[IC] Fate/Reborn 2.0 Second War

[Strider]

Assassin:

"No problem, lead the way." With that, Liliya cloaked herself in spirit form, and began to follow the Master. Through the lobby, out into the rain. There, Karsten seemed to have a general idea of where he wanted to go, so she continued to follow. "It's unlikely that we'll find another servant for a while, are you fine wandering without an umbrella or anything?"

 

Min:

"I don't need it for long." Min kept his tone level, but he also was getting increasingly exasperated. As soon as the dust was deposited in his outstretched hand, he began to pour his power into it. Light magic only, no heat. He didn't want to burn himself if this went off. After three seconds or so, he turned away. Now that the material was carched up a bit, it could be volatile. He continued charging a little longer with his head turned, and then spoke. "Now, this is what I wanted to test." He turned over his hand, and dropped the material, still facing away. No matter how long it took to disappear, whether the pixie dust vanished in mid free fall, or whether it landed safely on the ground before disintegrating, the moment it did so, the room would be filled with a burst of white light. It was bright enough that Min found himself blinking at the simple reflection off the decrepit walls.

 

"That is what i wished to try. It is like. . . a grenade. It has a timer built right in, and out enemies will think it simply extra pixie dust. I can also make it burn."

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Berserker

lt'd soon becomeclear to Lancer that trying to trick this beast wasn't exactly working. ln the concrete jungle there was enough ways for The Beast to maintain his momentum without highly diminishing his top speed. ln fact... he was nly getting faster. The Beast while surely maddened beyond belief had a unique understanding of it's own body. lt knew how to most efficient ways to move biomechanically to keep from breaking it's speed. lt's instincts were quite sharp and it was clear mad as it may be that it was still gaining. The Beast was clearly trying to corner him, force him to a place where he had no more valid moves.

The crumbling of buildings under The Beast's weight only cut the places that he had to go, narrowing the possiblites, diminishing ways out. This plan wasn't going to work, at least not as it was going. Something different was the key, some other techinque would need to be used to pry The Beast from his heels.

Nadia and Saber

/Hmmm, l'll probably head over to our base awhile. Hopefully see if l can't find some trouble, though dragging you into a situation seems to be hardly ideal...if l just sit on my laurals waiting here l'm just as likely to get attacked if not more so. l'll be behind you. lf l walk through the areas you're already familiar with, you at the least something to go off in a scrap. lt'd be of some benefit l'm sure./ Nadia sprung up from her seat overlooking the city, lt was a nice view regardless of all light pollution of the city blocking the stars. The city below made up for it, the stars of humanity Nadia supposed. Was it really worth this to get him back? lt had to be. Love was important wasn't it? lt was but... risk your life in another crazy war worth it?

To be fair... she joined the last one out of boredom, lack of direction. She had a much more worthy goal this time, a real one. So she had more reason to fight in this war. But, she had something to lose now too. lnteresting how things changed.

[Shamitako]

Red

 

What did she like? Red wasn't sure how to answer that. There wasn't much she enjoyed, the actions she'd taken in life were never taken because she liked them. It had been her duty as a mage to carry on her family's legacy, though she did find some pleasure in the craft.

 

"I like dogs." She answered. It wasn't exactly a useful answer, given the context, but it was the only answer she could give for certain. She continued by addressing her master's next question, "It won't take that long, a few hours at most. I'm not sure a covert investigation is the best use of our time, as you've noted, I stand out a lot because of my cape." She was going to explain more, but was prevented by their arrival at the inn.

 

Once safely inside and away from the rain, the water ran freely from her cloak to the ground. It held no water at all, with only a few drops left on its surface. She paid no mind to the woman, there wasn't any need when her master had it handled. Quiet still, she followed her master to their room.

 

Rosie retreated to the shower, so Red prepared to rest in the bed. Though her cloak was water-retardant, the rest of her clothes were not. Because of this, her exposed shoes and socks were quite thoroughly soaked. She unfastened her shoes, placing them next to the radiator with her master's clothes. Then she raised her legs so her knees were near her face and gently slid her stockings down her slender legs before spreading them out on the floor with the rest.

 

With her clothes set to dry, she finally climbed into the bed. Her bare skin shivered as it rubbed against the sheets. Her knowledge of this world suggested that they were in poor condition, but they were infinitely softer than any bed or cot she'd slept in before. It was an amazing feeling.

 

When Rosie returned, he'd find his servant asleep atop the bedsheets, still as elegant as ever. And for the first time he would get a slight glimpse of her face as the pillow pushed her hood back a little. The details were still obscured, but what he could see was fair and innocent, perhaps too much so. The whole scene appeared like glass, as though Rosie might shatter it if he got too close.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Proditor

 

For the most part, Proditor ignored the fact that Julius fell to the ground face first. It wasn’t that surprising for the most part, it was a sudden teleport on a moving individual. The tall alien was more looking around now, barely moving his body except slightly rotating in the air. Quiet, no people he could sense. At least there wouldn’t be witnesses if another Servant arrived. 

