Flandre's Quest (Touhou) World - (Madness Quest)
- Thread starter Entropy Judge
- Start date
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[x] Practice with Satsuki.
-[x] Practice with Satsuki.
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
On another note, in the case that we split up, maybe we should tell Rin about the Puella magic and suggest that, in the event she's going to get captured and corrupted, to turn herself into a gem? It would be a clever way to evade detection, and she might be able to pull it off.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
On another note, in the case that we split up, maybe we should tell Rin about the Puella magic and suggest that, in the event she's going to get captured and corrupted, to turn herself into a gem? It would be a clever way to evade detection, and she might be able to pull it off.
Moving your soul from one vessel to another is the domain of the Third Magic.
You need Ilya to complete the Grail for that stunt(yes, theoretically if Ilya completes Heaven's Feel without dying in the process, she can restore Puella Magi, or turn herself into one to avoid dying from body expiry)
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Sayaka: Waaah! I'm a zombie!
Ilya: Can I trade places with you?
S: But you're ....
I: Gonna be dead in less than a year.
S: ....
I: ....
S: ... I'm sorry?
I: >.<
Votes are not locked.
[X] Evacuate the Castle but let the protection intact.
- [X] Flan stay alone at the castle. She waits while entertaining herself by crushing small animals around the castle. (I know, booring, but it will give her something to do and it will create flares of Yuki for the Shadow to "know" someone or SOMETHING magical is present)
- - [X] Once the Shadow came play tag with it. Not let it catch you but also not let it escape you. Poke it with Laevatein (set on fire).
- - - [X] If you manage to occupy its attention till the morning, blew the Castle up (with Shadow inside preferably). It will probably not kill the Shadow, but it could weaken it - and Flandre will feel LOT better!
2
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
4
- [X] Flan stay alone at the castle. She waits while entertaining herself by crushing small animals around the castle. (I know, booring, but it will give her something to do and it will create flares of Yuki for the Shadow to "know" someone or SOMETHING magical is present)
- - [X] Once the Shadow came play tag with it. Not let it catch you but also not let it escape you. Poke it with Laevatein (set on fire).
- - - [X] If you manage to occupy its attention till the morning, blew the Castle up (with Shadow inside preferably). It will probably not kill the Shadow, but it could weaken it - and Flandre will feel LOT better!
2
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
4
- Location
- Voidbetweenstars
That would end poorly
- Location
- A Place Miserably Bereft of Cats
We just need to bring her to Gensokyo! If she dies, she'll just become a ghost.
Or, you know, Patchy could probably fix her.
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
@Entropy Judge: Is this one implying that Rin would go get HER research materials too?
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HymnOfRagnarok
Let's Rock
Hmm. Long shot, but...
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
See if we can make Fate/Prototype happen, where Proto Ilya IIRC ties her life to Herk, so that she can only be killed by someone who can kill Herakles. Ilya gets to live longer, she gets to keep Herk, and possibly gets to spit in the Einzbern's faces.
Bonus points if she has to use the Third Magic to make this happen and gets to laugh her way to the bank with her nigh-unkillable bodyguard.
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
See if we can make Fate/Prototype happen, where Proto Ilya IIRC ties her life to Herk, so that she can only be killed by someone who can kill Herakles. Ilya gets to live longer, she gets to keep Herk, and possibly gets to spit in the Einzbern's faces.
Bonus points if she has to use the Third Magic to make this happen and gets to laugh her way to the bank with her nigh-unkillable bodyguard.
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- Location
- A Place Miserably Bereft of Cats
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
I like it, but only if we can actually remove Angry Mayonaisse from it.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
I like it, but only if we can actually remove Angry Mayonaisse from it.
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HymnOfRagnarok
Let's Rock
I thought that was assumed, but I'll it in.
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
Change of vote. Getting Herakles could be AWESOME! We will have our own Ichirin, don't we?
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
Change of vote. Getting Herakles could be AWESOME! We will have our own Ichirin, don't we?
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are locked.
[X] Evacuate the Castle but let the protection intact.
- [X] Flan stay alone at the castle. She waits while entertaining herself by crushing small animals around the castle. (I know, booring, but it will give her something to do and it will create flares of Yuki for the Shadow to "know" someone or SOMETHING magical is present)
- - [X] Once the Shadow came play tag with it. Not let it catch you but also not let it escape you. Poke it with Laevatein (set on fire).
- - - [X] If you manage to occupy its attention till the morning, blew the Castle up (with Shadow inside preferably). It will probably not kill the Shadow, but it could weaken it - and Flandre will feel LOT better!
1
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
3
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
4
- [X] Flan stay alone at the castle. She waits while entertaining herself by crushing small animals around the castle. (I know, booring, but it will give her something to do and it will create flares of Yuki for the Shadow to "know" someone or SOMETHING magical is present)
- - [X] Once the Shadow came play tag with it. Not let it catch you but also not let it escape you. Poke it with Laevatein (set on fire).
- - - [X] If you manage to occupy its attention till the morning, blew the Castle up (with Shadow inside preferably). It will probably not kill the Shadow, but it could weaken it - and Flandre will feel LOT better!
