Part 5: Chapter 58 (Part 1)
Here's our team for today (plus Mystia, who didn't quite fit). We've got every boss from IN minus Reisen, which is kinda neat.
Mystia doesn't have much better to do, so she picks up Unfocused Movement. I meant to buy MP Save for her too, but I forgot.
I give some of the units we're using this time some EXP. As a reminder, we can't train people that we brought on the previous chapter, so just giving a free level to Marisa every chapter is out.
I figured I might as well give Dai PP, since she rarely gets a chance to get it otherwise.
Onto the mission!
Chapter 58: Dream of the Stray Dreamer
The sounds are coming from over here!
Look, everyone!
The bridge has collapsed! What that the big noise we heard?!
And that's-
...
So it was Shiro after all! I don't think she's noticed us yet though. ...
4 black furballs zoom over to the Hisoutensoku float.
Aaah, Hisoutensoku!
Oh no... that was a symbol of peace and progress!
Explosions race across the entire fair.
Gwah! Our inventions! Stop it! Stop!
H-How awful... the bazaar grounds are a wreck!
It seems they're aiming for the kappa machines.
We've got to stop them right away! Get out there, everyone!
Here's what our deployment looks like.
The main thing to take note of is Marisa's position - it's the closest in number of tiles to Shiro's.
Stop this, Shiro! !
What do you hope to accomplish by attacking the bazaar?! ...
It's hard to tell, but Shiro's backs up a couple spaces...
...and her buddies spawn a bunch of danmaku to get in our way.
She's running away!
Too afraid to confront us head on, huh? She's like a cockroach!
This is bad though: if she reaches the other side we'll never catch up with her. We've gotta go full throttle and catch her!
But all the cannon fodder putting up danmaku are going to be trouble. Sorry, but do you think the two of you from heaven could help out?
Geez, fiiiine.
Tenshi spawns in.
What kind of celestial would I be if I didn't listen to your prayers?
This seems to be an emergency, so I'll be joining you too.
All units, our target is Shiro! Capture her at all costs!
We still don't know our enemy's true identity. So hurry, but be careful.
Victory: Catch Shiro.
Defeat: The Palanquin Ship is defeated, or Shiro leaves the map.
Bonus WP: ???
Tenshi joins the team! True to form, she has hella Armor. In fact, she's our mostly heavily Armored unit despite not having any items equipped.
Her currently equipped PS is Steel Maiden, reducing the cost of Wall which reduces all damage by 50% for a turn, btw to 10 SP. They're not fucking around with what her job is.
First things first. Yuyuko has the Mystic Memory equipped, reducing her SP Costs by 20%. This makes spamming Rally even more efficient! The extra Power will be very useful on this chapter.
Mystia sings Marisa a song of not getting hit. It turned out to be unnecessary, but she at least gets EXP out of it.
With a +70% Accuracy modifier, these black furballs are annoyingly accurate. Like many Normal+ grunts they also have over 10k HP, hence the ???s.
pew pew
Mokou got hit for 3k here, but I don't really mind.
Parsee/Rumia also swing in before I remember to check the stats. They're reasonably bulky, and have juuust enough Mobility for our less accurate units to conceivably miss.
Question marks abound! Kind of a pain that they have Instinct and Prevail.
The black furball gets love tapped by a giant potato.
That clears up a gap in the danmaku fields.
Speaking of, I forgot a really important detail. At the start of the Player Phase, if you're standing in their fields, you lose 2 Power. That's rude enough on its own, but it'll get even worse later on.
The Magic Team and The Bug Buddies both Accel up. The plan is to have Yamame in position to slingshot Marisa next turn if I need it. I probably won't, but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Speaking of Yamame, Clarste reminded me of something after I recorded this chapter. I normally have her move, then Spider Thread somebody up to her, which ends her turn. However, if you just have her web somebody before moving, it doesn't end her turn at all. Way more useful than I thought, and I'll have to keep it in mind for when Clarste inevitably votes her in for the rest of the game.
Might as well heal up Mokou.
In hindsight I really didn't have to use Accel so much, but OTOH Aya's job is pretty much just giving Sakuya Accel.
That 83% is with Sakuya casting Focus. Even factoring in their -20 Evade fields, these fuckers are accurate.
I tossed the Portable Gap on Sakuya. I don't think I've ever seen her "blocking with a barrier" sprite before.
Tenshi goes to finish this one off.
I have no idea who these guys are, but I hate them already. What a pain in the rear. Indeed. Although they seem to have some connection to the surface dwellers we've met. It doesn't sound like they're anything special though, so let's just clear them out. Even a thousand of these nitwits couldn't scratch me! You're certainly in good spirits, even after your rampage just now. I came all the way down to the surface, so I do what I want. Allow me to show you peasants the power of a celestial!
s-such power
On the Enemy Phase, Shiro moves 1 space up, and 3 to the left. She's trying to make it to the top left corner, so we've got plenty of time.
