>"I-If it`s no bother, i`m actually not much truth be told, i just have the potential, it would be nice to have help from a full-fledged magician."
>Jump a bit at the sight of such a large library. Not to mention a large room in general.>You jump at the sudden transition. Just look at the size of this thing...
>Look at the two with a smile. "So this is your friend Rumia ? Looks like she missed you a lot."
>Remember to keep a low voice. This is a library.>You speak softly.
>Or at least, looks like one.
>Look around for Sakuya as we approach the pajama-clad woman.>Sakuya seems to be approaching the woman with you.
>Is that book Flandre tossed still on the ground?>It is.
>Continue our approach.>You continue to approach.
>Is YgMg with us?>You glance around for YuugenMagan. She does not appear to be here.
>Nod.>"Who might you be?" she says, not even looking up from the book.
>Address the Pajama woman. "Um, excuse me Miss?"
>"T-Thank you a lot for helping.">"Well, I have not exactly agreed to provide assistance yet..." Patchouli says as she accepts the handshake, "Now, what spell did you have in mind in order to assist in finding your friend? Have you already tried a locator spell with a personal belonging?"
>Shake her hand.
>"I don't have any with me... That's sorta why I'm so troubled about this...">"Hmm, very well. I do know of a couple of more advanced locator spells, but they have a set radius and have a margin of error. They're not as accurate, but they should tell you if your friend is nearby... Casting them is simple, the preparation is similar to casting a normal locator spell..."
>Nod slightly.
//Better just tell part of the truth.
>"I`m not much as a magician really, i haven`t even learned the basics yet, i was just told i had the potential like you said now, so hearing that a full-fledged one like you lives here would be nice for me to learn at least something."
>"It's at least a chance to make things better...">"I see... So you aren't really a magician, but you are aspiring to become one. Understandable. Thank you for your honesty." she pauses to cough, "Anyway, you've caught me on a good day. I should be able to teach you what you need to know without-"
>I propose we go with the little truth as well. Saying "It's my ability, but It's not reliable enough to find my friend on my own.">Yeah that works. Do that and none of the earlier stuff.
>Yeah that works. Do that and none of the earlier stuff.>"So it wasn't a spell after all..." Sakuya's eyes narrow.
>"I can open a path to somewhere if I can visualize it well enough, but I don't know how to do much else..."
>"Umm.... i can`t really do it without Yuugen, since it`s pretty draining, and...."
>"It's tremendously tiring, so I can only do it a couple of times before needing to rest. YuugenMagan helped me do it to get to here...">"Well, how much energy does it require...? I do have a few ways to supplement energy consumption... Or maybe you have enough energy to perform one right now without needing a rest?"
If we have enough energy to demonstrate-
>"I think I can at least show you..." Open one to... well, try to do one to the spot in the forest we were just at with Rumia and Yuugenmagan.
>"Well... I should be able to.">You've never felt drained after opening a tear with YuugenMagan's assistance, so you feel like you could open a tear or two.
>Close the tear.
>Slowly close the gap. We don't want to have them caught in it or something as it shuts.>You shut the tear. You feel like you could make about four more tears of this nature and size before you get too tired to make any more...
>Seems there's no way to avoid mentioning Yukari now.>There seems to be no way around this, hopefully they won't try to contact her...
>"Oh, uhm, you mean Lady Yukari? I actually have talked with her... she got me started on learning flying and danmaku.">"Oh, really? Well that's interesting..." Sakuya looks at you in thought.
>"I'm still searching for my friend...">"Oh yes, that." Patchouli stands up, "Come with me, and I'll teach you that locator spell if you wish to learn it."
>Nod and follow.>You begin following Patchouli.
>"Thank you."
//Drat. Just thought about omitting the part about her training us...>"Well, you see-" Patchouli coughs a few times, "-Sakuya has the power to manipulate time. What looks like her vanishing is really just her stopping time and moving somewhere else..."
>"How does she do that?"
>"That sounds very useful, and looks that way too.">"I suppose it is quite useful..."
>"Alright.">There is no need to open the door, as Patchouli is already opening it.
>Open the door and follow !
>"Um, pardon me for asking, but are you well?">"Let's just say that exposure to many different chemicals and substances in my earlier days, when I often practiced alchemy, has left me in relatively poor health..." Patchouli answers, "Not much can be done about it, I'm afraid, but most of the time I can manage. Especially on a good day, which we are fortunate to be meeting on. And at least now there's readily available treatment in the event I have an asthma attack..."
>"That`s unfortunate....">"It is indeed..." Patchouli sighs, "You can't even fathom how frustrating it is to be unable to use your most powerful spells at your disposal unless you're feeling very well..."
>Look at the woman curiously with a smile.>"Well hello there. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Koakuma replies as she fills a teapot with water from a nearby sink.
>"Koakuma huh ? It`s nice to meet you, the name is Mary."
>Tell Patchouli: "Please don't overexert yourself.">"Hmph. Please... You're starting to sound like Koakuma..." Patchouli frowns, "I am perfectly capable of handling the task at hand."
>"So she is kinda like me huh ? It feels nice to know so, she must be nice to have around.">"I haven't known you long enough to truly make a comparison like that... Anyway, yes, Koakuma is an excellent assistant, though there have been a few times where her performance was... disappointing..."
>Enter and stand ready.>"First you need to show me what your current magic proficiency is... Show me the most advanced spell you are capable of performing, without use of your natural abilities."
>"So how do we start ?"
>Put on a slightly embarrassed look.>"Well, you said Miss Yakumo taught you danmaku, correct? That is a form of magic in itself..."
>"Well, i said it before, i didn`t have anyone to teach me before, they just said i had potential, i don`t even have grasps of the basics yet, i`m sorry to disappoint you."
>"Um, in that case... where do i do it ?">Patchouli closes her eyes and mutters a sort of incantation. Suddenly, a blue, spherical barrier appears around you.
>"Oh. Okay."
>Try making the most complicated danmaku we can while doing it on the place Miss Patchouli tells us too, unless she says to do it on Koakuma, then don`t do that.>You know how to make single shots as well as spreads, you also know how to fire spheres and lasers. Will you try something new, or will you go with what you already know?
>Attempt to fire two lasers at the barrier.>You focus on your hand and attempt to split one laser into two.
>Turn to Patchouli.>Patchouli nods.
>"Is that okay?"
>"What next?">"We have a lot of work ahead of us." says Patchouli as the barrier goes down, "How much of a hurry are you in? Because depending on how well things go, we may be here for a couple of hours..."
>"H-hours? It might actually be easier to find her the normal way, then... errr... she wasn't actually out for a stroll last time I saw. More like a berserk frenzy... it's hard to explain. If I ask around someone will probably have seen her. Although I appreciate the offer... I had no idea it would take that long."
>Bow politely.
>"I would appreciate the cup of tea, though..." It's only polite since it's already made. We could probably use a quick refreshment before we have to start opening gaps up to return to the hunt.
>Staying can help us find her in an easier way earlier, but going would let us search sooner. Though we have YuugenMagan to help, staying for a bit is still beneficial.
>Conflicting actions. Please come to an agreement.>"I think my friend can hold her own, and she might not be in trouble yet, so I should have time. I've been worried about what could happen."
>Edit: Well, we should stay for a bit. Seems like it might not be that much, and could be helpful.
//I think we might be staying long enough for tea and possible information, if I read Serela's correctly.
>Still siding with staying, for just a bit.
>"H-hours? It might actually be easier to find her the normal way, then... errr... she wasn't actually out for a stroll last time I saw. More like a berserk frenzy... it's hard to explain. If I ask around someone will probably have seen her. Although I appreciate the offer... I had no idea it would take that long.">"Suit yourself then." says Patchouli, "Well then, is there anything else you would like to discuss over tea?"
>Bow politely.
>"I would appreciate the cup of tea, though..." It's only polite since it's already made. We could probably use a quick refreshment before we have to start opening gaps up to return to the hunt.
>Accept the cup.>"You're welcome." Koakuma does a slight bow as you take a sip.
>"Thank you."
>Blow on it a little, then drink some.
>"What was that you mentioned about me having a lot of potential?"
>"They said i had it, but i didn`t think it was this much.">"As a powerful magician, I can sense the energy potential within living things." Patchouli sips her tea, "I sensed quite a bit in you. Though, a high potential doesn't necessarily mean you can be a powerful magician. The potential could be anything. Even your natural ability, perhaps. There's really no way to tell at first glance."
>"Is there a trick to increasing in ability with danmaku and flight, or is it just training?">"Danmaku and flight take practice. If you already have a basic understanding of both, you can eventually master them with time and patience." Patchouli stops to cough, "Of course, some more advanced forms of danmaku, such as those that are paired with natural abilites or elemental magic, as well as spellcards, will require a more specialized study."
>"I see, what about the basics of magic ? Is there a place i could study it after i find my friend ? Or would it be okay for me to visit this library later ?">"Well, you are welcome to study in this library, provided you don't steal any books... There's been too much of that going on..."
>"Do you have any recommended areas for where I should search for my friend next?"
>"I don`t see how would i be able to do that, nor why would i do that, nevertheless, thank you Miss Patchouli.">"You're-" Patchouli coughs, "-welcome."
>Take a sip of the tea.>You take a sip of the tea. It's nice and warm.
>"What could you tell be about you two if i may ask ? A full-fledged magician along with a very dedicated helper from what i can see living on a library of such size, it is rather intriguing."
>I don't think we should ask about how they came to be, else they might ask for the same from us.>You refrain from asking this.
>"Do you have any recommended areas for where I should search for my friend next?"
>Eh, while a harmless question, Patchouli doesn't know the slightest thing about our friend or what's happened- we haven't even said it's Sumireko, much less anything else. She'll have no idea where she could be.
>It wouldn`t do for us to leave so soon, let`s at least say a little bit more, i think i have an idea though,>"The Forest of Magic is where that thieving Black-White and her lover live..." Patchouli frowns, "It also possesses large amounts of ambient magic, as well as a large variety of magical fungi. I would go there myself sometime, but unfortunately, the amount of spores in the air there aggravate my asthma... As for the sunflower garden, I assume you're referring to the Garden of the Sun. A very powerful youkai by the name of Yuuka Kazami resides there, but of course, you've probably already heard about her..."
>Instead of this, let`s try this:
>"Could you tell me anything about this magical forest i have heard or that sunflower garden ? They seem to be places my friend has most likely headed to."
>"So Miss Marisa and Miss Alice live there huh ? Also, would it be safe for us to head to that Garden if such a strong youkai lives there ? Or will she leave us be as long as we don`t cause trouble ?">"They do indeed, and sometimes I wish the former would stay there..." Patchouli sips her tea, "As for Yuuka, I've heard that she won't harm you as long as you don't damage any flowers, treat her with respect, and stay on her good side. Though I do believe most people simply run away in panic..."
>"I see, then there shouldn`t be any problems, as long as we do so.">You sip your tea once more.
>Have another sip.
>"So what brought you into magic Miss Patchouli ? Is it something related to family ?">"You wouldn't be interested in that story." Patchouli frowns and takes another sip from her cup.
>"I see, it`s alright, then how about the Mistress of this mansion ? I heard Miss Sakuya call that young girl whom Rumia is friends with 'Young Mistress', is that she ?">"Oh, her? You are mistaken. Flandre is only the Mistress's younger sister."
>"Oh, curious, and how about the Mistress herself ? What kind of person is she ?">"A vampire." Patchouli says rather flatly.
>Look a bit confused.>"Well, in that case, one word she would use do describe herself would be 'charismatic'. Interpret that as you will..."
>"Oh, um, i meant her personality, but still, i haven`t seen vampires around here before coming here."
>Drink some more tea.>You drink some more
>"Thank you for the tea and help miss Patchouli.">"Don't mention it."
>Excuse ourselves.
>Exit the library.
>Laugh manically, running down the hallways throwing trains from gaps and screaming "ABANDONED LINE!"
>"Which would you recommend first? Searching the Forest of Magic or the Garden of the Sun?">"Well, most people tend to stay away from the Garden of the Sun," Patchouli sips her tea, "so unless your friend had a mental disorder or was passing over it for whatever reason, you wouldn't find evidence of them there. The Forest may be a good place to search, but I'd advise caution if you stray off the path. There are some pockets that have dense concentrations of hazardous spores, and many of them are unmarked, and don't get me started about the carnivorous plants..."
>"Uh... Alright. I guess that means I'm checking the forest first... Marisa or Alice might be able to help.">"If anyone could help you there, it would unfortunately be the Black-White... She likely knows that forest like the back of her hand."
>Sip tea.
>"Um, may i ask why do you seem to bear such a dislike towards Miss Marisa ?">"Well, wouldn't you dislike somebody who frequently steals your property and never returns it?" Patchouli frowns.
>"Well, seeing how vast this library is, i guess it would be really hard for her to resist getting books from this place, although you have a point about not returning them.">Patchouli silently sips her tea.
>"I hope you can get your books back one day...">"Yes, I hope I can get all 429 of them back one day as well..."
>Awkwardly drink more tea.>There is an awkward silence as the two of you continue to sip your tea.
>"Uh... How long has this been going on? The thievery, that is...">"21 years..." Patchouli replies.
>"Well um, looking at the bright side, you can just go there and retrieve it once she dies of old age i guess ?">"That's assuming she doesn't discover some way to prolong her lifespan or make the transition to youkai..."
>"I hope I can help somehow when I've dealt with my major problems...">"IF you do get around to it, then good luck trying to convince her to stop... I've tried, the Hakurei Shrine Maiden has tried, Sakuya has tried... When she became romantically involved with Alice, I was hoping the latter would finally break her of her thieving habits, and while she did stop doing it as frequently, the Black-White still hasn't stopped completely..."
>"Oh, so those two are a couple too ? That`s nice to hear.">Patchouli simply takes another sip.
>Smile then have another sip.
//We heard her say it a couple of times before.>You finish off your tea. It was refreshing.
>Nod and finish our tea.
>"Hah ! Say, how long did you say that locator spell would take to learn ?">"With your current skill level, I would estimate around three or four hours."
>"Uhh.... is there any way we could to that faster ? I dunno if i have that kind of time, although searching blindly for her isn` t good either....">"If we rush it, then you ultimately will have much less success casting it..."
//The worst thing I can think of that could happen, would be Sumireko harming Renko. Second to that would be Yukari capturing her, (and her possibly still being like that). Because if that's the case, we'll never find her as we are. Otherwise, she'll just be flying around causing trouble and probably won't get badly hurt unless what Mamizou was doing was directed towards her.>"Very well."
In short, it might be better to learn how to find her easier since she might not be in deep danger yet. I'm agreeing at the moment.
>"I think it might be better for me to stay and learn this."
>"So ? Where do we start ?">"Well, for starters, we will-"
>Put on our hood just in case, so it's harder to recognize us.>You had your hood up the whole time.
