[IC] Fate/Reborn [First Holy Grail War]

[Chevaleresse]

Lancer

The girl didn't respond until they were fully inside the store and deep in the women's clothing section. She browsed through the clothes for a moment, then began to speak while continuing the action. "Don't panic, but I can sense at least one other Servant in the area." Her voice was pitched low enough that it was barely audible to Janus, who was right next to her. Damnit, I should have detected them earlier! Slipping so badly this earlier in the war. . . She shook her head violently, trying to clear her mind. "There may be another. I believe I can fend off two Servants at once, but that would leave you exposed to any assaults from their Masters. I recommend that we find a way out of here without arousing suspicion, unless you want to fight. In that case, we should set a fire or call in some sort of bomb threat to clear the building." She had always hated working in malls, an aspect she had tried to ignore when they came here. It was always messy and cut the timing far too close; it was difficult to contain and eliminate a beast before it started taking lives, and before the local police arrived.

[Shamitako]

Natalie

Natalie had returned to her spirit form to conserve energy after they had eaten. But she still had a sense of the world around her. Her master was preparing for a fight, undergoing some combat practice. There wasn't much for Natalie to do outside wait, but she also felt like doing something. She materialized near her master, who was swinging a stick around in a somewhat practiced manner.

"This is probably going to sound weird since I'm supposed to be a great hero summoned to fight for you." She said, "But, uh, I'm bored."

She didn't really want to just hang around waiting to be attacked, not that the waiting to be attacked was bad, it was the hanging around that was going to drive her insane.

[Rosesong]

"Aaaaah!" came the surprised yelp as Illiana lost her balance at the sudden appearance of Natalie, once again tumbling to the ground. Breathing hard, the girl worked her way back onto her feet, leaving her makeshift baston resting on the ground. She peeled stray strands of hair away from her sweaty face, looking at her companion with contemplation on her face.

"Well," she began, looking around thoughtfully, "We could always head to the library and do that research you had mentioned." The blond had not forgotten that their primary goal for coming to this area had been to do some research, as well as set up a base for them to operate out of. "Or," she added as an afterthought, "we could just as easily begin to learn this area really well." Struggling to recall if the other girl had said anything about it, she added, "Would that be a beneficial thing to do?"

As she began to walk back to the apartment, the girl stopped with a gasp and smack to the forehead, racing back to where she had left her weapon. Her instructor had always taught her to keep her weapons out of reach, so that others couldn't use them against her. Uncertain of where else to place it, she resigned to place it in what should have been the coat closet of the apartment, fairly certain that no one would come to visit. A sigh escaped the girl, as she realized that when she renewed the charm around the perimeter of the apartment building, she would also need to place stronger defensive spells around the apartment that she and Natalie would be residing in.

Illiana let her grey eyes search Natalie's face, wishing that she knew what the younger, undoubtedly wiser girl thought about their next steps. "Well, Natalie, what shall we do?"

[Bfroger6]

Frog's eyes gleamed when Sylva mentioned other Servants, the tension he had been feeling just moments earlier dissipating completely. The gleam in his eyes, it was a gleam of ignorant excitement. "S-so that's what I felt?" He began unsurely, looking down at her. "Hmm?" He continued watching her as she began her voiceless chant and when she was done, he raised an eyebrow. He didn't want to intrude, whatever it was she was doing.

"Eeeeeh?" His face twisted into a pout. "Want us harm? Attacks? Wards?" He asked her, his voice carrying a note of confusion. "Isn't this like a tournament or something? I mean, us finding some other Servants and Masters or whatever you call them is a good thing then. We could set up a game or something, then beat them at it with your crazy magic, haha!"

He leaned back, crossing his arms on his chest, looking at her with a cocky grin as he awaited an answer.

[Arkhi]

Janus

"We should set a fire or call in some sort of bomb threat to clear the building." Noriko's suggestion was brilliant.
"Better yet," he suggested, "we use a fire alarm to get away with clothes scotch free. In addition, we can keep an eye out for the Masters and Servants you mention." Janus grinned, pleased with his suggestion. "We get what you need, beat the foot traffic, pull the alarm, and watch the main entrance from rooftop. If that sounds good, then let me know when you're ready." In an attempt to seem less suspicious- and for posterity, he just had to add "Lance" at the end.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Ashnard ((Berserker)):