 

Suddenly, Proditor looked back at Julius, having caught his Master’s short internal rant. It wasn’t that hard to be honest, it wasn’t as if Julius was keeping his thoughts quiet, but for the most part, he continued observing and detailing the area as Julius went up to the door. As expected, Proditor heard the chains rattling, already coming to the conclusion that it was locked.

 

And like before, Proditor heard Julius’s internal screaming and internal rant, nearly physically sighing as he began to turn around, “To think I would get an insecure Master for this war…” he thought to himself before projecting his voice into Julius’s mind, “Do not fret about things such as that, Master. This is a war, self doubt will only further hamper your ability to fight, and win” he explained, fully turning to Julius, “You are a mage in training, not a fully fledged one. You should only be doubting your abilities if you were fully trained” he added, beginning to float towards the gate to the church… before suddenly stopping, clearly not of his own will,

 

“What..?” he asked, his voice still hearable by Julius as he looked around the grounds of the church, before bringing a hand up, hand glowing blue for a second, “Hm… A field that repels the concept of Servant…” he commented, bringing his hand down, “I am afraid that I am unable to go any further than this. My guess would be that another Magus is around here… Possibly in the church itself” he said, looking up at the church, “... But, I am unsure it is worth investigating as of now.”
 

[Twinwolf]

Archer and Isis

 

Victoria nodded and gestured that the woman might leave, as she wandered over to the bed and sat down. It was nice to be on a fairly comfortable bed, for the first time in goodness knows how long. A uniform... would she be forced to wear a maid outfit? Ugh... After a few moments, she spoke with her master through the link. So, if I might ask, what will our next move be? Or do we mean to let the others thin themselves for a while before we join the battle?

 

Victoria and Ruler

 

Erica paused, thinking of how to respond. "Hm. What I want?" she said, twirling the umbrella and staring straight ahead. The thought of removing the mango from existence came to mind - if she ever saw one again it would be too soon. But of course, that would be stupid. "I don't quite think that's any of your business, but I'll say anyway. My older brother never had any ability to use magic - we're not sure why, despite his heritage. Things have always been hard for him because of it, and despite this he's been there for me since I was a little girl. I'd wish for him to gain the ability to access those magic circuits that are rightfully his, and take the position he ought to have in our family." She said this very matter-of-fact-ly. It was more than a little difficult to tell whether this was the truth or a lie - and of course, being she was a mage, it was entirely possible that Hiroki wouldn't believe her regardless.  

[Shamitako]

Aria

 

Oh dear. What was the lady thinking, bringing in a new servant so suddenly? Oh dear. Oh dear. And Maria! Oh that Maria! "Get the new girl a uniform," as if they just had a unifrom lying around that would fit! ...They did of course, Maria insisted they keep extras in supply, just in case. But it was the principle of the thing! It was unusual, perhaps downright ridiculous, to keep a stock of extra uniforms in several sizes! Yet here was the very situation, in fact the only situation, in which such a thing would be useful. Oh how it made Aria's blood boil.

 

Aria's thoughts calmed down as she crested the stairs. She would have plenty of time to be frustrated with Maria later, right now she had a new arrival to greet. While she didn't like the suddenness of the hiring, she was more than happy that it had happened. It was ever so dull and tedious with just the three of them currently employed, a fourth would certainly make working for Lady Isis easier and more interesting. And so the sound of her hand rhythmically rapping against the door echoed through the hall as she knocked on the door to the new girl's room. She fiddled idly with the measuring tape in her hands as she waited patiently for an answer.

[Chevaleresse]

Karsten and Assassin

 

"Hmm? I've got a hat for a reason, ma'am. Sure, lookin' nice is is a perk, but a good hat keeps rain and shine off ya." It occurred to him that he was speaking to the air. Rather than abruptly stop, he continued; either people would assume he had a Bluetooth headset on, or was simply crazy. Either way, it's likely he wouldn't be bothered on the way to his destination. "'Preciate the concern, but I'll be just fine. Unless I've got a hole poked in me, worry about yourself first." He wondered what the other Servants in the war had in store. Really, he wanted to avoid them at all costs, unless he could force another one to do his bidding. He needed upfront firepower, something he was desperately lacking in, relatively speaking. His ponderings, though, were cut off; something in the streets ahead seemed to be off. Was that. . . a crater, in the road? "Assassin, are there any other Servants nearby? Somethin' ain't right."

 

Ruler and Erica

 

"Of course it's my business. I'm fighting for you, not for myself." The Servant sounded angry again, though Hiroki calmed slightly after processing the rest of her reply. She seemed to be benevolent enough. . . but also hadn't been particularly forthcoming with her answer. It could easily be concocted in an effort to placate her. Additionally, the way of the mage was a single heir, who was gifted with all of the family's magical strength; two heirs was seen as more of a curse than a blessing. Perhaps she was honest, perhaps she shied from responsibility, but it was unusual regardless for her desire to be her brother's ascension to full mage-hood. "What if you lose your position as heir?"

 

[LucidRain]

Julius

 

Julius.exe stopped working...rebooting...

Julius stopped for a full 10 seconds completely stunned by the fact that Proditor could read his mind, before gathering enough wits to shut his gaping mouth.

"Y-you can read minds?!"

