Hey there everyone. If you're reading this, you were probably expecting a new chapter of Colorful Days. Well, I'm sorry to say that isn't the case. I've got some difficult news to share with you all. Let's just get straight to the point, I'm putting Colorful Days to rest as it is now.
I know this probably isn't the update on Colorful Days you wanted or expected, but I've put a lot of thought into this decision and ultimately feel like it's for the best. I felt like I should just be upfront with all of you about it rather than taking Colorful Days outback quietly. I also feel I should give you the reasons why I've decided to make this decision.
Lack of Satisfaction: When I first started Colorful Days, I was a novice to this whole writing thing. So now that I'm older and more experienced, looking back at my old work is well… embarrassing. Devoting time to something you're not all that proud of is difficult, for me anyway. Because of this, I considered the idea of going back to the very beginning and rehaul the story so I would feel satisfied with my work.
This would entail things like swapping Kaguya and Eirin with Tewi, cutting the Sanzu River/Heaven story arc, changing the point in time and place Flandre meets Koishi, etc. Of course, doing all this would have taken even more time to do and likely would have upset longtime fans who probably wanted the current version to be completed instead.
Lack of Time: I started Colorful Days when I was in high school. Back in those days, I had much more free time to work on the story than I did now. When I started college, I began to have much less free time between doing my homework, going to work, and hanging out with my friends. I started to want to use my free time doing other things like playing video games and catching up with shows I enjoyed rather than working on CD, which admittedly began to feel more like a task to do than something I did for fun.
My Future: Today I'm in the final semester of college and am just a few months away from graduation. After that, I need to begin looking for a job and thinking about my future. And in my future… I didn't see Colorful Days being something I would devote time to concluding. Instead, I saw myself using that time to work on projects that are much more near and dear to me.
I believe in one chapter's author note, I mentioned working on a game with a friend of mine? Well, if not I guess it's as good a time as any to plug it. Anyways, my role in the game is mostly on the creative side of things. I've been put in charge of character design and writing the story. And if I'm being honest, creating something I can call my own is much more satisfying than writing about someone else's characters and world. I hope that makes sense and you can understand my feelings about all of this…
Despite all of this, I'd still like to give some closure on Colorful Days… I know it isn't going to be ideal, but below the line break, I've posted the rough outline I've got written for CD. Specifically, the one for the remake I had planned on making. It's not completely finished and is pretty unrefined, but it covers most of the planned story beats, including the ending. I think I owe you all at least that much.
Before I end this long-winded message, I just have one last thing to say… Thank you. Thank you for supporting me through the duration of Colorful Days. If I hadn't seen such nice comments encouraging me to keep writing, I think I'd have given up on writing a long time ago and would never have moved on to create my own worlds, characters, and stories.
*If you'd like to keep hope that one day I decide to change my mind regarding this, I would stop reading now. I say this only to acknowledge the possibility*
Colorful Days: Recollection
-A summary of events planned to be covered in each chapter. Still determining what to cut.
Summary: Isolated in the basement of the Scarlet Devil Mansion for over five hundred years, Flandre has lost hope of her ever stepping outside the mansion walls. Determined to make her friend's greatest wish come true, Meiling frees the vampire from her prison. With the only friend she's ever known, Flandre sets out to explore the mystical land of Gensokyo.
Chapter 1: Our story begins with Flandre thinking about her many years of living in the basement of Scarlet Devil Mansion, longing for liberation from the mansion walls and companionship. She is then visited by her longtime and only friend within the mansion, Hong Meiling. The subject of Flandre's birthday comes up, which is fast approaching and Meiling asks what the young vampire would like. Flandre thinks about it for a moment and asks to be able to leave the mansion and explore the world outside.
Despite having doubts, Meiling requests Remilia let Flandre outside of the basement for her birthday. Unfortunately, as Meiling had guessed, Remilia rejects her request and asks that she leave. However, not one to give up, the gatekeeper begins to make plans to give Flandre her birthday wish.