That familiar smell, the smell of Servant. It kept getting stronger and stronger. Ashnard could barely contain himself his bloodlust was building and rapidly. Since he couldn't switch freely between his beast form and his human form he counted regain his humanity. A flaw in the vessel of the Berserker Class. It forced him to stay as the Beast. he couldn't wash away the insatiable bloodlust that clouded his vision and reason. Not that the Beast minded. After all this was it's true form in it's mind. The inhuman creature that the once man Ashnard became... Even he believed it to be who he was meant to be. Clearly he couldn't be human... disgusting vile humans. The hatred once more bubbled to the surface, it got harder and harder to keep it down, keep it from bubbling forth. Because now it was mixed with the feeling of hunger, and the desire to hunt. Primal urges. Dark primal urges. The ones that fester in the soul and the body. Hard to ignore the urges that one felt throughout there entire being. After all, it was only natural for the hunter to hunt. And thus... The Beast gave in being driven mad by the want for flesh. Siegfried only felt as the Beast materialized. A rush of hellish energy blasted outwards the release of darkness. This happened before. The Beast didn't control itself, it couldn't. It rushed for the source of the scent it smelled.

If it had been more sane... maybe it would've realized it wasn't the same Servant from the night before. After all, the scent of the woman with him was what he was after and tracking. Therefore it was her scent he became familiar with. However, in his lapse of judgement... or lack of it in this case, caused him to charge off into the distance. He headed directly for a Mall. A Giant Werewolf charging into a Mall full of people in broad daylight. Siegfried would obviously know this was going to get super ugly super quickly.

[Flux]

Sylva and Frog

"Want us harm? Attacks? Isn't this like a tournament or something? I mean, us finding some other Servants and Masters or whatever you call them is a good thing then. We could set up a game or something, then beat them at it with your crazy magic, haha!"

Sylva smiled in reply. "If it comes to that, you can be sure I'll use all my magic to protect you, Master!" She turned on a heel and continued her walk. "But for now, we don't know what they want, so let's just keep doing what we're doing! I'm sure everything will work out in the end."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vance and Lily

Vance woke up with a yawn, stretching his arms as he slowly opened his eyes.

"AAAGGGHHHH!!!!!!!"

He cried out in surprise, flipping the couch over on its back once more. Why did she always have to watch him while he slept? And why did her face have to be that close?! He rolled off of the fallen couch, rising into a cross-legged sitting position as he faced Lily.

"...'Morning." he grumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. It was actually reaching the end of the morning hours now, but that didn't matter to Vance. There were lines under his eyes, as if he hadn't be sleeping for over 12 hours. As he looked at Lily, he thought back to everything she had explained the day before. The shock that had originally hit him had disappeared quickly, being replaced by his usual indifference.

"So... do you have any idea how we should go about this "Grail War?" he asked her. His eyelids drooped wearily, as if he would fall back asleep at any moment. "Where do we even start?"

[Chevaleresse]

The magus cursed out loud enough to startle anyone who heard, though there was certainly enough cause for them to be startled already - or be scared out of their wits. He stretched the hand bearing the two remaining Command Seals toward the monster and spoke, invoking a faint burning sensation as he invoked the primal magecraft once again; "I, Siegfried, as your master command you to take spiritual form unless I have instructed you otherwise!" Regardless of whether the beast actually heard him; the command was magically enforced.

[Code: PIRULUK]

Vance and Lily

Lily blinked a few times as her Master rolled off his sofa and onto the floor with a shout.

"Fufu. Master sure is energetic in the morning...perhaps you'd like me to release some of that excess energy...?"

With a heated gaze and a slow gait, Lily got out of her wheelchair and crawled on all fours to where Vance was seated on the floor, stroking his face with a gloved hand, insatiable desire evident in her posture. With a smooth, single motion, she traced a line from his cheek, down his neckline, along his chest...

"Master..."

Then she stopped and sat back down facing him, legs together forming a V shape with the vertice pointing leftwards.

"Jokes aside, there are several strategies we can implement."

She pulled a pair of glasses that made mechanical whirring sounds from seemingly empty space, then transformed her right index finger into a metal pointer, while her right calf flattened and expanded into a 25x40cm metal slate. Lines began to etch themselves into the slate, and Lily explained while pointing to the slate as visual aids.

"We could randomly wander around until we run into another pair, initiating a deathmatch," On the slate, two tiny people were walking in circles, when another pair appeared and an exclamation mark appeared over their heads. The scene then changed to a game-battle-like scene, with a shadowy person facing across from the POV, accompanied by a message "Enemy MASTER would like to battle!"

"Or we could hole up here and build up defences and wait for an enemy to attack us, where we'll have the advantage" On the slate, a tiny person approaching an enormous castle was displayed. The figure shook his fist, then quickly ran to the side as a giant robot reminiscent of a Gund*m descended from the sky.