Most of the furballs don't move, but this one does.
Sakuya's in some serious danger here.
Well, time to gamble on that 65% Bunshin.
Thank you Private Square.
I'll take either Counter or Private Square here.
Whenever she activates Private Square, the screen blacks out and Sakuya pre-emptively dodges before the attack even comes on screen.
This furball moves in to attack Parsee. There's no way we're killing him on the counterattack, so sadly a bunch of our units are losing 2 Power.
On the Player Phase...
This is awful, the Hisoutensoku's been blown to pieces.
Right. And it was going to bring happiness to so many people... Don't feel too bad, I did manage to get a lot of pictures of it.
It's hard not to feel down when there's been so much damage though. Looks like most of the kappa's inventions have been smashed too.
They even set fire to the containers where we put our newest creations. We'll have to start our research over from scratch...
I hate this, just one more thing she's ruined.
No, it's too early to give up!
Oh? The kappa? E-Everyone! I thought you all evacuated?!
We found this in one of the surviving containers! Take it, Kawashiro! Wait, is this...?
Our pride and passion won't break THAT easily! We haven't tested this yet, but are you ready for AERIAL DOCKING?!
You bet I am! Let's do this! Live the dream!
Nitori learned Fly! Sanpei Fight
Hurray
Here's how we look going into Turn 2. We've got at least 4 more turns before Shiro would make it to the top left, which is plenty of time.
I really want to kill every black furball before catching Shiro, for reasons you'll see later, so the leniency of the time limit is appreciated.
I completely forgot that I equipped Sakuya's Tea on Yuyuko. With that she can get off a 3rd Rally. With all these Power decreasing fields, it's very appreciated.
Kaguya makes a furball shine like a diamond...
Gets to move afterwords thanks to Hit & Away...
And activates the Eternity Exceeded, getting another turn! Putting the EE on a H&A user makes for some fun positioning tricks, especially since now I can switch back to Mokou.
Speaking of, Aya uses her PS Tailwind to give Mokou Accel. If nothing else, Aya is alright in my books for that particular niche.
Even with Focus cast, this furball had a 65% on Mokou. FMW4's mooks can be pretty savage.
Yamame webs Reimu next to her.
While I wouldn't generally recommend a Reimu/Sanae team, having easy access to their Combo attack is nice.
Especially when you've got beefy mooks you'd really like to be dead sooner rather than later.
Marisa Accels up (in hindsight, I wouldn't have wasted the SP) and takes a swing at Shiro. Dem hit rates.
The damage here is completely irrelevant.
...
Ah! She recovered! You can't just attack her! You've got to get close and grab her!True to the objective, you have to occupy a space adjacent to her for it to count.
You can't see it, but Shiro has 200,000 HP, so you're not killng her. She's 0 PP and 1 whole dollar, so you wouldn't get anything for it even if you could.
That SS size is likely responsible for our hilariously shitty hit rates against her.
A furball gets cleaved...
And another gets knifed. That clears out the east side of the map.
Here's how we look going into the enemy phase.
These 4 furballs always seem to form up into this line, and I'm not sure why. Other than that, nothing happens.
Fast forwarding through this part a bit, I am reminded that Reimu is still really good at dodging.
Of course, it helps that between Predict and direct investments, she has +45 Evade, on top of +30 from being a Level 7 Shrine Maiden.
As an aside, come FMW4 and we're reaching that point where directly investing PP in stats is looking pretty appealing.
I kinda need Marisa/Alice to gain some Power, so I might as well toss an attack at Shiro.
On the Enemy Phase, the enemies mostly go for Youmu, since she has the lowest HP atm. This was all according to plan, as I had Mystia buff her Hit/Evade.
When I'm not LPing I usually turn animations off, so seeing some of these old ones is really nostalgic.
One of them takes an errant shot at Mystia, but Yamame's got her covered. Mostly I just took this screenshot because I've never stopped to really examine characters' blocking sprites before.
On the subject of examining things, check out that giant ying-yang ball. It's surprisingly well textured.
Alright, Player Phase of Turn 4. We've still got two turns left, which is excellent. I want to catch Shiro with my first action of a turn, so the plan is to kill all the furballs this turn, and then catch her on the next.
I don't think I've ever used Cirno for long enough to notice Icicle Fall's dynamic kill involves a Rider Kick. That's neat.
We've got the Aki Sisters too, so we've got quite the collection of kicks here.
In preparation for next turn, Alice summons in the suicide squad.
