[IC] Fate/Reborn 2.0 First War

[Strider]

[Archer & Kevin]

"Alright. So we're going to be meeting her soon? For something?" If Darien could, he would have grimaced. As it was, Kevin would simply feel some dissatisfaction across the link. "So, stay in spirit form for now?"

 

[Alexander/Ciri]

"I worry that to anyone watching the leyline locations, and knowing that this is normally a busy lab, would suspect Corwin if he made more than one visit here." In fact, now that Alexander thought about it, someone could have been watching this leyling since before the war had started. "In any case, remember, all plans are subject to change. We have enough food. . . well, sustenance, in here for three days. We will try not to leave here until the canvas is finished. At that point, depending upon how other things turn out, we will either venture out by day ourselves to collect more supplies, have Corwin deliver them directly here, or we will venture out and meet him somewhere else." Corwin would of course need to drop off a form of transportation, but that would be done discretely, several blocks over, without Master and Servant ever meeting the butler. As Alexander said these things, he began to craft a set of perfectly straight parallel lines with a few sharp angles on either side of the door, about five feet from the ground. Anyone remembering their high school physics class would recognize it immediately as resembling an optics diagram, though with some oddities.

[Shamitako]

(OOC: So I'm mostly running on, "time passes however fast it passes and if you miss stuff by a long scene, whatever." But I figure we took long enough covering a short enough time for this to be reasonable and it just kind of makes sense story-wise)

 

Merlin

 

Merlin had almost zero sense of direction, so she didn't catch on to what James was up to at all. She halfheartedly followed him as he made his weird little sigils everywhere. She knew what he was up to, but she nearly asked anyways just for something to talk about. She didn't actually say anything, instead choosing to count how many orange things she could find. She was on 32 when there was a thunderous crash. She jumped at the sound, rapidly firing three orbs of electricity at the ground just ahead of her in a panic. "What was that?!" She asked loudly, casting about to try to spot the source.

 

Kevin

 

Kevin shrugged and finished his food. "We're not really meeting for any reason in particular, this is just where we'll be based, at least until someone else pays actual rent." He said, "And you can pop back into existence if you want, the neighbors here aren't nosy."

[Chevaleresse]

Saber & Nadia 

 

"Got it." The man faded into shimmering blue particles once more. He sort of mentally hummed to himself - doing it aloud would probably be rude. If the rest of this goes as well as it's gone so far, the Grail will be in my hands by the end of the week. He went ahead of Nadia in spirit form, ranging around the area a fair distance away from her and then tracking back. As much as he'd like to lay back and relax at the moment, they had more important things to do. 

 

Archer & James

 

The young mage nearly jumped out of his skin at the blast, and then had to pick between that and nearly throwing something at Merlin when she scorched the ground in front of her with an involuntary spell. A small part of him briefly wondered how you could cast something like that unconsciously. A greater part was trying to figure out the likelihood that he was about to be exploded by any manner of unpleasant thing (was there a way to be exploded pleasantly?) After taking a moment to gather himself, he shook his head. "I don't know. It sounded like some kind of explosion. Can you feel any Servants nearby?" Unless there was some unrelated terrorist attack happening. . .

[Shamitako]

Merlin

 

Merlin concentrated for a moment. "I'm not noticing anyone." She said finally. She looked around, searching the sky for a storm or anything else that could have made such an explosive sound. She didn't notice anything obvious, just the outline of buildings in the distance. She squinted in the direction she thought the sound had come from, but couldn't make much out. Something seemed off though. She sensed a lot of mana near to where she thought the sound had originated. She pointed off towards the mountains in that general direction. "The sound came from that general direction, any chance that's the way to that shrine place you mentioned?" She asked.

 

(OOC: She's pointing a little between Ignacio and the shrine, in relation to her own position. About eight squares down on the left edge of the map grid thing)

[Twinwolf]

[Alexander/Ciri]

 

Ciri nods. "I'll try to get things done as quick as I can. Sorry that it takes so long - this is gonna be a pretty boring start to the war for you. The Safe Room's done by the way." Ciri says. It is - the White is beginning to leak out of the room, radiating from the central point of the safe room. "Starting on the Canvas proper. Do you have any way to look around, see if anyone's watching? A familiar or something?"

