Lean on Renko a bit more.
>"... thanks for the help, both of you."
-
>"Yeah, I wouldn't mind asking Alice about this. I'd like to hope she never expected this to happen. What she's done was bad enough already."
>"Oh, and I'm, uh... sorry about the wall. I did try to keep the fighting away from the gallery itself, once Alice brought that thing out."
>"We'll see," says Patchouli. And we'll do something about that wall. As for Alice, don't judge her too harshly. More than likely, someday, this will be you."
>Unless, of course, that blob started absorbing or melting things... how would we be able to guess that, though?
>Lean on Renko a bit more.
>"... thanks for the help, both of you."
>You could imagine all kinds of things that could go wrong. But could anyone predict it?
>You lean on Renko a bit more. She's so soft...
>"Only reason I got anywhere is because of you," says Renko. "I owe you the favor."
>Patchouli shakes her head.
>_
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>"No. I would never let that be me. No matter how much I wanted to pursue a project, I can't imagine myself invading another's home to steal from them to further it. And to manipulate and exploit others to make it possible. I would rather never achieve something than to achieve it that way."
-
Mus: I don't actually expect to get a liquid golem blob after melting parts down, because we'd let them cool off into neat little shapes that aren't gears and other connecting parts. Perhaps "pile of junk" would have been a more appropriate description, in retrospect.
-
> "Also...um...sorry about what happened to your house..."
-
>Smile at Renko and give her a peck on the cheek.
>"Youkai or not, I'm hoping I won't be tempted to those sorts of extents only for my own sake... but I'll do my best to forgive her. I don't really want to be at odds with her at all, but she... hasn't been very fond of me, either. I guess we'll both have to find some way to try... or at least stay out of each others' way until things have cooled down."
Kilga: I shake my paranoia. :dwi:
-
> "Opening myself to the braclet... really tired me out... I see what Marisa meant, mass power boost, mass energy drain."
-
>"No. I would never let that be me. No matter how much I wanted to pursue a project, I can't imagine myself invading another's home to steal from them to further it. And to manipulate and exploit others to make it possible. I would rather never achieve something than to achieve it that way."
>"Youkai or not, I'm hoping I won't be tempted to those sorts of extents only for my own sake... but I'll do my best to forgive her. I don't really want to be at odds with her at all, but she... hasn't been very fond of me, either. I guess we'll both have to find some way to try... or at least stay out of each others' way until things have cooled down."
Draco, you wanna tell him? <_< I'm perfectly happy to be Mary the Altruist even on this issue, but you feel more strongly about the circumstances than I do, so I'll concede to you what to do with Alice if you like.
-
I am willing to add the condition that something like this is an aberration from the norm for Alice (which might be plausible given Marisa's testimony), or favoring the avoidance/wariness approach for the foreseeable future.
EDIT: That is, trying to separate distaste of the person from this particular action. We've largely forgiven Renko for similarly suspicious behavior. Though I guess Alice really went through with it instead, so... who knows.
-
I feel no inclination to be kind or understanding about this with her to any degree unless she feels genuine guilt for her actions. To say nothing of her attempted grand theft, she flagrantly used Renko to simply to gather parts from the fairies and to open up a chance for her to commit this theft. I'm not sure Renko was ever anything more to her than a convenient pawn. I don't feel that's the kind of thing you can just shrug and move on about.
-
>"No. I would never let that be me. No matter how much I wanted to pursue a project, I can't imagine myself invading another's home to steal from them to further it. And to manipulate and exploit others to make it possible. I would rather never achieve something than to achieve it that way."
>Patchouli smirks. "Alice would have said the same thing a year ago. Obsession is the curse of the magician, as I told you. Deny it as you like, but you have begun that path. It will come."
>Smile at Renko and give her a peck on the cheek.
>"Youkai or not, I'm hoping I won't be tempted to those sorts of extents only for my own sake... but I'll do my best to forgive her. I don't really want to be at odds with her at all, but she... hasn't been very fond of me, either. I guess we'll both have to find some way to try... or at least stay out of each others' way until things have cooled down."
>You smile at Renko, and kiss her on the cheek. She smuggles a bit closer to you, and kisses you back. "Love you," she says softly.
>Patchouli nods. "In the end, it just comes down to how inspired you are, how much you need to make the breakthrough that you're trying to make."
> "Also...um...sorry about what happened to your house..."
>She waves a hand. "It'll be fixed."
> "Opening myself to the braclet... really tired me out... I see what Marisa meant, mass power boost, mass energy drain."
>Patchouli nods. "I would suggest you gave it too much at once."
>_
-
Well, there are sufficiently many differences that actually you know what it's just easier for Draco to explain his position. ;\
I'd offer IRC as a medium for that, though, in the interest of not cluttering the thread more than necessary.
-
> Aim face away from Renko.
> "Hey, Hatate, where are you?"
> Use louder than normal voice.
-
>"Well, how about this, Renko? If you ever see me even thinking about something like this, you smack me upside the head and remind me of what I said today? Deal?"
-
> "Well... that explains it... I gave it pretty much all I got..."
> Think back at how much danmaku we shot out during that burst. Be amazed at ourself, and smile :)
> Enjoy our rest, we might not get a nap for a bit :(
> "Guess I'll need something good to have an "obsession" for, something unlikly to result in something like this.
-
I feel no inclination to be kind or understanding about this with her to any degree unless she feels genuine guilt for her actions. To say nothing of her attempted grand theft, she flagrantly used Renko to simply to gather parts from the fairies and to open up a chance for her to commit this theft. I'm not sure Renko was ever anything more to her than a convenient pawn. I don't feel that's the kind of thing you can just shrug and move on about.
It's not. But it's important to be willing to reconsider if her behavior changes. Don't burn the bridge too badly.
Let me fake-try that again, then:
Strike previous.
"Youkai or not, I'm hoping I won't be tempted to those sorts of extents only for my own sake. But I'll... consider whether I can forgive her for what she's done. I've little reason to trust her beyond your word and Marisa's, but if grand larceny isn't the norm with her, it would be fair to try. I rather doubt I'll find it easy, though..."
Gah too slow
>"... what's Byakuren usually do, again?"
-
> Aim face away from Renko.
> "Hey, Hatate, where are you?"
> Use louder than normal voice.
>"Just getting some aerial shots!" comes a voice from above, and toward the mansion.
>"Well, how about this, Renko? If you ever see me even thinking about something like this, you smack me upside the head and remind me of what I said today? Deal?"
>"I'll find some way to make you think twice," says Renko, grinning a little.
>"It might not matter," says Patchouli.
> "Well... that explains it... I gave it pretty much all I got..."
> Think back at how much danmaku we shot out during that burst. Be amazed at ourself, and smile :)
> Enjoy our rest, we might not get a nap for a bit :(
> "Guess I'll need something good to have an "obsession" for, something unlikly to result in something like this.
>Patchouli nods. "Take that lesson to heart. The exchange was far from optimal."
>You smile with a bit of pride when you think back to just how nuts that danmaku burst was. A part of you wonders what it would have been like with Marisa's focus, or perhaps the Grimoire.
>You try to enjoy this rest. Honestly, you aren't looking forward to yet another trek Underground.
>"You'll find something in time, I'm certain," says Patchouli. "We all do."
>_
>_
-
> "May have been far from optimal... but wow that was pretty nuts for me. Tide turning power boost, the only kicker is that I am tired..."
> Are we hungry?
> If so "...And hungry"
> Give Renko another kiss.
-
>"I'm just glad we put a stop to all this, at any rate. A few uneventful days will be nice after this. I wish I could just lie back and rest for a while."
>"Unfortunately, I need to run back to the underground before I can let myself."
-
> "May have been far from optimal... but wow that was pretty nuts for me. Tide turning power boost, the only kicker is that I am tired..."
> Are we hungry?
> If so "...And hungry"
> Give Renko another kiss.
>You could do with lunch, to be certain.
>"Not much we can do," says Patchouli. "Your faeries have probably cleaned out or pantry completely by this point."
>You give Renko another kiss. "Shame I'm still sore and you're worn out," she says softly. "At least the sore part's going away..."
>"I'm just glad we put a stop to all this, at any rate. A few uneventful days will be nice after this. I wish I could just lie back and rest for a while."
>"Unfortunately, I need to run back to the underground before I can let myself."
>"Yeah, we'll take it nice and easy for the next few days," says Renko.
>Renko frowns. "What, why?"
>_
-
> Did we ever tell Renko about the Komeiji family problems?
-
>"Because I made a promise and some people are depending on this a great deal. I'd do it later, but I don't think it's the kind of thing that can wait."
-
>"... at least, not too much."
-
> Did we ever tell Renko about the Komeiji family problems?
>You don't remember. If you did, it wouldn't have been much.
>"Because I made a promise and some people are depending on this a great deal. I'd do it later, but I don't think it's the kind of thing that can wait."
>Renko frowns. "What's going on?"
>"... at least, not too much."
>She smiles.
>_
-
> "It's...oh, how do I say this...Satori's family needs to become whole again. At least temporarily."
-
> "It's...oh, how do I say this...Satori's family needs to become whole again. At least temporarily."
>"What?" Renko asks.
>_
-
>"I may have a chance to get some of them talking again, and I feel it's a rare enough opportunity that I don't want to miss it. There's a lot of hurt feelings going around, and Okuu's come in for more than her fair share of them, in my opinion. Satori's sister... Okuu's aunt, really, considers her a traitor to both her and Satori for her role in fixing history. She never wants to see her ever again. But... she may be willing to speak with Satori. I want to make that happen. They've been estranged for a long time."
-
Well uh okay then! I didn't really think anyone involved would want us telling people unrelated to the issue but.