1
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
3
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
4
To the Castle; Practice with Satsuki
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Take Ilya back to her castle so she can start her research.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
No. No, you aren't going to lose control - not now, not over this. If three children disagreeing with you is enough … then you don't deserve freedom, don't deserve anything more than to be locked up in a basement somewhere, alone and forgotten. Remilia trusts you enough to give you free reign over your own life, so you have to prove that you deserve that trust. You can't let her down, not over something so petty as not getting your way in a minor matter … after all, if this shadow-thing does get out of control, you can leave with Deis and Ilya whenever you like. You steady yourself, and your eyes finally open. Ilya glances worriedly at you and you smile reassuringly at her. She closes her eyes and silently sighs in relief. Your irritation isn't gone, merely throttled and caged, but maybe you can put that to use. You survey the assembled mages for a moment.
"Well, it doesn't seem like we're going to come to a consensus on what to do, but we're agreed on the basics, yes? No infighting, try not to let any more Servants die, and so on?" Tohsaka frowns and shrugs, Emiya is obviously unhappy - probably because acknowledging that there's no consensus means there won't be any concerted effort to keep other people alive - and Ilya nods slowly. "Then if there are no objections, Ilya and I will return to her castle so she can begin her research." Ilya seems uncomfortable about that, but you fix your attention on Tohsaka. "If you need an escort back to your home, Tohsaka, I believe we can assist with that as well." It should be safe enough - unless the shadow-thing is tracking her, specifically, it wouldn't have a reason to return when Emiya and Ilya are still unmolested - but she may wish to remain here or someplace else until morning.
"You may stay the night at my place, Rin," Ilya says, and your face freezes to keep from scowling openly. It is Ilya's home, even if you don't want to be under the same roof as her, and she's free to offer her hospitality however she wishes. "Considering Sakura's actions when I was here, she may react poorly to your presence." Tohsaka gapes at her for a moment before dropping her head and staring at the table. Emiya seems embarrassed about something, perhaps the lack of security he can offer, but Saber seems to be taking it in stride. Maybe she's thinking about patrolling the city and how it'll be easier if they don't have to worry about a semi-invalid they need to protect.
"If it won't be a problem, I'll accept your offer, Illyasviel," Tohsaka says after a few seconds. "I'm not quite sure where it is, but -"
"I can take care of that," you say, and Ilya smiles happily at you as Tohsaka stares, confused. She looks at Ilya, then Ershin, and back to you before shaking her head. You look at Emiya and Saber. "Then we'll meet again tomorrow before committing to any major actions?" The Servant nods and rises, precipitating everyone else getting to their feet, and you slide off the counter, floating a little higher than your normal height. Ershin's helmet opens and Ilya clambers in with Deis's assistance, and Emiya stares at the spectacle. Ilya grins when she's settled and the helmet closes; Deis shakes her head before vanishing, and Emiya turns to face you, obviously full of questions. You deactivate Loki, leaving you in a light dress, perfect for the cool night. You turn to Tohsaka and study the coat she's wearing; it should be big enough to cover her face, and you won't be moving that fast, anyway. "We'll leave from the back yard, if it's alright with you." Emiya simply looks at you for a moment before raising his hands.
"Um, if it's easier for you, I guess I don't have any problems with it." You curtsy.
"Then, let us hope for a satisfactory conclusion to this event," you say before drifting out of the room and heading for the courtyard. The residence is on the edge of the city, so you shouldn't be caught, especially with how late it is for humans. Once the others have made their farewells and entered the yard, you let your clones out, shocking Tohsaka and Emiya and surprising Saber. Two of them dart to the wall to search for anyone watching, while you move behind Ershin and the other gently lifts Tohsaka.
"… Well, I guess this explains how you beat that Archer," she says, and you catch Saber frowning unhappily at your clones. "How many of you are there?" You shrug before lifting Ershin and waiting for her to get more comfortable.
"I'm the only one, of course. Make sure to cover your face if you don't like the wind. Saber, Emiya, until we meet again." You fly up with Ershin, letting your clone lag a bit to give Tohsaka a moment to adjust her coat. You pick up the pace a bit once you're well away from humans, but you're still moving quite slowly by your standards. Your two free clones dance around you as you fly, transitioning to a minor danmaku skirmish once you're certain no one is going to report back to Arcueid. The little entertainment keeps you somewhat occupied until you reach Ilya's castle.
You set Ershin down gently, and when the helmet pops open you lift Ilya out and set her on the ground. Your clones steady Tohsaka as she tries to stand on her own, but it seems your flight didn't particularly agree with her. You look around for Archer, but he's nowhere to be seen; maybe you lost him and he's catching up? Ilya steps away from you and waves toward the castle.
"Sella! Leysritt!" She crosses her arms and begins tapping her foot even as the two servants come rushing out of the castle. Satsuki hurries out, too, but when she sees that nothing is wrong she stops, waiting on the steps. That's enough for your purposes, so you pretend to not notice her. "Finally! Geez, how long are you two going to make us wait?" Despite her words, Ilya's tone is playful and happy. "Leys, please help Rin get ready for the night. She'll need a bath and something to wear. She'll be with us at least for tonight and the morning, so make sure she's comfortable" The quiet maid bows and adjusts her grip on her halberd before walking over to the shocked and sputtering mageling.
