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

[Entropy Judge]

[X] Let Deed guide you to where Schach is.
- [X] Carry Deed, Vita and Zwei with a clone to get there faster.
- [X] Fight your way through the night-demons' tunnels; if Schach and the others got in, there must be an entrance somewhere.


Even if Vita remembers Deed's presence, you're pretty sure you can come up with a story about her death against the night-demons that will pass muster. After all, not even you are perfect! On the other hand, returning with Vivio and her entourage - or at least their bodies, if the worst happens - will likely mean that you'll be able to get more help finding Satsuki. If nothing else, they'll be better-disposed toward you than if you don't even try. You pat her shoulder reassuringly. "You remember how to get back to them?" She nods, wincing in pain.

"Y-you'll have to -" You press a finger to her lips to silence her.

"All you'll need to do is point the right way." Her lips quiver, and two of your clones dart away from the portal to pick up Deed and Vita, making sure the Unison Device stays carefully tucked into Vita's coat so she won't get lost. The third bursts into a frenzy of violence before the night-demons can react to their sudden absence, and you swing Laevateinn idly before flying through the tunnel ahead of your clones. Lights are mounted high on the walls of the tunnel, one every ten meters or so, and provide enough light for you to see clearly, but probably not enough for a human to see well; you make a point of smashing them as you pass. The passage is mostly clear of enemies, although the evidence of recent combat is quite obvious. You glance back at Deed - she didn't intend to come back, perhaps in the hope that the night-demons would take her death to mean that Schach and Vivio were also dead. As you fly down the tunnels, however, it becomes obvious that the night-demons either didn't believe that or were interested in finding the bodies, because you start running into work parties of brown night-demons carrying mining picks; one group was led by a somewhat stouter-than-usual specimen wearing a yellow helmet that projects a light to see by. Some of the paths are easily dismissed, being too narrow for Deed to have fought her way through, or leading straight down, but others are more difficult - you're forced to backtrack at two different 'hubs' where many tunnels meet. Eventually, however - no more than twenty minutes - you reach the collapsed tunnel segment that Deed indicates is where she left her superiors. Your clones turn to make sure nothing sneaks up on you, the one not carrying anyone turning invisible and moving farther down the tunnel, and you call into the rubble. "Hello? Schach? Are you alright?" You start shifting some of the rubble out of the way.

"Can you hear me? We're still in here, but Sister Schach is hurt!" Faintly, you hear a girl's voice, one easily recognizable as Vivio's. Different, somehow, but still hers.

"Stay back from the collapsed area! I'm going to dig through." You wish you could just burn through the rocks with Laevateinn, but that would probably kill them - through suffocation, if not by fire itself. The flames may be magical, but they do propagate more mundane flames that try to burn, and they definitely give off heat that could make it hard to breathe. You start pulling away the smaller rocks and using one of the night-demons' picks to break apart the larger slabs. The noise attracts the night-demons, of course, but between the invisible clone and bursts of lethal bullets, none of them even come close to reaching you. Even with your strength and speed, it takes ten minutes of savage smashing and tossing aside loosened rubble before a path opens - not much of one, not even enough space for you to squeeze through without transforming into a bat, but enough to permit sight. You see a little girl with red and green eyes … Vivio, apparently in her 'normal' form. Her relieved smile locks up and her eyes widen when she recognizes you, then her whole body stiffens and she skids back as a rainbow nimbus engulfs her. When it fades, she's back in her adult form, fists raised combatively and standing on the balls of her feet in a fighting stance.

"You! What are you doing here?" You blink slowly before sighing and shaking your head. Why did you do this, again? … Right, better chance of getting help finding Satsuki. Someone coughs from behind her, out of your sight.

"Calm down … Lady Vivio …." Schach, sounding worse for wear. Vivio looks back guiltily and relaxes her stance, but when she looks back she goes back to glaring at you. You consider tossing the pick through so she can dig herself out, but that would probably take longer than if you keep at it. Besides, it shouldn't take that much longer. You get back to work, wishing for once that your power wasn't quite so destructive - it would be easy to clear the rubble if you didn't have to worry about causing more of a cave-in - but it only takes a few minutes to accomplish your goal. Vivio screeches angrily as part of the rubble collapses, but it's only waist-high for you and so there's plenty of space for her to climb over. She hesitates, though, and graciously - worriedly - helps Schach up first. You help the knight down, no longer curious as to how Deed was able to go on her suicide run: Schach is nearly as bad off as she is, with two deep wounds on her right side, a jagged gash on the back of her right thigh, and at least two breaks in her upper right arm. You wait for Vivio to clamber after her.

"Do either of you remember how to get out of here?" Schach shakes her head wearily and Vivio scowls.

"Why don't we just follow the way you came in?" You smile sweetly and shrug.

"Well, I don't really fancy going back to the night-demons' world, especially since they seem to have an effectively inexhaustible population, but if you want to get Schach and Deed killed to salve your pride, I'll give you the directions back to their portal." Her glare intensifies, and you can hear her teeth grinding even through her growl.

"L-Lady Flandre … Lady Vivio …." Vivio starts and drops her head abashedly at Schach's attempt at a stern tone; you shrug at the exhausted knight and turn to float back down the tunnel to your clones. You frown at the night-demons as you review the encounters you've had down here - almost entirely made up of the brown sort, with a scattering of reds and no greens or blues that you saw. But back at the portal, there were definitely all four sub-species ….

"… So here's how we're going to do this," you say once the Belkans catch up to you. "I'll be vanguard. The clone carrying Deed will be rearguard. Schach, you'll be carried ahead of Deed and before Vivio. Vita will be carried behind me." Vivio shakes her head.

"I can fight," she says stubbornly. "I'll be rearguard."

"Like it or not, you're the least expendable person here. If the night-demons have some kind of serious magic they're willing to use, and it kills on contact, you get to be the most protected person. Hopefully you can keep up well enough that we can outrun them. And you can't take point, because that has to go to someone who can survive potentially being ripped in half because of an over-enthusiastic green night-demon with big claws. Understand?"

"Yes." Schach's answer is quiet but firm, and while Vivio looks like she wants to say something, after a moment she simply nods her head.

"Good. … I guess we don't know how to get out, so I'll be basing my actions on which paths lead up and if I can detect any fresh air or other possibilities. If you think I've missed something that is likelier to lead us out than the path I'm on, speak up." You turn and dive into the fray, letting your clone move back to pick up Schach as you tear into the night-demons with Laevateinn. You fight your way to the tunnel the path branched from, letting your clones shoot down stragglers, and use Laevateinn to clear out the tunnel of immediate pursuers. Then you turn and fly down the tunnel, Vivio and your clones sorting themselves out to follow you. To your surprise, Vivio is able to keep up with you; you're slowed more by having to keep the wounded in good shape than you are by her.

"Thank you for not being too hard on her." You keep your eyes forward as Schach's tired voice reaches into your mind.

"It would be easier if she would leave me alone." Curiously, the higher you go the smaller the groups of night-demons you find. Are they trying to withdraw? Or are they just being security-conscious? But if that were the case, they would just be using the nigh-invisible greens ….

"A month ago, she couldn't even look at a picture of you without going berserk. She's trying very hard." You refrain from sighing.

"Do you think you can contact someone above ground yet?"

"I've sent out a message, and so has Vivio, but we can't tell if anyone received them." Curious; Vita was able to communicate with Shamal despite being on the other side of the portal, so why can't Shamal and Vivio communicate when they're only separated by earth and sky? Before you can ask Schach, the world wrenches around you and you slam into a pillar that wasn't there before, largely because you're in an entirely different area. Instead of the dark and enclosed tunnel you had been in, you find yourself on a platform above a lake - still underground, but no longer in a stuffy, confined space. It even smells fresh, and when you lean over the edge to look up, you see the twinkling of stars!

"Ah, it seems you really don't want to be our ruler after all. Well, too bad!" The spokes-demon's voice reverberates around you. Vivio, kneeling on the ground, winces and covers her ears, and even Vita cringes. "You've done so much damage that now we need you to put us back in order. Although if you toss that little Kaiser down to the lake, I'll try to make your … adjustment period … less painful." Its voice turns sweet as it makes its offer, but you simply sigh and roll your eyes. You float over the edge and look down; something is in the lake, and - oh, that's a lot of night-demons, and they're all either blue or red. "No, hmm? Oh, well, we'll work something out. Once the brainless duo wake up, we'll be the power here again! Not even that wretched Cradle could kill them! Of course, we can't really control them … but …." Its voice turns seductive. "If you would be so good as to come down and put on this helmet, I'm sure they would listen to you …. Time's running out." The cavern shakes, and the wall across from you splits, sending chunks of stone tumbling into the lake below, and you stare at the creature that had been entombed there. It's a dragon.

It's a very large dragon, probably as big as the bigger one that Caro could summon. It's one visible eye slowly blinks open … at least, you think it's an eye. You can't see a pupil. Maybe it's blind? Your thoughts are disrupted as it blinks again and the air around you charges with malevolence. Vita starts convulsing and you start to clench your fist. Then you register what would happen if you actually broke this dragon and drift back to the platform so you can drop to your feet. And the spokes-demon said there were two of them.


What do you do?

[ ] Start flying and hope you get away before they wake up.
- [ ] Carry Vita yourself and have that clone carry Vivio. Otherwise, you would have to carry the brat yourself.

[ ] No stupid helmet's going to boss you around! This time tomorrow, you'll have those overgrown lizards playing fetch with … large ships, probably.
- [ ] But have your clones carry everyone else out, just in case things don't go the way you want them to.

[ ] Get everyone out of the cavern, but only until someone comes along to get them somewhere safe. You're going to stay in the area and kill the dragons when they leave the cavern.