"Or, we could survey and investigate places where Masters are likely to create a base given arbitrary criteria, and siege them from there." The slate now showed a tiny figure in a Magic Circle, holding one hand up to its mouth, with a speech bubble reading "Ohohoho~". The speech bubble changed to a sweatdrop as another female figure(presumably Lily) entered the scene on a WW2-era Panzer.

"Finally, we can just go about your daily life and wait for other Servants to come to us. We won't be in an advantageous situation in that case, but we might still be able to win." On the slate, two figures were sitting at a table eating, when a literal arrow came flying at them. Instantly the female of the pair knocked away the arrow and pulled out a minigun, firing while laughing hysterically.

Explanation conplete, Lily reverted her limbs to their normal state.

"So, which do you want to use?"

This line was said while flashing a sweet, serene smile.

[Flux]

Vance and Lily

Vance sat up slowly, surprised and caught off guard by Lily's sudden change in behavior. He wouldn't have expected that based on how strictly disciplined she had acted the previous day... But then again, he barely knew her. He supposed it was a good thing, though. It was nice to see some emotion and humor from her. Also... she had limbs now. That was definitely a good thing as well, especially since they were apparently going to do battle against other Servants.

His eyes widened as she materialized glasses from thin air, but he said nothing. He sat in silence as she worked through her explanation, his face taking on an expression of surprise as she went on. Her arms could transform?! They appeared to be prosthetic, but the technology was clearly far advanced to what was available in the modern day. The only thing that had kept him from chuckling at some of those illustrations was his sheer awe at what she was doing.

"That was... pretty cool."

He finally spoke after such a long silence. He immediately sat up a bit straighter, trying to remember what she had actually said. His natural choice would be to wait around at home, but for some reason that didn't feel right for this situation. Perhaps it was just an eagerness to be done with the whole ordeal.

"Well... Let's just get out of here for now. We'll go with the wandering around plan for the time being. And as long as we're going out, is there anything you want to see about this era?"

He was kind of doubtful that anything on modern Earth could impress or interest her, as she seemed to come from a much more advanced time, but you never know. Maybe it would be like exploring history.

[Noir]

Yukine and Debronee

Yukine had decided for the two to look around the city, primarily in search of a place that would provide them with a handsome amount of information of their adversaries -- particularly their not-so-subtle canine foe the night before -- while simultaneously familiarizing themselves in the city they were now in, as they passed by door after door of foreign buildings as well as the many faces of busy people. The modern of the city left the phlegmatic Debronee slightly awed. Daylight was never his time or life, but looking at it now, the wonders it promised were definitely appealing to him now; between every sight, sound, and scent, the liveliness was, somewhat, a luxury for a quiet man like himself. He reminded himself to keep track of wherever they went so they could backtrack if they needed to.

Debronee knew the two needed their strength to travel throughout the day, and, knowing that they hadn't had breakfast yet, suggested to Yukine that they eat something first before moving on, with the cash he plundered yesterday. Looking back at the bank he stole from the other night, there was little that seemed off that would merit suspicion towards him, although he did good to conceal the large amount of money they had meticulously between his attire and backpack. The two helped themselves to a simple snack of what seemed to be sushi at a nearby stall. The two immersed their taste buds at the ordinarily-made food, and seeing his Master's satisfied smile as they continued on together further eased him.

The two managed to stumble upon a modest, average-sided building that seemed to be a small, public library. The variety of books they could see from the outside enticed both Master and Servant, as they, for the first time, breathed in a building that didn't reek of the malodorous smell of indecency where the two had first met. Despite it's average side, it was well ventilated and air-conditioned, leaving Yukine with a rather comforting experience. The library was nearly unoccupied with the librarians wearing bored looks on their faces and the empty silence that the two found tranquil. Yukine advocated on splitting up to look for books that would help as they parted on a forked path that led to sections surmising different genres and types of books neatly arranged in a maze of shelves.

The complexity and unfamiliarity of the foreign language that riddled the haven of books perturbed Debronee slightly. He couldn't find what he needed to if he couldn't determine what the covers of the neatly arranged books on the decks indicated to conceal within them. Given the mediocre size of the library, it would not come off as a surprise if little books of a language he knew would be available, if at all.

"What am I to look for?" He professed as he met up with Yukine with a book in her hand, feeling rather ashamed of his predicament. "Forgive me, but again, I am yet to be fully accustomed with the ways of this world, try as I may. As of now, I can't read the given language, unless, perhaps -- I may inquire books of a language I would understand?"