Here's how we look. I had something resembling a plan for why my units are so spread out, but in hindsight I would have handled this a bit differently.
Anyway...
That's far enough, Shiro!Fun fact: every unit in the game has their own unique line for catching Shiro. A lot of them are boring, but here's a couple fun ones:
I'm... huff... so out of breath... why am I doing this...?
Catch and Release. Or rather, the first half of that.
You have the right to remain silent! ...I've always wanted to say that.
Mystia obtained a fuzzball!
Oh my... I'm... bushed.
Uh, can I trap her under the bucket?
Wait, what? Why am I here first? Was anyone else trying...?
!
Great! Did we catch her?
Please keep her still. What if we sealed her in a barrier...? !
Struggling won't help. You're just a fuzzball. You may have been my pet, but don't expect any pity from me. Now that we've caught you, you're gonna tell us where your master is!
What? Her form is...The entire screen goes white here.
who the hell
BGM: Bottled Sheep - Fall Asleep
Y-You haven't caught me yet! Wha?!
Sh-She took on a human form?! Wh-What's going on? Is that Shiro true form?
Uu, I accidentally released the transformation... But I can't let myself get caught either...
And stop calling me Shiro! I'm not your pet anymore, Marisa!
Th-that's what you really look like? Wait, so you're-
That's right! I'm the counting sheep, Meeko. And I'm a proper sheep youkai!
Meeko, the sheep youkai... I never imaged the fuzzball would be someone like this transformed.
But if you can talk, then answer us. Why did you attack the bazaar? I've heard you work for that person who's been appearing in dreams. Is this her order too? You know, now that I'm out I might as well make this clear. I came today because the youkai here are doing something unnecessary. What do you mean? All these kappa tools and useful machines and other new stuff like they have in the outside world. You can't spread these to humans. So I came here to stop it. That's what she told me anyway. "She", huh? You mean the mastermind then.
That's right. I work for her! Then tell her to get out here so we can beat her up already. Or we can keep you tied up and continue the interrogation if you like? Uu... I-I'm not going to give in to your threats! In this form, I can use my power!
A bunch of black sheep spawn in.
Geh! A whole flock of 'em out of nowhere! And these aren't ordinary fuzzballs either! Just what are they?
See? You can't say you've caught me yet! I'd love to tell you to get off your high horse... but controlling this many minions is harder than you'd think.
But if it's a fight you want, then bring it on! We still need to get you back for that thing with Utsuho! Shiro- no, you said your name was Meeko. You definitely aren't any pet of mine. You're a youkai up to no good, so it's time to do my job!
Victory: Beat Meeko. (She runs away below 30% HP, or 10 turns after she appears).
Defeat: The Palanquin Ship is destroyed.
Bonus WP: Clear the map by defeating Meeko.
First thing's first.
Send in the dolls!
I can still hardly believe that you're Shiro. Gosh, didn't I tell you to stop calling me that? I'm not turning back either, so you're not getting any more convenient dreams!
So you were behind Marisa's strange dreams after all? And I heard your master would speak in those dreams. So you already know that much? That's right, I was using my body as a conduit for her power to control dreams. At first we thought we'd borrow the strength of Marisa's team, but then she stopped listening to us... So you got impatient and started acting on your own? Were we ever anything more than pawns to you? ...We do owe you for all that, but you're the ones who stopped listening! Now behave yourselves! My power can even put crying children to sleep!
cute
Meeko summons up a stampede
It's hard to get across in screenshots, but Meko gets bounced and spinned around by her own stampede. It's very cute.
Thank you for your service, brave doll.
Just as Yamame warned us, our certified Sanbondo Original is much tougher than she looks. 160 Mobility and 1700 Armor are nothing to sneeze at, and she has a unique Wool Guard that reduces all damage she takes by 1100. On top of that, she's got 10% HP Regen - she's starting to look a lot like a SRW OG2 boss with that Bonus WP condition.
Get used to seeing high levels of Prevail+ (Prevail and Instinct combined) on most bosses from this point on.
As an aside, she's got a MAP, but I've never seen her use it on this chapter.
Gathering intel... and also SP for Yuyuko...
These Black Sheep are pains in the ass. They have 11100 HP, and a lesser Wool Guard that reduces damage by 600. Much more importantly is their Count Sheep ability, which I'll explain in a second.
After you kill your first Black Sheep...
Look, I got it!
Keep this up and we'll get more and more hyped! Heh. Yeah, keep that up, please. That's just what I want.
What do you mean? Every time you beat one of my little babies, you lose a little power. In the end, everyone succumbs to sleep.
