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

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Seeing fear as undesirableis a common mistake. Fear tells you when you're in danger. It is perfectly natural, and one should not deny it nor attempt to eliminate it. Fear is a normal response to situations such as this. It is only when you let fear control you that it becomes undesirable."

[Oldmansour]

>"Seeing fear as undesirableis a common mistake. Fear tells you when you're in danger. It is perfectly natural, and one should not deny it nor attempt to eliminate it. Fear is a normal response to situations such as this. It is only when you let fear control you that it becomes undesirable."

>"There is wisdom in your words, Lotus." Kiku agrees. "But that wisdom is for normal people. And we are not normal people. You, Lily, me. We can do things that most humans and even youkai can only dream of. We face an evil that corrupts the very fabric of our world, the likes of which could very well drive a normal mind mad. But we three are not ordinary people. We are extraordinary. We have to be, to do what we do."
>"You were right, Lotus. We face an enemy that can seep into our very being, find the blackness in us and turn it against us. That includes our fear. It will find nothing, should it seek that fear within me."

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"I have faced my fears, and emerged stronger for it. Should I be brought to face them again, I shall emerge stronger yet. It is far from easy to face one's fears, but those who can do so and emerge intact benefit greatly from having done so."

[Oldmansour]

>"I have faced my fears, and emerged stronger for it. Should I be brought to face them again, I shall emerge stronger yet. It is far from easy to face one's fears, but those who can do so and emerge intact benefit greatly from having done so."

>"Then perhaps I should regret not being afraid now. If it has done such wonders for you. But this is my life's work, the result of all my training. Komeji-sama placed her faith in me, and I will not fail her. Nor will I fail you, Lotus, or you, Lily, if the need arises."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I doubted that you would. Let us not yield to whatever tricks it may have, should they play on our fear, our anger, our hate, or anything else."

[Oldmansour]

>"I doubted that you would. Let us not yield to whatever tricks it may have, should they play on our fear, our anger, our hate, or anything else."

>"Then lead on, Lotus. I am ready."

[Hello Purvis]

>Lead on, take the steps one at a time, and stay wary.

[Oldmansour]

>Lead on, take the steps one at a time, and stay wary.

>Given the slight dimness that remains present in the staircase, and the danger that could lurk around any corner, you take care upon the concrete steps leading downwards. The air on the stairs more than feels damn, it even smells damp down here.
>The stairs go down a bit furthur than your initial estimate, about 10 feet or so, and then hit a small level floor and turn left, revealing a second set of concrete stairs, opening up into a long hallway. Upon the wall to your left, at the top of the stairs, is a watercolor painting of a young woman with short black hair in a one-piece swimsuit, smiling a somewhat lopsided smile. She stands in front of a swimming pool, which is occupied by several men and women. Her expression is one of pride, you think. The brass plaque beneath the painting reads, "Daiko, our first aquatic resident. Though gone, her name shall never fade."

>From above you, at the top of the stairs you just came down, Kiku steps forward, sniffing the air, then snorting loudly, briefly. "Unpleasant." you hear her mutter. She takes one step down, but slowly, letting you take the lead, as you proposed.

[Hello Purvis]

>Do we feel anything from the steps, painting, or such?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we feel anything from the steps, painting, or such?

>Nothing from anywhere distinct. However, the feeling of being surrounded by sludgy water seems somewhat more pronounced, now that you are even furthur below ground.

[Hello Purvis]

>Descend. Stay wary.

[Oldmansour]

>Descend. Stay wary.

>The second set of stairs descends another 8 or 9 feet or so. When you step off the final stair, a pronounced chill comes over your foot, and halfway up your leg. The corridor ahead is lit by overhead flourescant lights, although the ceiling is only three feet or so over your head. However, about six feet or so, the light dims considerable, trailing off into pitch blackness. The visible parts of the wall have more decorations, here and there, more pictures and paintings, some with plaque dedications, some not.
>You hear Kiku coming down the staircase behind you, no longer sniffing the air as much.

[Hanzo K.]

>"You holding up alright still?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Take a few steps inside, keep wary.

>"You holding up alright still?"

>Don't talk needlessly. It's probably down here, and able to hear us.

[Oldmansour]

>"You holding up alright still?"

>Don't talk needlessly. It's probably down here, and able to hear us.

>"There is a rather upleasant smell down here, on top of everything else.
>You consider asking your companion how she's faring, but then a little voice warns you otherwise.

>Take a few steps inside, keep wary.

>You take a few cautious steps forward, towards the field of darkness. Your feet feel increasingly cold with each step.
>You hear Kiku reach the plateau behind you.

[Hello Purvis]

>Take a moment and try to coax away more of the darkness.