-
Oh yeah, Patchy's still there... uh... >.>
Feel free to suggest an alternative =/
I don't really mind Renko knowing, given our relationship. I'm not sure Okuu would have minded telling her, either, seeing she told us.
>Take Renko aside before telling her this, and do it discretely
-
Hmm.
>Take Renko aside before telling her this, and do it discretely
> Don't do this.
> Whisper in Renko's ear instead.
Just to be slightly less alienating, and save a little bit of time.
-
Essentially, I'm just starting to feel bad about continually giving Renko 'sorry, you'll have to trust me' answers to every question she asks. We've done about 3 in a row, now. And given the nature of their relationship, that just feels, well... not all that trusting.
-
>"I may have a chance to get some of them talking again, and I feel it's a rare enough opportunity that I don't want to miss it. There's a lot of hurt feelings going around, and Okuu's come in for more than her fair share of them, in my opinion. Satori's sister... Okuu's aunt, really, considers her a traitor to both her and Satori for her role in fixing history. She never wants to see her ever again. But... she may be willing to speak with Satori. I want to make that happen. They've been estranged for a long time."
> Don't do this.
> Whisper in Renko's ear instead.
>You whisper it into Renko's ear.
>Renko nods. "I see. I guess that probably shouldn't wait until tomorrow, huh?"
>_
>_
-
>"No, I don't think it should. I'll be as quick as I can, I promise."
-
> "It is pretty time-sensitive, yeah. I'm really sorry, I hate myself for dodging your questions so much, but...privacy respect, you know?"
-
>"No, I don't think it should. I'll be as quick as I can, I promise."
>"I guess," says Renko. "I just, I was hoping we could have some quiet time together, afterward."
> "It is pretty time-sensitive, yeah. I'm really sorry, I hate myself for dodging your questions so much, but...privacy respect, you know?"
>She nods. "I won't tell anyone, you know."
>"Are you quite finished with me, then?" asks Patchouli.
>_
-
>Smile
>"Oh, we'll have plenty of quiet time together, afterward. I'm counting on it, in fact."
>To Patchouli: "Unless you have anything else important to say about all of what happened, I don't think so. I suspect everyone is going to need a rest after today."
-
>"I think we might be, at least for now."
>"... though, I should ask whether the fairies cleaning out the pantry will cause any major difficulties for you. It's the... least noble of the reasons for the fight, and I don't think I'd want you to starve."
-
> "Actually, Patchouli, I had a couple of other things I wanted to talk to you about."
> "Renko, you mentioned being curious about how I was popping up all over the place, moving from one place to another in the blink of an eye."
> Give Patchy a firm stare.
> "Patchouli, did you also want to know how I did this?"
-
what no kilga do you want to get mary killed
-
I know what I'm doing.
-
This had better be good, but since you've proven the most capable at this sort of thing, alright...
-
In case you'd forgotten, there's a good chance Patchouli never saw us do it. When we used it against the statue, we were probably far enough away to be out of sight from her position.
-
Renko's already expressed curiosity at least twice. The question will come up again eventually. I want to control the environment in which we answer it, and while this isn't the best one, it's a more-than-acceptable alternative.
Cut by Draco: Patchy's a smart girl, she'll figure things out.
-
The only thing I'd want to make sure is that Hatate doesn't overhear it. We don't need an exclusive scoop on our time powers. (Otherwise Sakuya is going to show us her knife collection.)
-
>Smile
>"Oh, we'll have plenty of quiet time together, afterward. I'm counting on it, in fact."
>To Patchouli: "Unless you have anything else important to say about all of what happened, I don't think so. I suspect everyone is going to need a rest after today."
>"Yeah," says Renko, "but it's just not as...special then. But I understand."
>She nods. "Very well then."
>"I think we might be, at least for now."
>"... though, I should ask whether the fairies cleaning out the pantry will cause any major difficulties for you. It's the... least noble of the reasons for the fight, and I don't think I'd want you to starve."
>"I suspect Sakuya will have a hard time for awhile," says Patchouli, as she starts to walk away, "But I've lived on rice before. Hmm, speaking of that, Lady Remilia prefers black tea."
> "Actually, Patchouli, I had a couple of other things I wanted to talk to you about."
> "Renko, you mentioned being curious about how I was popping up all over the place, moving from one place to another in the blink of an eye."
> Give Patchy a firm stare.
> "Patchouli, did you also want to know how I did this?"
>Patchouli stops. "Hm?"
>"Yeah, what's up with that?" Renko asks.
>_
-
> Beckon Patchouli over to where we are.
> "This is supposed to be private, so...I'd like to keep it as private as possible."
-
I'm still very wary of discussing it with others at this point, but I do want to point out - Byakuren could tell that we had time magic affinity, which implies that the concept, at least, is not completely foreign. Sakuya's gift/curse might be more common than she realizes... might. Patchouli probably knows just as much, and would have discussed it with her. Unless time manipulation mostly died out over the past thousand years...
But a better route for that would be to ask Byakuren what she knows about time magic (excuse - to understand our own abilities), then consider speaking with Sakuya about the results of that, whether it's to allow us to open up about our power or to help her understand whether it's as bad as she thinks.
-
> Beckon Patchouli over to where we are.
> "This is supposed to be private, so...I'd like to keep it as private as possible."
>"Won't say a word," says Renko.
>"Likewise," says Patchouli.
>_
-
> Where is Hatate right now? Is she in a position where she could overhear us?
-
Regardless of commonality, Sakuya made it pretty damn clear she wanted this kept private. Alice, Hatate and the fairies all saw us do what we did; it's non-trivially possible what we did will make its way back to Sakuya. This is why I want to do this now, while Patchouli is around; she can report our explanation back to Sakuya.
-
> Did Patchouli come over to us when we beckoned, or was she already close enough by that she didn't need to bother?
-
> Where is Hatate right now? Is she in a position where she could overhear us?
>You look around, and see her perched on the Mansion roof, some distance away. She seems to be writing something. You don't know if she could overhear you or not.
> Did Patchouli come over to us when we beckoned, or was she already close enough by that she didn't need to bother?
>She is fairly close.
>_
-
> Keep our voice down, just loud enough that we think Patchouli can hear and understand what we're saying.
> "Okay. That was short-range teleportation. One instant I am one place, the next instant I am another. I managed to pick it up in my travels yesterday. And before you ask, Renko, I am truly sorry, but I cannot tell you where it came from. It pains me, but not even you. I am sworn to secrecy."
> Quickly bob our head up to check on Hatate, then bring it back to where it was. If she's coming dangerously close to our position, cut off. Otherwise, continue.
> "This is not something that really wants to be known a lot. The only reason I used it at all was because the situation here was so desperate. I am not good enough to fight a prepared Alice one-on-one, and then there was that thing, which...yeah."
> "Now, in addition to being very secret, this technique places a lot of pressure on me as I use it. A lot of pressure. This is why I can only teleport so far. Another reason I did not want to use it."
> Quickly bob our head up to check on Hatate, then bring it back to where it was. If she's coming dangerously close to our position, cut off. Otherwise, continue.
> "The deal with it now is this. Given the emergency circumstances that would necessitate its use, and the amount of pressure it puts on me, I would very much prefer that I never have to use it again. It is useful to have in a very tight spot, but I would like to only use it in those tight spots, and I would like to avoid such tight spots altogether. So, really, the technique is best forgotten."
> "However, Alice saw it, Hatate saw it, and some fairies saw it. I would be surprised if word doesn't spread to some degree. The best thing you can do is brush it off if asked by people that don't need to know. Patchouli, if an important figure in your house asks...basically, Sakuya or Remilia, well, I can't really ask you to lie to their faces, but please try to play it off as nothing important. Something like 'I'm not sure, she said something about teleportation and emergency use, but she was very hush-hush about it' would be good."
> "That's the gist of it. Remember, this is supposed to be secret, and as much as I doubt it will happen, I'd really much rather everyone forget about this. I don't want to have to do it again."
-
For everyone else's reference:
[02:30:13] [Kilgamyon] Also, now that Renko has been given a legitimate explanation, it allows us to tell any inquisitive fairies about "super-secret top level ninjer magic that puts the whole body at risk".
Don't forget it.
-
> Keep our voice down, just loud enough that we think Patchouli can hear and understand what we're saying.
> "Okay. That was short-range teleportation. One instant I am one place, the next instant I am another. I managed to pick it up in my travels yesterday. And before you ask, Renko, I am truly sorry, but I cannot tell you where it came from. It pains me, but not even you. I am sworn to secrecy."
> Quickly bob our head up to check on Hatate, then bring it back to where it was. If she's coming dangerously close to our position, cut off. Otherwise, continue.
> "This is not something that really wants to be known a lot. The only reason I used it at all was because the situation here was so desperate. I am not good enough to fight a prepared Alice one-on-one, and then there was that thing, which...yeah."
> "Now, in addition to being very secret, this technique places a lot of pressure on me as I use it. A lot of pressure. This is why I can only teleport so far. Another reason I did not want to use it."
> Quickly bob our head up to check on Hatate, then bring it back to where it was. If she's coming dangerously close to our position, cut off. Otherwise, continue.
> "The deal with it now is this. Given the emergency circumstances that would necessitate its use, and the amount of pressure it puts on me, I would very much prefer that I never have to use it again. It is useful to have in a very tight spot, but I would like to only use it in those tight spots, and I would like to avoid such tight spots altogether. So, really, the technique is best forgotten."
> "However, Alice saw it, Hatate saw it, and some fairies saw it. I would be surprised if word doesn't spread to some degree. The best thing you can do is brush it off if asked by people that don't need to know. Patchouli, if an important figure in your house asks...basically, Sakuya or Remilia, well, I can't really ask you to lie to their faces, but please try to play it off as nothing important. Something like 'I'm not sure, she said something about teleportation and emergency use, but she was very hush-hush about it' would be good."