Wait, is this the thing where you count sheep and then fall asleep? Now that you mention it, I'm not feeling that rush we normally get by now... Be careful everyone. Approach carelessly and you'll fall into her trap.This is the game warning you about their Count Sheep ability. It decreases the Power you get from killing them by 2, and negates any Power the rest of your team would get as well. For those not familiar, every unit on your team gains 1 Power whenever any enemy unit is destroyed, aside from Yuyuko/Kaguya who gain 2.
The real danger of this ability will become apparent on the Enemy Phase, so ideally I'd like to kill as many of these jerks as possible right now.
I'm sparing no expenses here.
Even Tewi gets in on the action!
The Black Sheep have the same laser as the Black Furballs from the first section, but they also have this lightning attack. It's not particularly more dangerous, but it does look nice.
I don't think Tenshi had this attack as a boss. It looks cool, so make sure to check out her attack video.
This is what I was talking about with the positioning thing earlier. Sakuya is reliable, but she's, uh, not gunna handle that many sheep by herself.
Man, these FMW1 animations look so amateur when placed next to the newest stuff.
Here's how we look going into the Enemy Phase. Mokou's probably gunna die, but that's fine.
Meeko's animations are cute as fuck.
rip doll 3
I, uh, really need Marisa alive to get the Bonus WP, and she can get attacked twice here. It's safer to just defend both times, rather than gambling on dodging a 41%.
Mokou gets quite a work out. Most of the sheep have 0% to hit her, but this guy is low on HP so his Instinct kicked in for bonus accuracy. It's quite rude, but luckily Mokou survives with just over 100 HP.
On the Player Phase...
These youkai are harder to deal with than I thought.If you kill Meeko before this, she immediately heals and a minor variation on this conversation plays.
They make up for their weakness in numbers. Is this how she fights? The more sheep you count, the deeper you fall into my trap. That's why...
Even more sheep spawn in.
Oh no, is that even more on the other side?! She's trying to find a chance to escape while we're busy dealing with them all!
What a pain. At this point, I'd take any help we can get, even a cat.
Hey, what's that?
BGM: Skygazer
Unyu? A danmaku battle?
I thought it seemed noisy over here... and I couldn't found anyone on the way over either. If it isn't Utsuho and Orin! What perfect timing! Hello, Miss Kanako. Uh, what timing? What's going on here? We were just looking for someone.
! Wait, are those fuzzballs the ones who-?! The nuclear crow and that cat from before! So you came to the surface!
You got away last time, but I never thought you'd come to me. Uh, who are you? I get a bad feeling about this...
She's changed forms, so it's no surprise you don't recognize her. She's the fuzzball who attacked you! You're right, she has the same aura as she did back then! She came after the bazaar this time! Watch out you two! I would've let you go if you just threw away that disgusting power, you know. Everyone, get the crow! Not this time!
Orin intercepts a divebomb from a sheep.
A backstab only works once! I'll protect Okuu! What?! But still, there's just one of you!
Another sheep spawns in from the extreme right, but Utsuho catches it.
I won't forgive you if you hurt Orin!
Good work you two! Looks like they've both recovered from their injuries. Sorry for making you do that Utsuho. I hoped I could handle this on my own. But aren't you the one who told me not to do everything on my own? So don't say that. I want to help you! ...You're right. Neither of us are alone. Let's do this together from here on out. Watch my back, Okuu! Same here, Orin!
The defeat condition is appended to include Utsuho's defeat.
Orin has picked a couple of new tricks since we last saw her in FMW3's final chapter. She has a new Transporter ability that lets her use equipped consumable on adjacent allies, similar to Nitori. Her current PS, Rekindled Ashes, gives her access to a rare spirit called Revive, which, true to the name, lets her bring dead allies back to life.
Much more importantly, she can transform!
Kitty
She only has her basic Cat's Walk attack in this mode, but ideally with 9 Movement you get where you wanna be fast and then transform back.
On the other side, we've got the big bad nuclear crow herself. Despite her unit stats her being very similar to Orin's, she's much more offensively slanted, with a bigger focus on tanking hits than dodging. Her current PS, Yatagarasu Guide, gives her +40% Accuracy when she's above 130 Power.
She's reasonably strong at the moment, but she won't be showing us her true power just yet.
Here's the real problem with this stage. Meeko's danmaku field makes it so that, if you don't have at least 130 Power, you can't act. Not just not attack - you literally can't do anything! Presumably because you're asleep. On top of that, the black sheep all have the same -2 Power fields that the black furballs had.
I scrounged for as much Power as I could, so it's not a big deal, but if you're unprepared, this effect can completely ruin your day.
One nice thing is that Orin and Utsuho both have Faith, so I have no lack of full HP restores if I need them.
Yuyuko casts Rally a couple more times, pushing a bunch of teams into Full Power Mode.