[ ] Other?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] Start flying and hope you get away before they wake up.
- [X] Carry Vita yourself and have that clone carry Vivio. Otherwise, you would have to carry the brat yourself.


Part of you wants to just obliterate this one right now, but that would take the whole cavern with it, and you definitely wouldn't survive. And seeing if the helmet works is a possibility - but if it doesn't, or if it's just a trick on the night-demons' part, then you'll be in big trouble. Of course, as the different possibilities start running through your mind, you're already moving. The clones carrying Deed and Schach zoom into the air toward the cavern exit; the one holding the convulsing Vita swoops low to hand her off to you. You squeeze the knight, feeling a strange object pressing against your chest before recalling that the Unison Device is with her along with Graf Eisen. Vivio seems to realize what's going on as you force a wingtip into Vita's mouth to keep her from chewing her tongue off, but of course she misinterprets what's going on.

"D-don't leave me! Please! I-!" Your clone collides with her, knocking the wind from her lungs, and locks its arms around her waist before launching itself into the air after you. Of course, Vivio is in better shape than Vita, so it's free to accelerate more quickly and easily passes you. You don't even bother suppressing a grin at Vivio's terrified expression, despite the situation. Good to know that even holier-than-thou Sankt-Kaisers can be scared of dragons.

Only a few seconds have passed since the dragon's eye opened, and already you're passing out of the cavern and into the fresh air - the cold fresh air, your clones note, and you look around to try finding a landmark apart from one mountain ridge or another. Mountains make such good landmarks, until you're on them and suddenly it's too much to focus on. Vita is doing much better, now that you're away from the dragon and its menacing aura. Then Schach taps the clone carrying her, attracting its - and your - attention. "Fate will be here in a moment," she says, shivering and teeth chattering. Not for the first or last time, you wish you had a lot more control over your aura; you could easily use it to warm up your passengers, but it wouldn't be good to accidentally burn them … or worse, affect their minds. That could land you in deep trouble. Instead, you close up with your clones and keep flying away from the dragon's tomb.

A golden circle flickers into existence, and you fly up to meet with the black-clothed figure floating above it. Fate's right arm looks scorched, and there are definitely bite marks on the gauntlet on her left hand, but she looks mostly fine. "Flandre! We're -!" You spin around as her eyes widen and refocus on something in the distance, and you wince as the sound of the explosion rumbles past you. Even from this distance, you can see the great grey-red dragon's single pair of wings snap out, and it raises its head from the collapsed ruin of its mountain-tomb - what remains of it - to apparently focus on your group. "We're leaving, right now!" The instant everyone is over the magic circle, she mutters something, and all you can see for a moment is golden light. Then it vanishes, leaving you free to settle to the floor of the ship. Men and women with wheeled beds rush to meet you, and you gladly give up your burdens, making sure to fish the Unison Device out so she doesn't get forgotten. Vivio looks around nervously, hugging herself tightly. You give Fate a moment to collect herself, taking the time to recall your clones and dismiss Loki before clearing your throat to attract her attention.

"Fate, I want to find Satsuki." She takes a deep breath and shakes her head.

"I - I know you do, Flandre, but we already have people looking for her, and it would be better if we didn't have to find you in case there are any more surprises." Her voice is strained and tense, and she looks tired enough that bugging her about it probably wouldn't be the best move you could make right now.

"W-Where's Carim? Where's Verossa?" Fate closes her eyes tightly.

"They're in the infirmary," she says, only realizing the magnitude of her mistake when she hears Vivio start breathing rapidly. The Sankt-Kaiser's eyes start tearing up and she sniffles as Fate turns toward her, reaching out her arm to hold the girl's shoulder. "Oh, Vivio, it's -" Vivio starts wailing, finally crying, and her adult transformation vanishes as she stumbles forward to bury her face in Fate's uniform. Fate's own expression is a curious mix of bone-deep exhaustion, a sincere desire to comfort, and exasperation, but her hands reach down to stroke the child's hair and rub her back. "There, there, Vivio."

You sigh tiredly and look around, but now that the wounded are gone the hallway is pretty clear. You're … well, not free, but for the moment you don't appear to have anything to occupy your time. You could probably get someone to teleport you down to where Satsuki was, although given that Fate just told you to stay on board, you would definitely get in trouble for it. Apart from that … there really isn't anything you want to do.


What do you do?

[ ] Get someone to teleport you down to Satsuki's location. You'll get in trouble sooner or later, but you'll finally be able to look for your servant.

[ ] You can be a good girl. Stay on the ship.
- [ ] See if someone in a command center can let you look at what's going on around the planet, particularly the dragon. Maybe you'll learn something useful.
- [ ] No one deserves to be saddled with a crying Vivio, least of all you, but pretty soon you might need to stop Fate from strangling the brat. Take her somewhere quiet and try to entertain her.
- [ ] Fate looks kind of busy, so you'll take Vivio to the infirmary to check on Carim and Verossa, and all the others. Maybe they'll be able to tell you more about what happened with Satsuki.
- - [ ] For that matter, Fate doesn't look too good herself. You'd better make sure she sees a doctor, too - and takes a nap if that's the verdict.
- [ ] Just wait somewhere out of the way until they want you or they bring Satsuki back.

[ ] Other?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] You can be a good girl. Stay on the ship.
- [X] Fate looks kind of busy, so you'll take Vivio to the infirmary to check on Carim and Verossa, and all the others. Still, there are some things you need to tell her.
- - [X] If Satsuki is still berserk when she's found, you can head down to force-feed her blood and calm her down when they spot her, to not waste time and avoid a pointless fight. Infirmary is probably too full already.
- - [X] You can also add that the two dragons were stated to be the last 'surprise' they had. It just so happen it's the card they played for everybody to lose.


You shake your head and approach the ragged Enforcer. You clap a friendly, but firm, hand on Vivio's shoulder and smile at her when she jumps, scared. "There, there. Come on, let's go see them, hm? Carim and Verossa. I'm sure they'll be glad to see you." The Sankt-Kaiser shudders and her lips tremble; you glance at Fate, and she seems too surprised to do anything else. "Fate has work to do, so let's not bother her right now." That gets her back to thinking, and she stands up and steps back.

"Thank you, Flandre. Vivio, everything will be fine. Just go with Flandre to the infirmary to visit Carim and the others, okay?" Shaking, the girl nods, and Fate abruptly turns and stalks away, still in her Barrier Jacket. Hopefully she isn't planning on doing anything stupid …. You smile at Vivio and turn her toward the infirmary, then give her a little push to start her moving. She goes along with your prodding and you make it to the infirmary without incident. The doctor on duty looks up from her desk and gives you an exasperated look.

"Carim!" Vivio bolts away from you toward the bed Carim is lying in and ploughs into it. "Carim, Carim!" You hurry toward the doctor before she can do more than rise from her chair.

"Don't worry, she's fine, and I'll make sure she doesn't bother them too much if you want to go somewhere quiet for a bit. Or do you have to stay here?" She blinks and stares at you for a moment before shaking her head.

"No, no, if you can keep an eye on things for a while, I'm going to go fall over. Just make sure to come get me before you leave - I'll be just across the hall." You nod and she shuts down her console before limping out of the room. You look around the infirmary - cabinets and closets line the walls, and beds fill the rest of the space. Most of the beds are, surprisingly enough, empty, but it becomes less so when you take a better look at the inhabitants. They're all in pretty good condition and look like they simply need rest more than they need actual medical attention. That would also explain the doctor's willingness to leave; if no one here is in bad enough condition that they need a medical professional right away if something goes wrong, then as long as someone healthy is in the room she doesn't need to be. Carim and Verossa are there, both awake, but of course you don't see Schach, Vita, or Deed. You actually don't recognize most of the people here, and only a handful seem to be part of the Church or the Bureau, anyway. You walk up to Verossa as Vivio babbles uncontrollably to Carim.

"It seems she's warmed up to you," he says, and you snort and shake your head.

"No, she's just in delayed shock and very scared. Not every day you're a hundred meters from a giant angry dragon that's decided to wake up and start destroying things." He goes pale and starts to say something, but you hold up a hand to interrupt him. "First thing's first, Verossa. Satsuki. What happened to her when you left. How was she looking and acting?" He sighs and leans back against his bed, looking worriedly at Carim. The Church leader seems fine, and she looks up to smile cheerily at the two of you before turning back to Vivio.

"I … I'm not sure how much help I'll be, really. We weren't exactly in a good spot when she saved us." He lifts the blanket partway to show you the wrappings around his torso. "Two of their green assassins got the jump on me, then I got swarmed by the brown fighters. Except they weren't even trying to kill me - not right away, anyway. And then I heard this … frustrated, angry screaming, and something just started ripping them away from me. It was Satsuki, just … picking them and throwing them away, or ripping them in half, or just hitting them and smashing them apart. And she … she didn't care about being injured. Another green - a big one, not one of the little ones like that got me - puts its claws into her and lifted her up, and she just … just smashed its skull in and kept fighting. It was …." He really looks quite disturbed, reminiscing about his rescue, but your eyes narrow.

"Verossa. Verossa. How did she seem?" He frowns and you inhale calmly. "You see, when Vita told me about her being missing, she said that Satsuki was 'berserk.' That means something specific when you're talking about extremely powerful creatures that are a hair's-breadth from being completely willing to consume their allies for sustenance." He pales and screws his eyes shut as his breathing worsens. Carim gives you a worried look, but he shakes his head.

"I … she … she seemed in control of herself, I think. But … uncaring?" He struggles, trying to come up with a proper explanation, and you sigh and shake your head.