>Get up and have a peek outside, see what is going on.
>Try to just peek from the edge of the door if we can still hear/see from there; if not, just go ahead and follow.>You peek out the door.
>Maybe our tears get more difficult and draining depending on distance...>You wonder how distance effects your tears, and also ponder whether or not they could help in this situation. You honestly won't know until you test it.
>We could probably help somehow based on this. But I wouldn't bet on helping right now.
>Go to the corner Koakuma went around and peek from there instead. Stop before the corner if we can clearly make out what's going on sooner, though.>You make your way over to the corner.
>"Oy!"
>Is Marisa moving? If so, how fast was she moving?>She is still at the moment. However, judging by her body language, she looks like she could take off on her broom at a moment's notice.
>"Oy!"
>Don`t say anything yet, we don`t have any plans or ideas ready right now.>You refrain from saying anything.
//Should we at least create a tear for distraction? We're likely not going to be able to catch Marisa in it, but it might pique her interest.Because that's totally not going to make Marisa complain to Yukari later for randomly messing with her. (Especially if it did catch her. "EY WHY ARE YA GAPPING ME AROUND")
We'd just have to make sure she doesn't know we did it.
>Continue to observe the situation as it goes on.>Patchouli takes to the air as well, and seems to give chase. Both will be out of sight soon unless you get closer
>Welp. Better keep following!>You trail behind Koakuma, and suddenly find your self looking down what appears to be one of the main aisles of the library.
>Let`s talk quietly.>Even though you speak softly, Koakuma jumps at the sudden sound of your voice.
>"So, um, does this happen every once in a while ?"
>"Huh.... i kinda wish i could stop those two, oh well.">"If I were stronger, I would try to help... But I wouldn't stand a chance up there...."
>Shrug.
>"So what do you do around here Koakuma ?">"Me? Oh, not much, really... I'm simply an assistant. I assist Lady Patchouli when needed, and I also take inventory and keep the library shelves nice and organized."
>"Seems like a simple job, do you enjoy it ?">"I do. Though it does get boring at times..."
>"So what kind of youkai are you if i may ask ? I haven`t seen any like you that have those cute-looking head wings.">"Oh, I'm actually a demon. Native to Makai. You know, come to think of it, your outfit kinda reminds me of home..."
//I don`t see any harm in telling her we came from there.>"Huh... So I guess you really are a magician, then? That would be one of the few reasons why a human such as you would be there..."
>"Oh, that`s interesting, i just came from that place, and the clothes are because i bought them there."
>Look at her with a smile.>"I do? Well, I never recall ever seeing anyone like that... But then again, I never really got out much when I lived there..."
>"You kinda remind me of this nice demon girl i met there, she had a star drawing on her face if i remember right...."
>Quickly do as she says and follow !>You move to the side, ending up practically hugging the shelf.
>"N-Not really, i just got help from that person i came here with to get there, it was so i could do some stuff to find my friend.">"Oh, I see..."
>Nod. "Yes!">You and Koakuma pursue the two.
>Go after 'em!
//Huh, i think this one is rather easy, compared to one of the others.>"Yes, indeed.... Wait. You mean to tell me you haven't seen one before?!"
>"So this is a spellcard huh ?"
>"Uh yea, i have only heard and read about them, i had never seen one up close like this, just regular danmaku.">"Interesting... Anyway, yes, that's a spell card. Granted, it's not one of Lady Patchouli's greatest, like that Royal Flare she opened up with... She's likely using it over a stronger one because the first one took a lot out of her..."
>"What about you Koakuma, do you have one too ?">"Well..." Koakuma frowns, "No... Actually... I've been meaning to create one for a while, but I guess I never got around to it... Perhaps it's for the best. It's not like I'd be able to hold my own against things that aren't fairies anyway..."
>"Hey ! Don`t be like that, i bet you have more potential than you think, you just gotta cheer up and try harder.">"Thanks..." Koakuma smiles slightly.
>Smile.
>"If you put as much effort as you do when taking care of Miss Patchouli i`m sure you`ll succeed from what i saw."
>"Oh, looks like we`ll have to catch up again soon.">"Indeed."
>Follow !>You follow.
>"It must mean a lot for her to stop Marisa from stealing...">"Well, Lady Patchouli has been getting quite sick of it... Though, in all honesty, I don't really expect Lady Patchouli to succeed... Marisa has almost always gotten away with it... P-Please don't tell Lady Patchouli I said that..."
>"Ehe. Flandre seems to like her friends a lot...">Koakuma does not respond to you.
> "R-Right..." Keep an eye on Marisa from here.>Flandre seems to be talking with Marisa.
>"Do you need any help?">"If you were powerful... I'd... ask you to stop her before she gets away..." Patchouli pants, "But there isn't really... anything you can do..."
>Try to descriptively imagine the spot, or rather, the floor Marisa's broom is at.>You visualize the floor underneath Marisa's broom, which is pretty easy since you already have a direct visual of it. The mental image begins to shimmer.
>Is Marisa looking at either the broom or us?>She is not. Her attention seems to be entirely on Flandre right now.
>Is Marisa still holding the bag of books, or?>She is.
>Make a gap just big enough to slip the broom through, and try to quietly (but still quickly, if possible) get the broom through to the other side.>You create a tear in front of you and another underneath the broom, which falls in due to gravity.
>Immediately close the gap afterwards.
>Dive out of the way, unless there's someone behind us.>You dodge the broom, and it audibly clatters on the ground behind you.
>If there is, try to block with our arms.
>We already closed the gap right ?>You have.
>"Um, hi ?">You wave to the group. Marisa begins walking quickly towards you. Flandre and Rumia float behind her.
>Wave.
>Say quietly to Koakuma. "Please don`t tell them about my powers, i don`t want to draw attention to myself...">You turn to see that Koakuma is already far down the aisle, supporting Patchouli. You don't think either of them saw or heard.
>Did they see the broom itself yet?>You are unsure.
>Wait for them to come towards us.>You wait as Marisa approaches you, she looks annoyed.
//Possibly change Marisa's Attention?>"I asked you a question!" Marisa frowns, "Hang on... Haven't I seen you before?"
>"A-Are you...stealing?"
>"P-P-Please don't tell Yukari!"
>"Y-Yeah, it`s me.""Uh-huh... And what did you do with my broom?"
>Take off the hood now.
//We should still keep the hood on as much as we can. We're still trying not to be noticed by Yukari.>You refrain from removing your hood.
>Avoid revealing ourself yet. We could probably still pull this off.
>Start heading over to the broom, looking away from Marisa.>You start walking towards the broom.
>"S-Sorry. But, why are you stealing?"
>"Um, why are you stealing Miss Patchouli`s books ?">"I'm not stealing them, I'm borrowing them." says Marisa as she picks up her broom, "Now, will ya please tell me how my broom ended all the way over here ~ze?"
>"P-P-Please don't tell Yukari!"
>Don`t say this, that might get them suspicious of us, let`s just let it be for now.>You hold your tongue
>Shrug.>"No it didn't" says Rumia, "I saw it. I saw your hole thingy open up under it while Marisa was talking to Flan."
>"How should i know ? All i know is that it came flying towards me from somewhere and i dodged it."
>Put on a slightly confused look.
>"So from what i could hear, you borrowed 429 of her books for about 20 years now ? And has yet to return one ? Seems more like stealing to me."
>"But how could you just steal someone's stuff like this? It's so wrong.">"Oh, don't worry. I'll return them. She can have them back when I die... Anyway, I'd like to hear more about this 'Hole thingy' that Rumia was talking about, if you don't mind ~ze..."
>"Um, i really don`t wanna talk it... it`s just a portal thingy i can do, nothing much...">"Huh... Mind if I see?"
>Frown.>"I have my reasons..." Marisa frowns, "Besides, why enjoy them here when I could do it in the comfort of my own home."
>"I do mind. It's horrible that you'd steal them until you die. Why don't you just enjoy them here?"
>"Because other people might want to enjoy them too.">"Oh please, who ever comes in here to read these books? Most of them collect dust on these shelves as far as I know ~ze."
>"I said no. I'm busy anyways."
//That`s kinda rude.>Flandre runs over to you, grabs your dress, and looks up to you with puppy dog eyes.
>Let`s try this instead.
>"Really would rather not, i don`t want to drag attention to me... i`m just here to learn about magic and learn a locator spell from Miss Patchouli."
>"I-I can't I really have to find my friend, and I've already been spending a lot of time doing things that would help me. You'd understand if one of your friends went missing, right?">"Aw... Come on, it can't take that long, can it?" You notice Flandre's grip on your dress is rather tight.
>"Aww... please don`t look at me like that, you`re so cute.">You pet Flandre on the head.
>Pet Flandre.
>"You would have to keep secret, and i don`t wanna risk it...">"But I can keep a secret. I can keep it really, really, really well!"
>Ponder recruiting Marisa into our party to help find Sumireko...>You consider recruiting Marisa. Could you trust her? And would she even cooperate?
>"I need to think a bit..."
>"Well, um... I guess I could show you if you could help... have you seen Sumireko flying around today, Marisa? She got out of her room at Eientei but she's not okay, and I have a friend who thinks she can help her... but I don't know where to look.">"Sumireko... Who's that again?" Marisa asks.
>How much were we told about Sumireko's time in Gensokyo, again?>From what you've heard, you know she caused an incident many years ago involving something called Occult Balls. You also know she disappeared 7 years ago after an experiment on the same objects.
I'm not sure which info qualifies as stuff we would actually know, to be able to say to Marisa. "Renko's sister" is gonna get zero recognition.
>Describe her appearance to her?
>"She came from the outside world but disappeared many years ago... she wears glasses and can levitate stuff, I think.">You describe Sumireko.
>"I think... Will you help me look for her?">Marisa taps her chin, "What's in it for me?"
>"I... i'll show it to you guys, my ability i mean."
>"I'll show you something really interesting. But just you. It's supposed to be a secret.">"Hmm... Helping you out only to see your ability... Doesn't sound like much of an even trade..."
>"It'll be stuck as a mystery on your mind if you don't agree. You'll also have a bunch of questions afterwards I bet."
>"Besides, this might turn into an incident if left alone. When Reisen went to get Sumireko after she left her hospital room, Sumireko attacked her!">"Hmm..." Marisa thinks for a moment, "Alright, fine. I'll help ~ze. Now, why don't you show us your 'Hole Thingy' now?"
>Nods. It's not really wrong, and it'll probably pique Marisa's interest.
>"Okay, but, um, don't hold on so tight. You'll rip my outfit.">"Oh." Flandre lets go and looks away, "Sorry..."
>"Alright, you ready?">"Uhuh!" Flandre looks at you and smiles.
>Sakuya said Yuugenmagan would be awaiting us in the foyer. Does that seem like it's probably the place we were before we came to the library?>You were originally in a hallway. It didn't look like a foyer at all.
>Create a tear nearby.
>More specifically, create a gap to... well, for the sake of example, let's just do one to the other side of the room, where we snatched Marisa's broom from.>You open a tear in front of you that leads to where Marisa's broom was. Like the previous one, this one doesn't feel as draining as you would expect.
>After opening it, walk through it.>You step through the tear, ending up behind the group as you call out and wave. They turn around.
>"Hello!" Wave from our new position so they realize where we just went.
>Also Gap the books out of Marisa's bag on to her head.
>wow no let's not make our new helper in finding sumireko decide she actually doesn't like us after all.
>I'm pretty sure we're also not that skilled yet. I hoped we could make two tears to better place Marisa's broom, but that ended up failing.>You consider "gapping" the books on to Marisa's head. But you doubt you can pull it off. Not knowing what the inside of the bag looks like might cause you to accidentally damage some books. Besides, it would potentially make Marisa dislike you...
>Get back to the group and close the tears.>"Why not, though?" Flandre asks, "They'd probably all think you're cool!"
>"You see why i want to keep this a secret and not draw attention ? What will people think of me if they find out ?"
>Pet Lil Flandre.
>"It`s pretty cool right ? But you gotta promise to not tell anyone okay ? Or else i might get in trouble, that`s also for Lil Rumia there too."
>Smile.
>"Now, about helping me?">"Oh!" Marisa snaps into attention, "Yeah, that... Where do we start looking?"
>"Honestly? As I said, I was going to have Patchouli teach me a locator spell... I don't know where to find her, it was a good while back since she broke out of Eientei, we lost track of her. If it wasn't for Patchouli I'd probably have had to start asking around if anyone's seen her flying around..."
>When we bring up Patchouli's spell, don't forget to include it was supposed to take hours. Plus she's probably in no state to teach us now.>"Well, it looks like we'll have to do that." Marisa shrugs, "She's probably not up to teaching that spell right now... besides, locator spells are overrated ~ze."
>"First we need to find the foyer and YuugenMagan, then we start to look at a couple of places that she might've been. This would probably be easier with that spell Patchouli was going to teach me.">"YuugenMagan?" Marisa raises an eyebrow, "And no, I haven't."
>"By the way, have you seen any objects out of place or flying around? She might've been to those areas then."
>"It's someone who's been helping me as well.">"Oh, okay."
>"Should we get going then? And could you at least leave those books?">"Sure, we can stop at my house and leave the books there." Marisa replies.
>Frown a bit.
>"Nevermind. Let's just get to looking for ways to find her.">"Well, did you ask everyone here? Maybe someone saw her ~ze."
>"Lets go get YuugenMagan, then ask Miss Meiling.">"Alright." Marisa nods, "You said they were in the foyer, right?"
>Nod.
>"I don't know how to get there, so if you could lead the way I'll follow.">"Alright." says Marisa, "Follow me."
>Smile.
>"Huh.... i wish i could fly like her, well, at least i can do it a little better.">"Huh? You mean you can't fly?" Flandre asks.
>Look to lil Rumia and lil Flandre.>"Okay..."
>"Well i have to go now you two, could you please tell Miss Patchouli i left and might be back sometime later please ?"
>"Well, kinda, i can fly, but not like you guys, i`m still learning.">"Is that so?" Rumia asks.
>Take flight.>You fly a few meters.
>"See ? I can, but i`m much slower."
>"Hold on Marisa!">You run in the direction that Marisa was heading.
>Try to head to where she was heading.
>Head through it. Call for Marisa again.>You head on through, Marisa is leaning against the wall.
>"Sorry. Is this the foyer?">"Nope. We still got several halls to go." Marisa replies.
>"Okay."
>Continue following.>Marisa flies ahead of you, down the hall.
>"You didn't do anything to them, did you?">"Well they did try to stop me from getting in... It went just as well as you'd expect ~ze..."
>"You could have been more gentle with the fairies, then were just working you know.">"If I was gentle on 'em they would've sounded the alarm."
>Keep following.
>"Errr... you seem rather nonchalant about that...">"Well, killing a fairy isn't really a big deal. They just come back when they die..."
>"What do we do?"