> "That's the gist of it. Remember, this is supposed to be secret, and as much as I doubt it will happen, I'd really much rather everyone forget about this. I don't want to have to do it again."
>You give a long, and kind of convoluted explanation. During the whole time, Hatate does not budge. You want to believe that she didn't notice you.
>"You've...been hanging around that weird Youkai, haven't you?" says Renko.
>Patchouli nods. "I suppose I can do you that honor in exchange for your service to the manor." She resumes her course back inside.
>_
-
> Call after Patchouli: "Thank you! And I'm so very sorry for everything that happened to you and your family today. Please don't think too ill of us. I really do hope you guys can get back on your feet quickly."
> To Renko: "We can talk about that later. What would you like to do now?"
-
Going to bed, I have a full day tomorrow. Suggested course of Renko action: Try to set her up with a Hatate interview.
-
> Call after Patchouli: "Thank you! And I'm so very sorry for everything that happened to you and your family today. Please don't think too ill of us. I really do hope you guys can get back on your feet quickly."
> To Renko: "We can talk about that later. What would you like to do now?"
>Patchouli seems to be done with you, whe walks back into the house without a comment.
>"Actually, I'd kind of prefer to talk about it now," she says. "You said yesterday. But you also said you only met that pervert youkai this morning. What's going on?"
>_
-
>"No, it, uh, wasn't her. I'd tell you more if I could. I honestly would. I really hate not being free to do that. Think of the circumstances a little like that contract we signed with Alice. If things change, I will be more than happy to tell you everything. Believe me, I want to."
-
Popped back in to see a quick update that I didn't expect.
Even given all those theatrics, I am actually somewhat open to the idea of telling Renko the truth if people want to. Really, aside from writing it off as short-distance teleportation, everything I said was true, and I trust Renko to keep the minor detail adjustment a secret. If we do tell her, though, I think it would be best, by a country mile, done back at our house. CERTAINLY not right in front of the SDM, and DOUBLE CERTAINLY not right in front of an SDM that Hatate is sitting on.
I also think this would be worth putting the Komeijis on hold for, if Renko wants it done right bloody now.
EDIT: If I am not around tomorrow and the Komeiji discussion gets into full swing, someone please draw a Martin Luther King comparison. I imagined one earlier when we were talking to Koishi but her opinions veered away from it being applicable right at the last second. Shame, because shit was so cash.
-
>"No, it, uh, wasn't her. I'd tell you more if I could. I honestly would. I really hate not being free to do that. Think of the circumstances a little like that contract we signed with Alice. If things change, I will be more than happy to tell you everything. Believe me, I want to."
>"So...if you tell me, you'll be magically forced to go blind on the spot or something?"
>_
-
>"Not... quite. But let's just say that I've been given the distinct impression that a multitude of other similarly unpleasant things may be in store for me if I say more about it. Despite all this, you have to believe it wasn't done with malicious intent against me on her part. I know that's a bit much to swallow. I will try to get it cleared up, I promise."
-
> "Heh, no, but it's still kinda mean to promise not to say something, and then to say it. Believe me, I wish I could tell you right now, I hate having to keep things a secret from you, but I can't tell without breaking a promise."
-
>"Not... quite. But let's just say that I've been given the distinct impression that a multitude of other similarly unpleasant things may be in store for me if I say more about it. Despite all this, you have to believe it wasn't done with malicious intent against me on her part. I know that's a bit much to swallow. I will try to get it cleared up, I promise."
>"Well," says Renko, "What can you tell me?"
> "Heh, no, but it's still kinda mean to promise not to say something, and then to say it. Believe me, I wish I could tell you right now, I hate having to keep things a secret from you, but I can't tell without breaking a promise."
>"I won't tell anyone," says Renko, frowning. "I mean, I'm more important that some dumb promise, right? If you really want to tell me, just do it."
>_
-
> Give Renko a kiss then say "Sorry~ Gonna need more then that my lovely!"
> Give a happy laugh, we're only playing with her after all :D
-
>"You mightn't tell anyone, no. But as I said, there is more force behind this promise than me just giving me word. I'll speak with her again as soon as I can, and ask if I might get a little leniency, given the circumstances. To be honest, she would have rathered no one had seen me use it at all. But that I think she will certainly forgive that, given the circumstances. I hope."
-
> Give Renko a kiss then say "Sorry~ Gonna need more then that my lovely!"
> Give a happy laugh, we're only playing with her after all :D
>You give her a kiss and try to laugh it off. It doesn't seem to work on Renko's frown. "This is kind of starting to piss me off," she says.
>"You mightn't tell anyone, no. But as I said, there is more force behind this promise than me just giving me word. I'll speak with her again as soon as I can, and ask if I might get a little leniency, given the circumstances. To be honest, she would have rathered no one had seen me use it at all. But that I think she will certainly forgive that, given the circumstances. I hope."
>"I didn't ask Alice for permission, did I?"
>_
-
>"And did Alice threaten you severely if you ever mentioned of her to anyone?"
-
>"And did Alice threaten you severely if you ever mentioned of her to anyone?"
>"No, but she didn't think she needed to," says Renko. "If she thought I would, she probably would have made me sign one of those contracts."
>_
-
>"Well, this person did, before she even fully explained what I'd done. ...let's just say I'll ask her again as soon as she's able to be posed a question."
-
>"Well, this person did, before she even fully explained what I'd done. ...let's just say I'll ask her again as soon as she's able to be posed a question."
>"Why's this person so much more important to me all of a sudden?" asks Renko. "This is really annoying, now. You kept talking to about how I'm supposed to be all forward and we're a team and stuff. How come you get to keep all these secrets?"
>_
-
>"Look, Renko, it's not like that. I don't even want to keep this a secret from you. I really, really don't. I just don't feel like it's safe to tell anyone, given what she said to me. Not even you. I just want to get her assurances that I won't come to harm for it."
-
>"Look, Renko, it's not like that. I don't even want to keep this a secret from you. I really, really don't. I just don't feel like it's safe to tell anyone, given what she said to me. Not even you. I just want to get her assurances that I won't come to harm for it."
>"Why isn't it safe? Is it one of those things that'll drive me mad if I hear it?"
>_
-
>"No, not at all. Nothing so magical. I mean that I don't want to know what she'd do to me if she found out. And, frankly, although I know you won't tell her, I have a feeling this could still get back to her if I said anything right now."
-
>"No, not at all. Nothing so magical. I mean that I don't want to know what she'd do to me if she found out. And, frankly, although I know you won't tell her, I have a feeling this could still get back to her if I said anything right now."
>"How?" asks Renko. "Satori already knows, right?"
>_
-
>"She might. But Satori doesn't have a choice in the matter, and I think she's good at keeping secrets. Look, let's just walk, ok? Leave this place behind for the moment."
>Head away from the mansion, in the general direction of the underground / our future house. Assuming Renko follows
>Glance back after a bit to see if Hatate is still perched on the mansion
-
>"She might. But Satori doesn't have a choice in the matter, and I think she's good at keeping secrets. Look, let's just walk, ok? Leave this place behind for the moment."
>Head away from the mansion, in the general direction of the underground / our future house. Assuming Renko follows
>Glance back after a bit to see if Hatate is still perched on the mansion
>"Yeah, so that's the big danger past," says Renko. She gets up, and walks along side you as you head north. "And I'm not going to tell anyone else, so what's the big worry?"
>You leave the mansion grounds, and head northward, taking the eastern path around the lake.
>Looking back, you see Hatate flying away to the northeast; you think she must be satisfied with what she has now. You also see two tiny figures emerge from the front door and hover over Alice.
>_
-
>Once we're a decent distance away and Hatate is also well outside of earshot: "Ok, I'll say this much. I'm sure you can draw the connection."
>Lean in and whisper: "I can't ask the person who taught me to do that at the moment, because she's currently lying unconscious."
-
>Wonder if Renko figuring it out herself would make Sakuya as angry...
Also, I'm pretty sure Sakuya specifically pointed out, "not even your lover," which... no, Renko probably wouldn't care about.
But yeah, telling her sounds like the only good option at this point. Hopefully fending off Alice and maybe helping keep Sakuya fed will placate her enough for Mary to keep her kidneys. Especially if it isn't quite as rare and alarming as Sakuya thinks it is.
Also, I have half a mind to check on the dolls, but it sounds like a rather low priority at the moment.
-
>Once we're a decent distance away and Hatate is also well outside of earshot: "Ok, I'll say this much. I'm sure you can draw the connection."
>Lean in and whisper: "I can't ask the person who taught me to do that at the moment, because she's currently lying unconscious."
>You walk some distance away, then whisper a clue to Renko. She pauses and frowns. "Wait. Then you were doing...that?"
>_
-
>Nod a little
-
>Nod a little
>"Wow," she says, shaking her head. "That's something. But, um...why is she threatening you about it?"
>_
-
>"Because the ability is unique to her. It would be a dangerous power it anyone else could learn it, don't you think? Some people could do a lot of harm with it."
-
I realized that we haven't admitted that Sakuya talked with us about it/taught us about it yet, so I held off actually using these suggestions:
"The potential it has is... frightening. You saw how badly I caught Alice off-guard. Sakuya is rather uncomfortable with the thought of anyone having that power - apparently she wanted it to die with her. I can't entirely blame her."
"She... almost threatened me about not telling this to anyone... she even specified 'not even your lover.' And between her powers and that Patchouli warned me to treat her as a very dangerous youkai yesterday... I don't know what she'd want to do to me if she heard, even if I've only told you. And I really don't want to find out. It's frightening, and... well, I think you understand."