"Leave it. I'll just have to remember to apologize to Vita. And hope that I didn't slow down the search team by warning them to make sure she's fine." Not to mention that maybe you could have decapitated the night-demons by now if you hadn't thought you needed to come rushing back to search for her. … Are there any other concepts you should make sure they know about with regards to vampires, specifically, and that are even remotely likely to come up in the next couple months? You set part of your mind trying to work that out and turn your attention back to Verossa. "Anyway, can you contact the search team? Fate told me to stay on the ship, but if they find her and she has gone berserk in the meantime, it would really be better if they just call me down instead of trying to handle her themselves. If nothing else, I'm stronger and tougher than she is, or they are, so if she tries fighting I can take the hits without dying." He nods, still pale, and looks away. Carim surprises you by getting up - with Vivio's help, of course - and starting to stumble across the aisle. You save her from further mishap - she looks as bad as Verossa - and support most of her weight until she is able to collapse onto the bed next to his.

"Thank you, Flandre," she says, ignoring the scalding look from Verossa. "I'm sorry, but Vivio was telling me that there was a dragon on the planet?" You shrug and nod, then go into a brief retelling of the events of Vivio's rescue and the dragon's awakening.

"I don't actually know that there are only two dragons, but since the spokes-demon wants me so badly, I'm sure that if there were more then it would have said so. But I'm also pretty certain that this is their last hurrah. They've taken too much damage, somehow, and they can't control these dragons - I guess that's the prerogative of their 'ruler.' So once they're dealt with, it should just be nothing more than mop-up, at least on this side." Carim nods.

"And we know where a portal to their world is, thanks to you." She taps at something in the air and a screen appears, showing the dragon, massive and grey. Your eyes widen as you realize that the streaks of red slashing across its torso and arms are blood. Apparently it rushed a bit getting out of its tomb. "Hm. Yes, it's definitely stronger than Voltaire … not overwhelmingly so, but in a one on one fight, I think Voltaire would lose."

"What about … ah, that …." You frown at Verossa as he furrows his brow in thought. "Haku- … Lutecia Alpine's summon?" You blink at the reminder of your friend - and after digging through your memories, you remember her talking a bit about her most powerful summoned creature.

"Hakutenou," you say, and Verossa nods. Carim taps at something else and a series of bars and numbers appear to the side of the image. They don't really mean anything to you, but the sight of the dragon blasting its way through a mountain does. Fighting back against it isn't really an option - no one could hope to put up a shield capable of blocking its attack.

"The two of them together could defeat it, yes. Of course … it's not alone." The dragon blasts apart another mountain, releasing the second dragon mentioned by the spokes-demon. This one is definitely not humanoid. Its body is long, maybe even two or three times the height of its grey cousin, but long and serpentine, and it simply doesn't stop moving, instead looping around in a small area, looking like some kind of frenzied pretzel. And it's hard to keep track, but you think it has at least three sets of wings. You're very lucky the night-demons decided to wake up the other one first; as quickly as you retreated, you're not sure you could have gotten away from this one. You change your focus, trying to look at the dragons' eyes to compare them - but either you can't see them through a video screen, or you're too far from the creatures themselves. Irritating, but not insurmountable … you'll just have to be quick if you get the opportunity. Should you volunteer, though?

---

An hour passes in relative quiet. Vivio fell asleep against Carim as you all watch the dragons fly over the mountains toward civilization. The quicker one, more energetic than its cousin, flies around, destroying mountain-peaks seemingly at random, and definitely seems much weaker - its blasts are only as powerful as a Master Spark, in your opinion. Of course, when you think back on that idea, you're forced to laugh. Perhaps the most powerful attack you've seen a human use, and this creature fires them as easily as Patchouli would spend her guardian tomes.

You watch as they approach a human village - abandoned, the victim of the night-demons - and the smaller one darts ahead, stretching to its full length and flaring its nine magnificent wings as it spirals through the air. After it sweeps over the village, however, it climbs high overhead and pauses, holding perfectly still. Carim passes over an alert of some kind - and then the bigger dragon attacks the village, a torrent of energy pouring from its mouth to explode against the village. At long last, even before the smoke clears, she sighs and turns off the screen, shaking her head. You flex your claws in irritation; maybe you should have pressed her to let you go down and deal with the dragons right away? While this time may be letting everyone study them, if you're just going to kill them anyway, why bother studying them?

The door to the infirmary slides open and you turn to look. It's not, as you'd hoped, Fate - but it is Alph, and she smiles when she sees you. Then she steps to the side, leaving your servant standing in the doorway. Satsuki looks at you worriedly. "F-Fla-!" She flinches as you hurtle through the air toward her, but instead of colliding, you wrap your arms around her and hug her tightly. "… F-Flandre-sama?"

"… I'm glad you're alright, Satsuki. Really, really happy." Her arms start to wrap around you, but you float a bit higher and stroke her hair.

"I - I'm sorry, Flandre-sama! I know I messed up -" You put a finger on her lips, silencing her.

"No. You didn't make a mistake, you didn't mess up. You didn't do anything wrong, Satsuki. You were magnificent." Tears appear in her eyes, and she trembles - and then the effect is ruined by a gigantic yawn, and you giggle.

"I - I'm sorry! I …." She yawns again, and a smiling Alph holds up a pack of blood. You nod and she tosses it toward you. As you catch it, you realize just how cold Satsuki is.

"Here, why don't you drink this and then get some rest?" Her gleaming eyes fixate on the pack, and she barely keeps herself from snatching it out of your hand. You stroke her hair as she gulps it down, then help her to one of the beds … not that she even makes it all the way there before passing out. After tucking her in, you turn to find that Fate has somehow joined the group, looking even more tired than before - but her eyes are bright with purpose.

"Flandre. We're pretty sure we can deal with the bigger one without any real trouble. The smaller one, though, seems too fast for us to do anything about. If nothing else, we can try bringing Caro here and seeing if Voltaire can handle it, or at least help restrain it - but I was wondering if you had any ideas for taking it out." You blink and stare at her. Has she been talking to Vita, and Vita said something? Or is she genuinely curious about any insights you might have? In either case, though ....


What do you do?

[ ] You'll deal with the dragons yourself. Both of them. It should make a much clearer statement to the night-demons where you stand, if nothing else.

[ ] Let the Bureau deal with the big one first. You'll help, of course, if they need it, but once it's gone you'll break the fast one.

[ ] Break the fast one first, then help the Bureau take out the big one if they need it.

[ ] ... Sorry, you can't think of anything.

[ ] Other?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] Break the fast one first, then help the Bureau take out the big one if they need it.
- [X] Warn that doing so may cause a considerable amount of collateral damage.


Well, your secret is out - if not entirely, then mostly. Fate wouldn't be asking you this way, right now, if she wasn't asking for you to do something instead of just provide advice. You nod casually. "I can deal with it, yes." Carim and Verossa both make strangled noises, but Fate simply nods - further evidence that she knew. "And after, I can probably help you with the other one, if you need it." She gives you a penetrating look before smiling.

"We should be able to manage it ourselves, but I appreciate the offer. We'll be ready to strike in an hour, if there's anything you need to get ready. Alph?" The familiar glances at you before following her master as Fate turns to leave. You stroke Satsuki's hair one more time before, ignoring Carim and Verossa's curious stares, hopping off her bed and following as well.

"An hour … not quite dawn?" Fate looks back and shifts sideways so you can walk more alongside her than behind her.

"If they keep moving at their current speed and heading, it'll be shortly after dawn where they are. Will that make a difference?" You shake your head.

"There's probably going to be … rather a lot of collateral damage." Alph frowns at you. "I mean, it's going to depend on where it is - if it's ten kilometers in the air, there probably won't be much to worry about, but if it's at ground level, there's going to be a crater." Alph looks back and forth between you and Fate, but the mage doesn't react much. "So how are you guys going to kill the big one?" Fate smiles and doesn't respond immediately, but Shamal pokes her head out of a doorway and waves for you to join her. Inside the conference room, you see that Hayate and her Unison Device are both there already. The Device looks exhausted and unhappy, but unhurt. Hayate looks at you hopefully.

"Flandre believes she can handle the faster one, and has offered to help with the other if we can't deal with it. Any changes to the plan?" Hayate gives a relieved sigh and shakes her head.

"No, I don't think so. It doesn't seem to use magic, so no shield to worry about, and we don't have to expose a core this time, either. So it's just restraining it and teleporting it, and we should be able to do that with everyone here." You look around the room and cock your head as you focus on the unhappy-looking Hayate.

"So you're going to teleport the big one into the sun, but you don't think you can hold the little one still long enough to send it?" She shakes her head again.

"No, not that. First - well, first, once the Church Summoner gets here, we'll see if we can get this solved without having to kill two Guardian Dragons." You raise your eyebrows, but that makes sense - if they can get the dragons on their side, they not only increase their capabilities but don't have to expend resources. "We think we'll have to kill them, though. In that case - you're right about the faster one. It's too fast for most bindings to catch, and the ones that we could catch it with aren't strong enough to hold something that powerful. For the other one, though, the plan is to immobilize it, then teleport it into space, then shoot it with an Arc-en-Ciel." Her expression falls. "From what that one night-demon said, the Ancient Belkans couldn't kill these Guardian Dragons. But we've analyzed the Cradle and its weapons - they're all relatively straightforward magic cannons. An Arc-en-Ciel destroys its target by distorting and rupturing space-time within the affected area; just being durable or having a powerful defensive ability won't protect against it." You nod; it's actually a very good plan, and if the faster dragon weren't just so quick, you probably wouldn't be necessary. In fact, you're pretty sure you aren't even necessary, so much as a much more efficient use of resources than finding the requisite number of mages needed to hold the faster one in place.