On the eve of Flandre's birthday, Meiling sneaks the young mistress out of the mansion, using Marisa's antics as a distraction. Flandre hesitates to leave, not wanting to disobey her sister's wishes, but finally works up the courage to leave along with Meiling.
Chapter 2: Flan and Meiling leave the mansion and reach the Forest of Magic with no complications whatsoever, the gatekeeper's plan had worked flawlessly. However, before the pair's journey can begin in earnest, Meiling has to deliver a book to a specified meeting point as a reward for Marisa acting as a distraction, lest they have an angry magician on their tales the entire trip.
The drop-off point just so happens to be the home of Marisa's friend and fellow magician, Alice Margatroid. However, the puppet master isn't much for entertaining guests and quickly has the pair surrounded with her small army of puppets. Thankfully, she's somewhat less hostile after the situation is explained to her. She's kind enough to invite the pair inside as they wait for the tardy Marisa.
By the time Marisa arrives, the trio had ended up talking and begin to familiarize themselves with one another. This merry-making ends as soon as Marisa receives her goods. Alice gives the pair a farewell, and the two SDM residents begin to head to the Village outside the Forest of Magic.
Chapter 3: Arriving at the Human Village the next day, Meiling and Flandre plan out the first destination for their trip across the land of Gensokyo. Remembering the tales of the Missing Moon incident Meiling had told her of, Flandre decides on visiting Eientei, a palace that laid hidden in the dangerous Bamboo Forest of the Lost.
Meanwhile, the residents of the SDM realize that both Flandre and Meiling have gone missing. Informing Remilia of this upsetting news falls to the Head Maid, Sakuya. Outraged, Remilia swears to give Meiling the harshest punishment possible as soon as she finds them… She sends Sakuya to request Reimu Hakurei's assistance in bringing the two back to the mansion.
After an hour of searching for the palace in the forest, the two are completely lost, having passed by the same landmark many times over now. Just as the two were about to give up, they notice smoke billowing out in the distance. The two head towards the source of the smoke, hoping for it to lead them to Eientei. Instead, they find a loner named Mokou, a person who frequents the forest.
After some conversing, Mokou tells the pair that she can guide them to Eientei, just as soon as the friend she's waiting for meets up with her. Thankfully they don't need to wait long as the friend Mokou spoke of, Keine, quickly appears. Finally, Mokou leads the pair to Eientei.
Chapter 4: Sakuya returns to the mansion empty-handed, with Reimu refusing to cooperate. Shocked and frustrated with Reimu's lack of concern, Remilia tries to formulate another means of taking care of the problem. Hunting down Flandre would prove difficult, as the remaining residents would not be powerful enough to force the pair back to the mansion and bargaining was unlikely... However, an eavesdropping Aya gives Remilia an idea…
The pair finally reach their first destination, Eientei. However it isn't an exactly warm welcome, as a resident rabbit by the name of Tewi sneakily pulls a prank on Meiling and nearly relieves her of her wallet.
Thankfully, the rest of the visit goes without incident, with the pair being able to gander at the Lunarian Treasures and the famous Five Impossible Requests. The princess of the palace, Kaguya also tells them stories n' shit.
Around the time the pair gets their fill of the palace and leave, Aya arrives on the scene and delivers a "special edition" of her newspaper, the Bunbunmaru to Tewi. The front page story reads, "Crisis in Gensokyo! The Dirty Secret of the Scarlet Devil Mansion on the Loose! Large reward for her Capture!" The earth rabbit decides to try her hand at capturing the pair for some easy money...
Chapter 5: Flandre and Meiling begin making their way back to the Human Village, with the day beginning to come to a close. The pair are impeded by Tewi, who calmly asks them to come along quietly to the SDM with her, or she'll use force. With her prey confused, Tewi shows the pair the newspaper detailing the bounty placed on their heads just today.
