Wind Priestess Quest - The Third Gathers: Backstroke of the West.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>Join in the singing.

>You join in Koishi's singing.
>A few seconds pass before Kogasa joins as well. Eventually even Mima chips in.
>You are about  a minute from the palace now.
>_

[WodofGar]

>Mima joined in, I'm actually surprised. Power of the bandwagon, it seems.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>Mima joined in, I'm actually surprised. Power of the bandwagon, it seems.

>Or it could just be the power of conformity...

>The group eventually descends to the front of the palace just as the music ends.
>"Alright, we're here!" Koishi exclaims.
>"It's amazing how there's an entire city down here... Not to mention a huge palace like this." Ruukoto remarks.
>_

[Neovereign]

>"Really? This is probably one of the more subtle things in Gensokyo."
>"Well, let's go in already. And Kogasa, would you mind not getting trapped in anything else here..."
>Enter the Palace.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Really? This is probably one of the more subtle things in Gensokyo."

>"Well, there's not many underground cities where I come from... Though, where I came from we had - ERROR: DATA CORRUPT - and Gensokyo doesn't appear to have any of those..." says Ruukoto.

>"Well, let's go in already. And Kogasa, would you mind not getting trapped in anything else here..."

>"I'll try not to... Eheheh..." Kogasa laughs embarrassedly.

>Enter the Palace.

>The group enters the palace. A few animals in the foyer scatter as you approach.
>"Where should I set this down, mistress?" Ruukoto asks.
>_

[Neovereign]

>"Oh yeah, she's heavy. Uh... hold on a second."
>Call Kanako.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Oh yeah, she's heavy. Uh... hold on a second."
>Call Kanako.

>You dial Kanako.
>"What is it?" Kanako asks after picking up.
>_

[Neovereign]

>"We're all here. We need somewhere to set it though, it's pretty heavy."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"We're all here. We need somewhere to set it though, it's pretty heavy."

>"Bring it to the observation room so Nitori and Utsuho can have a look at it. There should be enough room in here. If not, we can just send it up to the Genbu Marsh through the elevator and the kappa can look at it there."
>_

[Neovereign]

>"Okay."
>Hang up
>"Follow me."
>Head for that room.

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Okay."
>Hang up

>You do so.

>"Follow me."
>Head for that room.

>You start leading everyone towards the reactor observation room.
>"Well, I'm gonna go check on my sister..." says Koishi, "See you later. Unless, of course you leave without saying goodbye, or if I let myself wander... Or if I take a nap... Or if I... Okay, I'm getting off track. Bye!"
>Koishi skips away.
>_

[Neovereign]

>"I probably should've told her we needed to see her sister for something later..."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"I probably should've told her we needed to see her sister for something later..."

>"I don't think it would've mattered..." Mima remarks.

>After several minutes, the four of you, plus Mimi-chan, enter the reactor observation room.
>You immediately notice Kanako standing where she usually is, Nitori and Utsuho are sitting at a nearby console. After a couple of seconds, Nitori looks over and her eyes widen.
>"Hey, is that the thing Kanako said you were bringing?" she asks, "It looks very interesting..."
>"Hi Sanae!" Utsuho waves.
>_

[Neovereign]

>"Okay Ruukoto, set her down here."
>"Could you also take a look at Ruukoto's core? We need a working one like hers to actually use Mimi-chan, the large thing here."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Okay Ruukoto, set her down here."

>"As you wish, mistress." Ruukoto replies.
>The robot maid sets Mimi-chan down in an open area by the back wall.
>"So this is the Robot maid you told me about?" Kanako asks, "I still have no idea how you managed to find something like that..."

>"Could you also take a look at Ruukoto's core? We need a working one like hers to actually use Mimi-chan, the large thing here."

>"Yeah, of course!" says Nitori, "I can't wait to crack both of these open!"
>"They're... They're not going to remove my core, right mistress?" Ruukoto looks concerned.
>_

[Neovereign]

>"She used to be Reimu's, but Reimu gave her to me. And I would appreciate it if you could find a way to replicate her core without removing it, please?"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"She used to be Reimu's, but Reimu gave her to me. And I would appreciate it if you could find a way to replicate her core without removing it, please?"

>"How on Earth did Reimu get something like that!?!" Kanako exclaims.
>"No guarantees there." says Nitori, "If it's simple, then we can probably replicate it without removal, but if it's complex, we're going to have to remove it, take it apart, and reverse-engineer it as best as we can..."
>Ruukoto looks as distraught as a robot could manage.
>_

[Neovereign]

>"Well, I'll hope for the former...Go on."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Well, I'll hope for the former...Go on."