"Why don't you just shoot this Arc-en-Ciel at the dragons directly?" Fate laughs quietly, earning a scowl from Hayate, but she keeps smiling softly as you look at her.

"There is a … slight problem with collateral damage when using the Arc-en-Ciel," she says quietly. You can't help it. You giggle, then break into full-scale laughter, ignoring Hayate's disapproving glare.

---

You glance at Fate as she reflexively clenches Bardiche once more. The Church's Summoner is probably going to survive, but he wasn't even able to attempt communication with the dragons; the moment he teleported to the planet they swept the area with their magical blasts. You might survive one of the faster dragon's blasts, but not multiple hits, and definitely not anything from the bigger one. "I'm ready." She twitches before taking a deep breath. Probably more concerned for her friends and familiar than she is for you, of course - they'll need to be relatively close to the dragon to bind and teleport it, and if you and she can't distract it well enough, it may well notice the source of its binding. She starts to say something, then shakes her head and activates the teleporter. You turn invisible and step through.

Immediately, you dive for the ground, narrowing your eyes against the sunlight, but the expected torrent of magical energy doesn't come. They must only attack when they sense something teleport in. You slow to a halt and right yourself, focusing on your target. It still swoops and darts erratically, but now that you know what it looks like you can keep track of the creature. It's much larger than you had originally thought, well over six hundred meters. Its scales are mottled blue and grey, like a sky promising to turn to storms, and nine multi-hued wings are placed equidistantly along its body, from left shoulder to right hip. Its head is quite reptilian, albeit with seven pairs of eyes running from above its mouth to just beneath its horns. It doesn't show any obvious intelligence, however, and you wait for it to complete its current circuit and fly up to look around, presumably for threats. Once it pauses to scan the area, you find its eye and crush it. The dragon ceases to exist, but the effects of its passing are noticeable - clouds ripple and disintegrate, after a short while snow starts racing down the side of the nearby mountains, and eventually a low rumble washes over you - but as high as it was, the actual physical destruction was almost nonexistent, limited to the avalanche and any damage caused by shards and debris from the creature.

"Now, Flandre." You drop your invisibility and dive forward, toward the second dragon as it looks around confusedly. The Bureau officers agreed with your initial guess that the creature is blind, but its ability to sense magic is quite keen. You flare your aura lightly and its head swings toward you, belching power even as you begin to close the distance. Fate appears behind it, magic circle forming beneath her, and then she swings a mana-blade scores of meters long down on the dragon. The blade shatters, but that doesn't matter. The dragon shrieks and thrashes its wings, feet, and tail wildly as it clutches its skull. Blinded, dazed, and confused, it won't notice Shamal and the others teleporting in … at least, that's the hope. And it does drop to the ground, shattering a small hill with its bulk, so perhaps it's not thinking clearly beyond its own protection. "Move!" The warning comes at the same time you see Fate flicker to the side, and you stoop toward the ground.

The dragon may have been thrashing in genuine pain, but if so that didn't stop it from getting ready to fight back. Its wings furl and begin spitting bolts of magic from the 'wrist' of each wing. More problematic is the veritable wall of power that it spews from its mouth. You snarl as it washes over you, burning through Loki's Barrier Jacket - but it's only a curtain, not a field, and you pass through, scorched and furious but alive. Then it whips around and hunches forward, pointing directly at the location Hayate and the others were supposed to teleport to. Orange chains lock around it, trying to tear it away, but it holds itself still as power gathers along its wings. You hurtle forward and slam onto the dragon's head, impaling it with Laevateinn … perhaps three centimeters. It's just too big … but the gathering energy spreads toward its head, and you grin - and when the glossy sheen of power washes over you, you simultaneously flare your aura and pour power into Laevateinn. The resulting explosion launches you away, and then something else sends you spinning until Fate catches you. You look up at her for a moment, temporarily confused by her worried expression, then look down at the mess of your body: one leg missing, the other strangely crystallized; a gaping hole in your left side; and you only still have Laevateinn because the explosion launched it into your lung. You shrug and, after making sure you still can fly, float away and look at the dragon.

The explosion barely harmed it, it seems. Shook it, sure, and disrupted its aim, but it doesn't seem that badly hurt by having part of its head engulfed by an explosion. But it is slowed down, and as more orange chains loop themselves around it, silvery spears hurtle toward it. Most are deflected, or fail to penetrate, but some do pierce it, resulting in a cataclysmic roar from the dragon's throat. But most importantly, two massive green magic circles appear above and below the dragon, and before it can completely recover, it vanishes. Fate looks up into the sky - away from the sun, thankfully - and after several long seconds, a strangely purple star erupts in the sky, and she sighs in relief. That probably means it worked.

You follow her down to Hayate and the others, admiring the craters the dragon's wild attack on the binders made - only failing because you diverted is primary blast and Hayate's shield was enough to block the rest - and mostly ignoring Hayate's scolding lecture on your reckless attack. You do hear that they're planning to visit the night-demons' fixed portal and see if anything can be done about that, though ….


What do you do?

[ ] Ignore it, not your problem anymore. Besides, you have important things to do, like sleep, and coddle Satsuki, and ignore the Sankt-Kaiser.

[ ] Go through it and talk to the spokes-demon if it's still around. After everything that's happened, it deserves to be abused verbally for a bit.

[ ] Other?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] Go through it and talk to the spokes-demon if it's still around. After everything that's happened, it deserves to be abused verbally for a bit.


"Are we leaving right away?" Fate and Hayate pause in their conversation to stare quizzically at you. "To see the night-demons." Fate frowns and Hayate gives you a worried look.

"Er, we were - but you don't have to come, Flandre, and your leg …." You look down at your crystalline limb as Hayate trails off. Shamal approaches you hesitantly - right, she is a doctor - but you wave her back as you experiment with your leg. It doesn't work properly, of course, and your ankle and toes don't articulate, but it doesn't hurt and it doesn't seem to be expanding, either. After a few seconds, you shrug.

"It'll be fine. If there's a problem, I'll just break it off and regrow it." They all give you looks with some degree of horror in them. "So, we're leaving now?" Hayate sputters helplessly before turning to Fate, who sighs and shrugs.

"We … had been planning on waiting, because we were going to ask if you wanted to come along but thought you might want to wait to have your leg examined, but if you're ready to go now …." You nod and she gestures with her head to approach. Everyone clusters around Shamal, and she focuses for a moment. Her rings gleam and threads emerge, forming two circles, one above your heads and the other below your feet - and then they collide, and you're standing on a hilltop overlooking a shattered city.

"That's the city Lady Vivio was protecting when the night-demons overran her position," Verossa says from behind you. You turn to look at him; he should probably still be in a hospital, rather than up and about, and even his guards look worse for wear.

"Verossa! What are you doing out of bed?" Hayate scowls and wags her finger at him, and he smiles self-deprecatingly.

"I'm actually in better shape than Carim right now, and she wanted to come along." Hayate's head drops and she bangs her staff against her skull.

"Inspector Acous, you will stay in as protected a position as you can manage?" He grins at Fate's question and nods.

"Right next to Hayate. After all, I am injured, and I may need someone to help hold me up." Hayate squares her shoulders and scowls, and one of Verossa's guards shakes his head. Verossa frowns at you - at your leg - as you float past him to the work crew excavating something. Locals, for the most part, digging by hand; they actually have a small tunnel that goes into the hillside. One of the workers stares at you for a long moment before dropping her pick and folding in on herself. Some of the other workers glare at you, but most seem utterly disinterested in your presence. The now-sobbing woman is helped away by some of her comrades.

"We're going into that tunnel, right?" Everyone is giving you a searching look instead of responding, and you sigh and roll your eyes. "Look, there's no point in my trying to explain myself to them, especially since I'm likely as not going to say something they won't like. Yes, not saying anything would probably be a problem, but it's not my problem to deal with. So let's just get this over with and you can try explaining things however you want after I'm gone. So, underground?" Verossa nods stiffly and you fly down, ignoring the workers as they shuffle back. There are lights available for people going into the tunnel, but you simply summon a few danmaku bullets and float slowly so the others can catch up.

No one says anything as you progress underground, at least not to you; for all you know, of course, there could be a lively telepathic conversation going on behind you. But the few times you look back, all you can tell is that something bothers Verossa quite a lot about being down here. Maybe he just doesn't like being underground? Whatever the reason, he doesn't slow you down - really, what takes so long is the simple fact of distance to your target, although you grin once you reach an area you've been through before. From there, it's a simple matter of following the broken lights to the night-demons' portal. It's still active, and there's a small guard posted on this side: four of the biggest brown night-demons you've seen, all wearing rough-looking plate armor but carrying exquisitely-made weapons … weapons that are definitely not sized for the current wielders. They aren't immediately aggressive, however, despite the others' reactions, and you float forward, looking warily for evidence of hidden greens. Before you can entirely finish, however, the spokes-demon limps through the portal. "Well, well. Come to gloat?" It sounds tired, but not quite defeated. You're pretty sure you know what Fate and Hayate are going to say, although you're not quite as sure about Verossa. Still, you're here for a reason, too.

"Not really. I mean, not really much of a point to it, you know? I'm not exactly going to count this as one of my most hard-fought battles; I'm mostly going to just be annoyed at how irritating it was, and most of that had more to do with people on my own side and not things you actually did. If I remember you -"

"Flandre!" You turn and glare vilely at Fate, but the spokes-demon chuckles.

"No, do please continue. I had supposed it would be too much to hope that you would decide to take control of us after having proved your superiority - one of our past rulers did that, you know? Fought us, proved she didn't need us, and then ruled us anyway. Died of old age, I believe." You snort.