"She wanted me to try and pass it off as a sort of teleportation. So I have. And even if I'm still kinda scared... I just can't keep that sort of secret from you, if you want to know it. If we're lucky, what I've done today might make up for it, but..."
"... it's important that we never share this with anyone, lest she get angry and decide to visit in the middle of the night, with... all those knives. Neither of us wants that. So yeah..."
Also, I think we can spare a few minutes to cuddle and catch our breath before heading underground. Quite worth making it up to Renko after all of this. Can't take very long, but it's important (if only to Renko) that Mary be with her now, in her glory.
-
>"Because the ability is unique to her. It would be a dangerous power it anyone else could learn it, don't you think? Some people could do a lot of harm with it."
>She nods, frowning. "Yeah. I can see. Um...what did she threaten?"
>_
-
>"Nothing specific, but... the subtext was very disturbing at the time. I'll go speak to her later, though. You can see why I think the context it was used in might let her forgive so many people seeing it."
>Smile
>"In any event, Renko. We did it!"
>Give her a hug
>"Does that make 5 unlikely victories between us in one day? I can only wonder what they're all going to think. The paper should be... interesting."
-
>"Nothing specific, but... the subtext was very disturbing at the time. I'll go speak to her later, though. You can see why I think the context it was used in might let her forgive so many people seeing it."
>Smile
>"In any event, Renko. We did it!"
>Give her a hug
>"Does that make 5 unlikely victories between us in one day? I can only wonder what they're all going to think. The paper should be... interesting."
>She nods. "Yeah. I've heard enough stories about her kind of subtext."
>You smile, change the subject, and give Renko a hug. She returns it, a bit too tightly given the danmaku hits you're still recovering from. "I think it's six," she says, not having let you go yet. "I count that robot as its own."
>_
-
>"Six it is, then!"
>"Man, that was both amazing and terrifying. Hell of a way to say hello to a new world, though, isn't it?"
>"Do you want to come to the underground with me, or do you want to get a little rest? I'll need to meet with Koishi on my own, but you're free to come along until then, if you'd like."
-
That works also.
Make sure to grab a few robot bits on the way out. We earned that much, at least, and better to separate the bloody thing.
...... we'll be wanting to keep a little bit of this 'bot as a war trophy as well as currency, won't we? But melted down, of course.
Into rings.
-
>"Six it is, then!"
>"Man, that was both amazing and terrifying. Hell of a way to say hello to a new world, though, isn't it?"
>"Do you want to come to the underground with me, or do you want to get a little rest? I'll need to meet with Koishi on my own, but you're free to come along until then, if you'd like."
>"Six it is," she says with a nod.
>"Yeah," she says. "I mean, Remilia was frighting, but I knew the worst that would happen there is that I'd wake up outside the mansion all beat up. That thing, though...man. I had no idea Alice was packing something like that. I suppose it would have been useful if it were on my side back during the old plan. But...yeah, I'm glad I backed out."
>"I think I should probably try to see how the faeries as doing," says Renko. "I still kind of want to try to coax some of the maids to help out with the house. Meet me back there?"
>_
-
>"Sounds good. I hope you do manage to draft a few. I mean, you got them what they wanted, after all."
>"In any case, I'll meet you back there as soon as I'm done."
>Give her a kiss
>"I love you, Renko."
>Head to the underground.
-
>"Sounds good. I hope you do manage to draft a few. I mean, you got them what they wanted, after all."
>"In any case, I'll meet you back there as soon as I'm done."
>Give her a kiss
>"I love you, Renko."
>Head to the underground.
>"Not as much as I do," says Renko. "I don't want to be the one dusting those floors!"
>"If I'm not there, wait for me. I'll try to have someone check in or leave a note, at the very worst."
>You give her a kiss. She holds it a bit longer than your expected. Mmmmmm...maybe putting things off until tomorrow wouldn't be thar bad...
>Then you part, and tell her you love her. "I love you too, Mary," she says.
>Despite your thoughts earlier, the two of you part. You make your way toward the Underground, while Renko disappears into the western forest. You make your way to the cave leading underground, and reach it without trouble.
>_
-
>Continue onward towards the Palace of the Earth Spirits
-
>Continue onward towards the Palace of the Earth Spirits
>You enter the Cavern and make your way through the familiar path. You don't see Yamame in the front chamber, but you notice some of the writing on the webs has changed since earlier, advertising different things. It seems she's at least been back.
>As you make your way through the tunnel leading to the fissured chamber, you stay on alert for Kisume. As such, you are not totally caught off guard when a purple gap quickly opens behind you, just surprised! However, you do see two white-gloved hands emerge, ready to grab you around the waist.
>_
-
>Move out of the way, and look towards the gap with a raised eyebrow.
-
>Move out of the way, and look towards the gap with a raised eyebrow.
>You move out of the way, and leave the person, likely Yukari, to grasp at the air. A movement later, Yukari steps from the gap, still wearing her bathrobe from before; though she seems to added long gloves to accessorize it. "You shouldn't be so suspicious!" she says, shaking her head at you despite a smile.
>_
-
>Smile
>"I don't think it counts as a suspicion when you're, in fact, fairly certain."
>"So, did you catch all the excitement?"
-
>Smile
>"I don't think it counts as a suspicion when you're, in fact, fairly certain."
>"So, did you catch all the excitement?"
>You smile back at her.
>"Oh, and what are you implying by that, my dear?"
>"I'm afraid not," says Yukari. "You mean whatever hullabaloo you were planning with those faeries?"
>_
-
>"Well, I suppose since it's over I may as well tell you the whole tale."
>"Renko challenged the Scarlet Devil Mansion to a battle with her army. And defeated every single person inside it. Even Remilia. Patchouli was the only one that escaped still conscious, and even she had almost nothing left to give afterwards."
>"That was the good part. The challenge was announced ahead of time, and no one was seriously harmed. Unfortunately, Alice showed up to take advantage of the fact that there was no one left to defend the place."
>"She was there to loot the place. To be honest, I... was kind of expecting her to try something. That's one of the reasons I was there. So, I said that I wasn't going to let her take whatever she came for. And I didn't. She's out light a light, now, too."
>"The scarier part was what she brought along with her. Some sort of ancient destroyer construct that she'd reassembled. One that Reisen beat some time ago. I don't know if you're familiar with it. Anyway, after Alice was knocked out, it took on a life of its own and tried to kill us. It... actually tore a hole in the wall chasing after me. I managed to wrest Alice's grimoire from its chest, and it fell to pieces again."
-
>"Well, I suppose since it's over I may as well tell you the whole tale."
>"Renko challenged the Scarlet Devil Mansion to a battle with her army. And defeated every single person inside it. Even Remilia. Patchouli was the only one that escaped still conscious, and even she had almost nothing left to give afterwards."
>"That was the good part. The challenge was announced ahead of time, and no one was seriously harmed. Unfortunately, Alice showed up to take advantage of the fact that there was no one left to defend the place."
>"She was there to loot the place. To be honest, I... was kind of expecting her to try something. That's one of the reasons I was there. So, I said that I wasn't going to let her take whatever she came for. And I didn't. She's out light a light, now, too."
>"The scarier part was what she brought along with her. Some sort of ancient destroyer construct that she'd reassembled. One that Reisen beat some time ago. I don't know if you're familiar with it. Anyway, after Alice was knocked out, it took on a life of its own and tried to kill us. It... actually tore a hole in the wall chasing after me. I managed to wrest Alice's grimoire from its chest, and it fell to pieces again."
>"You poor thing!" Yukari says, suddenly ensnaring you in a strong hug. You find your face pressed against her rather ample chest, finding it rather soft and yourself happy she can tie a bathrobe very well. "Oh, Ran's told me all kinds of things about that nasty automaton! I'm so glad you're alright after dealing with such a monster!"
>_
-
>"That makes two of us. If was rather... terrifying, really. But I'm just glad we managed to stop it. I hate to think of what would have happened if we hadn't. Renko couldn't scratch it. I'd used up pretty much all that power I had left to give, and so had Patchouli. Everyone else was unconscious. It... could have killed someone. It really, really could have."
-
>"That makes two of us. If was rather... terrifying, really. But I'm just glad we managed to stop it. I hate to think of what would have happened if we hadn't. Renko couldn't scratch it. I'd used up pretty much all that power I had left to give, and so had Patchouli. Everyone else was unconscious. It... could have killed someone. It really, really could have."
>"You're alright now," says Yukari, smoothing your hair with one of her hands. "You did a great job, I'm certain."
>_
-
>"Yes, well... we managed, at the least. I hope to never see anything like that again. Danmaku battles are one thing. That... was quite another."
>"To what do I owe the visit, anyway? Or were you just dropping in to say hello?"
-
>"Yes, well... we managed, at the least. I hope to never see anything like that again. Danmaku battles are one thing. That... was quite another."
>"To what do I owe the visit, anyway? Or were you just dropping in to say hello?"
>"I can only imagine what a shock it was for you. I'm just glad you're not hurt!" She squeezes you again; you're fairly sure that hot feeling in your face isn't from her. Well...she's certainly the cause of it.
>"A bit of column A and a bit of column B," she says.
>_
-
>"Care to tell me what either of those columns are supposed to be?"
-
>"Care to tell me what either of those columns are supposed to be?"
>"Mmmm, you'll see," says Yukari.
>_
-
>In a friendly, not impatient tone: "And how long am I supposed to wait here before you show me?"
-
>In a friendly, not impatient tone: "And how long am I supposed to wait here before you show me?"
>"Let's have a walk, first," she says.
