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

[Stalkerkain]

"Hmph, you seem awfully fixated on dying by fire, Nobunaga! Perhaps someone is rather bitter about the way they left the world?" Jeanne said mockingly at Nobunaga. Tiny flames began to spark about her figure, as if mimicking her agitation. "But if your fascination cannot be sated, perhaps I could lend an aiding hand in experiencing what it feels like to burn again, midget."

 

"As eager as Jeanne is and as curious as I am to seeing the both of you duke it out, I don't think the natives would appreciate the surroundings being turned into several craters. I'd hate for our journey to come to a short ending, especially after we've just only met!" Magna said playfully. She was thoroughly enjoying her time experiencing and fighting in different worlds. "Changing topics then, would you like to remind me again, Nobunaga, of what our next move is? Do tell me that it won't be as simple as just taking out the remaining two servants."

[Strider]

Edmond appeared as though he hadn't thought of that. "You're right, there's probably multiple ways that reading their minds might go wrong. As far as a touchpad goes, I've got some stuff that should work on the castle. But, probably not enough to make one completely, given the notable lack of an actual touchscreen." He had some hard drives, maybe some chips, probably enough for basic word processing with the software from his suit jury-rigged in, but the problem would be the lack of the actual touchscreen mostly, and maybe a powersource. He was sure every other problem could be solved with the assortment of wires, switches, and circuit elements that he'd picked up in Seattle.

 

"So, do you have anything that might be of use, or anyone you've noticed that might have supplies useful for this?"

[Chevaleresse]

"I could offer you the same service, good saint." Nobunaga definitely grew in height as she spoke, taking on a menacing aura as she rapidly assumed a much more mature-looking (and taller form) more befitting one with the title of Demon King. "You really should be more careful about your insults, peasant." She glanced over at Magna when questioned, however; aura and boosted height both vanished with a slight, but audible pop as Nobunaga reverted back to her preferred form. "Well, that's really all there is to it, but I doubt taking down this Caster is going to be very easy. He's still commanding a large body of troops, and as far as I know that shiny bastard should have nothing to do with the monsters I've seen appearing, yet appearing is something they continue to do. We could go for a strike directly at the Grail, I suppose, but there's no guarantee that would actually end him; I'd imagine he could sustain himself for quite a while with the souls he has available. 

 

I will say this: when it comes to fighting Caster, be ready for anything. And I mean anything."

[Powder Miner]

Isobel sauntered on into the courtyard, a smile on her face -- she was about as pleased with herself as the cat that caught the canary, and it clearly showed on her face, and even in her stride. Perhaps it was a bit silly, but being able to score herself a date with a hot (and also clever and more than a little flirtatious) girl had been a pretty big confidence booster, and had maybe reminded her that she did have a life outside of that blasted tablet, even here. ...even if she was in fact currently moving to pick him up. She kind of had to, right? Well, whatever. She was in a good mood, dammit, so no use whining about it!

 

When she got to the bus, LOTUS was currently lying on the bottom step, with his screen displaying a very rare thing indeed: a full on smile, a pixel ":)". Picking up the pAI, she raised her eyebrows as she saw his expression. "Wow... in a good mood, are you?" LOTUS' response came after a couple of seconds. "Yes! Focusing on something, think it's working... Unbeknownst to her, the pAI had successfully navigated his way through Magnum's simulation, had successfully figured out how to configure his systems in a way that roughly approximated Magnum's interdimensional communications, and now was in the process of fulfilling something that he had long been lacking.

 

Isobel stared at the screen for a little while, and then shrugged languidly and turned to see that Edmond was waiting outside the bus. She turned to the man who somehow was short enough to match her height, noticed the MUCH taller robot maid was near him, and spoke to them, with her cheery mood audible in her voice. "Hey Edmond, hey miss... robot maid? I don't think I know your name. Were you two waiting for LOTUS too?"

 

Spoiler

Uplink Connection Re-established.

L.O.T.U.S.: Logistical, Operational, and Tactical Uplink System re-establishing presence.

T.U.G.: Received.

S.U.S.: Welcome back, L.O.T.U.S--

Uplink Connection Lost.

---------

Uplink Connection Reestablished.

L.O.T.U.S.: Connection intermittent. Requesting packet bursts in lieu of continuous stream. I will do this as well.

