Maribel Quest Abridging - A Z-Machine Adventure

[Hello Purvis]

>"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?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"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.

[Hello Purvis]

>"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.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Continue onward towards the Palace of the Earth Spirits

[Hello Purvis]

>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.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Move out of the way, and look towards the gap with a raised eyebrow.

[Hello Purvis]

>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.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Smile
>"I don't think it counts as a suspicion when you're, in fact, fairly certain."
>"So, did you catch all the excitement?"

[Hello Purvis]

>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?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"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."

[Hello Purvis]

>"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!"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"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."

[Hello Purvis]

>"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."

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"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?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"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.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Care to tell me what either of those columns are supposed to be?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Care to tell me what either of those columns are supposed to be?"

>"Mmmm, you'll see," says Yukari.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>In a friendly, not impatient tone: "And how long am I supposed to wait here before you show me?"

[Hello Purvis]

>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.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"Um, ok, I guess. Where to?"
>Follow along

[Hello Purvis]

>"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.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"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

[Suwako Moriya]

> 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.

[Suwako Moriya]

Also we REALLY need to stop being a jerk to Renko.

[E-Nazrin]

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.

[Hello Purvis]

>"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?"

>_

[DracoOmega]

>"You said you had something else you were going to show me?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"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.

>_

[DracoOmega]

>Take the bottle
>"What is it?"

[E-Nazrin]

>"Wait, is this lube?"