"Fate, these things are just like me - evil and unrepentant of the fact. The big difference is that while I'm intelligent enough to understand why holding myself back is a good idea, these things are dumb. They wanted me to rule them, based on a few minutes of appraisal - and the only way they could think to get my attention was to slaughter every child on this planet that looks vaguely like me. And it almost didn't work! They are incompetent, stupid, and uncontrollable; all they're good for would be as bodies to absorb your enemies' attacks, and if you need those so badly that you're considering allying with these cretins, might I suggest instead that you use the Gadget Drones?" You turn away from the humans and face the spokes-demon once more. "You thought that I would lower myself to rule your pathetic kind? Thought that I would serve as a mere figurehead, a rallying point to worship and serve as a focus? You know nothing of me, thing. You simply saw potential, and your desperation blinded you to reality. To bind myself to a worthless, self-less, powerless group such as your own, when I have worth and goals, when I have my own self, when I have power? You would give me nothing I cannot take for myself, and would restrict me. You think me just a child, when I am a full-born nightmare, a disaster wrapped in flesh. Were I sorcerous, I would curse your kind entire; instead, I merely rely on your words - you will all die. Slowly, suffering, and not by the hand of men or my own hands. Death will be your lot; you will die, and should be forgotten and unmourned, your passing to less than dust not even celebrated, for such is the worth you have." The spokes-demon chuckles, bows - and then turns to Fate and Hayate.

"We have been repudiated. In lieu of a proper ruler, I don't suppose either of you would be willing to master us? You both have quite the potential - although you are Belkan, so we would have to do something about that staff and the book." Hayate stiffens and glares, and Shamal raises her hands as if to fight as well. The night-demon sighs and shakes its head before focusing on Fate instead.

"… Have you any interest in living alongside other people? If that is impossible, would it be possible to move you to another planet?" The spokes-demon laughs, at least until the laughter sputters into choking, and when it calms down it spits to the side.

"And the worthy one called us stupid."


What do you do?

[ ] This isn't going anywhere; destroy the portal with Laevateinn and go back to the ship.

[ ] Boring! Tell Fate you're done here and want to go back to the ship.

[ ] The night-demons seem resigned to their fate, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're done. Stick around in case something actually interesting happens.

[ ] Other?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] The night-demons seem resigned to their fate, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're done. Stick around in case something actually interesting happens.


You sigh to yourself and find a comfortable spot on the ground to sit down, seemingly uninterested in the conversation. At least, you hope you seem uninterested; on the other hand, just because the night-demons seem to be merely going through the motions rather than seriously trying to gain a master, doesn't mean they've actually given up. And their tactics, while crude, are about as effective as a huge club usually is. So, in the interests of keeping your allies alive, your clones sneak out, invisibly, and slither around to take up warding positions around the group and give you more angles to watch for lurking assassins.

"You seem to be under the impression that you cannot ever change. Have you tried? Would you be willing to try?" You trace malignant circles on the stone floor as the spokes-demon scratches its chin.

"Hmm … maybe. Would you be willing to … try … being our ruler, and guiding us through the change?" It almost seems interested, and when Verossa shrugs at Fate you stifle another sigh. They can't be that stupid, can they?

"… What would that entail?" Headless screeches at Fate's gullibility, and it takes a supreme effort for you to keep yourself from walking over to her and giving her a good slap.

"Well, first you would have to be known to be acceptable to us, of course. Power alone isn't sufficient; there must be malice. Or at least the willingness to commit malevolent acts, hehe!" The spokes-demon chuckles, and its cheery voice turns malignant and sibilant. "Kill everyone in this room, for example, and we would be willing to take you in and further your education so that you could rule us spectacularly. Or even just torture to death that whimpering half-breed behind you!" Fate and Alph both stiffen and glare at the spokes-demon - and they and everyone prepare to attack it. It laughs mirthlessly. "What, is it so difficult? You want us to try to change, but you are unwilling even to try to help us along!" It spits to the side and shakes its head. Fate and Hayate both hesitate, looking uncertain, and you sigh loudly.

Lurking green night-demons leap to the attack, and your clones intercept most of them; the three that your clones weren't in position for slam into shining green and orange shield spells that flash into existence, courtesy of Alph and Shamal, and are torn apart by transparent, green-glowing hounds that then turn to assault the spokes-demon. Fate herself flickers through the intervening space, Bardiche's glowing yellow scythe-blade sweeping through the bodyguards without resistance. The spectral hounds hurl themselves against the night-demons that begin to flood through the portal as Shamal sets up barriers limiting their ability to spread out. Alph walks over to you and pats your head, grinning at your confusion. "You didn't really think we'd fall for that, did you?" You don't say anything, largely because you're still so surprised that they didn't, and Alph's canine ears flatten against her skull. "You did!" You grumble and look away from her shocked expression.

"… Think of it as a commentary on your acting skills," you mumble.

"Alph!" Fate's call keeps you from having to say anything else, and you tap your crystalline leg as you watch Alph and Fate join Shamal in setting up barriers. Hayate, meanwhile, stands at the end of the magical corridor, with nothing between her and the portal except the spectral hounds and the night-demons. You shuffle back a bit as you remember just what kinds of magic Hayate is good at, and Verossa chuckles … even though he's farther away than you are. A ball of swirling white energy forms at the top of her staff as she raises it high - and then she swings it down, sending a beam of light coursing through the space between the barriers. It hits the portal and seems to simply pierce through, but as the beam fades and she steps back, the portal flickers and something makes your ears pop. Hayate chuckles nervously.

"Ehehe … whoopss~" Your clones catch her as she slips against the ground - and then the stone between her and the portal cracks and splits. "… Did I do that?" She starts giggling and shaking, and Shamal and Fate both rush over to her. You take the opportunity to look through the flickering portal, and it seems that something - either the spokes-demon's death or the attack on the portal - has turned the night-demons against each other. The corps of browns are fighting amongst themselves while the blues seem to be protecting the portal against the reds - although if that's what's actually happening, or if something else is going on, you can't be sure. An enormous, winged, red creature - dragon, mutant red, or something else - drops onto the battlefield from above, one wing shredded beyond recovery, and unleashes a torrent of flame against the battling browns, then sweeps it through the reds and against the blues. Alph is the only one able to throw up a defense - layered barriers across the mouth of the portal - and you and your clones drag as everyone out of the immediately affected area. Either the fire itself or the strain of transmitting so much power proves too much for the portal, however, and the stone bracings splinter, then shatter. Fate looks at the ruined portal for a moment before sighing.

"… Well, Vita and Flandre were both on the other side. Maybe their Devices have enough information to let someone teleport through?" Your head jerks around to stare at Verossa from a humanly impossible angle.

"What?" Fate clears her throat and shakes her head when you turn back to her.

"Headquarters is interested in studying the effect they had on magic. As far as I know, there are no plans for allying with them - and we were instructed to eliminate the portal if containing them seemed too troublesome. It's just … frustrating, that we took steps to minimize damage to the portal itself, and then it collapses anyway."

"Well, let's get back to the ship and get some rest. Then we can get back to helping on Hroth."

---

You don't have much to do for the next day, as the night-demons appear to have vanished entirely - or all been killed off in the fighting. You do see Vivio a few more times; when she's in her child form she is merely uncomfortable around you. It's when she dons her adult Sankt-Kaiser mode that she's actually hostile, and Verossa attempts to explain that it has something to do with actions taken by one of the Numbers, rather than Vivio's own will, but you simply wave him away. She doesn't need to use her adult form, so regardless of the base fault, she is definitely to blame for creating a situation in which she's hostile to you. But between that, Satsuki's constantly sleeping condition, and the need to send Deed back to Mid-Childa for repair and healing - and Fate being instructed to return to Mid-Childa as well - you're going back. Alph made a few pointed remarks about your leg, and Satsuki seemed actually concerned about it, but it doesn't seem to be affecting you much. It doesn't even stay crystal when you transform into a bat, and returns to its crystal form when you turn back! Still … maybe they're right.


What do you do?

[ ] Keep the crystal leg. Maybe you can get Remilia and Patchouli to do something neat with it!
- [ ] See a Mid-Childan doctor about it.
- [ ] Time-skip:
- - [ ] Vacation for Satsuki.
- - [ ] Shopping!
- - - [ ] Bring Cinque to serve as a model.
- - - - [ ] … And Nove and Wendi.

[ ] Right, it was neat, but it is a bit distracting. Best to rip it off and let your leg go back to normal.
- [ ] Let the Mid-Childans have it.
- [ ] Destroy it.
- [ ] Keep it; maybe you can do something with it.
- - [ ] Time-skip:
- - - [ ] Vacation for Satsuki.
- - - [ ] Shopping!
- - - - [ ] Bring Cinque to serve as a model.
- - - - - [ ] … And Nove and Wendi.

[ ] Other?


DM Note: I figured an hour and a half earlier was better than 4+ hours late, especially with the vote distribution.

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] Right, it was neat, but it is a bit distracting. Best to rip it off and let your leg go back to normal.
- [X] Keep it; maybe you can do something with it.
- - [X] Time-skip:
- - - [X] Vacation for Satsuki.


"Satsuki. Sa~atsuki. Can you wake up for a little bit?" Your servant opens one eye groggily and mumbles unintelligibly. You tap her nose. "We're teleporting back to Mid-Childa, now, and Fate says it's night-time over there, so you should be awake for the transfer." She grumbles until you poke her again, then rolls out of the bed, managing to get her feet under her only after she starts falling. You clap happily, but she just gives you a confused look, and you rather suspect she's not consciously thinking about what she's doing. "Come on, let's go!" She follows you through the ship to the infirmary where everyone else is waiting, waking up more fully along the way. Fate nods to you, then gives your leg a meaningful look.

