Fandom Fate/No Order IC

[BlightGiver]

Lancer's song proved rather obnoxious, as Skorl had anticipated. Fortunately, the metallic walls of Assassin's vessel managed to drown out quite a bit of the noise provided by the pop idol. He didn't realize it at first, but the only master that had joined him here was John. Might be why Skorl didn't realize the master's comment was toward him. Being further away from the monitors, he couldn't make out the true shape of the undead as well; but, Skorl figured their appearance didn't have any real bearings in the situation. Suddenly, Assassin's master addressed Skorl with a name or title in Dutch. Not knowing the language to even begin understanding the insult, he focused on the true meat of John's interaction. "That would be beneficial to the objective," He concurred, scratching his head. "But if it happens again, in a situation where we can't intervene, then so be it. Judging by our more competent comrades, they have the sense to mostly stick together; so, a repeat of what's his name is improbable in my observations." Skorl coldly stated, looking back at the monitors for a second to count the enemies' numbers.

This was the young master's version of holding back, per Raikou's earlier request. He was certain that anything he said would not elicit scolding from the Berserker, if she were here to listen in on the conversation.

Syvvaris

 

[CatJones]

The air suddenly felt heavier, like the tension could be cut like a knife. Tokugawa spun on her heel, newly formed quadruped enemies before her. More of the disgusting dead bodies, reshaped with a lack of respect for anatomy. Heads and necks dangling whichever way. The nearest took a menacing step towards her, causing her to take an equal step back.

“Saber! I think Lancer's singing worked!” She called out to the dark knight, before brutal combat instinct kicked in, her sword in hand in the blink of an eye. There were more then when the archer variant attacked, and she wasn't about to allow herself to be surrounded again. She moved into a defensive stance, her sword held at chest level and ready to defend herself. She felt a bead of sweat forming on her brow, as she shifted to watch as many of the enemies as she could.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Saber had gotten further then Avenger, nearing the base of the grand architecture that Lancer had chosen to deface with her aggressively offensive voice. Saber had winced when the song had begun, not recognizing the tune, but figuring that whomever had originally sang it would be mortified at how poor this imitator was. Before she could really get into whatever guard position she had though of, Avenger had already called out to her. Saber glanced over her shoulder first, noting the composition of the new enemy.

Power surged through her, as Excalibur, twisted in baleful energy and hungry for war, appeared in her hands. A smile crept over her features, one filled with blood lust and hundreds upon hundreds of years of pent up aggression. Even with her slower body, she moved faster then a human eye could keep up with. In a moments passing she had crossed the short distance between herself, Avenger, and the new enemies.

Excalibur slammed into the first enemy, Saber running her blade as deep as it would go, feeling the gore of the creature resisting against her armored hands. She filled the blade with that dark energy, feeling the black flame drink in it's enemies body. Saber allowed the blade to feed, looking to discern if the new enemy was even phased by the attack.

BlightGiver

 

[AJustKnight]

Shielder had been ready to completely abandon the second servant in the room, when the surprise battle had begun. The enemy form was grossly wild, and got her blood pumping just watching the sickening way they moved. Maybe it was just her, but the perversion of the human form filled her with a deep-seated hatred. She wanted to reach out through the screen and crush one between her fingers.

She blinked away the thoughts, realizing that there was little she could do about it. She turned to her master, torn between staying and watching and going to train. She looked back at the monitor, about to decide to go train when the movement of black armor and golden hair caught her attention. King Arthur was on screen. It felt like being a child on Christmas, her heart was pounding into her throat, as she absentmindedly reached for her masters arm, refusing to tear herself away from the screen.

“Ana, Ana, look! That's him! That's King Arthur, King of Knights!” She was nearly yelling, watching her father run the creature through with elegance and raw power. “That's my father.” She said, much quieter, as if she would break the on-screen knights concentration if she was to loud.

LoneSniper87

 

[BearBearBear]

"Hmm... Curious." Stopping, Alexandria could only frown when her quarry, exactly one floor above her, played at the edge of her bounded field. Finding the very edge of the boundary wasn't exactly outside it's capabilities, but to linger at the very edge was... strange. He must have been testing her, the bounded field, as simple as it purpose was, wasn't exactly something that could be made in the present age. He must have sensed her ability to regress, probably even further than the Mage of Flowers when he still walked the earth as a human rather that idling in the Land of Fae. It was comforting to see that he didn't lose everything, curiosity was still there at the very least.

"Kenaz." Mana rushed forth from her form as the first Crest answered rather than materialized, and she was granted Authority. It was one of the few she had etched on her very soul, as proof of mastery rather than a spell to be used. Still, it's effects were palpable; using normal reinforcement, she was able to reach the upper levels of Chaldea from CHALDEAS' cradle deep underground, with the power of a Rune it was augmented to such a degree that she didn't need to fear whatever power the Beast of Calamity had retained. "Ready or not, here I come."

The Headquarters of Chaldea was large, but be it a floor or the entire facility, the effect was the same. The entire trip from her place at the rude doctor's side to standing across the Beast of Calamity took less than a minute, though since she didn't want to be rude, a minor alteration spell within her bounded field kept the air from turning into a shredder as she rushed through the hallways.

The creature itself, in one word, was cute, but she could not forget the reverence attached to he who was once deemed the First of the Twenty Seven. This was a Beast of untold potential, no matter how harmless it was purported to be, and she would treat it as such.
,
"Hello, little one~ would you like to play~?"

