Welp. Elina can definitely talk, but...

Well, she's in pain and utterly pitiful at this point. We may not be Cray, but this is still something that needs to get better before it gets worse.

[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Talk to Elina.
-- [x] Any last words?
-- [x] Then kill her with the Dragonslayer, preferably with gloves or something similar on.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
[x] Break the Dragonslayer.

Because breaking Elina might mean awful goo everywhere. But aside from that, this whole mess is all kinds of fucked. Like, if she's allowed to keep growing, it's really not pretty.

More to the point, leaving now means Yuna knows about Flan. And like Patchy, he's probably really good at killing the things he knows about, even if he's not doing so himself. Best to nip that in the bud.
 
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Hmm. May want to amend that Break the Dragonslayer to have Flan keep herself at a safe distance? She was apparently concerned about the explosion breaking Elina would cause.

Hmm. Come to think of it, I wonder if it's worth taking Elina's body back with us to deliver to the Alliance, or at least keep the Empire from destroying evidence.

[X] Plan Stormgear
 
What if we turn her into a vampire?

Hmm. That's an interesting thought. And bringing Elina along as part of Flan's entourage does have an appeal, even if Elina is far more moral than Flan. But the situations it could invite...definitely appeals.

The problem would be whether or not vampirism will overwrite the artificial Endless experiments, or worse, combine. Because as bad shape as Elina is in right now, making her hunger for blood and flesh can definitely make it worse.

Still. I like the way you think.
 
Eh, I suppose the manga gives more evidence for that. Seems to me that the fact that Mami's bell was carried along with the hex seems to imply the sacrifice is destroyed in the process. It wasn't just the suffering, they sent something else along.
True. It depends on how the Carronade actually works - as you say, the bells being carried along (but not Mami's body) implies that the sacrifice is destroyed. But Mami's clothes aren't carried along, and I'm pretty sure she was shown clothed. And if they stripped her, why leave the bells? The shot was supposed to kill Fou-Lu, so it's not like they were hoping they would do anything. Maybe there's some sort of suction that pulls sufficiently-unsecured objects along?

And there's another potential scenario regarding firing Endless: Elina was greatly loved across the Eastern Continent, which increases the power of a hex. Torture and 'conditioning' also increases the power of a Hex, and since Elina won't die, she can suffer through an awful lot of torture - potentially to the point where the 'Eastern Continent' is replaced by the 'Eastern Hex.' Speculation, but especially if the body is consumed by the Carronade to fuel the blast, something worth considering.

But not knowing just how the Carronade really works makes a lot of it speculation :/

... pretty sure no one was trying to cozy up to Jail Scaglietti or pretend such an association would be anything but bad news.
It's funny because 'Join Jail's Group' was actually a legitimate option at a few points.

DragonSlayer seems like it would do roughly the same thing as 'Breaking' for this purpose, just without the damaging us part and her absolute destruction of being.
On the other hand, Flan has demonstrated a distinct uncomfortableness about merely holding the sword. Would she necessarily feel the same about using it?

After what happened to Remilia, I'd think Flandre would tend to avoid using 'Kyuu' outside of combat, or giant space rocks.
Not sure what you mean here.

Hahaha, SURE, It definitely won't be uncovered anytime soon, right?
Arguably the point - bury it someplace, then come back later (with Pache/Remi) and specifically take care of it.

Hmm. May want to amend that Break the Dragonslayer to have Flan keep herself at a safe distance? She was apparently concerned about the explosion breaking Elina would cause.
She was concerned about breaking Elina because bigger things create larger explosions, and Elina would have to be pretty big based on what Flan saw of the 'tail.' However, any choices to Break something will have Flan take into account proper safety measuers.

What if we turn her into a vampire?
Flan doesn't know how to do that.
 
Would we care? Ershin isn't organic and she has an entire town to gorge on right up-stairs if its needed.

Depends on whether Flan counts as viable nourishment, and whether Elina gets empowered by eating others.

True. It depends on how the Carronade actually works - as you say, the bells being carried along (but not Mami's body) implies that the sacrifice is destroyed. But Mami's clothes aren't carried along, and I'm pretty sure she was shown clothed. And if they stripped her, why leave the bells? The shot was supposed to kill Fou-Lu, so it's not like they were hoping they would do anything. Maybe there's some sort of suction that pulls sufficiently-unsecured objects along?