[Bfroger6]

Lancer

 

"You can have me scout out for whoever you'd like, Master~" Klaren raised his fist up and smiled. "Whooo, right~? But I think we might wanna like...lay low for now. You've got a nice place here, so I can help you set up some magickey barriers if you want. Like, I'm no expert or anything, but I guess we could tryyyyyyyyy!" He excitedly skittered over to the place he assumed was the kitchen and started looking for salt everywhere. "From what I know of your modern world..." He began as he rummaged the drawers and cupboards, throwing everything that wasn't salt over his shoulder, making a lot of noise as a result. "...salt is the one thing you absolutely need to have on you when making a super duper magic barrier, Master~ Am I right or what! But you...do you have any salt even? I can't find any..." Slumping his shoulders, Klaren turned to Sophie and made a sad-face. "I-If you give me salt and I sprinkle it on myself, I can go scout everyone for you! ...er, probably..."

[Strider]

[Archer & Kevin]

"I see." Darien quietly popped back into existence next to his master. He had no questions really, so he occupied his time by looking around the apartment, feeling out the walls, searching for exits, and traces of magic that he could detect. He'd had enough ambushes in life to know that he always needed a way out when he arrived at a new place.

 

[Alexander/Ciri]

"Give me a moment." The man pulled himself away from his current project, and began to concentrate on something else: the small creature that he had been paying little attention to for the last few hours, distracted as he was by other events. The pigeon seemed to be perched on a wire back in the upper class district, waiting out the night. With a small mental flick, Alexander prompted the bird to take off into the sky, heading for the industrial district. And. . . wait. "Well, that's definitely a servant. I don't have th best view from here, but someone appears to have a floating pirate ship? Something like that, but they're a fair bit north of us." A little apprehensive, Alexander directed the bird into a much lower flight, hoping to keep it out of sight of the floating warship.

[Noir]

Orin and Debronee

 

Slumped, black and blue from all that over-exertion and wounds, Debronee barely found in him the will to move or speak, his voice hoarse as he panted for breath on the ground. The left half of him felt as it it was being forcibly torn off, as Debronee struggled almost soundlessly against the pain, managing only faint breaths and occasional grunts in response if it intensified. He kept the arm stationary on the side of the wall, attempting to keep it straight so as to not strain it as much. 

 

"My arm...isn't dysfunctional, if severely harmed..." He managed. Nor did it seem they would chance upon any reliable means of medication, at least without a miracle. "Perhaps our only respite is that we managed to escape, if only barely. As to how they found us...it's likely they either spotted us on the roof, or our fellow Servant possesses some extreme form of clairvoyance. That I had underestimated, perhaps. I...do apologize."

 

Struggling to get to his feet, Debronee knew the two couldn't spend too much time here. Their assailants would surely examine the area, knowing that they couldn't have escaped such an attack completely safely. "Can you...move? Staying here isn't the best idea. There's no telling if whomever attacked us will come here...in search soon."

 

Eleonore and the Twins

 

Adhering to Jack's request, and satisfied and the twin's findings and execution, the French-native sat behind him on the motorcycle, slightly relieved that they now had some form of reliable transport. 

 

"So...where do you suggest we search? I'd gather we have some time for the night..do you two have any suggestions?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

[Rider and Erica]

 

"Heh, while l'd love to, me ship ain't the most maneuverable in tight quarters like these. Ol' girl was made for fightin' on the open seas and the open skies. These buildings being tall get in the way a mite. l'm sure we're scared the shit out of the poor rats regardless. l can only imagine the looks on their faces.  However men keep your non-existent eyeballs peeled for any signs of the lubbers. How do you lot see anyway...?" he said scratching his beard.

"hmmm... now you know what l deal with every day Mademoiselle. A miracle l've yet to go insane no doubt..." the sea coloured parrot mused into her mind.

