Mokou Quest 3: Homecoming

[O4rfish]

>"Fujiyama, dodge the broom." I know they are already in contact. Hopefully this is the correct order to give so the broom travels somewhere else and he doesn't.
Edit: >"Fujiyama, return!"
>"Good work Nue. I can always count on you.

[capt. h]

>"Fujiyama, dodge the broom." I know they are already in contact. Hopefully this is the correct order to give so the broom travels somewhere else and he doesn't.
Edit: >"Fujiyama, return!"

> You return Fujiyama returns to it's ball as Marisa's broom blasts past where the golem was holding it in place. You can clearly see Marisa was trying to plant a spell on Fujiyama when you look at her hand, although her broom, no longer held back by your golem, blasts straight into the witch.

> "Cancel!" Marisa commands, the broom ceasing it's blast far too late to leave the witch unscathed. You seem Marisa forcefully pull the broom's stick out of her gut as she pulls a red-capped white-spotted mushroom out of her hat and swallows the fungus whole.

>"Good work Nue. I can always count on you.

> "Really? I'll have to fix that," Nue replies, grinning. "It doesn't feel right, a youkai like me being too reliable. Remind me to slip something in your tea."

> "Ya, I'd think we'd both like to slip something in there," Marisa says fairly cooly, considering how badly she was just injured. She aims her broom at Nue and continues, "Now ya're gonna tell me why ya hafta get in the way of me and my hakkero, before I blow ya ta kingdom come, ze?"

> "I am pretty fond of the umbrella girl," Nue says, "and of course I owe you for the cave thing."

> "That old thing?" Marisa replies, "Ya knew coming in that us thieves aren't big on loyalty."

> "Robbing my friends blind while leaving me to die doesn't make for much of a partnership, does it?" Nue says.

> "Like I said, not big on loyalty."

>Now that the halftime show is over, perhaps we can get back to the legitimate business transaction.

> You consider attempting diplomacy to convince Marisa to leave. She is surrounded by yourself, Nue, Satori, and Orin, and she is injured although her voice doesn't show it. You wonder just what was with that mushroom she ate.

>_

[O4rfish]

>This morning has been one long series of interruptions. We shouldn't expect anything to be resolved peacefully, but we should hope for it. "You done?"

[capt. h]

>This morning has been one long series of interruptions. We shouldn't expect anything to be resolved peacefully, but we should hope for it. "You done?"

> Marisa chuckles, "Nah, still got a lotta fight in me."

> "You know all's fair in theft," the Nue-winged Kogasa says.

> "Ya're right." Marisa replies. "Exactly why I gotta steal my hakkero back. What kind of thief would I be if I asked for it, ze?"

> You notice Satori speaking up for the first time since Marisa arrived, after having watched you somewhat intensely, with the line "And a good thief goes after the big prizes."

> "Ya, always." Marisa replies.

> Satori shrugs. "It's been a busy morning for my comrades, we don't want a fight, so this one's for free. You see those Galactic guys? They have a lot of good pokemon."

> "Ain't no pokemon as good as my hakkero," Marisa replies.

> "Their pokemon are as good as Yukari AND Sakuya."

> "Nah, no way," Marisa says.

> "The redhead has a Palkia in no condition to fight, and the purple-haired one has a Dialga handcuffed to her wrist. The first makes portals Yukari-style, the latter can manipulate how quickly time flows immediately around it, just like Sakuya," Satori says non-chalantly.

> "Ya, that's a tough pill to swallow," Marisa says.

> "I'm an information broker. I can't afford to lie about these things. Bad for business. Besides, anyone with a telescope can confirm these invading foreigners were using a yukari-mon, and I promise you that it's in the red-head's possession."

> "She isn't lying," Nue adds informally. "Although I'd love for you to stick around. I'm feeling a little," Nue pauses, before cheerily adding, "bloodthirsty."

> Marisa doesn't immediately respond as she glances towards the retreating grunts while all the pokemon descend through their respective battles. Satori adds, "Better hurry, once they get back to base, stealing those pokemon is going to be neigh-impossible."

> "...Dammit!" Marisa says, mounting her broom as she adds, "If you're lying, you can expect your mansion to be rubble by the end of the week."

