Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)

[X] Ask to come inside to negotiate the surrender.
- [X] Give them a chance to surrender.
- - [X] If they refuse, remember to take prisoners, and show the enemy commander how we punish naughty girls.


It's a long shot, but it really does give you a good chance at getting prisoners. Especially if they underestimate you. You put your hands behind your back and smile at the commander. "Hello? Can you hear me?" She chuckles and leans back even more, practically lying down now in her chair.

"Oh, so you can speak. That's good. So, gonna give yourself up to us peacefully?" You make a short display of thinking about it.

"Well … I'd like to discuss terms of surrender, if you don't mind, but …" you glance back and down, as if nervous about falling, "do you mind if I come inside to do that?" The commander stares at you for a few moments, then laughs, as do several other members of the command crew. You cock your head quizzically and she sits up, staring intently at you. You scowl back. "I am allowed to do that - I checked the rules they showed me!" You place your fists on your hips, as if angry, and the woman shakes her head.

"Discuss surrender … well, sure, why not? Give us a couple minutes to get ready, then we'll teleport you inside, okay?" You grin, clap your hands, and giggle happily.

"Yay!" The commander shakes her head again - then starts talking to someone else, but now you can't hear them. They'll probably try to cross you before negotiations actually start, but … well, you'll give them the benefit of the doubt. Have to make a good first impression, after all. After a few minutes pass, the commander looks back up at you.

"Alright, kiddo, our teleporter's not in the best shape, so just relax - one of my men'll be there in case you fall down when you land. Ready?" You nod, smiling, and the woman waves languidly at a crewman. A loud crack sounds in your ears, and then you're inside a ship - ten centimeters off the floor. You drop to the floor, landing easily, and a hand lands on your shoulder; instead of trying to steady you, however, it roughly shoves you down. You suppress a grin as your hands are bound behind your back and your connection with your clones strains and frays.

"Interesting way to conduct negotiations. Usually there's tea." Several voices laugh behind you, and someone pulls you back up by your collar, turning you around and staying behind you. Three of the raiders - pirates, really - leer at you; one carries an odd-looking rifle of some kind, one has a large pistol, and the third appears to be unarmed. A screen on the wall flickers and you see the commander.

"Sorry, munchkin - that's life, for you." The unarmed man walks up to you.

"I mean, I was going to see if I could get you a good jail and maybe speed up your whole trial and sentencing thing, but right now I'm thinking that salt mines are a good place to send you. Unless the Bureau has something harsher and more demanding, anyway." The unarmed man cups your cheek with his right hand and draws back his left, but before he can strike you lunge forward, taking a huge bite at his wrist and sheering through the radius. You make a show of trying to lick up the blood on your face without bothering to free yourself and ignore the man as he stumbles back. "Careful, or you'll bleed to death." You grin at the commander, finally unveiling a malevolent expression, and as she glares back the pistol-bearing pirate twitches his hands up and fires twice at you. The first shot hits you high on your left cheek, shattering the bone and damaging your left eye. The second shot doesn't hit you, however, and you look back as a body falls behind you. "Tha's -" You cough and wait for your cheek to reconstruct itself before turning back to the stunned crew. "That's probably a lung shot. If you have a doctor, you might want to consider putting him to work, because she's probably going to die pretty quickly if you don't." You walk forward, snapping your bonds, and when the pistol-bearer doesn't move out of your way quickly enough, you hook your claws into his chest, gouging his ribs, and hurl him aside. The one with the longarm drops it and scuttles away, falling back and scrambling to hide under a table. You grin at the commander. "Now, I'm going to make my way up to your command area, young lady, and when I get there, you're going to surrender to me. You don't want to resist, because anyone who does I'm either going to kill or maim. Tell your crew, too. I'll see you in a couple soon~" The woman's panicked image cuts out and you giggle as you try to work out where you are in the ship based on your position relative to your clones; it's difficult, due to the interference, but when the ship starts accelerating you simply shake your head and start hurrying to the command area after dismissing them.