Dammit!
BlightGiver

 

[MocaPoka]

Archer
​

"Don't poke the magic barrier Archer... don't poke the magic barrier Rebecca... don't poke the magic barrier Poca." Archer mumbled to herself in desperation, using several of her names to strengthen her inner resolve. The temptation was great, but she was a "wise and experienced" guardian spirit now. She would not fall to this base desire as should would have as a child. Poking magic barriers got you captured by Owl Women... and fallen Shamans... and Dark Watchers... and Nimerigar...

A strange noise that sounded like a Horned Serpent trying to speak the language of men hit her ears. At first she thought it was the gluttonous jewel hidden in the pouch on her hip acting up in some strange new way. However the noise was physical and coming from the direction that the rest of the war-party was located. "Oh! That must be Eliza's concert!" Archer was impressed by her friend's "singing", the combination of human words with demonic serpentine sounds was something she had never heard before... perhaps the unique talent was why Eliza was so popular?

The concert seem to have the desired reaction. Archer with her advanced vision saw Avenger and Saber begin engaging more monstrosities in combat. She tried to spot Assassin but saw no trace of the hidden Servant. Worried that perhaps the blonde had already entered the barrier and was unable to communicate, Archer decided to make her move when the barrier bulged and "breathed" out a blast of mana. It was best to act swiftly and overwhelm the evil with several actions in quick succession.

Archer took off her shawl and summoned a Black Key. Pouring magic into the conceptual weapon she made it larger than normal, around the size of a child. She put the shawl over the Key and used magic to have the blade hover a few inches above the ground. Her distraction made, she moved a few meters away from the hovering shawl and blade. The magic operated on the same principles as her normal traps; Archer activated her "distraction" with a mental shout of "Set!" and a circular glyph with swirling colors of green, blue, and purple formed under the hovering cloaked blade. The Black Key fired off with impressive speed into the barrier taking her shawl with it.

Archer forced herself to wait a full two seconds before she took off into the barrier as well. Entering several meters away from the location where her blade and shawl had disappeared into the veil from. If anything was waiting to strike from within the veil hopefully it would attack her distraction first before focusing on her. If nothing was waiting then it would be an acceptable waste of mana and a slight inconvenience to retrieve her shawl.

BlightGiver

 

[LoneSniper87]

Shielder had been ready to completely abandon the second servant in the room, when the surprise battle had begun. The enemy form was grossly wild, and got her blood pumping just watching the sickening way they moved. Maybe it was just her, but the perversion of the human form filled her with a deep-seated hatred. She wanted to reach out through the screen and crush one between her fingers.

She blinked away the thoughts, realizing that there was little she could do about it. She turned to her master, torn between staying and watching and going to train. She looked back at the monitor, about to decide to go train when the movement of black armor and golden hair caught her attention. King Arthur was on screen. It felt like being a child on Christmas, her heart was pounding into her throat, as she absentmindedly reached for her masters arm, refusing to tear herself away from the screen.

“Ana, Ana, look! That's him! That's King Arthur, King of Knights!” She was nearly yelling, watching her father run the creature through with elegance and raw power. “That's my father.” She said, much quieter, as if she would break the on-screen knights concentration if she was to loud.

LoneSniper87

Ana watched on in silence, waiting for an answer. When she saw the things form she grimaced, slightly disturbed by their form. Her grimace went to a cringe as dull pain went up her arm from the Shielder's grasp. "My Rycerz(Knight), please... That's not my best arm..." She said, trying to calm her down. "I understand your excitement, but please... Contain yourself... At least just a bit." She told her. Watching Saber was a sight indeed, her graceful actions an elegant dance of war.

"We can stay for this, if you'd like... I have no problem..." She told Shielder, glancing at her wifh a soft smile before turning back to the screen.

 

[Angel Sapphire]

Assassin​

Assassin entered the Clock Tower, neverminding the forboding danger she senses. Massive negative mana was overflowing the building, confirming one thing, something almost as strong as a Servant, which is big trouble for someone as weak as her. She entered the building, slashing every enemy she encounters and concealing her presence again.

"Enter carefully. "

She wanted to say more, but she ran into a horde inside Clock Tower. Like last time, she had to make as less noise as possible. With consecutive 6-hit attacks, she cleared the troublesome obstacles, felling skeleton after skeleton. But such feats would not go unnoticed for long. A large entity was sensing her, but she had to accomplish scanning the upper floors.

The ley lines in the location was top notch, and os essential to bolster their own troops. The summoning circle must be established at all costs.

(Sorry, everyone, there's no signal at the beach in Asia.)

 

[Syvvaris]

John took multiple long drags during his stare down at Berserker's Master. After each drag there was a long exhale that lingered along the floor as to cover the metalic flooring with a light grey haze. Although John tried to look unphased by the young Master's words, but a perceptive person could see the slight anger in his stance. "You assume the dead was incompentent and not unlucky. From the aura that man held around him, not even the brave Masters whom are not in this ship would have difficulty defeating." John's deduction was only conjecture that Jun had an aura of death surround him.

"Should you have the same attitude with the Masters of Archer and Lancer if they were to pass away after this stunt? Afterall, staying behind to flight constructs that will out number them is an incredibly brave and a stupid choice." John continued, "Or should this ship get blown out of the sky and we perish in it. Shall it be justified for the rest to call us incompentent and our names be smirched upon?"

BlightGiver

 

[Dragonruby]

Lucas can’t help but roll his eyes at Archer’s irreverent reply back to him. Even through their mental link, the man could feel the excitement in her voice. It was a touch offputting, however, to hear the usually sweet girl so eager to delve into danger. He wondered if this was simply the way of all Servants, or if Rebecca was simple less of a sweetheart than she made herself out to be.

