[IC] TotMV:G^2: Clash of Fate: The Courtyard (Social/Prep Phase)

[Zetaark]

"At least we agree on one thing," Ritsu mutters before looking about for anyone who she thought might be able to assist her in getting something that can help Lancer communicate with the others. She figures that it can at the very least allow for eventual negotiations at some point, even if right now she's reluctant to aid the group. After a bit of scanning, she eventually finds Edmond nearby a bus, and decides that he will at the very least be of some help.

 

"Hello Edmond. It's been some time since we've talked last. Incidentally, you wouldn't happen to have any devices that can assist with communication would you?" she asks, holding up the plush Lancer. "We've agreed that at the very least, a better system than nods would be beneficial for communication."

[Powder Miner]

LOTUS

LOTUS was equipped with a translator, given that interpretation of communications was obviously a part of his normal duties, and though he didn't presently have access to the program that could translate from scratch, Vietnamese was an Earth language, and one that was significant enough to be included within his translation date. So the pAI could understand the things that the One Who Dabs was saying -- boasts, promising vengeance for Carolina, and threatening to destroy everything that he stood for. LOTUS didn't care, though, that was the problem. All he stood for (those previous holders to whom he had become attached, and his present holder) was safely outside of the simulation, and inside the simulation (as was actually usual) he had only one priority: achieve the goal. Carolina, and whatever else was outside of victory, was irrelevant.

 

So he had been formulating his response even as the message played, but not a response to the One Who Dabs (why give him more information?). No, he'd been thinking up his response to the scenario. On one hand, there seemed to be no access to the wires possible, as so far as LOTUS could tell they operated off of some horrible eldritch means (and those were often a pain to deal with), which was not good. On the other hand, they did not seem to trigger for non-humanoid objects, which was good even if Potato Man appeared to have been animated only to suffer, something that had given even LOTUS some pause. But even if LOTUS found it extremely unfortunate, even inside a simulation (it hit close to home), he really couldn't afford not to freeze up and endanger his victory, and given the information he had been given, he had a plan for what to do.

 

"No leaving. I doubt it would mean much if you did, anyway, considering what we're dealing with. Here is the plan: since the wires do not trigger for nonhumanoid objects, we are going to create bombs (I will show you how to make ones from scavenged materials), stick them onto the ends of these poles, use the poles to place them at the base of the tower, and remotely detonate them. The tower's base is brick and mortar, which is a weakness we need to take advantage of here -- once it goes, that tower is coming down, and hopefully that will kill the One Who Dabs. However, to account for the possibility that it may not, I need you to place the explosives on the side of the tower base facing the Panthers endzone. This would allow for scoring a safety, or if he does die, an easy touchdown."

 

Perlita Diaz

Perlita turned towards Gabriel after he showed up and Grant's attention seemed to swing elsewhere, and opened her mouth to thank him for helping her with that, when suddenly there was a loud noise from an actual military vehicle falling from the sky and smashing into the ground! This actually startled the poor healer enough, to get her to shriek and jump into the air a little, causing her to look around, her heart beating fast, until she caught sight of the vehicle full of the new entries. She took a moment to breathe, her breaths gradually becoming slower and slower until she wasn't hyperventilating, then ripped her attention away from the scene. Perlita then blushed at the severity of her own reaction, and put her hands to her face, but it was only a couple of moments before she did something else entirely.

 

Perlita suddenly made a frustrated noise, and wrapped Gabriel in a hug that was about as crushing as someone with Perlita's general lack of muscle could be. She held him like that for a bit, but she wasn't driven by any sort of romantic urge at all, but rather a visceral need for some sort of comfort, one that she couldn't help but give into even though she was in public, and even despite the many inhibitions and hang-ups she had. Perlita mumbled to Gabriel as she embraced him, a surprisingly large amount of emotion giving her voice a tension that was audible as she spoke: "I-I'm sorry, I just... I just... this world, everything here is so terrible, and it's had me on edge this entire time, a-and then that gambler guy was honestly, honestly just really scary, and that didn't help at all, and I... I don't, it's just too much. It's all just boiling over, I..." Perlita disengaged, looking still more than a little ashamed, and took a breath. "I'm sorry, I just needed a moment."

