Illusion Connect: Re story · Dates
Annis Dora's dates
3 scenes, 174 lines
1. Date 1
55 lines(Today is grocery shopping day.)
(Victoria and Anna, who were in charge of groceries, suddenly had to handle other affairs.)
(And for some reason, everyone doesn't have time either, even Berial...)
(And so, you have to go grocery shopping by yourself...)
(Annis suddenly appears before you.)
Want to go out with me?
Should I bring something for you back?
You're an astute observer.
Well then, I think you'll bring me along, now that you've asked. Or are you going to leave me behind by myself?
I can't guarantee what I might do.
Do you think you could find something that I would want in a normal supermarket, Leader?
You might have better luck searching through a haunted house.
Don't you realize that I just want to head in the same direction you're going, idiot?
(Fat Tongue blows a raspberry in defiance.)
I need help carrying things.
Don't bring Fat Tongue along.
(Annis cocks her head to the side.)
You're the one buying groceries. I'm just following you. I'm not buying anything. Why should I help?
Why? Afraid that it'll scare someone? I'll disguise it as a favor.
Don't expect me to just follow anyone without a way to defend myself, including you.
(Looks like there's no way to change Annis' mind. She can do whatever she likes.)
(She probably wants to just explore for secrets or something.)
(You arrive at the store and put everything you need in the cart.)
(After getting all the food, you grab for...)
(An electric toothbrush for yourself.)
(Scissors for Annis)
Don't you already have an electric toothbrush? Why do you need a new one-
Wait, did you figure out that I used your electric toothbrush for my germ experiments?
I washed it out before I put it back.
Scissors? For me? How did you know that I melted my pair of scissors during an experiment a while ago?
You noticed that I was using Fat Tongue to cut things? Well...
You always seem to know everything, don't you? What else do you know?
You knew that Victoria couldn't leave her room because all her clothes went missing, and that I hid them?
You knew that I dyed Anna's hair red so she refuses to meet anyone?
Alright, fine, yeah, I did that.
And Berial's... Wait! I didn't break Berial's wine cabinet on purpose!
I just wanted to steal his most expensive bottle of wine so he would search everywhere for it, but Fat Tongue suddenly-
You can just tell me next time.
Don't do this again.
Why?
My life experience tells me that you must tie off all loose ends to achieve your goal.
To achieve my goal, I had to eliminate any possible interference.
As an alchemist, I must- Are you mad? Well, um... I'm sorry. I won't do it again.
What? "You're not an enemy or stranger, but a friend? We can get along as friends?"
I don't know why you'd say all that about friends...
I don't really get the definition of a friend, or why you're my friend, or how to treat friends, and all that.
But you're unhappy, so I won't do it again. I'll tell you next time if I want to go out with you.
I will help you research myself.
I'll invite you next time.
I didn't want to go out just to research you! Although I've wanted to find your secret...
But I didn't go out with you so that I could observe or research you.
R-Really? Should I pay you in return or something? Huh? You don't need anything in return?
But the alchemical Law of Equivalence... What? This isn't alchemy, it's just a friend's invitation?
Friends... I still don't get it, but that's what makes it interesting.
Oh, and by the way, I was happy to go out with you today.
2. Date 2
60 lines(You've run into some problems with your chemistry homework, so you went to Annis for help.)
(You bring your homework to Annis' place.)
(Barge on in.)
(Knock on the door.)
(You push open the door and there isn't anyone inside. Scattered notes on alchemy lie on the ground.)
(Strange, I don't think Annis left the house today?)
(A voice comes from inside.)
Give me a second, I'll be right there.
(After a while, the door opens, but Annis is nowhere to be seen. You step on in.)
(A voice breathes cold air past your ear and speaks in an eerie tone...)
"Come, tell me all your secrets..."
I know it's you, Annis.
Gah!
(The voice falters, and Annis jumps down from the ceiling.)
You're getting more and more boring, Leader. I'll lose interest in you if you keep this up.
You'll be no use except as food for Fat Tongue. Just joking!
(Annis jumps down from the ceiling, laughing.)
Haha! You should have seen the look on your face! That's what you get for disturbing me while I'm taking alchemy notes.
Just a small lesson for you!
Now, what do you want? Huh? Problems with homework?
Heh, it's not my area of expertise, but I am curious about you.
I don't want to miss out on anything you do! Come on, I, the great alchemist, shall give you the answers that you seek.
(Ask a simple chemistry question. )
(Ask a complicated chemistry question. )
Leader, if that's all you got...
Then don't disturb an alchemist of my grade! Why don't you feed your worksheet to Fat Tongue and ask it instead!
Is this really a homework problem? To try and probe the unknown by human means...
This is already at the level of alchemy! You're getting interesting, Leader. Want to be my alchemy apprentice?
(Despite her words, Annis still helps you with the questions. There's only one problem left.)
(Seeing the last problem, Annis' face hardens.)
Hmm... Well, it's not a salt, but it's not an acid either...
Maybe if you approach it with the third principle and extrapolate...
(Annis seems to sink into some bizarre trance. No matter what you say, she can't seem to snap out of it.)
(Time to leave. )
Someone's taking your materials!
