Yukari Quest, continued?!

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"And that is exactly the kind of misplaced confidence that will make you lose this battle!~"
>Time until next gap?
>Strategical retreat to where we last saw Kanako. No, we're not fleeing~

>"You will soon see that it is not misplaced."
>You have no clue. You doubt that it would be any time soon.
>You begin to fly backwards when Suwako stomps the ground beneath her.
>A wall of earth is formed behind you, cutting off your escape.
>"And where do you think you're going? What happened to your bravado, defender of Gensokyo?"

>_

[Yonowaaru]

>Oh man. This might be bad.
>Can we use anything like danmaku in this condition? Spell cards may not be available, but randomly shooting might buy us some time.
>"What happened to you, then? Weren't you beaten down by a goddess less than a day ago~?"
>"I only wish for this to end peacefully, you know? If you want to fight that badly, I'm going to have to be a little more serious about this~"


Bluffing works as good as anything, I suppose? Not that I really know what to do anymore...

[Darkoda]

>If we want this to go peacefully, don't say the last couple of lines.
>"You're the one who wants to reach for violence so badly. Besides, if we have to fight, I though you'd appreciate your building being out of the range of fire but if you insist..." shrug.
>Meh, it's not like danmaku does anything to anyone who doesn't follow the spellcard rules.
>If we could make a danmaku barrier both damage and shield, a pure magic version should do more.
>Barrier block any swings she makes at us
>If our magic is unaffected, we can still generate pure magical kunai, lazers and bullets right?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Oh man. This might be bad.
>Can we use anything like danmaku in this condition? Spell cards may not be available, but randomly shooting might buy us some time.

>It might be.
>You can.

>"What happened to you, then? Weren't you beaten down by a goddess less than a day ago~?"
>"I only wish for this to end peacefully, you know? If you want to fight that badly, I'm going to have to be a little more serious about this~"

>If we want this to go peacefully, don't say the last couple of lines.

>You decide against saying this for the time being.

>"You're the one who wants to reach for violence so badly. Besides, if we have to fight, I though you'd appreciate your building being out of the range of fire but if you insist..." shrug.
>Meh, it's not like danmaku does anything to anyone who doesn't follow the spellcard rules.
>If we could make a danmaku barrier both damage and shield, a pure magic version should do more.
>Barrier block any swings she makes at us
>If our magic is unaffected, we can still generate pure magical kunai, lazers and bullets right?

>"You seem like the type of person that won't learn otherwise."
>Suwako stomps the earth again, extending the wall behind you to form a ring enclosing the pair of you.
>It would still hurt if you were to be hit a lot of it. It wouldn't do much else though.
>Your danmaku is already formed with magic. Of course, you could always tweak it to hurt more.
>She has yet to swing at you.
>You can still generate your danmaku, yes.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Sigh again. "Oh fine. Might as well find out just how rusty that two year 'vacation' left me."
>Tweak the danmaku to about a step away from lethal. We don't really want to hurt her, but we need enough pain in there to actually make charging through not an option.
>"Though I think this is a first for me, getting into a fight with a Goddess. Whenever you're ready~"
>How much space is in the dome?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Sigh again. "Oh fine. Might as well find out just how rusty that two year 'vacation' left me."
>Tweak the danmaku to about a step away from lethal. We don't really want to hurt her, but we need enough pain in there to actually make charging through not an option.
>"Though I think this is a first for me, getting into a fight with a Goddess. Whenever you're ready~"
>How much space is in the dome?

>"If you're scared, you could always apologize."
>You make a note to create your danmaku to be more tangible.
>"And hopefully it will be the last time you try something like this."
>You would guess that the ring has a diameter of roughly a hundred meters.
>Suwako appears to be waiting for you to make the first move.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"While I probably could have tried harder for a nicer way to put it, and I am sorry that things degraded to this point, I stand by what I said about you being unreasonably obsessed with this shrine. I can apologize for the delivery, but not the message."
>If a fight's still inevitable, then hover a couple feet off the ground for more mobility and launch kunai spam at Suwako.