He can read minds! He's reading me right now! He heard all my -argh!

Julius felt exposed and shamed, a criminal in shackles in front of a crowd. And that crowd was his own Servant, who undoubtedly thought him as completely worthless. When Proditor tried to console him, Julius snapped into an outrage against himself. He no longer felt the restraint to keep quiet - what was the difference anyway, if Proditor can read his damn mind?

"I-yeah, but I'm a joke! A complete waste! Everyone in my family can at least control an element! Damn it, I'm the only one stuck with some obscure...thing no-one knows about!" Julius violently scratched his head, as if to tear his own hair off. Spheres of white ether floated around him, erratically shifting and crackling like it was in pain. He turned and slammed his hand on the door, the wood sighing while Julius continued. "Everything! I tried everything - trained day and night to even make a spark, while everyone was giving me a hiding for being the only Carsten who can't control his own magic! But no - nothing worked! Not even an ember! I'm stuck with some crappy magic from 3 centuries ago!"

Julius huffed and put his hand over his face, hysteria barely calming down into melancholy and shame. "That's why I'm here...I just want to be good at SOMETHING. Not just some failure in my family..."

His eyes wandered from the door to Proditor, then to thin air, "I'm pathetic, aren't I?"

 

He went to say something, but he fumbled over the words. "Sorry, I really shouldn't have let it overtake me. I'll try my very best, I swear on my name I will..."

Julius straightened up again. "You can't get in the church?" Julius was too tired from his outbreak to be curious about why.

"Uh...I guess this place is dud then. I guess I can blast the door, but that won't do any good if you can't get in." The now calmed ether floated over a map Julius took out.

"There's a gym a bit to the east of here. I know they have a really big underground storage area too - do you want to try there?"

 

Visrii

 

Visrii continued to dodge rapidly and efficiently, using the most obscure of measures to continue to escape the maddened werewolf. Despite being slower in raw speed, Visrii's rapid analysis and chaotic movement allowed the the pair to slip in and out of Ashnard's reach. Every time they looked like they could be swiped at, Visrii would twist and pirouette away, as if Visrii was actively taunting Ashnard to dare ramp up his speed any faster.

Enemy enraged. Most likely cause of increase in physical capacity. Continuation of purely physical fleeing most likely result in failure.

Must now use magic and other assets before proceeding to combat.

Visrii had kept an arsenal of crystals he used mostly outside of combat, and they were non replenishable in this world - but it seemed like a time where one of them could come in use.

Visrii shifted his grip and slipped a small glowing rock into Marian's hands, making sure that she had a firm grip on the thing. Then, she would hear the cool and mellow voice of Visrii directly inside her mind, somewhat akin to a radio with a slight static.

"Master, what I have given you is a communications crystal. It can be shattered upon strong impacts, so please use your barrier to lessen damage upon it.

It will allow us to communicate over distances as long as both of us are in possession of a matching pair."

There was a slight pause as Visrii again made distance.

"Currently, there is a choice between fleeing with Reignite, or combating our pursuant. Reignite might burden you in terms of mana, but I am confident we will be able to escape. Alternatively, engaging the enemy will force us to part - which may put you in danger."

Bolts of lightning started to fly off from Axiom's blade, destroying poles and other landmarks that Ashnard could use to change his direction. Although that meant Visrii also had lesser objects to work with, Visrii judged that he would be able to handle the lessened footing better than his opponent. Some bolts flew directly at Ashnard, shining brightly in his eyes before dissipating without damage. Visrii continued to draw time for his master to respond, blitzing and turning through the rubble.

"Master, the decision is yours." Visrii said, as the halberd whirred again in preparing to cast.

[Bfroger6]

Saber and Nadia

 

Tessa scoured the Commercial District in silence after giving an affirmative /Roger./ to her Master after what she'd said she'd do. Nadia was less trackable than Saber herself so it would be better for her to remain at a move. Tessa would merely continue mapping the areas around the city as she moved. She remained detached from the cityscape she observed. It was nice, true, but her mission and goal was mere mapping. Remembering where to best strike from, where to easily seize victory over her unassuming foes. ...

She didn't want to think too much about what she was doing here. No need to dwell on unnecessary thoughts. She merely had to map. And win. Her Master had to win too. It shouldn't be too hard...after all, Nadia'd already beaten her down, that was for sure...

/Master, I've reached the Mall. Where do you suggest I move from here?/

 

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

 

Rosie and Rider

 

Rosie kind of gave the girl a confused glance when she answered she liked dogs. That was...err...oddly...useless, first off. But also really out of the blue. She could've said she liked doing something or whatever. But dogs? Dogs were specific. And not an action. He couldn't get her a dog since she was gonna disappear anyways eventually, so he really couldn't do anything with the answer. Other than deduce a couple of things.

Dogs probably was meant as a broader term. If she was Red Riding Hood, then she'd have a connection to the wolf in the story as well. This only posed further questions since chances were she meant exactly that-the wolf. In a snarky condescending kind of way, maybe? Or something else.

 

"Dogs, eh? Like wolves too?" Rosie gave a laugh. "Ya gotta admit that sounds odd. Ya messin' with me?" He said with a wide grin.