>Why would we ask that? Like, what are we talking about there? We just need to follow Marisa to the foyer and meet up with Yuugenmagan right now.>You consider offering assistance, but you decide meeting up with YuugenMagan has higer priority.
>"I hope she'll be alright...">"She'll be fine. Someone will probably mercy-kill her sooner or later and she'll come back good as new... Maybe with some slight memory loss. But she's a fairy, so she won't really care ~ze..."
>Continue following Marisa.
>"Are you sure about that ? I don`t think they are like that you know.">"Well, a few of them aren't, but most of their kind are reckless idiots... And to think they have a village of their own now..."
>Try to get a glance of the sign as we pass, slowing down if needed.>You read the sign as you pass:
>Frown a bit and continue following Marisa.>You frown and continue following.
>"Not really, during my class, Miss Marisa came in, and now Miss Patchouli is in no condition to teach me now.">"I see... Well, I'm sorry things didn't work out..."
>Sad frown.
>"So i asked Marisa here to aid me in finding my friend."
>"No need to, Miss Patchouli helped me a lot with some doubts i had, and i can always come back when i have time to learn the basics of magic or study."
>Nod and Smile.
>"I-If you guys will allow me to, that is.">"We will allow you to return as long as it's during a reasonable hour and you behave." says Sakuya, "Though I would advise getting acquainted with our gatekeeper first. Otherwise she may try to stop you if you come here during a time when she's actually awake." she frowns, "Unless, of course you decide to use the same method you used to get here..."
>"I'll try the former when I have the time. Thank you miss Sakuya.">"You're welcome. Is there anything you need from me before I go?"
>"Could you take us and YuugenMagan out of here quicker? I mean, if you don't mind.">"Well, I can't exactly bring YuugenMagan outside the mansion. My hands literally pass through her." says Sakuya, "But I can take you as far as the foyer."
>"I would appreciate that, thanks !"
>"Right. Almost forgot. Thank you.">Sakuya nods, before clicking the pocketwatch.
>Can we see Yuugen around ?>You cannot.
>Look around for>You can't seem to see her anywhere, but you do suddenly feel like you're being watched.MYgMg.
>"Yuugen ? You around ?">"I'm here." says YuugenMagan's voice. "I see you brought... company..."
>Move around looking up and around us too.
>"We have more help now as well.">"I see... can she be trusted?"
>"Are you coming? We're getting nowhere like this."
>Huh? It's not like we tried to leave and Yuugen didn't follow. She's probably not appearing yet because she's unsure about Marisa.>"...Very well..."
>Whisper our response to Yuugen.
>"She knows Gensokyo a lot better than me and is a good fighter... if we can't get close without Sumireko attacking me, she might be able to beat Sumireko or at least distract her, which could be a big help."
>"Calm down, it`s just Yuugen, she`s the friend that has been helping me.">"Oh... Really?" Marisa asks, "Well, in that case, it's nice to met you... Whatever you are ~ze."
>"We should get going.">"Yes, we should. We've wasted enough time here..." says YuugenMagan.
>"Uh, the first option would be the Forest of Magic, the second one was... the Garden of the Sun, i`m not sure where to go first."
>"That umbrella woman seemed dangerous though, but a forest sounds harder to search through...">"You mean Yuuka? Yeah, she can be dangerous if you piss her off ~ze... But you can stay on her good side if you know how to handle her. And searching the Forest would be easy with me around. I've been to almost every corner of it. However, Yuuka would still be a good option, because you can see a lot from the Garden. It would've been much easier to spot someone flying from there than in the forest."
>"Which one's closer?">"They're about the same distance away..."
>"I guess we could try the Forest first ?"
>"But since the garden is so wide open, maybe it`s more likely she went by there.">"So the garden it is, then?"
>Nod.>"Alright, let's go then ~ze. It's a good twenty minute flight from here."
>"Well... actually, I could probably get us there faster, if Yuugen will give me a little energy. It's a big field of sunflowers, right?">"Yup, but I bet you already know that considering you've already seen Yuuka apparently..." Marisa frowns.
>Try to visualize the field... endless sunflowers and a blue sky. We were able to get to Makai without too much idea what it was like, so this should be even easier, right? We can do it~!
>Actually, we've seen the sunflower field in our recent dreams before (prior to learning how to gap). We've seen how it looks and we've seen Yuuka destroy a few fairies too. It shouldn't be difficult.>You visualize the field. It's not too difficult. Soon the image begins to shimmer.
>"Yes please.">Yuugenmagan surrounds you and channels energy into your body once more.
>"Ah, right... I forgot for a second, I haven't been there in person, exactly. I can get us there.">You open the tear to the Garden of the Sun.
>Once we receive the boost, open 'er up!
>"Miss Sakuya and Miss Patchouli said the same thing."
>"I know, that`s why i want to avoid showing it to as much as possible...">"Oh yeah, I think I remember you saying that you already met her the other day. You know, back when you were looking for Mokou..."
>Step forward with our group.
>Step into the tear.>You step through the tear and find yourself at the edge of a vast field of sunflowers, so close, in fact, that it seems that if you made the tear any closer, you might have accidentally crushed a flower or two when you stepped out.
>Examine surroundings first.>In front of you is nothing but sunflowers as far as the eye can see... Well, except for a lone structure, a mansion of some kind, sitting in the middle of the field, a good distance away.
>"This place is so vast, it still surprises me.">You examine the nearest flower, taking care not to touch it. It seems to be in pristine, healthy condition. Even in moonlight, it looks absolutely beautiful.
>Crouch and examine a flower, do not touch it though.
>"With her or without her, i would avoid it anyways, they`re simply to gorgeous to just be destroyed.">You float up, and find yourself hovering over the flowers. You should be fine as long as you don't fly too fast.
>Try hovering over the flowers like we trained before.
>"Actually, would you mind asking Yuuka if she's seen Sumireko, Marisa? Since you're more familiar with her?">"Wha- Me?" Marisa frowns, "Uh... Sure... but, wouldn't it be better if you asked? I mean, you probably know more about this Sumireko person than I do ~ze..."
>"I guess... she lives on that mansion there right ? Let`s go.">"Yeah, that's her house."
>Fly these a reasonable bit below our max limit, for safety measures.>You begin flying towards the house. Marisa zips out ahead of you on her broom. She'll leave you behind at this rate.
>"Slow down a bit! Or are you just gonna ask her?">Marisa stops down and notices how slow you're flying
>"I'm not the best at flying and can't really go too fast and stay stable? And we're just asking if she saw a girl with runes on her cape flying by along with objects in the sky. Wouldn't it be strange if someone she didn't know asked that?">"Well it would be strange for most people to willingly approach Yuuka in the first place. She doesn't exactly have the best reputation, you know..." Marisa flies closer to you and keeps pace.
>"I've been trying for a few minutes the times I could get to try. I haven't known how to fly for more than a week yet.">"Huh, so you're actually getting the hang of it relatively quickly. Unlike Reimu." Marisa chuckles as she reminisces, "It took her years to perfect flying... Yep, you heard that right. The great Hakurei Shrine Maiden took years to learn how to fly properly!"
>"Hey ! That's nothing to be ashamed of, unlike her i can't handle any kind of enemy other than minor fairies.">"Oh that... Well, long story short, it was founded by a group of fairies the Moriya Shrine took in during an incident ten years ago. It's a wonder how they managed to keep it running for so long... Anwyay, it's probably the last place anyone wants to be. I mean, the only inhabitants there are fairies, and half the time it's absolute anarchy, and the other half of the time you see the stupidest and most ridiculous laws in all of Gensokyo... I mean, there's a reason why nobody marks it on the map ~ze..."
>Hmm..
>"Speaking of them, what about that fairy village you spoke of, how is it like ?"
>"I think maybe you just give the fairies a hard time, i bet that they can be as capable as any other human or youkai with the right guidance.">You elicit a chuckle from Marisa and YuugenMagan
>How far are we ?>You are about halfway there.
>"Okay, I did run into trouble with them a couple of times, but if they can build a village and be maids, even if they're not that great at it, they still have potential.">"Okay, maybe they have a little potential, but it's really not that much ~ze. And even if you definitively proved that fairies could do much more than what they can do now, good luck trying to convince all of Gensokyo to show them a little more respect..."
>"Haaah..... maybe though, i believe everyone has potential, so....">"Look, just trust me on this... trying to maximize a fairy's potential is like trying to teach a dog to do every single trick at the same time. It just can't be done..."
>"Have you ever tried in order to say that kind of thing ?">"Well... No... But I know some people who have."
>"Namely...... ?">"Well, my old mentor, Mima, tried to raise an army of them once, that result was the most disorganized thing you'd ever seen. It was a disaster... And Keine, the village schoolteacher, tried to educate a few of them once ~ze... And then there's Sanae, the Moriya Shrine's shrine maiden. Who was partially responsible for the birth of the fairy village..."
>Look at her with a face of doubt.
>"Hmm, feels nice to know that the teacher tried, still, maybe they just didn`t use the right method or put enough time to it, as you said it yourself, Miss Reimu took years to perfect her flight as best as she could.">"Oh, don't get me wrong, she put a lot of time into it. All I know is that it ended up failing eventually."
>"Well i`d love to meet her and talk with her sometime, my time on the village was cut short after that incident.">"Well, you can usually find her in or around the school during the day, so you should go there if you ever plan on meeting her ~ze."
>"I remember there being one fairy, Star, I think, who left from her group when there was trouble. It doesn't sound like a good thing to do, but that meant she knew something bad would happen right? That's pretty good?">"Oh, Star Sapphire? Yeah, she's one of the smarter fairies that are out there... It's still not much, really. Anyway, we're here."
>"Huh ? Do you two hear that ?">"I do." Marisa nods.
>Investigate !
>"You two ! Fairy or not she`s suffering !">"And yet, by not killing her, you are prolonging it..." YuugenMagan's eyes take on an unamused expression.
>Approach the fairy.>"Mhm..." The fairy whimpers, "I-I s-saw a pretty one...."
>"You picked up some flowers for the field didn`t you dear ?"
>"You shouldn`t pick the flowers up dear, even if they are pretty, if you do, they will die, and the youkai here will be upset like she was before.">"B-But it's a sign of s-strongness..."
>Pat her head gently.>She flinches as your hand approaches, but stops tensing up as you pat her head.
>"Next time don`t do this okay ? For me please ?">"B-But what about the s-strongness?"
>Turn around.
>"I think you can do it now, if she will come back healed..."
>Realize we're telling someone to kill someone else, right in front of said victim's face.>You are about to give Marisa and YuugenMagan the go-ahead, but stop when you realize it you're doing it right in front of the fairy.
>Ponder at least getting out of sight/sound first...
>"But you don`t want the flower to suffer right ? You wouldn`t like if someone woke you up suddenly or something right ?">"B-But do flowers e-even h-have f-feelings...?"
>Smile and caress her a bit more before going to our group.>You touch the fairy a bit more before you go to your group. It seems to comfort her a little.
>Whisper. "I guess you two can do it now, just.... be gentle and quick please okay ?">"Alright." Marisa nods, before walking over to the fairy, aiming a small, octagonal object at her head, and firing a very narrow laser from it. The fairy immediately ceases whimpering as the beam pierces her skull, and a second later seems to poof out of existence in a shower of sparks.
>Flinch a bit.>You wince a little bit at the execution...
>"Er... yea."
>"... she was so scared...">"Well I'd be scared too if I ended up on Yuuka's bad side..."
>Head back to the door.>You lead your group back to the door.
>Is there a door bell or something ?
>Wait.>You wait...
>"I'm really sorry to bother you, but have you seen a rune caped girl with levitating objects flying around?">"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Why should I care?" Yuuka continues to frown.
>"She's from the outside world.">"So?"
>"She was part of an incident.">"And did that incident affect my flowers at all?"
>"Um, I don't think so...">"Then I honestly could care less..." Yuuka begins to close the door, but is stopped by Marisa.
>Let Marisa continue.>"If I told you, would you leave me alone?" Yuuka asks.
>"We just want to know where she went. It's alright if you don't know, it's still a bit helpful.">"Fine." says Yuuka, "As a matter of face, I did see something that looked like a person surrounded by floating objects pass overhead hours ago. I was getting ready to shoot her, since she seemed to be throwing some of the objects haphazardly at apparently nothing... Anyway, I let her go, because nothing she threw hit the flowers. She was heading north."
>"North? Thank you so much Miss Yuuka. I'm sorry for bothering you.">"You're welcome, now leave me-"
>Fly up and try to get a view of the spot.>You fly up and try to look at the spot in question.
>How close is Yuuka to that person?>She is about 25% of the way there, and she's moving slightly faster than walking speed.
>Create a tear underneath the person who tripped and try to grab them when they appear.>You won't be able to accurately create a tear with this distance and illumination. You might end up clipping the person or a few flowers. Continue?
>Do be careful of the flowers.
>Approach the figure carefully.>You fly towards the figure, actually moving faster than Yuuka, surprisingly.
>Quickly fly down to the figure.>You fly as fast as you can, even though you're still relatively slow at your top speed, you are getting quite far ahead of Yuuka, who is almost halfway there.
>Don't care for slowing down, just get close to Renko as fast as we can.>You continue to fly at your top speed, getting closer to Renko.
>Keep it up.>You keep moving. You continue to feel yourself getting faster.
>Get an idea of the mansion and how it looked again.
>Hold out our arms in an attempt to grab Renko and brace for impact.>You dive down and tackle Renko with arms outstretched.
>"Talk in a minute. We gotta go."
>We know what Yuuka did to the fairy who messed up a flower, let's not have a take two. We already got the info we needed. We can't leave Marisa and Yuugen behind, though, so first we're off to the mansion... and then anywhere else.
>Open a tear back to Yuugen and Marisa at the mansion. Preferrably around the corner so Yuuka can't instantly see us if she turns around. If we can realistically keep the tear out of Yuuka's sight (like on the ground) do so.
>Usher Renko through (hopefully she'll go without too much questioning) and ourselves quickly and close it up. Lasering isn't one of our hobbies.
>"No time to explain. Come on.">You open a tear and drag Renko through.
>Create a tear back near the mansion.
>Don't talk to her about what's been happening yet. We're not sure if we have the time with Yuuka searching.
>Try to stay conscious and figure out what's happening.>You manage to keep awake, and slowly your senses come back to you.
>Try to stay steady on the broom. Don't make any significant actions... we don't want to accidentally knock ourselves off. Just wait on that until we're fully functional again.>You try to hold yourself steady on the broom.
>"Uhh......">"Merry!?!" You hear Renko exclaim, and you feel the arms around you tighten their grip, "A-Are you okay!?!"
>"I-I think so... You weren't hurt, right?">"No, not really..." Renko replies.
>Nod and brace ourself accordingly.>You brace yourself as the broom's wobbling goes out of control and does a nose-dive towards the ground.
>"Okay."
>Locate Renko.>You get up and look around, Renko seems to have landed close by. She's currently picking herself off the ground.