"What? No, I'm fine, I can take caa~!" Once your clones set Tohsaka in Leysritt's arm, the pale woman turns and bounds for the castle, ignoring Tohsaka's howls of protest. Part of you wonders if you got a similar treatment when Ilya brought you here … but that's something you can bring up another time, when Deis isn't here and can't make sassy remarks. Ilya giggles along with you before smiling apologetically at you.
"I'm sorry about this, Flan - I know you don't like her very much, and I feel bad about you having to carry her." You titter and pat her head.
"Now, now - I can stand being under the same roof as her for a night or two. Besides, she's ablative and you aren't." Ilya frowns at you, not understanding what you mean, and you sigh. "… Hm. I'll fight as best as I can, because more magicians working together are usually better than an individual working alone, but if worse comes to worst and we start losing, and if no other solution presents itself, I will have no compunctions about throwing her to the shadow-thing if it means it doesn't get you. … Not that I think it'll happen, because for it to have gotten that far means I've already given it my best shots without result and that there's no other way to escape, and I don't believe that I would still be capable of acting if things were that bad." She doesn't seem happy about that … she seems to be having trouble processing it, in fact, so you hug her and nuzzle her cheek. "Forget I said anything about it." She nods and steps back; behind her and Sella you can see Deis making suggestive faces.
"I'm sorry about this, but I really should get started on that work. Will you be fine by yourself for a while?" You grin and wave for Satsuki to approach; she's back in her own clothes, which is good, because she's going to get a bit dirty.
"I'm sure I'll come up with something. Ah, but I was wondering - do you have a wish for the Grail, if you get it working?" She frowns and you shrug, still smiling. "Well, I was thinking about these -" you hold one of the Soul Gems for a moment, "- and I wondered if there might be a better place to put your soul. Like … oh, the body of a nearly indestructible demigod with multiple lives? He'd need a body to do that, but a living body would be easier to maintain than one composed of magic, so it shouldn't be a problem keeping him around." Ilya stares at you, expressionless, and you can't tell if you made a mistake or not. Sella is frowning, but it's more of a worried expression than one of irritation.
"It does have its perks," Deis says suddenly, startling all three of you. She grins mischievously and shrugs. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind being bound to a gorgeous hunk like your fine man. Actually, since you're pretty much the right size, would you mind trading?" She gestures at Ershin and Ilya laughs at the joke. You hope it's a joke, anyway …. "Well, it's something worth keeping in mind, I think."
"I'll think about it," Ilya says, and smiles at you and Deis. "But for now, I should get to making sure that the Grail can be used. I'll see you later - tomorrow, perhaps?" She hugs you lightly and curtsies to Deis before heading toward the castle. You glance at Deis.
"… I don't know. I've been paying a lot of attention, and I'm not sure it'll work. If we can get a day or two without interruption - and without destroying the Shadow or the Grail - I think I'd like to see about getting some of that shadow-stuff contained. Assassin wasn't a spirit when you killed him, not like he used to be - that was flesh and blood. If the Shadow is what I think it is, I might be able to use it, wouldn't even need a wish. But … that'll need some work, and some thought, so I'll be inside thinking, okay?" She waves and vanishes, and you wave to Ershin as it heads inside as well. You grin at Satsuki and she swallows nervously.
"Well, Satsuki, I think it's about time we get some practice in. You aren't tired, are you?" She clasps her hands over her chest and looks at your clones as they float above you. She swallows again and nods.
"I … I think I can hit you." You giggle.
"Oh, we aren't going to be practicing that - at least, not at first. No, first we need to work on your movements." You fly up to join your clones and danmaku bullets fill the air around you. Satsuki's eyes widen hilariously. "If you can dodge danmaku, you can dodge a serious attack!" She shrieks and runs blindly as you and your clones begin firing at her.
She actually isn't too bad, and once she gets used to constantly looking at you and your clones to see who's shooting at her, she stops getting hit so much. A few minutes after that, while she's still freshly exuberant, you dismiss your clones and use a Spell Card - Secret Barrage "And Then There Will Be None?" The fact that she's restricted to the ground actually helps her a bit, and she only gets hit a few times … at least until the deathtraps start. Once those start going off she tries jumping to avoid the new-spawned bullets from the ground, but almost every time she either lands too close to another bullet or she gets hit by something in the air. Still, it's a short Spell Card, and when it's finished you applaud her performance. She sags and falls onto her back; you consider giving her a blood pack, but you'll spoil her at this rate, and she certainly has some self-control.
"That's impossible!" You snort and shake your head.
"Nonsense; granted, being able to fly helps a lot, but the important thing is that it's a pattern-based attack. Think about it when you get the chance. Anyway, now we're ready to try some physical practice." She pouts at you. "Well, if you'd rather explain more about that ability and how it works, we can do that instead right now." She sits up and hugs her knees to her chest.
