Magical Lotus - Mahou Shoujou Byakuren - Episode 3, Part 5

[Hello Purvis]

>"That is what I think as well. How do you want to proceed? They are your memories, after all."

[Oldmansour]

>"That is what I think as well. How do you want to proceed? They are your memories, after all."

>Kiku takes another close look at one of the vines running out of the tree and away to the north. "I can't seem to detect any weakness in the vines outside the knot, and none of them seem any thinner than the others. And I don't think reliving the memories of that day would be a good idea, it would take far too much time." Kiku growls a thoughtful growl. "I propose this. I will attack this knot, attempt to dislodge it from the tree. You monitor it with your enhanced senses. If I fail to destroy it, perhaps we can learn something from the attempt."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That may work. Let me have a closer look at it first."
>Where does the knot seem to be rooted, exactly? Can we feel anything from it?

[Oldmansour]

>"That may work. Let me have a closer look at it first."
>Where does the knot seem to be rooted, exactly? Can we feel anything from it?

>Kiku nods.
>It has broken the trunk of the tree about four feet from the ground. It doesn't feel different from the rest of the grey vines you've encountered so far, there's just more of them in this place. You can clearly sense their alien nature, but no more strongly than you could before. You have to imagine they have done something to at least this part of Kiku's memories, but you can't tell precisely what.

[Hello Purvis]

>Can we see where it has rooted in, precisely, or does the trunk obscure this?
>"Alright, try and we'll see what happens."
>Pay attention!

[Oldmansour]

>Can we see where it has rooted in, precisely, or does the trunk obscure this?
>"Alright, try and we'll see what happens."
>Pay attention!

>It hasn't 'rooted', so far as you can tell. You can't tell if the main body of the tangle of vines burst out from inside the tree, or grew inward and damaged the tree that way.
>Suddenly, Kiku bellows out a furious roar that rattles your bones and lunges forward, landing on one of the upper vines and sinking her sharp fangs into the grey thing. The sound was so sudden and so loud, you find yourself momentarily stunned as Kiku bites into the thing. Retracting her fangs from the vine, Kiku shouts down, "Well?"

[Hello Purvis]

>Examine the root. What can we sense. And see, for that matter.

[Oldmansour]

>Examine the root. What can we sense. And see, for that matter.

>Turning your senses on the tangle of vines, you sense that Kiku's feral attack has indeed weakened one of them. Your eyes confirm this. There are fang-marks where she bit into the vine.

[DracoOmega]

>Do we sense any other reaction at all? From either this localized point or elsewhere?

[Oldmansour]

>Do we sense any other reaction at all? From either this localized point or elsewhere?

>Not that you can tell. But you wonder if, since Kiku's attack seemed mostly experimental, it might take something more substantial to provoke a reaction from the vines, at least one that you can detect. You have no doubt Kiku was hurt by the attack, even though she hasn't said so yet.

[DracoOmega]

>Oh? We are? For any reason besides the fact that we were when we tried to interfere with it by a different means?
>And we do sense damage to the vine by means more than just sight, yes?

[Oldmansour]

>Oh? We are? For any reason besides the fact that we were when we tried to interfere with it by a different means?
>And we do sense damage to the vine by means more than just sight, yes?

>There's some logic to it. You tried a light attempt to remove a vine earlier, and got shocked for it. It stands to reason that a more drastic attempt to remove a vine would result in a stronger backlash. On the other hand, Kiku really hasn't given you any indication, one way or the other....
>Yes.

[DracoOmega]

>"That seems to have weakened it. A little, anyway. Are you okay?"

[Oldmansour]

>"That seems to have weakened it. A little, anyway. Are you okay?"

>"I am functional."

[Hello Purvis]

>"That's not quite the same thing. Did it do anything to you?"

[Oldmansour]

>"That's not quite the same thing. Did it do anything to you?"

>Kiku snuffs out a short snarl. "As you said, I experienced some pain. But it can be tolerated. This sort of pain is not entirely unknown to me. The spiritual pain we of the shrines endure is not completely different from this 'psychic' pain." She pauses. "I do admit, however, I can not tell how much pain will come before we see some real progress. It could be... signifigant."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I think...it may be best if we tend to it indirectly, then."

[Oldmansour]

>"I think...it may be best if we tend to it indirectly, then."

