Author Topic: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2  (Read 43197 times)

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #540 on: August 07, 2015, 01:04:59 AM »
>"But nothing worse?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #541 on: August 07, 2015, 01:13:19 AM »
>"But nothing worse?"

>"Don't think so."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #542 on: August 07, 2015, 01:40:37 AM »
>"I'm glad."
>Give our brave girlfriend a kiss
>"And we did it. We saved them. Patchouli may still... not be herself - Louise came and took her away while she was unconscious. But the people here are safe. The rest... we can figure out afterward."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #543 on: August 07, 2015, 01:58:45 AM »
>"I'm glad."
>Give our brave girlfriend a kiss
>"And we did it. We saved them. Patchouli may still... not be herself - Louise came and took her away while she was unconscious. But the people here are safe. The rest... we can figure out afterward."

>Despite the fatigue she has to be feeling, Rin perks right up at your gesture of affection. You hear Reisen let out a little giggle at the sight, as well, a happy sound.
>"So, Water got out, huh. Bah, doesn't matter, you bottled her up once, we can do it again." Rin makes a quick scan of the room. "Where are we?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #544 on: August 07, 2015, 02:06:55 AM »
>"Inside the mansion. Patchouli's aunt invited us in and checked on some of our injuries. We spoke for a while, and then she left us to rest. I'm planning to speak with Patchouli's parents about what happened after resting up a little."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #545 on: August 07, 2015, 02:14:18 AM »
>"Inside the mansion. Patchouli's aunt invited us in and checked on some of our injuries. We spoke for a while, and then she left us to rest. I'm planning to speak with Patchouli's parents about what happened after resting up a little."

>"Patchy's got an aunt?"
>"She does." Reisen supplies. "And she's a doctor. She said she didn't find anything obviously wrong with you or Lily."
>"Lily, where's she?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #546 on: August 07, 2015, 02:18:03 AM »
>Point to the bed where she's lying
>"She's been unconscious since the battle ended, also."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #547 on: August 07, 2015, 02:38:24 AM »
>Point to the bed where she's lying
>"She's been unconscious since the battle ended, also."

>Rin sits up, albeit carefully. "Yeah, no surprise there. That last blast was a whopper. What'd ya do?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #548 on: August 07, 2015, 02:43:56 AM »
>"It was a shockwave from the sword Patchouli made shattering under my Violet Lotus. Louise said it even hurt her."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #549 on: August 07, 2015, 02:58:01 AM »
>"It was a shockwave from the sword Patchouli made shattering under my Violet Lotus. Louise said it even hurt her."

>"Excuse me." Reisen says politely. "I'm guessing that Louise was the name of that woman who appeared after the fight was over, but just who was she?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #550 on: August 07, 2015, 03:32:44 AM »
>"Ah yes, I'm sorry. There's so much you don't know yet. It's been... an awfully busy few days."
>"Louise is the Champion of Water, a 'demon' from Makai, and the person with whom Patchouli is linked. Lily, myself, and Kiku - a shrine maiden of the Metal Tiger, and another of our group - defeated her when she invaded the Center for the Recently Ascended a few days ago, and sealed her away in a sort of pocket dimension. Well, at the time she looked like a large serpent, actually; it was rather surprising to find a woman when we went back into her prison to speak with her later. Her kind were banished to Makai ages ago, under circumstances that I do not believe even she knows. Her and the other Champions have been charged with dismantling the barrier between worlds so that they may leave again."
>"She is a... I do not believe she is an evil woman, even if some of her actions have brought harm to others. But her situation is complex, and Makai so hellish that any lengths needed to escape it might seem justified. They have not had a good life, to put it mildly."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #551 on: August 07, 2015, 03:53:06 AM »
>"Ah yes, I'm sorry. There's so much you don't know yet. It's been... an awfully busy few days."
>"Louise is the Champion of Water, a 'demon' from Makai, and the person with whom Patchouli is linked. Lily, myself, and Kiku - a shrine maiden of the Metal Tiger, and another of our group - defeated her when she invaded the Center for the Recently Ascended a few days ago, and sealed her away in a sort of pocket dimension. Well, at the time she looked like a large serpent, actually; it was rather surprising to find a woman when we went back into her prison to speak with her later. Her kind were banished to Makai ages ago, under circumstances that I do not believe even she knows. Her and the other Champions have been charged with dismantling the barrier between worlds so that they may leave again."
>"She is a... I do not believe she is an evil woman, even if some of her actions have brought harm to others. But her situation is complex, and Makai so hellish that any lengths needed to escape it might seem justified. They have not had a good life, to put it mildly."