>"Mistress... You won't... You won't let them remove my core without my consent, right?" Ruukoto asks.
>_

[WodofGar]

>"If that's what has to be done, then I think we might need to remove it. Don't worry, the kappa here should be able to create another one just as good or even better!"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"If that's what has to be done, then I think we might need to remove it. Don't worry, the kappa here should be able to create another one just as good or even better!"

>"But what if they can't?" Ruukoto asks.
>_

[WodofGar]

>"Then they can just put your original core back together. I trust that they'll be able to replicate it though."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Then they can just put your original core back together. I trust that they'll be able to replicate it though."

>"I don't know... My core was built according to precise specifications. I doubt they'll be able to put it back together as precisely..."
>"WHY RISK LOSING A FUNCTIONING CORE." Mimi-chan interjects, "MIMI-CHAN QUESTIONS WHY THEY CANNOT JUST REVERSE ENGINEER MIMI-CHAN'S DEPLETED CORE, USING RUUKOTO'S FUNCTIONING CORE AS A REFERENCE..."
>"Did... Did that thing just talk?" Nitori asks.
>_

[WodofGar]

>"Yes, the ICBM can speak. And that's a wonderful idea Mimi-chan!"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Yes, the ICBM can speak. And that's a wonderful idea Mimi-chan!"

>"Huh, neat..." Nitori muses.
>"SAYING THAT MIMI-CHAN'S STATEMENT IS A 'WONDERFUL IDEA' IS INACCURATE. THE CORRECT DESIGNATION IS THAT MIMI-CHAN'S STATEMENT WAS AN OPTION THAT WAS BOTH SUFFICIENT AND COULD BE CONDUCTED WITH THE MOST EFFICIENCY."
>"Anyway, let's pop these babies open and have a peek!" Utsuho exclaims.
>"MIMI-CHAN IS NOT AN INFANT HUMAN. MIMI-CHAN IS A MODIFIED INTERCONTINENTAL BALLISTIC MISSILE ARMED WITH A WEAPON CAPABLE OF NEUTRALIZING ALL KNOWN ENERGY PATTERNS. TO DEFINE MIMI-CHAN AS ANYTHING ELSE IS OFFENSIVE TO MIMI-CHAN." Mimi-chan scoffs mechanically, "FURTHERMORE, RUUKOTO IS ALSO NOT AN INFANT HUMAN, SHE IS A DOMES-"
>"Mimi-chan, I think it was what organics call a 'figure of speech' which, from my understanding, was not meant to be taken literally" Ruukoto interrupts, "Unless it wasn't... Was it a figure of speech, mistress?"
>_

[Neovereign]

>"Yes, it was. She just meant 'let's do this'. Do be careful though, Nitori. I'm hoping on having Ruukoto stay with us after all of this."

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"Yes, it was. She just meant 'let's do this'."

>"Alright, let's look at... Ruukoto, was it?" Nitori asks.
>"Yes." Ruukoto replies.
>"Let's look at Ruukoto's core first."
>Nitori walks over to Ruukoto, "Uh... How do we access your core? Don't worry, if we follow Mimi-chan's idea, we won't have to remove it..."
>"Very well. Press down on the center of the radiation symbol on my back, rotate it two hundred and seventy degrees counter clockwise and wait five seconds."
>Nitori moves behind Ruukoto and follows her instructions, after doing so, the center of the radiation symbol separates and opens like a sliding door. And a cylindrical metal frame with a glowing brilliant blue-white center slides out, directly plugged into a small platform. That is all you glimpse of it before Utsuho comes over and blocks your view.

>"Well, it's definitely nuclear..." Utsuho remarks, "looks like a small-scale fusion reaction to me. Designed to sustain itself for about twenty to thirty years... How long have you had this?"
>"This is my second core." Ruukoto answers, "My first core was replaced shortly before I was given to Miss Hakurei. I've had this one for - ERROR: DATA CORRUPT - years, 5.25 months, and 16.64 days now."
>_

[Neovereign]

>"So do you think you can replicate it? I mean, with Utsuho's help you could probably make something like that, right?"

[Evil_Nazgul0616]

>"So do you think you can replicate it? I mean, with Utsuho's help you could probably make something like that, right?"

>"Yeah, there's a good chance we can do this." Nitori replies, "We just need to take apart Mimi-chan's core to see how these things are made, and then hopefully we can build more of them. Give us a few hours, and we'll have it done... Well, assuming Kanako doesn't need us for anything..."
>"Take all the time you need." says Kanako, "That thing might give us a chance to stop this disaster, and the sooner we can get it working, the better."
>"Alright." Nitori smiles, "Hey, uh... do you mind if we keep your maid with us for a while... for reference. I promise nothing bad will happen to her..."
>_

[Neovereign]

>"I'm trusting you with her Nitori. Even if you believe that removing her core is the only option, don't you dare do it without consulting me first."
>"Come on guys, we've got to see Satori now."
>Head for Satori's room.