[Strider]

Edmond had spent the last few minutes in silent contemplation. He'd left all the toys he'd picked up in Seattle back in the castle--oh, he'd have to ask about that later--and he really didn't have any idea of what to do with himself at the moment. He'd wanted to head to the library earlier, but it seemed as though that sort of thing wouldn't be important in this world. They were just here to fight some battles. He could go up on the walls, but he'd been procrastinating, afflicted by a slight bit of apathy. He'd be fighting more later, why do something without much reward in the meantime? It wasn't like they were in much danger.

 

He was on the verge of overcoming this laziness when he noticed Ritsu approaching. Carrying a stuffed toy, a figure, armored. Edmond had really no guesses as to what purpose it served, and was expectedly confused when the maid spoke as though the thing was alive. "Hi Ritsu. I don't think it's been tha--huh? I'm sorry, what exactly do you mean? That's just a stuffed toy, right?  You're saying it's alive, did you just pick find it somewhere? And--no, nevermind. I just, I'm gonna need a bit more information, but I'll try to help, I guess."

[Zetaark]

"Actually, though she is currently in a plush form, this indeed is the servant Lancer. As for how we got her in this form, you may want to ask Dackly about it for proper details. As for my request, we mainly need something that can let her communicate in a way that isn't a series of yes or no head nods. As effective as it can be, it's quite limited in what can be conveyed," Ritsu explains. "As such, a small device that she could use that can communicate for her in some fashion would be quite welcome. Does that help?" she finishes, tilting her own head slightly.

[Strider]

"A bit, I guess. . ." However much he tried, Edmond was still unable to wipe the look of confusion from his face. However, he would try to help. "So uh, the servant is capable of nodding then, minor movements. First thing that comes to mind is some sort of touchscreen device to type into. It'd have to be pressure based, rather than conductivity based, but it could work. Don't think it would be fast though, and it'd be a little difficult to do I think. LOTUS probably wouldn't want to be used in that way, and I left most of the tools and gear I've collected back in the castle. We could maybe jury rig something with my suit here though. "

 

"Actually, have we looked for any of the people with mental powers here yet? If we've got any type of mind reader, that'd probably be far more effective than typing. The problem is of course, I don't really know who we'd go to for that. Any ideas?"

[ElfCollaborator]

Gabriel Kowalski

Gabriel looks a little surprised as Perlita wraps him in a hug, and even more surprised by the giant military vehicle that just fell from the sky. He was, all things considered, taking this better than Perlita was, as far as he could see. After all, he wasn't the type who was easily surprised to begin with; if he could deal with being able to summon superpowered manifestations of what were apparently their own minds to inflict radiation upon their enemies, Gabriel considered he ought to be able to deal with anything. He was the type who went with the flow, rolled with the punches and figured it out later. He prized that quality of his; it was how he could remain so laid-back.

 

Still, it was a little much, even for him. But, well, Perlita needed something a little more stable than that.

 

First, he stands stock still as Perlita hugs him. She may have been just friends with him, and she was hugging him because she felt overwhelmed, but Gabriel was a teenager, after all, and so he was a little caught off guard by the immensely cute girl hugging him out of nowhere suddenly. Of course, the giant vehicle showing up surprised him too, so there was that.

 

Then Perlita started talking, snapping him out of his brief fugue. He just listens, lets her speak, and then hugs her back a little bit. Not a tight, gripping hug, but a friendly one, as comforting as he could make it. When she lets go, he flashes her a smile; not one of his easygoing, casual ones, but a sincere, warm one. At least there'd be one familiar thing. 

 

He fixes her with a calm, knowing look, gripping her shoulder gently.

"Hey, hey. No need to apologise. You're my friend, Perlita. I'm here if you need me. It's okay to let it all out, once in a while, you know. This may not be our home, but this isn't the strangest thing we've seen, not by far. You got this, and I got your back. It's what I'm here for. "

 

He pauses. An easygoing smirk crawls back onto his face as he rubs the back of his head, chuckling. If nothing else, he wanted to distract her a little, defuse the tension, let her calm herself even at his own expense. It was worth it for his friend. And in any case, it was helping him calm down a little too. Joke a little, have a bit of fun, a bit of levity.

 

"But if you could hug me a little more often, that'd be great."