"We'll be transferring to the medical center first, so they can look at Deed and the others who'll be coming back with us. Are you going to have them look at your leg before we head to Long Arch?" You pout, looking down at your crystalline leg, then shrug.

"Nah, I'll just take care of it here." Fate blinks, confused - and as you raise and twist your leg, her eyes widen in understanding, and Alph starts to lunge forward. Of course, before she can even get a good start, your other hand slashes down just above your knee, severing the lower part of your leg. Satsuki meeps in surprise, and several of the injured people in the room just stare at you as power flows through your body, regenerating your leg in seconds. Fate practically glares at you, teeth clenched, and you shrug as you examine the crystal limb. "One of the benefits of being a centuries-old inhuman monster that feeds on humans and is feared and despised by most, if not all, humans. Of course, most humans don't consider the drawbacks worth it, especially if they actually like going outside during the day." Your eyes meet Fate's, and she inhales deeply - but what you're paying attention to are the reactions of the injured. Some are crippled, some merely badly injured … but after your brief explanation, you don't sense the jealousy and covetousness that had been starting, and most of them start looking away, seemingly shamed. You put the leg away; you'll hang onto it, maybe find some use for it. Make for a boring story, though. Fate rubs the side of her head and sighs.

"Well, if that's everything …?" She looks around, making sure that the dozen extra wounded are all within the circle, meets Carim's sedately smiling face, and holds Bardiche in front of her. She starts chanting, the magic circle grows beneath your feet - and then, with a crack like thunder, there's a rough sensation of movement before you find yourself standing atop a building on Mid-Childa. A swarm of doctors rush forward to assist the wounded; the one helping Deed looks vaguely familiar - perhaps you saw her at Fate's party? Fate leans against Alph, and you wonder just how much more taxing it is to teleport a bunch of people than to teleport just the caster. Then you look down and realize that the magic circle is actually still there - she's chaining teleports. And when the last of the wounded are on their way inside, and one of the doctors nods, the circle flares again and you're in the entry hall of Long Arch. Fate promptly starts to fall over, and Alph catches her. Ginga and the others give her a worried look as Alph adjusts her grip on her master to carry her.

"She's fine, just tired," the familiar says, then turns her worried expression back on you and Satsuki. You smile and wave her away.

"Shoo, shoo; get her to bed," you say, and she gratefully starts moving. "Fate's fine, just tired. Deed will live, too, although she lost an eye trying to keep the night-demons from the Sankt-Kaiser." All four cyborgs give relieved sighs.

"Did … how did …?" Ginga tries to work out the right way to ask her question, and you shake your head.

"Last I saw, confirmed civilian death toll was in the low ten-thousands, around a hundred Bureau troops, and another hundred-some Church Knights. Carim, Verossa, and Schach all suffered some degree of injury, although none of them should need any major surgery or the like. Fate's fine, just tired. Vita's on bed-rest and restricted to light duty for at least a couple months." You think back to your last meeting with the little knight, where she apologized again for not telling you everything about Satsuki right away and said that she didn't hold you too responsible for what happened. Which, when you asked Hayate about it afterward, mainly meant that she wasn't going to say anything against you if anyone opened up any conduct-related inquiries … and you haven't heard anything about Vivio recanting her desire to have that letter sent, so you probably will have to deal with that sometime in the future.

"Um … is Vivio alright?" You blink and focus on Wendi, a little confused by the concern in her voice, then shrug.

"Yes, she's fine." Cinque winces at the bluntness of your tone. "Anyway, come, let's sit down if we're going to talk more right now." You start walking toward the cafeteria, but pause and half-turn, leaving the choice up to the cyborgs.

"Well … we did have a cake ready …." Wendi looks up the stairs nervously, as if worried that merely mentioning dessert will wake the Enforcer and send her barreling through the building. Satsuki, on the other hand, looks very interested.

"A cake?" Ginga chuckles and you shrug.

"Well, then, I guess we'll have some cake and you can tell us a bit more about what happened." Satsuki claps her hands quietly and you make your way to the cafeteria. Once pieces are served - a chocolate-vanilla-and-something-not-found-on-Earth cake that is more delicious than it has any right to be - and Alph called - literally stuck in bed due to her master's crushing grip, although apparently nothing is wrong and she just does this sometimes - you and Satsuki tell your stories.

---

Two days later, you finally approach Fate in her office. "Come in," she calls out after your knock, and you enter, making extra sure that Alph isn't there. You know you saw her leave to do some shopping, but with teleporters, it's hard to be absolutely certain where they are. "… Is something wrong, Flandre?" You shake your head and move quickly, hopping into the chair across from Fate. Wouldn't do for her to think you're jealous of Alph or anything ….

"… Do you think it would be possible to get Satsuki some time off?" Fate blinks and cocks her head, dismissing the screen she was working on to look at you more closely.

"She - I mean, she's your servant, and not very affiliated with us, so …?" You sigh and shake your head.

"Right, but there's not a lot that I can do for her - and most of what I do would need your authorization, anyway. But more to the point …." You scratch the side of your head. "Look, a year ago, Satsuki was a perfectly normal girl, with friends and family, going to school, without any idea that vampires and magic were real in her world, let alone that other worlds existed. And now she's the servant of a malevolent vampire who's trying to teach her how to survive and is temporarily employed by a benevolent, heroic organization. And we just prevented a world from being overrun by evil goblins. She … she should be allowed to see some normalcy, don't you think?" Fate stares at you for a moment.

"Like a … a tour of the city, or something?" You nod vigorously.

"Or museums, or parks, or something. Ginga and the prisoners are fine, and Alph is a good influence for her, but it's hard to tell if she's happy cooped up with so few people around. The only places I know are all associated with the Bureau, except for the Church's Cathedral, and I'm not even sure where that is, so it's not like I can show her around the city." Fate nods for a moment, and starts to bring up a screen, then looks at you.

"Do you think she would rather visit Earth, given the opportunity?" You very carefully control yourself; you'd hoped Fate wouldn't bring it up. You're pretty certain you know what Satsuki would go to Earth for, and if this Earth is normal, then it might not end well. Instead you shake your head gently.

"Earth is, I think, too normal for her right now. She would have to hide who and what she is, and while the culture might be more familiar to her, it wouldn't be new. Mid-Childa would be something new for her, without being too far outside her comfort zone. Besides …." You sigh uncomfortably and Fate frowns. "Look, I'm a malevolent, evil, centuries-old vampire. Satsuki isn't; she was born human and still holds a generally human mindset. I like her anyway, and I'm not determined to really change her personality - I want her able to survive on her own, without having to starve herself until she goes berserk from hunger. And Gensokyo might be a good place for her to learn that … but I think she also might like to come here after she finishes serving me." Fate's eyes widen and you nod. "She's a good person, she gets along with you and some other influential individuals, and I'm pretty sure she approves of the Bureau's mission. And she would be accepted here. So …." You trail off unhappily, but Fate just gapes at you, shocked, and you scowl and cross your arms angrily. "What? You think I can't care about someone else?" It takes her a moment to force words through moving lips, and she shakes her head.

"N-no, I just … you've put a lot of thought into her well-being," she finishes, and you snort derisively. Wisely, she drops the subject and clears her expression. "Ah, it'll take me a couple days to get it set up, but it shouldn't be a problem. And if you change your mind about visiting Earth, it won't be a problem, either." Still glowering, you nod and rise from the chair.


What do you do?

[ ] Actually, Earth might be a good idea after all ….

[ ] Go along with Satsuki on her little tour. You're one of the few people she knows, after all, and most of the others can't come with her for one reason or another.
- Any particular sights or type of location to visit?

[ ] Sneak along on Satsuki's tour. No need for her to know you're there.

[ ] Let her go alone with her guide; if you're there, she'll probably feel pressured to do things 'properly.'

[ ] What are you thinking? It's Satsuki's vacation - let her decide!


DM Note: So, now that the quest is finally starting to wind down, there's a sort of question I've been wondering about. Problem is, by asking it I'll probably be spoiling a 'surprise' I have planned for a bit down the road. Now, this is me, so odds are I'll fumble the 'surprise' or otherwise handle it poorly, so maybe people won't care about being spoiled on it. Anyway, question for everyone - should I bring up this particular question now, or leave it alone?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] What are you thinking? It's Satsuki's vacation - let her decide!


You withdraw from Fate's office and make your way down to your piano. Playing it may not give you any insights into the future, but it's something you can do to take your mind off your worries. After all, if you leave it up to Satsuki, you're pretty sure you know what she'll pick. … Maybe the letdown won't be so great if she makes the choice?

After nightfall, she walks into the music room, and you abruptly stop playing and turn around to look at her. She stiffens, certain that she's done something wrong, and you walk up to her and give her a gentle hug. "Satsuki, I've arranged things with Fate so that you can have a bit of a break. You really did very well on Hroth, and you've worked very hard on everything. I thought about letting you do a bit of sight-seeing here on Mid-Childa, but Fate also brought up the availability of this place's Earth, where you might be more familiar with the language and the culture. It's your decision, unless you want me to make up your mind." She stares at you for a moment, then squeezes you tightly.

"Oh! Thank you, Flandre-sama! Thank you!" You pat her shoulders gently to get her to release you.

"It will probably take a few days to get everything set up, though." She nods quickly, then looks at you nervously.

"Um … it's … it's really my decision?" You nod firmly and she takes a deep breath. "Then - then, I'd like to visit Earth! Um … will you be coming with me?" You shrug and her eyes widen.

"It's up to you, Satsuki. If you want to keep me around for your vacation, I'll come with; if you'd rather be by yourself, I'll stay here." After a moment she shakes her head.