"… I don't really know that much about it. Ciel-senpai knew I had it … she called it something, but I don't remember what it was, and she wouldn't explain what it was. I've done it a couple times, but it's … I don't like it. It feels like …." She looks down sheepishly and falls silent. "I know this probably sounds silly, but when I use it, it feels like the world is against me, like it hates me specifically, for some reason, and wants me to disappear." She's right, that does sound silly - it sounds more like a confidence issue combined with her general low energy, so once you get her thinking properly it should go away.
"Well, we can work on that. But you said it destroys the mana around you, right?" She frowns but nods. "How much do you know about this shadow-thing we're dealing with right now?"
"It's way more dangerous than I am?" You chuckle and shake your head.
"The shadow-thing itself isn't the enemy, it's just a weapon. I asked about your ability because it doesn't seem to exist - it's a projection of magic. And your ability should either destroy it or destroy the connection to its creator, forcing that person to engage us directly." She tightens her grip on her knees and looks at the ground.
"Do you want me to use my ability against it?" You think for a moment.
"… I think your ability would be useful. I'm not going to ask you to use it unless it's very important, though." Probably. Maybe. She is your servant, after all. "Improving your ability to use it without actually using it is going to be a bit difficult, of course, but we can work out the specifics later." She smiles.
"Thank you, Flandre-sama." She looks past you and freezes. You turn, and when you see the shadow-thing at the edge of the clearing you scowl. Just when you were about to play with Satsuki some more! Looking back at the castle, you see a figure in red on the roof - it looks like he finally got here. Of course, maybe the shadow-thing followed him …. You shake your head and turn back to your opponent. You focus on it, but don't see its eye. It really is just a projection … how best to deal with it …?
What do you do?
[ ] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
[ ] Engage it hand-to-tentacle/shadow-body/thing!
[ ] Danmaku!
[ ] Other?
DM Note: A slight modification to the vote, as Flan doesn't know what Servants want from the Grail. Shouldn't change anything ... and seeing as Berserker is basically mindless, what he "wants" is kind of irrelevant.
-[X] Practice with Satsuki.
-[X] Propose an idea for what Ilya might do with the Grail. One of the things the Servants want out of the Grail is incarnation, right? Ilya wants to salvage something from the ritual, and to live longer. So...if she manages to fix it, maybe she could she kill two birds with one stone, by incarnating Herakles to be real, and by binding her own life to Herakles so that they live as one?
No. No, you aren't going to lose control - not now, not over this. If three children disagreeing with you is enough … then you don't deserve freedom, don't deserve anything more than to be locked up in a basement somewhere, alone and forgotten. Remilia trusts you enough to give you free reign over your own life, so you have to prove that you deserve that trust. You can't let her down, not over something so petty as not getting your way in a minor matter … after all, if this shadow-thing does get out of control, you can leave with Deis and Ilya whenever you like. You steady yourself, and your eyes finally open. Ilya glances worriedly at you and you smile reassuringly at her. She closes her eyes and silently sighs in relief. Your irritation isn't gone, merely throttled and caged, but maybe you can put that to use. You survey the assembled mages for a moment.
"Well, it doesn't seem like we're going to come to a consensus on what to do, but we're agreed on the basics, yes? No infighting, try not to let any more Servants die, and so on?" Tohsaka frowns and shrugs, Emiya is obviously unhappy - probably because acknowledging that there's no consensus means there won't be any concerted effort to keep other people alive - and Ilya nods slowly. "Then if there are no objections, Ilya and I will return to her castle so she can begin her research." Ilya seems uncomfortable about that, but you fix your attention on Tohsaka. "If you need an escort back to your home, Tohsaka, I believe we can assist with that as well." It should be safe enough - unless the shadow-thing is tracking her, specifically, it wouldn't have a reason to return when Emiya and Ilya are still unmolested - but she may wish to remain here or someplace else until morning.
"You may stay the night at my place, Rin," Ilya says, and your face freezes to keep from scowling openly. It is Ilya's home, even if you don't want to be under the same roof as her, and she's free to offer her hospitality however she wishes. "Considering Sakura's actions when I was here, she may react poorly to your presence." Tohsaka gapes at her for a moment before dropping her head and staring at the table. Emiya seems embarrassed about something, perhaps the lack of security he can offer, but Saber seems to be taking it in stride. Maybe she's thinking about patrolling the city and how it'll be easier if they don't have to worry about a semi-invalid they need to protect.
"If it won't be a problem, I'll accept your offer, Illyasviel," Tohsaka says after a few seconds. "I'm not quite sure where it is, but -"
"I can take care of that," you say, and Ilya smiles happily at you as Tohsaka stares, confused. She looks at Ilya, then Ershin, and back to you before shaking her head. You look at Emiya and Saber. "Then we'll meet again tomorrow before committing to any major actions?" The Servant nods and rises, precipitating everyone else getting to their feet, and you slide off the counter, floating a little higher than your normal height. Ershin's helmet opens and Ilya clambers in with Deis's assistance, and Emiya stares at the spectacle. Ilya grins when she's settled and the helmet closes; Deis shakes her head before vanishing, and Emiya turns to face you, obviously full of questions. You deactivate Loki, leaving you in a light dress, perfect for the cool night. You turn to Tohsaka and study the coat she's wearing; it should be big enough to cover her face, and you won't be moving that fast, anyway. "We'll leave from the back yard, if it's alright with you." Emiya simply looks at you for a moment before raising his hands.
