Keine Quest (Part 3): Broken History

[Blitzer]

>Approach carefully. It may be a trap.

[DracoOmega]

>Approach carefully. It may be a trap.

>You walk cautiously over to Kaguya. Mokou elects to stay where she is. Maybe she doesn't trust herself to get that close to Kaguya and not start something. The rabbits back away again.
>"Don't worry," Kaguya says gently. "She won't hurt any of you."
>You walk to within normal conversation distance of her, and she turns and looks at you with gentle eyes. She reaches a hand out towards your forehead. "Please excuse me."

[Blitzer]

>"Why are you going to touch my forehead?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Why are you going to touch my forehead?"

>"I just want to be certain of something. It shouldn't be uncomfortable."
>She touches your forehead with two fingers and holds them there for a moment, closing her eyes. Then she withdraws her hand. "As I suspected."

[Hello Purvis]

>Jerk back.
>"Suspected what?"
>Goddamn Lunarians, let us say yea or nay for once!

[DracoOmega]

>Jerk back.

>You take a step backwards.

>"Suspected what?"

>"Please forgive Eirin, if you can," she says calmly. "She does what she does for my sake. But... I understand why you said what you did."

>Goddamn Lunarians, let us say yea or nay for once!

>There really has been a frustrating shortage of straight answers tonight.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, I'll try, if you explain what just happened."
>Maybe a lie. Maybe not. Still pissed.

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, I'll try, if you explain what just happened."
>Maybe a lie. Maybe not. Still pissed.

>She nods. "Forgive me. I believe you're already familiar with my powers of eternity, at least to a degree. I have a connection to the permanence of things and the flow of time that subsumes and binds us all. I... sensed an anomaly. And... no offense intended, you are it. Or, rather, you belong to a different eternity than everyone else in this household."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, you acknowledge that much. I don't know if I'm in a different world or history has changed or what, but...I'm here, and I shouldn't be. History has gone radically different since the long winter started. I need the full moon to be restored, so I may try to fix it. And even if I can, many of the youkai need it simply because of what they are."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, you acknowledge that much. I don't know if I'm in a different world or history has changed or what, but...I'm here, and I shouldn't be. History has gone radically different since the long winter started. I need the full moon to be restored, so I may try to fix it. And even if I can, many of the youkai need it simply because of what they are."

>"What were we like, in this world of yours?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well your doctor was a hell of a lot better, that's for sure."
>"Sorry..."
>Okay not really.
>"Anyways, I didn't know you well. But I can say Reisen would come to the village and sell medicines, which was immensely useful. Eirin would help people, not sure if she made house calls or not. There was an exposition on lunar items here, which was very fascinating. I suppose...less antagonistic."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well your doctor was a hell of a lot better, that's for sure."
>"Sorry..."
>Okay not really.
>"Anyways, I didn't know you well. But I can say Reisen would come to the village and sell medicines, which was immensely useful. Eirin would help people, not sure if she made house calls or not. There was an exposition on lunar items here, which was very fascinating. I suppose...less antagonistic."

>"So... we weren't all locked away in here. It sounds... nice."

[Hello Purvis]

>"You weren't. Nothing bad happened. You could drop all the wards right now, and everything would be fine. I would encourage it."

[DracoOmega]

>"You weren't. Nothing bad happened. You could drop all the wards right now, and everything would be fine. I would encourage it."

>"Eirin was fairly insistent after the night the vampire and her servant invaded. I can't say I disagreed with her at the time. I don't want to go back. My home is here."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, you'll do alright. Worse comes to worst, you can entertain Remilia for a little bit, and assuage her ego. Perhaps a duel so she gets it out of her system. But yes, it would be best to destroy all of these spells this instant."

[DracoOmega]

>"Well, you'll do alright. Worse comes to worst, you can entertain Remilia for a little bit, and assuage her ego. Perhaps a duel so she gets it out of her system. But yes, it would be best to destroy all of these spells this instant."

>"And you think that if I do, you can set things right again?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"If nothing else, I'll have a much better understanding of what happened, and can proceed from there. Either way, it is good for both that and for the world."

