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

[X] Help at the city. After all, Schach and Verossa are there!
- [X] Help Schach.


"Alright. Can you send Satsuki and me … about halfway between Schach and the city's wall?" Alph glowers at the map - they're nearly two kilometers from the old city wall.

"And have them fall back to meet you?" You shake your head at Fate's question.

"There are only the two of them, and unlike the Sankt-Kaiser's group, neither of them have any real ranged or area abilities, so a lot more of the goblins have been filtering past them than either of the other main combat areas. Satsuki and I will push forward, clearing the way between us, and my clones will sweep back toward the wall, taking out the enemies and seeing if any of the Church's fighters are still, then coming back up to help if we need it." You glance at the screen showing the Sankt-Kaiser's combat area, wondering if you should, instead, send Satsuki to help out there - but you'd rather keep her close, and keep an eye on her in case she loses control. Fate blinks at your explanation, seemingly surprised, then nods. You're not sure if she's just not thinking as clearly as you are, or if that's just not something she would consider; how much experience at warfare does she have, after all?

"Alright. Alph and I will reinforce Carim first, and if she has any suggestions we'll adjust positions based on that. The Bureau troops will reinforce the Church's Knights and stabilize the defensive lines." You nod and Fate takes a steadying breath before adjusting her grip on Bardiche and beginning her spells. Two magic circles appear, one beneath her and Alph, and the other beneath you and Satsuki, and you smile at your servant.

"Ready to fight, Satsuki?" She nods determinedly - and then Fate's magic activates, landing you on a rooftop on the planet below. The first thing you notice is the atmosphere, so unlike any normal place you've been. The air is filled with fear, and something … dark. Malevolent. Evil. You shudder, grinning with excitement, and your clones burst forth, swarming into the close and twisting streets, seeking out night-demons and the living. Satsuki seems even more affected by the malefic presence than you are, and when you shake her, her eyes blaze brilliantly red for a moment. "Come, Satsuki. Let's kill." She nods once, then leaps down into the streets to hurry toward Schach and her subordinate. You follow from the air, and when a group of night-demons swarms out of a shattered building to bury Satsuki, you dive onto a group that had just seen her from a twist in the alley. Of course, you pay more attention to your servant than the straggling goblins, and your grin widens as she tears the ambushing group apart. She isn't using any skill, perhaps, but against such a small group, when she has such overwhelming power, it isn't necessary.

After dispatching the last night-demon by simply removing its head with a ruthless backhand, Satsuki stands still for a moment, panting and staring at something in the ruined building. Then she screams, howling in outrage, and throws herself forward. You move quickly to glance at whatever set her off before following - a pile of corpses, beaten and broken, and probably none of them older than her. You'll have to work on her self-control, it seems … although the atmosphere probably isn't helping matters. You catch up to her as she slams into another group of night-demons, attacking them this time, and you nod in satisfaction as you see her using actual techniques - a side-shuffle into an elbow strike, and smooth, sliding footwork that came from either you or Meiling. You leap over her combat, smashing a thrown night-demon in half with Laevateinn, and burst into another troop of the creatures, swinging your gift in wide, sweeping arcs. A series ragged, garbled cries grab your attention, and you giggle as you easily dodge a barrage of fireballs. The poor, sweet dears. You're among them before they can register that you weren't hit, and they don't last long at all. When Satsuki whirls around after slamming the last of the night-demons into the gravel at her feet, you wave at her. Neither of you are exactly covered in blood - the night-demons have some kind of blood, but it seems to flow sluggishly, at least in open injuries - but it's enough to make her looks at her arms and hands self-consciously. You lick your fingers experimentally, then make a face and spit. Satsuki, apparently not noticing you, licks her own fingers - and immediately seizes up, hunching over and heaving as if she's about to be sick. You fly over and rub her back soothingly.

"… I - I'm fine, now. Th-thank you, Flandre-sama." She sounds shaky, but you simply nod when she straightens up.

"We still have a ways to go. I'll bounce around, make sure you don't get swarmed under by flankers. You're doing very well, Satsuki." She nods, but she doesn't look proud or happy.

"They're monsters, and they're just hurting people without any reason. So it's … it's not hard." Hm. Maybe you should have her practice on fairies? She takes off, hurrying through the narrow streets, and you fly over her, plunging into and through buildings to scatter and slaughter your prey. Twice you hear buildings collapse as Satsuki fights her way through a horde of night-demons, and only once does something even resemble a threat - a hulking brute, striated black and an incredibly deep brown, wielding a massive, crude-looking sword. She blocks its overhead, two-handed chop by crossing her arms over her head, and while the Barrier Jacket keeps her from being wounded, the force of the blow staggers her. Even so, she simply steps forward and drives her claws into the night-demon's collarbone, then rips it apart before moving on. You take a moment to study the blade, and for all of its crude and savage appearance, the actual workmanship is quite good. The question, of course, is whether it was taken from somewhere or someone, or if it was made by the night-demons … and if it was made, why haven't you seen any night-demons with armor?