 

---

 

After showering, Rosie walked back into the room expecting Red to be doing something. Maybe watch the TV out of boredom or whatever. But she lay there on the bed, sleeping. Which meant any and all plans for the night involving her were now moot. And he was pretty much grounded too. He didn't even know Servants had to sleep. Wellllllllllllll, not like she was gonna be well enough to fight until a couple hours in, as she said, so whatever, but it was still a big inconvenience. Her face though, why did she keep it obscured by the cape? The cape seemed to be a necessity for her, not just a fashion statement, seeing as she couldn't even risk going into spirit form. They'd most likely have to split up during their daily activities at this pace. He could technically leave her wherever she wanted to be while he went to investigate. They could speak telepathically no matter what so it was their best shot. But dang...he had so much work in front of himself. He needed to locate that person and see what he could do about the situation. If that didn't work, then well..he'd try his best killing every other contender in this war. Staying on top of all of them was what he needed to do. Investigate. Stay one step ahead.

Letting out a sigh, Rosie dugs his palms into his eyes to rub them. "Ughhh. But I'm two steps behind right now."

 

Grabbing a chair and placing it with the back facing the foot of the bed, he leaned against to observe his Servant, lazily resting his chin against the back of his crossed hands, arching the chair's shape. He could hardly sit still but he could hardly do much else. She was gonna be here for a while, draining him even more than he'd kept draining himself these last months. She was gonna drain him physically. He was gonna drain himself emotionally.

 

---

 

A loud thud of the chair falling on its side and Rosie on top of it crashing face first into the floor shook the room awake. "Cow, dang." The man said groggily as he rubbed his nose and forehead, laying lazily on the floor. He stood up to check on Red.

An hour or so had elapsed by then.

[Noir]

Peter and Tink 

 

So he intends to weaponize Pixie dust. Equally disgusted of the idea for the certain memory it returned to their heads of a certain black-hearted captain who had used such weapons against him once before, they scoffed at Min's experiment. 

 

"How atypical of your kind to want to use Tink's dust as a weapon," He winced, "You seem quite paranoid of our abilities, but I suppose I'll give you the benefit of the doubt." Trust was not easy between the two still, after all. Their ideologies were far too different. "Don't expect to give you a lot more dust for this whenever you want to. Can we get to the flying now, or are we supposed to be laying low?"

 

 

[Strider]

Assassin:

If they are, they're far enough that I can't sense em. Long as they can't conceal their presence somehow. Unlikely. Probably a skirmish here very recently. It seemed like the servant that was somewhat nearby was probably physically strong. Unless they had a phantasm that could be used often, they wouldn't, presumably, use it so early in the war, since they'd leave themselves vulnerable to other attack. I'd say, we look for where damage seems to lead and. . .well, not go there." There was a mild jauntiness to her tone, but it quickly disappeared as she continued. We could probably pick them one servant off unawares, but this seems big enough, obvious enough that there's bound to be a couple more groups tryin to get some intel, or whatever. I'd say, investigate the evidence, check the area, then avoid the direction it seemed to go in. But, well, you're the master. Up to you."

 

Min:

Min scowled as he turned away from the wall, giving up for now on the object of negotiating with his servant. In a rising tone of voice, he questioned irritably: "You seem to not know much about war. I do not trust your ability to fight every servant we come across. That would be stupid! I do not know much about you. But, you were-weren't you a. . . the word, what is it. Freedom fighter? That will work. Didn't you figh--oh, guerilla fighter. Didn't you fight a gr-guerilla war? Or something like? How could someone like that be so stupid and not use every weapon they have!? What I am doing here is not even lethal. Stop com-plaining." Min finished, tapped his foot once, and reached a hand into his pocket, reassuring himself of the presence of something. He then spoke again, quickly.

"Let's go. We won't hide right now."

 

Min turned around, snapped out his phone, punched in a few numbers, and held it to his ear as it rang. "Hello? Nori? Come pick me up, where you dropped me off." He closed the phone, then turned to the Servant. "We are going a block down to get a ride. No flying for now." He began walking. He poked his head out the door of the decrepit building, then stepped out and headed down the street.

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Marian

 

Needless to say, Marian was rather surprised when Lancer slipped the crystal into her hand, and even more surprised when Lancer spoke directly into her mind. But, by the time he finished explaining what he had given her, she nodded, her magic circuits flairing to life again as she covered the stone in her small barrier as well.

 

Then, she had the decision. Flee from the beast following them or engage it. Which was something Marian quickly thought about. If they fled, they could get away… She trusted Lancer on that. But what if they were tracked down again by the creature while they were still recovering from fleeing? But fighting the thing was risky as well…

 

Dammit, not even an hour into this mess and she was already making a life threatening decision.

 

“Alright, try to get a bit of distance on that thing and then drop me off. We’ll give it a fight” Marian replied, using the crystal to mentally communicate with Lancer, “I can try to get away from it while you fight that thing, I’m just going to get in the way if I stick around. We can regroup later” she added. She didn’t want to sound like a coward, but whatever was following them had clearly struck something in her. Natural prey response, most likely.