>_
-
>"Um, ok, I guess. Where to?"
>Follow along
-
>"Um, ok, I guess. Where to?"
>Follow along
>"I suppose you're going to the city? That will do, don't you think?"
>She takes your arm into hers, "And you can tell me more about your friend's venture along the way."
>Your cheeks are definitely glowing now.
>_
-
>"Yes, I am headed that way, so fair enough."
>Continue towards the city
>Describe the course of Renko's battle outside the SDM in more detail while we do so
-
> Mentally curse not packing away a few of the more expensive-looking pieces of the golem.
> Make sure to avoid mentioning our 'teleports' when recounting our story.
-
Also we REALLY need to stop being a jerk to Renko.
-
Also we REALLY need to stop being a jerk to Renko.
Yeah, seriously. >={
>Consider the wisdom of walking into the city with Yukari latched onto our arm. That is: Very little.
>"Um...Yukari, I'd rather not look... overly friendly to anyone in the city. Could I ask you to let go of my arm?"
>Wait, Kisume is probably watching this already, isn't she? Damnit.
-
>"Yes, I am headed that way, so fair enough."
>Continue towards the city
>Describe the course of Renko's battle outside the SDM in more detail while we do so
> Mentally curse not packing away a few of the more expensive-looking pieces of the golem.
> Make sure to avoid mentioning our 'teleports' when recounting our story.
>Consider the wisdom of walking into the city with Yukari latched onto our arm. That is: Very little.
>"Um...Yukari, I'd rather not look... overly friendly to anyone in the city. Could I ask you to let go of my arm?"
>Wait, Kisume is probably watching this already, isn't she? Damnit.
>You really don't want to be seen in the city with Yukari. And if Kisume's already seen it...
>"Oh, don't worry," says Yukari, not letting go of your arm. "This'll be our secret."
>You continue down the pathway to the Ancient City, recounting a more detailed story of Renko's victory along the way. Yukari nods and smiles, making oohing and aahing at the appropriate times. However, you're pretty sure she is actually paying attention, though sometimes she strokes your arm with her free hand and it's terribly distracting. You're staring to wonder if its possible to blush too long and hurt yourself.
>Thankfully, the trip isn't too long, so you don't get far enough that you have to discreetly duck around any mention of your time freezes. You do kick yourself for going the wrong way around the lake to pass the Construct's remains and claim a few bits.
>Soon enough, you reach the bridge spanning the river outside the city. Thankfully, Parsee is nowhere to be seen; you really really don't want her to see you arm in arm with Yukari...
>"I suppose I shouldn't go any further," Yukari says, "But wasn't that nice?"
>_
-
>"You said you had something else you were going to show me?"
-
>"You said you had something else you were going to show me?"
>"Ah, yes," says Yukari. She opens a hand-sized gap and withdraws a small bottle filled with amber liquid and hands it to you. "A little something for you and your Renko." she says with a smile.
>_
-
>Take the bottle
>"What is it?"
-
>"Wait, is this lube?"
-
>Take the bottle
>"What is it?"
>You obtain: Amber Liquid.
>"Well, your friend just happened to mention that she was a little curious about what it'd be like if you were Byakuren's size," says Yukari, smiling warmly. "and I just happened to spot this in the Pandemonium bazaar today, Just polish it off, and up you go."
>"Wait, is this lube?"
>"Oh, should I make a list next time?"
>_
-
>"I'll assume it's quite temporary?"
>"You think the magnitude of the effect would be similar?"
>"And... do I even want to know how aptly named this bazaar is?"
-
>"I'll assume it's quite temporary?"
>"You think the magnitude of the effect would be similar?"
>"And... do I even want to know how aptly named this bazaar is?"
>"Oh of course," says Yukari, making a dismissing wave. "The dealer told me it lasts inversely proportional to how active you are. It would last all day if you just loafed around, but only a couple hours if you are more...active. Oh, you could split the dose as well, if you liked. It would only last about half as long. But use any less than that, and you might as well drink water. Would you prefer something permanent."
>"It should be," Yukari says and putting a finger to her lips, "but I've never tried it myself. You should still fit indoors, I'm certain."
>"Well, it is in Pandemonium, so quite aptly, I imagine!"
>_
-
>"Any... side-effects that you know of?"
>"For that matter, you think it's safe and does just what it says? At least from the outside world's conception of Pandemonium, the place is rather... sketchy, to put it mildly."
-
>"Any... side-effects that you know of?"
>"For that matter, you think it's safe and does just what it says? At least from the outside world's conception of Pandemonium, the place is rather... sketchy, to put it mildly."
>"Shouldn't be," says Yukari. "But if there are you just come find me or tell Ran and we'll get on it in a jiffy!"
>"Of course it's safe," Yukari says, beaming. "The vendor wouldn't dream of selling me something unsafe, I'm sure."
>_
-
>"Yes, I suppose there are advantages to having such a reputation."
>"Well, I appreciate the thoughtfulness, in either case. Thank you."
-
>"Yes, I suppose there are advantages to having such a reputation."
>"Well, I appreciate the thoughtfulness, in either case. Thank you."
>"Well, the only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about," says Yukari.
>She leans over, and kisses you top of the head. "And you be sure to enjoy it. I'll see you later. Oh, if you like it, let me know and I'll see about finding you more."
>She then steps back, releasing your arm at last, and vanishes into a gap.
>Oh god, you must look like a stop sign right now.
>_
-
> Take a moment to regain our composure.
> Press onward!
-
> Oh Yukari, you so crazy.
-
> Take a moment to regain our composure.
>Futae no kiwami reference
>Is there any labeling on the bottle?
-
> Take a moment to regain our composure.
> Press onward!
> Oh Yukari, you so crazy.
>It takes you more than a moment to really regain your composure.
>Crazy is one way to put it...
>Eventually, you feel settled enough to press onward. The City is fairly quiet now; you suspect the Oni have mostly partied themselves out again; save for a few stalwarts.
>Futae no kiwami reference
>Is there any labeling on the bottle?
>Who the what now?
>There is not! It's a nice bottle, though. Not very large, you suspect you could down all the liquid in a gulp. It makes you think of some kind of brandy or cognac or something.
>_
-
>Continue on to the Palace of the Earth Spirits
>On arrival, knock on the door
-
>Continue on to the Palace of the Earth Spirits
>On arrival, knock on the door
>You continue on toward the Palace, the streets relatively clear. Which is nice, you're pretty certain you have some residual blush to work off.
>You reach the Palace without incident, and knock on the door. It takes a few minutes for the door to open, and Satori to meet you, with a cat wrapped around her shoulders like a stole. "Good afternoon, Maribel," she says, then frowns a little bit. "So, you found her..."
>_
-
>Nod.
>"Yeah. She's... definitely not happy with Utsuho. But it sounds like she does want to meet you again."
>... though, she said some rather disturbing things about you... wait. Damnit. Sorry.
-
>Nod.
>"Yeah. She's... definitely not happy with Utsuho. But it sounds like she does want to meet you again."
>... though, she said some rather disturbing things about you... wait. Damnit. Sorry.
>Satori nods. "Do not worry about it. And...she wishes me to come?"
>The youkai looks over the city, frowning deeply. "When?"
>_
-
>"I think as soon as you're ready. She told me where she'll be waiting. I can take you there."
>"I... don't know that I have the heart to tell Okuu what she said about her. I mean, I don't pretend to understand what it's like to have a third eye as you two do, but... I'm sure Okuu was only doing she thought was right."
-
>Or does Okuu just... gah!
>"Sorry. Or is it that she cares about both of you regardless of that power?"
>... and... "And is it really as... troublesome as Koishi said?"
-
>"I think as soon as you're ready. She told me where she'll be waiting. I can take you there."
>"I... don't know that I have the heart to tell Okuu what she said about her. I mean, I don't pretend to understand what it's like to have a third eye as you two do, but... I'm sure Okuu was only doing she thought was right."
>She nods. "I...I don't know what I would tell Okuu, either."
>Or does Okuu just... gah!
>"Sorry. Or is it that she cares about both of you regardless of that power?"
>... and... "And is it really as... troublesome as Koishi said?"
>"Okuu does," says Satori. "But her situation is a little different than most people. And...Kosihi isn't exaggerating too greatly, to be honest."
>_
-
>"A little different than most people? May I ask how?"
-
>"It... all seems so terribly unfair. To you, to Koishi, to Okuu. I would never want to shun a good person for what they are. But... I'm sure there are people who do. I mean, Koishi's right; I can't understand what it's really like. But... I'm sure I can't be the only one who feels this way."
>"I can only imagine what it's like, though, to have someone you care about say such hateful things against you. And Okuu obviously still cares about her, or I wouldn't have even had that conversation in the first place. I'd... hoped Koishi hadn't really remember what had happened on Gensokyo Isle, either. Although, maybe that was a little unfair to her, too."
-
>"A little different than most people? May I ask how?"
>"Beasts normally can't communicate with people," says Satori, as she strokes the leg of the cat wrapped around her neck. "But, we can get around that. For Utsuho, and everyone else here, it is a blessing. But, for people like you, with more complex minds and desires, it is not so."
>"It... all seems so terribly unfair. To you, to Koishi, to Okuu. I would never want to shun a good person for what they are. But... I'm sure there are people who do. I mean, Koishi's right; I can't understand what it's really like. But... I'm sure I can't be the only one who feels this way."
>"I can only imagine what it's like, though, to have someone you care about say such hateful things against you. And Okuu obviously still cares about her, or I wouldn't have even had that conversation in the first place. I'd... hoped Koishi hadn't really remember what had happened on Gensokyo Isle, either. Although, maybe that was a little unfair to her, too."
