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

[X] Go talk to:
- [X] Illya's group.
- - [X] Keep Ilya and Lulu with you.


You shrug and look at the bottles behind Sakuya - a small selection of wines, beers, ciders, brandies, whiskies, and sakes. Nothing terribly interesting that you recognize, so when you shake your head she produces a cup of tea for you. "Thank you, Sakuya."

"Of course, Lady Flandre. Lady Illyasviel?" Ilya sighs.

"Some of that Herzwesten, please - the regular stuff, not the bock." You look at her curiously as Sella makes a dissatisfied noise, but Sakuya simply bows and gives her a good stone mug. She takes a drink and inhales, then shakes herself. "Blech." You snort and Lulu giggles.

"If you don't like it, why drink it?" Ilya sniffs and raises her nose.

"I do like it. I just think it should taste better." You shake your head and, after nodding again to Sakuya, start to walk away. After bowing back to you, you see her take out another cup of tea for Satsuki. "So, where are we going now?"

"Hmm … I was thinking I should see Illya. Have to make sure she's taking care of her brother properly, after all." Ilya sighs and shakes her head, but doesn't say anything, and you tousle her hair. She mock-scowls at you, and Lulu giggles before messing up your hair, leading to Ilya giggling as well. You flip your ponytail and start to walk off, then turn around and stick your tongue out at them. They laugh and catch up to you, and you head over to the corner of the entry hall where Illya's group is hiding away. Luvia frowns as you approach, but masks it quickly; Illyasviel waves for you to come closer, and you bow politely to Illya.

"Good evening. I'm sorry I haven't been around very much; I hope things haven't been too confusing." Illya shakes her head.

"N-no, everything has been fine. Ah - Illyasviel - um, I'm sorry, that's … it's …." You smile and motion for her to continue as she blushes and stumbles over how to refer to Illyasviel. "Um … she's been helping a lot. It's just … there's so much going on …." Illyasviel snickers.

"Yeah, like watching someone get shot with a giant laser. Always fun to see that." You raise an eyebrow as she chuckles, and Illya blushes.

"Um, we - we've had some experience with that. Not a single giant laser, but, um -"

"The Caster card utilized an array of magic circles in the sky to bombard our position the first time we attempted to defeat it." Miyu manages to explain the reference calmly, and Illya nods, looking a little unhappy. Ilya takes a few steps forward and peers at Miyu's face. "… Yes?"

"… You're very cute in that," Ilya begins, and Illya immediately turns bright red. "Would you mind calling her 'Master'?" Somehow, Miyu turns even redder more quickly than Illya, and Illyasviel smacks her palm into her face as Ilya laughs. You shake your head and look at Luvia, whose mouth is hanging slightly open; when she notices you, she shakes herself and resumes a more dignified expression.

"I'm curious about how you managed to get Tohsaka as a maid. Don't get me wrong, it's a very good look for her, but -"

"She tricked me, that's how! Nothing but a dirty, rotten trick and -"

"Oh-ho-ho-ho! Oh, Rin, you're going to spoil what looks you have with such a display!" You wince at the pitch of Luvia's false laughter. "It's certainly not my fault if your little monkey brain is unable to notice even the most obvious of traps. But do not worry -" Tohsaka rounds on her employer.

"Little monkey brain?! At least I have a brain - all the space in your head is taken up by that sausage-roll so-called hairstyle!" They glare fiercely at each other, then lock hands and try to force the other to submit. You glance up at the butler, but he remains utterly impassive. A look at the rest of the room reveals that no small number of youkai are watching the incident unfold. At least - no, here comes Aya, camera flashing. You shake your head and there's your sister … eating popcorn and grinning. She holds out the container to Yuuka, but it's the spirit magician who takes a few pieces and pops them into her mouth. You turn back to Miyu, noting the change in her expression from mere embarrassment to utter humiliation.

"… Are you going to have to change their diapers when they're done, or can that wait until you get home?" The poor girl ducks her face, and Illya finally looks like she's going to intervene when the two realize they're making a scene and disentangle themselves.

Then Illyasviel starts clapping.

You give the girl a pointed look and she halts almost immediately, and you turn to Illya. "I am terribly sorry about this, Illyasviel von Einzbern," you say, and she blushes shamefacedly and shakes her head.

"Eh, no, you didn't do anything wrong," she begins, and a winged Device appears from behind her shoulder - not that the Device could have fit back there without being seen ….

"See, this is why Sapphire and I made Miyu and you our masters. If we were still contracted with them, they'd have tried to use us to attack each other. You two are much more suitable to be magical girls than those two combative old hags, and you're better fits for us as well." You watch the Device carefully - it sounds utterly serious.

"R-Ruby …." Illya looks uncertain, still - then jumps, startled, at a sharp knocking sound. Wincing, you turn around to see Bazett pulling the older girls apart after cracking their heads together. She steps past them and stops in front of you, her expression unable to completely fix itself into seriousness.

"Pardon me for the interruption, but … he - he said I should thank you for the dance." You blink once before nodding. "If I may ask …." She trails off, unsure of how to proceed. "He said you were fun, and that he wished he and you had gotten just one fight without anything interfering. If I may ask - under what circumstances did you meet him?" You tilt your head slightly to the left, considering the question, then shrug.

"Twice, I think. The first time, I was just exploring the city, and he'd been ordered to deal with me by his Master. He probably would have killed me then, if Deis hadn't rescued me. The second time … we were both badly injured, and I wasn't thinking clearly." You sigh and shake your head. "I did rather like him." Bazett watches you for a moment, then nods and takes a breath before looking down at her white dress. Feeling someone else stare at you, you turn to see Lulu making an … irritated expression. Ilya turns to look at Illyasviel.