> "I know, that's why I don't lie, at least when it comes to the business side. You are hardly the first client that would come for my neck."

> "Charizard, Mismagius," Marisa hesitates, before finally sighing, "stop fighting." Then with renewed energy she adds. "We have things to steal!"

> With that, Marisa's Charizard stops trying to bring yours down with about a hundred feet to go, and her ghost stops lobbing attacks at your Myon as she flies up to mount her Charizard.

>_

[LaserTurtle]

>nudge Satori.
>"Is Marisa really a better alternative than those Galactic people for ownership of Yukari-mon and Sakuya-mon?"

[capt. h]

>nudge Satori.
>"Is Marisa really a better alternative than those Galactic people for ownership of Yukari-mon and Sakuya-mon?"

> Satori ponders for a moment before saying, "Yes, it was a short-term plan, but she's still probably a better owner."

> She then opens up her phone, and start dialing some numbers, before placing her phone on speaker, "Kanako, I understand you have a war on your hands, and Yukari, you pay well for anything useful on these invaders, right?"

> Yukari says, "I really wish you'd keep this private,"

> The other voice, who you figure must be the mountain goddess Kanako, adds, "Yes, I'd like to use my own discretion in who I keep in the loop."

> Satori shrugs. "I get paid better telling the both of you than either of you individually."

> "That was fast," Nue whispers.

> "Oh, this is typical," Orin whispers back. "She likes to trade secrets as quickly as possible, worries that if someone else makes them public, she'll lose out on a payday."

> "And I can't predict what Marisa will do," she says half to Nue, half to Kanako and Yukari, "So lets get down to business, and I expect double the top rate. From each of you." Satori is much more energetic now than when she was during the hostage trade, explaining the situation as if she were gossiping to a friend, "Marisa's going after a party of Galactic members headed to their base on that mountain above Youkai Mountain. The purple-haired one has a pokemon that can manipulate time as freely as Sakuya. This pokemon is being used to turn a day into a month of R&D, and they've brought themselves to the verge of mass-producing our magic with the extra time, so if you can stop Sakuya, you might want to stop them. The best part is, they really don't want to bring it out; they consider the time pokemon top secret, so they'll only use it publicly to protect it or the redhead they have with them. I'd knock those foreigners out before they knew you were there if I were you."

> "That's great, but your price is too high. I'm willing to pay..." Kanako begins before being interrupted.

> "You don't have time to negotiate, and there's a lot more to say." Satori says, "Although for now, I'd say you have less than 5 minutes before Marisa starts lighting up the sky, and who knows how these foreigners will react when that happens. Ought to be fun to watch," Satori says, taking out a pair of binoculars as she mumbles "Should have brought popcorn..."

>_

[Hanzo K.]

>"...Anyone got any marshmallows? It ain't popcorn, but it'll do I suppose."

[O4rfish]

>First Sattery deflects Marisa from us to steal the powerful pokemon, next she gets paid quadruple for using the OMA against someone we all have a reason to fight. Impressive.

[capt. h]

>First Sattery deflects Marisa from us to steal the powerful pokemon, next she gets paid quadruple for using the OMA against someone we all have a reason to fight. Impressive.

> Satori glances at you and blushes a bit, as the two old ladies that you would never call old to their faces quickly say their goodbyes before hanging up.

> Well, actually, you might be willing to call them old to their faces. On a slow day when you want a challenge, you can't think of anything more ferocious than Yukari defending her age of 17. Even if it is only the last 2 digits. Was it 17? you can never remember with Yukari.

>"...Anyone got any marshmallows? It ain't popcorn, but it'll do I suppose."

> "Hold on a sec," Nue says, rummaging through Kogasa's bag. She pulls out a spoon, a rubber ducky, a teddy bear, and another purple umbrella before finding a bag of marshmallows, which she proceeds to jab 3 of onto the prongs of her trident. "Hey Mokou, light me up."

>_

[O4rfish]

>"You don't want them burned, do you?"
>I see Mokou as the type of person to carefully roast her marshmallows golden. Kaguya would impatiently burn hers.

[Hanzo K.]