"Um, if it's easier for you, I guess I don't have any problems with it." You curtsy.
"Then, let us hope for a satisfactory conclusion to this event," you say before drifting out of the room and heading for the courtyard. The residence is on the edge of the city, so you shouldn't be caught, especially with how late it is for humans. Once the others have made their farewells and entered the yard, you let your clones out, shocking Tohsaka and Emiya and surprising Saber. Two of them dart to the wall to search for anyone watching, while you move behind Ershin and the other gently lifts Tohsaka.
"… Well, I guess this explains how you beat that Archer," she says, and you catch Saber frowning unhappily at your clones. "How many of you are there?" You shrug before lifting Ershin and waiting for her to get more comfortable.
"I'm the only one, of course. Make sure to cover your face if you don't like the wind. Saber, Emiya, until we meet again." You fly up with Ershin, letting your clone lag a bit to give Tohsaka a moment to adjust her coat. You pick up the pace a bit once you're well away from humans, but you're still moving quite slowly by your standards. Your two free clones dance around you as you fly, transitioning to a minor danmaku skirmish once you're certain no one is going to report back to Arcueid. The little entertainment keeps you somewhat occupied until you reach Ilya's castle.
You set Ershin down gently, and when the helmet pops open you lift Ilya out and set her on the ground. Your clones steady Tohsaka as she tries to stand on her own, but it seems your flight didn't particularly agree with her. You look around for Archer, but he's nowhere to be seen; maybe you lost him and he's catching up? Ilya steps away from you and waves toward the castle.
"Sella! Leysritt!" She crosses her arms and begins tapping her foot even as the two servants come rushing out of the castle. Satsuki hurries out, too, but when she sees that nothing is wrong she stops, waiting on the steps. That's enough for your purposes, so you pretend to not notice her. "Finally! Geez, how long are you two going to make us wait?" Despite her words, Ilya's tone is playful and happy. "Leys, please help Rin get ready for the night. She'll need a bath and something to wear. She'll be with us at least for tonight and the morning, so make sure she's comfortable" The quiet maid bows and adjusts her grip on her halberd before walking over to the shocked and sputtering mageling.
"What? No, I'm fine, I can take caa~!" Once your clones set Tohsaka in Leysritt's arm, the pale woman turns and bounds for the castle, ignoring Tohsaka's howls of protest. Part of you wonders if you got a similar treatment when Ilya brought you here … but that's something you can bring up another time, when Deis isn't here and can't make sassy remarks. Ilya giggles along with you before smiling apologetically at you.
"I'm sorry about this, Flan - I know you don't like her very much, and I feel bad about you having to carry her." You titter and pat her head.
"Now, now - I can stand being under the same roof as her for a night or two. Besides, she's ablative and you aren't." Ilya frowns at you, not understanding what you mean, and you sigh. "… Hm. I'll fight as best as I can, because more magicians working together are usually better than an individual working alone, but if worse comes to worst and we start losing, and if no other solution presents itself, I will have no compunctions about throwing her to the shadow-thing if it means it doesn't get you. … Not that I think it'll happen, because for it to have gotten that far means I've already given it my best shots without result and that there's no other way to escape, and I don't believe that I would still be capable of acting if things were that bad." She doesn't seem happy about that … she seems to be having trouble processing it, in fact, so you hug her and nuzzle her cheek. "Forget I said anything about it." She nods and steps back; behind her and Sella you can see Deis making suggestive faces.
"I'm sorry about this, but I really should get started on that work. Will you be fine by yourself for a while?" You grin and wave for Satsuki to approach; she's back in her own clothes, which is good, because she's going to get a bit dirty.
"I'm sure I'll come up with something. Ah, but I was wondering - do you have a wish for the Grail, if you get it working?" She frowns and you shrug, still smiling. "Well, I was thinking about these -" you hold one of the Soul Gems for a moment, "- and I wondered if there might be a better place to put your soul. Like … oh, the body of a nearly indestructible demigod with multiple lives? He'd need a body to do that, but a living body would be easier to maintain than one composed of magic, so it shouldn't be a problem keeping him around." Ilya stares at you, expressionless, and you can't tell if you made a mistake or not. Sella is frowning, but it's more of a worried expression than one of irritation.
"It does have its perks," Deis says suddenly, startling all three of you. She grins mischievously and shrugs. "I don't know about you, but I wouldn't mind being bound to a gorgeous hunk like your fine man. Actually, since you're pretty much the right size, would you mind trading?" She gestures at Ershin and Ilya laughs at the joke. You hope it's a joke, anyway …. "Well, it's something worth keeping in mind, I think."
