Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4

[DracoOmega]

>To Louise: "And where do you stand on this? Are Champion and Avatar always of like mind?"

[Oldmansour]

>To Louise: "And where do you stand on this? Are Champion and Avatar always of like mind?"

>"We share the same goal." Louise says as she watches (somehow, with her eyes still closed) Patchouli make her escape from the Oubliette. "Whether or not we'll end up agreeing entirely on how to achieve it, I don't know. I suppose that depends on what kind of mood she'll be in once you stop her. She probably won't be happy for a while."

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm surprised you expect me to succeed."

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm surprised you expect me to succeed."

>"You've performed so well against myself and the other Champions, I can't very well expect you to fail." she replies with aplomb and a smile.

[DracoOmega]

>Hard to know quite how to take that
>"I don't know that she'll listen to me anymore, but she might listen to you. Surely this kind of willful havoc cannot serve your ultimate agenda either."

[Oldmansour]

>Hard to know quite how to take that
>"I don't know that she'll listen to me anymore, but she might listen to you. Surely this kind of willful havoc cannot serve your ultimate agenda either."

>"Oh, she'll listen to me. Just not right now. You see, her hatred is very deep-seated. She has to act on it, at least in attempt, or she'll never think of anything else."

[DracoOmega]

>"The woman I knew wouldn't have said those things. I am well-aware of her resentment against her parents, but this malice is something more profound. What does becoming an Avatar do to someone?"

[Oldmansour]

>"The woman I knew wouldn't have said those things. I am well-aware of her resentment against her parents, but this malice is something more profound. What does becoming an Avatar do to someone?"

>"I don't think I have the time to explain." Louise says thoughtfully. "She isn't moving as fast as she would have, if you didn't have such a way with people, but she'll still get there before you."

[DracoOmega]

>Don't suppose we can think of a way to do a sort of 'reversal' of the summoning spell we did earlier and essentially summon ourselves TO a specific location? Particularly if, say, one of our number were familiar with it?

[Oldmansour]

>Don't suppose we can think of a way to do a sort of 'reversal' of the summoning spell we did earlier and essentially summon ourselves TO a specific location? Particularly if, say, one of our number were familiar with it?

>You might actually be able to do just that. But it would requite intimate familiarity with the target location. A mistake in transportation could result in teleporting yourself inside of a wall. And there's another risk as well. Your powers don't allow you to see your target in real time, so there's no way to know who or what might be occupying your target destination. You could end up teleporting into the very people you're trying to help. And while you can't be entirely certain what would happen if that happened, you're completely sure it wouldn't be good for either party involved.

[DracoOmega]

>Well, could aim for several feet up in the air, where absolutely no one is liable to be at the time
>How far away is Patchy's family home, anyway? Do we actually know where she lives, for that matter?
>"And you don't disapprove of me firing on your avatar, then, if that is what it ends up taking?"

[Oldmansour]

>Well, could aim for several feet up in the air, where absolutely no one is liable to be at the time

>In this city, that's not always a guarantee. Between the tengu who live here, the winged youkai, the Bird miko who patrol the skies, the fairies who gad about as they please... The skies of Mayoiga are a busy place.

>How far away is Patchy's family home, anyway? Do we actually know where she lives, for that matter?
>"And you don't disapprove of me firing on your avatar, then, if that is what it ends up taking?"

>You know the Knowledge family manor is somewhere on the southeast side of town, but not precisely where. You've never had cause to visit there.
>"It was bound to happen at some point." Louise says with a slight shrug. "You're still not on our side, after all."

[DracoOmega]

>"This isn't about sides. This is about saving lives, and stopping something the woman who was my friend would regret. We will speak later."
>Let's exit the oubliette

[Oldmansour]

>"This isn't about sides. This is about saving lives, and stopping something the woman who was my friend would regret. We will speak later."
>Let's exit the oubliette

>"Yes. We will." Focusing on the touchstone once more, you send yourself flying back down the rainbow road between reality and jail. As you exit the Oubliette, you hear the faint sound of the Water Champion's voice float across your ears, "As you Terrans say, good luck."
>The scene at Moonside has changed a bit since you left. As Rin reported, both Elis and Sanae are gone, and they have left not a trace of conflict in their wake. You'd be lying if you said you weren't a little bit surprised, given the belligerent nature of the Air Champion. Reimu and Kohaku are also missing, but the other bodyguard, the sour faced Touki, is still in evidence. She is presently standing next to Rin and is weaving some kind of spell on her. Her ears, specifically. Reisen and Lily are standing a bit apart from them, looking to the east as they talk.

[DracoOmega]

>Can we sense where Patchouli is at the moment?
>Approach Reisen

[Oldmansour]

>Can we sense where Patchouli is at the moment?
>Approach Reisen

>No. A chaotic kind of interference is blanketing the area between you and the Knowledges' mansion. Patchy's probably shielding her location from you.
>The lunar rabbit glances back over her shoulder as you make your approach. "What happened?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Patchouli is physically healthy again, but... not altogether the same, I'm afraid. I'm very sorry; I did my best to convince her otherwise, but I... believe she is currently en route to murder her parents. Or to do even worse things to them, and who knows who else comes afterward."

[Oldmansour]

>"Patchouli is physically healthy again, but... not altogether the same, I'm afraid. I'm very sorry; I did my best to convince her otherwise, but I... believe she is currently en route to murder her parents. Or to do even worse things to them, and who knows who else comes afterward."