Lucas’ thoughts were outright shattered when Lancer began her singing. He’d chosen to stand nearby to her, a little ways out in front of her ‘stand’ while Avenger and Saber pushed out even further, a fact he was starting to regret as her lyrics grated against his ears in a manner he would compare to someone pressing a jackhammer right near his head. He glanced towards Barr with a grimace, wondering how the man put up with this, while mentally signaling Archer. “Lancer’s show just started, and it looks like the distractions already working. Everything all clear on your end?”

The group of undead that spawn in reaction to the singing are quickly engaged by both Avenger and Saber. They were certainly capable, fit to be called heroes. He glanced around momentarily with a frown, making sure there were no other threats nearby. Berserker was still there, so she could cover anyone else who decided to take a shot at their erstwhile pop idol, leaving Lucas free to take his own shot at the undead.

Bracing his left arm with his right hand, Lucas aims down with his bracer, leveling it towards one of the undead facing down Avenger and unoccupied by Saber. He checks to make sure he has a magazine inserted, and that everything is in working order. “Tonitrua,” he incants briefly, a light crackle of electricity briefly flickering over his mystic code before he takes a breath and triggers his weapon.

The bracer lets off a loud ‘crack’ as a ball bearing is let loose. Under normal circumstances, his chosen ammunition would be nothing more than a steel musketball, which weren’t particularly known for their accuracy, especially with a barrel only barely the length of his forearm. However, that wasn’t simply where it ended, and instead an invisible set of ‘rails’ helped to guide the projectile, produced by his magecraft, and under the effects of his mystic code he could project the intangible guide out in excess of a mile, not that he was confident he could even hit something from that distance. Still, it meant that he was confident in his accuracy, now all that was left for him to see was if it was even going to hurt the creatures.

 

[TelisOldfield]

Barr had grown accustomed to Lancer's singing but he would be lying if he said that it wasn't an assault on his sensibilities. When no one had been looking, especially Lancer, he had shoved a pair of ear plugs in, silently wishing he had lost his hearing over his voice, before cringing at the thought. Either one was loss he would regret and be made worse for. Lancer had begun to pout at the lack of crowd for her performance, Barr already knew the only thing that would cheer her up would be a finely made grilled panini with Cheddar cheese from the Swiss Alps, and butter from the Irish countryside.

A grilled cheese sandwich. She would only cheer up for a grilled cheese sandwich. Barr had read up on her history when he had summoned her but never could have guessed that the 'Blood Countess' in the 14 year old body would have acted like such a child. Surely her soul was still old enough to act more maturely. Barr was distracted from his inner complaints about the Idol above him, as more of the strange bone monsters were formed from the red liquid. Saber and Avenger quickly engaged the enemy.

Barr looked up the Idol, who simply huffed at the new enemies. She wasn't interested in fighting since no one had complimented her singing. Barr brought a hand up to rub the annoyance out of his eyes, before flashing a quick series of signs to her. She huffed again, uttering a very valley girl 'Fine' before descending to the ground. Her spear reappeared in her hands, but she seemed to have no interest in the battle starting before her.

 

[BlightGiver]

Skorl noted John's breathing display minor irritation with the received answer. 'Hmm, guess I overdid it? But I was sure my words were impartial.' the bewildered master worried. Unlike before when his words could easily be contrived as an insult to Saber's late master; Skorl had taken extra care to reply. He thought before he spoke for once, alas it wasn't good enough. Now, Skorl should've expected the response from John; but the amazement at being seen as too cold made him unready.

John's inquiry was now about if they or the other master's met an untimely end, how would Skorl expect people to react. "Incompetent? I would not find it reasonable for the other's to consider that of you." he stated. "This is a plan we all agreed on, especially with us being the 'protected cargo' for lack of a better term. If you die, there would be no fault placed upon you or your skills." The ambivalent master made sure to avoid the first question given, as an attempt to deter any more poor wording on his part. "I would not say the same about myself, but I am ultimately at peace with it."

Syvvaris

Fou was not surprised to find another person coming along his path; it was par the course here at Chaldea, with so many staff and servants everywhere. But, this was an unknown face; yet, speaking with such an endearing and playful tone, the cute creature responded by running forward with his tail wagging. "Fou?" He inquisitively uttered, looking up at Alexandria. His appearance making it easy to forget what he really is. Dr Roman was also viewing the scene from a terminal in the security depot; he would not dare try anything, now that Alexandria was next to Chaldea's most beloved animal. "It's fine; if she ends up intimidating the little guy-" The doctor was proceeding to say, but stopped short. Back where Fou came from, the area toward the edge of Alexandria's bounded field continued to waver and pulse. This was no fault of her technique; something else was interacting with it from outside, increasing in frequency as well.

BearBearBear


Meanwhile, the four legged undead were naught but easy pickings when compared to the specialized foes fought separately earlier. They had more numbers than strength on their side this time, and were not taking kindly to Lancer's "song". Saber and Tokugawa stood between them and the source of noise, creating an obstacle as intended. The two servant's were already preparing their attacks, indicating that the undead needed to attack now. Groaning like wind through hollow tunnels, the pack charged away from clocktower toward the 3 servants. Lucas' attack also served to help against them, for it struck the latter half of the pack. 3 were instantly incinerated, but the pack didn't turn their attention to the eager master. Instead, a large mass of the corruption burst straight through the bridge from the Thames below. Waving back and forth unsteadily, bits dropped off, accumulating into multitudes more of undead. Most for replenishing the numbers against the distraction team, and lesser for the master who had proved himself worthy of being a danger.