You easily catch up to, and pass, Satsuki, pouncing on two groups of night-demons that are far enough from her to pass unnoticed. In the second, a flicker of possibly-seen motion inspires you to send a burst of energy through Laevateinn - and as you suspected, one of the green night-demons shrieks in pain until you cave in its skull. You think for a moment, then fly up into the air. You're a lot closer to Schach, now, so you recall your clones, ordering them to back up Satsuki as you rush to meet the Knight. You slam to the ground in front of her, wings blocking her reflexive attacks, and then you sweep ahead of you with Laevateinn, scouring the immediate area of threats, before turning to face Schach and her subordinate. The Knight looks quite surprised to see you, but her assistant looks too tired to complain.

"Flandre? What are you doing here?" You shrug.

"Reinforcing your position, at least for now. Contact Carim. Let her know that some of the green ones have probably made it in past your defenses." She frowns and looks past you before shaking her head.

"We haven't seen any, just the brown and some of the red ones." You scowl at her.

"That's the point, Schach! If they aren't moving, they're hard to see, blend into the background." She pales and spins around.

"Deed!" The girl nods almost immediately, and her lips move soundlessly. You take a moment to recognize the name - Deed and Otto, Sein said. So the boy helping the Sankt-Kaiser is probably Otto. Schach tenses again, blades at the ready, but you hold an arm in front of her and wave for Satsuki to join you.

"That's Satsuki. And to better explain why we're here helping you, it looked like they were sending more of their reds here, probably because you don't have much in the way of range or area attacks." Schach winces, but before she can respond a surge of power attracts your attention, followed by a lingering wave of heat. A ragged cry erupts from the darkness beyond the park Schach has been defending - one that goes on and on, emerging from hundreds and hundreds of throats. You grin and lean forward as your clones land in a nearby tree. Somewhat worryingly, a towering inferno erupts far to your left - about where the Sankt-Kaiser should be fighting. Well, that's what Fate's for, right?


What do you do?

[ ] Hold position at the park with Schach and everyone.
- [ ] … But that flame is probably trouble. Better send your clones to check on things.

[ ] Defense is so boring - attack the night-demons before they can get any momentum!

[ ] Send Schach and Deed back to the wall; you and Satsuki can hold the night-demons here.

[ ] Other?

[X] Defense is so boring - attack the night-demons before they can get any momentum!


You smile and stretch languidly. Yes … this is what you're good at, after all! "Satsuki, do you think you're up to taking the attack to them with me?" Your servant is quiet for a moment, and you hear Deed inhale sharply.

"… Yes, Flandre-sama. I'll go with you." You nod and turn to Schach.

"Sister, may I suggest giving us a bit of time, if you want to join us? Despite our superiority over these goblins, there will probably be stragglers and those who are simply better at hiding." Schach bows.

"Unfortunately, our orders specifically deny us the ability to advance. Knight Carim doesn't wish us drawn into an ambush, or simply overwhelmed if we run into a reinforcing army." Well, more fun for you and Satsuki. You hesitate for a moment, looking at your clones, then shrug and turn away. They're tired and worn, and there are only the two of them; you don't want the sneaky green ones to kill them.

"I'm sure I'll see you before sun-up, then. Enjoy yourselves." You wave back with Laevateinn. "… Headless, my dear friend, would you terribly mind joining me on this beautiful night, with moon so dim and fires bright?" A moment passes before you get a reply.

"Of course, my darling Flandre! Let us two go forth and mayhem spread, and leave our foes without a head!" You giggle and inhale deeply. It almost looks like you're walking into the dawn, but it's much too early and the wrong direction besides. Satsuki advances beside you; you catch her eye and wink, smiling, and she smiles back. You lean close, wrap your free arm and one wing around her waist, and leap into the air - flying low, of course, but it's still just so much faster! As you rise just above the outermost buildings of the city, you see a churning sea of your enemies, waiting impatiently for the order to attack … and beyond them, a series of black stony outcroppings. You'll have to ask Fate and Carim if those were here before the night-demons attacked.