>She nods. "I prefer to think I have a role to fulfill with my babies here. Koishi...she had her own desires. I can't blame her for that. I don't know what I could say to her to change her mind. I think perhaps only time may do that. And perhaps it is unfair, but Koishi is right in that people wish to keep their secrets, even when they wish us the very best.
>_
-
>"No, I understand that. It isn't your responsibility to change her mind, if she's set in her own thoughts. But will you come to the surface and at least speak with her? If nothing else, I think she'd like to talk to you again."
-
>"No, I understand that. It isn't your responsibility to change her mind, if she's set in her own thoughts. But will you come to the surface and at least speak with her? If nothing else, I think she'd like to talk to you again."
>Satori casts another look toward the Ancient City and frowns. "I'd...rather not."
>_
-
>"Are you... sure? Is it... really that unpleasant for you to walk past the city?"
-
> "Koishi's meeting spot is in an isolated area, I don't think we'd be around any other people or crowds."
-
>"Are you... sure? Is it... really that unpleasant for you to walk past the city?"
>She nods slowly. "Hundreds of minds...It's painful to be near them."
> "Koishi's meeting spot is in an isolated area, I don't think we'd be around any other people or crowds."
>"That would be nice," she says, still frowning toward the city.
>_
-
>"Is there... any way AROUND the city to get out?"
-
>"Is there... any way AROUND the city to get out?"
>"Not that we know of," says Satori.
>_
-
>"But you showed me around some of the city when I got here. ....was that painful for you, too? I didn't realize it at the time..."
>"There must be some way... I don't want to think it's impossible."
-
>"But you showed me around some of the city when I got here. ....was that painful for you, too? I didn't realize it at the time..."
>"There must be some way... I don't want to think it's impossible."
>"We kept to the outskirts," says Satori."And yes, it was a bit unpleasant. But it was tolerable until I had to go into the pub district after that oni chased you."
>"I...can try to power through it, I suppose."
>_
-
> How long does it take to get through the city, for us?
-
>"I feel terrible about asking you to go through that, though..."
>Ponder whether we should have asked Yukari for a more direct route if we'd had the forethought at the time.
>....try not to feel too embarrassed at recalling that, here.
-
> How long does it take to get through the city, for us?
It took you about ten to fifteen minutes. You think could dash through it in half that time
>"I feel terrible about asking you to go through that, though..."
>Ponder whether we should have asked Yukari for a more direct route if we'd had the forethought at the time.
>....try not to feel too embarrassed at recalling that, here.
>She nods. "I know you do it for the right reasons.
>You really should have.
>...Goddamnit. Satori looks away a little.
>_
-
>Well, she somehow found exactly where we were standing in the middle of nowhere already today. And we only parted ways 10 minutes ago or so. ...maybe she's still got an eye out?
>"Yukari! Can I speak with you a moment?"
>Ponder the disturbing implications if she actually responds to this one
-
>Well, she somehow found exactly where we were standing in the middle of nowhere already today. And we only parted ways 10 minutes ago or so. ...maybe she's still got an eye out?
>"Yukari! Can I speak with you a moment?"
>Ponder the disturbing implications if she actually responds to this one
>For better or worse, there is no reply. Never have you been so disappointed to have your privacy respected.
>_
-
>"Well, it was worth a try, I suppose..."
>"Is there... anything that could be done to make it less unpleasant? Other than moving quickly?"
-
> How tall is the city? Could we fly over it and be somewhat clear of it, or is the ceiling to low near it for that?
-
>"Well, it was worth a try, I suppose..."
>"Is there... anything that could be done to make it less unpleasant? Other than moving quickly?"
>She nods. "I've had some experience with Yukari before. You were not wrong to try, I think."
>Satori shakes her head. "I wish it were otherwise."
> How tall is the city? Could we fly over it and be somewhat clear of it, or is the ceiling to low near it for that?
>It's high enough to accommodate a couple multi-story buildings. Oh average, you'd estimate the ceiling is about fifty feet from the floor.
>_
-
> Are their any buildings that reach close to the ceiling of the city?
> If not "Couldn't we fly over the city? If we must go through it, then flying over it would, hopefully be less of an issue for you, wouldn't it? I want to help you and Koishi, but I don't want to trouble you.
-
> Are their any buildings that reach close to the ceiling of the city?
> If not "Couldn't we fly over the city? If we must go through it, then flying over it would, hopefully be less of an issue for you, wouldn't it? I want to help you and Koishi, but I don't want to trouble you.
>It doesn't seem that way.
>"That is what I was planning on doing..." says Satori.
>_
-
> "Ok, just wanted to make sure."
> "Despite not wanting to repeat Koishi's upset words to Utsuho... I kinda think I should at least tell her that I saw Koishi."
-
> "Ok, just wanted to make sure."
> "Despite not wanting to repeat Koishi's upset words to Utsuho... I kinda think I should at least tell her that I saw Koishi."
>"I'm not sure where she is," says Satori. "She was going out with Yuugi today."
>_
-
>"Oh, yeah. I actually saw them this morning. It's just been such an incredibly long and exhausting day already that I almost forgot. I'd probably be lying down somewhere now, if I didn't feel that I needed to attend to this."
>"Do you... think you will? I'm not going to push you if you think it's too much for you. I certainly don't know what it's like. But I'll do anything I can to support you. I just wish I knew what that could be."
-
>"Oh, yeah. I actually saw them this morning. It's just been such an incredibly long and exhausting day already that I almost forgot. I'd probably be lying down somewhere now, if I didn't feel that I needed to attend to this."
>"Do you... think you will? I'm not going to push you if you think it's too much for you. I certainly don't know what it's like. But I'll do anything I can to support you. I just wish I knew what that could be."
>She nods. "Well, it seems they were getting along alright. And I can sympathize with your feelings.."
>Satoris sighs. "I'll try. I'm not sure what you could reasonably do to help."
>_
-
>"Moral support? For whatever it's worth. I really wish there was something more I could do. But I'm ready whenever you are."
-
>"How's Utsuho doing, anyways?"
-
>"Moral support? For whatever it's worth. I really wish there was something more I could do. But I'm ready whenever you are."
>She nods. "Let's go, then."
>_
-
>Lead out over the Ancient City, keeping as high as we can, and as far away from densely populated areas as we are able
-
>Lead out over the Ancient City, keeping as high as we can, and as far away from densely populated areas as we are able
>You take to the air, and are left with three options. You can go west toward the market, southwest toward the pub district, or South toward the burned out area.
>_
-
>All of these routes lead in the general direction of the surface, correct?
>How long do these routes seem to be, compared to each other?
>How busy does the market look at the moment?
>The burned out area is where we encountered that cluster of evil spirits yesterday morning, wasn't it?
>Can we see anything in that direction, now?
-
>All of these routes lead in the general direction of the surface, correct?
>How long do these routes seem to be, compared to each other?
>How busy does the market look at the moment?
>The burned out area is where we encountered that cluster of evil spirits yesterday morning, wasn't it?
>Can we see anything in that direction, now?
>They can all eventually take you to the bridge.
>Going toward the market then turning up the street toward the bridge would be a long path, taking you over the middle of the city. Going over the pub district would be shortest, but over the busiest area. Going through the burned out area should be the least crowded. By oni, at least.
>The market has a modest crowd, compared to what you've seen in the past. You see no trace of evil spirits to the south, but it that is some distance yet.
>_
-
>Take the southern path
>Keep a watchful eye out for spirits
-
>Take the southern path
>Keep a watchful eye out for spirits
>You head south, along the outskirts of the city. Satori does not seem too perturbed by this path.
>Soon, you reach the burnt out area. As you fly over it, you begin to notice many wisps of white appearing below.
>_
-
>Do they appear to be approaching, or agitated in some manner?
>If they're just milling about, give them a relatively wide berth and keep on going.
-
>Do they appear to be approaching, or agitated in some manner?
>If they're just milling about, give them a relatively wide berth and keep on going.
>They are most certainly approaching.
>_
-
>About how many of them are approaching us?
>Approximately how long will it take them to reach us?
>"Do they usually do that?"
-
> We don't still have that ghost-catching bottle, do we?
> Why do we keep running into these stupid things now that we've given the bottle back? dasjfiosangsagnig
-
>About how many of them are approaching us?
>Approximately how long will it take them to reach us?
>"Do they usually do that?"
>It looks like there's a couple dozen of them. Maybe more.
>You think you have a few seconds. Maybe as many as ten.
>"They are rather territorial," says Satori.
>_
-
> "Do you think we could outrace them?"
-
> "Do you think we could outrace them?"
>"Perhaps," says Satori. "Save that they're also ahead."
>She is right. They are not just rising up from below and behind; there are some ahead as well.
>_
-
>What, they're behind us, now, too?
>Do there seem to be any obvious open routes left? What about those with the least density of spirits?
-
>What, they're behind us, now, too?
>Do there seem to be any obvious open routes left? What about those with the least density of spirits?
>Behind in the sense that if you look below and behind, you see them there as well.
>You can go in any direction at the moment. But looking down toward the oncoming spirits, it seems that northwest toward the pub district, and east toward the wall are least dense. They are most dense is south.
>_
-
>Which direction is the exit, south?
>Briefly wonder whether these have minds to speak of. Or if it's the danger of getting through that ruled out this route for Satori.
>We can handle this. After that robot, this should be nothing.
-
>Shake fist at Keine
>If we go east, is the a path around the spirits towards the bridge that doesn't just get us wedged into a corner?
>For that matter, what direction is the bridge from here?
-
>Which direction is the exit, south?
>Briefly wonder whether these have minds to speak of. Or if it's the danger of getting through that ruled out this route for Satori.
>We can handle this. After that robot, this should be nothing.