>"I'm okay... that was close.">"Ugh... Me too..." says Renko.
>Look around. How far are the sunflowers. Does Yuuka seem to still be following us?>You help Renko to her feet and look around.
>Go help Renko up.
>Check chest for unusual growths. (We were just struck by a laser...>You examine yourself.
>Examine self and inventory while at it. We should know if our clothes are still intact enough to keep our identity safe.
>What did we have in our satchel?>Your satchel contained your cellphone, your normal outfit, the bucket from Luna's head, the shopping bag you got in Makai, as well as YuugenMagan's money...
>Re-hood.>"Oh, okay... I was just about to ask..." Renko says as she dusts herself off, "You know, that outfit doesn't look that bad on you..." You notice her staring at your chest, which is still being tightly hugged by your shirt, for a moment, before tearing her eyes back to your face.
>"Okay. I'm back because I have help for finding Sumireko now. I also needed an outfit, so I wouldn't be noticed."
>Can we adjust our shirt some so that it isn't as tight and is more comfortable?>You don't think so.
>"Thanks Renko. That was a nice save then. Thank you for getting us out of there too Marisa. And I'm sorry about your broom...">"You're welcome, Merry."
>"At least it wasn't for nothing... she saw Sumireko go to the north."
>"Speaking of that... Renko, what were you even doing coming to that place alone ? You shouldn't be putting yourself at risk like that, you almost got hit by Miss Yuuka because you hurt the flowers.">"I didn't mean to crush the flowers... I just tripped. Anyway, the reason I was out there was because I was tracking Sumireko..." Renko replies, "You know how you asked earlier if my ability felt any different?"
>Search along with her for our satchel.>You begin to search.
>"Oh... are your powers changing, too? That's so exciting, Renko!">"They are... Normally I could only tell where I am... But tonight, I looked at the stars, wanting to find Sumireko, and I instantly knew where she was and where she was going, so I kinda... ditched Chen and ran out here on my own... Speaking of her," Renko looks at the stars, "She's still in the Bamboo Forest, moving about. She's probably searching for me... Or Yukari is having her search for me..."
>Keep searchin'.>You continue looking for your satchel, still not finding it.
>"So we just need to keep away from Yukari for some time longer...">"I think I saw it fly over there." YuugenMagan projects the human silhouette, which points to a nearby thicket,
>"Marisa, YuugenMagan, have either of you seen my satchel around?"
>"...so where IS Sumireko going?">"Someplace north of here, she seems to have mostly stayed in the same spot."
>Check over there. Be careful.>You carefully push into the thicket.
>Did the winged figure spot us yet ?>She has not spotted you.
>Examine the figure some more while approaching it.
>Keep approaching.>"Huh!?!"
>"Um, excuse me Miss, could you please hand over my bag ?"
>Stop and put on a look of surprise.>"D..." She began, continuing to back away, "...DON'T HURT ME!"
>"Oh sorry, i didn`t mean to scare you, so what`s your name ?"
>"Some winged girl got scared and ran away with the satchel ! Cmon !">"Got it!"
>Follow that girl !
>Also, take off the hood, darn ! It must have been why she was scared !>You remove your hood and begin running after the girl with Renko.
>"Watch out ! You`re gonna hit the boulder ! We don`t want to hurt you, just talk !">She continues to run at the boulder, holding out a hand in front of her.
>Can we make a gap in front of her so that she comes right back at us when going through it ? Or so we can go through and get closer to her ?>If you have a clear line of sight and you can quickly get a mental picture the area she's running at, you should be able to.
>"I`m gonna fly above and see if i can get her, can you go warn the others Renko ?">"Sure." Renko replies, "Be careful, Merry."
>Fly above the boulder and see if we can stop her again.>You fly above the boulder.
>Ponder creating a gap in front of the shack's path, so she returns to us and we can grab our satchel quickly.>You ponder creating a tear in her path.
>Can we get to the ground before she reaches the shack ?>The shack is a bit far, so you might be able to.
>Head downwards to stable ground as fast as we can, until it`s on a okay height, like 1 meter or so.>You fly down until you're a meter above the ground.
>Wait for the right timing, the quickly open the tear so she goes right through it and we catch her.>You open the tear right in front of her, and she runs straight through.
>Catch her and hold her.>You catch her. She begins struggling a lot in your grasp.
>"Relax, i`m not gonna hurt you ! I just wanna talk !"
>"It`s true, i wanna just talk.">You hug her.
>Hug her tightly to try and relax her.
>"Bu-ow ! .... you`re the one hurting me...."
>We probably shouldn't have hugged her tightly...>You let go and quickly grab your satchel as she unceremoniously drops a meter to the ground.
>Release her and quickly obtain our satchel.
>"There. Not hurting, see?">"Gotta get away! Gotta get away!"
>"Oh no.">You approach the girl.
>Approach her and examine the ankle ?
>"Are you okay ? Did you sprain your ankle ?">"P-Please... Don't hurt me..."
>"I`m not gonna hurt you, let me help, i need to look at your ankle to see what`s wrong.">"Lies... Lies lies lies lies lies lies..." she murmurs.
>Gently pat her head.>You pat her on the head, prompting her to flinch.
>"Relax, it`s alright.">"Trying to lure me into false sense of security, she is... Trying to befriend me so she can hurt me later, she is... But I'm smart... I know what's coming! I won't let it happen. Never again. Never."
>Smile.
>"Never again ? Did someone... hurt you ?">"Why should I tell her... She's just going to hurt me like all the others... First my first friends... Then the flower lady... No more... No more..."
>Keep gently caressing her hair.
>"What happened ? You can tell me, i`m here to listen."
>Put on a look of shock.>"Just a lie to make me let my guard down... Why does she even bother... Is she delaying the inevitable because she finds amusement in this...? I don't now..."
>"K-Kill ?!? No ! Why would i do that ? I`m not killing anyone here !"
>Try to gently get her hands away from the ankle.>You speak and try to gently pry her hands away.
>"Now please let me see it, it doesn`t look bad but just in case."
>"The flower lady is pretty scary... she shot at me, too.">"Shot at her...? Was the flower lady her false friend too? Doesn't matter. I'll just accept the fact that I'm going to die right here and now... Perhaps I had it coming... Repent. I must repent..."
>"It`s seems alright, you just sprained it, it will heal with time i think, let me help you get to your house.">"W-What are you doing." her attention snaps back to you as you grab her.
>Gently help her get up, and act as a support for her, then slowly walk towards the shack.
>"Hey, um, what`s your name Miss ?">"Why does my name even matter... You're just going to kill me anyway... Or at the very least hurt me..." She frowns.
>"Renko ! I`m here !">Renko is running towards you, Marisa is following her, carrying the remains of her broom, as well as YuugenMagan.
>Look back to her.
>"I need to get you to your house so you can rest, it won`t do to leave you lying there in pain."
>Walk to the house.
>Let her go, but at least try to lead her to it.>"S-So y-you really aren't going to hur- "
>Put on a look of shock.>"Again with the lies..."
>"Oh nononononononono ! I`m sorry, i thought you could still stay up, oh no oh no oh no, i`m sorry, i`m the worst, i can`t even help people right..."
>Lift her up CAREFULLY, and DO NOT let go of her !>You help the winged girl to her feet again and support her.
>"L-Let`s try this again, sorry...."
>"Don't let go Merry, don't let go Merry, she is counting on you...">You continue walking back to the shack, maintaining your support with the utmost care...
>Continue walking towards the shack.
>Be mindful of her condition, supporting her gently and keeping up with her pace.
>Again, DO NOT let go of her like that, stay by her side and help her walk home.
>"Because it's what's right to do, how could i leave you there on the ground ?">"Y-Your bag?" She looks down and notices your satchel, "O-Oh... I didn't think it belonged to anyone... I-I was just going to check if there was any food in there..."
>Keep going.
>"I'm sorry if i had scared you, i just wanted my bag back."
>Speaking of the bag, where is it ?>You are holding it in your free hand, as you can't wear it due to the broken strap.
>"Sorry, i don`t have any... it`s just my stuff, some money from my friend and my clothes.">"O-Oh..."
>Keep going.>"No... Not really... I-It's just my stockpile is running lo-o-oh no! I said too much!"
>"So you`re hungry ?"
>Stop for them to catch up a bit.>You wait and allow Renko and the others to catch up.
>"I gotta get her in there to rest, she sprained her ankle.">"Oh, she did? Okay. Is there anything I can do to help?"
>Look back at her.>"B-Buy food... A-At a shop... W-With people!?!" the girl starts shaking "N-No. Never. I will not! C-Can't trust them. Can't trust anyone anymore!" she turns away, "Can't trust anyone, they might try to be friends. Friendship is a lie that lets people hurt me. No. I can't. Can't even trust her. Can't... "
>"Oh, so you need to restock ? Maybe i could give you some money then ? You could buy some more food with it i think."
>"Yes, if i hadn`t scared her she wouldn`t have sprained her ankle, and i can`t just leave her lying there alone, i gotta at least help her get home and rest.">"Whatever." YuugenMagan replies
>Continue going.>You get closer to the old shack.
>"Easy now, just a bit more okay ?"
>"Of course not, why would i ? It feels much nicer to help people.">She hesitates for a moment, before answering.
>Smile and going, always matching her rhtym.
>"So ? What's your name ? Mine is Maribel."
>"Well, even though all of this happened, it's still nice to meet you Rengeteki.">""Nice to meet you..." That's what they all say..."
>Also, now that we have a better look of her, what can we see about her appearance and clothing ?>Her appearance remains unchanged from when you first looked at her. She has short, purple hair, a yellow dress with a large, green bow on the front, and a couple of tightly coiled ribbons in the back. She also has a pair of sheetlike wings that could definitely be mistaken for a fairy's at first.
>Continue on carefully.>"I-I guess you could put it that way..."
>"So you've been having a kind of rough time huh?"
>Can we open the door without letting go of her ?>You would have to put down your satchel or hand it to someone else in order to do so.
>"Renko, could you please hold my satchel for me ? I gotta open the door.">"Certainly!" Renko replies.
>Hand the satchel over to her, then open the door.>You hand your satchel to Renko and then open the door.
>Is there a bed or mattress we can see ?>You don't see one in the immediate area.
>"Is there somewhere you'd like me to set you down?">"On my bed would be nice..."
>"Um, you guys can wait outside if you`d like, i`ll help her, and she is pretty uneasy around people for some really, someone hurt her and her feelings pretty badly..."
>Lets not mention the last part about her being hurt. She might be self-conscious about it.>You omit the last part.
>Head inside and have another look.>You head inside. You don't see a bed nearby.
>"Where is your bend Rengeteki ?"
>Locate Rengeteki's bed when we enter.>Rengeteki hesitantly points to the entrance of a hall located just past the pinned sheet of paper on the wall. Now that you're closer, you notice it seems to be a note of some kind.
>"Alright, nice and easy okay ?">You head for the hallway, reading the note under the words "NEVER FORGET." as you pass by.
>Head down the hallway with her, being careful to not trip or anything with her.
>Read the note too.
>"So you live alone here... what kind of youkai are you Rengeteki ?">"O-Oh!" she quickly pulls her attention back to you, "I-I'm unsure... to be honest..."
>"Hm, listen, do you... wanna talk ? You seem pretty lonely, but i can see that you had friends, do you wanna um, vent off and tell me what happened for you to be alone ?">You turn into the short hall, and start heading down it.
>Give her a encouraging smile.
>"It`s okay if you don`t, but i really want to help, and for that, we need to know the root of the problem."
>Keep heading.
>"Regenteki ! Don't say that ! Nobody is beyond help if they want things to get better !">Rengeteki remains silent as you reach the end of the hall and enter another room, walls plastered with the word "Repent". An old mattress can be seen laying in a corner, and the words "Friendship is a lie?" are carved on the adjacent wall about 20 times in a column. Another note seems to be pinned to the wall next to it.
>Look at her and hug her carefully.
>"Look dear, i know that you are pretty lonely, i know that i have no idea of what you have been through, but i just can't let stay here alone forever thinking about your old friends, i really wanna help, if i can't..."
>Look down.
>"Then i'm no good as the person i want to be..."
>Keep going to her room again.
>"Good, that is the first step.">You set her down on the mattress with the utmost care.
>Smile then approach the mattress with her.
>Lie her down carefully.
>"Is you ankle hurting much ? I`m sorry, i don`t have any magic or something to heal it.... you can just rest and wait for it to recover.">"It only hurts if I put weight on it..." she replies.
>Sit down and wait for her to tell us.
>A friend in need is more important than a note.>You decide to ignore the note, for now.
>Hug her. "There there.... i`m here with you, it`s alright... what about that flower lady, Yuuka, what did she do to you ?">"W-Well..." she sniffles, "A-A few years later, I-I met this person named Kurumi... We b-became friends, a-and she took me to her home, where I met this l-lady named Elly. T-The flower lady owned the house, a-and I don't think s-she liked me as much as them... O-one night, Elly and Kurumi invited me over, h-hoping I could become closer to the flower lady, and l-later that night, t-this magician - s-she kinda looked like your black and white f-friend out there, now that I think about it - and some shrine maiden attacked the place... I-I thought I could get the flower lady to like me more by defending her h-home, but they were too strong for me. W-When I next woke up, the entire place had vanished. I-I couldn't find Elly or Kurumi anywhere. I thought I was going crazy, and t-that I imagined it all... B-But a little while later I-I saw the flower lady again, and she was with the same two people who attacked the flower lady's place and some weird ghost lady... I-I followed them to another world, a-and I approached to flower lady to ask what happened, b-b-but she attacked me, l-like she didn't recognize me at all... I-I barely survived... A-and ever since I got b-back I-I haven't been a-able to fly p-properly... H-Had to walk the rest of the w-way home... Been a-alone ever since...."
>"I see dear.... you have been through a lot...">"Y-You do?"
>Gently pet her.
>"But i will help you, no matter what, i already have an idea of how to start."
>Smile.
>"For now, just stay here and rest, you still have an ankle to heal okay ?">"Oh..." she frowns, "D-Does this mean... I'll see you again...?"
>Is her ankle positioned correctly as to allow it to heal well ?>You believe so.
>Smile.>"Y-You too, Miss.... M-Miss... I'm so s-sorry! I-I forgot your name... Stupid! Stupid!"
>"Yes, i`ll come here as soon as i can, i also have a friend that is in danger right now and can`t stay here."
>Gently pet here again.
>"Please be safe, Regenteki."
>Check the second note then leave the room and go towards the front door.>You read the second note:
>Wonder what happens if we're found by Yukari and our promises can't be met...>You wonder what would happen if Yukari caught you and your promises to Rengeteki can't be kept... You find yourself frowning at the thought.
>Quickly head back to her room.>"Okay." Rengeteki actually smiles slightly.
>"Ohh don`t worry, it`s Maribel !"