(You yell at Annis, but she doesn't respond. Maybe you should leave for now and come back later.)
Huh? Someone took my Leader... Oh, Leader! I think I figured out how to crack this problem!
If you pull me out of my mind palace again, I can't guarantee that I'll find the key again!
Alright, head back first. I'll call you over when I figure out the answer.
(You go back to your room, and before you realize it, you fall asleep.)
(By the time you wake up, it's morning again. There's no news from Annis.)
(You head over to Annis' place. You hesitate whether or not to knock on the door before hearing an explosion come from inside.)
(You rush in without a second thought. Annis stands inside, holding a broken beaker, her face blackened with soot.)
Eureka! I've got it, Leader! This experiment shows that this method is correct!
Huh, who knew that a homework problem would take me more than a day to solve.
I have to step up my game. I haven't done experiments so long that I've regressed.
(Did Annis really not rest for an entire day to solve this problem?)
(Convince her to get some rest. )
(Force her to go to sleep. )
It's alright. For an alchemist, a touch of inspiration is much more valuable than sleep.
It's normal to go a couple nights without rest for an experiment when inspiration strikes.
(You try to convince her again, more seriously this time.)
Fine, fine, I'll go to bed.
(Annis crawls into bed and pulls the sheets over her.)
(Bear-hug and pick up Annis without another word.)
Hey! Wait, Leader! I haven't told you the answer yet-
(You throw her onto her bed and pull the sheets over her.)
Fine, if you're going to be so aggressive, then I'll just do what you want.
I didn't feel tired when I was conducting the experiments, but now that my head is on this pillow, I'm... getting... sleepy...
(Annis' breathing slows to a gentle rhythm as she falls into sleep. You quietly make your exit and close the door behind you.)
3. Date 3
59 lines(You receive messages of reported Nightmares activity, but it sounds like a false alarm.)
(Still, it's best to check just in case. You invite Annis to come along with you.)
(You stroll along the road with Annis.)
Isn't there reported Nightmare activity? You're supposed to be the leader, and yet you don't seem to be in a hurry. What's that? There's more to it?
There's more to it.
Take a guess.
Well, I'm listening, oh wise Leader.
I'm not curious anymore. I should just feed you to Fat Tongue and get the answer that way.
Alright, fine, come on, oh wise Leader, tell me!
(Tell her the details. )
So, you think it's a false alarm? Yeah, it does sound off...
It might be the doings of humans instead. You get more interesting by the day.
It' an honor.
How interesting am I right now?
Yeesh, don't make fun of me. Well, you seem genuine. I trust you.
Do you really want to know? Here, how about a deal. I'm not asking for much.
Let my pet here give you a nice lick, and I'll tell you!
(Forget it.)
Hmph. You're no fun.
(It begins to rain. It's too late to go back to Muscipula to get an umbrella.)
(Annis hands over her magic box.)
Use this to shield from the rain. It works pretty well.
No, it's going to bite my head off.
(Use the magic box to shield Annis.)
Come on! I'm serious when I say you should become some alchemical materials for me.
You never take it seriously. But now you're latching onto a joke that I made!
Would I ever hurt you? Think, Leader, think!
(Annis doesn't say anything, but her eyes seem more... gentle than usual. )
Come on, this may not be Nightmares, but there might be something else going on. Humans.
Don't look at me like that. Although, I don't care whether those guys are safe or not...
But if I turned a blind eye on them, you would have gotten angry at me later. I can't stand that.
Speaking of humans, I understand human desire all too well. Humans snared in their desires can be much more vicious than Nightmares.
Desire nourishes me, but sometimes, I can't look at people like that without wanting to get mad.
You don't seem happy.
Oh, so you do get angry?
Why do you say that? Have you ever seen me get angry? At most, I'll pretend to, as a joke.
But people usually take my joking for actual anger. They're so thin-skinned. But you're different, right, Leader?
So, you think I never get angry? Oh, I'm touched... kidding.
The temperaments of all alchemists are finicky. I can only stomach you, as a subject of scientific study.
So other than me, don't you go around talking like that with other alchemists.
However, pretty much nothing can make me angry.
I don't care about most things anyway. How could I get mad?
(You arrive at the scene. As expected, there's not a trace of Nightmares.)
(It's just a couple of drunkards fighting each other with bottles of booze.)
(Before you can say anything, a bottle slips from a drunkard's hand and comes flying towards you.)
(You're not going to have time to react, you're going to have to- Huh?)
(A large magic box jumps out and gobbles up the bottle mid-air.)
(Annis recalls the magic box. Her smile is gone, and her expression hangs heavy.)
Watch it!
(Annis charges with Fat Tongue into the crowd of drunkards and beats them up until they're all on the ground.)
Are you upset, Annis?
(Pat her head. )
How do I know? If these guys actually hurt you, I guess I would have been really upset.
But now? I'm just teaching them a lesson is all.
What are you doing? Don't touch my hair! You think that I'll ignore your problems now?
I'm very upset! Very, very upset!
Why didn't you duck? Is all that combat experience just for show? Did you feed it to my magic box?
(For some reason, you feel happy seeing Annis blow up like this.)
(Even if Annis were to complain in your ears all day, you wouldn't grow tired of it at all.)