What do you do?

[ ] Take Lulu aside and see if there's anything you can do.

[ ] Keep talking to Illya.
- About?

[ ] Ask Aya if she really plans on writing an article about that.

[ ] Go talk to Remilia.
- About?

[ ] Other?

[X] Take Lulu aside and see if there's anything you can do.


"Ah, excuse me for a moment," you say to Bazett, and walk away with Lulu. Ilya and Illyasviel quickly move to contain and distract the rest of Illya's group, so they probably think they know what's happening. At least, they're helping you deal with a potential problem …. "Um, Lulu … what's wrong?" She sits down at a table and looks at her mug of tea for a moment, until you sit down next to her.

"You said that Lancer almost killed you." You stifle a sigh and nod.

"Yes, because he would have, if Deis hadn't stepped in. His spear cheats reality, and then makes it so you can't heal. Since I didn't know either of those things, I fought him in circumstances that were more favorable to him than to me -"

"How many times? Did you … almost die, I mean?" Oh. You blink, then lean forward and give her a hug.

"Hmm, let me see …." You sit back up and take a sip of your tea as you think back. "After you went home … five times, I think. Or three, if I'm being more accurate." Lulu's eyes widen, then she shuts her eyes and takes a deep breath. You pat her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Lulu. I just didn't think about making sure you knew how close it had been." She nods.

"C-Could … could you tell me about them?" You nod and smile pleasantly.

"Let's see … well, Lancer was the first time. Then it was Berserker - yes, Ilya's Berserker, and don't be upset with her, because she would have let me surrender. She actually asked me if I would … anyway. The third time, except it really wasn't that close was fighting against the Shadow-thing at Ilya's home; Archer shot just a little too close to me. Intentionally, but he wasn't trying to kill me, and knew he wouldn't kill me. I'm still considering just how much he and Tohsaka are going to pay for that, though." Lulu scrunches her face, then covers it with her hands. You wait for her to calm down, then continue. "The fourth was against a Servant named Gilgamesh, and that was as much because Lancer was being forced to cooperate with him as anything else - and then Lancer saved my life. And the fifth time, which also doesn't count, was against Bazett." Lulu stares at you.

"… That woman over there?" You nod.

"Patchouli was watching over it, though, and had weakened me and blocked some of my abilities. … She actually did 'kill' me, but like I said - Patchouli was messing with things, so it doesn't count. Now, why did you want to know about that?" Lulu tries to meet your eyes but fails and looks down at her hands.

"… Because I wasn't there for you," she begins, and you start to frown. "I couldn't help you, like you helped me … but she could. She gets to know these things, and gets to be with you all the time, and …." You lean forward as she trails off and hug her.

"And you're jealous of Ilya. I'm pretty sure she's jealous of you, too - no, not now, but later, when it's just the two of you, ask her." You sit up, just a little, keeping your hands on her shoulders. "It's okay to be jealous, you know. Just don't let it get in the way of being friends, okay? If something starts to bother you, tell me - or tell Ilya. It'll be fine." Lulu nods and you sigh. "Now, is there anything I can do to make it up to you? For not telling you about it earlier." She stares at you, then shakes her head quickly. "You're sure? Then let's -" You start to stand, then flinch as something tears through the air.

"Was that really necessary?!" You blink at the highly agitated tengu and try to piece together what just happened. Remilia - your real sister, not her simulacrum - is standing with Illya's group now, and Aya is out of breath, so something …. Hatate. You don't see the other tengu, and Aya said something about having to stay with her. So ….

"Oh, I really could do much worse, you know. It's only temporary, anyway. Think of it this way, Aya - you won't have to keep track of what she's going to be doing for the next … oh, at least a month. Maybe two!" Aya's wings vibrate as Remilia taunts her, and you sidle around her with Lulu until you reach Ilya and the others. You shake your head as Aya tries to convince your sister to undo whatever she did.

"What did we miss?" No sense wondering how you missed it - no doubt Remilia did something to block out external events while you took care of Lulu. Illya looks almost terrified, pale and trembling, and Tohsaka, Luvia, and Miyu are clustered around her protectively, while the butler and Bazett stand slightly back, keeping an eye on the rest of the room. Tohsaka slides over to you, keeping an eye on Aya and your sister.

"We … if it's not a problem, we should be heading back soon. Illya doesn't want to worry her parents by being gone too long." You're not sure that's what it really is, though, and you watch the girl for a moment before turning your gaze back to Tohsaka.

"She is - and will be - perfectly safe here. I guarantee -" Tohsaka shakes her head, cutting you off.

"It doesn't matter. Look, Illya's … new to all this. She grew up a normal girl, and it was only very recently that she found out about magic. She's held up remarkably well, but … well, first that oni, then that girl shooting you with a laser, now meeting your sister again …. I'm sure you could convince her that everything would be fine - but she's scared, and she's good at noticing some of the looks the things around us have been giving us. It would be really good if we could get back to our world soon." You sigh and nod - there really isn't anything you can do to prevent them from leaving, not unless you know that leaving will take them someplace worse. You could try getting them to stay a little longer, but since you aren't sure if there's anything going on, you'd have to come up with something to do ….


What do you do?

[ ] Escort them to Patchouli yourself, right away.
- [ ] Or, if they would prefer, ask Sakuya to take them.

[ ] Ask them to stay a bit longer.
- Any reason in particular?

[ ] Other?