Edited May 16, 2016 by YagamiNoir4896

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Ashnard ((Berserker))

The violent screams of the Beast rung out as it struggled against the Order. For awhile it kept moving forward It slowed down quite violently as it seemed to have run into a solid wall. It's muscles tensed almost to their maximum as it strained against the magic of the spell. Yelling and howling filled the area, sounds of a struggling beast trying to fight it's chains. The ugly cries of pain rang throughout the area. The Beast was fighting to stay physical as fiercely as it could. It was instinct rather than a decision. At many points the transformation went part way before he saved it but then lost it once more. A terrifying display... one could say it seemed like Ashnard almost... broke the spell. However his form once more disappeared into a cloud of black smoke. But, the black cloud remained this time. It floated directly over Siegfried's head. A ball of pure hatred, anger... and hunger.

Vixen ((Archer))

Not waiting for the Kid to answer the Woman quickly turned around and went to the top of the building. It was her best advantage... She could wound and weaken from afar and if she needed to be brought to the Kid she could deal with them easily in toe to toe combat at that point. However she'd prefer to kill them from afar if she possibly could. Clean and to the point. However, she'd need to protect her Master. Or did she? After all... she could make as many bullets as she possibly wanted while she was supplied with mana and not worry about her master's death. After all... as Archer she could survive in this world even without a Master. She made the contract however... it felt incorrect to just let her die. But, if worse came to worse... she could abandon her and not have to worry. After all, the Grail was what was important here... It's what she wanted more than anything else. It was the ultimate goal. Were any means worth that? Would she be able to live with doing that? In the heat of things... she'd know the answer but right now she did not. She set up her equipment as quickly as she could, their enemies were already moving. She set up the telepathic connection something she had to intentionally do due o her adverseness to teamwork. Had she worked with others more often... this would probably be an easy task. However, she nearly always worked alone in life. She never relied on anyone, or wanted anyone to get close to her if she could help it. Was the same going to happen here? It was a reluctant partnership after all. Those thoughts surfaced again... the ones of how important protecting this kid were... Vixen pushed them back once more and continued to focus on the task at hand.

"Okay, Kid. Can you hear me?" the only sentence she said into the telepathic link. She wasn't sure if it was working so she said this into her mind towards where she felt the link was. It... was a strange sensation. She felt kinda stupid doing it, thinking it. However that wouldn't come over the link even if the message did reach.

[Code: PIRULUK]

Vance and Lily

"Oh yes, most certainly."

Lily's eyes sparkled in excitement as Vance voiced his suggestion.

"There are certainly plenty of things I'd like to see. Anywhere with a large number of mechanised weapons, for example. Maybe some kind of war museum? Oh, and one of those "projector" things, I've never seen one before. Oh! And a computer! We didn't have any of those back in my time."

Lily put a hand over her mouth as she realised she had been about to ramble.

"Ahem...I apologise. Also, if you'd permit me to raise a suggestion, Master... if we're going to adopt the wandering around plan, even though with these metal limbs I can walk perfectly fine, perhaps I could stay in the wheelchair and you could push me around? It might serve to fool Masters who are operating separately from their Servants. After all, who's ever heard of a crippled hero? Even if their Servant is nearby to sense my presence, they might assume that I am the Master and you, the Servant, and thus would be more likely to try to kill me first."

Debronee and Yukine

Yukine blushed for a bit when Debronee took her to eat sushi. He didn't seem to think much of it, but it was the first time anyone had ever bought her anything. Come to think of it, the two of them, eating together, going to a public place... Did this qualify as a date? And a date led to kissing right? And kissing led to sex right? Yukine took a deep breath to quell her rampaging imagination which threatened to paint her face red. She had a purpose today.

At the library, Debronee voiced out his concerns. Well... She supposed it couldn't be helped if he was unable to read Japanese, but a language he knew... there was the possibility of the beast from last night being detailed in a language other than her own. After all, Japanese legends, from what she knew, had very few werewolf-like creatures. That was more of a Western image.

"Alright, D. Search out books in your language and see if you can find anything."

She stretched and let out a cute "nnh~" while walking towards the public-use computers.

"I'm going to search the Internet."

[Chevaleresse]

Siegfried

"Yes, yes, feasting on the flesh of humans or some such. If only you understood that you wouldn't have much opportunity if you ran off in public like that once more. You are powerful beyond measure and I am not incompetent myself, but I would prefer to keep Executor blades away from my chest." The magus was still maintaining a tight hold on his terror; the Command Spell almost didn't work. I must document this. . . if I survive the next hour. The magus increased his pace, moving in the direction that Ashnard had been headed. The two closed on the mall, Berserker's hateful presence surely entering the field of awareness possessed by the others in the building...