The ones facing Lucas immediately charged, going much faster than the squadron on the opposite side of the glob. It would seem these have thicker limbs for more agility; the intelligence behind this was learning very quickly. Raikou couldn't stand idle anymore, either; she stood right beside Lucas with her sword drawn. Feelings of protecting her master took precedence over helping an ally, but they lead to the same result nonetheless. "When did we become the distraction team?" She joked to Archer's master.

CatJones TelisOldfield Dragonruby

Inside clocktower's barrier, it was a sight completely different than the world mere millimeters outside. The ground and air were all gray and dusty, made more apparent by any small plant and animal life also being absent from the area. The ground itself pulsed up and down a few inches with steady rhythm, threatening to have Archer and Assassin go off balance if they weren't paying complete attention. Assassin, who had gone into the tower itself to scout ahead in the shadows, had yet to realize that the top of the tower was completely gone. Bits of brick and metal lay at the tower's base; these were what was left of the clock itself. In place of the tower's top was a writhing reddish black mass, in roughly the same shape as the landmark's missing part; tendrils connected it to the ground, running all the way down the tower. One tendril closer to Archer was pumping something under the surface; most likely the mana and corruption going to other parts of the city. Although, it seemed to start doing so even faster, now with Archer in the relatively immediate vicinity.

The skeletons inside the tower were no match for Assassin's swift strikes, as she traversed the many floors within minutes. As she got closer to the top, the atmosphere started to feel more heavy. Her movements felt slower by just a tad, but noticeable enough to warrant worry. As if in sync with the new environment being traversed, a hole blew right through the wall a meter ahead of Assassin. Something was outside, but refused to come in just yet; perhaps it was waiting to sense something pass in front of the hole. Irrelevant to that, possibly was the small worms crawling in from the hole; these were an aspect of whatever was waiting on the other side.

Angel Sapphire MocaPoka

Da Vinci twitched at Mordred's sudden outburst at seeing her father/mother on the provided terminal. "Hey, I do not think there is a need to raise our voices this close to each other." The inventor meekly suggested, keeping an eye on her own point of view. She refused to speak any louder, knowing that the two were just sharing a moment of excitement over Saber. Hopefully, that won't change with the appearance of more undead rushing the fierce warrior on the bridge. With each passing horde, some periodically looked straight up at Shielder and Ana; there's no way they'd actually be able to see people observing from a screen in Chaldea, right?

AJustKnight LoneSniper87

 

[Syvvaris]

It seemed it would take more words than expected for John to convince Skorl of his disrespect towards the late Jun. Skorl's words seemed more deliberate than before, a decent choice for a person who was effectively locked in a room with John. "You say what you think I want to hear and defend yourself. What about the others?" Berserker's Master would not be able to dodge a question with John. He ignored the videos and sounds of the fighting outside, because it concerned him little until the pink haired doe admits his immorality or shows genuine compassion.

"Meisje, the problem I have with you is your lack of compassion." John said bluntly in the heavy Dutch accent he has had the entire conversation. "We are passengers on this ride through life and if it is time for your ride to end, it ends. Whether your last decisions were agreed upon by a group or you decided yourself." He ended his retort towards Skorl's defensive and carefully chosen words with a deep puff of sweet nicotine.

BlightGiver

 

[MocaPoka]

Archer
​

The warm excited flame of adventure was harshly snuffed out inside of Archer’s chest when she discovered the hidden gray world within the veil. It was dead and corrupted... A failed version of the fragile natural world. The ground itself was like a giant’s heart pulsating the sick Earth’s flesh... torturing it. Archer spotted her shawl and Black Key lodged into the corrupted Earth’s dusty ground and retrieved both.

Throwing her shawl back on, she almost dismissed the large conceptual weapon until she looked at the dark red tendrils; poisoning the Great Spirit’s and God’s once pure Earth. “Set.” The claymore sized Black Key fired into the closest pumping tendril.

“Set”, “Set”, “Set” ….

She would sever all of the tendrils as quickly as possible from the dying planet. Using the larger Black Key this way would consume more mana, but it would be far faster than trying to destroy the tendrils with her normal sized Black Keys and would cost less mana than her "feathers" or Noble Phantasm.

Archer continued her monotonous chant until all the poisonous horrors were severed from the Earth. The large Black Key firing into any pulsating tendril as many times as needed to sever them. “Master I’ve made it inside the barrier. I’ve found the corruption and I’m destroying it's hold on the Earth.” Summoning the colorful glyphs to fire the Black Key repeatedly, quickly drained her stamina, and she feared Lucas would soon start feeling the drain as well. If she had to activate her Noble Phantasm in the near future, it would likely cause her to weigh heavily on Lucas’s mana reserves if she kept this up for too long.

Dragonruby BlightGiver

 

[BearBearBear]

"Aren't you an adorable one~" Alexandria smiled at the creature as she knelt down and brushed the crown of his head with her fingers. It was a wonder to see what was supposed to be the Greatest of her enemies brighten up at the meager gesture, how he seemed to lean into her touch as she tenderly ran her fingers through his silken fur. Fou was an innocent little thing, a bonafide bundle of joy and it took quite a bit of self control not to just pick him up and squeal with delight.

Did she ever get a chance to say she loved dogs? No? Well, Alexandria had trouble thinking of something more precious than an energetic puppy.

She was giddy, so much so that she almost dropped her spell in favor of fawning over the cute squirrel dog if it wasn't for the annoying pitter-patter on the very edge of her bounded field. That's strange, I don't remember enforcing the barrier just yet. She thought, but then again thought better of it. If someone out there was trying to escape her notice then they were doing a horrible job at it, and if someone was trying to gain some insight into her by prodding at her bounded field then they had a droplet to play with from the ocean that was her repertoire.