"I'll think about it," Ilya says, and smiles at you and Deis. "But for now, I should get to making sure that the Grail can be used. I'll see you later - tomorrow, perhaps?" She hugs you lightly and curtsies to Deis before heading toward the castle. You glance at Deis.
"… I don't know. I've been paying a lot of attention, and I'm not sure it'll work. If we can get a day or two without interruption - and without destroying the Shadow or the Grail - I think I'd like to see about getting some of that shadow-stuff contained. Assassin wasn't a spirit when you killed him, not like he used to be - that was flesh and blood. If the Shadow is what I think it is, I might be able to use it, wouldn't even need a wish. But … that'll need some work, and some thought, so I'll be inside thinking, okay?" She waves and vanishes, and you wave to Ershin as it heads inside as well. You grin at Satsuki and she swallows nervously.
"Well, Satsuki, I think it's about time we get some practice in. You aren't tired, are you?" She clasps her hands over her chest and looks at your clones as they float above you. She swallows again and nods.
"I … I think I can hit you." You giggle.
"Oh, we aren't going to be practicing that - at least, not at first. No, first we need to work on your movements." You fly up to join your clones and danmaku bullets fill the air around you. Satsuki's eyes widen hilariously. "If you can dodge danmaku, you can dodge a serious attack!" She shrieks and runs blindly as you and your clones begin firing at her.
She actually isn't too bad, and once she gets used to constantly looking at you and your clones to see who's shooting at her, she stops getting hit so much. A few minutes after that, while she's still freshly exuberant, you dismiss your clones and use a Spell Card - Secret Barrage "And Then There Will Be None?" The fact that she's restricted to the ground actually helps her a bit, and she only gets hit a few times … at least until the deathtraps start. Once those start going off she tries jumping to avoid the new-spawned bullets from the ground, but almost every time she either lands too close to another bullet or she gets hit by something in the air. Still, it's a short Spell Card, and when it's finished you applaud her performance. She sags and falls onto her back; you consider giving her a blood pack, but you'll spoil her at this rate, and she certainly has some self-control.
"That's impossible!" You snort and shake your head.
"Nonsense; granted, being able to fly helps a lot, but the important thing is that it's a pattern-based attack. Think about it when you get the chance. Anyway, now we're ready to try some physical practice." She pouts at you. "Well, if you'd rather explain more about that ability and how it works, we can do that instead right now." She sits up and hugs her knees to her chest.
"… I don't really know that much about it. Ciel-senpai knew I had it … she called it something, but I don't remember what it was, and she wouldn't explain what it was. I've done it a couple times, but it's … I don't like it. It feels like …." She looks down sheepishly and falls silent. "I know this probably sounds silly, but when I use it, it feels like the world is against me, like it hates me specifically, for some reason, and wants me to disappear." She's right, that does sound silly - it sounds more like a confidence issue combined with her general low energy, so once you get her thinking properly it should go away.
"Well, we can work on that. But you said it destroys the mana around you, right?" She frowns but nods. "How much do you know about this shadow-thing we're dealing with right now?"
"It's way more dangerous than I am?" You chuckle and shake your head.
"The shadow-thing itself isn't the enemy, it's just a weapon. I asked about your ability because it doesn't seem to exist - it's a projection of magic. And your ability should either destroy it or destroy the connection to its creator, forcing that person to engage us directly." She tightens her grip on her knees and looks at the ground.
"Do you want me to use my ability against it?" You think for a moment.
"… I think your ability would be useful. I'm not going to ask you to use it unless it's very important, though." Probably. Maybe. She is your servant, after all. "Improving your ability to use it without actually using it is going to be a bit difficult, of course, but we can work out the specifics later." She smiles.
"Thank you, Flandre-sama." She looks past you and freezes. You turn, and when you see the shadow-thing at the edge of the clearing you scowl. Just when you were about to play with Satsuki some more! Looking back at the castle, you see a figure in red on the roof - it looks like he finally got here. Of course, maybe the shadow-thing followed him …. You shake your head and turn back to your opponent. You focus on it, but don't see its eye. It really is just a projection … how best to deal with it …?
What do you do?
[ ] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
[ ] Engage it hand-to-tentacle/shadow-body/thing!
[ ] Danmaku!
[ ] Other?
DM Note: A slight modification to the vote, as Flan doesn't know what Servants want from the Grail. Shouldn't change anything ... and seeing as Berserker is basically mindless, what he "wants" is kind of irrelevant.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are not locked.
[X] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
3
[X] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
3
HymnOfRagnarok
Let's Rock
@Entropy Judge Question: can we just explode the ground near the projection and try and damage it that way? It'll leave Ilya's lawn a pockmarked mess but if it slows the Shadow down...
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
That's too fine a distinction; "this particular patch of ground" doesn't have its own eye.
- Location
- Thailand
[X] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
- Location
- Earth
[X] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
Votes are locked.
[X] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
5
[X] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
5
Castle Defense I
Entropy Judge
Recurring Bouts of Misanthropy
[X] Archer could hurt it; send Satsuki inside to get Deis and warn Ilya. You'll dance with it while Archer shoots it.
