Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 4, Part 4

[Oldmansour]

>Let's explain that to her and give it a try

>It takes you a couple attempts to explain just what you have in mind to Lily. She isn't stupid, but you are trying to explain a somewhat complicated idea, and she is a bit on the simply side. In the time it takes Lily to grock onto your idea, Motormaster has turned to deal with Kiku, and the tiger rewards this new attention by turning her iron wall into a mobile battering ram, sending the thing shooting forward across the ground towards the biker. Motormaster deals with this unconventional projectile by delivering a powerful kick to the wall, shattering the solid metal barrier like a piece of old wood. But Kiku appears to have expected that, and unleashes her Metal Nails, the metallic energy carving into Motormaster's torso, sending the biker staggering backwards. As he does, though, the leather-wood armor of his body shifts again, acquiring metallic properties, albeit rusty and dirty metal.
>Lily takes your hand in hers, and for good measure, she lays her left wing sportively across your back. That feels nice, those wings of hers. Sort of alleviates some of the pain in your back and upper arms.
>It's only now, standing like this with Lily, that you realize that your ring is resonating.

[DracoOmega]

>Resonating how? In the way we were planning it to?

[Oldmansour]

>Resonating how? In the way we were planning it to?

>In the way that it resonated with other people capable of wearing one of your rings.

[DracoOmega]

>So not to Lily?
>If not, could it be Hatate again? Is she even close enough, or is anyone else nearby?

[Oldmansour]

>So not to Lily?
>If not, could it be Hatate again? Is she even close enough, or is anyone else nearby?

>No. Your body and spirit are responding to Lily, in a couple of positive ways, but your ring isn't.
>You think it has to be Hatate. The sensation now is very much the same as when it responded to her before, except it's much stronger this time. You can't see her, or her tengu friend, but she has to be somewhere nearby for your ring to be reacting to her.

[DracoOmega]

>Hopefully that doesn't mean she's getting herself even more into the line of fire....
>Are we actually doing whatever it was we were going to do with Lily, or did we just get distracted? If not, let's get on with it. Have to get back into the fray!

[Oldmansour]

>Hopefully that doesn't mean she's getting herself even more into the line of fire....
>Are we actually doing whatever it was we were going to do with Lily, or did we just get distracted? If not, let's get on with it. Have to get back into the fray!

>The help might be nice, but you'd far prefer that no one else get any more involved than necessary.
>You have been, and are. And you feel better. Far from perfect, but there is improvement.

[DracoOmega]

>Thank you, Lily.
>Let's give Motormaster a moment to see if he does turn towards Kiku and give us a blind spot to fire a Violet Lotus from. (We can try slowly shifting in that direction, too)
>But if he follows up on Reisen before the rabbit can defend herself, or turns toward us, fire that Violet Lotus immediately

[Oldmansour]

>Thank you, Lily.
>Let's give Motormaster a moment to see if he does turn towards Kiku and give us a blind spot to fire a Violet Lotus from. (We can try slowly shifting in that direction, too)
>But if he follows up on Reisen before the rabbit can defend herself, or turns toward us, fire that Violet Lotus immediately

>Anytime, boss.
>He is presently facing Kiku. Doing more than that, even, as his right hand flashes forward and sends a beam of electricity forward. Kiku's eyes widen for a moment before the lightning beam strikes her in the gut, sending her to the ground.
>Kiku's misfortune affords you an even better opportunity for you to strike, and you do so in the form of your Violet light. Your beam takes the biker in his right flank and he growls under your assault. "Try all you want, women. The results will not change! We will endure!" Motormaster's hand glows as he spins towards you, and he hurls a glob of poisonous-looking muck in your direction.
>"Spring Lily Leaf Shield!" Lily cries as she flutters before you, activating her shield and intercepting the biker's attack. While her shield does not become charged as it usually does, this time wilting and melting away, it still blocks the attack. "You can keep saying that, but we never quit!"

[DracoOmega]

>"Not so long as your corruption endangers others."
>If Reisen is open, let's try enchanting her blade with Violet light again.
>If not, let's give Motormaster another shot - and in general try to aim for the parts of him that still show visible corruption
>For that matter, are the parts that are corrupted and less corrupted visually distinct, or is that just something we're sensing?

[Oldmansour]

>For that matter, are the parts that are corrupted and less corrupted visually distinct, or is that just something we're sensing?

>To the naked eye there would be no difference. But you can see beneath the surface, and can see the partition between the mundane flesh and the spread of the splinter.