"No! No, please … please come with me, Flandre-sama. I …." She blushes and looks away. "If you're with me, I won't be a problem for other people - or, not so much of one, anyway. Even if it is a vacation, you'll make sure I don't get out of control, right?" You smile lightly and bow your head, and she sighs, relieved.

"I'll let Fate know what your choice is later tonight. In the meantime, however -" you turn away and return to the piano, "- let's see how well you've been practicing your singing." She laughs nervously.

---

The next few days pass uneventfully. Fate takes your clarification of Satsuki's desires in stride, and preparations are made - most notably, you both receive clothing of Earth-manufacture, and you each receive 'credit cards' set to draw on a previously-established Bureau account. While Satsuki is very nervous about it, you don't mind; all it really means is that the Bureau will know what you're spending money on, and you don't exactly plan on buying anything too outrageous - not without clearing it with someone else, first. You make sure you have Patchouli's mask with you, and after some heartfelt goodbyes between Satsuki and everyone else - and some less enthusiastic ones between you and them - Fate teleports you to Earth.

You're looking up at the time, having been warned about where you're going, so when you open your eyes the first things you see are the wonderfully familiar stars of your homeworld, and the brilliant crescent of a waxing moon. You inhale deeply.

"Ah, Fate! You're so grown-up!" You look down to see the brown-haired woman - Amy Harlaown - hug Fate. "Come on in, tell me what you've been up to. Chrono doesn't like talking about work, and Lindy's so busy!" She starts trying to drag Fate down into the house.

"Amy … I'm not staying, I'll be back in a few days -" You poke your superior in the side, disrupting her attempt to stay where she is.

"Nope, nope! Alph told me to make sure you get some rest instead of just coming right back to Mid-Childa, Fate." Fate gives up, defeated, and you bow your head to Amy. "Hello, Amy. I'm Flandre Scarlet, and this is Satsuki Yumizuka. We'll try to stay out of your way while we're here." Satsuki bows deeply over her suitcase, but Amy shakes her head. If she's at all worried about hosting the two of you - or you, rather - she's very good about not showing it.

"Oh, not at all! I have the kids to worry about during the day, but if you need anything after they've gone to sleep, don't worry about asking. I used to manage Chrono's work, after all - taking care of planning for visits on a single planet won't be any problem at all!" Satsuki starts relaxing under the woman's bubbly, energetic personality, and the four of you make your way down into the house. Amy already has tea ready - green, of course, and some of those abominable sugar cubes just in case - and even some brochures of locations that are open at night. There's also a map of the region, which Satsuki immediately focuses on as Fate and Amy start talking about unrelated things. Looking over your shoulder, you find her paying the most attention to another location in the region - not 'Uminari' but 'Misaki'. It's even close enough that getting there wouldn't be much of a problem … unfortunately. Then she notices you peering at the map and twitches.

"Ah, Flandre-sama! I was … just looking at where we are. I've never been in this city before …." You blink twice before nodding.

"It's fine, Satsuki. Did you have any particular thoughts on what to do, or do you just want to relax for right now?" Amy claps her hands.

"Oh, right! I almost forgot!" You and Fate exchange bemused glances as your host bolts upright and rushes into the kitchen - but then Fate smiles as Amy returns with a large tray. "Fate, I know you're going to be insistent on going back tonight, but apparently Nanoha's been too busy to get things from Midoriya like normal, so when I told her parents that you were coming by on a short visit, they asked if you might be willing to take some things back for her. I told them that of course you'd be delighted to." You giggle at Amy's unnecessary stressing of certain words, and she turns to you and Satsuki. "Midoriya is a coffee shop run by Nanoha's family, and they make the most wonderful sweets! Go on, try some! Before you leave to go back to Mid-Childa, you'll have to stop by in person and pick out some for yourself, though." Satsuki's face lights up as she tries one pastry, and even you have to admit that it's very good. Not quite as good as Sakuya's, of course … but then, like everyone else in the mansion, you're pretty sure that Sakuya cheats.

"I don't know how Arisa can stay in shape with these at her beck and call," Fate says, and Amy chuckles.

"College, Fate. That, and all those dogs. Do either of you like pets? Cats or dogs, specifically?" You shrug and look at Satsuki.

"Um … I don't know? I've never had one, so …." Amy titters and wags her finger.

"Well, we'll have to see both of them at some point, then to see if you're a dog person or a cat person." Fate smiles.

"Well, she does get along with Alph." Amy rubs her chin thoughtfully, and Satsuki turns a bewildered look on you.


What do you do?

[ ] Take Satsuki out for a short walk.
- [ ] See if you can reach the ocean.
- [ ] Find a mall or something and browse.

[ ] Relax for the rest of the night.
- [ ] Go shopping.
- [ ] See if Satsuki likes dogs.
- [ ] See if Satsuki likes cats.
- [ ] Make Satsuki take the lead.

[ ] Other?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] Take Satsuki out for a short walk.
- [X] Find a mall or something and browse.


You smile and pat Satsuki's shoulder. "Silly people. Come on, let's go for a walk." She relaxes a little and nods quickly before looking nervously at Amy and Fate. Fate seems resigned, but Amy looks around quickly.

"Ah, a coat! Do I have a coat somewhere …?" You cock your head at her as she starts to get up.

"It's not that cold out - it's not even snowing!" She shakes her head and looks at you, trying to figure out a delicate way of explaining herself.

"No, um … I mean, your wings …. They stand out, and people here aren't used to … not-normal things happening." You giggle and shake your head and take out Patchouli's mask.

"This'll keep other people from noticing anything strange about me, at least as long as they don't already know me and I don't start doing obviously weird things like fly around and shoot danmaku." You hold the mask to your face and let go. Maybe you should have asked Patchouli how it works. Amy gives Fate a skeptical look, but the Enforcer just sighs.

"It does seem to work. And, as long as it doesn't wear off in too public a place, we can deal with the aftermath if we have to. We won't have to, though, will we, Flandre?" You bow politely.

"Of course not, Fate." You smile, but she still just looks tired, and you pat Satsuki's shoulder again. "Anyway, you stay here and stop worrying for a little bit, and Satsuki and I will go out and see what's around here. Okay?" Amy nods, back to smiling, and picks up two small cases from the table.

"Then, one more thing for you two to have for a bit." She hands the red case to you and the yellow one to Satsuki, and you open yours to find a small folding device - a small phone - in yours. Satsuki looks up at Amy, surprised. "It's easier to keep in contact this way if people can't reliably use telepathy. My number is already programmed in, and so are a few other people's, but please don't call anyone else unless it's a really major emergency or you've already met them and have permission to call them. Understand?" Satsuki nods solemnly, and you nod as well while slipping your phone into a pocket. "Alright. Then, last two things." She gets up and gestures for you to follow her to a fairly spacious room on the northern side of the building. A large bunk bed is set up in one corner, as much out of the sun as it possibly can be, and both beds have copious amounts of sheets and bedding. A small table has a microwave, and a small cooler beneath it, and the outer wall opens to a balcony. "This will be your room for the next few days. The balcony door doesn't lock, just so you're aware of that, but the second thing …." she picks up two keys and hands them to you and Satsuki. "In case I'm not awake or I had to go somewhere, keys to the front door. Welcome to Earth; I hope you enjoy your stay." She bows, then throws decorum out the window and gives you and Satsuki a hug. When she pulls away, you smile at Satsuki as she wipes at one eye.

"We'll do our best to keep out of trouble and not be a bother. Thank you for having us," you say, and Satsuki nods quickly. Amy smiles happily and leads you through the house to the front door; you snag a local-area map on your way out, but it isn't until you're well down the street that you do anything except lean into Satsuki. "… How are you feeling?" She takes the phone out of her pocket and stares at it for a while before responding.

"I … I know they're a big organization, and they're probably just following procedures or something, but … they're really nice." She wipes her eyes again and you open the map - it looks like someone was making notes on it, because some areas have circles and questioning statements about suitability for visiting.

"I don't think they're quite following procedure, though," you say, and she looks at you. "Like you said, they're a big organization, and this sort of thing probably isn't too uncommon, so they probably do have a set of instructions on what to do. But what if, say, we'd gone instead to Germany. Do they have any families in Germany that we can stay with? Probably not. What they're probably supposed to do is set us - or visitors in general, I suppose - up in an inn or some local equivalent. Instead, they're lodging us with one of their families - one with children, no less - and trying to help us find things we might enjoy. For them, this isn't just 'two employees on vacation,' this is 'two people we care about taking some time off.' They really care." You're very careful to keep emotion out of your voice as you speak, but Satsuki slows and stops anyway.

"… I … I have to pay them back …." You shake your head and poke her arm.

"Satsuki, no. The only 'paying back' you have to do is to maintain your usual activities and effort. This is a reward for what you've already done." She blinks at you for a moment, then giggles nervously and leans against a lamppost. You frown worriedly at her for a moment, but she calms down and you look at the map. "Now, where's the nearest mall …?" She peers over your shoulder.

"Mall? Ah, Flandre-sama, we're in a residential area. We'd probably have to walk for an hour to find a real mall. If you want to do some light shopping, though -" she points at a couple nearby locations that weren't highlighted by Amy, "- these are convenience stores. They don't usually have much selection, and they don't carry things like clothes, usually only food and drinks and some other small things. They're usually pretty close, and if there's a school nearby there are usually going to be a lot, because a lot of students stop by to pick up lunches, or breakfast. Hmm … come on, let's go to this one." Filled with purpose, Satsuki strides off confidently, and you grin as you hurry to catch up to her. You like this side of Satsuki; usually she's too meek, too insecure, but if you find something she actually knows, she's more confident and determined, and it's so much better to be around her then.