Truthfully, this screenshot is mainly here as a memorial to Yuyuko giving my entire team 25 extra Power over the course of this chapter. Without her, I very seriously don't think I'd be able to get the Bonus WP on Normal+.
As-is, the black sheep massacre continues in earnest.
God I love how blatant this reference is.
The plan is to have the Magic Team drop two finishers via FPM, with Sanae S.Attacking with another, to drop Meeko from above 30%. It was at this point that I noticed that, due to how much time they spent just moving around, Alice has very low Power! So, I gotta rectify that.
In a similar vain, I should get Sanae's some Power and some faith as well.
I can't believe that cute little Shiro could be behind all this cruelty... I don't hate you, Sanae. I mean, you were even nice to me. But she was very disappointed in you for making that weird balloon and trying to bring in outside world stuff. But... We were just trying to use our knowledge for the good of Gensokyo... You're wrong! She told me it was bad!In case you're confused, you're not supposed to know who "she" is yet.
Sanae does not like being grazed by sheep.
Right at the end of the turn, I had Utsuho attack a black sheep. Unfortunately I forgot to cast any spirits, which was a big mistake.
Against these sheep, I should lower the output a bit... there we go. Good to see that you've gotten Yatagarasu's power under control. That's what all the training was for, right? She should be fine, even fighting on the surface. You're in perfect health, but still, try not to push yourself. Roger that, Miss Kanako, Doctor Eirin! The power of fusion is the ultimate power! See how I use it!
Hours upon hours of Nuclear Fusion metal remixes has burned the sound of klaxons into my brain.
Huh, that's not as much damage as I was expecting...
Seeing those damage numbers, I immediately realized what a terrible idiot I was.
Thanks to Prevail, Utsuho is juuuuuuust able to defend through 3 consecutive attacks.
No luck, all skill
Well, with that
Orin's gotta get some revenge for Utsuho first, though.
Time to pay these girls back for what they did!
Watch out, if you get too close to the sheep then they'll- Don't worry, they won't catch me so easily in that other form. What other form?
Are you referring to that cat transformation you used earlier? Your body would certainly be nimbler. Too bad I can't talk like that though. But I'll run circles around them!
spoogy fairies
God damn are Kaguya's animations extravagant.
Skipping past the rest of the black sheep (this is the same turn, Kaguya has the Eternity Exceeded if you forgot), Mokou goes in.
So that's the form you'll be fighting in? Perfect. Uu, you're that fire user... So I hear wool is extremely flammable? I think Akyu said something like that. Keine would kill me if I didn't take this chance to test out that theory. You can threaten me, but that doesn't mean everything's going to go your way!
Fine by me, I've never expected it to in the first place!And here's Kaguya:
Betrayed by her own pet, was it? I've never had such an impudent Inaba, even back on the moon. I never betrayed anyone... I've only ever worked for one master. Well said. Then you'll share that master's fate. A punishment befitting your sins. Both of you!
I don't think I've shown off her damaged sprite, so here it is.
Mokou dies in this exchange, but as usual, it just makes her stronger...
And it also gives Yuyuko more fuel. Synergy!
Reimu's blur effects remind me of NT-D Unicorn a bit. Of course, they're true to Touhou canon too -check out her boss fight in Imperishable Night if you're curious.
By the way, here's her convo:
Who'd have thought you were a youkai the whole time? I'm putting an end to your mischief right here, right now! Mischief? What? She put a lot of thought into this! This is all for the preserving the peace of Gensokyo... I can't believe you're saying that to the SHRINE MAIDEN. And all my instincts are telling me you're the bad guy here. It's time you learned exactly what it means to go up against the Hakurei shrine maiden!
Reimu hits Level 55, which gives her her first new PS in like 2 whole games! Mysterious Flying Shrine Maiden is pretty simple, it just gives her an S in Air.
For reference (since we recently looked it up in the code) S rank is +10% to everything relevent - evade/defense for a unit, or damage for a weapon. Not the most amazing thing in the world, but "+10% to everything you care about" is nothing to scoff at either.
Parsee's turn!
This isn't what we're here for, but good thing we ran into you. Uu... I can't believe even in the Underworlders are here. This is a pain...
Who are you calling a pain in the ass?! I-I didn't! But saying stuff like that is exactly why you are! I don't feel like debating, we have a debt to pay. Say your prayers, and regret your life choices!The dumbass 4 have a shared dialogue, so here it is on Rumia's behalf:
So you're Shiro? Who'd have thought!
Yeah, you don't look like that fuzzball we played with at all. You all... freezing me is not playing! What? Then what about all those times we flew around with the bugs?
You didn't taste very good... Uu... Now look here. Now that I'm in this form, you can't just do whatever you- That's our line! Your rampages are making all sorts of problems! When we beat you, everyone can go back to having fun!
