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

[X] Stay with Fate for now.
- [X] The youkai viewpoint on humanity is hard to swallow for you, isn't it? Think about it this way. What if linker core magic faded without Lost Logia incidents to keep up public awareness? And magical beings like familiars faded with it?


You open the door and float out, holding it open for Fate. "Why is your room so far from the stairs?" You shrug.

"I don't mind having to go through the library to get upstairs, and it's easier on guests if they don't have to worry about blundering across my room when they're just trying to get to the library. It's been a few other places in the basement, too." Fate frowns and shakes her head.

"Why in the basement, though? It's so … out of the way." You move forward, into the shelves, and see Illyasviel leaning against one, apparently waiting for Fate.

"It is. It's easier that way," you respond, and wave a greeting to Illyasviel. She nods back, then looks past you at Fate; following her gaze, you see that the Enforcer looks very unhappy about something, but she just shakes her head and clears her expression.

"So, heading back upstairs now? Or did you have something else to do down here?" Fate shakes her head again, and Illyasviel nods and starts walking toward the stairs. You follow alongside Fate, wondering what you should do later. See Ilya and Lulu, of course; maybe see how Homura is doing? And the others she came with, of course. You glance at Fate.

"Did you come down to try and figure out youkai, or Gensokyo?" She twitches, obviously not expecting you to say anything, and looks around uncomfortably.

"Youkai in general, and … well, you and your sister, too." You raise an eyebrow.

"All this time, and you haven't figured out what I'm like?" Fate is quiet for a little bit, collecting her thoughts as she follows Illyasviel.

"… 'All that time', you were working for the Bureau, at least partially under duress, and you still exhibited enough variety that some general traits can be determined, but we want to see if and how a more comfortable and familiar location changes your attitude." You float alongside her for a few seconds, head cocked slightly, then shrug and pat her head condescendingly.

"Your bosses are weird, Fate." She blushes deeply and you chuckle. "But as far as youkai go … hm, there are always exceptions, but it's pretty easy. Imagine that linker cores, and everything that go with them - magic, familiars, extraordinary creatures - faded away over time without Lost Logia incidents to remind people that magic exists." Fate frowns and starts to shake her head. "No, think about it - linker cores are a stand in for youkai, and Lost Logia are the incidents that youkai cause. In your world, linker cores are stable existences on their own - but here, youkai aren't. Exceptions exist, but youkai are utterly dependent on humans continuing to believe in them to keep existing." She keeps frowning as you walk, eventually shaking her head.

"Then why don't youkai try to interact with humans more? Why don't they intermingle and live together?" You laugh dryly.

"Well, you know what youkai are, right? They - we - are monsters. Entities of chaos and the night that humans made up to explain things they feared. We are inimical to each other, and if humans and youkai did become friendly, then youkai would change - and, more importantly, people would stop believing." Illyasviel turns to face you, walking backward and continuing to lead you through the library.

"Even though they would be living right next to each other?" You nod.

"You don't believe in tables and chairs, do you? You can't just take youkai for granted, can't just 'know' that they're still around. They need to be actively believed in, with stronger individuals gaining strength from being the specific target of belief and fear. Fear, too, is important - it's what sets youkai apart from gods - and makes youkai stronger. And, of course, there's the other side to consider: most humans don't want to live near youkai. We're different, after all, and lots of youkai eat humans - or would, if they were allowed to." Fate frowns and looks down, thinking deeply about something. After a few more steps, Illyasviel turns around to guide properly.

"… Considering how powerful youkai are, how is it that you were driven to Gensokyo? A whole world's worth of youkai, stuck in here?" You laugh and shake your head as you finally leave the shelves and start walking toward the stairs. Illyasviel tags along behind you.

"Gensokyo isn't the only sealed realm - it might not even be the only one in Japan. And there are probably some places where youkai can survive even in the outer world, since it works both ways: unless people go around actively disbelieving in youkai, they can still gain some energy from small rural communities. But to answer your question: religion." She blinks and looks quizzically at you, and you nod. "Youkai are fostered by fear, and are inherently inimical to humans. Gods merely require faith, and can be quite protective. Belief forms and shapes both gods and youkai, so if enough people actively believe that some god is their protector and will smite any youkai foolish enough to harm his flock …."

"- Then you get a god that kills youkai. And belief in him spreads, because people are afraid of youkai, but this god is proving that something can defeat them." Fate nods unhappily.

"Yep. Youkai are people, too - we don't really want to disappear. And most don't really want anything 'better', either; just for life to return to the way it used to be. Youkai terrorizing humans, heroes rising up and fighting back, and neither side really being in any danger of destruction."