"Satsuki, do you think you can get on the castle roof in a hurry?" You drift back so she's at your side and keep an eye on the shadow-thing, but you see her nod after turning back to you. "Okay, then I want you to get up there and tell Archer that I'll try to keep this thing busy if he'll be so good as to shoot it with whatever works best against it. Then I want you to go inside and warn everyone about this - Deis first, then find Ilya."
"Do … do you want me to come back out after that?" While it could be helpful, having her out here, you shake your head.
"No, stay with Ilya and help her if she needs anything. If I want you, I'll send for you." She nods and takes off for the castle. The shadow-thing takes a few more seconds before it begins advancing, body swaying oddly, almost drunkenly. It's not like it it's walking, at least not traditionally, but … you shrug, dismissing the oddity of its movement. You drop to the ground and dash forward, leaping to your left at the last moment as the shadow-thing lashes out with its tentacles. Simply swung in an arc, they're pretty easy to avoid, and the shadow-thing turns to keep 'facing' you. Maybe it's to keep more of its tentacles available to attack you? It certainly doesn't seem to have any sensory organs. Maybe it's simply reacting to the presence of magic? You flare your power, just a little, but the shadow-thing doesn't seem to react, so … maybe you're wrong? Or did it just consider that a feint and is waiting for the right moment to strike? Its tentacles dart for you, thrusting instead of sweeping, and you charge forward, flying instead of running. You pass over it and let your momentum carry you over it as you spray danmaku at it, but the bullets don't seem to affect it. Your eyes flick up to the red-cloaked man, and you wonder if he's going to help.
The shadow-thing turns toward you again, but much more quickly -it spins, in fact, and you have to ascend quickly to dodge its tentacles. Not that it can probably threaten you with its abilities, but you remember the burning when you drove through its trap in the cavern. That's right … can it do something like that away from there? A bolt of light streaks from Archer's position, striking the shadow-thing dead-center, and it collapses. If it had legs, you'd say it fell to its knees, but all you can really say about it is that it doesn't fall prone. Still, you turn to Archer and scowl at him - that was quite underwhelming. As you watch, the air around him sparks red, and then a blue-white like streaks toward the shadow-thing. It misses - too high, too far to the side - but you're too busy riding the explosion to complain. You take control and straighten, bracing against the pressure wave, and stare down at the crater the shadow-thing is now in. If that's what he used against the shadow-thing earlier … no, Tohsaka wouldn't be able to survive that, not if she was being drained or whatever. As you wonder why he didn't just use what he used before, something catches your eye - thanks to the flames lighting the area, you can now see darkness spreading along the ground from the shadow-thing. Was it trying to reproduce its trap, perhaps, or maybe something similar …? Regardless of what it was trying to do, however, it now flails madly at you, its tentacles sweeping and stabbing around you. You swoop and slip, dart forward and up, keeping it from bracketing and caging you. As it spins about and thrashes wildly, a constant stream of arrows rains down on it from above, shearing through tentacles and piercing the body itself to no apparent effect.
Suddenly it changes behavior. Where it had been content to attack you, now it ignores you. Even when you blast it with killing danmaku it passes on without so much as twitching a tentacle in your direction. You look back at Archer, wondering if you should move back to ask his advice, and you see the air sparking red around him. You fly straight up, hoping his aim is better this time, only for the arrow to pass harmlessly below you. You stare at him, stunned at his incompetence, then spin around to see a shadowy figure, taller than Ilya's castle, fade away with a huge chunk of its body missing … and two more are growing taller behind it. You snarl and look down at the advancing shadow-thing. Your tactics until now have involved not letting it touch you, but now that it's ignoring you … you take a short breath and bring forth your clones. This should work - it existed enough to interact with Tohsaka, and it seems to be affected by gravity, but there are strange things that exist …. One of them flies up and then plummets toward the shadow-thing. The shadow-thing doesn't respond, and your clone slams into it - only to disappear, and the shadow-thing doesn't fly back like you'd hoped it would. Your clones turn to the advancing shadow-giants and pepper them with danmaku.
You keep staring at the shadow-thing, trying to figure out what you can do. Physical attacks don't seem to have an effect, and it seems able to shrug off your danmaku. Laevateinn's fire should work, but then it becomes a question of whether you can drive it off before exhausting yourself, and from what happened at the temple, that's not guaranteed - you don't think it's very likely, in fact. Attacking this shadow-thing seems a lot like attacking Laevateinn's fire in order to defeat you - possible in theory, but impractical. On the other hand … this is a projection, and based on how it works it seems to be connected to its source, instead of having its own supply of energy … and if your clone vanishing means what you think it does, then you could enter the connection and disrupt it from the inside. That probably wouldn't be healthy - Loki was burning under its trap, after all, but then … when you were in the hex in Chamba you felt fine. And Deis said this was like a big hex, so ….
What do you do?
[ ] Flee! Grab Ershin, Ilya, your servants, and Archer and Tohsaka.
[ ] Burn through the Shadow with Laevateinn.
[ ] Disrupt its connection from the inside.
- [ ] Activate Loki.
- [ ] Keep Loki deactivated.
[ ] Other?
