[IC] Fate/Reborn 2.0 First War

[Chevaleresse]

Saber & Nadia

 

"More pleasant than yours thus far, I've got to admit. Though hopefully we're going to make it better with this War." He thought for a moment. "I grew up without much of note going on, which was by itself strange. I always wondered what my grandfather's plan was. Dragons don't often sire whelps without some purpose in mind, but I never heard from him or anyone that I knew was an agent. Stayed that way until my death. Suppose it's possible that he got offed by some other adventurer, but I digress. My life was pretty carefree for the most part. I went where I pleased, ate and slept whenever I wanted for the most part, fought as much as I cared to. Made some good friends along the way - even if that paladin was a worse lech than I am." Nadia got the impression that her Servant was smiling at that. "Lasted that way pretty much until the last bounty I took with my group. Then it ended." His story ended simply, abruptly. 

[Strider]

[Alexander/Ciri]

“Oh, it's not the bathroom that I was worried about. It wouldn't matter much. I doubt Highlark would be happy with us if we had your magic consume the check-in room and the office.” He still wasn't entirely certain how he would excuse the absence of the shipping containers and other contents of the warehouse...

With everyone helping, and no real need to get things in order until after they had been unloaded, everything was soon out of the car, and in the small foyer room.“Thank you for the help. You too, Corwin.” With that dismissal, the manservant drove the car back towards the door through which he had entered. The back lights slowly dimmed, until the car pulled out of the building. A moment later the warehouse doors slid shut, leaving the building entirely dark except for the light emanating from the building which Alexander and his Servant occupied. A small buzz emanated from the Master's pocket, and once had he checked the text, he nodded, satisfied. He shut the door to the building, and turned to Caster. “Corwin is gone. You can begin, if you are ready. I don't need a book—though I do have a few—; there's plenty for me to occupy myself with while you work.”

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

[Nadia and Saber]

 

"Hmmm... nothing wrong with that. Happy... even if short. I'd have preferred that to my own. Not that I want my life to end... but I'd not mind it if I lived a full life, a good one even if it was short. I thought I was doomed to live in nothing but agony... though. My path has led me to you. It can't have been all that bad of a life." she smiled truly, splashing the water a little with her feet. She laughed a little before placing her hand over her mouth.

 

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. This feels... different. I've never had someone look on me with desire before. I've never felt like I've truly been wanted. I've always felt different, as if I was only put in this world for someone else's twisted ambitions. Perhaps, it is the only reason I exist. I guess what I'm saying Saber... I don't know if I have a purpose. And if I do, I don't really know or understand what it is. Do you have scars too Saber? Scars from battle... or maybe something else? Have you run your fingers over them before?" she asked each question with rising enthusiasm, increasing vigor.

[Twinwolf]

Ciri - [Alexander/Ciri]

 

"Mm. Well, this may feel a bit weird. It won't mess with you since you're in here with me though." Ciri says, with that, the floor around her starts glowing blue with mana. After a few minutes, the glow fades... and then the floor directly under Ciri turns stark white. At first, it doesn't seem to move. Then, slowly, the white... capital-w, actually, the White begins to spread from the small square beneath Ciri, expanding around her and slowly creeps over the ground. "This is going to be the safe room - it'll be near the center of the territory, and the place where we get the most mana." Ciri explains. The White creeps past the place that Alexander is standing, and a spike of cold goes down his spine. He feels... something, the Nightmare Canvas itself perhaps, examining him, staring hungrily at his soul, but a gesture from Ciri makes the feeling fade. The White continues across the ground, the room slowly turning as colorless as a blank canvas. "Don't worry... it won't mess with the files or anything." she assures her Master. She briefly extends a hand to him, palm open and containing a few wicked-looking seeds. "When the floor's done, plant these in the cracks in the floor. Dirt would be better but they can work with the ground. They'll disappear with me at the end of the War, so your associate won't need to defoliate things."
 

Erica - [Rider and Erica]

 

Erica smiled a bit - taking out an opponent, or even forcing them to reveal themselves, was certainly a good way to start off the War. To the bird, she was a bit puzzled - she pulled a cracker out of her pocket (she'd been meaning to have a snack before she was interrupted by the summoning), removed it from the wrapper, and gave it to the bird. "How do you want to help? Think you could go find who we're up against?" 