"Huh. Youkai almost sound reasonable, when you put it that way. Of course, when you say 'terrorizing' -" You giggle, interrupting Illyasviel.

"Yep! Youkai can and will kill humans to show that they're strong. But then heroes rise up and throw youkai back, killing them in the process. But here and now, in Gensokyo, we just have Incidents, and then Reimu comes along and gets things sorted out. Incidents happened before the Spell Card system came into being, too, but those were … a bit farcical." You scowl and shake your head - one of the causes for the Spell Card rules being created and adopted was that youkai couldn't do anything to the Hakurei shrine maidens without threatening Gensokyo's stability, so once a shrine maiden showed up, any youkai causing an Incident would just leave. People began doubting the strength of youkai, leading to ordinary humans thinking they could fight them … and since their deaths would lead to the shrine maidens being suspected, youkai couldn't do much against them, either. Fortunately for everyone, the Spell Card System was created and adopted, but if it hadn't …. You glance back at Illyasviel. "You're not skipping out on your duties, are you?" She shakes her head.

"Nope! I'm actually free today - well, mostly free. I'm 'on-call'. Got a sparring match with Kyouko in a bit, but nothing going on right now." Hm, that could be interesting to watch. Not to participate in, of course - even two on one, the only difficulty you would have would be beating them without seriously harming them. You return your attention to Fate, and she shrugs.

"Nanoha actually wants to go through the galleries sometime today, but …." She sighs unhappily and shakes her head. "She isn't slowing down, isn't resting. After last night, I can understand why she wants to keep her mind occupied, but …." You look at her questioningly.

"Is she that worried about Yuuka?" Fate blinks at you, then pales slightly and looks away.

"Ah, no, it's … never mind." Very suspicious … and is she not saying something because it's not her place to say, or because she doesn't want you involved? Hmm ….

"And Illyasviel and Lutecia are going to have a snowball fight sometime today," Illyasviel says, and you spin to face her. She grins cheekily and puts a finger to her lips. "Not that I know anything about that, because it's a secret." You snort and shake your head. That it's not the season for snow just yet doesn't really matter - Patchouli is certainly capable of producing enough snow for a decent round or two. What will be the team breakdown, though? Size? Over-hundred against less-than-a-century? Mansion against guests? Too many choices …. "Oh, and Rin's going to Marisa's today, too. And Archer, too." Her mouth twists unhappily and you suppress a laugh.

So many things for you to look forward to!


What do you do?

[ ] Go see Nanoha.
- [ ] Find out what's wrong with her.
- [ ] Ask her which visit she's looking forward to the most.

[ ] See Tohsaka before she leaves.

[ ] Friends!
- [ ] Hide and Seek!
- [ ] Puzzle games.

[ ] Other?

[X] See Tohsaka before she leaves.


Your mind wanders over the possibilities, but you quickly settle on a short visit to Tohsaka. Of course you'll see her off to Marisa's, but that will just be a short goodbye and a wave, and won't disrupt what you're doing with anyone else. You glance at Illyasviel. "Do you know where Tohsaka is right now?" She nods, seemingly unable to decide whether to be happy about seeing Archer one more time or still unhappy over his leaving, and you look at Fate. "I think I'm going to go see how she's doing before coming to see everyone else; would you like to come?" She shakes her head, however.

"No, thank you. I'll let everyone know you're up and will be around shortly, however." She bows and continues on toward the front entrance, while Illyasviel gestures for you to follow her.

"You could just tell me, you know. Then you wouldn't have to see Archer again." You smirk as Illyasviel turns to look at you, sporting a grin of her own.

"Yeah, but I want to see Archer again. I'm closer to him than anyone else is, after all." Your smirk deepens and you chuckle, but you don't say anything, and her eyes narrow in suspicion. After a moment, though, she shakes her head and looks forward again. "Hmph." You giggle. She leads you around the mansion to the tennis courtyard; Archer is sitting on top of one of the courts, and Illyasviel scampers forward to sit next to him. Tohsaka looks up from her field of debris, then shakes her head before noticing you and waving. You fly over to her, raising an eyebrow at the junk - a gigantic sword, a reasonably-sized axe, a dress, a book, a bookshelf … all sorts of things, without rhyme or reason.

"Good morning, Tohsaka. You seem to have been busy." She bows her head politely and studies a gem-encrusted necklace.