Unintimidated by Tewi, Meiling steps forward to try and scare her out of the idea of pursuing them. Tewi has a trick up her sleeve though, as the pair are quickly surrounded by a small army of earth-rabbits, all of them being Tewi's underlings. Individually the rabbits posed about as much of a threat as your garden variety fairy, but together… They were a force to be reckoned with. This along with the many traps set within the forest made dealing with their hunters difficult.
Just as things are beginning to look grim, the pair are saved by Mokou, whose presence manages to persuade Tewi into retreating for the time being. Though she makes sure the pair knows that they got off easy this time, but will be back to collect her prize.
With the immediate threat gone, Meiling and Flandre can finally rest easy… Or so they thought. At the aftermath of their scrape with Tewi and her underlings, Mokou shows a copy of the Bunbunmaru and reveals that the papers are being distributed free of charge. Given Aya's speed, the immortal estimates that the papers have been delivered to every corner of Gensokyo. She recommends that the pair lay low, and offers to allow them to stay at her hut in the forest.
Although suspicious of the offer, Meiling accepts. Later that night, Flandre has difficulty sleeping, having a bad dream concerning her sister. She finds that Mokou is also awake, and has a conversation with her.
Chapter 6: The next morning, the pair wake up, but find that Mokou is already awake. The immortal warns the pair that some of the more bold residents of the Human Village have rounded up hunting parties to capture the pair. She offers to guide them out to a more secluded exit to avoid any prospective bounty hunters. Meiling finds Mokou's idea agreeable, and allows the immortal to guide them out.
Putting the Bamboo Forest behind them, the pair part ways with Mokou. Meiling then asks where Flandre would like to go next. Flandre hesitates to answer, having second thoughts about continuing their journey, thinking it might be best to assimilate to her sister's wishes. However, she doesn't want to insult Meiling by telling her she wants to turn back.
Flandre struggles to think of an answer for Meiling, but quickly recalls another tale Meiling told her of a location the Head Maid, Sakuya, visited during the Sixty Year Cycle Great Barrier Incident. A location called Muenzuka. While initially surprised by the decision, Meiling agrees with the idea.
Upon reaching the Road of Reconsideration, Meiling warns Flandre that they're nearing Muenzuka. She explains that Muenzuka can be a dangerous place, due to the Great Hakurei Border being unstable in the area, and tells her to stick close to her.
The area is rather beautiful, with red-spider lilies and cherry-blossom trees lining the path. Meiling's inner gardener can't help but admire their beauty, lamenting the fact that Remilia wouldn't let her plant them due to being poisonous. *Possible Hina Kagiyama and Rinnosuke Morichika appearance* Despite Meiling's caution, Flandre ends up getting separated from her.
The vampire begins feeling panicked, beginning to regret her choice in leaving the Mansion more than ever before. With no soul in sight, Flandre becomes convinced she'll be doomed to live in this desolate area alone for the rest of her life. It's at that moment that a mysterious girl, Koishi Komeiji materializes before her. She inquires about the emotions Flandre is experiencing and reveals that she's been watching her. Despite her strange nature, Flandre ends up befriending the girl. *Possible bounty hunter group attack*
Meiling ends up finding the pair, and decides that despite the pleasant scenery, the dangerous nature of the area isn't worth sticking around for. The duo along with Koishi decide to high-tail it out of Muenzuka and into a place that's a bit more safe. Koishi, having taken a fondness to Flandre, decides to invite herself to tag along with the pair on their adventures. Meiling has some concerns, but ultimately welcomes her to, deeming her strange but not dangerous.
