Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 2, part 2

[Oldmansour]

>Frown.
>"Go on."

>"Well... it stinks here. It smells like the open end of a sewer here, now. Wasn't this bad when we first got here, was just a little smell. I thought someone had- Yknow, cut one. But it kept getting worse and worse. Except no one else can smell it. Marigold can't, Chie can't, the receptionist, the shrink, no one. Except me. Normally, I'd just think my sniffer's broken, but me smelling something this bad, and Chie can't? That's not right."
>"And there's something just not right here. It's like... Yknow, when you walk into your room, and nothing seems wrong, but you just know your little cousin's waiting under the bed to jump out and surprise you, and then he was in the closet all along and jumps out and scares the feathers off your wings. There's just something wrong here, Byakuren, and I don't know what. Like... Something that doesn't belong. And it's giving me a BAD feeling."

[Hello Purvis]

>Hm. People on the bus could smell it, but if only Lily can in this instance...
>"Are you still at the CRA building?"

[Oldmansour]

>Hm. People on the bus could smell it, but if only Lily can in this instance...
>"Are you still at the CRA building?"

>Highly suspicious...
>"Yeah, the main lobby. Komeji-san wanted a word with Marigold without her chaperones."

[Hello Purvis]

>Highly suspicious...
>"Yeah, the main lobby. Komeji-san wanted a word with Marigold without her chaperones."

>"I'll be there as soon as I can. Keep me updated."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>After hanging up, turn to Kiku.
<"Change of plans. The enemy may already be making another move. I need to get to the CRA immediately. If you want to talk, you'll need to come with me."
>We'll probably need to turn back to normal, won't we? It's unlikely we'll be able to hold the transformation for the entire trip.

[Oldmansour]

>"I'll be there as soon as I can. Keep me updated."

>"Will do."

>After hanging up, turn to Kiku.
<"Change of plans. The enemy may already be making another move. I need to get to the CRA immediately. If you want to talk, you'll need to come with me."

>You think Kiku cringes for a blink of an eye, then nods. "WE need to get there." she says with some conviction.
>"Then I'll take you there myself." Ran interjects from behind. "Doubles, take care of these people and put the store back in order." The aging oni tosses her a salute, after which Ran turns her back back to you and Kiku, pointing to an elevator on the north wall.

>We'll probably need to turn back to normal, won't we? It's unlikely we'll be able to hold the transformation for the entire trip.

>That would seem to be a reasonable assumption, though it would depend on how quickly it takes you to get there. Lily may have taken an hour to get to where you are, but she was likely limited by bus schedules, and a reluctance to leave Marigold, especially if whatever trouble is brewing there has been there for a while. You seem to have other options available to you.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Enter the elevator.
>Purpose? Are you still there? How much longer can I hold the transformation for without suffering any ill effects?

[Oldmansour]

>Enter the elevator.
>Purpose? Are you still there? How much longer can I hold the transformation for without suffering any ill effects?

>Taking Ran up on her offer, you cross the sales floor with Kiku following behind you. Doubles calls to Ran as she presses the button for the lift, "Ye sure ye won't need me help?" "I need you here more, Doubles." the kitsune replies. "Get yourself back in order, then take care of these people. You know your job. And contact me if there's anymore signs of trouble."
>The lift doors open, and you climb aboard, Kiku and Ran behind you. Ran pushes the button labeled B2, the doors close, and the lift moves downward.
>The voice takes a few seconds before responding. I am not certain. This is your second time in your Magical Lotus guise, and some time has passed since you took up the mantle, so your body should be more used to handling that kind of energy. Plus, you used a lot more energy this time around, and your body's been using more of that energy to heal yourself after that battle. It should be some time before you start to feel any kind of consequence, but I can't say how long exactly.
>And how did you know what I am?

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>I had an enlightening conversation with the Metal Tiger.
>Purpose, I must apologize for the way I acted during our last meeting. You were right; nobody was killed, and I only expelled what was added. I'm sorry I didn't believe you.
>"Let's start with you, Kiku. I didn't think there was anyone except me who could fight such an enemy so effectively. How did you gain such power?"
>"You seem as though you may in fact know a few things about what we're facing that I do not. Could I ask you to tell me what you know?"