[DracoOmega]

>"If nothing else, I'll have a much better understanding of what happened, and can proceed from there. Either way, it is good for both that and for the world."

>She looks up at the moon. "It's been a long time since I've seen the real thing. I think I miss that, too." She is silent for a time. "Very well, I'll see what I can do." She walks off towards the doorway you exited from, the rabbits kind of nervously trailing in her wake.

[Hello Purvis]

>Follow along. Take Rumia's hand again. And Mokou's arm.

[DracoOmega]

>Follow along. Take Rumia's hand again. And Mokou's arm.

>You go back over to where Mokou was waiting, and then take her arm, and Rumia's hand, and start to follow Kaguya. You feel Mokou tense up a little.
>"Given the circumstances," Kaguya calls back, "it might be best if you waited for me to return."

[Blitzer]

>By the way, the Hakurei border repels Lunarians as well as bugs, humans, hellseals, and tomatoes that throw themselves at people. Does Keine know this?

[Hello Purvis]

>Reisen got in. As did Toyohime. And Yorihime if you count the Inabas.

[DracoOmega]

>By the way, the Hakurei border repels Lunarians as well as bugs, humans, hellseals, and tomatoes that throw themselves at people. Does Keine know this?

>Reisen got in. As did Toyohime. And Yorihime if you count the Inabas.

>Essentially you understand that it is difficult to penetrate the border, but clearly not impossible, as several examples you are aware of show. Whether it is more difficult for Lunarians than anyone else, you don't know. All you know is that no one dragged Kaguya, Reisen, or Eirin back to the moon for whatever reason.

[Hello Purvis]

>Regardless, wait.
>"Mokou, you've been a dear through all of this. Thank you."

[DracoOmega]

>Regardless, wait.
>"Mokou, you've been a dear through all of this. Thank you."

>"I..." she hesitates, then sighs. "I just didn't want to ruin this for you, ya know? And this world of yours, well... seems like a pretty decent place. I wouldn't want to keep your Mokou waiting for you too long." She looks into your eyes for a moment. "Well... maybe I would."
>"'sides," she says, looking away again, "if they take the damn ward down than I can come back and kick her ass whenever I bloody well please."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Think of it like this... If things do spin around, and the Keine of this world comes back, chances are she's had to deal with my Mokou. So you'll have a reason to go harass her. Though personally? I hope this really was just a change in history, because it means you were the same person the whole time."

[DracoOmega]

>"Think of it like this... If things do spin around, and the Keine of this world comes back, chances are she's had to deal with my Mokou. So you'll have a reason to go harass her. Though personally? I hope this really was just a change in history, because it means you were the same person the whole time."

>"Yeah... I think I do, too."

[Blitzer]

>Wait around until the moon's back to normal.

[Hello Purvis]

>Nod.
>Wait. Enjoy the garden.

[DracoOmega]

>Wait around until the moon's back to normal.

>Nod.
>Wait. Enjoy the garden.

>You wait, and try to enjoy the scenery. It's really very pleasant actually. A beautiful garden, beneath a clear sky, holding hands with someone who's pretty much the person you fell in love with. If it wasn't for nearly every part of your body aching badly, you think you could just spend the rest of the evening here and not have any complaints.
>Time passes, and still more. You don't know if Kaguya and Eirin are arguing, or if something happened, or if it simply takes that long to undo what was done.

>And then you feel something in the air change, feel it reach out and touch something buried deep within your being. You take a deep breath and look up at the sky. The moon is full. The moon is full!

>You take a step away from Mokou as you feel the awakening overtake you. No matter how many times you experience it, it is always an overwhelming sensation. Your limbs tingle, like you stood too close to a bolt of lightning, and two spots on the top of your head start to throb. You take another step forward and stagger a little, breathing heavily.
>"Hey, you ok?" Mokou says, her voicing sounding distant now.
>You feel power and potential surging through every inch of your being. It is almost as if you can feel the very fiber of the air around you. You look up at the moon again, and feel your eyes change, your vision sharpening. And then, with a cry, your horns burst from your head. You feel alive! More alive than you ever can on any other day of the month. You feel the strength in your body, and in your mind. You let out another deep breath and grin. After all you've been through tonight, by god does it feel glorious!