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

Votes are not locked.

[X] Keep talking with Tohsaka and Marisa.
- [X] See if Marisa's 'collection' has anything interesting.


"Oh, Tohsaka - apart from meeting the local wildlife and getting punched in the head by it, how do you like Gensokyo?" She winces at your description, but actually thinks a bit before responding.

"Well, I like the environment. Magecraft is a lot easier here - and not just here in the forest or at your mansion, it's easy even in town. It's the only reason we decided to even try making the Jewel Sword to begin with …." She frowns and falls silent.

"You don't have to answer, you know. I'm just curious." She shakes her head - very gently - and gives you a wan smile.

"No, I was just thinking that I didn't really pay much attention, since we've been working on so much. I don't think I'd ever want to stay here, despite everything, but it is a rather nice place to visit." Archer coughs meaningfully and Tohsaka sighs. "Apart from all the Servant-level people who can just show up and do whatever they want. How do you stop that, anyway?"

"Don't be an outsider."

"Danmaku!" You and Marisa speak at almost the same time, and when she looks at you, you pass the floor to her. "Er, I mean, there's plenty of cases where we don't use danmaku, of course, but it's the proper way of resolving problems between youkai. Humans don't use it much unless they're going against youkai, but it's still a pretty good skill to learn. Have to learn how to fly, though - not many youkai take people who can't fly seriously. Not sure I'd want to fly a broom with a skirt that short, though." Tohsaka blushes, Ilya giggles, and behind you, Kyouko shifts uncomfortably. You hide a grin of your own - embarrassing Tohsaka is fine, but when it's Marisa ….

"Oh, right, Marisa! Remilia said you have a collection of items. Can you show us it?" She blinks, taken aback by your sudden request.

"Uh, yeah, it's just …." She trails off as she starts to gesture toward the other part of her house - the part that had been damaged. "Ah, oh, everything's probably all messed up again." She actually looks a bit embarrassed.

"Just go," Tohsaka says tiredly, scooting down in the long chair and putting her arm over her eyes. "It can't be in any worse shape than when we first saw it."

"Hey! Do I go around making fun of what you do?"

"Rin's cooking, her exercising, her jewel-work -"

"Archer's cooking, cleaning, sewing - all the housework jobs you haven't been doing for who knows how long -"

"Uughh …." Confronted by both Tohsaka and Archer's retorts, Marisa wilts.

"Really, I don't know how you found anything in there before. You probably could have had Excalibur in there and not known about it," Tohsaka continues, and Marisa fidgets grumpily.

"Hey, what's - Exca- say it again?" Tohsaka groans at Marisa's question.

"Excalibur," begins Ilya, "is a magical holy blade from England. It's very powerful, beautiful and valuable." Marisa frowns in thought, eyes narrowing.

"… I did have my iron scraps treasure until I traded it to Kourin for fixing my mini-hakkero a few years back, and there was a dirty old sword that he was messing around with …." Tohsaka groans again and Archer covers his face with one hand. Ilya glances at you, and you shrug. Excalibur probably isn't here; even if the Second didn't get its hands on the sword at some point, there are all sorts of types who could have laid claim to it on some ground or another, and it reaching here would mean that none of them succeeded. Besides, what are the odds that Marisa actually had some special sword in her junk pile?

"Anyway, can we see what it's like? Your collection, I mean." Marisa nods to you, and you hop off of Kyouko, carefully setting Lulu down before helping Ilya out, and then giving Kyouko a hug when she stands up. She blushes and looks away, embarrassed, but gently pats Lulu's head first, then Ilya's, and finally yours. Lulu sneaks a smile at you, and you wink and mouth, "Later," to Ilya and follow everyone else after Marisa into the other part of the house. Marisa immediately dashes for the far side of the large room, where sunlight streams in through the ruined ceiling, but you hang back to examine the contents in order.