 

Proditor

 

As Julius ranted, Proditor merely stood as still as a statue, unmoving as he listened. He had to admit, humans had their strangeness. He had an advantage with his “obscure” magic, yet put it as a failure of his own.

 

“No, you are not pathetic” Proditor replied bluntly, “but this is neither the time nor place to continue this. This gym however sounds like it will prove useful” Proditor stated, extending one of his longer, thing, blue arms out to Julius, “I believe it would be best to cut the journey short this time” he added, his signature blue energy beginning to form around said hand. 

 

Once Julius (hopefully) took the alien’s hand, Proditor would once more cause both of them to vanish from the church in a burst of blue particles, before reforming both of them at the gym Julius mentioned.
 

[Shamitako]

Red

 

Red was already awake when Rosie woke up. She wondered if he'd seen the same dream as her and that was what caused him to awaken so violently.Whether he had or not, he'd already resolved to tell him the truth. It wouldn't do to have him always questioning her.

 

"Rosie, as a mage, you're aware that all mages are cruel and heartless beings, yes?" She asked, though she didn't wait for an answer. "I want you to know that my apprehension to tell you about myself is born of the fear that you will reject me, and not any form of regret." She stood and walked to the window, leaning against it. "I'm sure if you look carefully you'll come to understand exactly what my skills in Magecraft and Self-Modification are. I can manipulate animals and assimilate them for a time to make myself stronger. It comes at a bit of a cost, however, if I remove this hood, my magic will overwhelm me and I will become an insatiable creature with a desire to kill and assimilate everything in sight. For generations, my family used this power to fulfill our contract with the Wolf, a powerful phantasmal beast, feeding her and receiving her protection and wisdom in return." She hesitated, that was disturbing enough, but at least it was her family's creation regardless of whether or not she embraced it. What came next was entirely her own, and by most standards something far worse. "When it came my time to inherit my family's duty, I discovered that feeding the Wolf humans was far better than feeding her forest creatures. And so I fed her humans. Hundreds, if not thousands of them. If you permitted me, I would gladly go and slaughter more here and now to bring us to victory in this Holy Grail War."

 

That was everything on the table, now she had to wait and see how her master would respond. He seemed a kind soul, far from the heartless mage she would usually expect. She was certain he would turn down her proposal.

[Bfroger6]

Rosie and Rider

 

Rosie nodded at Red's first remark. "What does it have to d-" So that's what she'd been hiding. It didn't take long for her to reveal the secret, to be honest, and place her request. "So that potential doggy would've just gotten eaten by you." He sighed and got up. "Just keep staring through the window while I put some pants back on." He needed some time to reflect on what she'd said. And what she'd asked. He already knew what he was going to say, but now that the cards were on the table, he could better plan for future possibilities... Future being the key word here. "Rider, we won't be doin' that." He said calmly. "There's no need to do that now. I hope it doesn't come to that in the future either, but...I can't risk being that naively optimistic. Thanks for tellin me either way."

 

Rosie remained quiet for a moment, only sound in the room coming from the belt he buckled. "Y,see, I was a dumb kid even tho I was all grown up already. Some stuff went real bad. I lost a lot. So I won't just let things end here. I just don't want to resort to killin random people now when I still don't have to." He chuckled wrily.

 

"So why've you had to sleep? Do ya Servants do that often or just when ya can't go spirit form? Am I gonna have to sleep on the floor with ya here? Don't worry though, this place is warded. I did my best even though my best ain't all that great. Tell me then, this Wolf...she summoned with you? How exactly do ya assimilate animals? Like, parts of 'em? Take their strength or somethin'?"

[Shamitako]

Red

 

Still looking toward the rain, Red allowed herself a smile. Of course, her master was far too kind to follow that path. That was fine, as a servant, she no longer needed to kill for power. If their fortune changed, she would have no qualms with taking the bloodier path, but for now she would continue to play the innocent girl. "Understood, Master Rosie." She acknowledged his decision. There was a hint of relief in her voice, he hadn't completely rejected her. Truly she had been given the perfect master.

 

She chose not to push the issue of what her master had lost, not just yet.

 

Red felt her face flush slightly when asked about her sleeping. "Oh, um, I didn't need to sleep--though it can help make up for my inability to safely enter spirit form--I've just never felt a bed so comfortable." She quickly switched subjects to answer his question about her abilities. "Susi, that's the Wolf's name, serves as my Noble Phantasm. I can summon her at any time to aid me in battle, either as an ally or to enhance my own abilities. Which leads to your other question. I absorb them into my body, gaining their abilities so long as they remain within me. If I keep them too long, they will die and it will put a strain on me."

[Twinwolf]

Archer and Isis

 

Victoria frowned as she got no response. She'd not quite expected Isis to be that tired - she certainly felt her master's presence, but she seemed to have dropped unconscious as soon as her head hit the pillow. She sighed - so much for talking strategy. Maybe she'd get some time to relax... it was at this point that there was a knock on the door, and she got up to go to it. "Hello?" she asked as she opened it.

 

Erica and Ruler

 

"Then I've lost my position as the heir, and that's that." Erica said simply. "He deserves it more than I ever did." 