>"Not so long as your corruption endangers others."
>If Reisen is open, let's try enchanting her blade with Violet light again.
>If not, let's give Motormaster another shot - and in general try to aim for the parts of him that still show visible corruption

>The big biker spares a glance at you, and laughs. "Oh, we will do far more than endanger others." he says in that echoing voice. "Far, far more..." Lightning dances up and down his arms. "We owe you a debt of pain, heroes. You will scream before the end."
>Reisen is open and back on her feet. She appears steady, but she's taken so many hits that she can't be entirely hale and hearty. Still, she seems able to unleash that sword of hers once more, so you give her a quick heads up and fire your Violet light.
>As you create the Violet Brand again, Motormaster snaps his arms out to the side and unleashes his lightning. 10 blades of electricity, each almost a foot wide and over ten feet tall, blast out from the biker in 10 different directions, cutting deep groves in the ground as they travel out.

[DracoOmega]

>Are they moving in a straight line? Effectively fanning out?
>Who's in the path of them? All of us? Anywhere we think Hatate and co might be hiding?
>Is there any useful cover nearby?
>For that matter, has physical obstruction proved to block these lightning attacks in past?

[Oldmansour]

>Are they moving in a straight line? Effectively fanning out?
>Who's in the path of them? All of us? Anywhere we think Hatate and co might be hiding?
>Is there any useful cover nearby?
>For that matter, has physical obstruction proved to block these lightning attacks in past?

>Yes.
>Each of you is in the line of fire of at least one blade. There's still no sign of Hatate, so you're not sure if she's in danger or not.
>They've already gone through a number of tombstones effortlessly. You're not sure even the thick walls of the crypts will stop them.
>And for that matter, Rin is still down. You don't believe you can move her and get out of the way of the lightning before it gets to you.

[DracoOmega]

>Can we launch a Sapphire Lotus at Rin from a distance and pull/push her out of the path of a blade while we're moving out of the way of the one coming towards us as well?

[Oldmansour]

>Can we launch a Sapphire Lotus at Rin from a distance and pull/push her out of the path of a blade while we're moving out of the way of the one coming towards us as well?

>You're both being threatened by the same blade, as Rin is virtually directly behind you and Lily.
>But yes, you believe you can pull Rin out of the way like the prettiest anchor in the world. And if that fails, then the Sapphire light should protect her.

[DracoOmega]

>Then let's do this
>And make sure to keep contact with Lily

[Oldmansour]

>Then let's do this
>And make sure to keep contact with Lily

>After gauging the distance between the blades to make sure you don't dodge directly into another one, you attach your Sapphire anchor chain to White Rose and break to the left, having more room to maneuver that way. But you and Lily aren't in sync in your movement, and neither one of you moves quite as quickly as you might normally. The far edge of thundering blade catches the two of you, not near enough to the front to cut into your flesh, but enough to send more than a few volts coursing through your bodies. Being closer to the blade, Lily gets the worst of it. The blade also connects with the Sapphire tether connecting you to Rin and severs it, but you believe your protective magic kept your lover safe from the attack. You, on the other hand, are left struggling to stay on your feet as at least half the muscles in your body seem to have seized with the electric attack, and many more than that feel like they're on fire.

[DracoOmega]

>To Lily: I'm... sorry.
>Let's try to collect ourselves again. If we have to let ourselves slump to the ground in the process, do so.

[Oldmansour]

>To Lily: I'm... sorry.
>Let's try to collect ourselves again. If we have to let ourselves slump to the ground in the process, do so.

>The blonde, who took a facedive, trys to sound game. I've... had worse.... She sounds about as convincing as she looks.
>Perhaps taking a knee might not be a bad idea right now. So you do. Heavily.
>"We are unstoppable!" Motormaster roars triumphantly. "You were fools to think you could ever stand against the might of Motormaster! You- ARGH!" The biker's bragging is cut off by an angry, pained scream, and you hear the sound of fire from his direction.
>From behind you, White Rose growls, "Your voice is annoyin'."

[DracoOmega]

>She's okay!
>She's okay?
>How's everyone else?

[Oldmansour]

>She's okay!
>She's okay?
>How's everyone else?