Two pirates are running toward you as you leave the teleporter area, one unarmed and one with an incongruously large gauntlet on her right arm - she's not much taller than you! Not that that stops you from simply taking out Laevteinn and meeting her charging punch. She loses, of course, and the unarmed man slows to a halt. Rather than trying to fight you, however, he quickly checks the mangled ruin of the girl's right arm before clucking his teeth and muttering something in a language you don't recognize. He sits on the woman to hold her down before putting his hands over what's left of her arm; she starts shrieking and you see that he's actually burning her wounds closed. Effective, if a bit brutal. You shake your head and continue toward the commander. No one else is stupid enough to get in your way, but as you slam through the locked door to the command area you see that the ship is hurtling up, attempting to flee the planet. The commander summons up as much courage as she's able and stands up.

"You can't stop us, you little freak. We're getting out of here, and you're coming with us!" You ignore her and fly up to the massive viewport. You tap it with Laevateinn before turning back to the crew.

"You are going to stop this vessel and land it, outside the city - or I'm going to smash this open." You grin confidently down at them.

"You - that's - you're insane! We'll -!" The ship is already slowing massively as you hurtle down, slamming into the commander and knocking her to ground. Laevateinn vanishes and you grip her chin with one hand as your other quests inside her mouth for a good grip - and then you yank three of her teeth out. She spasms, hands flying to her mouth, and you shove her away with your foot.

"For your first offense, I take three teeth. For a second offense - by anyone - I'll take that person's jaw. Third and subsequent offenses are punishable by death." You glare down at the commander as she whimpers, then drop down on top of her and caress her cheek. "You know, I was thinking about how to punish a naughty girl like yourself, but considering the circumstances, I think I'll wait a bit longer. You just stay right there on the floor for now." She nods, whimpering, and you stand up. "Right, now the rest of you … whoever's piloting the ship, keep doing your job. And I need someone who can use the communications equipment. Everyone else - that corner. Sit quietly." There's a small flood to the empty corner, and you walk to the terrified woman who's simply sitting at her computer. You grin down at her. "You're in charge of communicating? First, I want to talk to everyone on the ship. Okay, good. Hello, everyone! My name is Flandre Scarlet, and I'm a contract mage working for the Bureau. Your ship has now officially surrendered to me. If you're fine with that, return to your room and place any weapons or Devices outside the door. If you would like to contest that decision, please come to the command area as soon as you can. Thank you!" You clap the woman's shoulder and she touches a button again. "Now, there was a Bureau ship I came here on."

"We didn't destroy it. I - I don't know if it can communicate …." She's whimpering almost as much as the commander, so you nuzzle her cheek. Somehow, the bloody streak you leave behind doesn't comfort her.

"Try." Shaking fingers work at her computer, and right as the ship lands, a screen appears with Captain Sentra looking tiredly at it. You smile and clap your hands as he stares at you. "Captain Sentra! Yay! Okay, so I have a few questions. First, is my coffin okay? Second, is Satsuki okay?" He blinks at you.

"Er … what?" You sigh, exasperated.

"When I came aboard, I had a servant, and we had luggage. My luggage was a coffin, hers was a trunk. I'm asking if the coffin is fine, and I'm asking if my servant is fine." He blinks and rubs his eyes before looking away at someone's call.

"Er … um, we haven't had a chance to actually see her, but that area of the ship wasn't damaged in the attack …." You clap your hands again.

"Okay, good. Next question. I seem to have captured a pirate ship. What are the rules for prizes of war?" He looks even more confused.

"Prizes …? What are you talking about?" You scowl; how uncivilized! No wonder they're having personnel problems ….


What do you do?

[ ] Anything else to ask Captain Sentra?

[ ] Find a good place to lock the pirates up and head back to the hospital.

[ ] They have feet; walk the pirates back to the hospital.

[ ] Wait for support and/or orders on the ship.

[ ] Other?


DM Note: If you want to keep talking to Sentra, unless you have a lot of questions, please indicate what other option you want to go with. Also, I considered naming this update 'Favorite Kind of Ship,' but no, you guys had to specify taking prisoners ...

[X] Wait for support and/or orders on the ship.


"No, it's nothing, never mind." You wave your hand distractedly at Captain Sentra, then shake your head and smile. "Anyway, I think I'll stay here for a bit, see if there's anything interesting to learn about this ship. Can you contact the hospital and let them know that everything's alright?" He gives you an odd look, but sighs and nods.