[Shamitako]

Aria

 

On the other side of the door, Victoria found a maid who looked much like Maria, though her blonde hair was longer and her pale blue eyes held a bright liveliness in them. Also she was tangled in a measuring tape and seemed to only be worsening the matter as she struggled to get free.

 

Noticing Victoria, Aria broke into a cheerful smile. "Hello Satania, it's nice to meet you." she said, "I was just coming by to get your measurements for your uniform." she wobbled a bit as the tape managed to wind itself around her knees. In a desperate attempt to prevent herself from falling, she bent forward to try to untangle it. This had the opposite result of the one intended, as bending over caused her to completely lose her balance. She toppled to the floor with a clatter. "I hate to impose, but could you help me out of this?" she asked sheepishly as she lay on the ground. 

 

It would seem to Victoria that this was either the clumsiest or unluckiest girl alive, perhaps both. 

[Twinwolf]

Victoria sidestepped the falling girl, bending over to look at her on the ground. "...Does this happen often?" she asked, as she crouched and started working to untangle the girl, trying to avoid somehow getting caught up in it - she was a Servant, such minor feats of dexterity could be done in her sleep, but she had a foreboding sense about the magnitude of this girl's clumsiness that made her be a bit more cautious. 

[LucidRain]

Julius

Julius looked up with a thinly masked expression of surprise. "D-d'you really think so...?"

No, what was he thinking. Proditor was only saying that to comfort him. Everyone had done so at first - but prolonged exposure made him cynical of himself. Still, he appreciated Proditor for even trying to comfort him. 

After the teleport, Julius barely caught himself this time and looked around the gym. It was dusty as hell - the rays of light that filtered through the tiny windows on the ceiling of the gym gave dim spotlight to white dust snowing down through the air.

"Uh, I guess this is it." It was not as good as the church, of course - but it was still a pretty sturdy building and if need be, there was a large bunker-like storage area beneath them. Julius accidentally breathed in a heap of dust, and set to a coughing fit.

When he managed to settle down, he turned to Proditor. "So, I never actually asked you - what kind of preparation do you need to do? Do you, err I guess need specific materials?"

 

Visrii

Visrii lowered his head in confirmation. "Very well Master. Be wary, Master - there may still be other Servants. If there are any urgent matters. please notify me at once, and I will answer as swiftly as possible."

"Master, please cover your eyes for phase-step." Marian would feel her hair standing up as Visrii gathered energy, and a light shock as they disappeared into a bright flash, and nearby lights flickered as power coursed through the air before they appeared in another flash several blocks away. Visrii stepped several more times, before landing inside a dusty little coffee shop. Visrii put his arm across his chest in a Champion's salute, before disappearing again another spark.

Within moments, Visrii was in the air right above Ashnard with Axiom aimed directly at him, his armor gently crackling with potential, as if it in itself was anticipating in excitement.

"Engaging the enemy." Visrii reported, before crashing down with the force of a lightning strike, the halberd blade sizzling with heat against the storming rain.

 

 

[Raindrop Valkyrie]

Nadia and Saber

 

/Hmmm, the mall already. Quite quick then, though l should suppose a swordswoman would want speed. After all, speed is king in a battle of blades. The fastest often wins, assuming equal levels of skill of course.../ she seemed to muse on this tangent for a bit before realizing she should probably answer the question that was presented, not consider the philospy of warriors. /l believe that you should head north and you shall find the upper class district... that is our overall goal after all. l am still following behind my dear Saber, after all it's not easy for a human like me to keep up with a servant's true speed. Regardless lf you'd prefer please continue on to my home. Otherwise, wait at the mall l should hopefully be there beore too awful long. lt's up to you however Saber./

Nadia then preceded to send a series of images over the connection. lt was what appeared to be directions to her apartment so that Saber could find her way there on her own if she so desired. Her apartment was located in a quite upscalelooking building, seemingly on the ground floor. lt was certainly quite a sight as compared to anything the pair of them had been through this evening. /l hope the place is too your liking. Should be less stuffy than that warehouse regardless./

 

Berserker

 

The flash was enough warning for The Beast, his senses quite well tuned despite his apparent madness. However... one probably would not expect the move that he decided best. He didn't try to dodge exactly instead he stood his ground waiting for the prey to land near him. He would wait for them to come to him, chomping at whatever he could or grabbing the spear. He waited in anticpation as the moment inched closer. The Beast licked his lips knowing that that bladed weapons would soon bite into his own flesh. Pitiful that a human would get the first blow but it'd be for the greater good.

lt the lightning did nothing... ltdidn't remotely harm Ashnard, or if it did it didn't look like it. He however stood his ground as the blade struck into the felshy bit of his shoulder. The impact alone caused some of the stone beneath his feet to buckle under the immense weight. However heremained standing. He towered over the Lancer, His form no longer obscured by the dark The Lancer got his first good look at The Beast he was fighting. A large man, though harldy a man. A beastial wolf, the long muzle stared at him, the stink of curdled blood and the rot of meat permeated his nostrils. The green sparkling eyes from the darkness, clearly fullof hatred started directly at him now. He looked down on him past thatmuzzle, the green eyes judging his worth. A Strange thing for a Berserker to do. But stranger yet, the Beast... smiled. What it meant however the Lancer did not have long to ponder. For as fast as lightning the Beast struck out with it's arm that the halberd had not pentrated. The Beast's arm went for the Lancer's gut, his dreaded claws forming a point that would quite likely penetrate his abdomin. The Beast forced an ultimatium. Keep the weapon and get gored, or step back from the blow.