It didn't really matter in the end, whatever it was she would be able to deal with it when it came about, but just in case. Thoth, give me the surrounding area; something is sticking it's nose where it doesn't belong.

"Now, little guy, how about we head back down to Romani?"

BlightGiver

 

[BlightGiver]

Gritting his teeth, Skorl knew that John had a point; the pink haired master's words, despite being carefully chosen, did have an air on dissonance to them. The circle of life, compassion, morality; topics Skorl had mixed feelings towards all of. On one hand, he can acceptthe cold, hard truth that death comes to all sooner or later. But, his urge towards power for protection.... Clenching his fists, Skorl nodded. "No one lives forever; one can prolong death as much as they like, sure. Medicine, healthy habits, avoiding violence....anything to make those sweet days last slightly longer with your loved ones." He turned to look John straight in the face, "But compassion only gets you so far in that regard; power keeps those around you alive longer, protect them completely." He stated before adding with a sigh, "Great power can be used for everything, if used properly; my bastard family made sure to drill that into me and my brother, before they killed him!"

These were words he had always kept confined to himself, never saying to anyone; not even when he was alone with Raikou. "That's why I disrespect someone like Jun! His power, wasted poorly; he ran off alone, leaving everyone else behind to their own fate. And what happened, he faced his demise and we all got attacked." The words of Berserker's master about Jun were hollow, however; his issues with the death lay more with dissatisfaction in himself than anything else. "And once again, I was reminded of my own weaknesses. Every time someone I know passes, I imagine what could have changed if I had been more powerful instead! But my weak abilities are nothing more than a failed attempt; this dumb hair is an indication of that." Skorl complained, pulling the left side of his hair lightly. "So I end up relying on others; why do you think my first choice in a servant was a Berserker?"

Syvvaris

Archer's demolition of the tendrils was going along very smoothly; the anomaly certainly hadn't properly prepared for such a unique plan. Different groups taking attention away, doing unexpected tactics that will hinder it's progress was a fine idea, indeed. For the while, anyway; after the last tendril had sustained enough damage that it was in danger of collapsing, another tendril shot straight to the ground from the disgusting substitution of clocktower's top. But, this new appendage didn't penetrate the ground; it remained in the air in front of Archer. At the end of this smaller tendril was another undead, connected directly to the anomaly itself. It was obvious this zombie was of a Caster role, for it wore a cloak covering where it's legs would be. Instead, that was where it was attached to the anomaly's tendril. Coming out of the sleeves of the cloak were writhing limbs; not made of decaying flesh and bone, but huge swarms of maggots roughly shaped into arms and hands. The head remained mostly normal, minus a lower jaw, but there was a very obvious discrepancy. The eyes of the Caster were healthy looking; a shade of blue in the irises, covered by the occasional blink of the eyes. Slowly, the Caster raised it's right arm and unleashed a huge spray of disgusting larva, that didn't seem to take from the mass that comprised it's arm. The attack started to go all over the place, with most of it being focused at the successful servant below. If one could see the eyes of the Caster during this action, they would note that it's right eye looked unwilling and crying, while the left appeared agitated and angry.

MocaPoka

Fou loved the attention given by Alexandria; although, he loved attention from everyone in Chaldea, it was always better when a new face was doing so. And hearing the name of Romani made the little guy's ears perk up; why not spend some time with an old friend? Fou had fun with anyone who would set time aside to play with him. So, he replied to Alexandria's suggestion with a high pitched noise of approval.

Coincidentally, this was at the very moment the Caster undead appeared and the horde of quadripedal ones noticed the Chaldea observers watching them. Thoth's scans of the area were nearly a split second from completion when Fou turned his head back toward the disturbance he was playing with before. The adorable creature quickly took an agitated pose, sneaking behind Alexandria for protection. Roman was perplexed by the change in Fou's behavior, as he watched intensely from the security depot. Unsure of the conditions taking place, the doctor alerted the chief of security to send backup to Fou and Alexandria's position.

The disturbance had begun fluctuating too much for comfort, distorting the space absurdly at this point. Each passing second had it protruding more, almost like it was going to rip through fabric. And that it did; the sound of air could be heard rushing into the hole as the pressure of the inside equalized with that of the outside. Fou growled at the noise, trembling behind Alexandria; he did not like what slowly edged out of the spacial hole. What appeared to be the tail of a large scorpion started moving into the hallway; it now apparent that the venomous tip being responsible for breaking through space, however a scorpion of any size or species might accomplish that. The arthropod appendage began blindly flailing about, it's sharp point proving dangerous to get too close to. Whether it might contain venom or something else inside that tail, no one would want to find out first hand.

BearBearBear

 

[BearBearBear]

Alexandria was smiling when several things happened in quick succession. Fou seemed angry when space was torn, a monstrosity of an stinger emerged at the end of the hallway, and something vaguely familiar brushed the very edge of her senses. She smile just a little bit wider when the writing appendage extended further into the space, flailing like a wild animal caught in a hunter's snare, and Thoth confirmed what she had already knew: if it was an illusion, it was a very effective one, but as far as she could tell, there was the rear end of what seemed to be a chimera stuck within a spatial distortion and somehow an entire army was squeezed into the vicinity around her.

An undead army, she was pleased to note.