(Personally, I like them with a bit of a black-ish crust on the outside. Makes the inside that much sweeter and gooier.)
>Let's set up a small hand-flame, and carefully monitor and adjust it's output while roasting the marshmallows. After all, marshmallows have to be roasted properly, it's a grave disrespect to them if they aren't! Food is serious business after all, even to immortals.
>"Just say when."

[capt. h]

> “Perfect.” Satori says barely a second after you begin applying your flames. “Don’t judge,” she says to Nue before Nue even responds.

> Nue shrugs, saying, “I prefer mine more of a golden brown.”

> “Just light mine on fire,” Orin says.

> You scoff at Orin’s request. You are tempted to incinerate her marshmallow completely, that would teach her respect. Satori responds with a small giggle.

> The clouds above the fleeing galactics are spiraling faster and faster, forming a tornado as Marisa’s spark ignites the clouds a crimson red. Looks like the show is starting.

> Between chews of her marshmallow Satori says, “Almost as good as popcorn.” She stares at the slowly accelerating mess of fire, lasers, tornados and explosions above as she asks, “So, you stuck around.”

> Yes, yes you did, you think to yourself as Satori responds for you, “You took good care of Utsuho, and you really helped me out.” She continues chewing as you make Nue another marshmallow and intentionally burn a second one for Orin. “I hate being in debt, you know. Never know what'll be asked of you. Let’s fix that.”

> “First, I want the espeon. I suppose I could part with it, but not both the espeon and the eevee.” Orin looks up from her burnt marshmallow grumbling, raising her eyebrows towards her master. Satori says simply, “What, I like cats," as she swallows her marshmallow. She takes a second one, uncooked this time, and continues, "Anyway, second, they have an emergency computer about 15 minutes south of us, you can transfer pokemon there. Probably half buried under the snow, look under the second rocky outcropping facing west. Third, you want info, Utsuho-level talismans to protect your technical stuff, and maybe a pokemon or two. Does that sound about right?"

>You recall that you got the following from Galactic:

> Alakazam. Kadabra. Ralts. Duskull. Natu.
> Espeon. Ghastly. Ninetales. Golduck. Slobro.
> Eevee. Torterra. Empoleon. Infernape. Ditto.
> Drifloon. Staraptor. Hippowdon. Weavile. Drapion.

> You see another brilliant flash above, as the Galactic grunts have set one of the tornados alight into a flaming vortex of destruction while a series of explosions follow closely behind Marisa's ignited broom. Satori adds between globs of marshmallow, "We can wait until after the show, if you'd like."

>_

[LaserTurtle]

>"I'd like that. This is too good to be missed."
>Should we start a betting pool?

[Hanzo K.]

>"You don't get a show like this every day. And I know just how rare this sort of thing is. Sure, you can see Marisa spark the living daylights out of any old average joe, but when do you get to see these little critters get in on the action? Unless you use them to fight, it's not that often. Still, it's a shame there isn't a crowd, could probably get a good betting pool going."
>Let's roast-up a few marshmallows for ourselves. Maybe pull out Lighter too, to share with him.

[capt. h]

>"I'd like that. This is too good to be missed."
>Should we start a betting pool?

>"You don't get a show like this every day. And I know just how rare this sort of thing is. Sure, you can see Marisa spark the living daylights out of any old average joe, but when do you get to see these little critters get in on the action? Unless you use them to fight, it's not that often. Still, it's a shame there isn't a crowd, could probably get a good betting pool going."
 

> “Yukari,” Orin and Nue say simultaneously.

> “I would bet on Yukari too,” Satori chuckles, “but I’ll bet on Aya for the sake of a pool.”

> “Aya?” Orin asks

> Satori passes the cat girl her binoculars, repeating, “Aya.”

> You know the girl as the crow youkai, you know what forget chivalry, the crow demon that reports whatever news she makes up on the spot. She’s faster than Marisa, a skill she’s rumored to have frequent use of when collecting pictures for her legendary private collection. What’s more, she even reported that you are a pyromaniac.

> “But that’s true,” Satori says, interrupting your thoughts as she takes back her binoculars.

> Your response is cut short by the roar of water as the ocean opens up in the sky. You wonder if Yukari plans to drown everyone in mid-air, she isn’t exactly a fan of Aya or Marisa.