Lancer

Noriko fixed her Master with a flat look before proceeding. "We'll enact this plan at once." She walked away for a moment, collecting enough clothing for two or three outfits, then returned. "Do whatever it was you decided on; I'll follow. Try not to attract unwanted attention, however. Hiding in a bathroom or storage area after tripping the alarm might be a good idea, on that front."

[Noir]

Yukine and Debronee

The Internet? The vague system only beknownst to him as a modernized technological network with informative accessibility at a push of a few buttons. Such a convenience was rather alien to the man, but one that would prove very useful, indeed. Although the tingling of his curiosity prompted him to follow and learn, he wanted to make himself useful to Yukine in his own way, and preferred not to rely on her as much as he could, or at least until he managed something serviceable to her. Taking a final glance at her as she headed toward the computer room, Debronee decided to consult one of the librarians for assistance.

He was led to a neglected corner of the library, one for good reason -- the folk there had little knowledge, if not interest, in the language of the books mixed up in that section, so much that the staff had considered to dispose of said books to add room for others. To that, he felt fortunate that he managed to find a few books that comprised of languages he knew; primarily consisting of Latin, with scattered instances of French and ancient Roman.

Rolling through several books that had no relevance to his search, a tattered, old-fashioned book with it's title dusted caught his attention.

"Mortem Angeli", the title read. Death Angels. There were words below it etched in the black cover, "Novem potentes duces...." The nine powerful generals....what followed were names of nine he knew not of, but the last-

"....et muetebant Ashnard". And the dreaded Ashnard.

Ashnard. The name. He'd found a source. The name was tensing, Debronee's nerves flowing with caution while the burning desire of battle scorched within him. Without further hesitation he hustled his fingers to the index (that was, to his fortune, there to organize the pages) and managed to find a section regarding their wolf-like adversary.

Reading through the pages, Debronee wondered if he'd found the right Ashnard, and if the book was of mere fiction that had nothing to do with the ancient folklore he needed to find. Darting his scarlet eyes across bits and pieces of information that were surely promising to him, the pages managed to divert him to a vague illustration of the hungry werewolf. Debronee didn't read any further -- at least, not yet. It convinced him that it was no longer sheer coincidence, and was enticed over the discovery he'd miraculously found. He'd rather his Master know of it alongside him.

Taking the book with him, he returned to Yukine who was still at the computer.

"Have you found anything yet?"

[sorry if this is ex machina or waay too coincidental or something. That and I know some Latin so I decided to put it in there.]

[Code: PIRULUK]

Debronee and Yukine

Yukine was on the verge of crying from frustration.

It was bad enough that a giant wolf thing had tried to hunt and kill her the previous night. It was bad enough that searches on said wolf thing were turning up basically no results on google.jp. It was bad enough that she was going to have to face Debronee with nothing to show for her efforts.

And on top of that, half the search results had to be related to fanfiction regarding some kind of teenage vampire romance, which had sexual descriptions so explicit it made her blush. And she grew up in a brothel.

Yukine massaged her forehead with two fingers, toying with the idea of using the Grail to rid the world of bad writing. While she despaired at the state of humanity, Debronee appeared next to her, inquiring about her progress. She shook her head.

"Sadly, I've turned up nothing. As I thought, this legend is likely not one of Eastern origin, so it's unsurprising that fewer people on this side of the world have heard of it. How about you? Any luck?"

[Noir]

Yukine and Debronee

"I seem to have a lead," The Servant revealed the book he was holding. "It's in Latin, however, so I'll have to translate the details."

The two sat down on a nearby table as Yukine listened to Debronee attentively. Debronee managed to translate the vague pages of Latin accurately as he read the section before, enunciating each word silently for Yukine to understand.

"Ashnard, the most feared of the Death Angels, whom worked for a man only known as the Gentleman," He began, "Unknown by all of his origins before his chaperone with the nine powerful practitioners of evil and scadenfruede, he was since loathed and terrified of as the brawn or the most physically powerful of the nine commanders as he was a Werewolf. True to his notoriety, his animalisticly vigorous soul berserks with unmatched strength and endurance in his ranks and powers over lightning being able to control a cage of pure lightning powered with an old style of Magic in Graterras known as rune magic."

He paused and recalled the very magic being used against him the fearful night before. "That explains the Lightning he used last night." He said.

