[IC Board] All the World's a Game - Season II

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Dawn

John couldn't help but give a tiny smile after hearing Chen's tiny voice. Chen was a good kid, despite the fact that she worked for the Neo-Yakuza at Base 3 for a small amount of time. She was simply misguided, upset at the time, so John didn't think much of it. If anything, John had a little bit of a soft spot for the small Nekomata, and found it hard to be the calm, immovable Spartan around her. After a couple of seconds, John pushed his thoughts to the back of his mind.

John stood in front of the door, patiently waiting for Chen to open the door.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

The wooden door opened to reveal Chen in pajamas. Chen was an adorable child: short brown hair, pink pajamas, and tiny cat ears that, if rubbed, will make Chen purr.

"Nya, welcome back, John!" Chen greeted John with a hearty smile. "Come on in! Yukari-sama isn't here right now!"

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Dawn

"Thank you, Chen.", John said with a smile and in a friendly tone as he entered the house with the unconscious Annie in his arms.

After John entered the house, he walked over to the nearest chair and placed Annie down in it. Annie looked like she traveled through a warzone, but at least she was safe now. After checking Annie's condition, John looked over to Chen and asked her a question.

"Do you know where everyone went?", John asked Chen.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Ran-sama went to a meeting with the Myouren Temple, and Yukari-sama left fr a business meeting." Chen nodded. Then, realizing that she forgot something, Chen relayed: "Patchouli-onee-chan called and asked if you were present."

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Dawn

After hearing that Patchouli was requesting him, John's calm demeanor changed into one of anticipation.

"Did she finish the preparations?", John asked Chen in an eager, slightly anxious tone.

John remembered what happened four months ago, back at the party. John manged to defeat Yuuka in a sparring match, but that was because she was weakened from having her soul in pieces. It had been a little while since he had seen her, and he felt slightly guilty for not checking up on her. He was going to be sure to visit her and give her the news that he would be leaving to retrieve her shattered soul. John now waited, eager for the news Chen had to give him.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"She says she is almost done, and wants to see you as soon as possible." Chen relayed Patchouli's message. Then, glancing at Annie, she asked: "Who's her?"

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Dawn

John's eyes widened at the news, even though he already had a feeling what the message was the whole time. John was about to run to his armor stand, when Chen froze him in place with a question.

"Who's her?", Chen asked John.

John looked at Annie, then back at Chen.

"This is another Character, Annie Hastur. I found her in the woods up to the north, on the outskirts. I don't know how long she's been out there, but it must have been a while. She passed out soon after I met her, so I brought her here.", John explained to Chen.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

Chen observed Annie and her face. While Chen did not speak, it was evident that she was jealous of Annie's physical looks.

"I'm back, Chen!" Ran announced as she entered. Ran was wearing a crisp black suit with blue necktie. "Oh hello, John. Who's our guest?"

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Dawn

John noticed that Chen had a sort of feeling emanating off of her, jealousy. Before John could ask her about it, Ran came inside and greeted them.

"Oh hello, John. Who's our guest?", Ran asked.

"Hi, Ran. This is Annie Hastur. I found her out in the woods up north, on the outskirts. Based on her appearance, I would say that she's been out in the wilderness for more than four or five days. She passed out soon after I encountered her, so I brought her back here until she recovers.", John explained to Ran.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"Ah, she must be starving!" Ran quickly ran to the open kitchen next to the living room and began preparing stew. "I'll quickly make a soup for her to rejuvenate her body."

"I'll help too, Ran-sama!" Chen eagerly said, but Ran seemed to have a better idea. Chen... Was a good kid, but she sometimes messes things up pretty badly.

"Er... Why don't you go clean your room, Chen?" Ran suggeated. Chen beamed and ran into her room to clean it up.

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Dawn

As Chen disappeared into her room, John looked over to Ran and spoke.

"I'll be gone for a while, possibly until dinner. I just got news that Patchouli is almost done with preparations, and that she wants to see me. I'm not entirely sure how Annie will react to suddenly being transported to an unfamiliar place, so just in case, just know that she can throw fireballs.", John said to Ran, implying that he had first-hand experience with the fireballs.

[WriggleRid3r]

Yakumo Estate - Gensokyo

---

"That is fine. I shall note that." Ran nodded. However, it was not told to John that Ran cannot handle Annie's possible rampage due to her Youkai magic diminished into almost nothing when her tails were cut off. "Have a safe trip."

[S121]

Yakumo Estate - Mayohiga - Gensokyo | Dawn

"Thank you. Later.", John said as he walked over to Yukari and his bedroom. Once inside, John stripped off his civilian clothes, slid on his underarmor, and stood on the armor stand. As soon as he was in place, the various mechanical arms sprang to life, grabbing each armor plate and assembling the MJOLNIR armor over John's body. After a minute, the armor was completely assembled, and as John's HUD flickered to life, a message flashed on John's HUD.

1 MESSAGE RECORDED. PLAYING MESSAGE...

"This is Gerard. I just wanted to ask you if you could come over to MSF at done point to inspect my suit. Titanium shouldn't receive electrical currents like that. Once you get your suit back on, you should visit."

John took note of the message and stored the recording for later. Right now, John had only one thing on his mind; Yuuka's soul. After stepping off the armor stand, John gathered his weapons, opened up a Corridor of Darkness and disappeared.




Voile - SDM - Gensokyo | Dawn

Without warning, a Corridor of Darkness opened up a few feet in front of Patchouli's desk and John stepped out.

"You wanted to see me?", John asked Patchouli as he closed the Corridor of Darkness behind him.

[WriggleRid3r]

Voile Library - SDM - Gensokyo

---

The Voile Library never ceases to amaze. The sheer size of it was enough to dwarf out most, if not all, libraries in the world. Not only were there rows and rows and rows of books and bookshelves that would take centuries to finish reading, but there were also fancy scientific gadgets that piqued interest: kaleidoscopes, astronomical charts, telescopes, alchemy labs, enchantment tables, and countless more.

In the midst of all that, under a large golden globe that tracked weather patterns all across the planet Earth, Patchouli was... Sleeping. She wore her usual pajama-like purple dress with her crescent-endorned nightcap. Patchouli had an open book on her face, and was snoring. On her large, moon-shaped table that changed colors based on the time of day, stacks of books, opened and unopened, made a large heap that looked dangerously unstable, and next to that heap stood a boiling apothecary set boiling what looked like a mixture of Mercury and a caterpillar.

[S121]

Voile - SDM - Gensokyo | Dawn

John looked at the sight before him and tilted his head to the side. How long had Patchouli been awake? Did she spend this entire day and night working on the preparations? Either way, John was here to ask her a question, and he couldn't wait.

"Uhh, Patchouli?", John asked, trying to wake her up.