[Chevaleresse]

Karsten and Assassin

 

"Tell you what. You're faster than me, so you check along this path of destruction. I'll sweep this building, see if the Master's still hiding in here. You find another servant, you book it. You see anyone actually following that? Knock 'em out, and bring them to me." Karsten picked up his pace, hurrying into the building where the trail of smashed pavement and masonry began. A restaurant, looked like? Either he was chasing an amateur, or someone who had known that they were about to summon a force of destruction. The man wasn't sure which he preferred. Regardless, it didn't take him long to clear the building; unless said Master was also a master of bounded fields and stealth to a level unheard of, there was no reason to believe there was anyone remaining inside the building. 

 

A few minutes after his initial instruction, he turned to face the direction he'd sent Liliya. Find anything?

 

Ruler and Erica 

 

The link was silent again, Ruler's thoughts unknown to anyone but herself. She'd have to watch Erica, she supposed, see how genuine her sentiments were. Maybe ask for a tour of her laboratory, or something, if she delayed or made excuses then she wasn't trustworthy. 

 

After an uncomfortably long wait, another question. Why do you say he deserves it?

[Strider]

Assassin:

"Understood." Liliya headed off without another word. There was a large hole in the nearby building, then signs of repeated impact going up the building. A weapon used to climb the wall, claws, or simple fists were the likely culprits. No matter what though, the enemy was strong, and did not care for subtlety. That implied a berserker. She couldn't be certain of course, since it could be an outlier in another class. In any case, Liliya approached the building, and began to ascend, making use of the large chunks taken out of the building to aid her own ascent. When she arrived at the top, it was obvious that the Servant had used primarily rooftops in it's journey, judging from the erratic trail of destruction that was far more evident from above.

 

Liliya stared at the gap for a few seconds, images flashing in her mind of the possible outcomes that depended on the angles she leapt at. Once she was certain that she could make it, she dashed, then leapt across. Following the same process, she headed on, following the path of craters. Soon enough, she began to notice differences. The path began grew became more focused, as if something had been found. And at the same time, faint noises became audible. A clash of some sort. And it seemed as though this path, while more focused, was at the same time more erratic. Instead of a random meandering run across the buildings, the destruction was at a lower level, and in consistent lines, moving back and forth. Something had been found. At this point, Liliya stopped. Going forward any more would be dangerous. Inspecting the tracks a bit more, it was obvious that the Servant was moving on all four legs. Another hint towards a berserker.

 

"Master. I followed the path of destruction northwest into the residential district. Looking like a berserker, based on how consistent that damage is, and it wasn't even fighting, just moving, looks like. I'd say that it's got a fight now though. I can hear some ruckus off a bit further, and the path of destruction turns back on itself a few times here, and moves down to street level. Chasing somebody, somebody fast, based on how quick this berserker would have to move. I'm a few blocks away. Want me to try to get a closer look than this, or you want me back?"

 

Min:

Min stepped out into the rain, ignoring the drops that splattered on his head, and began to walk silently at a measured pace. About one block east, he stopped, and turned. If Peter was visible behind him, he said sharply, "Spirit form, now." After two minutes of silence save for the steady drip of rain, the low hum of a vehicle became audible. It increased slightly in volume, before pulling up next to Min. A grey sedan, nothing too fancy.

 

He entered, sliding into the back seat, then waiting a moment for Peter to enter, if that was something that was necessary. Once he had closed the door, the small asian woman in the driver's seat spoke up. "Where to, Mr. Tsoi?"

 

"To the hotel building." Was all he answered before sliding an opaque divider betweent he front and back seats closed. He then smoothly drew his cell phone fom his jacket pocket, and began to punch in some numbers. When it appeared, he touched the contact named Dae-Jung. A few seconds of ringing, then, "How are our people? Are there reports?" He had some people, about ten, spread around the city. Dining out in restaurants and hanging out in alleys pretending to be high. "Noise and damage in the commercial area, nothing past the hospital at all. Some suspicious people to the north?" Min's face twisted into a frown. He'd hoped to get more out of these people. But for now at least, it would have to do.
 

He quickly opened the divider. "Nori, do not go straight, take us south to get there." The divider snapped shut, Min thought to Saber. "You need to tell me. How do you want to win this war? You have only complained about my ways, and have said nothing about how you would win."

[GodofGamingRWBY]

Marian

 

As Lancer ordered her, Marian closed her eyes, feeling the rush of energy as Lancer began to do his flash stepping… Only to be placed down not a few seconds later, only getting a final, second look at Lancer before he vanished again, leaving her in the dusty coffee shop.

 

For a good while, Marian didn’t move from her spot, looking around the shop before staring down at the crystal Lancer gave her. While she had a bad feeling, she still had a good amount of faith in Lancer. He did seem to be very capable… Even though whatever was chasing them was as well.