>Kiku jumps down from the root. "How do you mean, indirectly?"

[Hello Purvis]

>"Thus far, we've tried to extend our own essences directly into the vines, in our various ways. I feel this is akin to reaching into a fire. What would be best, I think, is to find a way to affect them without getting involved personally."
>Consider the tree. "I wonder if we could strengthen this memory, for instance, well enough that it can remove the vines on its own?"

[Oldmansour]

>"Thus far, we've tried to extend our own essences directly into the vines, in our various ways. I feel this is akin to reaching into a fire. What would be best, I think, is to find a way to affect them without getting involved personally."
>Consider the tree. "I wonder if we could strengthen this memory, for instance, well enough that it can remove the vines on its own?"

>"Mm." Kiku makes a thoughtful purr. "It's a novel idea. And it could very well save us both some considerable pain. However, I am not quite sure how we would go about doing that. The vines as they are give us something tangible to attack, after all."

[DracoOmega]

>"If only we understood their nature better. Is the backlash a defensive reaction to deter interference, or something somehow shared incidentally by virtue of being in contact with it while it is being damaged? It does not seem very proactive at the moment, otherwise."

[Oldmansour]

>"If only we understood their nature better. Is the backlash a defensive reaction to deter interference, or something somehow shared incidentally by virtue of being in contact with it while it is being damaged? It does not seem very proactive at the moment, otherwise."

>"That lack of activity is what tells me we have an opportunity." Kiku says, her tail twitching. "That wound I put in the vine has not healed, and shows no sign of healing. That indicates to me that whoever or whatever put this here is not actively observing it."

[DracoOmega]

>"That may require proximity to you, or perhaps even something more involved, which you cannot currently remember. But the relative dormancy of these vines does make me wonder if there is some way to circumvent the means by which this backlash is inflicted. It cannot be simply that the vines are so entwined with your mind that any harm to them harms you also, since my own attempt affected only me, and not you. I am certainly willing to endure pain for your sake, if that is needed, but the sheer scale of what we have to weed out here makes me think there must be some better way than to suffer for every inch. Neither of our endurances is limitless."

[Oldmansour]

>"That may require proximity to you, or perhaps even something more involved, which you cannot currently remember. But the relative dormancy of these vines does make me wonder if there is some way to circumvent the means by which this backlash is inflicted. It cannot be simply that the vines are so entwined with your mind that any harm to them harms you also, since my own attempt affected only me, and not you. I am certainly willing to endure pain for your sake, if that is needed, but the sheer scale of what we have to weed out here makes me think there must be some better way than to suffer for every inch. Neither of our endurances is limitless."

>"Our time is not limitless, either." Kiku counters. "Let us not forget, we are still standing in a fairly public building, and neither of us can afford to stand there forever. I am in no more hurry than you to endure more of that kind of pain if I have a choice in the matter, but circumstances may demand."

[Hello Purvis]

>"I have an idea."
>Let's try to create a mote of autonomous energy, which can exist without us having to actively maintain it. A familiar, if you will.

[Oldmansour]

>"I have an idea."
>Let's try to create a mote of autonomous energy, which can exist without us having to actively maintain it. A familiar, if you will.

>Clarification request. Do you intend this 'familiar', or construct, to be capable of action without your direction?

[DracoOmega]

>Would something which is not capable of self-directed action,  but which does not require continuous control to perform tasks be possible? If so, that.

[Oldmansour]

>Would something which is not capable of self-directed action,  but which does not require continuous control to perform tasks be possible? If so, that.

>You believe so. In analogous terms, it would be like a mage conjuring a fireball, or a blaster bolt leaving a weapon.
>What shape do you wish this construct to take?

[DracoOmega]

>A gardener. Don't forget the pruning shears!

[Oldmansour]

>A gardener. Don't forget the pruning shears!

>This is going to be a little different. You have little doubt you could create such a construct in the physical world, but in this thoughtscape, you're not entirely sure how your powers will work, if they'll work at all. But on the other hand, do you even need them in this place? The power of your mind may be all you need. So, extending your hand out, you focus your mind upon the task you've set yourself to. A moment later, the figure of Meiling Hong appears before you in a puff of smoke, a large set of shears in hand.
>Kiku blinks. "What is this?"