>"How could you know what their world is like?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #552 on: August 07, 2015, 04:30:46 AM »
>"I do actually believe Louise, after having spent some time talking with her on several occasions. But I have have also seen some of it myself. There was a memory the Champion of Ice shared with us of... well, of a companion of hers being devoured by a misshapen molten hulk while the two of them took refuge in a crevasse of razor-sharp rock to hide from the killing wind that lurked outside. Perhaps that sounds a little over the top, but it was very vivid. Louise spoke of the land itself devouring those who rest upon it. They believe the planet itself is sentient, and actively trying to kill them; I am not sure I disbelieve this."
>"I encountered a predator of Makai in person, in the basement of the CRA - a lurker that was pulled along when Louise entered our world, quite beyond her knowledge. She called it a Devouring Tar. It looked like... well, like a puddle of rank sludge, but it had a sort of psychic presence that I can only describe as an endless. all-consuming hunger. One could drown in it. I felt its touch upon my mind. It... is still a little disturbing to recall, but for a few long moments I felt an incredible urge to... well, there is no easy way of saying this: to rip apart and devour Kiku. To eat her. It didn't matter that she was a companion. I could barely hear the words she was speaking. I was just so hungry, and she was right there! - such is the depth of hunger the Tar inflicts on those around it. Louise told me I should have died just from that contact with it, lost my mind to it. If Kiku hadn't been there to save me, I probably would have. And this is not even the worst of the things that prey upon her kind."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #553 on: August 08, 2015, 06:59:00 PM »
>"I do actually believe Louise, after having spent some time talking with her on several occasions. But I have have also seen some of it myself. There was a memory the Champion of Ice shared with us of... well, of a companion of hers being devoured by a misshapen molten hulk while the two of them took refuge in a crevasse of razor-sharp rock to hide from the killing wind that lurked outside. Perhaps that sounds a little over the top, but it was very vivid. Louise spoke of the land itself devouring those who rest upon it. They believe the planet itself is sentient, and actively trying to kill them; I am not sure I disbelieve this."
>"I encountered a predator of Makai in person, in the basement of the CRA - a lurker that was pulled along when Louise entered our world, quite beyond her knowledge. She called it a Devouring Tar. It looked like... well, like a puddle of rank sludge, but it had a sort of psychic presence that I can only describe as an endless. all-consuming hunger. One could drown in it. I felt its touch upon my mind. It... is still a little disturbing to recall, but for a few long moments I felt an incredible urge to... well, there is no easy way of saying this: to rip apart and devour Kiku. To eat her. It didn't matter that she was a companion. I could barely hear the words she was speaking. I was just so hungry, and she was right there! - such is the depth of hunger the Tar inflicts on those around it. Louise told me I should have died just from that contact with it, lost my mind to it. If Kiku hadn't been there to save me, I probably would have. And this is not even the worst of the things that prey upon her kind."

>As you describe Makai to your latest recruit, Rin pulls herself out of her bed, albeit none too quickly, She gives her wounded leg a couple of experimental kicks before she tries standing on it, but when she does, it seems to function properly. At least, it doesn't seem to be in any worse shape than the body it's attached to. When you start talking about that Tar, though, she comes around the bed, sits down next to you and takes your hand in hers. You choose not to object.
>Reisen visibly blanches. "You ARE fine now, aren't you?" she asks, obviously concerned.

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #554 on: August 08, 2015, 07:20:28 PM »
>"Yes. It was short-lived, thankfully, once the Tar itself was dealt with; I may have scarfed down a bagel and had an extra-large lunch, but that was the worst of the lingering effects. Though it is not an experience I care to repeat."
>"On Makai, the Tar apparently has effective camouflage, and quite aside from its psychic effects can devour nearly anything. Louise called it an 'ambush predator'. She... seemed genuinely frightened when I mentioned what we'd encountered, and more frightened still about other creatures there she did not want to elaborate on."
>"As I understand it, her kind has little approaching anything we'd call 'civilization'; gatherings just attract more predation. Only the very strongest can survive at all. I can scarcely imagine what it must be like to live in such a place. Louise even admitted an irony that her imprisonment was the first time she'd actually known any sense of safety. That if she rested or allowed her focus to wander, for the first time she knew nothing would try to kill her."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #555 on: August 08, 2015, 10:05:30 PM »
>"Yes. It was short-lived, thankfully, once the Tar itself was dealt with; I may have scarfed down a bagel and had an extra-large lunch, but that was the worst of the lingering effects. Though it is not an experience I care to repeat."
>"On Makai, the Tar apparently has effective camouflage, and quite aside from its psychic effects can devour nearly anything. Louise called it an 'ambush predator'. She... seemed genuinely frightened when I mentioned what we'd encountered, and more frightened still about other creatures there she did not want to elaborate on."
>"As I understand it, her kind has little approaching anything we'd call 'civilization'; gatherings just attract more predation. Only the very strongest can survive at all. I can scarcely imagine what it must be like to live in such a place. Louise even admitted an irony that her imprisonment was the first time she'd actually known any sense of safety. That if she rested or allowed her focus to wander, for the first time she knew nothing would try to kill her."