They aren't labeled, but they are arranged neatly, on newly-built wooden shelves of very good craftsmanship. On the other hand, they don't resemble what the village makes in style, so … either Archer or Tohsaka had a hand in this. But you have to agree with your sister - certainly nothing here looks worth buying. A great collection of small stones, most of which have either an irregular shape or color, but none are gems or even semiprecious as far as you can tell. Dolls, mostly poorly-made and childish, and not in a great number. Roughly-made potteries - cups and bowls and plates. A positively enormous stockpile of fortune amulets and charms. One shelf contains nothing but a huge variety of locks … and nowhere do you see any keys. Some objects are actually inherently valuable - a shelf with various pieces of jewelry of varying quality and construction, another with a variety of coins - and others are still useful, like the shelf with dozens of half-used candles. Another shelf has tiny figurines of animals, again of varying but usually poor quality. There's even a shelf with many soldiers, of which you recognize the uniforms or dress for perhaps a third.

"… Do you think she needs help?" Kyouko asks, and you look back and shake your head.

"No, but she might need a bigger house." The magical girl frowns at you, and you shake your head again. "She doesn't go out of her way for these. She just picks them up if she comes across them while doing something else." To be honest, you aren't sure of that, but you know what people who do go out of their way to collect things are like, and Marisa just doesn't have the same drive as them. The closest she comes to being problematic is her book-thieving, and even that is grounded more on her desire to learn more magic than any need to collect things. Kyouko doesn't look entirely convinced, but she does nod and keeps walking along with you.

Marisa is flying near the damaged roof, with Zest and Megane nearby - and, rather surprisingly, Archer. Lulu scurries forward, but keeps out of the way, and after a minute of staring up at the ceiling she gives her mother and Zest a hug and creeps back to you, petting the small stable of doll-horses as she does so. She smiles a little nervously. "I was just looking at the ceiling and how it's made." You and Ilya nod solemnly, although Kyouko looks between you, confused. You cock your head to listen to Archer and Marisa's discussion about repairing the building, and you nod as he tells her to not let Tohsaka know how bad it is before disappearing. He's probably going to get materials to fix it. Marisa drops down to the floor and grins at everyone.

"So, anyone find anything ya like?" You wince and shake your head; she is not good at selling. To be fair, she did face down Yukari not long ago, and she just finished examining a rather sizable hole in her wall and ceiling … and to hear Remilia, she's still better than Reimu when she gets a business idea in her head.

"Do you have anything special?" You look back - you didn't even notice Vita come back, or Ilya returning the tribble. Marisa's grin widens even as Nanoha and Fate stare at Vita, and the magician pulls the knight back to the collection of stones and rocks.

"Now, this one I got the first time I went up against Yuuka! She tried to hit me with a Master Spark, and of course I dodged it, but this little rock got knocked right into my forehead. Of course, she tried to say that it counted as my loss, but a rock's not part of danmaku. …." She goes on and on, explaining about various individual pieces that have some 'interesting' backstory - and the small selection of wooden boards that are kept under a net, that she claims came from a 'UFO Incident' and are actually pieces of a 'Flying Storage Vault'. Vita looks back at Nanoha once, apparently hoping for some kind of assistance, but Nanoha simply smiles furiously back at her, and Vita follows along meekly.


What do you do?

[ ] Let Tohsaka get some rest and go back into the Forest of Magic.
- [ ] Ask Marisa if she knows any other interesting places in the forest.
- [ ] Keep following the path.

[ ] Other?

[X] Let Tohsaka get some rest and go back into the Forest of Magic.
- [X] Ask Marisa if she knows any other interesting places in the forest.


As Marisa tells her stories to Vita, you quietly canvass everyone else about anything they want to get. There aren't any takers, of course, so you wait for the magician to get halfway through her collection before interrupting. "Marisa? Do you know of any interesting places in the Forest?" She blinks at you, confused, and Vita takes the opportunity to slip away, back to Nanoha. "Like the plumbers' graveyard, and things like that."

"Plumbers' graveyard? Don't think I've heard of that one …." She frowns suspiciously at you, and you smile back.

"Well, Remilia told us about it. Sakuya, you know where it is, right?" She bows.

"I will recognize the place where it can be entered from, Lady Flandre." You nod happily and turn back to Marisa. She rubs her chin thoughtfully.

"Hmm … well, there's an abandoned house with a lot of phantoms, but since it's not so hot out anymore there's not much point in going there. And you'd have to wait until night for them to come out. There's also … no, no, can't send you there, that's no good. Hmm … the ravine, maybe? Ah, but I don't think the moss'll glow anymore by the time you get there. Oh, what about the fairy shrine?" You cock your head for a moment before looking at Sakuya, but she shrugs helplessly.