[Shadoweh]

> ..They're not available because we left them in our bag in a gap, correct? Remember next time we go gap-diving to remove the bag first.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"While I probably could have tried harder for a nicer way to put it, and I am sorry that things degraded to this point, I stand by what I said about you being unreasonably obsessed with this shrine. I can apologize for the delivery, but not the message."
>If a fight's still inevitable, then hover a couple feet off the ground for more mobility and launch kunai spam at Suwako.

>"And I ask, what right do you have to criticize what I do?"
>Seeing no other way, you hover slightly to so that you can move faster.
>You follow up by launch a barrage of kunai at Suwako, obscuring her from your vision with the sheer volume of them.
>Not long after you launch your danmaku barrage, a short sword flies through the danmaku and towards you.

> ..They're not available because we left them in our bag in a gap, correct? Remember next time we go gap-diving to remove the bag first.

>Correct. You make a note to remember to take your belongings out of the gap before entering an area like this.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"Because your actions affect more than just yourself. I'm sure that you wouldn't stand by and let someone's actions affect everyone you cared about for the worse."
>Dodge the sword. If we can't fully dodge, use a barrier to deflect the blade away.
>Keep an eye out for any other attacks she might try while using the sword as a distraction.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Because your actions affect more than just yourself. I'm sure that you wouldn't stand by and let someone's actions affect everyone you cared about for the worse."
>Dodge the sword. If we can't fully dodge, use a barrier to deflect the blade away.
>Keep an eye out for any other attacks she might try while using the sword as a distraction.

>You dodge the blade flying towards you, which embeds itself in the wall behind you.
>You begin talking once more, and your danmaku clears as you do so.
>Once the danmaku clears, you see only Suwako's hat where she once stood.
>Suwako bursts out of the ground in front of you and tackles you before you have a chance to respond.
>After having knocked you to the ground, Suwako towers above you.
>"You lose. Now get out."
>You see the wall of earth enclosing the two of you slowly descending back into the ground.

>_

[Darkoda]

Anyone got any ideas? Can't think of any beyond asking Kanako just why she doesn't take over by force and having her talk to Suwako.

>Well that was....huh. Ah well, got bigger problems than a fight.
>Aren't we already outside?
>Eh, stand up and head back to Kanako, we need some more information
>"Yes, yes, I'll be back later~"
>How long did all of that take?

[Shadoweh]

Well that went well. :V I don't think talking to Kanako is going to do anything. The problem is obviously with Suwako. If Yukari was able to defeat a tree of death, she should be able to fight a tricksy god. The most we could get out of her is tips on how to beat Suwako.

> "I won't stop coming until you're willing to move on."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> "I won't stop coming until you're willing to move on."

>"You're sounding an awful lot like a certain someone... And speak of the devil."
>You see Suwako looking into the sky. You also feel the wind picking up.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"Well this was unexpected. Convenient though."
>Look into the sky and let Kanako have her moment.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Well this was unexpected. Convenient though."
>Look into the sky and let Kanako have her moment.

>You hear Suwako click her tongue, before shouting into the sky.
>"So. What brings you here?"
>You tilt your head backwards to see Kanako sitting in the air.
>"I simply wished to observe. However, I must question your conduct. It hardly befits the demeanour of a god."
>"Quiet! Insolent youkai such as this one need to be taught proper manners."
>At this point Kanako descends, the wind calming down as she does so, and you see Suwako take a few steps back.
>Kanako offers her hand to you.

>_

[Darkoda]

>"And such a Gensokyo way to do it! No wonder you had adjusted to the Spellcard rules so easily!"
>Silly goddess, we already have proper manners. When we feel like using them.
>Accept the hand and get off the floor.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"And such a Gensokyo way to do it! No wonder you had adjusted to the Spellcard rules so easily!"
>Silly goddess, we already have proper manners. When we feel like using them.
>Accept the hand and get off the floor.