>Reisen nods slowly. "I can understand what she meant. My life was pretty close to that for a long time, after I deserted. I never knew if this was going to be the day the Enforcers caught up to me, and then when I came to Earth, I had to dodge the Lunarian troops and the Terran people. But you, you beat this Tar. Right?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #556 on: August 08, 2015, 10:09:45 PM »
>"Kiku transmuted it into lead after some of my own power destabilized it. I felt nothing of its presence afterward, so I do think it is effectively 'dead'. Though I had been planning to swing by the CRA to have another check again soon; when we'd encountered it originally, I'd had no idea just what it was, or how dangerous it was."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #557 on: August 08, 2015, 10:23:23 PM »
>"Kiku transmuted it into lead after some of my own power destabilized it. I felt nothing of its presence afterward, so I do think it is effectively 'dead'. Though I had been planning to swing by the CRA to have another check again soon; when we'd encountered it originally, I'd had no idea just what it was, or how dangerous it was."

>"Well you're not doing it alone." Rin says quickly.
>To which Reisen adds, "I agree. Better not to take any chances."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #558 on: August 08, 2015, 10:30:43 PM »
>"You'll get no argument from me."
>"But I hope you can get some impression of what daily like on Makai must be like, and why someone would be willing to go to extreme lengths to escape it. Moreover, they've never had the chance for such a luxury as 'peaceful coexistence'. If some of them seem harsh and callous, I think it is only because they have never had the opportunity to learn otherwise. This does not mean their methods should go unopposed, but it is why I want to find a way that can lead to a better place for both our kinds, rather than just locking them back up where they came from. I do not think I could rightly consign anyone to such a place."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #559 on: August 08, 2015, 11:14:54 PM »
>"You'll get no argument from me."
>"But I hope you can get some impression of what daily like on Makai must be like, and why someone would be willing to go to extreme lengths to escape it. Moreover, they've never had the chance for such a luxury as 'peaceful coexistence'. If some of them seem harsh and callous, I think it is only because they have never had the opportunity to learn otherwise. This does not mean their methods should go unopposed, but it is why I want to find a way that can lead to a better place for both our kinds, rather than just locking them back up where they came from. I do not think I could rightly consign anyone to such a place."

>"No, I doubt you could." Reisen agrees. "But, you said that her people had been banished there. So who did that to them in the first place?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #560 on: August 08, 2015, 11:19:23 PM »
>"I don't know the exact circumstances of this, and I think it's vague ancient history even to Louise. Though she did speak of Celestials as intrinsic enemies of her kind here, and they may have been involved in driving them out? I'm not certain on this. Though I recall she seemed to think they were our masters, even now. And you heard what she said before she left today."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #561 on: August 09, 2015, 01:23:06 AM »
>"I don't know the exact circumstances of this, and I think it's vague ancient history even to Louise. Though she did speak of Celestials as intrinsic enemies of her kind here, and they may have been involved in driving them out? I'm not certain on this. Though I recall she seemed to think they were our masters, even now. And you heard what she said before she left today."

>"Not all of it made sense to me at the time, though. I didn't even know where she'd came from; I just knew that from the power she had, I was hoping we didn't have to fight her at the time. She confused me, though. If she really has no choice but to be our enemy, then you'd think she would have taken the chance to attack us. She said her orders were absolute, but wouldn't that include eliminating anything that stood in her way if she had the chance?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #562 on: August 09, 2015, 01:30:31 AM »
>"She's asked us to join her, more than once. I know she'd rather that than kill us - and she's not the only one of the Champions that says similar. Perhaps she is stretching her orders enough to leave us alive, in the hope that power which could aid them is not squandered? I would like to think she might genuinely desire peace, if peace could be had somehow. I wish she would be more direct about what her orders are, but the last time we spoke it was the same - she would not share information that she believed we could use against them. This leaves us in a rather difficult position, given how nearly no one else knows anything about them."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #563 on: August 09, 2015, 01:39:33 AM »
>"She's asked us to join her, more than once. I know she'd rather that than kill us - and she's not the only one of the Champions that says similar. Perhaps she is stretching her orders enough to leave us alive, in the hope that power which could aid them is not squandered? I would like to think she might genuinely desire peace, if peace could be had somehow. I wish she would be more direct about what her orders are, but the last time we spoke it was the same - she would not share information that she believed we could use against them. This leaves us in a rather difficult position, given how nearly no one else knows anything about them."