[Oldmansour]

>I had an enlightening conversation with the Metal Tiger.
>Purpose, I must apologize for the way I acted during our last meeting. You were right; nobody was killed, and I only expelled what was added. I'm sorry I didn't believe you.
>"Let's start with you, Kiku. I didn't think there was anyone except me who could fight such an enemy so effectively. How did you gain such power?"
>"You seem as though you may in fact know a few things about what we're facing that I do not. Could I ask you to tell me what you know?"

>The Tiger.... Yes. Yes, it would know what I am. But how did you come into contact with it? It was destroyed ages ago, before even the creation of the barrier.
>It was understandable. You were in a situation that must have seemed fantastic, nearly unbelievable, and in considerable pain, as well. In truth, I may have been at fault as well. I had not communicated with a mortal in thousands of your years, before that day. I may not have done an adequate job explaining what was happening. I shall endeavor to do better.

>Kiku takes a moment to answer your question. She seems uncomfortable about the topic. "It is my duty. I demonstrated the ability to channel the powers of the Gods after- I came to live at the temple years ago. I have been training ever since."
>"There have always been malevolent spirits in this world; ghosts, natural manifestations, amalgams of spirits and emotions." A short burst of breath escapes her nostrils. "By some definitions, certain youkai would qualify as 'malevolent spirits'. In fact, there was a time when that belief was common."
>"We have come a long way." Ran observes, her tone strange and distant. Kiku gives her head a brief shake. "Many have." she says quietly, before looking back up at you. "I have studied many types of creatures and spirits that we of the Four Temples have been called upon to battle over the years, encountered only a few of them. But what I sensed today, here, was alien to me. I.. was not certain my magic would even affect it."

[Hello Purvis]

>Let us consider it forgotten.
>"Alien is the best word for it. The one controlling that is an alien being, from a world and dimension removed from our own. One that has been sealed away for some millenia and forgotten. As I understand it, the last time they were seen was several thousand years ago."

[Oldmansour]

>Let us consider it forgotten.
>"Alien is the best word for it. The one controlling that is an alien being, from a world and dimension removed from our own. One that has been sealed away for some millenia and forgotten. As I understand it, the last time they were seen was several thousand years ago."

>How did you come into contact with the Metal Tiger?
>"Not exactly." Ran interrupts, before Kiku can reply. "The last time those demons were in this world was five hundred years ago."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I suppose I misremembered an order of magnitude. I've been hoping to find more about that event, though..."

[Oldmansour]

>"I suppose I misremembered an order of magnitude. I've been hoping to find more about that event, though..."

>"Oh, there's a lot you could learn about the one five hundred years ago. A lot of it's a matter of public record."
>Kiku looks at her questioningly, then a shocked expression spreads across her face. "You don't mean-"
>"I do. The first Lunarian invasion."
>With a ping, the doors of the elevator slide open, revealing a subterranean parking structure. Ran steps out and looks around. "It's clear."

[Hello Purvis]

>It came into contact with me.
>Follow that fox!
>"Are you suggesting they took advantage of that situation, or something else entirely?"

[Oldmansour]

>It came into contact with me.
>Follow that fox!
>"Are you suggesting they took advantage of that situation, or something else entirely?"

>Yourself and the feline miko step out of the elevator and fall into step behind Ran, as she heads towards a sleek-looking 4-door indigo-colored car, although you don't recognize the make or model. In her own clearly marked parking space, of course.
>"It's possible they instigated the whole war. Or perhaps they simply tried to turn that age of barbarism to their own advantage. I honestly don't know." She produces her keys and deactivates the car's alarm. "But they were here. At least their youma were here." Another push of a button, and the car's doors unlock. Ran pauses for a moment to lift what seems to be a takeout menu from under her windshield wiper before opening her door. Kiku opens the rear driver side for you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Hop in.
>"It would be interesting to find how they did it."

[Oldmansour]

>Hop in.
>"It would be interesting to find how they did it."

>You slide in the back seat of Ran's car. Comfy seats.
>"How they did what?" Ran asks as she embarks, Kiku getting in the back seat on the passenger's side seconds later.

[Hello Purvis]

>"How they managed to get involved at all. And if they are pulling strings in any manner, like you suggested, how that did that."

[Oldmansour]

>"How they managed to get involved at all. And if they are pulling strings in any manner, like you suggested, how that did that."