 

The Master turned towards the building indicated. Or it's general direction - she didn't have a spyglass of her own so she couldn't exactly see the figures on the roof. She did know they had made a mistake.

Edited June 26, 2017 by Twinwolf

[Chevaleresse]

Saber & Nadia

 

"Mmm, scars, eh? I've got a couple of my own. I can't say I've ever run my hands over them, though. . ." He momentarily considered his next verbal move. Well, not verbal, they were communicating telepathically. "Why do you ask? You couldn't possibly be interested in doing so, could you?"  This War was going to be interesting, indeed. . . He did wonder how much of this was playful and how much was, should he say, goal-oriented.

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

[Nadia and Saber]

 

Nadia giggled to herself. Damn, he was good. "Well... truthfully yes but it's for a good reason. Promise." which it truly was. Perhaps it was a bit strange though, she figured she'd explain anyway. After all, Saber seemed hardly put aback by anything thus far. At least in regards to her. So... it couldn't hurt. "Scars are like a story etched in our skin. They all mean something. I've felt each of mine before. Each was heavy but, they are after all, a part of me now. They are mine, and I remember how I acquired most of them. Perhaps it's due to my life I ended up collecting scars... but I've always been interested in them. They are beautiful in their own way... each the mark of hardship. Symbols of the pain one has endured, the proof one was survived. You and me... are entangled now. Our souls... woven together, two webs now one. I figured I should get to know you better. The best way I found to know myself... was to know my scars. I'd like to feel yours... cause they are a part of me now. I'd like you to feel mine... because they are a part of you."

[Shamitako]

Merlin

 

"Cheating?" Merlin said, seemingly offended by the insinuation, "It wouldn't be any fun if I cheated." James dealt out five cards to each of them and scattered the remaining into a "pool" on the ground. Merlin accepted her cards and took a look at her hand.

5, 7, J, 2, 8

Her expression didn't change in the slightest, maintaining a slight smile throughout the ordeal. But inwardly she was ecstatic. No duplicates, a perfect starting hand. She nodded to James. "Since you dealt, I guess go first." She said calmly, "Do you have any 2s?"

 

(Appropriate mooseekz:)

Spoiler

 

 

[Bfroger6]

Orin

 

Orin thought he caught a glimpse of the ship moving as he ran down the stairs but he shrugged it off and continued down, losing sight of the ship.

 

He returned a short while later with a shabby looking backpack, following Debronee's instructions to the car he'd found. "Good job." He nodded. He'd order Assassin to break through the window before opening the door and crawling inside to fiddle with the wiring. "Hey Assassin, you can hide now if you want." He said, poking his head out. He then pointed inside the car so that Assassin would enter. He closed the door and started the car, rubbing his hands together before grabbing hold of the wheel.

 

'Assassin? What do you think the ship is?' He asked Debronee telepathically, turning the car towards the direction of the ship.

 

 

Lancer

 

Klaren raised his eyebrows. "You're not a magus?" He asked before smiling. "Oh but that's not a problem~! You're just supposed to order me around to fight people! Also you need to plan ahead of the others, yes! I can do the rest, like, I can sense when another Servant is near or I can also disappear into spirit form like this!" Klaren would, at that point, spread his arms and disappear into nothing in front of Sophie. 'When I'm like this no-one can see me! Oh, I can also speak to you telepathically, which is what I'm doing right now~! This is like my favourite part! Really brings the Master and Servant together from what I'm feeling right now~' He giggled telepathically so Sophie would just get an echoing childish laugh bellowing inside her head. Klaren was having fun though~and enjoying himself very much!

[Shamitako]

Kevin

 

"I've had pretty much no training, just what Shiori's taught me in the past few months." Kevin explained, "She says I have a lot of mana too, which from my limited understanding makes basically no sense." He shrugged it off. It probably had something to do with his connection to the Grail, so all he had to do to find out what was up was to win the war. It wouldn't be easy, even with a decently powerful servant he was still rather weak, but he would do everything in his power to achieve his goal.