 

[Nadia and Saber]

Nadia took a path back through the industrial district hoping to get back to the workshop she'd set up for herself. She didn't really have much important there but it was out of the way and a good place to lay low while searching for their quarry. This district was the only thing she didn't really like crossing through... open and not full of innocent onlookers. Perfect place to set-up shop while no one was the wiser and an even better place for an ambush. lt was clear the first time she'd crossed, but there was no way to know if it still was. Further... the high concentration of Leylines made this the perfect place for a Caster class servant, perhaps one of the best at ambushes if you accidentally wandered into their lair. Casters weren't much in a head on fight but, they rarely played fair. Perhaps more of tricksters than Assassin in many cases. They had to be though. Many of the knight classes possessed magic resistance, so caster could rarely win through brute force of their magic.

She put her hand to the case she carried Blank in. She really hoped to get to use her soon... to cut into her foes. lt'd been awhile since they mage hunter had prey. "Masaru... stay on guard. Our enemies can still be anywhere. And... even if l could probably take Assassin myself... we shouldn't use that as excuse to be reckless. l can assist you in a fight and cover you at a distance. My Magic is suited to killing masters as l am a mage hunter, but servants probably can't easily shrug it off either. Especially a Caster."

[Bfroger6]

Orin

 

Orin put everything back into his backpack and zipped it up. He looked at Assassin with a frown on his face. "I can move. But not far." He said as he got back up onto his limping foot. "Just tell me if you can use your arm. We can't go into a hospital. I can't pay for it and we can't afford to get caught. I also can't help you myself." So they probably tracked them using a special skill. Did this mean they could still track them? He didn't want to go back into the street to look if the ship was moving. They just had to hide somewhere. Maybe in a basement of one of the buildings here? Assassin could easily break in. Whoever attacked them didn't blow up any buildings though. Did this mean they were trying to keep the destruction to a minimum? Then why have a massive skyship with cannons..? He was no stranger to sights like ravaged streets though. He was expecting as much from this.

 

Limping towards one of the nearby building entrances, Orin gestured for Assassin to follow. "Where do you suggest we hide?" He asked Debronee.

[Chevaleresse]

Archer & James

 

The Master frowned for a moment. "Could be. . . If they came straight from the shrine and are making this much noise already, they're probably our strongest opponent. Well, even with just the latter; they're either incredibly strong or confident to the point of stupidity. Or both." He started to walk in the direction Merlin had indicated, mumbling to himself. "That sound. . . Thunder? But there was no flash of light. . . some sort of explosives, maybe. . .?" He still stopped on occasion to draw out his sigils, but continued a steady pace toward the sound. 

 

Saber & Nadia

 

"Got it. Just try not to get jumped by Assassin." There was an impression of activity for a moment without Masaru actually speaking."Although, maybe if you make yourself look weak and vulnerable, we'll pull out some of the nastier types. You know, bullies, the type that likes to prey on people." She got the feeling that Masaru would be shaking his head in disgust if he had a head or muscles to move it. "Really, I hope this whole thing gets resolved fast. As much as I like a good fight, this kind of thing isn't good for people around it. Plus I can't handle cities like this. I need a lot of room to fight without worrying about offing old Grandma Lissa."

[Shamitako]

Merlin

 

"So, uh, do you have a plan for if we find them?" Merlin asked as her master headed towards the sound's general  direction. Really not Mich had changed from when they started our, now they had just confirmed that there was a powerful opponent to get killed by early on and prevent Merlin from having any fun. It still seemed to Merlin that James was too overconfident. She supposed that if she did get killed early it would get her out of failing to stop James from going crazy and/or becoming an overconfident, old, and smelly mage.

[ElfCollaborator]

Sophie - [Lancer and Sophie]

"Magical barriers? Okay, okay. I'll set 'em up. So....should I set them up by the windows and the doors, thresholds, that sort of thing? Talk me through it."

The journalist in Sophie was coming into play, as she starts taking a more welcoming tone, instead of the exasperated one she'd had for a while.. The worried interloper had to go for a bit; after all, the worried interloper wasn't the journalist who'd survived warzones and the machinations of angered companies about to be exposed for their misdeeds.

 

Nick and Jack Sloane - [Berserkers and Eleonore]

Nick and Jack share a few words in harsh whispers, before both nodding at Eleonore in unison.