I'd be remiss if I didn't remind everyone that Parsee has the best cut-in in the game.
You said your name was Meeko? Fix it. What's this all about...? Don't play dumb. Thanks to you, the soil in that whole wilderness region is totally messed up. If it weren't for my finely-honed legs and everyone else helping out, who knows what could've happened? Sh-She never wanted the surface to take damage... Stop making excuses. You're in the wrong, so apologize. If not, then you can do your part as fertilizer!Damn, the Akis can be pretty brutal
By the way, you have almost no chance of hitting Meeko without Strike. Units without it (or that have run out of SP, like Yuyuko here) are kinda SOL.
I'd heard you were a familiar, but who'd have thought you were a free-willed youkai... So you betrayed Marisa with no hesitation then? Of course I did. I only have one master, and it's not Marisa. And I'd do anything for her sake! I can tell you're resolved. I can't let my guard down either!And Yuyuko:
So the youkai's true form was a fuzzball? What a shocking twist! No, that's backwards! I'm a sheep, the fuzzball was a transformation!
Oh? Is that so? But it hardly matters.
Either way you've been causing more than your fair share of trouble. Uu, don't tell me you're going to use your power over death to- Nope～ Now stay still so I can catch you.
I'm not following all the details, but it looks like you're connected to these surface dwellers somehow. If you're up to no good, maybe I should have a word with you? If you're not involved, then stay out of this. This is about fulfiling our dream of- I didn't ask for your life story. When a celestial talks to you, just shut up and nod!And Iku:
I suppose this is the flow too, but I've certainly gotten wrapped up in something strange. If only I'd taken the eldest daughter home just a bit sooner, I could've avoided all this... If that's what you think, then you could just leave me alone, you know. That's not an option. When misfortune and disaster make an appearance, one must always prepare a countermeasure. And more importantly, the eldest daughter seems enthusiastic.
Yeah, I think she gets the picture.
That ended this turn. Nothing exciting happened on the Enemy Phase.
Meeko gets sent to the rainbow dimension...
And then the fire dimension. That puts her pretty close to the 30% mark - I could maybe finagle it to get it a bit closer, but I'd rather play it safe.
While I'm casting a shitload of support spirits, here's a few conversations that I didn't get, but wanted to share anyway:
And so the kappa bazzar ends on a sour note. It pains me to say this, but it seems I won't be able to write that light-hearted fluff piece after all. Fine with me. If that means more people will hate new stuff, then that's just what she wants! Using the media to manipulate public opinion? Hardly a praiseworthy act.
Maybe I'll cheer myself up by taking it out on you! So this is the fuzzball who attacked me back then... We could've avoided all that if you'd just stayed quiet in the Underworld. But by the looks of you, you haven't learned a thing. I have! I know I caused Miss Satori and the others a lot of trouble. But that's why I gonna be useful now! I won't lose to you! If you powerup, you'll just go berserk again! Why won't you learn?! Oh, I've been wanting to meet you again... I'm gonna tear your guts out and feed 'em to the crows! Y-You're threatening me?! But YOU'RE the bad guys for wanting new stuff like nuclear fusion! And what's wrong with that? You can't tell people how they should feel or think. Time to pay you back! Miss Satori's share too! Be careful, the radar is showing a large youkai energy reading! So by undoing the transformation, you and your minions have unlocked your full power too? That's right. my power can reach you even inside the boat. The bigger they are, the harder they fall! I can make anyone sleep! We wouldn't survive a fall! Kourindo, you're not allowed to fall asleep at the wheel! G-Got it! If I start drifting off, just give me a smack! So this is the true form of the familiar then. Alice...! ...I owe you a lot, Alice, really. You were always nice to me. But even back then, you were keeping an eye on us, weren't you? We should've taken measures as soon as we heard about you from Yuuka... Yeah, if you'd all listened to us back then, we'd never have had that nuclear fusion problem! ...Looks like you haven't reflected on your actions. Brace yourself, Meeko, this is going to hurt. I still can't believe that little fuzzball was a youkai girl.
You owe a lot to both Kourindo and Marisa for taking care of you, you know. Oh yeah, I've always wanted to tell you something. Me? You should fix that habit of spouting nonsense theories when explaining how something works. Good grief, it appears my erudite wisdom sounds like nonsense to a mere pet.
...Wait, so does this mean you talk to YOURSELF like that too?
Alright, preperation complete! Let's fini-
wait alice why do you... and shizuha's out of sp for attune... welp
Time to gamble!