>"What is that supposed to mean? Are you still trying to pick another fight?"
>Of course you have manners. You just never felt the need to use them.
>You take Kanako's hand and get back on your feet. You can see Suwako staring angrily at the pair of you.
>"See? I knew it. I expected better from you, you know."
>"Calm down. Listen to what she has to say. What she said about this land makes sense. Surely you have noticed it as well."
>Kanako rests her hand on your shoulder and gives you a nod.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Heh, even when we lose, we win.
>Say in an obviously fake offended voice "Hey now! I'll have you know that such trickery is beneath me! I have far more amusing options."
>"I've gone into detail enough so I'll skip to the end; Suwako Moriya, this world is basically a reflection of the day you lost your shrine to Kanako Yasaka."
>"More likely than not, when the border cracked, both of you ended up getting caught in a rift, and for beings at your level, the dimensional gap twisted itself based on the most significant event involving the two of you."
>"I'm not sure if you harbored any resentment over how things went originally, this place warped your mindset or if there's another reason, but events didn't play out as last time, instead you kept fighting, and the two of you have been going at it for two years."
>"You're both bound by your past, but you need to let go and move on, so we can quite literally move to the future. After all, despite your rocky start, both of you must have found something in common to become the dual gods of Moriya Shrine and stay together long enough to end up being Sanae's guardians."
>If they're actually going to talk, move away and let them hash things out.

Hopefully this one will actually work.

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Heh, even when we lose, we win.
>Say in an obviously fake offended voice "Hey now! I'll have you know that such trickery is beneath me! I have far more amusing options."
>"I've gone into detail enough so I'll skip to the end; Suwako Moriya, this world is basically a reflection of the day you lost your shrine to Kanako Yasaka."
>"More likely than not, when the border cracked, both of you ended up getting caught in a rift, and for beings at your level, the dimensional gap twisted itself based on the most significant event involving the two of you."
>"I'm not sure if you harbored any resentment over how things went originally, this place warped your mindset or if there's another reason, but events didn't play out as last time, instead you kept fighting, and the two of you have been going at it for two years."
>"You're both bound by your past, but you need to let go and move on, so we can quite literally move to the future. After all, despite your rocky start, both of you must have found something in common to become the dual gods of Moriya Shrine and stay together long enough to end up being Sanae's guardians."
>If they're actually going to talk, move away and let them hash things out.

>This is certainly going well.
>Kanako gives you a stern look.
>"You too, watch your tongue. Keep in mind that you are still addressing a god."
>"So, in the end, you're telling me to give up the shrine again."
>"Why should I listen to yo-"
>Kanako interrupts Suwako.
>"If I yield, will you cooperate with us in investigating the anomaly surrounding this land?"
>Suwako stares at Kanako, with a surprised look on her face.
>"I... I guess so."
>"Very well then. I shall cease any and all hostilities towards you with the intent of taking over your shrine."
>"Just like that?"
>"Yes. Squabbles such as ours bore me and are not worth the effort. I would rather direct it towards more pressing matters."
>Kanako leaves your side and walks towards Suwako before extending her hand to her.
>"Well, I guess..."
>Suwako takes Kanako's hand. As soon as she does soon, you see the world around you begin to warp. The seasons pass rapidly and the landscape around you morph into a shape you recognize, that of Gensokyo.
>You are standing outside of the Moriya shrine.

>_

[Yonowaaru]

>"Welcome back, I suppose. Have you two regained your memories?"
>Look around; is this the Gensokyo we remember?

[Darkoda]

>Have we regained our gaps?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"Welcome back, I suppose. Have you two regained your memories?"
>Look around; is this the Gensokyo we remember?

>You hear a loud noise coming from the direction of Kanako and Suwako.
>You look to see Suwako on the floor and Kanako's leg in the air.
>"A-u-!"
>"Did I really just waste two years because of you?!"
>You look around, you're definitely back in Gensokyo.

>Have we regained our gaps?

>You feel able to manipulate boundaries once more.

