Parsee Quest (Part 5)

[日巫子]

>"Rin, do you think it might be a good idea to leave Emi here to watch Lumia?"

> 'I don't see why not.'

> Make sure there isn't anything here that Lumia could use to scratch at the seals or rope.
> How close to the sunflowers is Lumia?

> You scan the area to make sure there isn't anything Lumia could use to scratch at the seals or rope.  The sunflowers are roughly two and a half feet from her, so unless she's okay with wriggling in the grass like a worm, she won't be able to get to them.

>Take her out.
>"Emi, would you keep watch over this youkai for me? If she wakes up up and tries to cause problems, just shock her back unconscious. So long as you don't mess up those seals. I'll hunt for your last eye in the meantime. Alright?"

> You take Emi out and ask her to keep watch.
> Emi floats in the air, watching you quietly, then all her eyes move up and down.
> 'Well, that's that, then.'

> _

[Sect]

> "Yep. So... now what? Ran, do you want to do something? I've been draggin' you all over the place, so I feel like I gotta do something nice for ya."

Strike through if someone else wants it gone.

[日巫子]

> "Yep. So... now what? Ran, do you want to do something? I've been draggin' you all over the place, so I feel like I gotta do something nice for ya."

> Ran swishes her tails.
> 'I'd like to check on Chen, and then go off to the Hakurei Shrine.  If there are any gaps to be found that might lead to Yukari-sama, that's my best bet.'

> _

[Sect]

> "There was those weird eyes that were keeping Reimu alive... you might be right. Let's go."
> To Alice's!

[Hello Purvis]

>Hopefully she doesn't mind lugging us about~

[日巫子]

> "There was those weird eyes that were keeping Reimu alive... you might be right. Let's go."
> To Alice's!

> 'What?'
> You and Ran head to Alice's...

>Hopefully she doesn't mind lugging us about~

> ...and hopefully Ran doesn't mind lugging you around.  You end up hitching a ride on her again.
> You reach Alice's house with no incident.  Come to think of it, didn't you leave food there?

> _

[Sect]

> "Wait, damn, I guess you didn't know about that. Gimme a sec."
> Gather Chen, and some food for the outing to Reimu's.
> After all that, tell her the brief version of what happened to Reimu, and the void with the eyes in the pond.

[日巫子]

> "Wait, damn, I guess you didn't know about that. Gimme a sec."
> Gather Chen, and some food for the outing to Reimu's.
> After all that, tell her the brief version of what happened to Reimu, and the void with the eyes in the pond.

> 'Know about what?'
> You tell Ran to wait a moment, then head inside to get Chen and some food.
> Chen is asleep on the sofa, so gathering her is easy enough.  You grab some of the food you made before heading out to the SDM, and notice that there are a few papers on the table.  You pick those up for later, too.
> Once you head outside, you explain to Ran what happened to Reimu, and how you found her.
> 'No wonder I haven't seen Yukari-sama for that long...'  She sounds worried.

> _

[Sect]

> "Yeah. I would've toldja earlier, but I haven't been putting things together till recently. Sorry."
> Mount on top of Ran, with Chen in our arms. Mm... double soft power!
> "I don't know if that crazy thing is still there, though: I didn't want to watch Eirin do her surgery."
> Ride off.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Pretty sure it was linked to that whole oni thing she did to Reimu, guess I just sorta danced around the rest of the details."
>Be sure to shut that window before leaving.

[日巫子]

> "Yeah. I would've toldja earlier, but I haven't been putting things together till recently. Sorry."
> Mount on top of Ran, with Chen in our arms. Mm... double soft power!
> "I don't know if that crazy thing is still there, though: I didn't want to watch Eirin do her surgery."
> Ride off.

> 'It's fine.'
> So soooft~  Chen's fur is really soft, too.
> 'It would be preferable if it were still there,' Ran muses.

>"Pretty sure it was linked to that whole oni thing she did to Reimu, guess I just sorta danced around the rest of the details."
>Be sure to shut that window before leaving.

> It looks like someone already shut the window.
> 'Perhaps...'
> The three of you head off for the Hakurei Shrine.  Ran goes fast; it doesn't take very long at all to reach the shrine stairs.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>Put Chen down.
>Head up the stairs and around back, to see if that gap is still about.

[日巫子]

>Put Chen down.
>Head up the stairs and around back, to see if that gap is still about.

> You put Chen down.  She immediately darts up the stairs.
> You and Ran head up the stairs and to the back of the shrine.  All the while, Ran is surveying the area, her tails swishing about.
> When you reach the back of the shrine, the lake is perfectly smooth, like glass.  There's only a small part of the gap left, a pitch black hole in the center of the lake.

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"Oh wow, it's mostly gone."
>Hover toward it.

[日巫子]

>"Oh wow, it's mostly gone."
>Hover toward it.

> There must not have been much of a need for it after Reimu was moved to the Palace.
> You hover towards it.  You can barely see a thousand tiny little eyes in there, flickering and blinking like stars or little torches.
> The gap itself only looks wide enough for one person to go through at a time.

> _

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Should we go in?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Is it safe at all?"

[Sect]

> Avert eyes. Damn that's creepy.

[日巫子]

>"Should we go in?"

>"Is it safe at all?"

> Avert eyes. Damn that's creepy.

> You're really starting to question if it's even safe to go in.
> It's just...so creepy.
> 'Yukari-sama uses them all the time.  You don't have to go in if you don't want to.'

> _

[Sect]

> "N-no! If you're gonna go in, then I'll go to. Just gotta, yanno, prepare."
> Oh man that's really creepy. At least Ran will be there with us.

[Hello Purvis]

>Can Ran even fit into it? Or reach it without a swim?

[Sect]

>Can Ran even fit into it? Or reach it without a swim?

> ... Oh crap.

[日巫子]

> "N-no! If you're gonna go in, then I'll go to. Just gotta, yanno, prepare."
> Oh man that's really creepy. At least Ran will be there with us.

> 'That's understandable if you need to prepare yourself.'
> At least you'll be with Ran.  Eeek...

>Can Ran even fit into it? Or reach it without a swim?

> ... Oh crap.

> Oh, no...how's Ran even fit in the gap, much less reach it?

> _

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Um, Ran? Can you even get to it? Or fit in it?"

[日巫子]

>"Um, Ran? Can you even get to it? Or fit in it?"

> 'I can try.  It shouldn't be impossible.'

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"Okay. Um...want me to go first?"

[日巫子]

>"Okay. Um...want me to go first?"

> 'If you want to.'

> _

[Hello Purvis]

>"It'll probably be better that way..."
>Hover over the gap, and take a moment to build up nerves.
>Plunge in.

[日巫子]

>"It'll probably be better that way..."
>Hover over the gap, and take a moment to build up nerves.
>Plunge in.

> Ran nods.
> You hover over the gap and fight off a sudden dizziness. 
> Why are you doing this again?
> You let yourself drop into the gap.  It feels like you jumped off a cliff.  The wind rushes up fast, and the gap is soon the size of a postage stamp.  You must have fallen far.  You land on the ground with an impact that would have shattered your bones under any other circumstances.
> Here in the gapspace, the only way you can judge what is the ground and what is not is by where you're lying right now.  There are eyes all around, but none are in your proximity.  They stare at you in the inky darkness.
> The mirror is here, too.  She's floating around, and doesn't take notice of you or where she is.
> You feel another rush of wind.  Did Ran make it?

> _

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Look around.