Berkeley's Phantasmagoria

[Serela]

>"It's just, um, you work for the enemy, right? So, we can't let you go back. Then it'd just be helping her out."

>Lufie starts to get a little panicked, looking around and examining the situation. You don't think she'll come willingly, and as you've seen during the fight, she definitely has the ability to greatly outspeed all five of you.

>"Come on, Lufie it's going to be fun!"
>"Everybody loves a cat girl!
>Tie Lufie to our back

>"Thanks, but no way! I'll really be in for it if I let myself get captured!"
>You're pretty sure she'll try to escape if you get close to her, after saying you're gonna kidnap her.

[COPIRIGHTO]

> :<
>Get a stick
>"This will hurt me more than this will hurt you"
>Knock her out with the stick

[Kasu]

> "Oh c'mon!  Do you really wanna work for a big jerk like her?  If you come with us you'd be able to be rid of her!"

[Hello Purvis]

> :<
>Get a stick
>"This will hurt me more than this will hurt you"
>Knock her out with the stick

>Not this. No way we could catch her.

[Serela]

> "Oh c'mon!  Do you really wanna work for a big jerk like her?  If you come with us you'd be able to be rid of her!"

>"She may be a big jerk, but she's the big jerk who's got this whole place wrapped around her finger. Getting rid of her would take more then a couple of teenager girls, a spirit, and their old granny!"

> :<
>Get a stick
>"This will hurt me more than this will hurt you"
>Knock her out with the stick

>Not this. No way we could catch her.

>Yeah, no way that would work. Even finding a stick would take a minute, with all this snow about!

[Kasu]

> "Need I remind you one of those girls just kicked your ass?"

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"But I have the Orb of Superduper power!"
>"See?"
>Fire Nuclear Suns

[Hello Purvis]

>"Maybe. But there's a lot more than just us out there, too. And, well, I've got no choice anyways, so I'll be taking her on one way or another. I guess I can understand if you don't want to risk it. But, well, the more people that stand up, the less she can do."

[Serela]

> "Need I remind you one of those girls just kicked your ass?"

>She pouts. "Not one, but two of you! That wasn't fair!"

>"But I have the Orb of Superduper power!"
>"See?"
>Fire Nuclear Suns

>You hold up the Orb for all to see! It'd be too tiring to fire any kind of danmaku right now, though; especially something like that!
>You notice Grannie May is looking at the Orb intensely.

>"Maybe. But there's a lot more than just us out there, too. And, well, I've got no choice anyways, so I'll be taking her on one way or another. I guess I can understand if you don't want to risk it. But, well, the more people that stand up, the less she can do."

>"Really? People who both can, and are willing, to stand up and fight? With Wintervale's population gone, there aren't many left. Although... maybe you could. I won't lie, I'll be happy if you get rid of her. But I really don't think you can; that anyone can." She shakes her head, and jumps up to the roof of a building.

[Hello Purvis]

>"Well, if you can't stand with us, I suppose I understand. But, at least, try not to work against us, if what we want is the same."

[Serela]

>"Well, if you can't stand with us, I suppose I understand. But, at least, try not to work against us, if what we want is the same."

>She looks into the distance, her expression vacant. "I won't make any promises on that. But... I'll keep it in mind." Then, she starts jumping from roof to roof, into the distance until you can't see her.
>Now Grannie May begins to talk to you. "Mmm, where did you get that Orb?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Wave to Lufie.
>"Jigen let me have it."

[Serela]

>Wave to Lufie.
>"Jigen let me have it."

>You don't think she can see you anymore, but you wave anyway. It makes you feel a little better about things.
>You answer Grannie May's question. She frowns. "Hmm... perhaps the myth was about her, then? She is a goddess, afterall."
>Veronica seems to know what the old lady is talking about. "Oh, that! You mean, that's that orb? Jigen didn't have it before, by the way; Azalea did. She had it before we moved to the village."
>This answer seems to please Granny more. "Ahh, I see. How did it get to the goddess of the transdimensional space, then?", May says, and Veronica responds "One day, Azalea went off to get rid of Estelle. That's the last we saw of her and the Orb until Berkeley came."
>May's expression becomes grave. "Oh dear. That might be bad, very bad, mmm..."

>You have a feeling you're missing something in this conversation.

[Kasu]

> "Can we talk about this on the way back?  This place is too creepy..."

[Serela]

> "Can we talk about this on the way back?  This place is too creepy..."

>They nod in agreement, and within a minute everyone is up and walking, leaving the snow and entering the forest again.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>"So I heard bad. Hearing bad is bad. What is this bad?"

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "I think it's walk-and-talk time. What were you two talking about back their. it does us no good if you hide information about this orb from the person using it, me."

[Serela]

>"So I heard bad. Hearing bad is bad. What is this bad?"

> "I think it's walk-and-talk time. What were you two talking about back their. it does us no good if you hide information about this orb from the person using it, me."