"Ashnard was believed to be one of the lower generals due to his perceived stupidity and recklessness in battle." True enough, on the latter, he thought, before continuing. "However, that was far from the case. Only the Beast had issues with reasoning and intelligence. His Human form was perfectly capable and devilishly cunning. He played stupid to put people off his scent and his trail many times. He had a lot of practice hiding in human society, and keeping his "true" form secret from others. He was the one that seeded the end of humanity as he easily planted human-like creatures into society to seed for an upcoming attack. Many times he'd even thrust himself into a prominent position in society under some false name to get at important figures to topple the society before the attack, to disorganize them. He did this in conjunction with another one of the Generals... a vile thing known only as Hatter. An assassin that killed for fun. Ashnard was one of the most human of the generals so it was easy for him to slip in and out of society. However to not bring attention to himself he'd have Hatter kill those he was trying to have killed. That way he wouldn't have any suspect put onto him. Both were a very powerful team, Ashnard was more the muscle, the know-how and the people smarts, Hatter was the cold blooded killer and was a brilliant mastermind. After all, he'd never been caught once after an assassination. He always got his mark and he always got away, despite the very little information Ashnard could supply him with at times."

"However, the vile general would never be in his human form if he could help it. He hated it, and despised all of humanity. It prompted his reason for joining the Death Angels. Their ultimate goal was to remove humanity and the Free races that existed. Ashnard had always rejected his human form...yet there is no root known of his insatiable resentment."

A cold silence wavered between them. Many thoughts entered his head at once, including the fact that this monster's hateful obsession towards the slaughter of humanity threatened his master. Admittedly, he was a difficult adversary that they'd narrowly survived the night before and it would be disaster if they'd faced him again soon. And the man controlling him...either was unfortunate to have such a thing under his command or was just as vile and sadisitc as Ashnard was. Regardless of what he was, his blade hungered for the sanguine scent of his blood, as did the cold responsibility within him. The most reliable way for them to handle him would be to track and kill the Master down first.

But he wouldn't risk Yukine's safety for it, and his newfound information of Ashnard further emphasized that. He turned to the beautiful girl, "This explained a fair bit, does it not?"

[Hukuna gave me all this, I just edited what I need to such as making it more fancy and deleting things such as the cage weakness he gave me. I respect that I don't get to know everything.]

Edited October 17, 2015 by YagamiNoir4896

[Bfroger6]

"Hmmm... I guess, alright then..." A small, tingling headache had begun forming in the back of Frog's head when he started thinking this over. He still couldn't really get what was going on, though. He shook his head and yowled. "Then let's go do some shopping!"

Frog led Sylva into one of the stores where they promptly searched for the children section. As they walked, he himself glanced around to maybe find something for himself. A certain white coat caught his attention, raising his excitement level up. Now just to handle the small Caster before trying the baby on. Hehe!

"You see anything you'd like? There's plenty of shorts and shirts for you to choose from."

[Flux]

Vance and Lily

"Ahem...I apologise. Also, if you'd permit me to raise a suggestion, Master... if we're going to adopt the wandering around plan, even though with these metal limbs I can walk perfectly fine, perhaps I could stay in the wheelchair and you could push me around? It might serve to fool Masters who are operating separately from their Servants. After all, who's ever heard of a crippled hero? Even if their Servant is nearby to sense my presence, they might assume that I am the Master and you, the Servant, and thus would be more likely to try to kill me first."

Vance nodded, slowing moving himself to a standing position.

"Sure, that should be fine," he said, yawning as he made his way across the room towards the kitchen. "If you want to start with the computer, I've got one in my room, back behind the kitchen. Otherwise we could wait until we return and go to the museum or something now."

He wasn't actually sure if there was a museum here, but he thought he remembered seeing something of the sort. If not, it wouldn't be too hard to locate one nearby. They lived in the age of the internet, after all. He made his way to the fridge, grabbing the last two oranges from the nearly empty refrigerator.

"Hey, do you want anything to eat?" He called back into the living room as he began slicing the oranges. "I don't have much, but it's better than nothing."

The reason his refrigerator was empty wasn't because he didn't have the money to fill it. In fact, Vance came from an extremely wealthy family, and they had made sure to supply him with plenty of funding for this venture. Rather, it was because he hadn't left the house for almost a week now. It was such a hassle to have to go out and buy food. He sighed as he realized that he'd have to make another trip soon. Assuming he'd even survive this Grail War...

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Sylva and Frog

"I'll go look!" she said excitedly, hurrying into the section and leaving Frog to his own devices. She stopped to look at almost every piece of clothing on every rack, a look of pure wonder on her face as she examined the fabric, the designs, and the colors. It was quite a while before she finally emerged, carrying a shirt and the shorts she wanted. The shorts were made of blue-jean material, designed to stop just above the knee in a rolled-up fashion, while the shirt was sleeveless and pastel pink in color, made of a thin, lightweight cotton material. She was beaming as she looked up at Frog, holding one in each hand as her cherished prizes.