>It is a little south and west of your current position.
>If they're anything like ghosts, they probably do. But likely it was the danger that matters.
>You think you can handle this! Even if you're a bit worn out.
>Shake fist at Keine
>If we go east, is the a path around the spirits towards the bridge that doesn't just get us wedged into a corner?
>For that matter, what direction is the bridge from here?
>Don't blame keine for dyslexia ;_;
>You don't know. But it seems like there's a lot of potential to get hemmed in.
>A bit south and west.
>_
-
>And due west would lead where?
-
>And due west would lead where?
>Over more burnt out area, then over warehouses, then the bridge.
>_
-
>Head west at good speed, making sure Satori is keeping pace with us. Skirt a little bit northward, if the spirits start to encroach too much.
>Keep an eye out for incoming fire.
-
>"Let me know if we get too close to the main city for comfort..."
-
>Head west at good speed, making sure Satori is keeping pace with us. Skirt a little bit northward, if the spirits start to encroach too much.
>Keep an eye out for incoming fire.
>You head west! The evil spirits continue to ascend and follow, while those to the west continue to rise up to meet you. More of them. You can see about ten ahead of you. A few fire some danmaku in your general direction.
>"Let me know if we get too close to the main city for comfort..."
>"Alright," says Satori.
>_
-
>Shift out of the way of the incoming fire
>Continue moving west
>Fire back at the ones most directly in our path as we move
-
>Shift out of the way of the incoming fire
>Continue moving west
>Fire back at the ones most directly in our path as we move
>You shift out of the way of the incoming fire and keep moving west. Thankfully, it's not too hard to dodge, compared to what Alice threw at you.
>You fire back upon the evil spirits. They begin to circle out of the way of your shots, but you manage to hit one, causing it to fade into a cloud of mist.
>"Shots from behind," Satori says.
>_
-
>Descend out of the way of the fire behind us.
>Glance back quickly to make sure nothing more complex is coming
>Keep moving, while firing upon closer targets. The goal is just to reach the bridge, not necessary to beat them. Just give them a little disincentive.
-
>Descend out of the way of the fire behind us.
>Glance back quickly to make sure nothing more complex is coming
>Keep moving, while firing upon closer targets. The goal is just to reach the bridge, not necessary to beat them. Just give them a little disincentive.
>You descend to escape the coming shots. Luckily, it is nothing complex.
>Unfortunately, descending means that those coming from behind are now that much closer; you have shots coming at you from that angle as well!
>_
-
>Angle a little north
>Once the original shots from behind pass by, ascend again
>Keep pushing westward at top speed
>Fire on nearby targets as the opportunity presents
-
>Angle a little north
>Once the original shots from behind pass by, ascend again
>Keep pushing westward at top speed
>Fire on nearby targets as the opportunity presents
>You angle north and try to keep moving westward, getting you out of the way of the current shots. You can hear an awful lot of firing behind you, as well as see more from the nine in front of you; again targeted on you. You are certain there is more from below as well.
>You take a few more shots of opportunity, and hit another of the spirits ahead of you. It fades, but rather than leaving a cloud of mist, it explodes into a burst of speedy danmaku!
>_
-
>Shift abruptly to the north to evade the incoming burst
>Then angle gently back to the south, while continuing west. Make sure not to angle back into the waves of fire coming behind us, however
-
>"Is Orin close enough for us to seek help from?"
-
>Shift abruptly to the north to evade the incoming burst
>Then angle gently back to the south, while continuing west. Make sure not to angle back into the waves of fire coming behind us, however
>You move north quickly, almost enough to jar yourself, then angle back toward the south. You find, though, that going back south isn't really wise, as more shots from the west fill that void.
>The evil spirits to the west are now only a couple yards away, and you are heading for them at top speed!
>_
-
>Cut western momentum for a moment
>Fire wide spread bursts on the spirits to the west
>Move back to the north afterwards to evade possible deathbursts from them
-
Why are we still shooting the spirits when they spawn bullets on death?
>How dense are the danmaku fired by the spirits?
-
Why are we still shooting the spirits when they spawn bullets on death?
Largely because they're in the way, and still firing conventional bullets at us. It seems the lesser of two evils.
-
>Cut western momentum for a moment
>Fire wide spread bursts on the spirits to the west
>Move back to the north afterwards to evade possible deathbursts from them
>You think you've figured this out. You stop moving west, and attempt to fire a spread.
>Your attempt works decently; giving you a few fairly close together columns that fan out over a seventy degree radius or so!
>It catches a few of evil spirits, two of them exploding into bullets. You immediately juke left, and can feel a bit of charge as their shots pass much too close to you for comfort.
>There is now a gap in their line, and you are reasonably certain holding still has only made you a target for the rest of the evil spirits.
>_
-
>Is this gap large enough to dash through?
>If so, move it!
>Otherwise, continue northwest, and take out a few more spirits as we move, to widen the gap
-
>Is this gap large enough to dash through?
>If so, move it!
>Otherwise, continue northwest, and take out a few more spirits as we move, to widen the gap
>You dash through the gap, feeling the shots behind you fly past much too close for comfort, and pass by the evil spirits. The way to the west is now clear!
>_
-
>Keep on going until we're out of their territory
>Satori is still close to us, correct?
-
>Keep on going until we're out of their territory
>Satori is still close to us, correct?
>You keep going. Soon, you are flying over some warehouses.
>Satori is following you. Thankfully, the evil spirits focused more on you than her, so she wasn't too hard pressed by the attack.
>_
-
>Continue towards the bridge
>Are all the evil spirits safely behind us now?
>If so: "Well, that was unpleasant... but I hope that it was less stressful on you than flying over the inhabited parts of the city?"
-
>Continue towards the bridge
>Are all the evil spirits safely behind us now?
>If so: "Well, that was unpleasant... but I hope that it was less stressful on you than flying over the inhabited parts of the city?"
>You continue onward.
>Looking back, you see the evil spirits are not following you anymore.
>"it was, I think," says Satori. "I really can't feel the minds of the dead. I know that they are there, but they are like empty boxes. Normally, I don't even consider going that way, since I cannot sense them, my danmaku is not up to the task of holding them off. There are still more than enough oni here, but it is tolerable..."
>_
-
>"Well, we should be past the city soon, and there won't be any more crowds from there until the hot springs, I'd imagine. Maybe a few fairies..."
>"You know, I was just thinking how far I've come since the last danmaku fight I was involved in down here, with you. Didn't have a clue about anything at the time. And now, after all I've gone through this morning, those spirits seemed almost tame."
>"....not that I wouldn't mind a long break from that sort of thing, just the same. Especially after this morning."
-
>"Well, we should be past the city soon, and there won't be any more crowds from there until the hot springs, I'd imagine. Maybe a few fairies..."
>"You know, I was just thinking how far I've come since the last danmaku fight I was involved in down here, with you. Didn't have a clue about anything at the time. And now, after all I've gone through this morning, those spirits seemed almost tame."
>"....not that I wouldn't mind a long break from that sort of thing, just the same. Especially after this morning."
>"Well, they only seem tame because you were focused on escaping," says Satori. "Had you stayed to fight, it would have been much worse. And I don't doubt things should be better after crossing the bridge. And yes, I imagine that you have earned a rest, after what you showed me."
>_
-
>"Oh, I'm not implying that I'd want to sit and fight them. But I was just thinking that I wouldn't even imagine trying to make it through there a day ago."
>Exit the underground
-
>"Oh, I'm not implying that I'd want to sit and fight them. But I was just thinking that I wouldn't even imagine trying to make it through there a day ago."
>Exit the underground
>"True," says Satori as you fly along the bridge. "You have proven to be an amazingly fast student."
>You make your way out of the underground, a peaceful enough trip without any bother from bucket youkai or spider youkai with no sense of personal space. Soon, you approach the brighter lights of outside, while Satori shields her eyes.
>You emerge again into the light and free-flowing wind. Satori is a bit slow to follow you, her arm over her eyes. "This should be far enough," she says.
>_
-
>"You'd rather wait for her here, then?"
>Assuming yes:
>"Well, I'll go fetch her, then."
>Return to the hot springs
-
>"You'd rather wait for her here, then?"
>Assuming yes:
>"Well, I'll go fetch her, then."
>Return to the hot springs
>"No, but I can read the way in your thoughts well enough," says Satori. "And I'll need a few minutes. It's too bright and open out here right now..."
>_
-
>"I... guess it's easy to forget that not everyone's used to the sun, sorry."
>Is it especially bright, by our own reckoning?
-
>"I... guess it's easy to forget that not everyone's used to the sun, sorry."
>Is it especially bright, by our own reckoning?
>You don't think it's especially bright. It feels more cheerful than anything. But maybe you're just giddy from victory still.
>"That's alright," says Satori. "We often forget people like you aren't used to being underground."
>_
-
>"Fair enough."
>"Well, I hope some good comes out of this. For everyone involved. It's sad to see so much hurt between anyone, let alone family. Maybe it's not my place to say, but... I'm glad you came."
-
>"Fair enough."
>"Well, I hope some good comes out of this. For everyone involved. It's sad to see so much hurt between anyone, let alone family. Maybe it's not my place to say, but... I'm glad you came."
>She nods. "I'll do what I can. I don't like this rift any more than you do."
>_
-
>"Well, good luck. I guess if you feel comfortable to cover the last leg on your own, I should give you two your privacy now."
>"What about the return trip? I know you said that you find the spirits hard to deal with without being able to sense their thoughts, and if taking the usually safer route is painful for you..."
-
>"Well, good luck. I guess if you feel comfortable to cover the last leg on your own, I should give you two your privacy now."