"We already sent a message to Headquarters, so I guess I'll follow it up now that the situation is more or less resolved. If you're needed for something else, I'll contact you." You grin and bob your head; he nods and the image flickers out.

"Thank you, young lady; please join your fellows in the corner." She swallows and nearly trips over her feet as she scrambles to get away from you. You study the console - the light that was on when you spoke to the crew is off, as is the light that was on when you were talking to Captain Sentra. It's all older and more worn than what the Bureau uses for its computers - it has physical keyboards and switches! - but it does all seem to be in good shape. You let your gaze wander over the defeated crewmen. Is it time to begin interrogating them, or should you leave that to the Bureau? Verossa should be back, so they do have at least one mind-reader … although it would probably be easier for them to check for the reliability of information than to try to dig through their minds looking for anything useful. Humans who are good tend to be disgusted by the actions of those who are on the opposite end of the spectrum ….

You look up slowly and smile at the door as the sound of running feet reaches your ears. Sounds like you're going to have visitors! The commander tenses when she realizes what the pounding means, and the crew either follow suit or curl up, depending on whether they think they can take you. It's adorable. The first two people through the door are nearly identical twins; you take your time watching them - long enough, in fact, that the first one has enough time to level his four-barreled firearm at you and pull the trigger. What hits you aren't slugs, but numerous smaller shot, concentrated along your left side - again your cheek shatters, and your arm is badly mangled, but that doesn't stop you from surging forward, stomping on the man's forward foot to hold it down, and then tearing his rib cage out of his torso. Before the almost-corpse can fall to its knees you're moving past it, recovering left arm lashing out to rip the throat from the second twin before he can bring his own curious pair of weapons into play, and the third member of the would-be rescuers screeches as you plunge your hand through his skull, hooking your fingers through his eye sockets. Of course, his screaming stops when you smash his skull against a wall. The remaining members of the team are in complete shock now, staring uncomprehending at the too-sudden deaths of their comrades - not that that stops you from slamming their skulls together and stalking back into the command area. The commander is on all fours, now, and you can see the remaining traces of hope collapse into despair. You pat her head as you walk past her and hop up onto the console, making sure you don't accidentally hit any buttons or switches. Only then do you start licking the blood from your hands and arms - and only then are some of the huddled crew noisily sick. You stare at them for a moment before focusing on the commander once more.

"You know, I think I've figured out what your punishment is going to be. You're going to clean up that mess." She looks back at you and you confirm that you mean the bodies and not the vomit the crew is trying to avoid. She nods and starts to rise. "Wait. There are rules to this. You will not use a scrubber or other utensil, nor will you have access to any sort of cleansing liquid. The only tools you are allowed to use are the clothes you wear - shirt, jacket, trousers. If, in the course of your duty, you find them too sodden to be of further use and wish to replace them, you may put them on, go to your room, change, and return here to continue work. You may begin." She hardly hesitates before starting to crawl to the human wreckage. Once there, she takes off her jacket and begins setting the smaller debris - bits of bone and organs that no longer have a purpose - in one corpse or another before mopping at the floor. It really is a waste of good clothing, but maybe she'll learn something.

"This … this is why you'll never win." You turn at the attempted reprimand and see one of the crew, vomit staining her chin, glaring at you between heaving hiccoughs. "You - you play the part of the hero, the savior, but when no one important is watching - you turn out to be monsters. At least we're honest about what we are!" You stare at her for a long moment as the rest of the crew crawls away from her, and then you throw your head back and laugh. Then you smile down at her, eyes gleaming.