>Let's roast-up a few marshmallows for ourselves. Maybe pull out Lighter too, to share with him.

> You start to roast marshmallows for you and your pokemon, idly wondering how your haunter and your registeel eat.

> You are somewhat disappointed at how Yukari’s drop the sea on them strategy is working out, either Aya, the Galactic guys, or maybe even Kanako’s divine intervention is parting the torrent.

> Satori says. “Yukari and Aya are on top of that Jupiter girl, her arm is coming right off if she’s not careful.”

> You then see an explosion of flames within the tempest, to which Satori remarks, “Marisa.” She adds “Hm, purple-hair has a 3-headed dragon out now, I think it’s called a hydregon.”

> “Hydreigon,” Nue corrects her.

> “Are you sure?” Satori asks, immediately adding, “Right, you’re positive.” You see an explosion of blue flames in front of Yukari’s falling ocean. With her normal eyes glued to the fight and her third eye staring at you, Satori says, “So about that betting pool. Got a wager in mind?”

>_

[O4rfish]

I have no idea who Mokou would bet on.

[Hanzo K.]

I'm half tempted to do the cheesy thing and jump into the fight just after saying "Myself." Y'know?
That seems like a very Mokou thing, doesn't it?

[LaserTurtle]

I have no idea either. Mokou might not jump into the fight, since Yukari and Kanako are in it (they are, aren't they?). She might just want to sit back and watch the fireworks.
>"Wow. Is this what my fights with Kaguya look like to spectators?"

[capt. h]

I have no idea who Mokou would bet on.

I have no idea either. Mokou might not jump into the fight, since Yukari and Kanako are in it (they are, aren't they?). She might just want to sit back and watch the fireworks.

I'm half tempted to do the cheesy thing and jump into the fight just after saying "Myself." Y'know?
That seems like a very Mokou thing, doesn't it?

> With gods clashing against dragons, you are torn between betting on yourself and joining in on the fun, or taking the much earned break you deserve after this long, long day.

> Satori chuckles, "Your call."

>"Wow. Is this what my fights with Kaguya look like to spectators?"

> "Don't know,"Orin says.

> "None of us have seen you fight Kaguya," Satori says, "But your fight with that Mars was pretty spectacular. You fight more like Utsuho than anyone, except with smaller flames and less hesitation."

> "I could put on a better show," Nue brags.

> "Yeah, but that would just be a bunch of illusions, this is real!" the cat girl replies back.

> "So my illusions aren't real enough for you?" Nue says with a frown.

> "Well, yeah, duh, I mean they're impressive, but they're just smoke and mirrors, right?"

> "Smoke and mirrors?" Nue snaps back, "Not even close. My illusions are nothing so... mundane."

> "Orin," Satori says, cutting off any potential response from the cat.

> "Well, they're still amazing, but they aren't-" Orin says, getting cut off again.

> "It's not reality versus illusion," Satori says. "Right?"

> Nue gives Satori a smirk, telling the mind-reader, "I think you've seen enough today." She then loses her... definition. She's still there, but looking at her is like looking at a blurry photograph, she's impossible to make out.

> You hand your Lighter a marshmallow as the sky lights up again. Three separate, distinct prongs of fire are being launched, twisting and turning themselves wildly and unpredictably as the wind attempts to beat the flame trails back.

>_

[O4rfish]

I think we could put the Ditto to good use. Double Charizards, or double Registeel, or double Lucario would be fun.

[[Y]oukai [J]esus]

>Growl at the fact that Galactic could have the third dragon.

aka giratina because ONLY WE MUST HAVE GIRATINA

[capt. h]

I think we could put the Ditto to good use. Double Charizards, or double Registeel, or double Lucario would be fun.

> Heck, you could even ditto Nue's Zoroark and have a copy of an illusion. You idly wonder about loops as you consider Ditto copying Zoroark imitating Nue imitating someone else, even her own Zoroark.

> You decide against pointless redundancy for the sake of redundancy as you see significant value in being able to double up on the unique qualities of your pokemon. (Unless of course, you WANT to figure out how many layers down it can go. Which admittedly would not be a bad use for an afternoon.)