 

With a frustrated sigh, Marian put the crystal in her coat pocket, stepping out of the shop before walking in a general direction away from where Lancer had gone. At least, where she believed Lancer had gone off to.

 

… She just need to give those two a distance away from herself at the moment. That and any other Servants. For a brief second, Marian looked down at her right hand, thankful that she was wearing a glove over it. She didn’t want to be easily recognized as a Master, especially not with Lancer around.

 

Proditor

 

Aside from shifting some of the dust away from Julius, so he didn’t keep breathing it in Proditor didn’t respond to Julius’s question, simply staring at the room they had entered. Large, dusty. Likely a lot more space and materials for him to work with. It would take some time to make this place into a suitable base, but it was early in the war. They had the time.

 

After his initial observation of the gym though, Proditor turned to Julius, “All I need is time, Master” he stated. As he did so, Julius could see the gym beginning to slowly change, from the dust in the air moving to the middle of the room, slowly being condensed into a small ball, while the walls and floor began to slowly shift to a high grade, shiny grey metal, the edges of these shifts being bright blue as they expanded across the room. Along with that, the nonessential parts of the gym, like the bleachers and hoops began to dematerialize, the same blue outlines appearing on them as he did so, 

 

“As a Caster, the materials I need to do my work are always with me. I’d say it will take me approximately… twenty minutes to finish this room. Possibly an hour or more in order to prepare the entire building. I shall make sure to create a room for you to occupy for the duration of the war, Master” Proditor explained, turning his head back to the rest of the room.

[LucidRain]

Julius

 

Julius watched in awe, lips slightly parted, as the room shifted and transformed before his eyes. He had seen many different forms of magic on his attempts to find his own element - but nothing looked anything like this, or as powerful as. 

"Wow, this - this is awesome!" Julius said at length, "how do I learn-" A shimmering orb orbited in front of him as if to remind him of his element.

"Err, nevermind." Julius said, pushing away the ether out of his vision.

Well, now that they established a base of operations they were playing a more passive approach to this war. Admittedly, he was half-relieved - he wasn't quite looking forward to the possibility that he might have summoned a Berserker and ridden straight to battle, but he had been paired with a more cautious, methodical Servant. It didn't exactly detract from the fact that they were in a WAR, but hey - at least the learning curve wasn't as steep, right?

Plus, there was an additional benefit of having time to train. He was just stepping into some more advanced manipulation before coming here, and luckily he did bring along some very old books on ethers.

He dropped down the small pack he had carried to take them out, but decided to watch the progress of the room's transformation a bit further first.

 

Visrii

 

Visrii did not waste any time after his blade had first struck. Indeed, his opponent was fast - but Visrii was faster.

Still carrying all the momentum from his downwards strike, he used his weapon as a pivot to swerve out of the way of the Beast's thrusting attack to swing around and deliver a swift kick to the head, then phase-stepped away in a flash.

 

Appearing on the roof of a crumbling nearby building, he analysed the reaction of the Beast.

Damage minimal. Lightning proving consistently ineffective. Heat suppressed by rain.

Standard soldiers would have been effectively ripped apart by the sheer electricity by now, but the Berserker hadn't taken any damage at all. It was either the Berserker had such physical capabilities that it simply overpowered the electricity - or worse, his enemy was also a user of lightning.

One of Visrii's elements were resisted and another was less desirable with the heavy rain. Tch. He slain many scores of beasts, but not against one with such resistance to lightning.

He could use the Void straight away and power through the battle- but he had to be conservative with mana. Chaos with such power was a powerful mana drain - even during his time as a Champion he had to be precise with its use.

"Master, how strong are your mana reserves?" He inquired his Master to gauge the possibility.

 

Visrii's attention shifted to the enemy's Master. If he slayed the Master, then the Servant would be very much weakened. His own Master was evacuated - but where was his opponent's?

As he searched for the enemy's Master, Visrii took out yet another crystal - this one sparkling with malice - and affixed a glowing crystal on the Axiom blade, slotting it into the modified groove.

This time, he readied himself for the Berserker to rush him down as he continued his survey.

 

[Shamitako]

Aria

 

Oh dear, oh dear. Now she'd made herself look foolish in front of the new girl. Worse than the embarrassment of being entangled, Aria was fairly certain Satania would have caught a glimpse of her panties while coming to her aid. Oh how terrible. She blushed furiously as she tried to straighten herself out. The redness of her cheeks only worsened when she was forced to confess, "Very often."

 

Unfortunately, the worst was yet to come. Despite Satania's attempt at caution, she somehow managed to get tangled in the tape measure as well. At first it had just been her hands, but now she was completely wrapped up in it. Victoria lay atop Aria, their chests rubbing against one another and their faces just barely not doing the same. Aria could feel Satania's breath move as it went in and out of her body, though she couldn't tell the difference between the warmth of Satania's breath and the heat of her own face. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to push the embarrassing scene from her mind, but instead found herself imagining a much more embarrassing one. By now her entire body felt like it was on fire. Oh dear, this never happened when Maria untangled her, how terrible.