It doesn't even take you ten minutes to reach the store, which is not very large, but the layout maximizes efficiency. The store clerk watches you amusedly; perhaps he thinks you're some visiting foreigner, and your host is showing you around and explaining how things work. And Satsuki does sound … you giggle and Satsuki pauses, looking at you hesitantly. You sigh; you broke the spell. "I'm sorry, Satsuki. I just realized what you were doing." She cocks her head, suddenly nervous.

"I, I wasn't doing anything …." You shake your head and lean into her.

"You were imitating me, the way I talk about something I know well and the mannerisms I use," you say, and her face starts reddening. "I wish I hadn't noticed, though, because you seemed very relaxed and comfortable, and now that I've said something you'll probably stay nervous for a while." She's quiet for a moment, then her arms wrap around you.

"… Thank you, Flandre-sama. I … I'll try to relax again, okay?" You nod and return the hug.

"This is supposed to be for you, you know. If you want to see something particular - or if you don't want to do something - speak up. And make sure you relax and enjoy yourself." She chuckles.

"I will, Flandre-sama. Thank you." She isn't quite so confident and direct now, but she does back to talking about convenience stores, and she speaks more naturally. She shows you the event kiosk, but the only things you would have the time to see are sports events - the idol concert is in two weeks and the new museum exhibit won't happen until a week after that. Some of Satsuki's confidence returns when she explains what an idol is, although she goes back to 'normal' when she says that you would probably be good at it. Maybe you and Remilia can do something …?

In the end, after nearly an hour of chattering and looking around the store, you end up only getting some 'Häagen-Dazs' ice cream - Satsuki asks you what the name means and seems surprised to find out that it's nonsense - and some candied popcorn. As you and Satsuki eat the ice cream together outside the store, Satsuki seems a lot happier and more relaxed. She even sticks her tongue out at you when you try to wipe off some of the ice cream on her cheek! All too quickly, however, the ice cream is gone, and Satsuki leans back and looks up at the moon, looking content.


What do you do?

[ ] You've had fun, but you should probably get back to Amy's so she doesn't worry.
- [ ] Tomorrow, go shopping.
- [ ] Tomorrow, see if Satsuki likes dogs.
- [ ] Tomorrow, see if Satsuki likes cats.

[ ] Just wander around for a little bit.

[ ] Other?

 

[Entropy Judge]

[X] You've had fun, but you should probably get back to Amy's so she doesn't worry.
- [X] Tomorrow, explore some of the places marked on the map.
- [X] Ask Amy if she planned something for those before going.


"… Well, we should probably get back to Amy's so she doesn't worry," you say, and after a moment Satsuki nods. Of course, given where she comes from, Amy probably has some monitoring equipment that's watching you even now, but if Fate does decide to go back to Mid-Childa, she probably doesn't have anything with even a chance of stopping you. Of course, even Fate wouldn't be good for much beyond slowing you down if you really wanted to do something, but she could do at least that. … Maybe.

You throw the ice cream container in a garbage bin and start walking back to Amy's. Satsuki keep looking up at the moon. "It seems … different. Like something's missing." You look up at the moon before shrugging.

"Perhaps there's something in your moon that this moon lacks. Did the moon in Gensokyo feel strange to you, too?" She frowns and finally looks down from the sky.

"Mmm … maybe a little? Like something was different, but not … not missing. If that makes sense." You nod.

"Then this moon probably just isn't linked to anything. It's just a hunk of rock in space. The moons on Mid-Childa, too; they don't feel quite the same as the one at home." Satsuki cocks her head to the side for a moment before nodding, and you grin. "Well, we can ask my sister or Patchouli when we get back."

"Yeah." You lean into Satsuki again as you walk back, and this time she leans back against you. You look up and stick your tongue out, and she giggles. The lights are still on when you get back to Amy's, and you make sure to lock the door behind you. "We're back!" Satsuki looks a little sheepish when you glance at her, but it doesn't seem to affect her mood any. After following Satsuki's example and taking your shoes off, you meet Amy and Fate in the living room.

"Did you have a good time?" You nod, take off your mask, and plop onto the unoccupied couch.

"Yep! We got popcorn!" You wave the bag, showing off your prize, as Satsuki carefully makes her way around the couch to sit by your head.

"Yes. This is a nice neighborhood," she says, and Amy grins.

"Nanoha grew up here. Probably scared away all the troublemakers, especially once you and Vita came around, right Fate?" Fate blushes, embarrassed.

"I'll make sure to let her know you said that," she responds, and Amy freezes. "Oh, I'm sure you'll be fine. You've been keeping up on your exercises, right? Not slacking off just because you're not active duty, right?" You and Satsuki share confused looks, and you shrug.

"Um …." Fate smiles more naturally at Satsuki, and Amy relaxes - although she still looks a bit nervous. "I was looking at this map; is it alright if we start visiting some of these places tomorrow night?" Amy blinks, confused, then pales and scrambles toward you.

"Um, map? Marked? Um, may I see that, please?" You look up at her, confused, and a similarly-bewildered Satsuki holds the map out to Amy, whose face flushes and then pales again as she stares at the map. Fate seems confused as well, and then Amy bows deeply to Satsuki. "Um, I'm sorry! I started making this before I was really aware of your - um, of -" She turns a terrified expression to Fate, who smiles gently at Satsuki.

"I wasn't as clear about how you are unable to do anything during the day as I should have been, so some of the places she marked might not be accessible to you." Amy nods jerkily, still clutching the map tightly, but Satsuki simply nods and smiles back.

"It's alright. I can't read Mid-Childan yet, so I couldn't read your notes, but I guessed just from the locations that some of them would be closed by the time I wake up and can visit them. So don't worry about it." Amy sniffles and relaxes, nodding quickly as she works on getting herself back under control. "Um, I do want to do one thing, though. I'm from Misaki, and I was hoping to visit it while I'm here - if that's alright!" Amy nods, although Fate turns completely neutral.

"Flandre -"

"I know, I know. I'll keep her under control, and if something does happen, I'll call Amy right away." She nods slowly but keeps her eyes on you.

"That should be fine. Mm … I can get train tickets for - not tomorrow night, but the night after? Or three nights?" Satsuki looks down for a moment, thinking.

"Th-three nights, if that's alright." Amy smiles and nods before looking down at the map.

"Then I'll get it set up. Ah, there should be a packet in your room that has places you can go to, along with some detailed notes - in Japanese, this time!" She and Satsuki laugh before looking at you and Fate. "Er, is something wrong? You two are …."

"Flandre-sama? Is something wrong?" You shake your head and smile up at her.

"No, I'm just thinking. Wondering if Fate is going to follow everyone's advice and get some rest," she glowers at you, and Amy winces sympathetically, "and … wondering if there's a piano here?" Satsuki giggles, but Amy shakes her head.

"Not here, sorry. Mm …."

"Suzuka or Arisa. I think both of them have one, actually." You glance at Fate and she smiles. "My friends - Nanoha and Hayate's and mine. But … if you're serious about my getting some rest, then I'm going to have to turn in. And Amy, you have two little children to worry about, so you shouldn't be staying up all night, either, especially since Alph isn't here to help out anymore." Amy smiles and nods, then pulls Fate up from her chair.

"Right, right. Alright, you two, Fate and I are going to turn in, so make yourselves at home. Karel and Liera are pretty heavy sleepers for their age, so unless you make a lot of noise they shouldn't wake up, but I'll introduce you to them tomorrow night." She waves cheerily and starts chivvying Fate out of the room, humming. "Come on, Fate!"

"Ah, Amy! I can take care of myself!" You shake your head as they withdraw; Satsuki gives you a worried look, and you smile back before floating up to give her a hug around the waist.

"Apart from the moon, it's comfortable here?" She looks around and nods hesitantly.

"It's … a bit bigger than what I'm used to. But everything else is normal. And walking outside, looking at the houses … that felt good." You nod and give her a little squeeze.

"Good. Then let's go upstairs and look at the map." She nods and you let her go. Once you're in your shared room, however, you wait at the door. She stops in the middle of the room, apparently aware that something is about to happen. "… Are you prepared for the worst, Satsuki?" She nods. "Really? Which would be worse? That they're there, and you won't be able to do anything … or that there is no Tohno family?" She stiffens and turns to look at you, suddenly ashen-faced.

"No … no Tohno-kun?" You nod.

"Maybe. Do you think this world has a powerful pair of vampires, Remilia and Flandre Scarlet? Do you think your world has a powerful mage, Nanoha Takamachi? Maybe. I don't know. But you need to think about it, to prepare yourself in case the people you want to see aren't there. And if he is there, then there's probably a Satsuki Yumizuka, and we'll have to be careful about her, too." She blinks and licks her lips … and then nods.

"I … I will. Thank you, Flandre-sama." You look at her, then nod back. She obviously hadn't considered either of those possibilities, but now … hopefully she will.

"That's all I need you to do. Think about what could happen." She nods again, and you smile. "Now, let's look at what Amy has cooked up for us, hm?" She nods, eager to focus on something else, and you find the packet on the table. Apart from the various events, Amy's notes tell you that sundown is around five in the evening


What do you do?

[ ] Visit the Aquarium. It closes at ten, so you'll have to go early.

[ ] Try that 'Karaoke' thing. It closes at two in the morning, but most of the competition will be between nine and midnight.
- [ ] The main room.
- [ ] Take a private room.

[ ] Go to the movies. Princess Mononoke, Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, all on loop. Apparently it's some kind of promotion.


DM Note: Yeah, I'm not sure which would be crueler to Satsuki. Also, I'm still not sure which will be the case. I'll probably be reduced to flipping a coin. And don't expect any other Studio Ghibli films; those are the only ones I have (and that I've seen, for that matter).