Chapter 7: Flandre, Meiling and the new addition of Koishi put Muenzuka behind them, traveling once again through the dense Forest of Magic as they try and think of a new location to visit. Along the way Flandre catches sight of her home, upon learning this, Koishi insists upon giving it a visit to meet her new friend's family. Of course this isn't possible at the moment…
Meanwhile, Remilia gives the Hakurei Shrine a visit to ask the maiden there, Reimu, why she refused her request to assist in Flandre's capture. The shrine maiden answers that the younger Scarlet sister had yet to cause any trouble yet. That and she trusted Meiling to keep her under control.
Eventually the pair reach the Human Village once more, though the group is initially cautious, given the recent of bounty hunters lying in wait for them. However their fears were unwarranted, due to the last group's tale swaying any prospective humans from attempting to capture the vampire. The trio reunite with Keine, who had finished class with her students moments ago. Upon telling her of their recent run-ins with bounty hunters, Keine suggests that they seek refuge in Myouren Temple, stating the head-monk never turns visitors down. *Possible Alice/Mokou appearance*
Returning from the Hakurei Shrine, Remilia finds Sakuya waiting for her. The maid notifies her that their search for a new gatekeeper has ultimately been a failure, with a large lack of applicants save one youkai. Tired, Remilia decides to hire the lone applicant, Rumia, a youkai of darkness. Upon entering her room, the vampire finds an unwanted guest waiting for her. Her guest warns her to stop tampering with fate and leaves.
The runaway three reach Myouren temple and meet with Byakuren, who allows them a safe haven within the temple for as long as they wish. Of course, she highly encourages their participation in temple activities… With that, the group's day ends.
Chapter 8: Flandre wakes up from a bad dream involving her sister and decides to wander around the temple grounds as she waits for her friends to wake up. As she explores she discovers the temple's graveyard, where she bumps into Kyouko Kasodani, a monk in training. The yamabiko was in the midst of sweeping stray leaves from the cemetery. Noticing Flandre's ragged look, the monk insists on preparing the vampire some tea.
The two become fast friends, much to the chagrin of Kyouko's pal Kogasa Tatara, who takes a disliking to Flandre after stealing her friend's affection. Kyouko eventually has to attend to her other responsibilities around the temple, but invites Flandre to a concert that she and her friend would be putting on in the evening.
Evening arrives, along with Flandre and company who come to the area listed on the flyer that Kyouko gave the vampire. The group finds that attendance is rather… minimal and they soon find out why as soon as Kyouko and her cohort Mystia take to the stage. Their music is awful. However, the group sits through the entirety of the concert, which the yamabiko appreciates. The monk in training soon turns in for the night, as she has to get up early for her chores, the rest of the gang follow suit.
Chapter 9: The limited confines of Myouren Temple begins to bore Koishi, who's used to always being on the move. However, due to the bounty Meiling forbids her from leaving. Flandre has no qualms with remaining at the temple, as she's distracted by her internal struggle of deciding her future. To return home or continue her adventure… Those two possibilities bounce back and forth in her head.
The pair of youkai girls are invited to join a game of hide and seek by Kyouko and a reluctant Kogasa. The pair accepts, with Kogasa volunteering to be the first to seek… This all turns out to be a ploy to get rid of Flandre by intentionally not searching for her, as she's jealous of the attention Kyouko has been giving the vampire. Eventually Flandre realizes what's going on, but is found by Koishi.
Chapter 10: Flandre, still feeling cold feet about continuing her adventure, decides to ask for advice from the temple monks. Kyouko suggests sweeping the temple grounds to help empty her mind, Ichirin suggests trying to fold laundry and Shou suggests some random shit. I dunno. Damn.
Finally, Flandre asks for Byakuren's advice. However, she doesn't end up suggesting anything to her, telling the young vampire that she needs to find her own answer. Empty handed from her troubles, Flandre meets back up with Koishi and Kyouko, who are frolicking in the rain. Due to being a vampire, Flandre cannot join in on their merry-making and is forced to watch on from the sidelines. The satori takes notice and catches rain water in her skirt before dumping it around Flandre. Appreciating her friend's efforts, she forgets her troubles for a moment and enjoys herself with her friends.