"The suburbs, luv."

"It's the second least likely place for anyone to go lookin' for trouble, inni? Unless you've got another suggestion."

"You know the place better than us, luv. 'Sides, I think I 'eard something goin' on the other side of the city. Probably some kids with dem fireworks, but if it's not, I'd rather not come along and find out."

"Also, we seekin' trouble, like? Or we just peekin' for now? We'd rather go with the one that makes us get fightin', but you're our Master, luv, so all up to you."

[Twinwolf]

Erica - [Rider and Erica]

 

I see... he does seem like he'll be a bit hard to deal with... Erica responds (mentally). Then, actually audibly she speaks to the Servant. "I'm sure they felt that though - can't have missed entirely."

 

Ciri - [Alexander/Ciri]

 

"I'd guess that that's somebody's Noble Phantasm, unless a ship can be legendary enough to be a Servant on it's own. We'll need to keep our heads down when we move, I guess." Ciri says. "Is it doing anything, or just floating there?"

[Bfroger6]

Lancer

 

"Right, sure, at the windows and doors!" Klaren nodded, tossing a pan over his shoulder before his face finally lit up with excitement. He victoriously grasped the bag of salt and held it up. "Yay we can get started now! Hope you have some paper and something to write with!" He asked the journalist. Once she gave him what he needed, he proceeded to draw some weird rune like symbols all over the paper. He held it up to Sophie. "We can draw these in salt where we need them and then poof stuff with happen and a forcefield with come up!...uhm, probably..." He gave her a sheepish grin, before letting his cape drop to the floor, leaving him in only his robes. Sophie would see a tome tied around his waist. He stretched and took the tome, flipping it open and holding a hand in front of himself as Sophie took the salt and drew sigils all over the floor in front of the windows and the door to the apartment.

 

"Mhm, good!" Klaren nodded contently. "Now I can take it from here!" He held the hand up towards the windows and a brilliant light enveloped his figure, emanating from the tome. Warm and welcoming, of course, it felt like a pillow fight if Sophie came a bit closer. The sigils shone the same as he closed his eyes and soon, the imprinted themselves upon the surface entirely, leaving no trace of the salt behind. The windows themselves carved by the same wards, they gave a slight hue as the mysterious letters were burned into them. The same happened with the door. Upon completion, Klaren closed the tome, shrugged and turned to Sophie.

 

"Now it probably worked. We won't know until someone tries to kill us, I suppose. If they don't, then it worked!"

[Noir]

Orin and Debronee

 

"...I am unfamiliar with our surroundings at this rate," He muttered, "But the furthest we can get from here the better. Little time we have at this rate," He stopped as the pain in his arm festered, but at least managed to get some footing up."We can start by exiting the city, if possible. I doubt they'll chase beyond it, anyway. Perhaps we'll decide along the way, should we chance upon any respite upon any slightest hint of luck," The helpless situation the two were in led the Assassin to lament of what he otherwise thought as meaningless -- as much as he remembered himself never believing in luck as he had ever, luck was likely the best thing they could have at the moment. 

 

Eleonore and the Twins

 

"Something going on on the other side of the city?" She couldn't resist her curiosity, but she gained too an odd premonition that approaching the area might be hazardous...but if it aroused the notice of a Servant such as the two, there should be something important in those parts. She trusted the two, however, hoping to get at least some information on the occurrence there, if possible.

 

"Take me to where you heard that noise," She decided, "I have a feeling it's important that we check it out, but at the same time, don't go too far. Safety is our utmost priority, and no fighting unless I say so. Got it?"

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

[Nadia and Saber]

Masaru would've felt Nadia's agreement over the link before she even started to speak. She'd not wanted to bring innocents into this in any way. She'd not go out of her way to feel sorrow if they got caught up in the crossfire but... she'd not wish for that to happen. Not that she felt nothing for them, but she knew that sometimes they were collateral in a fight between mages. lt was why she hunted them... the mages that use people as their pawns. But, she couldn't afford a bleeding heart. You just weren't capable of saving everyone on your own.