"You mean there's a fairy miko in the forest?" Marisa laughs.

"Ha! That'd be great! No, but a couple months ago a weird metal tower appeared in the forest all of a sudden. Yukari called it … a 'radio' tower, I think. Anyway, some of the fairies decided to turn it into a shrine so they'd be able to talk to each other even from far away. Haven't really gone over there since then, though, so I dunno what it's like now." She grins and leans forward. "I'll tell you where it is if you tell me where this 'plumbers' graveyard' is." You frown, thinking it over, and look back at Sakuya. You shrug and she bows.

"As I said earlier, Marisa, I can only recognize the place it can be entered from. It's actual location -" Marisa waves dismissively and walks up to her, then drags her into a corner. They whisper quickly, back and forth, and you shrug at the others. Eventually Sakuya bows and walks back to your side, while Marisa leans against the wall and taps her chin thoughtfully. "If you are ready, Lady Flandre?" You look around.

"Anyone want to get anything?" Everyone shakes their head at your quiet question, and you smile. "Alright. Marisa, we'll be leaving now. Thank you for showing us around." She looks up, smiles, and nods, and you lead your group back into the living part of the house. Tohsaka opens one eye.

"Leaving already?" You nod, then half-bow.

"We are. Get well, Tohsaka." Ilya walks past you to stand at Tohsaka's side, and puts her hand against Tohsaka's forehead. After a moment she leans down to whisper in Tohsaka's ear - and Tohsaka raps Ilya's head. Ilya giggles, and after a few seconds Tohsaka's face changes from irritation to relief and she shakes her head. Still smiling, Ilya skips past you and runs out the door. The last one out, you look back at Tohsaka one more time, and she smiles and shakes her head before waving. You nod and close the door behind you.

"Flandre-chan, are we going to see the fairy shrine?" You look at Nanoha, then at Sakuya, and the chief maid bows.

"It should not take too much time to reach it," she says, and you nod.

"Then why don't we go see it?" You start walking back toward the forest path with Ilya by your side. Lulu is with Megane, and it looks like they're talking about something.

"Huh. How'd a whole tower get built in the middle of the forest without anyone noticing?" You chuckle and shake your head at Kyouko's question.

"It probably just appeared, Kyouko. Sometimes things that are forgotten just … appear in Gensokyo. It's how most youkai survive." She isn't the only one to frown at your response, and you shrug. "People who are forgotten, who want to stop existing, who just stop thinking - sometimes they show up in Gensokyo. And youkai hunt and eat them, to supplement the bit of fear from the Human Village. The villagers fear, but it's not an existential fear; it's bland, like stale bread. Humans who don't believe in youkai, who are suddenly in a new place and are confronted with youkai face to face and are hunted to death - that is real fear, and I think it's a big reason that Gensokyo has managed to survive so peacefully." The group falls quiet as you walk down the shadowy path to the intersection. The doll is gone from her perch, and so is the path to Alice's house. Does that mean she doesn't want visitors, or has someone manipulated the forest? Oddly, no one else seems bothered by it, or even notices ….

"Do all youkai need fear - need to attack people?" You look up at Fate and shake your head.

"Not all," you say. "Not all, but as a class, youkai do. Youkai are humans' fear of the unknown, the shadows in the firelight, the dark night outside the four walls of the home. With industrialization - with gas and electric lights that humans can put up to illuminate areas at all hours of the day, youkai have no place to hide. When humans understand why things are the way they are, the foundation of youkais' existence is destroyed. In the past, when humans were ignorant and fearful, youkai didn't actually need to attack people. It was their nature, for some of them, but people were fearful and superstitious enough that a typical youkai wouldn't ever need to attack a human. But now, with so many humans who don't believe, and so little ignorance as to the underlying reasons, youkai do need to attack people, because there isn't enough fear otherwise." You shrug and look suspiciously at a small black dog that comes bouncing onto the path, but it seems normal enough.

"So you think advances in technology are a bad thing," Vita says as she leans down to pet the dog, carefully keeping her tribble far from the beast's head.

