Wriggle Quest: The Value of the Small

[Hanzo K.]

>Look over at Mima. "Hey, you knew her back in the old days, right? That means you knew Genji. You think he'd want her to sit around moping while there's work to be done?"

[Raikaria]

>Look over at Mima. "Hey, you knew her back in the old days, right? That means you knew Genji. You think he'd want her to sit around moping while there's work to be done?"

> "No." Mima says. "He wouldn't. Not that Genji nagging about Reimu sitting around doing nothing when there's work to be done has accomplished anything before."

[Hanzo K.]

>"I guess you're right. Can't say we didn't try to get her to stop moping around though. Then again, he did just die today, so I guess we shouldn't expect too much from her for a while. Give her time to come to grips and such."

[Raikaria]

>"I guess you're right. Can't say we didn't try to get her to stop moping around though. Then again, he did just die today, so I guess we shouldn't expect too much from her for a while. Give her time to come to grips and such."

> "Oh, that gives me an idea!" Marisa says.

> Marisa walks over to Reimu.

> "They way I see it there's two things you can do. You can sit around and mope, or you can blast some stuff with me ~ze. Which do you think is gonna make you feel better?" Marisa asks.

> "... Fine, I'll come and challenge Sanae to a danmaku fight to take my frustrations out on her AND put her down a peg or two." Reimu says. "If you gotta do something you may as well do as many things at once as possible."

[Hanzo K.]

>"...Well, that works too I guess. We ready to go?"
>Oh yeah, Maribel and Renko were here too, weren't they?

[Raikaria]

>"...Well, that works too I guess. We ready to go?"
>Oh yeah, Maribel and Renko were here too, weren't they?

> They are just quietly watching. Out of the way. In fact, the others don't even seem to have noticed them, making you wonder if Maribel is practicing some border of perception or something.

> You are ready to go.

[Hanzo K.]

>Well, those two can take care of themselves now, seeing as they can fly and such. Worst comes to worst, they can just fly like mad, or gap out of there.
>"Well, let's go then."
>Let's make for the Moriya Shrine then! Hopefully Suwako will be more likely to spill the beans and not be so vague like all the other gods seem to like being.

[Raikaria]

>Well, those two can take care of themselves now, seeing as they can fly and such. Worst comes to worst, they can just fly like mad, or gap out of there.
>"Well, let's go then."
>Let's make for the Moriya Shrine then! Hopefully Suwako will be more likely to spill the beans and not be so vague like all the other gods seem to like being.

> Reimu and Marisa take flight, as well as Maribel and Renko. The fairies, Mima and Suika stay behind.

> It takes some time, but you reach the pea of Youkai Mountain. Sanae is outside the shrine, as per usual, and starts happily waving.

> "Hello guys!" she says, before Reimu throws some danmaku talismans at her, causing her to stumble back, looking shocked.

> "Reimu's in a bad mood and decided to take it out on you ~ze." Marisa says.

> "You could have warned me of that..." Sanae says, before she sighs, and takes off to combat the grouchy Reimu.

> You, Marisa, Renko and Maribel land, and suddenly, Marisa looks taken aback.

> "Where did you two come from?!" she says.

> "I was practicing manipulating the boundaries of light, to make us invisible to anyone but Wriggle, who already knew we were there." Maribel says.

===

> "Hey guys! Did you see the two humans here?" Sunny asks.

> "No." Star and Luna say.

> "That makes no sense! How could I see them while you couldn't?" Sunny says, before she looks scared.

> "GHOSTS!" she exclaims.

> Mima facepalms. "I'm a ghost."

> Of course, Sunny could only see them due to her own power.

[Hanzo K.]

>"I figured you could see them or something and just didn't really bother greeting them or something. I should've guessed she was getting some practice in though, but it sounds an awful lot like what Sunny can do. I'd say it worked though."
>Beat.
>"...We didn't even get a chance to ask if Suwako was in."

[Raikaria]

>"I figured you could see them or something and just didn't really bother greeting them or something. I should've guessed she was getting some practice in though, but it sounds an awful lot like what Sunny can do. I'd say it worked though."
>Beat.
>"...We didn't even get a chance to ask if Suwako was in."

> "That light fairy? Nah, no way she could do something like that. She's a fairy." Marisa says.

> "Did someone ask if I was in?" Suwako's voice says, as her hat pops out of the ground, sitting on the ground for a moment, before Suwako rises up from the earth as well.

> "Hello~" she says.

[Hanzo K.]

>"Whoa. I should've guessed you'd pop out when someone mentioned you. But yeah, I was the one who asked. I've pieced things together that the Titania Incident a while back put the gods in a real tizzy. A divine messenger looking for Hina, Hina being found near Higan talking to other Curse Goddesses in some strange language, Bishamonten talking through Shou about some kind of 'Time of Calamity'. And then Shizuha and Minoriko were a bit techy when talking about Titania."

[Raikaria]

>"Whoa. I should've guessed you'd pop out when someone mentioned you. But yeah, I was the one who asked. I've pieced things together that the Titania Incident a while back put the gods in a real tizzy. A divine messenger looking for Hina, Hina being found near Higan talking to other Curse Goddesses in some strange language, Bishamonten talking through Shou about some kind of 'Time of Calamity'. And then Shizuha and Minoriko were a bit techy when talking about Titania."

> Suwako blinks. So does her hat.

> "The matter has nothing to do with the Titania Incident." she says. "Not directly, anyway. Indirectly, maybe, but that was just co-incidence, and pushed a few of the more reluctant gods to agree with Kanako."