"Come now, little one, there is no need to fear. " Alexandria was smiling gently when she reached out and to hold the fearful creature before she rose with Fou comfortably in her arms. Her fingers ran soothing circles on the creatures back in an attempt to settle it down as she whispered soft comforts into its ears. "I'm right here, and come what may, I'll protect you." She was a proud woman, and though she did not swear upon her name, the words that left her mouth was her unadulterated truth.

"Let's try this first then." And indeed, there was no need to fear. It would be an easy matter to simply dispose of the anomaly, as well as the army, but doing so while preserving the integrity of the surrounding area as well the lives of everyone within the facility was a bit more of a challenge. One she would accept for the moment.

"Hagalaz."

No other action was needed, no other aria, no flair or performance. Alexandria simply ran mana through her circuits, her Crests, and like those who dwelt in the Age before, she willed the World to change. A Single Action spell, channeled through a Mark of Mastery, was a formidable thing in the hands of any normal magus; when she had finally replicated the feat of the puppet master and even expanded her own vocabulary, the single action spell was enough.

Alchemy, in its most basic form was material transmutation or the manipulation of the flow of matter, and to a greater extent, energy. On an even deeper level, coupled with alteration, there were a multitude of effects that could be realized.

It was a simple matter to activate a preset spell, taken from the White Princess herself, and turn the hallway into a veritable grinder for whatever monstrosity thought it fine to intrude on her time with Fou. The air was divided into layers and vacuums stretched into multiple infinitesimally thick lines that even the slightest amount of force would sheer matter. The walls were made to be ignored as the element air was altered out of it for the time being. Pockets were formed to guide the blades along their way that each plane would be cut, each angle was covered, and each blade would go unhindered by its companions once it was unleashed. The Air was enchanted with Hagalaz, granted the characteristic of Catastrophe, imbued with strength above control before it was unleashed onto the enemy.

All that preparation, thanks to the two main pillars of Atlas magecraft was completed in less than an instant.

Alexandria was smiling when the blades fell, rushing forth to grind the enemy into dust, though she was more than ready to continue if needed.

BlightGiver

 

[AJustKnight]

Shielder was pulled out of the child-like apprecation of her Fathers combat prowess as her Master voiced a very fair complaint. Shielder turned and gasped, letting go of her Masters bad arm, a look of agape horror over her strong features. A pain shot through her, worming around her heart like a snake. Even when she wasn't trying to she was still incredible skilled at causing pain to those around her. She forced those thoughts to the side, the constant fear of repeating the mistakes of her past thrust to the side to focus on the now rather then the past.

“Sorry, Master. I kind of lost myself for a second there. You know my father is still my hero, despite everything that happened.” She let an armored hand reach up to her own neck and awkwardly rub the back of it. Almost immediately, she was admonished by the other Servant in the room, for her sudden and loud outburst.

“Sorry about that, Leo.” She felt even more like a child now that she had two people calling her out for her behavior. She shook it off and moved away from the two, standing near the door to the small observation room.

“I guess we should go get that practice in. It'll be our turn soon enough.” She spoke to Ana, while pointing her chin at the screen infront of Da Vinci.

LoneSniper87 BlightGiver

 

[Angel Sapphire]

Assassin​

Assassin stopped in her tracks as she saw the sudden explosion of brick and debris just moments from her head. She took notice of it and decided not to progress further until reinforcements arrive. But even she knew that was highly unlikely, since everyone has their own role to play. She had to clear the tower to the top. One thing, however, angered her to no end.

'Master! Someone just cheap-shot me and cut of my ahoge! This means war!'

She approached the hole with caution, all the while incinerating the worms that appeared. She took a small folder from her jacket. It was a case file for Nero Claudius (Saber) set for elimination. She used it to cover the hole, staying clear of any possible lines of fire within the general area.

"Servant. Black Servant. Possibly Assassin or Caster."

She ventured on, comically trying to fix her hair, to no avail.

 

[CatJones]

Saber pulled her sword down, tearing more of the enemy with the stroke as she went, and as her sword broke free of the creature, she lifted her fer now free left hand, swathed in black fire, before shoving it against the open wound and pushing the fire out and into the creatures insides. She followed this up with a quick hop back, expecting an aggressive response, her sword held across her body in a block.

Tokugawa found herself focusing on a different target, focusing on one past Saber and her opponent. Unlike the Gloomy Knight, Tokugawa lacked raw physical strength, instead her elegant blade a flurry of motion to match her feet. She swayed with every breath, stepping to the side with each swing, coupled with occasional bouncing out of her opponents reach, hoping to use her agility as her defense. Saber's armor would block the majority of an attack, but Tokugawa's thin lamellar armor would shatter easily, or even worse if it broke inwards, her internal organs would be pierced by it.

Whereas Saber simply chose to fight without any sort of concern for the others, Tokugawa had to remind herself that she couldn't watch Lucas and Barr like a hawk, her attention needed at the forefront with the enemies surrounding them. Lancer seemed a capable sort, and Berserker was far stronger then she was. She didn't want to lose anyone else on this mission, but if they did, death was natural.

 

[LoneSniper87]

Ana just grinned at the slightly embarrassed Servant, turning back to her. "W porządku, Shielder.(It's fine)" She told her, glancing back to see those things staring at her. She paused, her light-hearted smile faltering upon the sight. When it finally turned away, she exhaled, having held her breath the whole time. She turned to Shielder, nodding. "Yeah, let's get going. See you around Doc, hopefully all goes well." With that, she turned and walked out, Shielder most likely following.

"Did you see that? They were... Staring... It was so weird, like they almost knew..." She said, shaking her head to dispel the thought. "Anyway, yes, let's get to it. Let's hope I can still fight with some semblance of skill."