>Instinctively, you snap your head around to look at Rin. Once the burst of pain passes, you can look past the spots dancing in front of your eyes to examine her. 'Okay' may be something of an exaggeration. She has electrical burns on her face, on her arms, on her legs and on most of the exposed skin of her torso, of which there is more than usual since that lightning cannon damaged her clothing as well. Had she been human, there's no doubt that blast would have killed her. As it is, she may be some time in recovering, but she is at least conscious again.
>"And you talk too much." Reisen rumbles as she charges at Motormaster, seemingly unhurt by those lightning blades. Kiku doesn't seem to have been so lucky. She's on her back a couple of feet from where she was, the broken ruins of metal around her mute testament to her failed effort to block the attack. Though her shield appears to have at least taken some of the edge off Motormaster's attack, as she's already getting back to her feet, slightly scorched in a couple of places and bleeding from her nose, but with plenty of fight still left in her.

[DracoOmega]

>Let's try to muster at least a distraction-grade Violet Lotus to complement Reisen's charge. Aim for the corrupted side of Motormaster

[Oldmansour]

>Let's try to muster at least a distraction-grade Violet Lotus to complement Reisen's charge. Aim for the corrupted side of Motormaster

>With your eyes compromised as they are, you can't be certain of your aim, but even if you miss, your fire could still keep Motormaster's attention on you. So, as Lily groans and starts to get back to all fours, you raise your scepter and fire a a Violet beam at the enflamed biker. Motormaster takes an angry swipe at your beam, deflecting it off into the air. His other hand starts to glow black, the sign of that shadow-chain attack of his, but Reisen's battle roar makes him turn before he can fire at you. He raises his hand to strike out at Poppy, but too late. The warrior magical girl drives her Violet-branded sword into Motormaster's chest cavity, the point sticking out from Motormaster's back.
>"Unstoppable THIS." Poppy says in a midnight voice, and with a mighty surge of power, she pulls her sword up through Motormaster's body, splitting him nearly in half from sternum to collarbone. The biker groans weakly as his bifurcated body topples backwards to the ground.

[DracoOmega]

>Could that... do it?
>Please let that do it

[Oldmansour]

>Could that... do it?
>Please let that do it

>The bruised and bloody bunny looms over the cloven body of Motormaster, breathing heavily as she watches the biker's blood ooze out onto the fouled ground around him. "You never looked better." she intones, an epitath to someone that she obviously feared, but loathed all the more. Tearing her eyes away from the fallen Motormaster, she looks over at you. "You three okay?" she calls.

[DracoOmega]

>"I'm... still in one piece, at least."
>Don't assume that Motormaster is really dead just because their body is in two pieces. What can we sense of the corruption there? Any activity of any kind?

[Oldmansour]

>"I'm... still in one piece, at least."
>Don't assume that Motormaster is really dead just because their body is in two pieces. What can we sense of the corruption there? Any activity of any kind?

>Lily and Rin groan simultaneously. Kiku is a bit more spry, and has returned to her feet. She sniffs the air experimentally, and growls. "Do not relax, Poppy." she warns.
>Technically it's just his upper body that's been cleaved. He's still intact from his stomach down. And you think Kiku may be right. The corruption of the splinter, though reduced, has not been completely eradicated. You don't know if Motormaster's body is still alive, but you have the dreadful feeling that your fight with the splinter of evil is not over yet.

[DracoOmega]

>The corruption isn't gone yet. Quickly, everyone. Let's join all our powers into a single blast before it can mobilize itself again - whatever you can muster.
>Let's get the lot of us as together as we need to be, and lead with a Violet Lotus on cue with the rest of them. If we can join all of us together before it can react, maybe that will be enough.

[Oldmansour]

>The corruption isn't gone yet. Quickly, everyone. Let's join all our powers into a single blast before it can mobilize itself again - whatever you can muster.
>Let's get the lot of us as together as we need to be, and lead with a Violet Lotus on cue with the rest of them. If we can join all of us together before it can react, maybe that will be enough.

>Calling your two sisters in Light over to you, you hope to finally put away this foul biker in one final shot. And while Chrysanthemum does as you ask right away and starts to hustle over towards you, Poppy hesitates, her grip tightening on her sword. It's like she wants to finish Motormaster herself. But at last she turns, and starts to head towards you.
>But her hesitation proves costly to her. After she turns her back on him, Motormaster's visor flashes, and his purple optic blast strikes Reisen right between the shoulder blades. With a cry, the rabbit falls, and you see the blast has penetrated her back armor. Motormaster starts to levitate back to his feet, his upper body beginning to stitch itself back together and toxic smoke beginning to stream out of his open wounds. "You will not win."

[DracoOmega]

>We can't wait for Reisen. All of us that are together now, fire! For all the people that will be jeopardized if we fail. For all the people he has already harmed. For the people we love!