[Strider]

[Archer & Kevin]

Darien nodded. He had begun to move to work on a new drone, though it seemed to be going slowly. As he shifted in the backseat, he loudly hit is head on the ceiling, leaving a small dent. "Goddamnit!" He glared at the ceiling for a moment, then turned back to his Master.

“This Shiori person. How'd you meet her? It's probably good to know a bit more 'bout the person who's going to have so much leverage over your fighting in this war. And, uhh. . . how does having decent mana make no sense? I mean, its just natural talent right? Some people got it, others don't?”

 

[Alexander/Ciri]

Alexander hesitantly accepted the seeds, with an internal shudder. Like most every part of this Servant's magic except perhaps the Servant's personality, they exuded an aura of malevolence. As soon as the floor had been entirely coated in white, Alexander got down on his hand and knees to search for places to put the seeds. As soon as he found some cracks, he stuck the seeds down into the floor. When he had done that, he went over to the pile of items set off to the side, and began arranging them. Things like food, a first aid kit, and a camp stove were left in the pile, while things like the guns he brought to specific locations in the room that seemed most fit for an ambush. He filled a backpack with supplies like a map of the city, a knife, a phone, and other items in order to be somewhat prepared when he needed to venture out into the city. And lastly, he unrolled a sleeping bag and a mattress and placed them on the floor.

“I'm going to need to sleep a bit tonight, though not immediately. Will you be able to sense intruders while setting it up, or should I stay awake until the first stages have been completed? We don't want someone catching us unawares at our weakest moment, no matter how unlikely it is.”

Edited June 26, 2017 by Strider

[Twinwolf]

Ciri - [Alexander/Ciri]

 

Ciri still looks focused on the task at hand, but does seem to notice Alexander's reaction. "I really don't know why all my powers look so... evil. I think it's probably the Book's fault." she says, as the White begins to creep into the walls of the room. "I won't have full knowledge of the Canvas until it's completed. It'll take another hour and a half or so for it to have completed the safe room in it's entirety and start creating the Canvas proper, and then I'll still be limited to sensing within it. I recommend setting up security measures. Maybe something to make a noise if one goes offline. Once that's done, feel free to go to sleep. I'll be able to pay a bit more attention once the Safe Room is complete."

[Chevaleresse]

Archer & James

 

The mage sighed as he drew his own cards.

 

3, 9, 6, Q, 9

 

"Go fish," he said in response to Merlin's question, clearly annoyed. Maybe I should have just let her do it and tried to summon another Servant. . . "Do you have any, I dunno, eights?"

 

Saber & Nadia

 

A shimmering in the air next to Nadia announced her Servant's physical reappearance - in a similar state of dress to her own, and already leaning back in a relaxed position, arms draped across the edges of the floor next to the bath. "I don't think I've ever heard of anyone thinking quite like that about scars. Trophies, sometimes, reminders or warnings, but never someone's life story. It's interesting." He didn't bear that many scars; the ones he did were across the tops of his arms, some of them cleaner slashes and a few in ragged sets, likely from the claws of some beast. A decently sized one showed around one of his legs - or rather, a set that seemed to belong to a set of jaws or some kind of trap. The biggest one, however, was a deep one that ran almost all the way across his belly, and a shorter, thicker one that crossed it. He glanced down at himself, and jumped slightly in his spot, sending up a splash. "That's new," he said, startlement still echoing in his voice. "I don't remember the ones on my stomach." 

[Strider]

[Alexander/Ciri]

“Don't worry about them looking evil. You aren't evil. And the appearance of evil will only serve to scare our enemies. Defenses. . . I'll go about setting something up. I wouldn't be able to exit right now to set up something along the outside of the warehouse, right? And even if I could, it wouldn't be a good idea.” Alexander shook his head, then began to rifle through one of the bags, searching for something. He pulled out a tangle of cables and small black irregular boxes. He was crossing the room, preparing to set something up, when a thought came to him. “Caster--Ciri, I suppose, since there is no one to hear--is it possible to set up wards around and inside the Safe Room? Will they be consumed by the territory? And if so, would anything change if I waited to make them until after the Canvas has been completed?”