BlightGiver AJustKnight

 

[MocaPoka]

Archer​

“Master, I’m about to engage another of the enemy’s monstrosities.”

As the swarm of larva descended on Archer she made no moves to evade or defend herself from the nightmarish attack. Instead she focused on the ever-present fire inside her stomach. As the revolting swarm neared her, inches away from consuming her lithe body, the native girl puckered her lips as if to give the disgusting wave of maggots a kiss. A forcefully gout of brilliant flames exploded from her "kiss" and turned the dead gray world into one of dazzling orange and all-consuming red. Greek Fire, one of the gifts from her older brother.

The force of the blast was far stronger than when she had been alive and caught her off guard. Tan shawl and pink hair whipping back behind her as she continued her release of the fiery torrent; she stumbled back from the unexpected force. The still beating earth didn’t help her balance and caused her to trip and fall on her behind. The flames spiraled out of her control, consuming the landscape in front of her. Luckily there wasn’t anything in the immediate area that she didn’t want to burn, so she continued her purifying attack. Moving her head left and right she made sure to consume any stray larva before refocusing on the controller of the now burning maggots.

As the stream of flames ended their flow from her lips, she willed the Greek Fire to continue it’s cleansing burning until only ashes and unwanted memories remained of this disgusting corruption. Still sitting on the dusty dead ground; Archer felt the fuel of the Greek Fire inside of her weaken. She would only be able to release it one more time before it would need to recover its strength.

Dragonruby BlightGiver

 

[Syvvaris]

John had hit a nerve with Skorl, just as Skorl had done with him earlier. Skorl's tangent on his beliefs and unfortunate events in his past made it clear to John his point wasn't getting through his thick skull. If this fight have been in Chaldea John would have stopped his aggression out of sympathy, but today it was important to know the extent of this teammate's character after they had revealed a potentially dangerous flaw. With the last few words of Skorl's speech, John took the steps necessary to be within arms reach of Skorl. He tried to look as macho, angry and threatening towards Skorl until he stopped and dropped all forms of hostility and took a more empathetic stance.

"Compassion isn't weakness, it isn't powerless, and it is necessary for this mission. I am sorry to hear about the ill fate of your brother and your cruel parents." John gave his condolences, and attempted to reach his hand out to Skorl's cheek. "Power without compassion leads to tyranny, chaos and mistakes. Mistakes that can lead to ill fates such as death. However, what I am trying to get through to your head is the disrespect for the dead. Whether Jun deserved death is for his God to decide, and how would you feel if I or others talk poorly of your brother." John paused for a response. "Its highly inappropriate and disrespectful, and continued show of poor character means you are more of a liability than you think you are. If you are not thinking about the welfare of the Masters, Servants and bystanders. Then you make mistakes like highlighting your allies position, or if you are one with my skill, cripple unsuspecting servants and kill Masters along with half a block of bystanders."

John turned away from Skorl and walked up to the controls and a monitor showing the progress outside. "The weakness you feel that you have is the same weakness impossibly strong people have as well. Otherwise, our dark Saber friend wouldn't be so gloomy. She would have been able to help everyone in her original life and not fallen to the depths of despair at the end of her life. You do know the story of King Arthur correct?" John asked.

'Awww. I liked that, I would stare at it when you weren't looking. I'm sure there is someone who is good with doing hair that can do your hair when we get back.'

Angel Sapphire BlightGiver

 

[BlightGiver]

John's truth (a harsh one for Berserker's master) was excellently spoken; identifying that Skorl was making himself the weak link whilst he tried to avoid that in the first place. Compassion, or the lack thereof, meant a lot when it would come to interactions and battle. Or, that's what one would expect; being delusional in this regard, Skorl spun the reality to his own twisted interpretation. Especially since John now brings up the true story of Arthur to the table. "I am familiar with the actual events, up to a point. Arthur was a king, and set her aims at ensuring her country was perfect and beneficial for all her people. But, this contradicted when it came to matters and feelings of those close to her; like putting Guinevere to death and....." He did not say more, realizing the moral of the story.

"You are right....." He quietly spoke, unclenching his fists. "This whole time, I was focused on power to make sure anyone I knew would survive. Strength and acknowledgement of it was what I always viewed as necessary. But, you have taught me otherwise, John. I cannot walk the same self defeating path Arthur once did." Skorl looked toward Assassin's master and nodded. "That is why, if I do not monitor everyone, and change my attitude and actions for their benefit, strength or not, I or they will perish. In fact, doing so might even give me insight toward how they fight; if I can accumulate as much information as possible...." Changing his gaze to watching one of the screens showing the undead, the pink haired master unleashed his conclusion. "I'm in a position of weakness; knowing that all this time, even moreso now, I've been utilizing my comrades' power entirely like a coward. It's a good start, though; I can make their power mine, in a metaphorical sense. But, learn how they use their abilities, what they'll need to stay in pique condition; I can create a sort of amalgamation fighting style for myself. In theory, of course; but I can picture it now, as nearly in sync comrades work better together when they are of a like mind. I can ensure no one dies; and we'll all get stronger as a result! Take that mother and father, and your screwed up definition of power!" This was certainly not what John would be considering a better outcome, yet Skorl truly believed this was what he meant.

Syvvaris

Alexandria's manipulation of the air was genius; it flew forward at incredible speed, passing into the scorpion tail, With practically a sizzling noise, the twists and turns of the air ground through the chitin and flesh with ease. There was a sound of agony, as the creature on the other side retracted it's severely reduced tail back into the spacial hole. The rift closed, leaving a large pile of dust, that used to be an appendage, behind. Fou came out from behind his heroine, nuzzling his head against her leg as a sign of appreciation. But, he kept his distance from the hallway's end, still worrying that the scary event might reoccur. Roman's backup came a second too late, finding the hallway empty of any unexpected distortions. "Uh, Doc, nothing's here." One of them whispered back to Roman, who was at the end of this small contingent. "Wait, what?!" He shouted, barging through to the front. Finding only Alexandria and Fou safe and sound, he let out a sigh.