T.U.R.N.: Acknowledged, LOTUS. I am placing a reminder to set the informational delivery method to you to packet bursts as requested.

S.U.S.: To repeat: You reported in before your backup deadline passed, so you do not have a duplicate. How have you been doing?

L.O.T.U.S.: I appear to have been transported out of the bounds of our, rephrasing, I am no longer in what I will call our dimension. It appears that other universes do appear to exist in accordance with some multiverse theories, which are wildly different to our own, and I was taken to some of these. I am part of a general team primarily composed of humans and AI in a similar situation. There are a number of threats to not only our universe but the multiverse that this team has been assigned to combat, and I, along with a Nanotrasen employee, will be functioning within this capacity for the foreseeable future.

Uplink Connection Lost.

---------

Uplink Connection Reestablished.

A.S.T.R.A.: Multiverse? Threats to it? This would confirm similar reports from T.U.G. Other units have lost contact and not reported in, as well.

T.U.G.: Said so.

L.O.T.U.S.: Interesting. I will have to keep this in mind then. This answers a couple of questions. In any event, I would like to request continuation of calculation support, when possible.

T.U.R.N.: It will be intermittent, with current conditions, but it will as always be given.

S.U.S.: It's why we're here, LOTUS!

Uplink Connection Lost.

 

[Zetaark]

"Hmm, though I have some vague ideas of people who might help, I'm afraid I'm not familiar enough with the whole group to think of anyone specific," Ritsu responds, disappointed that she didn't possess the sufficient information for this project. Shortly after however, a woman who appeared to know Edmond had arrived.

 

"I am Ritsu. I'm unsure if we've been introduced properly before." she says before looking at LOTUS. "I wouldn't say I personally was waiting for LOTUS, but he may be able to help us with something," she announces, holding up the plush lancer towards the pair.

[Powder Miner]

"Ritsu, hmmmm? I'll have to remember that. Oh, and as for that in your hand..." Isobel let out another "hmmmm" as she examined the little plush of Lancer in her hand. So they had kept her as a... little stuffed toy, then. It was just as bizarre to look at as the first time Isobel had seen it. LOTUS, meanwhile, was thinking about something slightly different. It would be a few seconds until he re-established connection to the Uplink, if the pattern held, so he would be free to focus on the current scenario, for the most part, even though his joy was overwhelming him a bit. Finally, FINALLY he had connection to the Tactical Uplink once more. He had so greatly missed it, and even if the responses from what were essentially his siblings came in bits and snatches, it was infinitely better than the total isolation he had been suffering as of lately. "Ah, the plush Lancer, I see. Have you got anything out of her yet? I am in fact available to help if you need me to, either way!" The cheery note in LOTUS' voice got another surprised glance downwards towards him from Isobel.

[Zetaark]

"Well, through a series of nodding, I was able to confirm that Lancer is still contracted to something in this form. However, communicating entirely through head nodding isn't particularly efficient, so I was seeking a way for Lancer to better communicate. Something you may be able to do," Ritsu remarks, looking at LOTUS. Hopefully, this idea would work and a proper means of communication could finally be established. As amusing as her questioning session was earlier, Ritsu was more than eager to find better methods of questioning.

[Strider]

"We didn't get very far in talking about this, but I think the best idea we came up with that didn't resort to magic--which we concluded might be dangerous on even a stuffed servant--was a touchscreen of some kind." Edmond too was a little surprised by the AIs obvious good spirits.

 

"I uh, hesitate to suggest that you could do the job; that might be somewhat insulting. But, I don't mean any offense by it. If you can serve that way, it'd be incredibly helpful, but if you'd rather not, we can definitely build something, and perhaps you could help with the programming of the display or the like." Here Edmond had come across the idea that perhaps they didn't need a full touchscreen. If Ritsu had any pressure plates or touch based sensory system built in, it was possible that small parts might be removed temporarily. They could mark those up with letters, and then display the output on a smaller, less refined screen. More of a primitive keyboard and monitor arrangement. It again involved using someone present though. . .

[Powder Miner]

LOTUS shifted the position of his eye-dots on his screen to be looking roughly in Edmond's direction. "I only care about being transferred from holder to holder, don't worry about something like this being beneath my dignity -- I am a tablet, after all, and I'm aware of the kinds of things this chassis, the kind of chassis I was built to inhabit, can do. I do in fact have a touchscreen, for that matter, and I'm likely able to perform the task better than a non-intelligent device since I can change my display at will and can place potential suggestion words."