"l very much agree. lnnocents shouldn't get caught in up in the business of mages. Many other mages care... a lot less than l however. That's why l take them out of this world. l didn't get a normal life due to them... and many others lost their own. l'll not be the cause of more. l only hope those mages l destroy save enough lives to matter." she laughed afterwards, not one of amusement. One clearly at the absurdity of it all, a soft laugh one of defeat. She knew her endeavor wouldn't stop much... but she carried it out anyway.

"As for the innocent and weak part... l can do that. lt's my speciality. Most underestimate me. They've always met their end as a result. The look on my father's face as l sunk Blank into his heart... l remember it well."

 

[Rider and Erica]

 

"YAAAAAR of course girlie. That shot was to assure they cannae escape without a scratch. They have their tails tucked 'neath their legs and are running scared surely. lf they ain't missin' it of course, BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA" lgnacio said with a deep gravely laugh. He indulged in it quite heavily. "Alright lads, weigh anchor! We've got a city to scour for a couple of bilge rats we know about and a bunch more we ain't got a clue. Let's get a move on will ye?" lgnacio shouted his order to the crew and as soon as he finished it was met with a resounding "Aye Aye Cap'n!!!"

((p.s. l suggest Orin and Deb get a move on or lgni's crew will spot them eventually. lf they're still visible by the time the ship passes by where they are they will fire again. Just make it obvi to me they are hidden away and it's all good. Casue trust... l don't really want to attack y'all again, but l'mma have to if they still out in the open.))

[Shamitako]

Kevin (Is not in this post like at all but I promise it's from his perspective)

 

Shiori finally arrived home in her sedan. She quickly spotted Archer and her eyes went wide. "Whoa!" she exclaimed, "Nii, this is your servant? So cool!" She seemed genuinely excited and interested in Archer, it was a far cry from her typical disinterest in basically everything. After a little while of gleefully taking in Archer, she let Kevin and Archer into the house. "If you get ejected outside, let me know. I think I made an exception for you, but I was assuming you're some kind of fancy familiar. If that's not the case then you may get stuck outside in about twenty minutes or so." she told Archer.

[Strider]

[Archer & Kevin]

"Nice to meet ya, Shiori." The Servant left it at that for the moment, and entered the house closely following Kevin. He kept his eyes peeled for suspicious items or oddities, though he knew that what would be most dangerous to him would be magical in nature, and probably invisible. When he arrived, he took the liberty of sitting down heavily on a couch. There he waited for his Master and his friend to begin the discussion.

 

[Alexander/Ciri]

"Just a moment." Alexander directed his familiar to fly a little higher, to perch on the edge of a building with a few other birds. The familiar would be visible from the ship, but it would be unlikely that from that distance anyone would choose to look in that specific direction through a telescope, much less pick out which of the ten or so pigeons on that single roof was a familiar. "They seem to be moving south or southeast. Currently over the residential district. Can't quite tell if that's a puff of smoke or a cloud, but they do have cannons, and I'm guessing they can use them. If they realized where we are hidden, could they do damage to the canvas from the outside with those cannons?"

[Shamitako]

Kevin

 

Shiori kept gawking at Archer, leaving Kevin to put her back on track. "Shiori, the war?" He reminded her.

"Oh, oh right." Shiori snapped out of her reverie. "What's your plan so far, Nii?"

"We were looking to join up with Assassin or Lancer, at least until the playing field gets a bit narrower."

Shiori nodded. "You want me to scout for other players, got it." She shot Archer a glance, "First though... Can I get a full rundown on the big guy?"

Kevin also glanced at Archer. "Ask him yourself."

Shiori turned to Archer again. Her eyes flashed with deep interest. "Tell me all about yourself, please." The tone in her voice went beyond curiosity.

[Twinwolf]

[Alexander/Ciri]

 

"No." Ciri said. "They could destroy the factory around us for sure, but to get at us, they need to come in here. Of course, that assumes they don't do it until the Canvas is done."