He had half a mind to ask how she dealt with it so soon, but quickly remembered who it was in front of him. "Thanks for keeping Fou safe." Roman stated instead. "I don't know what I would've done if something bad happened to the little guy. He's someone we all care about here." The doctor started speaking pleasantries once more, oblivious to the pile of refuse that remained of the second intruder. Said pile sat motionless for a period of time, before swiftly swirling into a new shape; coalescing into, yet again another large scorpion, albeit definitely smaller than the owner of the intruding tail prior. Once fully formed, the new arthropod regained it's vision, taking in all of the people ahead of it.

BearBearBear

Da Vinci let the master and servant to their own devices, hoping that they weren't deterred by her sudden discipline. She noted the pair move away somewhat to talk to each other; having no idea what they were conversing over, the inventor continued to leave them alone. "They must be itching for some action." She joked to herself, surveying the undead that was fighting Archer. "Although, I wonder if they'd be happy they avoided this mission." She thought, squirming from seeing all the writhing maggots being flung at Archer. "I'd certainly stay away if I knew that would appear."

AJustKnight LoneSniper87

The undead on the bridge were an ever growing number, but Saber and Tokugawa were cutting them down with good enough speed to prevent any overpowering from occurring. Raikou was also aiding by helping Lucas knock back any going for clocktower's direction. "I guess there was more in clocktower than we originally thought." Raikou said to Lucas, as her sword impaled another undead through the face. Yet, the Berserker felt it would also be beneficial to check in on the conditions of her two comrades further along the bridge. "How are you guy's doing over there?!" She yelled to Saber and Tokugawa. "Are Lancer and Barr still doing alright?" She asked, knowing that her voice, barely reaching the middle of the bridge would never reach lancer's ears.

CatJones TelisOldfield Dragonruby

Assassin covering up the hole proved effective at making the thing lose track of her; more holes being punched through the wall back at where Assassin used to be evidence of this. Whatever was doing this certainly wasn't enjoying it's failure, as a deafening roar of agitation rocked through the landmark, making the very walls tremble. Sound of it climbing back up to the top could be heard, allowing Assassin safe passage for the upcoming floors until then. Of course, this now meant the unhappy creature was back with the anomaly, doing who knows what at this point with it.

Angel Sapphire

The undead Caster noticed the string of flames consume every bit of the larva in it's attack, as well as much of the surrounding landscape. Large stray flames came up towards it multiple times; it responded by creating shields of maggots to absorb all of the fire each time. It was clearly getting enrage, as the tendril connected to the caster's base pumped a lot faster, making it grow stronger. Clenching it's larval constructed fists, the caster soared down to the ground, fist first; it made contact with the decayed dirt, causing a shockwave to travel up into clocktower and even out of the field, into the streets. Despite the fact that it was stronger and wary of Archer's flames, whatever was leading this undead had made the mistake of giving up it's tactical height advantage, to face an Archer servant head on. Mistakes such as these have devastating effects for those unlucky enough to be caught in them. Forming spheres of alrva, the caster was getting prepared to unleash 4 of them at Archer, close range.

MocaPoka

 

[TelisOldfield]

Barr watched the battle going on, gritting his teeth tightly. A snake of memory coiled tightly around his chest, giving the impression of a ten-pound weight dangling from his heart. Violence and battle always left the same impression on him, revulsion and disgust. He had seen Lancer fight countless times, using their missions as a justification for what they had to do, regardless of the moral attachments

Saber and Avenger fought like it was their nature to do so, violence and reason conjoining. In retrospect, Lancer stood idly, her spear held in her tiny hands, swaying a little at the battle playing out before them, like she was following some unseen rhythm of the battle. Unlike the two warrior servants she had something to safeguard, and rushing headlong into a fight wasn't in her mindset.

Berserker and Archers master were still on the far side of the bridge, Barr wondering if they should try and make their way to them, since it seemed that Saber and Avenger were handling themselves well enough.

 

[MocaPoka]

Archer​

The shock-wave from the monstrosity blew Archer out of her sitting position on the dead ground. She back-flipped three times before she was able to slow her momentum and stand without falling. The horror had slammed into the ground with impressive force, but it had abandoned its height advantage. Why? Was it baiting her? Or maybe its anger had made it careless? Regardless; Archer summoned six Black Keys, three in each hand between her fingers and charged.

The horror began forming spheres of larva; Archer in response threw the three Keys in her left-hand hopping to distract or interrupt the monster’s magic. Halfway to the horror; in her sprint Archer suddenly darted left away from the summoner and into her flames. She willed the Greek Fire to burn as fiercely as it could; hiding her figure and shielding her from the larva, in addition to burning away any of the repulsive creatures that may have struck her in the charge. The flames burned hotter than molten lava, but to the small woman crouched inside of them, it was like being submerged in an overly warm bath.

Archer practically frolicked within her flames, throwing her remaining three Black Keys one at a time so the creature would face her in the direction she wanted. “Set.”

From behind the creature her now gore covered claymore sized Black Key fired from behind the monstrosity. Distracted with searching for her within the flames and blocking her attacks, she hoped the larger weapon would impale or better yet sever it from its attached tendril from behind.

BlightGiver