Chapter 11: Tewi, having tracked Flandre and her group to Myouren Temple, begins to ponder how to capture her. It proves to be a difficult task, as the temple is guarded by the monks. The Earth Rabbit comes across Mononobe Futo, a Taoist who's keeping track of the temple resident's activity. Taking advantage of Futo's dislike for Buddhism, Tewi tricks her into becoming a distraction by telling her that the Buddhists are burning the image of her leader, Toyosatomimi no Miko. With the temple residents distracted, Tewi and her forces infiltrate the temple in search of Flandre.
Flandre, still conflicted on what to do, meditates in the cemetery, but to no avail. Koishi has difficulty understanding her dilemma, but continues to stay by her side. Tewi and her group find the pair and end up engaging them. *The pair ends up defeating them and Flandre finds her resolve to continue exploring Gensokyo*
Chapter 12: Following yesterday's chaos, Flandre and her companions decide to leave the temple and continue to sight-see around Gensokyo. Thankfully the excitement of the bounty had died down in the human village during their stay at the temple, leading to easier travels.
Flandre ends up learning that Koishi has a sister and the trio decide to make their next destination Former Hell, the area her sister resides. The entrance to Former Hell happens to be on the Youkai Mountain, leading to the trio being able to kill two birds with one stone. Along the way to the mountain, the trio comes across a field of sunflowers, enchanted by its beauty, Flandre and Koishi take a closer look. Only Meiling realizes the dangers of the Garden of the Sun and chases after the two before anything bad happens to the two. However she's quickly attacked by the very threat that she tried protecting her younger companions from, Yuuka Kazami.
However before the Flower youkai can do too much harm to Meiling, Flandre and Koishi intervene. Yuuka releases the gatekeeper, due to her fondness of youngsters. The elderly yokai even invites the three to her mansion within the garden. Before Meiling can turn her down, Koishi ends up speaking for the group and accepts.
Waiting for them at the mansion is Medicine Melancholy, a tsukumogami and friend of Yuuka's. She appears bothered by the unexpected guests Yuuka has brought with her and mostly acts dismissively towards them.
Yuuka encourages the younger yokai to play while she has a discussion with Meiling. Medicine is unpleased by the prospect, but is unable to object as she's dragged along by an overenthusiastic Koishi. The Flower youkai reveals that she didn't just invite the three to be hospitable, but to get Medicine to socialize with people in her own age-group. Her reasoning being that she was the only one has interacted with for about ten years now and is trying to prepare her for the rest of her life by making her interact with others.
Later in the evening, Medicine continues to give the others the cold shoulder, only being polite to Yuuka. Displeased, the Flower youkai encourages the tsukumogami to open up to their guests. However, her constant request angers the doll, making her believe Yuuka wants to be rid of her. Medicine then storms off. Yuuka decides to leave her be and give her some time alone to cool off.
Alone in the Garden, Medicine laments the idea of losing the only person she's considered a friend. She isn't given much time to brood however, as she's ambushed by Futo, who's mistaken her for Flandre. Futo's companion Tojiko is quick to point out her mistake. Making the most of the situation, the taoist decides to use Medicine as a bargaining chip to exchange for the vampire.
Chapter 13: Having decided to walk around the Garden, Flandre and Koishi muse about the current situation, feeling empathy for Medicine's feelings. The two are interrupted by Futo, with Medicine in hand. The taoist demands that Flandre surrender herself to them, lest the tsukumogami get a hypothetical beat down.
The vampire refuses and instead opts to save the doll through means of force. A battle between the taoists and youkai commences. Before a victor can be decided between the two, Yuuka intervenes and gives Futo a reminder of why she is feared throughout Gensokyo. After being rescued, Medicine reconciles with Yuuka.
The following morning, Flandre and friends depart the Garden of the Sun and make a beeline for the Youkai Mountain. Due to the bounty placed upon their heads and the teenage guarding the area, the three are forced to climb the mountain by foot in order to avoid being spotted.