"I want these ones!"

[Code: PIRULUK]

Vance and Lily

"I don't have much, but it's better than nothing."

"Oh, no, it's fine. Servants do not require food to survive. More importantly, you said you had a computer in the back? I'll go take a look, if you don't mind."

Lily could scarcely contain her excitement. A computer, with access to the Internet! This was a prime opportunity!

She walked around the house searching until she finally found the machine, then took down the tower and sat beside it, humming a little as she disassembled it.

As she worked you could see a glittery atmosphere around her, which was accented by her quiet mumbling while she picked the machine apart.

"Hmm... So this goes here, and...? What are all these square things... Oh! They must be for that data thing. Hmmm... I suppose I don't really need those... Ah! Here we are. Antenna. Hmmm... it seems simple enough... ohhh so it gets the wave through this bit, then converts it here... Mmmmm I suppose I could use a bit of Tuning Ore to substitute the receiver... Then a magic formation to convert it to nerve signals... mm. I should probably divert the nerve endings to a partitioned node... Alright, got it."

Lily quickly reassembled the computer's body and set it aside, then reached into her Barrier Space and pulled out a white gauntlet, covered in various mechanical tools. She kissed it lightly, whispering to it.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? I'm sorry. But it's a pleasure to work with you again."

Swiftly, she donned the gauntlet on her right hand, then lifted her left arm in front of her face and set to work adjusting it. ((Self Modification EX))

[Bfroger6]

"Alright, take as much time as you need ~" Frog winked his little companion away before spinning on his heel and rushing off towards the coat. On his way, however, he caught a glimpse of something else-a nice little lonely hat just sitting there on the shelf, waiting to get picked up. A-and next to it, a fitting scarf! A rush of endorphine pulsed through his boiling hot face as he held the soft cotton in his hands... He had to buy the hat, and the scarf, of course. But wait, his current gloves wouldn't go with these clothes... If he wanted to balance the blackness of his gloves with the whiteness of the hat and the scarf, he'd need to wear something else that's black... or at least dark colored... Gloves went well with short sleeves (in his opinion, at least), so if he got the hat and the scarf, he'd need to also find a fitting black t-shirt to go with the gloves. But then, he'd need white pants, because he can't have both a black tee and black pants with those gloves. Geez, why weren't his gloves white? Then he'd have been able to just get a black jacket and white pants. No, he could still do that. He just had to find white gloves... And maybe something neon green to go with that, yes! Or-or brown, beige... Belts are brown... Bam! He needed a new belt! But which pants was he gonna wear it on? Geeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeez!

Time passed as Frog spun aimlessly through the store, holding his head in a total frenzy as he browsed the shelves. He probably would have kept it on, had Sylva not interrupted him by popping up with pants and a t-shirt of her own choosing. Frog stopped as he heard her, and gave her a confused look before realizing that it was Sylva. He was gonna have to get used to having this little girl around him.

His posture relaxed as his shopping frenzy came to a halt. "Oh, alright, I was just looking at things." He said, taking what she bought and examining it in his hands. "If you're okay with this, we can go pay for it, but are you sure you don't wanna get anything else? You can't just have one change of clothes!"

[Flux]

Vance and Lily

Vance stepped into his room carrying a plate of sliced orange, one of them already covering his mouth with its peel as he bit the juicy inside. Lily was picking through the pieces of his now-disassembled computer, but with the orange in his mouth he didn't and couldn't say anything.

"...Tuning Ore to substitute the receiver... Then a magic formation to convert it to nerve signals... mm. I should probably divert the nerve endings to a partitioned node... Alright, got it."

He had no idea what any of that meant, but he stepped back a bit to avoid interrupting her. He only hoped she remembered how to put it back together...

Vance breathed a silent sigh of relief when the computer was back to its normal state. He hoped it still worked, but Lily had seemed to know what she was doing, if her methods were a bit weird, so he figured it'd be fine. If worse came to worse, it just meant another trip that he'd probably put off for a few months.

His eyes widened as Lily reached into her Barrier Space, grabbing a white gauntlet that she was apparently quite attached to.

"Again with these portals... Not to mention her machinery and all these strange things she mentions... Just where and when is she from?"

He finally entered the room, sitting down on a chair opposite from where Lily worked with her gauntlet as he removed the orange slice from his mouth. He held the plate out towards Lily.

"I know you said you don't need it, but a good orange can never hurt, right?" He gave a small smile, glancing down towards the gauntlet. It was intricate, that much was sure, and he couldn't even guess at it's purpose. Yet Lily seemed to know exactly what she was doing as she tweaked various segments.