>Go back and open the door.>You make your way back out of the shack.
>What is our group doing ?
>"I`m back.">You head over to Renko and YuugenMagan.
>Join them.
>"Yea, just a minute.">"Hmm?" Marisa thinks for a moment, "Yes, actually. A very long time ago, if I remember it right... She apparently sent a bunch of lesser youkai to attack the Hakurei Shrine because she was bored ~ze... And, well, Reimu was understandably pretty pissed... Anyway, back then, I wasn't even trying to solve incidents. To be honest, the only reason I got involved was because I just wanted to acquire some power, since the place where the small group of youkai came from, as well as Yuuka herself, was brimming with it..."
>Turn to Miss Marisa.
>"Miss Marisa, was there an incident caused by Miss Yuuka in the past ?"
>"But what happened to that Mugenkan place then ? And did any of those youkai disappear after that ?">"Well, that's the weird thing. After Yuuka went down, the whole place sorta... collapsed... and vanished without a trace ~ze. Apparently the Yuuka we fought wasn't actually the real Yuuka, either, but some kind of... projection... or something... Anyway, after it vanished, it left some kind of hole that was gradually closing, so Reimu and I investigate - for different reasons, of course - and found that it lead to some kind of dream realm... Anyway, there was this skirmish with a couple of gods, and after we won we were kinda kicked out, and the hole closed behind us."
>"I see... what about the other youkai ? Were they projections too ?">"Not sure... I think a couple of them disappeared along with the place. And some of the others just appeared on the ground where it once stood..."
>"I see... then that`s why she couldn`t find her friends, because they probably disappeared, and that`s why Yuuka didn`t recognize her, because that wasn`t the real Yuuka that she met...">"Well it was the real Yuuka, in a way... She remembered almost everything when we next met her..."
>Look down.>"Do you think there's maybe a way to make things better for her?" Renko asks.
>"I feel sorry for her, that incident hurt her so much, and she was already hurt badly after losing the person she loved and a dear friend too...."
>"Huh ? Then why didn`t she seem to remember Regenteki and attacked her ? And i`m sure there is, she is suffering so much, she can`t seem to trust anyone, and after the hit Regenteki took from Yuuka she isn`t able to fly anymore...">"I'm not sure..." Marisa shrugs, "You know, the more I think about it, she does seem kinda familiar to me..."
>Frown.>"Well, whatever you decide, just remember that I'll be with you every step of the way." Renko smiles.
>"I can`t let her stay like this, i want to find out the truth and make her life become better."
>"She was there, she was one of the youkai that was protecting Yuuka's house, along with two people called Elly and Kurumi.">"Elly and Kurumi?" Marisa asks, "Though I do remember a vampire and a lady with a scythe... They were pretty easy to beat, well, probably because Reimu got to them before me ~ze... Anyway, yeah, I recognize her now... She attacked both of us while we were fighting..."
>Turn to Renko.>Renko looks to the sky.
>"Thank you Renko... anything happen to Sumireko ? Did she move somewhere else ?"
>"I'm still happy to know your ability's better, and even happier to know you're alright Renko.">"And I'm happy to see you again..." Renko smiles and looks to the sky once more, before frowning, "I think Chen finally stopped looking for me back in the bamboo forest... She's heading out of it now..." she looks at you, "We should have plenty of time to find Sumireko before they find me, right?"
>"Fairies or hostile youkai, Renko can't fly or defend herself yet so...">"That's it?" Marisa asks.
>Turn to Marisa again.>"Huh..."
>"Yea, she thought that trying to protect the place would make Yuuka like her more, but..... yea, she found you three and nobody recognized her, at least until now..."
>"Yeah... i feel so bad for her, once we`re done searching for Sumireko, i have to help her and discover why Yuuka did that to her.">"Speaking of that, shall we continue our search?" YuugenMagan asks.
>"Yes.">"She is about a mile north of here." Renko replies.
>Turn to Renko.
>"So where was she again Renko ? You`re the one that knows her location."
>"Okay, let`s head there, but um, Miss Marisa lost her broom... can you still fly Marisa ?">"I can..." Marisa frowns, "But not well... Without my broom I'm probably worse than you are... no offense..."
>Put on a slightly confused face.>"Okay... Maybe I was over-exaggerating a little... But the truth is I'd just slow you down if I flew without my broom..."
>"And you were talking about Miss Reimu and her years of training to learn, you didn`t even learn !"
>Sigh.
>"Well, looks like we have to do good old walks again, or i could try to make a gap there.... but i need to know how the place looks like....">"Or we could just ditch the magician and just fly..." YuugenMagan adds, "Your friend doesn't look that heavy, so you could probably carry her..."
>"I`m not gonna ditch anyone, it`s okay to go slowly, we just need to match her pace, it doesn`t seem like Sumireko will move, and if she does we have Renko to tell us.">"If you say so..." YuugenMagan adopts an unamused look.
>Frown a bit.
>"And about carrying R-Renko... maybe ? Do you wanna try it Renko ?">"Um... Well... I-I wouldn't mind it..." Renko answers.
>"I know, but Sumireko was really dangerous, she knocked Reisen out of the sky with ease, and we need all the help we can...">You have a stroke of inspiration.
>Idea !
>"What if we go there, then i make a gap there leading here so that you can rejoin us ? That way we proceed faster, but leave no one behind."
>"Is there anywhere you could go for another broom? I feel a bit bad for causing you to wreck yours...">"I have a spare back at my house in the Forest of Magic, I think... It's an old one, but I could definitely use it until I find a better replacement broom ~ze."
>"Uhhhh, i think i can make a gap there, if you can describe the place your home is at really accurately.">"Well, it's in a clearing, two stories tall, and kinda has an 'L' shape if you look at it from above. It has these tan walls, and has these tall windows lining it ~ze. And it's overgrown with vines and moss, has a dirt path leading out from the front door. There's also a lone tree in the middle of the clearing, right in front of the house..." Marisa replies, "Is that accurate enough ~ze?"
>"Let`s see... i think so.">You try to imagine such an image.
>Close our eyes, try to imagine the tan house with the tall windows, the overgrond vegetation around it, the lone tree that stays there just doing it`s things, does the image start to shimmer ?
>Make a tear on it.>You create a tear.
>"I think i got it !"
>Close the tear.>You attempt to shut the tear.
>"I-I-I don`t know ! Let`s get away from it !">You flee from the expanding tear, Renko and the others do the same, and all of them, save for Marisa, who was the closest one of them to you, disappear safely into the nearby trees.
>Flee from the rift quickly !
>Quickly try to get up and follow them.>You get up and attempt to follow, before you feel the wind suddenly begin to die down.
>"Ugh..."
>Look back ourselves, what`s going on ?>You look back.
>Hide ! Quickly !>You get up quickly, and begin running for cover. Quickly telling Marisa to keep your presence a secret as you do so.
>Once we get near enough to Marisa, tell her as quietly as we can while running to hide. "Don`t tell her i`m here, please."
>If we are still at a close enough range."Just don`t or she will take me back.">You dive into a nearby bush.
>If not just focus on hiding.
>Dive on a bush or something, go behind a tree, dunno.
>Stay quiet.>You remain as quiet as possible.
>Hope that Marisa doesn`t tell her where we are.
>Don`t run away, all we can do is trust her, Lady Yukari is much faster than us.>You stay put.
>"No. I don't. You never helped me with these abilities...">"Well, of course, I wanted you to figure things out on your own... But I never expected you to show such a poor lack of judgement about something that should've been blatantly obvious! Besides, why the hell were you even using a tear to travel in the first place when you know how to gap!? Unless..." She frowns, "Unless I was mistaken earlier when I thought you learned to travel by gap the last time we met..."
>"Gah ! That's what i did wrong ! I made a tear instead of a gap... i got careless....">"Are you sure that's what happened?" Yukari gives you a skeptical look, "Because creating a tear instead of a gap is not something someone does accidentally..."
>Frown.
>"And like i would have time to do that ! You took ages to learn and master all your capacities, i don't have that luxury ! And i can't sit here while you obviously isn't even worried about Sumireko ! How many secrets are you going to keep from me ? I can count three big ones right off the bat !">"You don't think I'm taking care of the problem with Sumireko? Because I do have a friend searching for her as we speak. Though, of course, I shouldn't have to tell you this, because until now I was pretty sure you had at least some trust in me..."
>"Yes, i just made a mistake, they happen...">"I still highly doubt it was a mistake... Gaps and tears are created through completely different techniques."
>Look curiously and with some doubt.
>"Well, you obviously showed that you can't really be trusted just a minute ago, which is frustrating because i really want to, and who would that friend be ? It can't be Miss Ran or Chen, obviously not Miss Reimu nor Reisen, nor Miss Marisa or Miss Patchouli."
>We probably shouldn't say she couldn't be trusted outright like that...>You omit the first part.
>"From the implications you've been giving me, It seems like you just want to get rid of Renko.">"That's... Well... I do see her as a bad influence on you in light of recent events, but believe me when I say that I honestly have absolutely no intention to get rid of her..."
>Frown accordingly.>"My reasons for some of the actions I have taken against you are in your best interests. You just haven't realized it yet..."
>"And how you only answered 'maybe' to my question before. And how you won't give reasoning to some of your actions."
//Darn not thinking correctly earlier. I probably should've let Raf's action be parsed.>"I haven't tried to help? I just said I had a friend searching for Sumireko, did I not?"
> "Why are you so keen on going against me? You haven't even tried to help. You're answer has always been to just send me away every time."
//Keep in mind we are talking to Lady Yukari here, we need to hold our ground steadily.>"Trust me... Once your powers fully develop in the outside world, you will thank me, for all of this..." Yukari frowns, and takes a deep breath, "Would it at least satisfy you... If I gave you a definitive answer to that question you asked me the first time you were in Gensokyo?"
>"And are you sure they are for my best interest ? Or do you just think that what you plan for me is my best interest ? You keep hiding what do you plan for me, why did i have to develop my powers on the outside world, how you even found me among billions of other people, or even if you are my mother or not !"
>Sad frown.
>"I just can't stand still here, Renko and i finally managed to find Sumireko after all this time with the help of Sarie-."
>Look surprised, then snap back.>"...Yes..."
>"The one i asked.... before i left ?"
>"I...i...">"...Perhaps..."
>Look down, the back to her.
>"...can i also know what will happen to me if i develop my powers here like you did ?"
>"Yukari. I need Renko and her sister to be safe. If something happened to then, like how Yuuka almost killed Renko, I-I'd be... broken."
>"Please tell me those two things, i want to know.... why is it so important for me to develop outside if you developed them here ? And are you... my mother ?">"...Yes..."
>Tear up a bit.
>"Yukari. I need Renko and her sister to be safe. If something happened to then, like how Yuuka almost killed Renko, I-I'd be... broken."
>Lady Yukari, she is much older, wiser, stronger and whatever more she is that we aren`t, let`s treat her more politely.>"Oh... So you found her and found out that she ran off... I wasn't going to tell you, because I wanted you to keep thinking she was safe at Eientei while I had Chen look for her..."
>Freeze a bit, then head towards her and hug her.>You fly at Yukari and embrace her. Her eyes widen in surprise.
>"Mother ! Mother... i missed you, i missed you so much, why didn`t you leave anything ? A letter, a keepsake, anything !">Yukari quickly pushes you away.
>Let the tears fall.
>"Finally... i finally found you...."
>"Sorry... i didn` t mean to do that, it was just.... sorry...>"It's fine..."
>Look down.
>"I would ask why did you leave me.... but you won`t answer it right ? Then tell me the other part... why do i have to develop in the outside world ? What will happen if i develop them here like you did ?">"If you really must know... The reason I want you to develop your powers in the outside world is to give you something I never had..."
>"Something you never had ? What do you mean ?">"I want to give you... a choice..."
>"Choice ? What do you mean ? Choice to what ? Please explain Lad-Mother.">"Allow me to explain... And please, I'd rather you not call me 'Mother'... At least not now..."
>"Sorry, i guess i don`t deserve to be your daughter Lady Yukari...">"N-No... It's not that! It's just... it's... complicated..."
>Sad frown.>"Alright." Yukari replies, "You see, believe it or not, I wasn't always a youkai... I was actually born a human, just like you. Back then, the barrier didn't exist, and ambient magic was plentiful in the outside world. As I grew older, my powers matured, and when they did, I ceased being a human... Now, in your case, I believe that if your powers mature in a place with little or no ambient magic, such as the outside world today, you might possibly be able to have your gift at full strength while retaining your humanity. Then you would have the choice to become a full youkai at will if you so desired..."
>"Go ahead..."
>"But... since i am your daughter, wouldn`t i be a half-youkai already ?">"Well, from a technical standpoint, you would... However, your only youkai traits at the moment seem to be the ability you inherited from me... Everything else about you is still human."
>"So that won`t affect me in another way like my lifespan or anything ?">"Most likely not. Unless you became a full youkai, either by choice or by letting your powers mature here..."
>"Huh, this is a heavy decision, i wouldn`t really mind being a youkai in a way... but that means i would have to live in Gensokyo forever correct ?">"Well, you wouldn't necessarily have to live in Gensokyo, but you are correct in assuming that you cannot stay in the outside world forever if you become a youkai... You will also likely outlive your human friends, unless you find a way to extend their lifespan as well..."
>"Wait, that means Renko will grow old and...I'll see her slowly dying before my eyes....while I'll get to live forever....without her....">"That is correct, unless you find some way to circumvent that... Or if you don't become a full youkai at all..."
>".....I don't want this. I don't want to lose the one I love the most."
>"But if stay on the outside world, it will take years like you said.... and that would mean years without seeing Chen, or Miss Reimu, or Ran, or Koishi, or you..."
//So if you guys are here, there`s the dilemma, if we stay, we might become a full youkai, if we go back, we will be a good time away from Gensokyo, tell me your opinions and ideas.
//Renko is my top priority. We've known her much longer than those in Gensokyo. Not to mention we could just go back to Gensokyo when we've matured, among many other reasons.>"It is a difficult choice, I know. But you must come to a decision eventually..."
> "This doesn't seem like a fair choice. I have problems in Gensokyo that I have to deal with."
//Should we tell her about Sariel yet?
>"Could you bring Renko in here? I'd like to clear some things up.">"I could, but I'd need to know exactly where she is first..."
>How will we even know where is she ?
>If Renko didn't leave minutes ago, she should still be with Marisa and the others.>It occurs to you that even you don't know exactly where she went. All you know is that she was with YuugenMagan, and that the two probably couldn't have gone far from Rengeteki's home...
>"Could Renko also become a youkai somehow ?">"Any normal human can become a youkai given the right circumstances, though I don't recommend doing it in or near the human village, should you decide to pursue that route. The last human who intentionally became a youkai in the village was personally exterminated by Reimu..."