Shiro... no, Meeko. I can't believe you and your master were trying to make me an accomplice. We just wanted your cooperation, Marisa. And you just had to stop listening... But if you won't help us anymore, then this is our only choice! Who'd listen to paranoid ramblings like that? And it's not like you ever bothered to listen to MY side of the- It's too late for that! We've already taken things into our own hands! If that's how you feel, then that's that. But as the first human you recruited, I've got a duty to stop you. Think about what you've done when you're being fried by my Magicannon!
No luck, all skill
Marisa lays the smackdown...
And Sanae's delivers the final blow!
I'm amazed I did this chapter in one try. The previous one took me like 5.
Marisa and Alice both leveled up to 56, which got them up to Magician L7, so
to that too.
Uu... they're strong, I knew it...
We're finally facing you head on! Not everything's going to go how you want it! If you realize you've lost, then surrender and tell us who you're working for.
No way, I can't do that! Anyway, we can't just leave this place to people like you! What could you mean by that? You heard me! How could we trust people who let the power of nuclear fusion go free? ! Last time your power went berserk, you vaporized that entire forest. You can still see the scars from here. You want that to happen again? But that was your fault, dumbass!
Sheesh, that was because you provoked her, so- ...No, she's right. Okuu... On the way here, we passed by the place I fought everyone. When I thought about what me and Lord Yatagarasu did, I got scared... but- If that's how you think of your power, then just give it up already!
BGM: Girls, Surpass the Carnage
What? There were still more?! C'mon girls, you can do it!
Waaaaaaaah! Utsuho! Just abandon that power already. Once you do, we'll be that much closer to her dream!
No... I have this power to help people... You're still saying that?! Why do you need this power so much?! It's just waiting for someone else with a twisted heart to abuse it. It'd be better if it were just gone! That way everyone will be happy! I can't just... give up like that...!
!
When I think about what happened, I get scared. But the place I burnt has been cleaned up. Plants are growing there now. When everyone works together, we can protect life.
That's why I still believe in the chance! You can't tell us what we can't do!
BGM: The Crow that Swallowed the Sun
! Those flames! See! Even after saying all that, your power's still running wild! No, it's different this time. It's warmer, gentler... The light of the sun!
The flare dies down.
The caloric value is increased, but it's stable! Wh-What's going on? The fusion can be controlled...? Maybe not on my own. But it's different now! That's right! We're in this together! We'll support each other, and correct each other's mistakes! With that support, Utsuho's heart won't be swallowed by her own power. By facing Yatagarasu head on, she's been able to make all that energy her own. Y-You're just bluffing! You have to be! Why don't you see for yourself if it's a bluff?
Removing limiter!
Click here to watch the video!
Wh-What is she?! She can really control fusion?! Wow, you're awesome Utsuho! But even if you can control it, it's still bad! We need to get rid of it! Looks like you've something in mind, but it's over. You lost. Just give up already! Uu!
I think she's supposed to move to the top left here, but the tile is blocked.
Uwah, she's in top shape again?! Hmph. I'm just making a tactical retreat. If Lady Makura were here, you wouldn't stand a chance! Makura? Is that her name?
That's right, Makura Muwatari! A great youkai who controls dreams! No one thinks about the people who live here more than her! Makura Muwatari? Never heard of her. Well, even if you know her name, you still can't touch her.
A bunch of black sheep group up on her.
She's using the remaining sheep as a shield! You're definitely going to regret not obeying Lady Makura someday! Until then, sweet dreams! No wait, bad dreams! Have nightmares!
A series of explosions is followed by a fade to white...
After which, Meeko disappears.
Ugh, can't we chase her?!
I can't sense her anymore, she must have shrunk as she was running. What do we do? Keep after her? We can't chase too far; who knows how many more of these sheep she has waiting to ambush us? Let's check on the bazaar grounds and then think about what to do next. Understood. Return to the ship everyone, but cautiously.
BGM: What's the Strategy?
We looked around a bit, but all the fuzzballs are gone. None of the humans or youkai have any significant injuries. That's a silver lining, at least. I suppose we can thank the tengu for guiding people to safety? Just the sort of decisive leadership you'd expect of the mountain youkai. But still, I was surprised to see Utsuho fight. Your control over your power is perfect. Yeah, thanks to Miss Kanako and Miss Suwako's special training! I should also thank Doctor Eirin, and everyone else from the surface. You're thanking us? In order to use her power at maximum capacity, it was necessary for her to confront her memories of going berserk. It was her desire to return her debt to us that pushed her to overcome the training. That's for sure. I should be thanking you too. Even after all that happened, you were still willing to-
No need to get all formal on us. We'll be relying on you too, from here on out. I suppose helping each other when we're in trouble is what friends are for. So we're... friends? Even though you're from the surface? Well, now that we're all buddies, why don't we mark the occassion with some tea? No wait, I guess we have a lot of other things to take care of first. That's true. We've finally gotten a hint at our mastermind. Makura Muwatari. A great youkai who controls dreams. And her familiar, the sheep youkai. After this, I'm sure they'll stop playing hide and seek and start something soon. Hold on, I'm getting lost here. Who was that just now? I have no idea what's going on. That was Shiro. No... was it Meeko? Anyway she used to be Marisa's pet. She had transformed into a fuzzball and was accompanying us.