[Oldmansour]

>Take a moment and try to coax away more of the darkness.

>Halting your advance, you attempt once again to convince the darkness to go chill somewhere else for a while. You hear Kiku descend the stairs behind you.
>The area a couple feet ahead of you brightens, marginally, but the darkness beyond remains intact. The effort has a much more unpleasant result, as well. On the stairway, it felt like you were trying to push a puddle out of the area. This time, it feels like you've sunk your arms into a dark, cold, polluted lake. You feel slightly dizzy and a little light-headed.
>At the bottom of the stairs, Kiku comes to a halt. She mutters something that sounds like "Where'd that come from?"

[GuyYouMetOnline]

>"Kiku?"
>Okay, trying to remove the darkness isn'treally working. Let's just make a light.

[Oldmansour]

>"Kiku?"
>Okay, trying to remove the darkness isn'treally working. Let's just make a light.

>"I couldn't sense it before, with all the interferance around here." Kiku replies, as you hold your palm up, out in front of you. A small ball of white light appears just above your palm. For some reason, this makes your legs feel a little less cold, as well. Kiku continues, "There's a tremendous amount of metal down here. In fact, I think we're surrounded by metal. I can't be certain, without a more focused scanning, but it feels like lead."

[Hello Purvis]

>Possibly an old bomb shelter? There were the wars, after all...
>Nod to Kiku, and proceed as before.

[Oldmansour]

>Possibly an old bomb shelter? There were the wars, after all...
>Nod to Kiku, and proceed as before.

>Speculating on the purpose behind lead-lined walls 20-odd feet underground, you continue on down the concrete corridor. Each step forward deepens the chill in your feet. Stepping further into the dimmed area before, a curious image plays before your mind's eye. A layer of the shadows before seems to roll away from you- rather, your little ball of light- like the tides going out. The orb doesn't cast it's light far, though, and when you enter the area of total darkness, you have a hard time making out the walls on either side of you. You also note that, as near as you can tell, the lightbulbs over your head are all gone out from this point on.
>You hear Kiku mutter quietly, "Definitely lead."
>The air down here is distinctly more foul, as well, and gets worse as you make your way through the barely-illuminated corridor. As well does the smell of chlorinated water.
>After about another 13 or so feet, with Kiku about three or so feet behind you, the area ahead brightens a little, revealing a branch in the corridor, splitting to left and right. There appears to be signage on the wall, but it's too dim in here to see at this range.

[Hello Purvis]

>Get close to the sign. Stay wary.

[Oldmansour]

>Get close to the sign. Stay wary.

>Keeping all senses alert, you proceed forward, towards the end of the corridor, and the signage upon it. As you draw within a couple feet, just in front of stepping into the corridor itself, the darkness reveals a pair of arrows on top of each other. The top arrow is green and has the word "Salt" written over it, along with a picture of a salt shaker, and points to the left. The bottom arrow is light blue, and has the word "Fresh" written over it, along with a picture of a glass of water, and points to the right.

[Hello Purvis]

>Look down each corridor. Which gives us a worse feeling?

[Oldmansour]

>Look down each corridor. Which gives us a worse feeling?

>Glancing first down the "Fresh" corridor, you see that it continues on about ten of so feet, and then turns left into another area. From that area, there comes a pale light, thin but distinct.
>The "Salt" corridor is somewhat less comforting. It also extends about ten feet away, and then turns right. However, the floor from about a foot in to the entrance to the second area is covered with water. There is light coming from the area beyond as well, but this light seems... off, somehow. Somehow less than natural. The air is also fouler in that direction, the funk of swampy decay and rust emanating from beyond.
>Kiku, still following your lead, sniffs once, then exhales quickly.

[Hello Purvis]

>Quietly: "Smell anything? I think...the salt direction is the one we want."

[Oldmansour]

>Quietly: "Smell anything? I think...the salt direction is the one we want."

>"I agree. But, the smell of rust is confusing me somewhat. It's different than any oxide I've ever smelled before. I also smell a large quantity of brass from that direction, which I can't explain at the moment. It's possible that the enemy's presence, or some aspect of its power, is disrupting my natural senses."

[Hello Purvis]

>Proceed Saltward, with all usual cautions, until we get to the water., then give it a closer look.

[Oldmansour]

>Proceed Saltward, with all usual cautions, until we get to the water., then give it a closer look.

>Choosing the left corridor, you walk cautiously forward, holding your light before you to ensure no nasty surprises are lurking ahead. When you come with 'reach out and touch it' distance of the water, you see now that it is more like oil than water, viscous and grimy. You can hear a sound like moving water, but the oily muck at your feet remains perfectly still. It also smells quite terrible.

[Hello Purvis]

>What do we sense from it?