"Satsuki, do you think you can get on the castle roof in a hurry?" You drift back so she's at your side and keep an eye on the shadow-thing, but you see her nod after turning back to you. "Okay, then I want you to get up there and tell Archer that I'll try to keep this thing busy if he'll be so good as to shoot it with whatever works best against it. Then I want you to go inside and warn everyone about this - Deis first, then find Ilya."
"Do … do you want me to come back out after that?" While it could be helpful, having her out here, you shake your head.
"No, stay with Ilya and help her if she needs anything. If I want you, I'll send for you." She nods and takes off for the castle. The shadow-thing takes a few more seconds before it begins advancing, body swaying oddly, almost drunkenly. It's not like it it's walking, at least not traditionally, but … you shrug, dismissing the oddity of its movement. You drop to the ground and dash forward, leaping to your left at the last moment as the shadow-thing lashes out with its tentacles. Simply swung in an arc, they're pretty easy to avoid, and the shadow-thing turns to keep 'facing' you. Maybe it's to keep more of its tentacles available to attack you? It certainly doesn't seem to have any sensory organs. Maybe it's simply reacting to the presence of magic? You flare your power, just a little, but the shadow-thing doesn't seem to react, so … maybe you're wrong? Or did it just consider that a feint and is waiting for the right moment to strike? Its tentacles dart for you, thrusting instead of sweeping, and you charge forward, flying instead of running. You pass over it and let your momentum carry you over it as you spray danmaku at it, but the bullets don't seem to affect it. Your eyes flick up to the red-cloaked man, and you wonder if he's going to help.
The shadow-thing turns toward you again, but much more quickly -it spins, in fact, and you have to ascend quickly to dodge its tentacles. Not that it can probably threaten you with its abilities, but you remember the burning when you drove through its trap in the cavern. That's right … can it do something like that away from there? A bolt of light streaks from Archer's position, striking the shadow-thing dead-center, and it collapses. If it had legs, you'd say it fell to its knees, but all you can really say about it is that it doesn't fall prone. Still, you turn to Archer and scowl at him - that was quite underwhelming. As you watch, the air around him sparks red, and then a blue-white like streaks toward the shadow-thing. It misses - too high, too far to the side - but you're too busy riding the explosion to complain. You take control and straighten, bracing against the pressure wave, and stare down at the crater the shadow-thing is now in. If that's what he used against the shadow-thing earlier … no, Tohsaka wouldn't be able to survive that, not if she was being drained or whatever. As you wonder why he didn't just use what he used before, something catches your eye - thanks to the flames lighting the area, you can now see darkness spreading along the ground from the shadow-thing. Was it trying to reproduce its trap, perhaps, or maybe something similar …? Regardless of what it was trying to do, however, it now flails madly at you, its tentacles sweeping and stabbing around you. You swoop and slip, dart forward and up, keeping it from bracketing and caging you. As it spins about and thrashes wildly, a constant stream of arrows rains down on it from above, shearing through tentacles and piercing the body itself to no apparent effect.
Suddenly it changes behavior. Where it had been content to attack you, now it ignores you. Even when you blast it with killing danmaku it passes on without so much as twitching a tentacle in your direction. You look back at Archer, wondering if you should move back to ask his advice, and you see the air sparking red around him. You fly straight up, hoping his aim is better this time, only for the arrow to pass harmlessly below you. You stare at him, stunned at his incompetence, then spin around to see a shadowy figure, taller than Ilya's castle, fade away with a huge chunk of its body missing … and two more are growing taller behind it. You snarl and look down at the advancing shadow-thing. Your tactics until now have involved not letting it touch you, but now that it's ignoring you … you take a short breath and bring forth your clones. This should work - it existed enough to interact with Tohsaka, and it seems to be affected by gravity, but there are strange things that exist …. One of them flies up and then plummets toward the shadow-thing. The shadow-thing doesn't respond, and your clone slams into it - only to disappear, and the shadow-thing doesn't fly back like you'd hoped it would. Your clones turn to the advancing shadow-giants and pepper them with danmaku.
You keep staring at the shadow-thing, trying to figure out what you can do. Physical attacks don't seem to have an effect, and it seems able to shrug off your danmaku. Laevateinn's fire should work, but then it becomes a question of whether you can drive it off before exhausting yourself, and from what happened at the temple, that's not guaranteed - you don't think it's very likely, in fact. Attacking this shadow-thing seems a lot like attacking Laevateinn's fire in order to defeat you - possible in theory, but impractical. On the other hand … this is a projection, and based on how it works it seems to be connected to its source, instead of having its own supply of energy … and if your clone vanishing means what you think it does, then you could enter the connection and disrupt it from the inside. That probably wouldn't be healthy - Loki was burning under its trap, after all, but then … when you were in the hex in Chamba you felt fine. And Deis said this was like a big hex, so ….
What do you do?
[ ] Flee! Grab Ershin, Ilya, your servants, and Archer and Tohsaka.
[ ] Burn through the Shadow with Laevateinn.
[ ] Disrupt its connection from the inside.
- [ ] Activate Loki.
- [ ] Keep Loki deactivated.
[ ] Other?