And there's another potential scenario regarding firing Endless: Elina was greatly loved across the Eastern Continent, which increases the power of a hex. Torture and 'conditioning' also increases the power of a Hex, and since Elina won't die, she can suffer through an awful lot of torture - potentially to the point where the 'Eastern Continent' is replaced by the 'Eastern Hex.' Speculation, but especially if the body is consumed by the Carronade to fuel the blast, something worth considering.

But not knowing just how the Carronade really works makes a lot of it speculation :/

Who's to say Mami's body and clothes didn't get carried along? Maybe the fragile scraps of cloth dispersed partway through, like you mention the hex dispersing and reconverging prior to hitting the target. Or maybe scraps of clothing did hit the impact area; it's the bell that was Mami's unique headwear though, and the one instantly recognized.

That is an interesting and horrifying idea on the Eastern Hex, although perhaps unwise on Yuna's part; that kind of attack targets the dragons by proxy and as powerful as his Carronade is, making yourself out against multiple gods is kind of a bad idea.

It's funny because 'Join Jail's Group' was actually a legitimate option at a few points.

So is teaming up with Yuna here; let it not be said you don't give us enough rope to hang ourselves with if we so choose.

On the other hand, Flan has demonstrated a distinct uncomfortableness about merely holding the sword. Would she necessarily feel the same about using it?

Yeah, I was wondering about that too. Although maybe a glove or wrapping it in cloth would be sufficient separation? I mean she didn't freak out until she touched it, I think.

Arguably the point - bury it someplace, then come back later (with Pache/Remi) and specifically take care of it.

Hmm. That becomes a more appealing option then.


Flan doesn't know how to do that.

Damn.
 
@Stormgear,
[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Kill her with the Dragonslayer.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
[] Talk to Elina.
- [] Any last words?
Not sure about giving Yuna time while we listen to her.
[] Break the Dragonslayer.
Might Explode into Hex/angry god/etc. Best way of dealing with it quickly though. Mebbe burial/ take it?
 
@Stormgear,
Not sure about giving Yuna time while we listen to her.

I assumed that we'd explode everyone else in the room first before we chatted Elina up, but I'll make it explicit.

Don't worry so much about releasing an angry god-head by blowing up the sword. It might even be a decent challenge! But probably not, since it's kind of already all kinds of fucked up right now. Breaking the sword will only hurt it more.

Edit: Vote Amended.
 
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[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Kill her with the Dragonslayer.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
 
Votes are not locked.
[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Talk to Elina.
-- [x] Any last words?
-- [x] Then kill her with the Dragonslayer, preferably with gloves or something similar on.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
[x] Break the Dragonslayer.
2

[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Kill her with the Dragonslayer.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
2
 
[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Talk to Elina.
-- [x] Any last words?
-- [x] Then kill her with the Dragonslayer, preferably with gloves or something similar on.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
[x] Break the Dragonslayer.
 
Votes are locked.
[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Talk to Elina.
-- [x] Any last words?
-- [x] Then kill her with the Dragonslayer, preferably with gloves or something similar on.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
[x] Break the Dragonslayer.
3

[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Kill her with the Dragonslayer.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
2
 
Astana Falls
[x] Destroy Astana.
- [x] Start with Yuna, because he's within arm's reach and not paying attention. His loss!
- [x] Talk to Elina.
-- [x] Any last words?
-- [x] Then kill her with the Dragonslayer, preferably with gloves or something similar on.
- [x] Then blow up the Carronade, and work your way out.
[x] Break the Dragonslayer.


Elina whimpers again as you stand up and take a step back. A smile creeps across your face as you stretch – you're finally getting around to initiating the first step in your grand plan! First, however, there's the matter of the man across the bed from you. You lunge at him, throwing yourself over the Wyndian while he's preoccupied with his gloating. At least, that was the plan. Perhaps he has precognition, or a defensive spell. Maybe he was faking not paying attention, or maybe he just has really good reflexes. Whatever the reason, he starts to stretch and lean back as a teleportation spell grabs him.

Not that it does him any good, of course – you're much too fast. Instead of your hand carving through his neck and jaw, you rip him in half below the rib cage and send him flying. His upper body flops and slides along the floor while his legs crash into the wall and the sword skids under a dresser. He screams rather prettily, at least until you stomp his head into a broken ruin. You giggle a little and start to turn to the princess, but the sound of a gong echoing from outside reins you in. Something changes in the air, and you feel … a little weaker. You walk out of the shrine – those magicians and guards were down there, weren't they? You can't see the magicians' faces, but you can see a little of the guards' below their helmets, and they look worried. And still they ready themselves to fight, setting themselves between you and the magicians and preparing to advance. It's pointless, though, because you hurl yourself down past them. The magicians have that same kind of barrier that the sword-room did, but not as powerful – yet, at least – and you smash through it effortlessly to tear them apart before spinning around and dealing with the spearmen. You consider the ringing sound you'd heard; it probably means you'll be fighting your way out, but that's hardly a problem. Maybe Deis will be having some fun, too? You head back into the shrine. You have a little bird to talk to. She looks at you sadly.