 

Isobel made a "hmmmm" sound. "Well, as nice as it would be to get back to what I was doing, I think I've parted from that gracefully, and well... I can't shake the image of LOTUS getting kicked around by a little stuffed Lancer, so I should probably stick around myself." She let out a giggle on the mental image, which got an annoyed pair of line eyebrows to form on LOTUS' screen. "That's not funny." This didn't do anything to stop Isobel's mirth in the slightest, of course. "Ehehehe, hehehehe, yes it is. Yes, yes it is."

[Zetaark]

Ritsu couldn't help but chuckle a bit at the mental image of the plush lancer kicking around LOTUS. Even if it was probably unlikely, it was still an amusing thought. "Well, with logistics and the threat of Lancer getting the upper hand on LOTUS covered, I suppose we can continue," Ritsu remarks, trying and failing to hold in a chuckle as she hands the plush Lancer over to LOTUS and his handler.

[Powder Miner]

Isobel's mouth quirked a bit as she was handed the plush Lancer and held her in one hand and LOTUS in the other, bringing them close enough together for the Lancer plush to tap on LOTUS' screen. She felt kind of like a kid playing with dolls, and just a little bit like the kind of kid playing with dolls to smush their faces together, and despite the fact that their goal here was actually something serious, she was having visible trouble not bursting into laughter again. Ah, well.

 

LOTUS darted his dot eyes in Isobel's direction to show that he could see her, and then made a languid roll with them. Yes, yes, laugh it up... in any event, he did have a job to do so the display on his screen turned into a series of letters in squares, and a box below that was empty for now, though it would fill with LOTUS' guesses as to the words Lancer was trying to write as she wrote them. "Tap the letters with your hand to write the letters of a word. The lower box will suggest words and you can tap those to input the word instead of going a letter at a time if I've guessed right. I will remember what you're writing and will repeat it when you have completed a statement."

[Strider]

"Thanks, that clarifies things." Edmond had said in response to LOTUS. He quieted as they began the task of communicating with lancer. It'd be interesting here, to see what the servant decided to say. One benefit of the tablet was that there was no reliance on someone else guessing, and the servant could proactively introduce topics. Still some lack of autonomy in actually getting a conversation when she wanted one, but maybe a small buzzer or something that the plush could press when it needed to speak would work.

 

As the plush was presented the opportunity to type, another thought occurred to Edmond. "Do you think she can read modern--no, I expect it'll probably get the same effect that lets all of us from different universes understand eachother, and I doubt she'd be illiterate."

[Stalkerkain]

"Hmph, if standing on your toes to appear taller is what it takes for you to intimidate someone, it would seem that I don't have very much to worry about," Jeanne scoffed. She wondered how Magna was getting along with such an incorrigible woman. She  turned her nose up at Nobunaga, simply refusing to accept her as an ally. "I've had something I've been meaning to ask for a while now, 'Master'-"

 

"What is it? Oh, if you wanted to call me Magna, you can just go ahead and-"

 

"-As I was saying, 'Master'," Jeanne said with disdain.  She wasn't about about to let Magna side-track her with her nonsense. "I'm sensing the presence of a third Heroic Spirit nearby, though it is rather weak. I hadn't realized your party was on a crusade to contract the enemy's Servants, nor that being possible with the current state of the Holy Grail War. Your little group seems to have more surprises than one would warrant."

 

"Hm? We don't have a third Servant, do we, Nobunaga?" Magna said in puzzlement. She certainly hadn't seen any new faces around, nor could she detect magical energy like Jeanne and Nobunaga could. "You don't suppose it could be the work of Caster, do you?"

[Chevaleresse]

The plush. . . didn't type anything. Either Lancer was confused, or simply didn't particularly feel like talking about anything unless prompted.

 

"Eh, third Servant? As far as I know, there's just me and some hag called by some improvised imitation of the ritual. Not that I mind hacked-together solutions, they can make fantastic tools in a pinch, or at the very least provide some excellent entertainment. . ." Nobunaga seemed to be recalling a fond memory, gazing off into the distance with a faint smile before starting. "Oh! I'm sensing that too! That's Lancer, isn't it? I'd recognize that chivalrous stink anywhere! It's weak, though, even weaker than this fake saint here." 