As the group traverses the Great Youkai Forest they encounter none other than Remilia Scarlet.
Chapter 14: Remilia greets Flandre and tells her that she's been worried sick. Reassuring Flandre and Meiling that she isn't upset with either of them, she asks the two to come home. She even promises that Flandre will no longer be restricted to living in the basement.
However, Meiling deduces that the person before her is not Remilia by sensing her qi, but rather it's Nue, a resident of Myouren Temple. She had plotted to lead the pair back to the mansion and collect the reward using her shapeshifting abilities. With her plans foiled, Nue decides on a more direct approach and tries to use force to earn the bounty.
After a rough battle, Meiling manages to ward off the shape-shifter.
Chapter 15: Flandre and friends continue to climb the mountain and finally near the summit. There, they find the Tengu's settlement, despite the impressive sight, Meiling insists on avoiding the village due to Tengu's hostility towards intruders. The group is spotted by a young reporter in the makings, Hatate Himekaidou, who begs the three to allow her an exclusive interview. She bargains with the three, stating that she can give them the proper permission to scale the Mountain unimpeded by the Tengu… And if they refuse, she would simply notify the rest of her kind to their presence on their territory.
With that last threat, the group has little choice in the matter and agrees to the interview. The three escorted through the settlement to Hatate's abode, garner much attention from other reporters. Meanwhile back at the SDM, Aya comes to interview Remilia as they had arranged in exchange for the free distribution of the Bunbunmaru Newspaper that included the announcement of the bounty. The two interviews occur at the same time. Once over, Flandre and the gang continue their trek up the mountain.
Chapter 16: The journey up the mountain finally comes to an end as the three reach the summit. The group come by the Moriya Shrine, a shrine that situated itself atop the mountain in recent years and are greeted by Suwako Moriya. The goddess mistakes the three as prospective worshippers.
The goddess is excited by the prospect of having shrine-visitors and invites the three inside the shrine. Seeing no reason to decline her offer, the three accept. The three are given a quick run-down of the shrine. The three speak with the goddess and tell her they're searching for a passage down to Former Hell. Suwako happily directs the trio to a passageway on the mountain that leads into to the Underworld.
Just as the three are about to head out, the shrine's second god, Kanako Yasaka returns from an errand. The goddess immediately recognizes Flandre from the bounty and the buzz she's been stirring amongst the tengu.
Kanako calls her fellow deity aside and tells her that they could use Flandre's popularity amongst the mountain residents as a way to gather more faith. Then once she's outlived her use, they can collect the bounty on her head.
Suwako objects the idea, not liking how underhanded and callous it is. Kanako is undeterred by her partner's lack of support and goes ahead with her plans. However when she attempts to strike a deal to become the shrine's icon, Flandre refuses, saying that she wants to continue traveling across Gensokyo. The vampire's answer is unchanged, despite Kanako's generous deals. Annoyed by Kanako's persistence, Meiling announces that they'll be on their way.
With diplomacy failing her, Kanako decides to go straight to the second part of her plot and simply collect the bounty. The goddess chases the trio across the mountain, the terrain giving the the deity an advantage due to her affiliation with the sky. The three end up escaping thanks to Suwako, who covers their escape into the passage to Former Hell by blocking off the entrance. A clash between the two goddesses then commences.
Chapter 17: Having narrowly escaped Kanako's attack, the three begin the descent down into Former Hell. Upon reaching the bridge to Former Hell, they meet Parsee Mizuhashi, a youkai of jealousy.
Putting the bridge behind them, the trio finally reach the Former Capital a large city in which most of Former Hell's citizens reside. Guided by Koishi, the group traverses the large city and reaches her home the Palace of Earth Spirits: Chireiden.