"Well, well. Where to begin? The end, I suppose." Your smile fades and you gesture at the commander. "You do recall how I came to be inside this ship, yes? I asked to come aboard to discuss terms of surrender - yours, of course, for what I hope are now obvious reasons - and your so honest commander tried to have me imprisoned as soon as I arrived. It is for her honesty that she is so harshly punished - that, and that I have a friend working in the hospital, and I have few doubts as to what would happen to her if you and yours had your way. I am quite protective of my friends, you see, and having given me an outlet, I will use it." The woman puffs up, obviously about to retort, but you dart forward, stomping the floor in front of her. She flinches and her hate is replaced by fear. "Secondly, I am not a member of the Bureau. I told you, remember? I'm a contract mage - what is called in other circles a mercenary. Your actions have set the Bureau scrambling for any help they can get - even an unsavory monster like myself - to protect those who cannot fight back. I have no doubt that upon reviewing my performance I will be scolded for this abuse. It is not for the sake of image that I will be scolded, however. No, it is because those who staff the Bureau are men and women of integrity, those who will stand in the face of certain death and fight to serve those behind them. To defend and protect, to shelter those who cannot stand on their own. You are cowards who wilt and scurry from a monster loosed by your own design - and yet they would defend you, even against me. They use me only because monstrous humans without faith of their own nibble and bite at the weak, and they must save those precious lives. I think them the fools for it, and no doubt they despise my actions and their reliance on them - but they are not monsters." Tears form in her eyes and she shakes her head, trying to summon up anger. Your hand lunges forward, your fingers close on her throat. "Go ahead. Prove me wrong, that you are a human with integrity. Die. Die, and I will spare your commander further punishment for the sins she has committed thus far. Die - spend your own life to preserve that of another! It will be painless and instant … and you will have proven me wrong. Will you die, to save that woman?" She slumps, defeated … and shakes her head. Your lips curl in a snarl and you drop her to the floor in disgust.

"And remember this, when thinking upon the fate of your commander. Any humiliation I inflict, any torture I gift to you or others, they came from human minds. I haven't the imagination to come up with such terrors - I may be the incarnation of death, a beautiful monster wielding a flaming sword and bathed in holy scarlet light, but the gods of imagination do not visit me. Nightmares of the world of reality are the product of human calculation, and in the service of suffering I am a mere babe in the woods, following the wisdom of those infinitely my superior in crushing the hopes and dreams of others. If you think me monstrous - I, who merely ape the machinations of mortal men - then what must you think of your own kind?" Cowed, none of the crew raise their heads … and none of them move to help the commander, either. She scrubs and scrubs, working alone and silent, even when she goes to change her uniform.

---

An hour passes as you wait for any further instructions. You do send your clones to explore the ship and ensure that any remaining crew aren't up to anything suspicious - instead, you find that they followed your instructions, leaving their weapons outside their doors and waiting quietly. Most of the weapons are firearms or blades, but two of them seem to be Devices - a simple staff and an intricately carved, heart-sized blue stone. There also aren't many pirates left on the ship, as even with the command crew there are only thirty-seven people still alive. Some of the remaining space is given over to amenities, but a large chunk is made up of nothing but empty rooms, all of which have locks crudely affixed to their exteriors. A garbled squawk announces Captain Sentra's communication attempt, and then a screen flickers into existence. You wave at the tired-looking man.

"Ah, Flandre. I'm sorry it's taken so long to get back to you." You shrug and wait for him to continue. "Headquarters is organizing a relief crew to take the ship you captured back to Mid-Childa where it can be examined, returned to former owners if it's stolen property, and the prisoners taken care of." He rubs the side of his head. "Anyway, it'll take them a couple hours to get here. We'll have to land to get some of the repairs done properly, too. But the hospital's still up and working, so we'll be staying here for a while longer." You smile and nod.

"Not a problem, Captain. Will I have any particular orders, or am I to simply continue watching the hospital?" He gestures helplessly with one hand before nodding.

"Our mission hasn't changed." He sways slightly before abruptly cutting the transmission - a bit of rudeness that you won't blame him for, given the situation. You glance at the bodies in the doorway and the commander sitting helplessly next to them, then at the rest of the crew, still hunched over miserably. You should probably clean up a bit before the relief crew gets here … you take out Laevateinn, an action that doesn't spark the slightest hint of interest in your prisoners.


What do you do?

[ ] Lock the pirates in the prison rooms so they stay out of trouble.
- [ ] When the relief crew gets here, head back to the ship.
- [ ] When the relief crew gets here, head back to the hospital.
- - [ ] See if you can help anywhere.
- - [ ] Stay out of the way.

[ ] The pirates are cowed enough that you can leave them out until the relief crew arrives.
- [ ] When the relief crew gets here, head back to the ship.
- [ ] When the relief crew gets here, head back to the hospital.
- - [ ] See if you can help anywhere.
- - [ ] Stay out of the way.

[ ] Other?