[Twinwolf]

Ciri - [Alexander/Ciri]

 

"I can pause the creation once the Safe Room is complete to allow you to set up. Considering the speed, I'd only need to hold long enough for you to leave and then later to return. Inside the safe room is fine for wards. I believe the Canvas proper will allow for them as well - although even if they are consumed, by that point I'll be able to sense and control the area covered."

[ElfCollaborator]

Sophie - [Lancer and Sophie]

"Well, can you use that to check if we're near anyone who might want to murder us both?"

 

 

Nick and Jack Sloane - [Berserkers and Eleonore]

"We're fighters, not telepaths."

"Unless you're okay with us stealin' a bike or two for recon and all that, luv."

[Noir]

Orin and Debronee

 

"That I know not of assuredly," Debronee answered, changing into his spiritual form, making it hard to perceive that there were two beings on the vehicle. "Though I wouldn't be surprised it's related to a particular Servant of any sort. Likeliest would be Rider, but it could be something else unorthodox. Or it could be an entity of its own. Regardless of what it may be, it's certainly a beacon for attracting attention."

 

Eleonore and the Twins

 

Eleonore sighed. She knew that it was a necessary compromise, but she was relieved to know that her Servants knew how to ride a vehicle, as Eleonore herself had travel limited to being driven for and public transport. "Oui," She said, "Do what you must to find means of personal transportation. Just promise me not to attract too much attention. I'd rather not get accused for vehicle theft."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

[Rider and Erica and... Cojiro?]

 

The bird bobbed up and down excitedly as if Erica got something correct. He squawked loudly extremely happy with himself for some reason. "RAWK! Cojiro find good!" He said triumphantly, taking the cracker swiftly into his beak. He held it in his mouth for awhile seemingly unsure what to do with it until he just tried to swallow it whole. He coughed it back up into his beak and tried to play it off as if he didn't just do that.

[Nadia and Saber]

 

"Well, perhaps It's due to the nature of my scars. I've none to be proud of... I can't have trophies." she said this inching closer to the man. She took a moment to rearrange herself. "Most of them are self-inflicted... so they don't warn me from any dangers or remind me of past mistakes. I'm left with no solace in those options. But... even seeing them in those lights.. scars are still a language. A language few care to read. I fancy myself one of the few who ever did. Though... I've only really read my own. I've never really been able to connect with many people... rarely on a level that I'd ever tell them about this little secret. We skipped a few steps though.~"

 

She laughed at that. Their situation certainly wasn't one you found yourself in every day. She had slid over now and was leaning against Masaru's side. Her skin touching his for the first time. She instinctively reached out to touch the scar he had shown surprise over, but stopped herself right before she did. She said, in perhaps the most ravishing tone from her lips thus far, "May I?"

[Shamitako]

Kevin

 

"How I met Shiori?" Kevin said, "Well, it's a bit weird, but the short of it is that she was lonely." The long of it involved a couple of tow trucks, a salad, and a sedan full of toasters, but Kevin wasn't quite up to recounting that story aloud anytime soon. "We got together and talked a lot, since neither of us had anyone else to talk to about anything. Eventually we started just kind of telling each other everything. she told me her deepest secret, I told her about the Grail." Kevin headed into the industrial district, 

 

Merlin

 

Merlin reached into the pool of cards, being sure to go slow and dramatically. There was a flash of light as she selected her card. without even looking at it, she flipped it over. Fire was in her eyes as she declared, "2, I get to keep going." She smiled mischievously. All was going according to plan, James was nowhere near prepared to deal with her overwhelming Go Fish power. Wanting to keep up her momentum, she went ahead with her next move. "Do you have any 2s?" she asked again, of course knowing full well what the answer was. She seemed almost giddy, this strange decision seemed to be the most exciting thing in the world for her in this moment.