[Powder Miner]

Perlita had gone a bit still herself when Gabriel returned her hug gently, but of course she'd been plenty embarrassed about the whole thing anyway. It was nice to have him try to calm her down though, with the calm smile routine that she'd seen him do actually a good few times by now. Like on the day when he and Malachi had rescued her from that strange, alien complex. She'd been huddled in the corner, trying to stay out of sight of the horrible abominations in the halls, and then the two of them had burst in, pulled out their own magical beings, and blown the creatures away right then and there. Then Gabriel had stepped forward, extended his hand, and given her much the same smile. She'd sorely needed at the time, seeing as she'd been thrust headfirst into a world she hadn't been equipped to deal with at all... at the time, anyway (now she had a Persona and had been part of the group for months).

 

It was unfortunate that she was just about as stressed now as she was then, but that was to be expected, she supposed. This entire dimension-traveling thing had been overwhelming, but ever since her little team had come to this place it had been more horrible and more eventful than ever. "Ay... not the strangest, no, but I think this is the worst place we've ever been... But... thanks, Gabriel. The others may not be here, but I'm more glad than I can say that I at least have you."

 

Then Gabriel made his little comment about hugging him more often, and with her face dusting a little bit red with a blush, she gave him a quick little thwap on the chest -- nothing with any force hehind it, of course, but something to communicate her sudden embarrassment physically. "Gabriellll! Don't make this weird all of a sudden!"

[StormLord]

A girl, no more than say eight or nine?  Could be seen wandering through the Courtyard, clutching a large syringe and wearing an old, slightly small sundress smeared with blood.  She didn't seem phased in the slightest by the horror and dead all around, in fact she was skipping and singing some non-sense song in....French?  Probably French, every now and then she'd swap in an English word or stop abruptly, think for a moment, and continue singing.  Her eyes were glossed over with a silvery glow and her voice seemed to have multiple tones to it, echoing in on itself even as she spoke in way no normal voice should.

All in all it was a strange combination of childhood innocence and morbid existence that danced across the Courtyard like a ghost.

Eventually she found her way to the makeshift poker table where sat Lexiel, Grant, and others.  After walking around the table enough for Lexiel to come into full view the girl suddenly stopped.  She stood and stared at Lexiel, mouth open slightly, for a couple uncomfortable seconds before finally words came back to her.

"Y-you look like an angle....but...but you can't be...wha-who..are...you?"

She spoke softly, or at least more so than when she was singing and she had a confused and concerned look on her face, like something truly just went wrong in her little world.

[ElfCollaborator]

Gabriel chuckles good-naturedly as he takes the thwap, the easygoing smile still on his face. There was the Perlita he knew; a little high-strung, a little repressed, but nice and with no real bite to her bark. At least, when you weren't threatening her life. But then, who wasn't?

 

"Sorry. Couldn't resist."

[Powder Miner]

"Come onnn Gabriel, we were having a moment there... you don't always have to do that, you know." Perlita pouted for a moment, but eventually relented and (mostly) dropped the embarrassment fairly quickly, as this was something of a regular routine between them and had been for a couple of years now. And yet even with this in mind, though the Persona-user was no longer in quite the same state of sudden panic that she was in before, her face made it clear that she was still somewhat shaken, all told.

 

Eventually, however, she sighed and decided that now was as good a time to let it out as any was. She looked around to make sure noone besides Gabriel was listening closely, and for a moment her gaze was riveted to the little girl in the courtyard... she wasn't sure what someone that young was doing here, but... well, the people over there had it handled, probably. Besides Grant. Whatever, she was going to say something! Perlita shook her head to clear it, and after completing her visual check of the acourtyard to make sure noone was gonna listen in and come to conclusions about her looked back at Gabriel.

 

"Honestly... Gabriel... I've felt kinda crappy for a while now. I mean, yknow... I'm here for a reason, and I won't stop doing what I can, but I miss everyone... Malachi, Diane... Everything here is new and there's always something unexpected or scary, yeah, but I miss the others. You and them made it work when I got caught up in all the Persona stuff, and having to ditch everyone but you now that I'm caught up in all this stuff... it really sucks."

[DragonRage]

"An angle?  If I was one, I'd definitely be obtuse," Lexiel jokes, "But you're right.  I don't think anyone here is an angle.  I'm (sigh) an Archangel.  I think I'm supposed to introduce myself by telling people to 'fear not' or something, but being distant like that isn't my style.  Why?  You need some justice done, kid?  I'm always up for smiting the forces of evil.  Or the forces of petty crime, if there's nothing worse around.  Or if you got a more complex problem than 'hit that mean guy', I bet we can work something out."