>"So if we became youkai, we would have to eat human meat ? Or is it something else ?">"You wouldn't have to... Not all youkai eat it. And among those that do, only a few of them actually need it to survive. To the others it's more like a... delicacy..."
>"I need to talk to you with Renko. It's important. Can we look for her?">"As much as I would love to find her, I, unfortunately, have a prior commitment to attend to, and I am almost late... The conversation will have to wait..."
>"I'll try not to use any tears and to stay with Chen. T-Thank you.">"Ah yes, speaking of tears, I would like to rectify that problem before I go, so I don't have to worry about you nearly destroying reality again... I still have my doubts that that was an accident..."
>"Yours have the ribbon-like things at the edges, right? How do I do that?">"So I was correct... You have been using tears the whole time... In that case what happened would've been inevitable. I mentioned to you before that tears are crude and unstable..." Yukari frowns, "Anyway, I will let you try to figure it out on your own, first..."
>"R-Right...">You imagine the place and the image begins to shimmer.
>Focus on how the place looked like, the outside with the shack on the background, the boulder that was in the way, the state of the shack and the grass on the field, remember also the trees and bushes around the forest.
>Does the image shimmer ? If so, try to make a gap on it, not make a tear, but make it so that the border sort of stretches by itself to make the gap, without ripping apart, if it seems like the boundary is going to be damaged like before stop.
>Nod.
>"Yes. It does."
>"I guess i was assuming those were gaps the whole time.... i apologize for doing such a risky action Mo-Lady Yukari.">"It's fine. It's all a part of learning, after all..."
>Does there seem to be anyone on the other side ?>You see nothing but the void beyond, however, as soon as you desire to see the other side, the void becomes partially transparent.
>"...May I go?">"You may."
>Nod and try to step through the gap.>You step through the gap.
>"A-A lot of things, where is Marisa ?">"YuugenMagan ran into her when we were trying to find our way back. She told me that something came up and Marisa had to go..."
>"Um, things are a bit complicated. Renko, we're to stay with Chen this time, okay? We've got to tell Yukari something the next time we meet with her.">"Tell her what?" Renko asks.
>"Um, Chen. Could you please cover your ears for a second? It's nothing ill towards you, it's just something a bit personal between Renko and I.">"My cat ears, or my other ears?" Chen asks.
>"Um... Your cat ears maybe?">"Okay"
>Whisper to Renko.>"Do you think that's a good idea? I mean, sure, she's weak now... But Sariel is pretty powerful... What would happen if we got Yukari involved in this?"
>"I was thinking that we should tell Yukari about Sariel. If we mention a few things, we might be able to justify your actions, and maybe you could be forgiven for what you did. She might be able to help deal with Uriel when the time comes again."
//Have a nice time.
>"I was hoping she could help deal with Uriel. Or at least show that what happened wasn't entirely your fault."
>"After the talk I just had with her... I... I do trust her a lot more. She told me a few things, but now isn't the time to get into that... we have time to go save Sumireko now while Yukari does an errand, and that's important.>"Alright." Renko replies, "Anyway, Sumireko still hasn't really moved much since you left. So we should get going in case she does decide to move."
>"Yeah, we should. Lead the way for us?">"Of course!" Renko smiles.
>Look around for Yuugenmagan.>YuugenMagan is floating where she was. Still giving an annoyed look at Chen.
>"Okay Chen, we're all gonna go find Sumireko."
>Pet Chen.>"Okay." Chen uncovers her ears.
>"You can stop tapping your cat ears now Chen."
>Smile and nod.>"W-Well..." Renko blushes as well, "I'm fine with just going on foot... b-but you can carry me if you want..."
>"Um, i will eh... h-have to carry you right Renko ?"
>Blush a bit.
>How do we even know that she is giving Chen an annoyed look ? Is she projecting the ethereal body ?
>Multiple eyes are probably good for annoyed looks...>She is not projecting the body. However, her multiple eyes are capable of expressing emotion, you've seen them do it before.
>"A-Alright, it will be faster this way.">"O-Okay..."
>Prepare to grab Renko as soon as she is ready.
>"You should have at least left a note for Chen, you said it yourself that she was looking right and left in the forest for you when you left.
>Don't mention leaving a note for her. She would've left earlier and possibly found Renko then, stopping us from meeting.>You prevent yourself from saying that first line.
>"Still, we're sorry Chen."
>"Um...">You bend down and grab Renko's waist, then lift from the legs.
>Gently try to grab Renko and lift her with our knees.
>"Right... ehm...ehh....">You set Renko down, and then gently sweep her into a princess carry. Her eyes widen in surprise, but her expression changes to a smile.
>Try to gently grab her and carry her with one of our hands carrying her legs, and another carrying her by the back back, putting her in a lying stance.
>"Okay, easy does it...">You attempt to float up while carrying Renko.
>Try to float up slowly and carefully.
>"I think I can do this fairly well. So where to?">"That way." Renko points in the indicated direction.
>Smile at Renko.
>Start flying with her the way she pointed.>You begin flying in the direction indicated. Renko wraps her arms around you as you do so.
>"I think we need to talk to Marisa soon... Actually, we need to explain some things to a few people. I hope we can find opportunities to do so.">"Well, hopefully we'll have a chance once we find Sumireko..." Renko replies.
>"Going in by air might be too dangerous. We could be easily targeted. Still, I'm not sure what to do when we get to her...">You right outside the grove, and set Renko down.
>Land now, setting Renko down.
>"Yuugen, do you think you can get close without alerting her and examine her ?">"I'm unsure. It would be best if she was distracted or tired first." YuugenMagan replies.
>"Well, it doesn`t seem like she is tired, and if we distract her we will need to make it so that she doesn`t see it as a threat, else she might run away again...">"Alright."
>Try to have a little peek and find Sumireko, then quickly and silently retreat back.>You push into the grove and peek out into the clearing within.
>QUIETLY make our way back. Slowness and stealth.>You slowly make your way back to the others.
>Once back, whispers~ "Actually... she seems really tired already. She just fell to her knees, panting, after throwing a bunch of stuff... if she notices you anyway, I can try to distract her then, but I don't know if I could dodge well if she attacked me.">"Alright. Just leave the rest to me..." YuugenMagan begins quickly floating into the grove.
>Follow a little ways, and then watch from a safe distance.>You follow, meeting up with Renko and Chen at the edge of the clearing. You observe from here.
>...it might be hard, but just continue to watch, for the moment.
>I have a bad feeling about this....
//Sorry.>You intend to stay and observe, but you get a really bad feeling and approach Renko
>Yea i really have a bad feeling, i dunno why.
>Approach too.
//I knew it.>You call to Chen, but before you can finish your sentence, a bolt of energy strikes her, sending her flying against a tree, and seemingly knocking her unconscious.
>Turn to Chen.
>"Quick ! Call Yukari Chen ! This is very wrong ! Tell her it`s a emergency."
>"W-What the hell!?!? I trusted you! I thought you would help! That things would finally start changing!">"Oh, things will change alright..." Sumireko, or rather, YuugenMagan, smirks.
>"You used me ! You just wanted to steal Sumireko`s body ! And just after we saved her from becoming a puppet you turn her into one !">"Why, you ask?" she smiles, "You've heard of the archangels, haven't you, Maribel?"
>Frown.
>"Why of all things ?!?"
>Freeze, then look back to her.
>"Don`t tell me.... you`re him ?!? And why she in the first place ?!?"
>Well, if she WAS Uriel, she'd probably go about this a little differently. Rather than the first sentence (the second is fine, apart from replacing she with her) let's say "Yeah... and what do you have to do with the archangels?">You omit the first sentence and make necessary mental adjustments to your dialogue before you speak.
//AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!>You attempt to close the rift, but you can't seem to find any boundaries to close it with...
>Use our powers to close that rift ! We need to do something !
>"No, Renko!">"W-We can't just let them get away! I-It's not fair!" Renko yells.
Debating whether it's worth risking just RIPPING A TEAR IN IT if we can't close it.
//I...I can`t think straight right now, i can`t have any ideas.>You create a gap that leads near Sariel.
>Make a gap towards those two as we learned, if we can awake Sariel she may be able to do something.
>Examine Sariel.>You still haven't flown through the gap, so you're too far to make out any details, but she looks pretty much the same as you left her from here.
That's a last resort. Sariel twitched. Let's try a less super dangerous thing first. We aren't in gensokyo, so we can't guarantee Yukari will notice before it's Really Bad News. Maybe we'd just end up destroying this space, but who knows what repercussions there could be if Yukari didn't come fast enough?>You move through the gap, leaving Renko behind.
>Move through the gap. Immediately begin shaking Sariel. "Wake up Sariel, emergency!"
yuuka wouldn't literally murder people who weren't fairies, right? >.> ...right? <.<Oh our previous encounter and almost loss of Renko begs to differ...
>"She's possessed!" Say it in a sort of panic. This should get their attention in the proper manner. We simply don't have time to explain.>"Oh?" Sariel questions.
>>Plop two gaps together to send YgKo into an infinitely empty space, portal style.
>There's a possibility that, if we're quick enough, we could gap Renko to us and gap the three (Uriel too for four?) of us back to Gensokyo...>You ponder if you can gap all of you back to Gensokyo before YuugenMagan/Sumireko can do what you think she is going to do...
>Open a gap to the Hakurei Shrine near us/uriel/sariel. Keep the other open so Renko can still get through.>You open a gap to the shrine nearby right as Renko emerges from the first one. You then fire a spread of danmaku at YuugenMagan, who surprisingly stands her ground, taking the hit.
>Throw a haphazard spread of pellet danmaku towards SumiMagan. It just has to be spread enough to make her move so that she's distracted, the aim and specifics don't matter. "Get in or she'll kill you!"
//I can`t see any other choice either....>"What? I never said anything of the sort... I merely plan to re-create all of reality in my own image, that is all..."
>"C-Change to what ? You said you will end this world, there will be nothing left, why are you doing this ?"
>Sigh.>"W-Wait..." Renko puts a hand in front of you, "B-Before you do anything... M-Maybe Sumireko is still in there somewhere... Maybe we can get her to resist... I-I don't know..."
>"I`m sorry mother.... looks like this is the only way."
>If we can, try to find a boundary between soul and body, focus on that boundary and gap it using the possessed Sumireko in mind at the center focus, if it succeeds, try to split away all the differents souls inside her body and throw them out except her own.>Do this
>A bolt of light shoots out from YuugenMagan's palm eyes, piercing both angels and prompting Renko to scream. Uriel's central orb cracks, and blood seeps out of them, and Sariel falls limp before both angels disintegrate into particles resembling the dust that was funneling into Sumireko the last time you were here.> Is there a disc-like collection of dust? Is there an orb within Sumireko? Does Sumireko or any part of her/near her shimmer like a boundary?
>The dust from both angels begins to funnel into YuugenMagan, as well as the dust clouds scattered throughout the area.
> Is there a disc-like collection of dust? Is there an orb within Sumireko? Does Sumireko or any part of her/near her shimmer like a boundary?>The dust does take on a disc-like shape as it rapidly funnels into Sumireko. However, no part of her shimmers like a boundary. You also wouldn't know if there was an orb within her...
>Yukari appears from a gap in front of you, she looks quite irritated.Those were the spatial boundaries Yukari mentioned, which implies there are other kinds of boundaries. If there weren't, Yukari would've only said "on boundaries" in general.
>"What the hell were you thinking, trying to travel using a tear?! Do you have ANY idea how dangerous it is to use tears on spatial boundaries!?"
>What about a border between soul and body, can we sense anything like that if we take her as a focus point ?>You wouldn't know. You wouldn't even know where to look within Sumireko for such a boundary, if you could even figure out how to look within her in the first place...
//Any other ideas are appreciated, as long as you don't do any physical commands that make time pass, well, you know what i mean.
//Oh right ! Before i forget.>They seem to be.
>Are the eyes directly attached to her ?
>Let's try to go beyond what we know, try to have a feel of our surroundings without our eyes and ears, focus on what it feels like, if we can sense any odd energy, any strange feeling, then try to seek if there is any shimmer there.>You attempt to sense any odd energies in the surroundings. You find none that are shimmer worthy...
>Close all open gaps we have. Open a big one to the Hakurei Shrine right behind SumiMagan.>You close all the gaps and open a large one right behind YuugenMagan/Sumireko
>Whisper to Renko. "Push her in the gap, us too." Start moving towards SumiMagan with her... if she doesn't come with us, well. :T>"W-Wait! W-Will that even do anything!?" Renko asks as you move towards your target.
>Once we're not too far from reaching her, or as soon as SumiMagan seems to react to us, fire a laser directly into the big eye on her chest.>You fire a laser at the eye on Sumireko's chest. It immediately sees the laser approaching and closes, vanishing completely.
>"Gah... I can't do anything... you have to awaken the real Sumireko, Renko, before it's too late!"
>"Tell her that if she doesn't get in a agreement with the other archangel inside her, then they both will become slaves !">"Alright..." says Renko, before looking driectly at her sister, "Sumireko, I know you're still in there, somewhere... Please, you have to resist, for all our sakes... For my sake... I don't want to lose you again... so if not for everyone else... AT LEAST DO IT FOR ME, SUMIREKO! PLEASE DON'T ABANDON YOUR FAMILY AGAIN!"
>Listen to the voice
>How is it familiar? Who does it sound like?
>LISTEN TO THE VOICE AND TRY TO REACH OUT TO IT!>It sounds like your little sister, Renko Usami, but slightly different, as if the voice was a little older.
>Blonde haired woman?>The woman outside of the cage has blonde hair, and appears to be wearing a shrine-maiden's outfit. She has five orbs chained around her waist, each sports an eye-like pattern.
>"Huh ?">You approach the girl in the corner.
>Descend to the girl.
>"So who are you ? You just suddenly appeared and attacked me for some reason, and now we`re trapped here."
>"Hey, I didn't do anything wrong. You just attacked me out of nowhere. Why'd you even do that?">The girl raises her head and looks you in the eye, scowling. You think you see remnants of tears on her face, "I am Matenshi, daughter of Sariel. And I do believe it was you who attacked me... You know, you probably had to in order to invade my body! And to think I even tried to save your life for the sake of a prophecy..."
>Recall what events led up to this. (Only if it doesn't take up time that is.)>You reflect on how you ended up here...
>"Who were those two that were... um."
>"I'm Sumireko... and I think there's been a misunderstanding. I was just trying to defend myself. Invade your body? When I woke up, you were just... there, and attacked me. It felt like I'd been asleep for years... I was experimenting with the occult balls, I blacked out, and then I woke up in this crazy situation.">"I know who you are, Usami... And I had no choice but to attack you, you were in control of my body..."
>"Wait what ? I... i don`t understand, your body ? But, this is me, i still remember my childhood and all that...">"I still remember my childhood as well, but I am entirely certain this is my body..." She strokes one of her two white angel wings, "Though why my wings are concealed right now is a mystery... I blame you..."