I only picked her up for fun, but after that I started seeing this strange person in my dreams. And that would be Meeko's master? The one she called Makura? Yes, apparently she's been interfering with our dreams with Meeko's help. She used to only give advice for resolving incidents, but her views gradually become more and more extreme. She hates new technology or culture, and tells us to get rid of them. And when it became clear we wouldn't listen, she took matters into her own hands. By force. First it was Utsuho's fusion, and now the kappa bazaar. I see. I think I've got the gist of it now. But why is she doing this? Just now, Meeko spoke as if it was for the sake of Gensokyo's residents. We don't know the details either. But she seems to be from the outside world, and doesn't have good memories of it. So she might be reminded of it whenever she catches a whiff of something from outside Gensokyo. So they're holding to some sort of beliefs or ideals then?
Nothing wrong with having convictions, but there's a wrong way to do things.
Indeed. What can we expect from her next? So... what do we do now? Try looking for the sheep? Hmm, that might be difficult now that she's hidden her form. Perhaps we should make a show of something as a feint to draw her out? That's fine with us. Either way, we've got to keep searching for Koishi. Huh? What about Miss Koishi? We haven't seen her for a while, and it's been bothering us. So we went looking for her. I mean, isn't that why you two are up here? Uh, what do we do Orin? Miss Satori told us not to talk about it... No, I think we can trust them. It'll be fine. It's like you said, lady. Miss Koishi hasn't been coming home, so we went out to look for her. Crap, I was hoping we were wrong about that. So, how long has it been since you've seen her? ...She hasn't come home since the Yatagarasu incident. Not once. What?! That long ago?!
Didn't you say she would always come home at night no matter how far she wandered? What happened...?
To be honest, we do have some idea... After the thing with Utsuho, Miss Satori had a talk with her that got kinda awkward... We haven't seen her since then. Then why the hell didn't you tell anyone?! Miss Satori didn't really want anyone to know. She said it's a Palace of the Earth Spirits problem, so we should handle it on our own...
Didn't she learn anything from last time? That's a bad habit of her's. Don't say that, she's the one who's most feeling the weight of all this. Lately she's been deep in thought, and doesn't want to see anyone... I understand. We're all worried about Satori, so we'll help you. What, really?! We were already helping Yuugi with it anyway, so don't worry about it. We'll come too: I want to keep an eye on how Utsuho's doing. I'll have the other tengu assist as well, once they're done with guard duty at the bazaar. Is adding more people to the group really going to help though? Shouldn't we try spliting up instead? Not a bad idea. But who's going where then? For now, I think the Human Village is our best bet. In that case, Utsuho's group should head there. And of course we'll guide them. How about places where no one goes? Maybe she's hiding somewhere like that? Places without people... maybe the Nameless Hill? I've been there with Remi on a walk once... we could take you there. That's still a big group though. We can probably search one more place. Somewhere not many people know of... Maybe Muenzuka? It's on the outskirts of Gensokyo, so all sorts of rare items wash up there. A place where junk turns up, huh? Maybe we could find the pagoda there, Master. In that case, please allow us to join you. So our three destinations are the Human Village, the Nameless Hill, and the Muenzuka. Everyone can divide themselves into groups as they like, but let's all meet up at my estate tomorrow at noon. Tomorrow? That's not a good time for me... This is rare. Work? Actually I got a call from my boss. I'll be accompanying her all day. And come to think of it, I've got night shift tonight too. Nice to hear you're hard at work. Not that my own job is looking to be over anytime soon? What, you're talking about me? Somehow I doubt you'll be heading home after hearing all this. I assume you plan to get mixed up in it. Of course I am! What better chance to take a look around the surface world? If you have a problem with it, then go home without me. I'm afraid that's not an option. Who knows what you'll do when I take my eyes off you? I'm worried that you won't be abe to temper your speech and conduct to match your surroundings. I'd be more worried about how YOU speak. Anyway, let's all proceed carefully.
That's it for this time. There's some important shit in the Part 2 post, so make sure to check that out.
Tenshi's Attacks
Nitori's New Attack: Fly! Sanpei Fight!
Orin's Attacks
Utsuho's Attacks
Meeko's Attacks (she has a MAP but I have literally never seen her use it here)
As a side-note the "Mee" in Meeko is the onomatopoeia for sheep in Japanese, like "Baa" is for us.