> Suwako gestures to the air. "The topic is Sanae, not Yuuka."

[Hanzo K.]

>Raise an eyebrow. "Mind explaining? I figured you'd be a bit more keen on talking about all this. I can't leave all the hero business to Rumia after all."

[Raikaria]

>Raise an eyebrow. "Mind explaining? I figured you'd be a bit more keen on talking about all this. I can't leave all the hero business to Rumia after all."

> "I'm not allowed to explain, but I can explain without explaining. What is Sanae?" Suwako says.

[Hanzo K.]

>"...Ooohhhh. I get it. They're all worried about her, aren't they? Don't want her 'Pulling a Titania', as it were."

[Raikaria]

>"...Ooohhhh. I get it. They're all worried about her, aren't they? Don't want her 'Pulling a Titania', as it were."

> "Wrong." Suwako says. "Some are worried, but for a totally different reason. Some are happy."

[Hanzo K.]

>"...Gods are weird. I don't think I'd ever really understand them even if I were to end up becoming one somehow. I mean, if someone like Yuuka used to be one, then what does that mean for someone like me, eh?"

[Raikaria]

>"...Gods are weird. I don't think I'd ever really understand them even if I were to end up becoming one somehow. I mean, if someone like Yuuka used to be one, then what does that mean for someone like me, eh?"

> Suwako grins. "Well, the more gods there are, the less faith there is to go around. Not to mention this won't have happened for a few thousand years."

[Hanzo K.]

>"...So the 'calamity' they're talking about won't happen for a long time?"

[Raikaria]

>"...So the 'calamity' they're talking about won't happen for a long time?"

> "The calamity is a result of Sanae, but not her fault either. I can't explain why, it's forbidden, just the result will cause a conflict between gods, which is the 'calamity'. When me and Kanako fought in the Great Suwa War, we heavily damaged the surrounding area, and then some."

[Hanzo K.]

>"..But couldn't you just make a special world just for you guys to fight it out? I mean, you guys are gods, so if even someone like Shinki could make a world, then it shouldn't be out of reach for your guys."

[Raikaria]

>"..But couldn't you just make a special world just for you guys to fight it out? I mean, you guys are gods, so if even someone like Shinki could make a world, then it shouldn't be out of reach for your guys."

> "Except Gods do not fight just physically, but with faith. People witness the battles between gods, and the loser will lose most of their faith as a result." Suwako says.

[Hanzo K.]

>"If Yukari were alive, she could probably have opened a viewing gap or something. That way people can still watch, and this place won't get wrecked as a result of the brawls."

[Raikaria]

>"If Yukari were alive, she could probably have opened a viewing gap or something. That way people can still watch, and this place won't get wrecked as a result of the brawls."

> "Maybe. I'm sure there's some god who can do something like that too, although gods don't usually meddle in the affairs of other gods." Suwako says.

> Suddenly, you see seven bright flashes in the sky. You know this to be Reimu's Fantasy Seal, however, Sanae defends against the seven orbs with a pentagram around herself, which spins rapidly.

> Sanae suddenly glows green, and unleashes a danmaku pattern you've seen before. But... that's not possible.

> How on earth is she using Gensokyo's Re-flowering?! That's one of Yuuka's spells!

[Hanzo K.]

>Jawdrop. "Ah-buh-buh-buh-buh-whaaaa?! Th-that's 'Gensokyo's Reflowering'! How does she know that?! That's one of Yuuka's moves!"

[Raikaria]

>Jawdrop. "Ah-buh-buh-buh-buh-whaaaa?! Th-that's 'Gensokyo's Reflowering'! How does she know that?! That's one of Yuuka's moves!"

> Suwako smiles, as she slides her hat down over her eyes, and looks surprisingly sinister.

> "You could say that Nature is one Miracle after another. Do you understand yet, Firefly?"

> "That's my job ~ze!" Marisa says angrily. "No-one steals spellcards but me!"

> With that, Marisa goes to join in the fight.

[Hanzo K.]

>Sigh. "Sheesh...Seems like everyone's passing me by. It wasn't too long ago that I was stronger than Rumia, but now...Now even Dai's probably passed me by..."

[Raikaria]

>Sigh. "Sheesh...Seems like everyone's passing me by. It wasn't too long ago that I was stronger than Rumia, but now...Now even Dai's probably passed me by..."

> "Ah, but you were never stronger than Sanae." Suwako says.

> At this point, Kanako comes out of the shrine, because of all the racket.

> "Ah, Sanae's entered one of her trances again." Kanako says, sitting down. "The faith she is getting from Gensokyo is making her near ascension faster than I planned."

> Kanako suddenly notices you, Maribel and Renko there.

> "... Forget everything I just said, firefly and humans." she says.

> Suwako laughs.

[Hanzo K.]

>Great, Kanako's up to her old tricks again. If this gets too bad, Rumia'll have to step in. We'll have to keep an eye on these two a lot more now, maybe there's an insect they're likely to overlook or something.

[Raikaria]

>Great, Kanako's up to her old tricks again. If this gets too bad, Rumia'll have to step in. We'll have to keep an eye on these two a lot more now, maybe there's an insect they're likely to overlook or something.

> It's a better question to ask when Kanako is not up to something.

> Considering Kanako overlooked you you think a normal bug is not going to be found. By her, at least.

> "Uh, Miss Kanako, what's going on with Sanae?" Maribel asks.

> "Her God-half is awakening. That much I can say." Kanako says.