"For youkai. They're great for humans, but terrible for youkai." Vita looks up from the dog and scowls at you. "Human advances are. Whether they're good or bad depends on which side you're on." Megane chuckles, drawing a few odd looks, and you cock your head at her.

"Have you ever considered working as a lawyer, Flandre?" You shake your head, and the dog runs off after begging from Kyouko. You aren't sure where the magical girl got the bit of chicken she gave it, but if she could keep it hidden that well, maybe she'll be almost as good a maid as Sakuya.

---

The discussion turns to lighter topics as you continue strolling through the forest, like why there isn't a point to seeing the phantoms in cool weather and the nature of seasons in Gensokyo. Sakuya, of course, is able to give them a firsthand account of the resolution of the Long Winter, and takes up most of the duties of conversation with ease. Strange, how only a few short years ago she couldn't relate to humans at all, and now she's conversing with them normally …. In the meantime, you oversee a game between Ilya and Lulu, where they search for certain objects visible from the path. Somewhat surprisingly, by the time you reach the fairy shrine, Lulu is ahead, and you wonder if Ilya is letting her win.

"Wow!" Nanoha seems more excited than you expected her to be, but the 'shrine' must seem quite strange to someone from her perspective. You see it exactly as it is - a tall latticed tower made of metal, overtopping the nearest trees by a dozen meters at least, overgrown with thick vines and twisting tree trunks. Yes, it's just what you'd expect from a human monument that had been taken over by fairies. Kyouko frowns at it.

"Hm, it's a bit on the short side, isn't it?" Nanoha nods.

"Yep, that's why I was so surprised. Radio towers this short stopped being made even before I was born, and I think they've all been torn down by now." Even Fate looks a little confused at Nanoha's explanation, and the brown-haired mage touches the shrine almost reverently. "It's good to know that the past hasn't been completely forgotten, isn't it? As long as this tower still stands, some part of it will always be remembered." That certainly is one way of looking at it. Kyouko suddenly transforms and leaps up the tower, climbing to the top spire. Lulu looks at you hopefully, and you gather her and Ilya in your arms and fly up as well.

"It's a nice view, isn't it?" You look around, trying to orient yourself, and let Ilya stand on the top platform while holding Lulu in both arms.

"Hm, where is the mansion? Flan?" You shake your head as Kyouko slides down the spire.

"It should be in that direction." You point across the forest, but of course you can't see the mansion this far back. It is enclosed by trees, after all.

"I bet if you flew as quickly as you could, you'd be able to check on your sister and then be back before we could get worried," Lulu says, and after a moment you shake your head.

"Remilia's fine. And if I left even for a little, she'd scold me for leaving everyone alone." Lulu nods slowly, and if Ilya doesn't seem bothered, Kyouko's troubled expression leaves you with no doubts as to her thoughts. "She said that enough power could destroy whatever is in there, and Patchouli isn't a slacker. The mansion is the most powerful place in Gensokyo, so it's just a matter of rearranging the defenses and activating them. That takes time, but it's perfectly safe." The redhead nods before taking a deep breath.

"Race you to the bottom!" She begins bounding down, and while you consider hurtling past her - you have Lulu in your arms. Ilya, of course, has no such compunctions, and Berserker launches himself groundward with his tiny Master safely tucked against his chest. The enormous Servant lands perfectly, cratering the soft earth of the forest, and Ilya hops down to wait for you and Kyouko. You shake your head and slowly begin your descent.

"You haven't let Garyuu come out," you remark, and Lulu blushes.

"Um, I did, actually. Agito thought she saw your sister looking around suspiciously on the way in, so I let Garyuu out to keep an eye out for anything dangerous." To reinforce her words, the buglike humanoid appears on top a tree farther in the forest, and Lulu points him out to you. Now, should you be impressed that Agito noticed your sister's state and Lulu released Garyuu without being noticed, or just embarrassed at having missed his assistance? Was that why Sakuya stopped time? Hmm ….

"Ah, that's good. Oh, didn't you have another friend you brought with you?" Her blush spreads and she shakes her head.

"Um, yes, but … Hakutenou is … really big. If I brought him out right now, it would probably cause a lot of trouble." You nod and finish your descent, setting Lulu down before Ilya latches onto you from behind. You nuzzle her cheek, hug Lulu, and look around.