>Glance over at the blonde woman outside, before we keep talking to Matenshi. "And then while we were fighting, all those eyes appeared, and we got in this crazy situation... I hear my sister Renko yelling. What in the world is going on?">The woman outside is still entirely focused on the window.
>"What do you mean save my life? What prophecy? Who were those two that were... um."
>Don`t say this, it`s quite obvious that the angel woman was her mother from that scream of agony.>You omit the last sentence.
>Sit down.>Matenshi puts her head down again, "...Yes... And the one with her was Uriel..."
>"But i guess that doesn`t matter for now... so that angel that got killed... was she... your mother ?"
>Examine Matenshi.>Matenshi has blue eyes and purple hair. A single pair of white angel wings protrude from her back. She is dressed in a blue robe, a white cross is present on the lower half of it.
>"I-I'm sorry if I caused this then... It seems like neither of us are in control of this body anymore though.">"Yes... It seems so..."
>"I... does this mean we have been turned in a single person then ? When you were dragged inside of the stasis thing... then what will happen now ? And if you couldn`t save me... does that mean my sister did ? Along with your mother maybe ?">"Huh... I never thought of it that way... It could be possible... And I'm not sure who saved us, sorry..."
>"Hmm..... sister..... Sister ! What if she is in danger too ?!? I can`t be staying around here, i have to break free, let`s go Matenshi, we have to get out of here, what if this person starts to kill more people using our body ? I`m sorry for your mother, but please, she would want you to resist too, we have to resist for our families.">Matenshi remains silent for a bit, before reluctantly taking your hand.
>Lend her a hand.
>"Blame me all you want, i understand, but we can`t become slaves here and let this intruder cause more innocent casualties, i want to live, you want too right ?"
>"That blonde woman out there had been taunting me earlier, and she has similar eye thingies as whatever attacked us. She also looks like the only other person in here, and she's outside this cage too. I think that might be our jail keeper. I'm not too sure on how to deal with her though...">"Well, she seems to be more focused on whatever's going on out there than us... If we can find a way to bust out of this cage, we might be able to get the jump on her..."
>Looking around intensifies.>The cage is featureless, you and Matenshi are its only inhabitants.
>What are our abilities?>You are a psychic, and are capable of levitation, pyrokinesis, hydrokinesis, telekinesis, psychokinesis, short-range teleportation, astral projection, and other things associated with ESP. However, you are unsure if you can tap into these abilities while within this void, since, judging by the situation, it's heavily implied to be the inside of this shared body's mind...
> try to use teleportation.>You attempt to teleport.
>"Do you have any kind of special abilities ? I don't think mine will help as long as we're in this cage, and we need as many tools and ideas as we can....">"No, I do not... I'm sorry... Have you tried the bars yet?"
>Shoot a single pellet on the cage wall to see what happens.>You attempt to use danmaku. You find that you cannot.
> Is our astral projection limited to the dream traveling we could do before, or do we have more conscious control of it?>You only seem to be able to project yourself in your sleep.
> Attempt to telekinetically push against the bars.
>Attempt to touch one of the bars. Like, the normal way.>You walk over to one of the bars and grab it.
>Have we been able to move our body since getting taken over like this?>You have not.
>Whisper to Matenshi. "The bars shock us... but they don't seem too hard to move, other than that. If we can deal with the pain and each pick one bar to shove to the side, we can definitely get out."
>"We will need to have the right timing too, and it looks like our only option since i can't use any of my powers or use danmaku, what do you think ?">"Alright then," Matenshi stands up, "I say we take our chances."
>Nod and get ready on our side too.>"My mother is dead..." Matenshi frowns before bracing herself and pulling on one of the bars.
>"When i say three we go for it, your mother and my sister are counting on us, one... two... three !"
>Pull the bar with all our might so that we can make a hole to go through ! Ignore the pain, it will go away, think about our sister !>You pull on the bar, enduring the pain. Soon, your combined efforts create a gap big enough to get through without much trouble.
>"Yes.">You take her hand and leave the cage, you're still aching from the pain.
>Take the hand and go through, and make our way towards the lady with Matenshi, ready to attack when she does!
After leaving the cage:>Matenshi does not reply.
>Whisper. "But you should know that she is still with you in heart."
>What is the blonde shrine maiden doing ?>She has her full attention of the window, through which you can see Renko, though she looks a bit older... As well as someone you have never seen before. The blonde woman seems to be making your body laugh at them
>Those five things surrounding her, do they resemble the occult balls ?>They do not.
>"You did it Renko!">"It worked..." Renko seems a bit relieved
>Fire a laser at an energy tendril. Be careful not to hit Sumireko, though. If she's flailing too much, skip this step entirely.>You fire a laser at a tendril, it passes right through.
>Glare.>You fire lasers at the two closest eyes, destroying them and their tendrils.
>"You tricked me... possessed Sumireko... killed Sariel... and tried to destroy the whole world!"
>Try to laser two more eyes.
>Can we see the dagger anywhere ?>You cannot.
>"Try to disconnect those energy tendrils Renko ! It should weaken her and allow Sumireko and that other person to break free.">"H-Huh? How do I do that...? Y-You seem to be doing a pretty good job of it already..."
>Keep closing in.>You move forward, YuugenMagan's lasers barely miss as they intersect behind you.
>"Keep it up you two ! Give it your all ! We can't let this devil of a woman go free !"
>Quickly fire at another eye. If we keep damaging her like this, she won't be able to retaliate, hopefully.>You quickly fire at one of the other eyes, destroying it. YuugenMagan's last eye begins firing denser spreads three times as fast. Your proximity won't give you much time to dodge.
>Make sure the gap leads to aempty spaceYuugen's final eye. Preferably from side.
>Create a gap in front of us so the incoming danmaku is lead away from our fight.
>Make sure the gap leads to a empty space.
>"Just a little more ! You're gonna make it ! Keep at it and our mission will be complete !"
>If we can make that gap somewhat precisely enough at the eye, do it. Otherwise just make the random gap anywhere that isn't aimed at someone in this space.>You create a gap in front of you to a space next to Yuugen's final eye. The shots that were on a direct collision course with you fly through it, and you watch as the final eye destroys itself, causing all the other shots to dissipate.
>Take Renko's hand and go towards Sumireko.>"You really think so?" Renko asks as the two of you head towards Sumireko.
>"...we did it. It's... it's over? All the mess with Sariel and Uriel? With Sumireko?"
>Frown. "...not exactly. She still has the eighth archangel inside her body. But, they might have made peace to fight against Yuugenmagan... so maybe things will be better now. It really feels like the mess is all over...">"Well, when you put it that way... yeah... I guess it is..."
>Squeeze Renko tightly. "We have to tell Yukari everything, so that they know why you did what you did... so that nothing bad will happen anymore!">You embrace Renko, who returns your affection.
>Chen !!!>Quickly remembering Chen, you create a gap leading back to the clearing you found Sumireko in.
>Once we`re done, make a gap back to the area we found Sumireko, so we can find her again.
>"It was something you could've avoided if you had the chance. And we also stopped Uriel and YuugenMagan. We just have to hope Yukari can side with us enough.">"Yeah..."
>"You'll still have a judgment, probably, but... what's important is just making sure you get through it okay. Now let's get Sumireko out of here and find Chen... I hope she's okay.">"Right." Renko grabs hold of Sumireko and heads through the gap with you.
>Oh no, Renko's leg... hurf. We can't carry -everyone-. Well, hopefully Chen can wake up and get Yukari. For now, try to get Sumireko, Renko, and ourselves through the gap.
>"Chen! Are you okay?">"I'm... ugh... fine..." she says as you get near her.
>We can't rush over to her since we've got Sumireko, but move in her direction.
>"I'm sorry Yuugenmagan attacked you... everything got crazy... it's all over now though.">"Don't be... I'm pretty sure none of us saw that coming..." Chen smiles reassuringly, before looking at Sumireko, "Is she okay?"
>"I think she should be... But I really am sorry. You've been hurt at least twice since trying to look after us.">"Don't worry about it. I've been though worse." Chen smiles.
>"Y-Yea. We've got to catch up on a lot of things, but only after you're feeling alright again, okay?">"Okay."
>"Right now i can tell you that my name is Maribel, can you stand ?">"I think so." Sumireko attempts to stand on her own, and is able to do so. Renko lets go of her.
>Look to Renko, then Chen. "Should we head back to Eientei?">Chen nods.
>"Um, please calm down you two, you are talking with that archangel right ? Could you two explain how you two got mixed up like this ?">"Yeah." Sumireko replies, "We don't really know for sure what happened, but apparently I was in some kind of stasis, and Matenshi tried to pull me out. But she got pulled in with me instead... And when we next woke up, we seemed to be in the same body. Though it didn't feel that way at first, she was just there, and tried to attack me... Now that we're not fighting anymore and can actually think about our situation, I guess whoever's in control can see the other outside the body..."
>"I guess someone like Sariel would have a idea for this, but..... i couldn't stop her, if only i had thought up something !">"You did the best you could, Merry..." Renko puts a hand on your shoulder
>Look down.
>"Still, at least we were able to save you two and the world, but.... archangel miss, it's Matenshi correct ? Why did you go help Sumireko alone ? Why didn't you bring Sariel along ?">Sumireko closes her eyes for a second, then opens them.
>Put on a surprised look.>"Yes, she was... But don't blame yourself... There was probably nothing you could've done, besides, you can't change the past... Really my only regret is that... I... I never got to say goodbye..." You see tears begin to form in her eyes, before she quickly suppresses them and turns away, "Heh... I wonder if she even knew I was alive..."
>"M-Mother ?!?! No... no way... so Sariel was your mother ?!? I'm sorry, i'm sorry... i should have gotten in the way, and just as i finally found my own..."
>Shiver a bit.
>"I-... YuugenMagan and Uriel have been stopped, and you two are alright, at least..."
>"I... alright, but now that this is all over, or at least the worst, what will be of you ? Where will you go ?">"I don't know..." says Matenshi, "I'll probably just fulfill my purpose, which was to continue my kind's legacy... Though it will be difficult since I'm technically not a true archangel... My mother always told me my potential had to manifest and specialize before that could happen. However, I can't really do that when I have Usami in my body..."
>"Hey relax you two ! Clearly you both were fused or something, so we have to find a way to split you back into two bodies.">She stares to your left.
>Examine her wings.>They are pure white angel wings, they resemble Sariel's, except it's only one pair and it lacks the purple edge.
>"Oh, nice wings, but i think you ripped the clothes doing that ?">"Huh!?!" Sumireko reaches an arm behind her.
>"Yeah, maybe Lady Yukari would know something... Chen, is she still busy ?">"I'll check." says Chen, before pausing for a moment, "Ran-sama says she's still busy, but she'll be done soon."
>Turn back to Sumitenshi.
>"Please try to get along a little better, we don't know for how long you will have to stay like this, might be an hour, might be a day, might be a week, or worst case scenario.... forever..."
>Let's just leave that last sentence at not knowing how long they'll stay like this. We don't need to actively bring up that it might be forever. XD>"Huh? Renko's judgement?" Sumireko asks, "Renko, is something wrong?"
>"We have to tell Yukari about what happened for the sake of Renko's judgment, anyway."
>"Errr... yeah... Sariel was leading Renko through how to save you, but... she had some really questionable methods, to put it lightly." Shift eyes. "I didn't know until it was too late... and then it didn't turn out to be necessary anyway. But what's done is done. At least your return and the... uh... angel wings... might help convince people that Renko had a good reason?">"W-What did she do...?" Sumireko looks concerned.
>Cough.>You cough.
>Hug Sumirenko, she lost her mom and it was our fault.
>Hey hey, not really something we should do now, we aren't intimate with Matenshi, at least not yet, so hold back on the hug.>You refrain from hugging
>"Sariel said to her that she had to..... shoot Miss Reimu...">"O-Oh no! Is she alright?! R-Renko! H-How could you do such a thing!?!" Sumireko says in alarm.
>I don't remember Sumireko ever needing to be judged?
> "Reimu is alive and recovering, but Renko now have to explain her actions...">"I see... W-Well, it's a good thing she's alive..."
> We should ask Sumireko about her own trial. Its good to know what to expect.
>I don't remember Sumireko ever needing to be judged?>You recall Mamizou mentioning something, during your first visit, about an incident involving Sumireko. She said that she almost caused he destruction of the barrier, and therefore there was a meeting to decide her fate, where they decided to release her.
>"The last few days have been terrible. What with trying to deal with the problems we've been going through. Both of us have been having tough times. Well, all 4 of us I guess.">"Yeah, you can say that again..."
>"So, um, are you alright with being filled in on everything else?"
>"There is a lot to cover about me and Sariel and Renko...."
>"Well... actually, it'd probably be easier to explain the whole thing to everyone at once after Yukari gets here, since that shouldn't be long..." WE DON'T NEED TO DO IT ALL AGAIN IN FIVE MINUTES>"Alright, I can wait then..." She looks off to Renko's right, "Sorry, I mean we can wait."
>"It's nice to finally meet Renko's sister, though. Me and her are really close.">You affectionately lean on Renko.
>Lean on Renko affectionately. <3 ...err, don't -really- put any weight on her though, since she sprained her ankle, right...?
>"It was one of the good things that happened these days, another one being finding out that Sariel wasn't a bad person either, i guess i was just paranoid.">"Well, I'm happy for you two! It's really nice to know that my little sister found someone. Well... I guess I'm technically the little sister now... heh... heh..." Sumireko smiles, "And it's nice to meet you too... Maribel, was it?"
>"Yes. Maribel Hearn. It's nice to meet you two too.">Sumireko smiles.
>"Yeah, and about me.... i'm a really special case of a person to say the least... first i am a half-human half-youkai, and second...."
>Make a gap leading a few meters away.
>"I can do this...."
>Let's mention that when we meet back up with Yukari. Then we could talk to all three of them about becoming a youkai or not and everything else.>You decide not to say this, for now.
>Realize that, if we're Yukari's daughter, then that makes Chen kind of close to us.>You realize that Chen is closer to you than you originally thought, since Yukari considers both her and Ran family, not to mention that she's the shikigami of Yukari's shikigami...
>Hold on.... do we still have Sariel's feather ?>You left it at home. You did not take it with you today.
>Inventory check in general.
>QuestsMental Notes.
>Alright, we could either give Kagerou the money, or return it to... whoever that girl was from Makai...>You consider giving YuugenMagan's money to Kagerou, or giving it to Elis.
>Giving Matenshi her mother's feather might be a bit heartwarming if we're allowed to come back to Gensokyo to give it to her. If it even exists anymore.>It would probably be for the best if you let Matenshi have the feather. If you can get it.
>We should change back to our clothes>You consider changing out of this outfit, not only because of who convinced you to get it, but also because it's uncomfortable to wear.and burn thesebecause they're from YuugenMagan...