The satori admits to the group that she is nervous to see her sister, due to the long length of time she's spent away from home. Her two friends reassure her that there's nothing to worry about and help her build up the nerve to knock on the door.
Greeting the group is Rin Kaenbyou, one of Satori's pets. The kasha is both surprised and pleased to see Koishi again, with friends no less. Rin is quick to invite the group inside and decides to fetch Satori.
Satori meets with the group, leading to a heartfelt reunion between sisters. The mind-reader invites Koishi and her friends to share a meal with her and catch up with one another. Dinner doesn't go as well as expected, due to Satori's habit of reading people's minds drawing a rift between her and her guests.
Chapter 18/19/20: Downtime in Former Hell.
Chapter 21: The peace Flandre and friends had been enjoying in the underground comes to an end as Tewi and Nue learn of the vampire's whereabouts. A scuffle breaks out between the three parties, ensuing in absolute chaos within the city. In the end, Flandre and her companions are the victors.
There's little time for them to celebrate however, as Remilia had caught wind of Flandre's presence in the underground and decided to apprehend her herself. The trio escape, but not without encountering the Scarlet Devil. After the three's departure, Satori and Remilia have a brief conversation, with Satori alluding to knowing the reason behind the vampire's desperation to keep Flandre locked up behind the walls of her mansion. The mind-reader's words makes Remilia lose her composure and departs soon after. Now desperate, Remilia begins to play her final card: using her ability to manipulate fate to manipulate Keine Kamishirasawa to use her ability to eat history to remove a particular date from history…
*At some point Remilia will use Keine's ability to erase the day in history that Yukari first learned to manipulate boundaries to prevent her from interfering with her plans.
Chapter 22: Flandre and company narrowly escape the chaos of the underground, along with an encounter with Remilia. The trio return to the human village to decide their next plan of action, with Flandre having little spirit. The three have little time to relax in the village, as they're soon spotted by Futo, accompanied by Tojiko, who's still determined to capture the vampire.
Still tired from the battles they had in the underground, the group decides to flee rather than put up a fight in the village. They're unable to shake the taoists however as they stay on their tails. Thankfully the group receives a helping hand from Youmu Konpaku, a half-ghost who provides them an escape route through the underworld. Futo refuses to pursue them, as she became a hermit to escape death in the first place and entering the underworld would mean she would technically be dead… After turning back, Futo mysteriously forgets who she was chasing…
Youmu guides the three through the underworld so they can meet with Yukari Yakumo under her master's orders. Upon reaching the ghost princess and gap demon, the three are informed that Remilia has begun to manipulate fate to erase all memory of Flandre from existence and eventually, her existence altogether. Additionally, the Scarlet Devil manipulated fate to strip Yukari of her gap manipulation abilities, preventing her from stopping Remilia.
With Flandre at the center of the incident, Yukari urges her to be the one to end it. Despite the vampire's mixed feelings regarding the situation, she agrees.
Chapter 23: The trio make their way to the mansion, however before they can cross the Misty Lake, Nue ambushes them in one last attempt to collect the bounty on their heads. After one final clash, Flandre's group once again comes out on top and continue towards the mansion.
A defeated Nue is found Mamizou Futatsuiwa, who had a hunch that Nue would get herself mixed up in the excitement of the bounty. Nue reveals her motives for collecting the bounty weren't entirely selfish, as she wanted to give it all Myouren Temple as a way of thanking Hijiri for taking her in, despite having almost prevented her liberation from Makai. The tanuki then helps the nue home and advises her to seek out alternate ways of showing her appreciation…
Upon reaching the mansion, the trio contend with the minor nuisance Rumia, who they deal with without resorting to violence. However, as soon as they enter the mansion, they find a rather displeased looking Sakuya waiting for them.
Chapter 24: With no time to spare, Meiling insists that Flandre and Koishi go on without her and let her deal with Sakuya. Flandre is hesitant to do so, but agrees. Sakuya allows the two to progress, confident that she'll be able to deal with them after she administers a long coming punishment for Meiling's betrayal.