"So you're pretty good with machines then, eh? Have you always been interested in them?"

It was an attempt at conversation, and at the same time, it might allow Vance to gain some insight into her background. He was curious, that much was for sure. This was a Servant that he had summoned with magic, using a spell that he only knew from a dream, and she was mentioning things he had never heard of. Of course he'd be curious.

Sylva and Frog

"Oh, alright, I was just looking at things. If you're okay with this, we can go pay for it, but are you sure you don't wanna get anything else? You can't just have one change of clothes!"

Sylva's eyes widened and her smile got even bigger, if such a thing were possible.

"You mean I can have more?!"

She ran off in a frenzy, making her way back to where she was earlier. She hurriedly grabbed all the other pieces of clothing that had caught her attention, but had not made the final cut. When she finally returned to Frog, her arms were full of clothes, to the point where she seemed to be struggling to carry them. Her face was buried behind the mound of clothes she had stacked up. It contained everything from T-shirts, socks, underwear, and more typical shorts to long-sleeved shirts, pajamas, a jacket, a sweatshirt, and somehow, even a winter coat. She stretched her neck to the side, looking around the pile and up at Frog.

"In that case, I'll take these! Now I'm ready for anything!"

Her grin changed to a more confused expression as shed continued.

"Honestly, I don't know what some of this stuff is for, but it looked cute, so I grabbed it!" She motioned to the pajamas in particular. They were full-body footie pajamas, designed in the shape of a pink bear, even including a hood with bear shaped ears on top.

"The clothes here are exciting!"

[Bfroger6]

"Sure, knock yourself out, hehe!" Frog turned away from the girl after giving her his blessing. He was definitely not prepared for what was to come. Never, not in a million years, would he have been able to predict the catastrophe that he had brought upon himself by saying those three simple words to the girl: "Knock yourself out." So yes, when Sylva returned, carrying with her a huge pile of clothes, Frog's jaw dropped in both surprise and dread, as the wallet siting idly in his pocket suddenly became lighter and lighter... He could already feel the money slipping out of it...

"In that case, I'll take these! Now I'm ready for anything!"

"Y- Wh- S-..............!!!!" No words would come out of his mouth. His throat was forced shut from the sheer surprise and he was unable to utter a single word. He could only stare at the swaying pile of clothes with a questionably amicable wide-eyed stare.

"Honestly, I don't know what some of this stuff is for, but it looked cute, so I grabbed it!"

His neck snapped as he slowly looked down at the bear suit she had been pointing at. G-g-geezus, what was that even? Like, pajamas of some sort!? And more importantly, she had no idea what these things were, but she took them anyways!? His collar tightened as his veins sharpened into strings. He wanted to shout, not at her, just like... shout in anger/despair, but he had to contain himself... Face turning red, Frog forced a smile on his face, glasses gleaming in the neon light as he spoke up. "I... I see... It seems like I'm gonna have to cut down some other expenses..." He turned away, giving one last sad look to the hat and scarf. 'I will come back for you.' He shaped the words with his lips before turning back to Sylva, the same smile still on his face, but tears twinkling in the corners of his eyes. "Let's... *sniffle* Go pay for this..."

15 minutes later...

Carrying at least 10 full bags of clothes in his hands, Frog exited the store with his little companion. His budget was lighter, but his burden was heavier... His psyche still pretty much broken from the shock he had just experienced, he walked aimlessly like a zombie of some sort... For exactly 3 steps, before he collapsed face first on the cold floor of the mall, sobbing quietly in his glasses...

"All I wanted... *sniffle* ...was for us to be together... The soft cotton... A-and my money... *sob* All gone...all goooone..."

[Arkhi]

Janus

Chaos was something Janus was a fan of. People's everyday lives were boring enough as it is. Certainly, he wouldn't permanently displace anyone by doing this, but a sudden jolt does the body good. For safety measures, Janus covered his fingers with some gloves he snatched as to prevent fingerprinting. He reached in, pulled, and lifted the hatch.

The alarm in the mall went off immediately, eyes going everywhere but on the two of them. He turned to Noriko. He spoke- nearly shouted- over the alarm: "Shall we be off?"

[Chevaleresse]

Lancer

Noriko nodded once. "Here, you carry these." She handed the clothing she had selected to Janus. "Let's move somewhere less open. A storage room, or a bathroom." She turned on her heel and started to move out, her walk of brisk purpose contrasting the confusion and panic filling the store. She stopped at the door, looking about for a moment. "There are at least three servants nearby. I'll need to get a good look at them to determine their class." She glanced backward at her Master for a moment. "Hope you've studied up on your mythology, otherwise this could get rough real fast."