>"What about the return trip? I know you said that you find the spirits hard to deal with without being able to sense their thoughts, and if taking the usually safer route is painful for you..."
>"I'm sure it will be less bad when I have a bed to crawl into when I get to the end of the course," says Satori "Please do not worry about me."
>_
-
>"Ok, I'll do my best. Be well, Satori. And good luck."
>Head back to our new house
-
>"Ok, I'll do my best. Be well, Satori. And good luck."
>Head back to our new house
>"Fare well," says Satori as you depart.
>It's not an especially long trip back to the house. However, you note a plume of smoke curling up into the air from it from some distance away. Drawing closer, there seems to be a bonfire in the front yard.
>_
-
>Can we identify what's burning?
>Can we see anyone around?
>If not, call out: "Hello?"
-
>Can we identify what's burning?
>Can we see anyone around?
>If not, call out: "Hello?"
>You do not know what is burning. But you do see a familiar fedora-wearing figure near it. Curiously, it seems Renko has given up her multi-color dress in favor of her old clothes. You also think you see a faerie or two flitting around it.
>_
-
>Walk over to her
>"Hey, there! I'm back."
>Give her a hug
>"What're you burning? The old broken furniture?"
-
>Walk over to her
>"Hey, there! I'm back."
>Give her a hug
>"What're you burning? The old broken furniture?"
>You walk over to Renko. "Hey, welcome back!" she says.
>You give her a hug. She returns it, squeezing you tightly.
>"Yeah," she says. "Seemed the best thing to do with it. I guess we could have used it as firewood or something, but...yeesh. Didn't want to keep it around longer than we should have. I got some help getting it out, thankfully. It was, um, that one woman, the one that looks like you...?"
>_
-
>"Oh, you mean Yukari? Man, she does seem to get around. Although I suppose that's kind of her shtick. But I'm happy she lent a hand with it. Is the place basically gutted now?"
-
>"Oh, you mean Yukari? Man, she does seem to get around. Although I suppose that's kind of her shtick. But I'm happy she lent a hand with it. Is the place basically gutted now?"
>Renko nods. "That's her. We'll move the futon in tonight, but aside from that, it's empty. I got a few of the maids to help out with the dusting, though."
>_
-
>"Ah, that's good. We'll get this place in shape, yet."
>"Man, it's going to be so nice to just be able to relax for a while. It's been a pretty overwhelming day, no matter how sweet the victory."
>"You figure out what we're going to do with those mechanical parts? Logistics-wise, I mean."
-
>"Ah, that's good. We'll get this place in shape, yet."
>"Man, it's going to be so nice to just be able to relax for a while. It's been a pretty overwhelming day, no matter how sweet the victory."
>"You figure out what we're going to do with those mechanical parts? Logistics-wise, I mean."
>"We're going to, alright," says Renko.
>She nods. "Yeah. I still can't believe it's over. Still kinda wish we took just a bit of that gallery, and maybe some chairs...but oh well. We'll do okay."
>"Well, I still think we ought to figure out who makes the money around here, melt it down, and use it to get some furniture and stuff."
>_
-
>"That still gives me the creeps, to be honest. But I'm not sure what else to do with it. I just wish I could feel certain that whatever shred of consciousness that was in it is just plain gone, you know?"
>"But, I suppose, it never seemed capable of acting without the spell to hold it together. At this, at least, would scatter the materials in ways that would be very hard to assemble ever again."
>"How're you feeling, anyway, Renko? Now that it's over with? I suppose it hasn't quite sunk in yet, but still. You achieved what you set out to achieve. Actually, you did even better than what you'd originally set out to do."
>Give her a kiss
-
>"That still gives me the creeps, to be honest. But I'm not sure what else to do with it. I just wish I could feel certain that whatever shred of consciousness that was in it is just plain gone, you know?"
>"But, I suppose, it never seemed capable of acting without the spell to hold it together. At this, at least, would scatter the materials in ways that would be very hard to assemble ever again."
>"How're you feeling, anyway, Renko? Now that it's over with? I suppose it hasn't quite sunk in yet, but still. You achieved what you set out to achieve. Actually, you did even better than what you'd originally set out to do."
>Give her a kiss
>"Well, it wasn't dangerous until Alice put it back together, right?" says Renko. "And this'll make sure it never gets put back together again."
>"Kind of shellshocked, still," says Renko. She might have said more, but then you kissed her. And she decides this is a better course of action and runs with it.
>_
-
>Hold the kiss for a little bit longer
>"Renko, do you have anything pressing to oversee here, or can we just go sit down somewhere? I'm still pretty exhausted from the mansion, and I managed to get into another firefight in the underground. Nothing serious, don't worry. But still. Right now I think I'd like nothing more than to spend some time resting next to you, and just be."
-
>Hold the kiss for a little bit longer
>"Renko, do you have anything pressing to oversee here, or can we just go sit down somewhere? I'm still pretty exhausted from the mansion, and I managed to get into another firefight in the underground. Nothing serious, don't worry. But still. Right now I think I'd like nothing more than to spend some time resting next to you, and just be."
>You hold it for a bit longer. It's just feels so good, after all this.
>"I suppose the faeries can make sure the fire doesn't spread," says Renko. She looks toward them.
>You notice one seems to be roasting a fish over the flames. "Sure! We'll take care of it."
>_
-
> Mental note: talk to Yamame next time we're on our way through the Underground, assuming she's around (since it seems she wasn't this time).
-
> Also, if Renko has gone back to her traditional outfit, maybe we should do the same.
> Though, obviously, not right this second.
This is as much for my memory as for anyone else, but sometimes it's helpful to have these things written down instead of just memorized. I don't want things to wrap up just yet.
Greater priorities (in no particular order):
- Get the house clean
- Gather pieces of the Construct to give us some starting cash
- Check in with Byakuren to tell her how things have gone (and return her branch)
- Finalize the Jet Programme
- Get a ghost for Nitori
- Find the blacksmith's bellows (We want someone to help us melt down all that gold and silver? There we go. Even if she can't do it, she'll surely know someone that can.)
Lesser priorities/priorities not immediately accomplishable:
- Find out how Satori/Koishi went
- Check up on Reimu and Plum Flower
- Check up on Kogasa
- Check up on Mystia and Tokiko
- Check up on Hatate, probably bringing Renko with us
- Talk to Yamame about Utsuho
-
Hmm, I don't really want to barge in, but isn't the story actually over now? I know there are still a lot of things to do, but... the main game is done, and usually it was always over by then. Not that I'm complaining, it would be great if we could solve everything, unlike some previous quests. :V
-
> Mental note: talk to Yamame next time we're on our way through the Underground, assuming she's around (since it seems she wasn't this time).
>She does seem to have been occupied, hasn't she?
> Also, if Renko has gone back to her traditional outfit, maybe we should do the same.
> Though, obviously, not right this second.
>You do wonder about that. She did seem to like that dress.
>_
-
> "Well, since you're going back to the classic look, I think I will too. Mind giving me a moment?"
> Assuming Renko responds in the affirmative, enter the house, find a private room and change into our regular dress.
-
> "Well, since you're going back to the classic look, I think I will too. Mind giving me a moment?"
> Assuming Renko responds in the affirmative, enter the house, find a private room and change into our regular dress.
>"Just until I can get my dress fixed," says Renko. "It was kind of falling apart. But if you like this, I'll make a point of bringing it out every so often. But yeah, I'll be here."
>You enter the house, and immediately start coughing from all the dust in the air. You see several faeries zipping around, shouting things like, "We've got the bogey at our six!", "Tango down!" and "It's mobius one, we have to take it out now!" while assaulting the floors and walls with rags and wearing masks around their faces. Despite their comments, none of them seem to pay you much mind as they do their tasks. You find the back room is fairly empty, and quickly change back into your familiar purple dress.
>_
-
> Head back to Renko.
-
> Head back to Renko.
>You return to Renko, trying your best not to sneeze as you make your way through the activity. Your attempts fail miserably. Renko grins as you approach the fire again, still sneezing.
>_
-
> "Dusty in there..."
> Be ready to shank someone, like Parsee or the Construct
-
> "Dusty in there..."
> Be ready to shank someone, like Parsee or the Construct
>Renko chuckles some more and pulls you close. "They'll get it taken care of."
>_
-
> Have we asked Renko about the bellows?
> Shank Renko.
> Grab the nearest fairy and make out with her.
-
> "I hope you do pull out the classic look every so often, yeah. Though...I'm guessing you don't like it so much anymore?"
-
> Have we asked Renko about the bellows?
> Shank Renko.
> Grab the nearest fairy and make out with her.
>You have not.
>You do not have a shanking implement!
>"Dude, that could have been Yukari if you didn't flake out," says Renko.
> "I hope you do pull out the classic look every so often, yeah. Though...I'm guessing you don't like it so much anymore?"
>"Naw," says Renko, "I just like the other one a little more. It's sentimental, you know?"
>_
-
> Nod.
> "Say, have any of the faeries acquired a set of bellows recently? There's a blacksmith in the village that's missing some."
-
> "I would have actually thought your original outfit of however-many years would be the one of sentimental value, though. You really want nothing to do with our former lives anymore, do you?"
-
> Crucifix pose.
> "IF YOU SHANK ME DOWN I WILL ARISE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE."
-
>Shank the parser.
-
> Dive to the left.
-
> Crucifix pose.
> "IF YOU SHANK ME DOWN I WILL ARISE MORE POWERFUL THAN YOU COULD POSSIBLY IMAGINE."
>"That's okay," says Hatate as she shanks you, "A return story is just as good as a tragic lovers story!"
>Shank the parser.
>Oops a meteor fell on you.
> Dive to the left.
>It was too fast, sorry.
>_