>"Well you've got to stop her!" the rabbit cries.

[DracoOmega]

>"We will try, I promise you, but first I need to ask you something. In private. I will be quick."

[Oldmansour]

>"We will try, I promise you, but first I need to ask you something. In private. I will be quick."

>Reisen spares a glance over her shoulder, then looks back at you. "Take me with you. I might be able to- Do something."

[DracoOmega]

>If she won't move on her own, let's gently usher her somewhere a bit more out of sight
>"Patchouli as she is now is powerful and dangerous, and not entirely the woman you knew. Are you willing to put your own life on the line here, if doing so means being able to help save her? Being able to save those she wishes to claim vengeance upon? If you felt you had the power to make a difference, would you take it?"

[Oldmansour]

>If she won't move on her own, let's gently usher her somewhere a bit more out of sight
>"Patchouli as she is now is powerful and dangerous, and not entirely the woman you knew. Are you willing to put your own life on the line here, if doing so means being able to help save her? Being able to save those she wishes to claim vengeance upon? If you felt you had the power to make a difference, would you take it?"

>With a little prodding, you maneuver the bunny into Nitori's shack. And to your credit, you pause only for a brief moment to ponder the implications of that sentence.
>This time, you get the sense that it is your offer, your words, that make your ring react just as much as it is reacting to Reisen herself. In fact, the reaction is a very strong one. But the ring does not appear straight away. Reisen seems troubled by your words, and she hesitates. She half-turns away from you and takes a few steps towards one of Nitori's tables. "I was a soldier once before." she says quietly, staring at one of Nitori's welders, which has a vaguely gun-like shape to it. "I never wanted to be that again."
>Despite her obvious doubt, your ring does not stop reacting to her.

[DracoOmega]

>"Neither did I, but there are dangerous forces at work in this city, and people who will die if we do not oppose them. Good, kind, innocent people. We fight not to conquer, but to save - for the lives of our friends and families, and even those of our enemies, that they might be given a chance to choose a better path. I will never ask of you something you are unwilling to do, but in times like this, even just the will to protect the people we care about is a powerful force."

[Oldmansour]

>"Neither did I, but there are dangerous forces at work in this city, and people who will die if we do not oppose them. Good, kind, innocent people. We fight not to conquer, but to save - for the lives of our friends and families, and even those of our enemies, that they might be given a chance to choose a better path. I will never ask of you something you are unwilling to do, but in times like this, even just the will to protect the people we care about is a powerful force."

>Although the doubt doesn't leave her face, you see Reisen's ears perk up a little bit. She turns her head towards you, her haunted red eyes seeming to flash briefly. "Can I trust you?" she asks in a subdued voice.

[DracoOmega]

>We're out of public view now, right?
>If so, then let's drop our Lotus form for a moment and offer her a sheepish smile: "I would like to hope that you do."
>Though if she understandably reacts by starting to yell our name in surprise or something, do try to gesture for her to keep a little quiet....

[Oldmansour]

>We're out of public view now, right?
>If so, then let's drop our Lotus form for a moment and offer her a sheepish smile: "I would like to hope that you do."
>Though if she understandably reacts by starting to yell our name in surprise or something, do try to gesture for her to keep a little quiet....

>You are.
>Pausing only for a moment in the face of the choice, you dispel your transformation, revealing Byakuren Hijiri to the lunar rabbit standing before you.
>Unsurprisingly, Reisen's red eyes widen greatly. For a moment, she stands in stunned silence, but then she returns your smile. "Well, I always thought you had the heart of a hero, but this?"

[DracoOmega]

>"These are strange times for all of us, myself included. I really did mean to explain all of this to you and Patchouli after the standoff was over, and I wish there was more time to do so now, but she really does mean to dole out savage vengeance and I don't know how much more time we have to stop her. You have the power in your heart to stand with us, as one of us; I can sense it in you, even now. I promise I will explain everything once there is time to rest, regardless of what you choose now."

[Oldmansour]

>"These are strange times for all of us, myself included. I really did mean to explain all of this to you and Patchouli after the standoff was over, and I wish there was more time to do so now, but she really does mean to dole out savage vengeance and I don't know how much more time we have to stop her. You have the power in your heart to stand with us, as one of us; I can sense it in you, even now. I promise I will explain everything once there is time to rest, regardless of what you choose now."

>Reisen sighs deeply, a resigned sound. "And you're sure it's me you want? Not Letty or Nitori?"

[DracoOmega]

>"Like I said, I won't push you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but the kindness in your heart and the courage in your spirit is true. And you're my friend."
>Take her hand
>"And right now someone we both care about is planning to do something horrible, and I won't accept that we cannot save her. Even if what we have to save her from is herself."

[Oldmansour]

>"Like I said, I won't push you to do anything you're not comfortable with, but the kindness in your heart and the courage in your spirit is true. And you're my friend."
>Take her hand
>"And right now someone we both care about is planning to do something horrible, and I won't accept that we cannot save her. Even if what we have to save her from is herself."

>As you take her hand in yours, a shaft of light emerges from your ring, producing a gentle purple ring with a teardrop shaped blue jewel and white filigree. Reisen eyes the ring hanging between you, and she seems relieved about something. She does not however elaborate on what that is, instead saying "You make a better recruitment speech than the Lunarian military." matter of factly. She sighs again, then holds her head high. "All right." And the ring slides comfortably onto her finger. "How powerful is she?" she asks as she watches the ring don her hand.