"Anything else to do here? Or are we ready to head to this special graveyard?" A lack of objections follows, and Sakuya again takes the lead.

---

"What." You look over at Kyouko as she stares at the scene in front of you. She looks dumbfounded, half-eaten apple held loosely, and she turns to you with an expression both accusing and pleading. "… What? Is this real?" Nanoha smiles and seems to be trying to keep from laughing, but everyone else seems just as confused as you and Sakuya are. You walk up to one of the four 'gravestones' - a large green pipe - and tap it with your knuckles. Then you look inside it, and it's more like a flower-pot, since it's filled in after a meter.

"Seems real enough to me," you say. This pipe/grave is marked with an "L," the one to your right with an "M," and the two to your left with "W," and "WL." Behind each marker is a line of sticks, each with a hat hanging from it - red, green, yellow, and purple. All the hats are faded and weathered.

"… Ah, blue shells!" Nanoha walks past the graves and into one corner of the square, toward a pile of blue turtle-like shells, each with both spikes and wings. Kyouko shakes her head, covers her eyes, and leans against a tree.

"Um, what are blue shells?" Nanoha smiles at your question.

"Well, they're a sort of catch-up system. They seek out whoever's in first place and knock them around. Usually only the player in last place gets them." She picks up one of the head-sized shells and studies it carefully, and Fate walks up to her.

"N-Nanoha, maybe you should set that down. We don't know who it would go after, right?" Nanoha pouts at her friend, but sets the shell down. You walk over to Kyouko and pat her back.

"Are you going to be alright, Kyouko?" She stands up and nods.

"Yeah, I'm fine, but … uh, could this normally be here?" You cock your head to the side and she looks away nervously. "I mean … like, could your sister have arranged for this to be here, just to mess with me?" You frown and look back at the graveyard. Ilya is comparing two of the caps, a red and a purple, and Lulu is holding a spirited discussion with Megane about which color they should wear.

"She definitely could, but why would you think that?" She sighs and quickly works her way through several chocolate-coated sticks.

"… Right, so … Mario, Luigi, Wario, and Waluigi are game characters. Those shells are from a game. That mutant turtle skeleton in the other corner is from a game. None of this should be real." You consider her worries, then pat her shoulder.

"Well, like I said, she definitely could. But if you're really worried about it, let me tell you something that my sister said a while ago. This is Gensokyo, the land of fantasy and illusion, and you're as real as my sister, or Ilya, or I am."

"… The land of fantasy and illusion, is it?" She takes out her Soul Gem, pure and gleaming red, and stares at it for a few seconds, then nods and looks back at you, smiling. "Yeah, you're right. Thanks for the reminder." She puts her Soul Gem away and walks past the pipes, snagging one of the better-conditioned red caps and setting it on her head, much to Megane's frustration. You giggle, then look up at the sky.

Everything seems to be going so well, but Remilia isn't back yet.

---

The trip back is uneventful and, fortunately, not bereft of new hats. While Megane does finally get her way - with Fate and Zest supporting her - Ilya is able to conjure duplicates using the same method Tohsaka did to create all the junk you saw before she left, and Kyouko happily wears her new red cap, with a red "K" in a white circle. Ilya has one in purple, as do Lulu and Megane, while Agito and Vita both have red caps they don't wear. Fate has one in yellow, and Nanoha purple. Only you and Sakuya didn't receive one, much to Ilya's adorable poutiness, and you let her sit on your lap the entire carriage ride back to the mansion.

Once back, you're rather surprised to see not Meiling, but Koakuma watching the gate, and even more surprised to see Patchouli in the yard doing something. You float over to her and study the gardens. "Remilia is resting in her room," the magician says, and you turn to look at her. "Meiling is making lunch, if she hasn't finished already, so you should go take care of that. I'll be in once I've finished putting everything back."


What do you do?

[ ] Go have lunch.
- [ ] Then see how Remilia is doing.
- [ ] Trust Patchouli and wait for Remilia to come down on her own.
- - [ ] Costume time for everyone!
- - [ ] Bath and snuggles with Ilya and Lulu.
- - [ ] Other?

[ ] Go see Remilia right now.