"Hello," she says quietly. For a moment, you wonder what the past couple minutes must have been like from her perspective, then shrug to yourself and curtsy. Nothing wrong with being polite, after all, and she is a princess.

"Hi! You probably figured it out already, but I'm going to kill you. Anything you want to say before that?" She stares at you, wide-eyed, then gives a small, sad laugh.

"I … had almost begun to hope …," she murmurs, almost inaudible, and you tilt your head. "No, it's alright. My last words …? If you see my sister, could you please tell her that I'm sorry? Her and … and Cray. I'm sorry, and I wish I could have seen them once more." You give her a surprised look before looking around for something to pick up the Dragonslayer with. Of course, Yuna's right there, and he's not using his robe for anything, so you use that. A shame Ershin and Deis didn't come down with you.

"… Really? I may not even see them, or know who they are, and the last words you'll ever say are an apology? That's it?" She smiles sadly and tears gather in her eyes.

"I … there's so much I want to say, but … that wouldn't be fair to you. Words to Cray, to Nina, my father, my fiancée … so many people I want to say things to." She coughs and the building shudders. "So I'll pass on simple words to those I love the most, and hope they receive them." Hand wrapped in the bloody cloth, you gingerly drag the god-sword out of its scabbard. The impromptu mitt doesn't help, and you wince as the shrieking drowns out your thoughts. Elina says something else, but the sword's keening drowns it out, and you give her a puzzled look. She sits up as much as he can and closes her eyes. You plunge the sword into her chest, and the sword's shrieking dies away to almost nothing. Maybe a blood-soaked robe wasn't the best choice? Rattled, you take the quiescent blade out of the room after her body fades away and fly up to jam it into the ceiling of the outer room. Then you dart down to the base of the stairs, grip the sword's eye, and crush it. Rocks fall from the ceiling as it explodes, smashing the shrine, and relief surges through you – not only your own, but Headless and Giltless's as well. You wonder if Remilia and Patchouli could have fixed Elina's body. Well, even if they couldn't, and no one in Gensokyo could, yanking her soul out and putting it in another body should have been possible. Deis ought to know. Of course, that would have to rely on them wanting to, and on Elina not going crazy because she has a human mind trapped in an immortal body that's not her own. Oh well – she's dead now, no sense wondering too much.

You make your way back toward the lab, humming cheerfully, and send your clones to scour the passages for anyone or anything that needs killing while you deal with the monsters. A section of the lab that you didn't see is open, and a true horde of the twisted hex-creatures is rushing out, swarming over the monsters in the pits as well as a few human soldiers who are unfortunate enough to be in the room. You watch the havoc for a few moments, reveling in the destruction as hundreds of the hex-creatures swarm out. The armor-golems are their first targets, of course, and even though the bulky suits are slow, their huge claw-gauntlets are capable of tearing through several hex-creatures with each swipe. The numbers arrayed against them are too much, however, and they're brought to the floor and their segmented plates ripped apart. The strange … things … seem to do well, at least while you watch, but your attention is caught by the lizard-creatures. Six meters long, not counting their thickly-muscled tails, and appropriately massive, what impresses you is their teamwork and coordination. They swarm up out of their pits, assisting each other, and seem to be trying to withdraw toward the corridors. Your clones finish clearing those hallways, reporting only some hex-creatures and a few others that seem related, and you take out Laevateinn. You bring the flaming blade down on the lizard-creatures first, then sweep it to the side to start clearing away the hex-creatures and the things. Each swipe burns away dozens of the hex-creatures, and it's not long before you're the only moving thing in the lab. Before you return to Astana, however, you investigate the newly-opened area. Unfortunately, it seems to be nothing more than a huge, empty room. You turn back and make your way through the halls, heading back to the Carronade. While you don't encounter any of the hex-creatures, evidence of their passage is extensive, including several fallen Imperial soldiers.