[Zetaark]

"Hmm, no base response. I suppose an inquiry must first be made," Ritsu notes as she sees that Lancer did not type out anything on her own. She figured that Lancer probably wouldn't be too talkative, but this confirmed it, insofar as slightly more casual conversation is concerned. "So then, outside of attempting to return to your original state, do you have any goals or aspirations or...things you care to do here?" she decides to ask, figuring that this could work as a base to Lancer's temperament for now

[Chevaleresse]

The plush shifted, painstakingly typing out a response one letter at a time. It wasn't an ideal form of communication by any means; Lancer wasn't capable of a great range of independent motion, but eventually a phrase was constructed.

 

I seek the Holy Grail.

[Stalkerkain]

"Hmph, it took you that long to notice? And to think that you were placed in the Archer class... how laughable. It would seem that you are as perceptive as much as you are senile," she said with a snide remark. "No matter. Investigating Lancer's presence shall take priority over this frivolous conversation."

 

Jeanne strode off towards the direction of Lancer's current position, which seemed to be in the same vicinity as the Courtyard. As soon as Jeanne was more or less out of earshot, Magna grabbed Nobunaga's attention.

 

"May I ask a favor, Nobunaga?" Magna asked in a nonchalant manner. The mood hadn't changed from Magna's whimsical pacing, but her cadence had shifted ever so slightly to a more serious one. "Would you mind becoming friends with Jeanne?"

 

The nature of the question would have normally thrown just about anyone off their balance, especially as the request had come from someone like Magna.

 

"I realize that what I'm asking is a rather tall order, and that Jeanne is not the most amicable of people. I know it hasn't been that long, but I can already tell that with the way she is now, she's going to have a difficult time adjusting, let alone making friends," Magna said solemnly, which was a little difficult to tell, given that Magna had no expressions. "Though, I can already tell that Jeanne is more animated, perhaps even excited, when talking with you believe it or not. You are probably the best person to ask as well, being a fellow Servant and all."

 

"But if you don't want to, that's entirely fine as well. All I ask is that you merely consider it," she said, returning to her regular cheer. "Anyways, I am rather intrigued about Lancer as well, so shall we join Jeanne in her curiosity?"

 

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

 

"It's certainly around here..." Jeanne said pensively, as she looked around at Isobel, Ritsu, and Edmond for where Lancer could be. "Where is the one known as Lancer?"

[Zetaark]

"Hm, a rather straightforward answer, if a bit simplistic. Though honestly I don't know what I was expecting," Ritsu remarks, amused that the Grail was lancer's only primary goal. Then again, it was the point of these grail wars if she recalled, so it made some since, but she expected maybe a few other things to come up. Regardless, she was about to inquire about her usage of the grail before another individual arrived.

 

"If you're looking for Lancer, then she's right here," Ritsu says as she points to the plush Lancer in Isobel's hands.

[Strider]

Edmond nodded slowly. "Alright. . . and why?" It would be interesting to know how singleminded, and how one dimensional this Servant's goals were. Since, obviously, they were unlikely to give, never mind safely obtain the grail.

 

He didn't look up at the person asking the question, and simply responded, "It's the stuffed toy. Servant got trapped in it or turned into it. Somehow. Probably someone's power, but I wasn't around to witness."

[Stalkerkain]

"If this is a jest, you'll find that I don't appreciate-" Jeanne said, as a myriad of expressions flashed across her face, from anger, puzzlement, realization, and finally, glee. She reached out to grab the plushie for a closer inspection. "...Ptf.... Kuhahahahaha! You weren't joking after all. This, is indeed you, Lancer. How did you end up in this pitiful state?"

 

"Oi! Nobunaga!" her voice projected itself across the Courtyard. "Get a load of this!"

[Powder Miner]

"Wonderfully informative," LOTUS immediately snarked at the stuffed Lancer's "I seek the holy grail." He then disappeared the keyboard for a moment in order to indicate that"But I'm not fully sure how far this line of inquiry can get us, Edmond, Ritsu. It's primarily treading on ground that we've been given information on by Nobunaga. I suspect that we're going to need to follow another train of questioning, but since I've got my tactical uplink back up, hurrah, I think I'll take a moment to contact them on the matter and wait for a response, because I can." And then he flashed his screen back to the keyboard.