[Chevaleresse]

James and Archer

 

"Simple. We scout out what their class and what methods of attack they rely on. If I can determine what method of attack they're using, I can block a hit or three, and then while they're trying to figure out how that's possible, you catch them with a barrage, activate your Noble Phantasm, and blow 'em up." He stooped to trace out another sigil, and then dragged a trashcan a couple inches over to cover it up. "If I can't, we'll pull back and I'll keep setting up this network. Hopefully, we can catch someone unawares using that - or track their movements so we can set something up." 

 

Saber and Nadia 

 

Masaru was silent for a moment. A legend he'd heard once came to mind; a man who had hunted evil wherever he saw it for so long that he became indistinguishable from the people he killed in the name of saving lives. But, that wasn't too different from what he did, the half-dragon supposed. Still. . .

 

"Sounds like a plan."

[ElfCollaborator]

Sophie - [Lancer and Sophie]

"Alright. So, anything else we should do? If not, I'd like you to scout around, see if anyone's nearby. Stay unseen if possible. We're trying to probe the territory, not pick fights."

Sophie, meanwhile, calculates her chances carefully. Most of her opponents were probably highly experienced magi, and she'd scarcely dipped her toe in the world of magic before she got herself embroiled in his nonsense.

 

This wasn't her average scoop, but she could manage.

 

Nick and Jack Sloane - [Berserkers and Eleonore]

Nick and Jack both stare at Eleonore as if she's insane.

"Luv, you sure 'bout this? That sounded like a cannon or summat went off."

"Bruv, she's the Master. We got to follow 'er commands and that. Even if they're suicidal."

"I don't think that's 'ow it works, bruv, but I ain't gon' argue technicalities 'ere. Fine, luv, your funeral."

Nick and Jack turn on their motorcycles and turn in the direction of the northwestern residential district, Nick taking point and Jack lagging behind to keep their Master out of any trouble.

 

[Bfroger6]

Orin

 

Orin gave Assassin an irritated look. This wasn't being much fun for him now anymore, and his Servant suggesting such stupid things only made it worse. "We'll be safe if we exit the city, but do you think we can do it with my leg and your arm? If they get a clear view on us again we're gone. We can hide in the sewers or inside of an apartment building. I don't think they're targeting civilians. They waited until we were on an empty road." Orin spoke as he thrugged over to the nearby sewage shaft. He kneeled down to lift it open, throwing it on the side. He then gestured for Assassin to follow him as he tried his best not to slip up and drop all the way down the ladder.

 

"Close it behind yourself."

 

Lancer

 

Klaren smiled happily and nodded with glee, his head swinging violently, hair flowing all over in waves. He opened wide. "Master I thought you'd never ask~" He mocked, picking his spear up. In the next instant, he has gone into spirit form and in the next, his presence was no longer there with Sophie. Sophie perhaps wasn't aware of how strong even the weakest Servants were. Klaren was gonna make sure she wouldn't be disappointed with him! /Can you hear me, Master~/ The playful voice fiddled in Sophie's mind. /I'll go scout the area closest to us first. Let me know if there's any special location you want me to look through or any nice sights in the city you'd want me to see~ I can't feel any presences yet~/ Klaren went on to primarily inspect the Commercial District, easily distracted as he was, though, his search soon turned into a festival of him fawning over every other building he came across. In the distance, he could see the Mall. "Uwaaa!" Klaren reappeared in a dark alley, away from all sights, peering over towards the building in the distance. "I-I'll have to ask Master to take me here tomorrow~!" A truck-load of self-control was needed for Klaren to not instantly run towards it with spear in hand. He restrained himself though, however unwillingly, a pout on his face, and went back to spirit form.

[Shamitako]

Merlin

 

She couldn't deny that it was a pretty good plan, but Merlin couldn't help but feel uncomfortable anyways. "What if the barrage doesn't unlock the conditions for my Phantasm?" She asked. She could think of plenty of other things that could go wrong, but for the most part she felt those were things beyond her control. Her Noble Phantasm required a "clear advantage" to be activate, and she could only manage it once in any given encounter. She had designed it specifically to be an ultimate finishing attack. Even if it allowed her to use Halloween Bomber, she wasn't sure a single barrage of fireballs would do enough damage to use it for its intended purpose. She didn't like the idea of blowing her trump card so early into a fight.