>Ran starts her car.
>"I'm afraid I don't have those answers, at least not completely. All I really know is what they were doing when I saw them, for whatever my personal experiences are worth. You've probably read in sch-"
>"Now wait a minute." Kiku interrupts the businesswoman as she pulls out and drives towards the parking garage exit. "The temples were stronger then than they are now, and our records stretch back millenia, and there's no mention of otherworldy involvement in the first Lunar war."

[Hello Purvis]

>"It may be that that never reached the temples? Or perhaps the records have been lost or excised?"

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>Purpose, were they indeed involved in those events five hundred years ago? And if so, do you know in what way they were involved?

[Oldmansour]

>"It may be that that never reached the temples? Or perhaps the records have been lost or excised?"

>"I guess it's possible..." Kiku muses, still seeming unnerved about the idea. "A number of things were lost in the destruction of the three temples 54 years ago... But excised? Impossible."
>"Or perhaps the Temples didn't fully understand what they were facing." Ran conjectures as she pulls out onto the street. "If the mikos only faced the youma employed by the Lunarians or their collaborators, they might have assumed they were dealing with some kind of Lunar magic unknown to them. As a matter of fact, I thought that was the case myself, until I saw a young witch on our side turn her two housecats into youma and sic them on a squad of Moon-rabbits."
>Kiku still doesn't seem entirely pleased at the idea that her order had no idea what they were truly up against. "I'll advise my superior that we should check our records, when I return to the temple."

>Purpose, were they indeed involved in those events five hundred years ago? And if so, do you know in what way they were involved?

>If my knowledge of your timeframes is correct, yes, that would be the last time they broke though myself into your world. Their purpose then was as it is now: to destroy the seal surrounding their world, and infest this world as they did in ages past.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"They were involved. I know that, although I do not know what all they did."
>How were they stopped last time?

[Oldmansour]

>"They were involved. I know that, although I do not know what all they did."

>"Whatever they were doing, they were playing both sides. We never had any hint that there was a third force at work, until near the end of the war."
>"These youma started off as tools of the Lunarians, stayed that way for years, as far as I know. We thought it was just a magic we didn't possess. And they were dangerous, I saw a lot tougher youma than that one back there. They could drain the energy out of people and equipment with a touch."

>How were they stopped last time?

>In all times previous to this, someone from your side was able to reach through the seal and bring the demons into this world. This allows the demons to establish a foothold, an anchor, in your world. When this individual was killed, the foothold was lost, and the demons were all pulled back into their world.
>I'm afraid that won't help you this time, however. The demons have no such foothold.

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"I fought one that could do that, but only slowly. And it was poorly made, too; much easier to defeat than the one we just fought."
>"The youma likely aided the Lunarians because whoever brought this force forth was probably a Lunarian. In all previous attacks, the enemy has accessed this world via being summoned. In such cases, killing the summoner was enough to end the threat. This time, however, is different, as there is no such summoner."

[Oldmansour]

>"I fought one that could do that, but only slowly. And it was poorly made, too; much easier to defeat than the one we just fought."
>"The youma likely aided the Lunarians because whoever brought this force forth was probably a Lunarian. In all previous attacks, the enemy has accessed this world via being summoned. In such cases, killing the summoner was enough to end the threat. This time, however, is different, as there is no such summoner."

>"So, their creations are getting stronger." Kiku nods. "I'll be more prepared next time."
>As you sketch the other two women in on what the Purpose told you, and your own theory on the matter, Ran half turns her head back to look at you, surprise clearly evident on her face. "How do you know that?"
>In almost the same moment, Kiku voices, "How could you possibly know that?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"I have my contacts. It would take a long time to explain, so please just trust me for now."

[Oldmansour]

>"I have my contacts. It would take a long time to explain, so please just trust me for now."

>A wise decision. the Purpose approves. My existence would be hard to explain, and difficult to accept for many.
>Incidentally, you probably should keep that meeting of yours with the Metal Tiger to yourself, as well. I remember the emotion of jealousy from my last time in this world, and those that venerate the Tiger would probably not be too happy about an outsider meeting their god, whether she be Hero or no.
>I must know, how did you meet the Tiger?

[Hello Purvis]

>As I said, it came into contact with me. I was lead to it in the forest outside of its shrine.