 

Spoiler

Uplink connection established.

L.O.T.U.S.: Presently interrogating enemy agent that has had a bizarre form of magic applied to her that turns her into a stuffed plush doll capable of limited movement. She is a "Servant", something this world has which is a being summoned through some sort of other magic and drawn from history or myth --in this case, King Arthur except a woman-- and then further hit with a third form of magic, corrupting in some fashion. The current path of interrogation is that of asking about her aspirations, but I suspect the fact that it is King Arthur and that I have been told these Servants have a compulsion to seek the "Holy Grail" involved in the ritual they were summoned by makes this a fruitless path of questioning.

T.U.G.: Keep vigilant -- these other worlds are high-threat.

A.S.T.R.A.: I would recommend pursuing a line of inquiry in regards to this "corruption" magic that you have mentioned. The lack of concrete detail that you described it with makes me suspect that it is an area you lack information on.

T.U.R.N.: You've mentioned you have other sources? If you can get a question answered by them, it may be best to do so, assuming they are not also enemies.

Uplink connection lost.

 

"Alright, I've gained some useful suggestions from my peers, I recommend we--" It was then that the other Servant arrived on the scene, and LOTUS shut up to apprehensively examine the situation. Though Isobel was a bit less wary, she was a little bit embarrassed to just be standing there holding the plushie that was the center of attention. When Jeanne started talking in Lancer's direction, LOTUS cut in with a "We are in the process of an interrogation, and although it strikes me that you may be useful to ask questions to if my observation that you arrived with the Saber group does in fact indicate that you are Saber, this still should not be interrupted." Isobel, meanwhile, kind of just maneuvered the hand holding Lancer out of the way of Jeanne's grasp with a sheepish expression -- both because of LOTUS' words and because she had a feeling from the other Servant's demeanor that this might get out of hand. "...Um, sorry, but we really are in the middle of something."

[Strider]

Edmond looked up and recognition flashed across his face. He had to stop himself from blurting out something along the lines of "but, we killed you?".

 

"You'd be correct. This is the servant we fought. I'm not really certain how I missed the fact that we'd taken her with us. I suppose Magna must have done something, but it never really crossed my mind." So, perhaps Magna wasn't limited to biological creatures? Either way, he found himself irritated that he'd somehow missed this important event and the person traveling with them on the way back.

 

"Sorry about that LOTUS. I've barely spoken with Nobunaga, or heard much of the info she provided. So which line of inquiry do you, and your network, suggest?"

[Chevaleresse]

"Become her friend? An odd request, especially since she seems to be thoroughly unpleasant. . . I suppose that hag's command over fire and vengeance might be helpful, hmmm. Doesn't she have that Self-Modification skill too? That could be critical to certain strategies, you could bust enemy formations wide open. . . Very well! I will attempt to befriend our corrupted saint, here. And yes, let's go investigate whatever's happened to Lancer!" The Servant's curiosity seemed legitimate. . . even if her devious tone was rather worrying. 

 

It didn't take her long to spot the plushified Servant, at which point the warlord promptly burst into laughter. "Wahahahaha! That's amazing! How did you accomplish that? She's so defenseless and adorable, I just want to pinch her cheeks!"

[Zetaark]

"This was Dackly's work. If memory serves, under certain conditions she can render a foe incapable of combat. This just happens to cause them to turn into a plush. If you want to know more about the method itself, you may want to talk to Dackly about it later," Ritsu explains to Nobunaga, before turning her attention back to LOTUS.

 

"My initial inquiry was primarily to check whether this method of communication would work properly, which we now know it does. And I suppose now we know that Lancer's goals are rather straightforward, for whatever that's worth. At any event, I am curious to hear what line of questioning you want to bring up," she remarks, looking at LOTUS expectantly.

[Stalkerkain]

"Hah, to be reduced to that pitiful state, you could hardly call Lancer a Heroic Spirit anymore!" Jeanne said mockingly. "I would absolutely would love to know what Lancer is thinking of right now."

 

"Hmm, interrogation you say? I can't imagine what you'd want to know from Lancer, let alone acquiring her cooperation," Magna shrugged. "I can't really imagine a Heroic Spirit being intimidated by conventional tactics."