[ElfCollaborator]

Gabriel sighs, rubbing the back of his head. Now that she brought it up, it did kinda feel weird not to have Malachi and Diane around. Especially Malachi; Gabriel had befriended the guy when he transferred in, becoming fast friends with him, even faster once the two of them ended up being the first Persona users of their little group. However, Gabriel was always sort of a follower, really preferring to go along with the flow. Malachi was the real leader, the tactician; Gabriel just did what he was told, even if he thought Malachi was a little crazy.

 

"I get what you mean. It's kinda crazy, huh? Out of the frying pan and into the fire. Man.....this would be a whole lot easier to get used to if we got everyone else here, at least. More familiar faces."

 

He musters an easy smile.

 

"But hey, least you aren't alone here, right? You got me."

[StormLord]

She stops, looks down and thinks and carefully considers the question for a moment.

"I don't...think so...?"

It sounded more like an unsure question than an answer really, but she kept staring up at Lexiel with a disturbing mixture of awe, confusion, and softly glowing eyes.

"What's a J-ust-iss?"

Her second question was spoken with an unmistakable child-like innocence and curiosity that made Lexiel believe that she truly didn't know what the word meant.

[DragonRage]

"That is a very good question, and one people tend to disagree on greatly," Lexiel admits, "But if nothing else, the wings and halo make me more qualified to give an answer than most.  Justice can be a lot of things, which complicates the issue.  But, render it down to its most basic parts...  Justice is when everyone receives fair and equal treatment, both under the law and not.  Repay good with good, misdeeds with deterrence, so that everyone gets their due.  It's not always easy to know what is just, but everyone owes it to themselves and their peers to try.  The only people who don't benefit from justice are those who have gathered profit from the suffering of others."

[StormLord]

"More people should learn about justice.  They're always so mean and try to take us away, Daddy, the Angels, and my Sisters were the only people who were ever nice."

She replied in a 'matter of fact' tone before trailing off to something more somber.  She blinked once, slowly.

"You're not like the other Angels though.  They're always asleep and singing to me and my sisters."
After the mention of singing she started humming and swishing around the large needle in her hand.

[Powder Miner]

"Do you think that they're somewhere else right now? Or if they got left behind in Roswell and are still doing their thing, just... without us? ...not trying to brag, but I'm worried about how they'd do without me. I guess Malachi would have to do all the healing." Perlita fell silent again and lapsed into thought. "Yeah... I hope they're okay. I mean... I bet other people will get involved, right? And Malachi could handle a bunch of those things on his own." She sighed. "I really do tend to worry about a lot of things these days, you know... everyone back home, the worlds here, and about myself I guess. You know...?" Perlita shrugged, once again rendered wordless by her own bitter feelings.

 

Eventually, she sighed, looked up at Gabriel, and smiled a little sadly. "But... yeah. It is a good thing you're here. Honestly, I don't know what I'd do if I were alone at this point... maybe go and just... just scream somewhere or something. I don't know, it'd be embarrassing and a big deal and... yeah. I dunno. But I don't have to, so thank you."

[Zetaark]

"I do not know anyone off the top of my head with mental powers, but even I did I'm uncertain that attempting to read the mind of a servant would go over well," Ritsu replies, concerned as to how Lancer could respond, even if she was in a plush form. "And given that Lancer in this form is capable of some movement, a touchpad device would likely be the least likely to cause any notable issues, and would allow for more proper communication, even if it's a bit slow," Ritsu finishes.

[mcclay]

A portal opens up in the courtyard from which the thunder of guns, clashing of steel and the screams of dying men can be heard. A blood and mud covered man gripping tightly onto a pike falls backwards out of the portal. As he falls the portal closes, the encroaching knight with lance pointed at the man disappearing as the hole in reality sealed up.  The man, Mikial, scrambles to his feet and looks at his surroundings with wide eyes.

 

"Bůh v nebi, I must be dead for sure? Is this Paradise? I was hoping it would look a little less warlike than this."

[Yours Truly]

Solomon simply shook his head at the man as he passed by them on his merry way to the armory, and as he looked upon them atop his floating throne of considerably less questionable looking books, he simply decided to say, "You are rather obviously neither dead nor in heaven. Although let's face it with the amount of information I have on you and your world you could be a revenant sent here to kill me and I wouldn't be able to tell until it is all too late." He took out a packet of pork rinds and started to snack on them once more before he continued with, "The name's Solomon by the way, and may I say that you could not have chosen a better time to join us Mister?".