You quickly reach the control chamber and hop out the window to fly up above the massive cannon. You glance down as you try to decide how you're going to destroy it and see Ershin, covered in hex-creature mush, surrounded by the Imperial soldiers. It looks like it decided to help fight them off, but the fox-woman captain blames it – or you, which amounts to much the same thing. You grin as you gently cup the Carronade's eye in your hand, and then you squeeze it. The barrel explodes and the building mount shatters, sending debris raining on the camp to the south. The buildings beneath the Carronade simply vanish with the weapon, and the nearest troops – the ones surrounding Ershin – are bowled over by the shockwave. Laughing gleefully, you hurl yourself into the shocked soldiers and clear a path to Ershin.

"What did you do?! Says Deis." You giggle at the inanity of the question and flick the armor's helmet.

"I destroyed the Carronade, of course! What does it look like I did?" The nearest soldiers rise to unsteady feet, and you cock your head at the glaring captain as she levels her pistol at you. Her weapon fires and you dart forward, under the blast, and rip her arm off before she can try to line up another shot, but you hesitate to continue. On the one hand, the more people you kill, the more seriously the Empire has to take you; on the other, leaving competent, powerful people alive will make the upcoming fight even better! And the more people of rank who can give honest testimony to your abilities – even though you aren't going to show off all of them – the more force they'll bring with them! Several of the soldiers gather their courage and charge at you, trying to rescue the officer, and you dash into them, stopping to make your attacks. Yes, that's what you'll do! Pretend your speed isn't usable in actual combat! You don't want them getting too afraid of you, after all …. You start to turn back to the fox-woman when a crossbow bolt zips past your face. You jerk back as more bolts chase you, and you jump up – no flight, just a massively strong jump – and land amid the shooters. As you begin tearing them apart, another distraction rears its head: floating snails. You can't think of anything else to call them, even though you know it's wrong, and you're still stunned as the nearest trooper riding one tries to cut you with his sword. A well-aimed vortex of wind cuts both him and his mount, however, and you smile as Deis and Ershin join the fight.


With them helping, even with your handicap, the 'battle' is over fairly quickly, and you hum cheerfully as you methodically destroy the barracks. A fair number of soldiers made it away, and you didn't find the captain's body, so she was probably recovered. You don't recall seeing the general, either. Other officers, sure, and you didn't spare them just because they were officers, so a good few of them died, and you probably did a real number on their leadership. You learn quite a lot about the Imperial Army as you wander through it, leaving Ershin back by the entrance. Spearmen seem to be their primary infantry, with crossbowmen making up another significant portion. Cavalry seem to be lancers for the most part, and while you do find some horses, the main mount seems to be the … floating snails. They also have a selection of artillery – magical cannons like the captain's pistol, but larger. Good to know. You head back to Ershin.

"What are those floating snail-things?" The armor turns to face you.

"They are called whelks," it says. You nod and look around at the ruined camp. "Would you please elaborate on what happened? Says Deis." You shrug and tell them about Yuna's laboratory and what happened down there. The armor remains silent after you finish explaining, and you sigh. Well, it might take them some time to get ready ….


What do you do?

[ ] Wait for the Imperial Army at Astana.

[ ] Head toward the Capital.

[ ] Wait for the Imperial Army in the mountains to the west.

[ ] Wait for the Imperial Army in Kyoin.

[ ] Other?
 
*Tilts head* Moving her soul to another body was something we could have actually done?

Well that's irritating. Killing someone's hope like that when you could have actually helped them... Flan doesn't really have a reason to care either though.

And Yuna's dead, which means if he was the one who made the BoF3 final boss... de-rail much? Also, there was a theory he made Deis' body as well. If this is even in the same continuity. Which it could be, just a very far-flung prequel.

Also, wonder what Deis thinks about us now...
 
*Tilts head* Moving her soul to another body was something we could have actually done?

Well that's irritating. Killing someone's hope like that when you could have actually helped them... Flan doesn't really have a reason to care either though.

And Yuna's dead, which means if he was the one who made the BoF3 final boss... de-rail much? Also, there was a theory he made Deis' body as well. If this is even in the same continuity. Which it could be, just a very far-flung prequel.

Also, wonder what Deis thinks about us now...

Yeah, it kind of would have been nice to know that was something we could have done before-hand.

Ah well. Can't do what you didn't know was actually an option. Not much to be done for it now.

[x] Wait for the Imperial Army in the mountains to the west.

Fou Lu should be over in that direction, around the south end of the mountain.
 
This all worked out pretty well, by Flan standards anyway. I think I worried too much before the update previous to this one that we'd end up trying to make a partnership with Yuna setting us up for a bad time ahead when he uses a buffed up Carronade on us.