After a fierce battle, a battered Meiling comes out on top, claiming her friendship with Flandre was stronger than Sakuya's master-servant relationship with Remila. Meiling is unable to catch up to her young pair of friends like she promised, as the battle left her too weary to move.
Continuing onwards to the top of the mansion where Remilia is said to be, Flandre begins see strange visions. Before she can make sense of them, she and Koishi are impeded by Patchouli. Koishi insists that Flandre go on ahead, assuring her that the magician would be no trouble for her. The vampire is once again reluctant to go on ahead, but trusts Koishi will be fine.
Chapter 25: Flandre continues onwards, with her visions growing more and more frequent and disturbing. She sees visions of the past with her sister and their parents, but is unable to piece together what they mean…
Meanwhile, Koishi is locked in battle with Patchouli. Koishi soon discovers that the magician is stronger than she appears and finds herself being backed into a corner. Thinking she has the upper hand, Patchouli taunts the satori and tells her Flandre and her were never destined to be together and her struggle was for nothing. Refusing to believe her, Koishi begins to fight back. The emotions Koishi expresses causes her third-eye to reopen, now able to read Patchouli's mind, Koishi is able to overcome the magician. The satori then begins to drag herself onwards back to Flandre's side…
Flandre reaches the top of the mansion, finding Remilia looking over Gensokyo. The elder vampire remarks that soon she'll control the eastern wonderland, molding it as she sees fit. Not wanting that to happen, Flandre challenges her sister, despite her fears. As they fight, Flandre experiences more visions, distracting her and allowing Remilia to take the upper hand in combat.
In these visions, she sees her father kill her mother in rage and soon after taking his own life out of horror of his actions. She then sees Remilia attempting to kill her soon after… She realizes that these visions were memories that she had repressed for hundreds of years. Upon asking Remilia what she saw, the elder sister comes clean and explains everything.
Remilia and Flandre were not full-blooded sisters, they were only half sisters. They both had different fathers. Remilia's father, a vampire, did not discover this until Flandre grew past the age where blood-born vampires develop their wings and fangs. And as Flandre saw in her visions, he killed their mother and rage, but soon after killed himself in horror.
Knowing that Flandre was a bastard child who disgraced their family name and was the cause of her world being torn apart, Remilia attempted to kill Flandre by sucking her blood until she was a husk. However, despite everything Remilia couldn't stomach killing her sister and pulled back, which instead resulted in Flandre becoming a vampire.
Still ashamed of having a bastard of a sister, Remilia decided to hide her existence from the world, She sliced off Flandre's newly developed wings and locked her in the basement where none would find her. This way her family's dignity and her pride be spared. Meiling jepordized everything by freeing Flandre, which is why she wanted her to be captured so desperately and even resorted to attempting to use fate to control Keine's abilities to erase her from history entirely.
Having heard the story behind her visions, Flandre goes into a rage, turning the battle into her favor and pummeling Remila into submission. Flandre is about to take her life before she hears the voices of her friends, snapping her out of her bloodlust. With Remilia's plot foiled, the young vampire walks away along with her friends.
Epilogue: The residents of Gensokyo that Flandre and friends encountered throughout their journey reflect on recent events as things begin to go back to normal. Remilia looks back at her actions and regrets them, as she pushed away the last of her family. Yukari decides not to chastise Remilia or punish her for her actions, concluding that the sting of losing her sister and dignity was punishment enough.
Flandre, Koishi, and Meiling's whereabouts afterwards are left ambiguous.
Personal Notes:
-Have Flan/Hatate and Remi/Aya interviews occur at the same time.
-Revise amount of time taking place between events.
-At the point of time in the story, Flandre has been locked in the basement for 506 years and turns 519 years old at the beginning of the story.
-Story takes place after the events of HM and ULiL.
Thank you for reading.