You slow enough to let Satsuki drop to the ground; she stumbles a bit, but after a few steps she's back to a sprint, closing the distance to the first of your enemies. You grin, blood singing, and activate Loki before plowing bodily through another section of the creatures. They snarl and raise claws and weapons, and you send a surge of power through Laevateinn, swinging it in a circle and incinerating dozens of the beasties. You hear a roar, not of pain or fear, but of rage and fury, and you float up a little to watch Satsuki bowls into the front line, into a group that had made the mistake of turning to face you. One little creature, nearly ripped in half by a savage backhand, lands, tumbling, beside you, and you laugh. Whatever force held them back, whatever discipline they had - it vanishes, and a howling, shrieking horde descends upon you and Satsuki.

They're much too slow for you, especially as you rocket through their ranks, ripping them apart with claw and wing and Laevateinn, and you're not so badly pressed that you can't keep an eye on Satsuki. You worry slightly when a dozen of the creatures leap onto her back, seeking to bury her beneath their weight, but she yells angrily and slams both fists into the ground, sending earth flying and giving her a moment to rip them off and apart. And then she charges for the largest brute she can see - one that just happens to have a great club as a weapon. She yanks it out of its hands and begins laying into the night-demons with their own weapon, pulverizing them and sending the 'lucky' ones flying for dozens of meters to land in broken heaps. You even have time to turn an eye on your clones, watching through their eyes as they assist Schach and Deed in eliminating groups of night-demons that attempt to pass through the park … and, more importantly, intercepting leaping attacks from the dark green assassins.

You crisscross through the army, laughing at their feeble attempts to harm you, and their only slightly more successful attempts to harm Satsuki. Two vampires, mightiest rulers of the night, against a ragged, leaderless army of cretins! Your arrogance is checked, not only by Headless's reminder that even a vampire can fall to an army of humans if that army is determined enough - and the fact that the night-demons haven't broken yet proves their determination is strong - but also by twin workings of sorcery. The pillar of flame far to the side launches a projectile at the army you're fighting, missing you and Satsuki but showing that the night-demons are quite willing to sacrifice their own, literally if it means defeating their enemies. As well, a massed curtain of smaller orbs rises into the air near the strange rocky formations. Yes, that's right - the night-demons were bringing in many of their magic-users to deal with Schach, weren't they?

You turn and drive toward the enemy rear lines just as they begin their attack. Orbs that are in the air hurtle forward, not only toward you and Satsuki, but also - much less accurately - toward Schach and Deed, and toward the city. Snarling, you burst through the defending lines of brown night-demons and crash into the sorcerous reds, activating Laevateinn and sweeping it across multiple circles of the creatures. Shockingly, your attack has almost no effect, only adding to the growing conflagration, and you hover, slightly stunned for a moment, until a red night-demon appears in front of you in a gout of flame. Unlike the others you can see, which are all short and frail-looking, this one is tall and lean, and one of the curling horns on its head is snapped off. Its wide jaw opens to leer maliciously at you - and then something dawns in its eyes and it freezes. Recognition, perhaps? The realization that getting within arm's reach of someone like you is a really bad idea? Regardless of the reason, the red lord doesn't react in time to stop you from simply ripping its head off - an act that causes the rising temperature to immediately cool to something much more enjoyable. And then you repeat the action with the lesser sorcerers, ripping and tearing and crushing, until the few remaining creatures flee to the black stone formations … although only one seems to have remained in working order, the others beginning to crumble away into wreckage.

As you watch, a glowing orange orb appears in the center of the remaining formation, an orb that peels sideways, revealing a portal through which the remaining red creatures flee. Through the portal you can't see much … but you can see the army, one that dwarfs the force you and Satsuki cut your way through and are still mashing to oblivion. Obviously, they planned to overrun the city this night, shattering the defensive lines with their fiery magic, and then charging forth with an unending column of reinforcements. Fortunately, you're here to stop that plan from succeeding. Still ….

You look back, at the remaining enemies and at the city you're defending. Satsuki is slowing down noticeably, and her Barrier Jacket seems to have run out of power; her clothes are beginning to get ragged and dirty. And the flames that were started by the pillar of fire's attack are spreading, along with the fires in the park and a growing inferno in the city itself. If they have more portals, they could overwhelm the defenses of the Church and the Bureau, regardless of whether or not they defeat you … but if they have only one army, you could possibly hold them off from the other side of the portal. Of course, you would probably have to leave behind Satsuki ….


What do you do?

[ ] Advance into the portal and work on the army.

[ ] Stay here; after all, if they close the portal, you won't even know where you are!
- [ ] Clean up the forces around the portal and make sure nothing else gets through.
- [ ] Withdraw with Satsuki to Schach's position.
- [ ] Other?