>You ask about what they were talking about. Grannie May is the one to speak up. "The Orb you have there is the Goddess Orb from the myth; no doubt about it. The myth states that the Goddess Orb is a sacred item belonging to the goddess of this world. I never imagined I would see it... but, that you have it is not necessarily a good thing. This means that our Goddess doesn't have it, which may be a signal of something bad happening to her. And that would certainly be very, very bad."
>"However, if you're going to stop Estelle, the Goddess Orb is definitely your best hope. It seems that with that, you're able to use magic; something that people from your world generally cannot do."

[MysTeariousYukari]

> "So thats how I blew away half of the giant spider thing, and shot those things that Lufie shot at me."
> "Do you think that laser attack had a name? I noticed that one of the spells you used had a name, Veronica."

[Serela]

> "So thats how I blew away half of the giant spider thing, and shot those things that Lufie shot at me."
> "Do you think that laser attack had a name? I noticed that one of the spells you used had a name, Veronica."

>She nods. "Precisely. Hopefully, you'll be able to use more magic in one sitting after you practice more; I noticed how quickly you were exhausted in the fight with Lufie."
>Veronica answers this question, "Oh, those are called spellcards! We should get you some of those! A spellcard lets you use great magic at a much lesser drain then normal; they're essential if you get in a fight. They're usually specific to one person though, so you'll have to get a blank card and create one specifically for you. Thankfully, I'm good at crafting spellcards, so I can help you with that."

[Hello Purvis]

>"Thanks, Veronica!"
>"So...this Goddess probably needs the orb back, right?"
>Frown. Try not to be too disappointed by this thought.

[Serela]

>"Thanks, Veronica!"
>"So...this Goddess probably needs the orb back, right?"
>Frown. Try not to be too disappointed by this thought.

>Veronica grins happily.
>"Mmm, that's something you'd have to ask the Goddess herself.", says Granny May, "But the fact that it isn't in her hands brings up all kinds of questions. How did she lose it; willingly, unwillingly? Is she okay? And for that matter, who and where is she? If something were to happen to the Goddess, this world might simply vanish."
>You'd be almost helpless in this world, if you lost the Goddess Orb. It's a very unpleasant thing to think about.

[Hello Purvis]

>And it's one of the things that's really salvaged today.
>Lament loss of cake.
>Once we get near the forest, look out for spiders peoples.

[Serela]

>And it's one of the things that's really salvaged today.
>Lament loss of cake.
>Once we get near the forest, look out for spiders peoples.

>Without it, you might've been dead twice over by now!
>Actually, if I'm not mistaken, you still have the piece of cake you brought with you in some tupperware. For a minute, you wonder how rare and exquisite cake might be in this world. Might be a good idea to hold onto it!
>You think you're about halfway through the forest right now. So far, it's been pretty peaceful.
>"I think I should go back to the other fairies now, and tell them about what's happened! We can't let more fairies get kidnapped by that pretty lady, or get caught by the spiderwoman!", says Dotsy.

[Hello Purvis]

>"I'm sad to see you go, but yeah, that's a pretty good idea, Dotsy. Don't be a stranger, though."
>Lament loss of faerie. This is a terrible birthday ._.

[COPIRIGHTO]

>Hug fairy before she goes

[Serela]

>"I'm sad to see you go, but yeah, that's a pretty good idea, Dotsy. Don't be a stranger, though."
>Lament loss of faerie. This is a terrible birthday ._.

>Hug fairy before she goes

>You say some words and give Dotsy a big warm hug. "Aww... thanks, Berkeley! I won't forget about the two of you saving me from that big scary spider lady... and I'm sure I'll see you again soon, hehe~!" And with that, she flies off into the trees and bushes, out of sight.
>Well, you think Stella had said there was a fairy living with someone in the village. But it wouldn't be the same.
>Actually... you'd forgotten this was your birthday! Now you feel downright terrible. And come to think of it, a little sleepy as well; hopefully after you get to the village, you can go home and go to sleep for the night. You don't know if that's against Estelle's rules or not.

[Hello Purvis]

>Hearten a little bit at the thought of being able to go home for the night.
>Ponder if Mom would object to bringing a guest or three to spend the night. After all, it's only fair that Veronica and Rinoa get a glimpse of our world in turn...

[Kasu]

> Didn't Jigen say she was losing faith?
> If so tell Granny and Veronica.

[Serela]

>Hearten a little bit at the thought of being able to go home for the night.
>Ponder if Mom would object to bringing a guest or three to spend the night. After all, it's only fair that Veronica and Rinoa get a glimpse of our world in turn...

>It'll help you get over all the weirdness you've gone through today, that's for sure!
>You're not sure where they would sleep; maybe one on the couch? Then again, does Rinoa even have to sleep anymore? She's not really alive...
>You see a light at the end of the forest path. You aren't far from the village now.

> Didn't Jigen say she was losing faith?
> If so tell Granny and Veronica.

>Oh yeah, that's right!
>Granny frowns. "Estelle's doing, I presume? Now I'm beginning to wonder if she's got some sort of vendetta against them... what kind of a state is Jigen and her world in?"