 

2, 2, 5, 7, 8, J

[Strider]

[Archer & Kevin]

“Sounds plain enough. . . But what I really meant was: how did you specifically meet the first time? Was it at a gym or something? A restaurant? On the street? Or did a friend tell you about her?” Darien stared out the window as they entered the industrial district. This was an area quite familiar to him; reminding him of his days back in Seattle. The dim streets lined by warehouses lit by flickering streetlights. . . well that brough back some nostalgia. “I'm not saying Shiori is playing you, so don't take this wrong. Just looking out for my Master, since I've had my share of being tricked by the people I thought were friends.”

 

[Alexander/Ciri]

“Oh, that's good to know. I'll begin working on that immediately.” This he did, beginning to weave some small glowing designs around the sides of the doors to guard against intruders. He stopped for a moment, as a thought came into his head. “If your territory is as effective as we expect, it would be in the best interests of our opponents to not venture in here. Best would be for them to wait us out after defeating the other servants, perhaps gaining mana from innocents in order to spring when we must eventually to leave. So tomorrow, after you've completed the territory, we'll need to go grocery shopping, and pick up a few other supplies. The goal will be to last as long as possible but to also be prepared in case of an ambush directly outside the territory. I would have prepared some more in advance, but there were limits due to my not know who I would summon.” The man shrugged, then continued. “Can Servants actually eat? I would expect you not to need to, but it would be useful to ward away suspicions by outsiders to the war, would it not? And do you derive any sustenance from food?”

[Twinwolf]

Ciri - [Alexander/Ciri]

 

"That's true... but then again, they won't necessarily know that. And I'm sure that there's more than a few Masters or Servants that aren't patient enough to wait us out. And then, if they did know about the Canvas and did have the patience, it's more in their interests to come to us sooner, rather than later - the longer they wait, the more of my plants we get. 

 

As for food... I don't need it, no. I don't get sustenance from it - although it helps restore mana a bit quicker, and sleeping makes me use less of it. It might be helpful for you, since once the Territory is complete I won't really need to be awake to keep tabs on it." Her discomfort at... something, in that statement, is almost imperceptible. There's no shudder, no grinding teeth. A twitch of the eye - hard to see because she currently is closing them - is the only hint.

[Chevaleresse]

Archer & James

 

He sighed. Of course this was going to go this way; apparently this stupid game was important enough to this woman that she had it as a damned Skill. It was still better than the alternative, though. . . "No." His reply was flat. "So you're not cheating, but there's weird tingling and flashes of light whenever you move." Another flat sentence, with no followup.

 

Saber & Nadia

 

Masaru simply nodded. Technically a spirit or no, it was difficult to think straight with a woman pressed up against him like this. Especially when he was accustomed to taking initiative himself. However, there was another reason for his silence. That scar. . . I remember now. Or, I think I do.

 

I remember pain. The sound of that blade slashing through his flesh like it was wet paper. The straight line of agony drawn across it. Stumbling backward, trying to fend that infernal woman backward only to have that weapon drive straight through him again, and then darkness. He shouldn't be scarred; dying tended to impede the process of scarring somewhat. Unless he'd somehow lived on afterward with no memory of it - but then, as a Servant, he should be able to access those memories. Perhaps it was some part of the sublimation process. Some part of his mind vaguely wished that he'd spent more time formally studying magic. Most of it, however, was occupied by thoughts of his Master.

[Bfroger6]

Orin

 

Orin sighed. 'They want to attract attention. We don't know how strong they are, but that ship's size is scary.' He rode closer to the ship. Only time would tell when they'd get visual contact again, but Orin drove down the streets he thought would get them the best possible shot at getting a view. So long as they actually didn't know the two of them were dangerous, they were safe, and with Assassin's skills, that was an easy task.

 

Behind a turn, he finally caught a glimpse of it through the tall buildings.

 

 

Lancer

 

Klaren reappeared with a giggle and a flash. "Well, I don't sense anyone near us right now! But there are some Servants that can hide their presence, so we might still be stalked even if I can't feel it! Scary, right~ I hope they don't stab us IN THE BACK OR SOMETHING!" His voice pretty much rose in volume and he leaned closer to the window first and then the door, almost as if asking for someone to notice them.......................