As for this vote, I'm interested in exploring whilst the Imperial Army mobilizes a force to send after us. I'm considering just going off randomly to explore, asking Deis for another interesting location, using the information she gave us earlier (although Flan probably doesn't want to go so far that they can't send much/any of a force to chase her), or using someone's BoF IV knowledge.
 
Yeah, don't get me wrong. That turned out in about the best way it could have gone, except for the thing about Elina.

I'm not sure how we were supposed to guess that shoving her soul into another body was a possibility. I mean, Deis, I guess, is an example of where that worked. But then, there wasn't really an indication that we could have done that for Elina.

In any case though, she's better off dead than in that state. Suffering for months until Cray could get to her would just be... Awful. Especially since he might not have a way to actually kill her, what with the state of the Dragonslayer. Now we just need to figure out how to get that message to Wyndia, or if we ever run into Cray, Ryu and Nina.

They should be coming through the Causeway at some point though.
 
Yeah, don't get me wrong. That turned out in about the best way it could have gone, except for the thing about Elina.

I'm not sure how we were supposed to guess that shoving her soul into another body was a possibility. I mean, Deis, I guess, is an example of where that worked. But then, there wasn't really an indication that we could have done that for Elina.

Flan seems fairly savvy at what magicians are capable of and we even spent a good amount of time in the PMMM world. Flan had no compelling reason to go out of her way to save Elina anyway.
 
*Tilts head* Moving her soul to another body was something we could have actually done?
Is there a reason it shouldn't be? It would be more of a post-quest Epilogue event if it had been done.

Oh, yeah, no doubt about that. It's just that we didn't know that was an option until after the fact.
It's one I didn't think about until I was actually writing the update - and more important than whether it is actually possible, Flandre thinks its possible. In a similar vein, just because I don't put something in as an option doesn't mean it can't be done - that's one of the reasons I'm usually explicit about including an [ ] Other? option, in case someone comes up with something I hadn't thought about.


And, because I'm going to keep fussing over the details forever and never actually add this into an update like I keep planning, I'll just toss this in now. Assume that it appears in Flandre's headspace.
Flandre: I found your request most intriguing. In all the time I have known you, that single desire demonstrated the most forethought I have ever witnessed or heard of coming from you. In deference to your request, and also in the hopes that you return to your sister, I shall accede:


One portal leads to a dark underground area with a large number of thickly-constructed buildings, ruined by damage and age. This is an abandoned city on a world called Krieg, a world dedicated to the raising and training of soldiers for an empire of galactic scale. While the soldiers there pose little threat to you, they are numerous, and your continued presence may draw the attention of mortals and youkai that are capable of harming you.


One portal leads to an elevator. Truthfully, there is little of consequence on this Earth unless you wish to live among humans, being poked and prodded by their scientists. There are entities that I find interesting, and your sister has an interest in the world itself; those entities are, generally, quite massive and powerful, and are capable of resisting most of your efforts.


One portal leads to a long street with a shadow cast over it. This leads to another Earth, much like the Earths of Mitakihara and Mid-Childa, where magic hides away from the mass of humanity due to its own rules. At the instant of the portal's entrance, there is a shadow war between Magi - not Magicians - to achieve their desires. … Should you enter here, the greater threat is behind you.


One portal leads to a bowl-like structure surrounding a small house of odd design. This world merges magic and technology, with a preference for the latter, although a magician of some power is instigating a great war. The people of that particular settlement are pacifists; you would be doing that world a favor by removing them from existence.


One portal leads to a great city, sprawling and unbroken. This world-city is called Ravnica, and is host to a vast number of youkai and humans. Many are of little threat to you, but the situation would be much the same as the mansion's entrance to Gensokyo - you could cause much destruction if you so chose, but you would be unable to achieve a real victory, and your destruction would be a real possibility.


One portal leads to a small tunnel, dark but leading to the day and an ocean. Yet another Earth, this one is home to a great number of individuals who have gained access to a bewildering variety of powers. Some are capable of threatening you; a small number are capable of fighting you outright. Much like Gensokyo, however, much of the planet has accepted a set of rules designed to minimize damage and reduce fatalities.



Try to avoid unnecessary complications, and keep in mind your sister's health.


In order:
Krieg, Warhammer 40K
Tokyo-3, Neon Genesis Evangelion
Fuyuki City, Fate/Stay Night
Fisherman's Horizon, Final Fantasy VIII
Ravnica, Magic: The Gathering
Brockton Bay, Worm
... And that Flan is rather grumpy at Pache's condescending attitude.
 
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