>"Matenshi... you can hear me right ? I dunno if it's still there since she turned into dust but.... i had left a feather from Sari-, i mean, your mother's wings in my house... i think it is only fair for me to return it to you, as her last memento if i can.">"Matenshi?" Sumireko asks, looking to Renko's right.
>Nod, then try to make a small gap using the image we remember from where the feather was, then look through it, is it there ?>You create a small gap to your house leading to the table you left the feather on. As soon as you desire to see the other side, the gap becomes translucent, and you can make out the shape of a feather, right where you left it.
>Reach out and grab it carefully, then close the gap.>You grab the feather and give it to Sumireko.
>"Here it is, i would like for you to have it back, you're the rightful owner."
>Nod and give it to Sumitenshi.
>"In the form of this feather, and the memories of your life, she will be always alongside you.">"I-I think she's crying..." She walks over to the empty space to the right of Renko and attempts to hug thin air. Her arms pass through nothing, "Oh yeah... right..."
>"I-I didn't mean to..... sorry....">"I-It's fine..." Sumireko frowns.
>Hug Sumirenko, poor girl deserves it.>You embrace Sumireko/Matenshi, she gives a small smile.
>"I'm glad i could, we might not know each other much, but i wanna think of her as a friend, or maybe.... even family in a way....">"Family?" Sumireko raises an eyebrow.
>"Um, maybe not that much I guess...">Sumireko safely puts the feather in a pocket, "Anyway, thank you again for being so caring about her, despite us barely knowing her..."
>"I guess i just know how she feels, since i also had mother issues, i hope we will keep meeting her in the future.
>Smile.
>We shouldn't say we know how it feels. She lost her mother in front of her eyes, and never even got to say goodbye. Sure we never even met our mother or knew anything about her, but that's not as bad as what she went through. After all, Yukari is alive.>You simply smile, refraining from saying anything.
>"Well, i hope we can get to know Matenshi more.">"Well we might have to, depending on how long we're stuck like this..."
>Turn to Chen.>"Yeah, Ran-sama's fine. No need to worry about her." Chen smiles.
>"Is everything alright with Miss Ran too ? It has been a little while ever since i saw her."
>"So... now what?">"Didn't you say we were heading back to Eientei?" Renko asks.
>"Actually, Chen, is Lady Yukari still busy?">Chen pauses for a moment, "Yup, sorry."
>"Okay. Gimme a moment."
>Open a gap to Eientei.
Well, if we were heading back to Eientei...>You open a gap to Eientei's entrance.
> Open gap to Eientei entrance.
>"There's a few things we have to explain all around when we finally get to Yukari again..."
>"Um, yea Chen, i can do it too, there is a lot we have to tell, but... let's wait okay ?">"Okay."
>Beckon them and head inside the gap.... wait.
>"Ehhh... what about Sumireko's clothes ? I mean their fusion or merging body's clothes ? They got ripled with the wings, is it okay ?">"Well, I think we should be fine, the tear is under my cape anyway..." Sumireko replies
>"Yea... sorry about that too.... i didn't mean to hit you two.">"It's fine..." says Sumireko.
>Sad face.
>"We'll get you some new clothes, and i guess we also need to make holes for the wings too.">"Well, if Matenshi doesn't mind, we can just keep the wings- Okay, nevermind... Well, at least I'm getting to experience what wings are like..." Sumireko thinks for a moment, "I wonder..."
>Help Renko up.>You help Renko up.
>"Ehe. So um, Eientei?">"I think we're ready when you are." says Renko.
>Point towards the gap.
>"It's alright. Learning things just takes time. Take it easy."
>"Give her time Matenshi, you were born with them after all, nobody learns it right off the bat like that.">"Matenshi, will you please shut up and give me a break..." Sumireko frowns a bit more.
>Ponder a bit.>You wonder if Patchouli could help Sumireko and Matenshi. Surely a powerful magician would know how to separate them, right?
>"We could also request help from Miss Patchouli too for your case."
>Head through the gap.>You head through the gap, everyone else follows shortly.
>"Hey, don't be rude Sumireko, we're all friends here, and besides, you will share that merged body for a while until we can unmerge it, so please don't be like that to each other.">"Yeah, you're right..." Sumireko frowns.
>What's going on ?>There are a bunch of rabbit youkai going about their usual business, but otherwise there's nothing out of the ordinary.
>"And Miss Patchouli is the magician from that Mansion by the lake.">"Oh." Sumireko replies, "I've never been there..."
>Yukari mentioned already having someone searching for Sumireko. Hope our encounter isn't bad... If we meet them before Yukari wants us, that is.>You hope you don't meet whoever was searching for Sumireko, however it's likely that she sent Ran on the job, or perhaps some other person you haven't met. If she wasn't lying about the search, that is...
>"I think we might want to wait on Yukari's take on things before we do anything else. Hm... Renko, can you tell where Mamizou is right now?">"Mamizou? Hmm... Let me see..." Renko looks into the night sky, you notice there seems to be a lot of cloud cover right now, "...The clouds are too thick. I can't find her without a clear view... Sorry."
>"It's alright.">You make a gap to Renko's room, it seems vacant.
>Make a gap to Renko's Eientei room and see what's inside.
>Was Mamizou released from Eientei, or was she just awake but still having to stay there last time we talked to her?>You do believe she was due to be discharged today, so it's likely she was released in the time you took to find Sumireko.
>Last time we saw her, she had something on her hand too.>You actually don't know for sure if she was holding anything. You recall that you asked a rabbit where she was, and the rabbit said she was holding a pipe.
>Smile at this sight of friendship, then turn to the rabbits.>You can't help but smile.
>"Oh don't mind her, it's just that she can see a soul and is talking with that soul, it's one of her capabilities."
>Head with our group into the gap, towards the empty room.>You and your group head into the gap.
>"Good to see you are getting along better now.">"For now, at least..." Sumireko replies.
>"So, while we're waiting to speak with Yukari, why don't we catch up a bit more?">"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Renko nods.
>"So, i met some rather curious people on the mansion, and Marisa too.">"Marisa..." Sumireko taps her chin, "That's that witch, right? She's a pretty good fighter from what I remember."
>Sad frown.
>"Marisa.... she is extremely concerned with Miss Reimu, to the point she told Lady Yukari where i was hidden when the latter said she could tell her about Miss Reimu's case...."
>"Yea, she`s the one, there was also a lone youkai that lives in a old shack, at the forest near the Garden of the Sun, her name is Regenteki, do you know anything about her ?">"Rengeteki?" Sumireko raises an eyebrow, "No, I've never heard of anyone with that name."
>Hold a finger to our mouth to quiet our group down a bit.>You quiet the group down and get closer to the open door.
>Get closer to the door and try to listen.
>"So...I guess you're unhappy, Koishi?">"I want to shut off my third eye again... Permanently... Or maybe I should just have it surgically removed..." Koishi frowns, "But either way, Eirin doesn't want to do it."
>"We've... calmed things down. We should be alright now. And, are you sure you want your eye to go back to how it was Koishi?">"Oh, it won't be back exactly the way it was..." Koishi replies, "Someone might accidentally open it again if it was... I want it to be either removed from me, or damaged beyond repair..."
>Examine Koishi and her eye. See if we can detect any borders or barriers.>Koishi looks the same as you last saw her. Her third eye is wide open still.
>Jump a little.>"H-Hey... It's not your fault, Maribel... I-Its mine for not doing it right in the first place..." Koishi's third eye gazes at you, before she quickly covers it with her hand, "S-SORRY!! I DIDN'T MEAN TO!"
>"I-... Tell me you're... R-Really?"
>Tear up a bit. Koishi wants to completely remove a part of her body, and we're also the cause of her wanting this...
>Are we aware of Koshi's family?>You recall her mentioning an older sister and a couple of pets owned by said sister before you accidentally unsealed her.
>"Koshi! Think before you do this! You have a family, right? I'm sure they would be greatly sadden if they knew you did this!">"Well, they won't..." Koishi frowns, "Honestly surgical removal would be a last resort... The more I think about it I'd prefer to just have it permanently blinded and the eyelid glued shut. That way I'd look the same. And they would never have to know my eye was ever reopened..."
>"Why do you keep seeing the bad things and not the good ones ? You shouldn't have to give up your own eye, will you even be a satori anymore ? Will you even survive ? I don't wanna risk it.... i don't mind the mind reading one bit, but i can't handle thinking of you as just a youkai that gave up on it's uniqueness, or dead, or hurt or anything.">"W-Well-"
>Hug her.>You hug Koishi before she can finish.
>"You're not the only one with a power like that, and you know it...."
>"Come on Koishi. Don't care for the people who don't like you.">"Maybe you're right... Perhaps I shouldn't think about those people much..." Koishi looks down, "But I'm afraid about seeing most of the people that do like me to... I'm afraid of seeing what they really think of me..."
>"Well, then talk to them, tell them that you won't share away any of their secrets, and that you will still be like the Koishi they first met, and if they still feel awkward about it, thanks them for sticking with you all that time.">You hug Koishi more.
>Smile.
>"I know you can keep a secret, i know that you are a nice person, so nobody should be afraid of you if you aren't gonna do any harm, that's not what friendship is like... hmm, maybe i could introduce you to a friend i met while searching for Sumireko."
>Gently tighten the hug.
>"Just remember that i will still be your friend, not matter what, Satori Koishi or Regular Youkai Koishi."
>"Then we could go there together, at times like these you have to muster the courage to face the fear of the unknown, and i wanna help you with that.">"Y-You'd really do that for me?" Koishi asks.
>So many people that could use a friendly hand, Koishi, Regenteki, Matenshi, it will be hard to help them all, but we will manage it !>You take a moment to think of all the people you want to help, and you feel determined that you will manage to help all of them!
>Nod. "Of course we will! I could make a shortcut there for us, too.">"I don't mind. I can't speak for Matenshi though..." Sumireko replies.
>Glance back at Sumireko and Renko. "If you two don't mind the detour, at least."
>"Of course ! I do have some stuff i have to solve first, but once i'm done i can help both you and Regenteki !">"Who's Rengeteki?" Koishi asks
>Turn to Dr. Eirin.>"Well, it sounds like it would be beyond medical procedures," says Eirin, "I don't normally deal with souls... But I could make a drug that could suppress the other personality if that's what you desire."
>"And about Sumireko Dr. Eirin, we found out she is merged with another person called Matenshi, so there are two souls in one fused body now, and we don't know how to split those two back to normal."
>"Absolutely out of the question. We're not trapping one. Both of them should have freedom. We'll find another way.">"Very well. I hope you can find someone else that would be more suited to helping you then."
>"And Regenteki is a youkai that lives alone in a forest, she has been through a lot.... and i want to help her get back up.">"Oh." Koishi responds.
>Look at Koishi.>"Well, if it's my home, then definitely. I'm afraid to go there alone like this..." Koishi replies, "If it's anywhere else... I'll think about it..."
>"Well, wanna accompany us Koishi ? We're not sure where to go next, maybe to your home."
>"Well, we can stop by the mansion too to ask for Miss Patchouli's aid."
>"Hmm.... yea sure ! We can go to your home and meet your sister, it won't be too long right ?">"No, it shouldn't take that long. It would just be a quick trip to the underground." Koishi replies.
>Smile.
>What a way to cut the mood Mother....>Even when she's not actively in your affairs, she still meddles with them.
>"Yeah... I'll go there with you soon, but I guess I can't right now."
>"Oh... um, sorry Koishi, but you can still come with us if you want, talk and all that, and once all of this is done wel can go there.">"I'll think about it..." Koishi frowns.
>Pet Chen-chan. 'w'
>"Any other places we can't go then dear Chen ?"
>Is Dr. Eirin still here ?>She is
>"Um, Chen? How long do you think it'll be before Lady Yukari is finished?">"I dunno... Let me ask." Chen replies, before closing her eyes for a few seconds.
>Ponder the possibility of making a gap above us, then one above the clouds in the sky in order to give Renko a view of the stars.>You might be able to pull it off, but can you really visualize something you don't have a prior mental picture of? And would the gap be above the clouds directly above you, or would it be above the clouds in some random location in or out of Gensokyo?
>"I wonder if Yukari is finished with those Eirin's yet..."
>"Excuse me Doctor, what about Reisen ? Is she alright ? Sumireko did hit her with furniture in her struggle before...">"Udongein has a black eye, but she'll live." Eirin answers.
>Take a breath of relief.>"Mamizou was discharged earlier today."
>"Oh good to know she is well, what about Miss Mamizou ?"
>"Has she headed back to the village ? I am sure she would love to talk again with Sumireko after all this time.">"I am unsure where she went. I'd assume she went home, but I have no idea where she lives."
>"Hmm... maybe we could ask the receptionist then, what about Miss Reimu's condition ? Is she awake ?">"She is, though visitations should be kept to a minimum, as she cannot be put under much stress in her current condition, and she has already been visited the maximum amount of times allowed today."
>".......Marisa ?">"No. The visits were all Yakumo today."
>"Mo-I mean, Lady Yukari ? I see....">"Aright." Renko nods.
>Look back at our group.
>"I think we should get going."
>Turn back to Dr. Eirin.>"You're welcome. And if I have new information regarding Reimu to disclose when I next see you, I will let you know."
>"Thank you for your time Dr. Eirin, please let us know as soon as possible about any improvements in Miss Reimu's health."
>Bow and leave with our group to the receptionist area.>You bow and leave with Chen, Sumireko/Matenshi and Renko.
>"Maybe they have a clue about where she is around here.">"Maybe." Renko responds
>"It's just to know where she is so we can visit her later, dear Chen.">You gently pat Chen on the head. She doesn't object.
>Smile and gently pat her.
>"What has Miss Ran done in the shrine all this time ? Last time i saw her she was sweeping the grounds.">"Oh, not much. She's kept the shrine nice, and I think Yukari-sama had her search for Sumireko today."
>"Knew it, i hope she isn't too bored there.">It should be about a minute
>How long til we get there ?
>"You're still okay right Chen ? That bolt hit you pretty bad, i was really worried when we had to leave you there while we were taken to that weird dimension.">"I'm fine, thank you. And don't worry about it. I just need to be more careful next time." Chen smiles.
>Sad face.
>"I'm sorry Chen, every time you are with us, it seems you always get hurt, first with Sariel, then now with Yuugen."
>Ease up a bit.>Chen smiles.
>"Ehehe, good, i really care about you Chen, not as much as Lady Yukari i guess, and definitely not as much as Miss Ran, but i still do."
>Close Yukari's gap :derp:>You shut the gap, but it quickly re-opens.
>Make a hole on the ground leading to a lake, then grab our fishing rod and catch some fish for Chen.>You do so, Chen seems happy.
>Approach the gap.>"No!" Yukari's voice says as a hand grabs the collar of your shirt and pulls you through the gap.
>"May Sumireko come as well? It's important."
>If Chen says some form of Yes, then head on through with everyone.