"Good morning, Flandre. This is actually all from last night. I've been … experimenting, I guess." You look around before tilting your head to the side curiously, and she sighs. "These are all fakes. Imitations of the real thing, created by magecraft. Normally, without me sitting here spending more energy to keep them around, they'd only last a few minutes before they fade away … but these have been around since last night." You pick up a long wooden club and study it closely. It doesn't seem unusual in any way that you can detect, and Tohsaka nods. "Yeah, it's a 'normal' thing, it's just that it's made entirely out of magic, not wood. Well, and it's not exactly 'normal'." She shakes her head. "I'm not a blacksmith, or an engineer, and I haven't made a habit of studying different objects. I do know a bit about baseball, so the bat's fine, but other things … well, Archer told me the swords were garbage, for example. I think they're fine, but … well, he knows a lot better than I do, so I'll take his word for it. That's the other reason mages don't use it, apart from them not lasting long: if you don't know about something, it's not going to work right. It might look like it should, but it won't necessarily have the properties it's supposed to - I couldn't make a working gun, for example, because I don't know how everything inside works." She sighs and looks around at everything before shrugging. "But, like I said, this was all just me experimenting. This place is … it's amazing for magic." She doesn't look happy, though ….

"Think you're going to stay?" She snorts and laughs before shaking her head.

"Oh, no! I mean, yeah, here is great, but I talked to Marisa, and a bit to Patchouli, and I am far too used to the comforts and luxuries of the modern world to want to move! Yes, with magecraft I could rig up a heating system for a shower pretty easily - but there aren't any showers here. Or indoor plumbing, I believe. Or any number of conveniences that I'm used to." She sighs. "And that's all aside from my responsibilities back home - someone has to make sure those two don't get into any trouble, and I'd like to see about keeping the whole place from getting destabilized …." 'Even more,' is what you suspect she isn't saying as she shakes her head. "Haa~ But … well, coming here has given me a lot to think about," she says seriously, and you look at her.

"Oh? About magic, or something else?" She shakes her head.

"About you, and about what I owe you." Her mouth twists unhappily and she crosses her arms as your expression becomes completely neutral. "I had some thoughts about what I should do to repay you - that penalty and compensation. But coming here, seeing Gensokyo and your home, talking to Patchouli … yeah, my ideas weren't going to work. I - I'm honestly not sure if I can pay the penalty properly." You raise your eyebrows - not for the admission, but for the fact that Tohsaka seems serious … and that her bringing it up means she must be willing to accept the other prices you could extract from her.

"You talked to Patchouli - what did she say?" She jumps as metal rings on metal, and you turn to see Archer sparring easily with Illyasviel. Tohsaka watches them for a moment before shaking her head and looking back at you.

"That I shouldn't try to find something unique, or to spend effort trying to acquire something I think you'd like. That I should, when the time comes, look at what I have, and give you that which I have put the most effort into achieving or producing. And that I should not ask your advice about what I should get you." You laugh shortly - the magician knows you well, at least - and nod.

"Yes, she gave you good advice. … Tohsaka Rin, do you know what a masterpiece is?" She frowns, obviously thinking she knows the answer, but also thinking that she's not considering the same thing you are, and you nod. "There are two sorts of masterpiece. The first is in consideration with guilds, academies, and the like - a performance or creation that is of high value, and demonstrates that the producer is skilled enough to join the group - or that the apprentice or journeyman in question is skilled enough to be qualified as a master. I am not speaking of that kind of masterpiece; that kind is a reproducible thing, and a mere indicator of general capability." You stare at her and she nods. That was what she was thinking of. "The masterpiece I am speaking of is the greatest work of crafting an artist can make. Something that draws such effort from the maker that he or she is unable to recreate it. Something that you have sacrificed for. Some magicians have created weapons of great power by forging them, and quenching the steel in their own hearts' blood; others have created items of great power by giving of their own organs - their eyes or limbs - or by the willing sacrifice of the lives of a multitude." She lowers her gaze, staring at the Command Seal marks on her hand, and after giving her some time to think, you reach out and tip her chin up so she's looking at you once more. "I do not constrain you, Tohsaka Rin, either in method or in result, not in the purpose or the suitability of what you create. But what you pay back to me, must be something that you have sacrificed for. Give to me a masterpiece, Tohsaka Rin." You stare into her eyes, red searing into blue, and the sounds of combat fade away.

She nods once.


What do you do?

[ ] Go find Ilya and Lulu.
- [ ] Hide and Seek!
- [ ] Puzzle games.

[ ] Go see Nanoha and Fate.
- [ ] Give them a guided tour of the galleries.
- [ ] Ask what visit they're looking forward to the most.
- [ ] See what's wrong with Nanoha.

[ ] Find Remilia and ask her about going to the Human Village with the others.

[ ] See if you can find Homura and check on her.

[ ] Other?