>_

[Darkoda]

>Note to self; get our trollfan and umbrella back when we get home.
>Note #2; we're kicking Suwako's butt when we get our gap-hax back into full gear and fix things.
>Note #3; get our spellcards and put them in our sleeves where they won't fall out accidentally. None of this unarmed nonsense again.
>Wait, can we still turn our umbrella into a deadly weapon?
>"I'll just take that as a yes."
>"So, before you go running off; in summary, over the past two years, Reimu decided to go tyrant, kappa's were hunted down since Nitori's the one who broke the barrier - she's currently trying to fix things herself after getting some sense knocked back into her, the tengu have withdrawn even more than possible, and Sanae's at Reimu's shrine."
>"I'll warn you now; I have reason to suspect that Reimu's gotten at least some of my power. At the least, she was capable of destroying the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and sealing away Byakuren and her disciples on her own."
>"None of you would happen to have enough sway over Higan to recover a nuclear hell-raven's soul? It's likely to be my next stop tomorrow, and I promised Satori to help her and Nitori with resurrecting Utsuho."
>"I think that's the main outstanding points, as far as I'm aware right now; it's been a busy couple of days since I got out~"
>"Any questions?"

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>Note to self; get our trollfan and umbrella back when we get home.
>Note #2; we're kicking Suwako's butt when we get our gap-hax back into full gear and fix things.
>Note #3; get our spellcards and put them in our sleeves where they won't fall out accidentally. None of this unarmed nonsense again.
>Wait, can we still turn our umbrella into a deadly weapon?
>"I'll just take that as a yes."
>"So, before you go running off; in summary, over the past two years, Reimu decided to go tyrant, kappa's were hunted down since Nitori's the one who broke the barrier - she's currently trying to fix things herself after getting some sense knocked back into her, the tengu have withdrawn even more than possible, and Sanae's at Reimu's shrine."
>"I'll warn you now; I have reason to suspect that Reimu's gotten at least some of my power. At the least, she was capable of destroying the Scarlet Devil Mansion, and sealing away Byakuren and her disciples on her own."
>"None of you would happen to have enough sway over Higan to recover a nuclear hell-raven's soul? It's likely to be my next stop tomorrow, and I promised Satori to help her and Nitori with resurrecting Utsuho."
>"I think that's the main outstanding points, as far as I'm aware right now; it's been a busy couple of days since I got out~"
>"Any questions?"

>You are already storing your fan within your small gap. You do, however, make a note to carry around your parasol.
>You make a note to yourself to get revenge on Suwako at a later date.
>You can only store up to two spellcards in your sleeves without having them fall out.
>You can use your parasol to deadly effect, yes.
>"Yes. Though I know not what has been occurring for the past two years."
>"I see. And that is the reason for the tears that permeate the skies?"
>"You say that Sanae is not here?"
>"Wait what?!"
>Suwako springs to her feet.
>"What's Sanae doing over there?!"
>"Nuclear hell raven? The one that I gave power to? What has happened to her?"
>"We gods are unable to enter Higan."

>_

[Darkoda]

>"From what I could gather from her, she believes you both to be dead, and...she did not take it well. If Reimu's gotten half as bad as I've heard, being effectively trapped with her for two years couldn't have helped. That's why I came up here; to see if you happened to suffer the same fate as myself and Yuyuko and were just trapped. Getting her back shouldn't be too hard though, as long as Reimu isn't around......"
>"I'm not too sure on the details, but something happened with Utsuho involving Nitori that resulted in her death. She's dedicated to finding a way to resurrect her, and since both Satori and Rin are helping her, I gather that they have good reason to trust in her."
>"After all, even if I have doubts about Nitori, Satori wouldn't have let her live after that if the kappa wasn't honest about wanting to atone, and she of all people would be able to tell."
>Have our gaps improved to the point that we can yank someone from a distance and dump them somewhere? Like say a blue-white shrine maiden? Or do we have to go back to Hakurei Shrine?
>How many gaps can we create before we have to rest now?