[mcclay]

Mikial brushes some of the mud and grime off his knees and gives this 'Solomon' a wary look. 

"Hope you don't mind if I'm a little spooked by that answer, mister. If that isn't an angel over there," he points at Lexiel, "then I'm not a Christian man. And last time I checked I was fighting in an army of the Lord."

 

He squints at his surroundings, grumbles in Czech under his breath, and pulls off the kettle helmet.

 

"Mikial Adámek, follower of Jan Huss. From Prague originally."

[DragonRage]

"I cannot disagree, young one," Lexiel smiles at the kid, leaving off the card game as more pressing matters present themselves, "If everyone treated others with kindness, fairness, and respect, I could retire.  My skills would no longer be needed.  I cannot speak for the angels you have met in the past, but if angels they truly were, I am certain they would have helped you if they could.  It seems that you have gone through great hardship, but you have weathered those trials and escaped, yes?  That shows that you are strong.  In your mind, your spirit, and your heart.  From a tiny spark, a great blaze can flare.

 

"Eh?  Afterlife?" Lexiel turns toward the newcomer, a friendly smile on her face.  "No, you're still among the living.  I'm the kind of angel that smites the unjust, not the kind that deals with taking people to their eternal rest.  And you seem to have been chosen to aid in the battle against a great enemy, same as most of us here.  There is a great force that seems to be gathering heroes to fight beings of great power and malice.  These creatures have gone by many names, but the most common are Eldrazi, or Trespassers.  They wish to consume all.  Good, evil, angel, demon, it makes no difference.  If it exists, they can and will destroy it.  No world is safe.  But they can be beaten.  For all their power, they bleed like anything else.  So don't worry, you're in good company.  Our enemies are mighty, but our allies are too.

 

"From Prague, you said?  A beautiful city; I remember it fondly, from my last visit to Earth.  They had some fascinating clocks."

[Stalkerkain]

On 4/8/2018 at 12:40 AM, King Murdoc said:

"Well, you see, it's less summoning a person and more summoning their legend. So, the story of the battle of Nageshino became one of my Noble Phantasms, as well as the title of Demon King of the Sixth Heaven. They did take that temple a little too seriously, honestly. The monks had to go, it couldn't be helped! Still, fear is a valuable tool." She gave the necromancer a knowing glance with this. "But yes, the woman standing before you is not quite 'Oda Nobunaga, the warlord of the Sengoku,' but rather 'that person's legend.' Does that make sense to you?"

"I suppose..." Magna replied dejectedly, as the actual explanation to it all was a little more disappointing than she had imagined. She supposed that it would be too much to ask for an omnipotent tool such as the Holy Grail to have a more whimsical element to its formula. Though disappointed, Magna's eyes flashed ever so slightly in amusement. "Now here comes someone amusing."

 

"So I see you're here as well, Archer," Jeanne said, none too pleased at being in the presence of a Servant she was unable to fight. Despite being her Master, Jeanne hadn't bothered to even acknowledge Magna's presence. "Surprising how you're still kicking about. I didn't think you'd last long enough to contract with someone, let alone any remaining capable Masters."

[Chevaleresse]

"Is that so? I'd expected the Maid of Orleans to have a keener mind than that," Nobunaga quipped in return. "Unless the presence of one who's legendary for burning the pious is so unsettling to you that it's addled your mind." 

[Stalkerkain]

"I see you've no remorse in murdering the devout," she smiled ominously. "It's no small wonder you were betrayed by your follower."

 

"My! It hasn't even been a minute and you two are making friends already? How wonderful!" Magna said with a devious grin. "Or have you two met before already? You two seem awfully chatty! But I can never be too sure of anything with this Holy Grail War business."

[Chevaleresse]

"Piety doesn't save you from the fire. I suppose you'd be pretty familiar with that, wouldn't you?" Nobunaga at this point seemed to actually be growing somewhat physically taller and more imposing-looking. "Unless you need to be taught that lesson again, hag." Nobunaga glanced over at Magna, tone dropping immediately to a more cheery one. "Well, of course we've met already, this is a Holy Grail War after all! It's only natural for Servants to have clashed, though I don't remember this Saber being quite so edgy."