 

"We really should get somewhere safer but we can do that later if you tired, Master! I kinda wanna see your bedroom! Oh, and I wanna ask you if you have any clothes for me, Master! I dun wanna have to stay in these clothes...." Klaren pouted.

[Shamitako]

Merlin

 

The world seemed to shift slightly, blocking out everything except the cards and the players in a veil of black. Merlin reached down slowly and grabbed yet another cards, causing another flash on light as she revealed it to be yet another 2. "The tingling was just the deck acknowledging that you'd agreed to the game." Merlin said cheerfully, "Everything else is just to look awesome. I'm just super lucky." She then proceeded to request another 2, which she retrieved from the pool with another flash, completing her set. She continued by requesting a jack, which James did not have. She got an ace from the pool for it, ending her turn.

 

Hand: 5, 7, 8, J, A

 

Sets: 2

 

Kevin

 

"I'd rather not go into the details, just leave it at loneliness." Kevin said, mildly embarrassed. He then laughed a bit. Thinking about his relationship with Shiori was actually rather amusing. "She's most assuredly not to be trusted." He said, "Not exactly playing me, but we can't rely on her entirely. Don't worry about it too much, it'll be pretty obvious if and when she turns."

[ElfCollaborator]

Sophie - [Lancer and Sophie]

"Well.....this is my bedroom. I don't even live here. In fact, I don't even know how I got involved in all this.. Apparently, my parents were magi too. Which, before today, I thought was absolute bullshit. Y'know, because I was raised to think magic was nonexistent and did not in fact summon fully formed people from, apparently, other worlds to fight in a war over the cup that Jesus drank from, which also apparently exists. Oh good GOD I hope this is just a bad hangover dream."

Sophie groans, closing her eyes.

"Okay, is there anything else I have to know? Can I just run from here? Or am I trapped until this whole thing is over and therefore have to go hide in the toughest bunker in the world?"

 

Nick and Jack Sloane - [Berserkers and Eleonore]

Nick and Jack share a look, before grinning at Eleonore and nodding.

"Well, we ain't the sneaky type, but we'll try our best, luv. Thief's honour."

"Don't think there's any Servants nearby anyway, and cops we can 'andle. Might be a Servant who can cloak themselves nearby, so you're best sticking nearby, yeah? Wouldn't want you to get fucked up because we were off, performin' scoutin' and all that."

Edited June 30, 2017 by ElfCollaborator

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

[Nadia and Saber]

 

Nadia nodded in response. She leaned further into Masaru, having to press her chest further into his side to reach across him. She ran her fingers along the shape of the scar. Her touch was gentle, loving. She treated his scar with the utmost of care. After all, it was precious. "The mark of a sword no doubt." she said with the utmost of confidence. "I know the way a sword cuts... any sword. The blade is a part of me after all. I'd feel naked without Blank by my side in battle. She is part of me. Do you feel the same Masaru?"

She didn't really wait for the answer though, she just continued. She expected a swordsman to feel if not the same, similar to herself. "Masaru... would you like to touch my scars? Would you like to get to know me?" she asked.

[Rider and Erica]

 

Cojiro finished munching on his cracker and then tapped Erica lightly on the forehead with his beak. He tried to do it with as little force as possible. She felt, something click in the back of her mind, as if someone plugged an audio jack into it. She heard a voice patch through, and it wasn't Ignacio's. "Greetings Mademoiselle. What would you have me do for you?"i

Elsewhere on the ship, the crew was restless. They had just confirmed a clear line of fire on the targets they were tracking. "Sir! We've got a confirmed line of fire! We wait for your orders." 

"Just fire you bootlicker... if it involves gunpowder and BLOWIN' SHIT UP, you know I'll approve."

Orin would see the sudden billowing of smoke, and the barking of the cannon's muzzles from the side of The Iron Mango. The crew had loader the cannons with grapeshot aiming to fire over a wider area to make the vehicle much more likely to take a hit. They only needed a single cannonball to hit and it'd take out the poor modern technology. So, the large cannonballs were hardly needed, covering a large area was better. A rain of iron and brimstone death hurtled towards the master of assassin, whistlin' a tune of misfortune the whole way. A full broadside lit the sky. Doom from the sky.