[Shadoweh]

> "Considering how warped some of the residents have gotten, I can't suggest going to the Shrine yourselves unless you can remain unseen by Reimu. "
> What are the goddesses doing anyways?

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

>"From what I could gather from her, she believes you both to be dead, and...she did not take it well. If Reimu's gotten half as bad as I've heard, being effectively trapped with her for two years couldn't have helped. That's why I came up here; to see if you happened to suffer the same fate as myself and Yuyuko and were just trapped. Getting her back shouldn't be too hard though, as long as Reimu isn't around......"
>"I'm not too sure on the details, but something happened with Utsuho involving Nitori that resulted in her death. She's dedicated to finding a way to resurrect her, and since both Satori and Rin are helping her, I gather that they have good reason to trust in her."
>"After all, even if I have doubts about Nitori, Satori wouldn't have let her live after that if the kappa wasn't honest about wanting to atone, and she of all people would be able to tell."
>Have our gaps improved to the point that we can yank someone from a distance and dump them somewhere? Like say a blue-white shrine maiden? Or do we have to go back to Hakurei Shrine?
>How many gaps can we create before we have to rest now?

>"Then we shall simply see her to prove her beliefs otherwise."
>"Yeah! Let's go right now, Kanako."
>"In good time. We should investigate further into what has changed during our absence."
>"A-u-"
>"I see. I can do naught but wish them well."
>They have not. Though you do feel that manipulating boundaries should be somewhat easier for you than before.
>You feel that you could hold a gap open for around one minute before your strength gives out.

> "Considering how warped some of the residents have gotten, I can't suggest going to the Shrine yourselves unless you can remain unseen by Reimu. "
> What are the goddesses doing anyways?

>"What's the worst she could do? And let go of me!"
>Kanako is holding onto Suwako, who is attempting to fly off in the direction of the Hakurei shrine.

>_

[Shadoweh]

> What time is it now that we're out of the gap?
> "Well, she could trap you in another dimension where you forget the past millenia at a guess~"
> "You aren't the first I've freed from these distortions." Recount to Kanako and Suwako our various allies and their current tasks. Recap for the readers too since I've totally forgotten what people are doing it's useful information.
> "One of the tengu might be better suited to pass a message to Sanae discretely."

[Dormio Ergo Sum]

> What time is it now that we're out of the gap?
> "Well, she could trap you in another dimension where you forget the past millenia at a guess~"
> "You aren't the first I've freed from these distortions." Recount to Kanako and Suwako our various allies and their current tasks. Recap for the readers too since I've totally forgotten what people are doing it's useful information.
> "One of the tengu might be better suited to pass a message to Sanae discretely."

>You'd estimate the time to be around 3PM.
>"True."
>When you say this, Suwako lands once more.
>"So she really went mad, huh?"
>"So there are others in situations similar to ours?"
>You tell Kanako and Suwako about how you rescued Yuyuko and Youmu from a situation similar to theirs, and how you are to meet them later this afternoon.
>You tell Kanako and Suwako about Ran and Chen, and how they keep watch over Mayohiga.
>You tell Kanako and Suwako about Byakuren and Nazrin, who are searching for Nue whilst staying at Mayohiga.
>You tell Kanako and Suwako about Ichirin and Minamitsu, who are searching for something whilst staying at Mayohiga.
>You tell Kanako and Suwako about Shou, who helps out Ran whilst staying at Mayohiga.
>You tell Kanako and Suwako about Nitori, Yuuko, Fuuko, Rin, Satori, Hatate, and Aya, who all seem to be doing their own thing at Nitori's laboratory.
>You tell Kanako and Suwako about Momiji, who, as far as you know, is currently at Nitori's laboratory pondering what to do.
>"I see. We had best start our own efforts to bring back the Gensokyo we know, though I know not where to begin."
>"Perhaps. Tell me, since you say that the residents of Gensokyo have 'warped', does this apply to the tengu?"

>_