[h2][center]Jason Liu[/center][/h2]
At Benienma's reaction towards her own bout of entertainment, Kiara brought her hand towards her mouth and licked her lips. The anger that the Saber in front of her was feeling was quite palpable, even from her position behind her puppet, but given that she seemed just as intent on protecting her Master and those with her as she was in trying to take her head...

There was really nothing to call this other than 'exhilarating'; it was an experience that she hadn't felt in [i]ages[/i].

"Your energetic chirping really is music to my ears," she said, gesturing towards the doorway as she spoke. "But do you really think that you are in a position to be able to talk as you are now?"

With another gesture, a giant hand seemed to rise out from Benienma's shadow, acting as a momentary blockade to prevent her from retreating or moving into the hallway. In that same instant, the shadow Hijikata rushed forth, blade ready as it moved to strike at the Saber in turn.
[hr]
No matter how much he wanted to ignore the 'fake' Kiara's words, the similarities to Mary's voice had taken their toll on Jason's mind as he was dragged away by the two other people accompanying him. As pathetic as he felt, the ever-sinking feeling in his heart as his own doubts seemed to reverberate in his mind only caused him to move forward mindlessly in turn.

As he continued to move along, though, the sound of Hakuno's radio crackling back as it was activated served to only give momentary relief, if only before the next statement dashed it in an instant.

"HQ to Kishinami. Code Red at the Fusang Arena; multiple hostiles, confirmed dead in the dozens. Situation continuing to escalate; all reserve forces are to move to the Arena to aid in relief and suppression efforts. Request denied. Over."

At the same time that the transmission ended, though, a few of the patients and visitors seemed to move and block the group's path. More than a few simply stared at the three, their eyes glassy as they seemed to move forward. More than a few seemed to be wielding makeshift weapons—IV poles, needles, and their ilk—as they seemed ready to strike out at the group.

[@RolePlayerRoxas][@VitaVitaAR]
[h2][center]Alter Ego — Meltryllis[/center][/h2]
Grateful that her Master had finally decided to turn her brain on and moved to hide, Meltryllis swiftly pushed herself off the ground and brushed herself off. The Servant that had fired the arrow at her seemed to be retreating—or, at the very least, attempting to do so.

She would make sure that he wouldn't have the chance.

In an instant, the Alter Ego sprang forward, leaving the restaurant behind as she struck out at the shadow with her knee. The spike, this time, seemed to catch the weapon that the shadow was wielding, and Meltryllis moved in an instant to counteract that. Without missing a beat, she flung her leading leg upwards, dragging the weapon with it as she used her other leg to catch the shadow's head in turn and bring it toward the pavement.

"Annoyingly durable, aren't you?" she complained, stepping forward and glaring at the shadow as it lay prone on the ground. "But at the very least, I can make use of you with no problems."
[h3]The Arena[/h3]
The immediate combined efforts of those present served to greatly reduce the number of casualties in the areas that they were present near, but the sheer number of shadow Servants made protecting the entire arena, even with the combined support of all of those present, a far more trying task than one would expect. There were small pockets of people that seemed to be barely fending off the oncoming threats on part of a Servant or two here or there, but the slowly increasing count of enemies encroaching upon them made it difficult for them to even attempt to move, much less evacuate.

Among them, though, one red-headed Servant, his wiry frame and feather quill making him well-known to even those who those who paid little attention to the matters of Fusang knew now, seemed to be furiously scribbling away in his book.

"Hm... Hmhm! Yes, this is the sort of tragedy that I have been waiting for! Yes, the bloody affair that Macbeth bore witness to seems to pale in comparison to this! The darkest of—"

"Whatever ideas you might have now, Shakespeare, [i]please[/i] save them for AFTER we get to safety!"

It was fairly apparent that his Master wasn't exactly pleased about how much fun he was having in the middle of such rampant carnage and chaos.

[@Raineh Daze][@Rune_Alchemist][@ghastlyInc][@1Charak2]
[h3]Tower of Babylonia[/h3]
The trip through the building itself gave Da Vinci a chance to fully take in her surroundings. The method by which the building itself had been optimized in terms of using the leylines that it sat on made itself fairly obvious, and despite the sci-fi atmosphere that it seemed to give off, the Caster could appreciate the work that had been put into this in the first place.

That gave her time to consider the testimony of the Einzbern, though. As straightforward as it was, there were few places where she could interject. There were a few questions that she had even so, though, and the trip towards their destination meant that she had enough time to ask them.

"Hm... I see, I see... It's quite possible that someone had tampered with the Master you had seen beforehand, rather than the Servant... But if they are in custody, maybe we could obtain the clearance to question them? Assuming, of course, that their memories weren't tampered with as well..."

Upon seeing the smaller physical form of the A.I. after entering the next room, though, Da Vinci simply laughed. Patting her Master on the back as she took a step forward, the Caster seemed to retain a warm (if not slightly cocky) smile as she simply bowed in turn.

"HECATE, was it? Hm, hm... Don't worry, your secret is safe with Da Vinci-chan~!" she teased, winking at the woman that had taken the child's place before taking a step back. "In any case..."

Clearing her throat, the Caster placed one hand to her chin and quietly contemplated the situation a bit further before looking straight at the woman in front of her.

"Is there any possible method by which a Command Seal could be intercepted? Despite all that I have learned about the ritual, what stands out to me is that it is still a relatively [i]recent[/i] creation in context of magecraft as a whole. If the first question cannot be answered directly, would it be possible to search for origins of the ritual that could be twisted in turn to achieve a similar effect?"

[@DocRock]