>Growl at the fact that Galactic could have the third dragon.

aka giratina because ONLY WE MUST HAVE GIRATINA

> The possibility of a third mythical creature in the hands of your enemies annoys you. You want all the power to belong to yourself and only yourself, after all.

> Although Satori is staring at the battle, she keeps her third eye on you as she says, "I don't think Galactic understands the power they have yet. And... Yukari's getting scary now."

> The dragon fire and the falling ocean are twisting themselves away from their trajectories into a series of rifts that are being opened in the sky, rifts through which you can see the stars in the sky. These are interspersed with additional water-cannon portals, as Yukari must be unleashing a relentless barrage that couldn't possibly be sparing Marisa or Aya. It looks like the gap-girl means business.

[LaserTurtle]

>Call Yukari with your phone
>"Hey, Yukari, is is this a bad time? I sorta wanna update the death count."
>Have we died since the last time we updated it?

[O4rfish]

>Were we supposed to keep track of Cirno and Kaguya death counts also?

[Labuto]

>Also request for a closeup of the fight to be broadcasted live with the use of gaps.

[capt. h]

>Call Yukari with your phone
>"Hey, Yukari, is is this a bad time? I sorta wanna update the death count."
>Have we died since the last time we updated it?

> Why yes, you died fighting the gap dragon at least. Although you admit you don't usually keep track of these things anymore.

> You dial Yukari, and you notice it ringing a fair number of times before going to voicemail. So you wind up calling her a second time. You wonder idly if her battle above your head counts as her being "busy".

> You suppose the answer is ?yes?, because she does not appear to be answering her phone. You consider leaving her a message.

>Were we supposed to keep track of Cirno and Kaguya death counts also?

> It is not possible to keep track of Kaguya?s death count exactly, since you are rarely with her. Whereas yes, you were supposed to keep track of Cirno?s death count, but having ditched her twice in the course of under 2 weeks, you have absolutely no idea how many times she?s gotten herself killed.

> She?s rash even among fairies, so the answer is probably ?A lot?.

>Also request for a closeup of the fight to be broadcasted live with the use of gaps.

> ?Here,? Satori says plainly, handing you her binoculars. You take a peek, noting that both Aya appears to be regrouping, backing out of the battle a bit. You can see stars within Yukari?s new gap type, which suck in anything that ventures too close to them. Team Galactic is in full retreat, while Marisa is using Yukari?s gaps to slingshot herself and her Charizard around, the two of them. You see her knock Yukari across the back of the head with her broom. As Yukari throws a water cannon Marisa?s way, Marisa?s Charizard comes from underneath and blasts the gap hag.

> ?They seem to be stepping on each other?s toes a bit,? Satori says.

[O4rfish]

>Call Cirno.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Shame we can't ask her for popcorn or something, this is really starting to pick up."

[capt. h]

>"Shame we can't ask her for popcorn or something, this is really starting to pick up."

> "Assuming she wouldn't train-gap us if we asked," the 'undefined' Nue says.

> "I don't think she would do that-" Orin begins.

> "Yes," Nue cuts her off, "She would." She continues, "Me and granny don't usually see eye to eye."

> You check the binoculars again. You see Yukari and Marisa are continuing to distract eachother, while Aya circles around and homes in on the Galactic guys, getting in front of their retreat as she nimbly attempts hit-and-run tactics on their 3-headed dragon, each head independently attempting to burn the crow to a crisp. It's one thing to hear here lay claim to the title "fastest in Gensokyo," quite another to see it in action, as the crow nimbly swoops in and out. You note that she uses her fan to increase her maneuverability, swinging it left to blast herself right and up to blast herself down away from the streams of dragonfire and the beaks of the other grunt's birds.

>Call Cirno.

> You call Cirno, passing the binoculars back to Satori.

> "Hi Mokou!" Cirno answers gleefully. "A lot of stuff has happened, huh? Gensokyo came back, a second sun appeared, and I caught a Bidoof, She then goes on to say, "Wanna here about my Bidoof?"

> "Nobody cares about your stupid beaver," you hear the all too familiar voice of Kaguya say.

> "I care about my stupid beaver, and I'm somebody!" Cirno retorts.

> "You don't count anymore," Kaguya says.

>_

[O4rfish]

"Cirno, can you see the big fight from where you are? Also how many times have you died now?"