>"Didn't you say there were more of these Champions? One of them might be less... difficult to get information from."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #564 on: August 09, 2015, 01:53:10 AM »
>"Well, you've already met Elis, the Champion of Air. She was the one who made Sanae her Avatar in front of our apartments. She is... far less cooperative than Louise, largely hostile, relatively indifferent to Terran life. Louise called her a fool to us, more than once. Fire was... also antagonistic, and even domineering to their fellow Champion, Ice. She had Ice attack us at school yesterday morning, just... because, I think. We weren't even actively interfering with their plans at the time; I think she might just have been curious to see what we'd do. Though, we did manage to find a common foe last night, and Fire was just a little more cooperative afterward, although I'd still be surprised if she was amenable to a pleasant chat without us actually joining their side. And Ice... Ice seems perhaps most kindly-disposed to us of all. She shielded us during the battle at the shrine last night, and risked Fire's anger with her to help save Satori's life. But she is kept under Fire's proverbial thumb, and Fire is much less kind. I have yet to see the two of them apart. She nearly begged us to join them earlier, because otherwise she felt we would die - that she would be forced to kill us herself, alongside Fire. The other two Champions, Earth and Forest, have yet to enter this world - though I am not in a hurry for them to do so, either; Louise implied that Forest may be much more powerful than the others."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #565 on: August 09, 2015, 02:18:07 AM »
>"Well, you've already met Elis, the Champion of Air. She was the one who made Sanae her Avatar in front of our apartments. She is... far less cooperative than Louise, largely hostile, relatively indifferent to Terran life. Louise called her a fool to us, more than once. Fire was... also antagonistic, and even domineering to their fellow Champion, Ice. She had Ice attack us at school yesterday morning, just... because, I think. We weren't even actively interfering with their plans at the time; I think she might just have been curious to see what we'd do. Though, we did manage to find a common foe last night, and Fire was just a little more cooperative afterward, although I'd still be surprised if she was amenable to a pleasant chat without us actually joining their side. And Ice... Ice seems perhaps most kindly-disposed to us of all. She shielded us during the battle at the shrine last night, and risked Fire's anger with her to help save Satori's life. But she is kept under Fire's proverbial thumb, and Fire is much less kind. I have yet to see the two of them apart. She nearly begged us to join them earlier, because otherwise she felt we would die - that she would be forced to kill us herself, alongside Fire. The other two Champions, Earth and Forest, have yet to enter this world - though I am not in a hurry for them to do so, either; Louise implied that Forest may be much more powerful than the others."

>"Wait a moment." Reisen says. "You're saying that the Fire Champion is the Ice Champions' owner?"

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #566 on: August 09, 2015, 02:19:46 AM »
>"I am not sure the exact relationship between them - neither is Louise, for that matter, though she as well has never seen them apart. But Fire did... act rather like that was the case, yes."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #567 on: August 09, 2015, 02:28:09 AM »
>"I am not sure the exact relationship between them - neither is Louise, for that matter, though she as well has never seen them apart. But Fire did... act rather like that was the case, yes."

>"That's the impression I got meself." Rin adds. "Makes dealing with those two even trickier. If we killed Fire- I'm not saying we should, Mistress." she adds quickly. "I'm just saying. I don't mean to say that I want to."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #568 on: August 09, 2015, 02:49:41 AM »
>"I understand; carry on."

Re: Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 2
« Reply #569 on: August 09, 2015, 02:53:44 AM »
>"I understand; carry on."

>The kasha nods. "If we ended up killing Fire in a fight, that's got as good a chance at turning Ice against us totally as it does getting her to come over to our side. I've seen people in that deep before."
>"Yeah, I think I see your point." Reisen says thoughtfully. "Well, what about the other Avatars, would they know something more? Patchouli wasn't completely rational today, but that might not happen with the others."